USA > Iowa > Floyd County > History of Floyd County, Iowa : together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 85
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ROCKFORD TOWNSHIP.
the close of the war he returned to Wisconsin, and taught school at Prairie du Chien four years. He was married in 1867 to Elizabeth Kelso, a native of Otsego County, N. Y ., born Oct. 7, 1843. The fruit of this marriage is six children-Almira, born Aug. 30, 1868; Cora, June 24, 1870; Grace, Feb. 7, 1872; Robert G., March 19, 1875; Helen, Nov. 11, 1878, and Wallace S., March 1, 1882. Mr. Ruggles owns a finely cultivated farm on sections 5, 7 and 8, Rockford Township, consisting of 215 acres. He is a Democrat in his political views, and has held the office of Town- ship Trustee. He is a member of the Congregational church at Prairie du Chien.
Augustus Schroeder was born in the province of Mecklinburg- Schwerin, Germany, Aug. 28, 1845. He was reared and educated there, and on Sept. 27, 1869, embarked for America. He landed at the city of New York, and from there went to Beloit, Wis., which was his home for ten years. He then removed to St. Louis, Mo., resided there four months ; thence to Butler County, Iowa, in 1879. In 1881 he located in Rockford, Iowa, where he has resided since, an honored and respected citizen. Mr. Schroeder has followed the wagon-maker's trade for the past nineteen years. He was married in his native country to Johannah Brandt, Aug. 3, 1868. She was born in Germany, May 1, 1844. Five children have blessed this union, viz .: Alfred F., born Nov. 17, 1869; Emma, July 21, 1872; Edward, Sept. 5, 1874; Louisa, Sept. 27, 1876; and Otto, Aug. 10, 1880. Mr. Schroeder is a member of the Lutheran church, and in politics is a strong supporter of the Republican party.
H. C. Scott, dealer in agricultural implements, Rockford, Ia., was born in Richland County, O., June 23, 1827. When eight years of age he went with his father to Michigan, resided there two years, thence to Rockford, Ill., in 1838, traveling with ox teams all the way. He engaged in farming in Illinois until October, 1875, when he came to Floyd County, locating in Charles City. In March, 1876, he settled in Rockford Township, purchasing 200 acres of fine land on section 33, which he farmed one year; then sold, and moved into the city of Rockford, in order to facilitate the educational advantages of his children. He built a nice resi- dence here, where he has for the past six years dealt in agricult- ural implements. He was married on Dec. 23, 1850, to Mary C. Muffitt, a native of New York, born in 1833. Seven children have been born unto them-Horace T., Sophronia, William H., Hattie E., C. A., Estella and Jessie. Mr. Scott is a prominent
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
member of the I. O. O. F. and A. F. & A. M. fraternities of Rockford, and is at present serving in the City Council. Politi- cally he is a Republican.
I. A. Scott, one of the prominent citizens of Rockford Town- ship, was born in Erie County, N. Y., Aug. 9, 1832. He resided there until 1853, and in that year emigrated to Columbia County, that State, where he remained thirteen years, then came to Rock- ford, Ia., and has resided here since. Upon coming to this city he erected a large stone storehouse, 40 x 23 feet, on Platt street, which he subsequently sold to Isaac Hall. He also built the first and only slaughter house in Rockford. In the year 1871 he embarked in the butcher business and also conducted a grocery store and saloon a short time. He engaged in the hardware business one year, and for the past three years has packed butter for various firms in Rockford. He was married in 1879 to Minnie Graves. Politically he favors the Republican party.
Oren R. Shaw, one of the prominent farmers of Rockford Town- ship, is a native of Oneida County, N. Y., born in the town of Marsey on March 13, 1831. He lived there until 1853 when he moved to Lak eCounty, Ill., thence in 1864 to Floyd County, Ia. He settled on section 30, Rockford Township, where he owns a finely improved farm of 173 acres. He was married to Sarah J. Maynard on Sept. 20, 1860. She was born in Cheshire County, N. H., Feb. 11, 1836. They have one child-Jessie Augusta, born Oct. 4, 1866. The family are members of the M. E. church. In politics Mr. Shaw is a Republican, and has held many of the township offices, among them those of Justice of the Peace and School Director, and in each instance has served with credit to him- self and the satisfaction of his constituents.
