USA > Iowa > Wapello County > History of Wapello County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 33
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At one time Dahlonega was quite prominent in the affairs of Wapello County. It was the first town to secure a postoffice and the man first to preside over its destinies was Edmund G. Haggard, who was appointed postmaster at the time the office was established, which was June 13, 1844, six days before the office was established at the county seat. Those follow- ing Mr. Haggard in the office until its discontinuance, November 30, 1907, were the following named persons : Jehu Moore, July 31, 1845; Thomas G. Given, July 27, 1847; F. G. McClintic, October 27, 1848; Jehu Moore, Au- gust 22, 1853; William Lewis, April 21, 1856; L. E. Gray, July 29, 1858; M. M. Lane, July 14, 1859; William Brown, March 26, 1860; M. M. Lane, May 23, 1860; J. C. Johnson, April 1, 1861; M. M. Lane, November 14, 1861; W. B. Fisher, November 6, 1862; James M. Lamme, April 15, 1863; M. M. Lane, December 19, 1864: John Davis, December 11, 1865; Lydia Norris, September 5, 1866; M. M. Lane, Jr., January 18, 1867; Norris Pyle, September 10, 1867; Joseph Bowlie, February 19, 1869; Eli S. Ward, April 11, 1877; B. F. Pratt, November 1, 1877; M. M. Lane, December 19, 1878; Samuel Denny, September 6, 1880; M. M. Lane, March 20, 1882; William Denny, January 8, 1883; William Anderson, November 20, 1884, William Denny, January 25, 1894.
It is not necessary to go over and reiterate the events in connection with the so-called Dahlonega war, as the details have been fully presented elsewhere in this work. But the town still remains; that is, a vestige of it. While it had at one time five stores, two packing houses, a good hotel and shops of various kinds, it is now but a hamlet, in the midst of a rich agri- cultural region. However, there are seven houses still standing that were built in the early '40s. One of these is a large store building, in which the late General Hedrick had a stock of general merchandise.
CHAPTER XXIX
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP
Richland Township is composed of congressional township 73, range 14, excepting the southwest corner of section 31, which is cut off by the river. The township was organized June 3, 1844, and the first election was held at the house of Thomas Pollock. The judges were Jacob C. Mosin, Sidney H. Saylor and Cyrus Spurlock.
The land is drained by Cedar and Fudge creeks, and is rolling prairie. underlaid with lime stone and coal. Carver, two miles south of Kirkville, was the mining center of this county at one time. In 1913 there were some 17,361 acres of farm land, from which were garnered 243,630 bushels of corn ; 79,480 bushels of oats; 28,309 bushels of wheat; 2,870 tons of hay ; 3,117 bushels of potatoes; 119 bushels of apples. The farmers also raised 3,855 head of hogs and 1,441 head of cattle.
Richland Township lies in the northern tier and is bounded on the west by Columbia, on the north by Mahaska County, on the east by High- land Township, and on the south by Center. It was settled in 1843 and among the first comers may be mentioned the Pelhams, Browns, Kirk- patricks, David Whitcomb, John and J. G. Baker, Isaac Fisher, the Hardes- tys, Pollocks, Mosins, Saylors, Spurlocks, Manns, Rosses, Coles, Sinards, Vanderpolls, Abernathys, Comstocks, John D. Bevens, William A. Winsell, John M. Spurgeon, the McGlassons, Hills and Baylisses.
B. C. Pelham was born in the State of Ohio and learned coopering. In 1843 he came to Iowa with his family and stayed for a while at the home of the Indian agent, General Street, at Agency City. Some time later the Pelhams were at Eddyville, guests of the trader, whose name has adorned the town, and in 1849 located in Richland Township. After his death, a son, William S. Pelham, who came in 1843, with his parents, assisted his mother in managing the homestead, finally becoming a merchant of Kirk- ville.
