The pioneer history of Pocahontas County, Iowa, from the time of its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 1

Author: Flickinger, Robert Elliott, b. 1846
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Fonda, Iowa, G. Sanborn
Number of Pages: 1058

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1800

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Class F627

Book

Book: PoFC

88966 4950 LOT I L.C 27

JOHN FRASER'S LOG HOUSE 1868

OTRA STRON

265

LOG HOUS

TUMBLE WEED

JOHN WOODS STONE HOUSE 1870

NATIVE GRASSES,

LIZARD CATHOLIC CEMETERY.

MEMENTOS OF PIONEER DAYS.

THE PIONEER HISTORY OF

POCAHONTAS COUNTY, IOWA,

FROM THE TIME OF ITS EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME, IN

THREE PERIODS :

I. 1855-1869, PERIOD OF EARLY SETTLEMENT BY THE PIONEERS. II. 1870-1882, PERIOD OF ORGANIZATION AND EARLY RAILWAY. CONSTRUCTION.

III. 1883-1904, PERIOD OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.

INCLUDING

THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, TOWN AND IMPORTANT BUSINESS ENTERPRISE; BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE LEADING CITIZENS; AND AN INTERESTING OUTLINE OF THE

EARLY HISTORY OF IOWA. BY

ROBERT E FLICKINGER, A. B., B. D.

Pastor of the Presbyterian church, Fonda, 1886-1902. -

AND PUBLISHED BY

GEORGE SANBORN

Editor and proprietor of the Fonda Times, 1879-1900.

PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS, VIEWS AND THE POR- TRAITS OF OVER 450 PERSONS.

Fonda, Iowa, THE TIMES PRINT, 1904.

F627 PG F6

LIBRARY of CONGRESS Two Copies Received DEC 27 1904 Copyright Entry Dec. 27. 1904 CLASS a XXc. No: 104841 COPY B.

Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1898 and in 1904 by GEORGE SANBORN in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

1 . €

1 .-

GEORGE SANBORN.

Member of Co. E., 4th Wis. Inf. and Cav. January 1, 1861 to June 19, 1866 ; Editor and Proprietor of the Pocahontas, now Fonda, Times from November 1, 1879 to January 1, 1901.

REV. ROBERT E. FLICKINGER.

Pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Fonda, Oct. 1, 1886 to July 6, 1902; Stated Clerk and Treasurer of the Presbytery of Fort Dodge, July 1, 1892 to 1904; Moderator of the Presbyterian Synod of Iowa, 1901-02; Director of the Iowa State Temperance Alliance for the 10th Congressional District, 1890-94; Secretary of the Pocahontas County Temperance Alliance, 1888-1902; Secretary of the Fonda Bible Society, 1889-1904; Trustee of Buena Vista College and of the Presbytery of Fort Dodge; Organizer in 1901 of the movement to secure a reasonable time limit to consent petitions under the Mulct law of Iowa.

THIS VOLUME

IS RESPECTFULLY Dedicated to the memory Of the hardy PIONEERS, who, coming from England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Nor way, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Bohemia and other countries or eastern States, patiently and heroically endured the privations and hardships, Incident to dwelling in humble CABINS, far out on the frontier, while They converted the wild prairies into fertile fields, planted groves, estab- lished schools, BETTER HOMES AND CHURCHES; and thus Laid the foundation of the progressive civilization that is Now enjoyed by the happy and prosperous people of POCAHONTAS COUNTY, IOWA.

The busiest life is but A chisel stroke of the Omnipotent; Enough for thee to make the little stroke; The Sculptor's eye is on the final touch. Have faith and wait, and waiting know this much, If error be not mightier than the truth, And wrong than right, and hell than heaven, then truth And right and heaven shall win; else God wills not To have them win. It must be the Omnipotent will yet demonstrate His Omnipotence, when once His will has stamped Its die upon the page of history, -T. NIELD.

PREFACE.

