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IT'S
WARREN COUNTY
1879
F 627 W25 H67
CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
D
BY EZRA
DATE DUE
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INTERLIBRARY
LOAN
ROV
APR 2 100ZE
Iniomofary Loan
PLG
GAYLORD
PRINTED IN U S A.
Cornell University Library F 627W25 H67 History of Warren County, Iowa, containi
olin 3 1924 028 872 830
UN
R
1865 A.
U
N
DED
A.D
Cornell University Library
The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library.
There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text.
http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028872830
STEAM PRINTING HOUSE
TILLS & COMPANY
BOOKS & STATIONERY
OFFICE OF BIRDSALL, WILLIAMS & COMPANY, PROPRIETORS UNION HISTORICAL COMPANY,
DES MOINES, IOWA.
THE
HISTORY
OF
WARREN COUNTY,
IOWA,
CONTAINING
A History of the County, its Cities, Towns, &c.,
A Biographical Directory of its Citizens, War Record of its Volunteers in the late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics, Portraits of Early Settlers and Promi- .
nent Men, History of the Northwest, History of Iowa, Map of Warren County, Constitution of the United States, Constitution of the State of Iowa, Miscellaneous Matters, &c.
-
ILLUSTRATED.
DES MOINES : UNION HISTORICAL COMPANY. 1879.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by
THE UNION HISTORICAL COMPANY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. O.
73795424 80 X A1
MILLS & COMPANY, PRINTERS AND STEREOTYPERS, DES MOINES, IOWA.
PREFACE.
THIS work is a merely local one; it relates to the settlement, organization, growth, devel- opment and present position of Warren County. Each county, as each individual or State, has a history. That history may not represent grand ideas, or verify in and of itself the conclusions of wisdom, but it is as purely individual as the life of a person, and shows results which could not have been attained elsewhere or under different conditions.
We have undertaken to introduce the public to some of those conditions which have made Warren County a distinct element in the progress of Iowa, with what success we will not presume to say, as that must be left to the judgment of each individual reader to determine for himself. We have studied to learn the truth, and to present it to the reader without favor or prejudice. It has, of course, depended more on others than ourselves, because it is in the memory of men yet living in the county that the events connected with it exist, and if we have rescued it from that oblivion into which it would of necessity fall, we shall have accomplished all that can be done, for a few years more would have obliterated much of it, and it would have been buried in the grave of those who have made it and know it. Little more than a generation has passed since the first white man set foot in Warren County, but even in that time many events have become dim in the minds of its actors. It is this which we have endeavored to catch, before it is too late. It is an accumulation of the materials for history in the future. It contains the record of events which have interested or instructed or saddened the people of a generation now leaving the stage of action. It is not without mistakes or omissions, and its readers will need to exercise that indulgence and charity to them for which they are noted.
4
It is the first effort ever made in the county to link together the record of its events into a connected narrative, and its facts have been drawn from all the sources which could contrib- ute to it. Many difficulties have existed, but on the other hand we have been afforded many advantages. The county officers have been obliging in rendering assistance by way of fur- nishing all the information in their power, as well as giving much time to the search for facts in the public records. The old settlers have contributed to its pages and have also been forward in furnishing all the information in their power, and have submitted in good humor to the interviewer. Without their help, the results here presented in book form must have been very meagre. Special acknowledgment is due to Col. P. P. Henderson, Judge John D. Ingalls, Mr. James H. Knox, of the Herald, Mr. John H. Henderson, Mr. Edd. R. McKee, Mrs. G. A. Perley of Polk County, Mr. H. M. Moore, Senator Dashiell, Mr. E. W. Hartman, Mr. John S. McKimmy, Prof. C. M. Grumbling, and many others, for matter furnished and suggested. Also, to all the county officers for their kindness, and to a great number of the citizens of the county who have volunteered or given us generous aid. Much is also due to the editors of all the newspapers, Mr. John E. Clarey, of the Tribune, Mr. A. J. Graham, of the Herald, and Mr. Frank B. Taylor, of the Advocate, for the use of files and for cour- tesies extended.
As introductory to the history of the county proper, we give a careful review of the history of the great Northwest and of the State. It was prepared by Mr. A. R. Fulton, of Des Moines, and is, we think, a valuable feature of the work, as it gives in a condensed form a full historry of all this great region, and recites the facts which go to form a story of almost marvelous growth and prosperity.
