USA > Iowa > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 28
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homes in Oakland. Miss Wyatt taught school that fall. She re- ceived $12 a month and paid $1 a week for board.
This was during the Civil war and hard times prevailed. Calico, that we now obtain for 2 or 3 cents a yard, was then pur- chased at extravagant prices, ranging from 35 to 60 cents As the dresses had six and seven widths in the skirt, it took a small fortune to buy a common dress and no one had a superfluity of clothes. People raised their own wheat, so flour was obtainable. None used sugar ; it was too expensive, but molasses took its place. For drink, they made a coffee from the roasted grain of wheat and corn. This was sweetened with molasses. An amusing story is told of a minister who visited at one of the homes near Oakland at this time. The lady was delighted to have so honorable a guest and was anxious to please him. At the supper table, she began pouring molasses into his cup of coffee. The minister sought to stop the deluge of molasses by saying, "That is plenty, thank you." The lady replied, as she continued to pour in the syrup, "It's none too good for you, if it's all 'lasses."
In 1862 occurred a unique wedding in Oakland. The ceremony took place in the brick house now owned by John Carr. The bride was a winsome lass by the name of Mary Billings. The groom bor- rowed his brother's wedding coat, pants and vest and he carried a pair of slippers in his hand, which he put on when he arrived at his fiancee's home. At 4 o'clock the next morning he was four miles east of Oakland after a load of hay.
The settlers agreed they should have some kind of a church. So a Methodist minister came up occasionally from Alden and held meetings in the schoolhouse. The Methodists at that time shouted and groaned a great deal, and consequently the meetings were noisy ones. One Sunday, as they were shouting in their usual way, a nerv- ous little girl in the corner began to cry. The older ones took this as a sign of her conversion and put her name on the church roll, the child being too timid to remonstrate. One old gentleman went home with her to tell her parents about it; and ever after, at every misdeed, Mary was twitted of being a poor Christian, until her heart was well nigh broken. Little Mary is an old lady of sixty winters now, but she says she has never quite forgiven the man and woman who put her name on the church roll and told her parents she had been converted.
Mr. Slocum who owned a piece of land along the river bottom near the Wheeler place, desired to rent it for hay land. It was rented
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to two young men, on condition they would not plow around the stacks to protect them from the prairie fires which frequently oc- curred. The young men agreed, but after the hay was all stacked they felt fully justified in taking some precaution against fire. So they plowed several furrows around each stack, burned the grass around the hay and then turned the furrows back. When Mr. Slocum saw the burned grass which formed so complete a circle around each stack he inquired how they had burned them so true. The young men told him they had set stakes for that purpose.
Soon after this Mr. Slocum moved south near Alden. In those days the men had but one suit of clothes, which was nearly thread- bare before another was purchased. The news reached Oakland that Mr. Slocum had a new suit of clothes. As the rumor was doubted, a committee was sent to investigate the matter. They found that he had worn his old suit out and was wearing the lining, which had been mistaken for a new one.
Soon after this, a law suit occurred, in which Mr. Morgan was justice. Mr. Train, in pleading the case, said : "I would willingly talk for two hours longer if I could convince the court that I am right." "Well," said Justice Morgan, "don't talk any more on my account, because my mind was made up before you began."
And, like Mr. Train, I would willingly talk for two hours longer, but I fear that the judges, like Justice Morgan, had their minds made up before I began.
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP
Hamilton township was erected and detached from Reeve town- ship in 1871, and on October 10th of that year the first election was held, at which the following were selected as the officials of the community : Trustees, R. J. Elliott, R. Hamilton and J. W. Wal- lace ; assessor, I. W. Myers ; clerk, D. W. Elliott; justices of the peace, D. M. Pratt and Asa Wright; constables, J. E. Bahcan and Albert Miller.
Hamilton comprises township 91, range 21 west. It is bounded on the north by Marion, on the east by Reeve, on the south by Lee and on the west by Morgan townships.
