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 68
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At a District Court of the Sixth judicial district of the State of Iowa, begun and held on the third Monday, the fifteenth day of September, A. D. 1851, at the house of Jacob Ross, Tay- lor county, in the State of lowa (being the court-honse pro tem. for said county), pursuant to an act of the General Assembly of the State of Iowa, entitled an act to attach certain counties to the Fifth judicial district, and fixing the terms in the courts of the Fifth and Sixth judicial districts.
PRESENT:
The Hon. James Sloan, district judge; James B. Campbell, sheriff of said county, and John Hayden, clerk of the District Court for said county.
In the records and proceedings of said court were the following:
The Honorable James Sloan took his seat.
John B. Campbell produced evidence of his certificate of election and oath and bond being duly filed as sheriff of said county.
John Hayden also produced evidence of his certificate of election, oath of office and bond as clerk of the District Court for said county.
George P. Stiles, A. C. Ford and Jacob Dawson, Esqr's, councillors and attornies [this is the judge's spelling] at law, attended at court, having been heretofore admitted to practice in the District Courts in this district.
The court then appointed Jacob Dawson, Esq., prosecuting attorney for this term of the court, and he took the oath of office required by law.
The grand jury were called and sworn, and entered upon their duties.
The court adjourned at six o'clock P. M., until nine o'clock A. M. to-morrow.
SEPTEMBER 15, 1861 .- Court opened at nine o'clock A. M., pursuant to adjournment.
The grand jury returned a bill of indictment found against Isaac Davis and Edward S. Godsey for an assault and battery, with intent to commit a bodily injury, upon one John Hayden.
The grand jurors' and petit jurors' names were called, and the time of their attendance regulated, and they were discharged.
The court was adjourned until the first Monday in April next.
JAMES SLOAN, Judge. JOHN HAYDEN, Clerk District Court.
From the above it will be seen that the next term of the District Court was set for the first Monday in April, 1852. There was no court held at that date, or if there was the records do not show it. In the mean time
628
HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.
Judge Sloan had resigned, and Governor Stephen Hempstead of Dubuque, had appointed Hon. A. A. Bradford district judge in his stead. This was done May 4, 1852. The record shows a copy of the governor's appoint- ment, and that a term of the court was held at the residence of Jacob Ross, commencing July 9th, 1852, and lasting two days. Benjamin Rector, of Fremont county, was admitted to the bar, and appointed prosecuting-at- torney pro tem. At this term Benjamin Rector, L. Lingenfelter, C. P. Brown and J. M. Dews were enrolled as attorneys of this court. James Gartside, of Jackson township, and since a prominent and very influential citizen, who died in 1877, was there made a citizen of the United States, having, the 16th day of September, 1847, declared his intention of becom- ing a citizen of the United States before the Court of Common Pleas in the city of Philadelpha. Davis and Godsey were acquitted of a charge of assault and battery with the intent to commit a bodily injury upon John Hayden. And in a civil action, brought against them by Hayden, they were successful, Hayden having the costs to pay. The court then adjourned to the third Monday in March, 1853. This was the last term in Ross township. The next was held at the residence of John Lowe, who lived on section 28, Benton township. The premises are now the property of Mr. Abner Daugherty. Mr. Lowe's life, and his connection with the formation of Taylor county, appear elsewhere in this volume.
Ross township is located south of Bedford and extends to the Missouri line. Its entire length in a southwestly direction is traversed by the East One Hundred and Two River, the valleys of which are rich in productive capacity. Sections six and seven, in the northwest corner of the township, are crossed by the Middle One Hundred and Two River. Both streams are lined with considerable timber. The soil of the township is rich, and the greater portion of it is arable. Many fine farms are scattered throughout its domain, and some of the farmers there living are among the wealthiest in the county. As a rule the people are superior in mental and moral cul- ture. It is a portion of the county that was the earliest settled, with, per- haps, the exception of Clayton and Jackson townships. The township de- rives its nomenclature from Mr. James Ross, father of the Jacob Ross else- where mentioned in this chapter. Mr. Ross owned what is now called the Phelps farm. He moved to Wilson county, Kansas, and died there several years since. His coffin was made from the lumber of the wagon-box in which he emigrated thence. Mr. Ross came to Taylor county at a very early period. An old settler who domiciled in Clayton township as early as 1845 mentions him as a citizen at that time. Very many people now living in the county remember him, and speak in praiseworthy terms of
629
HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.
