USA > Iowa > Crawford County > History of Crawford County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 12
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The authorization of the issuance of seventy-five thousand dollars in bonds for the erection of a courthouse brought much work to the board of super- visors, and the history of the board for the next three years is very largely devoted to this subject.
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
In 1903 the last political sub-division of the county was made, Otter Creek township being divided into two voting precincts, that of Schleswig and of Kiron.
In April, 1905, the county poorhouse was totally destroyed by fire. This necessitated the placing of county charges in various institutions, where they have been supported up to this time. In 1910 a proposition to dispose of part of the poor farm and issue bonds for twenty-five thousand dollars for the con- struction of a poorhouse was submitted to the people and carried. In pur- suance of this authorization by the people, one hundred and sixty acres of the farm was sold as directed, and a substantial county home is now under prog- ress of erection. The most extensive county improvement now in progress is the project for straightening the course of the Boyer river and affording drain- age to the lands along the Boyer valley. Petition for this improvement was made by citizens affected and on September 17, 1909, the board ordered Morris McHenry, county surveyor, to make a preliminary survey of the river, begin- ning with section 1, Union township, to connect with the Harrison county lateral. Mr. McHenry reported December 14, 1909, and recommended the es- tablishment of drainage districts, as prayed by petition. This report was adopted and the Boyer drainage ditch No. I was established in two sections, section I beginning at the right bank of the Boyer on the south line of the county, terminating on the township line between Boyer and Union townships ; section 2 to extend from this point to the terminus of the ditch on the east line of section 36 in Paradise township. The drainage ditch was ordered on March 24, 1910, and commissioners were appointed to assess taxes and allow damages. Mr. E. K. Burch was appointed clerk and attorney of the drainage district. The engineer's final report was accepted June 27, 1910. On July 20th the drainage ditch was ordered extended to straighten the channel of Paradise creek in sections 3, 4, 9 and 10 of Paradise township. The contract for the main ditch was awarded on August 26, 1910, to the Hamilton Construction Company at six and forty-seven one-hundredths cents per cubic yard. Mr. McHenry was appointed supervising engineer. The Paradise lateral ditch con- tract was awarded to John Ahart at sixteen cents per cubic yard. On January 6, 1911, Mr. Morris McHenry, supervising engineer, made a report to the county that the work of the construction company was not being properly done ; that the center line was not being followed and that dirt was being piled up outside the one hundred and fifty feet right of way. The board served notice upon the Hammond Construction Company to comply strictly with the terms of the contract, and the work is now progressing satisfactorily under the charge of Herbert Fishel, the present engineer.
This report concerning the draniage ditch was the last official act of Mr. Morris McHenry, a man whose connection with the county began with the old log schoolhouse erected by volunteer labor in Mason's Grove in 1856, and con- tinued with but brief intermissions until the time of his death on January 16, 19II. The grief occasioned by the death of him who was familiarly known from one end of Crawford to the other as "Uncle Morris" is still fresh in the minds and hearts of all. Crawford has had many men whom it has honored, admired and respected. It has had men who have impressed their personali-
SCENES ALONG THE BOYER
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
ties upon the community as being men of extraordinary vigor and capacity. It has had men who have accomplished much, who have been honored by state and nation, but in all the course of its history of more than half a century it has had but three "Uncles"-Uncle Daniel Howorth, Uncle Andy Molony and Uncle Morris McHenry. To us it seems that this is one of the dearest titles that a man can earn. It establishes a claim of relationship, an intimate friend- liness and affection which no other title can bestow. Uncle Morris McHenry was fully worthy of all the love given him by the people. He was honest and honorable, kind-hearted, stalwart in his Christianity and in his citizenship. The many duties which the county gave him to perform were done to the best of his ability and with an unfailing fidelity to his trust. He had a cheery optimism that brought gladness to the heart and made better the meanest man with whom he came in contact. Just as in years gone by it was believed that evil spirits fled before the sign of the cross, so evil actions were impossible in the pres- ence of this true-hearted, righteous man. Morris McHenry came to Crawford county in May, 1856, walking from Council Bluffs, stopping the first night after reaching the county at the home of S. J. Comfort, near what is now the town of Dow City, and it was then for the first time that he met Mary L. Comfort, who afterward became his wife. The second night after his advent into the county Mr. McHenry spent at the home of Benjamin Dobson, near what is now the town of Deloit. He was a capable young man of good education, and he was soon offered the position of deputy surveyor by Mr. H. C. Laub. In the fall of 1856 he was elected county surveyor and began what was to be in a large measure his life work. Every road, every section line, every corner was a familiar spot to Morris McHenry. The income of the surveyor's office was so small during those early years and the demand upon his time was so limited that he organized a pay school in the Mason's Grove neighborhood, which he taught during the severe winter of 1856-57 in the old log schoolhouse fitted up by himself and the people of that neighborhood. This was the first school in the county.