Here prairie land principally abounds. It is of the most fertile quality. In the southern part the land is rolling, through which runs a small stream, having along its banks considerable timber. A sandy loam, with clay subsoil, obtains contiguous to the streams. The
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northern portion of the township is a level prairie of a deep black loam and much of it was low and swampy. This character may also have been given to the northwest and northeast portions of the township in its early days. In recent years this low land has all been drained. Practically all of Drainage Ditch No. 17 lies in the extreme northeast corner, and sections 6, 5, 8 and 7 lie within Dis- trict No. 3. District No. 18 and Sub-District No. I cover a con- siderable portion of the southwestern part of the township and in the southern and southeastern part lies Ditch No. 16.
This vast modern improvement has brought thousands of acres of very valuable land into cultivation and has added greatly to the worth of property in this section of the county. The total number of acres in the township is 23,040. The land is adapted to the pro- duction of a generous yield of corn to the acre, also oats, hay and stock-raising.
The first settlers who came to this township remained but a short time. They were Richard and John Bingham, and a companion named Lampman. These pioneers preempted land and erected log cabins thereon in 1855. The Binghams returned to their native state-Indiana-after a residence of about two years, and Lampman went to California, where he shortly afterwards died.
Andrew and Robert Hamilton, Robert Darrah, Nathaniel Walker and William Braden may be justly termed the real pioneer settlers of Hamilton township, and that view of the matter was prob- ably taken by those who gave it its name. Andrew Hamilton ar- rived here in the fall of 1855. He was a native of Ireland, where he received a common-school education. Emigrating to America in 1848, he settled in Harrison county, Ohio. In 1855 he bought a lot of stock and came to Iowa, first stopping in Independence. Mr. Hamilton located in the township, built a log cabin and lived there until 1873, when he put up a more modern and commodious habi- tation. He was a man of great force and thrift and accumulated a competency. He helped to build the Methodist church.
Robert Hamilton did not arrive in the township until in May, 1856, when he entered eighty acres on section 25. Robert Darrah also came in 1856, building himself a cabin on section 36. He was a native of Ireland, and as did the Hamiltons, first settled in Har- rison county, Ohio. Mr. Darrah put up a log house on his place and that was the home of himself and family until 1877, when a better building took its place. This worthy pioneer taught the first school held in the township. This was in the winter of 1857-58 and
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the schoolhouse was a little log shanty. The pupils consisted of about nine children. He held many positions of trust and responsi- bility.
Between the time that the families just mentioned settled in the township and the '6os, there were many arrivals but the names of the individuals are not obtainable. The writer can give but a few scattered names of those who came at a later period.
Thomas Stockdale was a settler here in 1859. He was a native of Ireland, emigrated to the United States and first settled in New York state. He then went to Wisconsin and from there to Hardin county, whence in the year mentioned he removed to Franklin county and located on section 26, Hamilton township. The farm he culti- vated became one of the most desirable places in this section. As its owner was a man of thrift and industry and with excellent manage- ment, he brought the place up to a high state of cultivation and im- proved it with excellent buildings. He paid considerable attention to the raising of stock. Mr. Stockdale soon had for neighbors a trio of Pennsylvanians-C. Cobble and the Kempthorne brothers.
J. W. Wallace, whose birth place was Harrison county, Ohio, after living in various places in Iowa, settled on a farm in Hamilton township in 1861. The land had been entered by him about the year 1856. Mr. Wallace became one of the large land owners of the town- ship and also had his farm well stocked with cattle.
John and David Elliott came to the township in 1861 from the Buckeye state. They were accompanied by William Ganfield. The latter located on section 26 and made a specialty of stock-raising. When he came here John Elliott's wife, five children, and a sister, Susan, were with him.
Charles Kempthorne located on the northwest quarter of section 25, in 1868. He was a native of England and emigrating to the United States in 1850, first settled in Jo Daviess county, Illinois. Mr. Kempthorne served three years in the Civil war.
Those who came in the '70s were E. H. Stinson, who settled on section 21, in 1870. He also had a good Civil war record. Edward Scantlebury located on section 16, in 1876. Mr. Scantlebury was a fancier of graded stock and always had quite a number of fine animals on his place. Together with general farming, he also paid some at- tention to dairying. He was an Englishman by birth. Jacob Pear- son purchased a farm in Hamilton township in 1874 and settled on it in 1879. H became prosperous, improved his place by erecting thereon comfortable and commodious buildings and was ranked
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among the progressive farmers of the community. James Sharpe was a native of Ireland and came to America in 1872. He settled in Hamilton township in 1875 and began the raising of stock. His son, J. J. Sharpe, took up the breeding of fine Durham cattle and graded Norman horses. Anthony Snyder, a Pennsylvanian, located on sec- tion 32 in 1878. He had a military record of which he might well be proud.
