USA > Iowa > Marion County > Pioneers of Marion county, consisting of a general history of the county from its early settlement to the present date. Also, the geography and history of each township, including brief biographical sketches of some of the more prominent early settlers > Part 9
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"It is not our intention to remain silent upon the great political questions of the day. But we wish it to be distinctly understood that we do not intend to give a blind credence to the machinations of any of the parties now dominant. We shall boldly avow our sentiments respecting any of the great movements of the age, regardless of political bias. Whenever we can consistently approve of any acts performed by either party, which seem to us to be calculated to benefit our State, or the great national confederacy, we shall cordially lend our influence to sustain and promote such measures."
In his " Address to the Public," in the same issue, the same writer added:
" The difficulties and expense which have attended us in reaching this position can hardly be appreciated by any one unacquainted with the business, and with the difficulties inci- dent to a new country."
Like most pioneers, the Gazette began with a small list of subscribers, and but few of these paid in advance. Evidently, but few persons wished to risk their money in an enterprise of this kind till they could be assured of its success. Notwith- standing this, the paper held its own for several years, grad- ually increasing its patronage along with its more recent com- petitors. Mr. Grant continued his connection with the Ga- zette till some time in 1857 or 1858, after which the paper was suspended for some length of time. In the summer or fall of 1859 it was resuscitated by S. M. Hammond, published by him
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in quarto form, and edited by Mr. Scholte, as a campaign paper. From November till March, 1860, it was published by Hammond & Hannold, when it was finally discontinued, and the subscription list transferred to the Knoxville Journal .*
On the first of October, 1855, just eight months after the Gazette was started, the first number of the Knoxville Journal was issued by Wm. M. Stone (since governor of Iowa), as editor and proprietor. The press upon which it was printed was that of the old Valley Whig, published at Keokuk.
The Journal was published in the interest of the republican party, but devoted much of its space to the interests of Knox- ville and the surrounding country. The first few numbers contained some valuable historical matter relating to the county, all of which was, unfortunately, Jost on the night of the 4th of March, 1856, when the office was burned. It is a matter of regret to the author that he was unable, after exten- sive advertising and diligent inquiry, to procure one of these old papers. The office was in a frame building that stood on the west side of the public square, nearly opposite where the court house now stands. It and all its contents were entirely destroyed, together with a store adjoining it.
The Journal was not renewed till some time during the next fall or winter, when Geo. W. Edwards, now managing editor of the Des Moines Republican, came to Knox- ville in quest of a location for a paper. Being in possession of a press and type, he and Stone formed a co-partnership and renewed the Journal. During the same year Stone sold his interest in the paper to Edwards, who conducted it alone for a short time, till he sold it to John M. Bailey, and he to E. G. Stanfield, in the winter of 1857 and 1858. During Mr. Stan- field's proprietorship of the concern, the Journal was, for a
*It may be worthy of note that Mr. A. F. Sperry, at present editor of the lowa Voter, was an occasional compositor and contributor to the Gazette, and wrote its first carrier's address.
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time, edited by L. D Ingersoll, since well known as an author. After Ingersoll, it was published by Bigelow & Co .; then, in 1860, by Horner & Hannold, who changed the name of the paper to Marion County Republican, some time during the same year.
The third paper published in the county was the Demo- cratic Standard,* first issued in June, 1856, about eight months later than the Journal, by Clarborn Hall, editor and proprietor. Mr. Hall, not being a practical printer, and also entirely unacquainted with journalism, soon found it "up-hill" work, and, financially, a "losing game" to publish a frontier country newspaper. So, after a short experience, he disposed of the concern to a company. Atter this the Standard was edited and published by different individuals successively, among whom were S. M. Hammond and M. V. B. Bennett. the latter well known as a lawyer and political stumper. It finally suspended operations some time in 1864 or 1865.