Christianity had a very large place in his life. He was singularly enthusias- tic in his religion and seemed in his person to typify the great Methodist church, to which he belonged. He was a charter member of the first church organized in the county, in 1856. In 1857 he assisted in organizing the first Sunday school and became one of its teachers.
In 1857 he was elected assessor, adding this to his duties as surveyor, and in the fall of the same year he was elected county treasurer and recorder. He made the first plat of the town of Denison in the year 1857, and in 1858 he removed to Denison, where he lived until 1877, when he moved to his farm near Dow City. As we have already recorded, his was one of the earliest mar- riages in the county, he having been united to Mary L. Comfort on December 25, 1859. Mr. McHenry resigned the office of county treasurer and at another time resigned the office of county surveyor, but the people reelected him time and again to serve in the latter capacity, as they had utmost faith in all that he said or did. He performed much service for the Illinois Central Railway when it built through the county and it was largely through his good offices that there was but little litigation concerning the right of way. We have seen
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
above that he was active to the last. But a few days prior to his death he was in Denison engaged upon the business of the county. Always a repub- lican, he was elected to office time and again by the aid of votes of democratic friends, and he should be accorded his place as first in the hearts of the people of this county. Funeral services were held on the morning of Thursday, Jan- uary 19, 1911, Rev. G. W. Koser, pastor of his church at Dow City, officiating. In spite of the inclemert weather these services were attended by large num- bers of pioneers from all parts of the county, and his remains now lie at rest in Oakland cemetery, which he first surveyed for the people as a labor of love, among the hills of Crawford, which he knew so well and which he loved so dearly. In fitting memory of his life work among us the board of supervisors passed the following resolutions, which will remain among the permanent rec- ords of our county :
Whereas, Almighty God has taken from us Morris McHenry, the man who above all others as county treasurer, county surveyor, an enlightened citizen, was identified with the history and government of Crawford county. The man who stands forth preeminently as a faithful and competent servant of the people whom he loved and who loved him. And, whereas, we feel to the fullest extent the personal grief that is shared by all who knew him.
Be it resolved, that we, the board of supervisors of Crawford county, in behalf of the citizens of Crawford county tender our most sincere sympathy to his widow and his loved ones and express our appreciation of a splendid and unselfish service to the county during a period of over half a century. Our affection for him as a personal friend and council and the reverence with which we shall hold his memory in our hearts. We point with pride to his record of long and honorable service and rejoice with the people of this county in the rich heritage of his example and his life. We feel that we but voice the heartiest sentiment of every man, woman and child within the confines of this county when we pay tribute to the memory of this man, who was first in the hearts of all who knew him.
Resolved, that these resolutions be spread upon the minute book and that a copy be sent to the bereaved widow of Morris McHenry, deceased.
(Signed) H. D. BAETH, JOHN HAGGE, JOHN HOLLAND, THOMAS AHART, J. T. CAREY.
This brings the history of our county government down to the present time. The board of supervisors now has upon its hands two important problems, that of erecting the county home; and the completion of the drainage ditch along the Boyer river. The auditor's report shows that there are outstanding bonds for the courthouse amounting to fifty-two thousand dollars; for the bridge fund of fifty thousand dollars; while the school fund has on hand in notes $21,500. The tax levy made September, 1910, for state and county purposes, was as follows : State, 3.3 mills ; state college, .2; state normal, .I ; county, 3.5; school,
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
I; bridge, 5; road, I; insane, .5; courthouse bonds, 3.4; bridge bonds, 3; state university, .2; poor, 1.6; soldiers' relief, .5; total, 23.3 mills.
