USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 25
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September, 1887; N. C. Green, March, 1888-February, 1890; Charles H. Wissner, May, 1890-November, 1890; Rev. McClade, April, 1891-April, 1892; U. G. Schell, May, 1892-October, 1892; J. M. Smith, January, 1893-February, 1895; J. S. Phillips, May, 1895-February, 1897; P. S. Davies, March, 1897-March, 1898; S. D. McFadden, May, 1898-October, 1904; R. S. Weinland, October, 1904-April. 1906: W. E. Fisher, August, 1906-May, 1913; John W. Chase, from June 20, 1913, as stated supply, and installed as pastor October 30, 1913.
The present membership of the church is one hundred and thirty-four.
A note of sadness entered the history of this church when, in the month of August, 1882, the pastor, Rev. E. J. Marshall, lost his life in the Shell Rock river, while bathing. He was a young Englishman and only had been in this country a year. His death caused a gloom to settle over the whole community and was greatly deplored by his parishioners.
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
Elder Philip Moss with his family arrived in Coldwater town- ship from Indiana in October, 1855, and located on a claim near
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the present town of Greene. He began preaching at his home and the homes of his neighbors. As soon as schoolhouse No. 1 was completed services were held there and in June, 1857, a formal organization of the Brethren church was effected, with mem- bers whose names follow : John Hartman and wife, Jacob Reprogle and wife, Felix Landis and wife, Benjamin Eikenberry and wife, Jacob Harter and wife and a few others. Rev. Philip Moss was the pastor about five years. He was called to his final reward and his successor, Rev. John H. Fillmore, filled the pulpit for a period of three years. Others in charge were, namely: Revs. John F. Eikenberry, who at times was assisted by Revs. Ben- jamin Ellis, John E. Eikenberry, Humphrey Tallhelm. N. Trapp, E. Moore and J. B. Shank. In the regular pastorate Harvey Eikenberry followed J. F. Eikenberry. Next came William H. Hood, whose assistant ministers were W. H. Pyle and Edward Eikenberry. Hood's successor is the present pastor, Rev. J. F. Butler. The membership of the church is one hundred and eight; attendance at the Sunday school averages one hundred and forty.
A house of worship was built by this church in 1873, costing $4,000, and at the time was the finest building of its kind in Butler county. It is built of stone and the ground dimensions are 40x60 feet.
UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST
This denomination effected an organization in Coldwater township in the year 1859, Revs. John Buckmaster and Israel Shafer assisting. The first services were held at the home of Widow Hall and the first pastor was Rev. James Murphy, who has had a number of successors.
ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH
The members of the Roman Catholic faith living in and near Greene attended mass, held by Father Flavin, early in the begin- ning of the town, in a church south of the place, which had been erected before Greene came into existence. Father Coyle and others also preached to this congregation. The first resident pastor was Father S. McNulty, who was offered two lots for build- ing purposes, by Judge George Greene, president of the local railroad. But the offer was not accepted. After the town began
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to grow, Father MeNulty's flock met for a time at Feyereisen's hall and soon they had a small church building of their own. This was succeeded by a large and more commodious structure, which is now in use. Rev. Father J. L. Kirby was the second pastor. He was succeeded by Father Patrick Smith and in 1898, the pres- ent resident priest, Father James Sheehy, was placed in charge of the parish. The church has grown vastly in strength and pros- perity, having at the present time a membership of four hundred and property valued at $25,000. This consists of a substantial frame church building, a priest's residence and a magnificent two-story school building trimmed with stone, which cost $12,000. This henceforth will be known as St. Mary's Academy and will be in charge of Franciscan Sisters, whose residence is opposite the academy.
FRATERNAL ORDERS
The Masonic lodge at Greene has one of the finest and best equipped temples in northern Iowa, in a new building the upper story of which belongs to the organization. This body is strong in numbers and has a treasure chest well filled. Alpha Lodge, No. 326, A. F. & A. M. was organized June 5, 1873. The charter mem- bers were E. S. Thomas, G. L. Mills, C. S. Stranahan, E. S. Case, W. H. Nichols, E. Jordan, F. D. Mabee, Frank Beals, Charles Klobe, S. T. Hotelkiss, C. C. Huekins, W. H. Smith, A. Glodery, Hugh Johnson. First officers: E. S. Thomas, W. M .; G. L. Mills. S. W .; C. S. Stranahan, J. W .; W. H. Smith, Treas .; C. C. Huck- ins, See .; E. S. Case, S. D. ; W. H. Nichols, J. D. ; Hugh Johnson, Tyler.
