USA > Iowa > History of western Iowa, its settlement and growth. A comprehensive compilation of progressive events concerning the counties, cities, towns, and villages-biographical sketches of the pioneers and business men, with an authentic history of the state of Iowa > Part 26
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L. C. Sanborn, of the firm of Sanborn & Follett, proprietors of lumber yard and sawmill, (also own one-half interest in city mill and elevator), established business in 1856. The machinery for the saw mill was shipped on the first boat that landed at Sioux City. At that time there was but one store in this city. Mr. Sanborn was born in Chester, N. H., April 28th, 1827. In Jan., 1856, he came west, and in Feb. of the same year he located at this place. He voted for the first city mayor, and was a member of the city council many years; also has served as a member of the school board several terms.
Wm. Schudell, gunsmith, was born in Switzerland in 1851; came to America in 1872, and settled in N. Y., removed to this city in 1874. He married Phoebe Hoffler, of Germany. They had one child-William, now deceased.
Rudolph Selzer, brewer, was born in Germany in 1828; came to America in 1853, and settled in Omaha, Neb., where he built a brewery; removed to this city in 1860, and built the first brewery in Woodbury county. He was married in 1853 to Theresa Wasser, and has five children-Charles, Emma, Otto, Lewis and Fritz. Charles is foreman of the works, and Lewis is book-keeper and clerk.
Daniel Shannon, proprietor of Shannon's meat market, estab- lished business in 1879. He was born in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1846; removed to Ogle county, Ill., in 1858; thence to Nebraska City in 1973; thence to Chicago, Ill., in 1874; and came to this city in 1875. He has served as town clerk one term. He married Ilelen V. Utley, of Syracuse, Neb.
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Frank L. Sharp, proprietor of Criterion sample room and billiard hall-corner 3d and Douglas sts .- was born in Ind. in 1853; re- moved to Sioux City in 1856.
Andrew Shulson was born in Norway in 1855; came to America in 1867, and settled in Canton, Dak., and engaged in farming, until he moved to Sioux City, where he entered the employ of the firm of E. C. Palmer & Co., and remained until 1881. He mar- ried Laura Lawson, of Canton, Dak.
E. W. Skinner, land, loan, and insurance agent, was born in Pa .; removed to Wis. in 1847, and located at Milwaukee; thence to Madison, and engaged in the manufacture of farm machinery and agricultural implements; also published the Wisconsin Farmer for several years, He came to Sioux City in 1872, and is secretary of the board of trade.
Mr. C. D. Shreeve, dealer in groceries, confectionery, dry goods, notions, etc .- corner of 4th and Iowa sts. Mr. C. D. Shreeve was born in La Porte county, Ind., in 1844; removed to Des Moines, Ia., in 1867; thence to Sioux City in 1881, and is superin- tendent of the city gas works. He served in the late war three years in the 4th Ind. cavalry. In Aug., 1881, he married Marie C. Raybuck, of Washington county, Penn. He has two children by a former marriage-Carl C. and Ora A.
M. L. Sloan, county auditor of Woodbury county, was born in Harrison county, O., in 1848; removed to Ia. in 1866, and to Sioux City in 1870, and was employed in the auditor's office as clerk. In 1877 was elected to his present office. He was married in 1875 to Ida M. Hill, and has two children-Isabella P. and Alice M.
F. M. Smith, of the firm of Smith & Farr, butter dealers, was born in Otsego county, N. Y., in 1835; removed to Sioux City in 1876, and engaged in his present business.
Thomas J. Stone, founder and cashier of the First National bank of Sioux City, was born in Niagara county, N. Y., in 1825; lived for several years on a farm near Mt. Vernon, O., and removed to Marion, Ia., in 1851. He came to this city in 1855, and en- gaged in banking and land business.' He founded the First Na- tional bank in 1871, and is the largest stockholder in the bank; was elected county treasurer in 1871, and held the office until 1878. Mr. Stone's son, E. H., is a graduate of Yale College, and at pres- ent assistant cashier in the bank. He also has a daughter, Alice E.
Wm. Storey, proprietor of the North Star meat market, was born in England in 1848; came to America in 1866, and settled in Sioux City, where, for some time he was in the employ of J. Tucker and N. L. Witcher. He married Eveline Fenton. They have four children-Jane E., Emma M., Eveline M., and James E.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
James Storey, proprietor of meat market, on Pearl street, was born in England in 1840; came to America in 1869, and settled in Sioux City. He is largely engaged in buying stock.
