Biographical history of Page County, Iowa, containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Harrison, with accompanying biographies of each; a condensed history of Iowa, with portraits and biographies of the governors of the state; engravings of prominent citizens of Page County, with personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families; and a concise history of the county, the cities, and the townships, Part 20

Author: Lewis and Dunbar, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis & Dunbar
Number of Pages: 946

USA > Iowa > Page County > Biographical history of Page County, Iowa, containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Harrison, with accompanying biographies of each; a condensed history of Iowa, with portraits and biographies of the governors of the state; engravings of prominent citizens of Page County, with personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families; and a concise history of the county, the cities, and the townships > Part 20

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).

Governor Gear is now in the sixty-first year of his age, and is in the full vigor of both his mental and physical faculties. He was married in 1852 to Harriet S. Foot, formerly of Middlebury, Vermont, by whom he has had four children, two of whom are living.

B. B. Sherman,

219

BUREN R. SHERMAN. -

BUREN R. SHERMAN.

HE twelfth Governor of the State was Buren R. Sherman, who held office two terms, from 1882 to 1886. He was born in Phelps, Ontario County, New York, May 28, 1836, and is the third son of Phineas L. and Eve- line (Robinson) Sherman, both of whom were natives of the Empire State.

The subject of this sketch received his early educa- tion in the public schools of his native place, and con- cluded his studies at Elmira, New York, acquiring a thorough knowledge of the English branches. At the close of his studies, acting on the advice of his father, who was a mechanic (an ax maker), he ap- prenticed himself to Mr. S. Ayres, of El- mira, to learn the watchmaker's trade. In 1855, with his family, he removed to Iowa and settled upon an unbroken prairie, in what is now Geneseo Township, Tama County, where liis father had purchased lands from the Government. There young Sherman labored on his father's farm, em- ploying his leisure hours in the study of law, which he had begun at Elmira. He also engaged as bookkeeper in a neighbor-

ing town, and with his wages assisted his parents in improving their farm. In the summer of 1859 he was admitted to the bar, and the following spring removed to Vin- ton, and began the practice of law with Hon. William Smyth, formerly District Judge, and J. C. Traer, conducting the business under the firm name of Smyth, Traer & Sherman.

They built up a flourishing practice and were prospering when, upon the opening of the war, in 1861, Mr. Sherman enlisted in Company G, Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and immediately went to the front. He entered the service as Second Sergeant, and in February, 1862, was made Second Lieutenant of Company E. On the 6th of April following he was very severely wounded at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and while in the hospital was promoted to the rank of Captain. He returned to his company while yet obliged to use crutches, and remained on duty till the summer of 1863, when, by reason of his wound, he was compelled to resign and return home. Soon after returning from the army he was elected County Judge of Benton County, and re-elected without opposition in 1865. In the autumn of 1866 he resigned his judge- ship and accepted the office of clerk of the District Court, to which he was re-elected in 1868, 1870 and 1872, and in December, 1874, resigned in order to accept the office

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GOVERNORS OF IOWA.

of Auditor of State, to which he had been elected by a majority of 28,425 over J. M. King, the "anti-monopoly" candidate. In 1876 he was re-nominated and received 50,- 272 more votes than W. Growneweg(Demo- crat) and Leonard Brown (Greenback) to- gether. In 1878 he was again chosen to represent the Republican party in that office, and this time received a majority of 7,164 over tlie combined votes of Colonel Eiboeck (Democrat) and G. V. Swearenger (Green- back). In the six years that he held this office, he was untiring in his faithful appli- cation to routine work and devotion to his especial share of the State's business. He retired with such an enviable record that it . was with no surprise the people learned, June 27, 1881, that he was the nominee of the Republican party for Governor

The campaign was an exciting one. The General Assembly had submitted to the people the prohibitory amendment to the Constitution. This, while not a partisan question, became uppermost in the mind of the public. Mr. Sherman received 133,- 330 votes, against 83,244 for Kinne and 28,- 112 for D. M. Clark, or a plurality of 50,086 and a majority of 21,974. In 1883 he was re-nominated by the Republicans, as was L. G. Kinne by the Democrats. The National party offered J. B. Weaver. During the campaign these candidates held a number of joint discussions at different points in the State. At the election the vote was: Sher- man, 164,182 ; Kinne, 139,093 ; Weaver, 23,- 089; Sherman's plurality, 25,089; majority, 2,000. In his second inaugural Governor Sherman said :

" In assuming, for the second time, the office of Chief Magistrate of the State, I fully realize my grateful obligations to the people of Iowa, through whose generous confidence I am here. I am aware of the duties and grave responsibilities of this ex- alted position, and as well what is expected of me therein. As in the past I have given

my undivided time and serious attention thereto, so in the future I promise the most earnest devotion and untiring effort in the faithful performance of my official require- ments. I have seen the State grow from infancy to mature manhood, and each year one of substantial betterment of its previous position.