The total railroad mileage of the county now stands at one hundred, fifty eight and thirteen one-hundredth miles. The present board of supervisors is composed of Hans D. Baeth, chairman; John Holland; Thomas Ahart; John Hagge; and John T. Carey. The county is represented in the present legisla- ture by Senator E. L. Crow, of Monona county, and in the house by Edward Downey, of Jackson township. The present county officers are: M. J. Collins, auditor ; Louis Evers, treasurer; Frank Faul, clerk of district court; W. E. Terry, recorder; H. J. Cummings, sheriff ; F. N. Olry, superintendent ; H. E. Fishel, county surveyor ; P. J. Klinker, county attorney ; and William Byrnes, coroner, all of whom are of democratic faith, save Mr. Klinker and Mr. Fishel. The census figures for the entire county taken by the government in 1910 are not as yet available, but we give below a partial table of the school census from the years 1900 to 1910, inclusive :
No. Children County
1900 1901 7,818 7,735
Manilla
.384
386 214
1902 7,721 357 234 1,137
1903 7,884 381 227 1,224
1904 7,629 379 241 1,246 120 260 309
1905 7,556 384 177 1,312
1906 7,286 387 238 1,190 143 283 296
1907 7,199 388 223 1,107 148 280 318
1908 7,188 389 208 1,138 153 287 297
1909 6,703 390 208 1,102 150 257 286
1,037 159 273
Vall
268
265
Charter Oak
. 436
303
303
279
Smallest: Boyer
169
181
187
182
191
181
182
162
126
136
1910 6.450 379 183
Denison
968
978
West Side
183
162
157 276
142 270 299 192
154 275 322
Dow City
.215
E. Boyer
These figures include the totals for the county and for the various munici- palities. They would seem to indicate that for the past five years the county has lost in population, largely owing undoubtedly to the movement of our younger people to the cheaper lands of western and northern states. This movement is but a repetition of the movement which settled this county fifty years ago. It is not a permanent loss and there is no doubt but that succeed- ing years will find an increased population just as has been found in the eastern states, which gave of their people to settle Iowa.
CHAPTER XII.
POLITICAL HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.
Politics is a sensitive subject with most men. The majority will resent an affront, real or fancied, to their political convictions almost as quickly as they will resent an insult to their religion. Realizing that this is treading upon deli- cate ground, this chapter will give only the incontrovertible facts of the po- litical history of this county, without comment and without argument.
The early settlers came from all sections of the country; from the south as well as from the east and north. They doubtless brought with them their old-time political prejudices and affiliations, but they were removed from all scenes of national activity. They learned to know each other as friends and neighbors, and not as politicians. Living in an unorganized county in a state to which they were strangers, government and politics were largely theoretical and did not enter into their daily lives. Like all Americans, they wished for local home government, and it was this that led to the petition for the organ- ization of the county in 1855. At this first election held subsequent to the granting of their petition, we cannot find that any party lines were drawn, nor can we find it in any of the elections prior to 1860. The great national elec- tion which so stirred the hearts of men and which saw the real birth of the republican party, created hardly a ripple among the frontiersmen of this sec- tion. The war made the entire north republican. We have no record of the vote, but from conditions we know that this county gave ample majority to Abraham Lincoln, both in 1860 and in 1864. Even then, with all the excite- ment and feeling created, there seems to have been no strong local political prejudices. This is well illustrated by the fact that in 1862 Andy Molony, a lifelong democrat, began his political career in Crawford county and that he was able to maintain himself in office year after year in spite of republican majorities. The first year after the war, Crawford county, in common with the rest of the north, was practically unanimously republican save that, as we have seen, party lines were forgotten in the election of favorite county officers.
