USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > History of O'Brien County, Iowa, from its organization to the present time > Part 1
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HISTORY
OF
O'BRIEN COUNTY IOWA
M. L
Gc 977.701 Ob6pe 1132465
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
1
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00829 5013
12.50
D. A. W. PERKINS.
HISTORY OF
O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA
FROM ITS ORGANIZATION TO THE PRESENT TIME
BY D. A. W. PERKINS.
1897: BROWN & SAENGER, PRINTERS, SIOUX FALLS, S. D.
TO THE OLD SETTLERS OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, WITH WHOM THE WRITER HAS, FOR A QUARTER CENTURY,
BORNE THE BURDEN
AND HEAT OF THE DAY, AND SHARED LIFE'S ALTERNATE EXPERIENCES OF JOY AND SORROW, THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY
DEDICATED.
0
1132465
PREFACE.
It is thirty-six years since O'Brien County was organized, and twenty-five years, since the writer of these pages became a resident. It was thought best to write its history, for, as the years go on apace, much that pertains to its early settlement will be lost to oblivion, unless rescued, before all of its early settlers pass on to the silent majority.
Compared with most of the counties of Iowa, O'Brien is, after all, still young in the years of its organization, for, as a matter of municipal or governmental history, it is not a long stretch of time, since there was broken the first furrow of its soil, and since the smoke from its first cabin, curled to the as- tonished clouds.
· There is herein, no attempt at literary proficiency or dis- tinction. It is only a desire to tell the simple unvarnished tale; to write such facts as shall constitute a record of what has gone before, and up to the present date, from which point some future historian may continue the history, when we, who were active participants in its early struggles, shall have passed away.
00-201
THE NAME.
In 1850, the Iowa State Legislature appointed a committee, for the purpose of giving names to fifty of its counties. This committee in its various selections, desirous of honoring the patriots of Ireland, named some of its counties after these, among which is Emmett county, after Robert Emmett, and Mitchell county, after John Mitchell.
O'Brien county was named after William Smith O'Brien, who was born in 1803, and died in 1864. He was the co- temporary, and the coadjutor of Daniel O'Connell. He was a man of marked ability, and eminent and loyal, in his devotion to his native country. The prefix O is patronymic, as O'Brien, is significant as a descendant of Brien. The name of the county has a classical sound, and in connection with its origin, and the brave spirit of its namesake, is well bestowed.
LAWS PERTAINING TO ITS ORGANIZATION.
Section 27 of Chapter 9 of the laws of the Third General Assembly, creatcd a new county called Wahkaw, which is the present county of Woodbury.
Chapter 8 of the laws of the Fourth General Assembly, ap- proved January 12, 1853, entitled, “ An Act Organizing Cer- tain Counties Therein Named," provides for the organization of the County of Wahkaw, and the holding of a special elec- tion for that purpose.
And Section 14 of said Chapter reads as follows:
" Section 14. That for revenue, election and judicial purposes the counties of Ida, Sac, Buena Vista, Cherokee, Plymouth, Sioux, O'Brien, Clay, Dickinson, Osceola and Bun- comb, are hereby attached to Wahkaw, and the election for said county shall be held at Sargeant's Bluff, and as many
7
HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
other places as the organizing sheriff may designate in his notice of election."
Thomas L. Griffey was organizing sheriff of the county of Wahkaw.
Chapter 12 of the laws of the Fourth General Assembly, approved January 12, 1853, entitled, " An Act in Relation to New Counties," provides the manner in which citizens of an unorganized county may secure the organization of their county, by application to the county judge of the county, to which such organized county is attached, and also provides for establishing the county seat, notice of election, canvass of returns and qualifications of officers elected.
And Section 5 of said Chapter provides, that the name of the county of Wahkaw shall be changed to Woodbury.
Under these provisions of law, a petition was signed by the legal voters of O'Brien county. The petition was duly pre- sented to the county judge of Woodbury county, and the fol- lowing order made:
COUNTY COURT, Woodbury Co., Iowa, January 25th, 1860.
Whereas, a petition has been presented to this court, signed by Hannibal Waterman and seven other citizens of O'Brien county, Iowa, and J. C. Furber having made oath that the sig- natures to said petition, are a majority of the legal voters of said county, and
Whereas, the said petitioners ask that the said O'Brien county may be organized in accordance with the provisions of law upon the subject.