G. N. Swan, secretary and treasurer of Sioux City plow works, was born in Sweden in 1856; came to America in 1870, and settled in Lucas county, Ia .; removed to this city in 1880, and became a partner in his present business in the spring of 1881. The plow works were incorporated in May, 1880, with authorized capital of $100,000. A noteworthy feature of this establishment is the fact that the stockholders are all skilled mechanics, and all work in the different departments of the establishment. The buildings are of brick and situated within a few feet of the main track of the I. C. R. R., and have switching conveniences to the S. C. & P., and the C., St. P., M. & O. R. R's. They are now making a full line of walking plows, and will commence soon to include every variety of plows used in the west, also cultivators, harrows, and other agricultural implements.
Capt. J. H. Swan, attorney at law, was born in Canada in 1833; moved to Ohio at an early age, with his parents; thence to St. Paul, Minn., in 1851; spent some time among the Sioux Indians in west- tern Minn .; removed to Le Sueur in 1854, and engaged in the study of the law; was admitted to the bar in 1857, and practiced until the beginning of the war of the rebellion, when he enlisted in Co. I, 3rd Minn. Vol., as first lieutenant. He was promoted to captain and served until 1865, and then went to Little Rock, Ark .; thence back to Le Sueur, where he remained until 1871, when he removed to Sioux City, and has been engaged as attorney for the C., M., St. P. & O. R. R. His son, C. M., is in partnership with him. They do a general law business.
William Z. Swarts, proprietor of the Red Front auction store, was born in Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pa., in 1840; removed to Wooster, O., in 1844. He enlisted in Co. I, 16th O. regiment, and remained in the army until Jan. 28th, 1866, when he was mus- tered out; served in the official capacity of orderly sergeant. He moved to Iowa City, Ia., in 1866; thence to Chicago in 1871, where he was engaged in auctioneering; thence to Sioux City in 1873.
C. R. Tappan, of the firm of Tappan Bros., dealers in carriage and buggy horses, (Teams matched and horses bought and sold. They make a speciality of breaking vicious and wicked horses. Any horse that they can not manage they agree to send back to the owner and pay charges both ways. They also stand in readiness to drive races, and train horses for the track.) C. R. Tappan was born in N. Y. in 1855; removed to Neb., in April, 1879; thence to Sioux City in Oct .. 1881. B. M. Tappan was born in Onandaigua county, N. Y., in 1857; in Sept., 1881, he came to this city, and
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engaged in his present business. They are thorough horsemen, and have had long experience in handling horses.
F. C. Thompson, dealer in real estate, and insurance agent, was born in Whitby, Upper Canada; removed with his parents to Erie county, N. Y .; thence to Ottumwa, Ia., in 1867, and engaged in the real estate and insurance business with C. C. Blake; thence to Sioux City in 1869.
N. Tiedeman, of the firm of Tiedeman & Anthon, dealers in staple and fancy groceries, cigars, tobacco, etc .. was born in Prus- sia in 1842; came to America in the spring of 1866, located in Dav- enport, Ia., and engaged in farming; removed to Sioux City the same year; is now an alderman of the city.
Hugh Toohey, of the firm of Dussing & Toohey, proprietors of restaurant, corner of 6th and Pearl streets, established business in 1881. He was born in Canada in 1859; came to Sioux City in 1870, and was engaged for a time as clerk in St. Elmo hotel; was also employed at the Hubbard house.
Joseph Trudell, manufacturer of carriages, buggies, etc., corner Pearl and 2d streets, is the patentee of the famous Trudell bolster plate, which is acknowledged to be the best thing of the kind ever invented. He was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1820; removed to St. Lawrence county, N. Y., in 1828; thence back to Canada, where he married Sophia Maynard. He next removed to Elgin, Ill .; thence to Dubuque, Ia., where he lived twenty-five years; thence in 1873 to Sioux City. He has five sons and one daughter.
John Tucker, proprietor of the Globe meat market, Peirce street, Hubbard house block, established business in 1867. In 1881 he refitted his place of business at a cost of $2,000, and has now all the modern improvements, his establishment being a credit to the city. He was born in England in 1838; came to America in 1858, and settled in Va. He removed to Sioux City in 1867.
Geo. W. Wakefield, attorney at law, was born in De Witt county, Ill., in 1839. He enlisted in Co. F, 41st Ill. Vol., and served three years; was wounded at Jackson, Miss., and returned to Ill. He was admitted to the bar in De Witt county in 1867; came to Sioux City in 1868, and was elected county auditor in 1869, serving three years, after which he resumed the practice of the law.
