USA > Iowa > Jackson County > Annals of Jackson county, Iowa, Vol 1-6 > Part 19
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 (link on the Part 1 page).
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 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
In nidilim 10
0008
TO
-72-
wood near the river bank. On seeing Brown and Jenkins approaching God- frey became suspicious and started to run over the ice toward the island and Jenkins after him shooting at Godfrey as he went. At the third shot Godfrey screamed and fell, but sprang up and ran on and Jenkins returned. There is no account that Godfrey was ever seen again. Jinkins took the horses giv- en up to him and departed for his home on Rock River, Ill., so Warren said, and he also said Brown's actions in this case won him many friends, who were convinced he had been persecuted and was not the villain he had been represented to be. As we have previously stated, just after the caucus had been held and Brown's majority of two to one had opened Cox's eyes to Brown's villainy and true character. Brigham, a friend of Cox, was looking for the stolen horses also and gave a minute description of these same horses, which was not "found by him in Brown's stable" by any means, but had been given up by the sheriff as we have before shown. By the sheriff's account Brigham had to leave town between sunset and sunrise and there is nothing to show any move was made to bring Jinkins to ac- count or that Brigham ever went to Rock River to look for his horses and if Jinkins and those horses yet live they may be bosom friends and "epluribus unum."
If our historian's statement as to Brown and his men sending James Thompson and Abslom Montgomery to assassinate James C. Mitchel, who turned the tables and killed Thompson, is placed side by side with his pre- vious account under the title, "Killing of James Thompson," the two ac- counts will be found to differ very much. In the general write up of the killing of Thompson, while a part of the people were attending a ball, to which, by Mitchel's influence none of Brown's tribe should be allowed to attend, Thompson and some of his confederates robbed Mitchel's house and Thompson tried to violate the person of Miss Hadley, who was alone in Mitchel's house. She broke away and fled to the ball room. After the affair become understood Mitchel borrowed a pistol and started out to search for Thompson. Thompson had returned to Brown's saloon and fill- ing up with whiskey declared his intentions of going out to find Mitchell and kill him. Instead of Brown and his men sending him, according to Warren's other account, they tried to persuade him from going, telling him one or the other would likely be killed and perhaps both and he had better leave town, but to no purpose. Thompson was crazed with drink and started out with a pistol in one hand and a bowie knife in the other, meeting Montgomery on the street Thompson told him what had happened and that Mitchell would surely be looking for him and if he ( Montgomery) wanted to see fun to come on. Montgomery tried to prevail upon him to go back and keep out of sight. At this moment Mitchel was seen coming down the street and Thompson started to meet him followed by Montgomery. who called to Mitchel to look out. Mitchell and Thompson advanced toward each other and Thompson snapped his pistol at Mitchel's breast, but it failed to go off, whereupon Mitchel shot Thompson through the heart killing him instantly and then returned to the ball room. (If Montgomery had been "sent with Thompson to assassinate Mitchel," he had the opportuni- ty after Mitchel's pistol was empty), whereupon, as the writings of War-
-
=73-
ren state, Montgomery hunted up the sheriff and told him what had hap. pened and Warren says he and Montgomery were the first ones to reach the corpse. There is no place in this account of Warren's that charges Mont- gomery with having anything to do with killing Mitchel or being with any of Thompson's friends that night. So far as Montgomery is concerned it is well that much can be said in his favor, for according to the universal verdict, he was of little principle. .He was well known in these parts where Maquoketa now is.