May Day Chapter, No. 287, Order Eastern Star, an auxiliary of the Masonie lodge, was organized on the 24th day of October, 1900, with twenty-six charter members. The chapter is mainly composed of the wives and sisters of the main body.
Elm Springs Lodge, No. 318, I. O. O. F., was organized Octo- ber 21, 1875, and now has a membership of one hundred and fif- teen. The lodge is in good condition financially and joined the Masons and Knights of Pythias in building a handsome hall, where the three lodges meet. This hall is also the headquarters for other fraternal bodies.
There is also an auxiliary body. Greene Lodge, No. 381, Daugh- ters of Rebekah, which was established October 22, 1897.
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Butler Lodge, No. 155, Knights of Pythias, was established October 7, 1885, by C. H. Wilcox, J. W. Osier, Louis Hushburg, C. M. Greene, Charles W. Lyford, G. E. Delavan, F. B. Cheney, J. Nevins, O. D. Barnum, John Montgomery, G. W. Burbank, G. W. Wilson, S. A. Van Sann, J. E. Miller, A. M. Trent, Joseph T. Stokely, Fred Morrill, C. A. Witzel, E. J. Moyer, F. W. Huckins, H. W. Johnson, Will D. Grace, W. H. Morrill, G. C. Thomas. The lodge has a membership of one hundred and sixty.
The Pythian Sisters, Charlton Temple, No. 146, was organized October 9, 1902, by Allie Greene, Elsie Doore, Floy McRoberts, Emma Baker, Jennie M. Baker. Lulu Shaffer, Louise Yates, And Rosburg and Carrie Carney. They meet in Knights of Pythias hall.
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
Greene Post. No. 22. G. A. R., organized November 18, 1898, with the following charter members: Ed Morrill, W. W. West. Jacob Hoffman, F. G. Etter, C. B. Weston, W. H. Rupert, J. Blanden, J. J. Winterburn, W. J. Crouse, Levi Sheets, James Mettler. W. H. Fleak. C. Crabtree. James Deardorf. D. R. Free- man, Albert Boggs, J. Adams, W. A. Keister. A. E. Austin, Rich- ard H. Brooks.
The Modern Woodmen of America and their auxiliary. the Royal Neighbors, have lodges here.
CHAPTER XXIII
DAYTON TOWNSHIP
Dayton township is bordered on the north by Floyd county, on the west by Coldwater, on the south by Jackson and on the east by Fremont township. Its surface is broken by three streams -the Shell Rock river, which traverses it from northwest to south- east; Coldwater creek, which flows diagonally through sections 19, 20 and 29 to its junction with the Shell Rock ; and Flood creek, which flows south through sections 2, 3, 11, 14, 23, 26 and 27. The Minnesota branch of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad passes through the township, with a railway station at Packard, although the settlement there consists of but little more than a few houses. The land along the streams is more or less heavily timbered but in general the character of the surface of the town- ship is such as to render it particularly adaptable for the purposes of agriculture.
The first settler in Dayton township of whom any record is left, was William Goheen, who on November 8, 1851, entered one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 19. In the spring of 1852, Mr. Goheen settled here with his family. On his claim he built a hewn log house, where with his family he lived until June, 1853. His death on this date was the first in the township. He was buried on the banks of Coldwater creek in section 19. Later his body was removed to the Hardman cemetery. A copy of the will by which his holdings in the township were disposed of to his sons has been given in an earlier chapter. These sons. E. R. and J. W. Goheen, are also mentioned somewhat in detail in con- nection with the early history of the county. They were hunters and do not seem to have remained in the county for many years after the death of their father.
James Griffith, who has been treated at length in the history of Coldwater township, settled on section 18, Dayton township, in 1852. He remained here only a short time before taking up his abode in the township to the west.
R. W. Butler was another early settler in this township.
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Levi Burress came in 1852. He built a cabin on section 27, on the west bank of the Shell Rock river. Mr. Burress came from Kentucky and his cabin was always open to the traveler and became a stopping place for many of the emigrants on their way to new homes in the county. Mr. Butler achieved considerable fame as a hunter and was numbered by his contemporaries as a man of imposing presence and of hearty good will. He died on his home farm in the fall of 1882.
