USA > Iowa > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 29
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Simon Doherty did not come to the township until February, 1879. He thereupon selected a tract of land on section 22, where he took up his residence, brought his farm up to a high state of cultivation and made the place his home for many years.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Taylor were the first couple to be married in this township, and the first religious services were held at the school- house in District No. 1, by Rev. C. R. Miller, in the summer of 1876. Rev. R. L. Kenvon, a Methodist minister, was here about the same time.
The first school in Lee township was kept in a log house on sec- tion 36, and was taught by Mrs. George Wilson. A schoolhouse was built on section 35, in 1868, and was used for that purpose a num- ber of years, when the property was sold to Jesse McDonald, and moved to section 13. A new school building took the place of the: one thus disposed of.
CHAPTER XXI
THE TOWNSHIPS CONTINUED-WISNER-RICHLAND-SCOTT-MARION -ROSS-MOTT-THE TWO LATTER TOWNSHIPS IMPORTANT AS EARLY SETTLEMENTS-MOTT WAS ORIGINALLY PART OF WASHING- TON IN WHICH IS THE COUNTY SEAT.
WISNER TOWNSHIP
Wisner township was created and set off from Richland town- ship in 1882, and the first regular election was held in October of that year at the house of G. W. Myers. The following officers were elected : J. W. Powell, John C. Shermer and Louis Ford, trustees ; G. W. Myers, clerk; James Smith, assessor.
Wisner is the northwest corner township in Franklin county and is bounded on the north by Cerro Gordo county, on the east by Rich- land township, on the south by Scott township, and on the west by Wright county. It is congressional township 93, range 22. Its topo- graphical feature is of a slightly rolling prairie. Originally there were large tracts of its land wet and marshy, all of which have been reclaimed since the enactment of the drainage ditch laws. About half of Drainage District No. 10 lies within this township and parts of districts Nos. 7 and 18. The land drained by these big ditches is now probably the best in the township. While thousands of dol- lars have been expended by the county and property owners within these districts, the outlay has brought to all interested magnificent returns. As a matter of fact, the lands outside of the district, but contiguous thereto, have been greatly enhanced by reason of the out- lets afforded them by these vast improvements. At this date the greater portion of Wisner township is made up of good farming land which has been productive of the most gratifying results. Grain, oats and hay are the principal crops and the raising of livestock is no inconsiderable industry. Before the introduction of the public drain- age system, Wisner was styled the prairie township of Franklin county, as there were then large tracts of wild land. The prairies
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were principally used for grazing purposes but this condition has been changed by reason of the employment of advanced ideas in farming.
Settlement in the township was comparatively slow. To illus- trate, as late as the middle '8os, the best house in the township was that of Charles Westaby, on the southwest quarter of section 33-a two-story frame building, 22x26 feet.
G. W. Myers is credited with having been the earliest settler in Wisner. He located on section 35, in November, 1877, and built thereon the first house in the township, into which he moved the following spring. J. W. Powell settled on section 12 in the spring of 1878 and remained there many years. The next to come into the township was J. C. Shermer, who settled on section 25. He was soon followed by James Jenson, who only remained two years and then moved to Wright county.
Charles Westaby, above referred to, was a native of England. He settled in Jo Daviess county in 1872, whence he came to Franklin county in 1876. In January, 1877, he married Mary Hanson, and in 1883 removed to Wisner township, where he became one of the leading farmers of the community, at one time owning about eight hundred acres of land. He died in the early '90s.
In 1880, the wife of J. W. Powell presented him with a pair of twins. This was the first birth in the township. The first death occurred the same year-that of a son of G. W. Myers and wife.
The first schoolhouse built in the township was located on sec- tion II, in August, 1882, the first term of which was taught in the win- ter of 1882-3 by Clarence Richards.
Wisner has no towns. The Chicago Great Western railroad cuts across the extreme northwestern corner of the township.
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP
This is congressional township 23, range 21 west, and is in the northern tier of townships in Franklin county. Its northern boun- dary line is formed by Cerro Gordo county. On the east it is bounded by Ross township, on the south by Marion and on the west by Wisner township.
Some of the earlier settlers here came from Richland county, Ohio, and it was probably through their influence that the township got its name. Within its confines are 23,000 acres of choice prairie land, watered by two branches of Buffalo creek, which have a con-
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fluence on section 24, the eastern border of the township. The only timber found here was in the extreme northeast and southeast corners of the township. The land is rolling and the soil rich and highly productive, especially so within recent years, or rather since those sections of it, which were low and marshy, have been drained.
