USA > Iowa > Polk County > Des Moines > Des Moines, the pioneer of municipal progress and reform of the middle West, together with the history of Polk County, Iowa, the largest, most populous and most prosperous county in the state of Iowa; Volume I > Part 96
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
Regimental Band.
Jones, Frank E., band sergeant ; Christy, Frank P., band sergeant ; Burroughs, Clyde W., Dinwiddie, Horace W., Johnson, Herbert E.
Company A.
Gibson, William R., captain ; Kihlbom, Frank W., captain and first lieutenant ; Findley, Park A., first and second lieutenant; Parvin; William E., second lieu- tenant; Graham, John A., first sergeant; Parvin, William E., first sergeant ; Boylen, Sylvester S., quartermaster-sergeant ; Graham, John A., quartermaster- sergeant ; Penn, Harry W., quartermaster-sergeant; St. George, Charles G., sergeant ; Siebert, Chas F., sergeant; Parvin, William E., sergeant; Graham, John A., sergeant; Boylen, Sylvester S., sergeant; Guinan, Frederick, sergeant ; Smith, Emery B., sergeant; Cheshire, Carey A., sergeant; Dresser, Ira J., cor- poral; Scholes, Jay W., corporal; Hutchins, Jr., Edward R., corporal; Seibert, Charles F., corporal; Brown, Arthur G., corporal; Penn, Harry W., corporal; Thomas, Andrew H., corporal; Kimmey, Earl R., corporal; McCarthy, Rich- ard, corporal; Earle, Samuel K., corporal; Cheshire, Carey A., corporal; Guinan, Frederick, corporal; Hinsey, Clarence W., corporal; Price, Waldon B., corporal; Henderson, Clarence M., corporal; McCallister, Charles L., corporal; Paschal, Henry T., corporal; Swanson, John L., corporal; Findley, John B., musician ; Schramm, Craig J., musician; Spensley, Monsford B., musician; Henderson, Charles M., artificer ; Edwards, Joseph A., artificer ; Beck, Charles M., wagoner ; Thompson, Charles W., wagoner.
Privates .- Cheshire, Carey A. ; Clark, George R. : Earle, Samuel K. ; Edwards, Joseph A .; George, Marray M .; Guinan, Frederick; Guthrie, Arthur J .; Hart. Lyman A .; Harvey, Rufus H .; Haug, Askel H .; Heindorff, Barney ; Hickey, Allen ; Holmes, Ralph T .; Hutchins, Edward R., Jr .; Kimmey, Earl R .; Mc- Carthy, Richard; Lanterman, Harry M .; Mckeon, John F .; Marsh, Walter E .; Mather, Benjamin C .; Melosh, Edward; Merrill, Will J .; Paschal, Henry T .; Patterson, Blaine H .; Price, Alfred S .; Scholes, Jay W .; Sharp, George F .; Slatten, Amon M .; Spensley, Monsford B .; Swanson, John L .; Thomas, Andrew H .; Thompson, Charles W .; Toulouse, Joseph H .; Wall, John E. (Ankeny) ; Whitman, George A .; Williams, Mark W .; Brown, Arthur G .; Crosby, Joseph C .; Hibbs, Fred V. (Mitchellville) ; Hinsey, Clarence W .; Jones, John J .; Montis, James C. ; Markham, Martin ; McCallister, Charles L. ; Ness, Bernhart J .; Price, Harry W .; Price, Waldon B .; Olson, Jacob; Quigley, Edward J. ; Raffensparger, Jacob B .; Steele, Edward M .; Seager, Howard W .; Smith, Otto H .; Shuey, Charles H. ; Taft, Silas ; Wood, Harry N .; Wagner, Walter ; Ranous, Jesse A .; Burroughs, Clyde W .; McCarthy, Richard; Beck, Charles M.
Company B.
Moore. Wilber E., sergeant and corporal; Land, Charles M., corporal; Ahern, Patrick, corporal; Pierce, John B., corporal.
