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HISTORY 


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IOWA. 


BY  W.  E    ALEXANDER. 


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SIOUX  CITY.  IOWA: 

W«8TEKN  PUBLISHi:<U  COMPANY. 

1882 


259373 

AbTOR,   LE.NGX  AND 
VILDEN   FOUNDATIONS. 

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CONTENTS. 


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HISTORY  OF  IOWA. 


Page. 

DreCOVERT  AND  OCCUPATION 9 

The  Original  Ownpvs 18 

Pike's  Expedition '21 

Indian  Wars 28 

Indian    Purchases,    Reserves   and 

Treaties ;i2 

The  Spanish  ftrants 'M 

The  Half-Breed  ^I'ract 39 

Early  Settlements 41 

Territorial  History 49 

The  Boundary  Question 54 

State  Organization 59 

Growth  and  Progress 65 

Public  Institutions 66 

Agricultural  College  and  Farm ...  66 

State  University 67 

State  Historical  Society 73 

The  Penitentiary 73 


PuBLK  In.stitutions —  Pagp 

Additional  Penitentiary-. 74 

Iowa  Hospital  for  the  Insane 74 

Hospital  for  the  Insane 75 

Iowa  ( 'ollege  for  the  Blind 76 

Institution  for  th(!  Deaf  and  Dumb  77 

Soldiers'  Orphans'  Homes 77 

State  Normal  School 79 

Asylum  for   Feeble-Minded  Chil- 

dr(m 79 

The  Reform  School 80 

Fish  Hatching  Establishment....   81 

TiiK  PuHMC  Lands 82 

Th  k  Pubi.k;  Schools 100 

Political  Record 105 

Territorial  and  State  Officers 105 

The  Judiciary 107 

Congressional  Representation. . . .  lOi^ 
War  Record 110 


HISTORY  OF  WINNESHIEK  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

First  Settlement 118 

First  Birth 120 

First  Marriage 123 

First  Death 124 

First  Settlements,  no  longer  existing.  120 
First  Public  School  and  Teacher. . . .  124 

County  Organization 125 

First  Assessment  and  Tax  List 125 

First    Taxpayers    and     Settlers    by 

Townships 126 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Winnebago  Indians 133 

Fort  Atkinson 141 

The  Chiets  Winneshiek  and  Decorah.141 
Indian  Traders  and  Whisky  Selling.  144 

Bloody  Tragedies 145 

Indian  Customs  and  Habits 147 

CHAPTER.  III. 

Pioneer  Life 152 

Pioneer  Women 153 

An  Indian  Scare 155 

Oddities  of  Bench  and  Bar 155 

Interesting  Reminiscences 158 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Review  of  Early  History 169 

County    Organization     and    County 

Seat  Contest 173 

The -Day  Family 171 

Judge  Reed 171 

Lewiston,  Moneek  and  Decorah 173 

Pioneer  Norwegians 185 

Protecting  Squatters'  Rights 189 


CHAPTKR  V. 

Political  History 190 

First  Election  and  First  Officers 191 

Votes  Cast  in  Successive  Years 192 

Voting  Precincts 193 

Division  Into  Townships ...  194 

Successive  County  Officers,  Legisla- 
tors, etc 195 

Political   Contests   and   Representa- 
tive Men 195 

Public  Officers   (continued)   to  Pres- 
ent Time • 204 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Population 212 

Court  House  and  Jail 213 

Poor  House  and  Fai-m 214 

Murder  Trials '214 

Railroad  Historv 21 1 

The  County's  Products '220 

Educational  and  literary 220 

County  Finances 221 

Census  of  1880 222 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  War  for  the  Union '223 

Decorah  Guards '225 

Co.  H,  Iowa  Greyhounds '231 

Co.  G,  Twelfth  Iowa 232 

Three  More  Companies 237 

Co.  D,  Sixth  Iowa  Cavalry "239 

CHAPTER  VII 1. 
Chronological  Record  of  Events 239 


8 


CONTENT*. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Page 

History  of  Decorah 257 

History  of  West  Decorah 292 

History  of  Freeport 292 


CHAPTER  X. 

Page 

Townships  and  Villages 299 

Rivers  and  Raihoads 322 

Shape  and  Size  of  County 322 


Printing  Establishments 293  '  Geology,  Products  and  Resources. .  .323 

Pleasure  Resorts 297  !  Climate,  Soil  and  Scenery 324 

HISTORY  OF  ALLAMAKEE  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Origin  of  County  Name 326 

Topography 327 

Geology  . .' 328 

Artesian  Wells 339 

CHAPTER  II. 

Botany,  Zoology  and  Entomology. .  .340 

Climate ." 347 

Storms  and  Tornadoes 348 

Agriculture,   Live  Stock,   Manufac- 
tures  350 

Statistical  Information 351 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Aborigines 355 

Archaeology 357 

Advent  of  the  Whites 361 

Early  Settlements 361 

County  Organization  and  First  Offi- 
cers  365 

Taxable  Property  in  1849 367 

Sketch  of  Father  Loweiy 368 

Indian  Missions \ 368 

The  Painted  Rock 369 

County  Seat  Elections 371 

Sodom  and  Gomorrah 371 

CHAPTER  IV. 
First  Entries  of  Government  Lands. 372 

Fhst  Importation  of  Lumber 372 

First  Grist  Mill 372 

First  Postoffice '. . . , 372 

Interesting  Reminis:ences 372 

First  Official  Seal ,-l74 

Fii-st  Terms  of  Court 374 

First  Party  Organization 376 

Systems  of  County  Management 377 

List  of  County  Officers,    Legislators, 
etc.,  from  County  Organization 

to  Present  Time 378 

The  Circuit  Court 384 

CHAPTER  V. 

Earliest  County  Records .385 

Township  Organizations 389 

History  of  Paint  Creek  Township..  .393 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Villages  of  Allamakee  County. 396 

Lybrand 396 

Lansing,  Winfield,  Waukon,  Colum- 
bus  397 

Hardin,    Smithfield,    Postville,   Mil- 
ton, Ion,  Rossville 398 

Volney,  Cleveland,  Johnsonport,  Al- 
lamakee, Nezekaw 399 

Chantry,  Alton,  Buckland,  Mancnes- 

ter.  New  Albin,  Myion 400 

Dorchester,    Lafayette.   Paint  Rock, 

Watendlle,  New  Galena 401 

Wexford 403 

Union  City 404 

CHAPTER  Aai. 

History  of  Post  Township 404 

Histoiy  of  Postville 410 

Myron  and  Lybrand 415 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Criminal  Episodes 418 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Comity  Seat  Contests 429 

CHAPTER  X. 

County  Buildings 438 

Educational 440 

Religious  Organizations 446 

Gospel  Pioneers 447 

Statistics  of  Population,  etc 449 

Assessed  Valuations 450 

Political  Statistics 450 

CHAPTER  XI. 

War  Record,  Allamakee  County  Vol- 
unteers  451 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Chronological  Record  ot  Important 
Events, 463 

Two  Chief  Towns  of  the  Coun- 
ty  669 

Chapter  I.— Waukon 669 

Chapter  II. — Lansing 699 


PREFACE. 


*HE  object  of  this  work  is  to  place  upon  record,  in  a  reliable  manner  and 
in  a  permanent  form,  whatever  incidents  of  impoitance  have  transpired 
within  the  limits  of  Winneshiek  and  Allamakee  Counties  since  their  first 
settlement.  As  preliminary  to  this,  a  brief  History  of  Iowa  is  given,  including 
an  account  of  its  discovery  and  occupation:  its  Indian  tribes;  a  sketch  of  pre- 
territorial  times ;  an  outline  of  Iowa  when  a  Ten-itory :  its  State  organization, 
o-rowth  and  progress;  its  public  institutions,  public  lands  and  schools:  its  polit- 
ical and  war  records.  These  facts  are  from  the  pen  ot  a  well-known  writer, 
and  may  be  re'ied  upon  as  accurate. 

In  the  history  of  the  Counties,  facts  and  figures,  incidents  and  reminLs- 
cences,  anecdotes  and  sketches,  are  given,  with  a  variety  and  completeness,  it 
is  thought,  commensurate  to  their  importance.  This  has  neeessitated.  on  the 
part  of  the  editorial  staff,  an  appreciable  quantity  of  persevering  effort;  but 
their  labor  has  been  cheered  by  the  cordial  assistance  and  good  will  of  many 
friends  to  the  entei-prise  in  both  Counties,  to  all  of  whom  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments are  tendered.  They  have  enabled  us  to  give  to  the  present  generation  a 
valuable  reflex,  it  is  believed,  of  the  times  and  deeds  of  pioneer  days;  and  to 
erect  to  the  pioneer  men  and  women  of  Winneshiek  and  Allamakee  Counties  a 
merited  and  lasting  monument. 

November,  1882.  W.  E.  A. 


IiSTORY  OF  Iowa, 


DISCOVERY   AND   OCCUPATION. 

The  name  Iowa  is  said  to  signify  "The  Beantiful  Land,"  and  was 
applied  to  this  magnificent  and  fruitful  region  by  its  ancient 
owners,  to  express  their  appreciation  of  its  superiority  of  climate, 
soil  and  location.  Prior  to  1803,  the  Mississippi  River  Avas  the 
extreme  western  boundary  of  the  United  States.  All  the  great 
empire  lying  west  of  the  "Father  of  Waters,"  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  on  the  south,  to  British  America  on  the  north,  and  west- 
ward to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  was  a  Spanish  province.  A  brief  his- 
torical sketch  of  the  discovery  and  occupation  of  this  great  em- 
pire by  the  Spanish  and  French  governments  will  be  a  fitting 
introduction  to  the  history  of  the  young  and  thriving  State  of 
Iowa,  which,  until  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  was 
a  part  of  the  Spanish  possessions  in  America. 

Early  in  the  Spring  of  1542,  Ferdinand  DeSoto  discovered  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River  at  the  mouth  of  the  Washita. 
After  the  sudden  death  of  DeSoto,  in  May,  of  the  same  year,  his 
followers  built  a  small  vessel,  and  in  July,  1543,  descended  the 
great  river  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

In  accordance  with  the  usage  of  nations,  under  which  title  to 
the  soil  was  claimed  by  right  of  discovery,  Spain,  having  con- 
quered Florida  and  discovered  the  Mississippi,  claimed  all  the  ter- 
ritory bordering  on  that  river  ajid  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  But  it 
was  also  held  by  the  European  nations  that,  while  discovery  gave 
title;  that  title  must  be  perfected  by  actual  possession  and  occupa- 
tion. Although  Spain  claimed  the  territory  by  right  of  first  dis- 
covery, she  mode  no  effort  to  occupy  it;  by  no  permanent  settle- 
ment had  she  perfected  and  held  her  title,  and  therefore  had  for- 
feited it  when,  at  a  later  period,  the  Lower  Mississippi  Valley 
was  re-discovered  and  occupiedby   France. 

The  labors  of  the  zealous  French  Jesuits  of  Canada  in  pene- 
trating the  unknown  region  of  the  West,  commencing  in  1611, 
form  a  history  of  no  ordinary  interest,  but  have  no  particular  con- 
nection with  the  scope  of  the  present  work,  until  in  the  fall  of  1G05. 
Pierre  Claude  Allouez,  who  had  entered  Lake  Superior  in  Septem- 
ber, and  sailed  along  the  southern  coast  in  search  of  copper,  had 
arrived  at  the  great  village  of  the  Chippewas  at  Chegoincegon. 
Here  a  grand  council  of  some  ten  or  twelve  of  the  principal  In- 
dian nations  was  held.  The  Pottawatomies  of  Lake  Michigan,  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes  of  the   West,  the  Hurons  from  the  North,  the 


10  HISTORY   OF   IOWA. 

Illinois  from  the  South,  and  the  Sioux  from  the  land  of  the  prairie 
and  wild  rice,  were  all  assembled  there.  The  Illinois  told  the 
story  of  their  ancient  glory,  and  about  the  noble  river  on  the 
banks  of  which  they  dwelt.  The  Sioux  also  told  their  white 
brother  of  the  same  great  river,  and  Allouez  promised  to  the  as- 
sembled tribes  the  protection  of  the  French  nation  against  all 
their  enemies,  native  or  foreign. 

The  purpose  of  discovering  the  great  river  about  which  the  In- 
dian nations  had  given  such  glowing  accounts,  appears  to  have 
originated  with  Marquette,  in  1669.  In  the  year  previous,  he  and 
Claude  Dablon  had  established  the  Mission  of  St.  Mary's,  the 
oldest  white  settlement  within  the  present  limits  of  the  State  of 
Michigan.  Marquette  was  delayed  in  the  execution  of  his  great 
undertaking,  and  spent  the  interval  in  studying  the  language  and 
habits  of  the  Illinois  Indians,  among  whom  he  expected  to  travel. 

About  this  time  the  French  government  had  determined  to  ex- 
tend the  Dominion  of  France  to  the  extreme  Avestern  borders  of 
Canada.  Nicholas  Perrot  was  sent  as  the  agent  of  the  govern- 
ment to  propose  a  grand  council  of  the  Indian  nations,  at  St. 
Mary's. 

When  Perrot  reached  Green  Bay,  he  extended  the  invitation 
far  and  near;  and,  escorted  by  Pottawatomies,  repaired  on  a 
mission  of  peace  and  friendship  to  the  Miamis,  who  occupied  the 
region  about  the  present  location  of  Chicago. 

In  May,  1671,  a  great  council  of  Indians  gathered  at  the  Falls 
of  St.  Mary,  from  all  parts  of  the  northwest,  from  the  head  waters 
of  the  St  Lawrence,  from  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  from  the 
Red  River  of  the  North.  Perrot  met  with  them,  and  after  grave  con- 
sultation, formally  announced  to  the  assembled  nations  that  their 
good  French  Father  felt  an  abiding  interest  in  their  welfare,  and 
had  placed  them  all  under  the  powerful  protection  of  the  French 
Government. 

Marquette,  during  that  same  year  had  gathered  at  Point  St. 
Ignace  the  remnants  of  one  branch  of  the  Hurons.  This  station, 
for  a  long  series  of  years,  was  considered  the  key  to  the  unknown 
West. 

The  time  was  now  auspicious  for  the  consummation  of  Mar- 
quette's grand  pi'oject.  The  successful  termination  of  Perrot's 
mission,  and  the  general  friendliness  of  the  native  tribes,  rendered 
the  contemplated  expedition  much  less  perilous.  But  it  was  not 
until  1073  that  the  intrepid  and  enthusiastic  priest  was  finally 
ready  to  depart  on  his  daring  and  perilous  journey  to  lands  never 
trod  by  white  men.  Having  imploring  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
his  undertaking,  on  the  13th  day  of  May,  1673,  with  Joliet  and 
five  Canadian-French  voyageurs,  or  boatmen,  he  left  the  mission 
on  his  daring  journey.  Ascending  Green  Bay  and  Fox  River, 
these  bold  and  enthusiastic  pioneers  of  religion  and  discovery  pro- 
ceeded until  they  reached  a  Miami  and   Kickapoo  village,  where 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  11 

Marquette  was  delighted  to  fiud  a  "beautiful  cross  planted  in  the 
middle  of  the  town,  ornamented  with  white  skins,  red  girdles  and 
bows  and  arrows,  which  these  good  people  had  offered  to  the  Great 
Manitou,  or  God,  to  thank  Him  for  the  pity  He  had  bestowed  on 
them  during  the  winter,  in  having  given  them  abundant  chase." 
This  was  the  extreme  point  beyond  which  the  explorations  of  the 
French  missionaries  had  not  then  extended.  He  called  together 
the  principal  men  of  the  village,  and  informed  them  that  his 
companion,  Joliet,  had  been  sent  by  the  French  Governor  of 
Canada  to  discover  new  countries,  to  be  added  to  the  dominion_  of 
France;  but  that  he,  himself,  had  been  sent  by  the  Most  High 
God,  to  carry  the  glorious  religion  of  the  Cross;  and  assured  his 
wondering  hearers  that  on  this  mission  he  had  no  fear  of  death,  to 
which  he  knew  he  would  be  exposed  on  his  perilous  journey. 

Obtaining  the  services  of  two  Miami  guides,  to  conduct  his 
little  band  to  the  Wisconsin  River,  he  left  the  hospitable  Indians 
on  the  10th  of  June.  Conducting  them  across  the  portage,  their 
Indian  guides  returned  to  their  village,  and  the  little  party  de- 
scended the  Wisconsin,  to  the  great  river  which  had  so  long  been 
so  anxiously  looked  for,  and  boldly  floated  down  its  unknown 
waters. 

On  the  25tli  of  June,  the  explorers  discovered  indications  of  In- 
dians on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  and  landed  a  little  above  the 
mouth  of  the  river  now  known  as  Des  Moines,  and  for  the  first 
time  Europeans  trod  the  soil  of  Iowa.  Leaving  the  Canadians  to 
guard  the  canoe,  Marquette  and  Joliet  boldly  followed  the  trail  in- 
to the  Ulterior  for  fourteen  miles  (some  authorities  say  six),  to  an 
Indian  village  situated  on  the  banks  of  a  river,  and  discovered 
two  other  villages,  on  the  rising  ground  about  half  a  league  dis- 
tant. Their  visit,  while  it  created  much  astonishment,  did  not 
seem  to  be  entirely  unexpected,  for  there  was  a  tradition  or 
prophecy  among  the  Indians  that  white  visitors  were  to  come 
to  them.  They  were,  therefore,  received  with  great  respect  and 
hospitality,  and  were  cordially  tendered  the  calumet  or  pipe  oi 
peace.  They  were  informed  that  this  band  was  a  part  of  the  [Uini 
nation,  and  that  their  village  was  called  Monin-gou-ma  or  Moin- 
gona,  which  was  the  name  of  the  river  on  which  it  stood.  This, 
from  its  similarity  of  sound,  Marquette  corrupted  into  Des  Moines 
(Monk's  River),  its  present  name. 

Here  the  voyagers  remained  six  days,  learning  much  of  the 
manners  and  customs  of  their  new  friends.  The  new  religion 
they  boldly  preached,  and  the  authority  of  the  King  of  France 
they  proclaimed  were  received  without  hostility  or  remonstrance 
by  their  savage  entertainers.  On  their  departure,  they  were  ac- 
companied to  their  canoes  by  the  chiefs  and  hundreds  of  warriors. 
Marquette  received  from  them  the  sacred  calumet,  the  emblem  of 
peace  and  safeguard  among  the  nations,  and  re-embarked  for  the 
rest  of  his  journey. 


12  HISTORY    OF    IOWA. 

In  1682,  LaSalle  descended  the  Missisippi  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  France  took  formal  possession  of 
all  the  immense  region  watered  b}^  the  great  river  and  its  tributa- 
ries from  its  source  to  its  mouth,  and  named  it  Louisiana,  in  honor 
of  his  master,  Louis  XIV.  At  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, France  claimed,  by  right  of  discovery  and  occupancy,  the 
whole  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  including  Texas, 
as  far  as  the  Rio  del  Norte. 

In  1719,  Phillipe  Francis  Renault  arrived  in  Illinois  with  two 
hundred  miners  and  artisans.  The  war  between  France  and  Spain 
at  this  time  rendered  it  extremely  probable  that  the  Mississippi 
Valley  might  become  the  theater  of  Spanish  hostilities  against  the 
French  settlements;  to  prevent  this,  as  well  as  to  extend  French 
claims,  a  chain  of  forts  was  begun,  to  keep  open  the  connection 
between  the  mouth  and  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi.  Fort  Or- 
leans, high  up  the  Mississippi  River,  was  built  as  an  outpost  in  1720. 

The  Mississippi  scheme  was  at  the  zenith  of  its  power  and 
glory  in  January,  1720,  but  the  gigantic  bubble  collapsed  more 
suddenly  than  it  had  been  inflated,  and  the  Company  was  de- 
clared hopelessly  bankrupt  in  May  following.  France  was  impov- 
erished by  it,  both  private  and  public  credit  was  overthrown,  capital- 
ists suddenly  found  themselves  paupers,  and  labor  was  left  without 
employment.     The  effect  on  the  colony  of  Louisiana  was  disastrous. 

While  this  was  going  on  in  Lower  Louisiana  the  region  about 
the  lakes  was  the  theater  of  Indian  hostilities,  rendering  the 
passage  from  Canada  to  Louisiana  extremely  dangerous  for  many 
years.  The  English  had  not  only  extended  their  Indian  trade  in- 
to the  vicinity  of  the  French  settlements,  but  through  their 
friends,  the  Iroquois,  had  gained  a  marked  ascendancy  over  the 
Foxes,  a  fierce  and  powerful  tribe,  of  Iroquois  descent,  whom 
they  incited  to  hostilities  against  the  French.  The  Foxes  began 
their  hostilities  with  the  siege  of  Detroit,  in  1712,  a  siege  which 
continued  for  nineteen  consecutive  days,  and  although  the  expe- 
dition resulted  in  diminishing  their  numbers  and  humbling  their 
pride,  yet  it  was  not  until  after  several  successive  campaigns,  em- 
bodying the  best  military  resources  of  ^ew  France,  had  been 
directed  against  them,  that  they  were  finally  defeated  at  the  great 
battles  of  Butte  des  Morts,  and  on  the  Wisconsin  river,  and  driven 
west  in  171G. 

The  Company,  having  found  that  the  cost  of  defending  Louisi- 
ana exceeded  the  returns  from  its  commerce,  solicited  leave  to  sur- 
render the  Mississippi  wilderness  to  the  home  government.  Ac- 
cordingly, on  the  10th  of  April,  1732,  the  jurisdiction  and  control 
over  the  commerce  reverted  to  the  Crown  of  France.  The  Com- 
pany had  held  possession  of  Louisiana  fourteen  years.  In  1735, 
Bienville  returned  to  assume  command  for  the  King. 

A  glance  at  a  few  of  the  old  French  settlements  will  show  the 
progress  made  in  portions  of  Louisiana  during  the  early  part  of 


HISTOKY    OF    IOWA.  13 

the  eighteenth  century.  As  early  as  1705,  traders  and  hunters  had 
penetrated  the  fertile  regions  of  the  Wabash,  and  from  this  re- 
gion, at  that  early  date,  fifteen  thousand  hides  and  skins  had  been 
collected  and  sent  to  Mobile  for  the  European  market. 

In  the  year  1716,  the  French  population  on  the  Wabash  kept 
up  a  lucrative  commerce  with  Mobile  by  means  of  traders  and 
Yoyageurs.     The  Ohio  river  was  comparatively  unknown. 

In  1716,  agriculture  on  the  Wabash  had  attained  to  greater 
prosperity  than  in  any  of  the  French  settlements  besides,  and  in  that 
year  six  hundred  barrels  of  flour  were  manufactured  and  shipped 
to  New  Orleans,  together  with  considerable  quantities  of  hay,  pel- 
try, tallow  and  beeswax. 

In  the  Illinois  country,  also,  considerable  settlements  had  been 
made,  so  that,  in  1730,  they  embraced  one  hundred  and  forty 
French  families,  about  six  hundred  '"converted  Indians,"  and  many 
traders  and  vovageurs. 

In  1753,  the  first  actual  conflict  arose  between  Louisiana  and 
the  Atlantic  colonies.  From  the  earliest  advent  of  the  Jesuit 
fathers,  up  to  the  period  of  which  we  speak,  the  great  ambition 
of  the  French  had  been,  not  alone  to  preserve  their  possessions  in 
the  West,  but  by  every  possible  means  to  prevent  the  slightest  at- 
tempt of  the  English,  east  of  the  mountains,  to  extend  their  set- 
tlements towards  the  Mississippi.  France  AA^as  resolved  on  retain- 
ing possession  of  the  great  territory  Avhich  her  missionaries  had 
discovered  and  revealed  to  the  world.  French  commandants  had 
avowed  their  intention  of  seizing  every  Englishman  Avithin  the 
Ohio  Valley. 

The  colonies  of  Pennsylvania,  Ncav  York  and  Virginia  were 
most  aff'ected  by  the  encroachments  of  France  in  the  extension  of 
her  dominion;  and  particularly  in  the  great  scheme  of  uniting 
Canada  Avith  Louisiana.  To  carry  out  this  purpose  the  French 
had  taken  possession  of  a  tract  of  country  claimed  by  Virginia, 
and  had  commenced  a  line  of  forts  extending  from  the  lakes  to  the 
Ohio  River.  Virginia  Avas  not  only  alive  to  her  OAvn  interests, 
but  attentive  to  the  vast  importance  of  an  immediate  and  effectual 
resistance  on  the  part  of  all  the  English  colonies  to  (he  actual 
and  contemplated  encroachments  of  the  French. 

In  1753,  Governor  Dinwiddle,  of  Virginia,  sent  George  Wash- 
ington, then  a  young  man  just  tAventy-one,  to  demand  of  the 
French  commandant  "a  reason  for  invading  British  dominions 
Avhile  a  solid  peace  subsisted."  Washington  met  the  French  com- 
mandant, Gardeur  de  St. 'Pierre,  on  the  head  Avaters  of  the  Alle- 
ghany, and  having  communicated  to  him  the  object  of  his  jour- 
ney, received  the  insolent  ansAver  that  the  French  would  not  dis- 
cuss the  matter  of  right,  but  would  make  prisoners  of  every 
Englishman  found  trading  on  the  Ohio  and  its  waters.  The  coun- 
try, he  said,  belonged  to  the  French,  by  virtue  of  the  discoveries 
of  LaSalle,  and  they  would  not  AvithdraAv  from  it. 


14  HISTORY    OF   IO\VA. 

In  January,  1754,  Washington  returned  to  Virginia,  and  made 
his  report  to  the  Governor  and  Council.  Forces  were  at  once 
raised,  and  Washington,  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  was  dispatched  at 
the  head  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  to  the  forks  of  the  Ohio^ 
with  orders  to  "finish  the  fort  already  begun  there  hy  the  Ohio 
Company,  and  to  make  prisoners,  kill  or  destroy  all  who  inter- 
rupted the  English  settlements.'" 

On  his  march  through  the  forests  of  Western  Pennsylvania, 
Washington,  through  the  aid  of  friendly  Indians,  discovered  the 
French  concealed  among  the  rocks,  and  as  they  ran  to  seize  their 
arms,  ordered  his  men  to  fire  upon  them,  at  the  same  time,  with  his 
own  musket,  setting  the  example.  An  action  lasting  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  ensued;  ten  of  the  Frenchmen  were  killed, 
among  them  Jumonville,  the  commander  of  the  party,  and  twenty- 
one  were  made  prisoners.  The  dead  were  scalped  by  the  Indians, 
and  the  chief,  bearing  a  tomahawk  and  a  scalp,  visited  all  the 
tribes  of  the  Miamis,  urging  them  to  join  the  Six  Nations  and 
the  English  against  the  French.  The  French,  however,  were  soon 
re-enforced  and  Col.  Washington  was  compelled  to  return  to  Fort 
Necessity.  Here,  on  the  3d  day  of  July,  De  Villiers  invested  the 
fort  with  600  French  troops  and  100  Indians.  On  the  4th,  Wash- 
ington accepted  terms  of  capitulation  and  the  English  garrison 
Avithdrew  from  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 

This  attack  of  Washington  upon  Jumonville  aroused  the  indig- 
nation of  France,  and  war  was  formally  declared  in  May,  1756, 
and  the  "French  and  Indian  War"  devastated  the  colonies  for 
several  years.  Montreal,  Detroit,  and  all  Canada  Avere  surrendered 
to  the  English,  and  on  the  10th  of  February,  1763,  by  the  treaty 
of  Paris — which  had  been  signed,  though  not  formally  ratified  by 
the  respective  governments,  on  the  3d  of  November,  1762 — France 
relinquished  to  great  Great  Britain  all  that  portion  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Louisiana  lying  oa  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  except 
the  island  and  town  of  New  Orleans.  On  the  same  day  that  the 
treaty  of  Paris  v/as  signed,  France,  by  a  secret  treaty,  ceded  to 
Spain  all  her  possessions  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  includ- 
ing the  whole  country  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Great  River, 
and  west  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  jurisdiction  of 
France  in  America,  which  had  lasted  nearly  a  century,  was 
ended. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  by  the  treaty  of  peace 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  the  English  Govern- 
ment ceded  to  the  latter  all  the  territory  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  and  north  of  the  thirty-first  parallel  of  north 
latitude.  At  the  same  time.  Great  Britain  ceded  to  Spain  all  the 
Floridas,  comprising  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Missisjipi  and 
south  of  the  southern  limits  of  the  United  States. 

At  this  time,  therefore,  the  present  State  of  Iowa  was  a  part  of 
the  Spanish  possessions  in  North  America,  as  all  the  territory  west 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  15 

of  the  Mississippi  River  Avas  under  the  dominiou  of  Spain.  That 
government  also  possessed  all  the  territory  of  the  Floridas  east  of 
the  great  river  and  south  of  the  thirty-first  parallel  of  north  lati- 
tude. The  Mississippi,  therefore,  so  essential  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  western  portion  of  the  United  States,  for  the  last  three  hun- 
dred miles  of  its  course  flowed  wholly  within  the  Spanish  do- 
minions, and  that  government  claimed  the  exclusive  right  to 
use  and  control  it  below  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United 
States. 

The  free  navigation  of  the   Mississippi  was  a  very  nuportant 

.  question  during  all  the  time  that  Louisiana  remained  a  dependency  of 

the  Spanish  Crown,  and  as  the  final  settlement  intimately  affected 

the  status  of  the  then  future  State  of  Iowa,  it  will  be  interesting 

to  trace  its  progress. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  occupied  and  exercised  juris- 
diction over  the  entire  eastern  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  embrac- 
ing all  the  country  drained  by  its  eastern  tributaries;  they  had  a 
natural  right,  according  to  the  accepted  international  law,  to  fol- 
low these  rivers  to  the  sea,  and  to  the  use  of  the  Mississippi  River 
accordingly,  as  the  great  natural  channel  of  commerce.  The  river 
was  not  only  necessary  but  absolutely  indispensable  to  the  pros- 
perity and  growth  of  the  western  settlements  then  rapidly  rising 
into  commercial  and  political  importance.  They  were  situated  in 
the  heart  of  the  great  valley,  and  with  wonderful  expansive  ener- 
gies and  accumulating  resources,  it  Avas  very  evident  that  no  power 
on  earth  could  deprive  them  of  the  free  use  of  the  river  below 
them,  only  Avhile  their  numbers  Avere  insufficient  to  enable  them 
to  maintain  their  right  by  force.  Inevitably,  therefore,  immedi- 
ately after  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  1785,  the  Western 
people  began  to  demand  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi — - 
not  as  a  favor,  but  as  a  right.  In  1786,  both  banks  of  the  river, 
beloAv  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  were  occupied  by  Spain,  and  mili- 
tary posts  on  the  east  bank  enforced  her  power  to  exact  heavy  du- 
ties on  all  imports  by  Avay  of  the  river  for  the  Ohio  region.  Every 
boat  descending  he  river  was  forced  to  Jand  and  submit  tO  the 
arbitrary  revenue  exactions  of  the  Spanish  authorities.  Under  the 
administration  of  Governor  Miro,  these  rigorous  exactions  Avere 
someAvhat  relaxed  from  1787  to  17U0;  but  Spain  held  it  as  her 
right  to  make  them.  Taking  advantage  of  the  claim  of  the 
American  people,  that  the  Mississippi  should  be  opened  to  them, 
in  1791,  the  Spanish  Government  concocted  a  scheme  for  the  dis- 
membership  of  the  Union.  The  plan  was  to  induce  the  Western 
people  to  separate  from  the  Eastern  States  by  liberal  land  grants 
and  extraordinary  commercial  privileges. 

Spanish  emissaries,  among  the  people  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky, 
informed  them  that  the  Spanish  Government  would  grant 
them  favorable  commercial  privileges,  provided  they  would  secede 
from  the  Federal  Government  east  of  the  mountains.     The  Span- 


16  HISTORY   OF   IOWA. 

isli  Minister  to  the  United  States  plainly  declared  to  his  confiden- 
tial correspondent  that,  unless  the  Western  people  would  declare 
their  independence  and  refuse  to  remain  in  the  Union,  Spain 
was  determined  never  to  grant  the  free  navigation  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. 

By  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  October  20, 1795,  however,  Spain  form- 
ally "stipulated  that  the  Mississippi  Kiver,  from  its  source  to  the 
Gulf,  for  its  entire  width,  should  be  free  to  American  trade  and 
commerce,  and  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  should  be 
permitted  for  three  years  to  use  the  port  of  New  Orleans  as  a 
port  of  deposit  for  their  merchandise  and  produce,  duty  free. 

In  November,  1801,  the  United  States  Government  received, 
through  Ivufus  King,  its  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  a 
copy  of  the  treaty  between  Spain  and  France,  signed  at  Madrid, 
March  21,  1801,  by  which  the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  France, 
made  the  previous  autumn,  was  confirmed. 

The  change  offered  a  favorable  opportunity  to  secure  the  just 
rights  of  the  United  States,  in  relation  to  the  free  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  ended  the  attempt  to  dismember  the  Union  by 
an  effort  to  secure  an  independent  goverment  west  of  the  AUeghan}^ 
Mountains.  On  the  7th  day  of  January,  1803,  the  American 
House  of  Representatives  adopted  a  resolution  declaring  their  ''un- 
alterable determination  to  maintain  the  boundaries  and  the  rights 
of  navigation  and  commerce  through  the  River  Mississippi  as 
established  by  existing  treaties." 

In  the  same  month.  President  Jefferson  nominated  and  the  Sen- 
ate confirmed  Robert  R.  Livingston  and  James  Monroe  as  Envoys 
Plenipotentiary  to  the  Court  of  France,  and  Charles  Pinckney  and 
James  Monroe  to  the  Court  of  Spain,  with  plenary  power  to  ne- 
gotiate treaties  to  efiect  the  object  enunciated  by  the  popular 
branch  of  the  National  Legislature.  These  envoyis  were  instructed 
to  s'^cure,  if  possible,  the  cession  of  Florida  and  New  Orleans,  but 
it  does  not  appear  that  Mr.  Jefferson  and  his  cabinet  had  any  idea 
of  purchasing  that  part  of  Louisiana  lying  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mississippi.  In  fact,  on  the  2d  of  March  following,  the  instructions 
were  sent  to  our  Ministers,  containing  a  plan  which  expressly  left 
to  France  ''all  her  territory  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi." 
Had  these  instructions  been  followed,  it  might  have  been  that 
there  would  not  have  been  any  State  of  Iowa  or  any  other  mem- 
ber of  the  glorious  Union  of  States  west  of  the  "Father  of 
Waters." 

In  obedience  to  his  instructions,  however,  Mr.  Livingston 
broached  this  plan  to  M.  Talleyrand,  Napoleon's  Prime  Minister, 
when  that  courtly  diplomatist  quietly  suggested  to  the  American 
Minister  that  France  might  be  willing  to  cede  the  ivhoh  French 
domain  in  North  America  to  the  United  States,  and  asked  hoAv 
much  the  Federal  Government  would  be  willing  to  give  for  it. 
Livingston  intima'^ed  that  twenty  million^  of  francs    might  be  a 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  17 

fair  price.  Talleyrand  thoiiglit  that  not  enough,  but  asked  the 
Americans  to  "think  o£  it."  A  few  days  later,  Napoleon,  in  an 
interview  with  Mr.  Livingston,  in  effect  informed  the  American 
Envoy  that  he  had  secured  Louisiana  in  a  contract  with  Spain  for 
the  purpose  of  turning  it  over  to  the  United  States  for  a  mere 
nominal  sum.  He  had  been  compelled  to  provide  for  the  safety 
of  that  province  by  the  treaty,  and  he  was  "anxious  to  give  the 
United  States  a  magniticent  bargain  for  a  mere  tritie."  The  price 
proposed  was  one  hundred  and  twenty^-five  million  francs.  This 
was  subsequently  modified  to  fifteen  million  dollars,  and  on  this 
basis  a  treaty  was  negotiated,  and  was  signed  on  the  30tli  day  of 
April,  1803. 

This  treaty  was  ratified  by  the  Federal  Government,  and  by  act 
of  Congress,  approved  October  31,  1803,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  was  authorized  to  take  possession  of  the  territory 
and  provide  for  a  temporary  government.  Accordingly,  on  the 
20th  day  of  September  following,  on  behalf  of  the  President, 
Gov.  Clairborne  and  Gen.  Wilkinson  took  possession  of  the  Louisi- 
ana purchase,  and  raised  the  American  flag  over  the  newly  ac- 
quired domain,  at  New  Orleans.  Spain,  although  it  had  by 
treaty  ceded  the  province  to  France  in  1801,  still  held  quasi  pos- 
session and  at  first  objected  to  the  transfer,  but  withdrew  her  op- 
position early  in  1804. 

By  this  treaty,  thus  successfully  consummated,  and  the  peace- 
able withdrawal  of  Spain,  the  then  infant  nation  of  the  New 
World  extended  its  dominion  west  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean,  and  north  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  British 
America. 

If  the  original  design  of  Jefferson's  administration  had  been 
accomplished,  the  United  States  would  have  acquired  only  that 
portion  of  the  French  territory  lying  east  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
and  while  the  American  people  would  thus  have  acquired  the  free 
navigation  of  that  great  river,  all  of  the  vast  and  fertile  empire 
on  the  west,  so  rich  in  its  agricultural  and  inexhaustible  mineral 
resources,  would  have  remained  under  the  domiou  of  a  foreign 
power.  To  Napoleon's  desire  to  sell  the  whole  of  his  North 
American  possessions,  and  Livingston's  act  transcending  his  in- 
structions, which  was  acquiesced  in  after  it  was  done,  does  Iowa 
owe  her  position  as  a  part  of  the  United  States  by  the  Louisiana 
purchase. 

By  authority  of  an  act  of  Congress,  approved  March  26,  1801, 
the  newly  acquired  territory  was,  on  the  1st  day  of  October  fol- 
lowing, divided:  that  part  lying  south  of  the  33d  parallel  of 
north  latitude  was  called  the  Territory  of  Orleans,  and  all  north 
of  that  parallel  the  District  of  Louisiana,  which  was  placed  under 
the  authority  of  the  officers  of  Indiana  Territory,  until  July  4, 
1805,  when  it  was  organized  with  territorial  government  of  its 
own,  and  so  remained  until  1812,  when  the  Territory  of  Orleans 


18  HISTOEY    OF    IOWA. 

became  the  State  o£  Louisiana,  and  the  name  o£  the  Territory  of 
Louisiana  was  changed  to  Missouri.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1814, 
that  part  of  the  Missouri  Territory  comprising  the  present  State 
of  Arkansas,  and  the  country  to  the  Avestward  was  organized  into 
the  Arkansas  Territory. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  1821,  the  State  of  Misssouri.  being  a  part 
of  the  territory  of  that  name,  was  admitted  to  the  Union.  June 
28,  1834,  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  north  of 
Missouri,  was  made  a  part  of  the  territory  of  Michigan;  but  two 
years  later,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1830,  Wisconsin  Territory  was 
erected,  embracing  within  its  limits  the  present  States  of  Iowa, 
Wisconsin  and  Minnesota. 

By  act  of  Congress,  approved  June  12,  1838,  the 

TERRITORY   OF   IOWA 

Avas  erected,  comprising,  in  addition  to  the  present  State,  much 
the  larger  part  of  Minnesota,  and  extending  north  to  the  bound- 
ary of  the  British  possession^. 

THE   0RIGI2S^AL    OWXERS. 

Having  traced  the  early  history  of  the  great  empire  lying  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  of  which  the  State  of  Iowa  constitutes  a  part,, 
from  the  earliest  discovery  to  the  organization  of  the  Territory  of 
Iowa,  it  becomes  necessary  to  give  some  history  of  the  Indians  of 
Iowa. 

According  to  the  policy  of  the  European  nations,  possession 
perfected  title  to  any  territory.  We  have  seen  that  the  country 
west  of  the  Mississippi  was  first  discovered  by  the  Spaniards,  but 
afterward,  was  visited  and  occupied  by  the  French.  It  was  ceded 
by  France  to  Spain,  and  by  Spain  back  to  France  again,  and  then 
was  purchased  and  occupied  by  the  United  States.  During  all  that 
time,  it  does  not  appear  to  have  entered  into  the  heads  or  hearts 
of  the  high  contracting  parties  that  the  country  they  bought,  sold 
and  gave  away  was  in  the  possession  of  a  race  of  men  who,  al- 
though savage,  owned  the  vast  domain  before  Columbus  first 
crossed  the  Atlantic.  Having  purchased  the  territory,  the  United 
States  found  it  still  in  possession  of  its  original  OAVuers,  who  had 
never  been  dispossessed;  and  it  became  necessary  to  purchase  again 
Avhat  had  already  been  bought  before,  or  forcibly  eject  the  occu- 
pants; therefore,  the  history  of  the  Indian  nations  who  occupied 
Iowa  prior  to  and  during  its  early  settlement  by  the  whites,  be- 
comes an  important  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  State,  that  can- 
not be  omitted. 

For  more  than  one  hundred  years  after  Marquette  and  Joliet 
trod  the  virgin  soil  of  Iowa,  not  a  single  settlement  had  been 
made  or  attempted;  not  even  a  trading  post  had  been  established. 
The  whole  country  remained  in  the  undisputed  possession  of  the 
native  tribes,  who  roamed  at  will  over  her  beautiful  and  fertile 
prairies,   hunted  in  her  woods,  fished  in  her  streams,  and  often 


HISTORY   OF  IOWA.  19 

poured  out  their  life-blood  in  obstinately  contested  contests  for 
supremacy.  That  this  State  so  aptly  styled  "The  Beautiful 
Land,"  had  been  the  theater  of  numerous  fierce  and  bloody 
stru^^les  between  rival  nations,  for  possession  of  the  favored  re- 
gion, long  before  its  settlement  by  civilized  man,  there  is  no  room 
for  doubt.  In  these  savage  wars,  the  weaker  party,  whether  ag- 
gressive or  defensive,  was  either  exterminated  or  driven  from  their 
■ancient  hunting  grounds. 

In  1673,  Avhen  Marquette  discovered  Iowa,  the  Illini  were  a  very 
powerful  people,  occupying  a  large  portion  of  the  State,  but  when 
the  country  was  again  visited  by  the  whites,  not  a  remnant  of  that 
once  powerful  tribe  remained  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  Iowa  was  principally  in  the  possession  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes, 
a  war-like  tribe  which,  originally  two  distinct  nations,  residing  in 
New  York  and  on  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  had  gradually 
fought  their  way  westward,  and  united,  probably,  after  the  Foxes 
had  been  driven  out  of  the  Fox  River  country,  in  1816,  and  crossed 
the  Mississippi.  The  death  of  Pontiac,  a  famous  Sac  chieftain, 
Avas  made  the  pretext  for  war  against  the  Illini,  and  a  fierce  and 
bloody  struggle  ensued,  which  continued  until  the  Illinois  were 
nearly  destroyed  and  their  hunting  grounds  possessed  by  their 
victorious  foes.  The  lowas  also  occupied  a  portion  of  the  State 
for  a  time,  in  common  with  the  Sacs,  but  they,  too,  were  nearly 
destroyed  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and,  in  "The  Beautiful  Land," 
these  natives  met  their  equally  war-like  foes,  the  Northern  Sioux, 
with  whom  they  maintained  a  constant  warfare  for  the  possession 
of  the  country  for  many  years. 

When  the  United  States  came  in  possession  of  the  great  valley 
of  the  Mississippi,  by  the  Louisiana  purchase,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
and  lowas  possessed  the  entire  territory,  now  comprising  the  State 
of  Iowa.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  also,  occupied  the  most  of  the 
State  of  Illinois. 

The  Sacs  had  four  principal  villages,  Avhere  most  of  them  re- 
sided, viz.:  Their  largest  and  most  important  town — if  an  Indian 
village  may  be  called  such — and  from  which  emanated  most  of  the 
obstacles  and  difficulties  encountered  by  the  Government  in  the 
extinguishment  of  Indian  titles  to  land  in  this  region,  was  on 
Rock  River,  near  Rock  Island;  another  was  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  Mississippi,  near  the  mouth  of  Henderson  River;  the  third 
was  at  the  head  of  the  Des  Moines  Rapids,  near  the  present  site 
of  Montrose,  and  the  fourth  was  near  the  mouth  of  the  Upper 
Iowa. 

The  Foxes  had  three  principal  villages,  viz.:  One  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Mississippi,  six  miles  above  the  rapids  of  Rock  River; 
another  about  twelve  miles  from  the  river,  in  the  rear  of  the 
Dubuque  lead  mines,  and  the  third  on  Turkey  River. 

The  lowas,  at  one  time  identified  with  the  Sacs,  of  Rock  River, 
had  withdrawn  from  them  and  become    a   separate   tribe.     Their 


20  HISTORY   OF    IOWA.  * 

principal  village  was  on  the  Des  Moines  River,  in  Van  Buren 
County,  on  the  site  where  lowaville  now  stands.  Here  the  last 
great  battle  between  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  and  the  lowas  was  fought, 
in  which  Black  Hawk,  then  a  young  man,  commanded  one  divi&ion 
of  the  attacking  forces. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  prior  to  the  settlement  of  their  village  on 
Rock  River,  had  a  fierce  conflict  with  the  Winnebagoes,  subdued 
them  and  took  possession  of  their  lands.  Their  village  on  Rock 
River,  at  one  time,  contained  upward  of  sixty  lodges,  and  was 
among  the  largest  Indian  villages  on  the  continent.  In  1825,  the 
Secretary  of  War  estimated  tJie  entire  number  of  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  at  4,600  souls.  Their  village  Avas  situated  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  upper  rapids  of  the  Mississippi,  where  the  beautiful 
and  flourishing  towns  of  Rock  Island  and  Davenport  are  now  situ- 
ated. The  beautiful  scenery  of  the  island,  the  extensive  prairies, 
dotted  over  with  groves;  the  picturesque  bluff's  along  the  river 
banks,  the  rich  and  fertile  soil,  producing  large  crops  of  corn, 
squash  and  other  vegetables,  with  little  labor;  the  abundance  of 
wild  fruit,  game,  fish,  and  almost  everything  calculated  to  make 
it  a  delightful  spot  spot  for  an  Indian  village,  which  was  found 
tiiere,  had  made  this  place  a  favorite  home  of  the  Sacs,  and  se- 
cured for  it  the  strong  attachment  and  veneration  of  the  whole 
nation. 

North  of  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  were  those 
of  the  Sioux,  a  fierce  and  warlike  nation,  who  often  disputed  pos- 
session with  their  rivals  in  savage  and  bloody  warfare.  The  pos- 
sessions of  these  tribes  were  mostly  located  in  Minnesota,  but  ex- 
tended over  a  portion  of  Northern  and  Western  Iowa  to  the  Mis- 
souri River.  Their  descent  from  the  north  upon  the  hunting 
grounds  of  Iowa  frequently  brought  them  into  collision  with  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes;  and  after  many  a  conflict  and  bloody  struggle,  a 
boundary  line  was  established  between  them  by  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  in  a  treaty  held  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  in  1825. 
But  this,  instead  of  settling  the  difficulties,  caused  them  to  quar- 
rel all  the  more,  in  consequence  of  alleged  trespasses  upon  each 
other's  side  of  the  line.  These  contests  were  kept  up  and  became 
so  unrelenting  that,  in  1830,  Grovernment  bought  of  the  respective 
tribes  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  the  Sioux,  a  strip  of  land  twenty 
miles  in  width,  on  both  sides  of  the  line,  and  thus  throwing  them 
forty  miles  apart  by  creating  between  them  a  "neutral  ground," 
commanded  them  to  cease  their  hostilities.  Both  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  and  the  Sioux,  however,  were  allowed  to  fish  and  hunt  on 
this  ground  unmolested,  provided  they  did  not  interfere  with  each 
other  on  the  United  States  territory.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes  and  the 
Sioux  Avere  deadly  enemies,  and  neither  let  an  opportunity  to  pun- 
ish the  other  pass  unimproved. 

In  April,  1852,  a  fight  occurred  between  the  Musquaka  band  of 
Sacs  and  Foxes  and  a  band  of  Sioux,   about   six  miles  above  Al- 


HISTOHY    OF    IOWA.  21 

gona,  in  Kossuth  County,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Des  Moines 
Kiver.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes  were  under  the  leadership  Ko-ko-wah, 
a  subordinate  chief,  and  had  gone  up  from  their  home  in  Tama 
County,  by  way  of  Clear  Lake,  to  what  was  then  tlie  "neutral 
ground."  At  Clear  Lake,  Ko-ko-wah  was  informed  that  a  party 
of  Sioux  were  encamped  on  the  west  side  of  the  East  Fork  of  the 
Des  Moines,  and  he  determined  to  attack  them.  With  sixty  of 
his  warriors,  he  started  and  arrived  at  a  point  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  about" a  mile  above  the  Sioux  encampment,  in  the  night, 
and  concealed  themselves  in  a  grove,  where  they  were  able  to  dis- 
cover the  position  and  strength  of  their  hereditary  foes.  The 
next  morning,  after  many  of  the  Sioux  braves  had  left  their  camp 
on  hunting  tours,  the  vindictive  Sacs  and  Foxes  crossed  the  river 
and  suddenly  attacked  the  camp.  The  conflict  was  desperate  for  a 
short  time,  but  the  advantage  was  with  the  assailants,  and  the 
Sioux  were  routed.  Sixteen  of  them,  including  some  of  their 
Avomen  and  children,  were  killed,  and  a  boy  14  years  old  was  cap- 
tured. One  of  the  Musquakas  Avas  shot  in  the  breast  by  a  squaw 
as  they  were  rushing  into  the  Sioux's  camp.  He  started  to  run 
away,  when  the  same  brave  squaw  shot  him  through  the  body,  at  a 
distance  of  forty  rods,  and  he  fell  dead.  Three  other  Sac  braves 
Avere  killed.  But  few  of  the  Sioux  escaped.  The  victorious  party 
hurriedly  buried  their  OAvn  dead,  leaving  the  dead  Sioux  above 
ground,  and  made  their  way  home,  with  their  captive,  with  all 
possible  expedition. 

pike's  expedition. 

Very  soon  after  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  the  United  States 
Grovernment  adopted  measures  for  the  exploration  of  the  new  ter- 
ritory, having  in  vieAv  the  conciliation  of  the  numerous  tribes  of 
Indians  by  Avhom  it  was  possessed,  and,  also,  the  .selection  of 
proper  sites  for  the  establishment  of  military  posts  and  trading 
stations.  The  Army  of  the  West,  Gen.  James  Wilkinson,  com- 
manding, had  its  headquarters  at  St.  Louis.  From  this  post  Cap- 
tains LeAvis  and  Clarke,  with  a  suificient  force,  Avere  detailed  to  ex- 
plore the  unknown  sources  of  the  Missouri,  and  Lieut  Zebulon  M. 
Pike  to  ascend  to  the  head  Avaters  of  the  Mississippi.  Lieut.  Pike, 
with  one  Sergeant,  tAvo  Corporals  and  seventeen  privates,  left  the 
military  camp,  near  St.  Louis,  in  a  keel-boat,  with  four  month's 
rations,  on  the  9th  dav  of  August,  1805.  On  the  20th  of  the 
same  month,  the  expedition  arrived  Avithin  the  present  limit  of 
Towa,  at  the  foot  of  the  Des  Moines  Rapids,  where  Pike  met  Wil- 
liam EAving,  Avho  had  just  been  appointed  Indian  agent  at  this 
point,  a  French  interpreter  and  four  chiefs  and  fifteen  Sac  and 
Fox  warriors. 

At  the  head  of  the  rapids,  where  Montrose  is  now  situated. 
Pike  held  a  council  Avith  the  Indians,  in  which  he  addressed  them 
substantially  as  foUoAvs:     ''Your  great  Father,   the    President    of 


22  HISTORY   OF   IOWA. 

the  United  States,  wished  to  be  more  intimately  acquainted  with 
the  situation  and  wants  of  the  different  nations  of  red  people  in 
our  newly  acquired  territory  of  Louisiana,  and  has  ordered  the 
Oeneral  to  send  a  number  of  his  warriors  in  different  directiorfs  to 
take  them  by  the  hand  and  make  such  inquiries  as  might  afford  the 
satisfaction  required."  At  the  close  of  the  council  he  presented 
the  red  men  with  some  knives,  whisky  and  tobacco. 

Pursuing  his  way  up  the  river,  he  arrived,  on  the  23d  of  August, 
.at  what  is  supposed,  from  his  description,  to  be  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent city  of  Burlington,  which  he  selected  as  the  location  of  a  mili- 
tary post.  He  describes  the  place  as  being  "on  a  hill,  about  forty 
.miles  above  the  liiver  de  Moyne  Rapids,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
in  latitude  about  41  degrees  21  minutes  north.  The  channel  of 
the  river  runs  on  that  shore;  the  hill  in  front  is  about  sixty  feet 
perpendicular;  nearly  level  on  top;  four  hundred  yards  in  the  rear 
is  a  small  prairie  fit  for  gardening,  and  immediately  under  the  hill 
is  a  limestone  spring,  sufficient  for  the  consumption  of  a  whole 
regiment."  In  addition  to  this  description,  which  corresponds  to 
Burlington,  the  spot  is  laid  down  on  his  map  at  a  bend  in  the  river 
a  short  distance  below  the  mouth  of  the  Henderson,  which  pours 
its  waters  into  the  Mississippi  from  Illinois.  The  fort  was  built  at 
Fort  Madison,  but  from  the  distance,  latitude,  description  and  map 
furnished  by  Pike,  it  could  not  have  been  the  place  selected  by 
him,  while  all  the  circumstances  corroborate  the  opinion  that  the 
place  he  selected  was  the  spot  w^iere  Burlington  is  now  located, 
called  by  the  early  voyagers  on  the  Mississippi,  "Flint  Hills." 

On  the  21:th,  with  one  of  his  men,  he  went  on  shore  on  a  hunt- 
ing expedition,  and  following  a  stream  which  they  supposed  to  be 
a  part  of  the  Mississippi,  they  were  led  away  from  their  course. 
Owing  to  the  intense  heat  and  tall  grass,  his  two  favorite  dogs, 
which  he  had  taken  with  him,  became  exhausted  and  he  left  them 
on  the  prairie,  supposing  that  they  would  follow  him  as  soon  as 
they  should  get  rested,  and  went  on  to  overtake  his  boat.  Reach- 
ing the  river,  he  waited  some  time  for  his  canine  friends,  but  they 
did  not  come,  and  as  he  deemed  it  inexpedient  to  detain  the  boat 
longer,  two  of  his  men  volunteered  to  go  in  pursuit  of  them,  and 
he  continued  on  his  way  up  the  river,  expecting  that  the  two  men 
would  soon  overtake  him.  They  lost  their  way,  however,  and  for  six 
days  were  without  food,  except  a  few  morsels  gathered  from  the 
stream,  and  might  have  perished  had  they  not  accidentally  met  a 
trader  from  St.  Louis,  who  induced  two  Indians  to  take  them 
up  the  river,  and  they  overtook  the  boat  at  Dubuque. 

At  Dubuque,  Pike  was  cordially  received  by  Julien  Dubuque,  a 
Frenchman,  who  held  a  mining  claim  under  a  grant  from  Spain. 
Dubuque  had  an  old  field  piece  and  fired  a  salute  in  honor  of  the 
advent  of  the  first  Americans  who  had  visited  that  part  of  the 
Territory.     Dubuque,  however,  was  not  disposed  to  publish  the 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  23 

•wealtli  of  his  mines,  and  the  young  and  apparently  inquisitive 
.officer  could  obtain  but  little  information  from  him. 

After  leaving  this  place,  Pike  pursued  his  way  up  the  river,  but 
as  he  passed  beyond  the  limits  of  the  present  State  of  Iowa,  a 
■detailed  history  of  his  explorations  on  the  upper  water  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi more  properly  belongs  to  the  history  of  another  State. 

It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  on  the  site  of  Fort  Snelling,  Minne- 
sota, at  the  mouth  of  the  Minnesota  River,  Pike  held  a  council 
with  the  Sioux,  September  23,  and  obtained  from  them  a  grant  of 
one  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land.  On  the  8th  of  January,  1806, 
Pike  arrived  at  a  trading  post  belonging  to  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany, on  Lake  De  Sable,  in  latitude  47  °  .  At  this  time  the  then 
powerful  Northwest  Company  carried  on  their  immense  opera- 
tions from  Hudson's  Bay  to  the  St.  Lawrence;  up  that  river  on 
both  sides,  along  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  head  of  Lake  Superior, 
thence  to  the  sources  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  and  west  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  embracing  within  the  scope  of  their  opera- 
tions the  entire  Territory  of  Iowa.  After  successfully  accom- 
plishing his  mission,  and  performing  a  valuable  service  to  Iowa 
and  the  whole  Northwest,  Pike  returned  to  St.  Louis,  arriving 
there  on  the  30th  of  April,  180G. 

INDIAN  WARS. 

The  territory  of  Iowa,  although  it  had  been  purchased  by  the 
United  States,  and  was  ostensibly  in  the  possession  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, was  still  occupied  by  the  Indians,  who  claimed  title  to 
the  soil  by  right  of  ownership  and  possession.  Before  it  could  be 
open  to  settlement  by  the  whites,  it  was  indispensible  that  the 
Indian  title  should  be  extinguished,  and  the  original  owners  re- 
moved. The  accomplishment  of  this  purpose  required  the  expen- 
diture of  large  sums  of  money  and  blood,  and  for  a  long  series  of 
years  the  frontier  was  disturbed  by  Indian  wars,  terminated  re- 
peatedly by  treaty,  only  to  be  renewed  by  some  act  of  oppres- 
sion on  the  part  of  the  whites  or  some  violation  of  treaty  stipu- 
lation. 

As  previously  shown,  at  the  time  when  the  United  States  as- 
sumed the  control  of  the  country  by  virtue  of  the  Louisiana  pur- 
chase, nearly  the  whole  state  was  in  possession  of  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes,  a  powerful  and  warlike  nation,  who  were  not  disposed  to 
submit  without  a  struggle  to  what  they  considered  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  pale  faces. 

Among  the  most  noted  chiefs,  and  one  whose  restlessness  and 
hatred  of  the  Americans  occasioned  more  trouble  to  the  Govern- 
ment than  any  others  of  his  tribe,  was  Black  Hawk,  who  was  born 
at  the  Sac  village,  on  Rock  river,  in  1767.  He  was  simply  the 
chief  of  his  own  band  of  Sac  warriors,  but  by  his  energy  and  am- 
bition he  became  the  leading  spirit  of  the  united  nation  of  Sacs 
and  Foxes,  and  one  of  the  prominent  figures  in  the  history  of  the 


21:  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

countrv  from  1804  until  his  death.  In  earlv  manhood  he  attained 
some  distinction  as  a  fighting  chief,  having  led  campaigns  against 
the  Osages  and  other  neighboring  tribes.  About  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century  he  began  to  appear  prominent  in  affairs  on 
the  Mississippi.  Some  historians  have  added  to  the  statement  that 
"it  does  not  appear  that  he  was  ever  a  great  general,  or  possessed 
any  of  the  qualifications  of  a  successful  leader."  If  this  was  so 
his  life  was  a  marvel.  How  any  man  who  had  none  of  the  quali- 
fications of  a  leader  became  so  prominent  as  such,  as  he  did,  indi- 
cates either  that  he  had  some  ability,  or  that  his  cotemporaries, 
both  Indian  and  Anglo-Saxon,  had  less  than  he.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  the  ''victim  of  a  narrow  prejudice  and  bitter  ill-will 
against  the  Americans"  but  the  impartial  historian  must  admit 
that  if  he  was  the  enemy  of  the  Americans,  it  was  certainly  not 
without  some  reason. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Spain  did  not  give  up  possession  of 
the  country  to  France  on  its  cession  to  the  latter  power,  in  1801, 
but  retained  possession  of  it,  and,  by  the  authority  of  France, 
transferred  it  to  the  Uniced  States,  in  1804.  Black  Hawk  and  his 
band  were  in  St.  Louis  at  the  time,  and  were  invited  to  be  present 
and  witness  the  ceremonies  of  the  transfer,  but  he  refused  the  invi- 
tation, and  it  is  but  just  to  say  that  this  refusal  was  caused  proba- 
bly more  from  regret  that  the  Indians  were  to  be  transferred  from 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Spanish  authorities  than  from  any  special 
hatred  toward  the  Americans.  In  his  life  he  says:  "I  found  many 
sad  and  gloomy  faces  because  the  United  States  were  about  to  take 
possession  of  the  town  and  country.  Soon  after  the  Americans 
came,  I  took  my  band  and  went  to  take  leave  of  our  Spanish  father. 
The  Americans  came  to  see  him  also.  Seeing  them  approach,  we 
passed  out  of  one  door  as  they  entered  another,  and  immediately 
started  in  our  canoes  for  our  village,  on  Rock  River,  not  liking 
the  change  any  more  than  our  friends  appeared  to  at  St.  Louis. 
On  arriving  at  our  village,  we  gave  the  news  that  strange  people 
had  arrived  at  St.  Louis,  and  that  we  should  never  see  our 
Spanish  father  again.  The  information  made  all  our  people 
sorry. 

On  the  3d  day  of  November,  1804,  a  treaty  was  concluded  be- 
tween William  Henry  Harrison,  than  Governor  of  Indiana  Terri- 
tory, on  behalf  of  the  United  States,  and  five  chiefs  of  the  Sac  and 
Fox  nation,  by  which  the  latter,  in  consideration  of  two  thousand 
two  hundred  and  thirty-four  dollars'  worth  of  goods  then  delivered, 
and  a  yearly  annuity  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  be  paid  in  goods  at 
just  cost,  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  that  land  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Mississippi,  extending  from  a  point  opposite  the  Jefferson,  in 
Missouri,  to  the  Wisconsin  River,  embracing  an  area  of  over  fifty- 
one  millions  of  acres. 

To  this  treaty  Black  Hawk  always  objected  and  always  refused 
to  consider  it  binding  upon  his  people.    He  asserted  that  the  chiefs 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  2$ 

or  braves  who  made  it  had  no  authority  to  relinquish  the  title  of 
the  nation  to  any  of  the  lands  they  held  or  occupied;  and,  more- 
over, that  they  had  been  sent  to  St.  Louis  on  quite  a  different  er- 
rand, namely,  to  ojet  one  of  their  people  released,  who  had  been 
imprisoned  at  St.  Louis  for  killing  a  white  man. 

The  year  following  this  treaty  (1805),  Lieutenant  Zebulon  M. 
Pike  came  up  the  river  for  the  purpose  of  holding  friendly  coun- 
cils with  the  Indians  and  selecting  sites  for  forts  within  the  ter- 
ritory recently  acquired  from  France  by  the  United  States.  Lieu- 
tentant  Pike  seems  to  have  been  the  jfirst  American  whom  Black 
Hawk  ever  met  or  had  a  personal  interview  with;  and  he  was  very 
much  prepossessed  in  Pike's  favor.  He  gives  the  following  ac- 
count of  his  visit  to  Rock  Island: 

"A  boat  came  up  the  river  with  a  young  American  chief  and  a 
small  party  of  soldiers.  We  heard  of  them  soon  after  they  passed 
Salt  River.  Some  of  our  young  braves  watched  them  every  day, 
to  see  what  sort  of  people  he  had  on  board.  The  boat  at  length 
arrived  at  Rock  River,  and  the  young  chief  came  on  shore  with 
his  interpreter,  and  made  a  speech  and  gave  us  some  presents.  We 
in  turn  presented  them  with  meat  and  such  other  provisions  as  we 
had  to  spare.  We  were  well  pleased  with  the  young  chief.  He 
gave  us  good  advice,  and  said  our  American  father  would  treat  us 
well." 

The  events  which  soon  followed  Pike's  expedition  were  the 
erection  of  Fort  Edwards,  at  what  is  now  Warsaw,  Illinois,  and  Fort 
Madison,  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  that  name,  the  latter 
being  the  first  fort  erected  in  Iowa.  These  movements  occasioned 
great  uneasiness  among  the  Indians.  When  work  was  commenced 
on  Fort  Edwards,  a  delegation  from  their  nation,  headed  by  some 
of  their  chiefs,  went  down  to  see  what  the  Americans  were  doing, 
and  had  an  interview  with  the  commander;  after  which  they  re- 
turned home  apparently  satisfied.  In  like  manner,  when  Fort 
Madison  was  being  erected,  they  sent  down  another  delegation 
from  a  council  of  the  nation  held  at  Rock  River.  According  to 
Black  Hawk's  account,  the  American  chief  told  them  that  he  was 
building  a  house  for  a  trader  who  was  coming  to  sell  them  goods 
cheap,  and  that  the  soldiers  were  coming  to  keep  him  company — 
a  statement  which  Black  Hawk  says  they  distrusted  at  the  time, 
believing  that  the  fort  was  an  encroachment  upon  their  rights,  and 
designed  to  aid  in  getting  their  lands  away  from  them. 

It  has  been  held  by  good  American  authorities,  that  the  erection 
of  Fort  Madison  at  the  point  where  it  was  located  ivas  a  violation 
of  the  treaty  of  1804.  By  the  eleventh  article  of  that  treaty,  the 
United  States  had  a  right  to  build  a  fort  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Wisconsin  River;  by  article  six  they  had  bound  themselves  "that 
if  any  citizen  of  the  United  States  or  any  other  white  persons 
should  form  a  settlement  upon  their  lands,  such  intruders  should 
forthwith  be  removed."     Probably  the  authorities  of  the  United 

2 


2^6  HISTORY   OF   IOWA. 

States  did  not  regard  the  establisliment  of  military  posts  ascomiuo; 
properly  within  the  meaning  of  the  term  "settlement,"  as  used  in 
the  treaty.  At  all  events,  they  erected  Fort  Madison  within  the 
territory  reserved  to  the  Indians,  who  became  very  indignant.  Not 
long  after  the  fort  was  built,  a  party  led  by  Black  Hawk  attempted 
its  destruction.  They  sent  spies  to  watch  the  movements  of  the 
garrison,  who  ascertained  that  the  soldiers  were  in  the  habit  of 
marching  out  of  the  fort  every  morning  and  evening  for  parade, 
and  the  plan  of  the  party  was  to  conceal  themselves  near  the  fort, 
and  attack  and  surprise  them  when  they  were  outside.  On  the 
morning  of  the  proposed  day  of  attack,  five  soldiers  came  put  and 
were  fired  upon  by  the  Indians,  two  of  them  being  killed.  The 
Indians  were  too  hasty  in  their  movement,  for  the  regular  drill  had 
not  yet  commenced.  However,  they  kept  up  the  attack  for  sev- 
eral days,  attempting  the  old  Fox  strategy  of  setting  fire  to  the 
fort  with  blazing  arrows;  but  finding  their  efforts  unavailing  they 
soon  gave  up  and  returned  to  Rock  River. 

When  war  Avas  declared  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  in  1812,  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  allied  themselves  with 
the  British,  .partly  because  he  was  dazzled  by  their  specious  prom- 
ises, and  more  probably  because  they  had  been  deceived  by  the 
Americans.  Black  Hawk  himself  declared  that  they  were  "forced 
into  the  war  by  being  deceived."  He  narrates  the  circumstances 
as  follows:  "Several  of  the  chiefs  and  head  men  of  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  were  called  upon  to  go  to  Washington  to  see  their  Great 
Father.  On  their  return,  they  related  what  had  been  said  and 
done.  They  said  the  Great  Father  wished  them,  in  the  event  of  a 
war  taking  place  with  England,  not  to  interfere  on  either  side,  but 
to  remain  neutral.  He  did  not  want  our  help,  but  wished  us  to 
hunt  and  support  our  families,  and  live  in  peace.  He  said  that 
British  traders  would  not  be  permitted  to  come  on  the  Mississippi 
to  furnish  us  with  goods,  but  that  we  should  be  supplied  with  an 
American  trader.  Our  chiefs  then  told  him  that  the  British  trad- 
ers always  gave  them  credit  in  the  fall  for  guns,  powder  and  goods, 
to  enable  us  to  hunt  and  clothe  our  families.  He  repeated  that 
the  traders  at  Fort  Madison  would  have  plenty  of  goods;  that  we 
should  go  there  in  the  fall  and  he  would  supply  us  on  credit,  as 
the  British  traders  had  done." 

Black  Hawk  seems  to  have  accepted  of  this  proposition,  and  he 
and  his  people  were  very  much  pleased.  Acting  in  good  faith, 
they  fitted  out  for  their  winter's  hunt,  and  went  to  Fort  Madison 
in  high  spirits  to  receive  from  the  trader  their  outfit  of  supplies. 
But,  after  waiting  some  time,  they  were  told  by  the  trader  that 
he  would  not  trust  them.  It  was  in  vain  they  pleaded  the  promise 
of  their  Great  Father  at  Washington.  The  trader  was  inexorable; 
and,  disappointed  and  crestfallen,  they  turned  sadly  toward  their 
own  village.  ''Few  of  us,"  says  Black  Hawk,  "slept  that  night; 
all  was  gloom  and  discontent.     In  the  morning  a  canoe  was  seen 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  Zi 

ascending  the  river;  it  soon  arrived,  bearing  an  express,  who 
broiisrht  intelliprence  that  a  British  trader  had  landed  at  Rock 
Island  with  two  boats  loaded  with  goods,  and  requested  us  to  come 
up  immediately,  because  he  had  good  news  for  us,  and  a  variety  of 
presents.  The  express  presented  us  with  tobacco,  pipes  and  wam- 
pum. The  news  ran  through  our  camp  like  fire  on  a  prairie.  Our 
lodges  were  soon  taken  down,  and  all  started  for  Rock  Island. 
Here  ended  all  hopes  of  our  remaining  at  peace,  having  been 
forced  into  the  war  by  being  deceived." 

He  joined  the  British,  who  flattered  him,  styled  him  "General 
Black  Hawk,"  decked  him  with  medals,  excited  his  jealousies 
against  the  Americans,  and  armed  his  band;  but  he  met  with  de- 
feat and  disappointment,  and  soon  abandoned  the  service  and  came 
home. 

With  all  his  skill  and  courage.  Black  Hawk  was  unable  to  lead 
all  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  into  hostilities  to  the  United  States.  A 
portion  of  them,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  Keokuk  ("the  Watch- 
ful Fox""),  were  disposed  to  abide  by  the  treaty  of  1804,  and  to 
cultivate  friendly  relations  with  the  American  people.  Therefore, 
when  Black  Hawk  and  his  baud  joined  the  fortunes  of  Great 
Britain,  the  rest  of  the  nati">n  remained  neutral,  and,  for  protec- 
tion, organized,  with  Keokuk  for  their  chief.  This  divided  the 
nation  into  the  "War  and  Peace  Party." 

Black  Hawk  says  he  was  informed,  after  he  had  gone  to  the 
war,  that  the  nation,  which  had  been  reduced  to  so  small  a  body 
of  fighting  men,  were  unable  to  defend  themselves  in  case  the 
Americans  should  attack  them,  and  having  all  the  old  men  and 
women  and  children  belonging  to  warriors  who  had  joined  the 
British  on  their  hands  to  provide  for,  a  council  was  held,  and  it 
was  agreed  that  Quash-qua-me  (the  Lance)  and  other  chiefs,  to- 
gether with  the  old  men,  women  and  children,  and  such  others  a> 
chose  to  accompany  them,  should  go  to  St.  Louis,  and  place  them- 
selves under  the  American  chief  stationed  there.  They  according- 
ly went  down,  and  were  received  as  the  "friendly  band"  of  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  were  provided  for  and  sent  up  the  Missouri 
River.  On  Black  Hawk's  return  from  the  British  army,  he  says 
Keokuk  was  introduced  to  him  as  the  war  chief  of  the  braves  then 
in  the  village.  He  inquired  how  he  had  become  chief,  and  was 
informed  that  their  spies  had  seen  a  large  armed  force  going  to- 
ward Peoria,  and  fears  were  entertained  of  an  attack  upon  the  vil- 
lage; whereupon  a  council  was  held,  which  concluded  to  leave  the 
village  and  cross  over  to  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi.  Keokuk 
had  been  standing  at  the  door  of  the  lodge  where  the  council  was 
held,  not  being  allowed  to  enter  on  account  of  never  having  killed 
an  enemy,  where  he  remained  until  Wa-co-me  came  out.  Keokuk 
asked  permission  to  speak  in  the  council,  which  Wa-co-me  ob- 
tained for  him.  Keokuk  then  addressed  the  chiefs;  he  remon- 
strated against  the  desertion  of  the  village,  their  own  homes  and  the 


28  HISTORY   OF    IOWA. 

graves  of  their  father?,  and  offered  to  defend  the  village.  The 
council  consented  that  he  should  be  their  war  chief.  He  mar- 
shaled his  braves,  sent  out  spies,  and  advanced  on  the  trail  leading 
to  Peoria,  but  returned  without  seeing  the  enemy.  The  Ameri- 
cans did  not  disturb  the  village,  and  all  were  satisfied  with  the  ap- 
pointment of  Keokuk. 

Keokuk,  like  Black  Hawk,  was  a  descendant  of  the  Sac  branch 
of  the  nation,  and  was  born  on  Rock  River,  in  1780.  He  was  of 
a  pacific  disposition,  hut  possessed  the  elements  of  true  courage, 
and  could  fight,  when  occasion  required,  with  a  cool  judgment  and 
heroic  energy.  In  his  first  battle,  he  encountered  and  killed  a 
Sioux,  which  placed  him  in  the  rank  of  warriors,  and  he  was 
honored  with  a  public  feast  by  his  tribe  in  commemoration  of  the 
event. 

Keokuk  has  been  described  as  an  orator,  entitled  to  rank  with 
the  most  gifted  of  his  race.  In  person,  he  was  tall  and  of  portly 
bearing;  in  his  public  speeches  he  displayed  a  commanding  atti- 
tude and  graceful  gestures;  he  spoke  rapidly,  but  his  enunciation 
was  clear,  distinct  and  forcible;  he  culled  his  figures  from  the 
stores  of  nature,  and  based  his  arguments  on  skillful  logic.  Un- 
fortunately for  the  reputation  of  Keokuk  as  an  orator,  among 
white  people,  he  was  never  able  to  obtain  an  interpreter  who  could 
claim  even  a  slight  acquaintance  with  philosophy.  With  one  ex- 
ception only,  his  interpreters  were  unacquainted  with  the  elements 
of  their  mother-tongue.  Of  this  serious  hindrance  to  his  fame, 
Keokuk  was  well  aware,  and  retained  Frank  Labershure,  who  had 
received  a  rudimental  education  in  the  French  and  English 
languages,  until  the  latter  broke  down  by  dississipation  and  died. 
But  during  the  meridian  of  his  career  among  the  white  people,  he 
was  compelled  to  submit  his  speeches  for  translation  to  uneducated 
men,  whose  range  of  thought  fell  below  the  flights  of  a  gifted 
mind,  and  the  fine  imagery  drawn  from  nature  Avas  beyond  their 
power  of  reproduction.  He  had  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  Eng- 
lish language  to  make  him  sensible  of  this  bad  rendering  of  his 
thought,  and  often  a  feeling  of  mortification  at  the  bungling 
efforts  was  depicted  on  his  countenance  while  speaking.  The 
proper  place  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  his  ability  as  an  orator 
was  in  the  Indian  council,  where  he  addressed  himself  exclusively 
to  those  who  understood  his  language,  and  witness  the  electrical 
effect  of  his  eloquence  upon  his  audience. 

Keokuk  seems  to  have  possessed  a  more  sober  judgment,  and  to 
have  had  a  more  intelligent  view  of  the  great  strength  and  re- 
sources of  the  United  States,  than  his  noted  and  restless  cotem- 
porar}'^,  Black  Hawk.  He  knew  from  the  first  that  the  reckless 
war  which  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  had  determined  to  carry  on 
could  result  in  nothing  but  defeat  and  disaster,  and  used  every  ar- 
gument against  it.  The  large  number  of  warriors  whom  he  had 
dissuaded  from  following  Black   HaAvk  became,  however,  greatly 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  29 

excited  with  the  war  spirit  after  Stillman's  defeat,  and  but  for  the 
signal  tact  displayed  by  Keokuk  on  that  occasion,  would  have 
forced  him  to  submit  to  their  wishes  in  joing  the  rest  of  the  war- 
riors in  the  field.  A  war-dance  was  held,  and  Keokuk  took  part 
in  it,  seeming  to  be  moved  with  the  current  of  the  rising  storm. 
When  the  dance  was  over,  he  called  the  council  to  prepare  for 
war.  He  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  admitted  the  justice  of  their 
complaints  against  the  Americans.  To  seek  redress  was  a  noble 
aspiration  of  their  nature.  The  blood  of  their  brethren  had  been 
shed  by  the  white  man,  and  the  spirits  of  their  braves,  slain  in 
battle,  called  loudly  for  vengeance.  ''I  am  your  chief,"  he  said, 
''and  it  is  my  duty  to  lead  you  to  battle,  if,  after  fully  considering 
the  matter,  you  are  determined  to  go.  But  before  you  decide  on 
taking  this  important  step,  it  is  wise  to  inquire  into  the  chances 
of  success."  He  then  portrayed  to  them  the  great  power  of  the 
United  States,  against  whom  they  would  have  to  contend,  that 
their  chances  of  success  was  utterly  hopeless.  "But,"  said  he, 
"if  you  do  determine  to  go  upon  the  war-path,  I  will  agree  to 
lead  you,  on  one  condition,  viz.:  that  before  we  go,  Ave  will  kill 
all  our  old  men  and  our  wives  and  children,  to  save  them  from  a 
lingering  death  of  starvation,  and  that  every  one  of  us  determine 
to  leave  our  homes  on  the  other  side  of  the  Mississippi." 

This  was  a  strong  but  truthful  picture  of  the  prospect  before 
them,  and  was  presented  in  such  a  forcible  light  as  to  cool  their 
ardor,  and  cause  them  to  abandon  the  rash  undertaking. 

But,  during  the  war  of  1832,  it  is  now  considered  certain  that 
small  bands  of  Indians,  from  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi, 
made  incursions  into  the  white  settlements,  in  the  lead  mining 
region,  and  committed  some  murders  and  depredations. 

When  peace  was  declared  between  the  United  States  and  Eng- 
land, Black  Hawk  was  required  to  make  peace  with  the  former, 
and  entered  into  a  treaty  at  Portage  des  Sioux,  September  14, 
1815,  but  did  not  "touch  the  goose-quill  to  it  until  May  13,  1816, 
when  he  smoked  the  pipe  of  peace  with  the  great  white  chief,"  at 
St.  Louis.  This  treaty  was  a  renewal  of  the  treaty  of  1801,  but 
Black  Hawk  declared  he  had  been  deceived;  that  he  did  not  know 
that  by  signing  the  treaty  he  was  giving  away  his  village.  This 
weighed  upon  his  mind,  already  soured  by  previous  disappointment 
and  the  irresistible  encroachments  of  the  whites;  and  when  a  few 
years  later,  he  and  his  people  were  driven  from  their  possessions 
by  the  military,  he  determined  to  return  to  the  home  of  his  fathers. 

It  is  also  to  be  remarked  that  in  1816,  by  treaty  with  various 
tribes,  the  United  States,  relinquished  to  the  Indians  all  the  lands 
lying  north  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  southermost  point  of  Lake 
Michigan  west  to  the  Mississippi,  except  a  reservation  five  leagues 
square,  on  the  Mississippi  River,  supposed  then  to  be  sufficient  to 
include  all  the  mineral  lands  on  and  adjacent  to  Fever  River,  and 
one  league  square  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  River. 


30  HISTORY   OP   IOWA. 

THE   BLACK   HAWK   WAR. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  Indian  outbreak  in  lc30  was  the 
occupation  of  Black  Hawk's  village,  on  the  Rock  River,  by  the 
whites,  during  the  absence  of  the  chief  and  his  braves  on  a  hunt- 
ing expedition,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi.  When  they 
returned  they  found  their  wigwams  occupied  by  white  families, 
and  their  own  women  and  children  were  shelterless  on  the  banks 
of  the  river.  The  Indians  were  indignant,  and  determined  to  re- 
possess their  village  at  all  hazards,  and  early  in  the  spring  of  1831 
i-ecrossed  the  Mississippi  and  menacingly  took  possession  of  thei\; 
own  cornfields  and  cabins.  It  may  be  well  to  remark  here  that  it 
was  expressly  stipulated  in  the  treaty  of  1804,  to  which  they  at- 
tributed all  their  troubles,  that  the  Indians  should  not  be  obliged 
to  leave  their  lands  until  they  were  sold  by  the  United  States,  and 
it  does  not  appear  that  they  occupied  any  lands  other  than  those 
owned  by  the  Government.  If  this  was  true,  the  Indians  had  good 
cause  for  indignation  and  complaint.  But  the  whites,  driven  out 
in  turn  by  the  returning  Indians,  became  so  clamorous  against 
what  they  termed  the  encroachments  of  the  natives,  that  Gov. 
Reynolds,  of  lUincis,  ordered  Gen.  Gaines  to  Rock  Island  with  a 
military  force  to  drive  the  Indians  again  from  their  homes  to  the 
west  side  of  the  Mississippi.  Black  Hawk  says  he  did  not  intend 
to  be  provoked  into  war  by  anything  less  than  the  blood  of  some 
of  his  own  people;  in  other  words,  that  there  would  be  no  war 
unless  it  should  be  commenced  by  the  pale  faces.  But  it  Wcis  said 
and  probably  "thought  by  the  military  commanders  along  the  fron- 
tier, that  the  Indians  intended  to  unite  in  a  general  war  against 
the  whites,  from  Rock  River  to  the  Mexican  borders.  But  it  does 
not  appear  that  the  hardv  frontiersmen  themselves  had  any  fears, 
for  their  experience  had  been  that,  when  well  treated,  their  Indian 
neighbors  were  not  dangerous.  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  had  done 
no  more  than  to  attempt  to  repossess  the  old  homes  of  which  they  had 
been  deprived  in  their  absence.  No  blood  had  been  shed.  Black 
Hawk  and  his  chiefs  sent  a  flag  of  truce,  and  a  new  treaty  was 
made,  by  which  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  agreed  to  remain  for- 
ever on  the  Iowa  side  and  never  recross  the  river  without  the  per- 
mission of  the  President  or  the  Governor  of  Illinois.  Whether 
the  Indians  clearly  understood  the  terms  of  this  treaty  is  uncer- 
tain. As  was  usual,  the  Indian  traders  had  dictated  terms  on  their 
behalf,  and  they  had  received  a  large  amount  of  provisions,  etc., 
from  the  Government,  but  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the 
Indians  comprehended  that  they  could  never  revisit  the  graves 
of  their  fathers  without  violating  their  treaty.  They  undoubtedly 
thought  that  they  had  agreed  never  to  recross  the  Mississippi  witli 
hostile  intent.  However  this  may  be,  on  the  Cth  day  of  April, 
1832,  Black  Hawk  and  his  entire  band,  with  their  women  and  chil- 
dren, again  recrossed  the  Mississippi  in  plain  view  of  the  garrison 
of  Fort  Armstrong,  and  went  up  Rock  River.     Although  this  act 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  31 

was  construed  into  an  act  of  hostility  by  the  military  authorities, 
who  declared  that  Black  Hawk  intended  to  recover  his  village,  or 
the  site  where  it  stood,  by  force;  yet  it  does  not  appear  that  he 
made  any  such  attempt,  nor  did  his  appearance  create  any  special 
alarm  amon^  the  settlers.  They  knew  that  the  Indians  never 
went  on  the  war-path  encumbered  with  the  old  men,  their  women 
and  their  children. 

The  Galenian,  printed  in  Galena,  of  May  2d,  1832,  says  that 
Black  Hawk  was  invited  by  the  Prophet  and  had  taken  possession 
of  a  tract  about  forty  miles  up  Rock  River;  but  that  he  did 
not  remain  there  long,  but  commenced  his  search  up  Rock 
River.  Captain  W.  B.  Green,  who  served  in  Captain  Stevenson's 
company  of  mounted  rangers,  says  that  "Black  Hawk  and  his 
band  crossed  the  river  with  no  hostile  intent,  but  that  his  band 
had  had  bad  luck  in  hunting  during  the  previous  winter,  were 
actually  in  a  starving  condition,  and  had  come  over  to  spend  the 
summer  with  a  friendly  tribe  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Rock  and 
Illinois  Rivers,  by  invitation  from  their  chief."  Other  old  settlers 
who  all  agree  that  Black  Hawk  had  no  idea  of  tighting,  say  that 
he  came  back  to  the  west  side  expecting  to  negotiate  another 
treaty,  and  get  a  new  supply  of  provisions.  The  most  reasonable 
explanation  of  this  movement,  which  resulted  so  disastrouly  to 
Black  Hawk  and  his  starving  people,  is  that,  during  the  fall  and 
winter  of  1831-32,  his  people  became  deeply  indebted  to  their 
favorite  trader  at  Fort  Armstrong  (Rock  Island),  they  had  not 
been  fortunate  in  hunting,  and  he  was  likely  to  lose  heavily,  as 
an  Indian  debt  was  outlawed  in  one  year.  If,  therefore,  the  In- 
dians could  be  induced  to  come  over,  and  the  fears  of  the  military 
could  be  sufficiently  aroused  to  pursue  them,  another  treaty  could 
be  negotiated,  and  from  the  payments  from  the  Government  the 
shrewd  trader  could  get  his  pay.  Just  a  week  after  Black  Hawk 
crossed  the  river,  on  the  13tli  of  April,  1832,  George  Davenport 
WTote  to  Gen.  Atkinson:  "I  am  informed  that  the  British  band 
of  Sac  Indians  are  determined  to  make  war  on  the  frontier  settle- 
ments. *  *  *  From  every  information  that  I  have 
received,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  intention  of  the  British 
band  of  Sac  Indians  is  to  commit  depredations  on  the  inhabitants 
of  the  frontier."  And  yet,  from  the  6th  day  of  April,  until  after 
Stillman's  men  commenced  war  by  firing  on  the  flag  of  truce  from 
Black  Hawk,  no  murders  nor  depredations  were  committed  by  the 
British  band  of  Sac  Indians. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  sketch  to  detail  the  incidents  of  the 
Black  Hawk  war  of  1832,  as  it  pertains  rather  to  the  history  of 
the  State  of  Illinois.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that,  after  the  dis- 
graceful affair  at  Stillman's  Run,  Black  Hawk,  concluding  that  the 
whites,  refusing  to  treat  with  him,  were  determined  to  extermi- 
nate his  people,  determined  to  return  to  the  Iowa  side  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi.    He  could  not  return  by  the  way  he  came,   for   the  army 


32  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

was  behind  him,  an  army,  too,  that  would  sternly  refuse  to  recog- 
nize the  white  flag  of  peace .  His  only  course  was  to  make  his 
way  northward  and  reach  the  Mississippi,  if  possible,  before  the 
troops  could  overtake  him,  and  this  he  did;  but,  before  he  could  get 
his  women  and  children  across  the  Wisconsin,  he  was  overtaken, 
and  a  battle  ensued.  Here,  again,  he  sued  for  peace,  and,  through 
his  trusty  Lieutenant,  "the  Prophet,"  the  whites  were  plainly  in- 
formed that  the  starving  Indians  did  not  wish  to  fight,  but  would 
return  to  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  peaceably,  if  they  could 
be  permitted  to  do  so.  No  attention  was  paid  to  this  second  effort 
to  negotiate  peace,  and,  as  soon  as  supplies  could  be  obtained,  the 
pursuit  was  resumed,  the  flying  Indians  were  overtaken  again  eight 
miles  before  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Bad  Axe,  and  the 
slaughter  (it  should  not  be  dignified  by  the  name  of  battle)  com- 
menced. Here,  overcome  by  starvation  and  the  victorious  whites, 
his  band  was  scattered,  on  the  2d  day  of  August,  1832.  Black 
Hawk  escaped,  but  was  brought  into  camp  at  Prairie  du  Chien  by 
three  Winnebagoes,  He  was  confined  in  Jefferson  Barracks  until 
the  spring  of  1833,  when  he  was  sent  to  Washington,  arriving 
there  April  22,  On  the  26th  of  April  they  were  taken  to  Fortress 
Monroe,  where  they  remained  till  the  4th  of  June,  1833,  when 
orders  were  given  for  them  to  be  liberated  and  returned  to  their 
own  country.  By  order  of  the  President,  he  was  brought  back  to 
Iowa  through  the  principal  Eastern  cities.  Crowds  flocked  to  see 
him  all  along  his  route,  and  he  was  very  much  flattered  by  the 
attentions  he  received.  He  lived  among  his  people  on  the  Iowa 
River  till  that  reservation  was  sold,  in  1836,  when,  with  the  rest 
of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  he  removed  to  the  Des  Moines  Reservation, 
where  he  remained  till  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  3d  of 
October,  1838. 

INDIAN   PUECHASES,   RESERVES   AND   TREATIES. 

At  the  close  of  the  Black  Hawk  War,  in  1882,  a  treaty  was 
made,  at  a  council  held  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  where 
now  stands  the  thriving  city  of  Davenport,  on  grounds  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  railroad  company, 
on  the  21st  day  of  September,  1832.  At  this  council,  the  United 
States  were  represented  by  Gen.  Winfield  Scott  and  Gov.  Rey- 
nolds, of  Illinois.  Keokuk,  Pash-a-pa-ho  and  some  thirty  other 
chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  nation  were  present.  By 
I  this  treaty,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  ceded  to  the  United  States  a  strip 
of  land  on  the  eastern  border  of  Iowa,  fifty  miles  wide,  from  the 
northern  boundary  of  Missouri  to  the  mouth  of  the  Upper  Iowa 
River,  containing  about  six  million  acres.  The  western  line  of  the 
purchase  was  parallel  with  the  Mississippi.  In  consideration  of 
this  cession,  the  United  States  Government  stipulated  to  pay  an- 
nually to  the  confederated  tribe?,  for  thirty  consecutive  years, 
twenty  thousand  dollars  in  specie,  and  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  In- 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  33 

dians  at  Rock  Island,  which  had  been  accumuhitiiig  for  seventeen 
years,  and  amounted  to  fifty  thousand  dolhirs,  due  to  Davenport  & 
Farnham,  Indian  traders.  The  Government  also  generously  do- 
nated to  the  Sac  and  Fox  women  and  children,  whose  husbands 
and  fathers  had  fallen  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  thirty-five  beef 
cattle,  twelve  bushels  of  salt,  thirty  barrels  of  pork,  fifty  barrels 
of  flour  and  six  thousand  bushels  of  corn. 

This  territory  is  known  as  the  "Black  Hawk  Purchase."  Al- 
though it  was  not  the  first  portion  of  Iowa  ceded  to  the  United 
States  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  it  was  the  first  opened  to  actual 
settlement  by  the  tide  of  emigration  that  flowed  across  the  Mis- 
sissippi as  soon  as  the  Indian  title  was  extinguished.  The  treaty 
was  ratified  February  13.  1833,  and  took  effect  on  the  1st  of  June 
following,  when  the  Indians  quietly  removed  from  the  ceded  ter- 
ritory, and  this  fertile  and  beautiful  region  was  opened  to  white 
settlers. 

By  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  out  of  the  Black  Hawk  Purchase 
was  reserved  for  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  400  square  miles  of  land 
.situated  on  the  Iowa  River,  and  including  within  its  limits  Keo- 
kuk's village,  on  the  right  bank  of  that  river.  This  tract  was 
known  as  "Keokuk's  Reserve,"  and  was  occupied  by  the  Indians 
until  1836,  when,  by  a  treaty  made  in  September  between  them 
and  Gov.  Dodge,  of  Wisconsin  Territory,  it  was  ceded  to  the 
United  States.  The  council  was  held  on  the  banks  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, above  Davenport,  and  was  the  largest  assemblage  of  the 
kind  ever  held  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  to  treat  for  the  sale  of  lands. 
About  one  thousand  of  their  chiefs  and  braves  were  present,  and 
Keokuk  was  their  leading  spirit  and  principal  speaker  on  the  occa- 
sion. By  the  terras  of  the  treaty,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  w^ere  re- 
moved to  another  reservation  on  the  Des  Moines  River,  where  an 
agencv  was  established  for  them  at  what  is  now  the  town  of 
Agency  City. 

Besides  the  Keokuk  Reserve,  the  Government  gave  out  of  the 
Black  Hawk  Purchase  to  Antoine  Le  Claire,  interpreter,  in  fee 
simple,  one  section  of  land  opposite  Rock  Island,  and  another  at 
the  head  of  the  first  rapids  above  the  island,  on  the  Iowa  side. 
This  was  the  first  land  title  granted  by  the  United  States  to  an  in- 
dividual  in  Iowa. 

Soon  after  the  removal  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  to  their  new 
reservation  on  the  Des  Moines  River,  Gen.  Joseph  M.  Street  was 
transferred  from  the  agency  of  the  Winnebagoes,  at  Prairie  du 
Chien,  to  establish  an  agency  among  them.  A  farm  was  selected, 
on  which  the  necessary  buildings  were  erected,  including  a  com- 
fortable farm  house  for  the  agent  and  his  family,  at  the  expense  of 
the  Indian  Fund.  A  salaried  agent  was  employed  to  superintend 
the  farm  and  dispose  of  the  crops.  Two  mills  were  erected,  one 
on  Soap  Creek,  and  the  other  on  Sugar  Creek.  The  latter  was 
soon  swept  away  by  a  flood,  but  the  former  remained  and  did  good 


34  HISTORY   OF   IOWA. 

service  for  many  years.  Connected  with  the  agency  were  Joseph 
Smart  and  John  Goodell,  interpreters.  The  latter  was  intrepre- 
ter  for  Hard  Fish's  band.  Three  of  the  Indian  chiefs,  Keokuk, 
Wapello  and  Appanoose,  had  each  a  large  field  improved,  the  two 
former  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Des  Moines,  back  from  the  river, 
in  what  is  now  ''Keokuk's  Prairie,"  and  the  latter  on  the  present 
site  of  the  city  of  Ottumwa.  Among  the  traders  connected  with 
the  agency  were  the  Messrs.  Ewing,  from  Ohio,  and  Phelps  &  Co., 
from  Illinois,  and  also  Mr.  J.  P.  Eddy,  who  established  his  post  at 
what  is  now  the  site  of  Eddyville. 

The  Indians  at  this  agency  became  idle  and  listless  in  the 
absence  of  their  natural  and  wonted  excitements,  and  many  of 
them  plunged  into  dissipation.  Keokuk  himself  became  dissipated 
in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  and  it  has  been  reported  that  he  died 
of  delirium  tremens  after  his  removal  with  his  tribe  to  Kansas. 

In  May,  1843,  most  of  the  Indians  were  removed  up  the  Des 
Moines  River,  above  the  temporary  line  of  Red  Rock,  having  ceded 
the  remnant  of  their  lands  in  Iowa  to  the  United  States  on  the 
21st  of  September,  1837,  and  on  the  11th  of  October,  1842.  By 
the  terms  of  the  latter  treaty,  they  held  possession  of  the  "New 
Purchase"  till  the  Autumn  of  18-45,  when  the  most  of  them  were 
removed  to  their  reservation  in  Kansas,  the  balance  being  removed 
in  the  Spring  of  1846. 

1.  Treaty  with  the  Sioux.— 'Made  July  19,  181o:  ratified  December  16,  18ir>. 
This  treaty  was  made  at  Portage  des  Sioux,  between  the  Sioux  of  Minnesota 
and  Upper  Iowa  and  the  United  States,  by  Wdh'am  Clark  and  Ninian  Edwards, 
Commissioners,  and  was  merely  a  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship  on  the  part  of 
those  Indians  toward  the  United  States  at  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812. 

2.  Treat!/  with  the  Sacs. — A  similar  treaty  of  peace  was  made  at  Portage 
des  Sioux,  between  the  United  States  and  the  Sacs,  by  William  Clark,  Ninian 
Edwards  and  Augiiste  Choteau,  on  the  13th  of  September,  1815,  and  ratified  at 
the  same  date  as  the  above.  In  this,  the  treaty  of  1804  was  re-affirmed,  and 
the  Sacs  here  represented  promised  for  themselves  and  their  bands  to  keep  en- 
tirely separate  from  the  Sacs  of  Rock  River,  who,  under  Black  Hawk,  had 
joined  the  Britisli  in  the  war  just  then  closed. 

3.  Treat!/  with  the  Foxes. — A  separate  treaty  of  peace  was  made  with  the  Foxes 
at  Portag-e  ides  Sioux,  by  the  same  Commission3rs,  on  14th  of  September,  1815, 
and  ratified  the  same  as  the  above,  wherein  the  Foxes  re-affirmed  the  treaty  at 
St.  Louis,  of  November  3,  1804,  and  agreed  to  deliver  up  all  their  prisoners  to 
the  officer  in  command  at  Fort  Clark,  now  Peoria,  Illinois. 

4.  Treati/  with  the  loioas. — A  treaty  of  p^ace  and  mutual  good  will  was 
made  between  the  United  States  and  the  Iowa  tribe  of  Indians,  at  Portage  des 
Sioux,  by  the  same  Commissioners  as  above,  on  the  16th  of  Septemb?r,  1815,  at 
the  close  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  ratified  at  the  same  date  as  the 
others. 

5.  Treat!/  with  the  Sacs  at  Rock  Hirer. — Made  at  St.  Louis  on  the  13th  of 
May,  1816,  between  the  United  States  and  the  Sacs  of  Rock  River,  by  the  Com- 
missioners, William  Clark,  Ninian  Edwards  and  Auguste  Choteau.  and  ratified 
December  30,  1816.  In  this  treaty,  that  of  1804  was  re-established  and  con- 
firmed by  twenty-two  chiefs  an  i  head  men  of  the  Sacs  of  Rock  River,  and 
Black  Hawk  himself  attached  to  it  his  signature,  or,  as  he  said,  ''touched  the 
goose  quill. " 

6.  Treat!/  of  1824. — On  the  4ih  of  August,  1824.  a  treaty  was  made  between 
the  United  States  and  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  in  the  city  of  VV'^ashing^oii,  by  Wil- 


HlSTOllY    OF    IOWA.  35 

Ham  Clark,  Commissioner,  wherein  the  Sac  and  Fox  nation  relinqnishetl  their 
title  to  all  lands  in  Missouri,  and  that  portion  of  the  southeast  corner  of  Iowa 
known  as  the  "Half-Breed  Tract"  was  set  otf  and  reserved  for  the  use  of  the 
half-breeds  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  they  holding  title  in  the  same  manner  as  In- 
dians.    Ratified  January  18,  1825. 

7.  Treaty  of  August  19,  1825. — At  this  date  a  treaty  was  made  by  William 
Clark  and  Lewis  Cass,  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  between  the  United  States  and  the 
Chippewas,  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Menonionees,  Winnebagoes  and  a  portion  of  the 
Ottawas  and  I'ottawatomies.  In  this  treaty,  in  order  to  made  peace  between 
the  contending  tribes  as  to  the  limits  ot  their  respective  hunting  grounds  in 
Iowa,  it  was  agreed  that  the  United  States  Government  should  run  a  boundary 
line  between  the  Sioux,  on  the  north,  and  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  on  the  south,  i\» 
follows : 

Commencing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Upper  Iowa  River,  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  ascending  said  Iowa  River  to  its  west  fork;  thence  up  the 
fork  to  its  source;  thence  crossing  the  fork  of  Red  Cedar  River  in  a  direct  line 
to  the  second  or  upper  fork  of  the  Des  Moines  River;  thence  in  a  direct  line  to 
the  lower  fork  of  the  Calumet  River,  and  down  that  river  to  its  junction  with 
the  Missouri  River. 

8.  Treaty  of  1830— On  the  15th  of  July,  1880,  the  confederate  tribes  of  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes  ceded  to  the  United  States  a  strip  of  country  lying  south  of  the 
above  line,  twenty  miles  in  width,  and  extending  along  the  line  aforesaid  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Des  Moines  River.  The  Sioux  also,  whose  possessions 
were  north  of  the  line,  ceded  to  the  Government,  in  the  same  treaty,  a  like 
strip  on  the  north  side  of  the  boundary.  Thus  the  United  States,  at  the  ratifi- 
cation of  this  treaty,  Februaiy  24,  18ol,  came  into  possession  of  a  portion  of 
Iowa  forty  miles  wide,  extending  along  the  Clark  and  Cass  line  of  1825,  fi"om 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Des  Moines  River.  This  territory  was  known  as  the 
"Neutral  Ground,"  and  the  tribes  on  either  side  of  the  line  were  allowed  to 
fish  and  hunt  on  it  unmolested  till  it  was  made  a  Winnebago  reservation,  and 
the  Winnebagoes  were  removed  to  it  in  1841. 


"o'- 


9.  Treaty  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  and  other  Tribes. — At  the  same  time 
of  the  above  treaty  respecting  the  "Neutral  Ground"  (July  15,  1880),  the  Sacs 
and  Foxes,  Western  Sioux,  Uuiahas,  lowas  and  Missouris  ceded  to  the  United 
States  a  portion  of  the  western  slope  of  Iowa,  the  boundaries  of  whkh  were 
defined  as  follows:  Beginning  at  the  upper  fork  of  the  Des  Moines  River,  and 
passing  the  sources  of  the  Little  Sioux  and  Floyd  Rivers,  to  the  fork  of  the  first 
creek  that  tails  into  the  Big  Sioux,  or  Calumet,  on  the  east  side;  thence  down 
said  creek  and  the  Calumet  Riv;r  to  the  Missouri  River;  thence  down  said  Mis- 
souri River  to  the  Missouri  State  line  above  the  Kansas;  thence  along  said  line 
to  the  northwest  corner  of  said  State;  thence  to  the  high  lands  between  the 
waters  tailing  into  the  Missouri  and  Des  Moines,  passing  to  said  high  lands 
along  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  forks  of  the  Grand  River;  thence  along 
said  high  lands  or  ridge  separating  the  waters  of  the  Missouri  from  those  of  the 
Des  Moines,  to  a  point  opposite  the  source  of  the  Boyer  River,  and  thence  in  a 
direct  line  to  the  upper  tork  of  the  Des  Moines,  the  place  of  beginning. 

It  was  understood  that  the  lands  ceded  and  relinquished  by  this  treaty  were 
to  be  assigned  and  allotted,  under  the  direction  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  to  the  tribes  then  living  thereon,  or  to  such  other  tribes  as  the  President 
might  locate  thereon,  for  hunting  and  other  purposes.  In  consideration  of  three 
tracts  of  land  ceded  in  this  treaty,  the  United  States  agreed  to  pay  to  the  Sacs 
three  thousand  dollars;  to  the  Foxes,  three  thousand  dollars;  to  the  Sioux,  two 
thousand  dollars;  to  the  Yankton  and  Santee  bands  of  Sioux,  three  thousand 
dollars;  to  the  Omahas,  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars;  and  to  the  Otoes 
and  Missouris,  two  thousand  five  hundn  d  dollars— to  be  paid  annually  for  ten 
successive  years.  In  addition  to  these  annuities,  the  Government  agreed  to  fur- 
nish some  of  the  tribes  with  blacksmiths  and  agricultural  implements  to  the 
amount  of  two  hundred  dollars,  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States,  and  to  set 


36  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

apart  three  thousand  dollars  annually  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  these 
tribes.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  fort  was  erected  in  this  territory  prior  to 
the  erection  of  Fort  Atkinson  on  the  Neutral  Ground,  in  1840-1. 

This  treaty  was  made  by  William  Clark,  Superintendent  of  Indian  affairs, 
and  Col.  Wiiloughby  Morgan,  of  the  United  States  First  Infantry,  and  came 
into  effect  by  proclamation,  February  24,  1831. 

10.  Treat  if  with  the  Winnehagoes. — Made  at  Fort  Armstrong,  Rock  Island, 
September  15,  1882,  by  Gen.  Winfield  Scott  and  Hon.  John  Reynolds,  Governor 
of  Illinois.  In  this  treaty  the  Winnebagoes  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  their 
land  lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  and  in  part  consideration  therefor 
the  United  States  granted  to  the  Winnebagoes,  to  be  held  as  other  Indian  lands 
are  held,  that  portion  of  Iowa  known  as  the  Neutral  Ground.  The  exchange  of 
the  two  tra<:ts  of  country  was  to  take  place  on  or  before  the  1st  day  of  June.  1833. 
In  addition  to  the  Neutral  Ground,  it  was  stipulated  that  the  United  States 
should  give  the  Winnebagoes,  beginning  in  September,  1833,  and  continuing  for 
twenty-seven  successive  years,  ten  thousand  dollars  in  specie,  and  establish  a 
school  among  them,  with  a  farm  and  garden,  and  provide  other  facilities  for  the 
education  of  their  children,  not  to  exceed  in  cost  three  thousand  dollars  a  year, 
and  to  continue  the  same  for  twenty-seven  successive  years.  Six  agriculturists, 
twelve  yoke  of  oxen  and  plows  and  other  farming  tools  wei  e  to  be  supplied  by 
the  Government. 

11.  Treaty  of  1832  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes. — Already  mentioned  as  the 
Black  Hawk  purchase. 

12.  Treat!/  of  1S36  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  ceding  Keokuk's  Reserve  to 
the  United  States;  for  which  the  Government  stipulated  to  pay  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  and  an  annuity  of  ten  thousand  dollars  for  ten  succe'^sive  years,  together 
with  other  sums  and  debts  of  the  Indians  to  various  pai-ties. 

18.  Treat!/  of  1837.— On  the  21st  of  October,  1837,  a  treaty  was  made  at  the 
city  of  Washington,  between  Carey  A.  Harris,  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs, 
and  the  confederate  tribes  of  Sacs  and  Foxes,  ratified  February  21,  1838,  where- 
in another  slice  of  the  soil  of  Iowa  was  obtained,  descnbed  in  the  treaty  as  fol- 
lows :  '  'A  tract  of  country  containing  1.250,000  acres,  lying  west  and  adjoining 
the  tract  conveyed  by  them  to  the  United  States  in  the  treaty  of  September  21, 
1832.  It  is  understood  that  the  points  of  termination  for  the  present  cession 
shall  be  the  northern  and  southern  points  of  said  tract,  as  fixed  by  the  survey 
made  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  and  that  a  line  shall  be  drawn 
between  them  so  as  to  intersect  a  line  extended  westwardly  from  the  angle  of 
said  tract  nearly  opposite  to  Rock  Island,  as  laid  down  in  the  above  survey,  so 
far  as  may  be  necessary  to  include  the  numlicr  of  acres  hereby  ceded,  which  last 
mentioned  line,  it  is  estimated,  will  be  about  twenty-five  miles." 

This  piece  of  land  was  twenty-five  miles  wide  in  the  middle,  and  ran  off  to  a 
point  at  both  ends,  lying  directly  back  of  the  Black  Hawk  Purchase,  and  of  the 
the  same  length . 

14.  Treat!/  of  Eelinquifihment. — At  the  same  date  as  the  above  treaty,  in 
the  city  of  Washington,  Carey  A.  Harris,  Commissioner,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
ceded  to  the  United  States  all  their  right  and  interest  in  the  country  lying  south 
of  the  boundary  line  between  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  and  Sioux,  as  described  in  the 
treaty  of  August  19,  l.'^25,  and  between  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Rivers, 
the  United  States  paying  for  the  same  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dollars. 
The  Indians  also  gave  up  all  claims  and  interests  under  the  treaties  previouslj' 
made  with  them,  for  the  satisfaction  of  which  no  appropriation  had  been  made. 

15.  Treaty  of  1842. — The  last  treaty  was  made  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
October  11,  1842;  ratified  March  23,  1843.  It  was  made  at  the  Sac  and  Fox 
agency  (Agency  City),  by  John  Chambers,  Commissioner  on  behalf  of  the 
United  States.  In  this  treaty  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  "ceded  to  the  United 
States  all  their  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi  to  which  they  had  any  claim  or 
title."  By  the  terms  of  this  treaty  they  were  to  be  removed  from  the  country 
at  the  expiration  of  three  years,  and  all  who  remained  after  that  were  to  move 
at  their  own  expense.  Part  of  them  were  removed  to  Kansas  in  the  fall  of  1845, 
and  the  rest  the  spring  following. 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  37 


SPANISH  GRANTS. 


While  the  territory  now  embraced  in  the  State  of  Iowa  was  un- 
der Spanish  rule  as  a  part  of  its  province  of  Louisiana,  certain 
claims  to  and  grants  of  land  were  made  by  the  Spanish  authori- 
ties, with  which,  in  addition  to  the  extinguishment  of  Indian  titles, 
the  United  States  had  to  deal.  It  is  proper  that  these  should  be 
briefly  reviewed : 

Dubuque. — On  the  22d  day  of  September,  1788,  Julien  Dubuque, 
a  Frenchman,  from  Prairie  du  Chien,  obtained  from  the  Foxes  a 
cession  or  lease  of  lands  on  the  Mississippi  River  for  mining  pur- 
poses,  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Dubuque.  Lead  had  been 
discovered  here  eight  years  before,  in  1780,  by  the  wife  of  Peosta 
Fox,  a  warrior,  and  Dubuque's  claim  embraced  nearly  all  the  lead 
bearing  lands  in  that  vicinity.  He  immediately  took  possession  of 
his  claim  and  commenced  mining,  at  the  same  time  making  a  set- 
tlement. The  place  became  known  as  the  "Spanish  Miners,"  or, 
more  commonly,  "Dubuque's  Lead  Mines." 

In  1796,  Dubuque  filed  a  petition  with  Baron  de  Carondelet, 
the  Spanish  Governor  of  Louisiana,  asking  that  the  tract  ceded  to 
him  by  the  Indians  might  be  granted  to  him  by  pacent  from  the 
Spanish  Government.  In  this  petition  Dubuque  rather  indefin- 
itely set  forth  the  boundaries  of  his  claim  as  "about  seven 
leagues  along  the  Mississippi  River,  and  three  leagues  in  width 
from  the  river,"  intending  to  include,  as  is  supposed,  the  river 
front  between  the  Little  Maquoketa  and  the  Tete  des  Mertz  Riv- 
ers, embracing  more  than  twenty  thousand  acres.  Carondelet 
granted  the  prayer  of  the  petition,  and  the  grant  was  subsequently 
confirmed  by  the  Board  of  Land  Commissioners  of  Louisiana. 

In  October,  1804,  Dubuque  transferred*  the  larger  part  of  his 
claim  to  Auguste  Choteau,  of  St.  Louis,  and  on  the  17th  of  May, 
1805,  he  and  Choteau  jointly  filed  their  claims  with  the  Board  of 
Commissioners.  On  the  20th  of  September,  1806,  the  Board  de- 
cided in  their  favor,  pronouncing  the  claim  to  be  a  regular  Span- 
ish grant,  made  and  completed  prior  to  the  1st  day  of  October, 
1800,  only  one  member,  J.  B.  C.  Lucas,  dissenting. 

Dubuque  died  March  24, 1810.  The  Indians,  understanding  that 
the  claim  of  Dubuque  under  their  former  act  of  cession  was  only 
a  permit  to  occupy  the  tract  and  work  the  mines  during  his  life, 
and  that  at  his  death  they  reverted  to  them,  took  possession  and 
continued  mining  operations,  and  were  sustained  by  the  military 
authority  of  the  United  States,  notwithstanding  the  decision  of 
the  Commissioners.  When  the  Black  Hawk  purchase  was  con- 
summated, the  Dubuque  claim  thus  held  by  the  Indians  w^as  ab- 
sorbed by  the  United  States,  as  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  made  no  reser- 
vation of  it  in  the  treaty  of  1832. 

The  heirs  of  Choteau,  however,  were  not  disposed  to  relinquish 
their  claim  without  a  struggle.      Late  in  1832,  they  employed  an 


38  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

agent  to  look  after  their  interests,  and  authorized  him  to  lease  the 
right  to  dig  lead  on  the  lands.  The  miners  who  commenced  work 
under  this  agent  were  compelled  by  the  military  to  abandon  their 
operations,  and  one  of  the  claimants  went  to  Galena  to  institute 
legal  proceedings,  but  found  no  court  of  competent  jurisdiction, 
although  he  did  bring  an  action  for  the  recovery  of  a  quantity  of 
lead  dug  at  Dubuque,  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  title.  Being 
unable  to  identify  the  lead,  however,  he  was  non-suited. 

By  act  of  Congress,  approved  July  2, 1830,  the  town  of  Dubuque 
was  surveyed  and  platted.  After  lots  had  been  sold  and  occupied 
by  the  purchasers,  Henry  Choteau  brought  an  action  of  ejectment 
against  Patrick  Malony,  who  held  land  in  Dubuque  under  a  patent 
from  the  United  States,  for  the  recovery  of  seven  undivided  eighth 
parts  of  the  Dubuque  claim,  as  purchased  by  Auguste  Choteau  in 
1804.  The  case  was  tried  in  the  District  Court  of  the  United 
States  for  the  District  of  Iowa,  and  was  decided  adversely  to  the 
plaintiff.  The  case  was  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  on  a  writ  of  error,  when  it  was  heard  at  the  December 
term,  1853,  and  the  decision  of  the  lower  court  was  affirmed,  the 
court  holding  that  the  permit  from  Carondelet  was  merely  a  lease, 
or  permit  to  work  the  mines;  that  Dubuque  asked,  and  the  Gover- 
nor of  Louisiana  granted,  nothing  more  than  the  "peaceable  pos- 
session of  certain  lands  obtained  from  the  Indians;  that  Caron- 
dolet  had  no  legal  authority  to  make  such  a  gfant  as  claimed,  and 
that,  even  if  he  had,  this  was  but  an  "inchoate  and  imperfect 
title." 

Girord. — In  1795,  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  Upper  Louisiana 
granted  to  Basil  Girard  five  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
of  land,  in  what  is  now  Clayton  County,  known  as  the  "Girard 
Tract."  He  occupied  the  land  during  the  time  that  Iowa  passed 
from  Spain  to  France,  aud  from  France  to  the  United  States,  in 
consideration  of  which  the  Federal  Government  granted  a  patent 
of  the  same  to  Girard  in  his  own  right.  His  heirs  i^old  the  whole 
tract  to  James  H.  Lockwood  and  Thomas  P.  Burnett,  of  Prairie  du 
Chien,  for  three  hundred  dollars. 

Honori. — March  30,  1799,  Zenon  Trudeau,  acting  Lieutenant 
Governor  of  Upper  Louisiana,  granted  to  Louis  Honori  a  tract  of 
land  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Montrose,  as  follows:  "It 
is  permitted  to  Mr.  Louis  (Fresson)  Honori,  or  Louis  Honore  Fes- 
son,  to  establish  himself  at  the  head  of  the  rapids  of  the  River  Des 
Moines,  and  his  establishment  once  formed,  notice  of  it  shall  be 
given  to  the  Governor  General,  in  order  to  obtain  for  him  a  com- 
mission of  a  space  sufficient  to  give  value  to  such  establishment, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  render  it  useful  to  the  commerce  of  the 
peltries  of  this  country,  to  watch  the  Indians  and  keep  them  in 
the  fidelity  which  they  owe  to  His  Majesty." 

Honori  took  immediate  possession  of  his  claim,  which  he  retained 
until  1805.     While  trading  with  the  natives  he  became  indebted 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  39 

to  Joseph  Kobedoux,  who  obtained  an  execution  on  wliich  the 
property  was  so]d  May  13,  1803,  and  was  purchased  by  the  cred- 
itor. In  these  proceedings  the  property  was  described  as  being 
''about  six  leagues  above  the  River  Des  Moines."  Robedoux  died 
soon  after  he  purchased  the  property.  Auguste  Choteau,  his  ex- 
ecutor, disposed  of  the  Honori  Tract  to  Thomas  F.  Reddeck,  in 
April,  1805,  up  to  which  time  Honori  continued  to  occupy  it.  The 
grant,  as  made  by  the  Spanish  Government,  was  a  league  square, 
but  only  one  mile  square  was  confirmed  by  the  United  States. 
After  the  half-breeds  sold  their  lands,  in  which  the  Honori  grant 
was  included,  various  claimants  resorted  to  litigation  in  attempts 
to  invalidate  the  title  of  the  Reddeck  heirs,  but  it  was  finally  con- 
firmed by  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
in  1839,  and  is  the  oldest  legal  title  to  any  land  in  the  State  of 
Fowa. 

THE  HALF-BREED  TRACT. 

Before  any  permament  settlement  had  been  made  in  the  Terri- 
tory of  Iowa,  white  adventurers,  trappers  and  traders,  many  of 
whom  were  scattered  along  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  as 
agents  and  employes  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  intermarried 
with  the  females  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  producing  a  race  of 
half-breeds,  whose  number  was  never  definitely  ascertained.  There 
were  some  respectable  and  excellent  people  among  them,  children 
of  men  of  some  refinement  and  education.  For  instance:  Dr. 
Muir,  a  gentleman  educated  at  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  a  surgeon  in 
the  United  States  Army,  stationed  at  a  military  post  located  on 
the  present  site  of  Warsaw,  married  an  Indian  woman  and  reared 
his  family  of  three  daughters  in  the  city  of  Keokuk.  Other  ex- 
amples might  be  cited,  but  they  are  probably  exceptions  to  the 
general  rule,  and  the  race  is  now  nearly  or  quite  extinct  in 
Iowa. 

A  treaty  was  made  at  Washington,  August  4. 1824,  between  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes  and  the  United  States,  by  which  that  portion  of 
Lee  County  was  reserved  to  the  half-breeds  of  those  tribes,  and 
which  was  afterwards  known  as  "The  Half-Breed  Tract."  This 
reservation  is  the  triangular  piece  of  land,  containing  about  119,- 
000  acres,  lying  between  the  Mississippi  and  Des  Moines  Rivers. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  prolongation  of  the  northern 
line  of  Missouri,  This  line  was  intended  to  be  a  straight  one, 
running  due  east,  which  would  have  caused  it  to  strike  the  Miss- 
issipppi  River  at  or  below  Montrose;  but  the  surveyor  who  ran  it 
took  no  notice  of  the  change  of  the  variation  of  the  needle  as  he 
proceeded  eastward,  and,  in  consequence,  the  line  he  run  was  bent, 
deviating  more  and  more  to  the  northward  of  a  direct  line  as  he 
approached  the  Mississippi,  so  that  it  struck  that  river  at  the  lower 
edge  of  the  town  of  Fort  Madison.  "This  erroneous  line,"  says 
Judge  Mason,  "has  been  acquiesced  in  as  well  in  fixing  the  north- 


40  HISTORY   OF   IOWA. 

ern  limit  of  the  Hal£-Breed  Tract  as  in  determining  the  northern 
boundary  line  of  the  State  of  Missouri."  The  line  thus  run  in- 
cluded in  the  reservation  a  portion  of  the  lower  part  of  the  city  of 
Fort  Madison,  and  all  of  the  present  townships  of  Van  Buren, 
Charleston,  Jefferson,  Des  Moines,  Montrose  and  Jackson. 

Under  the  treaty  of  1824,  the  half-breeds  had  the  right  to  oc- 
cupy the  soil,  but  could  not  convey  it,  the  reversion  being  reserved 
to  the  United  States.  But  on  the  30th  day  of  Januarv,  1834,  by 
act  of  Congress,  this  reversionary  right  was  relinquished,  and  the 
half-breeds  acquired  the  lands  in  fee  simple.  This  was  no  sooner 
done  than  a  horde  of  speculators  rushed  into  buy  land  of  the  half- 
breed  owners,  and,  in  many  instances,  a  gun,  a  blanket,  a  pony  or 
a  few  quarts  of  whisky  was  sufficient  for  the  purchase  of  large 
estates.  There  was  a  deal  of  sharp  practice  on  both  sides;  Indians 
would  often  claim  ownership  of  land  by  virtue  of  being  half-breeds, 
and  had  no  difficulty  in  proving  their  mixed  blood  by  the  Indians, 
and  they  would  then  cheat  the  speculators  by  selling  land  to  which 
they  had  no  rightful  title.  On  the  other  hand,  speculators  often 
claimed  land  in  which  they  had  no  ownership.  It  was  diamond 
cut  diamond,  until  at  last  things  became  badly  mixed.  There  was 
no  authorized  surveys  and  no  boundary  lines  to  claims,  and,  as  a 
natural  result,  numerous  conflicts  and  quarrels  ensued. 

To  settle  these  difficulties,  to  decide  the  validity  of  claims  or  sell 
them  for  the  benefit  of  the  real  owners,  by  act  of  the  Legislature 
of  Wisconsin  Territory,  approved  January  16, 1838,  Edward  John- 
stone, Thomas  S.  Wilson  and  David  Brigham  were  appointed 
Commissioners,  and  clothed  with  power  to  effect  these  objects. 
The  act  provided  that  these  Commissioners  should  be  paid  six  dol- 
lars a  day  each.  The  commission  entered  upon  its  duties  and  con- 
tinued until  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature,  when  the  act  cre- 
ating it  was  repealed,  invalidating  all  that  had  been  done  and  de- 
priving the  Commissioners  of  their  pay.  The  repealing  act,  how- 
ever, authorized  the  Commissioners  to  commence  action  against 
the  owners  of  the  Half-Breed  Tract,  to  receive  pay  for  their  ser- 
vices, in  the  District  Court  of  Lee  County.  Two  judgments  were 
obtained,  and  on  execution  the  whole  of  the  tract  was  sold  to  Hugh 
T.  Reid,  the  Sheriff  executing  the  deed.  Mr.  Reid  sold  portions  of 
it  to  various  parties,  but  his  own  title  was  questioned,  and  he  be- 
came involved  in  litigation.  Decisions  in  favor  of  Reed  and  those 
holding  under  him  were  made  by  both  District  and  Supreme 
Courts;  but  in  December,  1850,  these  decisions  were  finally  reversed 
by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  the  case  of  Joseph 
Webster,  plaintiff  in  error,  vs.  Hugh  T.  Reid,  and  the  judgment 
titles  failed.  About  nine  years  before  the  "judgment  titles"  were 
finally  abrogated  as  above,  another  class  of  titles  were  brought 
intp  competition  with  them,  and  in  the  conflict  between  the  two, 
the  final  decision  was  obtained.  These  were  the  titles  based  on 
the  "decree  of   partition"  issued  by  the  United    States  District 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  41 

Court  for  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  on  the  8th  of  May,  1841,  and 
certified  to  by  the  Clerk  on  the  2d  day  of  June  of  that  year.  Ed- 
ward Johnstone  and  Hugh  T.  Reid,  then  law  partners  at  Fort 
Madison,  filed  the  petition  for  the  decree  in  behalf  of  the  St.  Louis 
claimants  of  half-breed  lands.  Francis  S.  Key,  author  of  the  Star 
Spangled  Banner,  who  was  then  attorney  for  the  New  York  Land 
Company,  which  held  heavy  interest  in  these  lands,  took  a  leading 
part  in  the  measure,  and  drew  up  the  document  in  which  it  was 
presented  to  the  court.  Judge  Charles  Mason,  of  Burlington,  pre- 
sided. The  plan  of  partition  divided  the  tract  into  one  hundred 
and  one  shares,  and  arranged  that  each  claimant  should  draw  his 
proportion  by  lot,  and  should  abide  the  result,  whatever  it  might 
be.  The  arrangement  was  entered  into,  the  lots  drawn,  and  the 
plat  of  the  same  filed  in  the  Recorders  office,  October  6,  1841. 
Upon  this  basis  the  titles  to  land  in  the  Half-Breed  Tract  are  now 
held. 

EARLY  SETTLEMENTS. 

The  first  permament  settlement  by  the  whites  within  the  limits 
of  Iowa  was  made  by  Julien  Dubuque,  in  1788,  when,  with  a  small 
party  of  miners,  he  settled  on  the  site  of  the  city  that  now  bears 
his  name,  where  he  lived  until  his  death,  in  1810.  Louis  Honori 
settled  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Montrose,  probably  in 
1799,  and  resided  there  until  1805,  when  his  property  passed  into 
other  hands.  Of  the  Girard  settlement,  opposite  Prairie  du  Chien, 
little  is  known,  except  that  it  was  occupied  by  some  parties  prior 
to  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  and  contained  three 
cabins  in  1805.  Indian  traders,  although  not  strictly  to  be  con- 
sidered settlers,  had  established  themselves  at  various  points  at  an 
an  early  date.  A  Mr.  Johnson,  Agent  of  the  American  Fur  Com- 
pany, had  a  trading  post  below  Burlington,  where  he  carried  on 
traffic  with  the  Indians  some  time  before  the  United  States  pos- 
sessed the  country.  In  1820,  Le  Moliese,  a  French  trader,  had  a 
station  at  what  is  now  Sandusky  six  miles  above  Keokuk,  in  Lee 
County.  In  1829,  Dr.  Isaac  Gallaud  made  a  settlement  on  the 
Lower  Rapids,  at  what  is  now  Nashville. 

The  first  settlement  in  Lee  county  was  made  in  1820,  by  Dr. 
Samuel  C.  Muir,  a  surgeon  in  the  United  States  army,  who  had 
been  stationed  at  Fort  Edwards,  now  Warsaw,  111.,  and  who  built 
a  cabin  where  the  city  of  Keokuk  now  stands. 

Messrs.  Reynolds  &  Culver,  who  had  leased  Dr.  Muir's  claim  at 
Keokuk,  subsequently  employed  as  their  agent  Mr.  Moses  Still- 
well,  who  arrived  with  his  family  in  1828,  and  took  possession  of 
Muir's  cabin.  His  brothers-in-law,  Amos  and  Valencourt  Van 
Ausdal  came  with  him  and  settled  near. 

His  daughter,  Margaret  Stillwell  (afterward  Mrs.  Ford),  was 
born  in  1831,  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  called  by  the  Indians  Puch- 
a-she-tuck,  where  Keokuk  now  stands.  She  was  probably  the  first 
white  American  child  born  in  Iowa. 


42  HISTORY    OF    IOWA. 

In  1831,  Mr.  Johnson,  agent  of  the  American  Fur  Company, 
who  had  a  station  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  removed  to  another  lo- 
cation, and  Dr.  Muir  having  returned  from  Galena,  he  and  Isaac 
R.  Campbell  took  the  place  and  buildings  vacated  by  the  Company, 
and  carried  on  trade  with  the  Indians  and  half-breeds.  Campbell, 
who  had  first  visited  and  traveled  through  the  southern  part  of 
Iowa,  in  1821,  was  an  enterprising  settler,  and  besides  trading  with 
the  natives,  carried  on  a  farm  and  kept  a  tavern. 

Dr.  Muir  died  of  cholera  in  1832. 

In  1830,  James  L.  and  Lucius  H.  Langwortliy,  brothers  and  na- 
tives of  Vermont,  visited  the  Territory  for  the  purpose  of  working 
the  lead  mines  at  Dubuque.  They  had  been  engaged  in  lead  min- 
ing at  Galena,  Illinois,  the  former  as  early  as  1824.  The  lead 
mines  in  the  Dubuque  region  were  an  object  of  great  interest  to 
the  miners  about  Galena,  lor  they  were  known  to  be  rich  in  lead 
ore.  To  explore  these  mines  and  to  obtain  permission  to  work 
them  was  therefore  eminently  desirable. 

In  1829,  James  L.  Langworthy  resolved  to  visit  the  Dubuque 
mines.  Crossing  the  Mississippi  at  a  point  now  known  as  Dun- 
leith  in  a  canoe,  and  swimming  his  horse  by  his  side,  he  landed  on 
the  spot  now  known  as  Jones  Street  Levee.  Before  him  spread 
out  a  beautiful  prairie,  on  which  the  city  of  Dubuque  now  stands. 
Two  miles  south,  at  the  mouth  of  Catfish  Creek,  was  a  village  of 
Sacs  and  Foxes.  Thither  Mr.  Langworthy  proceeded,  and  was 
well  received  by  the  natives.  He  endeavored  to  obtain  permission 
from  them  to  mine  in  their  hills,  but  this  they  refused.  He,  how- 
ever, succeeded  in  gaining  the  confidence  of  the  chief  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  be  allowed  to  travel  in  the  interior  for  three  weeks  and 
explore  the  country.  He  employed  two  young  Indians  as  guides, 
and  traversed  in  different  directions  the  whole  region  lying  between 
the  Maquoketa  and  Turkey  Rivers.  He  returned  to  the  village, 
secured  the  good  will  of  the  Indians,  and  returning  to  Galena, 
formed  plans  for  future  operations,  to  be  executed  as  soon  as  cir- 
cumstances would  permit. 

In  1830,  with  his  brother,  Lucius  H.,  and  others,  having  ob- 
tained the  consent  of  the  Indians,  Mr.  Langworthy  crossed  the 
Mississippi  and  commenced  mining  in  the  vicinity  around  Du- 
buque. 

At  this  time,  the  lands  were  not  in  the  actual  possession  of  the 
United  States.  Although  they  had  been  purchased  from  France, 
the  Indian  title  had  not  been  extinguished,  and  these  adventurous 
persons  were  beyond  the  limits  of  any  State  or  Territorial  govern- 
ment. The  first  settlers  were  therefore  obliged  to  be  their  own 
law-makers,  and  to  agree  to  such  regulations  as  the  exigencies  of 
the  case  demanded.  The  first  act  resembling  civil  legislation 
within  the  limits  of  the  present  State  of  Iowa  was  done  hy  the 
miners  at  this  point,  in  June,  1830.  They  met  on  the  bank  of  the 
river,  by  the  side  of  an  old  cottonwood  drift  log,  at  what  is  now 


HISTOKY    OF   iOWA.  43 

the  Joues  Street  Levee,  Dubuque,  and  elected  a  committee,  con- 
sisting of  J.  L.  Langworthy,  H.  F.  Lander,  James  McPhetres, 
Samuel  Scales,  and  E.  M.  Wren.  This  may  be  called  the  first 
Legislature  in  Iowa,  the  members  of  which  gathered  around  that 
old  Cottonwood  log,  and  agreed  to  and  reported  the  following, 
written  by  Mr.  Langworthy,  on  a  half-sheet  of  coarse,  unruled  paper, 
the  old  log  being  the  writing  desk: 

We,  a  Comtnitte!^,  having  been  chosen  to  tbaft  certain  rales  and  regulations 
(laws)  by  which  we,  as  minors,  will  be  governed,  and  having  duly  considered 
the  subject,  do  unanimously  agree  that  we  will  be  governed  by  the  regula- 
tions on  t!i^  cast  side  ot  the  Mississippi  River,*  wdth  the  following  exceptions, 
to  wit: 

Article  I.  That  each  and  every  man  shall  hold  200  yards  square  of  ground 
by  working  said  ground  one  day  in  six. 

Article  II.  We  further  agree  tliat  there  shall  be  chosen,  by  the  majority 
of  the  miners  present,  a  person  who  shall  hold  this  article,  and  who  shall  grant 
lettei-s  of  arbitration  on  application  having  been  made,  and  that  said  letters  of 
arbitration  shall  ba  obligatory  on  the  parties  so  applying. 

The  report  was  accepted  by  the  miners  present,  who  elected  Dr. 
Jarote,  in  accordance  with  Article  2.  Here,  then,  we  have  in  1830, 
a  primitive  Legislature  elected  by  the  people,  the  law  drafted  by  it 
being  submitted  to  the  people  for  approval,  and  under  it  Dr.  Jarote 
was  elected  first  Grovernor  within  the  limits  of  the  present  State  of 
Iowa.  And  it  is  to  be  said  that  the  laws  thus  enacted  were 
as  promptly  obeyed,  and  the  acts  of  the  executive  ofiicer  thus 
elected  as  duly  respected,  as  any  have  been  since. 

The  miners  who  had  thus  erected  an  independent  government 
of  their  own  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi  River,  continued 
to  work  successfully  for  a  long  time,  and  the  new  settlement  at- 
tracted considerable  attention.  But  the  west  side  of  the  Mississ- 
ippi belonged  to  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  and  the  Government  in 
order  to  preserve  peace  on  the  frontier,  as  well  as  to  protect  the 
Indians  in  their  rights  under  the  treaty,  ordered  the  settlers  not 
only  to  stop  mining,  but  to  remove  from  the  Indian  territory. 
They  were  simply  intruders.  The  execution  of  this  order  was  en- 
trusted to  Col.  Zachary  Taylor,  then  in  command  of  the  military 
post  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  who,  early  in  July,  sent  an  ofiicer  to  the 
miners  with  orders  to  forbid  settlement,  and  to  command  the 
miners  to  remove  within  ten  days  to  the  east  side  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, or  they  would  be  driven  off  by  armed  force.  The  miners, 
however;  were  reluctant  about  leaving  the  rich  ''  leads"  they  had 
already  discovered  and  opened,  and  were  not  disposed  to  obey  the 
order  to  remove  with  any  considerable  degree  of  alacrity.  In  due 
time,  Col.  Taylor  dispatched  a  detachment  of  troops  to  enforce  his 
order.  The  miners,  anticipating  their  arrival,  had,  excepting 
three,  recrossed  the  river,  and  from  the  east  bank  saw  the  troops 
land  on  the  western  shore.      The  three  who  had  linjjrered  a  little 


■D"^ 


"Established  by  the  Superintendent  of  U.  S.  Lead  Mines  at  Fever  River. 


44  HISTOKY    OF    IOWA. 

too  loug  were,  however,  permitted  to  make  their  escape  unmolest- 
ed. From  this  time  a  military  force  was  stationed  at  Dubuque  to 
prevent  the  settlers  from  returning,  until  June,  1832.  The  In- 
dians returned,  and  were  encouraged  to  operate  the  rich  mines 
opened  by  the  late  white  occupants. 

In  June  1832,  the  troops  were  ordered  to  the  east  side  to  assist 
in  the  annihilation  of  the  very  Indians  whose  rights  they  had  been 
protecting  on  the  west  side.     Immediately  after  the  close  of  the 
Black  Hawk  war,  and  the  negotiations  of  the  treaty  in  September, 
1832,  by  which  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  ceded  to  the  United  States  the 
tract  known  as  the  "Black  Hawk  Purchase,"  the  settlers,  suppos- 
ing that  now  they  had  a  right  to  re-enter  the  Territory,  returned 
and  took  possession  of  their  claims,  built  cabins,  erected  furnaces, 
and  prepared  large  quantities  of  lead  for  market.     Dubuque  was 
becoming  a  noted  place  on  the  river,  but  the  prospects  of  the  hardy 
and  enterprising  settlers  and  miners  were  again  ruthlessly  inter- 
fered with  by  the  government,  on  the  ground  that  the  treaty  with 
the  Indians  would  not  go  into  force  until  June   1,  1833,  although 
they  had  withdrawn  from  the  vicinity  of  the  settlement.     Col. 
Taylor  was  again  ordered  by  the  War  Department  to  remove  the 
miners,  and  in  January,  1833,  troops  were  again  sent  frorn  Prairie 
du  Chien  to  Dubuque  for  that  purpose.     This  was  a  serious  and 
perhaps  unnecessary  hardship  imposed  upon  the  settlers.     They 
Avere   compelled  to  abandon  their  cabins  and  homes  in  midwinter. 
It  must  be  now  said,  simply  that  "red  tape*'  should  be  respected. 
The  purchase  had  been  made,  the  treaty  ratified,  or  was  sure  to  be; 
the  Indians  had  retired,  and,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  fifty  years, 
no  very  satisfactory  reason  for  this  rigorous  action  of  the  Govern- 
ment can  be  given. 

But  the  orders  had  been  given,  and  there  was  no  alternative  but 
to  obey.  Many  of  the  settlers  recrossed  the  river  and  did  not  re- 
turn; a  few,  however,  removed  to  an  island  near  the  east  bank  of 
the  river,  built  rude  cabins  of  poles,  in  which  to  store  their  lead 
until  spring,  when  they  could  iloat  the  fruits  of  their  labor  to  St. 
Louis  for  sale,  and  where  they  could  remain  until  the  treaty  went 
into  force,  when  they  could  return.  Among  these  were  James  L. 
Lan  gworthy,  and  his  brother  Lucius,  who  had  on  hand  about  three 
hundred  thousand  pounds  of  lead. 

Lieut.  Covington,  who  had  been  placed  in  command  at  Dubuque 
by  Col.  Taylor,  ordered  some  of  the  cabins  of  the  settlers  to  be 
torn  down,  and  wagons  and  other  property  to  be  destroyed.  This 
wanton  and  inexcusable  action  on  the  part  of  a  subordinate  clothed 
with  a  little  brief  authority  was  sternly  rebuked  by  Col.  Taylor, 
and  Covington  was  superseded  by  Lieut.  Geo.  Wilson,  who  pursued 
a  just  and  friendly  course  with  the  pioneers,  who  were  only  waiting 
for  the  time  when  they  could  repossess  their  claims. 

June  1,  1833,  the  treaty  formally  went  into  effect,  the  troops 
were  withdrawn,  and  the  Langworthy  brothers  and  a  few  others  at 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  45 

once  returned  and  resumed  possession  o£  their  home  claims  and 
mineral  prospects,  and  from  this  time  the  first  permament  settle- 
ment of  this  portion  of  Iowa  must  date.  Mr.  John  P.  Sheldon 
was  appointed  Superintendent  of  the  mines  by  the  Government, 
and  a  system  of  permits  to  miners  and  licenses  to  smelters  was 
adopted,  similar  to  that  which  had  been  in  operation  at  Galena, 
since  1825,  under  Lieut.  Martin  Thomas  and  Capt.  Thomas  C.  Le- 
gate. Substantially  the  primitive  law  enacted  by  the  miners  as- 
sembled around  that  old  cottonwood  drift  log  in  1830  was  adopted 
and  enforced  by  the  United  States  Government,  except  that  miners 
were  required  to  sell  their  mineral  to  licensed  smelters,  and  the 
smelter  was  required  to  give  bonds  for  the  payment  of  six  per 
cent,  of  all  lead  manufactured  to  the  Government.  This  was 
the  same  rule  adopted  in' the  United  States  mines  on  Fever  River 
in  Illinois,  except  that,  until  1830,  the  Illinois  miners  were  com- 
pelled to  pay  ten  per  cent  tax.  This  tax  upon  the  miners  created 
much  dissatisfaction  among  the  miners  on  the  west  side  as  it  had 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi.  They  thought  they  had  suf- 
fered hardships  and  privations  enough  in  opening  the  way  for 
civilization  without  being  subjected  to  the  imposition  of  an  odious 
government  tax  upon  their  means  of  subsistence,  when  the  Fed- 
eral Government  could  better  afford  to  aid  than  to  extort  from 
them.  The  measure  soon  became  unpopular.  It  was  difficult  to 
collect  the  taxes,  and  the  whole  system  was  abolished  in  about  ten 
years. 

During  1883,  after  the  Indian  title  was  fully  extinguished,  about 
five  hundred  people  arrived  at  the  mining  district,  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  of  them  from  Galena. 

In  the  same  year  Mr.  Langworthy  assisted  in  building  the  first 
school  house  in  Iowa,  and  thus  was  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  now 
populous  and  thrivii^  city  of  Dubuque.  Mr.  Langworthy  lived  to 
see  the  naked  prairie  on  which  he  first  landed  become  the  site  of  a 
city  of  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants,  Ihe  small  school  house  which 
he  aided  in  constructing  replaced  b}'  three  substantial  edifices, 
wherein  two  thousand  children  were  being  trained,  churches 
erected  in  every  part  of  the  city,  and  railroads  connecting  the 
wilderness  which  he  first  explored  with  all  the  eastern  world.  He 
died  suddenly  on  the  13th  of  March,  1865,  while  on  atrip  over  the 
Dubuque  &  Southwestern  Railroad,  at  Monticello,  and  the  evening 
train  brougkt  news  of  his  death  and  his  remains. 

Lucius  H.  Langworthy,  his  brother,  was  one  of  the  most  worthy, 
gifted  and  influential  of  the  old  settlers  of  this  section  of  Iowa. 
He  died,  greatly  lamented  by  many  friends,  in  June,  1865. 

The  name  Dubuque  was  given  to  the  settlement  by  miners  at  a 
meeting  held  in  1834. 

In  1832,  Captain  James  "White  made  a  claim  on  the  present  site 
of  Montrose.     In  1834  a  military  post  was  established  at  this  point 


/ 


46  HISTORY   OF    IOWA. 

and  a  garrison  of  cavalry  was  stationed  here,  under  the  command 
of  Col.  Stephen  W.  Kearney.  The  soldiers  were  removed  from 
this  post  to  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  in  1837. 

During  the  same  year,  1832,  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Black 
Hawk  war,  Zachariah  Hawkins,  Benjamin  Jennings,  Aaron 
White,  Augustine  Horton,  Samuel  Gooch,  Daniel  Thompson  and 
Peter  Williams  made  claims  at  Fort  Madison.  In  1833,  these 
claims  were  purchased  by  John  and  Nathaniel  Knapp,  upon  which, 
in  1835,  they  laid  out  the  town.  The  next  summer,  lots  were 
sold.  The  town  was  subsequently  re-surveyed  and  platted  by  the 
United  States  Government. 

At  the  close  of  the  Black  Hawk  War,  parties  who  had  been  im- 
patiently looking  across  upon  "Flint  Hills,"  now  Burlington,  came 
over  from  Illinois  and  made  claims.  The  first  was  Samuel  S. 
White,  in  the  fall  of  1832,  who  erected  a  cabin  on  the  site  of  the 
city  of  Burlington.  About  the  same  time,  David  Tothero  made 
a  claim  on  the  prairie  about  three  miles  back  from  from  the  river, 
at  a  place  since  known  as  the  farm  of  Judge  Morgan.  In  the 
winter  of  that  year,  they  were  driven  off  by  the  military  from 
Rock  Island,  as  intruders  upon  the  rights  of  the  Indians,  and 
White's  cabin  was  burnt  by  the  soldiers.  He  retired  to  Illinois, 
where  he  spent  the  winter,  and  in  the  summer,  as  soon  as  the  In- 
dian title  was  extinguished,  returned  and  rebuilt  his  cabin. 
White  was  joined  by  his  brother-in-law,  Doolitle,  and  they  laid  out 
the  original  town  of  Burlington,  in  1834. 

All  along  the  river  borders  of  the  Black  Hawk  Purchase  settlers 
were  flocking  into  Iowa.  Immediately  after  the  treaty  with  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes,  in  September,  1832,  Col.  George  Davenport  made 
the  first  claim  on  the  spot  where  the  thriving  city  of  Davenport 
now  stands.  As  early  as  1827,  Col.  Davenport  had  established  a 
flatboat  ferry,  which  ran  between  the  island  and  the  main  shore  of 
Iowa,  by  which  he  carried  on  a  trade  with  the  Indians  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  In  1833,  Capt.  Benjamin  W.  Clark  moved  across  from 
Illinois,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  town  of  Buffalo,  in  Scott 
county,  which  was  the  first  actual  settlement  within  the  limits  of 
that  county.  Among  other  early  settlers  in  this  part  of  the  Ter- 
ritory were  Adrian  H.  Davenport,  Col.  John  Sullivan,  Mulligan 
and  Franklin  Easly,  Capt.  John  Coleman,  J.  M.  Camp,  William 
White,  H.  W.  Higgins,  Cornelius  Harrold,  Kichard  Harrison,  E. 
H.  Shepherd  and  Dr.  E.  S.  Barrows. 

The  first  settlers  of  Davenport  were  Antoine  LeClaire,  Col. 
George  Davenport,  Major  Thomas  Smith,  Major  William  Gordon, 
Philip  Hambaugh,  Alexander  W.  McGregor,  Levi.  S.  Colton,  Capt. 
James  May  and  others.  Of  Antoine  LeClaire,  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  two  races  of  men  who,  at  this  time  occupied  Iowa,  Hon. 
C.  C.  Nourse,  in  his  admirable  Centennial  address,  says:  "Antoine 
LeClaire  wixs  born  in  St.  Joseph,  Michigan.  1797.  His  father 
was  French,  his  mother  a  granddaughter  of  a  Pottawattamie  chief. 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  47 

In  1818  he  acted  as  official  interpreter  to  Col.  Davenport,  at  Fort 
Armstrong  (now  Rock  Island).  He  was  well  acquainted  with  a 
dozen  Indian  dialects,  and  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and  great 
energy.  In  1820  he  married  the  granddaughter  of  a  Sac  chief. 
The  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  reserved  for  him  and  his  wife  two  sec- 
tions of  land  in  the  treaty  of  1833,  one  at  the  town  of  LeClaire 
and  one  at  Davenport,  The  Pottawattamies,  in  the  treaty  at 
Prairie  du  Chien,  also  reserved  for  him  two  sections  of  land,  at  the 
present  site  of  Moline,  111.  He  received  the  appointment  of  Post- 
master and  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  the  Black  Hawk  Purchase,  at 
an  early  day.  In  1833  he  bought  for  $100  a  claim  on  the  land 
upon  which  the  original  town  of  Davenport  was  surveyed  and 
platted  in  1836.  In  1836  LeClaire  built  the  hotel,  known  since, 
with  its  valuable  addition,  as  the  LeClaire  House.  He  died  Sep- 
tember 25,  1861." 

In  Clayton  county  the  first  settlement  was  made  in  the  Spring  of 
1832,  on 'Turkey  River,  by  Robert  Hatfield  and  William  W.  Way- 
man.  No  further  settlements  were  made  in  this  part  of  the  State 
till  the  beginning  of  1836. 

In  that  portion  now  known  as  Muscatine  county,  settlements 
were  made  in  1834,  by  Benjamin  Nye,  John  Vanater  and  Gr.  W. 
Kasey,  who  were  the  first  settlers.  E.  E.  Fay.  William  St.  John, 
N.  FuUington,  H.  Reece,  Jona.  Pettibone,  R.  P.  Lowe,  Stephen 
Whicher,  Abijah  Whiting,  J.  E.  Fletcher,  W.  D.  Abernethy  and 
Alexis  Smith  were  early  settlers  of  Muscatine. 

During  the  summer  of  1835,  William  Bennett  and  his  family, 
from  Galena,  built  the  first  cabin  within  the  present  limits  of 
Delaware  county,  in  some  timber  since  known  as  Eads'  Grove. 

The  first  postoffice  in  Iowa  was  established  at  Dubuque  in  1833. 
Milo  H.  Prentice  was  appointed  postmaster. 

The  first  Justice  of  the  Peace  was  Antoine  LeClaire,  appointed 
in  1833,  as  "a  very  suitable  person  to  adjust  the  difficulties  be- 
tween the  white  settlers  and  the  Indians  still  remaining  there." 

The  first  Methodist  Society  in  the  Territory  was  formed  at  Du- 
buque on  the  18th  of  May,  1831,  and  the  first  class  meeting  was 
held  June  1st  of  that  year. 

The  first  church  bell  brought  into  Iowa  was  in  March,  1834. 

The  first  mass  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the  Territory 
was  celebrated  at  Dubuque,  in  the  house  of  Patrick  Quigley,  in 
the  fall  of  1833. 

The  first  school-house  in  the  Territory  was  erected  by  the  Du- 
buque miners  in  1833. 

The  first  Sabbath  school  was  organized  at  Dubuque  early  in  the 
Summer  of  1834. 

The  first  woman  who  came  to  this  part  of  the  Territory  with  a 
view  to  permanent  residence,  was  Mrs.  Noble  F.  Dean,  in  the  Fall 
of  1832. 


48    ■  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

The  first  faaiily  that  lived  in  this  part  of  Iowa  was  that  of 
Hosea  T.  Camp,  in  1832. 

The  first  meeting  house  was  built  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  at  Dubuque,  in  1834. 

The  first  newspaper  in  Iowa  was  the  Dubuque  Visitor,  issued 
May  11th,  1836.  John  King,  afterward  Judge  King,  was  editor, 
and  William  C.  Jones,  printer. 

The  pioneers  of  lowa^  as  a  class,  where  brave,  hardy,  intelligent 
and  enterprising  people. 

As  early  as  1824,  a  French  trader  named  Hart  had  established  a 
trading  post,  and  built  a  cabin  on  the  bluffs  above  the  large  spring 
now  known  as  ''Mynster  Spring,"  within  the  limits  of  the  pres- 
ent city  of  Council  Bluffs,  and  had  probably  been  there  some  time, 
as  the  post  was  known  to  the  employes  of  the  American  Fur 
Company  as  Lacote  de  Hart,  or  ''Hart's  BlufP."  In  1827  an 
agent  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  Francis  Guittar,  with  others, 
encamped  in  the  timber  at  the  foot  of  the  bluffs,  about  on  the 
present  location  of  Broadway,  and  afterward  settled  there.  In 
1839  a  block  house  was  built  on  the  bluff  in  the  east  part  of  the 
city.  The  Pottawattamie  Indians  occupied  this  part  of  the  State 
until  1846-7,  when  they  relinquished  the  territory  and  removed  to 
Kansas.  Billy  Caldwell  was  then  principal  chief.  There  were  no 
white  settlers  in  that  part  of  the  State,  except  Indian  traders, 
until  the  arrival  of  the  Mormons  under  the  lead  of  Brigham 
Young.  These  people,  on  their  way  westward,  halted  for  the 
Winter  of  1846-7  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Missouri  River,  about 
five  miles  above  Omaha,  at  a  place  now  called  Florence.  Some  of 
them  had  reaohed  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river  the  Spring  before, 
in  season  to  plant  a  crop.  In  the  Spring  of  1847,  Young  and  a 
portion  of  the  colony  pursued  their  journey  to  Salt  Lake,  but  a 
large  portion  of  them  returned  to  the  Iowa  side  and  settled  mainly 
within  the  limits  of  Pottawattamie  County.  The  principal  settle- 
ment of  this  strange  community  was  at  a  place  called  "Miller's 
Hollow,"  on  Indian  Creek,  and  afterward  named  Kanesville,  in 
honor  of  Col.  Kane,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  visited  them  soon  after- 
ward. The  Mormon  settlement  extended  over  the  county  and  into 
neighboring  counties,  wherever  timber  and  water  furnished 
desirable  locations.  Orson  Hyde,  priest,  lawyer  and  editor,  was 
installed  as  President  of  the  Quorum  of  Twelve,  and  all  that  part 
of  the  State  remained  under  Mormon  control  for  several  years. 
In  1846,  they  raised  a  battalion,  numbering  some  five  hundred 
men,  for  the  Mexican  war.  In  1848  Hyde  started  a  paper  called 
the  Frontier  Guardian,  at  Kanesville.  In  1849,  after  many  of 
the  faithful  had  left  to  join  Brigham  Young  at  Salt  Lake,  the 
Mormons  in  this  section  of  Iowa  numbered  6,552,  and  in  1850, 
7,828,  but  they  were  not  all  Avithin  the  limits  of  Pottawattamie 
County,     This  county  was  organized  in  1848,  all  the  first  officials 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  49 

being  Mormons.  In  1852  the  order  was  promulgated  that  all  the 
true  believers  should  gather  together  at  Salt  Lake.  Gentiles 
flocked  in,  and  in  a  lew  years  nearly  all  the  settlers  were  gone. 

May  9,  1843,  Captain  James  Allen,  with  a  small  detachment  of 
troops  on  board  the  steamer  lone,  arrived  at  the  present  site  of  the 
capital  of  the  State,  Des  Moines.  The  lone  was  the  first  steamer 
to  ascend  the  Des  Moines  River  to  this  point.  The  troops  and 
stores  were  landed  at  what  is  now  the  foot  of  Court  avenue,  Des 
Moines,  and  Capt.  Allen  returned  in  the  steamer  to  Fort  Sanford 
to  arrange  for  bringing  up  more  soldiers  and  supplies.  In  due 
time,  they,  too,  arrived,  and  a  fort  was  built  near  the  mouth  of 
Raccoon  F'ork,  at  its  confluence  with  the  Des  Moines,  and  named 
Fort  Des  Moines.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  troops,  a  trading 
post  was  established  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  by  two  noted 
Indian  traders  named  Ewing,  from  Ohio. 

Among  the  first  settlers  in  this  part  of  Iowa  were  Benjamin 
Bryant,  J.  B.  Scott,  James  Drake  (gunsmith),  John  Sturtevant, 
Robert  Kinzie,  Alexander  Turner,  Peter  Newcomer,  and  others. 

The  Western  States  have  been  settled  by  many  of  the  best  and 
most  enterprising  men  of  the  older  States,  and  a  large  immigra- 
tion of  the  best  blood  of  the  Old  World^  who,  removing  to  an 
arena  of  larger  opportunies,  in  a  more  fertile  soil  and  congenial 
climate,  have  developed  a  spirit  and  energy  peculiarly  Western, 
In  no  country  on  the  globe  have  enterprises  of  all  kinds  been 
pushed  forward  with  such  rapidity,  or  has  there  been  such  indepen- 
dence and  freedom  of  competition.  Among  those  who  have  pio- 
neered the  civilization  of  the  West,  and  been  the  founders  of  great 
States,  none  have  ranked  higher  in  the  scale  of  intelligence  and 
moral  worth  than  the  pioneers  of  Iowa,  who  came  to  the  territory 
when  it  was  an  Indian  country,  and  through  hardship,  privation 
and  safFering,  laid  the  foundation  of  the  populous  and  prosperous 
commonwealth  which  to-day  dispenses  its  blessings  to  a  million 
and  a  half  of  people.  From  her  first  settlement  and  from  the 
first  organization  as  a  territory  to  the  present  day,  Iowa  has  had 
able  men  to  manage  her  affairs,  wise  statemen  to  shape  her  destiny 
and  frame  her  laws,  and  intelligent  and  impartial  jurists  to  admin- 
ister justice  to  her  citizens;  her  bar,  pulpit  and  press  have  been 
able  and  widely  influential;  and  in  all  the  professions,  arts,  enter- 
prises and  industries  which  go  to  make  up  a  great  and  prosperous 
commonwealth,  she  has  taken  and  holds  a  front  rank  among  her 
sister  States  of  the  West. 

TERRITORIAL  HISTORY. 

By  act  of  Congress,  approved  October  31,  1803,  the  President  of 
the  United  States  was  authorized  to  take  possession  of  the  terri- 
tory included  in  the  Lousiana  purchase,  and  provided  for  a  tem- 
porary government.  By  another  act  of  the  same  session,  approved 
March  26,  1804,  the  neAvly  acquired  country  was  divided,  October 


50  HISTORY   OF   IOWA. 

1st,  1804,  iuto  tlie  territory  of  Orleans,  south  of  the  thirtj-third 
parallel  of  north  latitude,  and  the  district  of  Louisiana,  which  lat- 
ter was  placed  under  the  authority  of  the  officers  of  Indian  Territory. 

In  1802  the  district  of  Louisiana  was  organized  as  a  Territory, 
with  a  government  of  its  own.  In  1807  Iowa  was  included  in  the 
Territory  of  Illinois,  and  in  1812  in  the  Territory  of  Missouri. 
When  Missouri  Avas  admitted  as  a  State,  March  2,  1821,  "Iowa," 
says  Hon.  C.  C.  Nourse,  "was  left  a  political  orphan,"  until  by 
act  of  Congress,  approved  June  28,  1834,  the  Black  Hawk  pur- 
chase having  been  made,  all  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi 
and  north  of  the  northern  boundary  of  Missouri,  was  made  a  part  of 
Michigan  Territory.  L^p  to  this  time  there  had  been  no  county 
or  other  organization  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Iowa,  although 
one  or  two  Justices  of  the  Peace  had  been  appointed  and  a  post- 
office  was  established  at  Dubuque  in  1833.  In  September,  1834, 
however,  the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Michigan  created  two  coun- 
ties on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi  River,  viz.:  Dubuque  and 
Des  Moines,  separated  by  a  line  drawn  westward  from  the  foot  of 
Rock  Island.  These  counties  were  partially  organized.  John 
King  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  Dubuque  County,  and  Isaac 
Leffler  of  Burlington,  of  Des  Moines  County.  Two  Associate 
Justices  in  each  county  were  appointed  by  the  Governor. 

On  the  first  Monday  in  October,  1825,  Gen.  Geo.  W.  Jones,  now 
a  citizen  of  Dubuque,  was  elected  a  Delegate  to  Congress  from  this 
part  of  Michigan  Territory.  On  the  20th  of  April,  1836,  through 
the  efforts  of  Gen.  Jones,  Congress  passed  a  bill  creating  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Wisconsin,  which  went  into  operation  July  4,  1836,  and 
Iowa  was  then  included  in 

THE    TERRITORY    OF   WISCONSIN, 

of  which  Gen.  Henry  Dodge  was  appointed  Governor;  John  S. 
Horner,  Secretary  of  the  Territory;  Charles  Dunn,  Chief  Justice; 
David  Irwin  and  Wm.  C.  Fraz<-r,  Associate  Justices. 

September  9,  1836,  Gov.  Dodge  ordered  the  census  of  the  new 
territory  to  be  taken.  This  census  resulted  in  showing  a  popula- 
tion of  10,531  in  the  counties  of  Dubuque  and  Des  Moines.  Un- 
der the  apportionment,  these  two  counties  Avere  entitled  to  six 
members  of  the  Council  and  thirteen  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. The  Governor  issued  his  proclamation  for  an  election  to  be 
held  on  the  first  Monday  of  October,  1836^  on  which  day  the  fol- 
lowing members  of  the  First  Territorial  Legislature  of  Wisconsin 
were  elected  from  the  two  counties  in  the  Black  Hawk  purchase: 

Duhuque  County. — Council:  John  Fally,  Thomas  McKnight, 
Thomas  McCarney.  House:  Loring  Wheeler,  Hardin  Nowlan, 
Peter  Hill  Engle,  Patrick  (^uigley,  Hosea  T.  Camp. 

Des  Moines  Count y. — Council:  Jeremiah  Smith,  Jr.,  Joseph  R. 
Teas,  Arthur  B.  Inghram.  House:  Isaac  Leffler,  Thomas  Blair, 
Warren  L.  Jenkins,  John  Box,  George  W.  Teas,  Eli  Reynolds, 
David  R.  Chance. 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  51 

The  first  Legislature  assembled  at  Belmont,  iu  the  present  State 
of  Wisconsin,  on  the  25th  day  of  October,  1836,  and  was  organized 
by  electing  Henry  T.  Baird  President  of  the  Council,  and  Peter 
Hill  Engle,  of  Dubuque,  Speaker  of  the  House.  It  adjourned 
December  9,  1836. 

The  second  Legislature  assembled  at  Burlington,  November  10, 
1837.  Adjourned  January  20,  1838.  The  third  session  was  at 
Burlington;  commenced  June  1st,  and  adjourned  June  12,  1838. 

During  the  first  session  of  Wisconsin  Territorial  Legislature, 
in  1836,  the  County  of  Des  Moines  was  divided  in  Des  Moines, 
Lee,  Van  Buren,  Henry,  Muscatine  and  Cook  (the  latter  being  sub- 
sequently changed  to  Scott)  and  defined  their  boundaries.  During 
the  second  session,  out  of  the  territory  embraced  in  Dubuque 
County,  were  created  the  counties  of  Dubuque,  Clayton,  Fayette, 
Delaware,  Buchanan,  Jackson,  Jones,  Linn,  Clinton  and  Cedar, 
and  their  boundaries  defined,  but  the  most  of  them  were  not  or- 
ganized until  several  years  afterward,  under  the  authority  of  the 
Territorial  Legislature  of  Iowa. 

The  question  of  a  separate  territorial  organization  for  Iowa, 
which  was  then  a  part  of  Wisconsin  Territory,  began  to  be  agitated 
early  iu  the  autumn  of  1837.  The  wishes  of  the  people  found  ex- 
pression in  a  convention  held  at  Burlington  on  the  1st  of  Novem- 
ber, which  memorialized  Congress  to  organize  a  Territory  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  to  settle  the  boundary  line  between  Wiscon- 
sin Territory  and  Missouri.  The  Territorial  Legislature  of  Wiscon- 
sin, then  in  session  at  Burlington,  joined  in  the  petition.  Gen. 
Geo.  W.  Jones,  of  Dubuque,  then  residing  at  Sinsinawa  Mound, 
in  what  is  now  Wisconsin,  was  Delegate  to  Congress  from  Wis- 
consin Territory,  and  labored  so  earnestly  and  successfully,  that 
"An  act  to  divide  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  and  to  establish  the 
Territorial  Government  of  Iowa,"  was  approved  June  12,  1838,  to 
take  effect  and  be  in  force  on  and  after  July  3,  1838.  The  new 
Territory  embraced  "all  that  part  of  the  present  Territory  of  Wis- 
consin which  lies  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and  west  of  a  line 
drawn  due  north  from  the  headwaters  or  sources  of  the  Mississippi 
to  the  territorial  line."  The  organic  act  provided  for  a  Governor, 
whose  term  of  office  should  be  three  years,  and  for  a  Secretary, 
Chief  Justice,  two  Associate  Justices,  and  Attorney  and  Marshal, 
who  should  serve  four  years,  to  be  appointed  by  the  President,  by 
and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  The  act  also  pro- 
vided for  the  election,  by  the  white  male  inhabitants,  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  over  twenty-one  years  of  age,  of  a  House  of 
Representatives,  consisting  of  twenty-six  members,  and  a  Coun- 
cil, to  consist  of  thirteen  members.  It  also  appropriated  $5,000 
for  a  public  library,  and  120,000  for  the  erection  of  public  build- 
ings. 

President  Van  Buren  appointed  ex-Governor  Robert  Lucas,  of 
Ohio,  to  be  the  first  Governor  of  the  new  Territory.     William  B. 


52  HI8T0KY   OF   IOWA. 

Conway,  o£  Pittsburgh,  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Territory; 
Charles  Mason,  o£  Burlington,  Chief  Justice,  and  Thomas  S.  Wil- 
son, of  Dubuque,  and  Joseph  Williams,  of  Pennsylvania,  Asso- 
ciate Judges  of  the  Supreme  and  District  Courts;  Mr.  Van  Allen, 
of  New  York,  Attorney;  Francis  Gehon,  of  Dubuque,  Marshal; 
Augustus  C.  Dodge,  Register  of  the  Land  Office  at  Burlington, 
and  Thomas  McKnight,  Receiver  of  the  Land  Office  at  Dubuque. 
Mr.  Van  Allen,  the  District  Attoruey,  died  at  Rockingham,  soon 
after  his  appointment,  and  Col.  Charles  Weston  was  appointed  to 
fill  his  vacancy.  Mr.  Conway,  the  Secretary,  also  died  at  Burling- 
ton, during  the  second  session  of  the  Legislature,  and  James 
Clarke,  editor  of  the  Gazette,  was  appointed  to  succeed  him. 

Immediately  after  his  arrival.  Governor  Lucas  issued  a  proclama- 
tion for  the  election  of  members  of  the  first  Territorial  Legisla- 
ture, to  be  held  on  the  10th  of  September,  dividing  the  Territory 
into  election  districts  for  that  purpose,  and  appointing  the  12th  day 
of  November  for  meeting  of  the  Legislature  to  be  elected,  at 
Burlington. 

The  first  Territorial  Legislature  was  elected  in  September,  and 
assembled  at  Burlington  on  the  12th  of  November,  and  consisted 
of  the  following  members: 

Council— Jesse  B.  Brown,  J.  Keith,  E.  A.  M.  Swazy,  Arthur  In- 
gram, Robert  Ralston,  George  Hepner,  Jesse  J.  Payne,  D.  B. 
Hughes,  James  M.  Clark,  Charles  Whittlesey,  Jonathan  W.  Par- 
ker, Warner  Lewis,  Stephen  Hempstead. 

Zro??S('.— William  Patterson,  Hawkins  Taylor,  Calvin  J.  Price, 
James  Brierly,  James  Hall,  Gideon  S.  Bailey,  Samuel  Parker, 
James  W.  Grimes,  George  Temple,  Van  B.  Delashmutt,  Thomas 
Blair,  George  H.  Beeler,*  William  G.  Coop,  William  H.  Wallace, 
Asbury  B.  Porter,  John  Frierson,  William  L.  Toole,  Levi  Thorn- 
ton, S.  C.  Hastings,  Robert  G.  Roberts,  Laurel  Summers,!  Jabez 
A.  Burchard,  Jr.,  Channcey  Swan,  Andrew  Bankson,  Thomas 
Cox  and  Hardin  Nowlin. 

Notwithstanding  a  large  majority  of  the  members  of  both 
branches  of  the  Legislature  were  Democrats,  yet  Gen.  Jesse  B. 
Browne  (Whig),  of  Lee  Countv,  was  elected  President  of  the 
Council,  and  Hon.  William  H.  Wallace  (Whig),  of  Henry  County, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives— the  former  unani- 
mously and  the  latter  with  but  little  opposition.  At  that  time 
national  politics  were  little  heeded  by  the  people  of  the  new  Ter- 
ritory, but  in  1840,  during  the  Presidential  campaign,  party  lines 
were  stronglv  drawn. 


*Cyrus  S.  Jacobs,  who  was  elected  for  Des  Moines  County,  was  killed  m  an 
unfortunate  encounter  at  Burlington  before  the  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  and 
Mr.  Beeler  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  v  a  v 

tSamuel  R.  Nurray  was  returned  as  elected  from  Clinton  County,  but  his  seat 
was  successfully  contested  \iy  Burchard. 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  53 

At  the  election  in  September,  1838,  for  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature, a  Congressional  Delegate  was  also  elected.  There  were 
four  candidates,  viz.:  William  W.  Chapman  and  David  Rohrer, 
of  Des  Moines  County;  B.  F.  Wallace,  of  Henry  County,  aud  P. 
H.  Engle,  of  Dubuque  County.  Chapman  was  elected,  receiving 
a  majority  of  thirty-six  over  Engle. 

The  first  session  of  the  Iowa  Territorial  Legislature  was  a  stormy 
and  exciting  one.  By  the  organic  law,  the  Governor  was  clothed 
with  almost  unlimited  veto  power.  Governor  Lucas  seemed  dis- 
posed to  make  free  use  of  it,  and  the  independent  Hawkey es  could 
not  quietly  submit  t(7  arbitrary  and  absolute  rule,  and  the  result 
was  an  unpleasant  controversy  between  the  Executive  and  Legisla- 
tive departments.  Congress,  however,  by  act  approved  March 
3,  1839,  amended  the  organic  law  by  restricting  the  veto  power  of 
the  Governor  to  the  two-thirds  rule,  and  took  from  him  the  power 
to  appoint  sheriffs  and  Magistrates. 

Among  the  first  important  matters  demanding  attention  was  the 
location  of  the  seat  of  government  and  provision  for  the  erection 
of  public  buildings,  for  which  Congress  had  appropriated  |20,000. 
Governor  Lucas,  in  his  message,  had  recommended  the  appoint- 
ment of  Commissioners,  with  a  view  to  making  a  central  location. 
The  extent  of  the  future  State  of  Iowa  was  not  known  or  thought 
of.  Only  on  a  strip  of  laud  fifty  miles  wide,  bordering  on  the 
Mississippi  liiver,  was  the  Indian  title  extinguished,  and  a  central 
location  meant  some  central  point  in  the  Black  Hawk  Purchase. 
The  friends  of  a  central  location  supported  the  Governor's  sug- 
gestion. The  southern  members  were  divided  between  Burlington 
and  Mount  Pleasant,  but  finally  united  on  the  latter  as  the  proper 
location  for  the  seat  of  government.  The  central  and  southern 
parties  were  very  nearly  equal,  and,  in  consequence,  much  excite- 
ment prevailed.  The  central  party  at  last  triumphed,  and  on  the 
21st  day  of  January,  1839,  an  act  was  passed,  appointing  Chaun- 
cey  Swan,  of  Dubuque  County;  John  Ronalds,  of  Louisa  County, 
and  Robert  Ralston,  of  Des  Moines  County,  Commissioners,  to  se- 
lect a  site  for  a  permament  seat  of  Government  within  the  limits 
of  Johnson  County. 

Johnson  County  had  been  created  by  act  of  the  Territorial  Leg- 
islature of  Wisconsin,  approved  December  21,  1837,  and  organized 
by  act  passed  at  the  special  session  at  Burlington  in  June,  1838, 
the  organization  to  date  from  July  4th,  following.  Napoleon,  on 
the  Iowa  River,  a  few  miles  below  the  future  Iowa  City,  was  des- 
ignated as  the  county  seat,  temporarily. 

Then  there  existed  good  reason  for  locating  the  capital  in  the 
county.  The  Territory  of  Iowa  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
British  Possessions;  east,  by  the  Mississippi  River  to  its  source; 
thence  by  a  line  drawn  due  north  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the 
United  States;  south,  by  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  west,  by  the 
Missouri  and  White  Earth   Rivers.      But  this  immense  territory 


54  HISTORY   OF   IOWA. 

was  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  Indians,  except  a  strip  on  the 
Mississippi  known  as  the  Black  Hawk  Purchase.  Johnson  County 
was,  from  north  to  south,  in  the  geographical  center  of  this  pur- 
chase, and  as  near  the  east  and  west  geographical  center  of  the 
future  State  of  Iowa  as  could  then  be  made,  as  the  boundar}^  line 
between  the  lands  of  the  United  States  and  the  Indians,  estab- 
lished by  the  treaty  of  October  21,  1837,  was  immediately  west  of 
tho  county  limits. 

The  Commissioners,  after  selecting  the  site,  were  directed  to  lay 
out  640  acres  into  a  town,  to  be  called  Iowa  City,  and  to  proceed  to 
sell  lots  and  erect  public  buildings  thereon.  Congress  having 
granted  a  section  of  land  to  be  selected  by  the  Territory  for  this 
purpose.  The  Commissioners  met  at  Napoleon,  Johnson  County, 
May  1, 1839,  selected  for  a  site  Section  10,  in  Township  79  North 
of  Range  6,  West  of  the  Fifth  Principal  Meridian,  and  immedi- 
ately surveyed  it  and  laid  off  the  town.  The  first  sale  of  lots  took 
place  August  16,  1339.  The  site  selected  for  the  public  buildings 
was  a  little  west  of  the  geographical  center  of  the  section,  where 
a  square  of  ten  acres  on  the  elevated  grounds  overlooking  the  river 
was  reserved  for  the  purpose.  The  capitol  Avas  located  in  the  center 
of  this  square.  The  second  Territorial  Legislature,  which  assem- 
bled in  November,  1839,  passed  an  act  requiriing  the  Commission- 
ers to  adopt  such  plan  for  the  building  that  the  aggregate  cost 
when  complete,  should  not  exceed  $51,000;  and  if  they  had  already 
adopted  apian  involving  a  greater  expenditure,  they  were  directed 
to  abandon  it.  Plans  for  the  building  were  designed  and  drawn 
by  Mr.  John  F.  Rague,  of  Springfield,  111.,  and  on  the  4th  day  of 
July,  1840,  the  corner  stone  of  the  edifice  was  laid  with  appropri- 
ate ceremonies.  Samuel  C.  Trowbridge  was  Marshal  of  the  day, 
and  Gov.  Lucas  delivered  the  address  on  that  occasion. 

When  the  Legislature  assembled  at  Burlington  in  special  session, 
July  13,  1840,  Gov.  Lucas  announced  that  on  the  4th  of  that 
month  he  had  visited  Iowa  City,  and  found  the  basement  of  the 
capitol  nearly  completed.  A  bill  authorizing  a  loan  of  $20,000 
for  the  building  was  passed,  January  15,  1841,  the  unsold  lots  of 
Iowa  City  being  the  security  offered,  but  only  $5,500  was  obtained 
under  the  act. 

THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION. 

The  boundary  line  between  the  Territory  of  Iowa  and  the  State 
of  Missouri  was  a  difficult  question  to  settle  in  1838,  in  conse- 
quence of  claims  arising  from  taxes  and  titles,  and  at  one  time 
civil  war  was  imminent.  In  defining  the  boundaries  of  the  coun- 
ties bordering  on  Missouri,  the  Iowa  authorities  had  fixed  a  line 
that  has  since  been  established  as  the  boundary  between  Iowa  and 
Missouri.  The  Constitution  of  Missouri  defines  her  northern 
boundary  to  be  the   parallel  of  the  latitude  which  passes  through 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  55 

the  rapids  of  the  Des  Moines  River.  The  lower  rapids  of  the 
Mississippi  immediately  above  the  mouth  of  the  Des  Moines  River 
had  always  been  known  as  the  Des  Moines  Rapids,  or  "the  rapids 
of  the  Des  Moines  River."  The  Missouriaus  (evidently  not  well 
versed  in  history  or  geography)  insisted  on  running  the  northern 
boundary  line  from  the  rapids  in  the  Des  Moines  River,  just  below 
Keosauqua,  thus  takiugfrom  Iowa  a  strip  of  territory  eight  or  ten 
miles  wide.  Assuming  this  as  her  northern  boundary  line,  Mis- 
souri attempted  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  the  disputed  territory 
by  assessing  taxes,  and  sending  her  Sheriffs  to  collect  them  by  dis- 
training the  personal  property  of  the  settlers.  The  lowans,  how- 
ever, were  not  disposed  to  submit,  and  the  Missouri  officials  were 
arrested  by  the  Sheriffs  of  Davis  and  Van  Buren  Counties  and 
confined  in  jail.  Gov.  Boggs,  of  Missouri,  called  out  his  militia  to 
enforce  the  claim  and  sustain  the  officers  of  Missouri.  Gov.  Lucas 
called  out  the  militia  of  Iowa,  and  both  parties  made  active  prep- 
arations for  war.  In  Iowa,  about  1,200  men  were  enlisted,  and 
600  were  actually  armed  and  encamped  in  Van  Buren  County, 
ready  to  defend  the  integrity  of  the  Territory.  Subsequently, 
Gen.  A.  C.  Dodge,  of  Burlington,  Gen.  Churchman,  of  Dubuque, 
and  Dr.  Clark,  of  Fort  Madison,  were  sent  to  Missouri  as  envoys 
plenipotentiary,  to  effect,  if  possible,  a  peaeable  adjustment  of  the 
difficulty.  Upon  their  arrival,  they  found  that  the  County  Com- 
missioners of  Clarke  County,  Missouri,  had  rescinded  their  order 
for  the  collection  of  the  taxes,  and  that  Gov.  Boggs  had  dispatched 
messengers  to  the  Governor  of  Iowa  proposing  to  submit  an 
agreed  case  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
final  settlement  of  the  boundary  question.  This  proposition  was 
declined,  but  afterward  Congress  authorized  a  suit  to  settle  the 
controversy,  which  was  instituted,  and  which  resulted  in  a  judg- 
ment for  Iowa.  Under  this  decision,  William  G.  Miner,  of  Mis- 
souri, and  Henry  B.  Hendershott  were  appointed  Commissioners 
to  survey  and  establish  the  boundary.  Mr.  Nourse  remarks  that 
"the  expenses  of  the  war  on  the  part  of  Iowa  were  never  paid, 
either  by  the  United  States  or  the  Territorial  Government.  The 
patriots  who  furnished  supplies  to  the  troops  had  to  bear  the  cost 
and  charges  of  the  struggle." 

The  first  legislative  assembly  laid  the  broad  foundation  of  civil 
equality,  on  which  has  been  constructed  one  of  the  most  liberal 
governments  in  in  the  Union.  Its  first  act  was  to  recognize  the 
equality  of  woman  with  man  before  the  law,  by  providing  that 
"no  action  commenced  by  a  single  woman,  who  intermarries 
during  the  pendency  thereof,  shall  abate  on  account  of  such  mar- 
riage. '  This  principle  has  been  adopted  by  all  subsequent  legisla- 
tion in  Iowa,  and  to-day  woman  has  full  and  equal  civil  rights  with 
man,  except  only  the  right  of  the  ballot. 

Religious  toleration  was  also  secured  to  all,  personal  liberty 
strictly  guarded,  th.e  rights  and  privileges  of  citizenship  extended 


66  HISTORY    OF    IOWA. 

to  all  white  persons,  and  the  purity  of  elections  secured  hy  heavy 
penalties  against  bribery  and  corruption.  The  judiciary  power  was 
vested  in  a  Supreme  Court,  District  Court  Probate  Court,  and 
Justices  of  the  Peace.  Real  estate  was  made  divisible  by  will,  and 
intestate  property  divided  equitably  among  heirs.  Murder  was 
made  punishable  by  death,  and  proportionate  penalties  fixed  for 
lesser  crimes.  A  system  of  free  schools,  open  for  every  class  of 
white  citizens,  was  established.  Provision  was  made  for  a  system 
of  roads  and  highways.  Thus,  under  the  territorial  organization, 
the  country  began  to  emerge  from  a  savage  wilderness,  and  take 
on  the  forms  of  civil  government. 

By  act  of  Congress  of  June  12,  1838,  the  lands  which  had  been 
purchased  of  the  Indians  were  brought  into»  market,  and  land 
ofiices  opened  in  Dubuque  and  Burlington.  Congress  provided  for 
military  roads  and  bridges,  which  greatly  aided  the  settlers,  who 
were  now  coming  in  by  thousands,  to  make  their  homes  on  the 
fertile  prairies  of  Iowa — "The  Beautiful  Land.''  The  fame  of 
the  country  had  spread  far  and  wide;  even  before  the  Indian  title 
was  extinguished,  many  were  crowding  the  borders,  impatient  to 
cross  over  and  stake  out  their  claims  on  the  choicest  spots  they 
could  find  in  the  new  Territory.  As  soon  as  the  country  was  open 
for  settlement,  the  borders,  the  Black  Hawk  Purchase,  all  along  the 
Mississippi,  and  up  the  principal  rivers  and  streams,  and  out  over 
the  broad  rolling  prairies,  began  to  be  thronged  with  eager  land 
hunters  and  immigrants,  seeking  homes  in  Iowa.  It  was  a  sight 
to  delight  the  eyes  of  all  comers  from  every  land — its  noble 
streams,  beautiful  and  picturesque  hills  and  valleys,  broad  and  fer- 
tile prairies  extending  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  with  a  soil 
surpassing  in  richness  anything  which  they  had  ever  seen.  It  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  immigration  into  Iowa  was  rapid,  and 
that  within  less  than  a  decade  from  the  organization  of  the  Ter- 
ritory it  contained  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people. 

As  rapidly  as  the  Indian  titles  were  extinguished  and  the  origi- 
nal owners  removed,  the  resistless  tide  of  emigration  flowed  west- 
ward. The  following  extract  from  Judge  Nourse's  Centennial 
Address  shows  how  the  emigrants  gathered  on  the  Indian  bound- 
ary, ready  for  the  removal  of  the  barrier: 

In  obedience  to  our  progressive  and  aggressive  spiril',  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  made  another  treaty  -with  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  on  the  11th 
day  of  August,  1842,  for  the  remaining  portion  of  their  land  in  Iowa.  The 
treaty  provided  that  the  Indians  should  retain  possession  of  all  the  lands  thus 
ceded  until  May  1,  1843,  and  should  occupy  that  portion  of  the  ceded  territory 
west  of  a  line  running  north  and  south  through  Redrock,  until  October  11, 
1845.  These  tribes,  at  this  time,  had  their  principal  village  at  Ot-tum-wa-no; 
now  called  Ottumwa.  As  soon  as  it  became  known  that  the  treaty  had  been  con- 
cluded, there  was  a  rush  of  immigration  to  Iowa,  and  a  great  number  of  tem- 
porary settlements  were  made  near  the  Indian  boundary,  waiting  for  the  1st  day 
of  May.  As  the  day  approached,  hundreds  of  families  encamped  along  the  line, 
and  their  tents  and  wagons  ga-^e  the  scene  the  appearance  of  a  military  expe- 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  57 

dition.  The  country  beyond  had  been  thoroughly  explored,  but  the  United 
States  military  authorities  had  prevented  any  settlement,  or  eyen  the  making 
out  of  claims  by  any  monuments  whatever. 

To  aid  them  in  making  out  their  claims  when  the  hour  should  arrive,  the  set- 
tlers had  placed  piles  of  dry  wood  on  the  rising  ground,  at  convenient  distances, 
and  a  short  time  before  twelve  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  30th  of  Apvil,  these 
wore  lighted,  and  when  the  midnight  hour  arrived  it  was  anounced  by  the  dis- 
charge of  tirearms.  The  night  was  dark,  but  this  army  of  occupation  pressed 
forward,  torch  in  hand,  witii  axe  and  hatchet,  blazing  lines  with  all  manner  of 
curves  and  angles.  When  daylight  came  and  revealed  the  confusion  of  these 
wonderful  surveys,  numerouB  disputes  arose,  settled  generally  by  compromise, 
but  sometimes  by  violence.  Between  midnight  of  the  oOth  of  April  and  sun- 
down of  the  1st  of  May,  over  one  thousand  fomili<  •^  had  settled  on  their  new 
purchase. 

While  this  seen 2  was  transpiring,  the  retreating  Indians  were  enacting  one 
more  impressive  and  melancholy.  The  winter  of  1842-43  was  one  of  unusual 
severity,  and  the  Indian  prophet,  who  had  disapproved  of  the  treaty,  attributed 
the  severity  of  the  winter  to  the  anger  of  the  Great  Spirit,  because  they  had  sold 
their  country.  Many  religious  rites  were  performed  to  atone  for  the  crime. 
When  the  time  for  leaving  Ot-tum-wa-no  arrived,  a  solemn  silence  pervaded  the 
Indian  camp,  and  the  faces  of  their  stoutest  men  were  bathed  in  tears;  and  when 
their  cavalcade  was  put  in  motion,  toward  the  setting  sun,  there  was  a  sponta- 
neous outburst  of  frantic  grief  from  the  entire  procession. 

The  Indians  remained  the  appointed  time  beyond  the  line  running  north  and 
south  through  Redrock.  The  Government  established  a  trading  post  and  mili- 
tary encampment  at  the  Raccoon  Fork  of  the  Des  Moines  River,  then  and  for 
many  years  known  as  Fort  Des  Moines.  Here  the  red  men  lingered  until  the 
11th  of  October,  1845,  when  the  same  scene  that  we  have  before  described  was 
re-enacted,  and  the  wave  of  immigration  swept  ov.t  the  remainder  of  the  "New 
Purchase."  The  lands  thus  occupied  andclaimol  1  y  the  settlers  still  belonged 
in  fee  to  the  General  Government.  The  surveys  were  not  completed  until  some 
time  after  the  Indian  title  was  extinguished.  After  their  survey,  the  lands 
were  publicly  proclaimed  or  advertised  for  sale  at  public  auction.  Under  the 
laws  of  the  United  States,  a  pre-emption  or  exclusive  right  to  purchase  public 
lands  could  not  be  acquired  until  afi^r  the  lands  had  thus  been  pubhcly  offered 
and  not  sold  for  want  of  bidders.  Then,  and  not  until  then,  an  occupant  mak- 
ing improvements  in  good  faith  might  acquire  a  right  over  others  to  enter  the 
land  at  the  minimum  price  of  $1.25  per  acre.  The  "claim  laws"  were  un- 
known to  the  United  States  statutes.  They  originated  in  the  "eternal  fitness 
of  things,"  and  were  enforced,  probably,  as  belonging  to  that  class  of  natural 
rights  not  enumerated  in  the  constitution,  and  not  impaired  or  disparaged  by 
its  enumeration. 

The  settlers  organized  in  every  settlement  prior  to  the  public  land  sales,  ap- 
pointed otiicers,  and  adopted  their  own  rules  and  regulations.  Each  man's 
claim_  was  duly  ascertained  and  recorded  by  the  Secretary.  It  was  the  duty  of 
all  to  attend  the  sales.  The  Secretary  bid  off  the  lands  of  each  settler  at  $1.25 
per  acre.  The  others  were  there  to  see,  first,  that  he  did  his  duty  and  bid  in  the 
land,  and,  secondly,  to  see  that  no  one  else  bid.  This,  of  courss,  sometimes  led 
to  trouble,  but  it  saved  the  excitement  of  competition,  and  gave  a  formality  and 
degree  of  order  and  regularity  to  the  proceedings  they  would  not  otherwise  have 
attained.  As  far  as  practicable,  the  Territorial  Legislature  recognized  the 
vahdity  of  these  "claims"  upon  the  public  lands,  and  in  1839  passed  an  act 
legahzing  their  sale  and  making  their  transfer  a  valid  consideration  to  support  a 
promise  to  pay  for  the  same.  (Acts  of  184:3,  p.  456.)  The  Supreme  Territorial 
•  Court  held  this  law  to  be  valid.  (See  Hill  v.  Smith,  1st  Morris  Rep,  70.)  The 
opinion  not  only  contains  a  decision  of  the  question  involved,  but  also  contains 
much  valuable  erudition  upon  that  "spirit  of  Anglo-Saxon  liberty"  which  the 
Iowa  settlers  unquestionably  inherited  in  a  direct  bne  of  descent  from  the  said 
"Anglo-Saxons."  But  the  early  settler  was  not  always  able  to  pay  even  this 
dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre  for  his  land. 


58  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

Many  of  the  settlers  had  nothing  to  begin  with,  save  their 
hands,  health  and  courage  and  their  family  jewels,  "the  pledges 
of  love,"  and  the  "consumers  of  bread."  It  was  not  so  easy  to 
accummulate  money  in  the  early  days  of  the  State,  and  the  "beau- 
tiful prairies,"  the  "noble  streams,"  and  all  that  sort  of  poetic 
imagery,  did  not  prevent  ihe  early  settlers  from  becoming  dis- 
couraged. 

An  old  settler,  in  speaking  of  the  privations  and  trials  of  those 

early  days,  says: 

Well  do  tho  "old  settlers"  of  Iowa  remember  the  days  from  the  first  settle- 
ment to  1840.  Those  were  days  of  sadness  and  distress.  The  endearments  of 
home  in  another  land  had  been  broken  up;  and  all  that  was  hallowed  on  earth, 
the  home  of  childhood,  and  the  scenes  of  youth,  were  severed;  and  we  safe  by 
the  gentle  waters  of  our  noble  river,  and,  often  "hung  our  harps  on  the  wil- 
lows." 

Another,  from  another  part  of  the  State,  testifies: 
There  was  no  such  thing  as  getting  money  for  any  kind  of  labor.  I  laid  brick 
at  $3.00  per  thousand,  and  took  my  pay  in  anything  I  could  eat  or  wear.  I 
built  the  first  Methodist  Church  at  Keokuk,  42x60  feet,  of  brick,  for  $600,  and 
took  my  pay  in  a  subscription  paper,  part  of  which  I  never  collected,  and  upon 
which  I  only  received  $50  00  in  money.  Wheat  was  hauled  100  miles  from  the 
interior,  and  sold  for  ol%  cents  per  bushel. 

Another  old  settler,  in  speaking  of  a  later  period,  1843,  says: 

Land  and  everything  had  gone  down  in  value  to  almost  nominal  prices.  Corn 
and  oats  could  be  bought  for  six  or  ten  cents  a  bushel;  pork,  $1.00  per  hundred, 
and  the  best  horse  a  man  could  raise  sold  for  $50.00.  Nearly  all  were  in  debt, 
and  the  Sheriff  and  Constable,  with  legal  processes,  were  common  visitors  at 
almost  every  man's  door.  These  were  indeed  "the  times  that  tried  men's 
souls." 

"A  few,"  says  Mr.  Nourse,  "who  were  not  equal  to  the  trial,  re- 
turned to  their  old  homes,  but  such  as  had  courage  and  faith  to  be 
the  worthy  founders  of  a  great  State  remained,  to  more  than 
realize  the  fruition  of  their  hopes,  and  the  reward  of  their  self- 
denial." 

Oe  Monda}^  December  G,  1S41,  the  fourth  Legislative  Assembly 
met,  at  the  new  capital,  Iowa  City,  but  the  capitol  building  could 
not  be  used,  and  the  Legislature  occupied  a  temporary  frame  house, 
that  had  been  erected  for  that  purpose,  during  the  session  of 
1841-2.  At  this  session,  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings 
(who,  with  the  Territorial  Agent,  had  superseded  the  Commis- 
sioners first  appointed),  estimated  the  expense  of  completing  the 
building  at  ^33,330,  and  that  rooms  for  the  use  of  the  Legislature 
could  be  completed  for  $15,600. 

During  1842,  the  Superintendent  commenced  obtaining  stone 
from  a  new  quarry,  about  ten  miles  northeast  of  the  city.  This  is 
now  known  as  the  "Old  Captain  Quarry,"  and  contains,  it  is 
thought,  an  immense  quantity  of  exellent  building  stone.  Here  all 
the  stone  for  completing  the  building  was  obtained,  and  it  was  so 
far  completed  that  on  the  5th  day  of  December,  1842,  the  Legis- 
lature assembled  in  the  new  capitol.  At  this  session,  the  Super- 
intendent estimated  that  it  would  cost  $39,143  to  finish  the  build- 


HISTOKY    OF    IOWA.  59 

ing.  This  was  nearly  $6,000  higher  than  the  estimate  of  the  pre- 
vious year,  notwithstanding  a  large  sum  had  been  expended  in 
the  meantime.  This  rather  discouraging  discrepancy  was  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact  that  the  officers  in  charge  of  the  work  were 
constantly  short  of  funds.  Except  the  Congressional  appropria- 
tion of  120,000  and  the  loan  of  |5,500,  obtained  from  the  Miners' 
Bank,  of  Dubuque,  all  the  funds  for  the  prosecution  of  the  work 
were  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  city  lots  (which  did  not  sell 
very  rapidly),  from  the  certificates  of  indebtedness,  and  from  scrip, 
based  upon  unsold  lots,  which  was  to  be  received  in  payment  for 
such  when  they  were  sold.  At  one  time  the  Superintendent 
made  a  requisition  for  bills  of  iron  and  glass,  which  could  not  be 
obtained  nearer  than  St.  Louis.  To  meet  this,  the  Agent  sold 
some  lots  for  a  draft,  payable  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  for  which  he  was 
compelled  to  pay  twenty-five  per  cent,  exchange.  This  draft, 
amounting  to  $507,  that  officer  reported  to  be  more  than  one-half 
the  cash  actually  handled  by  him  during  the  entire  season,  when 
the  disbursement  amounted  to  very  nearly  ^24,000. 

With  such  uncertainty  it  could  not  be  expected  that  estimates 
could  be  very  accurate.  With  all  these  disadvantages,  however, 
the  work  appears  to  have  been  prudently  prosecuted,  and  as  rapid- 
ly as  circumstances  would  permit. 

Iowa  remained  a  territory  from  1838  to  1846,  during  which  the 
office  of  Governor  was  held  by  Robert  Lucas,  John  Chambers  and 
James  Clark. 

STATE  ORGANIZATION. 

By  an  act  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Iowa,  approved  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1844,  the  question  of  the  formation  of  a  State  Constitu- 
tion and  providing  for  the  election  of  delegates  to  a  convention  to 
he  convened  for  that  purpose  was  submitted  to  the  people,  to  be 
voted  upon  at  their  township  elections  in  April  following.  The 
vote  was  largely  in  favor  of  the  measure,  and  the  delegates  elected 
assembled  in  convention  at  Iowa  city  on  the  7th  of  October,  1844. 
On  the  first  day  of  November  following  the  convention  completed 
its  work  and  adopted  the  first  State  constitution. 

The  President  of  the  convention,  Hon.  Shepherd  Leffler,  was  in- 
structed to  transmit  a  certified  copy  of  this  constitution  to  the 
delegate  in  Congress,  to  be  by  him  submitted  to  that  body  at  the 
earliest  practicable  day.  It  was  also  provided  that  it  should  be 
submitted,  together  with  auy  conditions  or  changes  that  might  be 
made  by  Congress,  to  the  people  of  the  Territory  for  their  approval 
or  rejection,  at  the  township  election  in  April,  1845. 

The  boundaries  of  the  State,  as  defined  by  the  constitution, 
were  as  follows: 

Beginning  in  the  middle  of  the  chcinnel  of  the  Mississippi  river,  opposite 
mouth  of  the  Des  Moines  river,  thence  up  the  said  river  Des  Moines,  in  the 
middle  of  the  main  channel  thereof,  to  a  point  where  it  is  intersected  by  tlie 


60  HISTOKT   OF   IOWA. 

old  Indian  boundary  line,  or  line  run  by  John  C.  Sullivan  in  the  year  1816; 
thence  westwardly  along  said  line  to  the  "old"  northwest  corner  of  Missouri; 
thence  due  west  to  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  Missouri  river; 
thence  up  in  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  river  last  mentioned  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Sioux  or  Calumet  river;  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the  middle  of 
the  main  channel  of  tne  St.  Peters  river,  where  the  Watonwan  river — according 
to  Nicollet's  map — enters  the  same;  thence  down  the  middle  of  the  main  chan- 
nel of  said  river  to  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  Mississippi  river; 
thence  down  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  said  river  to  the  place  of  be- 
ginning. 

These  boundaries  were  rejected  by  Congress,  but  by  act  approved 
March  3,  1845,  a  State  called  Iowa  was  admitted  into  the  Union, 
provided  the  people  adopted  the  act,  bounded  as  follows: 

Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Des  Moines  river,  at  the  middle  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi ,  thence  by  the  middle  of  the  channel  of  that  river  to  a  parallel  of  lati- 
tude passing  through  the  mouth  of  the  Mankato  or  Blue  Earth  river;  thence 
west,  along  said  parallel  of  latitude  to  a  point  where  it  is  intersected  by  a  me- 
ridian line  seventeen  degrees  and  thirty  minutes  west  of  the  meridian  of  Wash- 
ington City;  thence  due  south  to  the  northern  boundary  line  of  the  State  of 
Missouri;  thence  easterly  following  that  boundaiy  line  to  the  point  at  which 
the  same  intersects  the  Des  Moines  river;  thence  by  the  middle  of  the  channel 
of  that  river  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

These  boundaries,  had  they  been  accepted,  would  have  placed 
the  northern  boundary  of  the  State  about  thirty  miles  north  of  its 
present  location,  and  would  have  deprived  it  of  the  Missouri 
slope  and  the  boundary  of  that  river.  The  western  boundary 
would  have  been  near  the  west  line  of  what  is  now  Kossuth 
county.  But  it  was  not  so  to  be.  In  consequence  of  this  radical 
and  unwelcome  change  in  the  boundaries,  the  people  refused  to 
accept  the  act  of  Congress  and  rejected  the  constitution  at  the 
election,  held  August  4,  1845,  by  a  vote  of  7,656  to  7,235. 

A  second  constitutional  convention  assembled  at  Iowa  City  on 
the  4th  day  of  May,  1846,  and  on  the  18th  of  the  same  month  an- 
other Constitution  for  the  new  State  with  the  present  boundaries- 
was  adopted  and  submitted  to  the  people  for  ratification  on  the  3d 
day  of  August  following,  when  it  was  accepted;  9,492  votes  were 
cast  "for  the  Constitution,"  and  9,036  "against  the  Constitution." 

The  Constitution  was  approved  by  Congress,  and  by  act  of  Con- 
gress approved  December  28,  1846,  Iowa  was  admitted  as  a  sover- 
eign State  in  the  American  Union. 

Prior  to  this  action  of  Congress,  however,  the  people  of  the 
new  State  held  an  election  under  the  new  Constitution  on  the  •26th 
day  of  October,  and  elected  Oresel  Briggs,  Governor;  Elisha  Cutler, 
Jr.,  Secretary  of  State;  Joseph  T.  Fales.  Auditor;  Morgan  Reno, 
Treasurer,  and  members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represent- 
atives. 

At  this  time  there  were  twenty-seven  organized  counties  in  the 
State,  with  a  population  of  nearly  100,000,  and  the  frontier 
settlements  were  rapidly  pushing  toward  the  Missouri  river.  The 
Mormons  had  already  reached  there. 


HISTORY   OF   IOWA.  61 

The  first  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Iowa  was  composed 
of  nineteen  Senators  and  forty  Representatives.  It  assembled  at 
Iowa  City  November  30,  1840,  about  a  monthbefore  the  State  was 
admitted  into  the  Union. 

At  the  first  session  of  the  State  Legislature,  the  Treasurer  of 
State  reported  that  the  capitol  building  was  in  a  very  exposed  con- 
dition, liable  to  injury  from  storms,  and  expressed  the  hope  that 
some  provision  would  be  made  to  complete  it,  at  least  sufficiently 
to  protect  it  from  the  weather.  The  General  Assembly  responded 
by  appropriating  $2,500  for  the  completion  of  the  public  buildings. 
At  the  first  session  also  arose  the  question  of  the  re-location  of 
the  capital.  The  western  boundary  of  the  State,  as  now  deter- 
mined, left  Iowa  City  too  far  toward  the  eastern  and  southern 
boundary  of  the  State;  this  was  conceded.  Congress  had  appro- 
priated five  sections  of  land  for  the  erection  of  public  buildings, 
and  toward  the  close  of  the  session  a  bill  was  introduced  provid- 
ing for  the  re-location  of  the  seat  of  government,  involving  to 
some  extent  the  location  of  the  State  University,  which  had  al- 
ready been  discussed.  This  bill  gave  rise  to  a  deal  of  discussion 
and  parliamentary  maneuvering,  almost  purely  sectional  in  its 
character.  It  provided  for  the  appointment  of  three  Commis- 
sioners, who  were  authorized  to  make  a  location  as  near  the  geo- 
graphical center  of  the  State  as  a  healthy  and  eligible  site  could  be 
obtained;  to  select  the  five  sections  of  land  donated  by  Congress; 
to  survey  and  plat  into  town  lots  not  exceeding  one  section  of  the 
land  so  selected;  to  sell  lots  at  public  sale,  not  to  exceed  two  in 
each  block.  Having  done  this,  they  were  then  required  to  sus- 
pend further  operations,  and  make  a  report  of  their  proceedings 
to  the  Governor.  The  bill  passed  both  Houses  by  decisive  votes, 
received  the  signature  of  the  Governor  and  became  a  law.  Soon 
after,  by  ''An  act  to  locate  and  establish  a  State  University,"  ap- 
proved February  25th,  1847,  the  unfinished  public  buildings  at 
Iowa  City,  together  with  the  ten  acres  of  land  on  which  they  were 
situated,  were  granted  for  the  use  of  the  University,  reserving 
their  use,  however,  by  the  General  assembly  and  the  State  officei-s, 
until  other  provisions  were  made  by  law. 

The  commissioners  forthwith  entered  upon  their  duties,  and  se- 
lected four  sections  and  two  half  sections  in  Jasper  county.  Two 
of  these  sections  are  in  what  is  now  Des  Moines  Township,  and 
the  others  in  Fairview  township,  in  the  southern  part  of  that 
county.  These  lands  are  situated  between  Prairie  City  and  Mon- 
roe, on  the  Keokuk  &  Des  Moines  Railroad,  which  runs  diagonally 
through  them.  Here  a  town  w^as  platted,  called  Monroe  City,  and 
a  sale  of  lots  took  place.  Four  hundred  and  fifteen  lots  were  sold 
at  prices  that  were  not  considered  remarkably  remunerative.  The 
cash  payments  (one-fourth)  amounted  to  11,797.43,  while  the  ex- 
penses of  the  sale  and  the  claims  of  the  Commissioners   for  ser- 


02  HISTORY    OF    IOWA. 

vices  amounted  to  $2,206.57.  The  Commissioners  made  a  report 
of  their  proceedings  to  the  Governor,  as  required  by  law,  hut  the 
location  was  generally  condemned. 

When  the  report  of  the  Commissioners,  showing  this  brilliant 
financial  operation,  had  been  read  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
at  the  next  session,  and  while  it  was  under  consideration,  an  indig- 
nant member,  afterward  known  as  the  eccentric  Judge  McFar- 
land,  moved  to  refer  the  report  to  a  select  committee  of  five,  with 
instructions  to  report  "how  much  of  said  city  of  Monroe  was  under 
water  and  how  much  was  burned."  The  report  was  referred, 
without  the  instructions,  however,  but  Monroe  City  never  be- 
caine  the  seat  of  government.  By  an  act  approved  January  15, 
1849,  the  law  by  which  the  location  had  been  made  was  repealed 
and  the  new  town  was  vacated,  the  money  paid  by  purchasers  of 
lots  being  refunded  to  them.  This,  of  course,  retained  the  seat  of 
government  at  Iowa  City,  and  precluded  for  the  time,  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  building  and  grounds  by  the  University. 

At  the  same  session  $3,000  more  were  appropriated  for  complete 
ing  the  State  building  at  Iowa  City.  In  1852  the  further  sum  of 
15,000,  and  in  1854  $4,000  more  were  appropriated  for  the  same 
purpose,  making  the  whole  cost  $123,000,  paid  partly  by  the  Gen- 
eral Government  and  partly  by  the  State,  but  principally  from  the 
proceeds  of  the  sale  of  lots  in  Iowa  City. 

But  the  question  of  the  permanent  location  of  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment was  not  settled;  and  in  1851  bills  were  introduced  for  the 
removal  of  the  capital  to  Pella  and  to  FortDes  Moines.  The  lat- 
ter appeared  to  have  the  support  of  the  majority,  but  was  finally 
lost  in  the  House  on  the  question  of  ordering  it  to  its  third  read- 
ing- 

At  the  next  session,  in  1853,  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Sen- 
ate for  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  to  Fort  Des  Moines^ 
and;  on  final  vote,  was  just  barely  defeated.  At  the  next  session, 
however,  the  effort  was  more  successful,  and  on  the  15th  day  of 
•lanuary,  1855,  a  bill  re-locating  the  capital  within  two  miles  of 
the  Racoon  Fork  of  the  Des  Moines,  and  for  the  appointment  of 
Commissioners,  was  approved  by  Gov.  Grimes.  The  site  was  se- 
lected in  1856,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the 
land  being  donated  to  the  State  by  citizens  and  property-holders 
of  Des  Moines.  An  association  of  citizens  erected  a  building  for 
a  temporary  capitol,  and  leased  it  to  the  State  at  a  nominal   rent. 

The  third  constitutional  convention  to  revise  the  Constitution 
of  the  State  assembled  at  Iowa  City,  January  19,  1857.  The  new 
constitution  framed  by  this  convention  was  submitted  to  the  peo- 
ple at  an  election  held  August  3,  1857,  when  it  was  approved  and 
adopted  by  a  vote  of  40,311  "for"  to  38,681  "against,"  and  on  the 
3rd  day  of  September  following  was  declared  by  a  proclamation  of 
the  Governor  to  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  State  of  Iowa. 


HISTORY   OF  IOWA.  63 

Advisei  of  the  completion  of  the  temporary  State  House  at  Des 
Moiues,  on  the  10th  of  October  following,  Governor  Grimes  issued 
another  proclamation,  declaring  the  city  of  Des  Moines  to  be  the 
capital  of  the  State  of  Iowa. 

The  removal  of  the  archives  and  offices  was  commenced  at  once 
and  continued  through  the  fall.  It  was  an  undertaking  of  no 
small  magnitude;  there  was  not  a  mile  of  railroad  to  facilitate  the 
work,  and  the  season  was  unusually  disagreeable.  Rain,  snow, 
and  other  accompaniments  increased  the  difficulties,  and  it  was 
not  until  December  that  the  last  of  the  effects — the  safe  of  the 
State  Treasurer,  loaded  on  two  large  '"bob-sleds" — drawn  by  ten 
yoke  of  oxen,  was  deposited  in  the  new  capitol.  It  is  not  impru- 
dent now  to  remark  that,  during  this  passage  over  hills  and 
prairies,  across  rivers,  through  bottom  lands  and  timber,  the  safes 
belonging  to  the  several  departments  contained  large  sums  of 
money,  mostly  individual  funds,  however.  Thus,  Iowa  City 
ceased  to  be  the  capital  of  the  State,  after  four  Territorial  Legisla- 
tures, six  State  L?gislatures  and  three  Constitutional  Conventions 
had  held  their  sessions  there.  By  the  exchange,  the  old  capitol  at 
Iowa  City  became  the  seat  of  the  University,  and  except  the  rooms 
occupied  by  the  United  States  District  Court,  passed  under  the  im- 
mediate and  direct  control  of  the  trustees  of  that  institution. 

Des  Moines  was  now  the  permanent  seat  of  government,  made 
so  by  the  fundamental  law  of  the  State,  and  on  the  11th  day  of 
January,  1858,  the  seventh  General  Assembly  convened  at  the 
new  capital.  The  building  used  for  governmental  purposes  Avas 
purchased  in  1861.  It  soon  became  inadequate  for  tiie  purposes 
for  Avhich  it  WtiS  designed,  and  it  became  apparent  that  a  new, 
large  and  permanent  State  House  must  be  erected.  In  1870,  the 
General  Assembly  made  an  appropriation,  and  provided  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  Board  of  Commissioner;?  to  commence  the  work. 
The  board  consisted  of  Gov.  Samuel  Merrill,  ex-officio  President; 
Grenville  M.  Dodge,  Council  Blufis;  James  F.  Wilson,  P'airfield; 
Jamas  Dawson,  Washington;  Simon  G.  Stein,  Muscatine;  James 
0.  Crosby,  Gainsville;  Charles  Dudley,  Agency  City;  John  N. 
Dewey,  Des  Moines;  William  L,  Joy,  Sioux  City;  Alexander  R. 
Fulton,  Des  Moines,  Secretary. 

The  act  of  1870  provided  that  the  building  should  be  constructed 
of  the  best  material  and  should  be  fire  proof,  to  be  heated  and  ven- 
tilated in  the  most  approved  manner;  should  contain  suitable  leg- 
islative halls,  rooms  for  State  officers,  the  judiciary,  library,  com- 
mittees, archives  and  the  collections  of  the  State  Agricultural 
Society;  and  for  all  purposes  of  State  Government,  and  should  be 
erected  on  grounds  held  by  the  State  for  that  purpose.  The  sum 
first  appropriated  was  $150,000;  and  the  law  provided  that  no 
contract  should  be  made,  either  for  constructing  or  furnishing  the 
building,  which  should  bind  the  State  for  larger  sums  than  those 
at  the  time  appropriated.     A   design  was  drawn   and   plans  and 


64  HISTORY   OF   IOWA. 

specificatious  furnished  by  Cochrane  &  Piquenard,  architects,  which 
were  accepted  by  the  board,  and  on  the  23d  of  November,  1871, 
the  corner  stone  was  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  The 
estimated  cost  and  present  value  of  the  capitol  is  fixed  at  $2,000,- 
000. 

From  1858  to  1860,  the  Sioux  became  troublesome  in  the  north- 
western part  of  the  State.  These  warlike  Indians  made  frequent 
plundering  raids  upon  the  settlers,  and  murdered  several  families. 
In  1801,  several  companies  of  militia  were  ordered  to  that  portion 
of  the  State  to  hunt  down  and  punish  the  murderous  thieves.  No 
battles  were  fought,  however,  for  the  Indians  fled  when  they  as- 
certained that  systematic  and  adequate  measures  had  been  adopted 
to  protect  the  settlers. 

"The  year  1856  marked  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  Iowa.  In 
1854,  the  Chicago  &  Rock  Island  Railroad  had  been  completed  to 
the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi  River,  opposite  Davenport.  In 
1854,  the  corner  stone  of  a  railroad  bridge,  that  was  to  be  the  first 
to  span  the  ''Father  of  Waters,"  was  laid  with  appropriate  cere- 
monies at  this  point.  St.  Louis  had  resolved  that  the  enterprise 
was  unconstitutional,  and  by  writs  of  injunction  made  an  unsuc- 
cessful effort  to  prevent  its  completion.  Twenty  years  later  in  her 
history,  St.  Louis  repented  her  folly,  and  made  atonement  for  her 
sin  by  imitating  our  example.  On  the  first  day  of  January,  1856, 
this  railroad  was  completed  to  Iowa  City.  In  the  meantime,  two 
other  railroads  had  reached  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi — one 
opposite  Burlington,  and  one  opposite  Dubuque — and  these  were 
being  extended  into  the  interior  of  the  State.  Indeed,  four  lines 
of  railroad  had  been  projected  across  the  State  from  the  Mississippi 
to  the  Missouri,  having  eastern  connections.  On  the  15th  of  May, 
1856,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  passed  an  act  granting  to 
the  State,  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  railroads,  the  public  lands^ 
in  alternate  sections,  six  miles  on  either  side  of  the  proposed  line. 
An  extra  session  of  the  General  Assembly  was  called  in  July  of 
this  year,  that  disposed  of  the  grant  to  the  several  companies  that 
proposed  to  complete  these  enterprises.  The  population  of  our 
State  at  this  time  had  increased  to  500,000.  Public  attention  had 
been  called  to  the  necessity  of  a  railroad  across  the  continent.  The 
position  of  Iowa,  in  the  very  heart  and  center  of  the  Republic,ou 
the  route  of  this  great  highway  across  the  continent,  began  to  at- 
tract attention.  Cities  and  towns  sprang  up  through  the  State  as 
if  by  magic.  Capital  began  to  pour  into  the  State,  and  had  it  been 
employed  in  developing  our  vast  coal  measures  and  establishing 
manufactories  among  us,  or  if  it  had  been  expended  in  improving 
our  lands,  and  building  houses  and  barns,  it  would  have  been  well. 
But  all  were  in  haste  to  get  rich,  and  the  spirit  of  speculation 
ruled  the  hour. 

In  the  meantime  every  effort  was  made  to  help  the  speedy 
completion  of  the  railroads.     Nearly  every  county  and  city  on  the 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  65 

Mississippi,  and  many  in  the  interior,  voted  lar^e  corporate  sub- 
scriptions to  the  stock  of  the  railroad  companies,  and  issued  their 
negotiable  bonds  for  the  amount.  Thus  enormous  county  and 
city  debts  were  incurred,  the  payment  of  which  these  municipalities 
tried  to  avoid  upon  the  plea  that  they  had  exceeded  the  constitu- 
tional limitation  of  their  powers.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  held  these  bonds  to  be  valid,  and  the  courts  by  man- 
damus compelled  the  city  and  county  authorities  to  levy  taxes  to 
pay  the  judgments.  These  debts  are  not  all  pAid  even  yet,  but 
the  worst  is  over  and  ultimately  the  burden  will  be  entirely  re- 
moved. 

The  first  railroad  across  the  State  was  completed  to  Council 
Bluffs  in  January,  1871.  The  others  were  completed  soon  after. 
In  1851  there  was  not  a  mile  of  railroad  in  the  State.  In  1874, 
twenty  years  after,  there  were  3,765  miles  in  successful  opera- 
tion. 

GROWTH    AND    PROGRESS. 

When  Wisconsin  Territory  was  organized,  in  1836,  the  entire 
population  of  that  portion  of  the  Territory  now  embraced  in  the 
State  of  Iowa  was  10,531.  The  Territory  then  embraced  two 
counties;  Dubuque  and  Des  Moines,  erected  by  the  Territory  of 
Michigan,  in  1834.  From  1836  to  1838,  the  Territorial  Legisla- 
lature  of  Wisconsin  increased  the  number  of  counties  to  sixteen, 
and  the  population  had  increased  to  22,859.  *  Since  then  the  coun- 
ties have  increased  to  ninety-nine,  and  the  population,  in  1875, 
was  1,366,000.  The  following  table  will  show  the  population  at 
different  periods  since  the  erection  of  Iowa  Territory: 

Year.  Population. 

1859 638,775 

1860 674,913 

1863 701,732 

1865 754,699 

1867 902,040 

1869 1,040,819 

1870 1,191,727 

1873 1,251,333 

1875 1,366,000 

1880 1,624,463 


Year.  Fojmlation 

1S3S 22,589 

1840 43,115 

1844 75,152 

1846 97,588 

1847 116,651 

1849 152,988 

1850 191,982 

1851 204,774 

1852 230,713 

1853 326,013 

1856 519,055 

The  most  populous  county  in  the  State  is  Dubuque.  Not  only 
in  population,  but  in  everything  contributing  to  the  growth  and 
greatness  of  a  State  has  Iowa  made  rapid  progress.  In  a  little 
more  than  thirty  years,  its  wild  but  beautiful  prairies  have  ad- 
vanced from  the  home  of  the  savage  to  a  highly  civilized  common- 
wealth, embracing  all  the  elements  of  progress  which  character- 
ize the  older  States. 

Thriving  cities  and  towns  dot  its  fair  surface;  an  iron  net-work 
of  thousands  of  miles  of  railroads  is  woven  over  its  broad  acres; 
ten  thousand  school  houses,  in   which  more  than  five  hundred 


^^  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 


thousand  children  are  being  taught  the  rudiments  of  education, 
testify  to  the  culture  and  liberality  of  the  people;  high  schools, 
colleges  and  universities  are  generously  endowed  by  the  State; 
manufactories  spring  up  on  all  her  water  courses,  aud  in  most  of 
her  cities  and  towns. 

Whether  measured  from  the  date  of  her  first  settlement,  her 
organization  as  a  Territory,  or  admission  as  a  State,  Iowa  has  thus 
far  shown  a  growth  unsurpassed,  in  a  similar  period,  by  any  com- 
monwealth on  the  face  of  the  earth;  and,  with  her  vast  extent  of 
fertile  soil,  with  her  inexhaustible  treasures  of  mineral  wealth, 
with  a  healthful,  invigorating  climate;  an  intelligent,  liberty-loving 
people;  with  equal,  just  and  liberal  laws,  and  her  free  schools, 
the  future  of  Iowa  may  be  expected  to  surpass  the  most  hopeful 
anticipations  of  her  present  citizens. 

Looking  upon  Iowa  as  she  is  to-day — populous,  prosperous  and 
happy — it  is  hard  to  realize  the  wonderful  changes  that  have  oc- 
curred since  the  first  white  settlements  svere  made  within  her  bor- 
ders. When  the  number  of  States  was  only  twenty-six,  and  their 
total  population  about  twenty  millions,  our  republican  form  of  gov- 
ernment was  hardly  more  than  an  experiment,  just  fairly  put  upon 
trial.  The  development  of  our  agricultural  resources  and  inex- 
haustible mineral  wealth  had  hardly  commenced.  Westward  the 
"Star  of  Empire"  had  scarcely  started  on  its  way.  West  of  the 
great  Mississippi  was  a  mighty  empire,  but  almost  unknown,  and 
marked  on  the  maps  t»f  the  period  as  ''The  Great  American  Des- 
ert." 

Now,  thirty-eight  stars  glitter  on  our  national  escutcheon,  aud 
fifty  millions  of  people,  who  know  their  rights  and  dare 
maintain  them,  tread  American  soil,  and  the  grand  sisterhood  of 
vStates  extends  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Canadian  border, 
and  from  the  rocky  coast  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  golden  shores  of 
the  Pacific. 

THE  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE  AND  FARM. 

Ames,  Siori/  Count!/. 

The  Iowa  State  Agricultural  College  and  Farm  were  established 
by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  March  22d,  1858. 
A  Board  of  Trustees  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Governor  R.  P. 
Lowe,  John  D.  Wright,  William  Duane  Wilson,  M.  W.  Robinson. 
Timothy  Day,  Richard  Gaines,  John  Pattee,  G.  W.  F.  Sherwdn, 
Suel  Foster,  S.  W.  Henderson,  Clement  Coffin,  and  E.  G.  Day;  the 
Governor  of  the  State  and  President  of  the  College  being  ex-officio 
members.  Subsequently  the  number  of  Trustees  was  reduced  to 
five.  The  Board  met  in  June,  1859,  and  received  propositions  for 
the  location  of  the  College  and  Farm  from  Hardin,  Polk,  Story  and 
Boone,  Marshall,  Jeff'erson  and  Tama  counties.  In  July,  the 
proposition  of  Story  County  and  some   of  its  citizens  and  by  the 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  67 

citizens  of  Booiie  Couuty  was  accepted,  and  the  farm  and  the 
site  for  the  buildings  were  located.  In  1860-61,  the  farm  house 
and  barn  were  erected.  In  18G2  Congress  granted  to  the  State 
240,000  acres  of  land  for  the  endowment  of  schools  of  agriculture 
and  the  mechanical  art?,  and  195,000  acres  were  located  by  Peter 
Melendy,  Commissioner,  in  1862-63.  In  1864  the  General  As- 
sembly appropriated  $20,000  for  the  erection  of  the  college  build- 
ing. 

In  June  of  that  year  the  Building  Committee  proceeded  to  let 
the  contract.  The  $20,000  appropriated  by  the  General  Assembly 
were  expended  in  putting  in  the  foundations  and  making  the 
brick  for  the  structure.  An  additional  appropriation  of  $01,000 
was  made  in  1866,  and  the  building  was  completed  in  1868. 

Tuition  in  this  college  is  made  by  law  forever  free  to  pupils 
from  the  State  ever  sixteen  years  of  age,  who  have  been  resident 
of  the  State  six  months  previuous  to  their  admission.  Each  couuty 
in  the  State  has  a  previous  right  of  tuition  for  three  scholars  from 
each  county;  the  remainder,  equal  to  the  capacity  of  the  college, 
are  by  the  trustees  distributed  among  the  counties  in  proportion 
to  the  population,  and  subject  to  the  above  rule.  All  sale  of  ar- 
dent spirits,  wine  or  beer,  is  prohibited  by  law  within  a  distance 
of  three  miles  from  the  college,  except  for  sacramental,  mechani- 
cal or  medical  purposes. 

The  course  of  instruction  in  the  Agricultural  College  embraces 
the  following  branches:  Natural  Philosophy,  Chemistry,  Botany^ 
Horticulture,  Fruit  Growing,  Forestry,  Animal  and  Vegetable 
Anatomy,  Geology,  Mineralogy,  Meteorology,  Entomology, 
Zoology,  the  Veterinary  Art,  Plain  Mensuration,  Leveling,  Sur- 
veying, Bookkeeping,  and  such  Mechanical  Arts  as  are  directly 
connected  with  agriculture;  also  such  other  studies  as  the  Trus- 
tees may,  from  time  to  time,  prescribe,  not  inconsistent  with  the 
purposes  of  the  institutions  The  funds  arising  from  the  lease  and 
sale  of  lands,  and  interest  on  investments,  are  sufficient  for  the 
support  of  the  institution. 

The  Board  of  Trustees,  in  1881.  was  composed  of  Charles  W. 
Tenney,  Plymouth;  George  H.  Wright,  Sioux  City;  Henry  G. 
Little,  Grinnell;  William  McClintock,  West  Union;  John  N. 
Dixon,  Oskaloosa.  A.  S.  Welch,  President  of  the  Faculty,  W.  D. 
Lucas,  Treasurer;  E.  W.  Stanton,  Secretary. 

The  Trustees  are  elected  by  the  General  Assembly,  in  joint 
convention,  for  four  years,  three  being  elected  at  one  session  and 
two  the  next. 

THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY. 

Toiva  City,  Johnson  County. 

In  the  famous  Ordinance  of  1787,  enacted  by  Congress  before 
the  Territory  of  the  United  States  extended  beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  it  was  declared  that  in  all  the  territory  northwest  of 


68  HISTORY   OF   IOWA. 

the  Ohio  River,  "Schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall  for- 
ever be  encouraged."  By  act  of  Congress,  approved  July  20, 1840, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  authorized  "to  set  apart  and  re- 
serve from  sale,  out  of  any  of  the  public  lands  within  the  Terri- 
tory of  Iowa,  to  which  the  Indian  title  has  been  or  may  be  ex- 
tinguished, and  not  otherwise  appropriated,  a  quantity  of  land,  not 
exceeding  the  entire  townships,  for  the  use  and  support  of  a  uni- 
versity within  said  Territory  when  it  becomes  a  State,  and  for  no 
other  use  or  purpose  whateverr;  to  be  located  in  tracts  of  not  les.s 
than  an  entire  section,  corresponding  with  any  of  the  large  divis- 
ions into  which  the  public  lands  are  authorized  to  be  surveyed." 

William  W.  Dodge,  of  Scott  County,  was  appointed  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  make  the  selections.  He  selected 
Section  5,  in  Township  78,  north  of  Range  3,  east  of  the  Fifth 
Principal  Meridian,  and  then  removed  from  the  Territory.  No 
more  land  were  selected  until  1846,  when,  at  the  request  of  the 
Assembly,  John  M.  Whitaker,  of  Van  Buren  County,  was  ap- 
pointed, who  selected  the  remainder  of  the  grant  except  about  122 
acres. 

In  the  first  Constitution,  under  which  Iowa  was  admitted  to  the 
Union,  the  people  directed  the  disposition  of  the  proceeds  of  this 
munificent  grant  in  accordance  with  its  terms,  and  instructed  the 
General  Assembly  to  provide,  as  soon  as  may  be,  effectual  means 
for  the  improvement  and  permanent  security  of  the  funds  of  the 
University  derived  from  the  lands.  ^ 

The  first  General  Assembly,  by  act  approved  February  25,  1847, 
established  the  "State  University  of  Iowa"  at  Iowa  City,  then 
the  Capital  of  the  State,  "with  such  other  branches  as  public  con- 
venience may  hereafter  require."  The  "public  buildings  at  Iowa 
City,  together  with  the  ten  acres  of  land  in  which  they  are  sit- 
uated, were  granted  for  the  use  of  said  University,  proi'ided.  how- 
ever, that  the  sessions  of  the  Legislature  and  State  offices  should 
be  held  in  the  capitol  until  otherwise  provided  by  law.  The  con- 
trol and  management  of  the  University  were  committed  to  a 
Board  of  fifteen  Trustees,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Legislature,  five 
of  whom  were  to  be  chosen  biennially.  The  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  was  made  president  of  this  Board.  Provisions 
were  made  for  the  disposal  of  the  two  townships  of  land,  and  for 
the  investment  of  the  funds  arising  therefrom.  The  act  further 
provides  that  the  University  shall  never  be  under  the  exclusive 
control  of  anv  reliofious  denomination  whatever,  and  as  soon  as 
the  revenue  for  the  grant  and  donations  amounts  to  $2,000  a  year, 
the  University  should  commence  and  continue  the  instruction, 
free  of  charge,  of  fifty  students  annually.  The  General  Assem- 
bly retained  full  supervision  over  the  Universi'y,  it  officers  and 
the  grants  and  donations  made  and  to  be  made  to  it  by  the  State. 

The  organization  of  the  University  at  Iowa  City  was  impractica- 
ble, however,  so  long  as  the  seat  of  government  was  retained  there. 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  69 

In  January,  1849,  two  branches  of  the  University  and  three 
Normal  Schools  were  established.  The  branches  were  located — 
one  at  Fairfield,  and  the  other  at  Dubuque,  and  were  placed  upon 
an  equal  footing,  in  respect  to  funds  and  all  other  matters,  with 
the  University  established  at  Iowa  City.  ''This  act,"  says  Col. 
Benton,  "created  three  State  Universities,  with  equal  rights  and 
powers,  instead  of  a  'University  with  such  branches  as  public  con- 
venience may  hereafter  demand^  as  provided  by  the  Constitu- 
tion." 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Fairfield  Branch  consisted  of 
Barnet  Ristine,  Christian  W,  Slagle,  Daniel  Rider,  Horace  Gay- 
lord,  Bernhart  Henn  and  Samuel  S.  Bayard.  At  the  first  meeting 
of  the  Board  Mr.  Henn  was  elected  President,  Mr.  Slagle  Secre- 
tary, and  Mr.  Gaylord  Treasurer.  Twenty  acres  of  land  were 
purchased,  and  a  building  erected  thereon,  costing  $2,500.  This 
building  was  nearly  destroyed  by  a  hurricane,  in  1850,  but  was  re- 
built more  substantially,  all  by  contributions  of  the  citizens  of 
Fairfield.  This  branch  never  received  any  aid  from  the  State  or 
from  the  University  Fund,  and  by  act  approved  January  24,  1853, 
at  the  request  of  the  Board,  the  General  Assembly  terminated  its 
relation  to  the  State. 

The  branch  at  Dubuque  was  placed  under  the  control  of  the 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction.  The  Trustees  never  or- 
ganized, and  its  existence  was  only  nominal. 

The  Normal  Schools  were  located  at  Andrew,  Oskaloosa  and 
Mount  Pleasant,  respectively.  Each  was  to  be  governed  by  a  board 
of  seven  Trustees,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Trustees  of  the  Univer- 
sity. Each  was  to  receive  $500  annually  from  the  income  of  the 
University  fund,  upon  condition  that  they  should  educate  eight 
common  school  teachers,  free  of  charge  for  tuition,  and  that  the 
citizens  should  contribute  an  equal  sum  for  the  erection  of  the 
requisite  buildings.  The  several  Boards  of  Trustees  were  appointed. 
At  Andrew,  the  school  was  organized  November  21,  1849.  A 
building  was  commenced  and  over  $1,000  expended  on  it,  but  it 
was  never  completed.  At  Oskaloosa,  the  Trustees  organized  in 
April,  1852.  This  school  was  opened  in  the  Court  House,  Septem- 
ber 13,  1852.  A  two-story  brick  building  was  completed  in  1853, 
costing  $2,473.  The  school  at  Mount  Pleasant  was  never  orsjan- 
ized.  Neither  of  these  schools  received  any  aid  from  the  Univer- 
sity fund,  but  in  1857  the  Legislature  appropriated  $1,000  each 
for  those  at  Oskaloosa  and  Andrew,  and  repealed  the  law  author- 
izing the  payment  of  money  to  them  from  the  University  fund. 
From  that  time  they  made  no  further  effort  to  continue  in  opera- 
tion. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  held  February 
21,  1850,  the  "College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi,"  established  at  Davenport,  was  recognized  as  the  ''Col- 
lege of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  the  State  University  of  Iowa," 


70  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

expressly  stipulatiiig,  however,  that  such  recoguitiou  should  not 
render  the  University  liable  for  any  pecuniary  aid,  nor  was  the 
Board  to  have  any  control  over  the  property' or  management  of 
the  Medical  Association.  Soon  after,  this  College  was  removed  to 
Keokuk,  its  second  session  being  opened  there  in  November,  1850. 
In  1851,  the  General  Assembly  confirmed  the  action  of  the  Board, 
and  by  act  approved  January  22,  1855,  placed  the  Medical  College 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  University, 
and  it  continued  in  operation  until  this  arrangement  was  termi- 
nated by  the  new  Constitution,  September  3,  1857. 

From  1847  to  1855,  the  Board  of  Trustees  was  kept  full  by 
regular  elections  by  the  Legislature,  and  the  Trustees  held  fre- 
<{\\ent  meetings,  but  there  was  no  effectual  organization  of  the 
University.  In  March,  1855,  it  was  partially  opened  for  a  term 
of  sixteen  weeks.  July  16,  1855,  Amos  Dean,  of  Albany,  N.  Y.. 
was  elected  President,  but  he  never  entered  fully  upon  its  duties 
The  University  was  again  opened  in  September,  lc55,  and  con- 
tinued in  operation  until  June,  1850,  under  Professors  Johnson, 
Welton,  Van  Valkenburg  and  Guffin. 

In  the  Spring  of  1856  the  capital  of  the  State  was  located  at 
Des  Moines;  but  there  were  no  buildings  there,  and  the  capitol  at 
Iowa  City  was  not  vacated  by  the  State  until  December,  1857. 

In  June,  1856,  the  faculty  was  re-organized,  with  some  changes, 
and  the  University  was  again  opened  on  the  third  Wednesday  of 
September,  1856.  There  were  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  stu- 
dents—eight3'-three  males  and  forty-one  females  in  attendance 
during  the  year  1856-7,  and  the  first  regular  catalogue  was  pub- 
lished. 

Article  IX,  Section  11,  of  the  new  State  Constitution,  which 
went  into  force  Sept.  3,  1857,  provided  as  follows: 

The  State  University  shall  be  established  at  one  place,  without  branches  at 
any  other  place;  and  the  University  fund  shall  be  applied  to  that  institution, 
and  no  other. 

Article  XI,  Section  8,  provided  that 

The  seat  of  government  is  hereby  permanently  established,  as  now  fixed  by 
law,  at  the  city  of  Des  Moines,  in  the  county  of  Polk:  and  the  State  University 
at  Iowa  City,  in  the  county  of  Johnson. 

The  new  Constitution  created  the  Board  of  Education,  consist- 
ing of  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  who  was  ex-oificio  President,  and 
one  member  to  be  elected  from  each  judicial  district  in  the  State. 
This  Board  was  endowed  with  ''full  power  and  authority  to  legis- 
late and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  in  relation  to  com- 
mon schools  and  other  educational  institutions,"  subject  to  altera- 
tion, amendment  or  repeal  by  the  General  Assembly,  which  was 
vested  with  authority  to  abolish  or  re-organize  the  Board  at  anv 
time  after  1863.  ,       " 

In  December,  1857,  the  old  capitol  building,  now  known  as 
Central  Hall  of  the  University,  except  the  rooms  occupied  by  the 
United  States  District  Court,   and   the  property,  with  that  excep- 


HISTORY   OF   IOWA.  71 

tion,  passed  under  the  control  of  the  Trustees,  and  became  the 
seat  of  the  University.  The  old  building  had  had  hard  usage,  and 
its  arrangement  was  illy  adapted  for  University  purposes.  Exten- 
sive repairs  and  changes  were  necessary,  but  the  Board  was  with- 
out funds  for  these  purposes. 

The  last  meeting  of  the  Board,  under  the  old  law,  was  held  in 
January,  1858.  At  this  meeting  a  resolution  was  introduced,  and 
seriously  considered,  to  exclude  females  from  the  University;  but 
it  finally  failed.  • 

March  12, 1858,  the  first  Legislature  under  the  new  Constitution 
■enacted  a  new  law  in  relation  to  the  University,  but  it  wiis  not 
materially  different  from  the  former.  March  11,  1858,  the  Legis- 
lature appropriated  $3,000  for  the  repair  and  modification  of  the 
old  capitol  building,  and  $10,000  for  the  erection  of  a  boarding 
liouse,  now  known  as  South  Hall. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  created  b}'  the  new  law  met  and  duly  or- 
ganized April  27,  1858,  and  determined  to  close  the  L^niversity 
until  the  income  from  its  funds  should  be  adequate  to  meet  the 
current  expenses,  and  the  buildings  should  be  ready  for  occupa- 
tion. Lhitil  this  term,  the  building  known  as  the  "Mechanics' 
Academy"'  had  been  used  for  the  school.  The  Faculty,  except  the 
•Chancellor  (Dean),  was  dismissel,  and  all  further  instruction  sus- 
pended, from  the  close  of  the  term  then  in  progress  until  Sep- 
tember, 1859.  At  this  meeting,  a  resolution  was  adopted  ex- 
cluding females  from  the  University  after  the  close  of  the  existing 
term:  but  this  was  afterward,  in  August,  modified,  so  as  to  admit 
them  to  the  Normal  Department. 

An  '"Act  for  the  Government  and  Regulation  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity of  Iowa,"  approved  December  25,  1858,  was  mainly  a  re- 
enactment  of  the  law  of  March  12,  1858,  except  that  changes  were 
made  in  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  manner  of  their  appointment. 
This  law  provided  that  both  sexes  were  to  be  admitted  on  equal 
terms  to  all  departments  of  the  institution,  leaving  the  Board  no 
discretion  in  the  matter. 

At  the  annual  meeting  June  28,  1860,  u  fujl  Faculty  was  ap- 
pointed, and  the  University  re-opened,  under  this  new  organiza- 
tion, September  19, 1860  (third  Wednesday);  and  at  this  date  the 
actual  existence  of  the  University  may  be  said  to  commence. 

August  19, 1862,  Dr.  Totten  having  resigned.  Prof.  Oliver  M. 
Spencer  was  elected  President  and  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Laws  was  conferred  upon  Judge  Samuel  F.  Miller,  of  Keokuk. 

At  the  commencement,  in  June,  1863,  was  the  first  class  ^f 
gi-aduates  in  the  Collegiate  Department. 

The  Board  of  Education  was  abolished  March  10,  1861  and  the 
oflfice  of  Superintendent  of  Public  Insi ruction  was  restored;  the 
General  Assembly  resumed  control  of  the  subject  of  education, 
and  on  March  21  an  act  was  approved  for  the  government  of  the 
Universitv.     It  was  substantial! v  the  same  as  the  former  law.  but 


72  HISTORY    OF    IOWA. 

provided  that  the  Governor  should  be  ex-officio  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees.  Until  1858,  the  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction  had  been  ex-officio  President.  During  the  period  of 
the  Board  of  Education,  the  University  trustees  were  elected  by 
it,  and  elected  their  own  President. 

The  North  Hall  was  completed  late  in  1866. 

The  Law  Department  was  established  in  June,  1868,  and  in  Sep- 
tember following  an  arrangement  was  perfected  with  the  Iowa 
Law  School,  at  D.es  Moines,  which  had  been  in  successful  opera- 
tion for  three  years,  by  which  that  institution  was  transferred  to 
Iowa  City  and  merged  in  the  Law  Department  of  the  University. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board,  on  the  17th  of  September, 
1868,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  the  expediency  of 
establishing  a  Medical  Department.  The  committee  reported  at 
once  in  favor  of  the  proposition,  the  Faculty  to  consist  of  the 
President  of  the  University  and  seven  Professors,  and  recom- 
mended that,  if  practicable,  the  new  department  should  be  opened 
at  the  commencement  of  the  University  year,  in  1869-70. 

By  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  April  11,  1870, 
the  "Board  of  Regents"  was  instituted  as  the  governing  power  of 
the  University,  and  since  that  time  it  has  been  the  fundamental 
law  of  the  institution.  The  Board  of  Regents  held  its  first  meet- 
ing June  28,  1870. 

The  South  Hall,  having  been  fitted  up  for  the  purpose,  the  first 
term  of  the  Medical  Department  was  opened  October  24,  1870,  and 
continued  until  March,  1871. 

In  June  1874,  the  "Chair  of  Military  Instruction"  was  estab- 
lished, and  the  President  of  the  United  States  was  requested  to 
detail  an  officer  to  perform  its  duties.  At  the  annual  meeting,  in 
1876,  a  Department  of  Horacepathy  was  established.  In  March, 
1877  a  resolution  was  adopted  affiliating  the  High  Schools  of  the 
State  with  the  University. 

In  1872,  the  ex-officio  membership  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  was  abolished,  but  it  was  restored  in  1876. 

The  Board  of  Regents,  in  1881,  was  composed  as  follows: 
Johnll.  Gear,  Governor,  ex-officio,  President;  Carl  W.  VonCoelln, 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  ex-officio;  J.  L.  Picard, 
President  of  the  University,  ex-officio.  C.  W.  Slagle,  Fairfield, 
First  District;  D.N.  Richardson,  Davenport.  Second  District;  H. 
C.  Bulis,  Decorah,  Third  District;  A.  T.  Reeve,  Hampton,  Fourth 
District;  J.  N.  W.  Rumple,  Marengo,  Fifth  District;  W.  0. 
Crosby,  Centerville,  Sixth  District;  T.  S.  Parr,  Indianola,  Seventh 
District;  Horace  Everett,  Council  Blue's,  Eighth  District;  J.  F. 
Duncombe,  Fort  Dodge,  Ninth  District.  John  N.  Coldren,  Iowa 
City,  Treasurer;  W.  J.  Haddock,  Iowa  City,  Secretary. 

The  Regents  are  elected  by  the  General  Assembly,  in  Joint 
Convention,  for  six  years,  one-third  being  elected  at  each  regular 
session,  one  member  to  be  chosen  from  each  Congressional  District. 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  73 

The  present  educational  corps  of  the  University  consists  of  the 
President,  nine  Professors  in  the  Collegiate  Department,  one  Pro- 
fessor and  six  Instructors  in  Military  Science;  Chancellor,  three 
Professors  and  four  Lecturers  in  the  Law  Department;  eight  Pro- 
fessor demonstrators  of  Anatomy;  Prosector  of  Surgery  and  two 
Lecturers  in  the  Medical  Department,  and  two  Professors  in  the 
Homcepathic  Medical  Department. 

STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

By  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  January  28,  1857,  a 
State  Historical  Society  was  provided  for  in  connection  with  the 
University.  At  the  commenceme.it,  an  appropriation  of  $250 
was  made,  to  be  expended  in  collecting,  embodying  and  preserving 
in  an  authentic  form,  a  library  of  books,  pamphlets,  charts,  maps, 
manuscripts,  papers,  painting,  statuary,  and  other  materials  illus- 
trative of  the  history  of  Iowa;  and  with  the  further  object  to  res- 
cue from  oblivion  the  memory  of  the  early  pioneers;  to  obtain  and 
preserve  various  accounts  of  their  exploits,  perils  and  hardy  ad- 
ventures; to  secure  facts  and  statements  relative  to  the  history 
and  genius,  and  progress  and  decay  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  Iowa, 
to  exhibit  faithfully  the  antiquities  and  past  and  present  re- 
sources of  the  State;  to  aid  in  the  publication  of  such  collections 
of  the  society  as  shall,  from  time  to  time,  be  deemed  of  value  and 
interest;  to  aid  in  binding  its  books,  pamphlets,  manuscripts  and 
papers,  and  in  defraying  other  necessary  incidental  expenses  of 
the  Society. 

There  was  appropriated  by  law  to  this  institution,  till  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  shall  otherwise  direct,  the  sum  of  fl500  per  annum. 
The  Society  is  under  the  management  of  a  Board  of  Curators, 
consisting  of  eighteen  persons,  nine  of  whom  are  appointed  by  the 
Governor,  and  nine  elected  by  the  members  of  the  Society.  The 
Curators  receive  no  compensation  for  their  services.  The  annual 
meeting  is  provided  for  by  law,  to  be  held  at  Iowa  City  on  Mon- 
day preceding  the  last  Wednesday  in  June  of  each  year. 

The  State  Historical  Society  has  published  a  series  of  very  valu- 
able collections,  including  history,  biography,  sketches,  remi- 
niscences, etc.,  with  quite  a  large  number  of  finely  engraved  por- 
traits of  prominent  and  early  settlers,  under  the  title  of  "Annals 
of  Iowa." 

THE  PENITENTIARY. 

Located  at  Fort  Madison^  Lee  County. 

The  first  act  of  the  Territorial  Legislature,  relating  to  a  Peni- 
tentiary in  Iowa,  was  approA  ed  January  25, 1839,  the  fifth  section 
of  which  authorized  the  Governor  to  draw  the  sum  of  $20,000 
appropriated  by  an  act  of  Congress  approved  July  7,  1838,  for 
public  buildings  in   the   Territory  of  Iowa.     It   j  rovided   for   a 


74  HISTOEY    OF    IOWA. 

Board  of  Directors  of  three  persons  elected  by  the  Legislature, 
who  should  direct  the  building  of  the  Penitentiary,  which  should 
be  located  within  one  mile  of  the  public  square,  in  the  town  of 
Fort  Madison,  Lee  County,  provided  Fort  Madison  should  deed  to 
the  Directors  a  tract  of  land  suitable  for  a  site,  and  assign  thern, 
by  contract,  a  spring  or  stream  of  water  for  the  use  of  the  Peni- 
tentiary. To  the  Directors  was  also  given  the  power  of  appoint- 
ing the  Warden;  the  latter  to  appoint  his  own  assistants. 

The  first  Directors  appointed  were  John  S.  David  and  John 
Clay  pole.  They  made  their  first  report  to  the  Legislative  Council 
November  9>  1839.  The  citizens  of  the  town  of  Fort  Madison 
had  executed  a  deed  conveying  ten  acres  of  land  for  the  building 
site.  Amos  Ladd  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  the  building 
June  5,  1839.  The  building  was  designed  of  sufficient  capacity 
to  contain  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  convicts,  and  esiimated  to 
cost  $55,933.90.  It  was  begun  on  the  9th  of  July,  1839;  the 
main  building  and  Warden's  house  were  completed  in  the  fall  of 
1841.  Other  additions  were  made  from  time  to  time  till  the  build- 
ing and  arrangements  were  all  complete  according  to  the  plan  of 
the  Directors.  It  has  answered  the  purpose  of  the  State  as  a 
Penitentiary  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  during  that  period 
many  items  of  practical  experience  in  prison  management  have 

been  gained. 

ADDITIONAL  PENITENTIARY. 

Located  at  Anamosa,  Jones  County. 

By  an  Act  of  the  Fourteenth  General  Assembly,  approved  April 

23,  1872,  William  Ure,  Foster  L.  Downing  and  Martin  Heisey 
were  constituted  Commiss^ioners  to  locate  and  provide  for  the  erec- 
tion and  control  of  an  additional  P.enitentiary  for  the  State  of 
Iowa.  These  Commissioners  met  on  the  4th  of  the  following 
June,  at  Anamosa,  Jones  County,  and  selected  a  site  donated  by 
the  citizens,  within  the  limits  of  the  city.  L.  W.  Foster  &  Co., 
architects,  of  Des  Moine. ,  furnished  the  plan,  drawings  and 
specifications,  and  work  was  commenced  on  the  building  on  the 
28th  day  of  September,  1872.  May  13,  1873,  twenty  convicts 
were  transferred  to  Anamosa  from  the  Fort  Madison  Peniten- 
tiary. The  entire  enclosure  includes  fifteen  acres,  with  a  frontage 
of  663  feet. 

IOWA  HOSPITAL  FOR  THE  INSANE. 

Mount  Pleasant,  Henry  County. 

By  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Iowa,  approved  January 

24,  1855,  $4,425  were  appropriated  for  the  purchase  of  a  site,  and 
$50,000  for  building  an  Insane  Hospital,  and  the  Governor 
(Grimes),  Edward  Johnston,  of  Lee  County,  and  Charles  S  Blake, 
of  Henry  County,  were  appointed  to  locate  the  institution  and 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  75 

superintend  the  erection  of  the  building.  These  Commissioners 
located  the  institution  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Henry  County.  A  plan 
for  a  building  designed  to  accommodate  300  patients  was  accepted, 
and  in  October  work  was  commenced.  Up  to  February  25, 1858,  and 
including  an  appropriation  made  on  that  date,  the  Legislature 
had  appropriated  1258,555.67  to  this  institution,  but  the 
building  was  not  finished  ready  for  occupancy  by  patients  until 
March  1,  1861.  April  18,  1876,  a  portion  of  the  hospital  build- 
ing was  destroyed  by  fire. 

TruHtees,  i<§8i.-— Timothy  Whiting,  Mount  Pleasant;  J.  H. 
Kulp,  Davenport;  Denison  A.  Hurst,  Oskaloosa;  John  Conaway, 
Brooklyn;  L.  E.  Fellows,  Lansing.  Mark  Ranney,  M.  D.,  Mt. 
Pleasant,  is  the  Medical  Superintendent;  C.  V.  Arnold,  Mt.  Pleas- 
ant, Treasurer. 

HOSPITAL  FOR  THE  INSANE. 

Independence^  Buchanan  Count ij. 

In  the  winter  of  1867-8  a  bill  providing  for  an  additional  Hos- 
pital for  the  insane  w^as  passed  by  the  Legislature,  and  an  appro- 
1)riation  of  $125,000  was  made  for  that  purpose.  Maturin  L. 
^'isher,  of  Clayton  County;  E.  G.  Morgan,  of  Webster  County,  and 
Albert  Clark,  of  Buchanan  County,  were  appointed  Commissioners 
to  locate  and  supervise  the  erection  of  the  building. 

The  Commissioners  met  and  commenced  their  labors  on  the  8th 
day  of  June,  1868,  at  Independence.  The  act  under  which  they 
were  appointed  required  them  to  select  the  most  eligible  and  de- 
sirable location,  of  not  less  than  320  acres,  within  two  miles  of 
the  City  of  Independence,  that  might  be  offered  by  the  citizens 
free  of  charge  to  the  State.  Several  such  tracts  were  offered,  but 
the  Commissioners  finally  selected  the  south  half  of  southwest 
quarter  of  Section  5;  the  north  half  of  northeast  quarter  of  Sec- 
tion 7;  the  north  half  of  northwest  quarter  of  Section  8,  and  the 
north  half  of  northeast  quarter  of  Section  8,  all  in  Township  88 
north.  Range  9  west  of  the  Fifth  Principal  Meridian.  This  loca- 
tion is  on  the  west  side  of  the  VVapsipinicon  River,  and  about  a 
mile  from  its  banks,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  Independ- 
ence. 

The  contract  for  erecting  the  building  was  awarded  for  $88,114. 
The  contract  Avas  signed  November  7,  1868,  and  work  was  at  once 
commenced.  The  main  buildings  were  constructed  of  dressed 
limestone,  from  the  quarries  at  Anamosa  and  Farley.  The  base- 
ments are  of  the  local  granite  worked  from  the  immense  boulders 
found  in  large  quantities  in  this  portion  of  the  State. 

In  1872  the  building  was  so  far  completed  that  the  Commis- 
sioners called  the  first  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  on  the  10th  day 
of  July  of  that  year.  The  building  was  ready  for  occupancy 
April  21,  1873. 


76  HISTOKY    OF    IOWA. 

In  1877,  the  south  wing  was  built,  but  was  not  comjileted  readj 
for  occupancy  until  ihe  Spring  or  Summer  of  1878. 

Trustees,  1881: — Erastus  G.  Morgan,  Fort  Dodge,  President; 
Jed.  Lake,  Independence;  Mrs.  Jennie  C.  McKinney,  Decorah; 
Lewis  H.  Smith,  Algona;  David  Hammer,  McGregor;  A.  Rey- 
nolds, M.  D.,  Independence,  Medical  Superintendent;  W.  G.  Don- 
nan,  Independence,  Treasurer. 

IOWA  COLLEGE  FOR  THE  BLIND. 

Vinton,  Benton  County. 

In  August,  1852,  Prof.  Samuel  Bacon,  himself  blind,  established 
an  Institution  for  the  instruction  of  the  blind  of  Iowa,  at  Keokuk. 

By  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  entitled  "An  act  to  establish 
an  Asylum  for  the  Blind,"  approved  January  18,  1853,  the  institu- 
tion was  adopted  by  the  State,  removed  to  Iowa  City,  February 
3d,  and  opened  for  the  reception  of  pupils  April  4,  1853,  free  to 
all  the  blind  in  the  State. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  appointed  Prof.  Samuel  Bacon,  Princi- 
pal; T.  J.  McGittigen,  Teacher  of  Music,  and  Mrs.  Sarah  K. 
Bacon,  Matron.  Twenty-three  pupils  were  admitted  during  the 
first  term. 

In  his  first  report,  made  in  1854,  Prof.  Bacon  suggested  that  the 
name  should  be  changed  from  ''Asylum  for  the  Blind,"  to  that 
of  "Institution  for  the  Instruction  of  the  Blind."  This  was  done 
in  1855,  when  the  General  Assembly  made  an  annual  appropria- 
tion for  the  College  of  $55  per  quarter  for  each  pupil.  This  was 
subsequently  changed  to  $3,000  per  annnm,  and  a  charge  of  $25 
as  an  admission  fee  for  each  pupil,  which  sum,  with  the  amounts 
realized  from  the  sale  of  articles  manufactured  by  the  blind  pupils, 
proved  sufficient  for  the  expenses  of  the  institution  during  Mr. 
Bacon's  administration. 

On  the  8th  of  May,  1858,  the  Trustees  met  at  Vinton,  and  made 
arrangements  for  securing  the  donation  of  $5,000  made  by  the 
citizens  of  that  town. 

In  June  of  that  year  a  quarter  section  of  land  was  donated 
for  the  College,  by  John  W.  0.  Webb  and  others,  and  the  Trustees 
adopted  a  plan  for  the  erection  of  a  suitable  building.  In  I860  the 
plan  was  modified,  and  the  contract  for  enclosing  let  for  $10,420. 

In  August,  1862,  the  building  was  so  far  completed  that  the 
goods  and  furniture  of  the  institution  were  removed  from  Iowa  City 
to  Vinton,  and  early  in  October  the  School  was  opened  therewith 
twenty-four  pupils. 

Trustees,  1881:— Clinton  0.  Harrington,  Vinton;  S.  H.  Wat- 
son, Vinton,  Treasurer;  J.  F.  White,  Sidney;  M.  H.  Westerbrook, 
Lyons;  W.  H.  Leavitt,  Waterlop;  Jacob  Springer,  Watkins; 
Rev.  Robert  Carothers,  Principal  of  the  Institution  and  Secretary 
of  the  Board. 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  77 

INSTITUTION  FOR  THE  DEAF  AND  DUMP.. 

Council  Bluffs^  Pottaimttamie  Counti/. 

The  Iowa  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  was  established 
at  Iowa  City  by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  Jan- 
uary 24,  1855.  The  number  of  deaf  mutes  then  in  the  State  was 
301;  the  number  attending;  the  Institution,  50. 

A  strong  effort  was  made,  in  1866,  to  remove  this  important  in- 
stitution to  Des  Moines,  but  it  was  located  permanently  at  Council 
Bluffs,  and  a  building  rented  for  its  use.  In  1868,  Commissioners 
were  appointed  to  locate  a  site  for,  and  to  superintend  the  erection 
of  a  new  building,  for  which  the  Legislature  appropriated  $125,- 
000  to  commence  the  work  of  construction.  The  Commissioners 
selected  ninety  acres  of  land  about  two  miles  south  of  the  city  of 
Council  Bluffs.  The  main  building  and  one  wing  were  completed 
October  1,  1870,  and  immediately  occupied  by  the  Institution. 
February  25,  1877,  the  main  building  and  east  wing  were  de- 
stroyed by  fire;  and  August  Gth,  following,  the  roof  of  the  new 
west  wing  was  blown  off  and  the  walls  partially  demolished  by  a 
tornado.  At  the  time  of  the  fire  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pupils  were  in  attendance.  After  the  fire,  half  the  classes  were 
dismissed  and  the  number  of  scholars  reduced  to  about  seventy, 
and  in  a  week  or  two  the  school  was  in  running  order. 

Trustees,  1881: — B.  F.  Clayton,  Macedonia,  President;  J.  H.  Stu- 
benrauch,  Pella,  Treasurer;  Louis  Weinstein,  Burlington.  Rev. 
A.  Rogers,  Superintendent. 

SOLDIERS'  ORPHANS'  HOMES. 
Davenport,  Cedar  /aZ/.s-,  GUnwood. 

The  movement  which  culminated  in  the  establishment  o£  this 
benificent  institution  was  originated  by  Mrs.  Annie  Wittenmeyer, 
during  the  civil  war  of  1861-65.  This  noble  and  patriotic  lady 
called  a  convention  at  Muscatine,  on  the  7th  day  of  October,  1863, 
for  the  purpose  of  devising  measures  for  the  support  and  educa- 
tion of  the  orphan  children  of  the  brave  sons  of  Iowa,  who  had 
fallen  in  defense  of  national  honor  and  integrity.  So  great  was 
the  public  interest  in  the  movement  that  there  was  a  large  repre- 
sentation from  all  parts  of  the  State  on  the  day  named,  and  an 
association  was  organized  called  the  Iowa  State  Orphan  Asylum. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Trustees  was  held  February  11,  1864, 
in  the  Representative  Hall,  at  Des  Moines.  Committees  from  both 
branches  of  the  General  Assembly  were  present  and  were  invited 
to  participate  in  their  deliberations.  Arrangements  were  made 
for  raising  funds. 

At  the  next  meeting,  in  Davenport,  in  March  1864,  the  Trus- 
tees decided  to  commence  operations  at  once,  and  a  committee  was 


78  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

appointed  to  leavse  a  suitable  building,  solicit  donations,  and  pro- 
cure suitable  furniture.  The  committee  secured  a  large  brick 
building  in  Lawrence,  Van  Buren  County,  and  engaged  Mr.  Ful- 
ler, of  Mt.  Pleasant,  as  Steward. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  in  Des  Moines,  in  June,  1864,  Mrs.  C. 
B.  Baldwin,  Mrs.  G.  G.  Wright,  Mrs.  Dr.  Horton,  Miss  Mary  E. 
Shelton  and  Mr.  George  Sherman,  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
furnish  the  building  and  take  all  necessary  steps  for  opening  the 
"Home,"'  and  notice  was  given  that  at  the  next  meeting  of  the 
Association^  a  motion  would  be  made  to  change  the  name  of  the 
Institution  to  Iowa  Orphans'  Home. 

The  work  of  preparation  was  conducted  so  vigorously  that  on 
the  13th  day  of  July  following,  the  Executive  Committee  an- 
nounced that  they  were  ready  to  receive  the  children.  In  three 
weeks  twenty-one  were  admitted,  and  the  number  constantly  in- 
creased, so  that,  in  a  little  more  than  six  months  from  the  time 
of  opening,  there  w^ere  seventy  children  admitted,  and  twenty 
more  applications,  which  the  Committee  had  not  acted  upon — ^all 
orphans  of  soldiers. 

The  ''Home"  was  sustained  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of 
the  people  until  1866,  when  it  was  assumed  by  the  State.  In  that 
year,  the  General  Assembly  provided  for  the  location  of  several 
such  "Homes"  in  the  different  counties,  and  which  were  estab- 
lished at  Davenport,  Scott  County;  Cedar  Falls,  Black  Hawk 
County,  and  at  Glenwood,  Mills  County. 

The  Board  of  Trustees,  elected  by  the  General  Assembly,  had 
the  oversight  and  management  of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Homes  of 
the  State,  and  consisted  of  one  person  from  each  county  in  which 
such  Home  was  lo;"ated,  and  one  for  the  State  at  large,  who  held 
their  offices  two  years,  or  until  their  successors  were  elected  and 
qualified.  An  appropriation  of  $10  per  month  for  each  orphan 
actually  supported  was  made  by  the  General  Assemby. 

The  Home  in  Cedar  Falls  was  organized  in  1865,  and  an  old 
hotel  building  was  fitted  up  for  it.  January,  1866,  there  were 
ninety-six  inmates. 

October  12, 1869,  the  Home  was  removed  to  a  large  brick  build- 
in  w,  about  two  miles  west  of  Cedar  Falls,  and  was  very  prosperous 
for  several  years,  but  in  1876,  the  General  Assembly  established  a 
State  Normal  school  at  Cedar  Falls,  and  appropriated  the  build- 
ings and  grounds  for  that  purpose. 

By  "An  act  to  provide  for  the  organization  and  support  of  an 
asylum  at  Glenwood,  in  Mills  County  for  feeble-minded  children," 
approved  March  17,  1876,  the  buildings  and  grounds  used  by  the 
Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home  at  that  place  were  appropriated  for  this 
purpose.  By  another  act,  approved  March  15,  1876,  the  soldiers' 
orphans,  then  at  the  Homes  at  Glenwood  and  Cedar  Falls,  were  to 
be  removed  to  the  Home  at  Davenport  within  ninety  days  there- 


HISTORY  OF   IOWA.  79 

ufter,  and  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Home  were  authorized  to 
receive  other  indigent  children  into  that  institution,  and  provide 
for  their  education  in  industrial  pursuits. 

Trustees,  1881:— C.  M.  HoLon,  Iowa  City;  Seth  P.  Bryant,  Da- 
venport; C.  C.  Horton,  Muscatine.  S.  W.  Pierce,  Davenport,  Su- 
perintendent, 

STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 

Cedar  Falls,  Black  Hawk  County. 

Chapter  129  of  the  laws  of  the  Sixteenth  Gi'neral  Assembly,  in 
1876,  established  a  State  Normal  School  at  Cedar  Falls,  Black 
Hawk  County,  and  required  the  Trustees  of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans' 
Home  to  turn  over  the  property  in  their  charge  to  the  Directors 
of  the  new  institution. 

The  Board  of  L^irectors  met  at  Cedar  Falls  June  7,  1876,  and 
duly  organized.  The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans' 
Home  met  at  the  same  time  for  the  purpose  of  turning  over  to  the 
Directors  the  property  of  that  institution,  which  was  satisfac- 
torily done  and  properly  receipted  for  as  required  by  law. 

On  the  12th  of  July,  1876,  the  Board  again  met,  when  executive 
and  teachers'  committees  were  appointed  and  their  duties  assigned. 
A  Steward  and  a  Matron  were  elected,  and  their  respective  duties 
•defined. 

The  buildings  and  grounds  were  repaired  and  fitted  up  as  well  as 
the  appropriation  would  admit,  and  the  first  term  of  school  opened 
September  6,  1876,  commencing  with  twenty-seven  and  closing 
with  eightv-seven  students. 

Directors,  1881:— C.  C.  Cory,  Bella;  E.  H.  Thayer,  Clinton;  G. 
S.  Robinson,  Storm  La^e;  N.  W.  Boyes,  Dubuque;  L.  D.  Lewel- 
ling,  Mitchellville;  J.  J.  Tollertou,  Cedar  Falls;  E,  Townsend, 
■Cedar  Falls,  Treasurer. 

ASYLUM  FOR  FEEBLE-MINDED  CHILDREN. 

Glenivood,  Mills  CounUj. 

Chapter  152  of  the  laws  of  the  Sixteenth  General  Assembly, 
approved  March  17,  1876,  provided  for  the  establishment  of  an 
asylum  for  feeble-minded  children  at  Glenvvood,  Mills  County,  and 
the  buildings  and  the  grounds  of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home  at 
that  place  were  to  be  used  for  that  purpose.  The  asylum  was 
placed  under  the  management  of  three  Trustees,  one  at  least  of 
whom  should  be  a  resident  of  Mills  County.  Children  between 
the  ages  of  7  and  18  years  are  admitted.  Ten  dollars  per  month 
for  each  child  actually  supported  by  the  State  was  appropriated 
by  the  act,  and  ^2,000  for  salaries  of  officers  and  teachers  for  two 
rears. 

Hon.  J.  W.  Cattell,  of  Polk  County;  A.  J.  Russell,  of  Mills 
County,  and  W.  S.  Robertson,  were  appointed  Trustees,  who  held 
their  first  meeting  at  Glen  wood,    April  26,  1876.     Tlie  Trustees 


80  HISTORY    OF   lUWA. 

found  the  house  and  farm  which  had  been  turned  over  to  thera  in 
a  shamefully  dilapidated  condition.  The  fences  were  broken 
down  and  the  lumber  destroyed  or  carried  away;  the  windows 
broken,  doors  off  theii  hinges,  floors  broken  and  filthy  in  the  ex- 
treme, cellars  reeking  with  offensive  odors  from  decayed  vegeta- 
bles, and  every  conceivable  variety  of  filth  and  garbage;  drains 
obstructed,  cisterns  broken,  pump  demoralized,  wind-mill  broken, 
roof  leaky,  and  the  whole  property  in  the  worst  possible  condi- 
tition.  It  was  the  first  work  of  the  Trustees  to  make  the  house 
tenable. 

The  institution  was  opened  September  1,  1876;  the  first  pupil 
admitted  September  4,  and  the  school  was  organized  September  10.. 

Trustees,  1881:-Fred.  O'Donnell,  Dubuque;  S.  B.  Thrall,  Ot- 
tumwa;  E.  R.  S.  Woodrow,  Glenwood;  0.  W.  Archibald,  M.  D., 
Medical  Superintendent. 

THE  REFORM  SCHOOL. 
Eldora^  Hardin  County. 

By  "An  act  to  establish  and  organize  a  State  Reform  School  for 
Juvenile  Offenders,"  approved  March  31, 18G8,  the  General  Assem- 
bly established  a  State  Reform  School  at  Salem,  Lee  (Henry) 
County;  provided  for  a  Board  of  Trustees,  to  consist  of  one  per- 
son from  each  Congressional  District.  For  the  purpose  of  immedi- 
ately opening  the  school,  the  Trustees  were  directed  to  accept  the 
proposition  of  the  Trustees  of  White's  Iowa  Manual  Labor  Insti- 
tute, at  Salem,  and  lease,  for  not  more  than  ten  years,  the  lands,. 
buildings,  etc.,  of  the  Institute,  and  at  once  proceed  to  prepare  for 
jmd  open  a  reform  school  as  a  temporary  establishment. 

The  contract  for  fitting  up  the  buildings  was  let  September  21, 
1868,  and  on  the  7th  of  October  following,  the  first  inmate  was 
received  from  Jasper  County.  The  law  provided  for  the  admission 
of  children  of  both  sexes  under  18  years  of  age.  In  1876  this 
was  amended,  so  that  they  are  now  received  at  ages  over  7  and 
under  16  years. 

April  19,  1872,  the  Trustees  were  directed  to  make  a  permanent 
location  for  the  school,  and  $15,000  was  appropriated  for  the  erec- 
tion of  the  necessary  buildings.  The  Trustees  were  further  di- 
rected, as  soon  as  practicable,  to  organize  a  school  for  girls  in  the 
.    buildings  where  the  boys  were  then  kept. 

The  Trustees  located  the  school  at  Eldora,  Hardin  County,  and 
in  the  code  of  1873,  it  is  permanently  located  there  by  law. 

The  institution  is  managed  by  five  Tiustees,  who  are  paid  mile- 
age, but  no  compensation  for  their  services. 

The  object  is  the  reformation  of  children  of  both  sexes,  under 
the  age  of  16  and  over  7  years  of  age;  and  the  law  requires  that 
the  Trustees  shall  require  the  boys  and  girls  under  their  charge  to 
be  instructed  in  piety  and  morality,  and  in  such  branches  of  useful 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  81 

kno-wledge  as  are  adapted  to  their  age  and  capacity,  and  in  some 
regular  course  of  labor,  either  mechanical,  manufacturing  or  agri- 
cultural, as  is  best  suited  to  their  age,  strength,  disposition  and 
capacity,  and  as  may  seem  best  adapted  oo  secure  the  reformation 
and  future  benefit  of  the  boys  and  girls. 

A  boy  or  girl  committed  to  the  State  Reform  School  is  there 
kept,  disciplined,  instructed,  employed  and  governed,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Trustees,  until  he  or  she  arrives  at  the  age  of 
majority,  or  is  bound  out,  reformed  or  legally  discharged.  The 
binding  out  or  discharge  of  a  boy  or  girl  as  reformed,  or  having 
arrived  at  the  age  of  majority,  is  a  complete  release  from  all  pen- 
alties incurred  by  conviction  of  the  crime  for  which  he  or  she  is 
committed. 

Trustees,  1881: — J.  A.  Parvin,  Muscatine,  President;  W.  J. 
Moir,  Eldorado,  Treasurer;  W.  G.  Stewart,  Dubuque:  J.  T.  Moor- 
head,  Ely;  T.  E.  Corkhill,  Mount  Pleasant;  B.  J.  Miles,  Eldora, 
Superintendent.  L.  D.  Lewelling  is  Superintendent  of  the  Girl's 
Department,  at  Mitchellville,  Polk  County. 

FISH  HATCHING  ESTABLISHMENT. 
Near  Anamosa,  Jones  County. 

The  Fifteenth  General  Assembly,  in  1871.  passed  "An  act  to 
provide  for  the  appointment  of  a  Board  of  Fish  Commissioners 
for  the  construction  of  fish  ways  for  the  protection  and  propaga- 
tion of  fish;"  also  ''an  act  to  provide  for  furnishing  the  rivers 
and  lakes  with  fish  and  fish  spawn."  This  act  appropriated  $3,000 
for  the  purpose.  In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  first 
act  above  mentioned,  on  the  9th  of  Apiil,  1874,  S.  B.  Evans,  of 
Ottumwa,  Wapello  County;  B.  F.  Shaw,  of  Jones  County,  and 
Charles  A.  Haines,  of  Black  Hawk  County,  were  appointed  to  be 
Fish  Commissioners  by  the  Governor.  These  Commissioners  met 
at  Des  Moines,  May  10,  1874,  and  organized  by  the  election  of 
Mr.  Evan^,  President;  Mr.  Shaw,  Secretary  and  Superintendent, 
and  Mr.  Haines,  Treasurer. 

The  State  was  partitioned  into  three  districts  or  divisions  to  en- 
able the  Commissioners. to  better  superintend  the  construction  of 
fishways  as  required  by  law.  At  this  meeting,  the  Superintendent 
was  authorized  to  build  a  State  Hatching  House;  co  procure  the 
spawn  of  valuable  fish  adapted  to  the  waters  of  Iowa;  hatch  and 
prepare  the  young  fish  for  distribution,  and  assist  in  putting  them 
into  the  waters  of  the  State. 

In  compliance  with  these  instructions,  Mr.  Shaw  at  once  com- 
menced work,  and  in  the  summer  of  1874,  erected  a  ''State 
Hatching  House"  near  Anamosa,  20x40  feet,  two  stories;  the 
second  story  being  designed  for  a  tenement;  the  first  story  being 
the  "hatching  room."  The  hatching  troughs  are  supplied  with 
water  from  a  magnificent  spring,  four  feet  deep  and  about  ten 


82  HISTORY    OF   lOAVA. 

feet  in  diameter,  aflfording  an  abundant  and  unfailing  supply  of 
pure  running  water.  During  the  first  year,  from  May  10,  1874, 
to  May  10,  1875,  the  Commissioners  distributed  within  the  State 
100,000  shad,  300,000  California  salmon,  10,000  bass,  80,000 
Penobscot  (Maine)  salmon,  5,000  land-locked  salmon,  20,000  of 
other  species. 

By  act  approved  March  10,  1876,  the  law  was  amended  so  that 
there  should  be  one  instead  of  three  Fish  Commissioners,  and  B. 
F.  Shaw  was  appointed,  and  the  Commissioner  was  authorized  to 
purchase  twenty  acres  of  land,  on  which  the  State  Hatching 
House  was  located,  near  Anamosa. 

In  the  fall  of  1876,  Commissioner  Shaw  gathered  from  the 
sloughs  of  the  Mississippi,  where  they  would  Jiave  been  destroyed, 
over  a  million  and  a  half  of  small  fish,  which  were  distributed  in 
the  various  rivers  of  the  State  and  turned  into  the  Mississippi. 

In  1875-6,  533,000  California  salmon,  and  in  1877,  303,500 
lake  trout  were  distributed  in  various  rivers  and  lakes  in  the  State. 
The  experiment  of  stocking  the  small  streams  with  brook  trout  is 
being  tried,  and  81,000  of  the  speckled  beauties  were  distributed 
in  1877.  In  1876,  100,000  young  eels  were  distributed.  These 
came  from  New  York,  and  they  are  increasing  rapidly. 

A.  A.  Mosier,  of  Spirit  Lake,  was  appointed  Assistant  Fish 
Commissioner  by  the  Governor,  under  Chapter  15G,  Laws  of  1880. 

THE  PUBLIC  LANDS. 

The  grants  of  public  lands  made  in  the  State  of  Iowa,  for  vari- 
ous purposes,  are  as  follows: 

1 .  The  500,000  Acre  Grant . 

2.  The  16th  Section  Grant. 

>j.  The  Mortgage  School  Lands. 

4.  The  University  Grant. 

5..  The  Saline  Grant. 

6.  The  Des  Msines  River  Grant. 

7.  The  Des  Moines  River  School  Lands. 

8.  The  Swamp  Land  Grant. 

9.  The  Railroad  Grant. 

10.     The  Agricultural  College  Grant. 

I.      THE   FIVE    HUXDRED   THOUSAND    ACRE    GRANT. 

When  the  State  was  admitted  into  the  Union  she  became  en- 
titled to  500,000  acres  of  land  by  virtue  of  an  act  of  Congress,  ap- 
proved September  4,  1841,  which  granted  to  each  State  therein 
specified  500,000  acres  of  public  land  for  internal  improvements; 
to  each  State  admitted  subsequently  to  the  passage  of  the  act,  an 
amount  of  land  which,  with  the  amount  that  might  have  been 
granted  to  her  as  a  Territory,  would  amount  to  500,000  acres.  All 
these  lands  were  required  to  be  selected  within  the  limits  of  the 
State  to  which  they  were  granted. 


HISTORY   OF    IOWA.  83 

The  Constitution  of  Iowa  declares  that  the  proceeds  of  this 
f^rant,  together  with  all  lands  then  granted  or  to  be  granted  by 
Congress  for  the  benefit  of  schools,  shall  constitute  a  perpetual 
fund  for  the  support  of  schools  throughout  the  State.  By  an  act 
approved  January  15,  1849,  the  Legislature  established  a  Board  of 
School  Fund  Commissioners,  and  to  that  Board  was  confided  the 
selection,  care  and  sale  of  these  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the  School 
Fund.  Until  1855,  these  Commissioners  were  subordinate  to  the 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  but  on  the  15th  of  Janu- 
ary of  that  year,  they  were  clothed  with  exclusive  authority  in  the 
management  and  sale  of  school  lands.  The  office  of  School  Fund 
Commissioner  was  abolished  March  23,  1858,  and  that  officer  in 
each  county  was  required  to  transfer  all  papers  to  and  make  full 
settlement  with  the  County  Judge.  By  this  act,  County  Judges 
and  Township  Trustees  were  made  the  agents  of  the  State  to  con- 
trol and  sell  the  sixteenth  sections;  but  no  further  provision  was 
made  for  the  sale  of  the  500,000  acre  grant  until  April  3d,  1860, 
when  the  entire  management  of  the  school  lands  was  committed 
to  the  Boards  of  Supervisors  of  the  several  counties. 

II.      THE    SIXTEENTH    SECTION'S. 

By  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  Congress  admitting  Iowa  to  the 
Union,  there  was  granted  to  the  new  State  the  sixteenth  section 
in  every  township,  or  where  that  section  had  been  sold,  other 
lands  of  like  amount  for  the  use  of  schools.  The  Constitution  of 
the  State  provides  that  the  proceeds  arising  from  the  sale  of  these 
sections  shall  constitute  a  part  of  the  permanent  school  fund.  The 
control  and  sale  of  these  lands  were  vested  in  the  School  Fund 
Commissioners  of  the  several  counties  until  March  23, 1858,  when 
they  were  transferred  to  the  County  Judges  and  Township  Trus- 
tees, and  were  finally  placed  under  the  supervision  of  the  County 
Boards  of  Supervisors  in  January,  1861. 

III.      THE    MORTGAGE    SCHOOL    LANDS. 

These  do  not  belong  to  any  of  the  grants  of  laud  proper.  They 
are  lands  that  have  been  mortgaged  to  the  school  fund,  and  became 
school  lands  when  bid  ofi'  by  the  State  by  virtue  of  a  law  passed  in 
1862.  Under  the  provisions  of  the  law  regulating  the  manage- 
ment and  investment  of  the  permanent  school  fund,  persons  de- 
siring loans  from  that  fund  are  required  to  secure  the  payment 
thereof  with  interest  at  ten  per  cent,  per  annum,  by  promissory 
notes  endorsed  by  two  good  sureties  and  by  mortgage  on  unincum- 
bered real  estate,  which  must  be  situated  in  the  county  where  the 
loan  is  made,  and  which  must  be  valued  by  three  appraisers.  Mak- 
ing these  loans  and  taking  the  required  securities  was  made  the 
duty  of  the  County  Auditor,  who  was  required  to  report  to  the 
Board  of  Supervisors  at  each  meeting  thereof,  all  notes,  mortgages 
and  abstracts  of  title  connected  with  the  school  fund,  for  exami- 
nation. 


"St  HISTORY    OF    IOWA. 

When  default  was  made  of  payment  of  money  so  secured  by 
mortgage,  and  no  arrangement  made  for  extension  of  time  as  the 
law  provides,  the  Board  of  Supervisors  were  authorized  to  bring 
suit  and  prosecute  it  with  diligence  to  secure  said  fund;  and  in  ac- 
tion in  favor  of  the  county  for  the  use  of  the  school  fund,  an  in- 
junction may  issue  without  bonds,  and  in  any  such  action,  when 
service  is  made  by  publication,  default  and  judgment  may  be  en- 
tered and  enforced  without  bonds.  In  case  of  sale  of  land  on  exe- 
cution founded  on  any  such  mortgage,  the  atttorney  of  the  board, 
or  other  person  duly  authorized,  shall,  on  behalf  of  the  State  or 
county  for  the  use  of  said  fund,  bid  such  sum  as  the  interests  of 
said  fund  may  require,  and  if  struck  off  to  the  State  the  land  shall 
be  held  and  disposed  of  as  the  other  lands  belonging  to  the  fund. 
These  lands  are  known  as  the  Mortgage  School  Lands,  and  reports 
of  them,  including  description  and  amount,  are  required  to  be 
made  to  the  State  Land  Office. 

IV.      UNIVERSITY  LANDS. 

By  act  of  Congress  July  20,  1840,  a  quantity  of  laud,  not 
exceeding  two  entire  townships,  was  reserved  in  the  Territory  of 
Iowa  for  the  use  and  support  of  a  university  within  said  Terri- 
tory when  it  should  become  a  State.  This  land  was  to  be  located 
in  tracts  of  not  less  than  an  entire  section,  and  could  be  used  for 
no  other  purpose  than  that  designated  in  the  grant.  In  an  act 
supplemental  to  that  for  the  admission  of  Iowa,  March  3,  1845, 
the  grant  was  renewed,  and  it  was  provided  that  the  lands  should 
be  used  "solely  for  the  purpose  of  such  university,  in  such  manner 
as  the  Legislature  may  prescribe." 

Under  this  grant  there  were  set  apart  and  approved  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  for  the  use  of  the  State,  the  following 
lands: 

ACRES. 

In  the  Iowa  City  Land  District,   Feb.   29,  1849 20,150.49 

In  the  Fairiielfl  Land  District,  Oct.  17,  1849 9,685.20 

In  the  Iowa  City  Land  District.  Jan.  28,  1850 2,571.81 

in  the  Fairfield  Land  District.  S.  pt.  10.  1850 3,198.20 

In  the  Dubuque  Land  District,  May   19,  1852 10,552.24 

Total 45,957.94 

These  lands  were  certified  to  the  State  November  19,  1859.  The 
University  lands  are  placed  by  law  under  the  control  and  manage- 
ment of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Iowa  State  University.  Prior 
to  1865  there  had  been  selected  and  located  under  282  patents, 
22,892  acres  in  sixteen  counties,  and  23,036  acres  unpatented, 
making  a  total  of  45,928  acres. 

v.      SALINE  LANDS. 

By  act  of  Congress  approved  March  3,  1845,  the  State  of  Iowa 
was  granted  the  use  of  the  salt  springs  within  her  limits,  not  ex- 
ceeding twelve.     By  a  subsequent  act,   approved   May  27,  1852, 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  85 

€ongres!'«:ranted  the  sprin«,'sto  the  State  in  fee  simple,  together 
with  six  sections  of  hind  contiguous  to  each,  to  be  disposed  of  as 
the  Legislature  might  direct.  In  1861  the  proceeds  of  these  lands 
then  to  be  sold  were  constituted  a  fund  for  founding  and  support- 
ing a  lunatic  asylum,  but  no  sales  were  made.  In  1856  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  saline  lands  were  appropriated  to  the  Insane  Asylum, 
repealed  in  1858.  In  18G0,  the  saline  lands  and  funds  were  made  a 
part  of  the  permanent  fund  of  the  State  University.  These  lands 
were  located  in  Appanoose,  Davis.  Decatur,  Lucas.  Monroe,  Van 
Buren  and  Wayne  counties. 

VI.      THE  DES  MOINES  RIVER  GRANT. 

By  act  of  Congress,  approved  August  8,  1846,  a  grant  of  land 
was  made  for  the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  Des  Moines 
lliver,  as  follows: 

Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Bepresentatires  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  there  be,  and  hereby  is,  grant- 
ed to  said  Territory  of  Iowa  for  the  purpose  of  aiaing  said  Territory  to  improve 
the  navig'ation  of  the  Des  Moines  River  from  its  mouth  to  the  Racoon  Fork  (so 
called)  in  said  Territory,  one  equal  moiety,  in  alternate  sections,  of  the  public 
lands  (remaining  unsold  and  not  otherwise  disposed  of,  incumbered  or  appro- 
priated), in  a  strip  five  miles  in  width  on  each  side  of  said  river,  to  be  selected 
withm  said  Territory  by  an  agent  or  agents  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor 
thereof,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States. 

Sec.  2.  And  be  it  futiher  enacted,  That  the  lands  hereby  granted  shall  not 
be  conveyed  or  disposed  of  by  said  Territory,  nor  by  any  State  to  be  formed  out 
of  the  same,  except  as  said  improvement  shall  progress;  that  is,  the  said  Terri- 
tory or  State  may  sell  so  much  of  said  lands  as  shall  produce  the  sum  of  thirty 
thousand  dollars,  and  then  the  sales  shall  cease  until  the  Governor  of  said  Ter- 
ritory or  State  shall  certify  the  fact  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  that 
one-half  of  said  sum  has  been  expended  upon  said  improvements,  when  the 
said  Territory  or  State  may  sell  and  convey  a  quantity  of  the  residue  of  said 
lands  sufficient  to  replace  the  amount  expended  and  thus  the  sales  shall  pro- 
gi'ess  as  the  proceeds  thereof  shall  be  expended,  and  the  fact  of  such  expendi- 
ture shall  be  certified  as  aforesaid. 

Sec.  3.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  the  said  River  Des  Moines  shall  be 
and  forever  remain  a  public  highway  for  the  use  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  free  from  any  toll  or  other  charge  whatever,  for  any  property  of 
the  United  States  or  persons  in  their  service  passing  through  or  along  the  same; 
Provided  always.  That  it  shall  not  be  competent  for  the  said  Territoryor 
future  State  of  Iowa  to  dispose  of  said  lands,  or  any  of  them,  at  a  price 
lower  thin,  for  tli9  tim  J  b^in^',  shiU  hi  thi  minim.in  p:ic3  of  other  public 
lands. 

Sec.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  whenever  the  Territory  of  Iowa 
shall  be  admitted  mto  the  Union  as  a  State,  the  lands  hereby  granted  for  the 
above  pui-pose  shall  be  and  become  the  property  of  said  State  for  the  purpose 
contemplated  in  this  act,  and  for  no  other;  Provided,  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  of  Iowa  shall  accept  the  said  grant  for  the  said  purpose.  Approved 
Augusts,  1846. 

By  joint  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Iowa,  approved 
January  9,  1847,  the  grant  was  accepted  for  the  purpose  specified. 
By  another   act,  approved  February   24,   1847,  entitled   ''An  act 


86  HISTOKY   OF   IOWA. 

creating  the  Board  of  Public  Works,  and  providing  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  Des  Moines  River,"  the  Legislature  provided  for 
a  Board  consisting  of  a  President,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  to  be 
elected  by  the  people.  This  Board  was  elected  August  2,  1847, 
and  was  organized  on  the22d  of  September  following.  The  same 
act  defined  the  nature  of  the  improvement  to  be  made,  and  pro- 
vided that  the  work  should  be  paid  for  from  the  funds  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  sale  of  lands  to  be  sold  by  the  Board, 

Agents  appointed  by  the  Governor  selected  the  sections  desig- 
nated by  ''odd  numbers"  thnmghout  the  whcle  extent  of  the 
grant,  and  this  selection  was  approved  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  But  there  was  a  conflict  of  opinion  as  to  the  extent 
of  the  grant.  It  was  held  by  some  that  it  extended  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Des  Moines  River  only  to  the  Racoon  Forks;  others  held, 
as  the  agents  to  make  selection  evidently  did,  that  it  extended  from 
the  mouth  to  the  headwaters  of  the  river.  Richard  M.  Young, 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  office,  on  the  2  ^d  of  February, 
1848,  construed  the  grant  to  mean  that  ''the  State  is  entitled^to 
the  alternate  sections  within  five  miles  of  the  Des  Moines  River, 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  that  river  within  the  limits  of 
Iowa.  Under  this  construction,  the  alternate  sections  above  the 
Raccoon  Forks  would,  of  course,  belong  to  the  State;  but  on  the 
19th  of  June,  1848,  some  of  these  lands  were,  by  proclamation, 
thrown  into  market.  On  the  18th  of  September,  the  Board  o 
Public  Works  filed  a  remonstrance  with  the  Commissioner  of  the 
General  Land  office.  The  Board  also  sent  in  a  protest  to  the  State 
Land  Office,  at  which  the  sale  was  ordered  to  take  place.  On  the 
8th  of  January,  1849,  the  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Con- 
gress from  Iowa  also  protested  against  the  sale,  in  a  communica- 
tion to  Hon,  Robert  J.  Walker,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to 
which  the  Secretary  replied,  concurring  in  the  opinion  that  the 
grant  extended  the  whole  length  of  the  Des  Moines  River  in 
Iowa. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  1849,  the  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office  directed  the  Register  and  Receiver  of  the  Land  Office 
at  Iowa  City  "to  withhold  from  sale  all  lands  situated  in  the  odd 
numbered  sections  within  five  miles  on  ench  side  of  the  Des 
Moines  River  above  the  Raccoon  Forks."  March  13.  1850,  the 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  submitted  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  a  list  "showing  the  tracts  falling  within  the 
limits  of  the  Des  Moines  River  grant,  above  the  Raccoon  Forks, 
etc.,  under  the  decision  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  of  March 
2, 1849,"  and  on  the  6th  of  April  following  Mr.  Ewing,  then 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  reversed  the  decision  of  Secretary 
Walker,  but  ordered  the  lands  to  be  withheld  from  sale  until  Con- 
gress could  have  an  oppo  t  unity  to  pass  an  explanatory  act.  The 
Iowa  authorities  appealed  from  this  decision  to  the  President 
(Taylor),  who  referred  the  matter  to  the  Attorney  General   (Mr. 


HISTORY   OF  IOWA.  87 

Johnson).  On  the  10th  of  July,  Mr.  Johnson  submitted  as  his 
opinion,  that  by  the  terms  of  the  <^rant  itself,  it  extended  to  the 
very  source  of  the  Des  Moines,  but  before  his  opinion  was  pub- 
lished President  Taylor  died.  When  Mr.  Tyler's  cabinet  was 
formed,  the  question  was  submitted  to  the  new  Attorney  General 
(Mr.  Crittenden),  who,  on  the  30th  of  June,  1851,  reported  that 
in  his  opinion  the  grant  did  not  extend  above  the  Raccoon  Forks. 
Mr.  Stewart,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  concurred  with  Mr, 
Crittenden  at  first,  but  subsequently  consented  to  lay  the  whole 
subject  before  the  President  and  Cabinet,  who  decided  in  favor  of 
the  State. 

October  29,  1851,  Mr.  Stewart  directed  the  Commissioner  of  the 
General  Land  Office  to  "submit  for  his  approval  such  lists  as  had 
been  prepared,  and  to  proceed  to  report  for  like  approval  lists  of 
the  alternate  sections  claimed  by  the  State  of  Iowa  above  the  Rac- 
coon Forks,  as  far  as  the  surveys  have  progressed,  or  may  here- 
after be  completed  and  returned."  And  on  the  following  day, 
three  lists  of  these  lands  were  prepared  in  the  General  Land 
Office. 

The  lands  approved  and  certified  to  the  State  of  Iowa  under 
this  grant,  and  all  lying  above  the  Raccoon  Forks,  are  as   follows: 

Bv  Secretary  Stewart,  Oct.  30,  1851 81,707.93  acrep. 

March  10,  1862 143,908.37     ' ' 

By  Secretary  McLellan,  Dec.  17,   1^53 33,142.43      " 

Dec.  30,  1853 12,813.51      " 

Total 271,572.24  acres. 

The  Commissioners  and  Register  of  the  Ues  Moines  River  Im- 
provement, in  their  report  to  the  Governor,  November  30,  1852, 
estimate  the  total  amount  of  lands  then  available  for  the  work, 
including  those  in  possession  of  the  State  and  those  to  be  surveyed 
and  approved,  at  nearly  a  million  acres.  The  indebtedness  then 
standing  against  the  fund  was  about  $108,000,  and  the  Commis- 
sioners estimated  the  work  to  be  done  would  cost  about  $1,200,000. 

January  10,  1853,  the  Legislature  authorized  the  Commissioners 
to  sell  ''any  or  all  the  lands  which  have  or  may  hereafter  be 
granted,  for  not  less  than  $1,300,000." 

On  the  21th  of  January,  1853,  the  General  Assembly  provided 
for  the  election  of  a  Commissioner  by  the  people,  and  appointed 
two  Assistant  Commissioners,  with  authority  to  make  a  contract, 
selling  the  lands  of  the  Improvement  for  $1,300,000.  This  new 
Board  made  a  contract,  June  9,  1855,  with  the  Des  Moines  Navi- 
gation &  Railroad  Company,  agreeing  to  sell  all  the  lands  dona- 
ted to  the  State  by  Act  of  Congress  of  August  8,  1816,  which  the 
State  had  not  sold  prior  to  December  23,  1853,  for  $1,800,000,  to 
be  expended  on  the  improvement  of  the  river,  and  in  paying  the 
indeb.edness  then  due.  This  contract  was  duly  reported  to  the 
Governor  and  General  Assembly. 


88  HISTOKY    OF    IOWA. 

By  an  act  approved  January  25,  1855,  the  Commissioner  and 
Register  of  the  Des  Moines  River  Improvement  were  authorized 
to  negotiate  with  the  Des  Moines  Navigation  &  Railroad  Company 
for  the  purchase  of  lands  in  Webster  County,  which  had  been 
sold  by  the  School  Fund  Commissioner  as  school  lands,  but  which 
had  been  certified  to  the  State  as  Des  Moines  River  lands,  and  had, 
therefore,  become  the  property  of  the  Company,  under  the  pro- 
visions of  its  contract  with  the  State. 

March  21,  1856,  the  old  question  of  the  extent  of  the  grant  was 
again  raised,  and  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office 
decided  that  it  was  limited  to  the  Raccoon  Fork.  Appeal  was 
made  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  by  him  the  matter  was 
referrred  to  the  Attorney  General,  who  decided  that  the  grant  ex- 
tended to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  State;  the  State  relin- 
quished its  claim  to  the  lands  lying  along  the  river  in  Minnesota, 
and  the  vexed  question  was  supposed  to  be  Hnally  settled. 

The  land  which  had  been  certified,  as  well  as  those  extending  to 
the  northern  boundary  within  the  limits  of  the  grant,  were  re- 
served from  pre-emption  and  sale  by  the  General  Land  Commission- 
er, to  satisfy  the  grant  of  August  8,  1846,  and  they  were  treated 
as  having  passed  to  the  State,  which  from  time  to  time  sold  por- 
tions of  them  prior  to  their  final  transfer  to  the  Des  Moines  Nav- 
igation &  Railroad  Company,  applying  the  proceeds  thereof  to  the 
improvement  of  the  river  in  compliance  with  the  terms  of  the 
grant.  Prior  to  the  final  sale  to  the  Company,  June  9,  1854,  the 
State  had  sold  about  327,000  acres,  of  which  amount  58,830  acres 
were  located  above  the  Raccoon  Fork.  The  last  certificate  of  the 
General  Land  Office  bears  date  December  30,  1853. 

After  June  9th,  1854,  the  Des  Moines  Navigation  &  Railroad 
Company  carried  on  the  work  under  its  contract  with  the  State. 
As  the  improvement  progressed,  the  State,  from  time  to  time,  by 
its  authorized  officers,  issued  to  the  Company,  in  payment  for  said 
Avork,  certificates  for  laud.  But  the  General  Land  Office  ceased  to 
certify  lands  under  the  grant  of  1846.  The  State  had  made  no 
other  provision  for  paying  for  the  improvements,  and  disagree- 
ments and  misunderstanding  arose  between  the  State  authorities 
and  the  Company. 

March  22,  1858,  a  joint  resolution  was  passed  by  the  Legislature 
submitting  a  proposition  for  final  settlement  to  the  Company, 
which  was  accepted.  The  Company  paid  to  the  State  $20,000  in 
cash,  and  released  and  conveyed  the  dredge  boat  and  materials 
named  in  the  resolution;  and  the  State,  on  the  3d  day  of  May, 
1858,  executed  to  the  Des  Moines  Navigation  &  Railroad  Compajiy 
fourteen  deeds  or  patents  to  the  lands,  amounting  to  256,703.64 
acres.  These  deeds  were  intended  to  convey  all  the  lands  of  this 
grant  certified  to  the  State  by  the  General  Government  not  pre- 
viously sold;  but,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  covering  any  tract  or 
parcel  that  might  have  been  omitted,  the  State  made  another  deed 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  89 

of  conveyance  on  the  18tli  day  of  May,  1858.  These  fifteen  deeds, 
it  is  chiimed,  by  the  Company,  convey  260,108  acres,  of  which 
about  53,367  are  below  the  Raccoon  Fork,  and  the  balance,  212,741 
acres,  are  above  that  point. 

Besides  the  lands  deeded  to  the  Company,  the  State  had  deeded 
to  individual  purchasers  58,830  acres  above  the  Raccoon  Fork, 
making  an  aggregate  of  271,571  acres,  deeded  above  the  Fork,  all 
of  which  had  been  certified  to  the  State  by  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. 

By  act  approved  March  28, 1858,  the  Legislature  donated  the 
remainder  of  the  grant  to  the  Keokuk,  Fort  Des  Moines  &  Minne- 
sota Railroad  Company,  upon  condition  that  said  Company  as- 
sumed all  liabilities  resulting  from  the  Des  Moines  River  improve- 
ment operations,  reserving  50,000  acres  of  the  land  in  security  for 
the  payment  thereof,  and  for  the  completion  of  the  locks  and 
dams  at  Bentonsport,  Crotton,  Keosauqua  and  Plymouth.  For 
every  three  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  work  done  on  the  locks 
and  dams,  and  for  every  three  thousand  dollars  paid  by  the  Com- 
pany of  the  liabilities  above  mentioned,  the  Register  of  the  State 
Land  Office  was  instructed  to  certify  to  the  Company  1,000  acres 
of  the  50,000  acres  reserved  for  these  purposes.  Up  to  18G5,  there 
had  been  presented  by  the  Company,  under  the  provisions  of  the 
act  of  1858,  and  allowed,  claims  amounting  to  $109,579.37,  about 
seventy-five  per  cent,  of  which  had  been  settled. 

After  the  passage  of  the  act  above  noticed,  the  question  of  the 
extent  of  the  original  grant  was  again  mooted,  and  at  the  De- 
cember term  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  1859- 
60,  a  decision  was  rendered  declaring  that  the  grant  did  not  ex- 
tend above  Raccoon  Fork,  and  that  all  certificates  of  land  above 
the  Fork  had  been  issued  without  authority  of  law  and  Were, 
therefore,  void  (see  23  How.,  66). 

The  State  of  Iowa  had  disposed  of  a  large  amount  of  land  with- 
out authority,  according  to  this  decision,  and  appeal  was  made  to 
Congress  for  relief,  which  was  granted  on  the  3d  day  of   March, 

1861,  in  a  joint  resolution  relinquishing  to  the  State  all  the  title 
which  the  United  States  then  still  retained  in  the  tracts  of  land 
along  the  Des  Moines  River  above  Raccoon  Fork,  that  had  been 
improperly  certified  to  the  State  by  the  Department  of  the  Inte- 
rior, and  which  is  now  held  hj  bona  fide  purchasers  under  the  State 
of  Iowa. 

In  confirmation  of  this  relinquishment,  by  act  approved  July  12, 

1862,  Congress  enacted: 

That  the  grant  of  lands  to  the  then  Territory  of  Iowa  for  the  improvement  of 
the  Des  Moines  River,  made  bj'  the  act  of  August  8,  1846,  is  hereby  extended 
so  as  to  include  the  alternate  sections  (designated  by  odd  numbers)  lying  within 
five  miles  of  said  river,  between  the  Raccoon  Fork  and  the  northern  boundary 
of  said  State;  such  lands  are  to  fce  held  and  applied  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  original  grant,  except  that  the  consent  of  Congress  is  hereby 
given  to  the  application  of  a  portion  thereof  to   aid  i)i  the  construction  of  the 


90  HISTOKY   OF   lOAVA. 

Keokuk,  Fort  Des  Moines  &  Minnesota  Railroad,  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  the  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Iowa  approved  March 
22,  1858.  And  if  any  of  the  said  lands  shall  have  been  sold  or  otherwise  dis- 
posed of  by  the  United  States  before  the  passage  of  this  act,  except  those  re- 
leased by  the  United  States  to  the  grantees  of  the  State  of  Iowa,  under  joint 
resolution  of  March  3,  1861,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  is  hereby  dhected  to 
set  apart  an  equal  amount  of  lands  within  said  State  to  be  certified  in  lieu 
thereof:  Provided,  that  if  the  State  shall  have  sold  and  conveyed  any  portion  of 
the  lands  lying  within  the  limits  of  the  ^rant  the  title  of  which  has  proved  in- 
vaUd,  any  lands  which  shall  be  certified  to  said  State  in  heu  thereof  by  virtue  of 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  inure  to  and  be  held  as  a  tnist  fund  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  person,  or  persons,  respectively,  whose  titles  shall  have  failed  as 
aforesaid. 

The  grant  of  lands  by  the  above  act  of  Congress  was  accepted 
by  a  joint  resohition  of  the  General  Assembly,  Sept.  11,  1862,  in 
extra  session.  On  the  same  day,  the  Governor  was  authorized  to 
appoint  one  or  more  Commissioners  to  select  the  lands  in  accord- 
ance with  the  grant.  These  Commissioners  were  instructed  to 
report  their  selections  to  the  Registrar  of  the  State  Land  Office. 
The  lands  so  selected  were  to  be  held  for  the  purposes  of  the 
grant,  and  were  not  to  be  disposed  of  until  further  legislation 
should  be  had.  D.  W.  Kilburne,  of  Lee  County,  was  appointed 
Commissioner,  and,  on  the  25th  day  of  April,  1864,  the  General 
Land  Officer  authorized  the  selection  of  300,000  acres  from  the 
vacant  public  lands  as  a  part  of  the  grant  of  July  12,  1862,  and 
the  selections  were  made  in  the  Fort  Dodge  and  Sioux  City  Land 
Districts. 

Many  difficulties,  controversies  and  conflicts,  in  relation  to  claims 
and  titles,  grew  out  of  this  grant,  and  these  difficulties  were  en- 
hanced by  the  uncertainty  of  its  limits  until  the  act  of  Congress 
of  July,  1862.  But  the  General  Assembly  sought,  by  wise  and 
appropriate  legislation,  to  protect  the  integrity  of  titles  derived 
from  the  State.  Especially  was  it  the  determination  to  protect  the 
actual  settlers,  who  had  paid  their  money  and  made  improvements 
pr  or  to  the  final  settlement  of  the  limits  of  the  grant  by  Con- 
gress. 

VII.— THE  DES  MOINES  EIVER  SCHOOL  LANDS. 

These  lands  constituted  a  part  of  the  500,000  acre  grant  made 
by  Congress  in  1841;  including  28,378.46  acres  in  Webster  County, 
selected  by  the  Agent  of  the  State  under  that  grant,  and  ap- 
proved by  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  February 
20,  1851.  They  were  ordered  into  the  market  June  6,  1853,  by 
the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  who  authorized  John 
Tolman,  School  Fund  Commissioner  for  Webster  County,  to 
sell  them  as  school  lands.  Subsequently,  when  the  act  of  1846 
was  construed  to  extend  the  Des  Moines  River  grant  above  Rac- 
coon Fork,  it  was  held  that  the  odd  numbered  sections  of  these 
lands  within  five  miles  of  the  river  were  appropriated  by  that  act, 
and  on  the  30th  day  of  December,  1853,  12,813.51  acres  were  set 
apart  and  approved  to  the  State  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  91 

as  a  part  of  the  Des  Moines  River  grant.  Jannary  6,  1854,  the 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  transmitted  to  the  Su- 
perintendent of  Public  Instruction  a  certified  copy  of  the  lists  of 
these  lands,  indorsed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  Prior  to 
this  action  of  the  Department,  however,  Mr.  Tolman  had  sold  to 
individual  purchasers  3,194.28  acres  as  school  lands,  and  their 
titles  were,  of  course,  killed.  For  their  relief,  an  act,  approved 
April  2, 1860,  provided  that,  upon  application  and  proper  showing, 
these  purchasers  should  be  entitled  to  draw  from  the  State  Treas- 
ury the  amount  they  had  paid,  with  ten  per  cent,  interest,  on  ths 
contract  to  purchase  made  with  Mr.  Tolman.  Under  this  act,  five 
applications  were  made  prior  to  1864,  and  the  applicants  received, 
in  the  aggregate,  ^949.53. 

By  an  act  approved  April  7,  1862,  the  Governor  was  forbidden 
to  issue  to  the  Dubuque  &  Sioux  City  Railroad  Company  any  cer- 
tificate of  the  completion  of  any  part  of  said  road,  or  any  convey- 
ance of  lands,  until  the  company  should  execute  and  file,  in  the 
State  Land  office,  a  release  of  its  claim — first  to  certain  swamp 
lands;  second,  to  the  Des  Moines  River  Lands  sold  by  Tolman; 
third,  to  certain  other  river  lands.  That  act  provided  that  "the 
said  company  shall  transfer  their  interests  in  those  tracts  of  land 
in  Webster  and  Hamilton  Counties  heretofore  sold  by  John  Tol- 
man, School  Fund  Commissioner,  to  the  Register  of  the  State 
Land  Office  in  trust,  to  enable  said  Register  to  carry  out  and  per- 
form said  contracts  in  all  cases  when  he  is  called  upon  by  the 
parties  interested  to  do  so,  before  the  1st  day  of  January,  A.  D., 
1864. 

The  company  filed  its  release  to  the  Tolman  lands,  in  the  Land 
Office,  February  27,  1864,  at  the  same  time  entered  its  protest  that 
it  had  no  claim  upon  them,  never  had  pretended  to  have,  and  had 
never  sought  to  claim  them.  The  Register  of  the  State  Land  Of- 
fice, under  the  advice  of  the  Attorney  General,  decided  that  pat- 
ents would  be  issued  to  the  Tolman  purchasers  in  all  cases  where 
contracts  had  been  made  prior  to  December  23,  1853,  and  remain- 
ing uncancelled  under  the  act  of  1860.  But  before  any  were  is- 
sued, on  the  27th  of  August,  1864,  the  Des  Moines  Navigation 
and  Railroad  Company  commenced  a  suit  in  Chancery,  in  the 
District  Court  of  Polk  County,  to  enjoin  the  issue  of  such  patents. 
On  the  30th  of  August,  an  ex  parte  injunction  was  issued.  In 
January,  1868,  Mr.  J.  A.  Harvey,  Register  of  the  Land  Office, 
filed  in  the  court  an  elaborate  answer  to  plaintiffs'  petition,  deny- 
ing that  tlie  company  had  any  right  to  or  title  in  the  lands.  Mr. 
Harvey's  successor,  Mr.  C.  C.  Carpenter,  filed  a  still  more  exhaus- 
tive answer  February  10,  1868.  August  3,  1868,  the  District 
Court  dissolved  the  injunction.  The  company  appealed  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  where  the  decision  of  the  lower  court  was  affirmed 
in  December,  1869. 


92  HISTORY    OF    IOWA. 


VIII.      SWAMP  LAND  GRANT. 


An  act  of  Congress,  approved  March  28,  1850,  to  enable  Arkan- 
sas and  other  States  to  reclaim  swampy  lands  within  their  limits, 
granted   all  the  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  remaining  unsold 
within  their  respective  limits  to  the  several   States.      Although 
the  total  amount  claimed  by  Iowa  under  this  act  does  not  exceed 
4,000,000  acres,  it  has,  like  the  Des  Moines  River  and  some  of  the 
laud  grants,  cost  the  State  considerable  trouble  and  expense,  and 
required  a  deal  of  legislation.     The  State  expended  large  sums  of 
money   in  making  the  selections,  securing  proofs,  etc.,  but  the 
General  Government  appeared  to  be  laboring  under  the  impression 
that  Iowa  was  not  acting  in  good  faith;  that  she  had  selected 
a  large  amount  of  lands  under  the  swamp  land  grant,  transferred 
her  interest  to  counties,  and  counties  to  private  speculators,  and 
the  General  Land  office  permitted  contests  as  to  the  character  of 
the  lands  already  selected  by  the  Agents  of  the  State  as  "swamp 
lands."     Congress,  by  joint  resolution  December  18,  1856,  and  by 
act  March  3,  1857,  saved  the  State  from  the  fatal  result  of  this 
ruinous  policy.     Many  of  these  lands  were   selected  in  1854  and 
1855,  immediately  after  several  remarkably  wet  seasons,  and  it 
was  but  natural  that  some  portions  of  the  selections  would  not  ap- 
pear swampy  .after  a  few  dry  seasons.     Some  time  after  these  first 
selections  were  made,  persons  desired  to  enter  parcels  of  the  so- 
called  swamp  lands  and  offering  to  prove  them  to  be  dry.    In  such 
cases  the  General  Land  office  ordered  hearing  before  the  local 
land  officers,  and  if  they  decided  the  land  to  be  dry,  it  was  permit- 
ted to  be  entered  and  the  claim  of  the  State  rejected.     Specula- 
tors took  advantage  of  this.     Affidavits  were  bought  of  irrespon- 
sible and  reckless  men,  who,  for  a  few  dollars,  would  confident- 
ly testify  to  the  character  of  lands  they  never  saw.       These  ap- 
plications multiplied  until  they  covered  3,000,000  acres.     It  was 
necessary  that  Congress  should  confirm  all  these  selections  to  the 
State,  that  this  gigantic  scheme  of  fraud  and  plunder  might  be 
stopped.     The  act  of  Congress  of  March  3,  1857,  was  designed  to 
accomplish  this  purpose.     But  the  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  office  held  that  it  was  only  a  qualified  confirmation  and  un- 
der this  construction  sought  to  sustain  the  action  of  the  Depart- 
ment in  rejecting  the  claim  of  the  State,  and  certifying  them  un- 
der act  of  May  15,  1856,  under  which  the   railroad  companies 
claimed  all  swamp  land  in  odd  numbered  sections  within  the  lim- 
its of  their  respective  roads.     This  action  led  to  serious  complica- 
tions.    When  the  railroad  grant  was  made,  it  was  not  intended, 
nor  was  it  understood  that  it  included  any  of  the  swamp  lands. 
These  were  already  disposed  of  by  previous  grant.     Kor  did  the 
companies  expect  to  receive  any  of  them,  but  under  the  decision 
of  the  Department  adverse  to  the  State  the  way  was  opened,  and 
hey  were  not  slow  to  enter  their  claims.     March  4,  1862,  the  At- 


& 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  93 

torney  General  of  the  State  submitted  to  the  General  Assembly  an 
opinion  that  the  railroad  companies  were  not  entitled  even  to  con- 
test the  right  of  the  State  to  these  lands,  under  the  swamp  land 
grant.  A  letter  from  the  Acting  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office  expressed  the  same  opinion^  and  the  General  Assembly 
by  joint  resolution,  approved  April  7,  1862,  expressly  repudiated 
the  acts  of  the  railroad  companies,  and  disclaimed  any  intention 
to  claim  these  lands  under  any  other  than  the  act  of  Congress  of 
September  28,  1850.  A  great  deal  of  legislation  has  been  found 
necessary  ia  relation  to  these  swamp  lands. 

IX.      THE  RAILROAD  GRANT. 

One  of  the  most  important  grants  of  public  lands  to  Iowa  for 
purposes  of  internal  improvement  was  that  known  as  the  "Rail- 
road Grant,"  by  act  of  Congress,  approved  May  15,  1856.  This 
act  granted  to  the  State  of  Iowa,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in,  the 
construction  of  railroads  from  Burlington,  on  the  Mississippi  Riv- 
er, to  a  point  on  the  Missouri  River,  near  the  mouth  of  Platte 
River;  from  the  city  of  Davenport,  via  Iowa  City  and  Fort  Des 
Moines  to  Council  Bluffs;  from  Lyons  City  northwesterly  to  a 
point  of  intersection  with  the  main  line  of  the  Iowa  Central  Air 
Line  Railroad,  near  Maquoketa;  thence  on  said  main  line,  running 
as  near  as  practicable  to  the  Forty-second  Parallel;  across  the  said 
State  of  Iowa  to  the  Missouri  River;  from  the  city  of  Dubuque  to 
a  point  on  the  Missouri  River  near  Sioux  City,  with  a  branch  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Tete  des  Morts,  to  the  nearest  point  on  said  road, 
to  be  completed  as  soon  as  the  main  road  is  completed  to  that 
point,  every  alternate  section  of  land  designated  by  odd  numbers, 
for  six  sections  in  width,  on  each  side  of  said  roads.  It  was  also 
provided  that  if  it  should  appear,  wheii  the  lines  of  those  roads 
were  definitely  fixed,  that  the  United  States  had  sold,  or  right  of 
pre-emption  had  attached  to  any  portion  of  said  land,  the  State 
was  authorized  to  select  a  quantity  equal  thereto,  in  alternate  sec- 
tions, or  parts  of  sections,  within  fifteen  miles  of  the  line  so  lo- 
cated. The  lands  remaining  to  the  United  States  within  six 
miles  on  each  side  of  said  roads  were  not  to  be  sold  for  less  than 
the  double  niininum  price  of  the  public  lands  when  sold,  nor  were 
any  of  said  lands  to  become  subject  to  private  entry  until  they  had 
been  first  offered  at  public  sale  at  the  increased  price. 

Section  4  of  the  act  provided  that  the  lands  granted  to  said  State 
shall  be  disposed  of  by  said  State  only  in  the  manner  following, 
that  is  to  say:  "That  a  quantity  of  land  not  exceeding  one  hundred 
and  twenty  sections  for  each  of  said  roads,  and  included  within  a 
continuous  length  of  twenty  miles  of  each  of  said  roads,  may  be 
sold;  and  when  the  Governor  of  said  State  shall  certify  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior  that  any  twenty  continuous  miles  of  any  of 
said  roads   is  completed,  then  another   quantity   of  land  hereby 


94  HISTORY   OF  IOWA. 

granted,  not  to  exceed  one  hundred  and  twenty  sections  for  each 
of  said  roads  having  twenty  continuous  miles  completed  as  afore- 
said, and  included  within  a  continuous  length  of  twenty  miles  of 
each  of  such  roads,  may  be  sold;  and  so  from  time  to  time  until 
said  roads  are  completed,  and  if  any  of  said  roads  are  not  com- 
pleted within  ten  years,  no  further  sale  said  shall  be  made,  and  the 
lands  unsold  shall  revert  to  the  United  States." 

At  a  special  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Iowa,  by  act  ap- 
proved July  14,  1856,  the  grant  was  accepted  and  the  lands  were 
granted  by  the  State  to  the  several  railroad  companies  named,  pro- 
vided that  the  lines  of  their  respective  roads  should  be  definitely 
fixed  and  located  before  April  1,  1857;  and  provided,  further,  that 
if  either  of  said  companies  should  fail  to  have  seventy-five  miles 
of  road  completed  and  equipped  by  the  1st  day  of  December,  1859, 
and  its  entire  road  completed  by  December  1,  1865,  it  should  be 
competent  for  the  State  of  Iowa  to  resume  all  rights  to  lands  re- 
maining undisposed  of  by  the  company  so  failing. 

The  railroad  companies,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Iowa 
Central  Air  Line,  accepted  the  several  grants  in  accordance  with 
the  provisions  of  the  above  act,  located  their  respective  roads  and 
selected  their  lands.  The  grant  to  the  Iowa  Central  was  again 
granted  to  the  Cedar  Rapids  &  Missouri  River  Railroad  Company, 
which  accepted  it. 

By  act,  approved  April  7,  1862,  the  Dubuque  &  Sioux  City  Rail- 
road Company  was  required  to  execute  a  release  to  the  State  of 
certain  swamp  and  school  lands,  included  within  the  limits  of  its 
grant,  in  compensation  for  an  extension  of  the  time  fixed  for  the 
completion  of  its  road. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  act  of  Congi'ess  does  not  reveal 
any  special  reference  to  railroad  companies.  The  lands  were 
granted  to  the  State^  and  the  act  evidently  contemplated  the  sale 
of  them  hu  the  State,  and  the  appropriation  of  the  proceeds  to  aid 
in  the  construction  of  certain  lines  of  railroad  within  its  limits. 
Section  4  of  the  act  clearly  defines  the  authority  of  the  State  in 
disposing  of  the  lands. 

Lists  of  all  the  lands  embraced  by  the  grant  were  made,  and  cer- 
tified to  the  State  by  the  proper  authorities.  Under  an  act  of  Con- 
gress approved  August  3,  1861,  entitled,  ''An  act  to  vest  in  the 
several  States  and  Territories  the  title  in  fee  of  the  lands  tvhich 
have  been  or  maij  he  certified  to  them,'''  these  certified  lists,  the 
originals  of  which  are  filed  in  the  General  Land  Ofiice,  conveyed 
to  the  State  "the  fee  simple  title  to  all  the  lands  embraced  in  such 
lists  that  are  of  the  character  contemplated"  by  the  terms  of  the 
act  making  the  grant,  and  "intended  to  be  granted  thereby;  but 
where  lands  embraced  in  such  lists  are  not  of  the  character  em- 
braced by  such  act  of  Congress,  and  were  not  intended  to  be 
granted  thereby,  said  lists,  so  far  as  these  lands  are  concerned, 
shall  be  perfectly  null  and  void;  and  no  right,  title,  claim  or  in- 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  95 

terest  shall  be  conveyed  thereby."  Those  certified  lists  made 
under  the  act  u£  May  15, 1850,  were  forty-three  in  number,  viz. :  For 
the  Burlington  &  Missouri  River  Railroad,  nine;  for  the  Missis- 
sippi &  Missouri  Railroad,  eleven;  for  the  Iowa  Central  Air  Line, 
thirteen;  and  for  the  Dubuque  &  Sioux  City  Railroad,  ten.  The 
lands  thus  approved  to  the  State  were  as  follows: 

Burlington  &  Missouri  River  R.  R 237,095.34  acres 

Mississippi  &  Missouri   River  R.  R 774,674.36     " 

Cedar  Rapids  &  Missouri  River  R.  R 775,454.19     " 

Dubuque  &  Sioux  City  R.  R 1,226,558.32    " 

A  portion  of  these  had  been  selected  as  swamp  lands  by  the 
State,  under  the  act  of  September  28, 1850,  au'l  these,  by  the  terms 
of  the  act  of  August  3,  1854,  could  not  be  turned  over  to  the  rail- 
roads unless  the  claim  of  the  State  to  them  as  swamp  was  first  re- 
jected. It  was  not  possible  to  determine  from  the  records  of  the 
State  Land  Office  the  extent  of  the  conflicting  claims  arising  un- 
der the  two  grants,  as  copies  of  the  swamp  land  selections  in  some 
of  the  counties  were  not  filed  of  record.  The  Commissioner  of  the 
Greneral  Land  Office,  however,  prepared  lists  of  the  lands  claimed 
by  the  State  as  swamp  under  the  act  of  September  28,  1850,  and 
also  claimed  by  the  railroad  companies  under  act  of  May  15, 1856, 
amounting  to  553,293.33  acres,  the  claim  to  which  as  swamp  had 
been  rejected  by  the  Department.  These  were  consequently  cer- 
tified the  State  as  railroad  lands.  There  was  no  mode  other  than 
the  act  of  July,  1856,  prescribed  for  transferring  the  title  to  these 
lands  from  the  State  to  the  companies.  The  courts  had  decided 
that,  for  the  purposes  of  the  grant,  the  lands  belonged  to  the 
State,  and  to  her  the  companies  should  look  for  their  titles.  It  was 
generally  accepted  that  the  act  of  the  Legislature  of  July,  1856, 
was  all  that  was  necessary  to  complete  the  transfer  of  title.  It  was 
assumed  that  all  the  rights  and  powers  conferred  upon  the  State  by 
the  act  of  Congress  of  May  14,  1856,  were  by  the  act  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  transferred  to  the  companies;  in  other  words  that 
it  was  designed  to  put  the  companies  in  the  place  of  the  State  as 
the  grantees  from  Congress — and,  therefore,  that  which  perfected 
the  title  thereto  to  the  State  perfected  the  title  to  the  companies 
by  virtue  of  the  act  of  July,  1856.  One  of  the  companies,  how- 
ever, the  Burlington  &  Missouri  River  Railroad  Company,  was  not 
entirely  satisfied  with  this  construction.  Its  managers  thought 
that  some  further  and  specific  action  of  the  State  authorities  in  ad- 
dition to  the  act  of  the  Legislature  was  necessary  to  complete  their 
title.  This  induced  Gov.  Lowe  to  attach  to  the  certified  lists  his 
official  certificate,  under  the  broad  seal  of  the  State.  On  the  9th 
of  November,  1859,  the  Governor  thus  certified  to  them  (com- 
m_encing  at  the  Missouri  River)  187,207.44  acres,  and  December 
27th,  43,775.70  acres,  an  aggregate  of  231.073.14  acres.  These 
were  the  only  lands  under  the  grant  that  were  certified  by  the 
State  authorities  with  any  design  of  perfecting  the   title   already 


96  HISTOKY    OF    IOWA. 

vested  in  ilie  company  by  the  act  o£  July,  1856.  The  lists  which 
were  afterward  furnished  to  the  company  were  simply  certified  by 
the  Governor  as  being  correct  copies  of  the  lists  received  by  the 
State  from  the  United  States  General  Laud  Office.  These  subse- 
quent lists  embraced  lands  that  had  been  claimed  by  the  State 
under  the  Swamp  Land  Grant. 

It  was  urged  against  the  claim  of  the  Companies  that  the  effect 
of  the  act  of  the  Legislature  was  simply  to  substitute  them  for  the 
State  as  parties  to  the  grant.  1st.  That  the  lands  were  granted 
to  the  State  to  be  held  in  trust  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  specific 
purpose,  and  therefore  the  State  could  not  part  with  the  title  until 
that  purpose  should  have  been  accomplished.  2d.  That  it  was  not 
the  intention  of  the  act  of  July  14,  1850,  to  deprive  the  State  of 
the  control  of  the  lands,  but  on  the  contrary  that  she  should  retain 
supervision  of  them  and  the  right  to  withdraw  all  rights  and 
poAvers  and  resume  the  title  conditionally  conferred  by  that  act 
upon  the  companies  in  the  event  of  their  failure  to  complete  their 
part  of  the  contract.  3d.  That  the  certified  lists  from  the  General 
Land  Office  vested  the  title  in  the  State  only  by  virtue  of  the  act 
of  Congress  approved  August  3,  1854.  The  State  Land  Office  held 
that  the  proper  construction  of  the  act  of  July  14,  1856,  when  ac- 
cepted by  the  companies  was  that  it  became  a  conditional  contract 
that  might  ripen  into  a  positive  sale  of  the  lands  as  from  time  to 
time  the  work  should  progress,  and  as  the  State  thereby  became 
authorized  by  the  express  terms  of  the  grant  to  sell  them. 

This  appears  to  have  been  the  correct  construction  of  the  act, 
but  by  a  subsequent  act  of  Congress,  approved  June  2,  J 864, 
amending  the  act  of  1856,  the  terms  of  the  grant  were  changed, 
and  numerous  controversies  arose  between  the  companies  and  the 
State 

The  ostensible  purpose  of  this  additional  act  was  to  allow  the 
Davenport  &  Council  Bluffs  Railroad  "to  modify  or  change  the 
location  of  the  uncompleted  portion  of  its  line,"  to  run  through 
the  town  of  Newton,  Jasper  county,  or  as  nearly  as  practicable  to 
that  point.  The  original  grant  had  been  made  to  the  State  to  aid 
in  the  construction  of  railroads  within  its  limits,  and  not  to  the 
companies,  but  Congress,  in  1864,  appears  to  have  been  utterly  ig- 
norant of  what  had  been  done  under  the  act  of  1856,  or,  if  not, 
to  have  utterly  disregarded  it.  The  State  had  accepted  the  origin- 
al grant.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  had  already  certified  to 
the  State  all  the  lands  intended  to  be  included  in  the  grant  within 
fifteen  miles  of  the  lines  of  the  several  railroads.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  section  4,  of  the  act  of  May  15,  1856,  specifies  the 
manner  of  sale  of  these  lands  from  time  to  time  as  work  on  the 
railroads  should  progress,  and  also  provided  that  "if  any  of  said 
roads  are  not  completed  within  ten  years,  no  ftoiJier  sale  shall  be 
made,  and  the  lands  unsold  shall  revert  to  the  United  States^ 
Having  vested  the  title  to  these  lands  in  trust,  in  the  State  of  Iowa, 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  97 

it  is  plain  that  until  the  expiration  of  the  ten  years  there  could  be 
no  reversion,  and  the  State,  not  the  United  States,  must  control 
them  until  the  grant  should  expire  by  limitation.  The  United 
States  authorities  could  not  rightfully  require  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  to  certify  directly  to  the  companies  any  portion  of  the 
lands  already  certified  to  the  State.  And  yet  Congress,  by  its  act 
of  June  2,  1864,  provided  that  whenever  the  Davenport  &  Council 
Bluffs  Railroad  Company  should  file  in  the  General  Laud  Office,  at 
Washington,  a  map  definitely  showing  such  new  location,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  should  cause  to  be  certified  and  conveyed 
to  said  company,  from  time  to  time,  as  the  road  progressed,  out  of 
any  of  the  lands  belonging  to  the  United  States,  not  sold,  reserved 
or  otherwise  disposed  of,  or  to  Avhich  a  pre-emption  claim  or  right 
of  homestead  had  not  attached,  and  on  which  a  bona  fide  settle- 
ment and  improvement  had  not  been  made  under  color  of  title  de- 
rived from  the  United  States  or  from  the  State  of  Iowa,  within 
six  miles  of  such  newly  located  line,  an  amount  of  land  per  mile 
equal  to  that  originally  authorized  to  be  granted  to  aid  in  the 
construction  of  said  road  by  the  act  to  which  this  was  an  amend- 
ment. 

The  term  "out  of  any  lands  heJongimj  to  the  United  States,  not 
sold,  reserved  or  otherwise  disposed  of,  etc.,"  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  Congress  did  intend  to  grant  lands  already  granted,  but 
when  it  declared  that  the  Company  should  have  an  amount  per 
mile  equal  to  that  originally  authorized  to  he  granted,  it  is  plain 
that  the  framers  of  the  bill  were  ignorant  of  the  real  terms  of  the 
original  grant,  or  that  they  designed  that  the  United  States  should 
resume  the  title  it  had  already  parted  with  two  years  before  the 
lands  could  revert  to  the  United  States  under  the  original  act, 
which  was  not  repealed. 

A  similar  change  Avas  made  in  relation  to  the  Cedar  Rapids  & 
Missouri  Railroad,  and  dictated  the  conveyance  of  lands  in  a 
similar  manner. 

Like  provision  was  made  for  the  Dubuque  &  Sioux  City  Rail- 
road, and  the  Company  was  piermitted  to  change  the  location  of 
its  line  between  Fort  Dodge  and  Sioux  City,  so  as  to  secure  the 
best  route  between  those  points;  but  this  change  of  location  was 
not  to  impair  the  right  to  the  land  granted  in  the  original  act, 
nor  did  it  change  the  location  of  those  lands,' 

By  the  same  act,  the  Mississippi  &  Missouri  Railroad  Company 
was  authorized  to  transfer  and  assign  all  or  any  part  of  the  grant 
to  any  other  company  or  person,  "if,  in  the  opinion  of  said  Com- 
pany, the  construction  of  said  railroad  across  the  State  of  Iowa 
would  be  thereby  sooner  and  more  satisfactorily  completed;  but 
such  assignee  should  not  in  any  case  be  released  from  the  liabili- 
ties and  conditions  accompanying  this  grant,  nor  acquire  perfect 
title  in  any  other  manner  than  the  same  Avould  have  been  ac- 
quired by  the  original  grantee.'' 


98  HISTOEY   OF   IOWA. 

Still  further,  the  Burlington  &  Missouri  River  Railroad  was  not 
forgotten,  and  was,  by  the  same  act,  empowered  to  receive  an 
amount  of  land  per  mile  equal  to  that  mentioned  in  the  original 
act,  and  if  that  could  not  be  found  within  the  limits  of  six  miles 
from  the  line  of  said  road,  then  such  selection  might  be  made 
along  such  line  within  twenty  miles  thereof  out  of  any  public 
lands  belonging  to  the  United  States,  not  sold,  reserved  or  other- 
wise disposed  of,  or  to  which  a  pre-emption  claim  or  right  of 
homestead  had  not  attached. 

Those  acts  of  Congress,  which  evidently  originated  in  the 
•'lobby,"  occasioned  much  controversy  and  trouble.  The  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior,  however,  recognizing  the  fact  that  when  the 
Secretary  had  certified  the  lands  to  the  State,  under  the  act  of 
1856,  that  act  divested  the  United  States  of  title,  under  the  vest- 
ing act  of  August,  1854,  refused  to  review  its  action,  and  also  re- 
fused to  order  any  and  all  investigations  for  establishing  adverse 
claims  (except  in  pre-emption  cases),  on  the  ground  that  the 
United  States  had  parted  with  the  title,  and,  therefore,  could  ex- 
ercise no  control  over  the  land. 

May  12,  1861,  before  the  passage  of  the  amendatory  act  above 
described.  Congress  granted  to  the  State  of  Iowa,  to  aid  in  the 
construction  of  a  railroad  from  McGregor  to  Sioux  City,  and  for 
the  benefit  of  the  McGregor  Western  Railroad  Company  every 
alternate  section  of  land,  designated  by  odd  numbers,  for  ten 
sections  in  width  on  each  side  of  the  proposed  road,  reserving  the 
right  to  substitute  other  lands,  whenever  it  was  found  that  the 
grant  infringed  upon  pre-empted  lands,  or  on  lands  that  had  been 
reserved  or  disposed  of  for  any  other  purpose.  In  such  cases,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  was  instructed  to  select,  in  lieu,  lands 
belonging  to  the  United  States  lying  nearest  to  the  limits  specified. 

