Biographical and historical memoirs of Story County, Iowa, Part 7

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

USA > Iowa > Story County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Story County, Iowa > Part 7

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).

+ Samuel R. Murray was returned as elected from Clinton County, but his seat was successfully contested by Burchard.

HISTORY OF IOWA.

Lucas seemed disposed to make free use of it, and the independent Hawkeyes could not quiet- ly submit to arbitrary and absolute rule, and the result was an unpleasant controversy between the executive and legislative depart- ments. Congress, however, by act approved March 3, 1839, amended the organic law by restricting the veto power of the governor to the two-thirds rule, and took from him the power to appoint sheriffs and magistrates.

Among the first important matters demand- ing attention was the location of the seat of government and provision for the erection of public buildings, for which Congress had ap- propriated $20,000. Gov. Lucas, in his mes- sage, had recommended the appointment of commissioners with a view to making a central location. The extent of the future State of Iowa was not known or thought of. Only on a strip of land fifty miles wide, bordering on the Mississippi River, was the Indian title extin- guished, and a central location meant some cen- tral point in the Black Hawk purchase. The friends of a central location supported the governor's suggestion. The southern members were divided between Burlington and Mount Pleasant, but finally united on the latter as the proper location for the seat of government. The central and southern parties were very nearly equal, and in consequence, much excitement prevailed. The central party at last triumphed, and on the 21st day of January, 1839, an act was passed, appointing Chauncey Swan, of Du- buque County ; John Ronalds, of Louisa Coun- ty, and Robert Ralston, of Des Moines County, commissioners, to select a site for a permanent seat of government within the limits of John- son County.

Johnson County had been created by act of the Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin, ap- proved December 21, 1837, and organized by act passed at the special session at Burlington

in June, 1838, the organization to date from July 4, following. Napoleon, on the Iowa River, a few miles below the future Iowa City, was designated as the county seat, temporarily.

Then there existed good reason for locating the capital in the county. The Territory of Iowa was bounded on the north by the British possessions; east by the Mississippi River to its source; thence by a line drawn due north to the northern boundary of the United States; south, by the State of Missouri, and west, by the Missouri and White Earth Rivers. But this immense territory was in undisputed pos- session of the Indians, except a strip on the Mississippi, known as the Black Hawk Pur- chase. Johnson County was, from north to south, in the geographical center of this purchase, and as near the east and west geo- graphical center of the future State of Iowa as could then be made, as the boundary line between the lands of the United States and the Indians, established by the treaty of Oc- tober 21, 1837, was immediately west of the county limits.

The commissioners, after selecting the site, were directed to'lay out 640 acres into a town, to be called Iowa City, and to proceed to sell lots and erect public buildings thereon, Con- gress having granted a section of land to be selected by the Territory for this purpose. The commissioners met at Napoleon, Johnson Coun- ty, May 1, 1839, selected for a site Section 10, in Township 79 north of Range 6 west of the Fifth Principal Meridian, and immediately sur- veyed it and laid off the town. The first sale of lots took place August 16, 1839. The site selected for the public buildings was a little west of the geographical center of the section, where a square of ten acres on the elevated grounds overlooking the river was reserved for the purpose. The capitol is located in the center of this square. The second Territorial

HISTORY OF IOWA.

Legislature, which assembled in November, 1839, passed an act requiring the commission- ers to adopt such plan for the building that the aggregate cost when complete should not ex- ceed $51,000, and if they had already adopted a plan involving a greater expenditure they were directed to abandon it. Plans for the building were designed and drawn by Mr. John F. Rague, of Springfield, Ill., and on the 4th day of July, 1840, the corner-stone of the edifice was laid with appropriate ceremonies. Samuel C. Trowbridge was marshal of the day, and Gov. Lucas delivered the address on that occasion.

When the Legislature assembled at Burling- ton in special session, July 13, 1840, Gov. Lucas announced that on the 4th of that month he had visited Iowa City, and found the base- ment of the capitol nearly completed. A bill authorizing a loan of $20,000 for the build- ing was passed January 15, 1841, the unsold lots of Iowa City being the security offered, but only $5,500 was obtained under the act.

