USA > Iowa > Scott County > Davenport > History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, Volume I > Part 8
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Barrows' History of Scott County appeared serially in the Davenport Ga- zette, beginning in the issue of June 30, 1859 and ending March 1, 1860. The history was reprinted in the Annals of Iowa, the official organ of the Iowa State Historical society, the first installment appearing in the issue of January, 1863. Other portions appear in subsequent issues of 1863 and 1864. The author brought to date in this second publishing almost all paragraphs in which such editing was necessary.
VERIFICATION AND CORRECTION.
In the interim between these two printings of the history suggestions as to corrections of fact were invited by the author and all criticisms were investi-
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gated and correction made where necessary. Owing to these circumstances this record of early days became well nigh perfect in narration, and was hailed with delight by all those interested in Scott county and in Iowa history. The Gazette commented as follows in the issue of March 1, 1860. "As a local history these sketches cannot be too highly estimated. A great many interesting and even im- portant facts which were fast passing into oblivion have been placed on imper- ishable record. The first tracings of civilization here have been mapped. The early trials and struggles of the pioneers-the gradual gathering of strong hearts and vigorous forms from far distant places-the redeeming of prairie and wilderness-the opening of farms and the founding of villages-and the process of development from the home of the Indian to the home of a population of 26,000 people surrounded by all the elements of plenty, wealth, civilization and christianity are well depicted in this history of Scott county. Our com- munity owes a debt of gratitude to the author for his earnest and assiduous labors, opposed as they were at times by most perplexing obstacles in gathering the material for this book and presenting them to the public in so pleasant a form. He does not claim perfection for the result, but we claim for him that he has done his duty well and faithfully and that he is probably the only competent man in the county who could or would have devoted so much time and labor, and without pecuniary reward to an enterprise in which he has no more personal or selfish interest than many other citizens. His sketches have been read with great interest by old and new settlers, and at home and abroad."
OTHER COMMENTS.
A writer at Grinnell voiced an appreciation of Mr. Barrows as the historian of Scott county through his long residence, personal participation in many of the scenes and incidents and intimate acquaintance with all old settlers, the sources from which his information was taken. This writer also notes Mr. Barrows' habits of close observation, peculiar taste for conducting researches, extending. to the far past, and his ability to tell the results of his observation and investigation.
A Muscatine paper of later date speaks of Mr. Barrows as: "One of Scott county's citizens, an old settler of whom the state is justly proud, who furnished the first and best county history." The Iowa Religious News-Letter, Dubuque, 1863, the only religious journal in the state at the time, adds its word, "Fortunate would it be for the state if every county could find so faithful and painstaking a historian."
HIS OWN ESTIMATE.
Light is thrown on Willard Barrows' estimate of the importance of his mis- sion as historian and his devotion to this work which he considered a duty laid upon him by his fellow citizens by his response at the third annual festival of the Pioneer Settlers' association, February 22, 1860, to a toast, "The historian of Scott county,-his indefatigable research in the gathering of facts, statistics and incidents, and his untiring industry in combining them in the indelible record of types have created a living memory of the pioneer history of Scott
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county with which the name of the historian must ever be connected." In re- sponding Mr. Barrows said, in part: "The crude and imperfect material which has been compiled may be of service to the future historian when the great valley of the Mississippi shall have put on her strength and beauty, when her vast plains shall be dotted over with the habitations of man, and the commerce of a great people be seen floating upon the bosom of our noble river. It will be then, sir, that the living memories of the pioneers of Scott county will stand forth amid the splendor of coming ages and receive their just meed of praise.
"To this glorious result we have all here tonight contributed. Alike have we borne the heat and burden of a pioneer life. It was you, pioneer fathers and mothers of Scott county,-it was you that first planted the seeds of this his- tory. It is you that make up this history. It was you that covered up the last footprints of the Indian upon the soil of Scott county, and reared the altars of civilization upon the ruins of barbarism. As I look around me here, tonight, and behold the familiar faces of old and tried friends, how well do I remember the trials and conflicts of our early history.
