The History of Clinton County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, Its., Part 48

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 48

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).

Digitized by Google

409

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

the two cities might be united upon Block 8 as the site for county buildings, provided this block shall be donated by the Iowa Land Company for this pur- pose ; and provided further, to wit :

" First-That the city of Clinton will grade Second street, to the northern limits of the city, and also Block 8, to above high-water mark.

"Second-That the citizens of Lyons and Clinton will grant the right of way, to some company which shall be organized for that purpose, to construct a street railway on Second street, in Clinton, and Sixth street, in Lyons, between the depot of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway in Clinton, and Main street in Lyons, with the right of way for such extensions as the accommo- dation of the citizens may require.

"The Lyons members then stated to the Committee that, inasmuch as the citizens of Lyons had undertaken, with the people of Maquoketa and others on the line of the road, the building of the Mississippi, Maquoketa & Northwest- ern Railroad, and as the construction of such road would greatly enhance the prosperity of both towns and the entire county ; and inasmuch as the citizens of Clinton, in mass-meeting assembled, had intimated their willingness to aid in that enterprise, they asked that this Committee adopt a further proviso, that the citizens of Clinton subscribe at least $40,000 to the capital stock of said railroad company.

"The Lyons members further represented that such action on the part of the citizens of Clinton would promote harmony among the people of Lyons, and reconcile them to the concession of adopting said block as the site for the county buildings. This proviso was incorporated, subject to ratification, as follows:

"Third-That the citizens of Clinton shall subscribe $40,000 to the capital stock of the Mississippi, Maquoketa & Northwestern Railroad Company, and as much as possible, and use their influence to secure the immediate commence- ment and early completion of the work."

This action of the Joint Committee was indorsed by the citizens of Lyons.

Upon motion, the first and third resolutions above were ratified by this meeting of the 19th inst., and a committee appointed to canvass for subscrip- tions to the capital stock of the railroad, and the Joint Committee was con- tinued and empowered to appoint such committees as they deemed necessary to canvass the county for signatures to the petition for re-location of the county seat.

Public notice was duly given on the 3d of May that a petition would be presented to the Board of Supervisors, at their next meeting, for a re-location of the county seat. Up to this time, the opponents of the removal had taken little alarm, their firm opinion being, and perhaps with good grounds, that Clinton and Lyons would never so fully concede their grounds of difference and bury their animosities as to become faithful allies. Indeed, for a time the movement was seriously endangered through these very causes. Many citizens of Clinton demanded that the right of way for the street railway should be contingent upon the casting by Lyons of proportionately as large a vote in favor of the removal to Block 8 as might be cast by Clinton. This was a sort of " hostage " demanded for good faith, and must have provoked a smile of con- tentment over the situation upon the faces of the citizens of De Witt and her friends. That this should engender hot blood was natural, and the more cool and amicable heads in both communities found ample opportunity to exercise their talent in "pouring oil" upon troubled waters.

However, at a public meeting held May 14, the Mayor, by resolution, was requested to issue his proclamation calling a special election to have an Digitized by Google

1 i

410

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

expression of the citizens of Clinton upon this vexed question. The election was so ordered, and held on the 17th of May, 1869, and resulted in a favora- ble expression, the vote being 718 in favor of the immediate passage of an ordinance giving right of way for a street railway, and 189 votes opposed ; and on the 27th of the same month, the ordinance was passed. Thus the various differences between the two cities were harmoniously compromised, and the work of securing the required number of signatures was being rapidly pushed.

The opponents of the change now took alarm, and the county was alive with "colporteurs " soliciting signatures to petition and to remonstrance. The friends of the measure, however, secured the requisite number of signa- tures, and, at the June meeting, 1869, of the Board of Supervisors, presented the same for their action. The special committee to whom the matter was referred on the second day of the session, June 8, reported that they had examined the petitions for the "re-location of the county seat to and upon Block 8, in the North Addition to the city of Clinton, in said county," and found that 3,565 legal voters had signed said petitions as authenticated by the affidavits of credible witnesses, and that they constituted more than half of the legal voters, and recommended that their prayer be granted, and an election according to law, and the committee offered a resolution that, at the next gen- eral election, to be held on the second Tuesday of October, 1869, a vote should be taken upon the question, which was carried by the following vote: 19 ayes, 2 noes. The vote indicated that the opponents had resolved to accept the situation gracefully, and make a vigorous canvass before the people, and they did.