X.      AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE  AND  FARM  LAND. 

An  Agricultural  College  and  Model  Farm  was  established  by 
act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  March  22,  1858.  By  the 
eleventh  section  of  the  act,  the  proceeds  of  the  five-section  grant 
made  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  the  erection  of  public  buildings 
was  appropriated,  subject  to  the  approval  of  Congress,  together 
with  all  lands  that  Congress  might  thereafter  grant  to  the  State 
for  the  purpose  for  the  benefit  of  the  institution.  On  the  23d  of 
March,  by  joint  resolution,  the  Legislature  asked  the  consent  of 
Congress  to  the  proposed  transfer,  By  act  approved  July  11, 
1862,  Congress  removed  the  restrictions  imposed  in  the  ''Five- 
section  grant,"  and  authorized  the  General  Assembly  to  make 
such  disposition  of  the  lands  as  should  be  deemed  best  for  the  in- 
terests of  the  State.  By  these  several  acts  the  five  sections  of 
land  in  Jasper  County  certified  to  the  State  to  aid  in  the  erection 
of  public  buildings  under  the  act  of  March  3, 1815,  entitled:  "An 
act  supplemental  to  the  act  for  the  admission  of  the  States  of 


HISTORY   OF    IOWA,  99 

Iowa  and  Florida  into  the  Union,"  were  fully  appropriated  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Iowa  Agricultural  College  and  Farm.  The  institu- 
tion is  located  in  Story  County.  Seven  hundred  and  twenty-one 
acres  in  that  and  two  hundred  in  Boone  County  were  donated  to 
it  by  individuals  interested  in  the  success  of  the  enterprise. 

By  act  of  Congress  approved^July  2,  1852,  an  appropriation  was 
made  to  each  State  and  Territory  of  30,000  acres  for  each  Sena- 
tor and  Representative  in  Congress  to  which,  by  the  apportion- 
ment under  the  census  of  1850,  they  were  respectfully  entitled. 
This  grant  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  endowing  colleges  of  ag- 
riculture and  mechanic  arts. 

Iowa  accepted  this  grant  by  an  act  passed  at  an  extra  session  of 
its  Legislature,  approved  Sept  11,  1862,  entitled:  ''An  act  to  ac- 
cept of  the  grant,  and  carry  into  execution  the  trust  conferred 
upon  the  State  of  Iowa  by  an  act  of  Congress  entitled  'An  act 
granting  public  lands  to  the  several  States  and  Territories  which 
may  provide  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agricultural  and  the  me- 
chanic arts,  approved  July  2, 1862."  This  act  made  it  the  duty 
of  the  Governor  to  appoint  an  agent  to  select  and  locate  the  lands, 
and  provided  that  none  should  be  selected  that  were  claimed  by 
any  county  as  swamp  lands.  The  agent  was  required  to  make  re- 
port of  his  doings  to  the  Governor,  who  was  instructed  to  submit 
the  list  of  selections  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Agricultural 
College  for  their  approval.  One  thousand  dollars  were  appropri- 
ated to  carry  the  law  into  effect.  The  State  having  two  Senators  and 
six  Representatives  in  Congress,  was  entitled  to  240,000  acres  of 
land  under  this  grant,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  and  main- 
taining an  Agricultural  College.  Peter  Melendy,  Esq.,  of  Black 
Hawk  County,  was  appointed  to  make  the  selections,  and  during 
August,  September  and  December,  1863,  located  them  in  the  Fort 
Dodge,  Des  Moines  and  Sioux  City  Land  Districts.  December  8, 
1864,  these  selections  were  certified  by  the  Commissioner  of  the 
General  land  Office,  and  were  approved  to  the  State  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  December  13,  1864.  The  title  to  these  lands 
were  vested  in  the  State  in  fee  simple,  and  conflicted  with  no  other 
claims  under  other  grants. 

The  agricultural  lands  were  approved  to  the  State  as  240,000.90 

acres;  but   35,691.66   acres  were  located   within   railroad  limits, 

which  were  computed  at  the  rate  of  two  acres  for  one,  the  actual 

amount  of  land  approved  to  the  State  under  this  grant  was  only 

204,309.30  acres,  located  as  follows: 

In  Des  Moines  Land  District 6,804.96  acres. 

In  Sioux  City  Land  District 59,025.37      " 

In  Fort  Dodge  Land  District 138,478.97      • ' 

By  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  approved  March  29,  1864,  en- 
titled, "An  act  authorizing  the  Trustees  of  the  Iowa  State  Agri- 
cultural College  and  Farm,  to  sell  all  lands  acquired,  granted,  do- 
nated or  appropriated  for  the  benfit  of  said  College,  and  to  make 


100  HISTORY   OF   lO^VA. 

an  investment  of  the  prcceeds  thereof,"  all  these  lauds  were 
granted  to  the  Agricultural  College  and  Farra,  and  the  Trustees 
were  authorized  to  take  possession  and  sell  or  lease  them.  There 
was  then  under  the  control  of  the  Trustees,  lands   as  follows: 

Under  the  act  of  July  2,  1852 304,309.30  acres. 

Of  the  five-section  grant 3,200.00      '• 

Lands  donated  in  Story  County 721.00 

Lands  donated  in  Boone  County 200.00      •' 

Total 208,430.30  acres. 

The    Trustees   opened  an   office    at  Fort  Dodge,  and  appointed 
Hon.  G.  W.  Bassett  their  a^ent  for  the  sale  of  these  lands. 


"» 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

The  germ  of  the  free  public  school  system  of  Iowa,  which  now 
ranks  second  to  none  in  the  United  States,  was  planted  by  the 
first  settlers.  They  had  migrated  to  the  "Beautiful  Land"'  from 
other  and  older  States,  where  the  common  school  system  had  been 
tested  by  many  years'  expei'ience,  bringing  with  them  some 
knowledge  of  its  advantages,  which  they  determined  should  be  en- 
joyed by  the  children  of  the  land  of  their  adoption.  The  system 
thus  planted  was  expanded  and  improved  in  the  broad  fields  of 
the  West,  until  now  it  is  justly  considered  one  of  the  most  com- 
plete, comprehensive  and  liberal  in  the  country. 

Nor  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  when  it  is  remembered  humble  log 
school  houses  were  built  almost  as  soon  as  the  log  cabin  of  the 
earliest  settlers  were  occupied  by  their  brave  builders.  In  the  lead 
mining  regions  of  the  State,  the  first  to  be  occupied  by  the  white 
race,  the  hardy  pioneers  provided  the  means  for  the  education  of 
their  children  even  before  they  had  comfortable  dwellings  for  their 
families.  School  teachers  were  among  the  first  immigrants  to 
Iowa.  Wherever  a  little  settlement  was  made,  the  school  house 
was  the  first  united  public  act  of  the  settlers;  and  the  rude  primi- 
tive structures  of  the  early  time  only  disappeared  when  the  com- 
munities had  increased  in  population  and  wealth,  and  were  able  to 
replace  them  with  more  commodious  and  comfortable  buildings. 
Perhaps  in  no  single  instance  has  the  magnificent  progress  of  the 
State  of  Iowa  been  more  marked  and  rapid  than  in  her  common 
school  system  and  in  her  school  houses,  which,  long  since,  super- 
ceded the  log  cabins  of  the  first  settlers.  To-day,  the  school  houses 
which  everywhere  dot  the  broad  and  fertile  prairies  of  Iowa  are 
unsurpassed  by  those  of  any  other  State  in  the  great  Union.  More 
especially  is  this  true  in  all  her  cities  and  villages,  where  liberal 
and  lavish  appropriations  have  been  voted,  by  a  generous  people, 
for  the  erection  of  large  commodious  and  elegant  buildings,  fur- 
nished with  all  the  modern  improvements,  and  costing  from  $10,- 
000  to  $60,000  each.  The  people  of  the  State  have  expended 
more  than  $10,000,000  for  the  erection  of  public  school  buildings. 


HISTORY   OF    IOWA.  101 

The  first  house  erected  in  Iowa  was  a  log  cabin  at  Dubuque, 
built  by  James  L.  Langworthy  and  a  few  other  miners,  in  the 
Autumn  of  1833. 

Mrs.  Caroline  Baxter  commenced  teaching  in  Dubuque  in  March, 
1836.  She  was  the  first  female  teacher  there,  and  probably  the 
first  in  Iowa.  The  first  tax  for  the  support  of  schools  at  Dubuque 
Avas  levied  in  1810. 

Among  the  first  buildings  erected  at  Burlington  was  a  commod- 
ious log  school  house  m  1834,  in  which  Mr.  Johnson  Pierson 
taught  the  first  school  in  the  Winter  of  1831-5. 

The  first  school  in  Muscatine  County  was  taught  by  George 
Bumgardner,  in  the  Spring  of  1837,  and  in  1839,  a  log  school 
house  was  erected  in  Muscatine,  which  served  for  a  long  time  for 
school  house,  church  and  public  hall.  The  first  school  in  Daven- 
port was  taught  in  1838.  In  Fairfield  Miss  Clarissa  Sawyer. 
James  F.  Chambers  and  Mrs.  Reed  taught  school  in  1839. 

When  the  site  of  Iowa  City  was  selected  as  the  capital  of  the 
Territory  of  Iowa,  in  May,  1839,  it  was  a  perfect  wilderness.  The 
first  sale  of  lots  took  place  August  18,  1839,  and  before  January 
1,  1840,  about  twenty  families  had  settled  within  the  limits  of  the 
town; and  during  the  same  year,  Mr.  Jesse  Berry  opened  a  school 
in  a  small  frame  building  he  had  erected,  on  what  is  now  College 
street.  "'^ 

The  first  settlement  in  Monroe  County  was  made  in  1848,  by 
Mr.  John  R.  Grray,  about  two  miles  from  the  present  site  of  Ed- 
dyville;  and  in  the  Summer  of  1844,  a  log  school  house  was  built, 
and  the  first  school  was  opened.  About  a  year  after  the  first  cab- 
in was  built  at  Oskaloosa,  a  log  school  house  was  built. 

At  Fort  Des  Moines,  now  the  Capital  of  the  State,  the  first 
school  was  taught  in  the  winter  of  1846-7. 

The  first  school  in  Pottawattamie  County  was  opened  at  Coun- 
cil Point,  prior  to  1849. 

The  first  school  in  Decorah  was  taught  in  1853.  In  Osceola,  the 
first  school  was  opened  by  Mr.  D.  W.  Scoville.  The  first  school 
at  Fort  Dodge  was  taught  in  1855,  by  Cyrus  C.  Carpenter,  since 
(xovernor  of  the  State.  In  Crawford  County  the  first  school 
house  was  built  in  Mason's  Grove  in  1856,  and  Morris  McHenry 
first  occupied  it  as  teacher. 

During  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  history-  of  Iowa,  the  log 
school  houses  prevailed,  and  in  1861,  there  were  893  of  these 
primitive  structures  in  use  for  school  pui'posesin  the  State.  Since 
that  time  they  have  been  gradually  disappearing.  In  1865,  there 
were  796:  in  1870,  336;  and  in  1875,  121. 

Iowa  Territory  was  created  July  3,  1838.  January  1,  1839,  the 
Territorial  Legislature  passed  an  act  providing  that  ''there  shall 
be  established  a  common  school,  or  schools,  in  each  of  the  coun- 
ties in  this  Territory,  which  shall  be  open  and  free  for  every  class 
of  white  citizens  between  the  ages  of  five  and  twenty-one  yoars." 


102  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

The  second  section  of  the  act  provided  that  "the  County  Board 
shall,  from  time  to  time,  form  such  districts  in  their  respective 
counties  whenever  a  petition  may  he  presented  for  the  purpose  hy  a 
majority  of  the  voters  resident  within  such  contemplated  district." 
These  districts  were  governed  by  boards  of  trustees,  usually  of 
three  persons;  each  district  was  required  to  maintain  school  at 
least  three  months  in  every  year;  and  later,  laws  were  enacted 
providing  for  county  school  taxes  for  the  payment  of  teachers, 
and  that  whatever  additional  sum  might  be  required  should  be 
assessed  upon  the  parents  sending,  in  proportion  to  the  length  of 
time  sent. 

When  Iowa  Territory  became  a  State,  in  1846,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  100,000  and  with  20,000  pupils  within  its  limits,  about 
four  hundred  school  districts  had  been  organized.  In  1850,  there 
were  1,200,  and  in  1857,  the  number  had  increased  to  3,265. 

In  March,  1858,  the  Seventh  General  Assembly  enacted  that 
''each  civil  township  is  declared  a  school  district,"  and  provided 
that  these  should  be  divided  into  sub-districts.  This  law  went  in- 
to force  March  20,  1858,  and  reduced  the  number  of  school  dis- 
tricts from  about  3,500  to  less  than  900. 

The  change  of  school  organization  resulted  in  a  very  material 
reduction  of  the  expenditures  for  the  compensation  of  District 
Secretaries  and  Treasurers.  An  effort  was  made  for  several  years, 
from  1867  to  1872,  to  abolish  the  sub-district  system.  The  Legis- 
lature of  1870,  provided  for  the  formation  of  independent  districts 
from  the  sub-districts  of  district  townships.  The  system  of 
graded  schools  was  inaugurated  in  1849;  and  new  schools,  in  which 
more  than  one  teacher  is  employed,  are  universally  graded. 

The  first  official  mention  of  Teachers'  Institutes  in  the  educa- 
tional records  of  Iowa,  occurs  in  the  annual  report  of  Hon.  Thomas 
H.  Benton,  Jr.,  made  December  2,  1850. 

In  March,  1858,  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  holding  of 
Teachers'  Institutes  for  periods  not  less  than  six  working  days, 
whenever  not  less  than  thirty  teachers  should  desire.  The  Super- 
intendent was  authorized  to  expend  not  exceeding  $100  for  any 
one  Institute,  to  be  paid  out  by  the  County  Superintendent  as  the 
Institute  might  direct  for  teachers  and  lecturers,  and  one  thou- 
sand dollars  was  appropriated  to  defray  the  expenses  of  these  In- 
stitutes. 

The  Board  of  Education  at  its  first  session,  commencing  Decem- 
ber 6,  1858,  enacted  a  code  of  school  laws  which  retained  the  ex- 
isting provisions  for  Teachers'  Institutes.  In  March,  1860,  the 
General  Assembly  amended  the  act  of  the  Board  by  appropriating 
"a  sum  not  exceeding  fifty  dollars  annually  for  one  such  Institute, 
held  as  provided  by  law  in  each  county." 

By  act  approved  March  19,  1874,  Normal  Institutes  were  estab- 
lished in  each  county,  to  be  held  annually  by  the  County  Superin- 
tendent, and  in  1876  the  Sixteenth  General  Assembly  established 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA.  103 

the  first  permanent  State  Normal  School  at  Cedar  Falls,  Black 
Hawk  County,  appropriating  the  building  and  property  of  the 
Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home  at  that  place  for  that  purpose. 

The  public  school  system  of  Iowa  is  admirably  organized,  and  if 
the  various  officers  who  are  entrusted  with  the  educational  inter- 
ests of  the  commonwealth  are  faithful  and  competent,  should  and 
will  constantly  improve. 

''The  public  schools  are  supported  by  funds  arising  from  several 
sources.  The  sixteenth  section  of  every  Congressional  Township 
was  set  apart  by  the  General  Government  for  school  purposes,  be- 
ing one-thirty-sixth  part  of  all  of  the  lands  of  the  State.  The 
minimum  price  of  these  lands  was  fixed  at  one  dollar  and  twenty- 
five  cents  per  acre.  Congress  also  made  an  additional  donation  to 
the  State  of  five  hundred  thousand  acres,  and  an  appropriation  of 
five  per  cent,  on  all  the  sales  of  public  lands  to  the  school  fund. 
The  State  gives  to  this  fund  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  all 
lands  which  escheat  to  it;  the  proceeds  of  all  fines  for  the  vio- 
lation of  the  liquor  and  criminal  laws.  The  money  derived  from 
these  sources  constitutes  the  permanent  school  fund  of  the  State, 
which  cannot  be  diverted  to  any  other  purpose.  The  penalties 
collected  by  the  courts  for  fines  and  forfeits  go  to  the  school  fund 
in  the  counties  where  collected.  The  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  lands 
and  the  five  per  cent,  fund  go  into  the  State  Treasury,  and  the 
State  distributes  these  proceeds  to  the  several  counties  according  to 
their  recpest,  and  the  counties  loan  the  money  to  individuals  for 
long  terms  at  eight  per  cent,  interest,  on  security  of  land  valued 
at  three  times  the  amount  of  the  loan,  exclusive  of  all  buildings 
and  improvements  thereon.  The  interest  on  these  loans  is  paid 
into  the  State  Treasury,  and  becomes  the  available  school  fund  of 
the  State.  The  counties  are  responsible  to  the  State  for  all  monev 
so  loaned,  and  the  State  is  likewise  responsible  to  the  school 
fund  for  all  moneys  transferred  to  the  counties.  The  interest  on 
these  loans  is  apportioned  by  the  State  Auditor  semi-annually  to 
the  several  counties  of  the  State,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
persons  between  the  ages  of  five  and  twenty-one  years.  The 
counties  also  levy  an  annual  tax  for  school  purposes,  which  is  ap- 
portioned to  the  several  district  townships  in  the  same  way.  A 
district  tax  is  also  levied  for  the  same  purpose .  The  money  aris- 
ing from  these  several  sources  constitutes  the  support  of  the  pub- 
lic schools,  and  is  sufficient  to  enable  every  sub-district  in  the 
State  to  afford  from  six  to  nine  months'  school  each  year." 

The  taxes  levied  for  the  support  of  schools  are  self-imposed. 
Under  the  admirable  school  laws  of  the  State,  no  taxes  can  be 
legally  assessed  or  collected  for  the  erection  of  school  houses  until 
they  have  been  ordered  by  the  election  of  the  district  at  a  school 
meeting  legally  called.  The  school  houses  of  Iowa  are  the  pride 
of  the  State  and  an  honor  to  the  people.  If  they  have  been  some- 
times built  at  a  prodigal  expense,  the  tax-payers   have  no   one  to 


104  HISTORY    OF    IOWA. 

blame  but  themselves.  The  teachers'  and  eontiugent  funds  are 
determined  by  the  Directors,  under  certain  legal  restrictions. 
These  boards  are  elected  annually,  except  in  the  independent  dis- 
tricts, in  which  the  board  may  be  entirely  changed  every  three 
years.  The  only  exception  to  this  mode  of  levying  taxes  for  sup- 
port of  schools  is  the  county  school  tax,  which  is  determined  by 
the  County  Board  of  Supervisors.  The  tax  is  from  one  to  three 
mills  on  the  dollar;  usually,  however,  but  one. 

In  his  admirable  message  to  the  General  Assembly,  just  previous 
to  retiring  from  the  Gubernatorial  chair,  Gov.  Gear  has  the  follow- 
ing to  say  concerning  the  public  schools  of  Iowa: 

"The  number  of  school  children  reported  is  594,750.  Of  this 
number  384,192  are,  by  approximation,  between  the  ages  of  six 
and  sixteen  years.  The  number  of  all  ages  enrolled  in  the 
schools  is  431,513,  which  shows  that  much  the  greater  proportion 
of  children  of  school  age  avail  themselves  of  the  benefits  of  our 
educational  system.  The  average  attendance  is  254,088.  The 
schools  of  the  State  have  been  in  session,  on  an  average,  148 
days. 

"There  is,  doubtless,  quite  a  per  centage  of  children  who  attend 
schools  other  than  those  of  a  public  character.  Yet  the  figures  I 
have  quoted  show  clearly  that  very  many  children,  through  the 
negligence  or  unwillingness  of  parents,  do  not  attend  school  at  all, 
but  are  in  a  fair  way  to  grow  up  in  ignorance.  I,  therefore,  earn- 
estly suggest  that  you  consider  the  expediency  of  enacting  a  com- 
pulsory educational  law,  which  should  require  attendance  upon 
schools  of  some  kind,  either  public  or  private.  To  me  it  does 
seem  as  if  the  State  shall  not  have  done  her  full  duty  by  the 
children,  until  she  shall  have  completed  her  educational  system 
by  some  such  enactment. 

''The  interest  in  the  normal  institutes  is  maintained,  and,  be- 
yond doubt,  they  render  great  aid  in  training  the  teachers  who 
attend  them. 

"Tlie  receipts  for  all  school  purposes  throughout  the  State  were 
$5,006,023.  60,  and  the  expenditures  $5,129,279.49;  but  of  these 
receipts  and  expenditures  about  $400,000  was  of  money  borrowed 
to  refund  outstanding  bonds  at  lower  rates  of  interest. 

"The  amount  on  hand  aggregated,  at  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year, 
$2,653,356.55.  This  sum  is,  in  my  judgment,  much  larger  than 
the  necessities  of  the  schools  require,  and  it  would  be  well  to  im- 
pose some  check  to  prevent  an  excessive  or  unnecessary  levy  of 
taxes  for  school  purposes." 

The  significance  of  such  facts  as  these  is  unmistakable.  Such 
lavish  expenditures  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  liberality 
and  public  spirit  of  the  people,  all  of  whom  manifest  their  love 
of  popular  education  and  their  faith  in  the  public  schools  by  the 
annual  dedication  to  their  support  of  more  than  one  per  cent,  of 
their  entire  taxable  property;  this  too,  uninterruptedly  through  a 


HISTORY   OF    IOWA.  105 

series  of  years,  commencing  in  the  midst  of  a  war  which  taxed 
their  energies  and  resources  to  the  extreme,  and  continuing 
through  years  of  general  depression  in  business — years  of  moder- 
ate yield  of  produce,  of  discouragingly  low  prices,  and  even  amid 
the  scanty  surrounding  and  privations  of  pioneer  life.  Few  hu- 
man enterprises  have  a  grander  significance  or  give  evidence  of  a 
more  noble  purpose  than  the  generous  contributions  from  the 
scanty  resources  of  the  pioneer  for  the  purpose  of  public  educa- 
tion. 

POLITICAL  RECORD. 

TERRITORIAL    OFFICERS. 

Governors — Robert  Lucas,  1838-41 ;  John  Chambers,  1811-45; 
James  Clarke,  1815. 

Secretaries — William  B.  Conway,  1838,  died  1839;  James  Clarke, 
1839;  0.  H.  W.  StuU,  1841;  Samuel  J.  Burr,  1843;  Jesse  AVil- 
liams,  1845. 

Auditors— Jesse  Williams,  1840;  Wm.  L.  Gilbert,  1843;  Robert 
M.  Secrest,  1845. 

Treasurers — Thornton  Bayliss,  1839;  Morgan  Reno,  1840. 

Judges — Charles  Mason, Chief  Justice,  1838;  Joseph  Williams, 
1838,  Thomas  S.  Wilson,  1838. 

Presidents  of  Council — Jesse  B.  Browne,  1838-9;  Stephen  Hem- 
stead,  1839-40;  M.  Bainridge,  1840-1;  Jonathan  W.  Parker, 
1841-2;  John  D.  Elbert,  1842-3;  Thomas  Cox,  1843^;  S.  Clinton 
Hastings,  1845;  Stephen  Hemstead,  1845-6. 

Speakers  of  the  House — William  H.  Wallace,  1838-9;  Edward 
Johnston,  1839^0;  Thomas  Cox,  1840-1;  Warner  Lewis,  1841-2; 
James  M.  Morgan,  1842-3;  James  P.  Carleton  1843-4;  James  M. 
Morgan,  1845;  George  W.  McCleary,  1845-6. 

First  Constitutional  Convention^  1844 — Shepherd  Leffler,  Presi- 
dent; George  S.  Hampton,  Secretary. 

Second  Constitutional  Convention^  1S46 — Enos  Lowe,  President; 
William  Thompson,  Secretary, 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  STATE  GOVERXME^^T. 

Governors— A.\\se\  Briggs,  1846  to  1850;  Stephen  Hemstead, 
1850  to  1854;  James  W.  Grimes,  1854  to  1858;  Ralph  P.  Lowe, 
1858  to  1860;  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  1860  to  1864;  William  M. 
Stone,  1S64  to  1868;  Samuel  Merrill,  1868  to  1872;  Cvrus  C.  Car- 
penter, 1872  to  1876;  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  1S76  to  1877;  Joshua 
G.  Newbold,  Acting,  1877  to  1878;  John  H.  Gear,  1878  to  1882; 
Buren  R.  Sherman,  1882  to— 

Lieutenant  Governors — Office  created  by  the  new  Constitution, 
September  3,  1857— Oran  Faville,  1858-9;  Nicholas  J.  Rush, 
1860-1;  John  R  Needham,  1862-3;  Enoch  W.  Eastman,  1864-5; 
Benjamin  F.  Gue,  1866-7:  John  Scott,  1868-9;  M.  M.  AValden, 


306  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

1870-1;  H.  C.  Bulis,  1872-3;  Joseph  Dysart,  1874-5;  Joshua  G. 
Newbold,  1876-7;  Frank  T.  Campbell,  1878-82;  0.  H.  Manning, 
1882  to—. 

Secretaries  of  State — Elisha  Cutler,  Jr.,  Dec.  5,  1846,  to  Dee.  4, 
1848;  Josiah  H.  Bonney,  Dec.  4,  1848,  to  Dec  2,  1850;  George  W. 
McCleary,  Dec.  2, 1850,  to  Dec.  2,  1856;  Elijah  Sells,  Dec.  1,  1856, 
to  Jan  5,  1863;  James  Wright,  Jan.  5,  1863,  to  Jan.  7,  1867;  Ed. 
Wright,  Jan.  7,  1867,  to  Jan  6,  1873;  Josiah  T.  Young,  Jan  6, 
1873,  to  1879;  J.  A.  T;  Hull,  1879  to—. 

Auditors  of  /S/aff— Joseph  T.  Fales,  Dec.  5,  1846  to  Dec.  2, 1850; 
William  Pattee,  Dec.  2,  1850,  to  Dec.  4,  1854;  Andrew  J.  Stevens, 
Dec.  4,  1854,  resigned  in  1855;  John  Pattee,  Sept.  22,  1855  to 
Jan.  3  1859;  Jonathan  W.  Cattell,  1859,  to  1865;  John  A.  Elliot, 
1865  to  1871;  John  Russell,  1871  to  1875;  Buren  R.  Sherman, 
1875  to  1881;  W.  V.  Lucas,  1881  to—. 

l.\easurers  of  State— '^or^Q.a  Reno,  Dec.  18,1846,  to  Dec.  2, 
1850;  Israel  Kister,  Dec  2,  1850,  to  Dec.  4,  1852;  Martin  L.  Mor- 
ris, Dec.  4,  1852,  to  Jan.  2,  1859;  John  W.  Jones  1859  to  1863; 
William  H.  Holmes,  1863  to  1867;  Samuel  E.  Rankin,  1867  to 
1873;  William  Christy,  1873  to  1877;  George  W.  Bemis,  1877  to 
1881;  Edwin  G.  Conger,  1881  to—. 

Superintendents  of  Public  Instruction — Office  created  in  1847 — 
James  Harlan,  June  5, 1845  (Supreme  Court  decided  election  void); 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  Jr.,  May  23, 1844,  to  June  7,  1854;  James  D. 
Eads,  1854-7;  Joseph  C.  Stone,  March  to  June,  1857;  Maturin  L. 
Fisher,  1857  to  Dec.  1858,  when  the  office  was  abolished  and  the 
duties  of  the  office  devolved  upon  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Education. 

Secretaries  of  the  Board  of  Education — Thomas  H.  Benton.  Jr.,^ 
1859—1863;  Oran  Faville,  Jan.  1,  1864.  Board  abolished  March 
23,  1864. 

Superintendents  of  Public  Instruction — Office  re-created  March 
23,  1864— Oran  Faville,  March  28,  1864,  resigned  March  1,  1867; 
D.  Franklin  Wells,  March  4,  1879,  to  Jan.,  1870;  A.  S.  Kissell, 
1870  to  1872;  Alonzo  Abernethy,  1872  to  1877;  Carl  W.  von 
Coelln,  1877  to  1882;  J.  W.  Akers,  1882  to  — . 

State  Binders — Office  created  February  21,  1845 — William  M. 
Coles,  May  1,  1855,  to  May  1,  1859;  Frank  M.  Mills,  1859  to 
1867;  James  S.  Carter,  1867  to  1870;  J.  J.  Smart,  1870  to  1874; 
H.  A.  Perkins,  1874  to  1878;  Matt  Parrott,  1878  to  — . 

Begiters  of  the  State  Land  Office — Anson  Hart,  May  5,  1S55» 
to  May  13,  1857;  Theodore  S.  Parvin,  May -13,  1857,  to  Jan.  3, 
1859;  Amos  B.  Miller,  Jan.  3,  1859,  to  October,  1862;  Edwin 
Mitchell,  Oct.  31,  1862,  to  Jan.  5,  1863;  Josiah  A.  Harvev,  Jan. 
5,  1863,  to  Jan.  7,  1867;  Cyrus  C.  Carpenter,  Jan.  7,  1867,  to  Jan. 
1871:  Aaron  Brown,  January,  1871,  to  Januarv,  1875;  David  Se- 
cor,  January,  1875,  to  1879;  J.  K.  Powers.  1879  to  — . 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  107 

State  Printers — Office  created  Jan.  3,  1810 — Garrett  D.  Palmer 
and  Georjre  Paul,  1819;  William  H.  Merritt,  1851  to  1853;  Wil- 
liam A.  Hornish,  1853  (resigned  May  16,  1853);  Mahoney  &  Dorr, 
1853  to  1855;  Peter  Moriarty,  1855  to  1857;  John  Teesdale,  1857 
to  1861;  Francis  W.  Palmer,  1861  to  1869;  Frank  M.  Mills,  18G9 
to  1870;  G.  W.  Edwards,  1870  to  1872;  R.  P.  Clarkson,  1872  to 
1878;  Frank  M.  Mills,  1878  to  — . 

Adjutants  General — Daniel  S.  Lee,  1851-5;  Geo.  W.  McCleary, 
1855-7;  Elijah  Sells,  1857;  Jesse  Bowen,  1857-61;  Nathaniel  Ba- 
ker, 1861  to  1877;  John  H.  Looby,  1877  to  1879;  W.  L.  Alexan- 
der, 1870  to  — . 

Attorneys  General — David  C.  Cloud,  1843-56;  Samuel  A.  Rice, 
1856-60;  Charles  C.  Nourse,  1861-4;  Isaac  L.  Allen,  1865  (resigned 
January,  1866);  Frederick  E.  Bissell,  1866  (died  June  12,  1867); 
Henry  O'Connor,  1867-72;  Marsena  E.  Cutts,  1872-6;  John  F. 
McJiinkin,  1877  to  1881;  Smith  McPherson,  1881  to  — . 

Presidents  of  the  Senate — Thomas  Baker,  1846-7;  Thomas 
Hughes,  1848;  John  J.  Selman,  1848-9;  Enos  Lowe,  1850-1:  Wil- 
liam E.  Leffingwell,  1852-3;  Maturin  L.  Fisher,  1854-5;  William 
W.  Hamilton,  1856-7.  Under  the  new  Constitution,  the  Lieuten- 
ant Governor  is  President  of  the  Senate. 

Speakers  of  the  House — Jesse  B.  Brown,  1847-8;  Smiley  H. 
Bonhan,  1849-50;  George  Temple,  1851-2;  James  Grant,  1853-4; 
Reuben  Noble,  1855-6;  Samuel  McFarland,  1856-7;  Stephen  B. 
Sheledy,  1858-9;  John  Edwards,  1860-1;  Rush  Clark,  1862-3;  Ja- 
cob Butler,  1864-5;  Ed.  Wright,  1866-7:  John  Russell,  1868-9; 
Aylett  R.  Cotton,  1870-71;  James  Wilson,  1872-3;  John  H.  Gear, 
1874-7;  John  Y.  Stone,  1878-9;  Lore  Alford,  1880-1;  G.  R.  Stru- 
ble,  1882  to  — . 

New  Constitutional  Convention,  1859 — Francis  Springer,  Presi- 
dent; Thos.  J.  Saunders,  Secretary. 

STATE   OFFICERS,  1882. 

Buren  R.  Sherman,  Governor;  0.  H.  Manning,  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor; John  A.  T.  Hull,  Secretary  of  State;  William  V.  Lucas,  Au- 
ditor of  State;  Edward  H.  Conger,  Treasurer  of  State;  James  K. 
Powers,  Register  of  State  Land  Office;  W.  L.  Alexander,  Adjutant 
General;  Smith  McPherson,  Attorney  General;  Edward  J.  Holmes, 
Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court;  Jno.  S.  Runnells,  Reporter  Supreme 
Court;  J.  W.  Akers,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction;  Frank 
M.  Mills,  State  Printer;  Matt.  Parrott,  State  Binder;  Prof.  Nathan 
R.  Leonard,  Superintendent  of  Weights  and  Measures;  Mrs.  S.  B 
Maxwell,  State  Librarian. 

THE  JUDICIARY. 

SUPREME  COURT  OF  IOWA,  1882. 

Chief  Justice,  Austin  Adams,  Dubuque;  Associate  Judges,'Wil- 
liam  H.  Seevers,  Oskaloosa;  James  D.  Day,  Sidney;  James  H.  Roth- 
rock,  Tipton;  Joseph  M.  Beck,  Fort  Madison. 


108  HISTORY    or    IOWA. 

DISTRICTS   COURTS,    1882. 

First  Judicial  District,  Abraham  H.  Stutsman,  Burliugtou;  Sec- 
ond Judicial  District,  Edward  L.  Burton,  Ottumwa;  Third  Judicial 
District.  R.  C.  Henry,  Mount  Ayr;  Fourth  Judicial  District,  Charles 
H.  Lewis,  Cherokee;  Fifth  Judicial  District,  William  H.  McHenry, 
Des  Moines;  Sixth  Judicial  District,  John  C.  Cook,  Newton;  Sev- 
enth Judicial  District,  Walter  I.  IJayes,  Clinton;  Eighth  Judicial 
District,  John  Shane,  Vinton;  Ninth  Judicial  District,  Sylvester 
Bagg,  Wa'erloo;  Tenth  Judicial  District,  Ezekial  E.  Cooley,  De- 
corah;  Eleventh  Judicial  District,  James  W.  McKenzie,  Hampton; 
Twelfth  Judicial  District,  Geo.  W.  Ruddick,  Waverly;  Thirteenth 
Judicial  District,  Joseph  R.  Reed,  Council  Bluffs;  Fourteenth  Ju- 
dicial District,  Ed.  R.  Duffie,  Sac  City. 

CIRCUIT   COURTS,    1882. 

First  Judicial  Circuit,  First  District,  W^illiam  J.  Jeffries,  Mt. 
Pleasant;  Second  Judicial  Circuit,  First  District,  Charles  Phelps, 
Burlington;  Second  Judicial  Circuit,  H.  C.  Traverse,  Bloomfield; 
Third  Judicial  Circuit,  D.  D.  Gregory,  Afton;  Fourth  Judicial 
Circuit,  J.  R.  Zuver,  Sioux  City;  First  Judicial  Circuit,  Fifth 
District,  Josiah  Given,  Des  Moines;  Second  Judicial  Circuit, 
Fifth  District,  Stephen  A.  Callvert,  Adel;  Sixth  Judicial  Circuit, 
W.  R.  Lewis,  Montezuma;  First  Judicial  Circuit,  Seventh  District, 
Charles  W.  Chase,  Clinton;  Second  Judicial  Circuit,  Seventh  Dis- 
trict, DeWitt  C.  Richman,  Muscatine,  Eighth  Judicial  Circuit, 
Christian  Hedges,  Marengo;  Ninth  Judicial  Circuit,  Benjamin  W. 
Lacy,  Dubuque;  Tenth  Judicial  Circuit,  Charles  T.  Granger,  Wau- 
kon;  Eleventh  Judicial  Circuit,  D.  D.  Miracle,  Webster  City; 
Twelth  Judicial  Circuit,  Robert  G.  Reineger,  Charles  City;  Thir- 
teenth Judicial  Circuit,  C.  F.  Loofbourrow,  Atlantic;  Fourteenth 
Judicial  Circuit,  John  N.  Weaver,  Algona. 

CONGRESSIONAL  REPRESENTATION. 

UNITED  STA.TES  SENATORS. 

(The  firs  General  Assembly  failed  to  elect  Senators.) 
George  W.  Jones,  Dubuque,  Dec.  7,  1848-1858;  Augustus  C. 
Dodge,  Burlington,  Dec.  7,  1848-1855;  James  Harlan,  Mt.  Pleas- 
ant, Jan.  6,  1855-1865;  James  W.  Grimes,  Burlington,  Jan.  26, 
1858-died  1870;  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  Iowa  City,  elected  Jan.  13, 
1866,  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  resignation  of  James  Harlan;  James 
Harlan,  Mt.  Pleasant,  March  4,  1866-1872;  James  B.  Howell, 
Keokuk,  elected  Jan.  20,  1870,  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  the  death 
of  J.  W.  Grimes— term  expired  March  3d;  Geo.  G.  Wright,  Des 
Moines,  March  4,  1871-1877;  William  B.  Allison,  Dubuque, 
March  4,  1872;  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  March  4,  1877;  James  W. 
McDill,  appointed  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of  S-. 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA.  109 

J.  Kirkwood,  in  1881,  and  elected  Jan.  1882,  to  fill  the  unexpired 
term;  Jaraes  F.  Wilson,  elected  Jan.  1882,  for  the  full  term,  be- 
ginning March  4,  1883. 

MEMBERS  OF  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 

Tiventy-ninth  Congress — 1810  to  1817. — S.  Clinton  Hastings; 
Shepherd  Leffler. 

Thiiileth  Congress— ISil  to  1849.— First  District,  AVilliani 
Thompson;  Second  District,  Shepherd  Leffler. 

Thirty-first  Congress— IS^Si  to  1851.— First  District,  First  Ses- 
sion, Wm.  Thompson;  unseated  by  the  House  of  Representatives 
on  a  contest,  and  election  remanded  to  the  people.  First  District, 
Second  Session,  Daniel  F.  Miller.  Second  District,  Shepherd 
Leffler. 

Thirty-second  Congress — 1851  to  1853. — First  District,  Bern- 
hart  Henn.     Second  District,  Lincoln  Clark. 

Thirty-third  C'owr/mss— 1853  to  1855. — First  District,  Bernhart 
Henn.  Second  District,  John  P.  Cook. 

Thirty-fmrth  Congress — 1855  to  1857.  -First  District,  Augustus 
Hall.     Second  District,  James  Thoringtou. 

Thirty-fifth  Congress— 1851  to  1859.— First  District,  Samuel 
K.  Curtis,     Second  District,  Timothy  Davis. 

Thirty-sixth  Conr/ress — 1859  to  1861. — First  District,  Samuel 
R.  Curtis.     Second  District,  William  Vandever. 

Thirty-seventh  Congress— 1S61  to  1863.— First  District,  First 
Session,  Samuel  R.  Curtis.*  First  District.  Second  and  Third  Ses- 
sions, James  F.  Wilson.     Second  District,  William  Vandever. 

Thirty-eighth  Congress — 1863  to  1865. — First  District,  James 
F.  Wilson;  Second  District,  Hiram  Price;  Third  District,  William 
B.  Allison;  Fourth  District,  Josiah  B.  Grinnell;  Fifth  District, 
John  A.  Kasson;    Sixth  District,  Asahel  W.  Hubbard. 

Thirty-ninth  Congress — 1865  to  1867. — First  District,  James 
F.  Wilson;  Second  District,  Hiram  Price;  Third  District,  William 
B.  Allison;  Fourth  District,  Josiah  B.  Grinnell;  Fifth  District, 
John  A.  Kasson;  Sixth  District,  Asahel  W.  Hubbard. 

Fortieth  Congress— 18Q1  to  1809.— First  District,  James  F. 
Wilson;  Second  District,  Hiram  Price;  Third  District  William  B. 
Allison;  Fourth  District,  William  Lough  ridge;  Fifth  District, 
GrenviUeM.  Dodge;  Sixth  District,  Asahel  W.  Hubbard. 

Forty-first  Congress— lS>d9  to  1871— First  District.  George  W. 
McCrary;  Second  District,  William  Smyth;  Third  District, 
William  B.  Allison;  Fourth  District,  William  Loughridge;  Fifth 
District,  Frank  W.  Palmer;  Sixth  District,  Charles  Pomeroy. 


♦Vacated  seat  hy  acceptance  of  commission  as  Brigadier  General,  and  J.  F.  Wilson 
chosen  his  successor. 


110  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

Fortif-second  Congress — 1871  to  1873 — Fiist  District,  George 
W.  McCrarv;  Second  District,  Aylett  R.  Cotton;  Third  District, 
W.  G.  Donnan;  Fourth  District,  Madison  M.  Waldon;  Fifth  Dis- 
trict, Frank  W.  Palmer;  Sixth  District,  Jackson  Orr. 

Fortij-third  Congress— \^1^  to  1875— First  District,.  George  W. 
McCrary;  Second  District,  Aylett  R.  Cotton;  Third  District, 
William  G.  Donnan;  Fourth  District,  Henry  0.  Pratt;  Fifth  Dis- 
trict, James  Wilson;  Sixth  District,  William Loughridge;  Seventh 
District,  John  A.  Kasson;  Eighth  District,  James  W.  McDill; 
Ninth  District,  Jackson  Orr. 

Forty-fourth  Congress — 1875  to  1877. — First  District,  George 
W.  McCrary,  Second  District,  John  Q.  Tufts;  Third  District.  L. 
L.  Ainsworth;  Fourth  District,  Henry  0.  Pratt;  Fifth  District, 
James  Wilson;  Sixth  District:  Ezekiel  S.  Sampson:  Seventh  Dis- 
trict, John  A.  Kasson;  Eighth  District,  James  W^.  McDill;  Ninth 
District,  Addison  Oliver. 

Forty-fifth  Congress— 1871  to  1879.— First  District,  J.  C.  Stone; 
Second  District,  Hiram  Price;  Third  District,  T.  W^  Burdick; 
Fourth  District,  H.  C.  Deering;  Fifth  District,  Rush  Clark;  Sixth 
District,  E.  S.  Sampson;  Seventh  District,  H.  J.  B.  Cummings; 
Eighth  District,  W.  F.  Sapp;  Ninth  District,  A.  Oliver. 

Forty-sixth  Congress— 1879  to  1881.— First  District,  Moses  A. 
McCoid;  Second  District.  Hiram  Price;  Third  District,  Thomas 
Updegraff;  Fourth  District,  Nathaniel  C.  Deering;  Fifth  District, 
W.  G.  Thompson;  Sixth  District,  James  B.  Weaver;  Seventh  Dis- 
trict, Edward  H.  Gillette;  Eighth  District,  William  F.  Sapp; 
Ninth  District,  Cyrus  C.  Carpenter. 

Forty-seventh  Congress— 18S1  to  1883.— First  District  Moses  A. 
McCoid;  Second  District,  Sewall  S.  Farwell;  Third  District, 
Thomas  UpdegratJ';  Fourth  District,  Nathaniel  C.  Deering;  Fifth 
District,  W.  G.  Thompson;  Sixth  District,  Madison  E.  Cutts, 
Seventh  District,  John*  A.  Kasson;  Eighth  District,  William  P. 
Hepburn;  Ninth  District,  Cyrus  C.  Carpenter. 

WAR  RECORD. 

The  State  of  Iowa  may  well  be  proud  of  her  record  during  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion,  from  1861  to  1865.  ^  The  following  brief 
but  comprehensive  sketch  of  the  history  she  made  during  that 
trying  period,  is  largely  from  the  pen  of  Col.  A.  P.  Wood,  of  Du- 
buque, the  author  of  ''The  History  of  Iowa  and  the  W^ar,"  one  of 
the  best  works  of  the  kind  yet  written. 

"Whether  in  the  promptitude  of  her  responses  to  the  calls  made 
on  her  by  the  General  Government,  in  the  courage  and  constancy 
of  her  soldiery  in  the  field,  or  in  the  wisdom  and  efficiency  with 
which  her  civil  administration  was  conducted  during  the  trying 
period  covered  by  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  Iowa  proved  herself 
the  peer  of  any  loyal  State.  The  proclamation  of  her  Governor, 
responsive  to  that  of  the  President,  calling  for  volunteers  to  com- 


HISTORY    OF    lOWA.  Ill 

« 

pose  her  First  Regiment,  was  issued  on  the  fourth  iuy  after  the 
fall  of  Sumter.  At  the  end  of  only  a  single  week,  men  enough 
were  reported  to  be  in  quarters  (mostly  in  the  vicinity  of  their 
own  homes)  to  fill  the  regiment.  These,  however,  were  hardly 
more  than  a  tithe  ^f  the  number  who  had  been  offered  by  com- 
pany commanders  for  acceptance  under  the  President's  call.  So 
urgent  were  these  offers  that  the  Governor  requested  (on  the  24th 
of  April)  permission  to  organize  an  additional  regiment.  While 
awaiting  an  answer  to  this  request,  he  condllionally  accepted  a 
sufficient  number  of  companies  to  compose  two  additional  regi- 
ments. In  a  short  time,  he  was  notified  that  both  of  these  would 
be  accepted.  Soon  after  the  completion  of  the  Second  and  Third 
Regiments  (which  was  near  the  close  of  May),  the  Adjutant  Gen- 
eral of  the  State  reported  that  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty companies  had  been  tendered  to  the  Governor  to  serve  against 
the  enemies  of  the  Union. 

"Much  difficulty  and  considerable  delay  occurred  in  fitting  these 
regiments  for  the  field.  For  the  First  Infantry  a  complete  outfit 
(not  uniform)  of  clothing  was  extemporized — principally  by  the 
volunteered  labor  of  loyal  women  in  the  different  towns — -from 
material  of  various  colors  and  qualities,  obtained  within  the  limits 
of  the  State.  The  same  was  done  in  part  for  the  Second  Infantry. 
Meantime,  an  extra  session  of  the  General  Assembly  had  been 
called  by  the  Governor,  to  convene  on  the  15th  of  May.  With 
but  little  delay,  that  body  authorized  a  loan  of  ^800,000  to  meet 
the  extraordinary  expenses  incurred,  and  to  be  incurred,  by  the 
Executive  Department,  in  consequence  of  the  new  emergency.  A 
wealthy  merchant  of  the  State  (ex-Governor  Merrill,  then  a  resi- 
dent of  McGregor)  immediately  took  from  the  Governor  a  con- 
tract to  supply  a  complete  outfit  of  clothing  for  the  three  regi- 
ments organized,  agreeing  to  receive,  should  the  Governor  so  elect, 
his  pay  therefor  in  State  bonds  at  par.  This  contract  he  executed 
to  the  letter,  and  a  portion  of  the  clothing  (which  was  manufac- 
tured in  Boston  to  his  order)  was  delivered  at  Keokuk,  the  place 
at  which  the  troops  had  rendezvoused,  in  exactly  one  month  from 
the  day  on  which  the  contract  had  been  entered  into.  The  re- 
mainder arrived  only  a  few  days  later.  This  clothing  was  delivered 
to  the  regiment,  but  was  subsequently  condemned  by  the  Govern- 
ment, for  the  reason  that  its  color  was  gray,  and  blue  had  been 
adopted  as  the  color  to  be  Avorn  by  the  national  troops." 

Other  States  also  clothed  their  troops,  sent  forward  under  the 
first  call  of  President  Lincoln,  with  gray  uniforms,  but  it  was 
soon  found  that  the  Confederate  forces  were  also  clothed  in  gray, 
and  that  color  was  once  abandoned  by  the  Union  troops.  If  both 
armies  were  clothed  alike,  annoying  if  not  fatal  mistakes  were 
liable  to  be  made. 

But  while  engaged  in  these  efforts  to  discharge  her  whole  duty, 
in  common  with  all  the  other  Union-loving  States  in  the  great 


112  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

emergency,  Iowa  was  compelled  to  make  immediate  and  ample  pro- 
vision for  the  protection  of  her  own  borders,  from  threatened  in- 
vasion on  the  south  by  the  Secessionists  of  Missouri,  and  from 
incursions  from  the  west  and  northwest  by  bands  of  hostile 
Indians,  who  were  freed  from  the  usual  restraint  imposed  upon 
them  by  the  presence  of  regular  troops  stationed  at  the  frontier 
posts.  These  troOps  are  withdrawn  to  meet  the  greater  and  more 
pressing  danger  threatening  the  life  of  the  nation  at  its  very 
heart. 

To  provide  for  the  adequate  defense  of  her  borders  from  the 
ravages  of  both  rebels  in  arms  against  the  Government,  and  of 
the  more  irresistible  foes  from  the  Western  plains,  the  Governor 
of  the  State  was  authoi'ized  to  raise  and  equip  two  regiments  of 
infantry,  a  squadron  of  cavalry  (not  less  than  five  companies)  and 
a  battalion  of  artillery  (not  less  than  three  companies).  Only 
cavalry  were  enlisted  for  home  defense,  however,  "but,"  says  Col. 
Wood,  "in  times  of  special  danger,  or  when  calls  were  made  by 
the  Unionists  of  Northern  Missouri  for  assistance  against  their 
disloyal  enemies,  large  numbers  of  militia  on  foot  often  turned 
out,  and  remained  in  the  field  until  the  necessity  for  their  ser- 
vices had  passed. 

"The  first  order  for  the  Iowa  volunteers  to  move  to  the  field 
w^as  received  on  the  13th  of  June.  It  was  issued  by  Gen.  Lyon, 
then  commanding  the  United  States  forces  in  Missouri.  The 
First  and  Second  Infantry  immediately  embarked  in  steamboats, 
and  moved  to  Hannibal.  Some  two  weeks  later,  the  Third  In- 
fantry was  ordered  to  the  same  point.  These  three,  together  with 
many  other  of  the  earlier  organized  Iowa  regiments,  rendered 
their  first  field  service  in  Missouri.  The  First  Infantry  formed 
a  part  of  the  little  army  with  which  Gen,  Lyon  moved  on  Spring- 
field, and  fought  the  bloody  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek.  It  received 
unqualified  praise  for  its  gallant  bearing  on  the  field.  In  the  fol- 
lowing month  (September),  the  Third  Iowa,  with  but  very  slight 
support,  fought  with  honor  the  sanguinary  engagement  of  Blue 
Mills  Landing;  and  in  November,  the  Seventh  Iowa,  as  a  part  of 
a  force  commanded  by  Gen.  Grant,  greatly  distinguished  itself  in 
the  battle  of  Belmont,  where  it  poured  out  its  blood  like  water — 
losing  more  than  half  the  men  it  took  into  action. 

"The  initial  operations  in  which  the  battles  referred  to  took 
place,  were  followed  by  the  more  important  movements  led  by 
Gen.  Grant,  Gen.  Curtis,  of  this  state,  and  other  commanders, 
which  resulted  in  defeating  the  armies  defending  the  chief 
strategic  lines  held  by  the  Confederates  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
Missouri  and  Arkansas,  and  compelling  their  withdrawal  from 
much  of  the  territory  previously  controlled  by  them  in  those 
States.  In  these  and  other  movements,  down  to  the  grand  cul- 
minating campaign  by  which  Vicksburg  was  captured  and  the 
Confederacy  permanently  severed   on  the  line  of  the  Mississippi 


HISTORY   OF   IOWA.  113 

River,  Iowa  troops  took  part  in  steadily  increasing  numbers.  In 
the  investment  and  siege  of  Vicksburg,  the  State  was  represented 
by  thirty  regiments  and  two  batteries,  in  addition  to  which,  eight 
regiments  and  one  battery  were  employed  on  the  outposts  of  the 
besieging  army.  The  brilliancy  of  their  exploits  on  the  many 
fields  where  they  served,  won  for  them  the  highest  meed  of  praise, 
both  in  military  and  civil  circles.  Multiplied  were  the  terms  in 
which  expression  was  given  to  this  sentiment,  but  these  words  of 
one  of  the  journals  of  a  neighboring  State,  'The  Iowa  troops  have 
been  heroes  among  heroes,'  embody  the  spirit  of  all. 

''In  the  veteran  re-enlistments  that  distinguished  the  closing 
months  of  1863,  above  all  other  periods  in  the  history  of  re-enlist- 
ments for  the  national  armies,  the  Iowa  three  years'  men  (who 
were  relatively  more  numerous  than  those  of  any  other  State) 
were  prompt  to  set  the  example  of  volunteering  for  another  term 
of  equal  length,  thereby  adding  many  thousands  to  the  great  army 
of  those  who  gave  this  renewed  and  practical  assurance  that  the 
cause  of  the  Union  should  not  be  left  without  defenders. 

"In  all  the  important  movements  of  1864-65,  by  which  the 
Confederacy  was  penetrated  in  every  quarter,  and  its  military 
power  finally  overthrown,  the  Iowa  troops  took  part.  Their 
drum-beat  was  heard  on  the  banks  of  every  great  river  of  the 
South,  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  everywhere  they 
rendered  the  same  faithful  and  devoted  service,  maintaining  on 
all  occasions  their  wonted  reputation  for  valor  in  the  field  and  en- 
durance on  the  march. 

"Two  Iowa  three-year  cavalry  regiments  were  employed  during 
the  whole  term  of  service  in  the  operations  that  were  in  progress 
from  1863  to  1866  against  the  hostile  Indians  of  the  western 
plains.  A  portion  of  these  men  were  among  the  last  of  the  vol- 
unteer troops  to  be  mustered  out  of  service.  The  State  also  sup- 
plied a  considerable  number  of  men  to  the  navy,  who  took  part  in 
most  of  the  naval  operations  prosecuted  against  the  Confederate 
power  on  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts,  and  the  rivers  of  the 
West. 

"The  people  of  Iowa  were  early  and  constant  workers  in  the 
sanitary  field,  and  by  their  liberal  gifts  and  personal  efibrts  for  the 
benefit  of  the  soldiery,  placed  their  State  in  front  rank  of  those 
who  became  distinguished  for  their  exhibition  of  patriotic  benevo- 
lence during  the  period  covered  by  the  war.  Agents  appointed  by 
the  Governor  were  stationed  at  points  convenient  for  rendering 
assistance  to  the  sick  and  needy  soldiers  of  the  State,  while  others 
were  employed  in  visiting  from  time  to  time,  hospitals,  camps  and 
armies  in  the  field,  and  doing  whatever  the  circumstances  rendered 
possible  for  the  health  and  comfort  of  such  of  the  Iowa  soldiers 
as  might  be  found  there. 

"Some  of  the  benevolent  people  of  the  State  early  conceived 
the  idea  of  establishing  a  Home  for  ?uch  of  the   children   ofj  de- 


114  HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 

ceased  soldiers  as  might  be  left  in  destitute  circumstances.  This 
idea  first  took  form  in  in  1863,  and  in  the. following  year  a  Home 
was  opened  at  Farmington,  Van  Buren  County,  in  a  building 
leased  for  that  purpose,  and  which  soon  became  filled  to  its  utmost 
capacity.  The  institution  received  liberal  donations  from  the  gen- 
eral public,  and  also  from  the  soldiers  in  the  field.  In  1865  it  be- 
came necessary  to  provide  increased  accommodations  for  the  large 
number  of  children  who  were  seeking  the  benefits  of  its  care. 
This  was  done  by  establishing  a  branch  at  Cedar  Falls,  in  Black 
Hawk  County,  and  by  securing,  during  the  same  year,  for  the  use 
of  the  parent  Home,  Camp  Kinsman,  near  the  city  of  Davenport. 
This  property  was  soon  afterward  donated  to  the  institution  by 
act  of  Congress. 

"In  1866,  in  pursuance  of  a  law  enacted  for  that  purpose,  the 
Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home  (which  then  contained  about  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  inmates)  became  a  State  institution,  and  thereafter 
the  sums  necessary  for  its  support  were  appropriated  from  the 
State  Treasury.  A  second  branch  was  established  at  Glenwood, 
Mills  county.  Convenient  tracts  were  secured  and  valuable  im- 
provements made  at  the  different  points.  Schools  were  also  estab- 
lished and  employments  provided  for  such  of  the  children  as  were 
of  suitable  age.  In  all  ways  the  provision  made  for  these  wards 
of  the  State  has  been  such  as  to  challenge  the  approval  of  every 
benevolent  mind.  The  number  of  children  who  have  been  in- 
mates of  the  Home  from  its  foundation  to  the  present  time  is  con- 
siderably more  than  two  thousand. 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  the  population  of  Iowa  included 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  presumably  liable  to 
render  military  service.  The  Sta<^e  raised,  for  general  service, 
thirty-nine  i-egiiuents  of  infantry,  nine  regiments  of  cavalry,  and 
four  companies  of  artillery,  composed  of  three  years  '  men;  one 
regiment  of  infantry,  composed  of  three  months'  men;  and  four 
regiments  and  one  battallion  of  infantry  composed  of  one  hundred 
days'  men.  The  original  enlistments  in  these  various  organiza- 
tions, including  seventeen  hundred  and  twenty-seven  men  raised 
by  draft,  numbered  a  little  more  than  sixty-nine  thousand.  The 
re-enlistments,  including  upward  of  seven  thousand  veterans, 
numbered  very  nearly  eight  thousand.  The  enlistments  in  the 
regular  army  and  navy,  and  organizations  of  other  States,  will,  if 
added,  raise  the  total  to  upward  of  eighty  thousand.  The  number 
of  men  who,  under  special  enlistments,  and  as  militia,  took  part  at 
different  times  in  the  operations  on  the  exposed  borders  of  the 
State,  was  probably  as  many  as  five  thousand. 

"Iowa  paid  no  bounty  on  account  of  the  men  she  placed  in  the 
field.  In  some  instances,  toward  the  close  of  the  war,  bounty  to, 
a  comparatively  small  amount  was  paid  by  cities  and  towns.  On 
only  one  occasion — that  of  the  call  of  July  18,  1864 — was  a  draft 
made  in  Iowa.    This  did  not  occur  on  account  of  her  proper  liabil- 


HISTORY    OF    IOWA. 


115 


ty,  as  established  by  previous  rulings  of  the  War  Department,  to 
supply  men  under  that  call,  but  grew  out  of  the  great  necessity 
tha'l  there  existed  for  raising  men.  The  Government  insisted  on 
temporarily  setting  aside,  in  part,  the  former  rule  of  settlements, 
and  enforcing  a  draft  in  all  cases  where  sub-districts  in  any  of  the 
States  should  be  found  deficient  in  their  supply  of  men.  In  no 
instance  was  Iowa,  as  a  whole,  found  to  be  indebted  to  the  General 
Government  for  men,  on  a  settlement  of  her  quota  accounts." 

It  is  to  be  said  to  the  honor  and  credit  of  Iowa,  that  while  many 
of  the  loyal  States,  older  and  larger  in  population  and  wealth,  in- 
curred heavy  State  debts  for  the  purpose  of  fulfilling  their  obli- 
tions  to  the  General  Government,  Iowa,  while  she  was  foremost 
in  duty,  while  she  promptly  discharged  all  her  obligations  to  her 
sister  States  and  the  Union,  found  herself  at  the  close  of  the  war 
without  any  material  addition  to  her  pecuniary  liabilities  incurred 
before  the  war  commenced.  Up  an  final  settlement  after  the  res- 
toration of  peace,  her  claims  upon  the  Federal  Government  were 
found  to  be  fully  equal  to  the  amount  of  her  bonds  issued  and 
sold  during  the  war  to  provide  the  means  for  raising  and  equipping 
troops  sent  into  the  field,  and  to  meet  the  inevitable  demands 
upon  her  treasury  in  consequence  of  the  war. 


STATEMENT  showing  the  number  of  men  furnished  and  casualities  in  Iowa 
regiments  during  the  War  of  the  Bebellion. 


Regiments. 


1st  Battery 

2d  Batteiy 

3d  Battery 

4th  Battery, 

1st  Cavalry 

2d  Cavalry 

3d  Cavalry 

4th  Cavalrj- 

5th  Cavalry 

6th  Cavah-y 

7th  Cavalry 

8th  Cavalry 

9th  Cavalry 

Sioux  Citv  Cavalry 

Co.  A.  ll'thPeun.  Cavalry. 

1st  Infantry 

2d  Infantry 

3d  Infantry 

2d  and  3d  Inf.  ConsoUdated 

4th  Infantry 

5th  Infantry 

6th  Infantry 

7th  Infantry 


a; 

o  s 
H 

Killed  or 

died  of 

Wounds. 

149 

124 

10 

123 

62 

2 

142 

79 

4 

152 

17 

1478 

543 

.54 

1391 

602 

65 

1360 

770 

77 

1227 

590 

48 

1245 

452 

43 

1125 

193 

21 

562 

402 

40 

1234 

274 

33 

1178 

258 

15 

93 

7 

87 

•  > 

i 

959 

165 

17 

1247 

758 

72 

1074 

749 

80 

. 

28 

18 

1184 

973 

108 

1037 

699 

88 

1013 

855 

132 

li:^ 

885 

129 

CO 

a> 


51 

29 

3:^ 

5 

187 

191 

224 

186 

127 

59 

92 

91 

162 


107 

99 

9 

237 
90 

124 

135 


116 


HISTORY    OF   IOWA. 


Regiments 


8th  Infantry 

9tli  Infantry 

lOth  Infantry 

11th  Infantry 

r2th  Infantrj- 

13th  Infantry 

14th  Infantry 

14th  Inf.  Res.  Batt.. 

15th  Infantry 

16th  Infantry 

17th  Infantry 

1 8th  Infantrj- 

19th  Infanti-v 

20th  Infantry 

'21st  Infantry 

22d  Infantry 

23d  Infantry 

24th  Infantry 

25th  Infantry 

26th  Infantry 

27th  Infantry 

28th  Infantry 

29th  Infantry 

30th  Infantry 

31st  Infantry 

32d  Infantry 

33d  Infantry 

34th  Infantry 

34th  Consolidated 

35th  Infantry 

36th  Infantry 

37th  Infantry 

38th  Infantry 

39th  Infantry 

40th  Infantry 

41st  Infantry 

44th  Infantry 

45th  Infantry 

46th  Infantry 

47th  Infantry 

48th  Infantry 

1st  African  Infantry. . 

Totals 


-*— 

Killed  er 

died  of 

Wounds. 

1027 

761 

93 

loyo 

973 

133 

1027 

739 

91 

1022 

610 

79 

981 

768 

62 

989 

852 

99 

840 

526 
11 

50 

ii96 

1029 

130 

918 

819 

89 

950 

614 

61 

875 

449 

33 

985 

562 

86 

925 

359 

13 

980 

531 

66 

1108 

634 

105 

961 

570 

69 

959 

761 

111 

995 

564 

61 

919 

562 

69 

940 

530 

21 

956 

696 

76 

1005 

511 

36 

978 

646 

63 

977 

540 

27 

925 

589 

89 

985 

580 

62 

953 

561 

6 

•  >  •  ■ 

72 

5 

984 

510 

42 

9>6 

619 

59 

914 

503 

3 

910 

431 

1 

933 

406 

54 

900 

.361 

15 

294 

17 

867 

15 

912 

22 

1 

892 

28 

1 

884 

47 

346 

4 

903 

383 

5 

56,864 

30,394 

3,139 

O     CO 


137 

208 
134 
148 
243 
182 
122 

i94 

217 

97 

109 

91 

130 

157 

126 

196 

197 

199 

204 

162 

180 

248 

233 

261 

203 

196 

228 

13 

182 

226 

141 

310 

119 

179 

2 

14 

17 

23 

45 

4 

331 


8,695 


History  of  Winneshiek  County. 


CHAPTER    I. 


Histoi'ij:  Its  Basis  of  Fad,  Tradition  and  Legend;  First  Settle- 
ment; First  Birth;  First  Marriage;  First  Death;  First  Settle- 
ments, no  Longer  Existing;  First  Public  School  and  School 
Teacher;  Countij  Organization ;  First  Assessment  and  Tax  List; 
First  Tax-Payers  and  Settlers  bij  Townships. 

When  some  of  the  old  historians  wrote  their  histories  they 
were  forced  to  admit  that  fact  and  legend  had  become  so  inter- 
mingled that  it  was  impossible  to  clearly  separate  truth  from  fic- 
tion. The  legends  of  the  past  were  such  a  mixture  of  facts,  tra- 
ditions and  tales  of  ancestors,  varied  in  many  details,  as  brought 
down  from  father  to  son,  that  it  was  a  relief  to  come  to  common 
ground  on  which  all  were  agreed,  and  where  was  found  a  firm 
basis  for  the  historian. 

And  though  the  settlement  of  Winneshiek  County  by  the 
whites  has  little  of  fable,  and  is  not  invested  with  mythological 
tales  of  gods  and  demi-gods,  yet  there  are  always,  in  recalling  the 
history  of  early  and  pioneer  life  in  new  countries,  fancies  and  tradi- 
tions, generally  with  some  kind  of  basis  of  truth,  that  become  so  in- 
terwoven with  facts,  that  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  the  one  from 
the  other,  and  the  shrewdest  head  may  become  bewildered  in  the  at- 
tempt. The  sooner  the  separating  process  is  commenced  the  bet- 
ter, and  it  is  fortunate  that  even  before  the  present  day  important 
facts  have  been  collected,  and  in  many  cases  placed  on  record — 
facts  gathered  from  the  lips  of  those  who  were  witnesses  of  the 
early  scenes  of  pioneer  life  in  this  county, — while  there  are  still 
dwelling  among  us  those  who  can  verify  many  of  the  incidents 
and  details  of  early  history. 

Our  indebtedness  to  books  and  papers  published  in  years  past  is 
freely  and  gratefully  acknowledged;  and  it  is  our  purpose  to  attempt 
to  collate  from  them,  as  well  as  to  collect  from  other  sources,  and 
from  personal  interview  and  observation,  such  additional  facts  and 
incidents  as  may  help  to  preserve  and  continue  down  to  the  present 
time,  such  history,  records  and  pictures  of  early  life  in  our  county, 
as  we  are  able  to  do  with  the  tiuie  and  resources  at  our  command. 
Permit  us  to  say  at  the  outset,  that  we  shall  draw  freely  from  Mr. 
C.  H.  Sparks'  history  of  Winneshiek  County,  written  in  1876, 
and  published  early  in  the  year  1878,  and  from  papers  from  the 
pen  of  Mr.  A.  K.  Bailey,  quoted  iij  the  above  volume. 


118  HISTORY    OF    MINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

EAELY   SETTLEMENT, 

It  was  forty  years  ago  that  the  first  steps  toward  the  coming  of 
white  settlers  into  this  county  were  taken,  by  establishing  the 
Indian  Agency  at  Old  Mission,  although  it  was  nearly  ten  years 
later  before  actual  settlement  commenced.  We  quote  as  follows 
from  Sparks'  History: 

"As  early  as  1835,  Rev.  D.  Lowery,  the  man  who  afterwards 
established  the  Old  Mission,  conducted  a  school  of  like  nature 
near  the  mouth  of  Yellow  River.  Mr.  Lowery  emigrated  from 
Tennessee,  and  was  a  strict  adherent  to  the  sect  known  as  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterians.  In  his  youth  he  had  received  the 
benefits  of  a  thorough  education,  and  was  peculiarly  qualified  for 
the  arduous  duties  of  ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  Indians. 
In  1874  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Pierce  City,  Missouri,  where 
he  died  on  the  19th  of  January,  1876,  at  the  advanced  age  of  82 
years.  Mr.  Lowery  was  a  man  of  marked  ability,  and  during  the 
more  active  portion  of  his  life  was  prominent  in  all  that  pertained 
to  the  history  of  the  country  in  which  he  lived.  He  was,  for  per- 
haps more  than  fifty  years,  a  minister  in  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian Church.  A  man  of  unusual  physical  make-up,  and  pos- 
sessed of  a  large  brain,  which  eminently  fitted  him  for  the  fron- 
tier life  which  he  led.  He  was  one  of  our  noble  men,  and  will 
be  long  remembered  by  many  of  our  people,  and  especially  by  the 
early  settlers  of  this  portion  of  the  great  West. 

In  1842  Mr.  Lowery  was  appointed  Indian  Agent  for  the  reser- 
vation which  included  the  tract  of  land  now  known  as  Winneshiek 
County.  The  same  year  he  received  instructions  from  the  Gov- 
ernment to  form  a  Mission  and  farm  on  the  reservation,  for  the 
education  of  the  Indians  in  husbandry  and  the  English  language, 
in  hopes  of  civilizing  and  morally  benefitting  them.  The  erection 
of  the  Mission  was  commenced,  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained,  in 
June,  1842,  the  Rev.  D.  Lowery  superintending  the  work.  The 
Mission  was  a  large,  commodious  wooden  building,  located  about 
five  miles  southeast  of  Fort  Atkinson.  A  remnant  of  one  of  the 
buildings  still  exists. 

The  Government  had  authorized  Mr.  Lowery  to  open  a  farm  for 
the  instruction  of  the  Indians  in  agricultural  pursuits,  the  ex- 
penses incurred  thereby  to  be  deducted  from  their  annuity.  Mr. 
Lowery  turned  over  this  part  of  the  work  to  his  assistant.  Col. 
Thomas.  The  first  year,  under  Col.  Thomas'  supervision,  a  farm 
of  three  hundred  acres  was  opened,  and  endeavors  were  made  to 
instruct  the  Indians  how  to  till  the  soil,  but  they  were  so  careless 
and  indolent  that  but  little  work  could  be  got  out  of  them.  The 
crops  planted  began  to  show  neglect.  In  fact  the  farm  began  to 
retrograde,  when  Col.  Thomas  had  a  force  of  garrison  men  de- 
tailed to  cultivate  it — they  being  paid  for  their  labor  out  of  the 
Indian  annuity.  One  year  served  to  demonstrate  that  the  Indian 
as  a  husbandman  was  a  failure.     In  1843,  Col.  Thomas,  under  in- 


HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  119 

structions  from  the  Government,  built  the  first  gristmill  in  Win- 
neshiek county.  The  Mission  and  farm  was  continued  under  Col. 
Thomas'  supervision,  until  the  Indians  sold  their  reservation  to 
the  Government,  when  they  were  removed,  and  there  was  no  fur- 
ther need  of  these  enterprises. 

'•Lowery  continued  in  charge  of  the  Indian  Mission  some  time 
after  building  it,  but  finally  resigned  to  take  charge  of  a  Mission 
in  Minnesota,  whereupon  Gen.  Fletcher  was  appointed  to  serve  in 
his  stead, 

"It  is  difficult  to  discriminate,  exactly,  as  to  whom  belougs  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  permanent  settler.  It  lies  between  Mr. 
A.  R.  Young,  of  Fort  Atkinson,  and  Hamilton  Campbell  and  wife, 
of  Bloomfield  township.  Mr.  A.  R.  Young,  residing  on  his  farm, 
celebrated  as  the  defunct  Lewiston,  was  a  member  of  the  garrison 
stationed  at  the  fort,  and  the  only  soldier  who  remained  and  be- 
came a  permanent  resident.  He  married  a  daughter  of  one  of  the 
first  comers.  If  to  him  is  accorded  the  right  of  a  settler  from  the 
time  of  his  coming  to  the  fort  as  a  soldier,  then  he  is  the  oldest 
resident  beyond  all  dispute.  But  if,  on  the  contrary,  the  honor 
of  being  a  settler  is  not  accorded  to  him  until  after  he  was  muster- 
ed out  of  the  service  and  began  to  till  the  soil,  then  to  Hamilton 
Campbell  and  wife  belongs  the  credit, 

"Hamilton  Campbell  and  wife  made  a  claim  June  7,  1818,  on 
sections  23  and  26,  in  what  is  now  Bloomfield  township,  and 
there  to-day  they  are  honored  residents. 

Dr.  F.  Andros,  formerly  of  Decorah,  was  surgeon  at  the  fort, 
but  on  its  abandonment  he  removed  to  Clayton  county,  where  for 
twenty-five  years  he  was  a  useful  and  honored  citizen.  [Dr 
Andros  has  since,  within  a  year  or  two,  removed  to  Dakota,  to 
renew  his  experience  in  pioneer  life]. 

"From  1812  to  1818,  the  only  resident  families  on  the  Winne- 
bago reservation,  except  such  as  were  in  Government  employ, 
were  those  of  Joel  Post  and  Mr.  Wilcox,  The  latter  resided 
about  forty  rods  south  of  the  fort,  on  the  road  leading  to  the  In- 
dian Agency,  or  Mission.  Both  these  men  were  special  favorites 
of  office  holders,  and  were  permitted  by  the  Indian  Agency  to 
keep  houses  of  entertainment  for  the  accommodations  of  persons 
visiting  the  fort  and  agency.  The  information  to  be  obtained  in 
relation  to  Wilcox  is  very  meagre.  Beyond  the  above  fact  we 
have  been  unable  to  ascertain  anything  in  relation  to  his  history, 
and  it  is  not  believed  that  he  was  long  a  resident. 

"Mr.  Joel  Post  was  the  first  farmer,  and  first  actual  settler  on 
the  reservation.  Soon  after  the  Government  had  decided  to  es- 
tablish Old  mission  and  Fort  Atkinson,  he  conceived  the  idea  that 
a  half-way  house  for  the  accommodation  of  parties  engaged  in 
transporting  building  material  and  supplies  from  Fort  Crawford 
to  Fort  Atkinson  would  prove  profitable.  He  therefore  made  ap- 
plication to  the  General  Government  to  establish  such  a  house  on 


120  HISTORY   OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

the  reservation,  which  he  was  allowed  to  do.  He  erected  a  log 
house  in  1811,  on  the  site  where  Postville  now  stands.  The  same 
spring,  he  broke  up  some  ground  and  raised  crops.  This  preced- 
ed the  mission  farm  by  a  year. 

'^Harmon  Snyder  was  the  first  blacksmith  who  worked  at  his 
trade  in  Winneshiek  County.  He  came  from  Prairie  du  Chien 
with  the  force  detailed  to  build  the  fort,  and  was  employed,  chiefly, 
in  work  for  the  garrison.  At  the  same  time,  he  did  a  great  deal 
of  work  for  the  Indians.  They  would  stand  around  and  watch 
him  while  at  his  work,  with  wonder  and  abmiration.  How  long 
he  remained  and  whither  he  went,  must  remain  an  untold  story, 
for  lack  of  information. 

"The  credit  of  being  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  county 
belongs  to  Miss  Mary  Jane  Tapper,  this  being  her  maiden  name. 
She  was  born  at  the  fort,  on  the  16th  of  January,  1841.  She  is 
the  daughter  of  Mr.  James  and  Mrs.  Ellen  Tapper,  who  were  mar- 
ried in  New  York  city  in  1838,  and  emigrated  from  there  to  St. 
Louis,  arriving  at  their  destination  on  the  10th  of  May,  1840, 
Mr.  Tapper  met  Government  officials  at  this  place,  and  with  about 
fifty  other  mechanics  contracted  to  come  out  into  the  then  wild 
and  comparatively  unknown  region  of  Iowa,  and  construct  a  fort, 
said  fort  being  Fort  Atkinson.  Mr.  Tapper  is  an  Englishman, 
and  came  to  this  county  in  1828.  He  now  resides  two  miles 
southeast  of  Monona. 

"Mary  Jane  Tapper,  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  county, 
married  a  Mr.  Robert  M.  Boyce,  and  resides  with  her  husband  two 
miles  north  of  Monona. 

''The  honor  of  being  the  second  white  child  born  in  the  county, 
so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  belongs  to  Miss  E.  Thomas  of  Prairie 
du  Chien,  a  lady  of  marked  talent  and  pleasing  social  attainments. 
She  was  born  in  1844,  at  the  Old  Mission,  where  her  parents  re- 
sided, her  father,  Col.  Thomas,  being  in  charge  of  the  Mission 
at  the  time. 

"The  settlement  of  the  county  was  so  rapid  that  in  1850  the 
pioneers  felt  themselves  old  enough  to  organize.  Prior  to  that 
time  the  land  had  been  surveyed  and  brought  into  market.  In 
1850,  J.  L.  Carson  was  appointed  organizing  officer,  and  an  elec- 
tion for  a  temporary  organizatton  ordered.  At  that  time  there 
were  fewer  polling  places  than  now,  there  being  only  three.  Their 
names  serve  to  show  where  the  settlers  were  located.  They  were 
Decorah,  Moneek  and  Lewiston.  Many  have  asked  without  re- 
ceiving an  answer,  "Where  is  Lewiston?"  '  My  researches  enable 
me  to  answer  this  query:  In  1850  it  promised  to  be  a  town  of 
note.  It  was  the  speculator  s  "Napoleon;"  but  Lewis  Harkins, 
then  in  charge  of  the  Government  property,  and  Mr.  Francis  Rogers, 
joint  owners  of  the  land,  became  involved  in  a  quarrel  regarding 
their  individual  interests  in  the  town  plat,  which  finally  resulted  in 
the  wreck  of  all  the  bright  hopes  before  entertained  as  to  the  future 


HISTORY    OF   WINJSTESHIEK   COUJSTTY,  121 

prosperity  of  Lewistou.  To-day  there  is  not  a  vestige  of  its  re- 
mains. Even  the  records  give  no  account  of  its  whereabouts  and 
this  one  vote  is  the  only  recorded  evidence  of  its  existence.  In 
another  generation  this  fact  would  have  been  buried  from  the  re- 
searches of  the  historian,  as  only  a  few  of  the  settlers  remain 
vrho  are  able  to  verify  the  early  existence  of  such  a  place.  Fran- 
cis Rogers  and  Lewis  Harkins  were  the  proprietors  of  the  land 
where  Lewiston  was  laid  out,  and  the  place  derived  its  name  from 
Harkins'  given  name.  The  old  settlers  say  that  Lewiston  was  a 
regularly  laid  out  town,  situated  one  mile  north  of  Old  Mis- 
sion, on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Rogers  farm,  owned  by  Aaron 
Young,  who  at  that  time  was  Second  Sergeant  of  Company  C. 

"Among  the  defunct  places  of  notoriety  that  existed  in  the 
early  history  of  Winneshiek  County,  was  a  spot  bearing  the 
euphoneous  name  of  Grab-all.  The  place  noted  hj  this  title  was 
a  high  bench  of  timber  land,  half  way  between  the  Iowa  trail 
and  Postville.  It  was  given  this  name  because  the  Government 
stationed  a  sergeant's  guard  there,  to  "grab  all"  the  Indians  pass- 
ing that  way,  for  removal. 

''The  next  place  worthy  of  special^mention  is  Rattletrap.  Rat- 
tletrap of  early  times  is  known  to-day  as  Castalia.  At  the  time 
the  town  bore  this  name  it  consisted  of  one  solitary  log  house, 
owned  and  superintended  over  by  one  of  the  most  natural  and  or- 
iginal of  Erin's  daughters,  Mrs.  John  Powell.  I  have  it  from  re- 
liable authority  that  she  was  capable  of  talking  a  common  regi- 
ment of  Decorah  lawyers  blind  in  less  than  no  time.  It  would 
be  comforting  to  believe  this  statement,  but  when  one  stops  to 
consider  the  capability  of  the  Decorah  lawyers,  it  is  accepted  only 
as  a  rough  joke  perpetrated  on  the  old  woman. 

Whisky  Grove  was  a  popular  resort  for  the  soldiers  stationed  at 
Fort  Atkinson.  The  grove  that  became  thus  noted  is  located  just 
east  of  Calmar.  An  incident  showing  why  it  was  given  this  name, 
is  related  in  substance  as  follows:  It  was  near  the  time  when 
the  Indians  would  receive  their  annuity,  and  the  soldiers  at  the 
fort  their  pay,  that  a  half-breed  would  procure  a  barrel  of  whisky 
at  Fort  Crawford,  loaded  it  on  his  wagon  and  transported  it  to 
this  particular  grove.  The  soldiers  were  secretly  informed  of  the 
fact,  and  the  most  of  them  got  gloriously  drunk.  The  first  inti- 
mation the  commander  of  the  garrison  had  of  its  existence  was 
the  beastly  intoxication  of  his  men,  and  even  then  he  was  unable 
to  ascertain  its  location.  The  half-breed  remained  here  for  some 
time,  and  carried  on  a  thriving  business.  The  soldiers  who  pat- 
ronized him  would  not  betray  his  whereabouts  to  their  commander. 

The  winter  of  1853-i  the  first  immigration  of  Bohemians  came 
to  the  county,  settling  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Atkinson.  There 
were  eight  families  of  them.  The  winter  was  severe  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  the  following  incident  is  told  of  it: 


122  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

One  day  in  mid-winter  two  boys,  members  of  a  Bohemian 
family  who  had  settled  near  Spillville,  were  dispatched  to  Wau- 
coma  to  mill.  At  the  time  they  left  their  homes  nothing  be- 
tokened a  storm.  But  on  their  return,  when  they  were  near  the 
Van  Dyke  place,  one  of  our  much  dreaded  Iowa  "blizzards"  over- 
took them.  The  elements  were  convulsed,  and  emitted  forth  the 
blinding  snow  in  voluminous  quantities.  The  wind  swept  across 
the  bare  prairies  a  perfect  tornado.  Becoming  enveloped  in  such 
a  storm,  they  soon  became  confused  and  lost  their  way.  No  one 
can  describe  what  their  feelings  were  when  the  certainty  of  their 
being  lost  on  the  wild  prairie  in  such  a  storm  dawned  upon  them. 
Conjectures  only  can  be  made.  That  they  thought  of  their  anx- 
ious parents  and  little  brothers  and  sisters  waiting  patiently  for 
their  return,  which,  alas!  would  never  be;  that  they  at  times  gave 
way  to  grief  as  they  speculated  on  their  dreadful  fate;  or  again  at 
other  times  would  become  courageous  when  a  ray  of  hope  would 
break  on  their  clouded  way,  or  when  despair  would  fill  their  hearts, 
that  they  sought  the  Giver  of  Life  in  fervent  supplication  to  spare 
their  lives  and  guide  them  safely  to  their  homes.  That  they  did 
all  this  would  be  but  natural.  The  prayers  of  anxious  parents 
availed  nothing.  God  in  His  wisdom  denied  their  petitions.  The 
boys  were  frozen  to  death.  A  drift  of  driven  snow  was  their  last 
resting  place,  and  the  snow  their  winding  sheet.  It  was  twelve 
days  thereafter  before  the  bodies  of  the  unfortunate  boys  were 
found.  Both  oxen  were  found  to  be  alive.  One  had  forced  him- 
self from  the  yoke,  and  was  browsing  near  by,  while  the  other  was 
held  an  unwilling  prisoner. 

"Mr.  Aaron  Young  tells  the  following  story  of  the  early  dis- 
covery of  coal  deposits  in  the  south  part  of  Winneshiek  county. 
Mr.  Young  was  a  soldier  at  the  fort  at  the  time  of  the  reputed 
discovery.     He  says: 

"The  discovery  was  made  by  one  of  the  regular  soldiers,  who  used 
to  go  from  the  fort  on  horseback  and  return  in  less  than  an  hours' 
time,  bringing  with  him  a  sack  of  coal.  These  trips  were  always 
made  in  the  night,  and  alone.  He  allowed  no  one  to  accompany  him, 
nor  would  he  divulge  his  secret.  Although  the  officers  tried 
bribing  him,  punishing  him,  and  finally  got  him  drunk,  in  hopes 
he  would  be  more  confiding;  but  all  to  no  purpose.  His  time  was 
nearly  out,  and  he  said  he  calculated  to  open  the  coal  mine 
as  soon  as  it  expired.  But  before  the  time  came  his  company  was 
ordered  to  Florida,  where  he  was  shot,  dying  almost  instantly, 
leaving  no  one  in  possession  of  his  valuable  secret. 

"Another  story  is  that  the  Indians  used  to  bring  coal  in  their 
blankets  to  sell  to  the  blacksmith,  or  when  they  wanted  a  pony 
shod,  and  that  an  old  Indian  chief,  by  the  name  of  Four-Eyes, 
offered  to  tell  where  the  coal  was,  at  one  time,  for  two  ponies. 
But  as  nobody  had  the  ponies  the  bargain  was  not  consummated 
and  the  old  chieftain'took  his  knowledge  away  with  him  to  the  Far 


HISTORY   Of   AV.NNESHIEK  COUNTY.  123 

West.  That  coal  was  obtained  in  some  mysterious  way  by  the 
soldier  there  is  no  doubt;  but  to  convince  the  scientific  man  that 
he  obtained  it  from  deposits  in  Winneshiek  county  will  require 
stronger  evidence  than  the  above  stories  furnish.  Every  person 
familiar  with  the  geological  topography  of  the  country  well  under- 
stands how  unreasonable  such  an  idea  is. 

"The  first  church  erected  in  Winneshiek  county,  excepting  the 
old  Mission  chapel,  was  built  about  the  year  18 — ,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Twin  Springs.  It  was  Catholic.  Father  Leuvent  officiated. 
The  site  was  selected  and  the  church  directed  to  be  built  by  Bishop 
Lovas,  of  Dubuque,  who  was  the  first  ordained  Bishop  in  Iowa, 

"The  first  duly  commissioned  postmaster  in  Winneshiek  county 
was  James  B,  Cutler,  of  Osage,  then  a  sterling  pioneer  of  the 
county.  He  located  on  the  Atkin  Farm,  Frankville  township. 
The  commission  confers  on  James  B.  Cutler  the  appointment  of 
postmaster  of  Jamestown,  and  bears  the  signature  of  Nathaniel 
K.  Hall,  Postmaster  General  under  Millard  Fillmore,  and  dated 
the  18th  day  of  September,  1851.  Judge  J.  T.  Atkins  served  as 
assistant  postmaster.  The  office  was  discontinued  March  31,1852. 
Mr.  Leonard  Cutler  and  family  came  to  the  county  May  30,  1850, 
which  places  them  among  the  early  pioneers.  The  father  of  Mr. 
James  B.  Cutler  is  still  living." 

[We  are  informed  by  Judge  M.  V.  Burdick,  one  of  the  old 
settlers  and  a  prominent  man  in  pioneer  life  here,  that  there  is  a 
slight  error  in  the  above  paragraph.  Lewis  Harkins,  proprietor  of 
Lewiston,  was  postmaster  at  Fort  Atkinson  certainly  as  early  as 
1850;  and  at  an  equally  early  date  John  L.  Carson  was  postmaster 
at  Old  Mission. 

[Mr.  James  B.  Cutler  is  now  (1882)  over  one  hundred  years  of 
age.  The  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  his  birthday  was  cele- 
brated at  Frankville  last  year,  and  was  a  notable  event.  It  will 
be  referred  to  elsewhere.] 

Among  the  various  souvenirs  seen  by  the  author,  retained  as 
mementoes  of  olden  times,  is  a  shipping-bill  of  certain  mill  irons 
brought  from  Galena  to  Lansing  by  "the  good  steamboat  called 
the  Nominee,"  consigned  to  Messrs.  Beard  &  Cutler,  and  dated 
the  29th  of  March  1852.  These  mill  irons  were  used  by  Beard  & 
Cutler  in  what  was  in  1860  known  as  the  Rogers  Mill,  on  the  Ca- 
noe, and  now  known  as  Springwater  Mill,  now  owned  by  Mr.  A. 
Bradish.  The  erection  of  the  mill  began  in  the  fall  of  1851,  and 
it  was  running  July  8,  1852.  Probably  it  was  the  first  saw-mill 
north  of  the  Iowa  river. 

"In  1850  a  young  man  came  from  Norway  to  Iowa  and  found  a 
spot  of  ground  that  suited  him  iji  what  is  now  known  as  Madison 
township,  Winneshiek  County.  So  far  as  ascertained,  he  was  its 
first  settler.  In  the  year  following  an  older  man  followed  him, 
who  was  the  father  of  at  least  one  girl.  As  young  men  and 
maidens  will,  this  young   man    and   this   maiden   agreed  to  v/ed. 


»-> 


124  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUKTT. 

These  parties  were  Joliaunes  Evenson  and  Catherine  Helen  An- 
derson. At  that  time,  as  now,  the  law  required  the  parties  to 
have  a  license.  In  order  to  obtain  this  a  visit  to  the  J  udge  was 
necessary.  Rev,  N.  Brandt,  then  a  wandering  missionary,  was  in 
the  county,  and  would  perform  the  ceremony.  And  if  this  chance 
escaped  them,  no  knowing  when  another  opportunity  would  be 
afforded  them.  Mr.  Evenson  straightway  started  for  Bloomlield 
Township  to  see  the  Judge  and  get  a  permit  to  enter  into  a  matri- 
monial alliance.  The  missionary  had  promised  to  await  his  re- 
turn. Mr.  E.  found  the  Judge  absent.  He  had  gone  to  Dubuque 
on  official  business.  Imagine  the  sensations  of  that  waiting  bride- 
groom! Again  the  question:  Would  that  minister  tarry?  After 
three  days  Judge  Reed  returned,  and  with  his  license  in  his  pocket, 
John  turned  his  footsteps  homeward  a  happier  man.  No  grass 
grew  under  his  feet  on  that  trip.  The  minister  had  remainded,  and 
the  marriage  ceremony  was  performed — the  first,  as  the  records 
show,  to  have  been  performed  in  the  county.  The  license  for  this 
marriage  was  granted  on  the  5th  day  of  October,  1851.  The  sec- 
ond marriage  license  was  granted  on  the  3d  of  November,  1851. 
The  contracting  parties  were  Erick  Anderson  and  Miss  Ann 
Soles. 

"The  first  death  to  occur  in  the  county  was  that  of  a  Grovern- 
ment  teamster  named  Howard.  He  was  engaged  in  the  trans- 
portation of  material  from  Fort  Crawford  to  Fort  Atkinson,  to  be 
used  in  the  construction  of  the  latter.  On  the  3d  of  October, 
1840,  a  heavy  snow  had  fallen,  and  on  the  next  day  Mr.  Howard 
started  from  Joel  Post's  place,  or  Postville,  to  go  to  Fort  Atkin- 
son. A  party  following  in  his  wake  the  next  day  Avere  surprised 
to  find  his  loaded  wagon  in  the  road  and  team  and  driver  gone. 
They  followed  his  track  up  to  near  the  present  sit^  of  Castalia, 
where  they  found  him  frozen  stiff  in  death.  The  same  day  his 
remains  were  brought  to  the  Fort,  and  on  the  next  day,  or  5th  of 
October,  1840,  he^was  buried.  This  information  is  authenticated, 
and  shows  that  the  date  of  the  first  death  and  graveyard  preceded 
the  first  birth  by  one  year,  and  the  first  marriage  by  eleven  years. 
In  fact,  the  graveyard  had  quite  an  encouraging  start  over  the 
marriage  era.  However  much  consolation  this  may  have  afforded 
the  departed,  they  may  be  assured,  that  in  after  years,  the  matri- 
monial fever  swept  the  county  like  an  epidemic,  finding  victims 
on  every  side. 

"It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  first  public  school  building  was 
built  at  the  corners  of  the  following  townships,  Decorah,  Spring- 
field, Glen  wood  and  Frank  ville,  in  the  center  of  a  Norweigiau 
settlement.  This  event  is  worthy  of  record,  as  it  serves  to  illus- 
trate the  strong  desire  the  Norwegian  people  have  to  advance 
their  mental  condition.  Even  here,  inhabitants  of  a  wild  coun- 
try, and  isolated  from  the  world  as  they  were,  they  found  nieaus 
of  encouraging  education.     In  1852,  principally  through  their  ef- 


HISTORY    OF   WIXXESHIEK   COUNTY.  125 

forts,  a  small,  unpretentious  lof?  achool-house  was  built  at  the  cor- 
ners, and  in  it  the  late  Mrs.  Erick  Anderson,  then  a  young  wom- 
nian,  taught  the  first  school. 

"The  previous  portions  show,  with  considerable  accuracy,  who 
were  the  residents  previous  to  1851.  The  following  portion  of 
this  chapter,  perhaps  the  most  valuable  in  the  entire  book  for 
the  historical  information  it  contains — is  in  a  great  measure  the 
work  of  Mr.  A.  K.  Bailey,  editor  of  the  Decorah  Repuhlican. 

"In  1851  the  county  was  organized.  Its  officers  were  elected, 
and  we  may  presume  regularly  inducted  into  office.  They  needed 
money  in  compensation  for  their  services,  and  then  as  now  it  had 
to  be  raised  by  taxe?.  Happily  the  first  tax  list  of  the  county  is 
preserved.  The  lists  for  1853  and  1851  are  gone,  and  this  volume 
was  rescued  ten  years  ago  by  Mr.  A.  K.  Bailey  while  serving  the 
public  as  county  treasurer,  from  a  box  of  old  papers  that  were 
stowed  away  in  an  unused  closet  of  the  Court  House.  It  should 
be  scrupulously  kept  as  a  relic.  It  is  in  a  fair  state  of  preserva- 
tion. The  contrast  between  this  volume  and  that  of  1862 — ten 
years  only — is  a  complete  history  in  itself  of  the  rapid  growth  of 
Winneshiek  county.  That  of  1862  is  a  volume  of  nearly  a  thou- 
sand pages  of  the  largest  ledger  size.  This  of  1852  is  but  a 
small  home-made  book  of  62  pages,  composed  of  double  blue  fools- 
cap, with  its  columns  ruled  off  by  hand,  and  bound  in  a  beautiful 
sample  of  Indian-tanned  buckskin.  The  wan  ant  for  collecting 
the  taxes  bears  date  September  15th,  1852;  is  addressed  to  Daniel 
Kuykendall,  treasurer,  and  is  signed  by  D.  R.  Reed,  county 
judge.  The  title  page  bears  the  signature  of  ''Morris  B.  Derrick, 
Clerk" — a  man,  who  was  for  a  time,  at  least,  a  partner  of  Aaron 
Newell,  at  the  old  Pioneer  Store,  of  Decorah. 

This  volume,  we  believe,  is  really  a  complete  list  of  the  resi- 
dents (who  had  any  property)  in  the  fall  of  1851.  Although  dated 
many  months  later,  the  work  of  preparing  the  list  was  begun  at 
a  time  when  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  include  the  settlers 
Avho  came  in  1853.  We  learn  from  others  that  the  assessment, 
which  was  preliminary,  was  made  by  A.  H.  Fannon,  the  jolly  old 
constable,  who  still  serves  the  public." 

[Mr.  Fannon  has  died  since  the  publication  of  the  above,  being 
in  good  health  to  near  the  time  of  his  death.] 

Mr.  Fannon  says  that  the  assessment  was  begun  and  made  early 
in  the  spring,  before  the  immigration  of  1852  had  set  in,  and  he 
thinks  all  whose  names  are  included  in  it  had  arrived  in  1851  or 
before.  Mr.  F.  made  the  assessment  as  sheriff;  says  he  was 
really  the  first  sheriff;  and  this  was  one  of  the  first  of  his  official 
acts.  This  claim  is  in  collision  with  the  records,  and  we  cannot 
undertake  to  reconcile  the  discrepancy.  In  making  the  list,  Mr. 
F.  says  he  sometimes  could  not  visit  more  than  half  a  dozen  fami- 
lies in  a  day,  so  widely  were  they  scattered,  particularly  in  the 
north  half  of  the  county,  but  he  always  found  a  welcome  recep- 


126  inSTORY    OF    UIXNESHIEK    COrNTY. 

tioii,  and  a  hearty  invitation  to-  "sit  up  to  the  table"'  when  meal 
time  brought  him  to  one  of  their  cabins.  The  residents  in  the 
northern  tier  of  townships,  however,  strongly  objected  to  being 
assessed;  not  that  they  wished  to  escape  taxation,  but  because  it 
was  doubtful  in  their  minds  whether  they  dwelt  in  Iowa  or  Min- 
nesota. Mr.  E.  E.  Meader  gives  this  information.  He,  personally, 
wished  to  be  in  Iowa,  and  had  the  happiness  of  finding,  when  the 
lines  were  run,  that  he  had  located  his  cabin  just  right  in  order 
to  secure  the  land  he  wanted,  and  at  the  same  time  remain  an 
lowan.  This  much  of  outside  history  to  the  volume.  Now  for 
the  stories  its  pages  reveal.  We  find  in  it  the  names  of  44G  persons. 
Perhaps  some  of  these  were  not  residents,  but  the  list  contains 
many  a  known  and  familiar  name.  A  large  share  are  assessed 
with  personality  only;  which  means  that  they  had  not  secured 
their  lands,  and  had  only  the  "improvements"  or  a  little  stock  to 
pay  tribute  on.  It  will  be  impossible  to  locate  most  of  these  in 
making  a  list  of  settlers  by  townships,  as  we  propose  to  do;  but 
whenever  lands  are  named,  the  townships  and  ranges  will  be  an 
unerring  guide.  Preliminary  to  this,  however,  let  us  give  a  few 
general  facts.  Lands  were  assessed  at  the  Government  price, 
|l.25  per  acre.  As  land  was  plenty  at  this  price,  it  is  fair  to  pre- 
sume that  assessments  were  made  at  the  full  cash  value.  The 
taxes  were  only  four  in  number  besides  the  poll  tax,  viz.:  county, 
state,  school  and  road,  and  they  summed  fifteen  mills.  In  these 
later  days,  when  assessments  are  made  at  one-third  of  the  cash 
value,  taxation  is  high  if  it  reaches  twenty-five  mills,  with  town- 
ship school  taxes  included.  There  are  no  footings  to  show  what  the 
total  value  of  the  assessed  property  wa^^,  but  the  taxes  them- 
selves aggregate  as  follows: 

County  tax $  696  68 

State  tax 175  08 

School  Tax 11.5  42 

Road  Tax 230  75 


$1,217  9:! 

besides  $650  of  poll  taxes.     This  would  make  the  total  assessable 
property  in  the  county  at  that  time,  w^orth  $182,789. 

The  richest  man  in  the  county  was  John  McKay,  of  Washing- 
ton Prairie.  He  paid  the  enormous  sum  of  $23.94  in  taxes. 
Francis  Teabout  was  close  up  to  him,  being  down  for  $23.16. 
lienjamin  Beard  followed  with  $20.95.  These  three  w^ere  the 
very  rich  men,  for  they  were  the  only  ones  who  paid  more  than 
620;  or,  rather,  were  regularly  assessed  for  sums  that  amounted  to 
precisely  that  figure.  The  list  of  other  persons  w^ho  paid  over  $10 
is  so  short  that  we  give  the  names  in  full : 

Joseph  Spilhnan,  Cahuar $18  96 

Levi  Moore,  Buit  Oak 17  68 

Moses  McSwain,  Bloniufield 16  8:^ 

James  S.  Ackerson,  Burr  Oak 16  00 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  127 

James  B .  Cutler,  Frankville 15  78 

Newell  &  Derrick,  Decorah 15  73 

Ingebret  Peterson,  Decorah 14  82 

Isaac  Callender,  Frankville 14  32 

Samuel  Allen,  Bloomfield , 14  30 

0.  W.  Emery,  Decorah 13  81 

Gideon  Green,  Bloomfield 13  59 

C.  E.  Brooks,  Military 13  04 

David  Bartlett,  Canoe 12  76 

J.  T.  Atkins,  Frankville 12  29 

Joseph  Huber,  Washington 11  27 

Abner  DeCow,  Bloomfield 11  24 

W.  F.  Kimball,  Decorah 11  17 

Wm.  Cummings,  Bloomfield 11  13 

Richard  M.  Carson,  Washington 11  13 

Wm.  Campbell,  Bloomfield 11  05 

Andrew  Mayer,  Washington 10  83 

John  W.  Smith,  Frankville 10  72 

James  D.  McKay,  Frankville 10  09 

This  table  indicates  that  the  wealth  of  the  county  then  centered 
on  Washington  Prairie.  Decorah  with  her  preset t  capital  cer- 
tainly makes  a  poor  showing.  The  population,  too,  was  most 
numerous  there.  This  the  following  table,  showing  all  the  names 
to  which  land  is  assessed,  will  more  clearly  show.  Although  the 
majority  of  those  named  have  passed  away,  there  are  enough 
familiar  names  to  make  it  interesting  reading,  and  worth  preserv- 
ing: 

BLOOMFIELD. 

Samuel  Allen.  G.  B.  Abbmar.  Charles  Anderson,  Geo.  Blake.  John  Braumire, 
Samuel  Clark,  John  Cowen,  Wm.  Clark,  Grace  Cohen,  Jonathan  Dean,  David 
DufF,  Abner  DeCosv,  Wm.  Elliott,  Samuel  N.  Faint,  Gideon  Green,  Levi 
Grundy,  Adam  Garen,  Charles  Hawthorn,  Benj.  Hawk,  John  W.  Jenkins, 
Samuel  B.  Jones,  TasaT.  Kendt,  Maria  Lacy,  Henry  McSwain,  John  McMar- 
tin,  Nathan  McKinley,  Henry  Noble,  Andrew  Stewart,  Margaret  Slaught, 
Kund  Thompson,  Richard  Thomis,  John  Thompson,  Moses  McSwain. 

FKANKVILLE. 

J.  T.  Atkins,  Antin  Anderson.  Robert  Angers,  Christ.  Anderson,  Lucy 
Adams,  Heniy  Brandt,  John  C.  Buckley,  Benson  Egbert,  Thomas  .Beard,  Ben- 
jamin Beard,  Wm.  Beard,  Wm.  Birdsell,  John  Bennett,  Besalid  Bennett. 
Isaac  Calender,  William  Cummings,  James  Cutlip,  Edward  Carter,  Francis 
Carlton,  David  Duff,  Emanuel  Dean,  James  Dunn,  Francis  Durst,  H.  D.  Evans, 
J.  H.  Gellelan.  Egbret  Gulbranson,  Joseph  Gordon,  Ole  Hulverson,  J.  H.  Hawk, 
Isaac  Hawk,  John  Halver,  Levi  Hubbell,  Samuel  Hood,  Elizabeth  Joiner,  Mat- 
len  Johnson,  James  Kilgore,  Edward  Knight,  Benj.  Knight,  John  Krauder, 
Alanson  Loomis,  Ole  Anderson  Loma.  J.  D.  McKay,  John  McKay,  Miron  Dean, 
M.  McSwain,  John  Martin,  Drury  Mays,  John 'F.  Neider,  Erick  B.Olson, 
Erick  Oleson,  Knud  Oleson,  Robert  Pierce,  Samuel  Peterson,  Harris  Reed,  D. 
Ritchie,  J.  H.  Ransom,  Dwight  Rathbun,  John  W.  Smith.  James  B.  Schenck, 
Andrew  Stewart,  James  Smith,  S.  Schrekner,  Josiah  T.  Tuttle,  George  Teeple, 
Francis  Teabout.  Knud  Toleffson,  Elizabeth  Tuttle,  William  Woods.  Oliver  F. 
Woods,  Walter  Rathbun. 

MILITARY. 

John  Anderson,  Mary  Ashby,  Chauncy  Brooks,  C.  E.  Brooks,  Dolvy  How- 
ard, John  0.  Porter,  Geo.  Bechel,  ]\Iartin  Bechel,  John  L.  Carson.  Geo.  A. 
Clark,  Wm.    H.  Fulton,  John  Gardner.  Lewis  Harkins,  Joseph  Huber,   Wil- 


128  HISTOKY   OF   WINXESHIEK   COUNTY. 

liam  J.  Peek,  Andrew  Sharp,  T.  H.  Semis?,  Jacob  Smith,  Tolef  and  Lars  Tos- 
ten,  Charles  K.  Wood,  Jas.  C.  H.  MiUer,  Andrew  Meyer,  John  S.  Neal,  Fran- 
cis  N.  Palmer,  Harvey  P.  Waters,  Gardner  Waters,  Aaron  Young. 

SPRINGFIELD. 

Jacob  Abrahamson,  J.  B.  Cutler,  Knud  Gulbran?0D,  Ole  Gullikson,  E.2:bert 
Gulbranson,  Halvor  Halvorson,  Erick  Clements,  0.  A.  Lomen,  Ole  Larson, 
Wm.  Lansing,  Michael  Omlie,  Thomas  Simonson,  T.  Holverson,  Ole  Tos- 
tenson. 

JACKSON. 

Joseph  Spillman. 

DECORAH. 

Jacob  Abrahamson,  Thos.  P.  Parker,  Ann  Bowie,  John  L.  Carson,  William 
Day,  Claiborne  Day,  Nathan  Drake,  Adams  Dexter,  0.  W.  Emery,  N.  S.  Gil- 
bert, Thor.  Gulbranson,  Geo.  W.  Hazel,  Adam  Heckart,  W.  F.  Kimball,  Dan- 
iel Kuykendahl,  M.- A.  Meintner,  Philip  Morse,- Joseph  McGehee  Newell  & 
Derrik,  K.  G.  Newland,  Engebret  Peterson,  Amasa  Perkins,  William  Par- 
ker, Thomas  Robertson,  Joseph  Reed,  A.  Simmonson,  Jason  Tuttle,  John  R. 
Townsley,  Abraham  Taxell,  Geo.  A.  Wigeland. 

MADISON. 

H.  Anstenson,  Ole  Asleson,  John  Evenson,  Jane  Fletcher,  Ever  Gulbranson, 
Ole  Gunderson,  Peter  Jamison,  Chas.  McLaughlin,  H.  Oleson,  Wilson  Smith, 
Tolef  Tuleston. 

BLUFFTON. 

Benjamin  Disbie,  Philo  S.  Curtis,  E.  Chapmen,  Geo.  A.  Clark,  Emery  Bur- 
ritt,  Geo.  R.  Emery,  S.  E.  Fairbanks,  Bernard  Harmon,  M.  A.  Meinter,  Levi 
Moore,  Geo.  Smith,  Robert  Stockton,  James  Turner,  Daniel  Wheeler,  Hemy 
Wilson. 

CANOE . 

James  J.  Ackerson,  John  Robinson,  David  Bartlett,  Samuel  Bolinger,  Jas.  B. 
Cutler,  Wm.  T.  Cochrane,  J.  Freedenberger,  B.  F.  Giles,  N.  S.  Giblert,  Michael 
GatUn,  Lorenzo  Gates,  Joseph  Harper,  H.  Holverson,  J.  Hornson,  L.  Iverson, 
Thos.  Kennedy,  John  Knudson,  Davicl  Kinnison,  S.  M.  Leach,  E.  B.  Horton, 
Elizabeth  Potter,  Ob  Snear,  Wm.  Shirley,  N.  Updegraff,  Wm.  B.  Updegraff. 

GLENWOOD. 

J.  T.  Atkins,  Robert  Angus,  Philander  Baker,  John  Barthel,  Levi  Barn- 
house,  John  C.  Buckley,  David  Bender,  Daniel  Becknell,  L.  Carmichael,  Chas. 
Benjamin,  Julien  Dougherty,  F.  M.  Fuller,  Torkel  Hanson,  Permany  Hantly, 
C.  N.  Hatch,  Nels  Johnson,  German  Johnson,  Geo.  Keatings,  Wm.  Kyrk, 
John  S.  Morse,  Lyman  Morse,  Thos.  Severson,  W.  Sanford,  Tosten  Nelson, 
Lebrend  Whitney,  Leroy  C.  Walter. 

PLEASANT. 

Benj.  Beard,  J.  B,  Cutler,  H.  Halverscn,  Join  Klontz,  Peter  K.  Londgon, 
Ole  M  agues  on. 

This  completes  the  entire  list  of  landed  assessments,  and,  it  will 
be  seen,  includes  only  twelve  of  the  twenty  townships.  Of  the 
eight  others  no  mention  is  made.  These  were  the  four  in  the 
northern  tier,  and  four  out  of  five  on  the  west  side.  The  fifth 
has  only  one  assessment,  and  that  is  to  a  resident  in  Calmar  town- 
ship.    That  there  were  dwellers  or  squatters  on  this  territory  is 


HISTORY    OF    AVIXNESHIEK    COUNTY.  129 

beyond  question;  because  some  of  tliem — like  Mr.  Meader,  D.  D. 
Huff,  and  others,  who  came  as  early  as  1851 — are  still  living  on 
the  land  they  selected  in  that  yea] .  These  lands,  however,  did 
not  really  come  into  market  until  a  year  or  two  later,  so  that 
settlers  could  acquire  title.  For  this  reason  they  were  assessed,  if 
at  all,  with  "personality"  only.  A  list  of  these  will  complete, 
what  I  believe  to  be  the  most  perfect  list  that  can  be  obtained  of 
the  really  "first  settlers" — those  who  were  here  and  took  part  in 
the  organization  of  the  county,  [n  the  foregoing  lists,  as  Avell  as 
in  the  following,  there  are  doubtless  some  non-residents;  but  these 
cannot,  at  this  late  day,  be  selected  out.  The  names  that  follow 
are  those  of  persons  of  the  latter  classes,  who  cannot  be  assorted 
into  townships  as  a  whole.  Many  of  them,  hoAvever.  can  be  read- 
ily located  by  the  reader: 

Erick  Anderson,  John  Anderson,  Toleff  Avins,  James  Ackerson,  Erastus 
V.  Andrus,  John  Bush,  John  Brandt,  William  Bannintr,  Jeremiah  Brisco, 
Joseph  Brown,  Lewis  Bachel,  Benjamm  Bear,  L.  W.  Bisb}^  Madison  Brown, 
Ole  Benson,  Samuel  F.  Brush,  John  Bateman,  Phineas  Banning  Alva  Chase, 
Richard  M.  Carson,  Hamilton  Campbell,  James  G.  Chase,  James  Cross,  Cor- 
nelius Callahan,  Oscar  C.  Dexter,  Thomas  Dickerson,  John  DeCow,  D.  David- 
son, Christian  Evei'son,  Hover  Everson,  Gilbert  Erickson,  David  Erasier,  Acles 
H.  Fannon,  Nelson  Fisher,  Orson  Graudy,  Benjamin  Goodwater,  K.  Goodman- 
son,  George  Gulbranson,  Josiah  Goddard,  George  Helmer,  Andrew  Hoverson, 
Ole  A.  Hankj',  John  Halvorsen,  Torger  Halvorsen,  Peter  Halvorsen,  Phillip 
Husted,  D.  D.  Hutf,  Thomas  J.  Hazlitt,  Anthony  Huber,  Geo.  Herzog,  H. 
Harkins,  Ole  Herbranson,  Henry  Holm,  Benjamin  Hollenbach,  John  R.  How- 
ard, Knud  Herbranson,  William  Horton,  Phillip  Howe,  Moses  Hostetler, 
Christopher  Hoverson,  Halvor  Johnson,  John  Johnson,  Ever  Johnson,  John  R. 
Johnson,  John  G.  Johnson,  Andrew  Johnson,  Martin  Johnson,  Michael  John- 
son, Raid  Knudson,  Anch-ew  Knudson,  Toleff  Knudson,  William  Klontz,  A. 
L.  Kincaid,  Elraar  Knudson  Charles  Krech,  G.  S.  Krumm,  G.  L.  Krumm, 
Theophilus  Krumm,  J.  N.  Klein,  James  Kelley,  Ever  Knudson,  James  Lyon, 
EUick  Larson,  John  Livengood,  Knud  Larson,  Valentine  Larkins,  Halgrim 
Larson,  Phillip  Lathrop,  James  R.  Moore,  James  F.  Moore.  George  Miers, 
Ezekiel  E.  Meader,  William  Meyer,  Casper  Meyer,  J.  N.  Miller,  G.  Nelson, 
Ole  Olson,  (five  of  'em)  Barney  Oleson,  Magnus  Oleson.  Andrew  Olson,  Hover 
Olson  (two),  Christian  Olson,  John  Olson,  James  Oleson,  George  Oleson,  Ame 
Oleson,  Herman  Oleson,  Knutson  Oleson,  J.  Ostrander,  William  Painter,  Ole 
Peterson,  D.  W.  Pierce,  William  Padden,  David  Reed,  Daniel  Reed,  John  Rul- 
ler,  Abraham  Rosa,  John  Reams,  Conrad  Riley,  S.  Riddle,  A.  Russell,  John 
Stuart,  William  Sharpe,  John  Shafer,  M.  B.  Spencer,  M.  B.  Sherwin,  Ole 
Simonson,  Geo.  W.  Tate,  Michael  Townsend,  Ole  Thoreson,  Jacob  Torgrim- 
son,  Sebastian  Thaat,  Ephraim  Thompson,  Nelson  Torkleson,  George  Thaat, 
Mykle  Toreson,  Isaac  Underhill,  John  Vail,  John  H.  Vamall,  John  Williams, 
Silas  Wheeler,  Harrison  Wheeler,  Justus  Wilson,  Anna  Yans. 

Perhaps  it  would  be  well  to  follow  up  the  list  of  the  first  tax- 
payers with  a  list  of  the  early  settlers,  so  far  as  such  is  obtainable. 
Such  a  list  is  necessarily,  in  a  great  measure,  a  repetition  of  what 
has  been  given  in  previous  chapters.  Through  the  kindness  of 
Mr.  A.  K.  Bailey,  I  am  permitted  the  use  of  the  old  settlers' 
cards,  taken  as  admission  tickets  at  the  door  of  Steyer's  Opera 
House  at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  Old  Settlers  Associa- 
tion, July  4,  1876.     It  was  the  object  of  the  inventor  of  this  mode 


130  HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

of  gaining  admission,  not  only  to  make  the  cards  serve  that  pur- 
pose, but  also  to  give  a  condensed  history  of  each  individual;  and 
in  order  to  serve  this  purpose  to  the  best  advajitage,  printed  cards, 
with  blank  spaces  to  fill,  were  used.  The  person  gaining  admis- 
sion by  this  means  was  obliged  to  fill  the  blank  spaces  left  for 
that  purpose,  and  which,  when  filled,  would  give  his  age,  when 
married,  to  whom  and  what  year,  and  the  date  of  his  settlement 
in  the  county,  as  well  as  the  number  of  the  section  on  which  he 
settled. 

The  following  list  of  the  very  early   settlers  is  quite  complete: 

Hamilton  Campbell  and  his  wife,  Sarah,  came  to  Winneshiek 
County  June  7,  1848,  and  settled  on  sections  23-26,  Bloomfield 
Township.  Hamilton  Campbell  was  born  in  1802,  and  married  in 
1838. 

Gotlob  Krum  and  wife  came  to  Winneshiek  County  on  the  29th 
of  June,  1818,  and  settled  on  the  N.  W.  Q.  of  Section  17,  in  what 
is  Washington  township. 

Gotleib  Krum,  June  29,  1818,  Washington. 

David  Reed  and  wife  settled  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of  Section  25 
August  15.  1818,  Bloomfield  Township. 

Daniel  Reed  settled  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of  Section  25;  August  15, 

1818,  Bloomfield  Township. 

John  N.  Topliff  settled  on  the  S.  E.  Q.  of  Section  25.  of  Bloom- 
field Township.  April  1,  1818. 

Andrew  Meyer  and  wife  came  to  Winneshiek  County  on  the  1st 
of  April,  1819,  and  settled  in  Washington  Township  on  Section  23. 

Phenas  Banning  settled  on  the  N.  W.  of  N,  W.  Q.  of  Section 
5,  in  what  is  now  Bloomfield  Township,  in  June,  1859. 

William  Day  and  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  came  to  Winneshiek 
County  and  settled  on  what  is  now  Decorah,  on  the  10th  of  June, 

1819.  John  F.  Day,  same.  Richard  V,  Day,  same.  Claibourne 
Day,  same. 

0.  W.  Emery  came  to  Winneshiek  County  on  the  20th  of  Au- 
gust, and  settled  on  the  N.  W.  Q.  of  Section  17,  Canoe  Township 

Josiah  Goddard.  Jr.,  October  10,  1819,  Decorah. 

The  following  are  settlers  who  made  a  permanent  settlement  in 
the  county  in  1850: 

David  Kinnison  and  his  wife  Henrietta,  who  settled  on  the  N. 
AV.  Q.  of  Section  7. 

John  DeCow  and  his  wife  Marv  D..  who  settled  on  the  N.  E. 
Q.  of  Section  1,  in  Bloomfield  Township.  June  29. 

A.  0.  Lommen  and  his  wife.  Seigie.  who  settled  on  the  E  ^  of 
N.  W.  Q.  of  Section  2.  in  Springfield  Township,  June  12. 

Erick  Anderson  settled  on  the  S.  E.  Q.  of  Section  24,  Spring- 
field Township,  June  12. 

A.  K.  Anderson  came  to  Winneshiek  County  on  the  20th  of 
June,  and  settled  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of  Section  23,  Springfield 
Township. 


HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  131 

•  Tolef  Simianson  and  his  wife  Betsy,  came  to  Winneshiek 
County  July  2,  and  settled  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of  Section  1,  Spring- 
field Township. 

Russell  Dean,  April,  Bloomfield  Township. 

Ole  G.  Johnson  settled  on  the  S.  W.  Q.  of  Section  31,  Glenwood 
Township,  July  2. 

Nelson  Johnson  and  his  wife  Hannah  came  to  Winneshiek 
County  on  the  2d  of  July,  and  settled  on  the  N.  E.  Q,  of  Section 
36,  Decorah. 

Orin  Simmons  came  to  Winneshiek  County  on  the  3d  of  July, 
and  settled  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of  Section  23,  Decorah  Township. 

E.  G.  Opdahl  came  to  Winneshiek  County  on  the  4th  of  July, 
and  settled  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of  Section  14,  Springfield  Township. 

Albert  Opdahl  settled  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of  Section  14,  Spring- 
field Township,  July  4th,  and  his  Avife,  Mary  H.,  settled  on  the 
N.  W.  Q.  of  the  N.  W.  il  of  Section  13,  Decorah  Towhship, 
July  25. 

John  W.  Holm  came  to  Winneshiek  County  on  the  30th  of 
July,  and  settled  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of  Section  33,  Canoe  Town- 
ship. 

Benjamin  L.  Bisby  came  to  Winneshiek  County  on  the  1st  of 
August,  and  settled  on  the  S.  W.  Q.  of  Section  29,  Hesper  Town- 
ship. 

Peter  K.  Langland  and  his  wife  Emma,  came  to  Winneshiek 
County  in  August,  and  settled  on  the  N.  W.  Q.  of  Section  10, 
Pleasant  Township. 

John  Evanson  came  to  Winneshiek  County  on  the  25th  of  Sep- 
tember, and  settled  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of  Section  32,  Madison  Town- 
ship. 

Christopher  A.  Estrim  and  his  wife  Juger  Caroline,  settled  on 
the  S.  half  of  S.  E,  Q.  of  Section  5,  on  the  3d  of  September, 
Frankville. 

John  Fredenburg  settled,  the  20th  of  October,  on  the  N.  W. 
Q.  of  Section  6,  Canoe  Township. 

William  Padden  and  wife  settled  25th  of  November,  Section 
28,  Frankville  Township. 

John  Rosa  came  to  Winneshiek  County  with  his  father,  and 
settled  on  the  Washington  Prairie. 

Jacob  Duff,  Frankville. 

Edward  Tracy,  Decorah. 

Walter  Rathbun  and  his  wife  Welthie  came  to  Winneshiek 
County  in  March,  and  settled  on  the  N.  W.  Q.  of  Section  16. 

The  following  is  a  partial  list  of  the  pioneers  who  came  to  the 
county  in  1851: 

E.  C.  Dunning  and  wife  settled  on  settled  16,  Decorah  Town- 
ship, June  20th. 

Geo.  Blake,  April,  Bloomfield  Township. 

Russell  Dean,  April,  Bloomfield. 


132  HISTORY   OF   AVINNESHIEK  COUNTY. 

E.  E.  Clement,  Springfield,  settled  March  l,on  the  S.  W.  S.  W. 
Q.  of  Section  1,  Springfield  Township. 

D.  D.  Huff  and  his  wife  Anna  settled  April  26,  on  the  S.  E.  Q. 
of  Section  29,  Hesper  Township. 

Peter  E.  Haugen  came  to  Winneshiek  county  on  the  12tli  of 
May,  and  settled  on  the  N.  W.  Q.  of  Section  31,  Decorah  Town- 
ship. 

Simeon  M.  Leach  and  his  wife  settled  on  the  12th  of  May,  on 
theS.  W.  Q.  of  Section  17,  Canoe  Township. 

A.  V.  Anderson  and  wife,  Parmelia,  settled  the  first  part  of 
June,  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of  Section  21. 

Torket  Hansen  and  his  wife,  Sophronia,  came  to  Winneshiek 
county  about  the  15th  day  of  June,  and  settled  on  the  N.  E.  Q. 
of  Section  25,  Decorah  Township. 

Christopher  Evans  settled  the  15th  of  June,  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of 
Section  32,  Glenwood  Township. 

Iver  Gr.  Ringstad  and  wife  settled  in  Madison  Township  on  the 
30th  of  June,  on  the  S.  half  of  Section  29. 

Herbrand  Onstine  settled  in  Madison  Township. 

Helge  Nelson  Myran  settled  in  Madison  township,  on  the  S.  W. 
S.  W.  Q.  of  Section  8. 

Ole  M.  Asleson  and  wife  settled  July  12,  on  the  N.  E.  Q.  of 
Section  8,  Madison  Township. 

William  Birdsall  and  his  wife,  Mary,  settled  on  Section  28, 
Frankville  Township,  on  the  13th  of  August. 

Gulbrand  Erickson  Wig,  settled  in  September,  on  the  S.  E.  Q. 
of  Section  36,  Madison  Township. 

Gulbrand  T.  Lommen  settled  on  Section  33,  Decorah  Town- 
ship. 

Ole  Kittleson  and  wife  settled  on  Section  17,  Decorah  Town- 
ship. 

Philip  Husted. 

W.  L.  Iverson.  Mount  Pleasant. 

Isaac  Birdsall,  Frankville. 

Ole  Toleffson  Wig,  and  his  wife,  Thora,  settled  oa  Section  31, 
Decorah  Township. 

Geo.  V.  Putney  settled  on  Section  30,  Burr  Oak  Township. 

A.  K.  Drake,  Decorah. 

Erick  Olsen  Bakke  and  wife  settled  on  Section  5,  Frankville 
Township. 

Nathan  Drake  settled  on  Section  7,  Glenwood  Township. 

Rolland  Tobiason  and  wife  settled  on  Section  10,  Springfield 
Township. 


HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  133 

CHAPTER  II. 


The  Winnehogo  Indians ;  Our  Count y  and  County  Seat  Named  after 
theirChie/s;  Early  History  of  the  Tribe;  their  Career  in  Wiscon- 
sin; Removal  to  Iowa ^  in  Winneshiek  County;  Fort  Atkinson; 
the  Chiefs  Winneshiek  and  Decorah;  the  Grave  of  the  Latter^ 
and  Re-interment  of  His  Remains;  Indian  Traders  and  Whisky 
Selling;  Bloody  Tragedies;  Indian  Customs  and  Habits. 


As  our  county  and  county  seat  have  taken  their  names  from  the 
chiefs  of  the  Winnebago  Indians,  it  will  be  of  interest,  as  well 
as  of  historic  value,  to  trace  the  history  of  our  historic  predeces- 
sors on  this  soil,  even  though  we  have  little  clue,  except  by  the 
remains  left  by  the  mound  builders,  of  the  races  of  the  pre- 
historic ages  of  the  past.  It  is  now  about  two  and  a  half  centu- 
ries since  the  civilized  world  began  to  gain  knowledge  of  the  exist- 
ence in  the  Far  West  of  a  tribe  of  Indians  known  as  the  Winneba- 
goes,  that  is,  "Men  of  the  Sea;"  pointing  possibly  to  their  early  emi- 
gration from  the  shores  of  the  Mexican  Gulf  or  the  Pacific.  North- 
ern Wisconsin  and  the  upper  northwestern  peninsula  of  Michi- 
gan were  in  early  times  inhabited  by  several  tribes  of  the  Algon- 
quin race,  forming  a  barrier  to  the  Dakotas  or  Sioux,  who  had  ad- 
vanced eastward  to  the  Mississippi.  But  the  Winnebagoes,  al- 
though one  of  the  tribes  belonging  to  the  family  of  the  latter,  had 
passed  the  Mississippi  at  some  unknown  period,  and  settled  upon 
the  head  waters  of  Green  Bay.  Some  historians  claim  that  they 
came  from  Mexico,  whence  they  fled  to  escape  the  Spaniards. 

Here  the  "sea  tribe"  as  early,  it  is  believed,  as  1634,  was  visited 
by  an  agent  of  France,  and  a  treaty  concluded  with  them.  The 
tribe  afterward  called  themselves  Hochungara,  or  Ochunkora,  but 
were  styled  by  the  Sioux  Hotanke  or  Sturgeon.  Nothing  more 
is  heard  of  the  Ouenibigoutz  or  Winnebegouk  (as  the  Winneba- 
goes were  called  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  and  the  Algonquin 
tribes,  meaning  men  from  the  fetid  or  salt  water,  translated  by 
the  French,  Puants)  for  the  next  thirty-five  years,  although  there 
is  no  doubt  that  the  tribe  had  been  visited,  meanwhile,  by  adven- 
turous Frenchmen,  when  on  the  second  of  December,  1669,  some 
of  this  nation  were  noted  at  a  Sac  (Sauk  or  Saukie's)  village  on 
Green  Bay,  by  Father  Allouez.  As  early,  at  least  as  1670,  the 
French  were  actively  engaged  among  the  Winnebagoes  trading. 
"We  found  afl'airs,"  says  one  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  who  ar- 
rived among  them  in  September  of  that  year,  "we  found  affairs 
in  a  pretty  bad  condition,  and  the  minds  of  the  savages  much 
soured  against  the  French  who  were  there  trading;  ill-treating 
them  in  deeds  and  words,  pillaging  and  conveying  away  their 
merchandise  in  spite  of  them,  and  conducting  themselves  toward 


134  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

them  with  insupportable  insolence  and  indignities."  The  cause  of 
this  disorder,  adds  the  missionary,  "is  that  they  had  received  bad 
treatment  from  the  French,  to  whom  they  this  year  had  come  to 
trade,  and  particularly  from  the  soldiers,  from  whom  they  had 
pretended  to  receive  many  wrongs  and  injuries."  It  is  thus  made 
certain  that  the  arms  of  France  were  carried  into  the  territory  of 
the  Winnebagoes  over  two  hundred  years  ago. 

Two  Jesuits  who  ascended  the  Fox  river  of  Green  Bay  in  1670, 
at  some  falls  about  one  day's  journey  from  the  head  of  the  bay,  dis- 
covered an  idol  that  the  savages  honored,  "never  failing,  in  passing, 
to  make  him  some  sacrifice  of  tobacco,  or  arms,  or  paintings  or  other 
things  to  thank  him,  that  by  his  assistance  they  had,  in  ascend- 
ing, avoided  the  danger  of  the  waterfalls  that  are  in  this  stream, 
or  else  if  they  had  to  ascend  to  pray  him  to  aid  them  in  this  peril- 
ous navigation."  The  devout  missionaries  caused  the  idol  "to  be 
lifted  up  by  the  strength  of  arm  and  be  cast  into  the  depths  of  the 
river,  to  appear  no  more"  to  the  idolatrous  savages.  The  mission 
of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  founded  in  December,  1669,  by  Allouez  was  a 
roving  one  among  the  tribes  inhabiting  the  shores  of  Green  Bay, 
and  the  interior  country  watered  by  the  Fox  Eiver  and  its  tribu- 
taries, for  about  two  years,  when  its  first  mission  house  was 
erected  at  what  is  now  Depere,  Brown  County,  Wisconsin.  This 
chapel  was  soon  afterward  destroyed  by  fire,  but  was  rebuilt  in 
1676. 

The  Winnebago  Indians  by  this  time  had  not  only  received 
considerable  spiritual  instruction  from  the  Jesuit  fathers,  but  had 
obtained  quite  an  insight  into  the  mysteries  of  trading  and  traffic- 
ing  with  white  men;  for  following  the  footsteps  of  the  mission- 
aries, and  sometimes  preceding  them,  were  the  ubiquitous  French 
traders.  It  is  impossible  to  determine  precisely  what  territory 
was  occupied  by  the  Winnebagoes  at  this  early  date,  farther  than 
they  lived  near  the  head  of  Green  Bay.  A  direct  trade  with  the 
French  upon  the  St  Lawrence  was  not  carried  on  by  the  Winne- 
bagoes to  any  great  extent  until  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  As  early  as  1679  an  advance  party  of  La  Salle  had  col- 
lected a  large  store  of  furs  at  the  mouth  of  Green  Bay,  doubtless 
in  a  trafiic  with  this  tribe  and  others  contiguous  to  them.  Gener- 
ally, however,  the  surrounding  nations  sold  their  peltries  to  the 
Ottawas,  who  in  turn  disposed  of  them  to  the  French. 

The  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century  found  che  Win- 
nebagoes friendly  to  and  in  alliance  with  France  and  in  peace 
with  the  dreaded  Iroquois.  In  1718,  the  nation  numbered  six 
hundred.  They  were  afterward  found  to  have  moved  up  Fox 
river,  locating  upon  Winnebago  lake,  which  stream  and  lake  were 
their  ancient  seat,  and  from  which  they  had  been  driven  either  by 
fear  or  the  prowess  of  more  powerful  tribes  of  the  West  or  South- 
west.    Their  intercourse  with  the  French  was  gradually  extended 


HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  135 

and  generally  peaceful,  though  not  always  so.  joining  with  them 
in  their  wars  Avith  the  Iroquois,  and  subsequently  in  their  con- 
flicts with  the  English  which  finally  ended  in  1760. 

In  Shea's  '"Early  French  Voyages"  there  was  printed  a  letter 
from  Father  Guignas,  written  May  29,  1728,  at  Fort  Beauharnois 
on  Lake  Pepin,  on  the  upper  Mississippi  river,  in  which  an  inter- 
esting reference  is  made  to  the  Winnebagoes.     He  says: 

''The  Sioux  convoy  left  the  end  of  Montreal  Island  on  the  16th 
of  the  month  of  June,  last  year,  at  11  a.  m.,  and  reached  Michili- 
mackinac  on  the  22d  of  the  month  of  July.  This  post  is  two 
hundred  and  fifty  leagues  from  Montreal,  almost  due  west,  at  45. 
deg.  20  min.  north  latitude. 

"We  spent  the  rest  of  the  month  at  this  post,  in  the  hope  of 
receiving  from  day  to  day  some  news  from  Montreal,  and  in  the 
design  of  strengthening  ourselves  against  the  alleged  extreme 
diflBculties  of  getting  a  free  passage  through  the  Foxes.  At  last, 
seeing  nothing,  we  set  out  on  our  march  the  first  of  the 
month  of  August,  and  after  seventy-three  leagues  of  quite  pleas- 
ant sail  along  the  northerly  side  of  Lake  Michigan,  running  to 
the  southeast,  we  reached  Green  Bay  on  the  8th  of  the  same 
month  at  5:30,  p.  m.  This  post  is  41  deg.  43  min.  north  lati- 
tude. 

"We  stopped  there  two  days,  and  on  the  11th,  in  the  morning, 
we  embarked,  in  a  very  great  impatience  to  reach  the  Foxes.  On 
the  third  day  after  our  departure  from  the  bay,  quite  late  in  the 
afternoon,  in  fact  somewhat  in  the  night,  the  chiefs  of  the  Puans 
( Winnebagoes)  came  out  three  leagues  from  the  village  to  meet 
the  French,  with  their  peace  calumets  and  some  bear  meat  as  a  re- 
freshment, and  the  next  day  we  were  received  by  the  small  nation, 
amid  several  discharges  of  a  few  guns,  and  with  great  demonstra- 
tions. 

"They  asked  us  with  so  good  grace  to  do  them  the  honor  to  stay 
some  time  with  them,  that  we  granted  them  the  rest  of  the  day 
from  noon,  and  the  following  day.  There  may  be  in  all  the  vil- 
lage, sixty  to  eighty  men,  but  all  the  men  and  women  of  very  tall 
stature  and  well  made.  They  are  on  the  bank  of  a  very  pretty 
little  lake,  in  a  most  agreeable  spot  for  its  situation  and  the  good- 
ness of  the  soil,  nineteen  leagues  from  the  bay  and  eight  leagues 
from  the  Foxes." 

When  the  English,  in  October,  1701,  took  possession  of  the 
French  post  at  Green  Bay.  the  Winnebagoes  were  found  to  num- 
ber only  one  hundred  and  fifty  warriors;  their  nearest  village  be- 
ing at  the  lower  end  of  Wennebago  Lake.  They  had  three  towns, 
and  perhaps  more. 

Their  country  at  this  period  inclosed  not  only  the  lake,  but  all 
the  streams  floAving  into  it,  especially  Fox  river,  and  afterward  ex- 
tended to  the  Wisconsin  and  Rock  rivers.  They  readily  changed 
the  course  of  their  trade — askinor  now  of  the  commandant  of  the 


136  HISTORY   OF    WIXXESHIEK   COUJsTY. 

fort  for  English  traders  to  be  sent  among  them.  In  the  Indian 
outbreak  under  Pontiac,  in  1763,  they  joined  with  the  Menomi- 
nees  and  other  tribes  to  defend  the  British  garrison  at  the  head  of 
the  bay,  assisting  in  conducting  them  to  a  place  of  safety.  They 
continued  their  friendship  to  the  English  during  the  Revolution, 
by  joining  with  them  against  the  colonies,  and  were  active  in  the 
Indian  war  of  1790-4,  taking  part  in  the  attack  on  Fort  Recovery, 
on  the  Maumee,  in  the  present  State  of  Ohio,  in  1793.  They 
also  fought  on  the  side  of  the  British  in  the  war  of  1812-15^  aid- 
ing in  1811  to  reduce  Prairie  du  Chien.  Thev  were  then  esti- 
mated at  4,5U0. 

When,  in  1816,  the  government  of  the  United  States  sent 
troops  to  take  possession  of  the  Green  Bay  country,  by  establish- 
a  garrison  there,  some  trouble  was  anticipated  from  the  Winne- 
bago Indians,  who,  up  to  that  date,  had  the  reputation  of  being  a 
bold  and  warlike  tribe.  A  deputation  from  the  nation  came  down 
Fox  river  and  remonstrated  with  the  American  commandant  on 
what  they  considered  an  intrusion.  They  were  desirous  of  know- 
ing why  a  fort  was  to  be  established  so  near  them.  The  reply 
was,  that  although  the  troops  were  armed  for  war,  their  purpose 
was  peace.  The  response  of  the  Indians  was  an  old  one.  "If  your 
object  is  peace,  you  have  too  many  men;  if  war,  too  few."  How- 
ever the  display  of  a  number  of  cannon  that  had  not  yet  been 
mounted,  satisfied  the  Winnebagoes  that  the  Americans  were 
masters  of  the  situation,  and  the  deputation  gave  the  garrison  no 
further  trouble.  On  the  30th  of  June.  1816.  at  St.  Louis,  the 
tribe  made  a  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship  with  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, but  they  continued  to  lay  tribute  on  white  people  who 
passed  up  Fox  river.  At  this  time  a  portion  of  the  tribe  was  liv- 
ing on  the  Wisconsin  river,  away  from  Green  Bay.  In  1820,  they 
had  five  villages  on  Winnebago  Lake  and  fourteen  on  Rock  river. 
In  1825  the  claim  of  the  Winnebagoes  was  an  extreme  one  so  far 
as  territory  was  concerned.  Its  southern  boundary  stretched  away 
from  the  source  of  the  Rock  river  to  within  forty  miles  of  its 
mouth  in  Illinois,  where  they  had  a  village.  On  the  west  it  ex- 
tended to  the  heads  of  the  small  streams  flowing  into  the  Missis- 
sippi. To  the  north  it  i  cached  Black  river  and  the  Upper  Wiscon- 
sin, to  the  Chippewa  Territory,  but  did  not  extend  over  Fox  river, 
although  they  contended  for  the  whole  of  Winnebago  Lake. 

The  final  removal  of  the  Winnebagoes  from  Wisconsin  to  the 
westward,  across  the  Mississippi  soon  followed.  In  1829,  a  large 
part  of  the  territory  in  southwest  Wisconsin,  lying  between  the 
Sugar  River  and  the  Mississippi  and  extending  to  the  Wisconsin, 
was  sold  to  the  Government,'  and  three  years  later,  all  the  residue 
lying  south  and  east  of  the  Wisconsin  and  Fox  rivers  of  Green 
Bay.  And  finally  in  the  brief  language  of  the  treaty  of  Novem- 
ber 1,  1837,  (this  tribe  having  become  unsettled  and  wasteful). 
*'The' Winnebago  Nation  of  Indians"  ceded  to  the  General  Govern- 


HISTOKY   OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  139 

ment  "all  their  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi.'"  Not  an  acre  was 
reserved.  And  the  Indians  agreed  that  within  eight  months  from 
that  date,  they  would  move  west  of  the  "great  river,"  they  being 
alloted  territory  a  part  of  which  Avas  in  the  present  Winneshiek 
County.  This  arrangement,  however,  was  not  fully  carried  out. 
In  1842  there  were  only  756  at  the  then  Turkey  River,  Iowa 
Settlement,  their  new  home,  with  as  many  in  Wisconsin  and 
small  bands  elsewhere.  All  had  become  lawless  and  roving.  Some 
removed  from  Wisconsin  in  1848,  while  a  party  to  the  number  of 
eight  hundred  left  that  State  as  late  as  1873  for  Nebraska,  long 
after  the  Iowa  portion  of  the  tribe  had  preceeded  them  to  their 
Avestern  home.  Their  Nebraska  reservation  is  north  of  and  adja- 
cent to  the  Omalias,  containing  over  one  hundred  thousand  acres. 
However,  since  their  first  removal,  they  have  several  times  changed 
their  homes,  and  scattering  bands  have  wandered  back  and  forth 
between  Wisconsin  and  Nebraska.  The  total  number  is  now  esti- 
mated at  less  than  twenty-five  hundred. 

The  following  brief  paragraphs  in  reference  to  the  Winneba- 
goes,  and  removals  of  portions  of  the  tribe,  is  taken  from  a  sketch 
of  the  "Explorers  and  Pioneers  of  Minnesota,"  by  Rev.  Edward 
D.  Neil: 

"The  Ho-Tchun-Graws,  or  Winnebagoes,  belong  to  the  Daka- 
tah  family  of  aborigines.  Champlain,  although  he  never  visited 
them,  mentions  them.  Nicollet,  who  had  been  in  his  employ, 
visited  Green  Bay  about  the  year  1635,  and  an  early  relation  men- 
tions that  he  saw  the  Ouinipegos,  a  people  called  so  because  they 
came  from  a  distant  sea,  which  some  French  writer  erroneously 
called  Puants." 

Another  writer,  speaking  of  these  people,  says: 
''These  people  are  called  'Les  Puants,'  not  because  of  any  bad 
odor  peculiar  to  them,  but  because  they  claim  to  have  come 
from  the  shores  of  a  far  distant  lake,  toward  the  north,  whose 
waters  are  salt.  They  call  themselves  the  people  'de  Teau  pu- 
ants' of  the  putrid  or  bad  water." 

"By  the  treaty  of  1837  they  were  removed  to  Iowa,  and  by  an- 
other treaty  in  October,  184G,  they  came  to  Minnesota  in  1848,  to 
the  country  between  the  Long  Prairie  and  Crow  Wing  River. 
The  agency  was  located  on  the  Long  Prairie  River,  forty  miles 
from  the  Mississippi,  and  in  1849  the  tribe  numbered  about  five 
hundred  souls. 

"In  February,  1855,  another  treaty  was  made  with  them,  and 
that  spring  they  removed  to  lands  on  the  Blue  Earth  River. 
Owing  to  the  panic  caused  by  the  outbreak  of  the  Sioux  in  1862, 
Congress,  by  a  special  act,  Avithout  consulting  them,  in  1863  re- 
moved them  from  their  fields  in  Minnesota  to  the  Missouri  River, 
and  in  the  words  of  the  missionary,  'they  were,  like  the  Sioux, 
dumped  in  the  desert,  one  hundred  miles  above  Fort  Randall.''  " 

9 


140  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

IN  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

The  eastern  line  of  the  Iowa  reservation  to  which  the  Winne- 
bagoes  Avere  removed  from  Wisconsin,  and  w^hich  embraced  Win- 
neshiek County,  was  about  twenty  miles  Avest  of  the  Mississippi 
river.  Their  roving  and  unsettled  condition  had  apparently 
changed  their  traditional  independent  and  Avarlike  character;  and 
the  large  annuity  given  them  as  a  condition  of  their  removal  from 
Wisconsin  added  to  their  vices  and  accellerated  their  progress  to 
laziness  and  worthlessness.  And  if  it  is  true  that  they  were  orig- 
inally warlike  and  fierce,  as  has  been  stated  in  these  pages,  they 
rapidly  sunk  in  this  respect  until  they  won  a  memorable  reputa- 
tion among  the  early  settlers  of  being  not  only  cowardly,  but 
craftily  revengeful  and  treacherous.  Of  these  Winnebagoes  after 
their  removal  to  Iowa,  Spark's  History  of  Winneshiek  County 
says: 

"The  Winnebagoes  were  not  brave  and  chivalrous,  but  vindic- 
tive and  treacherous.  Instead  of  facing  a  foe  and  braving  danger, 
they  would  stealthily  steal  upon  him,  and  in  an  unguarded  moment, 
wreak  their  vengeance.  But  these  were  not  the  worst  features  in 
this  tribe.  They  possessed  vices  of  a  meaner  and  more  degrading 
nature.  They  united  the  art  of  stealing  to  that  of  lying.  Any- 
thing belonging  to  another  on  which  they  could  lay  their  pilfering 
fingers,  they  appropriated  to  their  own  use.  Their  lying  propen- 
sities Avere  proverbial.  They  regarded  the  white  man  Avith  envy, 
but  stood  in  such  fear  of  their  Indian  neighbors — the  Sacs  and 
Foxes — that  they  dare  not  oppose  him,  but  made  him  their  cham- 
pion and  protector  against  these  warlike  and  powerful  tribes. 
They  were  more  opulent  in  their  annuities  than  any  other  tribe  of 
Indians.  Besides  about  §1100,000  in  cash  and  goods  paid  them  an- 
nually, large  sums  were  expended  in  the  vain  attempts  to  educate 
and  christianize  them.  A  fcAv  among  them  could  read  and  write; 
but  in  proportion  as  they  improved  in  book  lore,  in  the  same,  and 
even  in  a  greater  ratio,  they  deteriorated  morally;  and  those  who 
enjoyed  the  greatest  advantages  were  the  most  Avorthless  and  de- 
graded of  their  tribe.  Every  attempt  that  has  been  made  to  civi- 
lize them,  has  sunk  them  loAver  in  the  scale  of  humanity-  At 
least  this  is  the  evidence  of  those  who  are  familiar  with  their 
history.  It  has  been  reduced  to  an  axiom,  by  observation  and  ex- 
perience, that  the  Indian  is  incapable  of  civilization,  except  in 
rare  cases.  They  are  gradually  and  surely  fading  aAvay.  The 
very  approach  of  civilization  is  a  poison  to  them,  from  the  ef- 
fects of  which  there  is  no  escape.  Its  operation  is  slow  but  sure, 
and  but  a  fcAv  years  will  have  made  their  annual  rounds  before 
the  race  Avill  be  numbered  Avith  the  things  of  the  past,  and  only 
known  in  history." 

The  Winnebagoes  being  of  such  a  character,  or  reputation,  at 
least,  it  seemed  all  the  more  necessary  that  there  should  be  an 
arm  of  the  General  Government  extended  toAvard   their  control, 


HISTORY    OF    WINN^ESHIEK   COUNTY.  lil 

and  a  garrison  e.:-tablishetl  in  their  midst.  And  so  Fort  Atkinson, 
situated  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  village  of  that  name  in  our 
county,  was  established.  Some  remains  of  the  old  fort  still  ex- 
ist. The  fort  was  named  after  the  famous  and  successful  fighter 
of  the  Indians,  General  Atkinson,  the  hero  of  the  Black  Hawk 
war,  and  was  commenced  on  the  2d  of  June,  1840,  about  fift}"- 
mechanics  being  employed  in  the  work.  It  was  intended  to  con- 
trol the  Indians  and  protect  them  from  bands  of  their  enemies,  as 
well  as  to  protect  the  settlers.  Further  particulars  in  regard  to  it, 
and  the  village  which  bears  its  name,  as  well  as  in  relation  to 
Old  Mission  and  Indian  farm  and  reservation,  established  in  1842 
by  Indian  Agent  Rev.  D.  Lowery,  about  five  miles  southwest  of 
Atkinson,  for  educating  and  civilizing  the  Indians,  will  be  found 
elsewhere  in  this  volume. 

WINKESHIEK  AND  DECORAH. 

Winneshiek,  the  ruling  chief  of  the  Winnebagoes,  soon  after 
their  removal  to  the  reservation  or  neutral  ground,  including 
what  is  now  known  as  Winneshiek  County,  did  not  become  chief 
through  royal  Indian  blood,  nor  because  of  bravery  or  prowess  in 
war.  He  was  made  chief  by  order  of  the  United  States  War  De- 
partment, on  account  of  his  ability  and  fitness  for  the  position. 
Under  him  as  head  chief,  there  were  several  chiefs  of  respective 
bands  into  which  the  nation  was  divided.  The  village  of  the  head 
chief,  Winneshiek,  extended  along  the  Upper  Iowa  River  for 
several  miles,  where  Decorah',is  now  located.  He  was  an  Indian  of 
remarkable  ability,  intelligence  and  good  sense,  tall,  straight,  well 
developed,  and  fine  looking,  and  confided  in  and  trusted  the 
whites,  whom  he  seemed  to  thoroughly  respect  as  they  did  him,  and 
could  speak  the  English  language  tolerably  well.  Judge  Murdock 
and  others,  who  were  acquainted  with  him,  and  who  have  heard 
him  deliver  several  speeche.^,  were  much  impressed  with  his  ability 
and  oratorical  genius.  His  face  would  light  up  with  the  fires  of 
excitement;  tone  and  gesture  would  add  to  the  effect  of  his  words; 
and  the  effect  on  his  hearers  was  thrilling  and  powerful. 

It  is  not  known  positively  whether  Winneshiek  is  still  living. 
There  was  a  rumor  of  his  death  some  years  ago,  but  it  has  not  been 
authentically  confirmed.  Whether  alive  or  not,  his  name  is  per- 
petuated in  being  given  to  our  county,  one  of  the  finest  and  best 
in  the  State.  In  accordance  with  the  polygamous  custom  of  the 
Winnebagoes,  Winneshiek  had  six  wives;  and  that  he  was  a  con- 
noisseur in  female  beauty  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  chose  the 
finest  looking  women  in  the  nation. 

Decorah,  our  beautiful  inland  citv,  and  county  seat  of  Winne- 
shiek County,  was  named  after  Waukon-Decorah,  one  of  the 
prominent  chiefs  of  the  Winnebagoes.  Our  neighboring  and 
thriving  village  of  Waukon  gained  its  name  from  the  first  half 
of  the  hyphenated  name  of  the  aforesaid  chieftain.     He  had  lost 


142  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

an  eye,  and  was  familiarly  known  by  the  whites  as  ''one-eyed 
Decorah.''  He,  like  Winneshiek,  was  an  eloquent  orator,  and 
would  sometimes  boast  of  having  white  blood  in  his  veins.  He 
had  two  brothers,  who.  as  well  as  he,  were  of  prominence  in  their 
tribe. 

The  following  quotation  is  from  a  speech  of  Decorah,  made  to 
the  Government  Commissioners  after  he  had  served  with  the 
Government  forces  in  the  Black  Hawk  war.  He  complained  that 
his  tribe  had  been  firm  friends  of  the  whites,  had  aided  them  in 
the  critical  war  against  Black  Hawk,  and  had  not  only  re- 
ceived in  return,  but  also  because  of  helping  their  white  brethren, 
had  promoted  the  enmity  of  other  Indians,  who  had  been  wreak- 
ing vengeance  upon  them.  He  said:  ''The  Sacs  hate  the  Win- 
nebagoes  for  helping  their  Great  Father,  and  when  peace  was 
made  with  the  whites  they  struck  at  the  Winnebagoes;  first  at  the 
family  of  the  speaker,  when  he  was  away  from  home  they  stole 
upon  his  lodge  and  killed  his  wife  and  children;  and  now  he 
thought  that  his  Great  Father  would  give  him  some  token  of  re- 
membrance of  his  services." 

What  are  said  to  be  the  remains  of  Decorah,  having  been  twice 
re-interred,  now  repose  in  the  Court  House  grounds,  near  the 
northeast  corner.  It  has  been  claimed  by  some  that  Waukon 
Decorah  is  still  living,  but  that  is  very  doubtful,  and  he  must 
have  been  a  very  old  mam  long  before  this  time.  The  site  of  the 
grave  of  the  alleged  Decorah,  above  referred  to,  was,  it  is  reported, 
often  visited  in  early  days  by  bands  of  Winnebago  Indians,  who 
came  back  to  their  old  homes  here  for  a  brief  visit. 

The  first  grave  of  Decorah  was  on  ground  now  occupied  by 
Winnebago  Street,  just  below  Main,  almost  at  their  intersection, 
and  therefore  in  front  of  the  present  St.  Cloud  Hotel.  The  open- 
ing of  the  street  to  travel,  made  it  desirable  that  the  remains  be 
removed  to  another  spot.  This  was  done  by  a  formal  meeting  of 
prominent  citizens  on  Aug.  4,  1859.  Below  is  the  report  of  that 
meeting  by  the  secretary  thereof,  as  afterwards  published : 

''Decorah,  August  4,  1859. 

"The  citizens  of  Decorah  assembled  at  the  grave  of  the  Indian 
Chieftain,  'Decorah',  marked  by  the  decaying  bark  and  wood  that 
lay  over  it,  and  on   motion  of  Rev.  E.  Adams,  Dr.  J.  M.   Green 
was  chosen  moderator  and  T.  W.  Burdick  was  appointed  secre- 
tary. 

"After  the  examination  of  the  grave  it  Avas  on  motion  re- 
solved that  the  remains  of  the  Chieftain  be  disinterred. 

"The  grave  being  at  the  intersection,  and  within  the  limits 
of  Main  and  Winnebago  streets,  and  if  not  removed  must  soon 
give  place  to  the  use  of  these  streets  for  the  travel  and  com- 
merce of  the  white  man. 

"Thereupon  those  present  proceeded  to  exhume  the  body. 
Only  bones  remained.     On  motion  of  Rev.  Adams,  a  committee 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  143 

consisting  of  D.  B.  Ellsworth,  R.  F.  Gibson  and  Nathaniel 
Otis,  were  appointed  to  provide  a  suitable  receptacle  for  the  re- 
mains, and  hold  the  same  subject  to  the  order  of  the  citizens 
meeting. 

"On  motion  a  committe  was  appointed  to  raise  funds  to  obtain 
a  suitable  monument,  and  erect  a  fence  to  mark  the  grave. 

"The  committee  appointed  took  charge  of  the  remains,  and  on 
jnotion  the  meeting  adjourned. 

T.  W.  BuRDiCK.  Secretary." 

In  this  new  grave  on  the  Court  House  grounds,  the  remains  lay 
undisturbed  for  about  seventeen  years.  But  the  grading  and  ter- 
racing of  the  grounds  and  the  building  of  the  new  stone  wall,  a 
solid,  substantial,  structure,  still  comparatively  new,  compelled 
another  resurrection  and  re-interment  in  the  summer  of  1876. 
The  following  in  relation  thereto  is  from  the  Decorah  Bee^  June 
13,  1876: 

"Decorah  has  been  resurrected.  We  do  not  mean  thisbeautifu 
little  citv,  but  the  bones  of  the  noble  chieftain  after  whom  it  is 
named.  On  Tuesday  morning  the  workmen  engaged  in  grading 
and  excavating  for  a  new  stone  wall  and  sidewalk  on  the  Main 
street  side  of  the  Court  House  grounds,  came  across  the  remains 
of  an  old  cotfin  containing  some  human  bones,  rusty  scalping- 
knife,  and  tomahawk  and  pipe.  They  were  some  three  feet  from 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  just  inside  the  old  Avail,  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  courtyard.  That  they  are  the  bones  of  the  old 
Indian  chief,  Decorah,  we  are  assured  by  old  residents,  from  whom 
we  learn  the  following  facts: 

About  seventeen  years  ago,  Winnebago  street  being  about  to  be 
opened,  a  grave,  situated  where  now  is  about  the  middle  of  the 
street  in  front  of  the  post-office  and  known  as  the  grave  of  De- 
corah. was  opened  and  the  remains,  consisting  of  human  bones,  a 
blanket,  tomahawk,  pipe,  and  a  lot  of  beads  taken  out,  buried  in 
Ellsworth  &  Landers'  store  for  about  six  months,  till  the  stone  wall 
in  front  of  the  Court  House  yard  was  completed,  when  they  were 
buried  where  now  found.'' 

"It  is  held  as  conclusive  proof  of  this  being  the  remains  of 
Decorah,  that  the  Indians  of  his  tribe  frequently  assembled  about 
that  early  grave,  whence  the  remains  have  since  been  removed, 
performed  their  mournful  rites,  and  that  they  called  it  the  grave 
of  Decorah. 

"Only  a  portion  of  the  bones  of  the  body  were  found  to  have  sur- 
vived the  devastating  hand  of  time,  were  taken  out,  and  placed  in 
a  box  to  be  hurried  again  inside  the  new  stone  wall  when  built. 

"Quite  a  crowd  of  people  assembled  to  look  at  those  poor  re- 
mains of  the  proud  chieftain  whose  spirit  hath  departed.  Lo 
these  many  3"ears." 

The  action  of  the  old  settlers  noted  above  in  the  report  of  the 
secretary  of  the  meeting  of  1859,  which  exhumed  the  supposed  re- 


144  HISTORY    OF    "WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

mains  of  Decorali,  would  be  considered  pretty  good  evidence  of 
their  genuineness;  but  the  despoiling  hand  of  the  inconoclast  is 
made  to  appear  to  throw  doubt  over  the  historic  stories,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  tale  of  the  saving  of  John  Smith  by  the  dusky  prin- 
cess Pocahontas,  and  the  equally  sacred  tradition  of  Washington 
and  his  hatchet.  It  will  be  seen  that  even  a  prominent  actor  in 
the  first  resurrection  of  the  remains  of  Decorah  was  befogged 
with  donbts  by  the  spreading  of  rumors  that  Decorah  was  stilj 
living.  For  in  a  sermon,  entitled,  "First  Things  of  Decorah," 
preached  not  long  after  this  first  exhuming,  the  Rev.  E.  Adams  said: 
"Some  may  recollect  how  our  bosoms  swelled  with  respect  for 
the  old  chief;  with  what  reverence  we  exhumed  his  remains;  how, 
in  imagination,  we  beheld  his  noble  form,  as  his  skull,  with  its 
straight,  black  hair,  was  turned  out  by  the  spade;  Avith  what 
pomp  and  ceremony  it  was  planned  to  remove  his  remains  to  some 
suitable  place,  possibly  a  monument  erected — till,  in  gathering 
necessary  facts  for  the  occasion,  word  came  back  to  us  that  De- 
corah was  a  chief  greatly  respected  by  his  tribe,  an  old  man,  con- 
siderably bent  over,  with  one  eye  put  out,  and  his  haiT  very  gray. 
His  hair  very  gray!  All  but  this  could  have  been  got  along  with, 
but  somehow  the  poetry  was  gone!  Enthusiam  subsided!  How- 
ever, if  in  future  years,  by  the  lapse  of  time,  this  difficulty  should 
be  obliterated,  and  any  desire  should  remain  to  erect  a  monument 
to  the  old  chief,  they  can  find  his  bones,  or  those  of  some  other 
poor  Indian,  safely  deposited  in  a  rough  box  a  few  inches  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  close  to  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
Court  House  yard." 

CUSTOMS,    INCIDENTS,    TRAGEDIES. 

As  has  already  been  intimated,  the  Winnebagoes  practiced 
polygamy,  and  their  manner  of  wooing  was  not  much  tinctured 
with  a  comprehension  of  the  idea  of  the  equality  of  the  sexes; 
nor  did  the  marriage  ceremony  have  enough  of  form  or  ceremony 
as  to  have  been  considered  satifactorily  binding,  if  the  contracting 
parties  had  been  whites.  The  Indian  brave  opened  his  suit  not  with 
the  dusky  daffis?l,  but  with  her  parents,  and  as  persuasive  argu- 
ments, gave  them  such  presents  as  his  ability  or  liberality  ofi'ered. 
If  the  paternal  copper-colored  '"lord  of  creation"  was  willing,  the 
matter  was  considered  settled,  and  the  bride  would  be  borne  away 
to  the  lodge  of  the  wooer,  whether  she  wished  it  ©r  not. 

The  funeral  services  were  simple  and  devoid  of  form,  the  body 
of  the  deceased  being  wrapped  in  his  blankets,  and  buried  in  a 
reclining  position  in  a  shallow  grave.  The  period  and  profuse- 
ness  of  mourning  varied,  and  is  said  to  have  depended  on  the 
anlount  of  whisky  on  hand,  or  provided  for  the  occasion. 

In  the  early  settlements  of  this  country,  as  at  present  on  the 
frontier,  "fire  water"  was  the  great  curse  of  the  Indians.  In 
many  cases,  a  despicable  white  under  the  guise  of  an  Indian  teach- 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  14:5 

(sr,  made  his  real  business  the  selling  of  whisky  to  the  Indians. 
He  would  secrete  his  stock  of  Avhisky  in  some  grove  or  out  of  the 
way  place  near  enough  to  the  whites  for  protection. 

The  Winnebago  settlement  on  the  reservation  was  not  one  to 
be  neglected  by  this  class  of  people,  who,  not  allowed  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  come  on  to  the  reservation,  came  as  near  to  its  boun- 
daries as  they  dared.  Two  of  these  characters  and  the  murders 
resulting  from  their  evil  practices,  are  thus  described  in  Spark's 
history: 

"Taft  Jones  was  an  individual  of  this  character.  He  hailed 
from  Fort  Crawford,  and  located  a  trading  post  in  the  vicinity  of 
Monona,  giving  it  the  name  of  'Sodom.'  Another  genius,  named 
Grraham  Thorn,  started  a  trading  post  in  close  proximity  to  Sod- 
om, and  called  it  'Gomorrah.'  The  Indians  used  to  frequent  these 
places,  and,  of  course,  usually  got  badly  cheated.  It  is  a  matter 
of  recollection  that  ouce  in  a  trial  before  Hon.  T.  S.  Wilson,  the 
first  judge  of  this  part  of  the  country,  a  witness  testified  to  things 
that  happened  at  Sodom  and  Gromon-ah.  The  Judge  was  disposed 
to  become  indignant,  and  asked,  somewhat  pointedly,  if  the  wit- 
ness was  not  imposing  on  the  Court.  The  reply  was  given  by 
Judge  Murdock,  then  a  young  attorney,  'Oh,  no,  your  Honor; 
these  places  do  actually  exist.'  The  old  mayor  of  Sodom  crossed 
long  since  to  the  other  side  of  Jordan." 

During  the  sojourn  of  the  Indians  on  their  resarvation  three 
murders  were  committed,  to  wit:  that  of  the  Gardner  family,  in 
Fayette  county;  of  Riley,  near  Monona;  and  of  Hereby,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Volga,  In  all  of  these  cases  whisky  Avas  the  in- 
citing cause,  and  some  of  the  parties  undoubtedly  deserved  their 
fate.  In  the  Riley  case,  a  small  party  of  Indians  were  encamped 
on  a  tributary  of  the  Yellowstone  river,  four  or  five  miles  from 
Monona.  An  old  Indian  visited  Taft  Jones'  den,  at  Sodom,  and 
(as  many  a  "paleface"  has  since  done  in  similar  cases)  traded  all 
his  worldly  effects  for  whisky.  He  even  sold  the  blanket  from  his 
shoulders.  Becoming  intoxicated,  he  was  turned  out  of  doors,  and 
on  his  way  to  his  lodge  died  from  exposure  and  cold.  The  next 
morning  his  son,  a  youth  of  about  twenty  summers,  found  the 
dead  body  of  his  father  lying  out  in  the  snow,  naked  and  frozen. 
His  revengeful  feelings  were  aroused,  and  going  to  the  whisky 
den  at  Gomorrah,  he  shot  at  the  first  man  he  saw  through  the 
window.  Unfortunately  it  happened  to  be  an  inoffensive  man 
named  Riley.  A  detachment  of  troops  under  command  of  Lieut. 
David  S.  Wilson,  late  Judge  of  Dubuque  Circuit  Court,  was  sent 
out  to  capture  the  Indian  who  committed  the  murder.  He  was 
apprehended,  taken  to  Fort  Atkinson,  and  confined  in  the  guard- 
house, but  by  the  connivance  of  a  sympathizing  white  man  he  es- 
caped and  was  never  recaptured.  Jones  lived  but  a  short  time 
after  this  occurrence.  Dr.  Andros,  of  this  city,  witnessed  his 
death  and  descrD^es  it   as   follows:      'I  was  travelling  from  Fort 


14G  HISTORY    OF   "^^'IXXESHIEK    COrXTY. 

Atkinson  to  Prairie  du  Cliieu,  and  as  I  was  passing  by  Sodom  I 
was  called  in  to  see  Taffy  Jones.  I  found  him  on  his  bed  in  a 
miserable  condition,  and  dying  from  chronic  alcoholism.  His 
countenance  was  horrible  to  look  upon.  He  seemed  to  have  but 
one  thought,  one  wish.  His  only  cry  was  whisky!  whisky! 
whisky !  I  told  Thorn,  who  was  his  right  bower,  that  Taify  was 
dying,  and  to  gratify  his  last  wish.  A  tumbler  of  whisky  was 
placed  to  his  lips,  and  he  swallowed  it  with  all  the  gusto  that 
marks  the  smallest  babe  while  drawing  nourishment  from  the 
breast  of  its  mother.  In  a  few  hours  he  died,  a  striking  illustra- 
tion of  the  the  old  adage/ 'the  ruling  passion  strong  in  death.''  The 
murder  of  the  Gardner  family  Avas  caused  by  whisky.  Gardner 
kept  a  whisky  shop,  and  it  seems  a  number  of  Indians  called  at 
his  place  for  their  favorite  beverage.  He  dealt  out  the  whisky  to 
them  until  they  became  intoxicated,  and  he,  becoming  alarmed, 
refused  to  let  them  have  any  more.  They  then  determined  to 
take  the  whisky  by  force,  whereupon  Gardner  offered  resistance. 
He  was  seized  by  the  demons  and  dispatched.  His  defenseless  wife 
and  innocent  babe  were  next  assassinated,  and  his  daughter,  a 
beautiful  girl  about  twelve  years  old,  was  reserved  for  a  more 
terrible  fate." 

Of  the  bands   of  Winnebagoes  and  the  difficulties  of  their  re- 
moval. Sparks'  history  says: 

"At  the  time  the  Winnebagoes  Avere  removed  they  numbered 
about  four  thousand,  and  were  scattered  over  their  reservation,  or 
what  was  then  called  'the  neutral  ground.'  Four  bands  were 
located  near  the  Fort  and  Agency.  The  other  bauds  were  located 
more  remote.  Where  the  city  of  Decorah  now  stands  was  a  large 
band  under  the  government  of  the  hereditary  chief  Decorah; 
hence  the  name.  This  country  was  at  that  time  an  Indian  para- 
dise, abounding  in  fish  and  game.  The  sale  of  their  lands  to  the 
Government  by  their  chiefs,  and  their  acceptance  of  a  new  home 
in  Minnesota,  was  very  unsatisfactory  to  the  Indians  themselves. 
For  a  long  time  they  refused  to  comply  with  the  agreement  en- 
tered into  by  their  chiefs,  and  only  consented  when  compelled  by 
force  of  United  States  troops.  Owing  to  their  reluctance  to  re- 
move, the  whole  summer  was  spent  in  their  ejection.  One  band, 
governed  by  a  chief  called  the  'The  Dandy,'  Avould  not  go  upon 
the  land  assigned  them,  but  returned  Avith  their  chief  to  Black 
River,  Wisconsin,  where  they  remained  till  the  summer  of  1874, 
Avhen  they  were  finally  removed  (at  a  great  expense  to  the  Gov- 
ernment) to  the  home  of  the  tribe  west  of  the  Missouri.  But 
they  had  remained  on  their  neAV  hunting  grounds  but  a  few 
months  when  they  again  returned  to  their  old  homes." 

The  remainder  of  this  chapter,  describing  Indian  life  and  an- 
other bloody  tragedy  caused  by  selling  whisky  to  the  Indians,  is 
from  a  series  of  papers  being  published  in  the  Decorah  Journal 
on  pioneer  life  in  this  region : 


HISTORY    OF    WIXXESHIEK    COUNTY.  147 

"The  character  of  the  Indians,  as  written  by  their  distant  ad- 
mirers, or  their  near  enemies,  has  been  both  overrated  and  under- 
rated. How  shall  I  describe  them? — a  mixture  of  savage  barbar- 
ism and  of  'civilization,'  as  learned  from  the  whites.  This  is  about 
what  the  pioneers  found  them  to  be.  They  are  either  warm  and 
trusty  friends,  or  bitter,  treacherous  and  blood-thirsty  enemies. 
That  is  their  savage  nature.  They  are  inveterate  beggars,  liars 
and  thieves;  a  part  of  this  is  nature,  and  a  part  Avas  learned  from 
their  white  brothers.  They  are  lazy,  dirty  and  shiftless.  They 
are  brave,  chaste  and  constant  in  their  marital  relations.  They 
are  true  to  their  tribe  and  those  who  befriend  them,  but  revenge- 
ful and  unforgiving  to  their  enemies.  How  much  of  this  is  na- 
ture, and  how  much  is  learned  from  the  pale  faces,  I  leave  to  the 
reader  to  say. 

"With  the  coming  of  the  whites,  the  habits  of  the  Indians  un- 
derwent something  of  a  change.  They  learned  to  prize  money 
and  to  covet  its  possession,  provided  it  could  be  gained  without 
much  labor.  Their  wants  gi-ew  to  be  more  numerous  as  the  abil- 
ity to  supply  them  increased.  They  were  still  hunters,  as  they 
had  always  been,  but  to  this  was  added  a  few  other  pursuits 
whereby  money  could  be  obtained.  But  in  this  the  principle  la- 
bor fell  upon  the  squaws.  The  braves  would  hunt  and  fish,  and 
would  sell  their  furs,  which  always  commanded  good  prices,  while 
the  deer  skins  would  be  tanned  b}'^  the  squaws,  and  often  manu- 
factured into  moccasins,  many  of  them  tastefully  beaded  and  orna- 
mented. For  thread  they  used  the  sinews  of  the  deer,  and  their 
work  was  both  substantial  and  neat.  These  moccasins  were  favor- 
ite foot  wear  for  the  pioneers,  both  men  and  women,  and  for  com- 
fort they  cannot  easily  be  surpassed,  and  a  pretty  foot  never 
looked  prettier  than  when  dressed  in  a  neat  fitting  Indian  moc- 
casin. No  white  person  could  ever  give  a  softer  finish  to  a  deer 
skin  than  do  the  squaws.     In  this  they  surpass  all  others. 

"The  gathering  of  wild  berries,  and  of  wild  rice,  also  contributed 
considerably  toward  supplying  their  wants.  In  summer  a  small 
patch  of  Indian  corn,  and  sometimes  of  potatoes,  would  be  culti- 
vated. In  this,  also,  the  squaws  performed  the  most  of  the  labor, 
while  the  braves  wandered  off"  on  hunting  or  fishing  expeditions. 

"But  few  persons  living  in  countries  Avhere  a  wild  Indian  is 
seldom  or  never  seen,  having  anything  like  a  correct  idea  of  the 
kind  of  life  these  people  really  lead.  Mmy  imagine  that  theirs  is 
a  happy  care-free  life,  free  from  all  restraint,  and  that  as  he  roams 
at  will  over  the  vast  free  forest  of  the  west,  his  must  be  a  life  to 
be  envied  by  civilized  men  and  women.  Let  us  look  for  a  mo- 
ment at  the  reality, 

"In  summer  the  Indian  life  may  be  said  to  be  at  its  best,  but 
even  then  hunger  is  not  an  unknown  or  even  an  unfrequent  guest. 
Then  the  Indians  settle  down  in  groups,  or  families,  erect  their 
wigwams,  and   there  remain  while  their   small  patch  of  corn   is 


148  HISTORY   OF    WIXNESHIEK   COUN"TY, 

cultivated,  berries  gathered,  etc.  In  the  autumn  they  remove  to 
the  rice  fields,  which  lie  to  the  north.  The  wild  rice  forms  one  of 
the  chief  articles  on  which  they  subsist,  and  if  this  crop  fails,  as 
is  often  the  case,  it  is  the  cause  of  great  destitution  and  suffering. 
Throughout  the  winter  the  Indians  are  frecjuently  on  the  move 
going  to  new  regions  in  quest  of  game,  or  for  other  reasons.  I 
will  relate  a  couple  or  incidents  which  moved  my  heart  to  pity  for 
these  poor  creatures: 

"It  was  a  bitter  cold  morning  in  January.  A  party  of  five  or 
six  were  traveling  by  stage,  and  though  thickly  and  comfortably 
clothed,  and  snugly  tucked  up  with  buffalo  robes,  all  were  com- 
plaining of  the  cold.  We  were  passing  over  a  bleak  prairie  where 
the  wind  blew  a  perfect  gale,  when  we  came  upon  a  party  of  In- 
dians who  had  just  broken  camp  and  were  moving  to  some  new 
locality.  There  were  about  twenty  in  the  company,  consisting  of 
men,  women  and  children.  There  were  two  or  three  Indian  pon- 
ies loaded  with  camp  equipage,  and  on  these  ponies  were  mounted 
some  of  the  smaller  children,  though  boys,  down  to  the  ages  of 
eight  or  nine  years,  together  with  the  squaws,  plodded  through 
two  feet  of  snow  as  best  they  might,  their  route  lying  across  the 
prairie  and  not  in  the  direction  the  road  ran.  The  Indians  walked 
erect,  carrying  only  their  guns,  but  the  squaws,  and  even  the  chil- 
dren, were  bent  down  with  heavy  loads,  carrying  not  only  the 
camp  supplies,  but  also  the  woven  bark  of  which  their  wigwams 
were  made,  strapped  upon  their  backs. 

"The  Indians  were  dressed  in  buckskin  leggins  with  moccasins 
of  the  same  material.  A  thin  calico  shirt  was  the  only  garment, 
from  the  waist  up.  The  squaws  were  similarly  dressed,  with  the 
addition  of  a  woolen  shirt  that  reached  just  below  the  knees.  The 
heads  of  all  were  uncovered,  and  around  the  form  of  each  was 
loosely  drawn  a  large  blanket,  which  it  seemed  to  us  might  have 
afforded  greater  protection  had  it  been  more  closely  drawn,  or  se- 
cured with  our  own  indispensable  pins.  The  dark,  slender  hands 
of  all  were  wholly  unprotected.  Two  or  three  of  the  squaws  had 
little  pappooses  strapped  upon  their  backs  who  cried  piteously, 
very  much  as  a  little  hu^nanhahj  would  have  done. 

"And  this  party  of  wanderers  would  plod  a  long  until  hunger  and 
weariness  would  overtake  them.  Then,  on  that  cold  winter's 
day,  they  would  scrape  away  the  heavy  snow,  would  undo  the 
rolls  of  bark  matting,  which  must  afford  but  a  poor  protection 
from  the  cold,  gather  sticks  and  brush  and  build  a  fire,  and  then, 
after  cooking  and  eating  a  simple  meal,  would  spread  their 
blankets  and  lie  down  on  the  cold,  frozen  ground,  to  sleep  and 
rest.  After  thinking  of  all  this,  and  of  the  warm  fire  and  smok- 
ing meal  that  would  await  us  at  the  hotel  not  far  distant,  there 
was  not  much  more  complaint  among  us. 

"One  chilly  night,  late  in  autumn,  word  was  brought  that  a 
party  of  Indians  were  encamped  in  a  grove  near  by.     Although 


HItiTOKY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  149 

there  are  large  Indian  settlements  a  little  ways  to  the  north,  an 
Indian  f^amp  in  our  midst  is  sufficiently  rare  to  attract  some  at- 
tention. So  that  evening,  taking  a  few  presents  as  a  peace-ofi'er- 
ing,  a  party  set  out  to  pay  the  encampment  a  visit.  A  blazing 
fire  guided  us  to  the  spot.  About  the  fire,  over  which  a  kettle 
hung  suspended,  were  a  group  of  ten,  all  seated  on  the  ground — • 
six  Indians  and  four  squaws.  The  Indians  were  smoking  their 
pipes  with  stolid  countenances,  while  the  squaws  tiad  their  blank- 
ets drawn  up  over  their  heads,  and  their  heads  resting  on  their 
hands,  seemed  indifferent  to  everything  in  life.  An  effort  at  con- 
versation elicited  only  a  grunt,  and  a  declaration  in  the  Indian 
tongue  that  they  could  not  speak  English;  a  statement  which  we 
very  much  doubted,  as  it  is  an  Indian  trick  to  feign  ignorance  of 
our  language,  even  when  well  understood.  A  presentation  of  our 
gifts  aroused  a  little  life,  and  a  chatter  in  the  Indian  tongue. 

^'The  kettle  was  boiling  slowly,  and,  being  uncovered,  was  seen 
to  contain  a  piece  of  meat,  some  potatoes,  and  some  pieces  of 
black  bread,  all  boiling  together,  and  would  form  a  not  unsavory 
meal.  When  cooked  it  would  be  set  out  on  the  ground,  and  the 
group  squatted  around  would  dip  out  morsels  and  eat  them  from 
their  fingers.  Then,Avith  blankets  drawn  around  them,  and  with 
heads  toward  the  fire,  and  with  no  shelter  save  the  cold,  starry 
heavens,  they  would  sleep  until  morning.  Possibly  they  would 
partake  of  the  remnants  of  last  night's  meal,  and  at  early  dawn 
would  be  again  on  the  trail,  and  not  until  twenty-five  or  thirty 
miles  were  accomplished  would  they  again  stop  to  rest.  Our 
homes  never  seem  warmer  or  more  comfortable,  or  our  beds  softer 
or  more  downy,  than  when  on  some  cold,  chilly  night  we  think 
of  a  visit  to  an  Indian  encampment. 

''Does  any  one  wonder,  with  all  their  suft'ering  and  privation, 
with  wars  waged  among  them,  and  with  the  white  man's  'fire- 
water' dealing  ruin  and  death  in  their  midst,  that  he  is  fact  dying 
out? 

"Sometimes  the  savagen  ature  of  the  Indians  would  burst  forth, 
like  a  prisoned  volcano,  and  culminate  in  deeds  of  bloodshed 
and  murder  so  horrible  as  to  strike  terror  to  the  stoutest  hearts.  In 
recording  these  deeds  of  carnage  the  blame  cannot  be  said  to  rest 
wholly  upon  the  savages.  They  are  generally  inclined  to  be  friendly 
with  the  whites  when  treated  with  kindness  and  justice.  Some 
of  their  most  atrocious  acts  of  cruelty  may  rather  be  attributed  to 
drunken  frenzy,  than  to  either  injustice  on  the  part  of  the  whites, 
or  savage  barbarity  on  the  part  of  the  Indians.  Of  this  class 
was  one  of  their  most  fiendish  murders,  known  as  the  Tea-Garden 
murder. 

"There  lived  in  one  of  the  northwestern  counties  of  Iowa  a 
Frenchman  named  Tea-Garden.  The  country  was  very  wild,  with 
only  a  few  white  families  scattered  through  a  wide  extent  of  ter- 
ritory.   His  family  consisted  of  his  wife — a  very  estimable  woman. 


150  HISTOKY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

aud  four  children — two  boys,  aged  respectively  eiojlit  and 
eleven  years  of  age,  a  girl  of  six  years  of  age,  annd 
an  infant  child.  Tea-Garden  kept  a  trading  post  and 
dealt  with  the  Indians,  who  were  much  more  numerous 
than  the  whites.  He  soon  found  that  although  they  cov- 
eted beads  and  other  trinkets,  there  was  one  article  which 
found  much  more  ready  sale  than  any  other,  and  for  which  an  In- 
dian would  sacrifice  almost  anything  he  possessed.  This  article 
was  called  in  the  Indian  tongue  'Poch-a-ninna,'  the  literal  sig- 
nification of  which  is  'fire-water,"  in  plain  English,  Avhisky.  He 
was  not  a  man  of  much  principle,  and  though  the  sale  of  liquor 
to  the  Indians  was  strictly  against  the  laws  of  the  territory,  he  soon 
came  to  dispense  the  fiery  fluid  with  a  freedom  that  was  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Indians'  capability  of  paying  for  it. 

'•But  few  men  can  handle  fire-brands  without  themselves  being 
scorched.  But  few  can  deal  out  poison  without  themselves  feel- 
ing its  direful  effects,  and  Tea -Garden  did  not  prove  to  be  one  of 
the  few.  Having  a  natural  liking  for  the  vile  stuff,  with  him  to 
handle  was  to  taste,  and  he  soon  came  to  drink  freely  with  his 
customers,  be  they  either  whites  or  Indians,  and  in  a  short  time 
he  became  a  drunkard  and  a  sot,  with  scarcely  a  spark  of  man- 
hood left. 

"He  abused  his  family,  his  helpless  children,  and  his  faithful 
wife,  who  clung  to  what  little  of  manhood  he  yet  possessed. 
There  was  one  of  the  hangers-on  around  this  drinking  place,  an 
Irishman  named  Mahone  who,  although  a  good  aud  kind-hearted 
man,  had  yielded  to  his  appetite  for  liquor  until  he,  too,  had  be- 
come a  confirmed  drunkard,  and  having  no  family  ties,  cared  but 
little  for  anything  save  the  gratification  of  his  appetite  for  liquor. 

"One  day  liquor  had  flowed  more  freely  than  usual,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence Tea-Garden  had  been  more  abusive  than  ever.  He  had 
beaten  both  his  wife  and  his  children,  Avho  cowered  before  his 
drunken  wrath.  In  the  course  of  their  drunken  revelry  it  was  pro- 
posed that  Mahone  purchase  Tea-Garden's  wife.  This  was  acceded 
to,  and  the  price  being  agreed  on,  the  money  was  paid  over  and  a  pa- 
per made  out  declaring  Mahone  the  rightful  owner  of  the'chattel.' 

"Mahone  had  a  genuine  respect  for  the  woman,  and  being  par- 
tially sober  the  next  morning,  approached  the  woman  and  frankly 
stated  the  bargain.  Said  he:  'According  to  the  custom  of  this  rough 
country,  I  suppose  that  I  might  claim  you  and  make  you  trouble, 
but  I  wish  nothing  but  to  see  you  in  a  happier  situation  than  you 
are  here.  You  have  friends  to  whom  you  can  go  and  who  will 
gladly  receive  you.  Go,  and  I  will  protect  you  in  so  doing.'  She 
Avas  glad  to  accept  the  offer,  and  taking  the  youngest  child  with 
her,  went  to  her  friends,  leaving  the  other  children  until  she  could 
find  means  to  provide  for  them.  This  explains  how  there  came  to 
be  only  drunken  Indians,  and  whites,  and  small  children  at  this 
trading  post  at  the  time  of  the  tragedy. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  151 

''Tlie  two  men,  Tea-Garden  and  Mahone,  kept  togetlier,  drinking 
and  carousing,  and  selling  liquor  to  the  Indians,  sinking  lower  and 
lower  in  the  scale  of  humanity.  The  Indians'  money  went  into 
the  white  man's  pocket  as  freely  as  ever,  but  there  began  to  be  low 
mutterings  of  discontent,  mingled  with  the  drunken  dance  and 
whoop.     A  storm  was  gathering  but  its  omens  were    not  heeded. 

"One  day  in  mid-winter,  a  gang  of  Indians  had  been  at  the  post 
all  day,  drinking  and  carousing.  The  host  and  his  companion, 
Mahone,  had  drank  with  them,  and  were  even  more  under  the  in- 
fluence of  liquor  than  their  guests.  Night  came  on  and  the  chil- 
dren were  sent  supperless  to  bed.  The  children  were  frightened 
and  hungry,  and  were  lying  in  bed  awake  listening  to  all  that  was 
going  on  around  them.  They  knew  that  their  father  and  Mahone 
were  asleep  by  their  heavy  breathing,  but  the  Indians  were  awake 
and  talking  angrily  in  their  own  language,  which  the  children 
well  understood.  They  were  telling  how  they  had  been  cheated 
by  Tea-Garden,  and  as  their  anger  increased  the  children  heard 
these  savages  plan  the  murder  of  the  whole  family  while  they 
slept.  The  three  were  in  one  bed,  and  the  little  girl  of  six  was 
the  only  one  that  slept.  The  oldest  boy  drew  the  bedclothes  up 
over  her  head  in  the  hope  that  by  so  doing  she  might  be  unnoticed 
and  so  escape  the  massacre  that  awaited  them.  Trembling  with 
fear  the  boys  dared  not  speak  or  stir,  but  no  word  or  movement 
escaped  them.  They  saw  one  of  the  Indians  take  up  an  ax  from 
the  corner,  try  its  edge,  and  then  saw  it  descend,  crashing  through 
the  brain  of  their  father.  They  saw  it  raised,  and  again  descend, 
in  like  manner,  above  the  prostrate  form  of  Mahone.  Both  men 
passed  from  their  drunken  slumber  into  the  embrace  of  death 
without  a  sigh  or  a  struggle. 

"The  two  boys  lay  clasped  in  each  other's  arms,  horror-stricken 
at  the  scene.  For  fully  half  an  hour  they  lay  there,  gazing  on 
the  bloody  spectacle,  before  the  Indians  seemed  to  remember  their 
existence  and  came  toward  them.  True  to  their  savage  custom 
of  sparing  neither  women  nor  children,  they  prepared  to  finish 
their  hellish  work.  With  an  unerring  aim  the  ax  went  crashing 
through  the  skull  of  the  younger  boy.  The  elder  crept  beneath 
the  bed-clothes  in  terror,  and  as  the  ax  again  descended  it  crashed 
through  his  shoulder,  inflicting  a  severe  but  not  painful  wound, 
and  as,  with  almost  superhuman  fortitude  and  presence  of  mind, 
he  lay  perfectly  quiet,  the  Indians  did  not  take  the  trouble  to  see 
whether  they  had  quite  finished  their  work  or  not,  as  they  doubt- 
less would  have  done  had  they  been  sober.  The  little  girl  slept  on 
unnoticed  and  undisturbed.  The  drunken  orgies  increased,  while 
the  boy  of  eleven  years,  the  sole  witness  of  the  scene,  peered  out 
from  under  the  bed  clothes.  About  the  middle  of  the  night,  ac- 
cording to  the  Indian  custom,  the  bloodthirsty,  drunken  wretches 
stole  away,  having  first  kindled  a  fire  at  the  outer  Avails  of  the 
building.     The  brave  boy  listened   until   their  savage   yells   died 


152  HISTORY  OF  WINNESHIEK  COUNTY. 

away  in  the  distance,  then  rousing  his  sleeping  sister,  his  only  liv- 
ing companion  in  all  the  household,  the  two  set  out,  barefooted 
and  nearly  naked,  over  the  snow  to  the  nearest  neighbor's  house, 
a  mile  away.  With  that  bleeding,  gaping  wound  m  his  shoulder, 
partly  dragging  and  partly  carrying  his  little  sister,  the  boy  suc- 
ceeded at  last  in  reaching  the  friendly  shelter  of  the  neighbor's 
house.  But  the  hands  and  feet  of  both  the  boy  and  girl  were 
badly  frozen. 

"In  the  morning  neighbors  visited  the  scene  of  the  tragedy,  and 
found  only  the  ashes  and  smouldering  ruins  of  the  building,  and 
the  charred  bones  of  the  three  victims. 

"Both  the  girl  and  boy  grew  up — the  girl  to  brave,  noble 
womanhood.  The  boy,  even  before  he  reached  the  years  of  man- 
hood, became  a  wild  hunter,  who  told  no  tales  of  the  game  he 
sought.  But  whereever  his  hunting-grounds  lay,  there  might 
often  be  found  a  dead  Indian,  with  a  peculiar  mark,  as  if  killed  by 
the  same  unerring  aim.  None  but  himself  knew  the  number 
slain,  but  at  last  he  himself  fell  a  victim  to  his  life-long  foes. 


CHAPTER  III. 


Pioneer  Life;  Pioneer  Women;  An  Indian  Scare;  Oddities  of 
Bench  and  Bar;  Unique  Weddings;  Jumping  Claims;  Rather 
Crowded ;  Lost  in  the  Woods. 


There  are  many  reminiscences  of  pioneer  life  in  this  now  well 
peopled  and  thriving  country,  and  its  borders,  which,  told  by  com- 
fortable and  even  luxurious  firesides,  sound  like  the  telling  of  a 
dream,  or  like  the  pages  of  some  improbable  romance.  The  early 
settlers  are  fast  passing  away,  and  in  the  rapid  march  of  time,  the 
early  days,  with  their  hard  struggles,  their  privations,  their  quaint 
legends,  and  withal,  their  mirth  and  jollity  are  being  rapidly  for- 
gotten. 

There  are  those  in  the  older  States,  and  in  fact  in  all  countries, 
who  have  no  desire  to  remove  from  their  ancestral  homes,  who 
are  content  to  "live  where  their  fathers  lived — die  where  their 
fathers  died,"  but  the  natural  increase  of  population,  as  well  as 
the  tide  of  immigration  from  the  countries  of  Europe  would  make 
it  impracticable  for  all  to  do  this.  And  it  is  fortunate  that  a  large 
class  is  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  pioneer — with  the  earnest 
desire  to  seek  new  and  more  thinly  settled  countries,  and  carve  out 
a  fortune  or  win  a  comfortable  home  and  a  competency  for  them- 
selves.    This  spirit  and  steady  purpose  it  is  that  turned  the  prai- 


HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  153 

ries  and  forests  of  the  west  into  cultivated  farms,  and  caused  the 
beautiful  hills  and  valleys  of  our  county  to  teem  with  waving 
fields  of  grain,  swarm  with  flocks  and  herds,  be  made  beautiful 
Avith  fruits  and  flowers,  which  adorn  and  cheer  the  homes,  where 
but  a  few  years  ago  the  wild  Indian  sought  his  game,  and  was 
"monarch  of  all  he  surveyed."  All  honor  then,  to  the  sturdy  set- 
tlers who  in  braving  danger  as  well  as  solitude,  not  only  for  him- 
self but  also  for  those  he  loved,  to  become  an  independent  home 
winner,  has  done  so  much  to  open  up  the  land  for  those  who  fol- 
lowed in  his  footsteps,  or  who  in  later  years  came  after  him. 

PIONEER    WOMEN. 

But  if  we  honor  the  man  who  thus  cuts  loose  from  the  dear 
associations  of  his  early  home,  how  much  more  honor  is  due  to 
the  woman  who,  though  often  reared  in  the  lap  of  ease,  or  even 
luxury,  does  not  repine.  The  life  that  for  man  is  only  difficult, 
for  woman  is  truly  hard.  From  much  that  makes  frontier  life  ex- 
citing and  pleasant  to  men,  women  are  naturally  shut  out.  Her 
work  is  at  home.  It  is  woman  who  keeps  the  hearth-fires  glow- 
ing and  helps  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door,  not  always  an  imagin- 
ary wolf,  but  sometimes  a  wolf  of  real  flesh  and  blood.  It  is 
woman  that  spreads  the  hospitable  board  for  all  strangers  and 
travelers  and  gives  to  the  wilderness  cabin  the  life  and  light  of 
'home.  With  whatever  difficulty  the  way  of  man  as  a  pioneer 
was  beset,  at  his  side,  an  ever  ready  and  willing  helper,  was  woman. 

In  health,  a  friend  and  companion;  in  sickness,  a  physician, 
nurse  and  housekeeper,  all  in  one,  not  only  in  her  home,  but  also 
in  the  home  of  an  unfortunate  neighbor.  The  pioneer  woman 
was  always  busy,  generally  cheerful,  and  always  to  be  depended  on 
in  times  of  trial.  As  brave  as  modest,  they  turned  back  from  no 
difficulty,  they  feared  no  danger.  As  modest  as  brave,  they 
shrank  from  having  their  names  and  deeds  written  for  the  public. 
The  quiet  life  of  daily  toil  and  self-sacrifice  was  not  the  kind  of 
which  histories  are  made,  but  rather  the  life  which  livfes  in  the 
grateful  memory  of  those  who  knew  them.  The  following  from 
a  speech  before  an  old  settlers  meeting,  pays  such  a  deserved  trib- 
ute to  woman,  and  is  so  true  and  appropriate,  that  we  c^uoteit: 

"But  what  of  old  comrades  in  the  life  battles  in  the  wilderness 
that  was,  what  of  our  companions,  the  women  ?  Most  of  them 
had  been  delicately  reared,  and  were  accustomed  to  the  luxuries 
and  refinements  of  cultivated  society;  and  most  of  all  had  good 
homes  with  the  necessaries  and  conveniences  of  life  in  abundance, 
and  were  surrounded  by  kind  friends  and  dear  relatives.  To 
these  they  had  been  bred;  to  all  these  they  were  strongly  at- 
tached. But  these  ties  were  sundered,  these  homes  were  left  be- 
hind, w^hen  after  the  last  trunk  was  packed,  and  the  last  farwell 
was  sadly  uttered  they  set  their  faces  sadly  w^estward  for  a  new 
life  and  a  new  home,   they  knew  it   must  be  among  strangers. 


154  HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

The;^  shared  with  us  the  trial  of  the  journey,  the  weary  miles  of 
sunshine,  and  storm  as  we  journeyed  on  and  on-ward.  They  par- 
took with  us  the  coarse  fare  and  rude  accommodation  of  the  wag- 
on and  wayside,  the  canal  boat  and  the  steamer,  the  log  tavern  and 
the  bivouac  under  the  open  heaven,  all  this  they  encountered 
without  murmuring,  and  cheerfully.  And  when  late  in  autumn, 
or  early  in  spring  it  may  be  in  the  cold  storm  or  driving  mist  and 
chilly  winds  that  cut  to  the  bone,  they  took  their  departure  from 
the  last  outpost  of  civilization,  over  lonely  prairies,  or  through  the 
gloomy  forest,  over  the  dismal  roads,  beset  with  roots  or  stumps 
without  sign  of  cultivation,  or  human  habitation,  then  it  was,  the 
hour  of  bitter  trial  came  to  their  hearts;  then  it  was  that  amid 
their  loneliness,  and  utter  heart  desolation  the  dear  homes  and 
kindred  they  had  left,  rose  up  before  them,  and  through  the  tears 
they  look  down  upon  the  little  ones  who  cling  to  them.  But 
not  a  murmur,  not  a  word  of  complaint  or  regret  escaped  them. 
The  feelings  too  deep  for  utterance,  which  swelled  within  them, 
w^ere  smothered  in  their  bosoms.  When  we  at  last,  (some  later, 
some  earlier)  had  found  a  place  where  to  make  a  home  in  these 
pleasant  groves  and  prairies,  pleasant  to  us  men;  for  here  there 
were  herds  of  bounding  deer,  and  flocks  of  wild  fowl,  the  wolf 
and  sand-hill  crane,  and  game  large  and  small  to  give  us  sport. 
The  lakes  and  streams  abounded  in  fish,  and  we  could  take  them 
at  our  will.  The  country  was  all  open  and  free  to  roam  over,  as* 
one  great  park.  There  was  excitement  for  us  in  all  this;  suited 
to  our  rougher  natures  and  coarser  tastes.  We  could  roam  and 
fish  or  hunt,  as  we  pleased,  amid  the  freshness  and  beauties  of  na- 
ture. But  how  was  it  with  our  wives?  From  all  these  they  were 
excluded.  They  were  shut  up  with  their  children  in  log  cabins, 
when  they  were  fortunate  enough  to  get  them,  rude  huts  without 
floors  often,  and  not  unfrequently  without  doors  and  windows, 
while  the  cold  fierce  winds  of  dark  December  whistled  through 
them .  Frequently  they  were  covered  with  sticks  fastened  with 
poles,  between  which  the  stars  of  night  looked  down  upon  the 
faithful  mother  and  her  sleeping  infants,  here  in  one  small 
room,  filled  perhaps  with  smoke;  without  furniture,  except  a  lit- 
tle of  the  rudest  kind;  rough  slab  stools,  an  equally  rough  table, 
and  bedstead,  if  any,  made  of  poles  fastened  into  the  house,  no 
kitchen  utensils,  save  perhaps  a  skillet  and  a  frying  pan,  destitute 
of  crockery,  and  with  little  tinware,  they  were  called  upon  to  do 
unaided,  the  duties  of  a  housewife.  With  these  conveniences  and 
these  surroundings,  they  took  upon  them  for  weeks  and  months, 
and  even  for  years  the  burdens  of  their  households,  in  a  continued 
struggle  with  hindrances  and  perplexities.  These  were  the  heroic 
women  to  whom  our  hearts  did  homage;  and  I  should  fail  in  my 
duty,  at  this  time  if  in  the  roll  call  of  worthy  and  honorable 
names  they  should  not  be  remembered.  And  all  honor  to  these 
pioneer  women,  sa^^  we." 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  155 

AN"  INDIAN   SCARE. 


am 


^Wecaunot  now  realize  the  anxiety  nor  even  the  dangers  that 
beset  the  settlers  from  the  Indians,  particularly  at  the  time  of  In- 
dian outbreaks,  in  this  and  neighboring  States. 

A  contributor  to  the  Decorah  Journal  the  present  year,  in 
writing  of  pioneer  life,  thus  refers  to  an  occurrence  well  remem- 
bered by  old  settlers: 

"As  I  write  the  word  'Indians,'  memory  takes  me  back  to  the 
early  days  of  my  childhood  in  Decorah.  Again  I  see  a  rider  on  a 
foaming  steed  dash  along  Broadway,  as  I  did  twenty  or  more  years 
ago,  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  'The  Indians  are  coming!' 
Again  I  see  the  street  thronged  with  blanched-faced  men  and 
trembling  women,  running  to  and  fro  in  wild  excitement  and  gazing 
with  anxious  faces  off  into  the  west,  imagining  every  tree  a  red-skin, 
and  the  smoke  from  every  distant  chimney  a  sign  of  their  devas- 
tation. Again  I  hear  the  whispered  consultation  of  the  men  as 
to  the  best  means  of  protecting  their  loved  ones.  Again  I  feel 
my  hand  clasped  in  that  of  my  sainted  mother  as  1  toddle  along 
at  her  side,  down  Mill  street  hill,  across  the  old  red  bridge,  and 
over  to  West  Decorah — a  place  of  imagined  safety.  It  was  a 
false  alarm,  and  probably  faded  from  the  memory  of  many  of  our 
readers,  and  remembered  by  others  only  as  the  dim  recollection  of 
a  half  forgotten  dream.  But  it  comes  back  to  my  mind  to-night 
as  vividly  as  though  it  were  an  occurrence  of  yesterday.  Twenty 
years!  How  great  the  change!  Infants  then  in  their  mothers' 
arms  are  men  and  women  now;  the  young  are  middle  aged;  the 
middle  aged  old;  while  many  whom  we  knew  and  loved  have 
fallen  asleep  and  are  at  rest  in  the  silent  churchyard. 

AMUSING  REMINISCENCES. 

But  life  here  had  its  bright  and  hopeful  side,  and  with  all  the 
anxieties  and  trials  of  the  pioneers,  they  became  accustomed  to 
their  lot,  which  was  cheered  by  a  realization  of  what  they  were 
accomplishing,  and  by  amusing  and  sometimes  exciting  incidents 
or  episodes.  We  are  permitted  to  glean  the  following  from  a  lec- 
ture by  Judge  M.  V.  Burdick,  whose  residence  here,  and  famili- 
arity with  early  life,  and  wide  acquaintance  with  old  settlors,  has 
given  him  a  large  fund  of  information,  and  which  his  warm  and 
sympathetic  heart  and  command  of  language  has  given  him  a 
happy  way  of  expressing  himself.  The  first  anecdote  has  for  its 
leading  characters  the  judge  himself,  aud  another  well  known  at- 
torney and  ex-judge: 

"In  a  country  as  new  as  Iowa  was  in  1850,  there  is  always  con- 
siderable litigation,  and  a  young  lawyer,  even  though  he  dons  the 
plain  habiliments  of  a  farmer,  and  swings  the  axe  to  cut  the  logs 
that  build  his  cabin,  need  not  tarry  long  without  a  client.  At 
least,  I  found  it  so  on  my  arrival  in  Iowa.  In  a  busy  little  town 
that  gave  promise  of  ere  long  expanding  into  a  citv,  the  Turkey 

10 


156  HISTORY    OF   WINJfESHIEK    COUNTY. 

river  was  dammed  aud  a  saw-mill  erected  by  its  side.  The  mill 
and  dam  together  formed  a  foot-bridge  across  the  stream.  Hard 
by  the  mill  a  log  cabin  had  been  built,  in  which  a  family  lived 
and  a  store  was  kept.  The  merchant  and  the  miller  were  not  on 
friendly  terms,  and  so  the  miller  forbade  the  merchant  the  privi- 
lege of  passing  through  the  mill  or  across  the  dam.  The  mer- 
chant heeded  not  the  notice,  but  went  to  cross  the  river  in  the 
accustomed  route,  The  miller  kept  a  rifle  by  him  with  which  to 
prevent  intrusion.  If  miller  and  merchant  had  their  names  re- 
versed, the  latter  might  have  used  the  well  known  couplet  of 
Shakespeare: 

"Lay  on,  McDufF, 
And  damned  be  he  who  first  cries  hold — enough. 

But  as  it  was,  it  were  better  to  say,  "Layon  to  McDufl"."  Well 
the  miller  drew  the  rifle,  aimed  at  the  merchant,  and  blazed  away, 
the  ball  burying  itself  in  the  post  to  the  saw  frame.  The  mer- 
chant applied  to  the  youthful  attorney.  An  information,  charging 
the  miller  with  the  crime  of  assault  with  intent  to  commit  murder 
was  filed,  a  warrant  was  issued,  and  the  defendant  was  arrested  and 
brought  before  the  magistrate.  He  asked  time  to  send  to  a  neighbor- 
ing county  for  a  lawyer,  which  was  granted,  the  lawyer  came.  The 
examination  proceeded  with  the  circumstances  given  in  evidence, 
and  the  prosecution  closed.  The  attorney  for  the  defence  moved 
to  discharge  the  prisoner  because  the  prosecution  had  failed  to 
make  a  primafacie  case.  He  introduced  an  authority  to  the  efiect 
that  in  order  to  convict  of  the  crime,  it  was  necessary  to  prove 
that  the  gun  with  which  the  assault  was  made,  was  loaded  with 
powder  and  ball.  He  admitted  the  powder  part  had  been  proven, 
but  argued  that  there  was  no  proof  whatever  that  the  gun  con- 
tained a  ball.  The  young  attorney  protested  that  the  fact  that  the 
mill  post  had  been  hit  and  penetiated  by  some  hard  substance,  was 
proof  positive  that  the  gun  was  loaded  with  a  deadly  missile,  and 
that  this  was  sufiicient,  but  all  in  vain.  The  Justice  ruled  that 
the  law  said  it  must  be  proven  by  the  prosecution  that  the  gun 
was  loaded  with  powder  and  ball,  and  it  might  have  been  a  slug 
that  penetrated  the  post.  Would  you  know  where  these  events 
occurred?  It  was  not  "Sweet  Auburn,  loveliest  village  of  the 
plain,"  of  which  Goldsmith  speaks  in  his  peerless  poem,  "The 
Deserted  Village."  w^ould  you  know  the  lawyer  who  made  the  suc- 
cessful defense?  It  Avas  a  noble  defence  of  injured  innocence, 
and  on  my  part  an  ignoble  defeat." 

''You  have  heard  of  the  young  man  who,  in  writing  to  his  fath- 
er, told  him  to  come  out  west — for  very  mean  men  get  office  here." 
This  may  be  true,  for  I  have  held  office  several  times  myself. 
Men  are  frequently  elevated  to  positions  of  trust  who  are  illy 
qualified  to  perform  the  duties  required  of  them.  An  instance  in 
point  I  will  relate  though  it  smacks  very  strongly  of  profanity. 
A  man  was  on  trial  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  charged  with 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  157 

killing  a  neighbor's  dog.  The  defendant  was  called  as  a  witness, 
and  the  Justice  said,  "hold  up  your  right  hand."  "You  do  sol- 
emnly swear" — he  could  get  no  further.  He  "scratched  his  pate 
and  felt  for  brains."  Again  he  said,  "You  do  solemnly  swear." 
Again  he  paused;  the  oath  had  escaped  his  memory.  Despair  was 
deficted  in  every  lineament  of  his  countenance.  Large  drops  of 
perspiration  stood  upon  his  brow.  At  length  an  idea  struck  him; 
his  countenance  beamed  with  intelligence,  and  with  the  gravity 
becoming  the  solemnity  of  an  oath,  he  said,  "You  do  solemnly 
swear  by  the  upturned  hand  of  Almighty  God  that  you  did  not  kill 
the  dog,  and  if  you  did,  you  hoped  to  be  damned."  "The  oath  excited 
so  much  merriment  that  good  feelings  was  engendered  and  the 
case  settled,  but  the  dog  killing  settler  refers  to  the  oath  as  the 
only  lie  he  ever  swore  to." 

"In  the  trial  of  a  case  before  a  justice  a  motion  arose  on  the  ad- 
missibility of  testimony,  and  the  attorney  cited  an  authority  from 
Greenleaf  on  Evidence.  The  Justice  assumed  a  very  dignified 
attitude,  looked  very  wise  and  said :  'Mebby  you  think  I  don't 
know  the  law,  but  I  guess  I  do.  I  know  as  much  as  Greenleaf 
did.  The  only  difference  between  me  and  him  is  that  he  wrote  a 
book  and  I  didn't.'  " 

"Even  in  the  higher  courts,  things  of  amusing  interest  occur.  In 
a  district  court  a  case  was  on  trial  on  the  last  day  of  the  term, 
and  there  was  to  be  a  dancing  party  in  the  evening.  The  Judge 
had  a  decided  penchant  for  tripping  the  "light  fantastic  toe,"  and 
was  extremely  anxious  to  conclude  the  case  in  time  for  the  dance. 
The  day  and  part  of  the  evening  was  occupied  in  the  examination 
of  witnesses.  When  the  testimony  was  closed  the  plaintiff's  attor- 
ney arose  and  said:  'If  the  Court  please — '  The  Court  don't 
please,'  the  Judge  responded.  'Gentlemen  of  the  jury;  your  ver- 
dict will  be:  We,  the  jury  find  for  plaintiff- dollars;   or,   we, 

the  jury  find  for  defendant.  Mr.  Sheriff,  adjourn  Court  and  let  us 
join  the  dance;'  and  they  danced." 

"A  case  was  pending  in  which  the  lawyer  had  several  times  been 
demurred  out  of  Court,  and  the  party,  in  presence  of  his  attorney, 
appealed  to  the  Judge  to  tell  him  what  to  do  to  insure  a  trial  of 
the  case  on  its  merits.  'Employ  a  lawyer,'  the  Judge  replied.  A 
short  time  after,  a  witness  was  being  examined  in  the  trial  of  a 
case,  and  the  Judge,  as  he  occasionally  did,  left  his  seat  and 
mingled  in  the  crowd  of  lookers-on.  A  large  dog  seated  himself 
in  the  judicial  chair.  One  of  the  attorneys  arose  and  said:  'May 
it  please  the  court, — '  The  crowd  roared;  the  discorafitted  attor- 
ney said;  'Go  on,  Mr.  Attorney,  there  is  more  ability  on  the 
bench  now  than  there  was  a  moment  ago.'  The  Judge  might  have 
fined  him  for  contempt  of  court,  but  he  did  not.  He  was  willing 
to  cry  quits," 

Occasionally  a  marriage  ceremony  is  twice  performed.  A 
couple  had  plighted  their  vows,  and  all  that  was  lacking  to  make 


158  HISTORY    OF    WrXNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

their  happiness  complete  was  a  marriage  license  and  the  ceremony. 
The  would-be-groom  procured  the  license  from  the  Clerk  of  the 
County  of  his  residence  and  took  the  waiting  bride  to  the  resi- 
dence of  a  minister  in  an  adjoining  county,  who  glanced  at  the 
license,  saw  that  it  contained  their  names,  and  performed  the  cere- 
mony. After  they  had  gone,  he  took  the  license  to  make  out  the 
certificate,  and  found  that  it  was  issued  from  his  neighboring 
county.  He  thought  he  had  exceeded  his  authority,  ordered  his 
horse  and  followed  the  couple  home.  They  had  letired  for  the 
night  when  he  arrived,  but  he  routed  them  out  of  bed  and  per- 
formed the  ceremony  again,  this  time  of  course  in  the  county  in 
which  the  license  was  issued.  He  was  bound  to  perform  his  duty- 
It  were  well  if  all  who  perform  marriage  ceremonies  were  equally 
particular.  I  know  a  county  in  the  west  in  which  fourteen 
licenses  were  issued  in  1881;  to  which  no  certificates  have  been 
returned.  Whether  it  is  owing  to  broken  engagements  or  neg- 
lect of  duty  can  not  be  ascertained  from  records." 

Our  gleanings  from  Judge  Burdick's  lecture  are  fittingly  closed 
with  the  following  poem  from  his  pen: 

"Sweeter  than  the  poet's  singing 

Is  the  anthem  of  the  free, 
Blither  is  the  anvil's  ringing 

Than  the  song  of  bird  or  bee. 

"There's  a  glory  in  the  rattle 

Of  the  wheels  'mid  factory's  gloom, 
Richer  than  are  snatched  from  battle 

Are  the  trophies  of  the  loom. 

"See  the  skillful  builder  raising, 

Gracefully  yon  towering  pile. 
Round  the  forge  and  furnace  blazing, 

Stand  the  noble  sons  of  toil. 

"Tliey  are  heroes  of  the  people, 

Who  the  weal  of  nations  raise; 
Every  dome  and  every  steeple 

Rear  their  heads  in  Labo-'s  prais-e." 

As  a  companion  anecdote  to  those  of  Judge  Burdick,  we  add 
one  from  Sparks'  history: 

"At  the  time  that  the  military  company  commanded  by  Captain 
Parker  was  stationed  at  Fort  Atkinson,  an  incident  occurred 
which  verifies  the  old  maxim  that  'two  of  a  trade  can  never  agree.' 
The  Orderly  of  the  company  was  a  young  lawyer  hailing  from 
Connecticut,  who  had  been  a  prominent  man  in  the  political 
arena.  The  Second  Sergeant  was  also  a  young  lawyer,  who  hailed 
from  Vermont.  On  a  certain  occasion  a  dispute  sprang  up  be- 
tween them;  words  were  plenty,  as  is  usual  with  lawyers,  wh<^H 
Vermont  says  to  Connecticut,  'If  you  did  not  rank  me,  I  would 
thrash  you  like  h— 1.'  To  which  Connecticut  replied,  'I  waive 
my  rank.'     They  adjourned  from  the  parade  ground  and  stripped 


HISTORY    OP  WINNESHIKK   COUNTY,  159 

for  the  contest.  The  number  of  rounds  fought  deponent  saith 
not,  but  as  the  story  goes  'Vermont'  came  off  victor,  'Vermont' 
afterwards  located  at  Grarna^illo  and  practiced  law.  While  here 
he  was  arrested  for  horse  stealing,  and  very  suddenly  disappeared. 
He  is  to-day  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Plattsburg,  N.  Y.  The 
young  lawyer  whom  I  have  designated  'Connecticut,'  became  a 
distinguished  jurist  in  this  district,  and  now  occupies  a  prominent 
position  as  an  influential  citizen  of  this  State.  He  believes,  with 
all  his  strength  and  might,  in  narrow-gauge  railroads,  but  is  a 
broad  guage  man." 

And  as  a  companion  story  of  unique  weddings,  we  give  the  fol- 
lowing from  the  aforementioned  contributor  to  the  Journal  of  the 
sketches  of  pioneer  life: 

"It  is  related  as  a  fact  that  in  early  days  a  hardy  backwoodsman 
was  elected  Justice  of  the  Peace.  He  was  accredited  to  know 
more  of  hunting,  fishing  and  trapping  than  of  the  law,  but 
being  deemed  honest,  and  in  the  lack  of  better  material 
was  elected  to  the  office.  His  statute-book  had  not  yet 
arrived,  when  an  anxious  couple  visited  his  house  for  the 
purpose  of  being  married.  In  vain  he  plead  ignorance  of  any 
knowledge  of  the  marriage  ceremony.  They  would  not  take  'no' 
for  an  answer.  'Well,  then,  I  will  do  the  best  I  can,'  said  the 
ofiicer,  and  the  couple  stood  up  before  him.  There  the  wits  of 
the  backwoodsman  forsook  him,  and  he  tried  in  vain  to  recall 
some  words  that  he  had  heard  on  like  occasions.  At  last  in  sheer 
desperation  he  blurted  out:  "Take  her  by  God.  She's  yours— 
she  s  yours  for  life,  and  I  am  Justice  of  the  Peace."  He  had 
managed  to  bring  in  the  name  of  the  Deity  in  the  only  way  Avith 
which  he  was  at  all  familiar.  The  marriage  was  considered 
legal." 


*e)^ 


JUMPING  CLAIMS. 

Much  of  the  land  was  settled  before  it  was  properly  surveyed, 
or  came  into  market.  And  even  when  regularly  entered,  it  some- 
times happened  that  when  a  survey  was  made,  two  men  would 
be  found  to  have  made  improvements  on  the  same  land,  their 
claims  having  overlapped.  This  often  gave  rise  to  bitter  feuds, 
and  occasionally  tragedies.  Sometimes  a  man  would  come  into 
the  county  poor,  pre-empt  a  piece  of  land,  and  make  some  im- 
provements, intending  to  buy  the  land  of  the  government  before 
the  time  of  pre-emption  expired.  There  were  unprincipled  men 
who  would  not  hesitate  to  deposit  money  at  the  land  office  against 
these  claims,  and  if  the  settler  failed  to  be  on  hand  at  the  time 
the  pre-emption  expired,  the  land  with  all  its  improvements  would 
pass  into  his  hands  and  he  could  demand  any  price  he  chose  from 
the  settler,  and  the  law  gave  the  latter  no  redress.  This  was 
called  jumping  a  claim.  So  much  injustice  was  done  that  this 
jumping  of  claims  was  considered  a  heinous  crime,  and  the  pioneers 


160  HISTORY   OF    WINNESHIEK   COUKTT, 

bauded  themselves  together,  and  resorted  to  mob  violence  to  pro- 
tect themselves,  homes,  and  families;  so  that  the  jumping  of 
claims  came  to  be  dangerous  and  liable  to  cause  the  offender  to  be 
brought  before  ''Judge  Lynch,"  when  justice  was  often  summary 
and  severe.     Judge  Burdick  thus  describes  a  case  of  this  kind: 

"^  trivial  dif&culty  arises  between  two  settlers  which  results  in 
a  law  suit.  The  one  is  well-to-do  and  has  the  title  to  his  land — 
the  other  is  poor  and  holds  his  land  by  the  uncertain  tenure  of  a 
claim.  The  one,  smarting  under  supposed  grievances,  enters  the 
other's  house  and  takes  the  home  from  under  him.  This  is  an  in- 
dignity the  sturdy  settlers  will  not  brook.  They  call  a  meeting, 
wait  upon  the  refractory  settler  and  ask  his  attendance.  He  res- 
ponds and  agrees  to  submit  matters  in  controversy  to  three  disin- 
terested men.  A  trial  is  had  and  the  land  is  awarded  to  the 
claimant.  They  give  the  aggressor  a  week  in  which  to  execute  the 
deed.  Before  the  week  expires,  his  antagonist  is  called  away,  and 
with  two  or  three  friends  he  forciby  enters  the  house  and  turns 
the  family  out  of  doors  in  a  fearful  winter  storm.  The  news  is 
carried  on  the  wings  of  the  wind.  There  is  a  spontaneous  gather- 
ing of  the  people  together.  Three  hundred  strong,  they  repair 
to  his  house  and  bear  him  away.  The  land  is  demanded  but  he 
declines  to  comply.  They  treat  him  to  the  luxury  of  riding  on  a 
rail,  and  again  ask  a  deed  of  the  land.  Again  refused,  it  is  sug- 
gested that  perhaps  he  would  like  to  fly  away.  The  hint  sufiBces. 
Tar  and  feathers  are  produced  and  in  the  usual  manner  applied. 
Unyieldins  still,  some  one  remarks  that  he  is  transformed  into  a 
goose,  and  that  gozlings  swim  before  they  fly.  The  rail  is  again 
produced  and  he  is  borne  to  an  adjacent  pond.  They  demand  the 
land  again,  but  his  iron  will  remains  unshaken.  They  cut  a  hole 
in  the  ice  and  quietly  introduce  him  to  the  cooling  element.  The 
goose  is  allowed  to  swim.  He  still  defies  them.  An  Irishman  re- 
marks,'did  ye's  ever  see  a  goose  swim  so  long  widout  divin'?' 
And  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  he  commences  'divin"  him  in 
true  goose  style.  Twice  he  is  subirierged  and  then  asked  to  com- 
ply. 'I'll  die  before  Til  yield,'  is  his  reply.  'Then  die  you  shall,' 
is  the  response,  and  he  is  plunged  beneath  the  wave  and  held 
there  longer  than  before.  He  kicks  and  flounders  and  is  taken, 
out.  He  catches  his  breath  and  with  accents  broken  and  subdued 
he  says,  'I  will,  I  will  give  it  up.'  It  was  well  he  yielded,  else  he 
there  had  found  a  wintry  grave.  The  purchase  money  was 
raised  and  paid  by  the  settlers,  the  deed  was  executed  and  the 
poor  man's  home  was  secured  to  him." 

CONSIDERABLY    CROWDED. 

We  read  and  hear  much  of  the  crowded  tenement  houses  in  the 
large  cities,  but  even  in  this  a  genuine  pioneer's  dwelling  can 
sometimes  discount  them — but  with  the  redeeming  feature  that 
there  is  plenty   of  fresh  air  and  out  door  room.     Here  is  a  case 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  161 

which  was  not  by  any  means  a  solitary  one  in  pioneer  life  here. 
The  house  was  a  lone  one,  with  a  roof  sloping  from  the  front  to 
the  back  and  was  without  a  chamber.  There  were  two  rooms, 
12x14,  each.  Now  for  the  inmates.  There  were  three  families 
living  in  these  rooms,  and  included  in  these  three  families  were 
seventeen  children,  nine  of  whom  were  under  the  age  of  nine 
years.  There  were  three  infants  in  cribs.  If  this  large  family 
could  not  live  in  harmony  in  the  house,  there  was  plenty  of  room 
out  of  doors.  These  families  wanted  to  buy  a  sewing  machine 
(an  apparently  necessary  article)  and  the  agent  who  visited  them 
thought  the  house  and  family  remarkable  enough  to  mention,  but 
those  who  have  been  conversant  with  pioneer  life  can  remember 
many  similar  ones. 

LOST  IN  THE  WOODS. 

The  scene  of  the  following  thrilling  narrative,  which  is  no  fic- 
tion, was  partly  laid  in  the  present  territory  of  Winneshiek  County, 
and  is  taken  from  the  sketches  of  pioneer  life  already  referred  to 
in  process  of  publication,  in  the  Decorah  Journal'. 

Two  boys,  whom  we  will  call  Willie  and  Johnnie,  lived  with 
their  parents,  in  a  wild,  unsettled  region  in  the  Northeastern 
part  of  Iowa.  Willie  was  aged  nine  years,  an  active,  self-reliant 
boy,  and  Johnnie  was  seven  years  old,  large  for  his  age,  but  less 
strong  and  enduring  than  his  elder  brother.  These  boys  were  al- 
ways together,  Willie  being  the  leader  in  all  the  sports  and  amuse- 
ments which  boys  would  naturally  find  in  a  wild  country,  without 
schools  or  companions. 

One  Sabbath  morning  in  the  autumn  of  181:3,  the  parents  of 
these  boys  started  on  horseback  to  attend  a  religious  meeting 
several  miles  distant,  leaving  the  boys  at  home  to  amuse  them- 
selves as  best  they  might.  Having  soon  exhausted  all  their  re- 
sources at  home,  they  set  out  for  a  ramble  in  the  woods  accom- 
panied by  two  large  dogs,  their  inseparable  companions  in  all  their 
rambles,  and  without  which,  they  had  been  cautioned  not  to  leave 
the  house,  for  savage  wild  animals  were  numerous,  and  sometimes 
troublesome. 

It  was  no  unusual  thing  for  these  boys  to  take  long  rambles  in 
the  woods,  with  only  the  dogs  for  their  companions,  they,  having 
always  lived  in  a  wild  region,  and  all  their  education  and  train- 
ing tending  to  make  woodsmen  of  them,  besides,  the  elder  was 
somewhat  vain  of  his  accomplishments  in  this  direction,  never 
having  been  'lost,'  and  being  often  praised  for  his  ability  to  keep 
a  true  course  in  the  woods  anywhere.  This  Sabbath  morning  was 
clear  and  cool.  The  boys  took  a  course  north  from  their  home. 
They  found  plenty  to  interest  and  amuse  them.  Squirrels  chat- 
tered and  leaped  from  limb  to  limb.  A  few  belated  birds  were 
gathered  in  flocks,  preparatory  to  a  flight  southward;  acorns 
dropped  to  the  ground  at  their  feet.     The  drum  of  a  partridge  in 


162  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

the  distance  drew  them  further  on.  In  this  way  they  had  wan- 
dered about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  home,  when  the  loud  and  ex- 
cited barking  of  the  dogs  led  them  to  hasten  their  steps,  to  find 
out  the  cause.  On  arriving  at  the  spot  they  discovered  that  the 
dogs  had  'treed'  some  large  animal,  and  npon  nearer  approach 
saw  that  it  was  a  large  panther.  They  had  seen  a  good  many  pan- 
thers, and  had  often  heard  their  unearthly  screech,  (which  resem- 
bles the  cry  of  a  woman  in  distress),  but  they  had  never  before 
seen  a  live  one,  and  their  curiosity  was  aroused  for  a  nearer  view. 

According  to  all  stories  I  have  ever  read  of  the  nature  of  this 
animal,  the  panther  should  have  attacked  and  speedily  dispatched 
both  the  dogs  and  children,  but  truth  compels  me  to  record  that 
the  beast  behaved  in  a  most  cowardly  manner.  He  not  only  showed 
his  fear  of  the  dogs,  but  seemed  to  have  obtained  a  knowledge  of 
how  human  beings  use  their  guns,  and  seemed  intent  on  keeping 
the  tree  between  his  body  and  the  place  where  the  boys  were.  In 
their  eagerness  to  obtain  a  good  view  of  the  panther,  the  boys 
kept  running  around  the  tree,  first  in  one  direction,  then  in  an- 
other, the  panther  all  the  time  changing  his  position  to  keep  out 
of  their  sight.  In  this  manner  considerable  time  was  consumed, 
but  at  last  our  boys  were  satisfied  with  the  occasional  glimpses 
they  had  been  able  to  obtain,  and  were  ready  to  go  home. 

In  passing  so  many  times  around  the  tree,  absorbed  with  look- 
ing up  into  its  branches,  they  had  failed  to  observe  the  direction 
by  which  they  came,  or  to  note  how  many  circuits  they  had  taken, 
and  although  they  set  out  with  full  confidence  that  they  were  go- 
ing in  the  direction  of  home,  they  took  an  entirely  diff'erent 
course. 

This  was,  as  near  as  they  could  afterward  judge,  about  noon, 
when  they  commenced  their  perilous  journey.  The  elder  boy 
took  the  lead,  as  was  his  custom,  and  they  chatted  gaily  of  their 
adventure,  and  of  the  many  sights  that  met  their  gaze,  for  an 
hour  or  more,  when  suddenly  turning  to  his  companion,  with 
something  of  a  look  of  fright  in  his  face,  Willie  said: 

"Johnnie,  we  are  not  going  home!     We  are  lost!' 

At  this  the  younger  and  less  heroic  brother  cried  a  little,  but 
in  the  feeling  that  he  must  act  as  protector  and  guide,  the  courage 
of  the  oldest  was  aroused — a  courage  that  never  deserted  him 
through  all  the  trials  that  awaited  them. 

He  tried  to  comfort  and  encourage  his  brother  that  they  would 
soon  find  their  way  out,  and  all  the  while  the  two  hurried  on  as 
fast  a5  their  short  footsteps  would  take  them,  as  if  in  haste  lay 
their  only  hope. 

About  four  o'clock,  as  near  as  they  could  tell,  they  came  to  a 
traveled  road.  Instead  of  following  it,  as  an  older  person  would 
have  done,  they  crossed  it.  Willie  insisting  that  it  was  a  road 
with  which  be  was  familiar,  and  that  their  home  was  about  three- 


HISTORY   OF  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  163 

fourths  of  a  mile  distant  and  that  by  taking  a  near  route^  with  which 
he  was  certain  lie  was  familiar,  they  would  soon  reach  their 
father's  house. 

This  road,  however,  lay  about  seven  miles  north  of  their  home, 
and  when  they  had  crossed  it,  keeping,  as  they  did,  a  northward 
course,  they  were  in  a  dense  forest. 

In  an  hour  or  more  they  came  to  a  small  stream.  Here  they 
were  divided  in  their  opinions  as  to  the  course  to  pursue.  For 
the  first  and  only  time  during  their  journey,  Johnnie  put  in  a 
plea.  He  wanted  to  follow  the  stream  downward.  In  his  anxiety 
to  do  so,  he  offered  to  give  his  knife,  his  sled,  and  all  the  few 
playthings  he  possessed  to  Willie,  if  he  would  take  the  route  down 
the  stream.  On  being  refused  he  made  the  crowning  offer  of  all, 
said  he: — 

"If  you  will  go  this  way  with  me,  FU  give  you  a  million  dollars 
when  I  get  to  be  a  man." 

The  answer  was  characteristic  of  the  esteem  in  which  the  other 
held  himself,  said  he: — 

"When  I  get  to  be  a  man  I  will  have  all  the  money  I  want,  and 
shall  not  need  any  of  yours,"  and  as  usual,  his  will  conquered. 
As  was  afterward  learned,  had  they  taken  the  downward  course  of 
the  stream,  they  would  have  soon  come  to  settlements,  and  would 
have  found  their  way  out  that  night,  but  crossed  it  instead,  and 
soon  lost  its  course  entirely. 

They  wandered  on  and  on,  and  at  length,  night  began  to  cast 
its  shadows  around  them.  The  stars  seldom  looked  down  upon  a 
sadder  or  more  lonely  sight  than  that  of  these  two  children,  hardly 
past  the  age  of  babyhood,  alone  in  a  deep,  dense  forest,  inhabited 
by  beasts  of  prey,  and  in  a  spot  where  the  foot  of  white  man,  had 
perhaps  never  trod.  The  two  faithful  dogs  still  kept  them  com- 
pany, and  watch  and  guard  over  them. 

One  of  the  boys  was  provided  with  a  knife,  a  flint,  and  a  piece 
of  "punk,"  the  common  means  of  producing  a  fire  in  those  days 
and  in  that  region,  for  although  matches  had  been  invented  they 
did  not  find  their  way  often  into  that  unsettled,  western  region. 
As  the  shadows  grew  dark,  they  found  the  shelter  of  a  fallen 
tree-top,  and  gathering  sticks  they  built  a  fire,  and  laid  down. 
Johnnie  slept  the  sleep  of  weary  childhood,  but  Willie  was  watch- 
ful, and  kept  the  fire  burning  all  night,  with  only  a  few  snatches  of 
slumber,  his  main  care  to  keep  his  brother  warm  and  comfortable. 

The  parents  had  returned  home  late  in  the  day,  and  learning 
from  the  other  children  that  the  two  boys  had  gone  into  the  wood 
early  in  the  morning  and  had  not  yet  returned,  the  wildest  alarm 
was  felt.  The  few  neighbors  within  reach  were  aroused,  and 
search  commenced.  But  no  one  could  have  had  the  slightest  idea 
as  to  the  distance  to  which  the  little  wanderers  had  rambled. 
Fires  were  built,  and  men  watched  by  them  all  night,  and  were 
ready  to  resume  the  search  early  next  morning. 


164  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

The  morning  dawned  clear  and  cold.  The  lost  children  were 
awake  at  the  first  break  of  day.  Their  one  idea  was  to  hasten  on 
— to  find  home  if  possible,  and  to  do  so  they  must  bend  every  ef- 
fort. Over  trees  and  logs,  through  briars  and  brush,  they  never 
knew  what  course  they  took,  or  how  far  they  wandered.  They 
had  not  tasted  food  since  the  morning  before,  and  had  put  forth 
exertions  that  would  have  tried  the  strongest  man,  yet  they  never 
felt  hunger  or  weariness,  so  great  was  their  excitement.  They 
never  once  stopped  to  rest  or  set  down  to  murmur. 

The  previous  day  the  two  had  kept  up  a  steady  conversation, 
but  to-day  they  pressed  on  in  an  almost  unbroken  silence.  The 
forenoon  passed  without  incident.  There  was  the  same  monto- 
nous  stretch  of  woods,  the  silence  unbroken,  save  by  the  fall  of 
nuts  or  acorns,  the  tread  of  their  own  feet  and  the  dry  leaves,  the 
breaking  of  a  dry  stick  now  and  then,  which  lay  in  their  path, 
and  the  occasional  barking  of  the  dogs  when  they  espied  wild  game. 
The  sun  mounted  higher  and  higher  in  the  sky.  About  noon  they 
reached  a  large  stream  of  water.  As  was  afterward  learned,  this 
was  the  head  waters  of  the  Yellow  River,  a  stream  which  flows 
into  the  Mississippi.  A  large  tree  had  fallen  across  this  stream, 
and  formed  a  bridge,  over  which  the  boys  crossed  to  the  opposite 
side.  They  were  plunging  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  forest,  and 
their  case  now  seemed  hopeless  indeed,  for  no  one  would  suppose 
it  possible  for  such  children  to  cross  so  large  a  stream,  (unless 
they  had  come  upon  this  particular  spot,)  or  would  think  of  look- 
ing for  them  on  the  opposite  side. 

An  hour  or  two  rapid  traveling,  and  our  little  wanderers  began 
to  ascend  a  steep  ridge,  covered  with  wild  grape  vines,  from  which 
the  luscious  fruit  hung  in  great  purple  clusters.  This  was  indeed 
good  fortune.  Never  did  fruit  taste  more  delicious  than  did  those 
grapes  to  the  almost  famished  children.  The  tangled  masses  of 
vines  made  it  difficult  for  the  children  to  climb,  so  that  although 
they  never  stopped  or  wasted  time  in  their  journey  their  appetites 
were  well  satisfied  with  the  feast  of  fruit  which  they  had  gathered 
and  ate  in  their  ascent.  But  with  a  strange  improvidence,  for 
which  it  is  not  easy  to  account,  they  took  not  one  of  the  thous- 
ands of  drooping  clusters  with  them  for  future  use.  Just  over  the 
hill  the  loud  barking  of  the  two  dogs  denoted  that  game  of  an  un- 
usual kind  had  been  sighted.  Upon  nearer  approach,  it  was  found 
that  they  were  barking  at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  in  the  branches  of 
which,  the  animal,  whatever  it  was,  had  taken  refuge.  Curiosity 
led  the  boys  to  approach  and  upon  getting  a  good  view  they  knew 
the  animal  to  be  a  large  lynx,  one  of  the  most  dangerous  animals 
of  the  forest. 

Willie  cautioned  his  younger  brother  not  go  too  near,  lest  the 
lynx  should  spring  down  upon  him,  but  with  the  fearlessness  of 
his  boy-nature,  he  himself  went  directly  to  the  foot  of  the  tree 
for  a  closer  view.     The  fierce  animal,  was,  however,  to  much  in- 


HISTORY   OF   WIKNESHIEK    COUNTY.  165 

timidated  by  the  dogs  to  venture  an  attack,  and  thus,  for  the  sec- 
ond time,  did  they,  in  a  wonderful  manner,  escape  from  a  danger- 
ous encounter  with  wild  beasts. 

Not  long  did  they  linger  here,  for  a  new  hope  had  taken  pos- 
session of  them,  born,  perhaps,  as  much  of  the  refreshing  fruit  of 
which  they  had  partaken,  as  of  any  outward  surroundings,  but  be 
that  as  it  might,  they  now  fancied  themselves  on  familiar  ground, 
and  thought  that  a  short  walk  would  soon  bring  them  out  to  a 
neighbor's  field  where  they  had  often  been — so,  with  this  thought 
to  cheer  them,  they  kept  bravely  on,  and  the  evening  shadows  had 
again  began  to  darken  before  this  hope  entirely  forsook  them. 

To-night  an  overhanging  ledge  of  rock  Avas  found  which  oiTered 
them  shelter,  and  again  the  knife  and  flint  were  produced,  and  a 
fire  kindled  for  the  night.  As  before,  the  younger  was  blissfully 
forgetful  of  his  troubles,  and  slept  a  sound,  refreshing  sleep. 
With  Willie  it  was  diiferent — his  young  mind,  half-bewildered 
and  crazed  though  it  was, was  away  with  the  home  and  friends, whom, 
perhaps,  he  was  never  to  see  again.  Most  of  all  did  he  think  of 
his  mother's  anxiety  concerning  the  fate  of  her  lost  boys.  Was 
he  never  te  see  her  again?  Never  to  look  upon  her  dear  face  or 
to  hear  her  voice  again?  And  was  he  to  never  to  bring  her  dar- 
ling Johnnie,  her  "pet,"  back  to  her,  and  to  have  her  praise  him 
for  his  manliness  and  his  courage. 

At  home  that  mother  was  almost  wild  with  grief.  Once  she 
had  been  found  in  the  woods  by  a  party  of  searchers,  herself  lost, 
and  not  knowing  which  way  to  go,  but  calling  wildly  the  names 
of  her  lost  children.  She  had  been  taken  back  and  a  guard  left  to 
prevent  her  again  wandering  awa3^  To-night  a  mother's  true  in- 
stinct told  her  that  her  boys  were  still  alive,  and  she  was  weeping 
and  praying,  as  only  a  mother  can  weep  and  pray  for  her  darlings, 
and  who  shall  say  that  her  prayers  were  not  answered,  and  in  a 
blind,  uncertain  way,  still,  as  it  seemed,  in  the  only  possible  way 
a  means  of  rescue  was  provided? 

In  the  woods,  watch-fires  were  kindled,  and  men  were  staying 
by  them,  but  not  to  sleep,  for  many  were  thinking  of  their  own 
little  ones  safe  at  home,  and  then  of  the  little  wanderers,  and  then 
every  sense  was  alert,  and  every  sound  was  noted,  hoping  that  it 
might  lead  to  a  discovery  of  their  fate.  But  these  fires  and 
watchers  were  all  many  miles  away  from  the  little  blazing  fire  by 
the  ledge  of  the  rocks. 

But  it  is  the  story  of  the  lost  children  that  I  am  to  tell,  so 
will  return  to  them.  As  the  younger  boy  lay  calmly  sleeping, 
the  other  was  thinking — thinking.  All  the  events  of  the  past 
two  days  passed  rapidly  through  his  mind,  and  he  began  to  won- 
der if  there  was  no  way  or  plan  to  be  devised  by  which  all  the 
weary  way  could  be  retraced,  until  home  was  reached.  With 
these  questions  a  light  seemed  to  break  in  upon  him,  and  here  ap- 
pears the  strangest  part  of  the  story.     Of  course   he  knew,    as 


166  HISTORY    OF    WIKNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

every  boy  of  iiis  age,  that  the  sun  rises  in  the  east  and  sets  in  the 
west.  But  in  his  bewildered  state  he  was  incapable  of  reasoning, 
and  even  of  distinct  memory.  He  must  have  remembered  some- 
time having  heard  it  said  the  sun  was  in  the  south  at  noonday, 
and  the  idea  that  took  possession  of  his  young  brain  was  this: 
'The  sun  is  in  the  south  and  we  must  travel  toward  it  to  reach 
home.'     Over  and  over  to  himself  he  conned  this  lesson: 

•'The  sun  is  in  the  south,  and  we  must  travel  toward  it  if 
we  would  reach  home.'  " 

As  certain  as  though  his  mother  had  told  him  did  he  feel  the 
truth  of  these  words.  Having  them  fully  impressed  upon  his 
mind,  he  was  calm  and  assured.  It  must  have  been  long  past 
midnight  when  he  arrived  at  this  state,  but  now  he  was  content  to 
Bleep  until  morning,  when  they  would  set  out  on  their  homeward 
way.  Accordingly  he  replenished  the  fire,  and  then  laid  down 
and  was  soon  lost  in  dreamless  slumber. 

The  sun  was  lighting  the  trees  with  its  earlist  rays  when  he 
awoke.  The  fire  had  burned  low,  and  the  air  was  cold  and  frosty. 
He  looked  at  his  sleeping  brother,  and  pity  made  him  hesitate  for 
a  moment  to  wake  him;  but  not  for  long.  Full  of  the  hopeful 
thought  that  had  filled  his  mind,  he  was  eager  to  communicate  it 
to  his  companion,  so  with  a  gentle  touch  he  aroused  him.  The 
boy  awoke  from  dreams  of  home,  and  looking  around  at  the  dark 
forest,  and  at  the  overhanging  rocks,  and  as  a  realization  of  his 
present  state  broke  in  upon  him,  the  tears  filled  his  eyes  and 
coursed  down  his  cheeks. 

"Don't  cry,"  said  Willie.  "'I  have  thought  of  a  plan  by  which 
we  can  get  home.  You  see  the  sun  shining  yonder?  Well,  the 
sun  is  always  in  the  south,  and  we  have  been  traveling  from  it. 
Now,  if  we  go  toward  the  sun  we  shall,  of  course,  go  towards 
home,  so  hurry,  and  let  us  be  going,  for  we  have  no  time  to  lose.' 

Johnnie  was  too  stupefied  to  notice  the  falsity  of  his  brother's 
logic,  as  doubtless  he  would  have  done  at  another  time,  but,  never- 
theless, the  deprecating  manner  in  which  he  received  it  dampened 
the  ardor  of  Willie  a  little. 

"I  do  not  think  much  of  your  plans,"  said  he,  "and  I  do  not 
believe  we  will  ever  see  home  or  mother  again.' 

It  was  a  blessed  thing,  as  they  afterwards  knew,  that  their 
courage  had  not  been  destroyed  by  taking  in  the  full  horror  of 
death  by  starvation,  and  fatigue  in  the  woods,  or  the  more  blessed, 
because  more  speedy,  but  still  terrible  thought  of  being  killed  by 
wild  beasts. 

The  little  weary  feet  were  soon  on  their  way,  and  their  little 
faces  turned  toward  the  rising  sun.  Until  now,  one  of  the  boys 
had  worn  a  pair  of  moccasins,  and  the  other  a  pair  of  shoes,  but 
thinking  that  they  could  travel  faster  without  them,  they  were 
removed,  and  although  the  ground  was  hard  and  frozen,  and  the 
little  feet  were  often  torn  by  briers  and  sticks,  they  hastened  on. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  167 

never  niiudiiig  the  pain.  Hope  rose  higher,  as  they  thought  at 
times  they  could  recognize  places  they  had  passed  the  previous  day. 

It  must  have  been  noon  when  they  again  came  to  a  large 
stream,  and — ^wonderful  to  tell — there  was  the  very  same  tree  on 
which  they  had  crossed  the  day  before.  They  knew  it  by  many 
unmistakable  marks,  and  if  any  proof  were  wanting,  there  were 
the  prints  of  their  own  feet,  and  also  those  of  the  dogs  on  the  wet 
sand  at  the  further  shore.  They  recrossed  this  stream  with  more 
hopeful  hearts  than  they  had  carried  with  them  to  the  opposite 
shore. 

An  hour  or  two  of  rapid  walking,  and  they  came  to  a  road — 
the  same  they  had  crossed  on  their  first  day  out,  but  much  farther 
from  home.  A  short  consultation  was  held,  and  they  decided  not 
to  cross  this  road  but  to  follow  it — but  in  which  direction  ?  The 
sun  was  so  nearly  overhead  that  they  scarcely  knew  how  to  follow 
its  guidance.  They  however,  concluded  to  take  an  easterly 
course.  They  had  not  traveled  more  than  a  couple  of  miles  before 
they  had  made  up  their  minds  that  they  were  wrong,  so  back  over 
the  same  road  pattered  the  little  bare  feet.  This  time  they  kept 
steadily  on  their  course,  until  at  last  the  low  roof  of  a  building 
met  their  view.  This,  be  it  remembered,  was  the  first  sight  of  a 
human  habitation  that  had  met  their  view  for  three  days.  An 
older  person  would  have  went  directly  to  it  and  have  sought  food 
and  rest.  Not  so  did  our  young  wanderers.  Willie  had  once 
been  at  McGregor's  Landing,  and  although  McGregor  was  a  flour- 
ishing young  town,  and  this  was  only  a  solitary  cabin,  he  was 
convinced  in  his  own  mind  that  he  was  at  the  former  place.  It 
seemed  to  him  afterward,  to  have  been  a  strange  idea,  but  we  have 
seen  that  neither  of  the  boys  were  capable  of  reasoning. 

"That,"  said  he  to  his  brother,  "is  McGregor's  Landing.  I 
know  it  iDCcause  I  have  been  there.  The  sun  must  now  be  about 
two  hours  high,  and  we  are  five  miles  from  home.  If  we  hurry, 
we  can  get  there  before  dark," 

Johnnie  offered  no  objections,  so  back  over  the  same  road,  for 
the  third  time  that  day  did  they  hurry. 

Dusk  was  gathering  around  their  path,  and  they  were  still  hur- 
rying on,  Willie  considerably  in  advance,  and  at  times,  waiting 
impatiently  for  his  brother  to  come  up,  when  they  were  met  by 
some  travelers.  There  were  two  men  driving  oxen,  and  with  a 
wagon  loaded  with  lumber.  There  were  some  traps  for  game,  and 
a  few  other  articles  on  the  load — how  well  did  the  boys  remem- 
ber every  detail  in  after  years. 

It  must  have  been  a  strange  sight  to  these  men — that  of  two 
tattered,  weary,  and  wild  looking  boys  on  this  lonely  road,  where 
seldom  a  human  face  was  met. 

They  were  hurrying  on  without  speaking,  but  the  men  stopped 
their  teams  and  enquired: 

"Where  are  you  going,  boys?" 


16S  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

"We  are  going  home,"  called  out  Willie,  without  stopping  or 
looking  around. 

"But  are  you  not  lost?"  enquired  one  of  the  men. 

"No.     We  have  been  lost,  but  we  are  going  home,  now." 

"Where  do  you  live?"  persisted  the  man. 

"On  the  Goss  place,  and  its  just  ahead,"  said  Willie. 

"  Then  you  are  lost,  for  that  is  seventeen  miles  away,  and  this 
road  does  not  lead  past  there  either." 

Reluctant  as  was  Willie  to  stop,  Johnnie  had  halted  and  he  was 
now  obliged  to  wait  for  him  to  come  up. 

"When  did  you  leave  home?"  was  the  next  question. 

"Three  days  ago;  bat  if  you  will  not  hinder  us,  we  will  go  on, 
and  will  soon  be  there." 

"But  I  have  told  you  that  this  road  does  not  lead  to  your  home. 
If  you  will  go  with  us,  we  will  care  for  you  to-night,  and  will 
take  you  home  in  the  morning." 

To  this  proposition  they  offered  a  stout  resistance,  saying  that 
their  parents  would  be  uneasy  about  them,  and  that  it  was  neces- 
sary for  them  to  reach  home  that  night. 

Just  then  two  other  men  rode  up  on  horseback,  and  having 
heard  their  story  offered  to  ride  on  that  night,  and  inform  the 
boys'  parents  that  they  were  found.  But  here  they  entreated  to 
be  taken  on  the  horses  and  carried  home. 

Seeing  how  unfit  they  were  for  the  journey,  they  were  answered 
that  the  horses  would  not  carry  double,  and  that  they  had  best  go 
home  with  the  men  who  had  the  team,  (they  living  in  the  cabin 
whose  roof  the  two  boys  had  seen  early  in  the  day,)  and  remain 
until  morning. 

Just  then  the  sound  of  a  horn  rang  out  loud  and  clear,  more 
than  any  words  could  have  done,  did  that  sound  calm  and  quiet 
the  excited  children?  "That  is  father's  horn,"  they  both  cried  in 
a  breath,  "and  he  is  looking  for  us.     Let  us  go  to  him." 

But  now,  in  a  calmer  state,  they  were  ready  to  listen  to  reason, 
and  were  easily  persuaded  to  return  with  the  teams,  while  the 
men  on  horseback  rode  with  all  haste  to  the  place  where  the  horn 
was  heard  to  sound,  a  distance  of  some  three  miles.  They  found 
that  the  boys  had  not  been  mistaken.  It  was  their  father's  horn, 
and  that  father  was  overjoyed  at  the  glad  news  the  men  had  to 
to  communicate.  Then  the  firing  of  three  guns  in  quick  succes- 
sion announced  to  other  searchers  that  the  children  were  found, 
and  after  a  short  time  two  more  guns  told  that  they  were  alive, 
this  being  the  signal  previously  agreed  upon.  This  was  responded 
to  by  others.  And  all  through  the  woods  firing  was  heard,  and 
shouts  of  joy  as  men  began  to  gather  and  take  their  homeward  way. 

Feeling  that  the  weary  wanderers  were  better  for  a  night's  rest 
before  being  taken  home,  they  were  left  with  the  men  who  had 
taken  them  up,  while  the  good  news  was  conveyed  to  the  anxious 
waiters  at  home. 


HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  169 

I  have  before  said  that  neither  hunger  or  weariness  had  been 
realized  by  the  lost  children,  but  no  sooner  were  their  excited 
minds  at  rest  than  both  began  to  grow  upon  them.  They  laid 
down  upon  the  wagon,  and  by  the  time  they  had  reached  the 
home  of  the  men  were  to  stiff  and  lame  to  walk,  and  had  to  be 
assisted  into  the  house,  and  never  did  a  meal  taste  sweeter  than 
the  one  of  corn  bread,  salt  pork,  and  strong  coffee,  with  which 
they  were  provided. 

In  the  morning  they  were  conveyed  to  their  home,  where  you 
may  be  certain  a  glad  welcome  awaited  them.  As  friends  came 
out  to  welcome  them,  little  Johnnie  pushed  passed  all,  telling 
them  rather  crossly  to  let  him  alone.  He  went  into  the  house, 
and  climbing  on  the  first  bed  he  found,  covered  his  face  and  re- 
fused to  speak.  From  that  bed  it  was  thought  he  never  would 
arise.  For  long  days  he  lay  in  the  delirium  of  a  fever.  His  limbs 
were  swollen  with  travel,  and  scratches  and  bruises  covered  his 
form  from  head  to  foot.  It  seemed  evident  that  had  the  children 
spent  another  night  in  the  woods,  their  swolen  and  tired  limbs 
would  have  refused  to  carry  them  further  on  the  next  morning, 
and  that  only  death  would  have  relieved  their  sufferings. 

Years  have  passed  since  then.  The  boys  have  grown  to  man- 
hood, and  in  the  changes  and  chances  of  pioneer  life,  and  later  on 
in  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  many  trials  have  come  to  their  lot, 
but  in  memory's  pictures,  vivid  and  distinct  above  all  others  stands 
out  the  pictures  of  those  three  days'  wanderings'  alone,  and  Lost 
IN  THE  Woods.  * 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Review  of  Early  History:  Fort  Atkinson;  Old  Mission;  First 
Settlers;  First  Settler's  Cabin;  First  Things  Reviewed;  Coun- 
ty Organization  and  County  Seat  Contest;  The  Day  Family; 
Judge  Reed;  Lewisfon,  Moneek  and  Decorah;  Strategy;  Mo- 
neek's  Defeat  and  County  Seat  for  Decorah;  Freeport's  Fight 
for  it  and  Defeat;  Land  Office  and  Court  House  Fixes  it  at  De- 
corah; Sketch  of  Moneek ;  More  about  Early  Settlers;  Pioneer 
Norivegians^  who  were  the  First;  Protecting  Squatter  Rights. 


We  have  in  previous  chapters  given  particulars  of  the  early 
settlement  of  this  county,  a  sketch  and  history  of  the  W^innebago 
Indians  who  (after  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  who  formerly  occupied  a 
large  part  of  Iowa,  and  were  removed  by  treaty,  as  will  be  seen 
from  state  history,)  occupied  this  territory  just  previous  to  the 
coming    of    the    whites,   their    traits  and  characteristics  and  in- 


170  HISTORY    OF    WIKKESHIEK   COUNTY. 

tercourse  between  the  two  races;  also  a  sketch  of  pioneer  life 
here,  and  the  incidents  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  county.  We 
continue  the  history  of  the  county  by  first  giving  a  brief  resume 
of  leading  events. 

The  erection  of  the  fort  for  the  military  supervision  of  the  In- 
dians, overlooking  the  site  of  the  village  which  now  bears  its 
name — Fort  Atkinson — was  commenced  on  the  2d  of  June,  1840. 
Capt.  Sumner,  afterward,  the  renowned  Gen.  Sumner,  being  in 
command.  He  remained  in  charge  till  1846,  when  he  left  to  join 
the  U.  S.  forces  in  the  Mexican  War. 

After  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  in  1848,  the  military  appearance 
of  the  fort  was  no  longer  kept  up  but  it  was  not  entirely  aban- 
doned as  a  post,  until  some  years  later.  More  extended  details  in 
regard  to  it  will  be  found  in  a  succeeding  chapter  embracing  a 
township  history  of  Fort  Atkinson. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1842  that  Rev.  D.  Lowery,  who  had 
just  been  appointed  an  Indian  agent,  commenced  the"  erection  of 
the  mission  buildings  at  Old  Mission  about  five  miles  southeast  of 
Fort  Atkiuson,  and  in  1843,  Col.  Thomas,  his  assistant,  built  the 
first  grist  mill  in  Winneshiek  County.  The  first  permanent  set- 
tlement in  that  vicinity  commenced  in  1847,  when  those  pioneers 
and  homesteaders,  Gotlob  and  Gotleib  Krumm,  Charles  Kregg, 
and  Francis  Rogers  arrived  at  Fort  Atkinson  in  June,  Gotlob 
•Krumm  coming  directly  from  Germany.  Gotlob  his  wife  and  two 
children  had  for  their  first  habitation  a  deserted  Indian  wigwam 
near  a  beautiful  spring.  In  a  few  weeks  a  log  house  was  built 
for  them  in  the  same  locality,  being  the  first  actual  settlers'  cabin 
in  that  part  of  the  county. 

A.  R.  Young,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  fort,  would  be  entitled 
to  the  honor  of  being  the  first  settler  as  he  remained  and  settled 
after  the  garrison  left,  if  the  time  of  his  coming  to  the  fort  could 
be  counted. 

Mr.  Joel  Post,  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter,  was  the  first 
actual  settler  in  the  reservation.  But  as  his  log  house,  built  in 
1841,  was  on  the  site  where  Postville  now  stands,  it  is  out  side  of 
our  county  line,  and  therefore  he  cannot  be  called  the  first  settler 
in  Winneshiek  County. 

Some  authorities  say  that  the  Fort  Atkinson  settlers,  named 
above,  did  not  come  until  1848,  and  that  Hamilton  Campbell  and 
his  wife,  who  made  a  claim  June  7, 1848,  in  Bloomfield  Township, 
were  the  first  permanent  settlers.  The  names  of  the  old  settlers 
as  they  successively  arrived,  have  been  given  in  a  previous  chapter 
to  which  our  readers  are  referred  for  further  detail;  and  we  close 
this  resume  of  that  portion  of  the  history  by  eecalling  a  few  points 
of  interest. 

The  lionor  of  being  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  county  be- 
longs to  Mary   Jane,   daughter   of   Mr.  Jas.  Tapper,  one  of  the 


HISTORY   OF   wmNESHIEK  COUNTY,  171 

mechanics  wlio  built  Fort  Atkinson,  where  she  was  born  on  the 
16th  of  January,  1841;  she  married  Robert  M,  Boyce  and  lives 
near  Monona. 

The  first  church  in  the  county,  except  the  old  Missionary  Chapel 
was  a  Catholic  edifice,  erected  near  Twin  Springs. 

The  first  public  school  building  was  built  at  the  corner  of  De- 
corah,  Springfield  and  Glenwood  Townships,  in  1852. 

The  location  of  the  first  post  office  has  in  previous  records  been 
given  to  Jamestown,  Frankville  Township,  in  1851.  But  there 
were  post  ofiices  at  Fort  Atkinson  and  Old  Mission  before  that 
time,  as  is  noted  elsewhere. 

The  first  marriage  recorded  was  that  of  Johannes  Evenson  to 
Catherine  Helen  Anderson,  in  October  1851,  Rev.  N.  Brandt  per- 
forming the  ceremony. 

The  first  death  was  that  of  a  government  teamster  named  How- 
ard, who  was  frozen  to  death  on  the  4th  of  October,  1840,  near 
the  present  site  of  Castalia. 

The  first  newspaper  was  the  Decorah  Chronicle^  published  in  185G. 

With  this  hasty  rehearsal  of  leading  events,  most  of  them  re- 
corded more  fully  in  other  chapters,  we  take  up  the  county  his- 
tory where  it  was  left  in  the  first  chapter;  we  are  now  approach- 
ing an  interesting  period,  embracing  the  organization  of  the  coun- 
ty and  the  successive  strifes  for  securing  the  county  seat  which 
was  finally  and  permanently  located  at  Decorah. 

To  the  Day  family  belongs  the  unquestioned  honor  of  being 
the  first  settlers  in  Decorah;  and  as  this  became  the  county  capi- 
tol  and  has  grown  to  be  the  most  important  and  influential  town, 
it  naturally  gives  them  pre-eminence  over  other  settlers — especi- 
ally as  it  is  to  members  of  that  family  to  a  large  extent,  that  the 
credit  is  due  of  securing  the  county  seat  for  Decorah  as  well  as 
the  Land  Office  soon  afterward.  The  Days  came  to  Decorah  on 
the  lOtli  of  June,  1849.  The  family  consisted  of  nine  persons, 
William  and  Elizabeth  Day,  Mrs.  Day  still  living,  and  their  sons 
Claibourne  F.  Day,  Richard  V.  Day,  and  John  F.  Day,  being 
from  that  time  until  now  prominent  and  influential  citizens.  In- 
teresting particulars  in  regard  to  their  coming  and  settlement 
here,  will  be  found  in  the  sketch  of  Decorah  in  a  succeeding 
chapter. 

Another  early  settler  who  was  a  prominent  factor  in  deciding 
the  county-seat  contest,  was  the  late  ex-Judge  David  Reed,  whose 
family  settled  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  25,  in  Bloom- 
field  township,  in  August,  1848.  Mr.  Reed  was  born  in  1799, 
was  elected  County  Judge  at  the  age  of  52,  and  held  that  office 
from  1851  to  1855.  Himself  and  family  are  referred  to  more  at 
length  elsewhere  in  this  history. 

Of  the  naming  of  the  county,  and  of  the  territory  it  occupied 
and  other  matters  before  its  organization,  Mr.  A.  K.  Bailey  in  his 
historical   sketch,  read  before  the  old  settlers,  July  4th,  1876,  said: 

11 


172  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

"1  am  compelled  at  the  outset  to  admit  the  weakness  of  my  his- 
tory by  telling  you  that  I  can  give  no  account  whatever,  why^ 
when  or  where  Winneshiek  derived  its  name.  Tradition  says  that 
Hon.  Eliphalet  Price,  one  of  the  pioneers  and  strong  men  of  Clay- 
ton, selected  the  name,  as  he  did  that  of  Allamakee.  No  doubt 
this  is  the  truth;  for  what  could  be  more  proper  than  that  this 
former  home  of  the  Winnebagos  should  bear  the  name  of  this 
most  distinguished  of  chiefs  of  that  tribe?  Be  this  as  it  may,  [ 
find  the  existence  of  the  county  recognized  in  the  earliest  records 
of  the  State.  In  the  first  arrangement  of  Senatorial  and  Repre- 
sentative districts  by  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1846,  no 
mention  is  made  of  either  of  the  four  counties  in  this  northeast- 
ern corner,  except  Clayton.  But  in  the  session  laws  of  the  First 
General  Assembly,  Winneshiek  is  twice  designated  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  show  its  prior  existence.  An  act  defining  the  limits 
of  the  second  Judicial  District,  includes  by  name,  Fayette,  Winne- 
shiek and  Allamakee,  but  the  times  for  holding  courts  therein  was 
left  entirely  to  the  will  of  the  Judge.  This  district  then  com- 
prised all  the  tei  ritory  north  of  the  southern  line  of  Winneshiek 
County  and  was  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  west 
lines  of  Cedar,  Jones,  Buchanan,  Fayette  and  Winneshiek. 
A  little  later  that  year  I  find  in  the  apportionment  of  State  Sena- 
tors and  Representatives  that  the  territory  known  as  the  Third 
Congressional  District  of  Iowa,  now  containing  a  population  of 
160,000  souls  was  given  two  Senators,  and  to  Clayton,  Fayette, 
Winneshiek  and  Allamakee,  were  acorded  one  Representative. 
This  was  in  1849.  The  dividing  line  between  Iowa  and  Minneso- 
ta had  not  been  made,  and  the  territory  west  of  us  was  still  in 
the  hands  of  the  aborigines.  The  Winnebagoes  had  been  re- 
moved, but  it  was  enforced  removal,  and  they  were  frequently  re- 
turning in  large  bodies  to  what  was  once  their  choicest  and  hap- 
piest hunting  grounds.  The  hardy  pioneers  had  only  just  begun  to 
enter  upon  these  lands,  and  their  homes  were  only  claims,  to  be 
perfected  into  titles  whenever  the  territory  should  come  into  the 
market."  From  the  time  of  first  permanent  settlement  there 
must  have  been  a  rapid  influx,  for  by  the  Federal  census  taken  in 
June,  1850,  there  were  five  hundred  and  seventy  persons  found 
and  enumerated  by  the  census  taker." 

Of  a  rumored  "oldest  inhabitant,"  Mr.  Bailey  said.  "We  learn 
that  there  is  now  living  in  Canoe  Township  a  Norwegian  named 
Lars  Iverson,  who  came  to  the  county  in  1845  along  with  Govern- 
ment Surveyors,  and  who  after  the  latter  had  finished  their  work, 
'kind  er  stayed  around'  and  has  been  a  resident  ever  since.  If 
this  be  so — we  have  not  had  time  to  confirm  it — it  may  be  as  with  the 
Norske  pioneers  to  America — a  Norwegian  the  first  real  comer, 
although  not  the  first  'settler'  in  the  full  sense  of  the  term.  So 
far  as  Ihave  been  able  to  learn,  he  was  the  only  one  who  remained 
as  a  settler.     I  know  not  whether  he  has  responded  to  this  iuvi- 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  173 

tation  which  has  called  us  together  to-day;  but  I  was  in  hopes  to 
be  able  to  introduce  him  to  you  as  that  wonderful  person  so  often 
talked  of  but  seldom  seen — the  oldest  inhabitant.  James  Dan- 
iels of  Ossian  was  also  one  of  the  volunteers  at  Fort  Atkinson,  but 
he  returned  to  Clayton  County  after  his  company  was  disbanded, 
I  know  not  the  date  of  his  return." 

COUNTY  SEAT  CONTESTS. 

As  early  as  the  fall  of  18i9,  some  of  the  settlers  began  to  agi- 
tate the  question  of  organizing  a  county  and  to  take  steps  to  that 
purpose.  Judge  Price,  of  Clayton,  was  then  here  taking  the  census 
for  State  purposes,  and  as  he  represented  all  northwestern  Iowa,The 
agreed  to  attend  to  the  matter  for  them.  An  organizing  act  was 
passed  by  the  legislature  and  on  the  15th  of  January,  1851,  Avas 
approved  by  the  Governor  and  became  a  law,  constituting  Winne- 
shiek an  organized  county.  It  embraces  468,000  acres,  is  bound- 
ed on  the  north  by  Minnesota,  on  the  east  by  Allamakee  county 
— the  only  county  between  it  and  the  Mississippi  river — on  the 
south  by  Fayette  county,  and  on  the  west  by  Howard  and  Chicka- 
saw counties. 

This  organizing  act  appointed,  on  and  after  the  first  day  of 
March,  1851,  John  L.  Carson,  the  organizing  sheriff,  and  direc- 
ted him  to  set  stakes  for  points  that  might  contend  for  the  coun- 
tyseat,  as  follows: 

One  at  or  near  Louisville  on  the  Turkey  river,  another  at  or 
near  Swaney's  (or  McS wain's)  mill  on  the  Turkey  river  (the  site 
of  Moneek,)  and  the  third  at  Decorah,  on  the  Upper  Iowa  river; 
the  elections  to  be  held  on  the  first  Monday  in  April. 

Louisville,  or  Lewiston,  as  it  was  called,  from  the  first  name  of 
one  of  its  proprietors,  was  regulary  laid  out  between  Fort  Atkin- 
son and  Old  Mission,  on  the  farm  of  Lewis  Harkins,  as  more  ful- 
ly detailed  in  a  previous  chapter.  It  was  never  more  than  a  paper 
town — the  quarrel  between  its  proprietors,  Lewis  Harkins  and 
Francis  Rogers  proving  fatal  to  its  hopes.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  tell  where  Decorah  was  and  is,  though  it  made  but  little  show- 
ing then;  its  history  is  given  elsewhere.  Moneek,  now  almost 
as  much  forgotten  as  Lewiston,  was  then  Decorah's  most  formid- 
able rival.  Moneek  had  a  site  in  a  beautiful  valley  on  the  north 
side  of  Yellow  river,  high,  well  wooded  bluffs  surrounding  it,  and 
was  located  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  1,  in  Bloomfi  Id 
township.  It  was  originally  settled  by  Canadians,  but  some  of 
them  had  been  in  the  west  long  enough  to  get  posted  in  the  ways 
of  pioneer  speculators,  and  figured  for  a  booming  town  from  the 
first.  But  we  will  proceed  with  the  county  seat  contest,  and  give 
a  history  of  Moneek  further  on. 

The  county  documents  do  not  tell  much  of  the  story  of  the  ex- 
citing contest.  All  they  have  is  embodied  in  the  following,  from 
the  first  page  of  the  first  records  of  Winneshiek  County: 


174  HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

State  of  Iowa — WiiuufyJiiek  County: 

I  hereby  certify  that  at  an  election  held  in  the  County  of  Winne- 
shiek, and  State  of  Iowa,  on  the  7th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1851,  De- 
corah  was  duly  elected  to  be  the  county  seat  of  said  county. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  set  my  hand  the  14th  of  April, 
1851.  J.  L.  Carson,  Organizing  Sheriff. 

As  we  have  said,  the  above  does  not  tell  the  whole  story.  In 
point  of  numbers,  Moneek  had  most  undoubtedly  and  most  decided- 
ly the  advantage.  But  victories  are  sometimes  won  by  strategy. 
While  there  was  no  doubt,  a  "full  ballot"  all  around,  Moneek's 
champions  could  hardly  call  it  a  "fair  count"  for  their  whole  bal- 
lot was  thrown  out  when  it  came  before  the  county  "returning 
board."  In  fact  Moneek's  returns  were  not  in  legal  form,  nor 
were  they  sworn  to  as  the  law  directed.  The  story  of  how  it  hap- 
pened to  be  so,  we  will  briefly  relate,  leaving  out  the  unwritten 
history  of  how  a  regular  poll  book,  intended  for  Moneek,  never 
happened  to  get  there.  Previous  to  election  day,  poll  books  were 
dispatched  to  the  several  voting  points  named.  Somehow  the  one 
intended  for  Moneek  was  miscarried  and  what  became  of  it,  who 
can  (or  will)  tell.  The  Canadians  there  had  no  form  for  a  poll 
book,  did  not  know  how  to  make  one,  nor  how  to  make  returns 
correctly;  nor  were  they  sharp  enough  to  find  out.  As  a  result,  a 
lot  of  names  were  written  down  on  a  large  piece  or  pieces  of  pa- 
per in  such  a  way  that  had  the  document  been  found  in  the  road 
no  one  could  have  told  w^hatit  meant  or  was  intended  for.  It  had 
no  regularity  and  did  not  conform  to  the  legal  "red  tape"  require- 
ments. In  fact  there  was  no  way  of  telling  whether  the  names 
were  those  of  legal  voters  or  not.  And  so  Decorah  was  declared 
the  county  seat  of  Winneshiek  County. 

But  Decorah's  fight  was  not  yet  crver.  Freeport  had  been  set- 
tled by  enterprising  men  who  thought  that  broad  valley  the  place 
to  drop  down  the  county  seat,  if  they  could  get  it  away  from 
Decorah,  which  they  certainly  had  strong  prospects  of  doing.  The 
fight  in  this  case  had  points  in  resemblance  to  that  with  Moneek, 
though  the  result  did  not  so  entirely  wipe  out  Decorah's  rival 
town. 

By  the  old  law,  in  order  to  get  a  vote  on  the  question  of  the  re- 
location of  a  county  seat,  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  an  act  of  the 
legislature  authorizing  such  vote.  In  the  election  of  a  member 
of  the  legislature  in  1854,  the  county  seat  question  was  made  an 
issue.  Decorah  had  for  its  candidate,  we  are  informed,  a  Mr. 
Moore,  and  the  candidate  of  Freeport  was  James  D.  McKay,  who 
was  elected  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  The  purpose  of  Free- 
port  was  to  secure  from  the  legislature  an  order  for  an  election  on 
the  question  of  re-location  of  the  county  seat,  and  the  friends  of 
that  locality  were  consequently  jubilant.  But  Decorah  did  not 
give  up  the  contest.  It  happened  that  Mr.  Claibourne  Day,  then, 
as  ever  since,  an  active  and  public-spirited  Decorah  man,  had  oc- 


HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  175 

casion  to  visit  Des  Moines  during  the  legislative  session  of  1854- 
5.  He  had  good  friends  among  some  of  the  old  legislators  from 
other  parts  of  the  state,  and  before  the  session  was  over,  was  pret- 
ty well  acquainted  with  every  member.  It  cannot  be  doubted 
that  he  was  alive  to  the  interests  of  Decorah,  whether  in  daily 
converse  with  members  of  the  bench  or  bar;  or  in  the  social  gath- 
erings which  those  early  legislators  were  wont  to  have.  It  has 
been  hinted  that  a  temperance  gentleman  from  Freeport  who  at- 
tempted to  do  missionary  work  in  the  legislature,  did  not  help  the 
cause  of  that  town — but  that  may  be  only  rumor.  At  all  events 
the  election  was  not  ordered.  But  to  meet  this  and  similar  cases 
elsewhere,  the  present  law  was  passed.  And  here  let  us  digress 
and  say  that  Mr.  Day  also  did  good  work  for  Decorah  in  that  leg- 
latnre  in  another  respect.  He  got  the  names  of  most  of  the  mem- 
bers to  a  petition  to  congress,  dividing  the  Dubuque  land  district 
and  establishing  a  land  office  in  Decorah.  This  was  done  by  the 
succeeding  congress  and  helped  to  more  permanently  establish 
Decorah  as  the  commercial  as  well  as  political  capitol  of  the 
county. 

The  above  law,  regulating  county  seat  re-location,  which  still  ex- 
ists, and  under  which  there  have  been  frequent  strifes  ii:  various  parts 
of  the  State,  authorizes  a  vote  for  re-location  on  a  petition  of  the 
majority  of  the  electors,  the  votes  polled  at  the  preceding  election 
being  taken  as  a  basis.  In  February,  1856,  the  Freeport  people 
presented  a  petition  to  Judge  Reed,  asking  for  the  election,  and 
signed  by  the  required  number,  as  the  votes  at  the  previous  elec- 
tion had  been  420.  But  Decorah  was  not  idle.  The  stumbling 
block  of  a  remonstrance  was  resorted  to.  Wm.  Painter  was 
offered  the  honorable  and  flattering  position  of  presenting  such 
remonstrance  to  the  judge  and  swearing  to  the  same,  the  getters- 
np  of  the  remonstrance  telling  him  that  they  would  get  the 
names,  and  that  he  need  not  have  any  trouble  about  that.  And 
in  a  very  short  time  a  petition  with  800  signatures,  remonstrating 
against  the  election,  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Painter,  who, 
while  his  coadjutors  stood  back,  or  perhaps  were  not  near  the 
presence  of  the  court,  swore  that  the  petitioners,  so  far  as  he 
knew,  were  residents  of  the  county.  No  doubt  they  were — so  far 
as  he  knew  them.  It  is  not  very  probable  that  he  knew  everybody, 
and  indeed  it  is  not  probable  that  any  one  man  knew  the  ma- 
jority on  that  petition.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  claimed  that  the 
Freeport  petition  was  not  wholly  bona  fide.  And  now  it  be- 
hooved Judge  Reed  to  decide  whether  he  should  grant  the  elec- 
tion in  spite  of  the  remonstrance.  The  case  was  argued  by  law- 
yers on  both  sides  for  a  day  and  a  half,  (Levi  Ballis  being  attor- 
ney for  the  petitioners,  and  E.  E.  Cooley  for  the  remonstrants), 
and  the  county  seat  was  saved  for  Decorah  by  the  judge's  de- 
cision to  grant  no  election.  It  was,  and  is  still,  asserted  that  had 
Judge  Reed  not  been  a  Arm   friend   of  Decorah,  Freeport  would 


176  HISTORY   OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

have  been  the  victor.  However  this  may  be,  all  further  attempts  to 
secure  a  vote  or  to  reverse  decisions  denying  such  vote,  were  abor- 
tive, and  the  securing  of  the  land  office  here,  as  previously  re- 
ferred to  in  this  chapter,  and  the  building  of  the  court  house — a 
loan  of  $6,000  for  the  purpose  having  been  voted  in  1856, — 
permanently  settled  the  county  seat  at  Decorah.  Further  details 
of  the  contest  are  given  in  the  sketch  of  Decorah,  and  in  the 
following  from  an  address  of  A.  K.  Bailey  before  the  Old  Set- 
tlers' Association  in  the  Opera  House,  at  Decorah,  July  4th, 
1876: 

"Under  the  law  authorizing  a  vote  on  petition  of  a  majority  of 
the  electors  polled  at  the  last  preceding  election,  in  1856,  Freeport 
appeared  as  an  applicant  for  a  vote  on  re-location.  In  the  fall  be- 
fore 120  votes  were  polled.  Their  petition  was  signed  by  400  pe- 
titioners, but  it  was  met  by  a  remonstrance  bearing  nearly  800 
signatures.  The  Court,  our  venerable  friend  Judge  Reed,  presid- 
ing, decided  to  grant  no  vote.  The  July  following  another  peti- 
tion of  the  same  tenor  was  presented,  it  being  signed  by  451 
names.  Another  remonstrance  was  forthcoming,  signed  by  715 
persons.  In  both  cases  the  petitions  and  remonstrances  were  cer- 
tified to  by  affidavit  as  containing  only  names  of  actual  residents. 
The  last  appeal  met  with  a  fate  similar  to  the  first.  The  case  was 
removed  to  the  District  Court  on  a  writ  of  certiorari,  and  was 
ended  by  a  decision  of  Judge  Murdock,  affirming  the 
decision  of  the  County  Court.  In  the  Following  year 
the  erection  of  the  court  house  at  Decorah  began,  and 
Freeport  gave  up  the  struggle.  Such  is  a  short  his- 
tory of  the  selection  of  the  county  capital.  I  may  add  that  per- 
haps at  no  time  in  the  history  of  the  county >j3as  there  been  any 
more  desperate  struggle  or  any  harder  work  done  than  in  the  cau- 
cuses and  elections  which  preceded  and  culminated  in  these  con- 
tests. From  the  best  information  I  can  gain,  I  am  strongly  of 
the  opinion  tiiat  notwithstanding  the  affidavits  as  to  actual  citizen- 
ship which  accompanied  the  petitions  and  remonstrances,  Freeport 
labored  under  the  disadvantage  of  being  off  the  main  line  of  im- 
migration which  was  pouring  in,  and  through  to  the  west,  as  well  as 
Minnesota.  There  are  stories  still  told  how  money  was  used  and 
promised,  but  from  the  best  knoAvledge  I  can  acquire,  I  think 
this  is  not  true.  If  sharp  practice  was  played,  and  ''She- 
nanigan" was  used,  we  to-day,  looking  back  upon  those  times,  cannot 
say  that  evil  has  come  of  it.  The  result  was  to  prevent  the 
county  seat  from  getting  upon  wheels,  and  when  a  settled  con- 
clusion was  reached,  the  worl^of  building  up  and  improving  began 
immediately,  and  has  been  pursued  so  steadily  that  every  resident 
of  Winneshiek  feels  it  a  matter  of  pride  that  his  countv  town  is 
excelled  by  no  other  of  equal  size  in  the  entire  State.  He  knows 
that  it  has  a  repute  far  and  near  as  a  bustling,  enterprising,  well- 


HISTORY    OF    WINXESHIEK   COUXTY.  177 

built  manufacturing  and  commercial  young  city,  situated  in  the 
centre  of  a  dense  population,  draining  a  section  unrivaled  for  its 
agricultural  wealth. 

STORY'  OF  A  DEFUNCT  TOWN. 

The  following  history  of  Moneek  is  from  sketches  of  early  his- 
tory of  Winneshiek  count}^  and  was  published  in  the  Decorah 
R?pnU}can,  March  20,  1875: 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  early  history  of  the  county 
will  remember  that  when  its  organization  was  perfected,  the 
most  flourishing  settlement  was  neither  Decorah  or  Fort  Atkin- 
son. And  those  who  have  read  Rev.  E.  Adams'  'First  things  of 
Decorah,'  will  remember  that  there  is  good  evidence  that  the  resi- 
dents of  both  these  places  were  evidently  afraid  of  that  third 
town.  The  latter,  in  examination  of  the  records  and  witnesses 
did  not  venture  to  enquire  deeply  into  the  first  county  seat  vote, 
and  he  intimates  pretty  plainly  that  sharp  practice  was  resorted 
to  in  order  to  shut  out  the  overwhelming  vote  which  this  third 
town  might  secure  for  the  coveted  houors  and  the  profits  aris- 
ing from  its  pre-eminence  as  the  county  town.  The  name  of 
this  town  was  Moneek,  it  evidently  was,  in  1850,  '51  and  '52 
the  foremost  town  in  the  county,  and  a  veritable  history,  if 
one  is  ever  written,  cannot  be  complete  without  the  story  of  its 
rise,  growth  and  decay.  The  records  show  it  the  oldest  town  in 
the  county,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  at  one  time 
its  opportunities  were  most  favorable,  and  it  bade  fair  to  lead  any 
that  might  be- started  as  its  rival.  The  recorded  plat  shows  that 
it  was  surveyed  in  January,  1852,  although  the  plat  was  not  re- 
corded until  the  November  following.  Decorah  was  not  platted 
.and  recorded  until  the  jear  following,  viz:  August,  1853.  Frank- 
ville  came  into  existence  similarly  in  October,  and  was  followed 
by  Freeport  in  May,  and  Calmar  in  November,  1851;  and  Ossian 
in  April,  1855.  That  year  saw  a  number  of  other  towns  begun, 
some  of  which  have  a  lively  existence  still;  while  others  never 
got  beyond  the  record  in  progress  towards  village  existence.  The 
seniorit}^  is  enough  of  itself  to  give  Moneek  prominence  in  these 
sketches. 

It  was  situated  on  the  north  fork  of  the  Yellow  river,  on  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  1,  in  Bloomfield  township.  Tremen- 
dous hills,  well  wooded,  surrounded  it.  and  it  nestled  cosily  in  the 
valley  on  the  river,  on  a  site  that  originally  must  have  been 
charmingly  beautiful. 

The  pioneer  settlers  were  Moses  S.  McSwain  and  Abner  De- 
Cow.  To  these  may  be  added  John  DeCow,  who  joined  them  a 
year  later.  All  of  them  were  Canadians,  but  McSwain  had  re- 
sided for  a  while  previous  in  Illinois,  and  probably  obtained  there 
some  ideas  of  the  western  methods  of  doing  things.  They  had  a 
town  site  in  their  eves  from  the  commencement.     The  two  arrived 


178  HISTORY    OF   AYINN^ESHIEK    COUNTY. 

at  Moneek  with  their  families  in  July,  1849,  and  lived  in  their  tent 
wagjons  until  a  log  house  12x16  was  built.  They  commenced  the 
same  season  to  build  a  saw  mill,  which  was  afterwards  noted  all 
over  the  adjacent  country  as  tlie  mill. 

Their  nearest  neighbors  were  Joel  Post,  at  Postville,  and  two 
families  who  had  "squatted"  on  the  Military  Road.  These  were 
David  Reed,  the  first  county  Judge,  yet  a  resident  of  the  county, 
and  a  man  named  Campbell.  The  widow  of  the  latter  still  occu- 
pies the  land  on  which  her  husband  made  his  claim.  Besides 
these,  there  were  the  Hawks,  and  Isaac  Callender,  over  in  Frank- 
ville.  R.  Tillotson  joined  them  the  same  year.  He  was  a  mill- 
wright, and  helped  them  build  the  mill.  This  was  completed  in 
July,  1850.  In  the  spring  of  the  latter  year  Russell  Dean  and 
Geo.  Blake,  with  their  families — also  from  Canada — joined  the 
new  settlement  June  29tli  1850.  John  DeCow,  ex-County  Judge 
and  now  member  of  the  State  Legislature — also  moved  in;  he,  too 
coming  from  Canada.  He  found  all  of  the  four  families  occupying 
the  one  log  house,  above  mentioned,  yet  it  was  large  enough  to  re- 
ceive the  fifth  family,  until  another  house— the  second  in  the  em- 
bryo city — could  be  built. 

The  hospitality  of  the  early  settlers  was  nnbounded.  Like  the 
modern  omnibus,  their  old  log  habitations  had  always  room  for 
more,  and  the  new  comer  surely  received  a  warm  welcome.  How 
this  small  building  accommodated  the  five  families  during  the  six 
Vv^eeks  in  which  he  was  putting  up  his  own  house,  the  Judge  can 
now  scarcely  tell.  He  does  tell  us  that  he  brought  a  little  pro- 
visions with  him,  and  when  these  were  exhausted  he  was  com- 
pelled to  go  to  Elkader  and  McGregor  for  more.  After  making 
his  purchases,  and  buying  a  cow,  price  $20,  he  had  left,  as  a  work- 
ing capital,  the  magnificent  sum  of  $1.30.  Returning  home,  he 
hired  out  to  McSwain  and  Abner  DeCow,  who  were  partners,  to 
work  in  a  mill  at  |18  per  month.  This  engagement  lasted  only 
one  month  and  twenty-two  days,  when  he  struck  out  to  paddle  his 
own  canoe.  How  well  this  has  been  done  is  attested  by  the  400 
choice  acres  he  now  owns,  near  Ossian,  well  fenced,  cultivated  and 
stocked,  to  say  nothing  of  a  little  surplus  funds  laid  by  for  a 
rainy  day.  His  first  act  was  to  make  a  claim  adjoining  Moneek 
for  160  acres. 

The  same  year  Blake  went  south  and  Dean  west  about  a  mile 
and  a  half,  and  put  up  log  houses  on  'claims'  of  their  own. 

In  the  spring  of  1851  the  first  frame  building  was  built  by  A. 
and  J.  DeCow.  This  was  rented  to  a  man  named  Johnson,  from 
Illinois,  who  brought  on  a  stock  of  goods  and  became  the  first 
merchant.  His  capital  was  small,  the  amount  of  trade  limited, 
and  he  soon  'busted.'  McSwain  bought  out  his  remnants,  and 
sold  out  the  stock.  Having  neither  money  or  credit  with  which 
to  purchase  more  goods,  the  mercantile  business  came  to  an  end 
for  the  time  being. 


HISTORY    OF   AVINNESniEK    COUNTY.  170 

The  same  year  John  Duff  came  along,  liked  the  looks  of  the 
settlement,  and  built  a  blacksmith  shop,  which  he  sold  in  the  fall 
to  Phil  Lathrop  (the  same  who  was  landlord  at  Frankville,  fifteen 
years  ago.)  The  latter  united  butchering  to  blacksmithing,  and 
soon  after  added  merchandising.  About  the  same  year  he  built  a 
house,  which  when  completed  was  opened  for  the  entertainment 
of  man  and  beast,  and  the  village  had  a  hotel.  It  was  not  large, 
but  in  those  days  it  was  thought  to  be  'a  good  one.' 

In  1S52,  George  Crawford,  who  afterwards  went  to  Burr  Oak 
Springs — another  defunct  town  of  early  promise — became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  community.  He  was,  likewise,  a  Canadian,  and  brought 
goods,  mostly  cloths,  with  him.  He  was  a  tailor  by  trade  and  did 
a  thriving  business,  which  soon  required  the  aid  of  a  journeyman. 
He  soon  added  groceries  to  his  stock — dry  and  *wet' — and  pros- 
pered as  long  as  Moneek  was  in  its  glory. 

James  F.  Andrews,  a  retired  Baptist  minister,  with  two  sons 
and  their  families,  became  residents  in  the  same  year.  They  added 
another  store.  One  of  the  sons  was  a  doctor,  and  so  the  town  se- 
cured the  benefit  of  clergy  and  medicine  by  this  really  large  ac- 
quisition. They,  however,  only  remained  about  a  year.  The 
town  was  outgrowing  the  settlements,  and  was  not  large  enough 
to  support  so  many  "middlemen." 

Louis  Boughner,  also  a  Canadian,  but  of  German  descent,  came 
along  in  the  same  year,  opened  his  kit  of  tools,  and  sat  down  upon 
his  shoemaker's  bench.  That' winter  the  hamlet  began  to  feel  as 
though  it  was  of  sufiicient  importance  to  be  recognized  by  the 
General  Government,  and  postal  facilities  were  demanded.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  or  following  spring  these  were  secured,  and 
Boughner  had  so  far  won  the  confidence  of  the  people  that  he  was 
chosen  to  serve  as  the  village  Nasby.  The  olfice  was  supported  by 
"Winneshiek" — a  post  office  then  situated  between  Castalia  and 
Postville,  at  which  Mr.  D.  A.  Reed,  of  Decorah,  was  then  deputy 
postmaster.  It  is  related  by  Mr.  II.  that  his  brother-in-law  was 
postmaster,  and  he  served  as  deputy.  By  this  arrangement  the  mail 
carrier,  or  any  one  calling  for  mail,  was  sure  to  find  one  or  the 
other  at  home.  The  convenience  of  this  arrangement  was  very 
great,  because  the  postmaster  and  his  deputy  only  lived  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  apart.  About  this  Winneshiek  P.  0.,  E.E.  Meader  can 
tell  an  incident,  something  like  this.  About  the  time  the  lands 
were  to  come  into  market,  he  had  a  large  sum  of  money,  amount- 
ing to  about  $100,  coming  to  him  in  Indiana.  There  was  no  ex- 
presses in  those  days,  and  he  was  compelled  to  direct  that  it  be  sent 
in  a  letter.  He  expected  to  receive  it  at  Decorah,  then  a  small 
office,  which,  according  to  Rev.  E.  Adams,  was  carried  around  in 
Claib.  Day's  hat.  After  waiting  a  more  than  reasonable  time  for 
its  arrival,  and  it  not  being  forthcoming,  he  became  enxious  about 
it.     Procuring  a  list  of  the  offices  in   the  county    he  visited  them 


180  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

and  at  last  found  it    intact  at  this  Winneshiek    P.    0.,    and   went 
home  rejoicing.     The  sender  had  failed  to  address  it  to  Decorah. 

That  year,  1852,  saw  a  large  increase  to  the  settlers  outside,  as 
■well  as  in  Moneek.  Among  those  who  came  was  Col.  D.  D. 
Webster,  David  Duff,  Philip  Husted,  Andrew  Stewart  and  John 
W.  Smith,  The  first  three  still  reside  on  the  farms  they  occu- 
pied, surrounded  by  large  families  and  prosperity.  About  that 
time  Dr.  Riddle,  an  Ohioan,  settled  in  Moneek.  He  now  lives  at 
or  near  Nora  Springs.  Dr.  A.  B.  Hanna,  now  of  Elkader,  fol- 
lowed a  year  or  two  later,  and  succeeded  Boughner  as  postmaster, 
holding  the  office  until  it  was  thrown  up — sometime  in  the  six- 
ties. 

In  1853  Geo,  W,  Esty  settled  there,  and  is,  to-day,  the  sole 
owner  of  what  was  then  a  most  thriving  village.  He  came  from 
New  York,  and  found  the  village  to  consist  of  eight  dwellings, 
one  saw  mill  owned  and  operated  by  Abner  DeCow,  one  black- 
smith shop,  worked  by  John  Duff,  Jr.,  two  stores  kept  by  James 
F,  Andrews  and  George  Crawford;  a  shoe  shop  and  post  office, 
managed  by  Boughner,  and  two  liquor  saloons,  one  kept  by  Geo. 
Crawford  as  an  adjunct  to  his  store,  and  the  other  by  a  man  named 
Walker,  who  enlisted  when  the  war  broke  out,  and  died  in  battle. 
The  Yellow  River  then  contained  double  the  water  it  now  posses- 
ses, and  the  saw  mill  was  easily  able  to  run  five  months  in  the  year. 
The  timber  in  the  neighborhood  was  superior,  and  this  won  the 
mill  a  wide  and  high  reputation.  In  1850,  E.  E.  Meader,  who 
had  settled  at  Hesper,  obtained  there  ash  flooring  for  the  log 
house  in  which  he  began  his  Iowa  house-keeping.  At  the  time  of 
its  greatest  prosperity,  Moneek  contained  scarcely  a  score  of  build- 
ings, divided  into  dwellings,  shops,  etc.  But  it  had  a  large  out- 
lying settlement,  and  it  was  this,  probably,  that  made  it  feared  by 
the  dwellers  in  Decorah  and  Fort  Atkinson  when  the  county  seat 
vote  was  taken.  They  were  sufficiently  numerous  to  give  the  two 
other  points  a  "close  call"  in  a  fair  poll.  Failing  to  receive  the 
poll  book  in  time,  the  people  of  Moneek  held  an  election  with  as 
much  form  and  regularity  as  they  could  devise,  but  not  sufficiently 
so  to  prevent  the  vote  from  being  thrown  out.  What  might  have 
been,  if  there  had  been  more  determined  watchfulness  by  the  peo- 
ple of  the  village,  it  is  impossible  to  tell.  What  did  happen  is 
very  easy  to  narrate. 

Its  decline  began  in  1855.  Judge  DeCow  saw  it  coming  in  1854, 
and  sold  his  160  acre  claim  adjoining  the  plat  for  $1,800,  to  a  man 
named  Barnum.  The  place  has  been  sold  twice  since,  but  never 
for  as  much  money.  With  the  proceeds  the  Judge  settled  on  the 
place  he  now  owns,  and  is  very  thankful  he  took  that  tide  in  his 
life  at  its  flood.  The  tax  list  of  1855  shows  that  the  Moneek 
merchant's  assessment  was  $800  for  four  lots;  and  Abner  De- 
Cow's  tavern  was  valued  at  the  same  figuie.  In  Decorah,  at  that 
time,  there  were  only  four   assessments  of  greater   amount,    and 


HISTORY    OF    WJNNESIIIEK    COUNTY.  181 

two  others  only  equaled  it.  The  causes  fur  its  decline  were  few 
and  simple.  Settlers  were  thronging  into  the  country,  and  open- 
ing other  sections.  Post  routes  and  lines  of  communication  were 
being  established.  Nature  was  rather  against  Moneek.  It  was 
nestled  away  in  the  valley  of  the  Yellow  River,  surrounded  by 
mountainous  hills,  and  not  easy  of  access.  Notwithstanding  this, 
the  founders  of  the  place  evidently  thought  Moneek  had  such  a 
start  that  its  growth  was  sure  and  permanent;  that  roads  must 
come  to  them;  they  could  not  be  'left  out  in  the  cold.'  One 
thing  is  certain,  while  the  post  routes  were  being  established  the 
Moneekers  were  too  busy  with  their  'corner  lots,'  In  the  mean- 
while, a  busy,  bustling  fellow  named  Frank  Teabout,  had  settled 
on  the  ridge,  and  when  the  'state  road'  was  run  lie  was  looking 
after  his  interests.  The  line  was  established  on  the  ridge;  Frank- 
ville  sprang  into  existence;  and  ere  they  knew  it  the  great  tide  of 
emigration  which  set  in  was  sweepnig  by  them,  along  the  ridge 
road,  but  bringing  no  grist  to  be  tolled  and  ground  for  the  benefit 
of  Moneek,  it  had  its  method  of  egress,  but  no  artery  of  trade. 
The  result  was  certain.  Those  who  were  in  trade  one  by  one  sold 
out,  or  abandoned  the  place;  and  by  the  time  it  was  ten  years  old 
it  was  indeed  a  deserted  village. 

Early  in  the  sixties  its  postoffice  was  thrown  up.  Abner  De- 
Cow  enlisted  in  1861  and  served  in  Capt.  Willett's  company  of 
the  3d  Iowa  Infantry;  and  at  the  close  of  the  w\ar  removed  to 
Kansas,  where  he  still  resides.  McSwain  remained  until  about 
1865,  Avhen  he  left,  principally  because  the  neighborhood  was 
getting  too  warm  for  him.  The  rights  of  the  property  were 
not  rigidly  observed  by  everybody  about  that  time;  but  who  it 
was  that  was  careless  as  to  other  people's  titles,  was  not  known. 
At  last  an  old  buggy  was  missed  from  the  road  where  it  had  been 
left.  Inquiry  was  made  as  to  its  whereabouts  for  several  days 
ineffectually,  until  Judge  DeCow  (mind,  he  doesn't  tell  us  this 
story,  and  isn't  responsible  for  it,)  Avent  down  to  McSwaiu's  to 
look  at  some  sheep  the  latter  wished  to  sell.  As  the  families  had 
not  visited  for  a  long  time,  he  took  his  wife  and  children  along. 
During  the  day  the  children  went  to  the  straw  stack  to  play,  and 
pleased  themselves  by  climbing  to  the  top,  and  sliding  down  the 
stack.  McSwain's  boy,  however,  cautioned  the  Judge's  son  not 
to  slide  down  on  a  certain  side,  because  there  was  a  wagon  under 
there!  This  excited  his  curiosity  enough  so  that  he  remembered 
to  tell  his  father  about  it  on  the  way  home  in  the  evening.  It 
instantly  struck  the  father — there  is  that  missing  buggy!  The 
suspicion  was  more  than  hinted  to  the  owner,  and  a  search  proved 
it  to  be  the  identical  buggy.  McSwain  settled  the  matter,  but 
used,  afterwards,  to  charge  the  sheep  with  being  the  sole  cause  of 
the  difficulty.  He  reasoned  it  out,  somewhat  after  this  manner. 
If  he  had  not  owned  the  sheep  and  wanted  to  sell  them,  the  Judge 
would  not  have  paid  him  that   visit;    the   boys    would   not  have 


182  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

been  sliding  down  the  straw  stack;  the  buggy  would  have  re- 
mained hid  until  he  could  have  run  it  off.  Ergo:  the  sheep  were 
wholly  to  blame! 

This  discovery  gave  the  neighbors  cause  to  suspicion  McSwain 
whenever  anything  was  missing;  and  as  there  was  considerable 
horse-thieving  going  on  about  that  time,  it  became  too  unpleasant 
a  place  to  stay.  As  soon  as  he  could  dispose  of  his  property,  he 
folded  his  tents,  and  fled  away  to  new  fields. 

The  plat  of  the  village  was  vacated  in  18— ;  and  it  is  now  a  part 
of  a  good  farm,  which  a  clever,  thorough  going  farmer,  Mr.  G. 
W._  Esty,  above  mentioned,  annually  plows,  sows  and  reaps.  Oc- 
casionally a  new  comer  enquires  where  was  Moneek,  and  the 
query  calls  up  a  smile  to  the  face  of  an  old  settler,  as  he  cheerful- 
ly answers  and  thinks  of  the  swath  it  cut  in  the  years  which  are 
so  recent,  and  yet  in  the  hurry-skurry  of  more  important  events, 
seem  much  longer  than  a  fifth  century  ago. 

EARLIER    SKETCHES. 

The  following  from  sketches  of  earlv  history,  published  in  the 
Decorah  RepuUican  in  1865,  give  much  interesting  information, 
although  some  points  omitted  are  supplied  elsewhere,  and  the 
chronology  of  early  settlers  given  more  completely  in  Chapter  I. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  shown,  and  it  is  an  undisputed  fact, 
that  the  Day  family  are  entitled  to  the  honor  of  being  Decorah's 
first  settlers;  and,  as  this  has  grown  into  the  most  important  and 
influential  point  within  the  county,  it  will  always  give  to  them  a 
pre-eminence  over  all  other  pioneers.  But,  as  we  have  shoAvn  in 
the  history  of  Fort  Atkinson,  there  were  those  who  preceded  them. 
The  Days  came  to  Decorah  in  June,  1819.  The  German  colony, 
consisting  of  Gotlob  and  Gotleib  Krumm,  Charles  Kregg  and 
Francis  Rogers,  came  in  1817,  nearly  two  years  before.  We  have 
sometimes  doubted  whether  this  is  not  an  error  of  a  year,  because- 
the  soil  was  then  Indian  territory,  and  not  open  to  squatters.  The 
Indians  were  removed  in  1818,  and  the  reservation  opened  to  set- 
tlement. The  date,  however,  has  been  published,  and  stands  un- 
questioned, therefore  we  give  it  again,  with  this  query,  which  may 
substantiate  it  or  correct  an  error.  If  it  is  substantiated,  the  fact 
is  very  clear  that  they  were  the  first  permanent  residents. 

If  there  is  an  error  of  one  year,  it  will  give  them  a  year's 
precedence  over  the  settlement  'at  Decorah,  but  it  will  leave  it  an 
open  question  whether  a  family  named  Campbell,  who  had  settled 
in  Bloomfield  township,  were  not  as  early,  or  earlier  comers.  To 
these  may  be  added  the  family  of  ex-Judge  David  Reed, who  follow- 
ed the  Campbells  closely,  and  became  the  pioneer  settlers  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  countv. 

We  leani  of  these  through  'Mr.  D.  A.  Reed.  He  informs  us 
that  his  father's  family  moved  upon  what  afterwards  became  the 
northeast   quarter  of  Section  25,  in  August,  1848.      The   family 


HISTORY   OF   WINKESHIEK   COUNTY,  183 

'Consisted  of  eight  persons,  and  he  was  then  18  3'ears  ohl.  They 
found  their  only  neighbors  to  be  the  family  of  this  Mr.  Campbell. 
He  had  come  in  only  a  few  weeks  previous,  and  was  still  "camping 
out,"  or  occupying  an  emigi'ant  wagon,  over  on  the  west  side  of 
what  became  Section  23.  Both  these  points  were  on  the  Military 
road,  then  the  only  travelled  thoroughfare.  This  would  make 
the  Campbells  resident  from  some  time  in  July,  1818.  Perhaps 
Mrs.  Campbell,  the  wife,  now  a  widow,  living  (we  believe)  on  the 
homestead  which  they  then  squatted  upon,  may  be  able  to  give 
the  exact  date.  Mr.  Reed  tells  us  that  Mr.  Campbell  made  claim 
to  a  strip  of  land  one  mile  wide  and  four  miles  long,  and  a 
year  or  two  later  he  thought  it  hard  that  he  could  not  get  |20  for 
his  claim. 

Mrs.  Powell,  the  old  lady  who  was  canonized  in  the  sketch  of 
Fort  Atkinson  as  the  wonderful  talker  at  "Rattle-trap,"  had  also 
come  in  a  few  weeks  before,  but  as  she  did  not  long  remain,  we 
leave  her  out  of  the  list  of  settlers. 

Leaving  the  dates  as  they  have  been  written,  we  have  this  data 
as  established  facts:  The  German  colony  was  first  in  precedence; 
the  Campbells  and  Reeds  second,  and  the  Days  third.  If  there 
are  any  who  can  dispute  this  order  we  have  yet  to  hear  a  hint  or 
trace  of  them.  They  represent,  too,  three  different  sections  of  the 
county,  or  independent  settlements,  each  begun  prior  to  July  1st, 
1819.  In  that  month  of  July  Geo.  Bachel,  Joseph  Huber, 
Andrew  Myers,  Anthony  Stottle,  Joseph  Spillman,  and  Jonah 
Rausch,  with  their  families,  joined  the  German  colony;  and  the 
Goddards  came  in  the  fall.  In  the  same  mouth  McS wain  and 
Abner  DeCow  settled  at  Moneek.  These  speak  of  Hawks  and 
Callenders,  who  were  residing  over  in  what  has  become  Frankville 
township.  Of  the  date  of  their  coming  we  have  obtained  no  in- 
formation. Rev.  E.  Adams,  in  his  "First  Things  of  Decorah," 
mentions  that  the  Days  found  but  two  settlers  between  Monona 
and  Decorah,  and  these  were  at  or  near  what  is  now  called  Frank- 
ville. 

The  history  of  Moneek  added  a  few  other  names  to  that  settle- 
ment in  1849.  To  Decorah  was  added  the  Painter  family,  and 
probably  on  the  first  of  January,  1850,  the  residents  of  the  county 
did  not  number  over  two  score  families,  all  told.  Large  accessions 
came  in  that  year;  and  it  must  be  left  to  an  "Old  Settlers'  Associa- 
tion," to  gather  up  all  their  names  and  put  them  on  record  (this  is 
done  in  the  chapter  first  of  this  history).  We  have  a  few  facls 
gathered  here  and  there,  which  will  serve  as  contributions  to  such 
a  roll  of  pioneers.  Among  these,  and  one  of  the  most  valuable, 
is  a  list  of  those  who  lived  north  of  the  Iowa  River  in  1850. 
Henry  Holm  moved  into  Canoe  Township  about  August  1,  1850. 
His  family  consisted  of  himself  and  wife,  three  sons  and  three 
daughters.  The  oldest  son,  J.  W.  Holm,  is  still  a  well-known 
resident  of   Canoe,  and  was  then  19  years  old.     The   neighbors 


184  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

were  few  and  they  soon  knew  each  other.  Happily,  Mr.  H.  dis- 
tinctly remembers  the  names  and  location  of  all  the  old  settlers, 
and  from  him  we  gather  the  interesting  fact  that  there  were  then 
twelve  families  living  north  of  the  Iowa  River.     These  were, — 

George  Ream,  John  Ream  and  James  Cross.  These  all  lived 
together  in  an  old  log  cabin,  still  standing  on  what  is  known  as 
the  H.  H.  Horn  farm, 

David  Kinnison,  in  Canoe,  on  the  farm  he  still  occupies. 

David  Bartlett,  on  the  farm  now  occupied  by  Wm.  Marlow. 
Avhere  he  died. 

Wells  Mclntyre,  on  the  farm  which  his  sons  still  occupy. 

John  Johnson,  on  the  Jewell  farm,  in  Decorah  Township. 

James  Boyce,  on  the  river  bottom,  forming  a  part  of  what 
has  been  known  since  as  the  "Filbert"  and  the  "Ashmore"  farm. 

Aldrich,  the  miller,  at  the  Spring  mill. 

Joe  Brown,  on  the  Russell  farm,  in  Canoe. 

William  Klontz  and  Justice  Wilson  lived  with  Brown. 

Mr.  Holm's  family  made  fhe  13th. 

There  was  at  this  time — August,  1850 — but  one  farm  opened, 
the  Reams  had  one  crop  of  about  eight  acres  of  winter  wheat, 
which  was  cut  and  in  shock,  at  the  time.  The  winter  previous 
had  proved  favorable,  and  the  crop  was  a  good  one.  The  Holms 
bought  of  them  and  sowed  winter  wheat  that  fall,  but  it  proved 
then  as  it  has  repeatedly  since,  a  failure. 

Rev.  Mr.  Adams  mentions  the  presence,  when  the  Days  moved 
in,  of  these  Reams  and  a  man  named  Button;  but  as  they  did' not 
remain  they  can  scarcely  be  called  pioneer  settlers. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Holm  helped  dig  the  race  for  the  Decorah  mill,  and 
hewed  logs  for  the  first  dam  that  was  built.  They  were  cut  from 
a  burr  oak  grove  that  was  standing  close  by  on  the  north  side  of 
the  river. 

Mr.  H.  says  at  that  time  the  postoffice  used  was  McGregor,  and 
thither  they  had  to  go  to  get  their  necessary  supplies. 

While  writing  these  notes,  circumstances  favor  us  with  an  op- 
portunity to  consult  another  of  these  thirteen. 

Mr.  David  Kinnison  came  to  Iowa  in  1849,  but  wintered  down 
on  the  Yellow  River.  In  March,  1850,  he  came  up  into  this  sec- 
tion. He  passed  through  Decorah,  finding  the  Day  and  Painter 
families  on  the  east  or  south  (?)  side,  Aldrich  on  the  west  side,  and 
the  Reams  on  their  claim  as  above  stated.  He  settled  on  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  seven,  in  Canoe  township,  and 
claims,  probably  rightfully,  that  he  built  the  first  cabin  erected  in 
Canoe  township;  and  so  far  as  they  then  knew,  or  have  ever  been 
able  to  learn,  there  were  no  white  settlers  north  of  him,  and  west 
of  the  river,  except  at  St.  Paul.  Bartlett,  Johnson,  Bryce,  Brown, 
Klontz  and  Wilson  came  in  May,  following;  and  Mclntyre  ar- 
rived on  the  last  day  in  J  une.    Besides  these,  there  was  one  James 


niSTOKy    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  185 

Kelley — not  mentiouecl  by  Mr.  Holm — who  came  on  the  10th  of 
May,  and  settled  on  a  part  of  what  is  now  the  Col.  J.  W.  Taylor 
farm. 

Among  others  w^ho  joined  these  that  year  were  two  yonng 
men,  named  Gilbert  and  Lambert,  who  made  a  claim  on  the  Iowa 
river  above  the  Reams.  They  kept  a  kind  of  store.  Bernard 
Harmon  came  in  the  fall,  and  made  claim  of  the  present  Jacob 
Headington  farm.  George  Smith  was  another  neighbor,  who 
moved  in  and  occupied  a  piece  of  land  on  the  Iowa,  just  over  the 
line  in  Blufftown  township  (section  24)  where  he  may  yet  be 
found.  James  Ackerson  and  B.  L.  Bisby  were  also  among  the 
'50rs.  They  pushed  on  to  the  front,  the  first  getting  over  into 
Hesper  and  the  other  into  the  northeast  corner  of  Bluffton  town- 
ship. 

PIONEER  NORWEGIANS. 

Norwegian  enterprise  and  their  work  in  pioneer  service  have 
had  much  to  do  in  the  development  and  prosperity  of  the  county. 
Of  their  first  settlers  here,  Mr.  Baily,  in  his  address,  said: 

So  far  as  I  can  learn,  Engebret  Peterson  Haugen,  who  died  last 
year,  was  the  original  pioneer  of  this  nationality.  He  came 
to  settle  in  1850  but  was  here  prospecting  the  fall  previous,  and 
bought  the  claim  where  he  lived  and  died,  and  on  which  was  the 
old  Henry  M.  Rice  trading  post.  In  July,  1850,  twelve  Norwe- 
gian families  came  in  from  Wisconsin  and  found  a  home  on 
Washington  Prairie,  a  home  where  several  of  the  fathers  still  live 
the  heads  of  large  and  prosperous  families.  These  twelve  were 
represented  by  Nelson  and  Germund  Johnson,  Ole  A.  and  Andrew 
0.  Lommen,  Andras  Hogue,  Knudt  Ophal,  John  Johnson,  A. 
Holverson,  Ole  Tostenson  and  Mikkle  Omlie.  Other  families  fol- 
lowed them  rapidly,  and  from  that  day,  Norwegians,  by  their  in- 
dustry and  frugality,  have  done  a  large  share  of  the  hard  work 
which  has  made  our  best  prairies  to  bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose. 
Not  alone  as  emigrants  have  they  done  service  in  multiplying  the 
popiilation.  The  earliest  marriage  records  show  that  they  did  not 
think  it  good  for  man  to  live  alone  and  also  that  they  were  more 
disposed  to  giving  and  taking  in  marriage  than  any  other  class. 
The  first  recorded  marriage  is  that  of  one  of  those  early  pioneers, 
now  that  useful  citizen  of  Madison  township,  Mr.  John  Evan- 
son,  and  Catherine  Helen  Anderson.  The  ceremony  was  perform- 
ed in  February,  1852,  by  Rev.  N.  Brandt,  then  a  wandering  mis- 
sionary from  Wisconsin,  and  now  pastor  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  Decorah.  I  further  find  that  of  the  first  1,227  marriages 
recorded  in  the  clerk's  office,  that  other  pioneer  and  christian 
gentleman,  Rev.  V.  Koren,  ofiiciated  at  247,  and  I  hasten  to  ac- 
cord to  him  the  position  of  champion  marrier. 

The  sketches  previously  published,  and  from  which  we  have 
quoted,  say: 


186  HISTORY    OF   WIJiTNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

We  have  not  met  with  the  names  of  any  Norwegians  in  re- 
searches prior  to  1850,  but  in  that  year  there  came,  if  not  the 
pioneers,  a  band  of  them  who  found  on  the  West  side  of  Wash- 
ington Prairie  the  land  that  suited  them,  and  made  there 
homes  which  have  given  competence  to  all  and  wealth  to  several 
of  them.  They  have  been,  too,  among  the  best  citizens  of  the 
county;  generally  founders  of  large  families,  with  sons  and 
daughters  who  are  following  in  their  worthy  footsteps.  This  band 
consisted  of  twelve  families,  and  became  the  settlers  of  what  is 
known  as  Springfield  township.  The  names  of  the  heads  of  these 
families  were  as  follows: 

Nelson  Johnson — died  in  1881. 

Germund  Johnson — still  living. 

A.  Simmonson — dead. 

Toleff  Simmonson — still  living. 

Ole  A.  Lommen — killed  by  accident,  a  few  years  ago. 

A.  0.  Lommen — ex-Representative  and  still  living. 

Andrus  Hogue — dead. 

John  Johnson — dead. 

Knud  G.  Opdahl — dead. 

H.  Holverson — died  in  March,  1875. 

Ole  Tostenson — still  living. 

Mickkel  Omlie — still  living. 

These  came  in  two  caravans.  The  first  three  left  homes  in 
Racine  county,  and  the  others  were  from  Dane  county,  Wiscon- 
sin. The  latter  came  directly  through,  but  the  three  were  en- 
cumbered by  flocks  and  herds— a  tendency  some  of  them  have 
not  outgrown — and  had  to  drive  more  slowly.  One  of  these,  Mr. 
Nelson  Johnson,  who  furnishes  us  these  names  and  facts,  says  his 
party  arrived  on  the  2d  day  of  July,  1850  nine  days  after  the 
party  from  Dane  county.  They  immediately  commenced  making 
the  homes  which  grew  into  rich  and  valuable  farms, 

Mr.  Johnson  informs  us  that  it  was  at  his  house,  or  log  cabin, 
that  the  caucus  or  convention,  was  held  which  nominated  officers 
preparatory  to  the  first  election  of  county  officers.  This  was  prior 
to,  but  a  part  of  the  work  of  organizing  the  county.  It  occurred 
in  March,  1851.  Decorah  was  not  yet  a  hamlet  of  amazing  im- 
portance, and  Mr.  Johnson's  place  was  centrally  located.  This  is 
the  only  reason  he  can  give  for  its  selection.  The  attendance 
was  large — all  the  beginnings  of  settlements  being  well  repre- 
sented. 

DISAPPOINTED  ASPIRATIONS. 

In  this  connection  Mr.  J.  tells  a  little  story  of  political  aspira- 
tions nipped  in  the  bud,  worthy  of  record.  Among  the  rest  who 
came  was  a  man  named  Minot,  residing  over  east  somewhere.  He 
was  ambitious  for  honors,  and  capable,  besides  willing,  to  serve 
the  people  in  any  place  they  might  see   fit  to  put  him.     Mr.   J. 


i7 


^^^^^^^^^-^^^^ 


J^'-u- 


HISTOKY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  187 

was  a  new  comer,  a  Norwegian,  too,  not  accustomed,  then,  to  par- 
ticipation in  public  meetings  of  that  kind;  and  he  kept  himself 
busy  attending  to  the  arrivals,  animals,  &c.  This,  however,  gave 
him  an  opportunity  to  hear  of  tlie  ''horse-shed"  or  by-talk  which 
went  on.  The  claims  of  Minot  were  fully  discussed;  and  to  a 
man,  they  agreed  in  letting  hiui  alone  because  he  was  clad  in 
broadcloth  coat  and  pants,  satin  ve.-:t,  fine  boots  and  a  shiny  hat! 
He  was  not  the  man  for  the  horny-handed  pioneers;  not  a  bit  of 
it;  and  Minot  went  home  disgusted.  This  caucus  and  convention 
put  in  nomination  the  ticket  which  was  afferwards  elected,  and 
has  heretofore  been  given,  as  the  first  officers  of  Winneshiek 
county, 

Engebret  Peterson  Haugeu,  followed  these  in  October,  after 
having  spent  the  summer  in  traveling  over  portions  of  Wisconsin 
and  Minnesota.  He  actually  squatted  on  a  claim  back  from  Red 
Wing;  but  could  not  hold  it  because  it  was  still  Indian  territory. 
Coming  down  the  river  he  heard  of  these  fellow-countrymen,  and 
came  out  here.  He  liked  the  country;  and  got  his  eye  fixed  on 
the  magnificent  farm  he  still  owns  three  miles  southwest  of  De- 
corah.  It  was  a  claim  then  owned  by  G.  Cooney  living  at  Garni- 
villo.  It  is  the  claim  Mr.  C.  referred  to  in  his  narrative,  as  the 
one  Dr.  Andros  threatened  to  shoot  him  if  he  jumped  it;  and 
about  the  safety  of  doing  which  he  consulted  Avith  his  friend 
Judge  Murdock.  It  was  also  the  old  H.  -\J.  Rice  trading  post.  The 
The  store  used  by  Rice  was  standing,  and  for  five  years  later 
served  Mr.  Haugen  as  a  dwelling.  His  family,  however,  did  not 
arrive  until  May  following.  They  came  from  Beloit,  where  they 
had  located  in  1842,  when  that  territory  was  new.  Peter  E. 
Haugen,  the  son,  was  a  boy  16  years  of  age  when  the  family  re- 
moved to  Iowa;  and  he  distinctly  remembers  the  first  bridge  built 
over  the  Rock  river  at  Beloit.  They  came  direct  from  Norway  in 
1842.  Inasmuch  as  emigration  from  that  country  did  not  com- 
mence until  1838,  Mr.  P.  can  be  called  a  pioneer  settler,  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  term. 

Besides  those  above  named,  the  only  other  Norwegian  we  have 
heard  named  at  this  date,  is  Mr.  Thor  Peterson,  of  Calmar. 

WHO   WERE   FIRST. 

Sparks'  History,  published  later  than  sketches,  and  also  the 
year  after  Mr.  Burley's  address,  says: 

From  the  most  reliable  information,  it  would  seem  that  the 
first  immigration  of  Norwegian  settlers  came  in  the  year  1850, 
But  to  whom  to  accord  the  honor  of  being  the  first  actual  settlers 
— whether  to  Thor  Peterson  and  his  party,  who  afterward  settled  in 
Calmar  Township,  or  to  the  Erick  Anderson  party,  who  settled  in 
Springfield  Township,  is  a  question ,  The  Anderson  party  emigrated 
from  Dane  County,  Wis.,  and  included  the  following  persons: 
Halvor  Hulverson,   Ole  GuUickson,    Knudt   Anderson,  Ole   and 

12 


18S  HISTOKY    OF   WIXXESHIEK   COUNTY. 

Staale  Tostenson.  This  company  was  joined  at  Prairie  du  Chien 
by  Ole  Loraen  and  Andrew  Lomen.  Mr.  Erick  Anderson  served 
the  party  as  guide  and  interpreter.  The  Anderson  party  finding 
land  in  Springfield  Township  that  suited  them,  took"  up  their 
claims  thereon  in  June,  1850.  But  it  seems  that  the  Peterson 
party  had  preceded  them  by  a  few  days,  and  had  laid  claim  to  the 
very  land  on  which  Anderson's  company  had  squatted.  At  that 
time  there  was  a  county  organization  for  the  protection  of  settlers 
against  claim-jumpers,  if  such  they  can  be  called.  It  was  an 
imperative  law  with  this  association  that  the  man  who  first  regis- 
tered his  claim  at  Moneek  had  a  perfect  title  to  the  same.  The 
Peterson  party  demanded  that  the  Anderson  party  move  off  what 
they  called  their  claims;  but  the  other  party  was" determined  not 
to  surrender  their  claims  until  obliged  to,  and  consequently  they 
immediately  dispatched  a  representative  to  Moneek,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  ascertain  if  the  Peterson  party  had  registered  their 
claims.  On  examination  he  found  that  no  registration  had  been 
made,  and  he  took  advantage  of  their  tardiness  and  registered  the 
claims  for  his  party.  The  matter  was  finally  compromised,  the 
Anderson  party  paying  some  indemnity  for  their  usurpation. 

Mr.  Sparks  goes  on  to  say  that  the  Nelson  Johnson  party,  re- 
ferred to  a  little  previously,  made  settlements  in  Springfield  in 
July,  and  were  therefore  a  little  later — ^and  that  Engebret,  Peter- 
son and  Haugen  followed  these  in  October. 

Eighteen  hundred  and  fiftj'-one  saw  a  large  addition  to  each 
of  these  commencements  to  settlements — for  settlements 
they  could  not  yet  be  called.  The  northern  townships 
were  being  occupied  in  this  year,  1851.  Among  those 
Avho  came  and  settled  on  lands  where  they  still  reside  are 
D.  D.  Huff  and  E.  E.  Meader.  Both  happened  to  fall  within 
the  boundary  lines  of  what  is  now  known  as  Hesper  Township, 
although  they  lived  between  four  and  five  miles  apart.  They 
were,  however,  near  neighbors  in  those  days,  and  very  warm 
friends.  As  one  old  settler  remarked  to  us,  '"We  thought  nothing  of 
tramping  off  ten  or  a  dozen  miles  to  see  a  man."  Mr.  Huff  tells 
us  a  story  something  like  this:  He  lived  in  Michigan  and  started 
west  in  the  fall  of  1850.  Winter  found  him  in  Illinois,  where  he 
met  a  brother  of  Bernard  Harmon.  He  was  told  by  this  brother 
about  Northern  Iowa,  and  became  interested  in  it.  Coming  to 
McGregor  lie  met  the  pioneer  merchant,  H.  D.  Evans.  By  the 
way,  it  is  singular  how  warmly  these  pioneers  to  a  man  speak  of 
the  generosity  and  liberality  of  this  same  Evans.  He  trusted 
them  freely  when  they  had  nothing;  and  if  it  had  not  been  for 
his  kindness  and  unselfishness,  many  could  not  have  stayed  upon 
their  claims.  Evans  had  been  up  to  Decorah,  around  among  the 
settlers,  and  was  enthusiastic  in  his  ideas  about  the  country  and 
its  future;  and  imparted  some  of  his  enthusiasm  to  Mr.  H..  The 
latter  pushed  through  to  Decorah,  with  B.  Harmon's  as  an  objcc- 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY,  189 

tive  point.  Nightfall  overtook  liira,  however,  as  he  drove  up  to 
the  old  log  "Winneshiek  House."  In  response  to  his  applications 
for  lodgin'gs  he  was  told  the  house  was  "full.''  There  had  been 
inportant  arrivals  that  day.  John  B.  Onstine  and  Dr.  Hazlet  had 
just  come,  and  the  hotel  could  accommodate  no  more.  Mr.  Huff 
found  accommodations  on  the  floor  of  the  Painter  cabin  that 
night;  and  he  savs  that  when  they  were  settled  for  the  night, 
that,  too,  was  full.  In  the  morning  he  pushed  on  to  Harmon's, 
and  soon  found  his  home  for  the  next  quarter  of  a  century.  His 
experience  for  the  first  year  or  two  was  that  of  nearly  all  the 
pioneers,  and  need  not  be  repeated. 

PROTECTING  SQUATTER  RIGHTS. 

As  he  told  some  of  his  experiences  to  us  the  other  day,  an  his- 
torical fact  was  brought  to  light  which  we  cannot  permit  to   go 
unrecorded.      Surveys  were  being  made  that  year,  the  lands  were 
soon  to  come  into  market,  and  there  was  nothing  to  hinder  land 
sharks  from  buying  their  homes  from  under  thera.     Here   was  a 
danger  that  seriously  menaced  the  new  settlers.    Buy  their  homes, 
they  could  not.     Tliey  not  only  had  no  money,   but  they  were 
struggling  to  make  a  bare  living.     Protect   themselves   in  some 
way  they   must.     To  do  this  a  large   meeting   of    settlers   was 
called,  and  held  at  Meader's,  in  Hesper  township,  on  the  fourth  of 
July,  1851,  at  which  a  solemn  compact  was  formed  between  those 
present,  to  protect  each  other  in  their  squatter  rights.     Although 
it  was  not  expressed  in  as  eloquent  words,  doubtless  they  meant  to 
maintain  the  compact  and  pledged  their  lives,  their  fortunes,   and 
their  sacred  honor.     The  compact  was  drawn  up  by  a  committee 
duly  chosen,  consisting  of  one  Marshall  Sherwin  (squatter  on  the 
present  Ezra  Reed  farm)  one  Kincaid  (living  just  east  of   Huff,) 
Benjamin  Beare,  (a  settler  over  by  what  is  now  Locust  Lane  post- 
office,)  Eli  Waterman,  (a  man  who  lived  for  a  short  time  close  by 
the  spring  at  Russell  Taber's  mill,  in  Hesper,)  and  Mr.  Huff".     By 
this  compact  it  was  agreed  that  every  squatter  was  entitled  to  a 
homestead  of  160  acres.     If  he  needed  timber,  he  might   claim  a 
10  where  he  listed.     This  was  to  be  his  by  their  squatter  law,  un- 
til good  fortune  should   enable   him    to   secure   the    legal    title 
from  the  government.     They  agreed  to  stand  by  each  other  to  the 
worst,  if  need  be,  in  protecting  each   other;  and  it  would   have 
been  dangerous  for  any  man  to  attempt  to   enforce  a  claim  con- 
trary to  the  squatter   claim.     Happily,   no   serious   resistance   to 
these  crude  laws  ever  compelled  the  settlers  to  unite   in   forcible 
protection  of  each  other.     Doubtless  the  existence  of  this   com- 
pact was  well  known  at  Dubuque,  where  the  land  office  was   loca- 
ted; and  "when  the  land  was  so  plenty,  speculators  did  not  care   to 
buy  laAV-suits  or  disputes  with  settlers  who  might  prove  reckless- 
if  their  rights  were  trodden  upon. 


190  HISTORY   OF    WINXESHIEK    COUNTY. 

There  were  differences  between  the  settlers  themselves;  but 
these  the  terms  of  the  compact  soon  settled.  One  of  the  com- 
mittee (Sherwin,  we  think,  was  the  name  given)  was  the  first  to 
attempt  to  break  it.  He  coveted  the  whole,  or  part  of  the  claim 
of  a  neighbor,  but  the  members  of  the  organization  convinced 
him  that  they  would  compel  an  obedience,  and  he  acquiesced.  In 
this  way  difficulties  were  avoided,  and  their  claims  preserved  to 
the  pioneers  till  they  could  secure  them  by  purchase.  Some  of  the 
members  were  not  able  to  enter  their  lands  until  a  year  or  more 
had  elapsed  after  the  lands  of  Northern  Iowa  had  been  in  market; 
but  under  this  compact  they  felt  a  degree  of  security  that  now 
seems  strange  even  to  them. 

MORE   DETAILS 

have  accumulated  as  the  material  for  this  chapter  have  been  col- 
lected, but  they  will  be  given  where  they  belong  in  the  township 
histories,  or  in  a  collection  of  rhiscellaneous  facts  relating  to 
county  history,  in  succeeding  pages. 

A  chronology  of  dates  of  early  settlements,  coming  of  first 
settlers,  and  leading  events  in  the  history  of  the  count3^  will  be 
given  in  one  of  the  succeeding  chapters. 


CHAPTER  V 


Political  History;  County  Organization;  First  Election  and  First 
Officers;  Salary  Grabbing;  Votes  Cast  in  Successive  Years; 
Voting  Precincts;  Final  Division  into  Townships ;  Position  of 
Toivnships  and  Villages;  Successive  Elections  and  County 
Officers^  Legislators,  etc.;  Levi  Bullis  and  E.  E.  Cooley;  Politi- 
.  cal  Contests;  H.  C.  Bullis,  G.  R.  Willett,  T.  W.  Burdick,  and 
other  Legislators  and  Bepresentative  Men;  County  Officers  {con- 
tinued) to  Present  Time. 


The  particulars  of  the  organization  of  this  county,  and  of  the 
county  seat  becoming  permanently  fixed  at  Decorah,  are  given  in 
the  preceding  cha2)ter.  Let  us  briefly  review  these  two  events. 
The  organizing  act  was  approved  by  the  Governor  January  15, 
1851,  constituting  John  L.  Carson  the  organizing  sheriff,  and 
Winneshiek  an  organized  county  after  March  1,  1851.  By  the 
election  held  April  7,  1851,  Decorah  was  chosen  as  county  seat. 
Freeport's  struggle  to  obtain  the  county  seat  culminated  in  1856, 
resulting  in  its  final  and  permanent  location  in  Decorah,  which 
was  made  more  certain  by  the  commencement  of  the  building  of 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  191 

the  court  house  in  1857.  and  by  the  impetus  given  to  Decorah  by 
the  location  of  the  land  office,  which  was  opened  here  on  the  day 
before  Christmas,  1855.  These  events  are  narrated  more  at  length 
in  previous  pages,  and  in  the  sketch  of  Decorah, 

Very  soon  after  the  organization  of  the  county,  steps  were 
taken  for  the  election  of  officers.  According  to  the  best  infor- 
mation obtainable,  a  well  attended  caucus  was  held  in  the  log  cabin 
of  the  late  Nelson  Johnson,  in  the  southeast  corner  of  Decorah 
township.  The  election  was  held  on  the  4th  of  August,  1851, 
and  resulted  in  the  following  officers  being  choseu : 

David  Reed  over  J.  R.  Morse,  as  county  judi2:e. 

George  Bachel  over  James  F.  More,  as  sheriff. 

Francis  Rogers  over  William  Vail,  as  supervisor. 

John  N.  Kline  over  R.  G.  Nuvland,  as  surveyor. 

Daniel  Kuykendahl  over  P.  Morse,  as  Recorder  and  Treasurer. 

E.  W.  Aldrich  over  D.  Bender,  as  coroner. 

Isaac  Uuderhill,  F.  Joseph  Huber  and  Joseph  Brown  served  as 
judges  of  election,  the  first  two  certifying  to  the  result  as  justices 
of  the  peace,  whether  by  appointment,  or  as  elected  in  the  spring,  is 
uncertain;  eighty-two  ballots,  all  told,  were  cast,  and  Mr.  Huber, 
still  a  citizen  of  Washington  township,  is  with  us  to  personally 
attest  the  validity  and  fairness  of  the  first  vote.  In  April  follow- 
ing John  McKay  Avas  elected  school  fund  commissioner,  and  W. 
F.  Kimball  clerk  of  the  courts. 

It  seems  that  at  first  the  amount  that  the  officers  received  on 
their  salaries  depended  on  the  amount  of  fees  received;  for  from 
the  first  the  Judge,  Clerk  and  Treasurer  were  accustomed  to  meet 
at  stated  intervals,  each  reporting  the  fees  that  he  had  received, 
and  then  the  money  would  be  divided  between  them.  The  Treas- 
urer would  also  report  the  cash  in  the  Treasury,  which  would 
be  divided  with  equal  impartiality;  then  County  Judge  Reed  would 
issue  county  warrants  to  each  one  for  the  balance  found  due. 
As  soon  as  taxes  were  levied  and  collected  this  system  ceased,  and 
the  county  officers  have  generally,  since  that  time,  drawn  their 
salaries  with  commendable  regularity,  although  there  may  have 
been  times  when  they  have  been  compelled  to  wait  a  little  before 
getting  their  warrants  cished. 

Of  Judge  Reed,  Mr.  Bailey  in  his  address  said:  David  Reed 
was  the  first  County  Judge.  He  was  born  in  June,  1799,  and  con- 
sequently was  52  years  of  age  when  first  elected  County  Judge  of 
Winneshiek  county.  His  regular  term  of  service  covered  four 
years — years,  too,  of  the  stormiest  character,  in  which,  as  the 
autocrat  of  the  county,  he  could  share  the  responsibilities  with  no 
one,  and  shirk  no  duties.  Of  course  his  conduct  was  sharply 
criticised,    and    in    his    time  he  bore  his  share  of  public    obloquy. 

Judge  Reed  held  the  office  of  County  Judge  by  the  suffrages  of 
the  people,  continuously,  from  1851  to  1855. 


