USA > Iowa > Page County > History of Page County, Iowa : also biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county > Part 7
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various points in Taylor and Adams counties, together with their asso- ciated strata. The coal here is of about the same thickness, from fifteen to twenty inches, as in the last named counties, and its associated strata has the same general characters. It has been mined just below the mill near Clarinda and also at several points within a mile below the mill, on the east side of the river. The following section was measured there, commencing with the surface of the river as the base of No. I.
SECTION NEAR CLARINDA.
No. 5. Hard, bluish, impure limestone 2 feet
No. 4. Bluish, clayey shale 11/2 feet
No. 3. Coal 11/4 feet
No. e. Light bluish, clayey shale, containing fossil plants and shells 2 feet
No. 1. Unexposed to the water's edge. 10 feet
Total 1634 feet
THE PIONEERS OF PAGE COUNTY.
In the early settlement of Page county can be traced those who left their homes in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Illinois, Missouri and New York, for the purpose of making homes for themselves and their posterity here on the boundless prairies of southwestern Iowa. Here we may follow the course of the hardy woodman of the "Buckeye" or the "Hoosier" state on his way west to "grow up with the country," trusting only to his strong arm and his willing heart to work out his ambition of a home for himself and wife and a competence for his children. Yet again we may see the path worn by the Missourian in his new experience in a land which to him was a land of progress, far in ad- vance of that southern soil upon which he had made his temporary home, in his effort to adapt himself to new conditions. We may see here the growth which came with knowledge and the progress which grew upon him with progress around him and how his better side developed. The pride of Kentucky blood, or the vainglorying of the Virginian F. F. V.'s, was here seen in an early day, only to be modified in its advent from the crucible of democracy when servitude was eliminated from the solution. Yet others have been animated with the impulse to "move on," after making themselves a part of the community and have sought the newer parts of the extreme west, where civilization had not penetrated, or have returned to their na- tive soil. We shall find little of that distinctive New England character, which has contributed so many men and women to other portions of our state and the west but we shall find many an industrious native of Germany or the British Isles.
Prior to the year 1843 the soil of Page county was owned by the red man who sang his song and danced and hunted over its surface and caught
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the fish of its streams unmolested by the firm advance of the omnipresent white man, who was then rapidly pushing the noble savage toward the setting sun. An occasional trapper perhaps found his way into the region only to be repelled by its wildness and driven back to his home on the frontier, though it may have been scarcely less rude than the wigwam of the Indian. The hour had come, however, when a new civilization was to advance its flag here and to make these lands, then wild and uncultivated, blossom as the rose. The county was inhabited by the "pale faces," however, as early as 1840, some years before the state of Iowa had been admitted into the Union, and prior to any surveys having been made in the county. The first white man to settle in the county was George W. Farrens, who came from Jackson county, Missouri, in the spring of 1840. He was shortly after joined by two of his brothers, Henry and David. They erected a log cabin and made improvements on what afterward proved to be section 27, town- ship 67, range 36, in what is now Buchanan township. At the time they located, all three were unmarried and here alone, comparatively with no means at their command other than hopeful hearts and willing hands. They commenced the settlement of what is now one of the grandest agricultural counties of Iowa. They located near G. W. Farrens' residence, their set- tlement going under the name of the Three Forks Settlement, being near the junction of the East and West Nodaways and Buchanan creek. Here they resided alone for one year, having only the red man, with his neces- sary adjuncts, the wolf, panther and elk, for neighbors. The next year, however, others began to locate near then, as that spring, George and David Brock settled in the same neighborhood and the year following, Thomas Johnson, William Campbell and Robert Wilson, all being men of families, located near them, the last named locating somewhat to the west of the main settlement on the Nodaway, near where Braddyville now is. The same year his brother, Pleasant Wilson, settled near him, where he died in 1844, his being the first death of a white man in the county, except that of Lieutenant Buchanan, who was not a resident of the county at the time of his death.
Thus it will be observed that shortly after the Farrens' came to the county quite a settlement sprang up in their immediate neighborhood.