The campaign now opened with earnestness. Every argument pro and con that could be originated in the regions of fact or the realms of fancy, was hurled at the startled voters. Circular sheets supplemented the press until the county was thatched with these missives. Bonds, "deeds in escrow," and vari- ous other documents were brought, like heavy artillery, into position to batter down that strongest fortification, the fear of taxation. Visions of a $300,000 Court House were flashed over the county like the dissolving views of a camera. Pictures of a limpid sheet of water, labelled Block 8, with patient anglers sit- ting on its shores, told the story more strongly than words of what the new loca- tion would be.

Such an election was never before nor since held in Clinton County. Presi- dential contests were tame and flavorless compared with this. The result of the election was a majority of 511 votes in favor of the re-location of the county seat on Block 8, with a total vote of 5,817.

At the October meeting of the Board of Supervisors, the officers were ordered to remove their offices as soon as practicable. A,stock company was at once organized and funds provided by citizens of Clinton and Lyons for the erection of a suitable building for the use of the county, in order that the ses- sion of the District Court, set for November 21, might convene on Block 8. Plans were made by W. W. Sanborn, bids advertised for, and Mr. L. P. Hara- don awarded the contract on the 18th day of October, at the price of $3,200, the building to be completed within thirty days, and in twenty-three days after the date of his contract, he delivered the building complete for occupancy, and on the 21st day of November, the Court House was occupied by the first session of the District Court in Clinton.

This Court House was a neat two-story frame structure, 44x52 feet in size, and divided on the ground floor into offices for the Recorder, Clerk of the Courts, Auditor and Treasurer. The second floor contained the court-room,

Digitized by Google

LYONS

Digitized by

Google

.. ...

y Google

Digitized by

413

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

the jury-room and two smaller rooms for Sheriff and District Attorney. This building was furnished free of charge to the county for three years, was then rented of the stockholders, and was subsequently purchased by the county at about seventy-five per cent of its original cost. It has been repaired, and a fire-proof vault built for the use of the Auditor.

A fire-proof brick building was erected west of the Court House, 41x42 feet, and fourteen feet in the clear, and divided into two offices, one occupied by the County Recorder and the other by the Clerk of the Courts. This is a conve- nient and permanent building, erected at a cost of $5,000.

The jail and jailor's residence at De Witt are still occupied by the county, which has also a number of cells in conjunction with the city of Clinton in its building, for convenience in confining prisoners during court term. The old Court House is practically unoccupied.

To quote from the report of 1879, of the Board of Supervisors :

" The Board are happy to say that the financial standing of Clinton County is one of the best in State of Iowa, and we hope it will always continue so. Clinton County has been fortunate in not issuing any railroad-aid bonds like many other counties, creating a heavy load for their citizens to carry ; yet Clinton County has more miles of railroad than any other county in the State of Iowa. Neither have the people of Clinton County burdened themselves with debt by building a great, unwieldy, cumbersome Court House, and, although our present Court House is not a very permanent structure, yet it is more con- venient for the transaction of business than some more expensive ones ; and, since the fire-proof vault was constructed, the past year, the more important records of the county are safe. And, should the people of Clinton County come to the conclusion to build a new Court House, at the present prices of labor and material, they could build a better Court House and a handsomer one for $30,000 than any $100,000 Court House there is in the State, if the money is honestly and judiciously handled; and the county being possessed of 2,773 acres of land in other counties, this land might be sold for enough, or nearly enough, to build a Court House, without costing the taxpayers one cent. The county has a block in Clinton City of six acres, for county buildings ; the Poor Farm consists of 240 acres, the property of the county, and the county has 40 acres of land near De Witt, which it had to take on the foreclosure of a school mortgage."

