USA > Iowa > Cass County > History of Cass County, Iowa; together with sketches of its towns, villages, and townships; educational, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of old settlers and representative citizens. History of Iowa, embracing accounts of the pre-historic races, and a brief review of its civil, political, and military history > Part 33
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cabins being low, the tall men would take positions when they danced, that would allow their heads to extend up between the bass-wood poles that crossed over head."
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT.
John D. Campbell settled on section 7, of what is now Atlantic township in 1850, and lived there about two years. His cabin, built in 1852, was on the west side of the road not far from the brewery. The grove that environed his house seems to have had a strong fascination for the hunt- ers in this part of the country, that can be partly explained by the fact that Mr. Campbell had several captivating daugh- ters. In 1853, Campbell moved into Pot- tawottamie county. and has passed out of the knowledge of the settlers of this part of the country entirely.
William S. Townsend, made a settle- ment and built a cabin on the "Botna" near Indiantown in 1850. He lived here until 1852 when he removed to what is now Edna township. He was a regular pioneer, and was familiarly known as "Buck" Townsend. On taking up his claim in Edna, he selected a small grove part of which he like many others brought up in a wooded country, grubbed out to make a farm, when thousands of acres of beautiful prairie lay all around him. His case, however, is not a singular one, for people who are, at the present day clear- ing up the heavy forest lands of Wiscon- sin, cannot understand why so many pre- fer the prairie land to their woods, con- tending that where trees will not grow the soil must be poor. Edna township took its name from the wife of Mr. Town- send. In 1858, this old pioneer, pulled
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
up stakes and emigrated to Missouri, and his present whereabouts are unknown.
Vincent M. Conrad, who was probably, the first Gentile to take up a claim in what is now Cass county, came here in the spring of 1850, bringing with him his stock and fixtures. He selected a farm on section 18, where he built a cabin and resided all that summer. In the autumn he returned to Dubuque county with the intention of spending the winter there, and returning in the spring, but "the well laid plans of mice and men aft gang agley," for in the spring of 1851, he found that on account of the heavy rains and melting snow, the rivers and creeks that had to be crossed on his way hither were so high as to bar his way, and he deferred coming until the spring of 1852. He came, how- ever, at the latter date and took up his quarters in the cabin which he had erect- ed, and continues a resident of Cass county, and a prominent one to the present writ- ing. He is treated of in detail in the offi- cial chapter.
Peter Hedges located at what was after- wards known as Hedges' Grove, on Seven Mile creek, in Union township in the fall of 1850. He died in Missouri in 1882.
Jeremiah Bradshaw landed in what is now known as Cass county, on the 12th day of September, 1851, and on arriving at Cold Spring postoffice, found about seven Mormon families still there. They were the two Pettengills, Marsh, Bunnell, Warner, Ferrin and Wicks and their fam- ilies. There were also two charming Mormon widows who were supported and cared for by the families named. Mr. Bradshaw asserts that he found the Mor- mons to be upright people, and good
neighbors, and that he liked them all ex- cept "old Ferrin," whom he considered to be a scheming, selfish old sinner, who simply stuck.to the Saints for the "loaves and fishes." Mr. Bradshaw arrived in the spring of 1851, and the last of the Mor- mons did not leave until 1852, so he had a years residence with them and ample opportunity to learn what kind of people they were.
Besides having his own family with him, Mr. Bradshaw was accompanied by his son, V. M. Bradshaw and wife; Jesse Hyatt and wife; Lewis Hyatt and wife; and James Sprague and family. They all located land in Audubon county, near where Oakfield now is, but were prevent- ed from crossing the 'Botna river by the high water of that year, when they return- ed to the place where Mr. Bradshaw set- tled, as above stated. Mr. Bradshaw rec- ollects of an election being held at his house in the fall of 1851, while Cass was a township of Pottawattamie. At that election, thirteen votes were polled, only nine of which were legal, as four transient young men voted, who were not qualified as to time of residence. Mr. Bradshaw was chosen a justice of the peace, by the voluntarily bestowed suffrages of his fel- low citizens.
In 1851, Mr. Bradshaw had seven pet elks, four pet deer, two badgers and a sand hill crane and longed for an owl and a prairie dog. He had one pair of large elks that were taught to work like horses. These he used to frequently sleigh-ride be- hind having had harness made to fit them. They could trot as fast as ordinary horses could run. He finally sold the pair for
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
one hundred dollars to a man from Savan- nah, Missouri. .
