USA > Iowa > Allamakee County > History of Winneshiek and Allamakee counties, Iowa > Part 73
USA > Iowa > Winneshiek County > History of Winneshiek and Allamakee counties, Iowa > Part 73
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A. Pegg, M. D., is a native of Canada, and a graduate of the McGill University at Montreal, class of 1867. He practiced in Canada until 1877, when he came to Io. and located in Ossian, where he is now the leading physician and enjoys a large practice.
Peter Reis, farmer, Sec. 30, P. O. Ridgeway; owns 140 acres of land, valued at $25 per acre; was horn in 1841 in Germany; is the third son of Charles and Margretta Reis. In the year 1870 he
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WINNESHIEK COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES
came to America, settled in N. Y., and after a short stay there went to Ills., where he lived one year; then came to Howard Co., and worked for different persons until 1872, when he settled in Winneshiek Co. He was married in 1872 to Miss Carolina P. Gesell, a native of Ind., and has five children, Charles J., Her- memia A., Mactalena M., Mary E. and Peter F.
Charles Rusk, farmer, Sec. 15, P. O. Spillville; owns 170 acres of land, valued at $20 per acre; was born in Bohemia in 1843; is a son of Albert and Rosaria Rusk; was married in 1872 to Miss Kate Novak, a native of Bohemia, and has four children, Stura P., Lena R., Victoria and Charley.
J. T. Shipley, postmaster, merchant and hotel keeper, Locust Lane, Pleasant tp., was born in Pa., in 1829; is the third son of Joseph and Sarah Shipley; left Pa. with his mother, when one year old, and settled in Delaware; remained there eight years, then went back to Pa .; stayed there nine years, then came to Wis., where he remained two years; then went to California, where he lived four years; then came back to Wis., stayed there twenty years, and then came to Io., settled in Winneshiek Co., where he has since resided. He was married in 1857 to Miss Mary A. Desmond, and has eight children, Emma, Josie, Mary, J. R., Martha, James, Thomas and Lizzie. He was a sutler in the 20th Wis. Regt., one year.
John J. Sherwin, farmer, Sec. 5, P. O. Locust Lane; owns 60 acres of land, valued at $30 per acre; was born in Norway in 1841; is the second son of Jens and Bert Larson; left Norway in 1848, came to America, and located in Wis .; remained there one year, then came to Winneshiek Co., Pleasant tp. He was married in 1873 to Miss Isabella Hover, a native of Io., and has four chil- dren, Julius H., Berta S., Melwylna, and Alice.
Jorgen Syverson, farmer, section 8, P. O. Decorah; owns 148 acres of land valued at $35 per acre; was born in Norway in 1828; is the oldest son of Syver and Margret Jorgen; left Norway in 1853; came to America, settled in Wis., stayed in Wis. three years; then came to Winneshiek Co., where he now resides. He was married in 1859 to Miss Anna Nelson, a native of Norway, and has two children, Margret and Gilbert.
Henry Schaitemantel, of Military tp., was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1820; came to America in 1848. and in 1852 settled where he now resides, where he owns a farm of about 600 acres.
R. N. Sawyer, Ossian, hardware dealer and dealer in stock; is a native of Ohio; came to Wis. in 1839 with his parents, and thence to Io. in 1853, and engaged in farming until 1865, when he went into his present business.
Ole Tostenson, farmer, section 23, P. O. Ossian; owns 310 acres of land valued at $25 per acre; was born in Norway in 1817; is the eldest son of Tosten and Aasne Oleson; left Norway in 1847, came to America and located in Dane Co., Wis; stayed there three
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WINNESHIEK COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES.
years, then came to Winneshiek Co. He was married in 1847 to Miss Ann Oleson, a native of Norway, and has three children, Abraham, Gabriel and Jacob.
John Thomson, farmer, sec. 20. P. O. Calmar; owns 170 acres of land valued at $30 per acre; was born in Norway in 1823; is the second son of Thomas and Ingebor Thomson; left Norway in 1850, came to America and settled in Winneshiek Co., where he now resides. He was married in 1850 to Miss Ingebor Mekkelson, a na- tive of Norway.
J. V. Vance, farmer, Bloomfield tp., is a native of Ohio; came to Io. in 1856, and settled on his farm of 600 acres. He was mar- ried in 1853 to Miss M. M. Cooper.
