USA > Iowa > Adair County > History of Adair County, Iowa, and its people, Volume I > Part 7
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The first case heard in this court in Adair County was a law case entitled W. C. Warner vs. Charles Galbraith. Kilburn & Grass appeared as attorneys for the plaintiff, and J. H. Bailey for the defendant. A jury was called to try the case, composed of the fol- lowing men: O. E. Brown. E. R. Paris, J. Noah, John Easton, J. H. Standley, Daniel Smith, Jacob Bally, Gorton Shanklin, T. M. Ewing and Samuel Thompson. After hearing the evidence in the case they retired under the charge of Bailiff M. E. Black, and after deliberation, returned to the court with a verdict for the defendant.
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HISTORY OF ADAIR COUNTY
In 1872 John Mitchell was elected to the office of circuit judge and in 1876 was re-elected. During his term of office the second circuit was created by an act of the General Assembly and Adair, with other counties. placed therein. This was at once organized and S. A. Calvert appointed to the vacant judgeship, and at the next general election was elected to the office and was re-elected in 1880. In 1884 Calvert was again elected and served until the abolishment of the office in 1886. He was the last to fill this position in Adair County.
THE COUNTY COURT
By an act of the General Assembly of Iowa in 1851 courts were established in each county in the state which were at the time organ- ized and also provided for the institution of the court in every county thereafter organized. The county judge, the head of this court, took the position of the county commissioners and the probate judge, both of which offices were abolished. The court was composed of the judge, clerk, prosecuting attorney, and sheriff, and it was given all the juris- diction and power now in the hands of the board of supervisors, auditor, clerk of the courts, and the probate branch of the business of the Circuit Court.
The first probate matter on record in this county is noted in the minute book of the County Court. This was on November 17, 1857, when at a session of the court, presided over by D. M. Valentine. acting county judge, the following case came up for consideration : James P. Jordan had died on October 12, 1857, without making a will, nor having done anything about the administration of his estate. His widow did not appear to claim the executorship and Josiah P. Clark, his next of kin, appeared and asked the court to appoint him as executor. After hearing his request the court appointed him to settle the estate of the deceased.
The first to occupy the position of county judge was G. M. Hola- day, who was elected to that office at the time of the organization of the county in April, 1854. He served in this capacity for one year. He settled in Jefferson Township in 1853, locating upon section 26. He was from the State of Indiana. He, while acting as county judge, with D. M. Valentine, county surveyor, and Abram Rutt, laid out the Town of Fontanelle for the county. In the fall of 1856 he left here for Des Moines, in order to educate his children. He deserted his wife and children there and left the country with another woman, presumably going to the western coast.
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J. J. Leeper was the successor of Judge Holaday, being elected in the spring of 1855. He served for two years. He came here from near Zanesville, Ohio, in 1854, and settled in Jackson Township on section 34, where he lived for two years. He then removed to Wash- ington Township and in 1865 removed to Afton, Union County. He later removed to New Mexico.
At the August election of 1857 Manning Drake was elected to the position of county judge by a majority of eleven votes. How- ever, he failed to qualify and D. M. Valentine, then prosecuting attor- ney. acted as county judge until the election of 1858. Valentine was the second settler in the Village of Fontanelle. He came to that place in the summer of 1855. He was born in Shelby County, Ohio, June 18, 1830. After removing to West Point, Tippecanoe County. Ind., with his parents, in 1836, and to Wea Plains in 1837, staying in the latter place until 1854, he removed to Winterset, Ia., and from thence to this county. He was admitted to the bar at Winterset. In 1859 he left Adair County and went to Leavenworth, Kan., and in 1860 to Franklin County, in the same state. Here he remained until 1875, when he went to Topeka. He was elected judge of a district court in Kansas and also served as a member of the Legisla- ture in Kansas from Franklin County in 1862. He also served as state senator from the same district in 1863-4. He later was associate justice of the Supreme Court of Kansas. He was married August 26. 1855, to Martha Root of Adair County.
F. M. Corr was elected judge of the County Court in 1858 and was re-elected in 1859, serving until 1861. He was born and reared in Monroe County, Indiana, and came to Adair County in October, 1855. making his settlement in Washington Township. There he resided until 1858, when he removed to Fontanelle, having been elected county treasurer. He resigned this position to accept the position of county judge which he filled until the first of 1862. He shortly afterward removed to Clark County, Iowa, and from there to Pocahontas County, Iowa. At one time he taught school in Wash- ington Township.