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

The following sketch was furnished by one who was personally engaged with others in operating the underground railroad through Clinton County:

At the present time, hundreds of our intelligent citizens are ignorant of the significance or meaning of the term prefixed to this chapter. It is a strange thing, indeed, where subjects of interesting and thrilling narrative are so much in demand as at the present, that the history of the underground railroad remains yet to be fully recorded. The incidents connected therewith, and the results ultimately accruing from the operation of that secret yet power- ful organization, so closely interwoven with the vital interests of universal liberty in America, surely furnish a rich field in which to delve for genuine material with which to adorn the historic page. To thrill the heart and quicken the pulse of the eager student of the grand progressive movement of human liberty in the past, hairbreadth escapes, perilous journeys by land and water, incredible human sufferings, and all the various phases of misery incidental to an outraged and downtrodden people fleeing from an unjust bondage, are not wanting to form at once one of the most interesting chapters of a nation's historygle

414

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

At the time of which we write, embracing several years previous to the breaking-out of our civil war, a sad and disgraceful state of affairs prevailed with respect to the question of human slavery in the South. It was truly said by a celebrated writer of that time, that "the pulpit is muzzled, it cannot speak ; the press is fettered, it cannot move; the right arm of the law is manacled, it cannot stretch forth to maintain its own authority and supremacy !" From the pulpit came no warning note of impending national danger, or words of sympathy for the flying fugitive. The boasted free press of the North avoided the antislavery question and the underground railroad as unclean things, and branded their advocates and adherents as wild fanatics and dan- gerous agitators. Notwithstanding this disheartening condition of affairs, the managers of the underground railroad, in the meantime, conscious of the justice and nobility of their aims and objects, and regardless of the obloquy and social ostracism leveled at them by even those who should have been their friends, continued to pursue the very uneven tenor of their way; enduring abuse, vituperation and shame, besides subjecting themselves to the liability of hav- ing a heavy fine and imprisonment imposed upon them by an unjust law, in order that the higher law of love and mercy might be practiced and maintained, and that their enslaved fellows might be enabled to realize, though in a distant country, that liberty which they themselves enjoyed.

In order to show the condition of public sentiment with regard to the anti- slavery question in Clinton County, as elsewhere, the following incident will speak for itself. Mr. A. T. Foss, agent of the Massachusetts Antislavery Society, came to this county for the purpose of delivering a series of lectures, circulating antislavery tracts, papers, etc., and to create a better feeling for the cause in which he was engaged. After having lectured several times in Clinton, under, we are sorry to say, very discouraging circumstances, it was decided by the friends here that he should deliver one lecture in the thriving little town of Camanche, in hopes that a little antislavery leaven buried there might, perchance, leaven the whole Clinton County lump. Handbills were accordingly struck off and posted, and the Baptist Church there engaged for the meeting. After all necessary preparations had been perfected, Mr. Foss accompanied by Mr. Andrew Bather, a resident of Clinton, proceeded in a buggy hired for the occasion to that enterprising burg. Upon arriving, their astonishment and chagrin may be imagined when, although fully time for the commencement of the lecture, not a light was visible in the church or any signs of any one about the door who cared particularly about seeing one. Of course the sexton was immediately interviewed but with indifferent results, as he told them he didn't intend to open and light the church for a d-d Abolition lecture, not if he knew himself, and he rather thought he did. Somewhat dis- heartened, they proceeded to the hotel in hopes of finding parties there willing to assist in procuring a room and an audience to listen to the lecture. Their reception was decidedly warm-warmer in fact, than was at all comfortable. No sooner was the object of their visit made known than threats of personal violence were freely made, and a good deal of loud and angry talk indulged in at the expense of our two reformers. Judging from the burden of the uproar, tar and feathers seemed to be very important commodities in Camanche just then. As might be expected, our heroes "stood not on the order of their going," but went, glad to escape with a whole skin and unbroken bones.

