The History of Clinton County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, Its., Part 44

Author: Western Historical Co , Western Historical Company
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 807

USA > Iowa > Clinton County > The History of Clinton County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, Its. > Part 44

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

380

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

A. B. Ireland, 1870 to 1874; N. A. Merrill, 1874 to 1879, and present incum- bent.

Representatives .- William E. Leffingwell, 1846 to 1848 ; James D. Bourne, 1848 to 1850; William G. Haun, 1850 to 1854; Joseph H. Brown, 1854 to 1856 ; George Smith, floating member from Cedar, Clinton and Scott, 1854 to 1856; Charles H. Toll, 1856 to 1858; Horace Anthony, Thomas Watts, 1858 to 1860 ; Nathaniel B. Baker, George W. Parker, 1860 to 1862; George W. Parker, John S. Maxwell, 1862 to 1864; George W. Parker, Samuel G. Magill, 1864 to 1866 ; B. R. Palmer, George W. Thorn, 1866 to 1868; Charles G. Truesdell, Aylett R. Cotton, Charles E. Leffingwell, 1868 to 1870; Aylett R. Cotton, Benjamin Spencer, Samuel H. Rogers, 1870 to 1872; James Van Deventer, George Rule, N. A. Merrill, 1872 to 1874 ; Edward Svendsen, Eben- ezer Dorr, Henry Muhs, 1874 to 1876; John A. Young, Edward H. Thayer, H. Horstman, 1876 to 1878; A. A. Gardner, J. A. Young, 1878 to 1880.

POLITICAL ECONOMY.

Had such great naturalists as Humboldt or Agassiz visited the Northwest before it was settled, it is possible that their contemplative eyes might have dis- cerned that the speedy settlement and comfortable habitation of the Iowan rolling prairies by civilized men, would depend upon the growth of industrial enter- prises, fed by raw material from the pine forests of Wisconsin. But, it is not at all likely that even the most prophetic ken would have foreseen the complexity and extent of the commerce to which the unpromising prairies of Clinton would owe an unexcelled prosperity. Many were the croakers, on the other hand, who scoffed at the idea of treeless prairies ever being profitably or thickly settled. " With what do you intend to build ?" said they, disdainfully regarding as insufficient the timber belts along the rivers. Few would have had the hardi- hood, even those then thought most sanguine, to have even imagined, much less prophesied the acres and square miles of log rafts, and leagues of lumber- loaded cars, destined not only for the people of Clinton County, but of the illimitable prairies beyond. Still less did any one dip "into the future, far as human eye could see," and dream that those houses would be warmed by coal from other prairies in Iowa or Illinois, or that the surplus products, the beef, pork, eggs and butter of those prairies, would find a market in Europe. Still less did any one dream that the creaking emigrant wagon would be superseded by through trains from sea to sea, or that these prairies would, before half a cen- tury had passed, echo to the clattering thunder of a train traversing the con- tinent in seventy hours.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of the man who roamed over the world, in search of a treasure really at his very door, is recalled and paralleled by the trains of emigrants that, during the years from 1840 to 1847, streamed across the river at the Lyons ferry, and passed westward further into the wilderness, and away from water communication, disdainfully driving over, or overlooking what are now the fairest prairie farms of Clinton County. Having left timbered sections, they were in search of locations near, or in the belts along the interior rivers. Little did they dream of the advantages the Mississippi was destined to offer in supplying building material and fuel from the great northern pineries. But even those pioneers who located in the prairies of Clinton County thought it necessary to also take up a timber claim, if possible. Many laboriously hauled therefrom, a distance of from two to fifteen miles, the materials for the first hewn or frame houses, and for fencing the first inclosures of land broken for seeding. But what was the result of these various surroundings and locations, in the

Digitized by

pogle

-----

- -...