Samuel Wise, farmer, section 16, P. O. Locust Lane; owns 180 acres of land valued at $25 per acre: was born in Penn. in 1845; is the fourth son of Samuel and Phebe Wise; left Penn in 1852, came to Ills., stayed there two years, then came to Winneshiek Co., and has resided there since. He was married in 1868 to Miss Catharine Barth, a native of Ohio, and has eight children, Rosa- mond, Phebe, Flora, Isaiah, Julia, Elizabeth, Lucy and Daniel E. He has held the offices of constable and road supervisor.
David Womeldorf, farmer, section 33, P. O. Decorah; owns 1493 acres of land valued at $20 per acre; was born in Penn. in 1829; is the fourth son of Frederick and Barbara Womeldorf; left Penn. in 1844 and settled in Ill .; remained there eleven years, then came to Winneshiek Co., and settled in Pleas- ant tp., where he has since resided. He was married in 1853 to Miss Mary A. Smith, a native of Penn., and has two children, Sarah A. and Lewis N. He has held the office of trustee one term and county Supervisor one term.
C. W. Williams. of the firm of C. W. Williams & Co., proprie- tor of Spring Hill Creamery, Military tp., one of the largest creameries in northern Io., settled in Io. in 1868, and came to Winneshiek Co., in 1881.
JOHN BAKEWELL.
WAUKON AND LANSING
THE TWO CHIEF TOWNS OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY.
[EXPLANATORY NOTE .- The history of Waukon and Lansing. which should more properly follow immediately after the general history of Allamakee Coun ty, necessarily appears in this order of I ocation, the MSS. having been received by the Publishers too late for earlier insertion. This arrange- ment, while in a measure ont of harmony with the technical classification of the work, will be found to in nowise detract from the completeness of its historical value .- THE EDITOR. ]
CHAPTER I.
History of Waukon: Advent of Geo. C. Shattuck; Other Early Settlers; Beginning and Growth of the Embryo County Seat; Interesting Early Details; The First Court House; Additions to the Town Plat; Population; Origin of the Name "Waukon;" Religious and Educational Organizations; The Postoffice; The Local Press; Business Institutions; Railroad History; Orders and Societies; Military Company; Fires, Etc.
In the month of July, 1849, Geo. C. Shattuck, then a man up- wards of three score years of age, built his camp fire on the prairie now occupied by the town of Waukon, while on a prospecting tour for a location. Concluding that the country was desirable in every respect, he staked his claim, cut and made hay to supply his stock through the winter, and returned to Dubuque county, we believe, for his family. With them, he again drove on to this beautiful prairie in the afternoon of the second day of September, 1849, and laid the foundation for the thriving town that we see here to-day. He built a hay house for his family to occupy until he and his boys could erect a log house, which stood on the land now owned by Michael Deveny, southwest of the Episcopal church. It has disappeared within the last few years ; but in its day it was a hospitable "mansion" to the early comers, and was often filled to the utmost of its limited capacity.
Mr. Shattuck was born September 9, 1787, where, we do not, know. He was a pioneer by nature, and it is said pitched his tent on the present site of Chicago when no one but Indians inhabited
42
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HISTORY OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY.
the spot. In October, 1870, at the age of eighty-three, he departed from us overland, driving his own horse team as when he came - twenty-one years before, to make a new home in Missouri or Kansas. In 1875 he visited Waukon once again; and the follow- ing spring, April 6, 1876, he died at Plattville, Wis.
The first white settlers in Makee township were Patrick Keenan and Richard Cassiday, who settled on Makee Ridge in October 1848, but returned to Jefferson township the following spring. The se- lection made by these men was on the land now owned by the county as a poor farm, and here Mr. Keenan built the first log house ever erected in Makee or Union Prairie townships, the re- mains of which still stand, or did recently, near a spring in the timber south of the Poor House.
In August, 1849, Prosser Whaley came in and made a claim on Sec. 32, and returned to Wisconsin for his family, bringing them here in September or October of that year. During the next six weeks he built the second house in the township, and it was a gen- eral stopping place for new comers for some time. All that re- mains of it is now the property of August Meyer. In the spring of 1850 Mr. Whalen raised a good crop of corn on a piece of land while Mr. Keenan broke up in 1848, the pioneer crop of the settle- ment. Mr. Whaley died in May 1866, but Mrs. Whaley is still living, a resident of Waukon.
In these days Prairie du Chien was the trading point for the settlement, although there was a small grocery at Monona.
As to the next early settlers we quote the following from Judge Dean :
"In the spring of 1850 the following families came into the settlement, and perhaps others that we have failed to note: Seth Patterson, Darwin Patterson, Archa Whaley, William Niblock, James Gillett, Horace Gillett, Christopher McNutt, James Con- way, David Whaley, David Whaley, Jr., Richard Charles and Robert S. Stevenson, of whom the following settled in what is now Makee tp.
