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 67

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 67

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Misses Maher & Haman, milliners and dress-makers.

J. T. Wherry, general merchandise. Waight & Miller, druggists.

C. A. Brooks, grocery and feed store. Robert Lynch, barber.

W. F. Wilson, grocery and bakery.

H. A. Childs, druggist. Humphrey & Morrell, grocery.

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HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.

Scroggs & Brock, harness and saddlery.

J. and E. Madden, general merchandise.

E. L. Osborn, hardware and agricultural implements.

Smith & Funk, general merchandise.

H. R. French, dry goods and millinery. Mrs. Lucy Bratton, millinery.

S. B. Muncy, grocery.

J. W. Maher, real estate and loan agent.

& Overmyer, groceries.

Dalton, proprietor Lenox House.

McIntire, boarding-house.

Hamilton & Tyler, grave tablets.

G. L. Hanner, tailor.

A. J. Johnson, attorney.

Misses C. and C. Goodale, millinery.

N. G. Duffield, carpenter. Connell, photograph gallery.

J. W. Jones, auctioneer.

Joseph Montgomery, auctioneer.

W. F. Waight, physician.

J. A. Hudson, physician.

The clergymen of Lenox are: Rev. U. P. Golliday, D. D., Methodist Episcopal; Rev. J. D. DeTar, Methodist Episcopal; Rev. N. V. Morrow, Presbyterian; Rev. A. B. DeLong, Presbyterian, and Rev. J. W. Johnson, United Presbyterian. The churches of Lenox are the Methodist Episcopal, the United Presbyterian, the Presbyterian and the Roman Catholic. Fur- ther on in this chapter on Lenox will be found brief histories of each one of them.

CIVIC SOCIETIES OF LENOX.

Lenox Lodge No. 407, I. O. O. F., was instituted April 27, 1880. The charter members were George Van Houten, G. W. Howe, C. N. Thomp- son, H. Warriner, James W. Jones, H. P. Randall, B. F. Hoke and G. A. Deaver.

George Van Houten was the first N. G .; G. W. Howe, V. G .; C. N. Thompson, R. S., and C. W. Thompson, treasurer. The present officers are C. N. Thompson, N. G .; J. T. Hartup, V. G .; A. H. Abbitt, R. S., and C. W. Wilson, treasurer.

Lenox Odd Fellows have had no " ups and downs." Their sailing has been steady and rapid, before fair winds and on a smooth sea. Witness the

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HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.

proof: In April, 1880, the society numbered eight individuals. In July, 1881, its membership was forty-five, and composed of some of the very best citizens of Lenox and Platte township.

MASONIC.

This order is particularly strong and popular at Lenox. It numbers among its members some of the strongest inen and oldest settlers of that portion of Taylor county. Fremont Lodge No. 343, A. F. & A. M., was organized " under dispensation," by Thomas George, of Corning, Septem- ber 24, 1874. The original, or charter, members were A. S. Beymer, George Van Houten, G. W Horn, Joseph Brown, A. M. Allen, G. L. Allen, H. Cade, J. C. Lucas, James W. Jones, N. S. Hornaday and A. L. Duncan. The first officers were: J. C. Lucas, W. M .; George Van Houten, S. W .; Joseph Brown, J. W .; J. W. Jones, treasurer; N. S. Hornaday, secretary, and G. W. Page, J. D. The present officers are: A. D. Harlan, W. M .; H. H. White, S. W .; S. N. Laudon, J. W .; J. W. Barnes, treasurer; A. C. · Brice, secretary; George Van Houten, S. D .; H. B. Woods, J. D .; J. W. Ca- hill, S. S., and Elmer Allyn, J. S.

The growth of this lodge has been remarkable, and speaks volumes in its praise. In 1874 its membership was eleven; in 1881 it has fifty-two names upon its rolls. Several of its members are Knights Templar, belonging to Bethany Commandery, at Creston. Of these are E. D. Kepner, Hon. N. J. Allen, H. H. White, J. W. Cahill, and perhaps others. The society has no hall of its own, but the intention is to erect a structure at an early day.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The Presbyterian Church of Lenox was organized in 1876, with the fol- lowing members: James. R. Hewitt, Rebecca Hewitt, W. Hattie Osborn, John Pugh, James Montgomery, N. J. Hornaday, James B. Dunbar, John Kepner, Francis Kepner and S. B. Overinyer. Immediately upon the or- ganization of the church a building for worship was put in process of erec- tion, which was completed in 1876. It is a frame structure, of good design, and cost $2,200. It was dedicated in the fall of 1877 by Rev. Bard- well, assisted by Rev. Roberts, of St. Joseph, Missouri. The Lenox Pres- byterian Church can show a clean record financially; it doesn't owe a dol- lar, which is a showing that . but few churches can make. It prospered at its organization, and good fortune and God's blessing have attended it ever since. From a small beginning its membership has grown to seventy-four. At no time has the church had a regular pastor, although we believe its services occur as every sabbath rolls around. Its pastors have been Rev.

