USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume I > Part 11
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"Replying, I will say that almost all who came to make homes here came with very little money, and, as the country was new and there were no good roads to market, if, indeed, any market, they worked against heavy odds.
"Money was scarce in Iowa and interest high-there were some who bought homes, cheaply too, and made payments on them, but were unable to continue, and lost what had been paid. The writer remembers since he came that money demanded 20 per cent interest and short loans at banks brought 2 per cent a month for funds. Many took home loans from eastern parties at 10 per cent and paid handsome premiums in order to get them. Many were the hardships Vol. 1- 6
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endured by those who were determined to subdue the 'wild west' and make their homes here.
"Byron Sargeant relates that in the winter of 1855 and 1856, Horace Beck- with hitched a yoke of oxen to his sled and started to go to the Black Hawk Creek for wood, but after floundering in the deep snow he had to unyoke them and drive home without even sled or yoke; after he had burned up most of the posts and rails from his cattle yard, some four or five men on the Black Hawk Creek took horse teams, went to the timber, loaded their sleds with timber and drew it to Mr. Beckwith's. When they first saw Mr. Beckwith he was crawling out through the roof of his house by slipping a roof board to one side-the snow was up to the roof on the outside-and a real glad face was that of Mr. Beckwith. Also that Mr. Beckwith would take a handsled and come to his ( Sargeant's) house, a little more than six miles, for flour, meal and groceries.
"Mrs. Humphrey, widow of George W. Humphrey, said the first house they built was blown to pieces by a great wind storm, and the next one they built was burned to the ground, leaving them no household goods except the clothes they had on."
MOUNT VERNON TOWNSHIP
On September 19, 1854, the township named Mount Vernon was set aside as a civil division. The first election was held at the home of Wallace Pattee on .April 2, 1855. when Joel Hiser and Randolph Leland were chosen justices of the peace : Thomas Gordon and Frederick Pattee, trustees ; Wallace Pattee, assessor ; and A. Eyestone, clerk. Leland declined the honor of justice and in the following August, A. Lawrence was appointed to fill his place. Moses St. John was the constable.
Records show that the first settlement made in Mount Vernon Township was made by a Mr. Allen, on the northeast quarter of section 4, during the year 1852. As early as July, 1852, William Bergin and a man named Tatum made land entries in sections 3 and 4. Sections 5 and 6 were secured as school districts. William Kern took a part of section 6 in November, 1852, and M. Rowen the southwest quarter in December, 1853. Most of the first entries of land in this township were made along the northern border, on account of the close proximity of the big woods in Bremer County, a part of the timber stretching down into Mount Vernon. In 1854, Isaac McCaffrey bought out Allen, and William Hogan settled on a part of section 3 in 1853. His daughter, Rebecca, and Elihu Thorpe were married by Reverend Goforth in December of 1853, this being the first marriage in the township. Joel Hizer settled in section 4 in 1854, built a log house, broke some ground and returned to West Virginia to marry in the follow- ing winter. Subsequent settlers were: Abraham Eyestone, W. St. John, Law- rence Thomas, S. S. Knapp and Wallace Pattec. It is said that the townhsip was named by S. S. Knapp.
The first tavern was built by Milton Smith in 1855. It was on the Independ- ence. Janesville and Waverly road and was popularly known as the Seven-Mile House. Smith sold out to Charles Gibbs. Two immense red cedar trees mark the site of this house today.
The soil of the township is varied, ranging from light, sandy character to the rich, black loam. There are no important creeks or streams in the area, but a
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number of small lakes, which in the early days were very important to the settler, as they laid along the northern timber border.
The first railway line to cross this township was the Illinois Central branch, constructed as far as Waverly in the autumn of 1864. In 1902 the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern built their interurban line across the township. Tele- phones were installed in June, 1903, for the first time, and now the township is criss-crossed by several lines, principally the Corn Belt line and the Black Hawk Telephone Association line.
The Village of Glasgow is the only one platted within the borders of the town- ship. In 1902 hopes were entertained that the new-born village would thrive and become a town, but these hopes were destroyed and now it contains little more than a railroad station. However, it serves as a convenient shipping point for the farmers.
A postoffice was established at the home of Mr. Shannon and later removed to the house of Thomas Fitch in section 3. This office was first opened in Bremer County, then moved to Shannon's and given the name of Nautril, with mail from Janesville three times a week. This was discontinued and there was no office until one was located at Boies in 1895, but the coming of the rural free delivery com- pelled the abolishment of even this. Now there are four rural routes running through the township, two from Waterloo, one from Cedar Falls and one from Janesville.