Privates .- Ahern, Patrick; Land, Charles M .; Moore, Wilber E .; Pierce, John B .; Ranous, Jesse A. ; Sanders, Charles H.
Company C.
Meyer, David H.
725
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
Company D.
Newsome, Dan S., corporal; Shade, Myron L., corporal; Ayers, Ranson M., corporal.
Privates .- Anthony, Ardys A .; Ayers, Ranson M .; Barber, Owen E .; Mills, Frederick; Newsome, Dan S .; Shade, Myron L.
Company E.
Privates .- Fry, Harry M .; Gay, George; George, John L .; McMillen, John W .; Rice, George E .; Dinwiddie, Horace W.
Company F.
Godfrey, Charles A., corporal; Hubbell, Harvey H., corporal; Bruner, Roy J., corporal; Martin, Frank H., musician; Carter, Joseph, wagoner.
Privates .- Bruner, Roy J .; Evans, Mark H .; Godfrey, Charles A .; Hubbell, Harvey H .; Lambert, Clarence C .; Roarck, Otto (Valley Junction) ; Stiles, Her- bert G .; Evans, Daniel W .; Stephenson, Harry G .; Carter, Joseph.
Company G.
Walker, John F., corporal.
Privates .- Gates, Harry T .; Walker, John F.
Company H.
Worthington, Emory C., captain; Bennett, Ernest R., first lieutenant ; Baker, Fred L., second lieutenant; Pray, Alfred B., first sergeant; Robinson, Fred, quartermaster-sergeant ; Jones, Frank E., sergeant; Painter, Ernest W., ser- geant ; Suddoth, Frank E., sergeant; Fickel, Hiram L., sergeant; Garton, George L., sergeant ; Christy, Frank P., sergeant; Heaivilin, John W., corporal; Brewer, Guy S., corporal; Maricle, Delmer J., corporal; Doran, James W., corporal ; Painter, Ernest W., corporal; Gregg, Fred P., corporal; Newquist, Daniel C., corporal; Hedge, Jr., James B., corporal; Ernst, Daniel, corporal; Watson, William W., corporal; Bronson, Mark H., corporal; Christy, Frank P., corporal ; Merrill, corporal; Linton, Charles M., corporal; Stitzel, Charles E., corporal; Fleur, Edward O., corporal; Snure, John, corporal; Porter, Ernst T., corporal ; Fleur, Edward O., musician; Bronson, Mark H., musician; Grace, Bertram H., musician; Wharff, Albert E., musician; Turbett, Charles H., musician; Jones, Rufus M., artificer ; Robinson, Marion W. (Mitchellville), artificer ; Newquist, Daniel C., wagoner; Staves, Fred D., wagoner; Cox, James H., corporal cook.
Privates .- Amend, George H .; Bates, Lorenzo D .; Borduwine, Alfred J .; Brewer, Guy S .; Brewer, Jas. W .; Brown, Charles W .; Dorfler, Leonard ; De Jarnette, Henry ; Doran, Jas. W. ; Drake, Almarin T .; Dunker, Harry J .; Grace, Bertram H .; Gregg, Fred P .; Hanson, George O .; Hollis, Alfred B .; Jensen, Otto; Kinney, Charles J. ; Koppe, Charles H .; Larson, Lars A .; Lee, Robert H .; Linton, Charles M .; Long, Claude A .; Meline, Levi T .; Moershell, Fred C .; Mc- Clelland, Alexander W .; Nygaard, Chas. C .; Pahre, Edward R .; Ruecker, John H .; Russell, Herbert D .; Snure, John; Spry, Berthel F. ; Sult, Frank P .; Tillot- son, Leroy R .; Twining, Granville H .; Turner, John; Turbett, Charles H .; Wil- lis, Benj. S .; Bircher, Bert R .; Bauder, Charles L .; Bronson, Mark H .; Cavanaugh, Frank P .; Corner, George S .; Cox, James H .; Caldwell, Lowry A. (Runnells) ; Castro, John W .; Doran, Elisha L .; Deford, Edward M. (Valley Junction ) ; Dwyer, Patrick H .; Ernst, Daniel; Fraley, Edward L .; Fraley, Mark C .; Hansen, Martin C .; Innis, Robert J .; Kidd, James A .; Kraemer, Karl; Larsen, Gus; Merrill, Frank E .; Myers, Levi A .; O'Callaghan, James ; Pease, Milan A .; Porter, Ernst T .; Robinson, Marion W. (Mitchellville) ; Say- lor, Wm. S .; Staves, Fred D .; Stevenson, Clifford P .; Waldron, Edwin D .; Wright, Chas. M .; Watson, Wm. W .; Linton, Charles M .; Wharff, Albert E .; Fleur, Edward O ..
