USA > Iowa > Wayne County > Biographical and historical record of Wayne and Appanoose counties, Iowa, containing a condensed history of the state of Iowa; portraits and biographies of the governors of the territory and state; engravings of prominent citizens in Wayne and Appanoose counties, with personal histories of many of the leading families, and a concise history of Wayne and Appanoose counties > Part 70
USA > Iowa > Appanoose County > Biographical and historical record of Wayne and Appanoose counties, Iowa, containing a condensed history of the state of Iowa; portraits and biographies of the governors of the territory and state; engravings of prominent citizens in Wayne and Appanoose counties, with personal histories of many of the leading families, and a concise history of Wayne and Appanoose counties > Part 70
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When we call to mind the lact that the present greatness of Iowa is ail the growth of little more than forty years, we may well anticipate the grandeur that awaits her in the near future-now that she is provided with all the means necessary for the more rapid development of the inexhaustible re- sources In her healthful climate, produc- tive soil, railroad and water transportation facilities, and her intelligent, enterprising people, we have the best guaranty that her future progress will be unprecedented.
The pioneer work has been done in most
parts of the State, and railroads, public buildings, churches, school-houses, etc., are provided, so that the citizens of Iowa now enjoy all the comforts, conveniences and advantages obtained in the older States, and Iowa offers to-day proportionately greater inducements to capital, enterprise and labor. Incalculable wealth lies hidden in the inexhaustible coal mines, furnishing motive-power, and the unused water-power forming natural mill-sites, in almost every county in the State, for manufacturing in- dustries. lowa, for agricultural and manu- facturing resources, has no superior among all the States, while her channels of trade radiate in all directions.
Next to the fertility of its soil, its excel- lent climate, and the energy of its industrial classes, the prosperity of the State is due to wise legislation, by which its financial credit has been maintained, internal im- provements encouraged, public instruction rapidly advanced, and immigration and capital attracted. Thirty-eight years have elapsed since Iowa was admitted as a State, and during that time wonderful changes have taken place. Then savage beasts and savage men contended for the supremacy in this fair domain, but both have retreated before the white man, and to-day civiliza- tion has left its mark in numberless school- houses and churches, and in the prosperity and happiness which everywhere abounds.
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HISTORY OF APPANOOSE COUNTI.
Of Iowa, whose name is a synonym for prosperity, and her high rank in the sis- terhood of States, in respect of moral and material greatness, it is unnecessary to speak at length. Aside from the expe- riences of the civil war, in which the State furnished her full quota of men-and no braver men were sent to the front-the his- tory of lowa is that of one uninterrupted march of progress in the paths of peace, and she has risen from the condition of a Territory to one of the principal States of the Republic, in population, wealth and moral greatness. With these elements of empire inherent in it, it is not surprising that Iowa is making strides which must. soon place her where she will be recog- nized as one of the foremost in manufactur- ing and other industrial pursuits, as well as in agriculture.
In order of admission into the Union, lowa stands twenty-ninth; in number of square miles she is twenty-fourth ; in popu- lation, tenth, while in acres of tillable land her place is first. She is the third State in the amount of corn raised, while she is second in number of hogs raised, third in cattle, fifth in wheat, sixth in oats, fifth in barley, fifth in flax, seventh in hay, third in milch cows, fifth in number of hogs packed, fifth in value of farm implements, sixth in value of farm products, fourth in extent of coal area, and fifth in number of banks and newspapers. In religious, cdu- cational, charitable and benevolent institu- tions, lowa stands among the foremost. In regard to healthfulness her rank is fourth, while in point of the intelligence of her people she is first, having a less percentage of illiteracy than any other State. Twenty- onc States have more persons in prison, and thirty-two States more female prisoners than Iowa. In the number of postoffices she is seventh, and in the amount of postal receipts sixth, being one of the eight North-
ern States which contribute two-third of the entire national revenue.
BOUNDARIES AND DIVISIONS.
This empire is composed of ninety-nine subdivisions, or little republics, called counties, of which Appanoose is onc. It is bounded on the north by Monroe County, on the east by Davis County, on the south by the State of Missouri, and on the west by Wayne County. It contains a little less than fifteen congressional townships, or, to be exact, twelve whole and four fractional townships. These are numbered from 67 to 70 north, in ranges 16 to 19 west. For organic purposes the county is divided into eighteen civil townships, which will be mentioned further on.
