USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume I > Part 77
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"We will look in vain to find just when or where the name of 'Davenport' crept in but it is here on the 18th of May, and Mr. Gavit is the only man whose name is registered on the original agreement who has left a printed record as to its meaning.
"In 'Crumbs from my Saddle Bags or Pioneer Life,' page 207, he says: 'Colonel Davenport bought an interest in Mr. LeClaire's claim and the town was named after Davenport.' A short time before his death Mr. Gavit dictated a letter to the late Mrs. Nettie Howard in answer to a letter of inquiry from her in which he stated that he could not have been mistaken for he was present when the name was accepted and that it was Colonel George Davenport for whom the town was named. This illuminating evidence of Mr. Gavit supplies most perfectly the missing link.
"But now let us examine the names of the proprietors inscribed on the agreement to ascertain what influence they may have exercised in choosing a name, taking the last one first.
"Alexander W. McGregor was a lawyer who came to this vicinity and be- gan the practice of his profession in the fall of 1835, probably about six months before the evacuation of Fort Armstrong and the departure of Colonel William Davenport. He sold his claim a few months after purchase to Stanton Sholes as has been shown above.
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"L. S. Colton is credited in the list of old settlers as an 1836 arrival and was for a time one of the substantial citizens of Davenport.
"P. G. Hambaugh was a non-resident, a sutler by occupation. He left soon after the organization of the town company for Florida, where he died. He was a warm friend of George Davenport, as is attested by a letter in which he in- quires about the prospects for the town, the probabilities of its being the capital of Iowa, besides many things of a more intimate personal nature.
"T. F. Smith was not present when the company was organized. His name was signed by A. LeClaire; Captain Thomas F. Smith was in command of Fort Armstrong from December, 1832, until June 8, 1833, being relieved by Colonel William Davenport on that date.
"Then comes 'James May by George Davenport, Agent,' a name which re- quires for our purpose more careful scrutiny. The only attempt at an argument that has ever been advanced to prove that the town was named for Colonel William Davenport, has rested with James May. The extraordinary feat of thrusting such honor upon a purely military man, without military distinction, a comparative stranger to nearly all connected with the undertaking, without pecuniary or other interest in it, we are told was performed by James May because of personal attachment, and so forth. Captain James May was for seven years engaged in steamboating on the upper Mississippi, but according to his own statement he left the river in 1834, or one year after Colonel William Davenport came to Fort Armstrong, and went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he remained for many years. When the town company was organized he had been away two years. Yet, his faith in the venture was such that he was willing to make the investment and placed his interest in the hands of George Daven- port, who acted as his agent. Volumes could be written, and not dispose more effectually of the story that Captain James May used his influence to have the town named for Colonel William Davenport than is done by the entry 'James May by George Davenport, Agent,' on the original articles of agreement.
"William Gordon's name follows. It is a well known fact that Major Wil- liam Gordon was here temporarily, having been sent by the government to sur- vey Mr. LeClaire's Indian claim. While thus engaged he became interested in the town proposition, surveyed the site and platted it, with the assistance of his associate, Mr. Bennett. The fort at that time was being abandoned by the government and before the last entry, on May 4th, on the articles of agree- ment, it had been evacuated and Colonel William Davenport had departed.
"This leaves George Davenport and Antoine LeClaire, the first signers and the only ones who were prominently and permanently identified with the town. For Mr. LeClaire on the subject of the name we will let his nephew, J. A. Le- Claire, speak. In order to settle definitely the disputed question Mr. LeClaire gives his evidence under oath.
J. A. LECLAIRE'S AFFIDAVIT.
"'State of Iowa, Scott county, ss.
'I, J. A. LeClaire, being duly sworn upon oath, do depose and say that I am a nephew of Antoine LeClaire, deceased, and for many years was intimately as-
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sociated with him as his secretary. The story of the beginning of the city of Davenport and all the circumstances connected therewith were told to me many times and in my presence to different persons by the said Antoine LeClaire, and he always made the point very clear that it was named for his friend, George Davenport. After reading the articles of agreement for the laying out of the city of Davenport, I wish to add to the above statement that the only hitch in the beginning was that George Davenport as well as the other proprietors wanted to name the town LeClaire, but Mr. LeClaire was determined that the honor should be conferred upon Mr. Davenport. He said that Mr. Davenport was the older man, had been here longer and that it was more fitting that the town should bear his name. They finally compromised by agreeing to name the town at the head of the rapids, which was a part of the original plan, LeClaire. Further I wish to say that Mr. Antoine LeClaire furnished personally all the data concern- ing the early history of the town, its name and so forth, used by Franc B. Wilkie in his history of "Davenport, Past and Present." Mr. Wilkie consulted with Mr. LeClaire in his office many times during the preparation of the matter and I was present on such occasions.