726
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
Company I.
Privates .- Moore, John; Neely, Chas. R .; Johnson, Herbert E.
Company K.
Jones, Fred K., corporal; Sheets, Lon D., corporal.
Privates .- Jones, Fred K .; Sheets, Lon D .; Villemain, Clay H. (Altoona).
Company L.
Privates .- Wegener, Louie ; Weakley, Raymond D.
FIFTY-SECOND IOWA INFANTRY.
Field, Staff and Band.
Company A .- Frederic M. Jones, quartermaster; Ferdinand F. Thorns, musician ; Guy M. Wilson, musician.
Company B .- Philip S. Billings, corporal ; privates : Baird, Clarence E .; Bil- lings, Philip S .; Creighton, Arthur H .; Hangerford, Claude M .; Jones, Grant R .; Saylor, Harry M .; Sours, Curtis (Runnells) ; Vermenlen, Jacob B .; Young, Geo. M.
Company C .- Crumpholz, Carl; Ray, Charles O.
Company D .- Adams, Frederic N.
Company E .- Smith, John E.
Company F .- Hulsizer, J. Harry, corporal. Company G .- Edwards, Newton O .; Eves, Samuel W.
Company H .- Moss, James A. ; Reddish, James L.
Company I .- Meekins, Frank W. (Polk City) ; Phillips, Harry (Sheldahl). Company K .- Guy M. Wilson, musician.
Company L .- Burton, Clyde L .; Sager, Charles A.
Company M .- Michael Sorensen, artificer ; Edwards, Benjamin S .; Soren- sen, Michael ; Marion, Walter (Mitchellville).
FIFTH BATTERY IOWA LIGHT ARTILLERY.
Conrad, John F.
-
SIXTH BATTERY IOWA LIGHT ARTILLERY.
Christenson, John; Tracy, Charles A.
VOLUNTEER U. S. SIGNAL CORPS.
Captain Frank E. Lyman, of the signal corps, organized the Twelfth com- pany, U. S. Volunteer Signal Corps. The company was finally organized with Frank E. Lyman, Jr., captain; Lucas B. Adams, first color sergeant; Raymond J. Barnes, first color sergeant ; George W. Peters, Jr., first color sergeant ; Rolla D. Welch, first color sergeant; Alvord L. Bishop, sergeant; Ralph W. Wells, sergeant; Joseph Harris, corporal; Budair M. Hartung, corporal; Samuel H. Lowe, corporal; Ainsworth, Leon W .; Allen, Melvine G .; Eberhart, Adolph E .; Gregg, David T .; Haworth, William H .; Houston, George W .; Montour, George O .; Rankin, Elbert; Turbett, Leonard. W .; Twell, Joseph F .; Van Der Myden, Philip ; Walters, Samuel A.
SEVENTH U. S. INFANTRY VOLUNTEER IMMUNES.
Company M.