TOPOGRAPHY.
Several of the townships are largely prairie, but as a whole Appanoose is spoken of as a very rough county. It is not densely populated, and the roads and other internal improvements are not what it is hoped they will be. Though so hilly that it is an uninviting county for railroad building, it has five railroads, which are treated of under a separate head.
WATER COURSES.
Appanoose County lies on the water- shed separating the Missouri and Missis- sippi rivers, the Chariton draining into the former great stream, and the Fox into the latter.
The principal stream in the county is the Chariton. The main stream takes its rise in Lucas County, and enters Appanoosc near the northwest corner. The south fork of the same stream rises in Clark and De- catur counties, and discharges into the main stream on section 14, Independence. The union of the two forms a consider- able stream, which takes a southeastern direction through the county, passing into
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INTRODUCTORY.
the State of Missouri between Caldwell and Wells townships. There are several mill-sites along the river, which have been made available for many years. In an early day, before the building of bridges, the river was regarded as sufficiently for- midable to require the establishment of ferries. Chariton River flows into the Missouri.
South Fox and Middle Fox rise in Wash- ington Township, and the north fork of the same stream rises in Udell. These flow eastward into Davis County and thence to the Mississippi.
South Soap rises in Taylor, and North Soap in Union. These are tributaries of Fox River.
Big Walnut Creek rises in Wayne Coun- ty, flows north of east, through Johns, Bellair and Walnut, and discharges into the Chariton.
Cooper Creek drains the southern part of Lincoln, flows through Bellair and the northern part of Vermillion, receiving the water of Hickory Creek north of Center- ville, and joins the Chariton in Sharon.
Shoal Creek originates in Wayne County, passes through the northern part of Frank- lin and Pleasant, and in the latter takes a southeastern direction into Caldwell, flow- ing thence into Missouri.
There are numerous other small creeks, and but few sections in Appanoose are des- titute of running streams.
GEOLOGY.
The surface of Appanoose County is, generally speaking, a nearly level plain, lying on the water-shed dividing the Mis- sissippi and Missouri rivers. The depres- sions for the river and creek beds are shallow, and it is probable that the extreme difference between the water-bed of Chari- ton River and the highest prairie summits will not exceed 150 feet. The soil of the county is a brownish-gray loam, largely 68
intermixed with clay, but yet tempered sufficiently with sand to be easily plowed and cultivated. It also absorbs the rain- fall rapidly, so that very muddy roads are rare. The surface soil is of ample depth and very fertile. The substratum is nearly pure clay, and with proper care any por- tion of the subsoil of this county can be made into excellent brick.
Both Prof. White and Mr. St. John visited Appanoose County in 1868, and the former gentleman records that it is now known that all three of the divisions of the coal-measure group occupy the surface beneath the drift; the Lower occupying the northwestern portion, the Middle trav- ersing it near the center, and the base of the Upper appearing as ledges of limestone along Cooper Creek, west of Centerville. In the valley of that stream, Mr. Talbot had opened a mine in a three-foot vein of good quality. This is regarded as the upper bed of the Middle coal-measures, and whatever other beds may exist within the county doubtless belong beneath it. Thus, the place of all the heavy beds of coal found elsewhere is at considerable depth here; but they may be looked for nearer the surface in the northeastern part of the county. It is believed that a shaft sunk in the valley of the Chariton River near Cen- terville, would pass through all there is of the coal-bearing strata within three or four hundred feet. There are good reasons for believing, also, that one or more good beds of coal would be passed through at that or a less depth, besides the one worked by Mr. Talbot.
W. P. Fox, the Geological Commissioner of Iowa at the Centennial Exhibition, vis- ited Appanoose County in 1875, and made a statement, which is undoubtedly true, that a vein of. coal exists beneath the one now being worked, and gave it as his opinion that it lies from thirty-five to fifty feet below the other. There is no reason
662
HISTORY OF APPANOOSE COUNTY.
to disbelieve his statement that the lower vein should be five or six feet in thickness. Mr. Fox claimed that the slate overlying the coal is suitable for roofing purposes ; but this was a blunder on his part, and pointed out the immense deposit of potter's and fire clay overlying the shale.
