USA > Iowa > Jones County > History of Jones County, Iowa, past and present, Volume I > Part 57
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UNCLE BEN SMITH.
"As I am a very modest man, I dislike extremely having to speak of myself so often, but the thread of the narrative would be broken did I not do it.
"It was deemed necessary, at the time, to elect a justice of the peace in 1841, and although never having any aspiration for the office, I was elected to that dignity almost without opposition. This was strange indeed, as I was a deadly foe to whisky, and never bending the pliant knee to Baal, it was somewhat strange that I was elected to the office. With these preliminary remarks let us go on. The portrait of old Ben Smith rises now in my mental vision in all its native deformity.
"Fancy if you can, an animal on two legs, in the shape of fat and swollen limbs, suffering much from asthma and gout; a man, flat, flaccid and flabby, mis- shapen, unwieldy in form, with a head and face on top of it that completely baffles description : The hair white and erect, like hogs' bristles, the face rosy and rubicund, the nose studded with divers blooming pimples, the eyes twink- ling like a sow's when contemplating mischief, and with thick, sensual lips.
"This patriarch had a large family of sons and daughters, was a widower, and dependent on his children for support, and also on the profits of a whiskey saloon, with dice and cards in his own house. Every Saturday night the orgies were celebrated in the old house where uncle Holden now lives, till the small hours of the morning; genial spirits from the surrounding country coming in from a long distance to aid and assist the aged patriarch in conducting them; John Royal playing the fiddle with unwearied assiduity and tenacity, and all went merry as a marriage bell, unless it was diversified with a slight bit of a fight with perhaps an eye badly bunged up and closed for the time being, or a thumb partly bit off ! But these little incidents only served to add variety and raciness to the scene, and never for a moment stopped the general hilarity. But enough! Let us for the present draw the veil of pity and of charity over this mortifying and disgusting portrait. And let it serve as a warning, a beacon-light to all now coming on the stage of action, to avoid drunkenness and sinfulness of all kinds, if they wish to live useful and happy lives.
"The question naturally arises, what became of poor old Uncle Ben? The answer to it is a sad one indeed. After setting a baleful, blighting influence and example here for eight consecutive years, he started, in the spring of 1849, to revisit the scenes of his childhood in Western New York, and subsequently died miserably of cholera, on board a boat on the upper Ohio, among strangers, with no friend to smooth his dying pillow.
EARLY LAW MATTERS.
"I remarked that I was elected justice of the peace. I held my first court in the log cabin opposite the present mill, in the fall of 1841, Uncle Ben Smith being the plaintiff, and another most worthy sage, very partial to whisky (whom we will not name as he still lives here), was the defendant. The cause of action was a very grave and knotty one, and which would have puzzled the wisdom of Solomon himself, viz : a pumpkin! These two sages had gardens adjoining,
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and Uncle Ben's vines, as pumpkin vines will sometimes, ran through the fence into the adjoining lot and bore the best pumpkins in the said lot, with not only one but several inviting looking pumpkins-more than defendant could stand, doubtless thinking (and with good reason) that the said pumpkins belonged to him. Be this as it may, he appropriated the largest one he could find to his own use, hence the suit. There were at that day many (in common parlance called pettifoggers, a phrase I always disliked) attorneys at law. There were two of preeminently brilliant qualifications and parts, who left their own com- petitors far in the rear, and who were generally pitted against each other, as they both resided in Fairview precinct, viz., Uncle Clement Russell and Hon. John Leonard.
"I have often wondered there were no more of that profession here, as the whole community seemed to look up to them with the highest respect. And we were eminently a community who liked to employ them, going to law about trifles, even abstractions! But then again almost every other man you chanced to meet, thought that he was a lawyer, especially if he owned or had looked into the statute.
"Pettifoggers, as they were called, were plenty as blackberries. Prominent among this class were Mr. Clement Russell and Mr. John Leonard. Each of them an original, yet each very unlike the other. They were alike in one re- spect, viz., perfect devotees to whisky. These gentlemen at an early day loomed up high above all their competitors in their devotion to law, cards and whisky.
