USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa: a record of settlement., Volume 1 > Part 21
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RELIGIOUS
The first religious service held in New Hartford was by Rev. Nathan Olmstead and Harvey Smith, at the home of Charles En-
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sign, who at the time had also converted his home into a school- house. The settlers who at this time formed a class, were of the Protestant Methodist faith and chose for their class leader Nel- son Childs. The class was a small one, composed of E. M. and Robert Shaw, with their wives, Nelson Childs and wife and Charles Ensign and wife. The society existed until 1870, but never erected a house of worship.
BAPTIST CHURCH
The Baptist church was organized in 1857 and among the names of the first members the following are remembered: Joseph Col- lins and wife, E. H. Collins and wife, Eber Dunham, Lois Dun- ham, Joseph Casto, Norman Devoe, S. B. Ensign and wife, Lewis Hammond and wife and Daniel Pickett. The first minister was Rev. I. R. Dean.
In May, 1857, the Sunday school was established in the school room at the home of Charles Ensign and the premier school teacher ยท was chosen superintendent. A church building was erected in 1866, at a cost of $5,500, and was the most pretentious building belonging to any church society in Butler county. It stood the Baptist people in good stead for many years, but eventually be- came inadequate and was superseded in the year 1903, by a hand- some buff pressed brick structure, erected at a cost of $8,000. The society is prosperous, has one hundred members and an aver- age attendance at the Sunday school. The names of all the pastors follow: Revs. I. R. Dean, Gibbs, A. Orcutt, William Wood, E. G. O. Grout, D. P. Maryatt, Rev. Cox, Judson, H. D. Weaver, L. D. Lamkin, William M. Simmons, William C. Pratt, 1882-5; Ar- thur F. Howell, 1887-94; W. E. Adams, 1894-7; C. W. Heady, 1897-1904; J. F. Wood, 1904-06; C. H. H. Moore, 1907-09; Harry A. Essex, 1909-14.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
There being deemed a sufficient number of the Methodist faith to associate themselves formally into a class, an organization was effected in 1857, by E. S. Maxwell, as class leader, and his wife, Robert Shaw and wife, and a Mr. Childs and wife. Meetings were held every two weeks in an old log schoolhouse, but the first ser- mon heard in the town was delivered by an itinerant preacher. Fol. 1-16
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at the home of Charles Ensign in 1856. In 1871 a neat and com- modious church building was erected at a cost of $3,000 and in 1907-8 the building was remodeled to comply with present day demands. The first regular pastor was Rev. Taylor and those who have followed him are herein mentioned, namely: Revs. George Murphy, Glassner, Ward, McGee, Burgett, McKim, Mc- Gee, W. Ward Smith, J. R. Cameron, 1885-87; E. R. Leamen, 1887-89; B. H. Flemming, 1889-90; Horace Foote, 1890-93; W. N. Brown, 1893-95; W. E. Ross, 1895-98; J. D. Perry, 1898-1900; J. H. Hayward, 1900-02; Stuart C. Bretnall, 1903-05; Jesse Smith, 1905-06; F. X. Miller, 1906-07; H. W. Halter, three months; E. E. Clements, 1908-09; Thomas Maxwell, 1909-10; Henry Allshouse, 1910-11; J. C. Davis, 1911-12; W. A. Faris, 1912-14.
The membership now numbers one hundred and thirteen.
ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSION
For some time previous to the year 1897 the ordinance of mass was formally observed in New Hartford, by visiting priests in a non-sectarian building. But in the year mentioned, Father Lynch built a church edifice for the mission established here and since that time this people have been attended by clergymen of the church resident at Parkersburg. Father O. Leary is the present pastor; a young man but lately arrived from Ireland.
FRATERNAL ORDERS
The fraternal bodies established in New Hartford have af- forded the good people an outlet for their surplus energies and afforded a means of whiling away many pleasant and profitable hours of an evening. Oswegatchie Lodge, No. 20, I. O. O. F. was the first one organized, coming into existence October 23, 1884. The woman's auxiliary, Banquet Lodge, No. 343, Daughters of Rebekah, was organized October 23, 1896.
Beaver Lodge, No. 472, A. F. & A. M., was organized June 2, 1886, by F. B. Bolton, August Critzman and L. L. Smith. The membership now numbers ninety-three.
