USA > Iowa > Carroll County > History of Carroll County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 19
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About fifteen years ago a period was reached where the early comers to the county concluded they had occupied the land for a time of sufficient length to entitle them to charter an organization to be known as the "Carroll County Old Settlers' Association." Practically forty years of settlement had transpired, a time long enough to permit upon the soil the birth of many stalwart men and women then nearing the day of middle age, and also a time witnessing the declining sun of the hardy stock which first peopled the now numerous and prosperous community. Hon. C. C. Colclo conceived the idea, and in putting it into execution he was assisted by such brethren of the early days as J. W. Hatton, Henry E. Russell, Wm. Gilley, and, as the movement proceeded, many others. In what has grown to be one of the most important and popular institutions of the county Mr. Colclo and Mr. Gilley have probably been the leading spirits, for they have diligently cultivated its growth through all stages and have contributed much and real labor to the cause. At the present time the annual meetings of the Old Settlers' association is the most notable local event of the year and the regular attendance of thousands of Carroll county people testify to its profit and importance. Many of the towns of the county have enter- tained the Old Settlers, and to have this privilege has grown to be highly valued.
The organization is no doubt destined to enjoy long life, and while many of the charter members have passed or are passing, newly qualified "old timers" keep the ranks supplied and the interest is not allowed to lag.
There are here given the earlier records of the association, the rules by which it is governed. and the charter membership. These documents are as follows :
CARROLL, IOWA, JULY 25, 1895.
In pursuance to a call issued by a number of old settlers in this county, a meeting was held this day at the courthouse for the purpose of forming
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an "Old Settlers" permanent organization for Carroll county. This meet- ing was largely attended, there being over one hundred of the early settlers of this county present. A deep interest was manifested by all that an organization of this kind should be effected. It was explained that the way the call came to be issued which gave tangible form to the project was, "that one evening a half dozen of pioneers were assembled at Hatton's drug store, and, as usual, got to talking over pioneer days in Carroll county. It was remarked that as we had so often talked of forming a county or- ganization, why not give expression to our views by issuing a call and see if the rest of the old settlers are not equally as interested in the call as we are." This is how the call came to be issued which gave origin to this organization. At the first meeting J. W. Hobbs was elected chairman.
The permanent officers elected for the ensuing year were: Wm. Gilley, president ; C. C. Colclo, secretary ; J. E. Griffith, treasurer ; H. E. Russell, historian.
The following were selected as vice presidents: S. A. Davis, Union township; Dana Reed, Newton township; J. W. Hobbs, Jasper township; Thos. Rich, Carroll township ; W. E. Potter, Glidden township ; Wm. Walter- sheid, Roselle township; Sebastian Bruch, Kniest township; E. H. Alberts, Sheridan township; J. J. Graves, Pleasant Valley township; Wm. Koster, Wheatland township; O. Horton, Richland township; H. B. Hazelton, Grant township; D. H. Mohr, Arcadia township; A. T. Bennett, Warren town- ship; E. H. Albers, Washington township; John Guy, Eden township.
Wm. Lynch, M. W. Beach and R. E. Coburn were selected as a com- mittee on by-laws and constitution.
The president, secretary and treasurer were appointed an executive com- mittee to make all arrangements for the first annual meeting, which was to be held at the fair grounds on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 1895.
Geo. Cretsinger of Coon Rapids moved that a fee of fifty cents be charged to those who became members of this association. The motion carried, and the meeting then adjourned.
C. C. COLCLO, Secretary.
FIRST ANNUAL MEETING.
The first annual meeting was held at the Carroll fair grounds on the afternoon of Aug. 21, 1895.
The place selected for the meeting was not a good one, the place where the tent was unfortunately located was surrounded by side shows and brass bands, and it was almost impossible to do business, but the program was carried out as well as possible.
The officers of the association reported; the committee on constitution and by-laws also submitted their report which was adopted and was made part of the records of the meeting.
It was decided to hold the next meeting in the grove near Carrollton. Wm. Gilley presided and delivered the following address :
WILLIAM GILLEY, A PIONEER OF CARROLL
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"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: We have met here this afternoon for the purpose of perfecting the organization of a society to be known as the Old Settlers' Association of Carroll, Carroll county, Iowa. A preliminary meet- ing was held some time ago, at which meeting officers were elected and the proper committees appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws; and make necessary arrangements for this meeting to perfect the organization.
