USA > Iowa > Page County > History of Page County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc. : a biographical directory of many of its leading citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, history of Iowa and the Northwest, map of Page County, constitution of the state of Iowa, reminiscences, miscellaneous matters, etc > Part 48
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
dren to school. Among them was a daughter aged about ten years and six months. This child, it seems, never had attended school before. Mon- day evening Klughe called this child to him and began to question it, to see what progress it had made, he says. The little thing had not yet learned the alphabet. The parent tried to make it repeat the alphabet, however, but of course it could not. At this Klughe became enraged and sent one of the other children for a stick, with which he began to beat his child most shockingly. Its inability, through terror and pain, to even pro- nounce a single letter, only enraged the monster the more, and flying at the child with the ferocity of a tiger, he tore off its clothes and began savagely beating and kicking it. Then he caught up a stove-lid and struck the child a dreadful blow. Then he seized an iron stove-lifter and with it pounded his little victim. All the while he warned his wife and children if they interfered with him, or attempted to give an alarm he would kill them. At length he procured a stick of stove wood, a heavy knotted club, and again assaulted the little one, who now lay crouched, bleeding and broken, under a table. Driving it from thence, after many. heavy blows, he pursued it under the bed, where he struck it repeatedly with all his strength. One of the blows delivered at this time, it is be- lieved, crushed in the child's tender skull just above the eye, making a de- pression large enough to admit an egg. Not yet satiating his ferocity, he dragged it from under the bed, now already dying, to the middle of the room, and stamped it, kicked it, beat it again and again. At last from exhaustion, he ceased his devilish work and went to bed, cursing and swearing most frightful oaths at his little crushed and mangled victim and the other cowering, trembling members of his family.
." For three long hours had he beaten the little murdered innocent, and what terrible hours they were to it, and to its mother and sisters and brothers. And out of doors the snow was silently falling, pure and white as the pinions of angels, and softly beating against the windows, as if it vain would enter and cover with a spotless mantle that which was so black within. As soon as she dared, Mrs. Klughe lifted her little dying daughter on the bed and bound up her crushed form. In a few moments he child died, and its spirit went up through the beautiful snow-flakes, pure as any of them, to a far kinder parent than it had ever known on earth.
" Tuesday morning, Klughe, finding that the child was indeed dead, like the craven, black-hearted wretch that he is, hastened to Clarinda and placed himself under the protection of the sheriff, who confined him in the calaboose. As soon as the facts became known a coroner's jury was impaneled, Esq. Briggs acting as coroner, and hastened to the scene of the tragedy. They found the facts substantially as we have given them, upon the testimony of Mrs. Klughe and her children, the dead being the
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
most important witness. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the testimony, that the child was murdered by its father. Those who visited the corpse say it presented a horrible sight. Doctors Van Sandt and Barrett, who made the post mortem examination, say the body was one mass of bruises, cuts, gashes, fractures and contusions. Not a spot of the body, from head to foot, the size of a man's hand, could be found that was not wounded. Save a short under garment, reaching not to the waist, and the bandage around its forehead, there was not a thread of clothing on the dead child.
About four o'clock in the afternoon of Tuesday, Klughe was arraigned on the charge of murder, but waived examination and was spirited away by the officers to the depot and was taken to Glenwood to the Mills county jail for safe keeping. It was feared our calaboose would not be strong enough to hold him, and we do not believe it would have been. For all Tuesday men visited the little corpse, and went out and talked low, but earnestly. They assembled in groups by twos and by threes and seemed to be discussing something. They would no doubt have lynched Klughe had he remained here. * * * Klughe is about fifty years of age, was born in Prussia, and was married there. His oldest daughter is sixteen years of age. He is said to possess ordinary good judgment and is perfectly sane. The in- sanity dodge will avail him nothing, even if he shall plead it. He is guilty-let him fully expiate his guilt. For of all the foul, bloody, black crimes ever perpetrated on our soil this is by far the foulest, the bloodiest, the blackest. For the highest crime known to the calendar is murder; and the foulest murder is the murder of a child by its parent; and the blackest of the annals of child murder do not furnish a parallel to this case. We cannot realize all its horrors, and we are glad that we cannot."