It is not our present intent to give detailed account of that night of horrors, when Thompson was killed and his friends besieged Mitchel and his friends in the chamber of the dance hall, as Warren has told us, (with- out any conflicting testimony) how cursing and swearing they threatened to burn the house with Mitchel and his friends in it and was pacitied by the sheriff, when he told them he would answer for Mitchell's forthcoming in the morning and would see he was dealt with according to law. They told the sheriff if Mitchel was not forthcoming they would hold him (War- ren) responsible for it and departed, leaving Mitchel in the sheriff's care. Brown afterwards came to Warren and told him he had better place a heavy guard over Mitchel as the boys were drinking a good deal and no telling what might happen, but the night passed off without any further trouble and the next morning a coroner's jury passed a verdict that Thompson came to his death by a pistol shot fired by James C. Mitchel. Brown and his men were all there and the citizens were addressed by Wm. Morden, who Warren says was respected by all and shared the friendship of Brown to that extent that what Morden said was law with Brown. Morden condemned any show of mob law and advocated letting the law deal with Mitchell. Accordingly he was ironed and placed under guard. Warren says, while Morden was addressing the people in favor of the civil law and against the evil influence of mob law he was cheered by both sides. Morden should have been there and addressed Cox, Harrintgon and others, after Brown was kill- ed if he could command the attention of such "desperadoes" as Brown and his men. We are neither for nor against. For no man who the evidence condemns or against any man entitled to the benefit of the doubt, but am now writing to show where history contradicts itself. In the reply to "Old Settler" we again find the following paragraph speaking of the attack on Brown's house. "We immediately marched toward Brown's house, but be- fore reaching it, one of my men, Henderson Palmer. was shot down by a volley tired from the windows of the upper story of Brown's house. An or- der to charge was given when a general engagement took place. Brown's friends outside fled as soon as they realized there was peril ahead of them and deserted their friend and chieftain in the hour of his need and danger." The other version of our historian as given under the title of "the assault on Brown's hotel"' is in part as follows: "Our squad moved in double file and not a word was spoken until we came within thirty rods of the house when the word "charge" was given and in a second the whole squad was as close to the house as they could get." (We thought it was said Palmer was killed before the word charge was given. ) "Brown was standing about the center of the room with his rifle raised to his shoulder, Col. Cox and myself
W/ hem bote
llow
moibts
-74-
both with our pistols presented at his breast and said "surrender Brown and you shant be hurt." He lowered his gun, no doubt with the intention of surrendering, but it went off, the ball passing through Col. Cox's coat, the crack of Brown's rifle was no doubt a signal to the balance of Brown's men, as a general firing commenced by them up stairs." (We thought he claimed it commenced before the posse charged. ) "Before Brown could speak several shots was fired into the house in the north windows, one of which passed through both of Brown's jugular veins, he fell and died without a strangle. The general fight was kept up for about fifteen minutes, those of Brown's men down stairs fought with perfect desperation." We thought he said they had forsaken their chief in his hour of need, but as there is no account in his write up of more than six escaping and that after Brown was killed and the house fired, (afterward extinguished) Brown couldn't have needed them any longer.
And yet again, we find in the historian's reply to "Old Settler, " who he brands as a "viper" and charges with helping to kill Davenport, the follow- ing: "The time of serving the warrant of arrest on Brown and his twenty- seven followers," (the warrant read according to a previous statement of Warren's, Wm. Brown, Wm. Fox, Aaron Lang and twenty others) " was the first day of April, 1840. Brown had been informed of the day fixed for his arrest and had speedily assembled his men and sympathizers together at his house, where he armed and arranged them for the fight. He fortified his premises and unfolded a red flag on which was inscribed "victory or death." In another place the same writer says, "it so exasperated Brown's men they placed a red flag in front of his house on which was inscribed the ominous sign "victory or death" In one it was Brown himself who displayed the flag and in the other his men, who "placed it before his house." We do not charge our historian with intentionally tangling things up for in his dreams he might have forgotten what he had dreamed before.
The write up of the Bellevue War and the cause that led up to it, as published in the 1879 history of Jackson County, not only contradicts itself in these and other particulars, but is not in accord with the docket of Jack- son County. Our historian's writings make much adieu about the criminal proceedings of the so-called desperadoes with Brown, Fox, Long, Thompson and others as ring leaders and that it was an utter impossibility to convict them on account of their always being able to prove an alibi. We must take it according to that statement, that they had been indicted at least several times and it is strange the dockets of the courts held bewteen 1838 and 1840 -the time of the Bellevue war -- does not show it. If it shows where W. W. Brown, the claimed chief of the clan and Wm. Fox, the claimed chief, one among the "outlaws" was indicted for any crime in Jackson County, we overlooked it in our search of the record. those who are familiar with the docket tells me on inquiry, no such can be found and that there is no civil suit for debts, and what is true of them is also true of many others who helped defend Brown against the so-called sheriff's posse. As we aforesaid it is "strange" inasmuch as J. K. Moss, one of the posse, was a justice. W. A. Warren sheriff and Hadley deputy sheriff, also members of the posse, and to aid them in their support of the law there was Col. Cox, Henderson
0
含Tone
--- 75-
Palmer, James C. Mitchell, Anson Harrington and Hadley, who according to our historian were embittered against Brown and some of his men and had to aid them indetecting"the crimes of the "outlaws." Lyman Wells, who Warren says had been one of Brown's gang and still professed to be, acted as a spy for the ferreting out of the "outlaws" doings.