In 1872 Richland was carved out of Clinton township and organ- ized. As Richland township was at one time a part of Clinton, its early history is part and parcel of that township.
William Tharp and family were the first persons to settle in this section of the county. They arrived here in 1854 and located on the southeast quarter of section 36. After a residence on this farm of three years, the Tharps removed to Kansas.
The next settler in the township of which there is any record was John Shobe, after whom Shobe's Grove was named. He located on the northwest quarter of section 1, in 1855, where he improved a farm and was active in the affairs of the township until 1868. That year he removed to Hampton.
In 1856 E. D. Wright left his home in Medina county, Ohio, and came west to look up a location. After stopping a short time in Eldora, Iowa, where he chanced to meet J. B. Grinnell and learned through him of the good qualities of Franklin county, Mr. Wright came to Chapin and settled in Old Chapin Grove. Shortly after, John Davis, father-in-law of Wright, and his son, T. H. Davis, and wife, followed and settled on the farm now known as the E. D. Underwood place, where he died many years ago. Thomas Weston, another son-in-law of John Davis, came about this time.
J. W. Avery came to this community in 1857, purchasing land on section 25, where he lived until 1876, and then moved to Kansas City, Missouri.
Among the prominent settlers in this township of the early period was B. D. Robinson, who located near Chapin Grove. He was the first one to introduce sheep-raising in the county. He lived on the place later owned by Mrs. Doctor Cooper, just south of the Four Corners, on the site of the old town of Chapin. He brought a herd of sheep to this place in 1860. At that time J. B. Grinnell, founder of Grinnell, Iowa, was largely interested in real estate in the Old Chapin neighborhood. He bought and sent into the township sev- eral hundred head of sheep and let them out on shares to the resi- dents there. Among those who took up sheep-raising at that time were T. C. Riddle, John Waverly and G. H. Hoyt, who lived on the place later the home of Joseph Mitchell; Henry H. Grinnell; John
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY
Ashman, whose farm later came into the possession of John Wright. By the year 1863 there were 8,000 head of sheep in Franklin county but owing to the severe winters that followed, diseases peculiar to sheep became severely prevalent, so that the industry ceased to pay. Robinson removed from the county to Missouri in the summer of 1866, taking the remainder of his effects with him.
About 1864 Mrs. Emma Robinson, a young widow, cousin of Mrs. T. H. Davis, and daughter of E. B. Richards, came and made her home with Mrs. Davis and taught school for a while and then married W. P. Avery. Soon thereafter E. B. Richards and family arrived. About 1868 W. W. Richards and wife located in this com- munity. Then followed William Eddy and wife and A. Eddy. S. O. Gridley came in 1875. In 1876 Harris Eddy, Seneca Eddy and family, Doctor Cooper and family and Orrin Gridley came. All were from Chatham, Medina county, Ohio, and most of them have passed away.
H. H. Grinnell located in the township in 1855, coming from Saratoga county, New York. He took up his residence on section 36. This was his home until his death in 1873. John Ashman, who died in 1867, settled on the same section about the same time as Grinnell.
John D. Leland came in 1857, remaining until 1861, when he returned to his former home in New York, and later went to Joliet, Illinois. For several years Leland was superintendent of the state prison in Joliet.
A. G. McMillen came to Franklin county with his mother and family in 1858, from Saratoga county, New York. He married Anna S. Seney in 1872.
William P. Avery, a minister of the Congregational Church, im- migrated from the east and settled in Richland township. Soon after his arrival he organized the Congregational Church at Chapin and was its pastor till 1875. He also presided over the Congregational Church in Hampton for some years.
George W. Heming located on section 2 in 1861. Among others who settled in the township between 1861 and 1870 may be men- tioned the following: William Moyle took up his residence on a fine farm of 160 acres in 1868. He was a native of England. P. R. Engebretson, a Norwegian, arrived in America with his parents in 1858, settling in Butler county that year. In 1869 they came to Franklin county and settled in this township.
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY
S. M. Lovering located on section 36 and resided there until 1865, when he removed to Iowa Falls and died there in 1883.
T. C. Riddle located on section 36 and later moved into Ross township, where he died in 1879.
Robert Seney, a native of Canada, removed from Clay county, Iowa, in 1871, settling on section 23, Richland township. William J. Singer, also a native of Canada, served in the Civil war and located in Richland township in 1873. Andrew Anderson, born in Scotland, emigrated to the United States in 1849. He came here from Fayette county, Iowa, in 1876 and settled on section II, Rich- land township.