Now, therefore, I, John P. Allison, county judge of Wood- bury county, in the state of Iowa, do hereby order,
First: That the county of O'Brien, in the state of Iowa, be, and the same is hereby organized,from and after the twenty- fifth day of January, A. D. 1860.
Second: That an election be held in O'Brien county, and state aforesaid, at the dwelling house of Hannibal Waterman,
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
on Monday, the sixth day of February, A. D. 1860, for the purpose of electing county officers, and that J. C. Furber act as one of the judges of said election.
Third: It is ordered that J. C. Furber act as organizing sheriff, and that he post notices in three of the most public places in said O'Brien county, stating the time and place of holding said election, at least ten days prior to the election aforesaid, and make due return of his doings to this court.
JOHN P. ALLISON, County Judge.
This order resulted in the appointment of J. C. Furber as organizing sheriff, and an election was ordered to be held at the house of Hannibal Waterman, on the sixth day of Feb- ruary, 1860, at which time certain officers were elected to hold until the next general election, and this completed the county's organization.
HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
History is always interesting. While the great world at the present time, in its never ceasing and restless struggle, has little to do, but to bend its nervous energies in the various ave- nues of business, and to gratify ambition, still, in the human heart there is a love for that which has gone before. There is a longing for the ever varied and shifting scenes, which with their actors have made up the drama of life, but upon whose exit the curtain has long since dropped, and the lights extin- guished. Into that realm of events which constitutes the neg- lected and seemingly forgotten past, the mind of man enters with peculiar fascinatian, and we ponder them with absorbing interest.
It is not that alone that is interesting, which makes up the history of the great world itself, in its different ages, and its various climes.
The history of our experiences, and the experiences of those around us, which have come under our own observation, are equally cherished, for these invite the heart into other fields of fond recollection and affection, and more especially, when one after another of the actors with whom each are a part, are dropping from the ranks, and passing out through that mys- terious valley, which we call the shadow of death.
There ought to be the strongest ties of feeling between the old settlers of a country, who have remained with it, and borne the burden and heat of the day, and there is. By reason of the weakness of human nature, there may be sometimes a hos-
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
tile feeling over some petty and insignificant affair between neighbors, but, as a rule, the surviving settlers of a new coun- try, whose experiences run back quarter of a century, are at- tached to each other; it would be unnatural to be otherwise. Age may bring upon us its infirmities; it may palsy the limbs, and gather the crows' feet insidiously about the eyebrows, but as long as the faculties remain, we shall ever retain a feeling of fond recollection of the scenes and incidents of other days, and of those who shared with us its experiences, its joys, and sorrows. And then again, people who bear the same misfor- tunes together, become united in each others' interest, and are bound together.
Every new county has to wrestle in the throes of doubt and difficulty. The incoming population are generally of moderate means, and come for the purpose of building a home, and ac- quiring a competence. The first acts of settlement are liable to absorb the little that was brought with them, and for a time, it is a struggle with hardship, and sometimes for the necessa- ries of life.
In the spring of 1856, O'Brien county was without a settler. Its fair and fertile prairie land, was not disturbed with cultiva- tion. It was the home of the Indian, though none of this dusky tribe had their habitation within its borders, still, it was theirs on which to roam at their own sweet will, but under certain restrictions by the government. Hannibal H. Waterman, with his wife, Hannah H., and one child, Emily A., left their former residence in Bremer county, this state, to go further west, and on July following, landed in O'Brien county with two yoke of oxen, and their household goods.
The government land had not yet been surveyed, so that Mr. Waterman exercised his right as a squatter, and followed up with a filing afterwards, when the government land office was opened at Sioux City. The quarter section upon which he filed, was the northeast quarter of section 22, township 94, range 39, now Waterman civil township.
Mr. Waterman's first residence was constructed of logs,
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
which he obtained from the Sioux river, and was 18x22 feet, still upon the claim, but is rapidly falling into decay. The family lived in this first structure until 1860, when they had erected and occupied one more commodious than the first, and continued to occupy this, until 1887, when in April of that year it was burned.
