USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. I > Part 33
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total width of the corona was figured by scientists at one million six hun- dred thousand miles.
Every person of any considerable age in this county who was not tin- fortunate enough to be blind, viewed this wonderful phenomenon in the heavens. It was a sight never to be forgotten by old or young. Some had one impression, some another. It was a wonder to all. Many hundreds hav- ing prepared for the sight, had smoked glasses, and with these were enabled to clearly view the eclipse from start to finish. The coming on was beautiful in the extreme. Little by little the light of the brilliant summer's sun was shut off by the shadows of the silvery moon in its majestic march onward. A few seconds of expectancy and the light was gone entirely. Then came an interval of absolute silence-total darkness covered the earth. Upward, the sight was charming. yet strange to behold. The larger, brighter stars could be seen overhead plainly, as if it were night time. The chickens crowed in many neighborhoods and all business was for the time suspended. All were quiet and awestruck. The astronomer was at his glory. The su- perstitious feared an impending calamity. The religious were thoughtful and knew that God in heaven reigned over all. After a few seconds, the rift of light began to make its appearance and slowly the sun commenced again to send forth its warm summer rays. It was said that this eclipse would not again occur within four hundred years. It was the subject of much thought, discussion and speculation at the time.
PIONEER WOMAN CALLED "GOOD SQUAW."
The wife of one of the first settlers in Jasper county. Mrs. William High- land, the first white woman in this county, felt timid when visited by her cop- per-colored sisters and brothers in the absence of her husband. Frequently a dozen braves would enter her cabin home at one time. They made quite fashionable calls and seemed interested in her housekeeping and the house- hold affairs in general. They talked on various topics, but wound up gen- erally with a hint that some of the white woman's food would suit their taste pretty well. In winter their clothing was none too ample for covering them, and in summer it was still more lacking in close structure. At first she tried to cut short these calls, and they knew full well the cause-because they were not wanted. When they had teased her to their heart's content. they would compliment her by saying she was a "good squaw." and then offer to leave if she would shake hands with them. When she complied, they silently left the place and did no mischief.
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JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
There was a certain sympathy and pity extended toward these wander- ing Indians, who had just recently been bought off, or driven off from their lands by the authority of government. But the law of the survival of the fittest had to be brought into play in such cases that civilization might better be established in this, the garden spot of Iowa.
STATE CAPITAL ONCE LOCATED IN JASPER COUNTY.
There are but few of the citizens living within Iowa now who are aware of the fact that one time the capital of Iowa was legally fixed to be built in Jasper county, but such is the fact.
After Towa territory had been admitted as a state, in 1846. and its first session of Legislature was held in Iowa City, then the capital of the ter- ritory. the state treasurer reported the building at Iowa City very unsafe. subject to being injured by storms, etc., and asked the Legislature to do something about it. Hence the General Assembly responded to his appeal and appropriated the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars for the com- pletion of the old building. The question of the western boundary of Iowa having then been settled, a discussion arose regarding the relocation of the capital, as Iowa City was known by all reasonable minds to be too far to the east. So the General Assembly appointed a commission to locate a seat of government, and to select five sections of land. being the amount granted by Congress for the erection of public buildings; and granted the unfinished buildings at Iowa City to the newly created State University, to be used. however, by the Legislature until other provisions could be made. The said locating commissioners at once selected four sections and two half sections in Jasper county. Two of these sections were located in what is now Des Moines township and the remainder in Fairview township. These lands were situated between Prairie City and Monroe, on the Keokuk & Des Moines railroad of later survey. A sale of lots took place there. a town having been platted and given the name of "Monroe City." Four hundred and fifteen of these lots were sold at cheap prices. The cash payment. one-fourth. yielded $1.797.34: while the expense of the sale, and claim of the commission for ser- vices, exceeded that amount by $409. 14. When this glowing bit of financier- ing was made known in the report to the Legislature, he, later known as Iowa's most eccentric district judge. McFarland, who was then a member of the House, moved that a committee of five. forming a select committee. should be appointed to investigate and show how much of "Monroe City" was under water and how much had been burned up! The report was re-
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ferred, without the instructions, however. The result was that Iowa's new capital at Monroe City ceased to be. The lots were vacated and most of the lot owners received their money back. Chapter 71 of the laws of the first General Assembly will give about the above facts.
