USA > Iowa > History of western Iowa, its settlement and growth. A comprehensive compilation of progressive events concerning the counties, cities, towns, and villages-biographical sketches of the pioneers and business men, with an authentic history of the state of Iowa > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61
Gc 977.7 H621h 1590179
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01080 9058
HISTORY
OF
WESTERN IOWA
ITS SETTLEMENT AND GROWTH,
A COMPREHENSIVE COMPILATION OF PROGRESSIVE EVENTS CONCERNING THE COUNTIES, CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES-BIOGRAPH- ICAL SKETCHES OF THE PIONEERS AND BUSI- NESS MEN, WITH AN AUTHENTIC
Ec 977.7 H621h HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
SIOUX CITY: WESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1882.
Daily Journal Steam Print,
Sioux City, Iowa.
1590179
PREFACE.
Ew enterprises are more liable to misunderstanding than a work of this char acter. The main trouble arises from confounding it with books in general. A large, elegantly-bound volume-maybe a History of the World, or of some particular Nation, or embracing a scope of interest to a very considerable portion of mankind, in the gathering of material for which the continuous time and labor of but one person have been employed, and the sales of which are equally extensive and continuous with the very general and comprehensive na- ture of the whole-such a volume,-we say, finds purchasers at so low a price as to make that asked for a work of the kind herewith presented seem dispropor- tionately large.
Perhaps it is a work of fiction that is offered the purchasing public. Very well; the "Novel" is sumptuously bound, artistically illustrated, and contains a great number of closely printed pages; yet its price per copy is even less than that for which the Publishers offer their HISTORY OF WESTERN IOWA. Hence, not infrequently individuals leap nnthinkingly to inadequate and necessarily hasty conclusions, such as, that the price asked is exorbitant, and so on, for quantity. Such a mode of overleaping reasonableness naturally leads to de- preciation of the enterprise, and per consequence, many highly creditable works, having begun their career with a "damning by faint praise," have ended it in unthinking condemnation.
Now, it is not the intention to argue or philosophize. We herewith present the results of half a year's diligent labor, which has occupied the entire time and at- tention of a number of competent men-labor not of the most inviting kind, but of a sort akin to drudgery. And not only time and work, but money also to a not inconsiderable amount, has been expended. The Publishers ask you to re- member that the HISTORY OF WESTERN IOWA has been compiled for you; that its sales are limited almost wholly to that portion of country the facts concern- ing which it recounts; that, were it possible to send the books broadcast over the country, and sell them in every city, village and hamlet, the selling price could, and would, be proportionately reduced. The work is intended mainly for home consumption; the expense is large, the sales disproportionately small. In presenting this work to the citizens of Western Iowa, we do so at the very low- est possible margin of profit, and that, even, problematic.
With these remarks, we trust we have established relations of friendly un- derstanding with every candid patron. The nature and plan of the work were fully ex luined in the PROSPECTUS, to the promises of which we have endeav- ored strictly to adhere. There are errors, of course; no book was ever published
6
PREFACE.
that did not contain errors. These are most likely, in this instance, to occur in the Biographical Departments of the work. The persons approached by a mem- ber of the Publishing Staff in many instances themselves unintentionally give incorrect information; the historian has no other means of knowing, and so, trusting to the accuracy of the informant-especially as the matter sought is of personal concern to the informant himself-he "makes a note" of it, and trans- cribes it for the HISTORY. Hence, patrons should judge leniently concerning such errors as may appear; for, in both the matter ot compiling and printing, . no pains have been spared to insure the strictest accuracy.
It goes without the saying. that it is not to the interest of either the Pub- lishers or their employes to pervert the facts in any case to the help or hurt of any one.
And so, asking only a recognition of the difficulties, risk and unavoidable obstacles in the way of such an undertaking, we launch the HISTORY OF WEST- ERN IOWA upon the sea of popular favor, confident that it will meet with a reception in some degree commensurate to its merits.
Very Respectfully,
March, 1882.
THE PUBLISHERS.
CONTENTS.
Page.
EARLY HISTORY OF IOWA.