A full biographical sketch of this old pioneer of Cass county appears under the head of County Judges, in the Represen- tative chapter, he being the first to fill that important office.
William Hamlin came in the spring of 1851, and on May 6, of that year, took up a claim on section 6, Benton township.
James Kincade came in the fall of 1853, and located in Pymosa township, where he died during the winter of 1854-5.
William Mose, an eccentric sort of a genius, lived on section 30, in Atlantic township, in the grove. He did not build a cabin, but lived in a cave or "dug-out." He settled here sometime in 1851, and lived here about a year, when he left, but where he went no one seems to know.
George Reeves, came here from War- ren county, and made some improvements on section 31, Atlantic township, breaking the land, but did not plant any grain on it. The exact date of his coming seems to be a subject of dispute, some affirming that he located as early as 1850, while others, just as conscientiously, claim that 1851 was the date. Hedied in his wagon in 1855, at a place called Sawyer's Grove, and was buried there by Eli Watson.
Wade Hampton Holt, a Southerner, lived with Reeves, and remained in the county for a while after Reeves' death. Finally he went South again, and during the rebellion was killed while in the rebel army.
Henry Martin settled at Hedges' Grove (now Gaylord's,) on section 10, Union
township, in 1852, and built a small shanty of some kind.
A. J. Millseagel, or "old Slagel, as he was almost universally called, was a distin- guished character in an early day. He was the first professional prairie breaker in the county, and was known to be here as early as 1851. He was fond of hunting deer, and was a great eater, and had a reputa- tion in that line. Hunters who knew him would not allow him to accompany them because it was so hard to fill him. Corn dodgers set before him disappeared as if by magic. A quarter of venison was hardly an appetizer for his wonderfully rapacious gastric organs. One time in the winter of 1853, Jeremiah Bradshaw was many miles north of the Indiantown settlement, on a hunting expedition, and his family started "old Slagel" up to Mr. Bradshaw with an enormous supply of provisions. He traveled with oxen and very slowly, and when he got up to Brad- shaw's camp he had eaten every pound of provision with which Mr. Bradshaw was to have been refreshed. This worthy af- terwards removed to Douglas township, Montgomery county, and while there the name he had made for himself as a bad char- acter in Cass county, was not improved. While there he bought the wife of a man named Frank Wilson, paying for her a sow, two or three pigs, and a gun; his neighbors became indignant, and a com- pany of them went to his house to mob him. Taking refuge in his house, he bar- ricaded its doors and windows, and com- meneed shooting at the crowd outside. He killed John Stipe and wounded James Shores. He was arrested and tried for the killing of Stipe, and was sent to the
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
prison at Fort Madison for fourteen years. Another story is told of "old Slagel's" pro- digious eating, in which it is claimed that he shot a doe with its fawn, in the late summer, one afternoon, and with what help he could get from one or two other men, he managed to eat the fawn and the forward half of the doe, before dinner the next day. He. was like an Indian, could go withrout eating for a long time, then would gorge himself, and on that sustain life for another long interval.
James L. Byrd, with his seven sons, Clark, Abraham, Aaron, Thomas J., Jon- athan, James L. and William, came in the spring of 1852, and staked out a large tract of land in the southwest portion of Pymosa and the northeast of Washington townships. They erected a cabin and in the fall of the same year Mr. Byrd, senior, returned to Wapello county for his fam- ily, which he brought out to this locality, and installed in the cabin. R. D. Mc- Geehon, distant five miles, was his neigh- bor. Mr. Byrd hauled his first seed wheat and potatoes from Des Moines. He some- times went one hundred and fifty miles, to the Hackberry Ridge, in Missouri, for supplies. He often sent his grain to Rock- port, Missouri, to be ground. Mr. Mc- Geehon and the other settlers sent their grists to the same mill. He attended an election at Cold Spring, or Indiantown in the fall of 1852, at which the voters were: J. Bradshaw, V. M. Bradshaw, Thomas J. Byrd, Mason Gill, Abraham Byrd, V. M. Conrad, William Hamlin, and himself. He was a native of Ken- tucky.and one of the pioneers of Indiana.