his excellent qualities of head and heart. He died at an advanced age, hav- ing the esteem of all who had known him. And just here it will be proper to mention a fact that we have heretofore overlooked. His son, Jacob Ross, was the surveyor of Taylor county when the seat of government was located at Bedford, and he laid off the town under an order from John Lowe, who was then county judge. The order, and all other particulars relating thereto will be found under the chapter entitled: "Location of the county seat." Jacob Miller was another old settler of this bailiwick. He built the first mill in the county along early in the forties. It was torn down in 1855 or 1856. It was located four miles southwest of Bedford on the East One Hundred and Two River, near where William Oxley now lives, and a part of it was taken to Polk township where it entered into the construction of what is known as the "stone mill." The capacity of Miller's mill was quite limited. At best it was only a corn-cracker. It could not grind wheat, and the best it could do was to crack corn. Farmers came long distances to this little mill, and the man who brought ten bushels of corn in his wagon had to wait twenty-four hours for his grist. But they were hours well spent. They were probably the brightest in the pioneer lives of the good people who lived here then. Settlers were few. In 1845 there were but twelve families in the county. There were a few in Ringgold county and over the line in Missouri. So they occasionally mnet at Miller's mill, swapped yarns, became acquainted, got interested in each other, and formed friendships that were never broken in this life. Ah! what grand, stalwart hearts those old settlers had! They were as large as their cabins, and no man ever passed their doors hungry. Their virtues and their simplicity are worthy of emulation in these days of wealth and prosperity, and under such stimulus we would have a stronger and greater people. Brice Somers was also a Ross township pioneer, but we have been unable to gather any facts relating to him. Nor is it possible to trace the families of these men, for all of them were married and were blessed with children. Enoch Beau- champ, who lives on section twenty-nine, came there in 1858, and has been blessed in well filled granaries every year. His herds have grown, not as Jacob's did in Bible times, but in a manner very pleasing to Mr. B.'s purse. D. M. Greerson is another prosperous farmer of Ross township. He came there in 1856, and has "grown up with the country" as it were. In other words as his community has grown so has his estate. Ten years since other farmers located in Ross township who have grown rich. Chief among these are H. C. Beard, Elisha McCormick, J. P. Reighter, and James McMoni- gal.
630
HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.
CHURCHES.
The oldest church organization of which we have any record is the Meth- odist Episcopal. It was organized in 1859. The original members were D. Martin and wife, J. Hatfield and wife, William Townsend and wife, William Simmons and wife, R. Simmons, Wesley, Lemuel, Alexander, Al- bert and Horace Underwood, and C. F. Dresher and wife. This society has no church building. Services are held in the Patch school-house. The present membership is upward of forty. The first pastor was Rev. Peter- son, who afterward was the publisher of a temperance journal at Des Moines. He is now a resident of California. The present clergyman is Rev. T. P. Newland, whose ministry has been marked with flattering suc- cess.
The Christian denomination has an organization known as the Eureka Church. It was organized in 1875. Its membership numbers eighty, and they meet at the Patch school-house for worship. At this time they have no regular pastor.
Soon after the organization of the Methodist Church in Ross township, of which mention is heretofore made, the Baptists organized at Hazel Dell school-house. This was in 1859. Elder Otis, who lives in Holt township, was the leading spirit in this organization, and is its present' pastor. The membership is about forty. Just over the line in Missouri, at the Maple Grove school-house, the Baptists have another organization, and to this several Ross township citizens belong.
The Methodists have another church known as the Eagle School-house Organization. Its membership is small, numbering only twelve. Rev. T. P. Newland is the efficient pastor. At this writing services are held in the Banner school-house, the Eagle having been consu med by fire early in the present year. It is now being rebuilt and when completed it will again serve the Methodists as a church edifice.
Ross township has two very excellent union sabbath-schools. There has - been no effort on the part of any denomination to establish sectarian schools, and a fine feeling of Christian and brotherly love seems to pervade all hearts. And a people as prosperous as these, and so wide-awake to mat- ters of morality and religion, will not long assemble in school-houses to worship the Creator. Substantial and commodious church buildings will soon mark some of the picturesque places of Ross.