'J. A. LECLAIRE.
"Signed and sworn to before me by the said J. A. LeClaire this 22d day of September, 1905.
'HENRY VOLLMER, 'Notary Public, in and for Scott county, Iowa.'
WILKIE ADDS A WORD.
"Franc B. Wilkie, author of 'Davenport, Past and Present,' published in Davenport in 1858 by Luse, Lane & Company, in both the historical and bio- graphical text, says that the town was named for George Davenport. That the assertion was not made by a comparative stranger on hearsay evidence is proven by General Flagler who tells us in his History of Rock Island Arsenal that the material for the biography of George Davenport was furnished by Hon. Bailey Davenport, youngest son of George Davenport, and as has been shown Antoine LeClaire furnished the historical data. Besides Captain James May was a res- ident of Davenport when 'Past and Present' was published. He furnished the matter for his own biography, a large part being his own composition. He was apt with his pen and would he not at that time have challenged in the most public manner a serious mis-statement of facts concerning the derivation of the name of the town of which he was one of the original proprietors if such had been the case? That he did not is proof positive that no mistake was made by Franc B. Wilkie.
"Under date May 7, 1897, Mr. A. C. Fulton contributed to the Weekly Out- look an article which contains many interesting facts and particulars on the subject under discussion. In it he claims that his investigations are not con- fined to today nor yesterday, but go back more than a half century, to 1842, when he made his first inquiries of the original settlers about the naming of the town, and received the answer, invariably, that it was named for George Davenport, the elder.
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MORE INCONTESTABLE PROOF.
"In one of the letters in which Willard Barrows gives the history of Daven- port and Scott county, published in the Davenport Gazette in 1859, Mr. Bar- rows makes this unqualified and unequivocal statement: 'The town was named for Colonel George Davenport.' Mr. Barrows at that time had been a resident of Davenport twenty-two years. He knew everybody and had the traditions of the place well grounded in his memory. It is therefore a moral certainty that no contention over the derivation of the name had arisen when this declaration was published-August 25, 1859. The Gazette files are in the public library and may be consulted by any one interested.
MORE LIVING WITNESSES.
"John M. Lyter, in an address before the Pioneer Settlers Association as president, in 1895, characterized the story that any Davenport but George was ever thought of originally in connection with the naming of the town as 'absurd, a wrong and a folly.'
"Joe Hebert says that from earliest childhood he was brought up in the faith that this town was named after George Davenport, and he resents very . keenly any attempt to destroy that faith now. Mr. Hebert's father, a boy in his early teens, came to Rock island with his uncle, who was in the employ of the government as gun smith, in 1821. He remained on the island until Davenport was laid out and then came over to this side of the river, where he lived until his death in 1867. As no dispute over the identity of the Davenport for whom the city was named ever arose during his father's lifetime, Mr. Hebert says he never heard him make a statement concerning it. What he does distinctly re- member is that on occasions of general rejoicing over events marking the city's progress his father would say: 'I'm glad this place was named for Musquakie's father!' meaning by Musquakie George L. Davenport, his playmate and life- long friend.
"John Littig gives testimony on the subject in these words : 'I came to Stephen- son-now Rock Island-in 1837, to Davenport the year following. The town at that time had not over 150 inhabitants. I went to work for Mr. LeClaire and remained in his employ for eight years. I lived in Mr. LeClaire's family and have heard him say many times that the town was named for George Davenport.'
A PORTRAIT IN EVIDENCE.
"In the home of the grandchildren of George Davenport in this city hangs a portrait in oil, painted from life, of George Davenport. In his hand he holds a map with the words across the top 'Map of the City of Davenport.' What does it mean? The meaning is as plain as though it were emblazoned in golden let- ters across the canvas-'I am the progenitor for whom the city of Davenport was named."