June 12th, 1852, R. D. McGeehon, Mor- ris Hoblit and George Shannon arrived in
the county. They came up through the southwestern portion of the county, hav- ing left the river at St. Joseph. These were, at that time, all young, single men, and roamed around considerably before making their claims. McGeehon, finally selected some land near Turkey Grove and began to build a cabin, cutting and hewing the logs himself, and almost un- assisted built the house. It was the first house in the county that had good large modern windows in it. The sash and glass were bought in Glenwood, Mills county, then but a little hamlet of about twenty cabins. Plenty of cash in the pocket of the pioneer was then a thing unheard of, and Mr. McGeehon was no exception to the rule, for $52 comprised his entire capital when he landed here. In the fall of 1852, having finished his cabin to his liking, he returned to Logan county, Illinois, from which he had come and was united in marriage with Miss Mary J. Hoblitt, and at once returned with his wife, staging over four hundred miles. Their household furniture was scanty enough, in those years, and that of the rudest kind; neighbors there were none. Mrs. McGeehon, in the first six months of her residence here seeing but one of her own sex, yet the warm loving heart of this courageous woman bore it gladly for the sake of the man of her choice.
Morris Hoblitt made a claim on section 14, in Atlantic township, but did not build a cabin, but afterwards traded it to John R. Kirk in exchange for one near the present site of Wiota. George Shannon made a claim on section 13, but built no
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
cabin, and went to Iranistan where he en- gaged in the blacksmith business, and in 1860 went to California.
Joseph Donner came to Cass county at an early day, locating in what is now Py- mosa township, in 1852. He was a native of Canada and spent his early life in that province of the British Empire. He died here, at his home in Pymosa, leaving a widow and several children, among the latter, Mrs. George Conrad of Atlantic.
Jesse Marshall, with his wife and sev- eral sons, settled on section 22, of what is now Atlantic township, on Turkey creek, in 1852. He had a wife and ten children, and lived on this spot nntil in January, 1854, as more fully detailed in the history of Atlantic township, further on.
Dr. Buckham may be mentioned as among the settlers at or near Lewis in 1852, where he kept a store, but is men- tioned at greater length elsewhere.
W. C. Croft, came here during the win- ter of 1852 -- 3, and engaged in the black- smithing business in Iranistan.
F. E. Ball, located at Iranistan in 1852, coming here to oversee the construction of the saw-inill, afterwards sold to S. T. Carey. He remained until the spring of 1856, when he removed to Wisconsin.
Albert and G. W. Wakefield, both na- tives of Maine, came to Cass county in the spring of 1853. They located upon sec- tions 13 and 24, in Atlantic township, en- tering some six hundred acres of land, and Albert was one of the pioneer teachers of the county. Albert afterwards purchased the lots in Grove City, and turned them into a farm, on the demise of that village, on which he is living at present. Albert Wakefield is noticed at length under the
head of county surveyors, he having filled that position. George W. Wakefield had a family when he came here, which his brother lacked, and built a cabin on the south part of section 24.
Thomas Meredith, a native of "white cliffed Albion," but who had resided in Wisconsin for several years, determined in 1853, to emigrate to California, the land of gold. He started, but on reach- ing Cass county, changed his mind and made what he intended should be a tem- porary settlement at Eight-mile Grove, in Brighton township. Time rolled on, and he is still a resident of the same township.
John R. Kirk, one of the pioneers of the county, came here in June, 1853, and took up and entered eighty acres of land near the present site of Wiota, which he traded to Morris Hoblitt for the piece of land where he now resides, on section 14, in Atlantic township.
Eber W. and William Buckwalter came to Cass county in 1853, and located at Iranistan. They were both single men, and carried on various avocations. They left here in 1858, going to Nebraska.
Rev. Bowater Bales, and his sons J. W., H. W., and A. C., came to this county in June, 1853, from Indiana. They set- tled in the vicinity of Indian Creek.
Jefferson Goodale made a settlement upon the southwest quarter of section 1, in Pymosa township, in July 1853, where he lived until October, 1882, when having attained more years than the "three score years and ten" allotted man, he was called on by the grim King of Terrors to cross the dark river, and these summons he
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
obeyed, as all things finite must. Han- nah A., a daughter of his, the wife of H. C. Johnson is a resident of Atlantic. Mr. Goodale came here from Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he had lived for many years.