By the early '70s, however, there came a feeling of political unrest. There was the republican party and the opposition party, which went under different names, such as the Grange party, the Anti-Monopoly party, the Independent Democratic party, and finally the Greenback party. Throughout all the years from 1870 to 1880 the republican party maintained a large ascendency in all
109
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
national and state elections in this county. Large majorities, considering the size of the vote, were given to Grant, Hayes and Garfield. The Americans, we mean rather the native Americans, were divided, with a majority republican. The Swedes and the Germans were almost unanimously republican; the Irish were almost unanimously democratic. The large influx of Swedish and Ger- man immigrants during this decade strengthened the hold of the republican party during all these years; there were, however, numerous democrats in office. A. D. Molony and later L. Cornwell were invincible democratic candi- dates and others were elected from time to time on the grounds of fitness or of personal popularity. In the year 1880 President Garfield received a phe- nomenal majority. In one township, Morgan, there were but three demo- cratic votes, and it was explained by the township officials that these were cast by men who were but nominally residents, and who did not really belong to the township. Soon after the election of 1880, the question of a prohibitory amendment was agitated throughout the state. The vote in this county was very close, the amendment being defeated by less than fifty votes. A large number of people felt that the passage of this prohibitory law was unwise and that it interfered with their personal liberties. They held the republican party responsible for bringing this question to a vote and for the prohibitory legis- lation which followed it. The result was an upheaval in the politics of the county, so that in the year 1882 the county gave a democratic majority for al- most the first time in its history. This political revolution gave the democratic party ascendency, not only in national and state affairs, but in the affairs of the county, and since that time the election of republicans to county offices has been the exception and not the rule. J. P. Dolliver, long the congressman from this district, never received a majority vote in Crawford county.
The balance of the parties remained about the same during the next decade, until there came the deep seated political change which preceded the famous election of 1896. At this time the political alignments of the county were radi- cally altered. Many of the foremost republicans were led by their convictions to adopt the policies of Mr. Bryan and the advocates of free silver. At the same time there was a large desertion from the democratic ranks. Republican leaders became democratic leaders, and democratic workers became prominent in the ranks of republicanism. These lines have not materially altered since that time. The campaign of 1896 was a most memorable one and stirred the county to its depths.
Since 1896 the county has been normally democratic, and has in fact almost invariably given democratic majorities, save in 1904, when the personal popu- larity of Theodore Roosevelt gave the republicans a temporary victory. During these years but two men, Governor Leslie M. Shaw, and Hon. J. P. Conner, have achieved marked political success beyond the limits 'of Crawford county. The campaign for the nomination of Mr. Shaw, in 1897, was participated in by men of all parties. A vast amount of enthusiasm was shown and a large and representative delegation went from every part of the county to the Cedar Rapids convention at which Mr. Shaw was nominated. Again in the nomina- tion of Mr. Conner the same spirit of non-partisan friendliness was shown and at a later election Mr. Conner had the honor of being the only republican
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
candidate for congress who carried this county against an opposing candidate since 1880. In the last few years the republican party has been divided along factional lines, with a consequent strengthening of democracy.
The most conspicuous citizen that Denison has given to the world is Leslie Mortimer Shaw. It is indeed difficult for some of us to realize that the man who first came among us as a seller of fruit trees and who lived with us so many years, devoting his energies to the same little things that have entered into our lives, is the Leslie M. Shaw who guided the financial interests of the nation and who has hundreds of thousands of ardent admirers and followers in every state of the union. Mr. Shaw was born in Lamoille county, Vermont, November 2, 1948. In 1871, he entered Cornell college graduating in 1874. Two years later he graduated from the law department of the state university and the same year located per- manently in Denison. He grew constantly as a man and as a citizen. He was recognized as a great lawyer, a shrewd banker, a zealous church man, and a most effective worker in the civic affairs of the community. While