9
Indian Wars 23
Indian Purchases, Reserves
and Treaties.
32
Territorial History
49
State Organization
59
Agricultural College
66
State University
67
State Historical Society
72
Penal Institutions
73
Insane Asylum
74
Blind Asylums
75
Deaf and Dumb Institute
76
Soldiers' Orphans' Homes
77
State Normal School
78
Asylum for Feeble-Minded
79
Reform School
80
Fish Hatchery
81
Public Lands
82
School System
99
Political Record.
104
War Record.
110
Abstracts of Iowa Laws
117
Rules for Everyday Use.
149
Population of Iowa.
156
Population of United States
158
Geological and Physical Features. 159
WOODBURY COUNTY
175
Sioux City.
181
Sloan.
214
Sioux City Biographies
217
Sloan Biographies
241
MONONA COUNTY
243
Onawa
248
Mapleton.
252
Whiting
255
Page.
Onawa Biographies
.255
Mapleton Biographies
257
Whiting Biographies
259
CHEROKEE COUNTY
260
Cherokee
267
Marcus
274
Cherokee Biographies
276
Marcus Biographies
283
HARRISON COUNTY
285
Mondamin.
290
River Sioux
293
Woodbine
295
Modale.
298
Dunlap
301
Little Sioux
306
Missouri Valley
Logan.
.314
County Details
319
Missouri Valley Biographies.322
Logan Biographies
328
Mondamin Biographies.
.337
Modale Biographies.
339
Little Sioux Biographies.
.340
Woodbine Biographies
343
Dunlap Biographies.
347
Magnolia Biographies.
354
River Sioux Biographies
355
O'BRIEN COUNTY
356
Primghar.
357
Sheldon.
359
Sanborn
363
Hartley.
365
Sheldon Biographies
366
Primghar Biographies
369
Hartley Biographies.
372
Sanborn Biographies.
.373
8
CONTENTS.
Page
OSCEOLA COUNTY.
377
Sibley
378
Ashton.
382
Sibley Biographies
382
PLYMOUTH COUNTY
.387
LeMars
388
LeMars Biographies
395
SHELBY COUNTY
403
Harlan.
405
Harlan Biographies
414
CLAY COUNTY
430
Spencer.
431
Spencer Biographies
436
BUENA VISTA COUNTY
440
Storm Lake.
442
Sioux Rapids
448
Alta.
450
Newell.
452
Storm Lake Biographies
454
Alta Biographies.
460
Newell Biographies
461
CRAWFORD COUNTY
465
Denison
470
Vail
476
West Side
480.
Dow City
483
Page
Denison Biographies. 487
Vail Biographies.
492
West Side Biographies 496
Dow City Biographies
497
CARROLL COUNTY
499
Carroll City
503
Arcadia
508
Glidden
512
Carroll City Biographies
514
Arcadia Biographies.
518
Glidden Biographies 519
SAC COUNTY
522
Sac City. 528
Odebolt.
531
Wall Lake
534
Fletcher
536
Sac City Biographies
538
Odebolt Biographies
547
Wall Lake Biographies
553
Fletcher Biographies
555
IDA COUNTY
557
Ida Grove.
558
Battle Creek.
563
Ida Grove Biographies.
565
Battle Creek Biographies .. . 568
HISTORY OF IOWA.
DISCOVERY AND OCCUPATION.
The name Iowa is said to signify "The Beautiful 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 was the extreme western boundary of the United States. All the great empire lying west of the " Father of Waters," from the Gulf of Mexico on the south to British America on the north, and west- ward to the Pacific Ocean, was a Spanish province. A brief historical sketch of the discovery and occupation of this great empire by the Spanish and French governments will be a fitting introduction to the history of the young and thriving State of Iowa, which, until the commencement of the present century, was a part of the Spanish possessions in America.
Early in the Spring of 1542, 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 territory bordering on that river and the Gulf of Mexico. But it was also held by the European nations that, while discovery gave title, that title must be perfected by actual possession and occupation. Although Spain claimed the territory by right of first discovery, she made no effort to occupy it; by no permanent settlement had she perfected and held her title, and therefore had forfeited it when, at a later period, the Lower Mississippi Valley was re- discovered and occupied by France.