But there are still more interesting points to be brought to the attention of the reader, in this singular case. Samuel B. Shelladay, a United States marshal, one of more than ordinary influence in lowa, and also a large land- owner in Jasper county, was engaged by the citizens of the southern part of Jasper county, to go to the Legislature that winter, at Iowa City, and lobby for the new seat of justice for Iowa. It may be stated, on good authority, that through his scheming the commissioners were induced to select "Monroe City" (to be) for the new capitol location.
After the commissioners had fully agreed upon this location, a pledge was given that no members should divulge the secret, until the fact had been made known at Iowa City to the Governor and through him made generally public. But it is claimed that one Joseph D. Hoag, of the Friends religious faith-a genuine Quaker-after having agreed to this, was so dishonorable that he went to his home in Henry county, near Salem, and there let the news out among his brethren, giving them even the exact spot where the commis- sion had located the new capital. At once the scheme was set on foot to claim and purchase all the land in and around the newly-made seat of justice. The Quakers were seen in great numbers, traveling on foot, on horseback and in wagons from Henry county, northward, through Oskaloosa, until the peo- ple there mistrusted something unusual was going on and when they followed on after them, in a few days, it was learned that these Friends had literally gobbled up much of the available lands in the vicinity of 'Monroe City"-in short nearly all between the Skunk and Des Moines rivers.
Manly Gifford, of Jasper county, was a large lot purchaser in the em- bryo city. So great was the ill feeling toward the man who had thus betrayed a sacred pledge, that it was not until the lapse of more than fifteen years that Hoag was able to get his fees as commissioner from the state of Iowa, which, after the older members were forgotten, did in 1862 finally pay him for such services.
"Monroe City" never was platted and recorded in a legal manner-it existed only in the minds of a few schemers and upon paper of little size and value. Not even a cabin was ever raised there; the stakes denoting the lot corners soon disappeared with the prairie fires of 1850. Where the proud dome of the new state capitol was to rear its head heavenward. the prairie grass, frostbitten and brown, stood in dry and decaying waves. The wild animals made their snug homes where the executive mansion was to have been erected.
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THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
To the present generation, especially to those who have not read up on the history of the country before the Civil war, as touching the workings of the fugitive slave law, by which all citizens of the United States, whether living South or North, whether believing in the justice of slavery or opposed thereto, were, according to that law of Congress, obliged to help capture and return to their "own- ers" such negro slaves as might escape from their masters. This was a hard provision for the anti-slavery men to live up to and keep good and clear their consciences. Hence there was organized a secret society of men, and women too, who were ready to thwart the plans of such an unjust law, by assisting in every possible manner a slave who might come through the country, want- ing to make his escape to Canada, where he would be looked upon as a free man, black though he was. It will be understood also that this was happening just at a time when steam railroads were first engaging the minds of the masses and hence they very naturally used the term "underground railroad," for the line over which these runaway slaves were sent from one part of the north to the other. Many of the patriotic anti-slave songs also had titles such as "Old Dan Tucker," the "Car of Emancipation," etc. Then it will be understood that "underground railroad" had no real significance, in the light of its being a real highway, as we now speak of railroads and of "under- ground railroads" in cities, etc., which do exist, in fact, but usually styled as "subways."