Albert Collins, Deputy Postmaster, Rockford, Ia., was born in Otsego County, N.Y., Dec. 21, 1843. When twelve years of age he came West with his parents, locating in Madison, Wis .; thence, in 1856, to Lake County, Ill. They resided there until the fall of 1868, then removed to Floyd County, Ia., settling in Rockford Township, where the father died in December, 1879. His mother is still a resident of Floyd County. Mr. Albert Collins enlisted June 7, 1864, in Company F, Thirty-eighth Regiment Wisconsin Volun- teer Infantry, and served one year. He was wounded at Peters- burg, Va., on picket line, Jan. 3, 1865, losing his left arm. He was honorably discharged at Washington, D. C., April 17, 1865. He returned to Illinois, then his home, and resided there until 1868,
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ROCKFORD TOWNSHIP.
then became a resident of Rockford, Ia. He has been acting Dep- uty Postmaster most of the time since. He was married at Shell Rock, Ia., Sept. 12, 1872, to Ellen L. Palmer, a native of Castleton, Vt., born May 7, 1852. In politics Mr. Collins is a strong sup- porter of the Republican party.
T. P. Sutton was born in Cattaraugus County, N. Y., Nov. 19, 1840. His father died when he was ten years old, and the follow- ing year he moved with his mother to Dodge County, Wis. He was the fourth child of a family of six children. They resided in Dodge County three years, then removed to Jackson County, and in 1870 he came to Floyd County, Ia., where he had previously purchased the south half of section 32, Rockford Township. He now owns 480 acres of finely cultivated land, and is recognized as one of Floyd County's most prominent farmers and stock-growers. He was married July 27, 1865, to C. J. Wright, who was born in Portland, Me., May 4, 1845. He is a Republican in his political views.
Charles Watkins was born in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., Oct. 29, 1826. At the age of eight years he left his native State, and with his father emigrated to Ohio, where he lived until 1849, then came with a younger brother to Iowa, locating in Clayton County. He engaged in farming in Farmersburg Township, and also taught school, an occupation he had previously followed in Ohio. His brother, James Watkins, still resides in Clayton County. In 1869 he settled in Rockford Township, Floyd County, where he has been extensively engaged in farming and stock-raising since, and has also taught two winter terms of school. He was married in 1852 in Ohio to Delia Stephens, a native of New Hampshire, born in 1830. Nine children have been born of this union, three sons and six daughters, viz .: Ermina, born in 1853 (married Judson Quacken- bush); Charlie, in 1856; George D., in 1858; Jared, in 1859; Han- nah, in 1862; Delia, in 1865; Blanche, in 1867; Grace, in 1870, and Mabel, in 1872. Mr. Watkins's parents came with him to Clay- ton County in 1852, where his father died in 1867. His mother re- sides in Monona, Ia. In his politics he is a Democrat.
John W. Wood was born in Canada, June 19, 1835, and came to Illinois with his parents in 1842, and to Jones County, Ia., in 1854. John W. resided there two years, then returned to Illinois, and in 1863 returned to Iowa, locating near Rudd, Floyd County. He remained there until 1879, when he settled on section 18, Rock- ford Township, where he purchased an excellent farm and has re-
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sided since. He owns 240 acres of fine land, well improved. He married Hannah Tittle, a native of the State of Pennsylvania, born April 6, 1836. Their union has been blessed with eleven children, all living-Israel L., David S., Delbert A., Frank U., Homer Wes- ley, Lydia Alice, Daniel Jackson, Lottie Belle, Hester Ann, Guy H. and Francis Roy. Mr. Wood is the present Road Master in Dis- trict No. 9, and politically he is a Democrat. He is a member of the Close Communion Baptist church.
S. W. Woodhouse was born in Kenosha County, Wis., Jan. 11, 1856, and lived there until 1872, when he came to Rockford Town- ship, Floyd County, Ia. His father died when he was eleven years old. His early education was limited, being received at a common dis- trict school in Kenosha County, Wis. He was Cashier of A. L. Plummer's bank about three years; read law in Rockford and passed his examination before Hon. R. G. Reiniger, of Charles City, and was admitted to the bar Sept. 20, 1880 ; since that time he has been practicing law in Rockford. He was married Oct. 30, 1878, to Flora E. Campbell, a native of Eldon, Victoria County, Canada West, born Oct. 26, 1855, of Scotch parentage. She was left an orphan when seven years old, and was taken and educated by her grandparents. She came to Iowa in 1877, and at the time of her marriage was engaged in teaching school. They have one child-James Stewart, born Nov. 17, 1879. Politically Mr. Wood- house is a Republican.
