USA > Iowa > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, and its townships, cities and villages from 1836 to 1882 > Part 87
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The main building is a frame 28x48, two stories high. The work room and engine house is a frame building 16x32, one story high. In the work room chop feed is ground, and cheese boxes are made. The engine is a ten horse power, manufactured by Tulloss & Co., of Iowa City. The capacity for working up milk into cheese is 8,000 lbs. per day. The fac- tory opened with 600 lbs. per day; and from June 18th to Oct. 30, 1881, the average per day was about 1,200 lbs. The largest amount of milk received any one day was 3,000 lbs. 24,000 lbs. of cheese was made in the factory from June 18th to Oct. 30, 1881. Capital invested $3,000; $1,400 of it was for machinery. They had not made any butter at this factory up to November, 1882.
UNION TOWNSHIP.
CHANGE OF BOUNDARY OF UNION TOWNSHIP.
On March 6, 1854, Gotlieb Kossler presented a petition asking a change in the boundary lines of Union township, Johnson county, "so that sec- tions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 in township 78 north, range 7 west, (except southwest quarter of section 7,) be made a part thereof. And therefore the court being duly advised in the premises, do order that the boundary lines of Union township shall be as follows, to-wit: com- mencing at the northeast corner of township 79 north, range 7 west, thence south to the southeast corner of section 12 in township 78, range 7 west, thence west on the section line to the southwest corner of the southeast quarter of section 7, township 78, range 7, thence north to the center of section 7, thence west to the range line between ranges 7 and 8 west, thence north on said range line to the northwest corner of township 79, range 7, thence east to the place of beginning, and that the territory of land included in the bounds as above, shall hereafter constitute the town- ship of Union.
760
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
Complete record of the origin and many changes of boundary of Union township was not found. Part of it at one time belonged to Clear Creek, part to Liberty, and another part to Washington townships. [See the history of those townships.]
The first settlement made in this township was in 1839, and among the first settlers were Janies Sehorn, John Davis, Allison Davis, Gallatin Hartsock, Ed. Carson and A. H. Humphrey. In traveling over the township the eye rests upon some beautiful farm houses and fine orchards on nearly every quarter-section of land. The county poor farm is located in this township, on section 13, and is under the control and management of William Mullen, superintendent. The school tax levy for 1882 was $1,300 for teachers' fund, and $600 for contingent fund. The president of the school board is D. D. Jones. This township is well supplied with good iron bridges.
In 1873 there was, in Union township, a lodge of Good Templars, called "Cambria Ludge No. 592 I. O. G. T." David A. Jones was then the worthy chief templar, and Thomas D. Roberts the worthy secretary. No further particulars were obtained concerning this lodge.
There is no post office in Union township. Its people go mostly to Iowa City for mail and other business.
The State Press of September 23, 1882, said: Mr. Rowland Reese, of Union township, on Monday marketed 69 fat hogs, averaging 323 pounds, for which he received $8.10 per hundred from Mr. Goodrich, fetching in the handsome sum of $1,782.96.
November 9, 1881, the following item appeared: A freak is reported from the farm of Mrs. Sehorn in Union township, in the shape of a totally hairless calf. This calf is eight weeks old, perfectly formed, of a brown- ish color. It acts like other calves and seems to have the promise of a long life. It is the property of Mr. John Justice and he should provide a coat, cap and stockings for it that it may withstand the winter, for it may make a valuable addition to some standard show or museum.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
February 10, 1846: "Ordered, that all that part of Johnson county contained in the following bounds, to wit: Commencing at the southwest corner of the county; thence north on the county line to the center of township 79 north, range S west, thence east to the center of town- ship 79 north, range 7 west, thence south to the county line, thence west to the place of beginning, shall constitute one civil township, to be known as "Washington township," and the first election shall be held at the house of Wm. Fry, in said township.
The above boundaries took in the south half of Hardin, the southwest one-fourth of Union, and the west half of Sharon. The other half of what is now Hardin township was afterwards taken from what was then Clear Creek township and added to Washington, as will be seen by the following order of the county board:
761
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
October 4, 1847: "Ordered, that the north half of township 79 north, range 8 west, be and the same is hereby attached to, and shall hereafter be known as a part of Washington township, in said county, for all civil and judicial purposes."