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HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.

W. H. Isley and Rev. N. V. Morrow. Rev. A. B. DeLong has been the "stated supply " since October, 1879, and is at the present time.

UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

It seems to be the fortune of Lenox churches to be out of debt, which re- flects pronounced credit upon its excellent people. The United Presbyte- rian Church is one whose exchequer long since wiped out the last demand against it.

This church was organized September 19, 1874. The original members were Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Richards, Mrs. Belle Roberts, Ellen Bernard, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. French, Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Lunn, Mrs. Appleby, Louis Appleby, J. R. Dunlap and Mr. and Mrs. William Lafferty. One hundred and fifteen is the present membership, which is the highest compliment that could be paid Mr. Morrow, the pastor, and in fact, the only one the church has had. For more than three years he has ministered to the spiritual wants of these people with a success meriting warm laudation. Connected with the church is a sabbath-school of one hundred and twenty-five schol- ars. During the year past twenty-four new names have been added to the church rolls, and $250 have been raised and paid over to the mission fund. Since the organization of the church there have been but two deaths in the congregation, which is remarkable and worthy of note, when the number comprising the society is taken into consideration. In 1879 this church ·

built a frame house for worship at a cost of $2,500. Rev. J. B. McMichael, president of Monmouth (Illinois) College, dedicated it August 10, 1879. From that time to the present prosperity has marked its every step, and seems to have mapped out for it a future long and sunshiny.

METHODIST CHURCH.

Rev. W. McKendrie Campbell, assistant preacher on the Creston and Lenox circuit, delivered the first Methodist sermon at Lenox, in the sum- mer or fall of 1873, at the depot of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company. Rev. H. Avery continued the appointment more or less frequently until in January, 1874, when he was sent to Creston, and Rev. U. P. Golliday, the most eminent and gifted divine in the State, to Lenox. In 1874 the school-house was used for sabbath services, and a class of thirteen members, with three on probation, was organized. In 1876 the society had increased to about fifty-eight members. Since that time it has grown to seventy or more. There had been attempts made to erect a church edifice, but without success until the summer of 1881, when a very neat building, 32x55 feet was commenced, and is now (September)

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HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.

rapidly approaching completion. Its cost will be a trifle over $3,000. It will be dedicated in a short time under the administration of Rev. J. D. DeTar, to whose untiring energy the society is mainly indebted.

A parsonage has been erected on a lot adjoining where the church will stand. It was built in 1877, under the superintendence of Rev. C. Leach. Rev. A. Brown enlarged it in 1879. Michigan Avenue is the church site, and one of the most beautiful streets in the really pretty city of Lenox. The Presbyterians near the eastern extremity, the Methodists some two blocks further west, a new and beautiful brick school-house, the United Presbyterian Church next on the west, and the Catholic Church still fur- ther west, furnish the people of Lenox with sightly structures and school and church conveniences that are rarely equaled in a place of its size.

The ministers who have been pastors of the Methodist Church in Lenox are Rev. H. Avery, 1873-4; Rev. U. P. Golliday, 1874-6; Rev. C. Leach, 1876-7; Rev. A. Brown, 1877-80, and the Rev. J. D. DeTar, who is now entering on the second year of his pastorate.

The Roman Catholics are strongly entrenched in Lenox. In 1875 they erected a church building which is insufficient for their present needs, and they are now putting up a new one, south of the old.

Lenox, by a square vote, has recently favored the granting license to beer saloons and billiard halls. Its officers are some of the foremost men in the city.

In 1878 a skeleton was found close to the railroad track near Lenox. Dr. M. C. Connett, of Bedford, who was county coroner, held an inquest over the remains, but without eliciting any information regarding the deceased. It was generally thought that he was some tramp who had died from expos- ure to the wintry blasts. The skeleton must have lain there six months before it was discovered.

In 1879 one Kennedy. was on a " tear," and had no desire to become a lodger at the Lenox cooler. William and George Hartzell were night watchmen. Kennedy resisted their attempt to arrest him, when William Hartzell hit him over the head with a " billy." Almost instant death was produced. Upon trial before Judge R. C. Henry, of Bedford, the jury brought in a verdict of murder in the first degree against William Hartzell. An appeal has been taken to the Supreme Court, where it still remains. George Hartzell was afterward acquitted. In the meantime, Kennedy's administrator had brought suit against the corporotion of Lenox for $10,000 for his killing. Eminent counsel was employed on both sides, and all ef- forts resulted in favor of the city.

