USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 12
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The personal history of some of these early settlers would fill a vol-
ume, and rcad like a romance. Rufus B. Clark, who first settled at Independence, was the first white child born in what is now the city of Cleveland, Ohio. He wandered to the mines of Wisconsin; then here; then northwest toward the head waters of the Cedar; thence farther northwest into the wilds of Minnesota; thence across the continent to the west of the Sierra Nevadas, and at last lies sleeping in death on Whitby's island, in far-off Puget sound.
John Obenchain, bred among the mountains of Tennessee, imbibed the wildness of his native surroundings; here in 1847; then across the plains to California in 1850; back again in 1853 to find neighbors too many and near to be endured; again to California; and now away in the wilds of Oregon, with his cattle and savage bear dogs, his hair long and white: a patriarch as rough and rugged and intractable, and honest and sincere, as the mountains which surround him, and with their friendly frown scare back intruders.
But into this enticing field I must not enter. A single glance dem- onstaates its extent and its romantic interest, and must suffice. The brief outlines which I have sketched of the settlement, growth and present condition of the county, is all that is possible, and will enable us to note the progress we have made; and it may be the historian of the day when the children of our children's children shall meet to com- memorate the falling of another century from "His hand whence cen- turies fall like grains of sand," may, in these annals, find material for one page of his.
CHAPTER IV. SETTLEMENT AND POPULATION.
THERE are those who profess to believe that the com- monly received chronology of the Bible, which represents the entire human race to have sprung from a single pair, created about six thousand years ago, cannot be true; because, as they allege, there has not been time enough according to that chronology, for the race to have multiplied to its present extent ; nor to have accomplished what their present condition, and the records and monu- ments of the past, prove that they have, in fulfillment of the command to "replenish the earth and subdue it." But let any man, of ordinary observation and reflection, pass through Buchanan county and witness its present condition -its thousands of cultivated farms and commodious farm-houses, many of them already, wearing the look of age and surrounded by the large trees that were planted for their protection-let him drive over its well-built roads and across its many streams, everywhere substan- tially bridged-let him note the school-houses that dot its surface and the troops of children that gather there for instruction-let him visit its score of villages, all vocal with the sounds of industry; and especially its capital, now a thriving city of nearly four thousand inhabitants- let him observe its well-kept streets and side-walks; its elegant public and private buildings, business houses, churches and schools, which would do credit to any town of its size in New York or New England-let him see all this, and remember that it is less than forty years since the first white settlers came to this county-that hundreds of people are now living here who had passed their majority before the first furrows had broken the virgin soil af these prairies-and that many of these old settlers assisted in laying the first foundations of the marvelous civilization that everywhere meets his gaze-let him
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.
remember all this, and, at the same time, recall the fact that this astonishing change is only a sample of that which has taken place, and is now taking place, throughout atl our northwestern States and territories-a region greater in extent than that of some of the most powerful empires of the old world-and, while recalling this, let him not forget that no country has been depleted to furnish population for this vast region, and that a great majority of the people now occupying it were born less than fifty years ago-and he will be a willing skeptic indeed, if he doubts that six thousand years are a period long enough, not only to have produced from a single pair, all the race of men that now exist; but long enough also to have enabled them to produce all the wonderful works of power and skill by which they have so far replenished and subdued the earth.
History repeats itself; and the human race is doing to-day, here in Buchanan county, and throughout the west, only what it has been doing ever since the great dispersion, four thousand years ago. Westward "the star of empire" has ever taken its way, and when there remains no more land "to be possessed" in this direction, some new and startling crisis in the history of the world will doubtless have been reached.
FIRST SETTLERS.
From Andreas' Historical Atlas, and from personal information, we have gleaned the following facts concern- ing the early settlements of this county:
The first white man that came here to reside, was William Bennett, who had been a resident of Delaware county, and had there also been the first white settler. He brought his family here in February, 1842; having built a small log cabin on the site of the present village Quasquetown, at a point on the east side of the Wapsi- pinicon, a short distance above the location of the flour- ing mill recently destroyed by fire.
