Biographical and historical memoirs of Story County, Iowa, Part 13

Author:
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 484

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In the list of Iowa's executives it would perhaps be difficult to find a man more popular, or who by reason of upright, honorable ability is more deserving of popularity, than John H. Gear, whose administration covered a period of four years of the State's history. He was born in Ithaca, N. Y., the son of a clergyman in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and occupied in Western New York until removing to Illinois in 1836. John H., his only son, came to Bur- lington in 1843, where he has since continued

to reside. He early entered upon a clerical career, was soon taken into the firm of his employer, and later succeeded to the business by purchase. Similar interests still claim a share of his attention. Mr. Gear has been honored with many positions of trust, such as alderman, mayor, president of a railroad, etc. In 1871 the Republican party nominated and elected him representative to the general assem- bly, again in 1873 (when he was speaker), and also in 1875, with the same capacity. As is well known, he enjoys the distinction of being an able parliamentarian. His election as gov- ernor was the result in both instances of a large majority vote, and while an incumbent of this position his precise business methods enabled him to discharge the duties of his office with decided ability. His administration is recognized as being, perhaps, the most suc- cessful of any of the State governors. He is now representing the First District in Con- gress. Gov. Gear was married in 1852, and has two children living.

The twelfth governor of the State was Buren R. Sherman, who also held office two terms, and demonstrated himself to be a public servant, having at heart the welfare and best interests of those whose suffrages had called him to this exalted position. He was of New York birth and antecedents, and in youth was fortunate in securing a thorough knowledge of the English branches. Later he learned the watch-maker's trade, in 1855 removed to Iowa, and on unbroken prairie in Tama County labored earnestly, employing his leisure hours in the study of law. In 1859 he was admitted to the bar, and became a member of a law firm at Vinton, which enjoyed a flourishing practice upon the opening of the war. Almost imme- diately Mr. Sherman entered the field and was promoted to captain. Though wounded, he continued in service until compelled to resign,

HISTORY OF IOWA.

when, after returning to Benton County, he was made county judge, then district court clerk, and in 1874 auditor of State, holding the lat- ter office six years. His nomination as gov- ernor was a fitting testimonial to his earlier public services, he remaining at the head of government until succeeded by Gov. Larrabee. His management of public business was hon- orable and thorough and heartily commended by all good citizens. The Governor's wife is the mother of two children. He is now enjoy- ing a well-earned rest.

The last Republican candidate to serve as the executive of this State was William Larra- bee, an individual of noble ambition, broad comprehension and information, and a clear reasoner, who claims the French Huguenots as his ancestors. He was born in Connecticut in 1832, spent his early life on a rugged New England farm, and received moderate school advantages. His desire to form a plan for the future was retarded somewhat by the misfor- tune which early befell him in the loss of his right eye, but having decided to come west, he moved to Iowa in 1853, seeking the home of a sister in Clayton County. In time he became interested in mill property in Fayette County, but some years later sold out and started a bank. During the war his affliction forbade his service in the army, though he raised a company and was commissioned first lieutenant. In 1867 he began his political career by an election to the State Senate, in which capacity he served eighteen years, his popularity leading to his re-nominations by acclamation. In 1885 he was the choice of the convention for gover- nor, and his election followed as a matter of course, and it is conceded that he made an excellent officer. His term of office expired on March 4, 1890. Gov. Larrabee was married in 1861 and reared seven children.

Certainly no resident of Iowa at the present

time is more widely known, by reputation at least, than its present governor, Horace E. Boies, the successor of Gov. Larrabee, who enjoys the distinction of being the first man elected to this position by the Democratic party in thirty-five years. That he was the only success- ful candidate of his party on the State ticket at the last election, is a personal compliment, not at all disparaging to the campaign work of his party managers. Gov. Boies was born in Erie County, N. Y., in 1827, but tiring of the restraint of home life on the farm, and ob- taining consent to depart for the west, he arrived in Racine Wis., poor in purse, but of an indomitable will. After some time of varied experience in farm work, he returned to his home and studied, later teaching in Illinois. In 1850 he began the study of law, was admitted to the bar at Buffalo, in 1852, and practiced with marked success until called upon to iep- resent his district in the House of Representa- tives in 1858. In April, 1867, he removed to Waterloo, Iowa, where he still makes his home, and since that time has carried on a remunera- tive legal practice of wide repute, under various firm names; a portion of the time his eldest son has been associated with him. First a Whig in politics, Gov. Boies later became a Republican, and in 1882 joined the ranks of Democracy. He has never been a politician, and only accepted the nomination for his pres- ent position from a sense of duty. Though entering upon his official duties under peculiar circumstances, he has the confidence of all that his administration will be able, honest and fair.