"The present controversy has its origin of course in the unfortunate coin- cidence that two men by the same name were living on Rock island when Daven-
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port was founded. Without questioning the good faith or motives of those who, at this late date, are responsible for raising the issue, it must be contended that they are in error, and that it is established by a preponderance of testimony that George Davenport, the co-worker and faithful friend of Antoine LeClaire, until the day of his death, is the man whose name our city bears."
COLONEL GEORGE DAVENPORT, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS OF DAVENPORT, AND AFTER WHOM THE CITY WAS NAMED.
From Wilkie's "Davenport Past and Present."
In his most interesting history "Davenport, Past and Present," Franc B. Wilkie, the brilliant Davenport newspaper man who after leaving this city made his reputation as a war correspondent for metropolitan papers, went to Chicago and became Wilbur Story's managing editor and European representative for the Chicago Times, has this biography of Colonel George Davenport. It is as full of romance as a work of fiction and the story is told with the fascination of Wilkie's admirable diction.
George Davenport was born in the year 1783 in Lincolnshire, England, and, at the age of seventeen years, was placed with an uncle (master of a merchant ship) to learn the seafaring business. During the next three years he visited many seaports on the Baltic and of France, Spain and Portugal. In the fall of 1803 the ship sailed with a cargo from Liverpool for St. Petersburg, and shortly after its arrival an embargo was laid upon all the English vessels in that port-the vessels taken possession of and their crews thrown into prison by the Russian gov- ernment. The crew of Mr. Davenport's vessel were confined in an old stone church where they remained during a long and dreary winter, suffering very much from cold and hunger. In the spring they were released and their ves- sel restored to them. After returning home their next voyage was from Liver- pool to New York, with a cargo of goods-this was in the summer of 1804. They arrived safely at their destination and had discharged their load and taken in a cargo for Liverpool and were on the eve of sailing when an accident took place which changed the whole course of his life. Everything was in readiness for sailing, they had commenced to heave up the anchor, when one of the sailors was knocked overboard. Standing near the stern, at the side of the vessel, Mr. Davenport saw the accident and immediately jumped into a small boat and caught the sailor by the hair as he was going down the last time-drawing him up and holding him until they came to his assistance. In jumping into the boat he struck one of the seats and fractured his leg very badly; and there being no surgeon on board, the captain had him taken to the city and placed in the hospi- tal, with directions for every possible care to be taken of him. After remaining there some two months, he was advised to go into the country to recruit his health. Acting upon this advice, he went to New Jersey and stopped at the pleasant village of Rahway, where he remained some time and then went to Carlisle, Pennsylvania. While there be became acquainted with a young officer, Lieutenant Lawrence, who was recruiting for the army. Taking quite a liking to him he proposed that if he would enlist he would get him the appointment
COLONEL GEORGE DAVENPORT In whose honor the city of Davenport was named
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of sergeant, which proposition was accepted, and he received the appointment of sergeant in Captain McLeary's Company of the First Regiment of Infantry. He then went to Harrisburg on a recruiting expedition and remained until they had enlisted the number of men required, after which they returned to Carlisle Barracks and remained until the spring of 1806, occupied in drilling and learn- ing all the arts of war. Then then received orders to join the army at New Or- leans, under the command of General Wilkinson. They walked across the moun- tains to Pittsburg and there they procured boats and rowed down the river to New Orleans.
On their arrival at that city they were kept constantly at work repairing and building new fortifications and putting the place in a state of defense. Dur- ing that summer the soldiers suffered very much from sickness. In the fall the troops received orders to march to Sabine river, against the Spaniards; which expedition has since been known as the Sabine Expedition. The troops were placed in keel boats and worked their way up the Mississippi and Red rivers, suffering every kind of hardship and fatigue, hot weather, bad water and any quantity of mosquitoes, could afford, before they arrived at Nachetochez. Dur- ing this trip Mr. Davenport steered one of the boats and came very near being drowned. In consequence of the boats sheering and swinging around the steer- ing oar knocked him into the river, but fortunately as he came up he seized hold of the blade of the oar and held on until he was rescued. After remaining here a short time he was sent by General Wilkinson with dispatches to Fort Adams, on the Mississippi. He took one man with him, got his provisions into a canoe and started down Red river. When they had reached the great bend they met with an accident that came near losing them their lives. The canoe struck a snag and upset them in the river, but by clinging to the drift wood they made out to reach the shore, making a narrow escape with their lives. Losing their canoe and all of their provisions, they were now obliged to strike across the country to the Mississippi, traveling over swamps, bayous, sloughs, having frequently to get logs together and make rafts to cross on. During this travel they were nearly eaten up by mosquitoes. At night they would build a fire and make a dense smoke to keep them off. While one of them would sleep, the other would watch, keep up the fire and look out for alligators. They were several days in reach- ing Fort Adams and were nearly worn out, living only upon what berries and wild fruit they could find.