Bennett is believed to have been a native of New England. He was a rough and restless character, and remained in the county only about a year. Having con- ceived a violent grudge against the adventurer Johnson, whose arrival is recorded further on, he formed a con- spiracy with five or six companions to waylay and lynch him. They carried out their plot, whipping the man in the most shameful manner. Fear of arrest compelled them all to flee from the settlement on the very night of the outrage, which was in the dead of winter, and fear- fully cold. They set out for Coffin's grove, in Delaware county, which they managed to reach-but all of them except Bennett in a more or less frozen condition. Two of the company died from the effects of their exposure; but what became of Bennett and his family is not known.
About the same time with Bennett came S. G. and H. T. Sanford and Ezra B. Allen. Early the same spring Dr. Edward Brewer, now residing in Independence and the oldest living settler in the county, came with Rufus B. Clark and family, and settled about a mile and a half from Quasqueton. William W. Hadden and Frederick Kessler and family also came about the same time. A man by the name of David Styles came with his family
during the summer of the same year, and opened a hotel at the settlement.
Bennett was engaged in improving the water-power and erecting a mill, and had several young men employed who boarded with him. Their names were Jeffers, War- ner, Day, Wall and Evens. At least one of these, namely Warner, was an accomplice of Bennett's in the lynching outrage, and had his feet badly frozen in the flight to Coffin's Grove.
During the fall of the same year there came, among others, three young men-Henry B. Hatch, who made his home with Kessler, and Daggett and Simmons, who lived for a time with Mr. Clark. A few patches of land were broken the first spring and cultivated for potatoes 1 and other garden vegetables, and perhaps a little corn; but no wheat was raised until the following year.
Some time during the fall or early winter of the first year, a man by the name of Johnson settled at a point about midway between Quasqueton and the present site of Independence. He claimed to be the famous Cana- dian patriot of that name, who had lived for years among the islands of the St. Lawrence river. He was accom- panied by a rather attractive young woman whom he spoke of as his daughter Kate, the identical "Queen of the Thousand Islands." Subsequent events, however, proved that he was "an escaped criminal, and an adven- turer of the worst sort." His stay was of short contin- uance. The opening up of a new settlement always attracts some disreputable adventurers ; but it is greatly to the credit of the first permanent settlers of Buchanan county that they soon made it so uncomfortable for such characters as to compel them to seek a more congenial abode.
This chapter is designed to give one the commencement of settlement. The settlements in the several townships, and sketches of the first settlers, so far as materials for them can be found, will be given in the several township histories.
FIRST EVENTS.
The first store in the county was opened during the first year, and in the first place of its settlement, by "Old Dick" -- that being all that is now remembered of the name belonging to the first Buchanan merchant. His stock was very "general;" one item being the best brand obtainable of Old Bourbon whiskey.
The first sermon was preached in the Quasqueton settlement, during its first summer, by a minister named Clark. Let us hope that it proved something of an anti- dote to Old Dick's influence.
The first mill was one built on the Wapsie-begun by Bennett, in 1842, and finished by W. W. Haddon, 1843.
The first hotel was opened for the accommodation of the first settlement, during its first year, 1842-David Styles being the proprietor, as stated above.
The first death in the new settlement was that of a boy, seven or eight years old, who was a son of John Cordell, and who died in 1843 or 1844.
The first post office in the county was established at Quasqueton, in the year 1845; and William Richards was the first postmaster.
7
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.
The first marriage was that of Dr. Edward Brewer and Miss Mary Ann Hathaway, celebrated in March, 1846. The ceremony was performed by Joseph A. Reynolds, then a justice of the peace, for Delaware county.
The first white child born in the county was Charles B. Kessler, son of Frederick Kessler. He was born near Quasqueton, July 13, 1842 ; and his mother, now Mrs. Heman Morse, still resides at Independence.