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HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.

POLK TOWNSHIP

Gets its name from James K. Polk, who was inaugurated president of the United States, March 4, 1845. In those early days (for Polk was a town- ship in 1851, though much larger than now) it was strong in the Demo- cratic faith. Hence its name after one of the Democratic party's presi- dents. It continued Democratic through all the fiftys, sixtys and nearly all the seventies. In 1876, it changed in political complexion. Peter Cooper, Greenback candidate for president of the Republic, carried it by quite a handsome majority. Polk, and its neighbor on the north, Mason, were the only townships in the United States where victory perched on the banners of Mr. Cooper. In 1877 the Greenbackers carried it a second time, and again in 1878. In 1879, mainly through the personal activity of Aaron B. Oxley and W. H. Hutcheson, it was wrested from the Greenbackers, with whom the Democrats were allied in the struggle that year, and, also, in 1876, 1877 and in 1878. In the presidential canvass of 1880 the bonds uniting them were dissolved, the Democrats voting for General Hancock and the Greenbackers for Weaver.

Polk township is crossed almost centrally from the north to the south by the West One Hundred and Two River, the largest stream in the county, excepting the East Nodaway, which passes through Nodaway township and the extreme northwest of Dallas. It is bordered with considerable excel- lent timber. Its valleys are wide and fertile, wonderfully so, excepting in a few isolated places where water stands throughout the year, save in ex- ceedingly dry seasons. But these can be made very valuable by drainage. The soil of the township is very rich, and never fails to yield as abundantly as other parts of the county. In very dry seasons its corn crop is superior. In 1881, when the crop was almost a failure over the county and throughout southwestern Iowa, Polk township farmers were promised a yield equal to that of the average years. So it will be seen that its soil is productive and will stand all sorts of weather. It was first settled in a very early day, and the old pioneer farmers who went there carried level heads upon their shoulders. They knew just what was adapted to their wants, and settled there, and years later, in this dry season of 1881, the value of their judg- ment is proven.

The town of Buchanan is located on section 8, and has been for many years a noted place to the people of southwest Iowa and adjacent parts in Missouri. Its name goes still further to show the political complexion of the sturdy pioneers thereabouts. It is not a place of dimensions like Chi- pago -- at least not now; but it is a good, thriving town, numbering perhaps

622

HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.

a hundred people, possibly more. As a trading-point, there is no town of its size in Iowa that can excel it. Here several of the wealthiest men in southern Iowa laid the foundations of their present fortunes. Two of them now live at Clarinda, Page county, and none there are more prosperous or more esteemed. Several have died who lived to bless the day that they be- gan business in Buchanan. The first physician who practiced medicine in Buchanan and Polk townships was Dr. Luther Bent, of Bedford. Dr. James Stone was the first physician who located there. He didn't aspire to that degree of perfection in the practice of his profession that Dr. Bliss, the president's physician, did; but he did the best he knew how, and thus will he and Bliss go down to posterity together. Dr. Stone moved to California, and whether he is living or dead is not for this historian to say. The first practitioner to settle there who was possessed of skill and ability, was a Dr. Will. There were other Esculapians of some note who healed the sick in Buchanan and vicinity, and their deeds will be found in the biographies which appear elsewhere.

Buchanan saw the first school-house erected in the township. This was in 1858. Its cost was borne by some of the public spirited people there, and was donated to the town by them. Originally it had been built for a residence by one Lambert, who sold it to the citizens for the purpose above mentioned. Buchanan has now a larger and much better school-edifice. Its directors are gentlemen who will employ the best talent to be found. Its schools are not excelled in the county, and the people around Buchanan are usually cultured and prosperous. Buchanan is an independent school-dis- trict, and the county superintendent gives it the following report for 1880: No. of rooms in graded school 2

Average number of months taught.

No. of teachers employed 2

Salary per month-female.

$ 32.50

No. of children of school age

145

No. of children enrolled in school

100

Average daily attendance. 54

Average cost of tuition per scholar $

1.19

No. of school-houses (frame) 1

Value of school-houses. . $505.00

Amount paid teachers during the year 520.00

Amount expended for contingent purposes 78.07

The only post-office in the township is at Buchanan, and is down on Uncle Sam's books as Siam.

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HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.