Peace being made with the Spaniards, General Wilkinson returned with the troops to New Orleans and as soon as they arrived they commenced to put the place in a state of defense against the Burr expedition, which was on its way down the river. There was great excitement in the city. The military were kept constantly on duty and in a short time the city was declared under martial law. During this time Mr. Davenport was on duty as orderly to General Wilkin- son. About the middle of December, 1806, he was sent with a guard to arrest Dr. Errick Bollman, which was effected about 12 o'clock at night. They sur- rounded the house, posting sentinels around it to prevent any possible escape. When they knocked at the door a person came and opened it and inquired what they wanted. They replied "Dr. Bollman." The person stated the doctor was not there. They, however, entered, searched the house and found the doctor in
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HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY
his room, dressing himself, when they arrested him for treason, taking him down to the fort for safe keeping.
During the stay of the troops in New Orleans they suffered dreadfully from sickness, not being accustomed to the climate. It frequently became Mr. Daven- port's turn to take charge of the men detailed to bury the dead. This was a dreadful duty. The graves could not be sunk more than three feet, owing to the water being so near the surface, while the men had to bail out the water as they dug the graves; and when the coffin was put in they had to hold it down with their spades until the grave could be filled up with earth to keep the coffin from floating. The sun's scorching heat and the intolerable stench from the shallow graves made this the hardest duty that was possible for any one to perform and a great many lost their lives from the effects of it. After the arrest of Burr and his associates and everything had quieted down, most of the troops were sent to Natchez, Fort Adams, and other more healthy places.
In the spring of 1807 Mr. Davenport was sent with a party of troops to the Homichita river, in the Choctaw country, where they built a block house and re- mained there until fall, when they returned to Natchez. Mr. Davenport then received orders to go on a recruiting expedition to fill the regiment, which was nearly decimated by losses from sickness. He sailed from New Orleans to Phila- delphia, where he enlisted quite a number of men, going from there to Balti- more and thence to Winchester, Virginia, 1809. Here he remained until the spring of 1810, when he was ordered west to join his regiment. They walked over the mountains to Pittsburg. Here they procured keel boats and proceeded down the Ohio, then up the Mississippi and Missouri to the barracks at Belle- fontaine. He remained here until the summer of 1812, when he went with Captain Owens' company in boats up the Mississippi to an island just below the mouth of the Illinois. Here they built temporary fortifications and remained until fall to protect St. Louis and the settlements from being attacked by the Indians.
About this time General Howard organized an expedition to go against the Indians on the Illinois river at Peoria lake, where the Pottawottamies had sev- eral villages. The regular troops were ordered to proceed by water to Peoria while the rangers and volunteers proceeded across the country. They got their keel boats in readiness and had the "cargo boxes" double planked so as to make them ball proof-made loop and port holes for musketry and light pieces of cannon. They arrived at the foot of Peoria lake without seeing any Indians- landed their men and commenced to build a blockhouse on the top of a high bank which overlooked the prairie for some distance. After finishing this they sunk a well to supply it with water. Having arranged things so as to draw up the water with a sweep, it was necessary to have a grapevine to attach to the pole. Mr. Davenport, having noticed some grapevines in the woods a short distance from the blockhouse, took a man with him to get one and soon found the article in question. They cut it and were trimming it when an unusual sound attracted their attention. They became alarmed and started for the fort and when they reached the edge of the timber, he climbed a tree to reconnoiter the prairie in the direction of the blockhouse, and to his horror he beheld the prairie swarming with Indians, moving toward the blockhouse. He descended as fast as possible and
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told his companion that their only chance of escape was by getting under the bank and running for their lives along the shore of the lake, endeavoring thus to reach the blockhouse before the Indians discovered them. They started, but were not half way to the fort before the battle commenced. The firing from the blockhouse and the yells of the Indians on the prairie above them increased their speed considerably and they made, perhaps, the fastest time ever known. When they approached near the blockhouse, they found it was impossible to reach it as the Indians were nearer than they were and their only chance now was to get to the gun boats at the lake. When they were about half way to the boats the Indians discovered them and commenced firing at them and, yelling like a pack of devils, made towards the boats. This alarmed the men on board, who commenced to push out into the lake, but fortunately one of the boats grounded on a sand bar, which accident saved Mr. Davenport and his companion. They rushed into the water and, wading to the boat, put their shoulders to the bow and pushed it into deep water. During all this time the Indians were firing at them and the balls kept whizzing by, making it anything but comfortable. They soon got on board and under cover. Mr. Davenport determined on revenge and, pointing one of the small cannons, he took good aim at the red skins and applied the match. The gun missed fire. While hunting for a primer some one elevated the piece too high. When he applied the match the piece went off with a tremen- dous explosion, so much so that he thought the whole boat was blown up. The muzzle of the gun had been elevated above the edge of the port hole and when it went off the whole load struck the side of the boat. By this time the brisk fire kept up from the blockhouse and boats, obliged the Indians to retreat.
