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 68
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Mr. S. R. Manning, now engaged in the public schools of Ormro, Wisconsin was the first principal in the new building. He is a thorough educational man and did much in the few years of his principal- ship to establish good standards and set the current of public opinion in the right direction.
Mr. S. D. Cook, at present engaged in the newspaper business at Chamberlain, Dakota, was the next principal. The in- dividuality of Mr. Cook does not seem to have impressed itself so deeply on the school as that of his predecessor, but bis students refer to him with the heartiest esteem and regard him as an excellent in- structor. Mr. Cook's connection with the
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" school closed in 1873, when Mr. Manning again became the principal.
Mr. A. W. Clancy became principal in 1874. This gentleman has a warm, quick, enthusiastic nature. Ilis motives and methods-always late and radical-were liable to misapprehension. But his friend- ships were firm and his school an eminent success. He is now traveling for A. S. Barnes and Company, of Chicago. Mr. Clancy has a wide acquaintance among school men and his opinions on all ques- tions of school economy are sought with eagerness and adopted without hesitation.
Mr. McReynolds succeeded Mr. Clancy in 1875.
In 1876 Mr. Frank J. Macomber was principal. Mr. Macomber brought excel- lent scholarship into this position. IIe was fresh from the Agricultural college, at Ames, and thoroughly acquainted with the peculiar needs of his school .. He left the school in flourishing condition in 1877, and took the law course in the State Uni- versity. He still lives in Lewis and is engaged in the law business. At this writing, Mr. Macomber is a benedict, hav- ing just married Clara Hill, an amiable lady, of Grinnell, Iowa.
The next principal, Mr. J. W. James, left no trace of good school work.
John K. Andrews followed Mr. James in the principalship. Mr. Andrews was a firm believer in normal methods, and, as Clancy had broken away from the con- servative regimen of his predecessors, so Andrews followed the formalities of the then new normal theories. A close stu- dent himself, he exacted hard study from his pupils and met with marked success. Mr. Andrews left the school in 1878, and
took up the law; soon after his admission to the bar in 1881, he was attacked with typhoid fever and died. He was a care- ful thinker, an exact student, and an ex- emplary young man.
Mr. S. L. Wilson from Champaign, Illi- nois, was principal for the next two years, 1879-80. Mr. Wilson was a man of strong will and resolute demeanor. He was en- tirely devoid of any thing like policy but was strongly diplomatic and versatile. IIe was thoroughly versed in the art and science of education, and his school work will long outlive any imputations which his zeal and ambition may have engen- dered. Mr. Wilson now resides in Des Moines and travels for the State Insur- ance company of that city.
Mr. Henry Heaton was principal in 1881.
The corps of instructors, save Miss Lit- tle and Miss Lord, began their labors in the school in 1882. They at once began to align the school to a course of study and advance it to the highest grades pos- sible in a village graded school. Louise M. Murphy, the primary instructor, has rare ability and is meeting with signal success. She has ninety-four pupils under her charge and keeps them all cheerful and busy. This large school of small scholars advances in the third grade and employs all the improved methods of the primary course interspersed with kinder- garten work. Miss Murphy has the in- stinct of the true teacher.
Miss Alpa R. Lord teaches the third, fourth, and fifth grade. Miss Lord is a teacher of wide experience and has good executive ability. At no other time in the history of education has there been such a strife among teachers to excel in
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
methods of instruction as the present. Miss Lord is decidedly conservative and to this class belongs the merit of check- ing the tendency to adopt untried meth- ods. She has fifty-three pupils, teaches them thoroughly and has been connected with the school since 1879.
Miss Elizabeth Little, daughter of Rev. Charles Little, pastor of the Lewis Con- gregational Church, teaches the classes in the sixth, seventh, and half of the eighth grade. Miss Little is an alumnus of the Iowa college at Grinnel and an excellent scholar. She was recently elected to this position in the school and is doing her best to perfect herself in the art of teaching.
The classes of the remaining (three) grades are taught by the principal. The course of study in this department ex- tends through University Algebra, Plane Geometry, Natural Philosophy, Descrip- tive Astronomy, Physiology, Rhetoric and Composition, Word-Analysis, United States Ilistory, and Civil Government. The attendance in the principal's room is ninety-three, seventeen of which are tuitions. In connection with the school there is a singing association, which, dur- ing the school year, meets once in two weeks.