Hugh Brown immigrated from Ireland to the "land of the free" when a boy of fifteen years and lived in Philadelphia three years. He then removed to Ohio. At the time of "the opening," in 1843, he was among the first to enter the confines of the future County of Wapello. He at once purchased a claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Richland township and forty acres of timber land, upon which part of Ottumwa is built. Upon his arrival there were but two houses in Ottumwa. Building a cabin on his
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claim, he otherwise improved the property and was one of the energetic and prosperous farmers of the community. This hardy pioneer left the farm in 1861, and took up his residence in the county seat, having been elected clerk of the district court, an office he capably filled two successive terms. The year 1870 found him back on the farm in Richland. Mr. Brown filled many positions of trust, to which he was elected by the votes of an admiring con- stituency.
There were a host of hardy men and women who crossed the line upon the Government's signal, May 1, 1843, and started life anew, in this wild prairie country or timber land of Wapello County. Dr. A. B. Comstock and. wife were of these and besides his own, there were in the summer of 1843 twenty-four families in Richland Township. Dr. Comstock became a man of importance and value to his neighbors. He practiced his profession of medicine twenty-five years and for a year after coming here he was one of the only three physicians in the county. His later years were devoted to farming.
John Kirkpatrick was born in Ohio and immigrated to Iowa from Ill- inois in 1844. He settled on a farm in Richland Township and after many years of industry retired to Kirkville, a small town founded by him and taking a part of his name. H. K. Kirkpatrick, a son, now living in Ottumwa, was two years of age when his parents settled here. John Kirkpatrick was a member of the board of supervisors.
Thomas Hardesty was one of the very early settlers of Wapello County, the year of his location here being 1845. Mr. Hardesty was an excellent farmer and business man, his industry realizing over one thousand acres of land. He settled on section 22.
Abraham Sinard was a Wapello pioneer of 1845. His daughter, Alice J. Sinard, married James M. Ogden, an early settler, who lived on the Sinard homestead, on section 15, many years.
A. J. Vanderpoll, a Hollander, came to the United States in 1847, and in May of that year settled here on a farm. He was industrious and suc- cessful in his undertakings.
John A. Abernathy left his native Virginia for Ohio when fourteen years of age and three years later removed to Indiana, from which state he immigrated to Iowa in 1847, and located at Agency City. He conducted a hotel there until 1851. when he removed to Richland Township, and began farming. Here a son, James M. Abernathy, was born in 1852. He married Sarah Comstock, daughter of Dr. A. B. Comstock, a pioneer.
R. H. Tindell located on a farm in this township in 1848. He was a car- penter and followed his trade in the community.
David McCullongh and family settled here in 1850. Samuel McCul- lough, his son, was a young man at the time and assisted his father ma- terially in opening a farm and improving it.
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George W. Pike came into this township in the spring of 1850 and en- gaged in farming.
Z. W. Wood came to Richland in 1850.
Benjamin Carpenter removed from Ohio to Iowa in 1850 and settled in this township, on section 36 Later he purchased another farm on the same section and died there in 1853. His son, Luther M. Carpenter, se- cured the homstead and lived there many years.
R. E. Williams came from Ohio in 1851 and became a resident of this township. He was a veteran of the Civil war.
William Hirst crossed the high seas from England to America in 1847, when twenty-four years of age. He spent a year in Ohio and then came to Iowa, locating in Richland Township in 1851, after a short stay in Eddy- ville. Mr. Hirst began farming on a tract of land in section 21 and brought the place up to a fine state of cultivation. In 1892 he retired to Kirkville.
David Wilson was born in Pennsylvania, came west from Ohio in 1852 and located in this township. A son, Ira, came with his parents and at the time was eighteen years of age.
W. A. C. Brown, a son of Hugh Brown, a pioneer of this township, was born here in 1853. He married Minerva Whitcomb, born in Center Town- ship in 1853, the same year as her husband. She was the daughter of Far- num Whitcomb, one of Wapello's early settlers.