The boundary line between the Territory of Iowa and the State of Missouri was a difficult question to settle in 1838, in consequence of claims arising from taxes and titles, and at one time civil war was imminent. In defining the boundaries of the counties bordering on Mis- souri, the Iowa authorities had fixed a line that has since been established as the boundary be- tween Iowa and Missouri. The constitution of Missouri defined her northern boundary to be the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the Des Moines River. The lower rapids of the Mississippi immediately above the mouth of the Des Moines River had always been known as the Des Moines Rapids, or "the rapids of the Des Moines River." The Mis- sourians (evidently not well versed in history or geography) insisted on running the north- ern boundary line from the rapids in the Des Moines River, just below Keosauqua, thus tak-

ing from Iowa a strip of territory eight or ten miles wide. Assuming this as her northern boundary line, Missouri attempted to exercise jurisdiction over the disputed territory by as- sessing taxes, and sending her sheriffs to col- lect them by distraining the personal property of the settlers. The Iowans, however, were not disposed to submit, and the Missouri offi- cials were arrested by the sheriffs of Davis and Van Buren Counties and confined in jail. Gov. Boggs, of Missouri, called out his militia to enforce the claim and sustain the officers of Missouri. Gov. Lucas called out the militia of Iowa, and both parties made active prepara- tions for war. In Iowa, about 1,200 men were enlisted, and 500 were actually armed and en- camped in Van Buren County, ready to defend the integrity of the Territory. Subsequently, Gen. A. C. Dodge, of Burlington, Gen. Church- man, of Dubuque, and Dr. Clark, of Fort Madi- son, were sent to Missouri as envoys plenipo- tentiary, to effect, if possible, a peaceable adjustment of the difficulty. Upon their ar- rival they found that the county commissioners of Clark County, Mo., had rescinded their order tor the collection of the taxes, and that Gov. Boggs had despatched messengers to the gov- ernor of Iowa proposing to submit an agreed case to the Supreme Court of the United States for the final settlement of the boundary ques- tion. This proposition was declined, but after- ward Congress authorized a suit to settle the controversy, which was instituted, and which resulted in a judgment for Iowa. Under this decision, William G. Miner, of Missouri, and Henry B. Hendershott were appointed commis- sioners to survey and establish the boundary. The expenses of the war on the part of Iowa were never paid, either by the United States or the Territorial Government. The patriots who furnished supplies to the troops had to bear the cost and charges of the struggle.

HISTORY OF IOWA.

CHAPTER V.

ERA OF SETTLEMENT-DUBUQUE AND HIS PARTY OF MINERS-THE SETTLEMENTS OF HONORI AND OF GIARD- ENGLISH PIONEERS THROUGHOUT THE TERRITORY-EFFORTS OF MR. LONGWORTHY-CODE OF LAWS FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DUBUQUE MINERS-FORCIBLE REMOVAL OF THE DUBUQUE SET- TLERS-THE LEAD MINES-SETTLEMENT OF THE BLACK HAWK PURCHASE-THE FIRST OF MANY THINGS-PIONEERS AT THE BLUFFS.

For just experience tells in every soil, That those who think, must govern those who toil .- Goldsmith.

PHE first permanent settle- ment by the whites within the limits of Iowa was made by Julien Dubuque, in 1788, when, with a small party of miners, he settled on the site of the city that now bears his name, where he lived until his death, in 1810. Louis Honori settled on the site of the present town of Montrose, probably in 1799, and resided there until 1805, when his property passed into other hands. Of the Giard set- tlement, opposite Prairie du Chien, little is known, except that it was occu- pied by some parties prior to the commence- ment of the present century, and contained three cabins in 1805. Indian traders. although not strictly to be considered settlers, had es- tablished themselves at various points at an early date. A Mr. Johnson, agent of the Amer- ican Fur Company, had a trading post below

Burlington, where he carried on traffic with the Indians some time before the United States possessed the country. In 1820 Le Moliese, a French trader, had a station at what is now Sandusky, six miles above Keokuk, in Lee County. In 1829 Dr. Isaac Gallaud made a settlement on the Lower Rapids, at what is now Nashville.