192  HISTORY    OF    WIXXESHIEK    COUNTY. 

In  the  election  of  1853  Joseph  Gibbons  and  J.  T.  Atkins  Avere 
candidates  for  the  office.  Gibbons  received  ten  more  votes  than 
Atkins.  Jas.  B.  Cutler,  on  behalf  of  himself  and  others,  contest- 
ed the  election;  a  court  was  found  to  hear  the  case.  Judge  Reed 
presiding,  with  C.  L.  Childs  and  J.  D.Jenkins  assisting  by  choice 
of  the  parties.  A  hot  contest  ensued,  no  less  than  twenty-seven 
witnesses  being  examined.     The  case  was  this: 

The  trustees  of  Bloomfield  township  had  changed  the  place  of 
voting  from  Moneek  to  Castalia  without  giving  the  required 
legal  notice.  Thirteen  persons  testified  that  they  Avent  to  Moneek 
as  usual,  to  vote,  and  not  hearing  of  the  change  wei'e  unable  to  do 
so.  They  also  said  that  if  they  had  voted  it  Avould  have  been  in 
favor  of  J.  T.  Atkins  as  County  Judge.  The  lawyers  were  heard, 
of  course,  and  the  whole  case  gone  over  most  profoundly.  That 
an  informality  existed  in  the  vote  of  the  township  is  quite  clear; 
its  effect  upon  the  main  vote  was  the  question.  We,  at  this  day, 
would  decide  promptly,  that  at  most  only  the  vote  of  Bloomfield 
township  shoukl  have  been  thrown  out.  The  Court  decided  to  set 
aside  the  entire  election,  as  to  Judge,  and  declared  no  one  was 
elected.  One  of  the  assistants  has  explained  to  me  that  instead  of 
being  satisfied  with  this,  there  were  some  who  'cussed  the  Court 
like  pizen,' because  they  did  not  declare  the  entire  election  void. 
The  result  was  to  continue  Judge  Reed  in  office  for  two  years 
more,  during  which  time  he  built  and  left  as  his  legacy,  the  (for 
the  times)  splendid  courthouse,  which  is  only  now  becoming  too 
cramped  for  public  use. 

Information  with  regard  to  these  first  officers  is  not  now  readi- 
ly obtainable,  and  of  some  of  them  we  can  give  nothing  further 
than  that  they  were  elected  and  held  office  as  above  stated. 

Geo.  Bachel,  the  first  sheriff,  was  for  years  an  active,  influential 
citizen  of  Jackson  township,  and  died  much  respected,  a  year  or 
two  ago. 

Francis  Rogers,  the  first  supervisor,  Avas  one  of  the  oldest  resi- 
dents of  the  county,  and  Avas  noted  for  the  many  litigations  he  had 
Avith  his  neighbors. 

Daniel  Kuykendahl,  the  first  recorder  and  treasurer,  had  his  of- 
fice at  his  home,  Avhicli  was  a  log  house  situated  under  a  bluff 
near  a  large  spring,  about  a  half  a  mile  out  of  Freeport,  on  the 
Lansing  road.  The  duties  of  his  office  at  that  time  were  not  very 
arduous,  and  his  Inode  of  keeping  the  records  Avas  somewhat  prim- 
itive. He  had  not  even  a  decent  desk  at  Avhich  to  write.  It  was 
his  custom  to  record  his  deeds,  and  then  pigeon-hole  them  between 
the  cracks  in  the  logs. 

The  number  of  votes  cast  at  these  early  elections  is  one  of  the 
best  indices  of  the  incoming  of  early  settlers,  and  a  few  words 
will  give  these  data.  At  the  first  election  there  Avere.  as  has  been 
stated,  82  votes  cast;  in  April  following,  there  were  180;  in  Aug- 
ust, 1852,  150;  in  April,  1853,  224;  in  1854,  280;  in  1855,  521; in 


HISTORY    OF    WINJ^ESHIEK    COUXTY.  193 

1856,  816;  in  August,  1857,  894;  in  October,  1858,  1,288;  in  the 
Presidential  election  of  1860,  2,162.  The  increase  since  that  time 
is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  the  Presidential  election  of  1880, 
4,080  votes  were  cast. 

As  previously  noted,  there  were  three  points  recognized  at  the 
ver}'  commencement  as  having  claims  to  prominence  in  the  coun- 
ty. These  were  Decorah,  Lewiston  and  Moneek.  Polls  were 
held  for  each  of  these  three  first  elections  at  these  places  only, 
and  they  were  called  precincts.  It  was  not  until  1854  that  even  a 
single  name  appears  on  the  records  to  show  that  any  other  title 
than  that  of  precinct  was  given  to  them.  March  8th,  1852,  it 
was  ordered  by  the  county  court  that  elections  should  be  held  in 
the  ensuing  April,  at  the  following  places: 

In  Precinct  No.  1,  at  house  of  Wm.  Day,  Decorah. 

In  Precinct  No.  2,  at  house  of  Francis  Rogers,  Lewiston, 

In  Precint  No,  3,  at  house  of  John  DeCow,  Moneek, 

This  is  our  only  information  as  to  the  first  division  into  what 
Ave  have  since  known  as  townships.  Their  boundaries  we  can 
only  infer  from  subsequent  entries.  In  July,  1852,  the  division 
line  between  precincts  2  and  3  was  changed,  and  made  to  run  be- 
tween ranges  7  and  8,  thus  throwing,  as  the  record  says,  one  more 
tier  of  townships  into  the  third  precinct.  From  this  I  infer  that 
the  third  precinct  originally  consisted  of  what  is  now  known  as 
Bloomfield  and  Frankville  townships,  and  was  six  miles  wide,  east 
and  west,  and  tweh  e  long.  Precinct  No,  2  covered  three  times 
as  much  territory,  and  was  eighteen  miles  wide,  and  twelve  long. 
This  left  all  the  remainder  of  the  county — now  comprising 
twelve  organized  townships — in  precinct  No,  1,  March  1,  1852, 
the  latter  was  so  divided  up  as  to  make  what  is  now  Canoe,  BlufF- 
ton  and  Orleans  townships,  with  the  townships  north  of  them, 
precinct  No,  4,  February  5,  1854,  what  are  now  Military  and 
Springfield,  were  divided  from  Washington  (now  named  for  the 
first  time)  and  created  township  (not  precinct)  No,  5, 

March  6,  1854,  township  98,  range  7,  was  separated  from  "De- 
corah Precinct,"  and  was  called  township  No.  6,  It  is  now  known 
as  Glenwood, 

March  11,  1855,  "Burr  Oak  Precinct"  was  divided,  and  the  en- 
tire tier  on  the  north  line  of  the  county  was  called  Burr  Oak. 
The  remaining  part  of  the  precinct  was  named  Canoe,  At  the 
same  session  of  the  county  court,  township  99,  range  10,  was  set 
off  and  given  the  name  of  Pilot  Grove, 

On  the  tax  list  of  1855,  proper  names  are  given  to  each  of  those 
precincts.  Precinct  No.  1  had  become  Decorah,  Glenwood,  Canoe, 
Burr  Oak  and  Pilot  Grove;  township  No.  2  appears  as  Bloomfield 
and  Summit  (now  Frankville),  and  No.  3  had  been  divided  in- 
to Military  and  Washington;  but  no  record  other  than  I  have 
quoted  appears  upon  the  court  minutes  as  to  these  and  subsequent 
changes.     According  to  the  tax  lists,  in   1856  Pleasant  township 


lU 


HISTORY   OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 


took  its  name  and  place;  in  1858  Summit  had  become  Frankville, 
and  Pilot  Grove,  Orleans;  Springfield  had  been  separated  from 
Military,  Calmar  and  Sumner  from  Washington,  and  Hesper  and 
Fremont  from  Burr  Oak.  In  1860  Madison  was  taken  from  Decorali, 
and  Highland  divided  from  Pleasant;  and  in  1862  the  symmetry 
of  all  the  townships  was  completed  by  the  division  of  Lincoln 
from  Sumner,  and  Jackson  from  Washington. 

The  location  of  these  different  precincts,  and  more  particularly 
of  the  twenty  townships  of  the  county  after  this  final  division, 
will  be  more  fully  understood  by  the  following  diagram,  showing 
the  positions  of  the  townships  of  the  county  as  they  now  stand, 
each  township  being  six  miles  square: 

N. 


Fremont. 

Burr  Oak. 

Hesper. 

Highland. 

Orleans. 

Bluffton. 

Canoe. 

Pleasant. 

Lincoln 

Madison 

Decorah 

Glenwood. 

Sumner. 

Calmar. 

Springfield, 

Franklin  ville. 

Jackson. 

Washington. 

Military. 

Bloomfield. 

H 


s. 


HISTORY    OF    WI^'NESHIEK   COUXTY,  195 

The  city  of  Decorah  is  a  little  west  of  the  centre  of  Decorali 
Township,  while  Freeport  is  about  two  and  a  half  miles  directly 
east  of  Decorah,  and  also  in  Decorah  Township,  about  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  from  its  eastern  boundary. 

Calmar  is  near  the  southeastern  part  of  Calmar  Township. 
Couover  being  near  the  centre  and  Spillville  in  the  western  part 
of  the  same  township. 

Fort  Atkinson  is  toward  the  northwestern  part,  and  Festina  a 
little  southeast  of  the  centre  of  Washington  Township. 

Ossian  is  about  midwaj^  between  the  centre  and  northeastern 
part  of  Military  Tov/nship. 

Ridgway  is  nearly  two  miles  east  of  the  centre  of  Lincoln  Town- 
ship and  Kendallville  and  Plymouth  Rock,  respectively,  toward 
the  southwestern  and  southeastern  parts  of  Freemont  Township. 

The  villages  of  Bluffton,  Burr  Oak,  Ilesper  and  Frankville  are 
in  the  several  townships  of  the  same  name. 

The  positions  of  all  these  places  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  a 
map  of  the  county,  but  this  data  is  given  here  as  a  matter  of  con- 
venience for  reference  in  connection  with  the  foregoing  sketch  of 
divisions  of  the  county. 

The  second  election  held  in  the  county  after  a  permanent  organ- 
ization had  been  effected  was  April  5,  1852.  The  total  number 
of  votes  polled  at  this  election  was  180.  This  election,  as  the 
records  show,  gave  the  county  its  first  School  Fund  Commissioner 
and  District  Clerk.  The  successful  parties  who  first  bore  the 
honors  of  these  offices  were,  respectively,  N.  S.  Gilbert  and  W. 
F.  Kimball.  Out  of  180  ballots  cast  for  School  Fund  Commis- 
sioner, N.  S.  Gilbert  had  4  majority  over  his  opponent,  John  D. 
McKay.  There  were  156  votes  cast  for  the  office  of  District 
Clerk,  of  which  number  W.  F.  Kimball  received  88,  and  his  oppo- 
nent, James  B.  Schenck,  68.  Kimball  was  declared  elected  by  20 
majority.  The  vote  for  Coroner  stood  as  follows:  J.  B,  Chase 
had  60  votes,  and  his  opponent,  Wm.  Painter,  41.  James  B.  Chase 
was  elected  Coroner.  At  this  election,  for  the  first  time,  the  new 
county  helped  elect  a  District  Judge,  and  it  showed  its  steadfast 
faith  and  high  appreciation  of  Judge  T.  S.  Wilson,  by  giving  him 
162  votes. 

At  the  third  election,  held  in  August,  1852,  M.  B.  Derrick  was 
chosen  District  Clerk  by  15  majority. 

John  D.  McKay  was  elected  Prosecuting  Attorney  by  29  ma- 
jority; and  H.  K.  Averill  was  elected  Surveyor. 

The  fourth  election  was  held  in  April,  1853,  the  following  be- 
ing the  officers  elected: 

Aaton  Newell,  District  Clerk — his  opponents  being  W.  F. 
Kimball  and  N.  S.  Gilbert. 

N.  S.  Gilbert,  Treasurer  and  Recorder. 

H.  K.  Averill,  County  Surveyor. 

J.  F.  Moore,  Drainage  Commissioner. 


196  HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

Acles  Haven  Faunon,  Coroner.  Mr.  Fannon,  whose  genial, 
jovial  face  is  well  remembered  by  the  people  of  Decorah,  and  who 
was  for  successive  years  constable  np  to  the  time  of  his  death,  not 
very  many  months  ago,  was  born  in  Wythe  County,  Virginia, 
April  17th,  ISOU.  He  settled  at  Freeport,  Winneshiek  Countyj 
in  1850,  and  laid  out  the  town,  and  for  several  years  engaged  in 
tavern-keeping.  He  was  the  first  mail  contractor  to  carry  the 
mails  to  Decorah.  He  contracted  to  carry  the  mails  from  Hardin 
to  Decorah,  from  Decorah  to  Fort  Atkinson,  and  from  Lansing  to 
Decorah.     He  was  elected  Coroner  in  1875. 

At  the  election  August  1st,  1853,  175  votes  w^ere  cast.  N.  S. 
Gilbert  was  elected  Recorder  and  Treasurer,  without  opposition, 
if  we  except  three  scattering  votes. 

James  F.  Moore  was  declared  elected  Sheriff,  over  Lewis  Eddy 
and  A.  H.  Fannon. 

Elijah  Middlebrook  was  elected  County  Surveyor.  There  was 
no  opposition  candidate  for  Surveyor. 

Samuel  Kendall  Avas  elected  Coroner. 

The  newly  elected  Sheriff,  James  F.  Moore,  failed  to  qualify, 
and  Judge  Reed,  therefore,  declared  the  office  vacant,  and  ap- 
pointed Wm.  F.  Kimball  to  fill  it. 

Soon  after  the  election,  N.  S.  Gilbert  suddenly  left  the  coun- 
try, leaving  the  county  Avithout  a  Recorder  and  Treasurer,  Judge 
Reed  appointed  Thos.  L  Hazelett  to  fill  the  vacancy  until  another 
election.  Of  Mr.  Gilbert,  Spark's  history,  from  which  we 
largely  gather  the  following  records,  till  1860,  says: 

N.  S.  Gilbert,  the  second  Recorder  and  Treasurer  of  the  county, 
was  an  estimable  young  man,  possessed  of  great  energy.  He  was 
efficient,  proud  spirited,  and  decidedly  the  most  shrewd  man  called 
upon  in  early  days  to  administer  county  affairs;  notwithstanding 
that  he  was  freely  accredited,  with  the  possession  of  all  these  qual- 
ifications, the  tongue  of  scandal,  soon  after  his  induction  into 
office,  rolled  him  about  as  a  SAveet  morsel  to  its  taste.  Mr.  Gilbert 
was  not  a  defaulter,  nor  did  he  desert  his  office  intentionally, 
although  at  the  time  he  left  this  was  the  current  report.  The 
additional  crime  of  eloping  with  a  Mrs.  Moore,  the  Sheriff's  wife, 
Avas  charged  to  his  account,  and  it  is  true  that  the  parties  left 
Decorah  together,  and  afterwards  went  to  St.  Louis  and  liA^ed  as 
man  and  Avife;  yet  at  the  time  of  their  leaving  Decorah,  it  is 
plain  that  there  was  no  criminal  intent  or  previous  arrangement. 
It  was  in  tlie  spring  of  the  year,  and  Mr.  Gilbert,  instead  of  inten- 
tionally deserting  his  office,  went  on  a  journey  to  St.  Louis  to  pur- 
chase goods.  Mrs.  Moore  Avas  on  her  Avay  to  friends  in  Wisconsin, 
and  had  started  on  the  trip  Avith  the  avowed  jiurpose  of  leaving 
her  husband.  Mrs.  Moore  defended  her  course  on  the  ground  of 
ill  treatment  received  at  the  hands  of  Mr.  Moore.  While  at  Lan- 
sing Avaiting  for  a  steamer,  they  had  occasion  to  hold  a  private 
conference,  which  was  interpreted,   by  prying  parties,  as  a  crimi- 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  197 

nal  intimacy.  The  report,  at  the  time  unfounded  and  untruthful, 
was  freely  circulated.  Mr.  Gilbert  having  compassion  for  the 
woman,  and  being  ashamed  to  return  to  his  home,  took  her  under 
his  charge.  Things  had  come  to  such  a  crisis  that  they  now 
resolved  to  elope,  and  did  so,  going  to  St.  Louis. 

At  the  April  election  in  1854,  John  McKay  was  re-elected 
School  Fund  Commissioner,  over  I.  I.  Stewart. 

Elijah  Middlebrook  was  elected  SheritT,  by  20  majority,  over 
James  S.  VanPelt. 

Nelson  Burdick  was  elected  Recorder  and  Treasurer,  over  Wm. 
F.  Kimball,  by  73  majority.  Mr.  Burdick  filled  the  office  accept- 
ably.    He  was  continued  in  office  until  1859. 

Wm.  Painter  was  elected  Drainage  Commissioner. 

At  the  sixth  election,  held  in  August,  1854,  there  were  262 
votes  cast  for  the  office  of  State  Representative,  of  which  number 
James  D.  McKay  received  194,  and  his  opponent,  Wm.  H.  Morri- 
son, 68.     James  D.  McKay  was  declared  elected. 

Aaron  Newell  was  elected  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  over 
Daniel  Carrier. 

Albert  B.  Webber  was  elected  Prosecuting  Attorney  over  Calvin 
Farns  worth. 

The  newly  elected  Prosecuting  Attorney  failed  to  qualify.  The 
County  Judge  appointed  Dryden  Smith  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and 
he,  too,  resigned.  J.  T.  Atkins  was  appointed,  accepted  and  served 
through  the  term. 

In  1854  .James  D.  McKay  (who  had  previously  been  Prosecu- 
ting Attorney)  at  a  District  Convention  called  at  Waukon  (the 
district  then  was  composed  of  Allamakee  and  Winneshiek  coun- 
ties), was  nominated  for  Representative,  and  elected.  In  the  leg- 
islature he  favored  the  "Maine  Liquor  Law,"  which  was  adopted 
by  the  Iowa  State  Legislature.  In  this  election  he  ran  on  the 
Republican  ticket,  which  was  successful,  not  only  in  the  district, 
hut  throughout  the  state,  so  much  so  that  the  former  power  held 
by  the  Democrats  was  wrested  from  them.  A  Republican  Gov- 
ernor was  elected  in  the  person  of  James  W.  Grimes,  and  a  ma- 
jority secured  on  a  joint  ballot  in  the  General  Assembly.  He  was 
born  in  Livington  county,  New  York,  on  the  24th  of  February, 
1815.  Until  16  years  of  age  he  was  taught  the  common  branches 
of  an  education  by  his  father,  when  he  was  sent  to  the  Genesee 
Wesleyan  Seminary,  situated  at  Lima,  New  York,  to  be  fitted  for 
the  ministry.  He  also  studied  law  under  James  Butler,  a  cousin 
of  Gen.  Butler.  At  the  age  of  21  he  became  acquainted  with 
Julia  Stone,  to  whom  he  was  married  September,  1836.  He  im- 
migrated to  Winneshiek  County  in  October,  1851,  and  settled  on 
the  S.  W.  Q.  of  section  15,  township  97,  Range  7,  where  he  still 
resides.  He  has  served  the  public  as  Prosecuting  Attorney  and 
member  of  the  Assemblv. 


198  HISTORY   OF   WINXESHIEK   COUNTY. 

In  the  seventh  political  contest  held  in  the  county,  April,  1855, 
a  vote  was  taken  on  the  prohibitory  liquor  law.  The  result  stood 
as  follows:  for  the  law,  167;  and  against  it,  169. 

Hon.  E.  E.  Cooley  was  elected  Prosecuting  Attorney,  over  Levi 
Bullis,  J.  B.  Onstine  and  William  Bailey. 

At  this  contest  there  came  upon  the  stage  as  leading  actors, 
two  men  who  arrived  here  the  previous  year  and  who  have  been 
leaders  in  repeated  political  campaigns,  some  of  them  bitterly 
waged,  and  whom  now  stand  in  the  front  ranks  as  able  attorneys 
as  well  as  leading  citizens  of  the  county.  They  were  Levi  Bullis 
and  Ezekiel  E.  Cooley.  Mr.  Bullis  arrived  here  in  May,  1851,  and 
Mr.  Cooley  in  October,  of  the  same  year. 

Of  the  political  contests  in  which  these  gentlemen  were  lead- 
ers of  the  opposing  parties,  many  amusing  incidents  might  be 
told  over,  and  some  exciting  ones. 

"Levi  Bullis  was  born  April  5,  1828,  in  West  Plattsburg,  New 
York.  He  lived  in  Plattsburg  until  26  years  of  age.  and  there  ac- 
ciuired  his  education.  He  early  attended  the  Balston  Springs  Law 
School,  and  acquired  a  legal  education.  In  1S53  Mr.  Bullis  left 
his  old  home  and  came  to  Illinois,  where  he  remained  about  a 
year;  when  he  was  induced,  by  the  flattering  reports  he  received 
from  Averill.  an  old  schoolmate,  to  emigrate  from  there  to  Iowa. 
He  reached  Decorah  May,  1851,  and  immediately  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  The  first  week  after  his  arrival  he 
tried  a  case  and  won  it.  Mr.  Bullis  was  elected  one  of  the  original 
members  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  in  1860.  Although  active 
in  politics  in  the  county,  yet  this  is  the  only  office  he  was  ever 
elected  to.  It  was  his  friends  that  he  worked  for  in  politics,  and 
not  himself,  and  not  unfrequently  have  they  succeeded  through 
his  instrumentality.  Mr.  Bullis  is  characterized  with  a  rough  ex- 
terior and  a  warm  heart.  He  has  aided  more  young  men  to  posi- 
tion, and  placed  them  on  the  road  to  success,  than  perhaps  any 
other  man  in  the  county.  He  was  married  in  1861  to  Abbie  R. 
Dibble,  of  Whitehall,  New  York." 

Mr.  Bullis  stands  high  in  his  profession,  and  is  well  posted  in 
matters  in  general,  as  well.  He  has  a  large  and  valuable  library 
of  general  literature,' besides  his  extensive  law  library;  has  an  in- 
teresting family,  and  is  a  devoted  husband  and  father;  is  true  to 
his  friends  and  has  many  warm  ones. 

"Ezekiel  E.  Cooley  was  born  in  Victory,  Cayuga  county,  New 
York,  Jan.  12,  1827.  He  received  an  academic  education,  and  at  the 
age  of  17  commenced  teaching  school,which  occupation  he  followed 
five  years.  ^In  1817  he  emigrated  to  Kentucky,  where  he  taught,  and 
read  law  with  Judge  Trimble,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1819.  He  returned  to  New  York,  and  from  there  emigrated  to 
Decorah  in  October,  1851,  where  he  has  ever  since  continued  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  with  an  exception  of  one  year  spent  in 
the  army.    In  1857  he  was  elected  member  of  the  first  Legislature, 


HISTORY   OF    AVIXNESHIEK   COUNTY.  199 

under  the  new  State  constitution,  and  served  witli  marked  ability. 
He  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Decorah  in  18G1,  and  Jield  the 
office  until  he  resigned,  in  1863.  In  September,  18G1,  President 
Lincoln  appointed  him  commissary  of  subsistence,  with  the  rank 
of  Captain  of  cavalry.  He  was  brevetted  Major  for  meritorious 
conduct,  and  was  honorably  discharged  in  November.  18G5.  In 
180S  and  1870  he  was  warmly  supported  by  the  Republicans  of  his 
county  for  the  nomination  to  Congress,  but  the  other  counties  of 
his  district  carried  the  majority  for  his  competitor.  Mr.  Cooley 
was  married  at  Dubuque,  in  185G,  to  Miss  Jane  M.  Rhodes,  then 
of  that  city.  In  the  legal  profession  Mr.  Cooley  has  few  peers  in 
Northern  Iowa,  and  few  have  made  themselves  a  better  public 
and  private  record.  He  has  ever  had  the  interest  of  his  city  and 
county  at  heart,  and  has  been  identified  with  many  of  the  enter- 
prises that  have  proved  beneficial  to  the  community  in  which  he 
has  so  long  resided.'' 

In  the  latter  part  of  1879  Mr.  Cooley  was  appointed  by  Gover- 
nor Gear  to  the  position  of  District  Judge  of  the  Tenth  Judicial 
District,  consisting  of  Winneshiek,  Howard,  Chickasaw,  Fayette, 
Clayton  and  Allamakee  counties,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
resignation  of  Judge  Reuben  Noble.  In  November,  1880,  he  was 
elected  to  the  same  position  for  the  regular  term  of  two  years. 
He  has  a  beautiful  home,  an  unusually  fine  library,  and  his  social 
and  domestic  relations  are  of  the  pleasantest.  He-  has  two  sons, 
the  elder  of  whom,  C.  M.  Cooley,  is  married  to  the  daughter  of 
Rev.  H.  B.  Wood  worth,  for  a  number  of  years  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  Church  in  Decorah,  and  now  lives  in  Dakota. 
Previous  to  his  election  as  Judge,  Mr.  Cooley  was  elected  to  and 
discharged  the  office  of  Mayor  of  Decorah  for  two  successive 
terms,  with  honor  to  himself  and  credit  to  the  city. 

The  eighth  election  was  held  on  the  6th  of  August,  1855. 

Nelson  Burdick  was  elected  Recorder  and  Treasurer,  over  N. 
Otis,  by  102  majority. 

James  Van  Pelt  was  elected  Surveyor,  and  Philip  Morse,  Coro- 
ner. 

In  this  election  there  were  no  less  than  five  candidates  for  the 
office  of  County  Judge.  The  canvassing  board  returned  the  fol- 
lowing count:  Joseph  Gibbons  had  205  votes  for  the  office,  while 
his  opponents  in  the  race  had  the  following  number  of  votes  re- 
spectivelv:  J.  T.  Atkins,  195;  William  Painter,  10;  David  Reed, 
9,  and  N.  Otis,  1. 

An  informality  in  this  election  caused  it  to  be  set  aside,  as  far 
as  Judge  was  concerned,  and  Mr.  Reed  was  continued  in  office  for 
another  term  of  two  years.  The  particulars  are  given  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  introductory  to  the  county  seat  contest. 

On  the  1st  of  April  Aaron  Newell  resigned  the  office  of  Clerk 
of  the  District  Court,  and  Nathaniel  Otis  was  appointed  in  his 
stead. 


200  HISTORY    OF    WIXNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

In  the  April  election  of  185G  there  were  816  votes  j^olled.  The 
only  officer  elected  was  School  Fund  Commissioner.  There  were 
plenty  of  candidates  in  the  field  willing  to  assume  the  responsi- 
bilities of  this  office,  as  the  following  list  will  show:  J.  E.  B. 
Morgan,  Elijah  Middlebrook,  J.  P.  McKinney  and  Thomas  Bell. 
J.  E.  B.  Morgan  was  elected  to  fill  the  office  by  forty-eight  ma- 
jority.    This  office  was  discontinued  during  Morgan's  term. 

L.  Butler  resigned  the  office  of  Liquor  Agent  on  the  26th  of 
June,  1856,  to  which  office  he  had  previously  been  appointed.  The 
duties  of  this  officer  were  to  superintend  the  sale  of  liquors  in  the 
county,  that  is  to  see  that  no  one  trafficed  in  liquors  except  those 
who  sold  it  for  medicinal  purposes.  Butler's  resignation  was  ac- 
cepted, and  H.  C.  Bulls  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy,  on  the  30th  of 
June,  1856.  This  office  was  discontinued  at  the  expiration  of  his 
term.  ^ 

The  tenth  election  was  held  in  August,  1856. 

L,  W.  Griswold  was  elected  Prosecuting  Attorney,  over  S.  A. 
Tup  per. 

Nathaniel  Otis  was  elected  Clerk  of  the  District  Court,  over  S. 
D.  H.  Hughes  and  G.  W.  Esty.  Previous  to  this  election  the 
county  had  been  organized  into  eleven  voting  precincts. 

This  election  gave  to  Winneshiek  County  her  first  Senatorial 
officer,  in  the  person  of  J.  T.  Atkins.  At  this  date  Winneshiek 
county  was  but  a  portion  of  the  Sitli  Senatorial  District,  which 
was  composed  of  the  following  counties:  Winneshiek,  Allama- 
kee, Howard,  Floyd  and  Mitchell.  The  total  vote  of  this  en- 
tire Senatorial  District  was  2,331,of  which  number  J.  T.  At- 
kins received  1,599,  as  against  716  for  Edward  Ellis,  his  oppo- 
nent. 

J.  T.  Atkins  was  born  in  Phillipstown,  Worcester  County, 
Mass.,  April  4,  1811.  The  early  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  the 
Eastern  States,  where  he  followed  steamboating  as  a  vocation 
during  the  season  when  navigation  was  open,  and  taught  school 
during  the  winter  months.  He  received  a  common  school  educa- 
tion. Mr.  Atkins  immigrated  to  Indiana  in  1835,  where  he  com- 
menced a  real  estate  brokerage  business.  In  1851  there  was  much 
talk  of  the  "new  purchase,"  a  part  of  which  was  Winneshiek 
County.  The  Judge  contracted  the  fever,  and  came  to  Winne- 
shiek County,  Iowa,  in  the  autumn  of  that  year.  Here  he  re- 
sumed his  old  business,  that  of  land  speculating,  and  also  prac- 
ticed law  for  several  years,  but  not  being  a  resident  at  the  county 
seat,  he  concluded  to  abandon  his  profession  and  give  his  atten- 
tion solely  to  his  speculations.  October  19, 1851,  he  was  appoint- 
ed Prosecuting  Attorney  and  Enrolling  Officer,  by  Gov.  Kirkwood. 
He  was  elected  County  Judge,  at  one  time,  but  failed  to  qualify. 
In  1867  he  was  chosen  to  represent  this  county  in  the  State  Legis- 
lature.    He  has  for  some  years  past  been  a  resident  of  Decorah. 


IIISTUKY    OF    NVINXE.SIIIEK    COUXTV.  201 

I  The  first  special  election  was  held  on  the  10th  of  October,  1856. 
The  question  at  stake  was  whether  tlie  county  should  vote 
$100,000  in  aid  of  the  Northwestern  Railroad.  There  were  920 
votes  cast  in  favor  of  it,  and  505  against. 

The  eleventh  election  was  held  in  April,  1857,  in  which  con- 
test James  B.  Smith  was  elected  to  the  office  of  Sheriff.  George 
N.  Hoi  way  was  elected  to  the  office  of  County  Assessor. 

George  N.  Holway  Avas  born  in  Sandwich,  Mass.,  September 
29,  1826.  He  received  his  education  at  Sandwich  and  Providence. 
He  immigrated  to  Iowa  in  1852,  and  made  a  permanent  settlement 
at  Hesper.  He  soon  afterward  became  iudentified  with  the  polit- 
ical affairs  of  the  county.  He  was  first  elected  County  Assessor. 
He  has  been  elected  to  the  office  of  Treasurer,  Supervisor  and 
County  Superintendent.  He  is  now  (1882)  engaged  in  mining  in 
one  of  the  western  territories. 

James  E.  Simpson  was  elected  to  the  office  of  Drainage  Com- 
missioner. 

James  E.  Simpson  was  born  in  New  York  City^  August  10, 
1833.  He  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  that 
State.  He  immigrated  to  Allamakee  County  in  1855.  In  that 
county  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  school  and  surveying  until 
the  summer  of  185G,  when  he  moved  to  Decorah,  and  that  winter 
taught  the  public  school  of  the  latter  place.  That  spring  he  was 
appointed  Deputy  County  Surveyor,  in  which  position  he  con- 
tinued as  Deputy  and  County  Surveyor  until  1860.  In  1860  he 
was  appointed  Deputy  Clerk  under  S.  W.  Paul.  He  was  elected 
County  Superintendent  in  1861,  which  office  he  resigned  to  enter 
the  United  States  service.  He  enlisted  in  Co.  G,  Twelfth  Iowa 
Volunteers.  He  was  made  Orderly  Sergeant,  and  promoted  to 
Second  Lieutenant.  He  resigned  his  lieutenancy  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1862,  on  account  of  ill  health.  On  his  return  home  he 
again  resumed  the  office  of  County  Superintendent.  In  1863  he 
was  appointed  Deputy  Provost  Marshal  of  Winneshiek  County, 
which  office  he  filled  until  mustered  out  of  the  service  in  1865. 
In  1866  he  was  appointed  United  States  Revenue  Inspector  of  the 
Third  Iowa  District.  In  1868  he  was  retained  as  one  of  the 
twenty-five  United  States  Revenue  Agents,  and  remained  in  the 
service  until  September,  1876.  He  was  married  to  Mary  A.  Rank- 
in, of  Frankville,  in  July,  1860. 

Mr.  Simpson  was,  several  years  ago,  appointed  United  States 
Revenue  Collector  for  this  district,  with  headquarters  at  Dubuque, 
to  which  place  he  thereupon  removed,  though  socially  as  well  as 
in  property  interests  he  is  still  identified  with  Decorah, 

L.  W.  Griswold  resigned  the  office  of  Prosecuting  Attorney,  July 
11,  1857.  Dryden  Smith  was  appointed  to  fill  the  office  made 
vacant  by  Griswold's  resignation,  July  21,  1857,  and  was  elected 
as  Prosecuting  Attorney  in  the  October  election,  1857.  The  fol- 
lowing winter  this  office  was  abolished. 


202  HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY, 

The  next  electioa  was  held  August,  1857,  at  which  there  were 
804  votes  cast  for  County  Judge,  L.  W.  Griswold  was  the  suc- 
cessful candidate  for  this  oiBce  over  S.  A.  Tupper, 

J.  B.  Smith  was  re-elected  Sheriff  over  E.  M.  Farnsworth. 

Nelson  Burdick  was  re-elected  Recorder  and  Treasurer  over 
J.  Oleson. 

L,  W.  Ludlow  was  elected  County.  Surveyor  over  David  Gorsuch, 

Amos  Hoag  was  elected  Coroner  over  George  Cooney. 

There  were  3-15  majority  for  the  new  State  Constitution. 

In  the  October  election  following,  E.  E.  Cooley  was  elected 
State  Representative  by  a  majority  of  512,  over  William  F. 
Kimball. 

Dryden  Smith  was  elected  Prosecuting  Attorney  by  481  major- 
ity, over  S.  A.  Tapper.  Dryden  Smith  was  an  Indianian.  He 
early  came  to  the  county,  and  figured  quite  prominently  in  politi- 
cal affairs. 

The  spring  election  of  1858  was  held  on  the  14th  of  April.  The 
only  county  officer  elected  in  this  contest  was  that  of  Superinten- 
dent of  Public  Instruction.  It  was  the  first  office  of  this  charac- 
ter elected  in  the  county,  and  H.  C.  Bulls  was  the  man  on  whom 
this  honor  was  conferred  by  the  people. 

Hon.  H.  C.  Bulls  was  born  in  Chazy,  Clinton  County,  New 
York,  on  the  14th  of  November,  1830,  He  studied  medicine  in 
Vermont,  with  Dr.  A,  C.  Butler,  and  graduated  at  the  Vermont 
Medical  College,  Woodstock,  Vt.  He  came  to  W^inneshiek  coun- 
ty a  young  man,  in  October,  1854,  and  taught  the  first  month  of 
the  second  term  of  school  that  was  taught  in  the  village.  Politi- 
cally, the  doctor  was  a  strong  Clay  Whig,  and  latterly  as  ardent 
a  republican.  Previous  to  his  being  elected  County  Superin- 
tendent he  had  been  appointed  commissioner  for  the  sale  of  in- 
toxicating liquors,  by  Judge  Reed.  At  the  expiration  of  his 
term  this  office  was  discontinued.  He  was  next  elected  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  and  was  made  its  president.  In 
1865  he  was  elected  State  Senator,  and  served  his  constituency 
four  years  in  this  capacity,  during  which  time  he  was  elected 
a  trustee  of  the  Iowa  State  University,  In  1869  lie  was  returned 
to  the  State  Senate.  He  served  one  year  of  his  second  term,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  was  elected  President  'pro  tern,  by  the  House  of 
Representatives.  In  1871,  he  was  electecl  Lieutenant  Governor  of 
the  State.  His  thorough  knowledge  of  parliamentary  rules  pe- 
culiarly fitted  him  for  this  new  responsibility.  He  discharged  the 
duties  of  this  office  honorably,  efficiently  and  faithfully.  In 
August,  1876,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Grant  a  member  of 
the  Indian  commission,  whose  duty  it  was  to  treat  with  the 
Sioux  Indians  for  the  purchase  of  the  Black  Hill  sterritory.  Dr. 
Bulls  was  absent  five  months  on  this  mission.  The  object  of  the 
commission  was,  finally,  successfully  accomplished. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  203 

Dr.  Bulis,  was  elected  to  the  office  of  Mayor  of  Decorali,  in 
1880,  holding  that  position  for  two  successive  terms,  performing 
the  duties  with  honor  to  himself  and  with  credit  and  henefit  to 
Decorah,  of  which  he  is  ever  an  enterprising  and  public-spirited 
citizen,  his  wife  being  an  active  helper  in  every  good  work. 

In  the  October  election  of  1858,  there  were  1,305  votes  polled 
for  Clerk  of  the  District  Court.  S.  W.  Paul  was  declared  elected 
to  the  office,  over  K.  K.  Buckman,  by  190  majority. 

J.  E.  Simpson  was  elected  County  Surveyor,  over  David  Gorsuch. 

•In  the  elections  of  1859,  the  following  officers  were  elected: 

Erick  Anderson,  Sheriff;  S.  W.  Matteson,  Clerk;  T.  W.  Bur- 
dick,  Recorder  and  Treasurer;  A.  K.  Averill,  County  Surveyor; 
John^R.  Howard,  Coroner;  W.  F.  Coleman,  County  Superinten- 
dent of  Public  Instruction. 

In  the  fall  election  of  1860,  which  took  place  on  the  Tuesday 
after  the  first  Monday  in  November,  S.  W.  Matteson  was  re-elec- 
ted Clerk  of  the  District  Court. 

With  1860  was  inaugurated  a.  change  in  the  administration  of 
County  affiiirs,  a  Board  of  Supervisors,  one  from  each  organized 
township,  taking  the  place  of  the  County  Judge  in  these  matters, 
in  January,  1861,  although  the  County  Court  contiuued  to  exist 
for  probate  and  some  other  matters  till  the  foundation  of  the 
Circuit  Court,  referred  to  in  succeeding  pages. 

This  Supervisor  system  gave  place  in  1870  to  the  County  Com- 
missioner system,  the  officers  still  being  termed,  as  they  now  are, 
Supervisors,  of  which  there  were  three.  In  1872  the  number  of 
Supervisors  was  increased  to  five,  the  County  being  divided  into 
five  districts — the  number  at  present  existing. 

And  as  the  Courts  of  the  county  form  a  prominent  part  of  its 
history,  we  here  briefly  trace  their  successive  Judges,  completing 
first  the  roll  of  County  Judges  till  that  office  was  abolished  by  the 
organization  of  the  Circuit  Court,  about  the  close  of  the  year  1868. 

COUNTY  JUDGES. 

Our  previous  record  shows  that  L.  W.  Griswold  was  elected 
County  Judge  in  1857.  He  held  the  office  to  January  1st,  1860. 
His  successors  were  as  follows: 

D.  H.  Hughes,  who  held  the  office  two  years,  commencing  Jan. 
1st,  1860. 

Jno.  DeCow,  two  years,  commencing  Jan.  1,1862. 
G.  R.  Willett,  four  years,  commencing  Jan.  1,  1861. 

E.  Cutler  assumed  the  office  Jan.  1,  1868,  and  held  it  till  the 
close  of  that  year,  when  it  gave  place  to  the  Circuit  Court,  (re- 
ferred to  a  little  later),  which  attended  to  Probate  business.  The 
duties  of  the  County  Auditor  had  hitherto  been  performed  by  the 
County  Judge,  and  Mr.  Cutler  therefore  became  County  Auditor, 
ex-officio,  to  the  end  of  his  terra  and  was  then  twice  re-elected 
Auditor,  as  referred  to  hereafter. 

13  ' 


20i  HISTORY   OF   WlifNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

DISTRICT  AND  CIRCUIT  COURTS. 

Winneshiek  county  is  a  part  of  the  10th  judicial  district,  the 
balance  of  the  district  being  comprised  of  Howard,  Chickasaw, 
Fayette,  Allamakee,  and  Clayton  counties.  The  territories  of  the 
district  and  circuit  courts  coincide,  or  in  other  words,  they  have 
concurrent  jurisdiction^  in  all  the  judicial  districts  throughout  the 
State. 

The  District  Court  exercises  general  and  original  jurisdiction, 
both  civil  and  criminal,  where  not  otherwise  provided^  and  appel- 
late jurisdiction  in  all  criminal  matters;  and  it  has  a  general  su- 
pervision over  all  inferior  courts  and  officers  in  all  criminal  cases, 
to  prevent  and  correct  abuses  where  no  other  remedy  is  provided. 
One  district  judge  elected  by  the  people,  holds  court  alternately  at 
each  county  seat  at  times  specified  by  the  district  and  circuit 
judges,  and  a  clerk  of  the  District  Court,  who  is  ex-officio  clerk, 
also  of  the  Circuit  Court,  is  elected  once  in  two  years  in  each  county. 

The  Circuit  Court  exercises  original  jurisdiction  concurrent 
with  the  District  Court  in  all  civil  actions  and  special  proceedings, 
and  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  all  appeals  and  writs  of  error  from 
inferior  courts,  tribunals  and  officers,  and  has  a  general  super- 
vision thereof  in  all  civil  matters.  All  probate  business  is  also 
done  by  the  Circuit  Court. 

For  nearly  seventeen  years  the  District  Court  had  charge  of  the 
business  now  transacted  by  both  courts.  But  the  business  here,  as 
well  as  in  other  districts  of  the  State,  became  so  great  as  to  be  bur- 
densome and  cause  delay;  and  the  12th  General  Assembly  enacted 
a  law  signed  April  3d,  1868,  creating  Circuit  Judges,  the  act  tak- 
ing effect  Jan.  1st,  1869,  except  that  the  judges  should  be  elected 
in  November,  1868. 

The  first  term  of  District  Court  for  this  county  was  held  in 
Decorah  on  Friday,  the  9th  day  of  July,  1852.  Present — -Hon. 
Thomas.  S.  Wilson,  Judge;  Geo.  Bachel,  Sheriff;  and  Wm.  F. 
Kimball,  Clerk;  Eeuben  Noble,  B.  W.  Poor,  Jno.  McKay,  and 
Jno.  W.  Ramine  were  admitted  to  practice  as  attorneys.  They 
had  previously  been  admitted  to  the  bar  in  other  States.  Jno. 
D.  McKay,  on  application  and  examination  was  admitted  for  the 
first  time  to  practice  as  an  attorney  and  counselor-at-law.  The 
first  grand  jury  empanneled  consisted  of  the  following  named 
persons:  Nathan  S.  Gilbert,  foreman;  Isaac  Callendar,  J.  H. 
Gilliband,  Omri  Emery,  Rupel  Dean,  D.  W.  Carrier,  Henry  Mc- 
Swain,  Wm.  Campbell,  Levi  Moore,  Adam  Heckart,  Wm.  Clark, 
Lewis   Eddy,  Dwight  Kathburn,  David  Frazier  and  Philip   Howe. 

Judge  Wilson  continued  in  office  till  the  commencement  of 
1855,  when  Samuel  S.  Murdock,  of  Clayton  Co.,  having  been 
chosen  at  the  regular  election  the  latter  part  of  the  preceding 
year,  took  the  bench  and  occupied  it  for  a  term  of  four  years. 
The  District  Judges  since  that  tinie^ — the  opening  of  the  year 
1859 — have  been: 


HISTORY   OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  205 

Elias  A.  Williiims  of  Clayton  county,  two  terms,  to  18C7. 

Milo  McGlatliety,  of  Fayette  County,  two  terms,  to  1875. 

Reuben  Noble,  of  Clayton  County,  held  the  first  session  of  his 
first  term  in  Feb.,  1875.  He  was  elected  to  a  second  term  at  the 
fall  election  of  1878,  and  held  the  office  till  the  latter  part  of 
1879,  when  he  resigned. 

E.  E.  Cooley,  of  Decorah,  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Gear  to  fill 
the  vacancy  till  the  election  the  following  year.  He  took  his  seat 
in  December,  1879. 

At  the  election  in  the  fall  of  1880,  Mr.  Cooley  was  chosen  to 
fill  the  remainder  of  the  unexpired  term,  and  still  occupies  the 
bench. 

The  first  Circuit  Court  Judge  was  chosen  at  the  election  in 
November,  1868,  his  term  commencing,  according  to  the  law  pre- 
viously referred  to,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1869. 

The  Judge  chosen  was  M.  V.  Burdick,  who  has  been  previously 
referred  to  in  this  history,  and  to  him  belongs  the  honor  of  being 
the  first  Circuit  Judge  of  the  Tenth  District.  He  was  an  early 
resident  of  Decorah,  and  has  been  here  much  of  the  time  since, 
though  now  living  at  Lansing,  Allamakee  County.  He  held  the 
office  for  one  term  of  four  years. 

The  second  Circuit  Judge  was  C.  T.  Granger,  of  Waukon, 
Allamakee  County,  who  came  upon  the  bench  at  the  opening  of 
the  year  1873,  tor  a  term  of  four  years.  He  was  re-elected  in 
the  fall  of  1876  for  a  second  term,  and  again  in  1880  for  a  third 
term,  in  which  he  is  now  serving. 

The  preceding  record  of  elections  shows  who  were  Clerks  of 
Court  for  Winneshiek  County  up  to  1860,  when  S.  W.  Matteson 
held  the  office.  He  was  re-elected  in  1861,  again  in  1862,  and 
again  in  1864.  The  following  is  the  date  of  election  of  Clerks  of 
Court  for  this  county  since  that  time: 

Dan  Lawrence  in  1866. 

M.  P.  Hathaway  in  1868. 

S.  E.  Tubbs  in  1870  and  1872. 

A.  W.  Brownell  in  1874. 

E.  B.  Hutchinson  in  1876  and  1878. 

M.  W.  Harden  in  1880,  being  the  present  incumbent. 

The  important  office  of  District  Attorney  for  the  Tenth  Dis- 
trict has  been  held  successively  for  the  last  two  terms  by  Winne- 
shiek County  men.  Orlando  J.  Clark,  elected  in  1874,  and  whose 
term  expired  January  1st,  1879,  was  succeeded  by  the  present  in- 
cumbent, Cyrus  Wellington,  elected  in  the  fall  of  1878. 

STATE   LEGISLATORS. 

Our  state  Senators  since  Dr.  H.  C.  Bulls,    with   whom  our  pre- 
vious record  leaves  off,  have  been: 
M.  V.  Burdick,  elected  in  1861. 


206  HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

H.  C.  Bulls,  again  elected  iu  1S65;  was  re-elected  1S69,  and  re- 
signed in  1871,  when  be  was  elected  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the 
State. 

Hon.  (j.  R.  Willett  was  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
resignation  of  Dr.  Bulls,  and  was  in  1873  re-electsd  for  a  four 
years  term. 

"Hon.  G.  R.  Willett  was  born  in  Lacadie,  Province  of  Quebec, 
November  11,  1826.  Though  born  in  Canada,  yet  both  his  pa- 
rents were  Americans.  He  spent  the  early  part  of  his  life  in 
Canada,  and  received  his  education  there.  He  studied  law  at 
Champlain,  New  York,  and  graduated  at  the  Albany  Law  School. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  that  city  in  1856,  He  practiced 
law  in  Champlain  until  1857,  when  he  came  west  and  settled  in  De- 
corah.  He  raised  the  first  company  of  volunteers  to  fight  for  the 
Union,  namely.  Company  D,  Third  Iowa  Infantry.  He  was 
wounded  in  the  knee  in  1861,  which  so  disabled  him  that  he  was 
obliged  to  resign  and  return  home.  In  1864  he  was  elected  County 
Judge.  During  the  winter  of  1874  he  was  elected  President  pro 
tern,  of  the  Senate.  He  was  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Con- 
stitutional Amendments,  and  during  the  session  of  1875  he  was 
Chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee.  He  was  also  a  member  of 
the  Committee  on  Railroads,  Insurance  and  Judicial  Districts. 
From  1868  to  1872  he  was  President  of  the  Winneshiek  W^oolen 
Manufacturing  Company.  He  was  married  at  the  age  of  21  to 
Miss  Alinda  C.  Kellogg,  "in  Champlain,  New  York.  Mr.  Willett 
has  occupied  many  high  positions  within  the  gift  of  the  people, 
and  has  always  discharged  his  trust  honorably  and  faithfully.  His 
legal  ability  Is  recognized  abroad  as  well  as  well  as  at  home.  As 
evidence  of  this  fact,  the  reader  is  referred  to  his  appointment  as 
Chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee." 

Mr.  Willett  and  wife  can  now  be  reckoned  as  comparatively  old 
residents,  as  they  are  among  our  most  active,  liberal  and  public- 
spirited  ones.  Their  oldest  son,  Mahlon,  is  a  successful  minister 
to  a  church  on  the  Pacific  coast,  while  the  second  son,  Norman, 
is  a  partner  of  his  father  in  the  law  business,  and  reliable  and 
successful. 

M.  N.  Johnson  was  elected  in  1877.  Mr.  Johnson  is  a  son  of 
Nelson  Johnson,  an  old  pioneer  previously  referred  to.  He  grad- 
uated at  the  State  University  in  1873,  and  at  the  law  class  there 
in  1876.  He  was  elected  State  Representative  in  the  fall  of  1875, 
and  a  presidential  elector  in  1876.  He  is  now  in  partnership  with 
his  younger  brother  in  the  law  business  in  Decorah. 

H.  A.  Baker  was  elected  in  the  fall  of  1882.  He  is  a  promi- 
nent young  business  man  of  Osslan,  popular,  enterprising,  and 
thriving.  His  present  term  will  hold  through  the  next  session  of 
the  legislature — the  winter  of  1883-4. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  207 

Since  our  record,  closing  witli  1860,  the  following  have  been 
elected  as  State  Representatives;  the  elections  being  for  but  one 
biennial  session. 

W.  H.  Baker  and  Ole  Nelson  in  1861. 

Ole  Nelson  and  James  H.  Brown  in  1863. 

H.  B.  Williams  was  elected  in  1864  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by 
the  death  of  Ole  Nelson. 

Jas.  H.  Brown  and  H.  B.  Williams,  elected  in  1865. 

H.  B.  Williams  and  J.  T.  Atkins,  in  1867. 

H.  B.  Williams  and  0.  A.  Lommen,  in  1869. 

Knudt  Berg  and  Warren  Danforth,  in  1871. 

Knudt  Bergh  was  born  in  Norway,  and  came  to  America  when 
a  boy,  with  his  father,  and  settled  in  Highland  Township.  Mr. 
Bergh  early  appreciated  the  value  of  an  education,  and  strove  with 
all  his  energy  to  attain  the  high  place  which  he  afterwards  reached 
in  educational  circles.  An  adopted  citizen,  he  became  an  Ameri- 
can in  all  that  the  name  implies.  He  was  an  exemplary  man,  and 
revered  by  all  who  knew  him.  In  the  legislative  halls  of  the 
State  he  served  his  county  with  fairness  and  ability.  Mr.  Bergh 
was  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  St.  Louis.  He  afterward 
became  one  of  the  professors  in  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  College. 
His  health  failed  him,  and  in  1873  he  visited  his  native  country, 
where  he  died  of  consumption,  on  the  16th  of  June,  1875,  at  Eide, 
Hardanger,  Norway.] 

Warren  Danforth  and  Jno.  DeCow  in  1873. 

Warren  Danforth  and  M.  N.  Johnson  in  1875. 

H.  A.  Baker  and  H.  C.  Manning  in  1877. 

H.  A.  Baker  and  Levi  Hubbell  in  1879. 

Levi  Hubbell  and  D.  ().  Aker  m  1881. 

REPRESENTATIVES  IN"  CONGRESS. 

It  was  not  till  1877  that  the  Representative  in  Congress  for  this 
district  was  chosen  from  Winneshiek  County.  From  soon  after 
the  organization  of  the  State  to  1863,  there  were  but  two  Con- 
gressional Districts  in  Iowa,  and  after  that  time  till  1881,  Winne- 
shiek County  has  been  in  the  Third  Congressional  District, 
although  the  number  of  districts  have  been  mcreased  from  time  to 
time.  Wm.  B.  Allison,  of  Dubuque,  was  our  Representative  from 
1863  to  1871,  and  ceased  to  be  Representative  to  become  United 
State  Senator,  which  position  he  now  holds. 

W.  G.  Donnan,  of  Independence,  was  Representative  to  the 
Forty-second  Congress — 1871  to  1873,  and  also  to  the  Forty-third 
Congress — 1873  to  1875. 

For  the  Forty-fourth  Congress — 1875  to  1877— a  Democrat; 
L.  L.  Aiusworth,  of  West  Union,  was  elected  by  a  very  small  ma- 
jority after  a  close  contest;  C.  T.  Granger,  of  Waukon,  being  his 
Republican  opponent. 


208  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

The  Third  Congressional  District  embraced  the  counties  of 
Allamakee,  Buchanan,  Clayton,  Delaware,  Dubuque,  Fayette  and 
Winneshiek. 

At  the  Congressional  Convention  held  at  McGregor  Sept.  6, 
1876,  Theodore  W.  Burdick,  of  Decorah,  who  had  not  sought 
the  office,  went  into  the  convention  supported  by  nineteen  dele- 
gates from  the  Winneshiek  County  Republican  Convention,  who 
stood  by  him  through'  the  Convention,  until  he  was  nominated 
on  the  22d  ballot.  J.  M.  Griffith,  of  Dubuque,  was  his  Dem- 
ocratic opponent,  and  the  contest  was  a  fierce  one,  intensi- 
fied by  the  fact  that  a  Democrat  had  .  been  elected  for  the  pre- 
ceding term.  Mr.  Burdick  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  1,267, 
his  own  county  leading  the  list  of  Republican  counties  by  a 
majority  of  1,265.  He  was  a  faithful  and  efficient  working  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  and  at  the  close  of  the  term  positively  declined  a 
re-nomination.  Since  the  previous  biographical  sketches  in  this 
volume  have  been  put  in  the  hands  of  the  printer,  it  has  been  de- 
cided to  give  more  complete  sketches  of  prominent  men  else- 
where in  the  volume,  so  that  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  give  them 
at  length  in  the  regular  history,  but  the  following  from  Andreas' 
Atlas  of  Iowa,  published  before  Mr.  Burdick's  election,  is  worthy 
of  reproduction  here. 

"Theodore  W.  Burdick,  cashier  of  the  First  National  and  Sav- 
ings Banks  of  Decorah,  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  Octo- 
ber 7,  1836.  He  removed  with  his  parents  to  Winneishiek  County 
at  the  age  of  17,  having  previously  acquired  a  good  English  edu- 
cation, his  father  having  intended  him  for  a  collegate  course  at 
Oberlin.  The  removal  to  the  west,  however,  interfered  with  that 
arrangement,  and  on  their  arrival  at  Decorah,  in  the  spring  of  1853, 
he  was  employed  as  the  first  school  teacher  in  the  place,  the  first 
school-house  having  just  then  been  completed.  The  following 
spring  his  father  was  elected  County  Treasurer,  and  he  took  charge 
of  the  office  and  also  that  of  County  Recorder,  discharging  prac- 
tically the  duties  of  both  until  he  became  of  age,  in  1857.  At 
the  next  election  following  he  was  elected  County  Treasurer,  and 
filled  the  office  in  a  most  faithful  and  satisfactory  manner  till  1862, 
when  he  resigned  to  enter  the  army.  He  was  commissioned  Cap- 
tain of  Company  D,  Sixth  Iowa  Volunteer  Cavalry,  in  which  ca- 
pacity he  served  foi  three  years — till  1865.  Four  brothers  besides 
himself  were  in  the  army,  and  three  of  them  lost  their  lives  in  their 
country's  service.  On  his  return  from  the  army  Mr.  Burdick  pur- 
chased an  interest  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Decorah,  of 
which  he  was  elected  Cashier  in  1866.  Since  the  war  he  has  held 
no  public  office,  but  has  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  business. 
Both  in  his  public  and  private  relations,  for  a  period  of  over 
twenty  years,  since  he  became  a  citizen  of  Decorah,  he  has  been 
noted  as  a  gentleman  of  honor  and  integrity,  of  good  business 
talents  and  irreproachable  character." 


HISTOKy    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  209 

Thomas  Updegraff,  of  McGregor,  was  the  Republican  candidate 
for  Congress  in  1878,  being  nominated  at  McGregor  (after  a  very 
close  fight  for  the  nomination  with  D.  N.  Cooley,  of  Dubuque). 
Mr.  Updegraff  was  elected  October  8,  1878,  receiving  12,596  votes 
in  the  district;  Fred.  O'Donnell,  (Democrat),  of  Dubuque,  receiv- 
ing 10,881,  and  Spangle  (Greenback)  receiving  5,338. 

Thomas  Updegraff  was  re-elected  November  2, 1880,  his  oppon- 
ents being  W.  G.  Stewart,  (democrat)  and  M.  H.  Moore  (green- 
back), both  of  Dubuque.  The  vote  was:  Updegraff,  17,359;  Stew- 
art, 13,969;  Moore,  2,193. 

By  the  recent  re-districting  of  the  State,  this  county  is  in  the 
Fourth  Congressional  District,  embracing  the  counties  of  Alla- 
makee, Winneshiek,  Howard,  Mitchell,  Clayton,  Fayette,  Chicka- 
saw and  Floyd.  Mr.  Updegraff  is  a  candidate  for  re-election  with 
the  probability  of  being  returned  for  the  third  term. 


COUNTY  OFFICERS  RESUMED. 


TREASURERS  AND  RECORDERS. 

Our  previous  record  shows  T.  W.  Burdick  as  County  Treasurer 
and  Recorder  in  18G0.  In  1861  he  was  re-elected.  He  resigned 
his  position  in  1862  to  enlist  in  the  army,  and  G.  R.  Willet  was 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  The  following  were  successively 
elected  to  the  office  of  the  Treasurer,  the  Recorder's  office  being 
separated  from  it  in  1861: 

A.  K.  Bailey,  in  1863. 

G.  N,  Holway,  in  1865-7. 

G.  T.  Lommen,  in  1869  and  1871. 

Edwin  Klove,  in  1873,  1875,  1877,  and  1879;  his  fourth  term 
expiring  December  31st,  1881. 

N.  H.  Adams  was  elected  in  the  fall  of  1881,  and  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1882,  assumed  the  duties  of  the  office  of  Treasurer,  which 
he  now  holds. 

In  1861:,  when  the  Recoider's  office  was  separated  from  that 
of  the  Treasurer,  Jno.  E.  Powers  was  elected  Recorder,  and  was 
re-elected  in  1866. 

Cyrus  W.  McKay  was  elected  in  1868,  1870  and  1872. 

Chas.  Stern  in  1874  and  in  1876.  Mr.  Stern  died  during  his 
second  term  of  office  and  Wm.  M.  Fannon  was  elected  to  fill  the 
vacancy.  Mr.  Fannon  was  re-elected  in  1878  and  again  in  1880. 
His  term  of  office  will  expire  wdtli  1882. 

COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENTS. 

In  1861  or  1862,  H.  C.  Bulls  was  appointed  County  Superinten- 
dent of  Schools. 


210  HISTORY    OF   WlifNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

I,  M.  Wedge Avood  was  elected  County  Superinteudent  of  Schools 
in  1863,  18G5,  1867  and  1869. 

Henry  Toye  was  elected  in  1871. 

G.  N.  Hoi  way  was  elected  in  1873. 

Nels  Kessy  in  1875,  1877  and  1879. 

J.  A.  Klien  Avas  elected  in  1881,  assuming  the  duties  of  office 
January  1,  1882. 

COUNTY  SUEVEYORS. 

Taking  up  again  the  office    of  County    Surveyor,  we  find  E. 
Baldwin  elected  in  1861,  1863,  1865  and  1867. 
W.  C.  Adsit  elected  in  1869,  1871  and  1873. 
J.  L.  Cameron  in  1875  and  1877. 
E.  B.  Collwell  in  1879. 
J.  L.  Cameron  in  1881,  his  term  commencing  January  1,  1882. 

SHERIFFS. 

Sheriff  Erick  Anderson,  previously  mentioned  as  elected  in 
1859,  was  re-elected  in  1861. 

Armund  Arneson  was  elected  in  1863,  and  again  in  1865. 

A.  S.  Skofstadt  was  elected  in  1867. 

Knudt  Thompson  in  1869  and  1871. 

C.  H.  Hitchcock  in  1873. 

J.  H.  Womeldorf  in  1875  and  1877. 

DeWitt  C.  Moore  in  1879  and  1881. 

Soon  after  election  in  the  fall  of  1881,  Mr.  Moore  resigned 
to  accept  the  position  of  cashier  of  a  bank  at  Grafton,  Dakota,  his 
resignation  taking  effect  Dec.  8,  1881. 

H.  M.  Langland  was  thereupon  appointed  by  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  to  fill  the  vacancy  till  the  next  election,  which  takes 
place  in  November,  1882. 

COUNTY  AUDITORS. 

E.  Cutler  was  elected  County  Judge  in  the  fall  of  1867,  and 
assumed  its  duties  Jan.  1,  1868.  At  the  close  of  1868,  as  already 
detailed,  the  newly  created  Circuit  Court  absorbed  the  duties  of 
County  Probate  Court,  and  Mr.  Cutler  became  County  Auditor 
ex  officio^  retaining  the  Court  duties  pertaining  to  that  branch  of 
the  office.  He  was  re-elected  County  Auditor  in  the  fall  of  1869, 
and  again  in  1871. 

H.  A.  Bigelow  was  elected  in  1873. 

R  S.  Hale  was  elected  in  1875,  1877,  and  1879. 

T.  E.  Egge  was  elected  in  1881  and  entered  upon  his  two  years' 
term  Jan.  1,  1882. 

CORONERS. 

John  Howard — referred  to  in  record  prior  to  1860 — was  succeed- 
ed by  the  following  coroners: 


HISTORY   OF   AVINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  211 

C.  McKay  was  elected  in  1861,  1863,  1865,  1867,  and  1869. 

F.  W.  Knox,  elected  in  1871. 

A.  C.  Ferren,  in  1873. 

A.  H.  Fannon,  in  1875. 

E.  Mather,  in  1877  ard  1879. 

W.  F.  Coleman,  in  1881. 

COUNTY    SUPERVISORS. 

Since  1870,  when  the  County  Commissioner  system  was  adopted, 
by  the  county  being  divided  into  districts,  and  a  Commissioner  or 
Supervisor  elected  from  each  district,  the  Supervisors  have  been 
as  follows: 

M.  S.  Drury,  Geo.  C.  Winship  and  A.  Arneson  were  elected  in 
1870,  for  terms  varying  so  that  a  portion  of  them  should  be  elected 
each  year. 

M.  S.  Drury  was  re-elected  in  1872,  the  other  members  being 
increased  to  five.  F.  G.  Hale  and  C.  Sydow  w^ere  elected  the  same 
year.     F.  G.  Brittain  was  elected  in  1873. 

By  the  above  change  to  five  Supervisors,  the  districts  embrace 
townships  as  follows: 

First  District— Bloomfield,  Military,  Springfield,  Frankville. 

Second  District— Washington,  Jackson,  Sumner,  Calmar. 

Third  District — Lincoln,  Bluff'ton,  Orleans,  Burr  Oak,  Fremont. 

Fourth  District — Pleasant,  Canoe,  Hesper,  Highland,  Glen- 
wood. 

Fifth  District — Decorah,  Madison. 

The  Supervisors  in  ofiice  at  the  commencement  of  1874  were 
M.  S.  Drury,  A.  Arneson,  Chas.  Sydow,  F.  G.  Hale  and  Geo.  C. 
Winship.  The  following  were  elected  from  the  several  districts 
thereafter,  the  elections  being  for  a  regular  term  commencing  the 
January  following  the  election,  except  in  case  of  removal,  death, 
or  resignation. 

Elected  in  1871:,  Second  District,  Chas.  Meyers;  Fifth  District, 
G.  C.  Winship. 

Elected  in  1875,  First  District,  Turner  Calender;  Third  District, 
Peter  Morton. 

Elected  in  1876,  Second  District,  H.  Geisen,  Fourth  District,  0. 
W.  Ellin gson. 

Elected  in  1877,  Second  District,  A.  W.  Brownell;  Fifth  Dis- 
trict, Jacob  Jewell. 

Elected  in  1878,  First  District,  Geo  Merrill;  Third  District,  S. 
G.  Kendall. 

Elected  in  1879,  Fourth  District,  Nels  Larson. 

Elected  in  1880,  First  District,  E.  S.  Lambert;  Second  District, 
A.  W.  Brownell;  Third  District,  Almon  Rice;  Fifth  District  G.  L. 
Wendling. 

Elected  in  1881,  Third  District,  R.  Barnes;  Fourth  District,  0. 
T.  Lommen. 


212  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

COUNTY  OFFICEES  IN  1882. 

The  present  (1882)  County  Officers  (besides  the  officers  for  this 
Judicial  District— District  Judge  E.  E.  Coolej,  Circuit  Judge  C. 
T.  Granger,  and  District  Attorney  Cyrus  Wellington)  are: 

Clerk  of  Courts— M.  W.  Harden;  N.  H.  Nelson,  Deputy. 

Auditor— T.  E.  Egge;  J.  W.  Danbrey,  deputy. 

Treasurer— N.  H.  Adams;  C.  E.  Header,  deputy. 

Recorder— Wm.  M.  Fannon;  Wm.  H.  Fannon^  deputy. 

Sheriff— H.  M.  Langland;  W.  P.  Sanford,  deputy. 

Superintendent  of  Schools— J.  A.  Klein. 

Surveyor — J.  L.  Cameron. 

Coroner — W.  F.  Coleman. 

The  present  Supervisors  (1882)  are  as  follows: 

First  District— 0.  T.  Lommen. 

Second  District— A.  W.  Brownell. 

Third  District— R.  Barnes. 

Fourth  District — Nels  Larsen. 

Fifth  District— Geo.  L,  Wendling. 

NEW  JAIL. 

^  At  the  November  election,  1876,  a  tax  was  voted  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  new  County  jail,  the  majority  for  the  tax  being  '290. 
The  erection  of  a  substantial  brick  building  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  Court  House  grounds  was  promptly  commenced  and 
duly  completed,  and  improved  steel  cells  put  in.  Besides  being  a 
handsome  structure,  it  is  the  safest  in  this  part  of  Iowa.  It  is  re- 
ferred to  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Pojmlation;  Court  House  and  Jail;  Court  House  Grounds;  Poor 
House  and  Farm;  Murder  Trials;  Railroad  History;  Our 
Products;  Educational  and  Literary;  a  Gratifying  Exhibit; 
Good  State  of  the  County  Finances;  Census  of  1880. 

By  the  United  State  census  of  1880  the  population  of  Winne- 
shiek County  was  23,937.  And  yet  up  to  the  commencement  of 
the  previous  year,  the  court  house  erected  in  the  early  days,  with 
a  jail  and  residence  for  the  sheriff  in  the  basement,  was  so  good 
a  building  that  it  had  done  service  for  a  little  over  thirty  years, 
and  now  with  a  new  jail,  containing  sheriff  s  residence,  improve- 
ments made  in  the  court  house  and  enlargement  of  quarters  of 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  213 

county  officers,  the  latter  building  will  answer  the  purpose  for 
the  county  for  some  years  yet.     A  few  words  about  the  county 


buildings 


COURT  HOUSE  AND  JAIL. 


The  present  Court  House  was  commenced  in  1857,  a  tax  having 
been  voted  in '  1S5G,  and  was  completed  in  1858.  The  courts 
previous  to  that  time  were  sometimes  held  in  rented  rooms, — 
though  for  a  while  at  first  in  the  log  house  of  Wm.  Day,  and 
afterwards  in  Newell's  Hall.  The  cost  of  the  Court  House  build- 
ings, including  the  jail  in  the  basement,  was  about  $18,000.  The 
land  for  the  grounds  was  donated  by  Wm.  Day  and  Wm.  Paint- 
er, and  occupies  one  square,  being  bounded  on  the  north  by  Main 
street,  on  the  east  by  Winnebago  street,  on  the  south  by  Broad- 
way, and  on  the  west  by  Court  street.  The  Court  House  building 
has  a  basement  of  stone  in  which  were  originally  the  jail  and 
sheriff's  residence,  and  above  this  two  stories  of  brick;  the  court 
room  occupying  the  upper  floor  and  the  county  offices  the  remain- 
dea  of  the  building. 

After  the  erection  of  the  new  jail  the  basement  was  given  up 
to  the  Recorder's  office  with  a  large  fire-proof  vault,  the  Clerk's 
office  with  also  a  fire-proof  vault,  and  the  office  of  the  County 
Surveyor.  The  offices  of  the  County  Treasurer,  Auditor,  Sheriff, 
and  County  Superintendent,  are  now  on  the  floor  above.  The 
court  room  is  on  the  upper  floor  as  originally  constructed. 

In  the  fall  of  1876,  a  county  tax  of  $12,000,  to  be  divided  be- 
tween 1877  and  1878,  was  voted  for  the  erection  of  a  new  jail,  as 
stated  at  the  close  of  the  preceding  chapter.  The  jail  was  com- 
menced and  completed  in  1878.  It  is  a  handsome  brick  building, 
two  stories  high,  with  stone  basement  and  tin  roof — size  on  the 
ground  being  311x56  feet.  The  Sheriff's  residence  is  on  the  first 
floor  and  the  jail  proper  on  the  second  floor,  provided  with  Pauley's 
patent  steel  cells,  considered  very  secure  and  proof  against  jail 
breakers.     The  cost  of  building,  with  cells,  etc.,  was — 

Jail  building |5,434.25 

P.' J.  Pauley's  patent  steel  cells  and  corridors   with  sewer  pipe  and 

water  tank 6,097  00 

200  baiTol  cistern 175  00 

10  inch  sewer  pipe  connecting  with  dry  run 208  00 

Total 111,114  25 

There  was  also  expended  in  1878,  on  stone  walls  and  terracing 
the  Court  House  grounds,  about  $5,000.  Much  smaMer  amounts 
have  since  been  expended  in  continuing  the  walls  and  terracing, 
and  the  work  is  mostly  finished,  except  on  the  south  side,  where 
the  excavating  of  Broadway  by  the  city  is  not  yet  completed. 
The  main  front  of  the  Court  House  is  on  the  north  side,  the 
building  being  a  little  back  of  the  centre  of  the  grounds,  and  the 
jail  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  grounds. 


214  HISTORY   OF   WIKKESHIEK   COUNTY. 

With  the  outer  wall  there  are  five  walls  and  terraces,  covered 
with  grassy  lawn,  presenting  a  beautiful  appearance.  The  court 
house  was,  for  that  time,  a  magnificent  building,  and  is  still  re- 
spectable looking,  though  a  little  ancient.  Its  position  is  com- 
manding, overlooking  the  city  and  surrounding  valley,  and  will 
some  of  these  days,  no  doubt,  be  the  site  of  an  imposing  edifice. 

POOR   HOUSE   AND   FARM. 

The  poor  house  and  farm  of  Winneshiek  County  are  located 
near  the  village  of  Freeport,  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
14,  township  98,  range  8  west,  in  Decorah  township;  the  farm 
contains  130  acres.  Sixty  acres  were  purchased  in  1866,  and  on 
it  stood  a  large  frame  house;  a  brick  house,  barn  and  other  build- 
ings have  since  been  erected,  and  seventy  acres  of  timber  land 
purchased . 

MURDER    TRIALS. 

Winneshiek  County  has  had  some  half  a  dozen  murders,  or 
cases  in  which  that  crime  was  cbarged,  the  trial  in  the  last 
case  being  still  to  come.  Several  of  them  have  been  exciting 
ones. 

The  first  trial  for  murder  was  held  in  1861.  The  defendants 
were  John  Livengood  and  Delilah  A.  Telyea,  who  were  tried  for 
the  murder  of  Charles  Telyea,  the  husband  of  Delilah  A.,  in  the 
October  term  of  court,  1861,  Wore  Judge  Williams.  When  the 
^  charge  was  first  made  against  the  guilty  parties,  the  grand  jury 
failed  to  find  an  indictment,  on  the  ground  that  the  body  of  the 
murdered  man  had  not  been  found;  but  the  case  was  brought  be- 
fore the  next  grand  jury,  who  brought  in  a  bill.  Public  opinion 
was  strong  against  the  accused,  and  great  excitement  prevailed. 
The  public  was  agitated  to  such  an  extent  over  the  matter  that 
the  defendants'  attorneys  sued  for  a  change  of  venue,  which  was 
granted.  The  case  was  taken  to  Clayton  County,  where  the  par- 
ties were  tried.  Livengood  was  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  the 
penitentiary  for  life;  while  Mrs.  Telyea  was  acquitted,  although 
public  opinion  generally  considered  her  guilty.  Livengood  was  par- 
doned out  at  the  end  of  ten  years,  and  is  supposed  to  be  now  living 
somewhere  in  Northern  Wisconsin. 

The  next  case  to  enlist  attention,  and  set  the  public  in  a  state 
of  ferment  was  that  of  Charles  D.  Seeley,  for  the  murder  of  Wm. 
McClintock,  tried  before  Judge  McGlatherty,  February  11th, 
1872.  Seeley  was  convicted  of  manslaughter,  and  sentenced  to 
the  penitentiary,  at  hard  labor,  for  fifteen  months. 

The  third  murder  trial,  and  by  far  the  most  exciting,  was  that 
of  Helen  D.  Stickles  for  the  murder  of  her  husband,  J.  P.  Stickles, 
by  poison.  On  January  4, 1876,  John  P.  Stickles,  to  all  appear- 
ances was  enjoying  perfect  health.  That  afternoon  he  was  sud- 
denly taken  sick,  and  died  within  a  few  hours,  with  all  the  atten- 


HISTORY   OF   WIKXESHIEK   COUNTY.  215 

dant  symptoms  of  poisoning  by  strychniue.  The  next  morning 
as  the  news  circulated  from  mouth  to  mouth,  giving  in  detail  the 
sudden  and  horrible  death,  the  conviction  was  forced  upon  the 
community  that  either  a  fatal  mistake  had  been  made  in  adminis- 
tering medicine  to  the  unfortunate  man,  or  a  wanton  and  terrible 
crime  had  been  committed.  A  post-mortem  examination  was  held, 
which  served  to  strengthen  the  previous  theory  that  J.  P. 
Stickles  had  died  from  poison.  The  stomach  was  sent  to  Chica- 
go for  analysis.  Dr.  M.  P.  Hatfield,  the  chemist  who  made  the 
analysis,  sent  back  word  that  he  had  found  strychnine.  As  a  re- 
sult of  the  continual  agitation  of  the  question  by  the  public,  and 
the  evidence  produced,  the  Grand  Jury,  at  its  March  session,  1876, 
indicted  Helen  D.  Stickles  for  murder.  The  case  came  on  for 
trial  in  the  District  Court,  Judge  Reuben  Noble  presiding,'  in 
June.  The  trial  lasted  nine  days,  during  which  time  the  excite- 
ment was  intense  and  unabated.  0.  J.Clark,  Prosecuting  Attor- 
torney,  was  aided  by  J.  T.  Clark  in  prosecuting  the  side  of  the 
State,  while  C.  P.  Brown  and  Cyrus  Wellington  made  themselyes 
noted  as  criminal  lawyers,  by  the  ability  with  which  they  defend- 
ed the  accused.  It  was  one  of  the  most  stubbornly-contested 
trials  ever  held  in  the  county.  Public  opinion  very  generally 
condemned  Mrs.  Stickles,  but  the  jury  disagreed,  standing  five  for 
acquittal  to  seven  for  conviction.  A  change  of  venue  was  granted 
the  accused,  and  the  case  was  taken  to  Fayette  County  for  trial, 
where  she  was  finally  acquitted.  She  afterwards  married  Harry 
Shufelt  who  was  an  intimate  friend  of  the  family  at  the  time  of 
the  death  of  Mr.  Stickles,  as  well  as  of  the  accused  at  the  time 
of  the  trial,  and  moved  to  the  northeastern  part  of  the  State, 
where  several  years  later  she  attempted  suicide  on  account  of  be- 
ing scolded  by  her  husband  for  too  much  hilarity;  but  the  dose  of 
poison  was  pumped  out. 

On  the  9th  of  July  1876,  a  fatal  shooting  encounter  took  place 
at  the  residence  of  Simeon  Oleson.  They  had  some  supplies  left 
over  from  the  Uh  of  July  and  concluded  to  have  a  bowery  dance 
on  Sunday  evening;  Andrew  Throndson,  who  was  not  invited, 
attended;  but  it  was  a  fatal  visit  to  him.  It  seems  that  one  or 
both  of  the  parties  to  the  afi'ray  had  been  drinking.  As  Thrond- 
son, who,  with  some  others,  were  shooting  in  a  grove  not  far  off, 
approached  the  house  of  Simeon  Oleson,  who  witli  some  others, 
went  outjto  meet  him,  it  was  charged  that  both  parties  shot  at  each- 
other.  Throndson  fell  in  the  field  where  he  stood,  but  the  others 
thought  that  he  meant  to  decoy  them,  or  at  least  they  did  not  go  out 
there  until  the  next  morning,  where  the  dead  body  of  Throndson 
was  found.  Oleson  was  bound  over  for  trial.  At  the  first  trial  the 
jury  disagreed,  and  at  the  second  he  was  acquitted. 

The  next  murder  case  or  afi'ray  resulting  in  death,  occurred  on 
the  21st  of  December,  1876.  Four  brothers,  named  Torfin,  living 
not  far  from  Locust  Lane  postoffice,  which  is  near  the  northeast  cor- 


216  HISTORY   OF    WIKNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

ner  of  Pleasant  Township,  were  going  home  from  Decorah  in  a 
sleigh,  several  other  sleighs  following  along  behind  them.  Some  of 
the  sleighs  passed  them,  and  in  some  way  the  parties  got  into  a  quar- 
rel. Peace  was  apparently  soon  restored,  however,  and  they  contin- 
ued on  their  way  until  the  sleighs  that  were  ahead  of  the  Torfin 
brothers,  reached  across  road  where  they  halted;  some  of  the  men 
jumped  out,  and  when  the  Torfins  came  up,  Avanted  to  "settle  this 
thing  right  here."  Some  of  the  Torfins  jumped  from  their  sleigh, 
and  while  walking  about,  Ed.  Torfin  was  felled  to  the  earth  with  a 
club.  It  was  found  that  Helge  Nelson  struck  the  blow:  Torfin 
sprang  up  and  ran  and  got  into  his  sleigh,  drove  home,  and  came 
down  to  his  breakfast  the  next  morning.  The  affray  occurred  on 
Thursday  evening.  Sunday  morning  he  died.  Nelson  was  arrested, 
tried,  and  sentenced  to  six  months  in  the  penitentiary. 

The  last  murder  was  committed  on  Sunday,  June  4,  1882,  and 
the  trial  has  not  yet  taken  place.  We  take  the  following  particu- 
lars from  the  Decorah  Journal,    June  7. 

Peter  Peterson  Krogsund,  a  well-to-do  farmer  near  the  Peter 
Olson  stone  mill,  in  Glenwood  township,  will  have  no  more 
trouble  about  his  cattle  trespassing;  and  Hans  Hansen  Skjerdahl, 
who  rents  a  farm  near  there,  will  probably  have  a  life  time  to  re- 
pent the  killing  of  his  neighbor,  whether  that  life  is  suddenly 
brought  up  at  the  end  of  a  rope  or  spent  in  prison  walls — or  pos- 
sibly ended  in  some  other  way — who  can  tell. 

To  state  the  case  briefly,  and  not  to  try  to  prejudge  it,  or  give 
evidence  on  either  side  that  might  prejudice  it,  as  that  will  more 
properly  came  before  a  jury,  it  is  as  follows: 

Some  years  ago  the  deceased,  Peter  Peterson  Krogsund,  bought 
a  farm,  on  which  he  lived  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  After  his 
purchase  he  was  ordered  to  move  back  his  fence,  which  was  built 
before  he  owned  it,  and  which  it  seems  trespassed  a  little  on  the 
road.  He  thereupon  removed  his  fence  entirely,  leaving  his  neigh- 
bors to  look  after  their  stock,  as  the  stock  law  did  not  compel  him 
to  keep  a  fence.  That  seems  to  have  been  the  beginning  of  ill- 
feeling. 

The  recent  trouble  between  the  deceased  and  Hansen,  the  man 
who  shot  him,  first  commenced  last  fall,  but  has  not  been  renewed 
again,  particularly,  it  appears,  until  recently,  though  Hansen  pur- 
chased a  revolver  about  a  month  ago. 

Two  days  before  the  shooting  there  was  a  little  trouble  about 
the  deceased's  stock  getting  on  to  Hansen's  premises.  Last  Sun- 
day afternoon  Krogsund's  cattle  came  on  to  Hansen's  place,  when 
the  latter  shut  them  up  and  sent  word  by  a  girl  to  the  owner.  It 
does  not  appear  that  the  cattle  had  done  much  damage. 

The  deceased,  who  had  the  reputation  of  being  quarrelsome, 
came  to  the  field  about  sun  down,  and  began  to  throw  the  bars 
down  to  get  his  cattle.  Hansen  was  lying  just  a  little  behind  the 
point  of  the  bluff  near  the  bars,  and  rose  up  and  told  K.  not   to 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  217 

touch  the  bars.  The  latter  replied  that  he  was  going  to  have  his 
cattle.  He  again  ordered  him  not  to  touch  the  bars,  and  mean- 
while Hansen  approached  with  his  hands  raised,  in  one  of  which 
he  held  a  revolver.  The  deceased,  it  appears,  then  also  approached 
Hansen,  holding  in  his  hands  a  light  stick,  which  he  raised  as  if 
to  strike  Hansen,  who  fired  his  revolver  at  close  range,  the  bullet 
piercing  the  forehead  of  Krogsund,  just  above  the  left  eye,  caus- 
ing him  to  fall  unconscious.  He  did  not  move  afterward^  except 
some  slight  twitchings,  and  he  died  about  midnight. 

Hansen  says  he  shot  in  self-defense,  and  that  he  was  struck  a 
blow  with  the  stick  before  he  shot.  The  wounded  man's  brother 
says  that  no  blow  was  struck,  though  the  stick  was  raised.  Two 
men  on  the  bluff,  about  15  rods  distant,  saw  the  stick  raised  and 
also  saw  Hansen  approach  with  hands  raised,  but  saw  no  blow 
struck. 

Hansen  immediately  gave  himself  up,  waived  examination,  and 
is  in  jail  for  trial  for  murder,  without  bail.  He  is  23  years  old  and 
leaves  a  viile  and  child.  Peterson,  or  Krogsund,  was  about  36  years 
old  and  also  leaves  a  wife  and  child. 

A  coroner's  inquest  was  held  on  Monday,  and  a  verdict  rendered 
that  the  deceased  came  to  his  death  by  a  bullet  from  a  pistol  in 
the  hands  of  Hansen.  We  are  informed  that  the  revolver  con- 
tained only  the  one  charge.  The  scene  of  the  tragedy  was  not  far 
from  the  stone  mill  above  referred  to,  and  very  near  the  famous 
cave  in  Grlenwood  township,  about  nine  miles  from  Decorah. 

KAILROAD  HISTORY. 

For  many  years  after  the  first  settlement  of  the  county,  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  country  had  to  be  transported  to  the  river  and  goods 
brought  back  by  team,  McGregor  being  generally  the  trading 
point  for  several  years  before  the  railroad  was  extended  in  this  di- 
rection. But  the  enterprising  people  demanded  better  transporta- 
tion. Speaking  of  these  first  things  in  railroad  enterprise.  Sparks' 
History  says: 

In  1856  everything  was  booming.  The  abundant  resources  of  a 
new  country  had  reached  a  high  state  of  development,  money  was 
plenty,  and  the  prospects  for  the  future  bright.  One  thing  alone 
seemed  lacking  to  make  the  people  perfectly  satisfied  with  their 
condition — better  facilities  for  transportation.  The  time  had 
passed  when  the  products  of  the  county  could  be  transported 
sixty  miles  to  market  by  ox-teams  without  suffering  much  incon- 
venience and  loss.  The  time  had  come  when  a  railroad  was  a 
necessity.  The  railroad  fever  was  raging  throughout  the  West, 
and  far-seeing  ones  realized  the  immense  value  that  would  sweep 
in  on  iron  rails,  drawn  by  the  iron  horse.  After  a  due  amount  of 
talk  and  agitation,  the  Northwestern  Railroad  Company  was 
formed.  Decorah  was  its  headquarters,  but  they  took  in  promi- 
nent citizens  of  Clinton.     John  Thompson,  of  Clermont,  became 


218  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

President;  0.  C.  Lee,  a  banker  at  McGregor,  Secretary;  W.  F. 
Kimball,  of  Decorah,  Treasurer;  Eb.  Baldwin,  Chief  Engineer, 
and  E.  E.  Cooley,  Attorney.  With  a  mighty  faith  in  the  future, 
business  men  put  down  their  names  for  stock  by  the  thousand 
dollars'  worth,  and  ^80,000  of  the  capital  was  actually  subscribed. 
Whether  it  all  could  have  been  paid  for  is  another  matter. 
With  such  a  start  as  this,  the  company  felt  it  could  appeal  to  the 
public  spirit  of  the  people,  and  the  county  was  asked  to  bond  itself 
to  the  amount  of  (?1()0,000.  Strange  as  it  may  seem  to  later 
comers,  who  worked  and  toiled  to  gather  together  the  few  thou- 
sands which  the  railroad  actually  cost  when  it  did  come,  the  peo- 
ple enthusiastically  came  forward  and  voted  aye.  The  bonds 
were  printed  after  some  delay,  and  were  all  ready  to  be  formally 
signed,  sealed  and  delivered,  when  the  Supreme  Court  stamped 
the  law  under  which  the  bonds  were  being  put  out,  with  the  word 
"unconstitutional."  The  scheme  collapsed,  and  the  county  was 
saved  a  burden  of  debt,  which  might  have  retarded  its  progress 
for  all  the  years  past,  as  well  as  scores  to  come.  It  is  worthy  of 
note  that  when  the  railroad  did  come  to  us  it  followed  the  line 
marked  out  by  those  pioneers,  and  proved  that  their  plans  were 
wise  and  far-sighted,  if  they  were  a  dozen  years  ahead  of  the 
times. 

Several  attempts  were  made  before  a  railroad  was  finally  built. 
The  company  to  succeed  was  the  McGregor  Western.  This  com- 
pany was  organized  January  19,  1863.  The  commencement  of 
the  road  was  at  North  McGregor.  Work  was  commenced  in 
March,  1863,  and  in  one  year  the  road  was  in  running  order  to 
Monona,  fourteen  and  one-half  miles.  The  work  was  completed 
to  Postville  in  September,  1864,  to  Castalia  in  October,  1864,  and 
to  Conover  in  August,  1865. 

Decorah,  at  this  date,  had  become  a  thriving  inland  city,  well 
supported  with  newly  started  manufactories.  Her  citizens  looked 
upon  the  road  that  was  to  pass  them  by  with  a  covetous  eye. 
Railroad  connection,  with  river  and  lake  transportation,  was 
necessary  to  the  future  pi-osperity  of  the  place.  This  was  readily 
comprehended,  and  every  effort  was  put  forth  by  an  energetic  peo- 
ple to  secure  better  transportation  facilities.  As  a  result,  proposals 
were  ifiade  to  the  managers  of  the  McGregor  Western  Railway  to 
build  a  branch  line  from  Conover  to  Decorah,  nine  miles.  The 
citizens  of  Decorah  pledged  themselves  to  furnish  ^40,000,  as  a 
bonus,  provided  the  Company  would  build  the  nine  miles  of  road, 
which  the  managers  agreed  to  do.  Nearly  ^18,000  was  paid  in  by 
the  people  of  Decorah,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  road  was 
graded  and  bridged,  ready  for  the  superstructure.  But  the  main 
line  having  been  leased  to  the  Milwaukee  &  Prairie  du  Chien  Com- 
pany, work  on  the  branch  was  suspended  in  September,  1865. 

The  road  is  now  operated  under  the  management  of  the  Chica- 
go, Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway  Company,  by  which  name  it  is 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  219 

known.  The  branch  was  completed  to  Decorah  iu  September, 
1869,  in  accordance  with  the  agreement  made  by  the  company 
with  the  citizens  of  Decorah.  The  event  was  one  of  great  im- 
portance to  the  capital  city  of  the  county.  A  day  of  celebration 
and  rejoicing  was  given  in  honor  of  the  event.  Large  crowds  of 
people  thronged  to  the  city,  and  many  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  oifered  and  made  excursion  trips  to  Conover  and  back. 
Hon.  E.  E.  Cooley  delivered  an  address,  in  which  he  ably  set 
forth  the  great  value  the  new  railroad  would  be  to  Decorah  and 
the  surounding  country. 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  within  the  past  few  years  to 
secure  additional  railroad  facilities,  the  principal  object  being  to  se- 
cure competing  lines,  so  as  to  obtain  lower  freights. 

On  the  8tli  of  August,  1879,  the  township  of  Decorah  voted  a 
four  per  cent,  tax,  to  induce  the  river  road  from  Clinton  and 
Dubuque  to  LaCrosse,  which  was  leased  to  and  connected  with  the 
Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railway — to  extend  its  Waukon  narrow 
guage  branch  to  Decorah.  The  townships  of  Frankville  and 
Glen  wood  refused  to  vote  the  tax.  But  the  railroad  was 
graded  to  Decorah,  and  the  laying  of  iron  out  of  Waukon  was 
commenced,  when  the  river  road  was  bought  out  by  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  company,  and  the  enterprise  stopped.  There 
are  indications  that  the  latter  company  is  about  to  widen  the 
gauge  of  the  Waukon  branch  to  the  regular  standard,  and  per- 
haps extend  it  to  Decorah,  to  give  an  easier  grade  to  the  river  and 
accommodate  the  immense  trade  of  its  branches  that  meet  at  Cal- 
mar.  As  the  road  was  not  built  as  stipulated,  Decorah  escaped 
the  payment  of  the  tax,  which  had  been  voted. 

The  above  project  for  a  connection  with  the  Northwestern, 
having  failed,  another  was  attempted.  On  the  9th  of  November, 
1881,  the  township  of  Decorah  voted  a  five  per  cent,  tax  on  con- 
dition that  a  railroad  be  built  to  the  Mississippi  river,  at  or  about 
Lansing,  Iowa.  But  a  hoped  for  connection  not  having  been  se- 
cured, the  upper  Iowa  and  Mississippi  railway  company — as  the 
above  company  was  called — had  the  proposed  tax  cancelled  to  give 
a  choice  for  the  enterprise  mentioned  below. 

This  last  enterprise  was  the  proposed  building  of  a  railroad  to 
connect  with  the  Burlington,  Cedar  Rapids  &  Northern  Railway, 
at  or  near  West  Union  or  Clermont,  This  giving  another  south- 
ern and  eastern  connection  by  way  of  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  & 
Pacific  road  (the  backers  of  the  B.  C.  R.  &  N).  On  theith  day  of 
April,  1882,  Decorah  Township  voted  a  five  per  cent,  tax  for  the 
continuation  of  this  road,  on  condition  that  it  be  built  bj"^  Sept., 
1883,  assurances  being  made  that  there  was  ample  capital  to  con- 
struct the  road.  It  cannot  be  told  at  the  time  of  this  writing 
whether  the  road  will  be  built  or  not,  as  it  could  be  done  if  nec- 
essary, if  not  actively  commenced  till  the  spring  of  1883.  A  tax 
for  this  road  was  voted  down  in  Military  Township. 

14 


220  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

Meanwhile  there  are  prospects  of  a  road  being  built  across  the 
northern  part  of  the  county.  This  proposed  road  is  called  the 
Minnesota,  Iowa  &  Southwestern,  and  is  intended  to  run  from  La 
Crosse,  Wis.,  via  Charles  City,  to  Western  Iowa.  Taxes  were  voted 
for  the  proposed  road  in  the  fall  of  1881,  by  Hesper,  Burr  Oak 
and  Bluffton  Townships,  and  the  right-of-way  is  now  being  pur- 
chased (in  the  fall  of  1882)  over  some  portions  of  the  line  in  this 
county.  It  was  alleged  that  there  was  a  technicality  in  the  man- 
ner of  ordering  the  vote  in  Bluffton  Township  which  made  it 
illegal,  and  a  new  election  was  ordered  early  in  1882.  in  which  the 
project  met  with  defeat.  The  tax  has  been  ordered  by  the 
County  Supervisors  in  accordance  with  the  old  vote  in  Bluffton ;  it 
may  be  left  to  the  courts  to  decide  whether  it  shall  be  collected. 

Decorah  will  probably  have  another  railroad  connection  before 
long,  but  just  how  soon  is  not  yet  determined. 

The  continuation  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Rail- 
way from  Conover,  north  to  Ridgway  and  St.  Paul,  when  Conover 
lost  the  "boom  which  had  made  it  a  busy,  bustling  little  city;  the 
continuation  of  the  Iowa  &  Dakota  division  from  Calmar  west- 
ward to  Fort  Atkinson  and  beyond  in  1869,  and  the  recent  com- 
pletion of  the  line  between  Calmar  and  Davenport,  are  matters  to 
be  referred  to  elsewhere,  more  especially  in  the  sketches  of  the 
towns  named. 

OUR  PRODUCTS. 

Since  the  county  became  settled,  until  the  last  five  years,  wheat 
has  been  the  principal  product,  and  though  the  larger  portion  of 
the  wheat  has  been  shipped  in  bulk,  there  are  now  in  this  county 
six  mills  devoted  wholly  or  in  part  to  the  manufacture  of  flour  for 
eastern  markets,  while  sixteen  more  are  devoted  to  custom  work. 
The  fine  water  powers  with  which  the  county  abounds,  give  ample 
facilities  for  these  and  other  manufactories. 

Within  the  past  two  or  three  years  more  attention  has  been 
given  to  dairying  and  stock  raising,  and  this  county  promises  to 
become,  as  it  is  well  adapted  to  be,  one  of  the  finest  in  the  coun- 
try for  this  purpose.  Already  its  stock  farms  and  its  creameries 
have  become  famous. 

Of  these  and  various  other  industries,  the  woolen  mill,  scale 
factory,  paper  mill,  extensive  stone  quarries,  etc.,  further  mention 
will  be  found  in  our  sketch  of  Decorah  and  other  townships  in 
the  county. 

EDUCATIONAL   AND   LITERARY. 

In  educational  progress  this  county  has  kept  well  in  the  front. 
Besides  the  excellent  public  schools,  there  are  private  ones,  promi- 
nent among  which  is  the  Decorah  Institute,  under  the  excellent 
management  of  Prof.  Breckenridge,  attracting  a  large  attendance 
of  pupils  from  abroad.     This,  as  well  as  the  Norwegian  Lutheran 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  221 

College,  located  at  Deborah,  with  its  fiue,  large  building  costing 
$100,000.  its  nine  profe^f^ors,  and  its  regular  attendance  of  nearly 
two  hundred  students,  are  more  particularly  described  in  a  follow- 
ing chapter  giving  the  history  of  Decorah. 

The  first  newspaper  in  the  county  has  already  been  mentioned. 
Decorah  has  had  fully  a  score  of  them,  and  now  has  several  Eng- 
glish  and  one  Norwegian  newspaper,  besides  the  religious  and 
literary  periodicals  issued  by  the  Norwegian  College  publishing 
house.  Calmar  and  Ossian  have  had  successive  ones  which  have 
failed,  but  they  now  have  one  each.  These  newspaper  ventures 
will  be  mentioned  more  particularly  in  the  sketches  of  the  several 
towns. 

GRATIFYING  SHOWING. 

The  following  from  the  Decorah  liepuhlican  gives  a  compre- 
hensive view  of  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  county,  finan- 
cially, educationally  and  otherwise: 

The  growth  of  Winneshiek  County  in  wealth  and  evidences  of 
material  prosperity,  has  been  steady  and  rapid. 

In  1852,  the  assessment  of  the  county  only  represented  an 
actual  value  in  both  real  and  personal  property  of  $81,000,  while 
our  present  assessments  represents  an  actual  value  in  round 
numbers  of  $15,-500,000.  In  this  are  included  18,270  cattle  over 
six  months  old,  representing  a  cashvaluf  of  $310,000;  11,188 
horses,  representing  a  cash  value  of  $881,000;  and  23,567  swine, 
representing  an  actual  value  of  $20,000. 

The  total  tax  levied  for  the  year  1880,  for  all  purposes  includ- 
ing State,  County,  School  and  Municipal,  was  $101,715.95  of 
which  $36,456.28  was  for  the  support  of  schools  alone.  The  last 
annual  report  of  the  County  Superintendent  of  Public  Schools 
showed  that  there  was  in  the  hands  of  difierent  district  treasurers 
in  the  county,  school  money  to  defray  current  expenses  aggregat- 
ing nearly  $30,000 

The  financial  management  of  the  county  has  always  been  con- 
servative. Such  a  thing  as  a  bonded  debt  has  never  been  per- 
mitted, and  at  no  time  in  the  history  of  the  county  has  the  float- 
ing debt  been  so  large  but  that  it  was  easily  paid  by  ordinary 
financiering.  There  is  now  no  debt  whatever  against  the  county, 
and  settlers  are  not  sought  as  a  financial  relief.  On  the  contrary, 
we  invite  them  to  a  home  where  all  the  early  wants  have  been  met 
and  supplied. 

With  no  debt  existing,  the  county  possesses  such  requisities  in  the 
shape  of  public  buildings  and  property  as  these:  A  substantial 
Court  House,  ample  for  the  needs  of  the  next  twenty  years;  a  good 
Poor  House  and  farm  for  the  support  of  its  needy;  and  a  jail — one 
of  the  best  and  safest  in  the  state — for  the  restraint  of  the  crimi- 
nal class.  For  the  education  of  its  children,  there  are  already 
built  92  frame,  30   brick,  and  14  stone  school  houses,  ranging  in 


222  HISTORY    OF   WLXNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

value  from  a  few  liuiiilred  dollars  up  to  ^20,000,  By  an  appraise- 
ment made  last  year,  the  total  worth  of  these  houses  was  esti- 
mated at  $117,150.  Of  the  original  log  structures,  erected  by  the 
pioneers,  but  two  remain. 

The  streams  of  the  county  are  spanned  by  bridges  of  all  kinds, 
representing  an  actual  outlay  of  nearly  a  quarter-million  dollars. 
Thirty-eight  of  these  are  iron  bridges,  fourteen  are  stone-arch, 
four  of  combined  iron  and  wood,  and  the  remainder  are  substan- 
tial wooden  superstructures  upon  solid  stone  abutments. 

Of  private  buildings  for  public  use  an  even  better  record  can  be 
made.  The  church  buildings  number  nearly  two  score,  or  one  to 
every  650  of  population.  Those  of  the  Methodist  denomination 
are  most  numerous,  being  a  round  dozen  in  number;  but  those  of 
the  Norwegian  Lutherans  (eight  in  number)  are  the  largest  and 
most  costly.  The  Catholics  have  six  structures,  all  large  and  fine 
buildings.  The  remainder  are  divided  among  the  different  sects, 
representing  the  Congregationalists,  Friends,  Episcopalians,  Ad- 
ventists  and  Universalists.  In  a  few  cases,  and  only  a  few,  a 
church  debt  exists,  but  of  a  trivial  amount. 

This  is  the  work  of  but  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
It  is  no  longer  a  pioneer  region.  The  foundations  are  all  laid — 
and  well  laid — for  a  broad  and  intelligent  civilization,  and  the  full 
enjoyments  of  all  the  comforts  and  few  of  the  deprivations  of 
life  in  a  land  which,  if  not  '^flowing  with  milk  and  honey,"  is 
rich  in  all  the  elements  of  agricultural  wealth. 

POPULATION. 

This  review  is  fittingly  supplemented  with  the  following  from 
the  United  States  Census  of  Winneshiek  county,  for  1880: 

Bloomfield  Township,  including  village  of  Castalia 1,010 

*Castalia  village 108 

BluflFton  township,  including  village  of  Bluffton 807 

*Bluffton  village 102 

Burr  Oak  Township,  including  village  of  Burr  Oak 826 

*Burr  Oak  village 199 

Calmar  Township,  including  the  foU  swing  places 2,043 

*Conover  village 168 

Cahnar  town c 617 

♦Spillville  village 340 

Canoe  Township 991 

Decorah  Township,  including  the  following  places 4,559 

Decorah  City,  including  West  Decorah 3,524 

Frankville  Township,  including  village  of  Frankville 970 

*Frankville  village 158 

Fremont  Township,  including  village  of  Kendallville 692 

*Kendallville  village 75 

Glenwood  Township 1,190 

Hesper  Township,  including  village  of  Hesper 1,000 

*Hesper  village 212 

Highland  Township 782 

J  ackson  Township 797 

Lincoln  Township .  992 


HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY,  223 

Madison  Township 781 

Military  Township,  including  town  of  Ossian 1,521 

Ossian  town 444 

Orleans  Township 636 

Pleasant  Town.ship. 929 

Springfield  Township 1 ,037 

Sumner  Township 863 

Washington  Township,  includmg  the  following  villages 1,509 

*Festina  village 127 

*Fort  Atkinson  village 435 

Total 23,937 

*  Unincorporated  villages. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


The  War  for  the  Union;  Prompt  Besponse  to  Calls;  the  First 
Company  and  its  Glorious  liecord;  Battle  of  SJtiloh;  Surren- 
der of  Vickshur;/;  Battle  of  Atlanta ;  Our  Heroic  Dead  and 
Wounded;  Other  Companies  from  Winnesliieh  County;  the 
March  to  the  Sea;  Gallant  Deeds  to  the  Final  Battle  of  the 
War;    the  Wounded  Living  and  the  Martyred  Dead. 


Winneshiek  County  may  well  remember  with  pride  the  patriot- 
ism of  her  devoted  sons  in  the  war  for  the  Union.  Immediately 
on  the  report  of  the  attack  of  the  rebels  on  Fort  Sumter,  men 
stood  ready  to  respond  to  the  call  of  the  Government  for  troops, 
and  within  a  week  steps  were  taken,  at  a  public  meeting  held  at 
the  Court  House,  to  organize  and  offer  a  military  company  to  the 
Government.  That  the  people  as  well  as  officials  of  the  county 
were  prompt  to  encourage  those  who  should  step  forward  for 
their  country's  service,  and  care  for  the  families  they  left  behind, 
is  showji  by  the  following  resolutions  which  were  passed  at  the 
time  by  the  County  Board  of  Supervisors,  and  which  were  fully 
carried  out: 

^^ Resolved,  That  under  the  present  aspect  of  national  affairs  it 
is  the  duty  of  every  community  to  do  its  share  toward  the  de- 
fense of  our  common  country. 

^'Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  county  to  drill  and 
cause  to  be  equipped  at  least  one  company  of  men;  that  in  order 
to  do  so  an  appropriation  by  the  county,  enabling  every  person  to 
aid  in  his  due  proportion  in  the  common  defense,  is  most  just  and 
equitable;  that  the  men  who  risk  their  lives  and  spend  their  time 
should  be  provided  with  the  means  to  be  of  service  as  soldiers,  and 
that  an  appropriation  made  in  pursuance  hereof  should  have  pre- 
cedence of  all  other  claims;  therefore, 


224  HISTORY   OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

'■^Eesolved^  That  the  county  funds  now  in  the  hands  o£  the  treas- 
urer of  Winneshiek  County,  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  appropri- 
ated, not  exceeding  the  sum  of  $2,000  for  the  purpose  of  equipping 
the  military  company  known  as  the  'Decorah  Guard',  and  that  the 
Clerk  of  the  District  Court  be  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  to  issue 
county  warrants  to  Levi  Bullis,  D.  H.  Hughes  and  C.  C.  Tupper, 
who  shall  constitute  a  committee  for  the  negotiation  of  said 
county  warrants,  and  the  purchase  of  said  equipments,  the  said 
committee  first  giving  bonds  to  said  county,  conditioned  that  the 
said  appropriation  be  used  for  the  purpose  designed,  faithfully  and 
truly. 

'''' Be  solved ,  that  the  families  of  each  member  of  the  'Decorah 
Guard'  receive  the  following  weekly  allowance  during  their  term 
of  service,  viz:  Three  dollars  per  week  for  the  wife,  and  one  dol- 
lar per  week  for  each  child,  to  the  extent  of  three." 

Many  of  the  actors  in  those  stirring  scenes  are  men  from  among 
us,  while  several  who  remained  at  home  contributed  these  resolu- 
tions to  Spark's  History,  and  to  it  we  shall  be  indebted  for  most 
of  the  remainder  of  this  chapter. 

On  the  20th  of  April,  1861,  just  six  days  after  the  booming  of 
cannon,  heard  at  Sumpter,  had  sounded  the  alarm  of  civil  war,  a 
meeting  of  the  patriotic  citiz-^ns  of  Winneshiek  County,  and 
Decorah  in  particular,  was  held  in  the  Court  House.  It  was  held 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  expression  to  the  outraged  feelings  of  a 
liberty-loving  people  at  the  atrocious  stroke  made  against  human 
freedom  and  American  liberty,  and  to  declare  their  adhesion  to  the 
old  flag  that  waved  from  the  Court  House  dome  above  them. 

The  brave  who  died  in  the  mountains  of  Arkansas,  the  marshes 
of  Louisiana,  the  rocky  fastnesses  of  Georgia,  and  the  swamps  of 
Carolina,  are  remembered  less  vividly  by  their  old  comrades  as 
year  by  year  passes  away,  and  when  this  generation  has  gone 
there  will  be  few  to  recall  the  names  of  the  youthful  heroes  of 
Winneshiek  County  who  faced  fatigue  and  sickness,  steel  and 
ball,  and  died  in  the  fierce  front  of  battle,  facing  the  foe,  or  fell 
victims  to  malarious  diseases.  But  while  their  individual  memo- 
ries will  have  perished,  the  cause  for  which  they  died,  the  cause 
for  which  they  perished,  the  cause  of  liberty  and  humanity  will 
remain,  and  future  generations  will  derive  fresh  courage  to 
struggle  for  the  right  from  the  glorious  example  of  the  citizen- 
soldiers  who  crushed  the  "Great  Rebellion." 

It  was  Abraham  Lincoln,  our  noble,  martyred  President,  who 
said  at  Gettysburg,  "The  world  will  not  long  remember  what  we 
may  say  here,  but  they  can  never  forget  what  we  have  done  here." 
And  it  is  a  fitting  thing  that  the  custom  of  observance  of  May 
30,  of  last  year,  as  Decoration  Day,  has  been  established;  a  day 
when  we  can  strew  with  flowers  the  graves  of  those  who  sleep  in 
our  cemeteries,  and  revive  the  memories  of   those   who  sleep  in 


HISTORY    OF    WINKESHIEK    COUNTY.  225 

distant  or  unknown  graves,  liolding  the  names  of  them  all  in 
grateful  recollection,  and  rendering  more  precious  the  heritage 
they  have  transmitted  to  us  and  to  our  children. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order,  and  Capt.  John  H.  Simpson 
made  chairman.  This  distinction  was  paid  the  aged  gentleman 
because  of  his  efficiency  in  commanding  and  his  co-operation 
with  the  first  militia  company  ever  organized  in  Decorah. 

Capt.  John  H.  Simpson  was  born  in  Ganston,  England,  March 
22,  1796,  and  died  at  Decorah,  July  2,  1S69.  He  had  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Royal  Life  Guards  (Body  Guard  of  the  King)  and  as 
one  of  the  battalion,  was  on  his  way  to  the  field  when  the  battle 
of  Waterloo  was  fought.  In  1828  he  came  to  America  and  set- 
tled in  New  York  City.  He  came  to  Decorah  in  1850,  and  here 
for  thirteen  years  he  lived  an  honest,  blameless  life.  He  was  elected 
Captain  of  the  Decorah  Guards  on  the  formation  of  the  company 
in  1859. 

There  are  men  yet  living  in  Winneshiek  County  who  remem- 
ber the  memorable  meeting  over  which  he  presided,  and  how  his 
patriotism  gave  vent,  in  the  greatest  efi"ort  of  his  life,  in  a  patri- 
otic speech  that  sent  the  blood  tingling  through  the  veins  of  every 
listener.  In  this  speech  he  tendered  the  remainder  of  his  life 
for  the  defense  of  his  country,  though  the  snows  of  65  winters 
rested  on  his  brow.  He  was  not  accepted.  Younger  men,  with 
stronger  sinews  and  harder  muscles,  volunteered  their  ser- 
vices. 


DECORAH    GUARDS. 

But  one  week  intervened  before  there  was  a  reorganization  of 
the  Decorah  Guards,  and  men  better  fitted  for  the  hardships  of  a 
soldier's  life  superceded  the  members  of  the  original  company. 
The  Decorah  Guards,  as  they  originally  were,  underwent  a  com- 
plete transformation,  only  three  of  the  old  company  being  re- 
tained in  the  ranks  of  the  new  organization.  The  old  officers  re- 
signed, and  new  ones  were  elected.  This  was  the  first  company 
of  men  in  Winneshiek  County  to  enlist  in  defence  of  the  stars 
and  stripes.  They  were  men  in  the  full  vigor  of  life,  men  of 
sterling  worth,  the  very  flower  of  our  young  county,  as  the  fol- 
lowing summary  of  the  company  indicates:  The  oldest  men  in 
the  company  (two  of  them)  were  aged  36,  one  31,  one  32,  one  31, 
one  30,  one  29,  two  28,  three  27,  three  26,  six  25,  eight  21,  sev- 
en 23,  ten  22,  nine  21,  nine  20,  eleven  19,  ten  18,  making  a  total 
of  officers  and  men  of  85,  with  an  average  of  22  years,  8  months 
and  22  days. 

The  company  was  known  as  the  Decorah  Guards,  until  mus- 
tered into  the  service;  then  they  assumed  the  name  of  Company  D, 
Third  Regiment  of  Iowa  Volunteer.-:.  The  officers  of  the  new 
company  were: 


226  HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

Captain— G.  R.  Willett. 

First  Lieutenant — Emilius  I.  Weiser. 

Second  Lieutenant — Ole  A.  Anderson. 

Orderly  Sergeant — Geo.  McKay. 

Second  Sergeant — A.  H.  McMurtrie. 

Third  Sergeant— C.  W.  Burdick. 

Fourth  Sergeant — Robert  Ray. 

First  Corporal — E.  M.  Farnsworth. 

Second  Corporal — Milton  Ross. 

Third  Corporal — Charles.  P.  Brown. 

Fourth  Corporal — Joseph  S.  JSIeff. 

This  company  was  enrolled  iu  Winneshiek  County,  and  ordered 
into  quarters  by  the  Governor  of  the  State,  May  21,  1861.  The 
company  left  Decorah  for  Keokuk,  their  rendezvous.  May  28, 
1861,  and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  June  10, 
1861.  The  date  of  the  company's  departure  from  Decorah  for  the 
scenes  of  war  will  remain  a  memorable  one  in  the  recollection  of 
the  hundreds  of  citizens  who  met  on  Court  House  Square  to  bid 
the  boys  a  last  farwell.  The  ladies  had  prepared  a  beautiful  flag, 
which  was  presented  to  the  company  by  Miss  Carrie  McNair, 
whom  I  feel  compelled  to  more  than  casually  mention;  and  in  or- 
der to  do  so  I  shall  be  obliged  to  digress  from  the  main  subject. 

Carrie  McNair  was  born  in  Livingston  County,  N.  Y.,  about  the 
year  1832.  She  came  to  Decorah  in  the  year  1860,  at  that  period 
in  our  national  existence  when  the  very  atmosphere  was  deadened 
with  treasonable  imprecations  against  the  Union,  and  when  the 
cloud  of  rebellion  had  so  spread  its  mammoth  proportions  as  to 
nearly  obscure  the  bright  sunlight  of  freedom.  Being  a  woman 
of  strong  emotional  nature,  a  lover  of  liberty  and  union,  she  early 
indentified  herself  with  the  Union  side  of  the  controversy  that 
then  threatened  a  separation  of  states;  consequently,  out  of  respect 
and  appreciation  of  her  noble  nature,  and  her  sympathy  with  the 
Union,  she  was  chosen,  of  all  other  women,  better  fitted  to  make 
the  presentation.  In  1862,  following  the  many  bloody  battles, 
and  not  infrequent  disastrous  engagements,  Miss  McNair  felt  that 
there  was  need  of  her  services  in  the  crowded  hospitals.  With  a 
heartfelt  desire  to  render  the  Union  any  services  in  her  power, 
and  an  anxiety  and  willingness  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  brave 
men  who  had  fallen  wounded  in  their  country's  cause,  she  became 
a  nurse  in  a  soldiers'  hospital  at  St.  Louis.  She  served  in  this 
capacity  until  the  end  of  the  war,  and  furnished  aid  and  comfort 
to  thousands  of  poor  unfortunates. 

Following  the  presentation  of  the  flag,  there  was  a  presentation 
of  Bibles  and  Testaments.  The  scene  was  such  as  never  had  oc- 
cured  before,  and  was  solemn,  impressive  and  trying. 

The  Company,  in  vehicles,  pursued  their  course  to  McGregor, 
and  from  thence  to  Keokuk,  and  from  here,  soon  after,  they  were 
transported  to  scenes  of  active  service,  in  Missouri. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  227 

The  first  hard  fought  battle  that  the  Company  engaged  in  was 
at  Blue  Mills,  September  7,  1861,  although  previous  to  this  they 
had  been  engaged  in  many  hotly  contested  skirmishes.  In  the 
battle  of  Blue  Mills  the  Unionists  were  driven  back. 

Wm.  B.  Miller,  of  Company  D,  was  killed  in  this  engagement 
and  Capt.  Willett,  Second  Lieut.  Ole  Anderson,  and  private  Wm. 
B.  Heckert,  was  seriously  wounded.  Capt.  Willet's  wound  occa- 
sioned his  resignation,  and  the  promotion  of  Lieut.  E.  I.  Weiser 
to  the  captaincy  of  the  Company. 

Lieut  Anderson  fell,  wounded  in  the  temple,  and  was  left  on  the 
field  for  dead.  Company  D  having  been  obliged  to  retreat,  he 
fell  into  the  enemy's  hands.  His  body  was  stripped  of  all  its 
clothing  but  its  pants,  and  he  was  robbed  of  everything  by  the 
rebels.  The  next  day  after  the  battle  the  rebels  were  obliged  to 
retreat,  and  then  Company  D  reclaimed  his  body.  Lieut.  An- 
derson lay  unconcious  three  weeks,  and  it  was  a  question  for  a 
long  time  afterwards  whether  he  would  survive  or  not.  He  en- 
tered the  army  a  perfect  athlete,  and  a  perfect  man,  physicially 
and  mentally,  and  to-day,  from  the  effect  of  that  wound,  incurred 
at  the  cost  of  duty  and  bravery,  he  is  a  mere  wreck  of  his  former 
self.     As  an  ofiicer  he  was  efficient  and  brave  to  a  fault. 

The  battle  of  Shiloh,  fought  on  the  6th  and  7th  of  April,  1862, 
was  the  next  great  conflict  in  which  Company  D  participated.  Un- 
der the  hottest  fire  and  amid  the  most  trying  scenes.  Company  D 
behaved  itself  with  coolness  and  bravery.  After  passing  through 
that  fiery  ordeal,  a  summary  of  the  loss  it  sustained  showed  the 
following:  Killed — Edward  Knapp,  Hans  H.  Stensou,  and  Sam- 
uel D.  Smith.  Wounded — Capt.  E.  I.  Weiser.  Corp.  J.  H.  Farber, 
Geo.  H.  Culver,  Jas.  S.  Daskam,  Hans  Gulbrandson,  Thos.  Heath, 
Peter  B.  Hulverson,  Knudt  Knudson,  Matthew  Kellogg,  Gilbert 
Knudson,  Henry  H.  Sheldso,  Geo.  H.  Kelley,  John  Jas.  Fisher, 
Hiram  S.  Daskam. 

The  battle  of  Hatchie,  fought  on  the  5th  of  October,  was  the 
scene  of  the  next  hotly  contested  engagement  in  which  Company 
D  took  an  active  part. 

The  company  lost  the  following:  Wounded — Capt.  E.  I. 
Weiser,  Corp.  C.  C.  Watson,  Geo.  Culver,  Martin  E.  Oleson  (mor- 
tally), and  Martin  Pepper. 

In  the  battle  of  Hatchie  the  second  Captain  of  Company  D  was 
made  incapable  for  active  service  by  a  rebel  bullet. 

Captain  E.  I.  Weiser  was  born  in  York,  Pa.,  April  10,  1835, 
and  emigrated  from  the  place  of  his  nativity  to  Decorah  in  1856. 
Being  possessed  with  a  warm  heart  and  a  genial  nature,  and  a 
patriotic  love  of  country,  the  threats  of  war  against  the  Union 
aroused  his  impulsive  nature  to  a  desire  to  make  any  sacrifice — 
hardship,  sufiering,  even  life  itself — in  his  country's  cause.  As  a 
result,  when  the  first  cry  of  a  distressed  country  was  heard,  call- 
ing  on  her  sons  for  protection  against  the   assaults    of  traitors, 


223  HISTORY    OF   "WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

Capt.  E.  I.  Weiser  was  the  fii'st  and  foremost  of  her  patriots  in 
Winneshiek  County  to  respond.  Capt,  E.  I.  Weiser  was  the  first 
man  to  enlist  from  Winneshiek  County  in  his  country's  service  in 
the  late  civil  war.  He  enlisted  as  a  high  private  in  Company  D, 
and  was  elected  first  Lieutenant  at  the  first  election  held  by  the 
company. 

Capt.  E.  I.  Weiser  participated  in  many  warm  skirmishes  and 
two  hard-fought^battles.  He  was  wounded  at  Shiloh;  also  at 
Hatchie,  on  the  5th  of  October,  1862.  The  wound  he  received  at 
Hatchie  disabled  him  from  further  active  military  service  during 
the  war.  Eight  months  he  was  detained  in  the  hospital  by  his 
wound,  and  seven  of  these  eight  months  he  was  compelled  to  lie 
in  one  position — on  his  back.  He  was  with  his  company  one 
week  while  it  was  at  Memphis.  While  here  the  boys  of  Company 
D  presented  him  with  a  silver  pitcher,  as  a  mark  of  their  regard 
and  the  appreciation  they  had  for  him  as  a  soldier  and  com- 
mander. Capt.  Weiser  was  brave,  cool,  efiicient,  and  possessed  all 
the  noble  attributes  requisite  in  a  successful  commander.  His 
physical  disability  is    a  glorious  certificate  of  his  bravery. 

Company  D  next  went  to  Memphis  where  .  it  remained  six 
months,  and  from  thence  to  Yicksburg.  They  were  engaged  in 
the  siege  of  Yicksburg  up  to  the  date  of  its  surrender.  Yicksburg 
surrendered  July  4,  1863.  The  white  flag  was  raised  on  every  fort 
at  9  A.  M.  on  the  3d.  The  rebels  sent  out  a  flag  of  truce,  and 
wished  to  surrender  on  conditions.  Gen.  Grant  sent  back  word 
that  nothing  but  an  unconditional  surrender  would  be  accepted. 
On  the  3d,  when  the  white  flags  were  hoisted,  all  firing  ceased. 
The  rebels  came  outside  of -their  works  and  held  a  sociable  with 
our  boys.  On  the  4th  of  July,  at  10  a.  m.,  the  rebels  marched 
outside  of  their  works,  were  drawn  up  in  a  line,  and  stacked  their 
arms,  and  promptly  at  11  a.  m.  the  stars  and  stripes  proudly 
floated  over  the  rebel  works. 

In  this  siege,  on  the  26th  of  June,  Thomas  Kelly,  of  Company 
D,  was  mortally  wounded.  He  lived  about  a  week,  having  won, 
in  dying,  the  honor  of  being  the  bravest  among  the   brave. 

The  Third  regiment  received  orders  on  the  5th  to  take 
up  their  line  of  march  for  Black  River,  to  look  after  Johns- 
ton, who,  with  a  large  force  had  been  prowling  in  the  rear.  On 
the  12th  of  July,  1863,  about  225  men  of  the  Third  Iowa,  among 
which  number  were  many  of  Company  D,  made  an  assault  on 
rebel  works,  behind  which  were  ensconsed  about  10,000  of 
Johnston's  men.  The  result  of  the  assaultjwas  a  M'hirlwind  of 
death.  In  the  first  volley  fired  by  the  enemy  125  out  of  the 
original  225  were  almost  instantly  mowed  down.  There  were 
about  800  men  engaged,  but  225  who  ventured  right  into  the 
jaws  of  this  fiery  hell.  The  commander  in  charge  was  immediate- 
ly relieved  of  command. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  229 

On  the  7th  of  July  Johnston  evacuated  Jackson,  the  scene  of 
the  last  engagement,  and  here,  in  rebel  hospitals,  were  found  the 
wounded  who  had  survived  the  disastrous  charge  of  the  12th  inst. 
Among  the  number  was  Lieut  McMurtrie,  who  had  both  legs 
broken  by  rebel  shots.  His  right  leg  had  been  wounded  with  a 
piece  of  shell,  and  was  so  badly  shattered  that  amputation  was 
necessary.     The  left  leg  had  been  broken  by  a  minie  ball. 

It  was  found  necessary,  on  the  21st  of  July,  to  remove  the 
wounded  to  Vicksburg.  The  journey  had  to  be  made  in  ambu- 
lances. Lieutenant  McMurtrie  was  among  the  unfortunates  that 
had  to  submit  to  the  removal.  Words  cannot  express  the 
Suffering  this  trip  entailed  upon  him  in  his  weakened  condi- 
tution. 

On  the  23d  he  was  placed  on  a  hospital  boat  to  be  sent 
north,  but  died  before  the  boat  left  the  wharf,  at  2  p.  m.,  July 
25,  1863. 

Lieut.  McMurtrie  was  born  at  Homer,  Michigan,  June  30,  1837. 
He  cam3  to  Iowa  in  1856.  He  was  promoted  First  Lieutenant  of 
Company  D,  May  21,  1862. 

Lieut.  McMurtrie  was  endowed  with  a  great  moral  character, 
which  lost  none  of  its  noble  attributes  by  his  army  career.  He 
died  a  brave  soldier,  lamented  by  his  comrades  in  arms  and  all 
who  knew  him. 

C.  W.  Burdick  was  promoted  First  Lieutenant,  to  fill  the  va- 
cancy caused  by  Lieut.  McMurtrie's  death,  which  post  of  duty  he 
held  from  that  time  until  his  three  years  enlistment  had  expired. 
At  this  time  Lieut.  Burdick  was  the  only  commissioned  officer  in 
the  company.  During  three  years'  service,  Lieut.  Burdick  was  off 
duty  but  twelve  days.  He  took  an  active  part  in  every  skirmish 
and  battle  in  which  his  company  was  engaged,  and  was  never 
touched  by  an  enemy's  fire.  Few  men,  and  I  doubt  if  any,  in  Iowa 
can  show  a  better  record  than  this. 

The  engagement  at  Jackson  was  the  last  of  any  note  in  which 
Company  D  took  an  active  part.  The  time  of  enlistment  of  Com- 
pany D  expired  on  the  10th  of  June,  1864.  The  Company  was 
stationed  at  Kingston,  Georgia.  All  that  did  not  re-enlist,  started 
home  to  be  mustered  out  of  the  service.  Many  of  the  boys  re- 
mained. At  the  memorable  battle  of  Atlanta,  fought  July  22d, 
the  Third  Iowa  literally  fought  itself  to  death, 
i  The  boys  of  the  Third  and  Company  D  went  into  this  battle 
with  that  Spartan  valor  that  had  characterized  them,  individually 
and  collectively,  in  many  a  hard  fought  engagement.  As  the 
battle  grew  raging  hot  and  desperate,  a  handful  of  our  undaunted 
men,  among  whom  were  a  remnant  of  Company  D,  gathered 
amidst  the  pelting  shower  of  shot  and  shell,  and  there  around  our 
flag  and  banner  they  stood  its  guard  in  the  most  perilous  mom- 
ents. The  color-bearer,  the  bravest  of  the  brave,  relinquished  his 
hold  by  death  alone.     Still  the  mass   stood  there    fighting  madly 


230 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 


for  its  defence.  Their  number  fast  decreasing  by  death,  their 
hopes  began  to  fail,  and  as  they  surrendered  themselves  to  the 
enemy,  they  tore  the  emblem  of  our  nationality,  and  regimental 
designation,  into  pieces  and  into  shreds,  which  concealed,  they 
proudly  brought  back  to  us,  untouched  and  nnsoiled  by  impious 
and  traitorous  hands. 

COMPANY  H— "IOWA  GREY  HOUNDS." 

Company  H,  Ninth  Iowa  Volunteer  Infantry,  was  organized  at 
Decorah,  in  the  months  of  August  and  September,  1861,  and  was 
mustered  into  service  at  Dubuque,  on  the  21th  of  September,  the 
same  year. 

After  remaining  at  Camp  Union,  Dubuque,  until  the  middle  of 
October,  the  Kegiment  was  sent  to  St.  Louis,  and  Avent  into  camp 
at  Beuton  Barracks.  A  few  weeks  were  passed  in  the  usual  rou- 
tine of  camp  duty,  when  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Pacific  City, 
Missouri,  and  passed  some  little  time  in  guarding  railroads  and 
arresting  gusrillas. '  During  this  time  the  regiment  was  perfecting 
its  discipline;  and  the  diseases  incidental  to  the  climate  and  season, 
joined  to  the  hardships  of  camp  life,  were  thinning  the  ranks  of 
all  men  who  were  deficient  in  physicial  vigor. 

When  the  expedition  against  "Price  was  organized,  the  Ninth 
was  ordered  to  Rolla,  Mo.,  and  after  a  week  spent  in  camp  at  that 
place,  started  on  the  march  for  Springfield.  The  march  was  made 
m  winter,  and  the  crossing  of  the  Gasconade,  the  roads  knee-deep 
in  mud,  and  the  cold,  inclement  weather  tested  the  endurance  of 
the  men,  and  when  the  regiment  was  placed  in  the  advance,  after 
the  capture  of  Springfield,  it  earned  its  title,  ''The  Iowa  Grey- 
hounds," by  marching  135  miles  in  four  days  in  pursuit  of  Price. 
Company  H  received  its  "baptism  of  fire"  at  Pea  Ridge,  and  the 
day  before  the  fight  marched  forty  miles  on  a  half-pint  of  corn- 
meal  to  the  man.  It  mustered  fifty-two  men  when  the  fight 
opened;  twenty-two  were  unwounded  at  the  close  of  the  struggle. 

On  that  field  the  boys,  most  of  them  beardless,  who  six  months 
before  were  laboring  on  farms  and  in  workshops,  showed  them- 
selves able  to  defeat  the  practiced  riflemen  of  Missouri  and  Arkan- 
sas, the  Rangers  of  Texas,  and  the  trained  regiments  of  Louisiana. 

The  march  across  Arkansas,  in  the  summer  of  1862,  followed 
the  conflict  at  Pea  Ridge.  Some  time  was  passed  in  camp  Helena, 
and  m  December  the  regiment  took  part  in  the  first  attack  on 
Vicksburg.  The  expedition  up  the  dark  Yazoo  and  its  unfortu- 
nate results,  were  amply  avenged  at  Arkansas  Post,  January  10, 
1863. 

In  all  the  operations  that  culminated  in  the  capture  of  Vicks- 
burg the  Ninth  was  actively  engaged— from  digging  in  the  canal 
to  storming  rifle-pits  and  batteries.  And  in  the  charge  on  the 
22d  of  May,  Company  H  lost  eighteen  men  killed  and  wounded 
out  of  a  total  twenty-six   men  in  action,  and  of  these  nine  were 


HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  231 

killed  on  the  field  or  mortally  wounded.  PVom  Vicksburgto  Jack- 
son, thence  back  to  Vicksburg,  up  the  river  to  Memphis,  thence  to 
Tuscumbia,  where  a  severe  conflict  took  place,  then  up  the  sides  of 
Lookout  Mountain,  under  the  lead  of  Osterhaus,  followed  by  a 
rapid  pursuit  of  the  routed  foes,  and  the  fight  at  Ringgold,  is  a 
brief  outline  of  the  work  Company  H  took  part  in  during  1863. 
The  majority  of  the  company  re-enlisted  as  veterans,  and  after 
their  return  from  furlough  the  boys  found  themselves  a  part  of 
the  mighty  host  Sherman  was  about  to  lead  "to  the  sea." 

For  seventy  days  from  the  opening  of  this  memorable  campaign, 
members  of  Company  H  who  participated  in  the  operations,  were 
constantly  under  fire,  with  perhaps  slight  intermission  prior  to 
the  crossing  of  the  Chattahoochee.  The  fights  at  Resaca,  New 
Hope  Church,  Burnt  Hickory  and  Kenesaw  Mountain,  showed  the 
valor  and  discipline  of  the  Ninth.  On  the  22d  of  July  the  Ninth 
was  one  of  the  [owa  regiments  that,  under  the  eye  of  Sherman, 
recaptured  the  battery  of  DeGress,  and  drove  the  rebels,  at  the 
bayonets'  point,  from  the  entrenched  line  they  had  wrested  from 
the  loyalists.  At  Ezra's  Church,  on  the  28th  of  July,  and  at 
Jonesboro,  where  the  fate  of  Atlanta  was  decided,  the  boys  of 
Company  H  were  actively  engaged . 

After  the  capture  of  Atlanta  and  the  pursuit  of  Hood,  who  was 
left  to  the  "tender  mercies"  of  Thomas,  the  boys  followed  Sher- 
man to  the  sea,  and  Company  H  furnished  its  full  cpota  of  able 
and  accomplished  "bummers."  From  Savannah  the  company 
marched  through  the  Carolinas,  taking  part  in  any  "little  un- 
pleasantness" that  came  in  the  way,  and  actively  participating  in 
the  closing  fight  at  Bentonville.  After  resting  a  few  days  at 
Raleigh,  the  regiment  marched  to  Washington  and  took  part  in 
the  "Grand  Review,"  and  was  shortly  after  mustered  out  of  the 
service  at  Louisville,  Ky. 

That  Company  H  did  its  whole  duty,  the  following  figures,  ta- 
ken from  the  Adjutant  General's  Report,  prove: 

Company  H,  9th  Iowa — Total  killed  and  wounded 53 

Total  killed  and  died  of  wounds 19 

Company  D,    3d  Iowa — Total  killed  and  wounded 33 

Total  killed  and  died  of  wounds 9 

Company  G,  12th  Iowa — Total  killed  and  wounded 9 

Total  killed  and  died  of  wounds 4 

Company  E,  38th  Iowa — Total  killed  and  wounded 0 

Company  K,  38th  Iowa — Total  killed  and  wounded 1 

Total  killed  and  died  of  wounds 1 

Company  D,  38th  Iowa — Total  killed  and  wounded 1 

Total  killed  and  died  of  wounds 1 

The  above  table  shows  the  extent  of  the  loss  sustained  by  Com- 
pany H  in  battle,  as  compared  with  the  reported  losses  of  the 
other  companies  organized  in  this  county  from  the  same  cause.  I 
do  not  think  the  above  figures  do  full  justice  to   Companies  E,  K 


-^'-^  HIt>TOK\    OF    WINJS^ESHIEK    COUNTY. 

and  D,  Thirty-Eighth  Iowa,  for  no  ro-inient  or^^uiized  in  the 
eouatrv  suttered  to j>uoh  an  extent  by  disease.  Stationed  in  local- 
ities Avhere  to  breathe  the  air  was  to  inhale  death,  the  bovs  of  Com- 
pany L,  D  and  K  performed  their  allotted  duty,  sustained  bv 
naught  save  the  feeling  of  patriotism,  and  faced  death  nncheered 
by    the  shout  ot  victorv,  the  rapture  of  the  strife  " 

Died  of  disease:  Company  D,  3d  Iowa,  10:  Company  H,  9th 
Iowa  lo:  (  onipany  G  lL>tli  Iowa,  17;  Company  ll  3Sth  Iowa, 
o4:^  Company  D,  ;^Mh  Iowa,  37:  Company  K,  38th  Iowa,  37. 

Company  II,  at  the  time  it  was  mustered  in.  was  commanded  by 
M.  A    Moore,  who  achieved   no   particular  distinction.     He    ri 
signed  111  the  spring  of  1S03,  and  Avas  succeeded  bv  0.  M    Bli^s 
who  enlisted  as  a  private  and  secured   promotion  \)y  meritorious 
services.     C  apt.  bliss  was  as  mie  a  soldier  as  ever  drew  a  sword 
Brave,  earnest  and  patriotic,  he  "dared  to  lead  where  anv  dared  to 
follow.       After  facing  death  on  twenty  fields  he   died 'from   in- 
juries received  bv  a  fall  from  his  hors^  while  acting  as  Major,  af- 
ter the  capture  of  Atlanta,     J.  H.  Phillips  succeeded  to  the  cap- 
taincy, and  commanded  the  company  until  its  service  was  ended 
In  writing  this  brief  sketch  of  the  career  of  Company  H  em- 
bracing  a  j>erKHl  of  nearly  four  years,  and  services  performed  in 
eight  states,  from  the  Oziirk  Mountains  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean    a 
hundred  incidents  and   memories  crowd   on  the  mind  that   spice 
will  not  permit  me  to  relate.     Neariy  sixteen  years  have  elapsed 
since  -we  took  the  oath  of  muster  with  right  hand  raised  to  heav- 
en,   and  m  looking  back,  the  boys  of  Company  H  will  instinctive- 
ly date   their  memory  of  army  life   from  the  bitter,   persistent 
struggle  in  the  wild  ravines  of  the  Ozark,  where  their  first  blood 
was  shed      And  during  all  subsequent  campaigning.  Pea  Ridge 
was  the  standard  whereby  to  measure  the  severity  o^  the  coutlid; 
And  the  boys  of  the  Ninth  will  ever  remember,  with  proud  grati- 
hcahon  the  tribute  their  valor  received  from  the  ladies  of  Bost^^n— 
a  stand   of  colors  emblazoned  with  the  name  of  their  fiercest 
battle. 


The  thml  company  raised  m  the  county  was  one  that  became 
tomptmy  Ct,  Twelfth  Iowa.     It  wjis  enrolleil  at  Decorah  in  Sei>- 
ternber,  1H>1    ordered  into  quarters  at  Dubuque,   September  30 
and  mustereil  into  the  Uuiteil  States  service  November  5,  1S61 
It  was  oincered  as  follows: 

Captain— C.  C.  Tuoper. 

First  Lieutenant— L.  D.  Townsley. 

Second  Lieutenant— ^T.  F.  Nickerson. 

Orderly  Sergeant— J.  E.  Simpson. 

The  company  became  a  portion  of  the  regiment  from  the  date 
of  its  miister  m,  and  from  that  time  on  until  disbanded  always 
acted  well  its  part.     Company  Ct  was  noted  in  its  regiment  for  its 


IlISTOliY    OF    VVINNESUIEK    COUNTY.  233 

excellent  moral  status  and  soldierly  efficiency.  It  saw  hard  ser- 
vice, and  took  an  active  part  in  the  followinf(  hotly-contected  bat- 
tles: Fort  lienry,  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh,  siej^e  of  Corinth, 
Corinth,  Jackson,  Vicksburj^,  Jackson  siege  and  capture,  ]irandon, 
Tupelo,  Nashville,  and  lirentwood  ]fiil.  Besides  these  battles,  the 
company  did  excellent  service  as  skirmishers.  The  company  early 
met  with  a  severe  loss  in  the  death  of  its  first  captain,  C.  C.  Tupper. 

Captain  C.  C.  Tupper  was  born  at  Auburn,  New  York,  Decem- 
ber 24,  1832,  and  came  to  Decorah  in  May,  1857.  He  had  re- 
ceived a  liberal  education,  and  prior  to  taking  a  ^residence  in  Iowa 
had  served  as  agent  of  the  Associated  Press  and  local  manager  of 
the  telegraph  offices  at  Buffalo  and  St.  Louis.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  soon  after  his  arrival,  but  for  a  brief  time  edited  the  De- 
corah Jourwil^  a  Democratic  newspaper.  When  the  war  broke 
out  he  took  an  active  and  intensely  patriotic  interest  in  every 
movement.  Military  life  was  always  attractive  to  him,  and  he 
was  unusually  well  versed  in  the  manual  of  arms.  He  assisted  in 
organizing  the  two  companies  from  Winneshiek  County  that 
found  place  in  the  Third  and  Ninth  regiments,  and  helped  pre- 
pare them  for  the  field.  When  it  became  evident  that  a  third 
company  must  be  drawn  from  the  county,  all  eyes  turned  toward 
Captain  Tupper  to  take  its  lead.  Although  of  a  frail  constitution, 
and  physically  unfitted  for  the  severe  trials  of  army  life,  his  patri- 
otism overrode  all  prudence,  and  he  consented.  The  company 
was  rapidly  recruited,  and  assigned  to  the  Twelfth  Regiment  of 
Iowa  Volunteers.  But  Capt.  Tupper's  association  with  the  com- 
pany was  only  a  brief  one.  He  was  idolized  by  his  men,  beloved 
by  all  his  associate  officers,  and  thoroughly  respected  by  his  super- 
iors. But  these  could  not  protect  and  defend  him  from  disease 
and  death.  While  going  from  Dubuque  to  St.  Louis  with  the 
regiment  he  caught  a  severe  cold,  and  in  six  weeks  died  at  Benton 
Barracks,  in  St.  Louis,  a  victim  of  capilliary  bronchitis.  In  his 
death  the  terrible  evils  of  war  was  first  brought  directly  home  to 
the  community  of  which  he  had  been  a  member.  He  had  been  the 
leader  in  the  best  social  circles,  the  active  abettor  of  every  public 
enterprise,  and  his  death  carried  sadness  and  mourning  to  almost 
every  household  in  the  county.  Of  friends  who  mourned  his  death 
there  were  scores  upon  scores;  of  enemies,  none. 

The  sad  event  narrated  above  necessitated  the  promotion  of 
Lieut.  L.  D.  Townsley  to  the  captaincy  of  the  company,  which 
office  he  held  until  mustered  out  of  the  service,  November  25, 
1864.  He  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  in  which 
engagement  he  sustained  a  severe  wound  in  the  left  arm,  and  suf- 
""ered  with  the  rest  of  his  brother  officers  the  hardships  of  prison 
life.  After  his  exchange  he  was  often  employed  in  important  de- 
tached duties,  which  he  always  filled  with  credit  to  himself  and 
country.  He  served  out  his  entire  term  of  service,  and  is  now  re- 
siding in  Chicago. 


234  HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

Lieut.  J.  F.  Nickersou  was  made  First  Lieutenant,  and  was 
stunned  at  the  battle  of  Fort  Donelson  with  what  was  supposed 
to  be  a  solid  shot  from  the  enemy's  batteries.  From  this  he  never 
recovered,  was  sick  and  ill  the  morning  of  the  Shiloh  fight,  but 
persisted  in  going  out  with  his  company  to  the  front,  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  died  in  rebel  prison  at  Montgomery,  Ala.,  May  31, 
1862.  Kind  but  firm,  a  noble,  brave  man,  beloved  by  his  friends 
and  all  who  knew  him,  a  martyr  to  the  cause. 

Orderly  Sergeant  J.  E.  Simpson  was  promoted  to  be  Second 
Lieutenant,  but  resigned  on  account  of  ill-health  in  1862,  and  is 
now  living  in  Decorah. 

A.  A.  Burdick,  Second  Sergeant,  was  made  Orderly  and  then 
First  Lieutenant,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Tupelo,  July  14, 
1864.  He  was  the  Quartermaster  of  the  regiment,  and  had  been 
ordered  to  the  rear  with  his  train;  but  after  seeing  his  wagons 
properly  "parked"  he  came  to  the  front,  and  volunteered  to  assist 
in  bringing  forward  ammunition.  While  thus  engaged  he  was 
struck  by  a  shell  and  instantly  killed.  He  died  as  a  soldier  would 
wish  to  die,  with  his  face  to  the  enemy  and  in  the  heat  of  battle. 
Lamented  and  mourned  by  all  who  knew  him,  no  better  man  or 
braver  soldier  ever  offered  up  his  life  that  his  country  might  be 
saved. 

Anton  E.  Anderson,  Third  Sergeant,  became  Second  Lieutenant, 
served  with  credit  to  himself  until  mustered  out,  at  expiration  of 
term  of  service,  December,  1864,  ani  died  at  his  farm,  some  years 
after  the  war,  near  Eldorado,  Iowa. 

Robert  A.  Gibson,  Fifth  Sergeant,  became  Orderly  Sergeant, 
March  27,  1863,  was  promoted  to  First  Lieutenant  December  2, 
1864,  became  Captain  of  his  company  January  23,  1865,  and  for  a 
time  was  Captain  and  Provost  Marshal  at  Selma,  Ala.,  and  served 
with  great  credit  to  himself  to  the  end  of  the  war.  He  was  then 
appointed  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  regular  army,  and  was  killed 
by  the  accidental  discharge  of  a  pistol  at  Fort  Randall  in  1867. 

Jacob  H.  Womeldorf ,  First  Corporal,  became  Fifth  Sergeant, 
■was  taken  prisoner  with  his  company  at  Shiloh;  was  held  prisoner 
for  some  tinie,  and  suffered  great  hardships  that  so  broke  down  his 
health  as  to  compel  him  to  return  home  in  1863.  He  was  after- 
ward Sheriff  of  Winneshiek  County. 

Nelson  B.  Burdick  was  Eighth  Corporal,  and  but  a  youth  at 
school  when  he  went  into  the  service.  He  contracted  the  measles 
at  Benton  Barracks,  and  was  never  well  afterwards.  He  took 
part  in  the  battles  of  Fort  Henry,  Donelson  and  Shiloh.  Warm- 
hearted, generous  towards  all,  he  became  a  universal  favorite.  The 
hardships  endured  in  rebel  prisons  were  to  much  for  his  impaired 
frame.     He  reached  home  and  died  among  his  friends. 

"He  has  fought  his  last  battle; 

No  sound  can  a\rake  him  to  glory  again.'' 


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HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  237 

John  Steen,  private,  became  Quartermaster  Sergeant  in  1864, 
and  bis  wbole  term  of  service  to  tbe  end  was  marked  witb  ability 
and  efficiency.  Since  the  war  he  has  held  several  positions  of  re- 
sponsibility and  trust,  and  is  now  living  at  Fremont,  Neb. 

The  regiment  was  ordered  to  Davenport  for  final  pay  and  dis- 
charge Jan.  25,  1866. 

THREE   MORE    COMPANIES. 

In  1863  Winneshiek  County  again  came  to  the  front  and  con- 
tributed, for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  three  companies  in 
addition  to  the  brave  men  she  had  before  sent.  The  companies 
were,  respectively,  D,  K,  and  E,  and  formed  a  part  of  the  Thirty- 
Eighth  Regiment.    Henry  A.  Cleghorn  was  Captain  of  Company  E. 

Company  K  was  officered  as  follows: 

Captain — Samuel  B.  CalifF. 

First  Lieutenant — Levi  Freeman. 

The  officers  of  Company  D  were: 

Captain — George  R.  Humphreys. 

First  Lieutenant — Newton  Richards. 

Second  Lieutenant — E.  J.  Barker. 

These  companies  were  mustered  into  service  at  Camp  Randall, 
Dubuque,  Iowa.  From  here  they  were  transferred  to  Benton 
Barracks,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  they  spent  Christmas  and  New 
Years,  1863-4.  They  were  next  transferred  to  Fort  Thompson, 
which  they  retained  charge  of  nearly  six  months. 

The  Thirty-Eighth  Regiment  was  next  transferred  to  the  main 
forces   then    besieging    Vicksburg.     In    this    siege   the   Thirty- 
Eighth,  including  the  three  companies  from  Winneshiek  County, 
formed  the  extreme  left  of  the   Union  line.     Their  position  was 
in  the  very  heart  of  a  malarious  swamp,  and  here  was  contracted 
the  germ  of  a  disease  which  afterwards  carried  off  these   brave 
men  by  the  hundreds.     Within  ten  days   after   the   surrender   of 
Vicksburg  the  Thirty-Eighth  was  ordered  to  Yazoo  City,  on  the 
Yazoo  River.     At  Yazoo   City  the   regiment   remained   about   a 
week.     While  there  the  disease  bred  in  the  swamp  opposite  Vicks- 
burg began  to  break  out,  and  many  men  died.     The  regiment  re- 
turned to  Vicksburg.     They  were  next  ordered   to  Port   Hudson 
to  aid  in   the  subjugation  of  that  place,  but  did  not  reach  the 
scene  of  action  until   the  stronghold   had  fallen.      The   Thirty- 
Eighth  remained  at  Port  Hudson  about  a  month,  and    while  here 
the  disease  contracted  in  the  swamps  broke  out  in    all   its   viru-. 
lence.     So  universal  was  the  prostration  of  the  soldiers,  that  dur- 
ing the  month,  there  were  on  an  average  from  three   to   fifteen 
only  in  the  whole  regiment  that  reported  able  for  duty.      Almost 
hourly  the  death  of  a  companion  in  arms  was  announced  to    his 
sick  and  dying  comrades.      It  was  while  lying  here  that  the  regi- 
ment met  with  its  severest  losses.     Here  it  was  they   lost   their 
beloved  Colonel. 


15 


238  HISTOKT    OF   "WIKNESHIEK    COUlN'TY. 

D.  H.  Hughes  was  commissioned  Colonel  of  the  Thirty- 
Eighth  Regiment  by  Gov.  Samuel  Kirkwood,  He  was  born  in 
Jefferson  County,  New  York,  September,  1831,  and  died  Aug.  7, 
1863.  He  died  from  the  disease  which  carried  almost  universal 
death  to  his  entire  regiment.  Col.  Hughes  graduated  at  the  Al- 
bany Normal  Institute  in  1853.  In  1854  he  was  employed  on  the 
Prairie  Far7ner,  Chicago.  He  married  Adaliza  Matteson,  in 
Waterlown,  Jefferson  County,  N.  Y.,  in  March,  1855,  and  imme- 
diately thereafter  came  to  Decorah,  engaging  in  the  practice  of 
law.  Col.  Hughes  was  a  man  of  commanding  stature,  fine  pres- 
ence, the  soul  of  honor,  and  became  a  lawyer  of  considerable  re- 
pute. He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but  was  elected  County 
Judge  of  Winneshiek  County  in  the  fall  of  1859,  notwithstand- 
ing the  county  then,  as  now,  was  of  strong  Republican  complex- 
ion. He  was  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  State  Senator  in  the 
fall  of  1861,  and  only  failed  of  an  election  of  nine  votes.  The 
Colonel  was  a  War  Democrat  from  the  outset,  and  pending  the 
consideration  of  a  petition  of  prominent  Republicans  and  Demo- 
crats to  become  an  independent  candidate  for  Judge  of  the  Dis- 
trict Court  of  the  Tenth  Judicial  District,  hearing  the  cry  of  his 
country  for  more  troops.  Judge  Hughes  promptly  cast  aside  his 
political  opportunity  to  enter  upon  a  patriotic  duty;  and,  warmly 
espousing  her  cause,  made  a  stirring  canvass  of  the  county  in  that 
behalf,  and  thus  drifted  into  the  army. 

Col.  Hughes,  while  stationed  at  New  Madrid,  was  called  to  St. 
Louis  as  Judge  Advocate  in  some  trials  then  pending,  and  from 
his  bearing  on  that  occasion,  and  the  ability  he  displayed,  upon 
the  conclusion  of  the  trials  the  Court  (and  it  was  a  Court  of 
strangers  to  him,  too)  unanimously  recommended  his  promotion 
to  Brigadier-General,  which  document,  however,  he  would  not  al- 
low to  go  forward,  alleging  as  a  reason  his  brief  experience  as  a 
military  commander,  and  that  there  were  already  lives  enough 
under  his  charge.  Such  was  his  modesty  and  noble  character. 
Col.  Hughes  died  respected  and  beloved  by  all  his  soldiers,  and  not 
more  universal  was  the  mourning  in  camp  over  the  death  of  their 
commander  than  that  of  his  host  of  friends  at  home. 

The  Thirty-Eighth  took  their  departure  from  Port  Hudson  for 
New  Orleans,  where  they  remained  about  three  months.  It  was 
next  transferred  to  Point  Isabel,  on  the  Rio  Grande  River.  After 
leaving  Port  Hudson  Company  E  was  without  a  commissioned 
officer  for  nearly  a  year.  The  regiment  was  next  sent  to  Browns- 
ville, Texas.  While  here  Quartermaster  T.  R.  Crandall  was 
made  Captain  of  Company  E,  and  Walter  Green  was  made  its 
First  Lieutenant. 

August,  1864,  again  found  the  regiment  in  New  Orleans. 
From  here  it  was  sent  to  Morganzie  Bend.  While  at  Morganzie 
Bend  the  Thirty-Fourth  and  Thirty-Eighth  were  consolidated, 
and  afterwards  known  as  the  Thirty-Fourth,     The  new  regiment 


HISTORY    OF   WINXESHIEK    COUNTY.  239 

numbered  1056  men.  Company  E,  of  Winneshiek,  and  Com- 
pany F,  of  Fayette,  were  likewise  consolidated,  and  afterward 
known  as  Company  K.  Capt.  Rogers,  of  Company  F,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Green,  were  relieved  of  duty,  and  T.  R.  Crandall  made 
Captain.  H.  T.  Shumaker,  of  the  original  Company  F,  was 
made  First  Lieutenant,  and  0.  J.  Clark  made  Second  Lieutenant. 
Companies  D  and  K  were  likewise  consolidated.  The  Thirty- 
Fourth  participated  in  the  siege  of  Fort  Gains  and  Fort  Morgan, 
on  Mobile  Bay,  and  here  it  remained  until  these  forts  capitulated. 
The  Thirty-Fourth  was  also  present  at  the  charge  on  Fort  Fisher. 
The  regiment  was  engaged  in  the  last  battle  of  the  war,  which 
was  the  taking  of  Fort  Blakesl}'^,  the  day  before  Lee's  surrender. 
In  this  engagement,  in  just  eighteen  minutes,  over  1,500  Union 
soldiers  were  slain  and  wounded.  The  regiment  was  mustered 
out  of  the  service  at  Houston,  Texas,  but  did  not  disband  until  it 
reached  Davenport. 

COMPANY  D,  6th  IOWA  CAVALRY. 

Company  D,  Sixth  Iowa  Cavalry,  was  the  last  company  donated 
to  the  Union  cause  by  Winneshiek  County.  Although  the  men 
composing  this  company  enlisted  with  the  intention  and  expecta- 
tion of  fighting  rebels,  they  were  transferred  to  other  fields  of 
duty — which  was  even  more  undesirable — that  of  fighting  In- 
dians. The  company  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  ser- 
vice in  February,  1863,  with  the  following  officers: 

Captain— T.  W.  Burdick. 

First  Lieutenant — Sherman  Page. 

Second  Lieutenant — Timothy  Finn. 

Orderly  Sergeant — W.  H.  Fannon. 

The  United  States  forces,  in  which  was  Company  K,  had  several 
engagements  with  the  Indians,  each  time  coming  out  victorious, 
with  great  loss  to  the  Indians  and  small  loss  to  themselves. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


Record  of  Events  from  the  First  Settlement  of  Winneshiek  County 
to  the  Present  Time  Chronologically  Arranged. 


This  chapter  will  be  devoted  largely  to  a  brief  review  or  chron- 
ology of  prominent  events  in  the  history  of  the  county,  bringing 
them  down  to  the  present;  omitting,  however,  the  records  of  elec- 
tions and  the  officers  elected  in  the  county  each  year,  as  they  are 
given  for  each  successive  year  in  Chapter  V.  We  also  omit  some 
other  things  of  which  a  regularly  yearly  record  [is  made  in  other 


240  HISTORY    OF    WINXESHIEK    COUNTY. 

chapters,  but  ^ive  a  general  chronological  record  of  events  of 
special  prominence,  going  into  details  in  matters  not  already  des- 
cribed in  other  chapters. 

The  Winnebago  Indians,  who  occupied  the  territory  now  em- 
bracing Winneshiek  County,  when  the  white  settlers  first  came 
in,  and  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  who  precede  the  AYinnebagoes,  are 
sufficienty  referred  to  in  previous  chapters  of  this  volume.  This 
chapter  will  take  up  the  record  from  the  time  of  the  incoming  of 
the  whites. 

In  1840,  Fort  Atkinson  was  erected  to  provide  headquarters  for 
the  supervision  of  the  Winnebago  Indians  and  to  protect  them 
from  predatory  bands  from  other  tribes.  The  fort  was  commenced 
June  2,  1840.  Details  of  its  erection  and  history  are  given  in  the 
sketch  of  Fort  Atkinson  in  another  chapter. 

In  June,  1842,  Old  Mission,  about  four  miles  southeast  of  Fort 
Atkinson,  was  established  for  the  education  of  the  Indians. 

In  1840  a  government  teamster  froze  to  death  between  Joel 
Post's  and  Fort  Atkinson. 

In  1841  Joel  Post  built  the  first  log  house  at  Postville,  just  out- 
side of  our  county  limits.  This  cannot  be  ^properly  received  as 
the  settlement  of  the  county,  but  is  given  because  of  its  close 
contiguity  to  us. 

The  first  events  here  briefly  recorded,  are  generally  given  in 
more  detail  elsewhere  in  preceding  or  following  chapters. 

June  6,  1841,  the  first  white  child,  Mary  Jane  Tupper,  was 
born  at  Fort  Atkinson. 

In  1843,  first  grist  mill,  erected  by  Col.  Thomas,  of  Old  Mission. 

In  1846,  Capt.  E.  V.  Summer,  afterwards  General  Summer, 
who  commanded  at  the  fort  from  the  first,  left  to  join  the  United 
States  Army  in  the  Mexican  War,  and  Capt.  James  Morgan,  of 
Burlington,  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  infantry,  and  Capt. 
John  Parker,  of  Dubuque,  to  the  command  of  the  cavahy. 

In  1847,  Capt  Morgan's  company  was  mustered  out,  and  Capt. 
Parker  given  charge  of  the  fort  till  the  Indians  were  removed  in 
1848, 

In  1847,  Gotlob  and  Gotleib  Kruman  and  others  are  said  to  have 
come  and  settled  near  Fort  Atkinson.  Details  are  given  else- 
where. There  seems  to  be  a  little  doubt  about  the  exact  date  of 
their  coming. 

In  1848  the  Winnebago  Indians  were  ordered  removed,  although 
some  of  them  strayed  back  here,  and  the  permanent  settlement  of 
the  county  commenced;  for  details  of  which,  see  earlier  chap- 
ters and  the  township  histories  in  succeeding  chapters. 

Fort  Atkinson  was  abandoned  as  a  military  post  in  1848,  but  it 
remained  m  charge  of  the  Government  until  1853,  when  it  was 
sold  at  auction. 

In  1849,  first  settlement  of  Decorah  by  Wm.  Day  and  family — 
a  notable  event  in  county  history. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  241 

Wm.  Painter  came  here  in  1849  and  commenced  running  a 
small  grist  mill  at  the  present  site  of  the  Spring  Mill,  or  Dun- 
ning's  mill,  Decorah. 

First  settlers  at  Moneek  in  July,  1819. 

The  same  year  quite  a  number  of  other  families  settled  in  the 
county,  as  will  be  seen  by  records  in  first  chapter. 

1850. 

Settlements  were  made  in  what  are  now  Decorah,  Bloorafield, 
Springfield,  Glenwood,  Canoe,  Pleasant,  Madison,  Frankville  and 
Military  townships. 

Burr  Oak  was  probably  settled  at  about  the  same  time;  for  in 
the  fall  of  1851,  Judge  M.  V.  Burdick  visited  the  place  and  found 
where  the  village  of  Burr  Oak  is  now  located,  a  hotel,  a  store  and 
a  blacksmith  shop. 

Judofe  Burdick  also  found,  in  1850,  at  the  present  site  of  Spill- 
ville,  Mr.  Spillman  to  be  the  only  settler;  while  at  what  is  now 
Twin  Springs  or  Festna,  then,  there  was  a  saloon. 

The  same  year,  1850,  the  federal  census  was  taken,  showing  a 
population  of  570. 

First  immigration  of  Norwegians  took  place  this  year. 

1851. 

An  act  of  the  Legislature,  organizing  Winneshiek  County,  was 
approved  Jan.  15,  1851.  It  appointed  John  L.  Carson,  Organiz- 
ing Sheriff,  to  assume  duties  March  1st. 

April  7,  Decorah  Avas  elected  to  be  the  County  Seat.  [Interest- 
ing details  of  the  fight  with  Moneek  are  given  elsewhere.] 

In  1851,  the  first  Post  Office  in  the  county,  excepting  those  at 
Fort  Atkinson  and  Old  Mission,  was  established  at  Jamestown,  in 
what  is  now  Frankville  township,  James  B.  Cutler  postmaster. 
His  commission  was  dated  Sept.  15,  1851. 

On  Oct.  5,  1851,  occurred  the  first  marriage  in  the  county — 
Johannes  Evenson  to  Catharine  Helen  Anderson. 

Aug.  4,  1851,  David  Reed,  who  had  come  to  this  county  in  1848, 
was  chosen  County  Judge,  and  held  the  position  till  1855. 

Geo.  Bachel,  first  County  Sheriff,  and  other  county  ofiicers  elec- 
ted, as  recorded  elsewhere. 

Hesper  and  Highland  townships  were  settled  this  year. 

In  Sept.,  1851,  the  first  County  Court  was  opened  at  the  log 
house  of  Wm.  Day,  Decorah.  There  being  no  business,  it  ad- 
journed to  the  first  Monday  in  October,  when  the  first  marriage 
license  was  granted. 

The  Heivly  water  power  was  improved  by  Mr.  Painter  and 
"Uncle  Phillip"  Morse,  who  arrived  here  in  1851,  and  built  the 
saw  mill,  some  of  the  ruins  and  the  race  which  are  to  be  seen  be- 
tween the  present  Arlington  House  and  the  old  stone  grist  mill. 

In  July  the  first  lawyer  came  to  Decorah. 


242  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

This  year  also  saw  the  first  mercantile  firm  in  Decorah,  Aaron 
Newell  and  his  partner,  named  Derrick.  They  opened  their  goods 
in  the  smoke  house  on  the  premises  of  the  Winneshiek  House, 
afterwards  removed  to  a  slab  shanty,  and  soon  built  the  first  frame 
building  in  town — a  store  known  as  the  Pioneer  Store,  which  has 
since  burned.  It  stood  on  the  present  site  of  the  store  of  C.  N. 
Goddard,  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Washington  and  Water 
Streets. 

This  same  year,  1851,  came  to  Decorah  the  first  minister  of  the 
gospel,  Elder  Bishop,  preaching  here  monthly  on  a  circuit  de- 
scribed elsewhere.  A  few  weeks  afterwards  a  Congregational  min- 
ister, A.  M.  Eastman,  came  and  established  monthly  meetings  at 
the  log  tavern.  From  these  spring  the  Methodist  and  Congrega- 
tional churches  of  Decorah. 

The  first  mails  came  to  Decorah  in  June,  1851.  C.  Day,  post- 
master, and  Lewis  Harkins,  mail  carrier. 

1852. 

Lincoln  Township  was  settled  during  this  year. 

At  the  April  election  180  votes  were  cast  in  the  county;  at  the 
August  election  150. 

March  8,  1852,  the  County  Court  ordered  elections  to  be  held 
at  three  precincts;  1st,  at  the  house  of  Wm.  Day,  Decorah;  2d,  at 
the  house  of  Francis  Rogers,  Lewisten,  in  the  southwest  part  of 
the  county;  3d,  at  the  house  of  John  DeCow,  Moneek.  For  fur- 
her  and  later  divisions  of  the  county,  see  a  preceding  chapter. 

Moneek  was  surveyed  and  platted  in  January,  but  the  plat  was 
not  recorded  till  November. 

The  Pioneer  Store  building  in  Decorah  commenced  in  1851, 
was  completed  in  1852,  a  public  hall,  known  as  Newell's  Hall,  be- 
ing in  the  second  story. 

In  August  and  September,  there  was  built  by  Philip  Morse,  the 
first  frame  dwelling  in  Decorah,  the  one  now  occupied  by  Mr. 
Bonstell,  not  far  from  the  Arlington  House. 

The  first  term  of  District  Court  for  this  county  was  held  in 
Decorah  on  Friday,  July  9,  1852,  Thos.  S.  Wilson,  Judge.  The 
first  indictment  found  by  the  Grand  Jury  was  against  Francis 
Teabout,  for  gambling;  the  second  against  Philander  S.  Baker, 
for  selling  intoxicating  liquors;  the  third  was  against  James  T. 
Moore,  for  gambling.  Each  were  held  to  bail  to  the  next  term  of 
court  in  the  sum  of  $100.00. 

1853. 

The  number  of  votes  cast  in  the  county  in  April,  1853,  was 
221;  and  the  number  steadily  increased  in  successive  years,  as  will 
be  seen  by  the  record  elsewhere. 

The  present  city  of  Decorah  was  surveyed  and  platted  in  Au- 
gust of  this  year. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  2:i3 

The  village  of  Frankville  was  surveyed  and  platted  iu  October. 

This  year  Ammon  &  Co.  came  to  Decorah  and  were  the  first  to 
add  steam  power  to  our  water  power,  finally  resulting  in  their 
foundry,  machine  shop,  and  wagon  manufactory. 

The  government  property  at  Fort  Atkinson  was  this  year  sold 
at  auction  and  Mr.  Cooney,  who  was  in  1852  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  the  old  fort  and  government  buildings,  found  his  "oc- 
cupation gone." 

In  the  winter  of  1853-4  the  first  Bohemian  settlers  came  in  and 
settled  not  far  from  Fort  Atkinson.  To  those  settlers  the  present 
village  of  Spillville  largely  owes  its  existence. 

1854. 

The  village  of  Freeport  was  platted  in  May. 

The  first  building  in  Calmar  was  erected  this  year;  and  the  vil- 
lage of  Calmar  was  platted  in  November. 

The  Decorah  House  was  built  this  year,  and  also  the  Tremont 
House,  which  was  burnt  in  1857,  and  which  stood  on  the  site  of 
the  present  Arlington  House,  Decorah. 

The  famous  Decorah  hotel,  the  Winneshiek  House,  was  built 
in  1854-5,  and  a  part  of  it,  rejuvenated  and  repaired,  still  remains 
as  our  popular  hotel  of  the  same  name. 

1855. 

Early  this  year  Ossian  was  platted  as  a  village,  and  the  plat  re- 
corded April  30th. 

Decorah,  which  had  become  quite  a  village,  received  an  addi- 
tional impetus  by  the  Land  Office  being  established  here,  the  office 
being  opened  the  day  before  Christmas,  1855.  It  was  removed 
the  following  year,  but  much  of  the  business  which  it  brought 
remained. 

In  the  winter  of  1855-6,  there  were  nine  banking  houses  in 
Decorah,  two  of  which,  the  First  National  and  the  Winneshiek 
County  Bank,  are  the  outgrowth. 

1856. 

This  year  witnessed  the  famous  but  unsuccessful  fight  of  the  then 
flourishing  and  enterprising  village  of  Freeport  to  take  the  county 
seat  from  Decorah;  this  contest  is  told  in  detail  elsewhere. 

A  county  loan  of  86,000  was  also  voted  this  year  to  build  a 
Court  House  at  Decorah,  the  tax  to  be  levied  in  the  years  1857  and 
1858. 

A  special  election  was  also  held  October  10,  and  the  county 
voted  8100,000  in  bonds  to  aid  in  the  building  of  the  Northwest- 
ern Railroad:  there  being  926  votes  case  for  the  tax,  and  505 
against  it.  As  the  road  was  not  built  the  county  was  not  bur- 
dened with  the  tax. 

The  year  1856  also  gave  the  county  its  first  newspaper,  the  De- 
corah Chronicle.     It  was  edited  and  published  by  a  man  named 


244  BISTORT   OF   WIXNESHIEK    COUXTT. 

Tracy,  but  very  soon  Jud^e  M.  V.  Burdick  became  the  editorial 
Writer.  It  had  its  iips  and  downs,  and  the  Decorah  RepuhJic  of 
to-day  may  be  considered  as  its  successor,  Wesley  Bailey  and  son 
buying  out  the  establishment,  and  issuing  it  as  the  Decorah  Re- 
piihlic,  in  1860,  and  afterwards  changing  the  name  to  Decorah 
RepiihJican^  published  by  A.  K.  Bailey  &  Brother. 

1857. 

The  Court  House  was  commenced  this  year  and  finished  the 
following  year.     It  is  fully  described  in  a  preceding  chapter. 

This  year  witnessed  the  burning  of  the  Tremont  House,.  De- 
corah, then  a  well-known  hotel. 

This  year,  also,  Decorah  became  an  organized  town.  A  meeting 
for  incorporation  was  held  on  the  first  Monday  in  April,  and  at 
the  election  of  ofiicers  on  the  30th  of  June,  E.  E.  Cooley  was 
chosen  President. 

The  Legislative  act  of  incorporation  was  not  passed  till  1871. 

1858. 

The  plat  of  the  village  of  Hesper — the  township  having  been 
first  settled  in  1851 — was  recorded  on  the  25th  of  February,  1858, 
the  plat  having  been  drawn  Dec.  27th  of  the  preceding  year. 
The  township  of  Hesper  was  also  organized  in  1858. 

The  county  had  grown  so  that  the  number  of  votes  cast  in  Oc- 
tober of  this  year  was  1,288. 

On  the  18th  of  April,  1858,  the  first  County  Superintendent 
was  elected.  Dr.  H.  C.  Bulls  was  chosen. 

1859. 

A  prominent  historical  event  of  this  year  was  the  resurrection 
of  the  alleged  bones  of  the  famous  Indian  Chief  Decorah,  after 
whom  the  county  seat  was  named.  The  grave  was  at  the  inter- 
section of  Main  and  Winnebago  streets,  and  must  give  place  to 
travel  necessitated  by  the  growth  of  the  thriving  little  city. 
The  story  of  the  removal  is  told  in  a  preceding  chapter.  It  was 
considered  an  important  event,  and  observed  with  due  solemnity. 
The  bones  were  again  resurrected  in  1876,  in  order  to  improve 
the  Court  House  grounds,  and  before  their  final  interment  some  of 
the  Indian  relics  found  with  them  were  stolen. 

The  close  of  this  year  brings  us  up  to  the  commencement  of  a  de- 
cade which  opened  with  some  changes  in  the  manner  of  county 
government,  made  necessary,  or  at  least  desirable,  by  the  increase 
of  population  and  the  prospective  gi-owth  and  importance  of  the 
county.  By  the  census  of  1850,  the  population  was  540,  while 
it  was  now  by  the  census  taken  in  1860 — the  following  year — ■ 
13,942.  We  will  not,  however,  anticipate,  but  briefly  note  the 
important  events  as  they  occur. 


HISTORY   OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  2'15 

1860. 

Durinp^  this  year  a  change  was  made  in  the  management  o£ 
county  affair:^,  up  to  this  time  administered  by  the  County  Judge. 
A  Board  of  Supervisors,  consisting  of  one  from  each  township, 
was  elected,  the  change  taking  effect  on  the  1st  of  January,  1861. 

In  April,  1860,  the  firm  of  Bailey  &  Son.  consisting  of  Wesley 
Bailey  and  his  son,  Ansel  K.  Bailey,  purchased  the  Decorah  Re- 
public, succeeding  B.  F.  Jones,  as  publishers  of  that  paper.  The 
first  number  under  their  management  appeared  April  13th. 

In  the  first  issue  are  notices  of  Decorah's  institutions  as  fol- 
lows: ''Population  of  Decorah,  estimated,  from  1,600  to  2,000.  It 
has  a  brass  band,  17  stores,  3  harness  shops,  6  blacksmiths,  5 
cabinet  makers,  3  wagon  makers,  2  plow  and  horticultural  imple- 
ment manufactories,  2  jewelers,  2  milliners,  2  tanneries,  1  lum- 
ber yard,  2  bakeries,  1  daguerreotype  artist,  2  meat  markets,  1 
distillery,  1  brewery,  1  gunsmith,  a  dozen  lawyers,  3  doctors,  1 
dentist,  2  barbers,  a  Methodist  church  in  their  own  building,  and 
a  Congregational  church,  holding  services  iu  the  Court  House, 
their  church  not  yet    being  completed." 

Hesper  has  a  literary  society  that  meets  one  a  week. 

May  3,  five  prisoners  escape  from  the  County  Jail,  one  in  for 
horse  stealing,  one  for  counterfeiting,  and  the  others  for  minor 
offenses. 

April  29,  the  house  of  Postmaster  Stanberg,  of  Calmar,  was 
burned. 

May  18,  Mr.  McKinney  left  Fort  Atkinson  for  Pikes  Peak, 
with  N.  Otis,  of  Decorah. 

May  17,  a  Norwegian  celebration  of  their  national  anniversary 
occurred  at  Peterson's  trading  post,  B.  0.  Dahly  delivering  the  ad- 
dress. 

Postmaster  Kimball,  of  Decorah,  improves  his  post  office  and 
store. 

In  June,  the  Landers  residence  on  Broadway  was  commenced, 
also  the  Francis  residence  on  Broadway,  now  owned  by  A. 
Bradish. 

Fourth  of  July  was  celebrated  in  Decorah,  the  orator  being 
Douglas  Lelfingwell. 

By  the  census  then  being  taken   the   population    of   Decorah 

township  and  city  was  given  as  follows: 

Population  of  Decorah 904 

Population  of  West  Decorah 315 

Rest  of  township TOG 

Total 1,925 

August  7th,  Wm.  Day  died  at  the  Winneshiek  House,  in  the 
69th  year  of  his  age.  He  came  here  in  1850,  was  a  liberal,  honest, 
public-spirited  man.  He  built  the  first  house,  for  some  years  the 
only  hotel,  and  afterwards  built  the  Winneshiek  House. 


246  HISTOKT   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

August  30th,  Fitz  Henry  Warren  (Republican),  spoke  at  De- 
corah,  Judge  Clark,  of  Dubuque,  opposing  him. 

The  Congregational  church  of  Decorah  was  in  process  of  erec- 
tion this  season.  ^ 

September  21st,  County  Fair  was  held  in  Decorah. 

October  5th,  a  daily  mail  was  established  between  McGregor 
and  Decorah. 

1861. 

At  the  opening  of  the  year,  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  one  from 
each  township,  in  order  that  the  terms  of  office  might  not  expire 
at  the  same  time,  they  cast  lots  to  see  which  should  hold  office  for 
one  year,  and  which  for  two  years.     The  result  was  as  follows: 

For  one  year — Levi  Bullis  in  place  of  Dan  Lawrence,  who  was 
elected  and  resigned,  for  Decorah;  J.  Fagin,  Frankville;  J.  T. 
Galby,  Summer;  I.  West,  Canoe;  G.  N.  HoUoway,  Hesper;  J.  G. 
Ackerson,  Burr  Oak;  S.  Christen,  Madison;  Lars  T.  Land,  Calraar; 
Levan  Wanless,  Bluffton, 

For  two  years — W.  H,  Baker,  Bloomfield;  F.  S.  Northup, 
Glen  wood;  Ole  Nelson,  Pleasant;  W.  B.  Chamberlin,  Orleans; 
Amnion  Ammundsoc,  Highland;  D.  E.  Shelmadine,  Fremont;  M. 
J.  Woolsey,  Military;  A.  0.  Lommen,  Springfield;  Orville  Jenni- 
son,  Washington. 

G.  N.  Holloway  was  elected  President  of  the  Board. 

March  3d,  the  remains  of  a  Norwegian,  named  Iver  Knudsen 
Jouen,  were  found  near  the  foot  of  the  bluff  at  the  head  of  Trout 
Run.  He  started  home  from  Decorah,  drunk,  on  Christmas  eve- 
ning. Going  over  the  road  past  the  cemetery,  it  is  thought  that 
he  lost  his  way,  rolled  down  the  bluff  and  froze  to  death. 

The  Decorah  cemetery  grounds  were  laid  out  this  year. 

April  8th,  a  public  meeting  was  held  and  the  Decorah  Guards 
organized,  being  the  first  company  to  enter  the  service  in  the  war 
of  the  rebellion.  The  record  of  this  and  other  companies  from 
the  county,  will  be  found  in  a  preceding  chapter. 

June  14th,  E.  E.  Cooley  received  the  appointment  as  postmaster 
of  Decorah,  and  took  possession  July  1st. 

June  11th,  the  County  Supervisors  voted  §3.00  per  week  to 
each  of  the  families  of  the  Decorah  Guards. 

June  17,  L.  Standring  turned  the  first  scraper  full  of  dirt  into 
the  Decorah  branch  of  the  Northern  Iowa  Railroad.  Gangs  of 
men  were  set  at  work  at  Decorah,  Calmar,  Ossian  and  Monona, 
but  the  work  was  discontinued. 

July  4th,  celebration  at  Decorah.  with  oration  by  Geo.  A. 
Stephens. 

In  July  the  plastering  and  mason  work  of  the  Congregational 
Church  was  completed. 

The  Norwegian  Lutheran  Synod  decided  to  build  a  college  on 
the  site  selected  in  West  Decorah. 


HISTOKY   OF  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY,  247 

August  22,  Winneshiek  Normal  institute  incorporated;  S.  Page, 
Principal. 

September  27th  and  28th,  County  Fair. 

November  17th,  Congregational  Church,  Decorah,  dedicated, 
E.  Adams  pastor. 

The  Livengood-Telyea  murder  trial  commenced  near  the  close 
of  this  year  and  continued  into  1862.  Particulars  elsewhere  in 
this  volume. 

1862. 

Fourth  of  July  celebration  in  Decorah,  Hon  M.  V.  Burdick  de- 
livering the  oration. 

August  30th,  saloon  of  Wm.  Oleson,  Decorah,  burned,  and 
George  Gulbranson  burned  to  death,  and  others  badly  injured. 

September  6th,  Aaron  Newell,  an  old  resident,  died. 

In  September  the  Norwegian  High  School  opened  in  Decorah 
being  the  nucleus  of  the  future  college. 

1863. 

June  4th,  work  on  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  College  commenced. 
The  building  to  be  150x20  feet  on  the  ground,  and  three  stories 
high  above  the  basement. 

Population  of  county  by  assessors  returns  in  1863,  15,035. 
Population  of  Decorah,  2,165. 

Fourth  of  July  celebrated  in  Decorah;  addresses  by  home  talent. 

November  3d,  Elisha  Hurlbut,  postmaster  of  Decorah,  died. 
Joseph  Hutchinson,  assistant,  continued  in  office  until  a  successor 
was  appointed. 

1864. 

February  9th,  J.  R.  Slack  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Decorah, 
and  took  possession  February  28th.  Geo.  W.  Adams  was  appoint- 
ed his  assistant. 

June  20th,  the  $40,000  necessary,  secured,  and  engineers  com- 
menced locating  a  railroad  to  Decorah. 

A  grist  mill  was  built  by  D.  Addicken,  and  commenced  running 
that  year. 

June  30,  corner-stone  of  the  Norwegian  College  laid. 

Oct.  3,  Capt  J.  R.  Moore,  Decorah,  died  suddenly  in  his  bed. 

Oct.  12,  celebration  of  the  arrival  of  the  railroad  atCastalia. 

Oct.  22,  the  Catholics  of  Decorah  occupied  their  new   church. 

Dec.  22,  Decorah  gets  a  through  mail  from  Chicago. 

1865. 

March  20,  flood  in  Dry  Run  did  considerable  damage.  High 
waters  in  the  river  carried  away  the  West  Decorah  bridge,  and 
also  the  Freeport  bridge. 


248  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

April  8,  a  rousing  celebration  in  Deeorali  of  the  taking  of 
Richmond,  in  which  enthusiasm  extravagantly  boiled  over  in  wild 
and  peculiar  freaks. 

April  27,  funeral  services  in  Decorah,  Castalia,  and  other  places 
on  the  death  of  Lincoln. 

June  15,  railroad  completed  to  near  Calmar. 

July  4,  Fourth  of  July  celebration  at  Decorah,  Col.  Henderson 
orator. 

July  20,  railroad  completed  to  Conover. 

September  — ,  Methodist  parsonage  at  Decorah  completed. 

Oct.  15,  dedication  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  College,  one 
wing  four  stories  high,  with  basement,  being  completed.  Promi- 
nent Norwegians  from  all  parts  of  the  country  were  present. 

1866. 

The  Decorah  public  school  building  was  built  this  year. 

April  1,  Decorah  post  office  removed  to  first  floor  of  new  brick 
building  on  Winnebago  street,  now  occupied  by  Journal  office 

April  5,  greatest  flood  since  1859,  carrying  oflf  numerous  bridges 
and  doing  considerable  damage  in  the  county. 

July  4,  celebrated  in  Decorah,  M.  V.  Burdick  and  R.  Swearingen 

Nov.'l,  great  fire  in  Decorah;  loss  from  $30,000  to  $40,000, 
burning  out  Dennis  &Hulverson,  P.  S.  Smout,  Green  &  Morss,  and 
others,  also  the  office  of  the  Winneshiek  Register,  established  in 
1866,  Haislet  Bros,  proprietors. 

Nov.  11,  County  Supervisors  bought  the  present  Poor  Farm  of 
C.  E.  Dickerman. 

This  year  the  railroad  reached  the  site  of  Ridgeway,  and  gave  it 
its  first  start. 

1867. 

The  new  Masonic  Hall,  Decorah,  dedicated.  It  was  pronounced 
the  best  in  Iowa. 

Jan.  30,  Fremont  House  and  barn  burned. 

February  12,  meeting  to  organize  a  fire  company  in  Decorah. 

May  17,  Norwegian  celebration.  Addresses  by  B.  0.  Dahly, 
K.  E.  Burgh,  0.  M.  Lucken,  and  John  Steen. 

May  27,  Decorah  graded  school  established. 

Oct.  3  and  4,  County  Fair  held  at  Decorah. 

During  this  year  the  residences  of  E.  E.  Cooley,  D.  B.  Ells- 
worth, Mrs.  Hughes,  and  J.  Hunter,  and  the  Dickerman  building, 
were  erected  or  commenced. 

The  telegraph  line  to  Decorah  was  completed  this  year. 

Nov.  28,  Rev.  E.  Adams  preached  his  Thanksgiving  sermon, 
entitled  "The  First  things  of  Decorah." 

Dec.  6,  Col.  T.  W.  Higginson  lectured  in  Decorah. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  249 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  1867,  B.  Annundson  established  a 
Norwegian  printing  office  in  Decorah,  printing  several  publica- 
tions for  the  college.  A  few  years  later  he  commenced  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Decorah  Posten,  which  is  the  only  Norwegian 
paper  in  Iowa,  and  has  a  very  large  circulation. 

1868. 

Feb.  1,  Decorah  secures  two  mails  a  day. 

This  winter  Decorah  secures  a  course  of  lectures  by  Fred  Doug- 
las, Theodore  Tilton,  Henry  Vincent  and  E.  P.  Whipple, 

February  2,  Norwegian  M.  E.  Church  on  Washington  Prai- 
rie dedicated. 

Feb.  18,  John  T.  Stoneman  lectures  in  Decorah  on  Joe  Smith, 
the  Mormon  prophet, 

April,  Decorah  Democrat  established.  Bob  Shurley.  editor. 

May  17,  Norwegian  celebration;  oration  by  Prof.  Larsen. 

July  4,  celebration  at  Decorah;  Rev.  Henderson,  of  Dubuque, 
orator. 

Oct.  7,  8  and  9,  County  Fair  at  Decorah. 

In  1868,  by  the  creation  of  the  Circuit  Court  as  previously  de- 
scribed, the  County  Court  ceased  to  exist.  The  County  Judge  be- 
came ex  officio  County  Auditor,  the  new  state  of  things  taking  ef- 
fect June  1, 1869. 

•      1869. 

On  New  Year's  day  Charles  Magoffin  fell  over  the  bluff  over- 
hanging the  dugway,  above  the  mill  dam,  Decorah.  He  was  get- 
ting some  cedar  branches,  and  stepping  on  ice,  slipped  and  fell 
down  the  bluff  and  was  killed. 

Jan.  12,  Oddfellows  occupied  their  new  hall  in  the  Dickerman 
building,  Decorah. 

March  15,  paper  mill  company  at  Freeport  organized. 

May  12,  work  commenced  in  earnest  oa  the  Decorah  branch  of 
the  railroad. 

May  9,  depot  and  six  grain  warehouses  atOssian  burned. 

June  7,  A.K.  Bailey  appointed  postmaster  at  Decorah. 

June  13,  Kramer  s  store  burned,  and  depot  and  Lambert's  store 
at  Castalia  robbed. 

July  4,  celebrated  at  Ossiau  and  Hesper. 

July  12,  Calmar  is  incorporated  as  a  village  of  the  second  class 

Aug.  24,  David  Self  was  killed  by  his  wagon  tipping  over  into 
river,  on  the  dugway,  Decorah.  He  was  thrown  under  the  wagon; 
his  wife  and  children  escaped. 

Sept  15,  first  regular  train  ran  into  Decorah.  It  was  a  day  of 
celebration  and  rejoicing. 

Sept  22,  23  and  24,  County  Fair  at  Decorah. 

Oct.  28,  Edgar  Harden,  son  of  H.  J.  Harden,  was  fatally 
stabbed  at  Burr  Oak  by  Jasper  Jewell,  who  became  irritated  by 
the  badinage  of  a  party  of  threshers,  with  whom  he  was  working. 


250  HISTORY   OF   WINifESHIEK   COUN'TY. 

Dec.  2,  Beauseant  Commandery  o£  Knights  Templar  fully  or- 
ganized and  officers  installed  at  Decorah  with  a  grand  parade,  dis- 
play, etc. 

The  Decorah  Ventilator  was  established  this  year. 

This  year  the  railroad  reached  Fort  Atkinson,  and  the  building 
of  the  new  town  commenced. 

1870. 

In  1870  the  old  Supervisor  system  of  one  from  each  township 
gave  place  to  the  present  system,  except  that  at  first  there  were 
but  three  Supervisors;  but  this  was  changed,  in  1872,  to  five,  the 
present  number. 

In  February  S.S.  Haislett  bought  E.  C.  Huntington's  interest 
in  the  State  Press  newspaper,  recently  established  at  Decorah. 

In  March  woman's  sulFrage  lectures  were  delivered  in  Decorah 
by  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton  and  Mrs.  H.  C.  Reed. 

A  4th  of  July  accident  occurs  at  Spillville  by  the  premature  ex- 
plosion of  an  anvil,  by  which  four  men  were  badly  hurt. 

August  17,  the  publication  of  the  Winneshiek  Kepresentative 
was  commenced  at  Calmar  by  Bent  Wood. 

Steyer's  Hall,  Decorah,  was  completed  this  year. 

1871. 

Decorah  had  a  lecture  course  for  the  winter  of  1870  and  1871, 
among  the  lecturers  being  Lilian  Edgerton  and  W,  H.  Milburn. 

February  2,  a  fire  in  Decorah  destroys  Goddard  &  Henry's 
store,  the  Howell  and  Heivly  building  occupied  by  P.  S.  Smout 
and  Mrs.  G.  W.  Adams'  millinery  store. 

February  21,  by  legislative  enactment  Decorah  was  incorporated 
a  city  of  the  second  class.  It  first  election  was  held  March  6, 
1871.  The  first  mayor  was  Charles  F.  Allen.  The  other  officers 
are  given  in  a  sketch  of  Decorah. 

May  17,  Norwegian  celebration  at  Decorah.  County  Fair  in 
Decorah  in  September. 

The  number  of  County  Supervisors  was  increased  from  three  to 
five,  as  at  present. 

June  23,  the  Winneshiek  Representative  at  Calmar  suspended 
publication. 

Decorah  celebrated  the  4th  of  July;  Mahlon  Willet,  orator. 

Sept.  6th,  a  homicide  occurred  in  the  evening  in  Frankville 
township.  Wm.  McClintock  was  scolding  his  nephew  about  some 
piece  of  mischief  when  a  man,  named  Seeley,  rode  up  and  said: 
''Take  one  of  your  size."  And  in  a  quarrel  that  followed  See- 
ley knocked  McClintick  down  with  a  club.  McClintock  died  three 
hours  afterward.  Seeley  was  held  to  bail  in  the  sum  of  $1,000, 
and  afterwards  sent  to  the  penitentiary. 

The  County  Fair  was  held  at  Decorah  in  September. 

The  Decorah  Democrat  was  discontinued,  and  the  material  taken 
to  McGregor  for  a  paper  there. 


HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  251 

1872. 

Jan.  17,  old  settlers  of  the  county  organize. 

March  27,  Ole  Bull  comes  to  Decorah,  gives  two  concerts  and  a 
mattinee,  and  is  given  a  grand  public  reception  by  the  people. 

July  4,  Fort  Atkinson  celebrates,  with  W.  H.  Bennett  as  orator. 

Deborah  celebrates,  with  Rev.  Casabeer  as  orator  and  Mrs.  H. 
Bottsford  as  reader. 

County  Fair  at  Decorah,  Sept,  17,  18,  19  and  20. 

1873. 

The  great  storm  and  snow  blockade  commenced  Jan.  7th,  con- 
tinuing about  a  week.  It  was  in  this  storm  that  Conductor  Bob 
Jamieson  organized  a  rescue  party  and  went  from  ^Calmar 
carrying  provisions  to  passengers  in  a  blockaded  train  a  little 
south  of  Ridge  way.  They  made  their  way  through  the  blinding 
storm  by  starting  from  one  telegraph  pole  to  another;  the  one 
who  found  the  pole  first  shouting  to  the  others.  It  was  nearly 
two  weeks  before  the  blockade  was  finally  lifted. 

Jan.  20,  the  new  school  house  at  Fort  Atkinson  was  burned. 

Feb.  28,  Andrew  Johnson  of  Pleasant  township,  starting  to  go 
home  from  Decorah,  drunk,  froze  to  death  on  his  way. 

March  12,  W.  N.  Burdick,  of  Cresco,  purchased  half  the  inter- 
est in  the  Decorah  Yentillator. 

May  17,  Norwegian  celebration  at  Decorah.  Addresses  by  Rev. 
Larsen  and  L.  Reque. 

June  7,  Ole  Bull  again  visited  Decorah  and  gave  a  concert. 

Sept.  18,  the  district  fair  was  held  at  Hesper. 

County  fair  was  held  at  Decorah,  Sept.  23,  24  and  26. 

1874. 

March  31,  death  of  C.  H.  Henry,  of  the  firm  of  Goddard  & 
Henry,  Decorah. 

April  5,  death  of  F.  E.  Ruth,  of  the  firm  of  Ruth  Bros.,  De- 
corah . 

May  24th,  about  this  date  the  business  part  of  Ridgway  burned. 
Twenty-five  buildings  were  destroyed  and  ^50,000  worth  of  prop- 
erty. 

Fourth  of  July  celebrated  in  Decorah.  Rev.  H.  B.  Wood- 
worth,  pastor  of  Congregational  Church,  orator. 

July  31,  new  bridge  over  Iowa  river  at  Decorah  finished. 

Aug.  11,  Decorah  Independent  started  by  Ed.  Wood  and  S.  S. 
Haislet. 

Aug.  13,  corner  stone  of  the  M.  E.  Church  laid. 

Sept.  11  and  12  State  Line  fair  at  Hesper. 

Sept.  15,  16,  17,  county  fair  at  Decorah. 

Oct.  3,  H.  H.  Buck,  of  Decorah,  committed  suicide. 

Nov.  3,  A.  A.  Aiken's  Trot  Run  woolen  factory  burned. 

Greer  &  Hunter's  mill  Avas  completed  this  month. 


252  HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

Dec.  2,  final  completion  and  dedication  of  one  wing  of  the  Nor- 
wegian College. 

Dec.  20,  new  M.  E.  Church,  of  Decorah,  dedicated.  Bishop 
Andrews,  of  Des  Moines,  presiding. 

In  November,  1874,  Aiken  &  Woodruff,  purchased  the  Winne- 
shiek Register,  published  at  Decorah  (which  was  the  successor  of 
the  Decorah  Ventillator,)  of  Geo.  W.  Haislet.  In  February,  1875, 
the  Saturday  Bee  was  published  from  the  Register  office,  and 
during  the  snow  blockade  about  that  time,  and  afterwards,  at 
times  when  occasion  demanded,  it  was  issued  daily.  The  present 
Decorah  Journal,  Henry  Woodruff,  editor  and  publisher,  is  the 
successor  to  the  Register,  having  absorbed  the  Independent;  the 
Bee  also  becoming  a  part  of  the  Journal  establishment. 

1875. 

February  4th,  a  snow  blockade  continued  several  days, 

March  3d,  Ole  Anderson,  who  lived  north  of  Hesper,  going 
home  from  Decorah,  froze  his  hands  and  feet.  A  suit 
against  H.  D.  Lolberge  followed,  in  which  $6,000  damage  was 
awarded  Anderson's  wife. 

March  31st,  it  was  decided  to  erect  a  new  Episcopal  Church  in 
Decorah  this  year. 

May  9,  Rev.  Father  McNulty,  pastor  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
Decorah,  died. 

June  23,  this  night  occured  the  great  flood  of  Dry  Run,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  caused  by  a  water  spout.  Three  small  dwell- 
ings were  carried  away,  and  five  bridges  over  Dry  Run;  Washing- 
ton Street  bridge  being  the  only  one  saved.  All  the  bridges  and 
much  of  the  railroad  track  between  Decorah  and  Conover  were 
washed  away. 

July  2,  Presiding  Elder  Wm.  Smith  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  died. 

July  7,  County  Supervisors  provided  for  new  iron  bridges  in 
various  parts  of  the  county. 

July  17,  death  of  D.  Addicken,  of  Decorah. 

July  19,  death  of  Horace  S.  Weiser,  of  Decorah. 

September  21,  22,  23,  State  Line  fair  at  Hesper. 

1876. 

January  4,  John  B.  Stickles  died,  it  was  supposed  that  he  was 
poisoned.  The  famous  murder  trials  resulting  from  his  death,  are 
recorded  in  previous  chapters. 

January  9,  Charles  Meyers,  Supervisor  from  Second  district, 
died. 

January  31,  J.  Ellen  Foster  lectured  at  the  Court  House  on 
temperance. 

March  3,  first  accident  on  the  Decorah  branch  of  the  railroad. 
Train  was  ditched  three  miles  from  the  city.  Eleven  persons 
were  hurt,  but  none  were  killed. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  253 

March  li,  the  new  Episcopal  Church  at  Decorah  was  dedicated. 

April  7,  Peter  Duffin,  an  old  settler,  died. 

June  18,  Luther  Church,  Decorah,  was  dedicated. 

June  6,  alleged  remains  of  Decorah,  the  Indian  Chief,  taken  up, 
so  as  to  improve  the  Court  House  grounds;  they  were  re-interred 
inside  the  new  wall. 

July  i.  Centennial  celebration  at  Decorah,  with  oration  by  H. 
B.  Wood  worth,  and  meeting  of  the  old  settlers  in  the  afternoon. 

Oct.  10,  1876,  Geo.  W.  Haislet,  who  had  been  engaged  in  var- 
ious newspaper  enterprises  in  Decorah,  Cresco,  Lansing,  Mc- 
Gregor, and  lately  for  about  a  year  at  Dubuque,  came  back  to 
Decorah  and  established  the  Decorah  Radical,  which  he  published 
till  the  time  of  his  death  in  the  spring  of  1881,  as  recorded 
under  that  date. 

July  9,  in  Frankville  township  Simeon  Oleson  shot  and  killed 
Anderson  Theonson,  who  came  to  a  party  uninvited.  After  two 
trials  Oleson  was  acquitted.  An  account  of  the  case  is  given  in  a 
preceding  chapter. 

Sept.  6th,  Capt.  T.  W.  Burdick  was  nominated  for  Congress, 
being  the  first  Representative  from  Winneshiek  County,  and  was 
elected. 

Sept  19-21,  Fair  at  Hesper. 

At  the  November  election  a  $12,000  tax,  divided  between  two 
years,  was  voted  to  build  a  new  jail. 

Dec.  21,  1876,  near  Locust  Lane,  while  several  teams  were  on 
the  way  home  from  Decorah,  a  quarrel  arose,   and  Helge  Nelson 
struck  Ed.  Torfin  a  fatal  blow  on  the  head  with  a  club.      Nelson- 
escaped  with  six  months  in  the  penitentiary. 

1877. 

Feb.  1,  a  new  hotel,  the  Arlington  House,  was  opened  at  De- 
corah. 

Lectures  this  month  in  Decorah  by  James  M.  Bailey,  of  the 
Danbury  News,  and  Mong  Chin  Foo,  followed  by  others. 

May  30,  first  observance  of  Decoration  day,  in  Decorah.  H.  S. 
Henderson,  orator,  ^nd  C.  Wellington,  reader. 

June  8,  death  of  Joseph  Grinsell,  station  agent  at  Decorah,  his 
body  being  found  in  an  unoccupied  house  at  Prairie  du  Chien. 

June  !■!,  in  the  District  Court  Helge  Nelson  was  convicted  of 
manslaughter  in  killing  Edwin  Torfin,  December  21,  1876.  Par- 
ticulars are  given  in  account  of  murder  trials  in  this  county. 

July  4,  celebrated  by  old  settlers,  reunion  at  Weiser  s  grove. 

July,  James  Relf ,  a  pioneer,  died. 

July  4,  Howard's  livery  stable,  Decorah,  burned,  and  othe  prop- 
erty greatly  endangered. 

This  same  month  it  was  concluded  to  have  an  artesian  well  in 
Decorah. 

16 


254  HISTOKY   OP   WIKJS'ESHIEK   COUNTY,  "^ 

July  31,  Recorder  Charles  A.  Steen,  who  was  wounded  at  Get- 
tysburg, died  in  Deeorah,  aged  40  years,  11  months,  and  1  day. 
Cyrus  McKey  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  until  the  next 
election. 

Oct.,  Fair  held  at  Hesper. 

Oct.  18,  a  fire  at  Calmar  burned  four  business  houses,  includ- 
ing McMullin's  drug  store,  a  shoe  store,  restaurant  and  saloon. 

Nov.  3,  Charles  Hartsing,  of  Castalia,  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  Winneshiek  County  died,  aged  65  years. 

Nov.  29,  Adams'  block,  Deeorah,  burned,  burning  out  Ben 
Bears'  clothing  store,  Coleman  &  Toye's  drug  store,  J.  C.  Meus- 
er's  jewelry  store,  Newton's  grocery,  and  some  other  tenants. 

Deeorah  had  a  lecture  course  the  following  winter  with  Gener- 
al Kilpatrick,  Henry  VVatterson,  Mrs.  Livermore,  and  Will  Carle- 
ton. 

1878. 

Jan.  28,  work  on  the  artesian  well,  Deeorah,  stopped,  it  havino- 
reached  a  depth  of  1,200  feet,  and  the  water  being  30  feet  from 
the  top. 

April  4,  the  Board  of  Supervisors  having  this  spring  provided 
for  the  construction  of  a  new  jail,  contracted  for  Pauley's  steel 
cells. 

April  11,  plans  for  the  new  jail  adopted,  the  site  of  which  is 
located  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the  court  house  grounds. 

July  1,  contract  awarded  for  building  a  new  county  jail,  which 
was  erected  the  same  year. 

Sept,  17,  18,  19,  fair  at  Hesper. 

Oct.  10,  Harvey  Benedict  fell  from  the  house  of  his  brother,  A. 
A.  Benedict,  and  was  killed. 

Nov.  21,  the  body  of  H.  A.  Hegg,  of  Deeorah,  was  found  in 
the  creek  at  the  railroad  bridge,  near  Standring's  cut.  The  coro- 
ner's jury  found  that  his  death  was  caused  by  strychnine,  and  that 
it  occurred  before  he  fell  into  the  water.  The  mystery  of  his  death 
is  not  yet  solved. 

1879. 

February  15,  Blue  Ribbon  movement  organized  by  John  W. 
Drew,  in  Deeorah,  and  reform  club  established. 

May  17,  Norwegian  celebration;  orations  by  Professors  Sander, 
Veflen,  and  others. 

May  30,  Decoration  Day  in  Deeorah;  oration  by  H.  B.  Wood- 
worth. 

June  22,  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  Congregational  Church 
of  Deeorah  observed. 

July  4,  celebration  in  Deeorah,  John  T.  Stoneman,  orator. 
Celebrated  at  Ossian,  Rev.  Sherin,  orator. 


HISTORY   OF  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  255 

Aug.  7,  Decorah  township  voted  a  4  per  cent  tax  to  induce  the 
Waukon  narrow  guage  railroad,  which  was  then  leased  to  the 
Northwestern,  to  come  to  Decorah.  The  road  bed  was  graded, 
but  the  Milwaukee  company  bought  it  up — it  did  not  come — and 
Decorah  saved  its  tax. 

Sept.  — ,  Fair   at  Hesper  this  year. 

Nov.  12,  Jannauschek,  the  actress,  appeared  at  Decorah. 

Dec.  1,  Judge  E.  E.  Cooley  appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy  caused  by 
the  resignation  of  .Judge  Reuben  No))le. 

June  13,  the  railroad  depot  at  Conover  burned. 

July  4,  celebration  at  Hesper,  Rev.  H.  B.  Wood  worth,  orator. 
Ossian  also  celebrated. 

July  23,  at  the  PeterCoogan  school-house,  three  miles  north  of 
Decorah,  Willard  Van  Pelt  shot  George  Rastetler  through  the 
side,  the  latter  having  been  abusing  and  threatening  Van  Pelt. 
Both  were  young  men.  Van  Pelt  was  arrested  and  held  for  trial, 
when  he  was  finally  fined  f  20  and  costs.  Rastetler's  wound  was  at 
'first  thought  to  be  dangerous,  but  he  recovered. 

Aug.  19,  Thomas  Updegraff  was  unanimously  re-nominated  for 
Congress  by  the  Republican  Convention  at  McGregor,  and  was 
re-elected. 

Sept.  12,  Henry  Diers  was  stabbed  by  Mike  Wholehan,  Avhom 
he  had  ordered  away  from  Addicken's  brewery  on  Sunday.  Diers' 
wound  was  thought  to  be  fatal,  but  he  recovered.  Wholehan 
was  held  in  |5,000  bail,  and  on  trial  was  sentenced  to  one  year 
and  six  months  in  the  penitentiary. 

Sept.  15,  16  and  17,  fair  at  Hesper. 

1881. 

Feb.  13,  Remenyi  gave  a  concert  in  Decorah. 

Feb.  18,  meetings  held  in  Decorah  to  organize  Citizens'  Asso- 
ciation, which  organization  was  afterwards  effected. 

March  6,  George  W.  Haislet,  an  old  newspaper  man  and  editor 
of  the  Decorah  Radical,  died.  The  publication  of  the  Radical 
was  continued  for  about  one  year  by  Mrs.  Haislet,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1882  was  purchased  by  C.  H.  Craig,  who  changed  its 
name  to  the  Decorah  Pantagraph. 

March  11,  Wm.  Telford,  an  old  settler  of  Decorah,  51  years 
of  age,  fell  dead  at  a  fire  at  the  foot  of  Pleasant  Hill. 

March  28,  James  McConnell,  an  old  resident  of  Bluffton,  was 
killed  by  being  thrown  from  his  wagon  on  his  way  home  from 
Decorah. 

March  20,  Chicago,  Decorah  &  Minnesota  Railroad  Company 
incorporated. 

April  1,  Prof.  Jacobson,  of  Luther  College,  died. 

May  11,  the  City  Council  of  Decorah  voted  to  build  water 
works,  which  were  completed  that  year. 


256  HISTOEY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

May  30,  Decoration  day,  Decorah.  F.  B.  Daniels,  of  Dubuque, 
delivering  the  oration.  F.  E.  Brush,  pastor  of  the  M.  E.  church, 
Decorah,  delivered  the  address  at  the  cemetery. 

June  10,  observance  at  Frankville  of  the  lOOth  anniversary  of 
Father  Cutler's  birthday.  An  account  of  the  celebration  will  be 
found  in  our  sketch  of  Frankville. 

August  — ,  contract  let  for  water  works  in  Decorah. 

August  12,  Decorah  post  office  moved  into  its  new  building. 

September  20,  21  and  22,  County  Fair  at  Decorah. 

November  9,  Decorah  Township  voted  a  five  per  cent,  tax  to 
the  Upper  Iowa  &  Mississippi  Railroad  Company,  conditioned  on 
its  building  a  railroad  to  the  Mississippi,  at  or  about  Lansing. 
The  road  was  not  built  and  the  tax  was  forfeited.  It  is  now  stated 
that  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad  Company,  who 
are  widening  the  gauge  to  Waukon  will  continue  the  work  to  De- 
corah, thus  giving  them  another  outlet,  via  Calmarfrom  the  west, 
rather  than  to  build  a  double  track  from  Calmar  to  McGregor. 

Hesper,  Burr  Oak  and  Bluffton  townships  also  voted  taxes  to  a 
road  running  through  them  to  be  built  from  LaCrosse  to  the 
southwest  through  Charles  City,  and  the  right-of-way  for  the 
road  is  beins  secured. 


'n 


1882. 

February  22,  Decorah  waterworks  trial,  parade  and  celebration. 

April  14,  Decorah  Township  voted  a  five  per  cent,  tax  to  a  rail- 
road to  connect  with  the  Burlington,  Cedar  Rapids  &  Northern, 
to  be  completed  before  September,  1883.  Grading  has  been 
commenced. 

June  4,  murder  in  trlenwood  Township.  Peter  Peterson  Krog- 
sund  was  shot  and  killed  by  Hans  Hansen  Skjerdahl.  Particulars 
given  in  a  preceding  chapter. 

June  22,  Decorah  Drum  Corps  wins  first  prize  at  the  State 
Military  Encampment  at  Waterloo.  The  Decorah  Light  Guards 
also  took  a  prize. 

June  27,  prohibitory  amendment  adopted  in  Iowa.  Vote  of 
Winneshiek  County  was  1,411  for,  l,69d  against  the  amend- 
ment. 

July  4,  celebrated  in  Decorah,  with  oration  by  F.  E.  Brush,  of 
Davenport.  At  Ossian,  oration  by  T.  J,  Sullivan.  It  was 
also  observed  at  Fort  Atkinson. 

July  8,  Turner  Callender,  an  old  resident  of  Frankville,  died. 
He  came  to  the  county  in  1849. 

Aug.  29,  the  Decorah  Drum  Corps  wins  a  victory  at  the  Inter- 
state Military  Encampment  at  Dubuque,  being  victors  over  the 
Chicago  Drum  Corps,  and  winning  the  first  prize  of  $500, 

Sept.  1,  Decorah  Drum  Corps  welcomed  home  with  a  grand  re- 
ception at  the  Opera  House.     Address  by  E.  E.  Cooley. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  257 

Sept.  12,  13,  14  and  15,  County  Fair  in  Decorah.  A  grand 
success;  pronounced  the  best  in  this  section  of  the  country;  and 
equal  to  many  State  Fairs.  A  magnificent  display  of  cattle  and 
other  blooded  stock.     Receipts,  §3,173.79. 

Measures  are  being  taken  to  largely  develop  the  extensive  stone 
quarries  around  Decorah,  and  also  to  bring  into  market  profit- 
ably its  wonderful  fossil  limestone  for  which  there  is  a  large  de- 
mand for  ornamental  purposes. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


DECORAH. 

Decorah,  the  county  seat  of  Winneshiek  county,  the  beautiful 
and  famous  gem  city  of  northeastern  Iowa,  naturally  comes  first 
in  importance  in  mentioning  the  towns  of  the  county.  It  is 
romantically  located  in  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Iowa  River,  and 
about  two  miles  from  the  exact  geographical  center  of  the  county. 
The  Upper  Iowa  River,  being  supplied  by  largo,  never  failing 
springs  all  along  its  course,  has  a  continuous  water-power  as  it 
traverses  a  valley  of  great  fertility,  and  romantic  and  varied 
beauty.  Into  the  river  at  Decorah  and  its  suburbs,  flow  streams 
from  both  sides — generally  of  cool,  spring  water.  The  city  is 
sheltered  from  the  storms  of  winter  and  summer  by  high,  wooded 
hills,  usually  sloping  up  from  the  valley,  but  in  some  places  stand- 
ing out  in  precipices  and  rocky  bluffs,  which  rise  in  tower-like 
masses,  adding  variety  and  charm  to  the  picture.  Though  the 
hills  surrounding  Decorah  are  at  their  summits  from  200  to  260 
feet  high — one  of  them  thus  giving  a  powerful  head  to  Decorah's 
water  works — the  country  about  is  reached  by  easy  grades  up  the 
valleys  by  which  the  city  is  surrounded,  and  yet  which  are  so 
circling,  that  the  broad  valley  in  which  Decorah  is  located  is  fully 
protected,  and  seems  surrounded  by  hills. 

From  some  of  the  caves  in  these  hills  issue  streams  of  water 
large  enough  to  operate  flour  mills  with  two  run  of  stones. 

The  most  remarkable  of  these  caves  is  known  as  Ice  Cave.  Its 
entrance  is  through  an  opening  in  a  rocky  blufi",  overlooking  the 
river  and  facing  the  city,  about  half  a  mile  north  of  its  business 
streets.  In  this  cave  ice  forms  in  summer  and  melts  away  in  win- 
ter, and  many  have  been  the  theories  and  discussions  by  scientific 
men  on  the  subject.  As  you  enter  the  cave  you  go  several  rods 
through  its  successive  chambers,  down  steep  slopes,  and  at  the 
lower  depths  of  the  cave  is  found  the  chilly  atmosphere  from  the 
rocks  which,  it  may  be,  have  during  the  winter  accumulated  so 
much  frigidity  that  they  retain  it  till  well  through  the  summer, 
and  freeze  the  water  that  comes  down  through   the  crevices  from 


258  HISTORY   OF   WINKESHIEK   COUNTY. 

the  hills  above;  but  by  the  end  of  summer  generally  lose  their 
coldness  so  that  the  ice  melts  away  as  winter  comes,  before  a  new 
store  of  freezing  .chilliness  can  be  garnered  up.  However  this 
may  be  the  cave  is  a  great  wonder  to  multitudes  of  people. 

Another  great  wonder  which  has  been  more  particularly  de- 
veloped within  a  very  few  years,  is  the  rich  deposit  of  a  fossilifer- 
ous  rock,  from  which  are  obtained  specimens  of  surpassing  beauty. 
This  region  is  a  delight  to  geologists,  who  pronounce  it  one  of  the 
most  wonderful  in  the  country. 

Add  to  these  and  other  attractions  to  be  seen  on  every  hand, 
the  charming  and  romantic  drives  that  lead  out  from  Decorah, 
and  the  magnificent  views  that  reward  those  who  climb  the  hills, 
and  it  is  no  wonder  that  t*lie  new-comer  is  delighted.  The 
changeful  scenes  are  so  variedly  beautiful  that  even  the  old  resi- 
dent never  becomes  tired  of  them.  A  visitor  to  Decorah  a  few 
years  ago,  in  writing  to  an  eastern  periodical,  thus  expresses  his  or 
her  appreciation:  , 

"We  know  of  no  locality  where  the  picturesque,  the  roman- 
tic, the  curious  and  the  rural  are  so  happily  blended  with  the  re- 
finements, the  elegancies,  and  amenities  of  city  life,  as  in  De- 
corah; nor  do  we  know  of  any  place  where  persons  suffering 
from  overtaxed  physical  and  mental  energies,  or  from  billions 
or  pulmonary  complaints,  can  find  a  more  delightful  locality  for 
recuperation,  recreation,  and  restoration  to  a  vigorous  health; 
nor  are  we  surprised  to  learn  that  many  from  the  east  and  south 
are  beginning  to  make  Decorah  a  place  of  resort.  The  health- 
fulness  of  the  climate  of  northern  Iowa,  and  the  peculiar  free- 
dom of  Decorah  from  all  malarial  elements,  makes  her  one  of 
the  best  possible  resorts  for  persons  afflicted  with  the  billions 
complaints  of  the  south  and  the  pulmonary  diseases  of  the 
east." 

The  continuous  fall  of  the  river  as  it  seeks  the  Mississippi, 
in  the  valley  hundreds  of  feet  below,  not  only  makes  frequent 
water  powers,  bat  prevents  ponds  and  sloughs,  with  their  ma- 
larious influences,  and  the  water  of  the  large  and  small  streams 
are  unusually  pure  and  sparkling. 

The  principal  part  of  Decorah  is  on  one  side  of  the  Iowa  River. 
A  broad  tongue  of  elevated  land  reaches  out  into  the  valley,  and 
yet  low  enough  to  be  protected  by  the  surrounding  hills.  On  the 
most  elevated  ridge  of  this  tongue  is  Broadway  with  the  Court 
House  and  most  of  the  churches,  and  on  Broadway  and  the  streets 
that  cross  it  and  are  parallel  to  it  are  numerous  pleasant  resi- 
dences. Slightly  elevated  plateaus  in  other  parts  of  the  city  also 
furnish  sites  for  many  delightful  homes  and  grounds. 

Across  the  river  is  the  very  pleasant  suburb  known  as  West 
Decorah.  Quite  a  number  of  Decorah's  thriving  business  men 
have  their  residences  there.     On  an   elevated  plateau,  overlooking 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  259 

West  Decorah,  and  a  part  of  Decorah,  stands,  in  the  midst  of 
ample  and  pleasant  grounds,  that  important  and  imposing  insti- 
tution of  learning  the  Norwegian  Luther  College. 

But  before  we  look  at  the  institutions  and  business  of  Decorah, 
let  us  trace  its  history  as  far  back  as  we  can;  and  that  is  not  far. 
For  there  are  unwritten  tales  of  centuries  on  centuries  in  the  lim- 
itless remains  of  animal  life  in  the  fossil  rocks,  and  impressive 
"sermons  in  stone"  in  the  rocky  treasures  that  are  scattered 
almost  everywhere  beneath  our  feet  as  we  explore  the  hills  and 
valleys,  but  let  us  come  back  again  to  the  history  that  has  been, 
or  perhaps  can  be,  written. 

And  how  better  can  we  take  it  up  than  in  the  words  of  Rev.  E. 
Adams,  for  some  years  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church,  De- 
corah, and  afterwards  State  Agent  for  the  Co])gregational  Society. 
His  Thanksgiving  discourse,  preached  at  the  Methodist  church, 
Decorah,  November  28,  1867,  was  true  to  its  title,  "The  First 
Things  of  Decorah,"  an  extensive  re-production  from  its  pages 
will  be  of  interest  and  permanent  value.  After  appropriate  and 
suggestive  introductory  remarks,  Mr,  Adams  said: 

[Since  the  preceding  paragraphs  were  prepared,  it  has  seemed 
desirable,  as  a  matter  of  record  as  well  as  for  permanent  preserva- 
tion in  historical  records,  to  give  the  Thanksgiving  discourse  of 
Mr.  Adams  entire,  and  it  is  therefore  presented  as  follows:] 

THE  FIRST  THINGS  OF  DECORAH. 

Text:     '-i  Syrian  ready  to  perish  teas  my  Father.. — Deut.  xxvii;  5th.' 

It  is  interesting  and  profitable  to  trace  results  to  their  begm- 
nings,  especially  if  the  results  are  great  and  the  beginnings 
small.  It  serves  to  awaken  gratitude  and  humility;  sometimes  to 
inspire  new  courage  for  the  future.  God  was  mindful  of  this  in 
his  dealings  with  His  ancient  people.  That  people,  great  and 
mighty,  He  raised  up  from  a  humble  origin  until  established  in  the 
promised  land.  Here  among  the  things  which  He  appointed  for 
them  annually  to  observe  was  the  Feast  of  Ingatherings,  at  which 
time  they  were  to  bring  up  to  Jerusalem  the  first  fruits  of  the 
harvest  from  all  parts  of  the  land, — every  man  with  his  own  offer- 
ing. It  was  then  that  each  was  to  appear  with  his  basket  of 
fruits  upon  his  shoulder,  to  be  given  into  the  hand  of  the  Priest, 
by  whom  it  was  to  be  set  down  before  the  altar  of  his  God,  and 
then  he  was  to  say:  "A  Syrian  ready  to  perish  was  my  Father." 
This  was  to  remind  him  of  the  littleness  of  his  people's  origin, 
when  one  of  his  ancestors  was  a  homeless  wanderer  and  exposed  to 
famine.  Then  he  was  to  recount  briefly  the  dealings  of  God  with 
his  nation  through  the  past  to  the  present,  concluding  thus: — 
'\And  now,  behold,  I  have  brought  the  first  fruits  of  the  land 
which  Thou,  0,  Lord,  hast  given  me."  There  and  thus  was  he  to 
worship,  and  then,  tarrying  yet  awhile  in  the  city,  as  he  choose, 
was  he  to  rejoice  in  every  good  thing  which    the  Lord  had  given 


260  HISTORY    OF   WIXNESHIEK   COUKTT. 

him  and  his  house,  the  Levite  and  the  stranger.  What  a  grand 
thanksgiving  time  that  must  have  been;  the  whole  city  filled  thus 
with  grateful  offerings  and  joyful  hearts ! 

Our  Puritan  fathers,  not  by  any  direct  command  from  God, 
but  as  a  natural  result  of  their  heartfelt  dependence  on  Him,  fell 
into  very  much  the  same  wa}^  as,  from  year  to  year,  when  the 
annual  harvests  were  gathered  in,  they  set  apart  a  day  for  special 
praise  and  thanks,  in  which,  after  the  public  assembly,  were  the 
joyous  family  gatherings  of  the  children  and  children's  children, 
at  the  old  homestead,  where  in  the  midst  of  the  bounties  of  God, 
there  was  good  cheer,  praise  and  prayer;  and  we  may  add,  too,  of 
frolic  and  glee — a  portion  in  due  season  for  old  and  young.  Hence 
came  Thanksgiving  Day,  now  national,  as  we  are  called  upon  by 
the  highest  authority  of  the  land  to  observe  it. 

Thus  are  we  convened  to-day.  The  occasion  naturally  suggests 
tons  a  glance  at  our  national  origin — a  brief  reyiew  of  the  course 
of  Providence  with  us  to  the  present  time,  till  now  there  is  spread 
out  upon  this  continent  a  great  and  mighty  people.  Especially 
would  it  be  proper  to  note  the  events  of  the  past  year^  the  dis- 
coveries of  science,  or  achievements  of  art,  the  development  of 
our  national  resources,  additions  to  our  literature,  the  spread  of 
education  and  religion,  forgetting  not  the  bounties  of  the  harvest 
and  such  blessings  as  being  found  in  the  narrower  circles  of  our 
domestic  and  private  life,  are  particularly  calculated  to  put  us  in 
sympathy  with  the  spirit  and  object  of  tlie  day.  Many  a  topic 
here  might  be  found,  but  not  here  will  we  linger  to-day. 

We  might  again  extend  our  vision  abroad,  and  by  contrast 
hold  up  the  cause  of  national  gratitude,  setting  the  prosperous 
condition,  on  the  whole,  of  our  country,  though  troubled  yet 
with  the  burdens  and  problems  of  a  recent  intestine  war,  with 
the  unsettled  condition  of  the  European  world:  England  dis- 
turbed by  Fenian  assemblies  and  Trade  Unions;  France  lowered 
in  the  scale  of  her  national  greatness,  with  her  people  calling  for 
more  liberty,  to  be  satisfied  perhaps  with  a  little  more  military  glory; 
Prussia  struggling  for  a  united  Germany;  Spain  with  her  internal 
corruption  and  weakness,  and  so  on;  each  with  something  to  an- 
noy; the  balance  of  power  as  uncertain  as  ever;  taxes  in  some 
cases  enormously  oppressive;  business  generally  greatl}^  crippled; 
the  world  looking  on,  not  knowing  what  a  day  may  bring 
forth.  Here,  I  say,  we  might  turn,  but  why  not  dismiss  to-day 
the  outside  world  for,  we  will  not  say  a  selfish,  but  a  narrower 
yiew. 

If  to  us  it  is  pleasant  to  trace  the  origin  of  things,  particularly 
of  things  prosperous  that  have  started  recently  from  small  be- 
ginnings; and  if  again  this  pleasure  is  greatly  increased  even  to 
joy  and  gratitude  to  God,  who  in  all  things  is  to  be  acknowleged 
by  the  fact   that    the  things  passed  in  review  are  such  as  we 


HISTOKY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  201 

have  been  familiar  with,  a  part  of,  cr  greatly  interested  in,  why 
may  we  not  find  fitting  employment  for  a  few  moments  in  so 
humble  a  theme  as  the  history  of  our  own  town? 

This,  then,  Christian  friends  and  fellow-citizens  is  what  I  pro- 
pose to-day — a  task  that  has  been  found  easier  in  conception  than 
execution.  To  write  history  is  a  difficult  work — a  strictly  truth- 
ful history  can  never  be  written,  for  history  when  made  is  life, 
and  this  fife  can  never  be  re-produced  by  the  pencil  or  the  pen — 
only  imitations  of  it.  The  historian  must  gather  such  dry  bones 
of  dates,  names  and  facts  as  come  to  hand,  and  clothe  them  with 
such  semblance  of  life  as  he  may.  To  write  history,  again,  while 
the  actors  are  still  living  must  be,  as  you  perceive,  a  delicate  work. 

Expect  not  then  too  much!  be  charitable.  Overlook  any  omis- 
sions or  inaccuracies  that  may  at  once  appear  to  you — more  fa- 
miliar as  some  of  you  are  with  the  scenes  reviewed  then  am  I.  It 
is  only  by  snatches  of  time  that  materials  have  been  gathered  and 
arranged.  More  time  and  care,  I  have  no  doubt  would  bring  to 
light  things  just  as  worthy  of  notice  as  those  Avhich  will  appear, 
and  correct  some  that  do  appear.  All  I  propose  to  do,  all  1  can  do,  is 
to  turn  you  back  to  the  beginning  of  our  town,  to  note  a  few  of  its 
first  things^more  particularly  in  a  few  of  the  first  years  of  its 
history,  which  I  trust  will  so  present  to  us  the  past,  the  present 
and  future,  as  to  fill  us  with  emotions  becoming  the  day. 

We  have  to  go  back  but  a  brief  period  of  time.  Less  than 
twenty  years  ago,  as  the  sun  rose  in  the  east  to  look  down  upon 
this  quiet  valley,  where  now  are  our  dwellings,  these  streets  and 
gardens  and  farms,  no  hum  of  business  broke  in  upon  the  stillness 
of  the  morning  hour. 

The  natural  beauty  of  the  landscape,  ere  marred  by  the  white 
man's  touch,  must  have  been  of  exceeding  loveliness.  No  won- 
der that  for  the  red  man  here  was  one  of  his  favorite  haunts  up- 
on the  banks  of  this  beautiful  river,  fed  by  its  springs  and  trout 
brooks,  its  bluffs  now  becoming  so  bare,  then  covered  with  their 
forest  in  which  were  the  wild  deer,  the  partridge  and  squirrel; 
these  vales,  now  at  times  bare  and  dust-covered,  filled  with  wav- 
ing grass,  plum  trees,  fruits  and  flowers.  No  wonder,  1  say,  that 
from  the  outside  prairies  the  Indian  trails  centered  here,  along 
which  these,  our  recent  predecessors  of  a  former  race,  in  accord- 
ance with  their  simple  patriarchal  government,  by  their  families 
and  their  tribes,  came  in  here  for  the  burial  of  their  dead;  hereto 
hunt  and  fish;  aye,  here,  too,  may  we  not  say,  according  to  their 
idea  of  the  good  and  bad  spirits  above  them,  to  worship  also. 

Often  upon  these  bluffs,  as  the  hunter's  arrow,  or  in  later 
times,  the  rifle  missed  its  mark,  has  he  cast  upon  the  ground  a 
bit  torn  from  his  blanket,  or  plucked  a  bed  from  his  wampum, 
or  scattered  a  portion  of  his  ammunition,  as  an  offering  to  appease 
the  Spirit,  through  whose  displeasure  the  failure  had  come,  or  to 
avert  it  in  future.     Here,  often,   no  doubt,   were  the   games  and 


262  HISTORY   OF   WINJfESHIEK   COUNTY. 

sports  of  the  young;  here,  too,  lamentations  and  sorrows,  even  as 
in  later  times,  in  burial  scenes,  as  some  old  warrior,  chief,  maiden, 
or  child,  was  called  to  depart.  And  here,  thanksgivings,  too, — 
doubtless  feasts  of  rejoicing  at  success  of  hunting  parties,  or  vic- 
tory in  bloody  strife.  Yes,  up  to  within  the  brief  space  of  twenty 
years  ago,  this  beautiful  valley  was  all  full  of  life,  primitive  life  of 
nature  and  man.  But  now  the  scene  is  changed,  and  we  are  here! 
The  process  has  been  a  rapid  one.  When  and  by  whom  was  the 
the  beginning  of  it?  Precisely  what  white  man,  as  surveyor,  or 
ranger,  first  looked  in  upon  the  home  of  his  red  brethren,  with  the 
infelt  destiny  of  displacing  or  possessing,  we  are  not  able  to  say. 
But  in  the  month  of  June,  1849,  in  the  midst  of  the  picture  we 
have  just  sketched,  though  at  the  time  somewhat  faded  out,  yet 
with  seventy-five  or  one  hundred  Indians  gazing  upon  the  specta- 
cle, their  tents  still  standing, — -with  the  graves  of  the  dead  scat- 
tered about  where  now  run  our  streets  and  stand  our  dwellings, 
— in  this  month  of  June,  1849,  could  have  been  seen  an  ordinary 
emigrant  wagon,  with  horses  detached,  and  arrangements  being 
made  not  for  a  night's  camping  merely,  but  a  permanent  stay.  This 
of  course,  as  everybody  is  aware,  was  what  is  known  the  coun- 
try around  as  the  "Day  Family,"  consisting  then  of  nine  persons; 
starting  first  from  Tazewell  County,  Virgicia,  the  year  previous, 
touching  at  Cassville,  Wisconsin,  then  for  a  short  time  on  a 
claim  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  near  John  McKay's, 
thence  to  this  place.  McGregor  then  was  but  a  landing,  but  sel- 
dom landed  at.  What  some  of  us  have  traveled  as  the  old  stage 
road,  was  but  an  Indian  trail,  with  only  two  settlers  upon  it  be- 
tween here  and  Monona,  at  what  is  now  Frankville. 

Beyond  this,  westward,  were  but  two  white  families,  by  the 
names  of  Reams  and  Button.  The  head  of  this  Button  family 
was  suspected  of  horse-thieving,  and  was,  at  an  early  date  visited 
on  this  business  by  a  deputation  of  nine  men  from  Linn  County, 
anxious  that  justice  should  be  extended,  even  to  the  farthest  lim- 
its of  the  country  then  known.  No  evidence  was  really  found 
against  him;  but  upon  the  hint  that  his  absence  would  be  as  good 
as  his  presence,  he  soon  left,  selling  his  claim  to  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Johnson,  of  whom  the  farm  was  purchased  by  its  present 
occupant,  Mr.  Jacob  Jewell. 

But  to  return  to  the  inmates  of  our  emigrant  wagon.  The 
first  thing,  was  a  covering  for  the  head,  and  then  more  per- 
manent arrangements  for  the  winter.  A  temporary  cabin,  16xlG, 
to  serve  ultimately  as  a  stable,  had  already,  by  way  of  anticipa- 
tion, been  partially  erected  by  some  members  of  the  family  who 
selected  the  site,  and  this  was  soon  so  far  completed  as  to  admit 
of  moving  in,  and  the  same  night  was  a  tavern  opened  on  the 
same  premises,  where  from  that  day  to  this  the  hospitalities  of  the 
''Winneshiek  House"  have  ever  been  extended.  In  that  first  sea- 
son, when  by  the  presence  of  surveying  parties,  horse-thief  hunt- 


HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY,  263 

ers,  or  the  rush  of  travel  on  Indian  trails  (!)  the  accommodations 
within  were  somewhat  straightened,  the  guests,  in  the  mild  e^en- 
ings  of  our  autumnal  climate,  of  course  could  find  a  welcome  bed 
on  the  green  grass,  just  outside,  and  ample  space  for  horses  as 
they  stood  tied  to  Indian  stakes.  No  need  then  for  the  old  sign, 
— ''Room  for  Man  and  Beast;" — it  was  all  room,  and  all  the  room 
there  was  was  apparent  to  every  one.  Before  winter,  however, 
a  more  commodious  building  was  erected,  the  main  part  20x25, 
with  a  wing  attached.  This  was  made  of  logs,  shingled,  lathed 
and  plastered, — really,  for  the  time,  cjtiite  an  imposing  structure. 
This  is  the  building  known  as  the  '"old  log  house,"  and  which 
made  its  disappeara*nce  but  a  few  years  since. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  proper  to  say  that  the  present 
•'Winneshiek  House"  was  "built  in  the  years  of  1854-5,  The 
frame  was  hewed  from  the  native  timber,  the  lath  and  shingles 
obtained  at  Lansing,  while  the  siding  is  of  the  pine  that  once 
skirted  the  banks  of  our  river,  got  out  at  what  was  known  as  Car- 
ter's mill,  at  Plymouth  Rock,  Considering  its  size  and  the  diffi- 
culty at  the  time  of  obtaining  and  collecting  material,  no  wonder 
that  it  was  two  years  in  building;  completed  December  24,  1855, 
The  "Decorah  House,"  as  it  was  originally  built,  was  finished 
prior  to  this  in  1854,  and  since  enlarged  at  difi"erent  times  to  its 
present  dimensions.  An  allusion  to  the  "Tremont  House,"  fin- 
ished in  1857,  and  burned  last  winter,  (1867,)— gives  us  a  glance 
at  the  hotel  business  among  us;  commenced  in  that  first  log  house, 
though  perhaps  there  is  another  that  some  one  will  say  ought  to 
be  named — '"'The  Central  Housed 

Almost  coeval  with  this  branch  of  business  commenced  another, 
which  now  appears  in  the  history  we  have  commenccsd.  I  allude 
to  the  improvements  of  our  water  powers.  In  the  same  season  of 
1849,  there  came  a  man  with  his  family,  who,  the  year  previous, 
on  an  exploring  tour  through  this  region,  had  seen  such  visions 
of  mill-wheels,  mill-stones,  of  saw  mills,  turning-lathes,  possibly 
of  woolen-mills  even,  in  connection  with  the  curves  pf  our  river, 
and  the  adjacent  springs  that  he  had  already  made  his  claim  and 
put  up  his  cabin  to  the  square — a  man,  who,  endowed  by  nature 
with  more  than  ordinary  mechanical  skill,  has  been  following  up 
his  visions  every  since,  one  who  is  still  frequently  upon  our 
streets,  the  fruits  of  whose  labor  all  of  us  are  reaping  more  or  less, 
one  of  those  by  whom  the  world  is  more  benefited  than  is  by  the 
world  acknowledged,  •  This  man,  as,  of  course,  many  of  you  know, 
was  William  Painter,  a  native  of  Green  County,  Ohio, 

His  cabin  was  built  upon  the  property  known  as  the  Butler 
property,  nearly  opposite  the  present  machine  shop,  where,  as  the 
fruits  of  his  labor,  may  now  be  seen  the  first  well  dug  in  town. 
In  his  family  was  the  first  birth,  his  son  George  Patten,  born  in 
the  fall  of  1849,  in  honor  of  which  and  also  because  he  took  the 
names  of  two  sons  of  the  Day  family— George,  Patten — he  after- 


264  IIISTOKY   OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

wards  had  the  present  of  a  town  k^t.  In  his  milling  propensities 
Mr.  Painter  commenced  immediately  in  1849,  and  what  is  known 
as  the  Spring  or  Dunning's  mill,  soon  taking  into  company  with 
him  one  Aldridge.  He  brought  a  small  pair  of  buhrsfrom  Cincin- 
nati, and  set  them  running  by  the  simplest  of  machinery  possible, 
in  a  log  mill  about  sixteen  feet  square,  some  of  the  remains  of 
which  are  still  to  be  seen.  The  Heivly  power  was  in  his  claim, 
but  he  did  not  think  it  best  to  commence  the  improvement  of  this 
till  his  means  should  be  more  ample  and  the  country  better  settled. 
This  power,  however,  was  not  long  to  remain  in  waiting  for  soon 
there  came  to  our  town  another,  the  third  family,  February,  1851, 
in  which  there  was  the  same  propensity  for  milling  to  which  we 
have  alluded  as  a  kind  of  family  trait,  true  to  which  the  descen- 
dants of  this  family  may  still  be  seen  threadi^ig  our  water  courses 
in  search  of  more  powers  yet  to  be  improved;  I  allude  now,  of 
course,  as  many  of  you  again  know,  to  the  "Morse  Family,"  the 
respected  father  of  which  is  still  among  us,  whose  cheerful  face  is 
often  greeted  with  the  familiar  title  of  '^Uncle  Philipy  He  with 
his  wife  and  two  children  moved  in  for  a  time  with  Mr.  Painter, 
but  soon  built  him  a  cabin  on  the  back  part  of  the  lot  on  which 
the  Tremont  House  stood.  He  built  a  year  or  two  afterwards,  in 
August  and  September,  1852,  the  first  frame  dwelling  in  town, 
which  is  still  standing,  and  occupied  at  present  by  our  fellow-citi- 
zen, Mr.  Driggs  (now  occupied  by  Mr.  Bonestell. — Eds)^  just 
west  of  the  Tremont  Stand.  In  his  family  was  the  first  marriage, 
as  the  records  have  it: 

Married. — August  22,  18-'')2,  Henry  T.  Morse  to  Hannah  C.  Chase.  John  S. 
Morse,  Minister.     The  Mr.  Morse  now  living  in  Freeport. 

But  we  must  not  by  these  pleasing  items  be  drawn  down  our  thread 
of  history  too  rapidly.  In  the  same  season  that  he  came,  the 
the  summer  of  '51,  Mr.  Morse  bought  of  Mr.  Painter  a  portion 
of  the  Heivly  water-power  and  commenced  the  saw-mill  now 
upon  it,  he  and  Mr.  Painter  building  the  dam  and  race  together. 
Mr.  Painter  built,  about  the  same  time,  a  grist  mill,  the  frame  of 
which  still  stands  within  the  walls  enclosing  the  present  building. 
About  this  time  the  Spring  Mill  was  sold  to  its  present  owner, 
Mr.  Dunning,  whose  family  was  the  fourth  in  town.  Thus  com- 
menced and  to  the  joint  labor  of  these  men — Wm.  Painter.  Philip 
Morse  and  E.  Dunning — are  we  indebted  for,  the  first  beginnings 
by  way  of  improving  the  abundant  water-power  with  which  we 
are  favored,  the  value  of  which  we  do  not  yet  begin  to  realize,  but 
which  is  being  developed  from  day  to  day.  No  doubt  their  labors  at 
this  early  date  had  much  to  do  in  making  this  a  point,  as  well  as 
drawing  hither  other  branches  of  manufacture,  to  which  refer- 
ence may  be  made  in  due  time. 

In  the  same  year,  July  3,  1851,  the  first  lawyer  made  his  ap- 
pearance, undertaking  to  walk  out  from  Lansing,  he  got  lost  by  the 
way  and  stopped  the  first  night  at  a  Norwegian's  house  six  or 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  265 

eight  miles  east  of  this.  Starting  on  the  next  morning  he  came 
along  about  noon  to  the  log  tavern,  and  inquired  the  way  to  De- 
corah,  rejoicing,  no  doubt,  to  be  at  his  journey's  end  ere  he  had 
found  it.  His  name  was  John  B.  Onstine.  The  second  of  his 
profession  that  came  was  Dryden  Smith;  the  third,  A.  B.  Web- 
ber; the  fourth,  John  L.  Burton;  the  fifth,  L.  Bullis;  the  sixth, 
E.  E.  Cooley,  who  came  October,  ISo-l, — and  so  on. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  houses  being  built.  Of  course 
there  were  carpenters  here  at  this  early  date.  The  first  in  town 
was  a  man  by  the  name  of  Stevens,  who  soon  left  for  California, 
Avhere  he  has  since  died.  The  second  was  our  fellow-citizen  Mr. 
William  E.  Taylor,  who  came  in  November,  1851.  He  bought 
the  chest  and  tools  of  Mr.  Stevens,  the  first  brought  to  town — 
which  chest  and  many  of  said  tools  are  doing  good  service  at  the 
present  day. 

The  mercantile  has  ever  been  a  prominent  interest  among  us. 
This,  too,  was  started  at  an  early  date  in  the  summer  of  1851,  by 
Aaron  Newell,  with  a  partner  by  the  name  of  Derrick.  They 
opened  their  stock  of  goods — not  a  very  large  one;  indeed,  some 
say  about  a  wheel-barrow  full — in  the  smoke-house  on  the  Win- 
neshiek premises.  They  soon  moved  for  better  accommodations 
to  a  kind  of  slab  shanty  until  they  could  build  a  real  frame  build- 
ing, the  first  store,  and  the  first  frame  building,  in  fact,  built 
in  town,  advertised  and  known  as  the  "Pioneer  Store," 
at  present  owned  and  occupied  by  the  firm  of  Goddard  &  Henry, 
and  by  them  enlarged  to  its  present  dimensions.  This  was  com- 
pleted in  the  summer  of  '52,  and  was  for  the  time  quite  a  build- 
ing, furnishing  in  the  second  story  a  public  hall  called  Newell's 
Hall.  Could  we  but  have  a  few  of  all  the  transactions  within 
that  hall,  of  county  courts,  caucuses  and,  I  am  afraid,  of  dances, 
too,  and  all  sorts  of  things,  it  would  give  us  a  pretty  good  clue  to 
the  early  history  of  the  times. 

[The  old  'Tioneer  Store"  building  has  since  burned  down,  and 
a  large  brick  building  now  stands  upon  the  old  site,  occupied  as  a 
store  by  C.  N.  Goddard. — Eds.] 

In  connection  with  law  and  commerce  the  Gospel  soon  came,  in 
Septemper,  1851  in  the  person  of  a  Methodist  preacher,  who  pre- 
sented himself  at  the  cabin  of  Uncle  Philip  Morse  on  the  errand, 
as  he  said,  of  looking  up  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel. 
Being  assured  that  he  had  found  them,  he  walked  in.  That  night 
there  was  preaching  and  a  class  soon  organized.  This  preacher  was 
Elder  Bishop,  and  made  arrangements  to  preach  monthly,  taking  in 
Lansing,  Monona,  and  the  country  about  in  his  circuit.  A  few 
weeks  after,  a  Congregational  minister,  Mr.  A.  M.  Eastman,  made 
his  appearance  and  established  monthly  meetings  at  the  log  tav- 
ern. Hence  sprang  the  two  first  churches  organized  in  town. 
Their  subsequent  history,  the  date  of  organization,  the  time  of 
building  their  houses  of  Avorship,   etc.,    with   a  notice  of  other 


266  HISTORY    OF   WIXNESHIEK   COUNTT. 

churches  since  and  more  recently  formed,  would  take  us  further 
down  the  line  of  history  we  are  pursuing,  and  require  more 
minuteness  than  time  will  permit  to-day. 

While  these  things  are  going  on,  assuming  shape,  evidentl}^,  to 
make  this  quite  a  point,  another  event  occurred  which,  of  course, 
cannot  be  overlooked.  It  was  in  this  season  of  1851  that  this  was 
established  as  the  county  seat.  As,  in  the  minds  of  many  respect- 
ing this  county  seat  question,  there  is  an  impression  that  there 
are  things  curious,  and  yet  no  definite  knowledge  about  it,  the  re- 
cital of  a  few  facts  may  not  be  amiss. 

In  the  winter  of  1850  and  1851,  the  Legislature  at  Iowa  City 
appointed  John  L.  Carson  organizing  officer  of  the  county.  It 
Avas  his  duty  to  furnish  poll  books  and  assist  the  people  in  ap- 
pointed districts  within  the  county  in  a  lUwf  ul  way  to  determine 
by  vote  where  the  county  seat  should  be.  Three  places  were  ap- 
pointed for  the  casting  of  votes: — this  place,  Lewiston,  at  or 
near  Fort  Atkinson,  and  Moueek.  The  majority  of  voters  were 
about  Moneek,  while  the  interests  of  Lewiston  and  Decorah  were 
united  upon  Decorah.  The  day  of  election  came.  For  some 
reason  or  other  the  people  of  Moneek  failed  of  receiving,  as  they 
should,  the  requisite  poll  book  A  man  was  appointed,  indeed,  by 
the  organizing  officer  to  receive  it,  and  it  was  understood  that  he 
was  to  give  it  to  a  certain  other  person,  and  that  other  person  was 
to  carry  it  to  Moneek;  but  somehow  there  was  a  failure  to  con- 
nect— that  other  person  never  received  it,  and  it  was  never  car- 
ried. The  people  at  Moneek  being  left  to  their  own  resources  to 
get  up  a  poll-book  and  conduct  the  election,  it  is  not  strange 
that  they  made  some  legal  mistakes;  a  few  illegal  votes,  too,  were, 
doubtless,  in  their  eagerness,  cast,  and  yet  they  had  among  them, 
it  is  supposed,  enough  legal  votes,  if  lawfully  cast,  to  have  secured 
their  object.  Their  vote,  however,  was  declared  illegal  and  thrown 
out,  which,  of  course,  left  Decorah  duly  elected.  The  whole 
number  of  votes  cast  was  63.  As  to  that  missing  poll  book;  how 
it  failed  to  connect;  this,  I  believe,  is  a  mystery  never  yet  to  the 
piiblic  satisfactorily  explained.  There  Avere  those  that  asserted, 
and  doubtless  believed,  that  it  Avas  all  a  trick  by  designing  ones, 
that  the  people  of  Moneek  might  fall  into  mistakes,  and  get  their 
vote  thrown  out.  As  to  the  facts  whether  this  was  so  or  not,  the 
historian  of  course  has  had  no  power  to  put  any  one  on  the 
stand,  nor,  in  some  cases,  has  he  thought  it  modest  to  question  too 
closely. 

These  being  the  facts  in  the  case,  it  is  not  to  be  Avondered  at 
that  some  were  dissatisfied  with  the  result  of  the  election;  and  so, 
afterwards,  as  you  are  aware,  there  was  an  effort  to  remove  the 
county  seat  thus  located.  This  was  in  1856.  A  law  had  just  been 
passed  by  which  the  County  Judge  of  any  county  was  to  submit 
the  question  of  the  county  seat  to  the  votes  of  the  people  on  a 
petition  therefor  signed  by  a  certain  proportion  of  voters   in   the 


HISTOKY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  267 

county.  In  February,  1856,  a  petition  signed  by  400  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Judge  praying  an  election  to  be  ordered.  At  the 
same  time  a  remonstrance  was  presented,  signed  by  800.  Here 
arose  a  question.  Was  it  the  duty  of  the  County  Judge  to  order 
an  election  in  favor  of  the  petitioners  regardless  of  the  re- 
monstrance, or  in  case  of  a  remonstrance — and  that  in  the  major- 
ity— was  he  to  disregard  the  petition?  Sides  were  taken,  and  law- 
yers employed.  For  a  day  and  a  half,  as  the  case  was  argued  before 
him,  did  the  Judge  carefully  gather  all  possible  light  from  the  best 
legal  talent  of  the  day,  finally  deciding  against  the  petitioners.  No 
election  was  ordered.  At  the  April  election  an  unofficial  vote 
was  taken  simply  to  show  the  sentiments  of  the  people,  which,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  was  in  favor  of  a  removal — Freeport  being  the 
place  named. 

In  June  another  petition  for  an  election,  to  be  ordered  by  the 
Judge,  was  presented,  and  another  remonstrance,  also  as  before, 
two  to  one,  followed  by  a  like  decision  of  the  County  Judge 
against  the  petitioners.  The  case  was  then  referred  to  the  District 
Court  in  July, — where,  by  the  District  Judge,  the  action  of  the 
County  Judge  was  sustained.  In  April,  1856,  a  proposition  was 
submitted  to  the  County  for  a  county  loan  of  $0,000  to  build  a 
court  house,  which  at  this  time  carried,  and  so  fixed  the  matter. 

In  reference  to  these,  there  were  those  (among  the  dissatisfied, 
of  course,)  who  talked  of  bribes  and  unfair  dealing — in  fine,  of 
much  irregularity  generally;  but  here  again  is  the  weakness  of 
the  historian.  He  cannot  give  the  real  life,  but  must  be  content 
with  bare  outside  facts. 

Some  things,  however,  are  very  evident.  The  feeling  must 
have  been  strong,  and  no  pains  spared  on  either  side — especially 
that  of  the  remonstrants,  A  petition  of  400  and  a  remonstrance 
of  800,  gives  1,200  voters.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  were  many 
voters  who  signed  neither.  This,  according  to  the  usual  calcula- 
tion, would  give  to  the  county  a  population  of  at  least  about  8,000 
people — more  by  half,  as  everybody  knows  than  were  then  in 
it.  There  must  have  been  remarkaljle  diligence,  not  to  say  great 
skill,  in  finding  signatures.  Had  a  vote  been  ordered  at  the  time, 
it  is  generally  thought  that  the  majority  would  have  been  for  re- 
moval. And  again,  had  there  been  a  judge  personally  in  favor  of 
a  removal,  very  likely  (such  is  the  weakness  of  human  nature)  an 
election  would  have  been  ordered,  and  Decorah's  sceptre  might 
have  passed  to  Freeport, 

But  how  easy  it  is  to  slide  down  the  lapse  of  time. 

We  were  in  the  year  of  1851, — quite  an  eventful  year.  Let  us 
see  what  we  have:  Three  log  cabins,  one  hotel;  a  lawyer  and  two 
merchants,  partners  in  trade;  with  other  families  and  persons  that 
might  be  named,  though  the  census  would  not  be  large;  the  water 
power  beginning  to  be  improved;  regular  preaching  once  a 
month  by  two  diff'erent  denominations,  and  a  county  seat,  with  of 


268  HISTORY   OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

course  regular  sessions  of  the  county  court — -(an  august  body.) 
This  year  of  1851  is  really  the  most  interesting  by  way  of  the  be- 
ginning of  things  among  us,  and  we  might  dwell  here  entirely; 
but  we  will  come  down  a  few  years  later  by  a  brief  glance  here 
and  there  at  what  is  transpiring. 

In  1853  some  new-comers  are  added,  and  new  trades  introduced. 
It  was  in  this  year  that  the  first  blacksmith  shop  was  started  by 
an  old  Californian,  who  burned  his  own  coal  in  what  is  called 
"Cruson's  Hollow."  He  blew  his  bellows  in  a  building  now  oc- 
cupied by  Mr.  Grolz  as  a  cabinet  shop;  and  as  he  pounded  his  iron, 
was  somewhat  of  a  dealer  in  real  estate,  also.  By  him  the  whole 
block  on  which  the  Howell  house  stands,  now  the  residence  of  Mr. 
Goddard,  was  purchased  for  |20.  The  block  opposite,  where  is  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Horace  Weiser,  for  $40.  A  few  additional  frame 
dwellings  there  must  have  been  at  that  time,  though  probably  not 
many,  as  this  blacksmith's  wife  was  designated  as  the  ''woman 
that  lives  in  the  frame  house."  His  name,  as  near  as  can  be  as- 
certained, was  A.  Bradish.  He  also  carried  on  the  tin  trade,  and 
had  as  a  hired  journeyman,  one  George  C.  Winship. 

It  was  in  this  year,  too,  as  I  think,  that  another  very  lucrative 
business  was  started,  though  it  gives  no  pleasure  to  mention  it. 
But  we  read  that  when  the  sons  of  God  came  to  present  them- 
selves before  the  Lord,  Satan  came  also;  and  the  historian  must 
be  faithful. 

About  this  time,  down  under  the  hill,  in  a  kind  of  a  spring 
house,  near  Day's  spring,  was  a  man,  we  will  not  call  his  name 
at  this  time,  boasting  that  he  had  "the  pure  article"  for  sale,  but 
it  was  afterwards  ascertained  that  it  had  been  well  watered  on  its 
way  to  this  place  at  Trout  Run — a  whisky  fraud  no  doubt.  This 
traffic  soon  crept  up  into  daylight  on  Water  street  (which  it  has 
never  fairly  crossed,  as  it  would  seem),  and  was  subsequently  in 
the  hands  of  one  Gookins  whose  establishment  not  long  afterward 
was  destroyed,  and  the  place  for  once  cleared  of  liquors.  This, 
however,  was  the  result  more  of  a  quarrel  among  his  patrons  than 
a  movement  of  reform  among  the  people.  The  absence  of  the 
spirits  was  but  temporary.  To  the  place,  though  swept  and  gar- 
nished, they  soon  returned  with  at  least  seven  others  added,  which 
have  gone  on  increasing  ever  since.  In  justice  to  this,  Gookins, 
however,  it  ought  to  be  said  that  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  he 
became  a  better  man,  as  some  of  us  used  to  meet  him  in  prayer- 
meetings,  and  as  one  interested  in  Sabbath  schools.  So  in  the 
history  of  this  town,  have  some  from  time  to  time  exchanged  the 
business  referred  to  for  a  better,  and  to  as  many  as  will  do  like- 
wise will  we  most  heartily  give  the  right  hand  of  welcome. 

In  1853  the  population  increases.  In  this  year  Amnion  &  Co. 
came  in;  the  first  to  add  steam  to  our  water  power;  the  beginning 
of  what  is  culminated,  at  last,  in  the  present  foundry  and  ma- 
chine shop — an'  establishment  no  less  useful  than  ornamental  to 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  269 

the  place.  It  was  in  this  year  that  the  town  was  first  laid  out, 
and  original  plat  made  ready  for  record  August  17, 1853.  The  man  is 
still  living  (Judge  Price,  of  Clayton  County)  who  claims  the  honor 
of  suggesting  the  idea  to  the  members  of  the  Day  family,  while 
yet  in  the  log  house.  The  idea,  however,  was  not  entirely  new  to 
them,  though  by  his  encouragement,  doubtless,  their  purpose  was 
strengthened.  He  claims,  too,  the  credit  of  suggesting  the  name 
Decorah,  and  tells  how,  after  supper,  he  took  a  piece  of  chalk  and 
marked  out  on  the  table  how  the  to.wn  could  be  laid  off, 

In  1854  the  first  school  house  was  built;  the  same  that  now 
stands  on  the  old  site,  recently  changed  in  color  and  fenced  for 
domestic  uses.  The  first  teacher  employed  was  a  young  man  in 
the  greeness  of  his  youth,  fresh  from  Vermont,  seeking  a  location 
for  the  practice  of  medicine.  He  had  come  in  through  Monona, 
and  was  greatly  discouraged  by  the  residents  here,  so  far  as  the 
prospects  of  medical  practice  was  concerned,  but  had  the  offer  of 
the  school  at  $30  per  month,  if  he  could  pass  examination.  An 
examining  committee  was  appointed  and  a  day  set  for  the  ordeal. 
The  day  came,  and  with  it  one  of  the  committee,  who  examined 
him,  found  him  qualified,  and  gave  him  a  certificate.  •  He  com- 
menced school,  taught  a  month,  flogged  a  child  of  one  of  the  direc- 
tors, and  raised  quite  an  excitement  in  the  district  thereby.  By 
this  time  his  practice  had  commenced;  he  didn't  care  whether  he 
taught  or  not.  The  result  was,  another  man  took  the  school  off 
his  hands  and  he  devoted  himself  to  his  profession,  which  he  had 
modestly  followed  ever  since.  His  name  was  H.  C.  Bulis.  The 
committee-man  who  examined  him  and  gave  him  his  certificate 
was  Levi  BuUis.  The  new  teacher  was  Charlie  Allen.  That  old 
certificate,  by  the  way,  the  first  ever  given  in  the  school,  is  still 
kept  as  a  relic  of  the  past;  whether  brought  out  in  later  times  as 
evidence  to  the  people  of  Cjualificatious  for  Senatorial  honors,  is 
not  ascertained.* 

It  would  be  interesting  here  from  these  beginnings,  to  trace 
the  history  of  our  educational  institutions,  the  Select  or  High 
Schools  we  have  had — good  ones,  too — not  overlooking,  of  course, 
our  Norwegian  College,  but  more  especially  to  trace  the  progress 
of  our  public  school;  how  it  was  driven  by  winter's   cold   and 


*The  author  of  this  discourse  wishes  to  say  that  since  its  delivery  a  mistake  has  been 
discovered  in  this  matter.  The  school  house  was  built  in  the  year  previous,  1853,  and 
a  school  taught  in  it  bv  a  young  man  who  came  with  his  father's  family,  in  that  year, 
from  Crawford  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  at  Freeport.  After  teaching  that 
winter  he  was  for  four  years  th  e  acting  Treasurer  of  the  County  until  of  age,  when  he 
was  elected  for  three  successive  terms  to  fill  that  office,  until  in  the  war  he  served  as 
Captain  of  Company  D,  6th  Iowa  Cavalry;  after  .which  he  became  cashier  in  the  First 
National  Bank,  where  he  may  now  be  found— Mr.  T.  W.  Burdick.  (he  has  also  repre- 
sented his  district  in  Congress,  as  is  noted  elsewhere  —Eds.) 

To  him  certainly  some  credit  is  due  that  since  the  organization  of  the  county  its 
Treasury  has  never  suffered  from  a  single  .embezzlement  or  fraud.  Mr.  Burdick  shows 
his  certificate,  signed  by  Mr.  H.  K.  Averill,  and  a  list  of  his  scholars,  about  forty-six  in 
number,  with  the  names  of  the  parents.  He  says  that  he  '"boarded  'round,"  taking  in 
his  rang-?  the  families  ii.  Cruson's  Hollow  on  the  east,  and  the  l»loore  and  Child  places 
on  the  west,  and  that  such  was  the  growth  of  trees  and  underbrush  around  the  school 
house  that  one  could  hardly  see  it  at  four  rods  distance. 

17 


270  HISTORY    OF   TVIXXE5HIEK    COUXTT. 

straightness  of  space,  to  sojourn  for  a  while  in  basement  rooms, 
sheltered  beneath  church  eaves,  as  schools  often  are;  how  taxes 
were  first  voted  by  the  people  for  a  §20,000  school  house,  generally 
about  three  attending  the  elections,  till  money  accumulating  ex- 
cited an  interest  among  the  lovers  of  education !  It  would  be  in- 
teresting, I  say,  to  follow  the  progress  of  these  things,  till,  at  last, 
we  have  such  a  building  and  such  a  school  as  we  have,  of  which 
we  have  reason  to  be  proud;  bat  of  this,  time  will  not  admit. 

At  the  close  of  this  year — 1854 — let  us  see,  if  we  can,  how  the 
town  looks.  Our  three  cabins  of  '51  have  increased  to  quite  a 
little  village  of  fifteen  or  twenty  buildings,  counting  hotels, 
stores,  stables,  shops  and  buildings  of  all  kinds.  On  the  other 
side  of  Dry  Run,  so-called,  to  the  south  and  east,  stands  one  now 
occupied  by  Dr.  BoUes;  on  Broadway,  two:  the  old  school  house 
and  the  one  occupied  by  myself,  though  less  in  size  then  than 
now.  The  rest,  a  dozen  or  fifteen  in  number,  were  scattered  along 
Water  street,  commencing  with  the  old  building,  or  a  part  of  it, 
now  occupied  by  Mr.  Keyes  for  a  carpenter  shop,  including  some 
of  the  old  buildings  on  the  opposite  side  a  little  further  up;  then 
up  to  the  hotel  stands  the  Pioneer  store,  and  so  with  a  building 
here  and  there  on  one  side  of  the  street  or  other,  up  to  the  cabins 
of  Mr.  Painter  and  Morse,  aforesaid.  The  population  probably 
was  about  one  hundred. 

At  this  time  traces  of  Indian  graves  were  not  all  obliterated; 
a  half  a  dozen  or  so  had  indeed  been  leveled  to  prepare  the  site  of 
the  Winneshiek   House,   then   building.     However,  a   spot   was 
marked,  and  still  had  traces  by  which  it  could  be  marked,  right 
at  the  intersection  of  Winnebago  and  Main  streets,  between  the 
old  Norwegian  College  buildings  and  Lawyer  Bullis'  office,  of  a 
recent  grave,  said  to  be  the  resting  place  of  Chief  Decorah,  from 
whom  our  town  was  named.     Some  present  may  recollect  how,  a 
few  years  afterwards,  our  bosoms  swelled  with  respect  for  the  old 
chief;  with  what  reverence   we   exhumed  his  remains — how,  in 
imagination,  we   beheld  his  noble  form,   as  his  skull,  with  its 
straight  hlack  hair  was  turned  out  by  the  spade;  with  what  pomp 
and  ceremony  it  was   planned  to  remove  his  remains   to   some 
suitable  place,   possibly  a   monument  erected — till,  in  gathering 
necessary  facts  for  the  occasion,   word  came  back  to  us  that  De- 
corah was  a  chief  greatly  respected  by  his  tribe,  an  old  man,  con- 
siderably bent  over,  Avith  one  eye  put  out,  and  his  hair  very  gray. 
His  hair  very  graij !     All  but  this  could  have  been  got  along  with, 
but  somehow  the  poetry  was  gone!      Enthusiam  subsided! 

However,  if  in  future  years,  by  the  lapse  of  time,  this  difficulty 
should  be  obliterated,  and  any  desire  should  remain  in  any  to  erect 
a  monument  to  the  old  chief,  they  can  find  his  bones,  or  those  of 
some  other  poor  Indian,  safely  deposited  in  a  rough  box  a  few 
inches  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  close  to  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  court  house  yard. 


HISTORY    OF    WINXESUIEK    COUNT V.  271 

But  here,  again,  how  easy  to  slip  down  among  the  things  that 
we  have  done,  instead  of  keeping  back  in  the  past. 

•  I  will  detain  you  bj'  an  allusion  to  only  one  year  more,  that  of 
1855.  In  this  year  our  town  made  marked  progress.  Many  new- 
comers were  added,  and  many  new  kinds  of  business  introduced; 
among  them  the  Pioneer  Harness  Shop  was  opened  by  J.  C. 
Spencer. 

The  first  livery  stable  started  was  by  Clark   Kenyon  and  C.  E 
Dickerman.     Said  Dickerman  also  sold  the  first  drugs,  with  an  as- 
sortment of  other  things,  such  as  could  be    turned  to   advantage; 
though  the  first  regular  drug  store  was  opened  the  year  after  by 
E.  I.  Weiser  &  Bro. 

What  gave  the  place  an  especial  impetus  in  this  year  of  1855, 
was  the  establishment  of  the  Land  Office  for  the  Turkey  River 
Land  District.  The  bill  constituting  this  land  district  passed 
Congress  in  March,  1855,  mainly  by  the  efforts  of  Gen.  Jones, 
of  Dubuque.  What  considerations  any  persons  in  Washington 
were  to  receive  for  getting  the  office  here;  how  they  somehow 
failed  of  getting  what  they  expected,  and  displeased  thereby,  aided 
in  removing  the  office  early  in  1856,  need  not  be  told. 

Nor  need  a  detail  of  land  office  times  here  be  entered  upon. 
They  must  have  been  wild  and  curious  times.  The  office  was 
finally  opened  the  day  before  Christmas,  1855;  office  hours  from 
9  to  12  each  day.  The  town  was  ciowded  with  adventurers 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  with  a  rage  for  land  almost  barbar- 
ous. For  two  weeks,  until  some  system  was  established,  en- 
trance was  gained  to  the  office  by  brute  force.  He  that  could  get 
his  hand  upon  the  handle  of  the  door,  and  maintain  his  position 
until  office  hours  was  first  best.  The  entrance  was  by  an  outside 
stairway  leading  to  the  second  story.  The  building  used  for  the 
office  still  stands,  occupied  as  a  boarding  house,  one  door  east  of 
the  harness  shop  of  Mr.  Noble.  The  white  paint  but  partially  hides 
the  old  sign  "U.  S.  Land  Office."  One  night,  with  the  thermom- 
eter at  thirty-five  degrees  below  zero,  a  man  stationed  himself  at 
midnight  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  endured  the  bitter  cold 
bravely  for  his  chance.  By  morning  both  his  feet  were  frosted, 
but  still  he  held  his  ground.  Awhile  after  daylight  the  crowd 
gathered  behind  him  down  the  stairs  and  out  into  the  street, 
passed  up  to  him  a  warm  breakfast  and  hot  coffee  in  honor  of  his 
persistence,  and  good-naturedly  cheered  him  to  hold  on,  which  he 
did.  Sometimes  these  throngs  would  begin  to  gather  by  one 
o'clock  p.  m.,  and  stand  all  night  for  the  next  day.  At  the  same 
time  in  the  rear  of  the  building  was  another  pair  of  stairs,  and 
those  within  the  ring  could  somehow  get  entrance  to  the  office, 
and  enter  all  the  laud  they  chose  by  paying  the  officials  something. 
Head  clerks  in  this  way  received  their  hundreds  of  dollars  for 
single  night's  works.  This,  too,  was  known.  How  this  company 
of  men  ever  got  through  the  winter  without  continued   conten- 


272  HISTORY   OF   WIN'NESHIEK   COUNTY. 

tions  and  outbreaks,  to  sav  nothing  of  tearing  the  office  to  the 
ground,  as  they  threatened  to  do,  is  indeed  a  wonder,  especially 
when  we  are  told,  and  we  would  not  say  it  if  we  had  not  been 
told  so,  that  the  quantity  of  liquor  used  that  winter  was  by  no 
means  limited.  It  is  also  remarkable  that  during  this  time  not  a 
theft  or  robbery  was  known.  This  is  the  more  so,  as  the  amount 
of  gold,  or  its  equivalent  then  in  tovai  was  almost  incredible, 
some  say  not  less  than  a  half  a  million.  In  proof  of  this  the  man- 
can  be  produced,  and  he  then  but  a  youth,  who  affirms  that  in  pe- 
culiar circumstances  he  was  constituted  by  acclamation  chief 
treasurer  to  hold  in  safe  keeping  for  the  time  being  such  effects 
as  might  be  upon  the  persons  of  parties  present.  Belts  filled  with 
gold,  packages  of  warrants,  etc.,  were  thrown  together  in  a  dry 
goods  box  over  which  he  was  to  stand  guard  until  the  equilib- 
rium of  the  assembly  should  be  restored,  the  contents  of  Avhich 
box  counted  out  over  $320,000.  The  circumstances  alluded  to 
I  need  not  hint  further  than  to  say  that  it  was  about  Christmas, 
just  as  news  came  that  the  office  was  to  be  really  opened.  Such  a 
young  man,  so  Stand(r)ing  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellows  for  so- 
briety and  honesty,  deserves  to  prosper  as  a  retired  banker,  in 
the  honest  calling  of  a  farmer.  We  wish  him  a  railroad  close 
to  his  house! 

In  this  winter  and  spring  of  1855-6,  nine  banking  houses  were 
in  full  operation,  two  of  which  remain,  that  of  Weiser  &  Filbert, 
now  Winneshiek  County  Bank,  and  one  Easter,  Cooley  &  Co., 
now  First  National  iBank.  Heavy  stocks  of  goods  were 
opened;  the  population  and  business  had  taken  such  a  start  that 
Decorah  was  the  chief  centre  of  trade  for  the  whole  region  around 
about  even.for  a  hundred  miles  or  more,  especially  north  and  west. 

When  the  Land  Office  was  removed  in  1856,  some  people  and 
some  things  left  with  it,  but  many  stayed.  The  town  got  a  start, 
and  it  kept  on  growing— no  railroad,  indeed,  yet,  but  still  we  live. 
I  will  follow  down  the  history  no  farther. 

But  you  will  allow  me  here  to  note  one  or  two  interesting  and  a 
few  first  things  with  which  I  have  met  that  have  failed  to  find  a 
place  in  the  history  given. 

Wm.  Painter  ate  water-melons  that  grew  on  a  patch  of  ground 
at  the  lower  end  of  town,  in  the  street,  near  Mr.  Keyes'  carpenter 
shop,  from  seeds  scattered  by  the  Indians  at  a  dance  and  feast  held 
there.  A.  Bradish  feasted  on  strawberries  plucked  upon  the  lot 
where  he  built  his  shop,  now  Mr.  Golz's  cabinet  shop. 

To  Dea.  James  Smith  belongs  the  honor  of  making  the  first 
plow  manufactured  in  town,  in  a  blacksmith  shop  which  he  erec- 
ted, now  used  as  a  stable  in  the  rear  of  Mr.  Eckart's  cabinet  shop. 
He  also  ironed  the  first  buggy  made  in  town;  the  buggy  was  made 
by  an  enterprising  Welshman,  who  came  to  town  in  1854.  He, 
like  the  first  lawyer,  walked  out  from  Lansing  to  take  a  view, 
liked  the  prospects,  and  soon  commenced  a  business  that  took  the 


HISTORY    OF   "WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  273 

shape  of  agricultural  ware-rooms,  on  which  is  the  name  of  "G. 
Phelps,"  The  oldest  cat  in  town  probablfis  one  called  "Bob,"  it 
is  thirteen  years  of  age,  whose  kittenhood  commenced  in  the  mer- 
cantile life  in  the  store  of  Dr.  Green  and  Hazelett,  in  West  Deco- 
rah,  thence  to  the  old  Dickerman  stand,  now  the  leather  store  of 
Mr.  Cyrus  Adams,  thence  to  its  present  quarters,  in  the  store 
next  to  the  Post  Office,  with  Father  Green,  With  much  wisdom 
from  the  past,  with  an  amiable  and  serene  old  age,  do  they  jog 
along  in  life  together. 

Of  the  equine  race,  the  oldest  resident  probably  is  one  called 
"Dandy,''  brought  to  this  place  in  the  energies  of  a  six-year-old 
by  Mr.  Filbert,  now  owned  by  Mr,  Weiser,  still  powerful  in  his 
old  age,  a  good  moral  horse,  in  one  respect  at  least,  never  by  his 
masters  subjected  to  the  infections  of  the  race  course — what  we 
wish  could  be  said  of  all  horses. 

The  first  court  was  in  the  log  tavern,  Monday,  September  1, 
1851,  Being  no  business,  adjourned  to  October  following.  At 
this  time  the  county  revenues  were  70  cents.  Warrants  issued 
16.00. 

The  first  mail  entered  town  June,  1851 — in  one  letter,  two 
newspapers — Lewis  Harkins.  mail  carrier;  C.  Day,  Postmaster,  It 
is  said  in  these  days  he  carried  the  post  office  in  his  pocket, 

I  have  already  mentioned  the  first  well  dug,  the  first  bn-th,  the 
first  marriage.  The  first  death  was  of  a  Mr,  Chase,  who  died  in 
the  fall  of  1852,  buried,  of  course,  where  we  used  to  bury  our  dead, 
in  the  brush  on  private  property — we  are  almost  ashamed  to  tell 
where  and  how — till  the  enterprise  of  Mr.  James.  E.  Simpson,  in 
1861,  gave  us  a  cemetery. 

Thus,  my  friends,  have  I  given  you  a  few  items  of  our  early 
history.  Some  of  you,  doubtless,  see  mistakes  and  omissions.  You 
will  pardon  these;  I  have  given  simply  what  I  have  met  with  my 
inquiries  made  at  snatches  of  time. 

Allow  me  a  few  words  in  conclusion.  Gratitude  is  due  to  God 
to-day  for  his  kind  and  preserving  care.  Some  of  the  earlier  res- 
idents indeed,  are  no  more.  Of  the  Day  family  five  have  been 
taken:  two  sons,  one  in  Oregon,  and  one  in  California;  two 
daughters,  one  fourteen  and  the  other  a  little  older,  dying  while 
attending  school  at  Madison,  Wis.  Father  Day,  we  buried  in 
the  autumn  of  1860;  Aaron  Newell,  in  1862.  And  so  might  we 
mention  others;  but  yet  a  goodly  number  of  the  older  residents 
are  still  with  us,  and  many  not  here  are  in  other  places. 

The  goodness  of  God  marks  the  scenes  passed  in  review  to-day. 
We  should  rejoice  together  in  the  continued  thrift  of  our  town. 
A  railroad  we  expect,  of  course,  in  due  time;  but  if  disappointed 
in  this  let  us  remember  our  water  powers  and  our  manufactures, 
with  other  elements  of  growth  peculiar  to  us.  These  let  us  in  all 
ways  encourage.  All  thanks  here  to  the  enterprise  of  our  me- 
chanics.    Then  we  have  much  brain  power  to  be  developed.     Go 


274  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

stand  in  our. new  school  building  and  behold  the  process  there 
daily  going  on  of  fusing  nationalities  in  the  crucible  of  intelli- 
gence and  mental  culture.  Let  facilities  there  be  added  for  in- 
structions in  the  classics,  the  higher  mathematics;  for  every- 
thing lower  than  the  college,  drawing  into  it  the  patronage  of 
the  country,  while  it  gives  increased  advantages  to  our  own 
children,  and  more  will  come  from  this  to  give  us  prosperity 
and  character  than  one  would  at  first  suppose.  Our  cemetery  1 
would  be  glad  to  see  the  property  of  an  association,  and  not  a 
private  individual,  and  better  improved  as  it  should  be.  Also  a 
monument  upon  the  court  house  square,  or  some  other  place,  to 
the  deceased  soldiers  of  the  county,  as  in  every  county  there 
ought  to  be,  and  then  with  other  things  attended  to  that  would 
naturally  follow  1  would  like  to  meet  you,  if  God  will,  on  other 
thanksgiving  occasions,  with  humble  thankfulness  to  our  heav- 
enly Father,  with  social  life,  friendly  feeling,  intelligence,  vir- 
tue, and  piety  growing  among  us,  with  continued  blessings  of 
God  from  year  to  year. 

By  us  precedents  are  being  set,  and  customs  established.  We 
stand  at  the  head  of  influences  whose  flow  is  to  be  as  permanent 
as  the  river  and  the  hills  that  enter  into  the  beautiful  scenery  of 
our  home.     Let  us  be  faithful  to  our  trust. 

LATER  HISTORY. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  sketch  of  Decorah  and  events  fol- 
lowing those  described  in  the  discourse  of  Mr.  Adams,  it  will  l?e 
well  to  locate  some  of  the  buildings  mentioned  by  him. 

The  "Howell  House"  is  the  old  frame  building  on  the  south- 
east corner  of  Water  and  Court  sts.,  recently  occupied  as  a  tin 
shop  in  connection  with  the  adjoining  tin  shop  on  Water  street. 

Mr.  Goddard  now  has  a  pleasant  home  on  the  slightly  elevated 
plateau  south  of  the  C,  M.  &  St.  P.  By.  depot,  where  are  the 
fine  residences  and  grounds  of  Hon.  T.  W.  Burdick,  and  Conduc- 
tor L.  L.  Cadwell,  as  well  as  those  of  Geo.  Pennington,  A.  Tracy, 
P.  A.  Whalen,  D.  N.  Hawley,  Geo.  Q.  Gardner,  Conductor  J.  W. 
Hogan^  and  others. 

The  opposite  corner  on  the  same  side  of  Water  street,  men- 
tioned as  the  residence  of  Horace  S.  Weiser,  has  just  become  the 
home  of  Dr.  C.  W.  Amy,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Weiser,  and  his  wife, 
Dr.  Harriet  Bottsford  A.mv.  Mr.  Weiser  commenced  his  newresi- 
dence  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Broadway  and  Grove  streets,  and 
diagonally  opposite  the  elegant  house  and  grounds  of  Judge  E. 
E.  Cooley,  in  the  spring  of  1872,  and  completed  it  in  1873.  It  is 
now  occupied  by  his  widow,  Mrs.  H.  S.  Weiser  and  family. 

The  "Old  Norwegian  College  buildings — occupied  by  them  as  a 
school  and  college  before  the  building  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran 
College — were  what  is  now  the  St.  Cloud  Hotel,  on  the  north- 
west corner   of  Main  and   Winnebago  streets,    and  the  residence 


HISTORY   of'  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  275 

just  west  of  it  on  Main  street,  recently  occupied  by  C.  W.  Bur- 
dick.  The  St.  Cloud  hotel  has  since  been  enlarged  by  a  fourth 
story,  counting  the  basement,  in  which  is  the  dining  room, 
kitchen,  etc.      0.  T.  Hamre  is  its  present  landlord. 

"The  Decorah  House''  was  the  large  frame  building  standing  on 
the  southeast  corner  of  Water  and  Washington  streets  and  now 
occupied  by  several  small  branches  of  business. 

The  "Central  House"  was  a  stone  building  which  occupied  the 
site  where  now  stands  Dakyn's  livery  stable,  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  Washington  and  Main  streets. 

The  house  spoken  of  as  occupied  by  Dr.  Bolles,  stood  over  on 
the  flat  beyond  the  present  Decorah  public  school  building. 

"Cruson's  Hollow"  is  the  valley  across  the  river  through  which 
flows  the  stream  from  the  springs  in  A.  C.  Ferren's  place,  Cru- 
son's notorious  place  being  this  side  of  Ferren's,  near  the  site  of 
the  old  brick  yard. 

The  first  school  house,  built  in  1854,  has  given  place  to  the 
present  three-story  brick  building  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Winnebago  and  Vernon  streets,  built  in  th^  season  of  1866,  and 
so  far  completed  that  year,  that  the  lower  floor  was  occupied,  the 
other  floors  being  furnished  and  occupied  soon  afterward. 

The  oldest  horse  mentioned — "Dandy," — the  property  of  Mr. 
H.  S.  Weiser,  was  carefully  cared  for  by  Mrs.  Weiser  till  it  died  in 
January,  1880. 

The  Winneshiek  House,  built  in  lS5iby  Wm.  Day,  whose  death 
August  7, 1860,  leaving  a  widow  who  is  still  living,  more  partic- 
ularly referred  to  in  the  chapter  on  County  Chronology,  has  al- 
ways been  a  prominent  and  popular  hotel,  and  its  fame  has  extend- 
ed to  other  parts  of  the  country.  It  was  greatly  enlarged  and  im- 
proved in  the  latter  part  of  1876  and  early  in  1877  magnificently 
furnished  and  re-opened  Wednesday,  April  18,  1877;  Seibert's  St. 
Paul  band  furnishing  music  for  the  occasion.  Its  handsome  front 
looks  down  Washington  Street,  and  its  location  is  still  a  promi- 
nent and  convenient  one.     Present  landlord,  A.  J.  McClaskey. 

Mr.  Adams  mentions  the  Tremont  House,  burned  in  the  winter  of 
1867.  Early  in  1876  the  project  of  building  an  up-town  hotel  on 
the  Tremont  site  was  agitated.  ■^It  resulted  in  the  erection  of  the 
fine  three-story  hotel  building,  known  as  the  Arlington,  costing 
about  $16,000.  It  was  opened  in  grand  style  February  1,1877, 
and  did  a  good  business  for  sometime,  but  was  closed  on  the  leav- 
ing of  landlord  Dow,  and  is  now  used  as  a  boarding-house,  of  the 
Decorah  Institute. 

One  of  the  oldest  but  later  hotels  of  Decorah  was  the  Union 
House,  on  the  south  side  of  Water  Street,  below  Washington  Street, 
kept  by  Felix  Curran,   now  a  resident  of   Alexandra,  Dakota.     It 
Was  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  night  of  November  28,  1870. 


276  HISTORY   OF    WIlfNESHIEK    COUNTY. 

Besides  the  leading  hotels,  the  Winneshiek  House  and  the  St. 
Cloud  Hotel,  Decorah,  has  the  old  popular  farmer's  hotel,  the 
Stiles  House,  and  several  other  smaller  ones. 

The  cemetery  mentioned  by  Mr.  Smith,  thanks  to  the  enterprise 
of  J.  E.  Simpson  and  others,  has  become  a  large  and  beautiful 
resting  place  for  the  dead.  Situated  on  the  elevated  rolling 
grounds  south  of  the  city,  partly  covered  v^^ith  a  grove  of  young 
trees,  is  well  laid  out  and  kept  in  good  order.  But  the  very  few 
recent  graves  testify  to  the  healthf ulness  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Adams  refers  to  the  solemn  resurrection  of  the  alleged  re- 
mains of  the  Indian  Chief  Decorah,  after  which  this  city  was 
named.  This  event,  which  took  place  August  4,  1859,  and  the 
second  resurrection  on  the  6th  of  June,  1876,  Avhen  the  Court 
House  grounds  were  graded  in  order  to  terrace  them,  are  des- 
scribed  at  some  length  in  a  preceding  chapter/  relating  to  the 
Winnebago  Indians.  Judge  M.  V.  Burdick  asserts,  however,  that 
he  has  frequently  seen  the  noted  Indian  chief  since  the  time  of 
such  resurrection  and  re-interment.  His  name  was  Wachon-De- 
corah,  and  from  him  our  neighboring  town  of  Waukon  also  takes 
its  name.  He  was  more  commonly  known,  however,  as  "one-eyed 
Decorah,"  from  the  fact  of  his  having  but  one  eye.  Judge  Bur- 
dick says  that  he  must  have  been  very  old,  as  his  form  was  much 
bent — a  thing  uncommon  even  with  very  aged  Indians,  or  squaws, 
who  have  seen  many  years  of  toil.  He  died,  according  to  Judge 
Burdick.  in  the  winter  of  1880-81,  on  an  island  in  the  Mississippi 
River,  above  Lansing,  near  the  Wisconsin  shore. 

The  record  of  Decorah  and  her  people  in  the  war  of  the  Rebel- 
lion is  given  in  a  previous  chapter  on  the  military  history  of  the 
county.  Her  railroad  history  has  also  been  given  in  that  of  the 
county  and  in  the  chronological  history  of  events,  and  will  be  re- 
ferred to  later  in  this  volume  so  far  as  concerns  the  present.  Many 
prominent  events,  including  criminal  trials,  storms  and  floods,  not 
recorded  in  county  history,  are  noted  in  the  chronological  history 
of  the  county,  and  we  will  not  repeat  them  here.  But  there  are 
some  things  not  specially  noted  that  deserve  a  more  extended  men- 
tion than  has  been  given  them. 

On  the  first  Monday  in  April,  1857,  a  meeting  was  held  to  in- 
corporate Decorah  as  a  village.  Resulting  from  this  an  election 
•was  held  on  the  30th  of  June,  1857,  when  E.  E.  Cooley-was 
chosen  President  of  the  incorporated  government.  Decorah  con- 
tinued as  an  incorporated  town  until  1871,  the  control  of  affairs 
being  invested  in  a  board  of  five  aldermen  or  councilmen,  elected 
from  the  town  at  large. 

Among  its  executive  officers  following  Mr.  Cooley,  we  find,  W. 
F.  Coleman,  elected  Mayor  in  March,  1861;  again  in  1862,  and  re- 
peatedly elected  to  that  office  till  1870. 


HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  277 

Early  in  1871  Decorali  was  incorporated  as  a  city  of  the  second 
class  and  divided  into  four  wards,  represented  in  the  city  council 
by  two  aldermen  or  councilmeu  from  each  ward.  At  the  election 
held  March  6th,  1871,  the  following  officers  were  elected: 

Mayor,  Charles  F.  Allen;  Clerk,  G.  W.  Patterson;  Treasurer,  E. 
I.  Weiser;  City  Attorney,  E.  E.  Cooley;  Marshal,  John  T.  Baker; 
Aldermen,  G.  0.  Rusted,  G.  W.  Adams,  N.  Burdick,  John  Greer, 
J.  L.  Pennington,  A.  D,  Thomas,  J.  H.  Montgomery,  0.  J.  Clark. 

We  have  had  for  Mayors  since  that  time  the  following  well- 
known  residents  of  Decorah,  elected  as  follows:  Frank  E. 
Baker,  in  March,  1873;  VVm.  H.  Valleau,  in  March,  1875;  and 
twice  re-elected,  holding  the  office  for  three  years.  E.  E.  Cooley, 
elected  in  March,  1878  and  again  in  1879;  Dr.  H.  C.  Bulls,  elected 
in  March,  1880,  and  again  in  1881;  Wm.  H.  Valleau,  elected  in 
March,  1882,  and  present  incumbent. 

The  following  are  the  present  officers  (1882)  of  the  Decorah 
city  government:  Mavor,  Wm.  H.  Valleau;  City  Attorney,  0.  J. 
Clark;  City  Clerk,  W,  R.  Toye;  Treasurer,  George  Q.  Gardner; 
Assessor,  Cyrus  Adams;  Street  Commissioner,  A.  W.  Bonstell; 
Marshal,  Ed  Bean;  Night  Watchman,  John  Wilson. 

The  members  of  the  City  Council,  elected  for  two  years,  one 
being  chosen  each  year  from  each  ward,  are: 

1st  Ward,  H.  Engerbertson.  Geo.  L.  Wendling;  2d  Ward,  E.  P. 
Johnson,  Wm.  Jennisch;  3d  Ward,  R.  B.  Tuttle,  John  Curtin; 
4th  Ward,  James  Alex  Leonard,  J.  H.  Baker. 

In  the  chronological  history  of  the  county,  several  mentions 
are  made  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  College,  erected  on  its  large 
grounds,  and  commanding  site  in  West  Decorah,  and  its  progress 
from  commencement  to  completion.  The  college  has  thirty-two 
acres  of  rolling  ground  connected  with  it,  and  is  an  imposing  edi- 
fice in  the  Norman-Gothic  style  of  architecture,  three  stories  in 
height,  and  costing  $100,000.  The  main  building  and  one  wing 
Avere  erected  in  1865;  the  other  wing,  completing  the  original  de- 
sign, in  1874.  This  college  was  at  first  opened  at  LaCrosse,  Wis., 
in  1861,  was  transferred  to  Decorah  in  1862,  and  occupied  what 
is  now  the  St.  Cloud  Hotel,  till  1865,  when  it  moved  into  its  pres- 
ent building.  It  began  with  eleven  students  in  LaCrosse,  had 
thirty-two  on  its  commencement  in  Decorah,  and  eighty  on  en- 
trance into  its  present  building.  Now  it  has  an  average  of  from 
one  hundred  and  Mfj  to  two  hundred  students,  often  approaching 
the  latter  number.  Its  president  is  L.  Larsen,  an  able  and  effi- 
cient one.  It  has  nine  professors  which  are  selected  from  the 
ablest  of  the  scholars  and  educators  in  Europe  and  America.  The 
college  and  the  cause  of  learning  recently  sustained  a  severe  loss 
in  the  death  of  Prof.  J.  D.  Jacobson,  but  in  that  case  as  in  other 
vacancies,  they  are  filled  with  the  best  men  that  can  be  found. 
The  Norwegian  Lutheran  College  is  the  representative  institution  of 
that  nationality  for  this  country  and  especially  for  the  northwest. 


278  HISTOKY   OF   WI^STjq-ESHIEK   COUNTY. 

Its    pupils  :  are     more       particularly     from     Iowa,":   Wisconsin 
and  Minnesota.     It  is  chiefly  supported   by  contributions   from 
Lutheran  congregations.      The  college  is  not  strictly  theolocrieal 
—those  who  wish  to  study  theology  can  be  prepared  in  it  to^en- 
ter  the  Norwegian  Lutheran   Theological  Seminary  at  Madison 
Wisconsin    or  Concord  College,  a  German  Theological  school,  at 
bt.  Louis,  Mo,     I  he  course  of  study  embraces  a  preparatory   de- 
partment and  a  full   college  course.     Thirty   dollars  per   year  is 
charged  for  tuition,  and  $70  for  board;  but  aid  is  afforded  to  stu- 
dents not  able  to  pay  their  way.      The  college  has  its  literary  so- 
cieties and  a  library  of  several  thousand   volumes.      The   colleo-e 
choir  IS  a  popular  institution  with  the  people  of  the   city    as  Is 
also  Its  orchestra  and  its   excellent   cornet  band,  which  has  fur- 
nished music  on  many   public  holidays  and  celebrations  in  De- 
corah. 

The  Decorah  public  school  building  has  been  previously  re- 
ferred to  m  this  chapter.  It  cost,  exclusive  of  furniture,  $20  000 
It  was  thought  to  be  ample  for  the  educational  Avants  of  the  city 
for  years,  but  has  become  so  crowded  that  additional  room  will 
have  to  be  secured,  as  there  are  over  600  students  enrolled  this 
early  in  the  school  year;  the  enrollment  last  year  was  688  and 
the  number  this  year  will  probablv  be  greater.  This  does  not  in- 
clude the  West  Decorah  school.  The  school  is  divided  into  nine 
grades,  ic  which  all  the  branches  from  the  primary  to  the  Hio-h 
bchool  course  are  taught.  A  new  and  advantageous  feature  "is 
the  system  of  special  teachers  for  a  particular  branch  in  the  var- 
ious departments,  thus  securing  the  benefit  of  special  fitness  for 
instruction  in  each  study  taught,  instead  of  one  teacher  giving  in- 
struction m  all  the  studies  in  his  or  her  department.  The  school 
possesses  appropriate  apparatus.  A  special  High  School  depart- 
ment was  established  a  few  years  ago,  and  the  first  class,  nine  in 
nuniber,  graduated  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  1881,  with  credit 
to  themselves  and  the  school,  as  did  the  class  which  followed 
them  this  year— 1882. 

The  following  is  the  corps  of  teachers  for  the  present  school 
year,  they  all  being  so  successful  in  their  several  departments  as 
to  be  re-elected  from  the  previous  year: 

tit"^"  Ji-,^offeen,  Principal;   Misses  Lou  Hughes,   Julia  Curran, 
Mary  Helgerson,  Ada  Bulis,  Eva  Benedict,  M.  E.   Riley,  Emma 
Shipley,  Emma  Telford.  Susie  Duffin  and  Mrs.  M.  E.  Jester.     C 
H.  Valder,  Teacher  of  Penmanship. 

The  Board  of  Education,  which  has  management  of  the  schools, 
IS  as  follows:  E.  Cutler,  President;  Joseph  Hutchinson,  W.  F. 
Coleman,  Geo.  Q.  Gardner,  B.  Annundson,  Edwin  Klove. 

In  our.  chronological  record  will  be  seen  mention  of  the  Winne- 
shiek Normal  Institute,  with  Sherman  Page  as  principal.  This  in- 
stitution suspended  during  the  war,  Mr.  Page  taking  a  position  in 
the  army.     It  was  afterward  revived  under  his  management  for  a 


HISTORY   OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  279 

time;  but  Pedagogue  Page  soon  removed  to  Austin,  Minn.,  where 
he  became  somewhat  famous  as  Judge  Page,  in  the  bitter  unre- 
lenting warfare  which  he  waged  on  political  and  professional  ene- 
mies in  Austin  and  elsewhere.  But  its  ])lace  is  filled  by  the  De- 
corah  Institute,  under  the  management  of  Prof.  J.  Breckeuridge, 
his  assistant,  J.  W.  llich,  and  an  efficient  corps  of  assistants. 
The  Decorah  Institute  was  established  by  Prof.  Breckeuridge  in 
September,  1874.  It  occupies  the  building  formerly  used  by  the 
M.  E.  Church,  and  is  situated  on  Broadway,  south  of  the  Court 
House.  The  Arlington  House  is  used  as  a  boarding  house  where 
students  obtain  board  at  actual  cost,  it  being  amply  fitted  for  the 
purpose,  as  well  as  for  rooms  for  many  of  the  students.  The  De- 
corah Institute  draws  pupils  from  adjoining  counties  and  States. 
There  were  over  250  in  attendance  last  year,  and  the  number  this 
year  will  probably  be  larger,  as  at  the  commencement  of  the  school 
year  there  are  are  over  150. 

The  Decorah  Business  College,  under  the  charge  of  John  R. 
Slack,  an  experienced  instructor  and  accountant,  Avas  established 
at  about  the  same  time  and  was  conducted  in  connection  with  the 
Decorah  Institute,  It  occupies  the  second  floor  of  the  brick  build- 
ing on  Water  Street,  opposite  Stile's  Hotel. 

The  Catholics  have  a  parochial  school  in  connection  with  their 
church  here,  and  the  initiatory  steps  have  been  taken  and  a  part 
of  the  funjds  raised  for  the  building  of  a  Sisters  School,  which  will 
become  an  important  educational  institution  of  Decorah. 

The  Norwegians  also  have  a  private  school  in  the  basement  of 
the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  on  Broadway  with  a  good  at- 
tendance. 

In  1875  a  select  school  for  young  children,  embracing  some  of 
the  features  of  the  Kindergarten  system,  was  established  by  Mrs. 
S.  K.  Everett  in  the  basement  of  the  Congregational  Church,  and 
met  with  gratifying  success,  and  continued  for  several  years.  Her 
ill  health  caused  the  temporary  suspension  of  the  school,  and  it 
was  taken  up  by  others.  Mrs.  Everett  in  the  spring  of  1881  ac- 
cepting a  position  as  a  teacher  in  the  Iowa  College  for  the  blind, 
at  Vinton,  to  which  she  was  re-elected  at  the  end  of  the  school 
year,  and  served  to  the  present  summer,  when  she  declined  re- 
appointment on  account  of  poor  health  and  needed  rest.  The 
childrens'  school  here  is  continued,  however,  Mrs.  J.  Breckeuridge, 
capably  filling  the  vacancy  for  the  present. 

In  musical  talent  and  culture  Decorah  stands  high,  and  is  well 
supplied  with  amateur  artists  on  voice  and  instrument.  The  pres- 
ent summer  has  witnessed  a  revival  in  voice  culture,  thi-ough  the 
work  of  Prof.  E.  C.  Kilbourne,  of  Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  a  higly  suc- 
cessful teacher  of  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  whose  time  of 
late  has  been  specially  given  to  voice  culture  in  which  he  has 
rare  ability  and  success,  and  who  came  here  for  a  summer  vaca- 
tion.    The  opportunity  was   improved,  however,  by  singers  and 


280 


HISTOET    OP    WINIhESHIEK    COUI^TY; 


students  m  music  in  Decorah  and  vicinity  to  take  private  lessons 
m  voice  culture,  so  that  Prof.  Kilbourne's  time  was  fullv  occu- 
pied to  the  end  of  his  vacation.  A  probably  successful  elFort  is 
being  madeto  have  him  return  next  season  and  establish  a  sum- 
mer school  m  Decorah. 

Decorah  is  well  supplied  with  churches.  The  largest  is  the  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  Church  on  Broadwav,  adjoining  the  beautiful 
residence  and  grounds  of  Mrs.  H.  S .  Weiser.     It  il  built  of  brick 

7q-  af  *''"''^"°."'^  °^  ^  '^°^^  basement,  and  was  erected  in 
18^0-6,  at  a  cost  of  $20,000.  Rev.  W.  Brandt  presides  there 
very  acceptably  to  a  large  congregation. 

The  Methodist  Church  which  took  the  place  of  their  old  wood- 
en building— the  first  church  building  in  Decorah— is  a  fine  lar-e 
brick  structure,  trimmed  with   stone,   costing  about  $13,000  and 
was  erected  m  1860,  and  dedicated  December  20th.      It   has   had 
tor  Its  pastors  men  who   have   become   prominent  for  eloquence 
and  ability      Among  them  are  Rev.  H.  W.  Bennett,  now  of  Du- 
buque, and  m  late  years  two  young  men.  Rev.  S.  G.  Smith,  who 
IS  just  finishing  his  third  year  as  pastor  of  a  prominent  church  in 
bt.  faul,  Minnesota,  to  become  presiding  elder   there;    and   after 
him  came  Rev.  F.  E.  Brush  last  year  called  to  the  leading  M.  E 
Churchof  Davenport    Iowa.      The  pastor  for   the  present   year 
has  been  Rev.  F.  M.  Robertson,  an  earnest  preacher  and  worker 
llie  Congregational  Church,  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Broad- 
way and  Court  streets,  built  of  brick  with  a  high  stone  basement 
was  erected  in  1860,  at  a  cost  of  about  $6,000.      Previous  to   its' 
erection  meetings  were  held  at  the  Court  House.      The  first  reo-u- 
ar  pastor  was  Rev.  W.  A.  Keith,  who  was  here  about  a  year,  ?nd 
hved  at  Freepor  .     In  1857  Rev.  Ephriam  Adams  succeeded  him, 
and  remained  till  1872,  when   he   was   called   to  the  position   of 
btate  Agent  for  the  Congregational  Society  in  Iowa.     He  was  fol- 
lowed by  Rev.  H.  B.    Woodworth,  who  became  pastor  in  Septem- 
ber   1«(2.     He  proved  to  be  one  of  the  ablest  pulpit  orators  in  the 
state,  and  his  services  were  in  demand  on  many  public  occasions, 
ile  was  pastor  of  the  church  till  the  spring  of   1882;    except  for 
about  a  year  and  a  half's  absence  on  account  of  ill-health,  durino- 
which  time   Rev.   J.  F.  Tainter,  a  young,  but  efficient  and   abl? 
worker  occupied  the  pulpit;  Mr.  Tainter's  services  closing  at  the 
commencement  of  1880.      Mr.    Woodworth  gave  in  his  final  res- 
ignation early  in  1882,  and  about  the  first  of  March  went  with  his 
tamily,  for  the  sake  of  his  health,  to  a  stock  farm  near  Mt.    Ver- 
non, Dakota  18    miles   beyond   Mitchell.      Not  long  after  Mr. 
Woodworth  s  departure,  Rev.   A.   Etheridge,   of  Marseilles,  111., 
was  engaged  to  preach   for  six    months,  and   proved   an    earnest 
and  taithtul  laborer  for  the  cause  of  Christianity.     Rev.  John  Wil- 
iard,  of  Massachusetts,  an  able,  eloquent  and 'earnest  pulpit  ora- 
tor, and  zealous  and  effectual  in  church  and  social  work,  is   occu- 
pying the  pulpit  at  this  writing,  and  has  the  hearty  sympathy  and 


HISTORY   OF   WINJ^-ESHIEK   COUNTY.  281 

co-operation  of  the  people.  [Since  this  chapter  was  written  Rev. 
H.  S.  Church  has  been  appointed  pastor  of  the  M.  E.  Church  for 
the  ensuing  conference  year,  and  J.  W.  Clinton  is  continued  as 
presiding  elder  of  the  Decorah  district.] 

The  Catholic  Church,  a  substantial  stone  building  on  lower 
Broadway,  cost  about  8T,000,  and  was  erected  in  1865.  The  cause 
of  that  church  is  efficiently  served  by  the  pastor,  Rev.  Father 
Garrahan. 

The  Episcopals  have  a  beautiful  little  church  building  on  Broad- 
way, between  the  residences  of  C.  E.  Dickerman  and  W.  H.  Yal- 
leau.  It  was  erected  in  1876,  at  a  cost  of  85,000.  Rector,  Chas. 
A.  Stroh;  a  zealous  churchman  and  an  earnest  self-denying 
worker. 

The  Christian  Church  occupies  the  old  M.  E.  church  building, 
and  has  no  regular  pastor.  A  German  Methodist  Church  also  oc- 
cupies an  up-stairs  room  on  upper  Water  Street.  It  will  erect  a 
church  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Main  and  Grove  Streets, 

Decorah's  banking  institutions  are  established  on  a  firm  and  re- 
liable basis,  with  abundant  capital.     They  are  as  follows: 

The  First  National  Bank  established  in  1854,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Easton,  Cooley  &  Co.  It  was  one  of  the  few  banks  that 
weathered  the  financial  crisis  of  1857.  In  1870  it  was  changed  to 
the  firm  of  Wrfi.  L.  Easton  &  Son,  the  latter  being  Jas.  H.  Easton, 
who  is  now  president;  and  under  the  National  Banking  act  of 
1864,  became  the  First  National  Bank  of  Decorah.  Its  officers 
are:  President,  Jas.  H.  Easton;  Vice-President,  A.  Bradish; 
Cashier,  T.  M.  Burdick;  Assistant  Cashier,  Geo.  Q.  Gard- 
ner; Teller,  E.  R.  Baker;  Book-keeper,  Joseph  Operud;  Messenger, 
Frank  Cutler. 

The  Savings  Bank  of  Decorah  has  its  office  in  the  same  rooms 
with  the  First  National  Bank,  and  is  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
It  was  established  in  1873.  Its  officers  are:  President,  Jas.  H. 
Easton;  Vice-President,  C.  E.  Dickerman;  Cashier,  T.  W.  Burdick. 

The  Winneshiek  County  Bank — Mrs.  H.  S.  Weiser's — is  the 
oldest  bank  in  the  State  that  has  had  a  continuous  existence  under 
the  same  name.  It  was  established  in  1855  by  the  late  Horace  S. 
Weiser  and  Thomas  J.  Filbert,  who  died  quite  a  number  of  years 
before  him.  This  bank  Avas  one  of  the  two  in  Decorah  that  safely 
passed  through  the  crisis  of  1857.  It  was  continued  by  Mr.  Wiser 
until  his  death,  and  since  that  time  by  Mrs.  Weiser,  and  Strong  & 
Williams,  administrators  of  the  estate.  Mr.  Weiser,  whose  death 
occured  July  19,  1875,  was  a  [genial,  public-spirited  citizen,  and 
did  much  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  county.  His  biography 
will  be  given  with  that  of  other  Winneshiek  County  men  in 
another  part  of  this  volume.  The  present  officers  of  the  bank 
are:  President,  J.  C.  Strong;  Cashier,  J.  M.  Williams;  Teller  and 
Book-keeper,  E.  N.  Hoi  way. 


282 


HISTORY   OF   Wi:S^NESHIEK    COUXTY. 


There  are  several  other  private  banking  houses  and  brokers  and 
real  estate  office?.  S.  W.  Matteson's  broker  and  loan  office  is  in 
the  Dickerman  block  on  Winnebago  Street.  Mr.  Dickerman  has 
his  office  in  the  same  building. 

Henry  Paine,  whose  beautiful  home  looks  down  upper  Broad- 
way from  the  west,  has  a  broker  and  insurance  office  in  his  build- 
ing on  Washington  Street,  and  is  also  a  dealer  in  wagons  car- 
nages, etc.  ' 

Geo.  Phelps,  a  former  resident  of  Decorah,  has  this  season  set- 
tled here  permanently,  having  purchased  the  spacious  G.  F.  Fran- 
cis residence,  and  improved  and  fitted  it  up  in  an  elegant  manner- 
he  has  opened  a  handsome  banking  office  on  Winnebago  street' 
next  to  the  St.  Cloud  Hotel.  F.  R.  Fulton,  who  has  also  impor- 
tant interests  at  Grand  Forks  and  Grafton,  Dakota,  and  who  pur- 
chased the  pleasant  residence  of  H.  B.  Woodworth,  has  an  office 
in  the  Phelps  building.  C.  W.  Burdick's  real  estate  and  abstract 
office  IS  two  doors  north  of  the  Phelps'  office,  being  next  door  to 
the  postoffice. 

And  speaking  of  postoffices,  Decorah  now  boasts  of  one  of  the 
most  handsome  and  convenient  to  be  found  in  any  town  of  its 
size,  the  building  being  erected  especially  for  that  purpose  in  the 
spring  of  18S1.  It  is  of  brick,  two  stories  high,  on  the  west 
side  ot  Winnebago  street,  between  Water  and  Main  streets.  Be- 
ing on  the  south  side  of  a  broad  alley,  it  gives  opportunity  for  re- 
ceiving and  delivering  mails  at  the  rear  door. 

Going  over  the  names  of  postmasters  of  Decorah,  as  they  ap- 
pear m  county  chronology,  after  C.  Day,  'Svho  carried  the  post- 
office  m  his  pocket,"  we  find  the  familiar  ones  of  A.  Kimball,  E 
E.  Cooley,  and  Elisha  Hurlburt,  who  died  November  3,  1863  and 
was  succeeded  by  John  R.  Slack,  who  was  appointed  February  4 
1864.  During  Mr.  Slack's  terra  of  office  the  postoffice  was  moved 
into  the  then  new  brick  building  on  the  east  side  of  Winnebago 
street  near  Main'  now  occupied  by  the  Journal  office,  and  con- 
tinued to  occupy  those  quarters  till  moved  across  the  street  to  its 
present  location  in  August,  1881.  On  the  7th  of  June,  1869,  An- 
sel K.  Bailey,  editor  of  the  Decorah  Republican,  was  appointed 
postmaster,  and  continues  in  that  position.  It  was  under  his  ad- 
ministration that  the  present  neat  and  commodious  quarters  were 
secured.  C.  W.  Burdick  consenting  to  erect  a  building  and  lease 
the  lower  floor  to  the  Government  for  a  moderate  rent. 

The  Western  Union  Telegraph  Office  is  in  the  postoffice.  A.  S. 
Bailey,  of  the  firm  of  Bailey  &  Bro.,  of  the  Republican  being  ij 
charge. 

Decorah's  telephone  exchange,  established  in  1881  was  origi- 
^  l^r^^^^  postoffice,  but  was  removed  to  the  adjoining  office  of 
t.  W.  Burdick. 

The  water  works  system  of  Decorah  is  admirable;  the  high 
blutts  about  the  city  being  particularly  favorable  therefor.       The 


HISTORY    OF   AVINNESHIEK    COUXTY.  283. 

water  works  were  erected  in  1881  at  a  cost  of  about  125,000,  in- 
cluding reservoir,  pump  bouse,  and  machinery,  street  pipes,  etc. 
The  large  reservoir  is  situated  on  the  summit  of  the  high  bluff  in 
the  southwestern  part  of  the  city,  not  far  from  the  river,  being 
reached  by  the  road  running  southward  from  Upper  or  West 
Broadway.  The  reservoir  is  over  200  feet  higher  than  the  busi- 
ness streets,  and  over  100  feet  higher  than  the  most  elevated  res- 
idence portion  of  the  city ;  it  is  covered  with  a  cone  shaped  roof.  The 
pumping  works  are  in  the  valley  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
city,  and  the  water  is  obtained  from  a  large  well,  fed  from  abun- 
dant hidden  springs.  At  the  firemen's  parade  and  celebration  of 
the  completion  of  the  water  works,  on  February  22,  by  the  force 
of  pressure  of  the  water  in  the  reservoir  a  stream  was  thrown 
over  the  top  of  the  steeple  of  the  Methodist  Church  on  Upper 
Broadway,  and  also  far  above  the  Court  House .  A  well  drilled, 
efficient,  and  suitably  equipped  fire  department  as  an  auxiliary  to 
the  water  works  protects  Decorah  from  fires.  It  consists  of  two 
hose  companies  and  a  hook  and  ladder  company.  The  following 
are  the  officers  of  the  department: 

Chief  Engineer,  R.  F.  B,  Portman;  First  Assistant,  W.  A, 
Bonstell;  Second  Assistant,  Jas  Alex.  Leonard;  Foreman  of  Hook 
and  Ladder  Company ,;E.  D.  Field;  Foreman  of  Hose  Company  No.  1, 
Geo.  Hislop;  Foreman  of  Hose  Company  No.  2,   Geo.  Q.  Gardner. 

The  military  spirit  is  kept  up  and  the  city  is  honored  by  the 
Decorah  Light  Guards,  under  the  efficient  drill  of  their  old  com- 
mander, Capt.  Geo.  Q.  Gardner,  and  the  present  one,  W.  E.  Akers. 
They  were  winners  of  one  of  the  prizes  at  the  State  military  en- 
campment, June,  22,  1882.  The  officers  are:  Captain,  W.  E. 
Akers;  First  Lieutenant,  E.  R.  Baker;  Second  Lieutenant,  R.  Reed, 
of  the  former  members  of  the  company  Angus  Johnson  is  Quar- 
termaster of  the  Second  Brigade,  L  N.  G.,  with  the  rank  of  Cap- 
tain, and  W.  R.  Toye  is  Quartermaster  of  the  Fourth  Regiment, 
with  the  rank  of  First  Lieutenant. 

The  Decorah  Drum  Corps  has  won  national  as  well  as  State  rep- 
utation. On  the  22d  of  June,  1882,  at  the  State  military  encamp- 
ment of  the  Iowa  National  Guards,  at  Waterloo,  it  was  awarded 
the  first  prize  as  being  the  best  drum  corps.  Dubuque  being  its 
chief  competitor.  At  the  inter-state  military  encampment  at  Du 
buque,  it  was,  on  the  29th  of  August,  awarded  the  first  prize  of  S500, 
beating  the  Chicago  Drum  Corps.  It  is  the  Drum  Corps  of  the 
Fourth  Regiment  Iowa  National  Guards,  of  which  its  leader, 
Frank  Cutler,  is  Drum  Major. 

Of  the  secret  societies,  three  are  Masonic,  viz:  Great  Lights 
Lodge,  No.  181;  A.  F.  &  A.  M.;  King  Soloman's  Chapter,  No.  35; 
Royal  Arch  Masons;  and  Beausant  Commandery,  No.  12,  Knights 
Templar.  They  have  for  several  years  occupied  a  fine  hall  on  the 
upper  floor  of  the  First  National  Bank  building,  but  are  just  now 


284 


HISTORY   OF   "\VI]S-XESIIIEK   COUNTY. 


completing  an  elegant  new  assembly  hall  on  the  third  floor  of  the 
next  building  east,  specially  fitted  up  for  them,  and  have  rooms  for 
other  business  on  the  floor  below. 

The  Odd  Fellows  have  Winneshiek  Lodge,  No.  58,  I.  0  0  F 
and  Decorah  Encampment,  No.  39,  which  occupies  the  third  floor 
over  the  Dickerman  block. 

Nora  Lodge,  R.  H.  K.  (Norwegian),  has  a  hall  on  the  third 
floor,  over  the  n  inneshiek  County  Bank. 

There  are  also  branch  lodges  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.,  Leo-ion  of 
Honor,  and  the  V.  A.  S.  fraternities,  all  mutual  life  insurance  or- 
ganizations. 

The  fact  that  Decorah  has  a  large  and  well  arranged  Opera 
House,  with  well  equipped  stage,  and  fine  scenery,  has  caused  the 
city  to  be  favored  with  numerous  first-class  entertainments 
Among  the  noted  musicial  and  dramatic  stars  who  have  visited 
Decorah,  have  been  Ole  Bull,  Remenyi,  and  Camilla,  the  great 
violinists;  Janauschek,  the  great  tragedienne,  and  other  famous 
actors,  Litta,  the  celebrated  vocalist,  and  other  famous  sint^ers 
and  companies;  andm  the  lecture  field,  the  most  prominent,  sley- 
er  s  Opera  House,  a  monument  to  the  enterprise  of  Joseph  Steyer 
who  IS  still  its  active  manager,   was  erected  in  1870,  and  was   44 

/io  ?^J  ^l  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^P-  ^^  ^as  enlarged  in  1875  by  a  frontage 
ot  ^2  teet,  the  new  part  running  back  114  feet.  On  its  enlarc^e- 
ment  it  was  entirely  re-fitted,  a  circular  gallery  put  in,  and  a  suc- 
cession of  raised  seats  beneath  the  gallery.  New  stage  furniture 
and  scenery  by  the  best  artists  were  provided,  and  chairs  put  in 
tor  seats  throughout  the  whole  lower  floor  of  the  hall.  Opera 
House  block  is  an  imposing  three  story  brick  building,  situated  on 
Water  street,  next  to  the  Winneshiek  House,  and  looking  down 
Washington  Street.  " 

There  are  other  public  halls.  Rudolph's  Hall  is  neatly  fitted  up 
and  furnished  with  fine  and  artistically  painted  stage  scenery. 

Decorah  has  several  important  manufactories,  and  ample  water 
power  for  more.  Among  the  oldest  of  these  is  what  has  been  re- 
cently known  as  the  mill,  foundry,  and  agi'icultural  manufactorv 
T  /^"^°io^^'  ^cott  &  Co.     The  agricultural  works  were  founded  bv 

?-•  1- 1  ^°^°^  ^^  -^^^^-  "^^^^  ^^^^1'  afterwards  ioined  the  firm 
™^,r^^^f  ^^-f^on,  Greer  &  Co.,  and  the  company,  purchased  in 
J  8  /O  the  mill  of  Henry  Heivly,  formerl  v  known  as  the  Painter  Mill. 
Mr.  Career  retired,  and  in  1870  Geo.  W.  Scott  became  a  member 
otthehrui,  which  became  a  joint  stock  companv  until  it  went 
out  ot  business  some  two  years  ago.  The  flouring  mill  is  now 
owned  and  run  by  Henry  Heivly.  The  wagon  making  and  agri- 
cultural department  was  wound  up  for  the  company,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  stockholders,  by  Leonard  Standring,  who  in  years  past  has 
been  prominent  m  banking  and  manufacturing  enterprises  in  De- 
corah, and  who  now  has  a  pleasant  home  and  extensive  farm  near  " 
the  railroad  in  its  southwestern  suburbs.      These   extensive   ac^ri- 


HISTORY   OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  285 

cultural  buildings  on  Upper  Water  street,  are  not  now  running, 
but  will  not,  probably,  long  remain  idle.  Mr.  Amnion  is  now 
in  the  milling  business  in  the  western  part  of  the  state,  and  Mr. 
Scott  engaged  in  business  in  Minneapolis. 

John  Greer,  formerly  of  the  above  firm,  in  company  with  Jas. 
Hunter,  erected,  in  1874,  the  Ice  Cave  Flouring  Mill  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  city,  it  having  three  run  of  stones  and  costing  $40,- 
000.  This  mill  has  recenty  been  purchased  by  John  Lawler  and 
Peter  Doyle,  who  are  interested  in  the  C,  M.  &  St.  P.  Ry.,  and 
the  track  of  that  road  is  now  being  extended  down  to  their  mill 
to  accommodate  their  extensive  shipments,  as  well  as  to  the  ex- 
tensive stone  quarries  on  the  river  bank  beyond.  Mr.  Greer  re- 
mains in  charge  of  the  mill,  and  Mr.  Hunter  is  still  a  resident 
of  Decorah. 

The  extensive  building  of  the  Decorah  Woolen  Mill,  on  the 
bank  of  the  river  or  Upper  Water  street,  was  built  in  1867  by 
the  Decorah  Woolen  Mill  Company,  and  cost  with  machinery 
$35,200.  Its  stock  was  owned  largely  by  Englishmen,  of  whom 
there  are  many  residing  in  the  county,  and  are  enterprising  and 
•  public-spirited,  generally  bringing  with  them  a  good  deal  of  cap- 
ital. The  Woolen  Mill  was  managed  for  a  considerable  number  of 
years  bv  Capt.  W.  T.  Baker,  still  a  resident  of  this  city,  and 
was  sold  recently  by  Capt.  Lloyd,  a  son-in-law  of  Capt.  Baker, 
who  had  recently  acquired  the  chief  ownership,  to  Lawler  & 
Doyle,  owners  of  the  Greer  &  Hunter  Mill.  The  Woolen  Mill 
has  recently  been  leased  for  five  years  by  John  E.  Duncan,  who 
has  repaired  and  improved  the  machinery,  and  will  run  it  to  its 
full  capacity. 

The  Trout  Run  Woolen  Mill,  erected  in  1866-7,  at  the  head  of 
Trout  Run,  where  that  large  stream  issues  from  a  cave  at  the 
foot  of  the  bluff,  was  the  first  woolen  mill  in  the  county,  and  did 
an  extensive  business.     It  was  burned  in  November,  1874. 

A  prominent  pioneer  in  early  business  enterprises  was  Diedrich 
Addicken.  He  was  born  in  Oldenberg,  Germany,  Nov.  5,  1824; 
came  to  America  in  1855,  settling  in  Clayton  County,  and  in  1857 
came  to  Decorah  where  he  built  what  has  been  known  as  the  old 
brewery  near  the  old  stone  mill,  April,  1865,  he  commenced  to 
build  what  is  now  the  Addicken  mill,  brewery,  and  residence 
property  on  the  Iowa  River  just  above  the  city,  about  a  mile  from 
the  prominent  business  center.  He  was  an  energetic,  popular, 
and  generous  man,  and  his  death,  July  17,  1875,  caused  by  being 
thrown  from  a  wagon,  the  fall  breaking  his  leg,  was  a  shock  to 
the  people  generally.  The  business  was  continued  by  Mrs.  Ad- 
dicken until  her  recent  death,  assisted  by  her  daughter,  who  with 
competent  assistants  has  had  charge  since  that  time,  and  has  been 
successfully  and  prosperously  conducted.  The  machinery  of  these 
establishments  is  run  by  water  power  from  Union  Springs,  near- 
ly a  mile  above. 

IS 


286  nisTOKY  or  winneshiek  county. 

Other  prominent  flouring  mills  in  Decorah  are  the  Tavener 
Mills,  on  the  Iowa  River,  half  a  mile  above  the  Addicken  settle- 
ment. And  in  addition  to  the  Heivly  and  Greer  &  Hunter  Mills 
recently  mentioned,  the  Trout  Run  Mill,  at  the  mouth  of  Trout 
Run,  and  propelled  by  the  water-povs^er  of  that  stream,  w^here  it 
flows  into  the  river  about  a  mile  below  the  city.  Benedict  &  Mott 
are  proprieters  of  the  West  Run  Mill. 

Among  other  manufacturing  enterprises  are  the  wagon  and  car- 
riage works  of  Jennisch  &  Wendling,  who  do  a  large  business; 
the  wagon  shop  of  McKay  &  Bergeson;  the  extensive  steam  bakery 
of  Joseph  Hutchinson,  which  has  custom  through  a  large  territory; 
the  planing  mill  of  L.  R.  Fish,  and  a  considerable  number  of 
smaller  establishments. 

Among  other  recently  established  manufacturing  enterprises,  is 
the  Scale  Factory,  at  what  is  known  as  Union  Springs,  a  little 
more  than  a  mile  west  of  the  city.  In  the  spring  of  1880,  T.  E. 
Gaston,  in  company  with  H.  Heivly,  began  the  erection  of  a  large 
and  commodious  building  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  scales. 
It  was  completed  the  following  September,  and  the  first  set  of  scales 
was  turned  out  October  15,  1880.  The  machinery  used  in  this  • 
factory  is  of  the  latest  style,  has  all  the  modern  improvements, 
and  is  run  by  a  water-power  22-horse  strong,  the  water  being  fur- 
nished by  a  spring  near  the  factory,  and  gives  them  17^  feet  head. 
They  employ  ^rom  15  to  20  men,  and  turn  out  from  3,000  to  4,000 
scales  a  year.  The  quality  of  the  scales  is  second  to  none  manu- 
factured in  the  United  States,  being  built  after  the  pattern  of  the 
Fairbank's  scales.  Mr.  T.  E.  Gaston  is  the  efiicient  manager,  and 
thoroughly  understands  the  business,  he  personally  superintends 
both  the  manufacture  and  sale,  the  latter  extending  through  lowa^ 
Minnesota  and  Dakota. 

The  business  of  egg  packing  was  commenced  in  Decorah  by 
A.  W.  Grow,  a  number  of  years  ago,  and  within  the  past  two  years 
has  grown  into  such  proportions  as  to  necessitate  the  erection  of  a 
large  building  especially  for  the  business,  and  its  enlargement  last 
year.  Mr.  Grow's  egg  packing  house  is  situated  on  Washington 
Street,  south  of  the  railroad.  He  packs  yearly  about  250,000  doz- 
ens of  eggs,  making  about  3,500  barrels  and  twenty-four 
car  loads.  When  it  is  considered  that  each  egg  has  to 
be  handled,  and  the  bad  ones  picked  out,  it  will  be  seen  that 
•there  is  considerable  work  in  the  business,  especially  in  the 
busy  season.  But  Mr.  Grow  has  found  money  in  it.  He  has  now 
purchased  the  H.  H.  Hoen  paper  warehouse  property  adjoining 
him  on  Washington  Street,  with  a  frontage  of  100  feet  on  the 
railroad  track,  to  use  as  a  storage  room,  and  as  a  cooper  shop  to 
manufacture  barrels  for  his  egg  packing  house,  and  for  a  coal 
yard,  etc. 

The  past  two  or  three  years  has  seen  the  development  of  a  new 
industry  in  the  county.     Grain  growing  has  partially  given  place 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  287 

to  dairying  and  stock  raising,  thus  varying  the  products  of  the  soil, 
and  that,  too,  in  a  most  desirable  manner.  In  this  connection  the 
new  system  of  butter  making  has  added  greatly  to  the  dairy  pro- 
ducts, as  our  dairy  butter  commands  the  very  highest  price  in  the 
eastern  markets. 

The  Ice  Cave  Creamery,  located  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city, 
and  owned  and  operated  Ijy  Wm.  Beard  &  Sons,  was  the  pioneer 
in  the  creamery  movement  in  this  county.  It  collects  cream  from 
farms  nearly  all  over  the  county,  having  within  this  past  year  es- 
tablished branch  creameries  at  Fort  Atkinson  and  Hesper.  The 
Ice  Cave  Creamery,  of  Decorah,  which  is  the  largest  of  the  trio, 
is  in  itself  the  largest  in  the  state,  and  in  the  world.  It  is  operat- 
ed by  steam,  and  has  systematic  machinery  for  operating  it  both 
summer  and  winter.  The  total  product  of  the  Ice  Cave  Creamery 
for  sixty  days,  commencing  June  3,  1882,  was  192,361  pounds  of 
butter,  being  on  an  average  of  3,206  pounds  a  day.  The  largest 
product  for  one  day  was  4,955  pounds  on  July  13th,  and  the  next 
largest  4,870  pounds. 

Another  creamery,  known  as  Decorah  Creamery,  has  been  es- 
tablished in  Decorah  the  present  season.  It  is  located  in  the 
Klein  brewery  building  across  the  river  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
city.  It  is  operated  by  P.  S.  Smout,  and  power  furnished  from 
the  large  spring  at  Spring  Mill,  just  beyond  it. 

Pure  cold  water  is  furnished  from  an  in  mense  spring  that- flows 
into  the  building,  and  uriderground  vaults  leading  from  the  cream- 
ery into  the  bluff,  make  it  admirably  adapted  for  creamery  pur- 
poses. Nearly  1,000  pounds  of  butter  are  made  per  day  by  this 
creamery. 

This  creamery  business  has  caused  further  development  of  the 
inventive  genius  of  P.  S.  Smout,  of  Decorah,  who  produced  his 
patent  refrigerant  milk  can,  which  is  adapted  to  private  dairies 
as  well  as  for  those  who  sell  cream  to  the  creameries.  It  is  meet- 
ing with  immense  sale  through  this  and  other  states.  The  result 
has  been  the  building  up  of  a  large  manufacturing  business  by 
Smout  &  Hoy,  in  Decorah,  principally  to  manufacture  these  cans, 
and  incidentally  for  the  making  of  Smout's  cream  carriers. 

The  abundant  supply  of  excellent  stone  for  building  purposes 
to  be  found  in  our  quarries  has  been  a  matter  of  local  knowledge 
for  years,  and  stones  that  have  been  used  in  our  business  blocks 
for  twenty-four  years,  still  have  the  marks  of  the  chisel  as  plain 
as  when  they  were  hewn,  and  show  no  sign  of  perishability.  But 
it  was  not  until  very  recently  that  public  attention  was  called  to 
our  mineral  treasure.  Within  the  past  year  many  car-loads  have 
been  shipped  to  different  points  by  D.  B.  Ellsworth  and  others; 
and  now  Norman  Willett,  son  of  Judge  G.  R.  Willett,  having 
purchased  Chase  &  Pinkham's  quarry  and  works,  and  thirty  acres 
of  land,  including  the  old  Spring  Mill  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river,  and  leased  some  other  quarries,  is  putting  in  extensive  stone 


288  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

and  sawing  machineiT  which  will  be  nm  b}'  the  water  power 
above  the  mill — formerly  Dunning's  Mill — which  will  run  a  gang 
of  thirty  saws  which  will  cut  a  block  of  stone  ten  feet  long  and 
about  five  and  a  half  feet  wide  and  thick  at  the  rate  of  4  to  6 
inches  per  hour.  Other  cjuarries  will  be  more  extensively  worked 
and  as  the  railroad  track,  as  elsewhere  referred  to,  is  to  be  extend- 
ed to  the  quarries,  this  source  of  wealth  and  prosperity  to  the 
city  will  be  very  great,  as  the  supply  is  inexhaustible.  Experts 
who  have  examined  it  pronounce  it  even  superior  to  the  famed 
Anamosa  stone  in  solidity  and  durability;  and,  as  to  the  color  of 
our  stone,  it  is  durable  and  lasting.  For  decorative  purposes  the 
Decorah  stone  is  far  superior.  It  will  take  on  the  highest  possi- 
ble polish — which  the  Anamosa  stone  will  not.  Its  fossil  ledges, 
which  are  abundant,  are  wonderful,  and  marvelously  beautiful. 
They  are  rich  masses  of  fossilized  animal  life  in  past  ages  of  the 
world.  Prof.  Gunning,  of  Boston,  one  of  the  best  geologists  of 
the  day,  says  that  nowhere  in  the  United  States  is  there  to  be 
found  a  stone  that  equals  these  fossil  ledges  in  revelations  given 
of  the  past.  For  intrinsic  beauty  he  places  it  above  the  famous 
red  stone  of  California — perhaps  the  most  costly  material  used  by 
artists  for  decorative  purposes.  A  slab  of  this'stone  can  be  seen 
at  the  stamp  window  of  the  Decorah  postoffie.  Other  more  beau- 
tiful specimens  have  been  made  into  paper  weights  and  other  orn- 
aments, and  into  table  tops  and  books — and  what  a  volume  of  un- 
written history  these  books  contain — by  M.  Steyer,  W,  H.  Spencer, 
and  other  workers  in  stone  in  Decorah.  Prof.  E.  C,  Kilbourne  in 
his  short  stay  here, was  enthusiastic,  over  the  treasures  not  only 
found  in  quarries,  but  in  the  pavements  on  which  we  tread,  and 
the  ditches  along  the  streets.  He  gathered  and  polished  a  splen- 
did collection  of  rare  mineral  beauties,  some  of  them  small,  rare 
and  exquisite  enough  for  settings  for  pins  or  watch  charms; 
others  perfectly  formed  fossils  of  which  geology  tells  us;  and  still 
others  that  were  masses  of  various  remains  which,  the  rubbish  be- 
ing removed,  stood  out  in  wonderful  distinctness  and  perfectness. 

The  subject  is  almost  inexhaustible.  But  enough  has  been 
said;  suffice  it  that  utility,  durability  and  beauty  exist  in  the  high- 
est degree  in  this  stone,  and  its  development  is  but  just  com- 
mencing. 

The  railroad  history  of  Decorah  has  been  given  in  that  of  the 
county  in  a  preceding  chapter.  Ever  since  the  completion  of  the 
branch  of  the  C.  M,  &  St,  P,  road  from  Conover  to  Decorah,  in 
September,  1869,  its  business  has  far  exceeded  expectations.  It  is 
suggested  by  those  who  are  supposed  to  know,  that  these  nine 
miles  pay  far  better  than  any  other  nine  miles  on  the  road.  The 
three  elevators  at  Decorah  have  done  a  very  large  business,  re- 
ceipts at  times  being  nearly  ten  thousand  bushels  per  day.  And 
though  the  partial  change  from  grain  to  stock  raising  and  dairy- 
ing has  correspondingly  changed  the  character  of  shipments,  those 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  289 

from  Decorah  for  July  and  August,  1882,  will  compare  favorably 
with  the  enormous  wheat  shipments  seven  or  eight  years  ago,  and 
outstrip  any  year  since  that  time.  But  be  it  remembered  that  the 
diiferepce  in  value  between  butter  and  beef  cattle,  and  the  same 
bulk  in  wheat,  is  greatly  in  favor  of  the  former.  The  last  day's 
shipments  from  Decorah  of  which  we  have  record  at  the  time  of 
writing,  consisted  of  ten  cars,  and  none  of  them  live  stock. 

Since  the  above  was  sent  to  the  printer,  ground  has  been  pur- 
chased and  a  handsome  passenger  depot  will  be  speedily  built  on 
Water  street,  just  as  it  reaches  Dry  Run.  It  will  closely  adjoin  the 
business  part  of  the  city  and  be  less  than  two  squares  from  the 
Winneshiek  House  and  Opera  House.  The  old  passenger  depot 
will  be  used  for  freight.  Work  is  rapidly  progressing  on  the  ex- 
tension of  the  track  of  the  C.  M.  &  St.  P.  Railway  down  to  the 
Greer  &  Hunter  mill,  and  will  be  completed  this  fall;  a  sidetrack 
will  also  probably  be  laid  to  the  stone  quarries  this  season. 

In  our  county  history  a  reference  is  made  to  the  extension  of 
the  Postville  branch  of  the  B.  C.  R.  &  N.  Railway  to  Decorah. 
Work  upon  that  extension  has  been  commenced,  and  though  the 
time  given  for  its  completion  in  the  voting  of  a  five  per  cent  tax 
by  Decorah  does  not  expire  till  September,  1883,  the  road  may  be 
finished  to  Decorah  before  the  close  of  this  season;  and  it  means 
not  onlv  another  line  to  the  south  and  east,  but  also  an  extension 
northward  to  another  connection  with  St.  Paul,  uniting  the  lum- 
ber regions  with  the  coal  regions  of   Iowa. 

The  Citizens'  Association,  designed  to  promote  the  interests  of 
the  city  and  county,  was  organized  in  Decorah  early  in  1882. 
The  Chicago,  Decorah  and  Minnesota  Railway  Co.,  was  an  out- 
growth of  the  above  association ;  and  its  purpose  to  secure  addition- 
al railroad  facilities  seems  in  a  fair  way  to  speedy  accomplishment. 

There  is  also  a  well-founded  belief  that  the  C.  M.  &  St.  P.  Rail- 
way will  continue  their  road  from  Waukon  to  Decorah  on  their 
road-bed  already  graded,  and  thus  secure  another  outlet  for  the 
northern  and  western  roads  which  meet  at  Calmar,  and  avoid  the 
heavy  grade  between  Calmar  and  McGregor,  even  if  this  road  does 
not  also  build  another  extension  northward  from  Decorah. 

