USA > Iowa > Crawford County > History of Crawford County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 14
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Ninth General Assembly .- The 32d senate district was still represented by John F. Duncombe. It was composed as before, with the exception of Green, while Harrison was added. Crawford was, with Monona, Harrison and Shelby, in the 64th representative district, and represented by William W. Fuller, of Magnolia.
Tenth General Assembly .- The 32d senate district, with the counties of Shelby, Audubon, Winnebago, Hancock and Wright added, became the 43d which was represented by George W. Bassett, of Fort Dodge, Republican. The representative district, the 62d, was made up of Crawford, Carroll, Monona, and Sac, and was represented by Addison Olliver, of Onawa.
Eleventh General Assembly .- The county was in the 45th senate district along with Harrison, Shelby, Audubon, Ida, Cherokee, O'Brien, Osceola, and counties to the westward. With Addison Olliver in the senate. Now again Crawford was represented in the senate by two persons in whose election it had participated. Monona, Sac and Ida were with Crawford in the 62d dis- trict whose member was S. J. Comfort, of Denison.
Twelfth General Assembly .- The senate district now the 46th, was the same as at the preceding session, except that Greene had been transferred, Sen- ator Ollver continuing. The 63d district-Crawford, Monona, and Carroll was represented by Stephen Tillson, of Onawa.
Thirteenth General Assembly .- The senate district, now the 48th, with Car- roll county dropped out, had Charles Atkins of Onawa for senator, Craw- ford, Carroll, Monona, and Ida were the 69th district, with John D. Miracle of Denison, to represent it.
Fourteenth General Assembly .- The 48th district was the same except Audu- bon was dropped, Senator Atkins continuing. The 40th representative district had Crawford, Monona, Audubon, and Shelby, with Charles G. Perkins of Onawa, representative.
Fifteenth General Assembly .- Crawford was put into the 49th senate dis- trict, along with Greene, Carroll, Audubon, Shelby, and Guthrie, for which John J. Russell, of Jefferson, had been elected senator two years before. The 4Ist representative district had Crawford, Monona, Ida, and Cherokee, with Ed- mund B. Baird of Willow Dale, Ida county to represent it.
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Sixteenth General Assembly .- Samuel D. Nichols, of Guthrie county, was chosen senator, the district remaining unchanged. The 4Ist representative dis- trict unchanged, was represented by George Rae, of Dowville.
Seventeenth General Assembly .- The counties of Crawford, Harrison, Mo- mona, Ida and Sac were constituted the 34th district, which elected Augustin W. Ford, of Magnolia, to the senate. Now again was the county interested in two members of the senate. Crawford, Ida and Monona were made the 71st district represented by Elijah Peake, of Onawa.
Eighteenth General Assembly .- Districts and senator were unchanged, and Henry C. Laub, of Denison, was representative.
Nineteenth General Assembly .- Thomas M. C. Logan of Logan, was chosen from the unchanged districts, to the senate. Robert T. Shearer, of Ida Grove, was elected to the house.
Twentieth General Assembly .- The county was put with Woodbury and Monona in the 46th district, which chose Charles E. Whiting of Whiting, for senator. The county now had its own separate representative, the first being Charles Bullock of Denison. And again there were two senators in whose elec- tion the county had taken part.
Twenty-first General Assembly .- Senator unchanged. I. T. Roberts, of Denison, representative.
Twenty-second General Assembly .- Crawford was put into the 34th senate district, the other counties being Harrison and Monona, for which Lemuel R. Bolter, of Logan, had been elected senator two years before, representative William A. Davie of Dunlap.
Twenty-third General Assembly .- Same in both houses as in the 22d.
Twenty-fourth General Assembly .- Senator unchanged. August Schultz, Denison, representative.
Twenty-fifth General Assembly .- The 34th district, which has remained unchanged to the present time, had Rudolph Lehfeldt, of Denison, in the sen- ate, August Schultz was again in the house.
Twenty-sixth General Assembly .- No change in senator. John F. Grote, West Side, representative.
Twenty-seventh General Assembly .- Lemuel R. Bolter reappears in the senate. Theodore C. Blume, of Denison, is representative.
Twenty-eighth General Assembly .- No change in either house.
Twenty-ninth General Assembly .- Senator, Ernest L. Hogue, of Blencoe. Representative, Hugh Langan, West Side.
Thirteenth General Assembly .- Same senator. William A. Davie, Dunlap, representative.
