USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > History of O'Brien County, Iowa, from its organization to the present time > Part 4
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Rev. Clifton was the first preacher in this sod church. In 1871, there was quite an Indian scare, which was started from an alarm made by Mrs. Fenton, living in Grant township, and when a woman starts out with a hue and cry, the populace of course are excited with fear of coming danger and disaster. She saw out on the distant prairie,something which she be- lieved to be a band of Indians, but which finally turned out to be a drove of cattle. It was enough however, that her im- agination pictured nothing but a horde of savages bent upon a slaughter of the settlement, and whose tomahawks and scalp- ing knives were ready for their victims. She flew about the neighborhood, and the alarm J. T. STEARNS. she started became general. All hastily hitched up their teams of horses and oxen, loaded in their household goods and their families, and there was a general exodus from the prairie, to the town of old O'Brien. This town for a while constituted a fort for protection against the coming invasion, and the town bristled with shot guns,
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
and was numerous with warriors, but there was no Napoleon. Major Inman was made commander-in-chief, but owing to the nervous condition of these raw recruits, it was difficult to get them in a line of action, and to brace them up with sufficient bravery for the onslaught. Ed Parker and Lem Green de- clared, that while they had no wife of their own, still they would die in the last ditch for some other man's, they didn't propose to stand around and see the women and children slaughtered before their very eyes, no matter what fate might be awaiting them. Clark Green's store was the headquarters, and of course Clark had to guard his stock, and at the same time, the gathered families of the set- tlers B. F. McCormack, Ed Parker, Hank Smith and C. Boyles were detailed as pick- ets, Jack Brock and Lem Green as scouts, and while history does not name the commissary, yet whoever he was, there was soon pro- vided an abundance of vine- gar bitters, a beverage FRED. FRISBIE. known to the trade then, but it is a matter of record, that the campaign lasted as long as the bitters did, and when that was exhausted, these county seat patriots retired from military duty, and the fort was evacuated. It is a matter of fact, however, that the parties before mentioned, with J. W. Kelly, Jos. Rowland, H. Fenton, Horace Gilbert, Gus Baker and Orrin Gowen, advanced into Grant township, and towards the supposed Indians, until it was discovered, that the fright was caused only by harmless cattle-which D. C. Chapman, now a resident of Primghar, had brought into the country.
During a few of these early winters, some of the single men who were holding down claims, made a sort of headquarters
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
in the bluffs on the Little Sioux. There was plenty of timber for firewood, and this was the most important consideration. As Jake Wagner was one of the moving spirits in this seclu- sion, and as he had the nick name of Larrapy, the spot was designated as Larrapyville. They chopped some in the winter, and hauled to homesteaders, thereby getting some cash, and then the camp became a general stopping place for settlers who made trips to the Little Sioux for fuel. At the time of the arrival of the county organizers, it was just before the war of the rebellion, and when the mutterings of treason were in the air. Mr. Water- man, a devoted patriot, did not like some of the gang, on account of their being rebel sympathizers. Tifft, Bosler and Furber were rebels, and they were among the leading spirits. The days of old O'Brien were long since numbered. ISAAC CLEMENTS. In 1873, when the grow- ing necessities of the county demanded it, the county seat was moved to Primghar, its present location. There is noth- ing left at the old spot as a reminder that it was once a village, or a county capitol, or the scene of a gang of financial spec- ulators, who piled up a county debt which the county wrestled with in after years, and not all of which has yet been paid. Nothing of the town is left but its memories, and even these will fade, as one after another of the participants in its early experiences, are laid away in the cemetery.
On the southwest quarter of section 4, in Grant township, lives Alfred B. Husted and his family. The writer called there recently, and was greeted with much hospitality. Mr. Hus-
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
ted, with his matronly wife and family, have lived on this claim since the spring of 1869, although he came to the county in 1868, from Sac county, Iowa, and is one of the four mentioned as being the only settlers of 1868 still residing in the county. Mr. Husted worked a while at old O'Brien for Maj. Inman, and built his house on the claim at odd times without making a regular job of it. He was the first carpenter in the county, worked on Teabout's store when Sanborn started, and also built the first school house in that town.