In May, 1857, there was born to Mr. and Mrs. Waterman their daughter Anna, and she was the first white child born in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Waterman still live in the county. Anna, some years ago, married D. W. Kenyon. In 1888 they moved to Woodbine, Iowa, when Anna died on the 16th day of December, 1889.
The winter following Mr. Waterman's adventure into O'Brien county, was lonesome indeed. Far from settlement, and seemingly far from civilization. They lived through the weary and lengthening days of win- ter with nothing to cheer them, or to break the monotony of life, save the thought that spring-time was coming, and soon again, their eyes would be gladdened with the sight of green grass, and the beautiful prairie flower, and this gave them a heart of sunshine, even amid the snows of winter. Mr. Waterman had with him a hired man having only one arm, so that as far as he was concerned, might be considered single handed. Just at the approach H. H. WATERMAN. of winter, the hired man was started with the oxen on a mis- sion to Ft. Dodge, for 500 pounds of flour and 200 pounds of meal. He returned within a reasonable time for the journey, but was unable to obtain only a few hundred pounds of flour. In December following, the necessities of the household re- quired further supplies, and the hired man with the oxen, were again started out. This time he went to Shelby county, sev-
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
enty-five miles distant, and his trip was disastrous indeed. The winter of 1856-7 was a hard one, and under certain cir- cumstances, and in a new country, one's experiences often seem beyond human endurance. The hired man with the oxen, upon attempting to return, were snow-bound in Sac county at the home of a farmer, and the poor fellow seemed to have little else to do, but to explore the snow drifts for buried corn raised the year before, and this he did effectually enough while he was there, to keep the four oxen alive. The farmer had an eye to business, and was like many another shark which has preyed upon the misfortunes of others, and has robbed the poor in distress. He demanded one yoke of oxen for the feed, and the hired man left the oxen there and walked home. The oxen when they got to Mr. Waterman's, were illy fitted to go into the work of the season, but they arrived home in the spring of 1857, with the little meagre sup- ply of flour and meal.
The Indians at this time were not supposed to be trouble- some. They roamed freely, however, over the stretch of country extending west and north into Minnesota, and no doubt then realized that civilization, if such it is, was pushing them on towards the setting sun. These Indians, in bands of five to twenty, often visited at the Waterman habitation, and their first visit, was the following Sunday after the arrival of Mr. Water- man and his family. Their visits were always friendly; they offered no insult, gave no offense; but an Indian can be friendly, even when the heart of the treacherous savage is filled with intended outrage. In the spring of 1857, a band of about sixty Indians, roaming south from Minnesota, had captured and killed a large number of elk near Smithland, in Woodbury county. The settlers took their guns, and from some false report, the Indians became frightened away, leaving the elk and everything else behind them, and started on their way to Minnesota; the Waterman settlement lay direct in the path of their journey. The Smithland treatment had aroused all their natural proclivities to do evil. They were angered, and the
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
anger of an Indian meant hostility to the whites. It is a won- der, that when they reached the Waterman household, that they did not, in cold blood and cruelty, murder the entire family, and leave their scarred and scalped bodies lying in blood at their own hearthstone. The settlers near Smithland were blamed for this Indian trouble, as it was generally believed that they made a pretext for taking the guns, and the elk from the Indians. On their way back they stopped at Mr. Waterman's place, and seven of these swarthy fellows entered the house. They had been there before in friendly intercourse, but now, they were bent upon mischief. They appropriated the loose prop- erty around, consisting of some car- penter's tools, compass, and even Mr. Waterman's white shirt. They HANNAH H. WATERMAN. murmured their feelings of discontent in the jargon of their na- tive tongue, and the climax of their Indian wickedness seemed to be reached, when three of them leveled their guns upon Mr. Waterman, and fired. He was not harmed, however, as the firearms contained only powder. The firing was the result of some resistance shown by Mr. Waterman to their depredations, and, as it finally turned out, there was no intention to kill, there was only a desire to steal from the house, and at the same time to frighten the inmates.
The massacre at Spirit Lake, has long since, become a thrill- ing part of the history of Northwest Iowa. After leaving Mr. Waterman's house, this band committed some depredations at Peterson, in Clay county, and they were a part of the atrocious gang, which murdered and pillaged on the banks of West Okoboji.