Thirty-first General Assembly .- Same in both houses. These two legisla- tures were really one body, and should not have been separately numbered.
Thirty-second General Assembly .- Senator, Will C. Whiting, of Whiting, Henry C. Schroeder, Schleswig, representative.
Thirty-third General Assembly .- Same in both houses.
Thirty-fourth General Assembly .- Edward L. Crow, Mapleton, senator, Edward Downey, Breda, in the house.
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
According to the foregoing record, the county has at three sessions been a part of senatorial districts, which has ready-made senators. On the other hand, at four regular sessions it has been interested in two senators in whose election it has taken a part.
JUDICIAL DISTRICTS.
At the session at which the county was created, it was made a part of the sixth district, which itself was a creation of the Third General Assembly. In April, 1851, James Sloan, an eccentric character of Pottawattamie, was chosen judge of the district. He gave up the position the following year and was suc- ceeded by Allen A. Bradford, of Fremont county, who was yet the judge when the county went into the new seventh district. In April, 1853, Samuel Rid- dle of Pottawattamie county, was elected judge. It is not at all probable that either Sloan or Bradford ever held court in Crawford county. Indeed, it may certainly be said neither ever did. Judge Riddle, therefore, was the first judge who ever held court in the county. January 1, 1859, the county became a part of the fourth judicial district. Its first judge was Asahel W. Hubbard, of Woodbury county, and Orlando C. Howe, was the first district attorney, that being then a new office. In 1863, Isaac Pendleton, also of Woodbury, became judge with Henry Ford, of Harrison, district attorney. Four years later, Mr. Ford became the district judge, and Orson Rice, of Dickinson county, district attorney. In 1870, Judge Ford, was reelected, and Charles H. Lewis, of Cher- okee chosen district attorney.
In 1868, the county was put into the first circuit of the fourth judicial dis- trict, of which Addison, Olliver, of Monona county, was made circuit judge. He, with Judge Ford and Judge James M. Snyder, of Humboldt county, con- stituted the short-lived appellate court, of 1869-1871.
In 1872, the new thirteenth judicial district took Crawford and the other counties out of the fourth district. Of this district, Joseph R. Reed, of the county of Pottawattamie, was the first judge, a position which he held until his elevation to the supreme court, in 1883. Thomas R. Stockton. of Fremont county, was the first circuit judge of the thirteenth and Hiram K. McJunkin, of Mills county, the first district attorney. In 1877, Charles F. Loofbourow, of Cass county, took Judge Stockton's place on the circuit bench and held it until he was made district judge on the elevation of Judge Reed to the supreme court. Then Joseph Lyman, of Council Bluffs, was appointed to succeed him. In 1884, James Perry Conner of Crawford county was chosen circuit judge. In 1876, Albert R. Anderson, of Fremont county, was elected district attorney. In 1880, James P. Conner was chosen. In 1884, Andrew B. Thornell, of Fre- mont, was elected.
In 1887, the districts were reorganized, and Crawford became a part of the sixteenth judicial district then just created. Its judges have been: James P. Conner, of Crawford, 1887-1890. J. H. Macomber, Ida county, 1887-1890. Charles D. Goldsmith, of Sac, and George W. Paine, of Carroll, 1891-1894. Samuel M. Elwood, of Sac, 1895-1902. Zala A. Church, of Greene, 1895-1910.
FORKS OF THE BOYER NEAR DENISON
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Frank M. Powers, of Carroll, 1903 to the present time. Marion E. Hutchin- son, of Calhoun, elected in 1910.
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS.