Of the present State institutions the capitol building is a beautiful specimen of modern ar- chitecture. Its dimensions are, in general, 246x364 feet, with a dome and spire extending up to a height of 275 feet. In 1870 the Gen- eral Assembly made an appropriation, and pro-

HISTORY OF IOWA.

vided for the appointment of a board of com- missioners to commence the work of building. They were duly appointed and proceeded to work, laying the corner-stone with appropriate ceremonies November 23, 1871. The structure has only recently been completed at a cost of about $3,500,000.

The State University, at Iowa City, was es- tablished there in 1858, immediately after the removal of the capital to Des Moines. As had already been planned, it occupied the old cap- itol building. As early as January, 1849, two branches of the university were established- one at Fairfield and one at Dubuque. At Fair- field the board of directors organized and erected a building at a cost of $2,500. This was nearly destroyed by a hurricane the fol- lowing year, but was rebuilt more substantially by the citizens of Fairfield. This branch never received any aid from the State, and Jan- uary 24, 1853, at the request of the board, the General Assembly terminated its relation to the State. The branch at Dubuque had only a nominal existence.

By act of Congress, approved July 20, 1840, two entire townships of land were set apart in Iowa for the support of a university. The Legislature of this State placed the manage- ment of the institution in the hands of a board of fifteen trustees, five to be chosen (by the Legislature) every two years, the superintend- ent of public instruction to be president of the board. This board was also to appoint seven trustees for each of the three normal schools, to be simultaneously established-one each at Andrew, Oskaloosa and Mount Pleasant. One was never started at the last-named place, and after a feeble existence for a short time the other two were discontinued. The university itself was closed during 1859-60 for want of funds.

The law department was established in June,

1868, and soon afterward the Iowa Law School at Des Moines, which had been in successful operation for three years, was transferred to Iowa City and merged in the department. The medical department was established in 1869, and in 1874 a chair of military instruction was added.

Since April 11, 1870, the government of the university has been in the hands of a board of regents. The present faculty comprises forty- two professors, and the attendance upwards of 600 students.

The State Normal School is located at Cedar Falls, and was opened in 1876. It has now a faculty of nine members, with an attendance of over 300 pupils.

The State Agricultural College is located at Ames, in Story County, being established by the legislative act of March 23, 1858. In 1862 Congress granted to Iowa 240,000 acres of land for the endowment of schools of agri- culture and the mechanic arts. The main building was completed in 1868, and the insti- tution opened the following year. Tuition is free to pupils from the State over sixteen years of age. The college farm comprises 860 acres, of which a major portion is in cultivation. [See sketch on subsequent pages. ]

The Deaf and Dumb Institute was estab- lished in 1855, at Iowa City, but was after- ward removed to Council Bluffs, to a tract of ninety acres of land two miles south of that city. In October, 1870, the main building and one wing were completed and occupied. In February, 1877, fire destroyed the main build- ing and east wing, and during the summer following a tornado partially demolished the west wing. It is at present manned with some fifteen teachers, and attended by about 300 pupils.

The College for the Blind has been at Vin- ton since 1862. Prof. Samuel Bacon, himself

HISTORY OF IOWA.

blind, a fine scholar, who had founded the In- stitution for the Blind at Jacksonville, Ill., commenced as early as 1852 a school of in- struction at Keokuk. The next year the insti- tution was adopted by the State and moved to Iowa City, with Prof. Bacon as principal. It was moved thence, in 1862, to Vinton. The building was erected and the college manned at vast expenditure of money. It is said that $282,000 were expended upon the building alone, and that it required an outlay of $5,000 a year to heat it, while it had accommodations for 130 inmates. At present, however, they have accommodations for more pupils, with an attendance of 132. There are eleven teachers. The annual legislative appropriation is $8,000, besides $128 per year for each pupil.