--
iv
PREFACE.
In our " War Record," prepared by one of the most careful men in the State, we have en- deavored to give, in an epitomized form, the part taken by individual soldiers of Warren County with a full record of those who engaged in the service during the late war. There are at present in the county many men who served in regiments from other States and counties, whose names, of course, do not appear in here; to such it will give pleasure, we hope, for though a soldier be jealous of his achievements and fame, he will ever indulge in pride at the recital of the dangers, trials and successes of his comrades and companions in victory, peril and defeat. We have also given some attention to the campaigns in which the regiments participated, and the men who arose to distinction in their ranks.
We little doubt that the book will be a welcome one to the people of Warren County, re- calling to the old their struggles and reminding the young how much they owe to their fore- runners in this now rich and prosperous section of a great State. Whatever pleasure they may take in reading its pages will he a source of gratification to all who have been concerned in its compilation, and to
THE PUBLISHERS.
CONTENTS.
HISTORICAL.
PAGE.
The Northwest Territory:
Early French Explorations in the Miasiaaippi Valley .. 7
Early Settlements in the
Northwest ..
..
14 The Northwestern Territory. 22
Sketchea of Black Hawk and other Chiefe 42
Early Navigation of Western Rivere
56
Archeology of the Northwest
59
Sketches of Wcatern and
Northwestern States .. 349 67
Expedition of Lewie snd
Clarke
86
Sketch of Chicago. 96
History of Iowa:
Descriptive and Geographical Sketch 105
Geology of Iowa 117
Economic Geology .. 125
How the Title to Iows Lande ia Derived. 130 Early Settlements and Terri- torial Organization 141
Territory of Iowa 153
State Organization 158
Educationsl. 162
State Institutions 169
Railroade
172
Official Record. 174
The Judiciary 176
Congressional Representation 177 State Agricultural Society 178
Centennial Awarda 191
History of Warren County:
The Name. 257
Indian Affaire. 258
Geography-Descriptive and Physical . 266
Geology. 274
Esrly Settlement and Settlers. 280
The Firat Settler 281
Clsim Cluba.
304
Pioneer Life ..
306
The Chese in Early Days. 318 Lothrop
PAGE.
Trading Pointe. 323
Growth of the County 327
Organization. 331 Palmyra. 505
The First Township. 337
The Firet Court
338
The First Land Tranafere 340
28 The Firat Delinquent Tax List 841
The Firet County Rosde. 341 Milo .. 510
The Firet Marriage License .. 342
Tax Liat for 1849. 342
The Firat Claima Allowed.
The Old Court-house
347
The Jeil
349
Allen 518
Greenfield. 519
Linn ..
519
Jefferaon
520
Washington 522
PsImyrs
523
Union. 523
Belmont. 524
Otter
525
White Oak
525
Jackaon 525
Virginie 527
Squaw
527
Liberty
527
Whitebresat 528
Township Officere in 1880 529
War History:
Warren Co. War Record. 531
Meeting st Carliale 533
Third Infantry 534
Fourth Infantry
538
Tenth Infantry
540
Fifteenth Infantry 545
Eighteenth Infantry
548
The "Code" in Warren County 447 Thirty-fourth Infantry. 550
Cities and Towne:
Hartford 495
Carliele 498
Summeraet.
501
Spring Hill
501
Norwelk.
502
Churchville
504
504
Sherman'a March to the Ses .. 583
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE.
Westward the Star of Empire
Tekea ite Way. 17
An Indian Camp .. 33
Indisne Trying a Prisoner. 49
A Pioneer Winter. 65
LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS.
PAGE.
PAGE.
Buxton, Wm.
415
Ingelle, John D.
307
Randleman, Will 433
..
Davis, Dr. C. W.
325
Jscoby, Joel .. . 379
Seevara, Geo. W .....
361
Henderaon, P. P. 289
Henderson, John.
397
PAGE.
Lincoln Monument, Springfield,
Illinois ..