The original organization of a company of "Immunes" for the Seventh U. S. Infantry Volunteer Immunes, is elsewhere noted. It was finally made up as follows :
727
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
Amos W. Brandt, captain; Edward G. McAfee, first lieutenant; Robert A. Wilburn, second lieutenant; George S. Taylor, first sergeant; William P. Lewis, quartermaster-sergeant; John W. Railey, sergeant; Benjamin F. Hall, sergeant ; Eugene R. Brown, sergeant; Talt E. Ashford, sergeant; Arthur Hamilton, cor- poral ; George Parks, corporal; John W. Davie, corporal; Robert Webster, cor- poral ; John Cole, corporal; Elmer C. Webb, corporal; James H. Burrell, corporal ; Andrew Early, corporal; Francisco F. Jeffers, musician; William H. Shafus, musician; James H. Hudspeth, artificer; Richard Stallings, wagoner. Ander- son, Thomas; Baker, John; Ballinger, Charles; Battles, William E .; Brown, Thomas ; Burley, Sheridan ; Burroughs, Henry ; Burrell, Fred; Carter, Edwin H. ; Churchai, William; Crider, Champ; Crockett, Abe; Crosby, Robert; Dickens, Harry H. ; Dowdell, Dock B .; Drenshaw, Charles ; Early, Quincy D .; Early, Wirt B. ; Edwards, Adolphus E .; Evans, Robert; Gillenwater, Ames ; Grey, Alexander ; Holland, William; Hopkins, Clarence; Hunter, Thomas J .; Jackson, Daniel ; Johnson, Charles A .; Johnson, John J .; Johnson, Samuel M .; Johnson, William A .; Johnson, William H .; Jones, Ernest; Jones, Robert H .; Langford, Homer ; Lee, Benjamin ; Lobbins, Albert; Lucher, Robert; Miller, Robert M .; Mullens, Thomas J .; Patterson, Arthur ; Powell, George E .; Robinson, Robert; Scurlock, Henry ; Samuels, Robert; Shaw, Lee; Stewart, Andrew J .; Strawthers, Moses K .; Swann, Henry A .; Tolliver, Charles A .; Todd, James E .; Ward, Pleas ; Will- iams, John ; Woods, Hudson D. ; Wood, William M .; Woolridge, Lewis W.
BOOK IV. POLK COUNTY.
PART III. THE COUNTY'S EVOLUTION. 1850-1910.
CHAPTER I.
POLK COUNTY'S EVOLUTION-1850 TO 1910.
The growth of Polk county within six decades-from 1850 to 1910-is a tale well-nigh as marvelous as that of Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp, or of Jason and the Search for the Golden Fleece. The difference between the fanci- ful and the real lies in the fact that our pioneer Aladdins were guided by the lamp of experience and the golden fleece for which our pioneer Jasons toiled and struggled was the golden harvest.
No study of the history of this region from data supplied by the Census Bureau of the United States has ever been published. Assured of the value of such a study, the author here embodies the results of research in this field, confident that the array of figures, which at first sight may seem formidable, will be found, especially by future students of history and sociology, not only instructive but highly suggestive. The census, from decade to decade, is the substantial framework upon which the biological and industrial history of our country is builded. As the student of anatomy has frequent recourse to the framework of the human body, so the student of history must have frequent recourse to the framework underneath the surface of present conditions-the facts and figures which constitute the bases of present conclusions.
As preliminary to the study of the first decennial census of the United States in which Polk county appears, it should be stated that when the sixth federal census was taken-in 1840-there was no vestige of civilization in the region now set apart as Polk county; and that as late as 1847, the entire population of the county-including the northern tier of townships in Warren, then part of Polk county-was only 1,792.
Polk County in 1850.
The first Census of the United States in which the State of Iowa has place is that of 1850. Though lacking in the fulness of detail which marks the census of 1880 and that of later decades, it throws much light upon population and conditions four years after the creation of Polk county and the admission of Iowa as a state.
Though the population of Polk is not given in the table of Iowa's population by counties, another table brings out the fact that it was placed at 4,513. This was an increase of 2,721 over the population in 1847.