"The material, sir, for the future historian of Iowa will be rich and abundant, and although we cannot point to a Mt. Nebo, a Lebanon or a Zion, or to rivers made sacred by the presence of patriarchs and prophets, yet we have our own lovely plains with their Eden-like beauty, and the deep rolling Mississippi for our Ganges, our Euphrates and our Nile. We have no Plymouth Rock made memorable by the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, no battlefields upon which the proud monument rears its lofty head. But we can stand upon our own native bluffs and contemplate with wonder and admiration the never tiring waves of that mighty river whose tributaries drain a country greater in extent than the empire of Alexander, and which bears upon its bosom a commerce greater than that of all the rivers tributary to Imperial Rome.
THE GLORY OF THE WEST.
"Think you, sir, that the 'rock-bound coast' of New England should become more memorable by the footprints of the Pilgrims than the landing of Marquette and Joliet, 186 years ago upon the soil of Scott county? Were the scenes enacted in Plymouth harbor more thrilling or important in their results than the discovery of the Mississippi valley? Should the rock that was immortalized by having been pressed by the Pilgrims' feet have cast around it a greater halo of glory than the presence of these pioneers upon the very ground upon which we this night celebrate? For we believe it was here that the village of Pewaria stood when Marquette and Joliet first landed among the tribes of the Illini.
"Yes, Mr. President, Scott county has a history, a varied and a thrilling one, and for me to feel that I have aided even by my feeble efforts in handing its records down to posterity is requital enough for all the labor bestowed by me."
Across the gulf of fifty years the thoughts of the present dwellers in Scott county may well go back in grateful appreciation to this fine old writer of an early day who made certain the record of events of pioneer times and laid the foundations for the love of Scott county and pride in Scott county, imperishable in all who know its splendid history.
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It is remarkable that in only one particular has the verity of the Barrows his- tory been seriously called in question. In his admirable history of Davis county Captain Hosea B. Horn speaks of Mr. Barrows locating the grave of Black Hawk in Wapello county as an error, claiming that it was over the line in Davis county and citing proof from those living near-proof that seems indisputable. This historian gives the name of the doctor who took Black Hawk's bones from -his grave as Turner and his residence as Lexington, Van Buren county.
Since the printing of the Barrows history many items of early days have come to the surface. It is probable that he knew of many of these but felt the limitations put upon him by his publishers. He resisted the temptation to go too far afield and widen the scope of his work into a state history. He makes men- tion of the neighboring county of Muscatine because the early settlers of Musca- tine county had much to do with those of Scott county. Montpelier, at the mouth of Pine creek, was the first postoffice in that county and letters were di- rected to Iowa postoffice, Black Hawk purchase, Wisconsin territory. Benjamin Nye landed at the "Mouth of Pine" in 1834, had a store and owned the town with Major Gordon. Muscatine had a variety of early names, Kasey, Newburg, Bloom- ington and then Musquitine, the spelling given by Stephen Whicher who wrote the petition upon which Judge Grant made the change of name. Fairport was originally called Salem, and was laid out in 1836 by Alfred Lyon & Co.
The William Gordon who is mentioned as one of the proprietors of Iowa, the town also known as Mouth of Pine, was one of the incorporators of Daven- port. He left St. Louis in 1843 on an expedition up the Mississippi river and nothing definite was afterwards learned of him. There were rumors that he had been seen in California. Gordon was a Tenneseean, son of Capt. Gordon who commanded a company of scouts under General Jackson in the Creek war. He was liberally educated and had represented the American Fur Company in the Rocky mountains. He was about fifty years of age when he disappeared. Gordon was an elegant and engaging conversationalist, spicy, original and humorous. He lived in a house near the present site of the Lorenzen building. The dash of ec- centricity in his makeup was shown in his never sleeping in a bed, but lay even when ill on buffalo robes spread on the floor with his feet to the fire. His love for women in general brought him into difficulties. Once he was knocked down with a club and stabbed by an irate husband and did not recover for months.
A FUTURE STATE CAPITAL.
