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 71
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 71
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In the summer of 1841 J. F. Stratton, leaving his family at St. Francisville, Mis- souri, came into Appanoose in search of a claim, a portion of which he laid on section 2, township 67, range 18, a little over a mile east of the present Cincinnati. Here he built a cabin and then returned to Missouri,
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expecting to remove soon. This was the first claim made west of the Chariton River. It is claimed that Jack Vinton made a claim near the spring, one mile southwest of Cincinnati, as early as 1837, and that he used to keep the Mormons passing to and fro, but Mr. Stratton says he visited the spring in 1841, and that there was no evi- dence of any one ever having lived there. It is very likely that Vinton hunted in that vicinity in the year claimed, but it is quite certain that he did not settle. Mr. Stratton says the only settler in that neighbor- hood was a Mr. Robinson, who lived about two miles south of the spring, and just over the boundary line. Soon after this, and probably the same year, a man named Moore built a log house in what is now Caldwell Township, in the south part of the county. He subsequently, against his will, exchanged his home for one «in the peni- tentiary of Missouri, being sent there for horse-stealing.
William Level settled in the same vicin- ity about the same time. He was accused of having more wives than the law recog- nized as proper for one man to have, and was arrested and confined in jail in Putnam County, Missouri. After his arrest a stranger rode up and inquired of one of his boys for the father. The boy said they had taken him to jail. " What for ?" asked the stranger. "For keeping Jane," replied the lad. William and his wife had taken a girl to raise, as the story runs, and when she grew up William made a wife of her by brevet. His other wife submitted for a while, but they soon quarreled, and Level built a new house for the young woman. When arrested he was found guilty and sentenced to a term in jail. There was no jail, and the deputy sheriff kept him as a clerk in a little store. Wil- son, his jailer, was a kind-hearted man, and allowed Level the use of a horse every Saturday evening to ride home and stay
with his families over Sunday. He re- mained two or three years and migrated, afterward going to California, taking both wives with him in all his journeyings. The brevet wife bore him two or three children. The imprisonment of Level is believed to have been in 1844.
William Cooksey and family settled not far from Colonel Wells, either in the fall of 1841 or spring of 1842, and in the latter year Solomon Hobbs made a claim in township 67, range 17, and Robert Caugh- ran and George Buckner also made loca- tions in the southern part of the county. Various others built shanties in different parts of the county in the spring of 1842, and planted patches of corn and potatoes ; but all this was surreptitiously done, for, by the terms of the treaty of 1836, no white person could settle on Indian lands, and, by the treaty of 1842, the whites were" again prohibited from settling on the lands purchased in that year, until May first, 1843, or even to carry an ax into the Indian country. A party of dragoons from the post at Agency, on the Des Moines, vis- ited Appanoose County in the summer of 1842, warned off the settlers and destroyed their improvements. How, then, did Wells, Stephens, Cooksey, Jones, Buckner and Caughran manage to hold their claims? To explain this, we must give a brief ac- count of
THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE.
Joint Resolution No. 7, passed in Feb- ruary, 1844, recites that, in the autumn and winter of 1839, an unjust claim was made by the Governor of Missouri to a portion of territory lying within the limits of Iowa; that the marshal of Iowa, acting by National as well as Territorial authority, had called for an armed posse to preserve peace and to resist the encroachment of Missouri authority within the well-known limits of Iowa; that several hundred pa-
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HISTORY OF APPANOOSE COUNTY.
triotic citizens had obeyed the marshal's summons late in 1839, marching in an in- clement season ; that an account of the ex- penses had been taken by a United States official, but had not then been liquidated. These things having been recited, Honor- able A. C. Dodge, then Territorial dele- gate in Congress, was called upon, not only to secure pay for the volunteers, but for the marshal's services as well, "in preserving the peace and protecting the southern boundary of Iowa."
Chapter 23, Laws of 1846, approved Jan- uary 17, recites the fact of the arrest of the sheriff of Davis County by the authorities of Missouri, and the probability of litiga- tion arising from the dispute between Iowa and Missouri. The Governor was accord- ingly authorized to draw upon the Terri- torial treasurer for $1,500 to defray counsel 'fees in cases where either the Territory or its citizens might be a party against Mis- souri.