Azariah Root was the next to fill the position of county judge, being elected to the office on October 8, 1861. At this time a large part of the power of the office had been given to the newly created board of supervisors. Mr. Root was re-elected in 1863 and served until 1864. He was a native of Pittsfield, Mass., and was born there in 1791. His father, whose name was also Azariah, was the descend- ant of an old French family, a connection of Racine, and served in
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the Continental Army under George Washington, and was present at the hanging of Major Andre, the British spy, and died at the age of ninety-eight years. His mother was Ellen Barbour, of Scotch descent. When Azariah was about twelve years of age his parents moved to Ohio, where he grew to manhood. He was a volunteer under General William Henry Harrison in his campaigns against the Indian allies of England in the War of 1812 to 1815. In 1839 Mr. Root moved to Wyandotte, Ohio, and lived there until 1852, when he emigrated to Madison County, Iowa. In the spring fol- lowing he came to Adair County and settled upon section 11 in Jack- son Township. He then moved to section 12 and later to Fontanelle. He was postmaster during the war and died in the town in 1874 at the age of eighty-three. He was married in Ohio in 1824 to Myra Case and to them were born nine children, namely: Abner, Clarissa, Amanda, Elizabeth, Ellen, Parthenia, Martha Eby, Sarah and Myra. Mr. Root's wife died in the winter of 1860 at Fontanelle and is buried with her husband in the cemetery in Jackson Township.
On the resignation of Azariah Root from this office the board of supervisors appointed W. H. Brainard to fill the vacancy. He took the position in July, 1864, and held it until the first of the following year.
At the election of 1864 R. F. Murphy was elected to the office, but refusing to qualify, the board of supervisors appointed James C. Gibbs to fill the vacancy. In June, 1865, Mr. Gibbs resigned the position and the board appointed R. E. Ewing to succeed him. At the election of 1865 Ewing was elected, but on January 16, 1866, he resigned the position and was succeeded by J. J. Hetherington, who was also appointed by the board. In the autumn of 1866 Hether- ington was duly elected to the same office and served until January 1, 1868, when he was succeeded by N. S. Taylor. N. S. Taylor was the last county judge of Adair County. During his term the office was abolished by the General Assembly of the state, but the party holding that position at the time of the change was made ex-officio county auditor.
IMPORTANT CRIMINAL CASES
There have been many crimes committed in Adair County, but very few of them are of enough importance to deserve lengthy notice. The train robbery which occurred in this county and was supposed to have been the work of the famous Jesse James gang of robbers was one of the important. This is narrated in another part of this Vol. I-5
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volume. Another of the early crimes worthy of note was the murder of Henry D. Vandewater by Philip Augustine. In the District Court which met on the 11th of February, 1873, and held until the 19th of the same month, this case came up for trial and occupied nearly the entire session. The evidence introduced in the trial estab- lished the deed to have occurred in the following manner: Henry D. Vandewater, the victim, was notorious as a "bad man," one who toted a gun and was continually looking for trouble. Augustine was a brother-in-law of Vandewater and it is said was in continual fear of him. In March, 1872, a family quarrel arose and Vandewater picked Augustine as the particular mark of his venom. At one time he followed Augustine into the latter's house and wanted to fight, backed by his brother. He picked up a stick and started to assault Augustine. The aged father, however, interfered with the attacking party, seized a butcher knife, and informed Vandewater that he would kill him if he attacked Augustine. This caused the assailant to retreat. He then took to annoying his brother-in-law in every pos- sible way, dogging his cattle, and on the evening before his death, when passing the house, while Mrs. Augustine was driving in a flock of sheep, set his dog upon them. At her remonstrance he grabbed a stick and drove her into the yard, saying at the same time that he would thrash h-1 out of her and kick her so that she could not stand up. Shortly before this, while Vandewater was engaged in the attempt to set fire to Augustine's fences about harvest time, and being remonstrated with by the owner, he drew a revolver and drove him into the house. On the day before the crime was committed he had threatened a little boy of Augustine's, who was herding stock, with cutting his throat.