This town of Iowa caught the fancy of Lieutenant Albert M. Lea, who in- vestigated the Black Hawk purchase for the government and published a map with notes in 1836 the date that Davenport was incorporated. He must have made investments there for early issues of Andrew Logan's Iowa Sun show display advertising of Albert Lea, offering lots in this coming metropolis of the West. In his map Lieutenant Lea extols in extravagant phrase the prospects of this small settlement: "This will be the point of deposit for the trade of the country included between the Iowa, Wabesapineca and Mississippi, and for the disembarkation of emigrants for that reason. Should the seat of the future gov- ernment of Iowa be located on the Mississippi, it will probably be fixed at Iowa,
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owing to the central position and commercial advantage of the place, and if it be located in the interior, it must be near the Iowa river, as the weight of popu- lation will be there, and then the town of Iowa will be the nearest port on the Mississippi to the capital of the state." The prophetic lieutenant liked Buffalo and Clark's ferry, and allowed that with a better bank for landing a ferry boat Buffalo would run a great race with Iowa for the location of the metropolis.
Lieutenant Lea cast a jaundiced horoscope for Davenport, just struggling for a place on the map. He calls it a town "just laid out on a reserve belonging to Antoine LeClaire. It is nearly opposite to the lower end of Rock Island, about 350 miles from St. Louis by river, and situated on high ground with a beautiful range of sloping hills running in the rear of it. The town of Stephen- son, the mouth of Rock river, the picturesque works on Rock Island and Le- Claire's house and plantation are all within full view of this point. Its situation is certainly delightful, as far as beauty and health are concerned; but there is doubt as to convenience in landing. Its position near the foot of the rapids where navigation is much obstructed will cause it to be resorted to as a place of ship- ment both for persons and freight. Water power, building stone and bitumin- ous coal are convenient and abundance of excellent timber is to be found on the hills and creeks of the vicinity.
"The town has been laid out on a liberal scale with a view to its becoming a large city. Three public squares have been reserved from sale, one of which it is supposed by the proprietors will be occupied by the public buildings of the future state of Iowa; for they confidently predict that the seat of government of this forthcoming commonwealth will be no other than the city of Davenport itself. Nous verrons."
If Albert Lea kept his eye on Davenport for a few years he saw this city the capital of the territory of Iowa, at least when Governor Conway came to town. But that is another story to be taken up in a later chapter.
This same traveler, Lieutenant Lea, made sage opinion that all Parkhurst needed was people and houses to be quite a town. There were neither there when he saw the location of the handsome settlement at the upper end of the rapids now called LeClaire.
SUEL FOSTER'S PEDESTRIAN TRIP.
Suel Foster, for many years an honored resident of Muscatine wrote this story of early days when every acre of Iowa soil fronting on the Mississippi was considered by somebody an appropriate and probable site for the state capitol. "In April, 1836, I was living at Rock Island, Illinois. In May the town of Daven- port was laid out on government land, joining on the west of LeClaire's reserve. In June of that year I took a short journey in the Black Hawk purchase, as it was then called. I do not think the name of Iowa had been given to it then, for it was the new western wild district of Michigan territory. I passed thirty miles down the west bank of the Mississippi river, a beautiful, flat limestone shore most of the way, and I have never found any part of the West so prolific of town sites. I had to pick my way along among town lot stakes much of the way.
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"The first town was Davenport; the second, four miles, Rockingham; the third, one mile, Monte Video; the fourth, five miles, New Buffalo; the fifth, six miles, Iowa. This town was laid out by Captain Robert E. Lee and William Gor- don, (the same Lee afterwards the great Rebel general). The sixth, one mile was Montpelier ; the seventh, four miles, Salem; the eighth, one mile, Wyoming; the ninth, four miles, Geneva; the tenth, three miles, Bloomington; the eleventh, half a mile, Newburgh. At that time Stephen T. Mason was governor of our Michigan territory. We had no counties.
"I recollect the names of several of the mayors of these cities-Antoine LeClaire, of Davenport ; John H. Sullivan, of Rockingham; Capt. Benjamin Clark of New Buffalo; Capt. Robert E. Lee, of Iowa. He was absent at that time, surveying the route of the great river, United States engineer, which river has flowed ever since in the old channel which Lee marked out. The mayor of Montpelier was Benjamin Nye; Salem, James and William Chambers; Wyoming, Samuel Collier; Geneva, Dr. Eli Reynolds; Bloomington, now Muscatine, John Vanater ; Newburgh, G. W. Kasey. All the intermediate cities between Daven- port and Muscatine are now (1885) in the suburbs of these two cities."