The new county of Polk was, as one might expect to find, chiefly populated by young men and women and their children,-the men considerably outnum- bering the women. There were 152 children one year old or under,-77 males and 75 females; 695 between one and five years of age, -- 366 males and 329 females ; 764 between five and ten,-395 males and 369 females; 588 between ยท ten and fifteen,-322 males and 266 females; 486 between fifteen and twenty years,-239 males and 247 females; 827 between twenty and thirty,-457 males, 370 females ; 532 between thirty and forty,-310 males and 222 females ; 25I between forty and fifty, -- 140 males and III females; 148 between fifty and sixty,-86 males and 62 females; 62 between sixty and seventy,-37 males and 25 females. Of those between seventy and eighty, there were only six-all women. There were but two octogenarians in the county,-one male
731
732
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
and one female. From the number of infants reported, it becomes evident that the timeliness of the scriptural injunction, "Be fruitful and multiply," was not lost on the new comers of the late Forties! From the number of young children reported, it is equally evident that many of the pioneers did not hesi- tate to bring their families with them, notwithstanding the dearth of educational advantages,-doubtless reasoning that the practical education their children would obtain by direct contact with the forces of nature would give them a strong foundation of practical experience, and mental and bodily vigor, upon which to build the superstructure later, on the arrival of the schoolmaster. In the year 1850, there were fifty-four persons in the county who entered the mar- riage state. The births of the year numbered 152; the deaths, 70. The number of families in the county was 782; the number of dwellings, 756.
The census of 1850 does not include the population of the county by towns ; but the larger portion of the meager population is known to have been centered in and about the county seat.
Educationally Polk county was in its infancy. It had sixteen public schools and sixteen teachers. The taxation for school purposes was $140. The public funds aggregated $238. Other sources of income totaled $816-altogether mak- ing $1,194. Those attending school during the year were 542, of whom 306 were males and 236 females. These were all classed. as native-born. The illiteracy which, in 1850, prevailed in a county that, three decades later, began to boast of its freedom from illiteracy, will be a surprise to those not familiar with frontier conditions. Within the limits of. Polk county there were 477 who could neither read nor write. Of these, 153 were males, and 324 were females. In 1850, the county had 15.958 acres of improved land in farms, and 60,223 acres unimproved. The cash value of its farms was $399,476. The value of all the farming implements and machinery in the county was $30,016. The county's live stock included 775 horses, nine mules and asses, 872 milch cows, 625 working oxen and 1,309 other cattle; 3,442 sheep and 7,637 swine. The total value of its stock was $81,086; of the animals slaughtered, $17,885.
The produce in the county during the year, in bushels, was: Wheat, 13,455 ; rye, 135; Indian corn, 211,677; oats, 11,139. The wool was 9,054 pounds. Given in bushels, the peas and beans were 176, Irish potatoes, 7,131 ; sweet po- tatoes. 383 : buckwheat, 1,888. There was no report on the value of the county's orchard products. The produce of market gardens in the county was reported as $510.
The county's production of butter was 41,058 pounds, cheese 1,293 pounds, hay 2,091 tons, grass seeds 36 bushels, hops 36 pounds ; flax 5,067 pounds, flax- seed 64 bushels, maple sugar 11,173 pounds, molasses 527 gallons, beeswax and honey 19,717 pounds. The value of home-made products was estimated at $4,999.
The only church property in the county reported in 1850 is that of the M. E. church of Fort Des Moines, with a seating capacity of 150, and valued at $500.
NASH PARK
BRIDGE IN INGERSOLL PARK
CHAPTER II.
POLK COUNTY IN 1860.
In the ten years, from 1850 to 1860, the population of Polk county increased from 4,513 to 11,625. The white population was still unbalanced as between the sexes,-the males numbering 6,058, the females, 5,554.