The eastern part of the county is much broken with hills and deep gulches; this is so along the Sioux river and the
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
Waterman creek, so that an incoming settler who came along, would be most likely to settle where Mr. Waterman did, where fuel was plenty and water accessible, and where there was much shelter, compared with the bleak and unprotected prairie further west.
There soon followed another settler in O'Brien county, who was Fred Fieldman, but better, and generally known as “Dutch Fred."
The writer knew him well, and his peculiar originality was certainly a study. He claimed to have deserted from the army of King William, and felt that his seclusion here, was a matter of safety from the wrath of the Emperor. After the organiz- ation of the county, he often remarked, "They all hold office but me, and I am de peeples." In 1873, poor Dutch Fred was taken sick. He was living alone, but when his condition was known to the few around him, he was tenderly cared for. He absolutely refused to have a physician, and insisted, that his time had come, that he was bound to die anyhow, and he did die, and was buried on his claim in Waterman township, where a lonely grave contains all that was mortal of Dutch Fred. He settled and filed upon the north-east quarter of 34-94-39, the same township with Mr. Waterman.
The next real settlers were Daniel W. Inman, and his brother Chester W. They came in the spring of 1868; several others came that summer, and some in the fall. W. H. Baker came in the spring of 1869.
C. W. Inman married Kate Baker, a daughter of W. H. Baker. D. W. Inman moved from the county to Oregon sev- eral years ago. C. W. Inman died in 1894. His life was cruelly taken by a neighbor, who was convicted of manslaugh- ter, and sent to the penitentiary two years. Major Inman went into the army of the rebellion a private soldier, and by every grade to that of Major. At the last battle of the war, Ben- tonsville, he commanded the advance picket line of his own, and another regiment, under one of the most terriffic fires of musketry on record, and performed his difficult and hazardous
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
duty with such unflinching bravery, as to command encomi- ums from Gen. Logan.
Major Inman was like all the rest of us, he had his failings, but was not without his virtues. He had a kind heart and a sympathetic nature. The needy and the unfortunate, never left his door empty handed, when he was able to relieve them, and the highest of all religious virtues were indicated, when the Nazarene said to the young man, "One thing thou lackest, sell what thou hast and give to the poor." Mrs. Kate Inman, wife of the Major, resides in Primghar, with her family, a woman of matronly and refined character, and highly respected.
H. F. Smith, known by the old settlers, and still, known as Hank ANNA WATERMAN. Smith, came here when a boy from Illinois February 22, 1868, and landed in old O'Brien. He saw all the glories of this primitive village in its early days, when Murry, Crego and the rest of them, were active and flourishing.
Then, O'Brien had been deserted by Moses Lewis and the Tiffy gang, and among those then there, and about there, were the Inman brothers, R. B. Crego, H. H. Waterman, A. Murry, and Andrew Brown, a school teacher.
Mr. Smith was not of age then, and could not take a claim until several years after, so that he worked at various employ- ments principally with a team. In that same year there also came E. T. Parker, but he is hardly known by this name, as we universally call him Ed, and we mention him now in con- nection with Hank Smith, as they were about the same age, and were the livliest lads in the village. Ed. and his brother H. F. came together, drove across the state with a horse and buggy, but walked most of the way on account of the roads, and the load they had.
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
Mr. Parker came for the purpose of trapping, and knew of the country from his uncle W. H. Baker, who had previously come here in the spring of the same year. Soon after Mr. Parker's arrival, he traded the horse and buggy in on a span of mules, and if ever there is any period in the life of a young man, it is when he becomes the owner of a pair of mules.
Hank Smith and Ed. Parker were soon in partnership. Hank had a span of horses, so that between them, they were well equipped for teaming, and there was much of it to do. They really built the first bridge in the county, though thous- ands of dollars in warrants previous to that, had been issued, which never saw the light of day. The bridge was over a run, east of old O'Brien, and not far from the village.