"As I was not present at the former meeting, a fact I very much regret, I take this occasion to say that I am heartily in accord with the movement. I believe more good can be got out of the time spent by the pioneers oi this county by renewing acquaintances and in the old fashioned way, talk- ing over the early incidents of the settlement of this county, than can be got out of the same time in any other way.
"Therefore, on behalf of the movers of this project, I welcome you one and all here today. And while this meeting must, of necessity, be brief, and our time mostly devoted to the transaction of the business necessary to the perfection of the organization, we hope here today to lay the founda- tion for many happy social meetings in the future; and as you who have known me longest and best, know that I prefer acts to words, and that the hardest of acts for me is to attempt to speak in public, I will simply repeat iny welcome to all, and ask on behalf of the committee and co-workers that for whatever defect you may find in our arrangements for this meeting you will please cover said defects with the broad mantle of charity, and by lending us a helping hand make our future meetings a grand success."
The report of the historian was read by C. C. Colclo, as Mr. Russell was away for his health.
The meeting after being in session adjourned after having enjoyed a pleasant visit and renewing many old acquaintances. The old officers were unanimously re-elected for another year.
C. C. COLCLO, Secretary.
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE OLD SETTLERS' SOCIETY, OF CARROLL COUNTY, IOWA.
SECTION I. This association shall be known as the "Carroll County, Iowa, Old Settlers' Association." Its object shall be the mutual improve- ment and social enjoyment of its members, and to keep alive the memories of our pioneer days.
SEC. 2. The charter members of this association shall be all males over twenty-one years of age who shall have resided in Carroll county, Iowa, for twenty years or more prior to the adoption of this constitution, shall have signed this constitution and paid the sum of fifty cents admission fee.
SEC. 3. The annual dues of this association shall be twenty-five cents for each male over twenty-one years of age. Whenever any male person over twenty-one years of age shall become a member of this association, it shall entitle all female members of his family and all minors, to all the rights, privileges and benefits of this association except as hereinafter speci- fied.
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SEC. 4. No membership fee shall be charged for the aforesaid females and no annual dues shall be collected from the same, and they shall not be entitled to a vote in the deliberations of this association.
SEC. 5. After the adoption of this constitution, any person who pos- sesses the requisite qualifications as hereinbefore specified, may become a member of this association.
SEC. 6. The officers of this association shall be a president, secretary. treasurer, historian, and a vice-president from each township in the county except the one in which the president resides; an executive committee. to consist of the president, secretary and treasurer; all such officers shall hold their offices for one year and may be re-elected at the option of the members; all such officers shall be elected at the annual meeting in each and every year after the year 1895.
SEC. 7. The president shall preside at all meetings of the association, and in his absence one of the vice-presidents to be selected by the vice- presidents present.
SEC. 8. The secretary shall keep a correct record of all proceedings of the association.
SEC. 9. The treasurer shall keep all property and moneys, and hold the same subject to the orders of the association, or the executive committee and make a report at each annual meeting.
SEC. IO. The executive committee, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum, shall have general charge of the interests of the association and the carrying out of its objects, the auditing of all bills and ordering the same paid by the treasurer.
SEC. II. The association shall have their annual meetings at such times and place as shall be ordered by the executive committee.
SEC. 12. This constitution may be amended by a vote of two thirds of the members present at any regular meeting of the association, notice having been given thereof at least thirty (30) days before said annual meeting by publication in the newspapers of Carroll county, Iowa.
AMENDMENT I.
The following amendment was adopted at the first annual meeting of the association.
All ladies who have resided in this county twenty years shall be allowed the privilege of becoming members of this association free ; and all the rights of the association shall be, and the same are hereby granted to them. The amendment was unanimously carried.
BY-LAWS. Article I.
After the adoption of the constitution and by-laws, any person may be- come a member of this association who possesses the qualifications pre- scribed in the constitution by making application in writing, presented at
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any regular meeting of the association and may be voted upon and admitted to membership at the same meeting. All votes on admission of members shall be by ballot unless this rule be suspended by a majority vote of all votes cast on that question ; when this rule has been suspended, the vote on admission may be taken viva voce.
Article 2.
SEC. 1. No assessments shall at any time exceed the sum of one dollar per year.
SEC. 2. If any member fails to pay his assessments or dues within thirty (30) days after having been notified by the treasurer, he shall be dropped from the roll and shall cease to be a member, and shall be reinstated on the payment of the same in full.
SEC. 3. The by-laws shall not be amended or altered until notice shall be given of the same one meeting previously, and then only by a two-thirds vote of the members present.