The first law office opened in the county, was that of James Jamison, of Independence, recently deceased. He commenced practice here in 1847 or 1848-D. S. Lee commencing about the same time.
The first school was taught by Dr. E. Brewer, in a small log house in Independence, in the winter of 1848. The building was afterwards used as a blacksmith shop.
The first Buchanan newspaper was the Independence Civilian, a Democratic organ, the first number of which was issued on the seventeenth of May, 1855,-B. F. Parker and James Hilleary being the proprietors.
SOURCES OF POPULATION.
The settlers immigating to Buchanan county, have come mainly from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and the New England States. There are, at present, a good many persons of foreign birth in the county, but they did not come in very large numbers till after 1858. They are mostly Germans and Irish; but there are a few Polanders and Scandinavians.
In the southeast corner of the county, in Newton township, along Buffalo creek, there is quite a colony of Irish. In Fairbank township, in the extreme northwest corner of the county, there are a good many Irish and Germans, and some Polanders. About one-tenth of the present population is of foreign birth; but the foreign element is fast becoming assimilated with the native, and it would be difficult to find a more intelligent, enterpris- ing, moral, and industrious class of people, than those constituting the present population of Buchanan county.
The winters are too vigorous to be very attractive to the colored people; but there are about half a dozen families of that race now living in Independence, who are honest, frugal, and industrious people, enjoying in a good degree the confidence and respect of their neigh- bors.
The Iowa census of 1875, taken by State authority, gives Buchanan county seventeen thousand, three hun- dred and fifteen inhabitants. The national census just taken, gives it seventeen thousand, nine hundred and seventy-two-an increase, in five years, of only six hundred and fifty-seven souls. If both these enumerations are correct (and, of course, they must be accepted as such), Buchanan has fallen considerably short of holding its own, in the matter of population; for this five years' gain is hardly more than the natural increase for one year. This is to be accounted for by the recent opening up of excellent farming lands in Dakota, and other western territories. Not only have immigrants from the east passed by or through our county, seeking homes further west, but there has even been a considerable emi-
gration from the county for the same purpose. Whether those who have left us have bettered their con- dition, may well be doubted. But, however this may be, the check thus given to our noble county, will doubtless be only temporary. Only the very best lands west of the Missouri can equal ours, and they will soon be occupied. When this takes place, we shall not only keep the natural increase of our own population, but emigration from the still swarming hive of the east will again be directed to our desirable, yet unoccupied, space; and the compara- tively quiet, yet every way pleasant and prosperous times of the present, will give place to the activity, enterprise, and excitement that come with rapidly increasing popu- lation.
CHAPTER V.
EARLY MAILS AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.
IT was three years after the first settlements began to be made in the county before a regular post office was established within its limits. During this time the settlers had their mail matter directed to the most convenient post offices, and thence it was brought by private con- veyance, as opportunity afforded. The settlers about Quasqueton, and farther north, obtained their mails from the nearest office in Delaware or Dubuque county. In the early part of the first winter (1842-3) there came a heavy snow storm followed by sleet, which left a crust over the deep snow, sufficiently strong to bear up the weight of a man, if not too heavy. During this time Frederick Kessler was selected, on account of being small and light, to bring the mail on foot, once a week, from a settlement in Delaware county, called "The Col- ony," near Ead's grove. As there was then no post office in the county of Delaware, the mail must have been brought to this place from Dubuque by private convey- ance, and the matter directed to the Quasqueton scttlers was held for them till they could find some means of sending for it. The most of the mail matter, as well be- fore as after the establishment of post offices within the county, came by way of Dubuque; but some of the set- tlers south of Quasqueton, previous to the location of the post office at that place, were accustomed to getting their mail from Marion, in Linn connty. We are in- formed that the first post office in Delaware county was established at Delhi, in the fall of 1843 ; and that it "was supplied with mail once a week by William Smith, of Dubuque, who had the first mail contract through the county, from Dubuque via Delhi to Quasqueton, in Bu- chanan county, which he carried on horseback." But if he carried the mail to Quasqueton from the commence- ment of his contract, he must have made a private ar- rangement with the settlers of that place, since the post office was not established there till 1845. D. S. Davis was principally influential in securing it, and William Richards was the first postmaster.