The first settlement in Lee County was made in 1820, by Dr. Samuel C. Muir, a surgeon in the United States Army, who had been stationed at Fort Edwards, now Warsaw, Ill., and who built a cabin where the city of Keokuk now stands. Dr. Muir was a man of strict integrity and irreproachable character. While stationed at a military post on the Upper Mississippi, he had married an Indian woman of the Fox na- tion. Of his marriage, the following romantic account is given:

The post at which he was stationed was visited by a beautiful Indian maiden-whose native name, unfor- tunately, has not been preserved-who, in her dreams, had seen a white brave unmoor his canoe, paddle it across the river and come directly to her lodge. She felt as- sured, according to the superstitious belief of her race,

HISTORY OF IOWA.

that, in her dreams, she had seen her future husband, and had come to the fort to find him. Meeting Dr. Muir, she instantly recognized him as the hero of her dream, which, with childlike innocence and simplicity, she related to him. Her dream was, indeed, prophetic. Charmed with Sophia's beauty, innocence and devotion, the Doctor honorably married her, but after a while, the sncers and gibes of his brother officers-less honorable than he. per- haps-made him feel ashamed of his dark-skinned wife, and when his regiment was ordered down the river, to Bellefontaine, it is said he embraced the opportunity to rid himself of her, and left her, never expecting to see her again, and little dreaming that she would have the courage to follow him. But. with her infant child, this intrepid wife and mother started alone in her canoe, and, after many days of weary labor and a lonely journey of 900 miles, she, at last, reached him. She afterward remarked, when speaking of this toilsome journey down the river in search of her husband, "When I got there I was all perished away-so thin!" The Doctor, touched by such unexam- pled devotion, took her to his heart, and ever after, until his death, treated her with marked respect. She always presided at his table with grace and dignity, but never abandoned her native style of dress. In 1819-20 he was stationed at Fort Edward, but the senseless ridicule of some of his brother officers, on account of his Indian wife, induced him to resign his commission.

After building his cabin, as above stated, he leased his claim for a term of years to Otis Reynolds and John Cul- ver, of St. Louis, and went to La Pointe, afterward Ga- lena, where he practiced his profession for ten years, when he returned to Keokuk. His Indian wife bore to him four children: Louise (married at Keokuk, since dead), James (drowned at Keokuk), Mary and Sophia. Dr. Muir died suddenly of cholera, in 1832, but left his property in such condition that it was soon wasted in vexatious litigation, and his hrave and faithful wife, left friendless and penni- less, became discouraged, and, with her children, disap- peared, and, it is said, returned to her people on the Up- per Missouri.

Messrs. Reynolds & Culver, who had leased Dr. Muir's claim at Keokuk, subsequently em- ployed as their agent Mr. Moses Stillwell, who arrived with his family in 1828, and took pos- session of Muir's cabin. His brothers-in-law, Amos and Valencourt Van Ansdal, came with him and settled near.

His daughter, Margaret Stillwell (afterward Mrs. Ford), was born in 1831, at the foot of the rapids, called by the Indians Puch-a-she- tuck, where Keokuk now stands. She was

probably the first white American child born in Iowa.

In 1831 Mr. Johnson, agent of the Ameri- can Fur Company, who had a station at the foot of the rapids, removed to another location, and, Dr. Muir having returned from Galena, he and Isaac R. Campbell took the place and buildings vacated by the company, and carried on trade with the Indians and half-breeds. Campbell, who had first visited and traveled through the southern part of Iowa, in 1821, was an enterprising settler, and besides trading with the natives, carried on a farm and kept a tavern.

In 1830 James L. and Lucius H. Langworthy, brothers, and natives of Vermont, visited the Territory for the purpose of working the lead mines at Dubuque. They had been engaged in lead mining at Galena, Ill., the former from as early as 1824. The lead mines in the Du- buque region were an object of great interest to the miners about Galena, for they were known to be rich in lead ore. To explore these mines, and to obtain permission to work them, was therefore eminently desirable.

In 1829 James L. Langworthy resolved to visit the Dubuque mines. Crossing the Mis- sissippi at a point now known as Dunleith, in a canoe, and swimming his horse by his side, he landed on the spot now known as Jones Street Levee. Before him spread out a beau- tiful prairie, on which the city of Dubuque stands. Two miles south, at the mouth of Catfish Creek, was a village of Sacs and Foxes. . Thither Mr. Langworthy proceeded, and was well received by the natives. He endeavored to obtain permission from them to mine in their hills, but this they refused. He, how- ever, succeeded in gaining the confidence of the chief to such an extent as to be allowed to travel in the interior for three weeks and ex- plore the country. He employed two young

HISTORY OF IOWA.