We will not wait until your heart shall cease To throb with human hopes and cares and fears, Before we wish you all the joys of peace And happiness, to crown your ripening years; No! While your heart is warm, and beats with ours, We bring our love, our friendship and our flowers. -MRS. MCVEAN ADAMS,

HE author, after passing through a couple of periods of illness from which recovery seemed doubtful, has lived to see the completion of the Pioneer History of Pocahontas County, while a number, some of whom were valuable helpers in the preparation of this work at the beginning, have completed the period of their earthly existence and passed to the en- joyment of their eternal reward. The preparation and pub- lication of this volume have required many times the time, labor and expense anticipated, when it was undertaken. That which was undertaken as a pleasurable and useful employment for spare moments in pastoral and presbyterial work, has detained him as a resident of the county two years after the close of a delightful and honored pastorate of sixteen years at Fonda. But if the task has been long-a severe test to the author's patience, perseverance and power of endurance-the opportunity of placing so many of his fellow travelers through this world in a pretty historic setting has been greatly appreciated, and the work has constantly enlisted his best endeavor to make it a complete and worthy tribute of loving affection, to the memory of the hardy pioneers of Pocahontas county.

Things That Endure.

It is delightful to have an opportunity of doing something in this world that will endure longer than our short and uncertain lives. All have the longing desire to be kindly remembered. "If we work upon marble," said Webster, "it will perish; if we work upon brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds, if we imbue them with principles-with the just fear of God and love of our fellow men-we engrave on those tablets something that will brighten all eternity." Some things quite evanescent, may yet leave an enduring im- pression. A rose has but a brief existence and yet it may leave a touch of beauty on the hearts of those who behold it. Charles Kingsley wrote, "Never lose an opportunity of saying anything beautiful. Welcome beauty in every fair face, everv fair sky and every fair flower; thank Him for it, who is the fountain of all loveliness; and enjoy it as a feast, a cup of blessing." Some- times the most transient things leave touches of beauty on the lives of others, or put inspirations toward sweeter and better living into their hearts.

VIII PIONEER HISTORY OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY, IOWA.

It is possible to live so that many things we do shall last. In the sphere of unseen things, results are rated not according to dollars but moral values. There is no immortality to vanity and self-seeking. Only that which is in- spired by love for others and is calculated to make the world better will endure. It ought to be one of the deepest longings of every heart to leave in this world something that will last and continue a source of comfort and blessing to others. Good and great thoughts are immortal. They can no more be buried than they can be burned or hanged. They are not affected by time, but are as fresh today as when they were uttered or expressed. George Eliott very truthfully writes,

Oh, may I join the choir invisible, Of those immortal dead, who live again In minds made better by their presence; live In pulses stirred to generosity,

In deeds of daring rectitude, In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars, And by their mild persistence urge man's search To vaster issues; so to live is heaven.

Nearly every schoolboy knows the familiar lines that tell of the immor- tality of kind words.

"Kind words can never die, Cherished and blest. God knows how deep they lie, Stored in the breast."

"Heaven and earth shall pass away," said Jesus, "but my words shall not pass away." A good book also possesses the essence of immortality and will survive the decay and ruin of many other things. We are passing through the world but once, and

"For me to have made one soul The better for my birth, To have added but one flower To the garden of earth; To have sown in the souls of men One thought that will not die,

To have been a link in the chain of life, Shall be immortality."

The Spirit of the Pioneer.

'T'he pioneers of Pocahontas county were principally tillers of the soil. In every country the life of the pioneer has been a struggle-a battle for life; but here, after a few short years of privation, they were more than conquer- ors. Here they found the bountiful earth, the teeming mother of riches. This fertile soil, splendid. water, and bracing climate; these Iowa prairies -- the sod of ages, full of rich, organic matter, the debris of thousands of crops of luxuriant grass-formed the prophecy and also the basis of their subse- quent prosperity. Their history serves to show that it is a good policy to "stick to the farm, " and that it is possible to "make the farm pay." The number of those, who have accumulated clever fortunes ranging from ten to thirty or more thousands of dollars on the farms in Pocahontas county, is many times the number of those, who have accumulated similar fortunes by embarking in business in the towns of the county.

"They also built churches where today they stand, For all the people lent a willing hand, And, when the sabbath bell summoned to prayer,

The worldliest put away their week-day care;

And flocked from miles around to hear the word.

And hither came a man with snowy hair; He preached and they believed the holy things they heard. -

These were the men-not men but higher powers,- Whose hardy sinews, stiffening into steel, Grappling with the wilderness, made it a garden bower, And laid the sure foundation of the commonweal."

"The old pioneer davs," in the language of President Roosevelt at the dedication of the building for the Lousiana Purchase Exposition, May 10,

PREFACE.