New Hartford Camp, No. 838, Modern Woodmen of America. was organized February 16, 1889, with eleven members. Robin- son Camp, No. 3786, Royal Neighbors, was organized some years later, with twenty-four charter members.
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Some time in the '80s the veterans of New Hartford and vicinity organized a post of the Grand Army of the Republic, but owing to the rapid passing away of their comrades the surviving members have become too few in numbers to give them any fur- ther interest in holding stated meetings. The Woman's Relief Corps, No. 228, organized February 18, 1891, still keeps up its organization and regular meetings.
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CHAPTER XX
BENNEZETTE TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE OF AREDALE
The township of Bennezette occupies a position in the north- western corner of the county. It is bounded on the north by Floyd county, on the west by Franklin county and corners on the northwest with Cerro Gordo county. According to the con- gressional survey it is township 93 north, range 18 west of the fifth principal meridian. The land in general is more level than in many other sections of the county. There are fewer marked elevations of land and less natural drainage. As a result, the soil is a rich black loam. Originally a considerable portion of the township was so lacking in facilities for natural drainage as at times to be too wet for cultivation. Of recent years the establish- ment of several drainage districts and the construction of a number of large drainage ditches, together with the tiling of the land by individual owners, has rendered this one of the most fertile and productive portions of Butler county.
Coldwater creek enters the township from the north in sec- tion 5 and flows eastward through the northern tier of sections. The extreme southwest portion is drained by the North Branch of the West Fork, and another small stream has its origin in the south central portion of the township. None of these streams are. of any size and during the dry seasons they practically cease to, flow.
For a number of years after the organization of the township it had no town within its borders. In 1900, however, the con- struction of the line of the Northwestern Railroad through the western portion of the township led to the establishment of the town of Aredale, an unincorporated village, situated at the center. of sections 29, 30, 31 and 32. Dougherty, a village in Cerro Gordo, county, is the trading point for farmers of the northwestern por- tion of the township, and Greene for those of the northeastern section. The southeastern portion is served as a trading point by-
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the town of Bristow. The township is now thickly settled by a progressive class of farmers whose industry and energy are sec- ond to none in the state. The township takes its name from the town of Bennezette, Pennsylvania, the native home of William P. Woodworth and Samuel Overturf, who were pioneers here.
EARLY SETTLEMENT
In common with other western townships of the county the early settlement in Bennezette did not take place until several years following the settlement of the eastern townships of the county. The first settler is said to have been William A. Keister, who in 1854 settled on a claim in section 1. In the following year John J. Chase came from Waverly and located a claim on section 4. He is said to have remained here but a short time. The names of these two settlers are the only ones recorded for the years 1854 and 1855.
The records of the land office showing the original entries of land in this township reveal the fact that the first entry of land was made by one David Miller, on April 17, 1854, in section 12. On January 15, 1855, the second entry was made by J. S. Easly, in section 2. The third entry was made by W. H. Ennis, on sec- tion 1, on June 28, 1855. As the names of none of these gentlemen appear in the lists of early settlers, it may be concluded that these claims were simply taken up to be sold later.
In 1856 William Kingery, a native of Indiana, purchased the claim which had been taken up by W. A. Keister, in section 1, and lived upon it until 1865, when he moved to section 13, in Cold- water township. About the same time, two other settlers named Hamlin and Murphy located in the township. Hamlin came from Ohio and took up a claim on the southeast quarter of section 30, where he lived until 1863. He then removed to Butler Center and his later history is unknown. Murphy was from New York and settled on the northwest quarter of section 1. He later re- moved to Osage.
One of the most prominent of the early settlers was Milton Wilson, who was born in New York, in 1826. With his family he came west in the spring of 1857, taking passage from Buffalo to Milwaukee by boat. From the latter point they traveled over- land to Butler county and located a claim on section 15, Benne- zette township. Mr. Wilson was prominently identified with the
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history of the county from the time of his arrival. He was one of the county supervisors, elected first under the old system, representing Bennezette township on the county board in the years 1859 and 1860. He was later a member of the board of supervisors under the present law, serving during the years 1879, 1880, 1881, 1891, 1892 and 1893. At the time Mr. Wilson raised his first crop of wheat, Cedar Rapids was the nearest market- one hundred and ten miles distant. To this town Mr. Wilson hauled his first crop and received for it the sum of sixty cents a bushel.