Among the inhabitants of Clinton County, but very few were found willing to engage in the dangerous work of assisting in operating the underground rail- road. Some there were who favored the idea of immediate and unconditional

Digitized by

415

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

emancipation, and aided, by pecuniary means, in keeping the rolling-stock in motion : but few, very few indeed could be found with the disposition or the necessary courage to stand by the throttle or conduct the trains. Of the latter class, we recognize as the principal agent in the work, not only in the State of Iowa, but in every locality where their co-operation could be of any avail, the Quakers, or Society of Friends, one community of which sect was located near West Branch, Cedar Co., Iowa. Agents from this number were constantly on the alert, principally operating in the State of Missouri, running off, as opportunity offered, all the fugitive slaves they could find into this State. Such were picked up by one section of the road at De Witt, pushed through, chiefly at night, to Low Moor, thence to Clinton, at which place they were generally kept for a few days, to rest and refresh themselves, then taken across the river in a skiff, and afterward transported in a wagon to Union Grove, Whiteside Co., Ill. From the latter place, they were conducted by similar stages, until Lake Michigan was reached, where, at several ports, agents of the underground took charge of and secreted them until a friendly sailing-master appeared to take the weary fugitive on his last stage to a land of liberty.

The following is a partial list of the names of parties engaged on the "underground" in Clinton County : In De Witt, Capt. Burdette, Judge Graham and Mrs. J. D. Stillman ; in Low Moor, George W. Weston, Abel B. Gleason, B. R. Palmer, J. B. Jones, Lawrence Mix and Nelson Olin ; in Clin- ton, C. B. Campbell, Andrew Bather, J. R. Bather, G. W. Brindell, W. B. Star, T. Savage and H. Leslie. C. B. Campbell, of Clinton, George W. Weston, of Low Moor, and Capt. Burdette and Judge Graham, of De Witt. were, in reality, the prime movers in the enterprise of aiding and assisting, and helping forward such fugitives as were passed over the line. On them devolved the responsibility of having agents promptly at their posts, and of warning such of approaching danger, of procuring the necessary funds, conducting the cor- respondence, etc.

The following is a sample of the average correspondence :

Mr. C. B. C .: Low MOOR, May 6, 1859.

DEAR SIR-By to-morrow evening's mail. you will receive two volumes of the " Irrepressible Conflict," bound in black. After perusal, please forward, and oblige Yours truly, G. W. W.

By the peculiar wording of the correspondence, the receiver of the same . obtained a pretty correct idea not only of the number of fugitive slaves coming on the line, but also, very frequently, the age, sex and complexion of the same.

The slaves were generally carried from one station to another in the night- time, dark, cloudy nights being preferred-stations being from ten to fifteen miles apart. Some of the hunted race that passed through this county, how- ever, were so white as to require but little necessity for secrecy or concealment; such were easily cared for, and proceeded on their journey without much trouble. In one instance, two, a man and his wife, were being concealed in Mr. Bather's garret. A message was received from De Witt that the slave catchers were in hot pursuit. That garret being rather a suspected place in Clinton, in the eyes of the United States Marshal, it was thought advisable to have a "flitting" as soon as possible. Mr. Andrew Bather accordingly procured a covered family carriage, belonging to Mr. H. P. Stanley, and conveyed them to Lyons, pre- ceded by Mr. C. B. Campbell, who, in the meantime, had hired a skiff at a rather stiff price, and took them across the river. This was on Sunday forenoon, and the river full of ice. The woman had such a fair complexion that she could and did with perfect impunity represent herself as a free person and the owner

Digitized by Google

416

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.

of her own husband. Their passage over the river was a slow, tedious and very dangerous one on account of the moving ice, but they finally succeeded in reach- ing the other side in safety. Did the limits of the chapter permit, many sim- ilar instances might be described as having actually occurred.