On the morning of his death he rode over to Augustine's house to see him about some disputed grass, making threats that he would kill him before he would let him have it, although it had been given Augustine by his father. He rode up to the low fence before Augus- tine's house, and setting sideways on his horse, faced the latter. Augustine asked why he had dogged his cattle and was answered that he would dog them whenever he pleased and that Augustine could not help himself. The latter said that he could help himself. Whereupon Vandewater replied. "If you have anything that will shoot faster than I have, bring it out." With this he half drew his revolver from his hip pocket. Augustine then warmed him away from the premises and started toward the house. He reached into the door, grasped his Enfield rifle, leveled it, and killed Vandewater
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with the bullet. He was shortly afterwards arrested and lodged in jail. The attorneys for the state at the trial were: General Given, the district attorney, Bailey & Grass, and J. C. Naylor. The defend- ant had the services of Leonard & Mott, Gow Brothers and Col. James Rany. The jury in this celebrated case was composed of the following men: S. C. Vance, A. L. Harrison, W. H. Aspin- wall, J. Sias, L. C. Elliott, James Peters, E. L. Drake, A. J. Mears, William Rivenburgh, O. D. Foote, W. M. Stowell and J. L. Vert. The jury, after hearing the evidence in the case, convicted Augustine of second degree murder and the defendant was sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of ten years, the lightest sentence which the law permitted for the offense.
Augustine went to Fort Madison, Ia., to serve his sentence. However, as public sentiment was entirely upon his side, a petition for pardon, headed by the names of the judge, district attorney and all the jury, was circulated, and obtaining the requisite number of names, was forwarded to the governor of the state. The governor immediately pardoned Philip Augustine. This pardon was issued six or eight years after Augustine was sentenced, just before the expiration of his term.
THE MENTGER MURDER
In March, 1894, occurred the murder of Myer Mentger at Fon- tanelle by D. C. Clayman, whose reputed home was in Des Moines. Mentger was a merchant in the Town of Fontanelle and Clayman was an unwelcome suitor of Ida Mentger, a daughter, who was also a helper in the store. Clayman procured a revolver and entered the store just at evening. He fired his first bullet at Ida Mentger, wound- ing her in the arm, then turned the revolver upon himself, inflicting a slight head wound. Mr. Mentger came from the rear of the store and attempted to wrest the revolver from Clayman when he was shot in the abdomen. He died in a very short time. Clayman was tried a month later and was convicted of murder in the second degree and sentenced to fifteen years in the penitentiary. He served his full time.
THE BAR
The Adair County Bar has ever been a reputable one. Lawyers who have practiced their calling in this county have, with possibly a few exceptions, been of high class and of recognized ability and
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integrity. There has not been so many of the practitioners here as in larger counties, but there has been a sufficient number to keep the legal wheels of the county running smoothly.
The first lawyer to come to Adair County was W. H. Brainard. He came to Fontanelle in the spring of 1858. He was elected recorder in the year 1864 and served until 1866. He later removed to Hopkin's, Mo.
In the fall of 1858 James C. Gibbs and D. M. Valentine were both admitted to the state bar at Winterset and were the next of the profession to come to Adair County.
J. J. Cooper, an attorney, came to Adair County during the winter of 1857-8 and located at Fontanelle. He was a first class lawyer and came from Lexington, Ky., where he had studied his profession with John C. Breckinridge. He was a native of Penn- sylvania. After a few years' residence in Adair County he went to Winterset.
G. F. Kilburn, an attorney, came to Fontanelle about the year 1858 and entered into the practice. His principal business was in the way of real estate sales and collections. He moved to Creston afterwards where he died in 1883.
S. W. Armstrong came to this county in 1858. He filled the position of county treasurer at one time.
Waldo Adams read law here in the office of G. F. Kilburn and, upon his admission to the bar, went into partnership with the same. He afterwards removed to Creston with Mr. Kilburn.
T. W. Neville practiced law in Greenfield for about three years, coming here in 1869.
M. M. Rutt practiced law in the Town of Fontanelle, beginning about 1871. He built up quite a large practice here. He later operated a lumber yard at Atlantic, Cass County, and later removed to Salt Lake City, Utah.
James Naylor was admitted to the bar at Fontanelle in 1870 and practiced until 1875, when he left. He was a man of dissipated habits. He later forsook the law for newspaper work in Dakota.