During those anti-slavery times there were many in this county who took an active part in helping negroes escape to Canada over this supposed "underground" line, for most of its trains were operated at night-time, in order not to be detected by the slave hunters and their hounds. The following is from the pen of "Old Shady" ( Joseph Arnold), who was a "conductor" on this railroad and these lines were not written until after the four years of Civil war had freed the slaves :
"On the 4th day of November. 1857. while returning from Newton in company with Matthew Sparks, they overtook three negroes about one-half mile out from Newton on the road leading to Lynnville. Mr. Arnold spoke to them, assuring them that he and his com- panion were their friends, and told them to get into the wagon and ride. They seemed glad of the opportunity, and after getting in, asked them where they were going. Their reply was Lynn Grove. The darkies' eyes began to
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enlarge and show plenty of white. They then inquired if either of us knew Arnold or Sparks. Upon being informed that the two gentlemen to whom they were talking were the persons asked for, the poor fellows were over- joyed at the announcement. One of them took a ragged and soiled piece of paper from his pocket. On this slip was the names of Arnold and Sparks which they said was furnished them by a certain party who had formerly lived in this neighborhood, but now a resident of the Territory of Kansas. He had instructed the colored gentlemen that Arnold and Sparks were safe con- ductors on the underground railway. They were taken to C. B. White's house in Lynnville. Soon after a good many local stockholders in the line assembled, a meeting having been called by Arnold and Sparks. About nine o'clock one of the darkies made a speech in which he said: 'I have never saw so many friends in all my life and would not be anything but a "nigger" tonight if I could. God bless you, I am gwine to de norf, sah.' After furnish- ing the darkies with means and proper passage, they were taken on to Grinnell. Their names were James F. Miller, Henry May and John Ross, and were from the Cherokee nation. The same year, a darkey, his wife and child, the latter about one year old, were brought to Joseph Arnold, who kept them until about daylight, ferried them across the North Skunk river and took them to Jarvis Johnson, where they were secreted until the next night, and sent on to the next station, Grinnell. That station was then superintended by Hon. J. B. Grinnell himself. On one occasion a slave catcher met Arnold, and after having noticed, very particularly, the covered wagon he was then driving, the Missourian, a rough, profane man, stopped the team and in an abrupt manner said: 'You haint seen nuthin' of no nig- gers along here lately, have you?' Arnold soon saw the defect in this man's grammar, and answered him 'No!' He said his niggers were in here some- where and that he would catch them as sure as h -. He didn't though."
Other instances include the following narrated in a former history of this section of lowa :
"John R. Sparks, Esq., employed several fugitives for a short time about his saw-mill. On another occasion he came narrowly out of a 'fix.' During his absence. his father, a good old Kentucky Democrat. entertained several dusky travelers northward bound. These fellows were trailed by pursuers directly to Mr. Sparks' house, and had it not been for the fact that the shelter was given as stated it would have been a certain case. As it was, the pursuers grumbled a good deal toward the old gentleman.
"August 13. 1860. two covered wagons passed through Newton contain- ing fifteen negroes from Missouri and Kansas, making their way toward the
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North star. The wagons were accompanied by some twelve or fifteen white men on horseback, and all were heavily armed, presenting a very warlike ap- pearance. Among the whites was Barclay Coppoc, who had accompanied John Brown on his ill-starred expedition into Virginia, and had barely escaped the fate meted out to his comrades, one of whom was his brother, Edward. His flight was characterized by great nerve and daring. He returned at once to his home in Cedar county, this state. Soon after, the sheriff at Tipton was visited by a Virginia officer with a requisition for Barclay. The sheriff volunteered to serve the papers, visited Coppoc's home, and, not finding him, left a message requesting Coppoc to be at home next day, as he had a warrant for him. Another of the party was Ball, of the Brown invasion, and still another, Doyle, of Kansas note. Coppoc and his company declared they were able to cope with a hundred persons, if attacked. They camped a short dis- tance from town for several hours, and then resumed their journey. A squad of nineteen passed a few miles south of Newton the same day. Three other negroes passed through Newton on their way north in April of the pre- ceding year."
OLD SETTLERS' SOCIETY.
January 8, 1881, an old settlers' organization was perfected. Joseph Arnold drew up the preamble, constitution and by-laws, and they were re- corded in book 3. page 382, in the recorder's office at Newton. There had been several annual meetings of the old settlers held in the groves previous to this, but no organization had been effected or any record of the proceed- ings kept. John R. Sparks was chosen president and Joseph Arnold secre- tary. In 1884 five acres of land was selected and purchased by the society, which is one-half mile southwest of Lynnville and is called the "Old Set- tlers' Park." On this ground annual meetings were held and usually at- tended by the thousands. They are still kept up and at one occasion there was estimated to have been ten thousand people in attendance. They came from Maine to the Pacific coast-friends who had one time lived in Jasper county. These gatherings are held on the third Thursday of each August. and are greatly enjoyed by all. It is the event of all the year in and about Lynnville. The present ( 1911) officers of the association are: W. J. Adams, president : Charles W. Wildman, secretary : W. P. Robertson, vice-president : C. H. Potter, treasurer.
JASPER COUNTY'S FIRST CELEBRATION.
The first Fourth of July celebration in this county was held at the log cabin home of pioneer B. Aydelotte, in Buena Vista township, and in 1894-
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just forty-eight years later-Mr. Aydelotte was invited to attend a celebra- tion in that township again, but was unable to be present, so wrote the fol- lowing letter to his old-time friend. J. W. Murphy, who still resides in Buena Vista township. The letter, which describes the pioneer celebration, reads as follows :
"Newton, Iowa, July 2, 1894.