Limestone quarries were at one time opened on section 26 by Heskett and on section 30 by Leversee & Murray. The rock is very valuable for building pur- poses. The dairy business has come to be the chief industry of Mount Vernon Township, and was started by the Fowler Company of Waterloo in 1882, when they established a cheese factory at Janesville.
The names of the prominent people living today in the township are the same names which were associated with the early settlers. This proves conclusively the sturdiness and home-loving traits of the inhabitants of this section. Among these names might be mentioned: Deemings, Eyestone, Leversees, Henrys, Rundles. Webster, Sunderlin, Jacob, Callaghan, Decker, Brown and Kerr.
ORANGE TOWNSHIP
Under order of the County Court of Black Hawk, Orange Township was organized March 3, 1858, and called Adeline Township. The first election was held April 7, 1858, with Loring B. Shephard, James Munger and John Parker as judges, and William L. Manning and John F. Darling as clerks. Obediah Linea- weaver was elected clerk, and William L. Manning and John Parker, justices of the peace." At the general election in the following August the name was changed from Adeline to Orange. There is no known reason for this change. The judges at this election were James Munger, W. H. Wiswell and Loring B. Shephard ; O. P. Lineaweaver and Dyer Reed were the clerks.
Samuel Owens was the first man to enter land in township 88, range 13, which corresponds to Orange Township. However, the first settler in the township was Samuel White, in sections 12 and 13. He came to this township in 1853, when the country was an unbroken prairie. Not a tree could be seen. With Mr. White and his wife came Gideon B. White, his father, who built a house on the later loca-
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
tion of the Murphy farm and a short time afterward Samuel White constructed his crude home. These people were originally from Illinois. They first settled in Linn County, near the present site of Marion, in 1844. One year was spent there and one year in Benton County. After coming to Black Hawk County the family first settled on a farm in Poyner Township just south of Gilbertville. Mr. White, Sr., soll the farm to Amasa Nims. The latter, pursued by ill-luck, left the country in 1852. Benjamin Winsett then purchased the Poyner land. Gideon White, after selling out in Poyner, located on a tract of land in Cedar Township near Washburn, but high water and other misfortunes drove him farther up the river. Mr. Samuel White built a home of lumber hauled from Cedar City, at which place there was a small steam sawmill. Later Guy Benight and William Brown started a steam sawmill just a mile north of the White Farm in the extreme northeast corner of Orange Township, now a part of East Waterloo Township. This mill was sold in 1859 to James Virden and he conducted the business until 1861 when it caught fire and was burned to the ground.
Some of the other early pioneers who came to Orange Township are as follows : A. A. Allen, who came January 13, 1857: Samuel B. Beekly, in 1868; Isaac E. Bertch, 1874: Elias K. Buechley, March. 1861: Hiram Bueghly, 1855; Charles W. Budd. 1856: John C. Budd, 1865: Jacob J. Budd. 1864; David H. Carpenter, 1865: John W. Clark, 1856: John D. Eason, 1854: Jacob C. Fike, 1869; Jonas Flickenger. 1860: Joseph D. Gnagey, 1877 ; John G. Hahn, 1876; Thomas Heitter, 1869: Charles Heller, 1869: Sylvester Hildebrand, 1869; William Hildebrand, 186; A. B. Hochstetter, 1868: Isaac Hoff, 1865: John B. Hoff, 1863 : Charles E. Hoffman, 1865: Dan Hoover, 1866; Ephraim Hoover. 1875: Samuel Hoover. 1856: Elias Hahn, 1870: Ben Ekinberry, 1871 ; Charles Lichty, 1861 ; Jacob P. Lichty, 1877: William H. Lichty. 1864: Patrick McCarthy, 1864: James Mc- Dowell, 1864: Seth MeKeen, 1864; Abraham A. Miller, 1865: Cornelius Miller, 1857: Jacob W. Miller, 1854: Jonas A. Miller, 1875; Levi Miller, 1877: Mathias Miller, 1858; Samuel H. Miller, 1862; Samuel M. Miller, 1858; William Miller, 1860 : Thomas Montague, 1864: Jacob A. Murray. 1864; Joseph M. Saylor. 1862; Jacob Schaefer, 1871; Noah P. Shaulis, 1867; Simon Shaulis, 1867.