James Rany practiced law at Fontanelle in connection with various other lines of business. He was admitted to the bar in 1870 and in 1873 to the United States bar. He discontinued the prac- tice in 1875 and entered other business pursuits.
J. C. McDermot. an attorney, came from Pennsylvania and located in Greenfield during the year 1875 and engaged in the prac- tice. He was a good lawyer and of good reputation. He remained
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in the place until 1878 when he moved to Kansas, where he continued the practice of his profession.
J. C. Naylor came to Greenfield from Warren County about 1876. He afterwards moved to Creston and also from that place to whereabouts unknown.
About the same time George Seevers came from Winterset and began practice, but not meeting with much success he returned to Winterset.
John A. Storey came to Greenfield in 1875 and began practice. Afterward removed to Fontanelle and went into partnership with H. Grass. He was a very successful attorney, representative for Adair County, later a judge of the District Court, a prominent attorney at Omaha, Neb., to which place he moved, and now presi- dent of a national bank at Indianola, Ia.
H. Grass came to Fontanelle in the year 1869 from Albany, Richland County, Ill. He had served six years in the State Senate of Illinois, was a soldier in the Black Hawk war, and was at the cap- ture of Black Hawk when he made his last fatal stand on the Bad Axe in Wisconsin. He later moved to Corpus Christi, Tex., and now lives at Alvin, near Galveston.
John M. Moore, an early attorney in Adair County, was born in Westmoreland County, Pa., on May 26, 1836. He came Adair County in January, 1878.
H. B. Young came to this county in April, 1880, and in 1883 began practice at Fontanelle.
Harry E. Don Carlos came to Greenfield in 1883 and entered into a law partnership with D. W. Church, which continued until May, 1884. He then practiced alone.
James E. Andrews began practice here in 1881.
Daniel W. Church was admitted to the bar in 1875 in Green- field, Ind. He came to Adair County, Ia., in the same year. At the time of his coming he was the oldest attorney at the county seat.
A. L. Hager came to Greenfield in November of the year 1875 and engaged in practice with his brother, C. E. Hager, and J. A. Storey. In 1877 the firm became A. L. Hager & J. A. Storey and in 1881 became Gow & Hager. George L. Gow came to Fontanelle in 1870 and engaged in practice with his brother.
John G. Culver came to Fontanelle in 1873 and taught school for two years and then commenced the study of law. He was admitted to the bar at Greenfield in 1879.
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John W. McCormick first went to Fontanelle to practice and in August, 1882, came to Greenfield.
F. M. Brown came to Greenfield in 1874 after having been admitted to the bar in Clinton County, this state.
Robert Mickey came to Greenfield in the fall of 1881 and at once entered upon the practice of law.
Fred O. Hinkson began the law and real estate business here in September, 1883.
William S. Wishard began practice here in 1880, having received his legal education in Des Moines and Iowa City.
THE PRESENT BAR
The resident members of the Adair County Bar are: D. W. Church, H. J. Chapman, Frank B. Wilson, George D. Musmaker, J. C. Hoyt, D. A. Crowley, of Greenfield; Clarence Williamson, O. W. Witham, also of Greenfield; George B. Lynch, F. E. Gates, S. B. Gwin and Harry D. Byers, of Adair; Charles T. Launder and E. W. Adams, of Fontanelle. The practicing non-resident mem- bers of the bar are: F. O. Hinkson, Carl P. Knox, R. H. Dosh, P. L. Sever, O. W. Morgan and Roy Knox of Stuart; C. E. Berry and A. M. Fagan of Casey.
CHAPTER VII
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
There is no profession, no trade, no enterprise, which did not have a beginning in darkness; there is no effort to which the forces and energies of mankind have been directed but that did not first combat the obscurity of ignorance, pardonable ignorance, it is true.
In this enlightened age of medical science one regards the early doctor as a person with little knowledge of the profession, one who applied the home remedies of calomel, castor oil and blue pill with the abandon of a solicitous grandmother and one who wielded the lancet with artistic indiscrimination. However one regards the early physician, there must be taken into account the times in which he worked, in other words the knowledge of medicine and surgery which then existed in the world. Secondly, there are the physical conditions under which the early doctor worked. Thirdly, there was distinct character of disease among the early settlers, and, lastly, the reme- dies with which the doctor had to work were scarce and many times not the best antidote for the ailment.