He had his trial at the March term of court, 1875, and was convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary for life. After being confined in the penitentiary for a short time he became insane and was transferred to the hospital at Mt. Pleasant, where he will doubtless spend the remainder of his miserable existence.
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
RELIGIOUS.
The groves were God's first temples. Ere man learned To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave,
And spread the roof above them,-ere he framed The lofty vault, to gather and roll back The sound of anthems,-in the darkling wood,
Amidst the cool and silence he knelt down
And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks, And supplications .- Bryant.
"No man liveth to himself alone." So reasoned those God-fearing men of old when first they came to Page county. They came, not to old and well established towns, where are found the "lofty vaults," but to regions sparsely settled; not among men accustomed to hours of luxury and ele- gance, but to farming districts, where now first was beginning to be heard the hum of honest industry and faithful toil. The men among whom they came had little in common with the object of their mission. They were men whose sole thought was of broad acres and material wealth. The travel-stained preacher of that olden time, strong in consti- tution and vigorous in mind, stronger still in faith and powerful in prayer, sought out these sturdy men and brought to their very doors the consola- tion of the gospel. For these very messages hearts were aching, and many were the souls forced to cry out, "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him!" The seeds of virtue have been sown by a good providence in all hearts, and they will spring up everywhere to His glory, if carefully nurtured. They are not wholly the result of learning and cultivation, and it is not only in old and refined communities that the lovely flowers of an exalted morality shed their perfume. The early men of God knew this principle, and recognized, too, the importance of its culture, and so de- voutly addressed themselves to the task. It is well nigh impossible to cor- recetly estimate the value of the work of these men; to estimate their in- fluence on the character of this growing county. Welcomed everywhere, for the news they brought from other homes, as well as for the " good tidings of great joy," they went from place to place; greeting with smiles and cheerful words the old; with counsel or reproof the young. Many and varied were the duties devolving upon them. A sermon here, a burial yonder; now a wedding, and then summoned to the bedside of a penitent sinner, what wonder the coming of these men was attended with bles- sings.
It is the essence of christianity that it be aggressive. It wars upon vice in all its forms, and brooks not the very appearance of evil. Checked, and for the time being thwarted in one direction, it only gathers energy
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
for a greater onset in another, prepares and plumes itself for a more sub- lime flight. If men will not embrace its offered salvation, it goes to them with invitation and warning. This missionary element of christianity alone enabled its propagation under circumstances so trying; and the men who were its ambassadors were thoroughly imbued with the same spirit that sent Paul into Asia and Luke to the gentiles. It was the same spirit that prompted those noble men of God to hie them away to the jungles of Asia, or brave the wilds of Africa-men whose names make bright the pages of the church militant, and will add a brighter lustre to the church tri- umphant. What though its story lacks somewhat of the tragic brilliancy of political intrigue and plotting; what though it has not startled the world by those grand discoveries that make science so great a power in the land -discoveries that enable us to tell the myriad stars that people space, that impresses us 'with wonder at the power and greatness of the Infinite! What though it partakes of the nature of none of them? Has it not reached down into hundreds of hearts, and made happier hundreds of homes? Has it not moulded character and rescued the fallen! Has it not brought to bear on man's intelligence the highest motives to virtue? Let the records of the past year testify to its power. Let the hallowed memories that stretch aback down the years of the past answer. This, too, was done when gilded churches were not; when the elect of God in the common school room, listened to the life-giving word from the lips of men sent of God. And who were these men? Were they not morally brave to dare the scoffs of an untried and untempered west? Were they not men whose love for the fallen Toutweighed every personal consideration so that they gave all for Christ? Where was their power? Was it not in that element of a truly noble character that men prize above all else- sympathy? Aye, and that was the principle which made the Son of God so welcome a visitant in the lowly homes of Palestine. It was a principle which bound their own hearts, as it did Christ's, to those in suffering or distress. Here in these scenes of toil and strife, afar from the busy life of great cities, that mysterious power gave these holy men access to hearts and homes; an access that paved the way to conquests greater than an Alexander or a Napoleon ever achieved-conquests that marked their track, not with fire and blood and sword, but with tears, and vows, and resolutions which have culminated in many glorious lives. What was done stands before the reader to-day. What to do, the line of duty plainly indicates. How well their trust has been executed, how nobly their mis- sion accomplished, none so well as the residents of this county know. In view of the grand work so well done, under the guidance of providence, we may exclaim, in the language of the great apostle Paul, "O, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How un- searchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out."