Dr. Gershom S. Morrison settled at a place one and-a-half miles west of the point where the point of Anita now is, in August 1853, being the first settler in that part of the county. He entered a large tract of land and built what was then called a large honse. He kept the stage station for many years and in that early day Morrison's Station or Morrison's Grove was known for many miles around. The Doctor was a great hunter, and dur- idg one winter killed one hundred and fifty deer. During the first year or two he hauled his supplies from Adel, Dallas county, and went there for his milling. He had been a practicing physician in Il- linois, and after removing to the place named sometimes prescribed for his neigh- bors. The Doctor died in 1863. Mrs. Lura Morrison, the Doctor's wife, and for whom Lura township was named, died in 1867.
J. M. Watson, another of the pioneers of Cass county, came here from Ohio, about the year 1854. Ile was an intelli- gent, energetic business man and a great trader. He had a good reputation in every respect. He was a great hunter, and on Jan. 31, 1856, while out on the prairie north of Lewis, a few miles, chasing a wolf, on horseback, his horse stumbled and fell, throwing Mr. Watson violently to the ground, breaking his skull. Not returning home that evening, fears that some accident had befallen him were
aroused, and search was made for him. His body was found the next day, cold in death, with his faithful dog by his side. Mr. Watson left three children, Eli Wat- son, a brother of J. M. Watson's, came to the county with him. Jacob, William and Jessie Watson, also brothers, came to the county in 1855. They all settled near a point where the Turkey Creek empties into the 'Botna river, and improved a large tract of land there, J. M. and Eli were born in Ohio; the other brothers in Indiana.
William Judd settled in what is now Franklin township, in 1853.
Jesse Eller and family, and Clayborne and Tipton Marion, came into Cass county during the summer of 1853, and located in and around Turkey Grove, on section 24, Atlantic township and 18 of Franklin township. Mr. Eller lived here until his death in July, 1884. Clayborne Marion moved to Colorado, where he died.
James B. Donnell made a settlement in the township now known as Benton, in 1853. He died here in 1854.
Adam Vinnage and his two brothers-in. law, Seth . Bray and Benjamin Balcs, set- tled in what is now Cass township, in the spring of 1852, southwest of the site of the town of Lewis. Vinnage sold bis farm the following year to W. W. Haw- orth, and moved to Taylor county. Benja- min Bales died while a resident of this county in 1855.
S. M. Tucker, the pioneer lawyer, set- tled at the town of Lewis, in 1853. His sketch appears in the history of the Bar and it is unnecessary to repeat it in this place.
G
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
Jesse Dale came to Cass county in 1853, and entered a claim to a piece of land now known as Sawyer's Grove. He re- turned to his eastern home with the in- tention of bringing out his family, and did, indeed, start with them, but died on the road thither.
Dec. 22, 1853, H. Whipple moved into a log cabin not far from the present site of the bridge across Troublesome creek, just north of Atlantic. He had great difficulty in getting across the creek, as there was no bridge. In order to get a crossing made, he built a log-heap fire on either bank, to take the frost out of the ground so that he might dig it away and make a crossing. The second night that the family were there, Mrs. Whipple stayed all night in the cabin with no com- pany but her two small children. Mr. Whipple had gone to Iranistan for lumber with which to make a floor, and did not get home until the next day. The cabin had no door-shutter, and Mrs. Whipple Set the kitchen table up to stop the aper- ture, which it did not quite do. The wolves came around the house and put in the night snapping and growling over the meat rinds which had been thrown out. They made night hideous,and Mrs. Whip- ple being unused to such things could not sleep. Indeed it was no wonder, for the family were just from a thickly settled part of Ohio, where wolves did not annoy folks in their own homes. It was six months after Mrs. Whipple began keep- ing house in their cabin, before she saw another woman. Mr. Whipple being a cooper by trade, made the first barrels that were made in the county, more than twenty years ago, and some of those
barrels are still in the county, in a good state of preservation and continue to do good service.