William B. Wycoff became a resident of this township when his par- ents, James and Rachel Wycoff, removed here from Jefferson County in 1853. He followed farming some years. For over thirty years past he has been one of Ottumwa's prominent real-estate men, although he now has practically ceased his activities in that direction. A son, J. C. Wycoff, was born on the homestead in this township in 1859.
John Carr came to this township from Ohio in 1854, and began farming. His son, Samuel B. Carr, arrived in the county at the same time, but spent a year in Ottumwa. In the fall of 1855 he settled on section 27, this town- ship. Josiah, a brother of Samuel, settled here in 1856, but shortly afterward moved into Mahaska County. In 1861 he returned to Richland Township, and became one of its valued citizens. Josiah Carr died in April, 1900.
George W. Arnold was an early settler, coming here in 1856. With the family at the time were their sons, J. M., John C. and Ruthy J. William F. was born in Wapello County in 1857 and George W., in 1860. The old home- stead was situated on section 27.
EARLY EVENTS
Within a few months after a sufficient number of families had estab- lished homes and gotten things in running order, a schoolhouse was built on a tract of land about a half mile west of what is now known as Kirk- ville. It was built of logs and had the inevitable fire place, puncheon floor,
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doors made of rough clapboards, with wooden hinges, benches of split hickory trees and where a hole was left for light a hewn log was adjusted against the rough wall, which answered as a writing desk. Lessons in writing always took place toward evening. Soon an old cabinet-maker came into the town- ship from Pennsylvania and made his boys desks out of clapboards, which were innovations, and the first writing tables in this section. Granville Mann and Thomas Ross were among the early teachers and the pupils were Harry, Jane, James and F. L. McNair; Will and Dan Kyger; Noah, Jim, Martha, Elizabeth and Marion Majors; Henry K., Frank, Eliza, D. W. and Hannah Jane Kirkpatrick ; William, Emanuel and Eli Evans.
The first church in the township was built on the east side of the street in Kirkville, in the early '50s. Prior to this the schoolhouse was used for religious purposes. Father McElroy helped build the church and preached the first sermon. Prior to this time, however, Rev. Thomas Kirkpatrick organized a Methodist Episcopal Society in 1844, and it was this pioneer preacher to whom Judge Hendershott gave the credit of having preached the first sermon in Wapello County.
KIRKVILLE
The village of Kirkville lies on sections 7 and 8, in Richland Township, and was laid out in 1848, by John Kirkpatrick, who owned the land upon which it is located. The Methodist Episcopal Church, which was organized by Rev. Thomas Kirkpatrick and incorporated in 1852, built the first house of worship here and dedicated it in September, 1853. The Presbyterians organized a society at Eddyville in 1850, which was transferred to Kirkville in March, 1854. This religious body built a church and dedicated it in 1876.
Kirkville grew to be quite a busy little trading point. It was the original polling place for the township until Keb, a second precinct, was created. One of the early physicians was Dr. Henry Kirkpatrick, who was a pioneer of the township. William Cole and family were also early settlers, coming in the '40s to section 6. Among the pioneer lawyers were George M. Davidson and Samuel Carver, the latter now located in Los Angeles, Cali- fornia. T. H. Carver, a native of Kirkville, is now holding a good position in Oberlin University, at Oberlin, Ohio.
In the early days of this little town, a building was erected and rented to a man from Eddyville for saloon purposes. The structure stood about eighteen inches above the ground. On the first floor was the saloon and in the second story the bachelor proprietor had his apartments. The traffic did not appeal to many of the citizens and one night, presumably when the proprietor was absent, a keg of powder was placed under the building, which ended the saloon history of Kirkville.