The year 1857 saw a large increase in the number of settlers in the township. Among these were Ira A. and Cyrus D. Cham- berlin, brothers, who came from Vermont and located claims in section 34; Oliver Evans, who settled on the southwest quarter of section 17; W. P. Woodworth and Samuel Overturf, later resi- dents of Pittsford township, settled in section 35; Orrin C. Smith and John A. Smith, natives of Michigan, who settled in sections 27 and 34; George O'Brien and three Mckinney brothers, Philip, John and Michael, John and Patrick Kelly, John P. Mills, James S. Morris, Augustus Clukey, Peter Galipo, Warren Caswell and a man named Ward. This so far as is known is a complete list of the settlers in the township for 1857.
In the years immediately following 1857 the number of settlers is so great as to render a detailed list almost impossible. Among the later settlers without regard to the date of their settlement may be mentioned Benjamin H. Barnett, William Lovell, Francis and John Maxwell, John E. Downing, Adam Kyle and Michael Wade.
The Maxwells purchased land in sections 3, 10 and 11, together owning something over one thousand acres in this section of the township. They are survived by several sons and daughters who are still residents of the township and county.
John E. Downing located on section 26 and later became the owner of the northwest quarter of section 25. The family is still represented in the county, the present members of the family being located principally in Coldwater township.
John H. Kyle, the present treasurer of the school township of Bennezette, is a son of Adam Kyle, mentioned above.
No family in the history of the county has been more promi- nently identified with affairs state and national than that of Mich- ael Wade. Detailed mention of his son, John F., is given below.
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Another son, Martin J. Wade, was born in Burlington, Vt., Octo- ber 20, 1861. He came to Iowa with his father and settled in Bennezette township in 1871, the family home being located on section 7. He received his education in the rural schools of Butler county, St. Joseph's College in Dubuque and the Iowa State Uni- versity. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1886. From the first he was eminently successful as a practitioner and his knowledge of the law led to his selection in 1892 as professor of the law department of the State University. In 1889 he was elected president of the State Bar Association. From 1893 until 1902 Mr. Wade presided as judge over the courts of the eighth judicial district. In the latter year he was elected Representative in Congress for the second district on the democratic ticket. Since the expiration of this term he has been a member of the demo- cratic national committee and has been one of the most prominent leaders in the councils of this party. He has been mentioned a number of times as a possible candidate for national honors.
John F. Wade served the county as a member of the board of supervisors from 1897 to 1903. He was state senator from the district including Butler and Bremer counties, during the ses- sions of the Thirtieth, Thirty-first and Thirty-second General Assemblies. In October, 1909, he was appointed to a position on the Board of Control of State Institutions, which he held to the date of his death, in 1913. Mr. Wade was a democrat in politics and no testimony to the degree of trust which he possessed in the minds of the citizens of Butler county is more convincing than the fact that although different in political faith from the great major- ity of the voters of Butler county, he was so long and so signally honored with positions at their gift.
EDUCATIONAL
Bennezette township is organized as a district township for school purposes and maintains nine schools.
The first schoolhouse was built in the northeast part of section 1, in 1861. Mrs. Mary A. Briggs taught the first term of school in the township, in a frame building built for this purpose. The wages were $14 a month and she was to board herself.
In 1873, a second schoolhouse to take the place of this one was erected on section 11. Later the present school building, situated in the southeast quarter of section 2, was built.
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In 1864, a second school district was set off for No. 2 and a schoolhouse erected on section 9. In 1882 this schoolhouse was sold at auction, and for a time the district was without a building. At the present time a schoolhouse is located in section 4.
Miss Eliza J. Logan, who taught in district No. 2 during the winter of 1864-5, was one of the first teachers, if not the first teacher, in this district.
District No. 3 was set off in 1872 and a school building was located in the southeast corner of section 6. The first teacher was Arvilla Niece.
District No. 4 was formed soon after but was for a time with- out a schoolhouse. The children of this district are now accom- modated in a building located on the northeast corner of section 19.
The Center school, district No. 5, erected its first building in 1882 in the northeast part of section 21. Dave Mckinney was the first teacher.
The first schoolhouse in district No. 6, erected in 1874, at the northeast corner of section 23, was destroyed by the tornado of 1878. The building was immediately replaced and still stands upon the same location. Miss Annie Ward was the first teacher in this district.
