History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume I, Part 33

Author: Downer, Harry E
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1042


USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume I > Part 33


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Leonard Cooper, one of the first settlers, left a large family of eight sons and two daughters, none of whom are now living in Winfield township. One son lives in Davenport, one in Dubuque, A. A. Cooper, whose celebrated wagons find a market in a number of states. Charles Elder, a pioneer of this township, left two sons and one daughter. of whom the daughter and one son are dead : Joseph Elder, the other son, is a resident of Long Grove. At the time of the settlement in Winfield township of the four Quinn brothers, the township was nine miles square and included parts of Lincoln, Sheridan and Butler townships. It was on the creek north of Walnut Grove that George Daly, mentioned by Mr. Bar- rows, built a grist mill, which was also arranged to saw logs. Burrs in those days were expensive and difficult to obtain. In his perplexity Mr. Daly, the "honest miller," as he was called, went to Alexander Brownlie who assisted him in making a set of millstones out of a large bowlder found on the prairie. It is said that much of this grist was ground on those bowlder millstones, and that the only reason that the mill did not perform its work more steadily and regularly was because of the lack of water at times. H. M. Thompson married the youngest daughter of Mrs. Robertson, a widow of seventy years of age, who had come from Scotland and settled in this township in 1844. Mr. Thompson became quite prominent in the affairs of Scott county. He was selected as the first president of the Scott County Agricultural Society and remained in that office for seven


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ST. ANNE'S CATHOLIC CHURCH. LONG GROVE


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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY


years, when he resigned. He was also for a number of years superintendent of Agricultural college farm at Ames and was also a representative from this county in the general assembly of Iowa. He died in 1887 at the age of seventy-six years. At his death his wife was living at the age of ninety-two years. The Brownlies are still prominent and quite numerous in Winfield township. Of the second generation there are three members still residents of Long Grove, A. W. Brownlie, son of James Brownlie, who was a little over a year old when his parents settled in the township; he is doing business with his brother, R. K. Brownlie. A. D. Brownlie, only son of Alexander Brownlie, is living on the original homestead where his father settled when he came to the state of Iowa.


LINCOLN TOWNSHIP.


Lincoln township when first settled was an expanse of prairie covered with tall luxuriant grass, where deer and other animals abounded. This township was organized in 1866 and embraces congressional township No. 79, range 4 east, and is lacking one tier of sections on the east side of being a full township. The first trustees divided the township into seven road districts, but in 1903 these districts were merged into one, and since that time the roads have been worked on the township plan. The first township officers were: A. J. Green, J. H. Mohr, and James Henry, trustees ; Richard Proudfoot, clerk. A very attractive place of those days was an elevation of ground called Saddle Mound which is now owned by William Moeller. On the Guinan place is another interesting spot, Goose Pond. Robert Criswell was the first settler of this township. He was a Penn- sylvanian and located at Long Grove in 1844. After three years' residence there he settled on section 23, which he improved and upon which he built a home. Mr. Criswell lived on this place and prospered until 1867, when he retired to Princeton and died there at the age of eighty-one. William H. Jones left New York in 1844 and settled in LeClaire and ran the first threshing machine in that neighbor- hood, and in 1848 he broke up the sod for Mr. Criswell on part of his section. Mr. Jones married the widow Chuck, who was in her maidenhood Mary Van Duzer. She came from Scott county in 1835. Mr. Jones died in 1893 and his widow followed him in 1905, after a residence in Davenport. Charles and Henry Lau are the sons of Peter N. Lau, who came to Lincoln township in 1853. They are still residents of this township. One of the most prominent citizens of the county was M. J. Rohlfs, who came to Lincoln township in 1848, after a residence in Davenport of one year. Mr. Rohlfs served his county in the Iowa legislature four terms and for twelve years served Scott county as its treasurer, and was succeeded by his son Rudolph in that office, who proved a worthy suc- cessor to his father. The first schoolhouse in Lincoln township was built on section No. 23 and became known as the Jones schoolhouse. The first school was presided over by J. O. Jamison. After the township was organized it was divided into eight sub-districts upon which are now erected good substantial modern schoolhouses, where the children are given the advantages of nine months' instruction during the year. This township has never had but one church. It was organized July 6, 1858. by Rev. J. D. Mason, with twenty- eight members. It is known as Summit Presbyterian church.


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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY


PLEASANT VALLEY TOWNSHIP.