Washington township is located in the extreme southwest corner of the county; it is bounded on the north by Hardin township, on the east by Sharon township, on the south by Washington county, on the north by Iowa county. It is a congressional township of 36 sections and 36 square miles.
The first settlements made in this township was in 1839. Among the early settlers we find, John Fry, Jacob Fry, Wm. Fry, James Shaff, Henry Rogers, Robt. Roup, T. R. Fry, John Graham and John Buckinghed. The township is thickly settled, and has many fine farm houses. There are a great many Germans in this township; they are well-to-do and hard working citizens. They make their farms produce all they possibly can raise; they are orderly and well behaved; they have fine farms, good buildings, and plenty of stock. They are quite up with the average farmers, and take great interest in owning fine horses, cattle and hogs.
Mr. Peter Kettles, clerk of Washington township furnishes the follow- ing statistics: The township was organized in 1846. The first trustees were Titus R. Fry, Edward R. Carson and Wm. H. Fry; and the first clerk was Smiley H. Bonham. This is according to the old records of 1846. There are nine independent school districts in the township. The equalized value of real estate in the township last year (1881) was valued at $268,274; the personalty is $116,498. There are nine road districts in the township. The levied road tax in 1881 was three mills; the total amount of road tax was $1,154.31. The present officers of the township are: D. F. Rogers, S. C. Palmer and Isaac Graham, trustees; Peter Kettles, clerk; James W. Oldaker, assessor.
There are in 1882 two post-offices in Washington township-Amish and Frank Pierce. Mr. Charles Yoder is postmaster at Amish, and Elias Fry at Frank Pierce post-office, which is also called Frytown. Each of these postmasters also keeps a store.
This township is an independent school district, with nine sub-districts; and the following statistics are given for 1882:
Sub.
President.
Teachers fund. $100
School house fund.
Continge t fund.
Dist.
No. 1.
Elias Fry .
'None levied
$50
No. 2.
Allen DeFrance ..
140
60
No. 3.
J. W. Graham
140
66
90
No. 4.
Jacob B. Miller.
100
$125
60
No. 5. John Wagner.
175
None
66
50
No. 6.
Moses Kemp.
150
66
60
No. 7.
C. P. Brunneman
120
30
No. 8.
S. W. Ford.
156.
66
66
24
No. 9.
P. Swartzendruber
90
66
30
762
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
THE OLD-MAN'S CREEK STORY.
Mr. W. F. Smith of Washington township, relates how the name of " Old Man's Creek " originated. He says they called it Pa-pa-to see-po; but some other old settlers give it as Push-i-to-see-po. Mr. Smith says this creek was their hiding place for their old men, women and children, when the braves went off " on the war path." The Musquakies and other Sac and Fox tribes were at mortal enmity with certain Sioux tribes on the headwaters of the Iowa river, and beyond. And when the Sac and Foxes were ready to make a foray on their up stream enemies they would send their non-combatants out onto Papato creek for concealment, in case they should be worsted in the fight and be pursued down the river by their victorious enemies. In Liberty township, about four or five miles up the creek from its mouth, and then about a mile from the creek there is a high knoll of land between the creek and the river; from the top of this knoll both streams can be seen; and also the surrounding country for a great many miles. This place is called the " Indian lookout," and formed a waymark to reckon localties from in its neighborhood by the early set- tlers, but had been used by the Indians to watch for their returning war- riors coming down the river with good or bad news, or with enemies pur- suing, and communicate it by a short run of a mile or two to the home camp, when the canoes would have to go eight or ten miles farther around by way of the streams. Mr. Smith's theory is that the name Papato (or Pushito, or Peshito, as some give it) was a combination of Indian words meaning simply "old and young," without any distinction of man or woman -and simply meant a place of safety or concealment for the old men who could not go to war, and the children. Yet with their meagerness of language and narrowness of ideas, it is altogether likely that " old man " or " old men" would be'the dominant and foremost element of the name or expression, and the idea in their minds with regard to it.
There is another story current of an " Old man living on the creek," sometime, somehow, somewhere, but nobody could tell anything certain about it, and it seemed so vague, misty and improbable that this historian rejects it as wholly apochryphal. Mr. Smith's explanation has at least the merit of practical probability and common sense to it, and hence we give it the preference. All this southwest part of the county was orig- inally called Old Man's Creek precinct.