It would be interesting could we go back, even in fancy, to the condition of affairs when G. W. Farrens first came to Page county in 1840. Could we have but seen the sublimity of this great and fertile region where but few, even of the red men, were then living, could we but imagine what were the thoughts, hopes, ambitions, purposes of this pioneer as he recalled the home he had left in his native state, and compared it with these prairies, waving with naught but the luxuriant growth of wild grasses, the noble forests on these water courses, all fulfilling the natural conditions of comfort and wealth for man, and only waiting his advent to blossom as the rose with the pro- ductions of a civilized race, we might have seen, as he saw, that here, "wild in woods, the noble savage ran," with all that there could be of nobility in his untaught, or rather ill-taught and treacherous nature, and that suddenly as the face of the white man was seen in the forest, surveying its unimproved wealth and preparing for a mightier and greater people, the taciturn. grunt-
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GEORGE W. FARRENS First Settler in Page County
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ing savage heard the unwonted sound of laughter in regions where that melody might not have been heard since the long forgotten days of the mound builders, and he prepared to move farther afield, away from his aggressive and more powerful brother. The sound of the axe and the crash of falling timber spoke of new life and animation. For the newcomer in all this wild region there was in every bubbling spring a music sweet as the voices of children.
The first mill built and operated in the county was erected by a Mr. Stonebraker in 1847, and is now more generally known as Shambaugh's mill. It was built for both a grist and sawmill and here was cracked all the corn and sawed all the lumber used in a radius of probably forty miles. The mill was also prepared for grinding wheat, although the flour had to be bolted by hand. At that time there were probably not over thirty families in the entire county and besides doing the work for them, Missouri also relied on the mill for their cornmeal and flour. Mr. Stonebraker died in 1849 and the mill the following year passed into the hands of Captain Connor.
William and G. W. Hardee came and settled near the Farrens, in the spring of 1842, and in August following there was born to William Hardee a son, Perry, being the first white child born within the boundaries of what is now Page county. The first election held in the county was at his house in 1851. At this time there were but two townships in the county, Buchanan, running up the divide between East river and Buchanan creek, and Nod- away, including the balance of the county.
In 1846 S. F. Snider settled on Snake creek, just above where that stream empties into the East Tarkio. After remaining a while he re- moved to Montgomery county, remaining a short time, when he returned to Page county and in 1854 was elected county judge. He resided in the county until 1860, at which time he removed to Washington county, Kansas, there to once more take unto himself the hardships incident to a pioneer life, having lived in the county from almost the time it was first inhabited by the whites until it had begun to rank among the first counties in the state in point of agriculture, wealth and enterprise.
In 1843, Joseph Thompson, Moses Thompson and Larkin Thompson, now all deceased, and Jesse Majors settled a few miles southeast of Clar- inda. Larkin Thompson settled near where Alexander Davis now lives, while Jesse Majors and Moses and Joseph Thompson located near where Mr. Campbell now resides, all being in East River township.
Early in 1850 Captain R. F. Connor removed into the county from Maryville, Missouri. That year he purchased of the Stonebraker estate the mill commonly known as the Boulware mill. Shortly after purchasing it, he sold a half interest to a man by the name of Rhinehart, who subse- quently sold to Philip Boulware, he afterwards purchasing Captain Connor's interest and running the mill until Gordon & Shambaugh. its present owners, purchased it. Mr. Connor was elected county judge in 1851, being the first man elected to that office in the county. Although not one of its first settlers, Captain Connor has seen much of the growth of Page county, and since he first settled in the county has been prominently identified with
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its interests and now with the old settlers, those who have known him at all times and under- all circumstances, there is no more popular or thor- oughly esteemed man in the county.