The first Iowa Hospital for the Insane was established by an act of the Legislature ap- proved Jannary 24, 1855. It is located at Mount Pleasant, where the building was com- pleted in 1861 at a cost of $258,555. Within the first three months 100 patients were admit- ted, and before the close of October, 1877, an aggregate of 3,684 had been admitted. In April, 1876, a portion of the building was de- stroyed by fire. At this institution there are some ninety-four superintendents and assist- ants, in charge of 472 patients.

Another hospital for the insane, at Inde- pendence, was opened May 1, 1873, in a build- ing which cost $88,114. The present number of inmates is 580, in the care of 111 superin- tendents and employes.

The Soldiers' Orphans' Home is located at Davenport. It was originated by Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer, during the late war, who called a convention for the purpose at Muscatine Sep- tember 7, 1863, and July 13 following the in- stitution was opened in a brick building at Lawrence, Van Buren County. It was sus- tained by voluntary contributions until 1866,

when the State took charge of it. The Legis- lature provided at first for three "homes." The one in Cedar Falls was organized in 1865, an old hotel building being fitted up for it, and by the following January there were ninety six inmates. In October, 1869, the Home - was removed to a large brick building about two miles west of Cedar Falls, and was very pros- perous for several years; but in 1876 the Leg- islature devoted this building to the State Normal School, and the buildings and grounds of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at Glenwood, Mills County, to an institution for the support of feeble-minded children, and also provided for the removal of the soldiers' orphans at the Glenwood and Cedar Falls homes to the insti- tution at Davenport. The latter has now in charge 169 orphans.

The Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children, referred to above, is at Glenwood, established by the Legislature in March, 1876. The insti- tution was opened September 1, following, with a few pupils; but now the attendance is 215, in the care of four teachers. This asylum is managed by three trustees, one of whom must be a resident of that county, Mills.

The first penitentiary was established in 1841, near Fort Madison, its present location. The cost of the original building was $55,934, and its capacity was sufficient for 138 convicts. At present there are at this prison 364 con- victs, in charge of forty-three employes.

The penitentiary at Anamosa was established in 1872-73. It now has 239 convicts and thirty-four employes.

The Boys' Reform School was permanently located at Eldora, Hardin County, in 1872. For the three years previous it was kept at the building of the Iowa Manual Labor Institute, at Salem, Henry County. Only boys between seven and sixteen years of age are admitted. Credit of time for good conduct is given, so

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that occasionally one is discharged before he is of age. There were in 1885 201 pupils here. The "girls' department " is at Mitchellville, similarly managed. Inmates, eighty-three.

The State Historical Society is in part sup- ported by the State, the governor appointing nine of the eighteen curators. This society was provided for in connection with the uni- versity, by legislative act of January 28, 1857, and it has published a series of valuable col- lections, and a large number of finely engraved portraits of prominent and early settlers.

The State Agricultural Society is conducted under the auspices of the State, and is one of the greatest promoters of the welfare of the people among all the State organizations. It holds an annual fair at Des Moines, and its

proceedings are also published annually at the expense of the State.

The Fish-Hatching House has been suc- cessfully carrying on its good work since its establishment in 1874 near Anamosa. Three fish commissioners are appointed, one for each of the three districts into which the State is for the purpose divided.

The State Board of Health, established in 1880, has an advisory supervision, and to a limited extent also a police supervision, over the health of the people, especially with refer- ence to the abatement of those nuisances that are most calculated to promulgate dangerous and contagious diseases. Their publications, which are made at the expense of the State, should be studied by every citizen.

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Story County.

CHAPTER XII.

NAMING THE COUNTY-THE PIONEERS-THEIR PECULIAR EXPERIENCES-EARLY TITLES-GAME, ETC .- NAMES OF EARLY SETTLERS-PIONEER MILLS-GRIST, FLOUR AND SAW-MILLS-TIMBER AND TREE PLANTING-MER-

CHANTS OF EARLIER DAYS-DRAINAGE-REMINISCENCES OF INTEREST-MAIL FACILITIES- PIONEER CUSTOMS-INDIANS-STORMS-FIRST THINGS-NEVADA.