Nothing of any importance occurred until about the first of December, when a large party of Pottawottamies arrived with a white flag and sent in three of their chiefs to the fort and proposed to meet the commanding officer in council. This was agreed to and arrangements were made for the meeting of a certain num- ber of chiefs and braves in council. A place and time were agreed upon and when the time arrived about forty of the principal chiefs and braves approached the place, dressed in their full Indian costume, headed by their principal chief, the old Black Partridge. They were met by the commanding officer and all the officers of the post. After shaking hands and passing around the peace pipe the old chief explained his business. They wished to be friends with the Amer- icans, to stop war and make a treaty of peace with him. The commanding offi- cer complimented them for the decision and promised to send their talk to the superintendent of Indian affairs, General Clark, at St. Louis, as he had no orders or authority to treat with them. He proposed that they should send a delegation of their chiefs and warriors to St. Louis and he agreed to send some of his sol- diers with them, to see them safe through the white settlements. This was agreed to. So they selected thirteen of their principal men and one woman. The commander ordered Mr. Davenport to select four trusty men and take charge of the Indians and escort them to St. Louis. This was rather an unpleasant duty for five men to start out with a lot of hostile Indians, but it had to be done -there was nothing to be done but to obey orders, and accordingly he got a suf- ficient supply of provisions and placed them aboard of a perogue and, embark- ing his party, started down the Illinois river. The principal chiefs were Gomo,
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Senatchwine, Shiggashack, Comas and Black Partridge. They had traveled but one day when the river froze up, obliging them to abandon their boat and travel by land. Each took a small quantity of provisions, the remainder was rolled up and placed in a hollow tree. With the provisions they also had a small keg of whiskey and after giving each one of the party a dram, it was proposed to hide it with the provisions, so that the Indians could have it on their return, but the old Black Partridge insisted that they should drink it all then. Mr. Daven- port told him he could not do so. He then directed them to move on and his men to follow in the rear, while he remained to put away the keg of liquor. After they were out of sight he took the keg and concealed it in a different place from that mentioned to the Indians, having become alarmed at their conduct, and being afraid they would return and take the liquor and get drunk. In that case they were sure to have trouble and, perhaps, lose their lives. He soon over- took the company but all day the old Black Partridge was very moody and dis- contented. At night they encamped on a point of the river and he managed to place the Indians on the point and his own camp behind them, so that they could not go back without his knowing it. Each had a guard to watch the other. They traveled in this cautious manner two or three days, when they discovered a smoke across the prairie, which alarmed the Indians. They stated that there was a large war party of Sacs out and thought from the smoke it must be they, and if they saw them they would be killed, they could not be saved from these formidable braves. This was not very comfortable news but they avoided the danger by avoiding the prairie and following the timber and making no fire at night. They traveled on for a number of days and when they began to ap- proach the Mississippi a new danger began to threaten the imagination of the Indians. The rangers were ordered to scour the country as far up as the mouth of the Illinois, and there was great danger of falling in with them and their firing on them before the rangers discovered that there were any whites with them. When camping at night the whites hung their hats and coats upon poles, so that in case of an approach of the rangers the Indians would not be fired upon. In this way they traveled and, after suffering very much from the in- clemency of the weather, and from hunger, they arrived at St. Louis and were very well received and were soon called to the council chamber and a treaty con- cluded with the Indians, who left five of their number as hostages for its ful- filment.
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