There were only eleven voters when Mr. Husted came. He believes that Crego was a good man at heart, and more sinned against than sinning. When Mr. Husted first came to the county he came for the purpose of finishing the building of old O'Brien hotel, built by Maj. In- man. In the same town- ship of Grant, D. B. Har- mon settled in the spring of 1869, on the southeast quarter of section 36. He came from Wisconsin, and while there, had written to several points in Iowa, as to soil, prospects, etc., of the country, and receiv- ing a favorable answer from Ft. Dodge, left his JOHN B. PERKINS. Wisconsin home for that point, and arrived there in April. He stopped at the Iowa House, kept by Moses Lewis of old
O'Brien fame. In coming, he walked from Iowa Falls to Webster City, and rode with a farmer from that point to his destination. Mr. Harmon came to old O'Brien under a promise of work at $4.00 per day, but the promisee never fulfilled his obligation; but Harmon was young and full of life and activity, as he is yet. On the road out, he met Horace Gilbert, Wil-
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
liam Wager, and some others. After Mr. Harmon had con- cluded to settle, he sent for his wife, who arrived at Ft. Dodge the latter part of May. He bought a yoke of oxen there, borrowed a wagon, and with some provisions, they started for their O'Brien county home.
While crossing " Hell Slough," which was one of the names for the "Twenty Mile Slough" elsewhere mentioned, and when the water was up to the wagon box, the ox yoke broke in two. Here was a dilemma indeed, no way out of the dif- ficulty but to get into the water, aud get the outfit on dry land, which happened to be but a short distance away. The first thing he did was to take his wife on his shoulders, and carry her safely to land, with the water up to his waist, and he first cautioned her that she must not laugh on the journey, if she did, he would be laughing too over such a ludicrous predica- ment, and then she would surely be dropped into the water, and into " Hell Slough" at that. We may be assured, that Mrs. Harmon avoided even a grin. He then carried the wagon in its different pieces safely ashore, fixed up the yoke, and went on. That sum- mer they lived in a tent on the claim, put up a sod shanty in the fall, and a : farm house afterward. Mr. Harmon broke twenty acres the first summer, put it into crop the next year, but broke too deep, and this with too much rain that season, was the cause of but small returns. With limited means, and nothing raised, Harmon MRS. W. C. BUTTERFIELD. had a hard time of it, his wife worked out at old O'Brien to earn the necessaries of life. A young school teacher, fresh from her girlhood home,
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
upon the bleak and unsettled prairie of O'Brien without means, and for the first time in her life obliged to work for others in the kitchen, it would seem to be a cause of discouragement and regret, but not so with the young couple, they had the grit and determination to succeed some time, and the elegant mansion, and extensive barns surrounded with thrifty forest trees, upon that same quarter section where the Har- mon's still reside, prove that all their efforts and early strug- gles, have been fully rewarded. Adjoining Mr. Harmon's claim on the west, is the farm of William Wager, who also came to the county in 1869.
What is now an addition to the main part of his house, was built at that early day. It is of brick, and cost Mr. Wager $400, which was double what it ought to. Mr. Wager's house as it now stands, will be seen with the brick addition. He came from Canada, and like Mr. Harmon, had for a while quite a struggle to pull through, but is all right now, and with much fatherly in- terest, has helped the boys in getting a start in South Dakota. Another old settler north of Mr. Harmon is Mr. McBath who also came in 1869, and has weathered it through into clear sailing, and under better skies. On section thirty, also in Grant, Mr. Frank Martin settled later than those above men- W. C. BUTTERFIELD. tioned. He came to Peterson in 1871, and settled on his claim in 1872, where he still lives in comfortable circum- stances, with his wife and a group of healthy children. Further northwest of Mr. Martin, is an old settler of 1870, J. S. Brosh, who settled and filed upon the west half of the
5
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
southeast quarter of section fourteen in Highland township, and still lives on the original claim. He hauled logs to Peter- son, had them sawed into lumber, and used the lumber in building, in the spring of 1871. Mr. Brosh came from John- son county, Iowa, and by reason of some Johnson county neighbors who were here, he came up. He drove through with a span of black mules, worked them on the farm until 1881, when the mules were killed by light- ning. They were in the shed which Mr. Brosh had just left, and was near his wife out of doors, between the house and the shed, when the stroke came. His wife died about a year after that, STEPHEN S. BRADLEY. and as Mr. Brosh believes, from the effect of the same stroke of lightning that killed the mules, as she was ill from that time. Mr. Brosh has a fine farm and is comfortably fixed.