The  business  of  the  C.  M.  &  St.  P.  Railway  at  Decorah  is  in 
charge  of  F.  H.  Merrill,  a  capable  and  popular  official. 

The  dray  and  omnibus  line  is  well  conducted  by  Greer  & 
Protheroe,  successors  to  Jamieson  &  Greer — Bob  Jamieson,  the 
popular  old-time  conductor  on  the  branch  having  removed  to 
fields  further  west.  They  run  the  omnibus  for  the  Winneshiek 
House,  while  the  St.  Cloud  has  an  omnibus  of  its  own. 

The  United  States  Express  Co.  has  an  oflice  which  was  for 
vears  in  charge  of  Albert  Fewell,  an  excellent  ofiicer,  who  re- 
signed on  account  of  ill-health,  and  now  lives  on  his  suburban 
farm,  just  south  of  the  city.  His  place  is  capably  filled  by  I.  N. 
Morrill,  an  experienced  express  man. 


290  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

A  fair  indication  of  the  growth  of  Decorah  is  its  post-office  bus- 
iness, which  is  steadily  on  the  increase.  Let  us  look  at  it  for  the 
past  four  years. 

The  total  receipts  of  the  office  each  year,  exclusive  of  the  oiouey 
order  business  were:  1878,  ^6,102.74;  1879,  86,467.76;  1880, 
^6,762.45;  1881,  16,810.92. 

For  the  first  half  of  1882  the  business  amounted  to  83,963.55, 
and  the  business  for  the  last  half  of  the  year  will  be  larger,  so  that 
the  total  receipts  of  1882  will  probably  exceed  §8,000. 

The  paper  mill  of  J.  R.  Booth,  of  Decorah,  located  at  Freeport, 
in  Decorah  Township,  can  be  reckoned  as  a  Decorah  institution. 
It  was  originally  started  by  the  Winneshiek  Paper  Co.,  and  was 
afterward  operated  by  Henry  H.  Horn,  and  by  Henry  Paine.  It 
was  purchased  in  the  spring  of  1880  by  J.  R.  Booth,  an  experienced 
and  successful  manufacturer,  and  is  doing  a  large  business.  The 
mill  is  run  by  water  power  from  the  Upper  Iowa  River,  and  em- 
ploys twenty  hands.  Its  product  is  straw  wrapping  paper,  of 
which  it  is  making  a  nice  article.  It  manufactures  about  three 
and  a  half  tons  of  paper  per  day,  and  consumes  from  1500  to 
1800  tons  of  straw  per  year.  It  is  an  important  branch  of  man- 
ufacture to  the  people,  as  well  as  to  our  business  interests. 
The  paper  mill  is  connected  with  Decorah  by  telephone. 

The  Decorah  Packing  House,  originally  built  by  G.  F.  Francis, 
who  has  done  much  to  build  up  Decorah,  in  residences  as  well  as 
business  hou&es,  has  of  late  been  operated  by  a  stock  com- 
pany. It  does  a  large  business  and  is  a  source  of  wealth  to  the 
city  and  county,  bedsides  a  convenience  to  the  people  in  improving 
the  market  for  hogs.  Mr.  Francis  still  makes  Decorah  his  family 
home,  though  now  absent  in  Dakota  during  the  summer  and  fall. 

In  stock  raising,  Winneshiek  County  is  rapidly  advancing  to 
the  front.  The  collection  of  cattle  at  the  recent  county  fair  in 
Decorah,  was  a  superb  one.  Herds  from  this  county  also  won  the 
first  premiums  at  fairs  in  adjacent  counties,  as  well  as  at  the  Min- 
neapolis Exposition.  Decorah  is  represented  in  this  line  by  Sam- 
uel Aiken's  stock  farm  and  magnificent  herd  of  Holsteins;  by  the 
Hesper  Stock  Farm,  by  Geo.  Q.  Gardner,  of  Decorah,  and  by  other 
smaller  herds. 

The  Decorah  Driving  Park,  with  large  grounds,  on  which  are 
held  the  annual  fairs  of  the  County  Agricultural  Society,  has  a 
fine  and  well  used  track.     Thanks  to  the  enterprise  of  C.  C.  Bates. 

The  extensive  seed  and  hide  store  of  N.  H.  Adams,  present 
County  Treasurer,  does  a  very  large  business  purchasing  products 
from  a  large  territory,  extending  into  adjoining  counties. 

Jas.  Alex.  Leonard,  a  comparatively  new  comer,  and  proprietor 
of  an  extensive  book  store,  news  stand,  and*  circulating  library, 
has  shown  his  faith  in  the  city  by  buying  his  store  building,  the 
one  adjoining  it  on  the  south,  and  a  pleasant  residence  on  Broad- 
way. 


HISTORY   OF   Wl^STNESHIEK   COUNTY.  291 

Among  the  jewelry  firms  is  the  old  resident,  S.  T.  Wilson,  who 
keeps  an  excellent  eating  house  and  fruit  stand. 

The  Decorah  Green  House,  near  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St. 
Paul  depot,  a  well-kept  establishment  with  a  choice  and  extensive 
collection  of  flowers  and  plants,  is  a  bower  of  beauty  as  well  as 
a  great  convenience  to  the  people  here  and  in  surrounding  towns. 

Decorah  has  had  her  fires,  but  of  late  years  destructive  ones 
have  been  very  rare,  A  prominent  one  was  on  what  has  become 
noted  as  Ben.  Bear's  corner.  The  old  Adains  building  on  the 
southwest  corner  of  Water  and  Winnebago  streets,  was  destroyed 
by  fire  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  1877,  and  Ben.  Bear,  who  came  here 
in  1876,  was  burnt  out  as  well  as  some  other  smaller  establish- 
ments mentioned  in  chronological  history.  The  fine  new  Adams 
block  of  brick  and  stone  was  erected  in  1878,  and  in  November  of 
that  year  Ben.  Bear  re-occupied  it  with  a  very  heavy  stock  of 
clothing  and  furnishing  goods.  His  business  has  continued  to 
steadily  increase  each  successive  year. 

Space  will  not  permit  mention  of  the  numerous  business  houses 
of  Decorah,  but  we  will  enumerate  a  few  old  established  firms  and 
recent  changes  to  which  the  attention  of  the  historian  has  been 
called:  The  "Pioneer  Store''  of  C.  N.  Goddard,  referred  to  else- 
where; the  old  diy  goods  houses  of  Oleson  &  Thompson,  S.  W. 
Landers  &  Son,  McHenry  &  Allison;  and  L.  F.  Nelson,  general 
merchant,  who  has  recently  erected  a  new  building;  and  former- 
ly, the  dry  goods  firms  of  Boyce  &  Wilson,  It.  F.  Gibson,  now 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  some  others  who  have  retired  from  busi- 
ness, their  places  being  supplied  by  K.  I.  Hangen,  P.  H.  Whal- 
eu,  Tver  Larsen,  Lee  &  Johnson,  and  others.  In  grocery  stores, 
George  Pennington,  continues  the  old  establishment  of  Penning- 
ton &  Fewell.  D.  B.  Dennis  is  "still  on  Deck."  P.  J.  Euright 
holds  the  fort.  B.  Holcomb  &  Son  occupy  the  old  Ammon  & 
Scott  store,  and  numerous  other  grocers  and  general  merchants 
keep  the  people  from  starving.  B.  0.  Dahly,  who  moved  up  from 
Freeport  and  established  the  Emporium  of  Fashion  for  the  ladies, 
still  keeps  up  his  large  establishment.  Among  the  liverymen 
John  Curtin  continues  worthy  of  the  old  reputation  of  Curtin 
Bros.'  Stable,  his  brother  and  partner,  M.  Curtin,  having  died  the 
present  year.  Among  the  comparative  new-comers  is  A.  W.  Hay- 
ward,  who  occupies  the  Boyce  &  Wilson  store,  Mr.  Wilson  still 
residing  here.  Mr.  Hayward  has  the  finest  and  largest  store  in 
this  part  of  the  country.  W.  L.  Easton  continues  active  as 
proprietor  of  the  Opera  House  Clothing  Store  and  merchant  tail- 
oring establishment,  and  J.  H.  Mackenstadt  is  still  kept  busy  with 
custom  work  at  his  old  stand.  The  Day  brothers,  first  settlers  of 
Decorah,  have  an  extensive  lumber  yard,  and  E.  J.  Riley  super- 
intends another  for  the  Flemming  Bros.,  of  McGregor.  The  old 
hardware  firm  of  Ruth  Bros,  still  exists,  and  that  of  Finn  Bros. 
is  continued  by  Finn  &  Noble,  while  the  Gulickson  hardware  store 


292  HISTORY   OF   WIISTNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

is  continuecl  by  Hoyt  &  Hinman.  The  Weiser,  Montgomery  & 
Rudolph  and  Solberg's  drug  stores  still  compound  medicines,  while 
J.  J.  Klopp's  drug  store  has  been  here  long  enough  to  be  almost 
an  "old  residenter." 

Among  prominent  business  men  and  firms  of  olden  time  Dr. 
J.  M.  Green,  A.  Howell,  D.  B.  Ellsworth,  Daniel  Lawrence,  R.  F. 
Gibson,  Henry  Heivly,  and  C.  E.  Dickerman  have  residences  on 
Upper  Broadway,  and  S.  W.  Matteson,  J.  G.  Morse  and  B.  B. 
Green  in  that  neighborhood.  But  we  forbear  further  personal 
mention  at  this  place.  ISl  ames  of  old  residents  come  up  so  rapidly,  as 
do  those  of  prominent  firms  now  doing  business  here.  Decorah 
has  her  share  of  professional  men,  and  of  more  than  average  abili- 
ty. As  biographies  of  prominent  men  of  this  city  are  to  appear 
later  in  this  volume,  we  leave  further  personal  mention  to  the 
writers  of  those  sketches. 

A  quite  prominent  and  successful  institution  m  its  day  was  the 
Mississippi  Valley  Insurance  Company,  located  at  Decorah.  H.  S. 
Weiser  was  its  first  president  and  after  him  Leonard  Standring. 
J.  C.  Strono^  was  secretary,  and  managed  the  business  during 
most  of  its  life,  and  to  its  close.  It  was  organized  in  1864,  and 
closed  up  its  business  early  in  1875.  It  was  a  fire  and  lightning 
insurance  company,  and  paid  all  its  losses  promptly.  When  it 
went  out  of  business  it  cancelled  and  paid  back  premiums,  and 
paid  to  stockholders  a  dividend  of  25  per  cent. 

WEST   DECORAH. 

West  Decorah  is  properly  a  part  of  Decorah,  and  only  separated 
from  it  by  the  river,  over  which  are  fine  bridges,  the  whole  form- 
ing a  beautiful  city  of  about  four  thousand  inhabitants.  Yet, 
West  Decorah,  which  has  some  five  hundred  inhabitants  is  incor- 
porated as  a  town.  It  is  the  site  of  Luther  College,  and  the 
homes  of  several  prominent  Decorah  business  men.  Among  these 
residences  are  the  elegant  home  of  J.  J.  Marsh,  an  extensive  deal- 
er in  agricultural  machinery,  and  C.  W.  Burdick,  of  the  real  es- 
tate and  abstract  office.  It  was  incorporated  in  1879.  The  follow- 
ing are  its  present  officers: 

Mayor,  G.  W.  G.  Sawyer;  Councilmen,  C.  W.  Burdick,  Fred 
Hencke,  J.  J.  Marsh,  J.  H,  Mackenstadt,  N.  P.  Chase,  Oren 
Hall;  Treasurer,  J.  Bandeau;  Recorder,  J.  Fannon;  Marshal, 
Frank  Betts. 

The  prominent  store  is  that  of  Fred  Hencke,  who  also  has  an 
extensive  pop  manufactory.  Dan.  Shaw  is  principal  of  its  public 
schools. 

FREEPORT. 

This  little  village,  so  prominent  in  the  county  seat  contest,  des- 
cribed in  County  History,  is  on  the  LTpper  Iowa  River  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  Decorah  tov/nship,  about  two  miles   from  Decorah  in 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  293 

a'straight  line,  and  three  nnles  by  road.  It  is  on  the  grade  of  the 
proposed  raih'oad  extension  from  Waukon  to  Decorah,  and  on  the 
daily  stage  route  between  these  two  places.  It  has  a  new  Methodist 
Church  with  regular  services,  the  paper  mill  of  J.  R.  Booth,  a 
postoffice  and  store  kept  by  A.  A.  Snyder,  and  the  county  poor 
house  and  farm.  It  has  also  several  other  small  business  enterprises, 
and  a  population  of  about  150.  When  Freeport  finally  lost  all 
hope  of  securing  the  county  seat,  most  of  Freeport's  business 
came  to  Decorah,  and  soon  after  the  families  of  the  Burdicks,  the 
Fannons,  and  B.  0.  Dahly,  and  others.  It  was  a  good  site  for  a 
town,  being  in  a  broad  and  fertile  valley,  and  having  a  good  water 
power. 

PRINTING  ESTABLISHMENTS. 

Various  newspaper  enterprises  are  mentioned  in  the  previous 
pages  of  the  history  of  the  county.  It  would  be  difficult  to  give 
a  complete  record  of  the  twenty-five  that  have  had  their  existence 
in  as  many  years,  and  we  will  not  attempt  to  repeat  it  here;  but 
briefly  mention  the  printing  establishments  now  in  Decorah,  and 
those  of  which  they  are  the  legitimate  successors;  and  as  the  pub- 
lishers are,  in  virtue  of  their  offices,  the  recorders  in  their  history 
of  the  newspapers  of  the  county,  we  give  a  few  personal  facts  in 
regard  to  them  as  a  convenience  for  future  reference: 

In  1856,  one  Tracy  issued  the  prospectus  of  the  Decorah  Clironi- 
ele^  and  in  due  time  that  paper  appeared.  Judge  M.  V.  Burdick 
was  for  a  time  its  anonymous  editor.  Its  successor  is  the  present 
Decorah  Repuhlicmi.  It  has  had  the  names  of  Chronicle^  Gazette 
Republic  and  Bepuhlican^  there  being  sometimes,  in  early  days, 
suspensions  of  publication,  with  exchanges  of  names  of  proprietors. 
It  was  the  Decorah  J/fpf/J/Zc  when  purchased  in  1860  by  Wesley 
Bailey  &  Son,  who  came  here  from  New  York,  where  they  had 
been  thoroughly  educated  in  the  newspaper  business.  In  March, 
1866  the  name  was  changed  to  Decorah  Bepiihlican;  the  proprie- 
torship was  also  changed  to  A.  K.  Bailey  &  Bros.,  the  father  re- 
tiring, and  now  a  resident  of  Decorah.  A.  K.  Bailey,  editor,  is 
also  postmaster,  and  his  partner  brother,  A.  S.  Bailey,  manager  of 
the  Western  Union  telegraph  office,  and  assistant  postmaster. 
Ansel  K.  Bailey  was  born  at  Wales,  Erie  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  15, 
1835.  He  removed  to  Utica,  N.  Y.,  in  1842,  where  he  received  a 
common  school  education.  When  between  12  and  18  years  of 
age  he  entered  his  father's  printing  office.  He  gave  his  note  for 
a  newspaper  office  in  Utica  the  day  he  became  of  age,  and  has  been 
engaged  in  newspaper  work  ever  since — a  period  of  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century.  In  March,  1860  he  came  to  Decorah,  having 
with  his  father  bought  the  only  newspaper  office  in  the  place,  some 
two  months  before  his  removal.  His  father  had  been  here  in  the 
September  previous,  and  the  purchase  Avas  made  by  correspondence. 
He  was  elected  Treasurer  of  the  county   in   1863.  and  served  one 


294  HISTORY   OF  WINNESHIEK  COUNTY. 

term,  from  1864  to  1865,  declining  a  re-election.  Four  years 
later  the  appointment  as  postmaster  was  made  by  President 
Grant,  which  office  he  has  held  without  contest  ever  since. 
Editorial  and  official  position,  and  acquaintance  with  the  people  of 
the  county,  have  made  him  a  serviceable  agent  of  his  party,  and 
more  than  half  the  time  he  has  been  the  chairman  of  the  Republi- 
can central  committee  serving  in  that  capacity  in  each  of  the  last 
four  Presidential  campaigns.  In  this  position  he  has  been  subject 
to  sharp  criticism,  which,  however,  has  neither  damaged  his  char- 
acter nor  soured  a  temper  that  is  usually  equable  and  genial.  His 
opponents  have  frequently  been  warm  personal  friends  and  the 
contests  have  usually  ended  with  the  close  of  a  campaign.  No  one 
probably,  has  less  desire  than  he  to  be  a  political  boss.  In  social 
and  religious  life  he  has  been  active  and  prominent,  and  a  useful 
and  exemplary  member  of  society. 

For  fifteen  years  he  was  superintendent  of  the  Congregational 
Sabbath  School,  and  is  now  serving  the  18th  and  19th  years  in 
that  capacity.  He  was  married  at  Utica,  N.  Y.,  in  1859,  to  Miss 
Sarah  Higham.  They  have  had  five  children,  four  of  which  are 
living.  Their  residence  is  on  Vernon  street,  about  one  square 
west  of  the  public  school  building.  The  Bepuhlican  has  steam 
power  and  a  well-equipped  job  printing  office,  and  occupies  the 
second  floor  of  the  new  postoffice  building  on  Winnebago  street. 
It  recently  showed  its  enterprise  by  printing  a  daily  during  the 
County  Fair  in  Decorah. 

A.  S.  Bailey,  of  the  above  paper  and  telegraph  manager,  has 
been  the  main  stand-by  of  the  popular  Decorah  Amateurs.  He 
has  decided  dramatic  ability,  excelling  especially  in  comedy.  He 
was  married   several  years  ago  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  to  Miss  Mary 

The  next  oldest  paper  in  Decorah  is  the  present  Decorah  Jour- 
Wolcott,  a  deservedly  popular  favorite  in  Decorah  society. 
nal^  counting  it  as  identical  with  its  legitimate  predecessor.  The 
Winneshiek  Register  was  founded^by  G.  W.  Haislet  in  1866;  in  No- 
vember the  office  was  destroyed  by  fire.  A  new  office  was  pur- 
chased on  time,  and  in  the  spring  of  1869  the  paper  was  compelled 
to  suspend.  August  25,  1869,  he  re-issued  his  paper  under  the 
name  of  Register  &  Ventilator,  afterwards  dropping  the  first  half 
of  the  name.  Several  years  later  W.  N.  Burdick  became  a  part- 
ner with  Haislet,  and  soon  bought  him  out  entirely,  and  in  1874 
was  sole  proprietor,  and  changed  the  name  Ventilator  to  Winne- 
shiek Register.  In  November,  1874,  Mr.  Burdick  sold  out  to  A. 
A.  Aiken  and  Henry  Woodruff.  C.  H.  Fullerton  soon  after  be- 
coming a  member  of  the  firm  for  a  time.  Mr.  Burdick  is  now 
publisher  fthe  Postville  Review.  Early  in  February,  1875  the 
Saturdaij  Bee  was  issued  as  an  extra  from  the  office  of  the  Register, 
and  during  the  February  snow  blockade,  and  on  other  special  oc- 
casions— the  Bee  was  issued  daily,  or  as  [often  as  occurences  de- 
manded.    In  the   latter  part   of   1875  the  Register  establishment 


HISTORY    OF   WI]S"NESHIEK   CGUISTY.  295 

absorbed  the  Independent  (whicli  was  started  by  Ed.  Wood  and  S. 
S.  Haislet  in  the  summer  of  1S74),  the  combined  paper  taking  the 
name  Independent-liefjister.  In  January,  1876,  Mr.  Aiken  sold 
out  ^  his  interest,  Henry  Woodruff  becoming  editor  and  manager 
of  the  Bee^  which  continued  without  change  till  January,  1879, 
Ed.  Wood  taking  the  Independent  Register,  and  soon  dropping 
the  word  Register  from  the  name.  About  the  first  of  June,  1876, 
Mi.  Wood  sold  out  and  gave  place  to  J.  F.  Meagher,  who,  in  the 
latter  part  of  July,  '^stepped  down  and  out,"  the  present  proprie- 
tors of  the  Decorah  Journal  becoming  its  purchaser,  and  its  sub- 
scription list  was  united  with  that  of  the  Bee.  In  January,  1879, 
the  regular  publication  of  the  weekly  Decora  Journal  commenced, 
it  being  virtually  the  successor  of  the  o\d  Register  and  Independent^ 
and  the  Bee  office  soon  dropped  its  separate  character  and  became 
part  of  the  Journal  establishment.  Henry  Woodruff,  the  editor 
and  publisher,  was  born  at  Vienna,  Trumbull  County,  Ohio,  Oc- 
tober 20,  183G.  He  learned  the  printer's  trade,  commencing  at  he 
age  of  15,  in  the  office  of  the  Anti-Slaver g  Bugle.,  at  Salem,  Ohio, 
then  a  center  of  western  abolitionists,  of  which  the  Bugle  was  the 
organ,  Abby  Kelley  and  S.  C.  Foster,  Wm.  Loyd  Garrison,  Parker 
Pillsbury,the  Burleighs  and  the  venerable  and  quaint  colored  female 
lecturer,  Sojourner  Truth,  who  is  still  living,  often  making  that 
town  their  western  headquarters,  and  lecturing  there.  He  after- 
wards worked  at  his  trade  at  Warren  Ohio,  and  graduated  at  the 
High  School  there,  having  lived  for  a  time  at  Talmadge,  Ohio, 
and  from  there  he  went  to  Western  Reserve  College,  at  Hudson, 
Ohio,  since  removed  to  Cleveland  and  known  as  Western  Reserve 
University,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1865,  being  meanwhile 
four  months  in  the  Union  army,  and  was  married  in  Hudson, 
September  17,  1865,  to  Miss  Cordelia  Kilbourne.  He  lived  for  a 
short  time  at  Geneseo,  N.  Y,,  and  also  at  Cleveland,  0.,  and  in 
July,  1867,  went  to  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  where  he  at  once  became  ed- 
itorially connected  with  the  Dailg  Press.  He  was  one  of  the 
prize  speakers  and  the  poet  of  his  class,  but  has  since  made  no  effort 
in  the  way  of  rhyming,  except  to  accept  the  invitation  in  1873,  to 
deliver  the  Alumni  poem  at  Western  Reserve  College  commence- 
ment, at  Hudson,  in  June,  on  the  occasion  of  the  late  President 
Garfield's  address  to  the  college  societies,  and  to  twice  read  the  an- 
nual poems  before  the  Minnesota  State  Editorial  Association.  He 
remained  at  his  editorial  work  at  St.  Paul,  excepting  an  interval 
of  a  year  and  a  half,  as  editor  of  a  paper  in  StiHwater,  until  he 
came  to  Decorah  with  his  family  about  December  1,  1871:.  Their 
residence  is  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Broadway  and  Grove 
Streets.  They  have  three  children.  The  Journal  office  is  now 
situated  on  the  first  floor  of  tlie  brick  building  on  the  east  side  of 
Winnebago  Street,  near  Main,  vacated  by  the  postoffice  in  1881. 
It  made  arrangements  some  two  years  ago  with  the  Luther  College 
Publishing  House,  just  "across  Main   Street,  to  run   its  Cylinder 


296  HISTOKY   OF   M'lXNESHIEK   COUKTY. 

Press  by  steam,  and  has  since  had  its  newspaper  Press  work  done 
there.  It  has  a  job  office,  press,  etc,  in  its  own  olfice,  from  which 
is  also  issued  the  monthly  Home  Journal,  which  has  a  large  cir- 
culation. 

The  other  English  printing  office  in  Decorah  is  that  o£  the  De- 
corah  Pantograph.,  successor  to  the  Decorah  Badical.  Geo.  W. 
Haislet,  after  leaving  the  Register  office,  went  to  Cresco,  where  he 
published  a  paper  for  a  time,  and  in  August,  1875,  came  back  to 
Decorah  and  started  another  Ventilator,  but  soon  suspended  pub- 
lication and  went  to  Dubuque,  where  he  continued  in  the  news- 
paper business.  In  the  fall  of  1876  he  came  back  to  Decorah,  and 
on  October  10th  commenced  the  publication  of  the  Decorah  Badi- 
cal.1  which  he  continued  till  his  death,  March  6,  1881.  The  Radi- 
cal was  continued  by  Mrs.  Haislet,  Judge  M.  V.  Burdick  conduc- 
ting it  for  a  time.  It  was  purchased  April,  1882,  by  C.  H.  Craig, 
who  changed  its  name  to  the  Decorah  Pontagraph,  and  is  its 
present  publisher.  It  does  not  run  a  job  office  and  has  its  news- 
paper press  work  done  at  the  Posten  office  which  is  near  at  hand. 
Mr.  Craig  was  born  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  November  20,  1856,  and  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  public  schools  there.  He  came  west  to 
Sioux  Falls,  Dakota,  in  April,  1878;  became  connected  with  the 
newspapers,  and  remained  there  until  he  came  to  Decorah  in  April 
of  the  present  year.  He  is  at  present  unmarried,  but  the  deserved- 
ly happy  lot  of  a  Benedict  is  predicted  for  him  by  his  friends. 

The  Decorah  Posten  is  the  only  Norwegian  paper  in  Iowa.  B. 
Annundsen,  the  publisher,  came  to  Decorah  in  1867  and  started  a 
printing  office.  He  established  the  Posten  in  September,  1874;  it 
was  then  a  small  four  page  sheet,  18x24  inches;  subscription  price 
50c.  a  year.  The  first  month  the  subscription  list  grew  to  1,200. 
In  1875  the  paper  was  enlarged  to  22x32  inches,  subscription  price 
$1.10.  In  1876  its  size  was  24x36;  in  1877,  24x38;  and  in  1878 
it  w^as  enlarged  to  its  present  size,  29x40,  being  in  large  four-page 
form;  price,  $1.10.  Its  present  circulation  is  over  7,000.  It  is 
independent  in  all  things  and  owns  to  be  a  purely  literary  and 
family  newspaper.  B.  Annundsen,  the  persevering  and  energetic 
proprietor,  was  born  at  Skien,  Norway,  in  1814.  He  came  to 
America  in  1864,  and  to  Decorah  in  1867,  as  already  stated.  He 
has  a  family,  and  his  residence  is  on  east  Main  street. 

The  publishing  house  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Synod  has 
grown  to  be  a  very  important  one.  Besides  printing  the  several 
Norwegian  newspapers  and  magazines,  it  does  a  large  book-pub- 
lishing business  and  has  complete  book-binding  and  stereotyping 
departments.  Its  regular  periodicals  are  the  Kirketidende,  a 
church  weekly,  and  the  Ophgggelsesblad,  a  church  monthly,  and 
Fer  Hjeinmet,  a  semi-monthly  for  the  family.  It  is  now  engaged 
in  printing  from  its  stereotype  plates  a  large  edition  of  the  New 
Testament  in  the  Norwegian  language.  It  is  also  extensively  en- 
gaged in  the  publication  of  Norwegian  religious  and  school  books, 


HISTORY    OF   WINXESHIEK   COUNTY.  297 

and  has  several  presses  and  other  machinery  run  Ijy  a  powerful 
steam  engine.  The  publishing  establishment  is  on  Main  street, 
near  Winnebago,  and  its  retail  department  on  the  corner  of  Win- 
nebago and  Main  streets,  next  door  to  the  Journal  oifice.  It  em- 
ploys more  than  twenty  hands,  and  its  business  is  rapidly  increas- 
ing, as  it  has  for  its  field  all  parts  of  the  United  States  where  Nor- 
wegians have  located.  Its  manager,  J.  L.  Lee,  who  was  born  in 
Christiana,  Norway,  in  1835,  Avas  educated  there,  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  1852,  and  to  Decorah  in  1872.  He  became  manager  of  the 
business  in  1877,  and  to  him  its  success  is  largely  due.  The  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Lee  and  family  is  in  West  Decorah. 

The  extent  of  the  newspaper  business  in  Decorah  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  during  the  three  months  ending  with  Septem- 
ber, 1882,  the  Decorah  postoffice  mailed  13,825  pounds  of  news- 
papers, or  nearly  seven  tons,  for  which  the  government  secured  a 
revenue  of  $208.62. 

PLEASURE  RESORTS. 

Decorah  and  its  suburbs  abound  in  charming,  extended,  and 
beautiful  views,  and  romantic  places  of  resort  for  the  summer  vis- 
tor;  and  within  the  limits  of  the  township  are  many  more.  The 
wonderful  Ice  Cave,  about  half  a  mile  north  of  "the  busines  part  of 
the  city,  has  been  mentioned  in  the  opening  part  of  this  chapter. 
From  the  bluff  above  it,  one  of  the  finest  views  of  Decorah  can  be 
had.  About  a  half  a  mile  west  of  it,  a  few  rods  up  a  romantic  val- 
ley is  "Spring  Mill,"  where  a  large  stream  of  water  pours  out  of  a 
cave  in  the  blufi",  about  100  feet  high,  while  it  is  fully  another 
hundred  feet  to  the  top  of  the  overhanging  bluff",  from  which  a 
magnificent  view  of  city  and  valley  is  gained.  About  half  a  mile 
east  of  Ice  Cave,  a  romantic  valley  leads  up  to  A.  C.  Ferren's 
grounds,  where  two  large  springs,  clear  and  cold,  make  a  favorite 
place  for  picnics,  and  the  home  of  some  beautiful  trout,  which 
Mr.  Ferren  has  raised.  Coming  back  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  a 
gradual  ascent  towards  the  east  leads  up  to  the  top  of  the  perpen- 
dicular, rocky  bluff",  from  which  is  a  beautiful  view  of  the  city  and 
valley  above,  and  the  river  below — lying  apparently  at  your  feet — 
the  whole  presenting  an  extraordinary  picture.  From  Pleasant 
Hill,  southeast  of  the  city,  and  from  the  hill  at  the  head  of  Wash- 
ington street,  other  fine  views  of  city  and  valley  can  be  had. 
About  two  miles  south  the  immense  spring  or  underground  river, 
forming  Trout  Run,  comes  out  from  a  mamoth  rock  at  the  foot  of 
a  bluff",  winds  around  a  grassy  slope  where  stands  the  residence  of 
Prof.  Seevers,  while  in  the  foreground,  tall,  rocky  pillars  and  per- 
pendicular bluff's  overlook  the  beautiful  valley  for  miles  below. 
There  are  also  delightful  picnic  grounds  at  Union  Springs,  near 
the  scale  factory,  referred  to  in  this  chapter.  Several  large  springs 
of  pure  cold  water  flow  out  from  the  bluff'  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year,  while  close  at  hand  are  grassy  lawns   and   refreshing  shade 


298  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

from  the  heat  of  summer.  But  there  are  delightful  rambles  in- 
side the  limits  of  the  city.  Only  a  few  rods  from  Upper  Broad- 
way, just  beyond  the  beautiful  residence  of  Henry  Paine,  is  the 
shady  summit  of  the  precipitous  bluff  overhanging  the  river  and 
''dugway"  road  to  Addicken  mill  and  Union  Springs.  Here  the 
eye  takes  in  a  view  of  West  Decorah,  Luther  College,  and  the 
broad  expanse  of  river  and  valley.  And  yet  not  half  has  been 
told.     The  eye  of  the  rambler  is  greeted  with   continual  surprise. 

In  speaking  of  places  of  resort  it  is  convenient  just  here  to  re- 
fer to  some  noted  ones  in  other  parts  of  the  county.  A  drive  to 
Bluffton,  about  twelve  miles  northwest  of  Decorah,  where  immense 
rocky  bluffs  overlook  the  river,  takes  one  through  some  of  the 
wildest  and  most  romantic  scenery  on  the  Upper  Iowa  River.  In 
the  southern  part  of  Burr  Oak  township,  a  few  miles  from  Bluff- 
ton,  is  the  well-known  ''Cold  Spring,"  where  a  stream  of  water 
sufficient  to  turn  a  mill  flows  from  the  mouth  of  a  cave,  under  a 
towering  bluff  100  feet  high.  In  the  cave  is  a  lake  about  100  feet 
long  by  forty  feet  wide,  the  top  of  the  cave  rising  in  a  high  arch 
as  it  recedes  from  the  entrance.  Again,  about  eight  miles  from 
Decorah,  on  a  cross-road  between  the  Waukon  and  Frankville 
roads,  near  the  Peter  Oleson  flour  mill,  in  Glenwood  township,  is 
another  large  cave.  The  entrance  is  low  and  narrow;  and  a  boat 
and  torch  are  necessary  to  explore  the  cave.  Once  in,  there  is 
plenty  of  room,  and  water  that  will  float  a  boat  through  a  narrow 
channel  that  seems  to  be  a'  quarter  of  a  mile  long,  and  further  if 
one  cares  to  go.  In  some  places  the  ceiling  is  in  plain  sight 
and  at  others  invisible  in  the  darkness. 

Another  cave,  as  large  as  a  good-sized  mercantile  salesroom, 
can  be  found  on  the  Coleman  farm,  about  six  miles  up  the  Iowa 
River.  The  caves  and  springs  in  this  county  on  and  near  the 
Wankon  road,  are  frequently  visited  by  picnic  parties  from  Wau- 
kon. There  are  other  caves  that  might  be  mentioned.  But  we 
will  close  by  saying  that  it  will  amply  repay  any  one  to  visit  the 
large  and  beautiful  grounds  of  Col.  J.  W.  Taylor,  about  six  miles 
west  of  the  city;  where  art  has  combined  with  nature  to  make 
nature  look  still  more  varied  and  beautiful,  and  where  frequent 
surprises  greet  the  eye  as  one  drives  through  avenues  lined  with 
evergreens,  succeeded  by  flowers,  solitary  woods,  bright  and 
velvety  openings  in  the  forest,  and  finally  reaches  the  cozy, 
unique  log  cabin  of  the  proprietor,  beyond  whicb  a  bridle  path 
leads  down  past  a  precipitous  bluff  to  the  bed  of  a  beautiful 
stream,  where  are  abundant  springs,  grassy  slopes  and  green  fields 
beyond. 

A   PARTING   WORD. 

Decorah  has  good  reason  for  pride  in  its  large,  handsome  and 
substantial  business  blocks,  as  well  as  its  beautiful  residences.  Its 
court  house,  and   handsome,   substantial   new  jail,  have  been  de- 


HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  299 

scribed  in  tlie  chapters  of  county  history.  The  elevated  portion 
of  the  court  house  grounds  is  very  nearly  in  the  center  of  the  city; 
their  beautiful  terraced  slopes  at  once  attract  attention,  and  from 
them  the  eye  looks  down  on  a  beautiful  city,  spreading  out  across 
a  broad  valley,  and  the  grand,  encircling  hills  which  surround  and 
protect  it.  May  it  attain  the  growth  that  its  natural  advantages 
entitle  it  to,  and  the  public  spirit  of  its  citizens  make  it  quick  to 
utilize  and  make  the  most  of  those  advantages,  and  use  all  for  the 
promotion  of  its  natural,  as  well  as  moral  and  social  welfare. 


CHAPTER  X. 


Townships  and  Villages  of  the  County;  General  Remarks;  Rivers 
and  Railroads;  Shape  and  Size  of  County ;  Its  Geology^  Pro- 
duds^  and  Resources;  Healthy  Climate;  Rich  Soil  and  Beautiful 
Scenery. 


The  general  history  of  the  settlement  and  development  of  Win- 
neshiek County,  as  well  as  its  chronological  history,  has  embraced 
to  a  great  extent  that  of  its  several  townships  and  villages,  and 
in  the  biographical  sketches  toward  the  end  of  this  volume.  The 
history  of  Decorah  has  also  been  to  a  large  extent  that  of  the 
county  at  large.  But  there  are  many  things  that  pertain  speci- 
ally to  the  townships  and  villages,  and  separate  mention  of  them 
will  be  of  interest.  As  a  matter  of  convenience,  the  townships 
are  taken  up  by  tiers,  commencing  with  the  northern  tier,  and  the 
western  township  of  that  tier. 

FREMONT   TOWNSHIP   AND     THE     TILLAGES    OF    KENDALLVILLE    AND 

PLYMOUTH   ROCK. 

Fremont  township  is  in  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the 
county.  Positively  who  was  the  first  settler  is  not  decided.  A. 
C.  Hitchcock,  afterwards  deputy  sheriff,  and  Wm.  Finfield  and 
wife  came  there  in  1854.  There  were  probably  earlier  settlers, 
for  Rev.  Ephraim  Adams,  in  his  Thanksgiving  discourse,  said  that 
the  siding  for  the  Winneshiek  House,  which  was  built  in  1854-5, 
was  got  out  at  what  was  known  as  Carter's  Mill,  at  Plymouth 
Rock.  Fremont  township  for  several  years  belonged  to  Burr 
Oak  precinct.  In  August,  1856,  an  election  was  ordered  to  es- 
tablish Fremont  township,  and  was  carried.  The  first  township 
ofiicers  were: 

Justice  of  the  Peace,  Joseph  Eddy;  Town  Clerk,  Wm.  F.  Das- 
kam;  Constable,  C.  Parmalee;  Trustees,  DeWitt  Brady,  J.  P. 
Johnson,  D.  E.  Shelmadine. 


300  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

The  population  of  the  township  by  the  census  of  1880,  was  692. 
There  are  two  postoffiees  at  two  small  villages  in  the  township — 
Kendallville  and  Plymouth  Rock. 

The  village  of  Kendallville,  which  by  the  census  of  1880  con- 
tained 75  inhabitants,  is  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  Upper  Iowa 
River,  is  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  west  line,  and  three-quar- 
ters of  a  mile  from  the  south  line  of  the  township.  It  was  origi- 
nally called  "Enterprise,"  and  was  located  on  the  claim  of  Mr. 
Shelmadine.  S.  G.  Kendall  came  to  this  county  from  Mississippi 
in  1860,  commenced  the  erection  of  a  flour  mill  and  other  im- 
provements, and  started  the  mill  in  operation  in  1862;  the  village 
from  that  time  was  called  Kendallville,  and  the  postoifice  was 
changed  to  this  place  from  Twin  Springs,  one  mile  north;  the 
plat  of  Kendallville  was  recorded  September  9th,  1874.  George 
Potter  was  the  first  postmaster.  The  first  store  was  kept  by 
David  Bennett.  A  Grange  hall  was  built  January,  1868,  two 
stories  high,  20x50  feet,  is  still  conducted  by  the  society  of  Pat- 
rons of  Husbandry,  and  is  one  of  the  few  lodges  in  the  state  in  a 
flourishing  condition.  The  mill  passed  from  Mr.  Kendall's  hands 
to  Mr.  Lawler,  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  from  him  to  John  Mc- 
Hugh,  of  Cresco,  who  still  owns  it.  Kendallville  has  two  stores, 
one  by  J.  L.  Daskam,  the  postmaster,  and  one  by  R.  Barnes;  J. 
H.  Stockman  has  a  blacksmith  shop.  It  is  21  miles  from  Decorah 
and  eight  from  Cresco,  with  which  it  connects  by  a  tri-weekly 
mail.  The  extensive  Kendalh'ille  stock  farm  of  John  McHugh  is 
located  near  here. 

Plymouth  Rock  village  and  post  ofiice  is  within  half-a-mile  of 
the  south  [line  of  Fremont  township,  and  1|  miles  from  the  east 
line.  It  was  platted  in  September,  1855,  and  the  plat  recorded 
January  15,  1856.  The  siding  for  the  Winneshiek  House,  built 
in  1851-5,  was  obtained  from  what  was  known  as  Carter's  Mill,  at 
Plymouth  Rock.  It  has  a  population  of  about  30,  and  is  about 
19  miles  from  Decorah,  and  10  from  Cresco.  It  has  a  tri-weekly 
mail.  G.  Y.  Puntney,  postmaster,  runs  the  flour  mill;  L.  Wan- 
less  has  a  general  store. 

BUER  OAK  TOWNSHIP  AND  VILLAGE. 

Burr  Oak  is  the  second  from  the  west  in  the  northern  tier  of 
townships.  Geo.  V.  Puntney,  now  of  Plymouth  Rock,  settled  on 
section  30,  in  1851.  "Burr  Oak  Precinct"  for  several  years  em- 
braced all  the  northern  tier  of  townships.  For  its  several  divis- 
ions, see  County  History.  Burr  Oak  village  is  on  Silver  Creek, 
near  the  center  of  the  eastern  side  of  the  township,  and  about 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  its  eastern  line.  It  was  platted  by 
S.  Middlebrook,  May  16,  and  plat  recorded  July  14,  1855.  Sam- 
uel S.  Belding  was  proprietor  of  the  town  plat;  Manning's  addition 
was  recorded  Octobsr  15,  1856.     By  the  census  of  1880,  Burr  Oak 


„„-^'^. 


s 


ft 


Chas.Paulk. 


PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


A6TOR,  LENOX  AND 
TILOEN  FOUNDATIONS 


HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  301 

township  has  a  population  of  826,  and  the  village  199.     It  is  about 
12  miles  north  of  Decorah,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  A.  M 
Preg's  daily  mail  and  stage  line. 

A:  J.  Cratsenberg  is  postmaster  and  has  a  good  general  store. 
S.  H.  Willets  is  another  merchant,  and  there  are  several  other 
branches  of  business.  There  is  a  good  hotel,  the  American  House, 
kept  by  J.  H.  Porter.  There  are  three  church  buildings,  the 
Methodist,  Congregational,  and  Second  Adventists,  and  an  Odd 
Fellows  lodge  of  40  members,  with  a  hall  of  their  own.  It  has 
limestone  quarries,  and  the  surface  of  the  country  is  rolling  and 
fertile,  and  well  settled  by  intelligent  farmers.  In  the  fall  of 
1881  a  five  per  cent,  tax  was  voted  for  a  railroad  through  Burr 
Oak,  known  as  the  Minnesota,  Iowa  &  Southwestern,  running  from 
La  Crosse  southwest,  and  there  are  prospects  that  it  will  be  built, 
and  increase  the  importance  and  business  of  the  village.  In  the 
southern  part  of  Burr  Oak  township  is  the  famous  Cold  Spring 
cave  and  underground  lake  described  in  the  preceding  chapter  re- 
ferring to  pleasure  resorts  accessible  from  Decorah.  Judge  M.  V. 
Burdick  thus  writes  of  Burr  Oak  in  1853: 

''When  I  saw  its  location,  the  beautiful  groves  that  surrounded 
it  on  every  side,  the  undulating  country  in  every  direction,  the 
limpid  stream  of  pure  and  sparkling  water,  cold  and  clear,  that 
wound  its  way  through  the  place,  I  could  not  fail  to  admire  the 
judgment  and  discernment  of  the  men  who  decided  upon  the 
place  for  a  site  of  a  town.  In  after  years  I  became  better  ac- 
quainted with  the  resources  of  the  country,  its  exhaustible  supply 
of  timber,  and  its  two  excellent  quarries  of  blue  limestone  un- 
surpassed for  building  purposes." 

HESPER  TOWNSHIP  AND  VILLAGE. 

Hesper  Township,  in  the  northern  tier  of  the  county,  adjoins 
Burr  Oak  on  [the  east.  Benjamin  L.  Bisby  settled  on  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  29,  in  1850.  The  next  year  brought  in 
quite  a  number  of  settlers.  The  first  permanent  settler,  E.  E. 
Meader,  reached  his  new  home  there  on  the  morning  of  April  12, 
1851,  and  settled  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  10,  where 
his  present  residence  stands.  Mr.  Meader  came  to  Iowa  in  the 
fall  of  1850  from  his  home  in  Maine,  stopped  in  Clayton  County, 
and  meeting  a  man  named  Frazier,  from  Wisconsin,  they  came  to- 
gether, looked  over  the  lands,  were  pleased  with  them,  and  in 
March,  1851,  came  with  teams  and  prepared  building  sites.  A. 
M.  Waterman  had,  several  weeks  previous,  encamped  on  a  part  of 
section  11,  engaged  in  making  sugar.  Having  cut  and  hauled 
logs  for  their  dwellings,  Meader  and  Frazier  had  to  go  eight  miles 
for  hands  to  help  them  put  it  up.  Mr.  Waterman  provided  the 
meal  at  this  pioneer  house  raising.  Having  split  out  boards  to 
roof  their  buildings,  they  piled  them  up,  and  started  for  the  Volga 

19 


302  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY, 

settlements  for  their  families.    Mr.  Meader  and  famil}'  came  alone, 
however,  in  April  as  above  stated,  Mr.  Frazier  not  coming  till  fall. 

"Late  m  the  evening  of  April  11,  1851,  they  reached  Ackerson's,  about  four 
miles  from  their  destination,  where  they  were  pursuaded  to  pass  the  night. 
But  early  next  morning,  without  stopping  for  breakfast,  they  pushed  on  to 
their  new  home,  set  out  the  cook  stove  beside  the  unfinished  house,  and  there, 
in  the  open  air  of  the  chill  April  morning,  Mrs.  Meader  prepared  and  set  before 
her  husband  and  5  children,  the  first  of  many  thousands  of  meals  which  she  was 
destined  to  serve  upon  the  same  spot.  The  walls  of  the  house  had  not  even  a 
doorway,  and  the  first  proceeding  after  breakfast  was  to  cut  an  entrance,  and 
then  to  put  on  the  roof,  for  which  purpose  a  supply  of  nails  had  been  brought 
in  the  wagon.  By  night  the  family  had  a  shelter  overhead,  and  a  loose,  temp- 
orary floor  of  split  boards;  but  the  walls  being  entirely  without  chinking,  and 
only  a  blanket  hung  across  the  doorway,  the  first  night,  which  was  stormy, 
with  wind,  rain  and  snow,  was  cheerless  enough.  By  a  dint  of  hard  labor,  pa- 
tient endurance,  and  the  advance  of  the  season,  they  were,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  weeks,  settled  in  comparative  comfort."' 

D.  D.  Huff  and  his  wife  Anna,  settled  on  sec.  29,  on   the  26th 

day  of  April,  1851. 

"In  the  summer  of  1853  there  was  quite  an  influx  of  settlers,  among  them 
Tristram  Allen,  a  member  and  minister  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  or  Quakers, 
who,  with  his  family,  came  from  Michigan,  in  August  ot  that  year,  and  bought 
out  Frazier's  claim,  upon  which  he  settled  and  lived  for  almost  twenty  years,  or 
until  a  short  time  before  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1873.  Two  months  later 
several  other  families  of  Friends  came  from  some  part  of  Michigan  and  settled 
some  of  them  within  the  limits  of  this  township,  and  some  just  over  the  line  in 
Minnesota.  Thus  was  begun  the  nucleus  of  the  Quaker  Settlement  at  Hesper, 
which  has  ever  since  been  one  of  the  prominent  features  of  the  place.  Among 
those  who  came  at  this  time  was  Geo.  N.  Holway,  a  native  of  Massachusetts, 
but  for  a  time  before  his  coming  to  Iowa  a  resident  of  Michigan.  He  purchased 
and  settled  upon  the  claim  located  by  Larsen,  on  .section  9,  where  he  lived  for. 
a  number  of  years,  and  then  removed  to  Decorah.  Also  Joseph  Gibbon,  D. 
Allan,  Ansel  Rogers,  and  Abraham  West.  In  the  spring  of  1855  was  held  the 
first  regularly  organized  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  the  new  settle- 
ment, and  in  the  course  of  the  summer,  a  number  of  families  of  that  persuasion 
came  in  from  Vermont,  adding  materially  to  the  Quaker  element  and  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  settlement.  Among  these  were  Russell  Taber  and  his  broth- 
ers, who.  having  purchased  the  claim  originally  located  by  Waterman,  began 
to  make  preparations  for  erecting  a  steam  mill.  This  they  got  in  running  or- 
der, so  as  to  do  sawing,  before  winter  set  in.  This  mill,  with  its  subsequent 
additions  and  enlargements,  still  stands  on  the  north  side  of  the  village  of  Hes- 
per. During  the  winter  a  small  building  was  put  up,  a  stock  of  goods  pro- 
cured, and  the  first  mercantile  establishment  in  the  place  was  opened,  by  H. 
H.  Whaley,  on  the  corner  now  occupied  by  Meader's  store.  With  opening 
spring  came  another  influx  of  immigrants,  among  them,  several  families  ot 
Friends,  from  Indiana,  and  in  the  course  of  the  summer  of  1856,  the  members 
of  that  society  erected  a  meeting  house,  on  the  southwest  comer  of  section  10, 
from  ■which  place  it  was,  a  year  later,  removed  to  a  lot  within  the  bounds  of  the 
town,  then  being  first  laid  out.  On  the  third  day  of  July,  1856,  T.  N.  Wilson 
anived  with  his  family  from  Jackson  County,  where  he  had  stopped  for  two 
years  after  coming  to  the  state,  from  the  East.  Immediately  after  his  arrival 
he  began  preparations  for  erecting  a  house.  On  the  last  day  of  July,  the  build- 
ing was  so  far  completed  that  the  family  moved  into  it,  and  on  the  the  third 
day  of  August  it  was  first  opened  for  the  entertainment  of  travelers.  The  next 
year  still  more  marked  advances  were  made  in  the  way  of  enterprise  and  im- 
provement, lu  April,  the  first  Methodist  Quarterly  Meeting  was  held  in  Wil- 
son's house,  and  the  "Rev.  Mr.  Lease,  then  quite  a  young  man,  was  placed  up- 
on the  charge  as  minister.     In  the  summer  a  school  house  was  put  up  on  a  lot 


HISTORY  OF  WINNESHIEK  COUNTY.  303 

where  the  biiiUliii<^  now  stands,  bvit  no  lonf,'er  used  for  its  origipid  purpose;  it 
is  now  known  as  the  "Gi-any'e  Hall."  The  first  term  of  school  in  this  house 
was  taught  by  Eaward  W.  Holway."' 

In  March,  18G8,  the  present  library  association  and  literary  so- 
ciety, ''The  Philoniatheans,"  was  burned.  They  have  a  library  of 
about  300  volumes.  The  present  large  and  handsome  school 
building  was  erected  in  1872.  The  church  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
was  built  in  1870;  the  Norwegian  Church  about  a  year  later,  and 
the  Methodist  Church  in  1873.  The  State  Line,  and  afterwards, 
Winneshiek  County  Fairs  were  held  for.  several  years  at  Hesper, 
and  the  village  last  fall  voted  a  tax  to  the  proposed  Southwestern 
railroad,  referred  to  in  the  sketch  of  Burr  Oak  and  in  the  County 
History.  The  plat  of  the  village  was  recorded  February  24:th, 
1858.  The  township  was  organized  the  same  year.  It  is  near  the 
northern  part  of  the  township,  and  fifteen  miles  north  from  De- 
corah.  The  township  by  the  census  of  1880,  had  1,000  inhabi- 
tants, of  which  212  were  in  the  village  of  Hesper.  The  post- 
master is  Dr.  F.  Worth,  who  keeps  a  drug  and  grocery  store. 
Dry  goods  and  other  branches  of  business  are  well  represented. 
Wm.  Beard  &  Sons,  Decorah,  have  a  branch  of  their  Ice  Cave 
Creamery  here,  and  the  stock  farm  of  Geo.  Q.  Gardner,  of  De- 
corah, is  in  Hesper  township. 

HIGHLAND. 

Highland  is  the  northeastern  township  (A  the  county.  Its  post- 
office,  Highlandville,  is  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township. 

"Previous  to  the  year  1851,  Highland  township  was  a  wild  and  unsettled 
region,  with  the  vast  country  lying  west  of  it.  But  in  that  year,  three  young 
men— Erick  Davidson,  Magne  Nelson  and  Hagen  Mastad — immigrated,  in  the 
spnng,  from  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  and  sonaetime  in  June,  of  that  year, 
settled  about  one  mile  north  of  where  Highlandville  is  now  situated.  In  the 
spring  of  1852  there  was  quite  an  influx  of  immigiution,  and  among  the  most 
notable  were  the  Aniesons,  Knudt  Bjorgo,  M.  John,  Nels  Nelson,  Sr.,  with  a 
family  of  three  boys,  viz:  Andrew,  Ole  and  Nels,  Jr.,  who  have  played  quite 
a  conspicuous  part  in  the  history  of  Highland  township.  In  the  same  year  Al- 
bert Stoneson  made  his  appearance  with  a  blooming  young  bride.  He  is  now 
surrounded  by  a  large  family  of  young  men  and  women.  In  the  years  follow- 
ing there  were  quite  a  number  that  came  to  Highland  township,  among  the 
most  notable  of  whom  was  E.  Berg,  father  of  the  late  Hon.  K.  Berg  and  Rev.  J. 
Berg.  K.  Berg  had  preceded  his  father  to  this  country,  and  had  made  his  home, 
before  his  father's  arrival  here,  in  Dane  County,  Wis. 

"When  Decorah  enjoyed  the  palmy  days  of  the  U.  S.  Land  Office,  High- 
land township  suffered  with  the  rest  of  the  county  in  respect  to  her  unoccupied 
lands.  Every  acre  was  gobbled  up  by  speculators,  and  great  was  the  trouble 
among  the  squatters  who  had  not  already  a  United  States  patent  on  their 
homestead.  A  great  number  lost  their  land,  as  they  were  not  able  to  borrow 
money  at  the  then  ruling  rate  of  interest,  which  was  40  per  cent.  The  immi- 
gration then  ceased  for  quite  a  while,  and  was  almost  at  a  standstill  till  1860, 
or  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  But  in  the  meantime  the  pio- 
neers of  Highland  had  not  been  idle.  Most  of  them  had  become  well-to-do 
farmers,  and  many  of  them  were  already  on  the  road  to  wealth,  Lars  Olson 
came  from  Muskegon  here  in  the  year  1851  with  only  a  few  hundred  dollars. 
He  began  to  lend  his  money  at  40'  per  cent.,  and  in  the  short  space  of  twenty 
years  had  amassed  a  fortune  of  almost  $100,000,  without  any  kind   of  specula- 


304  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

tion  whatever.  Olson  died  a  lew  years  a^o,  and  Ins  money  is  divided  amono- 
his  large  family  of  ten  boys  and  girls,  who  are  scattered  over  the  southern 
part  ot  Minnesota. 

"About  the  year  1856,  a  school  district  was  organized,  consisting  of  almost 
the  whole  township.  At  that  time  the  township  was  not  very  thickly  setttled. 
In  the  spring  of  1857  a  small  log  school  house  was  erected,  which  has  lon(^ 
since  given  place  to  a  large  and  commodious  fi-ame  building,  with  all  the  mod"- 
ern  improvements.  It  was  in  this  old  log  school  house  that  the  late  Prof.  Berg 
taught  his  first  English  school,  and  where  K.  Bjorgo,  Jr.,  learned  his  A  B  C's 
Heis  now  a  young  minister  of  the  Lutheran  Synod,  of  marked  abilitj'.  Mar- 
tha K.  Bjorgo  was  the  first  child  born  in  the  township. 

"In  1857  a  Lutheran  congregation  was  organized  in  Pleasant  and  Highland 
townships,  and  they,  in  conjunction  with  Spring  Grove,  Minn.,  called  C.  L, 
Clauson  as  their  spiritual  adviser.  He  served  the  two  congregations  for  soma 
time;  but  his  labors  became  too  arduous,  and  the  congregations  separated 
about  three  years  after  their  organization.  Spring  Grove  retaining  the  minister 
who  only  lived  a  few  years  longer,  he  being  the  first  Lutheran  minister  that  died 
in  this  country." 

Highland  township  had  a  population  of  782  by  the  census  of 
1880.  Highlandville  has  about  50  inhabitants.  "Bear  Creek  fur- 
nishes power  to  its  flour  mill,  and  it  has  a  store  and  other  busi- 
ness. 

ORLEANS  TOWNSHIP. 

This  is  the  western  township  of  the  second  tier  from  the  Minne- 
sota line.  We  have  no  record  of  the  first  settler.  Edwin  M. 
Farnsworth  was  there  in  1855.  It  was  then  known  as  Pilot  Grove 
but  in  1858  its  name  had  been  changed  to  Orleans.  The  post  of- 
fice for  a  large  part  of  its  inhabitants  is  Cresco,  just  across  the 
Howard  County  line,  though  it  has  no  village,  it  is  famous  for  its 
fine  farming  country,  beautiful  rolling  prairie.  In  former  days  a 
cheese  factory  was  one  of  the  prominent  enterprises  of  the  town- 
ship and  now  its  stock  farms  are  famous  for  their  fine  herds  of 
Holsteins  and  other  herds  of  blooded  cattle.  Among  these  are  the 
stock  farms  of  L.R.Brown  and  Chas.  Crapser,  who  made  splendid 
showings  at  the  late  Winneshiek  County  Fair,  at  Decorah.  Mr. 
Crapser  also  took  his  herd  to  the  Minneapolis  Exposition,  where  he 
carried  off  all  the  best  premiums.  Population  of  toAvnship  bv  cen- 
sus of  1880,  was  636. 

BLUFFTON  TOWNSHIP  AND   VILLAGE. 

The  township  of  BlufFton  is  the  second  one  from  the  countv 
line  from  the  east  and  the  north.  The  population  of  the  township 
IS  given  as  807.  of  which  the  village,  which  is  about  one  mile  north 
of  the  center  of  the  township,  has  102,  and  is  12  miles  northwest 
of  Decorah,  with  which  it  connects  by  a  tri-weekly  mail  and  stage. 
The  village  and  post  office  of  BlufFton  is  situated  in  a  romantic 
valley  of  the  Upper  Iowa  River,  about  40  rods  wide.  On  one  side 
the  valley  is  overhung  by  a  wall  of  precipitous  rock,  presenting 
a  romatic  and  picturesque  appearance,  and  the  river  and  valley  at 
and  near  BlufFton,  is  famous  for  its  romatic  and  beautiful  scenery, 


HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  305 

not  excelled  in  this  county,  or  State.  The  village  was  founded  by 
Henry  and  Lyman  Morse,  sons  [of  ''Uncle  Philip"  Morse,  promi- 
nently mentioned  in  the  history  of  Decorah.  A  saw  mill  was  built 
there  by  Henry  Morse  in  1852.  The  plat  of  the  village  was  recorded 
October  3,  1856.  The  Morse  brothers  lived  there  for  years,  and 
built  a  grist  mill  before  they  went  away.  Henry  Morse  built  the 
grist  mill  for  Joseph  Speilman,  at  Spillville.  Both  the  brothers 
finally  went  to  California,  having  sold  out  their  interest  in  Bluff- 
ton,  Greer  &  Boggs  bought  the  grist  mill,  and  ran  it  for  some 
years,  the  first  named  member  of  the  firm  being  John  Greer  who 
now  has  charge  of  the  Greer  &  Hunter  Mill,  Decorah. 

This  mill,  which  is  a  prominent  business  institution  of  that  part 
of  the  county,  is  now  owned  by  Rice  &  Hale,  the  partners  being 
Almon  Rice,  for  some  years  holding  the  office  of  County  Supervis- 
or, as  well  as  other  offices  and  F.  G.  Hale  for  a  time  County  Sup- 
ervisor, and  recently  County  Auditor  for  three  successive  terms, 
to  January  1,  1882.  Both  are  prominent  and  enterprising  citi- 
zens of  the  county. 

BlufFton  is  on  the  line  of  the  proposed  Iowa,  Minnesota  & 
Southwestern  railroad,  a  reference  to  which  and  the  tax  list  voted 
is  found  in  the  chapter  of  chronological  history  of  the  county,  and 
for  which  the  right  of  way  is  being  purchased,  as  this  is  written, 
and  paid  for  in  cash,  when  demanded.  The  river  here  is  spanned 
by  a  handsome  and  substantial  iron  bridge.  The  village,  which 
contains  about  three  hundred  inhabitants,  is  connected  with  De- 
corah by  a  tri-weekly  mail.  The  postmaster,  A.  H.  Meader,  is  an 
enterprising,  popular  young  man,  who  also  keeps  a  store  well 
supplied  with  general  merchandise.  J.  J.  Glossman  &  Co.  also 
keep  a  good  general  store.  Lange  Moritz,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  is 
one  of  the  early  settlers,  while  0.  E.  Cooley,  another  old  set- 
tler, can  entertain  vou  by  the  hour  with  reminiscences  of  early 
life. 

The  village  has  also  a  hotel,  shoemaker,  blacksmith,  cooper  and 
carpenter  shops;  phyeician,  barber,  and  other  small  places  of  bus- 
iness. F.  R.  Fletcher,  millwright,  isone  of  the  old  citizens,  and  an 
active  business  mm,  now  engaged  in  traveling  for  the  sale  of  mill 
machinery. 

The  village  of  Bluffton  is  supplied  with  two  churches.  Catholic 
and  Methodist.  The  population  of  the  village  is  102,  and  of  the 
township,  807.  The  township  as  weW  as  the  village  is  settled  with 
an  enterprisising  class  of  people,  and  especially  with  its  pros- 
pective railroad  and  its  fine  water  power,  has  a  promising  future 
before  it. 

CANOE    TOWNSHIP. 

This  township  is  the  first  one  north  of  Decorah.  It  takes  its 
name  from  the  "Canoe  River,"  which  flows  through  it  and  emp- 
ties into  the  Upper  Iowa,  beyond  the  eastern  border  of  Winiie- 


306  HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY, 

shiek  County.  Its  postoffices  are  Decorah,  and  Springwater  on 
the  Canoe  River,  6  miles  from  Deeorali,  where  is  a  good  fall  of 
water,  and  the  mills  where  E.  Blakeman  manufactures  excellent 
flour.  Those  residing  in  the  northeastern  corner  get  their  mail, 
from  Locust  Lane,  P.  0.  in  Pleasant  township.  Population  of 
the  township,  991.  One  of  the  well-known  oldest  settlers  of 
the  county,  0.  W,  Emory,  came  there  on  the  20th  of  August, 
1849,  and  settled  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  17.  Among 
the  othei"  settlers  were  John  W.  Hohn,  who  came  here  on  the 
30tli  of  July,  1850,  John  Fredenburg,  who  settled  on  section  C, 
on  the  20th  of  October,  1850,  and  Simeon  M.  Leach,  who  came 
on  the  12th  of  May,  1851.  Further  particulars  of  early  settle- 
ments are  given  in  preceding  pages  of  County  History. 

The  beautiful  grounds  of  Col.  Taylor,  described  elsewhere  in 
this  volume,  are  in  Canoe  township,  about  six  miles  north  of  De- 
corah. 

PLEASANT  TOAVNSHIP — LOCUST   LANE  P.  0. 

According  to  the  tax  lists.  Pleasant  township  took  its  name  and 
place  in  1856.  It  is  the  eastern  one  of  the  second  tier.  The  Ca- 
noe runs  across  the  southern  portion,  and  the  Upper  Iowa  River 
across  the  northeast  corner.  Population  in  1880  was  929.  Lo- 
cust Lane  postoffice  is  near  the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of 
the  township,  has  a  population  of  about  25,  and  is  on  the  tri- 
weekly mail  route  between  Decorah  and  Hesper.  I,  T,  Shipley 
is  postmaster,  and  keeps  a  general  store.  It  is  10  miles  nearly 
north  from  Decorah. 

"In  the  year  1850,  two  Germans  from  Pennsylvania,  viz:  John  Klontz  and 
Wm.  Vale,  pitched  their  tents  in  the  northwest  comer  of  Pleasant  township, 
Vale  choosing  for  his  homestead  what  has  since  been  known  as  the  Locust 
Lane  Farm,  deriving  its  name  from  the  locust  trees  that  were  planted  on  each 
side  of  the  road  immediately  after  the  land  was  fenced  in.  John  Klontz  took 
up  his  ranch  on  the  south  side  of  Vale,  and  both  went  to  work.  They  made 
money,  as  everything  they  had  to  sell  brought  them  good  prices.  Mr.  Vale 
one  time  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  holding  all  the  township  offices,  except  con- 
stable, at  one  and  the  same  time.  He  was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace,  the 
first  assessor,  and  the  first  clerk  the  township  had.  He  also  built  the  first  brick 
dwelling  in  Winneshiek  County.  Klontz  and  Vale  have  both  since  sold  their 
farms  and  moved  to  Missouri .  In  the  following  year  the  first  influx  of  Nor- 
wegians commenced.  They  were:  Hover  Evenson,  Ole  Magneson,  and  Erick 
Erickson,  who  came  here  from  Cambridge,  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  and  Pet- 
er K.  Langland,  Lewis  Peterson,  Knudt  K.  Liquen  and  K.  Erickson,  from 
Illinois.  Hover  Evenson  was  the  first  blacksmith  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county.  He  long  since  abandoned  his  trade,  and  attended  exclusively  to  farm- 
ing; he  is  one  of  the  wealthiest  farmers  of  his  township.  Ole  Magneson  and 
E.  Erickson  settled  in  the  northeastern  comer  of  the  township.  The  latter  is 
still  on  his  old  homestead,  living  in  a  house  which  has  become  somewhat  noted 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  all  built  from  one  pine  tree.  The  walls  are  a  solid 
plank,  six  inches  thick,  and  only  three  such  planks  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling 
in  the  first  story  and  two  above .  The  floors,  roof-boards,  window  and  door 
casings  are  from  the  same  tree.  It  was  all  sawed  up  with  a  hand-saw,  as  the 
logs  could  not  be  moved  from  the  place  where  the  tree  grew,  on  Pine  Creek. 
Ole  Magneson  introduced  the  first  reaper  into  the  neighborhood,  and  was  also 
the  owner  or  the  first  threshing-machine  in  that  township. 


HISTORY    OF    WliiNESHIEK    COUNTY.  307 

"In  the  year  1853  there  was  another  influx  from  Dane  County,  Wisconsin, 
prominent  among  whom  were  Bottolf  Olson,  Magne  Langland,  H.  Hendiick- 
son,  Sven  Olson,  Ole  Thorson,  and  others.  In  1858  Ole  B.  Olson  was  one  of 
tlae  first  settlers  of  Dakota  Territory,  and  was  elected  the  first  judge  of  the  ter- 
ritory, which  position  he  occupied  until  his  death,  in  1875.  Enck  B.  Olson,  the 
younger  brother,  was  one  of  the  first  four  men  who  climbed  the  mountains  of 
Colorado  in  search  of  gold,  in  1859." 

"The  first  school-house  was  built  at  Locust  Lane,  in  1854,  and  served,  also, 
a  church  for  every  denomination.  The  second  school-house  that  was  built  is 
still  standing,  and  is  known  as  the  EUingson  school-house.  This  was  built  of 
logs,  quite  large,  and  intended  to  serve  as  a  church  for  the  Lutheran  congrega- 
tion that  was  then  organized  in  connection  with  Highland  and  Spring  Grove. 
It  was  built  mostly  by  private  funds;  every  farmer  would  bring  so  many  logs 
and  work  so  many  days.  This  district  consisted  of  portions  of  four  townships, 
viz:  Pleasant  and  Highland,  m  Winneshiek,  and  Waterloo  and  Hanover,  in 
Allamakee.  The  first  school  was  taught  by  James  Lennon,  of  Frank^ille 
township.  The  late  Hon.  Ole  Nelson  taught  the  first  school  in  this  house,  and 
was  also  the  first  Norwegian  Representative  in  the  Iowa  Legislature." 

"In  1855  and  1856,  almost  all  the  land  was  taken  up,  and  what  was  not 
was  bought  up  by  speculators  when  the  land  office  was  in  Decorah.  Among 
those  who  came  later  may  be  mentioned  K.  Thompson,  who  became  sheriff 
of  this  county  in  1870,  and  was  as  good  an  officer  as  the  county  ever  had.  Al- 
so Peter  Sampson,  0.  W.  Elhngson,  and  the  Johnson  Brothers  (of  whom 
there  were  seven  at  one  time).  Tnere  is  also  another  fact  worth  mentioning, 
and  that  is  this,  that  almost  every  one  of  the  pioneers  that  came  into  the  town- 
ship in  the  years  1852-3-4,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two,  are  still  living  on 
their  old  homesteads,  which  shows  that  the  pioneers  must  have  been  a  strong, 
healthy  and  vigorous  set  of  men." 

LINCOLN  TOWNSHIP — EIDGEWAY. 

This  township  is  the  western  one  of  the  central  tier  of  the 
county.  The  Turkey  River  flows  diagonally  southeast  through 
the  township,  a  little  west  of  the  center,  on  it  is  Dauber- 
smith's  mill.  Ridgeway  railway  station,  post  ofiice  and  village  is 
near  the  center  of  the  eastern  half,  about  one  mile  from  the  town- 
ship line.  Population  of  township  in  1880  was  992.  Ridgeway 
has  a  population  of  about  350,  and  quite  a  number  of  good  stores, 
elevator  and  grain  ware  houses,  and  other  places  of  business.  D. 
0.  Aaker,  late  State  Representative,  of  the  firm  of  Galby  & 
Aaker,  is  one  of  the  prominent  business  men.  S.  Pike,  hotel 
keeper,  has  been  its  historian  in  times  past,  and  from  his  writ- 
ings the  present  sketch  is  mostly  gleaned. 

"The  first  settlement  was  made  in  Lincoln  Township  in  the  spring  of  1852, 
Knud  Alfson  built  a  small  house  and  broke  up  a  few  acres  on  Section  27,  while 
Lars  Thompson  commenced  about  the  same  time  on  Section  34.  In  the  fall  of 
the  same  year.  Jacob  Knudson  and  Kittle  Sanderson  established  themselves  on 
Section  22.  The  next  year  Gunder  Kittleson.  Albert  Kittleson,  Gullick  Thomip- 
son,  Tove  Thompson  and  Thomas  Thompson,  settled  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, while  John  Seleir,  IMichael  Parrel,  Charles  Straun,  John  Wholelian, 
Nels  Olsen,  Charles  Junck,  H.  W.  Klemme,  Andrew  Michael,  Philip  Kratz  and 
Wm.  Blackburn,  came  in  durinp:  the  two  or  three  years  following.  The  town- 
ship of  Lincoln  was  formerly  reckoned  as  an  integral  part  of  Decorah,  an  ar- 
rangement that  did  not  last  very  long,  as  a  reconstruction  of  the  map  was  soon 
effected,  by  which  the  present  township  was  apportioned  to  Sumner,  and  upon 
the  authorized  survey  and  platting  of  townships,  was  given  its  present  name. 


308  HISTORY   OF   WIN'NDSHIEK   COUNTY. 

In  1866,  Ridgeway  existed  only  its  name.  About  this  time,  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  P.  railway  having  reached  there,  the  railroad  company  built  a 
house  for  their  accommodation,  and  Mr.  S.Pike  soon  after  took  charge  of  it. 
The  building  was  16x32  feet  base,  one  and  a  half  stories  high,  divided  into  sev- 
eral compartments,  and  ceiled  throughout  with  good  matched  flooring.  Mr. 
Pike  with  his  wife  moved  into  the  house  December,  4,  1866,  a  day  ever  to  be  re- 
membered in  their  experiences  of  housekeeping.  Though  the  gi-ound  had  been 
frozen  for  some  time  previous,  the  heavy  rains  that  had  fallen  the  preceding 
week  had  thawed  the  earth  again,  and  the  different  gangs  who  were  grading 
the  prospective  grounds,  and  also  a  gang  of  track  layers  who  were  putting  in  a 
switch  and  laying  a  spur  of  track  for  present  accommodation,  had  made  the 
house  a  place  of  resort  for  shelter  during  the  heaviest  of  the  rains,  and  when 
they  reached  there  about  dark  of  that  rainy  December  night,  the  prospect  was 
dreary  enough.  Fred.  Gashom  and  James  Kinney,  antedate  Mr.  Pike's  claim 
to  the  title,  "oldest  inhabitant,"  by  about  two  or  three  weeks.  They  did  not 
live  within  the  limits  of  the  present  village,  however,  but  were  about  a  hundred 
rods  below,  the  winter  was  unusually  severe  and  protracted,  the  last  passage  of  the 
snow  plow  being  on  March  28,  1876,  and  that  after  a  three  days'  efibrt  from 
McGregor." 

No  effort  was  made  in  the  way  of  improvements  until  about 
a  year  after  the  road  was  completed  to  Cresco.  In  July,  1867, 
J.  L.  Flowers  built  a  grain  warehouse,  and  Gilchrist  &  Co.  another 
soon  afterward.  A  drug  store  by  A.  M.  Blakeman,  and  a  gener- 
al merchandise  store  were  built  the  same  year,  and  a  post  office 
established.  A  small  depot  building  was  also  erected  in  1857. 
The  next  year  there  were  many  other  improvements,  and  business 
greatly  increased. 

Ridgeway  was  organized  into  an  independent  school  district  during  the  year 
1875.  It  has  a  good  school  house,  with  an  average  attendance  of  scholars 
There  is  one  churcii  edifice  in  town,  and  that  a  small  wooden  structure  built  by 
a  body  of  dissenterfrom  the  ^Id  established  Lutheran  Church  among  the  Nor- 
wegians. The  house  is  not  completed,  and  is  seldom  used.  The  Methodists 
and  Adventists  hold  meetings  in  the  school  house. 

In  the  spring  of  1874  (May  9),  Rideway  was  swept  by  a  fire  that  threatened 
to  wipe  out  the  entu-e  village.  The  fire  started  in  a  small  untenanted  wooden 
structure  on  the  comer  where  the  Herchmer  House  now  stands.  A  continuous 
blast  from  the  south  swept  across  the  square,  taking  everything  in  the  line  ot 
the  wind.  The  weather  had  been  very  diy  for  some  time  previous,  and  the 
denselv-packed  wooden  row  fronting  the  railroad  was  simply  a  line  of  tinder 
boxes  through  which  the  fire  swept  without  let  or  hinderance,  and  one  hour 
from  the  time  the  alarm  was  given,  four-fifths  of  the  business  interests  of  the 
town  were  in  ashes.  The  fire  originated  with  two  little  boys,  four  years  old, 
lighting  a  cigar  in  the  house  above  mentioned.  The  fire  devoured  everything 
in  its  course,  including,  besides  the  business  row  and  dwellings,,  four  grain 
•warehouses,  the  depot  (unlamented),  and  a  fine  water-tank,  which  the  railroad 
company  had  just  completed.  Daniel  Rice,  a^saloon-keeper,  in  trying  to  save 
his  money,  was  burned  so  that  he  died.  The  loss  of  property  was  veiy  severe. 
The  total  number  of  buildings— stores,  saloons,  dwelHngs  and  bams — burned, 
were  thirty-four,  leaving  fifty-nine  unbumed,  the  latter  being  almost  wholly 
dwellings  and  out  building's.  A  careful  estimate  of  the  total  losses  incuiTcd 
amounted  to  $48,730,  of  which  amount  only  |1 1,850  was  covered  by  insurance. 

Immediately  after  the  fire  the  railroad  company  set  to  work  building  a  depot. 
Instead  of  the  narrow  and  cramped  accommodations  of  the  old  trap  dignified  by 
the  name,  they  have  now  ample  room  for  ever>'  department  of  their  business. 
The  water-tank  was  also  rebuilt,  and  with  one  of  the  best  wells  on  the  road,  is 
an  importa^t  adjunct  in  the  management  of  its  rolling  stock.     The  village  has 


HISTORY   OF  WI]S"KESHIEK   COUN^TY.  309 

completely  recovered  from  the  severe  losses  it  sustained  by  the  fire.  Its  busi- 
ness interests  have  continued  to  increase,  and,  as  a  result,  larger  and  better  bus- 
iness buildmgs  serve  the  accommodations  of  trade. 

In  1877  Ridgway  had  a  newspaper  for   a  short  time.      The 
Ridgway  Register^  published  by  F.  A.  Howe, 

MADISON   TOWNSHIP. 

The  eastern  line  of  this  township  crosses  the  center  of  the 
county.  In  i860  Madison  was  separated  from  Decorah  township 
and  given  an  existence  of  its  own.  The  first  settler  was  Jo- 
hannes Evenson,  in  1850,  whose  marriage  to  Miss  Catharine 
Helen  Anderson  was  the  first  marriage  in  the  county.  The  li- 
cense was  granted  on  the  fifth  day  of  October.  1850,  and  the 
ceremony  was  performed  by  the  well-known  Rev.  N.  Brandt, 
now  pastor  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church,  Decorah,  but 
then  a  wandering  missionary.  The  hunt  for  the  license,  so  as  to 
take  advantage  of  the  presence  of  the  minister  and  have  the  mai- 
riage  performed,  and  the  v/aiting  for  Judge  Reed  to  return  from 
Dubuque  to  grant  the  license,  are  more  fully  related  in  an  early 
chapter  of  this  history.  Other  settlers  were  Iver  Gr.  Ringstad 
and  wife,  June  30,  185i,  on  section  29;  Ole  M.  Asleson  and  wife, 
July  12,  on  section  8;  Gulbrand  E.  Wig,  in  September,  on  sec- 
tion 36;  Helge  N.  Myron  and  Herbert  Onstien,  all  in  1851.  Ed- 
ward R.  Scott,  now  a  prominent  farmer  of  Madison  township, 
settled  there  with  his  wife  in  1854:.  Population  of  the  township, 
781.  The  residents  get  their  mail  at  Decorah  and  Ridgeway.  The 
Upper  Iowa  River  runs  across  the  extreme  northeastern  part  of 
the  township. 

DECORAH. 

This  township,  city  and  county  seat  are  described   in   the   pre- 
ceding chapter. 

GLENWOOD  TOWNSHIP. 

This  IS  the  eastern  of  the  central  tier  of  townships.  The  Up- 
per Iowa  River  runs  across  the  northern  part.  "Trout  River" 
running  north  through  the  central  part,  empties  into  it.  Popu- 
lation about  1,200.  Woodville  P.  0.  is  about  two  miles  south- 
east of  the  center  of  the  township,  on  the  Decorah  and  Waukon 
daily  mail  route,  and  Thoten  P.  0.  in  the  Rocksvold  neighbor- 
hood, toward  the  northwest  part.  The  Washington  Prairie  P.  0., 
in  Frankville  township,  and  the  Freeport  P.  0.  are  convenient  to 
some  'of  the  inhabitants.  There  are  ample  water  powers  and 
several  mills  in  the  township.  The  large  spring  and  caves  on 
and  near  the  Decorah  and  Waukon  road,  are  often  visited  by  pic- 
nic parties  from  Waukon.  The  large  cave  not  far  from  ''Trout 
River"  in  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  is  described  in  the 
account  of  iileasure  resorts  near  Decorah,  given  in  the  preceding 
chapter. 


310  HISTORY   OF   WINifESHIEK   COUNTY. 

July  2;  1850,  Ole  G.  Johnson  settled  on  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  31.  Among  other  early  settlers  were  Christopher 
Evans,  June  15,  1851,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  32; 
and  Nathan  Drake,  the  same  year,  on  section  7,  where  he  is  still 
a  prominent  and  public-spirited  citizen.  Ole  P.  Rocksvold.  Hen- 
ry Kniss  and  Lewis  L.  Cook  and  wife,  settled  in  1853.  Geo.  C. 
Windship  and  wife,  now  of  Decorah,  and  quite  a  number  of  others 
in  1854,  and  the  settlement  was  afterwards  rapid.  The  graded 
road  bed  of  the  proposed  railroad  extension  from  Waukon  to  De- 
corah, which  may  yet  be  built,  runs  through  the  northern  part  of 
the  township. 

SUMNER  TOWNSHIP. 

This  is  the  western  township  of  the  fourth  tier  from  the  north. 
Population,  863,  in  1880.  The  Turkey  River  flows  southeast 
through  the  northeast  part  of  the  township.  The  nearest  post- 
office  is  Spillville,  just  across  the  eastern  line.  It  was  divided 
from  Lincoln  and  made  a  separate  township  in  1862.  There  is  no 
village  nor  even  store  in  Sumner  township.  It  is  purely  agricultu- 
ral. A.  Tracy,  now  of  Decorah,  who  went  there  in  1858  and  set- 
tled on  section  29,  where  he  lived  until  a  few  years  ago,  was  the 
first  settler  on  the  open  prairie,  "which  he  describes  as  marvelous- 
ly  beautiful,  being  a  rolling  sea  of  many  hued  flowers,  with  fre- 
quent springs.  There  was  a  Norwegian  settlement  in  the  north- 
east on  the  Turkey  River  before  Mr.  Tracy  came.  The  Germans, 
mostly  in  the  eastern  part,  also  came  before  him.  The  Bohem- 
ians came  later,  and  comprise  a  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  north  half  of  the  township  is  rolling  and  generally  pretty 
well  timbered.  The  south  half  is  open  rolling  prairie,  except 
where  trees  have  been  planted,  with  plenty  of  springs.  All  is  good 
soil. 

CALMAR  TOWNSHIP — CALMAR,    SPILLVILLE  AND   CONOVER. 

Calmar  township,  with  total  population  in  1880,  2,043,  has  three 
villages  and  postoffices.  Calmar,  the  railroad  center  of  several 
branches  of  the  C,  M.  &  St.  P.  Ry.,  with  a  population  in  1880 
of  617,  is  a  little  over  a  mile  from  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
township.  Spillville,  on  the  Turkey  River  which  flows  through 
the  western  part  of  the  township — population,  340;  and  Conover 
the  junction  of  the  Decorah  branch  of  the  railroad,  and  situated 
near  the  center  of  the  township — population,  168.  The  first  vot- 
ing precinct  of  the  township  is  at  Calmar  and  the  second  at 
Spillville. 

Calmar  village  is  situated  on  a  high  rolling  prairie  and  in  the 
center  of  a  beautiful  and  productive  country.  It  is  on  the  main 
line  of  the  Iowa  &  Minnesota  division  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
&  St.  Paul  railroad.  It  is  the  starting  point  of  the  Iowa  &  Da- 
kota Division,  also  of  the  trains  on  the  Decorah  branch  via  Con- 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  311 

over,  and  of  trains  on  the  Davenport  via  Jackson  Junction. 
Some  eighteen  trains  arrive  and  leave  daily,  making  the  move- 
ment of  thirty-six  trains.  The  important  business  of  the  station 
is  under  the  capable  charge  of  S.  V.  Potter,  agent.  T.  A  hern, 
roadmaster,  T.  W.  Hazleton,  foreman  of  the  round  house,  and 
Sam  Kelsey,  foreman  of  repair  shop,  and  Conductor  Hoxsie,  of 
the  I.  &  D.  Division,  have  their  homes  here,  as  do  quite  a  number 
of  other  railroad  men.  S.  V.  Potter  several  years  ago,  put  up  a 
large  and  handsome  residence,  and  fine  residences  have  also  been 
erected  by  T.  Ahern,  and  other  railroad  men  and  citizens. 

Calmar  is  now  well  supplied  with  churches.  The  Norwegian 
Lutheran  Church,  built  of  stone  in  1857,  but  since  enlarged,  has 
been  for  twenty-five  years  a  prominent  landmark;  the  Catholics 
erected  a  handsome  frame  church 'building  several  years  ago,  and 
the  erection  of  a  frame  edifice  for  the  Methodist  Church,  to  cost 
$3,000,  has  just  been  commenced.  The  graded  school,  Avith  two 
distinct  departments  and  two  teachers  in  summer  and  three  in 
winter,  has  a  commodious  and  handsome  new  building — atten- 
dance, 160.     C.  S.  Boyce  is  principal,  and  Anna  Stanberg  assistant. 

John  Scott,  postmaster  and  express  agent,  has  a  large  general 
merchandise  store.  The  Excelsior  Wagon  Works  of  Miller, 
Geisen  &  Co.,  are  an  important  enterprise.  C.  W.  Geisen  runs 
the  lumber  yard,  Meyer  &  Dortal  a  good  general  store,  and 
McEwen  &  Stiles  the  drug  and  book  store;  while  in  the  same 
row  with  P.  Olson's  dry  goods  store,  occupying  a  district  recently 
burned  out,  are  y.  E.  Strayers  handsome  new  brick  hardware 
store,  and  L.  0.  Moen's  fine  new  brick  building  for  his  furniture 
store.  Some  fifteen  dwelling  houses  have  also  been  erected  in 
Calmar  this  season.  Beside  the  Railroad  Hotel  there  are  the  George 
House,  the  Ferguson  House  and  the  American  House.  The  other 
branches  of  business  are  well  represented.  The  present  city  offi- 
cers are: 

Mayor,  C.  W.  Geisen;  Recorder,  J.  B.  Kaye.;  Treasurer,  P. 
Olson;  Councilmen,  J.  S.  Roome,  A.  E.  Stiles,  F.  L.  George,  H. 
Miller,  Jr.,  J.  H.  Constantine,  and  V.  E.  Strayer.;  Marshal,  Geo. 
Miller. 

John  B.  Kaye,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  prominent  attorney,  is 
also  a  poet  of  no  mean  ability,  and  a  general  favorite.  His  second 
volume,  ''Songs  of  Lake  Geneva,  and  Other  Poems,"  is  now  in  the 
hands  of  the  publishers. 

Calmar's  first  newspaper,  the  Winneshieh  Bepresentative,  pub- 
lished by  T.  B.  Wood,  commenced  in  1870,  lived  about  a  year  and 
removed  to  Ossian,  where  it  soon  died.  The  Calmar  Guardian 
commenced  April  19,  1876,  ran  about  two  years.  Sam  S.  Haislet, 
the  publisher,  now  has  a  paper  at  Heron  Lake,  Minn.  The  Calmar 
Critic,  commenced  in  June  by  W.  C.  Eaton,  now  represents  Cal- 
mar in  the  newspaper  world,  besides  Calmar  departments  of  the 
Decorah  newspapers. 


312  HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

The  following  in  regard  to  the  early  history  of  Calmar,  as  well 
as  incidentally  of  Conover,  is  gleaned  from  a  contributor  to 
Sparks'  History: 

"In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1854,  the  first  buikling  was  erected  in  Cahnarby 
Peter  Clawson  and  Alt.  Chirk,  natives  of  Sweden,  who  came  from  California 
about  that  time  and  located  at  this  place.  This  building  was  little  more  than 
a  shanty,  but  served  the  double  pui-pose  of  a  variety  store  and  dwelling  house, 
Clark  &  Clawson  being  the  occupants  and  the  first  merchants  of  the  town. 

'"John  P.  Landin,  my  informant,  tells  me  that  the  town  site,  surveyed  a  little 
later  in  the  season — himself  helping  to  cany  the  chain — and  was  then  platted 
and  dedicated  to  the  public,  by  Clark,  the  owner  of  the  land.  On  the  comple- 
tion of  the  survey  it  was  found  that  the  store  stood  in  the  center  of  Main  street. 
Before  winter,  however,  Clark  &  Co.,  had  erected  three  other  buildings  of  more 
pretentions — a  hotel,  the  Calmar  House,  which  bvn-ned  down  in  August.  1873, 
a^tore,  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  P.  Olson's  building,  and  a  saloon,  which 
stood  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Huston  House. 

"Clark  «fe  Co.  ran  the  new  store,  one  Henry  Miller  the  hotel,  and  Hans  Gul- 
branson  the  saloon,  while  Landm  served  for  some  time  in  the  capacity  of  hostler 
in  the  hotel  stable.  On  account  of  the  scarcity  of  shingles  in  the  river  markets 
at  the  time,  the  hotel  was  roofed  in  the  first  instance  with  canvas,  or  sheeting, 
and  so  remained  for  several  months .  Jjandin  dug  the  first  well  in  town,  dur- 
ing the  same  year.  It  was  sank  in  the  public  square.  On  the  9th  of  July, 
1854,  says  Landin.  before  I  ever  saw  Calmar,  or  the  site  where  it  stands,  I 
stopped  at  Fort  Atkinson,  ate  supper,  stopped  over  night  and  breakfasted  next 
day  with  Squire  Cooney.  After  hoeing  corn  awhile  as  an  equivalent,  I  inquired 
of  the  squire  if  there  was  any  of  my  countiymen  in  the  vicinitj',  and  he  told  me 
that  there  was  one  by  the  name  of  Clark  keeping  store  at  Whisky  Grove,  and  I 
came  up  here.  It  was  my  first  day  in  Calmar.  Whisky  Grove,  it  appears,  was 
a  name  often  applied  to  this  locality  in  those  days. 

"The  town  was  by  Clark  named  Marysville,  and  went  by  that  name  for 
about  one  year,  when  a  postoffice  was  located  here,  and,  on  account  of  there  be- 
mg  another  Marysville  in  the  State,  the  name  was  changed  to  Calmar.  This 
latter  name  was  also  of  Clark's  choosing,  and  was  given  in  remembrance  of  his 
native  town  of  Kalmar,  situated  on  Kalmar  Sound,  on  the  southeast  coast  of 
Sweden.  Clark  was  the  first  postmaster,  and  his  successors  have  been  P.  M. 
Stanberg,  D .  S .  Lovejoy,  and  John  Scott,  the  present  incumbent. 

"In  the  year  1855,  Landin  erected  a  wooden  building  on  the  site  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Clawson  &  Landin  Block.  In  that  building  he  opened  up  a  grocery- 
business  and  sold  whisky  and  beer — the  latter  he  brewed  himself  in  an  under- 
ground cave  near  by.  A  large  percentage  of  his  sales  were  paid  in  butter  and 
eggs.  At  that  time  he  paid  from  six  cents  to  nme  cents  per  pound  for  butter, 
and  three  cents  per  dozen  for  eggs.  Whisky  sold  for  five  cents  per  glass,  so 
that  for  only  one  dozen  and  eight  eggs  a  man  could  get  a  'square  drink,'  and 
if  a  customer  wanted  a  'nog'  it  was  common  for  the  trader  to  throw  in  the  egg 
'free  gratis.' 

"In  the  year  1868,  work  was  commenced  on  the  Iowa  &  Dakota  branch  of 
the  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  railroad,  with  Calmar  as  its  eastern  terminus  and 
junction  with  the  main  line.  During  the  year,  track  was  laid  as  far  as  New 
Hampton,  considerably  increasing  the  trade  of  the  town,  and  adding  to  its 
importance  as  a  shipping  center  as  the  road  was  pushed  further  into  the  interior. 
During  the  next  year  the  Decorah  branch  was  built,  but  for  a  year  thereafter 
the  trains  of  that  branch  did  not  run  farther  east  then  Conover,  since  which 
time  Calmar  has  been  the  eastern  end  of  their  run  and  the  point  of  passenger 
transfer.      But,  as  already  stated,  these  trains  still  make  a  stay  at  Conover. 

"In  the  year  1869,  under  the  provisons  of  the  Municipal  Incorporation  Act, 
Chapter  51,  Revised  Statutes  of  1860,  Calmar  was  made  an  incorporated  town, 
and  was  duly  organized  by  the  election  of  municipal  officers  in  March,  1870. 
John  Scott  was  elected  Mayor,  and  was  re-elected  in  1871.  In  1872  John  W. 
Tower  was  elected  Mayor,  and  in  1873-4,  the  citizens  chose  S.  V.  Potter  to  fill 


HISTORY    OF    WIJfNESHIEK    COUNTY.  313 

that  office.  In  1875  the  mantle  was  worn  by  A.  E.  jNIanchester,  and  E.  Pen- 
nington is  the  present  incumbent.  Since  the  incorpoi'ation  of  the  town,  several 
miles  of  sidewalks  built,  Town  Hall  erected,  and  many  other  public  improve- 
ments made. 

"The  Free  Masons  have  a  lodge  in  Cal  mar  with  a  membership  of  forty-five . 
Their  hall  is  over  the  post  office,  and  is  neat,  commodious  and  well  furnished. 
The  lodge  is  out  of  debt,  and  its  growth  and  influence  in  our  town  has  been 
rapid  and  beneficent.  The  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Temperance  also  have  a 
lodge  here,  and  although  organized  only  about  a  year  ago,  it  has  about  forty 
active  members,  and  is  doing  a  good  work.  Their  hall,  on  the  upper  floor  of  the 
Anderson-Landin  block,  is  large,  and  well  arranged." 

The  flush  days  of  Conover  village,  which  is  niue  miles  from 
Decorah  and  three  from  Calmar,  and  situated  Avhere  the  De- 
corah  branch  leaves  the  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  branch  of  the 
Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Ry.,  are  pictured  in  the  preceding 
description.  But  it  still  has  168  inhabitants  by  the  census  of 
1880,  an  elevator,  a  general  store,  hotel  and  other  business.  C. 
J.  Thompson  is  railroad  and  express  agent. 

Spillville  village,  three  miles  Avest  of  Conover,  and  twelve  miles 
southwest  of  Decorah,  is  situated  on  the  southwest  bank  of  the 
Turkey  River,  and  has  310  inhabitants.  The  plat  was  recorded 
by  Joseph  Spielman,  proprietor.  May  7,  1860.  Joseph  Spillman, 
or  Spielman,  who  lived  there  in  1851,  Avas  the  first  settler,  and 
had  a  mill.  The  flouring  mill,  now  one  of  its  prominent  institu- 
tions, was  built  by  Henry  and  Lyman  Morse,  the  well-known 
Bluffton  pioneers,  before  they  left  for  California.  It  was  after- 
ward operated  by  Norris  Miller,  now  of  Decorah.  It  is  now  owned 
by  the  Spillville  Mill  Co.  Frank  Nockles'  brewery  is  another 
prominent  enterprise.  J.  J.  Hang,  postmaster,  has  a  general  store, 
and  there  are  other  branches  of  business.  S.  W.  Sanders  &  Son, 
Decorah,  have  a  branch  store  there.  Spillville  is  the  center  and 
headquarters  of  the  Bohemians  of  the  county,  who  flock  in 
crowds  to  the  large  Bohemian  Catholic  Church  there,  in  the  fore- 
noon, and  after  services  all  go  to  the  beer  saloons  and  enjoy 
themselves  in  their  old  country  style — but  there  is  rarely  drunk- 
ness  on  the  occasions.  The  Spillville  band  and  orchestra  is  fa- 
mous, and  is  often  called  to  Decorah  on  public  occasions. 

SPRINGFIELD  TOAVNaHIP 

adjoins  Decorah  township  on  the  south.  The C,  M.  &  St.  Paul 
Ry.  runs  across  its  soutliAvestern  corner.  It  has  no  village  nor 
postofiice,  its  most  convenient  ones  being  Decorah,  Calmar,  and 
Ossian.  Population,  1,837.  The  toAvnship  was  settled  in  June, 
1850,  by  what  are  claimed  to  be  the  first  NorAvegian  settlers  in 
the  county.  An  account  of  this  settlement — that  of  the  Erick 
Anderson  party  in  June,  of  Nelson  Johnson  and  party  in  July, 
and  of  Engebret  Peterson  Haugen,  in  October  of  the  same  year, 
are  given  in  a  previous  chapter  relating  to  early  county  history, 
and  need  not  be  repeated  here. 


Zli  HISTOKY   OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 


FRA.NKVILLE  TOWNSHIP  AND  VILLA.GE, 

Frankville  is  the  eastern  township  of  next  to  the  southern  tier 
of  townships.  The  census  of  1880  gave  it  a  population  of  970. 
Of  these  158  are  in  Frankville  village,  in  the  southeastern  corner 
of  the  township,  and  12  miles  southeast  of  Decorah.  Woodside 
postofSce  is  on  the  road  to  Desorah,  about  1  miles  from  Frank- 
ville.    Spark's  History  says: 

"In  1851-2-3  the  county  was  deluged  with  a  healthy  immigration.  They 
were  men  noted  for  their  integrity,  perseverance,  and  a  determination  to  suc- 
ceed. They  came  in  their  covered  carts  drawn  by  oxen,  with  the  family  sup- 
port hitched  on  behind  in  the  possession  of  a  good  milch  cow.  A  great  many 
of  these  men  found  their  homes  on  Washington  Prairie.  The  earliest  pioneers 
were  the  Hawkes,  Moses  Hostetter,  J .  Callendar,  Christopher  Anderson  Es- 
trem,  Wm.  Padden,  the  Rosa  family,  Jacob  Duff,  Walter  Rathbun,  and 
others.  These  came  in  1850  or  early  in  1851 .  Among  the  number  who  drifted 
into  the  county  in  the  years  1851-2  were  J.  T.  Atkins,  the  Beards  and  Cutlers, 
.Tohn  and  James  D.  McKay,  Joel  Pagin,  Wm.  Birdsell,  Philip  Husted,  Isaac 
Birdsell,  Erick,  Olson  Bakke,  James  B.  Schenk,  and  others  too  numerous  to 
mention.  This  immigration  had  the  effect  to  change  the  wild  prairie  of  a  year 
or  two  previous  into  the  garden  of  Winneshiek  County.  The  construction  of 
houses  was  carried  on  until  they  dotted  the  prairie  from  every  conceivable  point 
of  the  compass.  Deer  were  numerous,  prairie-chickens  plenty,  the  small 
streams  abounded  with  speckled  trout,  while  larger  fish  were  to  be  obtained 
from  the  Iowa  River.  With  these,  and  what  they  were  able  to  raise,  it  would 
seem  these  hardy  pioneers  fared  sumptuously. 

"Along  with  the  tide  that  rolled  over  the  country  in  1851  was  a  man  noted  for 
his  wealth,  energy  and  perseverance.  He  came  to  stay,  bringing  with  him  a 
herd  of  cattle.  Among  others  who  preceded  him  was  one  Timothy  FuUer, 
whose  claim  he  purchased  and  settled  on.  This  man  is  kno^vn  all  over  the  coun- 
try as  Frank  Teabout,  the  founder  of  Frankville. 

"In  1852.  Frankville  was  little  more  than  a  trading  point,  at  which  lived  the 
only  inhabitant  and  proprietor,  Mr.  Frank  Teabout;  but  about  this  time  an 
event  transpired  which  gave  to  it  lite  and  brighter  prospects  for  the  future.  A 
commission  had  been  appointed  to  locate  the  State  road  for  the  benefit  of  im- 
migrants seeking  homes  in  Northwestern  Iowa  and  Southern  Minnesota. 
Frankville  secured  tlie  road. 

The  location  of  the  road  is  the  greatest  event  in  the  history  of  Frankville,  for 
without  it,  in  all  likelihood,  the  place  would  never  have  been  anything  more 
than  the  residence  of  Mr.  Frank  Teabout.  As  it  is,  Frankville  is  a  pleasant 
village,  and  at  one  time  figured  conspicuously  in  the  history  of  the  county. 

It  was  near  night  when  the  commission  arrived  at  Mr.  Teabout's  residence, 
and  they  of  course  accepted  his  hospitality  until  the  next  morning.  On  the 
next  day  Mr.  Teabout  lead  the  commissioners  to  Decorah,  they  declaring 
their  line  of  march  to  be  the  location  of  the  new  road.  There  were  other  par- 
ties besides  Mr.  Teabout  who  studied  self-interest  in  the  location  of  the  State 
road.  Among  the  number  was  John  McKay.  He  secured  the  passage  of  this 
desired  highway  through  his  farm.  Mr.  McKay  had  the  same  ambition  for  a 
town  that  actuated  his  neighbor.  His  first  work  in  that  direction  was  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  postoffice,  which  was  effected  on  the  discontinuance  of  the 
Jamestown  office.  He  also  secured  the  location  of  a  store  at  this  place.  This 
town  bore  the  name  of  Trout  River,  and  at  one  time  was  a  strong  competitor 
of  Frankville.  The  postoffice  was  continued  at  tliis  place  for  nearly  two  years 
from  whence  it  was  moved  to  Frankville.  It  is  claimed  that  this  move  was 
effected  through  a  compromise  entered  into  between  the  respective  founders 
of  the  two  towns. 

Immediately  on  the  location  of  the  road,  as  if  by  magic,  a  town  grew  up 
about  the  nucleus  that  had  previously  been  built,  and  was  given  the  name  of 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COL'NTY.  315 

Frankville.  Frankville  very  soon  became  the  great  center  of  attraction.  Mo- 
neek  became  discouraged,  and  moved  the  greater  part  of  its  worldly  ettects  up 
to  the  new  town. 

The  Lathrop  House,  an  impressive  three-story  frame  building,  was  built  by 
Philip  Lathrop  in  the  year  1854.  This  hotel  was  well  provided  for,  and  did  a 
good  business.  The  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  winter  of  1857-8. 
Mr.  Lathrop  was  absent  at  the  time  of  the  burning  of  his  house,  at  Des 
Moines,  lobbying  through  a  bill  asking  the  location  of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb 
Asylum  at  Frankville,  the  people  of  that  place  pledging  land  and  material  in 
aid  of  its  construction.  Mr.  Teabout  replaced  the  building  destroyed,  by  an- 
other, which  long  afforded  hospitality  to  the  traveler. 

Much  of  the  early  success  and  prosperity  of  Frankville  is  justly  accredited 
to  its  founder,  Mr.  Frank  Teabout.  He  possessed  wealth,  and  lavished  it  on 
the  various  enteiiDrises  that  benefited  his  town.  In  1852  he  built  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  and  gave  it  to  that  denomination — the  fiist  house  of  worship 
built  in  the  village.  This  church  edifice  was  early  occupied  by  Rev.  D.  W. 
Lyon,  a  preacher  who  divided  his  time  between  McGregor,  Monona,  Frankville 
and  other  points. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  importance  Frankville  attained  when  at  its  acme,  it 
will  only  be  necessary  to  state  that  the  Free  Masons  of  Decorah  used  to  go  to 
the  former  place  to  hold  lodge  meetings. 

In  1854  Mr.  Teabout  built  a  saw-mill  at  a  cost  of  $1,500.  This  mill  did  a 
good  business,  its  owner  finding  a  ready  sale  for  all  the  timber  it  could  saw. 
The  mill  was  sold  to  Mr.  Cutler,  No  trace  ot  it  remains  to-day.  In  1856  Mr. 
Teabout  built  a  large  steam  grist  mill,  of  two  run  of  stone,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000. 
The  mill,  during  the  first  few  years  of  its  existence,  was  a  financial  success.  It 
was  finally  sold  by  the  proprietors  to  Messrs.  Beard  and  Cutler,  who  trans- 
ferred the  machinery  to  the  Spring  Water  Mill,  on  the  Canoe.  Parties  used  to 
come  from  Southern  Minnesota  to  get  their  grist  ground  at  this  mill. 

The  Methodist  Church  was  built  in  1873.  This  denomination  had  held  ser- 
vices previously  in  other  buildings.  To  the  Rev.  Mr.  Webb  is  said  to  belong 
the  honor  of  being  the  first  minister  of  this  denomination  to.  officiate  in  the 
place.  Frankville  continued  to  prosper  until  the  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Rail- 
road cut  it  off;  then  came  its  decline. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  1881,  the  hundredth  anniversary  of 
Leonard  Cutler,  of  Frankville,  the  father  of  James  B.  Cutler,  the 
first  postmaster,  was  observed  at  the  residence  of  James  D.  Mc- 
Kay, in  Frankville.  His  children  present  were  James  B.,  David 
E.,  and  William  Cutler,  of  Osage,  and  Mrs.  James  D.  McKay  and 
Mrs.  W.  D.  Smith  of  Frankville.  Mr.  Cutler  was  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  twenty-one  members  from  Decorah 
were  present.  Judge  M.  V.  Burdick  delivered  an  address,  which 
was  responded  to  by  James.  B.  Cutler.  Though  his  eyesight  has 
failed  him  and  his  hearing  impaired,  the  veteran  centenarian  is 
still  living.  He  was  born  in  Remington,  Vt.,  June  10,  1781,  and 
has  twenty-three  grandchildren  and  four  great  grandchildren.  Of 
his  thirteen  children,  nine  are  living,  one  of  them  being  Leonard 
Cutler,  formerly  of  Decorah. 

Another  of  the  hale  and  hearty  old  men  of  Frankville  is  S.  B. 
Cavin,  who  though  over  four  score  years,  is  still  as  stout  and 
vigorous  as  many  men  thirty  or  forty  years  younger.  His  son  J. 
A.  Cavin,  keeps  the  store  there,  Frankville  Hall  being  in  the  up- 
per story. 


316  HISTOKY   OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 


JACKSON  TOWNSHIP 


IS  the  southeastem  township  of  the  county;  population,  797.  Like 
Sumner,  which  borders  it  on  the  north,  it  is  purely  agricultural. 
It  has  no  villages.  Navan  postoffice  is  in  the  southwestern  cor- 
ner, and  New  Albany  postoffice  in  the  central  western  part.  Fort 
Atkinson  is  its  nearer  postoffice  on  the  east.  Like  Sumner,  the 
country  is  rolling  prairie,  the  forests  being  mostly  in  the  south- 
western part,  and  the  remainder  of  the  township  comparatively 
free  from  timber,  except  as  planted.  The  inhabitants  are  a  mix- 
ture of  Americans,  Germans,  Irish  and  Bohemians.  The  history 
of  the  early  settlement  of  Fort  Atkinson,  just  across  the  town- 
ship line,  IS  also  to  a  certain  extent  a  history  of  the  settlement  of 
Jackson  township,  especially  as  Jackson  was  not  separated  from 
Washington  township  till  1882.  The  name  of  Joseph  Spillman, 
first  settler  of  Spillville.  is  the  only  one  from  Jackson  township 
on  the  first  county  tax  list— that  of  1851.  Jackson  township  is 
crossed  diagonally  in  a  southwesterly  direction  by  the  I.  &  D. 
division  of  railroad,  Jackson  station  being  established  about  a 
year  ago,  near  the  center  of  the  township,  where  the  recentlv 
completed  Davenport  branch  leaves  the  I.  &  D. 

WASHINGTON      TOWNSHIP— FOKT      ATKINSON— FESTINA,      OR      TWIN 

SPRINGS. 

_  The  census  of  1880  gave  to  Washington  township,  the  second 
in  the  southern  tier,  a  population  of  1,509.  Of  these,  435  were  in 
Fort  Atkinson  village,  and  117  in  Festina  Postoffice,  better  known 
as  the  village  of  Twin  Springs.  The  first  voting  precinct  of  the 
township  IS  at  Festina,  and  the  second  at  Fort  Atkinson. 

There  was  a  single  house  of  entertainment,  a  kind  of  saloon, 
at  Twin  Springs  as  early  as  1850  or  1851.  Twin  Springs  vil- 
lage Avas  platted,  and  the  plat  recorded  Oct.  17,  1856,  by  An- 
drew Meyer  and  wife.  It  lies  in  a  beautiful  valley  five  miles 
south  of  Calmar.  Here  is  located  the  brewery  of  A.  F.  Gart- 
ner, two  general  stores,  and  other  branches  of  business.  The 
German  Catholic  church  here  is  a  very  large  building,  and  has  a 
school  connected  with  it.     The  village  also  has  a  public  school. 

Fort  Atkinson  village,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Washington 
township,  near  the  western  line,  took  its  name  from  the  fort  of 
that  name,  as  detailed  in  the  previous  pages  of  county  history. 
Of  the  old  fort,  which  stood  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  site  of  the 
present  village,  a  portion  of  one  building  remains.  It  is  about 
seventy  feet  of  the  old  settlers'  building,  and  is  now  occupied  by 
three  families.  Turkey  River,  which  runs  southwesterly  through 
the  township,  furnishes  the  power  for  several  mills.  Beard  & 
Sons,  of  Ice  Cave  Creamery,  Decorah,  have  a  branch  creamery  at 
lort  Atkinson,  and  the  various  branches  of  business  are  well 
represented.     There  are  four  churches,   and  a  good  graded  school. 


HISTOllY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  317 

There  are  general  stores  by  Shreiber  &Fornian,  T.  H.  Tower,  and 
several  other  mercantile  houses,  including  F.  J.  Huberts  hardware 
store,  and  J.  C.  Morris'  jewelry  store.  The  hotels  are  the  well- 
known  Warren  House  and  the  Summer's  House.  We  gather 
much  of  the  following  from  Sparks'  History: 

The  fort  bearing:  the  name  of  the  successful  Indian  General,  Atkinson,  the 
liero  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  was  commenced  on  the  2d  of  June,  1840,  A  com- 
pany of  mechanics,  about  fifty  in  number,  contracted  to  do  the  work.  Among 
the  number  was  James  Tapper,  residing  at  Monona.  These  men  were  escorted 
from  Fort  Crawford,  Wis.,  to  the  place  selected  ibr  the  Fort,  by  Company  F., 
5th  U.  S.  Infantry,  commanded  by  Isaac  Lyon.  A  captain  of  artillery  named 
Sumner,  who  became  the  illustrious  Gen.  E.  V.  Sumner  of  the  late  rebellion, 
superintended  the  building  of  the  fort,  aided  by  Happy  Jack,  his  First  Lieuten- 
ant. Sumner  held  command  of  the  fort  until  the  Mexican  war,  when  he  was 
detailed  to  fields  furnishing  more  active  se.vice. 

The  lort  was  built  for  the  protection  of  the  Winnebago  Indians  from  the 
hostile  and  predatory  tribes  surrounding  them,  as  well  as  for  the  protection 
of  the  pioneer  settlers.  It  was  stone  masonry  work,  situated  on  a?!  eminence 
north  of  the  present  town  of  Fort  Atkinson,  and  originally  consisted  of  four 
main  buildings,  and  two  gun  houses,  as  represented  in  the  followuig  dingram. 

:         D        :    :  H  : 


o  :  G  -.a 


:  ^  :   -q^uogiuojj  :  a 


[A,  B,  C  and  D,  Ban-acks   or  Main  Buildings;  F  and  H,  Gun  Houses;  E, 
Powder  House;  G,  Flag  Staff.! 

The  fort  wns  built  in  the  shape  of  a  square,  inclosing  an  acre  of  ground,  the 
material  of  which  it  was  built  being  prepared  at  Fort  Crawford.  The  cost  o 
making  a  wagon-road,  the  same  ever  since  known  as  the  Old  Military,  and 
transporting  the  material  to  its  place  of  destination,  augmented  the  cost  of 
building  the  fort  to  the  enormous  sum  of  $93,000r  It  was  afterwards  sold. at 
auction  to  private  parties  for  $3,521.  In  1845  Capt.  Sumner  still  held  com- 
mand of  the  fort.  The  force  at  that  time  consisted  of  a  company  of  infantry 
and  one  of  dragoons.  In  1846  Capt.  Sumner  left  for  Mexico,  and  the  fort  was 
then  garrisoned  by  two  companies  of  volunteers.  Capt.  James  Morgan,  of 
Burlington,  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  infantry,  and  Capt.  John  Par- 
ker, of  Dubuque,  to  the  command  of  the  dragoons.  In  1847  Capt.  Morgan's 
company  was  mustered  out  of  the  service,  and  Capt.  Parker  given  entire 
charge  of  the  fort  until  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  in  1848.  It  was  found 
necessary  to  use  force  to  compel  them  to  vacate  the  country.  Captain 
Knowlton,  afterwards  Judge  Knowlton,  was  detailed  to  assist  the  command 
under  Capt.  Parker. 

After  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  in  1848,there  was  no  further  necessity  for 
keeping  up  military  appearances,  consequently  the  fort,  as  a  military  rtndez- 

20 


318  HISTORY   OF   WINNESHIEK    COtlNTY. 

vous,  -was  dispensed  with;  yet  the  government  did  not  entirely  abandon  it.  A 
man  named  Alexander  Faulkner  was  appointed  to  look  alter  it.  Soon  after, 
Faulkner  was  relieved  by  Geo.  Cooney,  a  well-known  citizen  of  the  county, 
who  is  yet  living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  old  fort. 

In  1853,  after  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  the  fort  became  useless  as  gov- 
ernment property,  and  the  administration  then  in  power  decided  to  dispose  of 
it  at  public  auction. 

On  the  reception  of  this  news,  in  July,  1853,  one  of  the  Day  boys  visited  Mr. 
Cooney  at  the  fort  and  informed  him  that,  the  fort  would  be  sold  at  auc- 
tion the  next  Wednesday.  This  intelligence  was  sad  news  to  him;  he  un- 
doubtedly would  have  much  rather  heard  of  somebody's  wedding.  By  pre- 
vious agreement  he  had  promised  to  inform  certain  parties  of  the  sale  when  it 
should  take  place;  and  he  immediately  dispatched  a  messenger  with  the  intel- 
ligence to  H.  D.  Evans  and  S.  A.  Clark  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  another  to 
the  Bishop  at  Dubuque.  On  the  morning  of  the  sale  these  parties  were  present 
bringing  with  them  $4,000  in  gold  to  purchase  it  with.  John  M.  Flowers, 
Capt.  Frazier,  and  a  gentleman  from  White  Pigeon,  were  also  on  the  ground 
in  hopes  of  purchasing  the  fort. 

The  Flowers  were  extraordinary  characters,  and  played  no  little  part  in  the 
history  of  Fort  Atkinson.  There  were  two  brothers  of  them,  and  were  classed 
with  Charley  Clark,  Coleman  and  Tavernier,  as  "the  Canadians."  These  Can- 
adians came  to  the  fort  with  the  intention  of  making  a  living  easily.  They 
had  somehow  got  the  impression  that  Fort  Atkinson  was  destined  to  be  a  great 
city,  and  thought  it  afforded  a  rich  field  in  which  to  exercise  their  wit  and 
shrewdness  to  benefit  themselves.  In  language  not  to  be  misundei stood,  they 
were  sharpers . 

Flowers  wanted  to  get  possession  of  the  fort  property,  and  induced  a  wid- 
owed English  lady  by  the  name  of  Newington  to  purchase  it — he  bidding  the 
feame  off.  As  the  bidding  progressed  "and  the  price  advanced  in  the  Fort, 
Flowers  became  fearlul  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  make  the  purchase,  and 
asked  those  bidding  against  him,  what  they  would  take  to  stop  where  they 
were.  Clark,  Evans  and  the  others  held  a  consultation,  and  as  a  result  agreed 
to  take  $25.  Flowers  said  he  would  give  it,  and  accordingly  wrote  his  note 
for  the  amount.     Said  note  read  as  follows : 

"I  owe  you  $25  for  value  received. 

"J.  M.  Floweks. 

"Dated  Fort  Atkinson,  1853." 

Four  years  after  this  note  was  given.  Mr.  Evans  placed  it  in  Mr.  Cooney's 
hands  (who  was  a  justice  of  peace  at  the  time)  for  collection.  Three  years  later 
Mr.  Cooney  got  his  pay  out  of  Flowers  in  sawing. 

The  fort  was  sold  to  "Flowers  for  $3,521. 

In  1857  a  grist  mill  was  commenced  on  the  site  where  the  Ames  Mill 
now  stands.  Finkle  &  CJark  were  the  builders,  and  they  received  a  certain 
portion  of  the  town-plat  for  building  the  mill,  getting  a  warranty  deed  for 
the  same.  Mr.  McMillan^  a  resident  of  Fort  Atkinson,  who  resided,  pre- 
vious to  1857,  in  Canada,  and  an  acquaintance  of  Finkle,  was  induced  by 
Finkle  to  accompany  him  to  the  United  States,  and  aid  in  the  construction 
of  the  mill,  with  promises  of  a  fair  remuneration.  The  mill  was  completed 
in  November,  but,  owing  to  some  miscalculation  of  the  architect  in  laying 
out  the  foundation,  when  the  water  was  let  through  the  floom  it  undermined 
the  wall,  and  rent  the  mill  m  twain,  precipitating  a  portion  of  it  into  Tur- 
key River.     The  mill  was  reconstructed  shortly  afterward. 

It  is  estimated  that  in  1857,  when  the  Fort  was  at  the  summit  of  its  grand- 
eur, it  had  a  population  of  500  souls.  A  public  school,  of  course,  would  be  a 
necessary  adjunct  to  so  thriving  a  community.  Consequently  one  was  organ- 
ized, and  an  estimable  and  capable  teacher  was  found  in  the  person  of  Dr.  E. 
Hazen,  now  a  professor  in  the  medical  department  of  the  State  University, 
and  generally  acknowledged  as  standing  at  the  head  of  his  profession  in  the 
state.     To  Dr.   Hazen  belongs  the  credit  of  teaching  the  first    school  at  the 


HISTORY    OF   AVIXNESHIEK   COUNTY.  310 

Fort.  The  Doctor  had  met  Mr.  l\rcKinney  and  wife,  at  the  commencement  of 
Oberlin  College,  and  was  advised  by  them  to  emifjnite  west.  He  was  then  a 
young  man  and  had  graduated.  Mr.  .].  P.  McKinney,  assisted  by  his  wife, 
taught  the  second  term  of  school  at  the  Fort.  The  school  session  was  held  in 
one  of  the  fort  buildii.gs,  and  their  enrollment  of  scholars  numbered  nearly  100. 

A  Mr.  Sharp,  from  J'ayette  county,  kept  the  first  hotel  in  the  place.  He 
dispensed  his  hospitality  in  one  of  the  fort  buildings. 

Martin  Baehel  was  the  first  Constable  elected . 

J.  P.  McKinney  was  the  first  Notary  Public. 

The  new  town  of  Fort  Atkinson  was  commenced  in  1?69.  The  same  year  the 
railroad  entered  the  place,  J.  T.  Clark's  Addition  was  made  to  the  town,  Aug. 
28,  1869.  This  addition  was  formerly  known  as  the  Tavernier  Farm,  and  was 
sold  to  J.  T.  Clark  at  sheriff's  sale  several  years  previous.  Its  location  is  on 
the  southwest  quarter  of  Section  8,  Town  96,  Range  9.  Main  Street  is  eighty 
feet  wide.  All  the  other  streets  are  sixty  feet  wide.  The  blocks  number 
from  1  to  14,  inclusive. 

About  this  period  the  first  church  building  was  erected.  It  was  located 
north  of  the  old  fort,  and  built  by  the  aid  of  subscriptions.  The  Methodist 
church  was  built  soon  after.  It  is  located  on  the  old  town  site,  and  was  built 
by  the  aid  of  S.  B.  Dunlop,  a  wealthy  farmer  residing  near  by,  and  largely  with 
his  money." 

The  J.  P.  McKinney,  several  times  referred  to  in  the  above 
sketch,  of  Fort  Atkinson,  and  who,  with  his  wife,  taught  school 
there,  is  now  a  resident  of  Decorah,  and  is  mail  agent  on  the  Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Railway  between  McGregor  and  St. 
Paul.  Mrs.  McKinney  is  a  zealous  female  suffrage  advocate,  and  a 
leader  in  that  cause  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  1878,  Congressman  T.  W,  Burdick,  of 
Decorah,  had  an  interesting  conversation  with  Rev.  J.  L.  Elliott, 
of  Washington,  D.  C,  who  was  the  first  chaplain  at  Fort  Atkin- 
son. He  went  there  in  the  fall  of  1844.  The  Mission  School 
was  five  miles  away,  where  Supt.  Lowry  had  a  school  for  boys  and 
girls,  and  also  taught  sewing,  the  cutting  of  garments,  etc.  Chap- 
lain Elliott  taught  the  post  school  at  the  fort,  consisting  of  chil- 
dren of  the  officers  and  men,  and  ranging  from  22  to  25  pupils; 
he  preached  on  Sunday,  and  sometimes  exchanged  with  Mr.  Lowry. 
Henry  M.  Rice,  afterwards  U.  S.  Senator  from  Minnesota,  was 
sutler.  In  1848  the  Indians  were  removed  to  Blue  Earth,  Minn., 
Indian  reservation.  Mr.  Elliott's  office  was  vacated  and  the  post 
abandoned  early  in  1849. 

MILITARY  TOWNSHIP — OSSIAN. 

Military  township  adjoins  Washington  on  the  east.  The  Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee  anc  St.  Paul  railway  runs  through  the  northeast 
part  of  the  township — population  1,521.  The  thriving  village  of 
Ossian  had,  by  the  census  of  1880,  a  population  of  444,  which  has 
increased  somewhat  since  that  time.  It  is  on  the  Chicago,  Mil- 
waukee and  St.  Paul  railway,  about  one  mile  northeast  of  the 
center  of  the  township.  It  is  12  miles  south  of  Decorah,  on  a 
broad  prairie,  beautifully  rolling  and  richly  productive.  Among 
its  prominent  business  institutions  are  the  Ossian  Bank,  Meyer  & 
Carter  proprietors,  one  of  them  M.  J.  Carter,  an  able  practicing 


320  HISTORY    OF   WIXXESHIEK    COUNTY. 

attonie}-;  two  elevators,  a  hotel  kept  by  R.  A.  Kennedy,  the  gen- 
eral store  kept  by  H.  A.  Baker  &  Bi'o.,  H.  A.  Baker  being  present 
state  senator;  and  a  number  of  other  stores  and  places  of  business, 
a  Methodist  and  a  Catholic  church,  a  school  being  connected  with 
the  latter,  of  wich  Rev.  Tierney  is  pastor.  Ossian  has  a  good  pub- 
lic school,  with  an  average  daily  attendance  of  over  100,  of  which 
J.  jC,  Murphy  is  principal  and  Miss  Sarah  Owens  assistant.  The 
Ossian  Creamery,  C.  W.  Williams  &  Co.,  proprietors,  makes  about 
800  pounds  of  butter  a  day  on  the  average.  The  largest  amount 
made  in  any  one  day  1,650  pounds. 

The  present  officers  of  the  town  are:  Mayor,  J.  Malloy;  Re- 
corder, C.  J.  Mills;  Treasurer,  0.  Thompson;  Trustees,  D.  Jack, 
J.  Becker.  T.  R.  Winn,  John  Collins,  P.  H.  Mills. 

T.  B.  Wood,  who  removed  there  from  Calmar,  published  Ossian\s 

first  newspaper,  which  lived  but  a  short  time,  as  did  also  the  one 

started  in  1876  b}"  one   Morey.      The  Ossian  Independent   was 

started  in  1878  by  E.  L.  Howe,  and  w^as  published  something  over 

a  year.     The  Ossian  Herald  was  started  August  19,  1880,  by  L. 

C.  McKenney,     It  was  purchased  in  the  summer  of  1882  by  T.  B. 

Hauna,  who  died  in   September,   but  the  paper  will  probably  be 

continued.     The  first  number  of  the  Herald  gave   the  following 

brief  history  of  Ossian : 

"Ossian,  the  second  village  in  Winneshiek  county,  vras  settled  b}'  John  Os- 
sian Porter,  a  native  of  Pennsj-lvania,  in  the  year  1850.  The  next  settlers  in 
this  vicinity  were  the  Brookses,  who  came  eighteen  months  later.  To  Chaun- 
cey  Brooks  and  wife  was  born  the  first  white  child  in  the  township,  a  daughter 
whom  they  named  Mary.  Mr.  Porter  erected  the  first  house,  a  log  cabin  18x20, 
which  was  for  many  years  used  for  a  hotel  and  stage  station.  Erick  Anderson 
was  the  first  merchant,  and  John  Case  the  first  teacher;  he  taught  a  select  school 
over  Anderson's  store.  In  1870  a  commodious  brick  school-house  was  built,  which 
has  since  furnished  ample  accommodations  for  the  scholars  attending  school. 
Thomas  Larsen  started  the  village  cemetery,  being  killed  by  a  runaway  ox 
team.  In  March,  1876,  the  village  was  incorporated,  with  the  ioUowing  offi- 
cers: Mayor,  Geovge  McWilliaras;  Aldermen,  James  Kennedy,  H.  C.  Burgess, 
Carl  Eiler,  S.  L).  Hinckley  and  J.J.  hJmith.     Clerk,  James  Maloy." 

John  Ossian  Porter,  the  first  postmaster,  and  afterwards  county 
sheriff,  now  lives  on  a  farm  in  Springfield  township. 

Spark's  History  gives  the  following  additional  particulars  of 
the  founding  of  Ossian: 

"The  original  town  site  of  Ossian  wa.s  laid  out  by  its  founder,  John  Ossian 
Porter,  on  the  southeast  comer  of  the  section.  It  consisted  of  three  blocks,  in 
aU  fourteen  lots.  It  was  acknowledged  by  J.  0.  Porter  and  wife  on  the  13th 
of  April,  18.55.  and  was  filed  for  record  in  the  Recorder's  office  of  Winneshiek 
county  on  the  30th  of  April,  the  same  year.  Mr.  Elijah  Middlebrook  did  the 
surveying.  Two  years  later,  on  the_8th  of  April,  Capt.  C.  E.  Brooks  achnowl- 
edged  the  plat  of  the  first  addition  to' Ossian,  which  was  accordingly  placed  on 
the  proper  record.  It  consists  of  six  blocks,  containing  sixty- three  lots.  On 
the  8th  day  of  October,  1864,  Capt.  C.  E.  Brooks  acknowledged  the  plat  of  his 
second  addition  to  Ossian,  which  consisted  of  thirty  l^locks,  divided  into  lots. 
This  plat  was  properly  recorded.  On  the  4th  day  of  May,  1869,  he  laid  out  ten 
additional  blocks,  and  called  it  Brooks'  Western  Addition  to  Ossian.  This,  so 
far  as  the  records  show,  was  the  last  addition  to  the  place,  and,  minus  the  vaca- 
lon  of  a  few  blocks  by  Mr.  Brooks,  is  the  Ossian  of  to-day. 


HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK   COUNTY.  321 

"Tlie  year  1865  marked  anew  era  in  the  history  of  Ossian.  That  which  was 
the  death  blow  ot  FrankviUe — the  railroad — gave  fresh  life  to  Ossian.  During 
this  year  the  railroad  was  built  past  its  door.  Thevear  before,  C.  E.  Brooks  made 
a  fresh  addition  to  the  place,  which  was  far-sighted,  for  town  lots  were  in  demand 
immediately.  The  following  year  the  construction  of  numerous  dwellings  was 
commeneed,  and  business  interests  of  various  kinds  multiplied. 

"Ossian  was  nearly  twenty- one  years  of  age  before  a  single  church  edifice 
had  been  erected.  The  Cathohcs  erected  a  building  for  worship,  which  wa,s 
the  first,  about  the  year  1869.  ^bout  two  years  later  the  ]\Ietho(lists  built  a 
church." 

BLOOMFIELD   TOWNSHIP — CASTALIA. 

This  is  the  southeastern  corner  township  ot  the  county.  The 
headwaters  of  Yellow  River  flow  through  its  northern  part. 
Population,  1,010.  Castalia  village  and  postofiQce  is  about  a  mile 
southwest  of  the  center  of  the  township,  and  is  on  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad,  which  reached  there  October  12, 
1861:.  The  population  of  Castalia  b}^  the  census  of  1880  was 
108.  It  has  two  churches.  A.  W.  Kramer,  postmaster,  keeps  a 
general  store,  and  there  are  other  branches  of  business. 

The  history  of  Moneek,  in  a  preceding  chapter,  is  an  early  his- 
tory of  the  settlement  in  Bloomfield  township,  in  which  it  was 
located;  as  is  also  the  brief  mention  of  Rattletrap,  the  name 
given  to  Castalia  in  early  times.  Hamilton  Campbell  and  wife, 
claimed  by  some — as  previously  recorded — to  be  the  first  perma- 
nent settlers  in  the  country,  came  there  and  settled  sections  23 
and  26  on  June  7,  1848.  JDavid  Reed  and  wife,  and  Daniel  Reed, 
settled  there  August  15,  1819.  Other  record  of  early  settlers  is 
found  in  that  of  early  settlers  of  the  county,  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter, John  N.  ToplifF  and  Russell  Dean,  being  among  them. 

GENERAL  REMARKS. 

It  will  be  seen  that  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  enumerate  the 
churches  and  school  houses  in  the  different  villages  and  townships 
but  only  prominent  ones.  The  general  enumeration  has  been 
given  in  a  preceding  chapter.  Some  of  the  finest  churches  are 
situated  away  from  villages  and  are  prominent  landmarks  on  the 
rolling  prairie,  their  location  being  such  as  to  accomodate  the 
residents  of  the  country  about  them. 

The  voting  places  at  general  elections  are  one  to  each  township, 
except  Calmar,  which  has  its  first  voting  precinct  at  Calmar,  and 
the  second  at  Spillville,  and  Washington  township,  with  its  first 
precinct  at  Festina  and  the  second  at  Fort  Atkinson. 

And  right  here  the  attention  of  the  writer  is  called  to  the 
different  spellings  of  the  county ,"Winnesheik.*'  The  printer  of 
this  volume  has  caused  the  word  to  be  spelled  Winneshiek;  it  is  so 
spelled  in  Sparks'  history  of  the  county,  and  in  Tuttle's  History 
of  Iowa.  But  the  people  of  the  county  almost  invariably  spell  it 
"Winnesheik,"  and  it  is  so  spelled  in  Andreas'  Atlas  of  Iowa. 
But,  however  the  spelling  may  be,  it  is  pronounced  as  if  spelled 
''Win-ne-sheek,"  with  the  accent  on  the  first  syllable. 


322  HISTORY    OF    WINNESHIEK    COUNTY. 


RIVERS  AND  RAILROADS. 

The  Upper  Iowa  River,  with  its  abundant  water  power,  enters 
the  county  at  the  northwest  corner,  flows  southeast  to  Decorah, 
and  thence  by  a  zigzag  route  leaves  the  county  ic  general  direc- 
tion a  little  north  of  west.  The  Turkey  river  runs  across  the 
southwest  part  of  the  county  and  furnishes  valuable  water  power. 
The  Canoe  river  is  a  small  stream  in  Canoe  and  Pleasant  town- 
ships. The  Yellow  river  rises  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
county.     There  are  numerous  other  small  streams. 

The  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railway  enters  the  county 
at  its  southeast  corner,  and  its  main  line  runs  diagonally  through 
it  in  a  northwesterly  direction.  From  Calmar  a  branch  runs 
northeast  to  Decorah,  and  the  Iowa  &  Dakota  and  the  Davenport 
branches  in  a  southwesterly  direction  until  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  county.  The  principal  railroad  stations  are  Decorah,  Calmar, 
Ossian,  Castalia,  Fort  Atkinson,  Conover,  and  Ridgeway.  The 
other  prospective  roads  are  referred  to  elsewhere. 

SHAPE  AND  SIZE  OF  COUNTY — ITS  CHARACTERISTICS, 

The  townships  were  intended  to  be  six  miles  square,  but  in 
completing  the  survey  on  reaching  the  northern  line  of  the  State 
it  was  found  that  it  lapped  over  one  mile  into  Minnesota,  so  the 
northern  tier  is  but  five  miles  wide  from  north  to  south,  making 
the  county  29  miles  wide  from  north  to  south,  and  21  miles  wide 
from  east  to  west. 

We  have  previously  given  the  position  and  boundaries  of  Win- 
neshiek County,  It's  considerably  over  400,000  acres  are  mostly 
arable  land,  well  adapted  to  cultivation.  The  surface  of  the  coun- 
ty is  diversified,  alternating  between  rolling  prairie  and  timber, 
with  bluflfs  along  the  principal  streams.  It  has  plenty  of  clay, 
sand,  brick,  and  stone  for  building  purposes,  and  its  limestone 
out-croppings  can  be  burned  into  a  goodly  quality  of  lime. 

POLITICAL. 

In  politics,  on  national  issues  the  county  is  generally  republi- 
can. But  in  county  matters,  party  lines  are  not  always  closely 
adhered  to,  and  frequently  one  or  more  Democrats  aye  elected  on 
the  county  ticket — occasionally,  nearly  all  of  them.  The  vote  at 
the  Presidential  election  ot  1880  was  Republican,  2,471;  Demo- 
cratic,1,415;  Greenback,  212. 

GEOLOGICAL  FEATURES. 

The  rocks  exposed  in  Winneshiek  County  range  from  the  low- 
er sandstone  as  far  up  as  the  lower  beds  of  the  Galena  limestone. 
The  Lower  Magnesian  is  seen  on  Canoe  Creek,  six  miles  north  of 
Decorah,  and  is  a  hard  crystalline  rock  of  a  light  gray  color.  The 
central  portion  of  the  county  is  chiefly  occupied   by   the    Trenton 


HISTORY    OF   WINNESHIEK    COUNTY.  323 

limestone,  -which  gradually  passes  into  the  Galena  in  the  south- 
western part.  At  and  about  Decorah  the  Trenton  limestone — of 
the  Lower  Silurian  period — is  finely  displayed,  this  rock  forming 
the  whole  thickness  of  the  bluffs  which  border  the  river  here.  It 
is  crowded  with  fossils,  especially  in  some  of  its  lower  exposed 
strata,  where  were  found  the  beautiful  and  wonderful  specimens 
referred  to  in  the  sketch  of  Decorah.  There  is  a  thickness  of  from 
100  to  130  feet  displayed  in  the  bluffs  west  of  town,  where  the 
rock  is  a  pure  limestone  of  a  light  gray  color,  and  crowded  with 
fossils.  Near  Calmar  the  lower  beds  of  the  Galena  crop  out.  At 
Ossian  the  rocks  are  similar,  and  at  Ft.  Atkinson  the  Trenton 
and  the  Galena  appear. 

POPULATION,  PRODUCTS,  RESOURCES  AND    FINANCES. 

The  population  of  the  county  was  546  in  1850;  13,492,  in  1860; 
23,570,  in  1870;  and  23,937,  in  1880.  In  the  last  decade,  more 
especially  in  the  early  part,  there  was  a  falling  off  in  the  increase 
of  population,  a  large  territory  being  opened  up  to  the  westward, 
but  there  has  been  an  increase  in  the  past  few  years,  and  a  pros- 
pect of  a  more  rapid  growth  in  wealth  and  prosperity. 

A  few  years  ago  this  was  the  banner  wheat  county  in  the 
State.  Several  failures  of  crops  caused  the  attention  of  the  farm- 
ers to  be  turned,  to  a  considerable  extent,  to  dairying  and  stock 
raising,  the  soil  and  face  of  the  country,  and  its  numerous  springs, 
making  it  particularly  favorable  for  those  pursuits.  The  extensive 
Decorah,  Ossian,  Ft.  Atkinson  and  Hesper  creameries  are  men- 
tioned in  sketches  of  those  townships,  as  are  also  the  stock  farms 
in  Decorah,  Orleans,  Fremont  and  Hesper  townships.  But  these 
by  no  means  represent  all  the  dairying  and  stock  raising  indus- 
tries, which  are  scattered  all  over  the  county. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  progress  of  dairying  and  stock  rais- 
ing, grain  growing  will  not  be  abandoned,  but  will  have  its  place, 
and  no  insignificant  one.  Enriched  by  stock  and  the  rotation  of 
crops,  the  soil  will  continue  the  old  fertility  of  our  grain  producing 
lands,  and  their  products  readily  give  employment  to  more  mills 
and  manufactories.  There  are  in  this  county  six  mills  devoted 
wholly  or  in  part  to  the  manufacture  of  flour  for  the  eastern 
market,  and  sixteen  more  devoted  to  custom  work.  There  are 
scores  of  unused  water-powers.  The  Upper  Iowa  River  has  an 
average  fall  of  eight  feet  to  the  mile,  and  affording  more  avail- 
able water-power  than  any  river  in  the  State.  In  no  part  of  its 
course  are  these  more  accessible  than  in  the  windings  of  the 
river  at  and  near  Decorah.  The  other  streams  also  furnish  abund- 
ant water-powers.  Besides  the  principal  streams,  innumerable 
springs  and  the  rippling  streams  that  flow  from  them,  furnish  a 
lavish  supply  of  pure  water  in  all  parts  of  the  county.  The 
county  is  rich  in  building  material.  Its  fossilized  limestone  quar- 
ries are  almost  inexhaustible;  from  these  were  furnished  the  trim- 


324  HISTOKT    OF   WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

mings  of  the  Minnesota  College  for  the  Deaf,  Dumb  and  Blind  at 
at  Faribault,  and  from  the  richer  specimens  of  fossil  stone,  men- 
tioned in  the  sketch  of  Decorah,  are  made  many  beautiful  orna- 
ments. Easily  worked  quarries  of  sandstone,  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  county,  furnished  the  elegant  trimmings  of  the  Norwe- 
gian Lutheran  College,  Decorah.  In  Washington  and  Orleans 
townships  cream-colored  brick  is  made  that  rivals  the  celebrated 
Milwaukee  brick. 

The  finances  of  city  and  county  are  in  excellent  shape,  as  is 
shown  in  a  previous  chapter  of  County  History.  Out  of  debt, 
with  good  public  buildings,  churches  and  school-houses,  plenty  of 
substantial  iron  bridges  over  the  streams,  and  all  paid  for,  taxes, 
will  consequently  be  low,  and  education  and  church  privileges  un- 
usually good.     It  is  a  good  place  to  live  in. 

CLIMATE,  SOIL  AND  SCENERY. 

The  latitude  of  Winneshiek  County  is  about  the  same  as  cen- 
tral New  York  and  Michigan,  but  the  winters  are  less  broken  and 
changeable.  Winter  usually  sets  in  about  December  1st  and  some- 
times earlier,  and  continues  until  March,  with  generally  a  "Janu- 
ary thaw;  the  weather  thereafter  usually  growing  milder  till  spring 
opens;  but  without  the  sudden  changes  of  New  England,  and  the 
long,  drizzling  rains  of  the  Central  and  Eastern  States.  The  air 
is  invigorating,  bracing,  and  wonderfully  pure.  No  district  in  the 
Union  will  excel  it  in  sanitary  considerations.  An  article  in  the 
Decorah  Bepuhlican  has  thus  admirably  and  truthfully  described  the 
soil  and  the  face  of  the  county: 

"The  soil  of  the  county  is  not  excelled.  It  is  a  rich  black  loam  with  a  depth 
of  from  one  to  aix  feet.  It  has  a  slight  admixture  of  sand,  just  enouerh  in 
quantity  to  make  it  friable  and  easily  worked.  It  is  well  known  to  the  scientific 
farmer  that  the  land  best  suited  to  most  small  grains,  and  in  which  the  earthy, 
saline  and  organic  matters  are  distributed  in  the  proportion  best  adapted  to  im- 
part fertility  and  durability,  is  a  soil  based  on  the  calcareous  rocks.  This  con- 
dition particularly  characterizes  the  country  bordering  on  the  Mississippi  and 
its  tributaries  in  this  latitude,  as  well  as  for  a  distance  above  and  below. 

"The  county  is  well  timbered,  nearly,  all  the  larger  streams  bemg 
bordered  by  a  growth  of  both  hard  and  soft  woods.  Originally  about 
three-eighths  of  the  county  was  prairie,  and  the  same  proportion  burr  oak  open- 
ings. The  openings  have  been  mostly  cleared  and  improved,  having  now  the 
general  appearance  of  prairie." 

Truly  this  is  a  goodly  County  of  a  goodly  State.  May  the  true 
spirit  of  enterprise  richly  develop  its  ample  resources,  and  the 
children  of  the  present  be  worthy  successors  to  the  pioneers  of 
the  past. 


History  of  Allamakee  County. 


CHAPTER  I. 


BY  E.  M.  HANCOCK. 


Prefatortj;  Origin  of  County  Name;  Topof/raj)Jty;  (Jeoloc/ij;  Arte- 
sian JVells. 


"The  lapsing  j'oars  joined  those  beyond  the  flood, 
Each  filled  with  loves,  griefs,  strifes  and  honest  toil; 

And  thus,  as  shadows  o'er  the  checkered  plain, 
Children  their  fathers  followed  to  the  grave, 

The  fruitage  of  their  lives  and  deeds  is  ours." 

— The  Annalist. 

A  history  of  our  county  must  necessarily  consist  largely  of  nar- 
ratives of  a  personal  or  biographical  character,  as  the  history  of 
a  comparatively  few  individuals  is  the  history  of  this  entire  re- 
gion during  the  early  days  of  which  we  are  called  npon  to  write. 
It  is  eminently  fii  and  proper  that  the  deeds  of  these  pioneers 
should  be  placed  on  record  in  a  convenient  and  permanent  form 
for  preservation,  ere  the  hand  of  the  relentless  harvester  has 
plucked  the  last  of  them  from  among  us,  and  sealed  their  lips  for- 
ever upon  the  facts  they  might  relate  regarding  the  early  settle- 
ment and  development  of  the  country,  which  will  be  of  increas- 
ing value  and  interest  to  their  children,  and  children's  children,  as 
the  years  grow  upon  years.  Already  have  so  many  of  them  gone 
to  that  bourne  Avhence  no  traveler  returns,  that  anything  like  a 
complete  record  of  the  settlement  and  organization  of  the  county 
is  beyond  the  bounds  of  possibility.  It  seems  hardly  credible  that 
no  record  of  the  organizing  election  of  Allamakee  County  can  be 
found  either  among  the  state  or  county  archives;  but  it  would  ap- 
pear that  the  organizing  Sheriff  had  failed  to  make  report  of  such 
election;  and  not  even  the  scratch  of  a  pen  remains  of  the  transac- 
tions of  county  business  under  the  old  Commissioner  system.  In 
some  instances  not  the  slightest  record  is  to  be  found  regarding 
township  organizations.     And  now: 

"Beneath  those  whispering  pines,  that  oak  tree's  shade, 

Where  heaves  the  turf  in  many  a  mouldering  heap, 
Each  in  his  waiTQ  cell  forever  laid, 
'I he  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep." 

— Gray. 
To  collate  the  facts  still  accessible  and   record  the  history    of 
the  works  by  which  they  have  left  us  so  goodly  a  heritage   as   is 
our  fair  county  to-day,  would  be  a  pleasing  task  were  it  not   so 

21  


326  HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

fraught  with  difficulties  and  disappointments,  because  of  the  fail- 
ing memories  and  consequent  conflicting  recollections  of  those 
still  left  who  were  witnesses  of  and  participants  in  the  events  of 
the  early  days.     But  if  this  work  is  ever  to  be  done   the  time   is 

opportune.  .  i        i. 

In  the  preparation  of  these  pages  great  care  has  been  taken  to 
verify  dates  and  statements  hy  such  records  as  are  obtainable,  and 
to  corroborate  by  cumulative  testimony.  Errors  will  doubtless  be 
found,  but  we  believe  that  in  the  main  the  history  is  accurate  and 
reliable.  No  similar  work  has  heretofore  been  attempted,  and  we 
therefore  have  nothing  to  build  from  as  a  basis.  The  writer  is 
indebted  to  the  valuable  and  interesting  sketches  prepared  for  the 
Makee  township  Early  Settlers'  Association  m  1880,  by  G.  M. 
Dean,  and  to  the  sketches  by  John  Bryson,  and  others,  for  quota- 
tions here  and  there;  and  by  diligently  poring  over  old  newspa- 
per files  he  has  discovered  numerous  items  of  interest  bearing  up- 
on our  early  history,  and  establishing  dates  that  could  not  other- 
wise be  obtained.  "To  those  who  have  in  any  manner  aided  m  his 
researches,  he  would  express  his  thanks.  If  he  has,  m  the  time 
and  space,  to  which  he  was  limited,  succeeded  m  putting  together 
in  permanent  shape  and  convenient  for  reference  the  more  im- 
portant facts  relating  to  the  county  history,  and  m  an  acceptable 
manner,  it  is  all  he  expected  to  accomplish. 

NAME. 

There  are  two  theories  as  to  the  origin  of  ;the  name  -'Allama- 
kee," each  of  which  has  its  supporters.  One  of  these  theories  is 
that  it  is  the  name  of  an  Indian  chief.  The  other  is  about  as  fol- 
lows, as  we  find  it  stated  in  the  proceedings  of  a  meeting  of  the 
Earlv  Settlers'  Association  of  Lansing,  published  in  the  Mirror 
of  Nov.  28,  1879:  ^     ,         ,    ,.  „  , , 

''Dr.  J.  I.  Taylor  spoke  of  the  subject  of  the  selection  of  the 
name  of  the  countv,  as  he  had  it  from  John  Haney  Jr  deceased. 
It  was  his  recollection  that  David  Umstead,  m  the  Legislature 
from  this  unorganized  portion  of  the  state,  gave  the  county  its 
present  title.  An  old  friend  of  Umstead  was  Allen  Magee,  an  In- 
dian trader,  who  was  familiarly  known  to  the  Winnebago  tribes 
and,  in  their  guttural  dialect,  called  Al-ma-gee.  Calling  to  mind 
this  fact,  Mr.  Umstead  caused  the  name  'Allamakee  to  be  insert- 
ed in  the  organizing  act,  and  it  was  thus  legalized.  ,    ,      . 

Which  of  these  theories  is  correct  we  will  not  attempt  to  de- 
cide, although  we  incline  to  prefer  the  first.  According  to  the 
official  records  "David  Umstead"  did  not  represent  this  section  m 
the  Legislature  which  organized  this  county  (the  Second  General 
Assembly).  Samuel  B.  Olmstead  was  a  member  of  the  First  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  which  held  two  sessions:  Nov  30,  1846,  to  1^  eb 
25,  1847,  and  Jan.  3,  1848,  to  Jan.  25,  1848  During  the  first  ot 
these  sessions  an  act  was  passed  defining   the  boundaries  ot  sev- 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  327 

eral  counties,  among  them  the  then  unorganized  county  of  Allama- 
kee, and  it  is  probable  its  name  was  officially  given  at  that  time. 
David  Umstead  was  a  member  of  the  Second  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion, in  1846.  We  have  been  to  some  pains  to  investigate  this 
subject,  but  tind  nothing  fully  authoritative.  Col.  S.  C.  Trow- 
bridge, a  resident  of  Iowa  City,  who  came  to  Iowa  in  1837  and 
surveyed  and  organized  Johnson  County,  states  positively  that 
"the  name  Allamakee  is  an  Indian  name  purely,  all  speculative 
theories  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding." 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

Allamakee  County  occupies  the  extreme  northeastern  corner  of 
Iowa,  with  the  Mississippi  river  on  its  eastern  border,  Minnesota 
on  the  north,  and  Winneshiek  and  Clayton  counties  on  the  west 
and  south  respectively.  It  is  about  twenty-nine  miles  in  length 
from  north  to  south;  twenty  miles  from  east  to  west  at  the  northern 
line,  and  twenty-eight  in  extreme  width  through  the  center  tier  of 
townships,  averaging  about  twenty-three;  giving  an  area  of  664 
square  miles.  At  the  southern  line  of  the  County  the  Mississippi 
river  is  about  625  feet  above  the  sea  level.  Along  the  river 
front  the  County  is  bordered  its  entire  length  with  a  bold  out- 
line of  bluffs  from  300  to  400  feet  high,  from  the  tops  of  which 
the  surface  gradually  slopes  upward  until  at  Waukon,  eighteen 
miles  back,  it  reaches  an  altitude  of  655  feet  above  the  river  at 
low  water  mark. 

The  Upper  Iowa  River  and  its  tributaries  water  the  northern 
portion  of  the  county;  Village  Creek  and  Paint  Creek  take  their 
rise  near  its  centre  and  flow  eastward  into  the  Mississippi.  The  for- 
mer north  and  the  latter  south  of  east— while  the  Yellow  River 
takes  its  course  through  the  southern  tier  of  townships.  These 
streams  have  all  cut  their  channel  deeply  into  the  rocks,  especial- 
ly the  Upper  Iowa,  which  flows  through  a  narrow,  winding  valley, 
with  blufts  on  either  side  which  have  an  elevation  near  its  mouth 
but  little  less  than  those  along  the  Mississippi.  In  many  places 
the  fall  of  these  streams  is  quite  rapid,  furnishing  the  very  best 
of  water  powers.  Along  the  courses  of  the  Iowa  and  lower  part 
of  Yellow  Rivers,  and  a  strip  four  to  six  miles  wide  on  the  river 
front,  the  surface  of  the  country  is  of  course,  rough  and  badly 
broken,  but  much  of  this  bluffy  country  is  well  wooded,  as  are  also 
many  of  the  valleys  of  the  streams,  as  well  as  the  uplands  in  some 
portions  of  the  county.  Back  from  the  river  the  county  rpresents 
a  more  attractive  appearance  to  the  agriculturist.  The  oak  and 
hickory  openings,  the  rich  hazel-brush  lands,  the  prairie  with  their 
deep,  black  loam,  the  warm  and  sometime  sandy  valleys,  together 
with  the  rich  alluvial  deposits  of  the  river  bottoms,  aff'ord  a  di- 
versity of  soil  well  adapted  for  all  his  purposes. 

The  prairies  occupy  the  central  and  western  portions  ofthe 
county,  as  well  as  parts  of  the  extreme  northern  and  southern 


328  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

tiers  of  townships,  and  are  unsurpassed  for  natural  fertility  and 
beauty.  They  are  well  watered  with  innumerable  gushing 
springs  of  clear,  cold  and  pure  water,  are  dotted  here  and  there 
with  groves,  and  are  just  suiBciently  rolling  to  afford  excellent 
drainage,  as  also  relief  from  the  monotonous  level  of  some  prairie 
countries. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  where  the  channel  does  not  ap- 
proach the  base  of  the  bluffs,  are  some  extremely  fertile  bottom 
lands,  and  a  net  work  of  sloughs,  lakes  and  islands;  some  of  the 
sloughs  being  of  sufficient  size  to  at  times  allow  the  passage  of 
large  steamers,  as  is  the  case  with  Harper's  channel  along  the 
front  of  Taylor  Township.  At  some  points  the  main  channel  is 
three  or  four  miles  from  the  bluffs,  and  again  it  skirts  their  very 
base. 

The  principal  tributaries  of  the  Iowa  are:  on  the  north.  Bear, 
Waterloo,  and  Clear  Creeks;  and  on  the  south,  Coon,  Patterson, 
Mineral,  Silver,  and  French  Creeks.  Those  of  the  Yellow  River 
are:  from  the  north,  the  north  fork,  and  Bear  Creek;  from  the 
south,  Hickory  and  Suttle  Creeks.  No  less  than  seven  of  these 
creeks — including  Village  and  Paint — have  their  sources  in 
springs  near  the  highest  part  of  the  county,  surrounding  Wau- 
kon,  and  flow  thence  in  all  directions  except  to  the  southwest. 
Some  of  these  springs  bubble  up  through  the  earth  at  the  foot  of 
a  hill-slope,  frequently  covering  a  surface  many  feet  square  and 
forming  a  good-sized  brook  at  once;  others  have  a  less  preten- 
tious origin;  while  there  are  numerous  instances  in  the  County 
where  the  water  issues  in  a  torrent  from  near  the  base  of  the  cav- 
ernous face  of  a  limestone  cliff  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  high,  on 
a  side-hill. 

GEOLOGY. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  complete  geological  survey  of  this 
County  has  ever  been  made.  Enough  is  now  known,  however, 
from  the  experience  of  practical  observers,  to  show  that,  while 
our  system  of  rocks  is  on  the  whole  a  simple  one,  as  demonstrated 
by  the  early  explorers,  in  its  details  it  is  far  more  complicated 
than  they  supposed,  owing  to  interruption  of  the  regular  stratifi- 
cation; and  as  it  is  more  studied  and  examined  the  more  it  exhib- 
its surprising  evidences  of  disturbance  during  its  formation. 

As  classified  by  geologists  all  the  rocks  of  our  county  come  un- 
der the  head  of  Lower  Silurian,  and  many  of  them  are  rich  in  fos- 
sils of  mollusks  peculiar  to  that  age.  These  rocks  are  oldest  in 
order  and  lowest  in  the  earth's  superstructure,  the  Potsdam  Sand- 
stone which  is  exposed  in  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Iowa  river,  ly- 
ing next  above  the  rocks  of  the  Azoic  Age^the  foundation  of  all. 
Above  the  Potsdam  Sandstone  in  the  following  order  are  the  Low- 
er Magnesian  Limestone,  the  St.  Peter's  Sandstone,  the  Trenton 
and  Galena  Limestones.  The  dip,  or  inclination  of  all  these  strata 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  329 

in  this  region  is  to  the  south,  so  that  theoretically  in  entering 
the  county  from  that  direction  one  finds  the  last  mentioned  rock 
occupying  the  surface,  and  in  passing  northward  he  crosses  in 
succession  the  surfaces  occupied  by  the  Trenton,  St.  Peter's,  and 
the  Lower  Magnesian,  meanwhile  passing  downward  or  back- 
ward in  the  order  of  their  formation.  And  this  is  nearly  correct 
practically,  also.  Prof.  C.  A.  White,  in  his  report  on  the  Geolog- 
ical Survey  of  Iowa  (unfortunately  never  completed)  published  in 
1870,  says:  "The  Upper  Iowa  rises  in  the  region  occupied  by 
Devonian  rocks  and  flows  across  the  outcrops  respectively  of  the 
Niagara,  Galena,  and  Trenton  Limestones,  the  St.  Peter's  Sand- 
stone, the  Lower  Magnesian  Limestone,  and  Potsdam  Sandstone; 
into,  and  through  all  of  which,  except  the  last,  it  has  successively 
cut  its  valley,  the  deepest  valley  in  Iowa,  reaching  a  depth  in  its 
lower  part  of  more  than  four  hundred  feet  from  the  highest 
ground  in  the  vicinity.  That  portion  of  it  which  traverses  Alla- 
makee County  has  the  Potsdam  Sandstone  composing  the  base  of 
its  valley  sides,  the  Lower  Magnesian  Limestone  forming  the  re- 
mainder of  them.  =ic  *  *  They  are  every- 
where high  and  steep,  the  Limestone  cliffs  giving  them  a  wild  and 
rugged  aspect.  The  farming  lands  of  the  higher  surface,  howev- 
er, extend  almost  to  the  very  verge  of  the  valley.  *  * 
*  This  stream  has  the  greatest  slope  per  mile  of  any 
in  the  State;  consequently  it  furnishes  immense  water  power. 

*  *  *  This  river  and   its    tributaries  are   the 

only  trout  streams  in  the  State." 

Potsdam  Sandstone.- — In  his  report  on  the  Geology  of  Iowa,  pub- 
lished in  1858,  State  Geologist  James  Hall  says  of  this  rock:  "It 
attains  its  greatest  exposure  in  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin,  north  of 
the  limits  of  Iowa,  and  about  the  region  of  Lake  Pepin.  From  this 
point  the  rock  dips  both  to  the  northeast  and  southwest.  The  ex- 
cavation of  the  Upper  Iowa  River  has  removed  the  Calciferous 
Sandstone  (Lower  Magnesian  Limestone)  so  that  in  following  up 
that  river  the  Potsdam  Sandstone  forms  its  banks  for  more  than 
twenty  miles  along  its  meandering  course.  *  *         *         * 

Below  the  mouth  of  the  Upper  Iowa,  this  rock  forms  the  bluffs 
along  the  Mississippi,  extending  for  a  greater  or  less  distance  up 
the  ravines  and  valleys  of  the  larger  streams.  The  tops  of  the  high 
bluffs  near  the  river,  however,  soon  become  capped  by  the  lower 
Magnesian,   and  *  :^  *  ^j-^g   sandstone 

gradually  declines  from  cliffs  several  hundred  feet  in  height  to  the 
level  o£  the  river,  beneath  which  it  finally  disappears  at  the  foot 
of  Pike's  Hill,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  River,  and  a 
short  distance  below  McGregor's  landing.  *  *  * 

It  is  usually  a  light  drab  color,  sometimes  nearly  white,  and 
not  unfrequently  stained  brown  by  the  oxide  of  iron  which  at 
some  places  appears  in  great  abundance.*' 


330  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

"Some  slightly  calcareous  bands  of  this  rock  contain  fragments 
of  trilobites,  and  in  numerous  localities  shellsof  Xm^^^/aare  found. 
These  fossiliferous  bands  appear  in  the  vicinity  of  Lansing, 
where  the  bed  containing  trilobites  lies  some  sixty  feet  above  the 
river,  In  its  general  character  this  sandstone  is  a  friable  mass, 
usually  crumbling  on  exposure  to  the  frost  and  sun.'' 

"The  passage  of  this  sandstone  into  the  overlying  limestone  is 
effected  by  numerous  repetitions  and  alternations  of  the  two  rocks, 
giving  rise  to  a  series  of  beds  along  their  junction,  which  from  their 
chemical  composition,  might  as  well  be  reckoned  to  one  rock  as 
the  other 


Tl 


Lower  Macjnesian Limestone. — Of  this  formation.  Prof.  Hall  says: 
"The  great  dolomitic  mass  which  overlies  the  Potsdam  Sandstone 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  is  known  throughout  that  region  as 
the  Lower  Magnesian  Limestone.  *  *  *  This  rock  becomes 
a  conspicuous  member  of  the  series  where  it  forms  the  bluffs  which 
overhang  the  Mississippi  from  Prairie  du  Chien  far  up  the  St.  Croix. 
The  undulations  of  the  strata  bring  it  to  the  surface  in  many  val- 
leys in  Wisconsin  where  the  Galena  or  Blue  limestones  occupy 
the  elevated  prairie  (and  this  is  also  true  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river).  *  *  *  Within  the  limits  of  Iowa 

the  Lower  Magnesian  is  most  conspicious  along  the  Upper  Iowa 
River,  it  also  crops  out  in  the  valleys  of  Paint  Creek  and  Yellow 
River,  but  the  amount  of  surface  covered  by  it  is  quite  small." 

"The  rock  is  usually  checkered  with  seams  and  joints  on  its  ex- 
posed surfaces,  and  presents  a  very  rude  exterior.  In  some  locali- 
ties, however,  it  will  produce  a  durable  building  material."  "The 
materials  of  the  rock  appear  to  have  been  broken  up  while  par- 
tially indurated;  the  interstices  are  often  filled  with  sand,  and 
fragments  of  friable  sandstone  are  often  found  mingled  with  the 
broken  rock  itself.  In  some  instances  these  fragments  bear  evi- 
dence of  having  been  torn  from  masses  of  rock  previously  indura- 
ted. In  many  cases  the  breceiated  character  seem  to  be  due  in 
some  degree  to  internal  action  among  the  materials  of  the  rock 
itself."  In  some  regions,  "sudden  depression  occur,  where  the 
succeeding  rock  comes  in  at  a  much  lower  level  than  it  occupies 
on  either  side.  The  appearance  is  that  of  sudden  small  faults  or 
downthrows,  as  if  the  rock  over  a  certain  area  were  abruptly  de- 
pressed before  the  deposition  of  the  succeeding  one."  "The 
annexed  section  on  Bear  Creek,  near  New  Gralena,  thirteen 
miles  due  west  of  the  Mississippi,  shows  the  character  and  rela- 
tions of  this  rock  to  the  over  and  underlving  sandstones. 

"Soft  friable  red  sandstone 12  feet 

White  crystalline  dolomite,  partly  concealed,  but  showing  itself  at  var- 
ious points 168  feet 

Beds  of  passage  from  dolomite  to  sandstone "30  feet 

White  sandstone,  to  level  of  Bear  Creek 83  feet 


HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  331 

This  shows  "a  thickness  of  one  Imndred  and  sixty-eight  feet  of 
the  Lower  Magnesian  limestone,  of  which  the  lower  one  hundred 
and  fourteen  feet  are  concealed  hy  a  grassy  slope.  The  upper  fif- 
ty-four feet  are  exposed  in  a  vertical  cliff  of  hard  white  dolomite, 
irregularly  stratified  and  somewhat  concretionary  in  its  structure. 
Of  the  upper — or  St.  Peter's — sandstone  only  twelve  feet  are  here 
exhibited:  it  is  a  friable  rock  of  red  color.''  '"The  indications  of 
the  existence  of  organic  life  during  the  deposition  of  this  lime- 
stone are  few." 

Sulphuret  of  lead  has  been  found  in  the  Lower  Magnesian  in 
such  quantities  that  formerly  many  persons  were  led  to  suppose 
that  this  rock  might  one  day  become  of  as  much  importance  as 
the  Galena  limestone  has  been.  We  quote  Prof.  Hall:  "The 
most  important  deposits  of  lead  in  this  rock  which  have  been  ob- 
served within  the  limits  of  Iowa,  are  situated  in  the  valley  of  Min- 
eral Creek,  a  stream  flowing  north,  through  a  valley  lined  with 
precipitous  bluffs,  into  the  Upper  Iowa  river,  and  about  three 
miles  south  of  a  small  settlement  called  New  Galena:  the  diggings 
are  on  the  southwest  cjuarter  of  section  13,  township  99,  range 
6  west.  In  this  vicinity  the  Upper  sandstone  is  well  exposed  on 
the  top  of  the  bluff',  and  a  shaft  has  been  sunk  in  it.  Along  the 
face  of  the  bluff',  in  which  a  thickness  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  the  Lower  Magnesian 
limestone  is  exposed,  a  number  of  drifts  have  been  extended  into 
the  rock,  a  little  below  its  junction  with  the  sandstone,  and  con- 
siderable galena  has  been  taken  out.  *  *  * 
The  ore  appears  to  be  associated  with  irregular  strings  and 
bunches  of  calcareous  spar,  ramifying  through  the  rock,  but  no- 
where assuming  a  regular  form  like  that  of  a  vein,  or  appearing 
to  occupy  a  well  developed  fissure.  *  *  * 
It  is  said  that  between  fifty  and  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  of 
lead  had  been  obtained  from  these  diggings;  but  it  seems  hardly 
possible  that  the  operation  should  have  been,  on  the  whole,  a  pro- 
fitable one;  and,  *  *  *  we  see  little  to  en- 
courage farther  expenditures  at  this  point.'' 

The  "mine"  was  abandoned  about  that  time,  of  which  we  shall 
speak  further  in  another  place;  and  although  during  the  quarter 
of  a  century  since  then  there  have  been  a  number  of  persons 
faithful  to  this  idea  of  finding  lead  in  paying  quantities  in  the 
county,  none  as  yet  has  been  developed.  Small  quantities  have 
been  found  from  time  to  time,  in  various  portions  of  the  county 
— in  Paint  Creek,  Jefferson,  Ludlow  and  Unioti  Prairie  townships, 
on  Portland  Prairie,  and  notably  in  the  valley  of  Yellow  River 
and  a  small  tributary  three  or  four  miles  from  the  Mississippi.  In 
the  last  mentioned  locality  specimens  have  been  found  as  lately  as 
1881  which  assayed  89  per  cent,  of  lead,  with  249.7  ounces  of  sil- 
ver to  the  ton,  and  a  trace  of  gold.  Copper  has  also  been  ob- 
served in  some  of  these  specimens,  as  also  in   specimens  from  the 


332  HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

New  Galena  region.  Zinc  deposits  have  long  been  known  to  ex- 
ist in  the  vicinity  of  New  Galena,  and  at  this  day  there  are  par- 
ties prospecting  with  the  purpose  of  developing  its  value  and 
quantity. 

We  quote  further:  ''The  Yellow  River  cuts  into  the  Lower 
Magnesiau,  but  not  through  it.  At  Volney  this  rock  is  seen 
rising  in  cliffs  from  the  bottom  of  the  valley  to  the  height  of  thir- 
ty or  forty  feet.  On  the  south  side  of  the  river,  above  the  Lower 
Magnesian,  may  be  seen  cropping  out  the  Upper,  or 

St.  Peter's  Sandstone. — "This  rock  occurs  as  a  friable  or  incohe- 
rent mass,  having  a  thickness  of  from  fifty  to  eighty  and  even  one 
hundred  feet,  and  sometimes  having  so  little  coherence  as  to  be 
removed  from  the  bank  like  ordinary  sand  or  gravel.  *  *  * 
Although  the  grains  of  which  it  is  composed  are  of  white  or  lim- 
pid quartz,  the  mass  is  often  and  particularly  near  the  base,  much 
stained  by  oxide  of  iron,  while  the  upper  portions  are  frequently 
quite  free  from  discoloration,  This  sandstone  will  furnish  an  ex- 
cellent material  for  glass  making,  whenever  that  branch  of  indus- 
try shall  be  established  in  the  Mississippi  Valley." 

This  sandstone  is  found  in  many  places  in  the  county,  and  where 
accessible  have  proved  very  useful  for  building  purposes  as  in  the 
case  of  beds  of  it  near  Waukon.  "It  occurs  in  several  outliers  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Upper  Iowa  River,  some  of  them  occupying 
considerable  areas."  On  the  banks  of  "the  Mississippi  the  sum- 
mits of  the  cliffs  recede  abruptly  from  the  terrace  formed  by  the 
Magnesian,  owing  to  its  less  power  of  resisting  denudation," 
but  where  the  Trenton  Limestone  appears  over  the  sandstone,  the 
cliffs  again  assume  their  sharp  outline  above,  though,  "even  then 
they  present  a  recession  above  the  Magnesian.  Sloping  abruptly 
from  this,  they  are  capped  by  the  succeeding  limestone  which  rises 
in  perpendicular  or  overhanging  cliff's.  In  consequence  of  this 
character  the  bluffs  have  the  aspect  of  a  double  terrace,  the  first 
being  formed  by  the  Magnesian,  and  the  second,  some  eighty  feet 
higner,  by  the  Trenton  limestone." 

The  Trenton  Limestone,  with  its  usual  fossiliferous  bluish-gray 
layers,  occupies  the  elevated  surface  of  the  country  through  the 
center  of  this  county,  over  a  space  of  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  in 
width.  This  rock  is  usually  concealed  by  the  superficial  formations 
(drift,  etc.),  but  crops  out  in  the  valleys,  *  *  *  where  it 
is  quarried  for  lime  and  as  a  building  stone,  for  both  of  which 
uses  it  is  well  adapted.  *  *  *  rpj^^  Trenton  limestone 
proper  is  marked  in  some  localities  by  numerous  species  of  its 
characteristic  fossils,  while  elsewhere  they  are  extremelv  rare. 

*  *  *  This    rock    is    mostly    thin-bedded; 

though  the  drab-colored  layers  are  firmer,  thicker,  and  usually  free 

from  seams,  furnishing  building  stone  of   moderate   dimensions, 

and,  rarely  of  the  thickness  of  eighteen  or  twenty  inches.  * 

*  *  The  increase  in  thickness  is  chiefly  at   the 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  333 

base  of  the  formation."'  The  limestones  at  the  base  of  the  Tren- 
ton, appear,  from  their  chemical  composition,  to  be  better  quali- 
fied to  make  good  hydraulic  cements  than  any  others  found  in  the 
State  of  Iowa.  *  *  *  The  following  analy- 

sis will  give  an  idea  of  the  composition  of  the  Trenton  lime- 
stone as  it  exists  in  the  northeastern  corner  of  Iowa.  The  speci- 
men is  from  a  quarry  four  miles  south  of  Waukon: 

"This  is  a  very  light  drab-colored  rock,  not  materially  chang- 
ing its  color  or  appearance  by  weathering.  It  breaks  with  a 
smooth  fracture  into  rectangular  fragments.  Its  texture  is  finely 
crystalline,  and  it  is  very  compact  and  homogeneous  with  the  ex- 
ception of  minute  specks  of  crystallized  calcareous  spar  and  bi- 
tumen which  are  sparsely  scattered  through  it.  It  is  in  all  res- 
pects a  good  building  stone,  splitting  out  in  good  shape,  dressing 
easily  and  keeping  its  color  well.  This  is  not  from  one  of  the 
very  fossil  if  erous  layers  of  the  blue  limestone;  but  it  contains  a 
few  fossils,  and  is  colored  by  a  trace  of  organic  matter. 

"Insoluble  (silicate  of  alumina) 4.07 

Carbonate  ofiron 62 

Carbonate  of  lime 94.08 

Carbonate  of  magnesia,  alkalies,  chlorine,  sulphuric  acid  and  loss 1.23 

100.00 

"The  specimen  analyzed  above  represents  in  character  and 
composition  the  lower  portion  of  the  Blue  limestone,  as  developed 
throughout  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  State.  It  is  quarried 
in  numerous  places,  and  affords  the  best  material,  both  for  build- 
ing stone  and  for  lime,  being  an  almost  pure  carbonate  of  lime. 
It  sometimes  fades  slightly  on  exposure  by  the  gradual  disappear- 
ance of  the  organic  matter  which  it  contains;  and  is  not  unfre- 
quently  colored  of  a  light  buff  on  the  exterior  by  the  oxidation  of 
the  iron  which  it  contains  in  the  form  of  carbonate  of  the  pro- 
toxide." 

"The  passage  from  the  Trenton  into  the  Galena  limestone  above 
is  not  an  abrupt  one;  on  the  contrary  there  are,  in  many  locali- 
ties, several  alternations  of  calcareo-magnesian  and  purely  calcar- 
eous layers  between  the  two  formations.'' 

The  Galena  Limestone  is  found  in  this  county,  only  in  the  southern 
portions,  occupying  the  surface  of  the  elevated  country  south  of  the 
Yellow  River.  North  of  that  stream  a  few  outliers  of  this  rock  are 
found  on  the  highest  points,  above  the  Trenton,  but  as  we  proceed 
northward  these  disappear  entirely,  and  give  place  to  the  Trenton 
which  occupies  by  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  surface  of  the 
county,  south  of  the  Upper  Iowa,  and  is  the  most  valuable  rock  we 
have,  economically  considered,  because  of  its  properties  for  building 
purposes,  for  lime  and  other  uses;  although  portions  of  the  Galena 
and  the  Lower  Magnesian  are  also  well  adapted  for  building  pur- 
poses. The  Galena  is  the  rock  in  which  are  found  the  valuable  lead 


^34 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUXTY. 


deposits  of  this  State  in  the  vicinity  of  Dubuque;  but  it  does  not 
appear  in  this  county  in  sufficieut  thickness  to  warrant  expecta- 
tions of  any  future  developments  of  value  in  that  respect. 

Prof.  Hall  says:  ''The  Galena  limestone  as  usually  developed 
is  a  rather  thick-bedded,  light-grayish  or  light  yellowish-gray 
dolomite,  distinctly  crystalline  in  its  texture  and  usually  rather 
course  grained,  although  occasionally  so  finely  granular  as  to  be 
almost  compact."  It  "closely  resembles  in  lithological  character, 
as  well  as  in  chemical  composition,  the  Lower  Magnesian  from 
which  it  is  separated  by  the  Trenton.  It  is,  however,  more  uniform 
in  its  texture,  and  does  not  exhibit  the  breceiated  and  concretion- 
ary structure.'' 

It  will  be  seen  by  those  who  are  conversant  with  the  geological 
system  of  this  county,  that  while  the  survey  by  Prof.  Hall  twenty- 
five  years  age  is  substantially  correct,  he  was  not  aware  of  the 
great  irregularity  in  the  various  strata  throughout  the  interior  of 
the  county  which  has  since  been  developed  in  the  shape  of 
"faults",  undulations,  upheavals  and  other  evidences  of  internal 
disturbances.  In  numerous  instances  "breaks  have  occurred  in 
such  manner  as  to  show  the  entirely  different  formation  of  rock 
abutting  upon  each  other,  and  side  by  side  occupying  large  tracts 
of  country  on  the  same  level,  as  in  the  case  just  northeast  of 
Waukon,  where  a  pure  sand  rock  composes  the  entire  surface,  hills 
and  valleys,  on  the  east  of  an  abrupt  dividing  line  which  separates 
it  from  a  purely  limestone  formation. 

In  this  place  it  is  appropriate  to  allude  to  Hon.  Samuel  Mur- 
doch's discovery  of  a  fossiliferous  rock  underlying  the  Potsdam 
Sandstone.     We  quote  from  an  article  written  by  him  in  1875. 

"From  the  neighberhood  of  Lansing  there  is  a  rapid  southern 
dip  in  all  the  formations  along  the  river,  and  this  is  so  rapid  that 
the  whole  thickness  of  one  formation  is  entirely  hid  in  the  space 
of  twenty  miles,  and  this  rate  will  correspond  with  the  whole  of 
them.  Now  if  this  dip  was  confined  to  any  one  of  these  forma- 
tions alone  we  might  conclude  that  it  was  originally  formed*  at 
this  angle,  but  when  we  see  them  all  conform  to  the  same  dip 
and  preserve  a  uniform  thickness,  it  forbids  the  idea  of  an  original 
slant.  From  the  neighborhood  of  Lansing  there  is  also  a  corres- 
ponding northern  dip  in  all  the  formations,  leaving  the  conclus- 
ion upon  us,  that  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  city,  a 
powerful  subterranean  force  is  constantly  being  exerted  to  heave 
up  a  large  portion  of  Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  I  am  therefore  strong- 
ly disposed  to  look  to  the  new  rock  which  I  have  recently  discov- 
ered, lying  beneath  the  Potsdam  sandstone,  as  the  great  lever  that 
is  doing  the  work." 

"At  the  city  of  Lansing  it  rises  to  an  altitude  of  more  than 
two  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river,  and  can  be  traced  to 
the  water's  edge,  is  largely  composed  of  lime,  and  this  substance 
in  contact  with  both  heat  and  water  would  furnish,  perhaps,  the 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  335 

largest  expansive  force  of  any  other  rock  known  upon  the  globe. 
Having  recently  traced  this  rock  for  several  miles  up  the  Little 
lov^^a,  and  again  into  Wisconsin  up  and  along  the  Kicsapoo,  and  de- 
termined that  it  has  both  a  northern  and  southern  dip,  I  am 
therefore  prepared  to  say  that  it  forms  a  ridge  in  this  neighbor- 
hood of  only  about  ten  miles  across,  when  it  is  lost  again  from 
sight  upon  either  side.  How  far  this  new  rock  can  be  traced  east 
and  Avest  from  Lansing  I  am  not  prepared  to  say,  but  I  am  in- 
clined to  believe  that  ten  by  thirty  miles  will  cover  the  whole  area 
of  its  exposure,  when  it  fades  out  of  sight  beneath  the  Potsdam 
sandstone.  This  new  rock  is  undoubtedly  of  vast  thickness,  and 
like  some  huge  monster  of  the  great  deep,  is  pushing  its  way  up- 
Avard  with  giant  strength,  lifting  and  tilting  everything  above  it, 
as  if  they  were  but  feathers  in  its  way.  It  contains  within  its 
folds  the  remains  of  a  dead  world  that  flourished  in  the  dim  long 
ago,  and  over  these  remains  the  future  geologist  may  well  ponder, 
and  contemplate  the  vast  cycle  of  time  that  has  elapsed  since  they 
flourished  in  life  and  activity.''' 

And  again,  from  an  article  published  in  1876: 

"Several  years  ago  while  wandering  over  the  beautiful  bluffs 
that  overlook  the  thriving  city  of  Lansing,  in  Allamakee  County, 
in  company  with  James  I.  Gilbert,  he  called  my  attention  to  a  pe- 
culiar ledge  of  rocks  that  forms  the  base  of  the  hill  in  the  immed- 
iate rear  of  the  city.  Since  that  time,  I  have  found  that  it  run 
under  the  Potsdam  sandstone. 

''With  the  exception  of  this  fact,  I  supposed  it  to  be  devoid  of 
geological  interest,  and  it  was  not  until  a  recent  visit  to  Lansing 
that  I  discovered  this  rock  to  be  rich  in  fossil  remains.  I  discover 
both  the  vertebrated  fish  and  the  articulated  worm  in  great  num- 
bers, and  I  have  no  doubt  that  upon  a  close  examination,  both  the 
Radiates  and  Mollusks  could  be  found  in  equal  numbers. 

"Dr.  Ranney,  an  intelligent  scientist  of  Lansing,  while  disputing 
with  me  the  fact  that  this  rock  underlies  the  Potsdam,  but  claims 
that  it  only  exists  in  a  basin,  and  is  of  a  modern  lake  deposit,  in- 
forms me  that  he  found  in  this  rock  in  a  fossil  state,  a  perfect  cat- 
fish, resembling  in  every  particular  its  fellows  of  our  present 
rivers. 

''The  city  of  Lansing  is  built  upon  this  rock,  while  it  still  rises 
above  the  town  and  forms  a  second  bench  about  two  hundred  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  river,  while  its  lowest  strata  runs  beneath 
the  water. 

"About  two  miles  south  of  the  city  it  is  again  seen  beneath  the 
Potsdam,  but  at  a  much  lower  level  than  its  surface  at  the  city, 
and  here  it  is  rapidly  dipping  to  the  south,  while  at  the  city  it 
rapidly  dips  to  the  north,  and  in  a  few  miles  either  way  it  des- 
cends out  of  sight. 


336  HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

"Some  great  internal  force  lias  served  to  raise  it  up  north  of  the 
valley  of  the  Lansing  creek  that  did  not  operate  south  of  that 
stream,  and  must  have  broken  a  fissure  which  afterwards  became 
the  valley  of  the  stream. 

"This  rock  is  composed  of  lime,  sand  and  shale  in  alternate  de- 
posits; the  streaks  of  sand  often  very  thin,  and  alternating 
through  the  entire  mass." 

The  ^'Iron  Mountain/' — Prof.  Hall  failed  to  notice  any  evi- 
dences of  iron  ore  other  than  "in  some  localities  the  rock  is  highly 
charged  with  oxide  of  iron  *  *  of  which  the  origin  appears  to  be 
from  the  decomposition  of  iron  pyrites."  "Oxide  of  ii'on,  or 
hematite,  is  occasionally  present  in  small  nodules"  in  the  Pots- 
dam sandstone,  etc.  But  it  has  long  been  known  to  some  resi- 
dents of  the  county  that  fragments  and  boulders  of  iron  ore  were 
scattered  over  the  surface  of  the  ground  along  and  on  either  side 
of  Makee  Ridge,  two  or  three  miles  northeast  of  Waukon,  and 
that  in  some  places  the  road-bed  seemed  to  be  of  solid  iron.  No 
particular  notice  had  been  taken  of  this,  however,  by  outsiders, 
until  within  the  past  few  years,  through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Chas. 
Barnard,  who  has  taken  pains  to  furnish  several  experienced  iron 
men  with  samples  of  this  ore,  who  have  in  every  instance  given 
analysis  showing  it  to  be  a  good  quality  of  red  hematite,  of  a 
purity  ranging  from  50  to  70  per  cent.  Mr.  Barnard  has  exam- 
ined the  deposit  carefully  for  several  years,  and  is  satisfied  that 
it  is  not  merely  a  shell,  but  a  rich  mine  of  great  depth,  and  that 
if  the  surface  ore  which  has  been  exposed  to  the  air  yields  65  per 
cent,  of  the  pure  metal,  the  interior  deposits  must  be  as  rich 
as  any  now  known.  Nothing  but  actual  trial  can  determine 
whether  this  apparently  great,  solid  mass  of  iron  ore  is  really 
what  it  appears.  However,  now  that  outside  parties  of  capital 
are  becoming  interested  in  the  matter,  it  would  seem,  at  this 
writing  (July,  1882,)  that  its  value  will  soon  be  ascertained.  The 
following  extracts  from  an  article  by  A.  M.  May,  editor  of  the 
Waukon  Standard,  published  in  that  paper  of  May  18,  1882, 
will  give  a  tolerably  clear  idea  of  the  situation  of  this  bed  of 
ore: 

"We  know  it  is  against  the  geological  arrangement  of  strata  as 
usually  seen  in  this  part  of  Iowa,  that  such  a  bed  should  exist, 
and  that  it  is  not  mentioned  in  any  report;  and  that  we  have  been 
laughed  at  in  years  gone  by  for  suggesting  that  iron  did  exist 
here  in  any  appreciable  quantity ;  but  we  have  believed  it  because  we 
have  seen  it  and  know  it  is  here.  The  only  question  in  our  mind 
was:     Is  it  rich  enough  to  pay  for  working? 

"The  ore  bed  is  situated  about  two  miles  northeast  of  town. 
The  Lansing  road  crosses  it  near  the  old  Sloan  place.  It  extends 
east  or  beyond  where  the  road  turns  nearly  north  towards  the 
poor  farm.     Thence  irregularly  southwest  to  a   little    below   the 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  337 

old  C.  J.  White  place,  and  then  with  a  northwesterly  curve  to  the 
place  of  beginning.  The  old  Stoddard  house  is  somewhere  near 
the  northern  center  of  the  bed. 

''Not  long  since  we  made  a  thorough  examination  of  it  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  C.  Barnard,  who  came  from  an  iron  and  coal  coun- 
try and  has  had  years  of  experience  in  mining.  We  first  struck 
the  ore  on  the  south  side  near  the  old  White  place,  and  followed 
up  the  ravine  nearly  to  the  top  of  the  hill;  crossed  the  ridge  to 
another  ravine;  and  made  a  general  examination  of  fields,  ravines 
and  washes.  The  bed  is  bounded  on  the  south  and  east  by  the 
St.  Peter  sandstone;  on  the  west  and  north  by  the  Trenton  lime- 
stone. The  bed  extends  much  further  down  the  hill  going  south 
than  it  does  going  north.  The  change  from  the  iron  bed  proper 
to  the  other  formations  is  abrupt.  At  the  old  AVhite  and  Stod- 
dard places,  there  are  springs  of  soft  water,  while  all  other 
springs  in  this  county,  so  far  as  we  know,  are  hard  water.  In 
following  up  the  ravines  a  person  can  walk  almost  the  entire  dis- 
tance on  ore.  No  other  rock  formation  shows  itself.  The  ra- 
vines wash  out  till  the  ore  is  struck  and  can  wash  no  lower.  The 
sides  of  the  washes  are  lined  with  ore.  It  crops  out  on  the  sum- 
mits of  the  hills  in  large  boulders.  From  our  examinations,  we 
should  say  there  was  at  least  two  hundred  acres  two  hundred  feet 
deep  of  the  ore.  There  are  now  thousands  of  tons  of  it  in  sight. 
This  is  an  estimate,  and  not  by  measurement.  Of  course  it  can- 
not be  positively  determined  to  what  depth  it  does  extend;  sink- 
ing a  shaft  only  can  determine  that.  Our  opinion  is  that  it  is  an 
upheaval  of  considerable  and  perhaps  great  depth,  and  not  merely 
a  shell  on  the  surface." 

And  the  following  from  the  Dubuque  Trade  Journal  of  about 
the  same  date  relates  to  iis  availability: 

''Here  would  seem  to  be  a  mine  of  wealth,  a  genuine  bonaijza 
awaiting  the  advent  of  capital,  enterprise  and  skill,  to  establish  an 
industry  that  would  redound  in  fortunes  to  all  concerned.  The 
only  drawback  is  the  want  of  fuel  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  But 
fortunately,  from  the  deposit  to  the  Mississippi  river,  which  is  not 
far  off,  there  is  a  continuous  down  grade.  The  ore  can  therefore 
be  easily  taken  to  the  water  and  then  floated  in  barges  to  Dubu- 
que to  be  smelted.  If  thought  advisable,  smelting  furnaces  might 
be  established  in  the  Turkey  river  district,  where  an  abundance 
of  the  best  wood  is  found;  or,  for  that  matter,  anywhere  along 
the  banks  of  the  river  on  either  side  for  a  distance  of  more  than 
seventy-five  miles.  Furthermore,  a  railroad  connection  of  not 
more  than  three  miles  would  place  the  valuable  freightage  in  the 
hands  of  the  Waukon  railroad.  By  water  or  rail  the  grade  is 
downward,  so  that  under  any  circumstances  the  transportation 
would  be  of  the  easiest  kind." 

From  a  personal  examination  of  this  iron  bed,  in  company  with 
Mr.  Barnard,  we  found  that  recent  heavy  rains  had  washed  out 


338  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNIY. 

the  ravines  so  as  to  expose  the  ore  in  better  shape,  giving  more 
favorable  indications  than  before.  In  several  places  strata  of  fine 
blue  clay  are  found  of  considerable  thickness,  possibly  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  warrant  the  undertaking  of  the  manufacture  of 
white  brick.  In  other  places,  at  the  base  of  the  iron  exposure, 
there  was  observed  a  heavy  bed  of  what  is  pronounced  by  those 
familiar  with  its  appearance  to  be  a  superior  quality  of  potter's 

The  main  portion  of  this  iron  deposit  lies  on  Section  17,  extend- 
ing to  the  south  on  to  Section  20,  and  to  the  west  on  to  Section 
18,  covering  a  total  area  of  about  328  acres.  On  its  southern  bor- 
der is  nothing  but  sandstone;  to  the  west  it  abuts  abruptly  upon  a 
limestone  filled  with  fossils;  a  limestone  without  fossils  lies  on  its 
north;  while  on  the  east  are  found  sandstone,  limestone  and  a 
black  granite,  the  latter  being  found  nowhere  else  in  this  region 
with  the  exception  of  small  boulders  of  glacial  deposit  in  some 
localities.  The  springs  of  soft  water  which  flow  from  near  the 
centre  of  this  area,  are  strongly  impregnated  with  iron,  but  no 
complete  analysis  has  yet  been  made.  Numerous  beds  of  blue 
clay  are  also  found  here  and  there  over  this  area;  and  the  more 
the  region  is  studied  the  more  wonderful  geological  surprises  does 
it  present  to  the  observer. 

Since  the  above  was  written  one  of  the  numerous  analysis,  made 

by  a  thoroughly  competent  man,  has  been  published,  as  follows: 

Sesquioxide  of  iron , 52.571 

Sesquioxide  of  manganese 8.054 

Sesquioxide  of  cobalt 230 

Alumina 1.777 

Lime 1.090 

Magnesia 374 

iSulphuric  acid 047 

Phosphoric  acid 4.092 

Water  and  organic  matter 13.134 

Silicious  matter 18.631 

100,000 
In  regard  to  the  extent  of  the  ore,  Mr.  Barnard,  after  careful 
examination,  has  made  out  the  following  list  of  owners  and  num- 
ber of  acres  owned  by  each : 

Thomas  Meroney,  acres 35 

John  Barthell 103 

James  Hall 35 

J  ohn  Kasser 35 

G.  Schellschmidt 40 

John  Griffin 20 

C.  Helman 20  . 

Mrs.  S.  S.  Johnson 25 

Gilman  Nelson 20 

Total  number  of  acres  exposed 333 

Fossil  Marble.— This  term  is  applied  to  the  fossiliferous  layers 
of  blue  limestone  found  in  such  profusion  in  certain  quarries  in 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  339 

the  central  portion  oil  the  county.  These  layers  or  strata  are 
composed  almost  entirely  of  a  mass  of  organic  forms,  the  fossil 
remains  of  the  numerous  pieces  of  mollusks  so  characteristic  of 
that  epoch,  possessing  such  a  degree  of  cohesion,  however,  that 
the  rock  which  they  compose  is  used  extensively  in  building,  and 
is  susceptible  of  a  high  degree  of  polish,  like  marble.  When 
so  polished,  the  surface  presents  a  most  beautiful  appearance, 
showing  as  it  does  the  hundreds  of  curious  forms  of  shells,  corals, 
etc.,  in  one  solid  mass  of  confusion,  though  each  distinctly  pre- 
served as  they  were  huddled  together  by  the  waters  of  the  ancient 
ocean  in  which  they  had  their  existence,  and  from  which  they 
were  so  wonderfully  preserved  for  our  study  and  admiration.  So 
wrought,  this  rock  is  useful  for  all  ornamental  purposes;  is  inex- 
pensive and  much  used  for  mantels,  table  tops,  etc.,  in  place  of 
marble,  and  is  aptly  christened  "fossil  marble." 

Artesian,  Wells. — The  well  near  Harper's  Ferry  was  bored  in 
186 — ,  with  the  hope  of  finding  petroleum.  Of  course  the  pro- 
ject was  a  failure.  Prof.  White  says:  "It  is  quite  remarkable 
that  the  most  careful  tests  failed  to  find  any  iron  in  it.  This  water 
has  been  reported  to  be  strongly  impregnated  with  salt.  The 
analysis  will  show  no  warrant  for  such  a  statement.  One  liter  of 
the  water  contains  .79  grains  of  solid  matter,  of  which  there  are 
of 

Sulphuric  acid 082  grams 

Hydrochloric   acid 193       " 

Calcium  oxyd 096       '^ 

Magnesium  oxyd 045 

"The  depth  of  this  well  has  been  variously  stated,  *  *  and  it  has 
been  found  impossible  to  get  a  perfectly  satisfactory  account  of 
the  strata  passed  through  by  the  drill." 

The  first  artesian  well  at  the  foot  of  Main  street,  in  Lansing, 
was  drilled  in  April,  1877,  and  began  to  flow  at  a  depth  of  366 
feet.  Granite  was  struck  at  760  feet,  and  the  work  ceased,  with  a 
flow  of  320  gallons  per  minute;  but  this  well  not  having  a  suffi- 
cient "head"  of  water  for  practical  purposes  (33|  feet  only), 
another  was  started,  but  abandoned  at  440  feet,  and  a  third  one 
undertaken  further  up  town,  which  was  completed  in  July,  the 
depth  being  676  feet,  and  the  flow  greater  than  at  the  first  well. 
The  water  is  clear,  cold,  and  soft,  with  no  bad  taste. 


3i0  HISTOEY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

CHAPTER  II. 


Botany^  Zoology  and  Entomology ;  Climate;  Storms  and  Torna- 
does; Agriculture.  Live  Stock  and  Manufacturing  Interests; 
Tables  of  Statistics. 


The  botany  of  Allamakee  County  is  rich  in  species,  both  of 
exogens  and  endogens.  The  country  on  the  whole  may  be  con- 
sidered well  wooded,  though  many  of  the  groves  that  now  dot  the 
prairie  are  the  result  of  forethought  on  the  part  of  the  early  set- 
tlers, who  planted  trees  for  shelter  from  the  winds  of  winter  and 
the  summer  sun,  and  are  well  repaid  by  the  enhanced  beauty  and 
value  of  their  farms  thereby. 

Among  the  forest  trees  and  shrubs  of  the  county  are  found  the 
oaks,  white,  black,  and  minor  varieties;  the  hard  and  soft  maples, 
Avhich  here  grow  to  perfection;  the  hickory,  butternut,  black 
walnut,  hackberry;  ash,  white  and  black;  elms,  cottonwood,  pop- 
lar, birch,  willows,  several  species;  basswood,  honey  locust  and 
mulberry,  rare;  wdld  plum,  crab-apple,  wild  cherry,  iron- wood, 
thorn-apple,  elder,  sumach,  hazel,  gooseberry,  raspberry,  black- 
berry, wild  grape,  etc.,  among  the  deciduous  varieties;  and  the 
common  white  pine,  red  cedar,  balsam  fir,  trailing  hemlock  and 
trailing  juniper  among  the  evergreens.  Besides  these,  all  the 
hardier  varieties  of  fruit  trees,  ornamental  shade  trees  and  shrubs, 
do  well  when  introduced  into  this  region,  as  the  apple,  pear, 
cherry,  grape,  currants,  chestnut,  buckeye,  mountain  ash,  larch, 
spruce,  arbor-vita?,  etc. 

In  regard  to  fruit  trees,  the  experience  of  most  of  the  early 
comers  who  attempted  to  grow  apples  of  the  varieties  which  had 
prospered  well  in  their  former  homes,  was  discouraging  in  the 
extreme,  and  the  trees  killing  out  winter  after  winter  induced 
nearly  all  to  give  up  the  attempt.  There  were  a  few,  however,  in 
different  portions  of  the  county,  who  believed  that  with  judicious 
selection  and  management  the  apple  would  be  made  a  success,  and 
about  1855  and  1856  there  were  numerous  nucseries  established, 
nearly  every  one  of  which  proved  failures.  Among  those  who 
entered  this  branch  of  horticulture  was  D.  W.  Adams,  who  estab- 
lished a  nursery  at  Waukon  in  1856,  and  persevering  year  after 
year,  casting  aside  as  worthless  such  varieties  as  winter-killed  and 
propagating  only  such  as  readily  became  acclimated,  he  succeeded 
in  establishing  the  fact  that  some  of  the  best  apples  in  the  coun- 
try can  be  easily  grown  in  this  region.  He  to-day  has  forty  acres 
of  bearing  orchard,  probably  as  fine  as  any  in  the  Northwest, 
which  has  yielded  as  high  as  2,000  bushels  per  annum.  Through- 
out the  county,  too,  are  many  orchards  in  bearing,  supplied  with 
the  varieties  which  have  proven  themselves  well  adapted  to  this 
climate — some  of  them  seedlings  of  remarkable  excellence. 


^  I 


ITHE 
PUbLlL 


aY 


A6TOR, 
TILOEN   F 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  343 

Of  the  herbs  and  small  shrubs  the  number  is  very  great.  From 
early  spring,  when  the  anemone  or  wind  flower  appears  upon  the 
hill-side,  until  the  late  frosts  of  fall,  there  is  a  constant  succession 
of  floral  beauties.  Among  the  more  common  of  these  herbs  and 
flowers  may  be  mentioned  the  buttercups,  liverwort,  cowslip, 
prairie  pinks,  blood  root,  sorrel,  dandelion  (said  to  have  first  ap- 
peared with  the  coming  of  the  white  man),  thistles,  lilies,  sun- 
flowers (many  varieties),  asters,  bone-set  or  thoroughwort,  wild 
rose,  strawberry,  may  weed,  lobelia,  cardinal  flower,  wild  pea,  la- 
dy's slipper  (yellow  and  purple,  the  latter  not  common),  May  ap- 
ple or  mandrake,  several  species  of  milk-weed,  morning  glory, 
etc.,  as  well  as  many  kinds  of  beautiful  ferns  and  mosses  in  the 
shady  dells.  Of  course  a  number  of  plants  and  grasses  have  been 
introduced  that  have  become  practically  indigeneous.  The  tame 
grasses  have  found  a  congenial  home  in  the  rich  prairie  soil,  and 
aff'ord  the  most  luxuriant  pasturage  for  all  kinds  of  live  stock. 

This  chapter  would  be  incomplete  without  an  allusion  to  the 
lotus,  or  the  beautiful  and  fragrant  cream-colored  water-lily, 
which  expands  ten  inches  in  diameter,  and  is  found  in  the  sloughs 
along  the  Mississippi  river.  It  is  said  to  grow  in  but  few  locali- 
ties in  North  America. 

ZOOLOGY. 

The  natural  history  of  Allamakee  County  deserves  to  be  studied 
with  more  care  and  scientific  accuracy  tkan  has  yet  been  bestowed 
thereon.  And  especially  should  the  young  people  be  encouraged 
to  take  an  interest  in  a  study  so  attractive  as  well  as  useful.  Spe- 
cies once  common  are  becoming  extinct,  and  others  not  native 
here  are  appearing  year  by  year  and  taking  the  place  of  those  that 
are  disappearing.  Not  one  in  twenty  of  our  boys  knows  what  in- 
sects are  useful  to  the  farmer,  nor  what  birds;  and  of  the  latter 
great  numbers  are  annually  slaughtered  in  wanton  sport,  which, 
had  their  lives  been  spared,  would  render  valuable  aid  to  the  far- 
mer and  horticulturist  in  ridding  him  of  annoying  and  destructive 
insect  pests. 

The  principle  mammalia  found  in  the  county  by  the  early  settlers 
were  the  panther,  gray  wolf,  prairie  wolf,  lynx,  wild  cat,  raccoon, 
skunk,  mink,  weasel,  beaver,  otter,  niuskrat,  rabbit  (hare),  bat, 
shrew,  mole,  fox,  black  bear,  gray  squirrel,  fox  squirrel,  flying 
squirrel;  striped  squirrel  j(or  chipmunk),  gray  gopher  and  striped 
gopher  (or  ground  squirrels),  woodchuck  or  ground  hog,  the 
pouched  or  pocket  gopher,  and  mice  of  several  species.  Rats  were 
so  early  an  importation  by  steamers  that  it  would  not  be  surpris- 
ing to  see  some  gray  veteran,  with  the  impudence  of  his  race,  ap- 
pear and  claim  a  share  of  the  banquet  at  a  pioneer's  meeting.  The 
porcupine  has  also  been  found  in  this  region,  we  believe.  An  oc- 
casional red  squirrel  has  been  obtained  of  late  years,  though  not 
observed  when  the  county  was  first  settled.     Since  white  men  set- 

22 


344  HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

tied  in  the  county  its  prairies  have  not  been  sliaken  by  the  tramp 
of  buffalo  (more  properly  bison),  which  were  undoubtedly  at  one 
time  to  be  found  within  our  borders.  Elk  were  found  here  at  first, 
but  have  disappeared  long  since.  Ked  deer  were  very  plentiful 
for  many  years  after  the  county  was  settled,  and  a  few  are  killed 
each  year  to  this  day  along  the  bluffy  regions  of  the  Iowa  and 
Yellow  Rivers.  At  as  late  a  date  as  December,  ISTO,  we  have  an 
instance  of  no  less  than  ten  being  shot  in  a  three  days'  hunt,  par- 
ticipated in  by  four  men,  in  the  Iowa  Valley.  The  latest  instance 
we  have  of  the  capture  of  a  beaver  in  our  county  borders  was  in 
November  26,  1874,  when  one  was  killed  on  the  farm  of  C.  J.  F. 
Newell,  on  the  Yellow  River,  in  Franklin  Township,  This  speci- 
men was  three  feet,  eight  inches  long,  and  weighed  forty-eight 
pounds.  Of  wolves,  wild  cats  and  foxes,  there  are  still  a  sufficient 
number  to  warrant  the  county  in  paying  a  bounty  upon  their 
scalps,  and  they  do  not  seem  to  decrease  as  rapidly  as  the  sheep 
and  poultry  owners  might  wish,  as  the  following  comparison  will 
show:  In  the  five  months'  ending,  June  1, 1871,  the  county  paid 
bounties  upon  47  wolves  (including  whelps),  37  wild  cats  and  40 
foxes.  In  the  year  ending,  December  31, 1881,  the  number  paid 
for  was — wolves  88,  wild  cats  43,  and  foxes  23.  Occasional  lynx 
are  included  in  this  number  and  classed  among  the  cats. 

The  birds  of  this  county  are  those  of  a  large  portion  of  North 
America,  though  we  are  more  favored  in  numbers  of  varieties  than 
many  sections  because  of  our  varied  topograph}" — a  combination 
of  prairie,  valley,  bluff,  woods  and  Avater — affording  breeding 
places  for  nearly  all  the  species  that  inhabit  this  climate  in 
North  America.  Several  species  are  only  occasional  visitors; 
many  others  go  southward  during  the  winter;  while  a  small  num- 
ber remain  here  the  year  around.  Among  the  birds  of  prey  {Raj)- 
tores)  the  bald  eagle  holds  the  first  place,  and  may  still  be  seen 
perched  in  solitary  state  in  lofty  trees,  and  is  known  to  breed  in 
this  county.  Among  other  species  of  this  order  which  are  sup- 
posed to  nest  in  this  region  may  be  mentioned  the  buzzard,  duck 
hawk,  pigeon  hawk,  sparrow  hawk,  goshawk,  Cooper's  hawk, 
sharp-shinned  hawk,  red-tailed  or  hen-hawk,  barn  owl,  great 
horned  owl,  mottled  or  screech  owl,  golden  eagle,  fish  hawk,  and 
barred  owl.  The  great  gray  and  snowy  owls  of  the  northern 
regions  are  often  seen  in    winter. 

Of  the  Scansores.  or  climbers:  the  ^red  and  the  black-billed 
cuckoos,  hairy  woodpecker,  downy  woodpecker,  the  black  wood- 
cock (rare),  and  the  yellow-bellied,  red-headed,  golden-winged,  and 
perhaps  some  other  woodpeckers.  It  is  an  idea  of  some,  but  fast 
becoming  exploded,  that  some  varieties  of  woodpeckers  do  great 
injury  to  fruit  trees,  etc.;  but  the  fact  is  that  no  more  industri- 
ous insect  hunter  exists,  and  these  species  should  be  protected  in- 
stead of  exterminated.  They  seldom  peck  away  any  but  decayed 
wood,  and  the  good  they  do  is  vastly  greater  than  the  injury. 


HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE    COCKTY.  345 

Insessores,  or  perchers.  This  order  is  represented  by  an  in- 
numerable variety,  so  that  we  can  mention  but  a  few  of  the  most 
common;  such  as:  Ruby-throated  humming  bird,  chimney  swal- 
low, whippoorwill,  night  hawk,  belted  kingfisher,  king  bird,  pewee 
or  Phoebe  bird,  wood  thrush,  common  robin,  blue-bird,  black  and 
white  creeper,  Maryland  yellow-throat,  chestnut-sided  warbler, 
scarlet  tanager,  barn  swallow,  cliff  swallow,  bank  swallow,  purple 
martin,  shrike  or  butcher-bird,  red-eyed  vires  or  fly-catcher,  cat- 
bird, brown  thrush,  house  wren,  winter  wren,  nut-hatch,  tit- 
mouse or  chickadee,  horned  lark,  finch,  yellow  bird,  white  throat- 
ed sparrow,  tree  sparrow,  chipping  sparrow,  sing  sparrow,  rose- 
breasted  grosbeak,  indigo-bird,  chewink,  bobolink,  cow-bird,  red- 
winged  black-bird,  meadow  lark,  Baltimore  oriole,  orchard  oriole, 
crow  black-bird,  blue  jay,  etc.  The  mocking  bird  breeds  here, 
rarely.  The  crow  is  not  common,  though  far  more  so  than 
twenty  years  ago.  The  snow-bunting  is  found  in  winter.  The 
black  snow  bird  is  seen  in  countless  numbers,  spring  and  fall,  as 
it  migrates  to  the  north  or  south.  The  rose-breasted  grosbeak 
has  increased  in  numbers  wonderfully  in  the  last  fifteen  years, 
since  the  advent  of  the  potato-bug,  of  which  it  is  inordinately 
fond. 

The  order  of  Bacores,  which  includes  many  of  our  game  birds, 
is  represented  by  the  wild  or  passenger  pigeon,  Carolina  dove, 
pinnated  grouse  or  prairie  chicken,  which  is  scarce  compared  with 
the  early  years,  ruffed  grouse  or  partridge,  and  the  quail.  The 
wild  turkey  is  said  to  have  been  fouad  occasionally  when  the 
country  was  new,  but  if  so  they  have  long  since  disappeared. 

Among  the  GraUatores^  or  waders,  we  have  the  sand-hill  crane 
occasionally,  the  bittern,  green  heron,  golden  plover^  killdeer 
plover,  king  plover,  black-bellied  plover,  turnstone,  woodcock, 
Wilson's  snipe,  rail,  and  others. 

Among  the  Natatores,  or  swimmers,  we  might  mention  a  great 
variety  of  species  that  tarry  in  our  waters  a  greater  or  less  period 
in  passing  to  and  from  their  northern  breeding  grounds  in  spring 
and  fall,  including  the  wild  goose,  brant,  mallard,  green  and  blue- 
winged  teal,  midgeon,  red-head,  canvas-back,  golden-eye,  butter- 
ball,  and  other  varieties  of  ducks  and  geese;  and  the  great  northern 
diver,  or  loon.  The  summer  duck,  and  some  other  species  of  this 
order^  breed  with  us.  The  swan  is  sometimes  found;  as  is  also  the 
white  pellican. 

Reptiles  are  neither  very  numerous  nor  formidable,  though, 
when  first  settled,  several  sections  of  the  county  were  considerably 
infested  by  more  or  less  dangerous  specimens.  The  yellow  rattle- 
snake and  the  massasauga  or  prairie  rattlesnake  were  frequently 
encountered,  and  the  former  sometimes  attained  great  sizes.  It 
found  a  congenial  habitat  along  the  bluffs  among  the  rocks,  and 
there  are  traditions  of  dens  of  these  hideous  reptiles  similar  to 
that  described  )>y  0.  W.  Holmes  in  "Elsie  Venner,"  inhabited  by 


346  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY, 

monsters  o£  fabulous  uumber  and  size.  Single  specimens,  and 
some  quite  large,  are  still  found  occasionally,  and  their  possible 
presence  is  still,  to  the  timid,  a  terror  in  those  otherwise  delight- 
ful dells  that  break  through  the  bluff  wall.  The  water-snake  sur- 
vives in  the  streams.  The  black-snake,  the  blue-racer,  the  ground 
snake  and  the  garter-snake — the  most  common  comprise  the  other 
species,  and  they  are  every  year  decreasing  in  number.  There  are 
three  or  four  species  of  turtle,  possibly  one  lizard,  and  one  or  two 
salamanders,  besides  the  usual  varieties  of  frogs  and  toads. 

Fishes  abound  in  all  the  streams  of  any  size,  ranging  from  the 
minnow  to  the  gigantic  buifalo  and  catfish.  Among  the  more 
common  are  the  perch,  bass,  pike,  pickerel,  sucker,  sturgeon,  eel, 
red  horse,  chub,  gar-pike,  dog-fish,  etc.  The  only  brook  or 
speckled  troiit  found  in  Iowa  are  caught  in  the  cold,  swift  creeks 
that  empty  into  the  Upper  Iowa.  The}^  were  formerly  very 
numerous  in  Patterson,  Silver  and  French  creeks,  but  these 
streams  have  been  so  persistently  fished  that  comparatively  few 
are  now  to  be  found.  The  other  varieties  are  caught  in  great 
numbers  in  both  the  Mississippi  and  the  Iowa. 

Of  the  crustaceous,  the  crawfish,  or  crab,  is  our  best  known 
representative;  and  of  the  mollusks,  the  snail. 

The  insects  include  representatives  of  all  the  great  families. 
The  leimloptera  (moths  and  butterflies)  have  many  species,  varying 
greatly  in  size,  from  the   great  cecropia  moth,  five  inches  across 
the  wings,  to  the  tiny  tinea^  less  than  half  an  inch,  which  does  so 
much  damage  to  uncared  for    carpets,  etc.       The  hymneoptera 
include  the   membraneous  winged  insects,    such    as  bees,  wasps, 
ichneumons,  saw-flies,  ants,  and  their  allies;  the  dipterea,  the  two- 
winged  insects,  as  flies,  mosquitoes,  etc.;  the  coleoptera,  or  sheath- 
winged  insects,  are  numerous,  and  many  of  them  large  and  beau- 
tifully  colored.      This   class   embraces   the   beetles,    among   the 
troublesome  and  destructive  borers  of  many  species,  the  scaven- 
ger bugs,  and  the  potato  bug.     The  beautiful  and  useful  lady- 
bugs  belong  also  to  this  division.     Many  of  the  borers    are  re- 
markable for  the  length  of  their  anfennia',  and  for  the  strange- 
ness and  elegance  of  their  forms.     The  apple-tree  borer  is  about 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  long  in  its  beetle  state.     It  lays  its  eggs 
on  the  bark,  near  the  foot  of  the  tree.     The  larvae  are  whitish, 
with    small,   horny,    brown-colored  heads.     They  remain  in  the 
larvae  state  two  or  three  years,  during  which  time  it  is  they  do  the 
damage.     Their   transformation   is   usually   completed   in   June, 
when  the  perfect  beetle  emerges.     The  lady-bug  is  destructive  to 
aphides^  or  plant  lice,  and  should  therefore   be  preserved.     The 
Colorado  potato  bug  first  appeared  in  this  county,   we  believe,  in 
the  season  of  1867.     It  is  a  native  of  the  Far   West,  and  when 
making  this  "invasion"  spread  over  the  country  to  the  eastward 
at  an  average  rate  of  about  sixty  miles  a  year. 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  347 

The  herwipfera  comprise  buj^s,  cicadas  or  harvest-flies,  and  the 
like.  In  this  division  Ave  find  the  chiuchbug,  which  has  been  very 
destructive  to  wheat  in  this  county  for  a  number  of  years.  It  is  of 
the  same  family  and  genus  (citnex)  as  the  bed-bug.  The  seven- 
teen-year locust"  also  comes  under  this  class.  It  appeared  in  this 
county,  or  portions  of  it,  in  immense  numbers  in  18G4,  and  again 
in  1881.  There  are  several  different  broods  throughout  the 
country,  so  that  in  various  sections  they  are  found  in  different 
years.  Entomologists  tell  us  there  is  another  variety  which  re- 
appears in  thirteen  years.  They  are  short-lived  and  harmless,  ex- 
cept that  they  injure  the  looks  of  the  foliage  where  they  are 
abundant. 

Ortlwptera  are  the  straight-winged  insects,  like  the  grasshoppers, 
katydids,  cockroaches,  crickets,  etc.;  and  the  neiiroptera  are  nerve- 
winged,  like  the  dragon-flies,  or  ''devil's  darning  needles,"  and 
their  allies.  The  arachnidcp,  or  spiders,  and  the  mijriapoda^  or  cen- 
tipedes, are  of  course  found  everyMdiere  in  their  accustomed  haunts. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  geology  and  natural  history  of  this 
county  offers  an  ample  field  for  the  amateur  collector,  or  for  the 
naturalist  who  seeks  to  lay  a  broad  foundation  for  future  investi- 
gation by  first  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  local  flora 
and  fauna.  It  is  far  from  creditable  to  the  scientific  spirit  of  the 
county,  and  especially  to  its  high  schools,  that  no  better  collec- 
tions illustrating  local  geology,  botan}',  zoology,  or  entomology, 
exist  M'ithin  its  borders.  Teachers,  especially  the  able  principals 
of  schools,  could  easily  awaken  an  interest  in  the  minds  of  their 
pupils  that  might  not  only  result  in  the  developement  of  en- 
thusiastic practical  naturalists,  but  in  the  formation  of  collections 
that  would  be  both  of  value  in  teaching  and  objects  of  interest 
through  the  future.  Moreover,  knowledge  derived  from  the  study 
of  nature  has  a  pecuniary  value  not  easily  estimated.  The  man 
who  has  a  knowledge  of  botany  is  not  liable  to  be  tricked  into 
buying  worthless  vegetable  wonders.  The  existence  of  the 
borers,  the  potato  beetle,  the  chinch  bug,  and  the  many  other  ene- 
emies  of  the  horticulturist  and  the  farmer,  demonstrate  the  need 
of  at  least  a  passing  acquaintance  with  insects  and  their  habits,  in 
order  to  the  better  combat  with  them,  and  teachers  should  lead 
in  impressing  on  the  minds  of  all  the  importance  of  such  know- 
ledge. The  loss  annually  sustained  by  Iowa  farmers  by  the 
ravages  of  insects  is  several  millions  of  dollars,  of  which  Alla- 
makee county  bears  her  full  share;  and  a  large  portion  of  this 
immense  sum  might  be  readily  saved  by  a  proper  popular  know- 
ledge of  them  and  the  measures  to  be  taken  for  their  destruction. 

CLIMATE, 

In  general,  the  air  of  this  region  is  bracing,  healthful  and  invig- 
orating. Miasma  and  malaria  are  not  prevalent,  except  along  the 
sloughs  of  the  Mississippi  where  attacks  of  ague  are  imminent  at 


348  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUifTY. 

certain  seasons.  It  is  seldom  that  consumption  is  contracted  here, 
although  our  climate  is  not  now  considered,  as  formerly^  a  specific 
for  that  disease.  The  prevailing  winds  are  westerly — northwest 
being  most  prevalent,  the  southwest  next,  and  southeast  third  in 
order.  The  annual  precipitation  of  moisture  averages  about  36 
inches;  and  the  mean  annual  temperature  is  not  far  from  45  de- 
grees Fahrenheit.  In  general  the  winters  are  cold  and  long  con- 
tinued, with  plenty  of  snow,  though  exceptions  are  not  infrequent. 
The  open  winter  of  1877-78  will  long  be  remembered,  when  mud 
prevailed  and  roads  were  nearly  impassible  for  weeks.  Flowers 
bloomed  on  the  open  ground  the  last  week  in  December;  bees  were 
at  work  on  Christmas  day;  and  at  Lansing  an  excursion  by  ferry 
boat  on  the  Mississippi  was  indulged  in.  Peas  and  greens  grew 
five  inches  high  in  gardens  in  early  January,  ducks  were  flying 
north,  and  considerable  plowing  was  done.  So,  also,  will  be  re- 
membered the  severe  winter  of  1880-81,  with  its  long  continued 
and  frequently  repeated  snow-blockades;  and  the  winter  of  1856- 
57,  when  the  deeply  drifted  snow  was  covered  with  a  crust  that 
supported  ox  teams  in  places,  and  deer  were  run  down  by  men  on 
foot  because  their  sharp  hoofs  penetrated  the  crust  which  imped- 
ed their  speed  and  lacerated  their  legs. 

Friday  night,  April  27,  1877,  an  old-fashioned  northeast  snow 
storm  set  in,  and  continued  almost  steadily  until  Sunday  after- 
noon. The  roads  were  blockaded  by  drifts  which  rose  in  places 
to  the  depth  of  four  feet.  Very  late  heavy  frosts  are  on  record 
for  the  11th,  12th  and  13th  of  May,  1878,  and  ice  formed  to  con- 
siderable thickness  May  22d  and  23d,  1882.  Although  these  are 
exceptional  cases,  frosts  have  been  known  in  June  and  July.  Aug. 
22d  and  23d,  1875,  severe  frost  injured  corn  in  low  lands;  and 
frosts  are  usually  liable  to  occur  after  Sept.  10th.  The  beautiful 
Indian  summer  weather  of  late  fall  is  one  of  the  prominent  fea- 
tures of  our  climate,  though  it  is  sometimes  crowded  out  of  the 
annual  programme  entirely. 

Our  county  has  so  far  since  its  settlement  escaped  the  ravages 
of  severe  tornadoes  to  a  great  extent,  the  most  serious  storm  of 
that  character  which  has  visited  us  entered  the  county  from  the 
southwest,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  of  September,  1881;  pass- 
ing just  north  of  Postville,  it  demolished  the  houses  of  several 
farmers  in  Post  township,  especially  at  Lybrand,  and  passed 
northwardly  through  Jefferson  Township,  unroofing  houses  and 
twisting  off  or  uprooting  trees  in  its  course,  finally  disappearing 
east  of  Waukon.  Undoubtedly  had  the  storm  struck  a  town 
there  would  have  been  loss  of  life  as  well  as  property.  As  it  was, 
several  were  very  severely  injured  in  Post  township  and  all  their 
personal  effects  swept  away.  Sept.  24,  1872,  several  buildings 
were  blown  down  at  Monona,  including  the  depot  and  the  Catho- 
lic church,  but  no  lives  were  lost. 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  349 

Of  the  other  severe  storms,  the  following  are  the  most  note- 
worthy :  A  severe  wind  and  hail  storm  destroyed  the  crops  in  its 
path  in  July,  1854,  unroofing  Scott  Shattuck's  large  barn  at  Wau- 
kon,  and  blowing  down  the  frame  of  the  Makee  school  house. 
May  21st,  1870,  a  storm  passed  eastwardly  through  Union  Prairie, 
Makee,  Center  and  Lafayette,  unroofing  the  West  Ridge  Catholic 
church,  and  the  hail  broke  window  glass  all  along  its  course. 
July  14th  of  the  same  season  severe  hail,  rain  and  wind  destroyed 
crops  in  Lndlow,  the  hail  destroying  a  great  deal  of  window  glass 
and  cutting  the  heads  of  people  exposed  to  its  fury.  April'  29th, 
1872,  a  severe  storm  visited  the  southern  portion  of  the  county, 
unroofing  houses  and  blowing  down  trees.  August  4th,  1872,  a 
hail  storm  extended  over  a  good  share  of  the  county,  doing  great 
damage  to  crops  in  Post  and  Franklin .  One  of  the  most  terrible 
"blizzards"  ever  experienced  in  this  region  raged  January  7th, 
8th  and  9th,  1873,  when  the  snow  was  drifted  to  unprecedented 
heighths,  the  air  was  filled  with  the  fine,  cutting  particles  so  that 
travel  was  impossible,  and  the  mercury  ranged  from  20  to  36  de- 
grees below  zero.  This  was  the  time  trains  were  snov/ed  in  for 
three  days,  in  Winneshiek  County,  and  passengers  passed  for- 
ty-eight hours  of  suff'ering  therein.  In  the  night  of  June  23d, 
1875,  a  terrific  rain  flooded  the  valleys  of  Paint  and  Village  creeks, 
the  Iowa  and  its  tributaries,  sweeping  away  many  county  bridges, 
mill  dams,  etc.  The  Yellow  river  was  treated  to  a  similar  des- 
tructive flood  June  1st,  1878. 

On  the  10th  of  July,  1878,  began  our  heaviest  rain  fall  on  rec- 
ord, raging  at  intervals  from  Wednesday  evening  until  Friday 
morning,  when  the  rain  gauge  showed  6.70jinches  of  rain  in  thirty- 
six  hours  (at  Waukon),  and  on  Sunday  .66  in  addition  fell.  This 
flood  was  general  all  over  the  county  and  did  untold  damage  at 
Lansing  and  Village  Creek;  several  had  narrow  escapes  from 
drowning;  almost  every  bridge  along  Village  Creek  was  swept 
away,  and  the  damage  along  the  valley  was  estimated  at  f  50,000. 
The  valleys  of  the  Iowa  and  Yellow  Rivers  did  not  escape  with  less 
injury. 

But  the  rainy  season  of  1880  was  more  remarkable  in  many  re- 
spects, though  generally  not  so  destructive,  except  on  Yellow 
River  where  the  damage  was  unprecedented.  This  series  of  rains 
began  May  24th,  and  continued  nearly  through  June,  the  months 
of  May  and  June  showing  a  rain  fall  of  14.68  inches  at  Waukon. 
The  first  storms  was  most  severe  in  the  northern  portion  of  the 
county,  while  that  of  June  14th  was  particularly  destructive  along 
Yellow  River,  sweeping  away  crops,  bridges,  dams,  and  even  mills. 
Great  rains  prevailed  throughout  the  Upper  Mississippi  valley, 
so  that  river  was  higher  than  ever  before  known,  during  the  latter 
part  of  June.  Along  our  border  it  reached  its  highest  about  June 
22d,  nearly  a  foot  higher  than  the  previous  high  water  mark 
of  April,  1870. 


350  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

June  24,  1882,  the  lower  Village  Creek  valley  experieuced  its 
highest  water  on  record,  from  rains  of  that  morning  and  the  pre- 
ceding night.  Families  in  the  village  of  that  name  narrowly  es- 
caped with  their  lives,  and  the  wagon  and  railroad  bridges  at  the 
mouth  of  the  creek  were  both  taken  out. 

AGRICULTURE  AND  MANUFACTORIES. 

Allamakee  County  has  always  been  classed  as  one  of  the  best  of 
agricultural  regions,  because  of  the  diversity  and  fertility  of  its 
soil.  The  principle  products  have  been  wheat,  corn,  oats,  barley 
and  potatoes.  But  owing  to  the  partial  failure  of  what  was  for- 
merly the  staple  crop — spring  wheat — continuing  for  several  years 
in  succession,  the  attention  of  the  farmers  have  been  turned  to  a 
greater  variety  of  resources,  having  learned  from  dear  experience 
how  greatly  the  universal  dependence  upon  the  wheat  crop  will 
impoverish  a  region  through  impoverishment  of  the  soil.  Butter 
and  eggs,  hogs  and  cattle,  etc.,  have  always  been  produced  for  ex- 
port to  a  considerable  extent,  but  have  been  more  relied  upon 
within  a  few  years,  with  the  addition  of  flax,  sorghum,  onions, 
etc.  Fine  stock  and  the  dairy,  especially,  are  beginning  to  receive 
that  attention  which  they  demand;  and  these,  with  the  increase 
of  manufactories,  will  prove  the  pecuniary  salvation  of  our  people. 

There  was  not  a  creamery  in  the  county  until  1880,  when  one 
was  established  at  Waukon,  which  has  made  this  season  (1882)  as 
high  as  2,000  pounds  of  butter  per  day,  and  ordinarily  1500 
pounds  per  day.  There  are  now  five  of  these  establishments  in 
the  county   manufacturing  from   400  to  1,500  pounds  per  day. 

Our  manufactures  are  not  extensive  as  yet,  but  the  many  un- 
improved water  powers  and  other  natural  advantages  for  that 
class  of  industries  are  a  guarantee  that  they  will  one  day  become 
as  important  as  our  agricultural  resources.  They  consist  at  pres- 
ent of  one  large  lumbering  establishment,  one  foundry,  one  brew- 
ery, five  creameries,  numerous  wagon  and  plow  shops,  brick  yards, 
etc,  and  flouring  mills,  and  last  but  not  least,  a  woolen  mill.  The 
latter  is  situated  at  Village  Creek,  and  was  established  by  H.  0. 
Dayton  in  1865,  the  building  being  of  stone,  three  and  a  half 
stories.  It  did  a  large  business  until  October  28,  1868,  when  it 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  involving  a  loss  of  ^35,000 — nothing  but 
the  bare  walls  being  left.  It  was  rebuilt  and  new  machinery  put 
in,  but  on  May  21,  1875,  it  was  again  destroyed  by  fire,  at  a  loss  of 
$25,000.  In  less  than  a  year  the  mill  was  once  more  in  operation, 
and  has  since  continued  to  do  a  large  business,  notwithstanding 
the  proprietors,  Messrs.  Howard,  Carrolls  &  Ratcliffe,  have  met 
with  many  discouragements  in  the  shape  of  disastrous  floods, 
which  have  washed  out  the  dam,  time  and  again,  causing  great 
loss  of  time  and  expense  for  repairs. 

Of  the  flouring  and  grist  mills,  they  are  between  twenty-five 
and  thirty  in  number,  although  all  are  not  now  in  operation,  ow- 
ing to  the  great  decrease  in  the  wheat  crops  in  the  last  few  years. 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 


351 


From  the  latest  available  statistics  (the  results  of  the  census  of 
1880  not  having  been  made  public  yet  except  in  regard  to  some 
items)  we  have  compiled  the  following  tables  relating  to  agricul- 
tural and  manufacturing  matters,  and  where  practicable  have 
given  ojiportunity  for  a  comparison  of  different  years. 

ABSTRACT  OF  CENSUS  OF  1873. 


>s 

CI  t~ 

6"S 

Bar- 
ed '72 

Names  of 

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^00 

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0-'  V 

u  o 

Townships 

2  S 

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% 

"^ 

ai 

Center 

7656 

75601 

28833 

23998 

730 

823 

351 

14 

857 

230 

235 

Fairview 

2499 

7805 

25402 

5377 

72 

341 

178 

6 

356 

66 

143 

Franklin 

5135 

16430 

38520 

16252 

3418 

1488 

343 

9 

628 

344 

382 

Fren'h  Cr'k 

5072 

49085 

32550 

16292 

582 

650 

359 

897 

194 

878 

Hanover 

3663 

30543 

39050 

13827 

561 

953 

202 

4 

652 

378 

487 

Iowa 

2537 

10833 

34300 

3632 

4 

1807 

223 

683 

279 

332 

Jefferson 

10027 

54378 

61980 

37330 

5212 

3072 

497 

10 

836 

567 

668 

Lafayette 

7774 

63992 

39361 

17804 

218 

548 

425 

5 

989 

161 

611 

Lansing- 

4248 

51832 

37915 

23517 

852 

693 

340 

11 

855 

152 

467 

Lansi'gC'tv 

131 

6 

132 

Linton 

3368 

13921 

32210 

13850 

202 

1241 

267 

4 

646 

245 

389 

Lndlow 

12865 

79647 

69095 

59172 

12940 

1770 

571 

4 

970 

455 

701 

Makee 

9085 

69178 

53610 

34690 

3595 

1611 

633 

5 

972 

405 

855 

Paint  Creek 

7136 

54658 

47710 

32117 

870 

2410 

416 

3 

918 

752 

702 

Post 

8213 

32895 

58950 

25260 

3018 

2902 

516 

10 

1102 

529 

949 

Taylor 

6400 

46751 

37725 

20541 

180 

946 

406 

2 

757 

244 

597 

Union  City 

4525 

36205 

50599 

14055 

620 

375 

282 

749 

155 

1040 

Un'n  Pra're 

7878 

65143 

64875 

39116 

8426 

1466 

443 

2 

879 

308 

1284 

Waterloo 

6037 

55634 

45490 

21963 

1534 

653 

314 

9 

808 

233 

5697 

816 

Total 

114118 

814531 

79S166 

418793 

43034 

23749 

6897 

114 

14686 

11027 

352 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUXTY. 


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HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNT'S. 


353 


In  1880  the  amount  exempt  from  taxation  in  Allamakee  County 
on  account  of  fruit  and  forest  trees  planted  was  $7,250. 

LIVE  STOCK  IN"  ALLAMAKEE  COUNTY. 


Year. 

Hor.«es. 

Cattle 

Sheep. 

Swine. 

1867 

4864 
6897 
7610 
7921 
7365 

15132 

14686 
19652 
16408 
17708 

11657 

5697 

7372 

4055 

4774 

*24956 

1873 

111027 
19770 

1875 

1880 

22939 

1882 

17760 

*A11  ages.     fOver  six  months  old. 

ABSTRACT     OF    CENSUS    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    FOR    1875- 

MANUFACTURES. 

Number  of  engines 

Horse  power 

Number  of  wheels 

Horse  power 

Average  number  of  hands  employed  in  1874 

Tons  of  pig  and  scrap  iron  consumed. 


7 

156 

16 

240 

199 

250 

Cubic  feet  of  wood  consumed 3,5.39,274 

Pounds  of  Wool 27,020 

Pounds  of  leather 8,000 

Bushels  of  wheat 280,000 

Bushels  of  corn 10,400 

Bushels  of  barley 7,000 

Value  of  goods  made  in  1874 $745,072 

AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 

Agreeable  to  a  notice  signed  by  Geo.  C.  Shattuck,  John  Ray- 
mond, D.  H.  Gilbert,  John  A.  Townsend,  Thos.  A.  Minard  and 
Robert  Isted,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Waukon,  on  the  7th  day  of 
June,  1853,  of  which  John  Raymond  was  President  and  Joel 
Baker  Secretary,  and  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the 
''Allamakee  County  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Society."  The 
first  officers  of  the  society  were : 

President- -John  A.  Wakefield. 

Vice  Presidents— Robert  Isted,  John  Laughlin,  Wm.  C. 
Thompson. 

Recording  Secretary— J.  J.  Shaw. 

Corresponding  Secretary — John  Haney,  Jr. 

Treasurer — A.  J.  Hersey. 

The  original  roll  showed  a  membership  of  eighteen  persons,  as 
ollows; 

John  Raymond,  John  S.  Clark,  Robert  Isted,  M.  B.  Lyons, 
John  A.  Wakefield,  Reuben  Smith,  C.  W.  Cutler,  Absalom  Thorn- 
burg,  L.  S.  Pratt,  M.  Lashman,  G.  C.  Shattuck,  D.  H.  Gilbert,  J. 
M.  Gushing,  Ezra  Reed,  A.  J.  Hersey,  Scott  Shattuck,  Austin 
Smith,  John  Haney,  Jr. 

We  quote  from  Judge  Dean : 


354  HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUifTY. 

"June  23cl  at  a  meeting  of  the  directors  it  was  voted  that  there 
be  a  County  Fair  at  Wankon  on  the  13th  of  November.  At  this 
Fair  Ezra  Reed  and  G.  C.  Shattuck  took  premiums  on  sheep. 
Robert  Isted,  John  M.  Gushing,  and  Shattuck,  took  premiums  on 
swine.  Patrick  Keenan,  John  Raymond,  D.  H.  Gilbert,  Robert 
Isted,  and  Abraham  Bush,  took  premiums  on  cattle.  Jehial 
Johnson,  J.  B.  Cutler,  Moses  Shaft,  G.  C.  Shattuck,  took  premiums 
on  vegetables.  L.  Abbott  took  premium  on  wheat.  Moses  Shaft 
on  corn,  John  A.  Wakefield  on  best  ten  acres  of  corn.  Benja- 
min Beard,  L.Abbott,  Mrs.  L.  T.  Woodcock,  Mrs.  J.  A.  Townsend, 
Mrs.  J.  M.  Cushing,  and  Mrs.  Prescott,  took  premiums  on  house- 
hold products.  This  was  the  first  Agricultural  Society  or  Fair 
ever  held  in  the  County,  and  for  those  early  days  was  a  grand  suc- 
cess, although  held  on  the  open  prairie," 

The  following  year  D.  W.  Adams  was  elected  President  of  the 
society.  Although  we  have  no  record  of  the  old  society  at  hand 
to  refer  to,  we  know  that  for  several  years  quite  successful  Fairs 
were  held,  for  those  days. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Adams  and  John  Plank,  Sr.,  a  meet- 
ing was  held  at  Waukon  Jan.  8th,  1868,  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
organizing a  County  Agricultural  Society,  which  was  successfully 
accomplished,  and  this  organization  has  held  a  County  Fair  each 
year  since  then,  nearly  all  of  which  have  been  successful  ones, 
and  the  society  is  prosperous.  At  that  meeting  the  following 
officers  were  elected: 

President,  John  Haney,  Jr.;  Vice  President,  John  Plank,  Sr.; 
Secretary,  D.  W.  Adams;  Treasurer,  Charles  Paulk, 

Directors — Center  township,  John  Stillman;  Fairview,  D.  F, 
Spaulding;  Franklin,  Selden  Candee;  French  Creek,  Porter  Bel- 
lows; Hanover,  Hans  G,  Hanson;  Iowa,  A,  B,  Hays;  Jefferson, 
C.  D.  Beeman;  Lafayette,  W.  Smith;  Lansing,  G.  Kerndt;  Lin- 
ton, Harvey  Miner;  Ludlow,  Thos.  Feely;  Makee,  C.  0.  Howard; 
Paint  Creek,  John  Smeby;  Post,  W.  H.  Carithers;  Taylor,  James 
Carrigan;  Union  City,  Benj.  Ratclifife;  Union  Prairie,  A.  L.  Grip- 
pen;  Waterloo,  W.  Robinson. 

It  was  decided  to  purchase  grounds  adjoining  Waukon,  and 
each  director  was  made  an  agent  for  the  sale  of  life  and  annual 
membership  tickets  to  accomplish  this. 

The  present  fair  grounds,  comprising  seventeen  acres,  admir- 
ably adapted  to  the  purpose,  were  purchased  and  paid  for,  inclosed 
by  an  eight  foot  tight  board  fence,  and  a  halt  mile  track  made 
within  the  inclosure,  at  the  following  cost: 

Cost  of  grounds $  SOO  00 

Labor  and  material 6:>4  60 

Lumber,  etc 084  88 

Total  cost $2,129  48 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  355 

On  which,  after  paying  all  the  premiums  of  the  first  fair  in 
full,  there  was  at  the  annual  meetiilg  in  January,  1869,  a  remain- 
ing debt  of  only  $483.58  unprovided  for. 

In  the  autumn  of  1809  the  society  erected  a  new  hall,  39  by  60 
feet,  and  made  considerable  other  improvements,  at  an  expense  of 
$560,  and  still  further  reduced  its  debt.  The  society  has  con- 
tinued to  make  improvements  upon  its  grounds  from  time  to 
time,  including  an  addition  to  the  exhibition  hall  in  1881.  It  is 
now  almost  entirely  out  of  debt,  and  is  one  of  the  most  flourish- 
ing societies  of  its  kind  in  a  wide  region  around. 

The  present  officers  of  the  society  are: 

President— W.  C.  Earle. 

Vice-President^ — H.  G.  Grattan. 

Treasurer — A.  E.  Robbins. 

Secretary — H.  A.  Rodgers. 

Directors — John  Johnson,  Center;  Eugene  Perry,  Fairview;  C. 
F.  Newell,  Franklin;  J.  Doughterty,  French  Creek;  H.  G.  Han- 
son, Hanover;  A.  B.  Hays,  Iowa;  T.  B.  Wiley,  Jefierson;  An- 
drew Sandry,  Lansing;  E.  D.  Tisdale,  Lafayette;  Robt.  Hender- 
son, Linton;  Simon  Opfer,  Sr.,  Ludlow;  J.  A.  Townsend,  Makee; 
R.  Sencebaugh,  Paint  Creek;  W.  H.  Carithers,  Post;  Robert 
Banks,  Taylor;  B.  RatclifFe,  Union  City;  T.  W.  David,  Union 
Prairie;  A.  P.  Dille,  Waterloo. 


CHAPTER  III. 


General  History;  the  Aborigines;  Archceology;  Advent  of  the 
Whites;  Early  Settlements;  County  Organization;  First  County 
Officers;  Taxable  Property  in  1849;  Sketch  of  Father  Lowrey; 
Indian  Missions;  The  Painted  Pock;  County  Seat  Elections; 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 


The  great  Dakota  or  Sioux  family  of  American  Indians,  whose 
proper  domain  is  the  vast  central  prairies  between  tne  Mississippi 
River  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  east  to  west,  and  stretch- 
ing from  the  Saskatchewan  on  the  north  to  the  Red  River,  of 
Texas,  occupied  the  territory  in  which  Allamakee  county  is  in- 
cluded, when  the  white  man  first  set  foot  on  Iowa  soil,  in  1673. 
They  are  remotely  allied,  in  language,  to  the  Wyandotte-Iroquois 
family  of  the  East. 

At  the  time  of  the  advent  of  the  white  man,  the  Winnebagoes 
C'Puans"  of  the  Canadians),  a  division  of  this  powerful  Dakota 
tamily,  formed  their  eas'"ern  outpost,  and  lived  on  the  western 
shore  of  Lake  Michigan,   and   about   the   waters  of  Winnebago 


356 


HISTOEY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 


Lake  and  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin.     This  tribe  was  the  parent  stock 
ot  the  Omahas,  lowas,  Kansas,  Quappas,  or  Arkansas,  and  Osac^es 
Ihey  took  up  arras  with  the  French  in  the  Franco-Encrlish  wars 
and  with  the  English  in  the  Revolution  and  war  of  1812.  ' 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  originally  separate  tribes,  were  at  one  time 
neighbors  of  the  Winnebagoes  in  Wisconsin,  but  had  united  their 
numbers  in  one  band,  and  removed  to  and  occupied  a  larc^e  por- 
tion of  Illinois,  and  the  eastern  part  of  Iowa,  south  of  the^upper 
Iowa  river.  By  the  treaty  of  1825  this  river  was  made  the  divid- 
ing line  between  the  Sioux  on  the  north  and  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
(now  considered  as  one  tribe)  on  the  south.  But  owin<r  to  fre- 
quent collisions  between  these  tribes,  in  their  hunting  expeditions 
the  favorite  hunting  grounds  being  a  bone  of  contention,  the 
Government,  m  1830,  assembled  them  in  council  and  established 
"the  neutral  ground,"  a  strip  of  territorv  forty  miles  in  width 
from  north  to  south,  with  the  upper  lowa'^as  its  center,  extendino- 
westwardly  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  upper  valley  of  the  Des 
Moines  river.  Thus  nearly  the  whole  of  what  is  now  Allamakee 
county  was  included  in  the  neutral  ground,  which  was  considered 
on  of  the  yery  best  of  hunting  grounds,  and  upon  which 
either  tribe  was  permitted  to  hunt  at  pleasure,  without  interfer- 
ence from  the  other. 

At  the  close  of  the  Black   Hawk   war,  in    1832,  in   which   the 
Winnebagoes  took  no  active  part,  but  were  rather  friendly  to  the 
whites,  a  treaty  was  made   whereby  this  neutral  ground  was   to 
become  their  reservation,  and  in  consideration  of  the  surrender  of 
their  lands  in  Wisconsin  they  were  to  be  allowed  large  annuities 
from  the  government,  which  also  undertook  to  supply  them  with 
agricultural  implements  and  teach  them  the  art  of  tilliuo-  the  soil 
hoping  to  induce  them  thereby  to  abandon  their  wild*'  and  idle 
ways  and  become  civilized;  a  hope  which  proved  fallacious.  -  This 
treaty,   (or  another  made  near  that  time,)  was  proclaimed  Feb.  13 
1833,  and  by  its  terms— as  recently  found  bv  A.  M.  May  in  a  vol- 
ume of  Indian  treaties  in  the  library  of  the" Wisconsin  State  His- 
torical  Society— defined  the   boundaries  of  the  reservation  as  fol- 
lows:    Beginning  at  a  point  on  the  west  bank  of  the   Mississippi 
river,  twenty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Upper  Iowa,  thence 
west  to  Red  Cedar  Creek  (the  head-waters   of  the   Cedar   River) 
thence  south  forty  miles,  thence  east  to  the  Mississippi,  thence' 
??  7ooo  P  ^^®  °^  beginning.      This  grant  was  to  take  effect  June 
1st,  1833,  provided  that  by  that  time   they  should  leave  their  old 
reservation  and  settle  upon  this.     The  eastern  portion  of  this  neu- 
tral ground  was  soon  occupied,  and  a  mission  school  and  farm  was 
established  by  the  government  on  the  north  side  of  the   Yellow 
River    m    1834,  of  which    we  shall    have    more    to  say  further 
along.  -^ 

By  another  treaty  proclaimed  June  16,  1838,  the  Indians  re- 
imquished  their  right  to  occupy  the  eastern  portion  of  this  tract 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY,  357 

of  laud,  except  for  hnntinf?,  and  agreed  to  move,  in  eight  months 
after  the  ratification  of  saii  treaty,  to  the  western  part  of  the 
neutral  ground,  Avhich  was  done  in  1839  or  '40.  This  was  the  oc- 
casion of  the  abandonment  of  the  Yellow  River  mission,  and  the 
establishment,  in  1840,  of  the  Fort  Atkinson  mission  on  the  Tur- 
key River  in  Winneshiek  County. 

By  a  treaty  made  Oct.  13,  1846,  and  proclaimed  Feb.  4,  1847, 
the  Wiunebagoes  ceded  and  sold  to  the  United  States  all  their 
right,  title,  and  interest  in  this  neutral  ground;  and  in  June,  1848, 
they  were  removed  to  the  upper  Mississippi,  north  of  the  St. 
Peter's  (or  Minnesota)  River.  By  a  series  of  treaties  they  have 
since  been  removed  no  less  than  four  times,  occupying  reserva- 
tions in  various  parts  of  Minnesota  and  Dakota,  and  now  live 
upon  the  Omaha  reservation  in  Nebraska,  where  they  are  said  to 
be  prospering.  The  love  for  their  old  haunts,  however,  was  hard 
to  overcome,  and  year  after  year  they  returned  in  small  parties 
to  their  old  hunting  grounds  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi. 
And  although  time  and  again  were  these  scattered  parties  gathered 
together  by  squads  of  U.  S.  troops  and  taken  to  their  reservation, 
there  are  still  quite  a  number  who  continue  to  inhabit  the  islands 
of  the   river   along  our  county  border,   subsisting  upon  fish  and 


game. 


ARCHAEOLOGY 


The  banks  of  some  of  our  streams  bear  the  marks  of  having  been 
the  home  of  a  numerous  people  many  centuries  in  the  past,  but 
of  what  race  they  were  is  a  mystery  hard  to  solve.  Especially  are 
there  in  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Iowa  numerous  mounds,  but  of 
the  acts  and  scenes  which  were  taking  place  in  this  beautiful  val- 
ley in  the  age  in  which  they  were  constructed  we  may  imagine, 
though  probably  never  know.  That  it  is  an  interesting  subject 
for  investigation  is  felt  by  all;  and  the  following  extracts  from 
an  account  of  explorations  made  in  1875,  are  worthy  of  a  place 
here.  The  article  was  written  by  Dr.  W.  W.  Ranney,  of  Lans- 
ing, who  was  accompanied  in  his  investigations  by  Judge  Mur- 
dock,  of  Garnavillo,  and  others  of  Lansing: 

''The  mound  in  which  our  excavations  Avere  made  is  situated 
on  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  thir- 
ty-six, township  one  hundred,  range  five,  west  of  principal  merid- 
ian (or  the  southeast  corner  of  Union  City  township),  or  about 
one  hundred  feet  above  the  Iowa  River  bottom.  It  is  not  in  the 
form  of  the  burial  mounds,  or  tumuli,  but  forms  a  circle,  the  cir- 
cumference of  which  is  seven  hundred  feet.  The  ridge,  or  eleva- 
tion, averages  about  twenty-five  feet  in  width,  leaving  a  circular 
inclosure  210  feet  in  diameter.  The  height  of  the  ridge  or  mound 
is  about  three  to  four  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

"On  opening  it  we  discovered  pieces  of  broken  pottery  made  of 
a  bluish  clay  and  partially  pulverized  mussel  shells;  stones,  show- 


358 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 


m^  evidence  of  having  been  used  for  hearths,  or  supports  for  the 
earthen  vessels  while  being  used  for  cooking  food;  collections  of 
hsh  scales,  bones  of  buffalo,  deer,  badger,  bear,  fish  and  birds  but 
no  evidence  whatever  of  human  bones.  The  long,  or  marrow 
bones  of  all  animals  were  found  broken  or  split,  supposed  to  have 
been  done  for  the  purpose  of  extracting  the  marrow  for  food 
Avhich  circumstance  is  also  noted  in  the  Kjokkommoddino-s  or 
kitchen  middings,  of  Denmark.  One  peculiarity  noticed  by  Mr 
Hemenway  was  that  each  of  us  digging  in  different  localities  found 
the  ornamentation  of  the  pottery  dissimilar.  For  instance  all 
Mr.  Haney  found  was  ornamented  with  horizontal  circular  rino-s- 
all  the  Judge  found  was  ornamented  with  zig-zag  lines  with  dots 
in  the  angles.  All  that  we  found  had  perpendicular  lines  like  a 
muskmelon,  etc.  This  was  finally  accounted  for  by  the  supposi- 
tion that  each  family  had  its  own  particular  method  of  ornamen- 
tation, by  which  they  recognized  their  propertv. 

''These  vessels  were  quite  capacious,  the  diameter  of  one  havincr 
been  fourteen  inches  at  the  mouth,  (or  as  large  as  a  ten  pound 
tobacco  pail).  About  one  and  three-quarter  inches  below  the 
mouth  they  abruptly  widened  out  about  six  inches  all  around, 
making  the  largest  diameter  twenty  six  inches. 

''Taking  occasion  to  remark  to  the  Judge  that  we  had  found  no 
bottoms  to  the  vessels,  set  him  to  thinking,  and  the  result  was 
that  he  decided  that  the  bottoms  had  been  rounded  in  such  a 
manner  that  they  never  tipped  over,  but  let  them  be  set  doAvn  as 
they  might  they  oscillated  till  they  finally,  when  still,  sit  in  an 
"Pf'f  .?°^'^'°?;  ^"""^  ^^^  purpose  of  handling,  the  vessels  were  pro- 
vided with  handles  on  two  opposite  sides  similar  to  our  jug  handles 
/liesidesthe  before-mentioned  articles.  Col.  Johnston  found  a 
thin  strip  of  copper  two  inches  long  by  three-quarters  wide,  and 
and  we  found  an  ornament  of  the  same  material,  triangular  inform 
one  inch  wide  at  the  base,  and  one  and  one-half  inches  from  base 
to  apex  the  form  being  the  same  as  the  face  of  a  flat  iron,  the 
center  being  perforated  to  attach  some  additional  ornament,  and 
the  apex  also,  to  attach  a  string  to  fasten  in  the  ear. 

"Now  the  question  arises,  when,  how  and  for  what  purpose  was 
this  mound  built.  Was  it  a  burial  ground,  a  fort  or  a  village? 
At  first  the  Judge  thought  the  former,  Mr.  James  Haney  the 
second  and  we  took  the  last  proposition.  To  say  when,  is  imposs- 
ible; the  time  has  been  long,  long  ago,  as  we  have  evidence  by 
the  decay  of  the  bones  and  shells.  Why  it  was  built?  We  think 
It  theremams  of  a  village.  That  the  huts  or  wigwams  were  built 
m  a  circle,  and  the  piles  of  burnt  stone  we  unearthed  each  repre- 
senced  a  hearth  in  a  hut,  on  which  the  pottery  set  while  cooking, 
and  around  each  of  which  a  separate  family  warmed  and  fed  then> 
selves.  We  think  with  Mr.  H.  that  each  family  had  a  separate 
distinct  mark  on  their  vessels  by  which  they  were  known  from 
their  neighbors  in  the  next  hut  or  wigwam. 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  359 

''We  think  that  the  bones  found  show  no  evidence  of  human 
bones,  and  consequently  it  could  not  be  used  for  a  burial  f^round. 
Another  evidence  lies  in  the  fact  that  all  the  bones  are  broken  to 
obtain  the  marrow.  The  scales  and  bones  of  fish  and  animals, 
the  charcoal,  ashes  and  burnt  hearth-stones  all  point  conclusively 
to  the  fact  that  this  was  their  abode.  The  central  enclosure  was 
used  for  their  games,  dancing  and  pleasure,  or  perhaps  in  case  of 
attack  from  wild  beasts  or  their  fellow  men,  as  a  place  for  the 
aged,  the  young  and  the  women  to  flee  to  while  the  warrior  met 
their  encroachments  outside  the  circle  of  dwellings.  Add  to  this 
the  fact  forty  rods  south  of  this  village  we  find  some  eighty-three 
burial  mounds  or  tumuli,  out  of  which  we  procured  parts  of  hu- 
man skeletons,  and  nothing  else,  with  the  long  bones  entire,  and 
we  are  convinced  of  the  fact  that  this  was  once  a  town  filled  with 
people,  enjoying  the  pleasures  of  families  and  all  knit  together  as 
one  tribe  of  people." 

Commenting  on  the  above,  Mr.  J.  G.  Ratcliffe,  for  many  years 
a  resident  of  that  valley,  and  a  close  observer  of  those  mounds, 
wrote  in  1875: 

"These  remains  extend  up  the  Iowa  River,  from  near  New 
Albin,  for  a  distance  of  at  least  twenty  miles,  and  consist  of  sites 
of  ancient  villages  or  forts;  tumuli  or  burial  grounds;  lookout 
or  signal  stations  on  the  tops  of  the  blufis;  and  rude  hieroglyph- 
ics; these  last  consisting  of  men  on  horseback,  buffalos,  pecul- 
iar circular  figures,  etc.,  being  now  mostly  obliterated  through 
the  agency  of  the  Aveather,  the  friable  nature  of  the  rock  (potsdam 
sandstone)  and  rude  boys. 

"Of  the  village  or  forts:  these  consist  of  circular  (in  one  case 
only  triangular)  enclosures  or  embankments  of  earth  and  stone. 
They  were  located  generally  at  intervals  of  a  couple  of  miles 
apart  on  the  benches  or  second  bottoms  of  the  valley,  but  some- 
times (as  was  the  case  with  one  on  a  farm  formerly  owned  by  me) 
were  down  on  the  river  flat.  The  enclosures  were  generally  from 
seventy-five  to  one  hundred  yards  in  diameter.  The  embankments 
being  now  about  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  in  width  and  two  or 
three  in  height,  were  originally,  I  think,  much  higher,  and  prob- 
ably built  of  sods,  serving  the  purposes  of  a  modern  stockade  as  a 
means  of  defence  against  enemies,  and  high  enough  for  a  sup- 
port for  one  end  of  their  tent  poles,  while  at  the  base  on  the  inside 
were  their  kitchen  hearths,  whereon  was  cooked  the  spoils  of  the 
chase,  the  embankment  warding  off  the  inclement  storms  to  which 
the  climate  is  subject. 

"In  exploring  these  embankments  we  found  (in  addition  to  the 
pottery,  bones,  fish  scales,  etc.,  mentioned  as  found  by  Judge 
Murdock  and  party)  large  stone  mortars  and  pestles,  for  grinding 
corn,  two  or  three  kinds  of  stone  axes,  celts,  etc.;  also  numerous 
flint  and  chert  arrow  heads,  and  skinning  instruments.  These 
mortars  ai-e  about  fourteen   inches   in   diameter   and   about  five 

23 


360  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

inches  iu  thickness,  hollowed  out  like  a  soup  plate,  hand  made, 
from  a  hard  syenite  stone,  but  sometimes  from  a  common  sand- 
stone. The  pestles  are  of  three  kinds  and  the  most  common  kind 
are  about  the  size  of,  and  almost  identical  in  shape  with  a  large 
sized  biscuit,  being  about  three  and  a  half  inches  in  diam- 
eter by  one  and  three  quarter  inches  in  depth,  can  be 
readily  clutched  in  the  hand,  and  are  worn  off  very  smooth  by 
constant  abrasion;  these  are  quite  numerous.  Another  kind  is 
similar  to  a  common  potato  masher,  except  that  the  handle  is  a 
little  larger  and  shorter,  the  whole  instrument  being  eight  or  nine 
inches  in  length.  Also  one  of  a  shape  between  these  two  with 
grooves  for  the  fingers.  This  kind  is  very  scarce.  I  have  never 
known  of  but  one  being  found  here. 

"The  stone  axes,  celts,  etc,  are  crude  instruments  when  com- 
pared with  ours;  and  yet  they  are  crude  in  material  more  than  in 
workmanship.  There  is  a  symmetry  of  form  and  a  proportion  of 
materials  to  the  work  to  be  done  which  invites  our  admiration,  and 
suggests  the  question  'whether  the  civilized  men  of  the  present 
day  placed  in  the  same  situation  and  with  the  same  materials  and 
tools  could  or  would  do  any  better'.  The  stone  ax  is  much  the 
size  and  shape  of  one  of  our  axes  with  the  steel  worn  away  and 
blunted.  Instead  of  an  eye  there  is  a  groove  cut  around  the  head 
of  the  ax,  around  which  the  handle  was  withed.  The  Sioux  In- 
dians of  the  present  day  withe  their  handles  on  in  this  manner  with 
strips  of  green  rawhide,  which  on  drying  makes  a  firm  and  elastic 
handle.  The  material  with  which  these  axes  were  made  is  a  verj-^ 
tough  kind  of  porphyritic  granite  or  green  stone  and  is  not  found 
nearer  than  the  Lake  Superior  region  and  the  Canadas. 

"Mr.  John  Haney  informed  me  sometime  since  that  many  years 
ago,  when  he  and  his  brothers  first  started  their  mill,  that  they 
very  succes^ully  used  one  of  these  wedges  or  celts  of  this  material 
for  a  mill  pick  for  dressing  the  buhr  stones.  The  stone  celts  and 
skinning  instruments  are  similar  to  the  axes  except  that  with  the 
same  cutting  edge  they  have  the  top  part  rounded  off  to  grasp  with 
the  hand  or  sink  into  a  club.  Some  of  these  are  quite  diminuitive; 
I  have  some  specimens  that  are  not  over  two  and  a  half  inches  in 
length,  while  others  are  as  large  as  a  blacksmith's  sledge.  An- 
other specie  of  skinning  instrument  is  a  large  flat  stake;  one  of 
these  found  on  the  Iowa  is  about  six  inches  in  length  by  four  and 
one-half  in  breadth,  and  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  and 
resembles  very  much  one  described  in  Harper's  Magazine  for  Sep- 
tember, 1875. 

"A  year  or  two  ago  a  band  of  wandering  Winnebagoes  happened 
along  the  Iowa,  fishing  and  beggiug  as  is  their  wont.  The  atten- 
tion of  one  of  the  old  men  was  called  to  an  old  village  site  and  he 
was  asked  what  it  was.  He  replied  an  Indian  garden.  His  know- 
ledge of  this  subject  was  coextensive  with  that  of  one  of  the  same 
tribe  to  whom  I  showed  a  large  mastodon  bone,    which  was  ex- 


HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  361 

humed  near  New  Albin  in  grading  the  railroad.  On  asking  him 
to  what  animal  it  belonged  he  answered  "buffalo,"  that  being  the 
largest  animal  of  which  he  had  any  knowledge. 

''Before  leaving  the  subject  of  these  forts  or  village  sites,  I 
would  say  in  this  connection  that  on  a  trip  over  on  the  Kickapoo 
River  in  Wisconsin,  last  year,  I  found  them  quite  numerous,  and 
of  peculiar  shape.  The  engineer  of  the  Narrow  Gauge  Railroad 
there  surveyed  and  platted  some  of  them,  when  to  his  surprise  he 
found  them  take  the  shapes  of  a  bear,  birds  and  other  animals, 
showing  artistic  design  in  their  construction." 

THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN. 

The  first  permanent  settlement  within  the  boundaries  of  Alla- 
makee County  of  which  we  have  any  record  was  at  the  old  Gov- 
ernment Indian  Mission  in  Fairview  township,  which  was]opened  in 
1835  with  Rev.  David  Lowrey  and  Col.  Thomas  in  charge.  The 
building  was  erected  the  previous  year;  and  as  early  as  1828  a  de- 
tail of  men  from  Ft.  Crawford  (Prairie  du  Chien,  which  place 
was  settled  by  Indian  traders  more  than  a  century  before)  had 
built  a  saw  mill  on  the  Yellow  River  a  short  distance  below  this 
point  to  get  out  lumber  for  building  purposes  at  the  Fort.  In- 
deed, it  would  have  been  strange  if  this  region  had  not  been  well 
traversed  by  white  hunters  and  trappers  for  many  years  previous 
to  this  time;  and  it  is  said  that  somewhere  along  our  river  border 
a  white  man  had  established  his  home  as  early  as  1818,  but  had 
after  a  time  abandoned  it.  Of  this  the  writer  has  nothing  authen- 
tic, however,  and  the  earliest  individual  or  private  settlement  of 
which  we  have  knowledge  was  by  one  Henry  Johnson,  at  the 
mouth  of  Paint  Creek,  about  the  year  1837 — and  this  was  the 
origin  of  "Johnsonport." 

The  third  settlement  was  made  by  Mr.  Joel  Post  and  his  wife, 
Zerniah,  in  1841,  they  establishing  a  half  way  house  of  entertain- 
ment on  the  military  road,  between  Ft.  Crawford  and  Ft.  Atkin- 
son. Their  place  was  in  the  extreme  southwest  corner  of  the 
county,  and  is  now  the  thriving  town  of  Postville.  Mrs.  Post  is 
still  living  in  that  place,  and  her  memory  register  preserves  the 
names  of  many  distinguished  guests  who  have  enjoyed  the  hos- 
pitality of  her  home.  Among  these  maybe  mentioned  Capt.  N. 
Lyon,  Lt.  Alfred  Pleasanton,  Gen.  Sumner,  and  other  officers  who 
afterwards  became  noted. 

From  this  time  on  there  seem  to  have  been  no  other  settle- 
ments made  until  the  Indians  were  removed  in  1818,  although 
portions  of  the  county  were  explored  in  1817.  When  Reuben 
Smith  located  on  Yellow  River,  in  June,  1819,  he  reports  that 
there  were  seven  or  eight  settlers  then  near  Mr.  Post's. 

In  1818  Patrick  Keenan  and  Richard  Cassiday  settled  in  Makee 
township,  and  William  Garrison  and  John  Haney  at  Lansing. 


362  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

In  1849  there  were  many  new  settlements  made  in  various 
parts  of  the  county,  including  those  of  Geo.  C.  Shattuck  at  Wau- 
kon,  W.  C.  Thompson  in  Lafayette,  some  parties  along  Yellow 
River  and  others  to  the  north  of  the  Iowa,  so  that  in  the  latter 
part  of  this  year  the  population  was  enumerated  and  reported  at 
277.  When  Mr.  Shattuck  located  at  Waukon  his  nearest  post 
office  was  Monona,  just  over  the  line  in  Clayton  County.  The 
only  one  in  this  county  at  that  time  was  at  Postville,  established 
in  January  of  that  year. 

From  an  interesting  sketch  of  the  early  settlement  of  the  coun- 
ty, prepared  by  G.  M.  Dean  and  read  before  the  Early  Settlers' 
Association,  of  Makee  township,  in  January,  1880,  we  make  the 
following  extract,  as  showing  very  clearly  the  condition  of  things 
in  those  days: 

"In  1834  the  United  States,  through  its  military  authorities  at 
Fort  Crawford,  Prairie  du  Chien,  built  on  what  is  now  section  19, 
township  9t5,  range  3,  called  Fairview  township,  in  this  county,  a 
mission  school  and  farm.  At  this  time  Col.  Zachary  Taylor,  af- 
terwards President  of  the  United  States,  commanded  the  post,  and 
Jefferson  Davis,  since  President  of  the  so-called  Southern  Confed- 
eracy, was  on  duty  there  as  Lieutenant.  General  Street  was  In- 
dian agent;  all  the  agents  at  that  time  being  army  officers,  and 
the  Indians  being  under  the  control  of  the  Secretary  of  War.  The 
mission  was  for  the  purpose  of  civilizing  and  christianizing  the 
Indians,  and  was  opened  in  the  spring  of  1835  with  the  Rev. 
David  Lowrey,  a  Presbyterian  in  faith,  as  school  teacher,  and  Col. 
Thomas  as  farmer.  But  the  effort  to  make  good  farmers,  schol- 
ars or  christians  out  of  these  wandering  tribes  proved  abortive, 
and  poor  'Lo'  remained  as  before,  'a  child  of  nature,'  content  to 
dress  in  breech-clout  and  leggins,  lay  around  the  sloughs  and 
streams,  and  make  the  squaws  provide  for  the  family. 

"After  their  removal,  the  government  having  no  more  use  for 
the  Mission,  put  it  on  the  market  and  sold  it  to  Thomas  C.  Lin- 
ton, who  occupied  it  as  a  farm  a  few  years  and  sold  it  to  Ira  Per- 
ry, and  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Perry  in  1868  it  became  the  property 
of  his  son,  Eugene  Perry,  the  present  owner.  The  building  is  a 
large  two-story  stone  house,  the  chimney  of  which  was  taken  for 
a  'witness  tree'  when  the  Government  survey  of  public  lands  was 
made  at  a  later  day.  It  is  still  standing  in  a  good  state  of  pre- 
servation, and  has  sheltered  the  families  of  its  respective  owners 
up  to  this  date. 

"This  house  has  become  historic  in  many  respects.  It  is  one  of 
the  very  prominent  land-marks  in  the  history  of  the  development 
of  Allamakee  County,  and  we  earnestly  hope  its  owners  will  let 
it  stand  as  long  as  grass  grows  or  water  runs,*  and  thus  preserve 
to  those  who  may  come  after  us  at  least  one  ^tiling  that  may  be 
considered  venerable. 


HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  363 

"111  the  fall  and  winter  of  1849  there  were  only  three  dwelling 
houses  in  the  valley  of  the  Yellow  River.  The  Old  Mission, 
called  at  this  time  the  Linton  House,  the  house  of  Mr.  .John  S. 
Clark,  on  section  fourteen  in  Franklin  township,  and  the  house  of 
Reuben  Smith  on  section  eleven  in  Post  township. 

"It  is  a  very  difficult  matter  for  us,  who  live  in  Allamakee 
County  to-day,  to  concei%e  of  the  condition  of  things  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  when  this  old  Mission  wa-i  first  built  in  1834, 
and  it  is  still  more  difficult  for  the  writer  to  convey  a  clear  idea 
of  it. 

"There  was  at  that  time  no  Allamakee  County,  no  Clayton 
County,  no  Winneshiek  County,  and  in  fact  no  Territory  organi- 
zation, but  simply  a  wilderness  waste.  In  1836,  Iowa,  Wisconsin 
and  Minnesota  was  taken  from  Michigan  and  made  ^Wisconsin  Ter- 
ritory', and  Iowa  soon  after  divided  all  of  her  territory  lying 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River  into  two  counties,  to-wit:  Dubuque 
County  and  Des  Moines  County,  the  dividing  lines  being  at  the 
foot  of  Rock  Island. 

"The  Indian  tribes  roamed  over  this  whole  region,  and  Jefferson 
Barracks,  a  military  post  about  eight  miles  below  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri, was  headquarters  for  the  military  operations  of  the  Mississ- 
ippi Valley.  Just  think  of  it!  This  valley  knew  no  railroads,  no 
telegraphs  and  a  very  large  per  cent,  of  its  present  inhabitants 
were  not  then  born.  The  military  post  at  Prairie  du  Chien  had 
been  established  and  when  they  wanted  to  utilize  the  resources  of 
this  wild  region  about  them,  they  detailed  soldiers  for  the  work, 
and  in  1828,  being  in  want  of  lumber,  they  sent  a  part  of  the  gar- 
rison over  to  Yellow  River,  and  built  a  saw  mill  about  two  miles 
below  what  is  now  the  old  Mission  House,  the  remains  of  which 
was  burned  down  in  1839. 

"In  1810,  one  Jesse  Danley  built  a  saw  mill  on  the  river  about 
one  mile  below  the  Mission,  but  the  floods  came  and  took  the 
dam  away,  and  the  proprietor  meeting  with  one  mishap  after 
another,  finally  abandoned  it,  and  in  time  it  was  torn  down. 

"The  town  of  Johnsonsport,  at  the  mouth  of  Paint  Creek,  was 
named  after  a  soldier  who  served  out  his  time  at  the  Prairie,  and 
was  discharged  and  paid  off  in  1837.  Now  this  man,  Johnson  be- 
ing fond  of  Indian  women,  took  several  of  them  for  wives,  and 
spent  his  time  between  hanging  around  the  post  and  living  among 
the  tribes,  and  finally  settled  near  the  river  bank,  somewhere  be- 
tween what  is  now  Harper's  Ferry  and  North  McGregor.  Some 
of  our  old  residents  still  remember  him  and  speak  of  him  as 
Squaw  Johnson,  but  he  has  been  dead  several  years,  and  the  writer 
has  no  knowledge  of  his  descendants,  if  he  left  any. 

"In  1839,  Hiram  Francis  aud  family  came  from  Prririe  du  Chien 
to  the  old  Mission  in  the  employ  of  the  Government,  and  remained 
there  until  it  ceased  to  be  a  Mission,  and  from  him  we  learn  that 


364  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

his  duties  were  to  issue  daily  rations  to  such  Indians  as  were  fed  at 
that  place,  and  that  in  November,  1840,  the  last  of  them  were  re- 
moved to  the  Turkey  River,  and  the  school  closed. 

"In  1841,  there  lived  at  the  Mission  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jacob  Ryner- 
son,  and  there  was  born  unto  them  a  son,  and  this  was  thought  to 
be  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  county. 

''The  earliest  settlers  in  what  is  now  Makee  and  Union  Prairie 
townships,  came  in  overland  from  the  south,  through  Clayton 
County,  there  being  no  town  then  where  Lansing  is  now.  In 
conversation  with  the  late  Elias  Topliff,  when  he  was  a  citizen 
among  us,  he  related  to  me  that  while  living  in  Clayton  County 
he,  with  several  others,  started  out  to  hunt  land  on  which  to  make 
a  home;  that  they  followed  an  Indian  trail  north  across  the 
Yellow  River  and  on  to  the  Iowa  River  somewhere,  where  the 
party  camped  over  night  and  caught  and  cooked  a  splendid  mess 
of  speckled  trout.  He  thought  they  traveled  across  what  is  now 
the  prairie  on  which  Waukon  stands,  but  could  not  positively 
identify  their  old  route,for  at  that  time  the  country  traveled  over 
was  in  a  state  of  nature,  and  there  was  not  a  white  man  to  be  seen 
on  the  trip  after  leaving  the  settlements  of  Clay  ton  County.  In  the 
morning  they  retraced  their  steps  and  returned  to  Clayton  county 
again,  not  finding  a  single  foot  of  land  that  suited  them.  My 
recollection  now  is  that  the  Judge  located  this  tiip  in  1847. 

"The  first  white  settlers  in  Makee  township  were  Patrick 
Keenan  and  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Richard  Cassiday.  They  lived 
together,  and  in  October,  1848  settled  on  Makee  Ridge,  where 
they  grubbed  out  and  broke  up  about  three  acres  of  land,  built  a 
log  cabin,  and  in  1849  abandoned  it  and  made  themselves  farms  ia 
Jeiferson  township,  where  they  lived  until  they  passed  on  to  ''the 
better  country."  Mr.  Keenan  was  the  first  man  in  the  county,  of 
his  nationality,  ever  made  an  American  citizen  through  the 
naturalization  law,  the  court  at  the  time  being  held  at  Columbus  , 
on  the  Mifsis-ippi  river.*  He  died  in  March,  1878,  leaving  a 
large  and  respectable  family  and  a  handsome  property,  and  was 
buried  at  Cherry  Mound.  Mr.  Cassiday  died  in  1879  and  was 
buried  at  the  same  place. 

"In  the  spring  of  1849  there  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cassiday 
a  daughter,  Margaret,  now  Mrs.  Murphy,  living  in  McGregor,  and 
she  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  Jefferson  township." 

"In  1850  there  was  a  small  pair  of  buhrs  near  Decorah  for 
grinding,  but  no  bolt  attached,  and  our  settlers  from  this  locality 
with  their  ox  teams  hauled  their  little  grists  up  there;  but  soon 
after  (summer  of  1850)  one  Ellis  put  in  a  small  pair  of  buhrs, 
without  bolt,  on  Paint  Creek,  just  around  the  bend  below  where 
Waterville  now  stands.  The  remains  of  this  first  mill  in  the 
county  still  stand  in  that  place.         *  *  *        .     * 

*  We  think  Mr.  Dean  slightly  in  error  liere,  as  the  date  of  this  transaction  was 
July,  1849,  when  there  was  no  settlement  at  Columbus. 


HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  365 

"In  the  winter  of  1848  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing 
the  organization  of  the  county,  and  appointed  Thomas  C.  Linton, 
who  owned  the  old  mission  property,  as  organizing  sheriff;  and  as 
this  county  then  belonged  to  Clayton  (^ounty  it  recpiired  him  to 
appear  at  her  county  seat,  file  his  bond,  take  the  oath  of  office, 
and  make  due  returns  of  his  doings  thereto.  We  have  been  un- 
able to  find  any  written  record  of  that  organizing  election,  and 
after  much  inquiry  by  correspondence  and  otherwise  have  through 
the  kindness  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Deremo  of  Fairview  township,  obtained 
the  particulars  as  he  gathered  them  the  past  week  from  Mr. 
Moses  Van  Sickle,  one  of  the  participants  in  that  election.  It  was 
held  under  the  call  of  Mr.  Linton,  at  his  house,  in  August,  1849, 
about  fifteen  votes  being  cast,  and  resulted  in  the  election  of  the 
following  persons: 

"County  Commissioners — Thomas  Van  Sickle,  Daniel  G.  Beck, 
Thos.  B.  Twiford. 

"County  Clerk — James  Haney. 

"Recorder — Stephen  Holcomb. 

"School  Fund  Commissioner — Moses  Van  Sickle. 

"Treasurer— Elias  ToplifF. 

"Sheriff— Lester  W.  Hays. 

"Thomas  Van  Sickle  died  in  Nebraska  about  1878.  Daniel  G. 
Beck  died  in  Missouri  about  1866.  Thos.  B.  Twiford  moved  to 
Minnesota  and  was  the  founder  of  the  town  of  Chatfield.  James 
Haney  lives  at  this  time  in  Wisconsin.  Stephen  Holcomb  died  at 
the  Mission  about  1851.  Moses  Van  Sickle  is  living  at  this  date 
in  Fairview  township.  Elias  ToplifF  died  in  Waukon  in  1860. 
Thomas  C.  Linton  lives  in  Oregon. 

"Lester  W.  Hays  was  for  several  years  before  his  death  a 
county  charge,  living  sometimes  at  the  county  farm,  and  some- 
times in  Fairview  township  where  he  had  a  little  log  hut  hardly 
high  enough  to  stand  erect  in,  nor  large  enough  to  afford  room 
for  many  visitors;  and  being  about  eighty  years  old  and  too  in- 
firm to  labor,  he  was  allowed  from  the  poor  fund  the  pittance  of 
one  dollar  per  week,  and  this  with  the  charity  of  kind  neighbors 
kept  life  in  the  old  man  until  last  Christmas  night,  the  coldest 
night  of  the  year,  when  the  mercury  ran  down  to  thirty-three 
degrees  below  zero,  he  perished.  The  next  morning  some  of  the 
neighbors  went  to  the  hut  and  found  the  old  man  lying  on  his 
rude  cot,  with -legs  and  arms  frozen.  The  county  furnished  a 
coffin,  and  poor  Hays  is  no  more. 

'Rattle  his  bones  over  the  stones, 

For  he's  but  a  pauper  whom  nobody  owns.' 

"This  election  gave  the  County  a  legal  and  working  existence. 
In  1849  she  had  two  hundred  and' seventy-seven  white  inhabitants, 
men,  women  and  children. 

"The  county  records  of  those  early  times  as  left  by  the  commis- 
sioners, are  either  lost,  mislaid,  or  were  made  in   so  transient  a 


366  HISTORY   OF    ALLA.MAKEE   COUNTY. 

manner  as  to  preclude  their  being  handed  down  to  posterity,  and 
so  much  as  we  have  gathered  has  been  obtained  from  other  official 
records,  the  personal  recollection  of  our  early  settlers,  and  has 
taken  much  time  and  labor,  and  as  the  years  roll  on  these  items  of 
early  history  are  more  and  more  difficult  to  obtain  in  consequence 
of  the  death,  removal  or  incapacity  through  age  or  infirmity  of  the 
parties  participating  in  them. 

"From  EliasTopliff  I  learned  that  the  first  tax  list  was  put  iuto 
his  hands  for  collection;  that  the  gross  amount  of  it  was  about 
ninety  dollars;  that  he  traveled  all  through  the  eastern  part  of 
the  county  to  collect,  and  that  after  doing  his  best,  collecting 
about  one  half  of  the  list  and  making  his  returns  to  the  Commis- 
sioners, they  charged  up  to  him  the  uncollected  portion  and  took 
it  from  his  compensation  as  Treasurer." 

In  a  carefully  preserved  copy  of  the  North  Iowa  Journal,  pub 
lished  at  Waukon,  in  the  summer  of  1860,  we  find  a  sketch  of  the 
previous  history  of  the  county,  from  which  we  shall  find  occasion 
to  make  a  few  extracts.     In  regard  to  the  County  organization  we 
find: 

The  county  was  organized  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  approved 
January  15, 1849,  and  taking  effect  March  6th,  1819. 

Thomas  C.  Linton  was  appointed  organizing  Sheriff;  the  first 
election  being  held  by  the  order  of  the  Sheriff  on  the  first  Wed- 
nesday of  April,  1819.     The  officers  elected  were: 

County  Commissioners — James  M.  Sumner  and  Joseph  W. 
Holmes. 

Sheriff — Lester  W.  Hays. 

Clerk  Commissioners'  Court — D.  G.  Beck. 

Clerk  of  District  Court — Stephen  Holcomb. 

The  officers  elect  qualified  at  the  house  of  Thomas  C.  Linton, 
April  10th,  1849. 

The  second  election  was  held  the  first  Monday  of  August,  1849, 
and  the  following  officers  were  elected: 

County  Commissioners — James  M.  Sumner,  Thomas  A.  Van- 
Sickle  and  Daniel  G.  Beck. 

Clerk  of  Commissioners'  Court — G.  A.  Warner. 

Sheriff— L.  W.  Hays. 

Treasurer  and  Recorder  and  Collector — Elias  Topliff. 

County  Surveyor — JaniesM.  Sumner. 

Judge  of  Probate  Court — Stephen  Holcomb. 

Inspector  of  Weights  and  Measures — -G.  A.  Warner. 

Coroner — C.  P.  Williams. 

It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  discrepancy  between  this  account 
and  that  in  Judge  Dean's  paper,  as  regard  the  time  of  the  first 
election  and  the  lists  of  officers  elected  thereat.  We  are  inclined 
to  take  the  Journal  account  to  be  authoritative,  for  the  reason 
that  it  was  published  week  after  Aveek  for  several  months  in  suc- 
cession, apparently  without  question,  and  that  at  a  time  only  elev- 


HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  367 

en  years  after  the  events  narrated;  and  further,  we  have  reason  to 
believe  that  the  facts  there  stated  were  gleaned  at  the  time  from  a 
sketch  of  the  county  history,  prepared  by  Mr.  Dean  while  County 
Judge  in  1859,  a  copy  of  which  was  deposited  in  the  corner  stone 
of  the  Waukon  Court  House  after  being  read  to  the  people  there 
assembled  to  witness  that  ceremony.  The  original  has  been  miss- 
ing for  many  a  year,  as  Mr.  Dean  tells  us.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  account  as  it  appears  in  his  later  narrative  is  based  largely  up- 
on the  recollections  of  individuals,  after  a  lapse  of  over  thirty 
years,  and  no  matter  how  honest  their  intentions  are,  it  is  quite 
likely  they  have  erred  by  means  of  the  incidents  of  two  or  more 
elections  becoming  intermingled  in  their  memory. 

The  sketch  we  last  quoted  then  continues: 

''On  the  first  Monday  of  August,  1851,  Elias  ToplifF  was  elected 
County  Judge,  succeeding  the  County  Commissioners;  he  served  as 
Judge  until  August  25,  1857,  when  George  M.  Dean  was  elected. 
In  1859,  J.  A.  Townsend  was  elected,  and  is  now  acting  Judge. 

"James  M.  Sumner  was  elected  Recorder  and  Treasurer  in  1851. 
Since  then  the  following  gentlemen  have  served  the  county  in 
tR'at  capacity:  T.  C.  Linton,  J.  J.  Shaw,  L.  0.  Hatch  and  Elias 
Toplift',  the  present  officer. 

"In  August,  1851,  Leonard  B.  Hodges  was  elected  Clerk  of  the 
District  Court.  Lewis  Hersey  and  C.  J.  White  has  since  served. 
C.  J.  White  is  the  present  Clerk.  At  the  same  election  Wm.  C. 
Thompson  was  chosen  Sheriff.  John  Laughlin  succeeded  him  and 
John  A.  Towngend  next  served  for  two  successive  terms  in  that 
office.  Wm.  C.  Thompson  was  again  elected  in  1859,  and  is  now 
the  acting  Sheriff. 

"In  August,  1856,  James  Brysoji  was  elected  as  a  Representative 
to  the  Legislature. 

"In  1857,  G.  W.  Gray  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
J.  B.  Suttor,  County  Assessor;  G.  W.  Gray,  Drainage  Commission- 
er; W.  W.  Hungerford,  Surveyor;  M.  F.  Luark,  Coroner,  and  G. 
W.  Camp,  Prosecuting  Attorney. 

•'In  1858,  J.  W.  Merrill  was  chosen  Drainage  Commissioner;  C. 
J.  White,  Clerk  of  the  District  Court;  F.  W.  Nottingham,  Coro- 
ner, and  J.  W.  Flint,  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools. 

"In  1859,  Charles  Paulk  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture; G.  L.  Miller,  Drainage  Commissioner;  John  Ryan,  Surveyor; 
J.  W.  Granger,  Coroner,  and  R.  C.  Armstrong,  Superintendent  of 
Common  Schools. 

"The  above  list  comprises  the  principal  officers  since  the  organ- 
ization of  the  county.  The  records  previous  to  1856  are  very  in- 
complete, and  we  were  unable  to  learn  the  dates  of  the  elections  of 
the  various  officers. 

"The  total  amount  of  taxable  property  in  the  county  was:  In 
1849,  11,729;  in  1851,  ^8,299;  in  1854,  $700,794;  in  1857,  $1,827,- 
766;  in  1859,  $1,967,899. 


368  HISTORY-  OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

^  We  have  said  that  when  the  Indian  Mission  was  established  on 
Yellow  River,  it  was  placed  in  charge  of  Father  Lowrey,  a  man  ex- 
ceedingly well  adapted  to  the  duties  pertaining  thereto.  He  was 
well  known  many  years  after  in  this  part  of  the  country  and  great- 
ly admired. 

David  Lowrey,    D.  D.,  was  born   in  Logan  County,   Kentucky, 
January   20,  1796.     His    parents  were  worthy  members    of   the 
Presbyterian  Church,  but,  like  many  other  good  people,  were  en- 
trusted with  little  of  this  world's  treasury.     The  widowed  mother 
died  when  he  was  only  a  little  over  two   years  old,  leaving  him  a 
penniless  and  friendless  orphan.     He  was  bound  out  to  a  family 
that,  in  course  of  time  became  very  reckless  and  intemperate;  but  at 
a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  camp  meeting,  held  near  his  residence, 
he  solemnly  consecrated  his  heart  and  his  life  to  God.     This  event 
happened  when  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.     Shortly  after  his 
conversion  he  became  a  candidate  for  the  ministry,  under  the  care 
of  Logan  Presbytery,  and  his  proficiency  and  usefulness  were  so 
great  that  he  was  soon  licensed  and  ordained  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  On  the  16th  of  December,  1830,  he  began  the  publication 
in  Princeton,  Kentucky,  of  the  "-Religious  and  Literary  Lifelligen- 
cer.'"     It  was  a  weekly  journal,  ably  edited,  and  was  the  first  pa- 
per published  under  the  auspices  of  that  church.     To  him,  there- 
fore, belongs  the  honor  of  being  the  father  of  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian journalism.     Some  years  afterward  he  was  editor  of  the 
''Cumberland  Presbyterian,''  then  published  in  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see.    In  addition  to  his  editorial  duties  he  had  the  pastorate  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church  in  Nashville,  which  was  then  in 
its  infancy;  and  for  his  year's  labor  he  received,  as  compensation, 
the  astonishing  sum  of  one  wagon  load  of  corn  in  the  shucJxl 

In  the  year,  1832,  under  the  administration  of  his  friend,  Pres- 
ident Jackson,  he  received  the  appointment  of  teacher  to  the  Win- 
nebago Indians.  He  arrived  at  Prairie  du  Chien  with  his  family 
in  the  month  of  November,  of  the  above  year.  Shortly  after  his 
arrival  he  organized  a ' 'Military  Church,"  and  here  was  spread  the 
first  communion  table  in  the  Northwest. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1833,  a  council  of  Winnebago  chiefs 
was  called  for  the  purpose  of  deliberating  in  reference  to  Mr. 
Lowrey 's  work.  He  made  a  brief  statement  of  his  object  and 
plans,  and  then  called  for  expressions  from  the  various  chiefs  who 
were  present.  After  brief  speeches  from  others,  Waukon  rose 
up,  and  thus  delivered  his  sentiments:  "The  Winnebagoes  are 
asleep,  and  it  will  be  wrong  to  awake  them;  they  are  red  men 
and  all  the  white  man's  soap  and  water  cannot  make  them  white." 
The  result  of  the  council,  however,  was  favorable,  and  Mr.  Low- 
rey entered  on  his  work. 

In  1840  the  Yellow  River  mission  was  abandoned  and  the  prop- 
erty sold  by  the  government  to  Thos.  C.  Linton.  At  this  time 
the  Fort  Atkinson  mission  was  established   and  the  Indians  who 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  36D 

had  heretofore  received  their  annuities  at  Yellow  River  were 
thenceforth  paid  off  at  this  post  until  they  were  removed  to  Min- 
nesota in  1848.  Besides  the  attempt  to  teach  the  red  men  how 
to  till  the  soil  successfully,  their  children  were  taught  to  read  and 
write  (or  some  of  them  were  who  w^ould  learn)^  and  the  girls  were 
also  instructed  in  sewing,  cutting  garments,  etc.  Rev.  Lowrey 
was  transferred  to  this  Fort  Atkinson  charge  (as  was  also  farmer 
Thomas),  and  remained  with  the  Winnebagoes  the  greater  part 
of  the  time,  until  about  1861  or  1862,  when  the  tribe  was  moved 
west  of  the  Missouri  River.  At  the  close  of  the  late  civil  war  he 
removed  from  St,  Cloud,  Minnesota,  where  he  was  then  living,  to 
Clayton  County,  Iowa,  near  the  scene  of  his  early  labors  with  the 
Indians.  Some  years  prior  to  his  death  he  removed  to  Pierce 
City,  Mo.,  where  he  died  in  January,  1877,  leaving  an  aged  wife. 
He  had  two  sons,  both  of  whom  he  outlived. 

As  before  stated,  the  Old  Mission  became  the  property  of  T.  C. 
Linton  about  1840;  but  we  find  it  was  transferred  to  the  school 
lands  from  the  government,  and  then  contracted  from  the  school 
fund  by  Mr.  Linton  in  1854.  He  sold  it  to  Ira  Perry  in  1855. 
John  Linton,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  came  to  the  mission  in  1837 
and  remained  some  time.   He  died  at  Garnavillo  in  1878. 

Before  the  territory  of  Iowa  was  organized,  the  Legislature  of 
Wisconsin  passed  an  act,  in  December,  1837,  establishing  Clayton 
County,  which  was  then  attached  to  Dubuque  County  for  judicial 
purposes.  In  the  following  spring  the  Governor  of  Wisconsin 
territory  appointed  the  first  sheriff  of  Clayton  County,  and  the 
first  terra  of  court  was  held,  and  the  first  election.  For  judicial  and 
election  purposes  this  region  of  country,  as  well  as  all  of  what  is 
now  the  state  of  Minnesota,  was  at  that  time  attached  to  Clayton. 

In  1838 — June  3d — all  of  Iowa  and  most  of  Minnesota  was 
formed  into  the  Territory  of  Iowa.  And  on  December  28,  1846, 
Iowa  was  admitted  as  the  29th  State  of  the  United  States. 

During  the  first  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Iowa,  in 
the  winter  of  1846-47,  an  act  was  passed  defining  the  boundaries 
of  several  counties,  among  them  Allamakee,  which  placed  it  with- 
in its  present  limits.  Previous  to  this  time  the  northern  boundary 
of  Clayton  county  was  identical  with  the  southern  line  of  the 
neutral  ground  of  1830— a  line  that  begun  on  the  bank  of  the' 
Mississippi  twenty  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Iowa,  and  ex- 
tended in  a  west-southwest  direction  something  over  twenty  miles; 
thence  southerly  about  nine  miles  to  the  Turkey  river;  thence 
westerly  again.  On  Newhall's  map  of  Iowa,  published  in  1841, 
and  apparently  gotten  up  with  the  utmost  care,  this  line  is  dis- 
tinctly laid  down  as  the  northern  boundary  of  Clayton  and 
Fayette  counties. 

And  this  brings  us  to  the  question  of  the  'Tainted  Rock,"  on 
Section  3,  in  Fairview  township.  On  the  face  of  a  bold  cliff, 
facing  the  river,  and  some  half  way  up  the  bluff,  was  at  some  time 


370  HISTOKY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

painted  the  figure  of  an  animal  and  the  word  "Tiger,"  with  some 
names  and  other  symbols.  Judge  Murdock  said  the  painting  was 
there  in  1843,  and  looked  ancient  at  that  time;  and,  as  far  as  we 
have  been  able  to  ascertain,  the  question  of  when  or  why  it  was 
put  there,  or  by  whom,  has  ever  been  a  matter  of  speculation 
without  a  satisfactory  answer.  From  various  facts  it  is  very  evi- 
dent that  this  was  the  point  at  which  the  southern  boundary  line 
of  the  "neutral  ground"  of  1830  touched  the  river,  one  of  the 
proofs  of  which  is  as  follows:  At  the  session  of  the  County 
Commissioners  of  Clayton  County,  held  April  4th,  1844,  the 
boundaries  of  various  election  precincts  were  defined,  and  one 
precinct  was  established  as  follows:  "Yellow  River  precinct 
(No.  4),  commencing  at  the  Painted  Rock  on  the  Mississippi  River; 
thence  down  said  river  to  the  corner  of  township  ninety-five, 
range  three,  west  of  the  fifth  principal  meridian;  thence  down 
said  river  two  miles,  thence  due  west  on  section  line  west  side  of 
township  ninety-five,  range  four,  west;  thence  north  to  the  neu- 
tral line;  thence  following  said  line  to  the  place  of  commencing, 
at  Painted  Rock."  This  fact  being  established,  what  more 
reasonable  to  suppose  than  that  the  authorities  at  Prairie 
du  Chien  should  cause  this  prominent  cliff — this  natural 
"bulletin-board"  as  it  were — to  be  so  plainly  marked  as  to  desig- 
nate the  boundary  line  in  a  manner  not  to  be  mistaken  by  the 
natives;  and  what  more  natural  than  that  the  subordinates  who 
performed  the  duty  should  decorate  the  rock  with  representations 
of  wild  animals  and  strange  figures,  the  more  readily  to  attract 
the  attention  of  the  Sioux  hunting  expeditions  as  they  descended 
the  river  in  their  canoes  and  warn  them  that  they  had  reached  the 
limit  of  the  hunting  grounds  permitted  to  them.  Neither  is  it 
strange  that  they  should  take  the  opportunity  of  placing  their 
own  names  where  they  might  become  famous,  though  they  have 
long  since  become  illegible.  The  only  wonder  is  that  some  enter- 
prising patent  nostrum  vendor  was  not  on  the  spot  to  make  his 
words  immortal. 

In  the  election  precinct  above  described,  "the  house  of  Thomas 
C.  Linton,  on  Yellow  River",  was  designated  as  the  place  for  hold- 
ing the  elections.  So  that  undoubtedly  the  first  election  in  the 
present  boundaries  of  this  county  was  held  at  that  place  long  be- 
fore the  organizing  election  of  1849.  From  this  it  will  be  seen, 
too,  that  the  Old  Mission  was  not  established  within  the  boundary 
line  of  the  Winnebago  reservation,  but  a  couple  of  miles  to  the 
south  of  that  boundary,  and  in  Dubuque  County — after  1837  in 
Clayton  County. 

In  the  second  General  Assembly  an  act  was  passed  organizing 
the  county  of  Allamakee,  and  approved  by  Gov.  Ansel  Briggs — 
the  first  state  governor — Jan.  15,  1849.  Under  this  act  the  first 
election  was  held — as  heretofore  stated.  Commissioners  were  al- 
so appointed  to  locate  the  county  seat  of  said  county.      And  they 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  371 

performed  their  duty  by  selecting  a  location  in  Jefferson  town- 
ship, about  a  mile  and  a  half  northwest  of  the  present  village  of 
Rossville,  on  the  road  from  there  to  Waukon,  near  the  Pettit 
place.     It  has  ever  since  been  known  as  "The  Old  Stake." 

In  April,  1851,  the  people  of  Allamakee  County  voted  upon 
the  following  three  points  for  the  county  seat,  viz:  Vailsville,  on 
Paint  Rock  Prairie  (now  Harper's  Ferry),  "Smith's  Place,  sec.  12," 
in  Post  township,  and  Columbus,  at  the  mouth  of  Village  Creek 
in  Lansing  township.  As  neither  point  received  a  majority  an- 
other vote  was  taken  on  the  first  Monday  in  May  following,  be- 
tween Columbus  and  Smith's  Mill,  resulting  in  a  small  majority 
— 14  it  is  said — for  Columbus.  We  have  no  means  of  ascertain- 
ing the  number  of  votes  cast;  neither  do  we  know  how  many 
polling  places  there  were  in  the  county  at  that  time;  but  if  we 
are  not  mistaken  Reuben  Smith's  place  (one  of  the  contesting 
points)  was  one  of  these.  He  stated  in  the  fall  of  1877  that  a 
county  seat  election  in  '51  was  held  in  a  log  cabin  of  his,  and  that 
voters  came  there  from  a  distance  of  many  miles,  of  whom  he  re- 
membered Shattuck  and  Bush  from  what  is  now  Makee,  among 
others. 

Since  that  time  no  less  than  nine  more  county  seat  elections 
have  been  held,  which  will  be  spoken  of  more  at  length  in  their 
appropriate  chapter. 

To  return  to  some  of  the  earlier  incidents  of  the  county's  set- 
tlement and  history.  About  1840  or  '41  a  trading  post  was  es- 
tablished near  what  is  now  Monona,  just  off  the  reservation,  by 
one  Jones,  who  sought  to  replenish  his  treasury  by  supplying  the 
Indians  with  "fire  water."  Another  individual  byname  of  Thorn 
instituted  a  like  concern  near  by,  and  by  a  happy  application  of  the 
eternal  fitness  of  things  these  institutions  were  called  "Sodom" 
and  "Gomorrah"  in  the  vernacular  of  those  days.  One  of  the  re- 
sults of  their  establishment  was  probably  the  first  murder  in  our 
county,  the  particulars  of  which  we  find  in  the  Decorah  Republi- 
can, in  1875,  substantially  as  follows:  A  party  of  Indians  were 
living  on  a  tributary  of  the  Yellow  River  (thought  to  be  Hickory 
Creek)  four  or  five  miles  from  Monona.  An  old  Indian  visited 
Jones'  den  at  Sodom,  and  as  many  a  pale  face  has  done  since  then 
traded  all  his  worldly  effects  for  whisky,  even  to  the  blanket  from 
his  shoulders.  On  his  way  to  his  lodge  he  died  from  exposure  and 
cold.  The  next  morning  his  son  found  his  body  naked  and  frozen 
in  the  snow.  Thirsting  for  vengeance,  he  visited  the  whisky  den 
at  Gomorrah  and  shot  the  first  white  man  he  saw,  it  happening  to 
be  an  inoffensive  man  named  Riley.  The  young  Indian  was  cap- 
tured by  a  detachment  of  troops  under  Judge  D.  S.  Wilson  of 
Dubuque,  then  a  Lieutenant  at  Ft.  Atkinson,  but  before  the  time 
for  his  trial  he  escaped  and  was  never  recaptured. 


372  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUifTY 

CHAPTER  IV. 


First  Entries  of.  Government  Lands;  First  Importation  of  Lum- 
ber; First  Grist  Mill;  First  Postoff.ce;  Interesting  Remin- 
iscences; First  Official  Seal;  First  Terms  of  Court  and  List  of 
Grand  Jurors;  First  Party  Organization;  Systems  of  County 
Management ;  List  of  County  Officers;  State  Senatorship  and 
Representatives  from  Date  of  Organization  to -Present  Time;  the 
Circuit  Court. 


Althougli  the  Indian  title  was  extinguished,  and  the  county 
was  open  to  settlement  in  1848,  the  lands  were  not  put  upon  the 
market  until  about  the  first  of  October^  1850.  The  earliest  entry 
of  Government  land  we  have  found  upon  the  records  is  that  of 
the  southeast  quarter  southeast  quarter  section  19,  and  three  for- 
ties in  section  30,  all  in  Paint  Creek  Township,  to  Geo.  Watkins, 
October,  7,  1850. 

In  1851  or  '52,  Porter  Bellows  located  in  the  valley  of  the  Upper 
Iowa,  and  a  few  years  later  erected  a  grist  mill  near  the  mouth  of 
French  Creek,  known  as  the  McMillan  Mill. 

In  June,  1851,  G.  W.  Carver  came  to  Lansing  with  a  stock  of  lum- 
ber, the  first  in  the  County.  He  furnished  the  lumber  for  the  first 
buildings  erected  on  Makee  Ridge.  We  believe  he  became  the 
pioneer  settler  on  Portland  Prairie,  north  of  the  Iowa,  in  May, 
1852.  He  made  large  claims  of  school  lands  under  the  State 
laws,  and  held  the  same  until  it  reverted  to  the  Government,  as  the 
Commissioner  had  selected  too  much  land  for  school  purposes. 
His  claims  were  in  litigation  from  1858  until  1872,  when  by 
special  act  of  the  Legislature  he  was  awarded  $3,000  damages. 

Wm.  Werhan  came  into  the  county  in  1851,  and  in  company 
with  P.  M.  Gilson  erected  a  grist  mill  on  the  Yellow  River,  in 
Franklin  township,  in  1854. 

The  first  postoffice  is  thought  to  have  been  the  one  established  at 
Postville  in  January,  '49.  A  postoffice  was  established  at  Lansing 
in  the  summer  of  1849. 

A  postoffice  was  early  established  at  the  Eells  place,  but  the  date 
of  establishment  is  unknown.  This  was  on  the  road  from  Lansing 
to  Decorah,  and  a  popular  stopping  place  for  travelers  between 
these  points. 

The  first  physician  in  the  central  portion  of  the  county  was 
J.  W.  Flint,  who  located  on  Makee  Ridge  in  '52  or  '53. 

From  some  interesting  reminiscences  contributed  to  the  Waukon 
Standard,  in  1877,  by  D,  B.  Raymond,  we  make  some  quotations 
that  here  find  their  appropriate  place. 

"Standing  on  the  Lansing  Ridge  about  six  or  eight  miles  out 
from  the  river  and  looking:  over  the  vallev  of  Yillaofe  Creek  and 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  373 

to  the  north  where  the  ridges  and  ravines  with  their  rippling 
streams  are  lost  in  the  view,  toward  the  Upper  Iowa  River,  I 
think  it  is  as  romantic  as  any  view  ever  beheld  b}'  the  writer;  the 
more  so,  as  ray  first  view  was  when  not  a  living  white  man  had  a 
house  in  this  region  save  what  I  call  to  mind  in  these  papers.  1 
believe  that  I  am  correct  when  I  say  that  Mr.  John  A.  Wakefield 
was  the  first  who  put  up  a  dwelling  on  the  ridge  out  from  Lans- 
ing; at  least  we  found  him  ensconsed  in  a  good  house  with  some 
improvements  at  our  first  advent  there  (1852),  He  was  a  man  of 
considerable  avoirdupois  and  went  by  the  title  of  Colonel  or  Ma- 
jor. He  had  a  great  desire  for  prominence  and  office,  and  was 
subject  to  many  hard  hits  from  competitors.  As  he  often  gloried 
in  his  valorous  deeds  in  the  war  with  Blackhawk;  the  keen,  cut- 
ting sarcasm  of  J.  W.  Remine,  the  Lansing  lawyer,  and  some 
others,  drove  the  old  Colonel  almost  to  frenzy  on  some  occasions. 
As  he  was  indeed  a  pioneer,  he  sold  out  and  moved  to  Nebraska  in 
the  summer  of  1854.  He  was  quite  enterprising  in  improvements, 
and  had  a  water-ram  in  operation  several  rods  below  his  house  to 
force  the  water  from  a  nice  spring  to  his  dwelling,  which  was  con- 
sidered a  great  luxury  on  the  ridge;  as  every  one  reading  these 
lines  that  knows  Lansing  Ridge  will  bear  me  witness  that  it  is  a 
dry  expanse,  the  elevation  carrying  the  traveler  many  feet  above 
some  good  springs  on  either  side.  Thus  my  memory  reverts  to  the 
many  draughts  of  cool  water  from  the  pipe  at  the  Colonel's  place 
and  can  only  think  of  him  as  a  true  benefactor. 

"The  next  dwelling  out  from  Col.  Wakefield's  was.  I  think,  Mr. 
Judson  Hersey's,  where  we  found  this  true  Yankee  behind  a  count- 
er selling  goods  to  the  passing  emigrants.  The  first  impression 
of  this  man  was  lasting,  and  can  only  think  of  him  as  a  genial 
gentleman  with  genuine  enterprise.  I  regard  him  as  the  pioneer 
merchant  of  Makee  and  all  the  country  west  from  Lansing  at  that 
time. 

''The  settlement  formed  in  1852  by  the  Herseys  and  Pratts  at 
the  western  termination  of  Lansing  Ridge  was  at  that  time  a 
prominent  place,  as  it  was  characterized  by  great  enterprise,  but 
when  the  commissioners  drove  the  stake  for  the  future  countv 
seat,  the  enterprising  residents  of  Makee,  like  a  flock  of  sheep, 
followed  the  bell  weather  to  Waukon  and  became  pioneers  in 
building  up  this  beautiful  village  within  plain  view  of  the  first 
scenes  of  their  labors. 

"As  we  approached  the  level  country  eighteen  or  twenty  miles 
west  from  the  river — I  say  level  because  near  the  river  the  bluffs 
and  ravines  were  so  unlike  what  I  was  used  to  in  Ohio  that  the 
country  at  the  head  of  the  streams  running  back  from  the  river 
was  to  my  mind  level,  although  it  was  all  rolling  and  interspersed 
with  miniature  ridges  and  ravines — when  we  reached  Union  Prai- 
rie after  traveling  through  two  or  more  miles  of  "openings"  from 
Hersey's  store,  what  a  beautiful  scene  was  presented  to  view!  The 


374  HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

open  prairie  gently  rolling  like  waves  of  the  sea,  all  covered  with 
grass,  apparently  as  even  as  a  floor;  the  frequent  flutter  of  prai- 
rie chickens  as  they  rose  from  the  wagon  path;  and  the  bright 
crimson  waves  of  the  sun  towards  evening  glittering  over  the 
waving  grass;  such  a  sight  can  never  be  seen  again  in  the  same 
place  and  under  the  same  circumstances.  In  my  mind  I  can  see 
it  now;  but  years  have  wrought  many  changes." 

Mr.  Raymond  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  name  of  Tillage 
Creek  was  taken  from  the  great  number  of  Indian  villages  at  one 
time  located  along  its  beautiful  valley. 

In  the  year  1853  Jesse  M.  Rose  built,  probably,  the  first  grist 
mill,  with  bolt,  in  Allamakee  and  Winneshiek  counties.  It  was 
located  on  Village  Creek,  where  the  village  of  that  name  now  is, 
in  the  western  edge  of  Lafayette  township.  Farmers  brought 
their  grists  to  this  mill  from  Winneshiek  County  and  from  over 
the  line  in  Minnesota;  and  it  is  said  even  from  Clayton  County.  It 
did  a  large  business,  running  day  and  night,  only  being  delayed  in 
order  to  make  repairs.  Azee  Pratt  and  other  Makee  carpenters 
assisted  in  its  construction.     Mr.  Rose  went  west  about  1875. 

The  first  newspaper  published  in  the  county  was  the  Intelligen- 
cer^ at  Lansing,  by  Wm.  H.  Sumner.  The  first  number  was  is- 
sued Nov.  23,  1852. 

The  first  seal  used  by  the  county  court  is  now  in  the  possession 
of  J.  A.  Townsend.  Mr.  Dean  describes  it  as  follows:  Instead 
of  the  convenient  and  handsome  seal  of  the  present  day,  it  was  a 
piece  of  brass  with  the  proper  inscription  cut  thereon,  and  was 
used  by  making  a  rail  fast  at  one  end  to  something  solid,  then 
placing  the  seal  upon  the  paper  on  a  desk  at  the  proper  distance; 
then  the  rail  was  laid  across  the  seal  and  the  County  Judge  got 
his  leg  over  the  other  end  of  the  rail  and  soused  it  down  a  few 
times  and  the  impression  was  made  on  the  paper." 

The  first  term  of  District  Court  for  the  county  was  opened  at 
Columbus,  then  the  county  seat,  on  Monday,  July  12,  1852.  Hon. 
Thos.  S.  Wilson,  of  Dubuque,  Judge;  Leonard  B.  Hodges,  Clerk, 
and  Wm.  C.  Thompson,  Sheriff.  The  following  named  persons 
were  empaneled  as  the  First  Grand  Jury:  Wm.  H.  Morrison, 
Foreman;  Edward  Eells,  John  Clark,  H.  R.  Ellis,  R.  Woodward, 
Jesse  M.  Rose,  W.  W.  Willson,  Darius  Bennett,  G.  A.  Warner, 
Hedry  Botsford,  Tremain  Stoddard,  Wm.  Smith,  A.  J.  Ellis,  Jere- 
miah Clark.  T.  A.  Winsted.  The  Petit  Jury  consisted  of  Reuben 
Smith,  A.  W.  Hoag,  B.  D.  Clark,  David  Miller,  John  Stull, 
Charles  R.  Hoag,  A.  L.  Barron,  Thos.  Cosgrove,  and  H.  M. 
Willson. 

The  first  term  held  in  Waukon  was  set  for  Monday,  June  6, 
1853;  but  we  find  from  the  record  that  ''The  presiding  Judge  in 
order  to  give  time  for  the  preparation  of  a  suitable  place  at  Wau- 
kon, the  newly  selected  county  seat,  by  written  order,  directed 
the  court  to  be  adjourned  till  to-morrow."     June  7th,  there  was 


HISTORY   OF   ALLA.MAKEE   COUNTY.  375 

no  business,  and  the  court  was  again  adjourned  one  day,  W.  C. 
Thompson  was  Sheriff,  and  R.  Ottman,  Deputy  Clerk,  acted  in 
the  absence  of  his  superior,  L.  B.  Hodges.  Much  delay  in  the 
business  of  the  court  was  occasioned  by  the  fact  of  jurors  and 
witnesses  having  been  summoned  to  appear  at  Columbus. 

On  the  8th,  "the  Sheriff  returned  into  court  with  the  Grand 
Jury,"  aid  the]court  was  opened,  Judge  Thos.  S.  Wilson,  of  Du- 
buque, presiding.  From  old  files  of  the  Lansing  Intelligencer^ 
we  find  that  he  arrived  at  Lansing  on  the  Tth,  on  the  steamer, 
West  Point,  and  on  the  following  morning  (Wednesday)  formally 
opened  the  term  at  the  Court  House,  in  Waukon  (then  spelled 
Wa/^^kon  invariably).  That  building  is  described  as  being  a  "new 
log  cabin,  small  and  rather  inconvenient,  but,  considering  that 
the  official  whose  duty  it  was  to  provide  suitable  accommodations 
(evidently  referring  to  Judge  Topliff)  for  the  transaction  of  public 
business  had  refused  to  do  so,  and  that  the  structure  was  erected 
by  private  enterprise,  as  good  as  could  be  expected."  This  diffi- 
culty arose  from  the  unwillingness  of  Judge  Topliff  and  Hodges, 
who  were  interested  in  the  town  site  of  Columbus,  to  surrender 
the  county  seat  from  that  place,  and  the  matter  was  brought  into 
court  at  that  term,  as  will  be  narrated  in  the  chapter  of  county 
seat  matters. 

L.  B.  Hodges,  Clerk  of  the  County  Court  and  acting  Clerk  of 
the  District  Court,  not  appearing  at  his  post,  the  Sheriff*  was  dis- 
patched in  pursuit  of  liim,  and  he  was  brought  into  court.  He 
immediately  resigned  his  office,  and  no  action  was  had  in  refer- 
ence to  him,  as  the  resignation  was  considered  satisfactory.  L. 
W.  Hersey  was  appointed  County  Clerk  in  his  stead.  The  court 
was  adjourned,  after  disposing  of  some  forty-five  cases,  to  the  8th 
of  October. 

The  county  lots  at  Waukon  were  offered  for  sale  by  County 
Judge  Topliff,  on  the  6th  of  September.  Each  had  been  appraised 
and  the  price  fixed.  One-fourth  of  the  purchase  money  was  re- 
quired in  hand,  the  balance  in  twelve  months.  The  county  gave 
a  bond  for  deed,  the  property  being  "school  lands." 

At  an  election  held  on  the  first  day  of  August,  1853,  the  several 
townships  cast  the  following  ballots: 

Lansing 46 

Lafayette 44 

Makee 47 

Union  Prairie 36 

Jefferson 19 

Post 36 

Ludlow : 22 

Linton 32 

Paint  Creek 2o 

Franklin 21 

Union  City 8 

Taylor 15 

24 


376  HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

It  will  be  seen  that  but  two-thirds  of  the  eventual  number  o£ 
townships  then  possessed  an  organization,  and  the  dates  of  organ- 
izing some  of  these  it  is  now  impossible  to  ascertain. 

The  first  record  we  find  of  a  formal  organization  in  this  county 
of  the  followers  of  a  designated  political  faith  bears  date,  Decem- 
ber 10, 1853,  when  the  following  notice  was  circulated. 

To  the  Democratic  Voters  of  Allamakee  County. —Fellow  Citizens: 

You  are  hereby  notified  that  a  meeting  will  be  held  at  Waukon 
on  Saturday,  Dec  24,  1853,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into  consid- 
eration the  propriety  of  an  immediate  organization  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  our  county.  Also  for  the  further  purpose  of  ap- 
pointing delegates  to  the  State  Convention,  etc. 

W.  C.  Thompson,  ) 

Jas.  W.  Flint,      [•  Com.,  etc. 

M.  B.  Lyons,         ) 

At  this  meeting  Edward  Eells  was  chosen  Chairman  and  C.  J. 
White,  Secretary,  and  it  was 

''Resolved,  That  the  Democrats  of  the  county  of  Allamakee 
ought  to  and  hereby  do  organize  themselves  into  a  regular  politi- 
cal party,  according  to  the  time-honored  usages  of  the  same,  both 
in  the  State  and  nation,  and  as  auxiliary  thereto." 

The  central  committee  consisted  of  Archa  Whaley,  Reuben 
Sencebaugh,  Wm.  H.  Morrison,  Edward  Eells  and  A.  J.  Hersey. 

The  township  committees  were —  ^ 

Union  City— Geo.  Spence,  Wm.  Dennison,  Gr.  W.  Carver. 

Lansing — Richard  Luckins,  A.  J.  Tillotson,  Jas.  P.  Hughes. 

Lafayette— W.  C.  Thompson,  R.  Ottman,  0.  S.  Conkey. 

Makee — C.  Paulk,  T.  Mmard,  Aug.  Hersey. 

Union  Prairie— J.  E.  S.  Morgan,  Lorin  Eells,  George  Merrill. 

Ludlow — E.  Reed,  Luther  Howes,  Henry  Beaver. 

Jefiferson- W.  S.  Ross,  Henry  Coffman,  H.  Burgess. 

Paint  Creek— Andrew  Mitchell,  Thos.  Anderson,  Geo.  Watkins. 

Taylor— David  Harper,  Michael  Dignan,  Otto  Langfield. 

Linton— Allen  Scott,  L.  W.  Hays,  Henry  Johnson. 

Franklin — John  Brisco,  Austin  Smith,  John  S.  Clark. 

Post — James  Arnold,  Reuben  Smith. 

Wm.  H.  Morrison,  S.  A.  Tupper  and  J.  W.  Flint  were  appoint- 
ed delegates  to  the  State  Convention, 

The  convention  thereupon  "resolved"  to  authorize  the  central 
committee  to  fix  the  ratio  of  representation;  "that  we  have  undi- 
minished confidence  in  the  administration  of  the  general  govern- 
ment, and  will  continue  to  give  our  undivided  support;"  the  state 
government  "merits  our  approbation  and  continued  confidence;" 
our  senators,  "for  their  uniform  attachment  to  Democratic  prin- 
ciples, are  entitled  to  the  cordial  support  of  every  true  Dernocrat," 
and  the  "gratitude,  influence  and  support  of  every  true  friend  of 
western  interest,"  etc. 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  6i  i 

In  view  of  the  heated  political  events  of  after  dajs,  we  reprint, 
in  full,  the  comments  of  the  editor  of  the  Mirror  upon  the  fore- 
goinfj  record.  He  wrote: 

"We  have  more  than  once  expressed  our  views  in  regard  to  par- 
ty organizations  in  this  new  country.  We  consider  them  impo- 
litic, and  with  this  view  we  must  condemn  the  one  noticed  above, 
and  we  believe  the  majority  of  the  people  Avill  coincide  with  us. 
And  in  making  these  remarks  we  do  not  infringe  upon  the  strict 
line  of  neutrality  we  have  adopted.  These  objections  we  should 
apply  to  the  organization  of  any  party  here." 

COUNTY  OFFICERS,  ETC. 

From  the  organization  of  the  county,  in  the  spring  of  18i9,  to 
August,  1851,  the  management  of  county  affairs  was  vested  in  a 
board  of  three  commissioners,  chosen  by  the  people,  and  recog- 
nized as  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners.  The  system  of 
county  management  originated  in  Virginia,  whose  early  settlers 
soon  became  large  landed  proprietors,  aristocratic  in  feeling,  liv- 
ing apart  in  almost  baronial  magnificence  on  their  own  estates, 
and  owning  the  laboring  pait  of  the  population.  The  county  or- 
ganization, where  a  few  influential  men  managed  the  whole  busi- 
ness of  the  community,  was,  moreover,  consonant  with  their  rec- 
ollections or  traditions  of  the  dignities  of  the  landed  aristocracy 
of  England,  in  their  descent  from  whom  the  Virginia  gentlemen 
felt  so  much  pride.  This  system  spread  from  Virginia  through 
the  South,  and  into  some  of  the  northern  states. 

In  1851  a  County  Court  was  created  (see  Code  of  Iowa,  1851, 
chap.  15).  The  act  creating  this  Court  gave  the  County  Judge 
jurisdiction  of  probate  affairs,  and  clothed  him  with  all  the  pow- 
ers previously  exercised  by  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners. 
In  short,  it  legislated  the  Commissioners  out  of  existence. 

On  the  22d  of  March,  1860,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  "cre- 
ating a  Board  of  Supervisors,  and  defining  their  duties."  (Rev. 
of  Iowa,  p.  48).  This  law  went  into  effect  July  4,  1860,  and  pro- 
vided for  the  election  of  one  Supervisor  from  each  civil  township. 
When  assembled  together  for  the  transaction  of  county  business, 
these  town  representatives  were  known  as  the  Board  of  County 
Supervisors.  The  township  system  had  its  origin  in  Massachus- 
etts, and  date  backs  to  1635.  The  first  legal  enactment  concern- 
ing this  system  provided  that,  whereas,  "particular  towns  have 
many  things  which  concern  only  themselves,  and  the  ordering  of 
their  own  affairs,  and  disposing  of  business  in  their  own  town," 
therefore  "the  freemen  of  every  town,  or  the  major  part  of  them, 
shall  only  have  power  to  dispose  of  their  own  lands  and  wards, 
with  all  the  appurtenances  of  said  towns,  to  grant  lots,  and  to 
make  such  orders  as  may  concern  the  well-ordering  of  their  own 
towns,  and  not  repugnant  to  the  laws  and  orders  established  by 
the  General  Court."     They  might  also  impose  fines  of  not  more 


378  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUXTr. 

than  twenty  shillings,  and  "choose  their  own  particular  officers, 
as  constables,  surveyors  for  the  highway,  and  the  like."  Evident- 
ly this  enactment  relieved  the  General  Court  of  a  mass  of  muni- 
cipal details,  without  any  danger  to  the  powers  of  that  body  in 
controlling  general  measures  of  public  policy.  Probably,  also, 
a  demand  from  the  freemen  of  the  towns  was  felt  for  the  control  of 
their  own  home  concerns. 

Similar  provisions  for  the  incorporation  of  towns  were  made  in 
the  first  constitution  of  Connecticut,  adopted  in  1639,  and  the  plan 
of  township  organization  became  universal  throughout  New 
England,  and  came  westward  with  the  emigrants  from  New  Eng- 
land into  New  York,  Ohio  and  other  western  states.  There  being 
a  large  New  England  element  among  the  population  of  Iowa,  it 
is  fair  to  presume  that  their  influence  secui'ed  the  adoption  of 
this  system  in  Iowa,  as  created  in  the  act  already  quoted. 

It  seems,  however,  that  the  township  system  did  not  continue 
in  general  favor  with  the  people  of  the  State.  Objections 
were  made  that  the  body  was  unwieldy  and  expensive,  and  that 
the  thinly  populated  townships,  wielded  an  undue  proportion  of 
power  in  the  Board  compared  with  their  actual  voting  strength, 
and  in  1871,  the  system  was  so  modified  as  to  vest  the  powers  of 
the  former  Board  in  a  body  to  be  composed  of  three  or  five  Super- 
visors (Code,  Title  IV,  Chapter  2).  JFrom  the  time  of  this  law 
going  into  effect,  the  affairs  of  this  county  have  been  under  the 
control  of  a  Board  of  Supervisors  consisting  of  three  members,  one 
of  whom  is  elected  annually,  at  the  general  election,  for  a  term  of 
three  years. 

With  these  preliminary  remarks  we  present  as  complete  a  list 
of  our  county  officers,  from  the  organization  of  the  county  to  the 
present  time,  as  it  is  possible  to  produce  at  this  day,  it  being  borne 
in  mind  that  the  early  records  are  very  incomplete  and  unsatis- 
factory in  this  point: 

County  Commissioners — -James  M.  Sumner.  Joseph  W.  Holmes, 
1849  (April  election).  August  election,  1849,  James  M.  Sumner, 
Thomas  A.  Van  Sickle,  Daniel  Gr.  Beck.  Whether  any  others 
served  as  Commissioners  before  the  system  gave  way  to  that  of  a 
County  Judge  in  1851,  we  have  been  unable  to  ascertain. 

Clerk  of  Commissioners'  Court — Daniel  G.  Beck,  1849;  Grove 
A.  Warner,  '49  to  '51. 

Clerk  of  District  Court— Stephen  Holcomb,  1849-50;  Thos.  B. 
Twiford,  1850-51;  Leonard  B.  Hodges,  1851-53;  Lewis  W.  Her- 
sey,  1853-56;  C.  J.  White,  1856-64;  J.  G.  Orr,  1864-66;  Giles  P. 
Ellis,  1866-68;  John  W.  Pratt,  1868-74;  H.  0.  Dayton,  1874-80; 
L.  M.  Bearce,  1880-82. 

Sheriff— Lester   W.  Hays,   1849-51;     William   C.  Thompson, 
1851-53;  John  Laughlin,  1853-55;  John  A.  Townsend,  1855-59;  ^ 
W.  C.  Thompson  again,  1859-61;  James  Palmer.  1861-65;  J.    A. 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  379 

Towusend  again,  1865-G7:  Robert  Bathan,  1867-71;  Jas.  Palmer 
again,  1871-73;  Geo.  Hewit,  1873-81;  Chris.  A.  Leithold,  1881-82, 
and  present  incumbent. 

Recorder  and  Treasurer — Elias  Topliff,  1849-51 ;  James  M. 
Sumner,  1851-52;  James  Bell,  1852-53;  Thos.  C.  Linton,  1853; 
John  J.  Shaw,  1853-55;  L.  0.  Hatch,  1855-57;  Elias  Topliff, 
1857-60;  A.  H.  Houghton,  1860-61;  L.  H.  Howe,  1861— died  sum- 
mer of  '63;  James  Duffy,  appointed  to  fill  vacancy,  1863;  Mich- 
ael Healy  elected  1863-65. 

Judge  of  Probate  Court — Stephen  Holcomb,  1849 — . 

Inspector  of  Weights  and  Measures — G.  A.  Warner,  1849 — ;  in 
January  session  of  Board  of  Supervisors,  1863.  on  motion,  L.  H. 
Howe  was  appointed  Sealer  of  Weights  and  Measures  for  Alla- 
makee County. 

Coroner— C.  P.  Williams,  1849—;  M.  F.  Lnark,  185  7-58;  F. 
W.  Nottingham,  1858-59.  J.  W.  Granger.  1859-61;  John  Ryan, 
1861-63;  John  Farrell,  1863-65;  David  Harper,  1865-66;  Fred 
Bartheld,  1866-67;  J.  Farrell.  1867-69;  A.  G.Collins,  1869-71;  L. 
B.  Adams,  1871-73;  W.  D.  M..rgan,  1873-75;  John  Farrell.  1875 
-77;  D.  H.  Bowen.  1877-81;  W.  D.  Morgan,  1881-2,  present  in- 
cumbent. 

Surveyor — James  M.  Sumner,  1849.  Between  this  date  and 
1857.  L.  B.  Hodges,  S.  P.  Hicks,  John  M.  Gushing,  Joel  Dayton, 
and  H.  0.  Dayton.  W.  W.  Hungerford,  1857-59;  John  Ryan, 
1859-61;  H.  0.  Dayton,  1861-65;  Henry  Dayton,  1865-69;  John 
G.  RatcliflFe.  1869-71;  H.  0.  Dayton  again,  1871-74;  James  Mc- 
Ananey,  1874-77;  A.  R.  Prescott,  1877-79;  Harvey  B.  Miner, 
1879-82,  and  present  incumbent, 

ProsecutingfAttorney. — John  W.  Remine  appointed  in  Novem- 
ber, 1851,  to  ''serve  until  his  successor  be  duly  qualified  after  the 
April  election  of  1852;"  Sewell  Goodridge,  1852-54;  John  T. 
Clark,  1854,  resigned  June  30,  1857;  Geo.  W.  Camp,  appointed 
July  2,  1857,  and  elected  that  fall. 

School  Fund  Commissioner. — Wm.  F.  Ross,  1851,  until  the 
office  was  discontinued  in  1858. 

County  Judge.— Elias  ToplifP,  1851  to  1857;  Geo.  M.  Dean, 
1857-59;  John  A.  Townsend,  1859-61;  0.  S.  Conkey,  1861-67; 
M.  B.  Hendrick,  1867  to  '68,  when  the  office  of  County  Judge 
was  discontinued  and  Judge  Hendrick  became  ex-officio  Auditor 
until  the  close  of  his  term,  December  31,  1869. 

Drainage  Commissioner. — A.  J.  Hersey,  1853 — ;  G.  W.  Gray, 
1857-58;  J.  VV.  Merrill,  1858-59;  Geo.  L.  Miller,  1859-69. 

Superintendent  of  Schools.— This  office  was  established  in  1858, 
and  J.  W.  Flint  was  elected  that  year.  In  1859  R.  C.  Armstrong 
was  elected,  and  served  until  he  departed  in  1861;  J.  Loughran  ap- 
pointed 1861;  A.  H.  Houghton  in  1861-62;  John  0.  Havens,  1863; 
T.  C.  Ransom,  1883-65;  Theo.  Nachtwey,  1865-69;  Lenthel  Eells, 
1869-71 ;  Thos.  F.  Healv,  1871-73,  died  May  31st,  and  the  Board 


380  HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

of  Supervisors  appointed  John  W.  Hinclion,  who  was  elected  at 
the  following  election,  October,  1873,  and  served  until  September 
23,  1876,  when  lie  resigned  and  L.  Eells  was  appointed,  elected 
at  the  next  election  to  fill  vacancy;  J.  Loughran  elected  1877-79; 
Amos  Row,  1879-81;  Lenthel  Eells  again  elected  in  1881,  and 
the  present  incumbent. 

Treasurer.— M.  Healy,  1865-67;  H.  H.  Stilwell,  1867-69;  James 
Duffy,  1869-73;  John  Ryan,  1873-77;  George  H.  Bryant,  1877-82, 
and  present  incumbent. 

Recorder.— Patrick  Ryder,  1865-68;  D.  W.  Reed,  1868-78:  Ed. 
D.  Purdy,  1878-82. 

Auditor. — The  office  of  County  Auditor  was  created  by  act  of  Leg- 
islature at  its  session  of  1868,  and  the  duties  of  the  office  began 
January  1st,  1869,  and  were  performed  by  the  ex-County  Judge 
the  first  year;  M.  B.  Hendrick,  1869-71;  W.  C.  Thompson,  1871- 
79;  Samuel  R.  Thompson,  1879-82,  and  present  incumbent. 

County  Supervisors — The  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Super- 
visors convened  at  Waukon  on  January  7,  1861.  In  accordance 
with  the  new  system  the  following  persons  were  elected  as  Super- 
visors from  the  respective  townships: 

Center,  W.  Bacon;  Fairview,  P.  O'Malley;  Franklin,  Selden 
Candee;  French  Creek,  Hugh  Riley;  Hanover,  Erick  Ellefson; 
Iowa,  Martin  Moore:  Jefferson,  Greo.  N.  Burger;  Lafayette,  James 
Duncan;  Lansing,  G.  Kerndt;  Linton,  Wm.  Mosher;  Ludlow, 
Isaac  Greer;  Makee,  Moses  Hancock;  Paint  Creek,  James  Bryson; 
Post,  Wm.  H.  Carithers;  Taylor,  Michael  Healy;  Union  City,  J. 
Everett;  Union  Prairie,  John  Goodykoontz;  Waterloo,  A. 
Schwartzhoff.     Moses  Hancock  was  elected  chairman. 

During  the  existence  of  this  system  of  township  representation, 
which  continued  until  December  31,  1870,  the  townships  were 
represented  as  shown  by  the  following  record: 

Center— W.  Bacon,  1861;  F.  B.  Hale.  1862-61;  Adam  Cavers, 
1861-67;  P.  Soderstrom,  1867-70. 

Fairview— Peter  O'Malley,  1861-65;  Nicholas  Drumm,  1866-67; 
J.  S.  Deremo,  1868-69;  P.  O'Malley,  1870. 

Franklin— Selden  Candee,  1861-66;  D.  W.  Lyons.  1867-68,  D. 
Dickerson,  1869;  S.  Candee,  1870. 

French  Creek— Hugh  Riley,  1861-66;  Porter  Bellows,  1867-68; 
Hugh  Riley,  1869-70. 

Hanover — Erick  Ellefson,  1861-66;  John  C.  Barr  (appointed), 
1866;  Oscar  F.  Ferris,  1867-68;  Hans  G.  Hanson,  1869;  W.  H. 
Reid,  1869-70. 

Iowa— Martin  Moore,  1861-63;  William  Cox  (appointed),  1863- 
65;  Michael  Gabbett,  1866-69;  Martin  Moore,  1870. 

Jefferson— Geo.  N.  Burger,  1861-65;  Robert  Bathan,  1866-67; 
H.  S.  Cooper,  1868;  James  Bryson,  1869-70. 

Lafayette — James  Duncan,  1861-65;  Philip  Byrne,  1866;  H.  0. 
Dayton,  1867;  P.  Farley,  1868-70.  "  •      . 


HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  381 

Lansing— Gustav  Kerndt,  1861-61;  C.J.White,  1865-66;  G. 
Kerndt,  1867-69;  John  Haney,  Jr.,  1870. 

Linton-Wm.  Moshier,  1861;  JohnB.  Sutter,  1862-61;  N.  Davis, 
1865;  H.  H.  Stilwell,  1865-67;  Jeremiah  Leas,  1868-70. 

Ludlow— Isaac  Greer,  1861-63;  P.  G.Wright,  1864-65;  Thomas 
Feeley,  1866-68;  Jas.  C.  Smith,  1868-69;  Wm.  J.  Jones,  1870. 

Makee— Moses  Hancock,  1861-62;  Sidney  Burlingame,  1863;  L. 
M.  Bearce  (appointed),  1863-64;  Richard  Wilber  (appointed), 
1865-66;  D.  W.  Adams  (appointed  upon  Wilber's  resignation, 
September),  1866-69;  H.  H.  Stilwell,  1870. 

Paint  Creek — James  Bryson,  1861;  James  DufFey,  1862-63;  Reu- 
ben Sencebaugh  (appointed),  1863;  Wm.  S.  Cooke,  1864;  T.  M. 
Van  Horn  (appointed),  1864-65:  James  R.  Conway,  1865-67;  Hans 
Smeby,  1868-70. 

Post— Wm.  H.  Carithers,  1861-63;  S.  McArthur,  1864;  E. 
Higby,  1865;  Wm.  H.  Carithers  (appointed),  1865-67;  S.  F. 
Goody  koontz,  1868-70. 

Taylor — Michael  Healey,  1861—63;  John  Ryan  (appointed), 
1864-66;  Bernard  Finegan,  1867-68;  Michael  Barry,  1869-70. 

Union  City— Josiah  Everett,  1861-62;  Wm.  Yeoman,  1863-64; 
Josiah  Everett,  Jr.,  1866;  John  Gilchrist  (appointed),  1866;  Wm. 
Yeoman,  1867-70. 