Mr. Fox also visited the saline springs in the edge of Davis County, and describes them as being located in an outfield of the Onondaga salt group, which was certainly an egregious blunder on his part; for if that formation exists in Iowa at all, it must lie at least 500 feet below the coal-beds. The saline character of the Davis County springs is owing undoubtedly to local peculiarities.
LOCAL OBSERVATIONS.
It is stated that the first coal-shaft ever sunk in the county was by B. F. Kindig, of near Centerville, who found the coal-bed about sixteen feet below the limestone rock which crops out in the vicinity. This was in 1863 or 1864; but coal had been known to exist in the county long before, for it crops out in several places along Shoal Creek and its tributaries, and had been mined for several years for local purposes.
The shaft of the Watson Coal Company, near the railway junction at Centerville, was sunk, it is said, twenty or thirty feet below where the coal was afterward found. An experienced miner suggested that a side-drift be made at a depth of 120 feet. The experiment was tried, and the coal was found a few feet from the shaft. ()ther shafts have been sunk below where the coal ought to lie, and trunks of trees, buricd in clay, have been found, indicating that the coal has, since its formation, been gashed and broken by some disturbing cause. This would seem to have been a local upheaval, for the reason that the lime- stone overlying the coal, lying west and south of Centerville, has a positive dip
toward the southwest of perhaps fifteen degrees, which can be ascertained by visit- ing the mine owned by Mr. McClard. Fur- ther, the coal-bed itself dips at the same angle. The bed probably does not possess this dip for any great distance; for, as stated above, it appears near water-mark along Shoal Creek, and along the streams in the northwest part of the county. The line of disturbance or breakage then passes nearly north and south in the vicinity of Centerville.
The following is given as the order in which the rocks were found in sinking the shaft of the Diamond Coal Company's mine, in the eastern part of Centerville, about 1876, after passing through the sur- face of soil and clay : Hard lime-rock eight feet ; soapstone ; hard sand-rock, two feet ; soapstone ; limestone, nearly four feet ; soapstone ; limestone, one foot ; soapstone ; " black rock," or shale, two feet ; coal. The sand-rock appears between two layers of lime-rock, in the ledge near Talbot's mill, on Cooper Creek, but the soapstone is wanting, having apparently thinned out or been dissolved away by the action of water. The rock near Talbot's is filled with fossils from top to bottom, all apparently of the same species.
The shaft of the Watson Coal Company, a short distance south of the Rock Island Depot, is stated to show the following stratifications: Soil, clay and gravel, eighty feet ; hard lime-rock, lying in layers and broken by joints, twelve feet; shale and soapstone, eight feet ; fossil-bearing (mount- ain) limestone, nine feet; black slate, fif- teen feet ; lime-rock, three feet ; shale, six- teen feet ; limc-rock, three feet; slate, four feet ; lime-rock, six feet ; coal, three feet. It may be noticed as a curious circumstance that the sand-bed in the Oliver Mine and at Talbot's Mill is wanting in the Watson Mine. However, as many layers are en- tirely wanting in the Iowa coal system
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INTRODUCTORY.
which are noticed elsewhere, these local variations may be expected.
In some places in the western part of the county, a thin layer of coal or shale has been noticed, which goes to show that the Upper Carboniferous touches Appanoose on the west. The group of rocks covering the coal belong to the " mountain lime- stone," as named by Dana and sanctioned by Lyell.
The extension of railways during the last few years into this region has made the coal industry a considerable one, and the nu- merous mines are a never-failing source of revenue to the community. Åt and near Centerville the following companies oper- ate : Centerville Coal Company, Diamond Coal Company, Watson Coal . Company, Standard Coal Company, Scandinavian Coal Company, W. T. McClard and James Wil- son. At Brazil are the Tipton, Hawkeye, Silknitter, Walnut and Thilby mines. At Cincinnati is a shaft owned by the Center- ville Coal Company. Besides these there are numerous shafts and drifts through the county that are designed to supply only local demand.
INDIANS.
Many Indians lingered on the "New Pur- chase " till 1845, hunting and trading with the settlers. The Sacs and Foxes had always been peaceably disposed toward the whites, and very few settlers had any trouble with them.
In the summer or fall of 1844, however, a large band of Indians visited the south- western part of the county. Several Mis- sourians had made claims in the vicinity, and, being fearful that the Indians would steal from them, ordered their visitors off, and undertook to seize and flog some of them. The chief of the band, however, who was near by, collected his men and, repair- ing to the scene, sternly informed the whites that there would be instant trouble if they persisted in their intentions. Seeing them-
selves greatly outnumbered, the whites gave over their intention indefinitely.