Pleasant Valley township lies east of Davenport, bordering on the Missis- sippi. It is bounded on the north by Lincoln and LeClaire townships and on the east by a portion of the lower sections of LeClaire township. It is well watered and timbered, especially in the northeast and southwest portions. Duck creek, quite a large stream, empties into the Mississippi river at the southwest part of the township. This township was early settled and Mr. Bar- rows goes into all the details relating thereto. The soil is fertile, the farms have been well improved, it has good roads and bridges, telephone lines, rural mail delivery and other conveniences to meet the requirements of the modern farmer. This is not a whole township, the Mississippi cutting through it at a point beginning at the east half of the second section from the north and run- ning diagonally southwest. It has three sub-districts in which there are well appointed school houses. The value of the land in this township. as in other sections of the county, has increased in value until at this time land that sold from $6 to $15 an acre in 1865 will now readily bring from $100 to $125 per acre.


CLEONA TOWNSHIP.


This township was organized in 1857. Its name was suggested by E. P. . Putnam, who declared that it signified fair or beautiful country. Cleona town- ship is in the second tier of townships from the north and is the first on the east. It is bounded on the north by Liberty township and on the west by Hickory Grove. Its western boundary is Cedar county and southern, Musca- tine county. It was one of the last townships organized. It is exclusively ag- ricultural and there is practically no waste land within its borders. The first settlement made here was in April, 1851. Jacob Royal made the first entry in the township September 15, 1851, on the southeast quarter of section 25. Rob- ert Johnson and James Paul entered land on section 23 in 1852. Mr. Paul also entered land on section 23. Ebenezer Cook made entry on section 34 early in 1856. In 1852 the only house in the township was on section 12, built by the Suiter brothers, John and Joseph. In the spring of the following year the Suiter boys helped Robert Johnson build a house on section 23. Thomas John- son, Robert's father, settled in the township in the spring of 1853, and in the fall of the same year William Paul and his family settled in the township and lived in a house built by his brother James until 1858. E. P. Putnam was a native of Ohio and settled on section 19 in 1854. The same year came Jacob and George Wetherhold from Germany. They were the first Germans to settle in the township. Ephraim Ellis, an Englishman, was also a settler of the township in 1854. Franklin Ball, Samuel Leamer. John and Conrad LeGrange. William M. Murray, Henry Egbert, C. M. Stevens, wife and son Morgan, and Gothardt Moeller, from Germany, all settled here in the year 1856. Samuel Leamer broke a piece of prairie on his claim and returned to Pennsylvania. He came back in 1857 with his brother Washington and both made a permanent settle- ment. The first birth in the township was that of John Suiter in 1852. He was a son of John Suiter, the first settler in Cleona township. The first mar-


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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY


riage to take place in the township was that of John Jamison, of LeClaire, and Annie Johnson. In 1857 a school building was erected on section 28, but later removed to section 31. Franklin Ball, James Paul, Washington and Samuel Leamer, Ephraim Ellis, E. P. Putnam and Robert Johnson were the men in- strumental in founding this first educational institution of Cleona township. Harriet Callem received $16 a month for her services as the first teacher of this school. The township has good schools in seven sub-districts. Of the early settlers the Suiters came from England; the Johnsons and Pauls from Ireland ; Henry Peterson, who came to the township in 1866, and John Rymers, were natives of Holstein, Germany; William Rains of Waldeck, Prussia, set- tled on section 4 in 1868, and today the township has a large number of German citizens who are the best of farmers and prosperous in their undertakings.


BUTLER TOWNSHIP.