"Law cost something in those days, as it does in the present. It was then as now-1-a-w law, with a c-l-a-w claw. If you are fond of pure vexation and sweet procrastination, you are just in a situation to enjoy a suit at law. It was probably owing to this fact, viz., the great expense of this luxury, that induced both parties at this, my first court, to attend to it themselves, and being (as they both were) well stimulated and fortified with whiskey, they fancied themselves perfectly grounded in law, and able to go on with it. The case as you see at a glance, was a perplexing and knotty one. There was much to be said on both sides, and both equally plausible. Knowing this as I did, and dread- ing the torrents of eloquence apparently without end, and not being overstocked with patience, I resolved when the court was called to cut the Gordian knot which none could untie. With that peculiarly persuasive, winning, bland tone and manner which all who know me know to be innately mine, I remarked to them, that we were emphatically, in this new country, a band of brothers; that noth- ing was so pleasing to the great father of us all as brotherly love and harmony, and, over and above this consideration, nothing conduced so much to our tem- poral welfare as harmony, and so forth; told them what an insignificant thing it was to go to law about a pumpkin, nothing else; the great difficulty attending a correct solution of the case, inherent in its very nature; and concluding in my judgment there was no cause of action, adding, at the same time, I should give up my fees and hoped they would all do so likewise. Had they not been both of them pretty drunk (Uncle Ben always feeling rich in that condition), I doubt but my eloquence would have been wasted on them. As it was, they yielded to my advice, shook hands, took a rousing snort of whisky all around, the court
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adjourned, and the hostile sages were soon after seen engaged in a social game of cards with the hospitable whisky jug within easy reach of them, and to com- plete and perfect the harmony, John Royal took his fiddle and struck up a jig or Highland fling, and mirth, hilarity and good feeling prevailed all around- Uncle Ben's four lusty and strapping daughters, always ready to trip it on the light fantastic toe, found partners ready to their hand, and they kept it up as usual until the small hours of the morning, no king on his throne happier, richer or more independent than Uncle Ben.
"After the disposition of the case spoken of, I felt as if a mountain was lifted from my back, and being released from the onerous duties incumbent on me, I went about my usual avocations, receiving the congratulations of my friends at the issue, Uncle Sibbalds himself grinning all the time with evident symptoms of uncommon satisfaction. I wish to add, that in that early day when a lawsuit was to come off, all other business for the time being came to a halt; no one could forego the intense delight of attending and drinking in wisdom from the lips of the legal oracles of the day, as well as from the jug. Some of the richest scenes I ever went through which occurred afterward, at courts held in the north room of our new house, the carpenter's bench and tools being there at the time. At one suit Mrs. C. got dinner for twenty men. A lawsuit, like raising a barn, could not go on without a large crowd attending; and lubri- cated as it always was, with whisky, how could all help going on secundum artem. As a matter of course, it could not. But I crave pardon of my readers for taking up so much valuable time.
EARLY COUNTY HISTORY.
"I have taken much pains to ascertain who was the first white settler in this county, and from the best information I could obtain, I am satisfied Hugh Bowen was the man, that beautiful tract of country in Richland township being named after him. I recollect well his telling me he was in the Black Hawk war, and that, only a few years after, he came into this county, probably in 1836.' Perhaps a few of the salient points of his character may prove interesting to the reader of today.
"He was a bachelor at this time, in his prime, erect as an Indian and clad in buckskin like one; of great energy and rare simplicity of character. He was our first sheriff, serving in that capacity for many years, and if I should add, the best the county ever had, it need cause no blush to mantle the cheeks of his worthy successors. He was a noble specimen of a western man, un- tainted by the vices, and entirely free from all the silken disguises, subterfuges and hypocrisies which prevail in the old settled countries, and in those grades of society miscalled civilized, refined, fashionable and so forth; undaunted and fearless as a lion in the discharge of his duty; simple and confiding as a child, in all the little suavities and amenities of life and ally prepared to guard against the advances of the well dressed fancy man, black-leg, gambler of the present day.