In 1865 J. M. Lane and John Kirkpatrick moved a large grist mill from Dahlonega to Kirkville, which was well patronized by the settlers who largely
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depended upon it for their grist. In the early days Thomas Ross was en- gaged here in general merchandising, having his stock of goods in a log cabin. A creamery was also built here about the year 1874 and was known as the Farmers' Creamery, it having been built and operated, as its name indicates, by men whose occupation was the tilling of the soil. Principally those interested in the industry were John H. Carver, John Kirkpatrick, J. N. Barker, Oliver Jones, Theophilus Slutts, William Thompson, John Funk and Jacob Zentz. The management was in the hands of L. A. Chamber- lain, an expert cheese maker.
In 1870 Kirkville had a population of 236. By 1880 it had increased to 280. The census of 1890 gave the population of the town at 714. It had dwindled down to 402 at the end of the next decade and in 1910 there were but 300 souls in the town.
During its prosperous years coal mining operations had much to do with its progress, but when the mines were abandoned the population and traffic of the town decreased. However, Kirkville from its natural sur- roundings, composed of fertile land and improved farms, continues to be a good local business center. At the present time there are four stores : hardware store, operated by Williams & Glass; dry-goods and groceries, by Ralph Shaw; dry-goods by Theophilus Reed; and a general mercantile establishment by Martin Pelham.
The postoffice was established here September 7, 1849, with Henry Kirkpatrick as postmaster. His successors have been the following named persons : M. B. Lee, April 8, 1854; Jacob Failyure, January 8, 1855; Henry Crabbs, April 9, 1855; David Moore, July 17, 1856; David G. McGuire, September 8, 1857 : L. L. Pollock, April 9, 1859; George F. House, June 11, 1861; F. K. Kirkpatrick, July 16, 1861; J. W. McGlasson, February 21, 1862; Isaac E. Page, October 27, 1873; G. W. Kirkpatrick, March 17, 1882; Isaac B. Carson, April 2, 1886; Sarah R. Wilson, June 21, 1889; Sarah R. Johnson, December 15, 1900; Robert P. Johnson, April 12, 1910; John G. Dana, June 18, 1912.
The Kirkville Savings Bank was established under the laws of Iowa in 1904. W. B. Bonnifield is the president ; B. F. Thomas, vice president ; William Abegg, cashier. Capital, $20,000; surplus, $4,000; deposits, $120,000.
Kirkville Station lies south of the village on section 30, through which the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad runs, paralleling the river. A spur of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy was built from a point on that road in section 9, Center Township, to Keb, a mining town, located on section 34, Richland Township.
Vol. - 21
CHAPTER XXX
ADAMS TOWNSHIP
Adams Township occupies all of the congressional township 71, range 14. It lies in the southwestern corner of the county, with Monroe County on the west and Davis County to the south of it. The Township of Green is its eastern boundary, and Polk Township the northern. The land, which is high rolling prairie, is drained by Bear Creek and Little Soap. There is some coal. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad enters the township on section 6, and running in a' southwesterly direction, leaves its boundaries at the northwest corner of section 7.
This township was organized in June, 1844, and at the first election James F. Adams, R. B. Holcomb and Lawson Bradley were the judges.
Among the first settlers in this township were James F. Adams, for whom the township was named; Theophilus Blake, Cyrus Van Cleave, Lawson Bradley, the Brocks, Drapers, Ralstons and others.
Caleb Cloyd came in 1844 and bought a farm in section 8, Adams Town- ship. With the assistance of his father, he cleared the land and became a successful farmer. Mr. Cloyd died in 1891, leaving a widow, who was the daughter of a pioneer of 1843. This couple were the parents of sev- eral children born in the community.
N. Derby was a veteran of the Civil war. He settled in Wapello County in 1846, and was one of the pioneers of Adams Township.
John Lober, after coming to Adams Township in 1849, worked at shoe- making until 1875, when he started a general store at Blakesburg.
B. Abegg was a native of Ohio. He came here in 1851. He served in the Civil war.
M. Nichols was born in Wapello County in 1851 and married Lizzie Reedborn in the county in 1852. This family located in Adams Town- ship.