" With more railroads than any other State, save two; with a school interest the grandest and strongest, which commands the support and confidence of all the peo- ple, and a population, which in its entirety is superior to any other in the sisterhood, it is not strange the pride which attaches to our people. When we remember that the results of our efforts in the direction of good government have been crowned with such magnificent success, and to-day we have a State in most perfect physical and financial condition, no wonder our hearts swell in honest pride as we contemplate the past and so confidently hope for the future. What we may become depends on our own efforts, and to that future I look with earnest and abiding confidence."

Governor Sherman's term of office con- tinued until January 14, 1886, when he was succeeded by William Larrabee, and he is now, temporarily, perhaps, enjoying a well- earned rest. He has been a Republican since the organization of that party, and his services as a campaign speaker have been for many years in great demand. As an officer he has been able to make an enviable record. Himself honorable and thorough, his management of public business has been of the same character, and such as has com- mended him to the hearty approval of the citizens of the State.

He was married August 20, 1862, to Miss Lena Kendall, of Vinton, Iowa, a young lady of rare accomplishments and strength of character. The union has been happy in every respect. They have two children -- Lena Kendall and Oscar Eugene.

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Loveland Public Library,

WILLIAM LARRABEE.

ILLIAM LARRABEE is the thirteenth Governor of this State, and the six- teenth Governor of Iowa, counting from the Territo- rial organization. His ancestors bore the name of d'Larrabee, and were among the French Hugue- nots who came to America early in the seventeenth century, set- tling in Connecticut. Adam Larrabee was born March 14, 1787, and was one of the early graduates of West Point Military Academy. He served with distinction in the war of 1812, having been made a Second Lieuten- ant March 1, 1811. He was promoted to be Captain February 1, 1814, and was soon after, March 30, of the same year, severely wounded at the battle of Lacole Mills, dur- ing General Wilkinson's campaign on the St. Lawrence. He recovered from this wound, which was in the lung, and was afterward married to Hannah Gallup Lester, who was born June 8, 1798, and died March 15, 1837. Captain Larrabee died in 1869, aged eighty-two.

The subject of this sketch was born at

Ledyard, Connecticut, January 20, 1832. and was the seventh of nine children. He passed his early life on a rugged New Eng- land farm, and received only moderate school advantages. He attended the dis- trict schools winters until nineteen years of age, and then taught school for two winters.

He was now of an age when it became necessary to form some plans for the future In this, however, he was embarrassed by a misfortune which befel him at the age of fourteen. In being trained to the use of fire-arms under his father's direction, an ac- cidental discharge resulted in the loss of sight in the right eye. This unfitted him for many employments usually sought by ambitious youths. The family lived two miles from the sea, and in that locality it was the custom for at least one son in each family to become a sailor. William's two eldest brothers chose this occupation, and the third remained in charge of the home farm.

Thus made free to choose for himself William decided to emigrate West. In 1853, accordingly, he came to Iowa. His elder sister, Hannah, wife of E. H. Williams, was then living at Garnavillo, Clayton County, and there he went first. In that way he selected Northeast lowa as his

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GOVERNORS OF IOWA.

future home. After teaching one winter at Hardin, he was for three years employed as a sort of foreman on the Grand Meadow farm of his brother-in-law, Judge Williams.

In 1857 he bought a one-third interest in the Clermont Mills, and located at Cler- mont, Fayette County. He soon was able to buy the other two-thirds, and within a year found himself sole owner. He oper- ated this mill until 1874, when he sold to S. M. Leach. On the breaking out of the war he offered to enlist, but was rejected on ac- count of the loss of his right eye. Being informed he might possibly be admitted as a commissioned officer he raised a company and received a commission as First Lieu- tenant, but was again rejected for the same disability.

After selling the mill Mr. Larrabee de- voted himself to farming, and started a private bank at Clermont. He also, ex- perimentally, started a large nursery, but this resulted only in confirming the belief that Northern Iowa has too rigorous a cli- mate for fruit-raising.