1903, "are gone with their roughness, their hardships, their incredible toil and thelr wild, lialf savage romance. But the need for the pioneer virtues re- mains the same. The peculiar frontier conditions have vanished, but the manliness and stalwart hardihood of the frontiersmen can be given even freer scope under the conditions surrounding the complex industrialism of the present day. The old days were great, because the men who lived in them had mighty qualities; and we must make the new days great by mani- festing the same qualities. We must insist upon courage and resolution, upon hardihood, tenacity and fertility in resource; we must insist upon the strong, virile virtues; and we must insist no less upon the virtues of self-restraint, Self-mastery and regard for the rights of others; we must show our abhorrence of cruelty, brutality and corruption in both public and private life." The hardy spirit of the pioneer is manifested in the present time by a readiness to advance along every way, that will secure new conquests for truth and right- eousness, blazing the path and marking the way.

"Ob, blessed is he to whom is given, 'The instinct that can tell,

That God is on the field, when He

Is most invisible. And blessed is he who can tell, Where real right doth lie, And dares to take the side, that seems Wrong to man's blindfold eye."

The successful men of Pocahontas county are presented to the reader in such a way in this volume, that the story of their struggles and achieve- ments, like a voice from the past, tells how it was done. The veil of mystery has been drawn aside and the reader is told plainly the methods adopted by those, who have achieved the highest degree of success. Here the agricul- turist or farmer will learn how the best results have been achieved on Poca- hontas county farms. Here the horticulturist, or fruit grower, may learn the conditions of successful fruit culture in this county. Here the one who would embark in raising fine or fat stock, poultry or even "process butter" will find the valuable experience of those who have achieved a high degree of success along these lines. Here the aspiring young teacher will find an illustrious example, and the incentives to a high degree of efficiency in that noble art.

The people of Pocahontas county have indeed caught the spirit of the West; the spirit of efficient purpose and noble achievement; a spirit that faces the facts of life courageously, hopefully and successfully; a spirit that looks for- ward to the future and is undaunted by present disappointments; a spirit that moves on to educate and elevate; in fine, the spirit of truth, which is mighty to prevail, constitutes the nation's hope and controls the nation's destiny.

· Everything has changed but the sky, It is the same that overhung the patient ox or horse team, that drew the canvas-topped schooner across these same prairies half a century ago. The mind reverts to those times and the heart swells with pride and reverence for those hardy pioneers, who, turning their eyes toward the setting sun crossed the great Father of Waters, and braved the dangers and privations of that lonely time, while they laid the foundations of the present progress and prosperity.

The Author's Aim.

The author in the preparation of this volume has kept constantly in view the following objects: To give an accurate narrative of the principal events in the history of this county, that should include all that was valuable to make it a complete record of the past; to avoid all partiality, partisanship and prejudice; to secure a fair representation of every interest and nationality in the county, including the pioneer women and teachers of the public schools, on its one hundred and ten pages of finely engraved portrait work; and in general to make it a volume of real interest and instruction to the young-the boys and girls in the public schools of the county-as well as to those advanced in life; and to the new settler as well as the venerable pioneer, to whose memory it has been specially dedicated.

PIONEER HISTORY OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY, IOWA;

The opening chapters, including pages 13 to 110, containing a brief synopsis of the Early History of Iowa, are intended to familiarize the reader with the important events in the history, and the public institutions and buildings, of a state, whose history and standing, among the states of the American Union, are worthy of the highest admiration.

The author, conscious that the value of this history would depend largely on the authenticity of its materials and correctness of its statements, has spared no time, labor or expense in his efforts to verify every statement. It Contains many lists of proper names that have been obtained from many and very different sources ;- the names of county officers from county records; names of homesteaders from the records of the United States land offices, civil and school officers from the records of each town and township, the founders and officers of churches and civic societies from their respective offi- cial records. All of these sources of information are supposed to be strictly accurate, and yet in a few instances of early pioneers, now dead or removed from. the county, the variations in the spelling of the same name were so numerous, it was difficult to determine their correct form. The utmost vigil- ance has been constantly exercised and many letters have been written to the postmasters of the county and others to identify names that were similar, and secure uniformity in the spelling of each A few instances of variation escaped notice. Pages 793 to 808 were unexpectedly printed in the volume, . without correcting the typographical errors, that had been previously mark- ed, while the author was spending a summer vacation in Puget Sound. These and some other slight variations in names, dates and sections of land, perceived or received too late for correction, have been noted on a separate page at the end of the volume. A review of them will indicate, however, that to the general reader none of them are of any special importance. The printing of this history, as a weekly serial in the columns of the Fonda 'Times afforded an unusual opportunity for the correction of any matters in · regard to which the author was under a misapprehension; and it is believed that the highest degree of accuracy possible in such a work has been at- tained.