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE.
In the first settlement of Page county, nearly every one imagined, as in fact did the people of the country at large, that the use of ardent spirits was one of the necessities of the times. There was not a gathering of any kind but what the " little brown jug " was also present. If there was a school house or church to be raised it was necessary that there should be a bountiful supply of whisky on hand with which to raise the building. Mr. Hawley narrates an incident in this connection which will go to show the state of affairs in this respect. About the year 1854, he with a few other citizens of Hawleyville, he then being a resident of that place, con- cluded they must have a building erected in which they could hold school, and also use the same for a place of worship. Logs necessary for the erec- tion of a building were gathered together and a day appointed for the raising of the same. Early on the day appointed a large number of men gathered, the ground was put in readiness and the first logs put in place, and then the work ceased. The workmen all felt the necessity of having something to take and manifested their desire in that respect by longing looks and anxious inquiries, which they kept up until noon, having touched nary a log since the first four were put in position. Two o'clock came and the same state of affairs existed. About the middle of the after- noon one of the citizens of the place came to Mr. Hawley and in- formed him that it would be necessary to buy some whisky for the men before the work would be completed. Mr. Hawley informed him that he would not purchase them a drop if the building was never completed. This emphatic refusal on the part of Mr. H. to furnish the motive power whereby the school house could be raised, did not meet with a very hearty approval on the part of the thirsty assemblage. In a few moments more the same gentleman called on Mr. Hawley, and asked him for the loan of a quarter, which he received, and with that quarter of a dollar a gallon of whisky was purchased; that neccessary article then retailed for twenty- five cents, and in a remarkable short time thereafter every log was in its place and the workmen were ready to go home. And thus was raised the first school-house ever erected in Hawleyville. In those days, whisky, tobacco and coffee were the staple articles of merchandise of this portion of the country.
In early days the grand jury would often have a bucket or jug of whisky in their room while they were deliberating on the case of some citizen who had been accused of selling the ardent, contrary to law.
Some of the first business places in the new settlements, bearing the name of " groceries," were nothing but whisky shops, and were kept, for
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
a great part, by men who have since become reputable citizens, and have fully atoned for their wrong-doing by earnest work in the cause of tem- perance.
The cause of prohibition, which is allied by many with that of temper- ance or abstention from alcoholic drinks, early took strong hold upon the people of this county, and many earnest workers have come forth for this cause.
They have been in deep earnest and determined to stop short of noth- ing but the prohibition, by law, of the sale of intoxicating liquors. For many years, however, they fought a losing battle. But they have gained con- verts steadily, and have continually made a change in public opinion by this steady and persistent effort.
About the year 1860 the temperance element of the county began to or- ganize Good Templar lodges, and for a number of years the order flourished and was the means of doing great good, redeeming many who had formerly been addicted to the use of alcoholic drinks-to-day the nation's greatest curse - and starting many a young man aright on his life's journey. Of late years but little interest has been taken in the order in the county, and for some reason or other the order has almost dropped out of existence, so far as Page county is concerned, there being at this time, we believe, but one lodge within its borders.
Recently the Womens' Christian Temperance Union has done not a little toward moulding public sentiment in favor of the cause of temper- ance, many of the women of the county being untiring in their efforts to bring about a reform in this respect; and in this, as in all other laudable efforts the christian women of the county undertake, they have been emi- nently successful.