Miss Florence White taught the first school in district No. 7, in a schoolhouse erected in 1882, on section 35. Later the site of this schoolhouse was moved to the northwest corner of section 36.
In 1863 a schoolhouse for what is now district No. 8 was located on section 34. The first school in this building was taught by Addie B. Fay. This was used until 1882, when it was abandoned. For some years pupils attended school in other districts. Later, however, the present building in section 34 was erected.
In 1868 a school building for district No. 9 was located on section 32. In 1873 the building was moved to section 29. The first school in this district, however, was taught in the house of Sylvanus Hamlin, in 1862, by a Mrs. Mary Smith. The school- house in district No. 9 continued to serve the pupils of the town of Aredale. Soon thereafter the number of pupils became too large to be accommodated in any one building. Temporary quar- ters were secured for a part of the children in a room over the bank and an additional teacher secured for the instruction of these chil- dren comprising the primary department.
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In 1911 the township voted to raise the sum of $5,000, through two annual tax levies to be used for the construction of a modern schoolhouse for the children of Aredale. At the time of the pres- ent writing the plans and specifications for this building have been agreed upon and advertisements for bids for its construction have been made. Within the course of less than a year it is prob- able that Aredale will be the possessor of a modern school build- ing, adequate for the needs of the community for some years to come. This action on the part of the people of Bennezette town- ship is indicative of their progressive spirit in educational affairs.
POSTOFFICES
Inasmuch as the township was situated so far from any mar- ket point in the days before free rural mail delivery, it was neces- sary in order to accommodate the people of this section of the county that several local postoffices be established for their benefit. The first of these was moved from Franklin county to the house of John H. Lockwood, on section 6, about 1875. Mail arrived here twice each week from Sheffield, in Franklin county, and Marble Rock, in Floyd county. This office remained in existence for a number of years.
Another postoffice was established in April, 1878, at Wilson's Grove, on section 15. Milton Wilson was the postmaster and received mail here once a week from Greene during the first year, and after that, twice a week from Sheffield. This office was dis- continued in the fall of 1880. The postoffice at Aredale was estab- lished in 1901, and is at present the only postoffice in the town- ship. Rural mail routes from Aredale, Dougherty, Bristow and Greene now accommodate the people of this township.
OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION
The first division of the county into townships came in Feb- ruary, 1855. Bennezette was then made a part of the township of Ripley. On the 3d of March, 1856, another division occurred by which Bennezette was made a part of Coldwater. It was finally set off from Coldwater and given separate organization on the 4th of March, 1858, Samuel Overturf being authorized to call the first election. This gentleman has been mentioned
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above as having named the township for his own home town in Elk county, Pennsylvania.
The first election held under the orders of Judge Converse was held at Samuel Overturf's house on the 5th day of April, 1858. The following officers were elected: William P. Woodworth, clerk; Ira A. Chamberlin, Milton Wilson, Samuel Overturf, trus- tees; Cyrus D. Chamberlin, road supervisor; Thomas Overturf and Orrin C. Smith, constables. The first assessor was William A. Keister, elected in October, 1858.
The records of the township in the early days are relatively unimportant. It may be interesting to note, however, the atti- tude of the people of Bennezette township on the removal of the county seat, which has been treated elsewhere. In the elec- tion of April 5, 1858, for the removal from Clarksville to George- town, twelve votes were cast, all in favor of the removal. At the election April 4, 1859, for the removal from Clarksville to Butler Center, thirteen votes were cast, twelve for removal and one against. On the 2d day of November, 1880, when the ques- tion of removal of the county seat from Butler Center to Allison came up, of the seventy-eight ballots cast, seventy-two were for Allison and six for Butler Center.
The population of the township as shown by the various cen- sus reports, state and national, is as follows: 1860, 54; 1863, 72; 1865, 61; 1867, 110; 1869, 156; 1870, 206; 1873, 220; 1875, 302; 1880, 527; 1890, 580; 1900, 689; 1905, 708; 1910, 681.
GENERAL ITEMS
The first birth known to have occurred in Bennezette town- ship was that of a daughter of William A. and Mary Keister, named Louisa, born December 29, 1855.
The first marriage in the township was that of John Bartlett Moffat and Adelia Mufley, which occurred in 1859, at the home of the bride's parents. Elder Philip Moss, of Coldwater town- ship, was the officiating clergyman.