Mr. Foster purchased a claim in Muscatine and the deed showed the style of description necessary in transferring realty before government surveys were made. John Vanater's cabin was made the point of departure and measure in describing the 160-acre claim purchased.
THE NAMING OF DAVENPORT.
To Mr. Barrows' statement that the city of Davenport was named for Col. George Davenport is added the testimony of Rev. Elnathan Gavit, who preached the first sermon in this city back in 1837, it having come to Mr. Gavit's notice that in the New York campaign of 1885, the candidate for governor, Ira L. Davenport was spoken of in the eastern press as the son of Ira Davenport who "had invested in Iowa lands when that state was in its infancy, and the town of Davenport owed its name to this fact," a letter was written covering the subject. Mr. Gavit says: "As a minister of the Methodist church and a member of the Ohio conference and as a missionary to the Northwestern territory I landed with my family and in company with Captain Stanton Sholes and his family upon Rock island in the spring of 1835, and by the kindness of Colonel George Davenport we secured a log house in which we lived until we were enabled to provide a home of our own. Mr. Sholes, my brother-in-law, having purchased an interest in the town of Davenport, in company with myself, we erected the first frame house in that place, which is still standing (1885) not far from the margin of the river. In this house I preached the first sermon, formed the first class, and established the first Sabbath school, and married the first couple in what is now the beautiful and flourishing city of Davenport, and have some knowledge of the early com- mencement of this place, and for whom it was named. I have no misgivings in stating that the town of Davenport in the state of Iowa was named for Colonel George Davenport, of Rock Island, and for no other person or family by the name of Davenport, east or west, north or south, living or dead, politically, relig- iously or otherwise. I not only have this testimony in person from Colonel
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George Davenport himself but also from Mr. A. LeClaire, the earliest proprietor of this village, and that he himself suggested the name in honor of his personal friend, Colonel Davenport, and that his influence and popularity at home and abroad, and especially in St. Louis, would contribute largely to the sale of lots and increase the popularity of the place, which was not only a compliment to Mr. George Davenport, but was a wise conclusion, financially."
Two years later this pioneer clergyman paid a visit to Davenport and told of his appointment by the Ohio conference to labor among the Sacs and Foxes in a circuit which embraced everything between the Missouri state line and St. Anthony's falls. From his log cabin home on Rock island nothing of civilization was to be seen on the Iowa shore except the small house of Antoine LeClaire. Mr. Gavit traveled his extensive circuit on horseback carrying food in his sad- dlebags and bivouacking at night on the prairie, seeking people to whom he could preach the scriptures. When he reached his Davenport home he preached to the soldiers at Fort Armstrong, Captain Zachary Taylor and Colonel Daven- port being in his congregation. He was on friendly terms with Black Hawk and Keokuk. While the family resided here their little boy, aged four years died and was buried in the cemetery at the fort.
DAVENPORT ENTERTAINS A BISHOP.
It was in 1837 that the Episcopalians of this vicinity entertained Bishop Chase upon his first episcopal visitation. His notes have been preserved and tell the story of his coming and going with some heartfelt hopes for the spiritual health of this budding community: "July 13, 1837,-Came to that most pleasantly situated and rising village, Stephenson. Was received most kindly by good Mr. Brackett. July 14,-visited a sick man, and in the evening, preached in the school house. July 15,-again visited the sick and at 3 o'clock crossed the river Mississippi and preached in the village of Davenport, which is in the Wisconsin territory. Returned to Stephenson. July 16,-at 3 p. m., crossed the Missis- sippi and preached in the Wisconsin territory. Same night returned to Stephen- son. Found a letter of invitation to preach at Rockingham in the W. T. July 17,-crossed over the third time the river justly called the 'Father of Waters.' Rode down its banks to R., that rapidly growing place to which I had been so kindly invited, where I preached in the afternoon. In reflecting on these three villages-Stephenson, Davenport, and Rockingham-my mind is deeply impressed with their importance and peculiar advantages. And why may not religion be among the blessings which they enjoy? When men for worldly interest flock to- gether, as they do in these places, should not true Christians go with them to promote their eternal welfare? Let pass a few years, and all the busy, bustling first settlers of these beautiful places will be in their graves. And what will be the character and destiny of those who occupy their places if nothing more be done than now appears to form their manners and their hearts anew? July 18 -I was conveyed across the Mississippi and up to the mouth of Rock river by the exertions and kind assistance of Dr. Barrows and other gentlemen of Rock- ingham. The same friends also attended me for some distance on land till put on a trail leading to home, thence bearing southeast, distant sixty miles."