Rev. D. R. Watson was born in Scotland in 1841; came to America in 1852; received his early education at White Star sem- inary, N. Y. He graduated in the nine years' course at Madison University in 1868, and at Rochester Theological Seminary in 1871, with the title of A. M. His first pastoral charge was at Lowville, N. Y. He next went to Brandon, Vt., where he spent five years, and then to Wyoming Ter., where he remained five months. He came to Sioux City in 1881. In 1876 he married Carlie E. Cope- ley, and has two children-John R. and Robinson D.
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HISTORY OF IOWA.
W. L. Wilkins, dealer in agricultural implements, came to Sioux City in 1870, and soon afterwards engaged in business, under the firm name of Davis & Wilkins; next as Wilkins Bros .; subse- quently W. L. Wilkins became sole proprietor. He has one of the leading establishments of the kind in the city. He handles all first class machinery, such as McCormick's, N. C. Thompson's and J. I. Case's various machinery, Harrison and Whitewater wagons, Racine wagon and carriage company's goods, windmills, barbed wire, and is also a dealer in grain.
A. C. Woodcock, dealer in groceries, produce, flour, etc., No : 116, 4th street, was born in Westmoreland county, Pa .; removed to West Va .; thence to O .; thence to Keokuk, Ia., where he wa employed in iron moulding; thence to this city. He served in the U. S. A. from Aug. 11th, 1862, to July, 1865, in Co. D. W. Va. Cav., under Gen. Custer, in the third division of Sheridan's corps; was first lieutenant, and acted as brigade commissary. He was at the final surrender at Appomattox. The night before the surren- der, their division captured thirty-six pieces of artillery at Appo- mattox depot. His company was the last company fired upon in the war of the rebellion. He married Emma Van Kuren, of Me- dina, N. Y.
SLOAN.
R. C. Barnard, station agent and telegraph operator, was born in the District of Columbia in 1829; removed to Neb. in 1857. He platted the townsite of Grand Island; removed to Omaha in 1863, where he was city engineer for several years; in 1868 removed to Council Bluffs, and engaged in the dry goods business, and in 1870 came to Sloan and engaged in the mercantile business with Beal & Evans. In 1873 he took charge of his present office.
Joseph Gravel, farmer and stock dealer, was born in Canada in 1843; came to the U. S. in 1856, and the next year located in Sioux City, where he was engaged in mercantile business for three years; then removed to Sergeant's Bluffs, and in 1870 removed to a farm near Sloan, and was the original owner of the town site of that place. He was appointed postmaster in 1866, and held the office two years, when he resigned. He is now engaged in stock raising on a farm of about one thousand acres.
Edwin Haakinson, shipper and dealer in live stock, was born in Norway in 1844; came to America in 1861, and settled in Winne- bago county, Wis. In 1862 he enlisted in Co. C, 1st Wis. Heavy Art .; served three years, and was soon after the battle of Lookout Mountain taken sick with the small pox, and taken to the foot of the mt., and left to die; was there alone six days, survived and returned to the company, and was detailed to Gen. Lester's head- buarters as orderly, for six months; then was appointed mail car-
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rier between Knoxville and Greenville, Tenn. When discharged he returned to Wis., and engaged in ship-building. In 1869 he removed to Sloan, and engaged in mercantile business until 1c 78, when he engaged in his present business. He owns 180 acres of land near this place, and about $30,000 worth of business property in Sioux City. He married Carrie Hansen, in 1869, and has three children-Emil H., Carl, and Herbert W. Has lost one child by death.
C. A. L. Olsen, dealer in general merchandise, was born in Nor- way, Dec. 1st, 1838; came to America in 1860, and settled in Mil- waukee, Wis .; was employed on the lakes as a sailor, seven years; came to Iowa in 1869, and settled on a farm near Sloan, and en- gaged in his present business in 1881. In 1867 he married Al- vildo Resmusen, and has seven children.
W. M. Parker, proprieter of the Parker House, was born in Os- wego county, N. Y .; in 1837 removed to Adams county, Wis .; thence to Montana and engaged in mining; thence in 1867 went to Sioux City; thence in 1869 to Sergeant's Bluffs and to Sloan in 1880 and engaged in hoteling. He married Silpha Ladd in 1859, they have two children.