Chapter 3, Laws of the First General Assembly, approved January 16, 1847, au- thorizes the Governor to agree with the State of Missouri for the commencement and speedy termination of a suit in the Su- preme Court of the United States to de- termine the true location of the boundary line between the two States. The sum of $1,000 was appropriated to defray the ex- penses of the same.
This dispute arose in consequence of two surveys having been made of the northern boundary of Missouri, the first begun at the head of the rapids in the river Des Moines, and the second at the foot of the Des Moines Rapids, in the Missis- sippi. The difference between the initial points was nearly nine miles. Missouri having elected to assume the northern line as her boundary, and Iowa the south- ern line as hers, there was, of course, a conflict of jurisdiction over a strip of coun- try nearly nine miles in width, it being
claimed by both Iowa and Missouri. The line claimed by Missouri passed very nearly through the railway junction at Center- ville.
The above peculiar condition of the southern part of the county enabled the persons we have mentioned to remain by claiming to be within the limits of Missouri, and consequently outside of the Indian boundary. The soldiers would, of course, not exceed their orders, and these settlers were allowed to remain. As long as the boundary question remained unadjusted, people did not care to invest much money in " Chaldea," or Centerville ; for, if Missouri's claim should be estab- lished, Appanoose County would certainly remove its seat of justice further north. But the pacific disposition of Iowa having been reciprocated by Missouri, people had no fear of the result of the litigation, and were willing to invest in Centerville. Hence the growth of this town may be said to have begun with the termination of the boundary dispute. This vexed ques- tion was not settled till 1850, when the boundary was established by commission- ers, who had the line carefully surveyed. Posts were erected a mile apart, every tenth post being of iron. One of these, the one-hundredth, stands in the eastern part of section 22, Caldwell.
OTHER PIONEERS.
May 1, 1843, there was no longer any prohibition to settlements in any part of Appanoose. In the spring of this year J. F. Stratton returned to Appanoose, accom- panied by his brother Joseph. He had de- cided to abandon the claim he had made in 1841, owing to his repugnance to the insti- tution of slavery and his fear that the claim might be left within the Missouri boundary. Accordingly he made a new claim on sec- tions 2 and 10, township 69, range 16(Udell), where, assisted by his brother, he built a
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cabin. This accomplished he returned to Missouri for his family, leaving his brother in charge of the claim.
Other settlers during this year were, J. B. Packard, who selected a claim in what is now Sharon Township; George W. Per- kins, who settled near the site of Center- ville and made preparations to start a nurs- ery; James Manson, who made a selection within the present limits of Bellair Town- ship; John and William Crow, John W. Clancy, William Money, Samuel and Stephen Trimble, who located in Udell; James Wright, William Bratton and Jehiel Troxell, who settled in Washington; Josiah B. Packard, William Packard, B. L. Pack- ard, E. A. Packard, J. M. Packard and John F. Overstreet chose claims bordering along Chariton, in the timber which was afterward called Packard's Grove; Thomas Wilson, William S. Manson and Thomas G. Manson made claims in the vicinity of the little stream subsequently called Man- son's branch, and did some work in improv- ing, but did not bring their families from Lee County till 1844. This was the case, also, with several others who came to make their claims during this year.
SURVEYS.
The township and range lines in Appa- noose County were run by William A. Burt, of Michigan, son of the inventor of Burt's Solar Compass, in 1843. The four eastern townships of the county were sub- divided by Lewis V. Davis in November, 1844. Orson Lyon subdivided township 67, range 17, and township 70, range 17, in February, 1845; George L. Nightingale did the section work in township 69, range 17, and township 68, range 17, at the same time; John W. Ellis, township 69, range 19, in 1846; John G. Clark, township 67, range 18, in April, 1852, and township 67, range 19, in the following June. The rest of the subdivisional work was done by parties
whose names are forgotten. Burt and Lyon were engaged in the public surveys in Iowa for many years, having begun work in the Territory in 1836.
ENTRIES.
The first entry of land made in Appa- noose County was by Andrew Trussell, June 22, 1847, who located the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 1, township 70, range 16, paying cash therefor, and receiving his patent February I, 1848. Seven or cight other entries were made in this township during 1847, and a considerable amount during 1848 and 1849. But the range in which this lies was the only one in Appanoose County open for entry until 1850. Here the boundary question again interfered, and the rest of the county, although surveyed for two or three years, was withheld from, entry until the vexed question was settled. Various entries were made in ranges 17, 18 and 19, during 1848 and 1849, and the first entries in the remainder of the county were made during January and February, 1850. The last scattering tracts were taken in 1860.