"Archa Whaley on section 33, on the farm now owned by Mr. Bronsmeyer; Mr. Whaley now lives on Village Creek, and is the proprietor of Whaley's Mills.
"Mr. Niblock on section 32, on which he built a log house near a spring, and near the south line of the farm, which is still stand - ing, but used of late years as a slaughter house. In the spring of 1851 he sold this claim to Thomas A. Minard, who sold to James Maxwell, who lived and died there, and it is known as the Max- well farm to-day. Mr. Niblock now lives in Jefferson tp.
"David Whaley made a claim on section 20, but soon after sold it to C. J. White, and he to Mr. James Hall, who owns it to- day. Mr. Whaley, after selling this entered the land that is now the farm of Balser Fultz, just north of town, and after selling this emoved to Minnesota, where he died about 1867. David Whaley,
.
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HISTORY OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY.
Jr., made a claim near his father's, which he sold to Almarin Randall, and he to James Nicholls, and it is owned by Mrs. Nicholls to-day. Randall lives in Minnesota at this time. James Conway made a claim on section 28, where he still lives.
"Robert Stevenson became a lawyer, married Mr. Geo. C. Shat- tuck's daughter, Minerva, and subsequently removed to Wisconsin and during the late war he was a private in Co. C, 2d Wis. Vols., and now fills and honors a soldier's grave on the bloody field of Antietam.
The following families made claims in Union Prairie: Seth Pat- terson and Darwin Patterson on section 23; each built a log house near a large spring that is the source of Patterson Creek, but at this writing there is nothing left to mark the spot but a mound of earth. The creek was named after them and still bears their name; it runs northwest and empties into the Iowa River in Hanover tp. Seth Patterson is dead, and Darwin is a merchant in Minne- sota.
" Richard Charles made a claim on section 24, and built a log house near a spring that is the source of Village creek. This creek runs northeast and empties into the Mississippi river at Co- lumbus. This farm is now the property of Mr. James Reid, and his dwelling stands near the spot where the original log house stood. The present whereabouts of Mr. Charles are unknown to the writer. James Gillett made a claim on section 26, and, with his son Horace, and son-in-law McNutt, built a log house near the spring that is the source of Coon creek, which runs northwest and empties into the Iowa river in Winneshiek county. This claim afterwards became the property of Edward Eells, and is now owned by his sons A. J. and G. P. Eells. Of all these first fam- ilies in Union Prairie not one is living in the county to-day.
" All these families spoken of in both townships came in pre- vious to June 1, and as the 4th of July approached the settlement decided that the day should be duly honored; so Mr. Niblock and Pitt Shattuck were detailed to prepare a liberty pole for the occa- sion, and on the 3d they cut a tall, straight young tree in the Paint creek timber, and hauled it to the head of Union Prairie, where it was erected by the men of the settlement, and on the next day, July 4th, 1850, the whole settlement, men, women and children, gathered around the pole where they listened to an oration from Darwin Patterson, Esq., delivered from the stump of a tree close by; after which they had their picnic dinner, and on this occasion Mr. Shattuck gave the prairie the name of 'Union.' All these exercises were carried on with much Fourth of July patriotism and sociality, and this was the first public picnic dinner, and the first Fourth of July celebration that history records in Makee or Union Prairie townships.
" The main traveled road from the steamboat landing on the Mississippi river at Lansing, to Decorah, in Winneshiek county,
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HISTORY OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY.
ran past this pole; and before this region was tapped by railroads it was a much traveled thoroughfare, and this pole stood for many years as a landmark, and was known far and wide.
" In the fall of 1850 Azel Pratt and Lemuel Pratt came in, and settled on Makee ridge, Azel building a little log cabin south of the road near a spring on what is now the farm of Mr. John Kas- ser. In this they lived, and Lemuel having brought in a small stock of goods, they were opened ont in the chamber, or up-stairs part of the house, and. customers supplied therefrom. Thus Dea- con Pratt owned the first building used as a store in Makee.
" Lemuel Pratt entered the land where Michael McCroden now lives, and kept hotel there. The postoffice for all the region round about was kept in his house, and he was the first postmas- ter in Makee township. In 1856 he sold out and moved to Minne- sota, where he now lives.
"In the spring of 1851 Augustine and L. W. Hersey came in with a small stock of goods, purchased the remnant of the stock of Lemuel, and opened a small store in the dwelling house of Au- gustine on Makee ridge, now owned by G. Schellsmith.