Another settler in the township in 1878 was Thomas Malone, who came from Wisconsin that year and located on section 13. He had previously, in 1868, purchased the property. Here he built a fine brick house, the only one at that time in the township, and became one of the well-to-do and influential men of this section. He now resides in South Dakota.
John, a son of Robert Darrah, was the first person born in Ham- ilton township. His arrival upon earth was in the winter of 1857. He moved into Lee township in 1878.
The first death occurred in 1857. In that year Nathaniel Walker died at the home of Robert Hamilton. Aaron Hamilton, father of Robert and Andrew Hamilton, was the second in the township to pass away.
James Faun and Margaret Braden, a daughter of William Braden, were married at the home of the bride, by James Rucker, a justice of the peace, in 1858. This was the first marriage ceremony performed in the township.
An itinerant preacher stopped at the home of Andrew Hamilton in 1857 and held religious services. This was the first meeting of the settlers for the purpose in the township.
In the fall of 1881 a Methodist society having been organized, Robert Hamilton donated a site on which the Methodist people erected a church building, which cost $1,400. It was dedicated in the fall of 1881 by Reverend Milliner, of Iowa Falls, assisted by the pastor, Rev. Jacob Haymond.
A postoffice was established in the township and Nelson Wright was appointed postmaster. He kept his office at the house of A. C. Wright, where it remained three years and was then discontinued.
The first school taught in the township was by Miss Belle Birk- ett, in 1863, in a frame building located on section 25, and afterwards moved to section 26. Later the building was placed on its old site on section 25. Since that time a number of district school buildings have been erected. A detailed account will be found in the chapter on educational subjects.
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William Davis settled in the northwest corner of the township in 1870. Frank Wall, Hazel Boddy, William Boddy, Edward Boddy, Peter Smith; 'Squire Slocum in the southeast corner; Robert Lawe, James Norman in the northeast corner; George Wright and the Frazers in the southwest corner.
GRANT TOWNSHIP
Grant lies in the southern tier of townships belonging to Frank- lin county, and is bounded on the north by Reeve, on the east by Osceola, on the south by Hardin county and on the west by Lee township.
It was originally a part of Reeve and Osceola townships and later of Oakland. In 1870, on petition of Wesley Brogan and others, Grant was erected and separated from Oakland townshp. The first election was held at a schoolhouse on section 16 on the 16th day of October, 1870, at which time there were thirty votes cast for the fol- lowing officers: Long Saley, clerk; J. F. Moats, assessor; B. F. Cogswell, John Griggs, H. Talhelm, trustees. Saley and Moats failed to qualify and Wesley Brogan was appointed clerk, and Nel- son Saley, assessor.
The land composing this township is principally prairie and is drained by Beaver creek, which heads on section 9 and takes its way to the southeast corner, there entering Osceola township. The soil is sandy loam and highly productive. Fine farms, splendidly im- proved, abound on every hand. The raising of stock is an industry not overlooked by the enterprising, industrious men who have made this community a valuable one to themselves and the county at large. There was at one time considerable low, marshy land in the west- ern part. This all has been brought up to a splendid marketable value by the institution of Drainage Ditches Nos. 9, 13 and I. Drain- age District No. 19 has reclaimed some valuable land in the western part of the township. The St. Paul & Des Moines Short Line runs through the western tier of sections, having Bradford station on sec- tion 6.
The first persons to make settlement in Grant township were Amos Roberts, James Sayre, Sr., and two men named Macey and Stod- dard. Sayre and Stoddard settled on section 5, in 1860. There were others who came about this time but their names have gone out of the reckoning.
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Levi Talhelm, who had early settled in Reeve township, located in this community in 1863, on section 4. Mr. Talhelm is now city clerk of Hampton.
John Griggs located on section 36, in 1867. William T. Bullis was also a settler of 1867. He served in the Civil war and after com- ing to Franklin county aided in the organization of Grant township.
Nelson Saley, a native of Maine, came to Franklin county in 1868, and bought an improved farm in Grant township, which for many years was his home. In 1895 he moved to Hampton, and in 1900 to Silver Lake, Kansas, where he purchased a farm and there died September 30, 1905.