We are not putting up any defense of Wm. Fox or any of the rest of them only so far as history seems to demand. It is claimed Fox, a little over five years after he was whipped with the rest and driven out, helped to kill Col. George Davenport, but so far as we can learn he was only arrested on suspicion and escaped from the officers and never was rearrested, though it was afterwards known he was living in the east, Indiana, we believe. We do know though, (if we can believe Warren) that after he was whipped he came back into the island and sent for the sheriff and begged him to go and bring him $400 he had given Mrs. Brown for safe keeping when he would leave the country and never return. The sheriff done so and Mrs. Brown asked the sheriff (Warren) to also take him a suit of good clothes he had there and put up something to eat for him, all for which he was very thankful. This is one of the few cases where such a "desperado" has saved up $400 and had the sympathy of such a good woman as Warren tells us Mrs. Brown was, who must have known something of Fox's character. We also fail to learn of anything on the crimnal docket against "Old Man" Burtis, who was killed by the so-called posse, or his son, James L. Burtis, who, we believe, was whipped by Cox's men and in later years built and run the Burtis house, the best equipped and most popular hotel west of Chicago in those days, of which can be found an extended description in the fifty year souvenir addition of the Davenport Democrat. Now these are some of the things the docket of Jackson County should show if the statements in the 1879 history are true. As we said before, we might have overlooked them or been misinformed by those more familar with the records. But it, was not at all hard to see different places where such men as John Cox, Harris, (the man who issued the warrant for the wholesale arrest of Brown and his men) and James C. Mitchell and some others of that posse, or whatever you see fit to call it, had civil actions against them for debts, trespass and so forth.
James C. Mitchell was indicted for manslaughter, in killing Thompson, January 8th, 1840, (though if Warren's account of the affair is true, Mitch- eli ought to have been pensioned for the act) and was also indicted and con- victed for keeping a gambling house, and his name appears on the dockets at every term of court for years as defendant in matters wherein he was sued for debts. We do not allude to this out of partiality for anyone or impartiality toward anyone, only to raise the question why the dockets seem to be silent as to the doings of such men as Brown, Fox, the Burtises and others were claimed to have been, while they show charges against mem- bers, who are claimed by Warren's writings to have been pillars of the law. We have not been influenced in these writings by anyone, but have been led by a desire to clear up some of the suspicion that in former years at least. clung to "Old Settler" and others, and write a little history as history seems in the light of our researches to have been made. We used to be prejudiced against Brown and those who sympathized with him, but we read
teProgaidi 300 07
the nyeW orfw
-76-
Warren's historical account. Read and reread it and at every reading had our opinion still more changed until we concluded to go on a still hunt among pioneers, written history and court dockets to either confirm or weaken our change of opinion. It has taken us some time to make up our mind to place this matter, as we see it and believe we find it, on paper. We knew it would be so radically different to the popular version that the "bees might swarm." There are many living who are descended from some of those men we may seem to condemn, although we only mean to do so as far as the evidence appears to me to warrant, and if they can show where in we error, they owe it to history and the memory of friends to make what they can prove a matter of history by contributing it to the Jackson County Historical Society for publication by the Sentinel, which has the contract to place it in pamphlet form. With all honor for Harvey Reid, our friend, who has done so much valuable work in collecting the life's history of Col. Cox and he, James Ellis, Geo. Mitchell and others who were instrumental in moving and marking the grave of Col. Cox, I will give this to the public and all who want to criticize.
witness he
everits of the Hark and. eksou county Frum
he ( people my Limt muy earliest such sod s in sympathy with Brown and
& light T could get In the territ formation
ays in the county om the In- Ing Scenins fbacted la ti wledge of the th czne state of a ar persco. BO Mitpels by Mr. Seeley Ja Darleson and lu refutter I will only present
Istorians Heury an eye witu with It two. let- Tom wollten to ( which will indie
vue war or mob.