Ye pioneers, it is to you The debt of gratitude is due; Ye builded wiser than ye knew The broad foundation On which our superstructure stands. Your strong right arms and willing hands, Your earnest effort, still command Our veneration .- Pierre.

HE twenty-four miles square in the heart of Iowa, comprised in the six- teen Congressional town- ships, in the Numbers 82, 83, 84 and 85 north, and Ranges 21, 22, 23 and 24 west of the fifth principal merid- ian, have the sole honor among political divisions in America of perpetuating the name of the great jurist and author of stand- ard treatises upon American law, Joseph Story, of Massachusetts. That eminent, able and just man was fully entitled to the compli- ment implied in this delicate and unique trib- ute to his memory, which was given at the in- stance of Hon. P. M. Cassady, of Des Moines,

who was at the date of the christening a mem- ber of the General Assembly.

The names of the early Presidents, espe- cially those of the popular Democratic party, Jefferson, Jackson and Van Buren, as well as the Father of his Country, had been commem- orated in the first purchase. Great orators and patriots of the early days, generals in the war for independence, and noted Indian chiefs, had already given names to portions of the Territo- ry, but those names were already stale or merely local in significance. It was a happy thought, to originate this peculiar use of the name of the great jurist, and it is to be hoped that the members of the bar of Story County will emulate the purity of character of the em- inent lawyer whose name appears on every pa- per they prepare; and if they may scarcely hope to compare with him in legal learning, they

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ought, at least, to aim to understand and hon- estly apply the great principles of justice which he illustrated with so much ability. Jo- seph Story was born September 8, 1779, and died September 10, 1845.

The most interesting period in the history of any nation or country is that of its birth. But above that of any other is the rise and growth of the great interior basin, and the western slopes of the American States. It seems stranger than the wildlest fiction when it is stated, that, in 1889, there was buried in Story County, Iowa, a man, who, as a child, was among the pioneers in the then unsettled parts of Ver- mont, who was successively a pioneer in the wildsof New York, of Ohio, of Indiana, of Illi- nois, and finally of Iowa, where he lived long enough to find himself in the heart of an em- pire of 65,000,000 of souls. In one life-time all this had been accomplished.

For the last twenty years there has been but little real pioneer life in America. Railways have been during that time extended in ad- vance of civilization so that the emigrant might in a few hours reach his future home, surrounded by his family, and by many of those who had been his friends and neighbors afore- time, all of whom could come with houses ready to be set up, and with most of the luxu- ries to which they had been accustomed. But when Iowa was opened for settlement it re- quired weeks or months of toil and adventure to reach her borders, and many weary days in which to make choice of a location. The emi- grant wagon was commonly drawn by oxen. The trail of the buffalo indicated the crossings of the unbridged streams. The sun, the stars, the leaves of the Indian compass, and the pre- vailing winds indicated the course to be pur- sued on the treeless plains. In the early summer the caravan of the pioneer trod a boundless carpet of green. As the season ad-

vanced the growth of the grass was such as to afford easy concealment except for the tops of the canvas-covered wagons. After the great fires had swept the face of the country in the fall, there was but blackness and deso- lation everywhere.

To the child of to-day on his way to the school-house, on every hilltop, along the graded highway or the paved street, all this will seem to be an idle dream, or a tale of the long-ago. But it is a reality to parents yet in the prime of life, whose homes dot the wide prairies or line the streets of cities and villages, and for whom the advance agent was not the locomo- tive, but the surveyor who set the stakes which were the only signs of boundary lines.

Under such conditions the physical features of the country did much to determine routes of travel and lines of settlement. Water and timber were prime factors in the problems of pioneer life. The tide of population flowed against the tide of the streams, and meandered the groves on their borders. Many of the early home-seekers came from other lands where timber must needs be destroyed to make room for the growth of necessary food, and the habit of destroying timber was such with them that many of them chose to settle in the woods rather than on the magnificent farms made ready for them by nature. Not only so, but they were firmly convinced that all others had the same thought, and that the broad prairies would never be occupied for homes.