The Creston branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, as it is termed, but which is really the arm of that great road reaching toward Col- orado, New Mexico and Arizona, crosses Ross township in a southwesterly direction into Missouri. Hopkins, a town of considerable commercial im-
631
HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.
portance, is just over the line, and has a large trade from Ross, Polk and Jackson townships. Very much of the corn and stock raised in these town- ships goes to Hopkins. It is not presuming upon too large a figure to say that one-half of the corn and hogs shipped from Hopkins should be credited to Taylor county, and a large portion of it to Ross township. Adding the Taylor county shipments from Hopkins to those of Bedford, where they justly should be credited, it will be seen by a table published elsewhere that Ross township adjoins a city that is unsurpassed in the State in the volume of its exports.
In its educational affairs Ross township enjoys a fair record. We have found it impossible to gather such facts of its first schools as we hoped to, and hence this part of the story of this bailiwick must be brief. Informa- tion is a cheap thing. Its cheapness ought to make it the more abundant, but it doesn't. It is the last thing, seemingly, that the ordinary man wants to part company with. He is a very niggard in this respect, which will have to account for whatever completeness there inay be lacking in this or other chapters of this book.
The county superintendent's report for 1880 makes the following show- ing for Ross township.
No. of subdistricts
9
No. of teachers employed 17
Salary per month-male $ 26.00
Salary per month-female 26.00
No. of school months.
7
No. of children of school age. 273
No. of children enrolled in school.
276
Average daily attendance $ 1.50
Average cost of tuition
9
Value of school-houses .
. $3,400.00
Amount paid teachers during the year
1,464.85
Amount expended for contingent purposes 587.19
139
No. of school-houses (frame)
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
Capitalists of far-seeing vision are satisfied that Iowa, and southwestern Iowa, especially, is the real garden of the world, and they are determined to possess it. The great trunk railroads now traversing the State have come to realize the fact that the present railroad facilities are not sufficient for the business of the future, and if they did not immediately occupy the ground other rivals would be built parallel with and across theirs, and di- vide the business and reduce the profits by sharp competition. Hence our
632
HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.
trunk lines are building parallels, cross roads and arms in all directions, until the most sanguine in railroad development are astonished at the extent of railroad extension. Much of what was considered the established condi- tion of our State is being seriously disturbed. Cities which supposed they had secured the trade of large tracts of country for all time to come sud- denly find themselves bereft of half their trade, and localities which sup- posed their destiny was to remain isolated in the back country behind the hills, as suddenly find themselves in the front rank of life and commerce. The present impetus in railroad building will materially dissipate the illu- sions which many localities have had of being great commercial centers and populous cities. The business of the State, instead of being concentrated at a few points is destined to build a large number of healthy business places, and none will be large cities, except by accident or local advan- tages, or large manfacturing establishments are built up. With the thou- sands of good places of trade and easy access to market, Iowa is destined to have more than a usual number of desirable towns for business and for com- fortable homes. No great commercial city will ever be able to control its political, social and financial systems. The fifteen hundred miles of new railroad now building in Iowa are dissipating many dreams, while they are giving new life and energy to many thousands. Our idle lands are being im- proved and occupied. Inefficient and improvident farmers are being bought out and sold out, and better ones taking their places. Agriculture is tak- ing on new life. Commercial enterprise is being aided by adding new fields, and better access to the old ones. Everybody feels better and is look- ing forward to the day when a man will feel prouder to say he is a citizen of Iowa than ever did any Roman of that city which once ruled the world. And this pretty clearly expresses the feelings of the average Washington township man. He feels that it is better to belong to that bailiwick than to be a king. Fortune has smiled upon them unexpectedly, and without cost. They never even dreamed of, or hoped for, a railroad. Yet one is now being graded east and west but a little south of the central part of the township. It is the Humeston & Shenandoah line. A town has been laid off in section 22, and is called Gravity. Already it begins to show signs of a town. Buildings are going up, and lots are being disposed of quite rap- idly, and at a very good price. The town will be a success. It can't be otherwise, for it is surrounded by a country unexcelled in productiveness. On section 29 there will be a switch, the ground for which was purchased of Mr. Elliott.