Frederick M. Hamblin came to Franklin county from Dubuque county, in May, 1868, and became a citizen of this township and was instrumental in furthering its organization. He was a Civil war veteran, a good farmer and a good citizen.
Wesley Brogan located on section 5, in 1873. Previous to this his parents had removed to Muscatine county, in 1869.
Joseph Studer came to Grant township in 1873. He had spent two years in Eldora before coming here.
The year 1873 witnessed the coming to Grant of William Boddy from Hardin county. He was an Englishman by birth and a stone mason by trade. He fought for the preservation of the Union in the Civil war until 1865 and afterwards went to Kansas. The family came to Iowa in 1869. Mr. Boddy, after coming to Franklin county, first settled in Lee township.
W. B. Johnson became a citizen of this township in 1874. His parents were W. B. and Lydia H. Johnson, who were pioneers of Franklin county, settling in Geneva township in 1855 on the present site of the depot at the village of Geneva. The senior Johnson was the first mail carrier from Maysville to Cedar Falls. Soon after locating in the township W. B. Johnson secured a tract of land on section 6, where he made his home.
Moses A. Webber located on section 15, in Grant township, in March, 1875. He was also rated as one of the capable farmers of the township. He became well-to-do and reached a high place in the estimation of his neighbors.
Heinrich Meyer, a native of Germany, came to the United States when nineteen years of age, first stopping at Cincinnati, Ohio. He arrived in Franklin county in 1873 and purchased land in Grant township. He there cultivated the soil and made a place for him- Vol J-20
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self in the community as one of its industrious and prosperous farmers.
E. B. Keeling was a settler of 1876. In 1877 he married Mary Griffin. He began work on a farm, paying his every attention toward its improvement, in which he succeeded to his own satisfaction and the admiration of his neighbors.
Henry Fessler was born and obtained his education in the Key- stone state. He enlisted in the Civil war and in 1871 came to Iowa, first stopping in Hardin county. In 1872 he removed to Osceola township, in Franklin county. In the latter 'zos he located in Grant township and became not only prominent as a farmer but also well known as a politician.
Newton Penny was born in Indiana. He arrived in Grant town- ship in 1872 and took up his permanent residence here. Mr. Penny was a Civil war veteran, serving in the Thirty-second Iowa. He was held in the highest esteem in the community and filled local offices of responsibility.
Benjamin Havens came to Franklin county in 1877 and located in Grant township. He had served in the Ninth Iowa Cavalry in the Civil war.
John W. Meyer located on section 6 in this township in 1878. He was born in Wisconsin. His parents, John and Catherine Meyer, with their family settled in Franklin county in 1858. John W. Meyer married Matilda Pickens, January 8, 1878, and on the 15th of the month fixed his permanent residence in Grant township.
Nicholas Plattner settled on section 22, in 1880. He became one of the large farmers of the community. Mr. Plattner was a native of Switzerland. He came to America in 1858 and perfected himself in the art of gardening.
Edward Ryan became a citizen of Grant township in 1880. He had married Nora Kiley the month previous to his arrival and soon got into the midst of things in an effort to carve out a home and a high place among his neighbors for himself and family. In this he suc- ceeded. He has been for many years clerk of the township and his continuous service in this office surpasses all precedents.
The first marriage to take place in Grant township was that of Levi Talhelm and Anna Cogswell, in 1871. Mr. Lambert and Ruth Cogswell were married at the same time.
Mrs. Johnson, grandmother of Mrs. Levi Talhelm, died in the spring of 1872. This was the first death to occur in Grant township. The burial was in the cemetery at Maysville.
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The first birth was that of Charles W., son of W. T. and Eliza Bullis, which took place May 14, 1867.
Rev. Mr. Woods of Maysville, a Methodist minister, preached the first sermon in the township at the house of J. F. Moats, in 1869.
The first school was taught by Jennie Roberts, at the house of J. F. Moats, in the winter of 1869-70. The same winter Miss Sperry taught at the house of Humphrey Talhelm.
Grant township has a fair share of the schools distributed in the county, good roads, well kept, highly improved farms and had a population in 1910 of 600.