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.
It is probable that Davis was the second mail con- tractor, and that Malcom McBane was the second post- master, for, early in 1847, when A. H. Trask came into the county from Wisconsin, he found them occupying those positions; and he himself "sublet " the mail con tract of Davis, in the fall of that year. The contract bound him to carry the mail from Quasqueton to Du- buque and back, once every week, on horseback or by any other conveyance he might choose. The "round rip" occupied four days, and he received, as compensa- tion, three hundred and sixty-five dollars a year. He had a partner by the name of Eli D). Phelps, a brick and stone inason by trade, who came from Wisconsin about the same time with Trask. They took turns in carrying the mail between Dubuque and Quasqueton; and after a short time took a contract (this also from Davis) for car- rying it between Quasqueton and Marion.
There were, at this time, but four post offices between Quasqueton and Dubuque, viz., Coffin's Grove, Delhi, Rockville and a farm house near Epworth. When the travelling permitted (which was the most of the time, al- though there were then no bridges and no roads kept in order by the public) they went by wagon or sleigh, and carried sometimes a large amount of express matter, in addition to the mail. But sometimes, when the roads were bad and the streams too high to be forded by a wagon, they were compelled to go on horseback, and of course carried very little besides the mails. In the win- ter the snow was sometimes very deep-Mr. Trask hav- ing, on one occasion, broken a track the entire distance from Quasqueton to Farley, when the snow was nearly three feet deep on a level.
A NARROW ESCAPE.
Some time in March, 1848, about the breaking up of a hard winter, which is said to have resembled that of 1880-81, Mr. Trask was returning from Dubuque in a sleigh, with the mail and the customary amount of ex- press packages. Henry Biddinger, of Quasqueton, a harnessmaker who had been at Dubuque during the win- ter, working at his trade, was returning home with him. A thunder storm came up just as they reached the divid- ing ridge between Elk creek and the Buffalo. It had been thawing and raining a little, but the sleighing was yet quite passable. As the road turned to go toward the creek, there came a vivid flash of lightning, followed instantly by a terrific clap of thunder. The bolt must have struck in the immediate vicinity, as both of the men were stunned and momentarily prostrated. Mr. Trask fell out of the sleigh, dropping the lines; and Mr. Biddinger fell over backward, but remained in the sleigh. The horses were frightened, and ran as if they thought the lightning was after them. Both men, however, re- covered in a moment. Mr. Biddinger first gathered up himself, then gathered up the lines, and succeeded in stopping the horses. He lost no time in turning them about, and starting back to find the missing driver, seri- ously apprehending that he should find him dead in the road. He had proceeded but a rod or two, however, before he saw him running toward the sleigh, as fast as
his legs could carry him. Almost doubting his senses, Mr. Biddinger called out, as soon as the other came within hearing distance, "Aren't you killed ?" Mr. Trask, though but partially recovered from his fright, could not help laughing at the oddity of the question, and replied: "You must, at least, admit that I'm pretty lively for a dead man! He then resumed his seat and the lines, and proceeded toward Quasqueton, where they both arrived without further mishap. This was thirty- three years ago, the present month; and both the men are still residing in the neighborhood of their adventure, and often take pleasure in relating to their friends the incidents of their narrow escape.
After carrying the mail for nearly two years, Trask and Phelps sold out to Thomas W. Close, who held the con- tract only about a year, "carrying the mail and doing the county shopping," when the business was resumed by the original contractor, Davis, whose partiality for Quas- queton led him to discontinue Independence as a part of the regular route; and for some time the residents at the latter place had to make private arrangements to get their mails carried to Quasqueton and back.