"In the spring of 1851 several families came into the settle- ment, among whom were Abraham Bush, David Bartly, Elijah Short, George Randall, Howard Hersey, John Pratt, Dr. Flint, the pioneer physician of the settlement, John A. Wakefield, and perhaps others, who settled in what is now Makee; and George Merrill, Henry Harris, John Harris, H. H. Horton, Francis Treat, John Ammon, Eells brothers, Moses Bush, John Bush, Wm. S. Conner and others, who settled in what is now Union Prairie; and the country began to present an appearance of age and pros- perity, but there was as yet, no Makee, Union Prairie or Waukon." * * *
"At the March term, 1852, of the County Court, held at Colun- bus, the legal voters in tp. 98, range 5, petitioned for organization as a civil township under the name of Makee. The Court granted the prayer of the petitioners and appointed Israel Devine as com- missioner to call an election for purposes of organization, which he did. The election was held in April following, in the log house on the C. J. White farm, and resulted in the election of a full set of town officers; but in consequence of scanty records and the faulty memory of the participants, we are left to guess who they were. We only know that John A. Wakefield was chosen constable, and in consequence of his refusing to serve, Sanford C. Marsh was appointed to fill the office." * *
"Jan. 24, 1853, the Legislature of Iowa appointed three commis- sioners, to-wit: Clement C. Coffin of Delaware County, John S. Lewis, of Clayton Co., and Dennis A. Mahony, of Dubuque Co., to re-locate the county seat of Allamakee Co., and required them
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HISTORY OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY.
to meet at Columbus, the then county seat, about the first Monday in March following, take the oath of office and proceed to select a point for the new county seat as near the center of the county as was practicable. This they did, and in selecting the spot they took into consideration the place where the original liberty pole was planted at the head of Union Prairie, Makee Ridge and some other points, but the absence of water at those places made them objectionable.
At this time there were several splendid springs bubbling out of the prairie sod where Waukon now stands, and Father Shattuck, then living here, offered to give the county forty acres of land for county seat purposes, if the commissioners would locate the county seat thereon. The stake was driven by them on the land thus donated, and the proposed town site was named at the time, the commissioners requesting John Haney, Jr., who was present and took an active part in the matter, to christen the spot. He having been a trader among the Indians, and having a good friend among them in the person of John Waukon, a chief of the Win- nebago tribe, gave it his name, and it has been called Waukon from that time.
"The spot for the new county seat having been selected, it be- came subject to ratification or rejection by the legal voters. of the county at the ensuing April election; and in order to create for the new location as favorable an impression as possible, a mass meeting was called at the selected spot two days before the elec- tion, and assembled near where the Episcopal church now stands. This was the largest white assemblage ever seen in the county, there being present nearly three hundred persons. The meeting was organized by electing John Raymond, of Union Prairie, presi- dent, and A. J. Hersey and Mr. Beeman secretaries. John A. Wakefield, who owned the farm on the Lansing Ridge that Hugh Norton now owns, and John W. Remine, a lawyer from Lansing, made speeches in favor of the new location; and Thomas B. Twi- ford, of Columbus, the then county seat, against it, after which Father Shattuck drove on to the ground with a large supply of cooked provisions, among which were a plentiful supply of baked beans, and from the wagon fed the multitude of three hundred.
"On the following Monday, April 4th, 1853, the voters of the County ratified the choice of the Commissioners by a majority over Columbus of two hundred and forty-five votes, there being seven voting precincts in the County.
"Waukon having now become the seat of justice, and there being a terni the of District Court to be held in June following, some pro- vision must be made, and a proper place provided ; so a purse of money and labor was raised, and a log cabin about ten feet by fourteen that belonged to Mr. Pilcher and stood near the place where Mrs. Cooper now lives, was purchased and moved to the new town site, and erected on or near the spot where the Mason House now
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HISTORY OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY.
stands. This was the first court house ever built in the town. To this was attached a small board addition in the shape of a lean- to, for a grand jury room, and in this building the Hon. Thos. S. Wilson of Dubuque held the first court ever held in Waukon. During this court, all parties here from abroad found places to eat and sleep as best they could, every log cabin in the vicinity being filled to overflowing.