Ambrose S. Wright was born in New York, Aug. 17, 1837. He came to Illinois in the spring of 1856, and to Floyd County, Ia., in the spring of 1862. He settled first on section 30, Rockford Town- ship, and resided there until 1873, when he went to Nora Springs. Eighteen months later he settled upon his present farm on section 30, Rockford Township. He owns 480 acres of finely cultivated land and is classed with the prominent farmers and stock-raisers of Floyd County. He was married March 7, 1866, to Elizabeth Cook, a native of Oswego County, N. Y., born Dec. 10, 1836. They have one child, a daughter-Edith, born May 14, 1872. Mr. Wright has held the office of School Director for the past five years, and po- litically is astrong Republican. He is a prominent member of the Baptist church and is Superintendent of the Sabbath-school. H s father, Spencer Wright, was born in Massachusetts in 1805, and in 1862 emigrated to Floyd County, Ia., where he died Aug. 9, 1866. He was a man of sterling Christian integrity, and although he had been a resident of the county for only a short time his loss
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was deeply felt by the community. His widow married Wm. Wagner in 1870, and is a resident of Rock Grove Township.
George Wyatt was born in Danville, Livingston County, N. Y., April 1, 1815. He resided there until 1836, when he came West, locating in Michigan, where he engaged in clerking nine months ; then went to Fort Defiance, O., and took charge of a stock of goods for Ellis & Co. one year, and in 1838 removed to McHenry County, Ill. He was there pioneering until 1841, then went to Fort Winnebago, Wis., where he farmed some time, then took a contract to supply the fort with wood and hay for eight months. He was subsequently hired by the American Fur Company to take care of the trading post there, and acted in that capacity eighteen months. In 1844 he was instrumental in organizing Portage County, Wis., for judicial purposes, and was appointed Clerk of the District Court by the District Judge, and by the people was elected Register of Deeds and Clerk of the Commissioners' Court. He also held the offices of Postmaster and Notary Public. From 1844 to 1847 he engaged in the lumber traffic with Ed Houghton, and in the latter year sold out and returned to Winnebago County, Ill., where he farmed until 1849, then went to Rockford, Ill. He was employed on the police force there until 1852, and also served as City Collector and Assessor. In August, 1852, he went to Cali- fornia, where he remained fifteen months, then returned to Beloit, Wis., and in 1854 he settled in Floyd County, Ia., and in company with Milo Gilbert erected a double log cabin on the site of the present town of Charles City. The two families spent the winter there, and in the spring of 1855 Mr. Wyatt went into the land- office business, which he followed two years, and during that time selected the swamp land of the county under a commission from the judge, and in the spring of 1856 he selected a site and laid out the present town of Rockford, giving it its name. Mr. Wyatt continued in the land-office business until 1858, when he became afflicted with rheumatism, and still suffers from that disease. In 1863 he opened the Wyatt House in Rockford, of which he is still proprietor. He was married in October, 1858, in Rockford, Ill., to Mercy Smith, who was born in Livingston County, N. Y., in 1824. They have seven children, five living - Emma (now Mrs. L. B. Dumbolton), born in 1852 ; Carrie, in 1853 (married LeRoy Berton); Charles, born in 1854; William W., in 1859, and Henry, in 1865. Mr. Wyatt and wife are prominent and respected mem- bers of the Congregational church, and in politics he is a Republican.
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
Alexander Young, one of the prominent citizens of Rockford Township, was born in the County of Down, Ireland, Nov. 30, 1854. In 1871 he left his native country for America, landed at New York City, and from there came direct to Rochelle, Ill., where he resided until February, 1882, when he came to Floyd County, Ia., locating in Rockford Township. He bought eighty acres of land on section 13, which he has under good cultivation and well stocked. He was married Dec. 22, 1876, to Mary J. Albee, in Rockford, Ill. She is a native of the town of Red Jacket, N. Y., born Nov. 14, 1853. They have one child-William How- ard, born May 6, 1879. Mrs. Young is a member of the M. E. church, and is an estimable Christian woman. In his political views he is a strong Republican.
ROCK GROVE TOWNSHIP.
