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 46

Author: Continental Historical Company, Springfield, Ill
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 918

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 46

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COUNTY RECORDER.

Upon the division of the offices of treas- urer and recorder, in 1864, provision was made for the election of a recorder that fall. Accordingly, in November, 1864, Henry Temple was elected county re- corder. His duties commenced January 1, 1865, and expired two years later, but he was then re-elected, and served two years longer, in this capacity. Mr. Tem- ple had filled the office of county judge, in an earlier day, and a sketch of bim may be found in that connection.

H. E. Bacon was elected in the autumn of 1870, to the office of county recorder,

and was re-elected in 1872, serving four years in all.

II. E. Bacon is a native of Chenango county, New York, born May 30, 1837, and is the son of Iloratio Bacon, who died in Ohio, in 1860, and Rachel L. Ba- con, nee Beardsley, who lives with her son in Atlantic. IIe spent his early life in Lorain county, Ohio, whither his par- ents had moved, and where he remained until 1867, when he came to Cass county, and settled on a farm west of Lewis. This was then wild land, but he went to work and broke the tough prairie sod and made a cultivated farm, and lived there until 1869, when he came to Atlantic, and en- tered into the employ of Joseph C. Yet- zer, in the hardware business. In 1870, he was elected to the office of county re- corder, and re-elected two years after- wards, serving four years in that of- fice. On the expiration of his second term, he was chosen by the qualified elec- tors of the county to the office of clerk of the courts, and filled that place for two years. He, on the cessation of his official duties, turned his attention to the real es- tate, abstract and loan business, which he carried on until 1881, when he sold out. He was the first to establish the loan bus- iness in Cass county. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and at one time succeeded himself as No- ble Grand, which is not common. He was united in marriage on the 26thi of October, 1859, with Miss Ordelia Arm- strong, and their union has been blessed with three children-Lillian L. G., Jesse G. and Chauncey II.

Frank Aylesworthi was the next to oc-

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cupy this office, being elected thereunto in the fall of 1874. Ile was, also, re-elect- ed in 1876, and served four years.

W. B. Temple, the present incumbent of this office, was first elected in 1878, and has been continuously re-elected on the expiration of each term of office, and has transacted the whole duties of his position in a trustworthy manner.

Among those holding position of honor and trust in Cass county in 1884, is Mr. W. B. Temple. IIe is a native of Oska- loosa, Mahaska county, Iowa, and was born November 30, 1846. Ile is the son of Judge Ilenry and Anna E. (Wright) Temple. Ile received his education in the common schools. In 1858 his parents removed to Lewis, and in 1868 to Atlantic. Soon after coming to Atlantic, Walter was appointed to the position of postal clerk on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, and he served in that capacity two years. In the fall of 1878, he was chosen by the electors of Cass county to fill the office of recorder, and he has held the position uninterruptedly since that time, with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the people of the coun- ty, irrespective of party. In 1863 he en- listed in the Ninth Iowa Volunteer Caval- ry, company M, and served with them in their skirmishing and fighting, which was principally in Arkansas. He was mus- tered out of the service with the command, at Davenport. Mr. Temple was married in 1879 to Miss Ella Iferrick, a daughter of Edson Herrick, of Audubon county. Though yet on the sunny side of the meri- dian of life, Mr. Temple has seen most of the real progress which has been made in changing Cass county from a compara-

tively unsettled state, with its naked pra- iries, to its present really prosperous con- dition, with scarcely a tract of land un- used for purposes of agriculture and stock raising, save that taken up by the growing towns and cities. And in that time he has won the respect of its citizens, who have shown their appreciation by elevat- ing him to prominent public office.

CLERK OF THE COURT.

This office was in existence at the time Cass county was organized, in 1853, and at the first election, C. E. Woodward was chosen to occupy this position.

He was succeeded by II. K. Cranney, who acted as clerk of the courts for about a year. Ile is noticed in the early settle- ment of Cass township.

In October, 1855, Charles K. Baldwin was elected to fill this very responsible and onerous office, and was re-elected in 1856, and held it until July 5, 1858, when he was summoned to a higher court, a court whose decree there is no appeal from, the court of Death; having been drowned in the Seven Mile creek, in the flood of that year, while attempting to swim it. The vacancy thus caused in this office was filled by the appointment of John M. Rip- ley, for the unexpired time.

At the regular election in the autumn of 1858, E. W. Henderson was chosen by the ballots of the qualified electors to fill the position of clerk of the courts of Cass county, and entered upon the duties of the office, January 1, 1859. He served one term of two years, when he made way for a successor.