History and Biography.

The study of history is a study of humanity, and that not in ideal con- ditions but as it exists. "Truth is stranger than fiction, " and history not only furnishes a literature based upon truth, but also some of the most val- uable information in the world. History is philosophy teaching by example and warning; it is the unrolled scroll of prophecy. Kossuth termed it, "the revelation of Providence." To forecast the future we must understand the present, and to understand the present we must know the past. Guizot, the great French historian, philosopher and statesman, observed, "Religion opens the future and places us in the presence of eternity; but history brings back the past and adds to our own existence the lives of our fathers." The men who make history do not always have time to write it; yet nothing strengthens a nation so much as familiarity with its history. It makes amends for the brevity of life and is the complement of poetry. We cherish the knowledge of the past that we may enrich the literature of the present, and be inspired to emulate the noble lives of our predecessors.

The study of history, as a means of cultivating the mind and for its im- mediate practical benefits, ever since the days of Moses, who wrote the pio- neer history of Israel, and of Herodotus, the father of profane history, has formed a necessary part of a liberal and thorough education. He, who is able to make the facts and events of history the basis of philosophical re- flection and generalization, discovers that there is a living spirit moving through it like the force that links every effect to its cause. God is always the same in dealing with men, and human nature is an invariable factor. One may learn the sure result of certain courses today, by learning what they have been in the past, and he is foolish who does not profit by the re- corded successes or mistakes of others.

An easy and excellent grasp on history is obtained by reading the lives of those who make it; and among the most interesting and inspiring books that can be placed in the hands of young people are those that tell the life-story

PREFACE.

and achievements of the men and women, who have made and left behind them the greatest and best impress upon their church, community or country. The lives of great men are our best instructors, and biography, which is history teaching by example, is one of the most charming and use- ful studies. A later life may be inspired and strengthened by the principles and achievements of an earlier one. The departed constitute a cloud of wit- nesses, who, looking upon the living with sympathy, know that human ex- istence is noc vanlty, but can be made a splendid success.

He who studies the sayings and doings of the pioneers may avold their mistakes and profit by their successes. The men who succeed are thoughtful, progressive and are never satisfied with ordinary advancement. This volume intended to be an appropriate and an enduring memorial of those who planted the institutions and developed the resources of Pocahontas county during the first fifty years of its history, contains briefly the experience and principles of nearly every one of its leading citizens.

There are indeed many standards of success or greatness; for men's ideas differ greatly as to what constitutes a truly great and successful man. Our Lord Jesus gave utterance to the sentiment, "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." This is the standard of Heaven, though it is not always recognized on earth. At the head of all biographies stands the Book of Books, "the educator of youth, the guide of manhood and the counselor of age." It is a series of biographies of patriarchs and prophets, princes and heroic leaders, some of whom occupied a very lowly station in common life. This volume contains the biographical sketches and portraits of many who, from the humblest beginnings, have made the world better by their noble lives and worthy achievements.

"All who labor wield a mighty power; The glorious privilege to do

Is man's most noble dower."

The Portraits and Other Engravings.

The hope is indulged that the numerous portraits and other engravings will prove an interesting and pleasing feature of the volume to every reader. The grouping of nine or more portraits on the same page at a nominal cost of one dollar each, minimized the space and made It possible to secure a por- trait of the county officials, both past and present, and one or more repre- sentatives, either of the first or second generation, of most of the pioneer families in each of the towns and townships. The photographs used were obtained either from the persons or their nearest friends, and in a number of instances the one received was the only one in existence. Many of the first settlers in this county never had a photograph taken, and a representative of the family could be secured only through one from the second generation. In order to secure the portraits of some of the first county officials and first settlers in the older townships, it was necessary to use some old and faded photos. It was impossible for the engravers to make as pretty half-tone prints from these as from recent ones. but we did not care to omit them merely for that reason. The portraits have been printed upon fine paper, and the uuusually large number of them make this volume a real treasury of human interest whose value, it is believed, will increase with passing years. Sallust says, "I have often heard that Quintus, Publius Scipio and other renowned persons of the Roman commonwealth used to say, that whenever they beheld the images of their ancestors, they felt their minds vehemently excited to virtue. " It could not have been the wax nor the marble that possessed this power; but, the recollection of their great actions kindled a generous flame of noble aspiration in their hearts, that could not be quelled until they also had acquired equal fame and glory.