72
The "Old Kinzie House" 103
Chicago in 1820 .. 97 A Prairie Home .. 129
Present Site Lake Street Bridge, Chicago, 1833 ... 97
PAGE
Bevington
504
St. Mary's 505
Ackworth 506
Madora. 508
New Virginie. 508
Lacona. 511
Townshipa: 346
Organization 512
Richland 516
First Ferry License
Early Records
349
Gold Excitement
350
The "Strip" 352
Western Stege Company. 354
Political
355
Officera and Elections. 357
Contested Electione.
367
Judges and Judicial Districta 372
County Court-house.
Poor Ferm.
Railways.
384
County Finances
890
Educational
394 405
Newapapera.
10
Temperance.
423
Agricultural Society.
426
The Grange. 428
The Great Storm 429
County Medical Society. 438
Esrly Sattlere' Meetings 439
Departed Pioneere. 441
Deede of Violence. 448 Thirty-fourth Infantry (con- solidated with Thirty-eighth) 558 Indianola. 475 Thirty-eighth Infantry. 562 Miscellaneous Infantry. 564
. Firat Cavalry.
567
Second Cavalry.
571
Miscellaneous Regimenta
571
Recapitulation.
572
Decoration Dey, 1878
574
Breaking Prairie.
145
PAGE.
Old Fort Desrhorn, 1830. 103
-
1
1
PAGE.
Randleman, M. C. 348
Shook, M. G ...
451
1 -
374 381
Simpson Centensry College ..
The Louisiana Purchsee .... Indian Ware in the Northwest 34 The Firat School Record 341 Liberty Centre. 509 Sandyville 510
vi
CONTENTS.
BIOGRAPHICAL TOWNSHIP DIRECTORY.
PAGE.
Allen. 714
Jaffaraon
664
Squaw 613
Belmont. 633
Linn.
734
Union ..
692
Virginia
608
Weet Washington 674
Palmyra
708
Whitebreaet
626
White Oak 650
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS.
PAOE.
Adoption of Children 203
Billa of Exchange and Promie-
eory Notae
195
Capital Punishment
199
Commercial Terme. 208
Damages from Trespaez. 201
Deacent.
195
Eatraye.
201
Exemption from Executiona 200
Fencea .. ..
202
Forms:
Article of Agreement 209
Billa of Sale 210
Bond for Deed. 217 Fieh and Fish Waye. 218
Billa of Purchase.
207
Interest
195
Wolf Scalpa.
201
Chattal Mortgage
215
Jurisdiction of Courta
198
MISCELLANEOUS.
PAGE.
PAGE.
Constitution of the United States 240
Practical Rulae for every-day
Constitution of tha Stata of
Iowa ..
220
PAGE.
Richland. 700
Jackaon. 667
PAGE.
PAGE.
Forma:
Confession of Judgment. 208
Leasa. ..
214
Mortgages ..
212,
Notice to Quit 210
Notee
207, 215
Orders
207
Quit-claim Deed. 216
Receipta 208
Roada and Bridges 204
Surveyors and Survaye 204
Support of Poor 205
. Wille and Codicile
211,
212
Warranty Deed.
216
Game Lawa :
Birda and Quadrupeda
217
Taxea
197
Wille and Eatatee
196
Weighta and Measures
207
Population of Iowa Cities .. ..
265
The Pioneer
256
086
252
Jurora. 199
Landlord and Tenant. 206.
Limitation of Actione. 199
213
Married Women
200
Marka and Brande
201
Mechanice' Liene. 204
Purchasing Booka by Subecrip- tiou 219
PAGE.
Map of Warren County Front. Statietice. 183
Liberty 619
East Washington .. 682
Greenfield.
725
Otter ..
644
Indianola (East and Waet Wash- ington Townehipe) .584
PAGE.
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SMOINES
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
EARLY FRENCH EXPLORATIONS IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.
De Soto-Le Caron-Samuel de Champlain-French Adventurers-James Marquette-Louis Joliet - Embarkation to Explore New Countries -- Lake Michigan and Green Bay -The "Quisconsin "- Indian Accounts of the Country - Discovering the Great River- Indian Name of the River -- Joy of the Explorers-Interview with Indians on Iowa Soil-Feast- Speech of an Indian Chief-The. Des Moines River-" Muddy Water " - The Arkansas- Return-Indian Nations - Marquette's Record - His Subsequent Voyage-La Vantum- Marquette's Death -- Removal of His Remains-Joliet's Subsequent Explorations-Robert La Salle-Louis Hennepin-Chevalier de Tonti-De La Motte-Fort Crevecoeur -- Henne- pin's Voyage-Falls of St. Anthony-Seur de Luth-Hennepin's Claims as an Explorer- Colonization of Louisiana-Dissensions-Murder of La Salle.