-- --

381

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

view of an apparently acute and impartial observer, may be inferred from the letter of a tourist through the country, who, it is to be hoped, was not writing in the interest of any one who had prairie lands to sell. The letter appeared in 1855, in the Lyons Mirror :

Here is another conclusion that I have lately come to-that prairie farms look the best, and are the most profitable. I have come to this conclusion after traveling through several States. * * To illustrate this, and to compare the farmer of one part of the Union with * another, will the reader accompany me to look at a farm in the New England States ? There the soil will scarcely produce anything unless manured, and will not afford the farmer a living unless all work-the inmates of the house at the spinning-wheel or at some useful employment, as well as the father and sons in the field. This is so true, that the New England family has become noted for its industry and economy. It is not so with the farmers around me; they live in com- parative luxury compared with the former. Let us look at Pennsylvania. The soil there is richer than in Maine, and withal they have plenty of timber, a thing so greedily hunted by some that they sometimes pass by a valuable soil for it. A respectable farmer from Pennsylvania remarked to me this morning that he had come here to get away from timber; and well he might, for in Pennsylvania it takes one man's life to make a farm, and then he is called to leave it for others to enjoy. It is not so here. A man can make one in two or three years, and enjoy the benefits of it the remainder of his life.

This morning I started from Camanche, taking a westerly course toward De Witt. I came to one of the finest prairies I ever saw. It is spotted with groves, and plenty of springs of good water. The soil is a rich, black loam. The land is all bought, and mostly improved. In fact, the large fields and good frame buildings present the appearance of an old-settled country, although it is only three or four years since the majority of the farmers settled there. Yet I see a number of 80 or 160 acre cultivated fields that have yielded thirty bushels of wheat per acre, without manure. That is truly rich. The houses are good, large frame buildings, and painted. The barns and sheds have a neat appearance. The farm-yard is well stocked with cattle, sheep, hogs and horses, all of which they raise. The whole-even the fields-have a neat- ness almost equal to a gentleman's country residence. I do not think I have seen, anywhere, & more prosperous community of farmers.

Let us compare the prairie farms with those in the timber or oak openings. Everything about the latter has a meager appearance. The houses, outbuildings and fences look generally as though a botch-workman had been the only person who had done anything. The soil is about half-cultivated. The owners are of the poorer class, and not the best-informed. How does this compare with the prairie farm I have described ? The cause of the difference between these kinds of farms and their owners is, I think, easily accounted for. On the timbered farm, there is the material for making a house, outbuildings, fences, etc., so that, if the land is bought of Government, the purchaser gets, with the soil, the material for making a farm, at ten shillings per acre. Consequently, such is generally bought up by such of the first settlers as have little or no capital, but avail themselves of the pre-emption law. Such land requires almost endless labor to clear, but less capital to get along with, and, as labor is the poor man's only capital, perhaps such land is the best for him. If I have capital, give me prairie to make a farm out of, provided I get a grove sufficiently near to supply me with firewood. I am not the only one with these views. The moneyed farmer who comes West, by his actions says he is of the same opin- ion. I would advise such men, coming West to look for land, to travel through the country, as there is some fine prairie, which I presume can be bought at $4 or $5 per acre.

From the previous survey of the characteristics of the soil, climate and transportation facilities of Clinton and sister counties, it is readily perceived that they present an environment in the highest degree favora- ble to the evolution of an exalted type of humanity. Whether these natural advantages and bounties would have been equally improved had they remained within the grasp of the Frenchman or fallen into the hands of the Spaniard, may be greatly doubted. The great-souled La Salle and the iron-hearted De Soto had but few kindred spirits among their followers. Had such been the decree of destiny, the fair lands of Iowa would have been peopled by the sluggish and stupid counterpart of the French-Canadian-too indolent to catch the spirit of modern enterprise ; or, the prairies of the upper river might have been polluted by such a population as the degenerate Spanish of Cuba or Mexico. But a beneficent Providence ordained that the fruitful and well- watered garden and granary of the West should be had and held by the North- ern type of man, with whom individualism was the dominant sentiment, liberty

Digitized by Google

382

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

and self-government his strongest passions, and toleration his broadest creed. As the Hindoo Koosh Mountains of Central Asia were the cradle of the pro- gressive white races, whence they set out on a westward course, to diverge into the various nationalities of Europe, so the Mississippi Valley seems inevitably destined to become the home of these nations' manhood, where they will again converge and unify, soberly applying, in peace and tranquillity, the lessons learned during their stormy youth in Europe.

SOCIOLOGICAL.