WM. LYNCH, M. W. BEACH, R. E. COBURN,
Committee on Constitution and By-Laws.
List of members : J. C. Schwaller, Geo. Reusch, H. W. Macomber, A. T. Bennett, A. L. Wright, Geo. P. Wetherill, J. W. English, N. Harris, W. F. Steigerwalt, Theo. G. Paine, J. W. Kay, Peter Efferts, J. J. Graves, Peter Thein, John Barr, Alex. Tuel, C. Parker, J. A. Edgett, Joseph Annear, Frank L. Smith, R. L. Wilson, D. J. Jenks, Mrs. Nettie Vanakin, Mrs. H. Vaughan, W. F. Roxon, Richard Ricke, Anton Venteicher, W. C. Rich. Wm. Arts, A. A. Talbott, Thos. Rich, Oliver Horton, Mrs. Sarah Modeland, Wm. Gilley, Phillip Bernholtz, B. Housemann, Benj. Edwards, H. J. Eng- lish, W. E. Potter, John Klucke, Barney Wessling, C. E. Morris, W. H. Hupp, W. H. Gustoff, Mrs. W. H. Bramer, Mrs. Coder, Mrs. Robt. Kinney, J. Young, Mrs. Winnett, James McCabe, Geo. Cretsinger, Wm. Lynch, W. J. Bohnenkamp, F. Florencourt, H. J. P. Muller, J. W. Hatton, John Coates, W. H. Drew, J. M. Blake, J. B. Graham, Jacob Sievers, Wm. Walterscheid, E. H. Albers, J. W. Hobbs, E. Evans, Robert Stevens, Aug. Staak, Wm. Trowbridge, Geo. W. Paine, E. M. Parsons, Geo. Egermayer, Joseph Woll, R. E. Coburn, Andrew Kirk, M. Donlan, Dana Reed, Ed. Garst, R. L. Wolf, Ubbo Albertson, C. F. Hamilton, Peter Berger, T. B. McClure, W. H. Ranger, C. M. Mohler, Samuel Todd, Adam Reis, C. C. Colclo, Nic Beiter, H. E. Russell, Chas. Ludwig, J. E. Griffith, J. D. Schmidt, C. L. Wattles, James Turner, W. L. Culbertson, I. N. Griffith, Thos. Piper Kirk, M. W. Beach, H. Winter, B. F. Woodward, J. B. Downing, L. G. Bangs, G. C. Swartz, John Hood, Chas. D. Reed, Mrs. Sam Wilson, Mrs. Louisa Border, Mrs. E. C. Benedict, Mrs. S. A. Davis, Mrs. Thos. Roderick, Mrs. Thomas Piper, Mrs. E. Davis, Mrs. Cyrus Rhoades, Mrs. Anna Reeves Swartz, G.
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R. Hillard, John Ayres, V. R. Munch, N. D. Wilson, Norman Squires, Frank Connir, Geo. Gay, Emanuel Connir, Lee Shirky, Frank Rhoades, S. Davis, Mrs. J. Blair, Lydia McIntyre, Ethel Morris, Geo. Dangel, Emily Mowder, Issac Thomas, Mrs. C. A. Davis, H. E. Brown, J. Junior, B. Mc- Donald, J. Annear, W. J. Muller, A. Tuel, J. J. Graves, A. R. Graves, A. J. Graves, E. S. Wine, L. T. Anderson, W. W. Wine, M. Harris, A. Connir, L. L. Winnett, Mrs. G. Brutsche, Mrs. W. H. Asher, G. R. Rathy.
CHAPTER XIV.
EARLY EDUCATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS PRIVILEGES-ABSENCE OF LEGAL MACHIN- ERY AND ITS EFFECTS-ANAMOSA A VICTIM OF NIGHT RIDERS, WHO ABAN- DON HIM ON THE PRAIRIE-EXPERIENCE OF WIFE BEATER MAY HAVE BEEN A ROUGH PRACTICAL JOKE-ADVENT OF W. AUGUST FONDA, AN EC- CENTRIC CHARACTER-FONDA DRIVEN FROM OMAHA IN LABOR WAR- BOGUS NATURE OF THE MAN-ABDUCTED BY UNKNOWN MASKED MEN AT CARROLL-TRIP TO STORM CREEK BOTTOM-FUNERAL CEREMONIES EN- ACTED-HORSEMAN INTERRUPTS MIDNIGHT RITES-FONDA FREE AND FINDS HIS WAY TO GLIDDEN-TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO CARROLL- THE ELLIOTT EPISODE-OSTENSIBLE MAN AND WIFE COME TO CARROLLTON- ADVENT OF REAL HUSBAND ELLIOTT ORDERED TO GO AND RETURN AT HIS PERIL-HUSBAND AND WIFE REUNITED-SETTLERS' POSSE ESCORT COUPLE TO RAILROAD AND SPEED THEIR DEPARTURE.