Union  Prairie— John  Goodykoontz,  1861-63;  G.  P.  Eells,  1864- 
€6;  A.  L.  Grippen,  1867;  John  Goodykoontz,  1868;  A.  J.  Eells. 
1869;  G.  P.  Eells,  1870. 

Waterloo— A.  SchwartzhofF,  1861-62;  T.  C.  Smith,  1863-66;  S. 
H.  Haines  (appointed),  1866-70. 

During  the  existence  of  this  system  the  following  named  mem- 
bers were  each  president  of  the  body,  in  this  order: 

Moses  Hancock,  Makee,  1861.  Michael  Healy,  Taylor,  1862 
and. '63.  P.  G.  Wright,  Ludlow,  1864  and  '65.  C.  J.  White, 
Lansing,  1866.  D.  W.  Adams,  Makee,  1867,  '68  and  '69.  G.  P. 
Eells,  Union  Prairie,  1870. 

By  the  change  of  system  in  1870  to  that  of  three  supervisors,  now 
in  vogue,  the  new  Board  was  to  organize  in  January,  1871,  since 
when  it  has  been  composed  of  the  following: 

1871 — Thomas  H.  Barnes,  Chairman,  Gustav  Kerndt,  Selden 
Candee. 

1872— T.H.  Barnes,  Chairman,  G.  Kerndt,  T.  C.  Smith.  In 
June  Mr.  Kerndt  tendered  his  resignation  on  account  of  poor 
health,  and  Abner  Wood  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

1873— T.  H.  Barnes,  Chairman,  T.  C.  Smith.  Martin  Moore. 

1874— T.  C.  Smith,  Chairman,  H.  S.  Cooper,  Martin  Moore. 

1875— Martin  Moore,  Chairman,   H.  S.  Cooper,  Henry  Bensch. 

1876 — H.  S.  Cooper,  Chairman,  Henry  Bensch,  Robt.  Craw- 
ford. 

1877 — Henry  Bensch,  Chairman,  Robert  Crawford,  Joseph 
Schwartzhoff. 


382  HISTOEY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

1878 — Rolert  ^Crawford,  Chainraii,  Joseph  Scbwartzhoff,  Gil- 
bert Satrang. 

1879 — Joseph  Schwartzoff,  Chaiiman,  Gilbert  Satrang,  N.  J. 
Beedy. 

1880 — Gilbert  Satrang,  Chairman,  N.  J.  Beedy,  E.    A.  Blum. 

1881— N.  J.  Beedy,  Chairman,  E.  A.  Blum,  Gilbert  Satrang. 

1882— E.  A.  Blum,  Chairman,  G.  Satrang,  N.  J.  Beedy. 

STATE   LEGISLATURE — SEITATE. 

•  In  the  Third  General  Assembly  of  the  State  Legislature,  which 
convened  at  Iowa  City,  December  2,  1850,  and  adjourned  Feb.  5, 
1851,  Dubuque,  Clayton,  Delaware,  Buchanan,  Black  Hawk, 
Winneshiek  and  Allamakee,  forming  one  Senatorial  District,  were 
represented  by  John  G.  Shields  and  Warner  Lewis,  of  whom  the 
latter  was  elected  in  1850  for  four  years. 

In  the  Senate  of  the  Fourth  General  Assembly,  1852-3,  Du- 
buque, Delaware,  Buchanan,  Black  Hawk,  Grundy,  Butler,  Brem- 
er, Clayton,  Fayette,  Allamakee,  Winneshiek,  Howard,  Mitchell, 
Floyd,  and  Chickasaw,  were  represented  by  John  G.  Shields,  War- 
ner Lewis,  and  Maturin  L.  Fisher. 

Fifth  General  Assemby,  1854-5,  the  district  was  composed  of 
the  same  counties,  represented  by  Wm.  W.  Hamilton,  Maturin  L. 
Fisher,  and  John  G.  Shields. 

1856-7,  Sixth  General  Assembly,  Allamakee,  Winneshiek,  How- 
ard, Chickasaw,  Mitchell,  Floyd,  Worth,  Cerro  Gordo,  Hancock, 
Winnebago,  Bancroft,  and  Kossuth,  composed  the  Thirty-Fourth 
Senatorial  District,  whose  Senator  was  Jeremiah  T.  Atkins,  of 
Winneshiek. 

1858-9,  the  same. 

1860-2,  Allamakee  and  Winneshiek  composed  the  39th  Sena- 
torial District,  and  were  represented  in  that  body  by  George  W. 
Gray,  the  first  State  Senator  from  this  county,  during  the  Eighth 
and  Ninth  General  Assemblies. 

1864 — Jan.  11  to  March  8 — Tenth  General  Assembly,  Allama- 
kee was  the  40th  District,  Senator  Geo.  W.  Gray. 

1866 — Jan.  8  to  April  3,  Eleventh  General  Assembly,  this  was 
the  41st  District,  Charles  Paulk,  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

1867  to  1871— 12th  and  13th  General  Assemblies,  L.  E.  Fel- 
lows. 

1871  to  1879— 14th,  15th,  16th  and  17th  General  Assemblies, 
Samuel  H.  Kinne. 

1879-82— 18th  and  19th  General  Assamblies,  H.  Nielander,  the 
present  incumbent. 

HOUSE. 

In  the  Third  General  Assembly,  1850—51,  Clayton,  Fayette, 
Winneshiek  and  Allamakee  were  represented  by  Eliphalet  Price. 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  38S 

In  the  Fourth  General  Assembly,  1852--53,  Clayton,  Fayette, 
Winneshiek,  Allamakee,  Howard,  Mitchell,  Floyd  and  Chickasaw, 
were  rejjresented  by  Edwin  Montgomery  and  John  Garber. 

In  the  Fifth  General  Assembly,  1854— 56,  first  district,  composed 
of  Allamakee  and  Winneshiek,  James  D.  McKay,  of  the  latter 
county. 

In  1856—7,  Sixth  General  Assembly,  Allamakee  was  the  forty- 
fifth  district,  represented  by  James  Bryson,  the  first  member  of 
the  House  from  this  county. 

In  1858,  January  11th  to  March  23,  Seventh  General  Assembl}^ 
this  was  the  First  District  again,  and  our  member   Geo.  W.  Gray. 

In  1860—61,  two  sessions  Eighth  General  Assembly,  Allamakee, 
Fifty-sixth  District,  Chas.  Paulk. 

In  1862,  two  sessions  Ninth  General  Assembly,  Allamakee  the 
Fifty-first  District,  represented  by  Joseph  Burton. 

In  1864,  January  11th  to  March  29th,  Tenth  General  Assembly, 
the  Fiftieth  District,  Chas.  Paulk  again. 

In  1866,  January  8th  to  April  3d,  Eleventh  General  Assembly, 
two  representatives,  P.  G.       right  and  L.  E.  Fellows. 

In  1868,  Twelfth  General  Assembly,  Pierce  G.  Wright  and  Geo. 
R.  Miller. 

1870— Thirteenth— Allamakee,  52d  District,  P.  G.  Wright  and 
D.  Dickerson. 

1872 — Fourteenth  General  General  Assembly,  Henry  Dayton 
and  Andrew  Landry. 

1874 — Fifteenth — Allamakee,  the  60th  District,  Henry  Dayton. 

1876 — Sixteenth — Luther  Brown. 

1878 — Seventeenth- — Benjamin  Batcliffe. 

1880— Eighteenth— Allamakee,  the  64th  District,  Thos.  H. 
Barnes. 

1882— Nineteenth  General  Assembly,  W.  C.  Earle. 

DISTRICT  COURT. 

Judges — 1847  to  1882 — Second  Judicial  District,  State  of  Iowa, 
after  this  county  was  added  in  1847,  comprised  the  counties  of 
Buchanan,  Cedar,  Clayton,  Clinton,  Delaware,  Dubuque,  Fayette, 
Jackson,  Jones,  Muscatine,  Scott,  Allamakee  and  Winneshiek. 
Judge  James  Grant,  commissioned  November  15,  1847,  to  May  8, 
1852,  when  Judge  Thomas  S.  Wilson  cjualified,  who  remained 
Judge  of  this  District  till  after  Allamakee  was  withdrawn  to  help 
form  the — 

Tenth  Judicial  District,  created  in  1855,  comprised  Allamakee, 
Cerro  Gerdo,  Chickasaw,  Clayton,  Fayette,  Floyd,  Howard,  Mitch- 
ell, Winneshiek  and  Worth.  Judge  Samuel  Murdock,  of  Clay- 
ton county,  1855  to  1858.  With  the  exception  of  Cerro  Gerdo 
and  Worth,  and  the  addition  of  Bremer  and  Butler,  this  territory 
became  the  Tenth  Judicial  District  under  the  present  constitution 
in  1858.     In   1858  Elias  H.  Williams,  of  Clayton  county,  was 


384  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

elected  Judge,  and  served  until  Milo  McGlathery,  of  Fayette 
county  was  elected  in  1866.  The  counties  of  Bremer,  Butler, 
Floyd  and  Mitchell  were  detached  in  1864,  but  remained  connected 
with  this  district  (except  for  election  purposes)  until  January, 
1865.  Judge  McGlathery  served  from  1867  to  1874  inclusive. 
Judge  Reuben  Noble  1875  to  November,  1879,  when  he  resigned 
and  the  Governor  appointed  in  his  stead  Ezekiel  E.  Cooley,  who 
was  elected  at  the  general  election  in  1880,  and  is  still  upon  the 
bench. 

District  Attorneys,  1858  to  1882.— At  the  October  election, 
1858,  Milo  McGlathery  was  elected  Prosecuting  Attorney  for  the 
Tenth  Judicial  District,  and  re-elected  in  1862.  In  1866  L.  0. 
Hatch  was  elected  to  this  position,  but  resigned  in  1868,  and 
Charles  T.  Granger  was  appointed  his  successor.  At  the  general 
election  in  1869  Mr.  Granger  was  chosen  to  continue  in  the  posi- 
tion, to  fill  out  the  unexpired  portion  of  the  term  until  the  close 
of  1870,  and  at  the  election  of  that  year  he  was  re-elected.  In 
1872  he  was  elected  Circuit  Judge,  thus  creating  a  vacancy  in  the 
office  of  District  Attorney,  which  was  filled  by  the  appointment 
of  Orlando  J.  Clark,  and  the  appointment  was  ratified  at  the  next 
general  election,  in  1873.  In  1874  Mr.  Clark  was  re-elected  for 
the  full  term,  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  1878  was  succeeded  by 
the  present  incumbent,  Cyrus  Wellington. 

CIRCUIT    COURT. 

The  Circuit  Court  was  established  by  act  of  Legislature  in 
1868.  Each  Judicial  District  in  the  State  was  by  the  act  divided 
into  two  circuits,  in  each  of  which,  at  the  general  election  in 
November,  1868,  a  Circuit  Judge  was  elected  for  four  years.  In 
this,  the  First  Circuit  of  the  Tenth  Judicial  District,  comprising 
Allamakee,  Winneskiek  and  Howard,  Martin  V.  Burdick  was 
elected  Judge;  and  in  the  Second  Circuit  Benjamin  T.  Hunt. 
The  division  into  two  circuits  was  found  unnecessary,  and  the  two 
were  consolidated.  The  Circuit  Court  has  concurrent  jurisdiction 
with  the  District  Court,  except  as  to  criminal  business,  and  has 
exclusive  jurisdiction  as  to  probate  matters.  In  1872  Charles  T. 
Granger  was  elected  to  succeed  Judge  Burdick,  and  by  re-election 
in  1876  and  again  in  1880  is  the  present  incumbent. 


HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE   COU^'TT.  385 

CHAPTER  Y. 


Earliest  Count ij  Record;  First  Marriage  Record;  First  Records 
of  County  Court;  First  County  Warrants;  First  Statement  of 
Treasurer  and  Collector's  Accounts;  Miscellaneous  Orders  and 
Warrants;  Court  House  Contracts;  Ferry  Licenses;  Township) 
Organizations;  History  of  Paint  Creek  Toivnsliip. 


As  we  have  said,  there  remains  not  tiie  scratch  of  a  pen  re- 
lating to  the  official  acts  of  the  old  County  Commissioners  of 
this  county,  and  there  is  no  election  record  previous  to  the  year 
1856.  In  view  of  these  facts  it  will  be  seen  that  the  task  was  no 
easy  one  to  prepare  the  foregoing  list  of  officers,  and  a  great  deal 
of  time  and  labor  have  been  given  to  it.  Taking  one  fact  (of  no 
importance  in  itself)  from  one  source  and  another,  and  so  on,  and 
combining  or  comparing  them,  we  can  form  very  accurate  con- 
clusions in  many  cases,  and  we  believe  this  list  will  be  found  quite 
useful  for  future  reference. 

The  very  earliest  record  we  have  been  able  to  find  in  the  county 
offices  is  in  a  book  of  naturalization  of  aliens,  and  is  as  follows: 

"State  of  Iowa,  Allamakee  County: 

''Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  9th  day  of  Jul}^  A.  D.  1849, 
Patrick  Keenan,  an  alien,  has  this  day  filed  in  this  office  his  declara- 
tion to  become  a  bona  fide  citizen  of  the  United  States,  took  and 
subscribed  an  oath  required  by  law. 

Stephen  Holcomb. 
Clerk  of  the  District  Court. 

There  is  nothing  whatever  to  indicate  in  what  part  of  the 
county  the  office  of  the  clerk  was  situated,  but  it  is  supposed  to 
have  been  at  the  old  mission,  or  in  that  vicinity. 

The  first  marriage  record  is  as  follows: 

"Be  it  remembered  that  upon  the  23d  day  of  November,  A.  D. 
1849,  that  a  license  was  issued  from  this  office  authorizing  any 
person  qualified  by  law  ^o  solemnize  a  marriage  between  Elias  J. 
Topliifand  Anna  Reed.  Stephen  Holcomb, 

"Clerk  of  the  District  Court." 

"This  certifies  that  on  the  6th  day  of  December,  A.  D.,  1849,  I, 
Grove  A.  Warner,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  united  the  above  named 
Elias  ,J.  Topliff,  aged  22  years,  and  Anna  Reed,  aged  18  years,  in 
the  holy  bonds  of  matrimony. 

Witness  my  hand  at  Allamakee  countv  this  6th  day  of  December, 
A.  D.  1849.  '   Grove  A.  Warner, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


386  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

After  these  early  specimens  there  appears  nothing  of  interest, 
except  similar  documents,  until  we  come  down  to  the  time  of  the 
establishment  of  the  County  Court,  in  1851,  the  very  first  records 
of  which  we  find  to  be  the  following: 

'"Minutes  of  the  County  Court  commenced  and  held  in  the 
town  of  Columbus,  the  ISth  of  September,  1851,  by  Elias  Top- 
liff,  County  Judge. 

"It  appearing  to  the  Court  that  no  tax  has  been  levied  for  the 
year  1851,  it  is  therefore  ordered  by  the  Court  that  the  following 
tax  be  levied  and  collected  to-wit:   . 

''For  State  revenue  3  mills  on  a  dollar,  and  for  poll  tax  50 
cents;  for  county  tax,  6  mills  on  a  dollar;  for  tax  for  support  of 
schools,  1^  mills;  road  poll  tax,  ^2;  road  property  tax,  1^  mills." 

At  the  October  term,  1851,  an  order  was  made  for  a  special 
election,  to  take  place  Nov.  18,  to  decide  whether  a  tax  be  levied 
to  raise  $250  for  the  purchase  of  suitable  books  for  the  use  of  the 
county,  and  a  county  seal.  At  such  special  election  all  vacancies 
in  the  several  township  offices  were  to  be  filled.  But  no  civil 
townships  had  been  organized  at  that  date,  as  near  as  we  can  as- 
certain. 

At  the  November  term,  on  motion  of  A.  J.  Ellis,  W.  C. 
Thompson  was  appointed  a  commissioner  to  view  the  location  of 
"Road  No,  2,"  proposed  to  be  established  from  near  Thompson's 
place  in  Lafayette  southwesterly,  "crossing  Paint  Creek  at  Riley 
Ellis'  grist  mill,  thence  southward  to  W.  F.  Rosses  on  the  divide 
between  Paint  Creek  and  Yellow  River,  thence  on  the  nearest  and 
most  practical  route  to  Esquire  Sutter's,  south  of  said  Yellow  Riv- 
er, thence  southward  to  county  line  between  Allamakee  and  Clay- 
ton counties,"  and  report  to  the  Court.  Mr.  Thompson  reported 
unfavorably  at  the  following  January  term,  and  another  route 
was  eventually  adopted.  It  was  while  on  this  prospecting  tour, 
and  not  expecting  to  meet  any  white  inhabitants  except  at  the 
points  mentioned,  that  Mr.  Thompson  ran  across  Reuben  Sence- 
baugh,  who  had  erected  a  log  hut  and  was  hard  at  work  making  a 
"clearing"  in  the  heavy  timber.  He  staid  over  night  with  him, 
and  tried  to  persuade  his  host  to  abandon  his  attempt  to  make  a 
farm  in  the  woods  and  take  a  claim  on  the  prairie  where  there 
was  an  immense  "clearing'"  already  prepared  by  nature,  but  Mr, 
Sencebaugh  was  too  used  to  a  woody  country  to  act  upon  his  ad- 
vice. He  also  discovered  J.  C.  Smith,  over  in  the  Yellow  River 
valley;  and  relates  how  pleasant  it  was  to  meet  a  white  man  in 
those  days  when  the  settlements  were  so  scattered. 

At  the  December  term,  1851,  Thos.  B.  Twiford  was  appointed  to 
view  proposed  road  No.  3,  "from  Columbus  up  the  valley  of  Vil- 
lage Creek  to  Geo.  C.  Shattuck's,  and  thence  to  the  Winne- 
shiek County  line,  near  James  Cutler's." 

Ezra  Reid  was  appointed  to  view  a  proposed  road  from  a  point 
at  or  near  where  the  State  road  from  Paint  Rock  to  Fort  Atkin- 


HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUifTY.  387 

son  crossed  the  west  line  of  the  county,  to  school  house  in  Ezra 
Reid's  district,  thence  [northerly  to  intersect  the  Lansing  road. 

County  warrant  No.  1  was  issued  December  2,  1851,  in  favor  of 
Lester  W.  Hayes,  for  services  as  sheriff  in  summoning  Grand  and 
Petit  Jury. 

Warrant  No.  2  was  issued  to  Wm.  M.  and  Jas.  C.  Smith  for 
laying  out  a  road  ''from  opposite  Monona  to  the  old  county  seat,  in 
June  18  0,"  and  "two  days  clerk  of  election  in  Franklin  Town- 
ship on  the  first  Monday  in  May,  1851." 

0.  S.  Conkey  gave  bond  as  deputy  sheriff  under  L.  W.  Hayes. 

At  the  January  term,  1852,  the  county  ofiicers  presented  their 
accounts  and  were  allowed  pay  as  follows: 

E.  ToplifF,  County  Judge,  to  January  1,  1852 $58  77 

Jas.  M.  Summer,  Recorder 58  77 

Thos.  B.  Twiford,  District  Clerk  (tor  seven  months) 64  92 

J.  W.  Remine,  Prosecuting  Attorney 15  00 

Jas  M.  Summer,  account  as  County  Commissioner 15  GO 

Jas.  M.  Sumner  produced  a  statement  of  his  accounts  as  Treas- 
urer and  Collector  as  follows: 

Whole  Amount  Charged. 

State  tax $195  23 

<Jounty  tax 497  96 

School  tax 97  61 

Road  tax 527  61 

Amount  Collected  to  tJiis  Time. 

State $  97  21 

County 232  4:^ 

School 48  60 

Road 96  60 

Report  filed  for  thorough  examination  at  the  next  March  term. 

At  the  April  (1852)  term,  we  find  a  warrant  was  issued  to  0.  S. 
Conkey  for  services  as  Deputy  County  Recorder.  D.  W.  Low 
resigned  as  Deputy  Assessor  May  7th;  John  Sutter  appointed 
Deput}^  Assessor  by  Sheriff  Hayes. 

June  term,  ordered  that  Columbus  town  lots  be  advertised  for 
sale,  on  the  terms,  one-third  down,  balance  in  one  year,  and  the 
proceeds  be  applied  to  the  erection  of  suitable  county  buildings  at 
that  place,  then  the  county  seat. 

At  the  July  term  the  county  officials,  it  appears,  found  them- 
selves entitled  to  a  small  increase  of  back  pay,  as  follows: 

"It  appearing  from  the  census  returns  of  1851  which  have  re- 
cently been  produced  by  the  Sheriff  that  the  population  of  this 
county  on  the  first  day  of  August,  1851,  was  HIT,  it  was  ad- 
judged by  this  Court  that  the  salaried  county  officers  were  entitled 
to  receive  |200  per  annum  instead  of  |150  as  had  been  hitherto 
supposed;  consequently  it  is  ordered  that  they  be  permitted  to 
draw  upon  the  county  for  as  much  as  will  bring  their  salaries  to 
the  legal  allowance  of  $200  per  annum. 


388 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUifTY. 


At  the  August  term  T.  B.  Tvviford  was  appointed  deputy  As- 
sessor by  Sheriff  Thompson.  Who  was  the  County  Assessor  at 
this  time  we  have  been  unable  to  ascertain.  We  find  several  ref- 
erences to  a  deputy  Assessor,  and  at  the  July  term,  1853,  "Asses- 
sors all  present  but  those  of  Taylor,  Fayette,  and  Paint  Creek 
townships."  In  the  election  register  we  find  that  John  B.  Sut- 
ter was  elected  County  Assessor  at  the  April  election,  1857;  but 
this  is  the  only  record  in  any  shape,  of  such  an  election. 

September  14th,  1852,  ''petitions  were  presented  by  P.  P.  Cady, 
John  S.  Clark,  Benjamin  Clark  and  Thos.  B.  Twiford,  asking  to 
be  discharged  from  their  liability  on  the  official  bond  of  James  M. 
Sumner,  as  Recorder  and  Treasurer  of  Allamakee  County,  and  the 
Court  being  satisfied  that  the  petitioners  had  good  ground  of  ap- 
prehension, ordered  that  a  notice  be  served  on  the  said  James  M. 
Sumner  requiring  him  to  file  new  bonds  by  the  25th  day  of  Sept. 
inst.,  or  his  office  would  be  declared  vacated."  What  these 
grounds  of  apprehension  were  will  sufficiently  appear  from  the 
fact  that  one  of  the  very  first  indictments  found  by  the  first  grand 
jury,  at  the  first  term  of  District  Court,  at  Columbus,  July  12th, 
1852,  was  against  Jas.  M.  Sumner,  for  wilfully  neglecting  and  re- 
fusing to  make  report,  etc.,  and  it  was  ordered  that  process  issue 
against  defendant,  returnable  at  next  term  of  court. 

On  the  23d  of  September  Sumner  saw  fit  to  resign  his  office, 
and  the  vacancy  was  shortly  after  filled  by  the  appointment  of 
James  Bell,  who  held  the  office  but  a  few  months  and  at  a 
later  year  went  to  Tennessee,  and  has  not' been  heard  from  since 
the  war  that  we  know  of. 

On  the  26th  day  of  November,  1852,  an  order  was  made  that 
notices  should  be  issued  as  follows: 

"Notice  is  hereby  given  that  a  contract  for  building  a  court 
house  on  the  County  square  of  Allamakee  county,  in  the  village 
of  Columbus,  in  said  county,  will  be  let  to  the  lowest  bidder  on 
the  fifteenth  day  of  December  next,  at  ten  o'clock,  at  my  office  in 
said  village.  Approved  securities  will  be  required  for  the  faithful 
performance  of  said  contract.  Sealed  proposals  will  be  received 
until  that  day.  Any  person  wishing  said  contract  will  be  furnish- 
ed with  a  plan  and  specifications  of  said  building  by  calling  at  my 
office. 

"Given  under  my  hand  this  26th  day  of  November,  A.  D.,  1852. 
[Signed]  Elias  Topliff, 

County  Judge." 

On  the  day  specified  the  contract  was  let  to  Thos.  B.  Twiford, 
Avitli  W.  C.  Thompson  and  J.  M.  Rose  as  security,  his  being  the 
lowest  bid  with  security.  The.  amount  of  the  contract  is  not 
stated. 

The  following  spring  the  county  seat  was  located  at  Waukon, 
as  elsewhere  narrated,  and  to  accommodate  the  District  Court, 
which  was  to  sit  in  June,  the  residents  of  that  place  put  up  a 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUlsTY.  389 

temporary  court  house  in  the  shape  of  a  small  log  cabin,  in  which 
the  court  was  held.  And  at  the  September  term  of  the  County 
Court  for  that  year  a  contract  was  made  for  a  new  court  house, 
as  follows: 

''On  this  6th  day  of  September,  A.  D.  1853,  being  the  day  (by 
previous  arrangement)  for  entering  into  a  contract  for  putting  up 
a  county  building,  the  proposition  of  William  Ramsdall  being 
the  lowest  bid,  it  was  ordered  by  the  court  (by  said  Ramsdall  giv- 
ing sufficient  security)  that  the  said  William  Ramsdall  should 
have  the  contract,  which  contract  was  entered  into  for  the  amount 
of  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars." 

This  was  the  first  of  the  two  small  frame  buildings  on  the  east 
'side  of  Allamakee  street,  the  second  of  which  was  built  along- 
side of  it  in  1857.  About  this  time  the  town  lots  of  Waukon 
were  ofi'ered  for  sale. 

At  this  term  a  license  was  granted  to  Wm.  C.  Thompson  to 
establish  and  run  a  ferry  between  a  point  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  generally  known  as  the  "Red  House  Landing," 
(in  the  south  part  of  Section  22,  Fairview  township),  and  the  east 
side  of  said  river,  at  or  near  Prairie  du  Chien. 

October  2d  a  license  was  granted  to  Jas.  Brookman  to  ferry 
across  the  Iowa  river  on  the  southeast  Cjuarter  of  section  15, 
townsliip  100,  range  4. 

TOWNSHIPS. 

The  county  records  are  very  incomplete  as  to  the  organization 
of  the  civil  townships,  and  in  some  instances  further  light  is 
thrown  on  the  subject  by  consulting  the  township  records.  The 
substance  of  all  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain  in  the  limited  time 
at  our  disposal  will  be  found  as  follows: 

Post  Township  was  organized  in  1851. 

At  the  February — 1852 — term  of  the  County  Court,  Judge  Top- 
liff,  a  petition  was  presented  jjraying  for  the  organization  of  the 
township  of  Lansing  and  defining  its  boundaries. 

At  the  March  term,  1852,  a  petition  was  presented  for  the  or- 
ganization of  the  township  of  Makee,  and  in  accordance  there- 
with a  commission  was  issued  to  Israel  Devine  to  call  an  organiz- 
ing election  on  the  first  Monday  in  April  following. 

At  the  same  term  a  commission  was  issued  to  Ezra  Reid  to  call 
an  election  for  the  organization  of  Ludlow  township. 

Also  a  commission  to  call  an  election  on  the  first  day  in  April 
Union  Prairie  township  for  its  organization.  The  court  record 
fails  to  give  the  name  of  the  party  to  Avhom  the  commission  was 
issued,  but  by  those  who  recollect  the  circumstances  it  is  said  to 
have  been  Geo.  Merrill. 

A  commission  was  issued  to  Ensign  Chilson  to  organize  Union 
Citij  township,  by  an  election  on  the  first  Monday  in  April. 


390  HISTORY    or   ALLAMAKEE   COUKTY. 

Lafayette  township  was  bounded  and  commission  issued  L.  W. 
Low,  to  call  an  organizing  election  at  the  house  ot  Thos.  B.  Twi- 
ford  on  the  first  Monday  in  April. 

At  the  April  term,  1852,  a  petition  for  the  organization  of 
township  96,  range  4,  was  rejected  "for  reasons  too  numerous  to 
mention." 

The  course  of  Paint  Creek  was  officially  recognized  as  the  di- 
vision line  between  Linton  and  Taylor.  A  petition  for  the  divis- 
ion of  Linton  township  was  rejected. 

In  the  record  of  the  July  term  there  appears  a  beginning  of 
an  entry  as  follows:  "Bunker  Hill  Township."  No  township  of 
that  name  was  ever  organized,  but  the  uncompleted  entry  sug- 
gests that  an  attempt  was  made  to  organize  Linton  under  that  name. 

At  the  December  term,  1853,  we  find  that  boundaries  were  es- 
tablished for  the  following  townships:  Linton,  Taylor,  Paint 
Creek,  Jefferson,  Franklin  and  Post.  All  these  townships  had 
held  elections  previous  to  this  date  however,  as  we  have  returns 
from  each  of  the  twelve  so  far  mentioned,  at  the  county  election 
of  Aug.  1st,  1853,  but  no  account  of  election  of  township  offi- 
cers. 

At  the  March  term,  1855,  the  boundaries  of  Hanover  township 
were  defined,  and  a  warrant  issued  to  Marshall  Cass  to  organize. 

Fairvieiv  bounded  and  ordered  to  be  organized,  same  term. 

loiva  township  the  same,  and  warrant  issued. 

May  7,  1855,  the  name  of  Paint  Creek  township  was  changed 
to  Waterville;  but  two  years  later,  March  2,  1857,  it  was  again 
changed  to  Paint  Creek,  upon  petition  of  its  citizens. 

At  the  March,  1856,  term  of  county  court  an  order  was  issued 
for  the  organization  of 'what  is  now  Center  township,  under  the 
name  of  Village  Creek.  0.  Deremo  was  the  organizing  officer, 
and  "the  first  election  was  held  at  the  house  of  Eric  Sund,  8th 
of  April,  1856.  Officers  chosen  as  follows:  Trustees,  E.  Sund, 
C.  J.  Drake,  Thomas  Gordan;  Clerk,  A.  Drake;  Assessor,  0.  Dere- 
mo.    Justices  of  the  Peace,  Thomas  Smith,  A.  Drake." 

According  to  Mr.  Deremo,  who  has  taken  pains  to  investigate 
and  look  up  these  matters,  the  following  are  some  of  the  "first 
things"  of  Center  township: 

"The  first  funeral  was  that  of  Jos.  Reynolds,  a  soldier  of  the 
war  of  1812.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  Howard.  He  en- 
tered the  N.  W.  and  S,  W.  sec.  33,  and  was  buried  thereon. 

"The  first  church  was  built  by  the  Lutherans;  it  was  commenced 
in  1857  and  finished  some  years  later,  and  stood  where  the  east 
church  now  stands. 

"The  first  school  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  E.  Howard, 
May  14th,  1855,  J.  Reed,  was  secretary. 

"The  first  school  was  taught  in  the  winter  of  1855-56  by  Miss 
L.  Stillman.  The  school-house  was  a  log  building  situated  in 
what  is  now  sub-district  No.  4. 


*^        ;  -:p-i 


^j\h^ 


TH  ORK 

PUBl.  ARY 


A6TOH,    : AND    - 

TILDEN   FOUNDATIONS 


1 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  393 

'"The  first  frame  house  was  built  by  a  man  named  Streeter,  on 
the  farm  now  owned  by  P.  Swenson,  in  1850  or  1851." 

Frencli  Creek  and  Waterloo  townships  were  also  ordered  to  be 
organized  during  the  March  term  of  1856;  and  these  make  up  the 
list  of  the  eighteen  townships  in  Allamakee  county. 

HISTORY    OF    PAINT    CREEK    TOWNSHIP. 

The  following  history  of  Paint  Creek  township,  prepared  by 
John  S.  Bryson,  will  be  of  interest  in  this  connection,  and  it  is 
to  be  regretted  that  no  similar  sketches  of  the  other  townships 
have  ever  been  written. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  May,  1850,  James  Bryson  and 
family  arrived  at  what  was  then  called  McGregor's  landing,  now 
the  city  of  McGregor,  with  teams  and  baggage,  and  at  once 
started  for  Garnavillo,  the  county  seat  of  Clayton  county,  seeking 
a  home.  After  resting  here  two  days  they,  in  company  with  part 
of  Robert  Moore's  family,  who  had  made  a  claim  on  Paint  Creek, 
started  for  Allamakee  county,  following  the  trail  via  what  is  now 
Monona,  then  called  Sodom  in  consequence  of  its  whisky  trade 
with  the  Indians,  then  down  Hickory  creek  to  Clark's  ford,  on  the 
Yellow  river,  then  north  to  the  "old  stake"  in  Jefferson  town- 
ship, now  the  farm  owned  by  Elias  Pettit  and  a  short  distance 
east  of  his  house,  and  down  on  to  Paint  creek,  where  they  camped 
May  11th,  1850. 

"Mr.  Bryson  located  on  Sections  17  and  18  where  Thomas  and 
Robert  Moore  and  John  Ghraim  had  made  claims  about  nine 
months  previous,  while  the  Indians  were  yet  camped  there  for 
their  winter's  hunt,  this  being  a  favorite  hunting  and  camping 
place  for  them.  They  were  gone  when  the  Bryson  family  came 
in,  but  the  skeletons  of  their  wigwams  remained,  and  the  brands 
and  ashes  of  their  camp  fires  showed  that  the  uew  settlers  occu- 
pied as  they  departed. 

"Five  of  the  wigwams  or  teepees  stood  close  by  the  finest 
spring  on  Paint  Creek.  This  spring  was  covered  with  a  blanket 
of  moss  from  two  to  six  inches  thick,  showing  that  it  had  been  a 
camping  spot  for  a  long  time,  and  the  wild  deer  dare  not  come  to 
eat  the  moss,  but  they  did  the  winter  following.  We  cleared  the 
most  of  this  off  the  head  of  the  springs  and  the  water  boiled  up 
from  ten  to  twelve  inches,  flowing  over  the  beautiful  green  moss 
as  clear  as  crystal  and  as  cold  as  if  it  came  through  a  mountain  of 
ice. 

"We  found  here  many  flint  arrow  heads,  two  tomahawks  or 
hatchets,  one  dead  Indian  pony  and  many  buffalo  and  elk  horns. 

"The  Indians  had  for  years  dug  up  the  wild  sod  in  the  valley  in 
patches  and  raised  a  crop  of  what  might  be  called  'squaw  corn', 
but  we  broke  the  first  sod  on  what  is  now  Paint  Creek,  on  the  15th 
of  May,  1850. 

35 


394  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

"The  Government  put  the  land  into  market  at  one  dollar  and  a 
quarter  per  acre  about  the  first  of  October  following,  and  found 
us  with  more  claimed  than  we  had  money  to  pay  for,  but  Mr. 
Wm.  H.  Morrison,  who  lived  near  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  having 
been  appointed  as  agent  to  select  a  portion  of  the  500,000  acres 
granted  by  the  General  Government  to  Iowa  for  school  purposes, 
came  around  and  we  entered  our  claim  as  school  land;  this  helped 
us  as  well  as  many  more  poor  settlers  by  giving  us  time  to  get 
the  money  and  make  our  payments  without  submitting  to  the  ex- 
tortions of  the  land  sharks  as  the  settlers  called  those  who  specu- 
lated in  land  and  reaped  a  rich  harvest,  at  the  expense  of  the  hard 
working  pioneer. 

''In  the  summer  of  1850,  a  large  number  of  Norwegians  came  in 
from  Wisconsin  and  settled  on  the  prairie  north  of  the  creek 
among  whom  were  Swen  Enderson  Hesla,  Ole  0.  Storla,  Ole 
Grimsgaart,  Thomas  Anderson,  Lars  Knudtson,  Nels  Tolfson,  Ole 
Severson,  Bennett  Harmonson,  who  lived  in  their  canvas  covered 
Avagons  until  they  could  build  something  to  get  into,  and  the 
most  of  these  families  are  well-to-do  farmers  in  Paint  Creek 
to-day. 

Theodore  and  William  Moose  and  Wm.  McCoy  came   in   about 
the  same  time.     James  R.  Conway,  Reuben  Seucebaugh,  and  oth- 
ers came  in  very  soon  after  and  settled  on  the  south  side  of  the 
creek.     In  the  summer  of  1850  a  family  named  Ellis,   from   Linn 
County,  Iowa,  came  in  and  selected  mill  sites  on  the  creek  at  what 
is  now  Beumer's  mill,  and  one  of  them,  Riley  Ellis,  located  a  mile 
site  just  around  the  bend  below  Waterville,   known  as  Peter  Iver- 
son's  mill,  when  he  put  a  pair  of  two   foot   French   buhr   mill- 
stone on  a  few  logs  built  over  the  creek,  which  were  kept  running 
all  winter  cracking  corn  for  all  who  came.     The  buhrs  stood   out 
of  doors  all    winter  and  the  next  spring — 1852 — they  were  inclosed 
and  a  small  bolt  made  of  book  muslin  was  attached  for  making 
buckwheat  flour.     Then  we  lived  sumptuously,  substituting  buck- 
wheat cakes  and  wild  honey  for  our  former  diet  of  pork  and   corn 
dodger,  and  people  came  from  all    quarters  with  their  little  grists, 
and  in  all  sorts  of  conveyances,  some  from  what  is  now  Waukon, 
some  from  the  Iowa  River.     It  was  here  I  first   saw  Scott   Shat- 
tuck,  late  from  California,  and  when  I  first  saw  him  he  held  in 
one  hand  a  piece  of  raw  pickled  pork  and  corn  dodger,  and  in  the 
other  hand  a  large   knife  with   which  he   was   cutting   alternate 
slices  of  each  for  his  luncheon.     This  was  the  first  grist  mill  ever 
built  in  the  county,  if  it  had  capacity  enough  to  be  called  a   mill. 
I  run  this  mill  the  most  of  the  time  the  first  eight  months.     Not 
long  after  this  Nathaniel  Beebe  commenced    getting   out   timber 
for  what  is  now  known  as  the  Waterville  mill,  and    later   Colonel 
Spooner  and   Mr.  Carpenter   came   in    and  joined  him,    and  the 
mill  was   built   and   started  in   the    winter  of    1854   and    1855. 
They  also  opened  a  store  in  the  spring  of  1855  near  the  mill.     In 


HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  395 

the  spring  of  1851,  Thomas  B.  Twiford,  of  county  seat  notoriety, 
and  Wm.  McCoy,  built  the  Thomas  Ellis  saw  mill  above  where 
Beumer's  mill  now  stands,  and  it  did  a  good  business  until 
18G0. 

"By  this  time  many  settlers  had  come  in,  the  Norwegians  gen- 
erally settling  on  the  north  side  of  the  creek,  the  Irish  on  the 
south  side,  with  a  few  Americans  and  other  nationalities  sprinkled 
in  and  among  them,  but  the  large  per  cent,  of  settlers  were  of  for- 
eign birth, 

"The  county  records  fail  to  show  when  the  township  Avas  organ- 
ized by  the  election  of  township  officers,  but  there  is  an  entry  in 
them,  dated  December  term,  1353,  as  follows:  'Paint  Creek 
Township  was  organized  so  as  to  conform  to  the  congressional 
township  of  town  ninety-seyeu,  range  four.  The  Trustees  gave 
the  township  its  present  name,  and  the  township  records  show 
the  first  election  to  be  held  in  Riley  Ellis'  mill,  where  the  corn 
cracker  was,  August,  1852,  James  Bryson,  George  Watkins,  and 
Reuben  Sencebaugh  being  judges  of  election,  and  William  McCoy 
and  Thomas  G.  Ellis  were  the  clerks.  The  Trustees  appointed 
William  McCoy,  Township  Clerk.  These  are  the  earliest  dates  our 
records  show. 

"The  first  election  was  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  November, 
1852,  and  was  the  presidential  election.  The  third  election  was  on 
the  fourth  of  April,  1853,  and  is  the  first  record  I  find  of  the  elec- 
tion of  township  oflicers,  being  for  Trustees:  James  Bryson,  An- 
drew Mitchell  and  Reuben  Sencebaugh;  for  Township  Clerk, 
Wm.  McCoy;  for  Assessor,  James  Bryson;  for  Constables.  John 
Bryson  and  John  Stull;  for  Justices  of  the  Peace,  James  Bryson 
and  Reuben  Sencebaugh.  At  this  election  there  were  cast  for 
county  seat,  fifty-eight  votes,  of  which  Columbus  had  forty-nine 
and  Waukon  nine.  The  trustees  held  tWo  meetings  in  the  win- 
ter of  1852—3,  one  to  appraise  and  divide  section  sixteen,  and  the 
other  to  divide  the  township  into  road  districts,  doing  this  work 
so  well  that  the  district  remains  the  same  to  this  date. 

"In  1856  Mr.  James  Beebe  built  a  large  frame  hotel  in  Water- 
ville,  capable  of  accommodating  all  the  guests  that  a  town  of  one 
thousand  inhabitants  would  furnish,  but  it  failed  for  want  of 
patronage,  and  its  builder  is  now  in  New  Mexico.  In  1857  was 
organized  in  this  hotel  the  Prairie  du  Chien  &  Mankato  Railroad 
Company,  with  the  Hon  John  T.  Clark,  now  of  Postville,  for 
President.  The  object  of  this  company  was  to  build  a  railroad 
from  the  Mississippi  at  Johnsonsport,  connecting  there  with  the 
railroad  from  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  running  up  the  ci-eek  to 
Waukon,  thence  west  to  Calmar  and  on  to  Austin  and  Mankato, 
Minnesota.  Engineer  Wm.  W.  Hungerford  was  the  active  man 
in  the  enterprise,  and  devotel  considerable  time  to  it,  making 
surveys  and  locating  the  line  from  the  starting  point  on  the  river 
to  the  State  line  in  Howard  County.     Most  of  the  resident  right- 


396  HISTORY    OF    ALl.AMAKEE    COUNTY. 

of-way  on  the  entire  line  was  secured,  and  til)out  forty  thousand 
dollars  in  subscriptions  and  donations  to  the  cajntal  stock,  the  de- 
sign being  to  donate  this  to  the  railroad  company  running  into 
Prairie  du  Chien  if  they  would  extend  their  line  across  the  river  and 
cover  the  route.  The  enterprise  failed,  the  extension  being  made 
via  Bloody  Run  and  Monona,  in  Clayton  County. 

"In  the  spring  of  1857,  Spooner  and  Beebe  started  at  Waterville 
the  first  tannery  ever  built  in  the  county.  They  purchased  a 
recipe  for  tanning  with  japonica,  using  it  with  hot  liquor,  thus 
tanning  the  hides  in  a  few  days  so  that  they  could  put  them  on 
the  market  and  get  returns  very  much  quicker  then  by  the  old 
way  of  tan-bark  and  cold  water.  They  run  their  business  about 
two  years,  but  not  proving  profitable  they  abandoned  it." 


CHAPTER  VI. 


The  Villages  of  Alia  ma  kee  Count  ij;  Lijhrand^  Lansing,  Winfield, 
Waukon^  Columbus,  Hardin.  Smitlificld,  Postrille,  Milton,  Vil- 
lage Creek,  Ion,  Rossville,  Volneg,  Cleveland,  Johnsonsport,  Al- 
lamakee, Nezekaiv,  Chantrij,  Alton,  Buckland,  Manchester,  New 
Alhin,  Mgron.  Dorchester,  Lafayette,  Paint  Rock,  Waterville, 
New  Galena,  Wexford,   Union  City. 

Lyhrand. — The  first  platted  town  in  the  county,  w^as  founded  by 
Jacob  Lybrand,  who  came  from  West  Union  in  the  spring  of  1850 
or  1851.  It  is  located  on  section  15,  Post  Township,  and  was 
platted  May  3,  1851,  from  a  survey  made  April  1st  by  S.  P. 
Hicks,  Deputy  County  Surveyor.  Hiram  Jones  and  Jacob  Ly- 
brand were  the  owners  of  the  land,  and  their  acknowledgment  was 
taken  before  Elias  Toplift',  Justice  of  the  Peace.  Being  on  the 
main  traveled  road  between  McGregor's  Landing  and  Decorah,  it 
soon  became  a  place  of  considerable  importance  for  those  days. 
Mr.  Lybrand  opened  a  store,  and  a  post  office  was  established 
there  in  1851,  but  was  discontinued  a  few  years  later.  The  old 
"double  trail"  to  the  Indian  "Decorah  village"  ran  through  this 
settlement  from  "Hickory  Creek"  at  Hardin,  and  crossed  the  Yel- 
low Rivgr  at  what  was  called  "the  dry  sink,"  from  near  which  one 
of  the  mainly  traveled  branches  diverged  towards  the  north,  pass- 
ing west  of  Wankon  and  extending  to  two  Indian  villages  in  the 
Iowa  valley  near  the  mouth  of  French  Creek.  Mr.  Lybrand  was 
a  bachelor,  of  somewhat  eccentric  habits,  and  was  widely  known 
as  a  remarkably  honest  and  conscientious  man.  He  remained  here 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAiMAKEE    COUNTY.  397 

a  few  years  when  he  removed  to  Minnesota  and  located  a  town 
which  he  named  St.  Nichohis,  on  Lake  Albert  Lea.  The  town  of 
Albert  Lea  got  the  start  of  his  place,  however,  for  county  seat, 
and  he  went  to  Alexandria,  that  state,  from  which  he  was  driven 
by  the  Indian  outbreak  of  1862,  and  returned  to  Allamakee  and 
Fayette  counties  for  a  couple  of  years.  Again  going  to  Minne- 
sota, he  located  the  town  of  fled  Wood  Falls,  but  finally  re- 
turned toAlexandria,  where  he  died  Jan.  21,  1875,  upwards  of 
seventy  years  of  age. 

Lansing — Was  the  second  village  surveyed  and  platted,  in  1851, 
John  Haney  and  Horace  H.  Houghton  proprietors.  The  records 
declare  that  the  plat  was  filed  Jan  7,  1852,  and  acknowledged  not 
until  Dec.  30,  1852,  but  this  is  generally  conceded  to  be  an  error, 
and  that  the  latter  date  should  be  '51. 

Winjield— This  name  passed  out  of  existence  about  the  year  *60, 
it  being  changed  to  Harper's  Ferry,  by  an  act  of  thf  Legislature. 
It  was  platted  May  8,  1852,  by  Wra.  11.  Hall  and  Dre  den  W.  H. 
Howard,  before  W.  F.  Ross,  Justice  of  the  Peace.  This  was  one 
of  the  places  voted  on  for  county  seat  in  1851,  under  the  name  of 
Vailsville.  At  one  time  it  promised  to  become  a  place  of  no  little 
importance,  a  secondary  channel  of  the  Mississippi,  or  large 
slough — Harper's  Slough — permitting  large  steamers  to  land 
there  except  in  very  low  water.  The  site  is  one  of  the  finest  along 
the  river,  being  a  level  plateau  above  high  water  mark,  ex- 
tending back  nearly  a  mile  to  the  foot  of  the  blufi^  and  three 
miles  up  and  down  the  river.  It  is  still  a  good  village,  to-day, 
with  a  popluation  of  about  a  hundred  and  fifty. 

Waukon— The  original  town  plat  was  filed  for  record  December 
3,  1853,  by  the  county,  as  the  county  seat — which  it  is  to-day. 

Columbus — The  next  in  order,  was  also  formerly  an  important 
town  in  prospective,  and  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  the 
county  seat  about  two  years,  from  1851  to  1853.  A  few  little  old 
buildings,  out  of  repair,  comprise  all  that  remains  of  its  original 
glory.  Its  location  is  on  the  south  side  of  the  mouth  of  Village 
Creek,  and  there  is  but  little  room  for  a  town.  It  is  sometimes 
called  Capoli.  Leonard  B.  Hodges,  Thomas  B.  Twiford,  and 
Aaron  Chesebro,  had  it  surveyed  and  platted  June  30,  1852.  Elias 
Topliff  also  had  a  proprietary  interest  in  the  place  at  one  time. 
North  Capoli  is  on  the  north  of  the  creek  and  adjoins  South 
Lansing.  It  was  platted  April  16,  1860,  by  Elias  Toplilf  and  J. 
M.  Rose,  ''Trustees  of  the  Columbus  Land  Company  No.  1." 
Twiford  and  Jones,  Alex  McGregor,  and  others  of  McGregor's 
Landing,  we  believe,  were  the  original  locators  of  this  village  site 
and  landing.  L.  B.  Hodges  and  a  man  by  name  of  Carpenter 
opened  a  land  office  here  at  an  early  day.  Hodges  is  now  (or  was 
recently)  Commissioner  of  Forestry  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  and 
has  also,  we  believe,  had  charge  of  the  setting  out  of  trees  along 
the  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad.     Twiford  went  to  Min- 


398  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

nesota,  where  he  located  and  laid  out  the  town  of  Chatfield,  and 
became  quite  well  to  do,  but  lost  his  wealth  in  the  crisis  of  1857, 
and  is  now  in  Kansas. 

Hardin — Is  located  (the  original  plat)  partly  in  this  county  and 
partly  in  Clayton.  The  owners  at  the  time  of  platting — January 
9,  1854 — were  Leonard  B.  Hodges,  in  Allamakee,  and  Joseph  and 
Almirah  Collins,  over  the  line.  This  was  a  point  of  some  note 
for  a  number  of  years  prior  to  this  date,  it  being  one  of  the  four 
post  offices  in  Allamakee  County  in  1851,  the  others  being  Post- 
ville,  Lansing  and  Tom  Corwin  (later  Johnsonsport).  The  post- 
master at  that  date  was  L.  B.  Hodges.     Additions  were  platted  in 

1856,  Hardin  Center;  in  1857,  East  Hardin,  and  in  1859;  but  were 
mostly  vacated,  and  the  village  is  no  larger  now  than  thirty  years 
ago.  There  was  at  one  time  a  large  steam  grist  mill  here,  located 
on  the  Clayton  side  of  the  line. 

Smithjuld. — N.  W.  |,  Sec.  21,  in  Franklin  township.  Platted 
February  11, 1854;  acknowledged  before  John  R.  Wilson,  J.  P.,  by 
Wm.  M.  and  Sarah  Smith,  and  Austin  and  Harriet  Smith.  This 
is  the  site  of  one  of  the  many  excellent  mills  along  the  course  of 
Yellow  river. 

PostviUe. — Was  not  platted  until  June  1,  1853,  although  its 
settlement  dates  from  1841,  as  before  stated.  The  pi:oprietors  of 
the  town  plat  were  Mrs.  Zeruiah  and  George  S.  Hay  ward. 

Alilton. — On  Section  18,  Lafayette  township,  was  laid  out  by 
Jesse  M.  Rose,  December  7,  1854.  He  it  was  who  here  built  the 
first  flouring  mill  in  the  county,  in  1853.     Afterwards,  in  March, 

1857,  Mr.  Rose  had  another  tract  of  land,  lying  to  the  east  of 
Milton,  divided  into  lots  and  blocks,  and  named  it  after  the  stream 
— Village  Creek.  In  the  latter  year,  also,  September  7,  Eldridge 
and  Marilda  Howard  (Mr.  Howard  was  a  Methodist  divine)  platted 
a  tract  of  land  adjoining  the  original  town  plat  of  Milton  on  the 
north,  and  called  it  Howard  Center.  All  three  surveys  are  now 
spoken  of  as  one  town,  ViUafje  Creek,  which  was  the  name  of  the 
postoffice  when  established  there  about  1857.  An  efl:brt  was 
made  to  have  it  called  Milton,  but  there  was  already  an  office 
of  that  name  in  the  State.  Hon.  L.  E.  Fellows,  now  of  Lansing, 
was  the  first  postmaster.  Its  population  in  1880  was  only  167, 
but  it  is  an  important  manufacturing  community,  possessing  sev- 
eral flouring  mills  and  a  woolen  mill,  which  will  be  alluded  to 
under  the  head  of  manufactures. 

Ion. — In  Linton  township,  was  surveyed  and  platted  by  D.  W. 
Adams,  January  1,  1855,  for  Sewall  Goodridge,  Chas.  W.  Cutter 
and  Abram  J.  Kennison.  Population  in  1880  was  fifty-five.  This 
place  was  sometimes  called  Bunker  Hill. 

JRossville. — The  first  settlement  here  was  made  in  1850  or  1851 
by  Wm.  F.  Ross.  It  was  laid  out  May  31,  1855,  by  David  and 
Catherine  E.  Skinner,  Wm.  F.  and  Sarah  I.  Ross,  Elias  and  Mary 
A.  Hatfield,  in  accordance   with   survey   made   by   Joel   Dayton, 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  399 

county  surveyor.  May  15,  and  acknowledged  before  Jackson 
Mitchell,  J.  P.  This  village  was  at  one  time  an  aspirant  for 
county  seat  honors,  but  failing  therein  its  prospects  were  blighted. 
A  steam  saw -mill  was  among  its  notable  features  in  the  early 
days.  There  are  now  three  church  buildings — Baptist,  Presbyte- 
rian and  Methodist, — a  good  school-house,  hotel,  and  two  stores. 

Volney — On  the  eastern  line  of  Franklin  township  was  laid  out 
by  Samuel  and  Margaret  Biggs,  February  12th,  1856,  in  accord- 
ance with  a  survey  made  the  previous  October.  Thos.  Crawford, 
J.  P.,  took  the  acknowledgment.  We  have  not  been  able  to 
ascertain  the  date  of  its  first  settlement.  The  Volney  flouring 
mills  have  always  been  among  the  best  in  the  county.  Popula- 
tion in  1880,  93. 

Cleveland. — In  the  extreme  southeastern  corner  of  Post  town- 
ship, is  one  of  the  places  that  existed  only  in  prospective,  though 
the  land  was  laid  out  in  town  lots  March  3,  1856.  by  James  M. 
and  Marie  Ann  Arnold,  who  settled  there  about  1850,  or  '51.  It 
is  near  Reuben  Smith's  location  of  '49.  John  Laughlin  was  the 
Justice  before  whom  they  acknowledged. 

Johnsonsport — At  the  mouth  of  Paint  Creek,  was  the  earliest 
steamboat  landing  in  the  county  and  is  supposed  to  be  the  place 
of  the  first  permanent  settlement  outside  of  the  Old  Mission,  the 
circumstances  of  which  have  been  related  in  another  place.  Of 
course  it  was  an  important  point  in  the  early  days,  though  but  few 
houses  were  ever  erected  there.  In  1851  there  was  a  postofiice 
at  this  point  called  "Tom  Corwin,"  with  Armstrong  Glover  as 
postmaster.  It  was  laid  out  as  a  town  April  3,  1856,  by  Henry 
and  Mary  Johnson,  Armstrong  and  Emily  Glover,  Geo.  L.  and 
Ann  Miller,  Wm.  F.  and  S.  I.  Ross,  Michael  and  Marv  Clark,  and 
M.  Rafter.  Geo.  L.  Miller,  J.  P.  This  was  on  the  N"'  fr  |  of  sec- 
tion 15,  Fairview  township,  and  was  surveyed  by  Joel  Dayton, 
County  Surveyor. 

Allamakee — Lay  to  the  north  of  and  adjoining  Johnsonsport,  on 
fractions  5  and  6,  section  10,  and  was  platted  in  February,  1858, 
by  Wm.  W.  Hungerford,  County  Surveyor.  The  later  postoffice 
of  Allamakee  was  some  two  miles  further  down  the  river.  After 
the  settlement  of  Lansing,  Columbus  and  Harper's  Ferry,  this 
point  dwindled  into  insignifigance,  and  with  the  exception  of  a 
time  when  it  was  brought  to  notice  as  the  river  end  of  the  mythi- 
cal Prairie  du  Chien  and  Mankato  Railroad,  remained  in  that 
condition  until  the  construction  of  the  Waukon  and  Mississippi 
Railroad,  in  1877,  again  brought  it  into  prominence,  but  its  origin- 
al names  are  now  lost  in  the  postoffice  of  '^Waukon  Junction." 

Nezekaw — Is  one  of  those  mythical  towns  whose  very  site'is  ut- 
terly unknown  to  a  majority  of  our  inhabitants,  and  whose  name 
is  almost  forgotten  except  when  discovered  on  the  map.  It  existed 
(only  on  paper)  to  the  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow  River, 
on  fractions  3  and  4,  section  34.  Fairview  Township.     It  was  laid 


400  HlfeTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

out  December  12,  1856,«  by  Chester  N.  Case,  I.  N.  Bull,  Lawrence 
Case,  F,  I.  Miller.  H.  L.  Dousman,  B.  W.  Brisbois,  Preston  Lod- 
wick,  and  F.  C.  Miller. 

C/iantnj — Is  another  of  the  old  town  sites  that  have  almost  faded 
from  the  memory  of  all  except  those  who  are  familiar  with  the 
records.  It  was  laid  out  by  Augustus  French,  Aug.  Stt,  1857,  on 
the  northeast  fraction  of  section  12,  Lafayette  Towmship,  five  or 
six  miles  below  Lansing,  and  doubtless  had  hopes  of  one  time  be- 
coming a  useful  and  perhaps  important  river  point. 

AUo7i--Is  still  another  of  the  hopeful  young  villages  of  the  fif- 
ties, which  are  nearly  forgotten.  Its  situation  was  in  the  Iowa 
valley,  on  section  1  in  French  Creek  Township,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  stream  of  that  name.  It  was  platted  Jan.  5,  1858,  by  W. 
W.  and  Nancy  Woodmansee. 

BnckJand — Is  the  site  of  Buckland  Mills,  and  is  located  on  the 
Yellow  River,  very  near  the  center  of  Linton  Township.  Laid 
out  April  28, 1858,  by  Austin  and  Harriet  L.  Smith,  John  and 
Lucy  Davis,  and  Asa  and  Cordelia  Candee;  acknowledged  before 
James  H.  Stafford,  J.  P.  The  town  plat  was  vacated  May  10th, 
1881. 

Manchesier — Is  known  as  Manchester  Mills,  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  Franklin  Township,  on  the  south  half,  northwest  quar- 
ter, southwest  quarter  section  t),  and  is  so  near  to  Cleveland  that 
the  names  are  used  interchangeably.  The  plat  bears  date  of 
May  10,  1859;  surveyed  by  Joel  Dayton  in  '56;  and  is  acknowl- 
edged by  Peter  M.  and  Judith  Gilson,  before  Trumbull  Granger, 
Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Neiv  Alhin.- — The  youngest  town  in  the  county,  had  a  popula- 
tion in  1880  of  423.  Its  location,  on  the  banks  of  a  large  slough 
just  south  of  the  Minnesota  State  line,  is  well  adapted  for  a  large 
town,  being  high  and  level  ground,  and  only  its  distance  from  the 
main  channel  of  the  river  prevented  its  becoming  such,  as  it  has  a 
large  section  of  fertile  farming  and  dairy  lands,  through  the 
northern  portion  of  the  county,  naturally  tributary  to  its  market. 
It  owes  its  origin  to  the  building  of  the  Dubuque  &  Minnesota 
Railroad,  in  1872,  being  laid  off  into  blocks  and  lots  in  November 
of  that  year  by  J.  A.  Rhomberg,  J.  K.  Graves,  S.  H.  Kinne,  Hily 
Ross,  and  administratrix  of  John  Ross. 

The  New  Albin  Herald^  a  six-column  folio  sheet,  was  estab- 
'lished  about  June  1st,  1873,  by  Dr.  J.  I.  Taylor,  who  placed  his 
son,  James  E.  Taylor,  in  immediate  charge  of  it  as  a  publisher. 
The  following  year  it  was  discontinued,  and  the  Spectator^  an 
eight  page  paper,  was  established  by  E.  S.  Kilbourne,  who  con- 
tinued its  publication  until  May,  1879,  when  he  removed  his  office 
material  to  a  new  town  in  the  West. 

Mi/ron.—ls  situated  on  the  Yellow  River,  in  Post  Township, 
near  the  north  line,  and  dates  its  platted  existence  only  from  May 
8,  1873,  although  it  is  an  old-time   settlement    and  far   more  en- 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COL'NTY.  -401 

titled  to  be  styled  a  village  than  man}^  of  the  mythical  towns  so- 
called.  It  has  possessed  a  large  and  excellent  flouring  mill  for 
many  years;  also  a  store,  postoffice,  blacksmith  shop,  etc. 

DorcJiester. — The  site  of  Haines'  Mill,  on  Waterloo  Creek,  in 
the  eastern  part  of  Waterloo  township,  was  settled  early  in  the 
fifties,  but  was  not  platted  until  November  27,  1873,  the  proprie- 
tors being  S.  H.  and  Elsie  T.  Haines.  It  is  quite  a  business-like 
community,  with  a  population  of  101,  according  to  the  last  census. 

Lafayette — Was  a  settlement  on  the  river,  in  the  township  of  that 
name,  a  short  distance  above  Chantry.  The  first  comer  was  one 
Gordon,  in  1850.  It  was  a  good  boat  landing,  and  at  one  time 
possessed  two  stores  and  a  large  steam  saw-mill;  but  if  the  land 
was  laid  off  into  lots  it  was  never  platted.  In  1857  the  saw-mill 
was  changed  to  a  grist-mill  by  Kinyon  &  Amsden,  and  in  1859, 
we  believe,  was  called  Foot's  Mills.  At  this  date  no  settlement  to 
amount  to  anything  exists  there. 

Paint  Rod- — Was  another  river  point  that  "was  to  be,"  on  Har- 
per's Channel,  in  Fairview  township,  section  3,  near  the  Taylor 
line.  At  an  early  day  (probably  in  1850)  Wm.  H.  Morrison,  at 
one  time  School  Fund  Commissioner,  brought  a  small  stock  of 
goods  and  the  inevitable  barrel  of  whisky  to  this  point,  where  he 
built  a  small  house  and  started  a  store.  His  building  has  disap- 
peared, and  there  is  but  one  house  there  at  this  time.  Mr.  Morri- 
son afterward  went  to  California,  where  he  died  insane. 

Waterville. — A  thriving  village  of  75  or  100  inhabitants,  on 
Paint  Creek,  fourteen  miles  from  Waukon  and  nine  from  the 
river.  The  first  settlements  in  the  neighborhood  were  made  in 
1850.  In  1854  the  Waterville  mill  was  erected  by  Nathaniel 
Beebe,  and  the  same  year  Col.  J.  Spooner  came  and  bought  land, 
and  the  following  winter  or  spring  purchased  a  part  interest  in  the 
mill,  which  was  then  completed  and  put  into  operation.  Col. 
Spooner  returned  to  the  East  in  the  fall  of  1854,  but  in  May, 
1855,  came  on  again  with  a  stock  Of  goods  and  started  a  store,  in 
which  he  was  joined  by  Daniel  P.  Carpenter.  In  1856  James 
Beebe  built  a  large  frame  hotel,  the  outlook  at  that  time  being 
very  promising  for  the  future  growth  of  the  place,  possessing,  as 
it  does,  three  of  as  good  water-powers  as  can  be  found  anywhere 
in  the  valley.  Here  was  organized  the  old  "Prairie  du  Chien  & 
Mankato  Railroad  Company."  After  the  collapse  of  this  enter- 
prise the  many  natural  advantages  of  this  village  site  were  lost 
sight  of,  until  its  growth  was  renewed  upon  the  construction  of 
the  W.  &  M.  Railroad  in  1877,  since  when  there  have  been  sev- 
eral substantial  stores  and  a  grain  warehouse  erected,  and  it  is 
now  a  live  little  market  town,  the  only  railroad  station  between 
Waukon  and  the  Junction.  Although  laid  off  into  lots  and 
streets  at  an  early  day,  it  has  never  been  platted. 

New  Galena. — The  old  village  of  this  name  was  situated  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Iowa  River,  in  Hanover  Township,  at  the  mouth 


402  HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY 

of  Waterloo  Creek,  and  nearly  opposite  the  mouth  of  Mineral 
Creek,  which  comes  in  from  the  south,  through  what  was  at  one 
time  supposed  to  be  a  rich  lead  region;  hence  the  name  of  the 
creek  and  settlement.  The  land  in  Avhich  it  was  situated  was 
bought  of  the  government  by  Peter  Lauder,  July  1,  1852,  who 
sold  it  to  Phineas  Weston,  of  South  Bend,  Ind.,  June  22,  1853. 
In  1856  one  A.  C.  Tichenor  discovered  what  he  supposed  to  be 
paying  quantities  of  lead,  in  the  valley  of  Mineral  Creek,  and  not 
having  sufficient  means  of  his  own  to  carry  out  his  plans,  went 
to  New  York  City  to  get  men  of  capital  interested,  stopping  in 
Indiana  to  see  Phineas  Weston,  the  owner  of  the  land,  with  whom 
it  is  supposed  he  made  satisfactory  arrangements  for  opening  a 
mine.  In  New  York  he  succeeded  almost  immediately  in  inter- 
esting one  Jas,  T.  Moulton,  who  laid  the  matter  before  another 
party  of  some  means,  Aug.  F.  Lee,  and  together  they  proceeded 
to  act  in  the  matter.  Mr.  Lee  came  on  with  Tichenor,  looked  ov- 
er the  ground,  procured  specimens  of  the  ore  and  had  it  tested, 
and  everything  proving  satisfactory  Moulton  and  his  son  Arthur 
came  on  with  all  the  necessary  materials  and  laborers  and  pro- 
ceeded to  erect  buildings.  Among  others,  they  built  a  large 
store,  which  was  filled  with  a  huge  stock  of  goods  purchased  in 
New  York  by  F.  M.  Clark,  who  had  accompanied  Tichenor  east 
for  that  purpose,  and  who  clerked  for  Moulton  &  Lee  until  the  fol- 
lowing January.  At  one  time  the  company  had  as  many  as  a 
hundred  men  in  their  employ.  The  village  site  was  laid  off  into 
lots  and  streets,  and  some  of  the  lots  were  sold  at  good  round 
prices;  but  it  was  never  platted.  The  village  at  its  best  comprised 
some  eight  or  ten  houses,  but  they  have  disappeared,  and  at  this 
time  the  land  where  the  town  stood  is  one  of  the  best  farms  in 
the  Iowa  valley,  and  is  owned  by  Levi  Green,  who  purchased  it 
from  the  creditors  of  the  lead  mining  company.  Some  of  the 
buildings  were  moved  off,  afid  others  left  to  fall  to  pieces.  Among 
the  latter  was  a  large  stone  barn  which  stood  until  a  couple  years 
ago  or  so,  a  monument  of  the  New  Galena  folly. 

But  to  return  to  the  mining  operations.  The  company  pene- 
trated the  side  of  the  bluffs  on  Mineral  Creek  and  took  out  ore  in 
such  quantities  that  they  felt  warranted  in  erecting  a  smelting 
furnace,  which  was  done  some  fifteen  rods  south  of  the  bridge 
which  was  built  at  a  later  day,  and  smelted  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  ore — how  much  we  cannot  tell — but  it  did  not  pay.  The 
ore  was  mostly  in  the  shape  of  floats,  but  they  kept  on,  hoping  to 
strike  a  paying  'iead,"  In  this  they  were  disappointed  however, 
as  no  well  defined  lead  was  developed,  and  the  store  part  of  the 
venture  was  the  only  thing  about  it  that  paid.  In  the  spring  of 
1857,  Tichenor  had  run  through  what  little  means  he  had  invest- 
ed in  the  concern,  and  Moulton  and  Lee,  disappointed  in  their 
bright  expectations,  were  inclined  to  blame  him  for  the  result  of 
the  enterprise,  and  so  cast  him  off.     The  elder  Moulton  took  to 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUXTY.  403 

drink;  and  sometime  in  the  course  of  a  3'ear  the  whole  thing  col- 
lapsed under  the  stress  of  circumstances.  The  creditors  got  what 
they  could  out  of  the  property,  and  we  believe  Moulton  and  Lee 
returned  to  the  east.  Tichenor,  it  seems,  could  not  give  up 
the  idea  of  getting  riches  out  of  a  mine,  and  sought  the  mines  of 
the  west.  Only  a  year  or  two  ago  he  was  heard  of  in  connection 
with  a  fraudulant  mining  concern,  shares  of  stock  in  which  he  had 
sold  to  the  extent  of  §20,000  or  §30,000,  and  having  been  dis- 
covered in  his  game,  had  skipped  out. 

Among  our  county  records  we  find  the  '"Articles  of  Association 
of  the  New  Galena  Lead  Mining  and  Real  Estate  Company,"  en- 
tered into  on  the  18tli  day  of  August,  1857,  and  to  continue  twen- 
ty years  with  the  right  of  renewal. 

"James  Thorington,  James  T.  Moulton,  J,  Arthur  Moulton, 
Aug.  F.  Lee,  Wm.  L.  Easton,  Leonard  Standring,  Warren  Ballou, 
James  L  Gilbert,  Grant  Telford,  Milo  C.  Fuller,  Alanson  H. 
Barnes,  D.  B.  Defendorf,  L.  B.  Defendorf,  S.  H,  Kerfoot,  James 
L.  McLean,  Robt.  L.  McClelland,  Horatio  Hill,  Solomon  Good- 
rich, E.  E.  Cooley,  and  their  associates,  and  such  persons  as  may 
hereafter  become  stockholders  in  the  Company  by  these  articles 
incorporated,"  formed  themselves  into  a  body  corporate  under  the 
name  and  style  above  mentioned,  '"for  the  purpose,"  the  document 
goes  on  to  say,  "of  mining,  smelting,  and  maniifacturing  lead, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring,  by  purchase  or  otherwise,  any 
lands  in  the  State  of  Iowa,  or  any  other  State  or  Territory  in  the 
United  States;  and  for  laying  out  such  lands  into  towns  or  vil- 
lages, additions  to  town  or  villages,  and  disposing  of  the  same  at 
private  or  pumic  sale;  and  also  for  engaging  in  internal  improve- 
ments, mmufactures,  agriculture  and  commerce,  and  in  any  or  all 
financial  or  monied  operations  not  inconsistent  with  the  laws  of 
the  State  of  Iowa,"  etc.,  etc.  The  document  further  provides 
that  the  capital  stock  shall  consist  of  $200,000,  of  §20  a  share, 
with  ])Ower  to  increase  to  not  exceed  §500,000.  The  principal 
place  of  business  was  to  be  the  village  of  New  Galena;  and  "the 
directors  shall  cause  semi-annual  dividends  to  be  declared  out  of 
the  profits  of  the  Company."  About  how  many  dividends  icere 
declared  may  be  readily  imagined.  We  believe  this  company  did 
continue  to  operate  the  diggings  for  a  time,  but  they  were  finally 
abandoned  entirely.  The  diggings  mentioned  by  Prof.  Hall  as 
located  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  Sec.  13,  99,  6,  were  doubtless 
the  ones  operated  by  this  Company;  the  land  is  now  owned  by 
the  Fitzgeralds.  The  first  lead  taken  out  was  probably  near  by 
the  smelting  furnace. 

Wexford — By  right  of  priority  of  settlement,  this  community, 
situated  in  the  southern  portion  of  Lafayelte  Township,  some 
three  miles  from  the  Mississippi,  on  Priest  Cooley  (or  creek), 
should  have  been  mentioned  earlier  in  the  list  of  villages,  having 
been  settled  in  1851.     In  the  spring  of  that  year  Father  Thomas 


404 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 


Hare,  the  first  Catholic  Missionary  in  the  county,  came  here  di- 
rect from  Ireland,  and  with  material  said  to  have  been  brought 
from  Dubuque,  erected  a  frame  church,  supposed  to  have  been  the 
first  church  built  in  the  county,  and  called  the  place  Wexford 
This  church,  we  understand,  was  built  at  Father  Hare's  own  ex- 
pense. In  earlier  life  he  had  been  a  missionary  in  Virginia,  but 
had  returned  to  Ireland.  He  was  independent  of  the  Bishop!  and 
operated  on  his  own  responsibility.  His  field  of  operations  reached 
over  a  wide  extent  of  country.  He  was  a  genial  and  influential 
man,  and  drew  to  this  county  a  large  immigration  of  his  countrv- 
men,  who  settled  around  him  at  this  point. 

Union  City— Is  the  name  of  a  settlement  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Iowa,  above  the  mouth  of  French  Creek,  which  was  to  have 
been  platted  as  a  village  and  so  gave  its  name  to  the  township  in 
which  it  is  located.  It  was  never  laid  out,  or,  if  it  was  it  was 
never  platted  and  entered  on  record. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


History  of  Post  Township;    Location;   Early  Settlements;   Vill- 
ages; War  Record,  Miscellaneous  Incidents  and  Reminiscences. 


BY  A.  R.  PRESCOTT. 

"Our  fathers  to  their  graves  have  gone, 
Then- strife  is  past — their  triumph  won, 
But  sterner  trials  wait  the  race 
Which  rises  in  their  honored  place." 

—  Whittier. 
Post  Township  occupies  Congressional  Township  No.  96  north, 
range  6,  west  of  5th  principal  meridian:  is  the  southwest    corner 
township    of    Allamakee    County,  Iowa,    and    contains    22,491 
acres. 

The  surface  is  undulating,  and  in  the  northern  part,  bluffy. 
Yellow  River  runs  easterly  through  the  entire  township,  some- 
what north  of  the  middle  sections,  and  is  formed  from  two 
branches,  ome  coming  from  the  northwest  through  sections  6  and 
7,  the  other  from  the  southwest  through  section  18,  meeting  on 
the  southwest  corner  of  section  8,  and  almost  immediately  disap- 
pearing in  the  lose  limestone  formation  of  its  bed,  running  under- 
ground for  about  two  miles,  then  suddenly  gushing  out  at  the 
foot  of  the  bluff,  in  one  huge  spring,  on  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  3.  Thence  onward,  the  river  is  rapid,  clear,  and  in  its 
descent  affording  numerous  mill  sites,  and  from  the  influx  of  other 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  405 

large  springs,  very  characteristic  of  this  Aalley,  scarce!}'  freezes  in 
winter.  The  south  bunk  is  skirted  by  a  belt  of  heavy  forest,  ex- 
tending completely  through  and  beyond  the  tovvnshij)  lines,  in 
width  about  one  and  a  half  to  two  miles.  On  the  river  blufi's 
pine  was  found  in  considerable  quantities,  though  long  since  con- 
verted into  early  buildings.  The  belt  of  forest  on  the  south  of 
the  river  consists  of  the  best  varieties  of  oak,  walnut,  butternut, 
ash,  hickory,  maple,  with  basswood  and  poplar,  and  though  more 
than  thirty  years  have  passed  since  the  white  man's  ax  began  its 
destruction,  the  same  forest  still  furnishes  its  regular  supply  of 
fire  wood  and  building  materials,  and  in  much  greater  quantities 
as  time  passes,  than  at  the  first  settlement  of  the  country.  The 
north  bank  of  the  river  affords  but  little  forest  in  this  township; 
local  groves  of  small  timber  and  scattering  oaks  and  hickory  trees, 
with  the  heaviest  portion  on  section  8,  constituting  the  amount 
on  the  north  side. 

The  soil  on  the  north  is  a  stiff  yellow  or  light  clay  subsoil, 
with  a  top  of  thin — but  very  rich — black  loam,  which  has  pro- 
duced the  best  specimens  of  spring  wheat  grown  in  the  west.  Con- 
siderable alluvial  bottom  lands  lie  along  the  river  of  excessive  rich- 
ness, producing  the  largest  crops  of  all  kinds  raised  in  this  lati- 
tude, including  sweet  potatoes. 

One  species  of  the  old  forestry  seems  nearly  annihilated — the 
bee  tree.  In  early  days  so  frequently  was  this  variety  felled,  that 
every  settler,  up  to  about  1853,  of  common  enterprise  had  his  bar- 
rel of  honey  as  a  part  of  his  winter  food  supply,  and  as  many  as 
two  hundred  pounds  were  frequently  taken  from  one  tree  in  Yel- 
low River  woods.  The  sugar  tree  still  yields  its  crop  as  of  yore — 
in  considerable  quantities. 

In  these  woods,  bears,  wolves,  panthers  and  wild  cats  were  nu- 
merous in  the  early  days,  and  red  deer  fairly  flocked  on  the  prairies 
up  to  about  1857,  when  in  that  winter  a  deep  snow  and  thick 
crust  prevented  them  from  traveling,  and  they  fell  easy  victims  to 
the  hunter.  This  snow  and  crust  prevailing  over  the  entire  north- 
west, deer  were  almost  totally  annihilated,  as  but  very  few  have 
been  seen  since. 

Bear  hunting  was  a  favorite  pastime  up  to  about  1854,  when 
the  last  town  hunt,  in  October,  culminated  in  a  law  suit  against  some 
outsiders  who  happened  to  be  "in  at  the  death"  of  a  wounded  bear, 
and  who  had  the  bear  skinned  and  the  400  pounds  of  meat  di- 
vided and  quietly  taken  away  before  the  regular  hunters  arrived 
on  the  ground  to  dispatch  him.  The  cause  was  tried  before  John 
Laughlin,  J.  P.  Hon.  John  T.  Clark,  attorney,  for  plaintiffs  (the 
regular  hunters),  and  James  &  J.  D.  McKay  for  defendants.  Car- 
ried to  District  Court,  then  to  State  Supreme  Court,  and  finally 
decided  adverse  to  plaintiffs. 

The  settlement  of  Post  township,  by  permanent  white  people, 
was  begun  by  Joel  Post,  a  millwright  from    Caughnawauga,  Cat- 


406  HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

taraugus  county,  New  York,  who  obtained  permission  to  occupy 
the  government  "log  shanty"  or  "half-way  house,"  built  by  the 
United  State  troops  half-way  between  Fort  Crawford,  Wisconsin, 
and  Fort  Atkinson,  Iowa.  The  document  has  been  preserved,  and 
reads  as  follows: 

"Joel  Post  is  hereby  granted  the  privilege  of  occupying  the 
house  and  stable,  belonging  to  the  public,  on  the  military  road 
from  Fort  Crawford  to  Turkey  River  (I.  T.)  during  the  pleasure 
of  Gen.  Brooke,  or  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Crawford. 

"The  said  Joel  Post  has  permision  to  make  such  additions  to 
house  and  stable  as  he  thinks  proper,  and  the  use  of  the  buildings 
are  to  be  always  open,  free  of  charge  to  the  use  of  the  public;  a 
supply  of  wood  for  the  use  of  one  fire  is  also  to  be  furnished  free 
of  charge.  The  said  Post  will  also  be  required  to  take  charge  of 
and  be  responsible  for  all  public  property  placed  under  his  charge 
at  that  place. 

"The  privilege  of  cutting  a  sufficient  supply  of  hay  for  the  use 
of  the  public,  at  the  nearest  point  at  that  place,  is  reserved;  and 
the  said  Post  has  the  privilege  of  cutting  what  wood  and  timber, 
for  building  and  fuel,  as  he  may  find  necessary  for  his  own  use 
and  travelers.  He  has  also  the  privilege  of  breaking  ground  and 
planting,  and  is  always  to  be  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  com- 
manding officers  at  Fort  Crawford. 

"It  is  hereby  further  contracted  by  the  said  Post  that  he  is  not 
to  keep  spirituous  liquors  in  his  house,  on  any  pretense  whatever; 
neither  is  he  to  sell  liquors,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  to  In- 
dians or  United  States  soldiers,  under  the  penalty  of  being  im- 
mediately removed;  and,  farther,  that  he  is  not  to  trade  with  the 
Indians,  unless  by  permission  from  the  Indian  Agent.  It 
is  also  stated  that  the  said  Post  may  build  nearer  to  the  spring,  as 
being  more  convenient,  but  at  the  same  time  must  be  responsible 
for  the  public  buildings  now  erected,  and  also  all  other  public 
property  placed  under  his  charge. 

"George  M.  Brooke, 
"Brev.  Brig.-Gen.  Com  g  1st  Dept.  W.  Div. 

"Fort  Crawford,  January  12th,  IS^l. 

"I,  Joel  Post^  do  hereby  bind  myself  to  observe  the  above  order, 
in  all  respects,  under  all  the  penalties  prescribed. 

Joel  Post." 
Fort  Craavford,  January  12th,  1841. 
Witness:     John  Robertson,  Thos.  Buyber. 

Note. — The  power  reserved  by  the  commanding  officer  of  Fort 
Crawford,  in  the  above  instrument,  is  also  to  be  held  by  the  com- 
manding officer  at  Turkey  River,  when  a  senior  officer  to  that  at 
Fort  Crawford. 

The  document  is  not  a  model  in  grammar  or  punctuation,  but 
is  given  above  precisely  as  written  and  punctuated. 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  407 

The  "shanty"  then  consisted  of  a  log  house,  16x20  feet,  and  a 
log  stable  somewhat  larger,  and  was  located  about  sixty  rods  east 
from  the  one-fourth  post,  on  north  side  of  Section  33.  The  occu- 
pation of  the  family  was  a  kind  of  hotel  keeping,  and  the  promise 
of  good  business  in  this  line  was  the  chief  inducement  for  Mr. 
Post  to  risk  himself  so  far  from  civilization.  But  the  business 
grew,  and  proved  both  profitable  and  pleasant,  and  increased  so 
fast  that  in  the  next  winter  Mr.  Post  and  one  Richard  Only  built 
a  more  commodious  and  hotel-like  house,  which  on  completion  af- 
forded comfortable  quarters  for  Government  and  military  officers, 
Government  teamsters,  etc.,  and  proved  quite  remumerative  for 
about  two  years,  when  these  teamsters,  who  were  mostly  from  Ill- 
inois, planed  a  scheme  to  cheat  Mr.  Post  out  of  their  unpaid  bills; 
it  being  the  custom  for  them  to  pay  their  bills  on  their  return 
from  Fort  Atkinson,  where  they  were  paid  for  their  services. 

They  did  this  by  constructing  a  new  road,  or  route,  which  could 
be  traveled  by  unloaded  teams,  across  the  bend  of  the  road;  begin- 
ning near  the  southwest  corner  of  Section  33,  and  keeping  near 
the  county  line.  They  could  thus  pass  by  the  "half  way  '  unseen, 
avoiding  the  "north  bend"  and  the  hotel  bill  at  once.  This  new 
"cut  off"  received  the  name  of  "Sucker  Chute,"  these  new  devel- 
opments led  to  a  removal  of  the  "Half  Way  House"  to  the  west 
end  of  "Sucker  Chute"  by  special  permission  of  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  military  department,  then  Major  Edwin  V.  Sumner, 
in  June,  1843.  This  house  proved  a  nucleus,  around  which  set- 
tlements were  made,  and  travelers  found  a  quiet  home  and  resting 
place,  and  Postville,  a  local  habitation,  and  a  name.  A  number  of 
the  men  who  have  since  become  famous  in  the  civil  and  military 
history  of  the  country,  were  accustomed  to  visit  this  house  and 
partake  of  its  cheer,  among  whom  are  the  names  of  H.  M.  Rice 
of  Minnesota;  Dousman  and  Bisbois;  of  Wisconsin;  the  late  John 
Haney,  and  son  John,  Jr.,  of  Lansing,  Iowa;  Capt.  Nathaniel 
Lyon  E.  Y.  Sumner,  Patterson;  Capts.  Miller,  Schuyler,  Hamilton 
and  Lieut.  Alfred  Pleasanton,  all  since  Generals,  high  in  command 
and  fame  in  the  military  history  of  our  country.  A  story  is  told 
by  Mrs.  Post  of  the  first  appearance  of  Lieutenant  Pleasanton  at 
her  house  in  18i4  or  1845,  She  describes  him  as  a  very  pleasant 
young  man,  of  a  keen  sharp  eye,  restless  when  not  employed,  al- 
ways driving  his  own  business  with  great  energy.  Coming  to  the 
Half  Way  House  in  a  horse  and  buggy,  he  said  to  the  hostler, 
"give  the  horse  his  rations  which  you  will  find  in  the  buggy." 
l^uite  a  goodly  number  of  people  at  dinner  were  surprised  by  the 
appearance  of  the  son  of  Erin,  of  the  barn,  with:  ''If  yes  pJaze^ 
Misther  L/f tenant^  will  I  bees  after  fading  yer  nag  irid  the  banes, 
or  the  pork  or  thiin  square  crackers  first?'" 

The  Commissary  instead  of  Quartermaster  had  put  up  the  Lieu- 
tenant's rations,  and  feed  for  man  instead  of  horse.  The  Lieuten- 
ant explained  and  the  company  enjoyed  a  smile  with  him. 


408  HISTOKY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    fOUNTY. 

Settlements  of  a  permanent  nature  began  as  soon  as  the  lauds 
were  surveyed  and  the  Indians  removed,  which  took  place  in  the 
fall  of  1847.  The  first  one  was  'Squire  Crossly,  from  Galena,  111., 
who  settled  on  section  32,  half  a  mile  west  of  Mr.  Post's,  in  June; 
the  next  one,  Josiah  Reed,  from  Ohio,  half  a  mile  west  of  Crossly, 
in  October;  John  Reed,  on  section  30;  Thomas  Newberry,  north- 
Avest  quarter  of  section  28,  all  in  1847.  A  number  had  also  set- 
tled over  the  line  in  Clayton  County,  so  that  in  the  summer  of 
1848  a  school  was  started  with  twenty  scholars  in  one  of  the 
chamber  rooms  at  Mr.  Post's  by  a  Mrs.  Quinn. 

The  first  religious  services  were  also  held  at  Mr.  Post's,  by  Rev. 
Eldridge  Howard,  a  M.  E.  preacher,  in  June,  1848,  and  later  by 
■one  Stevens,  a  Presbyterian. 

The  principal  settlers  of  1848  were  Henry  Noble  and  Elias 
Topliff,  both  locating  in  October  or  November  on  section  30. 

A  school  was  taught  at  Mr.  Post's  in  the  winter  of  1848  and 
'49  by  a  Mr.  Bliss. 

On  New  Year's  day,  1849,  Avas  held  the  first  social  party  in  the 
new  settlement,  at  the  "Half  Way  House,"  by  Mr.  Post.  Having 
spent  eight  years  in  frontier  life  with  few  neighbors,  the  time  had 
come  when  all  should  meet  and  learn  the  names  and  ways 
of  men  and  women,  who  were  to  build  up  the  new  community 
with  him.  It  is  related  that  every  settler  within  eight  miles 
Avas  present,  the  most  of  them  bringing  their  wives,  and  in  not  a 
few  cases  the  whole  family  appeared  at  the  New  Years  feast.  Sev- 
eral uniforms  were  present,  and  the  repast  was  spoken  of  as  one 
of  luxury  and  bountiful  to  excess.  The  festivities  were  kept  up 
by  the  few  youngsters  to  a  late  hour,  and  at  that  gathering  an  en- 
gagement was  ma  e  which  resulted  in  the  first  wedding  ever  cele- 
brated in  Allamakee  County,  viz:  Elias  J.  Topliff  and  Anna  Reed, 
married  December  6th,  1849,  by  Grove  A.  Warner,  Justice  of  the 
Peace. 

A  postoffice  Avas  established  in  the  same  month  of  January,  called 
Postville,  and  Joel  Post  appointed  postmaster.  He,  however,  dy- 
ing on  the  24th- of  the  same  month,  neA'er  knew  of  the  appoint- 
ment, as  it  did  not  arrive  for  some  days  after  his  decease. 

Several  settlers  arrived  in  1849  whose  names  and  locations  are 
as  follows:  James  H.  Penny,  a  soldier  just  discharged,  on  sec- 
tion 16;  Reuben  Smith,  section  11;  Thomas  NeAvberr}^  on  section 
28;  Constantine  Hughes,  section  12;  William  Callender,  section 
9;  Hiram  Jones,  section  15;  Moses  Hostetler,  also  on  section  15; 
Anderson  Amos,  section  14.  In  1850  came  David  W.  Lyons,  a 
Presbyterian  clergyman,  to  section  16;  Alexander  J.  Breedlove 
and  Thomas  Saucer  on  section  25;  John  Minert  to  section  21; 
James  Mather,  section  16;  Wm.  FeAvell  and  Charles  Bowman,  on 
section  23;  Jeremiah  Prescott  and  Truman  Stoddard,  on  section 
36;  also  S.  P.  Hicks,  L.  R.  Herrick,  John  Clark,  Anderson  FeAv- 
•ell,on  section  34;  David  Jemison  on  section  28;  Wm.  H.  Carith- 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  400 

• 

ers  on  section  10:  P.  F.  Schwartz,  on  section  3;  Jacob  Lybrand, 
on  section  10;  In  1851  came  P.  P.  Cady  to  section  36;  Asa 
Chudle  to  section  10;  John  Laughlin  to  section  27;  Sylvester 
Dennis  bought  M.  Hostetler,  on  section  15.  In  1852  came  N.  J. 
Beedy,  to  section  35;  Samuel  Dobson,  section  22;  and  many  others. 

Post  Township  was  organized  by  the  county  board  in  1851,  ac- 
cording to  the  memory  of  the  oldest  settlers,  but  there  are  no 
records  of  officers  elected  that  year.*  The  election  in  April,  1852, 
was  held  in  a  blacksmith  shop  near  the  house  of  Chas.  Bowman. 
Thirty-one  votes  were  cast,  and  Reuben  Smith,  Chas.  Bowman, 
and  A.  J.  Breedlove  were  chosen  trustees;  Jas.  C.  Thompson, 
township  clerk;  John  Laughlin,  Justice  of  the  Peace;  Anderson 
Amos,  constable. 

The  next  record  is  that  of  November  4,  1856,  when  ninety-four 
votes  were  polled.  The  records  from  this  election  are  perfect.  P. 
P.  Cady  was  township  clerk,  and  procured  a  book  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, hunting  over  all  the  papers  of  the  several  officers,  in  vain 
for  complete  records.  Much  that  is  valuable,  is  lost  to  the  com- 
piler from  the  absence  of  such  important  items,  compelling  us  to 
rely  upon  the  memory  of  the  few  early  settlers  left  among  us, 
and  whose  memorv,  at  the  lapse  of  thirty  years,  will  disagree, 
thus  rendering  all  attemps  at  exactn'^ss  abortive. 

At  the  November  election,  1860,  W.  H.  Carithers  was  chosen 
as  first  township  supervisor  on  the  county  Board;  Timothy  Stiles, 
Township  Clerk;  P.  P.  Cady  and  Emery  Higbey,  Justices;  James 
Patterson  and  Stephen  Thibodo,  Constables. 

The  year  1861  was  eventful  as  changing  the  future  prospects  of 
so  many  families  in  our  land,  and  was  felt  largely  in  Post  Town- 
ship, when,  with  a  population  entirely  rural,  it  furnished  more  than 
forty  men  to  the  Union  Army,  distributed  and  named  as  follows: 

Company  K,  1st  Iowa  Cavalry — Charles  T.  Prescott  1st  (enlist- 
ment in  the  township),  Moses  A.  BoUman,  Moses  Early,  Benton 
Bowman,  Ed.  Hanan,  John  S.  Post,  Stephen  Harris,  David  M. 
Minert,  Wm.  H.  Saucer. 

Company  I,  9th  Iowa  Infantry — John  S.  Mather,  'Squire  Math- 
er, Geo.  S.  Rice. 

Company  B,  12th  Iowa  Infantry — Wru.  Maynard,  Elias  Repp, 
Chas.  Russell,  Stephen  Thibodo. 

Company  B.  13th  Iowa  Infantry — Jesse  P.  Prescott,  Elza  San- 
ders, David  Vickery,  Julian  D.  Miller. 

Company  B,  21st  Iowa  Infantry— Wm.  T.  Hays. 

Company  A,  27th  Iowa  Infantry — Caleb  I.  Bishop,  Daniel  Cole, 
Warren  Clough,  Elisha  Curry,  Saul  Dobson,  Theodore  Granger, 
C.  C.  Marston,  Darius  C.Mather,  Meredith  McGee,  Calvin  McMul- 
len,  Hiram  Hawkins,  Andrew  J.  Patterson,  James  Patterson,  War- 
ren R.  Reed,  Truman  Stoddard,  Geo.  W.  Topliff,  John  Pixler,  A.  L. 
Stiles,  Alonzo  Thornton. 

Company  — ,  38th  Iowa  Infantry — John  L.  Johnson. 

26 


410  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

Co.  I,  Engineer  Regt.  Mo.  Vols.— A.  R.  Prescott,  William  R. 
Johnson,  John  F.  Jones,  George  W.  Wheeler,  William  Harris. 

Co.  B,  18th  Mo.  Infantry.— Dennis  A.  Harden. 

Fifteen  of  these  perished  on  the  field  of  battle  or  hospital,  and 
hut  few  of  the  others  are  whole  and  sound.  They  returned  to 
their  homes  to  begin  where  they  left  off- at  the  plow,  bench,  store 
or  shop. 

POSTYILLE    VILLAGE. 

General  A.  C.  Dodge,  when  Senator  of  Iowa,  recommended  that 
a  postoffice  be  established  at  the  "half-way  house,"  on  the  Mili- 
tary road  in  Clayton  county,  Iowa,  to  be  called  Postville,  and  that 
Joel  Post  be  appointed  the''postmaster;  dated  January  19th,  1849. 
Elijah  Stevenson,  however,  was  the  first  postmaster,  as  Joel  Post 
died  January  24th,  1849.  A  store  was  opened  in  1851  by  Josiah 
D.  Reed  &  Co.  The  village  plat  consisted  of  four  blocks  of  eight 
lots  each,  4x8  rods,  and  was  laid  out  at  the  crossing  of  the  Mili- 
tary road,  with  the  west  line  of  section  33,  by  S.  P.  Hicks,  county 
surveyor,  in  June,  1853. 

A  blacksmith  shop  was  started  by  one  Draper,  in  1851,  but  busi- 
ness did  not  increase  till  1855.  A  few  dwellings  had  been  built, 
when  James  Roll  succeeded  Draper  in  the  "smithy,"  and  also  built 
a  small  frame  hotel.  Samuel  J.  Russell  succeeded  Reed  &  Co.  iii 
the  store  in  1856.  The  new  and  commodious  "National  HoteV' 
Avas  completed  by  Mrs.  Post  in  1857.  H.  B.  Hazelton  put  in  a 
stock  of  goods  in  1859.  Webster  &  Stevenson  succeeded  S.  J. 
Russell  in  1863.  Several  dwellings  and  trade  shops  had  been 
built  on  the  main  street  {L  e.,  the  old  military  road.)  Stores  had 
been  enlarged  and  repaired. 

Business  received  a  fresh  impetus  by  the  building  of  the  Mc- 
Gregor Western  Railway,  and  its  completion  to  this  place,  the  first 
arrival  of  a  train  taking  place  on  the  8th  day  of  August,  1864. 
The  landing  of  freight  and  mails  began  on  the  first  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1864.  At  once  the  place  put  on  new  airs.  An  addition 
of  100  acres  was  laid  out  in  lots  by  Mrs.  Post,  John  Lawler,  Joe 
Reynolds  and  J.  T.  Stoneman.  A  station  house  was  soon  erected, 
and  John  S.  Grohe,  agent,  began  business  for  the  railroad.  A 
large  and  commodious  grain  elevator  Avas  built  by  Lawler  & 
Reynolds  at  a  cost  of  826,000,  50x90  feet,  with  seventeen  bins; 
Avhole  capacity,  51,000  bushels.  Boiler  and  engine  room,  16x24; 
boiler,  20-horse  power.  Aggregate  pay  roll  of  employes,  $500  per 
month.  Finished  about  September  15th,  1864.  E.  D.  Holton 
and  Hall  Roberts  put  in  an  extensive  stock  of  merchandise  near 
the  elevator.  Other  merchants  and  trades  people  who  located  m 
Postville  since  that  time,  may  be  mentioned,  as  C.  VanHooser, 
National  Hotel;  James  Perry  and  Leithold  &  Poesch,  merchants; 
A,  W.  McDonald,  harness  maker,  in  1865. 


HISTOUY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  411 

Passinor  over  the  events  of  a  few  years,  which  were  prosperous 
ones  for  the  township,  we  mention  that  in  1871  the  assessed  value 
of  the  total  amount  of  property  was  1255,020.  The  village  had 
increased  to  correspond  with  the  rural  districts. 

The  Northeastern  Iowa  Agricultural  Society,  was  organized 
here  in  March,  1871,  embracing  four  counties,  banded  together  for 
the  mutual  improvement  of  all  branches  of  industry. 

The  Burlington,  Cedar  Rapids  &  Northern  Railway  Company 
began  business  on  the  Milwaukee  division  of  their  road  in  Post- 
ville,  about  September  5,  1872,  James  Perry,  agent. 

The  village  was  incorporated  March  11,  1878 — John  S.  Mott, 
Mayor;  A.  P.  Abbott.  C.  P.  Darling,  J.  N.Leithold,  J.  H.  Sanders, 
Trustees;  D.  T.  Smithwest,  Recorder. 

Hall  Roberts  purchased  one-third  of  the  Lawler  &  Reynolds  ele- 
vator in  1875.  The  company  (known  as  Hali  Roberts  &  Co.)  han- 
dled one  hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  bushels  of  grain  the 
same  year.  W.  S.and  Hall  Roberts  started. the  Postvi|lp  13ank  also 
this  veai . 

SCHOOLS  AND  SCHOOL  HOUSES. 

The  township  has  built  thirteen  school  houses,  distributed  on 
the  several  sections,  as  follows:  The  first,  on  the  east  side  of  Sec- 
tion 36,  was  built  of  oak  logs,  16x22,  in  the  fall  of  1819,  mainly 
by  the  efforts  of  Leonard  B.  Hodges,  of  Hardin,  who  also  taught 
the  first  school  there.  The  last  school  in  the  house  was  taught 
by  Wm  Larrabee,  of  Clermont. 

Second,  also  of  oak  logs,  was  built  in  1852,  near  the  southeast 
corner  of  Section  28. 

Third,  called  ''West  Grove,"  was  the  first  frame  school  house  in 
the  township,  built  in  1851,  near  the  northeast  corner  of  Section 
22,  and  was  removed  in  1860  to  Section  24. 

Fourth,  "PostvilleSub.  District,"'  a  frame,  built  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  Section  33,  in  1858. 

Fifth,  "Lybrand,"  a  frame  built  in  1860,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  northwest  quarter  of  Section  15. 

Sixth,  "Minert,"  a  frame,  built  in  1862,  near  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  Section  3,  to  replace  the  log  house,  No.  2. 

Seventh,  a  frame  built  in  1864,  on  the  west  side  of  Section  20. 

Eighth,  a  frame  built  in  1865,  near  the  center  of  Section  35. 

Ninth,  frame  built  in  1865,  on  Section  31. 

Tenth,  frame  on  south  line  of  Section  5. 

Eleventh,  "Myron,"  frame,  built  on  a  lot  in  village  in  IcTO. 

Twelfth,  frame,  built  in  1873,  at  the  east  end  of  Reuben 
Smith's  bridge,  across  Yellow  River,  near  the  northeast  corner  of 
Section  11. 

Thirteenth,  "Postville  High  School,"  built  of  brick,  is  two 
stories  high,  with  basement,  rooms  for  five  grades.  The  district 
has  lately  purchased  the  Baptist  church  property,  which  gives  ad- 


412  HISTORY    OF    ALLVMAKEE    COU.VTY. 

(litioual  niOiu,  and  better  facilities  for  teaching  the  lars:e  aud 
steadily  increasing  number  of  scholars  which  it  is  necessary  to 
provide  for. 

SUNDAY  SCHOOLS. 

The  tirst  Sunday-school  of  Post  Township  was  organized  in  the 
first  log  school-house  of  the  township,  in  the  Hardin  district,  in 
1852,  and  the  school  was  kept  up  as  ''Hardin  Union  Sabbath 
School,"  with  a  few  winter  omissions  to  1872,  when  it  was  divided 
among  the  several  religious  societies  in  Hardin  village. 

The  second  was  organized  in  the  old  log  house  of  the  Postville 
school  district  in  1854,  by  J.  C.  Marston,  who  was  first  superin- 
tendent. This  school  was  also  kept  up  with  a  few  omissions  in 
winter,  to  the  year  1869,  in  Postville,  when,  becoming  very  large, 
it  was  also  divided  hy  Congregational,  Methodist  and  Free  Will 
Baptist  Societies,  October  9,  1869. 

They  have  been  conducted  with  great  success  by  the  two  socie- 
ties first  mentioned,  the  two  schools  numbering  three  hundred  in 
the  village  in  1882. 

A  large  and  interesting  Sunday-school  is  also  held  at  the  U.  H., 
or  Bethel  Church,  organized  in  1869. 

CHURCHES. 

As  before  stated,  the  first  religious  services  ever  held  in  Post 
township  were  held  in  June,  1848,  by  the  Methodists,  who  organ- 
ized a  class  in  December,  1850,  at  the  house  of  Henry  Noble,  who 
was  class  leader.  Meetings  were  held  by  the  class  in  the  house  of 
John  Minert  in  1852-53,  known  as  the  West  Grove  appointment. 
Meetings  were  also  held  with  other  classes,  which  were  organized 
as  settlers'  houses  ofi'ered  opportunity,  until  school-houses  were 
built.  In  1856  a  class  was  formed  at  the  house  of  F.  Higby,  Esq., 
in  Postville,  where  meetings  were  held  with  little  intermission 
till  1858,  when  the  class  occupied  the  new  school  house,  with  reg- 
ular preaching,  alternating  with  the  Congregational  Society.  The 
pastors  were:  Mann,  Asbaugh,  Bronson,  Bishop,  Newton,  Church- 
ill, Stout,  F.  K.  Miller,  W^m.  Lease.  This  pastor  began  regular 
service  in  Postville,  October,  1859,  to  October,  1861;  B.  Holcomb, 
two  years;  B.  C.  Barnes,  two  years.  During  this  term  a  parson- 
age was  built,  and  Postville  became  the  head  of  the  circuit,  with 
appointments  at  Frankville,  Castalia  and  Bed  School  house.  Rev. 
Wm.  Young,  1865-66;  then  B.  F.  Taylor,  J.  E.  Fitch,  two  years; 
Rev.  G.  L.  Garrison,  three  years.  During  this  pastorate  a  church 
edifice  was  built.  The  corner  stone  was  laid  with  elaborate  cere- 
mony July  4th,  1872,  was  completed,  furnished  and  dedicated 
February  'l6th,  1873;  cost  $4,500.  Church,  membership,  58;  on 
probation,  9.  Condition  of  the  church  at  this  time  was  spiritually 
low;  prayer  and  class  meetings  neglected.  Rev.  Jason  L.  Paine 
took  charge  in  October,  1873,  and  soon  after  increased   interest 


msTOHY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  413 

was  manifest  in  the  society.  Rev.  John  Dolpb  in  charge  from 
September  1875  to  1878.  During  this  term  a  revival  occurred  in 
the  community,  and  twenty-nine  members  were  added  to  the 
church.  Rev.  Geo.  W.  Vnitt  served  as  pastor  three  years,  and 
thirty-eight  members  were  received  in  J 879.  l^resent  pastor, 
1882,  Rev.  H.E.  Warner. 

The  First  Congregational  Church  of  Fodcille  was  organi*d  April 
5,  1856,  by  Samuel  Russell  and  Lucy  P.  Russell,  of  Second  Congre- 
gational Church,  Rockford,  111.     John  Moir  and  Deborah,  his  wife, 
and  Geo.  Kerr,  of  the  Congregational  Church,  of  Roscoe,  111.,  with 
Mrs.  Anna  Orr,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Tyrone,  N.  Y.  John 
Moir  was  chosen  deacon  and  S.  J.  Russell,  scribe.  Rev.'D.  B.  David- 
son, of  Monona,  Iowa,  was  engaged  to  })reach  alternate  Sundays, 
and  the  Lord's  Supper  was  celebrated.  Afterward,  worship  was  held 
in  the  old  Post  dwellmg,  the  house  of  Mr.  Russell,  the  school  house 
at  Springfield,  and  the  school  house  in  the  village  as  soon  as  com- 
pleted, which  was  in   1858 — members  were  received  from  time  to 
time,  and  on  March  9.  1865,  preh'rainary  steps  were  taken  to  build 
a  house  of  worship.     An  association  was  formed  and  incorporated, 
the   trustees   being  John  Moir,   S.  J.  Russell,  D.  W.  C.  Rowley, 
Oliver  Mackey  and  Geo.  Kerr.     At  a  meeting  held  June  9, 1865,  it 
was  resolved  to  build  a  frame  edifice  36x48  feet,  on  lots  1  and  3,  block 
23,  in  Postville.     Among  the  subscribers  to  the  building  fund  are 
noticed  the  names  of  Geo.  G.  Greene,  Wm.  Green,  S.  Conover,  E. 
D.  Holton,  Hall  and  W.  ,S.  Roberts,  John  Lawler,  F.  F.  Elmen- 
dorff,  John    T.   Stoneman,    Samuel   Merrill  (since    Governor   of 
Iowa),  Wm.  B.  Strong,  J.  N.  Gilchrist,  J.  L.  Dearborn,  ex-Gover- 
nor Wm.  Bross,  of  Chicago,  Illinois.  The  church  was  finished  and 
dedicated  on  September  12,  1867.     Rev.  C.  R.  French  was  supply, 
but   the  association  being  somewhat  crippled   in  the  expense  of 
building,  the  house  was  rented  to  the  M.  E.  Society,  to  April,  1868, 
when  Mr.  J.  L.  Atkinson,  of  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary, 
began  regular  services.     Church  membership  thirty-eight.     The 
pastors  were  in  succession.  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Barrows,  Rev.  Geo.   F. 
Bronson,   Rev.  C.  A.   Marshall,  Rev.  J.   A.   Hoyt,    Rev.   L.   P. 
Matthews.    During  this  pastorate  a  revival  occurred,  and  twenty- 
five  members  were  received.     Rev.  Horace  H.  Robhins,  of  Musca- 
tine, Iowa,  filled  the  pulpit  from  July  1,  1878,  to  May  1,  1880. 
During  this  pastor's  term  thirty-three  members  were  added — the 
the    house   of  worship   repaired,   a  lecture  room   built,  grounds 
fenced  and  other  improvements   made.     Rev.  A.  S.  Houston,  of 
Denmark,  Iowa,  a  vacation  term  of  four  months — Rev.  C.  S.  New- 
hall,  to  June   25,  1882.     Rev.  A.  F.  Loomis,  of  Dixon,  Illinois, 
present  supply. 

The  Free-Will  Baptist  Society  was  organized  in  1865.  A 
house  of  worship  was  built  in  1866;  dedicated  in  1867.  The 
principal  workers  were  Martin  Boardman,  H.  B.  Hazelton,  Jona- 
than Ellis  and  Geo.  W.  Hanks.     Rev.  N.  R.  George  was  first  pastor. 


414  HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

Services  were  kepL  up,  with  some  omissions,  to  1880,  and  after 
some  efforts  to  recuperate,  it  was  decided  to  sell  the  property  with 
the  house  of  worship  to  the  school  district  of  Postville,  which 
was  accomplished  in  May,  1882. 

United  Brethren. — A  society  of  United  Biethren  was  organized 
in  18^,  and  a  house  of  worship  built  in  1869  at  the  center  of 
the  ndfthwest  quarter  of  section  23,  of  wood  frame,  well  finished, 
called  "Bethel  Church."  Services  are  held  continually;  member- 
ship not  large. 

German  Lutheran. — This  society  was  formed  in  the  spring  of 
1872,  and  a  house  of  worship  built  by  subscription  in  the  same  year. 
The  principal  workers  were  Conrad  Thoma,  Jacob  Leni,  E.  Rucktas- 
sel,  Fred.  Thoma,  Carl  Schultz,  Leithod  Bros,  and  Carl  Knodt.  The 
first  pastor  was  Andrew  Johnson,  a  German.  Services  have  been 
held  irregularly,  and  a  school  in  German  kept  by  some  of  the 
pastors.  The  society  was  incorporated  January  16th,  1880;  R.  A. 
T.  Meyer,  secretary.  Membership  in  1880:  Church,  25;  Associa- 
tion,j^8;  total,  73.  Membership  in  1882:  Church,  67;  Associa- 
tiou,-157;  total,  124. 

Catholic. — A  house  of  worship  was  built  in  1872  at  a  cost  of 
12,500;  size,  34x00  feet;  wood.     It  is  but  little  used. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

Tlte  Postville  Bevieiv  was  established,  as  its  first  number  indi- 
cates, March  19th,  1873,  by  F.  M.  McCormack,  a  typo  of  De- 
corah,  Iowa.  The  paper  took  good  rank  from  the  start;  Republi- 
can in  politics,  with  an  independent  turn.  It  was  sold  to  W.  N. 
Burdick,  late  of  the  Cresco  (Iowa)  Times.  The  Review  has  a 
large  and  wide  circulation,  and  seems  a  permanent  fixture  in  Post- 
ville. 

The  District  Post  is  the  iitle  of  a  new  paper  started  August  17, 
1882,  by  M.  C.  Mead,  late  of  the  Holland  Gazette,  (Grundy  County, 
Iowa.)  and  is  devoted  to  the  interest  of  the  Greenbackers. 

LA.WYERS. 

T.  C.  Ransom,  a  native  of  Hartland,  Conn.,  removed  from  Har- 
din, Iowa,  where  he  had  practiced  some  years,  to  Postville,  and 
opened  his  office  May  9th,  1868.  Removed  to  Forest  City,  Iowa, 
in  October,  in  1870. 

Simeon  S.  Powers,  a  native  of  Chautauqua  County,  New  York, 
also  removed  his  office  here  from  Hardin,  Iowa,  and  formed  a 
partnership  with  T.  C.  Ransom  in  May,  1870.  He  still  con- 
tinues business;  has  built  up  an  extensive  practice,  has  late- 
ly taken  his  son,  L.  M.  Powers,  as  a  partner,  who  with  a  copy 
clerk  are  all  busily  employed. 

Burling  &  Stowe.  Fred  S.  Burling  and  Herman  A.  Stowe 
came  from  West  Union,  Iowa,  locating  in  Postville,  July  10th, 
1872.  They  have  succeeded  in  building  a  fair  practice  on  a  good 
foundation. 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  415 

Hon.  John  T.  Clark,  one  of  Allamakee  County's  war  horses  in 
law,  established  an  office  in  Postville  in  1880.  Does  a  good 
business,  and  is  the  principal  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  this  locality. 

PHYSICIANS. 

Luther  Brown,  a  hospital  steward  of  the  regular  army  and, 
graduate  of  Rush  Medical  College,  Chicago,  Ills.,  located  in  Post- 
ville in  May,  1866.  He  has  a  large  and  lucrative  practice.  Was 
a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  16th  General  Assembly,  la., 
in  1876. 

John  S.  Green  came  from  Hardin,  Iowa,  where  he  had  praticed 
since  1854,  locating  in  Postville  in  March,  1867.  Has  a  large 
practice.  His  son,  J.  E.  Green,  graduate  of  Iowa  Medical  Col- 
lege has  lately  began  business  in  company  with  the  father. 

John  Shepherd,  an  apothecary  of  training  in  Scotland,  gradu- 
ate of  Iowa  City  Medical  College,  began  practice  in  Postville 

— • — Still  practices. 

Others  of  the  profession  have  temporarily  practiced  in  Postville. 
Mention  might  be  made  of  the  names  of  some:  S.  Riddle,  in 
1858  to  '62;  Linert,  1861-65;  W.  Y.  Boughton,  1874;  B.  E. 
Brockhansen,1873  and'74;  J.  Hanson,  1880-'81. 

OTHER  TILLAGES  IN  THE  TOWNSHIP. 

Lijhmnd. — This  place  was  originally  settled  by  Jacob  Ly brand, 
and  a  plat  of  a  few  acres  laid  out,  and  a  post  office  established 
in  1851,  and  was  in  1853  quite  a  village,  Mr.  Ly  brand  kept  a 
good  stock  of  goods,  as  did  Hiram  Jones  in  1853  and  '54.  There 
were  milliner  stores,  boot  and  shoe  stores.  John  D.  Cooper 
came  in  1854,  and  started  to  build  a  hotel  of  stone,  of  large  pro- 
portions, which  was  but  half  finished,  when  sold  to  Elisha  Har- 
ris in  the  fall  of  1854,  who  made  a  farm  of  the  whole  Lybrand 
property;  completely  absorbing  the  last  in  1856.  Since  then 
shops  and  stores  have  become  barns  and  sheds,  for  produce  and 
farm  stock.  The  "Great  Hotel"  finished  by  Mr.  Harris,  was  to- 
tally destroyed  by  a  tornado,  Sept.  21st,  1881. 

Myron. — ^The  village  of  Myron,  so  named  for  F.  Myron  Swartz, 
son  of  P.  P.  Swartz,  the  first  settler,  was  begun  at  the  time  of 
the  removal  of  the  Lybrand  postoffice,  when  Elisha  Harris  re- 
signed as  postmaster.  It  was  then  removed  to  Mr.  Swartz's  house 
and  P.  F.  Swartz  appointed  postmaster  of  Myron,  in  1869.  R.  T. 
Burnham  moved  his  flouring  mill  from  Hardin  to  Myron  in  1865. 
S.  F.  Goody koontz,  of  Waukon,  purchased  half  the  property  in 
1866,  and  had  a  plat  laid  out  near  the  center  of  section  3.  D.  D. 
Hendricks  started  a  store  in  1867.  Some  building  was  done,  a  few 
dwellings  put  up,  but  the  trade  is  dull,  the  mill  only  doing  any 
.business.  The  excellent  water-power  here  should  be  an  induce- 
ment to  further  enterprise.  ^ 


416  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

Cleveland  was  started  in  1856,  near  the  southeast  corner  of  sec- 
tion 1,  but  lived  only  a  few  years.  Jas.  Arnold  and  P.  M,  Gilson 
were  the  original  proprietors. 

CORJTET   BAND. 

This  band  w^as  organized  in  May,  1873.  The  instruments  were 
purchased  by  a  subscription  of  citizens  and  distributed  to  mem- 
bers as  follows: 

James  Perry,  leader,  E.  h.  cornet;  Joseph  B.  Reed,  2d  E.  h.  cornet; 
S.  S.  Powers,  B.  h.  cornet;  J.  V.  Allen,  2d  Bb  cornet;  H.  E.  Bab- 
cock,  E.  h.  alto;  A.  W.  McDoneld,  2d  E.  /;.  alto;  H.  P.  Dawes,  B.  h. 
tenor;  E.  D.  Stiles,  2d  B.  h.  tenor;  A.  R.  Prescott,  baritone;  T.  H. 
Symms,  tuba;  J.  W.  Sheeh}^  snare  drum;  Joe  C.  Dow,  bass  drum 
and  cymbals. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  years  many  changes  had  taken  place,  by 
removals  mostly,  and  in  1880  a  re-organization  was  necessary. 
The  present  esprit  du  corps  may  be  mentioned  as: 

D.  E.  Harrington,  E.  J.  cornet  and  leader;  E.  H.  Putnam,  2d  E.  Z*. 
cornet;  L.  M.  Powers,  B.  b.  cornet;  Stephen  Spoo,  2d  B.  h.  cornet: 
J.  A.  Enke,  E.  h.  alto  solo;  P.  Deitzler,  E.  h.  alto;  Joe  Bencher,  2d 
E.  h.  alto;  A.  C.  Tatro,  B.  h.  tenor;  Jacob  Meyer,  2d  B.  h.  tenor; 
Joseph  Nicholai,  baritone;  G.  Staadt,  tuba;  J.  W.  Sheehy,  snare 
drum;  J.  K.  Phillips,  bass  drum. 

They  are  well  uniformed,  and  are  prepared  to  compete  with  any 
band  in  the  State. 

MILITARY. 

Company  D,  4th  Regiment  I.  N.  G.  w^as  enrolled  March  16th, 
1880.  Mustered  into  service  by  Capt.  E.  B.  Bascomb,  of  Lans- 
ing, Iowa,  the  same  day.  An  election  for  officers  was  immedi- 
ately held,  and  James  Perry  elected  Captain;  A.  R.  Prescott,  1st 
Lieut;  Joseph  B.  Reed,  2d  Lieut. 

H.  P.  Dawes  was  1st  Sergt.;  Loren  M.  Powers,  2d  Sergt;  J. 
J.  Beedy,  3d  Sergt.;  Arthur  F.  Marston,  4th  Sergt.;  *Ed.  H. 
Putman,  5th  Sergt.;  Wm.  F.  Owen,  1st  Corporal;  Frank  Orr,  2d 
Corporal;  Elbert  D.  Stiles,  3d  Corporal;  D.  Henry  Laughlin,  4th 
Corporal. 

Musicians — *Dennis  Hardin,  Jas.  Sheehy. 

Privates — Joseph  Anderson,  George  Bellows,  C.  I.  Bishop,  J. 
Cole,  Edgar  Clough,  James  Doyle,  Chas.  Gordon , 'John  H.  Grif- 
fin, Ben.  S.  Gulic,  Fred  E.  Haines,  James  Hogan,  John  Mc- 
Ghee,  James  McGhee,  Chas.  T.  Makepeace,  George  Mc Williams, 
Dennis  Murphy,  Lyman  Newton,  John  O'Brien,  Darius  Orr, 
Ellison  Orr,  Lyman  Patterson,  John  K.  Phillips,  Timothy  Per- 
ry, Fred  Rathman,  John  Redhead,  Lincoln  Redhead,  Henry  J. 
Reusch,  John  S.  Roll,  James  T.  Shepherd,  Wm.  Shepherd, 
Stephen  Spoo,  *Alonzo  L.  Stiles,  Lamotte  Tavlor,  OtiSjVan  Vel- 
zer,  Hugh  Wheeler,  N.  E.  Wells,  Geo.  W.  White,  Henry 
Wells. 

*Veteranp, 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  417 

POSTMASTERS. 

Elijah  Stevenson,  '40  to  '51.  James  Stevenson  '51  to  53.  Jo- 
siah  b.  Keed,  '53  to  '56.  Emery  Higbey,  '56  to  '59.  H.  B. 
Hazelton,  '59  to  '63.  G.  F.  Webster,  "63  to  '65.  Warreu 
Stiles,  Sept.  2,  '65,  to  June  30,  '66.  John  Moir,  Jr.,  July  1st, 
'66,  to  Dec.  31, '77.  A.  K.  Preseott  from  Jan.  1,  1878.  Money 
order  office  since  1870. 

SECRET    SOCIETIES. 

A.  F.  (t'  A.  J/.— Lodge  designated  ''Brotherly  Love",  No.  204; 
Chartered  in  June,  1866.  First  W.  M.,  G.  F.  Webster.  Present 
W.  M.,  S.  S.  Powers.     Membership,  43. 

I.  0.  0.  i^.— Lodge  designated  "Postville,"  No.  266.  Instituted 
December,  1873.  H.  P.  Dawes  first  N.  G.  Present  N.  G.,  Jacob 
Meyer.     Membership,  39. 

A.  0.  U.  W. — Chartered  and  designated  '"Noble,"  No.  51,  of 
Iowa.     Present  M.  W.,  T.  B.  Easton.     Membership,  28. 

Eclipse  No.  96,  loira  Lefiion  of  Honor. — Chartered  1879. 
Present  membership,  25,     Hall  Roberts,  president. 

Post  CoUegium,,  No.  52,  V.  A.  S.  Frateniifi/. — Instituted  May 
1882.  H.  A.  Stowe,  rector.  Membership,  33.  James  Perry, 
scribe. 

POSTVILLE  BUSINESS  DIRECTORY,  1882. 

Mayor,  Norman  J.  Beedy;  Recorder,  B.  F.  Taylor. 

Attorneys:  Burling  &  Stowe,  John  T.  Clark,  S.  S.  Powers. 

Insurance  Agents:  F.  S.  Burling,  H.  Dawes,  0.  E.  Omley, 
S.  S.  Powers. 

Postmaster,  Alva  R.  Preseott. 

Agent  C,  M.  &  St.  P.  R.  R.,  James  F.  Wilson. 

Agent  B.,  C.  R.  &  N.  R.  R.,  James  Perry. 

Newspapers,  Postville  Bevieiv^  District  Post. 

Jewelers — J.  H.  Gray,  J.  Glines 

Lumber — J.  S.  Mott. 

Hardware  and  tinware — Matthew  Bencher,  Mott  &  McAdam, 
H.  Stone. 

Drugs,  medicines  and  books — Bayless.  Douglass  &  Co.,  Anton 
Staadt. 

Restaurants— Edward  Sheehy,  John  Thoma. 

Wagon  makers — Meyer  &  Hecker. 

Agricultural  implements — C.  A.  Leithold,  Keramerer,  Lamb  & 
Co. 

Pumps  and  windmills — A.  F.  Marston. 

Carpenters— C.  P.  Darling,  H.  P.  Dawes,  T.  M.  Miller,  J.  W. 
Sheehy,  H.  B.  Taylor,  E.  E.  Wilson. 

Hotels — "Commercial,"  J.  M.  Lisher;  "Burlington/'  Burhans 
Bros. 

Painters— J.  B.  Reed,  E.  H.  Putnam.  Taylor,  Phillip  Deitzler. 

Photographer — B.  F.  Taylor. 


418  HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUi^TY. 

Cornet  Band — D'Estaing  Harrington,  Leader;  Gottfried,  Staadt, 
Secretary. 

General  merchandise — Jolin  A.  Finney,  Luhman  &  Sanders,  F. 
W.  Roberts,  Skelton  &  McEwen,  Ward  &  Meyer. 

Clothing — D.  Osterdock. 

Fruit  and  confectionery — Peter  Miller,  John  Moir,  Jr. 

Bakery— Peter  Miller. 

Blacksmiths— Myer  &  Hecker,  E.  Parsons,  G.  W.  Stafford. 

Shoemakers — Wm.  Grans,  J.  B.  Schmidt,  A.  Stockman. 

Cabinet  makers  and  furniture  dealers — T.  B.  Easton,  August 
Koevening,  A.  W.  McDaneld. 

Machine  and  repair  shop — Dresser  &  Fairchild. 

Harness  makers — J.  A.  Euke,  H.  W.  Meyer. 

Milliners  and  dressmakers — Canfield  &  Jones,  Duff  &  Cross, 
Viola  Hunter. 

Barber — J.  K.  Phillips. 

Company  D,  4th  Regiment,  I.  N.  G. — James  Perry,  Captain. 


CHAPTER  Vlil. 


Criminal  Episodes;  The  Gorman  Rohhery;  "Borrowing"  Horses; 
Assassination  of  Cunningham;  Murder  of  Barney  Leavy;  The 
Minert  Murder;  '^Shoving  the  Queer;"  An  Uncle  Murders  His 
Nephew;  a  PostviUe  Burglary ;  Fatal  Stabbing  Affray;  A  De- 
faulting Postmaster ;  Shooting  of  Matt.  Beuscher;  Other  Fa- 
tal Affrays.,  Burglaries.,  Assaults,  etc. 


We  have  already  stated  that  the  first  term  of  District  Court 
held  in  this  county  was  at  Columbus  in  July,  1852,  Judge  Wil- 
son presiding,  though  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  Judge  Grant 
appeared  and  tried  cases  in  vacation  prior  to  that  date,  in  1850, 
or  '51.  Previous  to  1849  we  were  attached  to  Clayton  County 
for  judicial  purposes.  At  the  November  term,  1853,  at  Wau- 
kon,  numerous  bills  were  found  by  the  grand  jury  against  parties 
for  assault  and  battery,  gambling  and  betting,  keeping  gambling 
house,  selling  liquor,  etc.  In  nearly  every  case  the  defendant 
was  ordered  to  be  arrested  and  held  in  $200  bonds;  and  at  a  later 
term  they  were  nearly,  or  quite  all  of  them  discharged. 

Nov.  9,  1853,  Elias  Topliff'was  indicted  for  official  misdemeanor 
in  the  exercise  of  his  official  duties,  as  County  Judge,  arising,  it  is 
presumed,  from  the  county  seat  controversy.  He  took  a  change 
of  venue  to  Winneshiek  County,  and  the  case  was  dismissed. 

The  first  criminal  action  brought  to  trial  was  on  the  9th  of 
November,  1853,  ''The  State  of  loAva   vs.  Grove  A.  Warner   and 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKKE    COUNTY.  419 

James  A.  Davis,"  upon  an  indictment  for  robbery.  The  defend- 
ants lived  at  or  near  Merrian's  Ford  (now  Myron),  and  Warner 
had  served  as  clerk  of  the  old  "Commissioners'  Court,"  was  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  we  believe  a  shoemaker  by  trade.  It 
seems  that  Thos.  and  Jerry  Gorman  came  into  possession  of  some 
$600  or  8700,  and  in  considering  where  to  place  it  for  safety 
against  the  time  they  should  have  occasion  to  use  it,  one  of  them 
consulted  Justice  Warner.  That  night — or  some  night  shortly 
after — the  Goimans  were  robbed  of  all  they  had  about  them, 
which  happened  to  be  only  about  860,  they  having  found  a  depos- 
itory for  the  main  portion  of  their  funds.  Warner  skipped  out, 
and  two  years  later  his  bondsmen  were  mulcted  in  default  of  his 
appearance.  Davis  stood  trial,  was  convicted  of  "robbery  in  the 
first  degree,"  and  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for  ten  years.  S. 
Goodridge  was  prosecuting  attorne}',  and  John  Laughlin,  of  Post, 
Sheriff. 

Since  that  day  our  county  has  been  cursed  with  her  share  of 
criminals,  though  it  has  never  been  her  lot  to  witness  an  execu- 
tion. It  is  impossible  to  give  anything  like  a  full  list  of  the 
crimes  that  have  been  brought  to  public  notice  within  our  borders; 
but  a  brief  reference  to  the  worst  and  more  prominent  of  them 
seems  called  for  in  a  work  of  this  character.  * 

There  was  at  one  time  a  great  demand  in  this  western  country 
fur  "borrowed"  horses;  and  so  great  was  the  apparent  demand 
that  it  was  found  necessary  in  this  county,  as  well  as  in  many 
others,  to  sometimes  send  out  armed  patrols  to  search  the  country 
for  those  who  did  the  borrowing,  that  is  in  cases,  of  course,  where 
it  was  done  without  leave.  We  cannot  say  that  actual  lynching 
was  ever  practiced,  but  certain  it  is  that  some  parties  were  badly 
scared;  and  it  is  also  certain  that  more  than  one  desperate  char- 
acter was  arrested  and  brought  to  justice  by  them,  and  others  in- 
formed that  another  part  of  the  country  would  doubtless  prove 
more  conducive  to  their  health.  We  regret  that  we  have  not  the 
data  from  which  to  cite  instances,  but  tiiere  are  doubtless  those 
still  living  who  might  write  an  interesting  chapter  on  this  subject. 

The  first  case  of  horse  stealing  we  have  run  across  in  our  re- 
searches is  that  of  David  Clark,  examined  in  Lansing  in  Decem- 
ber, 185S,  and  committed  to  the  Decorah  jail.  His  plan  was  said 
to  be,  after  stealing  an  animal,  to  run  him  off  and  sell  him,  and 
then  lie  about  until  he  got  a  chance  to  poison  the  horse  to  destroy 
the  evidence.  The  grand  jury  found  a  bill  against  him  May  25, 
1859,  but  before  he  could  be  brought  to  trial  he  escaped  from  jail 
by  nearly  killing  the  jailer,  and  was  never  recaptured. 

A  remarkable  case  was  that  of  Wm.  Presho,  a  most  desperate 
character,  who  was  arrested  for  sitealing  horses  from  the  livery  in 
Waukon,  we  believe,  in  the  spring  of  1865.  His  trial  came  off 
at  Lansing  in  June  following,  aud  on  the  17th  of  that  month  he 
was  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  two  years  in  the  Fort  Madison 


420  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY 

• 

penitentiary.  Sheriff  Palmer  started  down  river  with  liim  ahoard 
a  stern  wheel  steamer,  taking  along  one  Dr.  Hall,  a  man  ^vell 
known  and  kighly  respected,  a*  an  assistant.  Late  one  evening 
Hall  accompanied  Presho  to  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and  both  dis- 
appeared. As  soon  as  they  were  missed  a  search  was  made,  but 
neither  was  found,  and  the  theory  received  credence  for  several 
years  that  both  were  drowned,  as  it  was  supposed  that  Presho 
had  attempted  to  drown  his  guard  and  had  gone  down  with  him, 
being  handcuffed  at  the  time.  Presho  afterward  turned  up  alive 
and  sound,  and  his  version  of  the  affair  is  said  to  be,  that  after 
knocking  Hall  insensible  and  throwing  him  into  the  river  (Hall 
was  rather  slight,  while  the  prisoner  was  powerful  and  an  excellent 
swimmer)  he  jumped  over  and  supported  himself  upon  a  board  close 
by  the  wheel,  where  he  was  concealed  by  a  projection  above  and 
escaped  discovery  in  the  darkness  when  the  search  was  made,  and 
when  the  boat  made  her  next  landing  he  dropped  into  the  water  and 
got  safely  to  the  shore.  Be  that  as  it  may,  he  escaped,  and  wa? 
again  at  his  old  tricks.  Stealing  a  valuable  horse  somewhere  in  the 
central  part  of  the  State,  he  run  the  animal  off  into  Minnesota 
and  entered  it  in  a  race.  The  owner  followed  in  search,  passing 
through  VVaukon,  and  it  is  said  discovered  his  horse  just  as  it  was 
coming  victorious  from  the  race  course,  having  won  the  purse. 
Seeking  the  pretended  owner,  he  demanded  how  he  came  by  the 
animal,  and  Presho  answered  that  he  had  a  bill  of  sale  which  he 
would  produce  if  he  would  accompany  him  to  his  hotel.  The  man 
did  so,  accompanying  Presho  to  his  room,  where  the  latter  went 
coolly  to  his  trunk  and  taking  a  revolver  in  each  hand  confronted 
the  rightful  owner  of  the   horse,  declaring  ''there  is  my  bill  of 

sale,  d you!"'     He   then  cleared  out,   but  was  pursued,  and 

swam  the  Minnesota  river,  while  several  shots  were  fired  at  him 
from  the  shore  he  had  just  left.  He  was  never  apprehended,  we 
believe,  but  has  been  seen  several  times  since  then;  and  it  is  said 
he  ran  a  stock  farm  for  several  years  in  Nebraska  or  Kansas. 

One  of  the  earliest  murders  in  the  county,  of  which  w^e  have 
any  account,  occurred  in  Linton  township  in  1863  or  1864,  the 
particulars  being  substantially  as  follows.  It  appears  that  a  diffi- 
culty of  long  standing  existed  between  one  Girard  Riley  and  a 
neighbor  named  Cunningham,  and  finally  Riley  assassinated  him, 
lying  in  wait  in  a  wood,  as  he  passed  by.'  The  murderer  had  made 
due  preparations  for  the  awful  deed,  loading  his  gun  and  firing  on 
the  unsuspecting  man  from  the  rear,  at  a  time  when  he  least  of 
all  expected  to  meet  his  deadly  enemy.  He  had  carefully  saddled 
a  horse,  and  as  soon  as  the  deed  was  committed  made  good  his 
escape  from  the  county,  and  was  never  heard  of  afterward  until 
in  the  winter  of  1874  and  1875,  when  Sheriff  Hewitt  received  a 
letter  from  one  John  0'Toole,at  Lexington,  Ky.,  to  the  effect  that 
if  he  would  come  to  Lexington  he  (O'Toole)  would  point  out  to 
him  a  man  named  Girard  Riley,  who  committed  a  murder  in  Lin- 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COU^'Ty.  421 

ton  township  some  eleven  years  jjrevious.  Acting  upon  the  re- 
quest of  O'Toole,  the  Sheriif"  procured  from  Gov.  (.'arpenter,  of 
this  State,  a  requisition  on  the  Governor  of  Kentucky,  aamed  with 
which  he  started  for  Lexington,  and  was  soon  in  communication 
with  the  writer  of  the  letter.  Judge  of  the  indignation  and 
astonishment  of  the  ofKcial.  when  0  Toole  doggedly  refused  to 
point  out  the  whereabouts  of  the  man,  or  to  give  any  information 
■whatever  about  him,  unless  Mr.  Hewitt  would  pay  him  in  cash 
$300.  His  claims  were  based  upon  a  statement  to  the  effect  that 
he  had  been  Iiiley's  neighbor  and  friend;  that  he  was  perfectly 
familiar  with  all  the  circumstances  and  facts  of  the  tragedy;  that 
he  was  shortlj'  afterward  in  communication  with  the  murderer, 
and  iinally  both  settled  in  Kentucky.  There  O'Toole  loaned  Riley 
$300  to  start  in  business.  This  sum  he  demanded  back  from 
Riley,  but  the  fellow  coolly  informed  his  benefactor  and  friend 
that  all  his  property  was  in  his  wife's  name;  that  O'Toole  could 
not  make  him  pay  it,  and  he  refused  point  blank  to  return  the 
money.  Determined  to  seek  revenge,  he  told  Riley  that  he  would 
yet  be  even  with  him;  and  in  due  time  the  letter  to  Sheriff  Hewitt 
was  written,  and  that  official  summoned.  He  stated  that  Riley 
was  living  under  an  assumed  name,  and  was  in  good  circum- 
stances; that  all  he  (O'Toole)  wanted  was  the  borrowed  money, 
and  if  that  was  forthcoming  he  would  at  once  deliver  him  up.  The 
Sheriff  refused  to  comply  with  this  demand,  but  consulted  with 
the  Sheriff  of  Lexington  County,  and  put  him  in  possession  of  all 
the  facts;  and  with  the  promise  of  all  the  assistance  in  the  power 
of  that  official  the  case  still  rests. 

Perhaps  the  most  foul  murder  ever  perpetrated  in  the  county 
was  that  of  Barney  Leavy  by  Charles  O'Neill,  on  Lansing  Ridge, 
in  1860,  the  circumstances  being  as  follows: 

Leavy  was  a  teamster  between  Lansing  and  Decorah,  and  much 
ofthe  time  put  up  at  Marsden's,  on  the  Ridge.  ONeill  lived 
not  far  from  there  on  the  same  road.  One  Sunday  a  young  man 
by  the  name  of  Hughes,  somewhat  intoxicated,  was  driving  back 
and  forth  along  the  road,  and  stopped  with  a  companion  at 
Mauch's  brewery  for  a  glass  of  beer,  where  he  met  Leavy  and  got 
into  an  altercation  wilh  him,  both  being  in  a  mood  to  indulge  in 
pugilism.  One  or  two  Sundays  after  this  occurrence  it  was  being 
talked  over  at  Mauch's,  when  Leavy,  in  the  presence  of  O'Neill, 
declared  he  could  whip  Hughes;  whereupon  O'Neill,  who  was  an 
old  friend  of  you  ig  Hughes'  father,  with  whom  he  had  chummed 
in  California,  resented  his  language  and  hot  words  passed  between 
them.  At  a  later  hoar,  after  they  had  left  the  brewery,  Leavy 
Avhipped  O'Neill,  who  then  went  home  and  armed  himself  with  a 
knife  and  gun,  but  apparently  concluding  that  the  knife  would  do 
the  work  the  best,  secreted  the  latter  under  the  fence.  He  then 
proceeded  to  a  point  on  the  road  where  he  knew  Leavy  would 
pass,  and  which  was  darker  than   elsew'here,  the  trees  at  that  time 


422  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

meeting  overhead  from  either  side,  and  lay  in  wait  behind  a  large 
stump  until  his  victim  had  passed,  when  he  sprang  upon  him  from 
behind  and  accomplished  his  work.  We  may  add  that  Hughes, 
Sr.,  father  of  the  young  man  above  alluded  to,  had  also  killed  a 
man,  in  Lansing  we  believe,  some  years  earlief^  but  he  died  of 
cholera  before  he  was  brought  to  trial. 

At  the  December  term  of  the  District  Court  O'Neill  was  in- 
dicted for  murder  in  the  first  degree.  In  June  following  his  trial 
took  place;  he  was  found  guilty  of  murder  in  the  second  degree, 
and  on  the  23d  of  that  month  was  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary 
at  Fort  Madison  for  life.  He  Avas  still  living  at  last  accounts,  but 
was  completely  broken  down  and  failing,  having  become  quite 
aged  and  decrepid. 

Another  horrible  murder  occurred  on  Yellow  River  in  September, 

1867,  but  the  murderer  escaped  the  gallows,  which  would  in  all 
probability  have  been  his  end  had  he  come  to  trial.  The  circum- 
stances were  these:  John  Minert  and  Wm.  H.  Stafford  were 
neighbors;  the  former,  a  well-to-do  and  respected  citizen,  owning 
a  mill  dam  which  he  was  raising  and  improving.  Stafford,  a  good 
enough  neighbor  when  sober,  was  brutal  and  savage  when  in  li- 
quor, and  had  threatened  Minert  should  he  raise  the  dam,  as  it 
would  overflow  some  of  his  land.  He  came  upon  Minert  with  an 
ax,  and  without  a  word  from  either  cut  his  head  open,  killing  him 
almost  instantly.  He  then  fled  the  country.  Sherifl"  Townsend 
immediately  offered  a  reward  of  $1,000  for  his  apprehension,  and 
Gov.  Merrill  afterwards  $500.  The  Board  of  Supervisors  refused 
to  endorse  Townsend's  reward  and  it  was  withdrawn.  At  a  sub- 
sequent session  the  offer  of  fll, 000  was  made  by  the  Board,  A 
man  named  Wesley  Smith,  living  near  Postville,  had  been  post- 
ing himself  as  to  Stafford's  whereabouts,  and  as  soon  as  an  amount 
Avas  off'ered  sufficient  to  pay  him  for  the  risk  set  to  work  to  bring 
him  to  justice.  Letters  were  being  received  quite  freely  by  Staf- 
ford's family,  Avho  were  still  on  Yellow  River,  from  Minnesota. 
It  was  discovered  that  these  letters  were  remailed  by  friends  of 
the  family  in  Minnesota,  and  by  intercepting  them  his  where- 
abouts was  ascertained  to  be  in  Arkansas.  Smith,  with  an  assist- 
ant, went  to  Arkansas  and  arrested  him,  and  brought  him  as  far 
as  Memphis,  where  the  prisoner  discovered  his  guard  dozing  and 
escaped  from  the  boat.  His  hands  were  shackled  at  the  time,  but 
no  trace  of  him  was  found. 

In  March,  1862,  a  press  for  printing  counterfeit  money  Avas 
found  in  Whaley's  mill  pond,  on  Village  Creek.  It  was  deposited 
in  the  court  house  at  Waukon,  where  it  remained  until  February, 

1868,  when  it  was  sold  for  old  iron, 

Jas,  K,  Rinehart  and  Geo.  Rose  were  arrested  for  passing  coun- 
terfeit money  in  the  spring  of  1868  and  lodged  in  jail  at  Waukon, 
On  the  morning  of  May  28th  Rinehart  was  found  to  have  escaped 
by  digging  through  a  number   of  thick  plank  and  the  brick  wall 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUlsTY.  423 

his  compauion  having  been  bailed  out  a  day  or  two  previous.  He 
was  recaptured  in  August  and  returned  to  his  quarters.  The  case 
against  Rose  was  finally  dismissed  for  want  of  evidence.  If  we 
are  not  mistaken  Rinehart  again  escaped,  but  got  into  the  Wiscon- 
sin penitentiary  where  he  is  said  to  have  died. 

In  November,  1870,  Anderson  Amos  was  convicted,  at  Du- 
buque, of  passing  counterfeit  money,  and  sentenced  to  fifteen 
years.  At  the  same  time  Douglas  was  sentenced  for  eight  years, 
and  others  had  narrow  escapes  from  implication. 

In  January,  1869,  Frank  May  shot  his  nephew,  Charles  May, 
dead,  at  their  place  on  the  Iowa  near  New  Galena,  they  having 
had  some  dispute  as  to  the  division  of  the  crops.  The  murderer 
declared  it  was  done  in  self-defense,  but  nevertheless  took  him- 
self out  of  the  country,  ifr^was  supposed.  About  the  first  of  Oc- 
tober following  some  unknown  person  attempted  to  take  the  life 
of  James  May,  brother  of  the  one  killed  the  previous  winter,  firing 
at  him  a  charge  of  buckshot,  which,  however,  did  not  take  effect 
in  a  vital  pait.  The  assassin  was  supposed  to  be  the  missing  uncle 
who  we  believe  was  never  apprehended. 

On  the.  night  of  July  30,  1869,  a  man  who  gave  his  name  as 
Fredrick  Shaffer,  broke  into  the  Kelley  House  at  Postville,  but 
being  discovered  fired  at  Mr.  Kelley,  who  returned  the  fire,  break- 
ing Shaffer's  thigh,  near  the  body.  He  was  lodged  in  the  county 
jail;  but  in  November  he  escaped  by  digging  down  and  under  the 
foundation  wall — "gophered"  out — and  upon  a  horse  he  stole,  or 
which  was  stolen  for  him,  herode  to  near  Monona  and  took  the 
train  for  Chicago.  There  he  was  arrested  in  December  for  a 
burglary  committed  at  Beloit,  Wisconsin,  the  summer  before,  and 
recognized  as  an  old  offender  by  name  of  Frank  Leonard  with 
many  aliases.  His  career,  as  narrated  in  a  Chicago  paper,  includ- 
ed a  robbery  in  Michigan,  burglary  in  Juneau,  Wisconsin,  a  bank 
robbery  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  and  burglary  and  shooting  at 
Dubuque,  In  each  of  these  cases  he  had  been  arrested,  some- 
times escaping  from  custody,  and  again  being  released  upon  re- 
vealing the  whereabouts  of  his  "swag,"  or  serving  his  term.  He 
had  also  engaged  in  bounty  jumping  during  the  war.  In  his  Be- 
loit affair  he  was  arrested  but  escaped  by  shooting  and  wounding 
two  officers.  The  last  heard  from  he  was  sent  to  the  AVisconsin 
penitentiary  for  five  years  in  March,  1871,  for  crime  in  that  State. 

January  20,  1872,  John  Martinson  fatally  stabbed  Christian 
Hanson  at  a  dance  in  Lansing.  Martinson  fled  the  country,  but 
in  July  of  the  following  year,  1873,  he  was  arrested  in  Chicago, 
brought  to  Lansing  for  examination,  and  lodged  in  the  Waukon 
jail.  At  the  next  December  term  of  the  District  Court  he  was 
convicted  of  manslaughter  and  sentenced  to  five  years  in  the  pen- 
itentiary, but  received  a  pardon  about  September,  1876. 

In  December,  1872,  F.  H.  Bartlett  plead  guilty  to  the  larceny 
of  a  horse,  and  received  two  years  in  the  penitentiary. 


421  HISTOKY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY, 

In  October,  1873,  Chas.  Van  Hooser,  in  a  misunderstanding  at 
Postville,  knocked  J.  N.  Topliff  down  with  a  club.  In  June,  1874, 
he  was  convicted  of  assault  with  intent  to  commit  great  bodily  in- 
jury, and  fined  $200  and  costs. 

June,  1874,  James  Gillman  plead  guilty  to  larceny  and  received 
six  months  in  the  penitentiary. 

In  1874,  were  developed  the  facts  of  the  defalcation  of  J.  G. 
Orr,  of  Lansing,  who  left  the  country  and  his  whereabouts  are  not 
known  to  this  day.  It  seems  that  in  his  official  capacity  of  post 
master  of  that  place,  he  had  defrauded  the  Government  to  the 
tune  of  $3,000 — or  not  far  from  that  sum — and  as  collector  of 
Lansing  City  and  township  had  appropriated  as  much  more  be- 
longing to  the  county,  and  Lansing  incorporation,  making  a 
grand  total  sum  of  $6,000.  The  affair  created  quite  a  stir  at  the 
time,  of  course,  and  his  bondsmen  have  good  reason  to  ever  bear  it 
in  mind,  as  they  were  called  upon  to  settle  Orr's  delinquencies, 
though  we  believe  the  settlement  was  made  as  easy  for  them  as 
possible,  the  full  amount  of  the  deficiencies  not  being  exacted. 

On  the  night  of  May  17,  1875,  at  a  Turn-fest  ball  in  Post- 
ville, a  quarrel  occurred,  during  which  Matt.  Beuscher  was  shot 
in  the  side  and  not  expected  to  live.  D.  B.  Tapper,  a  young 
man,  whose  parents  were  in  good  circumstances  and  lived 
near  Monona,  was  arrested,  with  one  Joseph  Ingalls,  and  bail 
fixed  at  $15,000  and  $500  respectively,  pending  the  result  of  the 
shooting.  Beuscher  recovered;  Ingalls  we  believe  was  discharged 
from  custody;  Tapper  was  brought  to  trial  in  December,  1875, 
convicted  of  assault  with  intent  to  commit  great  bodily  injury 
and  paid  a  fine  of  $200. 

In  April,  1876,  T.  C.  Smith's  store  at  Dorchester  was  burglar- 
ized, for  which  one  Charles  Thompson  was  arrested  at  Calmar  in 
Winneshiek  County.  In  June  following  he  was  convicted  of  bur- 
glary and  sentenced  to  one  year  at  hard  labor  in  the  peniten- 
tiary. 

Dec.  21,  1876,  Andway  Torfin,  who  lived  on  the  Iowa  River  in 
Hanover  township,  while  returning  home  from  Decorah  with 
others,  got  into  an  altercation  near  Locust  Lane  with  a  party  of 
Winneshiek  Norwegians,  one  of  whom  gave  Torfin  a  blow  upon 
the  head  with  a  sled  stake,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  died  three 
days  later.  Three  of  the  party  were  arrested,  only  one  of  whom 
was  held,  Helge  Nelson  by  name,  and  in  June  following  he  was 
convicted  of  manslaughter. 

April  20,  1877,  at  Lansing,  Andrew  Soderlin,  a  Swede,  and 
Mathew  Carey,  Irish,  had  a  quarrel,  during  which  the  latter 
struck  the  former,  who  retaliated  with  a  stake  from  a  wagon, 
striking  such  a  blow  over  Carey's  head  that  he  died  after  but  a 
few  hours.  Soderlin  was  arrested,  and  at  the  June  term  indicted 
for  manslaughter,  but  was  acquitted  on  the  grounds  that  the  blow 
was  in  self-defense. 


Patrick  Keenan 


THF--TFW  ynRK 


ts6TOH. 
TILDEN   ^ 


NO 


^ 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  427 

A  case  of  assault  occurred  in  Center  township  May  7,  1877, 
which  attracted  aj^reat  deal  of  attention,  the  victim  being  a  res- 
pectable young  lady  of  that  township,  who  had  been  engaged  to 
one  Olaf  T.  Engebretson,  a  young  fellow  about  twenty,  but 
her  parents  knowing  him  to  be  a  shiftless,  worthless  fel- 
low, had  induced  her  to  cast  him   off  and  refusehis  attentions. 

Monday  morning    Miss was   to    commence    teaching 

in  the  neighborhood,  and  as  she  went  to  her  school  Enge- 
bretson was  seen  with  a  shot  gun,  apparently  going  to  in- 
tercept her,  but  she  arrived  at  the  school  house  before  him.  Fol- 
lowing her  up  he  rapped  at  the  door,  there  being  but  a  few  small 
children  present,  and  as  she  appeared  in  the  door- way  he  grabbed 
hold  of  her,  declaring  that  as  they  were  about  to  part  forever  he 
wanted  a  "farewell  kiss,"  and  attempted  to  bite  off  her  nose,  in 
which  he  was  nearly  successful,  lacerating  that  member  so  as  to 
horribly  disfigure  her  face.  He  then  disappeared,  and  all  efforts  of 
the  Sheriff  to  find  him  were  fruitless,  until  the  following  Friday 
when  he  put  in  an  appearance  at  Harper's  Ferry,  where  he  was 
arrested  and  taken  to  Waukon.  Waiving  examination  he  was  re- 
leased upon  $300  bail  to  appear  at  the  next  term  of  District 
Court.  Early  in  July  he  again  invaded  Miss  — — — 's  school- 
room, flourished  a  revolver  and  badly  frightened  both  teacher  and 
pupils,  but  the  opportune  arrival  of  a  director  prevented  any  mis- 
chief. Failing  to  appear  at  the  November  Court,  he  was  re-ar- 
rested in  April  following,  and  convicted  of  assault  with  intent  to 
commit  great  bodily  injury,  receiving  a  sentence  of  one  year  in 
the  county  jail. 

A  shooting  affray  occurred  in  a  Lansing  saloon  July  5th,  1878, 
the  saloon  keeper,  Philip  Bieber,  killing  a  man  named  Seiple. 
Bieber  was  arrested  and  gave  bail  in  $2,000.  When  his  trial  came 
on  he  plead  guilty  of  assault  wi';h  intent  to  commit  great  bodily 
injury,  and  escaped  with  a  judgment  of  $50  and  costs. 

A  fatal  affray  occurred  in  Waterville  October  20,  1878.  James 
G.  Savage  was  an  experienced  railroad  hand  and  section  boss  on 
the  narrow  gauge.  He  was  an  intelligent,  well  disposed  man, 
and  peaceable  when  sober;  but  the  demon  of  intemperance  had 
gained  the  mastery  of  him,  and  he  was  given  to  indulgence  in 
"regular  sprees,"  at  which  times  he  was  an  ugly  customer,  as 
liquor  made  him  wild  and  quarrelsome.  In  the  few  months 
preceding  he  had  figured  prominently  in  numerous  fights  and  one 
serious  stabbing  affray.  In  company  with  several  congenial  spir- 
its, Sunday  morning.  Savage  went  down  to  Johnsonsport  by  hand- 
car and  procured  liquor,  returning  to  Waterville  in  the  afternoon 
considerably  intoxicated.  In  this  condition  his  party  went  to  the 
Adams  House,  a  tavern  kept  by  Ed.  Neudeck,  and  called  for 
liquor.  They  were  refused,  whereupon  Savage  proceeded  to  de- 
molish things  generally,  throwing  bottles,  glasses,  etc.,  out  of 
doors,  and  treating  the  ''boys"  all  around.     They  afterwards  went 

27 


428  HISTOKY   OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

out,  and  returning  about  dusk,  found  the  doors  locked,  and  Neu- 
deck  warned  them  to  keep  away,  and  that  he  would  shoot  them 
if  they  forced  an  entrance.  Regardless  of  this  in  his  drunken  bra- 
vado. Savage  kicked  in  the  door,  and  as  he  did  so  Neudeck  fired 
one  barrel  of  his  shot-gun,  the  charge  not  taking  effect,  and  im- 
mediately fired  again  as  Savage  pressed  forward  to  seize  the  gun, 
Avhereupon  the  unfortunate  man  fell  to  the  floor,  and  Neudeck 
in  the  excitement  slipped  away.  Neudeck  was  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  intelligence  and  ability,  a  miller  by  trade,  who  came  from 
Clayton  county  the  preceding  fall.  The  next  day  he  presented 
himself  to  the  Sheriff  at  Waukon,  and  was  lodged  in  jail.  At  the 
next  November  term  of  the  District  Court  he  M^as  acquitted,  on 
the  ground  of  self-defense. 

In  March,  1880,  Daniel  McLoud,  of  Linton  township,  was  ar- 
rested upon  a  charge  of  rape,  the  victim  being  his  own  daughter, 
only  fourteen  years  of  age.  At  the  May  term  of  court  he  was 
convicted,  and  sentenced  to  ten  years  in  the  penitentiary. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  August   24,  1879,  two   burglars  went 
through  the  office   and  safe   of  the   mill   company — Hem  en  way, 
Barclay  &  Co.,  at  Lansing;  first  overpowering  the  night  watch- 
man, R.  G.    Edwards,  whom  they  beat  nearly   to  death  and   left 
bound  and  gagged,  and  in  an  insensible  condition.    They  blew  the 
sate  open  with  powder,  but  for  all  their  trouble  obtained  scarcely 
fifty  dollars.     They  then  joined  their  companion  who  was  await- 
iag  them  with  a  skiff,  and  escaped     At  first  it  was  supposed  there 
were  four  men  in    the  transaction,  and    a  party  of   that   number 
were  arrested  below  McGregor  in  a  skiff  the  next  day,  but  proved 
to  be  not  the  ones  wanted.     Two  of  the   burglars,  Charles  Wood, 
alias  "Pittsburg  Kid",  and   Frank  Lucas,    were   captured  at   La- 
Crosse  two  or  three  davs  later,  with  tools  in  their  possession  and 
checks  of  the  firm.     Wood  owned  up  the  crime,  and  tried  to  ex- 
onerate Lucas   from  any  participation  in    the  affair,    further  than 
rowing  the  burglars  to  the  scene  and  away    again,  claiming   that 
his  companion  was  one  James  White,  alias  "Sandy,"  or  "Red;" 
and  this  one  was  arrested  at  Lansing  shortly  after.     They  were  all 
placed  m  the  Decorah  jail  to  await  the  next  term  of  the  district  court, 
our  county  jail  not  being  sufficiently  secure.     It  was  ascertained 
from  Wood,  or  the  "Kid"  as  he  was  generally  called,  that  he  was 
one  of  the  parties  who  burglarized  two  or  three  stores  in  Waukon 
the  previous  spring;  and  it  was  evident  he  was  a  hardened  criminal 
and  skillful   cracksman,  besides    being  much   older  in  years   than 
his  looks  would  imply.     The  three  had  been  in  the  Decorah  jail 
but  a  short  time,  when  they  one  nigtit  made  an  unsuccessful  at- 
tempt to  overpower  the  Sheriff  and  escape.     November  12th  fol- 
lowing, indictments  were   filed   against  them,    and  the  "Kid"    at 
first  plead  guilty  with  the  view  of  being  sent  to  the  reform  school, 
but  the  law  fixing  the  age  of  admission  to  that  institution  at  un- 
der sixteen  years,  the  plea  was  witherawn.     That  night  they  en- 


HISTORY   OF    ALI.AMAKEE   COUNTY.  429 

•leavered  to  gopher  out  of  the  county  jail,  but  were  discovered  and 
their  pUms  frustrated.  The '*Kid"  had  his  trial  at  this  term,  and 
received  sixteen  years  in  the  penitentiary.  The  cases  of  the  oth- 
ers were  continued,  and  they  remanded  to  the  Decorah  jail,  from 
which  they  escaped  on  the  evening  of  January  22d  following,  by 
sawing  off  a  bar  to  a  window.  Lucas,  and  another  prisoner  by 
name  of  Bernard,  were  re-captured  in  the  Yellow  River  timber, 
not  far  from  Myron  on  the  following  evening,  but  White  got 
clear  off  and  has  not  since  been  heard  of  to  our  knowledge.  Lu- 
cas, trial  came  on  in  May,  1880,  when  he  was  convicted  and  sen- 
tenced to  twelve  years.  On  an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  a 
new  trial  was  granted,  which  took  place  in  May,  1881,  Avith  the 
same  result — a  sentence  of  twelve  years,  less  the  time  already 
served. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


County  Seat  Contests;  Selecting  the  "  Old  Stake;"  The  First  Elec- 
tion; Second  Election,  Columbus  Carries  the  Day,  Lansing  f'5. 
Columbus;  a  Commission  Selects  Waukon;  Commissioners'  De- 
cision Ratified  at  the  Polls;  Other  Rival  Claimants;  ]Vaukon 
Again  Ahead;  Lansing  Once  More  in  the  Fight;  Waukon 
Wins;  Another  Election,  and  Re-Location  of  County  Seat, 
this  Time  at  ^'The  Point;""  A  New  Election,  and  an  Appeal 
to  the  Courts;  Waukon  Finally  Wins  a  Conclusive  Victory; 
Interesting  and  Exciting  Episodes. 


The  county  seat  contests  since  the  organization  of  the  county 
form  an  important  feature  of  its  history;  but  at  times  they 
created  so  much  excitement  and  bitter  sectional  feeling  that  it  is 
a  delicate  matter  to  treat  of  them  even  now  in  such  a  manner  as 
would  seem  to  all  parties  strictly  impartial.  Of  course  the  loca- 
tion of  the  seat  of  county  government  at  any  place  was  consid- 
ered to  be  a  great  advantage,  and  numerous  villages,  which  can 
now  hardly  be  called  villages,  at  one  time  or  other  each  had  high 
hopes  of  securing  a  prestige  thereby  that  would  establish  their 
prosperity  on  a  permanent  basis.  They  who  entertained  these 
hopes  wei-e  doomed  to  disappointment,  however,  and  when  the 
contest  was  narrowed  down  to  the  principal  towns  of  the  county, 
the  other  sections  turned  in  on  one  side  or  the  other,  according  as 
they  were  moved  by  feelings  of  local  advantage,  public  weal,  or 
disappointment  and  revenge,  and  the  contest  between  Lansing 
and  Waukon  was  prolonged  and  bitter,  until  repeated  decisions  by 
the  public  voice  settled  it  perm?iiently  in  favor  of  the  latter  place. 


430  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COINTY. 

In  January,  1849,  at  tlie  time  of  passing  the  act  for  the  organi- 
zation of  AUaniakee  county,  the  General  Assembly  appointed  three 
commissioners,  viz.:  Wm.  Linton.  John  Francis  and  James  Jones, 
to  select  a  suitable  location  for  the  future  county  seat,  and,  as  we 
have  previously  stated,  they  fixed  upon  a  point  in  Jefferson  town- 
ship, since  known  as  ''The  Old  Stake.''  This  selection  was  prac- 
tically useless,  however,  as  points  of  more  importance  were  at- 
tracting attention,  and  at  the  April  election  of  1851  the  ques- 
tion was  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people,  the  contesting  points 
being  Vailsville  (now  Harper's  Ferry),  Reuben  Smith  s  place  on 
the  Yellow  River,  in  Post  township,  and  Columbus,  on  the  Missis- 
sippi. This  election  resulted  in  no  choice,  neither  place  receiving 
a  majority  of  the  votes  cast,  and  another  was  ordered  for  the  first 
Monday  in  May.  Vailsville  being  out  of  the  contest  at  the  elec- 
tion, Columbus  received  a  small  majority  and  became, the  county 
seat. 

About  this  time  there  existed  a  spirit  of  rivalry  between  Lans- 
ing and  Columbus,  which  developed  into  a  jealousy  on  the  part 
of  Lansing  (which  had  become  an  aspiring  little  town)  toward  her 
next  door  neighbor,  and  induced  her  to  attempt  to  deprive  Colum- 
bus of  her  honors  and  the  advantages  accompanying  them.  Al- 
though Columbus  had  really  no  natural  advantage  which  would 
entitle  her  to  the  county  seat,  except  that  of  a  boat  landing,  her 
proprietors  and  their  friends  were  too  powerful  to  warrant  a 
direct  issue,  and  so  Lansing  resorted  to  strategy,  and  urged  the 
propriety  of  a  re-location  of  the  county  seat  at  the  geographical 
center  of  the  county.  Of  course  the  settlers  in  the  western  por- 
tion were  nothing  loth  to  enter  into  this  movement,  and  a  meet- 
ing was  held  at  Ezra  Reid's,  in  Ludlow  township,  December  4, 
1852,  to  consider  the  matter.  Edward  Eells  was  selected  as  chair- 
man of  the  meeting,  and  John  W.  Remine,  of  Lansing,  and  C. 
J.  White,  of  Makee,  were  secretaries.  The  result  was  that  the 
•General  Assembly  was  petitioned  to  have  another  point  designated 
as  the  future  county  seat  of  the  county.  In  January,  1853,  the 
Legislature  granted  the  petition,  and  for  the  purpose  of  selecting 
«uch  point,  appointed  a  commission  consisting  of  Clement  Coffin, 
of  Delaware  County,  John  S.  Lewis  of  Clayton  County,  and  Den- 
nis A.  Mahony,  of  Dubuque.  The  third  section  of  the  act  estab- 
lishing this  commission,  reads  as  follows: 

*'Said  commissioners  shall  locate  the  county  seat  of  the  county 
aforesaid  as  inear  the  geographical  center  as  a  due  regard  for 
the  present  and  prospective  interests  of  the  county  shall  appear  to 
them  just  and  proper;  they  shall,  also,  be  influenced  by  the  com- 
parative eligibility  of  locations,  and  the  convenience  of  water, 
roads  and  building  materials  as  also  by  the  comparative  facilities 
of  acquiring  for  said  county  suitable  building  lots,  or  blocks,  if 
the  county  seat  should  be  located  by  them  on  private  property." 


HISTORY   OF  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  431 

The  commissioners  were  directed  to  meet  at  Columbus,  then  the 
county  seat,  on  the  first  Monday  in  March;  and  they  performed 
their  duty  by  selecting  the  point  where  Waukon  now  is,  forty  acres 
of  land  being  donated  by  Geo.  C.  Shattuck  for  county  purposes. 

The  decision  of  the  commissioners  was  submitted  to  a  vote  of 
the  people  at  the  following  April  election,  in  1853,  and  after  an 
exciting  contest  was  ratified  by  a  two-thirds  vote. 

That  the  re-location  of  the  county  seat  at  Waukon  Was  not  ac- 
cepted by  the  proprietors  and  friends  of  Columbus  without  a  strug- 
gle, may  be  imagined.  At  the  first  term  of  District  Court  held 
at  Waukon  in  June,  1853,  Hon.  Thos.  S.  Wilson,  Judge,  the  mat- 
ter was  at  once  brought  up,  and  we  quote  from  an  old  file  of  the 
Lansing  Intelligencer  relatjng  to  it,  as  follows: 

"A  motion  was  made  by  Ben.  M.  Samuels,  Esq.,  who  appeared 
on  behalf  of,  the  proprietors  -©f  Columbus,  to  adjourn  the  Court  to 
that  place.  The  grounds  stated  for  this  motion  were:  first,  that 
the  law  providing  for  the  re-location  of  the  county  seat,  was  un- 
constitutional, relying. in  support  of  the  position,  on  the  10th  ar- 
ticle of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  wherein  it  is  de- 
clared that  'no  State  shall  pass  any  law  impairing  the  obligation 
of  contracts.'  It  was  argued  that  the  proprietors  of  Columbus,  by 
deeding  to  the  county  two  acres  of  land  under  the  act  of  1851, 
providing  for  the  location  of  the  county  seat  of  Allamakee  County, 
thereby  made  a  contract  with  the  county,  and  that  the  Legislature 
had  no  right  to  pass  a  subsequent  act  providing  for  a  re-location. 
It  was  further  argued  that  the  town  of  Columbus  was  a  dose  cor- 
poration and  had  acquired  a  substantial  legal  interest  in  the  county 
seat,  and  that  the  Legislature,  in  passing  the  original  act  for  the 
location  of  the  county  seat,  had  an  eye  to  the  permanent  benefit 
of  the  town  of  Columbus.  The  act  of  1851,  authorizing  the 
people  to  vote  on  the  question,  declares  that  'the  point  receiving 
the  largest  number  of  votes  shall  be  and  remain  the  permanent 
seat  of  justice  of  said  Allamakee  County,  provided  that  the  owner 
or  owners  of  such  town  or  point,  shall,  within  ten  days  after  the 
result  of  said  election  has  been  declared,  make  and  execute  to  the 
Board  of  Commissioners  of  said  county,  a  satisfactory  and  suffi- 
cient deed  for  at  least  two  acres  of  land  in  said  point.'  Consider- 
able emphasis  and  reliance  were  placed  on  the  word  'permanent,' 
which  appears  in  the  clause  quoted,  and  it  was  argued  that  inas- 
much as  the  word  appeared  in  the  act,  the  Legislature  had  thereby 
forestalled  all  subsequent  action  with  regard  to  the  matter.  The 
other  objections  which  were  made,  more  particularly  pertained  to 
the  action  of  the  County  Judge,  who,  it  is  well  known,  had  re- 
fused to  discharge  any  of  the  duties  enjoined  on  him  by  the  act  of 
the  Legislature.  Some  other  reasons,  of  minor  importance,  were 
adduced,  but  the  foregoing  were  the  most  noticeable.  Mr.  Samuels 
made  quite  a  pathetic  oration  in  behalf  of  Columbus  (as  a  close  cor- 
poration), and  spoke  in  a  very  affecting  manner  of  her  alleged  rights. 


432  HISTOET    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

''The  motion  was  opposed  by  John  W.  Remine,  Esq.,  of  Lans- 
ing, and  Jas.  Burt,  Esq.,  of  Dubuque. 

"The  court  overruled  the  motion,  and  gave  at  length,  and  in  a 
very  plain  and  clear  manner  his  reasons.  As  to  the  objections  on 
account  of  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  act,  he  said,  that  the 
town  of  Columbus  had,  in  law,  acquired  no  interest  in  the  matter 
of  the  county  seat,  that  no  contract  existed  between  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  town  and  the  county. 

"With  regard  to  the  word  'permanent,'  which  appears  in  the 
act  of  1851,  he  said  that  the  Legislature  did  not  by  that  word  in- 
tend to  make  the  act  immutably  durable— that  even  if  the  Legis- 
lature had  so  intended,  it  was  an  excels  of  legislation  and,  con- 
sequently, void.  The  Legislature  could  not  pass  a  law  and  make  it 
impossible  to  change  or  repeal  the  same  by  subsequent  legislation. 
"He  further  said  that  the  duties  re(|bired  of  the  county  Judge 
in  the  act,  providing  for  the  re-location  of  the  county  seat,  were 
not  discretionary.  The  District  Court  could  compel  the  County 
Judge  by  mandamus  to  perform  the  duties  required  of  him  in  the 
act— that  if  he  refused  to  re-convey  the  land  and  lots  spoken  of 
in  the  act,  to  the  proprietors  of  Columbus,  he  could  be  compelled." 
At  the  March  term  of  the  County  Court,  1856,  a  petition  was 
presented,  praying  that  the  question  of  removal  of  the  county 
seat  from  Waukon  to  Rossville  be  submitted  to  the  people,  and 
John  T.  Clark,  prosecuting  attorney  and  ex-officio  county  judge, 
decided  that  the  question  should  be  so  submitted  at  the  April  elec- 
tion. A  similar  petition  was  also  presented  in  favor  Whaley  & 
Topliff's  Mill,  in  Center  township,  and  was  likewise  granted.  This 
made  a  triangular  contest,  and  Waukon  received  a  large  majority 
over  both  the  other  points,  the  vote  being:  Waukon,  617, 
Whaley  &  Topliff's  Mill,  314:  Rossville,  144. 

Early  in  1859  a  petition  was  circulated  by  Lansing  for  submit- 
ting the  question  of  removing  the  county  seat  to  that  place,  and 
her  citizens  offered  to  donate  suitable  lots  (Park  Block)  and  erect 
a  court  house  thereon  to  cost  $8,000.  At  the  same  time  |5,000 
was  offered  by  Waukon  to  aid  in  the  erection  of  county  buildings 
at  that  place.  A  meeting  was  held  at  the  latter  place  and  a  com- 
mittee appointed,  consisting  of  A.  J.  Hersey,  John  T.  Clark,  L.  0. 
Hatch,  W.  S.  Cooke,  A.  Hersey,  L.  T.  Woodcock,  W.  W.  Hunger- 
.  ford,  J.  C.  Smith  and  Jehial  Johnson,  to  select  an  eligible  pomt 
on  the  Mississippi,  other  than  Lansing,  through  which  Waukon 
might  transact  her  shipping  business.  At  a  later  meeting  the  com- 
mittee reported  that  there  was  no  one  point  to  which  they  could  in 
good  faith  pledge  their  entire  support,  but  suggested  that  Columbus 
was  the  nearest  and  most  accessible  point  at  which  to  transact  river 
business,  provided  she  would  furnish  the  necessary  facilities;  and 
that  Johnsonsport  was  the  best  point  for  the  transaction  of  railroad 
business,  provided  she  would  furnish  ferry-boat  connection  with 


HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  433 

9 

the  railroad  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  other  facilities.  Un  March 
7th  the  petition  was  presented  to  the  County  Judge  (Gr.  M.  Dean) 
by  S.  H.  Kinne. 

A  motion  was  made  by  John  T.  Clark  that  the  petition  be  dis- 
missed on  the  ground  that  the  Court  had  no  power  to  order  an 
election  in  April,  as  the  April  election  had  been  repealed.  Messrs. 
Clark  and  Hatch  argued  the  question  for  the  dismissal  and  Gr. 
W.  Camp  and  L.  H.  Howe  on  the  part  of  Lansing.  Judge  Dean 
reserved  his  decision  until  the  following  morning,  when  he  granted 
the  petition  and  ordered  an  election  to  be  held  on  the  4th  day  of 
April.  The  contest  was  a  hot  one.  It  was  originated  by  the 
most  honored  and  influential  citizens  of  Lansing;  and  all  the 
means  at  their  command  were  used  on  both  sides  to  win  the  public 
favor.  On  the  part  of  Lansing,  John  Haney  and  H.  W.  Hough- 
ton entered  into  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $15,000  to  guarantee  the 
use  of  Park  Block  to  the  county  as  long  as  the  county  seat  should 
remain  in  Lansing,  and  a  number  of  her  best  citizens  gave  similar 
bonds  for  $16,000  that  in  case  the  county  seat  should  be  removed 
to  Lansing  they  would  expend  $8,000  in  the  erection  of  public 
buildings  on  said  block,  to  be  the  property  of  the  county  so  long 
as  the  county  seat  should  remain  at  that  place.  While  on  the 
part  of  Waukon,  seventeen  of  her  most  substantial  men  bound 
themselves  in  the  sum  of  $10,000  that  in  case  the  county  seat 
should  remain  where  it  then  was  the  citizens  of  Waukon  would 
pay  $5,000,  to  be  expended  in  the  erection  of  county  buildings  on 
the  land  already  owned  by  the  county  at  that  place.  The  verdict 
of  the  people  was  in  favor  of  Waukon  by  a  majority  of  420. 
Waukon  1,248;  Lansing,  828.  Regarding  this  result  as  the  end 
of  controversy,  and  as  evidence  of  the  wish  of  the  people  that  our 
donation  should  be  used  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  offered, 
the  County  Judge,  on  the  2d  of  August,  1859,  let  a  contract  for 
the  erection  of  a  permanent  court  house  (including  a  jail),  at  a 
cost  of  thirteen  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-five  dollars,  five 
thousand  dollars  of  which  sum  was  paid  by  a  transfer  of  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  Waukon  bond,  and  the  remainder  of  which  was 
paid  by  the  county.  The  contractors  were  J.  W.  Pratt  and  C.  W* 
Jenkins,  and  the  building  was  erected  and  completed  during  the 
years  1860-61 . 

Again,  on  the  3d  day  of  December,  1860,  a  petition  was  pre- 
sented to  the  County  Court,  Judge  John  A.  Townsend,  praying 
for  the  re-  location  of  the  county  seat  at  the  point  between  Lan- 
sing and  Capoli,  and  an  flection  was  ordered,  in  accordance 
therewith,  on^e  8th  day  of  April,  1861.  This  time  one  of  the 
points  raised  was  the  legality  of  the  contract  for  the  erection  of 
the  county  building  at  Waukon  without  first  submitting  it  to  a 
vote  of  the  people,  but  this  was  virtually  set  at  rest  by  the  follow- 
ing correspondence: 


434  HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

Waukon,  Jan.  19,  1861. 
M.  McGIatherij,  District  Attorney  of  the  Tenth  Judicial  District: 

Sni — Enclosed  you  will  find  a  copy  of  a  contract  made  Aug.  2d, 
1859,  by  the  County  Judge  of  Allamakee  County,  for  the  erection 
of  county  buildings,  the  contractor's  bill  for  work  under  the  con- 
tract, and  copy  of  submission  by  the  County  Judge  to  the  people 
of  the  question  of  appropriating  the  swamp  lands  for  the  erection 
of  buildings  made  Sept.  6th,  1859,  which  said  appropriation  was 
approved  by  the  people  at  the  October  election,  1859. 

Please  to  favor  the  Board  of  Supervisors  with  an  official  opinion 
respecting  the  legality  of  the  contract,  and  particularly  the  power 
of  the  County  Judge  to  enter  into  a  contract  at  that  time  for  the 
erection  of  buildings,  at  that  cost,  without  first  submitting  the 
question  of  erecting  the  buildings  to  a  vote  of  the  people;  or,  in 
other  words,  is  the  county  legally  bound  to  pay  for  buildings 
erected  under  that  contract. 

Also  an  opinion  whether  it  is  the  duty  of  this  Board  to  issue 
warrants  to  the  contractors  for  the  payment  of  their  bill  out  of 
the  ordinary  county  funds  (provided  the  contract  be  legal),  or 
whether  the  contractors  are  limited  by  that  vote  to  the  swamp 
lands  for  their  pay.  You  will  observe  that  the. submission  of  ap- 
propriation was  made  to  the  people  after  the  contract  was  execut- 
ed. As  a  matter  of  fact  there  are  no  swamp  land  funds  in  the 
treasury,  nor  are  there  likely  to  be  soon,  by  which  to  pay  the  bills, 
nor  is  tbere-any  question  raised  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  bills 
or  the  estimates. 

Please  remit  by  mail  your  official  opinion  on  the  above  points  at 
your  earliest  convenience.  Yery  respectfully, 

M.  Hancock, 
Chairman  Board  Supervisors  of  Allamakee  County,  Iowa. 

West  Union,  January  29,  1861. 
M.  Hancock^  Esq.,  Chairman  Board  Supervisors  Allamakee  Co.: 

Sir — Yours  of  January  19th,  with  enclosed  contract  between 
the  county  and  Jenkins  &  Pratt,  together  with  election  notice,  is 
at  hand.  At  the  time  the  contract  was  made  the  County  Judge 
had  the  power  to  enter  into  a  contract  for  building  a  court  house 
and  jail,  and  there  was  no  law  in  force  requiring  him  to  submit 
the  proposition  to  the  people  of  the  county.  The  contract  is  made 
in  the  name  of  the  county  and  it  is  bound  by  it.  This  question  is 
fully  settled  by  the  supreme  court  in  case  of  State  ex  rel  Brook  vs 
Napier  7  Iowa,  425. 

2.  By  act  of  January  25,  1855,  where  swamp  lands  could  not 
be  redeemed,  counties  could  apply  the  proceeds  of  %aid  lands  to 
the  erection  of  county  buildings,  provided  the  question  is  first 
submitted  to  the  people.  The  swamp  lands  themselves  can  only 
be  appropriated  as  provided  by  the  act  of  1853.  The  submission 
to  the  people  was  done  after  the  contract  was  made,  and  it  formed 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  435 

no  part  of  the  contract,  but  was  done  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding 
heavy  taxes,  and  the  county  is  responsible  to  the  contractors  with- 
out any  regard  to  the  swamp  lands,  as  far  as  I  am  able  to  judge 
from  the  papers  now  before  me. 

Yours  respectfully, 
MiLO  McGrLATHERY,  District  Attorney. 

However,  a  certain  effect  remained,  which,  together  with  the 
combination  of  Columbus  with  Lansing,  a  bond  entered  into  by 
their  people  to  erect  a  court  house  at  "The  Point,"  without  ex- 
pense to  the  county,  and  the  disaffection  of  Kossville  people 
resulted  in  a  re-location  by  a  vote  of  1,257  for  the  Point,  against 
1,231  for  Waukon — a  majority  of  26  votes,  and  the  county  records 
and  furniture  were  immediately  removed  to  that  place.. 

Believing  that  this  combination  of  circumstances  would  not 
operate  a  second  time;  the  people  of  Waukon  the  same  year  cir- 
culated a  petition  for  the  removal  of  the  object  of  controversy 
to  the  new  building  at  Waukon,  and  it  was  presented  to  the 
Board  of  Supervisors,  October  14, 1861,  and  another  election  or- 
dered to  be  held  in  April,  1862.  Again  was  the  ground  hotly 
contested,  and  again  was  "The  Point''  victorious  by  a  majority  of 
22 — that  place  receiving  1332,  against  1310  for   Waukon. 

Once  more,  in  1864,  Waukon  decided  to  make  an  effort  to  re- 
gain the  seat  of  justice,  and  the  contest  waxed  hotter  than  ever 
before.  At  this  time  there  was  a  project  to  build  a  railroad  up  the 
valley  of  Paint  Creek,  by  the  Prairie  du  Chien  and  Cedar  Valley 
K.  R.  company,  and  a  great  deal  of  sport  was  made  of  this 
"paper  railroad"  on  the  part  of  Lansing  people,  who  declared  it 
to  be  an  electioneering  dodge  to  make  votes  for  Waukon.  In 
June  the  Board  of  Supervisors  ordered  an  election  to  be  held  at 
the  time  of  the  general  election,  November  8th.  Again  the 
fight  was  very  close,  and  when  the  Board  met  to  canvas  the  re- 
turns, the  result  was  found  to  depend  upon  Franklin  tp.,  from 
which  no  record  of  the  vote  had  been  received,  so  the  canvass  was 
made  without  it,  giving  the  Point  a  majority  of  69 — 1205  for  the 
Point,  and  1136  for  Waukon,  and  the  matter  was  carried  into 
the  District  Court,  E.  H.  Williams,  Judge.  The  Point  took  a 
change  of  venue  to  Delaware  County,  and  when  the  decision 
there  was  rendered  adversely  to  their  interests,  appealed  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  by  which  it  was  not  decided  until  1867,  when  it 
was  adjudged  that  Waukon  was  rightfully  the  county  seat,  and 
the  records  were  once  more  removed  to  that  place,  where  they  have 
since  remained. 

Pending  this  decision,  in  June,  1866,  occurred  the  attempted 
removal  of  the**i?ecords  from  Lansing  by  Sheriff  Townsend  and  a 
posse  of  about  thirty  men  from  Waukon,  which  created  a  great 
deal  of  excitement  at  the  time,  as  well  as  amusement  for  those 
who  participated,  and  has  since  been  a  prolific  topic  of  good- 
natured  raillery.  ,  After  the   case  had   been  heard  before  the  Dis- 


436  HISTOET   OF    ALLAMAKEE    COtJNTT. 

trict  Court  for  Delaware  County,  decision  was  rendered  in  favor  of 
Waukon,  and  a  writ  of  mandamus  issued,  ordering  the  Board  to 
count  the  vote  of  Franklin  township — the  returns  having  been  ob- 
tained— giving  Waukon  a  majority  of  23  votes.  Whereupon  the 
board  appointed  Sheriff  Townsend  as  a  committee  to  remove  the 
records,  which  he  proceeded  to  do.  Meantime  Lansing  had  taken 
an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  a  writ  of  supersedeas  was  issued 
and  served  upon  the  Board  June  7th,  only  eight  out  of  the 
eighteen  members  accepting  such  service,  however.  The  Sheriff 
received  no  orders  countermanding  his  authority  to  remove  the 
records,  and  early  on  the  morning  of  June  9th  the  ''raid"  was 
made.  We  copy  portions  of  an  account  we  find  in  the  Lansing 
Mirror  of  June  12,  1866,  omitting  severe  personal  allusions.  Some 
statements  were  of  ■  course  somewhat  colored  to  suit  the  excite- 
ment of  the  occasion,  and  the  local  feeling: 

"On  Saturday  morning  last,  about  the  hour  of  eight,  the  sheriff 
of  Allamakee  county,  a  resident  of  the  village  of  Waukon,  fol- 
lowed by  a  picked  posse  of  Waukon  men,  entered  the  courthouse 
at  this  place  and  attempted  to  remove  perforce,  without  a  shadow 
of  authority,  the  county  records  to  the  above  7x9  village.  So 
quietly  and  stealthily  did  the  band  of  raiders  approach  the  build- 
ing tliat  none  of  the  officers  were  aware  of  their  close  proximity 
until  Townsend  hurriedly  entered  and  passed  from  office  to  office, 
informing  them  that  he  was  after  the  county  records,  *  * 
and  set  his  gang  to  cleaning  out  the  several  offices,  not  even  giv- 
ing the  officials  warning  or  time  to  pack  up  the  documents  in 
their  possession.  Teams  were  in  waiting  at  the  front  door  of  the 
court  house,  and  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the  most  important 
records  were  loaded  up  and  the  teams  put  in  motion  for  Waukon. 
Little  or  no  resistance  was  made  by  the  county  officers,  with  the 
exception  of  Treasurer  Healey,  *  *  who  was  assaulted 
by  one  of  the  raiders,  a  brave  officer,  who  during  the  late  rebel- 
lion rose  to  the  position  of  Colonel.  The  treasurer  repelled  the 
assault,  and  with  his  fist  wounded  the  valorous  colonel  in  the 
short  ribs.  *  *  Fifteen  minutes  had  hardly  elapsed 
after  the  departure  of  the  robbers,  until  the  road  leading  in  the 
direction  of  Milton  was  thronged  with  our  citizens,  who  were  in 
for  a  little  sport  and  the  recapture  of  the  records. 

"The  Lansing  boys  overhauled  the  teams  in  the  vicinity  of 
Milton.  Mr.  Darwin  Shaw  in  the  meantime  had  captured  a  horse 
near  the  road,  and  in  hot  haste  rode  into  Milton  and  informed  the 
citizens  of  that  village  what  was  on  the  tapis.  They  turned  out 
en  masse,  and  when  the  advance  team  made  its  appearance 
they  halted  it,  and  out  came  the  contents  of  the.  wagon 
in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  write  this  sentence.  *  *  Several  of 
the  Waukon  men  showed  fight,  but  they  soon  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  'discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valor,'  and  desisted 
from  perpetrating  summary  punishment  upon  their  pursuers.  The 


HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  437 

stolen  documents  were  recovered,  placed  in  the  Lansing  wagons,  and 
returned  to  their  respective  offices  in  the  court  house  at  Lansing. 

"Cheer  after  cheer  rent  the  air  when  the  boys  returned.  They 
Avere  enthusiastically  received  by  the  citizens  Hats  were  thrown 
skyward,  handkerchiefs  were  waved,  and  lager  quaffed.  Quiet  is 
again  restored  and  the  county  seat  remains  at  Lansing." 

In  August,  1868,  S.  V.  Shaw,  Israel  Bequette,  and  J.  M.  Rose 
published  a  notice  that  at  the  next  September  session  of  the 
Board  of  Supervisors,  a  petition  would  be  presented  asking  that 
another  election  be  ordered  between  Lansing  and  Waukon.  The 
Board  met  on  the  first  Monday  in  September,  and  it  was  con- 
cluded that  all  the  business  necessary  to  be  done  might  be 
transacted  in  a  short  session,  as  owing  to  the  pressure  of  "fall 
work,"  etc.,  it  was  the  wish  of  some  of  the  members  to  be  at 
home.  Accordingly  a  committee  on  school  •  tax  levy  labored  a 
good  share  of  that  night  to  prepare  their  report,  and  Tuesday 
forenoon  the  remaining  business  was  transacted  and  the  Board 
adjourned  sine  die,  by  a  vote  of  12  to  3,  three  members  being  ab- 
sent. Later  in  the  day  the  Lansing  petitioners  put  in  an  appear- 
ance, but  the  Board  having  adjourned  no  election  could  be  ordered 
that  year. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1869  the  contest  was  reopened  and  waxed 
warm  from  the  start.  A  petition  for  an  election  was  widely  cir- 
culated, as  was  a  remonstrance  to  the  same,  and  each  party  charged 
the  other  with  obtaining  many  illegal  signatures.  At  the  June 
session  of  the  Board,  on  the  first  day,  the  petition  was  presented 
and  referred  to  a  committee,  and  on  the  following  day  the  re- 
monstrance appeared  and  was  also  referred,  and  was  found  to  out- 
number the  petition  by  86  names— 2122  on  the  remonstrance  and 
2036  on  the  petition.  A  majority  report  of  the  committee  was 
made  by  D.  Dickerson,  J.  S.  Deremo,  Jeremiah  Leas,  and  S.  F. 
Goodykoontz,  stating  their  belief  that  a  large  number  of  signers 
to  the  petition  had  also  signed  the  remonstrance,  which  would 
swell  the  majority  of  the  latter  over  the  petition  by  150  to  200 
names,  and  therefore  recommended  that  no  election  be  ordered.  A 
minority  report  by  G.  Kerndt,  S.  H.  Haines  and  William  Yeoman, 
was  also  submitted,  representing  it  as  their  belief  that  the  peti- 
tion contained  a  majority  of  the  names  of  the  legal  voters  of  the 
county,  and  that  they  were  in  favor  of  allowing  the  people  to  ex- 
press themselves  at  the  polls.  After  some  close  work  the  minor- 
ity report  was  adopted  and  an  election  ordered  by  a  vote  of  ten 
to  eight. 

One  recourse  was  left  to  the  Waukon  managers,  and  proceeding 
to  Decorah  they  laid  the  matter  before  Judge  M.  V.  Burdick,  who 
granted  an  injunction  restraining  the  Board  from  taking  any  fur- 
ther steps  towards  holding  such  election,  until  permission  should 
be  granted.  In  the  District  Court  a  petition  was  filed  asking  for 
a  writ  of  certiorari,  commanding  the   Board  to  certify  to  said 


438  HISTOET    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

Court  a  record  of  its  proceedings  relating  to  the  county  seat, 
which  was  granted,  and  a  special  term  appointed  for  July  7th  for 
a  hearing  in  said  case.  At  the  time  appointed  the  case  was  heard 
and  judgment  rendered  annulling  and  setting  aside  the  order  of  the 
Board  for  an  election.  The  defendant  appealed,  but  after  the 
election  the  previous  decision  was  affirmed,  at  McGregor.  Mean- 
while, when  the  Circuit  Court  sat,  in  July,  the  injunction  was 
dissolved  and  the  election  was  held  as  ordered,  October  5th,  re- 
sulting in  a  majority  of  254  for  Waukon — 1,544  to  1,290. 

After  this  decisive  quietus,  there  was  a  lull  in  the  county  seat 
war  for  six  years,  when,  at  the  June  session  of  the  Board,  1875, 
a  petition  was  presented  containing  1,906  names,  and  another 
election  was  duly  ordered  to  be  held  at  the  general  election  in 
October.  During  this  summer  was  begun  the  construction  of  the 
Waukon  and  Mississippi  Railroad.  Realizing  that  it  was  "now 
or  never"  with  her,  Lansing  massed  her  forces  for  the  final  con- 
flict, and  the  campaign  was  pushed  vigorously  on  both  sides,  re- 
sulting in  the  largest  vote  ever  cast  in  the  county,  and  a  majori- 
ty of  340  in  favor  of  Waukon,  she  receiving  2,i45  against  1,805 
for  Lansing.  It  is  said  that  the  reason  for  this  large  vote  was 
the  importation  of  Winneshiek  county  voters  on  the  west,  and 
Wisconsin  voters  and  river  men  on  the  east. 


CHAPTER  X. 


County  Buildings;  Edticational:  County  School  Statistics;  Normal 
Institutes;  Religious  Organizations-,  Gospel  Pioneers;  Statistics 
of  Population^  etc.;  Assessed  Valuations;  Political  Statistics. 


We  regret  that  limited  space  will  prevent  our  presenting  a 
chapter  descriptive  of  the  bridges,  dykes  and  roads  of  the  county. 
Their  history  would  make  an  interesting  volume  of  itself,  and  is 
necessarily  debarred  from  this  work. 

Of  the  buildings,  the  court  house  at  Waukon  was  erected  dur- 
ing 1859  and  1860,  and  completed  in  1861,  by  Chas.  W.  Jenkins 
and  John  W.  Pratt,  to  whom  the  contract  was  let,  in  1859,  by  the 
County  Judge,  Greorge  M.  Dean.  Its  cost  was  ^13,655,  ot  which 
$5,000  was  contributed  by  citizens  of  Waukon.  As  originally 
built,  the  rear  portion  of  the  first  floor  was  occupied  by  a  jail, 
with  six  cells;  but  this  proved  so  inadequate  for  the  secure  reten- 
tion of  prisoners,  and  the  county  officers  requiring  additional 
room,  it  was  finally  removed  altogether,  and  for  the  past  few 
years  criminals  awaiting  trial  have  been    sent  to  the  Decorah  jail. 

Previous  to  the  building  of  the  Court  House  they  were  con- 
fined in  the  Clayton  County  jail  at  Garnavillo.     In  1870  two  large 


HISTORY    Ol'    A1>L.\MAKKE    COUNTY.  439 

fire-|»r(tuf:  v.iults  were  built  in  the  Court  House,  ai  an  expense  of 
.'5>2,000  or  more,  for  the  use  of  the  Treasurer's  and  Recorders  offi- 
ces— that  of  the  former  heiu^i;  also  supplied  with  a  burglar-proof 
safe,  with  a  Yale  time  lock.  In  1881,  similar  vaults  were  put  in 
for  the  safe  keeping  of  the  records  in  the  Auditor's  and  Clerk's 
offices.  In  1882  the  building  was  repaired  throughout,  repainted, 
and  is  about  to  be  arranged  for  heating  by  Ruttan  furnaces  in  the 
basement. 

After  the  county  seat  was  removed  to  The  Point,  in  1861,  a 
(Jourt  House  was  erected  there — in  the  same  year — of  stone,  some- 
what smaller  than  the  one  at  Waukon,  and  without  a  jail.  It  was 
built  by  the  citizens  of  Lansing  without  expense  to  the  county, 
in  accordance  with  their  bond  to  so  do  in  case  the  county  seat 
should  be  located  there;  but  it  has  not  been  used  for  county  pur- 
poses since  1867.  The  land  was  donated  by  Haney  &  Houghton 
and  J.M.  Rose.  Col.  Guilbert  and  Geo.  W.  Hays  were  the  build- 
ing committee  who  prosecuted  the  work,  the  total  cost  of  which 
was  not  far  from  85,000. 

The  County  Poor  Farm  comprises  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 8,  Makee  township,  four  miles  north  by  east  of  Waukon,  and 
was  purchased  of  Joseph  Burton,  October  22,  1866,  for  $4,000. 
There  was  a  large  and  substantial  frame  building  on  the  place, 
which  was  built  by  Mr.  Burton  in  1856,  with  hard  wood  timber 
and  matched  siding.  It  was  29x37  feet,  with  one  L  14x16  and 
another  about  15  feet  square.  After  its  purchase  by  the  county 
it  was  raised  from  a  story  and  a  half  to  two  full  stories  in  height, 
and  the  upper  portion  finished  off. 

On  the  evening  of  January  23,  1880,  this  house  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  involving  a  loss  of  some  1^2,000,  as  there  was  no  insurance. 
A  temporary  building  was  immediately  erected  for  the  accomoda- 
tion of  the  inmates  until  the  present  substantial  brick  structure 
was  erected  in  1881.  It  is  38x40  feet,  two  stories,  each  ten  feet 
in  the  clear,  with  cellars  under  all,  and  is  heated  by  furnace 
in  the  basement.  Its  total  cost  was  about  85,000.  Contractors: 
John  Griffin  for  the  wood-work,  Samuel  Peck  for  stone  and  brick- 
work. It  was  built  from  the  proceeds  of  a  special  tax  of  one 
mill  on  a  dollar,  voted  by  the  people  of  the  county  at  the  general 
election  of  1880. 

In  1874  the  question  of  a  special  tax,  for  the  purpose  of  build- 
ing a  county  jail,  was  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the  county,  and 
defeated  by  an  overwhelming  vote.  In  1880  a  similar  question 
Avas  voted  down  by  a  majority  of  735.  In  1881  the  question  was 
again  submitted,  as  follows: 

"Shall  the  coupon  bonds  of  the  county,  in  the  sum  of  $10,000, 
be  issued,  upon  which  to  borrow  money  to  be  used  in  erecting  a 
jail  in  and  for  said  county  at  the  county  seat?  Said  bonds  to  be 
issued  in  denominations  of  not  less  than  $100  or  more  than  $500 
each,  and  to  bear  interest  at  the  rate  of  not  more  th  in  7  per  cent. 


440  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

per  annum,  payable  annually  on  the  1st  of  May  of  each  year;  the 
bonds  to  be  issued  of  the  date  of  May  1st,  1882.  Said  bonds  to 
be  made  to  become  due:  $2,000  on  May  1st,  1883;  $2,000  on  Mav 
1st,  1884;  $3,000  on  May  1st,  1885,  and  $3,000  on  May  1st,  1886, 
and  to  be  payable,  principal  and  interest,  at  the  office  of  the 
County  Treasurer;  and  none  of  said  bonds  to  be  sold  or  exchanged 
by  the  county  for  less  than  their  face  value,  with  all  interest  ac- 
crued on  them  at  the  date  of  sale  or  exchange.  And  shall  a 
special  tax  of  one  mill  on  the  dollar  be  levied  on  the  taxable 
property  of  the  county  for  the  year  1882,  and  for  each  succeed- 
ing year  thereafter  until  a  sufficient  sum  is  raised  from  said  levies 
to  pay  said  bonds  with  all  accruing  interest?" 

This  proposition  was  adopted  by  a  majority  of  129  votes,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1882  contracts  were  awarded  as  follows:  Stone-work, 
brick-work  and  excavations,  to  Samuel  Peck  &  Son,  for  $3,000; 
carpenter's  work,  tinner's  work  and  painting,  to  A.  J.  Rodgers, 
for  $3,000;  cell- work,  window  guards,  iron  doors,  etc.,  to  Diebold 
Safe  and  Lock  Company,  for  $3,400.  Afterwards  a  contract  for 
heating  furnace  was  let  to  the  Ruttan  Furnace  Company,  through 
A.  J.  Rodgers,  for  about  $600.  The  building  is  now  in  course  of 
erection,  and  promises  to  be  one  of  the  best  of  its  class  in  North- 
ern Iowa.  It  is  of  brick,  stone  and  iron,  74x33  feet  in  extreme; 
the  jail  part  Avill  be  one-story  of  17  feet,  with  iron  roof  entirely 
fire-proof;  the  part  for  the  sheriff's  residence  two  stories  of  10 
feet  each.  The  location  is  on  the  county  square  in  Waukon,  a 
short  distance  south  of  the  court  house. 

EDUCATIOKAL. 

The  early  comers  into  this  county  were  largely  from  New 
England  and  other  portions  of  the  east,  where  good  school  facili- 
ties were  enjoyed;  and  bringing  with  them  their  love  for  and  be- 
lief in  the  absolute  [necessity  of  education,  the  establishment  of 
free  public  schools  was  one  of  the  first  things  they  looked  to  after 
getting  comfortably  housed  in  their  new  home.  To  Postville  we 
believe  belongs  the  honor  of  possessing  the  first  public  school  in 
the  county,  established  there  in  the  summer  of  1848.  The  first 
school  house  was  built  near  Hardin  in  1849,  In  the  central  por- 
tion of  the  county  the  first  school  was  undoubtedly  that  taught 
by  L,  W.  Hersey,  in  the  winter  of  1852  and  1853,  in  a  log  cabin 
built  by  Deacon  Azel  Pratt  for  a  dwelling  in  the  fall  of  1850.  The 
first  public  school  in  Lansing  was  begun  in  February,  1853.  The 
first  in  Waukon  in  the  early  winter  next  following,  taught  by  L. 
0.  Hatch.  Previous  to  this  D.  D.  Doe  taught  in  Malice  Township 
just  east  of  Waukon,  Quite  early  in  the  fifties,  Reuben  Smith 
built  a  small  school  house  on  his  place  in  Yellow  River,  and  em- 
ployed a  teacher  to  instruct  his  children,  probably  admitting  those 
of  his  neighbors  to  the  benefit  of  the  school  also.  The  first  pub- 
lic school  in  Smith's  district  was  taught  by  C.  T.  Granger  (now 
Circuit  Judge)  in  the  winter  of  1854-5. 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 


441 


An  examination  of  the  following  figures,  compiled  from  reporte; 
of  the  County  Superintendents  for  various  years,  will  give  a  bet- 
ter idea  of  the  condition  of  educational  matters  in  our  county  than 
anything  else  we  could  here  lay  before  the  reader. 

In  1867  there  were  6,083  persons  between  the  ages  or  live  and 
twenty-one  years.  In  1873,  7,511;  in  1875;  7,705;  in  1877,  8,450; 
in  1880,  7,927;  in  1881,  7,520,  distributed  among  the  various  school 
districts  as  follows: 


• 
OrSTlUCTS. 

-t-i    rri 

(1)  i~ 

^  f 

M    >^ 

53  <^ 

P-liO 

379 

198 

273 

58 

271 

192 

129 

153 

407 

60 

145 

55 

4« 

61 

72 

41 

749 

106 

86 

65 

50 

34 

276 

403 

116 

65 

64 

35 

45 

27 

41 

470 

30 

76 

65 

56 

52 

59 

55 

62 

35 

1 

^  2 

0^ 

Per  cent.,    ot 
attendance, 

DlSTiaCTS 

~^3      TJi 

■^  ? 

rn    '^ 

0(M 

r^ 
Ohio 

4 

32 
30 
32 
28 
28 
20 

260 
42 
38 
37 
32 
28 
76 
54 
SO 
38 
64 
49 
57 
49 
33 
38 
47 
38 
44 
67 
42 
23 
41 
34 

102 
44 
84 
49 
74 
44 
24 

7520 

1 

Per    cent,    of 
attendance. 

1  Center  

52 
86 
82 
86 
67 
60 
65 
99 
75 
66 
85 
73 
71 
90 
80 
71 
68 
66 
80 
54 
80 
60 
76 
88 
68 
70 
70 
91 
66 
100 
73 
98 
77 
71 
77 
80 
77 
75 
65 
63 
86 

44 

46 

60 

60 

45 

52 

18 

54 

54 

50 

58 

42 

41 

40 

51 

41 

65 

50 

70 

51 

65 

60 

45 

48 

47 

44 

44 

62 

47 

37 

47 

51 

40 

37 

54 

45 

45 

84 

60 

44 

77 

42  Lybrand 

90 
88 
90 
62 
90 
93 
60 
95 
62 
100 
65 
71 
96 
77 
50 
66 
90 
47 
73 
81 
82 
66 
58 
59 
84 
73 
66 
70 
78 
73 
53 
69 
90 
64 
82 
54 
90 

75 
47 

2  Fairview 

43  West  Grove 

44  M  inert 

3  Franklin. 

50 
65 
43 
50 

58 

4  Hardin 

45  Woodland 

5  French  Creek 

46  Myron 

6  Hanover 

47  Empire 

7  Iowa 

48  South  Grove 

49Postville :   .. 

50  Highland 

8  New  Albin 

53 

9  Jeft'erson 

50 

lOCapoli 

51  Mound  City. . :    

52  Chmax 

47 

11  Villao"e  Creek. 

53 
41 

12  Praiiie 

53  Little  Paint 

54  St.  Joseph 

13  Wexford 

62 

MEussell...., 

15  Laf.  Center 

55  Harpers'  Feiry 

56  Excelsior 

70 
55 

16     "   No.  7 

57  Spring  Brook 

58  Paint  Rock 

50 

1 7  Lansing  No  1 

40 

18        •'        "    2 

59  Wheatland 

47 

19        "        "   3,... 

60  Harmony 

31 

20  "        "4 

21  "        "5 

22  "        "  6. 

61  English  Bench 

62  Clear  Creek 

63  Union 

52 
65 
70 

23  Linton 

64  Columbia 

55 

24  Ludlow 

65Eells 

61 

25  Lycurgus 

66  No.  2 

72 

26  Howard 

67  Pleasant  Ridge 

68  South  West 

69  Helming 

66 

27  Makee 

3? 

28Paulk 

50 

29  Hanson 

70  West  Ridge 

71  Emmet 

55 

30  Fan 

63 

31  Elk 

72  No.  8 

66 

32  Waukon 

73  Dorchester 

74  New  Galena 

75  Vosse  Vagen 

76  Washington 

77  Waterloo  Ridge 

78  Bergen 

Monona  Junction. . . . 

For  the  County 

40 

33Storla 

26 

M  Ness 

44 

35  Cross  Roads 

36  Paint 

45 
45 

37  Cherry  Mound 

38Dahl.' 

61 

39  North  West 

41  Evergreen 

74     52 

412 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUJfTY. 


In  18S1  there  were  seventy-eight  school  districts  in  the  county, 
and  one  hundred  and  forty-seyen  teachers  were  required  to  supply 
all  the  schools,  of  whom  the  nativity  was  as  follows: 

Male  Female 

On  Atlantic  Ocean 1  0 

Canada 3  3 

Connecticut 1  1 

England 0  1 

Germany 2  0 

Indiana 1  1 

Illinois 1  3 

Iowa 18  62 

Ireland 1  0 

Maine 0  1 

Maryland 2  1 

Massachusetts 1  0 

Michigan 3  1 

Minnesota 0  2 

Missouri 0  2 

New  York 3  5 

Nova  Scotia 0  1 

Ohio 0  8 

Pennsylvania 3  1 

Tennessee 1  0 

Vermont 1  0 

West  Virginia 0  1 

Wisconsin 1  11 

The    following  statement  shows  the  more  interesting  of  our 

county  school  statistics  compared  for  the   years  1873,  1877,  and 
1881: 


Ungraded  schools 

Graded  schools 

Total  No.  of  schools 

Average  duration  m  months , 

Teachers  employed — males 

—females 

Average  monthly  compensation — males 

—females.... 

No.  pupils  enrolled 

Total  average  attendance 

Average  cost  of  tuition  per  month,  per  pupil 
No  of  school  houses — frame 

brick 

"  stone 

log 

total 

Value  of  school  houses 

Value  of  apparatus 

Volumes  in  libraries , 


1873 

1877 

1881 

114 

.... 

122 

•> 
117 

"i28 

o 

128 

7.06 

6.90 

6.90 

61 

86 

68 

125 

161 

178 

$38.88 

$35.12 

$31.66 

$27.59 

$21.60 

$22.56 

5502 

6326 

5413 



3432 

2915 

.72 

1.37 

1.40 

95 

95 

4 

4 

7 

10 

22 

17 

ii7 

128 

126 

$75,285 

$87,918 

$82,741 

•  •  •  • 

$2,182 

$1,204 

.... 

•  >  •  * 

ly 

Andrew  Meyer 


PUB, 


YORK 

f 


ABT'..;.'(,  lSnox  and 
TILD£N   rCUNDATIONS 


HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY, 


445 


EXPENDITUKES. 

School  liou.ft!  Fund. 


1873 


Paid  for  school  houses  and  sites 

Libraries  and  apparatus 

On  bonds  and  interest 

For  other  purposes 

On  hand 


Total. 


$5485.90 

281.17 

1481.84 

2049! 33 


1877 


1914 


42 


$9298.2417444.05  4092.76 


1881 


1392.12 

2.00 

335.30 

694.96 

668.38 


Contingent  Fund 


Paid  for  rent  and  repairs 

Fuel 

Secretaries  and  Treasurers. . 
Records,  dictionaries,  etc... 
Insurance,  and  janitors.  ,. 
Supplies,  brooms,  chalk,  etc. 

Other  purposes 

On  hand 


Total f|10259.24  $13984.33  $10576.29 


1873.         1877.         1881. 


$  1619.49 

2(X)S.81 

793.37 


2823.79 
3012.78 


4916.40 


1820.46 

2183.98 

968.50 

90.05 

651.87 

429.12 

1578.84 

2853.47 


Teachers'  Fund. 


1S73. 

1877. 

1881. 

Paid  teachers 

-?261 11.97 

10248! 52 

$30182.67 
14638! 4i 

$2>023.12 

109.25 

15776.04 

Other  purposes 

On  hand 

Total 

$36360.49 

$44821  08 

$43908.41 

From  the  second  Tuesday  in  October,  1880,  to  the  second  Tues- 
day of  October,  1881,  certificates  were  issued  as  follows: 

Males.      Females. 

Number  receiving  professional, ,   5  0 

Number  receiving  first-clas« 13  23 

Number  receiving  second-class, 19  51 

Number  receiving  third-class, 37  110 

Total  number  of  certificates 74  184 

Number  of  applicants  rejected 16  58 

Number  of  applicants  examined, 83  230 

Number  certificates  revoked, 00  00 

Average  age  of  persons  receiving  certificates, 24  21 

Number  who  had  no  experience, 12  25 

Number  who  had  taught  les.s  than  a  year 15  23 

In  1877  they  were  as  follows: 


Number  of  first-class, 

Number  of  seeond-cla':s,  , 

Number  of  third-class, 

Total  number  issued, 

Applicants  rejected, 

Applicants  examined, „ 

Average  age  of  per.s(ns  reciving  certiiicate.«i, . 
Number  certificates  revoked, , 


Males. 
28 
26 

2 
56 

7 
63 
25 

o 


Females. 

30 

68 

17 

115 

18 

133 

20 

0 


QS 


446 


HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUXTY. 


NORMAL  INSTITUTES. 


Where  held. 


Comm'^ncinff. 


CO 

a 

PI 
O 
O 


Teachers  in  attendance. 


Is 


O 

H 


1868 
1869 

1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 


Waukon July  6 


Lansing. 

Postville. 

Waukon . 

Lansing. 

Po-tville. 

Waukon 

Lansing. . 

Waukon . 

Waukon. 

Waukon. 

Waukon. 

Waukon. 

Waukon. 

Waukon. 

Waukon. 


February  1. 
October  25. 
October  17.. 
August  28. . 
August  26. . 
October  6. . . 
August  10., 
August  9. . . 
August  21. . 
August  20. . 
August  12. , 
August  11. 
August  2.. 
August  8.. 
August  14. 


1 

27 

92 

1 

41 

85 

1 

30 

77 

1 

38 

71 

1 

22 

56 

1  ^ 

44 

82 

1 

1 

42 

112 

1 

4 

2 

11 

58 

3 

14 

32 

3 

3 

21 

81 

4 

24 

104 

4 

24 

120 

3 

9 

130 

119 

126 

107 

109 

78 

126 

154 

32 

79 

69 

46 

102 
128 
144 
139 


The  county  possesses  but  one  private  school  (aside  from  the  sis- 
ters schools  at  Lansing)  of  importance,  the  Waukon  Seminary,  J. 
Laughran,  principal,  for  many  yeafe  a  prominent  educator  of  this 
county.     Its  report  for  1881,  was  two  teachers  and  forty  pupils. 

According  to  the  State  census  of  1875  (the  latest  available)  there 
were  in  the  county  but  271  persons  over  sixteen  years  of  age  who 
could  not  read,  out  of  a  population  of  17,868. 


KELiGiors. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  the  county  were  Christian  men  and 
women,  who  brought  their  religion  with  them  into  the  wilderness, 
and  were  not  willing  to  abandon  the  public  ordinances  of  the 
gospel,  but  in  the  humble  cabin ,  or  the  groves— ''God's  first  temples" 
—they  gathered  at  the  summons  carried  from  house  to  house  that 
"a  preacher  is  coming,"  and  raised  the  simple  hymns  of  praise,  the 
devout  prayers,  and  listened  to  the  earnest  exhortations  of  the  de- 
voted pioneer  ministers,  who  traveled  through  heat  and  cold,  rain 
and  shine,  from  settlement  to  settlement,  preaching  the  gospel, 
bringing  news  of  the  outer  world,  ministering  consolation  in  the 
days  of  trial,  burying  the  dead,  and  marrying  the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. The  ministers  were  given  a  hearty  welcome  in  every  home; 
and  in  the  homes  of  many  settlers,  whose  rough  speech  and  rugged 
ways  would  not  indicate  that  they  were  of  Puritan  stock,  the 
missionary  found  a  cordial  hospitality  that  made  them  indeed  oases 
to  him. 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  447 

The  eiirliest  religious  services  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge, 
were  held  by  Rev.  Lowrey,  a  Presbyterian,  at  the  Old  Mission  in 
1835.  but  there  were  no  settlers  in  the  county  then  to  participate 
in  them. 

In  1840,  the  old  Mission  was  made  an  appoinament  by  the 
Methodists,  and  was  filled  *at  stated  times  by  the  Rev.  Sidney 
Wood,  whose  Circuit  was  Clayton  County,  and  in  1841,  Quarterly 
Meeting  was  held  there  and  presided  over  by  the  Rev,  Alfred 
Brunson,  who  came  over  from  Prairie  du  Chien  to  do  so.  These 
were  the  first  Methodist  appointments  ever  made  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Brunson  died  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  August  3,  1882,  where 
he  had  resided  since  1866.  He  was  born  in  Danbury,  Fairfield 
County,  Connecticut,  February  9,  1793.  He  first  came  to  Prairie 
du  Chien  as  a  missionary  to  the  Indians  in  a  buggy  from  Meadville, 
Pennsylvania,  to  Galena,  and  from  there  in  the  saddle,  and  in  the 
pioneer  days  traveled  through  the  country  from  the  Galena  River 
to  Lake  Superior,  and  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi,  on 
horse  back  in  all  kinds  of  weather,  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  set- 
tlers and  natives. 

The  first  Catholic  missionary  was  Father  Thomas  Hare,  who 
came  in  1851  and  established  the  first  permanent  church  in  the 
county,  in  Lafayette  Township.  Further  of  this  influential  mis- 
sionary will  be  found  under  the  head  of  Wexford,  in  the  chapter 
on  villages. 

Of  the  other  early  ministers,  we  find  mention  of  the  following- 
among  the  remnants  of  early  county  records  that  are  still  in  ex- 
istence. 

On  the  27th  day  of  March,  1850,  A.  M.  Eastman  produced  to 
the  Clerk  of  the  Court  his  license  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  of 
the  Congregationsl  Church,  obtained  and  bearing  the  seal  of  the 
Court  of  the  County  of  Des  Moines,  and  received  authority  to  sol- 


emnize marriages. 


August  24,  1850,  ''a  certificate  was  issued  to  Eldridge  Howard, 
M.  G.,"  authorizing  him  to  solemnize  marriages,  he  presenting  a 
similar  certificate  from  the  Clerk  of  Jackson  County,  with  cre- 
dentials of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

Rev,  Howard  held  services  in  the  Post  settlement  as  early  as 
1848. 

July  9,  1851,  a  similar  certificate  was  granied  to  Joel  Baker, 
who  presented  his  credentials  as  an  ordained  minister  of  the  Bap- 
tist church. 

In  the  fall  of  1851,  D.  "W.  Lyons  was  a  Presbyterian  minister 
in  the  southern  portion  of  the  county;  and  Alfred  Bishop,  a 
preacher  of  the  M,  E.  Church,  performed  marriage  ceremonies  on 
Yellow  River. 

Nov.  10,  1851,  Ole  Peter  Peterson  presented  his  certificate  as  a 
regular  local  preacher  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  was  given  au- 
thority to  solemnize  marriages. 


4:48  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNT V. 

Jui\'  15,  1852,  Niels  Olesnii  Brandt  presented  his  certificate  of 
ordinatiou  as  minister  of  the  gospel  of  the  Lutheran  denomina- 
tion, from  Bishop  J.  L.  Arup,  of  Norway;  also  certificates  of  0.  L. 
Clausen,  Supt.of  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  of  Wisconsin,  and 
the  Clerk  of  Jefferson  County,  Wis. 

Rev,  Francis  Walsh  had  charge  of  the  Catholic  Church  of  Lan- 
sing and  vicinity  from  about  1852  until  the  summer  of  1863.  He 
is  at  present  at  Keewick,  Iowa. 

In  1852,  Rev,  E.  Howard,  before  mentioned,  preached  in  Center 
township,  using  his  own  dwelling  house  for  a  church.  It  was  a 
low  shanty  of  only  one  room,  16x16  feet,  and  stood  on  the  farm 
no w«  owned  by  0.  Deremo. 

The  Methodists   organized   a   class   at   Postville  in   December, 

1850. 

The  Rossville  Baptist  Church  was  organized  Aug.  27,  1853,  and 
J.  S.  Mitchell  was  its  first  Clerk.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  J.  S. 
Shofield,  since  whom  the  following  have  ministered  unto  that 
charge,  viz:  '  Eider  Moreland,  J.  A.  Poole,  Newell,  C.  D.  Farns- 
worth,  Starr,  Frink,  Dye,  Cooley,  and  J.  M,  Wedgwood,  the  latter 
until  the  summer  of  1882.  The  church  has  no  pastor  at  present, 
but  maintain  the  prayer  meeting,  covenant  meeting,  and  Sunday 
School.  The  present  church  membership  is  sixty-live.  They  have 
a  good  church  building,  erected  in  1861;  and  had  a  parsonage 
until  quite  recently  they  disposed  of  it,  N.  E.  Brace  is  Deacon 
at  present,  and  N.  Mitchell,  Clerk, 

The  Lansing  Congregational  Church  was  organized  in  April, 
1854. 

The  Waukon  Baptist  Church  was  organized  June  17,  1854,  on 
Makee  Ridge, 

The  Waukon  M.  E.  Church  was  organized  the  same  year,  1854. 

The  Waukon  Catholic  Church  was  established,  northwest  of  that 
town,  about  the  year  1855. 

The  German  Presbyterian  Church  of  Waukon  (now  of  Ludlow,) 
organized  Aug.  11,  1856. 

The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church  of  Waukon,  in  1857. 

The  Mount  Hope  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Union  City  Town- 
ship, was  organized  by  Rev.  Joseph  Adams  and  J.  W.  Crawford, 
in  June,  1858.  It  was  supplied  in  its  earlier  years  by  Dr.  A.  H, 
Houghton,  of  Lansing;  and  by  Rev.  Frothingham  (then  of  Cale- 
donia, Minnesota,  we  believe),  and  Rev.  Herndon, 

The  German  Zion  Evangelical  Church  of  Columbus  Ridge,  is  a 
flourishing  organization.  In  July,  1873,  they  dedicated  a  fine 
new  frame  church,  costing  $1,00(3,  and  all  paid  for.  Rev.  L. 
Schuerer  was  pastor  of  the  church  at  that  time. 

There  are  four  Norwegian  Lutheran  Churches  in  the  county, 
of  w^hich  two  are  in  Paint  Creek,  one  in  Lan.-ing,  and  one  at  Fa- 
grie  Prairie.      In  1877,  the  latest  statistics  we  have  at  hand,  they 


HISTORY    OK   ALLAMAKP:B   COUNTY. 


449 


comprised  a  total  membership  of  998,  of  which  cast  Paint  Creek 
church  had  423,  west  Paint  (Jreek  church  433,  Lansing  Gl,  and  Fa- 
grie  Prairie  81. 

The  Lycurgus  Catholic  Church,  on  Lansing  Ridge,  is  also  a  large 
and  flourishing  body,  under  the  charge  of  Father  Slatlery.  They 
have  possessed  a  large  stone  church  for  many  years,  which  was 
greatly  enlarged  by  an  addition  erected,  we  believe,  in  1879,  or 
1880. 

STATISTICS  OF  POPULATION,  ETC. 

The  population  of  Allamakee  County  at  different  periods  since 


its  org; 
18i9... 

mization  has 

been 

as  follows: 

227 

1850... 

...   .      777 

1851... 

1800 

1852... 

.     2000 

1854... 

4266 

1856... 

7709 

1859... 

10843 

1P60... 

12237 

1868... 

13465 

1865... 

18957 

1867... 

16003 

1869... 

16766 

1870... 

17868 

1873... 

. .   .  , 18804 

1875... 

19168 

1880. . . 

. 

19791 

By  townships  its 

population 

was: 

'lowNsiiip  oil  Town. 


Center  

Fairvievt 

Franklin 

French  Creek 

Hanover 

Iowa 

Jefferson 

Lafayette 

Lansing  (incluclingtown). . . 

Lansing  (town) 

Linton 

Ludlow 

Makoe  (including  Waukon). 

Waukon 

Paint  Creek 

Post  (including  Postville) 

PostviJle 

Ta.ylor 

Union  City 

Union  Prairie 

Waterloo 


Total. 


I860,  1^67 


620 
270 
752 
436 
355 
164 

1020 
814 

1197 


660 

688 

1425 


859 
765 


806 
334 
726 
406 


8i)2 

5S6 

794 

668 

442 

284 

1053 

1024 

2443 

1587 

476 

773 

1624 


1108 
1007 


915 
425 
865 
624 


1870  1875  1880 


1048 

630 

850 

791 

550 

347 

1015 

1120 

2519 

175 

712 

1088 

1784 

871 

1141 

1223 


863 
678 
912 
747 


12237  16003  17S68  19168ll9791 


1184 

492 

846 

751 

581 

688 

971 

1250 

3144 

2280 

7^6 

10)5 

1813 

809, 

1120 

1581 

712 

932 

405 

854 

860 


1080 

558 

898 

761 

602 

787 

1135 

1161 

2723 

1811 

743 

1001 

2205 

1350 

1158 

1550 

732 

876 

680 

1017 

856 


450 


HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COXJiTrY. 


NATIVITY   OF   POPULATION". 

1810  1875 

Number  born  in  Iowa, 6,774  8,654 

Born  in  United  States  but  not  in  Iowa, 4,991  4,685 

Born  in  foreign  countries, 6,103  4,959 

Born  of  foreign  parentage, 11,800  6,548 

Whose  father  only  was  foreign  born 667  306 

Whose  mother  only  was  foreign  born 332  120 

The  following  figures  are  interesting  for  comparison: 

1867  1875 

Number  of  dwellings, 2,762  3,339 

Number  of  voters 3,081 .  3,653 

Number  of  militia, 1,998  2,366 

Foreigners  not  naturalized, . , 493  329 

In  1857  the  number  of  miles  of  railroad  ia  operation  was  5,  in 
1872  it  was  41,  and  in  1880  it  was  65. 

ASSESSED   VALUATIONS. 


Year 

Lands  and  Town 
Lots 

Personal  Prop- 
erty 

Railroad  Prop- 
erty 

Total 
Value 

1867 

1875 
1880 

$1,781,368 
1,997,307 
2,347,970 

$701,231 
580,311 
620,943 

$ 
155,583 
169,197 

$2,4«2,599 
2,733,202 
3,138,110 

ABSTRACT  OF  VOTES  FOR  GOVERNOR. 

» 

August  5, 1850^  the  Countij  first  voted  on  the  Governorship ^  since 
when  the  votes  have  been  as  follows: 


1850 
1854 
1857 
1859 
1861 
1863 
1865 
1867 
1869 
1871 
1873 
1875 
1877 


Stephen  Hempstead. 
James  W.  Grimes  . . 

Ralph  P.  Lowe 

Samuel  J.  Kirkwood 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwook 

Wm.M.  Stone 

Wm.  M.  Stone 

Samuel  Merrill 

Samuel  Merrill 

Cyrus  C.  Carpenter. . 
Cyrus  C.  Carpenter. . 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood 
John  H.  Gear 


30 

299 

543 

743 

955 

997 

1004 

1216 

1485 

1257 

1049 

18:{3 

1547 


T.  L.  Thompson .. 
Curtis  Bates 

B.  M.  Samuels  ... 

A.  C.Dodge 

W.  H.  Merritt... 

J.  M.  Tattle 

T.  H.  Benton,  Jr. 

C.  Mason 

G.  Gilhi-spy 

J.  C.  Knapp 

J.  G.  Vale 

Shepard  Leffler... 
John  P.  Irish 


27 

197 

574 

1025 

990 

1343 

1290 

1307 

1435 

1363 

1536 

2157 

1540 


a> 

g3   O 

H 


57 
496 
1117 
1768 
1945 
2U9 
2294 
2523 
2920 
2620 
2585 
3994 
3196 


(Scattering,  1875,  4.  1877,  109). 

1879— J.  H.  Gear.  1795,  H.  H.  Trimble,  1584;  Daniel  Campbell,  206;  scatter- 
ing, 2— total  vote,  .3587. 

1881-Buren  R.  Sherman,  1355;  L.  G.  Kinne,  1258;  D.  M.  Clark,  2.54-totaJ 
vote,  2867. 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 


4:51 


ABSTRACT  OF  VOTES  FOR  PRESIDENT. 

Allamakee  County  first  voted  for  Presidential  candidates  in 
November.  1852.  The  vote  at  the  several  elections  has  been  as 
follows: 


1852 
1856 
*1860 
1864 
1868 
1872 
1876 
1880 


Scott . . . , 
Fremont. 
Lincoln . . 
Lincoln  . . 
Grant . . . 
Grant  ^„ 
Haj'es. . . 
Garfield  . 


*Breckenritlge, 


142  Pierce  . . . . 
6'o0  Buchanan. 


1185 
1337 
1543 
1455 
1709 
1838 


Douglas. . 
McClellan. 
Seymour  . , 
Greeley. . . 
Tilden  . . . 
Hancock . . 


123 
500 
1151 
1363 
1403 
1384 
1646 
1531 


Fillmore 

9.H 

Bell 

9 

Cooper 

39 

Weaver 

m?. 

CHAPTER   Xr. 


War  Record;  Allamakee  County  Volunteers;  Fifths  Twelfth  and 
Twenty-Seventh  Infantry;  First,  Sixth  and  Ninth  Cavalry; 
Outline  of  Operations;  Volunteer  Roster  of  Allamakee  County. 


The  principal  regiments  of  Iowa  State  troops  in  which  Allama- 
kee County  volunteers  served,  were  the  5th,  12th  and  2Tth  In- 
fantry, and  the  1st,  Gth,  and  9th  Cavalry.  A  brief  outline  of  their 
operations  is  given  below. 

The  Fifth  Regiment  was  mustered  into  the  service  in  July, 
1861,  at  Burlington,  whence  it  went  to  Jefferson  Barracks,  St. 
Louis,  in  August,  and  spent  the  fall  and  most  of  the  winter  at 
various  points  in  Missouri.  In  February,  1862,  it  was  sent  south- 
ward, and  took  part  in  the  operations  at  New  Madrid,  Island  No. 
10,  luka,  Corinth,  Vicksburg,  Jackson,  Champion  Hills,  and  Mis- 
sion Ridge.  At  the  expiration  of  its  three  years'  term  of  service 
it  was  disbanded,  the  veterans  being  trauferred  to  the  Fifth  Iowa 
Cavalry. 

The  Twelfth  Regiment  was  organized  at  Camp  Union,  Dubu- 
que, in  October  and  November,  1801,  mustered  into  the  service 
November  25,  1861,  and  shortly  after  went  to  Benton  Barracks, 
St.  Louis,  where  it  remained  until  January  27,  1862,  when  it  were 
ordered  south.  It  immediately  went  to  the  front,  under  General 
Grant,  with  the  force  that  caused  the  evacuation  of  Ft,  Henry, 
and  thence  to  Ft.  Donelson  where  it  was  the  first  time  in  action, 
February  12,  13  and  14,  1862.  In  the  first  day's  fight  at  Shiloh, 
April  6,  1862,  they  were  allowed  to  be  surrounded,  having  had  no 
orders  to  fall  back,  and  after  several  hours  desperate  fighting  were 
obliged  to  surrender,  at  6  o'clock  p.  m.,  16  men  being  killed  and 
98  wounded,  among  the  latter  being  Col.  Woods,  severely.  About 


452  HISTOKY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

400  were  captured,  and  remained  over  six  months  in  rebel  prisons 
before  they  were  paroled.  Those  who  were  not  captured  were  im- 
mediately reorganized  as  Companies  E  and  K  of  the  ''Union  Brig- 
ade," and  took  a  prominent  pirt  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  and  in 
the  battle  of  Corinth,  in  October  following.  About  the  first 
of  April,  186',  the  Regiment  was  reorganized  at  Benton  Bar- 
racks, and  immediately  reported  to  General  Grant  in  the  field 
near  Vicksbarg.  On  December  25th,  1863,  the  regiment  re- 
enlisted  as  veterans,  and  served  until  mustered  out  Janu- 
ary 18,  1806,  at  Memphis,  when  they  were  ordered  to  Davenport 
for  final  pay  and  discharge,  January  25th.  The  regiment  partici- 
pated in  twenty-five  engagements,  viz:  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh, 
siege  of  Corinth,  battle  of  Corinth,  Jackson,  Vicksbarg,  Jackson 
(siege  and  capture),  Brandon,  White  River,  Tapelo,  Nashville, 
Brentwood  Hills,  Spanish  Fort,  besiiles  twelve  skirmishes  at  dif- 
ferent dates.  It  was  under  fire  112  days,  and  marched  2,670 
miles.  Total  miles  traveled,  13,809.  The  total  number  of  casu- 
alities  was  582,  of  which  95  were  killed  in  action  or  mortally 
wounded,  217  died  of  disease,  22  died  of  disease  caused  by  wounds, 
247  discharged  for  disability  and  wounds,  and  one  dismissal. 

The  Twenty-seventh  Regiment  was  mustered  into  service  at 
Camp  Franklin,  Dubuque,  October  3,  1862.  Companies  A,  B  and 
I  were  largely  recruited  in  this  county.  The  regiment  was  first 
ordered  into  IS^orthern  Minnesota  to  superintend  the  payment  of 
friendly  Indians  in  that  region,  and  thence  to  Cairo,  III.,  thence 
to  Mississippi,  thence  to  Tennessee,  thence  into  Arkansas,  doing 
duty  most  of  the  year  1863  as  provost  guards,  train  guards  and 
picket  guards,  except  in  September,  when  it  assisted  in  the  cap- 
ture of  Little  Rock.  March  10,  1864,  the  regiment  moved  from 
Vicksburg  to  take  part  in  the  Red  River  expedition,  and  assisted 
in  the  capture  of  Fort  De  Russey,  March  14.  At  Pleasant  Hill, 
April  9,  the  regiment  came  out  with  the  following  casualties: 
Killed  in  action,  4;  wounded,  70;  missing,  14.  In  October  and 
November,  1861,  was  in  pursuit  of  Price  through  Missouri,  and 
thence  moved  to  Nashville,  Tenn.  Thence  in  February  and  March, 
1865,  to  Cairo,  New  Orleans,  and  into  Alabama,  participating  in 
the  capture  of  Mobile,  and  in  July  to  Vicksburg,  St.  Louis,  and 
Clinton,  la.,  where  they  were  mustered  out  August  7, 1865,  having 
marched  over  3,000  miles,  and  traveled  by  steamboat  and  rail  over 
10,000  miles,  [is  principal  engagements  were  in  the  Red  River 
expedition — Pleasant  Hill  and  Old  Oaks — Ditch  Bayou,  Ark.,  Cane 
Creek,  Tupelo,  Old  Town  Creek,  Nashville,  and  Fort  Blakely. 

Of  the  service  performed  by  the  cavalry  it  is  difficult  to  give  a 
connected  sketch,  so  much  of  it  being  by  detached  companies. 
The  First  Regiment  operated  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas  during 
1862,  doing  good  service  atrainst  Quantrell  and  other  guerrillas, 
and  participating  in  the  batths  of  Clear  Creek,  Prairie  Grove,  etc. 
During  1863  it  was  engaged  in  hot  work  in  Arkansas  a  great  deal 


HISTORY    OP   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  453 

of  the  time,  makinj^  an  excellent  reconl.  In  1804  the  veterans 
were  in  Arkansas  and  Missouri,  constantly  scouting  and  skirmish- 
inoj  with  guerrilla  bands,  participating  in  the  canir)aign  against 
Price  and  the  battle  at  Boonville.  In  1865  the  regiment  operated 
against  Forrest  in  Tennessee  and  Mississippi,  and  went  to  Texas 
that  summer.  On  the  19th  of  February,  1866,  they  left  Austin, 
Texas,  for  Davenport,  where  they  were  discharged  and  paid  off,  in 
March. 

The  Sixth  Cavalry  was  mustered  in  at  Davenport  early  in  1803, 
and  participated  in  several  compaigns  under  Gen.  Sully  against 
the  Indians  in  Dakota.  They  were  mustered  out  at  Sioux  City 
October  17,  1865, 

The  Ninth  was  mustered  in  November  30,  1863,  at  Davenport, 
and  proceeded  to  St.  Louis,  where  it  remained  until  May,  1864, 
when  it  was  transported  to  DuvalTs  Bluff,  Ark.,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  that  year  performed  scouting,  foraging  and  garrison 
service  in  that  vicinity,  with  frequent  engagements  with  guerrilla 
bands.  The  service  during  1865  was  similar,  until  the  cessation 
of  hostilities,  when  the  companies  were  assigned  stations  at  Aari- 
ous  points.  The  regiment  was  mustered  out  at  Little  Rock,  Ark., 
in  February,  1866. 

The  total  number  of  men  furnished  by  Allamakee  county  dur- 
ing the  war  was  about  eight  hundred,  or  two  hundred  more  than 
her  quota.  A  complete  list  of  them  it  is  impossible  to  prepare  at 
this  day.  The  following  is  as  nearly  full  and  correct  a  roster  as 
we  have  been  able  to  make  it  from  a  thorough  search  of  the  Ad- 
jutant General's  reports,  and  consultation  with  those  best  posted 
in  the  matter.  It  numbers  805,  but  contains  some  repetitions  be- 
cause of  the  transfer  of  some  men  from  one  organization  to  an- 
other, and  possibly  contains  a  few  names  that  belong  to  other 
counties.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  numerous  omissions  that 
cannot  be  supplied  from  any  records  we  can  obtain: 


VOLUNTEER  ROSTER  OF  ALAMAKEE  COUNTY. 
[Abbreviation: — d,  died;  k,  killed; j!)ro,  promoted.] 


THIRD  INFANTRY. 

Co.  C.—Mai/,  1861. 

Wm.  S.  Orr,  k,  Atlantic,  July  21,  '64.    Hiram  L.  Wait. 

Geo.  W.  Smith.  Jas  Fulton,  d,  Macon,  Ga,  Sept.  29,  '62. 

Reuben  Dinger,  d,  March,  '64. 

FIFTU  INFANTRY. 

Co.  I. 

Richard  Barrett. 

Co.  K. 
Geo.  H.  Stevens,  Capt.,  d,  Port  Hud-  E.  B.  Bascom,  Capt. 

eon.  '63.  Stephen  'W,  Smith,  2nd  Lieut.,  k,  at 

Chas,  A.  Comstock,  Capt.  luka,  '62. 


454 


HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 


Samuel  A.  Cooper. 

Davis  Googins. 

J.  S.  Gardner,  k,  Vicksburg^. 

C.  E.  Walr&th. 

W.  W.  Woodmansee. 

J.  W.  Austin. 

A.  B.  Travis. 

Cyrus  Miner. 

Christian  Bartshe. 

Louis  Brewer. 

C.  G.  Beeler. 

G.  W.  Botsford. 

C.  M.  Chery. 

J.  W.  Cowles. 

Henry  Papka,  d,  Jefferson  City. 

Henry  Pope. 

Nathaniel  Philbrick. 

Wm.  T.  Powell. 

M.  D.  Rublee. 

Chas.  H.  Lercreuce. 

H.  D.  Spaulding. 

J.  Sheidecker,  k,  luka,  '62. 

S.  C.  Thomas. 

Henry  Fry . 

W.  Presho. 

J.  A.  Fosdick. 

Jacob  Ryder. 


Nelson  Clark. 

Chas  V.  Clark,  d,  Dec.  29,  '63. 

David  Dewey. 

S.  H.  Davis. 

Homer  Ellis,  k,  luka,  '62. 

John  W.  Holly. 

J.  W.  Hudson. 

Joel.  C.  Hall. 

John  J.  Caugh. 

Nicholas  Klees. 

Paul  M.  Krohn. 

W.  E.  Lytle,  d,  luka,  '62. 

Jas.  W  Manson,  d,  Memphis,  '64. 

A.  J.  Ovle. 

M.  T.  Sparks. 

Wm.  F.  Stirts,  k.  Champion  Hill,  '63 

Michael  Shindler. 

John  W.  Smith. 

Andrew  Soil. 

David  D.  Terrill. 

Newton  E.  Terrill. 

Edwin  Taylor. 

J.  Wampler,  d,  Otterville,  Mo. 

Wm.  E.  Gardner. 

C.  G.  Beeles. 

Chas.  Rannish. 


Edward  Ryan, 
Hans  Simenson, 
Wm.  A.  Bentley, 
Elias  Randall, 
Hugh  K.  Phillips, 
Franklin  Morgan, 
Hiram  Clark,  d.  Oct. 


JohnS.  Mather, 
Squire  Mather, 


'63. 


KIKTH  INFASTKY. 

Co.E. 

Franz  Warner. 

Co.H. 
J.  W.  Phillips,  Caijt. 

Samuel  Barr, 
Joseph  LamOnt, 
Jacob  Olesen. 
Garret  Purcell. 
James  S.  Smith, 
L.  W.  Green, 
James  M.  Barr, 

Co.  I. 

George  S,  Rice. 

John  Gemmell,  d.  Miss. 

TWELFTH    INFANTRY. 


'63. 


Co 
W.  C.  Earle,  Capt.,  Col.  71st  A.  D. 
Lyman  H.  Merrill.  1st  Lieut.,  d.  rebel 

prison.,  Montgomery,  May  29,  1862. 
J.  H.  Borger,  1st.  Lieut. 
John  D.   Cole,   2d  Lieut.,  1st  Lieut. 

Vet.  R.  C. 
J.  D.  Spaulding, 
Stephen  Thibodo, 
John  Upstrom, 
George  Ibach, 
Wm.  P.  Winter, 
Elisha  J.  White, 
George  Bailey, 
L.  D.  Bearce, 


.  C. 

Elias  Repp, 

Daniel  Harbaugh,  d  Macon,  Oct.  18,  '62. 

J.  P.  Jackson,  1st  Lieut. 

Watson  R.  Hanscom,  Captain. 

Hubbard  Goodrich, 

Frank  E.  Hancock,  d.  Annapolia,  Oct. 

27.  '62. 
Adam  Decker, 
Cornelius  Denny, 
John  Dowling, 
Isaac  Edwards, 
Matthias  Englehorn, 
George  Ettle, 
John  Feidt, 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 


455 


J.  B.  Beisel,  d.  '65. 

Wesley  B.  Bort, 

Maflison  J.  Roe,  d.  Macon,  '62, 

H.  R.  Andrews, 

O.F.  Adams, 

Gustavus  Brock, 

John  L.  Bryant,  d.  Macon,  '62. 

JosiahH.  Butts, 

George  Calico,  d.  St.  Louis,  '62. 

L.  B.  Churchill, 

Henry  Jones, 

Charles  King,  d,  Macon,  '62, 

Frank  Klees, 

Henry  Kuck,  d.  Macon,  '62. 

Hans  Knudtson, 

Aslak  Larsen, 

August  Lene,  k.  Tupelo,  '64. 

Edward  Lewis, 

Wm.  F.  Maynard.  d.  Vicksburg,  63, 

Hugh  McCabe, 


Frank  Mc  Kay 

Bryan  McGuire, 

Jasper  J.  Minei',  d.  St.  Louis,  '61, 

Frederick  Monk, 

Alonzo  Noyes, 

Gharles  H.  Noyes,  d.  Macon,  '62. 

Joseph  Scott,  d.  St  Louis,  '61, 

Joseph  Starts, 

John  J.  StiUman,  k,  Donelson  Feb  13,W.  F 

1862. 
Knud  Thronsen,  d.  Atlanta,  '62 
Jesse  Thayer, 
Robert  Wampler, 


Henry  S.  Fry, 

B.  Ferguson, 

D  F.  Goodykoontz, 

Hiram  Hawkins, 

John  Hughes, 

I.   B.  S.  Isted 

D.  P.  Jennings, 

Ole  Olesen, 

Charles  C.  Ogan, 

Edwin  R.  Perry,    d,  Annapolis,  Nov. 

20,  '62. 
James  W.  Patterson,  d.  Memphis,  '64. 
Ira  E.  Peck,  d.  Macon,  '62. 
Simeon  Peck,  d.  Macon,  '62. 
Charles  E.  Rowe, 
Al  J.  Rogers,  Sergeant-Major. 
Charles  Russell. 
Thomas  Stack,  d.  St.  Louis,  62. 
Richard  B.  Sargent, 
Carson  Smith, 

John  Sohn,  d.  Paducah,  '62. 
Peter  Sjodin, 
Richard  Schiflfhauer. 
William  Steeker, 


Robert  Bathen, 
Samuel  Klcven,  d.  Macon,  6*j 
John  Olse  n, 
James  McClintock, 
Sanner, 


Isaac  Woodmansee, 

William  M.  White,  d.  Macon,  '62. 

Edwin  W.  Wood. 

Stephen  Wood, 

C.  elevens,  d.  Macon,  '62. 
Geo,  Candee, 

Erick  Erickson. 

Kensel  Larson, 

James  McDonald, 

Francis  A.  Winter,  k.  Tupelo,  '64, 

Rufus  B  Winter, 

A.  L.  Barnhart,  d,  Memphis  '64. 
Horatio  Birnum, 

Oviatt  D.  Burlingame, 
Mernt  J .  Burt, 

B.  Oleson, 
Levi  Plank, 

A.  C.  Bushnell, 

D.  W.  Rted,  Major  12th  Regt. 
Jacob  M.  Husted,  d.  Memphis,  '64. 


Thomas  Bowling, 

R.  G.  Pratt, 

C.  S.  Smith, 

A,  K.  Bort, 

Edwin  T.  Greenup,  d.  Memphis,  '64. 

Stephen  H.  Greenup, 

Lawrence  Hannon,  d.  Cairo, ['64, 

Knud  Iverson, 

George  F.  Nye,  d.  Nov.  16,  '63. 

M.  H.  Pratt, 

Jacob  Beisel, 

P.  Bowe, 

Wm.  L.  Bailey, 

Jo  H.  Huestis, 

Hans  Knudson, 

Ansel  E.  Mann, 

Orin  E.  Peck,  d.  Memphis,  '64, 

John  P.  Peck. 

Lewis  Johnson. 

F.  H.  Bartlett, 


Co.  C. 


A.  L.  Brown, 
John  McElvain. 
D.  Shuburne. 


Co.  F. 
Abram  S.  Heitcher, 

Co.  G. 
S.  M.N.  Fladmark. 


456 


HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 


John  Devine, 

John  Turlton 
Henry  C.  Merriam, 
Daniel  Fa^ran. 


Co.  I. 

John  W.  Miller,  d.  Memphis,  '64. 

Co.  K. 

Frank  Keizer 
Isaac  Mickey, 
Henry  Waldruff. 


Co.  not  Given 
D.  A.  Walcott,  d.  Taladego  '65. 

TWENTY-SEVKNTH  INPANTKY. 


James  I  Gilbert,  Colonel. 
Charles  A.  Comstock,  Adjutant. 
David  N.  Bordwell,  Chaplain. 


P.  J.  Harrington,  Sergt-Major. 
Darius  C.  Mather,  Fife-Major. 


Co.  A. 


A.  M.  Haslip,  Captain,  d.  Montgomery 

Julys,  '65. 
Jedediah  N.  Granger,  1st  Lieut.,  Capt. 
Wm.  H.  Tuttle, 
W.  D.  Harden,  2d  Lieut. 
Reuben  K.  Hall 
Charles  0.  Thompson 
James  Patterson,  d  Jackson,  Tenn.  "63 
Charles  M  Bailey, 
John  W.  Pratt,  1st  Lieut., 
Austin  Kiraberly, 
James  D.  Maltbie, 
Thomas  McL^nan 
F  B  RKussell,  d.  Tupelo,  '64. 
John  J  Beedy. 
Allen  Blanchard 
Truman  Stoddard, 
George  W.  Allen, 
0  C  Adams,  d.  Cairo  '63. 
John  D.  Adams,  d.  Cairo,  '62. 
Wm.  Bamoble, 
Samuel  Do: son,  d.  Cairo '62. 
Richard  Gates 
Lucius  Green 
D.  Gardner 
Washington  Gill 
Henry  Hill 
Hiram  Hawkins 
J  Y  Hawthorn 
Wm  Hawthorn 
Wm  V  Ingalls 
Melvin  E  Mann 

C  C  Marston,  d  Jackson,  Tenn ,  '64 
W  H  Morrison 
CMcMuUen 
Linus  Maxam 

Milton  D  Miller,  d  Memphis,  '61 
C  F  Mitchell 
Wm  J  M  Her 

WmT  Merrian  k  Old  Town  Creek  "64 
Jas  W  McClasky,  d  Memphis  '65 
Meredith  McGee 


James  A  Lyons,  2d  Lieut. 

C.  S.  Richardson,  d.   Jackson,  Tenn., 

April  12,  '63. 
Wm  Crane 
James  W  Blacker 
Hezekiah  Biggs 
C  J  Bishop 
Albert  N  Bond 
James  Briar 
Henry  Baker 
E  C  Ballard 
Elisha  Cuney 

Alex  F  Cooksey  d  Memphis  '64 
Charles  N  Colburn 
Wm  S  Connor,  k  Yellow  Bayou  '64 
Daniel  Cole 
John  Chapman 
Reuben  Daniels 
S  G  Dodge 
T  B  Douglas 
Joseph  Damon 

Warren  Baird,  d  Little  Rock  '63 
John  Pixley 
W  S  Raymond 
E  B  Raymond 
Charles  Rumph,  Lieut.  A  D 
Romain  Ryder 
John  E  Randall 
Ezra  W  Reed 
George  W  Sherman 
Alonzo  D  Stiles 
Daniel  H  Shaff 
Wm  B  Slick 
Wm  Shroda 
L  M  Schriber 
Charles  W  Schriber 
Wm  Sbortreed 
E  M  Stephens 
Joseph  B  Smith 
AVm  A  Stewart 
W  HThornbirg 
Geo  W  Toplitf,  d  Jackson,  Tenn,  '63 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY 


457 


J  as  li  Newcoinb 

AVm  Ni  block 

Hiram  Ogj^ 

James  Osborn,  d  Memphis,  '64 

Jefferson  Osborne,  d  Dubuque  '62 

A  J  Pattert-on 

Junius  Paiterson,  d  Memphis  '63 

G  B  Pratt,  d  April  17  '65. 

Wm  J  Savoie,  d  Red  River,  "Gl 


Alonzo  Thornton 

.leff'i'rson  P  I'horp,  d  Vicksburg  "64 

David  R  Walk.-r 

Wm  Wheeler  d  Prairie  du  Chien,  '65 

Charles  Cole  d  Memphis  '64 

Lemnei  Pratt 

Wm  H  Crouch 

P'dwanl  Conner 

Elijali  Perry,  d  Memphis,  '61 


Co.  B. 


S.  W.  Hemenway  Capt. 

Theo.  Groezmger,  1st  Lt. 

Samuel  0.  Smith,  2d  Lt.,  Capt. 

Robt.  H.  Williams. 

Robt.  Baender. 

J.  T.  Robinson. 

John  Corcll,  1st  Lt. 

Julius  Nelson. 

Levi  Dounor,  d,  Wis.,  Nov.,  '63. 

J.  D.  Harrington. 

Roan  C.  May. 

Jas.  Ruth,  Capt.  Co.  F.  6th  Cav. 

Wm.  J.  Hutson,  2d  Lt. 

Geo.  W.  Griswolcl,  d,  Wis.,  Jan.,  '65. 

G.  W.  Hartshorn. 

John  Dignan.  4 

Robt.  Pennel. 

Ole  Anderson. 

T.  A.  Anderson. 

John  Alcorn. 

Isaac  Alcorn. 

Wm.  Bates. 

S.  W.  Bates. 

G.  Berdell,  d,  Jackson,  Tenn. 

N.  Betsinger. 

H.  Botsford. 

Dason  Barnes,  d,  Jan.,  '60. 

Wm.  Burnham. 

Jas.  H.  May. 

A.  B.  Marshall. 

George  Melton. 

John  S.  Monk. 

John  Moyer,  d,  at  Memphis,   '63. 

R.  D.  McKnight. 

C.  H.  Maxwed. 

Nelson  Milks,  d,  Memphis,  '64. 
John  Myers. 

D.  Obert. 
Peter  Oleson. 
Edmund  Peacock. 
Walter  J.  Pfaff". 

A.  Peterson,  d,  Nashville,  '64. 
Milton  T.  Reed,  d,  Jackson,  Tenn,  '63 
Erail  Roese. 
Wm.  Roese. 
Richard  Roese. 
P.  Ruprecht. 
Phine.is  Smith. 
S.  Skjur.sen. 


Eli.sha  Bennett. 

George  Burgess. 

W.  G.  Coppernoll. 

Peter  Conner,  d,  Memphis,  '64. 

George  Cornwall. 

Stephen  Dobbs. 

C.  R.  Do<lds. 

Frissbie  Davis. 

Augustus  Eck. 

Joseph  Green. 

John  Ginther. 

Geo.  B.  Goble. 

Richard  Griffin. 

Peter  Griffin. 

E.  J.  Hutson,  d,  Jackson,  Tenn.,  '63. 

N.  D.  Hutson. 

n.  P.  Harding,  d.  Ft.  Snelling,  Dec  '63 

John  Hermanson. 

S.  J.  Hartshorn. 

Joseph  Hawes. 

Pulaski  Hughes. 

Hans  Hanson,  d,  Cairo,  Dec,  '62. 

Thos.  B.  Hall. 

Robt.  S.  Jackson. 

John  Kolir. 

Jas.  Langford. 

George  McKee. 

John  Syres. 

Andrew  Soderstrom. 

John  Sti'ohm, 

Wm.  S.  Sims,  2d  Lt.,  d,  Aug.,  '65. 

John  Pharp. 

Isaac  Wightman. 

Wm.  H.  Harrison. 

Franklin  Melton. 

J.  W.  Osgood,  d,  Bayou  Cotdle  Apr  '64 

Geo.  H.  Rose. 

C.  W.  Sells,  d.  Jeff.  Barracks,  '64. 

Daniel  H.  Wolcott. 

Ole  G.  Anderson. 

E.Churchill. 

John  Churchill,  d,  Memphis,  '64. 

William  Dubois. 

Job  Ellsworth,  d,  Memphis,  '64. 

Peter  Hector. 

Francis  B.  Hale,  d,  Memphis,  '64. 

Anch-ew  Hector. 

Wm.  E.  Jackson. 

J.  Nielson,  d,  Memphis,  '64. 


468 


niSTOEY   OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUSTY. 


Chris.  Schneider. 

Fred  Schulze. 

Wm.  Schulze. 

Emil  Stangier. 

H.  Strong,  d,  Lansing,  Jan. 

William  Strong. 

F.  F.  Sturtevant. 

Wilhelm  Schmidt. 

John  Brannan. 

Erick  Iverson 


Alden  E.  Wolcott. 
James  Barnes. 


Warren  Clough. 
M.  N.  Hancock. 

Harvey  Sargent, 


Walter  F.  Rich. 
E.  S.  Stockwell. 

Geo.  R.  Miller,  Capt. 

Edwin  A.  Sherburn,  1st  Lieut.,  Capt. 

Thos.  B.  Wiley 

James  Bryson 

J.  H.  Boorn 

Henry  Geesen 

S.  W.  Moody,  d,  Memphis,  '62 

Frank  Holman 

E.  Gillett 

Jesse  Burgess 

Jackson  McCHntock 

Jared  Brown,  d,  Jackson,  Tenn.,  '63 

A.  E.  Colegrove 

Thos.  W.  David 

Geo.  Harvey 

Seth  Craig 

Michael  Casey 

Elias  Dubes 

Harvey  Eells 

Ti&any  Eells,  d,  Jackson,  '63 

Daniel  Eells 

J.  S.  Fuller 

Chris.  Fossum 

Henry  Gast 

L.  Haskell,  d,  Jackson,  Tenn.,  '63 

P.  Hulverson 

Hans  Johnson 

J.  S.  Mitchell 

A.  McClintock 

J.  G.  Moore,  d,  Jackson,  Tenn.,  '63 

J.  L.  Mattock 

E.  McCHntock 

J.  F.  Oglevie 

A.  B.  Conner 

H.  H.  Pettit 

W.  J.  Pardee,  k,  Pleasant  HiU,  '64 


Oscar  Obert,  d.  La.,  '64. 
John  A.  Peterson. 
T.  Roonsburg,  d,  Columbus,  Ky., 
M.  Anderson. 
'64.  Aretus  W.  Butler. 

Wm.  E.  Gardner. 
Amon  Iverson. 
Thomas  C.  Medary. 
Frederick  Price. 
Perry  Reed,  d,  Louisville,  '65 

Co.  C. 

Wm.  Barnes. 

Co.  E. 

W.  R.  Reed. 

Co.  F. 

Alex  Wandle. 
Co.H. 

C.  M.  Stockwell. 


'64. 


Co.  I. 

Frank  H.  Robbins,  2d  Lieut. 

John  A.  Pool 

Martin  Rattle 

Lewis  S.  Beall 

Alex  Bryson 

Jas.  Beall,  d,  Columbus,  Ky.,  '64 

Henry  Case 

Calvin  H.  Beall.  d 

Chas.  Beeumer,  d,  Jackson,  Tenn.,  '63 

Solomon  Babesck 

J.  N.  Barlow 

T.  J.  CotFman 

Samuel  Craig,  k.  Pleasant  Hill,  La. 

Gardner  Clough 

Jas.  H.  Coffman 

Wm.  T.  StuU 

James  Stanley,  d,  Memphis,  '63 

David  M.  Scott 

Jas.  Skipworth 

A.  Sawvell 

Alfred  Smith 

Daniel  Tracy 

A.  Tannehill,  d  JefF  BaiTacks,  '65 

C.  N.  Wheeler 

Geo.  Watkins 

A.  P.  Beeman,  d,  April  3,  '64 

Frank  Clark 

Jas.  McClintock 

Robt  E.  Noble 

H.  L.  Lewis,  k,  Old  Town  Creek,  '64 

David  Dial 

Lorenz  Poesch 

L.  W.  Scott 

Lewis  Lewis 

Daniel  H.  Wolcott 

Alden  E.  Wolcott 


HISTOKY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   C0U2fTY. 


459 


J.N.  Pettit 

L.  A.  Powell,  d,  Jackson,  '63 
E.  Peabody,  d,  Jackson.  '63 
J.  Pinkerton,  d,  Memphis,  '62 


Chas.  T.  Granger,  Capt 
'Pheo.  C.  Gransrer 


Peter  Lewis 

S.  S.  Robinson 

J.  Henry  Robbing,  d,  Davenport,  '64 

Oliver  A.  Ross 

Co.  K 

Asa  Brad  way 
H.  M.  Harris 


Jerome  Callahan 
A.  Granaham 


TUIUTY-EIGnTn  INFANTRY. 

Co.  A. 

Kichard  Hardy. 
Neil  McCaffrey 

FIRST  CAVALRY. 

Co.  A. 
Byron  Pettit,  d,  Memphis,  '64. 


Thos.  H.  Barnes,  1st  Lieut.,  Capt. 
James  Russell,  2d  Lieut.,  Capt. 
Jas.  Chambers 

A.  J.  Case 

W.  W.  Carpenter,  1st  Lieut. 
Alex.  Graham 
Chas.  A.  Granger 
Samuel  Jameson. 
Alex.  McClasky 

D.  M.  Minert 
Samuel  Harris 

E.  W.  Hurlbut 
Geo.  Lewis. 
Frank  Pease 

Lewis  Reid  , 

H.  0.  Burger 

John  Douglass 

D.  T.  Durbon 

Hiram  H.  Mayne 

Leonid  as  Ogg 

Chas.  E.  Roe 

C.  A.  Robey 

EJias  Reynolds 

B.  G.  Stanley 

Allison  Adams,  d.  Little  Rock,  '64 

John  Post,  d,  Postville 

Peter  Chambers 

Geo.  McClasky 

John  Crawford 

Cornelius  Miller 

J.  W.  Kinsley 

Washington  McNutt 

Wm.  H.  Saucer 


Co.  K. 

Jas.  Wood,  d  Forsyth.  Mo.,  "63 
John  Israel 
Chas  Anderson 

E.  E.  Collins 

Daniel  Cheadle,  d,  on  way  home 

Barron  Edwards 

Robt  E.  Granger,  k,  Arkansas,  '63 

Morris  Granger 

John  L.  Gardner 

J.  M.  Truman 

John  A.  Bailey 

C.  G.  Carpenter,  k,  Centralia,  '64 

D.  P.  Jennings 
B.  B.  Rathbume 
Hiram  Hackenburg 

F.  J.  Howard 

Geo.  M.  Josyln,  d,  Little  Rock,  "64 

Geo.  K.  Masiker 

Jesse  B .  Shelhamer 

Jesse  Thayer 

Walter  H.  Wheeler,  d.  Little  Rock,  '64 

Wm.  Servoss,  d,  Helena,  Ark.,  '64 

Geo.  Ehil,  d.  Little  Rock,  '64 

Albert  Burgess,  k,  Austin,  Tex.,  '65 

Stephen  Harris 

Moses  Bellman 

Jas.  Lyons  (2d  Lt.  Co.  A.  27th  Inf) 

Albert  Lyons 

Filley 

Geo.  Robinson 
Palmer  Dobson 
Samuel  StUlions 


Francis  A .  Doray 


John  Blein 


Co.  M. 

John  M .  Smith 

Company  Unknowrt. 

Chas.  P.  Crocker. 


460 


HISTORY    OF   ALLA.MAKEB    COUNTY. 


SIXTH   CAVALKY. 


Scott  Sbattuck.  Capt. 

Jas.  Ruth.  1st  Lt.,  Capt. 

A.  H.  McKallor,  2d  Lt. 

Samuel  C.  Gibbs. 

S.  S.  Farnham. 

Andrew  Baldwin. 

Henry  A.  Post. 

M.  V.  Beede. 

Edward  Ruth. 

Patrick  Downe.1.   i 

Wm.  Fitzgerald. 

S.  C.  Marsh. 

Fred  Legler.  d,  Dakota,  "64. 

Samuel  C.  Carr. 

L.  Callendar. 

George  Echsten. 

John  Ehnes. 

Patrick  Ford. 

F.  F.  Gilman. 

Patrick  Healy. 

Ben.  Howard. 

Alfred  Jar  vis. 

Christopher  Potter. 

J.  R.  Pritchard. 

Chas.  H.  Raymond. 

Anton  Steimer. 

Lewis  Speicher. 

C.   M.   D.   Wagner,  k,  White 

Dakota,  '63. 
John  Williamson . 
J.  Mobley. 
George  Bellows. 
Leander  Ferris. 
John  Bones. 
Wm.  J.  Ruth. 


Wm.  Co  wen. 
Thos.  H.  Dodd 
Hardin  Jarvis 
Robert  Winn,  d,  Dakota 


Co.   F. 

A.  M.  Kaufman. 
Chr.  Dundee,  d,  Dakota,  "65. 
E.  A.  Allen. 
John  T..  Beetem 
Chas.  L.  Beetem 
Rush  Bellows 
Chas.  H.  Bellows 
H.  E.  Braymin 
D.  A.  Blaice,  d,  Dakota,  '65. 
A.  J.  Butts 
Jas.  S.  Bingay 
Jas.  U.  Baker 
Hiram  Booth 
John  Ki'illay 
George  W.  Miller 
M.  McFadden 
Chas.  Merrill. 
Wm.  Maxwell. 
Wm.  Monk. 
Andre  Oleson. 
John  F.  Pitt 
Philip  I .  Pierce . 
Joseph  H.  Strain 
W.  H.  Sammon 
L.  P.  Stillman 
John  Toole 
Jas.  Thompson 
Stone,     S.  Eells,  d.  Davenport,  |62 
R.  Wier,  d,  Davenport,  '62 
A.  Burgess,  d,  Dakota 
Joseph  Hartley 
John  Hartley 
John  Ruth,  d,  Dakota,  '65 
J.  Mobley. 

Co.  K. 
Elijah  O.  Esty. 

Co.   Unknown. 

Chauncey  McCoy 
Janips  H.  Milks 
JobD.  Milks 


NINTH  CAVALRY. 
Co.   E. 

Carl  Schultze,  d,  Jefferson  Barracka, 

'64 
Daniel  Sires 

Jolm  StiUions,  d.  Duvall's  Bluff,  '64 
John  W .  Smith 

Aaron  Scranton.  d,  St.  Louis,  '64. 
0.  Van  Valkenburg 
Wm.  H.  Williams 


George  M.  Dean,  Capt 

Albert  H.  Peck,  2d  Lt.,  lat  Lt 

Grandison  Able 

John  Giitlin 

J.  K.  Rinehait 

Simeon  Smitli,  d,  Duvall's   Bluff, 

Jas.  W.  Smith 

John  T.  Rinehart 

Gideon  Franklin,  d,  Austin,  Ark.,  '64  David  G.  Wilson,  d,  St.  Loms,  64(?) 


'62 


1"'*^  'V, 


a-^t^c^C^- 


THF 

N  F 

\A7 

\rr) 

RK 

'<  1.-  .-'■ 

^.  . 

-  .    - 

..     1 

HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 


461 


Philip  Bailey 

Jessi;  F.  Becker 

F.  E.  Clough 

J.  K.  Engelhoiii 

George  C.  Halsey 

Orin  C.  Halsey 

George  Hackenburg 

Neils  Knudtson 

John  H.  Kinning,  d.  Duvall's  Bluff 

'64 
Adam  Lingerlelt 
J.  A.  Morehead 
Nelson  B.  Mann 


Co 


Henry  "Wilson 
Edward  Ryan 
Henry  B.  Able 
Joseph  Kappes 
Chas.  Williamson 

Dagle 

Dagle 

George  J.  Pettit 

D.  B.  Roderick 

Samuel  L.  Rush 

Russell  K .  Ross 

Simon  Simonson,  d,  Austin,  '64 

Louis  Schultze 

.  F. 


Samuel  J.  Davis,  2d  Lieut.,  1st  Lieut.  H.  Ingebritson  (dec'd) 


Geo.  R.  Peacock 

Peter  Banks 

Geo.  \V.  Barker,  d,  St.  Louis,  "64 

Ono  Clark 

Philip  Cullens 

Josiah  Curran 

Thos.  Carey 

Orin  Deremo 

T.  Engebretson 

John  P.  Quinlan 

Thoma-s  Hall 


Peter  D .  Hanser 

T.  Johnson,  d,  Little  Rock,  '65 

Geo.  W.  Krohn 

W.  W.  Lampman,  d,  St.  Louis,  '64 

Michael  Mahony 

Harmon  Martin 

John  Nelson 

Tollef  Oleson,  Sr. 

TollefOleson,  Jr. 

Frank  Peterson 


d,  Duvall's  Bluff, '64 


.John  V.  Hazlett 


Co.  Unknown. 

Hans  Anderson,  d,  Keokuk,  '64 

E>GIXEEn  REGIMENT  OF  THE  WEST 

Co.  I. 

A.  R.  Prescott(pro2dLt.,  Co.  Fj       Wm.  Dickson 
Wm.  R.  Johnson  Wm.  Harris 

•JohnF  Jones,  d,  Commerce,  Mo.,  '62    Geo.  W.  Wheeler 

TWENTY-SEVEXTTH  MISSOURI  INFANTRY. 

H.  Schierholz,  Sergt.  Major. 

NINETEENTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY 

John  McKenzie,  Co.  H  Albert  Stone,  Co.  H 

THIRTY-SIXTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY 

E.  W.  Pratt  Lieut.  Co.  K. 

FIFTY-EICIHTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

Benj.  H.  Howard,  Co.  D. 

SEVENTY-FOURTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

Job  Blanchard,  Musician . 

NINETY-FIFTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY 

Noah  H.  Pratt,  Co.  I,  (pro  2d  Lieut.,  48th  U.  S.  A.  D.) 

126Tn  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY 

Wm.  B.  Smith. 

SECOND  WISCONSIN  INFANTRY. 

Franklin  F.  Forrest,  Co.  B. 


Geo.  Kruhn,  Co.  H 
29 


THIRD  WISCONSIN  INFANTRY 

Heni-y  Moyer.  Co.  H 


462 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 


SIXTH  WISCONSIN  INFANTRY. 

P.  F.  Gulberg,  Co.  C.  L.  M.  Nelson,  Co.  C. 

FIFTEENTH  WISCONSIN   INFANTKY. 

Hans  A.  Lageson,  Company  B. 

FORTY-NINTH   WISCONSIN  INFANTRY. 

H.  H.  Ha^kin,  Co.  K.  Dell  J.  Clark,  Co.  F. 

SEVENTH  MINNESOTA  INFANTRY . 

Louis  Johnson,  k,  Tupelo,  1S64. 

SECOND   KANSAS   CAVALRY. 


John  Eckerson,  k.  Sulphur  Springs, 
1864. 


Wm.  Walker,  k,  Walden,  Arkansas, 
1863. 


ELEVENTH   OHIO  BATTE1{Y. 

John  Ettle,  k,  luka,  September  19,  1862. 

UNITED   STATES   ARMY. 

Jas.  W.  Manson,  Hospital  Steward,  d,  L.  Brown,  Hospital  Steward. 
Memphis,  Tennessee,  July,  1864. 

TWELFTH  UNITED   STATES  INFANTRY. 

John  Kelly 

SIXTEENTH  UNITED  STATES  INFANTRY. 

D.  W.  Douglass 

James  M .   Lisher 

Thos.  Hancock 
Erastus  Cheadle,  k,  Murfreesboro,  "63   Charles  Page,  k,  Murfreesboro,  '63. 
Samuel  B.  Robbins,  d,  Columbus,  Ky.,  Coleman  Shuff,  k,  Atlanta,  '64. 

Jan,  20,  '63.  Gilson,  k,  Peach  Tree  Creek, 

Hiram  Smith,  k,  Murfreesboro, '63.  Tennessee. 

Amos  Brainard,  k,  Murfreesboro,  '63.  Henry  E.  Johnson,  d,  Nashville,  '62. 

James  Dorsey,  k,  Murfreesboro,  '63.      John  M.  Oleson,  d,  rebel  prison,  '63. 

Miller,  k,  Murfreesboro,  '63.       James  Crawley,  d,  rebel  prison,  '64. 

ITiomas  Oleson,  k,  Murfreesboro,  '63.     George  Smith,  d,  Fort  Ontario,  N.  Y. 
Lemuel  Palmer,  k,  Murfreesboro,  '63.    Geerge  Schroda. 

SEVENTY-FIRST    UNITED    STATES    INFANTRY. 

J.  W.  Earle,  1st  Lieut.,  Reg.  Q.  M. 


J.  B.  Reed 
C.  H.  Arnold. 
Daniel  Ryan 


I 


HISTOKY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  46 

CHAPTER  XII. 


Chronology:  List  of  the  More  Important  Events  in  the  History  of 
Allamakee  Comity^  in  the  Order  of  their  Occurrence. 


1825.  Upper  Iowa  Riv^er  southern  boundary  of  Sioux. 

1828.  First  saw  mill,  on  Yellow  River. 

1830.  Neutral  ground  established. 

1832.  Winnebago  Reservation. 

1884.  Old  Indian  Mission  built. 

1835.  Mission  School  and  Farm  established. 

1837.  First  settler  at  Johnsonsport  about  this  time. 

1840.  Old  Mission  abandoned. 

1841.  First  white  child  born  at  Old  Mission. 
"  Joel  Post  located  at  Postville. 

"  First  murder,  caused  by  whisky. 

1847.  Act  passed  defining  county  boundaries. 

''  Winnebago  treaty  relinquishing  Neutral  Ground.' 

1848.  First  school,  at  Postville. 
"  First  settlers  at  Lansing. 

1849.  County  organized  by  act  of  Legislature,  January  15. 
"  First  postoffice  established,  at  Po^tville. 

County  Seat  at  "The  Old  Stake." 

"  First  election,  in  April. 

"  First  settler  at  Waukou,  July. 

''  First  school  house  built,  at  Hardin. 

1850.  First  grist  mill,  at  Waterville. 

1851.  First  county  seat  election,  April. 
"  Second  county  seat  election.  May. 
"  First  church  built,  at  Wexford. 

1852.  First  District  Court,  Columbus,  July  12. 

"  First  newspaper,  at  Lansing,  November  23. 

1853.  County  seat  located  at  Waukon,  March. 
'^  Third  county  seat  election,  April. 

"  First  County  Agricultural  Society,  June  7. 

"  First  flouring  mill  built,  at  Village  Creek. 

"  First  criminal  trial  in  District  Court,  November  9. 

"  County  Democratic  organization,  December  24. 

1856.  Fourth  county  seat  election,  April. 
"  Mining  at  New  Galena. 

''  -7.  Winter  of  the  crust. 

1857.  Prairie  du  Chien  &  Mankato  R.  R.  Co.  organized. 
1859.  Fifth  county  seat  election,  April  4. 

"  Contract  for  court  house  at  Waukon  let,  August  2. 

1861.  Sixth  county  seat  election,  April  8. 

"  Court  house  at  Waukon  completed. 


464 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY 


1861  Court  house  at  Lausiug  erected. 

1862,  Seventh  county  seat  election,  April. 

1864.  McGregor  Western  Railroad  built. 

'•  Eighth  county  seat  election,  November  8. 

1866.  County  seat  ''raid,"  June  9. 

"  Poor  Farm  bought;  October  22. 

1867.  County  seat  question  decided  for  Waukon. 

1868.  Present  Agricultural  Society  organized,  January  8. 

1869.  Ninth  county  seat  election,  October  5. 
1872.  B.,  C.  R.  &  N.  R.  R.  built. 

"  River  Railroad  built. 

1875.  Tenth  county  seat  election,  October.. 

1877.  Waukon  &  Mississippi  R,  R,  built. 

1880.  High  water  in  Mississippi,  June. 

1881.  Poor  House  built. 

1882.  Jail  built. 


Biographical  Department. 


ALLAMAKEE  COUNTY. 


Armstroug  &  Alexander — these  two  young  aud  energetic  busi- 
ness men  established  their  business,  which  is  known  as  the  Chicago 
Clothing  House,  in  1879,  and  now  carry  a  stock  of  $8,000  to 
$10,000. 

Levi  Armstrong  was  born  in  Kentucky,  January,  1819.  In 
1861  the  family  removed  to  Linn  Co.,  Iowa,  where  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  received  a  good  education  at  Cornell  College.  He 
commenced  mercantile  life  by  clerking,  which  he  followed  until 
March,  1879,  when  he  engaged  in  his  present  business.  He  was 
married  in  April,  1875,  to  Anna  McLaury,  and  now  has  two  chil- 
dren, Nettie  and  Edwin. 

R.  J.  Alexander  was  born  in  Linn  Co.,  Iowa  in  1852.  Subse- 
quently the  family  removed  to  Cedar  Co.  He  was  educated  at 
Cornell  College,  and  in  1876  commenced  mercantile  life  as  clerk, 
and  continued  as  such  until  1879,  when  he  formed  the  partner- 
ship Avith  Mr.  Armstrong. 

Andrew  Anderson,  P.  0.  Elon;  farmer,  sec.  33;  son  of  Andrew 
and  Christine  Anderson;  j3orn  in  1821  in  Sweden,  emigrated  to 
the  U.  S.  in  1853,  locating  in  Rock  Island  Co.,  Ills.,  till  the  fall 
of  1851,  when  he  came  to  Allamakee  County,  Iowa,  locating  on 
the  farm  he  still  owns,  now  containing  176  acres,  well  improved 
and  worth  $1,000.  He  married  Miss  Sophia  Palmgren  in  1859, 
sheVas  also  a  native  of  Sweden.  They  have  four  children,  John 
A.,iiPeter  A.,  Mary  S.  and  Samuel  C.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  Church. 

P.  J.  Amquest  (deceased)  was  a  native  of  Stockholm,  Sweden, 
who  emigrated  to  the  U.  ^.  in  1856,  and  settled  in  Makee  tp., 
Allamakee  Co.,"  where  he  worked  at  the  tailor's  trade  np  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  took  place  in  December,  1863.  He  left 
a  wife  and  four  children. 

N.  J.  Amquest,  son  of  P.  J.  and  Cecelia  Amquest,  was  born  in 
1859,  received  a  good  common  school  education,  and  in  1878  com- 
menced mercantile  life  as  clerk  for  C.  D.  Buman,  whom  he  served 
until  Dec.  1881,  subsequently  clerked  for  L.  Clark. 

Ole  G.  Anderson,  P.  0.  Elon;  farmer,  sec.  29,  brother  of  An- 
drew Anderson,  born  in  Sweden,  July  12,  1832.  His  mother  died 
"when  he  was  but  a  boy,  and  in  1851  himself  and  father  came  to 
America  and   located  in  this   township,  where  his   father  died   in 


466  ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY   BIOGEAPHIES. 

1872.  During  the  late  rebellion  he  enlisted  in  Co.  B,  27th  Iowa  Inf. 
in  March,  1864,  the  company  being  immediately  taken  to  the  front, 
where  they  participated  in  the  battle  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and 
Fort  Blakely,  Ala.,  they  being  about  the  closing  up  of  the  war. 
In  the  fall  of  1865  he  was  transferred  to  the  12th  Infantry,  Co.B, 
and  discharged  in  January,  1866,  at  Davenport.  He  married  Miss 
Betsy  Eastman,  August  10,  1867;  they  have  but  one  son,  David, 
having  lost  six  children,  five  of  whom  died  in  the  spring  of  1882, 
from  diptheria,  August  I.,  Clara  E.,  Amy  E.,  Effie  (j.,  Bertie  M., 
Huldah  having  died  previously.  Mr.  A.  owns  a  farm  of  182  acres, 
worth  ^25  per  acre.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church. 

Andrew  E.  Ammundson,  P.  0.  Elon;  farmer,  sec.  4;  son 
of  Erick  and  Cornelia  Ammundson;  born  in  1847  in  Norway. 
His  parents  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1851,  locating  in  Rock 
Co.,  Wis.  In  the  fall  of  1853  they  came  to  this  county,  locating 
in  Center  tp.,  where  they  still  reside.  Mr.  A.  was  married  to  Miss 
Agnes  Shaugor  in  1873.  She  was  born  in  Lafayette  county, 
"Wis.;  they  have  two  children,  Gundy  Maud  and  Anna  A.  Mr. 
A.  has  served  his  tp.  as  secretay  of  school  board,  sub-director,  etc. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

A.  T.  Anderson,  P.  0.  Dalby;  farmer,  sec.  2;  son  of  Thomas 
and  Arabjor  Anderson,  was  born  in  this  Co.  in  1851,  was  reared 
on  his  father's  farm  with  the  exception  of  the  time  he  attended 
school  and  was  engaged  in  teaching.  He  was  some  three  years  in 
attendance  at  the  Lutheran  College,  Decorah.  He  married  Miss 
Oline  Snieby  in  June  1877.  She  was  also  born  in  this  Co.  They 
have  two  children,  Olaf  and  Theodore.  Mr.  A.  owns  a  farm  of 
158|  acres,  valued  at  |35  per  acre.  He  is  the  present  tp.  clerk, 
which  olhce  he  has  filled  seven  years,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Norwegian  Evangelical  Lutheran  church. 

Thomas  Anderson,  P.  0.  Dalby;  farmer,  sec.  12;  owns  440  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre.  He  was  born  Dec.  15,  1820,  in 
Norway.  In  early  life  he  learned  the  tailor's  trade,  at  which  he 
worked  mostly  till  he  came  to  the  U.  S.,  which  was  in  the  spring 
of  1846,  locating  in  Rock  Co.,  Wis.,  where  he  was  married  in  May, 
1850,  to  Miss  Emily  Christianson,  and  the  same  year  came  to 
Allamakee  Co.,  la.,  locating  on  a  part  of  his  present  farm,  he  be- 
ing one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  tp.  His  children  are  An- 
drew T.,  Knudt,  Lena  and  Mary.  He  has  lost  three,  Christian, 
Betsey  and  Sarah.  Mr.  A.  has"^ served  as  trustee  of  his  township 
several  terms,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Norwegian  Evangelical  Lu- 
theran Church. 

Charles  Arklay.  P.  0.  Waukon;  farmer,  sec.  34;  owns  120  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  |40  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  Fifeshire,  Scot- 
land, in  1815;  learned  the  carpenter  and  joiner's  trade  in  early  life, 
which  business  he  followed  for  many  years.  He  was  married  to 
Miss  Emily  Murray  in  1841,  and  in  1851  they  emigrated  to  the 
U.  S.;  stopping  in  New  York  City  till  1850,  when  he  came  to  this 


ALLAMAKEE   COUJTTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  467 

county  and  purchased  the  farm  upon  whicli  he  still  resides.  His 
children  are  William,  Emily  and  Margaret.  Mr.  A.  is  a  member 
o£  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Charles  Amann,  proprietor  Germania  House,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many in  1849,  and  came  to  America  in  1872,  and  settled  in  Troy, 
N.  Y.  In  1875  he  came  to  Lansing  and  engaged  in  brewing 
until  1882,  when  he  engaged  ih  his  present  business.  He  married 
Carrie  Christ,  also  a  native  of  Germany;  they  have  three  chil- 
dren, Ernest,  Eugene  and  Lena. 

Dudley  W.  Adams,  horticulturist,  was  born  in  Winchendon, 
Mass.,  November  30,  1831.  His  father  was  a  lumberman  and  lost 
his  life  from  an  accident  in  the  woods  when  the  son  was  but  four 
years  old.  His  mother  gave  him  a  careful  home  training  and  an 
ordinary  district  schooling,  with  the  addition  of  an  academic 
course  before  maturity,  which  he  assisted  to  secure  by  intervals 
of  teaching.  With  the  attainment  of  his  majority  came  the  de- 
velopment of  a  malady  all  too  common  in  that  region,  and  a  se- 
vere cough  admonished  him  to  leave  his  native  state  and  the  dan- 
gers of  its  climate.  Accordingly,  one  day  in  September,  1853,  he 
might  have  been  seen  (had  there  been  any  in  the  country  as  wit- 
nesses) "hoofing  it"  from  the  port  of  Lansing  eighteen  miles  to 
the  capitol  of  Allamakee  County  in  company  with  L.  T.  Wood- 
cock. Reaching  the  upland  near  Adams'  present  residence,  the 
pilgrims  ran  across  Scott  Shattuck  and  Tom  Minard  cutting  a 
road  through  the  hazel-brush,  and  upon  inquiring  the  way  to 
Waukon  they  were  directed  to  cast  their  eyes  to  the  westward 
where  two  log  huts  were  in  sight  and  informed  that  these 
constituted  the  object  of  their  pilgrimage.  One  of  these  huts  was 
the  pioneer  residence  of  Geo.  Shattuck,  and  the  other  the  "seat 
of  justice"  of  Allamakee  County.  As  might  have  been  expected 
of  young  men  in  their  circumstances  they  were  somewhat  taken 
aback,  and  doubtless  showed  it;  but  going  bravely  to  work  they 
at  once'began  preparations  for  the  erection  of  a  frame  store  and 
dwelling,  whicli  is  now  the  National  House  on  Main  street.  The 
lumber  was  all  oak  and  was  hauled  from  Smith's  mill  on  Yellow 
River,  where  it  was  sawed  out  by  Austin  Smith.  A  stock  of  goods 
was  opened  in  this  building  the  same  fall.  The  first  sale  of  mer- 
chandise in  Waukon,  was  by  Mr.  Adams,  a  pair  of  boots  to  Ezra 
Reed,  Jr.,  from  the  stock  while  it  lay  in  Scott  Shattuck's  new 
frame  hotel  (now  George  Mauch's  residence)  awaiting  the  com- 
pletion of  the  store.  He  also  took  out  the  first  letter  from  the 
first  mail  received  at  Waukon,  it  being  one  he  himself  had  written 
while  east  after  the  goods,  addressed  to  his  partner,  Mr.  Wood- 
cock. Meanwhile  Mr.  Adams  had  taken  up  200  acres  of  govern- 
ment land,  of  which  he  still  owns  120,  forty  acres  of  which  are 
now  occupied  with  orchards  in  bearing.  From  1853  the  growth 
of  the  community  was  rapid,  and  Mr.  Adams  found  many  ways 
in  which  to  occupy  his  time  to  advantage,  and  proved    himself    a 


468  ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

most  valuable  acquisition  to  the  pioneer  settlement.  His  services 
as  surveyor  were  sought  far  and  wide,  and  two  years  later  he  was 
made  assessor,  continuing  to  serve  as  such  by  successive  re-elec- 
tions for  about  ten  years.  In  18.54  he  was  also  chosen  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  County  Agricultural  Society,  organized  in  1853,  and 
nearly  all  the  time  from  that  day  to  this  has  been  connected 
Avith  the  society  in  one  capacity  or  another.  In  the  fall  of  1854 
also,  in  company  with  Ed.  Whitiiey,  he  began  the  erection  of 
the  firs  and  only  steam  saw  mill  here,  which  was  completed  the  fol- 
lowingtspring  and  continued  in  successful  operation  for  many 
years.  It  was  burned. down  in  '50  or  '57,  after  which  he  disposed 
of  his  interest  therein,  although  the  mill  was  re-built.  In  1856 
Mr.  Adams  entered  upon  the  work  of  horticulture,  in  which  he 
always  found  great  pleasure,  and  in  after  years  the  "Iron  Clad 
Nursery"  of  Waukon  became  famous  for  its  success  where  others 
failed.  There  were  ten  or  fifteen  other  nurseries  sta  ted  in  Alla- 
makee County  at  about  this  time,  not  one  of  which  proved  profit- 
able, and  all  were  abandoned  amid  the  almost  universal  opinion 
that  fruit  could  not  be  grown  in  northern  Iowa.  During  the  20  years 
he  continued  in  this  business,  however,  Mr.  Adams  established  the 
fact  beyond  a  doubt  [that  it  can  be  very  successful,  with  judicious 
selection  and  proper  management,  and  points  with  just  pride  to 
his  achievements  in  this  direction  under  the  adverse  circumstances 
of  climate  and  public  opinion.  For  instance,  in  1871,  at  an  exhi- 
bition of  the  State  Horticultural  Society  (of  which,  by  the  way, 
he  was  for  five  years  the  Secretary),  he  took  the  sweepstake  prize, 
with  one  hundred  varieties,  for  the  best  and  largest  display  of 
apples.  Again,  at  the  State  Fair  in  1879,  he  took  the  sweepstakes 
Avith  172  varieties  of  apples.  About  1858,  Mr.  Adams  was  chosen 
chairman  of  the  County  Board  of  Equalization.  Again,  in  '65  or 
""QQ,  he  accepted  an  appointment  to  a  place  on  the  Board  of 
County  Supervisors,  to  fill  a  vacancy,  not  without  reluctance,  how- 
ever, as  at  that  time  there  was  the  thankless  task  to  undertake  of 
building  up  the  county  finances,  which  were  in  a  very  bad  way, 
county  warrants  at  that  time  selling  at  only  45  per  cent.  The 
board  was  evenly  divided  politically,  and  to  complicate  matters 
and  add  to  the  responsibility  of  the  situation  it  was  also  divided 
equally  on  the  then  strongly  local  feeling  between  Lansing  and 
Waukon  on  the  county  seat  question.  Upon  the  expiration  of  his 
short  term  Mr.  Adams  was  elected  to  represent  his  township 
again,  was  chosen  Chairman  of  the  Board;  and  on  his  re-election 
as  a  member,  two  years  later,  was  again  selected  as  chairman, 
without  a  dissenting  vote.  It  is  but  justice  to  add  that  during 
these  times  he  represented  the  interests  of  his  constituents  in  local 
matters  most  successfully;  and  it  was  not  long  ere  careful  manage- 
ment and  economy  restored  the  full  credit  of  the  county,  which 
has  ever  since  been  maintained  In  1869  the  first  brick  block  in 
Waukon  was  erected,  Mr.  Adams  being  a  part  owner  in  this,  as  in 


ALLAMAKEE   COUKTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  469 

the  first  frame  store  in  the  villaf^e.  Together  with  his  neiglibors, 
ill  1869,  Mr.  Adams  effected  the  organization  of  Waiikon  Grange, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry,  the  third  in  the  State.  He  discharged  the 
duties  of  Master,  Overseer,  Lecturer,  and  Secretary  of  this 
grange,  at  various  times,  and  upon  the  perfection  of  a  State  or- 
ganization in  1872,  he  was  elected  Master  of  that  for  a  term 
of  two  years,  in  the  middle  of  Avhich  he  was  made  Master  of 
the  National  Grange,  whereupon  he  tendered  his  resignation  to 
the  State  Grange,  then  comprising  over  one  thousand  members 
representing  eight  hundred  subordinate  granges  which  he  had  or- 
ganized, a  fact  which  serves  to  illustrate  the  energy  and  zeal  of 
the  man  who  was  called  upon  to  preside  over  the  national  body. 
At  that  time  there  were  but  about  1,200  subordinate  granges  in 
the  United  States,  but  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  three 
years  there  were  nearly  23,000  granges  spread  over  nearly  all  the 
States  and  Territories.  His  industry  and  tact  are  still  fur- 
ther exemplified  in  his  persistent  advocacy  of  the  establishment 
of  rail  communication  with  the  outside  world  for  Waukon,  by  the 
Paint  Creek  route;  his  active  participation  in  the  organization  of 
the  company;  and,  upon  his  election  as  its  president  in  1875,  his 
energetic  propulsion  of  the  work  to  a  successful  realization  of  the 
hopes  of  the  community  during  the  twenty  years  preceding.  Of 
late  years  Mr.  Adams  has  passed  his  winters  in  a  home  he  has  es- 
tablished in  sunny  Florida,  where  he  made  his  first  purchase  of 
land  in  1875.  In  Jan.,  1876,  he  re-engaged  in  his  favorite  occu- 
pation of  horticulture  in  his  winter  home  by  setting  out  a  small 
grove  of  orange  trees.  Now  he  is  the  fortunate  possessor  of 
about  a  thousand  acres  in  that  state,  of  which  37  acres  are  in 
orange  grove.  Mr.  Adams  was  married  Jan.  31,  1856,  to  Miss 
Hannah  Huestis,  avIio  has  been  an  able  co-laborer  in  his  horticul- 
tural avocations,  and  an  associate  in  his  honors,  having  occu- 
pied the  position  of  Ceres  in  the  National  and  State  Granges, 
as  well  as  various  offices  in  the  gift  of  her  home  subordinate 
grange. 

John  Bakewell  (deceased),  whose  portrait  appears  elsewhere, 
was  born  in  Worcestershire,  England,  in  1820.  When  he  was 
thirty-four  years  of  age  he  emigrated  to  America.  The  first  year 
he  spent  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  U.  S.,  and  then  came  to 
Hlinois,  where  he  lived  until  January,  1850,  when  he  came  to 
Allamakee  Co.,  immediately  procured  lands  and  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, which  he  continued  until  the  time  of  his  death,  which  oc- 
cured  April  29,  1879.  His  first  year  in  Allamakee  was  a  rather 
unfortunate  one,  as  he  lost  the  greater  part  of  his  stock  by  their 
straying  away  the  first  winter,  and  he  was  unable  to  recover  them 
until  the  following  fall;  but  by  hard  work  and  good  management 
he  became  one  of  the- wealthiest  farmers  of  Allamakee  Co.,  and 
highly  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  married  Sarah  A.  Hunt 


470  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

the  same  year  he  left  England.  She  was  also  horn  in  England. 
They  have  seven  children,  who  have  all  reached  maturity,  and  who 
are  well  situated,  financially. 

Samuel  Baumann,    P.  0.,  Lansing,  was  horn  in  Switzerland  in 

1828,  came  to  America  in  1851  and  settled  in  Lansing,  and  is  now 
engaged  in  farming  and  burning  lime.  He  married  Christine 
Sideler  in  1858,  and  they  have  twelve  children. 

J.  D.  Brennan,  merchant.  Village  Creek,  is  a  native  of  Allama- 
kee Co.,  and  son  of  Eugene  Brennan,  one  of  the  old  settlers  of 
the  township.  Mr.  B.  was  born  in  1855,  received  a  good  educa- 
tion, and  taught  school  nntil  engaging  in  his  present  business  in 
1882.  In  July  of  the  same  year,  D.  J.,  a  younger  brother,  became 
a  partner  in  the  business.  Mr.  B.  was  married  in  1880  to  Miss 
Mary  J.  Mooney,  of  Lafayette  tp.,  they  have  one  son,  Eugene. 

F."  Barthold,  Village  Creek,  born  in  Germany  in  1828,  came  to 
America  in  1817,  and  settled  in  Ohio;  thence  to  Iowa  in  1854,  set- 
tling in  Linton  tp.,  moved  to  Lafayette  tp.  in  1859,  and  located 
at  Village  Creek.  Mr.  B.  has  held  the  office  of  Justice  of  the 
Peace  for  fifteen  years.  In  1852  he  married  Miss  Summermaun, 
of  Cleveland,  0.;  they  have  six  children  living. 

Hilon  Belden,  blacksmith,  was  born  in  AVyoming  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in 

1829.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  commenced  work  at  his  trade 
with  his  father.  In  1853  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Quick. 
In  1856  he  came  west,  and  after  residing  two  years  in  Filhnore 
Co.,  Minn.,  came  in  1858  to  Waukon.  He  followed  farming  three 
years,  when  he  again  resumed  his  trade,  and  has  since  continued 
the  same.     The  children  are  Florence,  Cora,  Kate  and  Julia. 

Wm.  Burton  (deceased),  farmer,  was  born  in  Ilhode  Island  in 
1813.  Came  to  Makee  tp.  in  1853,  and  bought  a  farm  of  80  acres 
on  Makee  Ridge,  3J  miles  from  Waukon.  The  following  year  he 
brought  on  his  faniily,  comprising  the  following  children:  Theo- 
dore W.,  Lewis,  and  Fred  A'.,  the  two  latter  of  whom  are  now  liv- 
ing. In  1863  he  became  a  resident  of  Waukon,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  death,  1879.  Mr.  Burton  was  married  in  1837 
to  Miss  Marcella  Nicholas,  who  was  born  in  Rhode  Island  in  1815, 
and  still  resides  in  Waukon. 

Peter  Beiber,  farmer,  sec.  29,  Makee;  P.  0.  Waukon;  a  native 
of  France,  born  November  3,  1835,  emigrated  with  his  parents 
to  the  U.  S.  in  1854.  He  first  lived  at  Freeport,  111.,  eleven 
months,  then  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  and  settled  in  Center  tp. 
Here  he  worked  at  the  blacksmith  trade  for  several  years,  and  Dec. 
26, 1865,  was  married  to  Sophia  Krumme.  In  1868  he  purchased 
a  farm  and  commenced  tilling  the  soil;  removed  to  his  present 
farm  in  1874.  The  children  are  Sophia,  Lena,  Emma,  Katie, 
Peter  and  Philip. 

D.  H.  Bowen,  M.  D.  This  promising  young  physician  was 
born  in  Green  Co.,  Wis.,  in  1850.  His  youth  was  spent  in  rural 
life,  during   which  time  he   received  an    academic  education,    also 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  471 

taught  scliool,  and  at  the  age  of  22  turned  his  attention  to  the 
study  of  medicine,  first  reading  with  iJr.  K.  Broughton,  of  Brod- 
head.  He  subsequently  entered  the  Rush  Medical  College,  where 
he  graduated  in  Feb.,  1876.  He  then  came  to  Allamakee  Co., 
where  he  practiced  until  1880;  then  attended  a  course  of  lectures, 
and  in  the  fall  of  said  year  came  to  Waukon,  and  has  since  been 
in  partnership  with  Dr.  .T.  B.  Mattoon.  Dr.  Bowen  was  married 
in  Feb.,  1877,  to  Miss  Hettie  Burns,  They  have  one  child,  Albert 
Sidney. 

L.  0.  Bearce,  dealer  in  harness,  etc.,  is  one  of  the  early  pio- 
neers and  prominent  business  men.  He  was  born  in  Maine  in 
1840,  and  in  1852  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  and  lived  on  a  farm 
until  fourteen  years  of  age,  when  he  commenced  work  at  the 
shoemaker's  trade.  This  he  followed  three  3'ears,  when  he  turned 
his  attention  to  harness  making.  In  1864  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  G.  H.  McClasky,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  harness,  saddles,  etc.,  being  associated 
with  several  different  'partners  at  different  intervals  until 
January,  1882,  since  which  time  he  has  conducted  the  business 
alone.  Mr.  Bearce  was  married  in  1871  to  Miss  Fannie  E.  Hall, 
of  Evansville,  Ind.    They  have  two  children,  Leslie  R.  and  Roger. 

C.  D.  Beeman  is  known  by  all  as  one  of  the  leading  business 
men  of  Allamakee  Co,  He  established  his  present  business  in 
November,  1874,  erected  his  large  and  commodious  store  building 
(which  is  located  in  the  west  part  of  Waukon)  in  1879  at  a  cost  of 
$5,000,  and  now  carries  a  stock  of  general  merchandise  to  the 
amount  of  ^18,000.  Mr.  B.  was  born  in  Madison  Co.,  Vermont, 
in  1827,  came  to  Allamakee  Co.  in  1849,  and  settled  in  Jefferson 
tp.,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  until  he  engaged  in  his 
present  business.  Oct.  6,  1853,  he  married  Sarah  A.  Martindale, 
a  native  of  New  Hampshire.  The  children  are  C.  M.,  C.  A.,  Irvin, 
Fred  L.,  and  Bertha. 

T.  H.  Barnes,  M.  D.,  a  pioneer  phj^sician  of  1855,  is  a  native 
of  the  Buckeye  State,  where  he  was  born  in  1832.  He  was 
reared  on  a  farm  until  the  age  of  20,  when  he  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  medicine,  graduating  at  the  Iowa  State  University  in  1855, 
He  then  settled  in  Allamakee  Co.,  and  has  since  been  a  citizen  of 
said  county,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  months,  when  he  re- 
sided in  Clayton  Co.  In  1861  he  organized  Co.  K,  5th  Iowa, 
which  was  the  first  company  of  Allamakee  Co.;  and  in  July,  1861, 
Co.  K,  1st  Cav.,  with  which  he  served  until  Dec.  16,  1864,  when' 
he  resigned  on  account  of  physical  disability,  and  was  mustered 
out  with  the  rank  of  captain.  He  then  returned  to  Waukon,  and 
has  since  continued  his  profession.  He  has  also  spent  some  time 
and  considerable  money  in  experimental  farming.  In  1881  he  built 
the  first  silo  for  the  State  of  Iowa,  which  he  has  proved  a  success. 
He  has  also  represented  his  district    in  the   legislature    one  term. 


472  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Dr.  Barnes  was  married  in  185-i  to  Miss  Julia  A.  Orr,  who  died 
in  1859,  leaving  one  daughter.  In  1862  he  married  Marion  E. 
Ferris,  and  now  has  one  son  and  two  daughters. 

John  M.  Barthell,  farmer,  sec.  19,  Makee  tp.;  P.  0.  Waukon; 
a  pioneer  of  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  at  present  one  of  the  most 
prominent  farmers  of  Allamakee  Co.  He  was  born  in  Germany 
in  1830,  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1848,  and  lived  in  Rensellaer 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  until  1851.  He  then  came  to  Iowa  and  settled  in 
Glen  wood  tp.,  Winneshiek  Co.  In  1856  he  Avas  married  to  Miss 
Martha  Page.  He  then  continued  farming  in  said  county  until 
1866,  since  which  he  has  resided  in  Allamakee  Co.,  and  now  owns 
over  one  thousand  acres  of  land.  The  children  are  Sarah,  John 
and  Jonathan  (the  two  latter  being  twins),  Anna,  (now  Mrs.  Louis 
Steinbach),  Charley,  George,  Michael,  Minnie  and  Bennie. 

James  Bentley,  one  of  the  oldest  resident  preachers,  was  born 
in  England  m  1810,  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1842,  and  soon 
entered  Jubilee  College,  near  Peoria,  where  he  was  ordained  as  an 
Episcopal  minister  in  1847.  His  first  parish  was  at  Warsaw,  111. 
In  the  spring  of  1857  he  came  to  Iowa  and  located  in  Allamakee 
Co.  He  was  the  first  preacher  at  Lansing.  In  1859  he  founded 
the  Waukon  parish,  of  which  he  had  charge  for  many  years. 
Rev.  Bentley  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  employ  of 
the  American  S.  S.  Union,  first  as  district  agent,  then  as  State 
agent  of  Iowa,  and  afterwards  as  State  agent  for  Kansas.  He  is 
at  present  missionary-at-large  in  Allamakee  Co.  He  was  married 
in  1850  to  Miss  Cox,  and  they  have  two  children,  Henry  J.,  of 
Waukon,  and  William  C,  of  New  York  City. 

Chas.  Barnard,  proprietor  Waukon  Nursery.  This  well  known 
gentleman  was  born  on  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  on  the  farm  now 
occupied  by  Queen  Victoria's  summer  residence;  but  when  he  was 
about  eighteen  months  old  his  parents  (Thomas  and  Mary  Bar- 
nard) emigrated  to  the  U.  S,  and  settled  on  Wheeling  Island,  in 
the  Ohio  river.  Here  Thos.  Barnard  started  a  nursery,  and  soon 
commenced  teaching  his  son  the  rudiments  of  fruit  growing. 
About  15  years  subsequently  the  family  removed  to  Belmont  Co., 
Ohio,  and  then  run  a  market  garden  for  the  city  of  Wheeling. 
Here  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  in  1845,  was  married  to  Miss  M. 
Balderston,  who  died  in  1856,  leaving  three  children,  Mary  G., 
now  Mrs.  W.  R.  Hanscom,  of  Monona  Co.,  la.;  Emma  J.,  now 
Mrs.  R.  0.  Manson,  of  Sibley,  la.,  and  Chas.  0.,  of  Monona  Co., 
la.  In  1857  Mr.  Barnard  was  married  to  Narcissa  P.  Newport, 
and  in  1865  removed  to  Iowa  and  settled  in  Waukon,  where  he 
at  once  engaged  in  the  nursery  business."  In  1868  his  wife  died, 
leaving  two  children,  Thomas  N.  of  Miles  City,  M.  T.,  and 
Elizabeth.  In  1869  he  married  Deborah  D.  Spaulding. 
Mr.  B.  having  spent  his  entire  life  in  growing  trees  and 
fruit,  is  one  of  the  best  posted  men  to  be  found  in  his 
line  of  business.     He  is  what  may  be  called  a  strictly  practical 


ALLAMAKEE   COL'NTY    HICKiRAl'HIES.  473 

man.  His  views  differ  <^reiit]y  from  most  nursery  men,  but  his 
success  proves  that  his  judtjment  is  in  the  main  correct.  He  does 
not  believe  in  pruning  trees,  and  to  substantiate  his  belief  he  can 
show  many  trees  in  his  nursery  which  have  been  allowed  to  grow 
according  to  the  dictates  of  nature's  laws.  He  has  a  Concord 
grape  vine  planted  in  186;},  but  which  for  two  years  was  trampled 
down  by  cattle,  since  which  time  it  has  been  cared  for  by  Mr.  B., 
and  although  it  has  never  been  touched  by  a  pruning  knife,  or 
fertilized,  it  now  has  five  branches,  each  forty  feet  in  length.  It 
has  stood  the  weather  at  44  degrees  below  zero,  and  for  a  number 
of  years  has  grown  from  200  to  1,000  pounds  of  grapes  annually. 
He  now  has  about  twenty-five  acres  of  nursery,  and  the  largest 
stock  of  fruit  and  ornamental  trees  in  this  section. 

H.  J.  Bentley,  dealer  in  jewelry,  watches,  clocks,  etc.,  was  born 
in  Freeport,  Illinois,  in  1853.  He  came  to  this  county  in  1858 
with  his  father  (Jas.  Bentley ,  whose  biography  appears  elsewhere). 
He  married  Jennie  Reed,  a  native  of  New  York.  They  have  one 
son.. 

L.  M.  Bearce,  Clerk  of  the  Courts,  was  born  in  Maine  in  1837. 
He  removed  from  there  to  Massachusetts,  thence  in  1852  to  Iowa, 
and  settled  near  Waukon  in  this  county.  He  subsequently  en- 
gaged in  the  mercantile  business  in  Waukon.  In  1880  he  w^as 
elected  to  his  present  position.  He  married  Maria  Israel,  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania.     They  have  two  children,    a   son  and  daughter. 

George  H.  Bryant,  County  Treasurer,  was  born  in  Otsego  coun- 
ty, N.  Y.,  in  1837,  came  west  in  1863,  and  located  in  Lansing, 
and  for  five  years  was  employed  as  clerk.  He  subsequently  en- 
gaged in  the  boot  and  shoe  trade,  which  he  continued  until  elect- 
ed to  his  present  position.  He  married  Martha  Dennis,  a  native 
of  Indiana.     They  have  one  son  and  three  daughters. 

James  W.  Burhans,  of  the  firm  of  Burhans  Brothers,  proprie- 
etois  of  the  Burlington  House,  Postville,  was  born  in  Nov.,  1824, 
in  New  Y^ork,  came  to  Rock  County.  Wisconsin,  in  1845,  remain- 
ing till  1865,  when  he  returned  to  New  York,  and  in  1868  moved 
to  Camden,  Missouri,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  six  years;  af- 
ter which,  in  company  with  a  brother,  he  engaged  in  general  mer- 
chandising. In  the  winter  of  1882  he  came  to  Postville  and  en- 
gaged as  above.  He  married  Miss  Mary  M.  Davis,  of  New  Y'ork, 
in  1848.  She  died  in  Missouri  in  1873,  leaving  one  daughter, 
Ella  E. 

J.  H.  Burhans,  of  the  firm  of  Burhans  Bros.,,  proprietors  of 
the  Burlington  House,  Postville,  was  born  in  1831,  in  Otsego  Co., 
N.  Y.;  emigrated  with  parents  to  Rock  Co.,  Wis.,  in  1845,  from 
there  to  Ossian,  Winneshiek  Co.,  lo.,  in  1855,  and  in  April,  1857, 
moved  to  Clayton  Co.,  the  roads  being  blocked  w^ith  snow,  it  hav- 
ing been  a  very  severe  wdnter.  In  the  fall  of  1862  he  enlisted  in 
Co.  L,  6th  lo.  Cav.  Their  operations  w-ere  confined  to  the  north- 
west, protecting  the  frontier  from  the  Indians.    He  was  discharged 


474  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

ill  October,  1805,  returned  home,  and  was  mostly  engaged  work- 
ing at  his  trade,  carpenter  and  joiner.  In  1870  he  came  to  Post- 
ville,  still  following  his  trade.  In  the  winter  of  1882  he  pur- 
chased the  Burlington  House  in  company  with  his  brother,  J.  W. 
Burhans.  He  married  Sarah  A.  D. ,  a  native  of  Connecti- 
cut, in  1854;  they  have  one  son,  John  D.  Mr.  B.  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  Order. 

M.  Bencher,  Postville,  dealer  in  hardware,  stoves  and  tinware, 
also  proprietor  of  billiard  hall;  born  in  1830  in  Germany,  emi- 
grated to  the  U.  S.  in  Aug.  1854,  and  located  in  Allamakee  Co., 
following  farming  for  nine  years;  the  J  came  to  Postville  and  en- 
gaged in  brewing  beer,  continuing  four  years,  after  which  he  en- 
gaged in  his  present  business.  He  married  Miss  Louisa  Koevenig, 
a  native  of  Germany,  in  1861;  they  have  one  son,  Joseph.  Mr. 
B.  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  and  A.  0.  U.  W. 

H.  T.  Ballman,  P.  0.  Postville;  farmer,  sec.  8;  owns  a  farm  of 
270  acres,  valued  at  |25  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  Muskingum  Co., 
Ohio,  in  1835,  his  parents  emigrating  to  this  county  in  1855,  re- 
maing  here  till  their  death.  His  father  died  in  1870,  and  mother 
in  1874.  Mr.  B.  was  married  to  Miss  Adaline  V.  Minert  in  1859. 
She  was  born  in  Indiana.  Their  children  are  Benjamin  F.,  Emma 
L.,  Daniel  G.,  Lillie  E.,  Henry  S.,  Jennie  A.  and  Harry  B.  They 
have  lost  two,  Alice  L.,  and  Charles  E.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
M.  E.  church. 

W.  N.  Burdick,  editor  and  publisher  of  Review^  was  born  in 
New  York  in  1837,  and  in  1839  his  parents  immigrated  to  Kane 
Co.,  111.;  thence  to  West  Union,  Fayette  Co.,  lo., in  1852,  where 
he  followed  farming  till  1856,  when  he  engaged  in  a  printing  office 
at  Decorah,  and  subsequently  at  Cresco  for  a  short  time,  when  he 
again  resumed  farming  for  two  years,  and  then  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business.  He  served  as  postmaster  at  Cresco  nearly 
seven  years.  In  1873  he  purchased  an  interest  in  the  Winne- 
shiek Register^  at  Decorah,  and  soon  after  the  whole  interest.  In 
1875  he  sold  out  and  purchased  the  Rerieir,  at  Postville.  He  mar- 
ried Amy  E.  Halsted  in  1860.  She  was  born  in  Ohio.  They  have 
three  children,  Edward  L.,  Albert  E.  and  Arthur  S.  They  have 
lost  two  sons. 

N.  J.  Beedy,  mayor  of  Postville,  w^as  born  in  New  York  in 
1826;  learned  the  carpenter  and  joiner  trade  in  early  life,  emi- 
grated to  Winnebago  Co.,  Hi.,  in  1850,  and  in  1852  to  Allamakee 
Co.,  la.,  engaging  in  farming  and  working  at  his  trade.  In  1865 
he  came  to  Postville  and  engaged  in  the  grain  and  produce  busi- 
ness till  the  spring  of  1881,  when  he  retired  from  active  business. 
He  has  served  as  councilman,  and  is  now  serving  his  second  term 
as  mayor  and  county  supervisor.  He  married  JViary  E.  Barnes,  of 
New  York,  in  1850.  She  died  in  1867.  He  was  again  married  to 
Lucy  Hall,  also  a  native  of  New  York,   in   Nov.,  1869.     He    has 


ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGKAPHIES.  475 

three  children  by  his  first  marriage,  Fred.,  Ida  M.  and  Carrie  F., 
and  one  by  his  second  marriage,  Mabel.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
A.  0.  U.  W. 

Charles  C.  Blumm,  postoffice,  Rossville,  dealer  in  general  mer- 
chandise and  manufacturer  of  harness,  was  born  in  Germany, 
April  29th,  1848,  near  the  River  Rhine.  His  parents  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  in  1850,  stopping  at  Toledo,  Ohio,  where  his 
father  died  of  cholera  in  1854.  The  following  year,  1855,  the 
family  came  to  this  county,  locating  at  Rossville.  In  1865  he 
went  to  Prairie  du  Chien  and  engaged  to  learn  the  harnessmaker's 
trade,  working  at  that  till  the  latter  part  of  18G6,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Rossville  and  opened  a  harness  shop,  continuing  but 
short  time,  when  he  clos<^d  out  his  business  and  spent  about 
year  traveling  and  working  at  journey  work.  He  returned  to 
Rossville  and  purchased  the  homestead  of  his  mother  and  again 
opened  a  harness  shop,  soon  after  adding  groceries,  and,  in  1873, 
dry  goods.  In  December,  1876,  he  formed  a  co-partnership  with 
Jas.  M.  Ross,  adding  drugs,  which  continued  till  February,  1880, 
when  he  purchased  Mr.  Ross'  interest.  He  was  married  to  Miss 
Mary  Sencebaugh,  May  30th,  1875.  She  was  a  native  of  West 
Virginia.  Their  children  are  Charles  A.  and  Daisy  P.  They 
have  lost  one  son,  Robert  H.  Mr.  Blumm  is  a  member  of  the 
I.  0.  0.  F. 

W.  H.  Burtis,  retired  farmer,  postoffice,  Rossville,  son  of  Hen- 
ry and  Mary  Burtis;  was  born  October  11,  1825,  in  the  district  of 
Prince  Edwards,  Canada.  He  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  in 
early  life,  at  which  he  worked  principally,  till  1847,  when  he  came 
to  Kenosha,  Wisconsin,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  during  the 
winters,  and  farmed  during  the  summer.  In  the  fall  of  1859,  he 
went  to  Lake  County,  Illinois,  where  he  remained  till  1868,  when 
he  came  to  Allamakee  County,  Iowa,  stopping  in  Ludlow  town- 
ship till  1876,  he  came  to  Rossville,  where  he  now  resides.  He 
was  married  to  Miss  Louisa  Ross,  October  5,  1869.  She  is  a  sister 
of  0.  A.  Ross,  and  was  born  in  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Burtis  owns 
a  farm  of  120  acres  three  miles  from  Rossville,  also  seven  acres 
within  the  village  of  Rossville;  his  wife  also  owns  a  farm  of  80 
acres  some  three  miles  from  Rossville. 

Jeptha  Beebe,  postoffice,  Waukon;  farmer,  section  8;  son  of 
Hezekiah  and  Sarah  Beebe;  born  in  Chemung  County,  New  York. 
His  parents  moved  to  La  Grange  County,  Indiana,  in  1837.  In 
1850  he  emigrated  to  Crawford  County,  Wisconsin,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  lumbering  till  in  1853,  he  came  to  Allamakee  Coun- 
ty, Iowa,  locating  at  VVaterville,  and  purchased  the  corn  cracker 
mi^l  of  Riley  Ellis,  to  which  he  added  a  saw  mill  the  same  year. 
His  brother,  N.  A.  Beebe,  building  a  grist  mill  in  1854.  Soon 
after  it.  was  completed,  he  became  a  partner  in  the  grist  mill 
with  his  brother,  but  soon  sold  his  interest  to  Mr.  J.  Spooner, 
contmuing  the  saw  mill  till  the  fall  of  1857,  when  he  sold  out 


■176  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

his  brother,  N.  A.  Beebe,  and  purchased  a  farm  two  miles  and  a 
half  west  of  Rossville.  Soon  after  he  engaged  as  contractor  of 
a  stage  line,  from  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wisconsin,  to  Chatfield,  Min- 
nesota. The  route  being  discontinued  in  1858  by  order  of  James 
Buchanan,  through  the  Postmaster  General,  which  left  him  with 
a  large  amount  of  stage  property  on  his  hands  which  he  then 
took  to  Kansas,  and  securing  another  stage  line  soon  after  traded 
his  interest  for  a  steam  sawmill,  some  fifteen  miles  south  from  To- 
peka,  which  took  fire  and  was  burned  in  1860  with  quite  an 
amount  of  lumber  and  logs,  all  being  a  total  loss.  He  re-built  the 
mill  and  sold  to  other  parties,  and  came  back  to  Allamakee  Coun- 
ty and  rented  the  saw  mill  at  Waterville  one  year;  then  rented 
a  farm  near  Rossville  for  one  year,  and  then  bought  a  saw  mill  on 
Yellow  River,  which  he  ran  till  1867,  then  sold  out  and  turned 
his  attention  to  farming.  In  the  spring  of  1869  he  purchased 
his  present  farm.  Mr.  B.,  upon  his  return  from  Kansas  to  this 
county,  found  himself  §3,700  in  debt,  all  of  which  he  has  paid. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Coffman,  in  1854.  She  was 
also  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  They  have  six  children:  William 
E.,  Henry  H..  Leon  E.,  Laura  M.,  Edith  A.  and  Edna  E.,  and 
have  lost  two — Lottie  S.  and  Alden  S.  Mr.  Beebe  has  served  as  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace  in  his  township  and  is  a  Greenbacker  in  politics. 

James  Briar.  P.  0.  Rossville;  farmer,  sec.  27;  son  of  James  and 
Margaret  Briar;  born  in  Onondaga  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1839,  where  he 
remained  till,  in  1855,  he  came  to  Iowa,  stopping  in  the  northern 
part  of  this  township.  In  August,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  A, 
27th  la.  Inf.,  participating  in  most  of  the  battles  in  which  the 
company  Avas  engaged,  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  then  re- 
turned home,  and  was  married  the  same  year  to  Miss  Sarah  Gates. 
She  was  born  in  Decatur  Co.,  Ind.;  they  have  seven  children:  Wm. 
H.,  Samuel  D.,  Joseph  A.,  Julia  A.,  James  E.,  Charles  S.  and 
Delia  M.,  and  have  lost  one  daughter,  Eliza.  Mr.  B.  moved  to  his 
present  farm  of  100  acres  in  1876.  It  is  a  good  farm,  well  im- 
proved, with  good  buildings  upon  it,  and  worth  §10  per  acre. 

John  C.  Beedy,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  13;  owns  80  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  §10  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  1835  in  Piscata- 
quis Co.,  Me.  In  1850  he  went  to  Natic,  Mass.,  where  he  com- 
menced learning  the  shoemakers  trade,  continuing  about  a  year, 
after  which  he  was  engaged  on  the  sea  in  vessels  doing  a  coast 
trade  up  as  far  as  Nova  Scotia,  during  summers,  and  at  his  trade 
during  winters.  In  1857  he  immigrated  to  Iowa  and  located  in 
Makee  tp.,  this  county,  and  in  1862  came  on  to  his  present  farm. 
He  married  Miss  Angle  Gaslin,  of  Maine,  in  1857.  She  died  in 
1876,  leaving  him  with  a  family  of  seven  children.  The  children 
ai-e:  Arthur,  Leroy,  Edgar,  Angle,  Cora,  Nellie  and  Albert.  He 
was  again  married  to  Mary  Ryan,  1878,  by  whom  he  has  three 
children:  Lizzie.  John  and  William.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
L  0.  0.  F. 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  -177 

Willard  Bacon,  P.  0.  Village  Creek,  farmer,  sec.  22;  son  of 
John  and  Betsey  Bacon;  born  in  Orange  Co.,  Vt.;  learned  the 
carpenter  and  joiner's  trade  in  early  life;  went  to  Massachusetts 
in  1843,  where  he  engaged  in  house  building  for  three  years; 
then  engaged  in  railroad  bridge  building  for  several  different  com- 
panies, and  was  for  six  years  in  the  employ  of  the  N.  Y.  &  N.  H. 
R.  li.  Co.  In  1855  he  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  la.,  and  purchased 
his  present  farm  of  140  acres,  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  branches 
of  Village  Creek,  it  being  mostly  bottom  land,  and  very  produc- 
tive, and  upon  which  he  has  good  buildings,  pleasantly  situated 
-and  sheltered  from  the  winds.  Mr.  B.  was  married  to  Miss  Har- 
riet Poore,  of  Vermont.  They  have  three  childreen:  Idelia, 
whose  husband's  name  is  Aldrich;  Wilhimena  and  Hattie. 

James  Bryson,  of  Jefferson  tp.,  was  born  in  Perthshire,  Scot- 
land, Aug.,  1802.  Has  alwaj^s  been  a  prominent  man  wherever 
he  lived.  Was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Scotland, 
as  also  in  Connecticut,  where  he  located,  after  four  years  in  Canada. 
In  his  native  country  his  occupation  was  running  a  linen  factory, 
and  after  coming  to  America  was  overseer  of  woolen  mills.  Set- 
tled in  Paint  Creek  tp.  in  1850,  where  he  held  various  township 
offices,  and  represented  that  and  Jefferson  tp.  in  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  at  different  times.  Was  the  first  representative  from 
Allamakee  Co.  in  the  State  Legislature.  He  was  a  man  of  firm 
and  just  character,  and  in  his  prime  took  an  active  part  in  reforms. 
AVas  a  strong  Abolitionist,  and  a  personal  friend  of  John  B, 
Gough  and  others.  In  1824  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Scott,  who 
died  in  1873,  at  Rossville.  She  was  of  an  exceedingly  good  family, 
had  received  a  very  liberal  education,  and  was  a  remarkable 
woman.  When  they  came  to  this  country  they  had  four  children 
living:  Elizabeth  (now  dead),  Isabel,  John  S.  and  Jane.  Four 
children  were  born  after  reaching  this  country:  William,  died 
before  the  war;  James,  of  Chicago;  Alexander,  of  Ackley;  and 
Margaret,  who  married  John  Henderson.  James  and  Alexander 
were  in  Co.  I,  27th  Regt.  lo.  \ols. 

John  S.  Bryson,  farmer,  sec.  17,  born  in  Dundee,  Scotland,  in 
1831,  and  was  brought  to  Canada  West  in  1836  by  his  parents 
who  removed  to  Connecticut  in  1840,  where  he  received  his  first 
six  months  schooling,  and  was  put  to  carding  and  spinning  in  a 
woolen  factory  of  which  his  father  was  overseer.  The  family 
came  west  to  Wisconsin  in  1849,  but  returned  east  to  York 
State,  whence  they  came  to  Iowa  in  1850,  and  located  here  on  the 
11th  day  of  May  of  that  year;  and  on  the  15th  of  the  same  month 
John  assisted  in  breaking  the  first  sod  in  what  is  now  Paint  Creek 
township,  where  he  now  owns  240  acres.  Later  in  the  summer 
the  first  grist  mill  in  Allamakee  Co. — a  simple  corn-cracker — was 
put  in  about  four  miles  below  Mr.  Bryson's  place,  and  he  run 
this  most  of  the  time  during  the  first  eight  months.  At  the  first 
election  of  Township  Officers  in  April,  1853,  Mr.  Bryson  was  elect- 
so  ' 


478  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

ed  constable,  and  has  since  served  four  years  as  township  clerk. 
Was  also  secretary  of  his  school  district  for  some  time;  and  has 
enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  neighbors  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  he  has  at  various  times  been  appointed  to  such  trusts  as 
administrator  of  estates,  guardian,  trustee,  etc.  Mr.  Bryson  was 
one  of  the  real  pioneers  of  Paint  Creek  tp.,  and  has  been  closely 
identified  with  its  history.  Mr.  Bryson  was  married  Jan.  11, 
1865,  to  Miss  Tilde  0.  Rema,  a  native  of  NorAvay,  whose  family 
settled  in  this  township  the  same  year  with  the  Brysons.  They 
have  five  children,  Marget  S.,  Tilde  L.,  James,  Ida  G.  and  John  R. 

Fred  A.  Burton,  grain  buyer,  born  in  Rhode  Island  in  1851, 
came  to  Iowa  and  to  Makee  tp.  in  1851,  and  became  a  resident  in 
Waukon  in  1868.  Mr.  Burton  was  engaged  for  several  years  in 
buying  grain  in  the  markets  at  Lansing  and  Postville  in  this 
county,  and  in  DeSoto,  Wis.,  as  well  as  at  his  home  in  Waukon. 
In  September,  1880  he  assumed  charge  of  A.  &  T.  McMichael's 
grain  elevator  at  Waterville,  where  he  has  since  been  constantly 
employed. 

Henry  Bensch,  carpenter  and  builder,  was  born  ia  Prussia  in 
1832,  came  to  America  in  1852  and  settled  in  Galena,  Ills.,  where 
he  remained  until  1855.  He  then  removed  to  Lansing  and  since 
then  has  been  engaged  in  the  above  business.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  County  Board  three  years,  and  has  also  been  over- 
seer of  the  poor  for  the  past  ten  years.  He  married  Lena  Fry,  of 
Guttenburg,  Germany;  they  have  eight  children,  Julia,  Henry  G., 
John,  Edward,  Charles,  Emma,  Matilda,  Mary. 

Edward  Boeckh  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  in  1827.  He 
came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1848,  and  settled  in  New  York,  where  he 
lived  until  1854,  he  then  removed  to  Dubuque,  and  in  1857,  came 
to  Lansing.  In  1868  he  erected  a  large  foundry  and  machine 
shop,  of  which  he  has  been  a  part  owner.  He  married  Paulina 
Kemdt,  also  of  Germany,  they  have  five  children,  Louisa,  Herman, 
Julius,  Edward  and  Mina.  Mr.  B.  has  been  alderman  five  years, 
and  is  at  present  a  member  of  the  school  board. 

Theo.  Brockhausen  was  born  in  Detmold,  Princedom  Lippe, 
Germany,  in  1833.  He  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1851,  and  in  1854, 
settled  at  Lansing,  and  has  since  been  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Nielander  &  Brockhausen.  During  the  severe  winter  of  1856  he 
was  mail  carrier  from  Lansing  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  from 
Lansing  to  Portland  Prairie.  He  was  married  in  18G3  to  Miss 
Mary  Schierholz. 

E.  B.  Bascomb,  proprietor  of  livery  and  feed  barn,  was  born  in 
Newport  N.  H.  in  1833.  He  came  to  Iowa  in  April,  1855,  and 
located  at  Lansing,  and  was  engaged  in  contracting  and  building 
until  the  breaking  out  'of  the  rebellion,  when  he  enlisted  in  Co.  K, 
5th  Iowa  Infantry,  being  the  first  man  to  enlist  from  Lansing. 
He  was  in  a  number  of  battles,  some  of  the  prominent  ones  be- 
ing  Booneville,  Island   No.  10,   New  Madrid,  Corinth,   seige  of 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  479 

Corinth,  luka,  Fort  Gibson,  battle  of  Vicksbnrg,  Mission  Ridge 
and  others.  He  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  and  returned 
to  Lansing  and  embarked  in  the  lumber  trade.  He  sold  his 
business  in  1871  to  his  partner,  Mr.  S.  0.  Smith,  and  for  some 
time  there  after  was  contracting  with  the  railroad  company.  He 
has  since  been  in  various  businesses,  buying  and  selling  grain  and 
live  stock,  and  for  several  years  was  a  dealer  in  drugs  and  medi- 
cines. In  1881  he  purchased  his  present  stock  of  livery  of 
Huffschmidt  and  continues  to  manage  the  same.  He  married  in 
1855  Miss  Mary  Rogers,  who  was  born  in  Goshen,  N.  H.;  they 
have  two  children,  Mary  E.  and  Ada. 

Philip  Bockfinger,  part  proprietor  of  wagon  and  carriage  fac- 
tory, was  born  in  Froechv/eiler  Alsace,  Germany,  in  1831.  He 
learned  the  trade  of  wagon  maker  in  Niederbron,  and  in  1852, 
came  to  America,  and  his  first  location  was  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio; 
thence  to  Galena,  Ills.,  and  in  1856  he  came  to  Lansing  and  es- 
tablished his  present  business  in  company  with  Mr.  Boeckemeier. 
They  are  extensive  mannfacturers  of  wagons,  plows,  etc.,  the  bus- 
iness amounting  to  about  $50,000  annually.  They  employ  about 
thirty  men.  Mr.  B.  was  married  to  Magdalana  Wetzel,  also  of 
Germany;  they  have  seven  children. 

Englehart  Bartheld,  P.  0.  Lansing;  farmer,  sec.  2;  son  of  Henry 
and  Elizabeth  Bartheld,  born  February  18,  1833,  in  Germany; 
emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1853,  stoppin-^^  with  friends  at  Cleveland, 
Ohio;  worked  at  the  carpenter  and  joiner  business.  In  1855  he 
came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  still  continuing  to  work  at  his  trade  most 
of  the  time.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Englehorn  in  1858,  she 
was  also  a  native  of  Germany.  He  purchased  his  present  farm  in 
1859,  and  moved  onto  it  in  1861.  He  now  owns  200  acres,  well 
improved  and  conveniently  and  pleasantly  located.  Mr.  B.'s  chil- 
dren are  Julius,  Lizzy,  Katie,  Fred  and  Englehart.  He  has  served 
as  assessor  and  trustee  of  his  township  several  years,  and  to  the  en- 
tire satisfaction  of  his  many  friends.     He  is  a  member  of  the  A. 

0.  u.  w. 

Richard  Buggy,  blacksmith,  is  a  native  of  Ireland;  born  in  1841; 
came  with  his  parents  to  the  U.  S.  in  1854,  and  settled  at  New 
Haven,  Conn.,  where  he  learned  his  trade,  and  in  1862  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Ellen  Sullivan.  In  May,  1866,  he  came  to  Iowa 
and  settled  at  Waukon,  but  subsequently  traveled  over  a  great 
part  of  the  west  and  northwest.  He  was  also  in  the  employ  of 
Holohan  &  Bugg}'^  for  several  years.  In  Sept.,  1877,  he  opened 
his  present  business  and  has  since  been  doing  a  blacksmith, 
wagon  and  general  repair  works.  He  has  eight  children,  Nellie, 
Maria,  Richard,  Edwin,  John,  Charlie,  Eliza  and  Michael.  His 
religion  is  Roman  Catholic. 

John  C.  Barr.,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer  Hanover  tp.,  owns  400  acres 
of  land  in  sec.  22.  He  was  born  near  Glasgow,  Scotland,  in  January, 
1816;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1850,  stopping  at  Dubuque,  Iowa,  where 


480  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

he  was  engaged  in  mining  until  the  spring  of  1S56,  when  he  moved 
to  his  present  farm.  He  was  married  Dec.  13. 1838,  to  Miss  Katie 
Allen,  who  died  F'eh.  21, 1881.  He  has  four  children  living,  James 
M.,  Samuel  S.,  Robert  and  Mary  A.,  and  has  lost  by  death  four, 
Thompson,  Elon,  Jennette  and  Catharine.  Mr.  B.  is  a  member  of 
the  M.E.  Church. 

Henry  Carter,  merchant,  firm  of  Dougherty  &  Carter,  dealers 
in  boots  and  shoes  and  gents'  furnishing  goods.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  emigrated  from  Germany,  where  he  was  born  in  1819, 
to  the  U.  S.  in  1870.  He  came  direct  to  Allamakee  Co.,  and 
worked  at  farming  until  1878,  at  which  time,  in  partnership  with 
M.  W.  Eaton,  he  engaged  in"  the  boot  and  shoe  business,  which 
they  continued  until  June,  1881,  under  the  firm  name  of  Carter  & 
Eaton.  During  this  time  the  firm  also  ow^ned  a  one-half  interest 
in  an  elevator.  In  June,  1881,  Mr.  Carter  exchanged  his  interest 
in  the  elevator  for  his  partner's  interest  in  the  boot  and  shoe  busi- 
ness, associated  J.  F.  Dougherty  as  partner,  and  has  since  con- 
tinued as  Dougherty  &  Carter.  He  was  married  May  5,  1881,  to 
Miss  Louisa  Luedeking. 

W.  H.  Carithers,  P.  0.  Myron,  farmer,  sec.  10,  owns  a  farm  of 
600  acres.  He  was  born  in  Washington,  W,  Va.,  in  1821,  where 
he  remained  till  1851,  when  he  came  to  Iowa  and  purchased  a  part 
of  his  present  farm,  and  the  same  yearw^as  married  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Smith,  daughter  of  Reuben  Smith,  deceased,  and  located  on 
his  farm.  Mr.  Smith  was  one  of  the  early  pioneers,  having  come 
to  this  county  in  1819,  and  located  about  one  mile  east  from  Mr. 
C.'s  place.  He  died  in  August,  1881,  leaving  a  large  circle  of 
friends  to  mourn  his  loss,  Mr.  C.  has,  by  strict  economy  and  in- 
dustry, become  the  owner  of  one  of  the  best  farms  in  his  townshiji. 
They  have  three  children,  Jennie,  Mary  and  Carrie. 