E. W. Henderson was one of the prom- inent if not successful merchants of Lewis. He came from Connecticut in 1858, and

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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.

on arriving in Lewis, embarked in the dry goods and hardware business. For a time he enjoyed a good trade, but his business was not profitable, and in 1859 he failed. In 1859, he and ' Amos Grid- ley went to the Colorado mines; they bought a claim from a man named Greg- ory out there, and after working it profit- ably for three years, they sold it to a New York company, through an agent, for $100,000. This agent defrauded them of most of this sum, but they succeeded in getting several thousand dollars out of transaction. Mr. Henderson still remains in Colorado,and has been advanced to office there. IIe has been treasurer and record- er of the county in which he resides. Amos Gridley is now farming a mile and a half from Pacific Junction,

D. A. Barnett was the next clerk of the courts, having been elected to that office in November, 1860, although he did not assume the duties of the office until the Ist of January, following. He served two years. Mr. Barnett served in the capacity of county judge and is mentioned in that connection.

William Waddell, the next clerk of the courts, was elected in the fall of 1862. and successively re-elected in 1864, 1866 and 1868, serving eight years in this capacity, with credit to himself and honor to his friends.

William Waddell was born June 28, 1832, in Steuben county, New York. In 1836, his father and family moved to Liv- ingston county, Michigan, then a wilder- ness, where in the year following the father died. The widowed mother with her seven children shortly afterwards re- turned to her former home in New York.

William lived with his father's relatives until he was sixteen years old, after which he made his own way in the world. He acquired a good academical education and in the spring of 1857, started for the West. Ile came to Cass county, Iowa, in April, 1858, and in May was employed by the state commissioners to select the swamp lands in the unorganized counties of the northwestern part of the State, and on his return to Cass county, in the follow- ing autumn, he took charge of the public school at Lewis, continuing in that em- ployment nearly two years. He and Belle Johnson, of Lewis, were married April 6, 1860.

In October, 1862, he was elected clerk of the district court of Cass county, and was twice re-elected. On retiring from that position in January, 1869, he went to Atlantic, in the employ of F. II. Whitney, agent of the Atlantic Town company, and moved his family to that place in the fol- lowing May. In February, 1870, he was appointed cashier of Cass Connty bank, then organized and served in that capacity until January, 1880, when he resigned the place to take the office of county treas- nrer, to which he had just been elected. He served two terms and refused to be a candidate for re-election. IIe has for the last two years been a member of the Iowa Republican State central committee.

In January, 1869, when the office of clerk of the board of supervisors was taken from the clerk of the district court and conferred upon the newly created au- ditor, the board of supervisors of the county tendered the following vote of thanks to William Waddell, who had so

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long held official connection with their body:

"WHEREAS, William Waddell's term of office as ex-officio clerk of the board hav- ing expired, we, the members of the board, deeply regret that his pleasant countenance will greet us no more as our clerk; therefore, be it

"Resolved, By the board of supervisors of Cass county, Iowa, that, as a business man and a courteous gentleman he has no superior, and for truth, integrity and honesty of purpose, we feel in duty bound to freely testify that he has always main- tained an even and unruffled deportment toward the members of the board, and always studiously tried to do that which was for the best interests of the county, without fear, favor or affectation. That the thanks of this board be tendered to William Waddell for the able and efficient manner in which he has discharged the duties of clerk of this board, and that our best wishes attend him in his retirement from the duties of his station."

Mr. Waddell was succeeded by J. K. Powers in the office of clerk of the courts, on the 1st of January, 1871, and was re- elected in 1872, thus serving four years.

H. E. Bacon, also, served one term in this office, being elected in the fall of 1874.

Thomas R. Wallace, the present clerk of the courts, was first elected to this office in the fall of 1876, and has contin- ued to hold it ever since, having been re- elected in 1878, 1780 and 1882, and has served the people in this arduous office for eight years, in an unexceptionable manner.