Easy to Find Things.

In order that this volume might be one of easy and ready reference, the title of each chapter has been placed at the top margin of the right hand page; and the townships have been arranged alphabetically, rather than numerically, geographically, or even according to the date of their settle- ment. The sketches of the pioneers in each township, save a few that were

XII

PIONEER HISTORY OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY, IOWA,

received too late, are also arranged in the same order. The index is very copious, enabling the reader to trace quickly any topic treated in the volume, and the number of the page containing the biographical sketch has been placed first after each name. Names not printed under the engravings, on account of a lack of room, may be found in the list of portraits. Family lists, repeated there, show their order according to birth.

The author has endeavored to reach the ideal of a complete, interesting and instructive county history, and if this effort has not been crowned with success, the failure has been in the execution, rather than in the aim and purpose.

He has sang the praise of Iowa,

The fairest state of all the west; And of Pocahontas county, Where people dwell and prosper well

On the prairie or in busy town;

Where the sun is bright, and the stars at night Shine like jewels in Nature's crown.

A grateful acknowledgement is made of the valuable assistance rendered by many on whom frequent calls were made to verify doubtful matters, and especially to those. who freely furnished general matter for the narrative portions, in addition to those referred to in the Introductory Note: To the recorders, secretaries and clerks of townships and towns, for official lists of officers; to Mr. James S. Smith for the early history of Plover; to the late Michael Crahan for valuable contributions to the history of Lizard township; to Mr. Fred A. Malcolm for a draught of the Indian battlefield at Pilot Creek; to Messrs. C. A. Grant and C. H. Tollefsrude for photographic views of places of historic interest in the northeast part of the county; to Mr. J. H. Lighter for the free use of the plate for the insertion of his (1903) map of Pocahontas county; to the presidents or superintendents of our state institu- tions for the numerous and excellent cuts of the Iowa state buildings; to the Interior, Chicago, for the four plates illustrating the Story of Pocahontas; to the Des Moines Daily Capital for the cuts of Governor A. B Cummins and Senator J. P. Dolliver. Also, our indebtedness for the helpful information derived from the Plat Book of Pocahontas County, compiled and published in 1887 by the National Publishing Company. Philadelphia; and the Plat Book published by Mr. J. H Lighter, Rolfe, in 1897.

The printing of the special pages of engraved work was done partly by the engravers, the Bucher Engraving Company, Columbus, Ohio, and partly by the binders, the Regan Printing House, Chicago.

Mr. George Sanborn.

The Pioneer History of Pocahontas County, as an undertaking or busi- ness enterprise, belongs to Mr. George Sanborn, editor and proprietor of the Fonda Times for more than twenty-one years. As it is now issued from the press, in the form of a fine royal octavo volume, it is a fitting memento and culmination of his long period of faithful and acceptable service of the peo- ple of this county and vicinity, through the columns of the Times. When he relinquished his interest in the Times to the Fonda Printing and Publishing Company, Jan. 1, 1901, he retained ownership of the Times building and of the Pioneer History, then incomplete. Whilst the author gathered the materials, prepared the copy, read the proofs and arranged the portrait work, including the printing thereof, this was done in response to the request of Mr. Sanborn. To him belongs the credit of projecting the work and of print- ing it so neatly from new type in the Times office. The people of Pocahontas county are to be congratulated upon the fact, that in outlining the plan and scope of this work, it was not limited to some special recognition of the read- ers of the Times, but was designed to be an historic tribute to the memory of all the hardy pioneers of the county. The public spirit manifested in launching and completing this work-the most important and valuable con- tribution to the literature of Pocahontas county-would seem to merit a high degree of appreciation on the part of those to whose memory it has been un- selfishly dedicated.

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The pioneer history of Pocahontas County, Iowa, from the time of its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 1

Author: Flickinger, Robert Elliott, b. 1846 Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Fonda, Iowa, G. Sanborn Number of Pages: 1058

Author: Flickinger, Robert Elliott, b. 1846
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Fonda, Iowa, G. Sanborn
Number of Pages: 1058