"After many years' absence in the then far west, he concluded to visit once more his native state, Ohio, when the first railroad from the east reached the
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father of waters. Although traveling with a friend, and cautioned again and again against pickpockets, he was rifled of some forty or fifty dollars, all he had, long before he got to the end of his journey. On obtaining the first view of that monstrum horrendum, a locomotive engine, his wonder and amazement was unbounded! Fearful that the train might start without him (instinct with life and power, more than human as it was), he insisted on sleeping (camping) in the cars all night! I have not met him for many long years, and regret to add, the last I heard of him he was at Denver, Colorado, much reduced in cir- cumstances. He was sheriff of this county many years in succession.
"It is highly probable that other portions of the county kept pace with those already named in its early settlement, but of this I cannot speak positively, being like most of the early settlers, dependent on my day's work for my daily bread, and never leaving home unless on matters of urgent business.
"The county, in 1839-40, was divided into four road districts, viz., Bowen's Prairie was No. 1; Buffalo Fork, No. 2; Walnut Fork, No. 3, and Farm Creek No. 4, with a supervisor in each district, to keep the roads in order.
"Jones county in 1839-40 was divided into four election districts. Walnut Precinct or Rome was this district, No. 1; Buffalo Fork or Fairview was the 2nd district; Bowen's Prairie or Richland the 3rd district and Farm Creek Precinct now Washington, the 4th district. Each district containing two town- ships.
"Our first county commissioners were Col. Chas. P. Hutton, Thos. S. Denson and H. G. Seeley who served in that capacity several successive years. And here I must be allowed to pause a moment to pay a tribute of respect and of friendship to the character of my venerable friend, Col. Hutton who still survives at a ripe old age on his farm in Washington township.
"A man somewhat past his prime when I first knew him, of rare good judgment in all that pertains to practical business matters, of retentive memory, strong sound common sense which grasps and and decides knotty points as by intuition, great self-possession, combined with great simplicity, rare honesty and crowning humility. In manner dignified yet urbane, he knew how to pronounce that little monosyllable 'No' with a dignity and suavity of manner which deprives it of its sharpest sting. How few of us can do this! Aye, or even say No at all ! I do not know that I go too far in affirming that his was the leading mind in directing the affairs of the county and that whatever of good and prosperity the county now enjoys, may in a great measure be ascribed to him. He also came into Jones county at an early day, either '37 or '38.
ROADS.
"In a new county, there always seemed to me to be an ardent passion for roads, animating the minds of the whole community. Every man thinks he is not prop- erly fixed unless a road goes straight by his door, hence much labor is lost. and much litigation induced to gratify this singular and insane passion. Being a surveyor, I have had some experience in these matters. I will here remark that years before Iowa was settled, the government had surveyed and laid out a military road, from Dubuque to Iowa, bridging streams and making a very good
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highway for land transportation. This is still called the military road and was under the fostering care of the government until Iowa was organized as a state in 1846.
"Two of the earliest settlers of the county, John Merritt and Orville Cronk- hite still survive, living within a few miles of me. By the records, it would appear that the first township election was held at the house of N. B. Seeley, in 1840. Mr. Cronkhite, however, tells me that one was held at his house at Walnut Grove the year previous, and then nine votes given.
EARLY MAIL FACILITIES.
"The first, and for a long time the only postoffice was established at this place, Rome, and N. B. Seeley appointed postmaster, T. Stivers, deputy postmaster. Carrying the mail was then a severe task, especially in winter where no friendly house and fire greeted the weary and chilled carrier for twelve to twenty miles at a stretch, and where the possibility of freezing to death was by no means uncommon. In an early day, it was always carried on horseback. The postage on all letters was then twenty-five cents, and as there was no money in the country, no circulating medium, the postmaster was put to his trumps to make out his quarterly accounts.
"We had no stores in those days, and for all our groceries and dry goods that were indispensable, we had to go to Dubuque or some town on the Mississippi, generally to Dubuque as the land office was located there. I recollect Dubuque in 1841, Davenport in 1839, and those two beautiful cities were then in their infancy.
