History of Taylor 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 Taylor County, Constitution of the United States, reminiscences, miscellaneous matters, etc, Part 19

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Des Moines : State Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 868

USA > Iowa > Taylor County > History of Taylor 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 Taylor County, Constitution of the United States, reminiscences, miscellaneous matters, etc > Part 19

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Notwithstanding a large majority of the members of both branches of the Legislature were Democrats, yet Gen. Jesse B. Browne (Whig), of Lee County, was elected President of the Council, and Hon. William H. Wallace (Whig), of Henry County, Speaker of the House of Representatives-the former unani- mously and the latter with but little opposition. At that time, national politics

* Cyrus S. Jacobs, who was elected for Des Moines County, was killed in an unfortunate encounter at Burlington before the meeting of the Legislature, and Mr. Beeler was elected to fill the vacancy.

¡ Samuel P .. Murray was returned as elected from Clinton County, but his seat was successfully contested by Burchard.

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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.

were little heeded by the people of the new Territory, but in 1840, during the Presidential campaign, party lines were strongly drawn.

At the election in September, 1838, for members of the Legislature, a Con- gressional Delegate was also elected. There were four candidates, viz. : William W. Chapman and David Rohrer, of Des Moines County ; B. F. Wallace, of Henry County, and P. H. Engle, of Dubuque County. Chapman was elected, receiving a majority of thirty-six over Engle.

The first session of the Iowa Territorial Legislature was a stormy and excit- ing one. By the organic law, the Governor was clothed with almost unlimited veto power. Governor Lucas seemed disposed to make free use of it, and the independent Hawkeyes could not quietly submit to arbitrary and absolute rule, and the result was an unpleasant controversy between the Executive and Legis- lative departments. Congress, however, by act approved March 3, 1839, amended the organic law by restricting the veto power of the Governor to the two-thirds rule, and took from him the power to appoint Sheriffs and Magistrates.

Among the first important matters demanding attention was the location of the seat of government and provision for the erection of public buildings, for which Congress had appropriated $20,000. Governor Lucas, in his message, had recommended the appointment of Commissioners, with a view to making a central location. The extent of the future State of Iowa was not known or thought of. Only on a strip of land fifty miles wide, bordering on the Missis- sippi River, was the Indian title extinguished, and a central location meant some central point in the Black Hawk Purchase. The friends of a central location supported the Governor's suggestion. The southern members were divided between Burlington and Mount Pleasant, but finally united on the latter as the proper location for the seat of government. The central and southern parties were very nearly equal, and, in consequence, much excitement prevailed. The central party at last triumphed, and on the 21st day of January, 1839, an act was passed, appointing Chauncey Swan, of Dubuque County ; John Ronalds, of Louisa County, and Robert Ralston, of Des Moines County, Commissioners, to select a site for a permanent seat of Government within the limits of John- son Countv.

Johnson County had been created by act of the Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin, approved December 21, 1837, and organized by act passed at the special session at Burlington in June, 1838, the organization to date from July 4th, following. Napoleon, on the Iowa River, a few miles below the future Iowa City, was designated as the county seat, temporarily.

Then there existed good reason for locating the capital in the county. The Territory of Iowa was bounded on the north by the British Possessions ; east, by the Mississippi River to its source; thence by a line drawn due north to the northern boundary of the United States; south, by the State of Missouri, and west, by the Missouri and White Earth Rivers. But this immense territory was in un- disputed possession of the Indians, except a strip on the Mississippi, known as the Black Hawk Purchase. Johnson County was, from north to south, in the geographical center of this purchase, and as near the east and west geographical center of the future State of Iowa as could then be made, as the boundary line between the lands of the United States and the Indians, established by the treaty of October 21, 1837, was immediately west of the county limits.