Indians as guides, and traversed in different directions the whole region lying between the Maquoketa and Turkey Rivers. He returned to the village, secured the good-will of the Indians, and, returning to Galena, formed plans for future operations, to be executed as soon as circumstances would permit.

In 1830, with his brother, Lucius H., and others, having obtained the consent of the In- dians, Mr. Langworthy crossed the Mississippi and commenced mining in the vicinity around Dubuque.

At this time the lands were not in the act- nal possession of the United States. Although they had been purchased from France, the In- dian title had not been extinguished, and these adventurous persons were beyond the limits of any State or Territorial government. The first settlers were therefore obliged to be their own law-makers, and to agree to such regulations as the exigencies of the case demanded. The first act resembling civil legislation within the limits of the present State of Iowa was done by the miners at this point, in June, 1830. They met on the bank of the river, by the side of an old cottonwood drift log, at what is now the Jones Street Levee, Dubuque, and elected a committee, consisting of J. L. Langworthy, H. F. Lander, James McPhetres, Samuel Scales and E. M. Wren. This may be called the first Legislature in Iowa, the members of which gathered around that old cottonwood log, and agreed to and reported the following, written by Mr. Langworthy, on a half sheet of coarse, unruled paper, the old log being the writing desk:

We, a Committee having been chosen to draft certain rules and regulations (laws) by which we as miners will be governed, and having duly considered the subject, do unanimously agree that we will be governed by the regu- lations on the east side of the Mississippi River,* with the following exceptions, to wit:

* Established by the Superintendent of U. S. Lead Mines at Fever River.

ARTICLE I. That each and every man shall hold 200 yards square of ground by working said ground one day in six.

ARTICLE II. We further agree that there shall be chosen, by the majority of the miners present, a person who shall hold this article, and who shall grant letters of arbitration on application having been made, and that said letters of arbitration shall be obligatory on the par- ties so applying.

The report was accepted by the miners pres- ent, who elected Dr. Jarote, in accordance with Article 2. Here, then, in 1830, was a primi- tive Legislature elected by the people, the law drafted by it being submitted to the people for approval, and under it Dr. Jarote was elected first governor within the limits of the present State of Iowa. And it is to be said that the laws thus enacted were as promptly obeyed, and the acts of the executive officer thus elected as duly respected, as any have been since.

The miners who had thus erected an inde- pendent government of their own on the west side of the Mississippi River continued to work successfully for a long time, and the new set- tlement attracted considerable attention. But the west side of the Mississippi belonged to the Sac and Fox Indians, and the Government, in order to preserve peace on the frontier, as well as to protect the Indians in their rights under the treaty, ordered the settlers not only to stop mining, but to remove from the Indian territory. They were simply intruders. The execution of this order was entrusted to Col. Zachary Taylor, then in command of the mili- tary post at Prairie du Chien, who, early in July, sent an officer to the miners with orders to forbid settlement, and to command the miners to remove within ten days to the east side of the Mississippi, or they would be driven off by armed force. The miners, however, were reluctant about leaving the rich "leads " they had already discovered and opened, and were not disposed to obey the order to remove with any considerable degree of alacrity. In

HISTORY OF IOWA.

due time, Col. Taylor dispatched a detachment of troops to enforce his order. The miners, anticipating their arrival, had, excepting three, recrossed the river, and from the east bank saw the troops land on the western shore. The three who had lingered a little too long were, however, permitted to make their escape un- molested. From this time, a military force was stationed at Dubuque to prevent the set- tlers from returning, until June, 1832. The Indians returned, and were encouraged to operate the rich mines opened by the late white occupants.

In June, 1832, the troops were ordered to the east side to assist in the annihilation of the very Indians whose rights they had been pro- tecting on the west side. Immediately after the close of the Black Hawk War, and the negotiations of the treaty in September, 1832, by which the Sacs and Foxes ceded to the United States the tract known as the "Black Hawk Purchase," the settlers, supposing that now they had a right to re-enter the territory, returned and took possession of their claims, built cabins, erected furnaces and prepared large quantities of lead for market. Dubuque was becoming a noted place on the river, but the prospects of the hardy and enterprising settlers and miners were again ruthlessly inter- fered with by the Government, on the ground that the treaty with the Indians would not go into force until June 1, 1833, although they had withdrawn from the vicinity of the settlement. Col. Taylor was again ordered by the War De- partment to remove the miners, and in Janu- ary, 1833, troops were again sent from Prairie du Chien to Dubuque for that purpose. This was a serious and perhaps unnecessary hard- ship imposed upon the settlers. They were compelled to abandon their cabins and homes in mid-winter. It must now be said, simply, that "red tape" should be respected. The

purchase had been made, the treaty ratified, or was sure to be; the Indians had retired, and, after the lapse of nearly fifty years, no very satisfactory reason for this rigorous action of the Government can be given.