The labors of the zealous French Jesuits of Canada in penetrat- ing the unknown region of the West, commencing in 1611, form a history of no ordinary interest, but have no particular connec- tion with the scope of the present work, until in the Fall of 1665. 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 Indian nations was held. The Pottawatomies of Lake Michigan, the Sacs and Foxes of the West, the Hurons from the North, the
10
HIS TORY 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 assembled tribes the protection of the French nation against all their enemies, native or foreign.
The purpose of discovering the great river about which the Indian 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 extend the Dominion of France to the extreme western 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 consultation, formally announced to the assembled nations that their good French Father felt an abiding interest in their welfare, and had placed them all under the powerful protection of the French Government.
Marquette, during that same year, had gathered at Point St. Ignace the 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 project. 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 1673 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 implored 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 Marquette was delighted to find " a beautiful cross planted in the
11
HISTORY OF IOWA.
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 com- panion, 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 journeys.
Obtaining the services of two Miami guides, to conduct his little band to the Wisconsin River, he left the hospitable Indians on the 10th of June. Conducting them across the portage, their Indian guides returned to their village, and the little party descended the Wisconsin, to the great river which had so long been so anxiously looked for, and boldly floated down its unknown waters.
On the 25th of June, the explorers discovered indications of Indians on the west bank of the river, and landed a little above the mouth of the river now known as Des Moines, and for the first time Europeans trod the soil of Iowa. Leaving the Canadians to guard the canoes, Marquette and Joliet boldly followed the trail into the interior 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 of peace. They were informed that this band was a part of the Illini nation, and that their village was called Monin-gou-ma or Moingona, which was the name of the river on which it stood. This, from its similarity of sound, Marquette corrupted into Des 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 accompanied to their canoes by the chiefs and hundreds of warriors. Mar- quette received from them the sacred calumet, the emblem of peace and safeguard among the nations, and re-embarked for the rest of his journey.
In 1682, LaSalle descended the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico and in the name of the King of France took formal possession
12
HISTORY OF IOWA.
of all the immense region watered by the great river and its tributaries from its source to its mouth, and named it Louisiana, in honor of his master, Louis XIV. At the close of the seven- teenth century, France claimed, by right of discovery and occu- pancy, the whole valley of the Mississippi and its tributaries, in- cluding 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 erected as an outpost in 1720.
The Mississippi scheme was at the zenith of its power and glory in January, 1720, but the gigantic bubble collapsed more suddenly than it had been inflated, and the Company was declared hopelessly bankrupt in May following. France was impoverished by it, both private and public credit were overthrown, capitalists 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 Englishhad not only extended their Indian trade into 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 expedition resulted in diminishing their num- bers and humbling their pride, yet it was not until after several suc- cessive campaigns, embodying the best military resources of New France, had been directed against them, that they were finally de- feated at the great battles of Butte des Morts, and on the Wiscon- sin River, and driven west in 1746.
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 the eighteenth century. As early as 1705, traders and hunters had penetrated the fertile regions of the Wabash, and from this region,
13
HISTORY OF IOWA.
at that early date, fifteen thousand hides and skins had been col- lected 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 voyag- eurs. The Ohio river was comparatively unknown.
In 1746, agriculture on the Wabash had attained to greater pros- perity 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 hide, peltry, tallow and beeswax.
In the Illinois country, also, considerable settlements had been made, so that, in 1730, they embraced one hundred and forty French families, about six hundred "converted Indians," and many trad- ers and voyageurs.
In 1753, the first actual conflict arose between Louisiana and the Atlantic colonies. From the earliest advent of the Jesuit fathers, up to the period of which we speak, the great ambition of the French had been, not alone to preserve their possessions in the West, but by every possible means to prevent the slightest attempt of the English, east of the mountains, to extend their settlements toward the Mississippi. France was resolved on retaining posses- sion of the great territory which her missionaries had discovered and revealed to the world. French commandants had avowed their intention of seizing every Englishman within the Ohio Valley.