"J. W. Murphy, Esq.
"Dear Sir: I was pleased to hear you was going to celebrate the 4th at Murphy. It reminds me of a little celebration we had at my home in 1846-if it could be called a celebration. It was a small affair, but we done the best we could under the circumstances. Well; the eight families that settled on Elk Creek in 1845 concluded to meet at my cabin (you know where it stood, near where the Herring House stands now) and spend the day in celebrating. All furnished the best they had on hand to help out the dinner. The families were M. D. Springer, William M. Springer, Joab Bennett, James Pearson, Moses Lacy. Fool Bill Smith. B. Aydelotte and John H. Franklin. We got together early and the women went to cooking the dinner. We did not have a great variety, but plenty such as it was. Lacy had killed a deer a day or so ago, so we had fresh venison. Bennett found several bee trees and we had plenty of honey. Bill Smith had been to Oskaloosa a few days before and brought home a little flour. He furnished the pie crust. I had gathered a lot of wild gooseberries, so we had gooseberry pie and plenty of it and the dear old crabapple pie of those days. We had new potatoes and garden beans, so our principal meal was corn bread, beans and potatoes. For sweetening, my wife had made four gallons of maple molasses and fifty pounds of sugar in an Indian 'Wickeup' that stood just above where the railroad crosses Elk creek (west of Murphy). I had made troughs and tapped thirty trees that stood around the 'Wickeup,' so with Bennett's honey we had plenty of sweetening. William M. Springer read the Declaration of Independence and we spent the balance of the day in talking of the Mexican war and the good country of Iowa and whether it would ever be settled up- not in our day, we all thought. I would be glad to be with you, but can't this time. I have jotted this down as things came to my remembrance-did not think I would write half so much.
"Wishing you a successful celebration
"I remain yours,
"B. AYDELOTTE."", 1
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POPULATION.
The total population of Jasper county, from 1847 to 1905, was as fol- low's :
1847
560
1867
16,116
1849
1,223
1870
22,116
1850
1,280
1875
24,128
1852
1,647
1880
25,963
1854
3.456
1 890
24,891
1856.
7,490
1895
25.948
1860.
9,883
1900
26,976
1863.
10,590
1905
27,156
1865.
12.239
In 1905 the state census report gave Jasper county a total of 27,156 population, divided among the various townships as follows :
Buena Vista township 873
Mariposa township 612
Clear Creek township
787
Mound Prairie township 1.393
Des Moines township. 1,080
Newton township 902
Elk Creek township
909
Palo Alto township 1,096
Fairview township 1,258
Poweshiek township 1,032
Hickory Grove township
638
Richland township. 739
Independence township.
608
Rock Creek township 724
Kellogg township
608
Sherman township
75
Lynn Grove township
883
Washington township
852
Malaka township
624
The population of cities, towns and villages in 1905 was: Baxter, 520; Colfax, 2,553: Prairie City. 756; Monroe, 836; Kellogg, 592: Lynnville. 462: Sully, 262: Mingo. 262: Newton, 4.398.
THE 19IO UNITED STATES CENSUS.
The official census returns for 1910 show that Jasper county has made but a slight gain in population during the past ten years, but a review of the table given below will show that the retardation in gain is due to the falling
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off of the rural districts for the towns in all instances, but three show a good per cent. of gain. The cities of Newton and Colfax both made good gains over the 1900 census, Newton making a gain of 25.43 per cent and Colfax 22.94 per cent. Lynnville, Sully and Baxter also made good gains in per cent., but the towns of Monroe, Prairie City and Kellogg show a decided falling off in population. During the past ten years the county made a gain of but 58 inhabitants, or about one-fifth of one per cent.
Jasper County 27,034
Buena Vista township
896
Clear Creek township 796
Des Moines township, including Prairie City town. 1,993 Prairie City town 764
Elk Creek township
904
Fairview township, including Monroe town.
2,028
Monroe town 800
Hickory Grove township
656
Independence township, including Baxter town.