Buchanan has two civic societies-the Masonic and Odd Fellow. The date of their organization, their first officers, original members, present of- ficers and number of membership, and such other facts of them as ought to be made in a work of this kind, we are unable to give. The information was not given our canvassers who endeavored to procure it.

But one church building graces the town site. It is a commodious struc- ture, and was built by the Christian denomination to whom it still belongs. The church was organized in 1860. In the years which have passed away since that time it has had some reverses, but it is now in a healthy and pros- perous condition under the pastorate of W. L. Dunlavy. Its membership exceeds one hundred.

For many years the Methodists were organized at Buchanan and flour- ished after the manner that is so common with this famous church, but dissensions arising in the fold, its strength was lost; its members ceased to care for church success, some united elsewhere, some have died and moved away, and so at this writing there is no real organization and no regular service.

The first religious assembage in Polk township of which any knowledge can be had, was at Warnsley's Grove, on section 6. This was in 1854. Our record does not give the name of the pastor, but the presumption is that it was the Rev. J. M. Stockton, a Cumberland Presbyterian, and an old citizen of this county, who died in December, 1874.

In 1859 the Methodists of the township attended divine service in a Ross township log cabin dwelling-house, situated on section 11, and owned by D. Martin. Rev. Peterson was the then expounder of the gospel. The Meth- odists now worship God at the Fine school-house, which is located in the southwest part of the township. Rev. I. Hilderbrand, of Memory, is the pastor. The organization is in a healthy condition and the membership is growing.

Of Sunday-schools we have but one account. This is one held at the High Prairie school-house; its membership is fifty. C. F. Dresher is the superintendent.

A Mr. Buchanan taught the first school, in 1856. In 1859 George Hat- field, who is deceased, taught a term in a log dwelling-cabin, located on section 11. He had twelve pupils and was paid by private subscription. Sarah McFarland, who is still living and a resident of the township, taught a term on section 6. This was at a very early day, and it is claimed by some that it was the first term in the township. Her pupils numbered fifteen.

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HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.

The following, which we have complied from the superintendent's report for 1880, shows the present condition of schools in this township:

No. of subdistricts. .

No. of teachers employed

Salary per month-male. $ 30.00

Salary per month-female 27.20

No. of school months.

No. of children of school age.

211

No. of children enrolled in school

181

Average daily attendance.

Average cost of tuition per scholar

1.06

No. of school-houses (frame)

Value of school-houses

$2,360.00

Amount paid teachers during the year

786.00

Amount expended for contingent purposes

353.60

The first actual settler of Polk township was Mr. Thompson. He came there in 1844, and died not long afterward. None of his history is access- ible to us. Following him came Elias Bridgewater in 1852, from Orange county Indiana. Mr. Bridgewater settled on section 6, where he still re- sides. In 1877 he suffered the loss of his aged wife and helpmeet by drowning. In a condition of mental aberration she threw herself into a deep well, and when her body was taken out she had long been dead. Wil- liam Ferguson, of Andrew county, Missouri, moved to Polk township in 1852, as did Mr. Peter Chrisman. Ferguson settled on section 5, and Chris- man on section 7. In 1853 Russell Barnes came from Buchanan county, Missouri; James B. Campbell, who is since dead, from the same place; Lynord Reagor, from Andrew county, Missouri, and from the same Thomas Dakin and Joseph Snodgrass, and Thomas Wade from Indiana. Barnes settled on section 18, Campbell on section 8, Reagor on section 17, Dakin and Snodgrass on section 7, and Wade on section 25. Wade is not living, Snodgrass lives in Page county, Dakin in Kansas, and Reagor is dead. Campbell was the first sheriff of Taylor county, and is frequently men- tioned elsewhere in these pages. In 1854 Platte county, Missouri, sent Joseph Smith to Polk township. He located on section 9, and there he can now be found as happy as the 21st day of June is long.

In addition to the above named persons, in 1856, when Jacob Taylor emigrated to the township, there were living there Cyrus Wolfeton, Wil- liam Hatfield, William Brandberry, Daniel Thompson, Milton Blake and Benjamin Ball.

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HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.

Later, but not much, came J. Ward, J. and S. Taylor, E. Cook, D. Clayton, James and Jesse Harris, Martin McKee, Washington and Harrison Clayton.

Charles Deesher, well and favorably known through the county, arrived at his present abode October, 8, 1858. The first marriage solemnized after he came was that of T. Cole and Harriet Hobbert. In 1860 his first daughter, Louisa was born.

The first birth of a male child in, the township, of which recollection is had, was a son to James and Harriet Harris, 1856. He was given the name of Daniel.

The first death in the township that we can hear of, was in the family of Joseph Smith. His daughter died, and soon after his wife Jane followed.