Other early settlers were James Blake, Philip JJ. Ebersold, William Gough, Hugh Thomas, Delano MeCain and others.
John F. Eikenberry, pioneer preacher of the Baptist church, located here and is remembered as one of the early ministers of the gospel in this section of the county.
Tobias Miller, an associate of the Goheen brothers in their hunting operations, located in June, 1853, on section 20.
OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION
The territory now comprising Dayton township was originally divided equally between Butler and Coldwater townships. It was finally given separate organization in September, 1860. An elec- tion was ordered November 6, 1860, at the house of Richard Chellew. The first township officers were: Hugh Thomas and Levi Burress, justices of the peace; Richard Chellew, Reuben Strohecker, constables: Thomas Haggarty, supervisor; John F. Eikenberry, clerk; Phineas Clawson, assessor; John V. Boggs, Philip J. Ebersold and Lemuel Carter, trustees.
EDUCATIONAL
The early records of the district township of Dayton are apparently lost. It has retained this form of organization to the present time. There are now ten sub-districts in the township and its schools are maintained in a manner in keeping with the prosperity of the communities which they serve.
A proposition for the consolidation of the schools of the town- ship and the establishment of the consolidated school at Packard was defeated by the electors in a school election held a few years ago. Inasmuch, however, as the township has no town within its limits, it would seem probable that within a comparatively few years such a step would ultimately be taken. There are a large
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number of progressive school patrons of the township who favor some action of this kind. In the meantime, however, they are in favor of supporting the schools as they are and of raising them to the highest possible degree of efficiency.
The schools of the township are at present presided over by an exceptionally capable and carnest body of rural teachers. The board of directors is a representative body of the best citizens of the township. The affairs of the school may be left in their hands without fear that they will do anything but the best for the inter- ests entrusted to them.
THE FARMERS' CLUB
The Clarksville Star, in its issue of the 20th of May, 1875, con- tains the following remarks from the pen of Van E. Butler:
"Among the educational institutions of Dayton township is the 'Farmers' Club,' which was organized in 1864, the object being to increase the interest in agriculture, horticulture and floricul- ture. How much influence it has exerted within a period of ten years is seen by the superior thrift, the intelligence, improved style of farming, and the general neatness of the homesteads of its members. Mutual intercourse and interchange of ideas on farm- ing and other topics have kept its members posted on the issues of the day; and if a stranger should step in when the club is in session he would no doubt conclude that the farmers kept their best stock at home and sent the poorer material to the Senate or Legislature, on the same principle that they select their best seeds for propagation and send the inferior article to market."
POPULATION
1863, 239; 1865, 213; 1867, 275: 1869, 339; 1870, 383: 1873, 425; 1875, 513: 1880, 636: 1890, 667; 1900, 641; 1910, 633.
FREMONT TOWNSHIP
Fremont township lies in the extreme northeastern corner of Butler county, bordered on the east by Bremer county, on the north by Floyd county and cornering with Chickasaw county on the northeast. On the south and west lie Butler and Dayton town- ships. The surface is a gently undulating plain, broken by no
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marked variations of contour. There are no streams of any size within the township limits. It is the only township of the county which has a road on every section line. Every point of the town- ship is thus accessible and every foot of its soil is today in a high state of cultivation.
The character of the soil is somewhat different from that in the central portions of the county by being somewhat lighter, rather a sandy, than a clayey loan. Portions of the township are underlain by limestone which renders. it peculiarly adaptable to the raising of cereal crops. The center of the township is traversed by a broad and shallow valley, known as Pleasant val- ley, which slopes to the southeastward toward Cedar river.
The township has no towns and no railroads. It is served for market and other commercial purposes by the towns of Nashua, in Chickasaw, Plainfield, in Bremer county, and Clarksville, in Butler county. The farms are in a high state of cultivation and the farm homes and buildings evidence the prosperity and energy of their owners.
The only natural timber in the township is a tract in the extreme northwestern portion, about five acres in extent, but the farm homes are so universally surrounded by large groves of artificial timber as to give it the appearance almost of a timbered country.
No farming section of the state may be considered superior in its general features to Fremont township for the purposes of diversified agriculture. The traveler through this township is impressed with the large number of silos, which have been built in recent years on the farms. No better evidence may be given than this of the progressive character of the residents of the township.