Rock Grove Township derived its name from a ponderous boulder now in the public park, in the city of Nora Springs. This town- . ship is the northwestern one of Floyd County. It is bounded on the north by Union Township, in Mitchell County, on the east by the Township of Rudd, on the south by the Township of Rockford, and on the west by the Township of Portland, in Cerro Gordo County. It is seven miles long from north to south, and the north half is six miles wide, from east to west. From the east side of the south halt a strip one half a mile in width was in 1870 shorn from her territory and attached to the Township of Rudd. This township was originally surveyed in 1853 and 1854, into sections and subdivisions of sections, by Alexander Anderson, who now lives in the county of Dubuque, and who was at that time a sur- veyor in the employment of the Government of the United States. Anderson was a very active and agreeable gentleman, and one whose work when done was finished. There are still a great many sectional mounds to be seen, that were thrown up with Anderson's spades, and a few corner stakes have escaped the prairie fires and the decay of time, but nearly all have passed away, and those of a more enduring character have been planted in their places.
There are about seven sections of good timber in Rock Grove Township with large quantities of younger groves springing up on the outskirts of that of older growths. The largest body of this timber is on the Shell Rock River, which runs three miles in the township. Other beautiful groves of timber are to be found on Floyd Creek, which threads the entire township from north to south.
There are four excellent water-powers on the Shell Rock River, in Rock Grove Township, two of which are now well improved.
RESOURCES.
A township superior to Rock Grove would be hard to find. It has a rich deep soil under laid with a sub-soil of clay, and from this clay a superior quality of brick has been made for years- specimens of which can be seen pointing their red fingers through the roofs of numerous dwellings for a region of twenty miles
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
around. No superior quarries of stone have been found within the boundary lines of Rock Grove Township. Occasionally a desirable layer of sandstone protrudes from the high bluffs that skirt the river, but they are so deeply imbedded beneath an immense mass of shale, and worthless weight, as to forbid the expense which would be incurred in reaching down after them. A fair quality of stone, irregular in layers and form, is found in abundance lining the entire banks and beds of the streams, and which answer well the ordinary purpose for which stone was intended, not the least of which is the production of a very superior quality of lime.
SETTLEMENT.
Rock Grove Township, like the entire county, was originally settled with a hardy race of industrious and intelligent pioneers, who were either direct from the New England States, or had drifted along from one State to another, on or near the same parallel of latitude, until they reached the Shell Rock Valley. A few families came here from the Middle and Southern States, but the terrible winters of 1856 and 1857 convinced them that this was no place for tender plants,-or planters,-and their song was soon changed from "From Greenland's Icy Mountains," to " Carry me back to Old Virginia." Those who came here at first were generally poor, and these were divided into five classes: 1. That class who had always been poor and had been kept under by the aristocrats of the older States, but who had broken loose from their semi-servitude and come West determined to have homes that they could call their own. 2. That class who had once been well off, but by specula- tion, misplaced confidence, or unavoidable casualties had lost all, and who had come West determined to rally again-and again re- trieve their lost fortunes. 3. That class that never had but little, and did not know what to do with what little they had, and who never did, and never can, stand civilization, always ready to sell for a small consideration, and move on with the bears and buffaloes toward the decoy fields nearer the setting sun. 4. That class who always thought they were getting rich because they were getting an advanced price over the original cost, and at the same time were selling their property for less than one half its real value. 5. That class of dreaming adventurers who would want to move on, and change locations, even were they in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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The first white man who ever made a claim to the fertile acres of Rock Grove Township was William D. Gray, who in August, 1852, with his gun on his shoulder, leisurely walked around the beautiful place now owned and occupied by E. R. Heiz, and, when he had finished his journey, to himself he said: "On the south- west quarter of section 16, in township 96 north, of range 18 west, will I build my cabin and the 'bloody Injuns' shall not prevail against me."
On the heels of Gray came Dan Whitesell, who selected the claim where he now resides. In 1853 he broke the first acre of ground ever broken in Rock Grove Township. He turned over sixteen acres on section 19, to the sweet kisses of the sun, and planted them with the first corn ever planted in the township. This is not the Daniel who went into the lion's den, but it is the Daniel who entered the den of wolves and bears, who chased the buffaloes and deer into their jungles, and the Daniel who tamed the Sioux and Winnebagoes.
Anthony Overacker came to Rock Grove in 1852, and made claim to 160 acres of prairie land, and about the same quantity of timber, right in the center of the grove. In 1854 he divided his claim and sold it in equal parts to William Workman and Edson Gaylord. He sold for a mere song. An acre might be selected on either place that would to day sell for more money than he got for the whole plantation. The property he sold here is worth to-day $20,000. But he wanted to "go West," and West he went, away out in the then wilds of Wright County, in this State, taking with him the first white baby that was ever born in Rock Grove Town- ship. Anthony was a good-natured, honest, fat, lazy fellow, with- out any politics or much religion.
