USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 21
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EARLY SETTLEMENT
In connnon 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 see- 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, Bene- 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 erop 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- cratie 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 withi- 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 buikling. 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 conec- 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 ocenpied 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. II. MeNider, 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 comtry. 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 snecess and in 1901 a commodions modern church was erected and dedi- cated to the worship of God free from debt.
Rev. J. H. Engel and Rey. 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
GRACE EVANGELICAL CHURCH, AREDAALE
MAIN STREET. AREDALE
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
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 mimber 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.
CHAPTER XXI
BUTLER TOWNSHIP AND TOWN OF CLARKSVILLE
BUTLER TOWNSHIP
Butler township coineides 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 aeres, 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 Roek 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 Roek 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 eensus 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 Roek.
As has been noted earlier in this work, this section of the county was the site of the first settlements. The Hicks and the Wamsley families, who have been mentioned as the earliest set-
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tlers, however, located their first homes just across the township line in what is now Jackson township, although they were identi- fied from the beginning with the history of the town of Clarks- ville and Butler township in general.
Jeremiah Perrin, Morrison A. Taylor and E. Ensley were probably the first permanent settlers of the township. These gentlemen settled on land located in sections 16 and 17, of Butler township, during the summer of 1851.
Seth Hilton, Sr., first came to Butler township in December, 1851, from his home in southern Illinois, where he had also been a pioneer settler. He erected a small log cabin on a spot about fifty rods southwest of the Rock Island depot, in which he moved his family in March, 1852. In the following year he built another cabin on what afterwards became the town site of Clarksville. It is said that he never saw a locomotive or train of cars until the first train along the line of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & North- ern, now the Rock Island, was run across his farm. In his later years he was a resident of JJackson township, surviving and con- tinning his activities as a farmer until he had passed his eightieth milestone. He died many years ago.
In the spring of 1852 John Heery, who has been mentioned before as having made the first entry of land in Butler county, brought his family and located upon the claim which he had taken in November. 1850. He died some twenty or twenty-five years ago. Two of his sons still reside on the home farm near Clarks- ville, while the oldest son, John, lives in Clarksville.
Alfred Elam, Hiram Beard. John Armstrong and C. N. Bur- ton are also named among the settlers who located on farms in the western part of Butler township in the years before 1852. Alfred Elam was one of the earliest justices of the peace in the township and is remembered as having celebrated the first marriage cere- monies in the county. Hiram Beard was a veteran of the Mexi- can war. His claim afterward formed a part of the Mix estate. John Armstrong settled on section 29 and C. N. Burton on section 8. The exact dates of these settlements are unknown. It is diffi- enlt to establish definitely the time when these varions early set- tlers became finally identified with Butler township.
As has been noted before, most of the early claims in this county were entered for speculative purposes by men who had no intention of settling upon them. The date of filing upon these claims was often several years later than the actual location of
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the claim, and in many instances, even where these claims were purchased by actual settlers, the transfer was not recorded for some years thereafter.
The second claim to be taken in Butler township was entered by W. H. Knapp, on September 1, 1851, and consisted of one hun- dred and sixty acres of land in sections S and 17. On the same date W. M. Fulton entered a claim to a similar amount of land in sections 17 and 20, and A. C. Gale made an entry on section 21. J. F. Ballier, on October 21, 1851, entered claims on sections 21 and 28.
On July 5, 1852. George W. Poisal, with his wife and four children, Thomas Clark and family, Jeremiah Clark and family, and Mrs. Cynthia Clark and family, arrived in Butler township. They all came from the same part of Indiana. Mr. Poisal and the Clarks entered land in section 18, erected log cabins and com- menced their pioneer life. As the supply of provisions which they brought with them was insufficient to carry them through the rest of the season. Mr. Poisal. in August, drove overland to the vicinity of Cedar Rapids and purchased a load of corn. paying 25 cents a bushel. On his way home he busied himself shelling the corn and when he arrived at Cedar Falls he had it ground. This with a crop of potatoes, which they succeeded in raising, and game and fish, which they were able to secure during the winter, supplied them with the necessary food. Mr. Poisal later sold this first claim to Daniel Mather and purchased the north- east quarter of section 18, which in 1855 he laid out as an addi- tion to the village of Clarksville. Here he resided until the date of his death. He always occupied a high place in the esteem of his friends and associates and was honored with election to the office of county judge of Butler county in the first election held. He did not qualify for the office for the reason that he would have had to go to Independence to do so and he considered the distance too great for this purpose. He continued throughout his active life to take a prominent part in local affairs. His wife was a sister of Thomas and Jeremiah Clark, for whom the town of Clarksville was named.
Thomas and Jeremiah Clark were among the original owners of the town site of Clarksville and after its formal platting. the entry of which was made on the records of the county on October 27, 1854, they were honored by the naming of the village for them. Abner G. Clark. who had been appointed postmaster at Coon's
Vol. 1-17
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Grove, just west of Clarksville, in 1853, was the first merchant of the new town. He was a brother of Thomas and Jeremiah Clark.
Daniel Mather, another of the original proprietors of the land upon which Clarksville is situated, arrived in Butler county in October, 1854, and purchased the land in section 18, which had been owned by G. W. Poisal. Mr. Mather was a carpenter by trade and later was the contractor for the wood work in the new courthouse. Mr. Mather left a family of several children, of whom Charles is still a resident of the county. A daughter, Mary, later married Captain C. A. Roszell, and is still living in Clarks- ville.
D. C. Hilton, the other of the proprietors of the town site men- tioned in the record, was a son of Seth Hilton. He was afterward one of the first treasurers of Butler county.
During 1854-55 settlers came in rapid succession. The limits of this work make it impossible to give detailed mention of all these but among those who are remembered as belonging to this group of settlers are : O. A. Strong, John H. Morton, John Palmer, David Blakely, Aaron Van Dorn, J. J. Eichar, T. T. Rawson, M. M. Trumbull, William Brandon, R. Hardy, Abner Farlow, J. M. Vincent, R. W. Butler, W. E. Burton, John Ray and R. T. Crowell. Of these Aaron Van Dorn is noted in connection with the county officers, having been elected county judge in 1855. M. M. Trumbull is mentioned at length in connection with the chapter on the history of Butler county in the Civil war. William Bran- don is said to have been a genuine backwoodsman, "reared on the rifle, ax, deer and 'bar's' meat."
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