J. H. Scroggin, of the firm of J. H. Scroggin & Son, hardware dealers, was born in Tenn. in 1824; removed during childhood to Ill .; thence to Wis. in 1850; thence to Cass county, Ia. in 1872 and the next year to Sloan and bought a farm near the town and engaged in farming until he entered his present business, in Mar. 1881. He was married in 1848, and had ten children. The part- ner of the firm W. F., owns a farm near his father's; was married in 1877 and has two children.
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MONONA COUNTY.
This county lies on the Missouri River, and is in the fifth tier from the northern and southern boundaries of the State. It is twenty-four miles north and south, by an average of nearly thirty miles east and west, in extent, and comprises sixteen full congres- sional townships, and some four or five that are fractional, embrac- ing in all an area of about six hundred and eighty square miles. The Missouri River, which is the western boundary, runs in a southeasterly direction, making the southern boundary line some twelve miles shorter than the northern.
A considerable area of the county is of bottom, or valley lands, upwards of one hundred and sixty-five thousand acres being in- cluded in the great Missouri River bottom, through the western portion of the county. The ascent of these bottoms to the north is more rapid than that of the Missouri River, thus leaving a small portion of these valuable lands subject to overflows in high water seasons, and rendering them sufficiently dry and well drained for easy and successful cultivation.
The eastern portion of the county is a high and rolling prairie, well watered and drained by Willow Creek, Soldier and Maple Riv- ers, and their affluents, all of which are surrounded by wide, beau- tiful and exceedingly fertile valleys. The uplands abut abruptly on the bottoms along the east side of the Little Sioux, presenting the varied and peculiar features characteristic of the bluffs along the Missouri bottoms throughout their extent in the State. These bluffs are unusually uniform in elevation, the highest point being not less than three hundred feet above the sea level. The uplands in the immediate vicinity of the bluffs, are too broken and uneven to be practically adapted to agricultural uses, and are cut up with wooded ravines, while the valleys of the smaller streams, a few miles inland, are bordered by gentle acclivities which ascend from the sloping bottoms to the well rounded and gentle divides which intervene between the water courses.
Most of the streams in the eastern part of the county are bordered by beautiful bottom lands, varying from one-half to two miles in width, while the streams themselves are margined by grassy banks, with beds composed of mire and quicksand. The Little Sioux River, with several other streams, affords some good water powers for machinery, on which several mills have been established, while numerous other eligible locations still remain- ing will yet be properly and similarly utilized. Wells of excel- lent water are easily obtained in the valleys at depths varying from ten to twenty feet, while in the uplands it is often found neces- sary to sink through the bluff deposit to a depth of over one hun-
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dred feet before a permanent supply of water can be reached. Springs are found at frequent intervals issuing from the bluffs, and with the brooklets that are fed by them, as also with the larger streams, afford plenty of water for stock, which find excel- lent grazing on the uplands, while on the low-lands several varie- ties of native grasses furnish very nutritious hay. Several lakes of considerable size are found in the Missouri Valley, which are clear and inhabited with a variety of excellent fish. Some of these lakes have the appearance of having once formed a portion of the channel of the Missouri, which is now, however, several miles distant, with heavy cottonwood groves intervening.
The soil in the valleys is usually a deep black mold or fine loam, it is from six to fifteen feet in depth, and produces exceptionally large crops of corn, and other grains, and vegetables indigenous to the western slope. In the Missouri bottoms, low, sandy ridges are frequently met with, which are the remains of bars formed by the currents, when the river occupied the whole width of the valley from bluff to bluff on either side. The bottom deposits are quite variable in the character of their component parts, though the fine, dark loam constitutes by far the greater proportion of the surface soil. This is generally underlaid by sand and gravel, and sometimes by a deposit of clay containing large quantities of par- tially decayed wood, and other vegetable matter, which are frequent- ly met with in sinking wells. Most of the upland is covered with a heavy coating of dark humus-charged loam, with subsoil of the light mulatto-colored bluff deposit. No sterile Inad is found in the county, for even that which is broken in the vicinity of the bluffs, is very fertile, and produces excellent crops of wheat, oats and other cereals, and in its native state produces very fine pas- turage for stock.
The largest bodies of timber are the extensive groves of cotton- wood, which border the banks of the Missouri, while more or less extensive groves of this and other kinds of timber are found on the Little Sioux, and many of the deep ravines running further back into the county are densely shaded with luxuriant forest growths. Like most of the counties on the Missouri slope in Iowa, Monona County has no stone or coal, while the bluff deposit fur- nishes an abundance of material for the manufacture of brick, which must be depended upon for the future supply of building material. The local supply of fuel, which all comes from the for- ests, though ample for the present wants, must become scarce in time, unless the future demand is anticipated by the cultivation of artificial groves.