The first deed recorded is from Jesse Wood, George W. Perkins and Albird Thompson, composing the Board of Com- missioners, to James H. Shields, and con- veys lots 9 and 6, range 4, block I, Center- ville, for the sum of $30. The deed is dated February 12, 1850.
FIRST FLOURING MILLS.
The very first flouring mill constructed in the county was that contrived by J. F. Stratton, probably in 1845. The lower frame consisted of a bee-gum, in which was fitted a small bowlder as a bedstone. Another bowlder was dressed to fit above and a spindle attached, on the top of which was fastened a crank. A small box above served as a hopper. This ingenious and simple con- trivance enabled the family to grind their
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HISTORY OF APPANOOSE COUNTY.
wheat, corn and buckwheat quite well, and as Mr. Stratton took much pains in clean- ing his grain, his flour and meal were of as good (or better) quality as the grists ground at Bonapart or in the Missouri set- tlements. Several of Mr. Stratton's neigh- bors made use of his little mill, which, everything considered, in spite of its di- minutiveness and slowness, was about as convenient as going to other counties to mill. This little mill has by no means been cast aside as useless, for it was sold to the pottery at Sharon, and is still at work grinding up the materialsfor glazing crockery.
Colonel James Wells got his flouring mill running in Wells Township some time in 1845, which enabled the pioneers to have their grain ground almost at home, and the perilous winter trip to mill overan almost uninhabited course was no longer to be dreaded, or the more comfortable ex- pedition in other seasons, when cattle were liable to go astray. Perhaps streams would have to be forded at the imminent risk of drowning, and very likely when the mill was reached a dozen others would be already waiting, and the poor fellow who had three or four days' travel to get home would have to wait a day or two for his grist.
A corn-mill was set going in the saw- mill east of Centerville some time in the fall of 1850.
In this connection it may be well to add that the pioneers had no means of thresh- ing and cleaning their wheat save by flail- ing or by tramping with horses or cattle. In the latter process, which was compara- tively expeditious, the bundles of grain were laid in a circle on the ground with the heads inward. After being tramped awhile, the straw was stirred, and so the process was continued till the grain and chaff were freed from the straw, when the lat- ter was removed, the grain shoveled into a
pile and fresh bundles laid down. The sep- aration of the grain from the chaff was also a tedious process. This was either done by waving a sheet up and down to fan out the chaff as the grain was dropped before it, or by taking advantage of the strong winds in autumn, which were often brisk enough to blow off the chaff quite rapidly, and by frequently stirring the grain a considerable quantity could be cleaned in a day.
THE FIRST STORE-KEEPING CHRISTMAS.
In 1846 Spencer F. Wadlington erected a cabin a little northeast of where Center- ville now stands, and proceeded to "keep store" in the wilderness. It is stated that the first year's sales of our pioneer mer- chant were a dozen pairs of coarse shoes, half a dozen calico dress patterns, as many bolts of brown muslin and a few coarse casinets. These, with a sack of coffee and a few other groceries, constituted his stock in trade. In order to reduce his expenses to the measure of his profits, he did his own cooking. Most of the settlers at this early day were without families. Mr. Wad- lington slept on a bed made of deer and bear skins, with a bundle of coon skins for a pillow. He subsequently became an ex- tensive farmer and stock-dealer. He was the first mayor of Centerville, and was also probate judge, justice of the peace and deputy clerk.