At the outbreak of the Civil War Carroll county contained less than three hundred people. The settlements in which they lived were all in the eastern row of townships. Carrollton was the only one of these set- tlements with the dignity of a name. It consisted of less than a dozen houses and its inhabitants did not number more than thirty. Such schools as then existed were taught at the homes of the pioneers, changing from place to place according to turn. Little effort was made to teach more than the three R's-the simple branches of reading, writing and arithmetic, the latter as far as the rule of three. The teacher was paid by popular sub- scription and a part of her compensation was "board and lodging," gen- erally furnished by those families better able to pay their share in this way than in cash, a very scarce, and, in those days of wildcat currency, hazard- ous form of wealth. The common necessities of the present time were the extreme luxuries of that simple period. Much of the clothing was home- spun or fashioned by the women from furs and skins. The early settlers were of a highly religious character, and circuit riders of the Methodist church principally, with an occasional service from a frontier Presbyterian or Baptist parson or Seventh Day Advent elder, furnished the religious pabulum. On preaching occasions the pioneers and their families flocked in from far and near. The theology of the time was of the most robust character. Sinners were warned in crude eloquence that a transgression of the law of God was a step toward a future punishment, the lurid char- acter of which drew forth the most extreme pictures of the imagination. The preaching of hell and its penalties appealed to the pioneer spirit where a milder theology would have met with little respect. and there is no doubt
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that many rough characters were kept along correct paths by the fear of the wrath to come. In the absence of any of the machinery of the civil law the people were honest, virtuous and well behaved. There was appar- ently no need of courts and court officers to keep in hand the predatory and evil inclined. The injunctions of the pioneer preachers and the integrity which goes with the simple life sufficed to keep Carroll county in its early infancy moral and of good behavior, for it was not until many years later, and long after the county was firmly organized, that there appeared to arise occasion for that form of justice, known in so many communities in their early days, over which Judge Lynch presided and whose mandates were en- forced by a vigilance committee. Indeed, in the entire history of the county there is but one instance in which anything resembling lynch law was put into effect, and happily in this case the ensuing consequences were not grave.
In August, 1875, a character by the name of George Anamosa appeared in Carroll with marks of rough treatment about his neck and on other parts ยท of his body. He told a story of having been called from his bed at night by a party on horseback and came to the door in order to answer a question about the direction and distance to Coon Rapids. Anamosa's home at the time was in Newton township. On coming within reaching distance a rope was thrown about his neck and he was bound with ropes, and being blind- folded was in this situation led and dragged for some distance out into the open prairie. No effort was made to make good the suggestion involved in the rope, which was used for no worse purpose than to serve as a halter to lead him into the secluded place to which he was taken. There were no trees handy, and, at that time, no telegraph or telephone poles to which such objects could be suspended, and this may furnish a reason why the prob- able purpose of Anamosa's captors was not carried out. Be this as it may, the worst that happened to him was abandonment in a helpless position far from human habitation at night, suffering from the terrors of his experi- ence and the threat that the horsemen would soon return and complete the work of execution. These were the only hardships the man suffered. In the course of the next day he managed to free himself from his bonds and find his way back to his home.
Anamosa was a man of bad reputation and had lived in the county some years. One of his accomplishments when his brutal blood was aroused was beating his wife, and it was this outrage and perhaps other acts of cruelty that were responsible for his midnight visitation. It does not appear that Anamosa was badly hurt, or that there was any intention to inflict upon him harm of a more serious character.
By whom the raid was perpetrated was never known. Anamosa said he had recognized the voices of some of his captors, naming certain residents of the south part of the county, but he failed to establish any of the in- formation given to the authorities and the event was the cause of no in- terest and was soon forgotten. Probably it was a rough practical joke, serious, however, in the respect that Anamosa was a wife beater and in
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serving general notice that offenses of that nature would not be tolerated by the community.