Butler township was organized in 1865 and was first named Ben Butler in honor of the gentleman of that name who became famous in the Civil war and later as a statesman. Later the board of supervisors abbreviated the name by dropping the prefix Ben. Butler is in the north tier of townships bordering on Clinton county. The northern sections of the township are irregular and cut into by the Wapsipinicon river. In the northern portion of the township is considerable timber, especially in the northwest part, and the west central sec- tion of the township has considerable timber in the locality of Walnut Grove. The western boundary of Butler township is Winfield, the southern Lincoln and the eastern Princeton townships. The first election for town officers took place October 8, 1865, and the first entry of land was made in 1836 by Henry Harvey Pease and John G. Grafford, jointly. This entry consisted of 500 acres in what was known as Walnut Grove on section 19. Alphonso Warren had previously indicated his ownership of this claim by having "blazed" trees thereon. He relinquished his interests to Pease and Grafford for the sum of $100. Pease, the pioneer of Butler township, built the first cabin and Alphonso Warren built the second on section 20 in the fall of 1838, as he had preceded both Pease and Grafford as settlers in the county. Mr. Warren had come to the township from New York and operated a grindstone quarry in the town- ship for several years before he removed to Kansas. George Daly, a native of Ohio, had spent some time in Moline, Illinois, and in 1839 erected a flour mill on section 17, near a stream of water known at that time as Daly's creek. Daly afterward settled in Jackson county, then removed to Plymouth county, where he died. Clinton W. Pease, son of H. H. Pease, was the first white child born in the township. His birth occurred September 1, 1839. George Daly and Re- becca Arble were the first couple married in the township. The wedding took place in 1839. Miss Alice Alvord in 1846 taught the first school in the town- ship in an old log house at Walnut Grove. James and Alexander Brownlie, Presbyterian divines, held the first religious services in this section of the county at the residence of H. H. Pease in 1838. Circuit rider Brace, a Metho- dist minister, would often stop at the Pease home and hold services. The first schoolhouse was a log structure and was erected on section 18 in 1850. In 1861


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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY


the Mount Joy Methodist Episcopal church was built on section 30 and had for its first pastor Rev. S. H. Harmer. Mount Union church was built in 1868 by members of the Presbyterian organization on section 35, and Rev. McBride was its first pastor. About 1851 Claus Boltz settled on section 15. Charles Bennet settled on section 35 in 1850. George Washington Martin and Lafay- ette Martin were located in this township long before it was separated from Winfield township. They came here in 1843. John C. McCausland located on section 23 in 1855; William Mooney, in 1852; Henry F. Schlotfeldt, in 1853; Claus Mundt in 1855; George Baughman settled in Winfield township in 1847 and removed to Butler township in 1855; and in 1859 J. Helble, a native of Germany, settled on section 26. Butler township has nine school districts and three churches.


SHERIDAN TOWNSHIP.


Sheridan township was organized in 1866 and is the central township of the county. It is bounded on the north by Winfield, on the south by Davenport, on the west by Hickory Grove and on the east by Lincoln townships. Much of the early history of this township has been told in the story of the first settle- ments in the county by Mr. Barrows. It was originally named Phil Sheridan township, after the noted cavalry officer of the Civil war, but later Phil was dropped. The township was formed by subtracting eighteen sections from Winfield and eighteen sections from Davenport. The first election was held on a certain Tuesday of October. 1866, the polling place being at Claus H. Kuhl's tavern. At this election H. H. Fry was chosen as supervisor ; Christ Vogt, James Quinn and Gilbert Wicks, trustees; Anderson Martin, assessor; B. F. Berkley, clerk; William Saddoris and Asmus H. Lamp, justices of the peace ; Peter Weis and James Morrison, constables. Samuel Sloper settled on sec- tion 28, in the territory now comprising Sheridan township, in 1840, and in 1841 Lyman Osborn took up a claim on section 29. Among others who followed these hardy pioneers may be mentioned: ex-Governor Rusch; Hans Schneck- loth; Claus Hagedorn; Joseph Seaman; William Rigg ; Dr. A. J. Emeis : Benja- min Barr : Captain LeMarinel; C. Myer; John and Nathan Greer; Moses Bar- ber ; James and Joseph Quinn; Christ Vogt; Peter Blunk; Hans and Juergen Schmidt. Dr. A. J. Emeis was the first physician to take up his residence in the township, and Henry Kuntzen was the first to open a blacksmith shop. He erected his building on section 25. Mr. Sloper was the first to turn up the prairie for cultivation. There are nine sub-districts in Sheridan township, each of which has a good school building where the children are taught from eight to nine months in the year. Eldridge also has an independent school.


There is but one village in Sheridan township-Eldridge Junction, established in 1871 by J. M. Eldridge. It is situated in the eastern part of the township, on section II, at the junction of the Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad and the Maquoketa branch. Soon after the advent of the railroad shops were located here by the company, giving employment to a large number of workmen. This gave an im- petus to the young village and for a time the prospects were good for a large and thriving settlement; but the railroad magnates saw fit, some years since, to remove the shops, which was a death blow to the embryo "city of Eldridge."