EARLY SETTLEMENT
Fremont township was one of the later regions of the county to be settled. As has been suggested, elsewhere, the first settlers all located as near the streams as possible, and inasmuch as Fre- mont township has no running water and comparatively few natural springs, it was not until the locations which were then considered more favorable had practically all been occupied that the attention of the carly settlers of the county was turned to the fertile acres of this township. The first settlements within its
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limits may be considered as extensions of the settlements previ- ously made around Nashua, Plainfield and Clarksville. The first entries of land in Fremont township were made in 1854, and for the most part were made merely for commercial purposes.
In June, 1854, William Pringle, George Foster and W. J. Barney made entries of land in sections 31 and 32. Elwood Mod- lin and Jacob Schaffer also made entries of land in this year. All these entries were made in the southeast corner of the township.
The first actual settler in the township is believed to have been McCarty Bement, who came here in 1855 and located upon a farm in the eastern part of the township. In the same year Shad- rach Bonwell, Samuel Lenhart, James Trobaugh and Jackson J. Cross settled in the township.
The year following this, Nelson Bement, a brother of McCarty Bement, the first settler mentioned above, James G. Temple and Robert Renfrew came. William Gilmore, William R. Phillips and John Saddler are also mentioned as among the early settlers.
J. J. Cross came to Butler county from Kane county, Illinois, in 1855, and in August of the same year settled upon one hundred and sixty acres in section 1. Frederick W. Cross, a sketch of whom is given in the biographical volume of this work, is a son of J. J. Cross.
On the 27th of September, 1855, S. Bonwell and family took up their sojourn on a farm on section 19. In an early history of Butler county Mr. Bonwell relates a typical incident of pioneer life to illustrate some of the hardships which some of the early settlers of this county had to undergo. On the 6th day of Janu- ary, 1856, he, with his family, attended the funeral of Eliza J. Newhard, at Clarksville. The weather was cold and the ground frozen so hard that the grave could hardly be dug. It was there- fore almost dark before the services were over, and Mr. Bonwell prepared to start homeward. When he arrived at Mr. Lenhart's, a storm was raging furiously and the folks tried to persuade him to remain all night ; but Mr. Bonwell thought it his duty to return and attend to his stock. It was only a half mile to his home but there being no road, he missed his house, and soon found that he was lost on the prairie. To remain all night would be death. He therefore turned his team about so as to drift with the wind. which was blowing from the northwest, and concluded that in this way he would reach the timber east of Clarksville, which he
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succeeded in doing just as the storm passed over. After driving a short distance farther he found himself at the cabin of Daniel Kinsley, where he remained all night with his family, and in the morning again set out for home. After leaving Mr. Lenhart's the previous evening and finding that he had lost his course, he called for aid, which was heard by the neighbors and they replied by firing guns, etc .; but the wind was blowing such a gale that their answers could not be heard. The next morning the neigh- bors assembled, and not finding him at home, started in search, following his track over the entire circuit, and were glad to find upon arriving at Mr. Kinsley's that all were still alive, as they thought they certainly had perished, or, as one old fellow of the party remarked, "They have evidently struck one of the sink- holes on the prairie and all went to h- together."
Among other comparatively early settlers of Fremont town- ship were John M. Wamsley, who, as already stated, came first to Iowa with his brother W. S. Wamsley and lived with Aaron Moore until 1853. Mr. Wamsley settled in Fremont township in 1865. The best evidence that the settlements of Fremont town- ship were the outgrowths of previous settlements in the county is found in the fact that in a number of instances among the Fremont pioneers are numbered members of the second genera- tion of Butler county families. Of these Charles N. Thomas, Alexander Forney and Frank L. Wamsley may be mentioned. Charles N. Thomas was a son of Hugh Thomas, a pioneer settler of Dayton township. Charles Thomas settled in Fremont in 1869. Alexander Forney, a son of Christian H. Forney, is another pio- neer settler of Dayton township. After serving through the Civil war Mr. Forney married a daughter of James Blake and settled on a farm on section 16, Fremont township.
The southern and central parts of the township have in more recent years been largely settled by people of German parentage. A Lutheran church, situated on the southeastern corner of sec- tion 28, is the center of the religious life of this community. Among the prominent German families of this district may be mentioned the Wedekings, the Buschings and the Buchholtzs.