On the 28th of September, 1861, Henry Hospers, having purchased the office of the old Pella Gazette, commenced the publication of a newspaper in the Holland language, called the Pella's Weekblad ( Weekly). This paper was, and is, in the interest of the Democratic party, and enjoyed & good patronage, being in a community where that party was largely dominant. On the 18th of June, 1870, Mr. Hospers having been appointed by the Legislature to the office of Immigrant Agent, sold the paper to H. Neyenech, by whom it is now conducted.
The Marion county Republican was purchased by B. F. Williams in Oct. 1861, and edited by him until he sold it to Wm. G. Cambridge, Aug. '66. In '63-4 Mr. Willians rented the office to a printer named Griffin, who reduced it to half its original size, and issued it principally as an advertising sbeet. In March, '67, Mr. Cambridge sold it to Sperry and
*Like the Journa', no early numbers of this paper are extant, or, at least, could not be found, and its history must, therefore, be brief.
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Barker, by which transaction the Republican was finally dis- continued.
In the winter of '64-5 Mr. C. S. Wilson, since connected with the Winterset Madisonian, purchased the press and type belonging to the Democratic Standard, moved them to Pella, and on the 3d of Feb., '65, commenced the publication of the Pella Blade.
Mr. Wilson was a radical Republican, and a writer of rather ' more than ordinary genius. In the local department he made the paper especially attractive by his peculiar style. In his salutatory he says :
" Acting, up to the time of the beginning of the rebellion with the Democratic party, I have, since that time, had a heritage in none ; but, believing that upon the success of the Republican (or Union) party, and the triumph of their princi- ples, depend the rescue of the country from the hand of trea- son, and its existence among the family of nations, I have acted politically with that party. The Blade will continue the advocacy of these principles, at the same time its columns will not fail to condemn whatever it judges to be incompatible with the public interest or the national honor.
" In the local department particular attention will be given to the spread of such intelligence concerning our city and county as will be of benefit to them.
" It will be my aim to make this journal acceptable as a family newspaper, and, to this end, the latest news, poetry, tales, agricultural affairs, and items of all kind will find a place in its columns. Believing that nothing tends more to the development of a county than a wide-awake newspaper, I shall endeavor to avoid the Rip Van Winkle style as much as pos- sible."
As a sample of Mr. Wilson's wide-awake style, we are over- tempted to copy the following from the local department of his first number of the Blade:
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" OUR DRAFT CORRESPONDENT .-- We have secured the ser- vices of one of the ablest writers of the age, at a salary of $25,000 per annum, to go West and correspond for the Blade from the Draft Regions. He will report weekly everything of interest that occurs among the numerous class of pilgrims who have so nobly taken their lives in their hands and-run away. If a rattlesnake should be so uncourteous as to take a nip at the heel of one of these devoted pilgrims; if a grizzley should chance to indulge in a breakfast of pilgram ham, or a Pen Perce fancy to a collation of draft steak, he will duly report. He has also another mission. We are somewhat related to the Digger Indians, and it will be the business of our correspond- ent to take steps to prevent any of the valient pilgrims from marrying into the nation of Diggers, as we are careful of our blood, and do not want to have it polluted by such interming- ling."
After publishing the Blade for about a year, Mr. Wilson sold the press and type to Melick, who took them to Waterloo, Black Hawk county, and printed the Waterloo Courier.
Soon after this the Blade was renewed by R. Crosby, who shortly afterwards associated with him Jas. H. Betzer. In December, 1867, Crosby sold his interest in the concern to H. (+. Curtis, and December, 1869, Curtis sold to A. T. Betzer. At this date the paper became a semi-weekly, in the firm of Betzer Brothers, and continues so to the present.
The Marion County Democrat (Knoxville) was first issued September 19th, 1865, by J. L. McCormack, from a press and type he obtained in Missouri. In his salutatory he said :
"It is the intention to make this sheet a welcome visitor to ยท the fireside of every household; to give instruction, to afford pleasure and enjoyment in the perusal of its columns, and, if possible, to bring about a little better understanding in the ininds of the people as to their true duties of neighborly citi- zenshin."