In the month of February, 1870, Ed C. Brown left the state of Michigan, his former home, to come to O'Brien county. Along with him came Henry and Horace Hoagland, from the same state. Mr. Brown's father lived in Michigan, and a hired man in his employ had previously come to this county, and re- ported back in glowing terms its prospects and opportunities, which was enough to start the young and adventurous Brown toward the jungles of O'Brien county. The three parties above named, after reaching Chicago bought tickets from there to Dubuque, and reaching this point, asked of an agent of the Illinois Central for tickets to Cherokee. They were told by the agent that there was no such town on the line, so it seems that this promising city then, had neither a location nor
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
a name. They then bought tickets to Farley and from there to Ft. Dodge, and from this point drove across the country to old O'Brien. Horace Hoagland bought a half section of land, and Henry bought out the claim of a settler. Mr. Brown filed on section 30, in Waterman township, and soon after this, returned to Michigan for his family, and in May following, was a full-fledged homesteader. Mr. Brown went through all the hardships of pioneer life, and while he may now enjoy a season of prosperity, there was a time, along with the rest of us, when poverty and misfortune stared him in the face, and he too was trying to solve the problem of how to live without an income.
FIRST HOTEL BUILDING IN PRIMGHAR.
He got a yoke of oxen, went to work breaking, and in 1871 had in a crop. After getting in his seed for a wheat crop, W. H. Fuller, a not distant neighbor, went over to borrow Brown's harrow. This was nine o'clock in the morning when Fuller got there; Brown was still in bed, but got up when Fuller made his appearance. Fuller made known his wants,
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
and Brown, a picture of despair on liis countenance, said in re- ply, that he could have the harrow and anything else he wanted; indeed, the claim itself he would turn over, if Fuller would take it. Fuller asked why this condition of discouragement and generosity, and was told by Brown, that everything in the world had lost its charm for him, as the spotted ox had laid down and died. At first view, a settler trying to farm and raise crops, and left with only one ox, and no money to buy another, seems to be a catastrophe that would unbalance most anybody, but Brown was not made of that kind of stuff that would surrender, even with only one ox to work with, for there is always a way, and Mr. Brown found it, as FRED. WOLF. he soon had another yoke, and the work went on. He wrestled, however, and on through the grasshopper period, but finally left the farm and went into the banking business in Sheldon, and is now one of the directors and cashier of the Bank of Sheldon.
Among other earlier settlers in Waterman township, were John G. Arbuckle on section 2; Frank Arbuckle on the same section; Albert Burnside on section 18; A. Cook on section 2; J. R. Finster on section 14; J. S. Finster on section 14; C. E. Hill on section 12; J. H. Skillen on section 4; Michael Sweeney on section 14; Silas Steel on section 18; John and R. W. Weal on section 6; and Geo. Youde on section 32.
There were but four original entries of government land in Dale township, and these confined to one section, section 6; A. J. Carman, on the southeast quarter; P. T. Shriner, on the southwest; S. E. Peck, on the northwest; and H. E. Wilbur, on the northeast.
Another bank cashier, of the Farmers' Bank of Paullina, Stephen Harris, landed in O'Brien county in 1869. He had left the old Bay state, bringing with him in appearance and
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
speech the characteristics of a genuine Yankee, which he was. He started for Omaha, intending to buy land there, but as some hitch prevented the purchase, he heard that in north- western Iowa one could acquire land by settlement, and be- come the owner of one hundred and sixty acres, simply by living on it. Such an opportunity as that, when young Harris heard of it, lifted him into the skies of joyful enthusiasm, and he immediately started for the Sioux City Land Office, to find out sure if this might be true. Land then in Massachusetts was high, full of stumps and stones, and no great prospects for either riches or glory upon its worn out soil. Here was a large tract of rich fertile soil, capable of great productions, and all for nothing. When he reached the Sioux City Land Office, he found that he had been correctly informed, and that the virgin prairie of O'Brien awaited his coming. Mr. Hiram Wiard and his son Sol were in the land office when Mr. Har- ris arrived, and hearing the inquiries he made, they took charge of him, and brought him to O'Brien with them, and soon after his arrival, through the aid of D.W. Inman, he selected the southwest quarter of section 18 in Grant township. In the fall, - Mr. Harris built a sod shack, making a thatch- ed roof, and the follow- ing winter lived in Cher- okee, leaving the shack in charge of W. W. Barnes, who with his FRANK JONES. family occupied it. In the January following, from the stove pipe, the wood work inside caught fire, and the Barnes family
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
being unable to extinguish the flames as there was but little water, the entire contents of the shack burned, including Mr. Harris' best suit of clothes, his library and some furniture. The next spring he built a frame house with lumber from the, Peterson mill at $45 per thousand. The lumber was green when the house was built, which made a snug tight building, but after the hot summer winds of O'Brien had swept over the prairie, and had got through shrinking the lumber, the cracks were about as wide as the boards, and the house was built over again. Mr. Harris has lived in the county contin- uously since that time, has held several important county offices, and now resides in Paullina interested in the Farmers' Bank. A son Charles is a newspaper man, of much ability as a writer.