They cut the native timber, made it into the proper length of logs, of which there were four, stretched across the run on proper rests, and on these, were placed five cross pieces. They then hauled logs to Peterson mill, which were sawed into planks, and with these in place, and the grading com- pleted, the bridge was done, and it was a good job. The boys were two days building it, and got $2 a day each, so that between them they earned $8, but this bridge cost the county $500, as this amount in warrants was issued to the contractor.
In January, 1869, Major Inman and W. H. Baker drove to Sioux City, for a load of merchandise. They had two teams hitched to a sled, but on their return, the snow was so deep, and the weather so bad, they left part of their load on the prairie, and owing to the difficulty of handling two teams in the snow, turned one loose, which strayed from them, was not found for six weeks, and then both horses were nearly dead. After their return to old O'Brien, they sent Ed. Parker and Hank Smith, with Parker's mules hitched to a sled, after the goods left on the prairie. The boys left old O'Brien in the morning, stopped at Cherokee over night, and the next morning started for the deserted goods which were left at whiskey slough, certainly a significant name, but in these days
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
of advanced settlement and prohibition, has been entirely lost sight of. They distinctly remember the quantity and quality of the grub they had, when they left Cherokee. It consisted of some coffee, sugar, frozen bread, some parboiled spare ribs, and a bottle of red jacket bitters, quite a lay out for pioneers. They found the goods, loaded them up, made a fire with a handful of wood they had taken along, and about sun down, started back. The weather was bad, the cold intense, and the snow deep.
They had to do considerable shoveling all the time to get through the snow; night was settling over them in its dark- ness; not a house anywhere near, and the snow sifting into their clothing, and blowing about them. The mules had REV. JAMES BICKNELL. given out, and Ed. Parker said to Hank, he thought their time had come at last, and the chances were exceedingly slim for any further joyous season of hilarity, in the jungles of old O'Brien. They stopped, because they could go no further, unhitched the mules and tied them to the sled. There was no place to sleep, and nothing in sight but a ceaseless tramp; the best they could do, was to keep from freezing to death.
Soon, Hank had the shovel digging a hole in the huge snow bank, and Ed. wanted to know what that was for, and was told, as death stared them in the face, he might as well dig the grave for their burial. He dug a hole large enough for them to crawl into and lie down, which they did, and with a rubber blanket, robes and fur coats, they were warm and comfortable, slept soundly until morning, awoke all right, and after break- fast, and under a clear sky, started home and finally reached there safely. When they found the deserted goods, there
2
THE OLD LOG COURT HOUSE.
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
were nine bottles of brandy bitters, which Baker was anxious to have them return with, as the settlement was out of stimu- lants, and none near by. When they did return, Baker made for the sled for his bitters, but all there was left of the nine bottles was half a bottle, and this made Baker so mad he shied the bottle at Hank and Ed, but both had an eye on him, and dodged the bottle.
INDIAN STEALTH.
Soon after Ed. Parker arrived at old O'Brien, he took his gun and wandered out through the timber, to see what he could kill. When about a mile north of the Baker residence, he scared up a deer not far away, and with his rifle killed it. The deer run quite a ways, leaving the snow with a trail of blood, and at last it fell. Ed. was following it, and when he was off a ways, the deer lying on the ground, he still blazed away with his rifle; this being his first deer, he did not pro- pose to have any doubt left of its being dead. Then, in his
0
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM WAGER.
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
youthful enthusiasm and excitement over killing the deer, he started on the run for Baker's house, took a straight line through the brush and among stumps, and when he reached the Baker fence he did not even turn aside for a gate, but went straight ahead, leaping the fence, even with the gate open close to him. Out of breath, he managed to shout his won- derful achievement in killing a deer, and the rest of the party went out and brought it in.
INDIAN ATTACK UPON MR. WATERMAN.
An earlier settler than Smith or Parker, was S. B. Hurlbert, who was called Gov. Hurlbert. He came with his wife in 1866. Mrs. Hurlbert was the first white woman who lived on the west side of the Sioux river, in the county. Mr. Hurl- bert built a trapper's fort at the mouth of Hurlbert Creek, and at first put in his time trapping He was elected sheriff in the fall of 1869. Mr. Huilbert was a thoroughly frontier man, having lived in Wright county, Iowa, at an early day, when the family went seventy miles to mill. 'He now resides in Alluvia, Texas, engaged in photographing.
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