USA > Iowa > Cedar County > A topical history of Cedar County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 38
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"As I mingled today with the surviving friends of John Brown on ground made sacred by the tread of the feet of martyrs forty years ago (1898) I heard the recital of their recollections of the little band who here prepared for the tragic enterprise that was to shake slavery's hold and leave a permanent record upon all American history and this particular portion of Cedar County. There was not a disreputable character in the little company quartered in the Maxson house. They enlisted from the purest motives. They may have erred in the means adopted, but when men give their lives for humanity criticism is dis- armed."
"The reunion at the old Maxson house was planned and carried out by the sons and daughters of Wm. Maxson and Ebenezer Gray. Jonathan Maxson (now residing in West Liberty, 1910) directed the interesting exercises. The Maxsons and Grays were visible everywhere and better representatives of the best citizens of Iowa can nowhere be found."
"The exercises were held in front of the old Maxson house among the great cedars planted by its builder nearly fifty (1898) years ago. The stars and stripes waved above us; portraits of old John Brown, Wm. Maxson, Edwin and Barclay Coppock looked down on us from the trees; on the table were the Sharp's rifle and revolver carried by Coppock in the Harper's Ferry campaign."
"The address of welcome by Thad Maxson, Edwin Coppock's friend and schoolmate, was eloquent and pathetic. One of the most touching of all the tributes of the day was a poem dedicated to the old Maxson home, written and read by the wife of Thad Maxson :" 273
THE OLD GRAVEL HOUSE.
"Old House ! we're standing in thy shade, Thou structure gray and fading, In memory of a bygone time, A day long since receding.
"The skies above are blue and fair,
And nature still renews her glory,
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But thou, lone relic of the past, Must soon live but in story.
"Full threescore years have come and gone And sun arose and set, Since first the ground thou standest on, The foot of man had met.
"But not as now were smiling lands, Nor nature lavish of her blessings, Through weary years with toilsome hands They came to their possessions. * *
"And thou, old house, that reared thy front A mansion in thy day, Rose on the fanes of cabin home, The early settlers' stay. * * *
"And loved have come and loved have gone, And passing left a sting. * * * *
"They sleep, still looking toward the West, Beneath the deep woods shadow, As if they still would see the sun Sink down on wave and meadow.
"But through each change of time and scene, Though human life be brief, New dreams will grow and memories come To take the place of grief.
"For still thy portals open swing To welcome friendships bright, The lone and cheerless wanderer At evening blessed thy light.
"And still thy days rolled on and on, Till bondman at thy gate Besought the help and sympathy, Denied, alas! by state.
"A hero with his God-sent band, Unheeding threats or frowns, 'Across thy threshold planned and wrought And gained a martyr's crown.
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"And thou, old house, that in thy prime, Saw freedom's dawning day, No fears of clanking chains and strife, Shall mock at thy decay. *
"Old house! We're standing in thy shade, That shadow made sublime, Through solemn years and memories, Of strange and wondrous times." 274
Springdale is a little country village away from railroads and the world of business. Its beautiful homes are quiet retreats from turmoil of money making, political strife and daily papers (1898). Here the peaceful Quakers live in re- pose and amid plenty with but few more houses than I saw there forty-six years ago in crossing the great unsettled prairies that then reached almost continu- ously from the old Rochester ferry to Iowa City, then a state capital largely of log houses.275
In 1865 the old Maxson homestead was sold and Mr. Wm. Maxson retired to West Liberty where he spent the remainder of his days a much esteemed citizen until his death in 1877 at the age of seventy-one.