Henry J. Abrams, a New Yorker and a tailor by trade, settled on a farm in Richland township in 1878. A. C. Anderson came to Rich- land township in 1878. C. A. Church became a resident of the town- ship in 1877. N. B. McClintock, a native of Pennsylvania, came here in 1878. L. I. Thompson, born in Michigan and a soldier of the Civil war, removed to Franklin county from Chickasaw county in 1873 and settled on section 4, Richland township. David Vought came to Franklin county in 1878 and became a prosperous farmer. David Austin Church removed from Clayton county in 1879 and laid the foundation of a competency in Richland township.
The first birth and death in Richland township was that of Fan- nie Leland, daughter of John D. Leland, both of which important events took place between the years 1857 and 1858. The interment was made on section 36.
Reverend Wilcox conducted the first religious service in the county, coming once in two weeks from Iowa Falls and holding 5 o'clock service at the schoolhouse at Old Chapin. As before men- tioned, Rev. William P. Avery organized the Congregational Church in 1858 and soon thereafter began regular religious services for his flock in a small shanty built for the purpose. For a time services were then held in a building which would be converted into a barn in the winter and school and church in the summer. The building belonged to John D. Leland.
John Shill married a Miss Scott about the year 1858. This was the first wedding to take place in Richland township.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
The above named society was organized in November, 1858, at the house of Rev. William P. Avery. Among the first members
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were William P. Avery and wife, Mrs. A. S. Ross, John D. Leland and wife, S. M. Lovering, wife and two daughters. No house of worship was ever erected at Old Chapin but services were held regu- larly, and the place of meeting was changed to Chapin in 1883, where also was held a Sunday school.
BAPTIST CHURCH
Rev. T. H. Judson organized the Baptist Church in 1864 and presided over this charge until he was succeeded by Rev. L. N. Call. Among the first members were Laura L. Grinnell, Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Cannam and Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Harned. The meetings of the society lapsed in 1878.
The Methodists formed a class about 1870.
The first school in Richland was taught by Mrs. E. D. Wright in 1857. This was in a log house on land owned by J. B. Grinnell.
OLD VILLAGE OF CHAPIN
J. B. Grinnell, founder of the college town of Grinnell, Iowa, laid out the village of Chapin in 1858, giving to the place his wife's maiden name. The place was platted on section 36, Richland town- ship, and section 31, Ross township, but now all that remains of it is the old burial ground on section 36. A combined church and schoolhouse was built-then the best in the county. This was after- wards moved over to Ross township, and finally, in 1877, was destroyed by fire. A new one took its place on the same site.
H. C. Clock engaged in trade for a time here. He sold his stock to John Green and the latter disposed of his interests to William W. Richards, who in 1871 removed the store to the present town of Chapin.
A postoffice was established at Old Chapin in 1860. H. H. Grin- nell was the postmaster. He held the position for five years and was later succeeded by A. S. Ross, and the office was removed to the new town of Chapin.
The cemetery referred to is situated on section 36 of Richland township and contains about two acres. The first body interred was that of Mr. Neff.
J. B. Grinnell was the nucleus of the settlements in and about Old Chapin. He laid out the town and bought land in the vicinity
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY
and induced many to settle there. The first settlers were D. B. Robinson, John D. Leland, A. S. Ross, R. T. Knight, H. H. Grin- nell, John W. Avery and Rev. William P. Avery, all of whom have passed away and very few of their descendants are now residents here. It is safe to say, however, that Mr. Grinnell was the direct cause of their locating here and it is also true that the large majority of those who came after were induced to do so by some of those named as the pioneer settlers.
EARLY DAYS AT OLD CHAPIN
In the article which follows, M. H. Ross, one of the early settlers of Franklin county, gives evidence of a happy and dependable memory. His contribution to the history of the county is interesting and valuable. It was written in 1907 and is reproduced in its en- tirety :
"On May 15, 1857, my father, A. S. Ross, landed in Old Chapin with his family, also a man by the name of B. C. Breckenridge and wife. Father and Breckenridge came from near Brooklyn, Poweshiek county, Iowa, through the influence of Hon. J. B. Grin- nell, who laid out the town of Chapin that summer. I was the only boy in town at that time, and I want to tell you right now that every melon that was plugged and every pin that was placed in benches for people to sit on was laid to Milt Ross, and if there were errands to do I was lackey for the whole town; had to climb trees to cut grape vines for the women, with which to make hoopskirts that were coming into fashion then.