"We are fifty miles from each of these cities, and if I have walked once to Dubuque, I have walked fifty times. Having no horse to ride, and if I had. there were three streams to cross, and these were often not fordable, and a horse would have been an impediment rather than a help. It was not until some- time in 1847, or 1848, that we had a little one horse store in the place.
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EARLY COUNTY SEAT PROBLEMS.
"I find on consulting the records that after it was decided to move the county seat from Edinburg, and while the question of a permanent location was yet in abeyance, there were three points to be voted for, viz .; a little town called New- port on the left bank of the river in Jackson township, whose proprietor was Adam Overacker ; 2nd, the present site of Anamosa, and lastly the town of Rome. I recollect there was much electioneering and much feeling and excitement on the subject by those interested. The result of it all was, that, after a fair vote, Newport got it. A town was laid off and lots sold in 1846. One court was held there to my certain knowledge, and but one.
"The people were not yet satisfied. Monticello had put in her claims for the honor, and as a matter of course, had her own particular supporters. I cannot now remember, nor is it important to state, who was the chief lever in moving it the third and last time. Dr. Sales who has always been esteemed 'the politician' of the county, doubtless had a hand in it. It was moved to its present locality
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in the year 1846. There were only two or three families in Anamosa, Mr. Gideon Ford, Mr. Mahan who opened the first store there having as partner, Mr. Crock- well. These gentlemen applied to me in May, 1846, to lay off a town there which I did, naming it Lexington, after that classic spot in my native state, Massa- chusetts. The next year, in 1847, the county seat was permanently located there, and the name changed to Anamosa. Another survey was required at my hands to include a public square, etc., and whatever of increase and prosperity that has attended Anamosa dates from that period.
EARLY FARMING METHODS.
"It is very common in making improvements in a new and prairie country to fence in and cultivate more land than a man can do justice to, i. e., more than he can well and properly cultivate. Jones county, I suppose is no exception to this rule. In 1841, I got ten acres of prarie broke, and for many years that was all the tillable land I worked, and that was always planted in Indian corn. The corn was hoed as well as plowed, and I always gathered at least fifty bushels to the acre. For the last fifteen years I have rented my land, and with one or two exceptions, it has not yielded twenty bushels per acre, simply because it was not half worked. As an instance to show how rich and inexhaustible is the soil here, I will remark that this ten acres has been in corn or oats or wheat from that time to the present, that last summer it was planted in corn, well manured, ploughed and hoed, and yielded at least forty to fifty bushels per acre.
"Although raised on a farm, I am not and never pretended to be a practical farmer, yet not destitute of common sense, and applying that test to the subject matter before us. I do not scruple to say that in amount and in fertility of lands (there is properly speaking, little or no waste lands), in adaptability of season and climate to the production of all the necessities and many of the lux- uries of life, the county stands second to none in the state. Again the county may be justly proud of her timber, in amount, in variety and in quality. The oak, in its variety, is the tree, but mingling with it grows the sugar maple, soft maple, hickory, butternut, black walnut, birch, elm, cotton wood, willow, ash, basswood, honey locust, etc., besides a large number of smaller trees and bushes, rendered this county at an early day, particularly acceptable to our early settlers, and may now justly be termed the wealth and the glory of the county.
"Speaking of the fertility of the soil and its productions, I omitted to state in its proper place, that one hundred and five bushels to the acre on the farm of H. G. Seeley of good sound corn drew the premium at our county fair one year, and ninety bushels to the acre was raised on my farm some years ago. The average quantity in favorable seasons is from fifty to sixty bushels. This only goes to show that with proper cultivation, the soil will do its part, and amply remunerate the farmer for his labor.
THE INDIANS.
"In regard to the natives of the soil, the Indian, I do not know that I can say anything as to their status, history, peculiar habits and mode of life that would
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be of interest to the general reader. Suffice to say, they were here in large num- bers when I first came into the county, and remained here or visited the county annually for many years afterward. They were weak tribes, or remnants of tribes, who true to their natural instincts, were fondly attached to the land of their fathers, were loth to give it up, and returned year after year to visit the sacred and beloved spot where they were born and where the bones of their ancestors rested. Neither do I know of any legends or facts in their history here that would add romance to my narrative.