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After promising a fair share of its space to agricultural and mercantile interests, and also to the entertainment of the lovers of literature, he adds:
" In politics this paper will support the principles, and stand by the organization of the Democratic party. It acknowledges allegiance to none other, and will pay fealty to the behests of its regular organization alone.
" Believing that the safety of our republican institutions re- quires a return to the principles of the party that established the Union, we shall labor for the overthrow of the party now in power, and insist upon a return to the condition of things that existed before traitors endeavored to destroy the Government."
The Democrat is a large, well-conducted journal, and com- mands a liberal share of public patronage.
In March, 1867, another paper was started in Pella, called the Pella Gazette. It was printed in the Holland language, devoted to the interests of the Republican party, and edited by G. Van Ginkle. After running about eighteen months it was discontinued, and the press was purchased by Snow & Huber, a mercantil firm in Pella, who issued a monthly journal for the purpose of advertising their business.
In March, 1869, Messrs. Sperry and Baker, formerly of the Guthrie County Vidette. exchanged printing offices with W. G. Cambridge, of the Marion County Republican; and on the 20th of June issued the first number of the Iowa Voter, at Knoxville. In his salutatory the editor says:
" The Iowa Voter will be a radically Republican newspaper, working as best it may to further the cause of Republicanism and the welfare and progress of all advocating impartial suf- frage for the whole nation, and striving always to be a prompt and reliable medium of general and local news-in short, a live Republican newspaper.
The Voter has a large circulation, enjoys a large share of public patronage, and has rendered itself worthy the reputation of a good local journal.
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General History of the County.
On the 8th of January, 1868, a newspaper called " Copper- head " made its appearance in Pella, under the proprietorship of Bennett, McCully and Gamble. Owing to the novelty of its title, and the peculiar notoriety of one of its editors (Bennett) as a radical Democratic politician, its advent caused some sen- sation in political circles. The name was evidently chosen to offset the stigma intended to be fixed upon the Democratic party by the Republicans, when they gave it the name of a most poisonous reptile.
In his address " To the Public" the editor says in his well- known radical style:
" Our chief aim will be to make it a first-class Democratic paper, devoted to the interests of the great Democratic party and the masses of devoted, industrious, honest men who sup- port the Government, uphold its laws, and stand by its written Constitution, as expounded by the supreme judiciary of the land."
Only eleven numbers of the paper were published in Pella. In the last week in March it was moved to Ottumwa, Wapello county, where it is still published by McCully and Evans, McCully remaining at Pella to attend to the interests of the firm in this county.
During its publication in Pella it and the Blade waged a violent personal warfare, in which the moral character of the combatants was subjected to a rigid scrutiny. When the Copperhead took its departure for Ottumwa, the Blade came out with a roughly executed but amusing caricature of the event, representing a huge serpent borne partly on a hearse and partly on men's shoulders, followed by several mourners.
In the spring of 1870 the proprietors of the Blade, Demo- crat, and Voter entered into a written agreement pledging them- selves to the advance payment system on subscription, to begin on the first of June. At first this was thought to be a rather hazardous policy where the credit system had so long been the practice. But the new rule, though rigidly adhered to, has proved quite as successful as the publishers could have desired.
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CHAPTER XIV
Iowa Central University-Marion County Agricultural Society-County Poor House.
Among the public institutions that have been established in Marion county within the past few years, as evidence of her prosperity and enterprise, the three important ones mentioned above may be deemed worthy of special notice. And we regret our inability, owing to the lack of sufficient information, to give a more detailed history of them.
In the spring or summer of 1853, a society was organized by the Baptist Church, at Pella, looking to the establishment and endowment of a school there, to be called the Iowa Central University. The following are the names of the officers:
Faculty.
Rev. ELIHU GUNN, Rev. E. H. SCARFF, Prof. A. N. CURRIER, MISS S. J. STODDARD, MISS MARSE.
Directors.
President, E. GUNN ; Vice President, E. M. SCARFF; Treasurer, HENRY P. SCHOLTE.