GAME, ETC.
When the first settlers came, deer, elk and antelope were not plentiful, the Indians having hunted them down and thinned their numbers. Still, venison could be had with- out much trouble, and deer became annually more plentiful for several years. Antelopes were occasionally seen, but soon disap- peared.
Wild turkeys and prairie chickens were abundant, and it was not difficult to bag several of either kind of birds in a couple of hours ; but the pioneer hunters preferred to hunt for deer, and when in search for this game would not condescend to shoot ata turkey. As Mr. Dean quaintly expresses it, "When they went deer-hunting they didn't go turkey-hunting."
Bee-trees were to be found along the smaller streams, particularly in the vicinity of Chariton River, and one skilled in wood- craft could obtain honey along the streams for several years after the first settlement. The usual practice was to search in the vicinity of the timber till the bee was found, when it would be watched till it had gath- ered its load. This done, it would make a " bee-line " for the tree to which it belonged. The hunter would follow this course into the timber, but if he could not readily find the tree, he would search for another spot, considerably one side of the place where he had found the first bee, when, by waiting awhile, he would be able to trace the flight of another. Of course, the angle formed by the meeting of these courses would be about where the tree stood of which he was in search. Sometimes the hunter had a little box partly filled with honey and cov- ered with a lid. If he could capture several bees, they would be placed in the box and allowed to load themselves. One being released, the hunter would follow its course
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HISTORY OF APPANOOSE COUNTY.
664
as far as he could with safety, when another would be allowed to fly, and so on till he arrived at the tree, on a line quite as accu- rate as if run with a compass.
Bears and panthers were almost unknown. Mr. Stratton states that once, when going from his claim toward Centerville, he noticed some tracks in the light snow, that he supposed to be those of a timber-wolf ; but, coming to where the animal had made a leap of several paces, he knew it to be a panther. It is stated by old hunters that they had no fear of these animals, for they were always cowardly, and preferred to battle with a sheep rather than with man or any animal that would face them.
Wildcats were numerous in the timber lands, but were not to be feared, except in a close encounter.
The most troublesome and altogether vicious enemies of the pioneers were the wolves. These pests would not only howl around the lonely cabin all night, but were always ravenous and ready to pounce upon any unguarded calf, pig, sheep or chicken that they could get at, and the settlers were obliged to build pens against their cabins in which to keep their small stock. Chick- ens were frequently taken into the house in order to preserve them from the attacks of wolves, polecats and weasels.
Prairie rattlesnakes were very numerous for many years after the county was settled. Mr. Stratton gives an instance that is worth relating. After he had brought his family to his new cabin, in returning home one
evening he gathered up a lot of hickory bark that had been peeled from some rails, intending it to be used for fuel. This he threw down near the door, and went to bed at an early hour. Soon afterward he heard a calf bleating and gasping in a pecul- iar manner, and got up, thinking perhaps a wolf had attacked it. Getting a light, what was his horror to see a rattlesnake under his brother's bed, coiled, and with head erect for a fight. He seized the Jacob's-staff of his compass to kill the reptile, but just then his dog rushed in, seized the snake and killed it, but not before the snake had bitten the faithful fellow. The calf was then attended to, and the investigation showed that the snake had bitten it in the neck, and had then bitten several chickens and a hen under his bed before he got up. Mr. Strat- ton doctored the calf, dog and hen, and all recovered. It was too late for the chickens, for they were dying when he discovered their condition. The dog always afterward had a violent antipathy toward rattlesnakes, and would attack and kill them whenever he could find them, and would prick up his ears whenever the word snakes was men- tioned. Mr. Stratton believes he had car- ried the snake to the house in the bark he had gathered up.
About 1865 Thomas Shoemaker, of Shar- on Township, was bitten in the thumb by a rattlesnake while loading a grub on his wagon, the reptile having nested in the roots. The poor man died in two or three days, having suffered untold agony.
EARLY HISTORY.
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EARLY HISTORY.
HE continuous history of Iowa begins with the Black Hawk war, in 1832, and the first known event in the history of Appanoose County dates back to that year, though it was an unimportant incident. In the summer of 1832 a com- pany of cavalry set out from Davenport on a re- connoisance which ex- tended as far west as Fort Leavenworth. They passed through this county in a nearly southwest direction, passing near the present village of Moul- ton, camping over night at a spring south- west of Cincinnati, and leaving the county and crossing into Missouri near the south- west corner of Pleasant Township.