NOTE .- Since the above was furnished to the printers, Mr. D. W. Wood reports that the " Indian Lookout " is on the Etzel farm, near Jerry Stover's, or about on the line between West Lucas and Liberty townships. This is a little more definite, but not different from the location as given above.
Biographical Sketches.
SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD, of Iowa City, was born in Hartford county, Maryland, December 20, 1813; received a limited education at the Academy of John McLeod, in Washington City; removed to Rich- land county, Ohio, in 1835, and studied law there: was admitted to the bar in 1843; was elected prosecuting attorney in 1845 and again in 1847; was in 1850-51, a member of the convention that formed the present con- stitution of the State of Ohio. Removed to Johnson county, Iowa, in 1855; was elected to the State Senate lin 1856; was elected Governor in 1859 and again in 1861; was in 1863 nominated by President Lincoln and confirmed as minister to Denmark, but declined the appointment; was in 1866 elected to the United States Senate to fill the unexpired term of Hon. James Harlan; was in 1875 again elected governor of Iowa, and resigned that office January 31, 1877; was elected in January, 1876, to the United States Senate as a republican, to succeed George G. Wright, republican. His term of service would have expired on March 3d, 1883, but on March 8, 1881, he resigned his seat to accept the position of Secretary of the Interior in President Garfield's cabinet. In consequence of the death of President Garfield and change of administration, he retired from the cabi- net April 17, 1882. When the war for the union commenced in 1861, Mr. Kirkwood was engaged with his brother-in-law, Ezekiel Clarke, in operating the large flouring mill at Coralville; but he at once gave his entire attention and energies to the war business of the state. Among all the men who held high positions at that time, none stand to this day in greater honor and reverence in the green remembrance of the nation than this same "War Governor" of Iowa. Mr. Kirkwood was married, December 27, 1843, to Miss Jane Clarke, whose father moved at an early day from Washington county, Pennsylvania, to Richland county, Ohio, where she was born. She is a sister of Hon. Ezekiel Clarke, of Iowa City; also sister to Mrs. Col. E. W. Lucas, of Iowa City, and the late Mrs. Wesley Redhead, of Des Moines. Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood have had no children born to them, but raised an adopted son, Samuel Kirk- wood Clarke, who was adjutant of the 25th regiment Iowa Infantry; was shot through the knee at the battle of Arkansas Post, January 11, 1863. The surgeons, hoping to save his leg, did not amputate, as would have been the safer way under the circumstances; for he lingered in extreme suffering and died of the wound, at St. Louis, February 20, 1863. It is only in the rarest of cases that so severe an injury at the knee joint can
764
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
make a good recovery even in civil life, where the patient has the very best of nursing and surgical attention; and in the conditions of army life such a recovery was well nigh a practical impossibility. But the surgeons did what seemed best in the haste and excitement and inexperience of the time; and probably in accordance with young Kirkwood's wishes, also, for he naturally would not wish to have the leg amputated if there seemed any possible hope of saving it. But in this, as in almost every other simi- lar case in the war time, the hope, looking fair for awhile, proved delusive at last. The noble boy wished to save his leg so he could go back to his post of duty, which he could not do if it was amputated; but it was not to be so; and his name is enrolled in the nation's galaxy of martyr heroes, who died for the cause of the Union, and human rights in all the ages.