The first deaths occurred in the fall of 1857, when a son and daughter of William Kingery died and were buried in the Ger- man cemetery in Coldwater township. Elder Philip Moss offici- ated at the funeral.
The first religious services in Bennezette township were held by the same Rev. Philip Moss, in 1858, in the home of William
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Kingery, on section 1. Rev. Mr. Moss was of the German Baptist or Dunkard church. He is mentioned more at length in connec- tion with the history of Coldwater township.
The first Sunday school in the township was organized in the schoolhouse in district No. 1, in 1868, with William Keister as the superintendent.
VILLAGE OF AREDALE
The village of Aredale is located on sections 29 and 32, in the southwest part of Bennezette township, and is a station on the Chicago & Northwestern railroad. It was laid out and platted by the Iowa & Minnesota Town Site Company, of Mason City, Iowa, in 1900, and the plat was recorded June 28, 1900, by W. E. Brice, president. In the few years of its existence the village has grown until it now has a population of about 150. There is a township schoolhouse, in which is employed one teacher. To take care of the overflow of school children a room is occupied over the Aredale Savings Bank, by an instructor and her pupils. The business interests consist of general stores, shops, a grain elevator and bank.
The Aredale Savings Bank was organized in 1901, with the fol- lowing officers: C. H. McNider, president; W. J. Christians, vice president; H. J. Ehlers, cashier. The present officers are: R. L. Miller, president; W. J. Christians, cashier; E. R. Worley, assist- ant cashier. Capital, $10,000; surplus and undivided profits, $4,700; deposits, $141,718.
GRACE EVANGELICAL CHURCH
In 1899 before the town of Aredale was started or even the C. N. W. Railroad had gone through this section of the country, Rev. B. R. Wiener and Rev. L. F. Smith of the Evangelical Church began to preach in a schoolhouse which now stands on the edge of the town of Aredale. Their efforts were crowned with success and in 1901 a commodious modern church was erected and dedi- cated to the worship of God free from debt.
Rev. J. H. Engel and Rev. C. F. Hillman in turn served this field in connection with Dumont until 1910, when Aredale was made a separate mission and Rev. J. V. Knoll was appointed as pastor. The project of building a parsonage was taken up that
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GRACE EVANGELICAL CHURCH, AREDALE
MAIN STREET. AREDALE
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year and the next year witnessed the completion of a fine modern building which is a credit to the congregation and community. .
In 1912 Rev. O. M. Yaggy was appointed as pastor and during his pastorate the church has continued to enjoy continued pros- perity under the signal blessing of God. The communicants now number eighty-one with a live Sunday school which has an enroll- ment of 175. During the past year many new methods and some modern equipment have been introduced putting the church and Sunday school work on a par with that of much larger towns.
The most important achievement of the past year, however, is the action of the official board in putting the field on a self-sup- porting basis, a step which reflects great credit on the progressive spirit and loyalty of the congregation.
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CHAPTER XXI BUTLER TOWNSHIP AND TOWN OF CLARKSVILLE
BUTLER TOWNSHIP
Butler township coincides with the geographical limits of township 92 north, range 15 west of the fifth principal meridian. It is on the eastern side of the county and contains 23,040 acres, the greater part of which is tillable farm land. The Shell Rock river flows through this township, entering about the middle of the western side and merging into Shell Rock township near the line between sections 34 and 35. The land bordering the river is more or less heavily timbered and some of it is too rough to be utilized for farming purposes. However, there is practically no waste land within the township. Two lines of railroad parallel the course of the river, the Chicago Great Western traversing the territory to the northeast, and the Cedar Rapids & Minnesota division of the Rock Island, that to the southwest of the river valley. There are two bridges across the Shell Rock in the town- ship-a wagon bridge and railway bridge for the Rock Island, both south of Clarksville. Except in the river valley, the surface is rolling and well adapted to all purposes of farming. The soil is for the most part a black loam, with clay sub-soil. Along the river the soil is lighter and in places rather sandy. The farms are occupied for the most part by actual owners. The homes and farm buildings are modern, well kept and convenient. The popu- lation according to the census of 1910, including Clarksville, was 1,471. Many nationalities are represented in the population of this township. There are, however, perhaps fewer persons of foreign birth than in any other township in the county, with the possible exception of Shell Rock.
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