In the city of Clinton, within a stone's-throw of the U. S. Marshal's res- idence, time and again were fugitive slaves concealed for days together. In the garret of a small frame building, near the corner of Sixth avenue and Second street, the residence at that time of C. B. Campbell, frequently were secreted large numbers of passengers by the underground railroad, waiting eagerly and nervously for the starting of the next train. Sometimes. for a change, they were kept for a few days in a cave used as a kind of cellar, in the garden belonging to J. R. & A. Bather, or in the garret of their house. Occa- sionally, the friends of the " underground " would meet by appointment at the home of Mr. Campbell, or some other rendezvous where the "chattels " were stored and waiting a favorable opportunity for shipment, to listen to their sad and eventful experiences-the manner of their escape, the sufferings they endured previous to striking the underground railroad, and to infuse new zeal and courage into their ofttimes sinking hearts against the trials and dangers, suffering and fatigue yet in store for them ere the end of their toilsome journey should be reached. Many a sympathetic tear was shed by the friends of the Anti-slavery cause on occasions like these-occasions which but added fresh fuel to the fire of liberty burning steadily in their hearts.

Among the last of the fugitives that passed through Clinton County, just before the war broke out, was a party which consisted of nine persons in all, comprising a man and his wife and their four children and three men. Twice, already, had the first-mentioned member of the little band made the attempt to free the wife he loved, and been unsuccessful. His third attempt had been suc- cessful to this point, and, judging from the determined air he wore, and the fact that he was thoroughly armed, the officials of the underground railroad thought that it would be rather an unhealthy piece of business for any one to attempt to hinder him on the balance of his journey. After a very brief sojourn in Clinton, the entire party were safely ferried over the Mississippi and carried on their way rejoicing.

This is, of course, but a brief outline of the history of the underground railroad in Clinton County. Enough, however, we hope, may be gleaned from its perusal to give the reader some idea of its character and operations. Some of its stockholders have passed over to the other side, the rolling-stock and fixtures have long since disappeared. Only one tie remains-the historic tie which binds the past to the present.

OLD SETTLERS' MEETING.

While attending a camp-meeting at Camanche, in the summer of 1868, Mrs. Jane Vincent Wilkes, a daughter of "Father Vincent," of whom much mention has been made in this work, and Mrs. John R. Pearce, who was Miss Hannah Ferguson, and who came here with the Hess family, met each other and talked over the "old times." Before separating, they resolved to make an effort for the re-union of the "old settlers." Mrs. Wilkes soon wrote the following poetical call, which was published in the Clinton Herald of August 22, and in response to which the formal call was made :

THE PIONEERS.

"More than forty years have passed away Since first we came to Iowa. For the broad prairies, where we might roam, We left our kindred and Eastern home,

Google

417

HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY. -

And made us farms on the prairie land, Where sod had never been turned by man. Far away it was from the civilized town, .

On the banks of the river of great renown- The broad Mississippi washed its shore, The red man was leaving, to return no more ; 'Twas beautiful ! Seem'd like a garden then, Waiting the plow of the first white men. For many a mile no house was seen, Only the waving grass so green- No wonder the Indian, when acting as guide To the first white man, who came to spy What beautiful land had this red race, Cried ' Iowa! Iowa ! This is the place !'- The white man's soul its beauty had touched- Answered the Indian with, " none-such, none-such."

"The slow, plodding oxen were ' horses' then, When they went anywhere, those women and men ; And when they would thresh out the wheat, The oxen did it with their feet. The grist was ground so far away That often it took more than a night and a day. When the time came 'round to hear the preaching, 'Twas the oxen they ' haw'd ' and ' gee'd' to the meeting. In the quaint old days of an older time, They worshiped God with a reverent mind. No schoolhouse or church had these folks then, Only the cabins of the pioneer men.

" Little by little they grew more strong ; The schoolhouse was made, where to teach the young. And proud were they when the brick was built, For it cost them denials; but the good was felt. There, many a prayer and word for God Was breathed by those now 'neath the sod. But some we know are living yet, Whose lives are good we can't forget.

" But time has made great change since then. There are plenty of homes and women and men, Houses and barns, bushes and trees, Now cover the ground where the grass waved free. The prairie is dotted all over with farms, While the grass and all its flowery charms Make way for the farmer to grow his bread, Where once the cattle and horses fed. They plow while sitting, three horses in team ; Some try to plow and thresh by steam ; They travel by railroad all through the land, Where once it was hard to go with a span.

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 48

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