So far as can be ascertained, the first white man to spend the winter in Monona County was Aaron Cook, who with some asso- ciates, passed the winter of 1851 here, engaged in herding cattle. The first permanent settler was Isaac Ashton, who, in 1852, lo- cated about two miles north of the present town of Onawa, where,
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in 1855, he laid out the town of Ashton. Philip Ashton, who was frozen to death in the winter of 1852, was the first white person to die in Monona County. Other settlers came in the summer of 1853, in which year Josiah Sumner located in the vicinity of On- awa, and Aaron Cook at Cook's Landing, on the Missouri River, seven miles southwest of Onawa. Among others who came prior to 1855, were C. E. Whiting, Robert Lindley, Timothy Elliott, J. E. Morrison, J. B. P. Day, and B. D. Holbrook. Several of the early settlers came from the eastern part of Iowa, while others were from Illinois and the Eastern States.
Among the early settlers of the county was Charles B. Thomp- son, a Mormon leader, who, with a number of followers, located on the Soldier River, in what is now called Spring Valley Town- ship, about fifteen miles southwest of the present town of Onawa.
They commenced their settlement in 1854. Thompson called the place Preparation, as he designed here to prepare his apostles for the "good time coming." As Thompson was an important man in the early history of Monona county, some account of him, and of the enterprise in which he was a leader, will be of interest. He had been a follower and disciple of Joe Smith at 'Nauvoo, but went to St. Louis in 1852, and organized a church. In the sum- mer of 1853, he sent some of his followors as commissioners to look for and select a location for his people in Iowa. They selected the valley of the Soldier in the south part of Monona county, all the land at that time being vacant.
In 1854 he brought some fifty or sixty families, and pre-empted several thousand acres of the best land to be found in the region .. Some of the land he subsequently entered. Thompson regulated and controlled all the affairs of the colony, both temporal and spir- itual, pretending that he had authority to do so under the direc- tion of a spirit which he called Baneemy. Among other assump- tions, he pretended that he was the veritable Ephraim of the Scriptures, and directed his people to call him Father Ephraim. A strict compliance with his teachings divested his followers of all worldly care, and prepared them for the further essential doctrine of his religion, that in order to obtain the Kingdom, they must sacrifice all their earthly possessions. They accordingly conveyed to him all their lands and other property, including even their wearing apparel, and the right to their services.
Under this arrangement, "Father Ephraim" and Baneemyism progressed swimmingly, until the autumn of 1855, when a little rebellion occurred under the leadership of an Elder named Hugh Lytle, who, with some twenty of them, began a suit in the courts for the recovery of their property; but they failed, and the matter was subsequently compromised by the Lytle party receiving some of their property and withdrawing from the society.
The remainder adhered to Thompson without serious difficulty until the autumn of 1858. During the summer of that year, most
,
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of the male adults of the society were absent in other States. preaching the doctrines of Baneentyism to the Gentiles. Thomp- son, who arrogated to himself the title of "Chief Steward of the Lord," took advantage of their absence to convey all the realty to his wife, Catharine Thompson, and to one Guy C. Barnum, reserv- ing only forty acres as a homestead for himself. His disciples, hearing of this transaction, returned and immediately called on "Father Ephraim" for restitution. Being unable to obtain a sat- isfactory adjustment of the matter, they notified him that on a stated day he would be expected to meet them in Preparation to make settlement.
The "Chief Steward of the Lord," and " Assistant Steward of the Lord " Barnum, had not sufficient courage to "face the music," however, and postponed their visit to Preparation until the day after the one appointed, doubtless thinking that the angry crowd would have become dispersed by that time. On the way they were met, about a mile from the village, by a young wo- man who had not yet lost confidence in "Father Ephraim" and Baneemyism, and who informed them that the people were still con- gregated at Preparation, and would hang him on sight; which in- formation had the effect on "Father Ephraim" it was well calcu- lated to have, especially as at about that moment of time, men on horseback were observed coming from Preparation at full speed, and heading in a'l earnestness in the direction of the Chief Steward and Assistant. Springing from the wagon in which they were seated, and unharnessing their horses, the two Stewards hurriedly sprang upon the backs of the animals, and the chase, which ensued, was of an exciting and highly interesting character. After a lively race of fifteen miles, across prairies and over creeks and ravines, the "Father" and the "Assistant Father," arrived safely in Onawa, where they were given protection by the citizens.
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