The particulars of the death of Lieutenant Buchanan, heretofore alluded to as the first within the limits of Page county, are about as follows: In 1833 with a small detachment of troops, he was passing across the country to the Missouri river and while crossing the East Nodaway on horseback, about one mile northeast of where Hawleyville now stands, was drowned. The stream was considerably swollen from recent rains and there being at that time no roads, not even so much as a trail to guide the troops on their way to the westward, the unfortunate officer with his horse, became entangled in the brush and driftwood and before aid reached them, the Lieutenant being at some distance down the stream from the balance of the troops, both horse and rider were drowned. His comrades recovered his body and buried it on the east bank of the river near the mouth of a small stream. A monument was erected to his memory but it was after- ward destroyed by the Indians, although fragments of the tombstone are yet in existence. He was a young Virginian, his home being at Win- chester. Buchanan creek was afterwards named in his honor by the gov- ernment surveyors, they mistaking the stream for East river, where the 'sad occurrence took place. Buchanan township was also named after the young Lieutenant and not, as is generally supposed, in honor of President Buchanan.
In 1845 Joseph Buckingham and his two sons, John and Joshua, John Daily and Aaron Vise, settled in what is now Nebraska township. Joseph Buckingham died in 1872. John Buckingham was one among the first county clerks.
Elisha Thomas removed from Ohio in 1846 and located where Hawley- ville now stands. About 1851 he erected a mill near where the flouring mill is now located at that place. Erastus Thomas, a son of Elisha, was the first treasurer and recorder of the county. He removed to Oregon about 1852. Both Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Thomas are now deceased.
John Ross settled in Nebraska township in 1847, where he remained until 1851, when he sold out and removed to Montgomery county. At the time he removed to that county it had but comparatively few settlers and his shanty was probably twenty miles from any settlement. He used to bring his grain to the Boulware mill to have it ground, bringing as much as twenty-five bushels of corn at a time. One day Captain Connor, who was then running the mill, asked him why he brought such a large quantity and he replied by saying that he did not care much about work and was fearful that some time he might run out of meal just as one of his working spells overtook him, in which event he would not be able to raise anything to live on, it being so far to mill. At the time he removed from Page county there was probably not more than a half dozen families in his neighborhood, yet it was too thickly settled to suit him, as he afterwards told a friend he could not stand it to be bothered by hearing his neighbors call their cattle and hogs. By 1858 civilization began to encroach upon him in Mont-
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gomery county and he was thus forced to sell out once more. This time he sought a home in the wilds of Kansas, where he was unmolested by the advance of civilization but there he encountered more troublesome neighbors, as a few years after removing there and while out on a hunting expedition with some other parties, he was murdered by the Indians.
John Rose came from Missouri in 1848 and settled in the same neigh- borhood. He died about 1868.
George Baker settled on the farm now owned by John McDowell, in 1850. He came from Indiana. He removed to Missouri some years since.
W. L. Birge, the first elected prosecuting attorney, came in 1851, from Bloomfield, this state. He remained for a short time, when he pushed on farther west.
William Lavering was one of the first settlers in what is now Lincoln township, locating there in 1846, where he remained until 1868, when he removed to Kansas.
In 1850 John L. King removed into the township, and was followed the next year by H. H. Litzenburg, now deceased, William Loy, deceased, Joshua Akin, deceased, Samuel Phifer, Joshua Skinner and Samuel Peters They all located in the township before it was surveyed by the govern- ment.
In 1850 Alexander Montgomery settled in what is now Colfax town- ship, he being the first settler. He removed into the county from Kentucky and is still residing on the farm where he first settled.
Pike Davidson settled in 1845 where he now lives, east of Braddyville, and was followed by Wayne Davidson, William Shearer, Sr., William Shearer, Jr., Jacob Botenfelt, John and Robert Snodgrass, Daniel and John Duncan, John Griffey and Thomas Nixon, who settled in the same neighborhood.
When the first settler eame the Indians had not abandoned all title to this territory but by the time the great body of settlers came in 1846, 1847 and 1848, they were nearly all gone, although they were to be seen oc- casionally even for a few years afterward when returning to visit for a short time their former happy hunting grounds. Quite a number of them would come back on hunting expeditions, even as late as 1852, during which time they would camp near the mill in great numbers and remain weeks at a time.