At the time of the erection of the county of Crawford, the territory thereof, was a part of the second congressional district, which was represented by Lin- coln Clarke of Dubuque, a Democrat. At the general election of 1852, John P. Cook of Scott county, was elected over Clarke. Mr. Cook was a Whig. In August, 1854, James Thorington of Davenport, was chosen to congress from the district. He was a member of the famous Know-Nothing order, and had its nomination, and also that of the temperance advocates, the question of prohibition then being prominently before the people. He defeated at the polls, Stephen Hempstead, then governor of the state. In 1856, Timothy Davis, of Elkader, republican, was elected, defeating Shepherd Leffler, who had been a member ten years before. In 1858, William Van Deve, of Dubuque, was elected, over William E. Leffingwell, and in 1860, over Ben M. Samuels. Now, the big second district is cut up into several, Crawford being put into the sixth. In 1862, this district elected Asahel W. Hubbard, of Sioux City, over John F. Duncombe, in 1864, over L. Chapman and in 1866 over James D. Thompson, of Hardin. Charles Pomeroy, of Fort Dodge, was chosen in 1868, over Charles A. L. Roszell, of Butler county. In 1870, Jackson Orr, of Boone, was chosen over Chas. C. Smeltzer. The number of representatives Iowa had become entitled to having increased from six to nine, Crawford county was put in the new ninth district, of which Jackson Orr was the first representa- tive, defeating John F. Duncombe at the polls. In 1874, Addison Olliver of Onawa, was chosen over Charles E. Whiting, and in 1876, he was chosen over Samuel Rees. In 1878, Cyrus C. Carpenter, of Fort Dodge, defeated Lucius Q. Hoggart. Two years later he was reelected, his defeated opponents were one Guthrie and Daniel Campbell. Iowa making another gain of two members, Crawford was continued in the ninth district for awhile. In 1882, William H. M. Pusey, of Council Bluffs, Democrat, was elected over Albert R. Ander- son, Republican, and Hatton, a Populist nominee. In 1884, Joseph Lyman, of Council Bluffs, Republican, was chosen over Mr. Pusey. Thus closed the career in congress of a Democratic representative of the county of Crawford, the only instance of the kind since the county began to have settlers. In 1886, the county was transferred to the tenth district, for which Adoniram J. Holmes, of Boone, was reeleced, defeating Mr. Wilmot. Jonathan P. Dolliver of Fort Dodge was elected representative in congress in 1888, over J. A. O. Yeomen, in 1890 over I. L. Woods, in 1890 over J. J. Ryan, and John E. Anderson, in 1894, over T. C. Baker, in 1896 over John B. Romans, and in 1898 over Ed- win Anderson. Resigning in 1900 in order to enter the senate, he was suc- ceeded by James P. Conner for both the 56th and 57th Congresses, Robert F. Dale being his defeated opponent. In 1902, Judge Conner was re-elected, Kasper Faltinson being defeated. He was again chosen in 1904 over W. J. Brannegan, and in 1906 over John B. Butler. In 1908 Frank P. Woods was chosen over Montague Hakes. In 1910 he was re-elected substantially without opposition.
Vol. I-10
CHAPTER XV.
BEGINNINGS OF DENISON.
Before Denison was located Crawford county had been settled for five or six years. There was a flourishing community at Mason's Grove, a little store had been established at what is now Deloit, and along the Boyer at that place there were a saw-mill and a grist-mill. There were settlements in the groves along the creeks and rivers; at Dunham's Grove, on the East Boyer, at Coon Grove, in the southwest part of the county; and at Three Bee Tree Grove. There was also what was later known as Fort Purdy, in what was called the Burnt Woods. All these had been established before the town of Denison had its inception. The population of the county, judged by its voting strength, must have been about one hundred and fifty, and the movement was already under way for the organization of a separate county government. In fact the first government had been established with its seat at the residences of the county officers, wherever they might chance to live. Mr. Wicks tells us that he passed over the site of Denison in going on county business to see Judge Bassett, in Coon Grove, and that in 1855, from the hills where the business dis- trict stands, there was not a house in sight.
Denison was a boom town. It did not grow from the natural selection of the settlers themselves, as did Deloit and Old Kiron, and Dow City, but its location was arbitrarily fixed by the representative of a company of eastern capitalists, who resolved upon the exploitation of some portion of western Iowa and who fixed upon this as a desirable location. This company, the Provi- dence Western Land Company, was formed as a result of the promotion efforts of Mr. J. W. Denison. He interested a large number of men in the city of Providence, Rhode Island, and through his efforts the company was formed. The government had given the surviving veterans of the war of 1812 and of the war with Mexico the right to preempt one hundred and sixty acres, each, of the unoccupied lands in western states. These veterans had the right to dis- pose of these lands and many sold their land warrants at sixty cents per acre. It was the purpose of this company to get these old soldiers to file upon lands in a body, and then to purchase them from the original owners. For this pur- pose we are told that the sum of fifty-one thousand dollars was subscribed. Claims were filed and the money used to purchase lands, Crawford and Harri- son counties being selected as the scene of activities for the company. It was
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evidently the same old story with which we are familiar today, by which the lands of a score of states have been exploited by pretentious advertising, by flamboyant circulars, and by rather rash promises of quick and golden returns. Many of our older settlers claim to remember the pictures of an imaginary Denison, a larger city than it is today, with wharves, and with steamboats riding at anchor upon the broad bosom of the Boyer.