Thomas R. Wallace, present clerk of the circuit and district courts, is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born near Phil- adelphia October 20, 1847, his parents being William and Jane (Ross) Wallace. He remained in that city until seven years old, when the family removed to Peoria county, Illinois. There he remained for eleven years, receiving a good education, which subsequently was supplemented by a course of instruction at Cole's Commer- cial College, from which institution he graduated during the winter of 1866. He was reared upon a farm, which occupation he followed after coming to Iowa, teach- ing school during the winter season. He came to this State in 1866, and located in Brighton township, this county. IIis father died in 1882 at the advanced age of eighty years, and his mother in 1868, aged sixty-four years. His first official position was secretary of the school board in Brighton township, which position he held for a number of years. He was afterward elected assessor of the town- ship for two terms; He was school director two terms, was township trustee, and was constable for a number of years. He was elected clerk of the circuit and district courts in 1876, and engaged in the duties appertaining to such office in Jan- uary, 1877. The multifarious and various obligations of his incumbency were per- formed in such a manner that he was re- elected in 1878, again in 1880, and again in 1882, thus showing the estimation in which he was held by the people, and the satisfactory manner in which the office was conducted. IIe is now also serving his third term as a member of the board of councilmen for the city of Atlantic,

HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.

363

having been elected the first time to fill a vacancy. He was married October 6 1874, to Margaret Gill, a native of Iowa, her father being Mason C. Gill, wbo is now a resident of this county. They have had three children, two of whom are now living-T. Ross and William Bruce. Car- roll, deceased, died in 1878, at the age of eight months. Mr. Wallace is a charter member of Cass Lodge 361, I. O. O. F., and of Hawkeye Encampment. He has passed through the chairs of the sub- ordinate lodge, and has held the position of High Priest in the encampment. IIe was a charter member of Atlantic Lodge A. O. U. W., and has held all the offices of that order. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, both chapter and commandery. With Mr. R. H. Frost he originated the first loan and building asso- ciation in Atlantic. When Mr. Wallace first came to the county, with characteris- tic energy, while engaged in farming and teaching, he read law as opportunity was afforded, and the knowledge so obtained, together with the experience bad as clerk of courts, enabled him to pass a satisfac- tory examination, and he was admitted to the bar at the April term of the circuit court, 1884, Judge Lyman presiding.

SHERIFFS.

The first sheriff of Cass county, Fran- cis E. Ball, was elected at the time of the organization of the county, in the spring of 1853. On the 6th of April of that year, he filed his bond for the faith- ful performance of the duties of the office. This was in the sum of $1,000, and his sureties were Johnson Bradshaw and J. E. Chapman. Mr. Ball did not hold this

office for any great length of time, re- signing it in August, 1853.

F. E. Ball came to Iranistan in the fall of 1852, to superintend the construction of the saw-mill which was afterwards sold to S. T. Carey, of Council Bluffs. After finishing the mill, he went in part- nership with Jeremiah Bradshaw in the mercantile business. The partnership continued about one year, when Ball bought Bradshaw's interest, and contin- ued the business alone as long as he re- mained in the place. He had a wife and two children. He was a man of small stature, very excitable and nervous in disposition. When he first came to the county, he left his family at home, and boarded for a time with Jeremiah Brad- shaw, then with Nelson Spoor. When his family came out, they went to house- keeping. They went to Wisconsin about the spring of 1856.

O. O. Turner, succeeded Mr. Ball, as sheriff, in August, 1853, and appears to have held that position until 1855, when he gave way for a successor.

Orin O. Turner came to Lewis from Dubuque in 1853. He farmed till 1855, and then sold his farm and started a sa- loon in Iranistan. He kept there about two years, and then performed that won- derful feat of failing in the saloon busi - ness. He then removed over the line in- to Pottamattamie county a short distance, and farmed till 1857. IIe then made a conple trips freighting across the plains, after which he moved to northwest Mis- sonri. IIe had a wife and five children. He had the reputation of being a man of

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his word, but was also known as a gambler.

R. C. Gordon was the next to occupy the office of sheriff of Cass county, serv- ing as such, at the first term of the dis- trict court held in the same, in October, 1855. He served two years.

R. C. Gordon came to Cass county in the fall of 1855, and buying a little house and lot at Indiantown located at that point. He was engaged in teaming freight and some little farming. IIe remained in this county until the spring of 1871, when he emigrated to southern Kansas.