The school year is divided into three three month terms, and during the winter term there is an evening class in German.
The board of education is alive to the interest of their school and never hesi- tate to provide for the comfort and pro- gress of the children. The officers of the board are: W. A. Kennedy, president; J. T. Brearley, secretary, and C. W.
Botar, treasurer. The members are Jere- miah Murnan, J. R. Jones, Jr., W. J. Woodward, A. H. Gifford. and George M. Elsey. The district is substantially out of debt, orders on the different funds are paid on presentation. At the last annual settlement September, 1884, the follow- ing balances were on band: School llonse Fund, $102.36; Contingent Fund, $256.37; Teachers' Fund, $919.85. The only indebtedness against the district is an un-matured six per cent. bond of $1,000, This is a remnant of a debt incurred in building and will, most likely, be paid at maturity. The house was built by Horace Baker, now deceased.
The building occupies a beautiful one- acre lot half way between the old and new town plats. The ground is high, smooth and rolling. The lot is skirted with a row of thrifty, young maples and affords delightful play ground; indeed hardly a "biscuit-toss" from the school house door is a magnificent common which is no small adjunct to the play, comfort and pleasure of the school children.
This sketch, already longer than I pur- posed, would not be complete without reference to the teachers who taught an- terior to the organization of the indepen- dent district. Among them was Mr. George M. Elsey, at present a member of the board of education, and living on a fine farm near town. Mr. William Wad- dell, an honored citizen of the county, now living in Atlantic, was among the early teachers in Lewis. Miss Belle Macomber, now of Chicago, whose bis- tory has become a part of the annals of the nation, taught one of the earliest schools in Lewis and Cass county.
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
Among the early teachers, still living at or near Lewis were Mrs. George Brown, nee Mills; Mrs. L. O. Reinig, nee Woodward; Mrs. William Bailey, nee Craig; Miss Ella S. Kittering and Miss Alice Butterby, taught with credit to themselves and the schools in more recent times. These and others, who came and went, taught in various places and houses to suit the convenience and resource of the district. Among the pioneer patrons and directors of the Lewis schools were Horace Littlefield, Jehu Woodward, A. A. Case and K. W. Macomber. These venerable gentlemen still live in the town. May they long enjoy the memories of its early struggles and have no cause to be disappointed in the growth and status of its village school.
J. S. Crawford, principal of the public schools of the city of Lewis, was born in Broomfield, Ohio, December 20, 1853. In 1855 his parents removed to Allama- kee county, Iowa, where his childhood and youth were spent. He began his school days in the district schools of that county, and in 1873, went to the Upper Iowa University at Fayette, where he spent three months in attending that school. Subsequently he became a stu- dent at the State University at Iowa City, where he remained some time. In 1876, he attended the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, and on his return from that city, taught school one year in Allamakee county. He then went to Colorado and there engaged in mining two years, after which he returned to Iowa and located in Cass county where he has since been identified with the interests of education. In 1882 he assumed the principalship of
the Lewis schools, which owe their pre- sent highly prosperous condition to bis untiring industry. Mr. Crawford is well qualified, both by nature and education, for his responsible position. Socially he is highly popular and enjoys the respect and esteem of both old and young. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, also of the I. O. O. F.
Edwin Haymaker is a native of Cuya- hoga county, Ohio, where he was reared and educated. He attended the Boynton district school in Orange township, where President Garfield received his prelimin- ary education, and of whom he was a schoolmate for seven years. Mr. Hay- maker was born May 10, 1838, and is the son of Jolin F. and Maria (Ellsworth) Haymaker, who in 1854, removed to north- ern Iowa. In 1855 they moved to Fill- more county, Minnesota, where his father is now living. His mother died in August, 1854, at the age of seventy-six years. Edwin remained with his parents in Min- nesota, until 1859, then went to Adams county, Illinois, where he had an uncle who was a physician, with whom it was his intention to study medicine. Chang- ing his plans, he went to Colorado in the spring of 1860, spent one year, then went to New Mexico and spent about a year on the Santa Fe trail. In 1862 he went to Mills county, Iowa, and remained eight months, then returned to the overland route, and kept the overland stage station at Julesburg, Colorado. One year later he returned to Mills county, and there re- sided until the fall of 1879, when he came to Atlantic. The first of March, 1880, he removed to Lewis and began keeping hotel and livery stable. He commenced
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the former in the east end of the village, but subsequently built a house for that purpose, near his present place of busi- ness, the Lawton House, which was con- sumed by fire in the fall of 1881. He was united in marriage in October, 1862, in Mills county, Iowa, with Sophia Hammer, a native of Pennsylvania. They have one child-Cassandra. Two sons, John and Ellsworth, are deceased. Mr. Haymaker is a member of the I. O. O. F., Glenwood Lodge, No. 97.