taking part as a Republican in the political affairs of the county, Mr. Shaw never devoted himself to the problems of statecraft until what he considered to be the dangerous doctrine of Free Silver became the paramount issue. It is related with much gusto by his friends, that his political awakening came through a speech delivered in Denison by William Jennings Bryan. In this speech Mr. Bryan advocated the doctrines of Free Silver with an eloquence which was almost overwhelming. Mr. Shaw was convinced that Bryan was wrong, but he felt that he was not sufficiently informed to refute his arguments. This led Mr. Shaw to devote the splendid energies of his well trained legal mind to questions of national finance. He hired a hall and delivered an answer to Bryan, but this answer was not satisfactory either to himself or to his friends. Shaw went back to his problem again, more study, more research, more preparation, and then he tried it again. Those who heard him at this time felt that at last the cause of what they termed "Sound money" had found an adequate champion. During the campaigns of 1894, 1895, Mr. Shaw was in great demand and in the great battle of 1896, he became one of the most forcible and effective advocates of the gold standard in the United States. His speeches were circulated by the million, and they had a pronounced effect upon the national result. It was this that laid the foundation for his candidacy for the governorship of Iowa. It is greatly to the credit of the people of Denison that they were quick to recognize his worth and devoted themselves eagerly and without jealousy to his cause. Men left their business, and for weeks did nothing but promote this candidacy. The campaign was brief, and it closed with one of the most memorable and exciting conventions the Republicans of Iowa have ever held. On the 4th ballot, at the Cedar Rapids convention, Mr. Shaw was declared the nominee, and Denison went wild with joy. A great non- partisan reception was accorded him upon his return. As governor of Iowa Mr. Shaw excelled both as a business-like executive and as a man of sufficient men- tality and magnetism to represent the great state of Iowa in the councils of the nation. The appointment of Governor Shaw to be Secretary of the Treasury in the cabinet of President Roosevelt came as a surprise, but was at once recog- nized as the best possible appointment. In this high position Governor Shaw made good, just as he had made good in everything else that he had undertaken.
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
After more than four years in this place of vast responsibility, Governor Shaw resigned to reenter the field of business. He became president of the Carnegie Trust Company of New York, and piloted that institution through the days of its birth and through the financial storms of 1907. Not being able to agree with the other managers of the company, Governor Shaw withdrew his capital and founded The First Mortgage Loan and Trust Company, of Philadelphia, of which company he is now the head. For some years Mr. Shaw retained large holdings in Denison and vicinity. These he has now disposed of, with the excep- tion that he has retained an interest in the National Bank of Manila and a con- trolling interest in the Bank of Denison. Denison people may well regret that he has thus withdrawn himself from their community, but the city will always have reason to be proud that it was the home of one of the great statesmen of his day.
CHAPTER XIII.
ELECTIONS.
Unfortunately the records of the county have not always been preserved, as required by law, and we are unable to give the exact results of elections prior to 1869. Even some of those of a later date are incomplete in the county records. In fact for the first detailed election table we must refer to the files of the Denison Review, on October 23, 1869. There were seven voting pre- cincts in the county, namely : East Boyer, Boyer, Charter Oak, Denison, Jack- son, Milford and Union. As these records are of interest and should be pre- served, we give on the following pages a synopsis of the vote of the county at each election from 1869 to the present date.
ELECTION OF 1869.
Governor, Samuel Merrill, Rep., 224; George Gillespie, Dem., 146. State Senator, Charles Atkins, Rep., 218; L. R. Bolter, Dem., 160. Representative, H. C. Laub, Rep., 221 ; J. D. Miracle, Dem., 88. Auditor, A. D. Molony, Dem., 348.
Treasurer, Morris McHenry, Rep., 366. Sheriff, S. P. Gardner, Rep., 94; S. P. Blankenship, Dem., 256. Superintendent, N. J. Wheeler, Dem., 165. Coroner, William Iseminger, Rep., 74. Surveyor, Morris McHenry, Rep., 367.
1870.
Secretary of State, Ed Wright, Rep., 275; Charles Doerr, Dem., 173. Congressman, Jackson Orr, Rep., 274; C. C. Smeltzer, Dem., 173. Clerk, A. D. Molony, Peoples, 273; Freeman Knowles, Rep., 189. Recorder, B. F. Darling, Rep., 189; Thomas Dobson, Peoples, 260.
Supervisors, Clark Winans, Peoples, 263; Daniel Howorth, Peoples, 195; Tracy Chapman, Peoples, 206; C. H. De Wolf, Rep., 249; Joseph Hallowell, Rep., 174; B. F. Wicks, Rep., 178. Vol. I-8
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