In 1857, one of Cass county's afterwards most prominent men was elected to the office of sheriff, in the person of John Keyes. He was re-elected to the same position in October, 1859, and again in 1861, serving creditably and with honor six years. Mr. Keyes was the youngest, son of Solomon and Eunice Keyes, and was born in Tolland, Connecticut, in 1815. After his mother's death, which occurred when he was about two years of age, he lived several years with one sister, in Ohio, and then with another. sister in Georgia. Very early in life he developed a tact for business, and for years traveled in several States, as a commercial traveler for a wholesale house. At one time he was one of the partners then engaged in running a hotel in Milwaukee. From there he removed to Madison, Wisconsin, where he engaged in the mercantile busi- ness. While in that city, he became ac- quainted with Miss Sophie A. Whiting, and the 26th of March, 1851, they were married at her father's, in Anstinburg, Ashtabula county, Ohio. The young couple returned to Madison, where they

remained about a year when they moved to Connecticut, but Mr. Keyes had lived too long in the west to be content there, and as his wife's family had removed to Iowa, they joined them in Lee county. IIere he remained but a short time, when, in 1856, he came to Lewis, Cass county, and opened a store. He served as sheriff, as above noted. When the city of Atlan- tic was founded he removed to that place, and engaged in banking, being one of the founders of the Cass county bank. He died in September, 1873, leaving a large estate. The widow, Mrs. Keyes, and their only child, Miss Cornie, are now residing at Los Angelos, California, although they still have large moneyed and landed in- terests in Cass county.

G. I. Chizum, was the next to fill the office, being elected in the autumn of 1863 and served one term of two years. Mr. Chizum now occupies the responsible pos- ition of county treasurer, and is mentioned, at length, in that connection, to which the reader is referred.

At the October election of 1865, V. M. Bradshaw was elected sheriff of the county; and assumed the reins of office the 1st of January following. He was re- elected, at the expiration of his first term of office, and served in this capacity, four years in all. V. M. Bradshaw, son of Jeremiah and Azuba (Doolittle) Brad- shaw, was born in Lawrence county, Ohio, November 2, 1829. He was one year old when his parents removed to Edgar county, Illinois. He resided with them, removing with them to Wapello county, Iowa, in 1847, and one year later, to Ma- haska county, where they remained till the date of their removal to this county

WwJameson

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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.

in the spring of 1851. He was married in that year, to Mary A. John, a na- tive of Indiana. By this union there were five children-Jeremiah, who was the first child born in this county, Mary E., Albert, Elmer E. and Carrie S. In March, 1862, Mr. Bradshaw enlisted in company B, of the Fourth Iowa Infantry, and served till the close of the war. He was in the battle of Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Jackson and siege of Vicksburg. He was then transferred to the Veteran Reserves and served a year in Pennsylvania. He was discharged at Harrisburg in that State and returned home. He was elected county sheriff in 1867 and served two consecutive terms. In 1856 he was assessor and assessed the whole county. He was clerk of the first four or five elections in the township, also of the first county election of Cass county. He has held the office of township trustee, and was city clerk of Lewis four terms, and resigned the office in the spring of 1884. He is a member of the G. A. R. and of the I. O. O. F. In the latter he has filled all of the offices of the lodge, except that of treasurer.

J. S. Barnett was duly elected sheriff in the fall of 1869, and served two years.

J. S. Barnett, son of D. A. and May (Linn) Barnett, was born in Belleville, Richland county, Ohio, August 18, 1842. His father died in this county in 1867. His mother died in Ohio, in 1844. In 1855 he moved with his father to Iowa and entered land in sections 3 and 10, of Atlantic township. His father entering land in many places. J. S. Barnett was married in Cass county, in 1867, to Miss Clara F. Smith, a native of Galva, Illinois,

and daughter of S. E. Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Barnett have three children living- Elizabeth G., Lewis E. and Ray. Mr. Barnett was the first scholar in this school district, and went to school in John Kirk's old cabin, and afterwards in his father's old cabin, the teacher being Mary Curry, of Ashland, Ohio. Mr. Barnett erected his present residence in 1867. He was elected sheriff of Cass county, in 1870, serving in that capacity in 1871 and '72. His election to office in a county largely Republican, proves his popularity, he being a Democrat. In 1876 he was a candidate for the office of county recorder, and was -beaten by only a few votes. He has been road supervi- sor in his township. His farm contains three hundred and twelve acres, a small portion of which is timber land, the re- mainder all tillable land and under culti- vation. Mr. Barnett was, for six years, president of the old Cass county Agricul- tural Society.

The next to fill the office was E. E. Herbert, who was elected in 1871, and served one term.

Ebenezer E. Herbert was born in Columbia county, Ohio, in 1827, and removed to Iowa in 1855 or 6, residing for some years in Mahaska county. During. the late civil war, he served the General Government as lieutenant in the famous Fifteenth Iowa Infantry. He came to Cass county, from Mahaska, in 1869, and in 1871 was elected sheriff as above stated. He was a resident of Pymosa township, and in 1873, was duly elected a member of the board of supervisors of the county, and served three years.