The home of the Brown's men in Cedar County is now fast disappearing. The relic hunter is making sad havoc of what remains, and this coupled with cares of business found in all communities will soon leave no trace of what hap- pened in the trying times of slavery days when this region was constantly alert to what might lead to a tragedy. The "old gravel house" no longer belongs to the Maxsons for the homestead has passed into other hands. Hidden in the rear of the present farm house, surrounded by traces of those other days filled with farm machinery or grain, it still does service, although held together in places with iron rods to prevent collapse. The old house yet suffers when some visitor from far away is determined to carry off an entire window casing to make for himself a cane. The choicest of black walnut was used to finish the windows and doors and these casings furnish the best of souvenirs for those who deem such things essential to their happiness. When this house was built the heavy timbers from the woods were hewn out sufficiently large to make supports for them unnecessary when they were placed in the foundation. These are best seen from the cellar when it is written that the colored man kept con- cealed when emergencies arose. Here is the old fire place, but the door leading out on the west end has been closed with a wall. One must go down through the trap door under the stairway and take a lantern in order to see. No longer is this cellar hospitable. It is damp and full of rubbish. One would not regard it as a safe place now from any danger. No locks now are necessary, no one cares to break in or out. It is possible to imagine the meetings of the followers of John Brown held in the west room and to imagine also the work that must have been required in the large kitchen, now torn down, and altogether it is sorrowful to contemplate the old ruin after reading and hearing of the times in which it was the center of national interest. Standing in the front door one may see at the right hand some roses, if in June, long since put there and still giving
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out their portion of the good things of earth in silent approval of the kind acts of those who put them there. The old house has done its share in protecting those who built it and in defending the helpless. It has served its day as home and now does humble duty as a shelter for inanimate things. To the distant comer, to the one seeking a place that goes down in history for all times, it is a solemn place, but to the local interest it is a mere passing event. But this is al- ways true. It is true of Plymouth, and Lexington, and Concord as well. Long acquaintance with events and places makes them common. To the younger gen- eration these things are not generally familiar even in our own county. They do not realize the meaning of what occurred here and it would not be out of place to use some special effort to preserve the past in this particular since so long as history is written we must have some direct connection with national affairs. The picture gives a very fair impression of the old house as it fronts the south on the driveway of the old homestead formerly the early possession of Wm. Maxson.
SECTION XI.
THE PRESS AND LITERARY ORGANIZATIONS.
"Cedar County News Letter."
"This is the title of a neutral paper about to be issued in Cedar County under the control of N. C. Swank, Esq., well known as an unassuming, upright, and energetic citizen, fully competent to the discharge of the duties he is about to take upon himself. A good newspaper is what 'Old Cedar' has long needed and she is now about to have it. The paper will be printed at the flourishing town of Rochester, on the Cedar River, and we miss the mark mightily if it will not be worth double the price of subscription and afford our business men a first rate advertising medium. See prospectus in our columns."
The prospectus referred to includes about one-fourth column in the "Iowa Democratic Enquirer" for August 21, 1852.
The above article appeared at the time of the founding of the first paper printed in this county. It was the beginning of the plant afterwards moved to the old court house referred to in the reminiscences by Mr. N. C. Moffett.
The heading of this paper does appear on the first files of the Advertiser showing conclusively the connection.
Mr. N. C. Moffett in his "Early Recollections of Tipton," after describing various experiences in 1852, says :
"The next year the subject of starting a newspaper to represent the interests of Tipton and the county generally was seriously discussed by the more enter- prising citizens. The main difficulty seemed to be to find some one willing to take the lead in the matter, and to give it that substantial backing which would insure it success, and when it was learned that a practical printer was residing in the community I was solicited to take upon myself the publication of the paper. To this I replied that having come to the west with the idea of becom- ing a farmer I did not care at this time to engage in the field of journalism, offering, however, to give the benefit of my services in getting out the first issue. There were those living in Tipton well qualified for properly conducting a coun- try paper, with resources for sustaining it until it became self supporting, but none of this class came forward with offers.
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"In this emergency Charles Swetland, a man of very little schooling but in- spired with a large degree of energy and public spirit, quietly announced that the county needed a representative newspaper and that he was going to see that such was supplied.