The post office was established at Independence in 1848, S. P. Stoughton (the champion of that place, as Davis was of Quasqueton) being the postmaster. After holding, for a year, the place which brought more fame than money, and not enough of either to boast of, he re- signed, and Dr. Brewer was appointed in his stead. The enterprising and public-spirited doctor assumed the duties of mail carrier, as well as of postmaster, and some- times, it is said, made the trip to Quasqueton on foot, carrying the entire mail in his vest pocket. He paid the first quarterage to the Government with a five-franc piece -his own commissions amounting to forty-seven and a half cents. He held the office for about six years, and during no one of them did his income from commissions amount to five dollars. After a time he put into the office a few rows of letter boxes; and the rent of these coming into his pocket, instead of the more capacious pocket of the Government, increased his income a little.
The meagre income of the office is probably to be ac- counted for, not so much by the small number of settlers, as by their acknowledged lack of money. Their friends at the east showed their generous appreciation of this state of things by prepaying their postage; and the set- tlers showed their equally feeling appreciation of it by leaving theirs unpaid. Thus the letters, whether coming or going, brought very little money into the office.
About 1850 the contest for postal supremacy, which had been waged for some time and with some bitterness between Quasqueton and Independence, was decided by making the latter a point on the regular route west, which was then extended to Cedar Falls, and placing the for- mer on a side route southward.
A man by the name of Gould was the first mail con- tractor on the route from Dubuque to Cedar Falls. Both the roads and vehicles began to improve, though the for- mer continued to be, at certain seasons of the year al- most impassable. Mr. Trask, who, carried off by the gold fever, went to California in 1850, found, on his return in
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.
1854, regular stage coaches running east and west through Independence, and southward from that point through Quasqueton. The two railroads, passing through the county east and west and north and south, have since done away with the through lines of stage coaches; and the improvement in the prairie roads, and the construc- tion of substantial bridges over all the streams at every crossing point, have made the short stage routes that re- main comparatively safe and expeditious.
EARLY ROADS.
The private ownership of land is necessarily subject to the convenience of the public, which demands that some of it shall be given up for common highways. And one of the first things claiming the attention of the authori- ties, after a county is fully organized, is the laying out of such highways, with due regard of course to private rights, as well as public convenience. The State or Na- tion often establishes roads through unsettled territory; and these, when counties come to be organized, are sometimes retained as originally laid out, but more fre- quently, perhaps, are changed or given up altogether. Two such roads were already in existence in Buchanan county at the time of its organization. One of these was established by the authority of the Territory of Wis- consin, and extended in a southwesterly direction from Fort Atkinson, its southern terminus being Marion, in Linn county. Its course through the county was nearly south, passing near the place where the village of Win- throp now stands, and crossing the Wapsie at Quasque- ton. It was called the "mission road," because, as we are informed, it passed through an early Indian mission in Wisconsin, and was designed in part for its accommo- dation. The other was a State road from Marion to the north line of the State, crossing the river at Quasqueton, but running some three or four miles west of the mis- sion 10ad.
The state of things which existed before the lands were enclosed and county roads established, is pictures- quely set forth in Judge Roszell's historical address. "The settlers," he says, "followed such routes as suited their convenience, from house to house and from neigh- borhood to neighborhood. Indian trails crossed the prairie from stream to stream, leading to fording places; and well worn paths led up and down the river, touching surely every bubbling spring. Such trails, which recent settlers suppose to be merely cattle paths, can be pointed out in many places, even to this day, by the pioneers. Even after the county seat had been located, and the town of Independence laid out, theoretically, into lots and streets; there was nothing for sometime, as we learn from the same address, to distinguish streets from lots; even Main street was only a crooked wagon path through the bushes. There was a wagon road cut through the timber to the Hickox farm (now known as the Smyser farm) and one, more crooked still, out upon the prairie east, crossing the first little creek near the Brewer place, and the next at the old Sufficool place. From there it followed the edge of the timber to Quasqueton, about where the travelled road now runs. There was also a track north, by the Obenchain farm and thence across
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