The agricultural implements of the early settlers were much in contrast with those of the present time. The only plows they had at first were what they styled "bull plows." The mold-boards were generally of wood but in some cases they were half wood and half iron. The man who had one of the latter description was looked upon as something of an aristocrat. These old "bull plows" did good service and they must be awarded the honor of first stirring the soil of Page county.
It was quite a time after the first settlement before there was a single stove in the county. Rude fireplaces were built in the cabin chimneys and they served for warmth, cooking and ventilation.
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The first buildings in the county were not just like the log cabins that immediately succeeded them. These latter required some help and a good deal of labor to build. The very first buildings constructed were a cross between "hopp cabins" and Indian bark huts. As soon as enough men could be got together for a "cabin raising" then log cabins came in style. Many a pioneer can remember the happiest time in his life as that when he lived in one of these homely but comfortable and profitable old cabins.
A window with sash and glass was a rarity and an evidence of wealth and aristocracy, which but few could support. They were often made with greased paper put over the window, which admitted a little light but more often there was nothing whatever over it and the cracks between the logs without either chinking or daubing was the dependence for light and air.
The doors were fastened with old fashioned wooden latches and for a friend, or neighbor or traveler the string always hung out, for the pioneers of the west were hospitable and entertained visitors to the best of their ability.
It is noticeable with what affection the pioneers speak of their old log cabins. It may be doubted whether places ever sheltered happier hearts than these lonely cabins. The following is a good description of these old landmarks, but few of which now remain: "There were round logs notched together at the corners, ribbed with poles and covered with boards split from a tree. A puncheon floor was then laid down, hole cut out in the end and a stick chimney run up. A clapboard door is made, a window is opened by cutting out a hole in the side or end about two feet square, and it is finished without glass or transparency. The house was then 'chinked' and 'daubed' with mud made of the top soil.
"The cabin is now ready to go into. The household and kitchen furni- ture is adjusted and life on the frontier is begun in earnest.
"The one legged bedstead, now a piece of furniture of the past, was made by cutting a stick the proper length, boring holes at one end one and one-half inches in diameter at right angles, and the same sized holes cor- responding with these in the logs of the cabin the length and breadth desired for the bed, in which are inserted poles.
"L'pon these poles clapboards are laid, or lind bark is interwoven con- secutively from pole to pole. Upon this primitive structure the bed is laid. The convenience of a cook stove was not thought of then but instead the cooking was done by the faithful housewife, in pots, kettles and skillets on and about the big fireplace, and very frequently over and around, too, the distended pedal extremities of the legal sovereigns of the household, while the latter were indulging in the luxury of a cob pipe and discussing the probable results of a contemplated elk hunt.
"We have seen a good deal of solid comfort about them, which we presume to say in many cases money could not purchase for the millionaire. Still, as 'contentment is happiness,' where one is the other must follow as a matter of course, whatever may be the condition or location in life."
The women, equally with the men, came to endorse the trials and ad- minister their consolation to earliest settlers. Much indeed is due to the
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women who came with the earliest settlement and took their part in its upbuilding. "The winds and the wolves might howl without the lonely cabin but within there burned the pure bright flame of a woman's love."
The woods abounded in wild fruit and grapes in the early days and much of it was of a delicious quality and it was many years before tame fruits were generally planted, because they were not needed. These fruits have now almost entirely disappeared. Occasionally the crab apple, the wild cherry, wild strawberry and the blackberry are seen but civilization has apparently ruined their quality and they are no longer the rich, toothsome fruits which the earlier settlers knew.
Wild bees also abounded in those times and furnished a delicacy to many a pioneer household beside the sport of finding and securing it.