"This little log cabin was so utterly lacking in size and acc om- modations for county business, that in the fall of the same year it was moved down on what is now Spring avenue, and used as a blacksmith shop, but was subsequently moved on to the farm owned by Dr. Mattoon, and is now used by the Doctor as a corn crib; and Sewell Goodrich, then Prosecuting Attorney of the county, and ex-officio County Judge, built a frame building on the east side of Allamakee street, with hard wood lumber and bass- wood siding made at some of the saw mills on Yellow river. This building was used for county officers, courts, etc., until 1857, when it became too small for the business of the county, and Elias Topliff, then County Judge, built along side of it another frame building about the same size, and the two buildings were used for county purposes until the county seat was removed to Lansing in 1861.
"The first merchants in Waukon were L. T. Woodcock and D. W. Adams, the name of the firm being Woodcock & Adams, who in 1853 built the building on Main street now known as the National Hotel, with store on first story and dwelling apartments in second story. The next merchant was A. J. Hersey, who came to Makee Ridge in the spring of 1852, bought the remnant of the stock that Augustine and Lewis Hersey had, and opened a store in the dwelling house of Howard Hersey on Makee Ridge, occupying the front room. He continued here until the fall of 1853 when he built for a store what is now the Mason House and moved his goods into it." * * * * *
"In the fall of 1853 Sewell Goodrich, ex-officio County Judge, caused the County Surveyor, John M. Cushing, to survey and lay out the forty acres that had been donated to the county, into town lots, and instructed him to so arrange the plat as to bring as many of the springs into the streets as possible, in order to make water free to the public for all time; and in order to reach the large spring in the south part of the plat he took from it altogether one whole block and made Spring avenue. This plat was admitted to record December 1st, 1853, and from that time the County Court sold lots to all who desired them, closing them all out at public sale the following year."
The first court house, above alluded to, was built of poplar logs, by Ben. Pilcher on the place afterwards known as the E. B. Lyons place, and later as H. S. Cooper's, nearly two miles southeast of
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HISTORY OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY.
town, and was moved up for a court house by a "bee," the neigh- bors all having a hand. This little hut and father Shattuck's log cabin were the only buildings really "in town" until the following September, when Scott Shattuck began the erection of a large hotel building, which is still standing, on the north side of Main street. About this time the new court house, spoken of by Judge Dean, was built, and shortly after several other small dwellings were erected. So that when court was held that fall the town boasted of two court houses, two dwelling houses, occupied re- spetively by Mr. Shattuck and by Mr. Newell: besides two unfin- ished dwellings. The weather was cold, rainy and disagreeable, lodgings were in demand, and with an open handed hospitality the generous pioneers opened their doors to the dispensers and re- ceivers of justice. Every family in town, and we believe there were only two, took boarders; neighboring farmers took boarders; near the town stood a small log cabin occupied by three families- and they took boarders. Crowded though they all were, there was always room for more, for it is said that a log house is never full. About twelve o'clock one dark, rainy night the occupants of Mr. Newell's cabin were awakened by a loud knocking at the door. A party from Dubuque, among them General Vandever, were call- ing for shelter. They were informed that they might stay if they could sleep on the floor, but the party had wisely brought with them a bed-tiek, and through the rain and mud they went to the nearest straw-stack, filled the tick, carried it to the house, and lay down to their rest. It is not remembered exactly who were in the party besides Gen. Vandever, but Judge Townsend thinks they were Messrs. Burt, Noble, and Samuels.
The two small frame buildings used for a court house, on the east side of Allamakee street, are still standing, the property of Patrick Ronayne.
The corner-stone of the present court house was laid with ap- propriate ceremonies in the spring of 1860, and bricklaying was commenced soon after the 5th of June. The building was fin- ished off early in '61.
Woodcock & Adams began the erection of their store building in October. Their goods arrived before it was ready, and they stored them temporarily in Scott Shattuck's building. Mean- while A. J. Hersey removed a building from the ridge and erected it on the site of the present Mason House (a part of which it is), opening the first stock of goods in Waukon. Mr. Adams, how- ever, had sold the first article of merchandise-a pair of boots to Ezra Reid, Jr .- from his stock in Shattuck's hotel.
The first birth in the settlement was a son to Darwin Patter- son, about the month of June, 1850, at Prosser Whaley's house. The first in what is now Waukon is thought to have been in a family by the name of Skinner, living in a log cabin close by the spring in A. J. Hersey's addition.
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HISTORY OF ALLAMAKEE COUNTY.
The first death in the settlement was that of a child of Moses Bush, which was buried in the little burial ground between the town and the Eells place.
The first marriage in the settlement was that of Horace Gillett and Nancy Bennifield, March 3, 1851, by Rev. A. M. Eastman.
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