Captain James H. Coe is a native of Granville, Hampden county, Massachu- setts, born October 4, 1818, and is a son of Alfred A. and Rosanna (Stewart) Coe. He began acquiring his education in his native county. When he was fifteen years of age, his parents removed to Hart- land, Litchfield county, Connecticut, where his father followed the business of wagon making, and he, (James H.) finished his education. He then went to work at the carpenter's trade which occupation he fol- lowed until he came to Iowa in 1855, lo- cating then, in Lee county. In the spring of 1857, James H. Coe, Amos Gridley, John. Barber and William Arnold came to Lewis, Cass county, accompanied by their families. They found provisions, partic- ularly flour, very scarce and expensive, and to obtain a cow, James Coe sent back to Lee county, and had Oliver Mills purchase for him, for the sum of fifty dol- lars, the cow which he had sold, on his removal, for thirty-five dollars. He was married May 10, 1837, to Maria Barber, danghter of Alson and Hannah (Hum- phrey) Barber. The latter was a sister of President Humphrey, of Amherst college, Massachusetts. Her paternal grandfather
was a soldier in the Revolution. Her parents resided in Connecticut where her father died in April, 1880, aged eighty_ six, and her mother in 1878, at the age of eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. Coe have four children-George, married to Fannie Lane, and living in Lewis; Cornelia, wife of Henry Sandoe, living in Pennsylvania; William, living at home; and Charles, married to Hillis Kimpson, residing in Bear Grove township. Early in 1861, Captain Coe raised a company of about forty men to serve in the Union army, but as the company could not be filled up in time for the first call, he permitted them to become a part of the Fourth Iowa Infantry. He then proceeded to raise an- other company, which was, with a few exceptions, entirely from Cass county, and which he raised and got to Des Moines, inside of three wecks. He was commissioned captain of company I, of the Twenty-third Iowa Infantry, by Gov- ernor Kirkwood, September 19, 1862. The regiment went from Des Moines, to St. Louis, and wintered at Camp Patter- son, spending the latter part of the winter in marching down near the Arkansas line. Captain Coe was discharged from the ser- vice March 4, 1862, while the regiment, were encamped on Iron Mountain. He resigned on the advice of first assistant surgeon in chief, Bosbachel, for the reason of sickness which incapacitated him for command. He returned to his farm near Lewis, but finding himself unable to do farm work, purchased property in Lewis, and removed thither. He owns a fine farm in Bear Grove township, which is occupied by his youngest son. Capt. Coe was one of the charter members of the G.
35
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
A. R. He was elected a member of the school board at the time Lewis became an independent district, and was chiefly in- strumental in securing the erection of the present commodious school building, which was built while he was a member of the board. He has served three years in the same capacity, since that time. Captain Coe's parents died in Michigan in 1862, and are buried at Matherton, Ionia county, in that State.
Rev. John Andrews came to Cass county about 1869. He located in the town of Lewis, and preached at different points in this vicinity until he was com- pelled on account of failing eyesight, to abandon his work. He was a man of more than ordinary ability, an exemplary christian, and possessed of much zeal and energy. He was born in Hartford, Con- necticut, in 1801, but grew to manhood in Ohio, whither the family removed in 1811. He obtained his education in Ohio and entered the ministry of the Presby- terian church, beginning his ministerial career in Wayne county of that State. He continued preaching in that county some years, then preached in Summit county from whence he removed to Mason county, Illinois, thence 'to Cass county, Iowa. His wife, formerly Charlotte Moore, was a native of Massachusetts. She is now in Florida. They had a fam- ily of twelve children-Luther, Lyman, (deceased,) Leonard, Loren, (deceased,) Loren, (second) Leigh Richmond, Lem. uel, Lucretia, (deceased,) Lorina, Lucy, Louisa M. and Laura Ann. Rev. John Andrews died in 1877 and is buried in Lewis.