D. W. Shepard engaged in farming in this township in 1853.
Samuel Millard settled here in 1854. He was prosperous and enter- prising. He held important township offices.
W. A. Arnold settled in Adams Township in 1855. He was a native of Ohio.
Allen Johnston came to Wapello County from Ohio with his family in 1855, and located on a farm one mile northeast of Blakesburg. He came to Ottumwa in 1867; began selling sewing machines, cutlery, machin- ery and many other useful articles.
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G. Schoech, a German immigrant, located here in 1856. He became prosperous and reared on an Adams County farm, a large family of chil- dren.
Benjamin Fritz, a German immigrant, located on a farm in this town- ship in the '50s. He built a residence, married and reared a family of eight children. Soon after marriage Mr. Fritz left the farm and became a merchant at Blakesburg. Henry Fritz, born on the homestead, succeeded his father in the Blakesburg establishment.
C. Kosman located in the township in 1857.
J. B. Miller, of Ohio, came to Blakesburg in 1857, and the following three years had a tin and stove establishment. He removed to Ottumwa in 1860, and in the following years was identified with the firm of Kraner, Washburn & Company.
C. S. Bomar, a native of Kentucky, came to Wapello County in 1858, and opened a general store at Blakesburg in 1866.
As a matter of course, there were no mills or anything else in the county made by man. Many who came at this day were compelled to go to distant mills for flour and corn meal. Some went to Moffett's mill on the Skunk River; at Augusta, in Des Moines County, seventy-five or eighty miles distant ; others went to Meek's mill in Van Buren County, forty or fifty miles distant. Some used an old coffee mill, with which to grind buckwheat for cakes. Six and eight days were frequently spent on these mill trips.
It was in the early '4os that the first schoolhouse was erected. It was built of hewn logs, with ground dimensions 20x30, and was located at Cross Roads, on the edge of Wapello County, about one mile north of the southwest corner. It was long known as the Jay schoolhouse. The first teacher was Elizabeth Ricketts. She had for her pupils children of Archibald and Charles Dorothy, Enoch Way, the Ellsworths, James A. Begg, the Cowans, John Commons and Grinstaffs. The building was used for many years also for church purposes. Then a church building was erected across the line in Monroe County, and was attended by settlers of Adams Township.
BLAKESBURG
Blakesburg is located on section 7 and is a railroad station on the line of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. It was laid out in 1852 by Theophilus Blake and Cyrus Van Cleave, pioneer settlers of the town- ship. The hamlet is situated upon high rolling prairie, and at the time of its birth, was near a heavy body of timberland. In this vicinity there is considerable coal. In 1856 the place had grown to considerable impor- tance and contained a good grist and sawmill, four dry-goods stores, three blacksmith shops, a wagon and plow shop, a cabinet shop, shoemaker,
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gunsmith, tailor and saddler's shops. There were also three physicians, two ministers, and a lawyer.
Both the Methodist and Baptist societies early organized, and put up houses of worship in the town.
In 1860 there were 265 people, residents of the village; this number had increased by 1910 to 344.
Among the first settlers was Daniel Carl, who located here in 1847. He was justice of the peace thirty-four years, and was given the distinc- tion by Judge Hendershott of being the best justice in Wapello County.
Capt. S. G. Finney located in the vicinity of the town in 1854. He built the first brick house in Blakesburg. The building later became the home of the Blakesburg bank.
The first merchants were Butcher & Van Cleave, and Leighton & Warden. The Leighton mentioned was the father of A. C. Leighton, of Ottumwa, and the junior member of the firm was Dr. C. C. Warden, later of Ottumwa. Other early merchants were Samuel Hurst and the Long brothers.