On account of the high price of corn during the first years, and the great inconvenience of procuring it at distant markets, they were compelled to be economical and judicious in the use of it and used every means and effort within their power in making preparations the first year, so as to be sure of the crop the following year, and for this labor and care they were almost invariably rewarded with an abundant harvest. The labor, care and anxiety of one year was generally repaid with prosperity, peace and plenty during the next and the majority of the pioneers found more pleasure in thus having a plentiful supply of the necessities of life and being able to give of their sub- stance when the occasion required, to those in straightened circumstances around them, than in being dependent and needy themselves and thus being on the receiving list. Oftentimes, indeed, such persons had the privilege of realizing the truth and beauty of our Saviour's sweet words of comfort, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
While the early settlers were generally industrious, honest, generous and sympathetic, moving along peacefully in the even tenor of their ways about their daily duties and usually temperate in their habits, still their cus- toms and habits were not altogether of the same character as those of the present day.
Customs and habits that are now looked upon as quite improper and degrading by society generally, though practiced yet by a large per cent of the inhabitants, were considered by many of the early settlers as not so very much out of place, while others of their number, perhaps no smaller per cent in proportion to the population than at present, were faithful to shun and frown down all such improper conduct. Still a good many of them seemed to deem it eminently proper and quite essential in starting off on a journey to take with them a handy flask in their pockets and sometimes the "wee brown jug" in their wagons, well filled with something to keep them warm and in buoyant "spirits," and also have something along with which to accommodate their particular friends of like tastes and longings whom they might accompany or meet on the way, and thus be able to sustain their title of "hail fellows well met."
Postal arrangements in the days of which we are speaking were not of the best, in fact quite a change has taken place in this respect also during the past forty years. When the first settlers located here the nearest postoffice
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was Savannah, Missouri, a distance of sixty miles, and as a natural conse- quence, letters "from home" were somewhat tardy in reaching their destina- tion here in the "far west," although the anxiety with which they were looked for can better be imagined than described. After a number of years an office was established in Maryville, a distance of thirty-five miles from the settlements in this county. This made it more convenient and letters from loved ones at home were more frequent, though none the less cherished than formerly. In 1850 there was an office established at the mill on Nodaway, Captain Connor being the postmaster. The government furnished the mail sacks but the settlers had to furnish the carrier and by this means they were enabled to get their mail as often as once a week at least. This arrange- ment lasted but one year, when the postoffice department established a route between Maryville and Captain Connor's residence, the name of the office being called Nodaway. Ira Cunning, now deceased, had the contract, the route extending only from Maryville to Nodaway, over which he made one trip a week. Then postage on all letters to be carried one hundred miles or more was twenty-five cents, payable at either the office from which they were sent or at the receiving office. In this connection a good story is related on one of the early pioneers of the county, whose name it is not necessary here to relate. In the early '4os he left home and friends in one of the eastern states and came west for the purpose of making a home for him- self and one he had left behind in his native state, whom he hoped in the no distant future to be able to bring from her pleasant home and loving friends and set down in his cabin here on the boundless, though then undeveloped prairies of Page county. Before coming west the young man and his sweet- heart pledged one to the other that come weal, come woe, nothing but death could their affections sever. After he had been here quite a while he received word through some of the settlers who had been to Savannah, Missouri. the nearest postoffice, that a letter there awaited him, on which the usual postage, twenty-five cents, was due. How to get that letter out of the office was the uppermost question in his mind from that day on, as he had ex- hausted what little money he brought to the county with him, and the pre- vailing currency at that time was wolf scalps and coon skins, either of which he could trade for almost any of the necessary commodities but it took cash to pay postage. What to raise to turn into cash was now the question. At last the idea struck him that he could possibly put watermelons on the market quicker than anything else, so early in the season he planted his melon seed ; they came up and grew well, maturing early in the season. About the middle of July he pulled a load and started early one morning for Savannah, the nearest market. After arriving there he found the merchants, what few there were, pretty much in the condition of himself, without money. They offered him trade for his melons but cash they had not. At last, sorely perplexed as to what to do, as on arriving at Savannah he found two letters from his affianced awaiting him, he went to the court house thinking that if anybody had ready cash it would be the county officers. There he met with his first cash offer, coming from the treasurer and sheriff, who offered him fifty cents for the entire load, and as he could do no better
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