William W. Walton was born in Bran- don, Rutland county, Vermont, February 25, 1818. Brandon was also the birth- place of Stephen A. Douglas with whom he was acquainted when a boy. He is a son of Jacob and Polly (Green) Walton, who both died when he was in his sixth year. He obtained his education in Ver- mont and Massachusetts. He removed to Gardner, Worcester county, in the latter State, in 1837, and engaged in chairmak- ing. William W. went to California in 1850, and worked in the mines till Decem- ber, 1851, then engaged in farming one year, after which he returned to the east, locating in Portland, Maine, where he re- mained till February, 1856. He then went to Pike county, Illinois and there resided upon a farm, until he came to Cass county, Iowa, in 1865, and settled upon a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, just north of Lewis. In 1870 he sold this property and went east and spent one winter in visiting his friends, returning in the spring of 1871. At that time he purchased the interest of Dr. Findley, in the firm of Davis and Findley. In the fall of 1876 he sold his interest in the above concern. In 1875 he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, one mile east of Lewis. He still owns and rents this property. He is at present engaged in raising horses. Mr. Walton was uni- ted in marriage, in Massachusetts, Octo- ber 17, 1844, with Susan Wright, a native of that State. They had one child, Sarah W., who died in 1846, aged nine months. Previous to the organization of the Republican party, Mr. Walton was an old line Whig, but since that time has been a Republican.
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
CHAPTER XX.
PYMOSA TOWNSHIP.
That sub-division of Cass county which is known as Pymosa township, contains probably as great a proportion of tillable land to total area as any of the sixteen townships which go to make up the county. It is well supplied with running streams, has good roads, good farms, and excellent improvements. The Nishnabotna river flows diagonally through the township from northeast to southwest, coming in from Audubon county about the northeast corner of section 1, and passing into At- lantic township about the northeast cor- ner of section 31. Buck creek has its source in numerous little rivulets com- mencing in the northwestern part of the township, and flowing with a general southerly course till it passes into Bright- on township at the southwest corner of section 30. These streams, with their nu- merous little tributaries afford the best of drainage facilities for land, as well as an unfailing supply of water for stock and agricultural purposes. Besides the nu- merous artificial groves set out by the en- terprising farmers of the township, there are several natural ones to be found. One of these is situated on sections 27, 28, 33 and 34; one at the center of school dis- trict No. 3; one at the northeast corner of section 7; one on the southeast quarter of section 18, and another at the northeast corner of the township. The Nishnabotna
is wooded to a greater or less extent along its entire course through the town- ship, and the other creeks and branches are timbered in a lesser degree. The Au- dubon branch of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad intersects the township diagonally, passing near the northeast and southwest corners, as it comes in and leaves its borders. The main line of the Rock Island road cuts off a small corner of section 31, in the southwest corner of the township. The station of Lorah, on the northeast corner of section 14, and the city of Atlantic, just across the township line, afford easy postoffice and market facilities.
ORGANIC.
Pymosa township assumed official or- ganization in Angust, 1855, at an elec- tion held at the house of Jefferson Good- ale, on section 6, in Benton. At that time it comprised part of the present townships of Atlantic, Benton and Wash- ington. Pymosa, since the re-organiza- tion of townships in 1870, includes the territory technically known as township 77, range 36. As the early records of this township are unable to be found, the following are the first officers of the town- ship as near as can be determined by authoritative memory: J. C. Cannon, clerk ; Irvin Lorah, assessor ; James Brinkerhoff, justice; Irvin Lorah, consta-
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
ble; Jefferson Goodale, William HI. How- ard and Joseph Doner, trustees. Abont ten or twelve votes were cast at this elec- tion. The officers of 1884 are as follows: George W. Ross, clerk; T. V. Kinsey, as- sessor; Theodore Kurig, G. J. Jenkins, justices of the peace; J. W. Lamb, W. P. Oaks, John Stoner, trustees; J. W. Lorah and John Ringle, constables.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
In the spring and fall of 1851, Jere- miah Bradshaw and party passed through the present limits of Pymosa township on their way to and from Oakfield, Audu- bon county, where they thought of mak- ing a settlement at first, but did not at- tempt to settle here. . And when the Byrd family came, in the summer of 1852, they found no other creatures within the present limits of Pymosa, than the wild animals and game which, at that time, abounded.