The life of the early settlers, compared with the pioneers in Eastern for- ests, was quiet and uneventful. It has been well said, " Happy is the people that has no history," and the relative freedom of early Iowa from turmoil and adventure, was one of the principal causes of the rapidity and stability of its prosperity. The red man had vanished years before, leaving scarcely a relic behind, and never again to revisit his old haunts, such as the picturesque bluff above Lyons, except as an exile or captive. Perhaps social life would have been more intense had there been a common enemy to knit the settlers frater- nally together for the general defense. But none of them would have been likely to consider that a compensation for the "terror by night and the arrow that flieth by day," that on other frontiers afflicted the pioneers of civilization.

Nor were many popular amusements of the sections whence those came who first located in Clinton County thoroughly naturalized with them beyond the Mississippi. Many of the conditions of life were too completely changed. The fertile acres, with soil inviting the plow, prevented there being in any occasions for neighborly clearing-bees or log-rollings, as well as permitting settlers to improve larger claims. However, in the very earliest days, "raisings " were frequent and jolly occasions. Corn was so plenty that it would have been absurd to stack or house the stalks, so that the husking or "shucking " bee was rarely transplanted to Clinton County. But, in the winter time, social gather- ings were frequent and merry. Though many of the elders disapproved of dan- cing, the frolicsome juniors managed to console themselves with lively kissing games, so that, as the night wore on, the romping and the fun grew fast and furious, the evolutions of youthful feet more rhythmical, keeping time to vocal music in the absence of orchestral strains, till it became impossible for the most watchful observer to tell where " carrying-on " ended and dancing began. Dis- tance was nothing when a frolic was on hand. Spirited young men, and gay young ladies as well, thought nothing of riding a dozen miles to a sportive gathering. With it all there was a freedom from care, an absolute equality and freedom from snobbishness and hearty enjoyment of the hour's merriment, that those who participated regretfully aver are now absent from such gather- ings. And that idea is not an illusion, due entirely to the glamour of by-gone days, but is a fact due to the changed conditions of social life and the differen- tiation of even rural communities into classes.

To sketch the social development of a community requires the consideration of so many complex elements that any historian less brilliant than Macau- lay, Green or Taine may well pause before undertaking it. Especially must it be difficult to portray the changes in a peaceful community like Clinton County, where they have been almost imperceptible in their stages, like the growth of a tree or animal. There has been a visible development, not by leaps, but by a steady upward and forward movement. Without attempting an elaborate and full analysis of all the factors that have made Clinton County what it is, it is not unprofitable to examine some of the causes that have not

Digitized by Google

383

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

only made the county what it is, but have also given the family of Iowa com- monwealths to which it belongs, their distinguishing characteristics.

While the vast distances of the flat and rolling Western prairies cannot help affecting the human mind, the development of the American inhabiting them has been materially modified by other circumstances. The Spanish European who settled on South America's grassy oceans, the pampas or llanos of La Plata, has degenerated into the Guacho scarcely less savage than the Indian he has dispossessed, but whose habits he has acquired. A matchless horseman and master of wild cattle, he is incapable of progress. The wildness of nature and the isolated and roaming condition of his life have been too strong not to quench the desire for the habits and conditions of civilization; - so that the Argen- tine Republic is still a comparative wilderness, while the prairies of Iowa and the Northwest present the highest average civilization to be observed on the globe. Part of this is due to race, but, if such close observers and able philos- ophers as Prof. John W. Draper and H. A. Taine are to be trusted, man is as helplessly molded by nature and surroundings as metal by the die.

Had the tide of emigration been turned elsewhere, or cut off so that Clin- ton County for many years would have remained sparsely settled, and with an exclusively agricultural population, without markets for their surplus, or to supply their wants being accessible, residents could not well have helped suffer- ing the fate of other isolated and bucolic peoples to a certain extent, even though not sinking to the level of the South American, Boer or French Cana- dian. Happily, however, everything conspired to make the transition period of Clinton County from frontier to a fully-developed commonwealth as short as possible.

Had Iowa been settled many years before the introduction of railroads, so that several generations could have had time to grow up comparatively isolated, it is evident that in the sections remote from water communications would have grown up communities not unlike those who inhabit the inaccessible mountain districts of the South. But before the children of the pioneers had time to grow up, they were awakened by the tread of the locomotive, rattle of the printing press and the click of the telegraph, to take their position in the advance guard of progress. Iowa, and especially Clinton County, could not have been settled at a time more auspicious for being peopled not only by a prosperous and contented but an aspiring and cultivated people.