The State of Missouri was tolerably well settled at that early day, and many of its citizens had been reared to an intimate knowledge of hunting and woodcraft. The hunters instinct is a powerful one, and the sons of the "b'ar hunters" of Ken- tucky could not repress the desire to plunge into the wilderness in search of game, and to follow the streams toward their origin, for honey in the summer and for beaver in the fall. Hence, when peo-
ple came into the county in search of claims, they found two trails, the route taken by the cavalrymen, and the other with a gen- eral northern direction, passing through Washington Township, and known by the Missourians as " the bee trace." A post- office in Washington Township was called Beetrace. This was discontinued March 1, 1886. This may have been, originally, an Indian trail. The first settlers say that this was a tolerably well-defined wagon- road as far north as Beetrace, and that it could be followed easily into Taylor Town- ship. The marks of wagon-wheels could be distinguished leading off toward the groves all along the "bee trace," the wagons having probably been brought into the wilderness to carry off. the honey to be found in the timber.
Another " bee trace" ran from Missouri diagonally through Davis County, and ter- minated in the vicinity of Unionville.
Who made these two trails is a matter of little moment to the present population of Appanoose. Those who came in search of bee-trees cared little for the fertile soil and its capacity for supplying the farmers of to-day with the comforts of life. The bee- hunters were more concerned about the exchange value of beeswax for gunpowder and whisky than the desirability of this region for settlement.
It is stated that Joseph Shaddon, now a
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HISTORY OF APPANOOSE COUNTY.
resident of Putnam County, Missouri, visited the region along the Chariton in the year 1833, and if so, was among the very first to enter what is now Appanoose County. The best attested visit along the "bee trace" was that made by William Kirby, who, in the fall of 1839, entered Appanoose County a considerable distance on this route. He found large numbers of bec-trees, and he took home to Putnam County a large store of honey. On this trip he made a claim on the ground after- ward taken by Mr. Perkins, now covered partly by additions to Centerville. His failure to remove hither was on account of his wife's objections to go so far from other settlements.
By common consent the honor of the first settlement of this county is ascribed to Colonel James Wells, in 1839; but the historian, after careful investigation, while admitting that this gentleman was the first permanent settler, has decided to date the first occupation by a white man in 1838. In that year Ewen Kirby, a young Mis- sourian, having decided to traffic with the Indians, came nearly to the edge of the In- dian boundary, as understood at that time, and built a cabin near the east line of town- ship 67, range 18, just inside of Pleasant Township, and about due east of where Cincinnati now stands. Hither he removed his family and remained two years. In addition to his barter business he cultivated a small-truck patch. When he left, it is stated with positiveness that he burned down his cabin. There is reasonableness in this statement, for the out-settlement of Missouri was only about ten miles dis- tant.
The first white child born in this county was a daughter to Ewen Kirby and wife, in the fall of 1838, and the matron who offici- ated at this interesting event was Mrs. Caughran, of Putnam County, Missouri, who lived eight or nine miles away.
MORMON TRAIL.
.
The Mormons, who had settled in Mis- souri in 1836, had local troubles with the authorities of such moment that they de- cided to remove from that State east to Illinois.
The movement of the "Saints " was by several routes, during 1839 and 1840, one of the principal roads selected being that taken by the dragoons in 1832, and large parties passed through Appanoose County during those years, on their way toward Commerce or Nauvoo, which location had been fixed upon by the rulers of that sect as the future Canaan. So numerous were the emigrants that when the settlers came they found a well-beaten road already pre- pared through the southern part of the county, and which is usually referred to in the old records as the " Mormon trail."
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT.
As indicated before, the first settlement worthy of being considered permanent was made by Colonel James Wells, who selected a location on section 16, township 67, range 16, and built a cabin thereon in the year 1839. His family accompanied him. Two years afterward Colonel Wells began the construction of a saw-mill on his claim.
During 1841 Adolphus Stevens made a claim not far from Wells, and Austin Jones also settled near by in the same year. Stevens remained, but Jones in a few years emigrated to California. It is stated that Jack Klinkenbeard made a claim near Stevens the same year.
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