POYNER TOWNSHIP'
Poyner Township was organized by order of the county judge on June 20, 1854. It was named in honor of Rev. Nathan Poyner, a Baptist minister, who settled in the township in 1853. He held his first services under a spreading shade trec.
The first election in the township was held in April. 1855. M. S. Oxley. Benjamin Brown and John Engle were the judges: J. H. Hampton and J. C. Engle were the clerks. Nathan Poyner and I. T. Corwin were elected justices of the peace and W. W. Engle and T. B. Van Eaton, constables.
The first marriage to be solemnized in Poyner Township was that of Henry Clark and Sarah J. Winsett, in 1853. The death of Mrs. Nathan Poyner in the spring of 1853 was the first.
The first settlement in the township was made by Amasa Nims, on section 26, in 1850, on which tract he constructed the first house. In 1852 he sold his hold- ings to Benjamin Winsett and moved out of the township. Isaac Shimer, John
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and Joseph Perry and George Arthur came within the same year. Nathan and Thomas Poyner, John Van Eaton and Edmund Sawyer came in 1853, at which time there were but seven families in the township, living in scattered parts. John Morgan, who had seen service in the Black Hawk war, being present at the battle of Bad Axe and at the surrender of Black Hawk, settled near the mouth of Poyner's Creek in 1854 and founded the Town of Gilbertville. In 1855, L. Daud, C. Chamberlain, David Owens, Ira Nichols, William Wheeler, Albert Taylor, John Helton, John Holler, Henry Kimble, John Linderman and James Poyner, all sturdy pioneers of the best type, settled in the southern part of the township. In the spring of 1856 Elias Shinn, Henry Rice, William Waterfield and John Saulsberry located in the township at a spot near the present site of Raymond. During the same year John Cottrell erected the first home in the northern part of Poyner. In 1857, Harvey Hume erected a house on the west line of the north part of the township; M. Bumburey erected on the east and north, and Levi Washburn built one in the vicinity of the Town of Raymond.
Near the year of 1860, Philip Worth, Benona Butterfield, C. Tiffany, Robert Townsend, Wesley Reed and William Jenkins located in the northern tier of sections. John Chambaud and John Felton came in 1854 and by some authorities are credited with founding the Town of Gilbertville.
SPRING CREEK TOWNSHIP
The records of the County Court show the following orders for the organiza- tion of Spring Creek Township:
It is hereby ordered that the inhabitants of that part of congressional town- ship 88 north, range 12, lying east of the Cedar River, and south of a line running east of said river to the east line of said township, and south of section 12; and those parts of congressional township 87 north, range II west, and 87 north, range 12 west, lying east of the Cedar River, and of congressional township 88 north and range II west, in said county, be organized as an election precinct of said county, under the name of Precinct No. 2; and that the first election thereof be held on the first Monday of April next after the date hereof, at the house of E. Sawyer and that B. Winsett, John Clark and Stephen Evans be the judges of said election.
This was given the date of February 7, 1854. John Clark, C. M. Moberly and Edward Wood were chosen as trustees.
Like Precinct No. 1, or Miller's Creek, Precinct No. 2 appears in other and subsequent records as Spring Creek Township and an election was reported in such township on the first Monday in April, 1854, when there were about thirty votes cast. Stephen Evans and Isaac Skinner were elected justices of the peace; Edward Wood, Charles N. Moberly and John Clark, trustees; Henry Gipe, clerk; John H. Hampton, assessor; Henry Clark and John Blackford, constables.
Originally Spring Creek Township extended on both sides of the river, but as the settlers on one side of the river-the west-could not get across to attend meetings and other things, the strip on the west side was soon added to Big Creek Township. Thus Cedar River now forms the boundary between the two townships.
HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
Is to the identity of the first settler in the township there has been a dis- agreement among different writers. Some have it that John Clark and family were the first : others that James Chambers came first; and again the honor is given to Moses Bates. If the Clarks were not first, they are at least the most unportant. John Clark and wife came to the township on April 3. 1853, and located on what was until the present time known as the Clark Farm, on Spring Creek, in section 14, range 87. Accompanying the Clark family were: Simon Clark and wife, Andrew Clark and wife, George Clark and wife, and William, Louis and Henry Clark, John Howrey and wife, and D. B. Teeter and wife.
Jim Chambers built a log cabin on the bank of Cedar River on the Clark Farm. Moses Bates' place of settlement is not known.