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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.

J. S. Pressnall filled the office of sheriff for three successive terms, having been elected, first, in 1873. Was re- elected in 1875 and 1877. James S. Pressnall, real estate dealer, doing business in Cass and surrounding counties, came to this county in 1869, settled in Atlantic and opened a harness shop. IIe continued in that trade about one year, when he was appointed deputy sheriff, held that position two years, was then elected sheriff, and remained in office six years, since which time he has engaged in his present business, excepting in 1883, when he was appointed sheriff to fill vacancy. He is a native of Hamilton county, Indiana, born May 15, 1839. His parents were natives of North Carolina, of English and French extraction and are both deceased. The family removed in 1864, to Marshall county, settling on a farm. James S. enlisted in 1862, July 7th, in company F, 63d Indiana Volun- teer Infantry. He was promoted to rank of first lieutenant. He participated in eighteen battles and had the good fortune to escape without a wound. He was married Marchi 4, 1867,to Melissa J. Scott, a native of Indiana. They have four children-Eudora, wife of M. Salisbury, of Atlantic; Mary A., James F. and John H. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the I. O. O. F. and the A. O. U. W.

L. F. Mullins, the present postmaster of Atlantic, was elected to the office of sheriff, in October, 1879, and was re- elected thereto in the fall of 1881, and served to June 5, 1883, when he re- signed. His sketch appears in connection with the history of the postoffice of the

county-seat. On the resignation of Mr. Mullins, James S. Pressnall was appointed to fill the vacancy, and served until the Ist of January, 1884.

L. C. Ilatton, the present sheriff, was elected to the office in October, 1883, and assumed its duties with the opening of the present year (1884).

Lem. C. Hatton, the present sheriff of Cass county, is a native of Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana, and was born on thie 29th day of November, 1846. He is the son of Aquila IIatton, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and of Sarah M. (VanOsdel) Hatton, who was born in New York (both Aquila and Sarah M. were born in the year 1803). Mr. Hatton's parents were married in the "Monumen- tal City," in 1829, and were the parents of nine children, six sons and three daugh- ters,. seven of whom arrived at the years of manhood and womanhood. Aquila Hatton, Sr., died July 9, 1874, in Conners- ville. Sarah M. is still living in Conners- ville, Indiana, and has reached the ad- vanced age of eighty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Hatton, the elder, were life-long members of the M. E. church, and active workers in the same. Lem. C. was reared in the town of his nativity, and received his education in the common schools of his native city and at Albany university, at Greencastle. While attending school at the latter place the late civil war broke out, which fired the patriotic heart that beat in Lem's bosom with a desire to do his duty by his flag and country, causing him to enlist in the Sixty-first Chio In- fantry, in which regiment he served until the expiration of his term of service. He immediately re-enlisted in the Sixteenth

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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.

Indiana Mounted Infantry, Company A, but was afterwards transferred to the Thirteenth Indiana Cavalry. He partici- pated in that famous raid under General Grierson, which helped demonstrate the rottenness of the Confederacy. He was mustered out and discharged with his regiment on the 23d of November, 1865, and returned to his home. He was mar- ried in Connersville, on the 28th day of May, 1867, to Miss Lida H. Jones, a daughter of William C. and Mary Jones, of Fayette county. This union was blessed by two children, Scott K. and Mary V., who still survive. Mrs. Hatton was a sincere Christian woman and indul- gent mother. She died in the spring of 1878. In 1879, on the 24th day of Novem- ber, Lem. C. was married to Miss Kate Eva Wheaton, of Agency City, Iowa, a daughter of J. S. and Nancy A. Wheaton. This union is blessed with a son, Lemuel Garfield. Lem. C. moved to Cass county in the spring of 1880, locating at the town of Griswold and engaging in the general mercantile business, in which he remained until his election to the office which he now holds. On his entering upon his official life he removed to Atlantic, the seat of county government, where he now resides. Mr. H. is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias, and of the Grand Army of the Republic. As an able and efficient officer, Mr. Hat- ton meets and merits the approbation of the law-abiding portion of the community and the respect of all.

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Author: Continental Historical Company, Springfield, Ill Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical Co. Number of Pages: 918

Author: Continental Historical Company, Springfield, Ill
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Springfield, Ill. : Continental Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 918