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FIRST DEATH IN DAVENPORT.
Mr. Barrows speaks of the death of Mrs. Tannehill in 1836 as the first to oc- cur in the village of Davenport. It is not a matter of particular importance and probably he was right, but another writer tells of a death which preceded the one given precedence by Mr. Barrows. It was the demise from typhoid fever of an Indianian who bivouacked in his hooded wagon near Fifth and Perry streets while he was doing some breaking for Antoine LeClaire near where the Macaroni plant is now situated. When the kind and hospitable folks of the little settlement learned of his condition, he was taken to a log cabin near Second and Scott streets and cared for until he died. Rough boards were nailed together for a coffin and he was buried on the edge of the city, where the first burial ground thus begun was located-near Sixth and Main streets. Here in the midst of the city he rests, his grave unmarked, his name forgotten, even his existence uncertain.
A SUMMER RESORT.
The LeClaire house built in 1839 and demolished in the spring of 1910 was the scene of much of the history that Mr. Barrows wrote. In its palmy days it was the finest hotel in the Mississippi Valley and attracted guests from the south. A correspondent of the New Orleans Delta writes in the '40S, "The LeClaire house is a great resort for the people of St. Louis to spend three or four months in hunting and fishing. The prairie grouse which is as large as a common hen affords the finest opportunity for the exercise of the gun. Your humble con- tributor bagged twenty-five in one afternoon, shooting one at a time on the wing."
UNIQUE CELEBRATION.
In 1840 this little settlement of a few hundred ambitious and impulsive souls was visited by a Chicago newspaper man who enjoyed himself and wrote some- thing for his paper which was reprinted in the Sun of October 24, 1840. "We venture to say that the LeClaire house, whether we consider the outward struc- ture or the internal finish, or even furniture, has no equal in this state, Missouri or the territories. It was named after Mr. LeClaire, a celebrated Indian trader who had done much with another trader whose name the town bears, for the growth and beauty of the place. The Iowa Sun is published here. We had but very little time to take any notes of Davenport, being attracted across the river by its splendid illumination in honor of being chosen the seat of justice for Scott county, and being compelled to leave early the next morning. But our short stay was a very pleasurable one, as we found all the youth and beauty of the place congregated at the LeClaire house at a social ball, where we found an old friend, Judge Williams, as ready to play or dance as ever, and Messrs. Parker, of Scott, Walworth, of Cedar, and Murray of Clinton, all canvassing for a seat in the legislature. We also found there Colonels Dodge and Brophy, late of the Patriot army, and one who also deserves an honorable mention, the generous and enterprising LeClaire. Between so many ladies educated with all the re- finements of our eastern and southern cities it would be invidious to individualize.
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But aggregately we will say of a company of some seventy-five ladies that no town of the size of Davenport in the Union can produce their superiors whether we speak of their mental or external accomplishments. And hereafter when we hear of a settler of Iowa passing by Davenport when in search of a wife, whether under the pretense of grace, beauty, intelligence or even wealth, we shall believe him acting from necessity and without honor to his own country."
It is not remarkable that the gallant newspaper man swayed by feminine "external accomplishments" should have been previously impressed by the illumination over the county seat matter, for it is a reminiscence of the oldest settlers that it was a unique demonstration. One citizen seldom praised for gen- erosity set fire to his own hay stacks under the influence of excitement and danced round them while they expressed his pleasure over the result of the election. Another number in the impromptu program of illumination was the stacking of combustibles on a large sled which being scooted around on the sand of the river front by means of long ropes so fascinated and bewildered the citizens of Stephenson that the river was dotted with skiffs bearing the curious citizens of the sister town who came across to see not only what it was all about but also how in the world it was done.
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