The Commissioners, after selecting the site, were directed to lay out 640 acres into a town, to be called Iowa City, and to proceed to sell lots and erect public buildings thereon, Congress having granted a section of land to be selected by the Territory for this purpose. The Commissioners met at Napo-

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leon, Johnson County, May 1, 1839, selected for a site Section 10, in Town- ship 79 North of Range 6 West of the Fifth Principal Meridian, and immedi- ately surveyed it and laid off the town. The first sale of lots took place August 16, 1839. The site selected for the public buildings was a little west of the geographical center of the section, where a square of ten acres on the elevated grounds overlooking the river was reserved for the purpose. The capitol is located in the center of this square. The second Territorial Legislature, which assembled in November, 1839, passed an act requiring the Commissioners to adopt such plan for the building that the aggregate cost when complete should not exceed $51,000, and if they had already adopted a plan involving a greater expenditure they were directed to abandon it. Plans for the building were designed and drawn by Mr. John F. Rague, of Springfield, Ill., and on the 4th day of July, 1840, the corner stone of the edifice was laid with appropriate ceremonies. Samuel C. Trowbridge was Marshal of the day, and Gov. Lucas delivered the address on that occasion.

When the Legislature assembled at Burlington in special session, July 13, 1840, Gov. Lucas announced that on the 4th of that month he had visited Iowa City, and found the basement of the capitol nearly completed. A bill author- izing a loan of $20,000 for the building was passed, January 15, 1841, the unsold lots of Iowa City being the security offered, but only $5,500 was obtained under the act.

THE BOUNDARY QUESTION.

The boundary line between the Territory of Iowa and the State of Missouri was a difficult question to settle in 1838, in consequence of claims arising from taxes and titles, and at one time civil war was imminent. In defining the boundaries of the counties bordering on Missouri, the Iowa authorities had fixed a line that has since been established as the boundary between Iowa and Mis- souri. The Constitution of Missouri defined her northern boundary to be the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the Des Moines River. The lower rapids of the Mississippi immediately above the mouth of the Des Moines River had always been known as the Des Moines Rapids, or "the rapids of the Des Moines River." The Missourians (evidently not well versed in history or geography) insisted on running the northern boundary line from the rapids in the Des Moines River, just below Keosauqua, thus taking from Iowa a strip of territory eight or ten miles wide. Assuming this as her northern boundary line, Missouri attempted to exercise jurisdiction over the disputed territory by assessing taxes, and sending her Sheriffs to collect them by distraining the personal property of the settlers. The Iowans, however, were not disposed to submit, and the Missouri officials were arrested by the Sheriff's of Davis and Van Buren Counties and confined in jail. Gov. Boggs, of Missouri, called out his militia to enforce the claim and sustain the officers of Missouri. Gov. Lucas called out the militia of Iowa, and both parties made active preparations for war. In Iowa, about 1,200 men were enlisted, and 500 were actually armed and encamped in Van Buren County, ready to defend the integrity of the Territory. Subsequently, Gen. A. C. Dodge, of Burlington, Gen. Churchman, of Dubuque, and Dr. Clark, of Fort Madison, were sent to Missouri as envoys plenipotentiary, to effect, if possible, a peaceable adjustment of the difficulty. Upon their arrival, they found that the County Commissioners of Clarke County, Missouri, had rescinded their order for the collection of the taxes, and that Gov. Boggs had despatched messengers to the Governor of Iowa proposing

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to submit an agreed case to the Supreme Court of the United States for the final settlement of the boundary question. This proposition was declined, but afterward Congress authorized a suit to settle the controversy, which was insti- tuted, and which resulted in a judgment for Iowa. Under this decision, William G. Miner, of Missouri, and Henry B. Hendershott were appointed Commissioners to survey and establish the boundary. Mr. Nourse remarks that " the expenses of the war on the part of Iowa were never paid, either by the United States or the Territorial Government. The patriots who furnished supplies to the troops had to bear the cost and charges of the struggle."

The first legislative assembly laid the broad foundation of civil equality, on which has been constructed one of the most liberal governments in the Union. Its first act was to recognize the equality of woman with man before the law by providing that "no action commenced by a single woman, who intermarries during the pendency thereof, shall abate on account of such marriage." This prin- ciple has been adopted by all subsequent legislation in Iowa, and to-day woman has full and equal civil rights with man, except only the right of the ballot.