"There seems to have been, at one period, some kind of a paper published at Rochester which had ended its life on the bank of the Cedar, and its remains were offered for sale. The name of the luminary I have forgotten, but think it was not of colossal dimensions, judging by the quality of material used in its production, and which, as a preliminary, had been purchased and taken to Tip- ton. At this juncture I was employed to make an estimate on the requirements for an up-to-date seven column newspaper with job office attachment. After inspecting the Rochester materials and making deductions for what could be used, an order was sent to the type founders for what was necessary to meet the requirements. I will add, however, that it had been decided to make use of the Rochester press for printing the new paper, and in giving a partial descrip- tion of the same I shall need a full paragraph.
"The press I found, after getting all its parts together, was unique indeed, and of such apparent antiquity that I really spent some time in trying to find some clue to its name and date of production, without avail, but after consulting all the books and illustrations on the subject of early printing we finally settled down to the conviction that it must be the one used by Gutenberg or Schoeffer, pioneers in the art of printing with movable types (1460). We afterward learned that it was known as the Ramage press.276 But at last when the forms were locked in the chases and laid upon the press bed, the first page was run under the platen by the pressman and an impression taken; then the bed was run on until the fourth page came under the platen to also receive a like im- pression-and this was the procedure that always had to be undergone in run- ning off our entire editions. Our office was in an upper room of the court house, and curiosity had brought together quite a collection of those wishing to see the initial number of the new paper. When the sheet was raised from the two pages a general expression of approval was given at its nice, attractive appearance, although representing but half the completed copy, and the aged press went up many degrees in my estimation as to the good work it was still able to perform.
"I said there was a general expression of approval from those present- with one exception. At the outset the question arose as to what name should be given the young advocate, and suggestions came in from all quarters. The Star of the West, the Tipton Banner, the Voice of the Prairie, etc., until the matter grew to be rather perplexing. At last when the order was ready to be sent to the foundry, Mr. Swetland came to me and said he wanted me to name the paper and to select suitable type for its display at the head of the first page. And here is where the strange part of the story comes in. I had been so occu- pied with other matters as to give very little thought as to what the paper should be called, but as it was expected to be the advocate of the interests of the entire community surrounding it, why not call it 'The Cedar County Advertiser?'. Furthermore, I then had in my own mind a goodly number of eastern papers bearing that title, in part which had been long lived and if the name 'Adver- tiser' was to act as preservative, why not make use of it now? I well know that
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it was but a passing whim, at the same time I have seen many papers with very high sounding titles come and go and are now forgotten within the fifty years that the Advertiser has existed. But I must say that I think there was some feeling of disappointment at the very plain as well as very lengthy name which had been placed at its head.
"The publication of the paper having been decided upon, the next question of importance was to whom should be intrusted its editorial management. I believe at that time there was not a person in Tipton who had ever had prac- tical experience in journalism, but a very popular young gentleman by the name of Wells Spicer was offered and accepted the position. Spicer was then study- ing law in the office of Judge Bissell, and with the material to select from prob- ably no better choice could have been made. His very social, jovial, unassuming personality had made him a general favorite, not only with Tipton people but with many old settlers throughout the county. And as the paper began to cir- culate and to receive the criticism of the public, it was justly admitted that the originality of his witticisms was self-evident, although the language with which they were expressed was sometimes rather crude and unfinished. I wish I had access to those old files of the Advertiser that I might enjoy the pleasure of re- inspecting those 'Funnicalities' and flights of fancy which appeared from week to week to be read and laughed over and enjoyed at leisure afterwards.
"At about the end of two or three years Judge Spicer became the proprietor of the Advertiser, when a new press of the most approved pattern was installed in the office, the paper enlarged to an eight column sheet, and the little old time- worn Ramage press was disposed of to again move onwards toward the great northwest, to enter upon new conditions and new labors. That venerable speci- men of typographic art, if still existing, should have a conspicuous place in some museum of ancient relics, or, if consigned to oblivion, should have a marble shaft erected to its memory for the long life of usefulness it has given to the world.