At the October election, 1870, there was submitted the following ques- tion: "Shall Page county adopt the provisions of chapter 82, laws of the thirteenth general assembly; an act prohibiting the sale of ale, wine and beer?" The result was favorable to the friends of the temperance cause, as the following figures attest: For prohibition, 578; against prohibition, 498; being a majority of 80 in favor of the proposition. It is true the majority was not large, yet it was sufficient for all practical purposes and demonstrated that a majority of the voters of Page county were in favor of a "prohibitory liquor law," being the law now in force in the county.
The above only gives the voice of the legal voters, who declared this sentiment by their ballots, and not the voice of the whole people, but it gives indications of the pulse beat; and it is very evident that the side of temperance would have lost nothing had all adults, male and female, been permitted to cast their ballots on the question, for the female element, which is the great human power in the land for promoting the cause of temperance, had no voice in that election.
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
The past thirty years has worked wonders in the way of suppressing intemperance. There was a time in the history of this country when a man could make a practice of getting drunk and still retain his respecta- bility, but that time has passed. Thirty years ago a man was not consid- ered much of a citizen if he did not have a bountiful supply of whisky on hand during harvest time; now he is not considered much of a citizen if he does have it on hand. People do not point their children to him as a fit example for them to pattern after. May God speed the day when in- temperance shall be effectually and forever banished from this our boasted land of the free and home of the brave.
THE SOUTHWESTERN IOWA MEDICAL SOCIETY.
This society was organized at Clarinda, February 10, 1866. The re- cords from the date of organization until 1869 are destroyed. That the physicians of this section of the state, felt the need of such an organiza- tion for mutual counsel and interchange of experiences, is evident by the large number who have, at various times, been members and partakers of its benefits. The entire number enrolled, since its organization, is more than one hundred; its present membership being twenty-five. The geo- graphical range of the society's territory comprises the counties of Page, Montgomery, Adams, and Taylor. The matters discussed are those re- lating to the profession generally, and remarks and critiques upon cases of greater importance than ordinary. Even doctors come to their Thermopy- læ, and are glad to fall back on their brothers of the spartan band who re- sist the advance of disease and death. These "test" cases are always frought with interest, and invariably result in such practical discussions as doctors best know are useful in their practice. The papers or theses pre- sented mark the patient toil of the men who so bravely devote them- selves to the toils and dangers of a physician's life.
The following table presents the officers from 1866 until the present date:
1869 Pres. S. H. Kridlebaugh,
Sec. N. L. Van Sandt. B. M. Webster. 66
1870
1871 66 P. W. Lewellen,
1872 66 Jas. W. Martin,
66 66 1873 66 H. A. McFatrick,
1874 J. B. McCartney,
1875 J. L. Barrett,
CC J. C. Holmes.
1876
1877 J. W. Martin,
1878 P. W. Lewellen,
1879
1880 66 J. W. Martin,
66
S. H. Kridlebaugh. 66
M. Enfield.
66 W. C. Stillians. 66 66
66
James Knowles. W. C. Stillians.
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
PAGE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
This society was organized in the spring of 1859, George Ribble being elected president, and Samuel H. Kridelbaugh secretary. At the first meeting of the society at the court house in Clarinda on the third Satur- day in June, 1859, the date of holding the first annual fair was fixed for the 14th and 15th of October following. At this meeting the committee on by-laws made a majority and a minority report, and the same was referred to the board of directors for further consideration and adoption.
The first exhibition was held one-half mile north of Clarinda, on land be- longing to Messrs. James A. Jackson and Henry Farrens. The first day of the fair, Thursday, was quite unfavorable, being rainy, but Friday came in fine and pleasant, and men, women and children, with their stock, wares, etc., came pouring in early from all parts of the county, till almost every- body was disappointed with the magnitude of the assembled crowd. The entries for exhibition were far more numerous than was anticipated and quite as creditable as numerous. The stock department was not as full as many desired, but a sufficient display was made to make a very favorable showing for so new a county. The ladies department was more complete than any other, and was quite as complete in quality as quantity. The last day of the fair, Friday, was spent upon the grounds pleasantly and profitably to all. About three o'clock P. M., the crowd proceeded to the public square to witness the exhibition of horses and equestrianship. This part of the exhibition was quite spirited, there being quite a number of horses entered. Taken as a whole the fair is said to have been a very creditable exhibition.