Religious toleration was also secured to all, personal liberty strictly guarded, the rights and privileges of citizenship extended to all white persons, and the purity of elections secured by heavy penalties against bribery and corruption. The judiciary power was vested in a Supreme Court, District Court, Probate Court, and Justices of the Peace. Real estate was made divisible by will, and intestate property divided equitably among heirs. Murder was made punishable by death, and proportionate penalties fixed for lesser crimes. A system of free schools, open for every class of white citizens, was established. Provision was made for a system of roads and highways. Thus under the territorial organi- zation, the country began to emerge from a savage wilderness, and take on the forms of civil government.

By act of Congress of June 12, 1838, the lands which had been purchased of the Indians were brought into market, and land offices opened in Dubuque and Burlington. Congress provided for military roads and bridges, which greatly aided the settlers, who were now coming in by thousands, to make their homes on the fertile prairies of Iowa -- "the Beautiful Land." The fame of the country had spread far and wide; even before the Indian title was extinguished, many were crowding the borders, impatient to cross over and stake out their claims on the choicest spots they could find in the new Territory. As soon as the country was open for settlement, the borders, the Black Hawk Purchase, all along the Mississipi, and up the principal rivers and streams, and out over the broad and rolling prairies, began to be thronged with eager land hunters and immigrants, seeking homes in Iowa. It was a sight to delight the eyes of all comers from every land-its noble streams, beautiful and picturesque hills and valleys, broad and fertile prairies extending as far as the eye could reach, with a soil surpassing in richness anything which they had ever seen. It is not to be wondered at that immigration into Iowa was rapid, and that within less than a decade from the organization of the Territory, it contained a hundred and fifty thousand people.

As rapidly as the Indian titles were extinguished and the original owners removed, the resistless tide of emigration flowed westward. The following extract from Judge Nourse's Centennial Address shows how the immigrants gathered on the Indian boundary, ready for the removal of the barrier :

In obedience to our progressive and aggressive spirit, the Government of the United States made another treaty with the Sac and Fox Indians, on the 11th day of August, 1842, for the remaining portion of their land in Iowa. The treaty provided that the Indians should retain

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possession of all the lands thus ceded until May 1, 1843, and should occupy that portion of the ceded territory west of a line running north and south through Redrock, until October 11, 1845. These tribes, at this time, had their principal village at Ot-tum-wa-no, now called Ottumwa. As soon as it became known that the treaty had been concluded, there was a rush of immigration to Iowa, and a great number of temporary settlements were made near the Indian boundary, wait- ing for the 1st day of May. As the day approached, hundreds of families encamped along the line, and their tents and wagons gave the scene the appearance of a military expedition. The country beyond had been thoroughly explored, but the United States military authorities had prevented any settlement or even the making out of claims by any monuments whatever.

To aid them in making out their claims when the hour should arrive, the settlers had placed piles of dry wood on the rising ground, at convenient distances, and a short time before twelve o'clock of the night of the 30th of April, these were lighted, and when the midnight hour arrived, it was announced by the discharge of firearms. The night was dark, but this army of occupa- tion pressed forward, torch in hand, with axe and hatchet, blazing lines with all manner of curves and angles. When daylight came and revealed the confusion of these wonderful surveys, numerous disputes arose, settled generally by compromise, but sometimes by violence, Between midnight of the 30th of April and sundown of the 1st of May, over one thousand families had settled on their new purchase.

While this scene was transpiring, the retreating Indians were enacting one more impressive and melancholy. The Winter of 1842-43 was one of unusual severity, and the Indian prophet, who had disapproved of the treaty, attributed the severity of the Winter to the anger of the Great Spirit, because they had sold their country. Many religious rites were performed to atone for the crime. When the time for leaving Ot-tum-wa-no arrived, a solemn silence pervaded the Indian camp, and the faces of their stoutest men were bathed in tears; and when their cavalcade was put in motion, toward the setting sun, there was a spontaneous outburst of frantic grief from the entire procession.