Mr. Larrabee did not begin his political career until 1867. He was reared as a Whig, and became a Republican on the or- ganization of that party. While interested in politics he generally refused local offices, serving only as treasurer of the School Board prior to 1867. In the autumn of that year, on the Republican ticket, he was elected to represent his county in the State Senate. To this high position he was re- elected from time to time, so that he served as Senator continuously for eighteen years before being promoted to the highest office in the State. He was so popular at home that he was generally re-nominated by ac- clamation, and for some years the Demo- crats did not even make nominations. During the whole eighteen years Senator Larrabee was a member of the principal committee, that on Ways and Means, of which he was generally chairman, and was

also a member of other committees. In the pursuit of the duties thus devolving upon him he was indefatigable. It is said that he never missed a committee meeting. Not alone in this, but in private and public business of all kinds his uniform habit is that of close application to work. Many of the important measures passed by the Legislature owe their existence or present form to him.

He was a candidate for the gubernatorial nomination in 1881, but entered the contest too late, as Governor Sherman's following had been successfully organized. In 1885 it was generally conceded before the meet- ing of the convention that he would be nominated, which he was, and his election followed as a matter of course. He was inaugurated January 14, 1886, and so far has made an excellent Governor. His position in regard to the liquor question, that on which political fortunes are made and lost in Iowa, is that the majority should rule. He was personally in favor of high license, but having been elected Governor, and sworn to uphold the Constitution and execute the laws, he proposes to do so.

A Senator who sat beside him in the Senate declares him to be "a man of the broadest comprehension and information an extraordinarily clear reasoner, fair and conscientious in his conclusions, and of Spartan firmness in his matured judg. ment," and says that "he brings the prac- tical facts and philosophy of human nature, the science and history of law, to aid in his decisions, and adheres with the earnestness of Jefferson and Sumner to the fundamental principles of the people's rights in govern- ment and law."

Governor Larrabee was married Sep- tember 12, 1861, at Clermont, to Anna M. Appelman, daughter of Captain G. A. Appelman. Governor Larrabee has seven children-Charles, Augusta, Julia, Anna, William, Frederic and Helen.

Marau Baies

225

HORACE BOIES.

ORACE BOIES, Governor of Iowa, is a lawyer by profession, and a resident of the city of Waterloo, of which city he has been a resident, engaged in the active practice of his pro- fession, since 1867. Governor Boies is a son of Eber and Hettie (Henshaw) Boies, and was born in Aurora, Erie County, New York, on the 7th day of Decem- ber, 1827. His father was a farmer by occupation, and in moderate circunstances, and Horace was reared under the healthful influence of farm life. He attended the public schools as op- portunity afforded, until sixteen years of age, when, being inspired with an ambition to see more of the world than had been possible for him within the narrow limits of his native town, with the added variety of an occasional visit to Buffalo, he persuaded his father to consent to his departure for the West. Pass- age was secured on a steamer at Buffalo, which was bound np the lakes, and in due time he landed at the little hamlet of Racine, Wisconsin. This was in the spring of 1843, five years before Wisconsin was admitted into the Union. The total cash assets of the youthful emigrant amounted to but 75 cents,

which required on his part strict economy and immediate employment.

Not finding a favorable opening at Racine, he struck out on foot in search of work among the farmers, which he secured of a settler near Rochester, and about twenty miles from Racine. His employer proved a hard task-master, and put the boy at the laborious work of ditch-digging, while he gave him the poorest kind of food, and even that to a very limited amount. After a month spent in a half-starved condition, and having been greatly overworked, he received the sum of $10 for his services. Broken in health, he left his employer, and soon for- tunately fell in with a family that had re- cently come from the vicinity of his home in the State of New York. These people proved true friends, and kindly cared for him through a long illness that followed, which was the legitimate result of his month of hardship and starvation. On recovering his health, yonng Boies continued at farm work until a year had elapsed since he left his home; he then returned to his native town, having learned the useful lesson of self- reliance, which in after years enabled him to more easily overcome the difficulties that beset the way of him who has to hew out his own road through life. On his return to Aurora, Mr. Boies pursued a course of study

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GOVERNORS OF IOWA.

at the academy of that village, and later spent one winter in school-teaching in Boone County, Illinois.