BRADFORD
Bradford is the latest town to seek recognition as a trading point in Franklin county. It was laid out and platted November 19, 1906, by the Bradford Town Site Company, of which G. A. W. Dodge was president, and J. W. Souder, secretary.
The village is located on the east part of section 6, half way be- tween Hampton and Iowa Falls, and today has a population of 200. Bradford has the largest farming community from which to draw trade in Franklin county. Its buildings are substantial, principally constructed of reinforced concrete. There are two general stores, and an implement warehouse located there; elevator, coal yards, drug store, hardware store, restaurant, barber shop, blacksmith shop, bank and a number of fine residences.
The Methodist Church was erected in the fall of 1912, at a cost of $3,000.
The Bradford Savings Bank was established in 1908, with a paid up capital of $15,000. T. W. Purcell is president; O. F. Myers, vice president; W. L. Luke, cashier. The deposits at the time of its last statement were $50,000.
LEE TOWNSHIP
Lee township was originally a part of Reeve and was separated therefrom in 1870. The first name applied to it was Iowa township but this was soon changed to Lee, upon petition of certain of the settlers in order to honor the memory of one of the first settlers, William H. Lee. An election was held October 11, 1870, by which the organization of the township was completed. The judges were: J. W. Slocum, J. Bolitho and J. R. Norman; B. R. Fitch, clerk.
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Officers elected were: Trustees, B. R. Fitch, J. Bolitho and J. W. Slocum; assessor, P. Smith; clerk, B. R. Fitch; constables, J. R. Norman and P. Smith.
Lee is situated in the lower tier of townships and is bounded on the south by Hardin county, on the west by Oakland, north by Ham- ilton, and east by Grant township. The land here is mostly prairie and originally, low and swampy. Elk creek, Rock creek and Mayne's creek traverse its territory. Native timber is scarce but a number of fine groves planted in early days beautify the surroundings where they exist. Thousands of acres of land in this township have been reclaimed by the installation of large drainage ditches, excavated at a large outlay of money. Main Ditch No. 6 lies in the northern part and Ditch No. 5 in the southern. These ditches cross and twist and turn throughout the township and have been the means of chang- ing the aspect and general conditions of the lands, which they have drained and made very valuable for farming purposes.
The Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern railway, now of the Rock Island system passes through the southwest corner of the town- ship, and on sections 29 and 30 is a station called Burdette.
Owing to its land being undesirable for farming purposes, from the fact that it was low and wet, Lee attracted but few settlers in early days. The first person known to preempt land here was Wil- liam Taylor, who had located near Iowa Falls, in Hardin county, in the fall of 1854, with his family, consisting of wife and seven chil- dren. In the winter of 1856, Mr. Taylor preempted one hundred and sixty acres of land in Lee township, on which he intended to settle the next spring, but before being able to do so, died upon the very day he had fixed for moving. His widow, with her children, however, located upon the land in the early spring of 1857 and lived there until her death, which was caused by her clothing catching fire while trying to save her home from the burning prairie. This occurred in September, 1859, and the unfortunate woman's body was laid to rest in a grove on the homestead.
In 1863 George Wright settled on section 1. He was a native of England and immigrated to Vermont in 1856, remaining there until he came to Iowa and settled in this township.
Jeremiah Lane located on section 27 in 1865 and engaged in farming.
The next settlers in the township were the Slocums-Lee, Jones, Norman, Fitch and J. W., all of whom came about 1869. The latter
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located on section 36. He was regarded as an excellent citizen and became for his time one of the leading farmers of the community.
D. C. Mott and J. N. Montgomery settled in the township in 1869, the former on section 33, where he died in 1875. His family then moved to California. Mr. Montgomery came from Illinois and grew up with the township.
J. W. Fraser was a settler in 1870, locating on section 1, where he began farming and through thrift and industry made an enviable place for himself and family in the community.
George H. Wilson came here in the spring of 1870 and settled on section 27. He was born in Du Page county, Illinois, in 1845, and received a common-school education. Mr. Wilson was a good farmer, a good neighbor and an excellent citizen. He was honored by being selected by his neighbors for several of the local offices.
H. S. Eddy located on section 26 in the spring of 1871, coming from Kane county, Illinois. He served nine months in the Fifty- second Illinois Infantry. He was a good man and citizen and held local offices of trust.
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