Another old settler, R. G. Allen, reached old O'Brien in November, 1869. He came here upon his judgment as to the ยท quality of land after reaching Storm Lake. There came with him,Sam Renny who was twenty-two years old, and weigh- ed near three hun- dred pounds; they called him Allen's infant. Mr. Allen brought eight head of horses, a lumber wagon and a buggy. BENJ. JONES. He lived in old O'Brien awhile, hauling merchandise from several different points, Fort Dodge, Denison, Minnesota and other points. The next spring he bought out a blacksmith shop, going into business with Bostwick who was a wagonmaker; the vice
-
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
Mr. Allen used then, is used now by Peter Sitler in Hartley. He next bought a claim, the south half of the southeast quar- ter of section 4, in Grant township, and in the spring of 1871 brought his family from Wisconsin, built a house in June, and lived on the claim. He continued to live on the claim until 1878, when he moved to Primghar and opened a blacksmith shop, run that for a year, then moved back on the farm and remained there until 1883, when he moved to Hartley where he still resides.
Mr. Allen has held several offices, one of which is justice of the peace, which he has held in Hartley for ten years, and has himself as a practi- tioner wrestled the MRS. BENJ. JONES. lawyers around in the trial of cases before other justice courts.
The only colored settler O'Brien county has had, was Ben F. Epperson, who in 1871 settled on the southeast quarter of section eight in Grant township. Ben was not quite as black as the ace of spades, but still was a negro, and although his skin was black, his heart was white in the sense of manly purity and virtue. Ben Epperson, was a man of good hard sense, an honest man, and was very much respected. He left here several years ago, and now resides in Nebraska.
J. K. McAndrew was in this part of the country several times in 1869, as he had relations in Cherokee county. In the spring of 1870, he drove up to O'Brien with his brother-in-law from Aurelia, selected, settled and filed upon the southwest
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
quarter of section 30 in Grant township. Mc. first built a sod shack, worked hard in getting the sod ready for building, and with a desire to do something nice in the way of sod shack architecture, he took considerable pains, and its building was like that of Solomon's Temple, in the sense, that there was not the sound of an axe, hammer or saw. When he got the walls built and the roof about completed, he walked away from it for inspection, and in order that his eye might be delighted with the beauty and success of his handiwork.
Just as he had taken in the structure with a full view, the whole business fell in together, and the building so beautiful to behold a few moments before, was a mass of ruin-nothing but a pile of sods. This did not discourage him, so he rebuilt the shack and lived in it that summer while he was breaking. He had picked up a wide board some fellow had dropped on the road; and for a while, this constituted the roof and his only pro- tection against rain. Mr. McAndrew lived on this claim, but was away more or less, for eight years; mar- ried after two years' wrestling with pots and kettles as a bach- elor, built himself then a frame house to live in, and moved to Hartley in 1877. Mr. McAndrew went through the usual hardships, burnt hay for two years, had to MARY DONAVON. be dunned now and then like the rest of us, but is now prosperous in business, and a man known to be honest and highy conscientious. He is fur- ther mentioned in a separate chapter on Hartley. A settler liv-
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
ing not far from Mr. McAndrew by the name of Harrager, had given a chattel mortgage on his only cow. When the note be- came due, Sheriff Nissen went with the mortgage while Har- rager was away, to get the cow and foreclose, but just as he was about to drive her away, Mrs. Harrager appeared with an axe and got after the sheriff, who let go the cow and ran for
RESIDENCE OF P. R. BAILEY, PRIMGHAK.
his life, for the woman told him, that all they lived on was the milk of the cow, and anyone who undertook to drive her away she would kill him right there. Nissen nor anyone else under- took afterward to foreclose the mortgage.