BIG ROCK PUBLIC SCHOOL


TURNER HALL. ELDRIDGE


RESIDENCE OF CAPT. W. L. CLARK, BUFFALO


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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY


Many of its business places, hotels, etc., were soon after closed and a number of buildings have since been torn down and removed from the place. The first school election in the township was held in 1867, when the following board was chosen: Alexander Murrison, James Calderwood, Albert Brugman, Henry Fellner, A. J. Emeis, William Rogers. A church edifice was erected by the Presbyterian so- ciety of Eldridge Junction about the year 1874. James Mason was the first pas- tor. Eldridge Lodge, No. 132, A. O. U. W., was organized in 1877, with John Rogers P. M. W .; E. T. Morgan, M. W .; J. W. Davidson, G. F .; J. D. McCor- mick, O .; J. A. Pollock, recorder ; James Youmans, financier ; G. A. Hastings, receiver ; P. Herbold, G .; J. G. Quinn, I. W .; L. Cohman, O. W. For a full description of Eldridge see another page.


HICKORY GROVE TOWNSHIP.


Hickory Grove is one of the oldest townships of Scott county and was first settled in 1836, Alfred Carter making the first claim on the northwest quarter of section 16. He was a native of Shenandoah valley, Virginia, and came here from Indiana. This township is bounded on the north by Allen's Grove and on the south by Blue Grass, on the west by Cleona and on the east by Sheridan town- ships. It is mostly prairie, which is well watered, and takes its name from a tract of timber in the central portion of the township known as Hickory Grove. At the time Alfred Carter came to this section of the country wild animals roamed the prairies and hills. The wolves and wildcats were very troublesome, committing depredations on the settlers' live stock. Hickory Grove was at that time a great rendezvous for deer. One night while Mr. Carter was absent in Hen- derson county, Illinois, where he had journeyed in quest of provisions for himself and neighbors, ten Indians came suddenly upon the house and asked for a night's lodging.


Fearing to refuse them Mrs. Carter granted their request. Mr. Carter and his sons, Charles P., John and Martin, often joined the Indians in hunting deer. Early in its history there were three tracts of timber which were known as Hickory Grove, Pilot Grove and Linn Grove; the two latter have practically dis- appeared. In 1837 Philip Baker of Muskingum county, Ohio, took up a claim on section 9, and at about the same time came Jonathan Porter from Muskingum county, Ohio, also Daniel and John Porter. John Spicer had preceded them from Muskingum county in the fall of 1836, settling on section 9. William and Daniel Porter also came in 1836. Muskingum county, Ohio, furnished George Schuck, who settled in the township on section 10 in 1838, and died there in 1848. John Schuck also came in 1838 and built a hewn log house on section 15. He re- moved to Nebraska in 1859. Samuel Freeman, whose native place was New London, Connecticut, arrived in Davenport on December 3, 1839, and a short time thereafter entered a tract of land near Kirtle's ferry on the Wapsipinicon, but lost his claim by being too slow in filing on it. Eventually after many vicis- situdes he was able to gather enough money to purchase a farm near Slopertown. This was sold in a few years for another farm near Hickory Grove, where he re- mained until the day of his death. The first school was held in the winter of 1837-8 at the home of Alfred Carter, George F. Emery, a highly educated man


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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY


and a native of Boston, having been employed by Mr. Carter to teach his children. The first birth in the township occurred November 10, 1838, and was that of William H. Baker, son of Philip and Catherine Baker. The first death was that of Alfred Carter in 1839. The first marriage took place at the home of Philip Baker in 1842, the contracting parties being Alexander Wells and Julia Carter. The ceremony was performed by Squire Grace at Walnut Grove. Hickory Grove township takes pride in the fact that the great apostle of Methodism, Rev. Peter Cartwright thundered his philippics against sin and unrighteousness in homes of the settlers here who threw them open to him for religious services. It is especially remembered that he preached a sermon at the home of Alfred Carter in 1838. In November, 1851, Elder Jonas Hartzell, later of Davenport, organized the Linn Grove Christian church. It was then known as the Allen's Grove Church of Christ and was removed to Linn Grove in 1858 and its name changed. Both in Allen's Grove and Linn Grove the congregation held services in the school houses, but a modest frame house was built in 1866, where services were afterwards held. This township today has eight sub-school districts where school is taught during summer and winter from eight to nine months in the year.


BLUE GRASS TOWNSHIP.