"In the meantime I had given up my position as printer for the Advertiser and sought other fields of labor where the remuneration was double what the local paper could afford to pay. Eventually proposals were made to myself and others to buy out the office and continue the publication of the paper under a new firm name. The new firm consisted of Simeon S. Daniels, my brother, Henry P. Moffett, and myself. The Advertiser was then published as a four page, eight column paper, at that time one of the largest weeklies circulating in the state of Iowa." 277
The Advertiser files were completed when Mr. D. C. Mott was the editor during the first year of his service. He is now editor of the Marengo (Iowa) Republican and he tells in what way he happened to find the missing numbers: "Upon obtaining control of the Advertiser at the beginning of 1893 we found that the bound files were continuous from 1853, the first issue being Nov. 12 of that year, to the present time excepting '58, '59, '60, '61, '62 and part of 1863. We learned that S. S. Daniels was editor during that time and that he was in Washington, D. C., where he has (1893) a position in the government printing office. We wrote him, found he had the complete files for that time, purchased them from him and brought them to this office.
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"These files are the most valuable part of the early history of Cedar County in existence. They show to some extent the struggles of our hardy pioneers, the development of our free school system, against the prejudice it encountered, to the system that it now is, they give in detail the gathering of the great storm of the Rebellion showing the feelings of the loyal people in Cedar County as the great crisis approached, the patriotic action they took, the organization and equipment of companies, and hurrying them to the front, and the anxious and terrifying suspense of the people during the long conflict. Each week the col- umns have letters from the boys in the field telling of camp life, of the march, of battle, of death of comrades, and of the suffering of sick and wounded. Then the returns of the decimated ranks when they were met with joy and yet with much sorrow."
The letter from Mr. Daniels written then to Mr. Mott is of interest.
"714 3rd St. N. E., Washington, D. C. May 19, 1894.
"D. C. Mott, Esq.
. "Dear Sir :- Yours of the 16th inst. received. I have written my son, W. E. Daniels, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, to arrange and send you the Advertisers I send all. I don't like to part with the papers as I may never be able to see them again. I feel that there are many things in them that are a part of the history of the county (if not the country), especially in those prior to and including the war, and as there are no other copies of a part they should be preserved. There are letters from soldiers in the field who are now honored residents of 'Old Cedar,' most of them under a nom de plume.
"The Advertiser, Tipton and Cedar County have a warm place in my heart for the best sixteen years of my life were spent there and many warm friend- ships were formed, and I take credit for helping in some improvements that yet remain.
"Excuse me, for these memories may not interest you. I would be remem- bered to old friends; I am always glad to hear of their prosperity.
Respectfully,
S. S. DANIELS."
After his government service ended Mr. Daniels returned to Mount Pleasant where he died several years ago.
Research tells of the establishment of twenty-four newspapers in Cedar County. Time assisted by poverty, and competition, or the allurements of the golden promises of fairer fields, have caused the death of seventeen of them, only seven remaining to tell the tale. Of those established, eleven have been in Tipton, and one each in West Branch, Mechanicsville, Stanwood, and Clarence, In writing of these papers we shall treat of them in the order in which they were founded as nearly as we can, accepting the statements in the Cedar County His- tory of '78 as to the more remote facts, and acknowledging aid from Brothers Gruwell, Smith, Shipley, and Dorcas as to events in their respective localities.
The Tipton Times and Cedar County Conservative was the name of the first newspaper published in Cedar County. It was a monthly paper, was printed in Davenport and had Wm. H. Tuthill and John P. Cook, attorneys of Tipton,
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as editors and publishers. It was Whig in politics. The first number was issued Saturday, April 6, 1850, and it was continued only one year.
Nelson C. Swank, of Rochester, owned the first printing press and printed the first newspaper within Cedar County's limits. It was The Cedar County News-Letter and was established at Rochester, Sept. 13, 1852. It continued one year when its publication was suspended and the press and material was sold to Chas. Swetland, who moved them to Tipton and founded the Cedar County Advertiser.