It was still the Eldorado of young ambition, as the following figures show : The white population one year old and under was 511; between one and five, 1,717; between five and ten, 1,695; between ten and fifteen, 1,343; between fifteen and twenty, 1,184; between twenty and thirty, 2,133; between thirty and forty, 1,507 ; between forty and fifty, 824; between fifty and sixty, 462; between sixty and seventy, 180; between seventy and eighty, 45; between eighty and ninety, II.
The population of the county was distributed among the townships as follows :
Allen, 485; Beaver, 300; Bloomfield, 320; Camp, 1,251; Delaware, 465; Des Moines, 3,953; Douglas, 146; Elkhart, 156; Four Mile, 462; Franklin, 174; Jefferson, 553; Lee, 407 ; Madison, 1,308; Saylor, 768; Washington, 152.1
Of the II,625 men, women and children in the county, only 1,127 were for- eign born and 13 "free colored." The number of families reported in 1860 was 2,097.
The number of churches in Polk county in 1860 was fourteen. Of these the Baptist, the Christian church and the Congregationalists had one each. There were two Episcopal churches. The Methodist Episcopal church had four, the Presbyterians had two, the United Presbyterians had one, the Roman Catholics had one, and there ivas one "Union" congregation.
Polk county had already made a start-only a start-in manufactures. The census of 1860 reports : One shop for the manufacture of agricultural imple- ments, with a capital of $5,000. One was labeled blacksmithing, with $1,000 in- vested. There was one bindery, capital, $5,000 ; boots and shoes, two shops, cap- ital, $5,000 ; carriages, two factories, capital, $800; coal, bituminous, two mines, capital, $1,000 ; flour and meal, two mills, capital, $38,000 ; furniture, cabinet. fac- tories, two, capital, $4,000 ; liquors, malt, two, capital, $10,000; lumber, planed, one mill, capital $6,000; lumber, sawed, five mills, capital invested, $19,200 ; machinery, steam engines, &c., two shops, capital, $9,500 ; marble and stone work, one shop, capital, $5,500 ; printing, newspaper and job printing establishments, three, capital, $14,500 ; saddlery and harness shop, one, capital, $1,800.
The twenty-eight mills and shops in Polk county classified as manufactures represented capital invested to the amount of $126,300; cost of raw material, $146,951; number of hands employed, 133; annual cost of labor, $48,240; an- nual value of products, $310,945.
The status of Polk county in agriculture in 1860 reveals promise for the com- ing years. While the county still had 73,473 acres of unimproved land, it had 45,040 acres under cultivation. The cash value of Polk county farms was placed
1 These figures are from the Iowa Hist. and Comp. Census ( 1836-80). While the real total is II,625, the items aggregate only 10,912.
733
.
734
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
at $1,892,316. 'Already the farmers of Polk county had invested the sum of $62,274 in farm implements and machinery. The start made in live stock was considerable, as the following figures show: Horses 2,559, mules and asses 42, milch cows 2,558, working oxen 584, other cattle 3,742, sheep 4,067, swine 11,686; value of live stock, $283,756; value of animals slaughtered, $47,395.
The direct products of the soil are placed at follows, mainly in bushels : Wheat 75,210, rye 343, Indian corn 1,553,000, oats 47,772, tobacco 20 pounds, wool 10,682 pounds, peas and beans 76 bushels, Irish potatoes 29,218, sweet potatoes 752, barley 1,985 bushels, buckwheat 197 bushels, value of orchard products $81, wine two gallons, value of market-garden products $155, pounds of butter 146,- 907, pounds of cheese 6,077, tons of hay 10,247, bushels. of clover seed 277, bush- els of grass seed 45, pounds of hops 3, pounds of flax 400, pounds of maple sugar 2,808, gallons of maple molasses 139, gallons of sorghum molasses 24,038, pounds of beeswax 649, pounds of honey 20,701, value of home-made manufactures 5,041. The material wealth of Polk county in 1860 was as follows: Real, $5,- 233,490 ; personal, $1.685,369 ; aggregated, $6,918,859.
CHAPTER III.