Returning to the State of New York, he was married in Aurora, on the 18th of April, 1848, to Miss Adela King, a daughter of Darius and Hannah King. Mrs. Boies was a native of Erie County. They had three children, of whom only one is now living, a daughter, Adela, who is now the widow of John Carson, Mrs. Carson resides at Mt. Vernon, Iowa.

In 1850 Mr. Boies began the study of law in Aurora, and was admitted to the bar at Buffalo at the general term of the Supreme Court in November, 1852. He pursued the practice of his profession in Buffalo and vicinity with marked success, and in the fall of 1857 was elected to represent his district in the New York House of Representatives for the session of 1858.

Mrs. Boies died in November, 1855, and he was married the second time in Decem- ber, 1858, in Waterloo, Iowa, to Miss Ver- salia M. Barber, who was born in Boston, Erie County, New York, a daughter of Dr. P. J. Barber. Mrs. Boies had removed to Iowa six months previous to her marriage. She died in April, 1877, leaving three chil- dren, a daughter and two sons. Earl L., the eldest, was graduated at Cornell College, studied law with his father, was admitted to the bar in 1886, and became the partner of his father. Jessie, the daughter, is her father's companion and housekeeper. Her- bert B., the youngest, is a law student in his father's office at Waterloo.

After pursuing the practice of his pro- fession at Buffalo and vicinity for fifteen years, Mr. Boies removed to Iowa, settling at Waterloo in April, 1867. He at once formed a law partnership with H. B. Allen, and for a time the firm was Boies & Allen. Then

Carolton F. Couch, the present District Judge, was admitted to membership, and the firm name became Boies, Allen & Couch. That connection was continued till 1878, when Mr. Allen, on account of failing health, was obliged to withdraw, the firm becoming Boies & Couch until 1884, when Mr. Couch was elected Judge of the Ninth Judicial Dis- trict. Mr. Boies was then alone in business for a short time, when he was joined by his eldest son. In 1886 Mr. James L. Husted was admitted to membership in the firm, which has since continued under the name of Boies, Husted & Boies, and is widely known as a leading law firm of eastern Iowa.

Governor Boies was a Whig in early life, and on the disruption of that party and the formation of the Republican party, he joined the latter. He was never ambitious to serve in official position, and with the exception of his one term in the Legislature of his native State and one term as City Attorney of Waterloo, he held no office of importance till elected Governor of Iowa in the fall of 1889. He maintained his connection with the Re- publican party until 1882, since which time he has affiliated with the Democrats. Gov- ernor Boies enjoys the distinction of being the first Governor of Iowa elected by the Democratic party for thirty-five years, and was the only successful candidate of his party on the State ticket at the late election. Considering the fact that the State was car- ried the year previous, in the Presidential election, by a majority of 35,000 in favor of the Republicans, the success of Governor Boies may be said to have been a compli- ment to him as a man and leader, without disparaging the splendid campaign work of his party managers, or ignoring the effect of the evident change in popular political senti- ment in Iowa.

HISTORY

PAGE COUNTY, IOWA.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

S the changes of less than half a century are contemplated, one can scarcely real- ize or begin to comprehend that the wonderful results of Time's marvel-working hand are the achievements of a period so brief as to be within the remembrance almost of the present generation. Let us turn back, as it were, the leaves of Time's great book to the year 1840-one less than fifty years ago -and the stranger in this section of Iowa would have gazed upon a landscape of great beauty, selected by the savage tribes of the North American Indians, the Sacs, Foxes and Pottawattamies, as their camping ground and hunting fields. They enjoyed the striking scenes of Nature as none but the instinct of the Indian can. These vast rolling prairies were as green then as now; the prairie flowers bloomed as thickly and diffused their fragrance as bountifully. We are in the haunt of the red man, and scarcely a trace of civilization. But what a contrast! Then all was as nature had formed it, with its variegated hues of vegetation; in winter a dreary snow-mantled desert; in summer a perfect paradise of flow- ers of every conceivable hue.

Now all traces of the primitive are obliter- ated; in place of the tall prairie grass and tangled underbrush one beliolds the rich waving grain. In place of the dusky war- riors' rude cabins are the substantial and often elegant dwellings of the thrifty farmers, and the iron horse, swifter than the nimble- footed deer, treads the pathway so recently the trail of the "red-skins." Then the sickle of fire annually cut its swath through the wild herbage and drove to death the fright- ened stag; now it nourishes on its broad bosom thousands upon thousands of tons of valuable agricultural products. Then the storm drove the elk and bison to their hiding place; now the blast only drives the husband- inan's domestic stock to their cozy barns and sheds for more comfortable quarters. The transformation is indeed complete -even strangely wonderful!