John Oxley built the first school-house. This honor is not disputed him.

Mrs. Thompson, whose husband was Polk township's earliest settler, wove the first cloth. In those days "store clothes " and " store goods " were an unknown article in Taylor county. The wife's skill at the loom and the labor of her fingers supplied the material with which her husband, her chil- dren and herself were arrayed; and her deft fingers made the same into the garments that warmed their bodies and hid their nakedness.

Among those who came after Mrs. Thompson, who were famous in the neighborhood as weavers, were Mrs. Reagor, Mrs. Ferguson and Mrs. Dyke, and many pleasant anecdotes are told of these most estimable women who so nobly and courageously aided their husbands in carving homes and for- tunes in a land known only to the birds and animals.

In these times the nearest post-office was at Maryville, Missouri; and it can easily be imagined that the dear ones in the old homes so far away were heard from but rarely. In 1856 the nearest railroad to Taylor county had not crossed the Mississippi River. In 1852 the nearest railroad point was Peru, Illinois-at that time the terminus of the now Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway. Whenever a letter or newspaper came it was often months en route, owing to the slowness of Uncle Sam's messengers. But they were not to blame for this. Heavy stages, lumbering coaches, clumsy carts, and worn-out ponies and carriers answered their purpose thor- oughly in the old times, and if they seem to us the lifeless relics of a dead past it is because steam has come and taken their places. A few years since it was a toilsome journey of several weeks to go from Chicago to the capital of the United States. It now takes twenty-six hours. The distance is 814 miles, and several hundred miles of it are up over the mountains of Vir- ginia and Maryland, reaching in the State last named a distance of 3,000 feet above the sea.

626

HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.

The nearest mill was Russell's, down the Nodaway River about twenty- five miles, and it was nothing but a "corn-cracker." However, in 1856 Polk township had a "cracker " of its own. A gentleman by the name of Stone erected a small structure on the West One Hundred and Two, east and a little north of the town of Buchanan. Some of its remnants are still there to mark the site where it formerly stood.

Game was abundant in Polk township in pioneer times. Deer were plenty, as were turkey, grouse, partridge and pheasant. Indeed, until within the past three or four years turkeys have abounded in large numbers in the vicinity of Buchanan, and even now and then a straggler can be found.

Hunting and fishing were the favorite Sunday pastimes. They would go out in the morning to hear the Rev. J. M. Stockton, who would drive in with his ox team. After services they would form into groups and devote the balance of the day as before stated.

In 1858 Abner Majors, who is now a citizen of Page county (and whose father, by the way, was one of the commission that located the county seat at Bedford), met with an accident. It was Christmas Day, and at a shoot- ing match. His gun exploded, and his left hand was badly mutilated. Amputation was necessary, which was neatly performed by Dr. Farrens, who since died at Clarinda.

Of later settlers we would mention Peter Fine who came in 1857, and lives on section 19; John M. Fine, who came in the same year, and resides on section 30, and Jesse Laswell, a '57-er, who lives on section 26. Abijah Wilder came in 1852, and his home is on section 29.

This ends the history of Polk township. It is not complete, but it is as fully so as it could be made with the information in our possession. If some of the particulars are incorrect, that fault is chargeable to the recollec- tions of those who have furnished us with the facts.

ROSS TOWNSHIP.

Ross township enjoys a distinction. It was the first seat of justice in Tay - lor county of which we have an official record. As has been stated in a pre- ceding chapter Taylor county was created by an act of the legislature in Jan- uary, 1851. Ross was not then a township. The townships then comprising Taylor county were Jackson, Benton and Polk. But what is now Rose township has an important place in the annals of this county. Jacob Ross, who since moved to Kansas, and there died in Wilson county, lived on sec- tion five. Mr. Aaron Cox now owns the same, and the log cabin built by Mr. Ross still occupies the old site. In its best days it was humble within and without. It was one story high and covered a piece of ground

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HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.

fourteen by fourteen feet. It is now decayed and mouldy. Time has be- fouled the strong huge logs with his destructive fingers. Thirty years ago it was the palace of this heritage. All the people inhabiting Taylor county spoke glowingly of " the Jake Ross' Cabin." And what memories cluster around it! Yet every day people pass it and never think that it has a his- tory! But it has. Here was held the first District Court of Taylor county, and in running over the records we find a book, old and musty, which gives the following account of the same. We give it here as a curiosity, and where . it may be easily found by some future historian. The record is in Judge Sloan's handwriting, for the reason, probably, that the clerk was unfamiliar with the forms usual on such occasions. It is as follows:

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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