The choice of the name of the township was suggested by Wil- liam R. Phillips, in honor of Gen. John C. Fremont, who was in 1856 the first candidate of the republican party for the presi- dency. A local writer in the Clarksville Star of 1875 said: "Fre- mont, free speech and free press, was what one would hear in the
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days of 1856, when Horace Greeley, Charles Sumner and others were rolling the great stone that was eventually to crush out African slavery in the American states. So it was given to this territory of thirty-six square miles."
OFFICIAL ORGANIZATION
Originally Fremont township was a part of Butler. In 1858 it was given a separate organization. The first election was held October 11, 1859, at the house of William R. Phillips, which was then in process of erection. On the day of the election when the voters came to cast their ballots they found that Phillips had no part of his house completed except the cellar. The ballot box was accordingly lowered into the cellar and the voters dropped their ballots into it from above. This first election was held with no roof over their heads except the blue canopy of Heaven. The day, however, was a pleasant one and everything passed off quietly. The record of the officers chosen at this election lias been lost even to memory, except for the fact that J. J. Cross was chosen township clerk. Sixteen votes were east, the names of the voters being as follows: James G. Temple, John Booromn, James Trobaugh, William Pringle, M. Bennett, Robert Slaight, John H. Vosler, D. W. Tunsley, S. Bonwell, S. Lenhart, Henry Lenhart, John Lenhart, G. W. Ellis, Nelson Bement, S. J. Boorom and J. J. Cross.
EDUCATIONAL
The first school in Fremont township was taught by Miss Lucy Ballard at the home of James G. Temple.
The first schoolhouse was built at the northeast corner of sec- tion 11, where the Cedar schoolhouse now stands.
The township at present is divided into nine independent dis- tricts, each containing exactly four sections.
District No. 1. known as the Cedar district, is at the northeast corner of the township.
District No. 2, Excelsior district, lies just to the south of this. A portion of the Plainfield independent district in Bremer county extends over into the eastern part of section 24, thus somewhat reducing the size of Excelsior district.
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The Pleasant Prairie district, No. 4, comprises sections 29, 30, 31 and 32 in the extreme southwestern portion of the township.
No. 5, Pleasant Valley Center is the central district of the township.
No. 6, Beaver creek, occupies a position on the north central portion of the township.
The Pleasant Valley district, No. 7, includes sections 27, 28, 33 and 34, in the south central portion of the township. The schoolhouse stands just adjoining the site of the German Lutheran church and cemetery.
No. 8, the Pleasant Grove district, is in the northwestern part of the township.
No. 9, Harmony school, is in the central western portion. The schoolhouse in each of these districts stands at the exact geograph- ical center of the district.
POPULATION
1860, 90; 1863. 108; 1865, 164: 1867. 250; 1869, 379: 1870, 655; 1873, 650; 1875, 723: 1880, 791: 1890, 778; 1900. 757; 1910, 757.
JACKSON TOWNSHIP
Jackson township is surrounded by the townships of Dayton, Butler, Jefferson and West Point on the north, east, south and west respectively. Its surface is for the most part a gently undu- lating prairie, varied in the extreme northeastern part by the presence of the valley of the Shell Rock river, which crosses the township from northwest to southeast. Originally there was practically no natural timber in the township except that along this stream. Although the rest of the township has no running streams its natural drainage was sufficient to prevent the pres- ence of any waste land. Dry Run which crosses the township from east to west about midway, serves to drain off the surplus storm water and empties into Shell Rock river a little southwest of Clarksville. At certain seasons of the year this stream has a constant flow but in mid-summer it is almost always dry.
The township is traversed from east to west by the main line of the Chicago Great Western railroad and in the extreme north- eastern portion, by the Rock Island. It has no town within its limits. although both Clarksville and Allison include a portion
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of the township within their boundaries. These two towns fur- nish the trading points for the entire township. The soil is of a quality second to none in fertility and productiveness and the farms are at the present time in the hands of a progressive class of agriculturists who utilize the natural fertility of the soil to its fullest extent.
EARLY SETTLEMENT
As has been indicated in connection with the history of Butler township, the first permanent settlements within the limits of Butler county were made near the east bank of the Shell Rock river, within the borders of what was later set off as Jackson township. These settlements and the carly settlers were so closely identified with the early history of Butler township as to have been named in the separate history of that township, many of them at a comparatively early day having actually moved either to the village of Clarksville or to farms in Butler township. However, as they belong properly to the history of Jackson town- ship, a repetition of some names may be pardoned.
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