Andrew  Christianson,  sec.  15,  P.  0.  Village  Creek,  farmer,  was 
born  in  Norway,  Dec.  30,  1826;  received  a  thorough  education  in 
his  native  language  preparing  him  for  teaching,  in  which  he  en- 
gaged some  years  before  coming  to  the  U.  S.,  in  1857.  He  lo- 
cated in  Dane  Co.,  Wis.,  where  he  taught  school  one  year,  after 
which  he  came  to  Allamakee  county,  la.;  taught  school  the  first 
two  years,  then  turned  his  attention  to  farming;  located  on  his 
present  farm  in  1870,  which  contains  160  acres,  valued  at 
|3,500.  He  married  Miss  Maggie  Olson  in  Dec,  1859;  they  have 
ten  children:  Betsy  M.,  Olof  C.,  Thea.  B.,  Louisa  J.,  Albert  L., 
Tilda  A.,  Caroline  0.,  Wm.  T.,  Carl  A,  and  Ida  E.;  and  have  lost 
two:  Adolph  and  Albert.  Mr.  C.  has  served  his  township  as  trus- 
tee and  collector,  and   is  a  member  of   the   Lutheran   Church. 

J.  R.  Conway,  P.  0.  Rossville,  farmer,  sec.  29;  born  July 
17,  1820  in  County  Roscommon,  Ireland.  In  1843  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Rose  Gordon,  and  the  same  year  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  locating  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  where  he  re- 
mained till  1847;  then  removed  to  Cincinnati,  0.,  and  engaged 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  481 

on  board  a  Lower  Mississippi  steamer  as  deck-hand;  after- 
wards lilline:  different  stations  up  to  second  mate;  which  posi- 
tion he  occupied  during  the  terrible  cholera  sccmrge  in  1849. 
He  was  then  running  up  Red  River,  often  going  on  shore  between 
stations  to  bury  the  dead,  which  were  mostly  negroes,  sometimes 
eight  or  ten  in  one  grave.  In  1850  he  moved  his  family  to  Du- 
buque, and  came  to  Allamakee  Co.;  and  located  the  S.  E.  \  of  Sec. 
29,  of  his  present  farm.  In  December  of  the  same  year  he  moved 
his  family  on  to  it,  and  commenced  improving.  For  the  first  four 
years  thereafter  lie  was  engaged  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  river, 
running  up  as  far  as  Fort  Snelling,  during  the  summers,  and 
spending  the  winters  at  home.  Served  as  first  mate  part  of  the 
time.  Mr.  C.  has,  by  energy,  industry  and  economy,  added  to  his 
first  tract  of  land,  till  he  now  has  500  acres  well  improved,  and 
one  of  the  best  farms  in  the  township.  His  children  are:  Dorn- 
nick,  John,  James,  William,  Owen,  Mary  A.,  Ellen  and  Rose. 
They  have  lost  one  son,  Matthew  M. 

E.  N.  Clark,  P.  0.  Postville,  farmer,  sec.  21;  owns  120  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  $10  per  acre;  son  of  M.  I),  and  Delihili  Clark; 
was  born  in  Wayne  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1838,  his  parents  emigrating  to 
Saginaw,  Mich.,  in  1811,  engaging  in  the  lumbering  business  till 
in  1818,  when  they  moved  to  Linn  Co.,  lo.  At  the  breaking  out 
of  the  rebellion,  in  June,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  Gth  la.  Inf., 
serving  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  participated  in  the  battles  at 
Pittsburg  Landing,  Black  River  and  the  siege  and  capture  of  Vicks- 
burg;  returned  home  in  1865,  soon  after  moving  to  Delaware  Co.,  lo., 
having  secured  a  government  contract  for  a  mail  and  state  route 
between  Postville  and  Dyersville,  which  he  run  four  years;  after 
which  he  moved  to  this  county.  Mr.  C.  was  first  married  to  Miss 
Martha  Reed,  in  1800,  by  whom  he  had  four  children:  Mary  D., 
Elmer  C,  Ulysses  G.  and  Minnie  C.  His  wife  died  in  1869,  and 
he  was  again  married  to  Mrs.  Lucy  Clark,  widow  of  J.  W.  Clark, 
and  daughter  of  Calvin  Dresser,  in  1871.  His  wife  has  three 
children  by  her  first  marriage:  Franklin,  Charles  and  Calvin  D. 
Mr.  C.  is  a  member  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W. 

John  T.  Clark,  Attorney,  Postville,  is  a  native  of  Madison 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  being  born  in  1811;  received  his  early  education  in 
the  common  schools;  followed  agricultural  pursuits  till  in  1813, 
commenced  [reading  law  under  the  preceptorship  of  Timothy 
Jenkins,  of  Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  subsequently  with  Thos. 
Flandreau  of  that  [same  county,  where  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar^in  1851.  In  the  fall  of  1853  he  emigrated  to  Iowa,  locating 
in  Waukon,  there  being  but  two  frame  dwellings,  he  building 
the  third.  He  remained  there  following  his  profes.sion  until 
Dec,  1859,  when  he  removed  to  Decorah  and  established  a  law 
office  in  company  with  his  son,  Orlando  J.  Clark.  While  there 
he  was  extensively  interested  in  real  estate  at  Fort  Atkinson, 
owning  160  acres  of  land  upon  which  most  of  the  town  was  plat- 


482  ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

ted.  In  1874  he  returned  to  Waukon  where  he  remained  till  in 
June,  1880,  he  came  to  Postville  and  opened  a  law  office.  Mr. 
Clark  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Blakeslce,  of  N.  Y.,  in  1833. 
His  children  are  Orlando  J.,  no^  a  practicing  attorney  of  Decorah, 
Frederick  M.,  Charles  B.,  Sarah  E.,  Emma,  Adelbert  J.,  Alvin 
and  Florence.  All  his  sons  served  their  country  during  the  war 
of  the  rebellion.  Mr.  Clark  served  as  one  of  the  delegates  in 
the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1857  at  Iowa  City,  also  as  Prose- 
cuting Attorney  for  Allamakee  Co.  for  several  years. 

H.  S.  Cooper,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  21,  was  born  in 
Franklin  Co.,  Vermont,  in  1824.  His  father,  Martin  Cooper, 
moved  into  Addison  Co.  in  1826,  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  raised.  In  1849  he  emigrated  to  this  county,  purchasing  from 
the  Goverment  360  acres  of  land  in  this  tp.,  there  then  being  but 
three  or  four  families  in  the  tp.  all  of  whom  had  come  in  the  same 
year.  There  were  at  that  time  but  very  few  settlers  in  any  of  the  ad- 
joining tps.,  the  people  having  to  endure  many  hardships  and  pri- 
vations always  incident  to  the  settling  of  a  new  country.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Eliza  Gilbert  in  1852,  by  whom  he  had  eight  chil- 
dren, Franklin,  Martin,  Mary,  Orpha,  Winfield,  Augusta,  Edwin 
and  George,  He  was  again  married  to  Mrs.  Hannah  M.  Pratt, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Geesey.  Her  first  husband  serving  his 
country  during  the  rebellion  in  Co.  A,  27th  Iowa  inf.,  till  the 
close  of  the  war,  returning  home,  but  soon  after  dying  in  1865. 
Mr.  Cooper  owns  a  farm  of  440  acres,  w^ll  improved  and  one  of 
the  best  farms  in  the  tp. 

A.  E.  Colegrove,  miller  and  farmer,  Fairview  township;  born 
in  Tompkins  County,  New  York,  in  1830,  reared  in  the  milling 
business,  and  in  1860  moved  to  Iowa,  and  engaged  in  his  present 
business  at  Bunker  Hill,  now  called  Ion.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in 
Company  I,  27th  Iowa  Volunteers;  at  the  close  of  the  war  he  re- 
turned to  his  present  location.  Unfortunately,  he  is  nearly  blind, 
having  left  the  service  in  that  condition.  His  home  is  pleasantly 
situated  on  the  Yellow  River,  10  miles  northwest  of  McGregor, 
Iowa. 

T.  L.  Carrolls,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Village  Creek  wool- 
en mills,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1851,  was  reared  in  the 
mercantile  business,  and  came  west  in  1870;  engaged  in  his  pres- 
ent business  in  1871,  his  father  at  that  time  being  one  of  the  firm, 
of  Howard,  Carrolls  &  Ratclilie.  Mr.  Carrolls  has  the  management 
of  the  mills,  which  manufacture  fine  grades  of  woolen,  such  as 
blankets,  yarns,  flannels  and  cassimeres,  and  employs  fifteen  oper- 
atives. Mr.  C.  w^as  appointed  postmaster  in  1879.  He  married 
Miss  Nellie  E.  Howard  in  1873;  they  have  three  children,  Dorr, 
Ray  and  Rex. 

H.  Clauson,  P.  0.  Dorchester,  farmer,  sec.  17;  owns  180  acres 
valued  at  |25  per  acre;  was  born  Dec  6.  1843,  in  Norway,  came  to 
the  U.  S.  with  his  parentsjn  1854,  and  in  1862  enlisted  in  Co.  B, 


ALLAMAKEE   COUifTY   BIOGKAPHIES,  483 

16th  U.  S.  I.;  participated  in  the  battles  of  Stone  River,  Chicka- 
mauga,  Lookout  Mountain,  Mission  Ridge,  and  other  engagements. 
He  married  Christy  Mathiason,  Dec.  22,  1865;  they  have  five  chil- 
dren, Mary,  John  E.,  Clara,  Oscar  and  Martin,  and  have  lost  by 
death  seven  children.  Mr.  Clauson  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  has  acceptably  filled  various  positions  of  public 
trust. 

Axel  P.  Dille,  son  of  Peter  and  Christine  Dille,  P.  0.  Dorches- 
ter, Waterloo  tp,  sec.  16,  owns  a  farm  of  200  acres,  valued  at  |25 
per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway,  Dec.  23,  181:1,  and  came  with  his 
parents  to  America  in  1857,  and  to  his  present  farm  in  April,  1859. 
His  brother  Abraham  served  in  Co.  B,  27th  Iowa  Infantry,  and 
died  at  Nashville,  Tenn.  Mr.  Dille  married  Sarah  E.  Snaghoel, 
Jan.  13,  1862,  and  they  have  four  children  living,  Peter  Anna, 
Abraham  and  Martin,  having  lost  five  by  death — two  named  Peter, 
two  named  Emma,  and  Axel.  Mr.  D.  has  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace  and  as  assessor  ten  years,  and  was  an  enumerator  of  the  last 
TJ.  S.  census.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Geo.  M.  Dean,  dealer  in  agricultural  implements,  Waukon,  was 
born  in  South  Glastenburg,  Conn.,  Feb.  22, 1825,  and  was  brought 
up  to  the  business  of  manufacturing  cotton  goods.  In  the  spring 
of  1850  came  to  Quincy,  111.,  bringing  the  necessary  machinery 
with  him  from  New  England,  and  built  and  operated  the  first  cot- 
ton factory  with  power  ever  built  in  Illinois.  In  the  fall  of  1853 
he  bought  a  farm  in  Allamakee  Co.,  on  sec.  23,  Union  Prairie  tp. 
In  1857  was  elected  county  judge,  and  served  as  such  until  Jan. 
1,  1860.  During  his  official  term  as  county  judge  he  built  the 
combined  court  house  and  jail  at  Waukon.  In  1863  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor  of  Iowa  as  draft  commissioner  of  Alla- 
makee Co.  The  same  year  he  recruited  a  company  of  100  men 
for  three  years,  or  during  the  war,  and  Nov.  30,  1863,  was  mus- 
tered into  the  service  with  them  as  captain  of  Co.  E,  9th  lo.  Cav. 
Vol.,  serving  as  such  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  they  were 
mustered  out  at  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  in  1866.  The  same  year  he 
located  in  business  in  Waukon.  Was  a  charter  member  of  both 
the  Lansing  and  Waukon  Lodges  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  Upon  the  erec- 
tion of  a  telegraph  line  to  Waukon  he  happened  to  receive  the 
first  commercial  dispatch  sent  over  the  line.  Oct.  26,  1851,  Mr. 
Dean  was  married  to  Jane  E.  HoUister,  and  has  children  living. 

John  DeLacy  was  born  in  Canada  in  1851,  his  parents  being 
James  and  Catherine  DeLacy,  and  his  grand  parents  Patrick  and 
Elizabeth  DeLacy  and  Timothy  and  Margaret  Tiernej,  all  of 
whom  are  living  at  this  writing  (June  15,  1882.)  John  came  to 
the  U.  S.  with  his  parents  in  1859,  and  soon  commenced  work 
at  the  shoemaker's  trade,  which  he   has  since  followed.     He  was 

fnarried  in  1875  to  Miss  Alice  McG ,   and   they   have  four 

sons:  Chas.  J.,  John  B.,  R.  J.  and  Bert. 


484  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGEAPHIES. 

Jacob  Dorrmaiiri,  dealer  in  clothing,  gents'  furnishing  goods 
and  merchant  tailoring,  was  born  in  Altlusheim,  Baden,  Germany, 
in  1835.  He  learned  the  trade  of  tailor  at  Heidelberg,  Germany, 
and  served  four  years  in  the  army  as  company's  tailor.  In  1866 
he  came  to  America,  located  in  Lansing,  and  started  business  as 
above.  He  married  Margaret  Engelhorn,  also  a  native  of  Ger- 
many. They  have  five  children  living:  John,  Minnie,  Katie, 
Louisa  and  Emma. 

J.  W.  Davis,  physician  and  surgeon;  son  of  Jesse L.  and  Vien- 
na T.  Davis;  was  born  in  Indiana  in  1837;  when  he  was  10  years 
of  age  his  parents  removed  to  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  grew 
to  manhood.  He  attended  the  Georgetown  university,  and  grad- 
uated in  the  class  of  '60.  The  following  year  he  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  Army,  as  surgeon  for  the  6th  Ind.  Regiment,  the 
first  regiment  enrolled  for  the  rebellion  of  '61.  He  served  until 
1864,  Avhen  he  came  to  Lansing,  Iowa,  and  has  since  been  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

Dr.  Orsemas  Deremo,  section  32,  postofiice  Elon;  physician 
and  farmer;  son  of  Joseph  and  Rebecca  Deremo:  was  born  April 
14,  1825,  in  St.  Lawrence  County,  New  York;  received  his  educa- 
tion at  the  common  schools,  in  which  he  was  engaged  as  a  teach- 
er many  years.  In  1852  he  commenced  the  study  of  medicine 
under  the  instruction  of  a  brother,  who  was  a  practicing  physi- 
cian in  Canada,  also  under  a  Dr,  Skinner,  till  the  fall  of  1854, 
when  he  emigrated  to  Allamakee  County,  Iowa,  locating  in  Cen- 
ter township.  The  following  winter  he  taught  the  first  school  in 
Thomas  Anderson's  district,  of  Paint  Creek  township,  commenced 
the  practice  of  medicine  upon  his  ari'ival  here,  which  he  has  con- 
tinued to  the  present  time.  Dr.  D.  organized  the  township  upon 
an  order  from  Judge  E.  Topliff,  the  spring  of  1856,  and  had  the  hon- 
or of  selecting  the  name  of  Center,  the  first  election  being  held 
April  8!ih,  1856,  Dr.  D.  being  elected  the  first  assessor,  and  has 
served  in  some  official  capacity  in  his  township  nearly  all  the  time 
since,  being  secretary  of  the  school  board  at  the  present  time.  He 
was  married  to  Miss  Catharine  Wilder,  March  16th,  1843,  by  0. 
N.  Fish,  Esq.,  of  DeKalb  township,  St.  Lawrence  County,  N. 
Y.  His  wife  was  born  Nov.  28,  1825,  in  Trenton,  New  Jersey. 
Their  children  are  Charles  W.,  Alvy  F.,  Orrin  C,  Jay  L,,  Alice 
0.,  Vesta  B.,  Thalus  Q.,  Orsemas  W.,  Harvey  L.  and  Minnie  L. 
Dr.  D.  owns  a  farm  of  80  acres  on  section  32,  valued  at  $25  per 
acre. 

William  Dunn,  postotfice  Rossville,  owns  106  acres  of  land  val- 
ued at  $30  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  what  was  then  known  as 
Virginia,  but  now  West  Virginia,  Monongahela  County,  in  1817, 
and  was  reared  as  a  farmer.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Verlinda 
AVarmanin  1840.  She  died  in  1843.  He  was  again  married  to 
Miss  Mary  McShane  in  1816.  He  emigrated  to  Iowa,  1851, 
stopping  in  Clayton  Couniy  till  the  spring  of  1852,  when  he  lo- 


ALLAMAKEE   COUJSTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  485 

catecl  ou  his  present  farm,  it  then  being  a  wilderness  inhabited 
by  wild  animals,  game,  etc.  He  had  two  children  by  his  first 
wife.  Temperance  and  infant,  deceased;  and  by  his  second  wife 
six  children,  Isabel  M.,  Dorcas,  Jane  S.,  Virginia,  Leroy  and 
Martha,  the  two  latter  deceased, 

Charles  Drewes,  sec.  7,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  owns  237^  acres 
of  land  valued  at  ^40  per  acre.  He  was  born  Sept.  29,  1829,  in 
Germany,  where  he  remained  till,  the  spring  of  1852,  when  he  emi- 
grated to  the  U.  S.,  arriving  in  this  Co.  the  12th  of  June,  and  was 
married  the  28tli  of  June  to  Miss  Hermina  Rumpf ,  who  was  born 
in  Oldenburg,  Germany.  Shortly  after  his  marriage  he  located  in 
Makee  tp,  where  he  remained  till  in  1869,  when  he  came  on  to  his 
present  farm.  Mr  D,  is  a  thorough-going,  enterprising  farmer, 
as  the  appearance  of  his  farm  and  improvements  indicates.  His 
children  are  Charles,  Willie,  Anna,  Theodore,  Daniel,  Louis,  Henry 
and  Paul.     He  is  a  member  of  the  German  Reformed  Church. 

William  Dalton,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  22;  was  born  in 
Penobscot,  Maine,  in  1834,  his  parents  moving  to  New  Brunswick 
when  he  was  about  six  years  old.  While  there  he  commenced 
learning  the  ship  carpenter  s  trade,  and  when  about  seventeen 
years  old,  came  to  Chicago,  Ills.,  and  worked  at  his  trade  there 
about  a  year;  thence  to  Grand  Haven,  Mich.,  remaining  some  eight 
or  ten  months,  after  which  he  went  to  Green  Bay,  Wis.,  where 
he  engaged  in  lumbering  till  1857,  when  he  came  to  Alla- 
makee Go.  and  located  on  his  present  farm,  which  now  contains 
425  acres,  with  good  improvements  and  pleasantly  situated.  His 
wife's  name  was  N.  Toole.  She  was  born  in  New  Brunswick, 
They  have  seven  children,  Mary,  Elzabeth,  Alice,  Edward,  Celia, 
Lyman,  Nettie,  and  have  lost  three,  William,  Catharine  and 
Charles,     Mr.  D.  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  and  A.  0.  U.  W. 

Robert  Douglas,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  25;  owns  120 
acres  of  land  in  his  home  farm,  and  11  acres  of  timber;  son  of 
David  and  Catherine  Douglas,  and  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1849. 
his  parents  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1854,  stopping  first  in  Lake 
Co,,  Ills.,  and  in  1856  came  to  this  county.  His  father  died  in 
Aug.,  1869.  Robert  is  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  six  children. 
His  mother  keeps  house  for  him.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  raising 
fine  blooded  horses. 

Calvin  Dresser,  farmer,  Postville,  owns  320  acres  of  land  ad- 
joining the  town,  valued  at  $50  per  acre;  also  a  third  interest  in 
the  drug  firm  of  Bayless,  Douglass  &  Co.,  and  a  half  interest  in 
the  building;  also  half  interest  in  the  building  occupied  by  Mr. 
Bayless,  at  Elkader.  Mr.  D.  was  born  in  Canada,  near  Montreal, 
in  1813.  In  1836  he  emigrated  to  Champaign  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he 
remained  till  1855,  when  he  came  to  Iowa,  locating  on  a  part  of 
the  farm  he  still  owns.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Sallie  Hawkins,  a 
native  of  N.  H.,  in  1832.     They  have  eleven  children:     Francis, 


486  ALLAMAKEE   COU.NTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

Hiram,  Alonzo,  Jolin,  Lucy,  Mehitable,  Sarali  J.,  Harriet,  Lydia, 
Arvilla  and  Rosilla,  and  have  lost  one  son,  Charles,  Mr.  Dresser 
is  one  of  the  substantial  farmers  of  his  township,  having  by  care- 
ful management  and  industry  accumulated  a  handsome  property. 

Charles  Deering,  Forest  Mill  P.  0.,  farmer;  owns  172  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  |1,800.  He  was  born  in  Prussia  in  1834,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1869- emigrated  to  the  U.  S.,  stopping  in  Northern 
Michigan,  on  Lake  Superior,  where  he  engaged  in  the  employ  of 
a  Smelting  Co.,  burning  charcoal,  till  1874,  when,  in  company 
with  his  brother-in  law,  Mr.  RofFman,  he  came  to  Allamakee  Co. 
and  purchased -the  farm  upon  which  they  are  still  living.  He 
married  Miss  Caroline  Blenk  in  1863;  they  have  five  children, 
Laura,  Frank,  Minnie,  Hattie  and  Charles.  Mr.  D.  is  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  church. 

John  Drake,  sec.  22,  P.  0.  Village  Creek,  farmer;  son  of  Stephen 
and  Rachael  Drake,  was  born  Feb.  22,  1834,  near  St.  Catherines, 
Canada,  his  parents  moving  to  Steuben  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1838,  where 
his  father  was  engaged  in  farming  and  lumbering,  in  which  he 
was  also  engaged.  In  1863  he  went  to  Grand  Traverse,  Mich., 
where  he  followed  lumbering  till  in  1874,  when  he  came  on  to  his 
present  farm,  which  now  consists  of  160|  acres,  worth  ^3,500.  He 
married  Miss  Sarah  Curley  in  Michigan,  in  1867.  She  was  born 
near  Morrisburg,  Canada.  They  have  five  children:  Frank, 
Lewis,  Jennie,  Charles  and  Clarence.  Mr.  D.  has  served  his  town- 
ship as  trustee  and  clerk,  and  is  the  present  assessor. 

James  A.  Deremore,  postoffice  Village  Creek,  proprietor  of  the 
Upper  Village  Creek  Mills;  son  of  Abraham  and  J  ulia  A.  Deremore; 
was  born  March  5th,  1854,  in  Green  County,  ^Visconsin.  His 
parents  moved  to  this  county  in  1855,  first  stopping  on  a  farm  a 
short  time;  then  took  charge  of  the  Village  Creek  mills  for 
about  six  years,  after  which  he  located  on  a  farm  northeast  of 
Waukon  several  years,  and  is  now  located  on  a  farm  about  one 
mile  east  of  Waukon.  The  Upper  Village  Creek  mills  with  40 
acres  of  land  came  into  his  father's  hands  in  1880,  he  purchasing 
them  in  1881.  The  mills  have  ample  water  power,  contain  three 
run  of  buhrs,  are  fitted  up  with  the  modern  improvements,  and 
does  first-class  work.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  custom  and  mer- 
chant work. 

Dayton  &  Dayton  are  one  of  the  leading  law  firms,  and  it  or- 
ganized in  1871.  Henry  Dayton,  the  senior  member,  was  born 
in  Saratoga  County,  New  York,  in  1836;  came  to  Iowa  in  1859, 
but  soon  went  to  Arkansas,  where  he  remained  until  July,  1861, 
when  he  returned  to  Iowa  and  in  1862  settled  at  Lansing;  fol- 
lowed surveying  until  1871.  He  then  removed  to  Waukon,  and 
has  since  followed  law  practice.  Mr.  Dayton  has  been  county 
surveyor,  and  was  during  two  terms  member  of  the  legislature. 
He  was  married  in  1874  to  Miss  Mary  M.  Wilcox,  a  native  of  N. 
Y.;  they  have  one  son  and  one  daughter.     J.  F.  Dayton,  the  jun- 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  487 

ior  member  of  the  firm,  is  a  native  of  Saratoga  County,  N.  Y., 
born  in  1849;  came  to  VYaukon  in  1873,  and  has  since  been  a 
member  of  the  law  firm  of  Dayton  &  Dayton.  He  was  married 
in  1876  to  Miss  Laura  Hewitt. 

J.  F.  Dougherty,  merchant  firm  of  Dougherty  &  Carter,  was 
born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  in  1855.  In  1856  the 
family  came  to  Iowa  and  settled  in  Allamakee  County.  His  par- 
ents, James  and  Bridget  Dougherty,  are  natives  of  Ireland,  who 
emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  about  1850,  and  the  subject 
of  the  sketch  was  reared  on  a  farm  until  May  6,  1878,  when  he 
entered  the  store  of  W.  C.  Earle,  where  he  clerked  oi>e  year; 
then  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  F.  Ronayne  and  engaged  in 
the  boot  and  shoe  business.  In  ISSl  the  firm  dissolved,  and  Mr. 
Dougherty  associated  himself  with  Mr.  Carter,  and  the  firm  is 
now  doing  a  very  fine  busiuess  in  boots^  shoes,  gents'  furnishing 
goods,  etc. 

A.  C.  Doehler,  proprietor  of  the  Centennial  Mills,  was  born  in 
this  state  in  1801;  his  parents  came  to  this  county  when  he  was  a 
small  boy,  where  he  has  been  engaged  in  niilliug  with  his  father. 
In  1881  he  took  charge  of  the  present  mill,  which  has  a  capacity 
of  8,000  barrels  per  year. 

W.  C.  Earle,  M.  D.,  stands  conspicious  both  on  account  of  his 
force  of  character  and  success  in  business,  and  to  him  Waukon 
owes  its  tprosperity  more  than  to  any  other  individual.  He  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1833;  but  while  he  was  yet  an  infant  his 
parents  removed  to  their  former  home  in  Mass.  Here  he  received 
an  academic  education,  and  in  1854  helped  his  brother  on  the 
survey  of  the  P.  Ft.  W.  &  C.  R.  R.  In  1855  he  came  to  Waukon 
and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  Subsequently  he  ad- 
ded a  flouring  mill  to  his  steam  saw  mill.  In  Oct.,  1861,  he  showed 
his  patriotism  by  enlisting  in  Co.  B,  12th  Iowa,  of  which  he  was 
chosen  captain,  and  remained  in  the  service  of  his  country  until 
the  close  of  the  conflict,  when  he  was  mustered  out  as  colonel  of 
the  70th  U.  S.  Colored  Regiment.  He  then  returned  to  Waukon, 
but  the  following  winter  attended  lectures  at  the  Rush  Medical 
College,  of  Chicago;  subsequently  he  attended  the  Jefferson  Medi- 
cal College,  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  graduated  in  1867,  since 
which  time  he  has  practiced  medicine  at  Waukon.  He  also  does  a 
very  extensive  business  in  general  merchandise.  The  block  in 
which  his  store  is  located  was  built  by  him  in  1878,  at  a  cost  of 
$15,000,  and  he  now  owns  two-thirds  of  the  same.  In  1879  he 
built  the  Oak  Leaf  creamery.  He  was  the  prime  mover  in  building 
the  W.  &  M.  R.  R.,  and  spending  more  money  in  the  adventure 
than  any  other  one  man,  and  in  1882  represented  his  district  in 
the  Legislature  of  Iowa.  Mr.  Earle  was  married  Jan.  1,  1862,  to 
Miss  Ellen  A.  Hodge,  daughter  of  Dr.  Q.  H.  Hedge.  The  chil- 
dren are  Minnie,  now  Mrs.  G.  C.  Hemenway,  and  Charlotte. 


488  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

L.  Eells,  County  Superintendent,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
July  5,  1841,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  Union  Prairie  tp,  Alla- 
makee Co.  in  1851.  He  was  educated  at  the  schools  o£  Waukon, 
and  at  Bryant  &  Stratton's  Commercial  College  of  Milwaukee, 
Wis.  At  the  age  of  20  he  commenced  teaching,  and  is  now  serv- 
ing his  third  term  as  County  Superintendent  of  Schools,  He  was 
married  in  ISTl  to  Miss  Mary  Potter,  daughter  of  Geo.  0.  and  E. 
A.  Potter,  of  Waukon.     The  children  are  E.  L.  and  Harry. 

M.  W.  Eaton,  dealer  in  live  stock,  grain,  etc.  Among  the  good 
natured  people  of  Waukon  the  subject  of  this  sketch  ranks  first. 
He  is  ajiative  of  the  Badger  State,  born  in  Green  Co.  in  1852; 
came  with  his  parents  to  Allamakee  Co.  in  1857.  Here  he  was 
reared  on  a  farm,  and  received  a  good  common  school  education. 
In  the  fall  of  1877  he  engaged  in  the  boot  and  shoe  business  with 
Henry  Carter,  with  whom  he  continued  until  June,  1881,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  his  present  business,  having 
previously  owned  one-fourth  interest  in  the  elevator  of  which  he 
now  owns  one-half.  He  was  married  in  May,  1879,  to  Miss  Ella 
Minert,  and  now  has  two  children,  Nellie  and  Dora.  Mr.  Eaton 
also  owns  a  farm  of  160  acres  in  Union  Prairie  tp. 

Daniel  Ettel,  sec.  1.  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  owns  105  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  $4:0  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  1823  in  Germany, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine.  His  parents  emigrated  to  the  U.  S. 
in  1830,  locating  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  where  he  was  married  in  1813 
to  Miss  Matilda  Gifford,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1845  he 
moved  to  Ohio,  stopping  near  Bucyrus,  where  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  brick  making  till  1855,  when  he  came  to  Allamakee  Co., 
locating  on  his  present  farm.  They  have  five  children:  George, 
Mary  B.,  William  G.,  Charles  and  Nellie.  His  sou  George  is  at 
home  assisting  in  running  the  farm.  He  was  married  to  Miss 
Rosina  Shattuck,  daughter  of  Luman  Shattuck,  in  November, 
1867.  Their  children  are  Daniel  and  Matilda.  Mr.  E.  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  M.  E.  church. 

G.  P.  Eells,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  26;  son  of  Edward  and 
Anna  Eells;  was  born  in  Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y.,in  1829.  His  parents 
moved  to  Ashtabula  Co.,  0.,  in  1830,  where  they  remained  till  in 
1835,  when  they  moved  to  Crawford  Co.,  Pa.,  and  from  there  to 
this  county  in  1851,  they  being  among  the  pioneers  of  Union 
Prairie  tp.  His  father  Avas  appointed  postmaster  of  Union  Prairie 
P,  0,  in  1852,  which  he  held  till  his  death,  in  1859,  after  which 
it  was  moved  to  Loren  Eells',  half  mile  west,  where  it  remained 
till  it  was  discontinued  in  1868,  Mr,  E,  was  married  to  Miss 
Louisa  Ross,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1859,  They  have  four  children ; 
Ella  H.,  Andrew  B.,  Charley  and  Madge,  and  have  lost  one  son, 
Willie.  Mr.  E.  owns  in  the"  county,  with  his  brother  Andrew  J., 
240  acres  of  land,  it  being  one  of  the  best  farms  in  the  township, 
well  watered  and  improved.  His  brother  A.  was  married  to  Lu- 
cinda  Ross.     Mr.  E.  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F. 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  489 

Jonathan  Ellis,  farmer,  P.  0.  Postville;  owns  a  farm  of  185 
acres,  of  the  value  of  ^8,500;  is  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the 
county,  having  come  from  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  in  1854,  lo- 
cating on  the  farm  he  still  owns.  Mr.  E.  was  born  in  Middleton, 
N.  H.,  his  parents  moving  into  Canada  about  100  miles  east  from 
Montreal,  when  he  was  quite  small.  There  he  remained  till  in 
1843,  when  he  moved  to  Champaign  Co.,  0.  He  was  married  to 
Miss  Rosetta  Hawkins,  of  Canada,  in  1834.  She  died  in  1873, 
and  he  was  again  married  to  Mrs.  Lydia  A.  Kelly,  in  1875.  She 
is  also  a  native  of  N.  H.  Mr.  E.  has  one  son,  Hollis,  by  his  first 
wife,  having  lost  two  daughters,  Roxana  and  Elsina;  by  his  sec- 
ond marriage  he  has  two  daughtei's,  Girty  R.  and  J.  Pearl.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Free-Will  Baptist  church. 

John  Elliott,  of  Paint  Creek  tp.,  is  a  native  of  County  Fer- 
maugh,  Ireland;  came  to  America  in  1847,  and  settled  in  Canada. 
In  1852,  with  his  brother  Robert,  he  moved  to  Iowa;  the  follow- 
ing year  his  father  and  brother  James  came  to  Iowa,  and  all  pur- 
chased farms  adjoining  where  Mr.  E.  now  lives.  Mr.  E.,  Sr.,  died 
Feb.,  1873,  aged  86  years.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  by 
hard  labor  accumulated  a  farm  of  320  acres,  with  as  good  build- 
ings as  there  are  in  the  township.  He  married  Eliza  Glynn  in 
1857.  Mrs.  E.  is  a  native  of  County  Kildare,  Ireland.  Their 
children  are  Mary,  Elizabeth  and  Robert  F, 

John  Engelhorn  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  in  1882.  His 
early  life  was  spent  in  the  leading  cities  of  Germany,  employed 
as  a  carpenter  and  millwright.  In  1852  he  came  to  America, 
landing  in  New  Orleans.  In  June  of  the  same  year  he  settled 
on  his  present  farm,  where  he  erected  a  house  with  poles,  brush 
and  a  small  amount  of  lumber.  In  1854  he  married  Annie  Bar- 
tell,  of  Winneshiek  County.  They  have  one  son.  Prof.  H.  T; 
Engelhorn,  now  the  proprietor  of  two  different  business  colleges 
in  Montana  Territory. 

H.  F.  Fellows,  attorney  at  law,  was  born  in  Vermont  in  1849; 
came  west  in  1873  and  located  in  Lansing.  He  graduated  at  the 
state  university  of  Iowa  City  in  the  class  of  '74,  and  immediately 
began  practice  in  Lansing,  which  he  continued  until  1880,  when 
he  removed  to  Waukon.  He  married  Hattie  Ratcliffe,  a  native  of 
Virginia. 

James  Fitzgerald,  postoffice  Waukon;  farmer,  section  10;  son 
of  Philip  and  Bridget  Fitzgerald;  born  in  County  Wexford,  Ire- 
land, in  1819;  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1840,  stopping 
at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  remaining  in  that  county  (Hamilton)  till 
1848,  when  he  came  to  Dubuque  County,  Iowa.  He  purchased 
some  land  in  Washington  township,  making  some  improvement 
upon  it,  and  selling  it  in  1854;  then  came  to  Allamakee  coun- 
ty, purchasing  a  part  of  his  present  farm.  He  now  owns  340 
acres  worth  $20  per  acre.  He  was  married  to  Anastasia  Brown 
in  1854.     She    died    in    1858,    and    he    again    married  Bridget 


490  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTT    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Moore  iu  1859.  His  children  by  his  first  wife  were  Thomas  and 
Philip,  and  by  his  second  wife,  Peter,  Jane,  James,  Mary,  John, 
Frank  and  Alice.  Mr.  F.  is  a  thorough  and  practical  farmer,  as 
the  appearance  of  his  farm  indicates,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  Church. 

G.  H.  Fagre,  postoffice  Lansing;  farmer,  section  9;  born  No- 
vember 22,  1819,  in  Norway;  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
in  1851,  coming  direct  to  Allamakee  County  and  locating  upon 
his  present  farm.  He  married  Catharine  L.  Hendrickson,  of  Nor- 
way, in  1845;  they  have  six  children  living,  Martin,  Casper,  Al- 
bert, Thorvold  G.,  Lena  and  Carrie.  Mr.  F.  has  taken  great 
interest  in  educating  his  children,  three  of  whom  graduated  at 
the  Lutheran  College  at  Decorah,  one  of  whom  is  a  Lutheran 
minister  and  now  located  at  Portland,  Maine.  One  son,  Hans, 
who  was  a  book  keeper  for  a  lumbering  firm  in  Michigan,  died 
August  10th,  1881.  Thorvold  G.  remains  at  home  and  assists  in 
carrying  on  the  farm,  which  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  township, 
containing  200  acres  and  well  improved.  The  family  are  members 
of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

S.  B.  Finney,  farmer,  section  32;  postoffice  Postville;  son  of 
R.  A.  and  E.  S.  Finney;  born  in  Essex  County,  New  York,  in 
1844,  where  he  remained  till  in  1866  he  came  to  Allamakee  coun- 
tv,  his  parents  following  two  years  later.  He  was  married  to  Miss 
Marcia  M.  Root  in  November,  1869,  she  being  also  a  native  of  Es- 
sex County,  New  York.  She  died  in  1872.  He  was  again  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Ella  M.  Bike,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1874,  by 
whom  he  has  two  children,  Ross  L.  and  Elmira  E.,  having  lost 
one  daughter  by  his  first  wife.  Mr.  F.  owns  a  farm  of  200  acres 
with  first-class  improvements  upon  it,  and  convenient  to  Post- 
ville, where  he  has  good  church  and  school  privileges;  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  M.  E.  Church  and  a  zealous  worker  in  the  Sabbath 
schools;  is  also  a  member  of  A.  0.  U.  W.  and  V.  A.  S. 

L.  E.  Fellows,  attorney,  is  a  native  of  Vt.,  and  was  born 
August  22,  1834,  his  parents  being  Hubbard  and  Mary  Ann 
Fellows.  L,  E.  Fellows  lived  with  his  parents  on  a  farm,  re- 
ceived an  academic  education,  and  in  1857  came  to  Allamakee 
count3^  Here  he  served  as  clerk  in  county  offices,  at  the  same 
time  studying  law.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  May  29,  1862,  and 
has  since  given  his  entire  attention  to  the  profession.  Mr.  Fel- 
lows is  a  democrat  in  politics,  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of 
the  State  Legislature,  serving  two  years,  and  subsequently  to  the 
Senate,  serving  four  years.  He  has  been  one  of  the  trustees  of 
the  Iowa  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  at  Mount  Pleasant,  since  July 
4,  1872,  and  a  Trustee  of  the  Upper  Iowa  University  since  1880. 
He  was  married  in  1861,  to  Miss  Mary  S.  Reed,  daughter  of  John 
Reed,  of  Waukon;  the  children  are,  Wilson  R.,  Albert  M.,  Lura 
F.,  Mary  F.,  Ella  S.,  Roger  L.,  Jennie,  and  Liberty  E. 


ALLAMAKEE   COU^'TY    BIOGRAPHIES.  491 

Henry  Froelick,  farmer,  was  born  in  Germany,  in  1830,  and 
came  to  America  in  1850,  settled  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  was  an 
employe  in  the  car  shops.  In  1859  he  came  to  Iowa  and  located 
on  his  present  farm.  He  has  been  twice  maj-ried,  first  to  Mar- 
garette  Kegier,  in  1851,  who  died  in  1873;  again,  in  1880,  to  Mrs. 
S.  Semonds,  of  Lansing.  Mr.  F.  is  President  of  the  Allamakee 
Farmers'  Insurance  Company. 

L.  Ferfts,  farmer,  P.  0.  New  Albin;  born  in  Westchester  county, 
N.  Y.,  in  1831.  He  came  to  Iowa  in  1857,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1858  settled  on  his  present  farm.  He  has  been  Justice  of  the 
Peace  eighteen  years,  and  has  held  all  the  different  township  offices. 
He  has  been  twice  married;  his  second  wife  was  Annie  M.  Calla- 
han. He  enlisted  in  Co.  F.,  6tli  la.  Cav.,  in  1864,  and  served  until 
the  close  of  the  war. 

Judge  C.  T.  Granger  stands  conspicious  as  a  self-made  man. 
His  ancestors  on  his  father's  side  were  of  English  descent,  and  his 
mother  was  a  native  of  N.  Y..  He  was  born  in  Monroe  Co.,  of 
the  Empire  State,  in  1835.  In  1837  the  family  removed  to  Ohio, 
where  a  few  years  subsequently  the  mother  died,  leaving  four 
children  of  whom  C.  T.  is  the  youngest.  In  1818  the  family  re- 
moved to  111.,  where  young  Granger  helped  till  the  soil  and  re- 
ceived a  few  weeks  schooling.  In  1854  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Sarah  H.  Warner,  came  to  AllajnakeeCo.,  and  the  following  win- 
ter taught  school  in  Franklin  tp.  The  next  winter  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  Mr.  Gilson,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  saw 
mill  near  the  present  site  of  the  Forest  Mills,  but  before  the  mill 
was  completed  he  sold  his  interest  to  his  partner  and  returned  to 
Illinois,  engaged  in  farming,  which  he  followed  about  two  years. 
He  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of  law,  which  he  pur- 
sued by  borrowing  books:  also  taught  school.  In  the  spring  of 
1860  he  again  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  entered  the  law  office  of 
Hatch  &  Wilber,  of  Waukon,  and  in  a  few  months  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  He  then  removed  to  Mitchell  Co.,  but  as  there  was  but 
little  law  business  at  that  time,  he  again  resumed  teaching.  In 
June,  1862,  his  wife  died,  and  in  August,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Co. 
K,  27th  Iowa,  of  which  he  was  chosen  captain  and  served  as  such 
until  mustered  out  of  service  August  8,  1865.  He  then  returned 
to  Mitchell  Co.,  but  in  a  few  months,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Hatch, 
his  preceptor,  he  came  to  Waukon  and  was  a  member  of  the  law 
firm  of  Hatch  &  Granger  until  .Jan.  1,  1869,  at  which  date  he  was 
appointed  District  Attorney,  viceL.  0.  Hatch,  resigned;  and  served 
as  such  four  years,  during  which  time,  in  the  fall  of  1872,  he  was 
elected  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court,  and  is  now  serving  his  third 
term.  On  the  1st  day  of  February,  1880,  in  partnership  with  L. 
W.  Hersey  and  G.  W.  Stoddard,  he  organized  the  Waukon  Bank, 
and  has  since  been  Pi-esident  of  the  same.  His  public  career 
shows  that  he  is  held  highly  in  the  estimation  of  all  who  know 
him,  and  therefore  his  character  requires  no  comment.     Judge 


•192  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGKAPHIES. 


Granger  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Waukon,  and  a 
member  of  the  chapter  at  Lansing.  He  married  his  present  wife, 
Miss  Anna  Maxwell,  April  15,  1868,  and  has  two  children,  Ula  A. 
and  RoUo  S. 

A.  Gordon,  farmer,  P.  0.  Postville,  owns  a  farm  of  167  acres, 
1|  miles  from  Postville,  worth  $50  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  Can- 
ada in  1836,  where  he  remained  till  1856,  when  he  came  west, 
traveling  through  several  of  the  western  and  southern  slates  dur- 
ing the  period  from  1856  to  1861,  when  he  located  on  his  present 
farm.  He  was  married  to  Nancy  Hardin  in  1860.  She  was  born 
in  Morgan  Co.,  Ohio.  They  have  eight  children,  Charles  F., 
James  A.,  Ellen  M.,.Lizza  A.,  Katie,  Ftobert  B.,  Fred  E.  and  Jes- 
sie G.,  and  have  lost  one  daughter,  Hattie  H. 

John  Gilbert,  P.  0.  Myron,  farmer,  sec.  27;  owns  83  a,cres  of 
land,  valued  at  |30  per  acre;  son  of  William  and  Catharine  Gil- 
bert; was  born  in  McHenry  Co.,  HI.,  in  1845.  His  parents  moved 
to  this  county  in  1856,  locating  in  Union  Prairie  tp.;  returned  to 
Illinois  in  1860,  remained  till  1863  and  then  came  back  and  lo- 
cated in  this  township,  where  they  still  reside,  i.  e.,  father  and 
stepmother,  his  mother  having  died  in  Illinois  in  1819.  Mr.  G. 
was  married  to  Miss  Celia  Cochran  Oct.  18,  1871.  She  was  born 
in  Wiscoiisin.  Their  children  are  Frank  W.,  George  A.  and 
Arthur  J.  They  lost  one  daughter,  Ruth.  Mr.  G.  is  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

L.  W.  Goodrich,  farmer,  sec.  33,  P.  0.  Myron;  owns  204  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  |25  per  acre;  son  of  Peter  and  Sarah  Goodrich;  was 
born  in  Chautauqua  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1824.  His  parents  emigrated 
to  Cook  Co.,  III.,  in  1836,  locating  twenty  miles  from  Chicago, 
which  contained  but  three  or  four  stores  at  that  time.  In  1839 
the  family  moved  into  Kane  Co.,  where  his  mother  died  in  1848. 
In  1852  he' emigrated  to  Allamakee  Co.,  lo.,  locating  on  the  farm 
upon  which  he  still  lives.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Susie  A.  Mer- 
riew  in  1850.  She  is  a  native  of  Canada;  they  have  four  children, 
Lophelia,  Stephen  F.,  Ady  J.  and  Henry  L.  Mr.  G.'s  fatlier  lives 
with  him,  and  is  well  advanced  in  years,  being  in  his  87th  year. 
He  served  under  Gen.  Scott  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  at  the 
battle  of  Lundy's  Lane.  Mr.  G.  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 
and  has  served  his' township  as  trustee  several  years. 

H.  G.  Grattan,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  10;  owns  a  farm  of 
270  acres,  pleasantly  situated,  and  with  first  class  improvements; 
is  a  son  of  Amos  and  Abbey  Grattan;  was  born  in  Oswego  Co., 
N.  Y.,  in  1826,  his  parents  emigrating  to  Wisconsin  in  1835,  en- 
tering a  claim  of  land  upon  which  the  city  of  Kenosha  was  sub- 
sequently located.  At  the  age  of  13  he  engaged  in  tlie  office  of 
Kenosha  Telegraph,  then  published  by  Sholes  Bros.,  pioneer  pub- 
lishers, in  whose  employ  he  continued  some  four  years,  after 
which  he  went  to  Janesville,  Wis.,  in  1845,  and  became  identified 
with  the  Janesville  Gazette  till  1848,  when  he  established  the  Free- 


ALLAHAKEE   COClifTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  493 

port  Journal,  continuing  the  publication  till  1852.  He  then  went 
to  Mt.  Carroll  and  established  the  Carroll  Co.  Republican,  and  was 
afterwards  connected  with  the  Sterling  Gazette.  In  1853  he  dis- 
continued his  connection  in  the  newspaper  business  and  engaged 
as  salesman  for  John  S.  Wright  in  the  agricultural  implement 
business,  which  lie  continued  till  1861,  when  he  engaged  as  travel- 
ing salesman  and  collector  for  C.  H.  McCormick  &  Co.,  in  whose 
employ  he  continued  sixteen  years,  although  moving  his  family 
to  this  county  in  1865  and  locating  on  his  present  farm.  He  also 
run  the  implement  business  in  Waukon  some  four  years.  Mr.  G. 
has  been  married  three  times,  his  first  marriage  being  to  Miss  Jane 
Frank',  of  Wisconsin,  in  1847,  who  died  in  1849;  his  second  in 
1850  to  Phffibe  J.  Tisdel,  of  Illinois,  who  died  in  1865.  In  18G6 
he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Rosena  Russell.  By  his  first  wife  he  has 
one  son,  Marion  T;  by  his  second  wife,  Orlando  T.  and  Mary,  hav- 
ing lost  one  daughter,  Jane;  and  by  his  present  wife  he  has  two 
children,  John  and  Decorah.  Mr.  G.  was  postmaster  of  the  Lud- 
low postoffice  some  twelve  years,  the  ofiice  now  being  discon- 
tinued. He  is  at  present  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Agricultural 
College,  also  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

L.  M.  Getchell  is  known  by  all  who  have  patronized  him  to  be  a 
first-class  barber,  who,  with  his  assistant,  has  arranged  the  toilets 
of  the  people  of  Waukon  since  1877.  He  was  born  in  the  State 
of  Me  ,  in  1854,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  Buchanan  county, 
lo.,  in  1863;  received  an  academic  education,  and  led  a  mercantile 
life  until  July,  1877,  at  which  time  he  came  to  Waukon  and  en- 
gaged in  his  present  business.  On  the  17th  day  of  August,  1880, 
he  was  united  in  matrimony  to  Miss  May  E.  Dean,  daughter  of 
Judge  George  M.  Dean,  of  Waukon,  and  has  one  child,  Clarence. 

E.  B.  Gibbs,  the  gentlemanly  station  and  express  agent  at 
Waukon,  was  born  in  the  Buckeye  State,  in  185j6.  In  1866  the 
family  removed  to  111.,  and  in  1873  to  lo.,  first  stopping  at 
Specht's  Ferry  (me  year,  then  removing  to  Harpers'  Ferry,  Alla- 
makee county.  Here  the  subject  of  this  sketch  followed  railroad- 
ing until  the  completion  of  the  W.  &  M.  R.  R.,  since  which  time 
he  has  had  charge  of  the  station  at  Waukon.  He  was  married  in 
1875  to  Miss  Mila  Zimmerman,  of  Potosi,  Wis.;  they  have  three 
children,  Eiry,  Ella  and  Ruth.  Mr.  Gibbs  is  a  member  of  the  A. 
F.  &  A.  M. 

Isaac  Greer  was  born  in  the  State  of  Ohio  in  1829;  came  to  lo. 
in  1853,  and  first  settled  in  Linn  county.  In  1856  he  came  to 
Waukon,  and  in  1857  purchased  land  in  Ludlow  Tp.,  where  he  fol- 
lowed farming  about  eight  years,  after  which  he  returned  to 
Waukon  and  was  engaged  in  mercantile  life  until  1882,  in  the 
spring  of  which  year  he  engaged  in  drilling  wells.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1851  to  Miss  A.  C.  Hatch.  The  children  living  are  Edwin, 
Leander  and  Vesta.  Mr.  Greer  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 
A.O.  U.W..  andV.A.  S. 

31 


494  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGEAPHIES. 

E.  S.  Green,  wagon  maker,  was  born  in  N.  Y.,  in  1819,  resided 
in  the  iStute  until  1855.  He  then  removed  to  111.,  and  in  1856  to 
lo.;  lived  in  Winneshiek  county  seven  years,  then  in  Fayette 
county  until  1872,  since  which  time  he  has  been  in  the  employ  of 
Holahan  &  Buggy,  of  Waukon.  He  was  married  in  1844  to  Miss 
L.  Stowell,  a  native  of  N.  Y.  The  children  living  are  Lydia  E., 
now  Mrs.  Edwin  A.  Kreamer,  of  West  Union,  and  Charles  M. 

Gauuitz  Bros.,  grocers,  Lansing.  Herman,  the  elder  brother, 
was  born  in  Saxony,  Germany,  in  lc48;  in  1850  he  came  with  his 
parents  to  America,  and  they  first  located  in  Indiana.  In  1856 
he  removed  to  Iowa  and  settled  in  this  county.  Mr.  G.  was  em- 
ployed as  clerk  for  about  twelve  years  previous  to  engagingin  bus- 
iness here.  Ferdinand,  the  junior  member  of  the  above  firm,  was 
born  in  Indiana  in  1852,  and  was  raised  on  a  farm  near  Lansing. 
In  May,  1882,  he  came  to  town  and  engaged  in  trade  in  com- 
pany with  his  brother. 

Matthew  Glynn,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  respected  citizens 
of  Linton  township,  is  a  native  of  County  Kildare,  Ireland;  came 
to  America  in  1849,  and  settled  in  New  York;  thence  to  Iowa, 
and  settled  on  his  present  farm.  Mr.  G.  was  for  some  time  a 
teacher  in  Ireland  as  well  as  in  this  country.  His  family  consists 
of  himself,  wife,  and  two  sons. 

Theo.  Groezinger  was  born  in  Germany,  November  26,  1833. 
He  first  located  in  Ohio,  thence  in  1855  to  Dubuque.  In  1861  he 
enlisted  in  the  United  States  service,  serving  four  months;  he 
re-enlisted  in  Company  B,  27th  Iowa,  as  first  lieutenant,  served 
one  year  and  was  discharged  on  account  of  physical  disability. 
He  then  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in  company  with 
John  Ruth,  which  he  continued  about  two  years.  He  again  went 
to  Dubuque,  where  he  remained  seven  years,  since  which  time  he 
has  been  in  Lansing,  insuring  and  collecting.  He  married  Louise 
Schultz;  they  have  seven  children,  Theodore,  Emma,  Frederick, 
Herman,  Nanny,  Gustave  and  Elsie.  • 

John  Gilchrist,  P.  0.  French  Creek,  French  Creek  tp.,  sec.  34; 
son  of  John  and  Sarah  Robinson  Gilchrist;  owns  212  acres  of 
land  valued  at  f?25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Ohio  Co.,  Va.,  in  1820. 
In  early  life  he  learned  the  trade  of  book-binding  at  Wheeling, 
W.  Va.,  and  from  1841  to  1844  was  engaged  in  the  .distributing 
department  of  the  Wheeling  postoffice.  He  next  engaged  in  the 
grocery  business,  in  which  he  principally  remained  until  1861, 
when  he  again  entered  the  postoffice,  remaining  until  the  fall  of 
1864,  when  he  came  to  his  present  farm.  He  was  also  in  the 
postal  service  during  the  administration  of  President  Polk.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Singleton,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth 
Singleton,  April  15,  1847.  Both  of  her  parents  are  still  living, 
her  father  having  served  in  the  war  of  1812  under  Capt.  McLean. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  G.  have  two  children,  John  J.  and  Thomas,  and 
have  lost  one  daughter,  Sarah  E.,  who  died  Aug.  2,  1870.     Mr.  G. 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  495 

has  served  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  his  township,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Himself  and  Mr.  Ratcliffe  were 
the  founders  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  this  neighborhood. 
The  church  edifice  was  built  in  1872,  the  society  having  been 
organized  in  1858  by  Rev.  Joseph  Adams  and  the  present  pas- 
tor, Rev.  W.  M.  Robinson. 

Alfred  Green,  farmer,  P.  0.  Dorchester;  was  born  May  10th, 
1810,  Washing'On,  New  York;  moved  to  Pennsylvania  in  1835. 
In  1853  he  came  to  Waterloo  tow.iship,  this  county;  thence  to 
Houston  county,  Minn.,  wliere  he  remained  until  1869,  when  he 
returned  to  this  county.  He  married  Hannah  Winder,  in  1812, 
and  has  seven  children  living,  Levi  N.,  Eliza,  Olive,  Mary,  Harriet, 
James  and  Emily.  They  have  lost  two  by  death,  Phoebe  and 
Joseph. 

Rev.  Levi  N.  Green,  pastor  of  the  M.  E.  Church  at  New  Albion, 
Iowa,  was  born  Jan.  1,  1813,  in  Crawford  Co.,  Pa.  He  came  to 
Iowa  in  1853.  locating  in  this  Co.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  Co.  H. 
9th  Iowa  Infantry,  and  in  1864  again  enlisted  as  a  veteran.  In 
1872  he  purchased  his  present  farm  of  385  acres  in  Hanover  tp. 
He  was  married  Oct.  6,  1874,  to  Alice  Bulman,  a  native  of  Union 
Citytp.  They  have  three  children,  Marian  E.,  Emma  G.,  and  an 
infant.  Rev.  Green  was  admitted  to  the  conference  this  year,  and 
assumed  his  charge  at  New  Albion. 

Homer  Hewlet  Hememway  was  born  November  18,  1831,  at 
West  Potsdam,  St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y.,  of  parentage  descend- 
ed from  English  stock,  which,  however,  had  for  several  genera- 
tions, through  some  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
resided  in  this  country.  Here  he  lived  until  1851,  working  on  the 
paternal  acres  and  enjoying  the  advantages  of  a  common  school 
education,  topped  out  with  a  few  terms  at  the  St.  Lawrence 
University.  What  peculiar  course  of  reasoning  ever  induced 
the  forefathers  of  so  clear-seeing  a  business  man  as  Mr. 
Hemenway  to  go  into  so  uninviting  a  region  as  the  rough  and 
thickly  timbered  country  of  northern  New  York,  lying  between 
the  Adirondack  mountains  and  Lake  Ontario,  we  have  never 
learned;  probably,  however,  the  same  spirit  of  adventure  that  af- 
terward led  him  to  seek  his  home,  while  yet  comparatively  a  boy, 
still  farther  west. 

In  his  twentieth  year,  or,  to  be  more  exact,  in  May,  1850,  he 
migrated  to  Freeport,  Illinois,  where,  as  has  been  customary  from 
time  immemorial  with  boys  migrating  from  the  east,  he  taught 
school,  for,  however,  only  one  year,  graduating  from  plying  the 
birch  into  the  insurance  business,  which  he  also  followed  for  a 
single  year,  and  then  traveled  (or,  in  more  modern  parlance, 
''drummed^')  for  four  years  as  agent  of  a  manufacturing  house, 
during  which  time  he  was  doubtless  prospecting  for  a  new  home, 
and  finally,  in  the  year  1856,  settled  down  in  Lansing,  Allamakee 
county;  thus,  in  Iowa,  imitating  the  paternal  example  set  him  in 


496  ALLAMAKEE   CUl  NTY    BIOGKAPHIES. 

New  York,  b}^  takiiio:  the  upper  part  of  the  most  northerly 
county  in  the  state.  Here  he  engaged  Un  the  manufacture  of 
farming  implements,  which  business  he  conducted  with  enei^gy 
and  success  for  twelve  years  (adding  to  it  as  an  employment  for 
his  idle  moments,  and  to  keep  him  out  of  mischief,  a  popular  and 
paying  insurance  agency),  selling  out  in  1868,  to  enter  into  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  lumber,  in  which  he  has  since  been  en- 
gaged with  the  same  earnestness,  industry,  and  success  that  has 
marked  his  whole  career.  He  also  served  the  people  of  Lans- 
ing as  their  postmaster  for  eight  years,  from  1S61  to  1869; 
and  also  had  something  to  do  with  collecting  United  States 
reyenue. 

In  1857,  one  year  after  settling  in  Lansing,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  SarahTA.  Gra\%  of  Burlington,  Iowa,  a  lady  of  rare  ex- 
cellence of  character,  and  one  who  in  ever}^  difficulty  has  proven 
herself  a  wise- counselor,  as  well  as  a  true  and  unfailing  friend. 
The  result  of  their  union  has  been  seven  children,  four  boys  and 
three  girls,  of  whom  are  now  living  two  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters. 

Mr.  Hemenway  justly  prides  himself  upon  his  masonic  career, 
which  commenced  in  Excelsior  Lodge  No.  97,  at  Freeport,  Illin- 
ois, having  been  initiated  into  Masonry,  January  3d,  1853.  He 
is  now  a  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge  and  Chapter  at  Lansing;  Si- 
loam  Commandery  No.  3,  of  Dubuque;  and  the  Consistory  at  Ly- 
ons. He  also  served  as  Grand  High  Priest  of  Iowa  from  June  1, 
1866,  to  October  16th,  1868.  During  the  first  year,  while  serving 
in  this  capacity,  he  re-established  one  and  granted  a  dispensation 
to  nine  new  Chapters.  During  the  second  year  he  founded  seven 
new  Chapters,  besides  doing  much  other  valuable  work. 

In  personal  appearance  Mr,  Hemenway  is  of  somewhat  more 
than  average  height,  of  stalwart  proportions  and  fair  complexion. 
While  he  may  be  hardly  termed  an  orator,  jei  he  compels  atten- 
tion and  wins  assent  to^his  propositions  by  clearness  and  succinct- 
ness of  reasoning.  He  is  a  man  with  great  force  of  character, 
genial  manners,  and  a  rare  capacity  for  making  steadfast  friends. 

Isaiah  H.  Hedge,  M.  D.  was  born  in  Maine  in  1812,  and  came 
to  Waukon  in  1855,  where  he  bought  a  town  block  and  built  the 
residence  which  has  since  been  his  home.  He  was  in  active  practice 
here  for  twenty  years,  until  his  health  failed  in  1875,  since  when  he 
has  traveled  much  of  the  time  for  his  health,  and  spends  his  winters 
in  Florida.  He  was  in  the  drug  store  with  W.  C.  Earle  for  seven 
years  prior  to  1876.  Dr.  Hedge  was  married  in  1840  to  Miss  Char- 
lotte Ayre,  who  was  born  in  Maine  in  1815,  and  died  at  Waukon  in 
1879.     Their  only  child  was  Nellie  A. ,  now  Mrs.  W.  C.  Earle. 

John  Holahan,  painter,  Waukon;  born  in  Ireland  in  1845  and 
came  to  this  country  in  1848.  In  the  spring  of  1858,  he  came  from 
Chicago  to  Decorah  where  he  remained  ten  years,  after  which  he 
went  to  Dubuque,  Davenport  and  other  places.     In  the  fall  of  1874 


ALLIMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  497 

he  cam  3  to  Waukon,  where  he  has  since  resided.  Mr.  Holahan  was. 
married  in  1872  to  Miss  Francis  L.  Corbin,  and  has  two  children 
William  A.  and  Mary. 

Abraham  Hart,  Postville,  was  born  February  10, 1816,  in  Louden 
Co.,  Va.  Emigrated  to  Morgan  Co.,  Ohio  in  1840,  and  from  there 
to  Allamakee  Co.  in  1854,  locating  on  a  part  of  the  farm  he  still 
owns,  having  by  industry  and  frugality  saved  means  sufficient  to 
add  to  his  farm  which  was  over  two  miles  north  of  where  he  now 
lives,  adjoining  Postville.  Mr.  Hart  now  owns  over  1,200  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  over  §50,000,  besides  a  half  interest  in  a  mill  pro- 
perty at  Myron,  valued  at  815,000.  He  married  Mary  Beal,  of 
Ohio,  in  1843,  and  has  three  children,  Asa  U.,  John  B.  and  Lydia 
M.  Mr.  Hart  is  one  of  the  solid  men  of  the  county,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 

S.  E.  Hesla,  P.  0.  Waterville,  farmer;  owns  340  acres  of  land 
valued  at  §25  per  acre;  was  born  July  10, 1825,  in  Norway,  emi- 
grated to  the  U.  S.  in  the  spring  of  1845,  locating  in  Rock  Co., 
Wis.  In  the  spring  of  1850,  he  came  to  this  county  locating  on 
his  present  farm.  He  married  Ingebor  Gorder,  May  18,  1859,  in 
Wis.  They  have  nine  children,  Endre,  Ragnild,  Rosina,  Bertha, 
Peter,  Oscar,  Caroline,  Oline  and  Albert,  and  have  lost  two,  Peter 
and  Karn.  Mr.  H.,  has  served  as  trustee  of  his  tp.  several  years  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Tolef  B.  Hammundson.  P.  0.  Dalby,  farmer,  son  of  Bennett  and 
Rachel  Hammundson;  was  born  in  1840  in  Norway;  emigrated 
with  parents  to  the  U.  S.  in  1846,  locating  in  Rock  Co.,  Wis.  In 
1850  they  came  to  this  county,  locating  on  the  farm  upon  which  he 
lives,  which  contains  160  acres  valued  at  §30  per  acre.  His  father 
died  in  1873.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Rachel  Olsen  jn  1873;  they 
have"  eight  children,  Rachel,  Louis,  Isabel,  Bennett,  Hermann, 
Henry,  Halvor  and  John.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 

Conrad  Helming,  farmer,  section  33;  son  of  Henry  and  Sophia 
Helming,  was  born  in  Westphalia,  Germany,  in  1832,  and  emi- 
grated to  the  U.  S.  in  1854,  coming  to  Allamakee  county,  purchas- 
ing a  part  of  his  present  farm,  after  which  he  went  to  Lincoln 
county.  Mo.,  remaining  there  till  in  1856,  when  he  returned  and 
commenced  improving  his  farm,  having  made  additions  to  the 
same  until  he  now  has  300  acres  well  improved,  with  good  build- 
ings and  all  the  conveniences  of  a  pleasant  home.  Mr.  H.  is  among 
the  most  intelligent  and  enterprising  farmers  of  his  township. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Frederica  Carter  in  1857.  She  was  also 
born  in  Germany.  They  have  five  children  living,  George,  Alex- 
ander, John,  Thomas  and  Clara,  and  have  lost  two,  Frederick  and 
Albert.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Henry  Harris,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  section  23;  owns  a  farm 
of  200 acres,  valued  at  §45  per  acre:  was  born  in  Wales,  Great 
Britain,  in  1818;  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  in  early  life;  emi- 


I 

498  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGR APHIDES. 

grated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1841,  stopping  in  Oneida  county,  N.  Y., 
where  he  followed  his  trade  until  the  spring  of  1851,  when  he 
came  to  this  Co.,  purchasing  the  land  he  still  owns.  He  preceded 
Mr.  Eells  some  three  or  four  months,  getting  out  a  crop  that  year, 
and  selling  that  fall  the  first  load  of  grain  ever  marketed  in 
Lansing,  it  being  oats,  sold  to  a  Mr.  Gilbert,  the  first  grain  buyer 
there.  Mr.  H.  made  his  home  on  Mr.  Eells'  farm  for  several 
years;  was  married  to  a  Miss  Ann  Williamson  in  1866,  also  a 
native  of  Wales,  and  has  one  daughter,  Ida  E. 

John  liogan,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  section  16;  owns  160 acres 
of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Co.  Wicklow,  Ireland, 
in  1827 — the  birthplace  of  Parnell,  whom  he  well  knew  when  a 
boy.  In  1847  he  shipped  on  board  the  sail  vessel  Ontario,  coming 
to  "Charleston,  S.  C;  then  shipped  as  a  sailor  on  board  the  steam- 
ship Isabel,  a  mail,  steamer  plying  between  Charleston,  Key 
West,  Fla.,  and  Havana,  Cuba,  where  he  continued  nearly  four 
years,  when  he  went  on  the  steamship  Southern,  running  between 
Charleston  and  New  York,  remaining  nearly  three  years,  after 
which  he  went  on  the  steamer  Union,  running  from  New  York  to 
Havre  and  Isle  of  Wight;  and  afterwards  went  on  steamer  Atlan- 
tic, which  ran  between  New  York  and  Liverpool,  and  again  on 
steamship  Marion,  plying  between  New  York  and  Charleston.  In 
1859  he  left  New  York  and  came  to  Dubuque,  lo.,  and  shortly 
after  came  to  this  county  and  purchased  80  acres  of  his  present 
farm,  after  which  he  went  to  Natchez,  Miss.,  and  engaged  in  the 
gas  factory  there,  remaining  till  the  spring  of  1861,  when  he 
moved  to  his  farm.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to 
Natchez  and  engaged  in  the  gas  factory  again  (leaving  his  family 
on  the  farm)  continuing  two  years,  and  at  intervals  several  times 
since.  He  wa^  married  to  Miss  Mary  Murray,  in  Brooklyn,  N. 
Y.  Their  children  are  Thomas,  John,  Anna  M.,  Elizabeth  and 
Sarah ;  they  have  lost  two,  Margaret  and  James.  He  is  at  present 
Trustee  of  Tp.,  this  being  the  7th  year.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  church. 

James  T.Hawthorne,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  section  25;  owns 
80  acres  of  land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  son  of  John  and  Anna 
E.  Hawthorne;  born  in  Armah  county,  Scotland,  in  1845.  His 
parents  started  for  America  in  1847,  coming  via  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence,  and  up  the  River  St.  Lawrence.  His  father  and  two 
brothers  dying  with  ship  fever  while  they  were  on  the  river,  his 
mother,  with  the  remainder  of  the  family  (six  children)  came  on 
to  Guernsey  Co.,  Ohio,  and  from  there  to  this  Co.,  in  1853.  In 
August,  18G2,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  A.,  27th  lo.  Infty.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  battles  of  Pleasant  Hill,  La.,  where  he  was  wounded, 
of  Tupelo,  Mivss.,  Nashville,  Tenn.  and  Mobile,  Ala.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  he  returned  home  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  farming. 
Luther  Howes,  P.  0.  Waukon,  -farmer,  sec.  1;  owns  a  farm  of 
240  acres,  valued  at  $45  per  acre;  is  a  native  of  Maine,  where  he 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  499 

was  boru  in  1823,  the  17th  o£  August;  remained  in  his  native 
State  till  ISii,  when  he  went  to  Sheboygan  Falls,  Wis.,  engaged 
in  lumbering,  and  the  following  year  went  into  the  pineries,  where 
he  continued  in  the  same  business  until  1850,  after  which  he  spent 
some  time  in  looking  over  the  country,  finally  selecting  the  farm 
upon  which  he  resides,  and  in  1851  located  upon  it;  since  which 
time  it  has  been  his  home,  except  three  years  in  California.  He 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Reed  in  1819.  She  is  a  native  of  Cana- 
da. Mr.  H.  has  served  his  township  as  treasurer  and  in  other 
offices  many  years. 

G.  W.  Hanks,  P.  0.  Postville.  farmer,  sec.  35;  owns  a  farm  of 
323  acres,  pleasantly  situated  and  well  improved,  worth  $40  per 
acre;  was  born  in  Alleghany  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1831;  his  parents  emi- 
grating the  same  year  to  Ohio,  locating  near  Cleveland,  where 
they  remained  till  1839,  when  they  removed  to  Crawford  Co.,  Pa. 
Mr.  H.  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Banister  in  1856,  and  in  1859 
came  to  Iowa,  stopping  in  Clayton  Co.  until  1862,  when  he  moved 
to  his  present  farm  in  Allamakee  Co.  They  have  an  adopted  son, 
William  J. 

William  Harris,  P.  0.  Postville,  farmer,  sec.  31:  owns  273  acres 
of  land  valued  at  $15  per  acre;  son  of  Elisha  and  Margaret  Harris; 
was  boru  in  Morgan  Co.,  Ohio,  in  18i7,  coming  with  his  parents 
to  this  county  in  1854.  He  married  Miss  Charity  McDonald, 
daughter  of  Duncan  McDonald,  in  1868.  She  was  born  in  Wis- 
consin in  18i9.  They  have  four  children,  Herman,  Bertha,  Edith 
and  Edna. 

George  W.  Harris,  P.  0.  Postville,  farmer,  sec.  27;  owns  162 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $35  per  acre;  son  of  Elisha  and  Margaret 
Harris;  was  born  in  Morgan  Co.,  Ohio,  his  parents  emigrating  to 
this  county  in  1854.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Ella  Laughlin  in  May, 
1873.  She  was  born  in  this  county.  They  have  three  children, 
Warner  M..  Ninie  E.  and  Harold  E.  Mr.  H.  and  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  United  Brethren  church. 

Elisha  Harris,  sec.  15,  P.  0.  Postville,  farmer,  was  born  in  Mor- 
gan Co.,  Ohio,  in  1819,  remaining  in  that  county  till  the  spring  of 
1854,  when  he  immigrated  to  Iowa,  locating  upon  the  farm  where 
he  still  resides.  By  economy,  energy  and  perseverance  he  has 
accumulated  a  handsome  property,  still  owning  640  acres  of  land, 
after  having  given  several  hundred  acres  to  his  children.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Margaret  Patterson  in  1843,  in  Ohio,  she  being  a 
native  of  that  State,and  born  in  1827.  They  have  ten  children :  Mary 
E.,  William,  George  W.,  James  M.,  Jane  M.,  Caroline,  Delilah  A., 
Margaret  TJ.,  Samuel  H.  and  Charles  A.;  and  have  lost  three  Nancy, 
Elisha  and  Bertha  M. 

H.  S.  Humphreys,  proprietor  of  Biliard  Hall  and  owner  of  Com- 
mercial House,  Postville,  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1836,  in  1854  he 
moved  to  Jasper  Co.,  Ind.,  and  in  1860  to  Allamakee  Co.,  Iowa,  four 
miles  from  Postville,  and  in  1875  came  into  town  and  built  the 


500  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

Commercial  House,  which  he  run  one  year,  then  sold  out  and 
farmed  three  years;  when  he  repurchased  the  hotel  property,  which 
he  run  one  and  one-half  years  in  connection  with  the  livery  busi- 
ness. He  then  rented  the  property  and  engaged  in  his  present  bus- 
iness. He  married  Miss  Philia  Haines  in  1860.  She  was  born  in 
Ohio.  They  have  five  children,  Alfred  E.,  Ida  M.,  Levi  H.,  Jesse 
and  Hiram.     He  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0,  F. 

I.  A.  Harmon,  farmer,  Postville,  owns  a  farm  of  181  acres  adjoin- 
ining  the  tp  of  Postville,  valued  at  $50  per  acre.  He  was  born  in 
Morgan  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1840.  In  1867  he  immigrated  to  Clinton  Co., 
Iowa,  where  he  remained  till  1870;  then  came  to  Allamakee  Co. 
He  was  married  to  Lydia  A.  Shepherd  in  1866.  She  died  in  No- 
vember 1878.  Mr.  H.  was  again  married  to  Martha  Ady  in  1879; 
she  was  also  a  native  of  Ohio.  He  has  one  daughter  by  his  first 
marriage,  EflBe  M.,  and  lost,  three,  Emmet  G.,  Willie  F.  and  Eva 
E.  They  all  died  within  a  period  of  tour  months.  By  his  second 
marriage  he  has  two  sons,  Charles  and  John.  Mr.  H.  is  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  Church  and  the  I.  0.  0.  F. 

Jacob  Haas  was  born  in  Germany  in  1831,  and  came  to  the  U.  S. 
in  1851;  settled  at  Lansing  in  1856,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in 
the  brewery  business.  He  was  married  in  1858  to  Cara  Kerndt; 
she  died  in  1877,  leaving  two  children,  Emma  and  Theodore.  In 
1878  he  married  Pauline  Bensch,  and  now  has  one  son,  Oscar. 

S.  H.  Hazleton,  was  born  in  Tioga  Co.,  Pa.  Feb.  19,  1837;  came 
to  Lansing  in  1856  and  entered  the  store  of  G.  W.  Gray.  In  1860 
he  engaged  in  general  merchandise,  and  continued  two  years.  In 
1863  he  entered  the  bank  and  is  now  a  partner  in  the  same.  He 
has  also  been  engaged  in  insurance  since  1864,  and  has  been  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  M.'McCormack  &  Co.  since  1873.  Mr.  H.  was 
married  in  1859  to  Miss  Lydia  L.  Rockwell.  They  have  four  chil- 
dren living,  Emma  L.,  J.  Maud,  Lydia  L.  and  Samuel  H. 

F.  A.  Howe,  proprietor  of  Lansing  House,  was  born  in  Clay- 
ton Co.,  lo.,  in  1853;  is  a  son  of  Henry  E.  and  Mary  A.  Howe, 
natives  of  Mass.  He  went  to  Decorah  in  1871,  and  was  employed 
on  different  local  newspapers  as  compositor.  From  there  he  went 
to  Waukon,  and  in  1879  he  came  to  Lansing.  He  runs  a  stage 
line  from  here  to  Decorah  and  keeps  a  livery  and  feed  barn  in 
connection  with  his  hotel.  He  married  Jennie  A.  Thompson,  a 
native  of  Clayton  County,  and  they  have  two  children,  Maud  and 
Mattie. 

Robt.  Hufschmidt,  city  mayor,  is  a  native  of  Germany,  born  in 
1844;  learned  milling  and  followed  mercantile  life  at  his  native 
country  until  1869.  He  then  came  to  the  U.  S.  and  at  once  located  at 
Lansing.  Here  he  kept  books  for  his  brother,  C.  W.  Hufschmidt, 
for  three  years.  He  then  commenced  dealing  in  farming  imple- 
ments, machinery  and  grain,  and  still  continues  the  same.  He  is 
also  agent  for  the  St.  Louis  and  St.  Paul  packet  line.  Mr.  Huf- 
schmidt has  become  a  very  popular  citizen,  ar.d  is  now   serving 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  501 

his  third  term  as  city  ma3'or.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W., 
I.  L.  of  H.  and  the  Turn  Verein.  Mr.  H.  married  Miss  Mary  E, 
Geieger,  of  Cassville,  Wisconsin,  June  4, 1S79,  and  has  one  daugh- 
ter, Elsie. 

C.  0.  HoAvard,  dealer  in  grain,  seeds,  lumber,  etc.  This  enter- 
prising citizen  and  early  settler  Avas  born  in  Maine,  in 
18i0.  He  is  a  son  of  Azel  and  Lina  Howard,  who  settled  in  Alla- 
makee County,  in  the  fall  of  1854.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
followed  farming  until  1875,  Avhen  he  removed  to  Waukon,  and 
as  soon  as  he  felt  certain  that  the  W.  &  M.  R.  R.  was  going  to 
be  completed,  he  erected  an  elevator  with  a  capacity  of  25,000 
bushels,  filled  it  with  wheat,  and  shipped  the  same  during  the  fall 
of  1877.  In  June,  1880,  he  opened  a  lumber  yard  and  has  since 
continued  the  same.  In  the  fall  of  1877  he  built  a  stock  yard, 
which  has  since  been  in  use  by  the  railroad  company.  Mr.  How- 
ard's village  property,  which  consists  of  an  elevator,  lumber  yard, 
fine  residence,  etc.,  located  just  north  of  the  W.  &  M.  R.  R.  de- 
pot, is  conveniently  arranged,  and  here  he  will  probably  spend  the 
remainder  of  his  life  in  that  single  blessedness  which  he  now  en- 
joys. 

E.  M.  Hancock,  insurance;  is  a  son  of  Moses  Hancock.  He 
was  born  in  Winch endon,  Mass.,  in  1850;  was  brought  by  his 
parents  to  Allamakee  Co.,  in  1856.  In  18G8  he  commenced  work 
in  the  Standard  office,  where  he  learned  the  printer's  trade,  and 
in  1873  purchased  a  one-half  interest  in  the  office,  which  he  held 
until  1883,  when  on  account  of  his  health  he  retired  from  the 
printing  business  and  engaged  in  insurance.  Mr.  Hancock  was 
married  in  November,  1881,  to  Miss  Charlotte  M.  Wedgwood, 
daughter  of  Rev.  John  M.  Wedgwood. 

E.  K.  Spencer,  dealer  in  harness,  etc.,  was  born  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, in  1838;  came  to  Decorah,  Winneshiek  Co.,  in  1857.  Here 
he  learned  his  trade  with  his  brother.  In  1860  he  went  to  Rice 
Co.,  Minnesota,  where  he  was  engaged  in  business  until  1869,  at 
which  date  he  came  to  Waukon,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  harness.  Mr.  S.  was  married  in  1863  to 
Miss  Lucy  E.  Story,  and  has  three  children,  Alice  E.,  Chester  H. 
and  Edward. 

John  A.  Hilmo,  farmer,  sec.  16,  Makee  tp.,  P.  0.  Waukon;  was 
born  in  Norway  in  1859;  was  married  in  1853;  emigrated  to  the 
U.  S.  in  1857;  located  where  he  now  lives  in  1867,  and  owns  216 
acres  of  land.     He  has  four  children. 

L.  W.  Hersey,  cashier  of  Waukon  Bank,  was  born  in  Maine  in 
1826;  came  to  Iowa  in  1851,  settled  in  this  township,  and  for 
two  years  was  engaged  in  farming.  He  then  removed  to  W^au- 
kon  and  embarked  in  the  mercantile  trade.  In  1853  he  was  elected 
clerk  of  the  courts,  which  position  he  held  for  three  years.  He 
married  Miss  B.  A.  Raytou,  a  native  of  New  York. 


502        •  ALLAMAKEE   COUKTY  BIOGRAPHIES. 


Holalian  &  Buggy.  This  well  known  firm  takes  the  lead  in 
amount  of  business  transacted.  The  partnership  of  Holahan  & 
Buggy  was  formed  in  1863,  at  which  time  they  commenced  a 
small  blacksmith  business,  with  a  capital  of  about  ^150;  but  being 
energetic  and  industrious,  they  soon  increased  their  business  by 
adding  the  manufacture  of  plows  and  fanning  mills,  and  continu- 
ing successful,  in  1867  they  added  an  agricultural  implement  busi- 
ness, and  soon  worked  up  such  an  extensive  trade  that  for  years 
their  sales  averaged  ^75.000  annually.  When  the  project  of 
building  the  W.  &  M.  R.  R.  agitated  the  minds  of  the  people  of 
Waukon,  they  also  took  an  active  part,  first  by  taking  §1,000  in 
stock;  but  this  they  increased  from  time  to  time  until  they  owned 
about  §21,000  worth,  which  was  the  largest  amount  owned  by  any 
one  firm.  Mr.  Holahan  also  served  as  auditor  of  the  railroad 
company  one  year.  They  are  now  doing  the  largest  agricultural 
implement  and  machine  business  in  the  county;  deal  extensively 
in  real  estate,  of  which  they  own  about  §30,000  worth;  loan 
money,  buy  notes,  etc. 

James  Holahan.  the  senior  member  of  the  firm,  is  a  native  of 
Ireland;  born  in  Jan.,  1838;  came  with  his  parents  to  the  IT.  S. 
when  twelve  years  of  age,  and  lived  in  Connecticut  until  1861,  at 
which  time  he  came  to  Iowa,  living  at  Decorah  about  two  years, 
when  he  settled  at  Waukon.  He  is  a  painter  by  trade;  a  liberal 
in  politics,  but  takes  no  interest  more  than  to  perform  his  duty  as  a 
citizen.  His  religion,  Roman  Catholic.  He  was  married  in  April, 
1867,  to  Miss  Kate  M.  Fanalon,  then  of  Waukon,  but  a  native  of 
Ireland.  They  have  six  children:  W.  H.,  Ellen  M.,  John  M., 
Morris  F.,  Thomas  and  James. 

Michael  Buggy,  the  junior  member  of  the  firm,  was  born  in 
Ireland  in  1810,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1854,  and  lived  at  New 
Haven,  Conn.,  until  1862,  during  which  time  he  learned  the  black- 
smith trade.  He  then  came  to  Iowa  and  resided  at  Decorah  until 
1864,  since  which  time  he  has  resided  at  Waukon.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  February;  1862,  to  Miss  Mary  Ann  O'Neil,  then  of  Wau- 
kon, but  a  native  of  Boston,  Mass..  They  have  six  children: 
Mary  A.,  John  F.,  Richard,  James,  Willie  and  Michael.  His  re- 
ligion is  the  Roman  Catholic. 

Gunder  Hanson,  farmer,  sec.  23,  Makee;  P.  0.  Waukon;  one  of 
the  early  settlers;  is  a  native  of  Norway;  born  in  1822;  learned  the 
tailor's  trade,  and  in  1849  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.,  and  first  settled 
at  Delaware,  Walworth  Co.,  Wis.  In  1852,  in  the  employ  of  Mr. 
Phoenix,  he  started  the  nursery  at  Bloomington,  111.  In  1854 
he  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  and  in  1855  was  married  to  Miss  Kristi 
Knuedtson.  He  now  owns  240  acres  of  land,  valued  at  §20  per 
acre.  His  wife  died  Oct.  2,  1881,  leaving  eight  children:  Norman, 
Charley,  Julia,  Martin,  Emma,  Gilmau,  Clara  and  Albert. 

M.  B.  Hendrick,  attorney,  is  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  the 
Co.;  was  born  in  Livingston  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1837;  came   to  Alia- 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES,  503 

makee  Co.  in  18Gi,  and  located  at  Postville.  In  18G7  he  was  elect- 
ed county  judge,  and  after  the  said  ofSce  was  abolished  he  served 
as  auditor  three  years,  since  which  time  he  has  been  doing  a  gen- 
eral law  and  collecting  business,  dealing  in  real  estate,  etc.  Judge 
Hendrick  was  married  in  1864  at  Lyons,  Mich.,  to  Miss  Amelia 
Gibson,  and  they  now  have  live  children,  Theo.,  Thode,  Maud  and 
Max. 

Moses  Hancock  (deceased),  an  early  settler,  was  born  in  Mass., 
in  1808.  He  was  married  in  1832  to  Miss  S.  L.  Alger;  resided  in 
his  native  state  until  1850,  when  he  came  to  lo.  and  settled  at 
Waukon.  Here  in  partnership  with  L.  T.  Woodcock  he  engaged 
in  merchandising.  He  subsequently  made  various  changes  in  bus- 
iness, also  held  local  office  and  figured  as  one  of  the  prominent 
men.  His  death  took  place  in  June,  1872.  His  wife  died  in 
April,  1877. 

A.  H.  Houghton,  M.  D.,  Lansing;  Avas  born  in  Springfield,  Vt., 
in  1801;  was  educated  for  the  medical  profession  at  Dartmouth 
College,  and  subsequently  traveled  through  the  South,  practicing 
his  profession  in  several  southern  states.  In  1856  he  settled  at 
Lansing,  and  in  December  of  the  same  year  he  married  Miss  Unie 
Barrows,  of  Conn.,  who  was  born  in  1819.  Mr.  H.  taught  the 
first  public  school  in  Lansing,  and  in  1870  retired  from  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession,  on  account  of  declining  health.  He  has 
served  as  county  treasurer,  county  superintendent,  and  in  other 
public  offices.  He  has  one  son,  Amasa  Houghton,  born  Decem- 
ber 8,  1857,  who  was  educated  at  a  private  school  taught  by  his 
mother,  and  at  the  public  schools  of  Lansing.  In  1879  he  en- 
gaged in  business  as  a  photographer,  and  November  10,  1879,  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Irle.     They  have  one  son,  Andrew  A. 

A.  B.  Hays,  farmer,  P.  0.  New  Albin,  was  born  in  Trumbull 
Co.,  Ohio,  in  1826,  and  was  raised  on  a  farm.  He  came  to  Lan- 
sing in  1854,  and  in  1858  he  removed  to  his  present  farm,  which 
contains  520  acres.  He  was  married  to  Isabella  Manderscheid  in 
1858.  They  have  six  children.  William  J.,  John  W.  (twins), 
George,  Alfred,  Jacob  and  Verona. 

John  Haney  (deceased),  one  of  the  owners  of  the  town  sits  of 
Lansing,  and  the  second  settler  of  the  town,  was  born  in  Penn.  in 
1798.  In  1816  he  emigrated  to  Ohio;  from  there  he  went  to  111., 
thence  to  Wis.,  and  in  1818  he  came  to  Lansing,  and  in  company 
with  Mr. 'Houghton,  purchased  1400  acres  of  land,  a  portion  of 
which  is  located  in  the  town  of  Lansing.  Mr.  Haney  was  fore- 
most in  every  enterprise  that  was  in  any  way  connected  with  the 
prosperity  of  the  town.     He  died  in  1875,  being  77  years  old. 

William  Haney,  P.  0.  Lansing,  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1824,  his 
early  life  being  spent  in  mercantile  pursuits.  In  1848  he  came  to 
Lansing  with  his  father,  and  has  been  engaged  in  the  milling  bus- 
iness most  of  the  time  since.  He  has  operated  his  present  mill 
twenty-six  years. 


504  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

Robert  Henderson,  fanner,  Lin  ion  tp.,  born  in  Ohio  in  1834, 
and  moved  to  Iowa  in  1865,  and  although  not  an  old  settler,  Mr. 
Henderson  is  one  of  the  most  influential  and  reliable  men  of  Alla- 
makee Co.,  and  is  the  owner  of  one  of  the  best  farms  in  Linton 
tp.  He  married  Miss  R.  J.  Capper,  of  Ohio,  in  1860.  They  have 
six  children. 

J.  N.  Hancock,  jeweler,  Lansing,was  born  at  Coventry,  Eng,,  Nov. 
29,  1820.  At  fourteen  years  of  age  he  began  a  seven  years'  appren- 
ticeship at  his  trade,  during  Avhich  time  he  received  $1  per  week, 
boarding  and  clothing  himself.  In  1842  he  came  to  Summit  Co., 
0.  He  started  for  California  via  Cape  Horn  in  1849,  but  was 
taken  sick  in  New  York  City  with  cholera,  and  in  accordance  with 
medical  advice  he  went  to  England,  remaining  there  four  months, 
after  which  he  returned  to  Ohio,  and  in  1850  again  started  for 
California  by  boat  to  St.  Joseph,  Mo;  thence  on  foot  across  the 
plains.  Being  injured  by  a  kick  from  a  horse  while  en  route,  he 
was  compelled  to  use  crutches  for  a  distance  of  200  miles.  He 
served  as  a  cook  for  eighteen  days  at  Fort  Bridge,  when  the  pro- 
visions being  exhausted  he  continued  his  journey,  having  but  six 
sea  biscuits  on  which  to  maintain  life  from  thence  to  Salt  Lake, 
a  distance  of  113  miles,  being  compelled  to  walk  with  two  canes. 
Being  by  this  time  able  to  do  work  he  accepted  employment  as  a 
tender  of  masons  for  eighteen  days,  for  which  service  he  received 
81.60  per  day  and  board.  Mr.  H.  then  purchased  45  lbs  of  corn 
meal  at  25  cents  per  lb.;  12  lbs  of  beef  at  10  cents,  and  2  lbs  of 
tea,  upon  which  meagre  supply  he  subsisted  for  a  journey  of  800 
miles  to  California,  where  he  arrived  about  Sept.  1st,  1850.  In 
the  f^all  of  1852  he  went  to  Australia,  going  thence  to  Peru  in 
1853,  having  heard  of  rich  gold  mines  there.  The  Peruvian 
government  prohibiting  prospecting,  he  crossed  the  isthmus  and 
returned  to  the  U.  S.,  and  soon  came  to  Iowa,  arriving  at  Lansing 
April  5,  1854,  where  he  he  purchased  240  acres  of  land,  and  on 
this  erected  what  has  since  become  known  as  the  Four  Mile 
House,  where  he  kept  tavern  until  1859.  He  then  spent  about 
six  months  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.  In  the  fall  of  1859  he  settled  at 
Lansing,  where  has  since  been  engaged  in  his  present  business. 
He  was  engaged  in  the  wheat  business  from  1867  to  1873.  In 
Nov.,  1855,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ella  Simmons,  of  London, 
Eng.  They  have  one  son,  Fremont  W.  He  has  several  public 
positions  of  responsibility  and  trust. 

Michael  Holvorson,  farmer,  P.  0.  Hanover;  is  a  son  of  John 
and  Anna  Hyla  Holvorson.  He  was  born  April  10th,  1855,  in 
this  county.  His  parents  came  to  America  from  Norway  in  1851, 
stopped  in  Wisconsin  until  the  spring  of  1852,  them  moved  to 
their  present  farm.  They  have  six  children  living,  Herman, 
Michael,  Matilda,  Mary,  Johannah  and  John  F. 

J.  K.  Hames,  Jr.,  justice  of  the  peace  and  collector;  P.  0. 
Dorchester;  was  born  Sept.  4,  1838,  in  Essex  County,  Massachu- 


ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  505 

setts;  immigrated  to  Galena,  111.,  in  1854,  where  he  was  engaged  as 
clerk  in  a  wholesale  store,  remaining  until  185G,  when  he  came 
to  Lansing,  this  county,  and  engaged  in  farming  one  year.  He 
came  to  Dorchester  in  1857  and  engaged  in  the  flouring  mill  un- 
til 1860,  when  he  returned  to  Massachusetts,  coming  back  to  Ga- 
lena in  1861,  and  entering  the  county  recorder's  office  in  Joe 
Daviess  county.  In  1864  he  enlisted  in  Co,  I\  45th  111.  Vol. 
Infantry,  and  participated  in  the  battles  with  Sherman  on  his 
march  to  the  sea.  In  the  fall  of  1865,  after  being  discharged,  he 
returned  to  Galena,  again  entered  the  recorder's  office,  remaining 
two  years,  and  then  accepted  position  as  book-keeper  in  a  general 
store  at  Augusta,  Arkansas;  returned  to  Galena  in  1869,  soon  af- 
ter engaging  as  clerk  in  a  store  at  Warren,  111.,  going  thence 
back  to  Mass.,  and  remaining  there  three  years  as  book-keeper  in 
a- wholesale  fish  establishment.  He  then  returned  to  Dorchester, 
where  he  has  been  occupied  as  collector  for  the  past  six  years. 
He  has  also  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  is  at  this  writing 
(autumn,  1882)  a  candidate  for  the  republican  nomination  for  the 
office  of  county  recorder. 

A.  Jensvold,  merchant,  was  born  in  Norway  in  1841,  and  came 
directly  to  this  township  in  the  summer  of  1866,  but  shortly  af- 
terwards went  to  Winneshiek  county,  where  he  taught  INorweg- 
ian  school  near  Locust  Lane  for  nearly  three  years;  attended  the 
state  normal  school  at  Winona,  Minn.,  nearly  two  years,  and  af- 
ter a  term  at  the  commercial  college  in  LaCrosse,  Wis.,  accepted 
the  position  of  book-keeper  in  a  wholesale  drug  house  of  that  city, 
which  he  held  for  eight  years.  Returning  to  Waterville  in  1879, 
he  started  in  business  in  a  small  way,  but  it  so  increased  and  pros- 
pered that  in  1881  he  erected  the  substantial  stone  building  he 
now  occupies.  Was  elected  a  member  of  Grimsgaard  district 
school  board;  and  for  about  two  years  has  been  the  leader  of  a 
singing  society,  the  Home  Circle,  holding  weekly  meetings.  Mr. 
Jensvold  was  married  in  1879  to  Miss  Julia  Arneson,  and  has  one 
child,  a  son. 

Charles  Johnson,  postoffice,  Waukon;  farmer,  section  28;  owns 
280  acres  of  land  valued  at  $45  per  acre,  it  being  among  the  best 
farms  in  the  township.  He  was  born  in  Norway  in  1828,  was 
reared  upon  a  farm;  the  last  two  years  he  spent  in  that  country 
was  in  the  army,  being  in  the  cavalry  service.  He  emigrated  to 
the  United  States  in  1853,  stopping  in  Winneshiek  county,  hav- 
ing but  two  cents  upon  his  arrival  there,  but  being  possessed  of  a 
good  physical  constitution  as  well  as  economy,  good  judgment  and 
perseverance,  he  has  accumulated  a  handsome  property.  He 
moved  to  his  present  farm  in  1867;  was  married  to  Miss  Ellen 
Patterson  in  1856.  She  is  also  a  native  of  NorAvay.  They  have 
four  children,  whose  names  are  Augusta,  Peter,  Joseph  and  Al- 
bert.    Mr.  J.  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


506  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

J.  J.  Jennewine,  section  22,  postoffice,  Waukon;  farmer  and 
stock  dealer;  son  of  Nicholas  and  Catharine  Jennewine;  born 
December  28th,  1878,  in  Prussia,  served  three  years  in  the  Prus- 
sian army,  from  1849  to  1852.  In  the  spring  of  1853  he  emigrat- 
ed to  the  United  States,  arriving  at  N.  Y.  the  7th  of  May,  1861, 
he  enlisted  in  the  1st  Virginia  Cavalry.  Upon  the  organization 
of  the  company  he  was  elected  2d  Lieutenant,  and  for  meritorious 
conduct  at  the  battle  of  Woodstock  in  the  Shenandoah  valley,  he 
was  promoted  to  1st  Lieutenant.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Romania,  Cedar  Mountain,  Kelly's  Ford,  Centerville,  Fairfax 
Court  House,  Culpepper,  etc.  On  account  of  physical  disability 
he  resigned  his  office  in  1863  and  returned  home.  TEe  emigrated 
to  Iowa  in  the  spring  of  1865,  locating  in  Jefferson  township  upon 
his  present  farm  of  120  acres,  valued  at  $30  per  acre.  Mr.  J. 
was  married  to  Miss  Loretta  Burgess,  in  Va.,  March  24,  1857; 
they  have  eight  children,  Charles  H.,  Robert  N.,  John  J.,  Sophia, 
Maggie  M.,  Adelie  M.,  Ella  H.  and  Catharine.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  L  0.  0.  F. 

Mrs.  Margaret  N.  A.  Jaquis  {nee  Young),  postoffice,  Waukon; 
farmer,  section  10.  She  was  born  in  Park  Co.,  Ind.,  in  1827, 
and  was  married  to  Daniel  Jaquis  in  1854.  He  was  born  in  Es- 
sex County,  N.  Y.,  in  1818,  and  came  to  this  county  in  1851,  be- 
ing among  the  pioneers  of  the  county.  He  died  a  few  years  ago, 
leaving  a  farm  of  210  acres,  which  is  carried  on  by  Mrs.  J.  and 
her  son  John  E.,  who  was  born  on  this  farm  in  1860.  The  oth- 
er children  are  Mary,  Martha  J.  and  Daniel  E.  Mrs.  J.  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

J.  P.  Jackson,  farmer,  Lafayette  tp.,  sec.  29;  was  born  in  Ohio 
in  1825,  immigrated  to  Iowa  in  May,  1851,  and  settled  in  Taylor 
tp.;  enlisted  in  1861  in  Co.  B,  12th  Iowa  Infantry;  veteranized  in 
Dec,  1863,  and  served  till  June,  1866;  was  promoted  from  the 
ranks  to  the  various  companv  offices,  and  discharged  as  1st.  Lieut. 
In  Aug.,  1862,  was  sent  to  Dubuque  in  the  recruiting  service,  re- 
maining there  until  May,  1863,  when  he  rejoined  his  regiment 
at  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  during  the  vsiege  of  that  city.  Mr.  Jackson 
married  Miss  Mary  McFad'den  in  1849.  Their  daughter  Mary  was 
the  first  white  child  born  in  Lafayette  tp.,  and  is  now  the  wife  of 
Herman  Gaunitz,  of  Lansing.  Mr.  J.  was  the  first  clerk  of  the  tp., 
and  has  held  most  of  the  tp.  offices. 

Andrew  Jacobson,  farmer,  P.  0.  Waukon;  owns  a  farm  of  200 
acres  in  section  9,  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway, 
Oct.  12,  1829;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1851  and  located  in  Dane  Co., 
Wis.,  where  he  remained  one  and  one-half  years;  then  went  to 
White  Lake,  Mich.  Six  months  later  he  returned  to  Dane  Co., 
Wis.,  and  in  1856  came  to  this  county.  He  married  Julia  Iver- 
son  in  April,  1851,  and  has  ten  children  living,  Carrie,  George, 
John^  Isabella,  Henry,  Anton,  Gustave,  Hellena,   Oscar  A.  and 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTT    BIOGRAPHIES.  507 

A.  Grant.  They  have  lost  by  death  three,  Hellena,  Ivor,  and  El- 
mer L.  John  is  studying  law  in  Judge  Cooley's  office  at  Decorah, 
Iowa. 

George  Kehr,  liquor  dealer,  Lansing,  was  born  in  New  York  city 
in  1854;  came  to  this  Co.  with  his  parents  in  I860;  married  Katie 
Luger,  of  Dubuque.  He  is  a  son  of  Peter  Kehr,  who  is  a  native  of 
Germany. 

Moritz  Kerndt,  merchant,  Lansing,  born  in  Germany,  in  1830; 
came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1852;  in  1856  settled  at  Lansing,  and  has  since 
been  a  member  of  the  firm  of  G.  Kerndt  &  Bros.  He  has  been  con- 
nected with  banking  since  1873,  and  is  at  present  president  of  the 
Bank  of  Lansing.  He  was  married  in  1863  to  Miss  Mary  Nimsgern. 
They  have  eight  children. 

Knudt  Knudtson,  sec.  15,  Makee  tp.,  P.  0.  Waukon,  born  in 
Norway  in  1818,  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1849,  and  in  1851  settled 
on  his  present  farm.  He  was  married  in  1852  to  Cornelia  Emmer- 
son.  The  children  living  are  Cornelia,  now  Mrs.  L.  0.  Storle,  of 
Moorehead,  Minn.;  Anna,  now  Mrs.  Hans  Johnson;  Thomas  and 
Charlie. 

Patrick  Keenan,  deceased,  whose  portrait  adorns  this  work,  was 
born  in  the  county  of  Dublin,  Ireland,  in  .  1818.  Emigrated  to 
New  Orleans,  La.,  in  1844,  where  he  remained  about  three  years, 
including  short  stoppages  at  different  points  on  the  Lower  Missis- 
sippi river.  Early  in  1847  he  came  north  to  Galena,  111.,  where  he 
engaged  in  mining  and  prospecting,  also  spending  some  time  at 
Dubuque.  Upon  first  concluding  to  stop  at  Galena,  he  had  re- 
turned to  New  Orleans  and  brought  up  his  sister  and  her  husband, 
R.  Cassidy,  to  that  place.  In  the  fall  of  1847  he  came  into  this 
county,  which  was  then  inhabited  only  by  the  Indians;  selected  a 
claim  where  the  County  Poor  Farm  now  is,  and  returned  to  Ga- 
lena. The  following  year  he  again  came  on,  bringing  his  brother- 
in-law,  Cassidy,  with  him,  settled  on  his  claim  and  began  to  im- 
prove it.  In  the  spring  of  1819,  while  out  hunting  for  his  cattle, 
he  found  himself  down  on  Paint  Creek,  in  Jefferson  tp.,  and  be- 
ing very  favorably  impressed  with  the  situation  of  the  land  on 
the  creek,  and  the  prairie  adjoining  on  the  south,  he  concluded 
to  abandon  his  former  claim  and  locate  on  this  land  in  Jefferson 
tp.;  and,  having  his  ax  with  him,  as  was  his  usual  custom,  he 
'"blazed"  a  few  trees  so  as  to  readily  find  the  place  again,  and  upon 
returning  home  immediately  made  preparations  to  remove  to  his 
newly  selected  claim,  which  he  did  the  same  spring,  accompanied 
by  his  brother-in-law's  family,  and  they  were  the  first  settlers  in 
he  township.  He  laid  claim  to  nearly  a  section  of  land,  and 
afterwards  purchased  more  in  the  south  part  of  that  township  and 
in  Franklin- township.  This  same  season  he  met  with  an  adven- 
ture one  day,  while  down  on  the  Yellow  river,  that  showed  the 
metal  of  the  man.  Being  alone  and  unarmed,  save  with  an  as, 
which  he  always  carried  to  mark  his  way,  he  was  suddenly  con- 


508  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

fronted  by  two  large  black  bears,  one  of  which  raised  upon  its 
hind  feet  and  advanced  upon  him.  i\.lthongh  knowing  nothing 
of  the  habits  of  the  animal  at  the  time,  Mr.  K.  stood  his  ground, 
faced  his  bearship  and  brandished  his  ax,  and  the  bears  seeing  no 
evidence  of  fear  on  his  part,  finally  themselves  became  frightened 
and  made  off. 

Mr.  Keenan  was  married  in  July,  1854,  to  Miss  Catharine  Scan- 
Ian,  a  native  of  Upper  Canada,  who  was  born  in  1836.  Their 
children  are:  Richard  F..  Wm.  M.,  Patrick  H.,  Maggie  A.,  Thos. 
J.,  John  A.,  Mary  T.,  Charles  L.  and  Clement  G.,  having  lost 
three,  Johana,  Joseph  and  Albert  J. 

Mr.  Keenan  died  March  14, 1878,  honored  by  all  who  knew  him. 
His  remains  were  deposited  in  the  Cherry  Mound  cemetery,  four 
prominent  clergymen  assisting  in  the  ceremonies,  which  were 
very  impressive,  and  were  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of  people 
from  far  and  near.  He  was  a  man  of  good  judgment,  firm  and 
determined  in  character,  and  throughout  his  residence  in  this 
county  he  figured  prominently  as  one  of  her  most  influential  citi- 
zens. He  leaves  an  estate  of  700  acres  of  the  best  land  in  the 
township,  which  is  carried  on  by  Mrs.  K.,  it  being  superintended 
by  her  son  Wm.  They  are  introducing  some  very  fine  stock  upon 
the  farm,  having  recently  purchased  three  head  of  yearlings  j)ast 
for  $640. 

John  Kelly,  P.  0.  Rossville,  farmer:  son  of  Daniel  and  Sarah 
Kelly;  born  in  1839,  in  Harrison  Co.,  0.,  where  he  remained  till 
1861,  when  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jane  Lewis,  and  the  same 
year  emigrated  to  Iowa,  locating  in  Paint  Creek  tp.,  of  this  Co., 
from  which  place  he  came  to  his  present  farm  in  1863.  He  owns 
200  acres  of  land,  worth  about  S7,000.  They  have  seven  chil- 
dren: Jessie,  Ida,  Orrie,  Louie,  Esther,  John  and  Benner;  and 
have  lost  one  infant. 

Wm.  M.  Kelly,  Paint  Creek  tp.,  was  born  in  Harrison  Co., 
Ohio,  in  1833.  In  1861  he  came  to  Iowa  and  settled  in  Linton 
tp.  In  1868  he  removed  to  Rossville  and  engaged  in  the  mercan- 
tile business.  Two  years  later  he  went  to  Mason  City,  Iowa.  In 
1873  he  returned  to  Rossville  and  again  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business,  and  continued  until  1878,  when  he  located  on  his  present 
farm.  He  has  a  family  of  eight  children,  Levi,  Daniel,  Jessie,  Alice, 
Nettie,  Mary,  Martha  William  H.  and  Fred. 

Hon.  Andrew  Landy,  P.  0.  Lansing,  farmer,  born  in  Switzerland 
in  1829.  He  was  educated  in  his  native  country;  attending  two  dif- 
ferent colleges,  one  being  an  agricultural  one.  In  1849  he  came 
to  America  and  settled  in  this  county,  where  he  has  since  resided, 
locating  on  his  present  farm  in  1850.  In  1871  he  was  chosen  by 
the  people  to  represent  his  county  in  the  State  Legislature,  which 
position  he  held  one  term.  In  1852  he  married  Elizabeth  Hirth , 
and  they  have  ten  children — five  sons  and  five  daughters. 


ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  509 

J.  H.  Lamont,  blacksmitli,  was  born  at  Canton,  N.  Y.,  in  Aug., 
1834.  At  the  age  of  17  he  commenced  work  at  his  trade,  and  in 
1863  came  west  and  located  at  Waukon.  He  was  married  in  the 
spring  of  1856  at  Richford,  Vt.,  to  Miss  Martha  E.  Hathaway, 
and  they  now  have  two  sons,  Chas.  A.  and  Henry  A. 

Hosa  Low,  hardware  merchant,  is  found  among  the 
early  settlers  as  well  as  prominent  business  men  of  Waukon.  He 
is  a  native  of  Vt.;  born  in  1829.  In  1836  the  family  came  west, 
first  stopping  at  Chicago,  then*  removing  to  Wis.,  from  which 
State  Mr.  Low  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  settling  at  Waukon  in 

1858.  Here  he  at  once  engaged  in  the  hardware  business,  being 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Low  &  Bean,  and  has  pursued  mercantile 
life    in  the  hardware  line  most  of  the  time  since.     Mr.  Low,  in 

1859,  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Laura  A.  Stilman,  of  N.  Y., 
and  now  has  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  Frank,  Mary,  Fred,  Josie. 

Gilbert  C.  Lyse,  P.  0.  Dalby,  farmer,  sec.  3;  owns  260  acres  of 
land  valued  at  $25.00  per  acre.  He  was  born  May  4,  1826,  in 
Norway.  In  1854  he  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.,  coming 
via  New  Orleans  and  up  the  Mississippi  River  to  Columbus  in 
Allamakee  Co.,  Iowa,  in  July  of  that  year.  In  1856  he  purchased 
land  on  sec.  15  of  this  tp.,  Avhich  he  subsequently  sold  and  came 
on  to  his  present  farm  in  1858.  He  married  Miss  Caroline  Eng- 
bretson  in  1854.  She  died  in  1870.  He  was  again  married  to 
Mary  Halversonin  1875;  had  one  son  by  his  first  marriage — Christ, 
who  is  now  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Brookings,  D. 
T.  The  children  by  his  second  marriage  are  Caroline  M.,  and  Carl 
E.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Simon  Ludeking,  P.  0.  Waukon;  farmer,  sec.  29;  son  of  Simon 
and  Charlotte  Ludeking,  was  born  in  Prussia,  Germany,  in  1826, 
where  he  remained  till  the  spring  of  1854,  when  he  emigrated 
to  the  U.  S.,  stopping  in  Sheboygan  Co.,  Wis.,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1855  came  to  lo.  and  located  80  acres  of  his  present  farm  and 
commenced  making  improvements  upon  the  same.  The  following 
winter  he  went  to  Lincoln  Co.,  Mo.,  where  he  engaged  in  chopping 
cord  wood  for  steamboats  and  the  St.  Louis  market,  continuing  to 
work  on  his  farm  summers  and  in  Missouri  winters,  till  in  1858  he 
married  Miss  Mary  Geesmeyer.  of  Mo.  She  was  also  born  in  Ger- 
many. He  then  came  on  to  his  farm,  which  by  his  industry  and 
economy  he  has  added  to  till  he  now  has  280  acres  well  improved 
and  among  the  best  farms  in  the  tp.  He  has  a  family  of  eight 
children,  whose  names  are  as  follows;  Louisa,  Mene,  LHrich, 
Samuel,  Henry,  Gustaf,  George  and  Thomas,  and  has  lost  one 
daughter,  Lydia.  Mr.  L.  is  a  member  of  the  German  Presbyterian 
church. 

J.  M.  Lisher,  proprietor  of  the  Commercial  House  and  livery 
stable,  Postville,  was  born  in  Ind.,  in  1844;  his  parents  moved  to 
McHenry  Co.,  Ills.,  in  184G,  and  in  1854  to  Allamakee  Co.,  lo., 
locating  ten  miles  north  of  Waukon.     In  1862  he  enlisted  in   Co. 

32 


510  ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

B.,  2d  Batallion,  16th  U.  S.  Infty.,  and  participated  in  the  battles 
of  Stone  River,  Prairieville  and  Chicamauga,  at  which  latter  he 
was  captured  Sept.  19th,  1863.  He  was  first  taken  to  Libby 
prison,  and  in  Dec.  following  to  Danville,  and  to  Andersonville  in 
April  1864,  weighing  when  received  at  the  prison  184  lbs,  and  at  the 
expiration  of  eleven  months,  when  taken  from  there,  only  90  Jbs., 
which  is  a  sufficient  explanation  of  the  treatment  received.  He 
was  taken  to  Black  River,  near  Vicksburg  and  paroled,  sent  to  St. 
Louis,  thence  to  Oswego,  New  York,  and  discharged,  his  discharge 
bearing  date  April  14,  1865.  The  following  fall  he  returned  to 
Ic,  and  in  1874  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  at  Lansing,  run- 
ning the  livery  business  in  connection.  He  was  burned  out  in 
1876,  and  in  March,  1879,  came  to  Postville  and  took  charge  of 
the  Burlingtop  House^  and  in  Sept.,  1881,  took  charge  of  the  Com- 
mercial house.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Adams,  a  native 
of  Indiana,  in  1868.  They  have  two  children,  Floyd  C.  and  Myrtle 
M.     Mr.   L.  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  L  0.  0.  F.  and  A. 

0.  u.  w. 

H,  S.  Luhman,  of  the  firm  of  Luhman  and  Sanders,  dealers  in 
general  merchandise,  corner  Tilden  and  Lawber  streets,  was  born 
in  1853,  in  Sheboygan  Co.,  Wis.  He  came  to  Postville  in  1873 
and  engaged  as  clerk  for  Roberts  Brothers  in  a  general  store,  and 
afterwards  for  Skelton  &  Co.,  and  in  1878  went  to  Bonnair,  in 
Howard  Co.,  and  engaged  in  general  merchandise  till  in  the  fall  of 
1881,  when  he  came  to  Postville  and  engaged  in  the  present  firm. 
He  married  Miss  Sarah  Sanders,  of  Clayton  Co.,  in  1880.  Mr.  L. 
is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and  of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Matt.  Leithold,  dealer  in  clothing,  hats,  caps,  boots,  shoes,  and 
gents'  furnishing  goods,  also  millinery,  which  latter  is  superintend- 
ed by  his  wife.  He  was  born  in  1846,  in  Bavaria,  Germany.  His 
parents  emigrated  to  theU.  S.  in  1856,  locating  in  Clayton  Co.,  lo. 
He  commenced  clerking  for  Messrs.  Peterson  &  Larson  of  McGregor 
in  1865,  and  in  1871  commenced  general  merchandising  in  Post- 
ville, under  the  firm  name  of  Leithold  Bros.,  and  his  present  busi- 
ness in  1881.  He  married  Elizabeth  Osterdock  in  1870.  She  was 
born  in  Clayton  Co.,  lo.,  in  1852.  They  have  five  children,  Lucy, 
Edward,  Rialdo,  Lillie  and  Florence,  and  lost  one  son  in  infancy. 
Mr.  L.  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  A.  0.  U  W.,  also  of 
the  Lutheran  church. 

Rev.  D.  W.  Lyons,  farmer  and  retired  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  owns  about  800  acres  of  land,  valued  at  ^32,000; 
was  born  in  Harrison  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1823;  received  his  education 
at  Franklin  College,  New  Athens,  0.,  and  the  Western  Theologi- 
cal College  at  Allegheny  City,  Pa.,  after  which  he  served  as 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  many  years,  until  com- 
pelled by  ill-health  to  abandon  the  ministry;  came  to  Allamakee 
Co.,  lo.,  in  1850,  locating  near  Postville.  He  organized  a  Pres- 
byterian church  at  Postville  in  1852,  preaching  the  first  sermon  at 


ALLAMAKRE    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIKS.  511 

the  house  of  Mrs.  Z.^rui.ih  Post.  In  1856  he  removed  to  Kansas 
(Uty,  Mo.,  serving  as  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  tliere  one 
year  when,  on  account  of  ill  health,  he  commenced  traveling 
through  southern  Mo.  and  Arkansas  till  in  1860,  when  he  return- 
ed to  Postville  and  engaged  in  real  estate  and  general  merchandis- 
ing. 'In  1870  he  removed  to  Mason  City,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  same  business  in  company  with  his  son,  William  W.  Lyons. 
In  1875  he  removed  to  Des  Moines  and  his  son  to  Brooklyn,  lo., 
where  he  engaged  in  the  banking  business,  and  subsequently 
opened  a  bank  in  Colfax.  In  1880  Mr.  Lyons  returned  to  Post- 
ville. He  was  married  to  Sarah  A.  Wallace,  of  Ohio,  1810.  She 
died  in  1875  at  Mason  City.  He  was  again  married  to  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Marquis,  a  widow  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Marquis,  in  1880. 
Mr.  Lyons  has  seven  children  byjiis  first  marriage,  William  W., 
Mary  A.,  Sophia  J.,  Sarah  E.,  Susan  M.,  Carrie  B.  and  Effie  M., 
and  lost  one  son,  Daniel  M.  By  his  second  marriage  he  has  one 
sou,  Charles  R. 

J.  R.  Laughlin,  farmer,  P.  0.  Postville,  son  of  John  and  Jane 
Laughlin,  who  were  born  in  Scotland  and  emigrated  to  the  U.  S. 
in  1835,  locating  first  near  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  remaining  there 
till  in  1839,  when  they  came  to  St.  Joseph  Co.,  Mich.,  where  they 
lived  till  in  1842,  they  again  moved  to  Wells  Co.,  Ind.,  and  in 
1849  came  to  Allamakee  county,  lo.,  they  being  among  the  first 
settlers  in  Post  tp.  Mr.  John  Laughlin  was  among  the  leading 
and  prominent  men  of  the  county,  serving  as  Sheriff,  also  as  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace  in  his  tp.,  several  years.  He  was  also  one  of  the 
proprietors  of  the  first  platting  of  the  town  of  Waukon.  He 
died  in  September,  1862.  The  children  living  are  John  H., 
Elizabeth,  Robert,  Mary  J.,  Ella  and  James  R.,  the  latter  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  who  was  born  in  this  county  in  1852.  He  now 
carries  on  the  home  farm,  consisting  of  144  acres.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Jane  Harris,  daughter  of  Elisha  Harris,  in  1872. 
Mr.  L.  is  a  member  of  the  U.  B.  church. 

Henry  Lenz,  P.  0.  Lansing,  farmer;  son  of  Fred  and  Barbara 
Lenz,  was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  where  he  still  resides,  Aug. 
22,  1855.  His  parents  came  from  Germany  to  this  country  in 
1850,  and  located  upon  this  farm,  which  contains  120  acres  well 
improved.  His  father  also  owns  a  farm  of  160  acres,  southwest 
of  this  a  couple  of  miles.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools  and  at  Grinnell  College.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  Gramelich,  March  28,  1876.  She  was  also 
born  in  this  county.  They  have  three  children,  Emma,  Willie 
and  Nettie.  Mr.  L.  carries  on  his  father's  farm  and  is  a  member 
of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Frank  Leithold,  farmer,  sec.  3,  P.  0.  Waukon;  born  in  1832  in 
Switzerland  and  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1855,  locating  on  40 
acres  of  his  present  farm,  which  by  his  economy  and  industry  he 
has  added  to  till  he  now  has  200  acres  with  first-class  improve- 


512  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

ments.  He  married  Miss  Anna  Vile  in  1860.  She  was  born  in 
England.  They  have  six  children,  Catharine,  Julia,  Henry,  Mar- 
garet, Albert  and  George,  and  have  lost  one  infant. 

C  A.  Leithold,  sheriff,  wns  born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  in  1850; 
came  to  America  in  1856  with  his  parents,  and  settled  in  Clayton 
Co.,  Iowa.  In  1872  he  i-emoved  to  Postville  and  engaged  in 
merchandising  until  1878,  when  he  changed  to  that  of  agricultural 
implements.     In  1881  he  was  elected  to  his  present  office. 

Jeremiah  Leas,  Linton  tp.,  was  born  in  Harrison  Co.,  Ohio,  in 
1831,  and  was  raised  a  farmer.  In  1856  he  came  to  Iowa  and  set- 
tled on  his  present  farm  of  320  acres,  which  is  one  of  the  best  in 
his  tp.  He  married  Susanna  Henderson,  of  Ohio,  by  whom  he 
has  nine  children. 

J,  B.  Minert,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Minert,  was  born  in 
Post  tp.,  Allamakee  Co.,  March  4,  1853.  In  1805  the  family  re- 
moved to  Franklin  tp.  His  father  purchased  a  flouring  mill,  which 
he  ran  until  1867,  when  he  was  murdered.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  married  to  Margaret  J.  Arkley,  and  in  1877  settled  at 
Waukon,  since  which  time  he  has  been  dealing  in  live  stock. 
Their  children  are  Louisa,  Ella  and  James. 

M.  A.  McDonell,  blacksmith,  is  a  native  of  Canada  West,  and 
was  born  in  1839,  He  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade,  and  in  1863 
came'to  the  U.  S.,  and  first  lived  in  Wis.,  from  which  State  he 
came  to  Iowa,  stopping  at  Lansing  until  187G,  at  which  date  he 
came  to  Waukon,  and  has  since  been  in  the  employ  of  Simmonsen 
&  Peterson.  In  1865  he  was  married  to  Ellen  Foley.  They  have 
five  children. 

J.  B.  Mattoon,  M.  D.,  is  one  of  the  pioneer  physicians,  and 
now  the  oldest  resident  physician  in  the  two  counties  comprising 
this  work.  He  is  a  native'of  Hamphire  Co.,  Mass.,  born  in  1814, 
and  was  a  resident  of  the  State  till  18  years  of  age.  He  then  re- 
moved to  Paynesville,  Ohio,  entered  the  Willoughby  College  (now 
Cleveland  Medical  College),  Avhere  he  graduated  in  1840.  The 
^next  14  years  he  practiced  medicine  in  Crawford  Co.,  Penn.,  when 
he  concluded  that  he  would  seek  his  fortune  in  what  was  then 
called  the  "'far  west,"  and  accordingly  came  to  Iowa  and  settled  at 
Freeport,, Winneshiek  Co.,  then  a  place  of  nearly  500  inhabitants, 
with  the  expectation  of  becoming  the  county  seat.  Here  he  fol- 
lowed his  profession  until  1867,  since  which  time  he  has  been  lo- 
cated at  Waukon.     Dr.  Mattoon  was  married  in  1842  to  Miss  D. 

E.  Heath,  then  of  Crawford  Co.,  Penn.,  but  a  native  of  N.  Y. 
The  children  are  Caroline,  now  Mrs.  Levi  Plank,  of  Nebraska 
City,  Nebraska;  Frank  W.,  of  Blue  Springs,  Neb.;  Jacob  B.,  of 
Sibley,  Neb.,  and  Eva  D.     He  has  been  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0. 

F.  for  forty  years,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 
Edward  McGough,  P.  0.    Waukon;    farmer,  sec.   29;     son   of 

Barney  and  Catharine  McGough;  was  born  in  Canada  in  1839. 
His  parents  moved  to  Winnebago  County,  Illinois,  when  he  was  a 


ALLAMAKEE   COUI^TY    BIOGRAPHIES.  513 

small  boy,  and  in  1855  they  came  to  Paint  Creek  tp.,  this  Co., 
where  his  father  still  lives,  his  mother  having  died  in  1808.  Mr. 
M.  was  married  to  Miss  Julia  Hinchon,  in  1861.  She  Avas  born 
in  Ireland.  They  resided  in  Paint  Creek  tp.  till  1876,  when  he 
moved  to  his  present  farm  of  280  acres,  which  is  well  improved 
and  among  the  best  farms  of  the  township.  Their  children  are 
Birnet,  James  E.,  Thomas,  John^  Ella,  Katie  and  Julia.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

A.  McMichael,  dealer  in  grain,  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1830. 
He  came  to  America.in  1811,  and  his  first  location  was  in  Canada, 
near  Toronto,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  trade.  In 
1860  he  removed  to  La  Cresent,  Minnesota,  and  established  busi- 
ness, dealing  in  grain  and  general  merchandise;  thence  in  1861 
to  Brownsville,  Minnesota,  and  continued  in  the  same  business. 
He  removed  to  Lansing  in  1876,  where  he  still  resides,  and  deals 
largely  in  grain,  owning  and  running  about  fifteen  warehouses 
and  elevators.  He  was  married  to  Margaret  De  Lotienier,  and 
they  have  two  children,  Alexander  and  Bertha. 

Patrick  McNaney,  P.  0.  Waukon;  farmer,  sec.  26;  owns  200 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $10  per  acre;  was  born  in  1830  in  County 
Monahan,  Ireland,  from  which  place  he  emigrated  in  1817  to  the 
U.  S.,  stopping  in  Herkimer  Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  he  engaged  to  a 
farmer  by  the  name  of  Elias  Pullman,  for  whom  he  worked  eight 
years.  He  then  started  for  the  west  and  stopped  in  this  county, 
engaging  at  farming,  and  purchased  his  present  farm  in  lc62. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Johanna  Cadiga  in  1858.  She  was  born 
in  County  Cork,  Ireland.  They  have  eight  children,  Dennis, 
Thomas,  John,  Joseph,  James,  Mary,  Anna  and  Catharine;  and 
have  lost  a  son,  David.  Mr.  M.  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

George  W.  Miller,  P.  0.  Waukon;  farmer,  sec.  25;  owns  309 
acres  of  laud  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  son  of  David  J.  and  Mary 
Miller;  was  born  in  Stark  County,  Ohio.  In  1811  he  came  with 
his  grandfather  to  Stephenson  Co.,  Ills.,  his  father  and  the  family 
following  in  1815,  and  to  Clayton  Co.,  lo.,  in  1818,  and'from  there 
to  this  county  in  1850.  In  1860  he  made  a  tour  through  Kansas, 
returned  home,  and  in  1862  enlisted  in  Co.  F,  6tli  lo,  Cav.,  serv- 
in  the  northwest  against  the  Indians.  He  was  in  several  battles, 
among  which  were  Whetstone  Hills,  Terres-Terres,  Kill  Deer 
Mountain,  and  was  discharged  in  1865;  came  to  his  present  farm 
in  1870.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Cynthia  Ogg  in  1855;  she  was 
born  in  Maryland.  They  have  seven  children.  Marquis  C,  Du- 
rand  H  ,  Hiram  G.,  Dora  G.,  Leonard  L,  Myrtie  E.  and  Mary  A.; 
and  have  lost  one  son.  Bird. 

Sanford  W.  Miller,  P.  0.  Waukon;  f aimer,  sec.  26;  son  of 
David  J.  and  Mary  Miller;  was  born  in  Stephenson  Co.,  Ills.,  in 
1817.  His  parents  moving  to  Clayton  Connty,  Iowa,  in  1818,  and 
to  this  county  in  1850.    -In   18G7  Mr.   M.   started   for  southwest 


514  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGEAPHIES. 

Kansas,  Texas  and  Indian  Territory,  where  he  remained  in  the 
employ  of  the  government  till  1870,  when  he  returned  home  and 
purchased  his  present  farm  of  100  acres,  valued  at  $30  per  acre. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Nettie  Cook  in  1873;  "she  was  born  in  St. 
Joseph  Co.,  Michigan.  They  have  three  children,  Percy  W., 
Pearl  C.  and  Ray  0.     They  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

John  McGee,  P.  0.  Hardin,  farmer,  sec.  25,  owns  280  acres  of 
laud  valued  at  $35  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  Ross  Co.,  Ohio,  in 
1810,  his  parents  moved  into  Seneca  Co.  in  1822,  and  to  Hancock 
Co.  in  1824  where  he  remained  till  in  1854,  when  he  emigrated  to 
this  Co.,  locating  on  the  land  he  still  owns.  Is  one  of  thefpioneers 
of  the  Co.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  McKennis  in  1831.  She 
was  also  a  native  of  Ross  Co.,  Ohio.  They  have  seven  children, 
Robert,  Sarah,  Mary  A.,  Nancy,  William.  Meredith  and  Nelson, 
and  have  lost  one -daughter,  Elizabeth.  Mr.  McGee  is  a  member 
of  the  United  Brethern  church. 

James  Mathers,  farmer,  sec.  26,  owns  360  acres  of  land  valued 
at  $25  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  Union  Co.,  Penn.,  in  1818,  re- 
maining there  till  1849,  when  he  came  to  Ohio,  stopping  one 
year;  then  to  Wis.,  where  he  remained  but  one  year,  then  came 
to  this  Co.  in  1851,  entering  his  home  farm  from  the  Governmeiit. 
He  was  among  the  earliest  pioneers.  He  was  married  to  Miss 
Margaret  Gray,  of  Penn.,  in  1849.  They  have  two  children,  John 
W.  and  Emma  J.,  and  lost  one  son,  George.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  M.  E.  church. 

Rudolph  A.  T.  Meyer,  of  the  firm  of  Ward  &  Meyer,  dealers  in 
general  merchandise,  Postville;  was  born  in  Germany  in  1852.  He 
was  about  one  year  old  when  his  parents  emigrated  to  the  U.  S., 
locating  in  Clayton  Co.,  Iowa,  where  his  early  training  was  upon 
the  farm,  when  not  attending  school.  In  Oct.,  1875,  he  came  to 
Postville,  and  in  company  with  Mr.  Ward  engaged  in  his  present 
business.  He  married  Miss  Bertha  Bender,  also  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, in  1876;  her  parents  having  come  to  the  U.  S.  in  1865  and 
located  in  Allamakee  Co.  They  have  two  children,  Amanda  B. 
and,Rudolph  T.  A.  Mr.  Meyer  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church, 
also  of  the  I.  L.  of  H. 

Mrs.  Lydia  Martin,  P.  0.  Waterville,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Shearer,  was  born  in  Stark  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1828.  Her  mother  died 
when  she  was  quite  voung,  after  which  she  lived  with  an  uncle 
and  aunt,  who  removed  to  DeKalb  Co.,  Ind.,  in  1842.  While  there 
she  was  married  to  Mr.  David  Martin,  March  9,  1845.  He  was 
born  in  Penn.  in  1813';  In  1854  they  emigrated  to  this  Co.,  and 
located  upon  the  farm  where  she  now  resides.  Mr.  Martin  died 
July  28,  1878.  Their  children  are  Harriet,  Minerva,  Hiram  H., 
Mary,  Emily,  John,  Phoebe  and  Effie;  they  lost  two,  Ellen  and 
Lydia.  There  are  60  acres  of  land  that  belongs  to  the  estate,  val- 
ued at  $20  per  acre,  which  is  yet  undivided,  but  is  superintended 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  615 

by  her  SOU  Hiram  H.,  who  was  born  Sept..  23,  1850,  in  DeKalb  Co., 
Ind.,  and  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Thomas,  of  this  Co.,  May  2, 
1871.     His  children  are  David  and  Elhi  J. 

Peter  Miller,  proprietor  of  bakery  and  restaurant,  Postville, 
was  born  on  the  Khine,  in  Prussia,  in  1856,  and  while  there 
learned  the  bhkeryand  confectionery  business.  In  1873  he  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States,  stopping  at  Danville,  Ky.,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  baking  for  ten  months;  then  went  to  Columbus, 
Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in  the  same  business  for  eighteen  months, 
after  which  he  went  to  Cincinnati  and  New  Orleans,  and  back-to 
Baton  Rouge,  where  he  stopped  four  months;  then  went  to  Chi- 
cago, 111.,  where  he  remained  till  the  spring  of  1878,  when  he 
came  to  Postville  and  established  his  present  business.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Albertine  Carmin  in  the  fall  of  187D.  She  was  born  in 
Germany  in  1859.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Oliver  Mackey,  P.  0.  Postville,  farmer;  was  born  in  Donegal, 
Ireland,  in  1839;  his  parents  emigrating  to  the  U.  S.  in  1852,  lo- 
cating in  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  where  they  still  reside.  In  1853, 
when  but  a  boy,  he  came  to  Houston  Co.,  Minn.,  where  he  re- 
mained two  years,  then  came  to  Allamakee  county,  soon  after 
purchasing  the  farm  he  still  owns,  of  167  acres,  which  is  now 
worth  ^50  per  acre.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Laub  in  1866.  She 
was  a  native  of  Indiana  and  died  in  1873.  He  was  again  married 
in  1875  to  Ellen  Mitchell,  a  native  of  Canada,  and  has  one  son  by 
his  first  marriage,  John,  and  by  his  second  marriage  three  daugh- 
ters Mabel,  Edna  and  Alta. 

W,  A.  Manger  was  born  in  Saxony,  Germany,  in  1832.  He 
came  to  America  in  1854,  and  his  first  location  was  in  Galveston, 
Texas,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade.  From  there  he  went  to  St. 
Louis,  Missouri.  He  subsequently  changed  his  location  several 
times,  and  in  1862  came  to  Lansing  and  established  the  furniture 
business.  He  has  an  extensive  steam  factory  and  emplojs  from 
six  to  ten  men  in  the  manufacture  of  furniture.  He  has  also  a 
large  and  commodious  building  on  the  main  business  street  of  the 
city  for  the  retail  trade.  He  married  Albine  Bauer,  a  native  of 
Germany.     They  have  three  sons.  Otto,  Richard  and  Albert. 

M.  McCorraack  is  a  native  of  Scotland,  born  in  1813;  came  to 
the  U.  S.  in  1802  and  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  in  Orange 
County,  New  York.  In  1868  he  came  to  Iowa,  in  1873  settled  at 
Lansing,  and  has  since  been  managing  partner  of  the  firm  of  M. 
McCormack  &  Co.  He  was  married  in  1872  to  Miss  Lucy  Mor- 
rison; they  have  four  children  living. 

H.  B.  Miner,  county  surveyor  for  Allamakee  county,  was 
born  in  Jefferson  County,  Ohio,  in  1840.  When  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age  he  began  teaching,  which  occupation  he  followed  for 
some  years.  He  came  to  Iowa  in  1856,  and  in  3864  he  married 
Hattie  E.  Byater,  and  they  have  three  children,  Frank,  Cora,  and 
Addie. 


516  ALLAMAKEE   COUKTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

John  M.iy^  (deceased),  was  born  in  Penn.,  in  1799.  He  came  to 
Io'\vainr52  aiid  settled  in  this  county  wljere  he  lived  until  the  time 
of  his  deatli,  Mhich  occurred  Jan.  1^3,  1S02.  He  married  Julia  A. 
De  Haven,  of  Ohio;  their  dau<:;hter,  Mary  J.  Still,  lives  on  the  old 
homestead. 

Alonzo  M.  May,  editor,  Waukon,  was  born  at  Scfo,  Alleghany 
Countv,  New  York,  March  20,  1^>3S.  Moved  with  his  ]iarents  to 
Will  County,  111.,  in  1843,  to  Kock  County,  Wis.,  in  1S45,  and  to 
Green  Lake  County,  Wis.,  in  1S51.  Was  brought  up  on  a  farm 
till  18  years  of  age.  Prepared  for  college  at  Pipon,  Wis.,  and 
graduated  at  Beloit  College,  Wis.,  in  regular  course  in  1864.  En- 
listed in  a  Wisconsin  regiment  in  1861,  and  again  in  1864,  serving 
several  months  under  each  enlistment.  Went  to  New  York  City, 
completing  a  three  years  course  in  Union  Theological  Seminary 
in  1867,  coming  to  ^Vaukon  the  same  fall  as  rector  of  St.  Paul's 
Church,  continuing  in  such  capacity  several  years.  He  was  prin- 
cipal of  the  Waukon  High  School  for  the  years  1868-9.  April  9, 
1868,  he  bought  the  M'ai<kon  Standard,  Avith  which  he  has  since 
been  connected.  A  history  of  the  paper  will  be  found  in  another 
place.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1871,  but  has  never  ac- 
tively engaged  in  the  profession.  For  ten  years  succeeding  1871 
he  held  the  position  of  ofhcial  court  reporter  in  the  District  Court 
of  the  Tenth  Judicial  District  of  Iowa.  Juh'26,  1865,  he  married 
Miss  Augusta  M.  Hay  ward,  at  Beloit.  Wis.;  their  children  are: 
Frank  Haywaid.  Anna  Laura,  Jessie  Ella,  Robert  Iiruce,  Winnie, 
Paul  Martin,  Kichard  Langford  and  Marian — four  boys  and  four 
girls. 

AVm.  ^IcLaughlin.  farmer,  P.  0.  Dorchester;  owns  420  acres  of 
land  in  Hanover  township,  on  section  4,  which  is  valued  at  §20 
per  acre.  He  was  born  in  County  Mayo,  Ireland,  Sept.  12,  1823; 
came  to  the  V.  S.  in  1848,  settling  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  In  1851 
he  went  to  Chautauqua  Countv,  and  engaged  in  railroading,  and 
in  1856  came  to  this  county.  He  miuTied  Hannah  Garvin  in  1848, 
who  died  in  1864,  leaving"  three  children,  Patrick,  Mary  and 
Agnes.  In  1869  he  was  married  to  Margaret  Danaher,  They 
have  seven  children,  William,  John,  Thomas,  Margaret,  Catha- 
rine, Johanna  aud  Silicia. 

Wm.  Niblock,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  27;  son  of  Robert  and 
Isabel  Niblock;  was  born  in  County  Monahan,  Ireland,  in  1827, 
emigrated  to  U.  S.  in  181(5,  locating  in  Messer  Co.,  Penn.,  till  in 
1847,  he  come  to  Rock  Co.,  Wis.,  remaining  but  a  short  time, 
when  he  went  to  Green  Co.,  remaining  till  in  June,  1849,  he  came 
into  Jefferson  tp.,  pf  this  Co..  he  being  the  second  settler  in  thetp., 
Patrick  Keenan  being  the  lirst.  Upon  the  call  of  his  adopted 
country  for  help  to  sustain  the  Government  during  the  great  re- 
bellion, he  enlisted  in  Co,  A  of  the  27th  Iowa  Infantry  in  Aug., 
1802.  Participated  in  all  the  battles  in  which  his  company  wa 
engaged,  till  the  close  of  the  war  in  1865.  when  he  returned  home 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  517 

to  enjoy  peace  and  the  society  of  loved  ones.  He  married  Miss 
Marj^aret  McKee  April  14,  1.846.  in  Ireland.  Th-^y  have  four 
children,  David,  Scott,  Emma  and  Elizabeth;  and  have  lost  one, 
Isabel.  Mr,  N.  is  one  o£  the  pioneers  of  the  county,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Association;  owns  200  acres  of  land 
valued  at  837  per  acre. 

Patrick  Norton,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  owns  180  acres  of  land 
valued  at  §1:0  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  1811  in  County  Roscom- 
mon, Ireland.  In  183^1  he  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.,  locating  near 
St.  Albans,  Vt..  working  at  farming  and  in  a  tannery  some  two 
years,  then  went  to  N.  Y..  near  Schenectady,  and  engaged  at  work 
on  the  Erie  Canal  till  1840,  when  he  went  to  Canada,  remaining 
two  or  three  years;  thence  to  Rouse's  Point,  N.  Y.,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  working  on  Goverment  fortifications.  In  1853  came 
to  Allamakee  Co,  Iowa,  and  located  on  his  present  farm,  it  then 
being  raw  land,  which  by  hard  labor,  economy  and  perseverance 
he  has  made  it  a  well  improved  farm;  but  he  had  the  misfortune 
to  lose  his  eye  sight  a  few  years  ago.  Thus  in  his  declining  years 
he  is  compelled  to  travel  life's  journey  in  the  dark,  but  with  the 
kind  assistance  of  many  friends.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Bridget 
Rhodes  in  X.  \^.  in  1839.  She  was  a  native  of  County  Mayo, 
Ireland;  their  children  are  Catharine,  John,  Mary,  Maggie,  William 
and  Isabella;  having  lost  two,  Ellen  and  Anna.  William,  who 
carries  on  the  farm,  was  born  in  1852  at  Rouse's  Point,  N.  Y., 
and  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Peck,  a  native  of  Wyoming  Co., 
N.  Y.,  in  1879.     They  have  two  children,  Francis  and    William. 

Hon.  H.  Nielander,  senior  member  of  the  old  and  reliable  firm 
of  Nielander  &  Brockhausen,  was  born  in  Detmold,  Princedom 
Lippe,  Germany,  in  1833.  In  1851  he  came  to  the  U.  S.,  and  first 
located  at  Waupun,  Wis.  The  next  year  he  went  to  Galena,  111., 
and  served  as  clerk  in  a  general  store.  In  1854  he  associated 
Theo.  Brockhausen  and  Charles  Shierhcjz  as  partners,  came  to 
Lansing  and  in  the  month  of  September  established  a  general  mer- 
chandise and  grain  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Nielander, 
Schierholz  &  Co.  This  firm  continued  with  marked  success  until 
1869,  when  Mr.  Schierholz  withdrew,  and  the  firm  became  Nie- 
lander &  Brockhausen.  In  1872-3-4  the  business  of  this  firm 
amounted  to  one  million  (§1,000,000)  annually.  Mr.  Nielander  in 
politics  first  belonged  to  the  Free-soil  party,  next  he  joined  the 
Republican  ranks,  and  remained  there  all  through  the  war  and 
until  1872.  He  then  supported  Horace  Greeley,  again  returned 
to  the  fold  as  a  liberal  Republican.  He  has  held  numerous  local 
offices  at  diff"erent  intervals  and  in  1879  was  elected  State  Senator 
of  the  Forty-first  District,  and  i^  now  serving  in  that  capacity  as 
the  first  Republican  that  ever  represented  the  district. 

Mr,  Nielander  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M,,  I.  0,  0.  F 
and  the  Deutscher  Verein.  He  was  a  stockholder  in  the  First 
National  Bank  during  its  entire  career,  also  served  as  its   vice 


518  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

president,  and  is  at  present  a  partner  in  the  bank  of  Lansing, 
firm  J.  W.  Thomas  &  Co.  Mr.  Nielander  was  also  president  of 
the  Allamakee  County  Savings  Bank,  from  1873  until  it  went  in- 
to voluntary  liquidation.  Thus  it  can  be  seen  that  Mr.  Nielander 
is  a  man  of  extraordinary  business  ability.  During  his  entire  ca- 
reer he  has  always  been  careful  to  meet  all  obligations  promptly, 
and  he  therefore  has  the  highest  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fel- 
lowmen.  He  was  united  in  marriage  in  1861  with  Miss  Augusta 
Schierholz,  and  they  now  have  four  children  living,  Augusta, 
Martha,  Harry,  and  Herman. 

S.  J.  Nichols  (deceased),  was  one  of  the  pioneers  who  settled  in 
Allamakee  County  in  1851,  and  followed  farming  in  the  town  of 
Makee  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  took  place  in  December, 
1869,  Mr.  Nichols  was  known  by  all  as  a  pure  minded,  honest 
and  upright  man,  who  always  believed  in  doing  unto  others  as  he 
wished  to  be  done  by.  He  left  a  wife  and  four  children  to  mourn 
his  loss, 

S.  J,  Nichols,  Jr.,  was  born  in  the  State  of  Nevr  York  in  1850, 
came  west  with  his  parents,  and  now  has  charge  of  the  estate 
of  his  father.     He  was  married  in  1881  to  Miss  Libbie  Robertson. 

Chas.  Nees,  proprietor  of  hotel  and  store,  P.  0.  Lycurgus;  a 
native  of  Germany;  born  in  1816,  and  was  bred  to  the  mercantile 
life.  He  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1854,  and  for  ten 
years  was  engaged  in  business  at  Dubuque,  Iowa.  He  then  came 
to  Allamakee  County  and  followed  farming  until  1870,  when  he 
engaged  in  his  present  business.  Has  been  postmaster  at  Lycur- 
gus since  1872.     He  was  married  in  1859  to   Wilhimeni   S , 

a  native  of  Germany.     They  have  six  children. 

T.  Nachtwey,  dealer  in  drugs  and  medicines,  Lansing;  born  in 
Hanover,  Germany,  in  1833;  came  to  the  United  States  in  1859; 
was  educated  to  his  profession  previous  to  coming  to  America, 
Was  married  on  the  day,  of  his  emigration  to  the  United  States, 
in  1859,  to  Miss  Louisa  Erp-Brockhausen,  They  have  one  daugh- 
ter, Elsa.  Mr.  N,  has  been  mayor  and  county  superintendent  two 
terms  each. 

H.  F.  Opfer,  dealer  in  hardware,  farming  implements  and  ma- 
chinery. This  enterprising  young  merchant  is  a  son  of  Simon 
and  Christena  Opfer,  and  was  born  in  Sheboygan  County,  Wis., 
in  1853.  In  1865  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Iowa  and  settled 
in  Allamakee  County.  Here  he  helped  till  the  soil  until  1870,  at 
which  time  he  entered  the  store  of  W.  C.  Earle,  where  he  served 
as  clerk  for  over  six  years.  He  now  concluded  to  engage  in  busi- 
ness for  himself ,  and  in  April,  1877,  opened  a  hardware  store. 
The  year  following  he  removed  to  his  present  location,  and  is 
meeting  with  marked  success,  carrying  a  stock  of  about  $5,000. 
He  also  does  an  extensive  business  in  farming  implements  and 
machinery.  Mr.  Opfer  was  married  in  1879  to  Miss  Mary  Hager, 
and  now  has  two  children,  Elmer  G.  and  Leonard  J. 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  519 

Simon  Opfer,  farmer,  sec.  22,  Ludlow  tp.;  P.  0.  Waukon;  a 
native  of  Germany,  born  in  1822.  In  the  fall  of  1849  he  was 
married  to  Christina  Stucignan,  and  in  1851  emigrated  to  the  U. 
S.,  and  first  settled  in  Sheboygan  County,  Wis.  In  18G5  he  re- 
moved to  Iowa  and  located  in  Allamakee  County.  Mr.  Opfer  has 
been  quite  successful  in  the  accumulation  of  this  world's  goods,  as 
he  now  owns  532  acres  of  land,  a  house  and  lot  in  Waukon,  and 
the  store  now  occupied  by  his  son.  Tlie  children  are  Simon  and 
Henry  F. 

James  Orr,  Postville,  farmer;  owns  280  acres  of  land  valued  at 
$50  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1829,  his  parents  emi- 
grating to  the  United  States  in  1834,  locating  in  Schuyler  county, 
N.  Y.  He  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools  and  at 
the  Flattsburg  and  Starkey  semiraries;  followed  teaching  several 
winters  in  New  York  and  six  terms  since  coming  to  Iowa.  In 
1855  he  came  to  Allamakee  County,  Iowa.  He  married  Miss  M. 
A.  Ellison,  January  1st,  1856.  She  is  a  native  of  New  York; 
they  have  seven  children,  Ellison  J.,  Darius  S.,  Frank  M.,  Mary 
E.,  Jennie  B.,  Carrie  and  OUie.  Mr.  0.  has  served  in  several  im- 
portant positions  in  his  tp.,  and  is  a  prominent  and  influential 
citizen. 

A.  G.  Olson,  P.  0.  Lansing;  farmer,  sec.  21;  son  of  Andrew 
and  Bertha  Olson;  born  December  19,  1830,  in  Sweden:  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States  in  1853,  stopping  in  Rock  Island 
County,  111.,  till  in  1854,  when  his  parents  also  came  from  the  old 
country,  and  they  all  came  on  to  Allamakee  County  in  a  steamboat 
up  the  Mississippi  River  to  Lansing.  The  cholera  prevailed  to  a 
considerable  extent  on  the  vessel,  from  the  efl"ects  of  which  his 
mother  died  soon  after  reaching  here.  Located  in  Center  town- 
ship, there  then  being  few  families  in  the  township.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Anna  C.  Lindburg,  January  6,  1855;  their  chil- 
dren are  Mary  A.,  Albert  G.  and  Ada  E.  Mr.  0.  now  owns^near- 
ly  200  acres  of  land,  mostly  on  the  Village  Creek  bottom,  which 
is  considered  far  superior  to  the  high  lands.  He  is  one  of  the  en- 
terprising  men  of  his  township,  having  served  his  township  in 
so  me  official  capacity,  most  of  the  time  since  living  in  it,  and  is 
at  present  one  of  the  trustees. 

J.  L.  Orre,  dealer  in  hardware;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1852.  In 
1854  the  family  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  and  settled  in  Allamakee 
County.  Here  J.  L.  received  a  common  school  education  and 
helped  till  the  soil  until  1873,  at  which  time  he  entered  the  store 
of  L.  Olson,  Lansing,  for  whom  he  clerked  one  year,  then  dealt  in 
agricultural  implements  and  machinery  until  July,  1879,  when  he 
removed  to  Waukon  and  established  his  present  business;  carries 
a  stock  of  from  $4,000  to  $5,000.  He  was  married  in  187(1  to 
■  Mary  Ann  Hansen,  and  has  two  children,  Herman  and  Tinka. 

L.  Olson,  farmer,  was  born  in  Norway  in  1834.  In  1854  he 
came  to  America  and  settled  in    A^illage  Creek,     He  was  engaged 


520  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

in  the  mercantile  business  in  Lansing  for  a  number  of  j^ears,  has 
also  carried  on  the  same  business  in  Village  Creek,  and  in  1882 
settled  on  his  present  farm.  He  married. Christina  Carleson  in  1856. 
Their  children  are,  Carl,  Albert,  Leonard  S.,  Elizabeth  and  Caroline. 

N.  Plemling,  dealer  in  clothing,  boots,  shoes  and  gent's  furnish- 
ing goods,Twas  born  in  Luxembourg  Nov.,  1851;  emigrated  to  the 
U.  S.  in  1875;  lived  at  LaCrosse,  Wis.,  until  July,  1876,  at  which 
time  he  came  to  Waukon  and  commenced  as  merchant  tailor.  In 
March,  1879,  he  added  a  stock  of  clothing  and  continued  until 
Sept..  1881,  when  he  removed  to  his  present  location,  added  boots 
and  shoes  and  carries  a  stock  of  about  813.000.  He  was  married 
at  LaCrosse,  Wis.,  April  26,  1875,  to  Miss  Mary  Marson,  a  native 
of  Luxumbourg.  The  children  are  Josephene.  Emmel  and  Bertha, 
His  religion  is  Roman  Catholic. 

William  Patterson,  a  native  of  Canada,  was  born  in  July,  1843. 
He  learned  the  mason  trade,  and  in  1864  came  to  the  U.  S.,  first 
stopping  in  Mich.,  where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ann  Jordan. 
In  1865  he  removed  to  Wisconsin,  and  in  1866  to  Clayton  Co., 
Iowa.  Here  he  followed  farming  till  1877,  at  which  time  he  came 
to  Allamakee  Co.,  and  acted  as  superintendent  of  piling  for  the 
bridges  of  the  W.  &  M.  railroad.  He  has  three  children,  Mar- 
garet J.,  Hannah  H.  and  George. 

Holver  Peterson,  blacksmith,  was  born  in  Norway  in  1841; 
learned  the  blacksmith's  trade,  and  in  1869  emigrated  to  the  U.  S., 
first'stopping  at  Lansing,  but  two  months  subsequently,  moved 
to  Waukon.  Here  he  worked  at  his  trade  for  C.  F.  Npwell,  until 
1873,  when  he  formed  a  partnership  with  H.  Simonsen,  as  Simon- 
sen  &  Peterson.  Mr.  Peterson  was  married  in  July,  1869,  to  Miss 
C.  Olsen.  They  have  four  children  living,  Willie,  Adolph,  Lena 
and  Herman. 

Azel  Pratt  (deceased),  carpenter  and  builder;  was  born  at  He- 
bron, Maine,  in  1810.  Came  to  this  Co.  in  1850  and  opened  a  farm 
on  Makee  Ridge,  where  he  built  a  little  log  cabin,  a  portion  of 
which  was  occupied  by  his  brother,  Lemuel,  from  which  to  retail 
the  first  small  lot  of  store  goods  ever  brought  to  Makee  tp.  In 
1856  he  removed  to  Waukon  where  he  continued  to  reside  until 
his  death,  Feb.  19,  1881.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church  at  nineteen  years  of  age;  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  organiz- 
ing a  church  at  Waukon,  and  lived  an  active  life  in  the  faith. 
''Deacon  Pratt"  was  one  of' the  influential  citizens,  and  a  tireless 
worker,  early  and  late.  He  was  a  charter  member  and  first  treas- 
urer of  the  "''Old  Settlers' Association,'  organized  in  1879.  Mr. 
Pratt  married  Mary  Hersey  in  1833.  She  was  born  in  1814  and 
died  in  1881,  preceding  her  husband  to  the  grave  by  only  thirteen 
days,  and  was  a  most  exemplary  christian  woman.  They  had 
seven  children,  Noah  H.,  Marc'ellus  H.,  W^illie,  Richmond  G., 
Emory  W.,  Ella  I.  and  James  L.  All  of  whom  are  living,  except 
Willie,  who  died  young. 


ALLAMAKEE   COU^TTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  521 

Jaiues  L.  Pratt  is  a  native  of  Makee  tp.,  where  he  was  born  in 
1856,  near  Waiikon,  which  town  has  ever  since  been  his  home. 
He  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  with  his  father,  Azel  Pratt.  In 
1873  he  learned  the  printino:  trade  at  Postville  whicli  he  has  followed 
most  of  the  time  since.  Was  foreman  of  the  Waukon  Democrat 
office  for  nearly  three  years,  until  May,  1882.  Has  been  superin- 
tendent of  the  Baptist  Sunday  School,  since  July,  1880.  Mr. 
Pratt  was  married  March  31, 1880,  to  Miss  Edith  'F.  Wedgwood, 
daughter  of  Rev.  J.  M.  Wedgwood,  of  Rossville,  and  has  one  child, 
Ada  Mary. 

Wm.  W.  Pardee,  P.O.  Rossville,  proprietor  of  hotel;  was  born 
in' Herkimer  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1817,  remaining  in  his  native  Co.  till 
after  his  marriage,  which  occurred  in  1837,  to  Miss  Mary  C. 
Phillips,  also  a  native  of  same  county;  moved  to  Rome,  N.  Y.  in 
1838,  and  to  Crawford  Co.,  Pa.,  in  1839,  where  he  remained  till  in 
1854  he  emigrated  to  Dane  Co.,  Wis.,  and  from  there  to  Rossville 
in  1862,  purchasing  the  hotel  property  which  he  still  owns.  They 
have  four  children  living,  Bela  B.,  Emma,  Josephine,  and  Corlin; 
lost  two  sons,  Marcus  J.  and  William  J.,  who  lost  their  lives  in  the 
defence  of  their  country  duiing  the  late  Rebellion.  The  first  was 
a  member  of  Co.  A.,  2d  Wis.  Infty,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle 
of  Antietam,  Sept.  IT,  1862;  the  hatter  was  a  member  of  Co.  I., 
27th  lo.  Infty.,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Pleasant  Hill,  La., 
April  9,  1864.  ' 

Eelix  H.  Plank,  section  30,  P.  0.  Waukon;  owns  a  farm  of  160 
acres,  valued  at  $50  per  acre;  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Plank; 
was  born  in  Carroll  Co.,  Indiana,  in  1848;  his  parents  came  to  this 
Co.  in  1854,  locating  on  the  land  upon  which  he  now  lives,  his 
father  having  left  the  farm  in  1803  and  moved  into  Waukon, 
where  he  still  resides.  F.  H.  is  one  of  six  children,  the  five 
others  being  Levi  W.,  Anna,  Rena,  Alice  and  Vashti,  five  having 
deceased— John,  Daniel,  Florence,  Finis  and  Walter.  F.  H.  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  Robertson  in  1874.  She  was  born  in 
Prince  Edwards  Islands.  They  have  four  children,  D.  G.,  Charles 
L.,  Lyle  J.,  Howard  L.  Mrs.  iP.  is  a  member  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church.     Mr.  P.  is  republican  in  politics. 

John  F.  Pitt,  P.  0.  I  Waukon,  farmer  and  gardener,  sec.  25;  is 
a  descendant  of  Sir  William  Pitt,  and  was  born  in  Bristol,  Eng- 
land, August  27th,  1828.  His  father,  Richard  Pitt,  was  fore- 
man in  a  soap  and  candle  factory  at  Bristol,  but  died  when  the 
subiect  of  this  sketch  was  a  small  boy,  his  mother's  death  ^having 
preceded  the  father's  some  years,  thus  leaving  John  I.  to  be 
cared  for  by  his  grandfather  Pitt.  At  the  early  age  of  eight 
years  he  was  apprenticed  in  a  soap  and  candle  factory,  in  which 
business  he  was  engaged  during  his  minority,  and  principally  till 
1855,  when  he  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.,  locating  on  section  2o,  ot 
Union  Prairie  tp.  In  1858  he  sold  most  of  his  farm,  retaining 
only  30  acres,  valued  at  $3,000,  which  he  uses  for  gardening  pur- 


522  ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY   BIOGKAPHIES. 

poses.  In  1862  Mr.  P.  enlisted  in  Co.  F.,  6fch  lo.  Cav.,  the  regi- 
ment being  employed  in  the  defence  of  the  frontier  in  tlie  north- 
Avest.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of  Whetstone  Hills,  against 
the  Indians;  served  two  years  in  quartermaster's  department,  one 
winter  at  Davenport  and  one  in  Sioux  City;  was  discharged  in 
1865.  Mr.  P.  was  first  married  in  England,  to  Miss  Celia  Parker, 
in  1847.  She  died  in  1879,  and  he  was  again  married  to  Mrs. 
Mary  Grayson,  March  28,  1880.  He  has  one  daughter  by  his  first 
marriage,  Elizabeth  A.,  now  Cummiugs. 

Zeruih  Post,  a  native  of  Jefferson  Co.,  N.  Y.,  was  born  in  1807. 
Her  maiden  name  was  Stevenson.  She  was  married  to  Joel  N. 
Post  in  1831;  he  was  a  native  of  Vt.  In  1836  they  immigrated  to 
Grreen  Bay,  Wis.,  remaining  there  till  the  summer  of  1838,  when 
they  again  started  westward  in  a  canoe  down  the  Wisconsin  River, 
being  two  weeks  before  they  landed  at  Prairie  du  Chien.  They 
located  in  Clayton  Co.,  lo.  In  1840  Mr.  Post  was  selected  by 
Gen.  Brooks  to  take  charge  of  a  station  known  as  the  Half-Way 
House,  on  the  military  road  between  Prairie  du  Chien  and  Fort 
Atkinson,  they  first  locating  about  one  mile  east  from  where  she 
now  lives.  Subsequently  Gen.  Sumner  granted  them  a  permit  to 
re-locate  where  the  town  of  Postville  now  stands.  At  that  time 
their  nearest  neighbor  was  twelve  miles  east,  where  the  town  of 
Monona  now  stands,  Fort  Atkinson  being  24  miles  west,  that  be- 
ing the  place  where  the  Indians  received  their  supplies  from  the 
Government.  Their  only  neighbors  from  1840  to  1848  were  the 
Indians,  who  were  removed  during  the  latter  year.  In  1849  the 
postoffice  was  established  and  called  Postville,  Mr.  Post  being 
commissioned  as  postmaster,  but  before  the  commission  arrived 
Mr.  Post  died,  leaving  the  duties  of  the  postoffice  to  Mrs.  Post's 
brother.  After  the  death  of  her  husband  Mrs.  Post  purchased 
from  the  Government  480  acres  of  land,  the  same  being  the  land 
upon  which  they  had  located  and  partly  improved,  the  town  of 
Postville  being  located  upon  part  of  it.  Mrs.  Post  has  five  chil- 
dren living:  Joel  N.,  now  in  Dakota;  Mary  Switzer,  now  in  Cali- 
fornia; Margaret  Sherwood,  now  in  Minnesota;  Lydia  LaCook,  in 
Colorado,  and  Lucy  Roll,  of  Postville,  but  soon  to  leave  for  Mon- 
tana. She  lost  one  son,  John  S.,  who  died  while  in  the  service  of 
his  country  during  the  late  rebellion. 

J.  W.  Patterson,  P.  0.  Postville;  farmer,  sec.  21;  owns  285 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $35  per  acre;  was  born  in  Morgan  county, 
Ohio,  in  182G,  where  he  remained  till  the  spring  of  1854,  when 
he  came  to  this  county,  locating  on  his  present  farm,  it  then  be- 
ing raw  land,  with  no  markets  nearer  than  the  Mississippi  Riv- 
er. He  was  married  to  Miss  Caroline  E.  Patton,  of  Ohio,  in  1849; 
they  have  five  children,  Olive  T.,  Mary  A.,  William  C,  Lyman  L. 
and  Cynthia  J.  Mr.  P.  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  also 
of  the  Congregational  Church. 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  523 

S.  C.  Perry,  farmer,  P.  0.  Postville;  owns  a  farm  of  215  acres 
valued  at  §30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Windom  County,  Conn,  in 
1828,  where  he  lived  till  1855,  when  he  started  for  the  west,  first 
stopping  in  Houston  County,  Minnesota,  and  came  to  Allamakee 
County  in  1885.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Tryon  in  1860. 
She  was  born  in  Wyoming  County,  New  York.  They  have  four 
children,  Timothy,  Retta,  Ella  and  Edith,  and  have  lost  two,  Mar- 
tha and  Henry. 

S.  S.  Powers,  attorney,  Postville;  born  in  the  state  of  New 
York  in  183G;  commenced  the  study  of  law  under  the  Hon.  W. 
L.  Sessions,  of  Chautauqua  County,  N.  Y.,  in  1857,  and  after- 
wards attended  the  Cleveland  Law  School,  where  he  graduated  in 
1860,  and  the  same  year  moved  to  Newton  County,  Ind.,  commen- 
cing the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  1862  he  came  to  Clayton 
Co.,  lo.,  and  the  following  year  to  Hardin,  Allamakee  Co.  In  the 
spring  of  1870  he  came  to  Postville,  where  he  still  resides  follow- 
ing his  profession,  his  practice  being  principally  in  this  and  three 
adjoining  counties.  He  married  Miss  Helen  ^farrand,  January  2, 
1859;  they  have  four  children:  Loren  M.,  who  is  now  attending 
the  law  department  of  the  State  University  at  Iowa  City;  Velma 
C,  Grace  H.  and  La  Rue  R.  Mr.  P.  has  served  as  mayor  of  Post- 
ville; also  as  W.  M.  of  the  Masonic  Lodge  eight  years,  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.,  I.  0.  0.  F.  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

James  Perry,  agent  B.,  C.  R.  &  N.  R.  R.  Co.  at  Postville,  was 
born  at  Manchester,  England,  in  1836,  his  parents  emigrating  to 
the  United  States  in  1842,  locating  at  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  where 
they  remained  till  1854,  when  they  located  on  a  farm  in  Wau- 
kesha County,  he  remaining  with  them  till  the  spring  of  1862, 
when  he  went  to  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  in  August  of  the  same 
year  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  6th  Mich.  Cav.,  serving  three  years  and 
participating  in  many  battles,  among  which  were  the  battle  of 
the  Wilderness,  Five  Forks,  Appomattox  Court  House,  and  Get- 
tysburg. He  was  discharged  in  August,  1865,  after  which,  during 
the  same  year,  he  came  to  Postville,  lo.,  and  oiga^^ed  as  clerk  in 
the  office  of  the  M.  &  W.  R.  R.  Company,  now  the  C.,  M.  &  St.  P., 
where  he  remained  till,  in  1877,  he  took  charge  of  the  office  of  the 
B.  0.  R.  &  N.  Railroad  Company.  He  was  married  to  Sophia 
Stephens,  a  native  of  Scotland,  in  1869,  and  has  three  children, 
M.  J.,  Edgar  J.  and  J.  William.  Mr.  P.  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic order,  and  also  the  A.  0.  U.  W. 

John  A.  Peterson,  sec.  20,  P.  0.  Elon,  farmer;  born  January 
21,tl836;  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1851,  stopping  at 
Boston,  working  at  shoemaking  during  the  winters  and  fishing 
for  mackerel  during  the  summer.  In  1857,  he  came  to  Rock 
Island,  111.,  about  the  time  of  the  Mormon  massacre  at  Mountain 
Meadow,  which  caused  quite  an  excitement.  The  government 
was  enlisting  soldiers  for  the  regular  army,  to  go  out    there,  and 


524  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

he  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  6tli  U.  S.  Inf.,  and  started  by  overland  for 
Utah,  where  they  stopped  for  a  short  time,  soon  pushing  on  to 
Benicia  Barracks,  Cal.,  remaining  but  a  short  time,  when  they 
were  ordered  to  Mendocino,  as  headquarters  for  scouting  expedi- 
tions against  the  Indians.  During  some  of  those  excursions,  and 
whilein  battle  he  was  severely  wounded  by  an  Indian  arrow  pierc- 
ing his  left  breast  and  entering  the  lungs.  Upon  falling,  he 
pulled  the  arrow  from  his  body,  the  blood  following  in  a  stream. 
He  soon  became  unconscious,  and  was  picked  up  for  dead  by  his 
comrades  after  the  battle,  but  finding  him  yet  alive,  they  carried 
him  to  camp,  when  by  kind  care  and  nursing  he  finally  recovered. 
But  being  disabled  so  as  to  be  unfit  for  duty,  he  was  discharged  in 
August,  1860,  at  Rock  Island,  111.  He  then  went  to  Chicago, 
where  he  had  friends,  and  was  married  there  in  June,  1861,  to 
Miss  Anna  S.  Olson,  immediately  starting  for  Allamakee  County. 
At  first  he  worked  at  his  trade,  but  on  account  of  his  wound  he 
was  compelled  to  discontinue  it.  He  then  purchased  40  acres  of 
land  and  commence^  farming.  In  the  spring  of  1864  he  enlisted 
in  Co.  B,  27th  Inf.,  lo.  Vol.,  went  south  and  participated  in  the 
battle  of  Tupelo,  Miss.,  which  proving  too  hard  for  him,  he 
was  sent  to  the  hospital  at  Memphis,  and  afterwards  to  Jefi'erson 
Barracks,  Mo.,  and  to  Davenport  in  May,  1864,  and  discharged. 
He  then  moved  to  Webster  County,  Iowa,  remaining,  about  a 
year,  wheij  he  sold  out  and  returned  to  Center  tp.,  purchasing 
his  present  farm  of  177  and  one-half  acres,  which  is  now  worth 
about  $4,000.  Mr.  P.  has  served  as  trustee  of  the  township,  and 
is  at  present  serving  his  11th  year  as  justice  of  the  peace.  His 
children  are  Matilda  C,  Joshua  A.,  Joel  A.,  Huldah  E.,  Alma 
0.  and  Jonathan  A.;  he  has  lost  two  children,  John  A.  and  Og- 
den  0.     Mr.  P.  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church. 

A.  R.  Prescott,  P.  M.  Postville;  born  in  Maine  in  1834,  his  par- 
ents immigrated  to  Winnebago  Co.,  111.,  in  1846,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1852,  he  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  Iowa,  his  parents  following  in 
the  fall.  He  engaged  as  clerk  in  a  general  store  at  McGregor  in 
1853;  in  1854  in^  a  surveying  expedition  in  Minn.,  and  in  1855 
went  to  Floyd  Co.,  Iowa,  where  he  Avas  elected  County  Surveyor 
in  1856.  He  followed  teaching  and  surveying  till  in  1861,  when 
he  enlisted  in  Co.  I  of  an  engineer  regiment  of  Missouri  Volun- 
teers; was  conductor  of  the  gun  car  train  on  the  Memphis  and 
Charleston  and  Mobile  and  Ohio  Railroads  eighteen  months;  was 
mustered  out  in  1864  as  2d  Lieut.,  returned  to  Allamakee  Co.,  and 
farmed  for  two  years;  then  came  to  Postville  and  engaged  in  the 
hardware  business;  sold  out  in  1879;  was  appointed  postmaster  in  ' 
1877;  has  served  as  County  Surveypr  one  term,  and  as  deputy 
twelve  years;  was  also  a  candidate  for  representative  in  1873;  mar- 
ried Lydia  A.  Easton,  of  N.  Y.,Nov.  1,  1865;  they  have  three  cUil- 
dren,  Mabel,  Sarah  H.  and  Alba  R.;  have  lost  one  daughter, 
Theodosia. 


THI 


1       TILDtN 


J 


ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES,  525 

James  Powers,  of  the  firm  of  P.  B.  Manning  &  Co.,  dealers  in 
agricultural  imi)lcnientp,  was  boru  in  Ireland  in  1847,  came  to 
America  in  1840  with  his  parents,  and  settled  in  Kentucky,  where 
they  remained  seven  years,  and  then  came  to  Taylor  tp.,  this  Co., 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  raised.  He  was  married  to 
Catharine  Collins,  a  native  of  N.  H.;  they  have  three  children, 
John,  Edmund  and  Mary. 

Hon.  Chas  Pauik.  whose  portrait  appears  in  this  work,  is  a  farmer 
in  sec.  28,  P.  0.  Waukon;  one  of  the  early  settlers  and  prom- 
inent men;  is  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  was  born  July  19,  1809. 
He  was  reared  in  St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  he  received  an 
academic  education.  In  1830  he  entered  the  freshman  class  of 
Middleburg  College,  Vt.,  and  graduated  in  1834.  .He  then  taught 
in  a  classical  and  mathematical  school  at  Genevia,  N;  Y.  Subse- 
quently taught  in  Monroe  Cq.,  also  studied  law,  and  in  1837  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  He  then  followed  the  legal  profession  until 
1850,  when  he  was  attacked  with  the  California  gold  fever,  and  so 
spent  two  years  on  the  Pacific  slope.  On  his  return  from  Cali- 
fornia he  came  to  Iowa  and  soon  located  where  he  now  resides. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1860-61,  again  in  1863,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1865  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1841  to  Miss  Harriet  Leach,  who  died  in  July  1856,  leaving 
two  children.  In  Nov.,  1857,  he  was  again  married  to  Miss  Elle 
Conover.     Politically,  he  is  a  Democrat. 

N.  H.  Pratt,  carpenter,  a  pioneer  of  1850,  was  born  in  Md.  in 
1834.  In  1850  with  his  parents,  Azel  and  Mary  Pratt,  four 
brothers  and  one  sister,  he  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  and  settled  on 
sec.  18,  Makee  tp..  In  1854  he  spent  about  six  months  at  St. 
Anthony's  Falls;  then  returned  to  Makee  and  continued  farming 
until  1860.  He  then  went  to  111.,  and  in  1862  enlisted  in  Co.  I, 
95th  111.  Inf.  Vol.,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  he 
was  mustered  out  as  2d  Lieut  of  the  48th  U.  S.  colored  troops; 
since  which  time  he  has  been  at  Waukon.  From  1871  to  1878  he 
was  engaged  in  the  furniture  business.  He  was  married  in  Oct., 
1856  to  Miss  Abbie  F.  Brayton.  The  children  are  Estella  and 
Katie.  Mr.  Pratt  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  I.  0.  0.  F. 
and  A.  0.  U.W. 

H.  H.  Pope  was  born  in  County  Waterford,  Ireland,  in  1833. 
When  he  was  a  young  man  he  took  charge  of  a  vessel  belonging 
to  his  father.  During,  his  term  of  office  he  visited  all  the  promi- 
nent seaports  of  Europe.  The  vessel  of  which  he  was  in  charge 
was  lost  near  the  island  of  Anticosta  in  St.  Lawrence  River.  He 
then  went  back  to  Ireland,  stayed  a  year  and  a  half,  and  in  1852 
came  to  America  and  settled  in  Allamakee  County.  In  1861  he 
enlisted  in  Co.  K,  5th  lo.  Vol.,  remained  in  the  service  a  year  and 
three  months,  and  was  discharged  on  account  of  an  old  gunshot 
wound  received  in  Italy  in  1848;  returned  to  this  county  and  was 
engaged  in  carriage  painting.     In  ISSOhewent  back  to  Ir:?land  to 

33 


626  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

settle  the  estate  of  his  father.  He  now  owns  a  large  farm  near 
Village  Creek,  devoted  to  raising  fine  stock.  He  married  Nar- 
sessia  Thompson  in  1864.  They  have  four  children,  Elizab3th, 
Thomas.  Phillip  and  Frederick. 

John  G.  Rateliffe,  civil  engineer,  surveyor  and  bridge  builder, 
was  born  in  West  Virginia  in  1844,  came  with  his  parents  to  Al- 
lamakee County  in  1858.  Here  he  hplped  till  the  soil  and  educa- 
ted himself  as  a  civil  engineer.  In  1867  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Kate  Adams,  then  of  Winneshiek  County,  but  a  native  of  La 
Fayette,  Ind.  She  died  in  the  spring  of  1869.  In  the  fall  of 
1870  he  married  Miss  Emma  Knapp,  of  Woodstock,  III.  In  1872 
he  published  a  map  of  Allamakee  County.  In  1873  he  purchased 
•an  interest  in  the  Village  Creek  Wcolen  Mills,  and  resided  at  that 
place  until  the  spring  of  1878,  during  which  time — in  the  spring 
•of  1875 — the  property  was  destroyed  by  fire;  but  was  soon  re- 
built, and  is  now  owned  by  Howard,  Carrolls  &  RatclifFe.  He  then 
removed  to  his  present  place  of  residence,  located  in  the  west  part 
of  town,  where  he  owns  40  acres,  Mr.  K.  has  for  years  made  a 
study  of  the  geological  and  physical  features  of  the  county,  and 
has  written  and  preserved  much  of  its  history.  The  children  are 
John  J.,  Mary  A.,  Benj.  W.,  Belle  and  Ruby  K. 

F.  H.  Robbins,  insurance.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  fig- 
ured prominently  in  the  business  and  public  enterprises  of  Alla- 
makee County  for  many  years.  He  was  born  in  Wyoming  Co., 
N.  Y.,  in  1840,  and  in"l855  came  west  with  his  parents,  first  set- 
tling at  Columbus,  Allamakee  County.  In  18G2  he  enlisted  in  Co. 
I,  27th  Inf.,  and  served  three  years,  when  he  was  mustered  out  as 
2d  Lieut.  April  1,  1806,  he  engaged  in  business  with  his  brother, 
A.  B.  Robbms,  with  whom  he  continued  until  March  20,  1881. 
Mr.  Robbins  was  actively  engaged  in  the  building  of  the  W.  & 
M.  railroad,  and  is  an  earnest  worker  for  the  republican  partj. 
He  was  married  April  14,  1867,  to  Miss  Althea  A.  Pottle,  daugh- 
ter of  W.  R.  and  Almeda  A.  Pottle,  and  now  has  two  children, 
Jessie  F.  and  Matal  S.  Mr.  R.  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.,  A.  0.  U.  W.  and  L  L.  0.  H. 

Albert  Rosa  is  a  son  of  A.  P.  Rosa  (deceased),  who  was  a  native 
of  N.  Y.,  married  Rachel  Patterson,  and  in  1848  came  to  Iowa. 
In  1851  he  settled  in  Franklin  tp.,  and  proved  a  very  successful 
farmer,  accumulating  a  very  large  amount  of  land.  Hia  wife  di^ed 
in  1871  leaving  seven  sons  and  two  daughters.  He  died  in  1877. 
Albert  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the  youngest  of  the 
children.  He  was  born  in  the  State  of  N.  Y.  in  1853,  and  came 
with  his  parents  to  Iowa,  and  in  1877  was  married  to  Mary  E. 
Schwartz.  She  died  in  April,  1880.  In  the  fall  of  1880  Mr.  Rosa 
located  at  Waukon,  and  has  since  beendealin<^  in  grain. 

A.  E.  Robbins.  druggist,  one  of  Allamakee's  early  settlers  and 
prominent  business  men,  was  born  in  Wyoming  On,  N.  Y.,  in 
1838,  came  west  with  his  parents  in  1855  and  settled  at  Columbus. 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    RIOGRAPHIE^il.  527 

111  1861  he  lejame  a  partner  of  the  firm  of  J.  Goodykooiitz  &  Co., 
of  Waukon,  and  was  engaged  as  such  about  one  year.  He  then 
associated  his  brother,  K.  H.  Robbius,  as  partner,  purchased  his 
former  ])artner's  interest,  and  continued  a  drug  and  grocery  bus- 
iness under  the  firm  name  of  Robbins  Bros,  until  1881,  at  which 
time  F.  H.  Robbins  withdrew  from  business.  The  building  now 
occupied  by  A.-  E.  Robbins,  was  erected  by  Robbins  Bros,  in  1869, 
and  is  the  oldest  brick  block  in  Waukon.  Mr.  Robbins  has  always 
been  an  active  worker  for  the  Republican  party,  took  a  very  active 
part  in  securing  the  county  seat  at  Waukon,  and  was  one  of  the 
prime  movers  in  building  the  W.  &  M.  R.  R.,  and  when  complet- 
ed served  as  vice-president  about  two  years.  He  was  married  in 
1865  to  Naoma  M.  Goodykoontz,  and  now  has  three  sons.  His 
father,  Alvin  Robbins,  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  a  native  of  Vt.,  who 
was  married  in  the  state  of  N.  Y.  to  Miss  Temporance  Sloam,  and 
in  1865  settled  at  Columbus,  Allamakee  Co.,  where  he  died  in  July, 
1856,  leaving  a  wife  (since  deceased),  four  sons  and  one  daughter. 
Althearis  J.  Rodgers,  contractor  and  builder,  was  born  in  Cana- 
da in  1841.  Removed  to  Waukegan,  111.,  in  1813,  and  in  October, 
1856,  came  thence  to  Waukon,  which  has  since  been  his  home_ 
October  1,  1861,  he  enlisted  as  private  in  Co.  B.  12th  Iowa,  Vols. 
and  followed  the  fortunes  of  war  with  that  veteran  regiment  until 
it  was  mustered  out  in  Jan.,  1860.  Was  Commissary  Sergeant 
previous  to  and  during  their  six  months  impii-onment  in  southern 
prison  pens,  following  the  battle  of  Shiloh.  Was  at  various  times 
detailed  as  clerk  at  regimental,  brigade,  and  division  headquarters; 
also  served  as  clerk  at  court-martial,  which  duties,  however,  could 
not  prevent  his  being  with  his  company  in  the  many  hard  fought 
battles  in  which  they  participated.  In  1864,  while  at  Mobile,  he 
was  promoted  to  Sergt.  Major  of  the  regiment.  Upon  returning 
from  the  war  Mr.  Rogers  was  employed  in  a  cabinet  shop  in  Wau- 
kon, but  shortly  after  bought  out  his  employer  and  conducted  the 
business  about  two  years,  when  he  disposed  of  it  to  take  up  hi* 
present  occupation,  and  there  are  few  if  any  of  Waukon's  sub- 
stantially built  business  blocks  which  do  not  show  his  supervision. 
His  clerical  abilities  have  called  him  to  frequent  service  of  that 
character  in  civil  life  also,  and  besides  the  secretaryship  of  various 
orders  and  associations,  he  served  several  years  as  Makee  tp.  clerk, 
many  years  as  secretary  of  the  Waukon  School  Board,  and  secre- 
tary of  the  Allamakee  County  Agricultural  Society  six  years  in 
succession,  in  which  last  two  positions  he  is  still  retained.  Upon 
the  organization  of  a  company  of  State  militia  in  the  spring  of 
1878,  Mr.  R.  was  made  2d  Sergt.  thereof,  and  in  the  following 
fall  was  elected  captain,  which  position  he  held  until  he  was  elec- 
ted major  of  the  4th  regiment,  I.  N.  G.,  in  the  summer  of  1881. 
Mr.  Rodgers  was  married  in  1860  to  Miss  Ella  I.  Pratt,  and  they 
have  had  two  children:  Ada  M.,  died  in  1879,  aged  8  years;  and 
Guy  A.,  born  May  20,  1880. 


528  ALLAMAKEE   fOL'NTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

John  Ragan,  P.  0.  Waukon.  farmer,  sec.  22:  owns  140  acres 
of  land  valued  at  ^35  per  acre;  son  of  George  and  Jemima  Ra- 
gan; was  born  in  Pickaway  County,  Ohio,  in  1833.  his  parents 
removing  to  Warren  County,  in  1842,  to  Laporte  County,  Ind., 
in  1844,  and  from  there  to  this  county  in  1855,  a  singular  coinci- 
dence being  that  they  left  Ohio  and  Indiana  on  his  birthday,  the 
15th  of  October.  He  married  Miss  Gracie  Rankin  in  1858.  She 
was  born  in  Chicago,  111.,  in  1840.  They  have  six  children,  Ella 
A.,  Effie  J.,  Gracie  H.,  George  W.,  Angle  L.  and  Edith  A.;  and 
have  lost  one  son,  Herbert. 

James  Rankin,  P.  0.  Myron,  farmer,  sec.  27;  owns  a  farm 
of  200  acres  well  improved;  son  of  Wm.  and  Mary  Rankin;  was 
born  in  Secthnd,  in  1829.  His  father  was  a  machinist  and  en- 
gineer. He  emigrated  with  his  family  to  the  United  States  in 
1833,  stopping  a  short  time  in  New  York  and  Detroit,  Michi- 
gan, from  which  latter  place  he  came  as  engineer  on  the  steam- 
er Michigan  to  Chicago,  111.,  it  being  the  first  steamboat  that 
came  into  Chicago,  which  was  then  a  very  small  insignificant 
town,  situated  in  a  quagmire.  His  father,  being  a  brass  found- 
er, concluded  to  stop  there  and  start  a  brass  foundery,  which  he 
continued  about  ten  years,  then  moved  to  a  farm  five  miles  north 
of  Elgin,  where  they  remained  till  in  1855,  when  thev  came  to 
this  township,  his  father  locating  about  two  miles  north,  and  he 
upon  his  present  farm.  His  father  died  in  1879.  Mr.  R.  was' 
married  to  Miss  Sarah  Jones  in  1860.  She  was  a  native  of 
Wales.     Their  children  are  Mary,  Ida,  Nettie  and  William. 

Richard  Ryan,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  9;  owns  a  farm  of 
360  acres  valued  at  $15  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  1818  in  Coun- 
ty Tipperary,  Ireland,  where  he  remained  till  1840,  when  he 
crossed  the  briny  ocean  to  seek  a  new  home  in  the  far  west.  He 
first  engaged  at  farm  work  in  Massachusetts  for  three  years,  then 
went  to  Union  Village,  Connecticut,  where  he  engaged  in  a  fac- 
tory for  a  firm,  Bartholomew  &  Warkison,  for  whom  he  worked 
nine  years,  after  which  he  came  to  Cattaraugus  Co.,  New  York,, 
remaining  about  a  year,  when  he  went  to  Dunkirk  and  engaged 
in  railroading  for  about  two  years.  He  then  came  to  Dubuque, 
Iowa,  and  engaged  at  the  same  business  and  quarrying  stone  for 
a  couple  of  years,  after  which  he  came  on  to  his  present  farm  in 
1856  and  commenced  improving  it,  having  purchased  a  quarter 
section  of  it  in  1848.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Fogerty,  of  Boston, 
in  1840.  Thev  have  seven  children,  Richard,  Timothy,  John, 
Henry<  Thomas  Margaret,  and  an  adopted  daughter,  Mary.  Mr. 
R.  is  one  of  the  enterprising  and  thorough-going  farmers  of  his 
tp.,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

B.  P.  Raymond,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  35;  son  of  John 
and  Christine  Raymond;  was  born  in  Trumbull  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1847. 
His  parents  moved  to  this  county  in  1852,  locirting  upon  the  farm 
upon  which  he  now  resides,  he  being  one  of  eight  children,  Ed- 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  529 

win  J.,  Wni.  S.,  David  B.,  John  B.,  Ebenezer  D.,  Atalissa  M.  and 
Harriet  L.  His  fatlier  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  his  mother 
of  Ohio.  His  father  died  in  January,  1878;  his  mother  lives  with 
him  on  a  part  of  the  homestead  of  210  acres,  which  he  now  owns. 
He  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  IsabeHa  Ross  in  18S1.  She 
being  a  native  of  this  Co.  and  the  daughter  of  H.  G.  Ross. 

Tollef  0.  Rikansrud,  P.  0.  Elon;  born  in  Norway,  September 
13,  1823;  came  to  the  United  States  in  1855,  coming  to  Allamakee 
Co.  He  married  Miss  Ragnild  Oldstatter,  in  Dec,  18^1.  She 
was  also  born  in  1823  in  Norway;  they  have  four  children,  Ole  T.. 
Sven.  Olous  and  Engebreth.  Mr.  R.  has  taken  special  interest 
in  educating  his  children,  having  sent  Ole  T.  and  Engebreth 
to  the  Lutheran  College  at  Decorah  three  years.  Ole  T.  has 
taught  a  district  school  two  terms  and  designs  to  attend  the  State 
Normal  School  at  Cedar  Falls  the  ensuing  fall.  Mr.  R.  owns  120 
acres  in  his  home  farm  and  90  acres  elsewhere.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Jacob  Rupp,  sec.  17,  P.  0.  Waukon;  owns  a  farm  of  2l0  acres, 
well  improved  and  worth  iSiO  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  Hesse. 
Darmstadt,  Germany,  in  1S33.  In  October,  1853,  he  shipped  on 
board  the  sail  vessel  Harmouia,  from  Havre  for  New  York,  where 
after  a  long  and  dangerous  voyage  they  arrived  in  New  York  in 
the  February  following,  having  been  eighty  days  on  the  water  on 
account  of  severe  storms,  and  narrowly  esca[jing  shipwreck. 
He  came  on  the  same  year  to  Monroe  County,  N.  Y.,  and  hired 
out  to  a  farmer,  for  whom  he  worked  eleven  years  and  in  1865 
rented  a  farm  for  one  year,  clearing  81,500.  Thinking  that  would 
enable  him  to  purchase  a  home  in  the  west,  in  the  spring  of  1866 
he  came  to  Allamakee  County,  Iowa,  and  purchased  a  part  of  the 
farm  he  still  owns.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  ^agle  in  1868. 
She  was  also  a  native  of  Germany.  They  have  eight  children, 
Mary,  Jacob,  Louisa,  Frank.  Edward,  Martha.  Bertie  and  Sophia. 
Mr.  R.  is  a  member  of  the  German  Reformed  Church. 

0.  A.  Ross,  P.  0.  Rossville;  farmer,  section  25;  son  of  Moses 
A.  and  Isabella  Ross,  was  born  in  1834,  in  Fayette  Co.,  Pa.,  and 
came  to  this  county  in  1853,-  being  among  the  juoneers  of  the  tp. 
In  August,  1862  he  enlisted  in  Co.  I.,  27th  lo.  Infty,  his  first  ser- 
vice being  up  to  Fort  Snelling,  afterwards  in  the  ludian  country  a 
short  time,  when  the  Company  was  taken  to  'Cairo,  111.,  and 
thence  to  Jackson,  Tenn.,  where  he  was  discharged  for  disability 
in  January,  1863,  after  which  he  returned  home,  and  the  following 
year,  1864,  was  married  to  Miss  Louisa  A.  M.  Blumm,  a  native  of 
Germany.  Their  children  are  Harry  A.,  Emily  G.  and  Gilmore. 
Mr.  R.  has  served  his  tp.  as  trustee,  is  also  a  member  of  the  I.  0. 
0.  F.  He  also  owns  a  farm  of  160  acres,  worth  §35  per  acre,  be- 
ing pleasantly  and  comfortably  situated  adjoining  the  village  of 
Rossville. 


530 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 


Edward  Raddy,  P.  0.  Forest  Mill;  farmer,  section  28;  owns  80 
acres  of  land,  worth  $3,000;  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1825,  emi- 
grated to  the  U.  S.  in  1847,  and  came  to  Rondeout,  N.  Y.,  where 
he  stopped  till  the  fall  of  1819,  when  he  went  to  New  Orleans, 
stopping  till  the  following:  spring,  then  came  to  Louisville,  Ky., 
and  shortly  after  to  Washington  Co.,  Ind.,  where  he  worked  on 
the  New  Albany  &  Salem  Railroad  about  two  years.  He  then 
•went  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  remaining  a  short  time,  and  thence  to 
Illyria,  where  he  remained  about  nine  months;  thence  to  Lafayette, 
Ind.,  remaining  during  the  winter,  and  in  the  spring  came  via  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  to  McGregor,  lo.,  which  was  in  1857. 
He  came  to  Rossville,  and  w^orked  for  a  time  in  the  steam  saw 
mill  there,  and  afterwards  at  a  saw  mill  on  Yellow  River.  In  the 
spring  of  1860  he,  like  many  others,  caught  the  Pike's  Peak  fever; 
so  he  started  down  the  Mississippi  river  and  via  Hannibal  to  St. 
Joe,  Mo.,  and  joined  a  company  and  w^ent  to  Pike's  Peak.  He 
followed  mining  in  that  vicinity  about  two  years,  and  then  wen!; 
to  the  Idaho  mines,  to  Virginia  City,  to  Helena,  Mon.,  and  the 
Blackfoot  country,  as  it  was  called,  in  Washington  Co.,  where  he 
prospected,  striking  a  claim  which  paid  him  about  $2,000.  He 
then  concluded  to  return  to  the  society  of  friends  in  old  Allamakee 
coming  via  Denver  and  Omaha  to  his  brother's,  in  this  tp.,  in  the 
fall  of  1863.  The  following  spring  he  purchased  his  present  farm 
for  $1,800,  and  commenced  farming.  In  Feb.,  1865,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Bridget  Henry,  who  died  in  Sept.,  1878,  and  in  Sept., 
1880,  he  was  again  married  to  Hannah  Burke.  His  children  by 
his  first  wife  are  Mary  C,  Margaret  and  Edward  J.,  and  by  his 
second  wife,  Martin.  Mrs,  R.  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
church. 

C.  A.  Robey,  P.  0.  Rossville;  farmer,  section  32;  son  of  Heze- 
kiah  and  Caroline  Robey;  was  born  Sept.g27th,  1844,  in  Mononga- 
hela  Co.,  West  Va.,  immigrated  with  his  parents  to  this  county  in 
the  spring  of  1855  locating  in  Franklin  tp.  the  following  fall,  where 
his  mother  still  resides.  In  Feb.,  1864,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  K.  1st 
lo.  Cav.  Their  service  was  mostly  skirmishing  in  the  southwest. 
He  served  under  A.  J.  Smith  and  Gen.  Custer;  was  mustered  out 
in  the-spring  of  1866,  returned  home  and  was  married  May  13th, 
to  Miss  Isabel  M.  Dunn,  daughter  of  William  Dunn,  and  moved 
to  his  present  farm  of  106  acres,  valued  at  $20  per  acre.  Their 
children  are  Ell jf  W.,  Angle   L.,   "  —     -- 

William  D.  and  Albert.  They 
Mr.  R.  has  served  his  township 
present  justice  of  the  peace. 

John  Roffman,  P.  0.  Forest  Mill;  farmer,  section  12;  owns  145 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $18  per  acre.  He  was  born  in 
Prussia,  in  1835;  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1871, 
coming  in  a  sail  vessel  and  being  three  months  on  the 
ocean  and  nearly   starved,   about    300  emigrants  being   on    the 


Harvey  E.,  Mary  E.,  Edward, 
have  lost  one  child,  Carrie  M. 
assessor,    tp,   clerk  and  is  at 


as 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  531 

vessel.  He  first  located  in  Northern  Mich.,  near  Lake  Superior, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  burning  charcoal  for  a  smelting  company. 
In  1874  he  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  lo.,  locating  on  the  land  he 
now  owns.  He  was  married  in  Prui-sia,  in  1861,  to  Minnie  Blenk. 
They  have  eight  children,  Bertha,  Ella,  Frank,  Anna,  John,  Ida, 
Jane  and  Henry,  and  have  lost  one  son,  Albert,  who  died  in  Prus- 
sia. 

Julius  Rieth,  son  of  the  late  John  Rieth,  was  born  in  Dubuque, 
lo.,  in  1856,  and  was  brought  by  the  family  to  Lansing  in  1857. 
Here  he  was  bred  to  a  mercantile  life  in  his  father's  store.  In 
1877  he  purchased  the  business  and  has  since  continued  the  same. 

Peter  Reiser,  farmer,  P.  0.  Lansing,  was  l)orn  in  Switzerland 
in  1838.  He  came  .to  Iowa  when  he  was  11  years  of  age.  In 
1862  he  purchased  his  father's  old  homestead,  and  now  has  a  farm 
of  280  acres  well  improved.  He  married  in  1862  Catharine  Marti, 
and  they  have  six  children,  John  H.,  George  W.,  Julius  E.,  Emma, 
Barbara  and  Philip. 

C.  A.  Renzenhausen,  dealer  in  general  merchandise  at  Watson, 
Clayton  Co.;  also  carries  on  a  farm  in  company  with  his  father. 
He  was  born  in  Lawrence  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1853,  cauie  to  Iowa  in 
1863.     His  father  is  C.  R.  Renzenhausen,  a  native  of  Germany. 

David  W.  Reed,  postmaster,  Waukon;  was  born  in  Cortland,  N. 
Y.,  April  2,  1841.  Came  to  Iowa  with  his  parents  in  April,  1855, 
to  Center  township,  this  Co.,  where  his  father,  John  Reed,  pur- 
chased a  farm  on  sec.  31,  at  one  time  owning  400  acres,  of  which 
one  eighty  is  still  owned  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  In  the 
fall  of  1859  he  began  attending  the  Upper  Iowa  University  at 
Fayette,  and  from  there  in  the  fall  of  1861,  he  enlisted  as  private 
in  Co.  C,  12th  Iowa  Vol.  Infantry,  and  followed  the  fortunes  of 
that  regiment  during  the  war,  being  in  all  its  engagements  ex- 
cept those  of  the  Red  River  expedition.  By  a  wound  received  at 
Shiloh,  at  the  time  of  the  last  attack  made  by  the  rebels  Sunday 
afternoon,  he  escaped  capture,  with  his  regiment,  but  was  left  in 
the  field  in  the  rebel  lines  until  they  were  driven  back  Monday 
afternoon.  In  April,  1863  he  was  promoted  to  the  2d  lieutenan- 
cy, and  was  commissioned  1st  Lieut.  Dec.  14th  following.  From 
the  spring  of  1864 'to  Jan.  21, 1865,  he  was  acting  adjutant  of  the 
regiment,  (and  during  which  time  he  had  a  horse  shot  from  under 
him  at  Tupelo),  and  at  the  latter  date  received  a  commission  as 
captain  of  his  company.  The  following  spring  was  commissioned 
major  by  brevet  in  U.  S.  Volunteers,  for  gallant  and  meritorious 
services  at  the  siege  of  Spanish  Fort,  to  date  from  April  8  of  that 
year — '65 — which  brevet  was  recommended  by  Maj.  Gens.  A.  J. 
Smith  and  E.  R.  S.  Cauby,  and  Col.  W.  R.  Marshall,  of  the  7th 
Minn.,  (afterward  Governor  of  that  State),  commanding  the  bri- 
gade. Nov.  2, 1865  he  was  commissioned  major  of  the  12th  regi- 
ment; meanwhile  he  had  acted  as  field  officer — major — from  the 
time  of  his  commission  as  captain  until  his  assignment  as  inspee- 


532  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGEAPHIES. 

tor  on  the  st.iff  of  Gen.  Hul/barrl.  Was  mnstertd  out  with  the 
regiment  atMempliis,  Jan.  20. 1856;  but  afterwards  was  commis- 
sioned major  by  brevet  for  galhmt,  faithful  and  meritorious  ser- 
vices during  the  war  to  date  from  muster  out. 

In  the  spring  of  185G,  Major  Eeed  entered  the  law  office  of  L. 
E.  Fellows,  at  Lansing,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1868. 
During  this  time  he  was  deputy  revenue  collector  for  this  county, 
under  Col.  D.  B.  Henderson,  of  Dubuque.  In  the  fall  of  1868  he  was 
elected  to  the  oifice  of  County  Iiecorder,  and  by  four  successive  re- 
elections  was  kept  in  that  position  during  the  period  of  ten  years, 
until  Jan.  1,  1879.  May  20,  1879,  he  was  commissioned  postmas- 
ter at  Waukon,  assuming  the  duties  of  the  office  July  1st.  Upon 
entering  the  Recorder's  office  in  18G9,  he  began  the  compilation 
of  a  set  of  abstracts  of  records  and  to-day  possesses  the  only  set  in 
existence  of  great  value.  Mr.  Reed  was  married  Sept.  20,  1866, 
to  Miss  Ellen  E.  Manson.  and  has  three  chiklren  living,  viz: 
Minnie  A.,  Milton  E.  and  Gertrude  M.;  having  lost  two,  Maud 
and  Leonard. 

Reuben  Senccbaugh,  P.  0.  Rossville,  farmer,  sec.  32;  owns  a 
farm  of  537  acres  valued  at  ^20  per  acre.  He  was  born  January 
20,  1811,  in  Fayette  County,  Pennsylvania.  His  parents  moved 
to  Monongahela  County,  Virginia,  in  1820.  For  several  years  pre- 
vious to  coming  to  Iowa,  he  was  engaged  in  the  nianufacturingof 
iron,  and  for  some  years  as  superintendent  of  a  blast  furnace,  for 
the -smelting  of  iron  ore.  He  immigrated  to  Iowa  in  1850,  stoj?- 
ping  in  Chiyton  County  till  1852.  He  then  came  on  to  his  present 
farm,  he  being  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  township.  He 
married  Catharine  McShane,  of  Va.,  November  9,  1837.  She  w^as 
born  in  1815.  They  have  eight  children,  Sarah,  Margaret,  Mary 
A.,  Francis,  Almeda,  Abraham,  Clara  and  Dora.  The  youngest  is 
now  a  student  of  the  Iowa  University,  and  will  graduate  the  next 
term.  His  son  Francis  served  his  country  in  the  late  rebellion  in 
Co.  L.  5th  lo.  Cav.  Mr.  S.  has  served  his  tp.  as  justice  of  the 
peace. 

Gilbert  Satrang,  farmer,  sec.  11,  Paint  Creek  tp.  was  born  in 
Norway,  Dec.  5,  1831,  and  came  to  this  countrv.  to  Michigan,  in 
July,  1851,  and  afterwards  to  Wisconsin.  In  18G7  he  came  from 
Wisconsin  to  Iowa,  and  settled  in  Paint  Creek  township  where  he 
bought  land  upon  which  he  has  since  resided.  It  Avas  then  bare 
prairie  land,  but  is  now  surrounded  and  well  sheltered  with  beau- 
tiful trees,  making  one  of  the  pleasantest  of  homes.  He  now  owns 
200  acres  of  valuable  land  in  this  township.  From  his  first  resi- 
dence here  Mr.  Satrang  has  taken  a  position  naturally  among  the 
prominent  men,  and  has  frequently  been  called  to  positions  of 
trust  and  honor.  For  several  years  ifi  succession  he  held  the  offi- 
ce of  collector  for  his  township,  as  he  had  also  that  of  assessor; 
and  was  at  one  time  was  on  the  board  of  tp.  trustees.  In  the  fall 
of  1877  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  county  board  of  superAis- 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  533 

ors  by  u  lar^e  majority,  for  a  term  of  three  j^ears.  At  its  expira- 
tion in  1^80  he  was  re-elected  and  is-  now  serving  his  sixth  con- 
secutive year  in  this  responsible  capacity,  Mr.  iSatrang  was  mar- 
ried in  1855.  His  wife,  Bergith,  is  also  a  native  of  Norway  whore 
she  was  born  in  1836,  They  have  six  children  living,  viz:  An- 
drea T.,  Christian    0.,    C  irl    A..  Emma  C,  Albert  I.  and  Ivar  I, 

Chri-^t  Scheuning,  P.  0,  Waukon;  farmer,  sec.  28;  owns  320 
acres  of  hind  valued  at  $35  per  acre;  was  born  October  10,  1829, 
Wurtemburg,  Germany;  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1857, 
locating  in  Stevenson  County,  111.,  where  he  remained  till  in  1869 
he  came  to  Allamakee  County,  Iowa,  locating  ujion  the  farm  upon 
which  he  still  resides.  He  married  Miss  Mar^'^  Herman  in  111.  in 
1858.  She  died  in  1865  and  he  was  again  married  to  Nancy  Wil- 
ber  in  1866.  His  children  by  his  first  wife  are  Barbara,  Fred- 
erick and  Elizabeth,  and  by  his  second  wife,  one  son,  Albert, 

Wm,  T.  StuU,  P.  0.  Rossville,  farmer,  sec  26;  son  of  John  and 
Thankfull  Stall;  was  boin  in  1819  in  Fayette  Co.,  Pennsylvania, 
immigrated  to  Iowa  in  1853,  locating  in  this  county,  he  being 
among  the  early  settlers.  Mr.  S.  enlisted  in  Co,  I,  27tli  Inf.,  in 
August,  1862,  serving  till  the  close  of  the  war  in  1865.  He  par- 
ticipated in  most  all  of  the  battles  in  which  the  company  was  en- 
gaged, among  which  were  Pleasant  Hill,  La.:  Yellow  Bayou, 
Nashville,  Tennessee;  also  at  the  capture  of  Fort  Blakely,  Sjianish 
Fort,  Mobile,  Ala.;  after  which  he  was  discharged  and  returned. 
Mr.  S,  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Rowan  in  1817,  in  Pa.  They 
have  three  children,  Elijah,  Fillmore  and"  Laura,  and  have  lost 
nine,  John,  Nathaniel,  William,  Luella  J.,  Emma,  Mary  E., 
Charles  S.,  Frank  and  David:  most  of  whom  died  of  diphtheria. 
Mr.  S.  owns  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres,  valued  at 
$25  per  acre, 

Victor  H,  Stevens,  merchant  and  station   agent.     This  success- 
ful young  business  man  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1855:  came  to 
Washington  Prairie,  Winneshiek  County,  in  1857;  to  Waukon  iu 
1862;   established  himself  in  the  mercantile   business    at    Water- 
ville  in  the  fall  of  1877  with  J.  H.  Hall,  of  Waukon,  under  the 
style  of  V.  H.  Stevens  &  Co.,  and  the  following  year  erected  the 
large,  substantial  store  building  and  residence  which  he  now  occu- 
pies.    After  various  changes  in  the  membership  of  the  firm  Mr. 
S.  became  the  sole  proprietor  *of  the  mercantile  interest   in   the 
spring  of  1881;  and  early  in  1882  still  further  enlarged  his  opera- 
tions by  the  purchase  of  a  hardware  business  established  there  in 
1880.     Previous  to  locating  at  Waterville  Mr.  Stevens  was   depu- 
ty postmaster  at  Waukon  for  several  years.     He  also  assisted  in 
the  surveys  of  the  W.  &  M.  R.   R^  and  upon  its  completion  to 
Waterville  was  appointed  station    agent,   which  position  he  still 
occupies,  as  well  as  agent  for   the    Am.  Express  Co.     In    Decem- 
ber, 1878,  Mr.  Stephens  was  married   to  Mis^^s  Dily  E.  Hersey,  and 
has  one  child,  Vera. 


53i  ALLAMAKEE   COUI^TT   BI0GRAPHIE3. 

G.  W.  Sherman,  P.  0.  Wankon,  farmer;  son  of  Jno.  S.  and 
Polly  Sherman;  was  born  in  1834  in  Erie  Co.,  Penn.,  and  immi- 
grated to  Green  Co.,  Wis.,  in  1855,  remaining  there  till  1857,  when 
he  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  locating  in  Jefferson  tp.,  on  sec.  23., 
where  he  owns  forty  acres  of  (irst-class  land,  well  improved.  Aug. 
8,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  27th  Iowa  Inf.  He  was  most  of  the 
time  employed  in  the  hospital,  being  nurse  one  and  a  half  years, 
and  hospital  steward  one  year;  was  mustered  out  at  the 
close  of  the  war  and  returned  home.  He  was  married  to  Miss 
Catharine  Round,  of  Wis.,  in  1857.  by  whom  he  has  four  children, 
Jessie  D.,  Lena  L.,  Mary  E.,  Debbie  L.  Mrs.  S.  died  Feb.  26, '73.  He 
S.  has  served  his  tp.  as  trustee,  assessor,  and  president  of  school 
board  several  years,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F. 

James  Shaff,  sec.  21,  P.  0.  Waukon,  owns  200  acres  of  land 
valued  at  $35  per  acre;  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  1817,  his  parents 
moving  to  Canada  when  he  was  about  a  year  old,  remaining  there 
but  a  short  time,  then  moved  to  Trumbull  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
mained till  in  1837,  when  he  went  to  Laporte  Co.,  Ind.,  remaining 
there  until  in  185 1,  he  came  to  Allamakee  Co. ;  the  family  following 
the  year  after.  They  were  among  the  pioneers  of  the  County. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Louisa  Wood  in  1858.  She  was  a  native 
of  Portage  Co.,  Ohio,  and  died  in  1864.  He  was  again  married  to 
Addie  Wood,  sister  of  his  first  wife,  in  1866,  ha^s  one  daughter  by 
his  second  marriage,  Estella,  and  lost  one  son  by  his  first  wife, 
Charles.     He  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Louis  K.  Smith,  farmer,  sec.  1,  P.  0.  Waukon;  son  of  J.  C.  and 
Mary  J.  Smith,  his  father  being  a  native  of  Ohio  and  mother  of 
Pennsylvania.  They  came  to  this  Co.  in  1849,  locating  at  Volney, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  1853.  His  father,  in 
company  with  a  man  by  the  name  of  Austin  Smith,  who  was  a 
millwright,  built  a  saw  mill  at  Volney,  it  being  among  the  first  in 
thecountv.  In  1855  his  parents  moved  to  Waukon  and  engaged 
in  the  hotel  business  for  about  a  year,  when  his  father  traded  it  for 
a  farm  north  of  Waukon,  which  he  ran  a  short  time,  then  traded  it 
for  the  Decorah  House,  in  Decorah,  which  he  ran  three  years, 
when  he  disposed  of  it  and  traded  for  the  farm  upon  which  Mr.  S. 
now  lives;  but  soon  sold  it  and  moved  to  Waukon.  where  he  died  in 
1875,  his  wife  following  him  two  years  later.  His  father  was  a 
member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  The'subject  of  this  sketch  received 
a  fair  education  in  the  common  schools,  qualifying  himself  for  a 
teacher,  in  which  capacity  he  has  had  some  experience.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Olive  J.  Holbrook,  Dec.  1874.  She  was  also  a  na- 
tive of  this  county.  They  have  four  children,  Mabel,  Louella, 
William  and  Louis"  K.  Mr.  S.  purchased  his  present  farm  of  265 
acres  in  1880;  it  being  one  of  the  best  farms  in  the  tp. 

BardShefloe,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  5;  owns  365  acres  of 
land  valued  at  |30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1832,  emigrat- 
ed to  the  U.  S.  in  1860,  and  the  same  year  located  in  this  Co.     Mr. 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGEAPHIES.  535 

S.  has  by  economy  and  industry  accumulated  a  good  farm, 
well  improved.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Olein  Kjelseth  in  1862. 
She  was  also  born  in  Norway.  Their  children  are  Joseph  S.,  Os- 
car E.,  and  Marcilla.  Mr.  S.  is  a  member  or  the  Lutheran 
church. 

Frank  Steel,  P.  0.  Postville,  farmer,  sec.  34;  owns  170  acres  of 
land  valued  at  |50  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  France  in  1813, 
where  he  remained  till  in  1817,  when  he  emigrated  to  the  U.  S., 
coming  via  New  Orleans  and  up  the  Mississippi  to  Galena,  HI., 
and  located  on  a  farm  nine  miles  from  there.  In  the  fall  of  1856 
he  came  to  this  county  and  located  on  his  present  farm.  He  mar- 
ried Catharine  Kiser,  of  France,  in  1812.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren, Barbara,  Joseph  and  Christine.  His  son  Joseph  runs  the 
farm.  Joseph  was  married  to  Margaret  Ryan  in  1874;  they  have 
seven  children,  Francis,  Joseph,  John,  Jane,  Henry  V.,  William 
and  Catharine.     Mr.  S.  is  a  member  ot  the  Catholic  church. 

Anton  Staadt,  dealer  in  drugs,  paints,  oils,  glass,  wall  paper, 
oil  paintings,  chroraos,  etc.,  Postville;  was  born  in  Prussia  in  1821 
near  the  River  Rhine;  was  educated  in  Prussia,  and  at  the  high 
school  of  arts  and  manufactures  in  Paris,  gaining  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  chemistry;  was  in  that  school  three  years,  returned 
home  and  served  as  director  in  a  glass  factory.  In  1851  he  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States,  stopping  in  a  drug  establishment  in 
New  York  a  few  months,  after  which  he  came  to  Wisconsin,  where 
he  remained  till  the  spring  of  1853,  when  he  came  to  Post  town- 
ship, this  county,  purchasing  a  farm,  upon  which  he  remained  till, 
in  1865,  came  to  Postville  and  engaged  in  his  present  business.  He 
married  Miss  Paulina  Verver  in  thespringof  1851;  they  have  one 
son,  Godfrey,  and  has  lost  one,  Anton,  who  died  in  Milwaukee, 
Dec.  16,  187^     Mr.  L.  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

Ed.  Sheehy,  proprietor  of  European  restaurant;  son  of  John 
and  Bridget  Sheehy;  was  born  in  1847  in  Salem,  Mass.  His  father 
followed  railroading,  and  when  he  was  quite  small  went  to  Vt. 
and  afterwards  to  New  York,  remaining  but  a  short  time,  when 
he  moved  to  Ohio,  afterwards  living  in  Mo.,  Ill,  and  Iowa.  In 
1854  he  came  to  Dubuque,  and  afterwards  lived  in  Fayette  and 
Clayton  counties.  He  married  Ellen  Murphy  in  1870.  She  was 
born  in  Ohio.  Mr.  S.  came  to  Postville  in  1870  and  commenced 
his  present  business.  They  have  four  children,  John  E.,  James 
F.,  Mary  E.  and  Anna  T.,  and  have  lost  two,  Michael  J.  and  Catha- 
rine E.  His  father  died  January  2d,  1882.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Catholic  Church. 

J.  B.  Schmidt,  Postville,  manufacturer  and  of  dealer  in  boots  and 
shoes;  was  born  in  1835  in  Germany,  where  he  received  his  edu- 
cation and  learned  his  trade.  His  parents  both  died  when  he  was 
young,  leaving  him  dependent  upon  relatives.  In  1866  he  emi- 
grated to  the  U.  S.,  stopping  at  Galena,  111.,  he  worked  at  his 
trade  there  a  short  time  and  afterwards  made  a  tour  through   lo., 


636  ALLAMAKEE    COUNTT    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Mo.,  Col.  aud  Nelj.,  woi'king  at  journey  work  at  different  cities  of 
those  states.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Weiss,  of  Galena.  111., 
in  1868,  after  which  he  lived  at  Patch  Grove,  Grant  Co.,  Wis., 
some  three  years,  then  came  to  Postville  and  e:^tablished  his  pres- 
ent business.  His  wife  died  October  22, 187i,  leaving  him  with 
three  children:  John  B.,  Mary  M.  and  Aurelia  M.  Mr.  S-. 
speaks  German,  French  and  English,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  Church. 

G.  W.  Stafford,  blacksmith  and  dealer  in  pumps,  wind  mills,  &c., 
Postville;  was  born  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  in  1829.  His  parents 
immigrated  to  Cass  County,  Michigan,  in  1835,  and  in  1839  to 
DeKalb  Co.,  111.,  where  he  remained  till  the  spring  of  1850,  when 
he  went  to  Calif ornia  via  New  Orleans  and  ocean  steamer,  re- 
maining there  engaged  in  mining  most  of  the  time,  also  in  gen- 
eral merchandising,  and  at  his  trade.  Finally,  on  account  of  be- 
ing troubled  with  sciatic  rheumatism,  he  was  compelled  to  return 
to  the  states  in  1869,  coming  via  New  York,  and  to  Postville,  lo.^ 
where  he  engaged  in  blacksmithing,  brick  makina:,  etc.,  which  lat- 
ter business  he  followed  some  three  years,  burning  nearly  three- 
quarter  of  a  million  of  brick  and  putting  up  several  brick  build- 
ings, including  the'Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Martha  Perry,  of  England,  in  1870.  They  have  four 
children,  Nettie,  Sarah,  Georgiana  and  James,  and  have  lost  one, 
Matti?.  Mr.  S.  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  and  the  I.  0.  0. 
F.  and  A.  0.  U.  W. 

Edward  Staadt,  farmer,  P.  0.  Postville;  owns  a  farm  of  285 
acres,  valued  at  89,000;  was  born  in  Prussia  near  the  River  Rhine 
in  1822;  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1853,  stopping  a  short 
time  at  Sheboygan,  AV^is.,  but  arriving  the  same  year  at  Allama- 
kee County,  Iowa,  purchasing  in  the  south  part  of" Post  tp.  in 
company  with  his  brother,  Anton.  He  subsequently  sold  out  and 
purchased  his  present  farm  in  18G0.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Han- 
nah Mitchell,  also  a  native  of  Germany,  in  1860,  and  has  four  chil- 
dren, Charlotte,  Carl  W.,  John  and  Frederick. 

Bennett  Swenson,  farmer,  P.  0.  Waterville,  owns  315  acres  of 
land  valued  at  $25  per  acre,  was  born  December  25,  1824,  in  Nor- 
way, emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  the  spring  of  1845,  locating  in  Rock 
Co.,  Wis.,  In  January  1850,  he  started  for  the  gold  regions  of 
California:  going  via  New  York  and  ocean  steamer  around  Cape 
Horn  to  San  Francisco;  and  up  the  Sacramento  River  to  Sacra- 
mento. He  engaged  in  mining  till  in  1853;  returned  via  the 
isthmus  to  New  York,  and  by  rail  to  Wisconsin.  In  1854  he 
came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  and  located  on  his  present  farm.  He  mar- 
ried Augusta  Thorson  in  October,  1854.  She  died  Sept.  29,  1875, 
leaving  him  with  six  children,  Sven,  Thorson,  Olaus,  Andrew, 
Julia  and  Isabel.  They  have  lost  two,  Andrew  and  Rosina.  Mr. 
S.  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES,  537 

Albert  G.  Stewart,  attorney,  was  born  in  Green  Co ,  Wis., 
March  1,  1851,  came  to  Waiikon  Marcli  18,  ]875,  and  entered  the 
study  of  law  with  H.  H.  Stilwell.  Was  admiited  to  practice  in 
October,  1876,  and  on  the  first  of  January  followiii<^  formed  a 
partnership  with  C.  S.  Stilwell,  which  continued  two  years,  when 
ne  purchased  the  interest  of  his  partner.  Was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  the  U.  S.  Courts,  at  Dubuque,  at  the  age  of  24.  In  January, 
1880,  he  received  the  appointment  of  Attorney  for  the  County 
Board  of  Supervisors,  a  position  to  which  he  has  since  been  twice  re- 
appointed, and  whkli  he  still  retains.  That  a  young  man  of  only 
28,  and  hardly  six  years  at  the  bar,  should  have  built  up  for  him- 
self, in  this  brief  time,  a  law  business  said  to  be  second  to  none  in 
the  county,  is  a  fact  well  worthy  of  record.  At  the  Republican 
County  Convention,  May,  1879,  he  was  honored  with  an  election 
as  chairman  of  the  County  Central  Committee,  and  conducted  the 
•campaign  with  marked  success,  resulting  in  his  re-election  for  that 
position  in  1880-81-82.  In  August,  1881,  he  was  elected  captain 
of  Co.  I,  4th  Reg.  Iowa  National  Guards,  and  with  the  same  per- 
sistent application  which  characterizes  all  his  labors,  succeeded 
in  placing  the  company  on  such  a  footing  that  it  easily  secured 
the  first  award,  of  8100,  for  the  best  drilled  company  in  the  2d 
Brigade,  June  22, 1882.  Mr.  Stewart  was  married  December  17, 
1878,  to  Miss  May  I.  Stone,  and  has  two  children,  Albert  M.  and 
Wayne  W.  In  1880  he  purchased  the  fine  property  in  Waukon 
where  he  now  resides. 

Holver  Simonsen,  blacksmith,  of  the  firm  of  Simonsen  &  Peter- 
son. The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of  Norway,  born  in 
1846.  In  1852  the  family  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.,  and  settled  near 
Decorah,  Winneshiek  Co.,  Iowa.  Here  young  Simmonsen  followed 
farming  and  in  1872  was  married  to  Miss  Gustava  Larsen.  In 
1873  he  removed  to  Waukon,  and  has  since  been  a  partner  of  the 
above  named  firm.  He  has  three  children  living,  Fredrich  F., 
Olive  C,  and  Hattie  A. 

C.  S.  Stilwell,  attorney,  a  native  of  Erie  Co.,  N.  Y.,  was  born  in 
1838.  In  1851  he  came  west  and  first  settled  in  Rock  Co.,  Wis., 
where  he  attended  and  taught  school  until  1865.  He  then  came 
to  Allamakee  Co.,  and  in  1868  settled  at  Waukon.  Here  he  served 
as  deputy  county  treasurer,  justice  of  the  peace,  and  read  law  un- 
til December,  1870,  when  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  doing  a  general  law  and  collection  business.  He 
was  married  in  the  fall  of  1862  to  Miss  Elizabeth  M.  Bowen,  a  na- 
tive of  Franklin  Co.,  Pennsylvania.  He  has  four  sons  and  three 
daughters. 

W.  H.  Smith  was  born  in  Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1817,  and  when 
nine  years  of  age  removed  with  his  parents  to  Ohio.  Here  in 
1840  he  was  married  to  Wealthy  Landon.  In  1847  he  removed  to 
AVis.,  and  in  1869  to  lo.,  and  located  in  Clayton  Co.  In  1867  hi9 
wife  died,  leaving  one  child,  Ada,  now   Mrs.    F.  G.  Hannahs,  of 


63S  ALLAMAKEE   COUKTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

of  Chicago.  lu  18G9  he  married  Sally  Smith  and  removed  to 
Woodbury  Co.  While  there  he  suffered  greatly  by  the  grass- 
hoppers. In  1879  he  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  and  has  since  had 
charge  of  the  county  poor  farm. 

H.  H.  Stilhvell,  attornej'-at-law,  was  born  in  Wyoming  Co.,  N 
Y.,  in  1841.  He  came  west  to  Janesville.  Wis.,  where  he  lived  a 
few  years,  and  in  18t)2  went  to  Stephenson  Co.,  Ills.,  and  two 
years  later  he  moved  to  this  Co.  In  1867  he  was  elected  to  the 
position  of  county  treasurer,  and  subsequently  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  law.  He  married  Eliza  Bowen,  a  native  of  Va.  They 
have  two  sons  and  one  daughter. 

Hans  Smeby,  farmer,  section  8;  born  in  Norway  in  1820.  came 
to  Wisconsin  in  1850,  to  lo.  in  1851,  and  settled  where  he  now  re- 
sides. Owns  440  acres  of  land.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers  of  Paint  Creek  township,  and  has  ever  been  one  of  her 
most  prominent  men.  He  represented  this  township  on  the 
County  Board  of  Supervisors  during  1868-69-70,  until  the  new  plan 
of  but  three  supervisors  went  into  effect.  Mr.  Smeby  was  raar- 
reid  in  the  old  country  to  Miss  Helen  Froslie,  and  has  eight  chil- 
dren living:  Olaf,  Martha,  Ole.  Oline,  Eliza,  Laura,  Helen  and 
Berthe.  Olaf  married  Marie  Carlson  in  1876,  and  is  now  pastor  of 
the  Norwegian  Lutheran  church,  at  Albert  Lea,  Minn.  Martha 
married  in  1877  to  L,  J.  Aga,  who  also  resides  at  Albert  Lea. 
Oline  married  A.  T.  Anderson,  of  this  township. 

Ole  Smeby,  deceased,  was  born  in  Norway  in  1804;  came  to  Wis. 
in  1849,  and  to  Paint  Creek  in  1851,  with  his  first,  third  and 
fourth  sons,  Hans,  Ole  and  John.  Hans  and  John  still  live  here. 
Ole,  jr.,  died  the  year  following  their  arrival.  The  second  son, 
Hovel,  preceded  the  others  to  this  country,  coming  in  1818;  was 
married  in  1851  and  died  about  1864.  His  widow  re-married  and 
lives  in  Minnesota.  Mr.  Smeby  died  in  Nov.,  1875.  His  wife, 
Mary,  was  born  in  1793,  and  died  in  January  preceding  her  hus- 
band's death. 

Fred  Schiek,  dealer  in  groceries  and  provisions,  Lansing;  was 
born  in  Germany,  in  1836;  came  to  New  York,  where  he  engaged 
in  brewing,  also  groceries,  etc  at  different  intervals  until  185c, 
when  he  came  to  Iowa,  locating  in  Center  township,  Allamakee 
Co.,  where  he  purchased  75  acres  of  land,  which  he  farmed  until 
1862,  when  he  removed  to  Lansing  and  engaged  in  the  saloon 
business.  In  this  business  he  continued  exclusively  until  1874, 
when  he  enlarged  his  building,  adding  a  stock  of  groceries  and 
provisions.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  city  council  and  school 
board.  He  married  Miss  Barbara  Kehr,  a  native  of  Germany 
They  have  five  children:  Louis,  Lina,  Mathilde,  Louisa  and  Emily. 

Hans  Simenson,  farmer,  P.  0.  Hanover;  owns  280  acres  of 
land  on  section  21,  valued  at  |15  per  acre.  He  is  a  son  of  Ole  and 
Anna  Simenson,  was  born  in  Norway,  August  9,  1840,  and  came 
with  parents  to  America  in  1851.     They  settled   in    Decorah   tp., 


ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGBAFHIES.  *  539 

Winceshiek  Co.,  Iowa,  where  they  remained  until  January,  1855, 
then  moved  to  their  present  farm.  His  tather  died  October  15th, 
1878.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  married  to  Patrina  Larson, 
in  January,  1869;  they  have  four  children,  Sarah  A.,  Charles  O., 
Jane  Louisa  and  Alfred  L.  Mr.  S.  has  served  as  supervisor  of  tp., 
assessor,  trustee,  and  as  a  member  of  school  board.  He  enlisted  in 
Co.  H,  9th  To.  Inf.,  and  served  three  years.  He  enlisted  as  a  vet- 
eran in  1864,  and  was  discharged  in  1865.  He  was  in  a  large 
number  of  important  battles,  and  was  with  Sherman  on  his  fam- 
ous march  to  the  sea. 

Dr.  T.  C.  Smith,  postmaster,  and  dealer  in  general  merchandise 
and  drugs;  was  born  April  1st,  1827,  in  Center  Co.,  Pa.;  removed 
to  Stephenson  Co.,  111.,  in  1848;  thence  to  Elizabeth,  Joe  Daviess 
County,  in  1850,  and  engaged   as  clerk  in  a  general  store.      In 

1854  he  went  to  Buena  Vista,  where  he  engaged  in  clerking  until 
1856,  when  he  came  to  Dorchester  and  entered  the  employ  of  G. 
W.Hayes,  whose  business  he  purchased  in  company  with  J.  M. 
Tart  in  the  fall  of  1858.  This  partnership  continued  until  1872, 
when  Dr.  Smith  became  sole  proprietor.  He  carries  a  stock  of 
from  three  to  four  thousand  dollars  in  value.  October  22d,  1852, 
he  was  married  to  Martha  J.  Tart,  a  native  of  Missouri.  Mr.  S. 
has  been  county  supervisor,  and  has  held  various  tp.  offices.  He 
has  been  postmaster  since  the  office  was  established  in  1856. 

Theodore  Schwarzhoff,  farmer,  P.  0.  Dorchester;  owns  about 
600  acres  of  land  on  sec.  23,  valued  at  ^12  per  acre;  was  born  Feb. 
28,  1836,  in  Germany.  His  father  came  to  Dubuque,  lo.,  in  1853, 
the  family  following  in  the  spring  of  1854,  and  in  the  spring  of 

1855  they  came  to  the  farm  where  he  resides.  His  father  died  in 
1866,  his  mother  in  1874.  He  married  Elizabeth  Konig,  October 
12,  1866.  She  is  a  native  of  Illinois.  They  have  nine  children, 
Bernard,  Elizabeth,  James,  Caroline,  Adolph,  Lena,  William 
Christine  and  Theodore.  Mr.  S.  has  served  as  assessor,  trustee 
and  justice  of  the  peace.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church 
and  is  a  greenbacker  in  politics. 

A.  Schulte,  farmer,  P.  0.  Dorchester;  owns  355  acres  of  land 
valued  at  Sl8  per  acre;  was  born  in  Germany,  November  28, 
1841;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1867,  and  to  Dorchester  via  New 
York  and  Cincinnati.  He  rented  the  brewery  at  Dorchester  for 
tive  years,  and  then  moved  upon  his  farm.  He  married  Caroline 
Koenig,  a  native  of  Illinois,  October  28,  1869,  and  the}"^  have  six 
children,  Sophia,  Theodore,  Clements,  Eda,  Bernard  and  Alla- 
wena.  They  have  lost  by  death  one  child,  Elizabeth.  Mr.  S.  is  a 
member  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

J.  B.  Schulte,  P.  0.  Dorchester,  farmer,  sec.  28;  Waterloo  tp.; 
owns  440  acres  of  land  valued  at  $15  per  acre;  was  born  in  Ger- 
many December  24,  1821;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1846,  locating  at 
St.  Louis,  Mo.  In  1854  he  came  to  Davenport,  engaging  in  brick 
making,  and  in  1864,  moved  upon  his  present  farm.     He  married 


•540  *  ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

Teckla  Oldemann,  at  St.  Louis,  iu  1848.  She  died  in  1849,  and 
he  subsequently  married  Mary  A.  Lakars,  who  died  in  1863.  In 
June,  1863,  he  married  Mary  Bald.  He  has  three  children  by  his 
second  wife,  Bennet,  Mary  and  Anna;  and  two  by  his  present  wife, 
John  A.  and  Henry. 

Christian  SchwarzhofF,  farmer,  Waterloo  tp..  Sec  27,  P.  0. 
Dorchester;  owns  329  acres  of  land  valued  at  ^20  per  acre;  was 
born  in  Germany  July  27,  1830;  came  to  the  U.  S,  in  1854,  stop- 
ping about  six  months  near  Dubuque,  Iowa,  and  the  following 
spring  moved  upon  his  present  farm.  He  married  Ellen  Engelken, 
a  native  of  Germany,  in  1857,  and  they  have  seven  children,  Mary, 
Agnes,  Anna,  Elizabeth,  Christian,  Margaret  and  Hermon.  Mr. 
:S.  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  is  independent  on  poli- 
tics. 

William  Sjuldler,  farmer;  sec.  32,  P.  0.  French  Creek;  owns 
370  acres  of  land  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Cambridge- 
shire, England,  May  27,  1830;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1851,  locating 
at  Maumee,  Ohio.  In  the  spring  of  1852  he  went  to  Gibson  Co., 
Ind.,  and  in  1856  came  to  this  county.  He  married  Mary  Bulman, 
a  native  of  England,  January  15,  1850,  and  they  have  six  children, 
•James  G.,  Mary  E.,  AViiliam  M.,  John  B.,  James  E.,  and  Ada  J. 
They  have  lost  by  death  one  daughter,  Eliza  A.  Mr.  S.  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

John  A.  Townsend,  one  of  the  early  pioneers  who  settled  in 
Makee  township  in  1852,  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York  in 
1819.  He  was  left  fatherless  while  yet  an  infant,  and  in  a  few 
years  was  taken  by  his  mother  to  Nova  Scotia.  Here  he  received 
a  common  school  education,  and  in  1841  was  married  to  Miss  Ruth 
Huestis.  In  1852  he  came  to  Iowa  and  commenced  farming.  In 
1855  he  was  elected  sheritf  and  served  two  terms.  He  then  served 
one  term  as  county  judge,  and  in  1865  was  again  elected  sheriff 
and  served  one  term.  From  1874  to  1878  he  was  a  member  of  the 
mercantile  firm  of  Hail,  Townsend  &  Jenkins,  and  retired  from 
4ictive  business.  The  children  are  Lucinda,  now  Mrs.  John  Griffin; 
Emma,  Herbert,  Edwin,  Ada,  William,  Estella,  Dudley  and 
Grace. 

Stephen  Thibodo,  agent  for  marble  works;  was  born  in  Canada 
West  in  1826,  and  emigrated  to  Michigan  at  the  age  of  18.  Thence 
he  came  to  Allamakee  County  in  1859,  settled  in  Post  township, 
•and  continued  the  occupation  of  farming.  In  1872  he  removed 
to  Volney,  where  he  resided  until  the  spring  of  1882  when  he 
came  to  his  present  place  of  residence  in  Waukon.  He  always 
voted  the  democratic  ticket  until  1860,  when  he  became  an  aboli- 
tionist and  ardent  supporter  of  Lincoln,  continuing  a  republican 
till  the  close  of  the  Hayes  campaign  in  1876  when  he  allied  him- 
self with  the  greenback  movement,  with  which  he  is  still  identi- 
fied, and  is  heart  and  soul  with  the  temperance  and  other  reforms. 
Mr.  Thibodo  was  married  in  1854  to  Miss  Mary  Fuller,   and    has 


ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  541 

nine  children  living:  Jolin  W.,  James  S.,  Charles  G.,  lola,  Vira, 
Letta,  Clara,  May  and  Willie.  John  married  Miss  Mattie  Egg- 
leston  and  lives  in  Cass  Co.  Tola  married  John  McGoon  who  lives 
in  Waukon. 

J.  W.  Thomas  was  born  in  Missouri,  November  7,  1831,  In 
1851  he  came  to  Wisconsin  and  followed  teaching.  In  1853  he 
came  to  Lansing  and  served  as  clerk  in  the  store  of  G.  W.  Gray 
nntil  185G,  when  he  became  a  partner  in  the  business.  In  1861 
the  firm  founded  the  first  banking  house  of  Lansing.  And  Mr. 
Thomas  has  been  connected  with  banking  up  to  the  present  time, 
and  has  been  cashier  for  seventeen  years.  He  has  also  been  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  M.  McCormack  &  Co.,  since  1873.  Mr. 
Thomas  has  been  twice  married.  In  1855  to  Miss  Nancy  J.  Lem- 
en,  who  died  in  May,  1863,  leaving  two  children,  Geo.  W.,  and 
Mattie;  in  Dec,  1864,  to  Anna  M.  Wier — they  have  four  chil- 
dren, Ada,  Frank,  Benjamin  and  Anna. 

James  M.  Thomson,  P.  0.  Lansing;  farmer  ^and  stock  raiser; 
son  of  George  and  Elizabeth  Thomson;  was  born  in  Dec,  1845, 
in  Aberdeenshire,  Scotland.  His  parents  emigrated  to  the  U.  S. 
in  the  fall  of  1854,  locating  in  Lansing  tp.,  Allamakee  Co.,  where 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  as  a  farmer.  Oct.  8th,  1862, 
he  enlisted  in  Co.  F.,  6th  lo.,  Cav.  Their  service  was  in  the 
northwest,  protecting  the  settlers  from  the  murderous  red  men. 
He  participated  in  all  the  battles  in  which  his  Co.  was  engaged. 
He  was  mustered  out  at  Davenport  in  1865,  returned  home,  and 
in  1870  purchased  a  farm  in  Lansing  tp.,  which  he  sold  and 
moved  to  his  present  farm  of  200  acres  in  1879.  His  farm  is 
first-class,  having  a  beautiful  spring  of  living  water  near  his  resi- 
dence, and  removed  from  the  wash  of  the  high  land  to  the  bottom 
below.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Gruber  in  1875.  She  was  born  in 
Ohio.  They  have  five  children:  Elizabeth,  Elsbeth,  James  W., 
Edward  and  Albert.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  0.  L^.  W.,  and 
Presbyterian  church. 

J.  C.  Taylor,  P.  0.  Postville,  proprietor  of  Fair  Lawn  Farm, 
consisting  of  130  acres,  valued  at  $50  per  acre.  He  also  makes  a 
specialty  in  the  breeding  of  Clydesdale  and  best  stock  of  trotting 
horses.  He  is  a  native  of  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was 
born  in  1845.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  enlisted  in  Co.  E.,  95th 
Ohio  Inf.,  serving  three  years.  He  participated  in  the  battles 
and  capture  of  Vicksburg,  receiving  a  wound  in  his  left  arm;  was 
at  the  battle  of  Richmond,  Ky.,  where  he  was  taken  prisoner,  but 
soon  paroled,  and  shortly  after,  an  exchange  of  prisoners  being 
efifected,  he  returned  to  his  regiment,  after  which  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Veteran  Reserve  Corps,  At  the  close  of  the  war,  in 
1865,  he  returned  home,  remaining  till  in  the  spring  of  1869,  when 
he  came  to  Allamakee  Co.,  lo.,  locating  north  of  Postville  till  in  '76 
he  came  on  to  his  present  farm.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  E. 
Harris,  daughter  of  Elisha  and  Margaret  Harris,   Dec.  25,  1870. 

34 


542  ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGEAPHIES. 

She  was  born  in  1844  in  Morg^an  Co.,  Ohio,  They  have  three 
childi'en;  Nora  S.,  Nova  Zambia  and  Alta  D.,  and  have  lost  one 
daughter,  Orie  J. 

John  Thonia,  proprietor  of  billiard  hall  and  restaurant,  was  born 
in  Germany  in  1851.  His  parents  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1855, 
locatingin  Clayton  Co.,  lo.,  and  subsequently  in  Postville.  Mr.  T. 
followed  farming  till  1874,  when  he  came  to  Postville  and 
engaged  in  his  present  business.  He  married  Anna  Ruckdals  in 
1871;  she  was  also  born  in  Germany.  They  have  four  children, 
John,  Anna,  William  and  Fred.  Mr.  T.  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.,  andA.  0.  U.  W. 

A.  L.  Terrill,  P.  0.  Myron,  is  a  farmer,  and  runs  a  threshing 
machine  in  the  fall.  He  was  born  in  1839,  in  Mercer  Co.,  Pa. 
His  parents  immigrated  to  this  Co.  in  1854,  locating  in  Luellan 
Tp.,  his  father  dying  there  in  1870  and  his  mother  in  1875. 

Joseph  Taylor,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  section  13;  owns  140 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $30  per  acre;  son  of  Abraham  and  Sarah 
Taylor;  was  born  in  Yorkshire,  England,  in  1824,  his  early  life  be- 
ing spent  in  one  of  the  manufacturing  houses  in  Leeds,  where  his 
father  was  foreman.  He  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1842,  stopping 
two  years  in  Albany,  N.  Y.;  then  came  to  Boone  Co.,  El.,  re- 
maining but  a  short  time,  after  which  he  located  in  Rock  Co., 
Wis,  where  he  remained  till  1854;  then  came  to  Allamakee  Co. 
locatingin  Lafayette  tp.;  was  engaged  for  three  years  in  the 
woolen  mills  there,  till  they  were  burned;  came  on  to  his  present 
farm  in  1869.  He  was  married  to  Martha  Mickelson,  a  native  of 
Norway,  in  1850;  they  have  six  children,  Frederick,  Sarah,  Alice, 
Florence,  Effie,  and  Orin. 

Frank  E.  Teeple,  sec.  11,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  owns  240  acres 
of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre,  son  of  George  and  Annette  Teeple; 
was  born  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  Iowa,  in  1854.  His  parents  came 
from  N.  Y.  to  Winneshiek  Co.  in  1851,  and  to  Allamakee  Co.,  in 
1865,  locating  upon  the  farm  upon  which  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
now  lives.  His  father  died  in  March,  1879,  and  his  mother  in 
1873.  His  grandfather,  M.  G.  Penfield,  who  resides  with  him, 
came  to  Allamakee  Co.  in  1853,  and  now  owns  a  farm  of  320  acres 
in  Union  Prairie  tp.  Mr.  T.  was  married  to  Miss  Lucinda  Fuller 
in  1879.  She  was  born  in  W^inneshiek  Co.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren, Angie  and  Cora. 

E.  A.  Tisdale,  farmer,  was  born  in  Canada  in  1826,  came  to 
Iowa  in  1852,  and  settled  on  his  present  farm  of  200  acres.  He 
was  married  to  Henrietta  A.  Phipps  in  1856.  She  was  born  in 
Otsego  Co.,  N.  Y.  They  have  eight  children,  Rhoda  M.,  Ida  E., 
Louisa,  John  E.,  William,  Alva,  Norman  and  Nellie. 

James  Vile,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  11;  born  in  England  in 
1825,  where  he  remained  till  in  1849,  when  he  crossed  the  ocean, 
stopping  two  years  in  Canada;  then  went  to  N.  Y.,  where  he  re- 
mained till  1854,  when  became  to  this  county  and  located  on  his 


ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  543 

present  farm,  which  now  contains  200  acres,  and  is  well  improved, 
being  among  the  best  in  the  township.  His  wife's  maiden  name 
.Avas  Alice  Roach.  She  was  also  born  in  England.  Their  children 
are  Sarah  A.,  John  L.  and  Frank  C,  having  lost  one  son,  Walter  R. 

•  Bevel  Vanvelzer,  P.  0.  Postville,  farmer,  sec.  16;  makes  a  speci- 
ality of  lime  burning,  stone  quarrying,  &c.,  having  a  splendid  c|uarry 
on  his  farm  of  the  best  quality  of  stone.  He  was  born  in  Syra- 
cuse, N.  Y.,  in  1817,  his  early  life  being  employed  in  the  salt 
works  there,  and  on  the  Erie  Canal.  His  parents  came  to  Kane 
Co.,  111.,  in  1831,  he  following  in  1835,  stopping  with  a  sister  who 
lived  in  Chicago,  where  he  made  his  home  several  years;  returned 
to  N.  Y.  in  1840;  was  married  to  Miss  P.  Smith,  March  9,  1845. 
She  was  a  native  of  Canada.  They  commenced  living  in  Queens- 
town,  Canada,  in  1849,  remaining  there  two  years;  then  came  to 
Chicago,  remaining  there  a  short  time;  then  went  to  Laporte, 
Ind.;  thence  to  West  Union,  Iowa.  He  soon  returned  to  Chicago. 
His  wife  died  in  1853,  after  which  he  returned  to  N.  Y.,  and  was 
again  married  to  Catharine  Brougham,  November,  14,  1854.  He 
returned  to  Iowa,  going  to  West  Union  and  engaged  in  the  hotel 
business,  which  he  subsequently  traded  for  a  farm,  which  he  final- 
ly lost.  Mr.  V.  has  had  c[uite  a  checkered  life  of  fortune  and  mis- 
fortune, has  been  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  at  McGregor,  Prairie 
du  Chien,  and  the  Four-Mile  House,  this  side  of  McGregor,  also 
farming  near  Monona  and  Howard  counties,  also  in  Clayton  Co., 
near  Postville.  He  moved  to  his  present  farm  in  1869,  and  now 
owns  130  acres  valued  at  |35  per  acre.  He  has  a  fine  orchard;  al- 
so a  beautiful  spring  near  his  dwelling,  which  is  a  fine  new  struc- 
ture, taking  the  place  of  the  one  that  was  burned  two  years  ago. 
Mr.  V.'s  children  by  his  first  wife  are  W.  Otis,  Francis  M.,  John  H., 
Mary  A.,  also  Alniira  A.  and  America  A.;  the  last  two  deceased. 
Those  by  his  second  wife  are  Bartoe,  Arma,  Jennie,  Lavenia,  Bevel 
and  Katie;  two  being  deceased. 

Edward  Winmer,  restaurant;  born  in  Germany  in  1834;  emi- 
grated to  the  U.  S.  with  his  parents  in  1848,  and  soon  settled  in 
La  Fayette  County,  Wis.  Four  years  subsequently  the  family 
removed  to  Clayton  County,  lo.  Here  he  learned  the  shoemak- 
er's trade  and  followed  the  same  until  1868;  he  then  went  to 
Chickasaw  County,  where  he  was  engaged  in  a  brewery  until  1877, 
at  which  date  he  came  to  Allamakee  County  and  carried  on  a 
grocery  business  at  New  Albion  until  1879,  since  which  time  he 
has  been  at  Waukon.  He  was  married  in  1858  to  Miss  Frances 
Boiler,  a  native  of  Germany;  they  have  four  children,  Augusta, 
Eddie,  Louisa  and  Amelia. 

F.  W.  Wagner,  manufacturer  and  dealer  in  harness,  saddles, 
whips,  etc.;  was  born  in  Germany  in  1833;  came  to  America  in 
1855  and  settled  in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  He  came  to  Lansing  soon 
after,  and  in  1858  established  his  present  business.     He  was  mar- 


5i4  ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

ried  to  Miss  Margaret  Weber,  also  a  native  of  Germany;  they  have 
eight  children:  F.  W.,  Lisette,  Theo.  H.,  Mary,  Amelia,  Bertha, 
Katie  and  Cornelia. 

John  Wallace,  sec.  12,  P.  0.  Waukon;  veterinary  surgeon  and 
farmer;  makes  a  specialty  in  the  treatment  of  all  diseases  of 
horses.  Mr.  W,  was  born  in  Scotland  in  Oct.,  1827;  commenced 
the  study  and  practice  of  veterinary  surgery  when  quite  voung, 
paying  particular  attention  to  that  all  his  life.  He  emigrated  to 
the  United  States  in  1850,  stopping  first  near  Elgin,  Illinois,  Avhere 
he  remained  till  in  1853,  when  he  came  to  this  county,  stopping 
first  in  Union  Prairie  tp.,  and  from  there  to  this  township  in  1865, 
Avhere  he  has  a  farm  of  110  acres.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Ruff,  of  Scotland,  in  1847.  She  died  in  March,  1882,  leav- 
ing him  and  seven  children  to  mourn  her  loss.  The  children  are 
Anna,  William,  Ella,  Agnes,  Margaret,  Charles  and  George.  Mr. 
W.  is  a  member  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  also  A. 
F.  &  A.  M.  and  A.  0.  U.  W. 

Thomas  B.  Wiley,  P.  0.  Rossville,  farmer,  section  23;  son  of 
Ernest  and  Eleanor  Wiley;  born  in  1829  in  Fayette  Co.,  Pennsyl- 
vania; learned  the  blacksmithiug  trade  in  early  life,  at  which  he 
worked  principally  till  he  came  to  this  county  in  1857,  having  been 
married  the  year  previous  in  Pa.  to  a  Miss  Rachel  F.  Miller.  In 
the  spring  of  1860  he  made  a  tour  to  Colorado,  spending  the  sum- 
mer there.  Mr.  W.  enlisted  in  August,  1862,  in  Co.  I,  27th  lo. 
Inf.  The  company  was  soon  taken  to  Tennessee,  where  from 
exposure,  he  was  taken  sick,  and  the  following  February  was  dis- 
charged at  Memphis  for  physical  disability;  after  which  he  re- 
turned home.  Mr.  W.  owns  a  farm  of  80  acres,  on  section  23  of 
this  township,  which  is  valued  at  ^40  per  acre.  They  have  two 
children,  M.  and  A.  Cunningham.  Mr.  W.  is  a  member  of  the  I. 
0.  0.  F.  and  the  Baptist  Church. 

James  F.  Wilson,  agent  C,  M.  &  St.  P.  R.  R.  Co.,  Postville; 
born  in  Ayreshire,  Scotland,  in  1844;  his  parents  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  in  1850,  locating  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.  While  there 
his  father  engaged  as  one  of  the  contractors  on  the  Pittsburg,  Ft. 
Wayne  &  Chicago  Railroad.  From  there  they  moved  to  Massillion, 
Ohio,  where  he  remained  till  in  1862  he  enlisted  in  Co.  E,  104th 
Ohio  Inf.,  serving  three  years,  participating  in  the  battles  of 
Franklin,  Tenn.,  Mill  Springs,  Ky.,  and  Fort  Mitchell.  After 
receiving  his  discharge  in  1865,  he  came  to  McGregor,  Iowa,  aud 
engaged  in  the  railroad  office  there,  remaining  till,  in  1870,  he 
came  to  Postville  and  took  charge  of  the  station  as  agent  for  the 
C.  M.  &  St.  P.  railroad  company,  which  position  he  still  holds. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Ella  Caton  in  1874.  She  is  a  native  of 
New  York,  has  one  daughter,  Clara.     He  is  a  member  of  the  A. 

O.U.  w. 

J.  W.  Ward,  of  the  firm  of  Ward  &  Meyer,  dealers  in  general 
merchandise,  Postville;  born  in  Ky.  in  1852.     His  father  was  a  na- 


ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  545 

tive  of  Maine  and  his  mother  of  Ky.  They  came  to  Iowa  when 
he  was  a  small  boy  and  located  in  Clayton  Co.  His  early  life  was 
upon  the  farm.  He  was  educated  at  the  Hopkinton  school  in 
Delaware  Co.,  Iowa,  and  followed  teaching  three  winters  prior  to 
commencing  his  present  business  in  the  fall  of  1875.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  firm  is  in  a  very  prosperous  condition.  Their  sales 
reaching  about  §50,000  per  annum. 

Henry  Webb,  P.  0.  Postville,  farmer,  owns  155  acres  of  land 
valued  at  850  per  acre;  born  in  Livingstone  Co.,  N,  Y.,  in  1840; 
his  parents  immigrated  to  Washington  Co.,  Wis.,  in  1840,  and  he 
to  this  county  in  1865.  He  was  married  the  same  year  to  Miss 
Ilozilla  Dresser,  daughter  of  Calvin  and  Sarah  Dresser.  Their 
children  are  Lucy  A.,  Melina  A.,  Ida  J.,  Harmon  D.,  Eva  and 
Bertha.     Mr.  W.  moved  to  his  present  farm  in  1875. 

Martin  G.  Wood,  P.  0.  Waukon,  farmer,  sec.  14,  son  of  Moses 
and  Eliza  wood;  born  in  Wayne  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1835.  In  early  life 
he  learned  the  carpenter  and  joiner's  trade,  although  following 
farming.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Stall,  of  N.  Y.,  in 
1857;  they  have  one  daughter,  Carrie  E.;  and  have  lost  one,  Delia 
A.  Mr.  W.  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  160th  N.  Y.  Inf.,  in  1862.  His 
service  was  principally  in  skirmishing  in  the  southw^est,  Louisiana 
and  Texas;  was  discharged  in  1863,  and  the  same  fall  came  to  this 
county  and  purchased  land,  the  family  coming  the  year  following. 
Mr.  W.  now  owns  180  acres  of  land,  also  some  village  property 
in  Fayette.  His  father  lives  with  him,  his  mother  having  died  in 
June,  1880. 

Wiecking  Bros.,  manufacturers  of  cigars.  H.  W.  Wiecking  was 
born  in  Germany  in  1850.  came  to  America  in  1870,  and  settled  in 
N.  Y.;  thence  to  Indiana;  in  1877  came  to  Lansing  and  engaged  in 
his  present  business.  He  married  Hulda  Kerndt;  and  they  have 
three  children.  H.  R.  W^iecking  is  also  a  native  of  Germany. 
He  came  to  America  in  1875,  and  became  a  partner  of  his  brother. 

C.  C.  Waechter,  dealer  in  books  and  stationary,  Lansing;  was 
was  born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  in  1824;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1852, 
stopping  first  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  came  to  Lansing  in  1853,  engaging 
iu  the  grocery  and  feed  business.  In  1854  he  purchased  a  farm  in 
Center  township,  residing  thereon  until  1868.  In  1853  he  mar- 
ried Catherine  Vogler,  who  died  in  1867,  leaving  one  daughter, 
Anna. 

John  Ward,  Deputy  P.  M.  of  Hanover  postoffice,  and  farmer; 
son  of  James  and  Catherine  Sweeney  Ward;  was  born  in  County 
Fermanagh,  Ireland,  Aug.  15,  1820;  received  a  liberal  education 
in  his  native  country,  and  with  his  parents  came  to  the  U.  S.  in 
1842,  they  locating  at  Somerville,  near  Boston,  Mass.  In  1846  he 
enlisted  in  Co.  I.,  2d  U.  S.  artillery,  serving  iu  Gen.  Wool's 
division  during  the  Mexican  war,  participating  in  several  battles, 
including  the  capture  of  the  City  of  Mexico.  In  1852  he  enlisted 
on  board  the  U.  S.  sloop  of  war,  Marion,   engaged  in  the  preven- 


546  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGKAPHIES. 

tion  of  the  slave  traffic  from  Africa  to  the  U.  S.,  their  cruise  be- 
ing mostly  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  serving  a  portion  of 
the  time  as  ship's  clerk.  In  1855  they  returned  to  Norfolk,  Va., 
he  coming  on  to  Washington,  where  he  was  discharged  and  then 
came  home.  In  1856  he  came  to  Iowa,  stopping  in  Glenwood  tp., 
Winneshiek  Co.,  until  1858,  when  he  came  to  Hanover  tp.,  where 
he  now  owns  a  farm  of  360  acres,  valued  at  $20  per  acre.  Mr. 
Ward  was  married  to  Miss  Bridget  Ward  in  Ireland,  in  1839.  She 
died  in  the  spring  of  1819,  and  the  following  fall  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Mary  Ward,  a  cousin  of  his  first  wife.  His  children  by 
his  first  wife  are  Wm.  F.,  John  and  Alice,  and  by  the  second 
marriage,  William,  Ellen,  Thomas,  Mary,  Patrick,  Catherine  and 
Anna.  He  has  lost  by  death  one  son,  James.  Mr.  Ward  is  at 
present  justice  of  the  peace  of  his  tp.,  which  office  he  has  filled 
for  twenty-two  years.  He  has  also  served  as  clerk  for  eighteen 
years,  and  is  the  present  deputy  postmaster  of  Hanover  postoffice. 


WINNESHIEK   COUNT\ 


B.  Anundsen,  proprietor  and  publisher  of  the  Decorah  Posten, 
is  a  native  of  Norway,  Avas  born  in  1844;  he  learned  the  printer's 
trade,  and  in  1864  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  and 
soon  settled  in  the  city  of  LaCrosse,  Wis.  Here  he  continued  his 
trade,  and  in  the  summer  of  1867  established  the  Ved  Amen— 
signifying,  ''By  the  Fireside"— a  semi-monthly  sheet,  and  the  first 
liferary  Norwegian  paper  in  America.  In  1868  he  removed  to 
Decorah,  continued  the  publication  of  said  sheet,  and  in  1869  es- 
tablished the  first  book-bindery  in  Decorah.  In  1870  he  started 
the  Fra  Fjae-ent  \og  Naei\  a  weekly  newspaper.  In  1871  he  dis- 
continued his  two  papers  and  book-bindery,  reduced  his  force  of 
employes  from  thirteen  to  two,  and  for  three  years  simply  did 
the  printing  for  the  Norwegian  College.  In  September,  1874,  he 
started  the  Decorah  Posten,  of  which  an  account  is  given  within 
the  pages  of  this  book,  and  is  now  publishing  the  same.  Mr. 
Anundsen  is  a  conscientious,  reliable  man,  who  believes  in  free 
thought  on  all  subiects.  He  was  married  in  1865  to  Miss  Matilda 
Hoffstrom.  They  "have  had  five  children,  two  of  whom  are  now 
living,  Arthur  and  Fredrick. 

John  Amy  (deceased),  was  born  in  Bath,  N.  H.,  in  1788,  but 
while  yet  a  small  child  removed  with  his  parents  into  Vermont. 
His  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  revolutionary  war.  John  Amy 
was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  his  only  son,  Dr.  C.  W. 
Amy,  a  soldier  in  the  late  rebellion.     John  Amy  was  married   m 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  547 

1828  to  Cynthia  Smalley.  In  1838  he  removed  to  Ohio,  and  in 
1857  to  Iowa  and  settled  at  Fort  Atkinson.  His  death  took  place 
June  27th,  1864,  leaving  a  wife  and  five  children,  all  of  whom  are 
residents  of  Decorah.  Ellen  S.  is  the  wife  of  J.  M.  Williams, 
cashier  of  the  Winneshiek  County  Bank.  Jane  C,  is  the  wife  of 
J.  P.  McKinney,  an  employe  in  the  U.  S.  railway  postal  service; 
Aba  C.  is  the  wife  of  J.  C.  Strong,  president  of  the  above  named 
bank,  and  Louise  A.  is  the  wife  of  the  late  H.  S.  Weiser,  found- 
er  of  said  bank.     The  only  son  is  Dr.  C.  W.  Amy. 

Deidrick  Addicken  (deceased)  was  born  in  the  Grand  Dukedom 
of  Oldenburg,  Germany,  November  5,  1824.  He  came  to  America 
in  1855,  and  made  his  first  home  in  Clayton  Co.,  lo.,  where  for 
two  years  he  was  a  farmer.  In  1857,  he  cinne  to  Decorah  and 
built  what  has  since  been  known  as  the  old  brewery,  near  the 
stone  mill.  In  this  he  laid  the  foundation  for  the  competency  he 
afterwards  acquired.  About  ten  years  subsequently  he  purchased 
the  property  he  owned  and  occupied  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
There  he  gradually  surrounded  himself  with  buildings,  which  in 
themselves  form  a  small  village,  and  here  he  spent  his  remaining 
years  in  the  double  capacity  of  brewer  and  miller.  His  death 
took  place  in  July,  1875,  being  caused  by  injuries  received  by  a 
fall  while  in  the  act  of  getting  out  of  his  buggy.  He  left  an  in- 
valid wife,  three  daughters  and  one  son. 

C.  W.  Amy,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1842.  His  parents 
were  John  Amy  and  Cyntha  G.  Smalley.  He  came  with  the 
family  to  Winneshiek  county  in  1857,  but  in  1860,  although  a 
mere  boy,  he  concluded  that  he  wanted  to  see  some  of  the  western 
plains  and  mountains.  He  therefore  went  to  Colorado,  and  in 
Dec,  1861,  enlisted  in  Co.  B,  2d  Col.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  was  afterwards 
transferred  to  the  cavalry  service.  Dr.  Amy  served  his  country 
faithfully  as  a  soldier,  participating  in  eight  battles,  besides  nu- 
merous skirmishes,  until  he  was  mustered  out  of  service  in  Decem- 
ber, 1864.  He  then  returned  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  at  different 
intervals  taught  school,  and  was  also  for  several  years  traveling 
agent,  at  the  same  time  gradually  turning  his  attention  to  the 
study  of  medicine.  In  1876  he  came  to  Decorah  and  devoted  his 
entire  attention  to  study,  with  Dr.  J.  W.  Curtis  as  preceptor.  In 
1877  he  entered  the  Rush  Medical  College,  where  he  took  two 
regular  and  two  adjunct  courses,  and  graduated  in  February,  1879. 
He  then  located  at  Decorah  as  a  practicing  physician.  In  1881 
he  took  a  practitioner's  course  at  the  above  named  college.  March 
28,  1881,  Dr.  Amy  was  united  in  marriage  to  Harriet  A. 
Bottsford,  M.  D.  She  is  a  native  of  Vermont,  born  August  10, 
1845,  her  parents  being  Martin  and  Charlotte  Bottsford,  both  na- 
tives of  the  Green  Mountain  State,  who  settled  in  Canoe  tp.,  Win- 
neshiek Co.,  in  1855.  Harriet  A.  Bottsford  was  an  uncommonly 
bright  child,  and  at  fourteen  we  find  her  in  charge  of  a  school  as 
teacher.     In  1864  she  entered  the  normal  department  of  the  Iowa 


548  WIXXESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

State  University,  from  wbicli  she  graduated  in  1867.  She  then 
becaTue  a  teacher  in  the  higher  department  of  the  public  schools 
of  Decorah,  and  continued  until  1873.  While  a  teacher  she  also 
commenced  the  study  of  medicine,  Avith  Dr.  H.  C.  Bulls  as  pre- 
ceptor. Soon  after  leaving  the  school-room  as  teacher,  she  en- 
tered the  Woman's  Medical  College,  of  Pa.,  and  graduated  in  the 
spring  of  1875.  She  then  spent  one  year  at  the  Women's  and  Chil- 
dren's Hospital  at  Philadelphia,  after  which  she  was  located  at 
Chicago  until  1879,  and  since  then  at  Decorah.  During  her  stay 
in  Chicago  she  occupied  the  chair  of  materia  medica  and  thera- 
peutics in  the  Women'  Hospital  Medical  College,  was  visiting  phy- 
sician at  two  dispensaries,  and  assistant  of  Prof.  T.  Davis  Fitch 
in  his  synecological  clinic  in  the  above  named  college.  She  has 
one  daughter. 

W.  E.  Akers,  attorney.  This  promising  young  men  is  a  son 
of  J.  M.  and  Harriet  E.  Akers,  the  former  a  native  of  Putnam 
Co.,  Ind.;  and  the  latter  of  St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y.  They  were 
married  at  Woodstock,  111.,  in  1853.  J.  M.  Akers,  is  a  black- 
smith by  trade,  and  located  at  Decorah  in  1855.  Here  he  followed 
his  trade  for  several  years;  subsequently  had  the  mail  contract  be- 
tween Decorah  and  Austin,  Minn.  This  was  before  the  railroads 
were  built,  and  the  trip  required  four  days.  Mr.  Akers  afterwards 
purchased  a  farm  near  Plymouth  Rock,  Minn.,  and  lived  on  the 
same  about  four  years.  He  then  resumed  his  trade,  and  followed  the 
same  at  Bluffton  until  1876,  Avhen  he  again  returned  to  Decorah, 
since  which  time  his  business  has  been  collecting  and  insuring,  W. 
E.  Akers,  the  oldest  of  the  three  children,  was  born  in  Cook  Co., 
111.,  in  1855.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Decorah, 
and  at  the  age  of  16  commenced  teaching.  At  the  age  of  19  he 
commenced  the  study  of  law,  with  Judge  E.  E.  Cooley  as  precep- 
tor, and  at  the  age  of  .21  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  in  constant  practice,  and  is  meeting  with  marked 
success.  In  1876  Mr.  Akers  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Decorah 
Light  Guards,  now  Co.  G,  4th  Iowa;  March  5, 1879,  he  was  elected 
1st  Lieut.,  and  April  27,  1880,  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Cap- 
tain. W.  E.  Akers  is  honest,  ambitious  and  industrious,  and 
among  the  young  men  of  Winneskiek  none  has  brighter  pros- 
pects than  he.  In  March,  1879,  W.  E.  Akers  married  Miss  Em- 
ma Draper,  and  they  now  have  two  children,  Charles  W.  and  an 
infant. 

Asa  W.  Adams,  oldest  resident  photographer  in  Winneshiek  Co. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1842.  He  was 
left  motherless  when  but  a  small  boy,  and  in  1853  he  came  with 
his  father  to  lo.,  and  lived  with  him  in  Allamakee  Co.,  until  he  was 
21  years  of  age.  He  then  learned  the  art  of  photography  at  Mc- 
Gregor, and  in  1865  located  at  Decorah,  and  has  since  been  the 
leading  photographer.  In  18G6  he  married  Miss  Emma  J.  Fuller; 
thev  have  three  children.  Leila  A..  Jennie  and  Willie. 


WINXESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  5i9 

George  M.  Anderson,  farmer,  owns  200  acres,  IGO  in  Frankville 
tp.  and  40  acres  of  timber  in  Glen  wood  tp.  He  was  born  in 
Drammen,  Norway,  in  1836,  and  came  to  this  county  with  his 
parents  in  1852.  They  settled  in  Frankville  tp.  His  father  pur- 
chased the  government  claim  that  Geo.  M.  now  owns.  George  M. 
enlisted  in  1862  at  Decorah,  in  Co.  E,  38th  lo.  Inf.,  and  served  3 
years  during  the  rebellion.  In  the  fall  of  1865  the  38th  was  con- 
solidated with  the  34:th.  Previous  to  the  consolidation  he  was 
promoted  to  corporal.  He  was  in  engagements  at  Vicksburg, 
Yazoo  City,  Fort  Morgan  and  Mobile.  At  the  termination  of  the 
war  he  returned  to  the  farm,  which  he  has  owned  and  resided 
on  ever  since.  It  is  fine  prairie  land,  well  improved  and  stocked, 
good  residences  and  comfortable  barns,  etc.  He  was  married  in 
1865  in  Glenwood  tp.,  to  Miss  Hanna  Jacobsen,  and  they  have  six 
children.  He  has  filled  various  offices  of  public  trust  in  the  tp., 
and  is  one  of  its  leading  citizens.  His  brother,  Andrew  M.  An- 
derson, also  enlisted  during  the  war,  in  the  12th  lo.  Inf.,  Co.  G; 
served  a  little  over  a  year,  and  was  killed  by  the  explosion  of  a 
shell  at  the  battle  of  Corinth,  Miss.,  Oct.  1862. 

Joseph  A.  Adams,  farmer,  was  born  in  Iowa  Co.,  Wis.,  in  1854; 
came  to  this  county  with  his  parents  in  1856.  His  father,  Jos.  Adams, 
first  settled  in  the  village  of  Frankville,  was  a  Presbyterian 
preacher,  and  for  several  years  preached  there.  He  afterwards 
went  into  the  mercantile  business  there,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1860  sold  out  the  store  and  bought  the  farm,  then  only  partly 
improved.  It  contains  280  acres  in  a  solid  body,  except  40  acres 
of  timber  in  Bloomfield  tp.  Joseph  Adams,  Sr.,  died  March  6, 
1871,  since  which  time  Joseph  A.,  has  controlled  the  farm  and 
supported  his  widowed  mother  and  sister.  He  has  the  farm  well 
stocked  and  all  improved,  good  residence  and  buildings;  12  head 
of  horses  on  the  farm,  5  head  of  cattle,  and  a  large  drove  of  hogs 
of  good  breeds. 

John  G.  Ackerson,  farmer,  and  an  old  settler  in  Burr  Oak 
tp.,  was  born  in  Compton,  Bergen  tp.,  N.  Y.,  in  1816;  and  in 
1833  went  to  Steuben  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  in  1844  to  Ogle  Co.,  111., 
and  from  there  in  1853  to  lo.,  locating  in  this  place.  He  bought 
320  acres  where  he  now  resides  at  the  government  price,  and  has 
sold  80  acres,  leaving  him  240  acres,  200  acres  being  in  Sees.  15 
and  22,  where  he  resides,  being  good  farm  land,  well  improved, 
and  40  acres  of  timber  in  Sec.  34.  There  were  not  over  a  dozen 
settlers  in  the  tp.  when  he  first  located  here.  He  has  filled  vari- 
ous offices  in  the  tp.,  and  was  a  member  of  the  county  board  of 
supervisors  one  term,  having  been  elected  in  1860.  He  married 
in  1853,  McHenry  Co.,  111.,  Miss  Ann  Dickersou,  and  they  have 
three  children,  John,  Elizabeth  and  Maria. 

Erick  Anderson,  P.  0.  Decorah,  farmer,  Springfield  tp..  Sec.  1, 
was  born  in  Norway  Jan.  20,  1827,  and  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in 
1839.     They  first  landed  at  Boston,  Mass.,  and  came  via  rail  and 


550  WIJfNESHIEK  COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

water  to  N.  Y.;  thence  up  the  Hudson  river  to  Albany,  and  by 
the  Erie  canal  to  Buffalo,  where  they  embarked  on  board  a 
steamer  and  came  to  Chicago,  111.,  which  was  then  a  small  town. 
Here  they  located,  remaining  until  1845,  when  they  moved  toMc- 
Henry  Co.,  Ills.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  engaged  as  er- 
rand boy  for  the  first  four  years;  also  served  as  cabin  boy  one 
season  on  board  a  steamer  plying  i)etween  Chicago  and  St.  Joseph, 
Mich.,  and  afterwards  engaged  in  a  newspaper  office  for  two  years, 
the  same  being  the  office  of  an  abolition  paper.  He  also  spent 
one  year  at  a  seminary  in  Beloit,  Wis.  In  1847  he  went  to  Mus- 
kego,  Wis.,  where  was  he  engaged  as  compositor  in  the  office  of  the 
Nordhjset  (Northern  Light),  it  being  the  first  Norwegian  paper 
published  in  the  northwest,  Mr.  Anderson  setting  the  type  for  the 
first  number.  In  1848  he  went  to  Madison,  Dane  Co.,  and  en- 
gaged at  clerking  in  a  general  store.  In  1850  he  came  to  this 
county  and  entered  some  land  in  the  south  part  of  this  tp.,  but 
engaged  at  clerking  in  a  general  store  at  Frankville,  continuing 
two  years,  after  which  he  moved  to  Ossian  and  engaged  in  general 
merchandise  for  about  four  years;  then  came  on  to  his  land  re- 
maining till  in  the  winter  of  1860,  and  in  1861  he  moved  to  De- 
corah,  having  been  elected  sheriff  of  the  county  the  fall  before. 
He  was  re-elected  to  the  office  in  1862,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
this  term  he  moved  to  his  present  farm,  which  now  contains  265 
acres,  well  improved  and  with  good  buildings.  His  farm  is 
especially  adapted  to  the  raising  of  stock,  with  which  he  is  well 
supplied.  He  is  at  present  putting  up  a  late  improved  mill  for  the 
manufacture  of  sorghum  syrup;  its  capacity  is  150  gallons  per 
day,  Mr.  Anderson  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  Halvorson,  Nov. 
6,  1851;  she  died  April  15,  1852.  He  was  a^ain  married  to  Miss 
Louisa  Hanson,  July  15,  1856.  She  died  May  16.  1876,  and  he 
was  again  married  Oct.  8,  1877,  to  Mrs.  Mary  Thompson,  nee 
Opdahl.  He  had  one  daughter  by  the  first  marriage,  Elizabeth  A.; 
by  the  second  marriage,  Edgar,  Albert,  Henry,  Lorenzo,  William, 
Oscar  and  Louisa;  and  one  son,  Charles,  by  the  last  marriage.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Anon  Anderson,  farmer,  Sep.  36,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  1,0S0 
acres  of  land  valued  at  S25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1839; 
is  the  son  of  Ole  and  Carrie  Anderson;  emigrated  from  there  to 
Boone  Co..  111.;  lived  there  until  he  was  18  years  old,  when  he 
settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  la.;  was  married  in  1861  to  Carrie  In- 
gebritson,  a  native  of  Norway,  by  whom  he  had  six  children,  El- 
len, John,  Albert,  Ole,  Anna  and  Anon.  He  was  married  to  his 
second  wife  in  1874,  Miss  Sarah  Tuck,  a  native  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 
and  they  have  had  four  children:  Mabel,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
three;  Ethel,  Freeman  and  Ray. 

Hon.  Samuel  Aiken,  dealer  in  Holstein  cattle  and  Hambleton- 
ian  horses,  was  born  in  Barrett,  Vermont,  in  1834.  When  he 
was  ten  years  old  he  went  to   Illinois;  thence  to  Wisconsin,  and 


WmXESHIEK  COUNTY  BIOGRAPHIES.  551 

in  1854  he  removed  to  Minnesota,  locatiDg  near  Sprinsj  Grove, 
Houston  County,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  elected 
to  represent  the  county  in  the  legislative  assembly  of  1861-2,  and 
in  1866  he  was  appointed  enrolling  clerk  of  the  senate,  which 
position  he  filled  one  term.  In  1869  Mr.  A.  was  again  called 
upon  to  serve  the  people,  and  at  this  time  was  elected  county 
treasurer  of  Houston  county.  At  the  expiration  of  his  second 
term  of  office  he  came  to  Winneshiek  County  and  settled  on  a 
farm  uear  Trout  Run.  In  1880  he  removed  to  his  present  resi- 
dence in  the  east  and  southern  portion  of  Decorah,  and  engaged 
in  business  as  before  mentioned.  He  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and 
Nancy  Farewell  Aiken,  who  were  born  in  Vermont,  but  who  are 
of  Scotch  descent.  He  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Burt,  a  native  of 
Ohio;  they  have  four  children,  Effie  E.,  now  Mrs.  E.  W.  Holway; 
Wm.  E.,  Ida  A.  and  Grace  A. 

E.  T.  Allen,  justice  of  the  peace  and  farmer,  was  born  in  Mont- 
gomery County,  N.  Y.,  in  1832,  and  is  a  son  of  Robert  B.  and 
Lydia  Thayer  Allen.  In  1855  he  came  to  Rock  Co.,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  remained  four  years;  he  then  went  to  California,  re- 
maining a  short  time,  and  returned  east  as  far  as  Virginia  City, 
Nevada;  from  there  he  went  to  Idaho  and  Oregon,  and  followed 
teaming  and  mining  until  1867,  when  he  returned  to  N.Y.  He  soon 
after  again  moved  to  Wisconsin  and  engaged  in  the  lumber  business ; 
thence  to  Dubuque  in  the  same  business,  and  in  1868  came  to  this 
county  and  located  at  Ridgeway.  He  married  Mary  E.  Griffith, 
also  a  native  of  N.  Y,,  and  they  have  three  children,  Nellie  E., 
Robt.  E.  and  Cora  A.  Mr.  Allen  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace  in  18G8,  and  has  held  the  position  ever  since. 

Hon.  D.  0.  Aaker,  dealer  in  general  merchandise  grain  and 
stock;  also  proprietor  of  Ridgeway  Creamery;  was  born  in  Nor- 
way in  1839,  and  is  a  son  of  Ole  Aaker.  In  1818  he  came  with 
his  parents  to  America,  and  located  in  Waukesha  County,  Wis., 
remaining  there  until  1854,  when  they  removed  to  this  county, 
locating  near  Burr  Oak  Springs.  In  1868  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  came  to  Ridgeway,  and  entered  the  lumber  and  grain 
trade.  He  subsequently  sold  his  lumber  yard,  and  has  since  in- 
creased his  business  to  its  present  dimensions.  In  1881  he  was 
elected  member  of  the  legislative  assembly,  which  position  he  still 
holds.  He  married  Christena  Ellefson,  also  a  native  of  Norway, 
and  their  children  are  Lena,  John,  Theo.,  and  Adolph  Oscar.  In 
1862  Mr.  A.  enlisted  in  Company  G,  12tli  Iowa  Infantry,  and 
served  until  1866. 

Hon.  Theodore  W.  Burdick,  cashier  First  National  bank,  is  a 
native  of  Penn.,  and  was  born  at  Evansburg,  Crawford  county,  on 
the  Ttli  day  of  Oct.,  1836,  his  parents  being  Nelson  and  Almira 
Mason  Burdick.  His  grandfather  was  Sheffield  Burdick.  of 
Wyoming  Co.,  N.  Y.  and  his  great-grandfather  was  Adam  Burdick, 
third  son  of  Nathan  Burdick,  of  Rhode   Island,  whose  two  sons 


552  AVINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  struggle  for  our  national  independ- 
ence.    Nelson  Burdick  was   born    in  the    State  of  New  York;  re- 
moved from  his  native  State  to  Crawford   Co.,  Penn.,  and  in  1852 
immigrated  to    Iowa,    and   located   at  Freeport,    on  the  site  now- 
occupied  by  the  paper  mill,  but  did  not  bring  his  family  west  until 
1853.     At  that  time  the  journey  Avas    made   by  railroad  to  Rock- 
ford,  111.,  thence  by  stage  to  Dubuque;  thence  by  river  to  Lansing, 
and  again  by  wagons  to  Freeport.     Burdick  soon  became  a  popu- 
lar citizen,  and  in  the  spring  of  1851    was  appointed  to  fill  a  va- 
cancy  in    the    Treasurer's    and    Recorder  s   office,  caused  by  the 
death  of  Thomas  J.  Hazlett,  and  was  twice  re-elected  to  the  same. 
When  the  civil  war  broke  out,  he  had  five  sons  who  were  elligible 
to  serve  their  country,  all  of  whom  enlisted,  but  only  two  returned 
from  service,  as  three  filled  soldier's  graves.      Theodore  W.  is  the 
oldest  of  the  three  living  children.     He   early   applied  himself  to 
his  studies,  so  that  at  ■  the  age   of    17   he  was    prepared  to  enter 
Oberlin  College,  Ohio,  but  came   with   his   parents  to  Freeport  in 
the  spring  of  i853.     During  the   summer   of   that   year  a  school 
house  was  completed  at  Decorah,   and    the  following   winter  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  became  the  first  teacher.      In  the  spring  of 
1854  he  entered  the  Treasurer's   and   Recorder's  office  as  deputy, 
under  his  father,  having  charge  of  the    books  as  such  until  1857, 
when  he  became  of  age,  and  as  his  father's   term  of  office  expired, 
the  son,  in  compliance  with   the  votes   of  the   people,  succeeded 
him,  holding  it  until  he   resigned    to  enter   the   military  service. 
In  1862  Mr.  Burdick  recruited  Co.  D,  6th  lo.  Cav.,  and  in  October 
was  commissioned  Captain  of  the  same.     Its  field   of  operation 
was  on  the  western  frontier,  and   he  participated  in  three  battles 
with  the  Indians:     White  Stone   Hills,  Dakota,  Tah-kah-o-kuta, 
near  the  line   of  Dakota   and   Montana;    and   Bad  Lands,  on  the 
Little  Missouri  river.     He  served  three   years,  when  the  regiment 
was  mustered  out.     In  the  official  reports  Captain  Burdict  is  hon- 
orably mentioned  for  gallant  services  on  the  field,  and  was  recom- 
mended for  promotion.     In  February,    1865,  Mr.   Burdick  pur- 
chased an  interest  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Decorah,  and  has 
since  been  its  cashier.     He  is  also  an   extensive  dealer  in  real  es- 
tate, in  which  business  he  has  been  quite   successful.     On  the  6th 
of    September,  1876,    he    received  at  the  hands  of  the  Republi- 
can party  its  unanimous  and  unsolicited   nomination  for  Congress 
to  represent  the  third  district,  and  was  elected  by  more  than  thir- 
teen hundred  majority  in    a  district   which  two"  years   before  had 
elected  the  Democratfc  nominee,   and   in   1875  had  given  a  larger 
majority|for  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  than  the  Demo- 
cratic Congressman  had  received.      His  opponent  was  Hon.  J.  M. 
Griffith,  of  Dubuque.     Mr.    Burdick's  services  in    Congress  were 
entirely  acceptable  to  the   people   who    elected   him,  and  he  again 
received  assurance  of  the  nomination,  which,  however,  he  declined, 
as  his  private  business   required  all  his   care  and  attention.     Mr. 


WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  553 

Burdick  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Savings  Bank  of 
Decorah,  and  is  now,  and  has  been  since  its  organization,  its 
cashier  and  the  custodian  of  its  funds.  He  is  a  partner  in  the 
banking  firm  of  Graves,  Burdick  &  Co.,  of  Estherville,  Emmet 
Co.,  lo.  In  December,  1858,  he  married  Miss  Nancy  Graves, 
youngest  daughter  of  Hon.  Gaylord  Graves,  of  Whitewater,  Wis. 
She  has  had  six  children,  five  of  whom  are  now  living,  Mary  A., 
Emma,  Harriet.  Nelson  A.,  and  Weld  T.  Mr.  Burdick  is  a  con- 
scientious, reliable  man,  agreeable  in  manner,  and  does  every- 
thing'well  that  he  undertakes.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church. 

Henry  C.  Bulls,  M.  D.,  the  oldest  practicing  physician  of  De- 
corah, was  born  at  Chazy,  Clinton  County,  N.  Y.,  November  14, 
1830.  In  Oct.,  1854,  Dr.  Bulls  immigrated  to  Decorah,  and  has 
practiced  here  since,  except  when  discharging  official  duties  out- 
side of  his  profession.  When  the  law  creating  the  office  of  coun- 
ty superintendent  of  public  schools  went  into  force,  Dr.  Bulls 
was  the  first  man  to  assume  its  duties,  and  served  three  years.  He 
subsequently  was  a  member  of  the  county  board  of  supervisors, 
serving  as  the  first  president  of  the  board,  under  what  was  then 
termed  the  new  system.  In  1865  he  was  elected  state  senator, 
and  by  re-elections  served  six  years,  resigning  in  the  middle  of  his 
second  term  to  take  the  office  of  lieutenant-governor,  to  which 
the  people  had  called  him.  While  in  the  upper  branch  of  the 
general  assembly  he  was  at  one  time  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  claims,  and  at  another,  of  the  committee  on  state  university. 
He  did  especially  good  work  on  the  latter  committee;  a  warm 
friend  of  education,  and  being  generous  and  broad  in  his  views 
on  the  subject,  he  earnestly  advocated  the  appropriation  bills,  and 
every  measure  calculated  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  universi- 
ty. Part  of  the  time,  while  in  the  senate,  he  served  as  president 
pro  tern.,  and  was  in  that  position  when  placed  in  the  chair  of  lieu- 
tenant-governor. He  has  been  a  trustee  and  regent  of  the 
university;  he  was  examining  surgeon  for  pensions  from  1865  to 
1876,  and  subsequently  president  of  the  Iowa  State  Medical  So- 
ciety. Dr.  Bulls  has  always  been  a  republican,  and  as  can  be 
seen  by  this  sketch  much  of  the  time  since  he  has  been  in  Iowa, 
he  has  been  a  favorite  of  the  party.  He  has  been  very  service- 
able, not  to  his  party  or  state  alone.  On  the  25th  of  August, 
1876,  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Sioux  Indian  Commis- 
sion, and  aided  essentially  in  forming,  a  few  weeks  later,  the 
treaty  with  them  by  which  they  ceded  the  Black  Hills,  and  granted 
the  right  of  way  to  the  same  of  three  different  routes.  The  ser- 
vices which  the  doctor  rendered  in  securing  this  treaty  can  hardly 
be  over-estimated,  and  is  regarded  as  the  crowning  act  of  his  life. 
On  the  11th  of  September,  1854,  he  married  Miss  Laura  A. 
Adams,  of  Cham  plain.  New  York.  She  died  in  1861,  leaving 
two  children,  Frank  H.  and  Ada  A.      On  the  17th  of  June,  1863, 


554  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

he  married  Miss  Harriet  S.  Adams,  a  sister  of  his  first  wife. 
The  services  Avhich  Dr.  Bulis  has  rendered  to  the  county,  the  state 
and  the  country  will  long  keep  his  name  in  remembrance.  In 
July,  1878,  he  was  appointed  special  United  States  Indian  Agent, 
but  resigned  the  same  after  nine  months. 

Chas.  P.  Brown,  attorney,  one  of  Winneshiek  Co.'s  prominent 
lawyers,  is  a  native  of  Lynn,  Mass.  His  father,  Dr.  W.  B. 
Brown,  was  a  brother  of  Gould  Brown,  the  grammarian.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was.  born  in  1833,  After  completing  his 
education  at  the  Quaker  school  of  Providence,  he  returned  to 
Lynn,  and  being  surrounded  by  boot  and  shoe  manufacturers,  he 
learned  the  shoemaker's  trade,  but  in  the  fall  of  1857  he  went  to 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  commenced  the  study  of  law,  with  Hon.  Eli 
Cook  as  preceptor,  and  in  1860  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  then 
went  to  Bellevue,  Mich.,  and  entered  into  a  law  partnership  with 
M.  S.  Bracket,  with  whom  he  remained  until  1865,  in  which  year 
he  came  to  lo.,  and  located  at  Cedar  Falls.  In  1869  he  came  to  Deco- 
rah.  Here  he  was  first  associated  as  partner  with  J.  G.  Morse,  subse- 
quently with  C.  Wellington,  and  since  1881  with  R.  F.  B.  Port- 
man.  He  was  married  in  1861  to  Miss  Vera  Bracket,  daughter  of 
M.  S.  Bracket.  Mr,  Brown  is  a  democrat,  but  has  no  political 
aspirations.     The  children  are  Martin  W.  and  Jennie  L. 

Ben  Bear.  Centennial  Clothing  House.  This  enterprising 
young  merchant  is  a  native  of  Europe,  born  in  1853;  emigrated 
to  the  U.  S.  in  1867,  and  located  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where 
he  served  as  clerk  (without  change  of  employers)  until  1876.  He 
then  concluded  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  "great  west,"  and  ac- 
cordingly came  to  Decorah,  and  at  once  commenced  his  present 
business,  in  a  comparatively  small  way,  however.  In  1877  he 
sustained  losses  by  fire,  but  immediately  resumed  business,  and 
being  a  man  of  excellent  business  qualifications,  and  at  the  same 
time  dealing  squarely  and  honestly  with  his  customers,  his  trade 
increased  from  time  to  time,  so  that  he  not  only  carries  the  largest 
stock  of  clothing,  gent's  furnishing  goods,  hats,  caps,  boots  and 
shoes,  but  also  does  more  business  than  any  other  clothing  house 
within  a  radius  of  many  miles  of  the  city  of  Decorah. 

J.  H.  Baker  was  born  in  Oswego  Co..  *N.  Y,,  in  1838;  removed 
to  Walworth  Co,,  Wis.,  in  1814,  In  1865  he  came  to  lo,,  and  first 
opened  a  meat  market  at  Conover,  and  ran  the  same  about  three 
years.  He  then  came  to  Decorah,  and  in  1869  commenced  deal- 
ing in  grain,  live  stock,  etc.,  and  has  since  continued  the  same. 
He  has  also  run  a  meat  market  since  1881.  Mr.  Baker  was  mar- 
ried at  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wis.,  in  Sept.,  .1865,  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Flanders,     They  have  three  children  living. 

N.  A.  Brekke  is  the  only  son  of  Andrew  N.  Brekke,  who  is  a  far- 
mer on  Sec.  23,  Madison  tp.  He  was  born  in  Winneshiek  Co. 
in  1857;  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  the  Norwegian 
college  of  Decorah:  followed  farming  until   1880,  then  entered 


AVINNESHIEK    COUXTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  555 

into  partnership  with  E.  T.  Weeks,  engaged  in  groceries  and  pro- 
visions, and  continued  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Weeks  &  Brekke 
until  March,  1882,  when  he  withdrew  from  business, 

Michael  J.  Bolland  was  born  in  Irongiem,  Norwa}',  in  1829; 
came  to  this  county  in  1858,  and  settled  in  Hesper  tp.;  bought 
160  acres  of  land  southeast  of  the  village  of  Hesper,  which  he 
still  owns;  lived  there  twenty  years;  then  bought  258  acres  where 
he  now  resides.  It  is  principally  fine  prairie  land,  with  a  little 
brush  land  and  forty  acres  of  timber,  and  is  well  improved  and 
well  stocked.  He  has  a  fine  residence  and  every  arrangement  for 
comfort,  and  is  within  two  miles  of  town.  He  was  married  in 
Norway  in  1850  to  Miss  Marit  Johnson.  They  have  seven  chil- 
dren, four  deceased. 

Albert  A.  Benedict,  P.  0.  Decorah,  firm  of  Benedict  &  Mott, 
proprietors  of  Trout  Run  Mills;  son  of  Aden  S.  and  Sarah  Bene- 
dict; was  born  July  22,  1838,  in  Delaware  Co.,  Ohio;  his  father 
died  when  he  was  about  4  years  old.  His  mother  was  again  mar- 
ried to  Jonah  Hole,  in  1819,  who  was  killed  in  1862  by  being 
thrown  from  a  buggy  by  a  frightened  team.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
he  engaged  in  a  grist  mill  with  a  brother-in-law  to  learn  the  trade 
of  a  miller,  in  which  he  continued  most  of  the  time  till  in  the 
fall  of  1856,  when  he  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  la.  He  first  en- 
gaged in  a  grist  mill  in  Canoe  tp.,  known  as  the  Spring  Water 
mill  for  about  a  year,  after  which  he  went  to  Hesper  tp.  and  en- 
gaged in  farming  for  two  years,  and  then  engaged  in  the  assist- 
ance of  a  Mr.  Tabor  to  start  a  steam  grist  mill  in  the  town  of 
Hesper;  after  which  he  was  engaged  in  milling,  carpenter  work 
and  attending  school,  till  July  4,  1860,  when  he  was  married  to  a 
Miss  Abbie  A.  Mott.  He  then  came  oh  to  a  farm  in  Canoe  tp., 
which  he  had  previously  purchased,  and  continued  farming  in 
connection  with  milling  till  in  1869,  when  he  went  to  Clay  Co., 
lo.,  taking  a  homestead  near  where  Spencer  now  is,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  built  a  grist  mill  at  Spencer  in  company  with  G.  D. 
Marcellus.  In  the  spring  of  1872,  he  returned  to  this  county  and 
purchased  an  interest  in  the  Bluffton  mills,  which  he  subsequently 
sold  and  came  to  Decorah  and  engaged  in  the  stone  mill  of  Am- 
nion Scott.  In  1877,  in  company  with  his  brother-in-law,  J.  W. 
Mott,  he  purchased  the  Trout  Run  mills,  and  in  the  spring  of  1882 
they  purchased  a  farm  of  440  acres  above  the  mills  three-fourths 
of  a  mile,  upon  which  Mr.  B.  lives,  superintending  the  farm,  and 
his  partner  the  mill.  His  children  are:  Oscar  C,  Allard  E.,  Flor- 
ence A.,  Fred.  E.,  Grace  M.  and  Willard.  Mr.  B.'s  mother,  after 
the  death  of  her  second  husband,  came  to  this  Co.  to  live  with 
her  children.  She  died  in  1866.  Mr.  B.'s  religion  is  that  of  the 
Friends. 

Henry  I,  Brichner,  P.  0.  Decorah,  farmer;  son  of  Henry  and 
Elizabeth  Brichner;  was  born  Jan.  17,  1832,  in  York  Co.,  Pa. 
When  quite  young  his   parents  moved   to   Berkley  Co,,   W.  Va. 


556  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

la  the  fall  of  1857  he  immigrated  to  Decorah,  and  engaged  at  his 
trade,  carpenter  and  joiner,  till  in  1S69  came  on  to  his  present 
farm  of  81  acres,  which  is  well  improved  and  worth  $46  per  acre. 
He  also  makes  a  specialty  of  bees,  having  about  50  swarms  at 
present.  He  married  Miss  Julia  Shank,  in  Va.,  Oct.  5,  ISo-l;  they 
have  nine  children,  Laura  V.,  John  H.,  Edward  Gr.,  Hattie  N., 
Susan  E.,  Joan  J.,  Sidney  E.,  Grace  M.  and  Robert  C,  and  have 
lost  two,  Albert  P.  and  Charles  W.  He  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church. 

J.  R.  Booth,  P.  0.  Decorah;  proprietor  of  the  Winneshiek 
Paper  Mills  at  Freeport,  was  born  in  Montgomery  County,  New 
York,  in  1827.  His  early  life  was  spent  in  a  woolen  mill.  In 
1854  he  came  to  Warren,  Illinois,  where  he  served  as  station 
ao-ent  for  the  I.  C.  R.  R.  Co.,  and  afterwards  at  Galena  and  Be- 
loit,  Wisconsin,  at  which  latter  place  he  subsequently  engaged  in 
the  manufacturing  of  sash,  doors,  blinds,  etc.  In  1871  he  estab- 
lished the  firm  of  Booth,  Hinman  &  Co.,  an  extensive  paper  mill 
company,  in  which  he  continued  until  1880,  when  he  disposed  of 
his  interest  there  and  came  to  Decorah,  and  purchased  the  Win- 
neshiek paper  mills,  which  are  now  worth  about  $35,000.  Mr.  B. 
resides  in  Decorah,  His  present  wife  was  Minerva  Leonard,  a  na- 
tive of  Roscoe,  Illinois.  He  has  two  children,  one  by  a  former 
wife. 

H.  A.  Baker,  of  the  firm  of  H.  A.  Baker  &  Bros.,  dealers  in 
general  merchandise,  was  born  in  Crown  Point,  Essex  County,  N. 
Y.,  in  1842.  He  moved  with  his  parents  to  Iowa  in  1858.  He  was 
engaged  for  a  time  as  clerk  in  McGregor,  and  in  1862  established 
himself  in  his  present  business  at  Ossian.  Mr.  Baker, has  been 
state  representative  two  terms,  and  in  1881  Avas  elected  state  sena- 
tor. He  married  Eliza  Webster,  a  native  of  Ind.;  they  have  four 
sons. 

Hon.  Benj.  T.  Barfoot,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  farmer,^  section  19, 
Madison  township;  son  of  James  and  Jane  {nee  Purvis)  Barfoot, 
his  parents  being  of  Scotch  descent.  He  was  born  March  Ilth, 
1830,  in  Wayne  County,  Ohio.  While  he  was  quite  young  his 
parents  moved  to  Holmes  County,  in  the  same  state.  In  early 
life  he  learned  the  carpenter  and  joiner's  trade,  at  which  he  was 
engaged  several  years.  In  the  spring  of  1853  he  came  to  this 
county,  first  locating  at  Freeport.  In  1855  he  moved  to  Decorah, 
continuing  house  building  until  1868,  when  he  moved  to  his  pres- 
ent farm,  having  purchased  the  same  in  1861.  Mr,  B.  was  very 
successful  in  the  pursuit  of  his  trade,  and  has  been  equally  so  in 
farming,  now  owning  430  acres  of  land  two  miles  southeast  of 
Ridgeway,  situated  on  a  beautiful  prairie  commanding  an  exten- 
sive view  of  the  country  for  miles  around.  He  makes  a  specialty 
in  stock,  horses,  hogs,  etc.,  having  some  very  fine  Hambletonian 
horses.  Mr.  B.  is  a  man  of  pleasant  and  agreeable  social  quali- 
fications   being  well   informed    in   contemporaneous  events,  the 


fi^iif, 


:l-*4 


f'*^ 


A.  R  Leach 


PUBLIC  liu^aK"^ 


AS  1  ■■  ■"' 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  557 

leading  journals  and  literature  of  the  day  having  a  place  in  his  li- 
brary. He  has  filled  most  of  the  oJSices  of  his  township,  also  as- 
sisted in  taking  the  United  States  of  1880,  and  the  same  year  was 
a  candidate  for  representative  in  the  state  legislature  on  the  re- 
publican ticket,  but  was  defeated  on  account  of  his  known  tem- 
perance proclivities,  the  free  whisky  and  beer  element  being  in 
the  ascendancy  m  his  district.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Jane 
Doherty,  of  Ohio,  April  25th,  1850.  Their  children  are  Andrew 
W.,  J.  Scott,  Louisa  J.,  Cyrus  F.,  Enos  F.,  Albert  F.  and  Mary 
A.:  they  have  lost  one  daughter,  Minerva. 

E.  Blackmarr,  retired  farmer,  was  born  in  1819,  in  Saratoga 
Co.,  N.  Y.  In  1835  he  removed  to  Huron  Co.,  Ohio,  and  was  en- 
gaged at  farming  there  until  1850;  he  then  moved  to  DeKalb  Co., 
Ind.;  remained  there  three  years;  then  came  to  lo.,  loca,ting  in 
this  Co.  In  1854  he  bought  land  in  Hesper  tp.,  on  Avhat  is  known 
as  Looking  Glass  Prairie.  In  the  following  year  he  moved  to  the 
village  of  Burr  Oak,  and  conducted  what  was  known  as  the  Burr 
Oak  House  one  year;  then  returned  to  farming,  which  he  con- 
tinued until  he  sold  out  in  1866,  and  again  moved  to  Burr  Oak 
and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  carrying  general  stock. 
He  remained  in  this  business  nine  years,  sold  out  in  1875  and  re- 
tired from  active  business.  Mr.  B.  was  postmaster  several  years,  has 
filled  various  offices  in  the  tp.,  and  is  one  of  its  most  respected 
citizens.  He  was  married  in  1840  in  Huron  Co.,  Ohio,  to  Miss  A. 
Washburn,  and  they  have  four  children,  Louisa,  Byron,  Oliette 
and  Melvin. 

E.  H.  Betts,  farmer,  section  33;  owns  80  acres  of  land  valued  at 
§30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Portage  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1830,  where  he 
lived  until  nineteen  years  of  age,  when  he  removed  to  111.  with 
his  parents,  remaining  there  until  1856,  when  he  moved  to  Winne- 
shiek Co.  His  parents  were  Samuel  and  Mahala  Betts.  He  was 
married  in  1854  to  Miss  Olive  E.  Rogers,  of  Geauga  Co.,  Ohio; 
they  have  three  children:  Arthur,  now  in  Dakota;  Evangie,  and 
Clara  H.  Mr.  Betts  has  been  a  member  of  the  County  Board  two 
terms,  and  a  justice  of  the  peace  several  years. 

Richard  Barnes,  merchant  and  farmer,  Fremont,  was  born  in 
Addison  Co.,  Vt.,iu  1827;  remained  on  the  farm  of  his  parents 
until  1854,  when  he  came  to  lo.  and  settled  in  this  Co.  The  first 
year  he  resided  in  Decorah,  and  then  came  to  this  place,  before  the 
tp.  was  organized.  He  entered  a  quarter  section  of  land,  proved 
up  and  obtained  patent;  he  owns  now  230  acres  in  sections  23  and 
27,  including  50  acres  of  timber.  He  now  rents  the  farm,  which 
is  well  improved.  He  served  on  the  County  Board  of  Super- 
visors in  1865  and  1866,  and  was  afterwards  elected  in  the  fall  of 
1881  to  the  same  office  on  the  Republican  ticket.  In  1873  he 
opened  business  in  the  building  now  occupied  by  J.  S.  Daskam, 
remained  two  years,  then  went  back  to  the  farm,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1880  returned  to  the  village  and  bought   the  stock  of  merchandise 

35 


558  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

of  D.  A.  Fifield.  having  already  owned  the  building.  He  car- 
ries a  good  assortment  of  general  merchandise,  does  a  good  busi- 
ness and  owns  residence  and  property  in  town,  where  he  resides.  He 
was  married  at  Trumbull,  Conn,,  to  Mary  M.  Middlebrook,  and 
has  four  children,  Edward,  Carrie,  E.  Frederick  and  Florence. 

Robert  Burrows,  farmer,  Blufiton  township;  was  born  in  Suf- 
folk, England,  in  1824;  came  to  the  United  States  in  1836  with 
his  parents,  who  settled  in.  Monroe  County,  New  York,  and  en- 
gaged in  farming.  In  1840  they  moved  to  Canada  West,  now 
the  province  of  Ontario,  and  engaged  in  farming  for  12  years. 
Robert  B.  then  came  to  Iowa  and  settled  in  this  township  and  en- 
tered a  claim  on  government  land,  improved  the  same  and  now 
owns  280  acres  in  sections  1  and  2.  all  under  fence,  mostly  under 
cultivation,  and  well  stocked.  He  has  built  a  good  residence, 
barns,  etc.,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  1. 

Hogen  H.  Barlo,  farmer,  P.  0.  Decorah;  owns  246  acres  of 
laud  in  section  34;  was  born  in  Norway  Oct.  20th,  1842;  immi- 
grated to  the  United  States  in  1866  and  located  on  his  present 
farm.  He  was  united  in  marriage  with  Ann  Hogenson  in  March, 
1867.     Mr.  B.  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Levi  G.  Burton,  farmer,  Fremont  township;  was  born  in 
Crawford  County,  Penn.,  in  1838.  In  1854  he  came  with  his  par- 
ants  to  this  county.  His  father  pre-empted  120  acres  on  the 
northeast  of  the  village.  He  remained  with  his  parents  until 
1862,  when  he  enlisted,  at  Frankville,  in  Co,  K,  38tli  lo.  Inf.,  un- 
der^Capt.  Allen.  They  were  afterwards  consolidated  with  the 
34th  Iowa  and  served  to  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  at  the  siege 
of  Vicksburg,  Yazoo  City,  Fort  Morgan,  and  the  siege  and  as- 
sault of  Blakely;  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment  at  Houston, 
Texas,  August  15th,  and  discharged  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  Septem- 
ber 5th,  1865.  He  returned  to  this  place  and  purchased  the  land 
he  now  owns  and  resides  upon;  has  improved  the  same,  erected  a 
fine  residence  and  substantial  farm  buildings,  and  has  the  farm 
well  stocked  with  good  graded  cattle  and  hogs;  has  six  head  of  hor- 
ses. He  was  married  in  1867  at  Decorah  to  Miss  Lucetta  J.  Ken- 
dall, and  they  have  three  children.  Alma  May,  Edna  and  Nellie. 
He  w^as  a  member  of  the  board  of  township  trustees  several  years; 
and  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0,  0.  F.,  Cresco  Lodge,  No.  150.  John 
and  Benjamin  Burton,  his  brothers,  enlisted  in  Co.  K,  38th  lo. 
Inf.  Benjamin  died  at  Barancas,  Florida,  March  31st,  1865,  in 
the  service,  and  John  returned  from  the  war  and  was  discharged 
at  the  same  time  as  Levi  G. 

Swen  H,  Borlog,  P.  0.  Decorah,  farmer,  section  1,  Calmar  tp.; 
owns  213  acres  of  land  valued  at  |35  per  acre;  was  born  March 
18th,  1830,  in  Norway,  and  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1854,  first  locat- 
ing in  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  where  he  remained  till  in  1861 
he  came  to  this  county  and  located  on  his  present  farm,  in  1862. 


WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIBS.  ISd 

Mr.  Borlo^  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  Nelson  in  1860;  they  have 
eight  children,  Ole,  Sarah,  Jennie,  Mary,  Lena,  Nora,  Theodore 
and  Ida.     Mr.  13.  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Andrew  Nelson  Brekke,  P.  0.  Decorah,  farmer,  Sec.  23,  Madi- 
son tp.;  owns  160  acres  of  land,  valued  at  |35  per  acre;  was  born 
in  Norway  in  ISBl,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  the  U.  S.  in 
1852;  they  located  in  Dane  Co.,  Wis.,  remaining  there  to  1853, 
when  he  came  to  this  Co.,  and  located  on  his  present  farm.  His 
mother  died  in  1852  in  Wis.;hisfather  is  now  living  with  him,  and 
is  at  the  advanced  age  of  86  years.  Mr.  Brekke  was  married  to 
Miss  Helen  Thompson  in  1852;  they  have  one  son,  Nels  A, 

D.  C.  Bacon,  P.  0.  Decorah,  farmer.  Sec.  24,  Madison  tp.;  owns 
240  acres,  valued  at  ^40  per  acre;  was  born  March  18,  1828,  in 
Litchfield  Conn.  "  In  early  life  he  learned  the  trade  of  plane  mak- 
ing, which  business  he  followed  for  many  years,  also  carpenter 
and  joiner  work.  In  1854  he  came  to  lo.,  locating  at  Freeport, 
in  this  Co.  He  came  on  to  his  present  farm  in  1878.  Mr.  Bacon 
was  married  to  Miss  Rebecca  Swift,  June  25, 1855,  in  Connecticut. 
They  have  two  children,  William  S.  and  Mary  A.  Mr.  Bacon  is 
a  member  of  the  Congregational  church,  and  of  the  A.  F.  & 
A.  M. 

Jacob  Butz,  farmer,  owns  120  acres  of  land,  valued  at  |20  per 
acre;  was  born  in  Indiana  in  1856,  and  is  a  son  of  Theobolt  Butz; 
came  west  in  1866,  and  settled  in  this  tp.  He  married  Emma 
Reinhardt,  Avho  was  born  in  Allamakee  Co.  They  have  one  child, 
Edward. 

Lewis  R.  Brown,  Sec.  8,  Orleans  tp.;  son  of  Josiah  and  Susanna 
Brown,  both  born  in  N.  Y.;  was  born  in  Jefferson  Co.,  N,  Y.,  Feb. 
8,  1834.  In  1860  he  came  to  Orleans  tp.,  locating  on  his  present 
farm,  which  now  contains  628  acres,  the  probable  value  of  which 
is  $80  per  acre.  Mr.  Brown  also  deals  extensively  in  fine  stock. 
He  Avas  married  to  Louise  S.  Chapin,  also  a  native  of  Jefferson 
Co.,  N.  Y.;  they  have  two  children,  Henry  C.  and  Susie  E. 

G.  R.  Baker,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  was  born  in  Essex 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1851;  is  a  son  of  W.  H.  and  P.  W.  Baker;  came  to 
Iowa  in  1859  with  his  parents,  and  settled  in  Bloomfield  tp.,  re- 
ceiving his  early  education  at  the  common  schools,  and  subse- 
(juently  a  course  at  the  Ames  Agricultural  College.  He  was  em- 
ployed as  clerk  at  Ossian  from  1871  to  1874,  at  which  time  he 
came  to  Ridgeway  and  engaged  in  business  as  above.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Estella  BoUes,  a  native  of  this  Vo.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren, Rollin  and  Raymond. 

A.  W.Brownell,  farmer,  owns  144  acrea,  section  17,  joining  the 
town  of  Fort  Atkinson;   was   born   in   Rensalaer  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in 
1831.     In  1853  moved  to  Chillicothe,  Ross  Co.,  Ohio,  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  lumber  for  two   years;  then    moved  to  Wis 
near  Madison  and  engaged   at   farming,    and    in    1863   came   t 
Mitchell  Co.,  lo.,  farming   three   years;    then   went  back  to  Wis. 


560  WINKESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

and  remained  two  years;  in  1868  came  to  Fort  Atkinson  and  pur- 
chased property  in  town,  and  in  1877  bought  the  farm  which  he 
now  owns.  It  is  improved  and  fenced,  having  good  buildings, 
etc.  He  was  elected  in  the  fall  of  1874  Clerk  of  Courts  of  this 
Co.,  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  served  one  term;  and  in  1877  was 
elected  Co.  Supervisor  on  the  same  ticket,  the  county  being  large- 
ly Republican.  Mr.  B.  was  married  in  Ohio  in  1854,  to  Miss  Fer- 
nandez, who  died  in  3856.  He  afterwards  married,  in  1861,  at 
Leeds,  Columbia  Co.,  Wis.,  Miss  A.  K.  Chilson,  and  they  have 
five  sons  and  one  daughter.   He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

W.  Becker,  lumber  dealer.  Fort  Atkinson,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, in  1849,  was  educated  there,  and  in  the  spring  of  1868 
came  to  the  U.  S.;  settled  first  at  Festina,  in  this  Co.,  worked  in 
the  store  of  C.  Dessel  for  one  and  one  half  years,  then  came  to 
this  place  and  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  in  the  building  now 
owned  by  J.  C.  Morris,  jeweler.  In  1874  he  sold  out  and  went 
into  his  present  business.  He  bought  eight  town  lots  for  the 
yards,  has  fenced  them,  carries  about  a  $6,000  stock,  has  erected 
good,  dry  sheds,  etc.,  and  does  a  good  business.  He  was  married 
in  1873  at  Festina,  to  Miss  Barbara  Huber,  of  this  Co. 

A.  Bernatz  &  Bros.,  proprietors  Evergreen  Flouring  Mills,  Ft. 
Atkinson.  A.  Bernatz,  the  senior  member  of  the  firm,  is  a  native 
of  Germany,  and  Geo.  Bernatz,  the  junior  member,  of  this  coun- 
ty. Their  parents  came  to  the  U.  fe.  in  1849  and  settled  in  Roch- 
ester, !N.  Y.;  came  to  Prairie  du  Chien  in  1852  and  to  McGregor 
in  1855,  and  engaged  in  the  brewery  business,  which  they  sold 
and  went  to  Smithfield,  Allamakee  County,  and  bought  the  flour- 
ing mills;  from  there  they  came  to  this  county,  bought  the  Ad- 
dicken  flouring  mills,  on  the  Canoe  River,  northeast  of  Decorah, 
and  run  the  same  two  years;  then  bought  the  Riceford  mills  at 
Houston,  Minn.,  and  also  built  a  mill  in  Fillmore  County,  Minn., 
known  as  the  Newburg  mills,  and  the  same  year  built  the  Chaska 
flouring  mills,  near  Minneapolis.  They  sold  their  Minnesota  mills 
and  came  to  this  place  in  1875;  had  bought  the  Evergreen  mills 
in  the  fall  of  1874,  and  have  conducted  the  same  ever  since  under 
the  firm  name  of  M.  Bernatz  &  Son,  until  the  fall  of  1882,  then 
under  the  above  name.  The  mill  is  40x50  ffeet,  three  stories  and 
basement,  situated  on  Turkey  River;  is  fitted  as  a  merchant  mill 
and  does  merchant  work  only;  has  a  capacity  of  125  barrels;  is 
fitted  with  five  run  of  buhrs,  one  set  of  rollers,  bran  duster,  puri- 
fier, and  all  the  necessary  machinery  for  a  first-class  mill,  and 
gives  employmeut  to  five  men,  besides  the  proprietors  and  coopers. 
It  is  probably  the  only  mill  in  northern  Iowa  that  runs  steadily 
the  year  round  as  an  exclusively  merchant  mill.  Power  is  given 
with  four  Lefiel  water  wheels,  equal  to  100-horse  power. 

D.  Bright,  farmer,  living  on  section  30.  and  owns  160  acres; 
was  born  in  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  in  1828;  learned  the  trade 
of  carpenter;  came  to  Iowa  in   1856,  settling  at   Osage,  Mitchell 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  561 

County,  and  lived  there  ten  years,  working  at  bis  trade;  then  came 
to  this  place  and  moved  onto  his  land,  which  he  had  bought  ten 
years  previously.  He  has  now  thoroughly  improved  it,  having  it 
all  under  fence,  good  buildings,  etc.,  and  well  stocked.  He  has  a 
fine  herd  of  good  grade  cattle;  eleven  head  of  horses,  among 
which  are  some  fine  Clydesdale  half  bloods.  Mr.  B.  has  filled 
many  offices  in  the  township,  and  is  a  leading  and  respected  citi- 
zen. He  married  in  November,  1852,  in  Pennsylvania,  Miss 
Mary  Bowers,  and  has  five  children  living,  William,  Lauren,  Low- 
ella,  Frank  and  Bert. 

John  Birtwistle,  farmer,  section  5,  P.  0.  Cresco;owns  118  acres 
of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  England;  is  the  fourth 
son  of  Edward  and  Priscilla  Birtwistle;  was  married  in  1855  to 
Miss  Alice  Grundy,  a  native  of  England.  When  he  was  18  years 
of  age  he  came  to  America;  settled  in  Grundy  County,  Illinois, 
lived  there  two  years,  then  moved  to  La  Salle  County,  and  after  a 
residence  of  eight  years  there,  came  to  Winneshiek  County.  He 
has  three  children  living,  Margaret  E.,  John  E.  and  William.  Mr. 
B.  was  for  a  time  employed  by  the  government  as  a  carpenter. 

Hon.  Ezekiel  E.  Cooley  stands  conspicuous  among  the  early 
representatives  of  the  legal  profession  in  the  Tenth  Judicial  Dis- 
trict. He  is  a  native  of  the  Empire  State,  born  in  Victory,  Cayu- 
ga Co.,  on  the  12th  of  January,  1827.  His  parents  were  Ira  A. 
Cooley  and  Lydia  Chittenden  'Cooley.  His  father  was  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Baptist  denomination,  who  held  pastorates  after  his 
son  was  born,  at  Hermon,  St.  Lawrence  Co.;  Denmark,  Lewis  Co., 
and  Brownsville,  Jefierson  Co.  He  died  at  the  last  named  place  in 
June,  1846.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  the  son  entered  the 
Black  River  Literary  and  Religious  Institute,  at  Watertown,  and 
at  his  father's  demise  was  about  to  enter  Hamilton  College,  but 
this  bereavement  thwarted  all  his  plans.  Two  years  prior  to  this 
date,  while  fitting  for  college,  he  commenced  teaching,  and  in  the 
summer  of  1847  went  to  Cynthiana,  Kentucky,  to  pursue  this  call- 
ing, arriving  there  with  seven  dollars  in  his  pocket.  Up  to  this 
date  he  had  a  hard  struggle  in  procuring  the  knowledge  which  he 
then  possessed,  and  which  struggle  was  not  ended;  but  he  con- 
tinued to  persevere,  having  the  legal  profession  in  view,  and  con- 
tinued teaching  with  a  view  to  supplying  himself  with  funds. 
Soon  after  reaching  Kentucky  he  commenced  studying  law,  with 
Judge  Trimble  as  preceptor;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1849,  and 
in  August  of  the  same  year  returned  to  New  York  and  took 
charge  of  a  public  school  in  Odgensburg.  Not  satisfied  with  his 
legal  attainments,  simultaneously  with  his  commencing  to  teach, 
he  read  law,  with  Hon.  A.  B.  James  as  preceptor,  and  on  the  2d 
of  September,  1850,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  He  commenced  practice  at  Hermon;  two  years  later  he 
removed  to  Odgensburg,  formed  a  partnership  with  George  Mor- 
ris, and  continued  practice  under  the  firm  name  of  Morris  &  Coo- 


662  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

ley  until  October,  1854,  when  he  immigrated  to  Towa  and  located  at 
Decorah,  At  that  date  there  were  less  than  thirty  families  in  the 
place,  but  Mr.  Cooley  had  the  wisdom  to  see  that  it  was  a  town  of 
much  promiise,  and  a  good  opening  for  an  ambitious  young  attor- 
ney, with  a  broad  foundation  of  legal  knowledge  on  which  to 
build.  In  1855  Mr.  Cooley  formed  a  partnership  v.'ith  W.  L. 
Easton  and  L.  Standring,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  busi- 
ness of  banking  and  real  estate.  This  banking  house  proved 
eventually  to  be  the  "seed-corn"  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Decorah,  No  movenent  calculated  to  benefit  Decorah  or  the 
county  has  failed  to  receive  the  hearty  support  of  Mr.  Cooley.  As 
early  as  1856  he  was  one  of  the  prominent  men  in  organizing  a 
railroad  company  called  the  Northwestern,  of  which  he  was  made 
the  attorney.  The  financial  depression  delayed  this  enterprise, 
but  after  repeated  trials  the  road,  under  another  name,  reached 
Decorah  in  September,  1869,  Upon  the  celebration  of  its  com- 
pletion, Mr.  Cooley  was  very  appropriately  made  the  orator  for 
the  occasion.  Two  years  after  he  settled  at  Decorah,  an  efi'ort 
was  made  to  remove  the  county  seat  to  Freeport,  three  miles  east- 
ward, and  but  for  the  adroit  efforts  of  Mr.  Cooley  and  a  few  other 
persons,  the  project  probably  would  have  succeeded.  Mr.  Cooley 
came  to  Decorah  to  practice  law,  and  to  make  it  a  business  for  life. 
He  has  carried  out  his  intentions  almost  to  the  letter,  and  has  at- 
tained eminence  in  his  profession.  The  few  offices  he  has 
held  were  urged  upon  him  by  the  partiality  of  his  friends.  In 
the  spring  of  1855  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney,  and 
served  two  years.  When,  in  1857,  Decorah  was  incorporated,  he 
was  chosen  president  of  its  board  of  trustees;  and  in  October  of 
the  same  year  he  was  elected  to  the  lower  branch  of  the  general 
assembly — the  seventh — which  was  the  first  under  the  new  con- 
stitution. Young  as  he  was,  and  wholly  inexperienced  in  legisla- 
tive matters,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  committee  on  fed- 
eral relations.  He  was  also  on  other  important  committees,  such 
as  judiciary,  and  township  and  county  organization,  doing  valuable 
work  on  all  of  them,  as  well  as  on  several  select  committees.  In 
1861  Mr.  Cooley  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Decorah,  but  re- 
signed at  the  end  of  two  years.  In  September,  1864,  President 
Lincoln  appointed  him  commissary  of  subsistence  in  the  volunteer 
service,  w4th  the  rank  of  captain.  He  held  this  position  until 
October,  1865,  when  he  was  breveted  major  for  meritorious  ser- 
vices, and  received  his  discharge  the  following  month.  Twice  his 
republican  friends  have  presented  his  name  before  the  district 
conventions  for  congressional  nominations,  but  in  both  instances 
competing  candidates  bore  off"  the  palm,  and  he  magnanimously 
took  the  stump  and  aided  in  their  election.  In  1879  he  resigned 
the  office  of  mayor  of  Decorah  to  accept  the  appointment  of 
judge  of  the  Tenth  Judicial  District,  and  in  Nov.,  1880,  was 
elected  to  the  same  position,  and  is  still  serving  as  such.     Judge 


WINNESHIEK   OOUNTY    WOQKAPHIES.  563 

Cooley  has  profound  respect  for  the  Bible,  is  familiar  with  its 
teachings,  and  has  aimed  to  live  a  blameless  life,  but  has  no  church 
connections.  He,  like  his  sons,  is  a  student.  He  loves  the  prac- 
tice of  law,  much  better  than  politics,  and  still  pursues  its  study 
with  the  relish  and  eagerness  of  his  younger  days.  Through  his 
success  he  has  obtained  a  competency,  and  has  one  of  the  most 
elegant  and  costly  residences  in  Decorah.  Judge  Cooley  was  mar- 
ried on  the  18th  of  March,  1S56,  to  Miss  Jane  M.  Rhodes,  of 
Dubuque,  a  lady  of  very  fine  talent  as  an  amateur  artist  in  oil 
colors.  They  have  two  sons,  both  of  whom  are  graduates  of  the 
literary  department  of  the  Michigan  University.  Charles  M.,  the 
elder,  subsequent  to  graduating,  studied  law  with  his  father;  was 
admitted  in  September,  1879,  and  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Cooley,  Fannon  &  Akers  until  1882,  when,  on  account  of  his  health, 
he  gave  up  practice,  and  is  now  engaged  in  stock  farming  in  Da- 
kota. He  was  married  in  August,  1880,  to  Miss  Alice  Woodruff, 
daughter  of  Rev.  H.  B.  AVoodruff.  Roger  W.,  the  younger,  is 
now  reading  law  with  W.  E.  Akers,  Esq. 

W.  F.  Coleman,  M.  D.,  a  pioneer  physician  and  dentist  of  De- 
corah, was  bornin  V^ermont  in  1825.  At  the  age  of  18  he  removed 
to  Illinois,  and  served  as  clerk  in  mercantile  pursuits  until 
18i7.  He  then  entered  the  Rush  Medical  College,  of  Chicago, 
and  graduated  in  1850.  Dr.  Coleman  then  located  at  McHenry, 
111.,  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  and  dentistry,  at  the 
same  time  havino^  an  interest  with  his  brother  in  a  general  mer- 
cantile  business.  In  1857  Dr.  Coleman  located  at  Decorah,  and 
in  1862  received  a  commission  as  assisting  surgeon  in  the  17th  lo. 
Inf.,  in  which  position  he  served  until  the  spring  of  1864, 
when  he  resigned  on  account  of  physical  disability.  Dr. 
Coleman  then  returned  to  Decorah,  and  as  soon  as  his  health 
permitted,  resumed  the  duties  of  his  profession,  and  has 
since  continued  the  same,  during  which  time  he  has  been  engaged 
in  the  drug  business  for  about  five  years.  Dr.  Coleman  was  the 
first  mayor  of  Decorah,  having  previously  been  president  of  the 
town;  has  also  been  city  treasurer,  and  served  two  years  as  county 
superintendent.  He  is  U.  S.  examining  surgeon,  and  for  sixteen 
years  has  been  a  physician  on  the  board  commissioners  of  in- 
sanity. Dr.  Coleman  was  married  in  184:8  to  Miss  Jane  E.  Grout, 
a  native  of  Canada  West.  ^J  hev  have  eight  children  livinc;:  J. 
H.,  Viola  A.,  (now  Mrs.  W.  R.  Toye),  Frank  M.,  A.  L.,  Herbert 
D.,  Willard  F.,  Louis,and  Adelbert. 

L.  L.  Cadwell,  conductor,  is  a  native  of  the  Empire  State,  born 
at  Binghamton,  Brown  Co.,  in  1838,  his  parents  being  Nathan 
and  Eliza  Cadwell,  with  whom  he  removed  to  Fox  Lake.  Wis. 
Mr.  Cadwell  iu  1859,  married  Miss  Anna  Johnson,  of  North 
Adams,  Mass.  In  1862  he  accompanied  his  wife  east,  her  health 
being  impaired,  and  in  the  same  year  enlisted  in  Co.  B,  2d  N.  Y. 
Cav.     This  company  formed  a  part  of  the   Gulf  Department,  and 


564  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGKAPHIES. 

participated  in  Gen.  Banks'  expedition  up  the  Red  river.  Mr. 
Cadwell  remained  in  the  service  until  Dec,  1865,  when  he  was 
mustered  out  as  First  Lieut.  He  then  entered  the  employ  of  the 
C,  M.  &  St.  P.  R.  R.,  and  still  continues  with  the  same.  He  has 
been  a  resident  of  Winneshiek  Co.  since  1867,  and  of  Decorah 
since  1875.  In  1876  Mr.  Cadwell  built  the  Decorah  Green  House, 
which,  under  the  supervision  of  his  wife,  has  become  the  leading 
green  house  for  a  large  section  of  country  around  Decorah.  Mr. 
Cadwell  is  a  gentleman  who  is  highly  esteemed  wherever  known, 
and  his  home  is  one  of  the  best  in  Decorah.  He  has  one  son, 
Herbert  H. 

J.  L.  Cameron,  county  surveyor,  is  a  native  of  Scotland,  born 
in  1832.  In  1835  the  family  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and 
lived  in  western  New  York  until  1844,  then  in  Canada  until  1852, 
when  they  removed  to  Wisconsin,  from  which  state  they  came  to 
Iowa  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  County  in  1859.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  taught  the  art  of  surveying  and  civil  engineering 
by  his  father,  who  was  a  graduate  of  Aberdeen  University,  of 
Scotland,  and  has  therefore  thus  far  in  life  made  it  his  principal 
business.  Mr,  Cameron  has  been  twice  married:  In  1860  to  Miss 
C.  W.  Worth,  who  died  in  1873,  leaving  five  children,  four  of 
whom  are  now  living.  In  1878  to  Mrs.  M.  E.  Johnson,  M.  D.,  by 
which  marriage  he  has  one  child. 

A.  C.  Chase,  firm  of  Chase  &  Pinkham,  stone  sawing,  etc.;  was 
born  in  Vermont  in  1852,  and  in  1858  with  his  parents,  Charles 
and  Savina  Chase,  came  to  Iowa  and  settled  at  Decorah.  His  early 
life  was  spent  w^orking  in  a  flouring  mill.  In  1874  he  went  to 
Hamlin  County,  Dakota,  and  now  owns  property  at  that  place. 
His  present  business  was  established  in  March,  1882,  and  bids  fair 
to  become  a  leading  enterprise  of  Decorah. 

C.  H.  Craig,  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Decorah  Pantagraph ^ 
was  born  at  Albany,  New  York,  November  20,  1856.  He  com- 
menced work  at  the  printer's  trade  in  the  Albany  Evening  Jour- 
nal office  in  January,  1870.  In  1878  he  took  Horace  Greeley's 
advice  and  went  to  Sioux  Falls,  Dakota,  where  he  was  engaged  on 
diflerent  papers  until  the  spring  of  1882.  He  then  came  to  De- 
corah, purchased  the  Decorah  Badical^  changed  the  name  to  De- 
corah Pantograph,  and  is  now  editing  and  publishing  the  same. 

Orlando  J.  Clark,  attorney,  is  a  son  of  J.  T.  Clark,  and  was 
born  in  New  York  in  1843.  He  came  to  Iowa  in  February,  1855, 
received  a  common  school  education,  and  enlisted  in  Co.  E,  38th 
lo.  Inf.;  was  afterwards  transferred  to  Co.  K,  34th  lo.,  and  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  w^as  mustered  out  as  second 
lieutenant.  He  then  returned  to  Decorah,  aud  in  January,  1867, 
commenced  reading  law  with  his  father  as  preceptor;  in  June, 
1868,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  has  since  been  in  constant 
practice.      He   has   been  district  attorney  six   years,   city   mayor 


WINKESHIBK    COUNTY    BIOGKAPHIES.  565 

one  term,  and  is  at  present  city  attorney,  Mr.  Clark  was  married 
November  24th,  1868;  to  Miss  Stella  McCurdy,  and  has  one  son 
and  one  daughter. 

Fitz  William  Cleveland,  farmer,  owns  120  acres  of  land,  in- 
cluding 13  acres  of  timber.  Mr.  C.  was  born  in  Lake  Co.,  111., 
in  1814,  and  in  1845  his  parents  moved  to  Wis.  In  1854  they 
moved  to  lo.,  locating  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  on  a  government  claim 
in  Hesper  tp.  The  farm  he  now  owns  and  resides  upon  is  a  part 
of  the  original  homestead.  His  father,  Selby  Cleveland,  was  a 
pioneer  settler  and  died  in  March,  1876,  his  sons  taking  the  farm 
at  that  time.  Fi,tz  W.  was  married  in  1869,  in  Burr  Oak  tp.,  to 
Miss  Sarah  A.  Grates,  and  they  have  two  children. 

Josiah  Callender,  farmer,  came  to  this  Co.  when  a  child,  with- 
his  father,  Isaac  Callender,  in  1848,  who  took  a  claim  under  the 
government,  and  was  one  of  the  first  actual  settlers  in  this  part  of 
the  county  and  was  a  much  respected  citizen,  and  had  held  many 
offices  of  public  trust  in  the  county.  He  died  on  the  19th  of 
March,  1882.  His  wife  died  two  months  before.  The  home 
farm,  which  contains  about  260  acres,  is  conducted  by  Josiah  Cal- 
lender, who  was  born  in  Wis.,  in  1846,  two  years  previous  to  his 
parents'  moving  to  this  county.  Mr.  Callender  is  a  member  of 
Lodge  No.  66,  A.  F.  &  A.  M„  and  was  married  in  1873  to  Miss 
Vila  E.  Crouch,  in  Cherokee  Co.,  Iowa,  and  has  two  children. 

Daniel  Calkin,  farmer,  resides  on  and  owns  100  acres  of  tillable 
land  in  section  20,  Hesper  tp.,  and  also  owns  20  acres  of  timber  in 
Burr  Oak  tp.  He  was  born  in  Essex  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1837,  and  in 
1859  went  to  Whiting.  Vt.,  and  there  learned  the  trade  of  carpen- 
ter and  joiner.  He  enlisted  in  Sept.,  1861,  on  the  second  call  after 
the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  in  the  5th  Vt.  Infty.,  Co.  F.;  served  three 
years;  two  years  of  the  time  was  hospital  steward,  as  he  was  un- 
able to  serve  in  the  field  on  account  of  serious  illness  during  the 
first  year.  He  was  discharged  in  Sept.,  1864,  and  returned  to  Vt. 
and  remained  until  the  spring  of  1865,  and  then  went  to  Wis.  In 
the  following  fall  he  came  to  lo.,  located  in  Canoe  tp.,  this  Co., 
bought  a  farm  there  and  resided  thereon  five  years;  then  sold  out 
and  purchased  a  farm  in  section  30,  Hesper  tp.,  where  he  remained 
six  years;  then  in  1876  purchased  the  farm  he  now  resides  on. 
It  is  thoroughly  improved  and  is  fine  prairie  land.  He  has  built  a 
fine  brick  residence  and  good  barns  and  farm  buildings,  and  has 
his  farm  well  stocked.  He  has  filled  various  offices  of  trust  in 
Canoe|and  Hesper  tps.  He  was  married  in  Oct.,  1868,  at  Postville, 
lo.,  to  Miss  Esther  M.  Finney,  and  they  have  five  children. 

L.  M.  Chase,  P.  0.  Freeport,  steward  of  the  County  Poor  Farm; 
was  born  in  N.  H.  in  1833,  where  he  remained  till  in  1853  he 
came  to  Iowa,  stopping  in  Muscatine  two  years;  then  came  to 
Winneshiek  Co.,  locating  in  Canoe  tp.  In  1870  he  moved  into 
Clay  Co.,  lo.,  where  he  remained  till  in  1876,  when  he  returned  to 


666  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

Winneshiek  Co.,  and  in  1878  was  appointed  to  his  present  position. 
His  wife  was  Miss  Mary  Gove,  a  native  of  N.  H.  They  have  five 
children,  Herbert.  Elliston,  Pliny,  Lydia  and  Milton. 

Peter  Coogan,  P.  0.  Decorah,  farmer,  Sec.  3;  son  of  James  and 
Catharine  Coogan.  He  was  born  June  24,  1841,  in  Steuben  Co., 
N.  Y.;  immigrated  to  lo.  in  the  spring  of  1859,  locating  in  the 
southeast  part  of  Allamakee  Co.,  and  the  following  fall  came  to 
Decorah.  He  first  engaged  as  teamster,  and  subsequently  farmed 
upon  the  Jacob  Jewett  farm,  and  on  Washington  Prairie  one 
year.  In  1866  he  rented  the  larm  he  now  owns,  and  at  the  close 
of  two  years  he  purchased  it.  He  now  owns  230  acres,  valued  at 
$35  per  acre.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Headington,  February 
4th,  1865.  She  is  a  native  of  Ohio.  They  have  two  children, 
Cora  H.  and  Laura  N. 