y that the victors en shat genaslo
Last Saturday posted by a very lige
denow soterod our o tica ascent- reduced Joseph Henry, d cian the find lived in the viefaity ta befor Magasketa was thought ut. The writer knew sometbli
iry away back in the early days Lost supposed Flat he for g joined the great majority of this dueksun County Pioneers on the ther shore. The old gentleman spent The Lisenser with us, and give us a brief outline of bis history so far as is was connected with this county.
n Illda poinigo ino
0
W
bas xcD
o golvom al JAW odw fin ben
-- 77-
He came to Delley carpenter trade for n they got a elalto Higgssport ia: this he trad- ed for a clain DE ntending to
on .It. and pa rtly bu e branch th Th
Hurstville. :
Then claim which was alt.
con.
Moc 11.
.
Another Old Pioneer Gives Something of Interest.
(Written by J. W. Ellis for the Jackson County Historical Society.)
The article by Farmer Buckhorn, "Recollections of S. Burleson," has again brought up for discussion, thought and inquiry, the greatest tragedy in the history of Jackson county-the Bellevue war as Colonel W. A. War- ren designated it, and the Bellevue mob as others designated it. The writ- er gave his versions of that tragedy and the causes leading up to it in 1897. At that time there were persons living who had been eye witnesses of the tragedy of April 1st, 1840, in Bellevue. But I doubt if there is now any- where, any one living, who participated in or witnessed the events of the dark and bloody days in the then county seat of Jackson county. From \ my earliest recollections I have been accustomed to hear people say that such and such people had been suspicioned of being in sympathy with Brown and his gang. When I grew older I sought all the light I could get on the unwritten as well as written history of the early days in the county in the territorial days. From the researches I have made and from the in- formation received direct from those who lived amid the stirring scenes enacted in those early days. I feel that I have a better knowledge of the true state of affairs in the county and especially in Bellevue, than any oth- er person now living, but a large share of space has been taken up in our annals by Mr. Seeley in his vindication of his old friend and neighbor S. Burleson and in refuting the charges implied by the historians of 1879. I will only present at this time a sketch dictated to me in 1897 by Joseph Henry an eye witness of the conflict of April 1st, 1840, and with it two let- ters written to Governor Lucas immediately after the Bellevue war or mob, which will indicate to the students of history quite clearly that the victors on that occasion were not universally hailed as heroes.
JOE HENRY'S STORY.
Last Saturday morning Mr. J. E. Goodenow entered our office accom- panied by a very aged man whom he introduced as Joseph Henry, a man who had lived in the vicinity of Maquoketa before Maquoketa was thought of. The writer knew something of Joe Henry away back in the early days, but supposed that he had long ago joined the great majority of the Jackson County Pioneers on the other shore. The old gentleman spent the forenoon with us, and gave us a brief outline of his history so far as it was connected with this county.
12-251
TO jastory DIO redion.А
1W)
TI
-78-
He came to Bellevue in 1835. worked at the carpenter trade for a time. then got a claim on the Maquoketa river where Higginsport is; this he trad- ed for a claim in the forks of the Maquoketa intending to build a saw mill on it, and partly built the frame for one on the branch that runs through Hurstville. In some way he lost this claim; he then took up a claim which was afterwards known as the Lyman Bates farm, now owned by M. E. Fin- ton, and built a saw mill on Mill Creek, some 80 rods above where McCloy's mill was afterwards built; this was in 1837, the mill was completed in the fall. On the first day of January, 1838, it began to rain, and a great flood came and swept away the products of all his labor and savings and left him without a dollar. He says: "In a few days after the flood George Clausen came down from Dubuque and bought a yoke of cattle to butcher and stay- ed a night with me. I got him to let me help him drive the cattle to Du- buque, and he paid me $1.50 for it. and kept me over night. A man by the name of Hapgood owed me ten dollars. I went to a Mr. Downs to enquire for him, told him my situation, what I had and where I was from. He gave me his hand and said, 'Henry, I know you, everybody that comes from that country stops with you and speaks well of you. now just make yourself at home. you are welcome to all you can eat and drink.' While I was in Dubuque an agent came up from Davenport to get voters to go to Davenport to vote for the county seat for that place. He offered to pay my fare to Davenport and back and board me. He finally made a bargain with me to give me a dollar and fifty cents a day to help him get a crowd to go with him. We got three sled loads of men from Dubuque. stopped at Bellevue and got two sled loads there. On leaving Bellevue each sled con- tained a big jug full of whiskey.