"J. B. and H. H. Grinnell and father bought a steam sawmill together. Henry went to Chicago after it and was three weeks with ox teams getting it here from the end of the railroad-at that time, I think, a little east of the Mississippi river. In the meantime other people were moving in. J. W. Avery came in the fall, and John Ashman, R. T. Knight, T. C. Riddle, W. P. Avery and J. W. Avery's family all came in the spring of 1858. Obadiah Smith did the sur- veying and I carried the chain when the town was laid out.
"There were several families living in and near Tharp's Grove prior to 1857: Charley Neff, a family by the name of Hogan, Elihu Tharp on the Ed Underwood farm, and A. Phinney, cooper by trade. The father of the Tharps entered the land and built a double log house at the north side of the grove. They sold out and moved
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY
to Kansas. In that log house Mrs. Mary Wright taught the first school in Chapin.
"After the mill arrived and got in running order, there was a boom in Chapin for the next three years. In 1858 everybody was building and the sawmill ran day and night. Being a boy, I was chucked into the sawdust pile and had to shovel it into the creek, a position almost as desirable as in the straw pile behind a threshing machine. E. H. Wing and S. M. Lovering were contractors and had a score of carpenters helping build houses.
"In the winter of 1858-9 Miss Hattie Lovering taught the school in the chamber of her father's house. During that winter as we came out of the schoolroom into the woodshed, I noticed Mr. Lov- ering was busy making a coffin. I inquired who was dead. He said, 'No one just now, but my wife is very low, can't live but a few weeks, and I am making it to have it ready.'
"The schoolhouse was built in 1859, and the town being named Chapin, Mrs. J. B. Grinnell's maiden name, she donated a fine bell weighing 400 pounds to place in the belfry. J. W. Avery and Dr. J. S. Hurd taught school in the winter of 1859-60. That was the last of my schooling, as the war soon broke out in 1861. Of all my school- mates of those days, there are only four living today in Franklin county : A. E. Wright, of Chapin; Mrs. Josephine Bullard, of Shef- field ; and William Avery and myself, of Hampton.
"Mit Wright was the first child born in Old Chapin. He lives at Chapin at the present time.
"Barker brothers came in the spring of 1858 and set up a machine for making hardwood shingles. They did a thriving business and that fall sold out to Thomas Morris, who made shingles through summer and trapped through fall and winter. Otter, beaver and mink were plentiful for a few years.
"About this time the Watters family, Colt and John B. Wood- ward, also George W. Crawford and Elisha Scott moved to town. A son of Colt, who, I think, was born in Old Chapin, is now on the run from Mason City to Marshalltown as conductor on a passenger train. Herman Colt and Elisha Scott gave two sons to the Union cause in the War of the Rebellion. J. E. Boyles, who came to Tharp's Grove prior to 1857, gave three sons to the Union cause during the latter part of the war. He sold his farm to J. Mills Hoyt and moved back to Ohio.
"Hoyt and a man named John Chamberlain, with J. B. Grinnell, were interested largely in raising sheep. They had about four thou-
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY
sand head. I heard J. B. tell my father that the wool of those sheep was all that kept him from going under financially. He said that it paid to keep several irons in the fire at a time, so that if one failed some of the others would tide him over. In his case he was a preacher, Congressman, an officer of the Iowa Central railroad, farmer and stock-raiser-about enough irons for one man to at- tend to.
"The winter of 1857-8 was the 'cornmeal winter.' There wasn't a 50-pound sack of flour in the whole neighborhood. We spent most of the time those long winter evenings sitting straddle of a spade over a washtub shelling corn, and the neighbors would take turns and go around and gather up the shelled corn and take it to Iowa Falls and get it ground. My father was sheriff then and during the spring term of court a man drove into Hampton with a load of flour. Father paid him $9 for one sack. Mother mixed it with the cornmeal to make it go as far as possible. The mill hands boarded at our house and they relished the change. We had to get back on wheat bread gradually.