In the plain regions of the Old World and in South America, man has been dwarfed and depressed by the illimitable and monotonous expanse. Hence many of the characteristics of the peoples that inhabit the steppes of Asia, the bound- less southern plains of Russia. Indolence, sloth, conservatism there contrast with the reverse qualities in the counties of the Northwest. The railroad enabling man to scorn distance, is one of the principal reasons that the energy of the immigrant to the Northwest has been augmented rather than diminished. The general introduction of horse-power and steam farming implements has likewise contributed to the mental emancipation of the farmers of Clinton County, by releasing them from the thralldom of exhausting and excessive phys- ical labor to which their fathers were subjected, and made it possible for them to till an amount of land that would have been impossible for them to handle with hand labor. Few inventions have been more opportune than the reaper, threshing machine and improved plows. Had any of these elements been lack- ing, a plentiful food supply, a healthy and reasonably regular climate, cheap water and swift railway communication, abundant and cheap building material, labor-saving implements, abundant books and newspapers, the civilization of

Digitized by Google

384

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

this county would have been less complete. Or had these benefits not been realized and utilized by faithful, courageous and industrious men and women, undisturbed by foreign or domestic enemies, Clinton County would not in one generation have made such rapid advance toward the golden goal toward which enlightened humanity is ever pressing.

DOMESTIC LIFE.

, Compared with the pioneers in the forest regions of the East, or with those who have of late years occupied the treeless plains beyond the Missouri, the early settlers of Clinton County were exceptionally favored in their facilities for sheltering themselves. The abundant timber-belts along the numerous water-courses, referred to elsewhere, furnished material for many substantial log houses that sufficed till more commodious structures could be erected. These picturesque log houses were more numerous in the western than in the eastern part of the county, for the reason that, in the latter sections, pine lumber was much sooner and easier obtained from the'yards and mills on the river, and wrought into the earlier habitations. But much quicker than in most other sections of the United States, these primitive structures have been replaced often by stately mansions, in some cases as comfortably appointed as English manor-houses, and nearly everywhere by elegant and cheerful homes. In many cases, the old houses have been allowed to remain in mute and eloquent contrast with the new homes. To the older members of the family, those unpretending

old homes are full of sacred memories and tender reminiscences. Every nook and corner about them is filled with shadows and lights of the past wherewith " all houses in which men have lived and died are haunted." Inconvenient, cramped and rugged as they were, about them rests the halo of the fireside, the family altar, the cradle, and possibly the deathbed of dear ones. In verses of equal poetic inspiration and truth has one of America's most recent and popu- lar poets commemorated the associations that inevitably cluster about a dwelling which a passing stranger might not think as worthy of attention as a new cattle shed.

Probably there are few old settlers who did not echo the sentiments in Carle- ton's charming poem :

"Things looked rather new, though, when this old house was built, And things that blossomed you would've made some women wilt ; And every day, then, as sure as day would break, Our neighbor ' Ager' come this way, invitin' me to ' shake.'

" Look at our old log-house, how little it now appears, But it's never gone back on us for nineteen or twenty years ; And I won't go back on it now, or go to pokin' fun ; There's such a thing as praising a thing for the good that it has done. * * * * *

"Never a handsomer house was seen beneath the sun ; Kitchen and parlor and bedroom we had 'em all in one ; And the fat old wooden clock, that we bought when we came West, Was tickin' away in the corner, and doin' its level best.

"Trees was all around us, a-whisperin' cheering words, Loud was the squirrel's chatter, and sweet the songs of birds ; And home grew sweeter and brighter, our courage began to mount, And things looked hearty and happy then, and work appeared to count. * * * * *

" Yes, a deal has happened to make the old house dear : Christenings, funerals, weddin's-what hav'nt we had here? Not a log in this building but its memories has got, And not a nail in this old floor but touches a tender spot.

Digitized by

Google

385

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

" Out of the old house, Nancy, moved up into the new ; All the hurry and worry is just as good as through ; But I tell you a thing right here I ain't ashamed to say : There's precious things in this old house we never can take away.