THE three great colonizing powers of the Old World first to raise the standard of civilization within the limits of North America were France, England, and Spain. The French made their earliest settlements in the. cold and inhospitable regions of Quebec; the English at Jamestown, Vir- ginia, and at Plymouth, Massachusetts; and the Spaniards on the barren sands of Florida. To the French belongs the honor of discovering and colo- nizing that portion of our country known as the Valley of the Mississippi, including all that magnificent region watered by the tributaries of the Grea, River. It is true that more than one hundred years earlier (1538-41) tht Spanish explorer, De Soto, had landed on the coast of Florida, penetrated the everglades and unbroken forests of the south, finally reaching the banks of the Great River, probably near where the city of Memphis now stands. Crossing the river, he and his companions pursued their journey for some distance along the west bank, thence to the Ozark Mountains and the Hot Springs of Arkansas, and returning to the place of his death on the banks of the Mississippi. It was a perilous expedition indeed, characterized by all the splendor, romance and valor which usually attended Spanish adventurers of that age. De Soto and his companions were the first Europeans to behold the waters of the Mississippi, but the expedition was a failure so far as related to colonization. The requiem chanted by his companions as his remains were committed to the waters of the great river he had discovered, died away with the solemn murmurs of the stream, and the white man's voice was not heard again in the valley for more than a hundred years. De Soto had landed at Tampa Bay, on the coast of Florida, with a fleet of nine ves- sels and seven hundred men. More than half of them died, and the remainder made their way to Cuba, and finally back to Spain.
-
Four years before the pilgrims "moored their bark on the wild New Eng- and shore," a French Franciscan, named Le Caron, penetrated the region of
1
8
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
the great lakes of the north, then the home of the Iroquois and the Hurons, but a French settlement had been established at Quebec by Samuel de Champlain in 1608. This was followed by the establishment of various colonies in Canada, and the hardy French adventurers penetrated the coun- try by the way of the St. Lawrence and the lakes. In 1625 a number of missionaries of the Society of Jesus arrived in Canada from France, and during the succeeding forty years extended their missions all along the shores of Lake Superior.
In 1637 a child was born at the little city of Laon, in France, whose destiny it was in the fullness of time to be instrumental in the hands of Providence in giving to the world a definite knowledge of the grandest and most fertile region ever opened up to civilization. That child was James Marquette, the descendant of a family of Celtic nobles. He entered the Society of Jesus when seventeen years of age, and soon conceived a desire to engage in the labors of a missionary among the Indians. He sailed for Quebec in 1666, and two years later founded the mission of Sault Ste. Marie at the Falls of St. Mary. The winter of 1669-70 he spent at Point St. Ignatius, where he established another mission. Here the old town of
Michillimackinac, afterward called Mackinaw, was founded. It was from Indians of the different tribes who came to this mission that he received some vague intimations of the great river-the father of all the rivers. He at once conceived a desire to penetrate to the banks of the wonderful river, and carry his missionary work to the tribes which he had learned inhabited its borders. He applied to his Superior, Claude Dablon, for permission to "seek new nations toward the Southern sea." The authorities at Quebec were equally desirous of having new regions explored, and therefore appointed Louis Joliet to embark upon a voyage of discovery. Joliet was a native of Quebec and had been educated in a Jesuit College. He had at the age of eighteen taken minor orders, but had abandoned all thoughts of the priest- hood and engaged in the fur trade. He was now twenty-seven years of age, with a mind ripe for adventure. He left Quebec, and arriving at Mackinaw found Father Marquette highly delighted with the information that they were to be companions in a voyage which was to extend the domain of the King of France, as well as to carry the Gospel to new nations of people. The explorers, accompanied by five assistants, who were French Canadians, started on their journey, May 13, 1673. Marquette has himself recorded in the fol- lowing simple language their feelings on this occasion: "We were embark- ing on a voyage the character of which we could not foresee. Indian corn, with some dried meat, was our whole stock of provisions. With this we set out in two bark canoes, M. Joliet, myself and five men, firmly resolved to do all and suffer all for so glorious an enterprise." They coasted along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, entered Green Bay, and passed up the Fox river, carrying their canoes across the Portage to the "Ouisconsin," now called Wisconsin. At Lake Winnebago, before crossing the Portage, they stopped at an Indian village, which was the furthest outpost to which Dab- lon and Allouez had extended their missionary work. Here they assembled the chiefs and old men of the village and told them of the objects of the voyage. Pointing to Joliet, Father Marquette said: "My friend is an envoy of France to discover new countries, and I am an ambassador from God to enlighten them with the truths of the Gospel." The Indians furnished two guides to conduct them to the Wisconsin river. It is related that a tribe of Indians endeavored to dissuade them from pursuing their perilous journey
.