The earliest settlers of Washington township were Greenville Abbitt, John Rutledge, D. W. Hamblin, Albert Churchill, W. D. Burge and Jacob Kerslin. The Rev. E. Otis is another old settler. D. W. Hamblin was a
633
HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.
supervisor of Taylor county for a great number of years, and made a popu- lar and good one. The Rev. E. Otis was a pioneer preacher for the Bap- tists in this portion of Iowa. With Elder J. M. Smith he traversed many miles of unknown territory, and accomplished much good. Often they were surrounded with wild Indians, but they were not alarmed, nor were they disturbed. Mr. Otis is now in charge of a successful Baptist organi- zation in Washington township.
Cottage Grove Church, of the Christian denomination, was organized in 1876. The congregation meets for worship at the Cottage Grove school- house. The membership is about forty. Elder Parkhurst, of Missouri, is the pastor.
The first minister to preach in the township was the Rev. Peregrine, of Adams county.
The first school-house built was near Abe McCrackens's, on section four.
For many years there was a post-office on section twenty. It was called Gravity, and was discontinued in 1878. The patrons of the office were from that date supplied from Bedford.
Dr. Luther Bent, of Bedford, was for many years the only practitioner in the township. If the old gentleman were living he could tell some remark- able stories of midnight journeys over pathless prairies and bridgeless ravines to see some one who was sick.
Among the large and prosperous farmers of Washington township is James Moneyhan, who is located on section two. He is a man of great energy, and succeeds in raising fine herds of cattle for the Chicago markets. His granaries, too, are always well filled. Other large farmers are J. W. Paul, B. F. Chandler and John Rutledge. T. O. Wilson devotes himself to raising bees, and he makes it profitable.
The school report for Washington township for 1880 was as follows:
No. of subdistricts
9
No. of teachers employed
18
Salary per month-male. $ 25.00
Salary per month-female. 25.00
No. of school months.
6.9
No. of children of school age
300
No. of children enrolled in school
470
Average daily attendance.
250
Average cost of tuition per scholar
$ 2.91
No. of school-houses (frame).
9
Value of school-houses.
$3,350.00
Amount paid teachers during the year 1,549.50
Amount expended for contingent purposes 496.08
Biographical Sketches.
The word sketch, as here used, implies an outline or delineation of any- thing, giving broad touches by which only an imperfect idea, at the best, can be conveyed. It is not designed to include all the several and separate. acts of a man's life, important or otherwise, for that would necessarily be both comprehensive and minute; nor is any single sketch purely biograph- ical, which would imply a review of the life and character of each person. The design is to give the merest outline, with particular reference, how- ever, to the public life of the persons named. To go into each man's pri- vate life, or into his home life, would be both unwarranted and valueless. Few care to know these facts, and many of them, perhaps, had best be for- gotten. As a rule one's neighbors know full enough about him, and to afford them correct data for information may deprive them of the topic of quondam conversations.
Here will be found few, if any, who are not entitled to a place in public confidence. The names are, in great part, those of men who have been closely and for a long time identified with the interests of the county and their respective townships. If in their lives no mention appears of the hardships they endured in the early days of the county's history it is because these are the common experiences of pioneer life, were not exceptional in their character, and have already been referred to in other pages of this vol- ume. A repetition here of individual experiences would be absolutely de- void of both interest and aim. To the residents of the county the names of none of its earliest settlers are without interest. So far as they could be gathered they illustrate quite fully the character of the early settlers; if the names of any such do not appear on these pages it is because facts were not accessible, or that an inauspicious destiny had arrested their career. Their place was already marked. To have obtained sketches of their lives, at first hand, would have been, next to the consciousness of duty fulfilled, the highest of gratifications. Their lives would obtain and justify all sympa- thy, and even their names recall heroic examples of which the men of to-day, with better fortunes, though with less daring, are neither the companions, the rivals nor the masters. In the great majority of instances the battles in which many persons named have been engaged are suppressed, not because they are valueless, but because the engagements of the several Iowa regi-
635
HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.
ments may be found in another portion of the volume. This has not been generally the case with regiments outside of the State, except in an occas- ional instance, when some one, ambitious to share the glory of war, repre- sented himself in remarkable battles in different and widely removed States but occurring the same date. Each one of this class selects for himself the place of glory, and makes of his own person the pivot on which the fortunes of battle revolved. It has, in a word, been a paramount object that men should be sketched as they are, rather than as they think they are, or wish, perhaps, to be.