In Barrows' history will be found concisely told a narrative of the first settling of Blue Grass township, which is a full township of thirty-six square miles, and has for its northern boundary Hickory Grove township; on the west bounded by Muscatine county, on the south by Buffalo township, and on the east by Daven- port and Rockingham townships. It has but little timber and is watered by few streams. Lines of the Rock Island road cross this township, one at the north and one at the south, the southern branch entering the village of Blue Grass and the main line the village of Walcott. There are seven sub-districts in this township which are well patronized by the children during a greater part of the year, and Walcott and Blue Grass, both thriving villages, each have excellently conducted graded schools. A description of the towns is given elsewhere.


ALLENS GROVE TOWNSHIP.


Allens Grove township originally comprised the present township limits and that of Liberty. It is bounded on the east by Winfield township, on the west by Liberty, the south by Hickory Grove and on the north by the Wapsipinicon river. The name of the township was derived from a Mr. Allen, who settled in the township in 1836. F. E. Rothstein, who settled on section 28 in 1859, built a steam saw and gristmill in 1860 and removed it to the Wapsipinicon river in 1865. He remained at Allens Grove until 1867, when he removed to Clinton county after selling his stock to Martin O'Neil. Mr. O'Neil remained in busi- ness until 1872, when W. B. Stevens became his successor. The Chicago, Mil- waukee & St. Paul railroad cuts across the township diagonally, entering at the southeast corner and leaving it at Dixon, in the northwest corner. A branch of the Rock Island railroad crosses the township from west to east, entering at New Dixon. Truly remarkable has been the development of Allens Grove


NEW LIBERTY SCHOOL


NEW LIBERTY


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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY


township during the past half century, and the years which have come and gone since its history was published by Dr. Barrows in 1863, have witnessed continuous and substantial progress in various lines. Whereas in the early days the mail was brought from Davenport by different ones of the neighborhood, perhaps twice a week or whenever any one happened to go to that city, the township now enjoys the advantage of a rural daily mail delivery, and is closely connected with other sections of the county by the telephone system, while the time is doubt- less not far distant when Allens Grove will enjoy the added advantage of com- munication with other points by means of the electric trolley line. The old time subscription schools, held in log cabins, have long since ceased to exist, while modern buildings and methods have been instituted in their place, and today the township can boast of having six of the finest school buildings in the rural dis- tricts, each equipped with the latest conveniences, while one of them represents an expenditure of $1,880.


LIBERTY TOWNSHIP.


According to Mr. Barrows, settlement in Liberty township first began in 1837. Those who came to this section of the county were men and women who were determined to make an abiding place for themselves and children. One of these not mentioned was Josiah Figley, who came to Davenport from Columbiana county, Ohio, and stopped at the Davis House, a small story and a half structure on Harrison street. This was in February, 1850. Later he went to Allens Grove where he drove a team and also carried the mail to and from Davenport. At that time a Mr. Eldridge was postmaster. The country at that time was teem- ing with fur-bearing animals of the smaller kind and deer were plentiful. The set- tlers were forced to put up with the most primitive arrangement for a habitation and furniture. This Mr. Figley in 1852 married Eleanor Heller, who was born in Scott county. It was but a few years until the farmers of this township began to prosper and on a farm owned by Mrs. Figley's father Dr. Dixon laid out the town of Dixon. It was in the '50s that the farmers of this township were very much annoyed by the depredation of horse and cattle thieves. Two of them were eventually captured and tried by a jury selected by a band of the settlers who had formed an organization for the punishment of suchlike evil-doers. George Rule, Sr., settled on Rock creek and erected a grist mill which was an improvement greatly appreciated by the settlers for many miles around. Roads were laid out, bridges built and the bountiful harvests of grain were marketed at Davenport. Today the town of Dixon is one of the most important in the county and is described elsewhere in this history. Horace Woods with his family located on section II early in 1837, and following closely on his heels, in July of the same year, came Jacob Heller and family, above referred to, who settled on section 12, now the town site of Dixon. About the same time came John Heller and family, and with him were Mark C. Jacobs and John Grace, who were employed by Jacob Heller. Mrs. Figley is given the distinction of being the first white female born in Scott county. The first cabin built in the township was by Jacob Heller in 1837, and the first prairie land broken in the township was for Jacob Heller, the work being done by John Grace and Mark C. Jacobs. The land was




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