A few days later Henry and William Gipe, with their families and household goods, arrived in the township. Henry located on section 13 and William on section 28. Others who came shortly previous were William Gray, Edward Sawyer and Andrew Sutherland. In 1854 the Hamiltons, Haymonds, Rices, Sawyers, Roberts, Spragues, Baileys, Bradfields, Shimers, Boyles, Longacres, Masters, Broads came and lived in the township. George Clark and his sons, Thurman and Joseph, located on section 13. George Clark entered from the Government in 1853.
It was in the year 1855 that settlement became rapid and the names were lost in the numbers that came. All were home-seekers, willing to help and work with their hands to build up the community. Improvements began to spring up, churches, schools, etc. In the carly '50s there were two sawmills erected on Spring Creek, a great convenience for the settlers. Ten years later Mr. Wash- burn constructed a grist mill in connection with the Masters Sawmill, and with his son-in-law, Jerome Tryon, operated it for many years. The mill was aban- doned some time in the '70s.
The marketing, both selling and buying, was quite a trial for the carly comers to Spring Creek. Muscatine and Dubuque were the closest. Henry Gipe, during the first years of his residence here, hauled supplies and lumber from Muscatine by wagon. He made the trips for himself and also his neighbors. The coming of the Northwestern Railroad in 1859 added to the market facilities to a re- markable degree. Cedar Rapids, Marion and Springville were thus brought into close connection. The attempt to navigate Cedar River with the steamer Black Hawk bred hopes in the hearts of the settlers and they went so far as to have a town all planned out. The result of the affair is well known and related else- where.
The first money drawn for road improvements was the sum of $20 in March, 1855. The first bridge was built on the Spring Creek and Prairie Point road at the John Clark residence by J. B. Orr and F. M. Jacobs in 1855. The first breaking done in the township was by Barney Bouck in 1851, on section I, with three yokes of oxen. Other authorities have written that the first breaking was done by John Clark and Peter Cox.
Moses Bates, reputed to be the first settler, was a very bad character, over- bearing, cruel and not above borrowing a neighbor's horse. He was made the subject of a whipping party finally, being stripped and tied to a tree to better facilitate the operation. After this he left the township.
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Game was very plentiful in the early days of Spring Creek. It is related that Henry and William Gipe and William Gray bagged several buffaloes on the Shell Rock. Deer and elk and wild fowl were thick.
UNION TOWNSHIP
On February 1, 1858, on petition of Randall Churchill and others, Washington Township was divided and all that part of township 90, north of range 14 west, lying west of the Cedar River, was set off and became a separate township named Union. An election was ordered for April, 1858, and a warrant to post notices of election was issued to John Hackett. At that election J. A. Webster, D. G. Jones and James Bennett were judges, and Albert E. Lamb, clerk. J. D. Gilkey and Randall Churchill were elected justices of the peace; N. S. Bails, clerk; and Harrison Newell, constable.
Perhaps the first actual settlers in the territory now known as Union Town- ship were James and Elizabeth Bennett, who came here from Kane County, Illinois, in 1853, and their son, Walter J., was born January 26, 1854, being the first child born in the township. The first wedding was that of H. J. Newell and Sarah J. Benham on November 20, 1855. Two other early weddings were: George Newell and Adaline Hackett, February 12, 1856; Henry J. Thompson and Mary Hawkins, 1858.
Among the other early settlers of Union Township might be mentioned I. M. Bovee, 1854, who entered 120 acres of land on sections 17 and 20. Clinton Bozarth came in 1854 and was wedded to Elizabeth Lane a year later. John and Mary Hackett came in 1854. John Morgan and wife came in 1855, Henry J. Thompson in 1854.
A great deal of the early history of Union Township is interwoven with that of Washington Township and is treated in the discussion under that heading.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
Washington Township was organized in the year 1857 by order of the Black Hawk County Court. The first election was conducted at the home of Delos Jordan. Benjamin Knapp, Christopher Wilson and John Knapp were the judges of this election. The following were elected: John W. Hitchcock, James Newell and Velorus Thomas, trustees; J. Ackerson and John Knapp, justices of the peace; E. G. Young, clerk ; W. J. Sherman and Elijah Eggers, constables. This election occurred on the first Monday of April in the year 1856. It is related elsewhere how, on February 1, 1858, Union Township was set off from Wash- ington, dividing it.