Thus it followed that in the settlement of Central Iowa the borders of the rivers and groves were first occupied, and for social, as well as natural advantages, the population ex- tended far into the interior along the streams, while the great prairies were neglected. The borders of the Des Moines and the Iowa Rivers were explored before those of the smaller streams. About this time, also, the great Cal-

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ifornia trail was opened across the State, pass- ing through Jasper and Polk Counties. That tide dropped an occasional emigrant upon its line, and sometimes picked up a discontented floater and carried him to the Pacific slope. All these things combined to prepare for the occu- pation of Story County in the years closely fol- lowing upon 1850.

It is certainly true that under the Federal census of that year there was no enumeration of any citizen of Story County, as such. But it is also true that there were then at least two families which had homes within the county lines. One of these was probably reported in the census for Marshall County, the other in that of Polk County, or was omitted from the rolls. As these parties came into the county on different lines of travel, took claims about twenty miles distant from each other, and neither had knowledge of the other, each was morally the first settler in a county, the exact lines of which were then scarcely known, except to Government surveyors. For many years it was claimed for the Ballards, by citi- zens of the western part of the county, that the settlement in Ballard Grove had priority ; while in the southeastern part of the county a simi- lar claim was made for William Parker.

The claim for priority of settlement made by the Ballard brothers, is that Dan W. Ballard, who was then post butcher at Fort Des Moines, obtained from Lieut. Green, of the Dragoons, and from Capt. Robert Allen, United States quartermaster, permission for himself and his brother, Mormon Ballard, to select and locate claims. This was in 1847, and they made selections in the fall of that year. March 8, 1848, they took possession of their claims, which they occupied for many years. Their family name was given to the grove, which it still bears. Each of the brothers built a log house, 14x16 feet in size, with floors and doors

made of puncheons, or logs split in halves and dressed to a fairly smooth surface.

As bearing upon this subject, and helping to fix the date with exactness, Dan Ballard claims to have gone to Des Moines to vote in the pres- idential election in 1848. Also in the fall of that year the father, Simeon Ballard, joined the sons at the grove, where he died about two years later. The death of Simeon Ballard was the first in the county. His coffin was made by Squire M. Cory, and it was fashioned from walnut timber, split and dressed with an ax. Cory settled at the grove in the spring of 1850. Ben Jeffers, Renben Baldock and Washington Thomas had made selections in 1849, and they also brought their families in 1850. On the other hand, William Parker came to his location near the southeast corner of the county, and built a cabin 12x14 feet in size, April 14, 1849. It was a mere pen, with- out floor or roof. He cut an opening with his ax for a door, moved in his family and house- hold effects, and by using the boards of his wagon-box, soon had floor enough to keep his two babes off the ground. Without unneces- sary delay a tree was felled and made into boards for a roof, and in this castle the family remained until a better one could be completed, which was done by the following August.

The better to understand the movements of these early settlers, it may be well to recur to a few facts of earlier date. In 1833, under the President's proclamation of June 1st, a tract of fifty miles in width, west of the Mississippi River, was thrown open to settlement. This was known as the " Black Hawk Purchase." It was soon largely occupied. In September, 1836, a further cession was had. These were supplemented by other treaties in 1837 and 1842, and on May 1, 1843, the west line of set- tlement was established on the meridian of Red Rock, in Marion County. At this time, also, a

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fort was built at the mouth of the Raccoon fork of the Des Moines. Under the last named treaty, known as the "Second Black Hawk Pur- chase," the eastern half of Jasper County was open to settlement, and was somewhat occupied during the years immediately prior to 1847. This brought the settlement comparatively near to the eastern border of Story County.

The removal of the Indians to their Kansas reservation, in 1846, opened up the greater portion of Central Iowa to occupancy by the whites, but it was not until 1850, and within the year or two following, that there was any scramble for the choice locations in Story County. But about this time people began to pour in from the direction of Jasper County on the southeast, and from Fort Des Moines on the south, the Ballards on one line and Parker on the other, being the advance guard. Thus for about two or three years the settlements in the southeastern part of the county and those on the west were separated by Skunk River and an expanse of prairie that was seldom crossed, each party seeking necessary supplies by the route on which he had found his way into the county.

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Biographical and historical memoirs of Story County, Iowa, Part 13

Author: Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago : Goodspeed Number of Pages: 484

Author:
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 484