Thomas B. Johnson, one of the pioneers of Cass county, was born in Virginia, and when about six years old, his parents em- igrated to Obio, where they only remained a few years, when they settled in Indian- apolis, Indiana, then a small village. There he lived until a year after his mar- riage, when he emigrated to Muscatine, then Bloomington, Iowa, in 1839. In 1840, he applied to Government for a contract for establishing the first mail line between Muscatine and Iowa City. In 1841 he received the appointment of U. S. Marshal from General Harrison, an office he held till removed by President Tyler two years after. In 1848, he re- turned to Indiana to be with his parents who were then quite old, when he re- ceived the appointment of mail agent on the Ben Franklin between Cincinnati and Louisville, of which boat he was a part of the time Captain. In January, 1854, he and two nephews, K. T. Murdock and Jeremiah Johnson came to Cass county and purchased all the land from a line in the prairie somewhere near the north edge of what is now called Sanborn's Grove and so far south as to include the Shuart farm and a part of the Morrow farm, K. T. Murdock taking the Shuart farm, Jerry Johnson taking the south part of the Grove and what was known for some years as the Keyes farm, and Cap- tain Johnson owning rather more than the north half of the Grove and running as far east as Hickory street, Atlantic. The Grove was known for some years as "Johnson's Grove." He and Colonel
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
6
Knepper brought the first Durham stock into the county in the summer of 1854; they were brought from Indiana, The nearest neighbors at that time being Donnors, Byrds, Gills, and Joseph Everly. He applied for license at Iowa City to practice law and passed examination be- fore the bar of that place in 1854, and was also Notary Public. In the Fall of 1855 he went back to Indiana and brought his family to Cass county. In the Spring of 1856 he sold forty acres from the north- east corner to William Fansler who im- mediately built a log cabin upon it. The same spring, he sold the rest of his farm with the exception of 40 acres in the heart of the grove to John Keyes, Oliver Mills, and --- Bartlett. He moved to the other side of the river where he own- ed a half section of prairie land which he commenced improving at once. He built a good frame house, the only one with the exception of Judge Lorah's, Mat Wat- son's, and Col. Knepper's in this part of the county. Although he had his field of fifty acres surrounded by a good fence he had no enclosure about his house or barn, and so it happened that on the second day of the great snow storm of the first and second days of December, 1856, he and the hired hand on returning to the house from the barn about four o'clock after feeding stock for the night could see nothing for the fury of the storm, for they were facing it, barely missed being lost by Captain Johnson striking his shoulder against the corner of the house, three inches more and he would have died in the storm. In the winter of 1858 the legislature appoint- ed him Commissioner to select the swamp lands in Plymouth, Sioux, Woodbury,
O'Brien and Ida counties. He employed William Waddell and K. W. Macomber to do the surveying and a Mr. Jenkins to do the cooking and make himself gener- ally useful. It was five months' job from the middle of May to the middle of Octo- ber. In the winter of 1858 he concluded to rent his farm and move to Lewis for the purpose of giving his two children ed- ucational advantages, a good school being there in the Court House. In the winter of 1860, he went to Des Moines to get his pay for his contract but the Legislature refused to make the appropriation and after being thrown out three times it finally was allowed near the close of the session, but the anxiety and work was too much and he only lived a week afterward. He died of lung fever at the American House, in Des Moines, on the 2d day of April, his family only getting to see him the day before his death. He was buried on the 3d in the cemetery at Des Moines with the honors of Masonry. It was greatly due to his efforts that the Masonic Lodge was organized in Lewis at the time it was, and after organizing he presented them with a handsome Bible.
G. I. Chizum, now the County Treasurer, was among the in-comers of the year 1854, settling at Lewis. He has held several of the more prominent offices in the county, and is noticed, at length, under the cap- tion of Treasurer, in the chapter entitled "National, State and County Representa- tion," further on.
John Cooper came to Indiantown in 1854, and opened a store for the sale of general merchandise. He remained but a few months, when he returned to Rock- port, Missouri, from whence he had come.
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
. Horatio Ferrell came to the village of Indiantown in the fall of 1854, and en- gaged in the mercantile trade, and re- mained about a year. He removed to Colorado.
Peter Kanawyer located upon section 1, Atlantic township, in the spring of 1854, and opened it up, making some improve- ments. He sold this to Henry Michael in 1855, and settled on another place east of the present site of Wiota, in Franklin township. In 1860 he moved to Califor- nia, where lie now resides.
William W. Haworth came to Cass county in the spring of 1854, and in July purchased the farm of Adam Vinnage, on section 20, in Cass township. Here he resided until his death.
John Brenton and his son, William F., located in what is now Edna township, on October 14, 1854, where the former lived until his death, in 1869. The son is still a resident of the old homestead.
Zadoc Stewart settled upon a tract of land on what was called Middle Turkey Grove, in 1854. He had a numerous family of one son and five or six unmar- ried daughters, nearly all of whom had attained the age of manhood and womanhood, and so many enchant- ing damsels in one house, drew many of the young men of the settlement in that direction.
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