POSTOFFICE
The postoffice was established in Blakesburg, January 24, 1851, with William Kinder as postmaster. He was succeeded February 2, 1853, by S. H. Butcher, and S. G. Finney took up the burdens of the position Feb- ruary 28, 1857. During his administration the name of the office was changed to Amador, December 8, 1857, which meant the reappointment of S. G. Finney at that time. His successors in office under this name were as follows: S. W. Hurst, June 8, 1859; S. A. Swiggett, April 20, 1861; G. A. Derby, August 23, 1862; J. F. Adams, November 6, 1863; under Mr. Adams' administration, on August 25, 1865, the office was renamed Blakesburg, and has so continued to the present day. Mr. Adams was reappointed and held the office until he handed it over to his suc- cessor, D. C. Rybolt, September 3, 1866. Those who followed Mr. Rybolt are the following named persons: B. F. Pratt, February 9, 1869; C. W. Pratt, February 12, 1872; D. C. Rybolt, April 14, 1874; D. L. Hardy, March 23, 1880; L. F. Stuart, July 22, 1885; Charles W. Reading, April 25, 1889; Mrs. Samaranus Barnes, April 11, 1893; Moses H. Abernathy, April 17, 1897.
BANK
The Blakesburg Savings Bank was established in 1900, with a capital of $20,000. J. T. Hackworth is president ; Walter Abegg, cashier. The surplus and undivided profits are $10,000; deposits, $90,000.
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BLAKESBURG IN THE CIVIL WAR
W. H. H. Asbury, who resided in Ottumwa at the time, prepared the following history of the part played in the great war by Blakesburg boys, which was read here on the occasion of the Blakesburg Old Settlers' and Old Soldiers' Association meeting, held August 24, 1903:
President Lincoln issued his first call for soldiers April 15, 1861, to serve for three months. The Blakesburg boys answering this call were Ermon E. Maestick, Z. M. McAllister, Joseph Berkey, Jr., James Blake, John Coen, George W. Graves, George Lottridge, William Reed, W. H. H .. Asbury, Henry Blake, Conrad Stocker and H. H. Hornbaker, they enlisting in a body at Ottumwa in Capt. C. C. Cloutman's company. The company was filled to its maximum and was ready to go to the front in less than a week from the date of the president's call.
Failing to get his company into the regiment allotted to Iowa, the governor offered Captain Cloutman's company a place in the Second Iowa Infantry, a three-year regiment. On the company's reorganization for three years, eight of the twelve boys from Blakesburg became a part of the company, to wit: Ermon E. Maestick, who in less than a year became the company's captain ; Z. M. McAllister, Joseph Berkey, Jr., James Blake, John Coen, George W. Graves, George Lottridge, and William Reed. Of these eight young fellows, two, Joseph Berkey, Jr., and James Blake, were killed in the Second Iowa's famous charge on Fort Donelson, February 15, 1862, all the Blakesburg boys participating in the assault.
A HOME GUARD COMPANY
During the months of June and July, 1861, a "home guard" company was drilling in the streets of Blakesburg at least two days of each week. The people of the burg were scarcely a day during this time out of hear- ing of the fife and drum. Out of this "home guard" company there went into the Third Iowa Cavalry in August, Alvin H. Griswold, who was made a second lieutenant of the company, George W. Stamm, who was promoted through the various grades of minor company offices to that of first lieutenant; Thomas Commons, who became an orderly sergeant ; John D. Pickett, A. K. Ewing, W. H. Blake, A. D. Woodruff, Willard S. Lewis, John Church, George W. Holt, Aaron Millard, James M. Mil- ler, August Ortloff, Robert Terrill, Nathaniel W. Williamson, Thomas Bourman, Nathaniel Barnes, William Austin, W. H. H. Asbury and Andrew J. Graves, all became members of Company K of the regiment, except Barnes, Asbury and Graves, who were members of Company D, E and M, respectively. On the regiment's return home in February, 1864, on veteran furlough, the following Blakesburg boys joined, to wit: Samuel Austin, Adolph Carlton, Walden W. Lewis and Hugh McQueen.
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