But the orders had been given, and there was no alternative but to obey. Many of the settlers recrossed the river, and did not return ; a few, however, removed to an island near the east bank of the river, built rude cabins of poles, in which to store their lead until spring, when they could float the fruits of their labor to St. Louis for sale, and where they could re- main until the treaty went into force, when they could return. Among these were James L. Langworthy and his brother, Lucius, who had on hand about 300,000 pounds of lead.

Lieut. Covington, who had been placed in command at Dubuque by Col. Taylor, ordered some of the cabins of the settlers to be torn down, and wagons and other property to be destroyed. This wanton and inexcusable action on the part of a subordinate clothed with a little brief authority was sternly rebuked by Col. Taylor, and Covington was superseded by Lieut. George Wilson, who pursued a just and friendly course with the pioneers, who were only waiting for the time when they could re- possess their claims.

June 1, 1833, the treaty formally went into effect, the troops were withdrawn, and the Langworthy brothers and a few others at once returned and resumed possession of their home claims and mineral prospects, and from this time the first permanent settlement of this por- tion of Iowa must date. Mr. John P. Sheldon was appointed superintendent of the mines by the Government, and a system of permits to miners and licenses to smelters was adopted, similar to that which had been in operation at Galena since 1825, under Leut. Martin Thomas and Capt. Thomas C. Legate. Sub-

HISTORY OF IOWA.

stantially the primitive law enacted by the miners assembled around that old cottonwood drift log in 1830 was adopted and enforced by the United States Government, except that miners were required to sell their mineral to licensed smelters and the smelter was required to give bonds for the payment of six per cent of all lead manufactured to the Government. This was the same rule adopted in the United States mines on Fever River in Illinois, except that, until 1830, the Illinois miners were com- pelled to pay 10 per cent tax. This tax upon the miners created much dissatisfaction among the miners on the west side, as it had on the east side of the Mississippi. They thought they had suffered hardships and privations enough in opening the way for civilization, without being subjected to the imposition of an odious government tax upon their means of subsistence, when the Federal Government could better afford to aid than to extort from them. The measure soon became unpopular. It was difficult to collect the taxes, and the whole system was abolished in about ten years.

During 1833, after the Indian title was fully extinguished, about 500 people arrived at the mining district, about 150 of them from Galena.

In the same year Mr. Langworthy assisted in building the first school-house in Iowa, and thus was formed the nucleus of the now popu- lous and thriving city of Dubuque. Mr. Langworthy lived to see the naked prairie on which he first landed become the site of a city of 15,000 inhabitants, the small school-house which he aided in constructing replaced by three substantial edifices, wherein 2,000 chil- dren were being trained, churches erected in every part of the city, and railroads connecting the wilderness which he first explored with all the eastern world. He died suddenly on March 13, 1865, while on a trip over the Du-

buque & Southwestern Railroad, at Monticello, and the evening train brought the news of his death and his remains.

Lucius H. Langworthy, his brother, was one of the most worthy, gifted and influential of the old settlers of this section of Iowa. He died, greatly lamented by many friends, in June, 1865.

The name Dubuque was given to the set- tlement by the miners at a meeting held in 1834.

In 1832 Capt. James White made a claim on the present site of Montrose. In 1834 a military post was established at this point and a garrison of cavalry was stationed here, under the command of Col. Stephen W. Kear- ney. The soldiers were removed from this post to Fort Leavenworth, Kas., in 1837.

During the same year, 1832, soon after the close of the Black Hawk War, Zachariah Haw- kins, Benjamin Jennings, Aaron White, Au- gustine Horton, Samuel Gooch, Daniel Thomp- son and Peter Williams made claims at Fort Madison. In 1833 these claims were pur- chased by John and Nathaniel Knapp, upon which, in 1835, they laid out the town. The next summer, lots were sold. The town was subsequently resurveyed and platted by the United States Goverment.

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.

Biographical and historical memoirs of Story County, Iowa, Part 7

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

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