Archibald McDonald came from Grundy county, Iowa, to O'Brien in 1869. He and his good wife had crossed the ocean from Scotland some years before. Mrs. McDonald is from
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
the same parish where Robert Burns lived, and one can see that she is possessed of that rugged integrity and good sense, which is a characteristic of the Scotch people. Her husband, Archibald, also is a true Scotchman to the manor born, and their home is a model of domestic peace. Mr. McDonald and W. F. Fuller came together, drove to old O'Brien, got some information from Murry, and then went out to select their land. Mr. McDonald selected and filed on the southeast quarter of section 36, in Center township, went JOSEPH SHINSKI. back to Grundy to har- vest his crops there, returned and cut some of the timber along the Little Sioux the following winter, hauled it to Peterson's mill, and when sawed into boards built a house on his claim in May, 1870. Mr. McDonald and his family lived on the claim until 1892, when they moved to Hartley. One son, Archibald A., is away seeking an education with money earned himself, and is spoken of as a very promising young man, who will make his mark in the future.
A neighbor of Mr. McDonald by the name of Fitzmire settled in Center about the same time McDonald did, but he died soon after from a wound he received in the army. He had entered the ranks of the Union forces, fought during the war of the rebellion, but towards its close was seriously wounded; soon after he came to O'Brien county, accepted the gift of a quarter section of land from the government he had faithfully served, and then was mustered out by the grim reaper soon after his settlement. His widow and two sons, John and Henry, still live in Center township.
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HISTORY ,OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
R. M. Boyd, familiarly called " Dick," came to the county from Linn county, Iowa, in the spring of 1871, and settled on the southwest quarter of section 14 in Grant township. He fought with all the rest of us through the grasshopper period, trying to live without crops, but Dick was considerable of a rustler as he is now, and can stand as much grief and misfort- une as any man living. He moved to Sanborn some years ago, has been marshal of that city, and during the last session of the legislature has been one of the doorkeepers of the house. Himself and family are among the respected people of Sanborn.
Through the influence of Mr. Boyd, upon his return to Linn county, Mr. James Magee, then living also in Linn county, came in 1871, and settled on the south half of the south- east quarter on section IO.
Both Mr. Boyd and Magee have remained continuously in the county since, and have raised their children here. R. H. Magee, a son of James, has an elegant farm two. miles north of Sanborn; Francis, a daughter, married Mr. A. Boyer, a thrifty farmer east of Sheldon; George lives in Franklin township; Miss Alma teaches in the Sanborn public schools; JURGEN RENKEN. Eliza married Frank Kelsey; Wieford lives at home, and Charles lives at Sutherland.
Among other of the early settlers of Grant township, were Curtis Boyles on section 23, A. G. Boyles on section 24, Wil- liam W. Barnes, who now resides in Sibley, on section 30, H: M. Crosby on section 2. John H. Covey, who was a preacher and for whom the Covey church was named, settled
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HISTORY OF O'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.
in 1871 on the northwest of section 8. William A. Compton on the southeast of section 12, Charles Chandler on section 23, N. L. Chesley on section 34 and Geo. Edwards, a son of A. J., on section 24. Charles Fenton and H. G. Fenton both located on section 2 in Grant in 1870. J. C. Farley the same year on section 6, N. F. Flathers on section 26 in 1869. Reuben Gross settled on section 4 in 1870, Hoel Gibbs on section 22, H. B. Gilbert on section 36, H. G. Hammond on section 2 that same year, 1870. P. A. Hulbert on section 20 and L. E. Head on section 22, set- tled in 1871. S. J. Jor- dan located on the north- west of section 32 in Grant in 1871, William Kelsey on section 34 in 1872. John Loder, 1870, on section 36. In 1871, John McCandless and C. R. McCandless settled on section 18; JAMES WYKOFF. that same year Squire Mack on section 30. In 1871, also F. W. Martin on section 30, William Newell on section 34, James Phillipps on section 18, James Patterson on section 20, N. Remington on section 28, Joseph Sharer on section 2. In 1872, O. A. Sutton, still re- siding in the township, settled on section 14, C. M. Stevenson on section 4, O. A. Streeter also on section 4, E. R. Smith on section 8, David Streeter on section 12, and E. R. Streeter. In 1870, Frank Vaughn settled on section 8, William Wilson on section 6, Ira Waterman on section 10, Hiram and Sol Wiard on section 30, and William Weal on section 32.
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