Besides these there were about thirty trustees chosen. From their address, delivered at the fourth annual nfcetin .. we quote the reasons set forth for the location of this instit .: tion at Pella:
"The denomination, wherever its will has been expresse .. upon the subject, has always demanded a central location. Another location, provisionally made, was almost universally rejected in the state convention, and mainly on the ground
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that it was sectional in its location. And with the best rea- son. When almost all the other denominational schools were located on or near the line of the Mississippi river, why should we not take possession of the magnificent field left open to us in the central part of the State?
"Pella is situated within thirty miles of the geographical cen- tre of the State, in the immediate vicinity of the Des Moines river-the great channel of inland communication, and the centre of the commerce and manufactures of the State for all time; near, also, to the point where several of the great railroad lines which intersect the State are to converge, and in the very heart of the great coal field of the State, the richest, perhaps, in the world, and in one of the most beautiful and healthy por- tions of this or any other country.
"Combining all these advantages, it is yet far enough removed from any great centre of trade and commerce to have all the advantages of a quiet country location. Of the advan- tages of a country over a city location for a college, one of the most respected of the living fathers of our denomination, and one of the most experienced in such matters, in a recent pro- duction on the subject, wrote as follows:
""'Instead of farmers and other persons from the villages or country sending their sons to a great commercial city, into the vortex of commercial speculation, political excitement, fashion, frivolity and dissipation in every form, those families who desire, to preserve their sons from the contamination of city inter- course will send them to a college situated in a rural village."
"Such a village is Pella; quiet and retired, it is yet populous enough to secure all the advantages of good society, and near enough to the great thoroughfares of travel to be at all times easy of access. It is also noted for the quiet and orderly hab- its of its people, as well as for their moral and religious char- acter. To such a place parents can send their children with every assurance that their habits and morals will be safe."
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Large endowments were.secured: and, in 1856, a beautiful and commodious brick building was erected in the south-west part of the city, on ground donated for the purpose by Rev. Henry P. Scholte. It was, however, not completed till some time in 1857, and was first opened for the reception of pupils on the 1st of September of that year.
The building stands in the center of a beautiful park. The dimensions are 50 by 70 feet, three stories high, with a base- ment besides; contains fourteen rooms, including a large chap- el, a library and a museum, and is capable of comfortably accommodating three hundred pupils. Its entire cost was between $15,000 and $18,000.
In 1857, the report of the trustees announced the reception of an endowment of $50,000, in scholarships of $100 each, and the prospect of another large endowment soon to follow. The school has been well patronized with attendance and donations, and is in a flourishing condition.
In 1856 the agricultural interests of the county seemed to demand an organized plan for its encouragement, and to facili- tate the dissemination of such intelligence as might be useful in the various departments of the business. The only one cal- culated to effect the end desired, was to organize a society, appoint a time and place for a general meeting of the farmers, and award premiums for the best samples of live stock, grain, fruits, &c.
So the Marion County Agricultural Society was organized during the year above mentioned, and the first fair was held on the public square in Knoxville, in October. Only a few animals were exhibited, and, consequently, but few premiums were awarded. For the want of any other room for the pur- pose, the old court room was used as a floral hall.
The next exhibition, in Sept. of the year following, was held on the common a little west of town, where tables were set in
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the open air for the display of vegetables, small mechanical and artistic products.
These means of exhibition being totally inadequate to the increasing wants of the society, a joint stock company was formed in 1858, who purchased a beautiful plat of ground one mile north of town, and put it in sufficient repair for the use of the society that autumn.
Eight acres of the ground belonged to Drury Overton, and two to Thomas Clark, and were described as the north-east quarter of the north-east quarter of the north-east quarter of section (1) one, town (75) seventy-five, range (20) twenty.
The ground is beautiful and gently inclined south ward, in a natural grove well shaded, enclosed by a high board fence, pro- vided with a commodious hall, pens and stalls for the use of stock, and a good well of water.
The first fair was held in it in 1858. In June, 1870, it was deeded to the society. The fair in September of this year was well attended, and the finance of the society reported to be in a good condition.