The Cedar County Advertiser was issued at Tipton in November, 1853, Chas. Swetland, a merchant, being the owner, and Wells Spicer and H. C. Piatt the editors. The old Cedar County News-Letter head had to be run for the heading for the first three weeks, as the new heading had not arrived from the east, wher- ever that was. With the exception of a suspension for about a month in the first year of its life, when the old material of the office was being exchanged for new, the paper has been issued regularly up to this date. The name was changed to The Tipton Advertiser at the end of two years. There have been many changes in ownership of this paper. Mr. Spicer soon became the sole editor of the paper and remained such until 1857 when S. S. Daniels succeeded him, con- tinuing until Feb. 1866. He had associated with him at different times as part owners N. C. and H. P. Moffett, E. W. Clark and L. M. Mulford. In Feb. 1866, Wm. P. Wolf took editorial charge, continuing a little over a year, when Chas. L. Longley succeeded him. Mr. Longley was editor from March 7, 1867, to Oct. 9, 1890. He had at different times associated with him in proprietorship L. M. Mulford, W. P. Peet, and J. M. Rider. A. C. Brande and J. M. Rider suc- ceeded Mr. Longley for six months, the former being editor. The paper was then sold to the Advertiser Printing Co. with J. M. Rider as manager and W. R. Boyd as editor. This management continued a little over two years, or until Nov. '93, when D. C. Mott bought the company and became editor and pro- prietor. This paper has been a factor in the history of the county. It has ad- vocated republicanism almost since the birth of the party. Among its editors have been at least some men of accomplishments, character, and ability. When the present editor took possession he found the files of the paper complete except about four years, from 1859 to 1863. These were in the possession of Mr. Daniels, who was editor at that time. They were obtained of him and bound, so that now the Advertiser has its complete files from the date of the first issue, Nov. 12, 1853, with the old Cedar County News-Letter heading, to the present time. Very much valuable history, local, county, state, and national, is contained in them. Secretary B. F. Gue, of the State Historical Society, has said he believes the Advertiser's files to be the oldest continuous files in Iowa. Mr. D. C. Mott continued the publication of the Advertiser until about June 1, 1897, when Sherman Yates became the editor. He has continued to edit the paper since that time, the firm of Yates and Ripley owning and publishing the paper for many years. The files are kept up and the old ones of the fifties and of the war period being in a bank vault. The Post of 1872 and '73 is also among these files.
The Cedar Democrat was the next newspaper venture. It was issued at Tipton in the spring of 1856. A stock company was the owner and A. C. Appler
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was the first editor. In 1857 Carlisle Curtis and Richard B. McGill became the owners and editors. David Roush became possessed of it in the winter of '59- '60. The paper was democratic and Mr. Roush was a war democrat, but the paper was discontinued for want of support in 1864.
We think the next paper to be established in the county was the Onion Grove Record, published at Onion Grove, later Clarence, editor M. Cummings. It must have been in the late '50's. It only continued a few weeks. The editor was a great wag.
The Mechanicsville Press was founded in August, 1866, under the name of The Journal, by Ragsdale and Bundy. The name was soon changed to the Press. During the next four years the paper had many changes, having as part or complete owners, C. W. Andrews, Weeks, West, John Galding, Hugh Leslie and Edward Connible, they confusing history by their complicated partnerships and changes of ownerships. Finally in March, 1870, F. H. Williams, an original character, obtained it and conducted it successfully until about '96, when it was bought by H. F. and W. A. Dorgas, the former as editor and the latter pub- lisher. It announced itself Republican, and is a good local paper.
N. F. Purcell is now the editor and publisher of the Pioneer-Press which name he gave to the last-mentioned paper. It has a well equipped plant publish- ing an eight page paper.
Aug. 30, 1871, W. H. Morrow and Jesse James founded a second republican paper in Tipton, the Cedar County Post. Later A. Kerns became a partner, but in August of the same year Mr. James became the sole editor and proprietor. It was a well edited paper, but the field being too limited, it was sold to the Ad- vertiser Dec. 31, 1873. The files are now in the Advertiser office.
The Cedar County Advance was established by W. H. Morrow, at Tipton, in the interests of Greeley and Brown, commencing Aug. 31, 1872, but suspended Oct. 20, 1875.
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