1,361
Baxter town
527
Kellogg township, including Kellogg town
1.255
Kellogg town
610
Lynn Grove township, including Lynnville and Sully towns
1,492
Lynnville town
370
Sully town
282
Malaka township
60
Mariposa township
635
Mound Prairie township
1,383
Newton city
4,616
Ward I
1,552
Ward 2
1,769
Ward 3
1,295
Palo Alto township
1,035
Poweshiek township, including Mingo town
1.259
Mingo town
246
Richland township
755
Rock Creek township
631
Sherman township
573
Newton township, including Newton City
5,518
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JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
Washington township, including Colfax City 3.263
Colfax City
2,254
Ward I
727
Ward 2
744
Ward 3
1,053
JASPER COUNTY POSTOFFICES.
In 1911 the county had the advantages of the following postoffices. be- sides numerous free rural delivery routes almost networking the entire county : Baxter, Colfax, Fairmount. Ira, Kellogg, Killduff. Lyunville, Metz, Mingo, Monroe, Newburg. Reasoner. Severs, Sully. Turner, Murphy and Newton.
The history of these postoffices will be found in the township and vil- lage history chapters of this work.
VILLAGE PLATS AND POPULATION.
In 1900 Jasper county had the following village plats, a more detailed description of which will be found in the chapter on "County Organization :"
Newton, population 3,475 ; Monroe, 917; Kellogg. 653: Lynnville, 347 : Vandalia, 89: Colfax, 2,500: Prairie City, 808; Greencastle, 92; Clyde ; Reasoner, 89: Galesburg: Baxter, 427; Fairmount, 40; Metz. 50; Mingo; Ira, 130: Newburg, 100; Sully, 150; Kilduff. 70; Murphy: Oswalt ; Valeria, 150.
At that date eight of these places were incorporated towns, and fourteen villages.
EARLY-DAY MOB LAW SPIRIT.
Perhaps in the settlement of all of the first counties in Iowa there were cases wherein Judge Lynch took law into his own hands and thus sought to get free from objectionable characters. In Jasper county, be it said to the credit of her citizens, not many such cases blacken the pages of its his- tory, but there were a few times when men's lives were hanging between earth and sky in an awful suspense. In some instances innocent men and again guilty ones were thus treated for some crime, or supposed crime, com- mitted in this county.
One such case is as here narrated: In 1848 and during the month of August, right in the midst of sultry dog days, a man named William Knisely had made a claim in township 81, range 21, north of present Greencastle
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site. He had broken out a small tract of land and planted out some nursery stock. He was a single man, a very filthy, dirty person in personal appear- ance and not well understood or liked by his near neighbors, the Hamlin families. All of a sudden Knisely was missing and no one seemed to know of his immediate whereabouts. Days went by and he did not return to im- prove his claim. Finally the whole county was aroused about his sudden disappearance and began to look the matter up. Charles H. and David B. Hamlin, with two other men, were arrested. Nathaniel Hamlin was also arrested, but he was acquitted in a short time. It was known that the Ham- lins had some property once belonging to the man Knisely, and one of the family had been seen at the claim shack the day before the strange settler had last been seen. Information was sworn out by John Harp and John B. Hammack before T. J. Adamson, and the murder was alleged to have been committed June 27th. The complaint was made August 11th. The Hamlins were to have a preliminary hearing on the LIth and the other men on the 14th of August. All but the Hamlins were acquitted. To convict even the Hamlins more evidence must be found, so the mob having the matter now in hand set out to procure evidence sufficient to prove the guilt of the parties. First they took Nathaniel Hamlin in hands and coming to a small tree hung him up by the thumbs. Soon he was lowered and, believ- ing as he did, the poor fellow thought best to confess to almost anything they asked him to. Half beside himself, and fearing lynch law, he admitted that they had killed Knisely and offered to show where the body had been buried in a sand bar on the South Skunk. The crowd took the young man to the river. who selected the spot alleged ; but no trace of the remains of Knisely could be discovered there. Then the mob coaxed Hamlin to another confession, when he stated the body of the murdered man had been thrown into the Skunk river. He conducted the violent mob to the river's edge, and by this time he was in danger of being torn to pieces by angry, liquor-crazed men. He claimed the spot was on section 33 and that it was doubtless by a pile of drift wood. They now feeling they might be on the correct clue, allowed Hamlin to strip and dive for the supposed body of the corpse. He did this. but doing so failed to come up. One of the guard plunged in after him and found Hamlin holding fast to a root. under water. no doubt intending to drown himself. His grip was loosened, and he was brought to the surface nearly strangled to death.
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