The amount of money received by the society this year was as follows: Gate money .. $ 13.50
Received on membership 52.00
Received from the state. 52.00
Total. $117.50
At a regular meeting of the society, held at Clarinda, November 1st, 1859, the following officers were elected for the ensuing year:
President-James G. Laughlin.
Vice-President-A. Heald.
Secretary-C. B. Shoemaker.
Treasurer-George Ribble.
Directors-I. Van Arsdol, J. P. West, H. Litzenberg, Jas. A. Reed, Jas.
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
Black, Elisha Thomas, Wm. Butler, Sebastian Fruits, Jas. Martin and R. Brattin.
At this meeting N. L. Van Sandt, A. Loranz and J. C. McCandliss were appointed a committee to select and locate grounds, with a view to their purchase by the society.
At the next meeting of the board of directors, N. L. Van Sandt, on be- half of the committee on fair grounds, made the following report:
" Your committee appointed to select permanent fair grounds, after thor- ough investigation of various points within a reasonable distance of Cla- rinda, beg leave to report that they have selected the grounds occupied in part by the last fair; embracing all that parcel of ground lying east of the county road, on the south by the line of said tract until it strikes the south branch, thence down to its intersection with the north, thence up that toits intersection with the road at the northwest corner of the lot; supposed to contain about ten acres. Of the above grounds about nine acres belong to Mr. Jackson and one to Mr. Farrens. They propose to give a perpet- ual lease of the above grounds, to the society, reserving the simple privi- lege of pasturing the same with sheep and cattle. There is a level and smooth surface of four or five acres in the tract, amply sufficient for a horse ring, together with abundance of water and shade, making it a most desirable place for the purpose intended." The report of the committee was accepted and steps were taken to prepare the grounds for the second annual exhibition, which was held September 20, 21, and 22, 1860. This fair also proved a success in every particular, the receipts of which were as follows: Received on membership $114.00 a 25.00
Received at the gate
Total $139.00
The society this year received $122.00 from the state, which, in connec- tion with the receipts of the fair, left them with a balance in the treasury, after paying all indebtedness, of $4.25.
The annual fair of 1861, owing to bad weather, and the excitement of the times in regard to a little difficulty then existing between the north and south, did not prove a success. In fact, from that time until 1865, the Page county agricultural society, like many similar organizations through- out the country, struggled hard for existence, and very great credit is due Dr. N. L. Van Sandt for the interest he manifested in behalf of the so- ciety during these trying years. To him, probably more than any other one man, is the organization to-day indebted for the rank it occupies among its sister societies of the state.
In 1865 it became necessary to find new quarters and consequently the board of directors appointed Dr. N. L. Van Sandt a committee to locate
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
and purchase grounds for the society, with a view of settling on them per- manently and improving them as the demands of the times would warrant. Consequently the ground now occupied by the society, or at least twenty acres, was purchased, and the exhibition of 1865 held thereon. That year the society was reorganized under the following
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION.
Be it remembered that we, N. L. Van Sandt, H. Loranz, J. R. Mor- ledge, T. R. Stockton, John R. Knox, and William Butler, and such other persons, citizens of Page county, as have now or may hereafter subscribe to and own capital stock in the company, be and are hereby associated together, and by these presents become a body incorporate and politic, and as such shall have all the privileges and amunities that by the laws of the state of Iowa belongs to such voluntary association.
This society shall be called the Page County Agricultural (Stock) So- ciety. Its place of business shall be Page county and its office shall be at Clarinda. Its objects shall be to encourage scientific and practical agriculture, horticulture, stock raising, the mechanical arts and domestic manufacture by means of public lectures, fairs and the distribution of standard agricultural publications, and for that purpose they may buy, own and occupy real estate sufficient for fair grounds, buildings for exhibi- tions and offices, and they may and shall have a capital stock of not less than two thousand dollars; and it may be increased to fifty thousand dollars.
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