BEDFORD TOWNSHIP.
BEAN, J. N., physician and surgeon, Bedford. Prominent among the medical fraternity of this county is Mr. B. He is a native of the Pine Tree State. Was born December 5, 1832. When eleven years of age he moved to Mercer county, Illinois. When about eighteen he began the study of medicine under Dr. Wm. Dudley, of that county. In 1853, he returned to his native State and attended Maine Medical College during the sessions of 1853-4. In the spring of the last named year he returned to Illinois and resumed his studies under the direction of Dr. Henry Averill, remaining under his care until the spring of 1856. He then came to Iowa and located in Henry county, when he commenced his professional labors. In September, 1858, he came to Taylor county, Iowa, and lias since contin- ued to administer to the afflicted in this county. During the early years of his practice here he was often called to adjoining counties, and frequently into Missouri. Many of the pioneer settlers were objects of his philan- thropy. He has always been a welcome visitor to the sick room, and com- mands the respect of his co-laborers. He was married in 1854, to Miss Abi- gal E. White, of Mercer county, Illinois. They are the happy parents of eleven children, all living: Carlyle, Maud, now Mrs. D. C. Devin, of Dallas county, Iowa, Sarah, Alice, wife of H. F. Reynolds, of Woodhull, Illinois, Jno. E., Charles, William, Frank, Joshua, Abbie, Loice, and May. The doctor is also engaged in agricultural pursuits. He owns a valuable farm of well improved land, adorned with comfortable buildings, which pos- sess all the requisites of a beautiful home. He is a thoroughly self-made nan, having been a poor boy, and has gained all by his indomitable energy and perseverance.
636
HISTORY OF TAYLOR COUNTY.
BROWN, H. S., harness-dealer, Bedford, was born in Licking county, Ohio, December 14, 1844. During childhood his parents became residents of Knox county, that State. When nine years of age his parents moved to Henry county, Iowa, where he tilled the soil and attended school. At eight- een he commenced the harness-making trade, and followed that business as a journeyman until 1870. He then came to Iowa and engaged with J. D. Morris for a time. In July, 1871, he purchased his employer's interest and conducted a successful business for himself until the spring of 1873. He then moved to Ross township, this county, and farmed four years, after which he returned to Bedford and once more took up his trade. He is now doing a large business, having obtained an enviable reputation as a work- man. He also has a valuable farm of 146 acres in Ross township. Was married in this county, November 8, 1874, to Miss Mary R. Cox, a native of North Carolina.
CONNETT, CAPT. M. C., physician and surgeon, Bedford, born in Madison, Indiana, October 13, 1837. At the age of eighteen he began the study of medicine with Dr. E. H. Weir, a successful physician of Madison. In the fall of 1856, he entered the Cincinnati Medical College, and pursued his studies during the sessions of 1856-7 and 1857-8, graduating in the spring of 1858. He then went to Greensburgh, Ind., and practiced until the breaking out of the war. April 21st, 1861, he enlisted in the Seventh Indiana infantry, for three months. In September of same year he organ- ized a company-was appointed captain and was assigned to the Thirty-sev- enth Indiana infantry, as company E. He received seven wounds at the battle of Athens, Ga., and was finally captured while yet on the field, and was kept about six weeks, when he was exchanged. Owing to his prostra- tion from wounds, he was sent home and remained about two months, when he returned to the front and joined his command at Nashville, Tenn. After the battle of Stone River, he was physically disabled, rendering him unfit for service. He was then appointed assistant surgeon for the Eighth Indi- ana cavalry, which position he filled until honorably discharged, September, 1865. He then came to Bedford, and has since made it his home. The doctor has now a large and successful practice, and is often called for con- sultation by his cotemporaries. In 1867 he was elected coroner and filled that place for twelve years. He has also filled the office of sheriff two terms. Subject was married at Wilford, Ohio, in 1858 to Miss Eliza Jane Qual. She died in 1872, leaving three children: Ida M., Albert F., and Nell. In 1872 he was again married, Miss Ursula J. Avery, of Troy, N. Y., becom- ing his wife. He is now happily situated, and has ample means to enjoy the many pleasures of life.
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