The Indians remained the appointed time beyond the line running north and south through Redrock. The government established a trading post and military encampment at the Raccoon Fork of the Des Moines River, then and for many years known as Fort Des Moines. Here the red man lingered until the 11th of October, 1845, when the same scene that we have before described was re-enacted, and the wave of immigration swept over the remainder of the "New Purchase." The lands thus occupied and claimed by the settlers still belonged in fee to the Gen- eral Government. The surveys were not completed until some time after the Indian title was extinguished. After their survey, the lands were publicly proclaimed or advertised for sale at public auction. Under the laws of the United States, a pre-emption or exclusive right to purchase public lands could not be acquired until after the lands had thus been publicly offered and not sold for want of bidders. Then, and not until then, an occupant making improvements in good faith might acquire a right over others to enter the land at the minimum price of $1.25 per acre. The " claim laws" were unknown to the United States statutes. They originated in the " eternal fitness of things," and were enforced, probably, as belonging to that class of natural rights not enumerated in the constitution, and not impaired or disparaged by its enumeration.

The settlers organized in every settlement prior to the public land sales, appointed officers, and adopted their own rules and regulations. Each man's claim was duly ascertained and recorded by the Secretary. It was the duty of all to attend the sales. The Secretary bid off the lands of each settler at $1.25 per acre. The others were there, to see, first, that he did his duty and bid in the land, and, secondly, to see that no one else bid. This, of course, sometimes led to trouble, but it saved the excitement of competition, and gave a formality and degree of order and regularity to the proceedings they would not otherwise have attained. As far as practicable, the Territorial Legislature recognized the validity of these " claims " upon the public lands, and in 1839 passed an act legalizing their sale and making their transfer a valid consideration to sup- port a promise to pay for the same. (Acts of 1843, p. 456). The Supreme Territorial Court held this law to be valid. (See Hill v. Smith, 1st Morris Rep. 70). The opinion not only con- tains a decision of the question involved, but also contains much valuable erudition upon that "spirit of Anglo-Saxon liberty " which the Iowa settlers unquestionably inherited in a direct line of descent from the said " Anglo-Saxons." But the early settler was not always able to pay even this dollar and twenty-five cents per acre for his land.

Many of the settlers had nothing to begin with, save their hands, health and courage and their family jewels, " the pledges of love," and the " consumers of bread." It was not so easy to accumulate money in the early days of the State, and the "beautiful prairies," the "noble streams," and all that sort of poetic imagery, did not prevent the early settlers from becoming discouraged.

An old settler, in speaking of the privations and trials of those early days, says :

Well do the " old settlers " of Iowa remember the days from the first settlement to 1840. Those were days of sadness and distress. The endearments of home in another land had been

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broken up; and all that was hallowed on earth, the home of childhood and the scenes of youth, we severed; and we sat down by the gentle waters of our noble river, and often " hung our harps on the willows.'

Another, from another part of the State, testifies :

There was no such thing as getting money for any kind of labor. I laid brick at $3.00 per thousand, and took my pay in anything I could eat or wear. I built the first Methodist Church at Keokuk, 42x60 feet, of brick, for $600, and took my pay in a subscription paper, part of which I never collected, and upon which I only received $50 00 in money. Wheat was hauled 100 miles from the interior, and sold for 372 cents per bushel.

Another old settler, speaking of a later period, 1843, says :

Land and everything had gone down in value to almost nominal prices. Corn and oats could be bought for six or ten cents a bushel ; pork, $1.00 per hundred; and the best horse a man could raise sold for $50.00. Nearly all were in debt, and the Sheriff and Constable, with legal processes, were common visitors at almost every man's door. These were indeed " the times that tried men's souls."

" A few," says Mr. Nourse, "who were not equal to the trial, returned to their old homes, but such as had the courage and faith to be the worthy founders of a great State remained, to more than realize the fruition of their hopes, and the reward of their self-denial."

On Monday, December 6, 1841, the fourth Legislative Assembly met, at the new capital, Iowa City, but the capitol building could not be used, and the Legislature occupied a temporary frame house, that had been erected for that purpose, during the session of 1841-2. At this session, the Superintendent of Public Buildings (who, with the Territorial Agent, had superseded the Commis- sioners first appointed), estimated the expense of completing the building at $33,330, and that rooms for the use of the Legislature could be completed for $15,600.