THEODORE SUTTON PARVIN was born January 15, 1817, in Cumberland county, New Jersey. His father loved 'the blue above and the blue beneath,' and in his younger days was a seafaring man, and was the commander of a vessel for a number of years. As his father's calling took him much from home, the early training of Theodore fell mainly to his mother, a devoted christian lady, of the Presbyterian faith. In Novem- ber, 1829, he removed with his father's family to the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, and soon afterward entered Woodward College, at that place, where he soon distanced all competitors, especially leaving some of the foremost a long way behind in mathematics. In the fall of 1833, having success- fully and meritoriously passed through the college course, he commenced to be 'learned in the law' with Hon. Timothy Walker, afterward judge of the superior court. Uniting the benefits of office study with the more illustrative teachings of the school, he entered the Cincinnati Law School, from which he was graduated in 1837, and immediately admitted to prac- tice. In the spring of 1838, Robert Lucas, who had been governor of Ohio, was appointed by President Van Buren governor of the young ter- tory of Iowa. Lucas, on his way from his home in the interior of Ohio to assume 'his new office, tarried a while in Cincinnati, to purchase a territo- rial library, and, as may be supposed, to re-stock his carpet-sack with shirts and collars; for Iowa was then in the far, uncertain, and uncultivated west, as distant from haberdashers and gentlemen's furnishing establish- ments as from books and libraries. Of course the old and new governor had friends in the metropolis of Ohio, and was a lion among them. At the tea-table of a mutual friend of the governor (one of whose practical mottoes through life ever was, that the first impulse was the best, and the first decision most correct), met young Parvin, and was so struck with the manners and conversation of the youth that he nominated him off-hand as his chief-of-staff, like Napoleon promoting a soldier for good behavior on the field of battle. Parvin accepted the post of private secretary, and accompanied the governor to Burlington, then temporary capital of Iowa.
765
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
The stern governor, from that day to his death, never regretted having chosen the stripling lawyer as his confidential secretary, and never fal- tered or wavered in his affection for him. He retained the office of gov- ernor's secretary until the governor promoted him to that of prosecuting attorney for one of the three districts into which Iowa was then divided, when he took up his residence at Muscatine, at that time known as Bloom- ington. He was the prosecuting attorney of the first district court ever held in Johnson county-held by Judge Joseph Williams, in the "Gilbert Trading House." At the end of two years he resigned the position of prose- cuting attorney, to be elected for three consecutive terms judge of the pro- bate court. Previous to this he had held the office of secretary of the leg- islative council, during the session of 1840-'41. Upon the organization of the United States District Court for the district of Iowa, Judge Parvin was appointed its clerk, a position he held for ten years, embracing the entire term of Judge Dyer's service, and until the latter's death, in 1855. In 1856, Judge Parvin was elected register of the state land office; therefore, in the second year of Judge Lowe's term on the United States District Court bench, he resigned the clerkship of the court. Indebted to the public school system of Ohio for a liberal education, it is no wonder that Mr. Parvin has always been an enthusiast in the cause of education. He brought order out of chaos to the free schools of Muscatine when the present school code was adopted in Iowa, serving as president of the school board of that city. At the initial steps for the organization of the State University, in 1854, the legislature recognized the value of his counsel and experience in educational affairs, by electing him one of its trustees. He was again elected trustee by the board of education, 1858, but resigned the next year, upon his election as "Curator and Librarian," a compound title, which was accompanied by all the powers of president of the University, except title, as "Lord Protector" meant king with Cromwell. But at the end of 1859 a president de nominie as well as de facto was appointed, and Mr. Parvin exchanged the title Curator and Librarian for that of "Professor of Natural History," which chair he held for eight years. We find him, during his University career, at different times filling various chairs-those of Geology, Physical Geography, Botany, Physiology, Zoology, Meteorology, and Polit- ical Economy -- besides teaching such branches as Ancient and Modern His- tory, Ancient Geography, History of Modern Civilization, etc., which do not seem to have been considered sufficiently abstruse of themselves to entitle the teacher thereof to the title of Professor. Sometimes he filled two or three chairs at a time; for whenever a chair ,was temporarily vacant, through sickness or unavoidable absence of its proper occupant, the Professor, whose varied information supplied every deficiency was at hand and the constant word was, "Send for Parvin." Political Economy was the last chair filled by Prof. Parvin. In May, 1843, Prof. Parvin was married to Miss Agnes McCully. They have six children, two daughters and four sons, the eldest daughter and eldest son being married. The elder daugh-
766
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