Nearly all of the first settlers of Page County have gone to their long resting-place -their remains have long since become a part of the mother earth. The summer sun and shower and the wintry blast sweep on with the coming and going of the seasons,

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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.

and these pioneers heed it not. Let a be- fitting monument be erected to their memory, and let there be inscribed upon its surface, in bold and if possible indestructible letters, these words:

"THEY HAVE BUILDED BETTER THAN THEY KNEW."

But before we take up the history of these early settlers and recount their struggles and

hardships, their joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, let us record a few of the facts concern- ing the county as it existed "down through the dim vista of the time before when man was," and see what foundations were here builded by an all-wise Creator in the geo- logical formation, the soil, the forest and prairie land. In the next chapter the reader will learn of the county's natural features.

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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.

LAND AND NATURAL FEATURES.

CHAPTER II.

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION.

EFORE entering into the work of tracing out the comings and goings of the peo- ple who now make up the population of Page County, it is well to briefly describe the geographical location of the domain thus named.

Congressional townships numbers sixty- seven, sixty eight, sixty-nine and seventy, crossed north and south by range lines num- bers thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight and thirty-nine, west of the fifth principal merid- ian, constitute Page County. It contains 555 square miles, or 355,200 acres of land, It is twenty-four and three quarters miles from east to west, including the wedge-shaped "off-set" which appears in its center, and as though its north half had slipped three- quarters of a mile to the west. North and south the county is twenty-two and one-half miles wide.

It is bounded on the north by Montgomery County; on the east by Taylor County; on the south by Nodaway and Atchison counties of Missouri, and on the west by Fremont County.

The original surveys were made in Decem- ber, 1845; January, 1846; in 1851 and in

1852. The first two townships were surveyed under the direction of the Surveyor-General of Missouri, prior to the Iowa-Missouri boundary line difficulty, which was caused by an error in the survey. The Constitution of Missouri claimed a strip extending over into Iowa, about eight miles wide, the parallel line running through the second tier of townships in Page County.

At the first court held in Van Buren County, in April, 1837, Judge Irwin, of the second judicial district of Wisconsin, an in- dictment was found against one David Doose, for exercising the office of constable in Van Buren County under authority of the State of Missonri. This and other similar acts by Missouri officials were the origin of the dis- pute which resulted in demonstration of hostilities, and very nearly brought on a border war. Governor Boggs, of Missouri, called out the militia of that commonwealth, while Governor Lucas, of Iowa, called out 1,200 men, fully armed for battle.

At this stage, however, it was thought wise to send peace commissioners to Missouri, with a view of adjusting matters. General Dodge, of Burlington, General Churchman, of . Dubnque, and Dr. Clark, of Fort Madi-

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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.

son, were appointed. Upon getting to Clarke County, Missouri, they found that the com- missioner of that county had rescinded the order to collect the taxes in the strip claimed by Iowa, and the Governor of Missouri had already sent messengers to Governor Lucas, of Iowa, with the proposition to submit an agreed case to the Supreme Court of the United States. This was not agreed to, but subsequently both States petitioned Congress to settle the question. This was done and was in favor of Iowa. Congress appointed William G. Miner, of Missouri, and Henry B. Hendershot, of Iowa, to survey and estab- lish the boundary line. This having been done, peace was restored.

Before this trouble was settled, however, the greater part of the southern portion of Page County paid tribute to the State of Missouri. Most of the residents of that sec- tion believed they belonged in that State, but after the boundary difficulty had been settled a more permanent and substantial era pervaded the whole section. The dispute ended in 1851.

TOPOGRAPHY, ETC.

The general surface presents an uneven view, made up of hills and intervening val- leys. The drainage of Page County is ex- cellent. The West Nodaway River, the East Nishnabotna River, both about five rods in average width, are the larger streams. Bu- chanan creek, a stream about two rods wide; East, Middle, and West Tarkios, each about twenty feet wide, together with their very numerous branches, constitute the drains laid by nature, to equalize the moisture of the county, to bring about the best results to the husbandmen.

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Author: Lewis and Dunbar, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis & Dunbar Number of Pages: 946

Author: Lewis and Dunbar, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis & Dunbar
Number of Pages: 946