M.  J.  Carter  of  the  firm  of  Meyer  &  Carter,  bankers;  estab- 
lished business  in  Feb.,  1880.  They  do  a  general  banking  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Carter  Avas  born  in  Warren  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1852;  came 
west  with  his  parents  Jul}'  4tb,  1856,  and  settled  in  Bloomfield 
tp.,  where  he  lived  until  1874,  when  he  engaged  in  clerking. 
He  afterwards  read  law  with  Gr.  L.  Faust,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  Jan.,  1877.  Mr.  C.  was  deputy  clerk  of  the  courts  two 
years;  has  also  been  mayor,  treasurer  and  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  married  Mattie  B.  Harvey,  a  native  of  N.  H.,  and  has  one  son. 

J.  H.  Constantine,  manufacturer  and  dealer  in  harness,  sad- 
dles, whips,  etc.,  was  born  in  Waukesha,  Wis.,  in  1855;  came  to 
lo.  in  1875,  and  the  following  year  located  in  Calmar  and  estab- 
lished his  present  business.  He  married  Mary  Benda,  a  native  of 
Iowa. 

E.  W.  Constantine,  proprietor  of  sample  room;  was  born  in 
Waukesha  Co.,  Wis.,  in  1861;  came  to  Calmar  in  1877,  and  estab- 
lished his  present  business.  He  married  Elizabeth  Sullivan,  who 
was  born  in  McGregor. 

A.  J.  Cratsenberg,  of  the  firm  of  Cratsenberg  &  Son,  dealers  in 
general  merchandise.  Burr  Oak,  was  born  in  Denmark,  Lewis  Co., 
N.  Y.,  1830;  lived  in  that  county  until  1864.  He  was  in  business  dur- 
ing part  of  the  time  in  Turin,  in  that  county,  at  his  trade  as  ahar- 
nessmaker.  He  enlisted  during  the  late  war  in  Co.  F,  186th  N.  Y. 
Vol.  Inf.,  as  sergeant  of  the  Pioneer  Corps,  and  served  to  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  was  with  Gen.  Meade  at  Stony  Creek,  the 
taking  of  Petersburg,  and  in  North  Carolina.  He  was  discharged 
in  1865  near  Alexandria,  then  returned  to  N.  Y.  and  took  a  po- 
sition as  foreman  in  a  harness  shop.  In  1869  he  came  to  lo.  and 
settled  in  Burr  Oak,  and  opened  a  harness  shop,  which  he  con- 
ducted three  years  and  then  quit  the  business.  In  the  same  build- 
ing he  opened  and  established  the  hotel  known  as  the  American 
House,  which  he  conducted  until  April,  1877.  He  then  sold  to 
Mr.  Porter,  its  present  occupant,  and  in  the  following  spring  he 
opened  the  store  in  partnership  with  his  son.     In  the  same  year 


WINNESHIEK    COL'NTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  567 

he  obtained  liis  commissson  as  postmaster,  succeeding  George 
Kimball.  He  is  also  a  commissioned  notary  public,  receiving  his 
commission  in  1878.  Mr.  C.  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and 
has  filled  every  office  in  the  lodge;  is  its  present  treasurer,  has 
been  representative  to  the  Grand  Lodge  twice  and  district  deputy 
twice,  and  is  still  a  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  and  Encamp- 
ment. He  married  in  1851,  in  N.  Y.,  Miss  Julia  M.  Phelps,  of 
the  same  place,  and  they  have  four  children,  Alva  A.  Alma  A., 
Ella  L.  and  Frank  E.  Alva  A.,  the  oldest,  is  junior  partner  in 
the  business,  but  resides  in  Madison,  Wis.  He  is  special  agent 
for  the  State  for  the  Continental  Ins.  Co.,  of  N.  Y.,  and  was  for- 
merly with  Henry  Paine,  of  Decorah,  in  the  same  business.  He 
was  married  Dec.  29,  1880,  to  Miss  Ida  Bennett,  of  that  place, 
and  they  have  one  child,  Helen. 

Charles  W.  Cady,  M.  D.  and  druggist,  was  born  in  Saratoga 
Springs,  New  York,  in  184G.  His  parents  moved  in  1851  to  Mai- 
den, Massachusetts,  and  in  1857  to  Owatonna,  Steele  County,  Min- 
nesota. He  resided  with  them  until  1877,  when  he  located  at 
Burr  Oak  and  established  his  present  business  and  practice.  The 
Doctor  received  his  preparatory  education  at  Owatonna,  and  in 
1869  entered  the  Chicago  University  and  went  through  the  junior 
year;  then  left  and  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with  Drs. 
Case  and  Moorehead  at  Owatonna,  Minnesota,  and  in  1871  he  en- 
tered the  Bennett  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Chicago,  and  gradu- 
ated in  1877.  He  commenced  practice  at  Blooming  Prairie,  Min- 
nesota, remained  there  but  a  short  time,  then  came  to  this  place, 
and  has  established  a  lucrative  and  successful  business  and  prac- 
tice. He  was  married  in  1877  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Turner,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Ellen  May. 

C.  L.  Christiansen  Lein,  Hesper  township;  owns  295  acres,  in- 
cluding 50  acres  timber,  70  acres  of  the  land  being  in  Canoe  town- 
ship, the  balance  in  Hesper  township.  Mr.  Lein  was  born  in 
1811  at  Hollingdahl,  Norway,  and  came  to  the  United  States  with 
his  parents  in  1852;  lived  one  year  in  Dane  County,  Wisconsin; 
then  came  to  this  phxce,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  bought 
280  acres  of  land  in  Baker  County,  Minnesota,  in  1878.  It  is  raw 
prairie  and  valued  at  $12  per  acre.  The  home  property  is  all  un- 
der cultivation,  thoroughly  improved  and  well  stocked.  He  has 
filled  several  offices  of  trust  in  the  township,  and  served  five  years 
as  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  married  in  the  fall  of  1869  at  this 
place  to  Miss  Carrie  Larson,  and  they  have  five  children,  Mar3% 
Eliza,  Christiania,  Oliver  and  Helena. 

Elijah  Clarke,  farmer,  Fremont  township;  owns  160  aci'es  of 
land;  was  born  in  New  York,  in  1808.  In  1829  he  went  to  Upper 
Canada,  remaining  there  nine  years,  farming  and  lumbering;  then 
moved  to  McHeury  County,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  farming  un- 
til 1853;  then  came  to  this  county  and  bought  a  claim  in  what  is 
now  Hesper  township;   lived  there  two  years;   then  came   to  this 


568  WINKESHIEK   COUNTY  BIOGRAPHIES. 

place,  and  purchased  the  land  he  now  owns,  directly  it  came  into 
market,  and  has  now  thoroughly  improved  the  same.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1833  in  Canada  to  Miss  Lydia  Belles,  and  has  ten  children. 

John  Cizek,  proprietor  of  wagon  and  blacksmith  shop,  Spill- 
ville;  is  a  son  of  Wenzel  and  Anna  Cizek;  was  born  in  Bohemia, 
in  October,  1836;  came  with  parents  to  America  in  1855,  and  lo- 
cated in  Racine  County,  Wisconsin,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade 
until  1863,  when  he  removed  to  Dubuque,  where  he  worked  for 
A.  A.  Cooper.  In  1864  he  came  to  this  place  and  established  a 
blacksmithing  business,  aftei  wards  adding  wagon  manufactur- 
ing and  a  repairing  branch.  In  1857  he  was  married  to  Mary 
Zeman,  also  a  native  of  Bohemia.  They  have  five  children,  Jose- 
phine, William,  Mary,  John  and  Fanny,  and  have  lost  one  by 
death,  Emma. 

Chas.  Crapser,  section  28,  Orleans  township,  P.  0.  Cresco;  was 
born  in  Duchess  County,  New  York,  in  1832;  he  is  a  son  of  Har- 
rison and  Elizabeth  Crapser.  From  New  York  he  went  to  Ohio; 
thence  to  Will  County,  Illinois,  and  in  1854  he  removed  to  Con- 
over,  where  he  remained  one  summer,  when  he  again  removed  to 
his  present  farm  of  320  acre?,  which  he  valued  at  $35  per  acre. 
He  deals  largely  in  Holstein  cattle,  owning  thirty  thoroughbreds, 
nineteen  of  which  are  imported.  He  was  married  to  Phoebe 
Catharine  Kirk,  a  native  of  New  Jersey;  they  have  nine  children, 
five  sons  and  four  daughters, 

John  Cunningham,  farmer,  section  24;  owns  240  acres  of  land 
valued  at  $30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1848;  is  the  old- 
est son  of  Adam  and  Sophia  Cunningham.  When  he  was  six 
years  of  age  he  emigrated  with  his  pareuts  to  America,  and  set- 
tled in  St.  Lawrence  County,  New  York;  remained  there  till 
1863,  when  he  moved  to  Minnesota,  and  after  a  year's  residence 
there  finally  located  in  Winneshiek  County,  Iowa,  and  has  been 
a  resident  of  that  county  since.  He  was  married  in  1875,  to  Miss 
Lizzie  Emslie,  a  native  of  Wis.,  and  has  one  child,  John. 

R.  S.  Chapman,  dealer  in  drugs,  stationery,  fancy  groceries, 
etc..  Fort  Atkinson;  was  born  in  Chesterfield,  N.  H.,  in  1820. 
In  1832  his  parents  moved  to  Wayne  County,  Pennsylvania,  re- 
maining but  a  short  time;  then  went  to  New  York,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1833  to  Union  County,  Ohio;  farmed  there  five  years; 
then  moved  to  La  Fayette,. Medina  County,  Illinois.  In  1845  he 
went  to  Jefferson  County,  Wisconsin,  remaining  two  years,  and 
was  in  various  other  places,  as  a  carpenter  and  millwright;  in  the 
spring  of  1874  he  came  to  Iowa  and  located  at  this  place  in  Aug- 
ust, 1874,  and  bought  the  drug  business  of  Chas.  Adams  in  com- 
pany with  his  son-in-law,  Dr.  F.  L.  Bradley.  Two  years  later 
they  dissolved  partnership,  Bradley  retiring,  and  Mr.  Chapman 
carried  business  alone  until  1880,  when  he  again  formed  a  part- 
ip  with  Mr.  Bradley.  They  own  the  property;  the  building 
stories,  and  is  filled  with  a  complete  stock.     Mr.  Chapman 


WIKNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  569 

was  married  in  September,  1843,  at  Lafayette,  Ohio,  to  Miss  Sal- 
lie  E.  Wallis,  and  they  have  one  child,  Mary  E.,  now  Mrs.  Brad- 
ley.    He  is  a  member  of  the  A,  F.  &  A.  M. 

Frank  P.  Chizek,  dealer  in  general  merchandise.  Fort  Atkinson ; 
was  born  in  Austria  in  1855;  he  came  to  America  with  his  parents 
in  1868;  located  in  Chickasaw  County;  in  1876  moved  to  this 
county  and  engaged  in  farming.  -In  1870  Frank  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  G.  Weaver,  remained  with  him  six  years,  then  clerked  one 
year  in  the  store  of  Peter  Oleson,  at  Calmar,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1877  located  here,  and  commenced  business  in  partnership  with 
H.  H.  Blodgett,  dealing  in  general  merchandise.  They  dissolved 
partnership  in  the  spring  of  1881,  and  he  then  opened  business 
alone,  bought  the  building  he  now  occupies,  refitted  and  extended 
it,  and  put  in  a  new  and  complete  stock  of  dry  goods,  boots  and 
shoes,  hats  and  caps,  groceries,  glassware,  crockery,  etc.,  and  is 
also  agent  for  many  makes  of  sewing  machines.  Mr.  C.  has 
established  a  fine  business.  He  was  married  in  the  spring  of 
1876,  at  this  place,  to  Miss  Mary  Macal,  they  have  two  children 
Johnnie  and  Ida. 

M.  H.  Culbert,  farmer,  section  4,  P.  0.  Cresco;  owns  480  acres 
of  land  valued  at  $30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Canada  in  1836;  is 
the  eight  son  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  Culbert;  came  to  Winneshiek 
County  after  a  residence  of  nine  years  at  Hesper;  removed  to  Or- 
leans township  in  the  year  1877;  moved  to  Cresco,  and  resided 
there  until  1881,  when  he  moved  on  to  the  farm  where  he  now 
resides.  He  was  married  in  1865  to  Miss  Hattie  Lindsay,  a  native 
of  Canada,  and  has  three  children,  Sydney  M.,  Harrison  W.  and 
Willie  I  E.  Mr.  Culbert  has  been  township  trustee  for  several 
years. 

The  Day  Famihj. — This  family  is  the  pioneer  family  of  Deco- 
rah,  having  settled  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Winneshiek 
House,  in  the  moiith  of  June,  1849. 

William  Day.  the  father  of  this  family,  was  born  in  the  State 
of  Virginia.  He  was  married  in  1824  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Thomp- 
son. In  1848  he  removed  with  his  family  from  his  native  State; 
came  north,  touching  at  Cassville,  Wis.;  then  remained  for  a 
short  time  on  a  claim  in  the  east  part  of  Winneshiek  Co.;  thence 
to  Decorah.  Here  he  at  once  erected  a  log  cabin,  which  soon  be- 
came a  convenient  place  for  travelers  to  stop  for  refreshment  and 
rest.  In  1856  a  frame  building  was  erected,  and  called  the  Win- 
neshiek House,  and  as  proprietor  of  this  house  he  spent  his  re- 
maining days.  His  death  took  place  August  7th,  1860.  His  wife, 
now  familiarly  known  as  Mother  Day,  still  resides  at  the  Winne- 
shiek House.  She  has  had  seven  children,  but  only  three  were 
living  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Day.  Those  three  are  still  residents  of 
Decorah,  and  form  what  is  known  as  the  firm  of  Day  Brothers. 
They  came  to  Decorah  with  their  parents,  and  since  the  death  of 
t  heir  father  have  been  associated  in  business .     They  were  engaged 


570  WINN"ESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

extensively  in  real  estate,  and  dealt  largely  in  live  stock,  produce^ 
etc,  until  1870,  since  which  time  their  principal  business  has 
been  dealing  in  lumber.  They  now  have  lumber  yards  at  Decorah 
and  Cresco,  and  handle  over  three  million  feet  of  lumber  an- 
nually. In  1877  they  refitted  the  Winneshiek  House,  at  a  cost 
of  about  eight  thousand  dollars,  and  still  own  the  same. 

Clayborn  Day,  the  oldest  of  .the  three  brothers,  was  born  in 
1825.  He  was  the  first  postmaster  of  Decorah.  In  1857  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Emma  Porliman,  daughter  of  Dr.  William  Porliman,  of 
Decorah. 

John  Day,  the  second  oldest,  was  born  in  1841.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1809  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Noble,  daughter  of  Judge  Reuben 
Noble,  of  McGregor.     They  have  two  children,  Noble  and  Floyd. 

Richard  Day,  the  youngest  of  the  firm,  was  born  in  1843.  In 
1870  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Atkins,  daughter  of  George  Atkins, 
of  Mason  City.  She  died  in  1877,  leaving  two  children,  only  one 
of  whom  is  now  living,  Eliza. 

Comments  are  unnecessary  on  the  subjects  of  this  sketch,  as 
they  are  known  by  all  to  be  honest,  upright  and  reliable  men. 

D.  B.  Dennis,  grocer,  only  son  of  Archie  and  Mary  Dennis,  na- 
tives of  the  State  of  N.  Y.,  who  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.  in 
1857.  The  former  still  resides  at  Decorah;  the  latter  died  in 
1879.  D,  B.  Dennis  was  born  in  N.  Y.,  in  1838;  came  to  Decorah 
in  1858:  served  as  clerk  in  a  mercantile  business  about  three 
years;  then  as  deputy  postmaster  two  and  a  half  years.  In  1863 
he  engaged  in  general  merchandise,  and  continued  until  1866,  at 
which  time  his  store  was  destroyed  by  fire.  In  the  spring  of 
1869  he  established  his  present  business,  and  has  since  continued 
the  same.  Mr.  Dennis  was  married  in  1862  to  Miss  Anna  J. 
Haggart.     They  have  had  two  children,  both  deceased. 

B.  0.  Dahly,  the  popular  millinery  merchant  of  Decorah,  is  a 
native  of  Norway.  He  was  born  on  the  1st  day  of  December, 
1824.  His  parents  gave  him  a  good  common  school  education. 
In  1844  he  emigrated  to  this  country,  and  spent  about  nine  years 
working  as  a  mechanic  in  Chicago.  His  first  venture  in  mercantile 
business  was  at  Whitewater,  Wis.,  where  he  carried  on  business 
nearly  two  years  with  indifi"erent  success.  In  1854  he  came  to 
Winneshiek  Co.,  lo.,  and  identified  his  interest  for  a  time  with  the 
prospective  town  of  Freeport;  which,  it  was  thought,  had  some 
prospect  of  becoming  the  seat  of  justice  of  the  county.  He 
erected  a  store,  hotel,  and  other  buildings;  but  the  county  seat 
being  decided  in  favor  of  Decorah,  Freeport  declined;  and  Mr. 
Dahly,  failing  to  see  any  prospect  of  success  there,  went  to  Minne- 
sota and  started  business  both  at  Preston  and  Rushford,  in  Fill- 
more county.  At  the  former  place,  the  county  seat,  he  erected  a 
store,  but  he  had  hardly  got  started  when  the  financial  crisis  of 
1857  proved  disastrous  to  his  enterprises,  and  in  the  fall  of  that 
year  he  removed  to  Decorah.     He   was   now  without  means,  but 


winxeshier:  county  biographies.  571 

full  of  energy  and  determination  to  succeed  in  business  somewhere. 
Fortunately  his  last  situation  .was  well  chosen,  for  Decorah,  hav- 
ing conducted  business  on  a  sound  and  reliable  basis,  was  com- 
paratively prosperous  throughout  the  panic,  Here  Mr.  Dahly 
started  a  small  millinery  and  fancy  goods  business,  which,  follow- 
ing with  energy,  tact  and  business  enterprise,  has  proved  a  re- 
markable success.  That  small  beginning  has  grown  into  one  of 
the  most  extensive  retail  millinery  estaljlishments  in  the  North- 
west. In  getting  this  business  started,  Mr.  Dahly  owes  much  to 
his  first  wife,  whose  good^taste  and  practical  acquaintance  wi';h  mil- 
linery rendered  him  valuable  assistance,  lu  1858  he  built  a  stone 
store  east  of  the  Winneshiek  House,  which  he  occupied  with  his 
business  till  1856,  when  having  'finished  his  present  building 
he  occupied  it  with  the  finest  stock  of  goods  ever  opened  in  the 
place.  He  has  continued  to  add  to  it  from  time  to  time,  as  the 
demands  of  trade  have  required.  Here  can  be  be  found  every- 
thing in  the  line  of  millinery,  straw  goods,  ribbons,  flowers, 
plumes,  silk,  velvets,  fancy  dress  goods,  cloakings,  shawls  and  all 
sorts  of  furnishing  articles  for  ladies,  children  and  misses.  None 
but  a  truly  energetic  business  man  could  make  it  pay  to  carry  so 
large  a  stock  of  this  class  of  goods,  outside  of  Chicago  or  Milwau- 
kee. Some  idea  of  the  business  may  be  formed  from  the  fact 
that  sixteen  persons  are  constantly  employed  in  the  store.  Mr. 
Dahly  is  purely  a  Yankeeized  Norwegian,  and  yet  no  man  loves 
his  native  country  better  than  he  does.  Whenever  there  is  any 
celebration  or  anything  connected  with  his  former  home,  you  will 
be  sure  to  find  him  at  the  head  of  it.  We  cordially  ask  all  who 
visit  Decorah  to  call  at  B.  0.  Dahly 's  emporium  of  fashion,  and 
see  for  themselves  if  they  do  not  say  with  us  that  it  is  the  finest 
establishment  they  have  seen  west  of  the  lakes.  Mr.  Dahly 's 
first  marriage  was  in  Chicago,  in  ISiS,  to  Miss  Margaret  Knud- 
son,  of  Milwaukee,  who  died  in  1868,  leaving  one  son.  He  was 
married  the  second  time  in  Decorah,  in  1871,  to  Miss  Caroline 
Shuttleworth,  and  by  this  marriage  also  has  one  child, 

T.  A.  Dakyns,  livery;  was  born  in  England  in  1849.  At  the 
age  of  19  years  he  entered  the  general  postoffice  of  England  at 
London.  In  1871  he  came  to  the  U.  S.  and  soon  settled  on  a 
farm  of  240  acres  in  Burr  Oak  tp.,  Winneshiek  Co.  Here  he  re- 
sided about  four  years;  then  came  to  Decorah  and  built  the  De- 
corah Skating  Rink.  In  July,  1881,  he  engaged  in  his  present 
business  in  partnership  with  Frank  Hughs,  but  soon  became  sole 
proprietor.       • 

J.  W.  Dawley,  proprietor  of  Bluffton  House,  BlufiFton;  was 
born  in  Cataraugus  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1831;  resided  there  until  1857, 
farming;  then  came  to  lo.,  settling  on  Franklin  Prairie,  Canoe  tp., 
this  county,  and  farmed  there  three  years;  then  came  to  Bluffton 
tp.  and  farmed  four  years,  and  afterwards  moved  to  Calhoun  Co., 
Mich.,  and  engaged   in   lumbering;  remained  there  one  year,  and 


572  \VINN"ESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPIHES, 

returned  to  Bluffton,  located  in  the  village  and  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  teaming;  and  in  April,  1881,  opened  the  hotel,  which  is 
the  only  one  in  town  and  does  a  good  business.  He  was  married 
twice;  first  in  1851,  in  N.  Y.,  to  Miss  Jane  Dawley,  who  died  in 
July,  1876,  leaving  seven  children.  He  was  afterwards  married  in 
March,  1879,  at  Burr  Oak,  to  Mrs.  Powers,  nee  Knowlton,  by 
whom  he  has  three  children,  Minnie,  Mary  and  Albertus.  The 
children  of  the  first  wife  living  are,  Franklin,  Elsie,  Corydon  and 
Margaret. 

John  Daskam,  farmer,  Fremont  tp.;  owns  116  acres  of  land; 
was  born  in  Chemung  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1830.  In  the  spring  of  1846 
his  parents  moved  to  McHenry  Co.,  111.;  resided  there  until  1853, 
then  came  to  lo.,  settling  in  Hesper  tp.  In  the  fall  of  the  fol- 
lowing year  John  came  to  this  tp.  and  pre-empted  160  acres  (which 
he  since  sold)  joining  the  farm  he  lives  on,  which  was  pre- 
empted by  his  father  a  year  later.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  Co.  D, 
38th  lo.  Inf.,  at  Decorah,  under  Capt.  Kirkup,  and  served  with  his 
regiment  at  Vicksburg,  Yazoo  City,  and  contracted  a  severe  sick- 
ness at  Vicksburg.  The  regiment  went  to  Fort  Hudson,  and  dur- 
ing twenty  days  they  lost  the  colonel,  one  captain,  two  lieutenants 
and  twenty  privates  from  disease.  At  Carrollton,  near  New  Or- 
leans, he  was  in  hospital  five  months;  then  joined  the  regiment  at 
Brownsville,  Texas,  and  was  at  the  siege  of  Fort  Morgan.  The 
regiment  was  then  consolidated  with  the  34th  lo,,  and  marched  to 
Blakeley  and  participated  in  the  siege  there  for  six  days,  and 
stormed  the  works;  thence  to  Mobile  and  Selma,  Ala.;  thence  to 
Houston,  Tex.  They  were  mustered  out  and  discharged  at  Daven- 
port, Sept.,  1865.  He  had  been  promoted  sergeant  soon  after 
joining  the  38th  Regt.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  this  place, 
where  he  has  ever  since  resided.  The  home  farm  is  111  acres, 
and  is  well  improved;  has  good  residence  and  farm  buildings,  good 
and  productive  orchard,  and  is  well  stocked.  He  also  owns  five 
acres  of  good  timber.  He  was  married  in  1859,  in  this  township, 
to  Miss  Susan  Clarke;  they  have  six  children,  E.  G.,  Nettie,  Wil- 
lie, Mabel,  Addie  and  Edith.  Mr.  Daskam  is  a  member  of  the 
P.  of  H.,  Kendallville  Lodge. 

Burg  Irwin  Dakyns,  of  Dakyns  &  Simpson,  stock  raisers  and 
farmers,  Burr  Oak  tp.;  is  a  native  of  Worcestershire,  Eng.;  came 
to  America  in  1869,  and  located  in  this  place;  bought  the  land  in 
the  following  fall,  and  fitted  the  same  for  stock  purposes,  espec- 
ially for  sheep,  of  which  they  have  a  fine  drove,  principally  of 
the  Lincoln  breed,  many  being  thoroughbred;  also*  a  fine  lot  of 
good  graded  cattle  and  pure  short  horns,  thoroughbred.  The 
land  is  all  under  fence  and  well  improved.  In  Feb.,  1882,  Mr.  D. 
formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  P.  Simpson,  a  native  of  Aberdeen, 
Scotland,  constituting  the  present  firm. 

Eugene  Daman,  farmer.   Sec.  26,  has  260  acres  of  land,  valued 
at  |25  per  acre;  was  born  in  McHenry  county.   111.,  in  1851.     At 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES."^      "^"^"'  573 

the  age  of  five  years  he  moved  with  his  parents  to  Winneshiek 
Co.,  lo.,  and  has  resided  there  since.  He  is  the  third  son  of  George 
and  Charlotte  Daman;  was  married  in  1878  to  Elizabeth  J.  Wan- 
less,  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  has  one  son. 

Hon.  Warren  Danforth,  farmer,  Orleans  township;  owns  480 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $35  per  acre;  was  born  in  Saratoga 
County,  New  York,  in  1829,  and  is  a  son  of  A.  W.  and  Mary 
Danforth.  When  he  was  two  years  of  age  his  parents  removed 
to  Jefferson  County,  New  York,  in  which  county  Mr.  Danforth 
grew  to  manhood,  receiving  a  common  school  education.  In 
1861  he  came  west  and  located  on  his  present  farm.  Although 
not  an  office-seeker,  Mr.  D.  has  been  elected  to  fill  quite  im- 
portant positions.  In  1865  he  was  a  member ,  of  the  county 
board  of  supervisors,  and  has  also  been  elected  member  of  the 
State  Legislature,  which  position  he  still  holds. 

D.  Dorn,  of  the  firm  of  Ringeon  &  Dorn,  grain  dealers,  was 
born  in  Courtland  County,  New  Y'ork,  in  1826;  is  a  son  of 
David  and  Joanna  Dorn.  When  ten  years  of  age  his  parents 
removed  to  Ashtabula  County,  Ohio,  where  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  grew  to  manhood.  In  1847  he  went  to  Oregon,  Dane 
County,  Wisconsin,  where  he  followed  farming  for  a  few  years. 
In  1854  he  removed  to  Chickasaw  County,  Iowa;  thence  to 
Conover,  and  in  1868  came  to  Ridgeway,  and  engaged  in  his 
present  business.  He  was  married  to  Susan  Robinson,  a  native 
of  Ohio;   they  have  six  children,  three  sons  and  three  daughters. 

J.  S.  Daskam,  postmaster,  and  dealer  in  general  merchandise, 
Kendallville;  was  born  in  Chemung  County,  N.  Y.,  in  1841.  In 
1846  his  parents  moved  to  McHenry  County,  Illinois  and  engaged 
at  farming;  came  to  this  state  in  1854  and  located  in  Burr  Oak 
township,  and  entered  a  quarter  section  of  government  land;  he 
remained  with  his  parents  on  the  home  farm  until  the  breaking 
out  of  the  late  war,  when  he  enlisted  at  Decorah  in  Co.  D,  3d  lo. 
Inf.,  under  Captain  Willetts,  and  served  his  term  of  three  years 
and  then  re-enlisted  as  a  veteran,  and  participated  in  several  of 
the  important  battles  during  the  war.  He  received  a  severe  shot 
wound  in  the  leg  at  Shiloh,  and  afterwards  at  Atlanta,  July  21, 
1864,  he  received  a  gun-shot  wound  in  the  left  shoulder,  which 
disabled  him.  He  started  to  return  home,  and  was  obliged  to  lay 
up  at  the  hospital  at  Madison,  Wisconsin,  and  remained  there  un- 
til he  received  his  discharge,  May  23,  1865.  He  returned  to  Iowa 
and  farmed  two  years  in  this  township,  and  then  bought  land  in 
Orleans  township,  and  farmed  there  six  years;  he  then  sold  it  and 
purchased  an  interest  in  the  business  at  this  place  with  Mr.  Fifield, 
_  whose  interest  he  afterwards  bought,  and  has  since  conducted  the 
same  himself.  He  owns  the  building  and  lot,  carries  a  well  select- 
ed stock  of  general  merchandise,  and  has  established  a  good  busi- 
ness. He  received  his  appointment  as  postmaster  in  1876  to  suc- 
ceed F.  Gr.  Hale,  and  still  fills  that  position.     He  was  married   in 

36 


574  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

1865  in  this  township,  to  Miss  Henrietta  N.  Eddy,  and  they  have 
five  children,  Emma,  Allyn,  John,  Alson  and  Frances.  Hiram  D. 
Daskam  (brother)  enlisted  in  April,  1861,  in  Co.  D,  3d  lo.  Inf., 
under  Capt.  Willetts;  was  taken  prisoner  near  Atlanta,  Ga.,  after 
a  three  days'  fight,  and  was  imprisoned  at  Andersonville,  and  ex- 
perienced all  the  horrors  of  that  notorious  place.  He  escaped  with 
others  from  the  train  when  being  transferred  from  there  to  Flor- 
ence, by  jumping  from  the  cars,  but  was  captured  by  a  picket 
guard  they  run  on  to  in  attempting  to  cross  the  Nortii  River.  He 
was  then  taken  to  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  and  from  there  was 
started  again  for  Florence,  and  again  succeeded  in  getting  away, 
but  was  again  recaptured  and  started  for  Charlotte,  S.  C,  He 
again  escaped^  was  again  recaptured,  and  on  the  return  to  Char- 
lotte once  more  escaped,  this  time  succeeding  in  reaching  the  Un- 
ion lines.  He  received  his  discharge  near  Washington  at  the  close 
of  the  war.  He  died  near  Muir,  Ionia  County,  Michigan,  in  the 
winter  of  1870,  from  disease  contracted  through  his  privations  in 
the  army. 

Erick  P.  Egge,  farmer,  owns  160  acres  of  tillable  land  in  Frank- 
ville  tp.,  and  40  acres  of  timber  in  Glenwood  tp.  He  was  born  in 
1826,  near  Christiana,  Norway;  was  raised  on  a  farm,  and  also 
learned  the  trade  of  carpenter;  came  to  America  in  1850,"  stopped 
one  year  in  Wis.,  and  then  came  to  Frankville  tp.,  this  county, 
took  a  claim,  and  still  resides  on  the  same.  He  worked  at  his 
trade  for  some  time  to  enable  him  to  gain  enough  to  properly 
commence  f aiming,  as  he  was  without  capital.  He  is  now  one  of 
the  wealthiest  citizens,  has  a  fine  residence,  and  everything  has 
the  appearance  of  elegance  and  comfort.  He  married  in  1854,  in 
this  tp.,  Helen  P.  Egge,  and  has  eight  children. 

Chrystopher  Anderson  Estrem,  postmaster,  Woodside  P.  0.,  in 
Frankville  tp.,  and  farmer;  owns  160  acres;  was  born  in  Vaug, 
Norway,  in  1819;  followed  the  business  of  tailor  there  until  1848, 
when  he  came  to  the  U.  S.;  stopped  the  first  winter  at  Chicago, 
working  at  his  trade;  next  moved  to  Wis.;  remained  there  until 
1850;  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  lo.,  and  took  up  the  claim  he 
now  resides  on.  In  1876  was  appointed  postmaster,  which  office 
he  still  retains.  He  has  filled  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace 
and  many  other  minor  offices  in  the  tp.  He  was  married  in  Wis- 
consin in  1850  to  Miss  Caroline  Everson,  and  they  have  five  chil- 
dren, four  sons  and  one  daughter. 

Christopher  Evans,  farmer,  owns  220  acres,  all  tillable  land  ex- 
cept 80  of  timber;  was  born  in  the  District  of  Walders,  Norway, 
in  1840;  came  to  this  country  with  his  parents  in  1850;  lived  one  . 
year  in  Wis.;  thence  came  to  lo.  and  located  where  he  now  re- 
sides. His  father,  Knud  Evans,  bought  a  school  land  grant,  which 
is  a  portion  of  the  farm,  80  acres  also  bought  of  M.  B.  Burdick,  in 
1878.     The  land  is  fine   rolling  prairie  and  mostly  improved,  is 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  575 

well  stocked,  and  has  a  good  substantial  residence,  barns,  etc.  Mr. 
E.  has  filled  many  offices  of  trust  in  the  tp.  He  was  married  in 
1861,  in  this  tp.,  to  Miss  Anna  Brown,  and  they  have  two  sons. 

0.  W.  Emery,  P.  0.  Decorah,  farmer,  Sec.  17,  Canoe  tp.;  son 
of  Geo.  Ft.  and  Sarah  Willey  Emery,  Avas  born  Sept.  27,  1829,  in 
Loraine  Co.,  0.,  When  he  was  about  four  years  old  his  parents 
moved  to  what  is  known  as  the  Western  Reserve,  and  in  1840 
they  came  to  Winnebago  Co.,  111.  In  1849  he  came  to  this  county, 
locating  near  Decorah,  and  in  1850  came  on  to  his  present  farm, 
which  now  contains  200  acres,  well  improved.  He  married 
Miss  Martha  Mclntyre,  of  N,  Y.,  in  July,  1853;  have  thirteen 
children:  Omri  L.  D.,  Aaron  W.  R.,  John  M.,  Ezra  D.,  Andrew 
W.,  Adda,  Ida,  Lilly,  Esta,  Ernest,  George,  Frank  and  Martha, 
and  have  lost  two  by  death,  Mary  and  Josiah  B. 

John  El  wick,  Sec.  9,  P.  0.  Decorah;  gardener  and  fruit  raiser; 
was  born  in  England  in  1818,  learning  the  business  of  gardening 
there.  In  1852  he  emigrated  to  the  IJ.  S.,  locating  at  Rockford, 
111.,  remaining  but  a  short  time,  when  he  went  to  Lawrence  Co., 
Ohio,  for  a  time,  when  he  returned  to  Rockford,  111.,  remaining 
till  in  1865,  when  he  came  to  this  county,  and  to  his  present  loca- 
tion in  1869.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  gardening  and  the  raising 
of  small  fruits.  He  also  has  a  fine  orchard  and  nursery.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  Johns,  also  a  native  of  England;  they  have  eight  chil- 
dren, Isabella,  Mary,  Thomas,  William,  IW  bert  M.,  Anna  M.,  Jane, 
and  an  infant,  not  named. 

T.  Enger,  farmer,  Sec.  35.  P.  0.  Decorah;  son  of  A.  and  T. 
Enger;  was  born  Nov.  30th,  1836,  in  Norway;  emigrated  to  the 
U.  S.  in  1854;  purchased  his  land  the  same  year,  after  which  he 
worked  by  the  month  upon  a  farm  for  several  years,  and  part  of 
the  time  was  engaged  improving  his  own  land.  He  married  Miss 
Isabel  Anderson  March  15,  1873,  since  which  time  he  has  lived  on 
his  farm,  which  contains  160  acres,  valued  at  $35  per  acre.  He  is 
raising  two  children  (relatives),  their  names  are  Christian  Peter- 
son and  Mene  T.  Gilbertson.  Mr.  Enger  is  a  member  of  the  Lu- 
theran church. 

Rev.  Fr.  Ehrenberger,  pastor  of  St.  Wenceslaus  church,  of 
Spillville,  was  born  in  Policka,  Austria,  in  1828.  He  received  his 
education  at  the  college  of  Litormjeil,  and  was  prepared  for  the 
priesthood  at  Hradec;  had  charge  of  various  churches  for  seventeen 
years,  and  in  Nov.  1869,  came  to  the  U.  S.  and  located  at  Rock 
Creek,  Jefferson  Co.,  Mo.,  where  he  remained  until  1875; 
then  came  to  Fort  Atkinson,  this  county.  He  had  charge  of  the 
church  there  for  sixteen  months,  after  which  he  went  to  Dubuque 
and  officiated  at  St.  Mary's  church  for  two  years;  then  returned 
to  Fort  Atkinson,  and  there  remained  until  Aug.,  1880,  when  he 
was  appointed  to  his  present  pastorship. 

H.  Engbretson  was  born  in  Norway  in  1845;  learned  the  black 
smith  trade,  and  in  1864  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.     He  came  direct 


576  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

to  Decorah,  and  in  about  six  weeks  enlisted  in  Co.  G,  9tli  lo.,  and 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Engbretson  then  returned 
to  Decorah  and  followed  his  trade  until  1875,  when  he  was 
obliged  to  abandon  the  same  on  account  of  physical  disability, 
caused  by  exposure  while  in  the  U.  S.  service.  He  has  since  been 
dealing  iu  farm  machinery.  In  1866  Mr.  E.  returned  to  Norway, 
and  was  married  to  Miss  Jorgim  S.  Hauser,  who  died  iu  Decorah 
in  July,  1867.  In  1872  he  married  Margaret  Evenson.  Mr.  Eng- 
bretson is  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  republican  part}^ 
and  is  at  present  a  member  of  the  city  council. 

James  H.  Easton,  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Deco- 
rah, stands  conspicuous  among  the  successful  business  men  of  the 
northwest.  He  is  a  son  of  the  late  William  L. , Easton,  president 
of  the  Bank  of  Louville,  N.  Y.,  and  therefore  early  in  life  was 
educated  in  banking  and  mercantile  pursuits.  In  1862  James  H. 
Easton,  then  a  young  man,  with  a  small  amount  of  money,  but 
a  large  stock  of  good  judgment,  enterprise  and  business  activity 
for  capital,  came  to  Decorah  and  took  the  management  of  the 
old  Decoraii  Bank  as  sole  proprietor — an  institution  well  known  by 
all  early  settlers  in  northern  Iowa,  which  passed  successfully 
through  all  the  panics  of  stump-tail  currency  and  war  times, 
always  ready  to  meet  every  call  and  pay  one  hundred  cents  on  the 
dollar  on  demand.  AVhen  the  National  Currency  Act  was  passed, 
he  converted  the  old  Decorah  Bank  into  the  First  National,  be- 
coming its  first  and  only  president — an  institution  that  has  ever 
kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  city  and  county,  constantly  in- 
creasing in  capital  and  in  the  confidence  of  the  community,  under 
his  management,  until  now  it  is  everywhere  regarded  one  of  the 
solid  financial  institutions  of  the  west. 

The  Savings  Bank  of  Decorah  is  a  natural  outgrowth  from  the 
remarkable  success  of  the  First  National,  and  to  the  prudence  and 
conservative  financial  wisdom  of  its  originator  and  president,  Mr. 
Easton,  is  also  due  the  high  credit  it  enjoys. 

In  1869,  Avhen  the  railroad  was  pushing  westward  from  Deco- 
rah, his  quick  judgment  saw  opportunities  for  his  successes  to  re- 
peat themselves,  and,  in  company  with  A.  E.  Bigelow,  Esq.,  of 
New  Hampton,  he  established  the  Chickasaw  County  Bank,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Easton  &  Bigelow.  This  enterprise,  from  small 
beginnings,  has  proved  no  less  a  success  than  the  First  National 
of  Decorah,  now  using  a  capital  of  nearly  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

The  extension  of  the  Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis  Railway  to  Forest 
City  furnished  another  opening  for  his  enterprise  at  that  point, 
and  the  Winnebago  County  I3ank  sprung  into  existence,  with 
James  H.  Easton  president,  and  J.  F.  Thompson,  a  rising  young 
attorney,  as  cashier.  Easton  &  Thompson  are  doing  a  large  and 
prosperous  business.     History  repeats  itself. 


WIJTJSTESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  577 

While  bein^  so  largely  engaged  in  banking,  it  has  not  prevented 
his  quick  eye  detecting  the  "opportunities"  found  only  in  the 
west  for  fortunes  in  real  estate.  He  has  always  coupled  the  two, 
which  naturally,  in  a  new  and  growing  country,  go  hand  in  hand 
— banking  and  real  estate — and  there  is  hardly  a  county  in  north- 
ern Iowa,  along  the  railroad  lines,  but  liis  name  is  a  familiar  one 
on  the  books  of  titles  to  real  estate,  his  acreage  being  numbered 
by  thousands. 

Monuments  of  his  enterprise  and  public  spirit  are  seen  in  the 
First  National  Bank  building  at  Decorah,  the  Chickasaw  County 
Bank,  and  the  Winnebago  County  Bank — all  models  of  beauty, 
elegance  and  safety,  and  schools  of  design  iu  architecture. 

Mr,  Easton  was  married  in  18G1  to  Miss  Mary  N,  Loy, 

T,  E,  Egge,  county  auditor,  is  a  son  of  Erick  G,  and  Berit  J. 
Northrop  Egge,  both  natives  of  Norway,  who  emigrated  to  the 
U.  S.  in  1850,  and  first  settled  in  Dane  Co.,  Wis.  Here,  in  July, 
1851,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born,  and  when  he  was  but 
two  years  of  age  the  family  came  to  lo.  and  settled  in  Madison 
tp.,  Winneshiek  Co.  The  son  helped  till  the  soil,  and  received  a 
good  common  school  education.  Subsequently  he  taught  until 
March  20,  1877,  at  which  date  he  entered  the  county  auditor's 
office  and  served  as  deputy  until  January  1,  1882,  during  which 
time,  in  the  fall  of  1881,  he  was  elected  to  the  office,  which  he 
now  holds.  At  the  election  there  were  2,497  votes  cast,  of  which 
Mr.  Egge  received  1,699.  Mr.  Egge  was  also  town  clerk  during 
1880  and  1881.  He  was  married  May  19,  1880,  to  Lillie  B.  Lim- 
beck. 

William  L.  Easton,  merchant  tailor  and  dealer  in  ready  made 
clothing,  etc.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  son  of  William  L. 
Easton,  and  was  born  at  Louville,  Lewis  County,  N.  Y.  He  was 
bred  to  mercantile  life  in  the  store  and  banking  house  of  his 
father.  In  the  spring  of  1865  he  came  to  Djcorah.  He  did  not 
confine  himself  to  any  regular  employment  for  a  few  years,  but 
in  1868  formed  a  partnership  with  R.  F.  Gibson,  and  continued 
the  same  two  years.  Mr.  Easton  then  established  his  present  bus- 
iness. He  was  united  in  marriage  in  1871:  to  Louisa  Manville, 
of  Watertown,  N.  Y. 

A.  J.  Eddy,  sec.  8,  Orleans  township;  was  born  in  Grandisle 
County,  Vt.,  in  1832.  In  1852  he  emigrated  to  California,  where 
he  remained  four  years;  after  which  he  returned  to  Vermont,  and 
in  1856  came  to  Fremont  township,  this  county,  and  located  on  a 
farm,  remaining  until  1868,  when  he  removed  to  his  present  farm 
of  210  acres,  which  is  valued  at  about  ^35  per  acre.  Mr.  E.  is  a 
son  of  Clement  and  Eliza  Eddy,  the  former  a  native  of  Connecti- 
cut, and  Mr.  Eddy  was  married  to  Rebecca  Youngs,  who  is  also  a 
native  of  Grandisle  County.  Vermont;  their  children  are  Austin, 
Alice,  Jennie,  Florence,  William  and  Melvin.  They  are  members 
of  the  Congregational  Church. 


578  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

D.  B.  Ellsworth,  P.  0.  Decorah;  retired  mercbaut;  son  of 
Benjamin  and  Roxana  {nee  Packard)  Ellsworth;  was  born  Janu- 
ary 10,  1822,  in  Lewis  County,  N.  Y.  His  parents  moved  to 
Cattaraugus  County  in  1830,  which  was  then  considered  "out 
west,"  bis  early  occupation  being  on  the  farm,  where  be  received 
but  a  common  school  education.  On  the  29tb  of  March,  1848,  be 
was  married  to  Miss  Amanda  Denison,  and  the  same  year  started 
for  the  west.  He  came  to  Galena,  Illinois,  and  stopped  with  an 
uncle  that  season,  and  prospected  in  quest  of  a  suitable  place  to 
commence  business;  and  in  1849  be  built  a  store  building  in  Ar- 
gyle,  Lafayette  County,  Wisconsin,  in  which  be  put  a  good  stock 
of  general  merchandise,  it  being  the  tirst  in  the  place.  He  con- 
tinued business  there  till  the  spring  of  1855,  when  be  sold 
out  and  came  to  Decorah,  Iowa,  the  town  then  being  in  its  in- 
fancy. The  same  year  be  opened  up  a  general  store  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  A.  A.  Akin,  and  at  the  expiration  of  one  year  be 
bought  out  Mr.  Akin,  and  continued  the  business  alone  until 
1858.  In  1859  be  again  engaged  in  general  merchandise  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  Landers,  this  partnership  continuing  until  1874, 
when  he  sold  out  his  interest  for  the  purpose  of  resting  from  the 
long  confinement  of  the  store.  After  being  out  about  a  year  be 
again  engaged  in  business  with  C.  N.  Goddard,  continuing  until 
1879,  when,  on  account  of  ill-health  be  retired  from  the  business. 
Mr.  Ellsworth's  wife  died  in  1876,  and  be  was  again  married  to 
Mrs.  Harriet  Bennett  Norton,  widow  of  C.  L.  Norton,  of  Chau- 
tauqua County,  New  York.  Mrs.  Ellsworth  has  four  children  by 
her  first  marriage — Lauraette,  Martin,  Oriuda  and  George  0. 
Mr.  Ellsworth  has  one  daughter  by  his  first  marriage,  Florence, 
now  the  wife  of  Stephen  A.  Lothrop,  of  Boston,  Mass.  Mr.  E. 
is  at  present  engaged  in  running  a  stone  quarry,  just  across  the 
river,  north  of  Decorah.  He  has  some  of  the  finest  building 
stone  in  the  country,  which  be  is  shipping  to  points  on  the  C, 
M.  &  St.  P.  R.  R.,  and  some  to  eastern  cities.  Mr.  Ellsworth 
has  the  honor  of  being  an  uncle  of  the  justly  famous  Col.  E.  E. 
Ellsworth,  whose  martyrdom  to  the  cause  of  bis  country  at  Ar- 
lington Heights  in  the  early  part  of  the  rebellion,  will  never  be 
forgotten  by  bis  patriotic  countrymen. 

W.  R.  Emslie,  farmer,  section  25,  P.  0,  Cresco.;  owns  200  acres 
of  land  valued  at  ?!30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Aberdeen.  Scotland, 
in  1827;  is  the  second  son  of  Alexander  and  Elizabeth  Emslie.  At 
the  age  of  28  he  left  Scotland  and  cameto  Waukesha,  Wis;  stayed 
there  fourteen  years;  then  removed  to  Winneshiek  Co.  in  1865. 
He  was  married  at  the  age  of  28  to  Miss  Ann  Walker,  a  native  of 
Scotland,  and  has  ten  children,  Anna,  Alexander,  Elizabeth, 
Isabel,  William,  Ruth,  Sarah,  Susan,  Lillie  and  John. 

Richard  D.  Evans,  farmer,  Washington  tp.;  owns  160  acres  of 
land  and  resides  on  section  20;  was  bornin  Menonethshire,  Wales, 
in  1834;  came   to  America  in   May,    1856;   lived   a  few  years  in 


WIN^STESHIEK   COUifTY  BIOGRAPHIES.  579 

Utica,  N.  Y.,  and  learned  the  trade  of  mason;  then  came  to  lo., 
located  at  Fort  Atkinson,  followed  his  trade  ten  years;  then 
bought  the  farm  he  now  owns;  has  thoroughly  improved  it,  has  it 
•well  stocked,  all  under  fence,  good  buildings,  etc.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1857,  in  N.  Y.,  to  Miss  Jane  Williams,  and  they  have 
seven  children,  Evan,  Edward,  Laura,  John,  Mary,  Matilda  and  Ida. 

E.  E.  Earl,  fanner,  section  9,  P.  0.  Cresco,  owns  125  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  830  per  acre:  was  born  in  Jefferson  Co.,  N.  Y., 
in  1838;  is  the  fourth  son  of  Horace  and  Fanny  Earl.  At  the  age 
of  28  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has 
been  a  resident  of  that  Co.  ever  since.  He  was  married  in  1866  to 
Miss  Minnie  Root,  a  native  of  N.  Y.  Mr.  Earl  has  no  children, 
except  an  adopted  daughter,  Delia  Fanny.  Mr.  Earl  has  been  tp. 
clerk  five  years,  collector  three  terms,  and  assessor  one  term. 

John  Finn  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1836,  his  parents  being  Pat- 
rick and  Bridget  Finn.  In  1818  the  family  sailed  for  the  U.  S. 
The  father  died  on  board  ship,  and  the  mother  with  her  four 
children  (two,  John  and  Timothy,  are  still  living),  landed  at  New 
Orleans  in  February,  1819.  As  soon  as  navigation  opened  on  the 
Mississippi  she  came  up  the  river  and  settled  at  Galena,  111.  Here 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  commenced  work  at  the  tinner's  trade; 
subsequently  spent  one  year  at  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1855  came  to  Decorah;  worked  at  his  trade  for  other  parties  until 
1860,  since  which  time  he  has  been  in  the  hardware  business,  and  is 
at  present  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Finn  &  Noble.  Mr.  Finn  has 
been  twice  married — in  1856  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Quiun,  who  died 
in  1877,  after  a  lingering  illness  of  seven  years.  She  left  six  chil- 
dren. His  second  wife  was  Emily  L.  Lawton.  a  native  of  Conn. 
Mr.  Finn  is  an  active  worker  for  the  Democratic  party,  and  takes 
a  great  interest  in  the  education  of  his  children.  His  three  eldest 
daughters  are  graduates  of  St.  Mary's  Institute,  at  Prairie  du  Chien. 

William  M.  Fannon,  county  recorder,  one  of  Winneshiek's 
early  pioneers,  was  born  in  the  State  of  Virginia  in  1825,  his  pa- 
rents being  A.  H.  and  Mary  E.  Fannon.  natives  of  Va.,  who  set- 
tled at  Freeport,  Winneshiek  Co.,  in  1849.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  located  at  Freeport  in  the  spring  of  1852,  and  was  engaged 
in  merchandizing  until  Oct.,  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  6th 
lo.  Cav.,  and  served  until  after  the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  was 
mustered  out  as  2d  Lieut.  Mr.  Fannon  was  postmaster  at  Free- 
port  for  about  fifteen  years,  and  is  now  serving  ^lis  third  term  as 
county  recorder. 

I.  S.  Finney,  P.  0.  Decorah.  farmer,  Sec.  18,  Canoe  tp.;  was 
born  Aug.  5th,  1820,  in  Essex  Co.,  N.  Y.  His  parents,  Anson  and 
Esther  Sheldon  Finney,  were  also  natives  of  N.  Y.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Almira  J.  Nichols,  daughter  of  Ezra  and  Polly  Nich- 
ols, April  II,  1849.  In  the  fall  of  1865  they  immigrated  to  this 
county,  locating  on  his  present  farm.  He  was  commissioned  post- 
master of  Canoe  P.  0.  June  22,  1868,  which  position  he  held  till 


580  WINNESHIEK  COUNTY  BIOGEAPHIES. 

the  office  was  discontinued  in  1872,  He  has  also  served  as  justice 
of  the  peace  several  years.  Their  children  are,  Llewellyn  C.  and 
Minnehaha  L.,  and  they  have  lost  one  daughter,  Alice  E. 

0.  A.  Foss,  manufacturer  and  dealer  in  boots  and  shoes,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Norway,  and  was  born  in  1842.  He  learned  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  and  in  1869  came  to  the  U.  S.,  and  soon  located  at 
Decorah.  Here  he  followed  his  trade  in  the  employ  of  Gibbert 
Rustad,  whom  he  subsequently  bought  out.  His  only  sister,  Ingre  0. 
Foss,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1810,  and  now  resides  at  Chicago.  In 
1871  he  went  to  Chicago,  where  he  remained  until  1874,  engaged 
in  the  shoe  business. 

John  Fredenburgh,  Burr  Oak,  farmer.  Sec.  6,  Canoe  tp.;  son  of 
Hezekiah  and  Catharine  Fredenburgh;  was  born  April  2,  1819,  in 
N.  J.  His  parents  moved  to  Canada,  near  Niagara  Falls,  when  he 
was  quite  young,  where  he  remained  till  the  fall  of  1850,  when 
he  came  to' Winneshiek  Co.  and  located  a  part  of  his  present  farm 
soon  after.  He  now  owns  200  acres,  valued  at  ^30  per  acre.  He 
married  Miss  Eliza  Weeks,  a  native  of  111.,  July  4,  1853.  Their 
children  are  John  C.  and  Ralph  F. 

Mons  K.  Foss,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  sec.  34,  Canoe  tp.;  son 
of  Knudt  and  Susan  Mickelson  Foss;  was  born  April  6,  1828,  in 
Norway;  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1849,  locating  at  Janesville, 
Wis.,  where  he  worked  at  the  mason's  trade,  which  he  continued 
until  1851,  in  the  spring  of  which  year  he  started  for  California, 
where  he  remained  till  February,  1853,  engaged  in  mining.  He 
then  returned  via  Isthmus  and  New  Orleans  and  up  the  Missis- 
sippi river  to  Galena,  Illinois.  The  same  spring,  in  company 
with  a  cousin,  he  started  from  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  on  foot, 
came  to  Decorah,  and  continued  on  to  Minnesota,  on  a  prospect- 
ing tour  for  land.  He  finally  purchased  from  the  government 
250  acres  of  land  in  Pleasant  township,  this  county,  and  com- 
menced improving  and  making  a  home,  which  he  sold  out  in  the 
spring  of  1866,  moved  to  Vernon  Co.,  Mo.,  and  purchased  a 
farm  of  400  acres;  but  sickness  of  family  caused  him  to  return 
to  old  W^inneshiek  Co.  the  following  fall,  purchasing  a  part  of  his' 
present  farm,  which  now  contains  360  acres  valued  at  ^12,000. 
He  married  Miss  Agnes  Fossum,  November  15,  1853;  they  have 
five  children,  Lawrence,  Caroline,  Michael,  Sophia  and  Julius,  and 
have  lost  one  daughter,  Sophia.  Mr.  F.  has  served  as  assessor  of 
his  township,  and  is  a  live,  energetic  farmer. 

A.  0.  Flaskerud,  of  the  firm  of  S.  H.  Moen  &  Co.,  dealers  in 
furniture,  was  born  in  this  county  in  1858,  and  became  a  member 
of  the  above  firm  in  the  spring  of  1881.  He  married  Ella 
Wangness,  a  native  of  Wis. 

Milo  R.  Farnsworth,  farmer,  sec.  3;  owns  320  acres  of  land 
valued  at  835  per  acre;  was  born  in  New  Vork  in  1822;  in  1844 
removed  to  Woodford  County,  Illinois,  where  he  lived  four 
years,  and  again  moved  to  Walworth  County,  Wisconsin,  remain- 


WINifESHIEK   COUNTY  BIOGRAPHIES.  581 

ing  until  1868,  when  he  removed  to  Winneshiek  County,  Iowa, 
and  settled  on  his  present  farm.  He  is  a  son  of  Oliver  and  Nancy 
Farnsworth;  his  father  is  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  his  mother 
of  New  York.  He  married  Lucy  Pardee,  a  native  of  New  York, 
in  March,  1844,  and  has  seven  children,  four  sons  and  three 
daughters.  The  oldest,  Byron,  is  living  in  Rock  Co.,  Wiscon- 
sin; C.  W.  in  Howard  Co.,  Deette  in  Cresco,  Mary  in  Cresco,  Frank 
0.  at  home,  Chas.  H.  at  home,  Etta  in  this  county,  and  are  all 
married  except  Chas. 

A.  H.  Finrow,  J.  P.,  Conover;  was  born  in  Norway,  in  184-3; 
was  there  employed  as  clerk,  also  engaged  in  buying  grain.  In 
1864  he  came  to  the  U.  S.,  stopping  in  Chicago,  111.,  and  Pesh- 
tigo,  Wisconsin,  until  1865;  then  came  to  Conover,  where  he  en- 
gaged for  a  time  in  clerking;  then  entered  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness, in  which  he  continued  for  about  one  year;  then  engaged  in 
the  grain  business  for  three  years,  after  which  he  became  a  farm- 
er. In  1867  he  was  married  to  Andrea  Peterson,  who  died  in 
May,  1880,  leaving  four  children,  Gustaf  H.,  Caroline  A.,  Emil 
K.  and  Otto  A.  He  was  again  married  July  1,  1881,  to  Martha 
Olsen.     Mr.  F.  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Wm.  Fallows,  M.  D.,  Fort  Atkinson;  was  born  in  Manchester, 
England,  1839;  came  to  America  with  his  parents  in  1846;  set- 
tled in  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  and  engaged  at  farming.  Wil- 
liam Fallows  graduated  at  the  Wisconsin  State  University,  at 
Madison,  in  1862,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  enlisted  in  the  12th 
Wis.  Inf.,  Co.  H,  served  with  the  regiment  two  years,  was  then 
commissioned  2d  lieutenant  in  the  1st  Wis.  Heavy  Artillery,  and 
served  through  the  Vicksburg  and  Atlanta  campaigns,  and  in 
other  important  engagements;  was  discharged  at  Milwaukee  in 
-luly,  1865,  and  returned  home.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he 
removed  to  Iowa  and  settled  near  Waucoma,  Fayette  County, 
farming  and  school  teaching.  In  the  fall  of  1870  he  attended 
Rush  Medical  College  at  Chicago,  remained  two  years  and  gradu- 
ated in  the  spring  of  1872;  then  located  at  this  place  and  com- 
menced practice.  He  has  met  with  good  success  and  established  a 
good  practice.  He  was  married  in  1856  at  Waucoma,  Fayette 
County,  to  Miss  Emily  Dodd,  and  they  have  four  children,  Ernest 
E.,  Nellie  M.,  Flora  M.  and  Clarence  W.  Mr.  F.  is  a  member  of 
the  L  0.  0.  F. 

Captain  George  Q.  Gardner,  assistant  cashier  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank,  was  born  in  Madison  Co..  111.,  on  the  21st  of  July, 
1840.  His  father  was  Silas  E.  Gardner,  whose  ancestors  bore  a 
conspicuous  part  in  the  struggle  for  our  national  independence. 
Among  them  are  found  Major  Temple,  who  was  killed  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Lundy's  Lane,  and  0.  Flinn.  who  with  his  four  sons, 
aided  Col.  Miller  in  taking  the  battery  at  said  battle.  His  mother, 
'Mariah  D.  Harrison,  was  a  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  Mc- 
Clure  Harrison,  the  former  a  first  cousin  of  Gen.  William  Henry 


682  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

Harrison,  and  tlie  latter  the  fifth  white  child  born  in  the  State  of 
Kentucky.  The  subject  of  this  sketch,  while  yet  a  small  boy,  re- 
moved with  his  parents  into  the  State  of  Wis.,  where  he  received 
a  common  school  education.  When  the  civil  war  broke  out  Geo. 
Q.  Gardner,  then  a  young  man  twenty-one  years  of  age,  showed 
his  patriotism  by  enlisting  in  the  5th  Wis.  Battery,  Light  Artil- 
lery, and  was  mustered  in  as  4th  Lieut.,  but  being  a  gallant  sol- 
dier he  was  promoted  from  rank  to  rank,  so  that  by  the  spring  of 
1863  he  is  found  captain  of  the  battery,  and  the  second  youngest 
officer  with  said  rank  in  the  artillery  service  of  the  western  army. 
The  field  of  operations  of  said  battery  was  first  with  Gen.  Pope 's 
army,  during  which  time  it  participated  in  the  taking  of  Islan  d 
No.  10  and  the  siege  of  Corinth;  then  under  Gen.  Buell's  com- 
mand it  took  an  active  part  in  the  campaign  against  Bragg,  in 
which  the  battle  of  Perry ville  was  fought;  next  under  Gen.  Rose- 
cranz  it  did  good  service  in  the  battles  of  Stone  river  and  Chicka- 
mauga;  and  last,  but  not  least,  it  did  efficient  work  under  Gen. 
Sherman  in  the  Atlanta  campaign.  During  this  last  campaign 
Capt.  Gardner  was  constantly  in  command,  and  for  over  one  hun- 
dred days  and  nights  under  constant  fire.  In  the  official  reports 
honorable  mention  is  frequently  made  of  Capt.  Gardner  and  the 
battery  of  which  he  had  command.  Capt.  Gardner  was  never 
wounded,  although  he  had  some  "close  calls."  At  the  battle  of 
Stone  River  his  horse  was  shot  under  him,  the  bullet  cutting  the 
stirrup  strap  of  his  saddle  and  passing  through  the  heart  of  his 
horse,  and  during  the  Atlanta  campaign  he  had  his  shirt  collar 
removed  by  the  aid  of  a  musket  ball.  Capt.  Gardner  served  his 
country  faithfully  as  a  soldier  until  the  spring  of  1865,  when 
with  regret  he  resigned  on  account  of  physical  disability.  He 
then  returned  to  Wis.  and  accepted  a  position  in  the  Provost  Mar- 
shal's department  of  the  Third  Congressional  District,  in  which  he 
served  until  the  fall  of  1865.  He  then  came  to  lo.,  and  for  one 
year  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Conover,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  he  came  to  Decorah,  and  has  since  been  in  the 
First  National  Bank  and  a  member  of  the  firm  of  James  H. 
Easton  &  Co.,  brokers  and  real  estate  dealers.  He  also  owns  a 
farm  of  200  acres  in  Hesper  tp.,  and  has  the  same  well  stocked. 
Capt.  Gardiner,  believing  that  the  State  of  lo.  ought  to  have  a 
well  organized  militia,  which  could  be  called  upon  to  serve  and 
protect  the  State  at  any  time,  organized,  in  1876,  the  Decorah 
Light  Guards,  now  Co.  G.,  -Ith  lo.  Inf.,  and  was  first  Major  and 
afterwards  Lieut.-Colonel  of  the  same;  but  as  his  business  did  not 
permit  him  to  give  it  the  care  he  thought  it  required,  he  resigned. 
When  the  city  of  Decorah  became  in  need  of  a  well  organized 
fire  department,  Capt.  Gardner  again  came  to  the  front,  and  is  now 
foreman  of  Hose  Company  No.  2,  which  he  has  well  drilled  and 
and  able  to  do  efficient  work  in  case  of  need.  The  fact  is,  Capt. 
George  Q.  Gardner  is  always  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  any- 


WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  683 

thing  that  tends  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  family,  his  State, 
or  his  country.  He  is  genial,  social,  eminently  warm-hearted,  and 
full  of  good  humor.  His  character  is  unblemished  and  unexcep- 
tional, and  he  is  therefore  surrounded  by  warm  friends.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  school  board,  and  takes  active  interest  in  education. 
He  is  city  treasurer,  and  has  been  tendered  county  offices  by  both 
political  parties,  but  has  never  accepted  any,  as  he  has  not  the 
time  to  attend  to  the  duties  of  the  same,  neither  does  he  wish  to 
mingle  in  politics.  Capt.  Gardner  was  married  in  September, 
1861,  to  Miss  Carrie  Humes,  of  Monroe,  Wis.,  and  they  now 
have  one  daughter,  Mabel. 

John  Greer  is  a  native  of  Montreal,  Ca]iada,  and  was  born  in 
1832.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm,  living  with  his  father  (his  mother 
having  died  in  1835)  until  he  became  21  years  of  age.  He  then 
went  to  Port  Henry,  Essex  Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  for  two  years  he 
was  superintendent  of  an  iron  ore  bed.  In  1855  Mr.  Greer  came 
to  To.,  and  May  18th  settled  at  Decorah.  Here  he  first  com- 
menced work  in  a  plow  manufactory,  and  subsequently  became  a 
partner  in  the  business.  He  continued  in  said  business,  also  manu- 
facturing fanning  mills,  farming  implements,  &c.,  for  about 
eleven  years,  after  which  he  had  an  interest  in  the  wagon  factory 
until  1873.  Mr.  Greer  then,  in  partnership  with  Jos.  Hunter, 
erected  the  Ice  Cave  flouring  mills,  at  a  cost  (including  mill  site, 
water  power,  &c.)  of  over  $10,000.  This  mill  has  seven  run  of 
stone  and  two  sets  of  rollers,  and  has  manufactured  over  40,000 
barrels  of  flour  annually.  December  5,  1881,  H.  Greer  became 
proprietor.  John  Greer,  in  1857,  married  Miss  Hannah  Stringer, 
a  native  of  Canada;  they  have  six  children. 

R.  F,  Greer  is  a  native  of  Canada,  and  was  born  in  1839.  He 
lived  with  his  parents  on  a  farm  until  he  was  twenty. one  years  of 
age.  He  then  came  to  Decorah,  followed  farming  one  year,  then 
blacksmithing,  and  in  the  fall  of  1862  enlisted  in  Co.  I).,Oth  lo. 
Cav.,  and  served  three  years.  After  the  war  Mr.  Greer  returned 
to  Decorah  and  followed  farming  about  three  years.  He  then 
drove  dray  for  other  parties,  also  spent  two  seasons  on  a  home- 
stead in  the  west,  and  in  1873  formed  a  partnership  with  R.  W. 
Jamieson,  for  the  purpose  of  running  a  city  dray  line.  Mr.  Jamie- 
son  subsequently  withdrew.  In  1880  J.  W.  Protheroe  became  a 
partner  in  the  business,  and  now  as  Greer  &  Protheroe  they  are 
proprietors  of  the  City 'Bus  and  Dray  Line,  which  is  an  extensive 
and  well  paying  business.  Mr.  Greer,  in  1870  married  Margaret 
Kennedy,  a  native  of  Canada. 

H.  W.  Garfield  is  a  sou  of  Ira  and  Lucinda  Garfield,  natives  of 
New  England,  who  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.  in  1857.  He  was 
born  in  the  State  of  Vermont  in  1844,  came  to  Iowa  with  his 
parents,  and  in  1862  enlisted  in  Co.  E.,  38th  lo.,  but  was  not  ac- 
cepted, on  account  of  his  age.  In  June,  1863  he  enlisted  in  Co. 
H.,  7th  lo.  Cav.,  was  commissioned  quartermaster's   sergeant  and 


584  TVINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BI0GKAPHIE8. 

served  three  years  aud  seventeen  days,  when  he  was  mustered  out 
as  1st  Lieut.  He  then  returned  to  Decorah,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1866  commenced  dealing  in  grain,  in  which  business  he  continued 
until  1877,  since  which  time  he  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  C. 
M.  &  St.  P  R.  R.  Co.  Mr.  Garfield  was  married  in  1869  to  Miss 
Helen  Van  Pelt,  and  they  now  have  four  children . 

C.  N.  Goddard,  a  native  of  Rutland,  Vermont,  was  born  in 
1835;  came  to  Iowa  with  his  parents  in  1854,  and  in  1856  settled 
in  Winneshiek  County;  served  as  clerk  until  1860,  when  he  en- 
gaged in  business  for  himself.  In  1862  he  became  a  partner  in 
the  firm  of  Goddard,  Henry  &  Hutchinson,  subsequently  God- 
dard  &  Henry.  In  1874  the  firm  became  Goddard  &  Ellsworth, 
and  so  continued  until  1880,  since  which  time  Mr.  Goddard  has 
continued  the  business  alone,  and  now  carries  a  stock  of  merchan- 
dise amounting  to  about  ^25,000.  His  present  store  he  built  in 
1871;  it  is  located  on  the  site  loimerly  occupied  by  \he  first 
store  of  Decorah.  Mr.  Goddard  was  married  in  1861  to  Miss  Jen- 
nie Richardson,  then  of  Clayton  County,  Iowa,  but  a  native  of 
Vermont.     The  children  are  Harry,  Clara,  Herbert  and  Fred. 

A.  W.  Grow  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York  in  January, 
1842.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm;  in  1862  enlisted  in  the  10th 
New  York  Heavy  Artillery,  and  served  with  the  same  about  nine 
months,  when  he  was  commissioned  first  lieutenant  of  the  6th  U. 
S.  Colored  Regiment.  Six  months  later  he  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  captain,  and  served  as  such  until  November,  1865,  when 
he  was  mustered  out  as  major.  After  leaving  the  U.  S.  service 
he  returned  to  Jefferson  County,  New  York,  and  in  1866  com- 
menced buying  eggs  and  preserving  the  same  for  winter  use.  The 
first  year  he  put  up  twenty  barrels.  In  1872  he  came  to  Decorah, 
and  has  since  continued  the  same  business  in  which  he  has  met 
with  marked  success,  increasing  the  same  so  that  he  now  pre- 
serves about  4,000  barrels  annually.  Mr.  Grow  married  in  1865 
Miss  Belle  C ;  they  have  one  daughter,  Minnie. 

Charles  Golz  was  born  in  Prussia  in  1823;  learned  cabinet 
making,  _  and  in  1853  came  to  the  Uuited  States;  was  engaged  in 
the  furniture  business  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  four  years,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  in  the  same  business  at  Decorah,  He  was  mar- 
ried in  his  native  country  in  1847  to  Miss  Caroline  Noske;  they 
have  five  children,  three  sons  and  two  daughters, 

Geo.  Grob,  baker,  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  in  1844; 
came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1868,  and  first  stopped  at  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Hermeni  Bentz;  removed  to  LeRoy, 
Minn.,  and  in  a  few  months  came  to  lo.,  and  settled  at  Decorah  in 
February,  1869.  Here  he  worked  at  his  trade  as  baker  for  other 
parties  until  1874,  when  he  established  his  present  business.  The 
children  are,  George,  Fred,  Minnie;  Emma  and  Ida. 

T.  E.  Gaston,  manager  of  the  Decorah  scale  works,  was  born  in 
Beloit,  Wis.,  in  1853.     His  father,  N.  B     Gaston,   is  one  of  the 


WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  585 

pioneers  of  that  city.  In  1844  he  established  the  Beloit  Scale 
Works,  of  which  he  is  still  apart  owner, being  the  senior  member 
of  the  firm  of  N.  B.  Gaston  &  Son.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
wBs  brought  up  in  the  city  of  Beloit,  and  naturally  inclined  to 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father,  which  he  did  by  close  appli- 
cation and  hard  work  in  his  father's  factory  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  traveled  in  the  west  as  salesman  for  the  Beloit  Scale  Works, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1880  located  permanently  in  Decorah  and  es- 
tablished the  Decorah  Scale  Works.  He  married  Emma  Heivly, 
who  was  born  in  this  Co.  They  have  three  children,  Roy,  Min- 
nie and  Arthur 

Silas  Gripmau,  P.  0.  Decorah,  farmer.  Section  30.  Canoe  tp.; 
was  born  December  13th,  1813,  in  Saratoga  Co.,  N.  Y.;  was  mar- 
ried there  to  Mrs.  Martha  Gorton,  whose  maiden  name  was  Havi- 
land,  in  1840,  after  which  he  moved  to  Lenawee  Co.,  Mich.,  and 
from  there  to  this  Co.  in  1855,  and  in  1859  came  on  to  his  present 
farm.  His  children  are,  Richard,  Rhoda,  Eunice,  Christopher, 
Samuel,  Silas  and  Amy.  His  wife  has  three  children  by  her  for- 
mer marriage;  their  names  are  Charles,  Zilpha  and  Hannah  E. 
Richard  was  born  in  1842,  and  is  the  present  assessor  of  the  tp.. 
Christopher  was  born  in  1848  and  Samuel  in  1850. 

B.  F.  Giles,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  Section  28,  Canoe  tp.;  son 
of  Samuel  and  Fanny  Allen  Giles;  was  born  March  16,  1822,  in 
Cayuga  Co.,  N.  Y;  received  his  early  education  at  the  Auburn 
Academy;  immigrated  to  McHenry  Co.,  111.,  in  1845;  where  he  fol- 
lowed farming  summers  and  teaching  school  winters.  In  1848  he 
went  into  the  southern  States — Mississippi  and  Alabama,  mostly 
— followed  teaching  school  principally  till  in  1855  he  came  to  Win- 
neshiek Co.,  locating  on  a  part  of  his  present  farm,  which  he 
had  previously  purchased  in  1851.  He  now  owns  200  acres  of 
land,  well  improved  and  worth  835  per  acre;  has  served  his  tp.  as 
justice  of  the  peace,  assessor,  and  tp.  clerk  for  many  years.  He 
was  married  to  Miss  Caroline  Russell,  a  native  of  Ills.,  Dec.  9th, 
1855.  Their  children  are,  Edmund,  Ellen,  Clarence  and  Frank, 
and  they  have  lost  by  death  three.  Amy,  Fanny  and  an  infant. 

Naroe  Gilbertson,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer.  Section  10,  Madison 
tp.;  owns  600  acres  of  land,  valued  at  840  per  acre;  was  born  in 
January,  1832,  in  Norway;  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1849,  first 
stopping  in  Rock  Co.,  Wis.,  and  subsequently  at  Beloit  and  thence 
to  Kendall  Co.,  111.  In  1851  he  went  to  California  by  overland 
route;  while  there  engaged  in  farming  summers  and  mining  win- 
ters. On  his  return  he  came  to  this  Co.,  and  located  on  his  pres- 
ent farm.  He  married  Miss  Anna  Helgerson  in  1869;  their  chil- 
dren are,  Henry  Otto,  Mene,  and  Gilbert.  Mr.  G.  is  a  member  of 
the  Lutheran  church. 

H.  B.  George,  proprietor  of  the  George  House,  Calmar,  Iowa, 
was  born  in  England  in  1815.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  the 
United  States  in  1820,   and    located  in  Massachusetts  where  he 


586  WINKESHIEK    COUXTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

lived  until  about  1852.  He  spent  two  years  in  Ohio,  then  came 
to  Iowa  and  located  at  McGregor,  where  he  engaged  in  the  fur- 
niture business.  In  1868  he  removed  to  Ossian;  thence  two  years 
later  to  Calmar,  where  he  engaged  in  his  present  business.  He 
married  Adeline  A.  Dunham,  a  native  of  Vt.,  and  has  one  son, 
Henry. 

C.  W.  Giesen,  dealer  in  lumber,  doors,  sash,  blinds,  etc.,  was 
born  in  Prussia  in  1818;  came  to  America  in  1854  with  his  par- 
ents and  settled  in  Rossville,  Allamakee  County,  Iowa.  In  1865 
he  moved  to  Conover  and  engaged  in  general  merchandise  and 
lumber  business;  remained  there  until  1874,  then  came  to  Cal- 
mar and  established  his  present  business.  Mr.  G.  is  the  present 
mayor  of  Calmar,  and  has  been  a  town  trustee  several  times.  He 
married  Arnie  C.  Huber,  a  native  of  this  county.  She  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  F.  J.  Huber.  They  have  three  sons,  Henry  J.,  Frank  H. 
and  Charles  W. 

Louis  Groos,  P.  0.  Fort  Atkinson;  farmer,  Sec.  33,  Calmar  tp.; 
son  of  John  and  Catharine  Groos;  was  born  in  Germany,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1825,  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1849,  and  located  in 
Lake  County,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  two  years  then  went  to 
Trumbull  County,  and  from  there  to  this  county  in  1857,  and  lo- 
cated on  his  present  farm  which  now  contains  230  acres  valued  at 
$25  per  acre.  He  was  married  Oct.  13,  1848,  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Schafer,  a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  1824.  They  have  seven 
children,  Louis,  Jr.,  John,  George,  'Mary,  Louisa,  Elizabeth  and 
Caroline.  They  have  lost  one  son,  Charles,  who  died  May  4th, 
1869.  Mr.  Groos  and  family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
at  Ft.  Atkinson. 

Wesley  M.  Gibbs,  farmer,  Bluffton  tp.;  was  born  in  Essex 
County,  New  York,  in  March,  1844,  and  moved  with  his  par- 
ents to  Iowa  in  1863.  They  located  in  Decorah  township  and 
bought  land,  and  he  resided  there  with  them  until  1871,  when  he 
bought  land  here  and  has  resided  here  ever  since;  owns  180  acres 
within  a  half  mile  of  the  village  of  Bluffton.  The  land  is  im- 
proved and  under  fence;  80  acres  of  the  same  is  fine  timber.  The 
farm  is  well  stocked  and  has  good  buildings.  He  is  a  prominent 
citizen  and  has  filled  several  offices  of  trust  in  the  township.  He 
was  married  in  1868,  in  Freeport,  to  Miss  Sarah  J.  Morse. 

Hans  Gulbranson  Melos,  farmer,  Bluffton  tp.;  was  born  in  Nor- 
way in  1818;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1852  and  settled  in  Decorah, 
Iowa;  remained  there  two  years,  and  then  came  to  this  township 
and  entered  land  from  the  government,  100  acres,  and  has  bought 
the  rest  since;  now  owns  500  acres  in  sections  18,  20  and  31.  He 
resides  in  18,  where  he  has  built  a  fine  residence,  barns,  etc.  This 
farm  is  well  improved  and  stocked.  He  married  in  1854  at  De- 
corah, Miss  Caroline  Jensen,  and  has  nine  children,  Gilbert,  Joy, 
Hans,  Ole,  Gustav,  Rachael,  Carrie,  Ann  and  Bertie. 


WIJSTN'ESHIEK   COU]S"TT   BIOGRAPHIES,  587 

Andrew  Gilbertson,  P.  0.  Washington  Prairie,  farmer,  Sec.  25, 
Glenwood  tp.;  owns  a  farm  of  160  acres,  valued  at  $40  per  acre. 
He  was  born  in  1836  in  Norway;  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1852, 
locating  in  Columbia  Co.,  Wis.,  and  remaining  till  1856,  when  he 
came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  located  on  his  present  farm.  He 
was  married  to  Miss  Betsy  E.  Evenson,  by  whom  he  had  three 
children,  William,  Clara  and  Matilda.  His  wife  died  in  1880.  Mr. 
Gilbertson  has  served  as  trustee  of  his  tp.,  school  dn-ector,  etc., 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

H.  Gulbranson,  dealer  in  harness  and  horse  furnishing  goods, 
was  born  in  Norway  in  1836;  came  to  America  in  1854,  and  set- 
tled in  Decorah,  where  he  remained  until  1861,  when  he  enlisted 
in  Co.  D,  3d  la.  Inf.,  and  served  four  years  and  three  months.  He 
returned  to  Decorah  and  engaged  in  the  harness  trade,  and  in 
1867,  came  to  Ridgeway  and  entered  business  as  above.  He  has 
been  twice  married,  first  to  Carrie  Anderson,  who  died  in  1879, 
leaving  three  children,  Ida,  Fred  and  Mena;  his  second  marriage 
was  to  Christena  Peterson. 

John  Greenhalgh,  farmer.  Sec.  9,  P.  0.  Cresco,  owns  200  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  $35  per  acre;  was  born  in  Delaware  in  1849; 
is  the  sixth  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  Greenhalgh.  He  was 
married  in  1873  to  Susan  Fuller,  a  native  of  New  York.  When 
eight  years  old  he  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  with  his  parents,  and 
has  since  resided  in  the  county.  In  1881  he  purchase  his  father's 
old  homestead,  his  father  having  removed  to  Cresco. 

W.  B.  Goocher,  farmer.  Sec.  14,  P.  0.  Cresco;  owns  440  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  $40  per  acre;  was  born  in  Germany  in  the  year 
1828;  is  the  second  son  of  Martin  and  Catherine  Goocher;  in 
1848  he  came  with  his  parents  to  America,  and  settled  in  Wis.; 
after  staying  there  four  years  he  went  to  111.  and  lived  there  till 
1855,  when  he  came  to  lo.  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.  Mr. 
Goocher  was  married  in  1857  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Bootle,  a  native 
of  Germany,  and  has  three  children,  Henry  W.,  George  B.  and 
Carrie. 

Nathan  Grifiin,  wagon  maker,  Fort  Atkinson,  was  born  in  Otselic, 
Chenango  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1839;  learned  his  trade  in  North  Brook- 
field,  Madison  Co.,  N.  Y.,  with  Fitch,  Boone  &  Co.,  wagon  manu- 
facturers. In  1863  he  went  into  business  at  that  place  in  part- 
nership with  H.  House,  and  conducted  it  two  years;  then  was  two 
years  in  the  business  in  Chatauqua  Co.;  then  two  years  in  Ni- 
agara Co.;  afterwards  returned  to  Chatauqua  Co. ;  and  then  came 
to  Iowa,  settling  at  Waucoma,  Fayette  Co.,  and  engaged  at  farm- 
ing for  three  years.  He  owns  180  acres  of  land  there,  and  has 
improved  the  same.  He  moved  to  this  place  in  May,  1881,  estab- 
lished his  present  business,  and  rents  his  farm;  occupies  a  well 
fitted  shop,  and  manufactures  wagons  and  buggies;  has  established 
a  good  trade  in  repairing  and  manufacturing,  having  the  only 
establishment  of  tke  kind  in  town. 


588  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPIHES. 

Lawrence  Glass,  proprietor  St.  Cloud  Flouring  Mills,  situated  on 
lurkey  River,  is  a  native  of  Germany,  came  to  America  about 
the  year  1851;  and  after  remaining  one  year  in  Penn.,  he  came  to  this 
county  and  engaged  at  farming.  In  1878  he  purchased  the  mills 
ot  A.  Ames,  and  has  since  run  the  same.  The  mills  are  fitted  for 
merchant  Avork,  and  also  does  custom  work;  are  45x50  feet-  four 
stories  and  basement,  fitted  with  five  run  of  burrs,  bran  dusters 
purifiers  and  all  the  latest  improvements  and  machinery  necessary 
for  patent  process  mills,  use  four  Huston  water  wheels,  and  have 
fine  water  power;  capacity  150  barrels  per  day.  The  mills  are 
operated  and  managed  by  his  son,  Charles  Glass.  They  also  own 
350  acres  near  the  mills,  situated  in  Section  5  all  improved  and 
well  stocked,  fine  large  residence  and  other  buildings;  also  own  75 
acres  in  Calmar  tp  which  latter  they  rent;  they  have  also  35  acres 
of  timber,  near  West  Union,  Fayette  Co.,  beside  other  real  estate 
property. 

•    ?6oi"  Hardin   farmer,  was  born  in  Clinton  County,  New  York, 
m  1826,  and  followed  the  trade  of  blacksmith.     In  1858  he  came 
to  Iowa,  locating  m  the  village  of   Burr  Oak,  this  county       He 
bought  town  property  and  opened  a  shop,  and   followed  his  trade 
there  until  1873;  then  bought  the  land  in   sections  26    and    35 
there  being  240  acres,  where  he  still  resides.     It  is  well  improved 
and  stocked,  with  good  residence  and  farm  buildings.     Mr  Hardin 
was  a  member  of  the  county  board  of  supervisors  in  1861-2  having 
been  elected  on  the  republican  ticket.      He  has  also  been  Assessor 
tor  several  years  in  his  township,   and  has  filled  various  other  ofii- 
ces      He  was  married  in  New  York  to  his  first  wife,  who   is  now 
dead,  having  left   four   children,  and   he   afterwards   married   in 
18^2,  at  this  place  Mrs  Atkinson  {nee  Wingale).      The  children 
of  his  first  wife  M.  W.  Hardm,  who   is  county  clerk;    H  W  B 
Hardin,  Chloe  and  Lewes. 

F.  G.  Hale,  junior  member  and  manager  of  the  firm  of  Rice  & 
Hale,  proprietors  of  the  Bluffton  Mills;  was  born  in  Portage     o., 
Ohio,  1846,  and  m  1866  came   with  his  parents  to   this   county. 
ihey  located  at  Freeport,  and  for  two  years  owned  and   ran    the 
flouring  mill  there.     They  then  sold  out  and  moved  to  Fremont 
township  and  engaged  in  farming  near  Plymouth  Rock.     In  1873 
he  quit  farming,  and  engaged  in  business  at  Kendallville  in   the 
same  township,  with  a  stock   of   general  merchandise.      He    re- 
niained  in  this  business  until  the  fall  of  1875,  when  he  was  elect- 
ed county  auditor  on  the  republican  ticket.     He  then  closed  out  his 
business  m  time  to  enter  upon  his  official  duties  in  January,  1876 
He  was  re-elected  in  1877,  and   again   in   1879.      He   had   served 
three  years  previous  to  his  election  to   the  office  of   auditor  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  supervisors.      At   the  expiration   of   his 
term  of  office  he  came   to   this  place,  having   three  years  before 
bought,  m  partnership  with  Almon  Rice,  the  mill  property    here 
He  purchased  residence  property  and  has  resided  here  ever   since 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  589 

conducting  the  business  for  the  firm.  The  mill  is  located  in  the 
village  of  Blufftou,  on  the  Upper  Iowa  River,  on  section  9.  The 
main  building  is  four  stories,  40x40,  and  fitted  for  merchant  work 
with  three  run  of  buhrs,  and  all  modern  appliances  for  the  same, 
including  bran  duster,  purifier,  etc.,  for  ''new  process  mill,"  also 
an  addition,  originally  a  saw  mill,  and  now  fitted  as  the  feed  de- 
partment with  one  run  of  buhrs,  and  corn  sheller,  etc.,  for  grind- 
ing feed.  The  water  power  is  one  of  the  finest  on  the  river.  The 
mill  uses  four  Leffell  water  wheels  and  one  Decorah  patent  water 
wheel,  and  is  in  charge  of  a  practical  miller  of  many  years'  ex- 
perience, Mr.  R,  B.  Sharp.  Mr.  Hale  owns  a  fine  farm  of  180 
acres  in  Fremont  and  Orleans  tps.,  besides  his  town  property.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  Burr  Oak  Lodge,  He  married  in 
1875  at  Cresco,  lo..  Miss  Ida  E.  Maxon,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren, Fred  M.  and  Charles  Leslie. 

C.  A.  Hiatt  was  born  in  Hamilton  Co.,  lo.,  in  1854.  His  par- 
ents came  to  this  Co.  in  1856,  located  in  Hesper  tp.,  and  lived  on 
what  is  known  as  the  Peterson  farm.  He  lived  in  Minn,  four 
years;  then  returned  to  Iowa  and  bought  an  80  acre  farm  in  sec. 
15,  where  he  now  resides.  The  farm  is  well  improved,  and  Mr. 
H.  also  farms  part  of  his  father-in-law's  (E.  E.  Meeder's)  land. 
He  married,  in  February,  1880,  Miss  Meeder,  and  they  have  one 
child,  Claude. 

John  Hegg,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer.  Section  2,  Springfield  tp., 
was  born  April  28,  1848,  in  Norway,  and  came  with  his  parents  to 
the  U.  S.  in  1853,  locating  on  section  1,  this  tp.,  where  his  father 
died  Nov.  1st,  1861.  Mr.  Hegg  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  Vista 
Oct.  28th,  1871;  their  children  are,  Sophia  C,  Olaf,  John,  Gustav, 
and  Louisa  E.  They  have  lost  by  death  one  son,  Olaf.  Mr. 
Hegg  at  present  owns  172  acres  of  land,  valued  at  |35  per  acre. 
He  has  also  served  his  tp.  as  assessor  and  collector,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  church. 

0.  T.  Hamre,  proprietor  of  the  St.  Cloud  hotel,  and  livery  barn, 
Decorah;  also  deals  largely  in  agricultural  implements,  in  com- 
pany with  Henry  Paine.  Mr.  Hamre  was  born  in  Norway  Oct. 
24th,  1837.  In  1857  he  came  to  the  U.  S.,  and  his  first  location 
was  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  until  1861, 
when  he  removed  to  Decorah  and  worked  at  the  tailoring  busi- 
ness, which  he  had  learned  before  coming  to  America.  From 
1867  to  1872  he  again  farmed,  and  in  the  latter  year  took  charge 
of  the  St.  Cloud  hotel,  of  which  he  is  still  proprietor.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Isabel  Christianson  December  26th,  1857. 

Jacob  J.  Hegg,  farmer,  P.  0.  Decorah;  owns  298  acres  of  land 
valued  at  $35  per  acre;  was  born  July  1st,  1832,  in  Bergenstift, 
Norway;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1856,  and  after  visiting  various 
cities  located  at  Stoughton,  Wis.,  where  he  remained  until  the 
spring  of  1861,  when  he  came  to  this  Co.,  and  settled  in  Madison 
tp.  until  coming  to  his  present  farm  in  1863.     In  Dec,  1857,  he 

37 


590  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGKAPHIES. 

was  married  to  Betsy  Thorison,  and  has  six  children,  Betsy,  Eliza, 
Anna,  Jacob,  Thomas  and  Nels.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Luther- 
an church. 

J.  H.  Haug,  dealer  in  dry  goods,  groceries,  hats,  caps,  boots, 
shoes,  hardware,  drugs,  patent  medicines,  etc.,  at  Spill ville;  was 
born  in  Switzerland,  Dec.  4th,  1848.  He  came  to  America  in 
1866,  located  in  this  town  and  engaged  as  clerk  for  his  uncle,  J. 
J.  Haug.  In  1871  he  became  a  partner  in  his  uncle's  business, 
under  the  firm  name  of  J.J.  Haug  &  Co.,  which  partnership  con- 
tinued until  1876,  when  the  business  was  purchased  by  himself 
and  J.  Meyer,  and  was  so  conducted  for  two  years,  when  Mr. 
Haug  became  sole  proprietor.  He  carries  a  complete  stock,  worth 
$15,000.  Oct.  26th,  lc75  he  was  married  to  Mary  Vogler,  and 
has  two  children.  Bertha  and  Louisa,  they  have  lost  one  by  death, 

Henry. 

Hon.  Levi  Hubbell,  is  a  native  of  Conn.,  having  been  born  m 
Fairfield  Co.,  of  that  state,  in  1826.  He  was  a  farmer  boy,  and 
his  education  to  nineteen  years  of  age  was  received  .at  the  public 
schools.  He  then  spent  two  and  one-half  years  at  Oneida  Insti- 
tute, Whitesboro,  N.  Y.,  of  which  Beriah  Green,  the  noted  abo- 
litionist, was  president,  and  where  Mr.  Hubbell  imbibed  those 
political  principles  which  have  characterized  all  his  later  life.  Leav- 
ing Whitesboro  Mr.  H.  taught  five  years  in  Dutchess  Co.,  New 
York,  when  he  returned  to  his  native  state  and  established  a 
school  at  Gaylor's  Bridge,  in  the  famed  Housatonic  v  alley.  In 
1857  he  removed  to  Bradford,  Chickasaw  Co.,  where  he  for  three 
years  was  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits.  In  1861  he  settled  up- 
on the  farm  he  now  occupies  in  the  town  of  Frankville,  Winne- 
shiek Co.  Mr.  H.  has  devoted  his  attention  to  agricultural  inter- 
ests and  pursuits,  in  which  he  has  been  remarkably  successful.  He 
early  became  interested  in  dairy  enterprises  and  has  now  three 
large  creameries  in  operation,  conducted  in  accordance  with  the 
latest  methods.  In  educational  matters  he  is  naturally  earnest 
and  progressive.  Mr.  Hubbell's  age,  natural  ability,  education, 
and  thorough  business  experience,  secure  for  him  a  large  influ- 
ence which  has  been  wielded  in  behalf  of  wise  legislation.  He  was 
married  in  1860  to  Miss  Jane  E.  Witted,  and  has  two  sons,  Wil- 
liam and  George  L.  Mr.  Hubbell  has  twice  represented  his  dis- 
trict in  the  Legislature  of  Iowa. 

J.  J.  Haug,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Big  Stone  Mill  at 
Spillville;  owns  1,500  acres  of  land;  was  born  in  Switzerland  m 
1832;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1854  and  located  on  a  farm  near  Spill- 
ville. In  1857  he  entered  the  employ  of  Mr.  Spillman,  and  two 
years  later  engaged  in  mercantile  business.  He  secured  a  post- 
office  at  S.  in  1860,  and  was  the  first  postmaster.  He  sold  a  part 
of  his  business  to  John  T.  Galby  in  1863,  and  the  followmg  year 
sold  the  entire  stock  to  his  partner  and  returned  to  his  native 
country,  where  he  spent  about  a  year.     He  returned  to  bpiUvilie, 


WIJfSESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  591 

and  again  engaged  in  business,  continuing  until  186S;  was  then 
re-appointed  postmaster,  which  office  he  has  since  held.  The  mill 
was  built  in  1861  by  S.  Morse,  and  Mr.  H.  purchased  an  interest 
in  1867.  He  has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  three  years,  and 
also  as  county  supervisor  three  years.  In  1859  he  was  married  to 
Mrs.  Anna  B.  Meyer,  and  has  one  son,  Charles,  and  a  step-daugh- 
ter. Bertha.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational  Church  at 
Ft.  Atkinson. 

K.  I.  Haugen,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  is  a  native  of 
Norway;  was  born  in  1850,  and  in  1869  came  with  his  parents  to 
the  U.  S.  and  settled  in  Minn.  In  1870  he  came  to  Decorah. 
Here  he  first  served  as  clerk  for  C.  Syverson,  then  worked  in  the 
county  recorder's  office  a  few  months,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he 
purchased  the  business  of  his  former  employer,  and  has  since  con- 
tinued the  same.  He  was  married  in  1876  to  Miss  Louisa  Bergan, 
who  died  in  1880. 

James  Hoy  is  a  son  of  Peter  and  Margaret  McAnery  Hoy,  who 
settled  in  Decorah  in  1851.  He  was  born  in  1856.  At  the  age  of 
18  he  commenced  work  at  the  the  tinner's  trade,  and  in  the  fall 
of  1880  engaged  in  business,  and  still  continues  the  same.  He  is 
also  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  P.  S.  Smout  &  Co.  Mr.  Hoy  was 
married  in  January,  1882,  to  Miss  Kate  Hayes,  daughter  of  Wm. 
Hayes. 

Joseph  Hutchinson,  proprietor  of  Decorah  Steam  Bakery,  was 
born  in  Ireland  in  1834;  came  with  his  parents  to  the  U.  S.  in 
1849,  and  lived  in  the  state  of  Penn.  until  1853,  during  which 
time  he  learned  the  trade  of  brick-laying.  He  then  removed  to 
Elgin,  Illinois,  and  in  1857  came  to  Decorah.  Here  he  had  the 
contract  for  the  brick  work  of  the  court  house,  and  subsequently 
made  the  first  brick  in  Decorah,  and  laid  the  same  in  the  walls  of 
the  pioneer  drug  store.  He  established  his  present  business  in 
1871,  and  now  manufactures  about  $25,000  worth  per  year — prin- 
cipally crackers.  Mr.  H.  was  married  in  1856  to  Miss  Ellen  Be- 
han;  they  have  nine  children. 

C.  F.  Hiller,  the  pioneer  furniture  dealer  of  Winneshiek  Co.,  is 
a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  1832.  After  learning  his  trade,  cab- 
inet making,  he  traveled  over  several  of  the  German  states,  and  in 

1854  came  to  the  U.  S.     He  first  stopped  in  Pennsylvania,  but  in. 

1855  came  to  Decorah  and  established  his  present  business.  He 
married  in  1862  Miss  Elizabeth  Hinderman;  they  have  seven  chil- 
dren living,  Carrie,  Charley,  Henry,  John,  Libbie,  Edna  and  Maggie. 

Charles  Hegner  is  a  native  of  Germany;  born  in  1833,  his  par- 
ents being  Carl  and  Mary  Hegner.  In  1849  the  family  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  the  state  of  New  York.  Here 
Charles  learned  his  trade,  cabinet  making,  and  in  about  1858  re- 
moved to  Wisconsin.  In  1866  he  came  to  Decorah,  worked  at 
the  carpenter's  trade  a  few  years,  when  he  ag:ain  resumed  cabinet 
making,  and  in  1876  engaged  in  business.     He  now  carries  a  very 


51)2  WIKNESHIEK   COUKTT    BIOGRAPHIES. 

large  stock  of  the  best  furniture  in  the  city.  Mr.  Heguer  was 
married  December  21, 1857,  to  Miss  Minnie  Bush,  and  they  now 
have  nine  children,  William,  Carl,  Herman,  Earnst,  Ida,  Caro- 
line, Minnie,  Emma  and  Robt. 

Fred  Hencke  is  a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  1832;  came  with 
his  parents  to  the  U.  S.  in  1850,  and  first  settled  at  Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin.  Two  years  later  the  family  came  to  Iowa  and  settled 
at  Dubuque.  In  1857  the  subject  of  this  sketch  went  to  McGreg- 
or, where  he  was  in  the  business  of  general  merchandise  until 
1871,  in  which  year  he  came  to  Decorah.  Here  he  first  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  soda  water,  and  continued  the  same  about 
five  years,  since  which  time  he  has  given  his  entire  attention  to 
his  grocery  business,  which  he  established  in  1872.  Mr.  Hencke 
w^as  married  in  1857  to  Miss  Wilhelmini  Puchert.  The  children 
are  Fred  and  Ida. 

M.  W.  Hardin,  Clerk  of  the  Courts,  is  a  son  of  H.  J.  and  Ellen 
Hardin;  was  born  in  Clinton  Co.,  N.  Y..  in  1851:  came  with  his 
parents  to  Winneshiek  Co.  in  1857,  and  settled  in  Burr  Oak  tp. 
Here  he  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  in  1877  entered  the  ofiice  of 
clerk  of  the  courts  and  served  as  deputy  4  years,  when  he  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  deputy,  which  he  now  holds. 

D.  N.  Hawley  is  a  native  of  Conn.;  born  in  1831;  learned  the 
carpenter's  trade,  and  in  1855  came  to  Iowa  and  located  at  Free- 
port,  Winneshiek  Co.  Here  he  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  G. 
Tuttle,  under  the  firm  name  of  Tuttle  &  Hawley.  This  firm  did 
the  leading  business  in  contracting  and  building  for  many  years. 
It  built  the  county  court  house  at  Decorah  and  man}''  of  the  first 
business  blocks  in  the  city.  Mr.  Hawley  has  been  twice  married 
in  the  fall  of  1856  to  Miss  Henriette  Boothe,  who  died  July  4th, 
1865,  and  in  the  fall  of  1866  to  Franscillia  Tuttle  Burdick. 

Peter  E.  Haugen,  was  born  in  Norway  in  1833.  In  1842  the 
family  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  and  first  settled  near  Beloit,  Wis. 
The  now  famous  Idaho  Mineral  Springs  are  located  on  the  farm 
they  then  owned,  and  from  its  waters  they  drank  for  several  years 
without  knowing  of  their  excellent  cjualities.  In  1850  the  family 
came  to  Decorah  and  purchased  the  old  Indian  trading  post  then 
held  by  J.  C.  Rice.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  married  in 
1855  to  Miss  Guniel  Allen,  of  Beloit,  Wis.,  but  a  native  of  Nor- 
way. In  1865  he  commenced  dealing  in  agricultural  implements 
and  machinery,  and  did  a  very  extensive  business  in  that  line  un- 
til 1882.  In  18G9  he  built  a  warehouse  and  commenced  dealing 
in  grain.  In  1876  he  built  elevator  D.  He  now  owns  over  500 
acres  of  land  near  Decorah,  and  nearly  1,000  acres  in  Minn.  Mr. 
H.  has  four  children  living. 

E.  W.  Hoyt,  managing  partner  of  the  firm  of  Hoyt  &  Hinman, 
hardware  dealers,  is  a  son  of  D.  N,  and  M.  A.  Shotwell  Hoyt, 
who  are  among  the  early  pioneers  of  Winneshiek  Co.  E.  W. 
Hoyt  was  born  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  always  been  a  resident 


WIN'XESHIEK    COLTNTTT    BIOGRAPHIES.  593 

of  Winneshiek  Co.,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years  when  the 
family  resided  in  Emmet  Co.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm,  received 
a  good  common  school  education  and  subsequently  taught  school 
several  terms.  In  1S77  he  commenced  mercantile  life  as  clerk. 
In  Feb.,  18S0,  he  became  associated  with  C.  H.  Hinmanas  partner, 
and  established  their  present  business,  and  as  Mr.  Hinman  is  a 
resident  of  Chicago,  Mr,  Hoyt  has  the  entire  management  of  the 
business.  Mr.  Hoyt  was  married  Dec.  6,  1880  to  Mrs.  Alice  Hoyt 
Bennett,  daughter  of  T.  M.  Hoyt, 

B,  Holcomb,  firm  of  B.  Holcomb  &  Son,  dealers  in  groceries, 
provisions,  etc.,  is  a  native  of  New  York,  born  June  10,  1811, 
He  did  not  have  very  good  opportunities  for  educating  himself, 
but  at  the  age  of  21  he  commenced  teaching  school,  at  the  same 
time  applying  himself  closely  to  his  studies.  This  he  continued 
for  about  twenty  years,  during  which  time  he  served  as  superin- 
tendent of  Hamilton  County,  and  subsequently  as  town  superin- 
tendent in  several  different  towns  for  a  period  of  about  ten  years. 
He  also  served  as  local  preacher  in  the  M.  E.  Church  for  several 
years.  In  1852  he  removed  to  Illinois  and  joined  the  M.  E.  Con- 
ference. In  1854  he  came  to  Iowa  and  continued  preaching  the 
gospel  until  1864,  when  he  was  obliged  to  quit  on  account  of  a 
throat  difficulty.  He  then  lived  four  years  on  a  farm,  after  which 
he  came  to  Decorah,  and  for  five  years  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace.  In  1882  he  engaged  in  his  present  business.  Mr.  Holcomb 
was  married  September  18,  1835,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Weaver;  they 
have  two  children  living,  Lewis  and  Charles  L.  Their  second  old- 
est son  was  killed  at  Atlanta,  while  in  the  U.  S.  service. 

Lewis  Holcomb  was  born  in  1836,  and  is' a  carpenter  by  trade 
In  1861  he  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  16th  lo.,  and  served  until  August 
1865.  After  the  war  he  again  resumed  his  trade.  In  1874  he  came 
to  Decorah,  and  in  1879  engaged  in  mercantile  business.  He  was 
married  in  1865  to  Miss  Julia  Remington,  who  died  in  1874,  leav- 
ing one  daughter  Delia.  In  1881  he  married  Mrs.  Delia  McKay 
Hard,  who  has  two  children  by  her  first  marriage,  Clara  and  Addie. 

Jacob  Haas,  farmer,  section  5,  Decorah;  is  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, born  in  the  state  of  Baden,  July  16,  1834.  He  left 
his  native  country  September  17,  1853,  and  arrived  in  N.  Y.  De- 
cember 1st  following.  He  immediately  went  to  Maryland,  and 
learned  the  blacksmith  trade,  near  Baltimore.  In  1855  he  went 
to  Kentucky  and  two  years  later  to  Iowa.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in 
Co.  D,  6th  lo.  Cav.,  and  served  as  farrier  in  the  U.  S.  service  two 
years  and  ten  months.  Mr.  Haas  then  returned  to  Decorah,  and 
•has  since  been  engaged  in  farming  and  saloon-keeping.  In  1876 
he  purchased  a  meat  market,  which  business  is  now  owned  and 
conducted  by  his  son  Charles.  Mr.  Haas,  in  January,  1857.  mar- 
ried Miss  Margaret  Rice,  and  they  now  have  nine  children  living, 
Charles,  Matilda,  now  Mrs.  John  Stortz;  Jacob,  Henry,  Caro- 
line, George,  Maggie,  Julius  and  Emma, 


694  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

Moses  Hostetler,  farmer,  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1825,  and  resided 
there  with  his  parents  on  the  farm  until  21  years  of  age;  then 
went  to  Wisconsin,  and  in  1849  left  there  and  came  to  Iowa  and 
settled  first  in  Allamakee  Count}^,  which  was  very  lightly  settled, 
Indians  still  being  in  the  county.  He  took  a  Government  claim, 
but  only  lived  there  about  two  years,  and  then  came  to  Winne- 
shiek Co.  and  purchased  the  home  farm,  where  he  now  resides. 
He  is  one  of  the  most  extensive — if  not  the  most  extensive — far- 
mers in  the  county.  Operating  about  740  acres  in  Frankville  tp.; 
also  owns  50  acres  of  timber  in  Bloomfield  tp.,  and  twenty-five 
acres  of  timber  in  Allamakee  County.  He  has  fitted  his  farms 
thoroughly  for  stock  of  all  kinds;  has  generally  about  150  head  of 
cattle  for  dairy  and  stock  purposes;  uses  eight  teams  on  the  farm, 
and  employs  four  men  the  year  round,  in  addition  to  a  great  deal 
of  day  help.  Mr.  Hostetler  is  president  of  the  Farmers'  Mutual 
Fire  Insurance  Company,  of  Frankville,  has  filled  several  ofiices  of 
public  trust,  and  is  one  of  the  directors  and  active  supporters  of 
the  county  agricultural  society;  is  a  Master  Mason  and  member  of 
Lodge,  No.  66,  Frankville.  He  was  married  in  1847  in  Wis.,  to 
Miss  Mary  Brant,  and  has  one  child. 

Peter  R.  Hanson,  farmer;  owns  119  acres,  principally  timber; 
was  born  in  Burgen  Staft,  Norway,  1830,  and  was  engaged  in 
farming  there.  In  1849  he  came  to  America  and  lived  two  years 
in  Wisconsin;  then  came  to  Iowa,  settling  in  this  county,  worked 
out  on  farms  for  a  year  or  two,  then  bought  the  land  he  now  re- 
sides upon.  He  cleared  a  considerable  portion  for  cropping  pur- 
poses, has  a  fine  herd  of  cattle  of  good  grades,  hogs  and  good 
teams;  has  filled  the  office  of  road  supervisor  for  several  years  in 
the  tp. 

Anton  0.  Hegg,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  sec.  35;  son  of  Ole 
and  Carrie  Hanson;  was  born  January  1,  1830,  in  Norway;  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States  in  1854,  and  the  same  year  purchased 
his  farm,  it  being  then  unimproved.  He  has  since  added  to  his 
first  purchase,  till  he  now  has  23 1  acres  in  the  home  farm,  all  well 
improved,  and  valued  at  $35  per  acre.  He  also  owns  160  acres  of 
land  in  Mower  Co.,  Minn.  He  married  Miss  G.  Nelson  in  Nor- 
way, April  10,  1854;  their  children  are  Charlotte,  Henrietta, 
Frederick,  Oscar  and  Adolph.  Mr.  H.  is  a  member  of  the  Luth- 
eran church. 

Lars  Hoganson,  P.  0.  Decorah,  box  58;  farmer,  sec.  5,  Madison 
tp.;  owns  197  acres  of  land  valued  at  $30  per  acre;  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1817,  in  Norway;  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1851,  first- 
stopping  at  Janesville,  Wisconsin,  about  nine  months;  then  went 
to  Beloit,  where  he  remained  till  in  the  spring  of  1855  he  came 
to  Decorah  and  engaged  in  blacksraithiug,  which  he  continued  till 
1866,  when  he  came  on  to  his  present  farm.  He  was  married  to 
Miss  Martine  Gulbranson  in   1854,  by  whom    he  has  two    sons. 


WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIEe.  595 

Hans  M.,  now  in  Trail  Co.,  D.  T.,  and  Anton  L.,  at  home.  Mr. 
H.  has  taken  special  care  to  give  both  his  soijs  a  good  English 
education. 

Jacob  Headington,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  sec.  2  9,  Canoe  tp.; 
son  of  Benjamin  and  Elizabeth  Headington;  was  born  in  Knox 
Co.,  Ohio,  in  1833;  fame  to  this  county  in  1858,  locating  in  this 
township,  and  to  his  present  farm  in  18G9.  He  now  owns  300 
acres  of  land  valued  at  |35  per  acre.  He  was  quarried  to  Miss 
Martha  J.  Powleson,  a  native  of  Ohio,  in  1858;  they  have  four 
children,  William,  John,  Franklin  and  Elizabeth. 

George  Hall,  P.  0.  Washington  Prairie,  farmer  living  on  sec. 
25,  Glen  wood  tp.;  owns  a  farm  of  80  acres  valued  at  $1:0  per  acre; 
was  born  May  22,  1827,  in  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y.  In  the  spring  of 
1858  he  came  to  Iowa,  first  locating  at  Bradford,  Chickasaw  Co., 
where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Phoebe  A.  Hawes,  Nov.  20,  1858. 
In  1863,  after  having  the  misfortune  to  have  his  house  burned 
with  all  its  contents,  he  came  to  this  county  on  a  visit,  intending 
and  designing  to  return  east,  but  finally  rented  a  farm  near  Wau- 
kon  in  Allamakee  Co.,  and  remained  in  that  county  till  in  1866 
he  purchased  his  present  farm,  which  is  under  first-class  cultiva- 
tion and  with  a  fine  orchard  of  the  best  varieties  of  fruit  grown  in 
this  latitude. 

Fosten  0.  Haugen,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  sec.  36,  Madison 
tp.;  owns  210  acres  of  land  valued  at  $35  per  acre;  was  born  Aug. 
9,  1830,  in  Norway;  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1855,  located  in 
Decorah  and  engaged  working  at  his  trade,  carpenter  and  joiner, 
till  1865,  when  he  came  on  to  his  present  farm.  He  was  married 
to  Miss  Inger  Evenson  in  Norway,  in  Jan.,  1855;  they  have 
three  children,  Betsy,  Isabell  A.  and  Anna,  having  lost  two,  Mary 
and  Gertrude.  Mr.  Haugen  has  taken  special  interest  in  educa- 
ting his  children, some  of  whom  are  teachers. 

Ole  0.  Haugen,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  sec.  24,  Madison  tp.; 
owns  200  acres  of  land  valued  at  §35  per  acre;  was  born  Novem- 
ber 26,  1826,  lia ^Norway  and  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1865,  lo- 
cating in  SpHngfield  township,  this  county,  and  came  on  to  his 
present  farm  in  1868.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Peterson  in 
Norway  in  1810;  they  have  seven  children,  Ole,  Peter,  Nels, 
German,  Thomas,  Martin  and  Mary,  and  have  lost  two  by  death, 
both  of  whom  were  named  Thomas. 

James  S.  Hickey,  railroad  agent,  was  born  in  Livingston  Co., 
N.  Y.,  in  1833;  is  a  son  of  James  and  Dorotha  Hickey.  When 
he  was  12  years  of  age  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Cuba,  N. 
Y.,  where  he  remained  three  years;  he  subsequently  learned  the 
trade  of  printer,  which  he  followed  for  about  fourteen  years,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  was  in  many  different  places,  a  short  time  in 
Flint,  Mich.  Thence  to  McGregor,  and  from  there  to  Postville, 
as  clerk  in  the  Milwaukee  railroad  offices.  In  1868  he  came  to 
Ridgeway  and  took  charge  of  the  railroad  depot,  which    position 


596 


WriN'STESHIEK   COUXTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 


he  Still  occupies  He  married  Mary  A.  Helmes,  a  native  of  Catta- 
\^^S^\i:^o\mtj,l^.\.  They  have  two  children,  Eugene  C  and 
Adele  May.  ° 

John  Howard,  farmer,  sec.  27;  owns  2121  acres  of  laud  valued 
at|,25  per  acre;  was  born  iu  Ireland  in  1841;  is  the  son  of  Owen 
and  Mary  Howard  At  the  age  of  11  he  came  with  his  parents 
to  America;  resided  for  the  next  ten  years  in  N.  Y.  and  Penn  In 
1861  he  went  to  111.  In  1867  he  was  married  to  Maria  Flem- 
mg,  a  native  of  Illinois ;  has  three  children,  Eugene,  Ellen  and 
l^dward.  He  has  held  the  office  of  assessor  one  term.  Mr  How- 
ard enlisted  in  the  95th  111.  Inf.  in  1862,  at  Marengo,  McHenry 
Lo.,  ill.  He  served  his  adopted  country  until  the  close  of  the  war- 
fl^  onPu  ^f  t'  *^^  ^'^P  ""^  Vicksburg,  where  he  was  wounded  on 
the  20th  of  June  He  ^as  honorably  discharged  at  Springfield, 
111.,  m  August,  1865.  in, 

^'l'^'^^}^!  &  Bro.,  dealers  in  hardware  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments. Fort  Atkinson.      P.  J.  Huber,  the  senior  member  of  the 
hrm,  was  born  in  Franklin  Co.,  Ind.,  March  19,  18i7.  His  parents 
came  to  this  Co.  m  1849,  and  were  among  its  earliest  settlers. 
Iheytook  a  government   claim,  and  still  own  and  live  on   the 
same.     In  1876  he   bought  the   business  and   buildings  of  Fred 
Islewman  here,  and  carried  on  the  business  alone  until  the  spring 
of  1881,  when  he  took  his  brother,  G.  H.  Huber,  into  partnership 
iney  have  a  hne  business;  own  three  buildings  and  lots  on  which 
they  conduct  their  business— one  used  as   a  hardware  store,  two 
stories,  tin  shop  above  and  store  below;  another  building  for  ware- 
house, and  another  for  agricultural  implements.      They  carry    a 
11  ii'""?  of  hardware,  stoves,  tinware,  paints,  oils,  glass,  etc.,  also 
all  the  leading  manufactures  of  agricultural  implements. 

John  Hurley,  farmer,  Washington  tp.;  residing  on  Sec,  21,  and 
owns  190  acres;  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1829,  and  about  1843  his 
parents  moved  to  northern  Ind.  He  came  to  lo.  in  1857  settled 
in  this  tp  bought  160  acres  in  Sec.  16,  which  he  sold,  and  bought 
the  farm  he  now  resides  on,  which  is  thoroughly  improved;  has 
erected  a  fine  stone  residence  and  good  barn.  The  farm  is  well- 
stocked.  Mr.  H.  has  a  good  herd  of  grade  cattle,  uses  two  teams 
on  the  farm,  owns  seven  head  of  horses.  He  is  a  member  of 
Hope  Star  lodge  No.  316,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  at  Calmar.  He  was 
married  m  1858,  m  this  tp.,  to  Miss  Hendricks,  and  they  have  five 
children,  Thomas,  Catharine,  Cynthia,  John  and  Jessie. 

Hans  P.  Johnson,  dealer  in  and  manufacturer  of  harness  etc 
was  born  in  Norway  in  1847;  came  with  his  parents  to  the  U  s' 
in  1858,  and  settled  in  Canoe  tp.,  Winneshiek  Co.  In  1864  his 
father,  Paul  Johnson,  was  drafted  into  the  U.  S.  service  and  never 
returned.  Hans  P.  followed  farming  most  of  the  time  until  1881, 
when  he  established  his  present  business.  He  was  married  in  1873 
to  Miss  Rachael  Olson. 


AVINXESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  597 

F.  Jurgens  is  a  native  of  Norway,  born  in  1855;  emigrated 
with  his  sister  Christiana  a,  now  Mrs.  H.  Halvorson,  to  the  U.  S. 
in  1872;  came  direct  to  lo.,  stopping  in  Clayton  Co.  until  Oct.; 
then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  Here  he  worked  on  a  farm  for 
three  years;  then  came  to  Decorah  and  commenced  mercantile  life 
as  clerk  for  R.  Wilson.  In  Aug.,  1879,  he  entered  the  store  of  A. 
W.  Hay  ward,  and  has  since  been  manager  of  the  business. 

E.  Jacobson,  dealer  in  grain,  live  stock,  etc..  was  born  in  Nor- 
way in  1845.  In  1848  the  family  came  to  the  U.  S.  and  first  lived 
in  Wis.  In  1854  the  family  came  to  lo.  and  settled  at  Calmar. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  helped  till  the  soil,  with  the  exception 
of  two  winters,  which  he  spent  as  clerk  in  a  store,  until  1865.  He 
then  commenced  dealing  in  grain  at  Calmar.  In  1869  he  came  to 
Decorah,  and  in  partnership  with  Gilchrist  &  Co.  engaged  in  his 
present  business.  Mr.  Jacobson  married  Miss  Rachael  Hove;  they 
have  three  children;  John,  Bernard  and  Minnie. 

Jacob  Jewell,  Sec.  9,  Decorah  tp.;  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer  and 
stock  raiser;  son  of  Elihu  and  Anna  Wymer  Jewell,  was  born 
November  4th,  1825,  in  Knox  County,  Ohio,  where  his 
boyhood  was  spent  alternately  at  the  district  school  winters, 
and  on  the  farm  summers.  He  married  Miss  Emily  Head- 
ington  February  27,  1849,  and  the  following  spring  moved  to 
Wyandotte  Co.,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  until  the  spring 
of  1850;  he  sold  out,  and  started  for  the  west,  locating  about  two 
miles  above  where  he  now  lives,  remaining  there  a  few  years  until 
he  purchased  320  acres  where  he  now  resides.  The  land  joins  the 
corporation  of  West  Decorah  on  the  north.  He  owms  alto- 
gether 914  acres,  being  mostly  located  on  the  Upper  Iowa  river 
bottom,  making  it  one  of  the  most  desirable  farms  in  the  Co.  for 
raising  of  stock,  in  which  he  is  especially  engaged,  having  some  of 
the  finest  in  the  Co.  Mr.  J.  is  one  of  the  live,  energetic  and  suc- 
cessful farmers  of  the  Co.;  he  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  board 
of  supervisors  of  Winneshiek  Co.  His  children  are  Benjamin  A., 
John  A.  and  Frank.  He  has  lost  two  by  death,  Thomas  N.  and 
James  W. 

Engebert  Johnson,  farmer,  P.  0.,  Conover;  owns  800  acres  of 
land  on  Sec.  3;  was  born  in  Christiansans  Stifte,  Norway,  Oct.  21, 
1842;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1864  and  located  in  Freeport,  thence 
to  his  present  farm  in  1868.  In  Nov.,  1866,  he  was  married  to 
Gertrude  0.  Haugen,  and  has  five  children  living,  Peter,  John, 
Ole,  Christine  and  Andrene.     He  has  lost  two  daughters  by  death. 

Rev.  Abraham  Jacobson,  postoffice  Decorah;  owns  174  acres  of 
land  in  Sec.  2,  Springfield  tp.;  was  born  in  Norway,  Jan.  3,  1836; 
came  with  his  parents  to  the  U.  S.  in  1848,  and  located  at  Mus- 
kego.  Wis.  In  1850  they  came  to  this  tp.  and'located  on  Sec.  1. 
His  father  died  Sept.  10,  1879.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  began 
attendance  at  the  111.  State  University,  at  Rockford,  in  the  autumn 
of  1852,  having  accomplished  about  sixty  miles  of  the  journey  on 


598  WINNESHIEK  COUNTY  BIOGKAPHIES. 

foot;  there  he  remained  until  1860,  when  he  went  to  Chicago  as 
pastor  of  the  first  M.  E.  Church;  after  one  year  returned  home, 
and  soon  after  went  to  Dakota  as  a  missionary;  thence,  in  1862,  to 
Quebec,  Canada,  as  a  missionary  for  one  season.  He  then  returned 
to  this  Co.,  and  for  three  years  was  engaged  in  farming.  In  1866 
he  went  to  St.  Louis  to  attend  the  German  Lutheran  Concordia, 
and  in  1868  went  to  Perry,  Dane  Co.,  Wis.,  as  pastor  of  the  church; 
and  remained  until  1878,  when  a  cyclone  passed  over  the  town, 
destroying  the  church,  injuring  the  parsonage  and  several  other 
buildings;  one  man  was  killed  within  a  few  feet  of  Mr.  J.,  and  he 
himself  was  badly  bruised.  He  then  returned  to  his  present  home, 
and  works  as  a  missionary  in  the  west.  In  1860  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Mary  H.  O'Connor,  who  died  in  1861.  Jan.  3,  1863, 
he  was  married  to  Nicoline  Hig,  and  has  nine  children,  Clara  Gr., 
Mary  H.,  Jacob  0.,  Signe  A.,  Isaac  M.,  Dayid  L.,  Helga  L.,  Abra- 
ham S.  and  Carl  G.  Mr.  J.  has  served  as  assessor  and  member  of 
the  board  of  supervisors,  and  was  also  captain  of  the  home  guards 
during  the  late  war.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  bible  published  in  1672 
at  Nuremburg,  Germany. 

James  M.  Lower,  farmer,  was  born  in  Madison  Co.  Ind.,  in  1841, 
and  in  1855  came  to  this  Co.  with  his  parents.  After  leaving  the 
old  homestead  he  bought  the  farm  he  now  resides  on,  in  1871;  it 
contains  82  acres,  fine  rolling  prairie,  is  thoroughly  improved,  and 
is  well  stocked  with  horses,  cattle,  and  as  fine  a  drove  of  hogs  as 
there  is  in  the  Co.  They  are  his  special  pride,  and  show  careful 
attention  as  well  as  fine  stock;  are  principally  Berkshire,  with 
some  Poland  China.  The  place  is  well  fitted  for  stock  purposes, 
and  is  situated  in  one  of  the  best  parts  of  the  Co.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  June,  1874,  in  Madison  Co.,  Ind.,  to  Miss  Forkner,  and 
they  have  three  children. 

Jas.  Alex.  Leonard,  wholesale  and  retail  dealer  in  books,  station- 
ery, wall  paper,  musical  instruments,  etc.;  is  a  native  of  the  Em- 
pire state,  having  been  born  at  Syracuse  in  1840.  He  early  in  life 
turned  his  attention  to  mercantile  pursuits,  and  soon  became  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Wynkoops  &  Leonard.  June  10,  1867,  he 
was  united  in  matrimony  with  Miss  Julia  Ives.  In  1876  he  came 
to  Decorah,  at  once  engaged  in  his  present  business,  and  although 
an  entire  stranger  his  excellent  social  and  business  qualifications 
soon  gained  the  esteem. of  all,  so  that  he  is  now  recognized  as  one 
of  the  leading  citizens  of  Decorah.  He  is  at  present  an  alderman 
of  the  city,  but  takes  no  interest  in  politics  more  than  to  perform 
his  duty  as  a  citizen.  Mr.  L.  is  also  assistant  engineer  of  the  De- 
corah fire  department.     The  children  are  Geo.  I.  and  John  L. 

H.  M.  Langland,  County  sheriff",  was  born  in  Norway  in  1845, 
being  the  oldest  son  of  M.  and  Gertrude  Langland,  who  emi- 
grated to  the  U.  S.  in  1849;  lived  in  Dane  Co.,  Wis.,  until  1854, 
since  which  time  they  have  resided  in  Pleasant  tp.,  Winneshiek 
Co.     The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  at  Albion   academy 


WmNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  599 

of  Dane  Co.,  Wis.;  subsequently  taught  school  one  year,  and  in 
1870  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  of  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  served 
four  years.  From  1875  to  1880  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Lee,  Johnson  &  Co.,  dealers  in  general  merchandise,  Decorah,  and 
in  1881  was  appointed  sheriff,  viceJ).  C.  Moore  resigned.  Mr.  L. 
was  married  in  1876  to  Miss  Gertrude  Iverson,  who  died  in  May, 
1881. 

Iver  Larson  is  a  native  of  Norway,  born  in  1837;  came  to  the 
U.  S.  in  1850,  and  in  1851  to  Wmneshiek  Co.  Here  he  lived  with 
his  parents  about  ten  years,  and  then  attended  school  at  St. 
Louis  for  about  eighteen  months,  after  which  he  clerked  for 
Kerndt  Bros.,  of  Lansing,  lo.,  until  1866.  Mr.  Larson  then 
formed  a  partnership  with  Christ  Aslesen,  and  was  engaged,in  mer- 
cantile business  at  Brownsville,  Minn.,  until  1878,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  at  Decorah,  where  he  now  does  a  very  large  bus- 
iness in  general  merchandise.  In  1860  he  married  Miss  Anna  Nel- 
son; they  have  one  son  and  four  daughters. 

F.  C,  Lennon  is  of  Irish  and  Scotch  descent,  and  was  born  in 
the  city  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  in  1845.  In  June,  1855,  the  family 
came  to  lo.  and  settled  in  Frankville  tp.,  this  Co.  Here  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  helped  till  the  soil,  and  received  a  good,  com- 
mon school  education,  and  at  different  intervals  taught  school 
until  1876.  He  then  came  to  Decorah,  and  has  since  been  en- 
gaged as  collector  for  different  parties;  also  deals  in  real  estate. 
Mr.  Lennon  is  a  good  financier,  and  a  man  who  does  just  as  he 
agrees  to  do.  Dec.  19,  1878,  he  married  Miss  Estelle  Scott;  they 
have  two  children,  Hawley  and  Louisa. 

J.  G.  Lamm  was  born  in  the  state  of  N.  Y.  in  1841.  He  came 
to  Winneshiek  Co.  in  1868,  and  in  1809  engaged  in  the  saloon  bus- 
iness, which  he  still  continues.  Mr.  Lamm  was  married  in  1872 
to  Anna  Weyland,  and  they  now  have  five  children,  Joseph, 
Armena,  Leo,  Emuel  and  Laren. 

Christian  Lower,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  popular  citizens  of 
Winneshiek  Co.,  was  born  in  Preble  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1814,  and  in  the 
same  year  his  parents  moved  to  the  then  territory  of  Indiana.  He 
lived  with  his  parents  in  Wayne  Co.,  Ind.,  until  1855,  having  taken 
unto  himself  a  wife.  Miss  Barbara  Hoover,  he  came  to  lo.,  and 
settled  in  Frankville  tp.,  where  he  has  resided  ever  since.  He  has 
been  twice  elected  member  of  the  county  board  of  supervisors,  and 
has  served  several  years  in  the  ofiice  of  justice  of  the  peace,  in  this 
tp.  His  farm  contains  205  acres  of  fine  land,  and  is  all  tillable, 
except  32  acres  of  timber,  and  is  well  stocked,  fine  Devonshire 
cattle  being  Mr.  Lower's  specialty,  and  in  horses  the  Mambrino 
stock  is  his  favorite.  He  has  one  thoroughbred  of  that  stock, 
which  is  a  magnificent  animal.  Mr.  L.  has  arranged  evervthing 
with  a  view  to  comfort  and  convenience.  His  pleasant  residence 
is  surrounded  by  a  flourishing  orchard,  and  a  fine  strong  spring  of 


600  WIN^NESHIEK    COUNTY    BIGGKAPIHES. 

pure  cold  water  flows  within  a  few  ^^ards  of  the  house.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  L.  have  raised  a  family  of  four  sons,  and  have  lost  by  death 
one  daughter. 

Joseph  Lennon,  farmer,  was  born  in  County  Monaghan,  Ireland, 
in  1802;  worked  on  farm  thei^e  until  1829;  then  came  to  the  U. 
S.,  settled  first  in  Essex  Co.,  N..Y.,  and  worked  on  a  farm  for  a 
time;  then  went  to  Canada  West,  and  in  1810  returned  to  the 
states,  settling  in  Raciue  Co.,  Wis.,  and  farming.  In  1853  he  came 
to  lo.,  and  located  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  the  farm  of  80  acres  he 
now  resides  on  being  a  portion  of  the  original  claim,  the  balance 
of  which  he  has  given  to  his  children.  He  has  filled  the  ofiice  of 
justice  of  the  peace  several  years,  and  was  for  many  years  notary 
public.  He  was  married  in  Ireland  in  April,  1828,  to  Miss  Cath- 
erine Sherry;  they  have  nine  children  living. 

C.  J.  Lundgrens,  variety  store  and  dealer  in  cigars  and  tobacco; 
was  born  in  Sweden  in  1829;  came  to  America  in  1852,  and  settled 
in  New  York.  In  1857  he  removed  to  Red  Wing,  Minn.;  thence 
to  Conover,  and  in  1872  came  to  Calmar  and  established  his  pres- 
ent business.  He  married  Caroline  Isaacson,  also  of  Sweden;  they 
have  three  children,  Albert  P.,  Mary  Amelia  and   Carl  Theodore. 

A.  P.  Leach,  P.  0.  Freeport;  farmer.  Sec.  13 — whose  portrait 
appears  in  this  work — is  a  son  of  David  and  Palmyra  {fiee  Pardee) 
Leach,  and  was  born  Oct.  22,  1808,  in  Rensselaer  Co.,  N.  Y.  In 
the  year  1812  his  parents  moved  to  Chenango  Co.,  which  was  then 
considered  the  far  west,  it  being  a  wilderness  and  still  inhabited 
by  the  red  men.  The  subject  of  this  sketch,  at  the  age  of  15, 
went  to  live  with  an  uncle,  who  was  a  hatter  at  Canajoharie,  at 
which  business  he  worked  till  he  was  21  years  of  age,  when  he 
returned  to  Chenango  Co.,  and  with  his  parents,  the  same  year, 
1829,  moved  to  Chautauqua  Co.,  where  he  soon  after  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  hats  at  the  village  of  Stockton  in  said  county, 
continuing  till  1850,  when  he  sold  out  and  purchased  a  farm,  and 
engaged  in  farming.  In  1854  he  sold  his  farm,  and  immigrated 
to  lo.,  purchasing  300  acres  of  land  in  the  beautiful  valley  of 
Freeport,  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  three  miles  below  Decorah  on  the 
Upper  Iowa  river,  and  where  he  still  resides.  At  that  time  there 
were  but  very  few  settlers  in  the  county  and  less  than  half  a  dozen 
houses  in  the  now  flourishing  city  of  Decorah.  Many  privations 
and  inconveniences  were  incident  to  the  pioneers  of  this  county; 
no  place  of  market  nearer  than  the  Mississippi  river,  forty  miles 
away.  Mr.  L.  is  at  present  the  only  one  of  the  early  settlers  in 
his  immediate  vicinity  now  here,  some  having  moved  away,  and 
others  passed  to  their  long  homes.  Mr.  L.  has  been  one  of  the 
foremost  enterprising  farmers  of  his  tp.,  as  the  appearance  of  his 
residence  and  the  surroundings  indicate — a  view  which  may  be 
seen  in  the  Andreas  State  Atlas  of  lo.  He  now  owns  but  120 
acres  of  land,  worth  $75  per  acre,  having  disposed  of  180  acres  of 
his  original  purchase,  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  the  labor  and 


WIXNESHIEK    COUNTY    lUOGKAPIIIES.  601 

care  incident  to  carrying  on  a  large  farm,  although  for  a  man  of 
his  age  he  is  possessed  of  remarkable  strength  of  body  and  mind. 
Mr.  Leach  was  married  to  Miss  Elira  King,  of  N.  Y.,  in  1832. 
Their  cliildren  are  Antoinette,  David,  Maggie,  Augusta,  Willie 
and  Minnie. 

N.  B.  Libbey,  farmer.  Sec.  32.  P.  0.  Cresco;  owns  210  acres  land 
valued  at  ^25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Maine  in  1832;  is  the  son  of  Elias 
and  Mehitable  Libbey,  and  was  married  in  1860  to  Susan  Jane 
Libbey,  also  of  Maine. 

M.  S.  Lemon, farmer,  Sec.  32,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  80  acres 
of  land  valued  at  §10  per  acre;  was  born  in  St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N. 
Y.,  in  1810.  When  he  was  21  years  of  age  he  came  west  and  lo- 
cated in  this  Co.  He  was  married  in  1870  to  Ellen  Kittleson,  a 
native  of  Wis.  Mr.  Lemon  is  the  fourth  son  of  James  and  Fanny 
Lemon,  and  has  six  children,  Melerna,  Cleara,  Ggnie,  Charles, 
James  and  Wilbur.     He  has  been  town  clerk  for  several  years. 

Moritz  Lange,  farmer,  Bluffton  tp.,  was  born  in  Dresden,  Ger- 
many, in  1821,  of  wealthy  parents,  and  received  a  fine  education 
at  some  of  the  best  academies.  When  IT  years  of  age  he  entered 
the  German  army  and  served  the  regular  term  of  six  years.  He 
became  implicated  in  a  rebellion  there,  and  was  obliged  to  leave; 
his  property  was  confiscated,  and  he  dared  not  return.  He  came 
to  America  in  1818,  and  lived  in  New  York,  Albany  and  other 
cities  in  N.  Y.,  and  returned  to  the  farm.  He  has  filled  various 
offices  in  the  tp.;  has  been  justice  of  the  peace  several  terms,  and 
still  holds  that  office.  He  was  married  in  N.  Y.  in  1852  to  Miss 
Margaret  Dawley,  and  has  four  children,  Adelbert,  George,  Wil- 
liam and  Charles.  In  1851  he  came  to  lo.  and  lived  in  Canoe  tp., 
this  Co.,  for  some  time,  and  then  on  Franklin  Prairie;  and  in  1856 
he  came  to  this  place,  where  he  now  resides  and  owns  80  acres, 
well  improvad  and  stocked.  In  1862  he  enlisted  at  Bluffton  in 
the  38th  lo.  Inf.,  Co.  E,  as  corporal,  under  Capt.  Cleghorn,  served 
three  years,  and  was  in  many  of  the  important  engagements.  He 
was  discharged  at  Houston,  Texas,  in  1865,  and  paid  off  in 
Davenport. 

J.  A.  Libbey,  farmer,  Sec.  32,  P.  0.  Cresco;  owns  1200  acres 
of  land  valued  at  825  per  acre;  was  born  in  Maine  in  1832;  is  the 
son  of  Ebenezer  and  Susan  Libbey.  At  the  age  of  18  he  went  to 
N.  H.;  lived  there  seven  years,  and  from  there  moved  to  Winne- 
shiek Co.,  lo.  He  was  married  in  1857  to  Miss  Buelah  A.  Stevens, 
a  native  of  Great  Falls,  N.  H.,  and  has  five  children,  Dora  M., 
Milton  0.,  Etta  F.,  Minnie  A.  and  W^ alter  R.  He  has  held  the 
office  of  township  trustee  one  full  term.  His  children  are  all  liv- 
ing at  home,  except  Dora  M.,  who  is  mairied. 

J.  A.  Klein,  county  superintendent  of  schools,  was  born  in  Jef- 
ferson Co.,  Wis.,  in  1818,  receiving  his  education  at  the  State 
Normal  school  at  Whitewater.  He  taught  school  at  Jefferson  two 
years,  and  at  Fort  Atkinson  one  year.    In  1875  he  came  to  lo.,  and 


602  ■WIIfNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

until  1881  was  principal  of  the  schools  of  Calmar.  He  was  elected 
to  the  office  which  he  now  holds  in  the  fall  of  1881.  Mr.  Klein 
married  Miss  Louise  Klein  August  19,  1880,  and  now  has  one 
daughter. 

J.  J.  Klopp,  druggist,  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1849;  was  educated 
at  Notre  Dame  college,  near  South  Bend,  lud.  At  the  age  of  16 
he  commenced  keeping  books  at  Cincinnati,  and  continued  until 
he  became  of  age.  He  then  went  to  Leavenworth,  Ind.,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  drug  business.  Here,  in  1876  he  married  Miss  L.  E. 
Ammon.    In  1877  he  came  toDecorah.    They  have  three  children. 

Jens  0.  Kalloway,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer.  Sec.  21,  Glenwood 
tp.;  son  of  Ole  J.  and  Christy  Kalloway;  was  born  May  31,  1844, 
in  Bergensteft,  Norway,  and  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  with  his  par- 
ents in  1862,  first  stopping  in  Crawford  Co.,  Wis.,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  came  to  this  Co.  and  tp.,  where  his  father  died  in  1871. 
His  mother  is  still  living  and  is  with  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
who  located  on  his  present  farm  in  1872.  He  was  married  to  Miss 
Tilda  Johnson,  also  of  Norway,  January  31, 1876;  they  have  three 
children,  Oli,  John  and  an  infant  son.  Mr.  K.  is  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church. 

John  Kennedy,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  Sec.  28;  was  born  in 
Sherrington,  Canada,  in  1826,  and  emigrated  to  Decorah  in  1856, 
and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  wagons,  which  he  continued 
till  1871,  when  he  came  on  to  his  present  farm;  was  married  to 
Miss  Margaret  Burrows  in  Canada — they  have  three  children, 
Mary,  William  and  Claudius. 

John  B.  Kaye,  attorney  at  law,  was  born  in  England  in  1841. 
He  came  to  America  with  his  parents  in  1842,  and  settled  in  Md.; 
removed  to  Penn.;  thence  to  Wis.  in  1848,  and  located  near  Ge- 
neva, Walworth  Co.  In  1863  he  went  to  Nevada,  where  he  re- 
mained four  years,  and  returned  to  Wis.  He  spent  two  years  in 
Wis.,  Md.  and  Penn.,  and  again  went  to  Nev.,  where  he  remained 
until  1871.  He  studied  law  with  J.  A.  Smith,  of  Geneva,  Wis.; 
came  to  Iowa  in  1872,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Decorah,  and 
established  practice  at  Calmar.  He  married  Fannie  Green,  a  native 
of  Walworth  Co.,  Wis.  Their  children  are,  Percy  S.,  Mary  Ger- 
trude, Alice,  Edna  and  Sarah  Eliza. 

John  Knox,  farmer,  owns  120  acres  of  farm  land  and  10  acres 
of  timber.  Mr.  Knox  was  born  in  County  Kilkenny,  Ireland  in 
1846.  In  1855  he  came  to  the  U.  S.,  spent  that  fall  in  New  York; 
then  came  west,  settling  in  this  county.  He  worked  on  farms  for 
about  six  years,  then,  having  saved  some  money,  bought  the  land 
he  now  owns;  which  he  has  thoroughly  improved  and  well  stocked. 
He  was  married  in  February,  1873,  in  Burr  Oak  tp.,  to  Miss  Mary 
E.  Whalen,  and  they  have  three  sons  and  one  daughter. 

Rev.  U.  W.  Koren,  P.  0.  Decorah;  pastor  of  the  Lutheran 
church  in  Springfield  tp.,  located  on  Sec.  1;  also  has  charge  of 
three  other  churches  in  the  vicinity,  the  aggregate  cost  of  the  four 


AVIKNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  603 

cliurclies  being  §42,000 — his  home  church  costing  $17,000,  with  a 
very  fine  parsonage  costing  over  85,000,  and  very  pleasantly  sit- 
uated in  a  grove  about  sixty  rods  from  the  house.  The  Rev. 
Koren  is  also  president  of  the  N.  E.  L.  Synod,  the  same  being 
similar  to  the  duties  of  bishops  of  the  M.  E.  church,  his  jurisdic- 
tion extending  over  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  river  to 
the  Pacific  ocean.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Nor- 
way in  1826,  and  received  a  classical  and  theological  education  at 
the  University  of  Christiana,  where  he  completed  the  course  and 
was  ordained  in  1853;  and  the  same  year,  in  answer  to  a  call  from 
the  Lutheran  church  of  the  northwest,  he  immigrated  to  the  U. 
S.,  coming  direct  to  this  Co.  and  located,  where  he  still  resides, 
the  country  then  being  very  sparsely  settled.  He  at  once  engaged 
in  establishing  churches,  and  entered  upon  a  general  missionary 
work,  which  extended  over  the  counties  of  Clayton,  Fayette,  Chick- 
asaw, Howard,  Winneshiek  and  Allamakee,  lo.,  and  Houston  and 
Fillmore  counties  in  Minn.,  which  area  of  territory  now  contains 
about  fifty  churches  and  twenty  pastorates.  Rev.  Koren  was 
largely  instrumental  in  the  establishing  of  the  commodious  Luthe- 
ran college  at  Decorah;  purchasing  the  land  upon  which  it  is 
located,  and  otherwise  doing  much  toward  securing  the  establish- 
ment of  the  college.  He  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Hysing,  in  Norway,  on  the  18th  day  of  Aug.,  1853;  their  children 
are  Ahlert  H.,  Johan,  Paul,  Wilhelm,  Henriette,  Carolina  M.^ 
Elizabeth  and  Marie. 

Frank  Kapinos,  P.  0.  Spillville;  proprietor  of  saloon;  son  of 
John  and  Barbara  Kapinos;  was  born  in  Bohemia,  Austria,  in 
Nov.,  1847,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  Milwaukee,  Wis,,  in 
1852.  His  father  was  engaged  in  the  employ  of  the  C.  M.  and  St. 
P.  R.  R.  Co.,  and  was  killed  by  a  railroad  accident  near  Mazoma- 
nie,  Wis.,  in  1866.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  lo.  in 
1859,  and  engaged  with  his  brother-in-law,  John  Elbling,  at 
McGregor,  in  the  manufacture  of  cigars.  In  1859  he  came  to 
Spillville  and  engaged  in  his  present  business.  He  was  married  to 
Miss  Lena  Jarash  in  1871  ;'they  have  six  children,  Caroline,  Emma, 
Frank,  Lena,  Mary  and  Louisa.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
church. 

John  J.  Kovarik,  teacher  of  the  Catholic  school,  organist  in 
the  Catholic  church  and  leader  of  the  band  at  Spillville;  was  born 
in  Bohemia  in  1850;  attended  the  college  at  Pisek  for  five  years, 
and  came  to  the  U.  S.  with  his  parents  in  1868.  They  located  in 
this  town,  where  the  'subject  of  this  sketch  engaged  in  teaching 
both  the  English  and  Bohemian  languages.  Feb.  15th,  1870,  he 
was  married  to  Elizabeth  Riha,  and  has  five  children,  Joseph, 
John,  Cecelia,  Elizabeth  and  Mary. 

Othmar  Kapler,  farmer  and  notary  public,  does  a  general  con- 
veyancing business;  P.  0.  Spillville;  owns  300  acres  of  land  be- 
sides his  homestead  of  two  acres,  and  40  acres  of  land  in  Fayette  Co.; 


COi  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    EIOGRAPHIES. 

was  born  in  Wurtemburg,  Germany,  Nov.  15,  1840;  came  with 
his  parents  to  the  U.  S.  in  1852,  and  located  at  Shepherdstown, 
Va.  He  removed  to  Wheeling  the  following  year;  thence  to  Cal- 
houn Co.,  111.,  in  1854,  and  the  spring  following  came  to  this  Co. 
In  August,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  B,  21st  lo.  Inf.;  participated 
in  a  large  number  of  important  battles,  and  was  discharged  at 
Clinton,  lo.;  returned  home  and  engaged  in  the  hardware  business 
with  George  A.  Purdy,  which  they  conducted  for  one  year;  then 
Mr.  K.  sold  to  his  partner  and  came  to  Spillville,  where  he  opened 
a  hotel  and  boarding  house,  which  he  ran  until  1878.  He  has 
been  notary  public  since  18G0,  and  justice  of  the  peace  two  years. 
He  married  Barbara  Rachel ;  daughter  of  the  first  sheriff  of  this 
Co.;  they  have  seven  children,  George  R.,  Caroline,  Rosa,  Louisa, 
Regina,  Anna  and  Frank. 

W.  H.  Klemme,  lumber  dealer,  was  born  in  Franklin  Co.,  Ind., 
in  1849;  is  son  of  H.  W.  and  Katherine  Klemme.  When  he  was 
12  years  of  age  his  parents  removed  to  this  tp.,  where  they  have 
since  resided.  In  1871  he  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  business  in 
company  with  Mr.  Bolles.  The  following  year  he  sold  his  inter- 
est in  the  dry  goods  business  and  entered  the  lumber  trade,  which 
he  still  continues.  He  was  married  to  Augusta  Bolles,  also  a  na- 
tive of  Ind.;  they  have  one  daughter,  Nellie. 

Albert  Kittleson,  farmer.  Sec.  15;  owns  160  acres  of  land  valued 
at  ^30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1826;  is  a  son  of  Charles 
Kittleson.  He  came  to  America  in  1851,  stopping  in  Wis,  about 
two  years;  in  1853  he  came  to  this  Co.  and  in  1855  settled  on  his 
present  farm.  Mr.  Kittleson  has  been  one  of  the  tp.  trustees  since 
the  town  was  organized,  and  also  assisted  in  organizing  the  tp.  of 
Lincoln;  he  was  instrumental  in  getting  the  Turkey  river  bridged 
in  three  different  places,  and  has  been  a  man  of  great  value  to 
the  township  in  improving  the  public  highways  generally.  He 
has  been  twice  married,  first  to  Anna  Thompson,  who  died  in  1865, 
leaving  five  children;  his  second  marriage  was  to  Emma  Johnson, 
and  they  have  one  child. 

Howard  A.  Kinne,  farmer.  Sec.  13,  P.  0.  Cresco;  owns  160 
acres  of  land  valued  at  |30  per  acre;  was  born  in  1839  in  Onon- 
daga Co.,  N.  Y.;  is  the  oldest  son  of  Julius  and  Rachel  Kinne; 
came  Avest  in  1860  and  bought  a  farm  near  Decorah,  lo.  In  1862 
he  enlisted,  and  after  the  war  settled  at  Freeport,  and  made  that 
his  home  until  1877,  when  he  moved  to  Orleans  tp.,  and  has  been 
a  resident  or  that  tp.  since.  Mr.  Kinne  was  married  in  1860  to 
Hannah  Tobin,  a  native  of  N.  Y.  Mr.  Kinne  enlisted  in  1862  in 
the  6th  lo.  Cav.  (Col.  Wilson),  and  saw  active  service  in  the  north- 
western department,  participated  in  the  battle  of  Tah-kah-okaty, 
July  28,  1864,  and  the  battle  in  the  Bad  Lands,  August  8  and  9, 
1864;  was  honorably  discharged  October  17,  1865. 

H.  W.  Masters,  farmer.  Burr  Oak  tp.;  was  born  in  1844  in  Steu- 
ben Co.,  N.  Y.     He  came  to  this  state  in  1864^  and  lived  for  three 


WINN'ESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  605 

years  with  his  uncle,  W.  J.  Masters,  who  came  several  years 
earlier.  He  then  went  back  to  N.  Y.  and  married  Miss  Margaret 
Vosberg,  of  Schuyler'Co.,N.  Y.,  and  in  the  following  year  returned 
to  lo.  and  bought  the  farm  now  owned  by  Ezra  Weldon.  He 
lived  there  about  three  years,  then  sold  to  Mr.  Weldon,  and  in 
1872  bought  the  place  he  now  resides  on,  there  being  120  acres 
situated  in  Sec.  9,  well  improved,  good  residence,  etc.,  well  stocked 
and  all  under  fence.  They  have  five  children,  Frank,  Addie,  Clar- 
ence, Jennie  and  Guy.  Mr.  Masters  has  filled  various  offices  in 
the  tp.;  has  been  justice  of  the  peace  two  terms;  is  a  member  of 
the  I.  0.  0.  F.,  Burr  Oak  lodge;  of  the  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Decorah 
lodge,  and  the  R.  A.  M. 

B.  M.  Lein,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  was  born  in  Norway 
in  1838,  and  was  a  tailor  by  trade;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1867,  and 
spent  the  first  summer  in  Allamakee  Co.,  lo.;  then  moved  to  Hes- 
per,  established  business  as  tailor,  and  built  up  a  good  trade.  After 
being  there  one  year  he  bought  property.  In  the  summer  of  1882 
he  added  a  new  and  complete  stock  of  general  merchandise  and 
also  conducts  his  tailoring  business  in  the  building  belonging  to 
Johnson  Pike,  located  on  the  main  street  of  the  town.  Mr.  L. 
was  married  in  1860  in  Norway  to  Miss  Willmaun,  and  they  have 
three  children. 

Hon.  H.  C.  Manning,  the  only  son  of  Alpha  and  Levina  Man- 
ning, and  partner  in  farming  with  his  father,  has  served  several 
terms  as  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  and  was  elected  in 
the  fall  of  1879  on  the  republican  ticket  to  represent  this  district 
in  the  17th  session  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  is  one  of  this 
county's  most  prominent  citizens. 

Alpha  Manning,  farmer,  was  born  in  Jan.,  1812,  in  the  Province 
of  Quebec,  Canada,. came  to  the  U.  S.  in  Feb.,  1857,  and  settled 
in  this  place.  He  had  purchased  the  laud  three  years  previously; 
had  been  in  the  mercantile  business,  also  in  manfacturing  agricul- 
tural implements,  plows,  wagons,  etc.,  and  in  farming.  His  land 
here  is  thoroughly  improved,  and  is  farmed  and  owned  in  partner- 
ship with  his  son,  H.  C.  Manning.  They  own  370  acres,  all  in 
this  tp.,  with  good  residence,  barns,  etc.,  and  well  stocked.  Mr. 
Manning  was  married  in  1837  in  Canada  Bast,  to  Miss  Levina 
VanDrake,  by  whom  he  had  five  children.  Mrs.  Manning  died  in 
April,  1866,  and  lie  afterwards  married  in  May,  1807,  Mrs.  Stork, 
(nee  Van  Drake.) 

John  May,  farmer  and  stock  raiser  and  dealer.  Burr  Oak;  one 
of  the  heaviest  land  owners  and  stock  men  in  the  Co.;  come  to 
this  place  in  1868  from  W.  Va.  He  had  there  followed  business 
as  a  contractor  and  builder.  He  purchased  large  tracts  of  land, 
including  land  in  Sees.  14,  23  and  21,  in  all  about  500  acres.  The 
home  farm  is  on  Sees.  23  and  24,  and  the  buildings,  including  the 
large  and  handsome  stone  and  frame  barns,  and  an  elegant  resi- 
dence, are  in  the  village  of  Burr  Oak.     The  barns  and  buildings 

88 


606  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

used  for  stock  are  the  most  complete  and  elaborate  in  fittings 
for  their  different  purposes  of  any  in  the  Co.  They  are  well 
stocked,  and  were  erected  in  1877  at  a  cost  of  over  $7,000,  exclu- 
sive of  cost  of  labor,  and  cover  one  village  block.  The  residence, 
which  is  a  handsome  frame  structure,  is  in  the  center  of  another 
block  on  a  handsome  elevation  overlooking  the  pretty  village. 
The  farm  land  is  all  improved  and  is  operated  in  partnership  with 
his  son,  George  May,  and  his  soa-in-law,  Peter  Pfeiffer,  the  latter 
being  the  general  manager  and  overseer. 

A.  H.  Header,  Jr.,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Bluffton;  was 
born  in  Hesper  tp.,  this  Co.,  in  1853,  and  resided  with  his  parents 
on  the  farm  until  he  was  22  years  of  age;  then  came  to  this  place 
and,  in  partnership  with  S.  H.  Willetts,  now  of  Burr  Oak,  erected 
the  stone  building  he  now  occupies,  and  placed  therein  a  stock  of 
general  merchandise.      The  partnership  existed  four  years.     He 
then  bought  his  partner's  interest,  and  has  since  run  the.  same 
alone.     The  building  is  a  fine  stone  structure,  two  stories,  24x60, 
the  upper  floor  being  used  as  a  hall,  the  lower  floor  occupied  with 
a  fine  line  of  goods,  including  boots  and  shoes,  dry  goods,  grocer- 
ies, etc.     The   material  was  quarried  in  the  town,  there  being  an 
abundance  of  that  material  there.   He  was  married  in  1878  at  this 
place,  to  Miss  Fletcher,  and  they  have  two  children,  Gracie  and  Vera. 
Peter  Meyer,  P.  0,  Calmar;  farmer,  Section  33,  Calmar  tp.;  son 
of  Sebastian  and  Catharine  Meyer;    was   born  Jan.  20,  1821,  in 
Germany,  and  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1846,  stopping  in  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  about  two  years;  then  went  to  Wheeling,  W.  Va., 
and  engaged  at  work  in  a  rolling  mill  till  1854,  when  he  went  to 
Butler  Co.,  Pa.,  and  followed  farming  there.     In  1854  he  came  to 
this  Co.  and  located  on  his  present  farm,  which  now  contains  200 
acres  valued  at  $35  per  acre.     He  was  married  to  Miss  Barbara 
Schraitt  June  19,  1849.     She  was  born  in  Germany  in  1828,  and 
came  to  Pa.  in  1833.      They  have  eleven  children,  John,  Catha- 
rine, Mary,  ISicholas,  Joseph,  Peter,  Jacob,  Barbara,  Michael,  Mar- 
garet and  Louis.     Mr.  M.  and  family  are  members  of  the  Catholic 

church.  .      ^       ■ 

Peter  McCaffrey,  farmer,  Bluffton  tp.;  was  born  m  County 
Cavan,  Province  of  Ulster,  Ireland,  in  1820  and  came  to  America 
in  the  spring  of  1850;  remained  in  N.  Y.  four  years  engaged  on 
railroad  works  and  in  farming,  and  in  1854  came  to  this  place, 
being  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers.  He  took  the  claim  he  now 
owns  after  he  had  been  here  a  year  or  two;  has  thoroughly  im- 
proved the  same,  and  now  owns  240  acres  in  Sections  11  and  12, 
125  acres  under  cultivation  and  thoroughly  improved,  and  the  bal- 
ance second-growth  timber.  The  farm  is  well  stocked,  has  a  good 
residence,  barns,  ets.  Mr.  McCaffrey  has  been  one  of  the  tp. 
trustees  several  years.  He  married  in  1861,  at  Decorah,  Miss 
Mary  Brady,  and  has  ten  children,  Elizabeth,  John,  Rossana,  Mar- 
garet, Ellen,  Esther,  James,  Josephene,  Clement  and  Catherine. 


•      WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  C07 

Capt.  1.  N.  Morrill,  express  af^ent,  was  born  in  Vfc.  in  1833;  his 
parents,  John  aud  Betsy  Pillsbnry  Morrill,  are  both  natives  of 
New  England.  He  removed  with  them  to  Ohio  when  12  years  of 
age,  and  to  Clayton  Co.,  lo.,  in  1856.  In  May.  1857,  ho  went  to 
Austin,  Minn.,  and  in  1861  enlisted  in  Co.  K,  4th  Minn.  Inf. 
When  the  company  was  mustered  in  he  was  made  first  sergeant, 
but  being  a  good  soldier  and  commander,  he  rose  from  rank  to 
rank,  so  that  by  January  10,  186-1,  he  was  commissioned  captain. 
He  was  mustered  out  of  service  December  22,  1861.  Capt.  Mor- 
rill participated  Avith  honor  in  the  following  battles;  siege  or  Cor- 
inth, luka,  Corinth,  Forty  Hills,  Raymond,  Jackson,  Champion 
Hills,  assault  of  Vicksburg,  Allaloona  and  siege  of  Savanah,  In 
his  discharge  he  is  spoken  of  as  gentlemanly,  brave  in  action, 
prompt  in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  and  courteous  to  all, 
Capt.  Morrill,  while  in  the  U.  S.  service,  purchased  an  interest  in 
a  mercantile  business  at  McGregor,  and  held  the  same  until  1866. 
He  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  Merchants  Union  Express  Co., 
and  two  years  later  the  U.  S.  Express  Co.,  and  has  since  been  in 
their  employ.  He  has  had  charge  of  the  office  at  Decorah  since 
1880.  The  captain  was  married  at  West  Union,  lo.,  in  January, 
1857,  to  Miss  Mary  F.  Germond;  they  have  one  son,  Harry. 

C.  E.  Meader  was  born  in  Ripley  Co.,  Ind.,  in  1839.  In  1849 
the  family  came  to  lo.,  and  in  the  spring  of  1850  located  on  Sec. 
10,  Hesper  tp.,  Winneshiek  Co.,  where  the  parents  still  resides 
Here  the  subject  of  this  sketch  helped  till  the  soil  until  August, 
1861,  at  which  time  he  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  9th  lo.  Inf.,  and  served 
until  Jan.,  1865.  He  then  returned  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  for 
several  years  was  engaged  in  various  employments,  such  as  keep- 
ing books,  etc.,  etc.  From  1875  to  1879  he  had  a  one-half  inter- 
est in  the  Bluffton  Mills,  and  since  1878  has  been  deputy  county 
treasurer.  Mr.  Meader  was  married  in  1867  to  Miss  Rosa  F. 
Blackmer,  and  they  now  have  three  children. 

F.  H.  Merrill  was  born  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  April  13,  1848,  his 
parents  being  Farnum  and  Elizabeth  Remington  Merrill,  the  for- 
mer a  native  of  N.  H.,  and  a  brother  of  S.  S.  Merrill,  general 
manager  of  the  C.  M.  and  St.  P.  R.  R.  Co.  F.  H.  Merrill  received 
an  academic  education,  and  subsequently  clerked  for  his  brother, 
A.  W.  Merrill,  at  Lawrence,  Mass.  In  1871  he  went  to  Milwau- 
kee, and  commenced  railroading.  First  he  served  as  bill  clerk, 
next  as  receipting  clerk  for  the  Prairie  du  Chien  division,  and  sub- 
sequently for  three  years  had  charge  of  the  freight  on  the  north- 
ern division.  Mr.  Merriirs  health  having  somewhat  failed  him, 
he  next  spent  several  years  without  being  engaged  in  any  steady 
employment.  During  this  time  he  took  a  sea  voyage  of  about 
eighteen  months,  traveled  in  different  parts  of  the  U.  S.,  and  at 
different  intervals  served  the  C.  M.  and  St.  P.  Co.,  surveying,  run- 
ning baggage,  handling  wood  and  ties,  etc.,  etc.  In  July,  1879, 
he  came  to  Decorah,  and  has  since  had  charge  of  the  station  as 


608  WINIfESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

agent.  Mr.  Merrill  is  a  member  of  the  Beauseaunt'  commaiuler^^ 
and  a  gentleman  who  has  the  highest  respect  of  all  who  know 
him. 

J.  J.  Marsh,  dealer  in  agricultural  implements  and  machinery, 
and  one  of  the  most  successful  business  men  in  Decorah,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Onondaga  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  was  born  in  1837.  AVhen  he 
was  eight  3'ears  of  age,  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Lake  Co., 
111.  Here  he  helped  till  the  soil  until  1853;  he  then  learned 
wagon  and  carriage  making  at  Waukegan.  He  subsequently, 
with  several  youug  men  started  for  Pike's  Peak,  but  upon  reach- 
ing the  Missouri  river,  they  found  that  the  tide  of  immigration 
was  toward  the  east.  The  party  therefore  disbanded,  and  Mr. 
Marsh  returned  to  Antioch,  111.  In  1860  he  went  to  Pike's  Peak, 
spent  what  money  he  had,  and  returned  to  111.  in  the  fall.  In 
1861  he  located  at  Decorah  with  but  very  little  money,  and 
scarcely  enough  household  furniture  necessary  for  housekeeping. 
But  Mr.  Marsh,  being  an  industrious  man,  immediately  formed  a 
partnership  with  Mr.  Greer,  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
plows,  fanning  mills,  etc.,  and  continued  the  same  until  1863, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  in  his  present  business,  and  has  met 
with  glowing  success.  His  sales  have  exceeded  §100,000  annually. 
Mr.  Marsh  resides  in  West  Decorah,  where  he  has  a  home  supplied 
with  all  the  requirements  of  the  best  social  life.  He  was  married 
in  1859  to  Miss  Addie  Maltbey;  they  have  four  children,  Willis 
C,  Grace,  Susie  and  Jo. 

J.  H.  Mackenstadt  was  bom  at  Deapholtz,  Germany,  in  1841. 

At  the  age  of  14  he  went  to  the  city  of  B ,  where  he  served  a 

four  years  apprenticeship  to  learn  the  tailor's  trade.  In  the 
spring  of  1861  he  came  to  the  U.  S.,  and  stopped  for  a  few  months 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  then  came  to  Decorah  and  has 
since  been  in  business  as  merchant  tailor.  Mr.  Mackenstadt,  in 
August,  1864,  married  Miss  Janette  Stephens;  they  have  four 
children. 

J.  G.  Morss  is  a  native  of  N.  H.,  and  was  born  in  1812,  his 
father  being  Benj.  Morss,  and  his  mother  Elizabeth  Berry  Morss, 
who  had  one  son  by  her  first  marriage,  this  son  beiug  Hon.  Na- 
thaniel S.  Berry,  ex-Governor  of  N.  H.  and  now  a  resident  of 
Milwaukee,  Wis.  J.  G.  Morss,  at  the  age  of  19,  commenced  the 
study  of  law,  and  in  1838  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Ohio.  He 
then  gave  his  entire  attention  to  the  legal  profession  in  said  state, 
until  1866,  and  met  with  marked  success.  He  then  came  to  De- 
corah. Here  he  continued  the  law  practice,  being  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Morss  &  Brown  until  he  retired  from  practice.  He 
now  deals  in  real  estate,  loans  money,  buys  notes,  etc.     Mr.  Morss 

was  married  in  1835  to  Harriet  S ,  and  they  now  have  three 

children,  Emalissa,  now  Mrs  B.  B.  Greene;  Edward  B.  and  Helen, 
now  Mrs.  W.  W.  Leavitt.  Mr.  Morss  has  been  city  mayor  and 
city  attorney. 


WIXNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  609 

Helga  N.  Myraiid,  P.  0.  Rido^ewav;  farmer  Sec.  8,  Madison  tp.; 
owns  a  farm  of  260  acres  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Jan- 
uary, 1825,  in  Norway;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1S41  with  his  mother, 
his  father  having  previously  died  in  Norway.  They  first  located 
in  Waukesha  Co.,  Wis.,  where  they  remained  till  1851,  when  they 
came  to  this  Co.  His  mother  died  here  in  1862.  He  was  married 
to  Miss  Matilda  Thompson  in  1855;  they  have  ten  children.  Nel- 
son, Thomas,  John,  Henry,  Torge,  Caroline,  Anna,  Isabel  H., 
Tilda  and  Enjrie  B.  Mr.  Myrand  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 

J.  W.  Mott,  P.  0.  Decorah;  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Benedict 
&  Mott,  proprietors  of  Trout  Run  mills;  was  born  in  Me.  in  1847; 
parents  immigrated  to  lo.  in  1856,  locating  in  Canoe  tp.,  this  Co. 
In  1870  he  purchased  a  half  interest  in  these  mills,  which  were 
erected  in  1865.  They  contain  four  run  of  buhra,  and  have  a 
capacity  of  50  barrels  per  day.  He  married  Bertha  Christian ;  their 
children  are  Roy,  Wallace  and  Walter. 

J.  D.  McKay,  farmer,  was  born  near  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  in  1815; 
received  his  education  at  the  Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary  at  Lima, 
N.  Y.;  studied  law,  read  under  James  Butler,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  In  1851  he  came  to  lo.  and  settled  in  Frankville  tp.,  this 
Co.,  where  he  now  resides;  bought  at  that  time,  in  partnership 
with  his  brother,  1,200  acres  of  land  in  this  tp.  and  300  acres  in 
Allamakee  Co.  In  1852  he  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law 
here;  was  examined  under  Judge  Thos.  F.  Wilson,  of  Dubuque, 
and  has  continued  in  the  profession  ever  since,  and  still  attends 
cases  in  court,  as  well  as  attending  to  his  farming  interests.  He 
has  now  only  one  quarter  section,  having  disposed  of  the  rest  of 
the  farm.  Mr.  McKay's  farm  is  excellently  adapted  for  a  dairy 
and  stock  farm,  and  has  some  excellent  grades  of  cattle,  princi- 
pally Durhams.  He  was  married  in  1836  to  Julia  Stone,  in  N.  Y., 
who  died  in  March,  1864,  leaving  five  children.  In  April,  1865, 
he  married  Catharine  C.  Todd,  by  whom  he  has  three  children. 
Two  sons  enlisted  in  the  late  war.  Fitz  James  McKay,  editor  of 
the  Star  of  the  West,  at  New  Oregon,  Howard  Co.,  lo.,  closed  his 
office  at  the  opening  of  the  war,  enlisted  and  served  through  the 
greater  portion,  and  died  in  Camp  Franklyn.  G.  W.  McKay 
served  through  the  war  and  was  discharged  at  Little  Rock,  Ark., 
at  the  termination  of  hostilities. 

M.  H.  Merrill,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer.  Sec.  9;  son  of  Bethel 
and  Polly  Merrill;  was  born  in  Oneida  Co..  N.  \ .,  in  1830,  where 
he  remained  until  1855,  when  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  Hard- 
iman,  and  the  same  3'ear  started  to  look  for  a  home  in  the  far 
west.  Being  favorably  impressed  with  the  location  of  Decorah, 
it  being  then  a  very  small  town,  he  located  there,  and  engaged  in 
the  lumber  and  grain  business,  which  he  continued  until  1868,  when 
he  purchased  his  present  farm  of  175  acres,  which  is  very  pleas- 
antly  situated  three-fourths   of  a  mile   north  of  West   Decorah, 


610  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

and  is  wor^h  from  $7,000  to  $8,000.  Since  moving  on  his  farm, 
Mr.  M.  has  been  engaged  in  pork  packing  during  winters  in  De- 
corah,  and  attending  to  the  duties  of  the  farm  during  summers. 
His  children  are  Charles  M.,  Nettie,  Lamotte  and  William. 

Ezekiel  E.  Meeder,  farmer,  resides  near  the  village  of  Hesper; 
was  born  in  1814  in  Maine;  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business 
until  the  fall  of  1837;  then  went  to  Ripley  Co.,  Ind.,  and  worked 
at  the  trade  of  carpenter;  remained  there  thirteen  years,  and  in 
the  fall  of  1850  came  to  lo.;  lived  the  first  winter  in  Allamakee 
Co.,  and  during  the  winter,  with  a  man  named  Frazier,  came  to 
Winneshiek  Co.,  and  they  cut  logs  for  buildings,  which  they 
erected  the  following  spring  on  places  which  they  had  selected. 
Having  the  material  ready,  they  managed  to  find  help  enough 
within  a  radius  of  eight  miles,  to  raise  the  logs,  and  in  the  same 
winter  moved  their  families;  with  the  help  of  those  who  moved 
their  goods,  they  finished  the  buildings  sufficiently  well  to  give 
better  shelter  by  putting  in  the  rough  roofs  and  cutting  doors, 
etc.  That  winter's  experience  was  a  rough  one;  no  neighbors  for 
miles  around,  and  hard  weather,  leaky  houses,  plenty  of  Indians — 
not  dangerous,  but  very  disagreeable.  They  did  not  purchase  land 
until  two  years  later,  as  land  was  not  in  the  market,  and  was  not 
surveyed.  Game  was  plenty;  lots  of  deer,  a  few  elk  and  partridges 
and  prairie  chickens  in  abundance.  In  June,  1853,  land  came  in- 
to the  market,  and  he  purchased  1,000  acres  at  a  little  less  than 
government  prices,  as  he  paid  in  warrants.  He  improved  the  same, 
and  farmed  it  all  for  several  years  with  the  aid  of  his  sons;  has 
since  sold  170  acres,  and  the  balance  divided  among  his  children, 
reserving  only  360  acres  adjoining  the  town.  Mr.  M.  also  owns 
40  acres  adjoining  Chicago,  on  what  is  known  as  Washington 
Heights.  He  was  married  in  1836  in  Maine  to  Miss  Lvdia  Ann 
Felker,  and  they  have  seven  children,  six  sons  and  one  daughter. 

Charles  McClintock,  farmer,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  in 
1824.  In  1835  his  parents  moved  to  northern  Ind.,  where  he  also 
remained  until  their  death.  He  then  returned  to  Philadelphia, 
and  was  in  mercantile  business  there,  and  also  worked  at  his  trade, 
which  is  that  of  a  carpenter,  until  1851;  he  spent  that  year  on  the 
lakes  in  the  employ  of  the  government.  In  the  following  year  he 
came  to  this  Co.  and  settled  and  bought  land  a  mile  north  of  where 
ha  now  resides;  that  place  he  sold  and  bought  the  present  farm  in 
1869,  which  contains  100  acres  of  good,  tillable  land;  he  also 
owns  40  acres  in  Allamakee  Co.  He  was  married  in  1856  in  Frank- 
ville  tp.  to  Miss  Nancy  Hawks;  they  have  eight  children. 

A.  H.  Meeder,  farmer,  was  born  in  Ind.  in  1846,  and  is  a  son  of 
E,  E.  and  Lydia  Meeder.  When  he  became  of  age  his  father  gave 
him  the  80  acres  he  resides  on,  and  he  has  thoroughly  improved 
the  same,  and  has  since  bought  55  acres  more,  which  is  all  fine  ^ 
tillable  land,  located  on  what  is  known  as  Looking  Glass  Prairie. 
He  has  a  fine  residence  and  farm  buildings,  every  arrangement  for 


WII^-NESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  611 

comfort  and  convenience,  and  has  his  farm  well  stocked.  He  was 
married  in  1868  in  this  tp.  to  Miss  Abbie  Lamb,  and  they  have 
two  children. 

E.  R.  Miller,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  Sec.  36;  son  of  Wm.P. 
and  Chloe  Howard  Miller;  was  born  Dec.  16, 1817,  in  Clinton  Co., 
N.  Y.;  parents  immigrated  the  following  year  to  Clayton  Co.,  lo., 
in  1871  he  v/ent  to  Lime  Springs,  Howard  Co.,  and  engaged  in  the 
livery  business.  On  the  3d  of  July,  1873,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
A.  L.  Gibbs,  a  native  of  Essex  Co.,  N.  Y.  In  1874  he  sold  his 
livery  stable,  purchased  a  farm  and  engaged  in  farming  till,  in  1877, 
he  sold  out  and  moved  to  Lime  Springs  again.  In  1878  he  moved 
upon  his  present  farm  of  200  acres  valued  at  84:0  per  acre.  His 
children  are  Charles  S.,  Edward  A.,  Abbie  C,  Freddie  W.  and 
Estella  M.  He  has  lost  by  death  one  son,  William.  Mr.  M.  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church. 

William  McLean,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer.  Sec.  34,  Canoe  tp.; 
son.  of  John  and  Mary  Adams  McLean ;  born  March  22,  1837,  in 
Wayne  Co.,  N.  Y.  In  1848  he  came  with  his  parents  to  McHenry 
Co.,  111.,  where  he  remained  till  1858,  when  he  came  to  this  Co., 
and  in  1861  purchased  a  part  of  his  present  farm,  which  now  con- 
sists of  108  acres.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Lovina  Bulger  Dec. 
25,  1860;  their  children  are  George  F.,  Clarence  E.,  Nettie,  Wil- 
liam and  Theodore.  Mr.  M.  also  served  in  the  13th  lo.  Inf.  from 
the  fall  of  1864  till  July,  1865. 

William  Mcintosh,  P.  0. Decorah;  farmer.  Sec.  14,  Madison  tp.; 
owns  a  farm  of  200  acres;  son  of  James  and  Jennette  Mcintosh; 
born  Jan.  15,  1830,  in  t!olumbiana  Co.,  Ohio,  where  he  remained 
till  the  spring  of  1855,  when  he  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  since 
which  time  this  has  been  his  home,  with  the  exception  of  two 
years  in  Tama  Co.,  lo.,  where  he  was  engaged  in  running  a  saw 
mill.  Being  burned  out  he  returned  to  this  Co.  He  served  in  Co. 
H,  13th  lo.  Inf.,  from  the  fall  of  1864  till  July,  1865.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  C.  Crawford,  Dec.  24,  1862;  they  have  two 
children,  Mary  J.  and  .lohn  A.  J.;  they  have  lost  three,  John, 
Mary  J.  and  Addie  J.  Mr.  Mcintosh  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F. 
and  A.  M. 

Samuel  McMullen,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  Sec.  19,  Canoe  tp.; 
son  of  Robert  and  Martha  McMullen,  natives  of  Ireland;  wa^ 
born  Feb.  28th,  1849,  in  McHenry  Co.,  111.,  his  parents  moving 
from  there  to  this  Co.  in  1853,  locating  on  the  farm  upon  which 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  resides.  His  father  died  Jan.  10, 1879. 
The  homestead  contains  180  acres  valued  at  825  per  acre,  of  which 
he  has  charge.  His  brother,  James  McMullen,  on  Sec.  18,  of 
same  tp.,  owns  95  acres  of  land  valued  at  825  per  acre;  was  born 
in  McHenry  Co.,  III.,  and  came  to  this  Co.  with  the  rest  of  the 
family.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Clara  Wilson,  April  26,  1866; 
they  have  five  children,  Robert  H.,  Lucy,  Lutetia,  Leroy  and 
Bessie. 


612  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

C.  0.  Maltby,  P.  0.  Decorali;  farmer,  Sec.  33,  Canoe  tp.;  son 
of  Alanson  F.  and  Susan  Burdick  Maltby,  was  born  May  15,  1838, 
in  Portland  Co.,  N.  Y.;  his  parents  moved  to  Kenosha  Co.,  Wis., 
in  1843,  and  in  1849  to  Lake  Co.,  111.,  where  he  remained  till  the 
breaking  out  of  the  rebellion  in  1861,  In  Aug.  of  that  year  he 
enlisted  in  Co.  F,  37th  111.  Inf.,  participated  at  the  seige  and  cap- 
ture of  Vicksburg,  also  at  Pleasant  Hill,  La.,  and  most  of  the 
battles  in  which  his  company  Avere  engaged;  was  mustered  out  at 
Chicago,  111.,  in  Sept.,  1864,  and  the  same  fall  came  to  Allamakee 
Co.,  and  located  two  miles  north  of  Waukon.  In  Feb.,  1870,  he 
moved  on  to  his  present  farm,  which  now  contains  145  acres, 
worth  §45  per  acre.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  R.  Gilbert 
May  22,  1859;  she  was  also  a  native  of  N.  Y.  Their  children'are 
Frank  G.  and  Fanny  R.  Mr.  M.  has  served  as  assessor  of  his  tp. 
for  eight  years. 

James  Marlow,  P.  0.  Decorah;  retired  farmer;  was  born  in  Knox 
Co.,  Ohio;  was  reared  upon  a  farm,  receiving  his  early  education 
at  the  district  schools,  and  when  a  youug  man  commenced  teach- 
ing in  the  common  schools,  which  he  followed  several  winters,  at- 
tending to  farming  during  the  summers;  was  also  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business  two  years.  Farming  and  out  door  exercise  being 
more  congenial  to  him,  he  abandoned  merchandising,  and  devoted 
his  attention  to  farming,  buying  and  dealing  in  stock,  etc.  He 
was  married  to  MissLorena  White,  in  Ohio,  in  1864,  and  the  same 
year  came  to  this  Co.,  locating  in  Canoe  tp.,  where  he  still  owns 
about  700  acres,  and  elsewhere  about  300  acres,  besides  a  hand- 
some residence,  where  he  lives  in  Decorah,  valued  at  $6,000.  His 
wife  died  Dec.  26,  1877,  leaving  four  children;  their  names  are 
James  W.,  John  A.,  Daisy  L.  and  Ellen  F.  L. 

W^illiam  Marlow,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer.  Sec.  18,  Canoe  tp.; 
was  born  July  1,  1817,  in  Ohio  Co.,  W^.  Va.;  his  parents,  John  and 
Elizabeth  Marlow,  moved  to  Knox  Co.,  Ohio,  when  he  was  quite 
young.  In  1848  he  went  into  Wyandotte  Co.;  while  there  took 
up  the  study  of  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar;  followed  the 
practice  of  his  profession  to  some  extent,  also  served  as  sheriff  of 
the  Co.  four  years;  immigrated  to  this  Co.  in  1865,  and  located  on 
his  present  farm,  which  now  contains  200  acres,  valued  at  §50  per 
acre.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Anderson,  of  Wyandotte 
Co.,  Ohio,  in  1862.  They  have  two  daughters,  Emma  E.  and  Es- 
tella.     Mr.  M.  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

E.  G.  Marlow,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer.  Sec.  28,  Canoe  tp.;  son  of 
John  and  Elizabeth  Headington  Marlow;  was  born  June  1,  1826, 
in  Knox  Co.,  Ohio.  In  1848  he  went  to  Wyandotte  Co.,  of  the 
same  state,  and  engaged  in  general  merchandising  at  Crawfords- 
ville  for  nearly  five  years,  after  which  he  engaged  in  farming,  buy- 
ing and  selling  stock,  etc.  In  the  fall  of  1857  he  immigrated  to 
Winneshiek  Co.,  locating  in  Canoe  tp.  In  1859  he  purchased  a 
part  of  his  present  farm,  now    owning   368   acres,  upon  which  he 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  613 

has  first-class  improvements,  and  makes  a  specialty  of  fine  stock, 
thoroughbred  horses,  etc.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Martha  A. 
Clark,  of  Ohio,  March  li,  1852;  they  have  three  children,  Jose- 
phine, Elnora  and  Charley,  and  have  lost  two  by  death,  John  S. 
and  Chaiincey. 

P.  H.  Mills,  dealer  in  grain  and  live  stock,  was  born  in  Orange 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1825.  He  came  west  in  1816,  and  located  at  White- 
water, Wis.,  where  he  remained  until  1867,  when  he  came  to 
Ossian  and  engaged  in  the  grain  business.  In  1871  he,  in  connec- 
tion with  Bassett,  Hunting  &  Co.,  built  their  large  elevator.  Mr. 
Mills  was  appointed  postmaster  under  President  Grant's  adminis- 
tration, and  still  holds  the  office.  He  married  S.  E.  Jennings,  a 
native  of  N.  Y.,  and  has  two  children,  Charles  J.  and  Frank. 

L.  A.  Meyer,  of  the  firm  of  Meyer  &  Carter,  was  born  in  this 
Co.  in  1852.  He  is  a  son  of  Andrew  Meyer,  a  native  of  Germany, 
who  came  to  this  country  in  1836.  L.  A.  Meyer  engaged  as  clerk 
with  McHenry  &  Allison  of  Decorah,in  1871;  remained  two  years, 
then  engaged  with  P.  Olson  of  Calmar,  and  after  two  years  became 
bookkeeper  for  W,  J.  Cremer,  dealer  in  agricultural  implements. 
He  was  engaged  in  the  insurance  business  for  one  year  previous 
to  entering  his  present  partnership.  He  married  Caioliue  Holt- 
hous,  a  native  of  this  county. 

Miller,  Giesing  &  Co.,  manufacturers  of  wagons  and  sleighs, 
dealers  in  wagonmakers'  and  blacksmiths'  stock,  and  agents  for 
McCormick's  and  other  firat-class  farm  implements;  established 
business  in  1865.  H.  Miller,  of  the  above  firm,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many in  1839.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  America  in  1843,  and 
settled  in  N.  Y.,  where  he  lived  twenty-two  years;  then  came  to 
Calmar.  He  was  engaged  in  business  at  Conoverfor  a  short  time. 
He  married  Eliza  Hintermann,  a  native  of  Switzerland,  and  has 
six  children  by  a  former  marriage,  Lizzie,  Clara,  Rudy,  Emma, 
Minnie  and  William;  and  two  by  the  present  marriage,  Elsie  and 
an  infant. 

Meyer  &  Dostal,  dealers  in  general  merchandise,  established 
business  in  1878.  Jacob  Meyer,  of  the  above  firm,  was  born  in. 
Switzerland  in  1845.  He  came  to  America  in  1866  and  settled  in 
Calmar;  has  since  been  engaged  in  business  at  Spillville,  where  he 
remained  seven  years.  He  married  Bertha  Bindschaedler,  a  native 
of  Switzerland.  They  have  four  children,  Gustave  A.,  Carl,  Jacob 
and  Louise.  A.  Dostal,  of  the  above  firm,  was  born  in  Austria  in 
1845.  He  came  to  America  in  1855,  and  located  at  Davenport,  To. 
After  two  years  he  came  to  this  Co.  and  was  engaged  in  business 
at  Spillville  previous  to  coming  to  Calmar.  He  married  Barbara 
Slepicka,  also  a  native  of  Austria,  and  has  one  child,  Emma  Mary. 

Miller  Bros.,  livery  and  feed  stable.  H.  L.  Miller,  the  senior 
member,  was  born  in  Sullivan  Co.,  N.  Y.,  1849;  came  to  lo.  in 
1870,  and  located  in  Calmar.  The  first  four  years  he  worked  at 
his  trade,  blacksmithing,  and  in  1874  established  his  present  busi- 


614  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

ness.  He  married  Katie  Miller,  a  native  of  St.  Louis;  they  have 
two  children,  George  Lewis  and  Frank  Adam.  Geo.  Miller,  junior 
member  of  the  above  firm,  was  born  in  the  same  county  in  N.  Y., 
in  1852;  he  also  came  to  Calmar  in  1870.  He  married  Annie 
Lockman,  a  native  of  Germany;  they  have  three  children,  Ger- 
trude, Ida  and  Matilda. 

J.C.Mcintosh,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  Sec.  27,  Madison  tp.; 
owns  200  acres  of  "land  valued  at  $40  per  acre;  was  born  in  Octor 
her,  1836,  in  Columbiana  Co.,  Ohio,  and  came  with  his  parents  to 
this  Co.  in  1855,  locating  in  this  tp.  In  December,  1862,  he  en- 
listed in  Co.  B,  6th  lo.  Cav.;  their  service  was  in  the  northwest 
frontier  against  the  Indians.  He  was  mustered  out  at  Sioux  City 
in  October,  1865.  Mr.  Mcintosh  was  married  to  Mrs.  Carrie  A. 
Mitchell,  whose  maiden  name  was  Murray,  April  10, 1866,  and  the 
same  fall  moved  to  Orleans  tp.,  remaining  till  in  January,  1876, 
when  he  moved  to  his  present  farm.  They  have  six  children,  Ma- 
rion B.,  James  S.,  Jennette  E.,  Alexander  H.,  Myra  B.  and  Cle- 
ment H.  Mr.  Mcintosh  has  served  as  trustee  of  the  tp.,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Peter  Morton,  farmer.  Sec.  13;  has  240  acres  of  land  valued  at 
$40  per  acre;  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1836;  is  the  second  son  of 
John  and  Jane  Morton.  When  he  was  eight  years  old  his  parents 
came  to  America,  and  settled  in  Cataraugus  Co.  N.  Y.  In  1862 
Mr.  Morton  came  west  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  lo.,  and 
since  that  time  has  made  that  his  home.  He  was  married  in  1862 
to  Miss  Harriet  Cooley,  a  native  of  Conn.,  and  has  three  children, 
William,  Claude  and  Laura.  He  has  been  tp.  trustee  and  assessor 
several  terms,  and  tp.  collector,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the 
board  of  supervisors. 

A.  McMillan,  furniture  and  undertaking,  and  justice  of  the 
peace.  Fort  Atkinson;  was  born  in  Glengary  Co.,  Upper  Canada 
in  1834.  In  1857  he  came  to  the  U.  S.,  and  located  at  Fort  At- 
kinson, there  being  here  at  that  time  only  the  fort  and  govern- 
ment buildings.  He  erected  a  flouring  mill  for  Messrs.  Tinkle  & 
Clark,  when  he  first  came,  and  then  established  business  as  carpen- 
ter and  builder.  In  1874  he  also  established  the  furniture  and 
undertaking  business,  which  he  conducts  on  Main  street;  owns 
the  building,  and  carries  a  complete  stock  of  furniture  and  under- 
taker's goods.  In  1879  he  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace  to 
fill  vacancy,  and  was  elected  at  the  regular  election  of  1880  on  the 
Republican  ticket.  He  is  the  pioneer  business  man  here.  Mr. 
McMillan  was  married  in  1860  at  this  place  to  Miss  Etta  Burns, 
and  has  two  children,  Mary  and  Maggie. 

Holsten  Nelson,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer.  Sec.  4,  Springfield  tp.; 
was  born  in  Norway,  Jan.  25,  1831,  and  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in 
1850,  stopping  at  Port  Washington, Wis.;  engaged  in  the  lumbering 
business  there,  and  near  Grand  Haven,  Mich.,  until  the  fall  of  1855. 
He  came  to  this  Co.  and   located   on   his    present  farm  in    1862, 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  615 

■which  now  contains  245  acres,  well  improved  and  with  good 
buildings.  Mr.  Nelson  was  married  to  Miss  Rangnild  Gudman- 
son,  in  Sept.,  1853;  they  have  ten  children,  Nels  A.,  Andrew  A., 
Cecil,  Betsey,  Ole,  Isaac,  Clara,  AdaC,  and  Alice  A.;  lost  two,  Ed- 
win and  Amelia.  Mr,  N.  has  served  as  trustee  of  this  tp.,  and  is 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Torgui  Nelson,  farmer,  was  bornj  in  Eastern  Norway  in  1847; 
came  with  his  parents  to  this  country  in  1850;  they  settled  in 
Dane  Co.;  Wis.,  and  resided  there  four  years;  then  came  to  lo., 
and  settled  in  Madison  tp.,  this  Co.,  where  they  still  reside.  In 
1872  he  left  home,  then  came  to  Bluffton  tp.,  and  two  years 
later  bought  the  land  he  now  resides  on,  there  being  160  acres  on 
Sec.  20,  all  improved  and  under  fence,  good  residence,  etc.,  and 
well  stocked.  He  also  owns  20  acres  of  timber  on  Sec.  2.  He 
married  in  1872,  in  this  tp.  Miss  Caroline  Christen,  and  has  three 
children  living,  Stella,  Theresa  and  Jessie  Nellie.  They  lost  two 
boys  by  death,  Joseph  Salve,  aged  eight  months,  and  Charles 
Theodore,  aged  one  year. 

Frank  Nockels,  proprietor  of  the  brewery  at  Spillville,  was  born 
in  Luxemburg,  Germany,  Aug.  26,  1838;  there  learned  the  brew- 
ing business,  and  in  1863  came  to  the  U.  S.,  and  located  at  Dubu- 
que, where  he  was  employed  in  a  brewery.  In  1865  he  went  to 
Cascade,  where  he  remained  one  year;  thence  to  Festine,  where  he 
was  employed  by  Mr.  Gardner,  until  Oct.,  1867;  then  came  to 
Spillville  and  rented  his  present  brewery  for  one  year.  He  again 
went  to  Festine,  and  in  company  with  Mr.  Gardner,  purchased  a 
brewery,  which  they  conducted  until  Jan.,  1872,  when  Mr.  N. 
came  back  to  Spillville  and  purchased  his  present  brewery  which, 
was  burned  in  1878  and  rebuilt  the  year  following.  In  1866  he 
was  married  to  Caroline  Badke,  and  has  six  children  living,  Anna, 
Peter,  Matilda,  George,  Frank  and  Joseph;  they  have  lost  two  by 
death,  Willie  and  Frank.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Donald  Noble  is  a  native  of  Scotland,  born  in  1835,  his  parents 
being  William  and  J.  Kennedy  Noble,  who  emigrated  to  the  U. 
S.  in  1851,  and  lived  in  Ohio  until  1855,  in  which  year  they  set- 
tled in  Winneshiek  Co.  Donald  Noble  learned  the  trade  of  har- 
ness making  in  Pittsburg,  Penn.,  and  in  1862  established  business 
in  Decorah,  and  has  since  continued  the  same.  He  has  also  been  a 
member  of  the  hardware  firm  of  Finn  &  Noble  since,  March,  1881. 
Mr.  Noble  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Proper  in  1864. 

L.  F.  Nelson  was  born  in  Norway  in  1848,  came  with  his  par- 
ents to  theU.  S.  in  1856,  and  in  1858  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  locating 
in  Glenwood  tp.  In  the  fall  of  1861  he  enlisted  in  Co,  H,  13th 
U.  S.  Inf.,  and  served  five  years  and  two  months.  He  then  came 
to  Decorah  and  clerked  in  the  postofiice  nearly  four  years,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  doing  a  grocery  business.  Mr,  Nelson 
was  married  in  1872  to  Miss  Hannah  D,  Drew,  The  children  are 
Emma,  Agues,  Charley  and  Louise. 


616  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

Ole  W.  Nelson,  farmer,  was  born  in  Bergen,  Norway,  in  1833; 
came  to  this  country  with  his  parents  in  1843;  his  father  died  in 
N.  Y.,  three  days  after  they  hmded.  The  rest  then  came  on  west 
as  far  as  Chicago,  being  detained  there  several  weeks  on  account 
of  sickness.  Another  member  of  the  family,  a  little  sister,  died; 
they  then  went  to  Dane  Co.,  Wis.,  lived  there  eleven  years,  farm- 
ing; then  came  to  lo.,  locating  first  in  Conover  tp.,  this  Co.; 
bought  land  and  farmed  there  eleven  years;  then  sold  out  and 
moved  to  Hesper  tp.  and  bought  the  place  they  now  live  on.  It 
was  partially  improved,  and  is  now  thoroughly  improved.  He 
built  a  fine  residence  and  good  farm  buildings,  and  has  the  farm 
well  stocked.  He  has  filled  many  offices  in  the  tp.,  is  one  of  its 
leading  citizens  and  most  prominent  men.  Mr.  Nelson  was  mar- 
ried in  185  J:  in  Madison  tp.,  to  Miss  Aslang  Evanson,  and  they 
have  one  child,  a  daughter,  living,  and  four  children  deceased. 
His  mother  still  resides  with  him. 

Andrew  D.  Nelson,  faimer,  owns  and  resides  on  142  acres.  Sec. 
14,  Hesper  tp.,  30  acres  of  which  is  timber.  Mr.  Nelson  was  born 
in  Norway  in  1829,  and  was  a  farm  laborer.  He  came  to  America 
in  1854;  settled  first  in  Lisbon,  Kendall  Co.,  111.,  and  lived  there 
one  year;  then  came  to  this  Co.  and  bought  land  one  mile  east  of 
this,  and  cleared  it  of  timber;  sold  it  and  bought,  in  1868,  the 
farm  he  now  lives  on;  has  thoroughly  improved  it,  built  a  fine 
large  stone  residence  and  barn,  there  being  four  very  fine  quarries 
on  his  farm,  from  which  he  obtained  the  material.  His  farm  is 
well  stocked  with  good  grade  cattle,  horses,  etc.  He  was  married 
in  1857  in  this  Co.  to  Miss  Anna  Nicholson;  they  have  eight 
children. 

Jacob  Nelson,  P.  0.  Ridge  way;  farmer.  Sec.  17,  Madison  tp.; 
owns  240  acres  of  land  valued  at  $35  per  acre;  was  born  Novem- 
ber 8,  1817,  in  Norway,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1850,  and  located  in 
Dane  Co.,  Wis.  In  1854  he  came  to  this  Co.  He  was  married 
to  Miss  Thea  Torgerson  in  Norway  in  1842;  she  died  in  1862,  and 
he  was  again  married,  to  Betsy  Erickson,  in  1865.  His  children 
by  the  first  marriage  are  Anna,  Mary,  Torger,  Nels,  Helen,  Jacob 
and  John  H.,  and  by  the  second  marriage,  Theodore,  Thea,  Anton, 
Lewis  and  Albert.  They  have  lost  by  death  two  infants.  Mr. 
Nelson  has  served  as  trustee  and  assessor  of  his  tp.,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  church. 

James  Noble,  P.  0.  Conover;  Sec.  4,  Calmar  tp. ;  owns,  in  com- 
pany with  his  brother  John,  365  acres  of  land  valued  at  |30  per 
acre;  was  born  Feb.  14,  1846,  in  Invernesshire,  Scotland;  his  par- 
ents, William  and  .Jemima  Noble,  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1851,  first 
locating  in  Columbiana  Co.,  Ohio,  from  which  place  they  came  to 
this  Co.  in  1855,  locating  upon  the  land  now  owned  by  the  broth- 
ers. Their  father  died  Aug.  7,  1870,  and  mother,  Jan.  29,  1877. 
James  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  Hindermann  May  16,  1878;  she 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   15I0GRAPHIES.  617 

was  born  in  Switzerland;  they  have  two  children,  William  and  an 
infant.  John  Noble  was  born  in  Aug.,  1838,  in  Scotland;  is  un- 
married, and  lives  with  his  brother  James. 

Ole  Olson  Qually,  farmer.  Sec.  11,  Lincoln  tp.;  was  born  in 
Norway  in  1829;  is  a  son  of  Ole  Olson;  came  to  America  in  1857, 
and  located  near  Decorah;  located  on  his  present  farm  in  1876. 
He  married  Ada  Thompson,  also  a  native  of  Norway;  the}^  have 
eight  children,  Oliver,  Thomas,  Gilbert,  Mary,  Betse}',  Lena,  Mar- 
tha and  Olof . 

Edward  G.  Opdahl,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer.  Sec.  14,  Springfield 
tp.;  son  of  Knud  and  Mary  Opdahl;  was  born  in  Norway,  Oct. 
21,  1814,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  the  U.  S.  in  1848,  stopping 
in  Dane  Co.,  Wis.,  until  the  summer  of  1850,  when  they  came  to 
this  tp.  in  company  with  a  few  other  families,  who  constituted  the 
first  settlers  of  the  tp.  Mr.  Opdahl  was  married  to  Miss  Nettie 
Christian  Oct.  16,  1880.  He  now  owns  165  acres  of  land  valued 
at  §40  per  acre.  He  has  also  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  some 
thirteen  years,  and  is  at  present  trustee  of  the  tp.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

Herbrand  Olsen,  farmer,  P.  0.  Eidgeway;  owns  400  acres  of 
laud;  was  born  in  Norway,  in  March,  1830:  came  to  America  in 
1848,  and  located  at  Jefferson  Prairie,  Wis,  He  came  to  this  Co. 
in  1852  and  worked  for  Mr.  Day;  then  returned  to  Wis,  and  re- 
mained one  winter;  then  engaged  in  brick  making  at  St.  Paul, 
Minn.,  for  three  summers;  then  purchased  his  present  farm,  in 
1857  he  married  Emily  Johnson,  and  has  six  children  living, 
Rachel,  Carrie,  Olena,  Marg,  Ole  and  John,  They  have  lost  two 
by  death.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

Erick  R,  Olesou,  farmer,  born  in  1848  in  Norway,  came  to 
America  with  his  parents  in  1850;  resided  in  Wis.  three  years; 
then  came  to  this  state,  settled  in  Glenwood  tp.,  and  bought  the 
farm  he  now  resides  on.  His  father  died  in  1866,  since  which 
time  he  has  conducted  the  farm  for  his  mother_,  who  still  owns  it. 
The  farm  is  well  stocked,  and  is  situated  in  Sec,  29. 

P,  Oleson,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  grain  and  live  stock, 
was  born  in  Norway  in  1845,  and  came  to  lo.  1850  with  his  par- 
ents. He  established  his  present  business  at  Calmar  in  1869,  sells 
from  §35,000  to  §40,000  worth  of  goods  per  annum,  and  is  the 
largest  dealer  in  Calmar.  He  married  Emma  J.  Oleson,  a  native 
of  Norway;  they  have  four  children,  Andrew,  Dena,  Annie  and 
Eda. 

Butler  Olsen,  P.  0.  Ridgeway,  farmer,  Sec.  20,  Madison  tp.; 
owns  175  acres  of  land  valued  at  §35  per  acre;  was  born  Nov.  1, 
1832,  in  Norway,  and  in  1855  emigrated  to  the  U.  S,,  stopping  in 
Dane  Co.,  Wis.  one  year.  He  then  came  to  this  Co,  and  located 
in  Highland  tp.,  where  he  remained  till  1861.  when  he  moved  to 
his  present  farm.      He  was  married  to  Miss  Gertrude  Hermanson 


618  wiXKESHrEK  coujrrT  biographies. 

in  May,  1857;  tliey  have  nine  children,  Ole,  Samuel,  Albert,  El- 
ling,  Gilbert,  Helena,  Anna,  Ellen  and  Bertha.  Mr.  Olsen  is  a 
member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

J.  H.  Porter,  proprietor  of  the  American  House,  Burr  Oak,  was 
born  in  Westmoreland  Co.,  Pa.,  in  1830,  and  was  for  several  years 
pilot  on  the  Alleghany  river.  In  Feb.  1856,  he  moved  to  Free- 
port,  HI.,  in  the  following  spring  came  to  lo.,  locating  in  this  tp. 
He  bought  80  acres  of  land  in  Sec.  17,  improved  the  same,  and 
lived  there  13  years;  then  traded  the  farm  for  property  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Burr  Oak,  and  40  acres  near  town,  which  latter  he  traded 
for  the  hotel  property,  which  he  has  owned  and  conducted  ever 
since.  It  is  situated  on  Main  st.,  is  the  only  hotel  in  town,  and 
is  well  conducted,  and  is  doing  a  good  business;  good  stabling  is 
connected  with  the  house.  Mr.  Porter  was  married  in  1854,  in 
Penn.,  to  Miss  McLaughlin,  and  they  have  three  children,  Orin 
A.,  Melissa  A.,  and  Charles  A. 

A.  M.  Perry,  mail  contractor  and  proprietor  of  stage  line  be- 
tween Canton,  Minn.,  and  Decorah,  lo.,  was  born  in  1841,  in  Es- 
sex Co.,  N.  Y.;  lived  in  N.  Y.  until  he  was  14  years  old;  then 
went  to  Minn.,  then  a  territory.  In  1856  he  came  to  lo.,  and  in 
1860  enlisted  at  Decorah  under  Capt.  M.  A.  Moore,  in  Co.  H,  9th 
lo.  Inf.  He  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  in  March, 
1862,  and  was  discharged  on  that  account  the  following  Nov.  He 
returned  home,  and  in  1863  was  married  at  Bluflfton  to  Calesta  D. 
Knowlton;  they  have  one  daughter,  Winnie,  who  resides  in  the 
village  of  Burr  Oak.  In  Feb.,  1864,  he  purchased  the  mail  con- 
tract of  Jno.  M.  Akers,  from  Decorah,  to  Austin,  Minn.,  which 
he  ran  three  years;  then  worked  one  year  in  the  lightning  rod  and 
insurance  business,  and  then  bought  the  route  and  business  of 
which  he  is  now  proprietor.  Mr.  Perry  is  a  former  landlord  and 
proprietor  of  that  old  and  well  known  hostelry,  the  Burr  Oak 
House,  he  having  run  the  same  from  1868  to  1871.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

John  Pollitt,  farmer,  Burr  Oak  tp.;  was  born  in  Bury,  Lanca- 
shire, England,  in  1814,  and  was  a  mining  engineer,  and  also  en- 
gaged in  farming;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1854,  and  located  where 
he  now  resides.  He  bought  about  1,100  acres  of  land  at  that 
time,  at  the  government  price,  and  has  since  sold  about  500  acres 
and  given  260  acres  to  his  children,  leaving  himself  240,  which 
he  has  finely  improved  and  well  stocked,  with  a  large  and  com- 
fortable residence  and  good  farm  buildings,  Mr.  Pollitt  is  one  of 
the  oldest  settlers  in  the  tp.,  is  one  of  its  most  respected  citizens, 
and  has  for  several  years  filled  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  was  married  in  1835  in  England  to  Miss  Holt,  and  they  have 
six  children  living,  Alice,  Martha,  Elizabeth,  James,  Edmund  and 
William. 

John  H.  Pierce,  farmer,  and  one  of  the  leading  citizens  and  old- 
settlers  in  Burr  Oak  tp.,  was   born   in  the  State  of  N.  Y.,  Scho- 


WINXESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  619 

harie  Co.,  in  1822;  lived  there  until  he  was  19  years  old,  working 
on  the  river  and  canal  and  in  the  saw  mill  business,  and  in  1845 
moved  to  McHenry  Co.,  111.,  where  he  engaged  at  farming;  in 
Sept.,  1854,  he  came  to  lo.,  locating  at  this  place.  He  bought  160 
acres  of  the  government  and  has  lived  here  ever  since.  He  has 
bought  other  land  since  and  now  owns  160  acres  where  he  lives 
and  80  acres  in  Fremont  tp.  He  has  owned  other  land  some  of 
which  he  has  sold  and  other  portions  given  to  his  sons.  The  land 
is  thoroughly  improved  and  under  fence,  with  fine  residence  and 
large  and  handsome  barns,  with  every  convenience  for  stock  and 
grain,  etc.  He  was  married  in  1842  in  Broom  Co.,  N.  Y.,  to 
Miss  Vesta  A.  Hitchcock,  and  they  have  six  children  living. 

Daniel  Price,  farmer.  Burr  Oak  tp.;  was  born  in  Broom  Co.,  N. 
Y.,  in  1832,  and  in  1855  came  to  lo.,  settling  first  in  Pleasant  tp., 
this  Co.     He  bought  land  there  and  lived  there  21  years,  and  then 
came  to  this  tp.  and  bought  the  land  he  now  owns,  being  160 
acres  in  Sec.  26,  nearly  all  improved  and  under  fence,  with  good 
buildings,  etc.,  and  well  stocked.     He  was  married  in  1857  in  EUi- 
ota,  Minn,,  to  Miss  Nancy  Wise,  and  they  have  eight  children, 
James,  Lucy,  Robert,  Marion,  Janey,  Edward,  George  and  David. 
Ole  Pederson,  farmer,  Fremont  tp.;  owns  240  acres,  160  in 
home  farm  on  Sec.  16,  and  80  on  the  Iowa  River  on  Sees.  IT  and 
20;  was  born  in  Norway,  in  1824,  and  was  a  carpenter  by  trade. 
In  1851  he  came  to  the  U.  S.,  and  lived  four  years  in  Racine  Co., 
Wis,,  engaged  at  his  trade  and  in  farming.     In  1855  he  went  to 
Spirit  Lake,  Dickinson  Co.,  lo.,  and  bought  a  claim  of  160  acres; 
remained  there  two  years;  then  to  Jackson  Co.,  remained  there 
two  years,  and  from  there  came  to  this  place  and  bought  160  acres 
and  improved  it,  and  has  since  added  the  rest.      The  land  is  all 
improved  and  under  fence,  good  timber  on  the  farm;  has  built  a 
fine  residence  and  large,  comfortable  barns.      He  has  a  good  herd 
of  fine  grade  cattle,  a  fine  drove  of  Merino  Sheep,  six  head  of 
horses,  and  uses  two  teams.      The  farm  is  thoroughly  fitted  for 
stock  raising,  and  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  tp.     He  was  married 
in  1851  in  Racine  Co.,  Wis.,  to  Miss  Betsie  Olesen,  and  they  have 
one  son,  Ole  0, 

A,  J,  Payer,  proprietor  of  the  hotel  at  Spillville,  was  born  near 
Pisa,  Austria,  in  1853;  came  to  the  U.  S.  with  his  parents  in 
1858  and  located  in  Calmar  tp.  They  moved  to  Decorah  in  1868, 
where  he  learned  the  barber's  trade;  went  to  Calmar  in  1876, 
where  he  followed  his  trade  until  moving  to  Spillville  in  the  spring 
of  1882.  July  11,  1876,  he  was  married  to  Mary  E.  Stinek,  who 
died  July  23,  1878.  She  had  one  son,  named  Albert,  who  died 
thirteen  days  before  his  mother.  Mr.  P.  was  again  married  Sept, 
21,  1880,  to  Elnora  E,  Mashek,  and  has  one  daughter,  Mary, 

William  Punteney,  P.  0,  Decorah;  farmer.  Sec.  27,  Canoe  tp,; 
son  of  John  and  Ann  Veary  Punteney;  was  born  April  16,  1829, 
in  Adams  Co.,  Ohio,  while  his  parents  were  moving  from  Monon- 


C20  WIKNESHIEK   COUJfTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

galiela  Co.,  W.  Va.,  to  Henry  Co,,  lud.,  where  he  remained  until 
1855  he  immigrated  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  lo.,  locating  on  a  quarter 
Sec.  of  his  present  farm,  which  now  contains  411  acres.  Mr.  P. 
served  in  Co.  A,  13th  lo.  Inf.,  from  the  fall  of  1864  till  July, 
1865;  participated  in  the  battle  of  Wild's  Cross  Roads,  near  King- 
ston, N.  C.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  A.  Bogue,  Feb.  13, 
1851;  they  have  eight  children,  Frank  B.,  Clinton  B.,  Delbert  B., 
Eva  M.,  Ottoe  L.,  Dora  B.,  Lucy  M.  and  Cora  P.  Mr.  P.  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  A.  F  and  A.  M. 

Ole  Patterson,  P.  0.  Washington  Prairie,  owns  a  farm  on  Sec. 
26,  Glen  wood  tp.;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1825;  in  1850  came  with 
hie  parents  to  the  U.  S.,  first  stopping  in  Racine  Co.,  Wis.,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1851  came  to  this  tp';  in  1855  located  on  his 
present  farm.  His  mother  died  while  they  were  crossing  the 
ocean,  and  his  father  in  the  fall  of  1879.  Mr.  Patterson  married 
Miss  Carrie  Peterson,  also  a  native  of  Norway;  their  children  are 
Peter,  Amelia,  Henry  Cornelia,  Olans,  Maria,  Carrie  and  Margaret. 
Mr.  Patterson  has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  trustee  of  his 
tp.,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Geo.  Pennington,  grocer,  was  born  in  Canada  in  1839,  but  while 
he  was  yet  an  infant  the  family  came  to  the  U.  S,,  and  after  liv- 
ing at  different  intervals  in  Wis.,  111.  and  Minn.,  came  to  lo,,  in 
1858,  and  one  year  later  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.  In  1862  the 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  enlisted  in  Co.  M,  1st  lo.  Cav.,  and 
served  until  the  spring  of  1866.  He  then  formed  a  partnership 
with  A.  W.  Kramer  and  engaged  in  general  merchandise.  Three 
years  subsequently  their  store  and  goods  were  destroyed  by  fire. 
Mr.  Pennington  then  followed  railroading  at  Ossian  and  Decorah 
four  years;  then  ran  a  meat  market  at  Decorah  one  year,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  in  his  present  business.  December  25, 
1868,  he  married  Miss  A.  M.  Clark,  and  they  now  have  two  child- 
ren, Bertie  and  Georgie. 

R.  F.  B.  Portman,  attorney.  This  young  attorney  (a  nephew 
of  the  present  Viscount  Portman),  was  born  in  England  in  1851. 
At  12  years  of  age  he  entered  the  British  navy  and  served  in  the 
same  about  four  years,  when  he  accidentally  fell  from  the  upper 
to  the  lower  deck  and  thereby  received  such  serious  injuries  as  to 
necessitate  his  discharge  soon  afterwards.  In  1872  he  emigrated 
to  the  U.  S.,  at  once  settled  at  Decorah  and  soon  engaged  in  the 
foundry  and  machine  business,  being  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Horn,  Portman,  Clive  &  Co.,  until  1876.  He  then  commenced 
reading  law  with  C.  P.  Brown  as  perceptor,  and  in  1878  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  collections  and 
office  work.  In  1881  he  associated  himself  in  partnership  with 
C.  P.  Brown,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Brown 
&  Portman.  He  also  owns  200  acres  of  real  estate  near  the  city 
of  Decorah.  Mr.  Portman  was  married  in  1878  to  Caroline 
Stewart  Warren  (widow  of   the  late  Capt.  S.  H.  Warren),  and 


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4  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  621 

has  one  daughter,  Frances  C.  Upon  arriving  and  settling  on 
American  soil,  he  at  once  took  measures  for  the  acquirement  of 
citizenship,  and  as  soon  as  possible  became  a  citizen.  He  has  been 
connected  with  the  Decorah  fire  department  since  its  organization, 
and  has  been  chief  of  the  same  since  April,  1881. 

Geo.  Phelps,  capitalist.  This  successful  business  man  is  a  na- 
tive of  Wales,  born  in  1834;  emigrated  to  the  U.S.  in  1851;  lived 
near  Chicago  until  1854,  in  which  year  he  settled  in  Decorah.  He 
at  once  engaged  in  manufacturing,  and  built  the  first  wagons  and 
buggies  in  Winneshiek  Co.  A  few  years  subsequently  he  added  a 
stock  of  carriage  hardware,  in  which  line  he  afterwards  did  a 
wholesale  as  well  as  retail  business.  He  also  dealt  very  heavily  in 
farming  implements  and  machinery,  so  that  his  business  amounted 
to  ^125,000  annually.  This  he  continued  until  1872,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  doing  a  brokerage  business.  He  also  owns  large 
amounts  of  real  estate  in  To.,  Minn,  and  Dakota.  Mr.  Phelps  has 
traveled  over  a  great  part  of  theU.  S.  and  Europe,  having  crossed 
the  Atlantic  a  great  many  times,  and  has  resided  about  two  years 
in  Chicago.  He  is  plain  and  unassuming  in  his  manners,  and 
always  attends  strictly  to  his  own  business.  He  has  been  twice 
married— in  1851  to  Miss  E.  M.  Smith,  who  died  in  Nov.,  1860, 
leaving  one  son,  S.  G.  D.  Phelps,  of  Grand  Forks,  Dak.;  in  1876 
to  Miss  A.  M.  Evans. 

John  W.  Protheroe,  firm  of  Gear  &  Protheroe,  city  'bus  and 
dray  line,  Decorah ;  is  a  son  of  Ira  and  Zilpha  Protheroe,  and  was 
born  in  Allegany  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1844.  He  came  with  his  parents 
to  Decorah  in  1857.  Mr.  Protheroe  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  Decorah,  after  which  he  followed  railroading  three  years,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  in  his  present  business.  In  1873  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Ida  M.  Bary;  they  have  two  children,  Katie  and  Grace. 

W.  A.  Pinkham,  firm  of  Chase  &  Pinkham,  was  born  in  Erie 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1857,  and  removed  with  his  parents  to  Fond  du  Lac, 
Wis.  He  commenced  work  at  his  trade  as  marble  worker  with 
his  father,  and  afterwards  worked  in  many  of  our  large  cities,  and 
in  1881  settled  at  Decorah.  Mr.  Pinkham  was  married  in  1878  to 
Miss  Lulu  Knotts. 

Osten  Peterson,  farmer,  Hesper  tp.;  owns  320  acres  fine  tillable 
land  and  60  acres  of  timber;  was  born  in  Hollingdahl  Yalley,Nor- 
way,  in  1822,  and  was  a  dealer  in  stock  and  produce  in  a  small 
way.  In  1847  he  came  to  America,  and  settled  first  in  Wis.; 
lived  three  years  in  Rock  Co.;  then  came  to  lo.,  locating  in'AUa- 
makee  Co.  in  1850.  The  Co.  was  then  unsettled  and  destitute^of 
cultivation;  there  were  no  farms  in  the  Co.  then  of  any  account. 
He  bought  land  about  twelve  miles  from  the  Mississippi  River; 
lived  there  four  years;  then  sold  it  and  bought  land  in  Minn,  just 
across  the  line;  lived  there  ten  years;  sold  out,  moved  across  the 
line  again  and  bought  where  he  now  resides,  one  mile  from  the 
state  line.     He  has  thoroughly  improved  the  farm,  built  a  hand- 

39 


622  WINNESHIEK    COrNTT    BIOGRAPHIES.  - 

some  residence  and  very  large  and  handsome  barn  at  a  cost  of  about 
§4,000.  His  farm  is  well  stocked  and  all  under  fence.  Mr.  P. 
was  married  in  Wis.  in  1849  to  Miss  Margaret  Gulling,  and  they 
have  a  son  and  daughter. 

Lafayette  Packard,  blacksmith,  was  born  in  St.  Lawrence  Co., 
N.  Y.,  in  1826;  spent  the  earlier  part  of  his  life  on  a  farm,  and 
and  learned  his  trade  previous  to  coming  to  Frankville  in  July, 
1856;  established  business  here  at  once  and  found  it  good  and 
profitable;  as  in  those  days  there  was  a  great  deal  of  travel  through 
to  McGregor,  the  nearest  shipping  point,  and  Frankville  was  a 
great  deal  larger  town  than  now,  and  the  largest  in  the  Co.  Mr. 
P.  has  filled  the  oflice  of  justice  of  the  peace  for  several  years. 
He  was  married  in  N.  Y.  in  May,  1853,  to  Miss  Emelia  Doty,  and 
has  six  children  living  and  three  deceased. 

Ira  Protheroe,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  Sec.  14,  Decorah  tp.; 
was  born  June  25,  1816,  in  Herkimer  Co.,  N.  Y.  In  1843  he  en- 
gaged in  the  hotel  business  at  Castile,  Wyoming  Co.,  continuing 
several  years;  he  then  moved  to  Hume  in  Allegany  Co.,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  same  business  for  about  three  years;  then  removed 
to  Waterville,  in  same  Co.,  and  again  engaged  in  the  same  busi- 
ness about  three  years,  after  which  he  went  to  Belfast,  same  Co., 
and  ran  a  hotel  there  about  seven  years.  In  the  fall  1857  he  came 
to  lo.,  locating  in  Decorah,  having  bought  a  livery  stock  and 
opened  up  a  livery  business  in  company  with  the  Curtin  Bros.  In 
Feb.,  1858,  he  opened  a  hotel  in  what  was  known  as  the  Tremont 
House  (where  the  Arlington  house  now  stands),  continuing  in  the 
same  till  1865,  when  he  engaged  in  farming  on  his  present  farm, 
which  now  contains  206  acres,  valued  at  §35  per  acre.  Mr.  Pro- 
theroe was  married  to  Miss  Zilpha  F.  Williams,  a  native  of 
Wyoming  Co.,  N.  Y.  Their  children  are  Mary,  now  the  wife  of 
Leonard  Standing;  Helen,  wife  of  Charles  Allison,  and  John  W., 
proprietor  of  the  Decorah  'bus  and  dray  line. 

George  V.  Punteney,  proprietor  of  Plymouth  Rock  Mills,  Ply- 
mouth Rock,  lo.;  was  born  in  Monongahela  Co.,  Va.,  in  Feb.,  1820. 
In  1829  his  parents  moved  to  southeastern  Ind.  In  1851  Geo.  V. 
came  to  lo.,  and  settled  in  this  Co.,  and  commenced  the  erection  of 
a  saw  mill  for  Beard  &  Cutler,  on  the  Canoe  river.  In  June,  1852, 
he  moved  to  Cold  Water,  three  miles  east  of  this  place,  and  took  a 
claim.  The  land  was  not  surveyed.  In  1854  he  married  Mary  E. 
Pridmore,  at  Garnavillo,  Clayton  Co.,  lo.,  and  then  moved  on  to 
his  claim,  which  he  entered  at  the  land  office  when  it  came  into  mar- 
ket in  1853.  He  had  worked  there  three  years  previously  on  the 
Blufi'ton  mills,  being  a  millwright  and  carpenter  by  trade.  He 
built  a  house  on  his  claim  and  commenced  clearing  the  land,  and 
also  built  a  saw  mill  and  operated  the  same  for  three  years  and 
improved  the  farm.  His  wife  died  at  that  place  in  18G6,  and  in 
the  same  year  he  moved  to  Hardin  Co.,  lo.,  and  remained  there 
five  years;  then  returned  to  his  farm  here,  but  did  not  operate  the 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  623 

mill,  it  bein^  run  down  and  out  of  repair.  In  May,  1876,  he  moved 
to  this  place,  having  previously  purchased  an  interest  in  the  mill, 
which  he  now  owns  exclusively.  The  erection  of  the  mill  was 
commenced  in  1852,  the  dam  being  built  and  saw  mill  established 
on  government  land,  then  not  surveyed,  and  a  few  years  later  the 
Houring  mill  was  built,  and  the  saw  mill  discontinued,  by  Mat- 
tock &  Kelly,  who  sold  to  Bean  Bros.,  and  eventually  it  came  into 
the  hands  of  the  present  owner,  as  he  purchased  an  interest  of 
them,  and  aftewards  by  process  of  law,  the  matter  being  in  litiga- 
tion, obtained  entire  possession.  The  mill  is  40x40  ft.,  and  40  ft. 
high,  fitted  with  three  run  of  buhrs  and  the  latest  machinery,  and 
fitted  for  patent  process  flour — good  water  power,  four  Decorah 
patent  Avater  wheels,  etc.;  employs  a  competent  miller,  L.  P.  San- 
born, of  many  years  experience,  and  does  custom  work.  The  farm, 
which  Mr.  P.  still  operates,  is  well  stocked,  and  employs  two 
teams;  he  owns  six  head  of  horses,  besides  good  cattle  and  hogs. 
Mr.  P.  was  married  to  his  second  wife.  Miss  Sarah  Freeman,  in 
1873.  The  childi'en  of  his  first  wife  are  Ladora  J.,  Arthur  C, 
Weldon  Y.,  Nellie  C.  and  Charles  Emmert;  the  last  mentioned 
died  in  June,  1881. 

S.  Pike  was  born  in  Clinton  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1831,  and  is  a  son 
of  Jesse  and  Elizabeth  Niles  Pike;  his  parents  being  farmers,  he 
was  raised  in  that  avocation.  He  entered  the  employ  of  the  rail- 
road company  at  an  early  age,  which  he  continued  at  intervals  un- 
til the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion  in  1861,  when  he  became  in- 
terested in  raising  the  96th  N.  Y.  regiment;  he  enrolled  forty- 
two  men,  a  greater  number  than  any  other  man.  He  was  taken 
sick  soon  after  his  regiment  was  enrolled,  and  was  unable  to  ac- 
cept the  position  of  captain,  which  had  been  previously  ofifered 
him.  In  1863  he  came  west,  and  located  in  Frankville,  this  Co., 
and  began  farming,  which  proved  rather  unsuccessful;  he  then 
removed  to  Calmar,  again  entering  the  employ  of  the  railroad  com- 
pany, and  in  1866  came  to  Ridgeway,  still  in  the  employ  of  the 
railroad  company,  a  position  which  he  held  until  1870.  Of  Mr. 
Pike's  ancestors  his  father's  family  are  of  Irish  extraction,  and  his 
mother's  of  the  old  Anglo  Saxon  stock,  his  grandfathers  on  both 
sides  being  soldiers  in  the  revolutionary  war.  Mr.  Pike  married 
Elizabeth  B.  Way,  a  native  of  Grand  Isle  Co.,  Vfc.;  they  have  but 
one  child  living,  David  Emmett,  having  lost  their  voungest  son, 
Delbert. 

J.  C.  Rollins,  farmer,  Burr  Oak  tp.;  born  in  St.  Albans,  Somer- 
set Co.,  Me.,  in  1826,  and  followed  farming  and  lumbering.  In 
1848  he  moved  to  Union,  Rock  Co.,  Wis.,  where  he  engaged  in 
farming;  remained  there  one  year;  thence  to  Adams  Co.,  Wis., 
and  two  years  later  to  Washara  Co.,  Wis.;  afterwards  to  Portage 
City,  Wis.,  where  he  engaged  in  the  livery  and  stage  business  for 
about  three  years,  and  then  came  to  lo.,  settling  where  he  now  re- 
sides.    He  bought  the  land  in  the  fall  of  1864.     The  land  was  par- 


624  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

tially  improved,  there  being  about  40  acres  broken  and  a  log  house 
thereon.  The  land  is  now  all  improved,  and  in  place  of  the  log 
house  is  a  fine  residence.  The  other  farm  buildings  are  all  of  the 
highest  order,  including  a  fine  large  barn,  which  is  well  stocked 
with  fine  horses,  Mr.  Rollins  making  a  specialty  of  horses,  owning 
four  full-blooded,  pedigreed  Normans,  besides  a  large  number  of 
half-bloods,  about  40  in  all;  also  good  graded  cattle  and  fine  Po- 
land and  Berkshire  hogs.  Mr.  R.  is  a  member  of  Decorah  Lodge, 
A.  F.  and  A.  M.  He  married  in  1847,  at  St.  Albans,  Me.,  Miss 
Mary  F.  Tripp,  and  they  have  seven  children,  Olive  I.,  Clayton  E., 
Alvin,  Franklin,  Emma  J.,  Edna  B.  and  Guy.  Clayton  E.,  his 
oldest  son,  owns  160  acres  of  land  near  his  father's,  the  same  be- 
ing improved  and  well  stocked. 

Luther  Reed,  farmer,  owning  300  acres  in  Hesper  tp.  and  23 
acres  of  timber;  was  born  in  Allamakee  Co.,  lo.,  in  1851.  His 
parents  located  there  in  June,  1850.  and  bought  land,  and  farmed 
there  eleven  years;  the  moved  to  Winneshiek  Co.  and  bought  this 
place,  which  is  now  owned  in  partnership  with  his  father,  and  is 
all  improved,  well  stocked  and  under  fence,  with  good  residence 
and  barns.  He  was  married  Jan.,  1875,  in  Allamakee  Co.,  to  Miss 
Celia  M.  Kellem;  they  have  four  children,  Ezra  G.,  Luther  0., 
Alma  and  Cora. 

W.  C.  Reed,  farmer,  Hesper  tp.;  was  born  in  the  province  of 
Quebec,  Canada,  in  1835,  and  in  1843  came  to  the  U.  S.  His 
parents  located  in  Rock  Co.,  Wis.,  remaining  there  until  1850; 
then  came  to  Allamakee  Co.  He  bought  the  farm  he  resides  on 
in  1861.  It  was  partially  improved,  and  is  now  thoroughly  so, 
and  all  under  fence,  with  good  residence,  barns,  etc.,  and  well 
stocked.  Mr.  Reed  is  a  member  of  the  L  0.  0.  F.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1859  at  Waukon,  to  Miss  Phebe  Knights;  they  have  nine 
children,  William  H.,  Edgar,  Franklyn,  Charles,  Isaac,  Jesse, 
Emma,  Ernest,  Elsie.  Bertie  died  in  Dec.  1880,  at  four  years 
of  age. 

Almon  Rice,  farmer,  Bluffton  tp.;  born  in  1821,  in  Lewis  Co., 
N.  y.;  was  in  the  farming  and  mercaatile  business  at  Parishville, 
St.  Lawrence  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  in  1856  came  to  lo.  and  bought  land 
in  this  Co.  as  an  investment,  and  not  with  the  intention  of  set- 
tling; but  seeing  immigratian  heavy  and  prospects  good,  he  re- 
mained until  the  following  fall  and  established  his  citizenship 
here,  and  after  the  election  went  back,  and  disposed  of  his  prop- 
erty in  the  east,  and  in  the  spring  of  1857  moved  his  family  to 
this  Co.,  and  settled  first  in  Orleans  tp.  on  the  tp.  line  on  his 
land  there,  and  afterwards  moved  across  the  line  on  to  his  land  in 
this  tp.  He  owns  490  acres  in  Bluffton  tp.  where  he  resides,  and 
510  in  Orleans  tp.  The  land  is  all  improved  and  rented.  He  has 
a  fine  residence  which  cost  him  $3,000,  where  he  resides  with  his 
son,  William  H.  Mr.  Rice  is  part  owner  with  Mr.  Hale  of  the 
Bluffton  Mills,  and  is  one  of  the  heaviest  real  estate  owners  and 


WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  625 

most  prominent  citizens  of  the  Co.  He  has  been  twice  a  member 
of  the  board  of  county  supervisors,  first  during  the  war,  and  ap- 
pointed to  fill  vacancy  in  1880,  and  in  the  same  fall  was  elected 
for  the  regular  term  on  the  republican  ticket.  He  was  married 
in  1845  in  N.  Y.  to  Miss  Phebe  Shuraway,  and  has  one  son.  Wil- 
liam H. 

Walter  Rathburn,  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  owrs  240  acres,  all 
tillable  land,  except  40  acres  timber,  in  Frankville  tp.;  was  born 
in  Allegany  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1824,  and  moved  with  hi  parents  in 
1842  to  Winnebago  Co.,  111.  In  March,  1850,  he  came  to  Frank- 
ville tp.,  this  Co.,  and  took  a  claim  at  government  land  price, 
paying  for  the  same  in  Mexican  land  warrants,  which  he  bought 
at  a  discount,  so  the  land  only  cost  him  about  !?1.00  per  acre.  Of 
the  land,  160  acres  was  in  the  east  part  of  the  tp. ;  he  sold  it  in  1853, 
and  bought  the  farm  he  now  resides  on.  It  is  fine  rolling  prairie, 
and  very  productive;  he  has  a  fine  herd  of  good  grade  cattle,  fine 
bred  hogs,  and  has  a  handsome  residence,  barns  and  every  con- 
venience and  necessity  for  comfort. 

R.  F.  Rudolph,  druggist,  Decorah;  is  a  son  of  C.  Rudolph,  and 
was  born  in  Wis.  in  1856;  came  with  his  parents  to  Decorah.  He 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  the  city,  also  taking  a  course  at  the 
business  college  of  Milwaukee,  where  he  graduated  at  the  age  of 
16  years.  Mr.  Rudolph  learned  the  drug  business  at  McGregor, 
lo.,  and  in  1872,  in  partnership  with  his  father,  engaged  in  his 
present  business,  and  has  since  been  managing  partner  of  the  firm 
of  C.  Rudolph  &  Son.  He  was  married  in  1879  to  Miss  Alice  A. 
Stewart. 

D.  A.  Reed,  blacksmith,  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1830;  in  July, 
1848,  he  oame  with  his  parents  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  settled  in 
Bloomfield  tp.  His  father,  David  Reed,  subsequently  served  as 
the  first  County  Judge  of  Winneshiek  Co.,  holding  the  office  two 
terms.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  as  a  farmer,  and  af- 
terwards ran  machinery  in  steam  mills  until  1860.  He  then  com- 
menced work  at  his  trade,  and  has  since  continued  the  same;  estab- 
lished his  present  business  in  1867.  Mr.  Reed  in  1850  married 
Miss  Mary  L.  Topliff",  daughter  of  Judge  Topliff',  of  Allamakee  Co.; 
they  have  four  children. 

C.  Rudolph  is  a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  1823;  emigrated 
to  the  U.  S.  in  1853,  and  first  located  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  in  1854  he 
removed  to  Wis.;  two  years  subsequently  to  Minn.,  and  in  1259 
came  to  lo.  and  settled  at  Decorah,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in 
the  saloon  business.  He  built  the  Rudolph  Block  in  1869,  a  brick 
structure,  33x80  feet,  three  stories  high  besides  basement.  In 
1872  he  established  the  drug  business  of  C.  Rudolph  &  Son,  and 
has  since  been  a  partner  in  the  business.  He  was  married  in  1853 
to  Miss  Fredericke  Borchert.  The  children  living  are  Anna,  now 
Mrs.  Albert  Bagemill,  Robert    F.,  Edward,  Amelia   and  Augusta. 


626  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGKAPHIES. 

Hiram  Rosa,  farmer,  Frankville  tp.;  was  born  iu  Ulster  Co., 
N.  Y.,  in  1834;  came  to  this  place  with  his  parents  and  brothers 
in  1850.  He  broke  the  first  furrow  on  Washington  prairie,  where 
the  family  settled,  and  which  is  now  a  heavy  settlement.  He  used 
seven  yoke  of  cattle,  and  a  plow  that  turned  three  feet  of  sod. 
The  country  was  wild  and  new,  the  Winnebago  Indians  being 
here  at  that  time,  but  were  removed  west  soon  after.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  this  tp.,  Feb.  4,  1861,  to  Sarah  Freer.  The  farm  on  which 
they  reside  is  in  Sec.  31,  contains  106  acres,  90  acres  fine,  tillable 
land  and  about  16  acres  of  timber.  He  has  thoroughly  improved 
the  place;  has  a  residence  second  only  to  his  brother  Peter's,  and  of 
similar  style,  and  surrounded  by  a  beautiful  garden,  which  shows 
great  neatness  and  care.  The  farm  is  well  stocked  and  thoroughly 
adapted  for  stock  purposes. 

Theodore  Rosa,  farmer,  Frankville  tp.;  was  born  in  Cayuga  Co., 
N.  Y.,  Nov.  4,  1838;  owns  part  of  the  old  homestead,  the  claim 
that  was  taken  by  his  father  when  he  first  came  to  this  Co.,  situ- 
ated in  the  northwest  corner  of  Sec.  31.  and  containing  110  acres, 
all  tillable  land  except  15  acres  of  timber,  and  all  in  Frankville 
tp.  The  land  is  thoroughly  improved,  with  residence  and  barns, 
is  thoroughly  fitted  and  rented  to  tenants,  as  he  does  not  farm 
himself.  The  Rosas  were  the  most  extensive  farmers  in  this  local- 
ity for  years,  and  one  season  reiised  10,070  bushels  of  wheat  alone. 
Theodore  Rosa  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order.  Lodge  No.  Q6, 
Frankville. 

Ole  P.  Ruksvold.  farmer  and  postmaster,  Thoton  P.  0.;  owns 
160  acres  in  Sec.  14,  and  100  acres  in  Sec.  15;  was  born  in  Nor- 
way in  1832;  was  reared  on  a  farm;  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1853  and 
located  in  Wis.,  but  only  remained  there  two  months;  then  came 
to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  bought  a  farm  in  Sec.  11,  on  which  he 
lived  several  years,  which  he  since  sold  to  his  brother  in  1860, 
and  then  bought  where  he  now  resides.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in 
Co.  G,  12th  lo.  Inf.,  and  served  three  years  and  two  months.  He 
received  promotion  to  corporal  at  Pittsburg  Landing,  two  days  be- 
fore he  was  taken  prisoner  at  Shiloh.  The  rebels  took  him  with 
other  prisoners  to  Mobile,  Cahaba,  and  then  to  Macon,  Ga.,  where 
he  was  kept  about  five  months,  and  then  to  Libby  Prison,  where 
he  was  confined  ten  days  and  exchanged  at  Aiken's  Landing,  on 
the  James  River.  He  was  then  taken  to  Annapolis  and  afterwards 
to  St.  Louis,  where  the  regiment  was  reorganized,  and  then  went 
to  Vicksburg  in  Feb.,  1863,  and  went  through  the  campaign  with 
Sherman  and  Grant.  He  was  wounded  at  Pleasant  Hill,  on  the 
Red  River,  La.,  being  shot  in  the  thigh  with  buck  shot,  which  he 
still  carries  with  him  as  an  unpleasant  reminder  of  those  interest- 
ing days.  He  was  disharged  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  7,  1864, 
and  returned  to  lo.  and  resumed  farming.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest 
settlers  and  prominent  citizens,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the 
board  of  county  supervisors  two  terms,  besides  having  held  many 


WINifESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  637 

township  offices ;  is  a  republican  in  politics.  Mr.  R.  was  married 
in  1865  in  this  tp.,  to  Miss  Anna  Gilbertson;  they  have  eight 
children.  During  the  war  his  farm  was  carried  on  by  his  younger 
brother,  Anton  P.  Rucksvold,  who  now  owns  the  farm  in  Sec.  11. 
He  is  a  prominent  citizen  and  has  filled  every  office  in  the  tp. ;  was 
married  in  1873  in  this  tp.,  to  Miss  Anna  Amundson. 

Peter  Rosa,  farmer,  Frankville  tp.;  one  of  the  leading  and 
most  prominent  citizens  in  the  Co.;  was  born  in  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y., 
April  17, 1831 ;  his  parents  moved  shortly  after  to  near  Auburn,  Cay- 
uga Co.,  N.  Y.;  farmed  there,  and  moved  in  1847  to  Clayton  Co., 
lo.,  where  they  farmed  three  seasons,  'and  in  March,  1850,  came 
to  Winneshiek  Co.  and  bought  school  lands.  Peter  took  up  a 
claim  and  opened  the  same,  as  well  as  helping  his  father,  Abraham 
E.  Rosa,  with  his  farm,  being  about  1,000  acres,  which  he  divided 
between  his  seven  sons.  He  died  August  12,  1877;  his  wife, 
Rachel  Rosa,  died  June  19,  1871.  The  farm  on  which  Peter  Rosa 
resides  is  one  of  the  handsomest  and  most  attractive  in  that  part 
of  the  county,  is  on  Sec.  28,  and  is  thoroughly  improved.  The 
residence  is  the  finest  farm  residence  in  the  neighborhood,  is  gothic 
in  style  of  architecture,  and  cost  over  §3,000;  is  surrounded  by  a 
handsome  garden,  orchard  and  lawn,  in  which  Mrs.  Rosa  takes 
especial  pride,  everything  being  the  picture  of  neatness.  With  its 
neat  and  luxuriant  surroundings,  this  is  indeed  a  model  country 
home.  The  farm  is  well  stocked  with  a  fine  herd  of  good  grade 
cattle,  nine  head  of  horses,  and  a  large  drove  of  fine  hogs._  Mr. 
R.  has  filled  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  several  years  in  the 
tp.,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Masoaic  order,  Frankville  Lodge.  He 
was  married  Dec.  10,  1867,  at  Postville,  Allamake  Co.,  to  Cassin- 
dina  Webster;  they  have  one  son,  Webbie. 

J.  S.  Roome,  physician  and  surgeon,  was  born  in  Canada  in 
1839.  In  1863  he  came  to  Mich,  and  entered  the  Ann  Arbor  med- 
ical institute,  from  which  he  graduated  in  the  class  of  'QQ.  He 
immediately  came  to  Calmar  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. He  married  Gertrude  Hilliard,  who  was  born  in  Madison, 
'  Wis.,  and  who  died  in  1878.     They  had  one  child,  Toldie. 

Peter  Roney,  Sec.  23,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer  and  dairyman;  was 
born  in  Essex  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1811;  came  to  this  Co.  in  1855,  and 
engaged  as  a  laborer  on  the  farm  he  now  owns,  and  which  he  pur- 
chased in  1875,  since  which  time  he  has  carried  on  the  dairy  busi- 
ness; furnishes  milk  to  the  citizens  of  Decorah.  He  keeps  from 
thirty  to  thirty-five  cows.  Mr.  R.  was  married  to  Miss  Almira 
L.  Gibbs,  also  a  native  of  Essex  Co.,  N.  Y.;  their  children  are  Clara 
M.,  Minnie  C,  Charles  H.,  Albert  M.,  William  E.,  Frank  A.  and 
John  P. 

C.  D.  Roome,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Canada  in  1843,  and  is  a  son 
of  W.  F.  and  Catherine  Roome.  He  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1865, 
his  first  location  being  Oregon,  Dane  Co.,  Wis.  He  received  his 
medical  education  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  and  Rush  Medical  Col- 


628  WINNESHIEK    COL'NTY    lilOGRAPIHES. 

lege,  of  Chicago,  graduating  at  the  latter  named  place  in  the 
class  of  '71.  In  1874  he  came  to  Ridgeway  and  engaged  in  practice. 
He  married  Annie  Irwin,  also  a  native  of  Canada;  they  have  one 
daughter,  Maggie. 

M.  Ringeon,  of  the  firm  of  Ringeon  &  Dorn,  grain  dealers,  was 
born  in  Norway  in  1838;  is  a  son  of  Severt  and  Annie  Ringeon. 
In  1858  he  came  to  America,  and  settled  in  Dane  Co.,  Wis.,  and 
followed  farming  until  1861;  he  then  returned  to  Norway,  remain- 
ing two  years  and  a  half,  and  on  his  return  to  America  he  located 
at  Conover,  and  engaged  in  the  grain  business,  which  he  continued 
until  1868,  when  he  removed  to  Ridgeway,  and  entered  business 
as  above.  He  was  married  to  Martha  Oleson,  a  native  of  Wis- 
consin; they  have  five  children,  four  sons  and  one  daughter. 

Ebeuezer  Rice,  farmer,  Sec.  13,  P.  0.  Ctesco;  has  160  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  $35  per  acre;  was  born  in  N.  Y.,  in  1818.  In  1857 
left  there  and  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  lo.,  and  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  that  Co.  ever  since.  He  is  the  fifth  son  of  Ebenezer  and 
Sarah  Rice.  Mr.  Rice  was  married  in  1848  to  Miss  Lvdia  Pease, 
a  native  of  N.  Y.,  and  has  one  son,  30  years  of  age,  Charles  H. 
Mr.  Rice  has  been  tp.  trustee,  and  has  held  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace. 

Enoch  Robinson,  farmer.  Sec.  25,  P.  0.  Cresco;  owns  360  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre,  was  born  in  1815  in  N.  J.;  is  the 
oldest  son  of  Joel  and  Hannah  Robinson.  When  he  was  four 
years  old  his  mother  died,  but  his  father  survived  his  mother  long 
enough  to  rear  a  large  family  by  a  second  marriage.  Mr.  Robin- 
son, at  his  mother's  death,  was  adopted  by  his  uncle,  and  removed 
with  him  to  Ohio,  and  lived  there  until  12  years  old;  then  moved 
to  Ind.,  and  lived  there  for  some  time;  then  came  to  Allamakee 
Co.,  and  after  a  residence  of  four  years  there  came  to  Winneshiek 
Co.  He  was  married  in  Ind.  to  Miss  Eliza  Fetterman,  a  native  of 
Penn.  Mrs.  Robinson  lived  but  a  few  years,  and  in  1858  Mr. 
Robinson  married  Mrs.  Mary  Green,  a  native  of  Penu.  He  has 
one  child,  a  daughter,  Emily  Josephine. 

Steen  Sandersen,  Burr  Oak;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1815,  came 
to  America  in  1846,  settled  first  in  Racine  Co.,  Wis.,  and  farmed 
there  until  1869;  then  came  to  lo.,  settling  at  this  place  where  he 
purchased  a  farm.  It  is  situated  on  Sec.  10  and  contains  235  acres, 
all  improved  except  ten  acres  of  timber.  There  are  good  build- 
ings, etc.,  and  the  farm  is  well  stocked.  It  is  operated  by  his  sons. 
Mr.  S.  was  married  in  Norway  in  1845  to  Miss  Sarah  Errickson, 
and  they  have  two  childern,  Sander  and  Tolef. 

John  Stead,  farmer.  Burr  Oak  tp.;  owns  375  acres,  including  15 
acres  of  timber.  He  was  born  in  Canada  East,  near  the  N.  Y. 
state  line,  in  1823.  In  the  fall  of  1853  he  came  to  theU.  S.,  and 
settled  in  this  place,  purchasing  160  acres  at  that  time  at  the 
government  price,  and  has  bought  the  rest  at  various  times  since. 
The  land  is  thoroughly  improved   and   all   under  fence.     Eighty 


WDfNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  629 

acres  of  tlio  land  is  farmed  by  his  son,  Robert  F.  Stead.  The  h\nd 
is  situated  on  Sees.  14  and  15.  His  residence,  which  is  a  hand- 
some brick  building,  and  the  barns,  etc.,  are  on  Sec.  14.  The 
place  is  well  stocked.  He  was  married  in  N.  Y.  in  1850,  to  Miss 
Mary  A.  Russell,  and  they  have  four  children,  Robert  F.,  Edwin 
G.,  Hannah  and  Elizabeth. 

James  Sharp,  farmer,  Burr  Oak  tp.;  was  born  in  Pocahontas 
Co.,  W.  Va.,  in  1820,  came  to  To.  in  1855,  and  settled  first  in  Hes- 
per  tp.,  this  Co..  where  he  lived  eight  years;  thence  to  this  place, 
bought  land,  and  now  owns  160  acres  in  Sec.  16,  where  he  resides; 
also  farms  155  acres  in  Sec.  15,  which  he  formerly  owned,  and 
which  now  belongs  to  P.  E.  Truman.  He  was  married  in  1842  in 
W.  Va.,  to  Miss  Rachel  Moore,  and  they  have  eight  children  liv- 
ing, George,  Robert,  Martha,  Jane,  Luvena,  Eddie  and  Prudie. 
George,  the  oldest  son,  assists  his  father  in  the  management  of 
the  farm,  and  was  born  in  W.  Va.  in  1843,  and  came  to  this  Co. 
with  his  parents.  He  resides  with  liis  father,  and  was  married  in 
1875  in  this  tp.,  to  Miss  Susannah  Peacock;  they  have  one  son, 
Stewart. 

Knudt  Salveson,  farmer,  Hespertp.;  was  born  in  Southern  Nor- 
way in  1851,  came  to  the  U.  S.  with  his  parents  in  1853,  and  set- 
tled in  this  tp.  His  father  bought  part  of  his  land  at  government 
price,  and  also  some  of  settlers.  He  thoroughly  improved  the 
same,  and  in  1878  the  land  came  into  the  possession  of  its  present 
owner.  There  is  a  good  residence  and  barns.  The  farm  is  well 
stocked,  and  is  fine  level  land.  Mr.  S.  was  married  in  1875  in  De- 
corah  to  Miss  Anna  Siverson,  and  they  have  one  child.  Salve. 

Engebret  G.  Soland,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  Sec.  1,  Springfield 
tp. ;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1824,  where  he  remained  till  1842, 
when  he  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.,  first  stopping  in  Racine  Co.,  Wis., 
a  short  time,  and  thence  to  Kendall  Co.,  111.  In  1851  he  came  to 
this  Co.  and  in  Feb.,  1852,  came  to  his  present  farm,  which  now 
contains  nearly  700  acres,  well  improved  and  with  first-class  build- 
ings, and  is  one  of  the  best  farms  in  the  Co.  Mr.  Soland  was 
married  to  Miss  Helen  Clement  in  1850.  She  died  in  Nov.,  1879, 
leaving  himself  and  two  sons,  Gilbert  and  Errick,  to  mourn  her 
loss.  Since  the  death  of  his  wife  he  has  divided  the  most  of  his 
farm  between  his  two  sons,  and  lives  with  his  son  Gilbert,  who 
was  married  to  Miss  Magdalene  Egge,  April  25,  1878,  and  has 
one  daughter,  Ella  B.  Errick  was  married  to  Miss  Henrietta 
Hegg,  May  21,  1880. 

D.  E.  Shelmidine,  nurseryman  and  florist,  proprietor  of  the 
'' Kendalville  Nursery;"  was  born  in  Courtland  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Dec. 
9,  1817.  In  1829  his  parents  moved  to  Oil  Creek,  Crawford  Co., 
Penn.,  and  went  into  the  lumber  business.  In  185i,  after  the 
death  of  his  father,  he  moved  to  lo.,  and  arriving  at  this  place  he 
drove  stakes,  before  the  tp.  was  organized.  He  took  the  claim  he 
now  owns,  proved  upon   the  same,  and  obtained  patent;  sold  the 


630  WLN"2S"ESHIEK   COUNTY  BIOGRAPHIES. 

greater  portion  of  the  original  claim,  which  was  160  acres,  now 
owning  only  33  acres,  joining  the  village  of  Kendalville,  and  es- 
tablished the  above  named  nursery  thereon  in  1872.  There  are 
ten  acres  of  timber  and  the  balance  is  laid  out  as  the  nursery.  It 
is  rich  bottom  land,  and  well  fitted  with  choice  nursery  stock,  in- 
cluding many  varieties  of  apple  trees,  all  varieties  of  Hybrids;  also 
all  varieties  of  small  fruits,  and  shade  and  ornamental  trees  and 
evergreens.  Mr.  S.  is  doing  an  extensive  business.  He  has  a 
good  barn  and  comfortable  residence,  which  latter  was  erected 
in  1856,  built  of  logs  and  boarded.  He  served  one  term  of 
two  years  as  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors  in  1861  and  1862. 
There  was  one  member  elected  from  each  tp.  in  those  days,  and 
they  received  the  handsome  amount  of  §1.50  per  day  as  remunera- 
tion, receiving  pay  in  warrants  worth  65  cents  on  the  §1.00.  He 
was  married  in  1844  in  Penn.,  to  Miss  Sarah  W.  Hunter,  who  died 
June  24,  1878,  at  this  place,  leaving  four  children,  Melinda,  Ad- 
die,  Allie  and  Edgar. 

Frank  B.  Snell,  farmer,  Bluffton  tp.;  was  born  in  McKeen  Co., 
Penn.,  in  1837.  In  the  following  year  his  parents  moved  to 
McHenry  Co.,  111.,  where  they  remained  seventeen  years;  then 
came  to  lo.,  and  settled  where  he  now  resides.  They  were  among 
the  earliest  settlers.  They  bought  government  land  and  improved 
the  same.  The  property  now  belongs  to  Frank  B.,  and  contains 
125  acres,  ten  acres  of  which  is  timber,  well  improved,  good  stone 
residence,  and  well  stocked.  It  is  situated  on  the  Upper  Iowa 
river,  on  Sees.  4  and  5.  He  was  married  in  1863  in  Hesper  tp.,  to 
Miss  Ann  Mitchell,  and  has  three  children,  Angeline,  George  and 
Maggie. 

John  Stockman,  farmer,  Fremont  tp.;  owns  600  acres,  160  acres 
being  in  Howard  Co.,  and  the  balance  in  this  Co.  and  tp.,  on  Sees. 
31  and  32.  He  was  born  in  Isle  la  Mott,  Vt.,  1833;  worked  in  a 
quarry  and  on  government  work,  etc.,  by  day  labor.  In  1855  he 
came  to  lo.  and  bought  land  in  Howard  Co.,  and  also  pre-empted 
a  quarter  Sec.  in  this  tp.,  and  has  since  added  the  rest,  which,  with 
the  exception  of  50  acres  of  timber,  is  all  improved,  having  good 
residences,  barns,  etc.,  and  well  stocked.  Mr.  Stockman  is  one  of 
the  most  extensive  farmers  and  land  owners  in  the  Co.,  and  has  ac- 
cumulated his  property  by  hard  work,  having  come  to  this  state 
poor  and  worked  for  about  ten  years  after  coming  here  at  day's 
work,  before  he  could  work  his  own  land  to  advantage.  He  oper- 
ates all  his  land  himself,  and  employs  generally  three  men,  and 
more  in  the  busiest  seasons.  He  has  eighteen  head  of  horses  and 
uses  five  teams;  owns  61  head  of  cattle  and  a  large  drove  of  hogs. 
Mr.  S.  has  filled  many  offices  of  trust  in  the  tp.,  and  is  a  leading 
and  respected  citizen.  He  was  married  in  1854  in  Vt.,  to  Miss 
Sarah  Eddy;  their  children  are  Sobrina,  Mary,  William,  Wiufield, 
Mattie  and  Lowena. 


WmNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  631 

Leonard  Standring,  Esq.,  is  a  native  of  Lowille,  Lewis  Co.,  N. 
Y.,  born  on  the  1st  day  of  April,  1835.  After  receiving  his  edu- 
cation at  the  Lowille  academy,  he  entered  the  Bank  of  Lowille 
at  the  age  of  1-4,  and  remained  in  that  situation  six  years.  Thus 
at  20  years  of  age  we  find  him  with  a  broad  foundation  of  useful 
knowledge  and  experience  on  which  to  build  his  future  career. 
In  Sept.,  1855,  Mr.  Standring  immigrated  to  lo.,  located  at  Deco- 
rah,  and  in  the  same  year,  in  co-partnership  with  William  L. 
Easton,  former  president  of  the  Bank  of  Lowille,  and  E.  E. 
Cooley,  Esq.,  established  the  Decorah  Bank.  This  banking  house 
proved  eventually  to  be  the  germ  of  the  First  National  Bank. 
The  year  of  the  opening  of  this  bank  was  noted  in  the  history  of 
Decorah  as  that  of  the  establishment  of  the  Turkey  Kiver  branch 
of  the  U.  S.  land  office,  in  that  place.  It  was  a  time  of  great  ex- 
citement in  land  speculation;  crowds  of  eager  land-buyers  gath- 
ered here  from  all  the  country  around,  and  money  poured  in  in 
almost  fabulous  quantities.  The  office  was  opened  on  Christmas 
day,  1855,  and  that  occasion  had  caused  a  good  deal  of  drinkmg 
and  unusual  hilarity  on  the  part  of  the  crowd;  so  jnuch  so  as  to 
make  it  necessary  that  a  sober  and  trusty  custodian  should  be 
selected  to  take  care  of  the  money  and  valuable  papers  in  their 
possession,  Mr.  Standring  was  chosen  to  fulfill  that  arduous  and 
responsible  duty,  but  the  question  now  arose,  where  should  a  safe 
depasit  be  found?  A  dry  goods  box  was  obtained  as  the  best  sub- 
stitute, and  into  this  the  motley  crowd  began  to  empty  their  treas- 
ures— warrants,  money,  belts  of  gold,  shot-bags  of  coin — till  all 
had  been  deposited;  and  over  this  Mr.  Standring  stood  guard  till 
the  equilibrium  of  the  crowd  had  been  restored.  Out  of  that 
box  was  counted  the  next  morning  over  half  a  million  dollars 
in  money  and  warrants.  This  incident  furnishes  a  good  illustra- 
tion of  the  estimate  placed  upon  Mr.  Standring's  integrity  at  that 
early  day,  when  settlers  in  a  new  country  were  not  always  scrupu- 
lous as  to  the  character  of  their  acts.  In  1859  Mr.  Standring 
withdrew  from  the  bank  and  the  year  following  purchased  forty 
acres  of  land  near  the  city  limits,  and  on  account  of  his  health 
commenced  farming,  which  he  continued  for  several  years,  and  as 
he  was  very  successful  he  added  to  his  farm  from  time  to  time,  so 
that  he  now  owns  over  six  hundred  acres  adjoining  the  city.  In 
1875  Mr.  Standring  purchased  the  assets  of  the  Mississippi  Valley 
Insurance  Company,  and  paid  off  the  stockholders.  April  17, 
1879,  he  was  appointed  the  assignee  of  the  firm  of  Ammon, 
Scott  &  Co.,  and  has  since  been  engaged  as  such.  Mr.  Standring, 
in  all  his  public  and  private  life,  has  maintained  the  reputation  of 
a  strictly  honest  and  reliable  man,  who  does  precisely  as  he  agrees. 
His  home  is  furnished  with  the  applicances  and  comforts  of  the 
best  social  life,  and  he  has  the  highest  respect  of  all  who  know 
him.  He  takes  no  interest  in  politics  further  than  to  per- 
form his  duty  as  a  citizen.     Mr.  Standring  was  united  in  marriage 


632  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGEAPHIES, 

to  Miss  Mary  Protheroe,  of  Decorab,  on  the  28th  of  October, 
1858,  and  now  has  three  daughters,  Marv  S.,  Nellie  P.,  and 
Elsie.  .     ♦ 

John  R.  Slack,  principal  of  the  Decorah  Business  College,  was 
born  in  Ohio  in  1824.  He  was  educated  at  Jefferson  College, 
of  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  after  which  he  engaged  with  his  father  in 
the  nursery  and  gardening  business.  At  the  age  of  25  he  com- 
menced book-keeping  at  Steuben ville,  his  native  town.  In  1856 
he  came  to  To.,  and  December  19,  1856,  entered  the  Winneshiek 
County  Bank,  and  was  its  book-keeper  and  cashier  until  the 
spring  of  1874;  during  this  time  he  also  served  as  postmaster  for 
five  years.  In  the  fall  of  1874  he  established  the  Decorah  Busi- 
ness College,  and  has  since  conducted  the  same.  lu  1875  he  pub- 
lished a  book  entitled  "Rationale  and  Practice  of  Book-keeping," 
and  has  since  used  the  same  in  the  college.  Mr.  Slack  is  an  ex- 
pert accountant,  and  is  often  employed  in  that  capacity.  He  was 
married  July  24,  1858,  to  Miss  Mariah  A.  Foley,  a  native  of  La 
Porte,  Ind;  they  have  nine  children,  John,  James,  Catherine, 
Hatton,  Raphael,  Paul,  Edward,  Leonard  and  Samuel. 

P.  S.  Smout.  This  enterprising  gentleman  is  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, and  was  born  in  1839.  When  he  was  only  two  or  three  years 
old  the  famly  emigrated  to  Canada,  and  in  1856  to  Wis.  Mr. 
Smout  here  engaged  in  the  hardware  business,  which  he  continued 
until  1865,  in  which  year  he  came  to  Decorah,  and  has  since  been 
pursuing  the  same  business.  In  the  spring  of  1882  he  rented  the 
Klein  &  Johnson  brewery,  converted  the  same  into  a  creamery, 
and  is  now  running  the  same.  He  is  also  senior  member  of  the 
firm  of  P.  S.  Smout  &  Co.,  manufacturers  of  creamery  apparatus, 
etc.  Mr.  Smout  has  been  twice  married— in  1862  to  Miss  Mary 
Sloane.  by  whom  he  has  one  son.  Frank  F.;  in  1880  to  Amelia 
Seifert,  by  whom  he  has  one  son,  Harry  G. 

J.  C.  Strong,  President  Winneshiek  County  Bank.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  N.  Y.,  and  was  born 
in  1832.  In  1853  he  came  westward  as  far  as  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and 
in  1857  to  lo.  Upon  arriving  in  the  Hawkeye  state,  he  soon  set- 
tled at  Fort  Atkinson,  and  engaged  in  general  merchandise.  In 
1862  he  went  back  to  his  native  state,  and  until  1865  was  engaged 
in  general  merchandise  at  Yorkshire,  Erie  Co.  He  then  returned 
to  lo.,  and  settled  at  Decorah.  Here  he  speculated  in  grain,  wool, 
etc., for  one  year.  The  next  eight  years  he  was  employed  as  sec- 
retary of  the  Mississippi  Valley  Insurance  Co.  In  the  spring  of 
1875  Mr.  Strong  spent  a  few  months  east  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
cruiting his  health,  which  had  been  somewhat  affected  by  his 
indoor  confinement  and  close  attention  to  business.  At  the  death 
of  H.  S.  Weiser,  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Strong  and  J.  M.  Wil- 
liams, in  accordance  with  the  will  of  the  deceased,  became  the  ex- 
ecutors of  the  estate,  and  Mr.  Strong  was  chosen  president  of  the 


WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  633 

banking  honse,  Mr.  Strong  was  married  in  1857,  at  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  to  Abbie  C.  Amy,  daughter  of  John  and  Cyntha  G.  Smalley 
Amy.     The  children  are  Harry  A.,  John  C.  and  R.  L. 

Michael  Steyer,  was  born  in  Germany  in  1838;  learned  the 
trade  of  stone  and  marble  worker  in  his  native  country;  also 
traveled  in  Belgium  and  Prance.  In  1867  he  came  to  the  U.  S. 
to  visit  his  brother,  Joseph  Steyer,  but  upon  arriving  at  Decorah, 
was  so  well  pleased  with  the  place  that  he  entered  into  business 
there.  In  187(3  he  purchased  a  stone  quarry  at  Decorah,  and  was 
the  first  man  to  make  use  of  the  Decorah  fossil  stone  for  monu- 
ments, etc.  Mr.  Steyer  was  married  Jan.  2,  1868,  to  Miss  Celia 
Lamm,  and  they  now  have  five  children,  K.  Mary,  P.  George,  J. 
Louis,  Louisa  and  Lena. 

A.  G.  Seavy,  painter,  w^as  born  in  Windsor  Co.,  Vt.,  in  1830.  In 
1854  he  married  Miss  Mary  J.  Brown,  and  two  years  later  came 
west  and  located  at  Decorah.  In  1857  he  went  to  Mower  Co.,  Minn., 
purchased  160  acres  of  land  and  lived  on  the  same  about  eighteen 
months.  He  then  returned  to  lo.,  and  lived  in  Howard  Co.  until 
1870,  in  which  year  he  returned  to  Decorah.  His  wife  died  the 
same  year  he  returned  to  Decorah,  leaving  two  children,  Willie 
H.  and  Abbie  J.  In  1877  he  married  Mrs.  Zilpha  A.  Wagar.  In 
politics  he  is  republican,  and  his  religious  affiliations  are  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

R.  Small,  M.  D.,  is  a  native  of  Scotland,  born  in  1828,  but 
while  he  was  yet  an-  infant  the  family  came  to  the  U.  S.  and  set- 
tled in  Ohio.  He  received  an  academic  education,  and  at  the  age 
of  20  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  L.  D.  Vickers, 
of  Lexington,  0.,  as  preceptor.  In  1852  he  entered  the  Ohio 
Medical  College;  in  1856  came  to lo.  and  located  at  Rossville,  Al- 
lamakee Co.  Subsequently  he  entered  the  University  of  Penn. 
and  graduated  in  1861.  In  1863  he  enlisted  in  Co.  K,  1st  0. 
heavy  artillery,  and  served  until  the  spring  of  -1864,  when  he  was 
mustered  out  to  receive  a  contract  as  acting  assistant  surgeon, 
serving  one  year.  He  then  again  enlisted  in  the  91st  0.  inf.,  and 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  After  the  war  Dr.  Small  re- 
turned to  lo.  and  practiced  medicine  in  Fayette  Co.  until  1868. 
He  then  spent  several  years  as  a  traveling  lecturer,  and  in  opera- 
ting on  diseases  of  the  eye,  also  chronic  diseases,  &c.,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  at  Decorah.  Dr.  Small  in  1853  married  Miss 
Hattie  McDow,  by  whom  he  has  two  children.  In  1866  he  mar- 
ried HenryetteRoe,  by  whom  he  has  two  children. 

Joseph  Steyer  is  a  native  of  Luxemburg,  and  was  born  in  1835. 
In  1852  he  came  to  the  U.  S.,  and  for  several  years  traveled  in 
different  states,  working  at  his  trade,  stone-cutting.  In  1854  he 
leveled  and  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  bridge  forming  the  aque- 
duct at  Toledo,  0.  This  privilege  was  bestowed  upon  him  be- 
cause he  was  the  youngest  man  engaged  on  the  work.  In  1855 
he  laid  the  first  cellar  wall  (laid  in  lime  and  mortar)  in  Lake  City, 


634  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

Minn  .  In  1861  he  superintended  the  huilding  of  the  bridge  at 
Elkader,  lo.  He  located  at  Decorah  Feb.  8,  1865,  and  has  since 
been  in  the  saloon  business,  and  has  met  with  marked  success.  In 
1868,  accompanied  by  his  wite,  he  took  a  trip  to  Europe.  In  1870 
he  built  the  Steyer  Opera  House,  and  two  years  subsequently  en- 
larged the  same  to  its  present  size.  The  cost  of  this  building  was 
about  ^53,000.  Mr.  Steyer  was  married  April  22,  1860,  to  Miss 
Mary  Lamm.     They  have  had  two  children,  both  deceased. 

Michael  Sherry,  farmer,  owns  200  acres  of  tillable  land  and  10 
acres  of  timber  in  Frankville  tp.,  and  40  acres  of  timber  in  Glen- 
wood  tp.;  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  came  to  the  U.  S.  with  his 
parents  in  1853;  settled  first  in  DuPage  Co.,  Ills.,  and  in  1856 
came  to  lo.  His  father,  Michael  Sherry,  sr.,  purchased  the  farm 
at  that  time;  he  died  in  1862,  and  Michael  and  his  brother  Hugh 
have  since  conducted  the  same.  Their  land  is  located  in  Sees.  16 
and  IT,  and  is  fine  rolling  prairie,  well  improved,  and  with  good, 
comfortable  buildings.  James  Sherry,  a  brother,  enlisted  in  the 
117th  Ills,  inf.,  served  three  years  in  the  rebellion,  was  impris- 
oned in  Libby  Prison,  and  died  shortly  after  being  released. 

"William  H.  Smith,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Frankville, 
lo.,  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  1842;  was  educated 
there  and  remained  until  1861,  when  he  gratified  his  desire  to 
come  west,  by  accepting  a  position  as  clerk  in  the  store  of  Frank 
Teabout.  In  1868.  in  partnership  with  a  Mr.  Samons,  he  bought 
the  store  and  business  of  his  employer,  and  in  1872  bought  the 
interest  of  his  partner,  and  has  conducted  the  business  himself 
ever  since.  His  success  is  the  result  of  close  attention  to 
business  and  careful  management.  Besides  his  mercantile  in- 
terests he  has  fine  farm  property;  owns  a  farm  of  260  acres  near 
the  village  of  Frankville.  also  a  fine  residence  and  property  in 
town.  Mr.  Smith  is  W.  M.  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  lodge  at  Frank- 
ville, which  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  state,  being  No.  66.  He 
was  married  in  1871  at  Frankville  to  Miss  Ellen  Cutler,  of  the 
same  place,  and  they  have  two  daughters. 

A.  Snyder,  P.  M.  of  Freeport  P.  0.,  dealer  in  general  merchan- 
dise, was  born  in  Ohio  in  1835;  his  parents  emigrated  to  Ind.  in 
1841,  and  to  this  Co.  in  1857,  locating  at  Freeport.  Mr.  S.  fol- 
lowed farming  principally  until  in  1879  he  established  his  present 
business  in  connection  with  George  Pennington,  of  Decorah.  He 
married  Miss  C.  M.  Strayer,  a  native  of  Mo.;  they  have  one  child, 
D.  A.  Snyder. 

John  Stortz,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer;  Sec.  33,  Canoe  tp.;  son  of 
Lorenz  and  Johanna  Stortz;  was  born  in  Wirtemburg,  Germany, 
Dec.  27,  1842;  his  parents  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1849,  and 
located  at  Racine,  Wis.,  and  in  the  fall  of  1859  came  to  this  Co. 
and  tp.,  where  they  still  reside.  He  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  16th  U.  S. 
inf.,  in  Apr.,  1862.  He  was  with  Sherman's  army  in  his  march 
to   the  sea,  and  was  captured  by  the  rebels  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  July 


WIJTNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  635 

23,  1864,  was  immediately  taken  to  Audersonville,  where  he  was 
kept  till  the  lOtli  of  Sept.,  when  he  with  several  others  was  taken 
to  Florence,  S.  C.  While  there  he  with  four  others  escaped,  but 
after  being  out  a  few  da3'^s  were  all  recaptured  and  taken  to  Golds- 
boro,  where  he  again  escaped  with  a  companion,  but  they  were 
pursued  by  the  rebels  with  bloodhounds,  and  were  overtaken  near 
a  stream;  he  preferring  to  take  the  chances  in  the  water  rather 
than  face  the  hounds;  so  he  leaped  in  and  swam  the  river,  never 
afterwards  seeing  or  hearing  of  his  companion.  He  Avas  soon  re- 
captured, but  was  still  determined  upon  escaping,  which  he  soon 
did,  but  was  again  recaptured  through  the  perfidy  of  a  colored 
man,  to  whom  he  had  applied  for  assistance  in  getting  something 
to  eat.  The  negro,  pretending  to  befriend  them,  went  for  some 
food,  but  instead  brought  his  master  with  others,  and  they  were 
again  taken  into  captivity.  But  he  soon  escaped  the  fourth  time 
aud  was  again  captured.  Shortly  afterwards  he  again  escaped — 
this  being  the  fifth  time — when  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
Union  lines  at  Strawberry  Plains  in  Tenn.  on  the  22d  of  Decem- 
ber, 1864,  and  soon  reached  his  regiment  at  Lookout  Mountain, 
where  he  remained  till  in  the  spring  of  1865  he  was  discharged, 
when  he  returned  home.  He  married  Miss  Emily  Headington,  of 
Ohio,  Oct.  2,  1871,  and  in  the  same  fall  he  moved  on  to  his  pres- 
ent farm.  He  now  owns  120  acres,  valued  at  $40  per  acre.  Mr. 
S.  is  a  thoroughgoing,  enterprising  farmer;  his  war  record  indi- 
cates a  man  of  perseverance  and  energy.  His  children  are  Jennie 
E.,  Josephine,  Ida  M.,  James  L.,  Emma  D.,  Clement  A.,  and  an 
infant. 

George  Sieh,  P.  0.  Conover;  proprietor  of  St.  Charles  Hotel 
and  livery;  was  born  in  Germany  in  1847,  and  at  the  age  of  19 
came  to  America.  At  Chicago,  Ills.,  he  was  engaged  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  C,  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.  Co.  one  year,  after  which  he  went 
out  on  the  Union  Pacific  railroad,  where  he  engaged  in  the  sa- 
loon business  at  different  points  along  the  railroad  to  beyond 
Utah.  In  the  fall  of  1869  he  returned  and  went  to  Prairie  du 
Chien,  Wis.,  remaining  some  three  or  four  years  there;  went  to 
Clayton,  lo.,  remaining  one  year,  and  in  1874  was  married  to  a 
Miss  Louisa  Christoph,  of  Prairie  du  Chien.  The  following  year 
he  came  to  Conover  and  purchased  his  present  property.  He  also 
owns  a  building  and  lot  at  Spillville,  worth  §1,000.  His  children 
are  Emma  C,  George  and  Louisa.  They  have  lost  by  death  one 
son.  Mr.  S.  is  a  member  of  the  I.  0.  0.  F.  at  Ossian,  lodge  No. 
177. 

E.  P.  Sandager,  P.  0.  Conover;  farmer.  Sec.  22;  was  born  in 
Norway  in  1826.  In  the  spring  of  1850  he  shipped  in  a  sail  ves- 
sel for  the  U.  S.,  and  was  nine  weeks  and  three  days  making  the 
trip  to  N.  Y.  He  then  came  to  Buffalo  and  via  the  great  lakes  to 
Milwaukee,  Wis.,  thence  by  private  conveyance  to  Winnesheik 
Co.    in  the   fall  of  1850,  his  brother  Thore  having  preceded  him 


636  WIXXESHIEK   COUKTY   BIOGRAPHIEg. 

some  three  months  with  his  father-in-law,  T.  Larson,  who  were 
the  first  settlers  of  Calmar  tp.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being 
the  next.  He  first  purchased  40  acres  of  land  from  the  govern- 
ment, to  which  by  economy,  industry  and  perseverance  he  has 
added,  until  he  now  owns  900  acres,  one  of  the  best  farms  in  the 
tp.  He  was  married  in  1855  to  Miss  Rena  Guttermson,  who 
came  to  this  country  in  1853.  They  have  eight  children,  Peter, 
Gilbert,  Andrew.  Hans  T.,  Gusta,  Martha,  Eliza  and  Emma,  and 
lost  one  daughter,  Eliza.  Mr.  S.  has  taken  special  care  to  give 
his  children  good  educations,  both  in  their  native  language  and 
in  English,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Charles  Sydow.  P.  0.  Conover;  dealer  in  grain,  lumber,  stock, 
etc;  was  born  in  Germany  in  1833.  He  received  a  liberal  educa- 
tion in  his  native  language  and  was  engaged  as  a  clerk  and  ac- 
countant several  years  prior  to  coming  to  the  U.  S.,  which  was  in 
1856.  He  first  came  to  Mihvaukee,  Wis.,  where  he  had  friends; 
remained  there  but  a  short  time,  first  making  a  tour  through  many 
of  the  Southern  states  and  Colorado,  Utah  and  New  Mexico.  He 
then  came  to  lo.,  stopping  in  Clayton  Co.,  where  he  remained  till 
the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion,  and  espousing  the  cause  of  the 
Union,  in  Aug.,  1862,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Co.  D,  27th  lo. 
inf.,  participating  in  most  of  the  battles  in  which  his  companv 
were  engaged,  and  for  meritorious  conduct  and  bravery  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Pleasant  Hill,  La.,  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  second 
lieutenant  of  his  company;  was  mustered  out  at  Clinton,  lo.,  at 
the  close  of  the  war  in  1865,  after  which  he  returned  to  Clayton 
Co.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  N.  Klein,  of  Prairie  du  Chien, 
Wis.,  in  1867,  and  the  same  year  came  to  Conover  and  engaged  in 
his  present  business.  Their  children^re  Bertie,  Hedwig,  Amelia, 
Clara,  Otelia  and  Emma.  Mr.  S.  has  served  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  supervisors  of  his  Co.,  was  also  elected  the  first  recorder  of 
the  town  of  Conover,  has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  assessor, 
etc.,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge  Chapter  and  Encampment 
of  the  Masonic  order  at  Decorah. 

A.  E.  Stiles,  of  the  firm  of  McEwen  &  Stiles,  dealers  in  drugs, 
medicines,  paints,  oils,  etc.,  was  born  in  Allegany,  N.  ^Y.,  in 
1854,  and  came  to  Postville,  lo.,  in  1855,  with  his  parents,' where 
he  has  since  resided,  with  the  exception  of  two  years  spent  in 
Batavia,  N.  Y.,  learning  the  drug  trade.  He  established  his  pres- 
ent business  in  1879. 

John  Scott,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  postmaster  and  agent 
for  U.  S.  Express  Co.,  was  born  in  Schoharie  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1828. 
In  1846  he  came  to  Racine  Co.,  Wis.,  and  in  1852  went  to  Cali- 
fornia, returning  in  1860.  Four  years  later  he  came  to  Calmar 
and  established  his  present  business.  Mr.  S.  has  been  mayor 
several  terms,  and  has  held  other  offices  of  public  trust.  He  mar- 
ried Helen  M.  Tower,  also  of  Schoharie  Co.,  N.  Y.;  they  have  one 
son,  Starring  C. 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  637 

S.  A.  Sutton,  farmer,  section  19,  P.  0.  Cre3co;owns  157  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  ^25  per  acre;  was  born  in  N.  Y.,  in  1845;  is  the 
oldest  son  of  R.  T,  and  Mary  E.  Sutton;  resided  in  N.  Y.  until 
eleven  years  of  age,  when  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  lo.,  lo- 
cating at  Postville,  where  he  stayed  two  years;  then  moved  into 
Howard  Co.,  and  after  a  short  stay  there  finally  located  in  Winne- 
shiek Uo.  in  1875,  and  has  been  a  resident  of  that  County  ever 
since. 

Schreiber  &  Foreman,  dealers  in  general  merchandise.  Fort 
Atkinson.  Mr.  Schreiber,  the  senior  member,  is  a  native  of  this 
vicinity,  and  Mr.  Foreman  of  Penn.,  the  latter  coming  to  this 
Co.  in  1856,  They  had  both  been  in  the  employ  of  W.  Taylor. 
at  Spillville,  as  clerks  in  the  store;  came  to  this  place  in  1876,  and 
in  partnership  bought  the  building  and  stock  of  G.  Weaver,  who 
had  established  the  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Weaver  & 
Leaman,  in  1870.  The  building  is  21x62  ft.,  two  stories,  and 
they  carry  a  complete  line  of  dry  goods,  groceries,  boots  and 
shoes,  hats  and  caps,  crockery,  etc.  They  have  established  an  ex- 
tensive and  lucrative  business. 

Samuel  Strous,  farmer,  Washington  tp.;  owns  280  acres  of  land 
in  sections  17  and  18;  was  born  in  Somerset,  Somerset  Co.,  Penn., 
in  1830;  his  parents  soon  after  moved  to  Ohio,  and  resided  in  New 
Philadelphia,  Tuscarawas  Co.;  his  father  was  a  carpenter  and 
joiner.  They  moved  to  Ogle  Co.,  111.,  in  1848  In  April,  1850  he 
came  to  lo.,  and  bought  land  in  Jackson  tp.,  this  Co.,  and  re- 
mained until  1864:  then  purchased  this  place,  where  he  has  re- 
sided ever  since.  He  has  thoroughly  improved  the  farm,  which  is 
one  of  the  finest  in  the  tp.  There  are  a  good  large  jresidence, 
barns,  etc.  The  farm  is  well  stocked;  he  has  a  few  head  of  good 
grade  cattle,  eleven  head  of  horses  and  colts,  besides  a  fine  drove 
of  hogs.  Mr.  Strous  is  a  popular  citizen,  and  has  filled  many  offi- 
ces of  trust  in  tp.  affairs.  He  is  a  member  of  Hope  Stone 
Lodge,  No.  316,  A.  F.  &  A..  M.  He  was  married  in  October,  1853, 
at  Beloit,  Wis.,  to  Miss  Mary  Ann  Hutchins,  of  Guilford,  111., 
and  they  have  six  children,  Judson,  Emma,  Willis,  Amasa,  Annie 
and  George. 

William  H.  Smith,  Fort  Atkinson;  was  born  1825,  in  Brown 
Co.,  N.  Y.  His  parents  moved  to  Medina  Co.,  Ohio,  in  1835. 
He  there  learned  the  trade  of  wagon-maker,  and  remained  there 
until  1859,  when  he  came  to  lo.,  located  at  this  place,  established 
business  as  a  wagon-maker,  and  remained  in  business  only  four 
years,  being  obliged  to  discontinue  on  account  of  health,  having 
suffered  greatly  from  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs.  He  owns  a  com- 
fortable property  in  town,  and  is  one  of  the  town's  first  settlers; 
was  postmaster  four  years;  the  ofiice  was  near  the  old  fort  on  the 
hill.  He  was  married  at  Litchfield,  Ohio,  to  Miss  Lenora  B.  Still- 
man;  they  have  three  children,  Sarah  W..  Edwin  A.  and  Martha.  F. 

40 


638  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

W.  R.  Toye  is  a  nativ^e  of  Canada,  and  was  born  in  1853.  He 
was  reared  on  a  farm.  In  1872  he  came  to  Decorah,  and  for  three 
years  was  engao^ed  in  teaching.  He  then  formed  a  partnership 
with  Dr.  W.  F.  Coleman,  and  engaged  in  the  drug  business  until 
1877,  when  the  store  and  stock  were  destroyed  by  fire.  Mr.  Toye 
is  at  present  city  clerk  and  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  married 
in  1877  to  Miss  Viola  Coleman,  daughter  of  Dr.  W.  F.  Coleman. 

0.  P.  Thompson  is  a  native  of  Norway,  born  in  1884:,  emigrated 
to  the  U.  S.,  and  first  located  in  Clayton,  lo.;  followed  farming 
one  year,  and  then  commenced  mercantile  life  as  clerk,  and  in 
1863  he  came  to  Decorah,  and  has  since  been  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Olson  &  Thompson.  Mr.  Thompson  was  married  in  1859 
to  Miss  Thonete  Simons.  The  children  are  Nellie,  Edward, 
Charles,  Albert  and  Fred. 

Charles  Trzcinski,  barber,  hair  dresser  and  manufacturer,  whole- 
sale and  retail  dealer  of  ladies'  hair  goods.  Mr.  T.  was  born  in 
Poland  in  1851;  came  with  his  parents  to  the  U.  S.,  and  settled  at 
Washington,  Wis.,  in  1854.  Here  he  grew  up  and  learned  the 
barber's  trade.  He  subsequently  spent  three  years  in  Chicago, 
from  which  city  he  came  to  Decorah,  in  March,  1877.  Mr.  Trzcin- 
ski, in  1879,  married  Miss  Jennie  Zuckmayer;  they  have  two 
children,  John  J.  and  Charles  E. 

A.  Tracy,  retired;  was  born  in  Orange  Co.,  Vt.,  March  7,  1820, 
received  an  academic  education,  taught  school,  and  subsequently 
engaged  in  farming,  making  sheep  breeding  a  specialty.  In  1856 
he  moved  to  111.,  and  in  1858  to  lo.,  settling  in  Sumner  tp.,  Win- 
neshiek Co.  Here  Mr.  Tracy  followed  farming.  He  owned  over 
600  Merino  sheep,  which  formed  the  best  flock  in  the  Co.  In 
1875  his  two  sons,  aged  20  and  27,  were  taken  with  scarlet 
fever  and  suddenly  died.  He  therefore,  two  years  later,  left  his 
farm  and  removed  to  Decorah.  Mr.  Tracy,  in  1843,  married  Miss 
Phoebe  Hutchinson,  and  they  now  have  two  daughters  living, 
Adelaide  and  Emma,  the  latter  now  the  wife  of  Louis  Blodgett. 
Mr.  Tracy  is  a  republican  in  politics;  has  held  local  offices;  also 
served  as  trustee  of  the  State  Agricultural  College  one  term. 

Nils  Tronson,  farmer,  Glenwood  tp.;  owns  130  acres  of  tillable 
land  and  30  acres  of  timber;  Avas  born  in  1825,  in  Walders,  Nor- 
way; came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1818,  and  settled  in  Wis.  In  1850  he 
came  to  lo.,  and  bought  120  acres,  where  he  now  resides  and  has 
since  bought  40  acres.  The  land  is  principally  fine  rolling  prai- 
rie, with  some  good  grass  land;  is  well  improved  and  well  stocked. 
Mr.  Tronson's  wife  died  in  July,  1878. 

Henry  R.  Thomas,  farmer,  section  19,  P.  0.  Decorah;  owns  260 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  ^40  per  acre;  was  born  in  Cattaraugus  Co., 
N.  Y.,  in  1831;  came  west  in  1854  and  located  in  Decorah.  In 
1858  he,  in  company  with  John  Greer,  started  a  plow  factory 
for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  breaking  plows.  In  1868  Mr. 
Thomas  sold  his  interest  to   Ammon,  Greer   &  Co.;  subsequently 


WINXESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  639 

Amnion,  Scott  &  Co.,  and  purchased  his  present  farm.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  Bentley,  a  native  of  England;  they  have  three  children, 
Fred,  Jessie  and  Stella. 

George  Tyler,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer,  section  2;  son  of  James 
and  Lucy  Bassett  Tyler;  was  born  July  10,  1837,  in  the  county  of 
Kent,  England;  his  parents  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  the  fall  of 
1845,  stopping  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  the  following  spring  Avent 
to  Columbus,  where  they  remained  till  1851;  then  came  to  Greene 
Co.,  Wis.,  and  to  this  Co.  in  the  fall  of  1854,  and  in  1857  came 
into  Decorah  tp.  He  married  Miss  Lucy  Weeks  Nov.  9th,  1859. 
She  was  born  in  Lenawee  Co.,  Mich.,  in  1838,  and  died  Sept  27th, 
1864,  leaving  two  children,  George  W.  and  Mary.  He  was  again 
married  to  Miss  RosannaE.  Gillam,  Feb.  5th,  1869.  The  children 
by  the  second  marriage  are,  Richard  F.,  Hattie  M.,  Albert  and 
Lin  a. 

A.  D.  Thomas,  P.  0.  Decorah;  farmer;  section  32,  Canoe  tp.; 
son  of  Jesse  and  Mary  McCormick  Thomas;  was  born  March  29, 
1831,  in  Erie  Co.,  Pa.  In  1855  he  started  for  the  west,  coming 
through  Mich.,  and  stopping  a  short  time  at  Pontiac  and  Kala- 
inazoo,  and  arriving  at  Volney,  Allamakee  Co.,  lo.,  the  same  year; 
remained  in  that  Co.  till  1859,  when  he  came  to  Decorah  and  en- 
gaged in  running  a  meat  market,  buying  and  shipping  stock.  In 
In  1876  he  purchased  his  present  farm,  which  contains  600  acres, 
valued  at  $30  per  acre;  he  makes  a  sp^ciidty  of  stock  buying  and 
shipping.  He  married  Miss  Alice  Pollitt  Dec.  4,  1861;  she  was 
born  in  Manchester,  England;  their  children  are  James  S.,  Regi- 
nald, Hall  and  Cecil;  they  have  lost  four.  Alley,  Sidney,  Birney 
and  an  infant. 

James  Tyler,  P.  0.  Decorah;  retired  farmer,  section  2.  He  was 
born  April  12,  1812,  in  the  county  of  Kent,  England;  emi- 
grated to  the  U.  S.  in  1845,  arriving  at  Cleveland,  0.,  in  Nov., 
where  he  remained  till  the  following  spring,  when  he  went  to 
Columbus  and  engaged  in  farming  near  the  city  till  in  1850,  when 
he  started  for  the  west,  stopping  in  Green  Co.,  Wis.,  until  1853; 
then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  first  located  on  Col.  J.  W.  Taylor's 
farm,  in  Canoe  tp.  In  1857  he  purchased  320  acres  of  land  in 
Decorah  tp.,  on  section  2,  and  moved  on  to  it;  has  since  disposed 
of  all  but  6 1  acres,  upon  which  are  his  buildings,  which  he  expects 
to  retain  as  his  homestead  during  his  declining  years.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Lucy  Bassett,  June  21,  1833,  in  England;  they 
have  six  children,  Eliza,  James,  George,  Frederick,  Richard  and 
John,  and  have  lost  one  son,  William. 

0.  S.  Thompson,  P.  M.  of  Springwater  P.  0.;  proprietor  of 
Springwater  Mills;  also  owns  60  acres  of  land  in  connection  with 
the  mill;  is  a  son  of  Thomas  0.  Anderson,  and  was  born  in  Nor- 
way, Sept.  26,  1842;  commenced  working  in  a  grist  mill  at  the 
age  of  ten  years,  which,  with  the  millwright  business,  he  has  fol- 
lowed most   of  the  time  since;   emigrated   to   the  IJ.  S.  in  1869, 


64:0  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

first  locating  iu  Decorah,  engaging  in  tlieWest  Decorah  Mills; 
afterwards  assisted  in  building  a  grist  mill  some  two  miles  above  liis 
present  mill,  which  he  ran  about  two  years.  In  1880  he  pur- 
chased his  present  mill,  located  on  the  Canoe  river,  on  section  24, 
Canoe  tp.  There  is  a  good  water  power  of  ten  feet  head;  at  pres- 
ent three  run  of  buhrs,  and  soon  expects  to  add  the  fourth,  with 
machinery  to  make  new  process  and  patent  flour.  Mr.  Thompson 
was  appointed  postmaster  in  1880;  the  office  was  established  in 
1860,  as  Aquilla  Grove  P.  0.  Nathan  G.  Chase  was  the  first  P. 
M.  Mr.  T.  married  Miss  Anna  M.  Anderson,  in  Norway;  they 
have  five  children,  Carrie,  Thorwold,  Andrew  A.,  Mollie  B.  and 
Hannah,  and  have  lost  one  sou,  Thorwold,  who  died  while  cross- 
ing the  ocean. 

Ole  Thompson,  dealer  in  hardware,  stoves,  tinware,  etc.,  estab- 
lished business  in  April,  1882.  He  was  born  in  Norway  iu  1810; 
came  to  America  in  1859  and  settled  in  this  Co.  In  1866  he  en- 
gaged in  the  hardware  business  in  Decorah,  where  he  remained 
until  1871.  He  came  to  Ossian  in  1875,  and  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business,  which  he  sold  to  E.  Schoonmaker  &  Co.;  then  en- 
gaged in  business  as  above.  Mr.  T.'has  been  town  collector,  also 
clerk.  He  married  Laura  B.  Thompson,  a  native  of  Norway,  who 
came  to  America  in  1855.  They  have  two  children,  ThressaM. 
and  Theodore  E. 

Col.  J.  W.  Taylor,  P.  0.  Decorah,  was  born  Feb.  22,  1817,  in 
Saratoga  Co.,  N.  Y.  He  is  a  son  of  Hon.  Jno.  W.  Taylor  and 
Jane  {nee  Hodges)  Taylor,  of  N.  Y.  His  father  was  quite  a  prom- 
inent anti-slavery  politician  of  N.  Y.,  first  serving  in  the  state 
legislature,  and  afterwards  as  member  of  Congress  from  N.  Y. 
from  1812  to  1833,  serving  as  speaker  of  the  house  two  sessions. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated  at  the  high  schools  of  his 
county,  preparing  himself  for  a  full  course  at  Union  College,  but 
abandoned  his  intentions  in  that  direction  and  entered  as  clerk  in 
one  of  the  largest  dry  goods  stores  of  Albany,  N.  Y..,  where  he 
continued  three  years;  after  which  he  went  to  New  York  City, 
and  was  in  one  of  the  largest  dry  goods  houses  in  the  city  for  three 
years.  Then,  in  1838,  in  company  with  one  of  his  chums  at 
school,  who  had  graduated  at  Union  College,  he  started  for  the 
west  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  investing  in  real  estate,  coming 
through  Ills.,  Wis.,  lo.  and  Minn.;  operating  in  lands  in  Wis., 
stopping  a  year  in  Joliet,  Ills.,  and  afterwards  at  Rockford,  mak- 
ing that  city  his  home  till  1850;  then  came' to  Dubuque,  and  pur- 
chased 1,280  acres  of  land  in  Canoe  tp.,  this  Co.,  a  Mr.  James 
Kelly  having  made  a  claim  in  1818  of  apart  of  the  tract  which 
Mr.  Taylor  purchased.  Mr.  T.  has  disposed  of  most  of  his  pos- 
sessions in  Canoe  tp.,  now  owning  but  about  400  acres,  which  are 
well  improved,  have  a  large  orchard  and  a  beautiful  avenue  or 
driveway  of  a  mile  from  the  south  side  of  his  farm,  over  half  the 
distance  being  graded,  and  with  a  row  of  evergreens   interspersed 


WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRArHIES,  641 

with  the  most  beautiful  flowers  and  plants  that  are  produced  in 
this  latitude  on  each  side  of  the  avenue.  At  the  breaking  out  of 
the  rebellion  Mr.  Taylor  was  appointed  to  the  quartermaster's  de- 
partment at  Tipton,  Mo.,  he  being  the  second  appointee,  and  af- 
terwards as  chief  of  department  in  central  Mo.,  the  army  of  the 
Miss.,  and  14th  army  corps  of  the  department  of  the  Cumber- 
land; was  also  promoted  to  the  position  of  lieut.-colonel  on  Gen. 
Rosencrans'  staff,  and  was  especially  commended  by  Gen.  Rosen- 
crans  for  his  coolness,  bravery  and  efficiency  at  the  battles  of 
Stone  River  and  Corinth.  Aug.  17, 1863,  he  resigned  his  position 
in  the  army  and  came  to  Dubuque,  remaining  but  a  short  time. 
In  1865  he  built  a  large  block  house,  very  pleasantly  arranged  for 
a  summer  residence,  and  surrounded  by  a  dense  forest  of  pines  and 
oaks,  making  a  pleasant  and  romantic  spot  for  a  summer  resi- 
dence and  resort,  himself  and  wife  spending  their  summers  here 
and  winters  with  friends  in  eastern  and  southern  cities.  Mr.  T. 
also  has  a  fine  park  for  elk,  having  some  time  ago  quite  a  number, 
twelve  of  which  he  sent  to  King  Victor  Emmanuel  a  few  years 
ago.  He  has  at  present  but  three.  Mr.  T.  was  married  to  Miss 
Jane  P.  Wadleigh,  a  native  of  N.  H.,  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  19, 
1839.  They  liave  had  ^ix  children,  three  of  whom  are  living: 
Jno.  W.,  now  northwestern  agent  of  Commercial  Express  at  St. 
Paul,  Minn.,  and  James  H.,  of  the  firm  of  Thos.  T.  Barr  &  Co., 
grocers,  of  New  York  City,  and  Ella  T.,  widow  of  the  late  W.  N. 
Goddard,  of  Utica,  N.  Y".,  Sarah,  Charles  and  Anna  being 
deceased. 

George  Todd,  farmer,  Fremont  tp.;  owns  100  acres,  72|  in  Sec. 
14  and  24^  in  Sec  35,  near  Plymouth  Rock.  He  was  born  in  Co. 
Armagh,  Ireland,  in  1828,  and  was  a  weaver  by  trade;  came  to  the 
Q.  S.  in  1851,  settled  in  Elgin,  111.,  and  worked  at  the  trade  of 
mason  and  plasterer  and  at  farming  until  1856;  then  went  to 
Toledo,  Tama  Co.,  lo.,  remaining  about  nine  months,  and  returned 
to  Elgin  for  six  months;  then  came  to  this  place  and  took  a  claim 
of  80  acres,  all  he  could  get  at  that  time,  and  thoroughly  im- 
proved it,  and  since  bought  the  rest.  •  He  was  married  at  Decorah 
in  1858  to  Miss  Richards. 

Christopher  Todd,  farmer;  was  born  in  Co.  Armagh,  Ireland,  in 
1833,  came  to  America  in  1852  and  settled  in  Elgin,  111.;  worked 
at  the  trade  of  harness  maker  there  two  years;  then  came  to  lo. 
and  took  a  claim  on  the  quarter  section  where  he  now  resides.  He 
worked  at  his  trade  at  Preston  and  Decorah  until  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war;  then  enlisted  in  Sept.,  1862,  at  Decorah,  in  Co.  D,  38th 
lo.  Inf.,  under  Col.  Hughes,  and  served  fourteen  months;  was  at 
the  seige  of  and  surrender  of  Vicksburg.  He  was  discharged  in 
the  fall  of  1863,  on  account  of  sickness,  at  Carlton,  La.;  then  re- 
turned to  lo.  and  built  on  his  farm,  and  commenced  improving  it. 
It  is  now  thoroughly  improved,  and  all  under  fence,  fine  large 


642  WIN'N'ESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

residence,  good  farm  buildiugs.  etc.  He  was  married  in  1866  at 
Decorah,  to  Miss  Jane  Gorman,  and  thev  liave  one  child,  Martha 
Ella. 

Joseph  Todd,  carpenter  and  joiner,  Decorah;  was  born  in  Co. 
Armagh,  Ireland,  in  1825,  and  was  by  trade  a  weaver.  In  1849 
went  to  Montreal,  Canada,  and  two  months  after  came  to  the 
states,  locating  in  Elgin,  111.,  where  he  remained  three  years, 
working  at  his  trade;  then  to  Tama  Co.,  lo.,  two  years,  and  from 
there  to  Decorah.  He  established  business  as  a  carpenter  and  also 
erected  a  sash  and  blind  factory,  which  he  operated  until  1879. 
He  has  enjoyed  a  good  run  of  work  as  a  carpenter,  and  does  coun- 
try work  as  well  as  town.  He  has  a  good  residence  property  in 
Decorah,  where  he  resides,  also  owns  40  acres  of  improved  land  in 
Fremont  tp.,  which  he  rents.  He  was  married  in  1851  at  Elgin, 
111.,  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Frizell,  and  has  five  children.  May,  Clarence, 
Grace,  Edith  and  Mabel. 

James  Todd,  farmer,  residing  in  Fremont  tp.;  was  born  in  Co. 
Armagh,  Ireland,  June  22,  1821,  and  was  by  trade  a  weaver.  In 
1845  he  came  to  America,  and  settled  in  Elgin,  111.,  where  he 
worked  in  a  machine  shop  and  was  also  for  some  time  employed  as 
a  mason.  In  1856  he  came  to  lo.,  and  took  the  claim  of  160 
acres  on  which  he  now  resides.  He  had  purchased  80  acres  of 
timber  prior  to  his  claim,  and  has  bought  50  acres  of  land  since. 
The  land  is  improved  thoroughly,  and  is  one  of  the  finest  farms 
in  the  Co.;  has  a  fine  residence,  good,  substantial  farm  buildings, 
barns,  granaries,  etc.;  a  large  amount  of  stock,  including  a  herd  of 
good  grade  cattle,  fine  horses  and  fine  breeds  of  hogs,  etc.  Mr. 
Todd  has  taken  great  pains  to  make  the  farm  attractive  as  well  as 
convenient,  having  planted  innumerable  trees  of  all  descriptions, 
including  evergreens,  ornamental  and  shade  trees,  besides  a  fine 
orchard,  and  has  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  he  has  accumu- 
lated his  property  here,  having  commenced  on  a  small  scale.  He 
is  a  man  who  is  respected  by  every  one,  and  has  always  been  a 
prominent  citizen,  having  filled  many  offices  of  trust  in  tp.  and 
school  affairs.  His  picture  appears  in  this  work.  He  was  married 
in  1856  in  Zanesville,  Ohio,  to  Miss  Boies,  and  has  ten  children 
living.  Mrs.  Martha  Todd,  the  mother  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  is  the  oldest  lady  in  the  county,  being  95  years  of  age,  and 
resides  in  this  tp.  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Robert  Long.  She 
came  to  lo.  from  111.  five  years  later  than  her  son  James,  and  has 
resided  with  her  children  ever  since.      Her  husband  died  in  1835. 

Ole  P.  Tenold,  farmer,  P.  0.  Calmar;  owns  260  acres  of  laud  in 
Sec.  24,  Calmar  tp.,  valued  at  $50  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  Ber- 
genstift,  Norway,  Oct.  17th,  1824,  and  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1844. 
He  worked  at  "his  trade,  that  of  shoemaking,  in  Chicago,  and  in 
1853  removed  to  Piockford,  Ills.  In  1854  he  came  to  this  Co.  and 
purchased  a  farm,  worked  at  his  trade  two  years  in  Calmar,  and 
moved  on  to  his  present  farm    in  1867.       In  Is^ov.,  1852,   he  was 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  643 

married  to  Mary  Johnson  in  Chicago;  they  have  five  children  liv- 
ing, John,  Andrew,  Dianna,  Josephine  and  Amelia;  have  lost  five 
by  death,  Peter  W.,  William,  Edward,  Laura  and  Betsey.  Mr.  T. 
has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  township  clerk,  and  has  held 
other  minor  offices.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Geo.  W.  Tasker,  farmer.  Sec.  9,  P.  0.  Cresco;  owns  80  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  N.  H.  in  1814,  and  is 
the  third  son  of  Joseph  and  Bridget  Tasker.  He  lived  there  un- 
til he  was  25  years  old,  then  went  to  N.  Y.,  purchased  land  and 
remained  15  years;  then  removed  to  Clayton  county,  lo.  After 
residing  ten  years  in  Clayton  Co.,  he  came  to  Winnesheik  Co.  in 
1864;  enlisted  in  1864  in  the  47tli  lo.  Inf.,  under  Col.  Sanford,  and 
was  discharged  in  the  same  year, 

Frank  Thomas,  blacksmith,  Ft.  Atkinson,  was  born  in  Austria 
in  1852;  came  to  America  in  July^  1869;  had  learned  his  trade  in 
the  old  country;  located  first  in  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  where  he  lived 
two  years;  also  lived  in  Caledonia,  Minn.,  four  years.  In  1876  he 
came  to  lo.  and  settled  here,  where  he  has  since  remained.  He 
has  established  a  good  business,  owns  a  well  fitted  and  convenient 
shop,  also  a  fine  residence  fitted  with  every  comfort,  the  result  of 
his  labors  here;  does  a  good  business  in  shoeing,  wagon,  carriage 
and  plow  work. 

Capt.  H.  Tower,  postmaster  and  dealer  in  general  merchandise. 
Ft.  Atkinson;  was  born  in  Rutland,  N.  Y.,  in  1827;  in  Dec, 
1855,  moved  to  Palmyra,  Jefierson  Co.,  Wis.,  and  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business.  In  April,  1864,  he  enlisted  in  the  40th  Wis. 
Inf.,  as  a  one-hundred  day  man;  he  was  elected  second  lieutenant 
of  Co.  Gr,  and  stationed  at  Memphis,  Tenn.  At  the  expiration  of 
his  time  he  returned  to  Wis.,  raised  a  volunteer  company  of  86 
men  in  seven  days,  and  took  them  to  the  front.  He  was  made 
captain,  and  they  were  mustered  in  the  46th  Wis.  Inf.,  and  con- 
stituted Co.  E.  He  served  to  the  close  of  the  war,  receiving  final 
discharge  Sept.  27,  1865.  He  then  returned  to  Wis.  and  con- 
tinued in  mercantile  business  as  before  until  1869,  when  he  came 
to  this  place,  and  was  among  the  first  business  men  in  the  town, 
carrying  a  general  stock  of  merchandise,  which  business  he  still 
continues.  He  was  appointed  deputy  postmaster  in  1868,  and  in 
the  fall  of  1870  received  the  appomtment  of  postmaster,  which 
office  he  continues  to  fill.  He  owns,  in  partnership  with  his  son- 
in-law.  Ace  Webster,  120  acres  of  land  known  as  the  Highland 
farm,  and  is  also  interested  with  him  in  the  egg  business.  He 
was  married  Jan.  1st,  1850,  at  Clarendon,  Vt.,  to  Miss  Polly  E. 
Potter,  and  they  have  two  children,  Ida  and  Noel  D. 

William  B.  Updegraff'isa  native  of  Jeff'erson  Co.,  Ohio,  and  was 
born  in  1822.  In  1843  he  came  to  Jackson  Co.,  lo.,  but  returned 
to  Ohio  on  account  of  fever  and  ague.  In  1846  he  went  to  Sauk 
Co.,  Wis.,  and  speculated  in  town  property,  etc.  In  1850  he 
came  to  Decorah  and  located  land  but  soon  returned  to  Wis.,  and 


644  AVINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGKAPHIES. 

remained  until  1855,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a  resident  of 
Winneshiek  Co.  His  present  business  is  dealing  in  real  estate, 
etc.  He  owns  about  500  acres  in  Winnesheik  Co.,  and  nearly 
1,000  acres  in  Minn.  Mr.  Updegraff  married  in  1860  Miss  Lydia 
M.  Shear;  they  have  four  children. 

William  H.  Valleau,  city  mayor  of  Decorah,  is  one  of  the  most 
stirring  and  enterprising  men  in  the  state  of  lo.  He  was  born  in 
Sullivan  Co.,  N.  Y.,  on  the  18th  of  Nov.  1848,  his  parents  being 
John  and  Jane  Hill  Valleau,  both  natives  of  the  Empire  state. 
During  his  early  years  he  received  a  fair  education,  but  in  1864, 
although  a  mere  boy,  having  a  roving  disposition,  he  concluded  he 
Avould  like  to  see  something  of  this  broad  domain  outside  of  his 
native  state.  He  therefore  went  across  the  plains  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  where  he  spent  one  year  in  mining;  then  returned 
as  far  east  as  Neb.,  where  he  remained  until  1809,  at  which 
date  he  went  to  Minn.,  and  the  year  following  came  to  lo., 
and  located  at  Decorah.  At  that  time  Mr.  Valleau  had  but  a 
very  small  amount  of  money,  but  he  at  once  commenced  dealing 
in  grain,  and  being  very  successful  he  increased  his  business  so 
that  he  soon  ran  elevators  in  eight  different  towns  besides  Deco- 
rah, and  for  several  years  did  a  business  amounting  to  $1,000,000 
annually.  He  then  became  associated  as  partner  with  Frank  Tea- 
bout,  and  under  the  firm  name  of  Teabout  &  Valleau,  did  the  most 
extensive  business  in  the  Northwest,  running  four  large  stores, 
six  lumber  yards  and  thirteen  warehouses  and  elevators  in  lo.  and 
Dak.;  also  dealt  very  extensively  in  live  stock  and  cultivated  6,000 
acres  of  land  in  Clay  and  O'Brien  Co.'s  lo.  This  business  was  carried 
on  successfully  until  the  hard  winter  of  1880-1,  when,  on  account 
of  the  railroads  being  blockaded,  business  was  at  a  standstill.  They 
also  lost  3,000  acres  of  good  corn,  which  could  not  be  gathered; 
350  acres  of  broom-corn  was  destroyed  by  storms,  and  400  head 
of  cattle  and  900  hogs  perished.  They  therefore  suspended  busi- 
ness in  May,  1881.  Mr.  Valleau,  although  but  twelve  years  a 
citizen  of  Decorah,  has  probably  done  as  much  to  build  up  the 
city  as  any  one  man.  Two  elevators  near  the  depot  are  monuments 
of  his  enterprise.  The  elegant  furniture  of  the  Winneshiek 
House  was  placed  there  by  him,  as  he  was  landlord  of  the  house 
for  a  short  time  after  it  was  refitted  in  1877,  and  many  public  en- 
terprises are  marked  by  his  handiwork.  Mr.  Yalleau  is  a  demo- 
crat in  politics,  and  his  popularity  as  a  citizen  is  well  established 
by  the  fact  that  he  is  now  serving  his  fourth  term  as  mayor  of 
Decorah,  although  his  party  is  greatly  in  the  minority.  He  is  a 
man  who  greatly  enjoys  sport,  such  as  hunting  or  fishing,  but  is 
a  wide-awake,  shrewd  business  man,  easy  to  get  acquainted  with, 
and  immediately  makes  friends  wherever  he  goes.  In  1869,  at  St. 
Charles,  Minn.,  Mr.  Valleaa  was  united  in  matrimony  to  Miss  Ella 
Giddings,  daughter  of  David  Giddiugs,  and  a  relative  of  Joshua  R. 
Giddings;  they  now  have  two  children,  John  D.  and  William  H.,  Jr. 


WINI^ESHIEK   COU]S^Ty   BIOGRAPHIES.  645 

Nels  L.  Voiding,  farmer,  P.  0.  Decorah;  was  born  April  6, 1821, 
in  Norway ;  emigrated  to  the  U.  S.  in  1853,  purchased  his 
home  farm  the  same  year,  and  has  since  added  a  farm  near  Ossian, 
making  in  all  408  acres  which  are  worth  ^35  per  acre.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  A.  Bluarp  in  Norway  Nov.  30,  1850  ;  they  have 
ten  children,  Ole,  Lewis,  Minnie,  Henry,  Clause,  Nelson  M., 
Bertha,  Julius,  Theodore  and  Martha  0.,  and  have  lost  one 
daughter.  Bertha  M.  His  son  Nelson  M.  has  attended  the  Decorah 
Lutheran  College  five  years.  Mr.  Voiding  is  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church. 

Horace  Spangler  Weiser,  deceased,  one  of  Decorah's  early  settlers 
and  most  valued  citizens,  was  a  native  of  Penn.,  having  been  born  at 
York,  on  the  22d  day  of  October,  182 7.  His  parents  -were  Charles 
Weiser,  merchant  and  banker,  and  Anna  Spangler  Weiser,  daugh- 
ter of  General  Spangler,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Penn.  fifty  years 
ago.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  had  excellent  opportunities  for 
mental  culture  when  young;  fitted  for  college  at  New  Haven, 
Conn.,  and  entered  Yale  in  Sept.,  1845,  but  was  obliged  to  leave 
before  completing  his  graduating  course,  on  account  of  poor 
health.  In  1850  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  his  native 
town,  and  in  1851  was  admitted  to  the  bir  at  York  and  began 
practice  there  in  1852.  He  was  a  great  reader  of  the  newspapers, 
became  interested  in  the  prospects  of  a  young  country  beyond  the 
Mississippi  river,  made  a  trip  to  lo.,  was  pleased  with  the  opening 
which  Decorah, Winneshiek  Co,  presented,  and  here  located  in  1855. 
He  immediately  established  a  private  bank,  united  with  it  the 
business  of  real  estate  and  continued  both  branches  until  his  de- 
mise. The  Winneshiek  County  bank,  which  he  started,  and 
which  became  so  popular  and  so  eminently  successful  under  his 
management,  is  still  in  operation,  and  is  said  to  be  the  oldest 
bank  continuing  under  its  original  name.  In  his  business,  to 
which  he  gave  his  undivided  attention,  Mr.  Weiser  was  very  ac- 
commodating; he  would  often  before  regular  hours  open  his  bank 
and  remain  open  after  hours,  if  by  so  doing  he  could  oblige  any 
person.  Few  people  were  ever  more  attentive  to  their  calling,  or 
more  punctual  and  prompt  in  the  discharge  of  obligations.  So 
wedded  was  he  to  business  that  he  paid  little  attention  to  politics, 
more  than  to  vote,  and  more  than  once  refused  to  accept  office. 
He  acted  with  the  Democrats  until  the  rebellion  broke  out,  after 
that  with  the  Republicans.  Mr.  Weiser  was  a  communicant  in  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  and  much  of  the  time  an  officer  in 
that  body,  and  maintained  an  unblemished  and  exalted  christian 
character.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge  in  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  but  larely  met  with  the  order.  On  the  14th  day  of 
July,  1859,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Louise  M.  Amy, 
daughter  of  John  and  Cynthia  Smalley  Amy.  There  are  three 
children.  Amy  Spangler,  Charles  J.  and  Anna  Louise,  who  became 
fatherless  on  the  19th  day  of  July,  1875,   while   their  mother  was 


646  WIN^NESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

absent  from  the  State.  Though  not  in  good  health  for  three  or 
four  years  previous  to  his  demise,  Mr.  Weiser  was  as  well  as  usual 
on  that  day,  was  cheerful  in  the  evening,  retired  at  a  late  hour, 
and  soon  afterwards  was  found  dead  in  his  bed,  the  cause  supposed 
to  be  apoplexy.  Mr.  Weiser  early  identified  himself  with  the 
interests  of  his  beautiful  Iowa  home,  took  pride  in  the  growth 
and  material  progress  of  the  place,  now  a  city  of  nearly  four 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  lent  his  aid  in  every  enterprise  tending 
to  develop  the  wealth  of  the  Co.  Few  men  more  public  spirited 
ever  lived  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  no  man  here  ever  accumulated 
such  a  fortune.  He  was  thoughtful  and  considerate,  lenient  to- 
ward his  debtors,  never  taking  advantage  of  their  necessities; 
heedful  of  the  wants  of  the  poor  and  destitute;  kindly  in  his  feel- 
ings toward  all;  social  and  cheerful  in  his  disposition;  temperate  in 
his  habits;  never  visited  places  that  tended  to  lower  the  morals  of 
men,  but  always  set  a  good  example  for  the  young.  The  death  of 
no  man  in  Winneshiek  Co.  was  ever  mourned  by  so  many  warm 
friends  as  that  of  Horace  S.  Weiser.  A  fine  portrait  of  Mr. 
Weiser  appears  elsewhere  in  this  work. 

Capt.  E.  I.  Weiser  was  born  in  York,  Pa.,  April  10, 1835,  his 
parents  being  Samuel  and  Anna  Mariah  Ilgenfritz  Weiser.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  he  commenced  work  in  a  drugstore,  and  con- 
tinued this  in  his  native  state  until  1856.  He  then  immigrated  to 
Iowa  and  soon  established  a  drug  business  at  Decorah.  Being  a 
man  possessed  of  a  warm  heart  and  genial  nature  and  a  patriotic 
love  of  country,  the  threats  of  war  against  the  Union  aroused  his 
impulsive  nature  to  a  desire  to  make  any  sacrifice,  hardship,  suf- 
fering, even  life  itself,  in  his  country's  cause.  As  a  result,  when 
the  first  cry  of  a  distressed  country  was  heard,  calling  on  her  sons 
for  aid  against  the  assaults  of  traitors,  Capt.  E.  I.  Weiser  was  the 
first  and  foremost  of  her  many  patriots  in  Winneshiek  Co.  to  re- 
spond. Captain  E.  I.  Weiser  was  the  first  man  to  enlist  from  the 
county  in  his  country's  service  in  the  late  civil  war.  He  enlisted 
as  a  high  private  in  Co.  D,  3d  lo.,  and  was  chosen  first  lieutenant  by 
the  company.  He  served  his  country  faithfully,  participating  in 
many  warm  skirmishes  and  two  hard-fought  battles.  He  was 
wounded  at  Shiloh  in  the  right  knee;  at  Hatchie,  Tenn.,  on  the 
5th  of  Oct.,  1862,  he  was  again  wounded,  this  time  in  the  right 
thigh,  shattering  the  bone  so  badly  that  the  surgeons  declared 
amputation  necessary;  but  to  this  Capt.  Weiser  objected,  and  the 
operation  was  therefore  not  performed.  Eight  months  he  was 
detained  in  the  hospital  by  his  wound,  and  seven  of  these  eight 
months  he  was  compelled  to  lie  in  one  position,  on  his  back.  He 
did  not  recover  sufficiently  to  again  perform  active  military  ser- 
vice. At  Memphis  he  was  one  week  with  his  company.  While 
there  the  officers  of  the  3d  lo.  presented  him  with  a  silver  pitcher 
as  a  mark  of  their  regard  and  the  appreciation  they  had  for  him 
as  a  soldier  and  commander.     Upon  returning  from  the  service  he 


"WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  647 

again  resumed  his  labors  in  bis  drug  business,  and  still  continues 
the  same.  He  was  married  in  18G4  to  Miss  Mary  L.  V^onhoff,  and 
has  two  children  living,  E.  J.  and  S.  V.  H.  Capt.  E.  I.  Weiser, 
as  a  soldier,  was  brave,  cool,  efficient,  and  possessed  all  the  noble 
attributes  requisite  in  a  successful  commander;  as  a  citizen,  he  is 
modest  and  unassuming  in  manners,  successful  in  business,  char- 
itable to  his  fellow  men,  and  his  character  is  be3'ond  reproach.  No 
man  in  Winneshiek  Co.  has  more  warm  friends  than  Capt.  E,  I. 
Weiser. 

A.  Wedgwood  is  a  native  of  England,  born  in  1850,  his  father 
being  the  late  Enoch  Wedgwood,  of  the  firm  of  Wedgwood  &  Co., 
Tunstall,  England,  manufacturers  of  crocker}'.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1872  on  a  pleasure  trip,  but  upon 
reaching  Decorah  he  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  city  that  he 
engaged  in  business,  being  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Horn,  Port- 
man,  Clive  &  Co.,  foundry  and  machine  shop.  In  1873  Mr,  Wedg- 
wood married  Miss  Agnes  Heivly.  In  1874  he  returned  to  Eng- 
land and  remained  until  1880,  since  which  time  he  has  resided  at 
Decorah.  He  has  four  children  living,  Charlotte  J.,  Agnes  M., 
A.  C.  and  Amy, 

J.  M.  Williams,  cashier  of  the  Winneshiek  County  Bank,  was 
born  in  Columbia  N.  Y.,  June  21,  1826,  his  parents  being  Lyman 
and  Mary  Wilson  Williams,  In  183-4  the  family  removed  to  Geauga 
Co.  Ohio,  then  a  timbered  wilderness.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
received  a  good  common  school  education,  and  subsequently 
taught  school.  He  then  went  to  Lake  Co.  and  after  clerking  for 
about  two  years  engaged  in  business  with  a  man  who  furnished  ex- 
perience but  no  capital.  This  business  ended  in  failure,  and  in  1857 
Mr,  Williams  came  to  lo.,  and  for  a  few  months  was  engaged  in  busi- 
ness at  Ft.  Atkinson.  He  then  returned  to  Ohio  and  remained 
until  1861,  when  he  again  came  to  lo.,  and  in  partnership  with  J. 
C.  Strong  carried  on  a  mercantile  business  until  the  fall  of  1863, 
In  the  spring  of  1864  Mr.  Williams  engaged  in  business  alone,  and 
continued  until  1866.  He  then  purchased  a  gristmill  at  Waukon, 
which  proved  to  be  a  non-paying  investment.  In  1867  he  located  at 
Decorah,  and  for  three  years  was  proprietor  of  the  Decorah  House, 
after  which  he  did  collecting  until  1874,  when  he  entered  the 
Winneshiek  County  Bank,  and  since  the  death  of  H,  S,  Weiser, 
has  been  its  cashier.  Mr,  Williams  was  married  in  1852  to  Miss 
E,  S,  Amy,  daughter  of  John  Amy  ;  they  have  two  children,  C, 
J.  and  Nellie  M, 

E.  T,  Week,  dealer  in  groceries  and  provisions,  was  born  inNor- 
w'ay  in  1846,  came  to  the  U,  S,  in  1866  and  soon  settled  in  Win- 
neshiek Co,  He  established  his  present  business  in  1877  ;  he  also 
owns  200  acres  in  Madison  tp,  valued  at  ?^30  per  acre. 

Peter  H,  Whalen  was  born  at  Utica  N,  Y.,  in  1842,  his  parents 
being  Thomas  and  Hannah  Doyle  Whalen  ;  the  former  died  in 
1849,     In  1856  the  mother  with  her  six  children  (two  of  whom 


648  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

now  fill  soldiers'  graves)  immigrated  to  To.  and  settled  in  Frencli 
Creek  tp.,  Allamakee  Co.     Peter  H.  Wlialen  came  to  Deeorali  in 

1860  and  was  employed  in  a  hotel  for  about  four  years.  He  then 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  and  has  since  continued  the 
same.  June  16,  1874,  he  married  Miss  Ellen  C.  Bunce  ;  they  have 
two  children,  Mary  C.  and  Anna  C. 

S.  T.  Wilson  was  born  in  N.  H.  in  Nov.  1845.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  he  went  to  Rutland,  Vt.,  and  learned  the  jeweler's 
trade.  He  subsequently  spent  a  few  months  at  North  Hampton, 
Mass.,  from  which  place  in  1868  he  immigrated  to  lo.,  and  first 
located  at  McGregor.  In  1870  he  came  to  Decorah,  formed  a  part- 
nership Avith  J.  R.  Bidwell,  and  as  Bidwell  &  Wilson  engaged  in  the 
jewelry  business.  In  1875  Mr.  Wilson  purchased  his  partner's  inter- 
est and  has  since  continued  the  business  alone.  In  Jan.,  1881,  he 
added  a  restaurant  to  his  place  of  business.  Mr.  Wilson  was  mar- 
ried July  1,  1870,  to  Miss  Rosa  M.  Peterson  ;  they  have  two 
children  Ina  M.  and  Charles  !S. 

S.  0.  Wilson,  merchant  tailor,  was  born  in  Norway  in  1831, 
learned  his  trade,  and  in  1850  came  to  the  U.  S.,  first  stopping  in 
Chicago  three  years,  then  in  Beloit,  Wis.,  until  1855,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  at  Decorah,  and  is  therefore  the  oldest  merchant 
tailor  in  the  city.  Mr.  Wilson  in  1854  married  Miss  Sarah  Larsen; 
of  seven  children  born  unto  them,  only  three  are  now  living, 
Anna  L.,  Emma  G.  and  Clara  0. 

C.  Wellington,  attorney,  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  in  1859.     hi 

1861  he  enlisted  in  the  U.  S.  service,  and  served  three  years 
and  two  months.  He  then  resided  in  Fillmore  Co.,  Minn., 
until  1867,  when  he  again  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  in 
1870  located  at  Decorah.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1871, 
and  has  since  become  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  in  this  dis- 
trict. He  is  at  present  district  attorney.  Mr.  Wellington  was 
married  in  1873  to  Miss  Gertrude  G.  Allen;  they  have  one  son 
and  two  daughters. 

Hon.  George  R.  Willett,  of  Decorah,  was  born  in  Lacadia, 
Province  of  Quebec,  Nov.  11,  1826.  His  parents  were  both 
Americans,  though  living  in  Canada  at  the  time  of  his  birth.  He 
resided  in  Canada  until  26  years  of  age,  receiving  his  education  un- 
der Rev.  Joseph  Braithwaite,  a  graduate  of  Oxford,  England,  and 
following  manufacturing  with  his  father  and  brother  at  Chambly, 
Province  of  Quebec.  In  1855  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  at 
Champlain,  N.  Y.,  and  after  further  reading  and  attending  the  law 
school  at  Albany,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  that  city  in  the  winter 
of  1856-7.  Returning  to  Champlain,  he  practiced  till  the  fall  of 
1857,  when  he  came  west  and  settled  at  Decorah.  Immediately  on 
settling  here  he  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession,  which  he 
has  continued  ever  since,  with  the  exception  of  a  short  time  spent  in 
the  army  during  the  rebellion.  The  first  company  in  this  section, 
namely,  Co.    D,  3d    lo.  Inf.,  was  raised  mainly  through  his  instru- 


■WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  019 

mentality.  In  the  fall  of  1861  he  was  disabled  by  a  gunshot 
wound  in  the  knee,  and  consequently  resigned  the  commission  of 
captain  and  came  home.  In  1864  he  was  elected  Co.  judge  of 
Winneshiek  Co.,  and  held  the  office  four  years,  till  the  expiration 
of  1868.  In  1872  he  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature,  for 
two  years,  to  fill  the  unfinished  term  of  Dr.  Bulls  and  re-elected  in 
1873  for  the  full  term  of  four  years.  During  the  winter  of  1874  he 
was  elected -president  jjro  tern.,  of  the  senate.  He  was  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  constitutional  amendments,  and  member  of  the 
committee  on  the  judiciary,  railroads,  insurance  and  judicial  dis- 
tricts. In  local  as  well  as  general  interests.  Judge  VVillett  has 
always  been  active  and  public  spirited.  From  1868  to  1872,  he 
was  president  of  the  Winneshiek  Woolen  manufacturing  com- 
pany. He  was  married  at  the  age  of  21  to  Miss  Olinda  C.  Kel- 
logg, in  Champlaiu,  N.  Y.,  and  has  five  children:  Mahlon,  now 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  at  Santa  Cruz,Cal.;  Norman, 
George,  William  and  Ernest.  The  last  named  is  now  attending 
the  college  for  the  blind,  having  lost  his  sight  by  the  accidental 
discharge  of  a  shot-gun  in  1873,  and  is  thirteen  years  of  age. 

John  Johnson  AVold,  farmer,  Hesper  tp.;  was  born  in  Tron- 
geim,  Norway,  in  1832;  came  to  America  in  1853;  settled  first  in 
Wis.,  and  there  worked  on  farms  as  laborer;  was  in  Ills.,  Mo.  and 
Minn,  until  1859;  then  came  to  lo.  and  settled  west  of  the  village 
of  Hesper,  and  bought  SO  acres  of  unimproved  laud.  He  im- 
proved the  same,  and  in -1877  sold  it,  and  in  the  following  year 
bought  the  farm  he  now  resides  on,  and  has  it  well  improved,  hav- 
ing good  buildings,  fine  orchards,  etc..  and  well  stocked.  Mr. 
Wold  was  married  in  Decorah  to  Miss  Betsy  Elling  in  1859,  and 
they  have  six  children. 

Hon.  H.  B.  Williams,  farmer,  owns  200  acres  in  Hesper  tp., 
and  80  acres  in  Minn  ,  joining  on  the  north,  making  the  farm  in 
a  solid  body.  Mr.  Williams  was  born  in  Batavia,  N.  Y.,  in  1822, 
and  in  1837  he  and  two  brothers  went  to  Mich.;  lived  there 
twenty  years,  in  Ingham  Co.;  they  together  bought  about  1,700 
acres  of  laud,  and  built  a  saw  mill  and  flouring  mill;  later  H.  B. 
entered  the  mercantile  business,  and  afterwards  opened  a  law  office 
and  was  admitted  to  the  practice  there,  remaining  in  the  same 
until  1857;  then  traveled  through  Dak.,  Neb.  and  lo.,  and  in 
1858  located  in  this  tp.,  purchased  land,  and  married  in  1860  Miss 
Caroline  Tabor,  who  died  in  June,  1881,  leaving  six  children,  three 
daughters  and  three  sons.  The  farm  is  well  improved,  and  is  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  Co.;  in  one  especial  feature  it  certainly  is  not 
equaled  in  the  Co.  and  probably  not  in  the  state — that  is  the 
magnificent  gardens,  which  clearly  prove  Mr.  W .  to  be  a  land- 
scape gardner  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  and  taste.  He  com- 
menced the  woi-k  in  1869.  The  front  garden  is  elegantly  ar- 
ranged in  circular  double  hedge,  well  trimmed  and  solid  Dutch 
style,  making  a  fine  carriage  driveway,  with  a  center  walk  to  the 


650  ^INJfESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGKAPHIES. 

house,  and  within  the  hedges  are  tastefully  arranged  every  variet}'- 
of  evergreen,  well  trained  and  trimmed  in  all  manner  of  designs 
and  masses,  showing  elegant  contrasts  in  shades,  among  which 
may  be  found  junipers,  arbor  vitae,  larches,  pines  of  all  varieties, 
man}''  species  of  hemlock,  dwarfed  pines,  and  Savon  juniper — this 
latter  a  very  rare  variety — Scotch  pine,  and  spruce  pine  from  Vt., 
which  is  a  rare  and  very  different  variety.  He  has  also  arranged 
in  the  rear  and  around  the  residence  fine  terraces  and  drives,  the 
trees  forming  gracefully  curved  avenues,  leading  to  and  around  a 
beautiful  flower  garden  and  kitchen  garden,  in  which  can  be 
found  every  variety  of  flower,  plant  and  vegetable;  also  a  fine  or- 
chard. The  north  terrace  is  especially  beautiful,  being  almost 
entirely  silver  maples;  the  gardens  have  an  east  and  south  front. 
Mr.  AVilliarasis  a  popular  man,  and  has  been  elected  four  times  to 
represent  his  district  in  the  state  legislature — to  the  8th,  9th,  10th 
and  11th  sessions.  He  is  a  member  of  the  legal  profession  in  this 
state,  having  been  admitted  when  he  first  came,  and  has  one  of 
the  finest  libraries  in  the  state. 

John  S.  Williams,  farmer,  was  born  in  New  London,  Conn.,  in 
1848.  The  home  farm  of  200  acres  on  which  he  resides  was  orig- 
inally bought  in  1856  by  his  father,  and  in  1877  came  into  his 
possession;  to  which  he  has  added  more,  owning  in  all  514  acres, 
all  in  Frankville  tp.  He  has  built  a  fine  residence  and  barns,  and 
has  like  his  brother  paid  special  attention  to  stock  raising,  especial- 
ly horses;  has  seven  head  of  Normans,  Messengers,  and  Clydesdales, 
good  grade  cattle,  and  Poland  and  Berkshire  hogs.  Mr.  W. 
has  filled  several  offices  of  trust  in  tp.  and  Co.,  has  been  for  several 
years  Justice  of  the  Peace.  He  was  married  in  December,  1879, 
to  Laura  McKay,  of  this  tp.,  and  has  one  child.  His  brother, 
James  P.,  enlisted  in  the  6th  lo.  Cav.  and  died  at  Fort  Rice  July 
29th,  1865;  he  had  enlisted  for  three  years  under  Capt  Burdick. 

Fordyce  Worth,  M.  D„  druggist  and  P.  M.  of  Hesper  P.  0.  was 
born  in  Vt.  in  1831,  and  received  his  early  education  there.  In 
1848  he  went  to  Mt.  Gilead,  Morrow  Co.,  Ohio;  was  an  apprentice 
in  machine  shops  there  two  years;  afterwards  spent  some  time  in 
Vt.,  Mass.  and  Upper  Canada;  and  finally  in  the  lumber  trade  in 
Wis.,  remaining  in  the  same'three  years.  In  1852  he  commenced 
the  study  of  medicine;  in  1856  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.;  bought 
property  in  1857,  and  three  years  later  opened  the  establishment 
which  he  now  owns,  with  a  stock  of  general  merchandise.  In 
1869  he  attended  Bennett  Medical  College,  Chicago,  graduated  in 
1870,  and  has  remained  in  the  practice  ever  since  at  Hesper,  as 
well  as  conducting  the  business,  which  he  changed  to  drugs 
in  1867,  closing  out  his  stock  of  general  merchandise.  He  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  postmaster  in  Oct.  1872,  succeeding  W. 
C.  Batly,  who  was  the  first  postmaster.  The  office  was  established 
in  1856,  and  was  made  a  money  order  office  in  1879.  The  Docto  r 
is  the  only  medical  practitioner  in  the  town,  enjoys  a  large  practice, 


WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  651 

is  deservedly  popular,  and  has  filled  various  offices.  He  is  a  mem- 
of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  Decorah  Lodge  No.  181,  having  been  trans- 
ferred from  AVaukon  Lodge.  Dr.  Worth  was  married  in  1856,  at 
Muscatine,  lo.,  to  Miss  Keys,  and  they  have  two  children,  one  son 
and  one  daughter. 