POLK COUNTY IN 1870.
In 1870, the population of Polk county had grown from 11,625 in 1860, to 27,857; by townships as follows:
Allen-732, a gain of 247 in ten years.
Beaver-1,213, a gain of 913.
Bloomfield-1,132, a gain of 812.
Camp-1,558, a gain of 307.
Delaware-865, a gain of 200.
Des Moines (including wards 5th, 6th and 7th, which were in Lee township) -a gain of 11,533 since 1850.
Douglas-613, a gain of 467.
Elkhart-744, a gain of 588.
Four Mile-513, a gain of 69.
Franklin-654, a gain of 480.
Jefferson-832.
Lee (exclusive of the 5th, 6th and 7th wards of Des Moines)-729, a gain of 322.
Madison-2,626, a gain of 1,318.
Saylor-1,007, a gain of 239.
Valley-715, organized in 1860.
Walnut-(reorganized in 1860) 1,23I.
Washington-640, a gain of 488.
Following the antecedents of Polk county's 27,857 men, women and children in 1870, we find that while only 3,913 were foreign-born, 7,396 had foreign- born parents; 8,34I had foreign-born fathers only and 7,723 had foreign-born mothers only. Ten years before, in the total population of 11,625, only 1, 127 were foreign-born. Of the 3,913 who were born abroad, 246 came from British America, 565 from England and Wales, 1,090 from Ireland, 113 from Scot- land, 840 from Germany, 30 from France, 759 from Sweden and Norway, 34 from Bohemia, 21 from Holland, 119 from Switzerland, 44 from Denmark and from Great Britain, I (unidentified) : Tracing the antecedents of the native- born, it is found that 9,489 were born in Iowa, 3,547 in Ohio, 1,534 in New York, 1,689 in Pennsylvania, 1,431 in Illinois and 2,656 in Indiana.
In 1870 there were 5,714 children in attendance at the schools of the county. Of these, 5,582 were native-born, 132 foreign-born; 2,923 were males, 2.79I females. Of the native-born but 39 were colored. Of the 5,714, there were 526, ten years old and upward, who could not read and 927 who could not write. Of these last 505 were natives and 422 foreigners.
In 1870 Polk county began to loom as a county of church-people and churches. Seventy church organizations were reported, with 32 church edifices; with 10.515 sittings, with church property valued at $259,110. Of these, there were six Baptist churches, five Christian, two Congregational, two Friends, twenty-nine Methodist, three Presbyterian, four Roman Catholic, seven United Brethren, etc.
735
736
CITY OF DES MOINES AND POLK COUNTY
The assessed valuation of real estate in Polk county in 1870 was $5,767,335; of personal property, $1,809,977 ; total of assessed value, $7,577,312 ; total, true valuation, real and personal, $18,943,280. The county's share of the state tax was $15,155. Her county tax was $104,881. Her town and city tax $460,552. Total taxes $580,588. The county's indebtedness for which bonds had been issued was $9,000. Its total debt was $69,764. Its town and city indebtedness for which bonds had been issued . was $204,000.
In 1870 the county aggregated 151,014 acres of improved land; 34,218 acres of woodland; 41,506 acres of other unimproved land. The cash value of its farms was $6,667,664; farming implements and machinery was $310,167; wages paid during the year, including value of board, $163,683 ; total value of all farm productions, including betterments and additions to stock, was $2,113,188. Polk county's orchard products in 1870 were valued at $27,041; produce of market gardens, $7,403 ; forest products, $5,838. The value of animals slaughtered, or sold for slaughter, $567,702; live stock, $1,421,866; horses 6,726; mules and asses, 492; milch cows, 5,818; working oxen, 96; other cattle, 9,599; sheep, 9,032; swine, 28,626. The bushels of spring wheat produced in the county aggregated 28,626; winter wheat, 260; rye, 1,410; Indian corn, 1,779,875; oats, 176,399 ; barley, 17,253; buckwheat, 683.
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.