It is a known fact that there are three kinds of townships-the congressional. the civil and the school. The congressional township is always six miles square, more or less, and its location is designated by a certain number north of a base line and a certain number of range east or west from a prime meridian. The object of these congressional townships which, by the way, have nothing to do with the congressmen, is to afford the means of description whereby land at any place may be definitely located. By means of base lines and prime meridians and by consecutive rows of six-miles-square tracts of land extending east and west
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called townships and similar squares extending north and south called ranges it is possible to tell just where any parcel of ground is located, where the rectangular system of survey prevails. There is another system of surveys, where the land is described by metes and bounds. The original thirteen colonies, Texas and some other parts of the country were surveyed by this early system.
The civil townships are civic divisions, having relation to election precincts. School townships relate to school interests. Where there are sub-districts, the school district really comprises the whole township and the directors of the various sub-districts compose the board of education. Among the duties de- volving upon the county judge in the early days was that of carving the county into civil townships and this has been done in Black Hawk in a great many cases without regarding the congressional township lines, principally because the Cedar River flows diagonally across the county and the presence of this dividing line in one township would be inconvenient to the people, especially the voters, in the days when there were no bridges. Washington was the first among these civil divisions which did not correspond with the congressional lines.
James Newell came to Washington Township in the year 1845 and located on the forks of the Cedar River, close to the mouth of the Shell Rock, in section 10. He was the first white settler here. He was alone, with only the red men for company, until late in the fall, when, happening to cross the river to hunt his stray cattle, he discovered wagon tracks. Following them some distance he found E. G. Young building a log house. Mr. Newell died on May 30, 1875.
E. G. Young, as mentioned above, came in the fall of 1845. lle located in sections 14 and 15. With a covered wagon and a pair of strong horses he had come from Illinois. He lived in his log cabin on his 160-acre farm during his whole life on that farm. He subsisted mainly during the first year by trapping and hunting. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Young, Mary and Daniel, the latter the first white child born in the township. In 1868, Mr. Young sold his farm to Henry Miller and moved to Missouri.
Among the other early settlers were the Knapps, who came in the spring of 1851. John Knapp entered ground in section 22, the site being owned now by W. A. Shafer. Benjamin Knapp located in section 26. This place is now owned by George Tuthill. Sam and Judson Knapp entered their land in section 15, part of which is now owned by W. W. Ford. The Fords came in 1851 also, in fact. just a few days after the Knapps. David settled on the farm now owned by J. M. Helfer. Charles located on the farm now owned by A. M. Knapp. He moved to Franklin County in 1856, after selling his tract. Stephen Ford bought a farm of John Boils and resided on it until his death. Hampton Ford came to Iowa in the year 1856 and bought land in sections 10, 13 and 23. Doctor Ahart and Albert Finney were also among the first comers. However, they remained but a short time. In 1848, Warren Sherman entered land and stayed twelve years. Ross Baker and John Wilson also came in the '50s. Velorus Thomas came in 1851 and located in section 15. Others were: John A. Taylor, 1854; John Tennyson, 1854; D. W. Jordan, 1853. The first death was that of Mrs. Marcus Knapp in 1851. The first marriage was that of Jacob Leeper and Matilda Ford in 1853.
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY
WATERLOO TOWNSHIP
On February 7, 1854, on petition of Edward Butterfield and other citizens in congressional township 89 north and range 13 west, Waterloo Township was organized by the County Court. The election was ordered for the first Monday in the following April. The following officers were elected then: Morrison Bailey and Charles Mullan, justices of the peace; J. L. Kirkpatrick, Martin Bailey and H. N. Ayers, trustees ; C. W. Buffum, clerk; John Melrose, assessor.
The first settlers of Waterloo Township were George W. Hanna, in the year 1845, and Charles Mullan in the year 1846. The lives of these men are fully described elsewhere in this volume. Others who entered land during the early years were: A. R. Dunton, John Hersley, James Haddell, William M. Dean, John M. McDonald, H. S. Crumrine, Lyman Downing, Andrew Mullarky, John Adams, N. W. Tottingham, Richard Goodwin, Oscar Virden, F. S. Philpot, James Wilson, America Mullan, Cephas Clearwater, Peter Powers and Jacob Witten.
The first girl born in the township was Emily, daughter of George W. Hanna, on March 7, 1847. The first boy was William Mullan, born May 2, 1848. The first death was that of J. M. Hanna, son of George W. and Mary Hanna, on October 18, 1845. The first wedding was that of James Virden and Charlotte Pratt on February 27, 1851.
BARCLAY TOWNSHIP
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