On the afternoon of Christmas, 1847, a party of the "boys" living in the north- east part of the county, some of them be- longing in the vicinity of Unionville, agreed that it would hardly be right to let the day pass without a suitable observance. They accordingly wended their way to the county seat, and to Wadlington's store- who had transferred his place of business to Chaldea-arriving at the store about dark. They began their celebration with an internal application of " su'thin'," and,
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to neutralize any subsequent bad effect, took another horn. These potations were repeated at suitable intervals till midnight. The young pioneers indulged in various amusements during their hours of celebra- tion. They would frequently issue from the store door, whoop loud enough to scare the wolf cubs in their dens between the forks of the Chariton, and then return to warm their throats. The first half of the night was quite warm, as a damp snow was falling, and, the store having no floor yet, their heavy boots tramped the interior of the cabin into considerable of a mud-hole. About midnight, the " sperits " had done their perfect work, and each fellow selected a buffalo-robe or deer-skin and lay down to rest on the natural floor, damp as it was, though it is more than likely that Wadling- ton tucked them in as they became insen- sible. The weather turned very frosty toward morning. Shortly after daylight Mr. Stratton, who was the nearest neigh- bor, visited the store to learn the cause of the noises heard by him, and found each reveler snugly frozen to his earthen bed, and the edges of the skins frozen tight, also. It was an amusing spectacle, and a modern teetotaler could hardly have avoided a shout of laughter at their situa- tion. They were thawed out after an hour or two, and returned to their homes none the worse for their night's frolic.
RACING AND SHOOTING.
Most of the early settlers of Appanoose were from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Indiana, and, of course, had all the love of the Virginians and their descendants for the rifle and the horse. In addition to the love of hunting, alluded to elsewhere, the pioneers of Appanoose were equally fond of target practice and horse-racing. The first race-track in the county, according to F. A. Stevens, a settler in Wells Township, in 1841, was on the land now owned by
Hon. E. J. Gault. Here the settlers fre- quently met, at a very early day, to in- dulge in target-shooting and horse-racing. Having previously exchanged furs, "deer- skins or beeswax at some Mississippi town for a half barrel of whisky, the settlers would collect early in the morning from every corner of the county, shoot at a mark, bet on their favorite nags and ex- haust their supply of whisky along toward sundown, and then return to their scattered cabins quite sober. Of course, disputes would sometimes arise, but they were usually quieted, and in these meetings fisti- cuffs were rarely resorted to.
One of the first shooting-matches in the county occurred at Centerville, probably in 1847, in this wise: J. F. Stratton stood indebted to S. F. Wadlington for sundry articles of merchandise, for $5 or $6. The latter was preparing for his semi-annual visit to St. Louis, and wanted the money. Stratton had neither gold, silver nor "fiats," but offered to turn out a cow, valued at about $15. Wadlington did not want her, but offered to get up a shooting-match. The match was advertised "by sending round word," and a good-sized crowd as- sembled to participate in the sport. The shooting began, and so vigorous was the competition that the sum realized was somewhat in excess of the value of the animal. Wadlington thus secured his pay, and the remainder was left with him as a call loan, to be paid in goods.
SECOND MORMON EMIGRATION.
The greater number of Mormons, under the direction of Brigham Young, emigrated in 1846-'48 to Salt Lake, and established themselves there.
As in Missouri, the Mormons incurred the animosity of the people of Illinois, and they were driven across the Mississippi, to seek a home where they could practice their peculiar rites in security. It was a
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HISTORY OF APPANOOSE COUNTY.
forced exodus on their part-Illinois and Missouri were too hot to hold them. Their leaders doubted the advisability of settling in Iowa, for this territory was being rapidly filled up by a class who would soon be- come numerous enough to drive them out again. Accordingly a party of observa- tion had been sent West at the beginning of the trouble in Illinois, who had dis- covered a region west of the Rocky Mount- ains, walled on the east and south by almost insurmountable hills, and approach- able on the northeast through a narrow valley that could be easily defended.
Accordingly the task of removal began in the fall of 1846. The main body encamped near Council Bluffs during that winter, and another considerable party wintered in Marshall County. Large numbers followed the roads from the river towns west through Van Buren and Davis counties to Union- ville, where the trail divided, many follow- ing the old dragoon trail of 1832 by way of Cincinnati into Missouri, with the intention of wintering in that State, if possible. But their former enemies had by no means for- gotten them, and they were forced to recross the boundary into Decatur County.
The main body of the southern division passed through Unionville, Moravia and Iconium, selecting that route to avoid the numerous streams and muddy bottoms with which the country abounds. The advance parties of the two bodies moving through Appanoose met in Union County in July, 1846.