" Here the old house will stand, but not as it stood before ; Winds will whistle through it, and rains will flood the floor ; And over the hearth, once blazing, the snow drifts oft will pile, And the old thing seem to be a-mournin' all the while.

" Fare you well, old house ! You're naught that can feel or see, But you seem like a human being, a dear old friend to me ; And we never will have a better home, if my opinion stands, Until we commence a-keepin' house in ' the House not made with hands.'"

To the housewife of these days, who, in her admirably equipped kitchen, re-enforced with all the helps presented to her by modern invention, and even where aided by a corps of domestics, is still "cumbered with much serving," it must always be a great marvel how the now venerable matrons of by-gone days accomplished their tasks, and still live, sprightly and vivacious. It may well be a wonder to the ladies of this generation how, without cooking-ranges or refrigerators, or the multifarious conveniences few kitchens or dairies are now without, they managed not only to feed their large families, with often a large force of hired men in addition, but also to rear and assist in making clothing for goodly numbers of sturdy children. However, the lot of the first citizens of Clinton County was fortunate in comparison with many in the coun- ties and States further westward. There was no positive suffering except of an accidental or unusual nature. Privation, except in possibly some rare and unreported cases, was unknown. The first crops were visited by neither drought, blight, or hail. Aided by the spontaneous products of the prairie, grove, and waters, even if they did not fare sumptuously every day, old and young throve apace, and waxed fat on the fruit of their own labors. For many years after the settlement of the county, such an object as a pauper was not known within its boundaries. As far as the average condition of its inhabitants, in regard to material comfort, was concerned, Clinton County, while still sparsely settled, was about as near a Utopia as the boldest social reformer would dare to hope for. It is a common remark among the older residents that they never lived better in their lives than they did in the early days of the county, before the dawn of railroad communication and the influence of travel and transient population. The river furnished a reasonably accessible market, and fish, flesh and fowl were supplied in abundance by the rivers, lakelets, prairie and timber ; prairie chickens, ducks, wild turkeys and deer replenished the larder, and strengthened the frames of the pioneers for their labors. There was never any lack of whole- some, if sometimes a rude, plenty. Blackberries, wild plums and crab-apples grew in spontaneous profusion, and furnished welcome luxuries till fruit-orchards and gardens could be planted and brought to maturity. With abundance of these, many of which would now be esteemed as the rarest delicacies, supple- mented by corn, milk, and home-fed pork, and appetites sharpened, digestions strengthened, and lungs expanded by the keen prairie air, it was small wonder that both elders and children were robust, families prolific, and there was much less sickness than is usual in a country where the original soil containing a mass of vegetable humus is being, after ages of repose, exposed to the decomposing influences of sunlight and air.

It is almost impossible to now comprehend the difficulty, at an early day, of procuring even the most necessary household utensils. Of course, for the first few years, fire-places were almost universally used; but, with the help of

Digitized by

ogle

386

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

tin or brick ovens, from their capacious recesses came forth the most appetizing roasts of which epicure ever dreamed, flanked by pies, bread and cake never excelled by the most famous metropolitan caterers. A broken dish could not then be replaced within a few minutes, and, accordingly, earthen and tin ware was cared for as if it had been china or silver. Culinary skill and "elbow-grease " atoned for the lack of the elaborate appurtenances that have since become so common as to be scarcely regarded. Washing machines, clothes-wringers and sewing machines were undreamed of, and their absence was supplied by increased strength and energy on the part of the female portion of the household. Too frequently was their task rendered unnecessarily arduous by the indifference of the "men folks " to providing proper facilities for lightening domestic cares. Water fre- quently had to be brought from too great a distance. In some cases, consider- ate husbands hauled it on sleds, in hogsheads, from limpid springs at some distance. The supply of firewood was too often in unmanageable shape, and brought in from the piles exposed to the weather by the women, heated by exercise and fires during cold and raw weather, a practice that indirectly laid many a blooming maid and useful matron prematurely in their graves. The spinning-wheel and loom were for years found in many houses, and the house- hold kept warm and dry by the industry of the mothers, wives and sisters.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The History of Clinton County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, Its., Part 44

Author: Western Historical Co , Western Historical Company Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 807

Author: Western Historical Co , Western Historical Company
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 807