In the matter of world knowledge of medicine at that time it can safely be said that little or nothing was known in comparison with the present status of the science. In fact, medicine has made more rapid strides in the past decade than in the past century. In the early days of this state and county the doctors had strong faith in the use of the lancet, believing that by letting a copious amount of blood from the patient, the object of which was to destroy the tene- ment of the disease, a cure could be effected. Then there was the Spanish fly blister which was applied for all sorts of ills; there were calomel and blue pills as the universal internal remedies. During the convalescent period of the patient's disease, if such a period were ever reached, gamboge, castor oil and senna were administered in generous portions to work out of the system the effects of the first course of treatment.
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It would be difficult to describe in limited space just how far the step has been taken from those early theories to the present day theories. A glance at the daily newspapers and magazines will invariably prove by concrete instance the wonderful cures being effected today, both in medicine and surgery. Operations upon the heart, upon the brain, upon the other delicate and vital organs of the body are becoming of daily occurrence, whereas a quarter century ago they would have been ridiculed. The day of serums has arrived and the disease is thus throttled in its inception. The present-day doctor assists nature to repair the break and is a man of thought and initiative.
The physical conditions under which the early doctor worked is another point in his favor. There were no roads, bridges and in many places there was not even a marked path of travel. His trips were made on horseback through intense blizzards, soaking rains, bitter cold and in the face of the high winds which swept across the prairie. Oftentimes his sleep was snatched while in the saddle. In reward for this torturous service he received a very meagre fee and the fact is known today that in the majority of cases he received nothing, for the settlers as a class were too poor to pay for his aid. Then again, he would receive his fee in potatoes, apples, flour or whatever con- modity the settler could most conveniently give him.
The diseases common to the early settlers were distinctive. The rough life they led and the exposures they endured did not permit entrance to the many ills and pains attendant upon civilization and large urban communities. Fevers and ague, with an occasional stomach ache, were nearly all the ills they bore. Accidents there were which required the use of splints of wood and bandages and also the early doctor needed a good knowledge of obstetrics, although the latter skill was not always called into use. The hardy pioneer mother many times endured the birth of her child without assistance. When sick- ness broke in the family the doctor was called if within distance, but if not, the stock of simple remedies in every cabin was put to use. If it were nothing more than a cold among the children the application of hot lard or bacon rind and the internal use of quinine or onion juice completed the treatment. Sweet powders were also taken.
FIRST PHYSICIANS
In the year 1857 there was a physician named Hinkle who came to this county from Decatur County and located at Fontanelle. He
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HISTORY OF ADAIR COUNTY
was a Mormon preacher and it is said that he had two wives with him. He was an eclectic practitioner, also ran a small general store for a time. In the fall of 1858 he returned to Decatur County and there died.
Dr. Nelson Bates came to Fontanelle on August 1, 1866, from Lewis County, N. Y. He was known as a good doctor and built up a good patronage. He was born in Jefferson County, N. Y., in 1813.
The first physician to locate in Greenfield was a Doctor Edinton, who came here in 1864. He had a very poor reputation while here. He taught the school for one term, but his drinking habits compelled him to give this up. He shortly left the county.
Dr. Arthur R. Brackett and Dr. Charles E. Stoner also practiced in Greenfield for a time. Dr. E. Spooner was another prominent physician of the early days and also served as postmaster at Green- field.
Dr. F. M. Culverson came to Greenfield in the spring of 1880 and entered the practice of his profession. Dr. John E. Howe came to Greenfield in August, 1875. Dr. A. W. Vaughn, a native of Rock Island, Ill., began his work in Adair County in 1881. Hamlin V. Monnett moved to Fontanelle in 1881 and began his duty here under great handicap, but persevered and soon built up a good prac- tice. Dr. Peter McDermid came to Fontanelle in the early '70s, pur- chased a large drug store, pursuing this business in connection with his medical practice.
Dr. T. M. Moore began practice at Fontanelle in 1856 or 1857. Dr. Calvin B. Scott commenced his work in Fontanelle in 1879.
The first physician in the Town of Adair was Dr. T. D. Lougher. He settled here in March, 1875. Fayette Parsons, another early physician of Adair, came in 1877, settling on eighty acres in Sum- mit Township until 1880, when he went to Adair.
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