Another rather interesting episode, and one which occasioned intense interest for a time in Carroll and the neighborhood was the abduction of Major W. August Fonda in the fall of 1882. A year or two before the major had become a citizen of Carroll under rather mysterious circum- stances, dropping into town at night and for a considerable time keeping closely to his room and not permitting himself to be seen on the streets during the day. At night he would sally forth and take such benefit of the open as was necessary for his health and comfort. In the course of time the cause for this peculiarity of habit became known.
Before the major's advent, there had been aggravated and prolonged labor troubles at Omaha. Being a man of some address and fond of action and liv- ing at the time in that city, he worked himself in to be one of the captains of the strike and was an important personage in the combats of capital and labor in the Nebraska metropolis. The major was certainly not a laboring man in the practical sense of the term, being himself something of a capi- talist and a dependent of a fortune held by relatives in one of the eastern states who sent him regularly sums suitable to provide for the simple needs of a bachelor on the condition that he lived and made his home far enough away not to annoy and encumber them. The major was what is known in the west as a "remittance man." In the course of time he grew to be under suspicion of the Omaha labor cohorts, whether from some act of supposed treachery or by some eruption in the politics of the strife, is not known; the major claimed the latter.
Along with this evolution the major grew into intense unpopularity with his former comrades, and to such length was the feud carried that he had to take to hiding for fear of his personal safety. The trains were picketed so that he could not leave the city. Still the fertile mind of the former chief of labor was not without resources. One dark night, provided with an extra suit of clothes, the major skulked his way to the banks of the Mis- souri river, above the city, where he divested himself of his familiar gar- ments, and newly clothed and otherwise disguised, made his escape from the city by crawling over the Union Pacific bridge on his hands and knees in imminent risk of being knocked into the river by a passing train. His clothing was left on the river bank to tell the story to the major's Omaha enemies that in his extremity he had taken his life by suicide; but mean- while the major was on his way to Carroll, which was to be his home for several years.
Those who came to know this unique personage say that he was with- out a rival as a romancer short of Baron Munchausen. Soon after his arrival he opened an office, which in the course of time became something of a resort to the young men of the village who enjoyed a quiet game of whist, in the science of which the major made great claims. His pomposity was great, his claims to eminence fairly astonishing. A greater liar than the major may have lived at some time, perhaps in Ananias, but it is con- sidered doubtful. In his office he had displayed conspicuously a major's
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commission dated of the time of the war. A glance at this document dis- closed the fact that while it was genuine enough as an officer's commission as far as he was concerned it was an arrant fraud. Closely examined, it was seen that a name had been roughly erased and in the blank thus created, "W. Augustus Fonda" had been written. The deception was plain, yet such was the impudence of the man that on the strength of his claimed record as a warrior he was admitted to the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and for a time was prominent in the councils of that patriotic order. At the same time, the major was not a bad man in any other respect than that he was thoroughly and irremediably bogus. But while his lies were used to inflate and flatter himself, they were otherwise without harm. He had some little knowledge of the law and a good deal of literary and general information. In the course of time he managed to gain admis- sion to the bar and hung out his shingle as a lawyer. He won his admis- sion by faking a lawyer's certificate from another state much in the same manner as the scheme employed to support his claim of being an officer and West Point graduate. No one, however, suffered from the incom- petency of the major as a legal adviser, for he made no pretensions to prac- tice and was not connected with any litigation beyond a case or two which some of the humor-loving blades of the county seat arranged to bring on a tug of war between him and another eccentric member of the profession and which for the time afforded them a great deal of amusement, the legal battle of the two Blackstonians being known as the "battle of the giants."
So great a braggart as the major must of course have had a history of personal prowess. A part of his war service had been among the Indians in the far west, he declared, and to sustain his assertions when doubt was expressed he kept in reserve an assortment of Indian scalps which he took great pride in displaying in proof of his claims. In further evidence that he was a mighty warrior and hunter his collection of arms, guns, swords and pistols-weapons for every conceivable use and description-was for- midable and served for a time to make him an important member of the local gun club. He maintained this prominence as long as he could by any excuse refrain from taking part in any of the shooting contests of the Nim- rods, of whom he claimed to be so far superior that it was a shame to show his supremacy. Finally he was provoked into taking his place at the traps, to his own humiliation and the great amusement of the spectators. It was found that the major, with a most expensive English gun, was a most inexpert trap shot, a fact which he laid to a trouble of the eyes; but the major, for the time, used the soft pedal when the subject of marksmanship was mentioned, and gradually, in his hunting stories, drifted to the rifle and big game.
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