During 1842, the Superintendent commenced obtaining stone from a new quarry, about ten miles northeast of the city. This is now known as the " Old Capitol Quarry," and contains, it is thought, an immense quantity of excellent building stone. Here all the stone for completing the building was obtained, and it was so far completed, that on the 5th day of December, 1842, the Legis- lature assembled in the new capitol. At this session, the Superintendent esti- mated that it would cost $39,143 to finish the building. This was nearly $6,000 higher than the estimate of the previous year, notwithstanding a large sum had been expended in the meantime. This rather discouraging discrep- ancy was accounted for by the fact that the officers in charge of the work were constantly short of funds. Except the congressional appropriation of $20,000 and the loan of $5,500, obtained from the Miners' Bank, of Dubuque, all the funds for the prosecution of the work were derived from the sale of the city lots (which did not sell very rapidly), from certificates of indebtedness, and from scrip, based upon unsold lots, which was to be received in payment for such lots when they were sold. At one time, the Superintendent made a requisition for bills of iron and glass, which could not be obtained nearer than St. Louis. To meet this, the Agent sold some lots for a draft, payable at Pittsburgh, Pa., for which he was compelled to pay twenty-five per cent. exchange. This draft, amounting to $507, that officer reported to be more than one-half the cash actually handled by him during the entire season, when the disbursements amounted to very nearly $24,000.

With such uncertainty, it could not be expected that estimates could be very accurate. With all these disadvantages, however, the work appears to have been prudently prosecuted, and as rapidly as circumstances would permit.

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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.

Iowa remained a Territory from 1838 to 1846, during which the office of Governor was held by Robert Lucas, John Chambers and James Clarke.

STATE ORGANIZATION.

By an act of the Territorial Legislature of Iowa, approved February 12, 1844, the question of the formation of a State Constitution and providing for the election of Delegates to a convention to be convened for that purpose was submitted to the people, to be voted upon at their township elections in April following. The vote was largely in favor of the measure, and the Delegates elected assembled in convention at Iowa City, on the 7th of October, 1844. On the first day of November following, the convention completed its work and adopted the first State Constitution.

The President of the convention, Hon. Shepherd Leffler, was instructed to transmit a certified copy of this Constitution to the Delegate in Congress, to be by him submitted to that body at the earliest practicable day. It was also pro- vided that it should be submitted, together with any conditions or changes that might be made by Congress, to the people of the Territory, for their approval or rejection, at the township election in April, 1845.

The boundaries of the State, as defined by this Constitution, were as fol- lows :

Beginning in the middle of the channel of the Mississippi River, opposite mouth of the Des Moines River, thence up the said river Des Moines, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to a point where it is intersected by the Old Indian Boundary line, or line run by John C. Sullivan, in the year 1816 ; thence westwardly along said line to the " old " northwest corner of Missouri ; thence due west to the middle of the main channel of the Missouri River ; thence up in the middle of the main channel of the river last mentioned to the mouth of the Sioux or Calumet River; thence in a direct line to the middle of the main channel of the St. Peters River, where the Watonwan River-according to Nicollet's map-enters the same; thence down the middle of the main channel of said river to the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi River; thence down the middle of the main channel of said river to the place of beginning.

These boundaries were rejected by Congress, but by act approved March 3, 1845, a State called Iowa was admitted into the Union, provided the people accepted the act, bounded as follows :

Beginning at the mouth of the Des Moines River, at the middle of the Mississippi, thence by the middle of the channel of that river to a parallel of latitude passing through the mouth of the Mankato or Blue Earth River; thence west, along said parallel of latitude, to a point where it is intersected by a meridian line seventeen degrees and thirty minutes west of the meridian of Washington City ; thence due south, to the northern boundary line of the State of Missouri; thence eastwardly, following that boundary to the point at which the same intersects the Des Moines River ; thence by the middle of the channel of that river to the place of beginning.

These boundaries, had they been accepted, would have placed the northern boundary of the State about thirty miles north of its present location, and would have deprived it of the Missouri slope and the boundary of that river. The western boundary would have been near the west line of what is now Kossuth County. But it was not so to be. In consequence of this radical and unwel- come change in the boundaries, the people refused to accept the act of Congress and rejected the Constitution at the election, held August 4, 1845, by a vote of 7,656 to 7,235.

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Author: Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Des Moines : State Historical Co. Number of Pages: 868

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Des Moines : State Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 868