ter was one of the first three ladies to take the degree of A. B. in the State University, and, so far as we know, they were the first females to take this degree in the United States. In 1850, Prof. Parvin united with the Pres- byterian church, in which body he is as honored and useful as in any other walk of life. For long years he was the superintendent of the Pres- byterian Sunday School in Muscatine, and when he removed his resi- dence to Iowa City the same position was thrust upon him here, and he holds it still, by virtue of the relentless decrees of pastor, elders and schol- ars. Besides acting as an officer in the school board of Iowa City, Prof. Parvin served for a short time as Superintendent of Schools for Johnson county, to which office he was elected without solicitation, by his political opponents, which is a tribute to worth, the simple statement of which is more valuable than a studied eulogy, pronounced in the most honeyed rhetoric. While serving as Superintendent, his visits lent new attractions to the school room. The little girls and boys would carry to their parents at home the pleasant words of encouragement that Mr. Parvin said, and be anxious to hear him again. Prof. Parvin was one of the institutors of the State Historical Society, in January, 1857, serving as a member of the first and subsequent boards of curators, until December, 1863, when he was elected corresponding secretary, to which latter office he was re-elected in 1864-his second term expiring in December, 1865. In 1865 he was again elected a member of the board of curators, and in 1866 one of the vice-presidents of the society. During the two years he was correspond- ing secretary he edited the Annals of Iowa. He has always been, since its establishment, an active friend and liberal benefactor of the society. Prof. Parvin's residence has been in Iowa City since 1860. In early life an accident entailed upon him permanent lameness, which turned his incli- nations away from outside sports and out-of-door occupations toward the cultivation of letters and the study of books. It is thus that what appear at the time the greatest misfortunes and calamities, are often, under Heaven, converted into blessings for us, and the sources of happiness. Prof. Par- vin was one of the founders of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Iowa, which was organized January 8, 1844. He was elected grand secretary then, and has served the order in that capacity ever since-a period of over thirty-eight years; he was made grand master one year, but also did the duties of grand secretary at the same time. He has taken every degree pertaining to the order of Masonry, from the lowest to the highest known in this or any other country. He was the father and founder of the Ma- sonic Grand Lodge Library, the first one of its kind in the United States, having been commenced in 1844 with nine volumes of Masonic literature donated by himself. This library has grown steadily ever since, under his personal, watchful, and unceasing care, and now numbers about 15,000 volumes. As it is an Iowa City institution, a sketch of it will be found among the Masonic statistics of Iowa City.
767
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
STATE UNIVERSITY FACULTY AND INSTRUCTORS.
JOSIAH L. PICKARD, A. M., L. L. D., President of the State Uni- versity of Iowa, and instructor in Civil Polity, was born March 17, 1824, in Rowley, Essex county, Massachusetts. He was married Aug. 24, 1847, to Miss Cornelia V. C. Woodhull, daughter of Prof. Woodhull of Rutger's College. He has twice received the degree of L. L. D., the Chicago University and college at Beloit, Wisconsin, both conferring upon him that honor he so richly deserves. He educated himself for college at the academy in Lewiston, Maine. He entered Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, and graduated in September, 1844. He taught in the public schools in Minot, Maine, in the winter of 1842 and '43. In 1844 he took charge of the academy at North Conway, New Hampshire, and in Decem- ber, 1845, he came to Elizabeth, Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and taught school until November, 1846. We next find him in 1846, at Plattsville, Grant county, Wisconsin, in charge of a re-organized academy of five students, and when he left in 1859, the number attending was nearly 200. Dr. Pickard was selected by the board of regents of the S. U. I. for presi- dent, and entered upon his duties as such in June, 1878. He was elected to the State Superintendency of Wisconsin in 1859, and twice re-elected; resigned in 1864 and became Superintendent of Schools of Chicago, annually re-elected for thirteen years, resigning in 1877. His efforts and labors in behalf of the institution have proven a grand success, and the position of honor, profit, and trust placed in his hands by the board has been faithfully administered. The State University has prospered under his management, and now ranks among the best educational institutions in America. It has proven to be the " Athens of Iowa."
SAMUEL CALVIN, A. M., Professor of Natural Science and Curator of the University Cabinet of the State University, was born February 2, 1840, in Wigtonshire, Scotland. His parents came to America and settled in Saratoga county, New York, where they resided for four years, and then located in Buchanan county, Iowa. He was connected with Lenox Col- lege, Hopkinton, Iowa, from 1864 to 1869, as Professor of Natural Science. In 1869 he accepted the position in one of the Dubuque schools, and lived in that city until 1874, when he was elected to his present postion in the S. U. I. He was married in 1865 to Miss Louisa Jackson of Hopkinton, Iowa. He served as a faithful soldier in the 44th Iowa Infantry in 1864. He is one of the instructors of the State University that seems to be very popular among the students. A republican in politics.
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