The weather was extremely cold and nearly all were frostbitten before we got to Davenport. This was in January. When we got to Davenport the doors were all open and everything was free. James Campton, of Dubuque, was captain of our company, and on a wager of $20 he drank 100 glasses of whiskey, ate the peppers and drank the sauce of two bottles of pepper sauce in one day, helping to dress 6 beeves the same day, was sober at night, and won the bet. After the election we were returned. I stopped at Bellevue where I made my home with Charlie Bilto, and worked at the carpenter trade, taking such pay as I could get; there was no money in the country. I was elected constable beating Jim Hanby two to one. The country at that time was overrun with horse thieves and counterfeiters. W. W. Brown was the most prominent man in the county at that time; he kept a public house in Bellevue, run a butcher shop, a general store and a wood yard, employ- ing a great many men; he was successful in business and was good to the poor, as was his amiable wife, and he was generally considered the most useful and best citizen in the place. Travelers said that Brown set the best table from there to New Orleans. Brown was never known to pass counter- feit money to his customers, he always said if any one got bad money at his house he would make it good, there were other men in business in Bellevue who were less successful and could not compete with Brown, and were very jealous and claimed that Brown was getting rich too fast. J. K. Moss and the Sublets were the loudest in their denunciation of Brown's methods
.
DIRW 19110 81W που In auw Illor
-79-
of doing business. and he to retaliate. bought up their paper where ever he could and made them trouble; this made matters worse. Brown continued to prosper in business and his enemies openly accused him of being the lead- er of all the outlaws in the country.
On the 8th of January, 1840, war was almost precipitated and barely averted by the killing of James Thompson by James Mitchell. Mitchell and his brother had been having trouble over partnership business. Jim had retained a trunk full of clothing that belonged to his brother's wife and would not give it up. On the night in question, while Jim was at a ball at the new hotel, his brother got James Burtis and James Thompson to go with a team and get the trunk. Jim and Thompson had been having trou- ble and threatened each other: when Jim heard of the visit to his house, he got a gun and set out to bind Thompson, whom he soon met in company with Ab Montgomery. Thompson was very drunk. Thompson and Mitchell approached within striking distance of each other and leveled their guns at each other; Thompson's gun failed to go off, and the bullet from Mitchell's gun passed through Thompson's heart killing him immediately. The wildest excitement was created by this incident, as the two men represent- ed the two factions, and the breach between the factions was considerably widened and both sides went armed at all times.
In March a warrant was procured from a justice of the peace named Harris, near Fulton, for the arrest of Brown and his friends. As constable and deputy sheriff I called upon Brown and tried to arrange matters peace- fully. Brown said he was willing to go before any tribunal and defend him- self against the charges and was willing to give bonds for the appearance of the men named with him in the warrant, but would not advise the men to surrender to a mob. He also said if his enemies were so anxious to get rid of him. he would submit the matter to three appraisers to be selected from outside the county, he to select one, his enemies one, and the two to select a third, and he would take two-thirds the appraised value of his prop- erty.
On the fatal first day of April, 1840, the so-called citizens committee met at the store of J. K. Moss, who kept among other things, tinware, large stock of coffee pots which were filled with whiskey on this occasion, and freely circulated among the men, who soon became so drunk that they could not be held in restraint; they swore they would go up and kill Brown them- selves. They were led by Col. Cox who was very drunk himself. He finally gave the word to march and they marched up to the Brown Hotel. As they came up Brown stood in the front door, his gun pointed at Cox, who also had his gun pointed at Brown. Cox ordered Brown to ground arms and Brown dropped his rifle so the muzzle pointed to the ground and it went off. Cox was pushed out of the way by the men behind and Tom Sublette and one of the men who kept the ferry at the mouth of Tete des Morts creek, whose name I have forgotten, sprang to the side window and tired through it at Brown who stood by his wife just inside the door, one of the balls striking him in the temple and the other just below the ear killing him instantly. I stood in the street about four rods from Brown's house. There were four or tive men with me who took no part in the tight, among
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.