9
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
by telling of desperate and savage tribes that they would meet; that the forests and the rivers were infested with frightful monsters; that there were great fish in the rivers that would swallow up men and canoes together, and of a demon who could be heard from a great distance, and who destroyed all who approached. Unmoved by these frightful stories, Marquette, Joliet, and their five brave assistants, launched their little canoes on the waters of the Wisconsin, and moved slowly down the current. After a lapse of seven days, June 17th, 1673, they reached the mouth of the Wisconsin and glided into the current of the Mississippi, a few miles below the place now known as Prairie du Chien. Here, and on this day, the eye of the white man for the first time looked upon the waters of the Upper Mississippi. Marquette called the river "The Broad River of the Conception." The Indian name is derived from the Algonquin language, one of the original tongues of the continent. It is a compound of the words Missi, signifying great, and Sepe, a river.
The explorers felt the most intense joy on beholding the scene presented to their enraptured vision. Here was the great river whose waters somewhere thousands of miles away flowed into a Southern sea, and whose broad valley was the fairest and richest in the world, but unknown to civilized man, save as an almost forgotten dream or a vague romance. They had solved one of the great mysteries of the age in which they lived. As they glided down the stream the bold bluffs reminded Marquette of the "castled shores of his own beautiful rivers in France." The far stretching prairies alternating with forests, on either side, were adorned in all the wild glories of June. Birds sang the same notes that they had sung for ages amid those "forests prime- val," while herds of buffalo, deer and elk were alarmed and fled to the dense retreats of the forest or the broad prairies beyond. Not until the 25th June did they discover any signs of human habitation. Then, about sixty leagues, as they thought, below the mouth of the Wisconsin, at a place where they landed on the west bank of the river, they found in the sand the foot-prints of man. Marquette and Joliet left their five companions in charge of the canoes and journeyed away from the river, knowing that they must be near the habitation of men. They followed a trail leading across a prairie clothed in the wild luxuriance of summer for a distance of about six miles, when they beheld another river and on its banks an Indian village, with other vil- lages on higher land a mile and a half from the first. The Indians greeted the two white strangers, as far as their ability permitted, with a splendid ovation. They appointed four of their old men to meet the strangers in council. Marquette could speak their language. They informed him that they were "Illini " (meaning "we are mien "), and presenting the calumet of peace, invited them to share the hospitalities of their village. Marquette told them of the object of their visit, and that they had been sent by the French, who were their friends. He told them of the great God that the white man worshiped who was the same Great Spirit that they adored. In answer, one of the chiefs addressed them as follows:
"I thank the Black Gown Chief (Marquette) and the Frenchman (Joliet) for taking so much pains to come and visit us; never has the earth been so beautiful, nor the sun so bright as now; never has the river been so calm, nor so free from rocks, which your canoes have removed as they passed; never has our tobacco had so fine a flavor, nor our corn appeared so beautiful as we behold it to-day. Ask the Great Spirit to give us life and health, and come ye and dwell with us."
After these ceremonies the strangers were invited to a feast, an account of
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THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
which is given by Marquette. It consisted of four courses. First, there was a large wooden bowel filled with tagamity, or Indian meal, boiled in water and seasoned with oil. The master of ceremonies, with a wooden spoon, fed the tagamity to their guests as children are fed. The second course con- sisted of fish, which, after the bones were taken out, was presented to the mouths of the strangers as food may be fed to a bird. The third course was a preparation of dog meat, but learning that the strangers did not eat that it was at once removed. The fourth and final course was a piece of buffalo meat, the fattest portions of which were put into the mouths of the guests.
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