During the last few years, previous to the robbery, the treasury was constantly subjected to heavy drafts upon the poor fund. From some cause or other the number of paupers seemed to have increased, and the expense of their support began to be looked upon as burdensomely heavy, particularly in the case of those who were invalids under the care of physi- cians. Some retrenchment in this department was deemed advisable, even at a considerable cost to start with.
Though it was known that many of those who were cared for at public expense, were worthy subjects thereof, it was yet supposed that not a few would prefer to make some effort to earn their own support than submit to the humiliating condi- tion of becoming inmates of a poor house.
So, in 1865, a movement was made by the board of super- visors, looking toward the purchase of a farm and the erection
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of a house to become the home of such helpless persons in the county as were otherwise homeless and friendless. A com- mittee was appointed to select a location and contract for its purchase, and in due time reported in favor of the west half of the north-west quarter, and the north-east quarter of the north-west quarter of section 14; and the west half of the south- west quarter of the north-west quarter of section 10, 120 acres, all in town 75, range 20, belonging to Elisha Elliot, and situated about two and a half miles south-west of the city of Knoxville. Cost $1,200.
The purchase of this land was made on the 15th of Dec., 1865; and in the spring and summer following, the whole of it was fenced and forty acres broke, part of it planted in corn and wheat, all at a cost of about $800.
The contract for building the house was let to the lowest bidder, and was awarded to Jacob Richards, in July, 1866, at $4,450. It is a large three story frame building, the basement story being fitted for a kitchen. The second and third are each traversed by a hall between two rows of rooms. Stables and other out buildings were added to the place some time after.
The contracts for overseer and physician were arwarded to John Robinson and Dr. Wetherell, under whose care the county poor were comfortably provided for in their new home.
The experiment proved quite a success. The number of paupers were greatly reduced, and the support of the remain- der so systematized as to make it much less expensive.
PART II.
TOWNSHIP HISTORIES
CHAPTER I.
Preliminary Remarks-Clay-Its Geography and Early History-First Birth, David Durham-Francis A. Barker, Thomas Young, G. G. Harsin- Weak Diet-A Little Adventure.
Having concluded what may be termed a general history of the county, we shall now proceed with a history of each town- ship separately, in which we shall feel more at liberty to insert events of a local character relating to pioneer life, together with the memoirs and adventures of a few of the most prominent settlers that first located in each township. Our ob- ject in doing this is not merely to preserve a record of the diffi- culties and hardships that attended the early settlement of our now wealthy and prosperous county, but also to preserve the names of those who dared and suffered, to open the way to the blessings we now enjoy, and who, therefore, as much deserve honorable mention in local history as do those whose deeds have embalmed them in the pages of national history. It is true, as we have already said, that their chief object was to se- cure their own pecuniary independence, and this object has, in most cases, been fully attained. Thus far they have their
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reward; but it must not be forgotten that, in their toilsome efforts to accomplish this, they have conferred a great benefit upon community at large; and for this we deem them entitled to the grateful memory of the people. The number of these old pioneers is now few, in comparison to what it was twenty years ago, and is so constantly diminishing that in a few years more they will have become even less than a remnant. Many have emigrated farther west; others are scattered in different parts of the State; whilst many more have gone to the repose of the grave, both in the county and abroad. Should they be forgotten when nothing more is needed to preserve their mem- ory for the instruction of future generations than this?
No regular township organizations were effected till the November term of the Commissioners' Court, in 1846. As we have already shown, the county was divided up into pre- cincts for election and judicial purposes. For these precincts twenty justices and constables were elected at the first regular election, September 5th, 1845. At that election the rule required that the twenty persons receiving the largest number ot votes of all the numerous candidates voted for, should be declared elected. This rule was necessary because there were no conventions held previous to election, for the purpose of making an organized choice of candidates, each elector choosing his own candidate on the day of election. We regret to say that we have been able to obtain the names of only a few of these officers.
CLAY.
This is a border township, occupying the center of the east side of the county, and numbers all of town. 75, range 18, lying south of the Des Moines river, and also that portion of town. 76, same range, on the south side of the river.
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