SAW AND GRISTMILLS.
"The first saw and gristmills in the county were erected by George Walworth, on the Buffalo Fork of the Wapsipinicon in 1838 (where at a later day, the Messrs. Fisher erected spacious mills) and were in full blast when I came here in 1840. Previous to that, the early settlers had to go to the Mississippi for their bread, or trust to the primeval practice of pounding it in a mortar or grinding their corn in a handmill.
"I met Mr. Walworth late in the fall of 1840 at the house of my brother-in- law, N. B. Seeley, and from that time until he left the county, some five or six years, we were always on the most cordial and friendly terms. He was the first representative in the territorial legislature at Iowa City, with other coun- ties attached (Cedar and Linn, I think), and served in that capacity many years with great acceptance to his constituents. He was a bachelor, his sister keeping house for him, a man in strong contrast to all around him. He was then in his prime, and a finer looking man I have seldom if ever seen. He was in manner, appearance, dress and address, emphatically a gentleman, as I understood that term, viz., it is inborn, not infused; it springs spontaneously from the heart. He was a perfect gentleman, not only here in Iowa, but in New York, or London or wherever he might go. In other words, a man may be a gentleman without being a Christian, but a true Christian must be a gentleman. Warm-hearted, cordial, hospitable, public-spirited, he possessed the faculty of adapting himself to all kinds and classes of men, and was the soul and life of every crowd he chanced to mingle with. He possessed in a high degree, that rare and beautiful combination, termed suaviter in modo, cum fortiter in re, and as I often thought, was perfectly out of his element in a new country. We have had many good times together at his house and at mine, and when he left us, I felt we had lost a man the county and state could ill afford to spare. It was with deep and profound grief I heard of his sudden and untimely death in Texas, many years ago. I know nothing of his early life, but his intellect was of a high order, and wherever he might go he would leave his mark. He had a brother, Mr. Clark Walworth with him in 1840 at his residence on the Buffalo, and another and younger brother in our present worthy and talented recorder in Anamosa. The high respect and friendship I cherished for the man, and the grateful sense I shall always feel for his kindness and hospitality to me personally, over and above his public services to the county and territory, would not permit me to pass- him by with a more brief or less eulogistic notice.
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"The second saw mill was built by N. B. Seeley on the Walnut Fork of the Wapsipinicon in 1839, the embryo of the famous town of Rome from which the town takes its name, and where my own experience has a starting point. The next year or so, Mr. Seeley added a gristmill. There were other mills doubtless in other parts of the county. Mr. Calvin Reed built a sawmill on a small tributary of the Wapsi in Fairview in 1839, and the next year another and more permanent one on the Wapsipinicon itself, where the bridge crosses that river leading into Anamosa, going to the risk and labor of building a wing dam nearly across the river the present location of Messrs. Graham and Metcalf. "Again, blacksmiths are in great demand in a new country, and when I came into the county, I found my friends Stivers and Ford, those worthy sons of Vulcan, hammering away the first at Rome, the other at Fairview, sheltered from the elements by canvas and each of them with more work than they could do and at remunerative prices.
THE CAUSE OF EDUCATION.
"Doubtless owing to the want of capable teachers, the sparse population and the struggle to gain subsistence, the cause of education slumbered in the county. The case is very different now. Beside high schools, where the higher branches in science, literature, the arts, music, etc., are taught, my township, Rome, has six district schools attended in the winter by forty or fifty scholars each, where all the elementary branches of spelling, reading, writing and arithmetic, etc., are taught and the preceptors worthy of the name do honor to their vocation. Doubtless the other towns in the county are not behindhand. Fairview is far ahead of us here. There are high schools in Fairview village, in Anamosa, Monticello, Wyoming and in every part of the county, the subject of education is engrossing the public attention and creating that interest which its importance so deeply and vitally merits. We are fortunate in possessing a county superin- tendent admirably well qualified for that responsible post, and a corps of teachers who are such by profession, and who take a deep and absorbing interest in the moral, intellectual and physical welfare and culture of their pupils.
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