Rev. John Knouse came here from Ohio in the year of 1853, and made his choice on sections 13 and 14. Knouse was a peculiar and remarkable man. He was built "from the ground up," like a lion, and as active as a cat. He alternately farmed and preached. For many years he was about the only preacher in this section of the country. His church was the log school-house, since burned down, near the residence of Edson Gaylord. His pulpit was a dry-goods box, and the pews were puncheons, split and hewed from the native forest trees. His congregation was everybody. When the time for service came Knouse was always on hand, and his old gray was hitched to the tree by the school-house. He 57
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
made no pretensions to oratory, and yet he was a natural orator, and, when he felt just right, would preach a sermon and make a prayer that would start the shingles right off the roof of the old school-house. His daughter Sarah, a fine girl about twenty years of age, died in 1854, and filled the second grave ever made in the township. About eighteen years since, Knouse sold his fine farm for a moderate price to Michael Foothman, and went to Floyd. He remained there nearly two years and moved with his family to Kansas. In the summer of 1874 the grasshoppers in Kansas served a notice on him to leave, and he returned to visit his friends on the "old stamping grounds." He was in politics a Republican, and religiously he was a member of the United Brethren church.
Joseph Henry came from Michigan to Rock Grove in 1853, and made his selection on sections 8, 16 and 17. He was a hard-working man, but had a roving disposition. In 1859 he sold eighty acres of his fine farm to Titus Wray, and the balance to Joseph Slater, of New Jersey, it being the same place now in part occupied by J. C. Knapp. The Kansas fever swept him off, and away he went. From Kansas he went to Oregon, from Oregon to Delta Touchet, in Wash- ington Territory, where he resided when last heard from with a broken-down constitution, and but little he can call his own. His history is one which should be read by all who contemplate leaving Iowa to find a better home. In politics he was a Republican.
Abram G. Shroll came to Rock Grove Township with his family in 1854, in company with J. H. Knouse, from Ohio. Shroll made a spendid claim on Flood Creek, on sections 11 and 14. He was a clever, honest German, but did not possess the tact for coining money. From time to time he sold a forty, or a timber tract, from his large claim, until his plantation had dwindled down to less thian a quarter section, when he sold the remainder to William G. Robinson and Sylvester Bragg, and moved to Dakota. In politics he was a Democrat.
John Gates came here in 1855, and formerly had that part of the farm of John R. Adams that lies nearest Nora Springs. He did not remain here more than one year before he sold his premises to Adams and moved to Union Township, near Marble Rock, where he now resides, the monarch of a large and well-improved farm. In politics he was a Republican.
William Dean, a native of Maine, came in the spring of 1853, and located 160 acres prairie and some timber on section 14. He sold this farm out in 1872, at $35 an acre, and now lives a mile west
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of his original farm. In the same year came William Wagner, settling at Rock Grove City; Edson Gaylord, who now lives a short distance below Nora Springs, between the railroad and the Shell Rock, and David Hardman, who lives on section 21.
NAME.
The name of Rock Grove Township is said to have the following origin: Speculators traveling through this region in an early day gave the name Rock Grove to the timber tract around the present Nora Springs, on account of the curious large boulder in its center, and which can now be seen in the street on the south side of the park. The township derived its name from the grove.
DRAINAGE.
Rock Grove Township is drained by Shell Rock River and Flood Creek. The Shell Rock enters on section 7, and flowing through the southwestern part, emerges on section 20. Flood Creek flows diagonally through the township, entering onisection 19 and leav- ing on section 13. Other small streams intersect the country and are tributary to these two water-courses.
FIRST THINGS.
The first birth in the township was that of a son to] Anthony Overacker, in 1852.
The first marriage was that of John Henry and a daughter of Wm. Workman.
The first death was that of Josephine, a young daughter of Ben- jamin Read, in 1854, at the age of fourteen.
The first religious services in the township were held by Revs. Holbrook, Cooley and other pioneer preachers of the church, in various private houses. The other denominations now having societies at Nora Springs-the Congregationalists, the Baptists, the Christians, the German M. E. and the German Evangelicals- early gained a foothold in the township outside of the village. The United Brethren and the Dunkards also have a few adherents, but there are no church buildings or organizations outside of Nora Springs in Rock Grove.
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