After the purchase of the original tract of land it became necessary to found a town. The present site of Denison was chosen with considerable sagacity. It was within one mile of the center of the county and might there- fore make an acceptable location for a county seat. It was at the forks of the Boyer and the East Boyer, affording the timber for fuel and for building, which was an essential in those days. It was on the line of a proposed transcontinen- tal railroad, and the configuration of the country made it apparent that a rail- road would at some time be built along the easy grades of the Boyer valley. The proposed town was located sixty-five miles from Council Bluffs, seventy- five miles from Fort Dodge, ninety miles from Sioux City, and one hundred and twenty-five miles from Des Moines. These towns were already well estab- lished and it was thought that the new town, being in the very heart of western Iowa and almost equi-distant from these cities, would have a large trade terri- tory. It is said that it was at first proposed to lay out the town about one mile east of its present location, and it must be confessed that in point of grades and for the general work of city building this would have been a better loca- tion. Mr. J. W. Denison, who acted as the agent of the Providence Western Land Company in all these matters, was something of an idealist and a dreamer, as men who conceive large projects must be. It is very possible that in his mind's eye he saw the Denison that was pictured, the busy streets and ware- houses, the commerce carried upon the waters of the Boyer. Be that as it may, he came to this section of Iowa with the intent not only to purchase this large tract of land, but also to found a city. It must be conceded that he ap- proached the matter with much good judgment and foresightedness. Through his direction the beautiful courthouse square was selected and it, together with the courthouse building, was donated to the county upon the selection of this as the county seat. Parks were laid out, a market square was provided in the original plat, and the streets were wide, and for the most part well laid out. The fact that Denison was a well advertised, well known and well established village long before all the towns which we might mention in this part of Iowa, was due to the work of J. W. Denison and the Providence Western Land Com- pany.
At this place, we can do no better than to let Mr. Denison tell in his own words, written in 1875, the story of the founding of Denison.
"In the fall of 1855, the undersigned formed a land company in Providence, R. I., called the Providence Western Land Company, with the view of investing in government lands at some points in Western Iowa, where a village or town could be built up in connection with the farming interests. It was designed to secure about a township, or 23,040 acres of land as a basis of operations; and for this purpose a fund of $31,000 was advanced, and to this was soon added $20,000, making a capital of $51,000 for the work.
OAKLAND CEMETERY, DENISON
CITY PARK, DENISON
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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY
"After a careful survey of the field, thro' central, southern and western Iowa, it was decided to pitch our tent, permanently, in Crawford county, being central in location and sufficiently distant from any place of importance to give room for healthful growth, while the soil, streams and timber gave evidence of value equal to any, and far exceeding many of the counties in the State. The four diagonal points of notice, of which this was the center, were Council Bluffs, 65 miles southwest of us; Sioux City, 75 miles northwest; Des Moines, 100 miles southeast; and Ft. Dodge, 75 miles northeast. A state road from Des Moines to Sioux City ran through this county, as did also a road from Council Bluffs to Ft. Dodge; and a dotted line on the maps of that day indicated the line of railroad some day, east and west through the center of this tier of coun- ties, which is the exact center line of the State to a mile.
"The population of the county was not to exceed two hundred; about half of them being in and around Mason's Grove and the others in and around the smaller groves in the southern part of the county, in both places along the Boyer river and its tributaries. The center of the county was honored with about one family, located within about a mile and a half of the center. Some three miles further south were a few families and among them our honored County Judge, John R. Bassett.
"It was in this vacant center that we pitched our tent, at the junction of the Boyer rivers, for the proposed town site, within one mile and a half of the geographical center of the county, and secured some twenty thousand acres of land in its vicinity for the farming interests. As the county seat was not yet located, it was but natural that we should suggest to the locating commissioners appointed by the District Judge, that they consider the merits of this point among others, as the one designed by nature for the shire town of the county. They did so, and as the result the county seat was located where it has since remained and doubtless will continue, as long as the Boyer remains. This was in the spring of 1856, and in the same spring was that memorable Land Grant of Con- gress for aiding in the construction of four railroads through the State east and west, and one of them 'to run on the parallel of 42 degrees as near as practicable to the Missouri river.' As this line was directly through the center of Crawford county it was but natural to conclude that we were in lack -- that we were 'in town.'