During the summer of 1852, James L. Byrd built a cabin on section 30, Pymosa township. He and his sons, Aaron, Thomas, Abraham and Jonathan, and his son in-law, Mason Gill, all made claims, and when the land was put in the market, they entered a large tract, principally in Atlantic township.
James L. Byrd (deceased) was one of the pioneers of Cass county, having ar- rived within its boundaries in 1852. He was a native of Kentucky, born in Barnes county, January 5, 1801, and was a son of Jonathan B. Byrd, who in an early day, removed from Georgia to Tennessee, thence to Kentucky. Jonathan Byrd's wife, the mother of James L., was a native of Tennessee and of English extraction, her ancestry having been traced back to
the royal stock, which, centuries ago, passed away. The grandfather of James L. was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and served in the army from beginning to end, entirely through the struggle for liberty and independence, thus contribut- ing his full share toward the establish. ment, on a firm foundation, of the liberty and freedom so much enjoyed by the present generation. Many incidents in connection with that remarkable conflict were indelibly impressed upon his memo- ry, and the description of the surrender of Cornwallis to Washington was among the reminisences often repeated to his children. The family removed from Barnes county, Kentucky, to Crawford county, Indiana, and there, at the age of twenty years, James was married to Rachel Randall, by whom he had seven children, five sons and two daughters. She was a native of South Carolina, born near Charleston. The children were- Clark, Abraham S., Aaron, Thomas, Mary, Jonathan and Margaret. Of these, Aaron came to this county in 1852, and made a settlement on section 36, Brighton town- ship. He is now living in Fillmore coun- ty, Nebraska. Thomas now lives in Bray- ton, Audubon county. He settled, on first coming west, in Brighton township. Mary is the wife of Mason C. Gill, and lives in Washington township. Jonathan came with the other boys, but subsequent- ly moved farther west. Margaret died when two years old. The subject of this sketch left Indiana from Putnam county, where he was quite a prominent man, (having, among other acts, given the cast ing vote that built the court house of that county,) in May, 1852, and came with
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
teams to Wapello county, Iowa, and there put in a crop, consisting of fifteen acres of corn. Not being entirely pleased or satisfied with that location, in company with Mr. M. Gill, and his son Abraham, he started out on a prospecting tour, with a team, going first to Oskaloosa, thence to Boone county, thence to Des Moines, then traveling up the river twelve miles, went across the country to Adel, then crossing Middle Coon creek, followed such trails as could be found, and after looking at considerable country, arrived in what is now Bear Grove township. After looking at various pieces of land in that township and in the vicinity of where Lorah now stands, they started down the Nishnabotna river, and finding on Buck creek a situation suited to their tastes, they staked off the bottom and made claims. They then started for In- diana, carefully observing in every direc- tion if a better or more promising place could be found. The Fourth of July found them in Winterset. Subsequently they came back to Cass county and bought a claim near the mouth of Buck creek, consisting of about one thousand acres, for which he paid one hundred and twenty- five dollars. Six months afterwards one Dr. Ballard came and set up a title to this land. Mr. Byrd paid him one hun- dred and fifty dollars for a quit-claim deed, built a shanty and began pioneer life in Cass county. Abraham, one of the sons, who is now a resident of Cass county, pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres at Five-Mile-Grove, where he built a shanty and deeded it to bis
father, except forty acres of timber, and entered au eighty acre tract where his
house now stands on the southwest quar- ter of the southeast quarter of section 31, Pymosa township. There be built a small house in 1858, and in 1868 erected his present commodious dwelling, on a beautiful plat of ground, near by, and overlooking the present site of Atlantic. He has added to his original farm until he now owns three hundred and forty-five acres. Abraham S. Byrd was born in Craw- ford county, Indiana, January 9, 1856, and remained with his father till 1858. He was married May 30, 1864, to Emeline Tabor, of Washington county, Indiana. They have five children.
In the fall of 1852, James Kincade, com- ing from Indiana on his westward way in search of a new location, brought up in Pymosa township, where he settled and began improvements. He remained until the time of his death, which occurred about two or three years after his arrival. After his demise, his family removed from the State and scattered, some going to Colorado, the remainder to California. Kincade was a native of New York, where he had spent his youth. From there he removed to Indiana, coming here as be- fore stated. He was a good citizen and well liked.
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