"This brings me up to war time. Old Chapin proved herself the most patriotic town in the county. She furnished twenty-one soldiers : R. T. Knight, C. R. Boyles, D. J. Boyles, George F. Scott, W. W. Scott, John W. Brown, Clark Shobe and M. H. Ross enlisted in Capt. David M. Stump's Company C, Sixth Iowa Infantry; John C. Avery, John D. Baker, Cyrus Boyles, Thomas Morris, John G. Neff, A. E. Phinney, C. C. Shobe, Morgan Shobe and John B. Woodward enlisted in Company H, Thirty-second Iowa Infantry, Judge Reeve captain. T. H. Davis, Thomas Weston, John Shill and D. O. Waters enlisted in Company L, Fourth Iowa Cavalry.
"When I returned from the army I found W. D. F. Randolph, Lyme Harned, Jim Riddle, E. K. Frost, Rev. L. N. Call, a Baptist minister, and William Ellis.
"In 1867 E. C. Grenelle came to Chapin to visit his sister, Mrs. A. E. Ashman, and during the harvest he drove the reaper. By some means he fell off the seat in front of the sickle and his right arm was cut off. He stopped the flow of blood the best he could and sent to Hampton for Doctors Hurd and Harriman. They got to Chapin about midnight and had no instruments to operate with. Hurd was drunk and Harriman was a new beginner. Ed told them something must be done quick, as he had lost so much blood he was very weak. They took an old jackknife and carpenter saw and went at it. They sawed the bones off twice before they got it so the flesh
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY
would cover the end of the bones. He stood the pain without anaesthetics.
"In 1868 Joseph Mitchell bought out Hoyt and William Moyle bought out T. C. Riddle and moved from Grant county, Wisconsin.
"That summer Capt. H. C. Clock came to Chapin and started a store. He expected the railroad would come here instead of going two miles east. In 1870 he moved his stock to Geneva and now has one of the largest stores in Franklin county. The railroad killed 'Old Chapin,' as it is now called."
SCOTT TOWNSHIP
Scott township was one of the last to be organized in Franklin county. Prior to 1878 it was part of Morgan township, but that year it was set off and the first election held October 8 at the house of R. N. Meeker, when the following officers were elected : John D. Demaris, J. J. Sliker and N. Freeze, trustees; Jacob Smith, assessor; William D. Meeker, clerk; William D. Meeker and John D. Demaris, jus- tices; William Hill and J. J. Sliker, constables. The officials for 1913 are : Trustees, F. Ostendorf, C. W. Hanson, L. Johnson ; clerk, Henry Miller ; assessor, Fred Kaus ; justices of the peace, Paul Bobst, F. D. Rodemeyer ; constables, Christ Larson and John A. Olson.
Scott lies in the extreme western part of the county, having for its western boundary, Wright county; on the north is Wisner town- ship; on the east, Marion; and on the south, Morgan township. It comprises congressional township 92, range 22 west.
The land is of a gently undulating character and practically the entire area is tillable prairie land, producing splendid crops yearly. About half of Drainage District No. 10 lies in the northeastern part of the territory, also districts Nos. II and 15; parts of sections 33, 34, 35, 36 and 25 are in Drainage District Nos. I and 3. Lands reclaimed by these large ditches have become very productive and their market value increased accordingly.
Up to the latter 'Sos Scott was comparatively a new township, but little developed, with large tracts of choice land held by specu- lators. The splendid prairies of the township afforded fine pastur- age for cattle and horses and much of it was used for the purpose, freely and without expense, by the residents of contiguous terri- tory.
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Creamery
German Reformed Church Methodist Episcopal Church ALEXANDER SCENES
Main Street
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY
The first settler, a man by the name of Malin, came here in 1860 but remained only about two years. John Martin soon followed. He was employed to manage the Cobb farm, which was entered by Mr. Cobb in 1859. This was a tract of land containing something over five thousand acres. The owner improved it and in 1860 dis- posed of the property to William Wright, who that year erected a house upon it. This land afterwards went into the possession of Henry Corwith, then T. B. Scott became the owner, buying it in 1872. Large herds of cattle and horses ranged on this place and were prepared annually for the markets.
Others who came in the '6os were Mr. Dalrymple, Mr. Puffer, Jacob Lewis and R. U. Meeker.
John D. Demaris settled in the township in 1876 and the settle- ment was soon added to by the arrival of Peter Hanson and A. C. Peterson.
Henry Palmer located in Scott in 1879, taking charge of the Cobb farm. He was a native of Canada and became quite promi- nent in local affairs, holding several township offices. His death occurred in December, 1913.
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