Finding it too late in the season for vent- uring across the great plains that inter- vened between them and their destina- tion, about 2,000 of the "Saints " pitched their tents at a place which they called Mount Pisgah, situated some five miles north of the present county seat. They were under the leadership of Bishop Hunt- ington, who died, and was buried at Mount Pisgah. He was the first white person who
is known to have died in the county. Another prominent man among them was Elder Morley, formerly of Hancock County, Illinois. Being compelled during the winter to live in tents and wagons, their records show 160 deaths within the first six months. Their settlement, or improve- ment, embraced about 1,500 acres, which they broke up and cultivated in patches. Being unable to break up the prairie sod with their light teams, composed mostly of cows, they went into the timber on Grand River and girdled, or deadened, hundreds of acres of the best timber to be found there, and plowed up the light bot- tom soil for their crops. In this way they raised a plentiful crop of corn during the season of 1847. They were obliged to remain until the spring of 1850, and some of them until the spring of 1851, in order to raise cattle to enable them to resume their journey. They were very poor. Their
prophet, Joe Smith, had once told them at Nauvoo that there were three kinds of poor-God's poor, the devil's poor, and poor devils, and that most of them surely belonged to the last-named class. They are represented, however, as being industrious and frugal while they sojourned on Grand River.
The organization of the fugitives was essentially a military one. Several persons in Appanoose County, finding that the peo- ple were poor and likely to be a year or more on their journey, offered them em- ployment. No promise could be obtained from the men with whom they chaffered, but within a day or two the number of men wanted would appear ready for work, who had been deputed by their Captain for the purpose. One settler, in the southeastern part of the county, contracted with a Mor- mon leader to have ten acres of brush land grubbed and fenced, expecting that the job would take six weeks. A large party repaired to the spot, and the contract was
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completed in about a week. Another pio- neer had forty acres of prairie broken up by a party of Mormons. Others would work singly here and there in the county where labor could be had, and they were remarkably efficient and industrious, never failing to give satisfaction.
It is stated that toward the latter part of the migration, while a party were en- camped in the vicinity of Unionville, one of the number went over into the western part of Davis County and stole a steer. He had not driven the animal very far when he was met by a young man, now a resi- dent of Appanoose County, who recognized the steer as one owned by his father. He very naturally inquired of the follower of Joseph what he was doing with his father's property. The " Saint " answered that he had a " revelation " to go and get the bovine. The young man started to drive the steer back, when a collision ensued, in which the youngster had a sudden "revelation " to hit the thief with an iron wedge which he was carrying. The blow killed the Mormon, and the young man drove home his prop- erty.
This occurrence, as well as others of a like character, created a violent prejudice against the Mormons, and they were given the cold shoulder in the eastern counties. Thus Mrs. Morrison, of Udell Township, relates that in Davis County herself and husband were refused entertainment be- cause they were suspected of being Mor- mons, and says that on the night in question the only shelter they could obtain was an empty corn-pen.
THE CLAIM SOCIETY.
As in nearly all the older counties of Iowa, Appanoose County had a Claim Pro- tection Society, organized for the purpose of protecting settlers from the avaricious intentions of those who had money and might see fit to enter lands from those occu-
pying in good faith. The first settlers in the new counties usually took their lands before they were surveyed, and of course would only make a rough approximation as to the limits of their claims, the lines of which were run by guess. Whenever any- body was inclined to locate close to a claim already taken, his movements were regard- ed with a jealous eye, unless he first had a conference with the neighbors to ascertain the understood limits of their claims before making his own. History must record that a good many " first settlers" were extremely liberal toward themselves in establishing the bounds of their claims, and also that claim troubles were as likely to arise from the greed of the pioneers as from the covet- ousness of subsequent claimants.
The society referred to above was or- ganized in 1845, or the following year, with James Wright as president, and with a branch organization in each precinct. The workings of the society were substantially as follows: A record was prepared in each precinct of the claims already taken, and their bounds. When a new-comer wanted to make a claim it was expected that he would apply to the local secretary to ascer- tain what lands were already claimed, in order to avoid infringing upon the rights of others. Any land abandoned for an un- derstood time, or not yet taken, could be selected ; but if he laid claim to land already held, and was pertinacious, a meeting of the society would be held. A compromise was usually effected, and, if this could not be reached, summary measures would be resorted to. To the credit of Appanoose, be it said that very few disputes arose, and these were entirely bloodless.
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