"By the way, the incident that resulted in the naming of the town might interest some inquisitive ones upon that topic. It was this: The commissioners having decided upon the location, and returned to the house of the County Judge for making out their report to the District Judge, had gone on with their preamble to the point of describing the location, and saying, 'Its name shall be-' at this point they stopped and began to suggest names. Finally, Mrs. Bassett, an invalid lady, confined to her bed and for years unable to walk, spoke up and said, 'Why not call it Denison?' 'Denison?' said they, 'yes, that is the name,' and immediately completed the sentence-'and its name shall be Denison.'
"To that much esteemed lady, therefore, Mrs. Bassett, who is still the same invalid, with the same Christian spirit of meekness that these twenty years have since witnessed, belongs the honor of naming the county seat of her adopted
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county ; and the Judge, her devoted husband, who was the chosen executive for six or eight years, still remains an honored servant to witness the growth of the town and of the county from the cradle to the beginning of manhood-the former from blank to a population of 1,200, the latter from 200 to 7,000, with every indication of increase beyond any of his most favorite dreams.
"There was with me in that early day R. W. Calkins, of Rock Island, Ill., who rambled with me days and nights over the bleak prairies, that dreary fall and winter; and when we brought up in this country we made our headquarters at Father Dobson's in Mason's grove, now Deloit, a town of his own making, and who, at that time, had the only saw and flouring mill within the distance of from forty to sixty miles in any direction, and the burr-stones of which he was said to carry in his side pockets to his house for dressing! When com- pleted they would turn out from three to ten bushels of corn a day for the weary farmer who had hauled it for thirty or forty miles for that early staff of life-the gist of 'hog and hominy.' "
J. W. DENISON For whom the city was named
CHAPTER XVI.
LIFE OF J. W. DENISON.
Just at this point in our narrative we feel that there should be included an account of the life work of Mr. J. W. Denison, from whom our fair city takes its name. We have been most fortunate in being able to obtain an authentic sketch of Mr. Denison's life written for this history by Rev. A. M. Duboc, one of the first and most dearly beloved clergymen of our city, who now lives in honorable retirement at Oskaloosa, Iowa. Mr. Duboc has taken much pains to verify all the statements made, and the article which follows will have an added value to many of the older residents of Denison on account of the fact that it comes from the pen of one who was their spiritual guide and their ever con- stant friend.
SKETCH OF J. W. DENISON. Written by Rev. A. M. Duboc.
Rev. Jesse W. Denison, the founder of the city of Denison, and from whom it takes its name, was born on a farm in Albany County, N. Y., April 9, 1818. He was the youngest of twelve children.
When he was old enough he was apprenticed to a shoemaker. But his thoughts and aspirations turned in a very different direction. He had a natural thirst for knowledge. Often while sitting at his bench he had a book fastened before him at which he glanced constantly while pegging away at his last. In this way he mastered by himself the "Third Part of Ray's Arithmetic."
Having been converted at the age of fifteen, and having joined the Rensaeler- ville Baptist Church, his thoughts turned toward the ministry. With this end in view, he entered Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., from which he grad- uated in 1844, and from which he subsequently received the degree of A .M. His theological course he took in Union Theological Seminary and at the Bap- tist Theological Seminary, Covington, Ky.
Immediately after his graduation, he was married to Miss Mary Winsor Briggs, daughter of Rev. Avery Briggs, in Schoharie, N. Y., in the year 1846, and immediately moved to his field of labor in Upper Alton, Ill. The residence in which he first went to housekeeping, just north of the college, was still stand- ing less than ten years ago, just as he occupied it. But in December, 1847, he was compelled to resign by his wife's health which had been slowly failing all the time they were there. The year 1848 was apparently spent in New
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York State and here, in December, their first child, Mary Louisa, was born. She is now the wife of Thomas Hooker, of Spokane, Wash. manager of the "Spokane Daily Chronicle."
Apparently in the year 1849. he accepted a call to the church in Rock Island. Ill., his wife's people moving there also about the same time. During his pas- torate he built the first Baptist meeting house ever built in Rock Island, and while there in 1851, their second child was born, Julia P., now wife of Rev. . A. M. Duboc, of Oskaloosa, Iowa.
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