The colonies of Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia were most affected by the encroachments of France in the extension of her dominion; and particularly in the great scheme of uniting Canada with Louisiana. To carry out this purpose the French had taken possession of a tract of country claimed by Virginia, and had com- menced a line of forts extending from the lakes to the Ohio River. Virginia was not only alive to her own interests, but attentive to the vast importance of an immediate and effectual resistance on the part of all the English colonies to the actual and contemplated en- croachments of the French.
In 1753, Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, sent George Wash- ington, then a young man just twenty-one, to demand of the French commandant "a reason for invading British dominions while a solid peace subsisted." Washington met the French commandant, Gardeur de St. Pierre, on the head waters of the Alleghany, and having communicated to him the object of his journey, received the insolent answer that the French would not discuss the matter of right, but would make prisoners of every Englishman found trading on the Ohio and its waters. The country, he said belonged to the French, by virtue of the discoveries of La Salle, and they would not withdraw from it.
In January, 1754, Washington returned to Virginia, and made his report to the Governor and Council. Forces were at once raised and Washington, as Lieutenant Colonel, was dispatched at the
14
HISTORY OF IOWA.
head of a hundred and fifty men, to the forks of the Ohio, with or- ders to "finish the fort already begun there by the Ohio Company, and to make prisoners, kill or destroy all who interrupted the Eng- lish 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 ffre 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 English against the French. The French, however, were soon re-enforced and Col. Washington was compelled to return to Fort Necessity. Here, on the 3d day of July, De Villiers invested the fort with 600 French troops and 100 Indians. On the 4th, Washington accept- ed terms of capitulation and the English garrison withdrew 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 were surrendered to the English, and on the 10th of February, 1763, by the treaty of Par- is-which had been signed, though not formally ratified by the re- spective governments, on the 3d of November, 1762-France linquished to Great Britain all that portion of the province of L re- isiana lying on the east side of the Mississippi, except the island and town of New Orleans. On the same day that the treaty of Paris was signed France, by a secret treaty, ceded to Spain all her possessions on the west side of the Mississippi, including the 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 Mississippi and south of the southern limits of the United States.
At this time, therefore, the present State of Iowa was a. part of the Spanish possessions in North America, as all the territory west of the Mississippi River was under the dominion of Spain. That government also possessed all the territory of the Floridas east of the great river and south of the thirty-first parallel of north lati- tude. The Mississippi, therefore, so essential to the prosperity of
15
HISTORY OF IOWA.
the western portion of the United States. for the last three hun- dred miles of its course flowed wholly within the Spanish domin- ions, 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 important question during all the time that Louisana remained a dependency of the Spanish Crown, and as the final settlement intimately af- fected the status of the then future State of Iowa, it will be in- teresting to trace its progress.
The people of the United States occupied and exercised juris- diction over the entire eastern valley of the Mississippi, embracing all the country drained by its eastern tributaries; they had a nat- ural right, according to the accepted international law, to follow these rivers to the sea, and to the use of the Mississippi River ac- cordingly, 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 was very evident that no power on earth could deprive them of the free use of the river below them, only while their numbers were insufficient to enable them to maintain their right by force. Inevitably, therefore, immedia- tely after the ratification of the treaty of 1785, the Western peo- ple began to demand the free navigation of the Mississippi-not as a favor, but as a right. In 1786, both banks of the river, below the mouth of the Ohio, were occupied by Spain, and military posts on the east bank enforced her power to exact heavy duties on all imports by way of the river for the Ohio region. Every boat de- cending the river was forced to land and submit to the arbitrary revenue exactions of the Spanish authorities. Under the admin- istration of Governor Miro. these rigorous exactions were some- what relaxed from 1787 to 1790: but Spain held it as her right to make them. Taking advantage of the claim of the American peo- ple, that the Mississippi should be opened to them, in 1791, the Spanish Government concocted a scheme for the dismembership of the Union. The plan was to induce the Western people to sep- arate from the Eastern States by liberal land grants and extraor- dinary commercial privileges.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.