J.  L.  Webster,  farmer,  was  born  in  Ind.,  1829,  and  resided 
with  his  parents  on  a  farm  until  1855;  then  came  to  Frankyille 
tp.,  this  Co.,  among  the  first  settlers  of  that  part  of  the  Co.  He 
has  owned  several  farms  in  the  Co.  and  bought  his  present  farm 
in  1870;  it  contains  160  acres  of  fine  tillable  land  and  20  acres  of 
timber.  Mr.  W.  pays  particular  attention  to  the  raising  of  fine 
horses;  making  specialties  of  Clydesdales  and  English  draft;  has  a 
fine  lot  of  cattle  of  good  grades,  Durham  principally,  also  a  good 
drove  pure  Poland-China  hogs.  Mr.  Webster  has  filled  many 
offices  of  public  trust  in  his  tp.  He  was  married  in  this  tp.  in 
1871:  to  Miss  S.  J.  Letchford,  of  the  same  place,  by  whom  he  has 
three  children;  he  has  seven  children  by  his  first  wife  (deceased). 

C.  R.  Williams,  farmer,  was  born  in  New  London,  Conn.,  in 
1839;  lived  there  until  1855;  parents  then  moved  to  Allamakee 
Co.  and  in  the  following  summer  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  bought 
land.  Mr.  W.  has  owned  the  farm  he  now  resides  on  since  1874; 
the  whole  farm  contains  320  acres  of  good  and  improved  land,  and 
40  acres  of  timber;  he  has  thoroughly  fitted  the  place  for  purposes 
of  stock  of  all  kinds;  has  a  fine  herd  of  thoroughbred  Durhams 
and  good  grades,  owns  ten  head  of  the  finest  horses  in  the  Co. 
showing  fine  blood,  of  Norman,  English  draft  and  Morgan  French 
stocks,  and  has  a  fine  drove  of  Poland  and  Berkshire  hogs.  He 
employs  two  men  on  the  farm.  He  was  married  in  Jan.,  1862,  in 
Allamakee  Co.,  to  Miss  Melvina  A.  Hubbell,  and  has  one  son  and 
three  daughters. 

S.  S.  Wade,  farmer,  owns  127  acres,  including  seven  acres  of 
timber.  He  was  born  in  Bath  Co.,  W.  Va.,  in  1823.  In  1855  he 
came  to  lo.,  locating  in  Burr  Oak  tp.,  this  Co.  He  did  not  buy 
land  until  1865,  when  he  purchased  the  land  he  now  owns.  In 
the  meantime  he  had  spent  one  year  in  Kansas,  and  worked  the 
balance  of  the  time  here,  running  breaking  teams,  etc.  His  land 
is  now  all  improved  and  under  fence,  well  stocked,  with  good 
buildings,  etc.  He  has  filled  for  several  years,  and  still  fills,  the 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace.  Mr.  W.  was  married  in  1860  to 
Miss  Mary  Castle,  of  this  place,  and  they  have  two  children,  James 
and  Ellie. 

Henry  Wingate,  farmer,  Hesper  tp.;  was  born  in  Hemming- 
ford.  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  in  1833,  and  resided  there 
farming  until  1859;  came  to  the  U.  S.,  settling  in  Burr  Oak  tp., 
this  Co.  In  1875  he  built  a  fine  brick  residence  on  his  farm  in 
Hesper  tp.,  where  he  still  resides,  his  farm  being  on  the  tp.  line. 
The  land  is  in  this  and  Burr  Oak  tps. — 243  acres  being  in  the 
home  farm  on  the  west  line    of  Hesper  and  east  line  of  Burr  Oak 


652  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

tps.;  also  owns  20  acres  of  timber  in  Burr  Oak  tp.  and  160  acres 
in  Murray  Co.,  Minn.  His  farms  are  well  stocked  with  fine 
stock,  special  attention  being  paid  to  fine  horses,  among  which  he 
has  some  fine  Kentucky  thoroughbred  ^tock,  and  also  Norman 
horses.  He  has  also  a  fine  drove  of  thoroughbred  Cotswold  and 
Leicester  sheep.  Mr.  W.  was  married  in  1856  at  Hemmingford, 
Canada,  to  Miss  Charity  E.  Wilsie,  and  they  have  four  children, 
Clara  A.,  Weston  P.,  Elsie  and  Julia. 

Elisha  Webb,  farmer,  Fremont  tp.;  owns  170  acres  in  Sees.  11 
and  12;  was  born  in  Turner,  Oxford  Co.,  Me.,  in  1820;  is  a  mason 
by  trade  and  worked  fifteen  years  in  Bengal,  Me.;  came  to  lo.  in 
1854,  settled  in  this  tp.,  and  bought  the  claim  of  a  man  named  Co- 
burn,  and  ten  acres  adjoining.  He  is  one  of  the  earliest  actual 
settlers.  The  land  is  all  improved,  good  residence,  barns,  etc., 
and  well  stocked;  has  eight  head  of  horses  and  uses  two  teams. 
He  has  been  twice  married,  first  to  Sarah  Flanders  in  Maine, 
1845,  who  died  in  1879,  leaving  three  children,  Winslow,  Emery 
and  Alden.  He  afterwards  married,  in  1880,  Mary  Craig,  of  Fill- 
more Co.,  Minn.,  and  they  have  two  children,  Ellen  and  Mary. 

G.  T.  Watros,  farmer.  Sec.  13,  P.  0.  Cresco;  owns  600  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  ^35  per  acre;  was  born  in  N.  Y.;  is  the  oldest  son 
of  Chester  and  Hannah  Watros;  when  he  was  very  young  his  pa- 
rents removed  to  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  and  he  lived  there  until  the 
year  1860,  when  he  came  to  Winnesheik  Co.,  lo.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1858  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Sprague,  a  native  of  Vt.,  and  has 
nine  children,  Viola  H.,  Ella  C,  Anna  A.,  Clarence  J.,  Burton, 
Orville  G.,  Roy  and  Rosalia.  Mr.  Watros  has  been  tp.  treasurer 
for  five  years. 

Ace  Webster,  station  agent,  was  born  in  Palatine,  Cook  Co., 
111.,  May  19,  1853.  His  parents  came  to  Fayette  Co.,  lo.,  in  1854, 
and  located  at  Waucoma,  where  they  still  reside.  He  received  his 
education  there  and  at  West  Union,  and  in  November,  1868,  went 
to  Calmar  to  learn  telegraphy  in  the  railroad  office  there,  entered 
the  employ  of  the  company,  remained  until  June,  1869,  and  in 
the  fall  of  that  year  came  to  this  place  as  operator.  From  here 
he  went  to  Charles  City  in  the  same  capacity;  took  charge  of  the 
station  at  Plymouth  March  8, 1871,  and  on  Oct.  20th  of  the  same 
year  was  returned  to  this  place  to  take  charge  of  the  station,  where 
he  has  since  remained.  He  is  also  express  agent  for  the  U.  S.  ex- 
press company,  and  is  interested  in  many  other  businesses.  He  first 
established  business  with  his  father-in-law,  Mr.  Tower,  in  stock- 
raising,  making  the  breeding  of  blooded  hogs  a  specialty,  in 
Poland  China  and  Berkshire  breeds.  They  bought  for  this  pur- 
pose a  farm  of  120  acres  near  here,  well  improved  and  thoroughly 
fitted  for  stock  purposes,  and  known  as  the  Highland  farm.  They 
have  now  discontinued  stock  raising  to  a  great  extent,  their  other 
business  being  of  greater  importance,  but  still  own  the  farm. 
Mr.  Webster  also  owns  400   acres  in  Fayette   Co.,  all  thoroughly 


\VIN]S"ESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  653 

improved  and  valuable  land.  In  partnership  with  his  father  he 
bought  and  shipped  live  stock  from  this  point  for  several  years, 
and  has  shipped  for  some  years  lately  70  to  80  cars  a  year.  They 
now  also  buy  and  ship  from  Waucoma.  At  about  the  same  time 
he  commenced  buying  and  shipping  eggs,  in  partnership  with  Mr. 
Towers;  they  of  late  years  ship  about  200,000  dozen  eggs  per  year, 
and  have  three  men  and  teams  on  the  road  buying.  Sept.  13, 
1881,  he  bought  the  barn,  livery  business  and  stock  of  Mr. 
Lawrence  at  this  place.  The  barn  is  44x70  feet,  and  accommodates 
25  horses.  Mr.  W.  also  buys  and  ships  horses  for  the  western 
market.  In  Feb.,  1882,  he  bought  the  lumberyards  and  business 
at  Waucoma  of  J.  D.  Burnside,  and  conducts  it  under  the  firm 
name  of  Webster  Bros.,  having  taken  a  younger  brother  in 
partnership.  They  bought,  between  March  and  Oct.  15,  1882,  90 
cars  of  lumber.  In  September,  1882,  he  bought  the  Waucoma 
creamery  of  D.  P.  Moody,  and  it  is  run  under  the  firm  name  of 
A.  Webster  &  Co.;  it  employs  three  men  in  the  creamery,  and  nine 
men  and  teams  outside;  the  creamery  is  fitted  with  steam,  new  en- 
gine, and  all  the  latest  machinery  necessary  for  a  first-class  es- 
tablishment. Mr.  Webster  is  without  doubt  more  extensively 
engaged  in  business  than  any  one  else  in  this  section,  all  of  the 
above  businesses  still  running  under  his  supervision,  and  he  has 
twenty  employes  in  various  capacities  all  the  time,  and  frequently 
a  larger  number.  He  owns,  besides,  some  fine  lots  in  this  town, 
besides  his  elegant  residence.  He  was  married  May  19,  1874,  at 
Fort  Atkinson,  to  Miss  Ida  A.  Tower,  and  they  have  one  son, 
Earl  C,  born  in  July,  1882. 

Mary  A.  Warburton,  Sec.  5,  P.  0.  Cresco;  widow  of  Rev.  John 
Warburton;  owns  160  acres  of  land,  valued  at  830  per  acre;  was 
born  in  England  in  1815;  is  the  second  daughter  of  David  and 
Mary  A.  Gibson;  was  married  in  1843  to  John  Warburton,  a  na- 
tive of  England;  came  to  America  in  1855,  and  settled  in  Grundy 
Co.,  111.  After  a  residence  of  three  years  there  they  came  to  Win- 
neshiek Co.  She  has  five  children,  Maria,  Thomas,  William, 
Phebe  and  John  H.  Mr.  Warburton  enlisted  Dec.  13, 1862,  in 
Co.  D,  6th  lo.  Vol.  Cav.,  served  his  country  faithfully  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  and  was  honorably  discharged  at  Davenport 
Oct.  17, 1865. 

A.  R.  Young,  farmer,  owns  360  acres  in  Washington  tp.;  was 
born  in  N.J.  in  1824;  when  13  years  of  ag3  he  went  to  Philadel- 
phia and  worked  in  a  boot  and  shoe  factory  until  Oct.,  1845,  when 
he  enlisted  as  a  recruit  in  the  regular  army  and  was  sent  to  New 
Orleans;  thence  to  the  Indian  territory,  then  back  to  New  Or- 
leans, to  Texas,  and  afterwards  to  Mexico,  where  he  served  till 
June,  1848;  then  returned  to  New  Orleans,  and  was  sent  to  Jef- 
ferson Barracks,  near  St.  Louis;  in  Oct.,  1818,  he  was  stationed  at 
Fort  Atkinson  under  Capt.  Alexander,  and  remained  until  March, 
1849.     The  post  was  evacuated  Feb.  24,  1849,  and  he  was  left  in 

41 


654  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

charge  until  after  the  government  sale  March  10,  1849;  was  then 
stationed  at  Ft.  Crawford,  Prairie  du  Chien,  remained  till  April, 
and  was  then  removed  to  Ft.  Snelling,  Minn.;  was  sent  to  Maren- 
go, To.,  on  account  of  Indian  troubles  in  May,  1850;  then  went  to 
Ft.  Dodge;  in  Aug.,  1850,  he  received  a  furlough  for  the  balance 
of  his  time,  it  having  nearly  expired,  and  received  his  final  dis- 
charge in  Oct.,  1850.  He  then  came  to  this  place  and  commenced 
improving  his  land.  It  is  thoroughly  improved  and  well  stocked, 
has  a  fine  stone  residence,  erected  in  1859  by  Francis  Rogers, 
father-in-law  of  Mr.  Young  and  nearly  the  oldest  settler  in  the 
Co.  He  left  in  1867  and  settled  in  Wis.  Mr.  Young  claims  to  be 
the  second  oldest  settler  in  the  Co.  now  living.  He  was  married 
in  1849  at  this  place  to  Miss  Mai-y  Jane  Rogers,  and  their  children 
are  John  W.,  Frances,  Grace  Adela  and  Joseph. 

Jacob  Zukmeyer,  P.  0.  Decorah,  farmer,  ISec.  9;  son  of  George 
and  Gertrude  Zukmeyer,  was  born  July  8th,  1832,  in  the  city  of 
Mentz,  on  the  Rhine;  received  his  education  in  his  native  city;  in 
1849  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  German  revolutionists,  joined 
their  army,  was  seriously  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Kircheim,  and 
was  taken  to  the  hospital  in  Paris,  where  he  finally  recovered,  but 
remained  as  an  assistant  in  the  hospital  until  1851,  when  he  emi- 
grated to  the  U.  S.,  stopping  a  short  time  at  New  York  and  Chi- 
cago; then  came  on  to  Beloit,  Wis.,  where  he  engaged  in  clerking 
in  a  boot  and  shoe  store.  In  1857  he  came  to  Decorah,  and  en- 
gaged as  clerk  in  the  employ  of  Ellsworth  &  Landers,  continuing 
with  them  till  the  dissolution  of  the  firm,  and  has  been  interested 
with  Mr.  Landers  ever  since;  was  district  agent  for  the  North- 
western Life  Insurance  Co.,  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  from  1862  to 
1866,  and  is  now  local  agent.  Mr.  Z.  speaks  five  different  lan- 
guages, which  gives  him  a  rare  advantage  in  a  business  way,  and 
which,  coupled  with  a  shrewd,  energetic  business  tact,  has  en- 
abled him  to  acquire  a  handsome  property.  He  now  owns  640 
acres  of  land  in  Winnesheik  Co.,  720  in  Lyon  Co.,  80  in  Howard 
Co.,  and  320  in  Fillmore  Co.,  Minn.  He  also  owns  a  house  and 
lot  in  West  Decorah,  valued  at  $5,000.  He  was  married  to  Miss 
Sarah  0.  W^ilson,  a  native  of  Norway,  at  Beloit,  Wis.,  May  27, 
1856;  they  have  three  children,  Jane,  now  wife  of  Charles 
Trcinski,  of  Decorah,  and  George  S.  and  Albert  0.  Mr.  Z.  is  an 
attendant  at  the  Congregational  church,  and  his  wife  is  a  member 
of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  church. 


WINNESHIEK    COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  C55 

MISCELLANEOUS    BIOGRAPHIES. 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY. 

G.  D.  Armstrong,  farmer,  Sec.  25,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  rents  400 
acres  of  land;  was  born  in  N.  Y.  in  1825;  is  the  oldest  son  of  Na- 
thaniel and  Polly  Armstrong;  left  N.  Y.  in  1842,  settled  in  Ills., 
stayed  there  twelve  vears,  and  then  moved  to  Wis.,  where  he  lived 
four  years;  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  He  married  Mary  Big- 
elow,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  has  five  children,  Exena,  Leonard,  Ga- 
briel, James  and  Lucy.  He  enlisted  in  1862  in  Co.  G,  126th  Ills. 
Vol.  Inf.,  and  served  in  the  western  department.  After  the  siege 
of  Vicksburg,  he  was  sent  to  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  and  was  mustered 
out  at  Duvairs  Biutf  in  1805. 

Simon  Broghamer,  farmer.  Sec.  18,  P.  0.  Locust  Lane;  owns 
480  acres  of  land,  valued  at  ^18  per  acre;  was  born  in  Germany  in 
1823;  is  the  oldest  son  of  Michael  and  Rosina  Broghamer;  left 
Germany  in  1848,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Wis.;  stayed 
there  nine  years,  then  came  to  Pleasant  tp.,  Winneshiek  Co.,  and 
has  resided  there  since.  He  was  married  in  1849  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Stortz,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  has  nine  children,  Mary, 
John,  Joseph  Charles,  Henry,  Michael.  Frank,  Johanna  and 
Elizabeth. 

Nels  Oleson  Brenno,  farmer.  Sec.  9,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  284 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  §20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in 
1834;  is  the  only  son  of  Ole  and  Engie  Nelson.  When  he  was  20 
years  old  he  left  Norway,  came  to  America,  lived  in  Chicago  four 
years,  and  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided. He  was  married  in  1875  to  Miss  Bertha  Johnson,  a  native 
of  Norway,  and  has  two  children,  Ida  and  Ole  J. 

Louis  Bernet,  farmer.  Sec.  16,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  80  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Ind.  in  1848;  is  the 
fourth  son  of  Martin  and  Lena  Bernet;  lived  in  Ind.  until  1875, 
when  he  moved  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  lived  there  since.  He 
was  married  in  1872  to  Miss  Dora  Rush,  a  native  of  Ind.,  and  has 
one  child,  Anna  E. 

Theobold  Butz,  farmer,  Sec.  21,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  133 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Germany  in 
1817;  is  the  second  son  of  Mathias  and  Angie  Butz;  left  Germany 
in  1847,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Ind.,  where  he  lived  17 
years;  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  settled  in  Lincoln  tp.  in 
1865,  and  has  lived  there  since.  He  was  married  in  1842  to  Miss 
Kate  Icstine,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  has  twelve  children,  Bar- 
bara, Francis,  Mary,  Joseph,  Kate,  John,  Jacob,  Henry,  Carrie, 
William,  Emma,  and  Sarah.  Mr.  Butz  has  been  supervisor  for 
several  years. 

Daniel  Blumenroeder,  farmer.  Sec.  28,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns 
200  acres  of  land,  valued  at $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Germany  in 


656  WIKNE&HIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

1831;  is  the  fifth  son  o£  Jacob  and  Margaret  Blumeuroeder. 
When  he  was  21  years  of  age  he  came  to  America,  lived  two  years 
in  Philadelphia,  and  then  came  west  to  Howard  Co.,  lo.,  where  he 
lived  three  years;  then  moved  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  settled  on 
the  farm  where  he  now  lives.  He  was  married  in  1863  to  Miss 
Carolina  A.  Young,  a  native  of  Ind.,  and  has  three  children,  Anna 
M.,  Charles  F.  and  Rosina  T. 

John  Beucher,  farmer,  section  5,  P.  0.  Ridge  way;  owns  170 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Germany  in  1833; 
is  the  third  son  of  Joseph  and  Catherine  Beucher.  At  the  age  of 
21  he  left  Germany,  came  to  America,  and  settled  in  Galena,  111. 
After  a  residence  there  of  some  years  he  came  to  lo.,  and  located 
in  Allamakee  Co.,  but  in  1876  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  bought 
a  farm  in  Lincoln  tp.,  where  he  has  resided  since.  He  was  married 
in  1860  to  Miss  Anna  Werhau,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  has  seven 
children.  Julius,  Henrietta,  Emma,  Netta,  Mary,  John  and  William. 

Hosea  Bullard,  farmer,  P.  0.  Ossian;  was  born  in  Jefferson  Co., 
N.  Y.,  in  1821;  came  to  lo.  in  1853  and  bought  several  large 
tracts  of  land;  returned  to  N.  Y.,  and  in  1856* removed  to  Winne- 
shiek Co.,  bringing  his  family  here  in  the  following  year.  He 
was  engaged  for  fifteen  years  in  the  mercantile  business  in  N.  Y. 
Since  his  return  to  To.  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  real  estate 
and  loan  business,  and  is  an  extensive  and  successful  fai*mer.  He 
married  Miss  Mary  Smalley,  of  111.,  in  1863. 

Barney  Boyle,  of  Military  tp.,  farmer;  is  a  native  of  Canada; 
was  born  in  1828  and  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1854,  settled  in  this  tp. 
and  owns  land  in  sections  16  and  17.  Mr.  Boyle  was  married  in 
1851  to  Eliza  McManus,  and  their  children  are,  Charles,  John, 
Thomas,  James,  Benjamin,  Eliza,  Joseph  and  Mary  A. 

Jacob  Cebera,  farmer,  section  30,  Sumner  tp.;  owns  40  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  $15  per  acre;  was  born  in  Bohemia  in  1836;  is  the 
second  son  of  Thomas  and  Mary  Cebera.  When  he  was  30  years 
of  age  he  left  Bohemia,  came  to  America  and  lived  in  Chicago 
six  years  but  in  1872  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  and  has  lived 
there  since.  He  was  married  in  1866  to  Miss  Anna  Dolash,  a  na- 
tive of  Bohemia,  and  has  nine  children,  Thomas,  Mary,  Anna, 
Frank,  Theresa,  Amelia,  Katie,  Charlie  and  Stratka. 

Edward  A.  Clifford,  farmer,  section  25,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns 
160  acres  of  land  valued  at  $30  per  acre;  was  born  in  1850,  in 
England;  is  the  fourth  son  of  Henry  J.  and  Marian  Clifford. 
When  he  was  19  years  of  age  he  left  England,  came  to  America, 
stayed  one  year  in  Canada  and  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.;  and 
located  on  the  farm  where  he  now  lives.  Mr.  Clifford  was  mar- 
ried in  1874  to  Miss  Helen  Milne,  a  native  of  Canada,  and  has 
three  children,  Marian  M.,  aged  7  years;  Helen  E.,  aged  6  years, 
and  Francis  V.,  aged  three  years. 

Hamilton  Campbell,  Sr.,  Bloorafield  tp.,  was  born  in  County 
Tyrone,   Ireland,   in  1802;  came  to  America  in  1826;  returned  to 


WINfTESHIEK   COUN"TY   BIOGRAPHIES,  657 

Ireland  in  1837  and  married  Sarah  Campbell.  They  have  six 
children,  Robert,  Mary,  Hamilton,  John,  Sarah  and  Matilda. 
Hamilton  Campbell,  Jr.,  resides  at  home,  and  was  married  to  Miss 
Abbie   Angier  in  1881.     They  have  one  son,  J.  Walter  Campbell. 

William  Creamer,  Ossian,  was  born  in  Prnssia  in  1827;  came  to 
America  in  181:7,  and  settled  in  Wis.;  thence  to  Winneshiek  Co. 
in  1852.  He  was  married  in  1867  to  Pauline  Hemker,  of  Wis. 
They  have  five  children,  John,  William,  Frank,  Mary  and  Angus. 

James  Cameron,  Sec.  1,  town  96,  range  8,  P.  0.  Ossian;  was 
born  in  New  York  City  in  1832;  came  to  Wis.  in  1843  with  his 
parents;  thence  to  lo.  in  1854,  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.  He 
married Etuma  E.  Sawyer  in  1860;  they  have  two  children — Flor- 
ence, the  eldest,  is  the  wife  of  Fred  C.  Clark.  The  son,  J.  Grant, 
lives  with  his  parents. 

C.  L.  Daubersmith,  miller,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  was  born  in  Ger- 
many in  1845;  is  the  second  son  of  Charles  and  Margrette  Dauber- 
smith. When  he  was  nine  years  of  age  he  came  to  America  with 
his  parents  and  settled  in  Dodge  Co.,  Wis.  After  a  residence  of 
two  years  there  he  came  to  Howard  Co.,  lo.,  and  lived  there 
seven  years;  then  spent  some  time  in  Canoe  tp.,  but  in  1868  set- 
tled in  Lincoln  tp.,  Winneshiek  Co.,  built  what  is  known  as  the 
Ridgeway  mill,  and  has  lived  there  since.  He  was  married  in  1867 
to  Miss  Margaret  Whiteman,  a  native  of  Mo.,  and  has  seven 
children,  Charles,  Emma,  William,  Amelia  S.,  Gustive,  Amanda 
A.,  and  Lucy. 

Hon.  J.  DeCow,  farmer,  residing  on  Sec.  1  in  Military  tp.,  was 
born  in  Canada  in  1824.  He  attended  school  until  eighteen  years 
of  age,  when  he  began  teaching,  which  he  continued  for  six  years; 
then  attended  a  University  in  Canada  for  two  years.  He  then 
married  Miss  Mary  DeCow,  and  in  1850  emigrated  to  lo.,  settled 
in  Bloomfield  tp.,  remained  there  until  1854,  and  in  that  year  came 
to  where  he  now  resides.  In  1855  he  became  a  voter.  He  was 
electedjusticeof  the  peace  in  1856,  and  in  1861  was  elected  county 
judge,  which  position  he  held  several  years.  He  has  also  filled 
many  other  county  offices.  In  1873  lie  was  elected  to  the  state 
legislature  and  served  one  term.  The  Judge  has  a  fine  farm  sit- 
uated two  miles  northeast  of  Ossian,  and  is  assisted  in  operating  it 
by  his  youngest  son.  Walker.  His  other  son.  Ever  is  also  a  thrifty 
farmer  in  this  tp. 

Hover  Evenson  Hoyme  was  born  in  Norway  in  1818;  came  to 
America  in  1848,  located  in  Dane  Co., Wis.,  and  engaged  in  black- 
smithing;  remained  there  three  years,  then  came  to  Winneshiek 
Co.,  and  engaged  in  blacksmithing  and  farming.  He  owned  830 
acres  of  land  in  Sees.  5  and  8,  Pleasant  tp.  Mr.  H.  died  in  1882, 
leaving  a  wife  and  five  children. 

Henry  Funke,  farmer.  Sec.  31,  P.  0.  Calmar;  owns  98  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  ^45 per  acre;  was  born  in  Prussia  in  1853;  is  the 
oldest  son  of  Clements  and  Gertrude  Funke;  left  Prussia  in  1853 


658  .WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPIHES. 

with  his  parents,  came  to  America,  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co., 
where  he  still  resides.  He  was  married  in  1878  to  Miss  Margaret 
Eggspuchler,  a  native  of  lo.,  and  has  three  children,  Maggie, 
Anna  and  Barbara. 

Michael  Farrell,  farmer,  Sec.  4,  P.  0.  Cresco:  owns  147|-  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  ^20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1816;  is 
the  oldest  son  of  Richard  and  Elizabeth  Farrell;  came  to  America 
in  1848,  settled  in  Boston,  Mass.,  where  he  lived  until  1865;  then 
came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  been  a  resident  of  the  Co.  ever 
since.  He  was  married  in  1854  to  Miss  Julia  Heegan,  a  native  of 
Ireland,  and  has  nine  children,  William,  Edward,  Richard,  Julia 
D.,  Eliza  M.,  Nellie  C,  Lilly  M.,  Jennie  D.  and  Edna  M. 

Lorenz  Falck,  farmer.  Sec.  20,  P.  0.  Calmar;  owns  169  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  S30  per  acre;  was  born  in  France  in  1846;  is  the 
oldest  son  of  Lorenz  and  Sally  Falck;  left  France  with  his  parents 
in  1853,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  of 
which  county  he  has  been  a  resident  ever  since.  He  was  married 
in  1870  to  Miss  Molly  Silox,  a  native  of  Pa.,  by  whom  he  had  five 
children,  William,  Caroline,  Emma,  Ida  and  Lizzie.  His  wife 
died  in  1878,  and  he  was  married  in  1879  to  Miss  Anna  Falck,  a 
native  of  lo.     They  have  two  children,  Sophia  and  Fred. 

Herman  Frerick,  of  Ossian,  was  born  in  Germany  in  1822, 
emigrated  to  America  in  1847,  and  settled  in  Wis.,  thence  in  1854 
to  lo.,  settling  where  he  now  resides,  in  Military  tp.  He  was 
married  in  1851  to  Kate  Pieper;  their  children  are,  Herman, 
Louisa,  Henry,  Lewis,  Clement,  Kate,  William,  Joseph  and  Emma. 

C.  Funk,  farmer,  of  Military  tp.,  was  born  in  Prussia,  in  1830, 
came  to  America  in  1853  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.  in  the 
spring  of  1854.  In  1852  he  was  married  in  Germany  to  Gertrude 
Fellerman,  and  they  have  nine  children.  Henry  and  William  re- 
side in  Springfield  tp.;  C.  A.  lives  in  Woodbury  Co.,  lo.;  Mary  is 
the  wife  of  Frank  Dessel.  of  Ida  Grove,  I,da  Co.,  lo.;  Lizzie  is  mar- 
ried to  Joseph  Fusch,  of  Ida  Grove,  and  the  rest  are  living  with 
their  parents. 

John  Fisher,  P.  0.  Ossian;  was  born  in  Rhode  Island  in  1812. 
He  remained  in  New  England  until  he  Avas  21  years  of  age,  when 
he  moved  to  N.  Y.  and  engaged  in  farming.  In  1850  he  moved  to 
Wis.,  thence  to  lo.  in  1856,  and  settled  in  this  Co.  and  tp.,  and  in 
1867  settled  in  the  town  of  Ossian.  Mr.  Fisher  has  been  married 
three  times,  and  has  had  three  sons.  John  Jr.,  the  only  one 
that  arrived  at  manhood,  was  born  July  4th,  1837,  and  died  in 
California  a  few  years  ago.  Mr.  Fisher  is  the  only  member  of  the 
family  living.  He  is  a  man  of  integrity,  whose  word  is  never 
questioned,  and  has  many  friends.  He  is  a  man  of  abundant 
means,  and  his  declining  years  are  made  pleasant  by  the  fruits  of 
his  labor. 

Jacob  Gesell,  farmer,  section  29,  P.  0.  Ridge  way;  owns  291 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  ^20  per  acre;   was  born  in  Germany  in 


WINKESHIEK  COUNTY  BIOGKAPHIES.  659 

1818;  is  the  second  SOU  of  Philip  L.  and  Abalona  Gesell.  When 
he  was  18  years  of  a^^e  he  left  Germany  Avith  his  parents,  came  to 
America  and  settled  in  Franklin  Co.,  lud.,  where  he  lived  27  years; 
then  moved  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  lo.,  and  settled  on  the  farm  in 
Lincoln  tp.,  where  he  now  resides.  He  was  married  in  1845  to 
Miss  Magalena  Juck,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  has  nine  children, 
Charles  F.,  Christian  L.,  John  F.,  Philip  J.,  Theodore  J.,  Wm. 
A.,  Phillipene,  Ahbie,  and  Mary  A.  Mr.  Gesell  has  been  tp,  trus- 
tee four  years. 

Fred  Glass,  farmer,  section  29,  P.  0.  Fort  Atkinson;  owns  320 
acres  of  land  valued  at  §25  per  acre;  was  born  in  1858,  in  lo.  Is 
the  second  son  of  Lawrence  and  Elizabeth  Glass.  Mr.  Glass  has 
lived  on  the  farm  where  he  now  is  since  the  spring  of  1882. 

Ole  Garden,  farmer,  section  21,  P.  0.  Calmar;  owns  180  acres  of 
land  valued  at  830  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1835;  is  the 
second  son  of  Haldor  and  Gertrude  Garden;  left  Norway  in  1852, 
came  to  America  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co..  where  ha  has  re- 
sided ever  since.  He  was  married  in  1861  to  Miss  Anna  Alven, 
a  native  of  Norway,  and  has  five  children,  Gertrude,  Dena,  Mary, 
Anna  and  Sophia. 

Erick  Guttormson,  farmer,  section  21,  P.  0.  Decorah;  owns 
160  acres  of  land,  valued  at  825  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in 
1822;  is  the  eldest  son  of  Guttorra  and  Anna  Guttormson;  came 
to  America  in  1857,  located  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  resided 
there  since.  He  was  married  in  1856,  to  Miss  Sarah  Johnson,  a 
native  of  Norway,  and  has  six  children,  John,  Andrew,  Anna, 
Knudt,  Mary  and  Julia. 

Peter  A.  Gunderson,  farmer,  Sec.  23,  P.  0.  Calmar;  owns  160 
acres  of  land  valued  at  §40  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1842; 
is  the  oldest  son  of  Gunder  and  Helena  Mathison;  left  Norway  in 
1866,  came  to  America,  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  resided 
there  since.  He  was  married  in  1807  to  Miss  Margret  Hanson,  a 
native  of  Norway,  and  has  five  children,  Henrietta,  Gena,  Adolph, 
Matilda  and  Ida. 

Halvor  Garden,  farmer,  Sec.  3,  P.  0.  Decorah;  owns  120  acres 
of  land  valued  at  825  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1828;  is 
the  oldest  son  of  Haldor  and  Gertrude  Garden;  left  Norway  in 
1848,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Dane  Co.,  Wis.;  lived  there 
two  years,  then  moved  to  Winneshiek  Co.  He  was  married  in 
1854  to  Miss  Ingebor  Opdahl,  a  native  of  Norway,  and  has  nine 
children,  William  H.,  Evan  A.,  Jeanetta  A.,  Emma  C,  Mary  A., 
Anna  E.,  Lilly  E.,  Edward  L.  and  Halvor  B.  He  has  held  the 
ofl&ces  of  trustee  and  sub-director,  and  is  local  deacon  in  the  Nor- 
wegian M.  E.  church. 

Edwin  Hover,  farmer,  Sec.  5,  P.  0.  Locust  Lane;  owns  97^ 
acres  of  land  valued  at  830  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1845; 
is  the  oldest  son  of  Hover  and  Bertha  Evenson;  left  Norway  in 
1848,   came   to    America   witli    his   parents,  and  settled  in  Wis.; 


660  WIKXESHIEK   COUKTY   BIOGEAPHIES, 

stayed  there  three  years,  then  came  to  Pleasant  tp.,  Winneshiek 
Co.,  lo.  and  has  resided  there  since.  He  was  married  in  1868  to 
Miss  Bertha  Christianson,  a  native  of  Norway,  and  has  five 
children,  Matilda  B.,  Clara  H.,  Henry  E,,  Elmer  C.  and  Alice. 
He  has  held  the  ofiices  of  assessor  eight  years,  justice  of  the  peace 
six  years,  and  treasurer  of  the  school  board  three  years. 

Hendrick  Hendrickson,  farmer,  Sec.  22,  P.  0.  Highlandville; 
owns  487  acres  of  land  valued  at  ^15  per  acre;  was  horn  in  Nor- 
way in  1S16;  is  the  fourth  son  of  Hendrick  and  Carrie  Oleson; 
left  Norway  in  1845,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Wis.;  re- 
mained there  eight  years,  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has 
resided  there  since.  He  was  married  in  1843  to  Miss  Carrie  Oleson,  a 
native  of  Norway,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  Ole  and  Hendrick. 
His  wife  died  in  1845,  and  he  was  married  again  in  1850  to  Miss 
Anna  Knudson,  a  native  of  Norway;  they  have  six  childred, 
Knudt,  Jacob,  Nels,  Carrie,  Ole  and  Sarah. 

Henry  Halverson,  farmer,  Sec.  33,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  120 
acres  of  land  valued  at  825  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1845; 
is  the  only  son  of  Halver  and  Asteri  Helgason ;  left  Norway  when 
quite  young,  came  with  his  parents  to  America,  and  after  a  lesi- 
dence  of  seventeen  years  in  Wis.,  moved  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  lo. 
He  was  married  in  1JS76  to  Miss  Therbor  Thirel,  a  native  of  Nor- 
way ,  and  has  three  children,  Anna  J.,  Minnie  L.  and  Henry  M. 

Bernard  Herold,  farmer,  Sec.  14,  P.  0.  Spillville;  owns  315 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Germany  in 
1819;  is  the  fifth  son  of  Nick  and  Dorothy  Herold.  When  he 
was  30  years  of  age  he  left  Germany,  came  to  America,  and  lived 
for  a  short  time  in  Erie  Co.,  N.  Y.,  but  soon  left  that  place,  and 
settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  where  he  has  lived  ever  since.  He  was 
married  in  1842  to  Miss  Mary  Seabold,  a  native  of  Germany,  and 
has  eleven  children,  Ragene,  Henry,  Lizabeth,  Andrew,  John, 
Katie,  George,  Joseph,  Mena,  Clemens  and  Anthony.  Mr.  Herold 
has  been  trustee  and  supervisor. 

John  Herold,  farmer.  Sec.  14,  P.  0.  Spillville;  owns  160  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  |20  per  acre;  was  born  in  lo.  in  1857;  is  the 
sixth  son  of  Michael  and  Maggie  Herold.  The  farm  which  Mr. 
Herold  owns  has  been  in  the  possession  of  the  family  for  29  years. 

John  Huber,  farmer,  Sec.  22,  P.  0.  Spillville;  owns  360  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  825  per  acre;  was  born  in  Ind.  in  1837;  is  the 
sixth  son  of  Michael  and  Vursula  Huber.  When  he  was  18  years 
of  age  he  left  Ind.,  came  to  lo.,  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co., 
and  has  been  a  resident  of  the  Co.  since.  He  was  married  in  1863 
to  Miss  Lany  Hercoy,  a  native  of  Ind.,  and  has  nine  children,  An- 
thony, Joseph,  William,  Henry,  Rosey,  Johanna,  Francis,  John 
and  Matilda.  Mr.  Huber  has  been  township  clerk,  collector  and 
trustee. 

D.  M.  Hoyt,  farmer.  Sec.  20,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  250  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  830  per  acre;  was  born  in   1831    in   Conn.;  is  the 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  661 

fifth  son  of  Warren  and  Elizabeth  Hoyt.  When  22  years  of  age 
he  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  after  a  residence  of  some  years  at 
Freeport  and  Decorah,  moved  to  Lincoln  tp.,  and  settled  on  the 
farm  where  he  now  resides.  He  was  married  in  1855  to  Miss 
Maria  A.  Shotwell,  a  native  of  Pa.,  and  has  eight  children,  Eugene 
W.,  Walter  and  Warren  (twins),  Effie,  Ernest  A.,  Fred  A.,  Agnes 
and  Alice  (twins.) 

Adolph  Ferdinand  John  Hillberg,  proprietor  of  Ridgeway  bil- 
liard hall,  was  born  in  Norway  in  1827;  is  the  fourth  son  of  John 
and  Andrena  Hillberg.  When  he  was  22  years  of  age  he  left 
Norway  and  traveled  in  Sweden,  Denmark  and  Finland.  He  also 
visited  Russia,  and  from  there  took  passage  for  New  Orleans; 
went  from  New  Orleans  to  St.  Louis,  and  after  staying  there  five 
years  went  to  Burlington,  lo.,  where  he  lived  two  years;  then 
went  to  Chicago,  and  made  that  city  his  home  till  the  war  of  the 
rebellion  broke  out.  He  was  married  in  1873  to  a  Miss  Buggea,  a 
native  of  Norway,  and  has  two  children,  Adelphina  and  Dorothy. 
He  has  been  back  to  Norway  three  times,  and  the  last  time  brought 
his  wife  with  him.  Mr.  H.  owns  85  acres  of  land  in  Howard  Co., 
valued  at  ^25  per  acre.  Capt.  Hillberg  served  in  the  free  corps  in 
Norway  for  one  year,  having  enlisted  in  1818.  He  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  1862,  at  Chicago,  in  the  82d  Regt.  111.  Vol.  Inf.,  Col. 
Hecker  commanding;  went  to  Springfield,  111.,  and  then  to 
Washington,  and  took  the  field  in  Va.;  was  appointed  first  lieut. 
in  Oct.,  1862,  by  Gov.  Yates,  and  in  the  following  year  was  made 
capt.  of  the  same  Co.;  served  under  Gen.  Seigel  until  after  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  western  de- 
partment, and  accompanied  Sherman  in  his  march  to  the  sea.  He 
was  honorably  discharged  at  Chicago  in  1865. 

G.  R.  Humphrey,  farmer.  Sec.  4.,  P.  0.  Cresco;  owns  160  acres 
of  land  valued  at  §25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Trumbull  Co.,  Ohio, 
in  Dec,  1837;  is  the  oldest  son  of  J.  W.  and  Lydia  Humphrey. 
When  18  years  of  age  he  moved  to  lo.,  and  settled  in  Winneshiek 
Co.,  where  he  has  lived  ever  since.  He  was  married  in  1866  to 
Miss  Belle  R.  Murray,  a  native  of  Ind.,  and  has  six  children,  Effie, 
Giles,  Frank,  Arthur,  May  and  Fred.  Mr.  Humphrey  enlisted  in 
1862  in  the  38th  lo.,  "Vol.  Inf.;  went  to  St.  Louis,  and  after  the 
capture  of  New  Madrid  was  ordered  to  Vicksburg.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  was  at  Yazoo  City  and  Black  River, 
then  back  to  Vicksburg,  then  up  to  Port  Hudson  and  Carrolton; 
the  winter  of  1863  and  1861  he  stayed  at  Brownsville,  Texas;  then 
was  at  the  siege  of  Ft.  Morgan;  thence  to  New  Orleans,  and 
from  there  to  Donaldsonville,  La.  The  regiment  was  finally  con- 
solidated with  the  31th  lo.  Inf.;  was  at  Kendallsville,  and  then 
in  the  spring  of  1865  went  to  Pensacola.  He  was  at  the  siege  of 
Ft.  Blakeley,  participated  in  the  charge  on  the  9th,  was  at  Selma, 
Alabama  and  at  Mobile  and  was  discharged  at  Houston.  Tex.,  Aug. 
15th,  1865. 


662  -wrisrifESHiEK  county  btogeaphies, 

Charles  Hartimg,  deceased,  was  a  native  of  Mass.;  came  to  111. 
in  1840;  Thence  to  lo.  in  1855,  and  settled  in  Military  tp.,  on  the 
place  where  his  daughter  Mrs.  Welch  resides.  He  died  in  Nov., 
1877,  his  wife  having  previousl_y  died,  in  1875. 

James  A.  Hart,  of  Bloomfield  tp.;  is  a  native  of  Canada,  born  in 
1832;  came  to  111.  in  January,  1855;  thence  to  lo.  in  1856,  and 
settled  in  Springfield  tp..  remained  there  until  1865,  when  he  set- 
tled in  Bloomfield  tp.  He  married  Arosmond  Price  in  1857,  who 
died  in  1878.  In  1881  Mr.  Price  was  married  to  Mrs.  McKenzie 
Hall,  of  Ossian. 

*01e  Hulverson,  of  Military  tp.,  is  a  native  of  Norway,  was  born 
in  1821,  and  came  to  America  in  1848.  He  lived  in  Cal.  and  Wis. 
until  1854,  when  he  settled  at  this  place.  His  wife  died  in 
1862,  leaving  two  daughters,  Thora  and  Engeabor. 

Theo.  Holtey  was  laorn  in  Westphall,  Russia,  in  1826;  came  to 
America  in  1854,  and  settled  in  Washington  tp.,this  Co.  In  1858 
he  married  Kate  Sutelgte;  they  have  seven  children;  Caroline, 
wife  of  William  Eimess,  of  Washington  tp.;  Barney,  Kate.  Henry, 
Roman,  Annie  and  William. 

Ole  Johnson,  farmer,  Sec.  27,  Pleasant  tp.,  P.  0.  Decorah;  owns 
197  acres  of  land  valued  at  $18  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in 
1826;  is  the  only  son  of  John  and  Ingebor  Johnson;  left  Norway 
in  1856,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.  He  was 
married  in  1854  to  Miss  Anna  Christina,  a  native  of  Norway,  and 
has  two  children,  Henry  and  John. 

Tore  Jorgenson,  farmer,  Sec.  20,  P.  0.  Calmar;  owns  80  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1845;  is  the 
oldest  son  of  Jorgen  and  Carrie  Toreson;  left  Norway  in  1866, 
came  to  America,  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  where  he  has 
resided  since.  He  was  married  in  1880  to  Miss  Dora  Anderson,  a 
native  of  Norwaj',  and  has  one  child,  Clara  J. 

George  Johnson,  farmer.  Sec.  1,P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  320  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1835;  is 
the  fourth  son  of  John  and  Ella  Johnson;  left  Norway  when  he 
was  16  years  of  age,  came  to  America,  and  settled  in  Rock  Co., 
Wis.,  where  he  lived  ten  years;  then  enlisted  during  the  war.  Af- 
ter tlie  war  was  over  he  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  been 
a  resident  of  the  Co.  since.  He  was  married  in  1865  to  Miss  Ra- 
chel Turgason,  a  native  of  Norway,  and  has  seven  children,  John, 
Randena,  Eliza,  Steiner  T.,  Kanute.  Olavis,  Amun  and  Otto  B. 
He  enlisted  in  1861  in  the  15th  Wis.  Yol.  Inf.,  participated  in  the 
battle  of  Chattanooga,  was  with  Gen.  Sherman  on  his  memorable 
march  to  the  sea,  and  was  finally  discharged  at  Chattanooga  in 
1865.     Mr.  Johnson  held  the  office  of  orderly  sergeant. 

0,  Jogerson,  farmer.  Sec.  5,  P.  0.  Decorah;  owns  80_^acres  of 
land,  valued  at  $30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1827;  is  the 
oldest  son  of  Joger  and  Ingre  Oleson;  left  Norway  in  1850,  came 
to  America  and  settled  in  Wis.,  remained  there  four  years,  then 


WINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES.  663 

went  to  111.,  where  he  remained  one  and  one-half  years;  then 
went  back  to  Wis.,  where  he  lived  twelve  years;  then  came  to  lo. 
and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  where  he  has  resided  ever  since. 
He  was  married  in  1848  to  Tngre  Peterson,  a  native  o£  Norway, 
and  has  five  children,  Joseph,  IngreD.,  Oliver  A.,  Carolina  A.  and 
Martin  E.  He  has  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  twelve 
years,  has  been  collector  two  terms,  assessor  one  term,  and  tp. 
trustee  one  term. 

John  Kodelka,  farmer.  Sec.  30,  P.  0.  Spillville;  owns  122 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Bohemia  in 
1842;  is  the  second  son  of  John  and  Anna  Kodelka;  came  to 
America  in  1863,  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  was  married  in  1876  to  Miss  Catherine  Fencer, 
a  native  of  Bohemia,  and  has  three  children,  John,  Jo.  and  Fanny. 

Philip  Kratz,  farmer,  Sec.  29,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  IGO  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  |30  per  acre;  was  born  in  1820  in  Germany;  is 
the  only  son  of  J.  Philip  and  Margaret  Kratz.  When  he  was  32 
years  of  age  he  left  Germany,  came  to  America,  and  settled  in 
Ind.,  where  he  lived  seven  years;  then  moved  to  lo.,  located  in 
Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  lived  there  since.  He  was  married  in 
1844  to  Miss  Margaret  Gesell,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  has  nine 
children,  George,  William,  Philip,  Hannah,  Margrette,  Michael 
and  Kate  (twins),  Mary  and  Theobold. 

H.W.  Klemme,  farmer,  section  28,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  has  198 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  1821  in  Ger- 
many; is  the  second  son  of  John  F.  ani  Charlotte  Klemme.  When 
he  waa  sixteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  America  with  his  parents, 
settled  in  Franklin  Co.,  Ind,  and  lived  there  till  1862,  when  he 
came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  where  he  has  lived  ever  since.  He  was 
married  in  1840  to  Miss  Anna  K.  Gesell,  a  native  of  Germany, 
and  has  13  children,  John  P.,  Wm.  H.,  J.  Chas.,  John  H.,  Anna 
K.,  John,  Mary,  Henry  F.,  Christian,  Jacob,  Benjamin  F.,  Joseph 
and  Stephen. 

Haavor  Knudson,  farmer,  section  29,  P.  0.  Calmar;  owns  400 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $35  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1820, 
is  the  eldest  son  of  Knudt  and  Anna  Haavorson;  left  Norway  in 
1850,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Mich.,  where  he  lived  two 
years;  then  went  to  Wis.,  where  he  resided  five  years,  and  then 
came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  He  was  married  in  1861  to  Miss  Julia 
Torkaldatter,  a  native  of  Norway,  and  has  nine  children,  Anna, 
Knudt,  Segre,  Christopher,  Toleena,  Andus,  Mary,  Theodore  and 
Christina.     He  has  held  the  offices  of  trustee,  school  director,  &c. 

Matthias  Kneeskern,  farmer,  section  25,  P.  0.  Ossian;  owns 
160  acres  of  land  valued  at  $30  per  acre;  was  born  in  New  York 
in  1813;  is  the  oldest  son  of  William  and  Maria  Kneeskern;  left 
New  York  in  1858,  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  resided  here 
since.  He  was  married  in  1838  to  Miss  Sirlima  Webster  a  native 
of  New  ^ork. 


664  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES, 

Ole  Larson,  farmer,  section  35,  P.  0,  Ridgeway;  owns  160  acres 
of  land  valued  at  ^20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1838;  is  the 
eldest  son  of  Lars  and  Rachael  Hanson.  When  he  was  21  years 
of  age  he  left  Norway,  came  to  America  with  his  parents,  and 
settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.;  stopped  for  some  time  at  Burr  Oak 
Springs,  but  finally  went  to  live  with  his  father.  At  the  end  of 
seven  years  he  settled  on  the  farm  where  he  lives  at  present.  He 
was  married  in  1862  to  Miss  Betsy  Halverson,  a  native  of  Nor- 
way, and  has  ten  children,  Oliver,  Belle,  Richard,  Anna,  Tilda, 
Lena,  Lars,  Betsy,  Loesa  and  Ole. 

T.  Lackman,  farmer,  section  21,  P.  0.  Ossiau;  owns  80  acres  of 
land  valued  at  ^25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Germany  in  1833;  is  the 
second  son  of  Theodore  and  Kate  Lackman;  left  Germany  in  1857, 
cam.e  to  America  and  settled  in  Wisconsin,  and  remained  there 
two  years;  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  and  has  resided  here 
since.  He  was  married  in  1859  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Merrick,  a  na- 
tive of  Prussia,  and  has  eight  children,  John,  Theodore,  Gertrude, 
Christina,  Josie,  Francis.  Lizzie  and  Clement. 

Ole  T.  Lomman,  of  Military  tp.,  is  a  native  of  Norway:  was 
born  in  1814:  came  to  America  in  1851  and  settled  in  Win- 
neshiek Co.  He  was  elected  County  Commissioner  in  1881.  He 
was  first  married  in  1872,  his  wife  dying  in  1876,  and  in  1881  he 
was  again  married  to  Anna  M.  Kloster,  also  a  native  of  Germany. 
They  have  two  children,  Barbara  M.  and  Tora  Margaretta. 

Wenzel  Lansing,  deceased,  late  of  Bloomfield  tp.,  was  born  in 
Prussia  in  1824,  and  came  to  America  in  1848,  and  settled  in  Chi- 
cago; thence  to  Wis.,  where  he  remained  until  1855;  thence  to 
this  Co.  In  1855  he  married  Gertrude  Daldrup.  He  died  in  1869, 
leaving  a  wife  and  five  children,  Mary,  Nettie,  Frank,  Frederick 
and  Lizzie. 

E.  S.  Lambert,  of  Bloomfield  tp.,  is  a  native  of  Ind.;  came  to 
lo.,  in  1854,  and  settled  on  his  present  farm  in  1855.  He  is  a 
prominent  citizen,  and  has  filled  various  offices  of  trust  in  this  tp. 
He  married  Esther  Holcomb  in  1855,  and  they  have  nine  children 
living. 

L.  P.  Mason,  Jr.,  residence  and  P.  0.  Ridgway.  Mr.  Mason 
was  born  in  Muscatine,  lo.  in  1858;  is  the  third  son  of  Lewis  P. 
and  Louisa  A.  Mason.  When  he  was  nine  years  of  age  he  moved 
with  his  parents  to  Indianapolis,  Ind.;  left  there  in  1878,  came  to 
Cresco,  lo.,  and  after  a  stay  of  a  few  months  went  to  Dakota, 
where  he  lived  eighteen  months;  then  came  back  to  lo.,  and  after 
a  short  stay  at  Cresco  and  New  Hampton,  finally  came  to  Ridge- 
way and  took  charge  of  the  Ridgeway  creamery,  owned  by  Galby 
&  Aacer,  He  was  married  in  1881  to  Miss  Ella  May  Toft,  a  native 
of  lo.  Mr.  Mason's  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  rebel- 
lion, and  was  killed  in  battle. 

C.  A.  Miller,  farmer.  Military  tp.;  is  a  native  of  N.  Y.,  and  was 
born   in  1825;    came   Avest   in  1855  and  settled  in  this  co.  on  his 


WIXXESHIEK  COUNTY  BIOGRAPHIES.  665 

farm  in  Sec.  23.  He  married  Miss  Mary  J.  Freeman,  of  N.  Y., 
in  1853.  Mr.  Freeman's  parents  reside  with  hira.  His  father  is 
89  years  of  age,  his  mother  85  years,  and  they  have  been  married 
65  years. 

Andrew  Meyer,  farmer  and  capitalist,  whose  portrait  appears 
elsewhere,  was  born  in  Loraine,  France,  Apr.  11,  1823.  When  17 
years  of  age  he  came  to  America,  first  living  in  New  York  for  a 
period  of  three  years.  In  1843  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  and  thence 
to  Franklin  Co.,  Ind.,  where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Rachael 
Becker,  who  emigrated  from  France  in  1832.  He  remained  in  Ind. 
until  March,  1849,  when  with  his  wife  and  daughter  he  came  to 
lo.,  arriving  in  McGregor  when  there  were  not  more  than  two 
houses  in  that  town.  Continuing  his  journey,  he  came  to  Winne- 
shiek Co.,  locating  in  Washington  tp.,  where  he  erected  a  cabin, 
in  which  his  son  George— the  first  white  male  born  in  Winneshiek 
CO. — was  born.  The  nearest  military  point  was  Independeuce,  his 
first  trip  thither  consuming  nine  days.  Contending  against  the 
difficulties  of  pioneer  life — for  the  first  four  years  without  a 
neighbor — he  nevertheless  remained  to  see  prosperous  settlements 
around  him  and  to  himself  share  the  general  prosperity,  having 
now  a  handsome  and  commodious  residence,  large  and  valuable 
landed  property,  and  ranking  among  the  wealthiest  and  most  re- 
spected farmers  of  northeastern  lo.  Mr.  Meyers  is  a  liberal 
minded  and  intelligent  gentleman  whose  upright  character  and 
consistent  habits  of  life  have  justly  earned  for  him  the  esteem  of 
all  who  know  him.  His  children  are  all  residents  of  lo..  save  one, 
Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  Joseph  Creamer,  of  St.  Paul.  The 
children  are:  Mary,  named  above;  George,  who  still  resides  on  the 
homestead;  Frances,  now  Mrs.  Philip  Huber,  of  Ft.  Atkinson; 
Louis,  in  the  banking  business  at  Ossian;  Mary  Agnes,  now  Mrs. 
Hubert  M.  Kaut,  of  Lawler;  Joseph  and  Peter,  still  living  at  home; 
Catherine,  now  Mrs.  Nicholas  Waggoner,  of  Washington  tp.,  Car- 
oline F.,  now  Mrs.  Frank  Dessel,  of  Ossian;  Mary  E.,  now  Mrs. 
Theo.  Heischer,  of  Ossian.  His  daughter  Barbara  died  Aug.  15, 
1870,  aged  19  years. 

Martin  Novak,  farmer,  Sec.  7,  P.  0.  Spillville;  owns  280  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  §25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Bohemia  in  1833;  is 
the  oldest  son  of  John  and  Anna  Novak.  When  he  was  18  years 
of  age  he  came  to  America  with  his  family,  settled  in  Calmar  tp., 
and  after  a  residence  of  five  years  moved  to  Sumner  tp.,  of  which 
he  has  been  a  resident  ever  since.  He  was  married  in  1861  to  Miss 
Francis  Zboal,  a  native  of  Bohemia,  and  has  five  children,  Antho- 
ny, Thomas,  Francis,  Mathias  and  Gustave.  He  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  supervisors. 

George  Oleson,  farmer,  Sec.  21,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  200 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in 
1833;  is  the  fourth  son  of  Ole  and  Margaret  Jenson  Kaasa.  When 
he  was  ten  years  of  age  he  left  Norway  with  his  parents,  came   to 


666  WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

America,  lived  in  Chicago  two  years,  and  then  went  to  Boone  Co., 
111.,  where  he  lived  with  Mr,  George  Williams,  of  that  Co.,  four 
years;  then  went  to  Chicago,  and  made  that  city  his  home  until 
1869,  when  he  came  to  lo.,  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  M'here 
he  still  resides.  He  was  married  in  1860  to  Miss  Sarah  Anderson 
Esperette,  a  native  of  Norway,  and  has  seven  children,  Ansof, 
Ella  M.,  Edward  F.,  Jepheme,  AndrusW.,  Ida  C,  and  Jens  L. 
He  has  been  tp.  trustee  and  secretary  of  the  school  board. 

G.  K.  Opdahl,  farmer,  iSec.  14,  P.  0.  Decorah;  owns  177  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1841;  is 
the  oldest  son  of  Knudt  G.  and  Mary  Opdahl;  left  Norway  in 
1848,  came  to  America,  and  located  in  Dane  Co.,  Wis.,  remained 
there  two  years,  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  He  was  married 
in  1868  to  Miss  Mary  Omlie,  a  native  of  Wis.,  and  has  three  chil- 
dren, Martin  K.,  Mary  C,  and  Ida  L.     His  wife  died  in  1879. 

A.  W.  Oleson,  merchant,  at  Ossian,  was  born  in  Decorah,  lo., 
Jan.  13,  1855,  and  was  the  first  Norwegian  child  born  in  this  Co. 
His  parents  settled  there  in  1853.  Mr.  Oleson  clerked  in  Decorah 
until  the  spring  of  1882,  when  he  settled  in  Ossian,  and  entered 
business  as  above. 

G.  W.  Oxley,  Bloomfield  tp.,  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1824;  came  to 
lo.  in  1854,  and  settled  on  his  present  farm  on  Sec.  5.  Mr.  0. 
was  married  to  Eliza  J.  Blue  in  1848,  and  they  have  eight  children. 

Anton  Peterson,  farmer,  Decorah  tp..  Sec.  32;  was  born  in  Nor- 
way in  1814;  is  the  second  son  of  Peter  and  Carrie  Peterson;  left 
Norway  in  1859,  came  to  America,  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  lo., 
and  engaged  in  farming.  Mr.  P.  was  married  in  1881  to  Miss 
Mary  Gilbertson,  a  native  of  lo. 

John  Peterson  was  born  in  Sweden  in  1827,  and  at  the  age  of 
9  he  shipped  as  cabin  boy  on  a  Swedish  vessel,  and  the  next 
year  went  to  Rio  Janiero  on  a  German  vessel.  During  the  year  of 
1838  the  crew,  with  the  exception  of  himself  and  another  boy, 
died  of  yellow  fever.  Mr.  Peterson  was  registered  as  an  able  sea- 
man when  only  14  years  old,  and  continued  a  seafaring  life  until 
1857,  during  which  time  he  visited  all  the  principal  ports  of 
the  old  and  new  world.  In  1858  he  went  to  California  and  trav- 
eled through  that  state  and  Oregon  until  1860.  He  then  came  to 
lo.,  and  settled  in  Calmar,  and  in  1868  bought  the  farm  he  now 
owns,  on  Sec.  4,  in  Military  tp.  He  was  married  in  1863  to  Ber- 
tha Knuteson,  and  they  have  eight  children.  Mr.  P.  served  in 
Co.  G,  13th  lo.  Inf.,  during  the  rebellion. 

A.  Pegg,  M.  D.,  is  a  native  of  Canada,  and  a  graduate  of  the 
McGill  University  at  Montreal,  class  of  1867.  He  practiced  in 
Canada  until  1877,  when  he  came  to  lo.  and  located  in  Ossian, 
where  he  is  now  the  leading  physician  and  enjoys  a  large  practice. 

Peter  Reis,  farmer,  Sec.  30,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  140  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  horn  in  1841  in  Germany;  is 
the  third  son  of  Charles  and  Margretta  Reis.     In  the  year  1870  he 


WINNESHIEK    COUNTY   BIOGRArHIES  667 

came  to  America,  settled  in  N.  Y.,  and  after  a  short  stay  there 
went  to  Ills.,  where  he  lived  one  year;  then  came  to  Howard  Co., 
and  worked  for  different  persons  until  1872,  when  he  settled  in 
Winneshiek  Co.  He  was  married  in  1872  to  Miss  Carolina  P. 
Gesell,  a  native  of  Ind.,  and  has  five  children,  Charles  J.,  Her- 
memia  A.,  MactalenaM.,  Mary  E.  and  Peter  F. 

Charles  Rusk,  farmer.  Sec.  15,  P.  0.  Spillville;  owns  170  acres 
of  land,  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Bohemia  in  1843;  is 
a  son  of  Albert  and  Rosaria  Rusk;  was  married  in  1872  to  Miss 
Kate  Novak,  a  native  of  Bohemia,  and  has  four  children,  Stura 
P.,  Lena  R.,  Victoria  and  Charley. 

J.  T.  Shipley,  postmaster,  merchant  and  hotel  keeper,  Locust 
Lane,  Pleasant  tp.,  Avas  born  in  Pa.,  in  1829;  is  the  third  son  of 
Joseph  and  Sarah  Shipley;  left  Pa.  with  his  mother,  when  one 
year  old,  and  settled  in  Delaware;  remained  there  eight  years, 
then  went  back  to  Pa  ;  stayed  there  nine  years,  then  came  to 
Wis.,  where  he  remained  two  years;  then  went  to  California, 
where  he  lived  four  years;  then  came  back  to  Wis.,  stayed  there 
twenty  years,  and  then  came  to  lo.,  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co., 
where  he  has  since  resided.  He  was  married  in  1857  to  Miss  Mary 
A.  Desmond,  and  has  eight  children,  Emma,  Josie,  Mary,  J.  R., 
Martha,  James,  Thomas  and  Lizzie.  He  was  a  sutler  in  the  20th 
Wis.  Regt.,  one  year. 

John  J.  Sherwin,  farmer.  Sec.  5,  P.  0.  Locust  Lane;  owns  GO 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in 
18-11;  is  the  second  son  of  Jens  and  Bert  Larson;  left  Norway  in 
1848,  came  to  America,  and  located  in  Wis.;  remained  there  one 
year,  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  Pleasant  tp.  He  was  married 
in  1873  to  Miss  Lsabella  Hover,  a  native  of  lo.,  and  has  four  chil- 
dren, Julius  H.,  Berta  S.,  Melwylna,  and  Alice. 

Jorgen  Syverson,  farmer,  section  8,  P.  0.  Decorah;  owns  148 
acres  of  laud  valued  at  $35  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1828; 
is  the  oldest  son  of  Syver  and  Margret  Jorgen;  left  Norway  in 
1853;  came  to  America,  settled  in  Wis.,  stayed  in  Wis.  three 
years;  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  where  he  now  resides.  He 
was  married  in  1859  to  Miss  Anna  Nelson,  a  native  of  Norway, 
and  has  two  children,  Margret  and  Gilbert. 

Henry  Schaitemantel,  of  Military  tp.,  was  born  in  Bavaria, 
Germany,  in  1820;  came  to  America  in  1848.  and  in  1852  settled 
where  he  now  resides,  where  he  owns  a  farm    of  about  600  acres. 

R.  N.  Sawyer,  Ossian,  hardware  dealer  and  dealer  in  stock;  is 
a  native  of  Ohio;  came  to  Wis.  in  1839  with  his  parents,  and 
thence  to  lo.  in  1853,  and  engaged  in  farming  until  1865,  when 
he  went  into  his  present  business. 

Ole  Tostenson,  farmer,  section  23,  P.  0.  Ossian;  owns  310  acres 
of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1817;  is 
the  eldest  son  of  Tosten  and  Aasne  Oleson;  left  Norway  in  1847, 
came  to  America  and  located  in  Dane  Co.,  Wis;  stayed  there  three 


668  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY    BIOGRAPHIES. 

years,  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  He  was  married  in  1847  to 
Miss  Ann  Oleson,  a  native  of  Norway,  and  has  three  children, 
Abraham,  Gabriel  and  Jacob. 

John  Thomson,  farmer,  sec.  20.  P.  0.  Calmar;  owns  170  acres  of 
land  valued  at  |30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1823;  is  the 
second  son  of  Thomas  and  Ingebor  Thomson;  left  Norway  in  1850, 
came  to  America  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  where  he  now 
resides.  He  was  married  in  1850  to  Miss  Ingebor  Mekkelson,  a  na- 
tive of  Norway. 

J.  V.  Vance,  farmer,  Bloomfield  tp.,  is  a  native  of  Ohio;  came 
to  lo.  in  1856,  and  settled  on  his  farm  of  600  acres.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1853  to  Miss  M.  M.  Cooper. 

Samuel  Wise,  farmer,  section  16,  P.  0.  Locust  Lane;  owns  180 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre:  was  born  in  Penn.  in  1845; 
is  the  fourth  son  of  Samuel  and  Phebe  Wise;  left  Penn  in  1852, 
came  to  Ills.,  stayed  there  two  years,  then  came  to  Winneshiek 
Co.,  and  has  resided  there  since.  He  was  married  in  1868  to  Miss 
Catharine  Barth,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  has  eight  children,  Rosa- 
mond, Phebe,  Flora,  Isaiah,  Julia,  Elizabeth,  Lucy  and  Daniel  E. 
He  has  held  the  offices  of  constable  and  road  supervisor. 

David  Womeldorf,  farmer,  section  33,  P.  0.  Decorah; 
owns  149-|  acres  of  land  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was 
born  in  Penn.  in  1829;  is  the  fourth  son  of  Frederick  and  Barbara 
Womeldorf;  left  Penn.  in  1844  and  settled  in  111. ;  remained  there 
eleven  years,  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  settled  in  Pleas- 
ant tp.,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  was  married  in  1853  to 
Miss  Mary  A.  Smith,  a  native  of  Penn.,  and  has  two  children, 
Sarah  A,  and  Lewis  N.  He  has  held  the  office  of  trustee  one 
term  and  county  Supervisor  one  term. 

C.  W.  Williams,  of  the  firm  of  C.  W.  Williams  &  Co.,  proprie- 
tor of  Spring  Hill  Creamery,  Military  tp.,  one  of  the  largest 
creameries  in  northern  lo.,  settled  in  Jo.  in  1868,  and  came  to 
Winneshiek  Co.,  in  1881. 


John  Bakev/ell. 


THE  N' 
PUB!  !' 


ASTOh. 
TILDf.\  --NS 


WAUKON  AND  LANSING 


The  two  Chief  Towns  of  Allamakee  County, 


[Explanatory  Note. — The  history  of  Waukou  and  Lansing,  which  should  more  properly  follow 
immediately  after  the  general  history  of  Allamakee  County,  necessarily  appears  In  this  order  of 
I  ocation,  the  MSS.  having  been  received  by  the  Publishers  too  late  for  earlier  insertion.  This  arrange- 
ment,  while  in  a  measure  out  of  harmony  with  the  technical  classification  of  the  work,  will  be  found 
to  in  nowise  detract  from  the  completeness  of  its  historical  value. — THE  Editoij.  ] 


CHAPTER  I. 


History  of  Waiikon:  Advent  of  Geo.  C.  ShattucL-;  Other  Early 
Settlers;  Begmning  and  Growth  of  the  Emhnjo  County  Seat; 
Interesting  Early  Details;  The  First  Court  House;  Additions  to 
the  Town  Plat;  Popnlation;  Origin  of  the  Na?ne '■'■Waukon;" 
Religious  and  Educational  Organizations;  The  Postoffice;  The 
Local  Press;  Business  Institutions;  Bailroad  History;  Orders 
and  Societies;  Military  Company;  Fires,  Etc. 


In  the  month  of  July,  1849,  Geo.  C.  Shattuck,  then  a  man  up- 
wards of  three  score  years  of  age,  built  his  camp  fire  on  the  prairie 
now  occupied  by  the  town  of  Waukon,  while  on  a  prospecting 
tour  for  a  location.  Concluding  that  the  country  was  desirable  in 
every  respect,  he  staked  his  claim,  cut  and  made  hay  to  supply  his 
stock  through  the  winter,  and  returned  to  Dubuque  county,  we 
believe,  for  his  family.  With  them,  he  again  drove  on  to  this 
beautiful  prairie  in  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  of  September, 
1849,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  the  thriving  town  that  we  see 
here  to-day.  He  built  a  hay  house  for  his  family  to  occupy  until 
he  and  his  boys  could  erect  a  log  house,  which  stood  on  the  land 
now  owned  by  Michael  Deveny,  southwest  of  the  Episcopal  church. 
It  has  disappeared  within  the  last  few  years  ;  but  in  its  day  it  was 
a  hospitable  "mansion"  to  the  early  comers,  and  was  often  filled 
to  the  utmost  of  its  limited  capacity. 

Mr.  Shattuck  was  born  September  9,  1787,  where,  we  do  not, 
know.  He  was  a  pioneer  by  nature,  and  it  is  said  pitched  his  tent 
on  the  present  site  of  Chicago  when  no  one  but  Indians  inhabited 


42 


670  HISTOKT    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

the  spot.  In  October,  1870,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three,  he  departed 
from  us  overland,  driving  his  own  horse  team  as  when  he  came 
twenty-one  years  before,  to  make  a  new  home  in  Missouri  or 
Kansas.  In  1875  he  visited  Waukon  once  again;  and  the  follow- 
ing spring,  April  6,  1876,  he  died  at  Plattville,  Wis. 

The  first  white  settlers  in  Makee  township  were  Patrick  Keenan 
and  Richard  Cassiday,  who  settled  on  Makee  Kidge  in  October  1848, 
but  returned  to  Jefferson  township  the  following  spring.  The  se- 
lection made  by  these  men  was  on  the  land  now  owned  by  the 
county  as  a  poor  farm,  and  here  Mr.  Keenan  built  the  first  log 
house  ever  erected  in  Makee  or  Union  Prairie  townships,  the  re- 
mains of  which  still  stand,  or  did  recently,  near  a  spring  in  the 
timber  south  of  the  Poor  House. 

In  August,  1849,  Prosser  Whaley  came  in  and  made  a  claim  on 
Sec.  32,  and  returned  to  Wisconsin  for  his  family,  bringing  them 
here  in  September  or  October  of  that  year.  During  the  next  six 
weeks  he  built  the  second  house  in  the  township,  and  it  was  a  gen- 
eral stopping  place  for  new  comers  for  some  time.  All  that  re- 
mains of  it  is  now  the  property  of  August  Meyer.  In  the  spring 
of  1850  Mr.  Whalen  raised  a  good  crop  of  corn  on  a  piece  of  land 
while  Mr.  Keenan  broke  up  in  1848,  the  pioneer  crop  of  the  settle- 
ment. Mr.  Whaley  died  in  May  1866,  but  Mrs.  Whaley  is  still 
living,  a  resident  of  Waukon. 

In  these  days  Prairie  du  Chien  was  the  trading  point  for  the 
settlement,  although  there  was  a  small  grocery  at  Monona. 

As  to  the  next  early  settlers  we  quote  the  following  from  Judge 
Dean: 

''In  the  spring  of  1850  the  following  families  came  into  the 
settlement,  and  perhaps  others  that  we  have  failed  to  note:  Seth 
Patterson,  Darwin  Patterson,  Archa  Whaley,  William  Niblock, 
James  Gillett,  Horace  Gillett,  Christopher  McNutt,  James  Con- 
way, David  Whaley,  David  Whaley,  Jr.,  Richard  Charles  and 
Robert  S.  Stevenson,  of  whom  the  following  settled  in  what  is 
now  Makee  tp. 

"Archa  Whaley  on  section  33,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Mr, 
Bronsmeyer;  Mr.  Whaley  now  lives  on  Village  Creek,  and  is  the 
proprietor  of  Whaley 's  Mills. 

''Mr.  Niblock  on  section  32,  on  which  he  built  a  log  house  near 
a  spring,  and  near  the  south  line  of  the  farm,  which  is  still  stand- 
ing, but  used  of  late  years  as  a  slaughter  house.  In  the  spring  of 
1851  he  sold  this  claim  to  Thomas  A.  Minard,  who  sold  to  James 
Maxwell,  who  lived  and  died  there,  and  it  is  known  as  the  Max- 
well farm  to-day.     Mr.  Niblock  now  lives  in  Jefferson  tp. 

"David  Whaley   made  a  claim  on  section  20,    but   soon   after 
sold  it  to  C.  J.  White,  and  he  to  Mr.  James  Hall,  who  owns  it  to- 
day.    Mr.  Whaley,  after  selling  this  entered  the  laud  that  is  now 
the  farm  of  Balser  Fultz,  just  north  of  town,  and  after  selling  this 
emoved  to  Minnesota,  where  he  died  about  1867.    David  Whaley, 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUN^TY.  671 

Jr.,  made  a  claim  near  his  father's,  which  he  sold  to  Almarin 
Randall,  and  he  to  James  Nicholls,  and  it  is  owned  by  Mrs. 
Nicholls  to-day.  Randall  lives  in  Minnesota  at  this  time.  James 
Conway  made  a  claim  on  section  28,  where  he  still  lives. 

'^Robert  Stevenson  became  a  lawyer,  married  Mr.  Geo.  C.  Shat- 
tuck's  daughter,  Minerva,  and  subsequently  removed  to  Wisconsin 
and  during  the  late  war  he  was  a  private  in  Co.  C,  2d  Wis.  Vols., 
and  now  fills  and  honors  a  soldier's  grave  on  the  bloody  field  of 
Antietam. 

The  following  families  made  claims  in  Union  Prairie:  Seth  Pat- 
terson and  Darwin  Patterson  on  section  23;  each  built  a  log  house 
near  a  large  spring  that  is  the  source  of  Patterson  Creek,  but  at 
this  writing  there  is  nothing  left  to  mark  the  spot  but  a  mound  of 
earth.  The  creek  was  named  after  them  and  still  bears  their  name; 
it  runs  northwest  and  empties  into  the  Iowa  River  in  Hanover 
tp.  Seth  Patterson  is  dead,  and  Darwin  is  a  merchant  in  Minne- 
sota. 

^'  Richard  Charles  made  a  claim  on  section  2-1:,  and  built  a  log 
house  near  a  spring  that  is  the  source  of  Village  creek .  This 
creek  runs  northeast  and  empties  into  the  Mississippi  river  at  Co- 
lumbus. This  farm  is  now  the  property  of  Mr.  James  Reid,  and 
his  dwelling  stands  near  the  spot  where  tlie  original  log  house 
stood.  The  present  whereabouts  of  Mr.  Charles  are  unknown  to 
the  writer,  James  Gillett  made  a  claim  on  section  26,  and,  with 
his  son  Horace,  and  son-in-law  McNutt,  built  a  log  house  near  the 
spring  that  is  the  source  of  Coon  creek,  which  runs  northwest  and 
empties  into  the  Iowa  river  in  Winneshiek  county.  This  claim 
afterwards  became  the  property  of  Edward  Eells,  and  is  now 
owned  by  his  sons  A.  J.  and  G.  P.  Eells.  Of  all  these  first  fam- 
ilies in  Union  Prairie  not  one  is  living  in  the  county  to-day. 

"  All  these  families  spoken  of  in  both  townships  came  in  pre- 
vious to  June  1,  and  as  the  4th  of  July  approached  the  settlement 
decided  that  the  day  should  be  duly  honored;  so  Mr.  Niblock  and 
Pitt  Shattuck  were  detailed  to  prepare  a  liberty  pole  for  the  occa- 
sion, and  on  the  3d  they  cut  a  tall,  straight  young  tree  in  the  Paint 
creek  timber,  and  hauled  it  to  the  head  of  Union  Prairie,  where  it 
was  erected  by  the  men  of  the  settlement,  and  on  the  next  day, 
July  4th,  1850,  the  whole  settlement,  men,  women  and  children, 
gathered  around  the  pole  where  they  listened  to  an  oration  from 
Darwin  Patterson,  Esq.,  delivered  from  the  stump  of  a  tree  close 
by;  after  which  they  had  their  picnic  dinner,  and  on  this  occasion 
Mr.  Shattuck  gave  the  prairie  the  name  of  '  Union.'  All  these 
exercises  were  carried  on  with  much  Fourth  •  of  July  patriotism 
and  sociality,  and  this  Avas  the  first  public  picnic  dinner,  and  the 
first  Fourth  of  July  celebration  that  history  records  in  Makee  or 
Union  Prairie  townships. 

''The  main  traveled  road  from  the  steamboat  landing  on  the 
Mississippi  river  at  Lansing,  to  Decorah,   in  Winneshiek  county, 


672  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    roUNTY. 

ran  past  this  pole;  and  before  this  region  was  tapped  by  railroads 
it  was  a  much  traveled  thoroughfare,  and  this  pole  stood  for 
many  years  as  a  landmark,  and  was  known  far  and  wide. 

"  In  the  fall  of  1850  Azel  Pratt  and  Lemuel  Pratt  came  in,  and 
settled  on  Makee  ridge,  Azel  building  a  little  log  cabin  south  of 
the  road  near  a  spring  on  what  is  now  the  farm  of  Mr,  John  Kas- 
ser.  In  this  they  lived,  and  Lem'uel  having  brought  in  a  small 
stock  of  goods,  they  were  opened  out  in  the  chamber,  or  up-stairs 
part  of  the  house,  and.  customers  supplied  therefrom.  Thus  Dea- 
con Pratt  owned  the  first  building  used  as  a  store  in  Makee. 

"  Lemuel  Pratt  entered  the  land  where  Michael  McCrodeu  now 
lives,  and  kept  hotel  there.  The  postofiice  for  all  the  region 
round  about  was  kept  in  his  house,  and  he  was  the  first  postmas- 
ter in  Makee  township.  In  1856  he  sold  out  and  moved  to  Minne- 
sota, where  he  now  lives. 

"In  the  spring  of  1851  Augustine  and  L.  W.  Hersey  came  in 
with  a  small  stock  of  goods,-  purchased  the  remnant  of  the  stock 
of  Lemuel,  and  opened  a  small  stoi-e  in  the  dwelling  house  of  Au- 
gustine on  Makee  ridge,  now  owned  by  G.  Schellsmith. 

"In  the  spring  of  1851  several  families  came  into  the  settle- 
ment, among  whom  were  Abraham  Bush,  David  Bartly,  Elijah 
Short,  George  Randall,  Howard  Hersey,  John  Pratt,  Dr.  Flint, 
the  pioneer  physician  of  the  settlement,  John  A.  Wakefield,  and 
perhaps  others,  who  settled  in  what  is  now  Makee;  and  George 
Merrill,  Henry  Harris,  John  Harris,  H.  H.  Horton,  Francis  Treat, 
John  Amnion,  Eells  brothers,  Moses  Bush,  John  Bush,  Wm.  S. 
Conner  and  others,  who  settled  in  what  is  now  Union  Prairie;  and 
the  country  began  to  present  an  appearance  of  age  and  pros- 
perity,   bat    there    was    as    yet,   no    Makee,    Union    Prairie    or 

Waukon." 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

"At  the  March  term,  1852.  of  the  County  Court,  held  at  Colum- 
bus, the  legal  voters  in  tp.  98,  range  5,  petitioned  for  organization 
as  a  civil  township  under  the  name  of  Makee.  The  Court  granted 
the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  and  appointed  Israel  Devine  as  com- 
missioner to  call  an  election  for  purposes  of  organization,  which 
he  did.  The  election  was  held  in  April  following,  in  the  log 
house  on  the  C.  J,  White  farm,  and  resulted  in  the  election  of  a 
full  set  of  town  ofiicers;  but  in  consequence  of  scanty  records  and 
the  faulty  memory  of  the  participants,  we  are  left  to  guess  who 
they  were.  We  only  know  that  John  A,  Wakefield  was  chosen 
constable,  and  in  consequence  of  his  refusing  to  serve,  Sanford 
C.  Marsh  was  appointed  to  fill  the  office.'' 

*  >(;  !(«  5)c  :):  H;  51; 

"Jan.  24,  1853,  the  Legislature  of  Iowa  appointed  three  commis- 
sioners, to- wit:  Clement  C.  Coffin  of  Delaware  County,  John  S. 
Lewis,  of  Clayton  Co.,  and  Dennis  A.  Mahony,  of  Dubuque  Co., 
to  re-locate  the  county  seat  of  Allamakee  Co.,  and  required  them 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  673 

to  meet  at  Columbus,  the  then  county  seat,  about  the  first  Monday 
in  Marcli  following,  take  the  oath  ol:  office  and  proceed  to  select  a 
point  for  the  new  county  seat  as  near  the  center  of  the  county  as 
was  practicable.  This  they  did,  and  in  selecting  the  spot  they 
took  into  consideration  the  place  where  the  original  liberty  pole 
was  planted  at  the  head  of  Union  Prairie,  Makee  Ridge  and  some 
other  points,  but  the  absence  of  water  at  those  places  made  them 
objectionable. 

At  this  time  there  were  several  splendid  springs  bubbling  out  of 
the  prairie  sod  where  Waukon  now  stands,  and  Father  Shattuck, 
then  living  here,  offered  to  give  the  county  forty  acres  of  land  for 
county  seat  purposes,  if  the  commissioners  would  locate  the 
county  seat  thereon.  The  stake  was  driven  by  them  on  the  land 
thus  donated,  and  the  proposed  town  site  was  named  at  the  time, 
the  commissioners  requesting  John  Haney,  Jr.,  who  was  present 
and  took  an  active  part  in  the  matter,  to  christen  the  spot.  He 
having  been  a  trader  among  the  Indians,  and  having  a  good  friend 
among  them  in  the  person  of  John  Waukon,  a  chief  of  the  %Vin- 
nebago  tribe,  gave  it  his  name,  and  it  has  been  called  Waukon 
from  that  time. 

"The  spot  for  the  new  county  seat  having  been  selected,  it  be- 
came subject  to  ratification  or  rejection  by  the  legal  voters,  of  the 
county  at  the  ensuing  April  election;  and  in  order  to  create  for 
the  new  location  as  favorable  an  impression  as  possible,  a  mass 
meeting  was  called  at  the  selected  spot  two  days  before  the  elec- 
tion, and  assembled  near  where  the  Episcopal  church  now  stands. 
This  Avas  the  largest  white  assemblage  ever  seen  in  the  county, 
there  being  present  nearly  three  hundred  persons.  The  meeting 
was  organized  by  electing  John  Raymond,  of  Union  Prairie,  presi- 
dent, and  A.  J.  Hersey  and  Mr.  Beeman  secretaries.  John  A. 
Wakefield,  who  owned  the  farm  on  the  Lansing  Ridge  that  Hugh 
Norton  now  owns,  and  John  W.  Remine,  a  lawyer  from  Lansing, 
made  speeches  in  favor  of  the  new  location;  and  Thomas  B.  Twi- 
ford,  of  Columbus,  the  then  county  seat,  against  it,  after  which 
Father  Shattuck  drove  on  to  the  ground  with  a  large  supply  of 
cooked  provisions,  among  which  were  a  plentiful  supply  of  baked 
beans,  and  from  the  wagon  fed  the  multitude  of  three  hundred. 

"On  the  following  Monday,  April  4th,  1853,  the  voters  of  the 
County  ratified  the  choice  of  the  Commissioners  by  a  majority  over 
Columbus  of  two  hundred  and  forty-five  votes,  there  being  seven 
voting  precincts  in  the  County. 

"Waukon  having  now  become  the  seat  of  justice,  and  there  being  a 
term  the  of  District  Court  to  be  held  in  June  following,  some  pro- 
vision must  be  made, and  a  proper  place  provided;  so  a  purse  of  money 
and  labor  was  raised,  and  a  log  cabin  about  ten  feet  by  fourteen  that 
belonged  to  Mr.  Pilcher  and  stood  near  the  place  where  Mrs, 
Cooper  now  lives,  was  purchased  and  moved  to  the  new  town  site, 
and  erected  on   or  near  the  spot  v/here  the  Mason  House  now 


674  HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

stands.  This  was  the  first  court  house  ever  built  in  the  town. 
To  this  was  attached  a  small  board  addition  in  the  shape  of  a  lean- 
to,  for  a  grand  jury  room,  and  in  this  building  the  Hon.  Thos.  S. 
"Wilson  of  Dubuque  held  the  first  court  ever  held  in  Waukon. 
During  this  court,  all  parties  here  from  abroad  found  places  to  eat 
and  sleep  as  best  they  could,  every  log  cabin  in  the  vicinity  being 
filled  to  overflowing. 

"This  little  log  cabin  was  so  utterly  lacking  in  size  and  accom- 
modations for  county  business,  that  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  it 
was  moved  down  on  what  is  now  Spring  avenue,  and  used  as  a 
blacksmith  shop,  but  was  subsequently  moved  on  to  the  farm 
owned  by  Dr.  Mattoon,  and  is  now  used  by  the  Doctor  as  a  corn 
crib;  and  Sewell  Goodrich,  then  Prosecuting  Attorney  of  the 
county,  and  ex-officio  County  Judge,  built  a  frame  building  on  the 
east  side  of  Allamakee  street,  with  hard  wood  lumber  and  bass- 
wood  siding  made  at  some  of  the  saw  mills  on  Yellow  river.  This 
building  was  used  for  county  officers,  courts,  etc.,  until  1857, 
when  it  became  too  small  for  the  business  of  the  county,  and 
Elias  Topliff,  then  County  Judge,  built  along  side  of  it  another 
frame  building  about  the  same  size,  and  the  two  buildings  were 
used  for  county  purposes  until  the  county  seat  was  removed  to 
Lansing  in  1861. 

''The  first  merchants  in  Waukon  were  L.  T.  Woodcock  and  D. 
W.  Adams,  the  name  of  the  firm  being  Woodcock  &  Adams,  who 
in  1853  built  the  building  on  Main  street  now  known  as  the 
National  Hotel,  with  store  on  first  story  and  dwelling  apartments 
in  second  story.  The  next  merchant  was  A.  J.  Hersey,  who  came 
to  Makee  Ridge  in  the  spring  of  1852,  bought  the  remnant  of  the 
stock  that  Augustine  and  Lewis  Hersey  had,  and  opened  a  store  in 
the  dwelling  house  of  Howard  Hersey  on  Makee  Ridge,  occupying 
the  front  room.  He  continued  here  until  the  fall  of  1853  when 
he  built  for  a  store  what  is  now  the  Mason  House  and  moved  his 
goods  into  it.'' 

"In  the  fall  of  1853  Sewell  Goodrich,  ex-officio  County  Judge, 
caused  the  County  Surveyor,  John  M.  Cushing,  to  survey  and  lay 
out  the  forty  acres  that  had  been  donated  to  the  county,  into  town 
lots,  and  instructed  him  to  so  arrange  the  plat  as  to  bring  as  many 
of  the  springs  into  the  streets  as  possible,  in  order  to  make  water 
free  to  the  public  for  all  time;  and  in  order  to  reach  the  large 
spring  in  the  south  part  of  the  plat  he  took  from  it  altogether  one 
whole  block  and  made  Spring  avenue.  This  plat  was  admitted  to 
record  December  1st,  1853,  and  from  that  time  the  County  Court 
sold  lots  to  all  who  desired  them,  closing  them  all  out  at  public 
sale  the  following  year.'' 

The  first  court  house,  above  alluded  to,  was  built  of  poplar  logs, 
by  Ben.  Pilcher  on  the  place  afterwards  known  as  the  E.  B.  Lyons 
place,   and  later  as  H.  S.  Cooper's,  nearly  two  miles  southeast  of 


HISTORY   OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  675 

town,  and  was  moved  up  for  a  court  house  by  a  '"bee,"  the  neigh- 
bors all  having  a  hand.  This  little  hut  and  father  Shattuck's  log 
cabin  were  the  only  buildings  really  "in  town"  until  the  following 
September,  when  Scott  Shattuck  began  the  erection  of  a  large 
hotel  building,  which  is  still  standing,  on  the  north  side  of  Main 
street.  About  this  time  the  new  court  house,  spoken  of  by  Judge 
Dean,  was  built,  and  shortly  after  several  other  small  dwellings 
were  erected.  So  that  when  court  was  held  that  fall  the  town 
boasted  of  two  court  houses,  two  dwelling  houses,  occupied  re- 
spetively  by  Mr.  Shattuck  and  by  Mr.  Newell;  besides  two  unfin- 
ished dwellings.  The  weather  was  cold,  rainy  and  disagreeable, 
lodgings  were  in  demand,  and  with  an  open  handed  hospitality 
the  generous  pioneers  opened  their  doors  to  the  dispensers  and  re- 
ceivers of  justice.  Every  family  in  town,  and  we  believe  there 
were  only  two,  took  boarders;  neighboring  farmers  took  boarders; 
near  the  town  stood  a  small  log  cabin  occupied  by  three  families — 
and  they  took  boarders.  Crowded  though  they  all  were,  there  was 
always  room  for  more,  for  it  is  said  that  a  log  house  is  never  full. 
About  twelve  o'clock  one  dark,  rainy  night  the  occupants  of  Mr. 
Newell's  cabin  were  awakened  by  a  loud  knocking  at  the  door, 
A  party  from  Dubuque,  among  them  General  Vandever,  were  call- 
ing for  shelter.  They  were  informed  that  they  might  stay  if  they 
could  sleep  on  the  floor,  but  the  party  had  wisely  brought  with  them 
a  bed-tick,  and  through  the  rain  and  mud  they  went  to  the 
nearest  straw-stack,  filled  the  tick,  carried  it  to  the  house,  and  lay 
down  to  their  rest.  It  is  not  remembered  exactly  who  were  in 
the  party  besides  Gen.  Vandever,  but  Judge  Townsend  thinks 
they  were  Messrs.  Burt,  Noble,  and  Samuels. 

The  two  small  frame  buildings  used  for  a  court  house,  on  the 
east  side  of  Allamakee  street,  are  still  standing,  the  property  of 
Patrick  Ronayne. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  present  court  house  was  laid  with  ap- 
propriate ceremonies  in  the  spring  of  1860,  and  bricklaying  was 
commenced  soon  after  the  5th  of  June.  The  building  was  fin- 
ished off"  early  in  '61. 

Woodcock  &  Adams  began  the  erection  of  their  store  building 
in  October.  Their  goods  arrived  before  it  was  ready,  and  they 
stored  them  temporarily  in  Scott  Shattuck's  building.  Mean- 
while A.  J.  Hersey  removed  a  bnilding  from  the  ridge  and  erected 
it  on  the  site  of  the  present  Mason  House  (a  part  of  which  it  is), 
opening  the  first  stock  of  goods  in  Waukon.  Mr.  Adams,  how- 
ever, had  sold  the  first  article  of  merchandise — a  pair  of  boots  to 
Ezra  Reid,  Jr. — from  his  stock  in  Shattuck's  hotel. 

The  first  birth  in  the  settlement  was  a  son  to  Darwin  Patter- 
son, about  the  month  of  June,  1850,  at  Prosser  Whaley's  house. 
The  first  in  what  is  now  Waukon  is  thought  to  have  been  in  a 
family  by  the  name  of  Skinner,  living  in  a  log  cabin  close  by  the 
spring  in  A.  J.  Mersey's  addition. 


676  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

The  first  death  in  the  settlement  was  that  of  a  child  of  Moses 
Bush,  which  was  buried  in  the  little  burial  ground  between  the 
town  and  the  Eells  place. 

The  first  marriage  in  the  settlement  was  that  of  Horace  Gillett 
and  Nancy  Bennifield,  March  3,  1851,  by  Rev.  A.  M.  Eastman. 

Piatt  Beard  and  Julia  A.  Reid  were  married  June  17,  1852,  by 
Thos.  A.  Minard,  J.  P.  Julius  Nelson  and  Lucy  Whaley  were 
married  July  17,  1852,  by  C.  J.  White,  J.  P.  Nelson  Shattuck 
and  Philena  O'Connel  Oct.  20,  1852,  by  Minard.  Scott  Shattuck 
and  Elizabeth  Inmau  Nov.  13,  1853,  by  Sewell  Goodridge,  ex- 
officio  county  judge. 

Thos.  A.  Minard  and  C.  J.  White  were  the  first  justices  of  the 
peace  in  Makee  township.  Minard  went  to  Kansas,  where  he  be- 
came speaker  of  her  first  free-state  legislature.  He  died  in  Den- 
ver but  a  few  years  since. 

One  of  the  first  blacksmiths  was  Herbert  Bailey,  who  built  a 
little  shop  on  the  premises  now  owned  by  Wm.  Ward;  but  there 
were  two  or  three  here  in  the  fall  of  1853. 

The  first  physician  in  the  village  was  one  Burnham,  although 
Dr.  Flint  was  then  on  the  Ridge,  He  (Burnham)  made  an  assault 
upon  Judge  Williams,  and  shortly  after  left  the  country. 

The  pioneer  lawyer  Avas  John  J.  Shaw,  who  came  up  from 
Lansing  after  the  county  seat  was  relocated  in  1853.  He  was  fol- 
lowed the  same  year  by  L.  0.  PLatch,  and  the  next  spring  by  John 
T.  Clark,  who  had  been  out  here  the  previous  fall  and  returned  to 
York  state  for  his  family. 

From  1854  few  towns  in  the  west  had  a  more  steady,  healthy 
and  prosperous  growth,  and  in  1856  it  increased  rapidly  in  popula- 
tion and  business,  the  excellent  farming  country  around  filling  up 
and  furnishing  her  tradesmen  with  a  wholesome  retail  business. 
The  town  flourished  finely  through  the  panic  and  hard  times  of 
'58  and  "59,  while  the  great  majority  of  western  villages  were  at  a 
standstill  or  decreasing.  Her  growth  was  necessarily  slow  during 
and  following  the  war,  when  this  community  made  its  full  share 
of  the  tremendous  sacrifice  called  for  to  preserve  our  union,  but 
her  course  was  ever  upward  and  onward;  and  when  it  became 
necessary  to  take  steps  to  preserve  her  prestige  among  the  towns 
of  the  county,  almost  the  entire  community  put  aside  all  petty 
personal  jealousies,  and  putting  their  united  efi'orts  in  the  en- 
deavor, succeeded  in  establishing  for  themselves  railroad  commu- 
nication with  the  outside  world,  in  1877,  thereby  placing  the  towa. 
and  surrounding  country  in  the  way  of  a  more  prosperous  career 
than  they  had  ever  enjoyed.  In  the  village  the  "  boom  "  was 
most  apparent,  builders  and  mechanics  had  far  more  than  they 
could  do;  and  .in  two  years  the  population  was  increased  nearly 
50  per  cent,  being  1,310  in  September,  1879.  In  the  country  the 
failure  of  the  wheat  crop  in  the  years  since  then  has  caused  the 
advantages  to  be  partially  lost  sight  of,  but  they  are  no  less  real. 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  677 

In  the  summer  of  1877  Earle  and  Opfer  put  up  the  hirgest  busi- 
ness block  in  town,  a  three-story  brick,  G2x70  feet.  In  September 
C.  0.  Howard  began  the  erection  of  a  grain  elevator,  to  have  a  ca- 
pacity of  25,000  bushels,  and  began  receiving  grain  Oct.  23,  four 
days  before  the  locomotive  reached  town.  Five  hundred  bushels 
were  stored  that  day,  eight  hundred  the  next,  and  on  the  27th, 
the  day  the  road  was  completed,  two  thousand,  and  the  elevator 
was  filled  before  the  side-track  was  in  readiness  to  ship  it.  J.  B. 
Minert  and  H.  F.  Opfer  erected  another  elevator  that  fall.  Hem- 
enway,  Barclay  &  Co.  opened  a  lumberyard,  and  a  second  one  was 
establisned  the  next  season.  The  following  summer  many  sub- 
stantial brick  stores  were  erected,  as  well  as  a  great  many  dwell- 
ings; and  building  has  been  active  ever  since.  January  1st,  1880, 
there  were  counted  up  fifty-four  dwellings  and  thirty-six  business 
buildings — some  of  the  latter  comprising  several  stores  each — 
built  since  the  advent  of  the  railroad,  a  little  over  two  years,  the 
total  improvements  footing  up  about  ^154,000,  in  that  time. 

The  forty  acres  granted  by  G.  C.  Shattuck  was  actually  sur- 
veyed in  May,  1853;  and  in  the  fall  was  platted,  which  original 
plat  was  admitted  to  record  Dec.  1st  of  that  year. 

Scott  Shattuck's  first  addition,  on  the  southwest  of  the  original 
plat,  was  laid  out  Dec.  22,  1854.  Pitt  Shattuck's  addition,  on  the 
west  of  the  original  plat,  surveyed  in  May,  '55,  and  admitted  to 
record  June  1,  '57.  Armstrong's  addition,  on  the  north  side  of 
Main  street,  west  of  Pitt  Shattuck's,  was  acknowledged  by  R,  C. 
and  M.  A.  Armstrong  July  17,  '57.  Delafield's  addition,  includ- 
ing all  of  west  town  and  north  beyond  W.  Spencer's  present  resi- 
dence, was  made  by  Edward  and  Julia  Floyd  Delafield,  by  Walter, 
July  19,  '58.  Scott  Shattuck's  second  addition,  to  the  south  of 
the  original  plat,  and  his  third  addition,  including  the  southwest 
part  of  town,  were  acknowledged  Dec.  10,  '59.  Pottle's  addition, 
along  the  east  side  of  the  original  plat,  was  made  by  W.  R.  Pot- 
tle, S.  Miller,  D.  D.  Doe  and  I.  H.  Hedge,  and  admitted  to  record 
Sept.  2,1861.  Scott  Shattuck's  fourth  addition,  between  his  sec- 
ond and  third,  and  including  the  grounds  where  the  depot  stands, 
was  admitted  of  record  Sept.  24,  '68;  and  Hersey's  addition — the 
extreme  southern  portion  ot  town — by  A.  J.  and  M.  A.  Hersey, 
May  27,  1878,  or  immediately  following  the  advent  of  the  railroad. 

The  town  has  never  become  incorporated,  although  the  attempt 
was  twice  made.  The  first  election  for  this  purpose  was  held 
Feb.  29,  1876,  and  resulted  in  114  votes  against  the  proposed 
measure  and  98  in  favor.  The  question  was  a  second  time  sub- 
mitteeto  a  vote  Oct.  25,  1878,  resulting  as  follows  :  Against,  134; 
for,  108. 

The  population  of  the  village  is  now,  1882,  estimated  at  about 
1,500.     In  1860  it  was  about  500. 


678  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTT. 

NAME. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  name  Waukon  (or  Wawkon,  as  it  was 
invariably  spelled  in  the  fifties),  was  that  of  a  Winnebago  chief, 
commonly  known  as  "  John  Wawkon,"  and  was  given  to  this 
village  by  John  Haney,  Jr.,  at  the  time  the  county  seat  was  lo- 
cated here.  Some  have  supposed,  however,  that  it  was  in  honor 
of  another  chief,  Wachon-Decorah,  after  whom  Decorah  was 
named,  and  which  we  find  translated  in  some  places  as  "  The 
White  Crow,"  the  prefix  "  Wachon,"  or  "  Wakon,"  apparently 
being  a  distinguishing  title  of  greatness  or  power.  He  had  lost  an 
eye,  and  was  usually  known  as  "One-eyed  Decori,"  his  name  be- 
ing variously  spelled  in  those  days,  other  forms  being  "  Decorrie," 
"De-Kauray,"  "  De-Corie,"  "  Decoria,"  "  Decari,"  and  "  De- 
corra."  Wawkon — or  some  form  of  that  word- — seems  to  have 
been  of  somewhat  common  occurrence  among  the  Winnebagoes, 
with  whom  it  would  appear  to  have  signified  "thunder,"  as  we 
find  the  signatures  to  a  treaty  of  Feb.  27,  1855,  to  be  as  follows  : 
"Wawkon  chaw-hoo-no-kaw,  or  Little  Thunder,"  and  "Wawkon- 
chaw-koo-kaw,  The  Coming  Thunder."  Among  the  Sioux  it  was 
also  in  use,  and  signified  "  spirit,"  as,  "  Minne-Waukon,  Spirit 
Lake,"  etc.  As  the  Sioux  and  Winnebagoes  are  both  branches  of 
the  great  Dakota  family  it  is  natural  this  term  should  have  similar 
significance  with  each.  Capt.  Jonathan  Carver  in  1766  gave  his 
name  to  a  cave  of  amazing  depth  near  St.  Anthony,  which  he 
writes  was  called  by  the  Indians,  "  Wakon-tubi,"  or  "  Wakan-tipi." 
And  in  another  document  it  is  related  that  "  the  Dakotas,  seeing  a 
Frenchman  shoot  a  turkey,  called  his  gun  '  maza  wakan-de.'  " 
And  attached  to  a  treaty  June  3,  1825,  we  find  "  Wacan-da-ga- 
tun-ga,  or  Great  Doctor."  In  Tuttle's  History  of  Iowa  we  find 
"  Wah-con-chaw-kaw  "  was  a  "  big  Indian."  Another  Winne- 
bago chief  often  alluded  to  was  "  Whirling  Thunder,"  which 
would  not  be  inaptly  derived  from  our  cyclones.  From  all  of 
which  it  would  seem  that  among  the  Indians  the  term  from 
which  Waukon  is  derived  originally  signified  something  great  and 
powerful,  or  supernatural.  For  some  of  the  above  facts  we  are 
indebted  to  A.  M.  May,  who  unearthed  them  from  the  archives  of 
the  Wisconsin  State  Historical  Society. 

In  the  Lansing  InfeUiqencer,  July  1853,  a  visit  from  the  vener- 
able chief  "Wawkon,"  is  recorded,  he  having  encamped  near  town 
with  over  one  hundred  of  his  braves.  He  was  then  described  as 
being  over  one  hundred  years  old,  and  as  having  "a  white  head 
and  scarred  face."  And  in  tne  Waukon  Standard  of  March  12, 
1868,  we  find  that  "John  Waukon,  a  son  of  the  distinguished 
Indian  in  honor  of  whom  this  village  was  named,  was  in  town  the 
other  day.  He  is  physically  a  fine  specimen  of  the  red  man,  stand- 
ing five  feet  eleven  inches  in  his  moccasins,  slim  and  straight  as 
an  arrow,   with  broad  shoulders  and  deep  chest."     Among  other 


HISTORY    OP    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  679 

documents  in  his  possession  was  a  parchment  given  to  his  father, 
bearing  the  signature  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  certifying  that  kis 
father,  'a  distinguished  warrior  and  speaker,'  had  visited  the  seat 
of  government,  held  friendly  council  with  the  President,  and  as- 
sured him  of  the  desire  of  the  Winnebagoes  to  preserve  perpetual 
friendship  with  the  whites."  What  became  of  the  old  original 
John  we  do  not  know,  as  his  death  has  been  reported  at  different 
places  and  dates;  but  it  seems  that  he  has  numerous  descendants. 
Our  townsman  G.  W.  Hays,  who  was  in  business  at  Lansing 
thirty  years  since,  while  in  that  city  within  the  past  year  was  ac- 
costed by  an  old  Indian  who  recognized  him  and  introduced  him- 
self as  "John  Waukon."  He  was  a  river  hand  and  said  he  had 
two  brothers,  one  of  whom  was  still  living  in  Dakota,  and  all  of 
them  were  "Johns."  Being  asked  what  had  become  of  his  father 
he  said  "he  died  at  Prairie  du  Chien  twenty  years  ago.'' 

POSTOFFICE. 

A  postoffice  was  first  established  at  Waukon  in  the  early  fall  of 
1853,  with  Scott  fShattuck  as  postmaster.  He  was  succeeded  by 
L.  T.  Woodcock,  and  he  by  W.  Beale,  who  served  in  that  capacity 
from  1856  to  '59,  when  R.  C.  Armstrong  was  appointed.  The 
latter  served  but  a  year  or  two,  having  met  with  the  misfortune 
of  finding  one  morning  that  the  valuables  in  his  office  had  disap- 
peared during  the  night.  The  brunt  of  this  misfortune  fell  upon  his 
bondsmen,  as  he  departed  from  the  county;  and  he  was  succeeded  by 
one  H.  Stroud,  a  shoemaker,  in  the  latterpart  of  '60  or  in'  61.  Stroud 
was  postmaster  but  a  short  time,  and  was  followed  by  E.  L.  Bab- 
bitt, who  in  turn  was  succeeded  by  L.  G.  Calkins,  in  1862,  who 
held  the  office  during  1863.  During  most  of  his  term,  hosvever, 
L.  M.  Bearce  was  his  deputy,  and  virtually  postmaster,  Calkins 
having  but  little  to  do  with  the  office.  From  1864 up  to  1871 
Wm.  R.  Pottle  was  the  incumbent,  and  during  his  term,  in  July 
1870,  it  was  made  a  money  order  office.  Mr.  Pottle  died  in  March, 
1872.  In  January  1871  Mrs.  E.  E.  Stevens  succeeded  to  the  of- 
fice, which  she  continued  to  hold  until  succeeded  by  the  present 
incumbent,  D.  W.  Reed,  July  1,  1879,  It  is  now  one  of  the  ten 
Presidential  offices  in  this  Congressional  District,  and  has  four 
daily  mails,  viz:  railroad,  Lansing,  Postville,  Decorah;  two  tri- 
weekly: McGregor,  and  Lansing  via  Village  Creek;  and  two  semi- 
weekly:  Dorchester  and  Hardin. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  first  school  in  Makee  townsip  was  taught  by  L.  W.  Hersey, 
in  the  winter  of  1852-3,  in  a  little  log  house  built  by  Azel 
Pratt  on  Makee  Ridge,  an  almost  entirely  New  England  settle- 
ment. The  following  winter  F.  M.  Clark  taught  in  the  same 
building,  with  such  pupils  as  John  and  Hersey  Pratt,  Lib.  Bearce, 
etc.      The  next  summer — 'ol^the  Makee  school  house  was  built, 


6(80  HISTOKT    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUKTT. 

a  ^ood  sized  frame  building  with  a  steeple,  which  still  stands  in 
good  preservation  and  is  used  for  the  same  purpose.  So  far  as  we 
have  been  able  to  ascertain  it  was  the  first  school  house  built  in 
Makee  township.  In  1853  or  '54  D.  D.  Doe  taught  a  school  in  a 
log  hut  just  east  of  town;  but  the  first  school  in  Waukon  was 
taught  by  L.  0.  Hatch,  and  we  give  the  circumstances  as  we  ob- 
tained them  from  him: 

"In  the  summer  of  1854  Mr.  John  Israel  and  myself  united  in 
baying  from  the  county,  at  815  each,  four  lots  on  the  hill  just 
east  of  the  premises  now  owned  by  Dr.  Barnes.  On  these  lots,  in 
the  fall  of  that  year,  with  a  little  help  from  Charley  Jenkins,  we 
built  with  our  own  hands  a  small  frame  dwelling  house — the 
fourth  frame  building  erected  in  Waukon.  As  winter  approached 
Ave  found  ourselves  with  a  school  district  duly  organized,  embrac- 
ing several  families  in  and  about  Waukon,  but  no  school  house 
and  no  teacher.  Our  house  aforesaid  being  nearly  finished  it  was 
rented  as  a  school  house  for  the  winter  of  1854-5,  and  I  was  em- 
ploy-,d  as  the  teacher.  I  was  paid  ^15  or  ^18  per  month,  and 
'  boarded  around '  in  the  families  of  such  men  as  Samuel  Hues- 
tis,  Robert  Isted,  John  A.  Townsend,  James  Maxwell,  and  others. 
I  had  had  considerable  experience  as  a  teacher,  but  I  was  never  in 
a  school  made  up  of  brighter  or  better  pupils  than  those  that  gath- 
ered around  me  on  long,  rude  benches  that  winter,  among  whom  I 
may  mention  the  names  of  Mrs.  Hale,  Mrs.  Adams,  Mrs.  Judge 
Granger,  Mrs.  John  Griffin,  Fred.  Clark,  and  Ichabod  Isted." 

We  may  add  that  this  house  was  surrounded  by  a  rail  fence, 
said  to  have  been  the  first  fence  in  town  of  any  description. 

In  1855  this  school  district  purchased  Lots  2,  3,  4  and  5,  in 
block  5,  Scott  Shattuck's  addition,  and  erected  thereon  a  substan- 
tial frame  school  house,  27x40  feet  in  size,  Wm.  Ramsdall  being 
the  carpenter.  It  was  all  in  one  room  except  cloak  rooms  at  the 
north  end,  but  later  it  was  divided  into  two  rooms  when  the 
school  was  first  graded  under  two  teachers.  This  old  school 
building  served  as  a  place  for  public  gatherings  of  all  kinds  for 
several  years,  until  Hersey'shall  was  finished  in  the  large  building 
south  of  the  Mason  House.  It  was  occupied  by  traveling  pano- 
ramas, magic  lantern  exhibitions,  etc.,  and  once  or  more  did  the 
county  agricultural  society  have  its  fair  on  the  premises.  Es- 
pecially will  the  lyceums  be  remembered  by  the  old  residents,  with 
the  concerts  by  the  old  glee  club,  and  other  interesting  entertain- 
ments by  home  talent — to  say  nothing  of  the  singing  schools. 
The  earliest  meetings  of  the  religious  denominations  were  also 
held  there,  before  they  were  able  to  erect  places  of  worship.  Af- 
ter the  school  district  purchased  its  present  school  building  and 
grounds,  the  old  school  house  was  sold  to  0.  S.  Hathaway,  who  in 
November,  1868,  moved  it  down  onto  West  street,  and  converted 
it  into  a  wagon  shop,  where  it  stands  to-day,  used  for  the  same 
same  purpose  by  M.  Heiser.     We  find  no  record  of  school  officers 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUXTY.  681 

previous  to  1859,  in  which  year  Moses  Hancock  was  president;  C, 
J.  White,  vice-president;  A.  G.  Howard,  secretary,  and  W.  K. 
McFarland,  treasurer. 

Nov.  8,  1862,  the  independent  district  of  Waukon  was  erected, 
comprising  all  of  sub-district  No.  8  in  Makee  township;  the  s.  -^  of 
section  25,  s.  e.  ^  section  26,  n.  e.  ^  section  35,  and  all  of  section 
36  in  Union  Prairie;  and  section  6,  and  w.  ^  section  5,  in  Jefferson 
township.  The  first  election  of  school  officers  of  this  independent 
district  was  held  Nov.  29,  18G2,  resultin<?  as  follows:  W.  K. 
McFarland,  president;  E.  B,  Lyons_,  vice-president;  J.  R,  Brown, 
secretary,  and  Jacob  Shew,  treasurer.  Directors:  J.  B,  Plank,  one 
year;  A.  A.  Griffith,  two  years,  (Mr.  Griffith  now  a  noted  elocu- 
tionist of  Chicago,)  and  J.  W.  Pennington,  three  years.  The  in- 
dependent district  was  formed  with  a  view  to  effect  a  transfer  of 
the  Allamakee  college  building  to  the  district,  in  which  to  estab- 
lish a  graded  school,  and  in  December  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  wait  upon  Prof.  Loughran  with  that  purpose.  In  February, 
1863,  a  proposition  of  Prof.  Loughran  was  rejected,  and  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  secure  the  new  court  house,  then  standing  va- 
cant. At  the  regular  meeting,  March  9,  D.  W.  Adams  was 
elected  president;  Moses  Hancock,  vice-president;  C.  W.  Walker, 
secretary,  and  I.  H.  Hedge,  treasurer.  Since  that  year  the  officers 
of  the  board  have  been  as  follows: 

President— A.  J.  Hersey,  1864-66;  L.  0.  Hatch.  18G6-7;  Martin 
Stone,  1867-9;  C.  T.  Granger,  1869-73;  John  Goodykoontz,  1873- 
6;  A.  L.  Grippen,  1876;  H.  H.  Stilwell,  1876-9;  M.  Stone,  1879- 
80;  J.W.Pratt,  1880-1;  John  Hall,  1881-2,  present  incumbent. 

Treasurer— John  Goodykoontz,  1864-73;  L.  W.  Hersey,  1873- 
82,  present  incumbent. 

Secretary— Robert  Isted,  1864-5;  T.  C.  Ransom,  1865-7;  C.  T. 
Granger,  1867-8;  J.  W.  Pratt,  1868-74;  A.  J.  Rodgers,  1874-82; 
E.  M.  Hancock,  Sept.,  '82. 

The  present  board  of  directors  comprise  John  Hall,  J.  W.  Pratt, 
H.H.  Stilwell,  D.  W.  Reed,  M.  B.  Hendrick,  and  Martin  Stone. 

In  the  fall  of  1864  an  arrangement  was  made  whereby  Martin 
Stone  was  to  teach  the  more  advanced  pupils  of  the  school,  in  the 
College  building,  which  had  passed  into  his  hands,  and  a  similar 
arrangement  was  made  the  following  year.  In  1866  he  sold  the 
property  to  Thos.  A.  Cutler,  who  taught  the  school  there  the  fol- 
lowing winter.  In  1867  the  District  purchased  the  College  prop- 
erty of  Cutler  for  §4,000,  and  afterward  sold  the  property  in 
Shattuck's  addition  to  various  parties.  In  1881  the  school  build- 
ing was  improved  by  putting  in  furnace,  heating  and  ventilating 
apparatus.. 

Since  1867  the  principals  of  the  Waukon  graded  school  have 
been:  Charles  F.  Stevens,  1867-8;  Miss  Mary  E.  Post,  spring 
term  "68;  A.  M.May,  1868-69;  Miss  Hattie  Keeler,  spring  term 
'69;  Charles  Cressey,  1869-70;  J.  H.  Carroll,  1870-71;  J.  Laugh- 


682  HISTORY   OP    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

ran,  1871-76;  D.  Judsoii,  1876-81;  S.  A.  Harper,  1881-83.  The 
present  corps  of  subordinate  teachers  are:  Miss  Florence  Belden, 
assistant  principal;  Miss  Ida  Grimes,  21  intermediate;  Miss  Lizzie 
Spaulding,  1st  intermediate;  Miss  Anna  B.  Hall,  2d  primary;  Mrs. 
J.  C.  Crawford,  1st  primary. 

In  1863  the  number  of  school  age  in  the  district  was,  males, 
139;  females,  168;  total,  307.  In  1882  it  is,  males,  227;  females, 
245;  total,  472;  with  an  attendance  in  school  of  something  over 
300. 

Allamakee  College. — March  6,  1859,  J.  C.  Armstrong,  J.  B. 
Plank,  C.  J.  White,  Walter  Delafield,  M.  U.  Belden,  R.  C.  Arm- 
strong, James  Maxwell,  Jacob  Shew,  Benj.  H.  Bailey,  Joseph 
Savoie,  T.  J.  Goodykoontz,  William  S.  Cooke,  John  Chapman 
and  Lewis  H,  Clark,  associated  themselves  together  in  a  corpora- 
tion to  be  known  as  the  "Allamakee  Association,"  to  be  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Colesburg  Presbytery  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian Church,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  suitable  buildings  for 
the  advancement  of  scientific  and  religious  learning,  to  be  known 
as  the  Waukon  Seminary.  Out  of  this  grew  the  Allamakee  Col- 
lege, an  agreement  being  made  the  same  year  with  Rev.  J.  Lough- 
ran,  A.  M.,  formerly  president  of  Waynesburg  College,  Pennsyl- 
vania,'for  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  a  college  on  the  fol- 
lowing plan:  A  number  of  citizens  stipulated  to  draw,  in  his 
favor,  their  promissary  notes,  each  for  $125,  payable  in  one  year, 
for  which  they  each  received  a  certificate  of  scholarship,  guaran- 
teeing the  tuition  of  one  student  for  five  years  in  the  institution, 
to  commence  when  the  building  should  be  finished.  At  the  end 
of  the  five  years  the  title  of  the  property  was  to  pass  to  Mr. 
Loughran  in  full  ownership,  being  paid  for  by  said  scholarships. 
To  carry  out  this  plan  the  stockholders  selected  R.  C.  Armstrong, 
Robert  Isted.  Walter  Delafield,  A.  M.  Haslip,  L.  G.  Calkins,  A. 
H.  Hersey,  W.  R.  Pottle,  Jacob  Shew  and  Jacob  Plank,  as  "Trus- 
tees of  Allamakee  College."  Walter  Delafield  donated  the  whole 
of  block  19,  in  his  addition,  comprising  two  acres  on  the  sightliest 
spot  in  town,  as  the  site  of  the  building;  and  the  trustees  erected 
a  three-story  brick  edifice,  47x64  feet,  the  heights  of  the  stories 
being  11,  13  and  8j  feet  respectively.  This  was  done  in  1861, 
though  the  building  was  not  finished  for  occupancy  until  the 
spring  of  '62.  That  fall  there  were  ninety  pupils  in  attendance, 
the  whole  number  of  students  entitled  to  tuition  on  scholarships 
being  but  forty-eight. 

Meanwhile  Prof.  Loughran  had  opened  what  was  called  the 
Waukon  High  School,  Oct.  3,  1859,  in  the  C.  P.  church,  and  con- 
ducted the  same  successfully  for  three  years,  or  until  the  college 
building  was  completed.  During  that  time  he  was  assisted  by  J. 
C.  Loughran,  G.  H.  Brock,  W.  W.  Likens,  Mrs.  Jennie  Calkins, 
Mrs.  Jennie  Loughran,  and  Miss  Pennoyer.  Also  by  Prof.  A.  A. 
Grifiith,  elocutionist. 


HISTOKY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  683 

The  financial  success  of  the  college  plan  was  not  such  as  hoped 
for,  and  May  15,  1863,  a  corporation  styled  the  Allamakee  Colle- 
giate Institute,  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  cancelling  the  in- 
debtedness against  the  Allamakee  College,  and  perpetuating  the 
institution.  In  the  same  year  the  property  was  purchased  by  Mar- 
tin Stone,  who  sold  it  in  1866  to  Thomas  A.  Cutler,  and  he  to  the 
Independent  District  of  Waukon  in  1807. 

Waukon  Semhianj. — In  July,  1876,  Prof.  Loughran  bought  the 
old  German  Presbyterian  church  building  and  removed  it  to  his 
premises  on  Worcester  street,  where  in  September  following  he 
opened  an  institution  of  learning  entitled  as  above,  well  supplied 
with  maps,  charts,  chemical  and  philosophical  apparatus,  and  more 
especially  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  students  for  teaching,  or 
for  a  college  course.  Prof.  Loughran  had  devoted  a  long  and 
active  life  to  the  interests  of  education,  and  was  exceedingly  well 
qualified  for  instructing  in  the  higher  branches.  His  seminary  is 
still  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

CHUKCflES. 

Baptist. — On  the  17th  of  June  1854  a  number  of  members  of 
this  denomination  met  at  the  dwelling  of  Azel  Pratt,  on  Makee 
Ridge,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  church.  C.  J.  White  was 
chosen  moderator  and  Azel  Pratt  clerk,  and  it  was  voted  to  receive 
the  members  present,  viz:  Azel  Pratt  and  wife,  John  G.  Pratt, 
Lathrop  Abbot  and  wife.  Miles  Nichols  and  wife,  C.  J.  White, 
and  Phoebe  Hersey.  These  nine  members  received  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  by  Elder  James  Scofield,  and  the  name  of 
Allamakee  Baptist  Church  was  adopted,  of  which  John  G. 
Pratt  was  chosen  clerk.  Jan.  20,  1855,  Azel  Pratt  aud  Isaac 
D.  Lambert  were  chosen  as  deacons.  The  first  baptisms  were 
on  July  29th,  1855,  when  the  rite  was  administered  by  Elder 
Schofield  to  the  following  candidates:  F.  G.  Pratt  and  his  wife 
Orillah]  Pratt,  Frances  E.  Hersey,  Harriet  E.  Hersey,  Mary  Ann 
Hersey,  Mary  M.  Pratt,  and  Phoebe  Bearce.  In  May  1856,  Elder 
Samuel  Hill,  jr.  first  performed  the  baptismal  rite  according  to  the 
record.  During  these  years  the  church  membership  rapidly  in- 
creased by  letter  and  baptism,  and  public  worship  was  held  in  the 
Makee  school  house.  In  1857  Rev.  L.  M.  Newell  was  secured  as 
pastor,  and  covenant  meetings  were  held  at  Waukon  and  the  Ma- 
kee school  house  alternately,  and  in  the  next  spring,  1858,  the 
church  assembled  in  Waukon,  holding  meetings  in  the  school 
house.  In  1860  services  were  held  in  the  M.  E.  church  every 
fourth  Sunday.  Rev.  C.  D.  Farnsworth  was  with  the  church  after 
Rev.  Newell.  In  1866  Rev.  D.  S.  Starr  was  employed  to  preach 
a  part  of  the  time.  In  1868  a  frame  church  was  built  on  the 
north  side  of  Pleasant  street,  in  which  services  were  held  for  the 
first  time  Jan.  17,  '69,  by  Rev.  D.  S.  Starr,  who  was  in  April  fol- 
lowing employed  as  regular  pastor.     Since  then  the  several  pastors  . 


684  HISTOKY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

have  been  L.  L.  Frick  1870-71;  Geo.  M.  Adams  1872-3;  John 
M.  Wedgwood  1873-78;  F.  N.  Eldridge  1878-81;  M.  H.  Perry 
1881-2,  Kobert  Smith  1882,  present  pastor. 

In  the  spring  of  1871  the  church  purchased  their  present  brick 
edifice,  which  they  dedicated  on  the  5th  of  March.  In  the  fall 
of  1872  it  was  supplied  with  a  heating  furnace  in  the  basement; 
and  in  the  spring  of  '76  a  baptistery  was  put  in.  The  frame 
church  on  Pleasant  street  vras  purchased  by  A.  H.  and  Augustine 
Hersey  and  remodeled  into  a  place  of  residence.  The  present 
church  officers  are:  Trustees,  Sam'l  Peck,  A.  H.  Howard,  W.  L. 
F.  Brayton;  Deacon,  Sam'l  Peck;  Clerk,  J.  W.  Pratt;  Treasurer, 
L.  W.  Hersey.  The  church  membership  is  fifty-seven.  There  is 
a  flourishing  Sunday  School,  of  which  J.  L.  Pratt  is  superintend- 
ent. The  choir,  under  the  leadership  of  J.  W.  Pratt  for  many 
years,  is  one  of  the  best  in  northern  Iowa. 

MetJiodist. — The  M.  E.  church  of  Waukon  was  organized  as 
early  as  1854,  but  we  find  no  record  of  the  first  members,  the  first 
stewards  and  trustees,  or  who  first  preached  to  this  organization. 
A  Methodist  divine  by  name  of  Wm.  Sweet  held  services  in  Ma- 
kee  and  Union  Prairie  in  1853  and  '51,  and  doubtless  did  some  of 
the  earliest  work  in  this  church.  In  1855  the  Trustees  were  W. 
R.  Pottle,  E,  B.  Lyons,  Thomas  Feel ey  Edwin  J.  Raymond  and 
John  Israel.  April  30th,  1855,  the  church  purchased  the  corner 
lot  on  Allamakee  and  Worcester  streets,  now  the  property  of  J. 
H.Hale;  but  on  March  21th,  '59,  the  town  growing  more  towards 
the  west,  they  purchased  lots  1  and  2,  block  14,  Dellafield's  addi- 
tion, where  the  parsonage  now  stands,  and  afterwards  sold  the 
former  property.  The  same  year  a  good-sized  frame  church  was 
erected  on  the  new  purchase.  Previous  to  the  completion  of  this, 
the  society  held  services  a  part  of  the  time  in  the  C.  Presbyterian 
church.  This  year,  1859,  the  Trustees  were  W.  R.  Pottle,  E.  J. 
Raymond,  E.  B.  Lyons,  Thos.  Feeley,  H.  R.  Pierce,  Moses  Wood 
and  C.  Beau;  and  the  Stewards  were  D.  Jaquis,  A.  Pinney,  John 
Reed,  S.  Hamler,  D.  Miller,  and  J.  W.  Flint.  April  20,  1867,  the 
society  purchased  their  present  lot  on  the  corner  of  Pitt  and  Wor- 
cester, and  moved  the  church  building  thereon  that  year;  erecting 
the  parsonage  on  the  upper  lots  the  same  season.  Work  on  the 
present  brick  edifice  was  begun  in  May  1869,  but  it  was  not  finish- 
until  late  in  '71,  being  first  occupied  on  Christmas  evening,  Decem- 
ber 25th.  It  was  formally  dedicated  on  Sunday,  February  18th, 
1872,  the  sermon  on  the  occasion  being  preached  by  Rev.  A.  B. 
Kendig  of  Cedar  Rapids.  Presiding  Elder  Wm.  Smith  was  also 
present.  In  May  '72  the  old  frame  church  was  sold  to  C.  S.  Stil- 
well,  who  moved  it  to  the  corner  of  Armstrong  and  Court  streets 
and  remodeled  it  into  his  present  residence.  The  church  has 
been  heated  by  furnace  since  1878;  and  other  improvements  made 
in  the  last  two  years.  The  present  membership  is  about  160. 
v'The  Sunday   School   numbers  about  a  hundred,  with  A.  T.  Still- 


HISTORY    OP    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  685 

man  Superintendent.  The  present  Stewards  are:  J.  Brawford,  D, 
W.  Reed,  John  Stillman,  P.  C.  Huffman,  H.  0.  Dayton,  M.  W. 
Nesmith,  J.  -S.  Nitterauer,  A.  T.  Stillman  and  L.  Eelis;  and  the 
Trustees:  G.  H.  Bryant,  H.  J^  Bentley,  E.  D.  Purdy,  D.  W. 
Reed,  Henry  Dayton  and  J.  S.  Nitterauer.  From  the  conference 
minutes  it  is  found  that  in  1856  this  charge  was  "to  be  supplied." 
Since  that  year  the  pastors  have  been:  John  Fawcett,  1857-8;  W. 
E.  McCormac,  1858-60;  F.  C.  Mather,  1860-62;  J.  F.  Hestwood, 
1862-61;  A.  Falkner,  1861-5;  B.  D.  Alden  1865-7;  Rufus  Ricker, 
1867-9;  J.  R.  Cameron,  1869-72;  Wm.  Cobb,  1872-71;  B.  C. 
Hammond,  1874-7;  J.  A.  Ward,  1877-80;  D.  Sheffer,  1880-81 : 
T.  E.  Fleming,  1881-  and  present  pastor. 

Catholic. — In  1855  Rev.  Father  Kinsella  bought  forty  acres  of 
land  northwest  of  town,  and  built  thereon  a  log  church,  in  which 
his  people  worshiped  for  many  years.  In  1864  they  purchased 
the  property  of  Lewis  H.  Clark  in  Waukon,  being  a  part  of  block 
4  in  Shattuck's  addition,  corner  of  School  and  High  streets,  and 
converted  his  dwelling  into  a  place  of  worship.  This  soon  became 
too  small  for  the  growing  congregation,  and  in  1868  the  present 
large  brick  church  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  building, 
which  w^as  moved  a  short  distance  to  one  side,  to  the  rear  of  the 
parsonage.  March  9,  1869,  the  old  building  was  destroyed  by  a 
fire,  in  which  the  records  were  lost,  and  this  sketch  is  necessarily 
incomplete.  Since  Father  Kinsella  its  priests  have  been  Farrell, 
Nagle,  Lowry,  Brennan,  McGowan,  and  Hawe,  who  still  presides 
over  this  charge.  The  church  membership  is  about  one  hundred. 
The  church  a  few  years  since  purchased  a  part  of  block  5,  opposite 
their  place  of  worship  and  parsonage — the  site  of  the  old  public 
school  house — whereon  they  have  this  season  (1882)  erected  a  fine 
brick  edifice,  three  stories  above  the  basement,  with  mansard  roof, 
at  a  cost  of  85,000,  for  the  purpose  of  a  sisters'  school. 

German  Fresbijten'aii.— This  church  was  organized  by  Rev.  A. 
Van  Vliet,  of  Dubuque,  August  11,  1856.  Its  first  pastor  Avas 
Rev.  Jacob  Kalb,  who  remained  about  a  year.  Rev.  Buehren  next 
supplied  the  field  for  a  short  time.  After  his  resignation  Rev. 
Renskers  became  the  regular  pastor,  and  labored  here  with  great 
ability  and  success  until  1864,  and  during  his  pastorate,  in  1860, 
a  frame  church  was  built  on  block  13,  Delafields  addition,  north- 
east of  the  college  grounds.  It  was  in  recent  years  purchased  and 
moved  off  by  J.  Loughran,  who  uses  it  for  a  seminary.  In  1864 
a  division  of  the  church  occurred,  those  living  east  of  Waukon 
organizing  themselves  into  the  German  Reformed  Church,  east  of 
town,  who  have  built  a  place  of  worship  there,  and  the  others  have 
since  become  the  German  Presbyterian  Church  of  Ludlow.  Rens- 
kers was  succeeded  by  S.  Elliker,  under  whose  administration  the 
church  building  in  Ludlow,  which  is  now  used  as  a  school  house, 
was  erected  in  1865.  Rev.  EUiker  resigned  his  charge  of  the 
Ludlow   church    Nov.    12,  '6o,  and  was  succeeded  by  C.  H.  Scho- 

43 


686  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

epfle,  and  he  by  Wm.  Shover  in  the  summer  of  1868,  who  served 
until  Jan.  29,  1871.  Rev.  Henry  Knell  was  then  called,  who 
preached  his  first  sermon  there  Feb.  12,  and  was  installed  by  a 
committee  of  the  Presbytery  of  Dubuque,  consisting  of  Revs.  Gr. 
Moery  and  H.  W.  Behle,  Oct.  22,  '71.  Under  his  pastorate  the 
building  now  used  for  regular  services  was  erected.  He  was  also 
the  instrument  of  reuniting  those  who,  in  the  time  of  Rev. 
Shover,  had  left  them  and  were  supplied  by  a  Reformed  minister. 
He  organized  the  Sunday  school,  and  effected  great  good.  His 
resignation  took  place  Nov.  5,  1877,  and  he  has  since  died.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Helmer  Smidt,  who  remained  only  eleven 
mouths.  After  him  Rev.  E.  Schuette  was  called,  who  preached 
his  first  sermon  there  Jan.  26,  '79,  and  is  the  present  pastor.  The 
church  was  organized  with  very  few  members — of  whom  Simon, 
Conrad,  and  August  Helming  are  still  living — but  has  increased 
largely,  its  present  active  members  numbering  233,  and  the  Sun- 
day school  from  200  to  225. 

Cumberland  Presbyterian. — The  first  records  of  this  congrega- 
tion are  unfortunately  lost,  so  this  sketch  will  not  be  as  complete 
as  we  wish.  The  church  was  organized  in  1857,  under  the  labors 
of  Rev.  J.  C.  Armstrong,  who  was  sent  by  the  home  board  of  mis- 
sions, and  began  his  labors  in  the  autumn  of  '56.  Some  twenty 
persons  composed  the  society;  and  James  Maxwell,  J.  B.  Plank, 
John  Raymond  and  R.  C.  Armstrong  were  chosen  and  ordained  its 
first  ruling  elders.  Worship  was  conducted  in  the  public  school 
house  until  the  fall  of '58,  when  its  present  church  edifice,  corner 
of  Main  and  High  streets,  was  completed  and  occupied.  This  was 
the  first  church  built  in  Waukon,  and  the  completion  of  so  large 
and  fine  a  structure  was  quite  an  event  in  those  days.  It  has 
since  been  improved  from  time  to  time,  as  occasion  demanded,  and 
since  Feb.,  '78,  has  been  heated  by  basement  furnace.  Rev.  Arm- 
strong continued  to  serve  the  church  until  the  fall  of  1859,  and  in 
after  years  became  a  missionary  to  foreign  lands.  In  1860  Rev. 
J.  Loughran  preached  in  this  church,  and  in  1862  Rev.  J.  B. 
Brown,  afterwards  editor  of  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  paper  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.  In  Feb.,  1864,  Benj.  Hall  became  its  pastor. 
and  continued  to  serve  as  such  during  eleven  years.  He  has  of 
late  years  been  in  the  home  missionary  field,  but  still  resides  in 
Waukon,  and  preaches  occasionally  in  his  old  church  to  this  day. 
Since  Mr.  Hall's  resignation  the  pastors  have  been:  J.  Wood 
Miller,  1875-8,  (since  professor  of  German  in  a  Pennsylvania  col- 
lege); 0.  E.  Hart,  1878-81;  H.  D.  Onyett,  1881-2,  recently  re- 
signed. The  present  membership  is  about  one  hundred  and  ten  or 
twenty;  and  the  elders  of  the  church  are  C.  D.  Beenian,  J.  B. 
Plank,  John  Hall,  J.  G.  Ralcliffe  and  Hosea  Low.  There  is  a 
large  Sunday  school,  of  which  John  Hall  is  the  superintendent. 

Episcopal  . — In  March  and   April,    1859,  Episcopal  service  was 
held  by  Rev.    James    Bentley,    who   preached    in  the  C.    Presby- 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  687 

teriaii  church  Sunday  afternoons  at  five  o'clock.  April  25th  of 
that  year  Walter  Delafield,  Orin  Manson,  John  Griffin,  John 
Phillips,  L.  B.  Cowles,  C.  Paulk,  and  A.  Parson,  organized  St. 
Paul's  Parish  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  ,of  the  diocese 
of  Iowa.  The  same  year  they  built  a  small  frame  church  on 
block  5,  Delafield's  addition,  corner  of  Liberty  and  High  streets, 
with  James  Bently  as  rector.  In  the  summer  of  1860  the  build- 
ing was  greatly  enlarged  and  the  tower  erected.  While  these  im- 
provements were  being  made,  the  Sunday  School,  which  was  very 
popular  under  DelafiekPs  superintendency,  was  held  in  Hersey's 
Hall.  A  013  pound  Meneely  bell,  costing  $250  was  also  pur- 
chased and  placed  in  position,  the  first  church  bell  in  town.  Mr. 
Bentley  served  as  rector  for  several  years,  but  afterwards  engaged 
in  home  mission  work,  as  he  still  is.  In  later  years  Rev.  James 
Allen  was  elected  rector,  and  after  him  Rev.  Estabrook  held  ser- 
vices occasionally.  In  the  fall  of  1867  Rev.  A.  M.  May  came  to 
Waukon  as  rector,  and  served  the  church  in  that  capacity  five  or 
six  years;  but  the  congregation  had  been  small  since  early  in  the 
sixties,  and  regular  services  were  finally  abandoned.  In  recent 
years  the  church  has  again  been  put  in  good  repair,  but  is  as  yet 
unused.  Walter  Delafield  was  in  1868  rector  of  Grace  Chapel 
New  York  City,  and  is  now  rector  of  a  church  at  some  point  on 
the  Hudson  River. 

Congregational. — This  society  was  org  m'/ed  in  1864,  and  the  ser- 
vices of  Rev.  A.  Parker  secured  as  pastor,  who  was  with  them  two  or 
three  years,  and  was  followed  by  Rev.  W.  J.  Smith,  who  con- 
tinued till  early  in  '68.  In  the  spring  of  that  year.  Rev.  L.  D. 
Boynton  became  their  pastor,  and  during  his  stay,  which  continued 
only  until  the  following  autumn,  the  society  erected  the  fine 
brick  church  north  of  the  court  house.  Previous  to  that  services 
had  been  held  in  the  court  house.  From  the  fall  of  '6S  the 
church  had  no  regular  pastor  until  August  '60,  when  Rev.  Wm. 
F.  Rose  came  here  in  that  capacity.  The  society  was  not  large, 
however,  and  being  disappointed  in  a  manner  not  to  be  foreseen 
when  the  building  was  projected,  soon  found  it  necessary  to  dis- 
pose of  the  church  property,  which  in  1871  passed  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  Baptists. 

THE   PRESS. 

The  first  newspaper  published  here  was  the  Waukon  Journal,, 
free  soil  in  politics,  which  was  established  in  the  spring  of  1857, 
by  Frank  Belfoy,  who  ran  it  about  nine  months,  when  it  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Frank  Pease.  The  last  we  know  of  Belfoy  be 
was  publishing  a  paper  at  some  point  in  Minnesota,  about  1876  or 
'77.  Pease  upon  assuming  control  changed  the  title  of  the  paper 
to  the  Allamakee  Herald,  the  first  number  of  which  was  issued 
Feb.  26,  1858.  It  was  a  six-column  folio,  issued  Fridays,  and 
Democratic  in  politics.     M.  M.  Webster,  a  lawyer,  was  with  Pease 


688  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUXTY. 

a  portion  of  the  time,  as  was  also  one  K.  K.  Smith,  who  after- 
wards went  South,  and  his  fate  is  unknown.  He  was  a  brother  of 
James  C.  Smith.  The  Herald  was  discontinued  in  May,  1859.  In 
1861  or  '62  Pease  went  into  the  army,  and  in  the  spring  of  1878 
the  writer  met  him  at  Hot  Springs,  Ark.,  of  which  town  he  was 
at  that  time  City  Clerk;  he  had  previously  been  in  the  newspaper 
business  in  that  State. 

In  August,  1859,  the  paper  was  revived  under  the  name  of 
Waukon  Transcript.  {T)emocYQ,i\c)^  by  T.  H.  McElroy,  with  whom 
was  associated  for  a  while  one  Doc.  Parker,  from  McGregor,  who 
later  went  to  Kansas.  This  paper  existed  less  than  a  year,  Mc- 
Elroy selling  in  1860  to  C.  Lohmann,  who  ran  the  press  off  to 
Boscobel,  Wis.,  while  under  mortgage.  In  August  McElroy 
started  the  Northwestern  Democrat,  at  Lansing,  but  his  w'here- 
abouts  since  we  do  not  know.  In  '62  Lohmann  published  the 
Argus  at  Lansing. 

The  North  Iowa  Journal  (Republican)  was  established  at  Wau- 
kon, in  May,  1860,  by  E.  L.  Babbitt  and  W.  H.  Merrill,  who 
issued  the  first  number  May  29th.  In  1861  they  sold  the  paper  to 
Leonard  G.  Calkins  and  Albert  B.  Goodwin,  and  returned  to 
WyomingCo.,  N.  Y.,  where  Babbitt  died  a  couple  of  years  later. 
Goodwin  shortly  after  disposed  of  his  interest,  and  has  also  since 
died.  In  '62  the  Journal  suffered  a  temporary  suspension,  but 
w^as  revived  about  August  1st,  with  Calkins  and  Cole  editors,  Chas. 
B..  Cole  publisher.  In  September  the  name  of  L.  G.  Calkins  ap- 
pears as  publisher.  Cole  still  being  associated  with  him  as  local 
editor.  About  November  Cole  assumed  the  entire  control,  made 
its  politics  Democratic,  and  early  in  1863  sold  out  to  John  G. 
Armstrong,  who  removed  the  Journal  to  Lansing  and  continued 
its  publication  as  a  Democratic  sheet. 

For  nearly  five  3"ears  thereafter  Waukon  was  without  a  local 
paper.  In  the  winter  of  1807-8  negotiations  were  entered  into 
with  Chas.W.  McDonald,  then  publishing  the  Gazette  at^Blairstown, 
this  state,  w^ho  came  here  and  on  the  9th  of  January  1868  issued 
the  first  number  of  the  Waukon  Standard.  After  publishing  it 
three  months  he  sold  to  R.  L.Hayward  &  Co.  and  went  to  Illinois, 
and  later  to  New  York  where  he  was  for  some  time  engaged  in 
the  Swedenborgian  Publishing  House.  More  recently  he  publish- 
ed a  paper  at  Sioux  Falls;  and  is  at  present  we  believe,  located  at 
Wessingtou  Hills  and  Superintendent  of  Schools  of  Aurora  county, 
Dakota.  Under  its  new  management  the  Standard  was  edited 
by  Rev.  A.  M.  May,  who  has  been  its  chief  editor  from  that  day 
to  this,  and  has  made  it  a  strong,  pure,  and  reliable  local  family 
newspaper.  It  has  always  been  republican  in  politics.  His  first 
partner,  Mr.  Hayward,  did  not  come  to  W^aukon  until  the  follow- 
ing August;  and  in  March  18G9  he  disposed  of  his  interest  and 
went  to  Arkansas,  and  eventually  to  San  Antonio,  Texas,  Avhere 
he  was  engaged  in  newspaper  business  and  where  he  died  very  re- 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  689 

cently— iu  August  1882.  Mr.  May  then  associated  with  him  one 
Jas.  H.  Braytou,  who  although  a  good  printer  had  some  habits 
that  threatened  to  swamp  the  establishment,  and  after  about  four 
months  Mr.  May  found  it  necessary  to  assume  the  entire  control. 
Brayton  was  afterwards  heard  of  in  Minnesota,  and  the  western 
part  of  this  State,  engaged  in  printing,  and  iu  less  honorable 
though  more  lucrative  occupations;  and  it  is  said  proved  quite  suc- 
cessful at  poker. 

In  December  1869,  E.  M.  Hancock  became  associated  with  May 
in  the  business,  but  withdrew  in  July  following.  August  1st, 
1872,  Chas.  R.  Hamstreet  bought  an  interest  in  the  office,  which 
he  held  until  June  1st,  1873,  when  he  disposed  of  it  and  engaged 
in  farming  near  Clear  Lake,  where  he  still  is.  At  that  time  E. 
M.  Hancock  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the  concern,  and  May  & 
Hancock  continued  to  conduct  the  Standard  for  nine  and  a  half 
years,  until  January  1st,  1882,  when  Hancock  disposed  of  his 
interest  to  Mrs.  May,  the  firm  becoming  A.  M.  May  &  Co.^ 

Upon  the  completion  of  the  railroad  in  October,  1877,  the 
Waukon  Democrat  was  started  by  Daniel  O'Brien.  July  5th, 
1879,  it  passed  ini^^o  the  hands  of  John  W.  Hinchon,  who  published 
it  three  years,  and  July  26,  1882,  sold  out  to  T.  C.  Medray  &  Son. 

BUSINESS  INSTITUTIONS. 

Among  the  early  business  institutions  the  old  steam  sawmill 
was  one  of  the  very  first.  It  was  built  by  D.  W.  Adams  andD.  E. 
Whitney  in  the  fall  of  1851:,  and  finished  the  following  spring  and 
went  into  operation.  It  did  a  large  business  for  a  year  or  two, 
but  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1857.  Adams  then  sold  his  interest 
to  W.  C.  Earl,  who  with  Whitney  rebuilt  the  mill  shortly  after. 
In  February  1859  Earl  purchased  the  interest  of  his  partner,  Ed. 
Whitney,  who  died  a  few  years  since  in  Minnesota.  The  mill  was 
run  by  a  50-horse  power  engine,  and  did  all  kinds  of  sawing,  plan- 
ing and  turning.  In  1862  the  property  was  rented  to  Granger 
&  Gada,  who  also  did  custom  grinding  of  flour  and  feed  in  addition 
to  the  wood-working.  The  mill  stood  on  the  lots  in  front  of 
Earl's  present  residence,  and  was  for  years  one  of  the  institu- 
tions of  the  town.  As  it  outlived  its  usefulness  it  was  finally 
dismantled,  the  machinery  sold  out,  the  great  stone  and  brick 
chimney  toppled  over,  and  in  July  1870  the  building  was  moved 
back  to  the  rear  of  the  block  where  it  is  still  used  as  a  barn  and 
warehouse. 

In  January  or  February  1859  a  banking  and  exchange  office  was 
established  by  Walter  Delafield,  who  built  the  little  brown  build- 
ing just  west  of  the  National  House  for  that  purpose,  now  used  as 
a  carpenter  shop.  It  run  for  not  much  over  a  year,  Delafield  re- 
turning to  the  east  in  August  1860. 

The  Hersey  block  of  stores,  next  south  of  the  Mason  House,  was 
erected   in    1859.     The  second  story  was  occupied  with  a  hall,  the 


690  HISTOEY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

first  and  for  a  long  time  the  only  one  in  town.  Barnard  Hall 
was  finished  oif  in  the  winter  of  '69-70.  The  first  drug  store  was 
that  of  11.  C.  Armstrong,  and  stood  on  the  corner  opposite  and 
north  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  It  was  moved  "down  town" 
in  later  years,  and  occupies  the  southeast  corner  of  Main  and 
West  streets.  In  1859  this  same  Armstrong  put  up  the  first  brick 
house  in  the  village,  on  the  north  side  of  Main  street,  in  his  ad- 
dition. The  first  brick  stores  were  erected  by  Robbins  Bros,  and 
Adams  &  Hale^  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Allamakee,  in  1869. 
The  large  frame  building  now  occupied  by  the  marble  shop  was 
put  up  by  Shattuck  and  Woodcock  in  1859,  on  the  corner  where 
Boomer's  Opera  House  now  stands.  Barnard  and  Hersey's  store 
was  built  in  1867. 

RAILEOAD. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1857,  several  of  the  prominent  citizens  of 
Lansing  adopted  articles  of  incorporation  of  the  "  Lansing,  North- 
ern Iowa  and  Southern  Minnesota  R.  R.  Co.,"  to  build  a  railroad 
to  the  state  line,  towards  the  south  bend  of  the  St.  Peters  river  in 
Minnesota,  with  a  capital  of  $4,000,000.  Not  to  be  outdone, 
Waukon  proceeded  to  organize  the  "  Prairie  du  Chien  &  Mankato 
R.  R.  Co.,"  with  a  capital  of  $5,000,000,  the  articles  of  incorpor- 
ation of  which  were  signed  at  Waterville,  Oct.  15,  1857,  by  Scott 
Shattuck,  F.  Belfoy,  Wm.  F.  Ross,  W.  H.  Morrison,  J.  Beebe,N. 
A.  Beebe,  Col.  J.  Spooner,  W.  W.  Hungerford,  Geo.  E.  Wood- 
ward and  L.  T.  Woodcock.  The  board  of  directors  for  the  first 
year  consisted  of  John  T.  Clark,  William  H.  Morrison,  J.  Spooner, 
Francis  Belfoy,  Geo.  E.  Woodward,  N.  A.  Beebe,  William  F.  Ross, 
William  W.  Hungerford,  A.  B.  Webber,  J.  T.  Atkins,  H.  L. 
Douseman,  Albert  L.  Collins,  and  T.  R.Perry;  and  the  officers 
were:  John  T.Clark,  president;  Francis  Belfoy,  secretary;  W.W. 
Hungerford,  treasurer,  and  Geo.  E.  Woodward,  chief  engineer. 
The  last  mentioned  has  since  become  an  architect  of  more  than 
national  reputation.  Books  were  opened  for  the  subscription  of 
stock,  and  the  line  was  surveyed  that  fall  through  Winneshiek 
and  Mitchell  counties  to  the  state  line,  commencing  at  the  mouth 
of  Paint  creek. 

We  find  a  record  of  Oct.  20th,  1858,  when  the  second  annual 
meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  was  held  in  the  office  of  the 
company  here.  That  meeting  was  largely  attended  and  very  en- 
thusiastic. Every  county  along  the  line  was  represented.  Over 
$14,000  stock  was  subscribed  on  that  day.  Letters  were  read  from 
distinguished  railroad  men  in  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  all  speak- 
ing unqualifiedly  of  the  Paint  creek  route  as  the  very  best  west 
from  the  Mississippi  in  northern  Iowa,  and  predicting  its  comple- 
tion at  an  early  day.  For  the  second  year  J.  T.  Atkins  was  presi- 
dent; N.  A.  Beebe,  vice-president;  Hungerford,  secretary,  and  J. 
T.  Clark,  treasurer  and  attorney. 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  691 

April  27,  '59,  a  delegation  from  Waukon  attended  an  enthusi- 
astic railroad  meeting  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  were  met  at  John- 
sonsport  by  the  ferry  boat  and  brass  band  from  that  town.  But 
it  was  all  of  no  use.  The  Bloody  Run  route  west  from  McGregor 
was  eventually  adopted,  and  our  town  drank  to  the  dregs  the  cup 
of  disappointment.  All  hope  was  not  abandoned,  however,  and 
April  15,  1862,  the  "  Prairie  du  Chien  and  Austin  R.  R.  Co."  was 
incorporated.  This  also  came  to  naught,  and  Feb.  4,  '63,  was  or- 
ganized the  ''Prairie  du  Chien  and  Cedar  Valley  R,  R.  Co.,"  which 
resulted  as  had  the  others. 

In  1871  the  B.,  C.  R.  &  M.  road  was  extending  up  towards  Post- 
ville,  with  the  intention,  as  stated  in  railroad  meetings  at  Inde- 
pendence and  elsewhere,  of  extending  on  northeast  by  way  of 
Waukon  to  the  river.  This  gave  new  hope,  only  to  be  followed 
by  disappointment  again.  Then  Judge  Williams'  narrow  gauge 
enterprise  was  planned  and  partially  executed.  Propositions  were 
made  to  Waukon  in  1872  for  a  branch  to  this  place.  We  ac- 
cepted, and  did  our  full  part,  by  way  of  voting  aid,  subscriptions, 
surveying,  etc.,  till  the  eastern  financial  end  of  it  collapsed,  caus- 
ing an  abandonment  of  the  project,  but  not  until  several  lines 
were  surveyed  to  Waukon  from  the  Iowa  Eastern,  by  way  of  Mo- 
nona and  Postville. 

Waukon  had  become  used  to  disappointments  by  this  time,  and 
the  subject  was  pretty  much  at  rest  till  the  fall  of  1871:.  Then 
Lansing  began  to  agitate  the  county  seat  question  again.  This 
was  the  one  thing  needed  to  rouse  our  citizens  to  action,  and  they 
took  hold  of  the  matter  in  earnest.  After  considerable  talk  and 
canvassing  of  the  matter,  articles  of  incorporation  of  the  Waukon 
and  Mississippi  R.  R.  Co.  were  adopted,  with  the  following  incor- 
porators: W.  C.  Earle,  A.  E.  Robbins,  C.  Paulk,  Jacob  Plank,  H. 
S.  Cooper,  John  Goodykoontz,  P.  G.  Wright,  C.  Barnard,  H.  G. 
Grattan,  Jeptha  Beebe,  C.  0.  Howard,  G.  P.  Eells,  H.  H.  Stilwell, 
C.  W.  Jenkins,  G.  M.  Dean,  F.  M.  Clark,  C.  S.  Stilwell,  J.  W. 
Pratt,  L.  Howes,  J.  A.  Towjsend,  and  James  DuSy.  Until  the 
first  election  by  the  stockholders,  the  officers  consisted  of  C.  D, 
Beeman,  president;  H.  S.  Cooper,  vice-president;  C.  S.  Stilwell, 
secretary,  and  John  Goodykoontz,  treasurer.  At  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  stockholders,  April  6th,  officers  for  the  ensuing 
year  were  elected  as  follows:  D.  W.  Adams,  president;  C.  D.  Bee- 
man,  vice-president;  Martin  Stone,  secretary;  L.  W.  Hersey, 
treasurer:  and  G.  W.  Stoddard,  W.  C.  Earle,  Jas.  Holahan,  H.  G. 
Grattan,  H.  H.  Stilwell,  and  Fred.  Hager,  directors. 

The  directors  authorized  a  survey  as  soon  as  possible,  which  was 
begun  April  19,  1875,  and  completed  May  21,  under  the  direction 
of  D.  W.  Adams,  J.  H.  Hale,  and  J .  W.  Earl.  Meanwhile  a  com- 
mittee had  been  at  work  since  January  securing  the  right  of  way. 
May  22,  payment  of  accrued  claims  was  provided  for.  Contracts 
for  grading  were  let  May  28th,  and  about  the  first  of  June  dirt 


692  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY; 

began  to  fly,  high  hope  being  entertained  of  the  completion  of  the 
road  that  fall.  The  grading  was  completed  late  that  summer, 
many  of  the  bridges  put  in,  and  ties  got  out  ready  for  the  rail.  It 
was  at  first  the  intention  to  lay  a  hard  wood  rail,  but  at  a  meeting 
August  25th,  iron  was  decided  upon.  In  December  an  attempt 
was  made  to  negotiate  a  loan,  which  failed,  as  did  a  similar  at- 
tempt in  January  '76.  The  difficulty  was  not  so  much  in  secur- 
ing the  money  wherewith  to  purchase  the  iron,  as  in  obtaining  it 
on  such  terms  as  would  save  the  road  to  the  stock-holders  and  not 
make  it  necessary  that  it  should  pass  from  their  control.  Efforts 
to  this  end  were  continually  being  made.  At  the  general  meeting 
in  April,  1876,  the  old  officers  and  directors  were  re-elected.  Up 
to  April  1st  the  sum  of  833,533.57  had  actually  been  collected  on 
stock  subscriptions.  March  15th  a  law  was  passed  by  the  General 
Assembly  permitting  townships  and  incorporations  to  aid  in  the 
construction  of  railroads,  and  in  accordance  therewith  an  election 
was  held  in  Makee  township  April  26th,  at  which  a  five  per  cent, 
tax  was  voted  by  342  to  101.  Union  Prairie  township  voted  a 
three  per  cent  tax  May  17th,  by  113  to  61;  but  aid  was  refused 
by  Ludlow  May  19,  where  a  three  per  cent,  tax  was  asked,  by  Jef- 
ferson May  22  (the  same),  and  by  Hanover  May  25,  where  only  a 
two  per  cent,  tax  was  called  for. 

June  10th,  1876,  the  W.  &  M.  R.  R.  Security  Co.  was  organized 
for  the  purpose  of  devising  means  for  completing  the  road,  but 
was  dissolved  Sept.  19th,  the  securities  furnished  by  the  members 
being  returned  to  them.  Sept.  19th,  1876,  the  W.  &  M.  R.  R. 
Guarantee  Co.  was  organized,  for  the  purpose  of  completing, 
equipping,  maintaining  and  operating  said  railroad.  The  corpora- 
tors were:  Dudley  W.  Adams,  L.  W.  Hersey,  Holahan  &  Buggy, 
J.  W.  Pratt,  A.  Hersey,  Henry  Dayton,  E.  K.  Spencer,  W.  C. 
Earle,  A.  J.  Hersey,  A.  E.  Robbins,  A.  Plubiska,  C.  W.  Jenkins,  C. 
D.  Beeman,  H.  G.  Grattan,  H.  H.  Stilwell,  Low  &  Stillman,  John 
A.  Taggart,  J.  H.  Hale,  Lewis  Reid,  Azel  Pratt,  And  the  officers: 
D.  W.  Adams,  Prest.,  C.  D.  Beeman,  Vice  P.,  J.  W.  Pratt,  Sec'y, 
L.  W.  Hersey,  Treas.,  H.  G.  Grattan  Auditor.  The  assets  of  the 
W.  &  M.  R.  R.  Co.  were  leased  to  the  Guarantee  Co.  for  a  number 
of  years  for  the  purpose  indicated.  In  December  the  iron  was 
contracted  for  in  Milwaukee,  upon  favorable  terms;  and  an  order 
was  made  to  enforce  the  collection  of  delinquent  stock. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  original  railroad  company  in  April, 
'77,  the  following  were  elected:  D.  W.  Adams,  Prest.,  C.  D.  Bee- 
man, Vice  Prest.,  H.  G.  Grattan,  Sec'y,  L.  W.  Hersey,  Treas.,  and 
Jas.  Holahan,  Conrad  Helming,  W.  C.  Earle,  H.  H.  Stilwell  and 
C.  W.  Jenkins,  directors.  June  30th  J.  H.  Hale  was  elected  chief 
civil  engineer.  July  27th  H.  G.  Grattan  resigned  as  auditor  and 
Jas.  Holahan  was  elected.  Sept.  3d,  at  the  annual  election  of  of- 
ficers of  the  Guarantee  Co.,  D.  W.  Adams  was  re-elected  Prest., 
A.  E.    Robbins   Vice   Prest.,   J.   W.  Pratt  Sec  y,  L.  W.  Hersey 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  693 

Treas.,  and  Jas.  Holahan,  Auditor.  H.  H.  Stillwell  was  attorney 
for  the  company,  and  D.  W.  Adams  Gen'l.  Supt.  of  the  road.  E. 
B.  Gibbbs  was  secured  as  station  agent  at  this  place. 

In  July,  1877,  first  mortgage  bonds  were  issued  to  the  amount 
of  about  S30,000,  and  taken  by  Messrs.  Fairbank,  Bradley  and 
Parks,  of  Massachusetts,  interest  eight  per  cent,  payable  semi-an- 
nually. And  a  short  loan  of  $15,000  was  secured  from  J.  H. 
Fairbank  of  Wiuchendon,  Mass.,  ample  real  estate  security  being 
given.  The  rolling  stock  was  purchased  the  latter  part  of  that 
month,  and  the  delivery  of  iron  began  early  in  August.  Track 
laying  began  September  4th;  the  locomotive  was  received  Septem- 
ber 11th;  reached  Waterville,  nine  miles,  September  25th;  and  on 
October  2Tth,  fifty-three  days  from  the  time  the  first  rail  was 
laid,  the  track  was  completed,  twenty-three  miles,  to  Waukon. 

Thus,  after  twenty  years  of  disappointments,  hoping,  waiting, 
and  working,  Waukon  became  a  railroad  town,  with  a  road  of  her 
own  building.  Just  twenty  years  to  a  month  from  the  time  of 
the  first  railroad  survey  up  Paint  creek  valley,  a  road  was  comple- 
ted over  that  route;  and  this  village  and  vicinity  entered  upon  a 
new  era  of  prosperity.  It  was  entirely  independent  of  any  other 
road  or  corporation,  the  people  of  Waukon  having  struggled 
through  with  the  enterprise  without  a  dollar  of  assistance  from 
outside  parties.  At  the  time  of  its  completion  the  rolling  stock 
of  the  road  comprised  one  twelve-ton  locomotive,  sixteen  box  cars, 
five  flats,  and  one  passenger.  The  cost  of  the  road  and  its  equip- 
ments amounted  to  about  1121,000,  or  nearly  $5,300  per  mile,  and 
its  total  debt  was  about  850,000,  bonded  for  five  years.  No  great 
splurge  or  celebration  was  indulged  in,  but  on  the  day  of  its  com- 
pletion an  impromptu  aifair  was  gotten  up  for  the  entertainment 
of  the  people  who  happened  to  be  in  town,  and  the  railroad  em- 
ployes in  particular,  from  an  account  of  which  in  the  Standard 
Ave  quote  as  follows: 

"On  Saturday,  October  27,  1877,  at  3  o'clock  p.  m.,  the  engine 
'  Union  Prairie '  rolled  up  to  the  platform  of  the  Waukon  de- 
pot, Thos.  Clyde,  engineer;  0.  H.  Bunnell,  fireman,  and  Henry 
Lear,  conductor.  For  the  preceding  few  days  as  the  end  of  the 
track  approached  town  the  number  of  visitors  had  constantly  in- 
creased, until  on  this  day  a  large  crowd  of  people,  consisting 
largely  of  ladies,  were  assembled  at  the  depot  and  below  to  wit- 
ness the  last  of  the  track-laying,  and  get  a  sight  at  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  our  locomotive.  When  the  train  reached  the  depot 
platform  the  flat  cars  were  soon  crowded  to  their  fullest  standing 
room,  chiefly  by  the  ladies  and  children,  and  the  Waukon  band 
played  a  joyous  strain  in  welcome.  At  this  point  in  the  proceed- 
ings everybody  stood  still  until  the  camera  had  secured  a  photo- 
graph of  the  lively  scene  for  all  to  look  at  and  laugh  over  in  fu- 
ture years;  after  which  the  first  '  passenger  train,' consisting  of 
five  flats,  densely  packed,  ran  down  the  road  a  couple    of    miles, 


694  HISTORY   OP    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

with  the  band  playing  on  the  front  car,  and  soon  returned  with 
whistle  sounding,  amid  some  enthusiasm  and  considerable  amuse- 
ment. *  *  At  5  o'clock,  headed  by  the  band,  the  hands  re- 
paired to  Barnard  Hall,  which  had  been  decorated  with  flags,  as 
also  had  most  of  the  buildings  in  the  business  part  of  town.  Here, 
to  the  number  of  about  sixty,  they  were  treated  to  a  bountiful  hot 
supper,  and  all  the  delicacies  of  the  table  which  the  ladies  of  Wau- 
kon  so  excel  in  providing,  served  by  the  ladies  themselves.  After 
them,  the  public  generally  fell  to  and  did  full  justice  to  the  repast, 
but  so  amply  had  the  ladies  provided  for  sixty  or  eighty  railroad 
hands  that,  it  is  estimated,  some  500  people  in  all  were  served  with 
supper  at  the  hall,  free.  *  *  After  supper  the  floor  wascl  eared, 
and  those  so  disposed  participated  in  a  social  dance.  *  *  There 
were  in  town  during  the  day  an  unusual  number  of  people,  although 
no  public  announcement  of  any  demonstration  had  been  made." 

The  American  Express  Co.  began  doing  business  over  this  line  in 
December,  and  the  road  began  carrying  the  mails  Feb.  11,  1878. 
April  2,  '78,  the  annual  election  resulted:  D.  W.  Adams,  presi- 
dent; H.  Gr.  Grattan,  vice-president;  L.  W.  Hersey,  secretary;  C. 
D.  Beeman,  treasurer;  Jas.  Holahan,  Henry  Dayton^  W.  C.  Earle, 
C.  Helming,  and  C.  W,  Jenkins,  directors. 

In  September,  '78,  James  F.  Joy,  of  railroad  fame,  came  on,  and 
after  looking  over  the  ground,  purchased  a  controlling  interest,  of 
stockholders  here,  the  oflicers  of  the  Guarantee  Co.  being  suc- 
ceeded by  J.  F.  Joy,  president;  F.  0.  Wyatt,  vice-president  and 
general  manager;  C.  M.  Carter,  treasurer;  H.  H.  Stilwell,  secre- 
tary; and  the  road  passed  into  the  same  management  as  the  river 
road,  with  a  prospect  of  being  pushed  through  into  Minnesota. 
The  officers  of  the  old  original  company  resigned  and  were  suc- 
ceeded by  F.  0.  Wyatt,  pres.;  W.  J.  Knight,  vice-pres.;  CM. 
Carter,  treas.:  H,  H.  Stilwell,  sec'y;  and  Frank  Adams,  S.  A. 
Wolcott,  J.  F.  Joy,  L.  W.  Hersey  and  A.  E.  Bobbins,  directors. 
That  fall  and  winter  a  party  of  surveyors  ran  a  line  for  a  pro- 
posed extension  northwest  into  Minnesota,  and  also  preliminary 
surveys  toward  Decorah,  which  city  in  August,  '79,  voted  a  four 
per  cent,  tax  in  aid  of  an  extension  to  that  place,  via  Frankville, 
That  route  having  been  abandoned,  grading  was  begun  on  the 
line  down  Coon  creek,  and  in  October  Decorah  voted  a  tax  to  aid 
in  its  extension,  and  the  work  of  grading  was  prosecuted  vigorous- 
ly. Nov.  6,  1879,  Waukon  was  put  in  communication  with  the 
world  by  telegraph. 

In  the  spring  of  1880  the  work  of  grading  for  the  extension 
was  resumed,  the  piers  erected  for  four  iron  bridges  across  the 
Iowa  river,  and  several  miles  of  track  laid,  when,  in  May,  the  line 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  C,  M.  &  St.  P.  R.  R.  Co.,  along  with 
the  C.  C.  D.  &  M.,  of  which  it  was  a  feeder.  Work  on  the  ex- 
tension, however,  did  not  cease  until  early  in  July,  when  the 
track  had  almost  reached  the  Iowa. 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  695 

ORDERS    AND    SOCIETIES. 

Masonic. — Waukon  Lodge,  No.  154,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  was  or- 
j2janized  Jan.  31,  1860,  under  dispensation,  the  first  officers  being 
T.H.  Barnes,  W.M.;  R.  K.  Hall,  Sen.  W.;  L.  W.  Hersey,  Jun. 
W.;  Geo.  M.  Dean,  Sen.  D.;  A.  Pardo,  Jim.  D.;  Geo.  C.  Shat- 
tuck,  treas.;  L.  T.  Woodcock,  sec'y;  A.  A.  Sturtevant,  tyler.  Its 
charter  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  June  8th,  1800,  with  the 
same  officers.  Its  present  officers  are:  C.  T.  Granger,  W.  M.;  A.. 
G.  Stewart,  Sen.  W.;  H.  H.  Stilwell,  Jun.  W.;  L.  W.  Hersey, 
treas.;  E.  B.  Gibbs,  sec'y;  D.  W.  Reed,  Sen.  D.;  B.  Fultz,  Jun. 
D.;  A.J  Rodgers,  Sen.  Steward;  C.  S.  Stilwell,  Jun.  Steward;  N. 
H.  Pratt,  tyler;  Rev.  B.  Hall,  chaplain.  The  lodge  is  in  a  very 
flourishing  condition,  and  occupies  a  finely  furnished  hall  over 
Hale  &  Jenkins'  store.  Its  present  membership  in  good  standing 
is  seventy-four. 

Odd  Felloivs.— Waukon  Lodge,  No.  182,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  was  or- 
ganized Jan.  3,  1870,  with  the  following  officers:  Robert  Isted,  N. 
G.;  J.  B.  Mattoon,  V.  G.;  H.  H.  Stilwell,  R.  Sec;  L.  M.  Bearce, 
treas.  Number  of  charter  members,  thirty-five.  Charter  granted 
Oct.  20, 1870.  The  present  membership  in  good  standing  is  42, 
and  the  officers  are:  A.  G.Stewart,  N.  G.;  E.  B.  Raymond,  V.  G.; 
0.  M.  Nelson,  R.  and  P.  Sec'y;  Joseph  Burton,  treas. 

Hope  Encampment,  No.  77,  was  organized  at  Lansing,  April  4, 
1875;  charter  granted  April  24.  It  was  removed  to  Waukon 
March  8th,  1881,  and  the  present  officers  are:  Joseph  Haines,  C. 
P.;  R.L.  Bircher,  H.  P.;  C.  S.  Stilwell,  S.  W.;  R.  A.  Nichols,  N. 
W.;  0.  M.  Nelson,  scribe;  A.  A.  Barnard,  treas. 

United  Workmen. — Makee  Lodge,  No.  42,  A.  0.  U.  W.,  was 
organized  Jan.  14,  1876,  with  sixteen  charter  members,  and  the 
following  officers:  I.  Greer,  P.  M.  W.;  M.  W.  Nesmith,  M.  W.; 
J.  W.  Pratt,  G.F.;  H.  0.  Dayton,  0.;  S.  R.  Thompson,  recorder; 
F.  H.  Robbins,  F.;  L.  J.  Nichols,  receiver;  L.  Anderson,  0.  W.; 
A.  F.  Lathrop,I.  W.;  D.  G.  Grippen,  A.  F.  Lathrop,  A.  T.  Still- 
man,  trustees.  Its  present  membership  is  forty-two  in  good 
standing,  and  its  officers  are:  N.  H.  Pratt,  P.  M.  W.;  P.  H.  De 
Lacy,  M.  W.;  J.  B.  Minert,  F.;  G.  D.  Greenleaf,  0.;  J.  L.  Pratt, 
R.;  F.  C.  Burdick,  Fin.;  F.  H.  Robbins,  receiver;  E.  W.  Pratt, 
G.;  U.  F.  Lewis,  0.  W.;  A.  Kellogg,  I.  W. 

Legion  of  Honor. — Diamond  Lodge,  No.  39,  I.  L.  H.,  was  or- 
ganized Sept.  5, 1879,  with  the  following  officers:  G.  H.  Bryant, 
pres.;  A.  G.  Stewart,  vice-pres.;  A.J.  Rodgers,  recording  sec'y; 
E.  M.  Hancock,  fin.  sec'y;  J.  W.  Pratt,  treas.;  A.  M.  May,  chap- 
lain; C.  C.  Banfill,  usher;  Don.  A.  Hoag.  doorkeeper;  A.  K. 
Pratt,  sentinel;  L.  Burton,  L.  M.  Bearce  and  M.  H.  Pratt,  trus- 
tees. A.  J.  Rodgers  is  recording  sec'y,  and  A.  G.  Stewart  finan- 
cial sec'y. 


690  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

V.  A.  S. — A  collegium  of  this  order  was  instituted  here  Feb. 
19,  1882,  with  a  membership  of  thirty-two,'  and  officers  as  fol- 
lows: A.B.Conner,  rector;  J.  S.  Nitterauer,  vice-rector;  T.E. 
Fleming,  chaplain;  F.  C.  Burdick,  scribe;  J.  W.  Goodrich,  usher; 
Peter  Stevens,  guide. 

Good  Templars. — Allamakee  Lodge,  No.  127,  I.  O.G.  T.,  was 
organized  the  latter  part  of  1859  or  early  in  1860,  the  first  officers 
of  whom  we  find  any  record  being  A.  B.  Goodwin,  W.  C.  T.,  and 
T.  J.  Goodykoontz,  W.  S.  This  organization  was  quite  popular 
alongearly  in  the  sixties,  and  flourished  finely;  but  its  light  grad- 
ually waned,  and  went  out  about  the  latter  part  of  1872.  It  was  re- 
vived early  in  1876  as  T^ra2iA'0M  Lof/^e,  No.  68,  but  was  kept  up 
only  a  little  over  two  years. 

Patrons  of  Husbandry. — Waukon  Grange,  P.  of  H.,  was  organ- 
ized Jan.  6, 1870.  Chas.  Paulk  was  the  first  W.  Master.  The  in- 
stitution was  very  prosperous,  and  in  March,  1871,  purchased  the 
old  Woodcock  store  building  on  the  present  site  of  Boomer's  opera 
house,  paying  therefor  $2,000.  This  grange  continued  in  oper- 
ation about  eleven  years. 

Y.  M.  T.  A. — The  Young  Men's  Temperance  Association  was 
organized  in  May,  1881,  with  the  following  officers:  CO.  Ban- 
fill,  Pres.;R.  J.  Alexander,  Vice  Pres.;  J.  F.  Dougherty,  Secre- 
tary; George  Helming,  Treas.  Although  less  than  a  year  and  a 
half  old,  it  has  purchased  a  library  of  late  and  popular  books, 
comprising  two  hundred  volumes,  besides  tastefully  furnishing  a 
hall  and  paying  all  running  expenses.  Its  reading  room  is  sup- 
plied with  all  the  more  popular  magazines  and  periodicals,  and  is 
open  to  the  public  every  evening  and  Sunday  afternoon.  In  the 
years  gone  by  there  was  in  Waukon  a  Young  Men's  Library  As- 
sociation, which  with  the  aid  of  the  Amateur  Dramatic  Club,  had 
accumulated  a  library  of  nearly  five  hundred  volumes.  These 
books  (or  all  that  were  left  of  them)  were  placed  in  the  charge  of 
the  Y.  M.  T.  A.,  which  thus  has  control  of  a  circulating  library 
of  fully  six  hundred  volumes,  open  to  the  public  two  afternoons 
each  week.  The  association  comprises  about  sixty  members,  and 
is  one  of  the  really  meritorious  organizations  of  the  town,  and  is 
doing  a  good  work.  The  officers  are  the  same  as  at  first,  with  the 
exception  of  Geo.  Hubbell,  Treasurer,  and  the  addition  of  a  Finan- 
cial Secretary,  H.  J.  Nichols.  The  room  they  occupy  has  so  far 
cost  them  nothing  for  rent,  through  the  liberality  of  the  owner, 
W,C.Earle. 

W.  C.  T.  U. — The  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  was 
organized  Feb.  17,  1876,  with  a  membership  of  fifty-eight,  and 
the  following  officers:  Mrs.  E.  M.  Stilwell,  Pres.;  Mrs.  S.  M. 
Wedgwood,  Vice  Pres.;  Miss  Nettie  Hall,  Recording  Secretary; 
Mrs.  L.  A.  Low,  Corresponding  Secretary.  It  has  done  a  good 
work  in  the  temperance  cause.     The  officers  during  the  past  year 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  697 

were:  Mrs.  Skihvell,  Pres.;  Mrs.  W.  L.  F.  Brayton,  Vice  Pres.; 
Mr.s.  C.  D.  Beenian,  Corresponding  Secretary;  Mrs.  Low,  Record- 
ing Secretary;  Mrs.  L.  W.  Hersey,  Treasurer. 

Early  Settlers. — The  Early  Settlers'  Association,  of  Makee  tp., 
was  organized  Dec.  2,  1879,  with  about  twenty-five  members.  The 
first  officers  elected  were:  J.  A.  Towusend,  Pres.;  James  Duffy, 
Vice  Pres.;  G.  M.  Dean,  Secretary;  Azel  Pratt,  Treasurer.  The 
present  officers  are:  James  Duffy,  Pres.;  L.  E.  Howe,  Vice  Pres.; 
Geo.  M.  Dean,   Secretary;  George  W.  Hayes,  Treasurer. 

MiJitary  Companij. — Co.  F.,  4th  Regt".  lo.  National  Guards, 
was  mustered  in  by  Capt.  E.  B.  Bascom,  of  Lansing,  May  15, 
1878,  with  a  full  complement  of  sixty-four  enlisted  men.  besides 
the  commissioned  officers,  who  were  elected  as  follows:     Captain, 

D.  W.  Reed;  1st  Lieut.,  J.  W.  Pratt;  2d.  Lieut.,  T.  G.  Orr.  In 
July,  the  company  was  transferred  to  the  9th  Regt.,  becoming  Co. 

E.  August  17,  Captain  Reed  was  elected  Major  of  the  regiment. 
About  Sept.  20th  the  company  received  their  arms  and  accoutre- 
ments. In  October,  Earle's  hall  was  leased  for  an  armory.  Nov. 
7th,  2d  Sergt.  A.  J.  Rogers  was  elected  Captain,  and  5th  Sergt.  A. 
T.  Stillman  1st  Lieut.,  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  resignation  of  J. 
W.  Pratt.  May  2d,  1879,  Orderly  Sergt.  Dell  J.  Clark  was  elected 
2d  Lieut,  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  Lieut.  Orr's  resignation,  and  A. 
H.  Peck  was  elected  Orderly.  In  July  the  company  was  re- 
transferred  to  the  Fourth  Regt.,  becoming  Co.  I.,  where  it  has 
since  remained.  In  August,  forty  uniforms  were  purchased,  it  be- 
ing necessary  to  borrow  only  $100  to  accomplish  this,  and  Sept.  16  to 
19  the  company  participated  in  regimental  encampment  at  Inde- 
pendence. May  7, 1880,  3d  Sergt.  J.  B.  Reid  was  elected  2d  Lieut.,  in 
place  of  D.  J.  Clark,  resigned,  Oct.  lltli  to  15th  the  Co.  was  in 
regimental  camp  at  Postville.  In  August,  1881.  Capt.  Rogers 
was  elected  Major  of  the  regiment;  and  the  term  of  service  having 
expired,  it  was  a  question  whether  or  not  the  Co.  should  reorgan- 
ize. On  the  8th  the  Co.  decided  by  vote  to  do  so,  and  on  the  17th 
Sergt.  A.  J.  Stewart  was  elected  Captain.  The  Co.  attended  the 
State  encampment  at  Des  Moines,  second  week  in  October.  Lieut. 
Stillman's  commission  having  expired,  and  he  desiring  to  retire, 
2d  Lieut.  J.  B.  Reid  was  elected  his  successor  Nov.  25,  and  Sergt. 
E.  B.  Gibbs  elected  to  the  2d  Lieutenancy.  In  June,  1882,  with 
these  officers,  and  E.  W.  Pratt  as  1st  Sergt.,  the  Co.  attended 
Brigade  encampment  at  Waterloo,  where  they  received  the  first 
prize  ('^100)  for  the  best  drilled  Co.  in  the  2d  brigade,  comprising 
three  regiments.  In  September,  Barnard  Hall  was  rented  for  an 
armory;  and  that  month  the  Co.,  by  special  invitation,  attended 
the  grand  military  encampment  at  Dubuque,  where  they  acquitted 
themselves  creditablv. 


698  HISTOKT    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

FIRES. 

The  more  noteworthy  tires  which  have  occurred  in  Waukon  are 
as  follows:  On  the  night  of  Sept  13, 1S70,  a  fire  originated  in  M. 
G.  Belden  &  Son's  blacksmith  shop,  standing  where  Martin's  fur- 
niture store  now  is,  destroying  all  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Main 
and  Allamakee  streets,  comprising  the  blacksmith  and  wagon 
shops  of  Belden  &  Son,  the  flour  and  feed  store  of  R.  Isted  &  Son, 
and  the  boot  and  shoe  shop  of  A.  Plubiska.  Total  loss  about 
$3,700,  insured  for  $1,900. 

On  Sunday  morning,  April  14, 1878,  before  daylight,  a  fine  orig- 
inated in  Farley's  saloon  on  the  north  side  of  Main  street,  and  con- 
sumed that  and  the  Rankin  building  next  west.  Loss  $1,025;  no 
insurance.  The  Rankin  building  was  an  old  land  mark,  built  in 
'56  or  '57  by  Uriah  Whaley,  and  had  been  used  for  various  pur- 
poses in  its  day.  The  second  story  was  once  used  for  school 
purposes;  and  the  upper  part  at  one  time  served  as  a  lock-up  for 
criminals  awaiting  trial. 

On  the  night  of  August  16,  1878,  a  fire  was  discovered  about 
10:30  o'clock  raging  in  the  wall  of  Farnsworth's  frame  store  build- 
ing and  dwelling,  on  the  north  side  of  Main  street,  and  destroyed 
the  frame  row  of  stores  on  that  street,  and  stables,  etc.  to  the 
northward,  comprising:  J.  P.  Farnsworth,  two  story  grocery  store 
and  dwelling;  W.  A.  Pottle,  two  story  building  occupied  by  Bent- 
ley  with  jewelry;  Carter  &  Eaton,  boots  and  shoes,  and  Miss 
Dean,  millinery;  Nesmith  &  Gilchrist,  two  story  building,  occu- 
pied by  drug  store;  Pleimling,  tailor  shop,  and  two  families;  Luther 
Clark,  three  story  residence  and  store;  L.  0.  Bearce,  one  story 
harness  shop;  Lewis  Reid,  one  story  and  basement  saloon;  Sam'L 
Huestis,  two  story  building  occupied  below  by  Miss  Townsend's 
millinery  rooms,  and  offices  above;  A.  H.  Hersey  and  M.  Stone, 
two  story  warehouse;  John  Rankin,  small  barn;  Tovey  &  Goody- 
koontz,  large  hotel  barn  and  sheds.  The  total  loss  amounted  to 
about  $12,000.  Although  some  supposed  the  fire  to  have  been  in- 
cendiary, not  until  more  than  fifteen  months  had  rolled  by  was 
the  evidence  sufficiently  developed  to  warrant  any  arrests.  In 
December  1879,  Wm.  Hennessey,  H.  A.  Hewit  and  Clifi".  H. 
Wood  were  arrested  for  the  crime.  The  first  had  been  keeping 
a  saloon  which  bore  the  reputation  of  a  bad  place,  and  which  the  two 
others,  young  men,were  in  the  habit  of  frequenting.  Hennessey  was 
placed  in  the  Decorah  jail  in  default  of  $10,000  bonds,  while  bail 
for  the  others  was  fixed  at  $500  each.  Hennesey's  trial  took  place 
in  May  following,  resulting  in  a  verdict  of  guilty  and  sentence  of 
twenty  years  in  the  penitentiary.  On  this  trial  H.  A.  Hewit  tes- 
tified that  he  and  Clifl'.  Wood  were  in  Hennesey's  saloon  on  the 
night  of  the  fire  after  the  others  had  all  gone  home,  and  that  Hen- 
nessey went  behind  the  bar  and  took  up  a  beer  glass  in  which  was 
a   ball    of  candle  wicking,  and  said  he  had  had  it  soaking  for  two 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  699 

days  in  kerosene;  and  that  Hennesey  put  the  ball  in  Wood's  coat 
pocket  and  told  them  to  put  it  in  a  knot  hole  which  they  would  find 
in  the  siding  of  Farnsworth's  building  and  set  it  a-fire;  that  they 
did  so,  Wood  putting  the  ball  in  and  Hewit  applying  the  match; 
and  that  although  he  had  been  drinking  considerable  that  day  he 
knew  enough  to  know  that  he  was  setting  the  fire,  etc.  Wood's 
testimony  corroborated  Hewit's  in  all  essential  particulars.  Hen- 
nessey appealed,  but  the  decision  of  the  lower  court  was  affirmed. 
Wood  and  Hewit  took  time  to  plead,  and  bail  was  fixed  in  §2,000.  At 
the  next  December  term  Wood  plead  guilty  and  received  a  sentence 
of  four  years.  Hewit  plead  not  guilty  and  the  case  was  continued. 
At  the  May  1881  term  it  came  to  trial,  when  the  jury  disagreed. 
The  case  was  continued  from  term  to  term  until  May  1882,  when 
it  was  finally  tried  and  the  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  not  guilty. 


CHAPTER    11. 


History  of  Lansing:  Early  Settlement ;  Besources  and  Commercial 
Facilities;  Railroad  Festivities;  Population;  City  Government; 
Fire  Department;  Water  Supply;  Death  of  Capt.  Hemenway; 
The  Local  Press;  Churches  and  Societies;  Original  Town  Pro- 
prietors; "  Wild  Jim." 

BY    DICK   HANEY. 


Lansing,  the  largest  town  of  Allamakee  county,  is  situated  on  the 
Mississippi  river,  twelve  miles  south  of  the  Minnesota  state  line, 
and  eighty-one  miles  north  of  Dubuque,  in  a  valley  which  i??  about 
one  mile  in  width,  and  through  which  flows  a  beautiful  stream 
called  Clear  creek.  The  business  portion  of  the  town  is  built  upon 
a  high  bench  of  ground  at  the  foot  of  Mt.  Hosmer,  one  of  the  most 
noted  bluffs  on  the  river. 

The  town,  when  viewed  from  the  river,  appears  to  be  entirely  sur- 
rounded by  rugged  hills.  In  summer,  when  these  hills  are  clothed  in 
garments  of  richest  green,  the  town  lies  half  hidden  among  its 
shade  trees,  and  the  shadows  of  the  bluffs,  as  beautiful  a  place  to 
look  upon  as  can  be  found  anywhere  in  the  Mississippi  valley.  The 
high  ground  upon  which  the  principal  portion  of  the  town  is 
built,  runs  down  to  the  river,  leaving  a  bold,  rocky  shore,  along 
which  flows  the  main  channel  of  the  river,  afibrding  at  all  seasons 
of  navigation  an  ample  supply  of  water,  and  landing  places  for 
all  kinds  of  upper  river  steamboats. 


TOO  HISTOBT    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

This  truly  beautiful  town  site  was  first  occupied  iu  1848  by  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Garrison,  who  had  made  a  claim,  and  was  liv- 
ing in  a  small  cabin  where  the  town  now  is,  when,  in  the  fall  of 
that  year,  John  Haney,  Sr.,  came  to  the  place,  in  company  with  his 
son  James.  Soon  after  Mr.  H.  H.  Houghton,  of  Galena,  111., 
purchased  Garrison's  claim,  and  in  company  with  John  Haney,  Sr., 
secured  all  the  land  lying  in  this  beautiful  valley  for  a  distance  of 
three  or  four  miles,  and  in  1851  he  and  Mr.  Haney  laid  out  the 
town  of  Lansing. 

Among  the  early  settlers  were:  James  Haney,  John  Haney,  Jr., 
G.  W.  Gray,  G.  W.  Hays,  James  I.  Gilbert,  W.  Ballou,  F.  D. 
Cowles,  J.  W.  Remine,  A.  L.  Battles,  I.  B.  Place,  H.  M,  Travis,  J. 
1.  Taylor,  E.  Hale,  and  G.  H.  Battles. 

The  first  marriage  in  the  place  was  that  of  James  Haney  and 
Rachel  W.  Hurton,  which  occurred  Feb.  5, 1852. 

The  first  white  male  child  born  in  the  place  was  Frank  Cowles. 
The  first  female  child  Alberta  Hale.  The  first  death  was  that  of 
Fanny ^Haney,  the  daughter  of  John  Haney,  Sr.,  who  died  April 
19,  1850,  The  first  merchant  who  located  in  the  new  town  was 
F.  D.  Cowles;  the  first  lawyer  was  J.  W.  Remine;  the  first  doc- 
tor, J.  I.  Taylor. 

The  first  hotel  was  kept  by  Dr.  Houghton  iu  a  little  log  build- 
ing on  Front  street,  just  north  of  Williams  street.  The  first 
frame  building  was  a  store  erected  by  F.  D.  Cowles  in  Aug.,  1851. 
It  stood  on  the  corner  of  Front  and  Main  streets,  north  of  Main. 

The  first  frame  house  erected  in  the  town  was  the  "  Lansing 
House,"  which  is  still  standing  on  Front  street,  north  of  Main, 
and  is  occupied  as  a  hotel.  It  was  built  by  Abraham  Bush  in  the 
fall  of  1851.  F.  D.  Cowles  opened  the  first  stock  of  goods  in  the 
fall  of  1851.  The  first  drug  store  was  kept  by  I.  B.  Place  on 
Front  street,  near  the  Lansing  House.  It  was  opened  in  the  fall 
of  1852.  The  first  justice  of  the  peace  was  an  Englishman  named 
Luckins. 

From  its  earliest  settlement  Lansing  grew  steadily,  and  enjoyed 
a  prosperity  not  surpassed  by  any  town  in  the  west.  It  was 
known  to  have  one  of  the  best  steamboat  landings  on  the  river, 
and  in  a  few  years  after  its  first  settlement  became  the  supply 
point  for  a  vast  tract  of  country  in  northeastern  Iowa  and  south- 
ern Minnesota,  which  was  then  being  rapidly  settled.  Emigrants 
from  the  east  and  all  parts  of  Europe  came  by  hundreds,  seeking 
honies  among  the  then  beautiful  valleys  of  Allamakee,  and  on  the 
prairies  beyond.  These  people  came  by  boat  and  made  their  way 
west  with  ox-teams,  or  on  foot,  as  best  they  could.  Soon  the  fer- 
tile soil  of  this  new  land  began  to  yield  its  harvests  of  golden 
grain.  For  a  distance  of  more  than  one  hundred  miles  west,  and 
nearly  as  far  north  and  south,  wheat    and   other   kinds    of    grain 


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HISTOliY    OP    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  701 

came  pourinpj  into  Lansinf^,  to  be  transported  by  boat  to  the  mar- 
kets of  the  world.  The  commerce  of  the  place  in  those  olden 
times — in  the  times  of  wheat — was  enormous,  Lansing  being  for  a 
number  of  years  the  best  wheat  market  on  the  Mississippi  river. 

During  these  years  the  town  increased  wonderfully  in  popula- 
tion. Substantial  business  blocks  were  erected,  elegant  residences 
built,  and  many  fine  fortunes  were  made.  In  1872  a  railroad 
reached  Lansing  from  Dubuque,  constructed  along  the  west  bank 
of  the  river.  To  this  enterprise  the  citizens  contributed  liberally, 
besides  voting  a  five-per  cent  tax  in  its  aid.  The  road  is  now  con- 
trolled by  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  R'y  Co.  The 
completion  of  this  road  to  Lansing  was  an  important  event  in  its 
history. 

Prior  to  this  time  the  river  was  the  only  means  of  communica- 
tion between  Lansing  and  the  world.     With  the  closing   of  navi- 
gation each  year  this  means  of   communication  was  removed,  and 
until  spring  again  restored  it,  such  business  as  was  done  had  to  be 
carried  on  by  teams  driven  on  the  ice  from  Lansing  to  Prairie  du 
Chien,  the  nearest  railroad  town.      The  ice  was  always  uncertain; 
hence  the  mails,  and  all  kinds   of   business  depending  upon  trans- 
portation   to    and   from   the   eastern  centers  of  commerce,  were 
largely  dependent  upon  that  most  uncertain  of  all  institutions,  the 
weather.     During  these  early,  ante-railroad  days  numerous  efforts 
were   made  to   construct   an   ice-boat,    engine,  or  machine,  that 
would   supply  the  much-needed  means  of  transportation  between 
Lansing  and  Prairie  du  Chien.      Parties  at  the  latter  place,  at  one 
time,  constructed  a  huge  iron  monster,   resembling   a  steamboat 
and  locomotive  combined,  which  they  prepared  to  launch  on   the 
ice  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  having  given  due  notice  to  the  towns  and 
wood-boat   landings   above,  just  at  what  precise  hour  the  wonder- 
ful  invention  might  be  couhdently  expected  to  arrive  at  their  re- 
spective ports.     A  large  portion  of  the  population  of  Lansing  re- 
mained awake  for  two  nights  anxiously  watching  and  waiting  for 
the    arrival    of   the   ice-boat,  car,  or  what  not  it  was  called.     But 
they  waited  in  vain.     It   never   came.     And  the  complete  or  par- 
tial  ice   embargo  of  each  winter  was  not  removed  from  the  trade 
of  Lansing  until  the  construction  of  the  railroad  before  mentioned. 
This    road,    the  Chicago,  Dubuque  and  Minnesota  Railroad  Com- 
pany, originally  the  Dubuque  and  Minnesota  Railroad  Company, 
was  incorporated  Dec.  16th,  1867.     The  names  of  the  incorporators 
were:  J.  K.  Graves,  J.  M.  Merrill,  Piatt   Smith,  E.  H.  Williams, 
and  Joseph  Herod.     On   the   27th   of  January,  1869,  J.  E.  Ains- 
worth    reported  his   reconnoisauce  of  the  proposed  line,  and  the 
next  year  capital  was  invested  in  the  enterprise.     The  ground  was 
first   broken,   with  appropriate   ceremonies,  at  Eagle  Point,  at  3 
o'clock,  Tuesday  afternoon,  Oct.  18th,  1870.     Two  years  later  the 
cars  were  running  into  Lansing.     In  recognition  of  the  work  that 

4C 


702  HISTORY   OP   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

had  been  accomplished,  and  the  many  beneficial  results  which 
were  expected  to  follow  its  completion,  the  citizens  of  Lansing 
prepared  for  a  grand 

RAILROAD  CELEBRATION. 

Wednesday  May  8th  was  set  apart  as  the  day  for  the  ovation. 
Invitations  were  extended  to  repiesentative  delegations  from  all 
the  towns  on  the  line  of  the  road  and  elsewhere.'  To  enable  peo- 
ple to  accept  the  invitations  the  railroad  provided  a  special  excur- 
tion  train  which  left  Dubuqne  at  8:30  a.  m.  drawn  by  two  engines, 
the  ''Lansing"  and  the  "J.  K.  Graves,".both  appropriately  trimmed 
with  flags  and  evergreens.  There  were  over  one  thousand  excur- 
sionists on  the  train,  accompanied  by  the  Germania  Band,  of  Du- 
buque. 

The  train  arrived  at  Lansing  in  safety  at  2:15  p.  m.  and  was  re- 
ceived in  royal  style  by  salutes  of  cannon  from  the  bluffs,  and 
music  by  the  Lansing  Cornet  Band.  A  reception  committee  con- 
sisting of  Hon.  L.  E.  Fellows,  Capt.  E.  B.  Bascom,  Jos.  T.  Metcalf, 
Gustave  Kerndt  and  Theodore  Steidie  met  the  party  at  the  foot  of 
Main  street  and  escorted  them  to  Concert  Hall,  where  a  magnifi- 
cent banquet  was  spread.  The  movements  of  the  vast  crowd  of 
strangers  were  admirably  managed  by  Capt.  E.  B.  Bascom,  chief 
marshal,  assisted  by  Maj.  Samuel  W.  Hemenway,  Capt.  James 
Ruth  and  Capt.  S.  0.  Smith.  Concert  Hall  was  beautifully  deco- 
rated. The  tables  were  arranged  on  either  side  of  the  hall,  the 
ends  towards  the  center  carried  around  towards  the  stage. 

On  the  stage  and  in  the  center  was  the  Press  table,  arranged  by 
Mr.  C.  W.  Hufschmidt.  The  newspaper  men  who  enjoyed  its 
many  luxuries  reported  at  the  time  that  ''it  presented  a  more 
tempting  sight  than  editor,  reporter  or  printer  had  ever  seen. 
That  it  was  a  'fat  take'  all  around."  Jnst  below  the  footlights 
was  the  Railroad  table  presided  over  by  Hon.  S.  H.  Kinne,  then 
State  Senator  from  Allamakee  county,  and  his  accomplished  wife. 
Everything  connected  with  this  table  was  fully  in  accord  with  the 
Senator's  known  reputation  for  hospitality.  At  the  right  of  the 
stage  the  mayor  and  council  of  Dubuque  occupied  table  No.  3, 
arranged  by  mayor  Nielander,  of  Lansing,  and  arranged  with  entire 
satisfaction  to  the  tastes  and  capacities  of  the  parties  occupying  it. 
Table  No.  5,  was  nicely  arianged  by  Mr.  R.  P..  Spencer  for  citizens 
of  Dubuque,  next  to  this  was  table  No.  7,  arranged  by  George  H. 
Bryant  for  Dubuque  guests.  Then  came  table  No.  9,  arranged  by 
Theo.  Nachtwey  for  guests  from  Guttenburg.  Table  No.  11,  was 
arranged  for  guests  from  Clayton  bv  Mr.  W.  A.  Travis..  Next  to 
this  was  table  No.  13,  arnuigKl  by  J.  W.  Thomas  for  guests  from 
Waukon.  The  guests  from  Decorah  were  seated  at  table  No.  15 
presided  over  by  Mrs.  S.  H.  Hazleton.  No.  17,  next  to  the^door 
was  arranged  by  Mrs.  Purdy  for  the  guests  from  Harper's  Ferry, 
De  Soto  and  Dorchester.     The  first  table  on  the  right  as  you  enter 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  703 

the  hall,  was  No#  14,  arranged  by  Mr.  Pearson  for  the  county  of- 
ficials. Next  came  No.  12,  arranged  by  Capt.  E.  B.  Bascora  for 
general  guests.  Then  came  No.  10,  where  citizens  of  McGregor 
and  Dubuque  were  seated,  arranged  by  Mr.  N.  A.  Nelson.  Next 
to  this  was  No.  8,  arranged  by  Mr.  Wenst  for  guests  from  Mc- 
(jregor.  And  then  came  No.  0,  for  the  use  of  Dubuque  officials, 
arranged  by  Mr.  Shaw.  At  the  end  of  the  stage  on  this  side,  table 
No.  4,  was  arranged  for  the  use  of  the  mayor  and  council  of  Ga- 
lena by  Dr.  J.  W.  Davis.  Two  hundred  and  fifty-six  guests  were 
seated  at  a  time,  and  five  sittings  were  given. 

Dinner  over,  the  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  his  honor  Mayor 
Nielander,  who  spoke  as  follows: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  The  citizens  of  Lansing,  through  me, 
tender  you  a  hearty  and  sincere  welcome,  in  which  I  cordially  join 
them.  I  hope  that  the  union  of  our  cities  and  towns  by  this  iron 
chain  may  be  also  the  means  of  uniting  and  binding  more  firmly 
our  personal  and  business  relations.  Those  whom  I  have  the  honor 
to  represent  have  used  their  utmost  exertions  to  make  your  visit 
pleasant  and  agreeable,  and  we  sincerely  hope  that  you  will  enjoy 
our  hospitality  with  the  liberality  with  which  we  offer  it  to  you. 
Citizens  of  Lansing — I  have  the  honor  of  introducing  to  you  these 
distinguished  visitors,  with  their  accompanying  friends,  who  have 
honored  our  city  with  their  presence. 

These  remarks  were  responded  to  by  Mavor  Tui'k,  of  D  ubuque, 
in  a  few  well  chosen  words,  when  Hon.  L.  E.  Fellowsw  as  intro- 
duced, who  delivered  the  following 

RECEPTION  SPEECH. 

Fellow  Citizens:  The  citizens  of  Lansing,  through  their  offi- 
cials, the  Mayor  and  Council,  bid  me  extend  a  formal  wel- 
come in  their  behalf  to  you  who  are  here  to-day.  We  cordially 
greet  you  as  representatives  of  great  railroad  aud  commercial 
interests,  alike  important  to  our  citizens  and  the  citizens  of  our 
sister  cities  and  towns  so  well  represented  on  this  occasion.  To 
the  officers  and  members  of  the  Chicago,  Dubuque,  and  Minne- 
sota Railroad  Company,  who  had  the  nerve,  courage  and  energy 
to  inaugurate  and  carry  forward  the  great  railroad  enterprise  that 
has  to-day  placed  our  young  city  in  close  connection  with  the  com-, 
mercial  metropolis  of  our  grand  and  beautiful  Iowa — who  have 
with  oaken  ties  and  iron  bands  linked  together  in  close  business 
and  social  relations,  all  the  thriving  Mississippi  river  cities  and 
towns  of  Northern  Iowa,  and  made  them  tributary  to  that  thriv- 
ing city,  Dubuque,  of  which  we  feel  justly  proud — we  extend  our 
hearty  congratulations  that  so  great  a  measure  of  success  has 
crowned  your  efforts,  and  while  Ave  rejoice  to-day  over  the  com- 
pletion of  the  railroad  to  Lansing,  iu  view  of  the  benefits  we 
expect  to  derive  from  it,  in  view  of  the  great  benefit  it  will  surely  be 
to  all  Northwestern  Iowa,  we  do  not  forget  that  it  is  a  work  of  more 


704:  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUKTY. 

than  local  importauce.  It  is  a  most  importautJink  in  that  great 
line  of  railway  that  will  shortly  follow  the  banks  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river  from  where  it  is  spanned  by  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 
road down  to  its  delta — a  railway  second  in  importance  to  none  in 
America,  traversing  a  country  unrivalled  for  its  natural  advan- 
tages, its  agricultural,  mineral  and  manufacturing  resources,  the 
salubrity  and  healthfulness  of  its  climate,  its  varied  and  mag- 
nificent scenery,  alike  inviting  to  the  farmer,  the  miner,  the 
mechanic,  the  merchant,  the  manufacturer  and  the  tourist. 

The  rapid  settlement  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  marvelous  as  it 
has  been,  is  due  to  its  wonderful  natural  advantages,  the  building  of 
railroads  and  the  power  of  the  newspaper  press,  I  see  before  me 
citizens  yet  in  the  vigor  of  manhood  who  were  pioneers  here  when 
the  most  populous  of  our  cities  and  towns  had  scarcely  ceased  to 
be  rude  Indian  villages;  when  the  present  State  of  Iowa,  with  a 
population  of  a  million  and  a  half,  and  more  than  three  thousand 
miles  of  railroad,  had  not  a  mile  of  railroad  nor  even  a  territorial 
government.  Iowa,  but  a  quarter  of  a  century  old,  is  the  eighth 
in  population  of  the  States  of  our  Union — what  will  be  her  rank 
at  the  end  of  another  quarter  of  a  century?  Who  will  attempt 
to  designate  the  States  that  will  then  surpass  her  in  wealth  and 
population?  But  the  time  and  occasion  admonish  me  not  to  dwell 
upon  this  inviting  theme.  The  occasion  is  one  of  greeting  to  the 
citizens  of  Dubuque,  Gruttenburg,  Clayton  City,  McGregor,  Har- 
per's Ferry,  and  our  friends  from  off  the  immediate  line  of  the 
railroad — from  Galena,  Waukon,  Decorah,  and  other  points,  to 
join  you  in  awarding  honor  to  the  active  promoters  of  this  rail- 
road enterprise.  We  desire  you  not  only  to  accept  our  hospitality 
but  to  become  acquainted  with  our  citizens.  We  wish  to  con- 
vince your  business  men  that  it  is  for  their  interest  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  our  business  men.  We  desire  to  show  you  that  our 
citizens  are  not  only  hospitable,  but  that  we  have  a  business  here 
worthy  of  the  attention  not  only  of  our  railroad  friends,  but  of 
the  business  men  of  Dubuque;  that  we  can  and  do  here  gather  up 
and  ship  to  eastern  and  southern  markets  an  immense  amount  of 
produce;  that  with  the  facilities  for  shipment  at  all  seasons  afford- 
ed by  railroad,  our  advantages  as  a  market  will  be  greatly  in- 
creased; that'we  have  a  large  and  fertile  territory  tributary  to 
Lansing,  enabling  our  merchants  to  sustain  a  very  large  retail 
trade;  that  we  have  good  manufacturing  establishments  and  ex- 
cellent openings  for  more  of  them;  in  a  word,  that  we  have  the 
material  and  advantages  for  a  respectable  and  thriving  city,  and  the 
will  and  determination  to  make  one.  We  want  the  business  men 
of  Dubuque  and  McGregor  to  show  our  business  men  that  it  is  for 
their  interest  to  visit  you  and  trade  with  you;  that  it  is  possible 
for  the  great  distributing  point  of  the  Northwest  to  be  located  on 
the  western  bank  of  the  Mississippi  river,  rather  than  upon  the 
shores  of  Lake  Michigan.     And  why  should  it  not  be  so?     With 


HISTORY    OP    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY.  705 

our  network  of  railroads,  a  water  line  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and 
prospective  water  lines  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  why  should 
there  not  be  earnest  and  united  action  by  us  as  Iowa  men  to  build 
up  and  promote  Iowa  interests  by  concentrating  the  business  of 
Iowa  in  Iowa,  rather  than  in  an  eastern  city. 

I  know  that  I  speak  the  sentiments  of  my  fellow-citizens  of 
Lansing,  when  I  say  that  we  rejoice  at  the  growth  and  prosperity 
of  the  cities  and  towns  on  this  line  of  road,  and  of  all  the  coun- 
try around  us;  and  especially  do  "we  rejoice  that  we  have  here  in 
northern  Iowa  the  leading  city  in  the  state.  We  watch  with  in- 
terest the  efforts  of  the  citizens  of  Dubu(jue  to  reach  out  in  all  di- 
rections for  the  commerce  and  trade  of  northern  Iowa  and  to  open 
new  outlets  to  the  east  and  south.  We  scan  the  columns  of  your 
able  and  enterprising  newspapers  for  notes  of  private  and  public 
improvements.  We  hail  each  new  enterprise  of  your  citizens  with 
pride.  We  rejoice  to-day  that  we  are  brought  in  such  close  com- 
munication with  you,  and  believe  this  connection  will  be  of  benefit 
to  all.  We  thank  you  for  visiting  us  on  this  occasion.  We  thank 
the  railroad  company  most  heartily  for  bringing  you  here.  We 
trust  your  visit  will  be  as  pleasant  as  our  desire  is  sincere  that  it 
shall  be  so.  Believe  me  when  I  say  the  citizens  of  Lansing,  one 
and  all,  bid  you  all  welcome — thrice  welcome! 

Addresses  were  delivered  by  Gen.  Wm.  Vandever,  Hon,  Wm. 
B.  Allison,  Judge  T.  S.  Wilson,  J.  0.  Crosby,  J.  K.  Graves,  and 
others.  Several  letters  from  distinguished  guests  who  had  been 
prevented  from  attending  were  read.  The  ceremonies  at  the  hall 
concluded  with  the  presentation  by  the  young  ladies  of  Lansing  to 
Engineer  Brough  of  two  beautiful  cushions  for  his  iron  horse, 
the  "Lansing."  These  were  presented  to  Mr.  Brough  by  Miss 
Frankie  Shaw,  now  Mrs.  George  H.  Markley,  with  the  following 
remarks: 

'•  In  behalf  of  the  young  ladies  of  Lansing  I  present  you  these 
cushions  as  a  slight  token  of  their  rpgard  for  the  honor  conferred 
upon  our  city  in  naming  one  of  the  locomotives,  the  ''  Lansing."" 
1  trust,  sir,  that  no  accident  may  ever  happen  to  you  or  to  your 
locomotive,  and  that  these  cushions  may  ever  remind  you  of  the 
happy  event  of  to-day,  and  of  the  kindly  feeling  of  our  citizens, 
and  particularly  of  those  in  whose  behalf  I  make  this  presentation 
for  yourself  and  the  noble  and  powerful  engine  now  under  your 
control." 

Thus  ended  a  red-letter  day  in  the  history  of  Lansing.  At  this 
time  the  town  Avas  very  prosperous.  Real  estate  sold  readily  at 
high  prices,  and  the  town  seemed  destined  to  enjoy  a  future  of 
unexampled  prosperity. 

But  the  farming  community  upon  which  the  town  had  to  de- 
pend largely  for  its  support  had.  up  to  this  time,  relied  almost  en- 
tirely upon  raising  wheat.  When,  soon  after  1872,  the  wheat 
crops  began  to  fail  and  continued  to  be  failures  year  after  year,  the 


706  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

effect  began  to  be  observed  in  Lansing.  Year  after  year  the  farm- 
ers clung  to  the  delusive  hope  that  the  next  year  would  surely 
be  a  good  year  for  wheat,  until  many  of  them  were  bankrupted 
and  compelled  to  lose  their  farms  and  begin  life  again  farther 
west  with  nothing.  During  these  same  years  came  the  contrac- 
tion in  values  incident  to  the  resumption  of  specie  payments,  and 
many  who  had  contracted  debts  supposing  the  fictitious  values 
following  the  war  period  would  always  continue,  found  themselves 
wholly  unable  to  pay  the  mortgages  on  their  land;  especially  as 
they  had  lost  the  art  or  power  of  raising  wheat.  This  unhappy 
state  of  aifairs,  of  course,  operated  to  injure  Lansing,  and  for  some 
years  the  town  lost  its  usual  business  activity  and  prosperity.  But 
in  the  last  few  years  the  farmers  in  the  territory  contributory  to 
the  town  have  turned  their  attention  more  to  stock  raising,  dairy- 
ing, and  other  crops  than  wheat,  and  this  year  (1882)  finds  them 
unusually  prosperous  and  contented,  and  the  business  prospects  of 
Lansing  brighter  than  they  have  been  before  for  ten  years. 

The  population  of  Lansing  according  to  the  U.  S.  census  of 
1880  was  1,811.  This  enumeration  was  taken  during  the  crisis  of 
business  depression  in  the  town  and  vicinity,  and  does  not  fully 
represent  the  present  population  of  the  place,  which  is  certainly 
over  two  thousand. 

CITY  GOVERNMENT. 

Lansing  was  incorporated  as  a  town  in  1864,  and  organized 
under  the  general  State  laws  as  a  city  of  the  second  class  by  de- 
cree of  the  Allamakee  county  court  July  1st,  1867. 

The  first  municipal  election  was  held  in  "Hays  Hall"  Septem- 
ber 17th,  1867,  and  resulted  in  the  election  of  the  following  offi- 
cers: Mayor,  S.  V.  Shaw;  solicitor,  John  S.  Monk;  treasurer,  G. 
Kerndt;  marshal,  Thomas  Spurrior;  trustees,  G.  Kerndt,  S.  H. 
Kinne,  Geo.  Hewit,  C.  C.  Bates,  James  Coard,  S.  B.  Johnstone, 
Jacob  Haas,  and  A.  H.  Woodrufi". 

The  present  city  officers  are:  Robert  Hufschmidt  mayor;  J.  W. 
Thomas  treasurer;  'John  S.  Mobley  assessor;  James  Clancey 
marshal;  and  John  Dunlevy  clerk. 

The  following  named  gentlemen  have  held  the  office  of  mayor; 
S.  V.  Shaw,  from  September,  1867,  to  March,  1869;  Samuel  H. 
Kinne,  from  March,  1869,  to  March,  1872;  Henrv  Nielander,  f rom 
March,  1872,  to  March,  1873;  William  H.  Burford  from  March, 
1873,  to  March,  1874;  Theodore  Nachtwey,  from  March,  1874,  to 
March,  1876;  Samuel  W.  Hemenway,  from  March,  1876,  to  time  of 
his  death.  May  6th,  1877.  (From  May  7th,  1877,  until  May  9th, 
1877,  Philip  Bockfinger  held  the  position  of  major  pro  tern,  when 
E.  A.  Blum  was  appointed  mayor  pro  tern,  by  the  council  and 
retained  the  position  until  the  special  election  of  July  2d, 
1877,  when  he  was  chosen  mayor  and  continued  in  office  until 
March,  1878.)  John  M.  Hancock  from  March,  1878,  to  March,  1880. 


HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUifTY.  707 

(Mr,  Hancock  resigned  March  2ith,  and  Mr.  S.  H.  Kinne  was  ap- 
pointed mayor  pro  tem^  until  the  election  of  Mr.  Hufschmidt, 
April  26th.)  Robert  Hufschmidt  from  April  26th.  1880  to  the 
present  time.     His  term  of  office  will  expire  March  1883. 

FIRE  DEPARTMENT. 

A  meeting  was  held  at  the  office  of  Mayor  W.  H.  Barford  Feb- 
ruary 25th,  1871,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  fire  company. 
Mayor  Burford  presided  and  S.  P.  Darling  acted  as  secretary. 
Proper  commit "^ees  were  appointed  and  the  meeting  adjourned  to 
meet  at  the  same  place  on  the  evening  of  March  2d,  1871.  At  the 
adjourned  meeting  Mayor  Burford  presided  and  Mr.  S.  P.  Darling 
acted  as  secretary.  This  meeting  and  several  adjourned  meetings 
immediately  following  it,  resulted  in  the  organization  of  a  fire 
company,  known  as  "Hope  Fire  Company  No.  1,"  with  the  follow- 
ing officers: 

R.  V.  Shurley,  foreman;  P.  H.  Pierson,  first  assistant  foreman; 
Sam'l  W.  Hemenway,  second  assistant  foreman:  W.  H.  Burford, 
secretary;  Herman  Schurholtz,  treasurer;  W.  J.  Bort,  first  pipe- 
man,  and  Phil.  Degnan  second  pipeman.  December  3d,  1873, 
the  department  was  thoroughly  reorganized,  the  name  of  the  com- 
pany changed  to  "Rescue  Fire  Company  No.  1,"  and  the  follow- 
ing officers  were  elected:  Capt.  E.  B.  Bascom,  foreman;  Jacob 
Schaach  first  assistant  foreman;  John  Correll,  second  assistant 
foreman;  T.  C.  Medary,  secretary;  J.  B.  Thorp,  treasurer,  and  J. 
G.  Orr,  steward.  Since  that  time  the  organization  has  been  main- 
tained. In  July,  1874,  John  Correll  was  elected  foreman,  and  re- 
tained the  position  for  one  year.  Jacob  Schaach  was  chosen  fore- 
man in  July,  1875,  and  held  the  position  continuously  until  July, 
1881,  when  the  present  foreman,  John  Dunlevy,  was  elected.  At 
this  time,  1882,  the  company  consisted  of  thirty-two  active  mem- 
bers. The  officers  were:  S.  H.  Hazleton,  president;  John  J.  Dun- 
levy,  foreman;  John  Delacy,  first  assistant  foreman;  Jerry  Dun- 
levy,  second  assistant  foreman;  Cyrus  Gorgus,  first  pipeman; 
Michael  Dougherty,  second  pipeman;  Edward  Boechk,  steward; 
Julius  Reith,  secretary,  and  Philip  Bockfiuger,  treasurer. 

In  1872  the  city  purchased,  for  the  use  of  the  fire  department, 
one  of  Rumsey  &  Co's  Village  Double  Brake  Hand  Fire  Engines. 
To  this  has  since  been  added  two  hose  carts  of  the  most  improved 
pattern,  and  a  Hook  and  Ladder  wagon,  with  all  the  usual  appli- 
ances for  extinguishing  fires  in  the  smaller  cities.  A  plentiful 
supply  of  the  best  kinds  of  hose  completes  the  outfit.  The  engine 
and  appliances  of  the  department  have  always  been  properly  cared 
for  and  kept  ready  for  use.  They  are  stored  in  a  portion  of  the 
City  Hall,  designed  for  that  purpose  when  the  building  was  erected. 
While  it  may  be  said  that  the  Lansing  fire  company  has  at  most 
times  during  its  existence  been  somewhat  wanting  in  the  matter 
of  drill  and  dicipline,  justice  demands  the  statement  that  the  boys 


708  HISTOST   OP   ALLA.MAKEB   COUNTY. 

of  Rescue  No.  1,  have  always  responded  cheerfully  when  called 
upon  to  battle  with  the  fire  fiend;  that  they  have  often  been  called 
upon  and  have  always  conducted  themselves  in  a  mannar  deserv- 
ing of  the  gratitude  and  praise  of  the  people.  The  force  includes 
some  of  the  most  expert  and  daring  firemen  who  ever  belonged  to 
any  organizatian  of  the  kind, 

THE   WATER   SUPPLY 

In  the  spring  of  1871,  through  the  persistent  efforts  of  Capt. 
Samuel  W.  Hemen way,  whose  life  was  sacrificed  in  the  enterprise, 
a  stock  company  was  organized  in  Lansing,  for  the  purpose  of  se- 
curing a  water  supply  for  the  city  and  the  citizens.  The  company 
was  duly  incorporated  as  the  Lansing  Artesian  Well  Company  of 
Lansing.  The  .Swan  Brothers,  of  Boscobel,  Wis.,  were  employed 
to  do  the  drilling,  and  operations  were  begun  early  in  the  spring 
by  drilling  a  well  on  Main  street,  at  the  intersection  of  North  Third. 

Subsequently  attempts  were  made  to  sink  wells  at  the  west  end 
of  Main  street,  and  on  Front  street  at  the  foot  of  Main.  The  west 
end  well  was  a  complete  failure,  owing  to  the  alleged  fact  that  the 
drillers  struck  granite  before  reaching  any  considerable  amount  of 
water.  The  well  was  abandoned,  and  soon  afterward  closed  up  by 
means  of  wooden  plugs.  The  Front  street  well  developed  a  fine 
flow  of  water,  but  because  of  a  defect  in  piping  it,  or  for  some  un- 
known cause,  the  company  have  been  unable  to  prevent  under- 
ground leakage.  This  well  is  still  flowing  under  the  surface,  but 
is  not  used  by  the  company,  and  is  of  no  value. 

The  Third  street  well  was,  however,  in  all  respects  a  perfect 
success.  Its  depth  is  778  feet.  At  the  time  of  its  completion  it 
was  estimated  to  discharge  372  gallons  per  minute.  The  water  is 
at  all  seasons  of  uniform  temperature,  agreeable  to  the  taste,  and 
considered  to  possess  superior  medicinal  properties.  It  is  supplied 
to  citizens,  and  the  city  for  fire  purposes,  by  means  of  an  exten- 
sive system  of  iron  pipes  laid  in  the  streets  in  the  most  approved 
manner;  and  affords  a  most  abundant  supply  of  pure  and  cool  wa- 
ter for  all  purposes,  having  sufficient  head  to  force  itself  into  the 
second  story  of  buildings  in  the  principal  portion  of  town.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  drinking  fountains  are  maintained  by  the  city  on 
Main  street,  where  this  excellent  water  can  be  obtained  by  all,  as 
"  free  as  the  air  we  breathe." 

Beyond  question  the  artesian  well  has  proved  itself  to  be  one  of 
the  most  important  enterprises  ever  attempted  by  the  citizens  of 
Lansing.  Its  usefulness  cannot  be  overestimated.  As  stated,  its 
gratifying  results  were  almost  wholly  due  to  the  individual  efforts 
of  Capt.  Samuel  W.  Hemen  way,  who  first  suggested  the  drilling  of 
an  artesian  well;  who  demonstrated  by  means  of  his  superior  skill 
and  knowledge  of  such  subjects,  the  certainty  of  success,  and  who, 
when  success  had  been  attained,  and  the  people  were  rejoicing  in 
the  splendid  result,  lost  his  life  while  superintending  the  comple- 


HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  709 

tion  of  the  magnificent  public  work  his  ability,  energy,  and  perse- 
verance had  produced.  So  intimately  is  his  memory  interwoven 
with  the  history  of  this  public  work,  that  it  seems  impossible  to 
leave  the  subject  without  a  brief  review  of  his  life  and  the  painful 
circumstances  attending  his  tragic  death. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Thursday,  May  3,  1877,  the  Third  street 
well  being  then  an  assured  success,  Capt.  Hemenway  entered  a 
deep  cut  on  Main  street  to  personally  superintend  the  joining  of 
sections  of  the  main  water  pipe  to  be  employed  in  supplying  water 
from  the  new  well.  While  thus  engaged  the  embankment  on  the 
north  side  gave  way,  and  the  unfortunate  man  was  literally  buried 
alive.  Assistance  was  instantly  at  hand,  but  some  little  time  was 
required  to  remove  the  large  quantity  of  earth  and  rocks  that  had 
fallen  upon  him.  When  rescued  from  his  perilous  position  it  was 
found  that  one  limb  was  broken  in  several  places,  and  that  he  had 
probably  sustained  severe  internal  injuries.  The  gravest  appre- 
hension proved  too  true,  and,  notwithstanding  the  best  medical 
skill  and  kindest  attention  of  friends  and  neighbors  were  bestowed 
upon  him,  with  a  community's  united  prayers  for  his  recovery,  he 
died  on  the  following  Sunday,  May  6th,  1877. 

His  funeral,  which  occurred  on  Tuesday,  May  8fch,  was  attended 
by  the  municipal  authorities,  all  the  civic  societies  in  the  city,  del- 
egates from  neighboring  Masonic  organizations,  and  the  lai'gest 
concourse  of  people  ever  assembled  in  Lansing  to  perform  the  last 
sad  rites  for  one  of  its  citizens. 

Mr.  Hemenway  was  born  on  the  IDfch  of  February  1839,  at  Pots- 
dam, St.  Lawrence  county,  N.  Y.  His  earlier  years  were  spent 
in  that  vicinity.  In  1855  he  become  a  resident  of  Lansing,  and 
was  foreman  in  the  agricultural  implement  factory  of  his  brother, 
H.  H.  Hemenway,  until  the  year  1862,  when  he  entered  the  service 
of  his  country,  as  a  member  of  Co.  B,  27th  Regt.  lo.  Vol.  Inft. 
He  was  commissioned  captain  by  Gov.  Kirkwood,  October  3,  1862. 
For  faithful  service  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  major,  and 
was  mustered  out  at  Clinton,  August  8th,  1865,  having  served  three 
years  without  the  loss  of  a  single  day  by  leave  of  absence.  Mr. 
Hemenway  was  a  republican  in  politics.  As  chairman  of  the  re- 
publican count)''  central  committee  in  the  campaign  of  1876,  he 
achieved  a  remarkable  victory  and  had  he  lived  would  have  re- 
ceived deserved  recognition  at  the  hands  of  his  political  associates. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  mayor  of  the  city,  superintendent 
of  the  well  company,  a  leading  member  of  the  masonic  organiza- 
tions of  the  city,  and  in  all  respects  the  most  active,  enterprising 
and  useful  citizen  of  Lansing. 

On  May  30th,  1877,  Decoration  Day  was  for  the  first  time  for- 
mally observed  by  the  people  of  Lansing.  Coming  as  it  did  so 
soon  after  the  fateful  death  of  Mr.  Hemenway,  who  had  himself  been 
a  faithful  soldier,  and  whose  new  made  grave  was  then  especially  en- 
titled to  receive  an  offering  of  flowers,  the  occasion  was  rendered  pe- 


710  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUKTT. 

culiarly  impressive.  From  the  oration  of  Dick  Harvey,  Esq.,  who 
spoke  with  intense  feeling  upon  the  occasion,  the  following  extract 
is  subjoined: 

"Of  those  upon  whose  graves  will  soon  be  strewn  our  floral  of- 
ferings, I  deem  it  adequate  to  say  that  w^hen  living  they  were 
soldiers,  all  of  them  brave  boys,  who,  from  time  to  time,  have 
stacked  their  arms,  done  with  life's  relentless  warfare,  and  now  are 
peacefully  reposing  in  the  grand  encampment  of  the  dead. 

'How  sleep  the  brave  who  smk  to  les' 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest! 
When  spring  with  dewy  fingers  cold, 
Returns  to  deck  then-  hallowed  mould; 
She  there  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod, 
Than  fancy's  feet  have  ever  trod. 

By  fairy  hands  their  knell  is  rung; 
By  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung; 
There  honor  comes  a  pilgrim  gray, 
To  bless  the  turf  that  Avraps  their  clay; 
And  freedom  shall  a  while  repair. 
To  dwell  a  weeping  hermit  there.' 

With  the  memory  of  one  among  these  noble  dead,  because  of 
long  and  near  acquaintance  my  heart  prompts  me  to  linger.  One 
so  lately  gone  the  closing  scene  still  haunts  us  like  some  hateful 
vision.  One  who  had  survived  the  perils  of  three  long  years  on 
the  tented  field,  but  to  reach  the  meridian  of  a  peerless  manhood 
and  then  to  perish  in  an  hour  of  peaceful  toil,  where  the  possibility 
of  danger  was  undreamed.  Oh,  strange  and  cruel  fate!  Dumb,  in 
the  shadow  of  this  dark  mystery,  I  stand  with  lifted  hands,  and 
vainly  strive  to  comprehend  its  meaning. 

Even  had  I  power  to  free  ray  prisoned  thoughts,  language  to  re- 
veal the  sullen  gloom  which  hangs  over  the  troubled  waters  of  my 
soul,  it  were  better  to  be  silent,  for  God  knows  I  would  not  by  the 
slightest  imperfection  of  expression  wound  one  poor  aching  heart 
within  the  hearing  of  my  voice!  Only  this  much  then:  He  was  my 
friend,  strong  in  intellect  and  purpose,  possessed  of  wondrous  per- 
sonal power  and  faultless  courage,  an  impetuous  unflinching 
soldier.  Self-taught  in  the  severe  school  of  disappointment  and 
adversity  he  had  developed  a  bold,  decisive  character,  and  had  stored 
a  most  comprehensive  mind  with  practical  knowledge  and  useful 
facts,  A  clear  head,  large  heart  and  untiring  industry  combined 
to  render  him  recognized  and  respected  among  all  with  whom  he 
mingled.  Struggling  upward  against  obstacles  which  batfle  ordi- 
nary men,  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day  seemed  breaking,  the  earn- 
est of  a  useful  and  success  crowned  career,  when  alas  the  ill-fated 
hour!  That  treacherous  bank  must  fall  and  crush  out  the  life  of 
him  whose  efforts  had  upreared  it! 

Oh  what  a  noble  heart  was  here  undone 
When  science's  self  destroyed  her  favorite  son. 
Yes!  She  too  much  indulged  thy  fond  pursuit 
She  sow'd  the  seed  but  death  has  reap'd  the  fruit. 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  Til 

Twas  thine  own  genius  gave  the  final  blow, 
And  help'd  to  plant  the  wound  that  laid  thee  low; 
So  the  struck  eagle,  stretched  upon  the  plain. 
No  more  through  rolling  clouds  to  soar  again, 
Viewed  his  own  feather  on  the  fatal  dart. 
And  winged  the  shaft  which  quivered  in  his  heart; 
Keen  were  his  pangs,  but  keener  far  to  feel. 
He  nursed  the  pinion  which  impelled  the  steel. 
While  the  same  plumage  that  had  warmed  his  nest, 
Drank  the  last  life-drop  of  his  bleeding  breast ! 

Doubtless  Samuel  was  not  dearer  to  his  friends  than  were  the 
others  to  those  who  knew  and  loved  them  best.  They  all  were 
soldiers,  and  in  full  round  measure  worthy  of  the  offerings  we 
bring  them  here  to-day." 

THE   PRESf^. 

The  first  newspaper  office  established  in  Lansing  was  owned  by 
H.  H.  Houghton,  of  Galena,  111.  The  name  of  the  paper  was  the 
Lansing  Intelligencer,  and  was  editedhy  W.H.Sumner.  Vol.  1, 
No.  1,  of  this  paper  was  issued  Tuesday,  Nov.  23,  1852.  The  of- 
fice has  continued  to  exist  until  the  present,  although  the  name  of 
the  paper  has  several  times  changed.  It  is  now  the  Lansing  Mir- 
ror, published  by  Messrs,  Woodward  &  Metcalf,  Earl  M.  Wood- 
ward being  editor,  and  George  W.  Metcalf,  a  most  excellent  prac- 
tical printer,  the  superintendent  of  the  mechanical  department. 
No.  1  of  Vol.  30  was  issued  Oct.  13,  1882.  It  is  now  sold  upon 
the  same  terms  that  were  advertised  in  the  first  issue  of  the  Intel- 
ligencer. Among  the  business  cards  contained  in  Lansing's  first 
paper,  only  one  name  appears  which  is  now  familiar  to  residents 
of  the  city,  that  of  the  Lansing  House,  which  is  still  standing  and 
occupied  as  a  hotel.  It  was  then  owned  and  managed  b}'^  J.  and  J. 
Grant,  and  they  promised  the  public  among  many  other  matters 
to  have  "  porters  always  in  attendance  to  convey  passengers'  bag- 
gage to  and  from  boats  free  of  charge,"  This  old  landmark  is 
now  owned  by  J.  W.  Bates,  and  leased  by  Frank  Howe. 

Of  those  who  advertised  in  the  first  issue  of  the  Intelligencer, 
not  one  is  now  living  in  Lansing.  They  were  then  written  up  by 
the  obliging  editor  in  the  following  attractive  style: 

''James  Peacock  advertises  a  variety  of  goods,  consisting  of  all 
the  intermediates  between  a  shawl  and  a  coffee-mill,  or  a  Califor- 
nia hat  and  a  wash-board.     Give  him  a  call. 

"  F,  D.  Cowles  wants  the  '  staff  of  life.'     Feed  him,  somebody. 

"At  the  sign  of  the  Elk  Horn,  E.  P.  Bircher  displays  many  good 
things,  which  he  offers  to  part  with  for  a — '  consideration.' 

''T.  E,  Williams  has  a  well  stocked  shop — as  good  as  we  have 
seen  anywhere.     Call  on  him  and  '  exchange  tin.' 

"  Chas.  J.  McGee  is  prepared  to  fill  your  houses  with  furniture, 
plain  or  ornamental,  costly  or  cheap,  according  to  the  fancy  of 
the  purchaser,  or  the  size  of  his  '  pile.' 


712  HISTORY    OP   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

"  Miss  A.  M.  Battles  hopes  to  receive  calls  from  the  ladies — and 
the  amount  of  their  milliner's  bills  from  their  obedient  lords, 

'^  James  I.  Gilbert  comes  in  for  his  share  of  the  '  dimes,'  and  of- 
fers lumber  as  an  equivalent. 

"  Dr.  J.  I.  Taylor  is,  we  believe,  a  successful  physician,  and  is 
supposed  to  cure  '  all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to.'  Personally  we 
we  hope  to  have  no  need  of  his  services. 

"  Geo.  W.  Camp,  and  Remine,  and  Shaw,  lawyers,  are  ready  for 
business,  and  if  any  of  our  friends  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  '  go  to 
law,'  we  have  no  doubt  that  either  of  these  gentlemen  will  '  s?//^' 
them." 

This  paper  has  been  republican  in  politics  since  its  establish- 
ment. In  1861  it  was  published  by  G.  W.  Haislet,  who  sold  the 
paper  to  T.  C.  Medary,  and  in  1870  it  was  purchased  by  Metcalf  & 
Co.  In  July,  1874,  James  T.  Metcalf  bought  the  interest  of  his 
copartner,  John  T.  Metcalf.  and  conducted  it  alone  until  July  1, 
1881,  when  the  present  publishers,  Woodward  &  Metcalf,  assumed 
control  of  it.  The  Mirror  office  is  well  supplied  with  all  the  mod- 
ern improvements,  and  under  the  management  of  Geo.  W.  Met- 
calf, one  of  the  most  skillful  printers  in  the  west,  the  press-work, 
job  printing,  and  everything  connected  with  the  mechanical  de- 
partment of  the  office  are  done  in  a  most  excellent  manner. 

Under  the  editorial  management  of  Mr.  James  T.  Metcalf,  this 
paper  assumed  a  prominent  position,  and  has  for  years  exerted  a 
most  decided  influence  upon  public  opinion,  both  in  the  republi- 
can party  and  out  of  it.  ^  During  the  time  Mr.  Metcalf  controlled 
the  paper  he  was  always  true  to  republican  principles,  never  al- 
lowing personal  consideration  to  endanger  the  success  of  the  party. 
Prudent,  far-sighted,  usually  conservative,  but  aggressive  when 
he  thought  it  best,  Mr.  James  T.  Metcalf  without  any  doubt  did 
more  than  any  other  one  man  for  the  republican  party  in  Allama- 
kee, while  editor  of  the  Mirror.  He  now  has  a  government  of- 
fice, inspector  postoffice  department,  money  order  system.  Earl 
M.  Woodward,  his  successor  as  editor  of  theilf/rror,  was  born  at 
Truxton,  Cortland  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  16,  1848.  Served  as  private 
in  Co.  C,  142d  111.  Vol.  Inf.,  during  the  rebellion.  Graduated 
from  the  Albany  Law  School,  May,  1874,  and  came  to  Allamakee 
county,  Oct.  4,  1874.  He  practiced  law  in  Lansing  and  New  Al- 
bin  until  July  1,  1881,  when  he  became  editor  of  the  Mirror.,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  months'  residence  at  Manchester,  lo.  Mr. 
Woodward  is  an  industrious,  painstaking  editor,  who  has  fully 
sustained  the  former  reputation  of  the  Mirror. 

The  North  loica  Journal,  Democratic  in  politics,  was  the  first 
Democratic  paper  started  in  Lansing.  It  was  established  in  Febru- 
ary, 1860  by  McElroy  and  Parker,  and  called  the  Democrat.  They 
were  succeeded  by  Christian  Lomann,  who  changed  the  name  to 
The  Argus,  and  published  it  by  that  name  for  about  six  months. 
In  1862  J.  G.  Armstrong   changed  the' name  back  to  North  loua 


inSTORY   01'    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  713 

Journal  and  published  it  for  about  three  years,  wheu  he  sold  it  to 
Taylor  &  Haislet,  who  changed  the  name  to  The  Chronicle,  which 
was  conducted  as  an  independent  paper  until  the  office  was  burned 
in  1871.  The  material,  however,  was  saved  and  sold  to  the  pub- 
lishers of  'The  Mirror.  The  AlUtmakee  Democrat  was  started  in 
the  summer  of  1870  by  R.  V.  Shurley.  He  conducted  it  about 
one  year  and  sold  out  to  the  Sherburns,  Avho  in  a  few  months  sold 
the  office  to  T.  C.  Medary,  who  gave  the  paj)er  the  old  name, 
North  Iowa  Journal,  which  he  published  until  December,  1879, 
when  he  removed  to  Mason  City  Iowa.  He  was  succeeded  by  the 
Dunlevy  Brothers,  who  issued  the  first  number  of  the  Lansing 
Journal  in  January,  1880.  The  Dunlevy  Brothers,  John  J.  and 
Thomas,  are  excellent  practical  printers,  and  both  of  them  able 
editors.  The  Lansing  Journal  has  been,  since  its  establishment 
in  1880,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  Lansing  and  the  Democratic 
party.  Its  editors  are  reliable,  industrious  and  intelligent.  As  a 
local  paper  the  Jo^irnal  is  without  a  superior  in  Northeastern 
Iowa,  and  is  by  many  considered  without  an  equal  in  that  portion 
of  the  State. 

CHURCHES. 

The  first  religious  services  held  in  Lansing  were  conducted  by 
Rev.  Mann,  in  a  log  cabin  on  what  is  now  Front  street,  then  the 
house  of  John  Haney,  Sr.,  in  the  winter  of  1848-49.  There  are 
now  nine  religious  societies,  each  having  a  church  building  all 
completed,  except  the  Congregational  church,  which  will  be  wheu 
finished,  the  finest  one  in  the  city. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  by  the  Rev. 
R.  A.  Bishop,  in  1852.  A  Sunday  School  was  then  organized  in 
connection  with  the  church,  and  George  H.  Battles  was  chosen 
Superintendent.  Bev.  Bishop  preached  his  first  sermon  in  1851, 
in  the  house  of  Elijah  Hale,  one  of  Lansing's  early  settlers.  Mr. 
Bishop  was  then  traveling  a  circuit,  including  the  valley  of  Turkey 
River,  and  all  of  Iowa  northeast  of  it.  When  the  M.  E.  socie- 
ty was  organized,  it  was  composed  of  nineteen  members  and  proba- 
tioners, among  whom  were  William  Hemingway,  George  H. 
Battles  and  S.  M.Baldwin,  three  old-fashioned  pioneer  methodists, 
and  three  as  good  men  as  ever  made  their  homes  in  Iowa.  The  first 
building  used  by  this  society  was  erected  in  1857,  under  the 
leadership  of  Rev.  H.  W.  Houghton,  the  first  stationed  preacher 
of  the  M.  E.  Church  in  Lansing.  It  was  a  frame  building,  and 
situated  on  Piatt  street.  In  1866  the  society  exchanged  this  for 
a  new  and  much  larger  frame  building,  situated  on  Main  street, 
which  was  built  by  the  society  during  that  year,  and  dedicated  in 
November.  The  church  is  out  of  debt  and  prosperous.  The  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  have  occupied  the  position  of  pastor  since  the 
church  was  organized,  in  the  order  named  as  to  time:  H.  W. 
Houghton,   V.   X.    Miller,   A.    H.  Ames,  C.    \T.   Brewer,  F.   C. 


714  HISTORY   OF   ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

Mathews,  H.  W.  Houghton,  B.  D.  Alden,  F.  C.  Wolfe,  J.  Rid- 
dlington,  C.  F.  McLean,  M.  H.  Smith,  J.  N.  Kerr,  J.  T.  Wilcox, 
T.  E.  Fleming,  George  Elliott,  George  W.  Pratt,  H.  W.  Hough- 
ton, Thomas  Oliver,  D.  M.  Parker.  Rev.  Houghton  was  pastor 
in  '57  and  '58:  Wolfe,  Reddlington,  McLean,  and  Elliott  held  the 
position  each  for  two  consecutive  years.  Rev.  Parker  was  appoint- 
ed in  the  fall  of  1880,  and  is  now  near  the  close  of  his  second 
year.  The  others  were  pastors  for  one  year  each. 
".  The  Congregational  Church  was  organized  May  15th,  1853,  .by 
Rev.  Timothy  Lyman,  with  the  following  members;  Lorenzo 
Bushnell.  Mrs.  Melinda  R.   Bushnell,   Mrs.   Louisa  Reed,  Lyman 

C.  Reed,  Mrs.  Fanny  Haney,  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Cowles.  The  Congre- 
gational society  was  incorporated  May  18th,  '54,  the  incorporators 
being  Timothy  Lyman,  Jos.  L  Gilbert,  John  Haney,  G.  W.  Grav, 
John  W.  Remine,  G.  W.  Hays,  F.  D.  Cowles,  T.E.  Williams,  and 
S.  H.  Haines.  The  first  church  building  erected  by  the  society 
was  occupied  in  1854.  On  March  6th,  1877,  this  was  consumed 
by  fire.  During  the  same  year,  a  new  and  beautifully  designed 
edifice  was  begun,  which  remains  unfinished.  The  basement  in- 
tended for  Sabbath  School  purposes  and  lecture  rooms  was  com- 
pleted in  1877  and  used  by  the  society  for  several  years  as  its  place 
of  worship.  The  church  organization  is  still  maintained,  but  the 
society  is  at  present  without  a  pastor.  Revs.  T.  Lyman,  Geo. 
Bent,  D.  N.  Bordwell,  James  B.  Gilbert,  S.  H.  Canfield,  Orlando 
Clark,  A.  Graves,  P.  Litts  and  C.  H.  Rogers,  have,  in  the  order 
named,  occupied  the  position  of  pastor. 

St.  Luke's  Protestant  Eviscopal  Parish  was  organized  August 
26th,  1855,  by  Rev.  G.  Wt  Watson,  of  Clinton,  Iowa.  The  war- 
dens were:  George  W.  Barker  and  J.  I.  Taylor;  vestry,  F.  D. 
Cowles,  John  J.  Shaw  and  T.  E.  Williams.  In  May,  1856,  Rev. 
James  Trimble  was  called  to  the  parish  for  about  one  year.  Dur- 
ing this  year  services  were  conducted  in  a  school  house.  A  church 
was  built  between  '59  and  '61,  on  Diagonal  street.  This  was 
opened  for  worship  on  Advent  Sunday,  1861,  and  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Lee,  in  1862.     July  23d,  1862,     Rev.  W.  W.  Estabrook  D. 

D.  delivered  his  first  sermon,  and  was  soon  after  appointed  rector. 
Sunday,  January  7th,  1866,  the  church  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Janu- 
ary 27th,  1867,  a  new  church  built  on  the  corner  of  Center  and 
Third  streets  was  first  occupied  and  consecrated  by  Rt.  Rev.  H.  W. 
Lee,  May  3d,  1868.  Soon  after  this,  W.  W.  Estabrook  left  the 
parish  and  Avas  succeeded  July  5th,  1868,  by  T.  J.  Brookes,  who  ac- 
cepted a  call  to  rectorship  in  1869,  resigning  his  charge  in  the  same 
year.  Rev.  Allen  accepted  a  call  to  the  rectorship  October  9th,  1869, 
and  remained  about  one  year.  Rev.  Charles  Canfield  officiated  lor 
a  few  months  in  1872,  since  which  time  the  church  has  been  occu- 
pied only  occasionally,  once  or  twice  by  Bii^hop  Lee.  Rev.  James 
Bentley  preached  occasionally  from  1858  to  1861.  Rev.  T. 
Hooker  and  Dr.  Eddy  were  both  connected  with  the  church  in  the 


HISTORY   OP   ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  715 

year  1862.  The  church  organization  is  still  maintained  according 
to  the  laws  and  regulations  of  the  church,  but  the  building,  the 
most  favorably  located  house  of  worship  in  the  city,  begins  to 
show  indications  of  decay.  The  first  couple  married  in  Lansing 
according  to  the  forms  of  this  church,  were  Homer  H.  Hemen- 
way  and  Amanda  S.  Gray.  They  were  married,  so  the  church 
record  says,  February  4th,  1857,  and  the  witnesses  were  John 
Berry,  Gr.  W.  Gray  and  Martha  Haney.  Among  the  early 
attendants  and  members  of  the  church  were,  F.  0.  Cowles  and 
family,  Sarah  Cowles,  widow,  and  family,  John  I.  Taylor  and 
family,  S.  H.  Kinee  and  family,  Samuel  B.  Johnston  and  family, 
and  H.  H.  Hemenway  and  family.  George  W.  Camp,  Esq.,  was 
secretary  of  the  meeting  of  citizens  called  to  organize  the  society. 
F.  D.  Cowles  and  J.  I.  Taylor  were  appointed  delegates  in  May, 
1856,  to  represent  the  parish  in  the  convention  of  the  Iowa  Dio- 
cese. 

In  the  spring  and  summer  of  1865  frequent  visits  were  made  to 
Lansing  by  the  R'iv.  James  Frothingham,  then  settled  in  Cale- 
donia, Minn,  These  visits  resulted  in  the  organization  of  a 
Presbyterian  church.  Mr,  Frothingham,  assisted  by  Elder  Eben 
S.  Albert,  of  Mt.  Hope  church,  effected  the  organization  Sun- 
day, June  18,  1865.  The  services  were  conducted  in  the  Episco- 
pal church  edifice  on  Diagonal  street,  subsequently  destroyed  by 
fire.  The  following  persons  presented  certificates  of  membership 
and  letters  of  dismission:  Eben  T.  Albert,  Mrs.  Jane  Albert, 
Sarah  and  Elizabeth  Albert,  and  Mrs.  Margaret  RatcliflFe,  from  Mt. 
Hope  Church,  Allamakee  Co.,  lo,;  James  and  Jane  Logan,  Mrs. 
Annie  Stafford,  Miss  Helen  Gilchrist,  Miss  Rachael  Elmendorf, 
and  Mrs.  G.  W.  Hayes,  from  other  churches.  Mr.  A.  W.  Purdy, 
Mrs,  Delia  Delevan  Purdy,  and  Mrs,  Margaretta  Macbay  were  ad- 
mitted on  confession  of  faith.  These  persons  were  formally  de- 
clared organized  as  a  church,  and  Mr.  M.  E.  Albert  was  chosen 
Ruling  Eider. 

A  meeting  of  the  regular  attendants  on  the  services  of  the 
church  was  held  in  the  parlor  of  the  American  House,  on  Monday 
evening  May  7th,  1866,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  church  so- 
ciety, A  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution 
and  by-laws  for  the  society,  in  order  to  a  proper  incorporation. 
•The  committee  consisted  of  Rev.  James  Frothingham,  M.  M. 
Webster,  and  Cyrus  Watts,  At  a  subsequent  meeting  held  at  the 
same  place,  the  committee  reported  a  constitution  and  by-laws, 
which  were  adopted.  Articles  of  incorporation  were  duly  adopted 
and  recorded  soon  after  this,  and  a  church  society  duly  organized 
according  to  the  laws  of  Iowa  and  the  Presbyterian  church,  to  be 
known  as  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Lansing.  The  f^rst 
trustees  were:  Amos  W,  Purdy,  Eben  T.  Albert,  and  William  C, 
Macbay,  February  7th,  1867,  these  gentlemenwere  reelected,  Mr, 
Purdy  for  three  years,  Mr,    Albert   for  two,  and  Mr.  Macbay  for 


716  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE   COUNTY. 

one.  January  6th,  1868,  the  terra  ofTservice  of  W.  C.  McBay  hav- 
ing expired,  A.  H.  Woodruff  was  chosen  trustee.  Mr.  E.  T. 
Albert  was  reelected  in  January,  1869.  At  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  society,  held  January  3d,  1870,  the  method  of  electing  trus- 
tees was  changed,  the  changed  by-law  providing  that  three 
trustees  should  be  annually  chosen  to  serve  for  one  year  each.  At 
this  meeting  E.  T.  Albert  and  A.  H.  Woodruff  resigned.  The 
term  of  A.  W.  Purdy  expired.  An  election  of  trustees  according 
to  the  new  method  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Cyrus  Watts,  George 
D.  Purdy  and  Glyken  A.  Rockwell. 

In  January,  1871,  Cyrus  Watts,  S.  0.  Smith  and  George  Albert 
were  chosen  trustees.  W.  H.  Burford,  G.  A.  Rockwell  and  Cyrus 
Watts  were  trustees  iu  1872.  January  13th,  1873,  Dr.  N.  S.  Craig, 
Lewis  Burton  and  J.  W.  Thomas  were  chosen.  At  a  special  meet- 
ing held  January  23d,  1873,  Messrs.  Burton  and  Thomas  declined 
to  serve  for  reasons  considered  satisfactory  by  all,  and  C.  T.  Hart 
and  Joseph  Smith  were  chosen  in  their  places.  Dr.  N.  S.  Craig, 
Storr  Rockwell  and  Geo.  W.  Albert  were  trustees  in  1874.  Storr 
Rockwell,  J.  W.  Thomas  and  M.  McCormick  in  1875  and  1876. 
January  3d,  1877,  the  time  for  holding  the  annual  meetings  of 
the  society  was  changed  from  January  to  the  first  Monday  of 
September  in  each  year.  M.  McCormick,  J.  W.  Thomas  and  Dr. 
N.  S.  Craig  were  chosen  trustees  to  serve  until  the  meeting  in 
September,  1877.  At  that  meeting  the  same  gentlemen  were 
elected.     They  were  again  reelected  in  September,  1878. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  society  held  after  evening  service, 
August  3d,  1879,  Rev.  C.  E.  Schaible,  having  preached,  was  called 
to  preside.  The  pastor.  Rev.  James  Frothingham,  requested  the 
members  of  the  church  and  congregation  to  unite  with  him  in  a 
request  to  the  Presbytery  to  dissolve  the  pastoral  relation.  As,  in 
consequence  of  ill-health,  this  seemed  a  necessity  to  the  pastor, 
his  desire  was  granted,  and  the  congregation  concurred  in  his  re- 
quest. 

At  the  annual  congregational  meeting  held  September  1st, 
1879,  Dr.  F.  S.  Craig,  G.  A.  Rockwell  and  S.  A.  Rockwell  were 
selected  to  prepare  a  paper  expressing  the  sorrow  of  the  church 
and  congregation  at  the  loss  sustained  in  the  severance  of  the 
pastoral  relation  between  the  church  and  Rev.  James  Frothing- 
ham. At  a  farewell  reception  given  at  the  residence  of  J.  W. 
Thomas  on  the  evening  of  Sept.  3d,  1879,  these  gentlemen  pre- 
sented the  following  paper,  which  was  fully  approved  by  all  pres- 
ent. 

"Whereas,  in  the  providence  of  God  the  relation  existing  for 
the  past  fourteen  years  between  the  Presbyterian  church  of 
Lansing,  Iowa,  and  its  beloved  Pastor,  Rev.  James  Frothingham, 
has  now  been  severed;  and, 

Whereas,  we  deeply  feel  the  loss  which  we  sustain  in  his  re- 
moval; therefore, 


^,^^{>^ 


A 


^ 


^ii^^^^^^-^^  ^L^ 


^^ 


-T\ 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEP:    COUNTY.  717 

^'■liesolved,  That  we  sincerely  ret^ret  the  necessity  which  compels 
him  to  leave  this  field  of  labor,  wherein  so  many  of  the  best  years 
of  his  life  have  been  passed,  and  whereon  he  has  left  t'lie  imprint 
of  a  firm,  unyielding  loyalty  to  the  cause  of  his  Master. 

^''Resolved  1  That  though  our  hearts  are  saddened  by  this  separa- 
tion, we  yet  review  with  gratitude  the  blessed  results  of  his  ministry 
here,  and  desire  to  express  our  high  appreciation  thereof,  and  also 
the  esteem,  love  and  veneration  in  which  he  is  held,  not  only  by 
this  church  and  congregation,  but  by  the  whole  community. 

^''Besolved,  That  we  invoke  the  blessing  of  God  to  follow  him 
and  his  family  to  their  new  field  of  labor,  and  that  we  earnestly 
pray  that  God,  in  his  infinite  goodness,  will  grant  him  complete 
restoration  to  health,  and  abundantly  bless  his  labors  in  the  fu- 
ture, giving  him  renewed  strength  for  continued  service  in  his 
new  abode. 

'■^JResoJved,  That  to  himself  and  his  estimable  wife  and  family  we 
owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  service  in  church,  prayer  meeting  and 
Sabbath  School,  which  we  can  never  repay  and  shall  never  forget. 

^''Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  given  to  our  retir- 
ing pastor  and  furnished  to  the  press  of  the  city  for  publication." 

Rev.  Charles  E.  Schaible  occupied  the  pulpit  from  October  16th, 
1879  until  November  1st,  1881,  part  of  the  time  as  stated  supply 
and  the  balance  as  pastor.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  Joseph  Gas- 
ton, who  began  his  labors  January  1, 1882.     He  is  now  the  pastor. 

The  society  erected  a  house  of  worship  on  North  Third  street 
in  1866.  It  is  constructed  of  brick,  will  seat  about  300  persons, 
is  nicely  furnished  and  in  all  respects  a  most  pleasant  place  of 
public  worship.     Ground  was  broken  for  the  foundation  July  4th, 

1866.  The  first  meeting  in  the  church  was  held  January  31st, 

1867,  and  the  first  Sabbath  service  February  3d  following.  A 
Sabbath  School  was  organized  June  17th,  1866,  which  has  since 
been  maintained. 

During  the  present  year  (1882),  a  fine  pipe  organ  costing  over 
$500,  has  been  placed  in  the  church.  It  is  considered  an  excellent 
instrument.  The  church  is  out  of  debt  and  quite  prosperous. 
The  trustees  elected  October  4th,  1879,  were:  M.  McCormick,  H. 
H.  Hemenway,  James  Ruth,  James  M.  Thomson  and  N.  S,  Craig; 
September  16th,  1880,  G.  W.  Albert,  H.  H.  Hemenway,  James 
Ruth,  G.  A.  Rockwell  and  Earl  M.  Woodward  were  chosen. 
September  26th,  1881,  these  trustees  were  all  re-elected.  The  present 
board,  elected  September  21st,  1882,  consists  of  M.  McCormick, 
James  Ruth,  H.  H.  Hemenway,  H.  J.  Frothingham  and  G.  W. 
Albert. 

THE  LODGES. 

Lansing  Lodge,  Xo.  118,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  was  organized  April  16th, 
1858.  The  charter  members  were:  James  W.  Thomas,  Homer 
H.  Hemenway,  John  Haney,  Jr.,  John  J.  Shaw,  G.  W.  Gray,  S. 


718  HISTORY    OF   ALLAMAEEE   COUNTY 

V.  Shaw  and  A.  H.  Houghton.  The  charter  o£  this  lodge  was 
dated  October  14th,  1858.  During  the  war  of  the  rebellion  the 
charter  was  suspended  for  a  time  for  want  of  members.  Subse- 
quently the  lodge  was  re-organized,  and  is  now  in  a  prosperous 
condition,  having  a  beautifully  furnished  hall  of  its  own  in  which 
several  other  lodges  hold  their  meetings. 

Evergreen  Lodge,  No.  144,  A.  F.  A.  ilf.,  was  organized  January 
11th,  1859,  under  a  dispensation  and  was  duly  chartered  June  9th, 
1859.  The  first  officers  were:  G.  W.  Gray,  W.  M.;  H.  H. 
Hemenway,  S.  W.;  G.  W.  Hays,  J.  W.;  John  C.  Berry,  Secretary 
2)ro  teni.;  John  Gray,  Treasurer  jjro  teni.;  Marshall  Cass,  S.  D.pro 
tern.;  Geo.  M.  Dean,  J.  D.  jjro  tern.;  W.  Beale,  Tyler  2^ro  tern. 
This  lodge  occupies  a  nicely  furnished  hall  on  Main  street  and 
continues  to  hold  regular  meetings. 

Mt.  Hosmer  Lodge,  No.  29,  A.  0.  U.  W.,  was  chartered  May 
21st,  1875,  with  the  following  members:  W.  H.  Burford,  N.  S. 
Craig,  A.  D.  Cowles,  S.  H.  Davis,  Robert  Hufschmidt,  H.  D. 
Spaulding,  L.  S.  Tollefson,  I.  D.  Fowler,  James  Ruth,  M.  V.  Bur- 
dick,  John  Correll,  L.  Klewer,  W.  A.  Travis,  0.  J.  Mix,  George 
Palmer  and  Edgar  Hewit.  The  lodge  now  has  fifty-two  members 
and  holds  weekly  meetings  in  Odd  Fellow^s  hall. 

Humholt  Lodge,  No.  61,  A.  0.  U.  W.,  was  chartered  April  11th, 
1876.  The  charter  members  were:  Andrew . Sandry,  M.  Simon,  G. 
L.  Saam,  Jacob  Zerbis,  Charles  Bergler,  Peter  Berdel,  Dr.  B.  Erb. 
Brockhausen,  M.  Gruber,  Paul  Becker,  Martin  Englehorn,  John 
Schaefer,  John  Pfaender,  John  Gruber,  J.  K.  Englehorn,  M. 
Hostert,  V.  Schaefer,  Jacob  Dormann,  Thomas  Gruber,  Engle- 
hardt  Bartheld,  Charles  Deitrich,  H.  Kroeme,  John  Miller  and 
John  Conrad.  This  lodge  continues  to  prosper,  the  ''work"  being 
done  in  the  German  language. 

Maple  Lodge,  No.  35,  loica  Legion  of  Honor,  was  chartered 
August  llth,  1869,  with  the  following  members:  H.  F.  Fellows, 
Theodore  Nachtwey,  G.  A.  Rockwell,  Theodore  Groezinger,  M. 
McCormick,  N.  S.  Craig,  H.  D.  Spaulding,  Jas.  T.  Metcalf,  Dick 
Haney,  L.  M.  Elmendorf,  C.  A.  Gardner,  L.  E.  Fellows,  John  C. 
Barclay,  Geo.  H.  Markley,  W.  H.  Burford,  T.  G.  Orr,  C.  L.  Muller, 
Michael  Healey,  F.  W.  Wagner.  H.  Beusch,  Alfred  A.  Bock,  E. 
K.  Maryatt,  C.  D.  Pardy,  L.  Fuiks,  I.  D.  Fowler,  Dr.  B.  Erb 
Brockhausen,  Earl  M.  Woodward,  T;  P.  Grant  and  Robert  Huf- 
schmidt. The  lodge  at  present  has  forty  members  and  meets 
twice  in  each  month  in  Odd  Fellow's  hall. 

Lansing  Collegium,  No.  100,  V.  A.  S.  Fraternity,  was  organized 
June  16tii,  1882.  with  the  following  charter  members:  Geo.  H. 
Markley,  S.  H.  Kinne,  H.  H.'  Hemenway,  James  Ruth,  M.  Mc- 
Cormick, J.  W.  Davis,  J.  F.  Wier,  John  C.  Barclay,  Edward  Coy, 
P.  N.  Smith,  William  Luth,  Ed.  C.  Bellows,  Theodore  Nachtwey, 
Herman  Gannitz,  Jos.  T.  Metcalf,  N.  A.  Nelson,  H.  P.  Lane, 


HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY.  719 

Joseph  Gaston,  John  B.  Thorp,  Robert  Hufschmidt,  Henry  D. 
Spaulding,  Edward  Boechk,  C.  VV.  Hufschmidt,  Jr.,  and  Henry 
Bockfinger.     This  society  occupies  Masonic  Hall. 

ORIGINAL  PROPRIETORS. 

Horace  H.  Houghton  and  John  Haney,  Sr.,  the  original  propri- 
prietors  of  Lansing  were  men  of  marked  ability,  integrity  and 
goodness  of  heart.  During  times  when  schemes  of  doubtful  pro- 
priety were  aided  and  encouraged  by  men  of  the  most  pious 
professions,  the  founders  of  Lansing  remained  true  to  the  dictates 
of  the  most  unselfish  and  exalted  morality.  As  co-partners  in 
various  business  enterprises  each  relied  on  the  other's  honor  and 
neither  was  ever  for  a  moment  dissatisfied  with  the  result. 

Whatever  mistakes  of  management  may  be  imputed  to  these 
gentlemen  none  can  deny  that  each  bequeathed  to  the  community 
he  helped  to  establish  an  example  of  moral  excellence  worthy  of 
all  imitation. 

Horace  H.  Houghton  was  born  in  Springfield,  Windsor  county, 
Vermont,  October  26,  1806,  and  died  at  Gralena,  Illinois,  April  30, 
1879,  aged  73  years.  He  was  the  fourth  of  six  children.  His 
father  died  when  he  was  six  years  old.  From  the  age  of  twelve 
to  eighteen  he  labored  on  a  farm.  He  then  apprenticed  himself 
to  Rufus  Colton  of  Woodstock,  Vt.,  where  he  learned  the  art  of 
printing.  He  worked  two  years  as  a  journeyman  printer  after 
attaining  his  majority,  the  most  of  the  time  for  Messrs.  J.  and  J. 
Harper,  who  were  the  proprietors  of  the  house  and  firm  of  Har- 
per Brothers,  of  New  York.  He  then  became  proprietor  of  the 
Vermont  Statesman^  published  at  Castleton,  Vt.  While  engaged 
in  the  publication  of  this  paper  he  invented  the  method  now  so 
much  in  vogue,  of  printing  one  side  of  several  papers  on  the  same 
form;  and  while  at  Castleton  he  thus  printed  the  outsides  of 
papers  published  at  Rutland,  Middlebury,  Vergenes  and  Spring- 
field, Vt.,  with  gratifying  success.  While  here  he  invented  a 
power  press,  an  essential  feature  of  which  has  entered  into  the 
construction  of  every  successful  power  press  which  has  since  been 
manufactured.  This  press  he  sold  to  the  then  State  printer  at 
Albany  for  ^6,000,  on  condition  that  its  work  should  prove  satis- 
factory after  three  months'  trial.  At  the  close  of  the  time  agreed 
upon  he  received  notice  that  his  money  was  ready  for  him.  But 
this  was  prior  to  the  age  of  railroads  and  telegraphs,  and  before 
Mr.  Houghton  could  draw  on  the  parties  to  whom  he  had  sold  his 
press  and  have  the  draft  reach  them,  they  had  assigned  all  their 
eifects,  including  his  power  press,  to  preferred  creditors.  This 
unexpected  and  undeserved  misfortune  had  the  efffect  of  driving 
the  young  printer  to  seek  new  opportunities  in  the  west.  He 
crossed  the  Alleghanies  with  his  effects  in  a  pack  on  his  back. 
Having  spent  a  few  months  in  St.  Louis  he  one  day  observed  a 
steamer  advertised  for  the  "'Galena  Lead  Mines."     Investing  what 


720  *  HISTORY    OF    ALLAMAKEE    COUNTY. 

money  he  hud  in  corn  he  started  with  it  for  Galena,  111.  Here 
he  worked  in  the  mines  for  some  months,  when  the  editor  of  the 
Northivestern  Gazette  and  Galena  Advertiser  havinof  fonght  a  duel, 
and  being  in  consequence  compelled  to  flee  for  his  life,  Mr.  Hough- 
ton purchased  the  office  and  afterwards  conducted  the  paper  for 
nearly  forty  years.  Galena  was  then  and  for  many  years  after- 
wards, the  chief  city  in  the  northwest  in  enterprise  and  commerce. 

In  politics  Mr.  Houghton  was  a  whig,  and  because  he  was  a 
whig,  when  party  names  changed  he  became  a  republican.  His 
paper  had  a  wide  circulation  and  properly  exerted  a  larger  influence 
for  a  period  than  all  the  papers  west  of  Chicago  and  north  of  St. 
Louis.  At  the  first  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  the  four  congressional 
districts  in  which  Mr.  Houghton's  paper  circulated  gave  the  largest 
republican  majorities  of  any  like  territory  in  the  Union. 

Judge  Drummond,  Gov.  Ramsey,  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburn  and 
Gen.  Grant  were  each  his  debtors,  and  they  most  cheerfully  con- 
fessed it,  the  latter  once  remarking  that  Mr.  Houghton  was  the 
only  editor  he  had  ever  known  who  would  always  tell  the  truth 
without  being  paid  for  it.  Mr.  Houghton  was  at  one  time  coun- 
sel to  Lahina  Haiwaian  Islands  for  two  years  and  postmaster  at 
Galena  four  years.  He  valued  the  upbuilding  of  Lansing  more 
than  he  valued  gold,  and  he  spent  money  lavishly  in  making  im- 
provements. He  established  the  Lansing  Mirror  \j\i\cla.&i\\\\\yei, 
having  recently  entered  upon  its  thirtieth  year  of  continued  exist- 
ence. He  built  the  best  warehouse  in  the  town  and  largely  contribu- 
ted to  the  building  of  the  first  saw  mill  and  the  first  flouring  mill. 

As  a  type-setter,  for  rapidity  and  accuracy,  Mr.  Houghton  never 
found  an  equal.  He  published  a  daily  paper  for  many  years,  his 
editorials  were  numerous  in  every  issue;  and  it  was  his  practice  to 
compose  them  at  the  case,  as  he  put  them  in  type.  He  was  a  man 
of  light  weight,  compactly  built,  with  large  brain  and  a  benevo- 
lent countenance.  His  powers  of  endurance  were  wonderful. 
For  mahy  years  he  worked  six  days  in  each  week,  eighteen  to 
twenty  hours  out  of  every  twenty-four,  very  seldom  seeking  rest 
until  after  midnight.  He  was  benevolent  to  a  fault,  always  en- 
deavoring to  relieve  the  needy,  not  excepting  the  unworthy.  To 
spend  his  life  for  the  good  of  others  seemed  to  be  the  aim  and 
only  pleasure  of  his  own.  He  died  a  poor  man,  a  martyr  to  his 
fidelity  to  duty,  a  christian,  not  leaving  an  enemy  behind  him. 

John  Haney,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Lafayette  Co.,  Pa.,  Sept.  15th, 
1798.  When  a  lad  of  sixteen  he  became  a  pioneer  in  the  forests 
of  Ohio.  From  there  in  1832  he  removed  to  Illinois,  and  came  to 
Iowa  in  1848.  He  died  at  Lansing  April  15, 1875.  Mr.  Haney 
was  from  early  boyhood  a  pioneer.  He  was  a  quiet,  modest,  kind- 
hearted  man,  self-taught  in  the  severe  school  of  experience.  He 
pos  essed  a  remarkable  memory,  and  being  an  industrious  reader 
was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  history  and  the  current  events  of 
his  time.     Much  of  his  leisure  time  was  spent  in  the  study  of 


HISTORY    OF    ALLiMAKBB   COUNTY.  721 

mathematics,  in  wliicli  science,  although  self-taught,  he  was 
probably  without  an  equal  in  the  State,  all  the  higher  branches 
of  the  study  having  been  completely  mastered  by  this  modest  stu- 
dent in  his  log  cabin  during  the  long  nights  of  oui"  northern 
winters.  His  self-control  was  perfect  and  permitted  no  personal 
weaknesses  or  small  vices,  such  as'are  generally  considered  quite 
pardonable.  He  was  in  his  eating,  drinking  and  speaking  strictly 
temperate,  and  his  private  life  was  free  from  the  slightest  sus- 
picion of  any  impurity.  Having  lived  a  large  portion  of  his  life 
among  the  Winnebago  Indians,  he  was  known  by  nearly  all  of 
them,  and  considered  by  them  to  be  one  of  the  best  men  who 
ever  lived.  This  is  not  strange,  for  Mr.  Haney  never  intention- 
ally injured  any  human  being.  So  sincere  was  his  regard  for 
others,  and  so  strongly  did  he  believe  in  the  equality  of  all  men, 
that  every  one  who  chanced  to  be  at  his  home  was  compelled  to 
sit  with  him  at  the  table,  whether  negro,  Indian  or  wandering 
trapper.  He  was  an  abolitionist  of  the  blackest  kind,  and  one  of 
the  strongest  of  Union  men  during  the  rebellion.  He  might  have 
attained  to  high  official  position  had  he  chosen  to  do  so,  but  he 
preferred  to  do  his  duty  as  he  saw  it  in  the  humble,  unobserved 
walks  of  life.  What  would  gratify  him  most,  were  he  living,  to 
have  written  of  him,  what  he  desired  to  be  when  living,  more  than 
all  else,  and  what  those  who  knew  him  well  knew  him  to  be,  is 
best  expressed  in  the  simpl?  statement,  he  was  an  honest  man. 

"wild    .TIM." 

One  of  the  early  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  Lansing  was  "Wild 
Jim,"  a  most  peculiar  person  who  lived  for  many  yerrs  on  the 
islands  near  town,  engaged  in  fishing,  hunting  and  trapping.  He 
lived  alone,  never  holding  communication  with  anyone  except 
when  actually  necessary.  In  1869  an  item  was  published  in  the 
Lansing  Chronicle  descriptive  of  his  peculiar  habits  and  hermit- 
like life,  which  found  its  way  into  the  New  York  papers,  there 
attracting  the  attention  of  the  mysterious  man's  friends  who  cor- 
responded with  the  postmaster  in  Lansing  concerning  him,  from 
whom  it  was  learned  that  his  name  was  James  Kinten;  that  he 
was  from  Herkimer  county,  N.  Y.,  where  a  brother  and  sister 
then  resided,  highly  respected  and  wealth}'.  They  reported  that 
his  father  had  died  some  ten  years  before,  leaving  quite  a  sum  of 
money  to  the  missing  son  James,  who  had  been  supposed  to  be 
dead,  as  nothing  had  been  heard  from  him  for  years.  About  this 
time  the  sister  wrote  the  hermit  but  it  is  not  known  whether  he  ever 
replied.  In  April,  1870,  he  was  found  lying  sick,  helpless  and  alone 
in  his  cabin  on  the  island,  the  rising  water  being  three  feet  deep  upon 
the  floor.  He  was  brought  to  Lansing  where  he  died  on  the  7th 
of  April,  1870.  Countless  romantic  stories  were  related  of  this 
strange  being,  many  reasons  suggested  for  his  unusual  conduct, 
but  the  secret  of  his  wild  life  died  with  him.  It  was  supposed  by 
many  that  he  had  accumulated  considerable  wealth,  but  if  any 
was  ever  found  the  finder  never  revealed  the  fact. 


INDEX  TO  BIOGRAPHIES, 


ALLAMAKEE  COUNTY. 


Page. 

Armstrong  &  Alexander .465 

Anderson,  Andrew 465 

Amquest,  P.J 465 

Amquest,  N.J 465 

Anderson,  Ole  G 465 

Ammundson,  Andrew  E 466 

Anderson,  A.  T 466 

Anderson,  Thomas 466 

Arklay,  Charles 466 

Amann,  Charles 467 

Adams,  Dudley  W 467 

Bakewell,  John 469 

Baumann,  Samuel 470 

Brennan,  J.  D 470 

Barthokl  F 470 

Belden,  H 470 

Burton,  William 470 

Beiber,  Peter 470 

Bowen,  D.  11 470 

Bearce,  L.  0 471 

Beeman,  CD 471 

Barnes,  T.  H 471 

Barthell,  John  M 472 

Bentley,  James 472 

Barnard,  Charles 472 

Bentley,  H.  J 473 

Bearce,  L.  M 473 

Bryant,  George  H 473 

Burkhaus,  James  W 473 

Burkhaus,  J.  H 473 

Beucher,  M 474 

Ballman,  H.T 474 

Burdick,  W.  N 474 

Beedy,  N.J 474 

Blumm,  Charles  C 475 

Burtis,  W.  H 475 

Beebe,  Jeptha 475 

Briar,  James 476 

Bacon,  Willard 477 

Bryson,  James 477 

Bryson,  John  S 477 

Buggy,  Michael 502 

Burton,  Fred.  A 478 

Bensch.  Henry 478 

Boeckh,  Edward 478 

Brockhausen.  Theo 478 

Bascom,  E.  B 478 

Bockfinger,  Philip 479 

Bartheld,  Englehart 479 

Buggy,  Richard 479 

Barr,  JohnC; 479 

Carter,  Henrv 480 

Carithers,  W'.  H 480 

Christianson,  Andrew 480 


Page. 

Conway.  J.  R 480 

Clark,  E.N 481 

Clark,  JohnT 481 

Cooper,  H.  S 482 

Colgrove,  A.  E ■ 482 

CarroUs,  T.  L 482 

Clauson,  H 482 

Dille,  AxelP 483 

Dean,  George  M 483 

De  Lacy,  John 483 

Dormann,  Jacob 484 

Davis,  J.  W 484 

Deremo,  Orsemas 484 

Dunn,  William 484 

Drewes,  Charles 485 

Dalton,  William 485 

Douglas,  Robert 485 

Dresser,  Calvin 485 

Deering,  Charles 486 

Drake,  John 486 

Deremore,  James  A 486 

Dayton  &  Dayton 486 

Daugherty,  J.  F 487 

Doehler,   A.  C 487 

Earle,  W.  C 487 

Eells,  L 488 

Eaton,  M.  W 488 

Ettel,  Daniel 488 

Eels,G.  P 488 

Ellis,  Jonathan 489 

Elliott,  John 489 

Engelhorn,  John 489 

Fellows,  H.  F 489 

Fitzgerald.  James 489 

Fagre,  G.H 490 

Finney,  R.  B 490 

Fellows,  LE 490 

Froelick.  Henry 491 

Ferris,  L 491 

Granger,  C.  T 491 

Gordon,  A 492 

Gilbert,  John 492 

Goodrich,  L.  W 492 

Gratton,  HG 492 

Getchell.  L.  M 493 

Gibbs,  E.  B 493 

Greer,  Isaac 493 

Green,  E.  S 494 

Gaunitz  Bros 494 

Glynn,  Matthew 494 

Groezinger,  Theo 494 

Gilchrist,  John 494 

Green,  Allred 495 

Green,  Rev.  Levi  N 495 


INDEX   TO   BIOGRAPHIES, 


Page. 

Hemenwaj*.  H.  H 495 

Hedge,  I.  H 496 

Holahan,  John 496 

Hart,  Abraham 497 

Hesla,   S.  E 497 

Hammundson,  Tolef  B 497 

Helming.  Conrad 497 

Hams,  Henry 497 

Hogan,  John 498 

Hawthorn,  James  T 498 

Howes,  Lnther 498 

Hanks,  G.  W 499 

Harris,  William 499 

Harris,  George 499 

Hams,  Elisha  . . . ; 499 

Humphreys,  H.  S 499 

Harmon,  LA 500 

Haas,  Jacob 500 

Howe,  F.  A 500 

Hufschmidt,  Robert 500 

Howard,  CO 501 

Hancock,  E.  M 501 

Helmo,  John  A 501 

Hersey,  L.  W 501 

HoUahan  &  Buggy 502 

HoUahan,  James 502 

Hanson,  Gunder 502 

Hendrick,  M.  B 502 

Hancock,  Moses 503 

Houghton,  A.  H 503 

Hays,   A.  B 503 

Haney,  John 503 

Haney,  William 503 

Henderson,  Robert 504 

Hancock,  J.N 504 

Halverson,  Michael 504 

Haines,  J .  K 504 

Jensvold,  A 505 

Johnson,  Charles 505 

Jennewine,  J.J 506 

Jaquis,  Margaret 506 

Jackson,  J.  P 506 

Jacobson.  Andrew 506 

Kehr.  George 507 

Kerndt,  Moritz 507 

Knudtson,  Knut 507 

Keenan,  Patrick 507 

Kelley,  John 508 

Kelley,  W.  M 508 

Landy,  Andrew 508 

Lamont,  J.  H 509 

Low.  Hosa 509 

Lyse,  Gilbert  C. 509 

Ludeking,  Simon 509 

Lisher,  J.  M 509 

Luhman,  H.  S 510 

Leithold.  Matt 510 

Lyons,  Rev.  D.  W 510 

Laughlin.  J.  R 511 


Page. 

Lenz,  Henry 511 

Leithold.  Frank .511 

Leithold,  C.  A 512 

Leas,  Jeremiah 512 

Minert,  J.  B 512 

McDoneU,  M.  A 512 

Matoon,»J.  B 512 

McGough,  Edward 512 

McMichael,  A 513 

McNaney,  Patrick 513 

Miller,  George  W 513 

Miller,  Santord  W 513 

McGee,  John 514 

Mathers,  JauK's 514 

Meyer,  Rudolph  A.  T 514 

Martin,  Lydia 514 

Miller.  Peter 515 

Mackey,  Oliver .515 

Manger,  W.  A 515 

McCormack,  M 515 

Miner,  H.  B 515 

May.  John 516 

May,  Alonzo  M 516 

McLaughlin,   William 516 

Niblock,  William 516 

Norton,  Patrick 517 

Neelander,    H .517 

Nichols,  S.  J 518 

Nichols,  Jr.,  S.  J 518 

Nees,  Charles 518 

Nachtwey,  T 518 

Opfer,  H.  F 518 

Opfer,  Simon 519 

Orr,  James 519 

Olson,  A.  G 519 

Orre,  J.  L 519 

Olson,  L 519 

Plemling,  N 520 

Patterson.  William 520 

Peterson,  Halver 520 

Pratt,  Azell 520 

Pratt,  James  L 521 

Pardee,  W.  W 521 

Plank.  Felix  H 521 

Pitt.  John  F 521 

Post,  Z 522 

Patterson,  J.  W 522 

Perry,  S.  C 523 

Powers,  S.  S 523 

Perry,  James 523 

Peterson,  John  A 523 

Prescott,  A.  R 524 

Powers,  James 525 

Paulk,  Charles 525 

Pratt,  N.  H 525 

Pope,  H.  H 525 

Ratcliff,  John  G 526 

Robins,  F.  H 526 

Rosa,  Albert 526 


IKDEX    TO    BIOGRAPHIES 


Page. 

Robins,  A.  E 526 

Rodgers,  A.  J 527 

Ragan,  John 528 

Rankin ,  Jamos 528 

Ryan,  Richard 528 

Raymond,  B.  P • 528 

Rikansnid,  T.  0 529 

Rupp,  Jacob 529 

Ross,  0.  A 529 

Raddy,  Edward 530 

Robey,  C.  A 530 

Roffman,  John 530 

Rieth,  Julius 531 

Reiser,  Peter 531 

Renzenhausen,  C.  A 531 

Reed,  D.  W 531 

Sencebaugh,  Reuben 532 

Satrang,  Gilbert 532 

Scheuning,  Christ 533 

Stull,  W.  T 533 

Stevens,  V.  H 533 

Sherman,  G.  W 534 

Shaff,  James 534 

Smith,  L.  K 534 

Shefloe,  Bard 534 

Steel,  Frank 535 

Staadt,  Anton 535 

Sheehy,  Ed 535 

Schmidt,  J .  B 535 

Stafford,  G.  W 536 

Staadt,  Edward 536 

Swenson,  Bennett 536 

Stewart,  A.  G 537 

Simonsen,  Holver 537 

Stilwell,  C.  S 537 

Smith,  W.  H 537 


Page. 

Stilwell,  H.  H 538 

Smeby,  Hans 538 

Smeby,  Ole 538 

Schiek,  Fred 538 

Smenson,  BLans 538 

Smith,  T.  C 539 

Schwarzhoff,  T 539 

Schulte,  A 539 

Schulte,  J.  B........... 539 

Schwarzhoff,  Christian 540 

8adler,  William 540 

Spencer,  E.  K 501 

Townsend.  J.  A 540 

Thibodo.  Stephen 540 

Tnomas,  J.  W 541 

Thomson,  J.  M 541 

Taylor,  J.  C 541 

Thoma,  John , 542 

Terrill,  A.  L 542 

Taylor,  Joseph 542 

Teeple,  Frank  E 542 

Tisdale,  E.  A 542 

Vile,  James 542 

Vanvelzer,  Bevel 543 

Winnier,  Edward 543 

Wagner,  F.  W 543 

Wallace,  John 544 

Wiley,  Thomas  B 544 

Wilson,  James  F 544 

Ward,  J.  W 544 

Webb,  Henry 545 

Wood,  Martin  G 545 

Wiecking  Bros 545 

Wa?chter,  C.  C 545  ' 

Ward,  John 545 


WINNESHIEK  COUNTY. 


Page. 

Anundsen ,  B 546 

Amy,  John  (deceased) 546 

Addicken,  Deidrick  (deceased) 547 

Amy,  C.  W.,  M.  D 547 

Akers,  W.  E 948 

Adams,  Asa  W 548 

Anderson,  George  M 549 

Adams,  Joseph  A 549 

Ackerson,  John  G 549 

Anderson,  Erick ; 549 

Anderson,  Anon 550 

Aiken,  Hon.  Samuel 550 

Allen,  E.  T 551 

Aaker,  Hon.  D.  0 551 

Burdick,  Hon.  Theodore  W 551 

Bulis,  Henry  C,  M.  D 553 

Brown,  Chas.  P 554 


Page. 

Bear,  Ben 554 

Baker,  J.  H ....554 

Brekke,  N.  A 554 

Bolland,  Michael  J 555 

Benedict,  Albert  A 555 

Brichner,  Henry  I 555 

Booth,  J.  R 556 

Baker,  H.  A 556 

Barfoot,  Hon.  Benj.  T 556 

Blackmarr.  E ;557 

Betts,  E.  H 557 

Barnes,  Richard 557 

Burrows,  Robert 558 

Barlo,  Hogen  H 558 

Burton,  Levi  G 558 

Borlog,  Swen  H 558 

Brekke,  Andrew  Nelson 559 


INDEX   TO    HIOGRAPHIES. 


Page. 

Bacon,  D.  T .V)9 

Butz,  Jacob r)59 

Brown,  Lewis  R 55!) 

Baker,  G.  R 559 

Brownell.  A.  W 559 

Becker,  W 560 

Bernatz,  A,,  «fe  Bros 560 

Bright,  D 560 

Birtwistle,  John 561 

Cooley.  Hon.  Ezekiel  E 561 

Coleman,  W.  F.,  M.  D 56:^ 

Cadwell,  L.  L 563 

Cameron,  J.  L 564 

Chase,  A.  C 564 

Craig,  C.  H '. 564 

Clark,  Orlando  J 564 

Cleveland,  Fitz  William 565 

Callender,  Josiah 565 

Calkin,  Daniel 565 

Chase,  L.  M 565 

Coogan,  Peter 566 

Carter,  M.  J 566 

Constantine,  J.  H 566 

Constantino,  E.  W 566 

Cratsenberg,  A.  J 566 

Cady,  Chas.  W.,  M.  D .567 

Christiansen,  C.  L 567 

Clarke,  Elijah 567 

Cizek,  John 568 

Crapser,  Chas 568 

Cunningham,  John 568 

Chapman,  R.  S 568 

Chizek,.  Frank  P 569 

Culbert,  M.  H 569 

Day  Family,  The 569 

Day,  William 569 

Day,  Claybom 570 

Day,  John 570 

Day,  Richard 570 

Dennis,  D.  B 570 

Dahly,  B.  0 570 

Dakyns,  T.  A 571 

Dawley,  J.  W 571 

Daskam,  John 572 

Dakj'ns.  Burg-lrwin 572 

Daman,  Eugene 572 

Danforth,  Hon.  Warren 578 

Dom,  D .573 

Daskam.  J.  S 573 

Egge,  Erick  P 574 

Estrem,  Chrystopher  Anderson 574 

Evans,  Christopher 574 

Emery,  0.  W 575 

Elwick,  John 575 

Enger,  T 575 

Ehrenberger,  Rev.  Fr 575 

Engbretson,  H 575 

Easton,  James  H 576 

Egge,  T.  E 577 


Page. 

Easton,  WiUiam  L 577 

Eddy,  A.J 577 

Ellsworth,  D.  B 578 

Emslie,  W.  R 578 

Evans,  Richard  D 578 

Eari.  E.  E 579 

Finn,  John 579 

Fannon,  William  M 579 

Finney,  I.  S 579 

Foss,  0.  A 580 

Fredenburgh,  John 580 

Foss,  Mons.  K 580 

Flaskerud,  A.  0  580 

Farnsworth,  Milo  R 580 

Finrow,  A.  H 581 

Fallows,  William 581 

Gartner,  Capt.  George  Q 581 

Greer,  John 583 

Greer,  R.  F 583 

Garfield,  H.  W 583 

Goddard,  C.  N 584 

Grow,  A.  W 584 

Golz,  Charles 584 

Grob,  George 584 

Gaston,  T.  E 584 

Gripman ,  Silas 585 

Giles,  B.  F 585 

George,  H.  B 585 

Gilbertson,  Naroe 685 

Giesen,  C.  W 586 

Groos,  Louis 586 

Gibbs,  Wesley  M 586 

Gilbertson,  Andrew 587 

Gulbranson,  H 587 

Greenhalgh,  John 587 

Goocher,  W.  B 587 

Griffin,  Nathan 587 

Glass,  Lawrence 588 

Hardin,  H.  J 588 

Hale,  F.  G 588 

Hiatt,  C.  A 589 

Hegg,  John 589 

Hamre.  0.  T 589 

Hegg,  Jacob  J 589 

Haug,  J.  H 590 

Hubbell,  Hon.  Levi 590 

Haug,  J.  J 590 

Haugen,  K.  1 591 

Hoy,  James 591 

Hutchinson,  Joseph 591 

Hiller,  C.  F 591 

Hegner,  Charles 591 

Hencke,  Fred 592 

Hardin,  M.  W 592 

Havvlev,  D.N'. 592 

Haugen.  Peter  E 592 

Hoyt,  E.  W 592 

Holcomb,  B 593 

Holcomb,  Lewis 593 


INDEX   TO   BIOGRAPHIES. 


Page. 

Haas,  Jacob 593 

Hostetler,  Moses 594 

Hanson,  Peter  R 594 

Hegg,  Anton  0 594 

Hoganson,  Lars 594 

Headington,  Jacob 595 

HaU,  George 595 

Haugen,  Foster  0 595 

Haugen,  Ole  0 595 

Hickey,  James  S 595 

Howard,  John 596 

Huber,  P.  J 596 

Hurley,  John 596 

Johnson ,  Hans  P 596 

Jurgens,  F 597 

Jacobson,  E » ,  ^ 597 

Jewell,  Jacob 597 

Johnson,  Engebert 597 

Jacobson,  Rev.  Abraham . .    597 

Klein,  J.  A 601 

Klopp,  J.  J 602 

Ealloway,  Jens  0 602 

Kennedy,  John , 602 

Kaye,  John  B 602 

Knox,  John 602 

Koren,  U.  W 602 

Kapinos,  Frank 603 

Kovarik,  John  J 603 

Kapler,  Othmar 603 

Klemme,  W.  H 604 

Kittleson,  Albert 604 

Kmne,  Howard  A 604 

Lower,  James  W 598 

Leonard,  James  Alex 598 

Langland,  H.  M 598 

Larson,  Iver 599 

Lennon,  F.  C 599 

Lamm,  J.  G.. 599 

Lower,  Chnstian 599 

Lennon,  Joseph 600 

Lundgrens,  C.  J 600 

Leach,  A  P 600 

Libbey,  N.  B 601 

Lemon,  M.  S ;601 

Lange,  Moritz 601 

Libbey,  J.  A 601 

Lein,  B.  M 605 

Melos,  Hans  Gulbranson 586 

Masters,  H.  W 604 

Manning,  Hon.  H.  G 605 

Manning,  Alpha 605 

May,  John 605 

Meader,  Jr.,  A.  H 606 

Meyer,  Peter 606 

McGaiFrey,  Peter 606 

Morrill,  I.  N 607 

Meader,  C.  E 607 

Merrill,  F.  H 607 

Marsh,  J.  J 608 


Page. 

Mackenstadt,  J.  H 608 

Morss,  J.  G 608 

Myrand,  Helga  N 609 

Mott,  J.  W 609 

McKay,  J.  D 609 

Merrill,  M.  H 609 

Meader,  Ezekiel  E 610 

McClintock,  Charles 610 

Meader,  A.  H 610 

Miller,  E.  R 611 

McLean,  William 61 1 

Mcintosh,  William 611 

McMuUen,  Samuel 611 

xMaltby,  CO 612 

Marlow,  James 612 

Marlow,  William...' 612 

Marlow,  E.  G 612 

Mills,  P.  H 613 

Meyer,  L.  A 613 

Miller,  Giesing  &  Co 613 

Meyer  &  Dostal 613 

Miller  Bros 613 

Mcintosh,  J.  C 614 

Morton,  Peter, . » 614 

McMillan,  A 614 

Nelson,  Holsten 614 

Nelson,  Torguy 615 

Nockels.  Frank 615 

Noble,  D 615 

Nelson,  L.  F 615 

Nelson,  Ole  W 616 

Nelson,  Andrew  D 616 

Nelson,  Jacob 616 

Noble,  James '. . . .  616 

Opdahl,  Edward  G 617 

Olsen,  Herbrand 617 

Oleson,  Erick  R 617 

Oleson.  P 617 

Olsen,  Butler 617 

Porter,  J.  H 618 

PenT,  A.  M 618 

Pollitt,  John 618 

Pierce,  John  H 618 

Price,  Daniel 619 

Pederson,  Ole 619 

Payer,  A.J 619 

Punteney,  William 619 

Patterson,  Ole 620 

Pennington,  George 620 

Portman.R.  F.  B 620 

Phelps,  George 621 

Protheroe,  John  W 621 

Pinkham,  W.  A 621 

Peterson,  Osten 621 

Packard,  LaFayette 622 

Protheroe,  Ira 622 

Punteney,  George  V 622 

Pike,  S 623 

Qually,  Ole  Oleson 617 


INDEX  TO   BIOGRAPHIES, 


Pago. 

RoUins,  J.  C 62:i 

Reed,  Luther 624 

Reed,  W.  C 624 

Rice,  Almon 624 

Rathburn,  Walter 625 

Rudolph,  R.F 625 

Reed,  D.  A 625 

Rudolph,  C 625 

Rosa,  Hiram 626 

Rosa,  Theodore 626 

Ruksvold,  Ole  P 626 

Rosa,  Peter 627 

Roome,  J.  S 627 

Roney,  Peter 627 

Roome,  C.  D 627 

Ringeon,  M 628 

Rice,  Ebenezer 628 

Robinson,  Enoch 628 

Sanderson,  Steen 628 

Stead,  John 628 

Sharp,  James 629 

Salveson,  Knudt 629 


Page. 

Soland,  E.  G 629 

Shelmidine,  D.  E 629 

Snell,  Frank  D 630 

Stockman,  John 630 

Standring,  Leonard 631 

Slack,  John  R 632 

Smout,  P.S 632 

Strong,  J.  C 632 

Steyer,  Michael 633 

Seavy,  A.  G 633 

Small,  R.,  M.  D 633 

Steyer,  Joseph 633 

SheriT,  Michael 634 

Smith,  WiUiam  H 634 

Snyder,  A 634 

Stortz.  John 6:34 

Sieh,  George 645 

Sandager,  E.  P 635 

Sydow,  Charles 636 

Stiles,  A.  E 636 

Scott,  Jchn 536 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


Page. 

Armstrong,  G.  D 655 

Broghamer,  Simon 655 

Brenno,  Nels  Oleson 655 

Bemet,  Louis 655 

Butz,  Theobold. 655 

Blumenrceder,  Daniel 655 

Beucher,  John 656 

Bullard,  Hosea 656 

Boyl3,  Barney 656 

Cebera,  Jacob 656 

CMbrd,  E.  A. 656 

Campbell,  Hamilton 656 

Creamer,  William 657 

Cameron,  James 657 

Daubersnuth,  C.  L 657 

DeCow,  Hon.  J 657 

HojTiie,  Hover  Evenson 657 

Funke,  Henry 657 

Farrell,  Michael 658 

Falck,  Lorenz 658 

Frerick,  Herman 658 

Funk,  C 658 

Fisher,  John 658 

Gessell,  Jacob 658 

Glass,  Fred 659 

Gorden,  Ole 659 

GuUormson,  Erick 659 

Gunderson,  Peter  A 659 

Gorden,  Halvor 659 

Hover,  Edwin 659 

Hendrickson,  Hendrick 660 

Halverson,  Henry 660 

« 


Page. 

Herold.  Bernard 660 

Herold,  John 660 

Huber,  John 660 

Hoyt,  D.  M 660 

Hillberg,  Adolph  F.  J 661 

Humphrey,  G.  R 661 

Hartung,  Charles 662 

Hart,  James  A 662 

Hulverson,  Ole 662 

Holtey,  Theo 662 

Johnson,  Ole 662 

Jorgenson,  Tore 662 

Johnson,  George 662 

Jogerson,  0 662 

Kodelka,  John 663 

Kratz,  Philip 663 

Klemme,  H.  W 663 

Knudson,  Haavor 663 

Kneeskem ,  Mathias 663 

Larson.  Oie 664 

Lackman,  T 664 

Lomman,  Ole  T 664 

Lansing,  Wenzel 664 

Lambert.  E.  S 664 

Mason,  Jr.,  L.  P 694 

Miller,  C.  A.. 664 

Meyer,  Andrew 665 

Novak,  Mai-tin 665" 

Olesen,  George 665 

Opdahl,  G.  K 666 

Oleson,   A.  W 666 

Oxlev,  G.  W 666 


INDEX    TO   BIOGRAPHIES. 


Page. 

Peterson,  Jolin 666 

Patterson,  John 666 

Pegg,  A 666 

Reis,  Peter 666 

Rusk,  Charles 667 

Shipley,  J.  T 667 

Sherwin,  John  J 667 

Syverson,  Jorgen 667 


Page. 

Schaitemantel,  Henrj' 667 

Sawyer,  R.  N 667 

Tostenson,  Ole 667 

Thomson,  John 668 

Vance,  J.  V 668 

Wise,  Samuel 668 

Womendorf,  David 668 

WiUiams,  C.  W 668 


INDEX  TO  PORTRAITS. 


Page. 

Adams,  Dudley  W. .  .• 391 

Barnes,  Thos.  H 466 

Bakewell,  John 668 

Cooley,  E.  E 341 

Granger,  C.  T 187 

Keenan.  Patrick 425 


Page. 

Leach,  A.  P 557 

May.  A.  M 524 

Meyer,  Andrew 443 

Paulk,  Chas 301 

Standring,  Leonard 236 

Valleau,  W.H 621 


ERRATA. 


WINNESHIEK  COUNTY. 

P.  117,  Spark's  Historj-  was  published  in  1877  instead  of  1878. 

P.  144,  last  word  on  the  page  should  read  "trader"  instead  of  "teacher." 

P.  219,  in  the  last  line  of  next  to  the  last  paragraph  on  the  page,  the  word 

•'choice''  should  read  "chance." 

P.  286,  at  end  of  first  paragraph  "West  Run"  .should  read   "Trout  Run." 
P.  291,  it  should  read  that  Hay  ward  has  the   "largest  sAoe  store"   instead 

of  "largest  store.'' 

P.  298.  last  word  of  first  paragraph   should  read   "surprises"   instead  of 

"surprise." 

PKOPrai   XAMKS. 

P.  187,  "Burly"  shouid  be  "Bailey." 

P.  194,  in  diagram  of  county,  "Franklinville"  should  be  "Frankville." 

P.  205,  Milo  "McGlathety"  should  be  "McGlathery." 

P.  209,  Chas.  "Stern"  should  be  "Steen." 

P.  210,  F.  S.  Hale  should  be  F.  G.  Halo,  and  J.  A.  "Klien""  should  be 
•Klein." 

P.  212,  J.  W.  "Danbrey"  should  be  "Daubney." 

P.  251,  Mrs.  Harriet  Bottsford  should  be  A/iss  Harriet  Bottsford. 

P.  254,  Prof.  "Veflen"  should  be  "Veblen." 

P.  240,  G.  "Kniman"  should  be  "Kmmm." 

P.  252,  H.  D.  "Lol beige"  should  be  "Solberg." 

P.  272,  "Easter,"  Cooley  Sc  Co.  should  be  "Easton,"  Cooley  &  Co. 

P.  274.  P.  A.  should  be  P.  //.  Whalen. 

P.  277,  "Wm."  Jennisch  should  read  "C.  H."  Jennisch,  (alderman). 

P.  280,  "W."  Brandt  should  be  "N."  Brandt. 

P.  281.  Chas.  A.  Stroh  shoulil  be  Chas.  R.  Stroh. 

P.  281.  T.  Af.  Burdick  should  be  T.  IF.  Burdick. 

P.  286,  H.  H.  "Hoen"  should  beH.  H.  "Horn." 

P.  291,  K.  I.  "Hangen"  should  be  K.  I.  "Haugen." 

P.  292.  "G.  W.  G."  should  be  "W.  G.  W."  Sawyer. 

P.  292,  Dan  "Shaw"  should  be  Dan  "Shea." 

P.  301,  A.  M.  "Preg"  should  be  A.  M.  "Perry." 

P.  305,  J.  J.  "Glouman''  should  be  J.  J.  "Gossman." 

P.  305,  "Lange  Moritz"  should  be  "Moritz  Lange." 

P.  306,  /.  T.  Shipley  should  be  J.  T.  Shipley. 

P.  311,  "Miller  &  Geising"  and  "Meyer  &  Dostal"  are  correct  names  of 
firms  misspelled. 

P.  313,  J.  J.  Hang  should  be  J.  J.  "Haug." 

P.  317,  r.  H.  Tower  should  be  ./.  II.  Tower. 


ALLAMAKEE  COUNTY. 

P.  320,  quotation  from  Gray,  third  line,  for  "warm  cell"  read 
cell." 

P.  327,  third  line,  for  "Umstead"  read  "Olmstead." 

P.  345,  for  "Racores"  read  "Rasores." 

P.  346,  for  "crustaceous"  read  "crustaceans." 

P.  346,  17th  line  from  bottom,  insert  "them"  after  "among," 

P.  350,  for  "manufactories"  read  "manufactures." 

P.  355,  for  "H.  A."  Rodgers.  read  "A.J." 

P.  355,  chap.  Ill,  line  2,  for  "prairies"  read  "plains-" 


ERRATA. 

• 

P.  361,  16th  line  from  bottom,  for  "Zerniali"  read  ''Zeruiah." 

P.  362,  Une  6,  for  "277"  read  "227." 

P.  370,  line  16,  insert  "to"  between  "line"  and  "west  side." 

P.  370,  line 34,  for  "words"  r^ad  "wares." 

P.  377,  line  2,  for  "Mirror'  read  "Intelligencer." 

P.  383,  in  1872,  for  Andrew  "Landry"  read  Andrew  "Sandry." 

P.  385,  7th  line  of  first  paragraph,  for  "from  one  source  and  another,"  read 
"from  one  source,  and  another  from  another." 

P.  389,  line  2  of  townships,  insert  "no"  between  "instances"  and  "fur- 
ther." 

P.  395,  line  22,  for  "first"  election  read  "next"  election. 

P.  398,  in  Postville,  insert  "Post"  after  "Mrs.  Zeruiah." 

P.  404,  and  p.  447,  for  Father  "Hare"  read  "Hore." 

P.  411,  for  "Smithwest"  read  ".Smethurst." 


ADDITIONAL  BIOGRAPHIES. 


WINNESHIEK  COUNTY. 


A.  T.  Amundson,  farmer,  Sec.  4,  P.  0.  Highlandville;  owns  190 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1834; 
is  the  oldest  son  of  Aniiind  and  Seuere  Amundson;  left  Norway 
in  1847,  came  to  America  and  located  in  Wis.;  stayed  there  five 
vears,  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  resided  here  since. 
He  was  married  in  1855  to  Miss  Gjertine  Johnson,  a  native  of 
Norway,  and  has  three  children,  Emanuel  S.,  AnnaM.  and  Albert. 
Mr.  A.  has  held  the  office  of  trustee  and  constable, 

T.  G.  Anderson,  farmer.  Sec.  15,  P.  0.  Highlandville;  owns  185 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1836; 
is  the  only  son  of  Gullik  and  Christina  Anderson;  left  Norway  in 
1854,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  111.;  stayed  there  three  years, 
and  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  He  was  married  in  1864  to 
Miss  Maria  Nelson,  a  native  of  Norway,  and  has  three  children, 
Gilbert,  Martha  C.  and  Tea  H.  He  has  held  the  office  of  trustee 
seven  years,  and  road  supervisor  two  years. 

Henry  Albertson,  farmer,  Sec.  4,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  Owns  300 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1825; 
is  the  second  son  of  Albers  and  Gertrude  Erickson.  When  he 
was  27  years  old  he  left  Norway,  came  to  America,  and  stopped 
in  Chicago  four  years;  then  came  to  lo.  and  settled  in  Sumner  tp., 
Winneshiek  Co.,  in  1855.  He  was  married  in  1854  to  Miss  Inge- 
bra  Ellingson,  a  native  of  Norway,  and  has  twelve  children,  Ed., 
Alber,  George,  Enida,  John,  Edward,  Henry,  Jennie,  Ellen,  Mary, 
Emma  and  Tena. 

Nels  E.  Berge,  farmer,  Sec.  21,  P.  0.  Highlandville;  owns  115 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $30  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1834; 
is  the  second  son  of  Ellef  aud  Guri  Berge;  left  Norway  in  1856, 
came  to  America  and  located  in  Wis,;  stayed  there  one  year,  then 
came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  resided  here  since.  He  was 
married  in  1865  to  Miss  Anna  Malina,  a  native  of  Norway,  by 
whom  he  had  two  children,  Ellef  and  Lars.  His  wife  died  in  1875, 
and  he  married  again  in  1882,  to  Miss  Guri  Suckquante,  a  native 
of  Norway;  they  have  one  child,  Guri« 

Theron  Rr  Bengham,  farmer,  residing  on  160  acres  in  Sec.  29, 
belong  ing  to  Mrs,  Sarah  Bengham,  his  mother.  He  was  born 
near  Waukegan,  111,,  in  1850,  and  in  1853  his  parents  came  to 
Iowa.  His  father,  Janies  Bengham,  pre-empted  land  and  settled 
and  improved  it.     He  died  Aug,  1st,  1881,  and  since  that  the  farm 


732  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY  BIOGRAPHIES. 

has  been  operated  by  his  son,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  There 
are  two  good  residences  on  the  farm,  one  occupied  by  himself  and 
the  other  b}'^  his  motber.  The  farm  is  well  stocked  with  cattle, 
hogs,  etc.,  and  the  land  is  valued  at  $30  per  acre.  He  married,  in 
1870,  at  Decorah,  Miss  Hattie  Near,  and  they  have  two  children, 
Freddie  and  Myrtie. 

Geo.  0.  Brunsvold,  farmer,  Sec.  32,  P.  0.  Highlandville;  owns 
418  acres  of  land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in 
1824;  is  the  third  son  of  Ole  0.  and  Betsy  Brunsvold;  left  Norway 
in  1849,  came  to  America  and  located  in  Wis.;  stayed  there  one 
and  one-half  years,  and  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  He  was 
married  in  1849  to  Miss  Julia  Arneson,  a  native  of  Norway,  and 
has  five  children,  Ole,  Belinda,  Arne,  George  and  Errick. 

John  J.  Bjerke,  farmer,  Sec.  15,  P.  0.  Highlandville;  owns  45 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1854; 
is  the  second  son  of  John  J.  and  Christie  Bjerke;  came  to  America 
in  1867  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.;  was  married  in  1881  to 
Miss  Maria  Larson,  a  native  of  lo.,  and  has  two  children  (twins), 
Julia  and  Ingebor.  He  has  held  the  office  of  school  director  one 
term. 

Ogden  Casterton,  farmer.  Sec.  30,  Highland  tp.;  P.  0.  Locust 
Lane;  owns  1,300  acres  of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born 
in  England  in  1830;  is  the  oldest  son  of  Zachariah  and  Jane  Cas- 
terton; left  England  in  1852,  came  to  America  and  located  in  III.; 
stayed  there  three  years,  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has 
resided  here  since.  He  was  married  in  1852  to  Miss  Mary  Kew,  a 
native  of  England,  and  has  ten  children,  William  0.,  Emma  J., 
Ellen,  Mary  A.,  Carrie,  Clara,  Nettie,  Bertha,  Grace  and  Charles. 
Mr.  C.  has  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  two  years. 

William  0.  Casterton.  farmer.  Sec.  17,  P.  0.  Locust  Lane;  was 
born  in  111.  in  1854;  is  the  oldest  son  of  Ogden  and  Mary  Caster- 
ton; left  111.  with  his  parents  in  1856,  came  to  Winneshiek  Co., 
and  has  resided  here  since.  He  was  married  in  1878  to  Miss  Eliz- 
abeth Halse,  a  native  of  lo.,  and  has  one  child,  Hilda  E. 

Fanny  Darrington,  Sec  19,  P.  0.  Hesper;  owns  525  acres  of  land 
valued  at  $30  per  acre;  was  born  in  England  in  1831;  is  the  sec- 
ond daughter  of  William  and  Jane  Kew;  left  England  in  1855; 
came  to  America  and  located  in  111.;  stayed  there  three  years,  then 
came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  resided  here  since.  She  was 
married  in  1856  to  Mr.  Joseph  Darrington,  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, and  has  ten  children,  Eliza  J.,  Joseph,  John,  Anna,  Frank, 
Eddie  W.,  Flora  E.,  Arthur  L.,  Mary  A.  and  Walter  J.  Mr.  Dar- 
rington died  May  13th,  188^. 

Jacob  Faulk,  farmer,  owns  160  acres  in  Sec.  4,  and  40  acres  in 
Sec.  9,  in  Washington  tp.  He  was  born  in  Strasbourg,  Germany, 
in  1824,  and  was  employed  at  farm  work  with  his  father  and 
neighbors  until  1851.  He  then  came  to  America,  and  settled  near 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  where  he  resided  six  years  in  the  employ  of  the 


WINNESHIEK  COUNTY  BIOGRAPHIES.  733 

government,  teaming  for  the  penitentiary.  In  the  spring  of  1857 
he  came  to  this  state  and  settled,  having  been  here  two  years  pre- 
vious, selected  a  location  and  taken  a  claim.  He  has  thoroughly 
improved  the  land,  has  now  one  of  the  best  improved  farms  in 
the  county,  and  his  buildings  are  superior  to  anything  in  the 
neighborhood,  having  a  magnificent  residence,  fitted  with  every 
comfort  and  convenience.  His  large  and  convenient  barns  are 
also  fitted  in  a  thorough  manner  for  the  comfort  of  stock  and 
convenience  of  storage.  The  160  acres  which  constitutes  the 
home  farm  is  all  under  the  plow  with  the  exception  of  lots  neces- 
sary for  buildings,  hog  pastures,  etc.,  and  is  well  stocked  with  a 
good  herd  of  fine  grade  cattle,  flock  of  sheep,  and  a  fine  drove  of 
hogs.  He  has  six  head  of  horses  and  uses  two  teams  on  the  farm. 
He  has  filled  various  offices  in  the  township.  He  was  married  in 
Pa.  in  1855  to  Miss  Mary  Glass,  and  their  children  are,  Eliza, 
Anna,  Mary,  Caroline  and  Sallie. 

A.  F.  Gaertner,  proprietor  of  Twin  Springs  Brewery,  was  born 
in  Lorain,  France,  in  1634;  came  with  his  parents  to  America  in 
1848,  and  settled  in  New  Orleans.  His  father  was  a  gardener  and 
florist  by  trade.  They  resided  in  New  Orleans  eight  years,  during 
which  time  he  learned  the  trade  of  cooper  and  brewer.  In  May, 
1856,  he  came  to  lo.,  and  located  at  the  Old  Mission  Indian  Agen- 
cy reserve,  in  what  is  now  this  tp.,  and  took  a  claim  on  Sec.  34, 
being  160  acres,  at  the  government  price.  He  farmed  and  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  cooper  there  until  1864.  He  bought  the  brew- 
ery that  had  been  established  in  1859  by  C.  S.  Centlivre,  moved 
there,  extended  it  and  made  many  great  improvements,  and  in 
1866  he  sold  his  farm.  Nov.  12th,  1879,  the  brewery  was  burned 
down,  and  he  at  once  rebuilt  sufficient  to  carry  on  his  business, 
with  a  capacity  of  5,000  barrels  a  year.  Mr.  Gaertner  was  one  of 
the  first  actual  settlers.  He  served  as  constable  in  1857.  and  was 
also  clerk  of  this  tp.  for  seven  years  before  it  Avas  divided.  He 
resided  in  Ossian  from  1869  to  1875;  was  in  the  saloon  business, 
and  was  also  justice  of  the  peace.  He  has  also  officiated  for  several 
years  as  justice  of  the  peace;  in  this  tp.;  and  is  a  notary  public, 
commissioned  in  1877,  and  in  this  capacity  does  a  good  business,  the 
population  surrounding  being  entirely  German,  and  a  large  major- 
ity unacquainted  with  any  language  but  their  own.  He  is  able  to 
converse  in  as  well  as  write,  French,  German,  Spanish,  English  and 
Latin.     He  was  married  in  New  Orleans,  to  Mrs.  Mary  Handz. 

Josiah  Goddard,  Jr.,  owns  320  acres  in  Sec.  24,  in  Jackson  tp; 
where  he  resides,  and  80  acres  in  Washington  tp..  Sec.  18.  He 
was  born  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  in  1829,  and  went  with  his  parents  in 
1847  to  Rockford,  III.  In  1849  he  went  to  California,  and 
remained  until  1853,  and  in  the  spring  of  that  year  came  to  lo.  and 
located  here.  The  following  year  he  bought  about  4,000  acres 
of  land  at  the  government  price,  and  sold  all  but  what  he  now 
owns.     The  320  in  this  tp,  is  all  improved,  and  a  fine  rolling  prai- 


734  WINNHSHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

rie,  except  50  acres  of  timber,  and  is  well  stocked.  His  improve- 
ments are  all  of  the  first  class,  a  handsome  residence,  comfortable 
and  large  barns,  and  all  necessary  farm  buildings.  Mr.  Goddard 
was  married  in  1866,  in  Wis.,  to  Martha  A.  Tubbs,  and  their 
children  are  Martha  A.,  Granger  and  Charles. 

F.  K.  Goddard,  •farmer,  Sec.  19,  P.  0.  New  Albia;  owns  389 
acres  of  land  valued  at  |20  per  acre;  was  born  in  1833  in  Mich.; 
is  the  fourth  son  of  Josiah  and  Hannah  Goddard;  settled  in  Win- 
bago  Co.,  111.,  in  1847,  but  in  1848  went  to  Greene  Co.,  Wis.,  and 
in  1849  finally  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  lo.,  where  he  has  lived 
since.  He  was  married  in  1856  to  Miss  Mandy  Perry,  a  native  of 
N.  Y.,  and  has  six  children,  Georgeanna,  May  D.,  Lida  B.,  Bernice 
B.,  Gertrude  and  John  L.     He  has  been  collector  and  tp.  trustee, 

A,  L.  Goddard,  Seedsman,  and  proprietor  of  the  Pride  of  the 
North  seed  farm,  80  acres,  in  Sec.  18,  Washington  tp.  He  was 
born  in  Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  in  1838.  In  1847  his  parents  moved 
to  Greene  Co.,  111.,  and  in  the  following  year  to  Wis.,  and  two 
years  later  they  came  to  Iowa  and  settled  at  the  old  Fort,  which 
was  then  just  evacuated.  The  county  was  not  organized  at  that 
time,  and  there  was  no  settlement  between  here  and  McGregor, 
except  at  Monona.  On  the  land  he  now  resides  was  located  the 
Winnebago  trading  post.  The  land  was  transferred  to  the 
school  fund,  and  his  father  bought  it  at  $1.25  per  acre;  in  all,  320 
acres;  which  he  broke  up  and  improved.  In  Aug.,  1862,  the 
subject  of  his  sketch,  enlisted  in  the  38th  la.  Inf.,  Co,  D.,  under 
Capt.  Kirkuf ,  served  2^  years,  and  was  discharged  on  account  of 
disability.  He  returned  home  and  resumed  farming  with  his 
father.  He  established  the  Seed  farm  in  1879;  was  formerly  in 
connection  with  Hiram  Sibley  &  Co.,  and  still  supplies  them  with 
seed  corn,  etc.,  and  has  established  the  reputation  of  being  the  best 
expert  in  seed  'corn  in  the  United  States.  His  father,  Josiah 
Goddard,  Sr.,  is  a  pensioner  of  1812,  and  is  now  92  years  old.  He 
was,  in  the  early  davs,  school  fund  commissioner,  and  had  charge 
of  the  mission  and  Fort  for  some  time.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Hannah 
Goddard  is  still  living,  and  is  85  years  old.  They  are  the  oldest 
couple  in  the  tp,,  and  reside  with  their  son,  who  is  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  He  was  married  in  McGregor  in  1867  to  Minnie 
Schanck,  and  their  children  are  Henry,  Kittie,  Horace  and  Lucretia. 

Knud  L.  Grindeland,  farmer.  Sec.  17.,  P.  0.  Highlandville,  owns 
167  acres  of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in 
1846;  is  the  oldest  son  of  Louis  and  Cecilia  Grindeland;  left  Nor- 
way with  his  mother  in  1851,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  111.; 
stayed  there  two  years,  and  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.  He 
was  married  in  1867  to  Miss  Isabella  Olson,  a  native  of  lo.,  and 
has  five  children,  Julia,  Louis,  Emma,  Ollaf  and  Albert.  He  en- 
listed in  1862  in  Co.  F,  9th  lo.  Cav.,  and  served  three  years. 

John  Heley,  farmer^  Sec.  29,  P.  0.  Spillville;  owns  120  acres  of 
land  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Bohemia  in  1849;  is  the 


WllTNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  735 

oldest  son  of  Peter  and  Anna  Heley.  When  he  was  five  years  old 
his  parents  left  Norway,  came  to  America,  and  lived  in  Hamilton, 
Canada  West,  two  years;  then  came  to  lo.,  and  settled  in  Winne- 
shiek Co.  He  was  married  in  1875  to  Miss  Anna  Komas.  a  native 
of  Bohemia,  and  has  three  children,  Peter,  Albert  and  Mary. 

J.  W.  Holmes,  farmer,  Sec.  20,  P.  0.  New  Albia;  owns  352 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  N.  Y.  in  1830; 
is  the  second  son  of  Elias  and  Susan  Holmes;  lived  in  N.  Y.  till 
he  was  thirty  years  old,  then  came  west  and  settled  in  Wis.,  where 
he  remained  eight  years.  He  then  moved  to  Winneshiek  Co., 
where  he  has  since  resided.  He  was  married  in  1866  to  Mrs.  Har- 
riet L.  Blair,  a  native  of  N.  Y.,  and  has  an  adopted  daughter.  Hat- 
tie  E. 

Lewis  Johnson,  farmer.  Sec.  3,  P.  0.  Ridgeway;  owns  80  acres 
of  land  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1833;  is 
the  second  son  of  John  Johnson.  When  he  was  22  years  of  age 
he  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Winnesheik  Co.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1857  to  Miss  Jennie  Oleson  a  native  of  Norway,  and  has 
five  children,  John,  Giles,  Berthana  L.  Janie  and  Julia. 

Peter  Jacobs,  farmer,^  Sec.  23,  P.  0.  Fort  Atkinson ;  owns  80 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Penn.  in  1846; 
is  the  fourth  son  of  Paul  and  Clara  Jacobs.  When  he  was  twen- 
ty-six years  old  he  left  Penn  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co.,  lo., 
in  1872,  and  has  lived  there  since.  He  was  married  in  1872  to 
Miss  Hattie  Slater,  a  native  of  Wis.,  and  hasfour  children,  Wilson 
P.,  Alice  E.,  Curtis  E.,  and  Paul  H.  Mr.  Jacobs]  has  held  the 
office  of  assessor  and  is  at  present  justice  of  the  peace. 

Grunlek  Kittelson,  farmer.  Sec.  29,  P.  0.  Locust  Lane;  owns  165 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1845; 
is  the  fourth  son  of  Kittle  and  Guneld  Olson;  left  Norway  in 
1862,  came  to  America,  and  settled  in  Wis.;  stayed  there  three 
years,  then  came  to  Minn.,  where  he  lived  one  year,  and  then  came 
to  Winneshiek  Co.  He  was  married  in  1879  to  Miss  Isabella  Gu- 
lickson,  a  native  of  Norway,  and  has  two  children,  Guneld  J.  and 
Charley. 

James  Kodelka,  farmer.  Sec.  20,  P.  0.  Spillville;  owns  80  acres 
of  land  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Bohemia  in  1849;  is 
the  oldest  son  of  John  and  Anna  Kodelka.  When  he  was  seven- 
teen years  of  age  he  came  to  America,  and  settled  in  Winneshiek 
Co.;  lo.,  Avhere  still  resides.  He  was  married  in  1873  to  Miss  Mary 
Voika,  a  native  of  Bohemia  and  has  three  children,  Mary,  Albert 
and  Frank.  He  enlisted  in  18G8  in  the  1st  regt.  U.  S.  Inft.,  at 
Detroit,  served  three  years,  and  was  honorably  discharged  in  1871. 

Joseph  Krischke,  architect,  carpenter,  cabinet  maker,  and  con- 
tractor, Fort  Atkinson;  was  born  in  Vienna,  Austria,  in  1838. 
learned  his  trade  and  profession  there,  and  in  1865  went. to  Mexi- 
co, and  lived  in  Yucatan  two  years.  He  then  went  to  Cuba,  and 
worked  two  years  in  Havana,  and  then  he  went  to  New  York  and 


736  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY  BIOGRAPHIES. 

worked  two  months,  coming  thence  to  lo.,  locating  in  this  place, 
and  establishing  business.  Mr.  K.is  the  only  contractor  here,  and 
furnishes  plans  and  specifications  for  all  kinds  of  buildings, 
churches,  schools,  farm  and  town  residences,  barns,  etc.  He  is  a 
first  class  mechanic.  Mr.  K.  resides  in  town,  and  owns  good  pro- 
perty, residence  and  lots.  He  was  married  in  the  old  country  to 
his  first  wife,  now  deceased,  by  whom  he  has  two  children,  Joseph, 
and  Mary  Ellen,  and  was  married  in  the  spring  of  1871,  to  Miss 
Mary  Ann  Hoefeld.  Their  children  are  Katie,  Frank,  Matilda 
and  Amelia. 

Mathia  Lesch,  farmer,  Sec.  28,  P.  0.  Spill ville;  owns  160  acres 
of  land  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in  Germany  in  1830;  is 
the  oldest  son  of  John  and  Theresa  Lesch.  When  he  was  20 
years  old  he  came  with  his  parents  to  America  and  settled  in 
Winnesheik  Co.,  and  has  lived  there  since.  He  was  married  in 
1854  to  Miss  Eva  Coon  a  native  of  Germany,  by  which  marriage 
he  had  three  children,  Theresa,  John  and  Caroline.  His  wife 
died  in  1872,  and  he  was  married  in  1875  to  Miss  Anna  Bonnova, 
a  native  of  Germany,  by  whom  he  had  four  children,  Joseph, 
Fred,  Lany  and  Philip. 

Martin  Lukesh,  farmer,  Sec.  19,  owns  160  acres  of  land  valued 
at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Bohemia  in  1813;  is  the  oldest  son  of 
Frank  and  Rosalia  Lukesh.  In  1851  Mr.  Lukesh  left  Bohemia 
and  came  to  America,  settled  in  Winnesheik  Co.,  lo.,  and  has  been 
a  resident  of  that  Co.  since.  He  was  married  in  1841  to  Miss 
Anna  Kodelka,  a  native  of  Bohemia,  and  has  seven  children, 
Frank,  Wenzel,  Joseph,  Ferdinand,  Ignatious,  Rosie  and  Mary. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  for  some 
years. 

J.  E.  McCarthey,  farmer.  Sec.  21,  P.  0.  New  Albia;  owns  300 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  1839  in  Otsego 
Co.,  N.  Y.;  is  the  sixth  son  of  Patrick  and  Catharan  McCarthey. 
When  he  was  fiteen  years  of  age  he  moved  with  his  father  to 
Winneshiek  Co..  and  has  been  a  resident  here  since.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1866  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Smith,  a  native  of  N.  Y.,  and  has 
two  children,  Hattie  0.  and  Grant  E.  He  has  been  township 
trustee  several  terms.  Mr.  McCarthey  enlisted  in  1864,  and  served 
in  Co.  C,  13th  lo.  Inft.;  participated  in  the  battle  of  Kingston,  N. 
C,  in  the  spring  of  1865,  and  was  discharged  in  June,  1865,  at 
Washington,  D.  C. 

J.  B.  Munro,  wool  manufacturer  and  proprietor  of  Bear  Creek 
woolen  mills,  Highland  tp.,  Winneshiek  Co.;  P.  0.  Highland  ville; 
was  born  in  Canada  in  1850;  is  the  oldest  son  of  John  and  Anna 
Munro;  left  Canada  in  1863,  went  to  N.  Y.,  remained  there  one 
year  and  then  went  to  Penn.,  where  he  lived  one  and  one-half 
years;  then  went  to  Mich,  and  stayed  two  and  one-half  years, 
when  he  came  to  lo.  He  lived  in  different  parts  of  the  state  until 
1879,  when  he  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  and  has  resided  there  since. 


WINNESHIEK  COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES.  737 

Nels  Nelson,  farmer,  Sec.  16,  P.  0.  Highland ville;  owns  200 
acres  of  land  valued  at  ^25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway  in  1836; 
is  the  oldest  son  of  Nels  and  Margaret  Nelson;  left  Norway  in 
1853,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Winneshiek  Co. ;  was  married 
in  1859  to  Miss  Johanna  Nelson,  a  native  of  Norway,  hy  whom  he 
had  one  child,  Andrew.  His  wife  died  in  1868,  and  he  was  mar- 
ried in  1869  to  Mary  Johnson,  a  native  of -Norway;  they  have  two 
children,  Gustave  and  Johanna.  Mr.  N.  has  held  the  office  of  Co. 
supervisor  two  terms,  and  tp.  clerk  ten  years, 

Moses  Oren,  farmer,  Sec.  17,  P.  0.  Hesper;  owns  213  acres  ot 
land  valued  at  |25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1840;  is  the  fifth 
son  of  Alexander  and  Lydia  Oren;  left  Ohio  in  1854,  and  came  to 
Minn.;  stayed  there  ten  years,  then  came  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  where 
he  has  resided  since.  He  was  marrid  in  1867  to  Miss  Emily  J. 
Wilson,  a  native  of  N,  Y.,  and  has  two  children,  Clarence  H.  and 
Glen  W.     He  has  held  the  office  of  tp.  trustee  five  years. 

Ole  Olson,  farmer,  Sec.  13.  Pleasant  tp.,  P.  0.  Highlandville; 
owns  305  acres  of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Norway 
in  1820;  is  the  second  son  of  JOleand  Torber  Semonsen;  left  Nor- 
way in  1849,  came  to  America  and  located  in  Wis;  stayed  there 
ten  years,  then  came  to  Winnesheik  Co.  and  has  resided  here 
since.  He  was  married  in  1860  to  Miss  Jane  Munson,  a  native  of 
Norway, 

Peter  Olson,  miller  and  proprietor  of  Highlandville  Mills,  was 
born  in  Norway  in  1825;  is  the  oldest  son  of  Ole  and  Anna  Seni- 
monson;  left  Norway  in  1854,  came  to  America  and  located  in 
Winnesheik  Co..  where  he  has  resided  ever  since.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1852  to  Miss  Anna  Anderson,  a  native  of  Norway,  and 
had  two  children,  Lydia  and  Laura.  His  wife  died  in  1854,  and  he 
married  again  in  1857,  to  Miss  Jane  Gjermundson,  a  native  of 
Norway;  they  have  five  children,  Henry,  Sarah,  Simon,  Charley 
and  Julia. 

George  P.  Painter,  farmer.  Sec.  20, Pleasant  tp.;  P.  0.  Decorah; 
was  born  in  Winneshiek  Co.  in  1850;  is  the  second  son  of  Wil- 
liam and  Elizabeth  Painter;  was  married  in  1871  to  Miss  Annie 
Russell,  a  native  of  lo.,  and  has  one  child,  Herbert. 

Philip  Pfister,  Jr.,  farmer.  Sec.  4,  P.  0.  Locust  Lane;  owns  280 
acres  of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Germany  in 
1846;  is  the  second  son  of  Philip  and  Margaret  Pfister;  left  Ger- 
many with  his  parents  in  1854,  came  to  America  and  settled  in 
Winneshiek  Co.,  where  he  has  resided  ever  since.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1874  to  Miss  Eliza  Falk,  a  native  of  Penn;  and  has  four 
children,  Lena,  Charley,  Margaret  and  Eliza. 

Araund  A.  Rosvold,  farmer.  Sec.  10,  P.O.  Thoten;  Glenwood 
tp.;  owns  140  acres  of  land  valued  at  $20  per  acre;  was  born  in 
Norway  in  1839:  is  the  oldest  son  of  Amund  and  Ingebor  Rosvold; 
left  Norway  in  1860,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Winneshiek 
Co.;  was  married  in  1860  to  Miss  Anna  Anderson,  a  native  of 


738  WINNESHIEK   COUNTY   BIOGRAPHIES. 

Norway,  and  has  two  children,  Isabella  M.  and  Betsey  A.  Mr. 
Rosvold  served  one  year  in  Co.  1, 13th  lo.  Inft.,  and  was  discharged 
at  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  1865. 

John  J.  Teiska,  farmer,  Sec.  35,  P.  0.  Spillville;  owns  120  acres 
of  land  valued  at  $25  per  acre;  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1854;  is  the 
oldest  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Teiska.  When  he  was  two  years 
old  his  parents  moved  to  Winneshiek  Co.,  lo.,  and  he  has  been  a 
resident  of  that  Co.  since.  He  was  married  in  1876  to  Miss  Mary 
Such  ana,  a  native  of  Bohemia,  and  has  three  children,  Mary,  Vic- 
toria and  James. 

Benjamin  Vaughn,  farmer,  Jackson  tp;  owns  680  acres  in  Sees. 
11  and  14,  and  80  acres  near  Fort  Atkinson.  He  was  born  in 
Lower  Canada,  near  Montreal,  in  1801,  and  was  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  the  real  estate  and  loan  business  there  until  1858,  when 
he  sold  out  and  came  to  lo.,  settled  here,  bought  1,200  acres,  and 
commenced  improving  the  land,  assisted  by  his  sons.  He  has 
disposed  of  all  except  the' above  mentioned  laud,  which,  save  the 
80  acres  of  timber,  is  fine  farming  land,  rolling  enough  for 
drainage,  and  without  any  waste  land,  it  being  all  under  plow  or 
in  pasture.  The  family  reside  on  Sec.  11,  have  a  fine  residence, 
extensive  barns  and  a  large  amount  of  stock.  Mr.  Vaughn  served 
in  the  British  ranks  during  the  Canadian  rebellion,  and  took  an 
active  part.  His  father  held  a  commission  in  the  British  ranks 
during  the  revolution.  He  had  come  to  the  colonies  in  an  early 
day,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  revolution,  entered  the  British 
ranks,  and  afterwards  went  to  Canada  where  Benj.  Vaughn,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born. 


INDEX  TO  ADDITIONAL  BIOGRAPHIES. 


•<>►-<$•  ^.<>.»— 


Amundson,   A.  T 781 

Anderson,  T.  G 781 

Albertson.  Henry 731 

Berge.  Nels  E 731 

Benghain,  Theron  R 731 

Brunsvold;  Geo.  R 782 

Bjerke,  John  J 732 

Casterton,  Ogden 732 

Casterton,  William  0 732 

Dan-ington,  Fannv 782 

Faulk.  Jacob....'. 732 

Gaertner,  A.  F 733 

Godd  \j'd,  Josiah 733 

Goddard.  F.  K 784 

Goddard,   A.  L 784 

Grindeland,  Knud-L 784 

Heley,  John 784 

Holmes,  J.  W 735 


Johnson,  Lewis 735 

Jacobs,  Peter 785 

Kittelson,  Genlek 735 

Kodelka,  James 735 

Krischke,  Joseph 735 

Lesch,  Mathia 736 

Lukesh,  Martin 786 

McCarthey,  J.  E 736 

Munro,  J.  B 736 

Nelson,  Nels 737 

Oren,  Moses 737 

Olson,  Ole 737 

Olson,  Peter 737 

Painter,  Geo.  P 737 

Pfister,  Philip 737 

Rosvold,  Amund  A 737 

Teiska,  John  J 7:38 

Vaughn,  Benjamin 738 


3"