USA > Iowa > Marshall County > The History of Marshall County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men etc > Part 47
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90
DISTRICT COURT .- APRIL TERM, 1860.
THE STATE OF IOWA, ex rel. Mandamus.
U.s. THE COUNTY JUDGE OF MAR- SHALL COUNTY, IOWA.
Demurrer.
Comes now William Battin, County Judge of said county, and demurring and excepting to the alternative writ of mandamus heretofore issued in this cause, says he ought not to be required to obey the mandate of said writ, and for cause thereof showeth the court the following :
Ist. That said writ commands defendant to perform an act which the law does not specially enjoin as a duty resulting from an office, trust or station.
2d. The law does not require the defendant to relocate the county seat of said county, and the prayer of the petition mentioned in said writ could not be granted by defendant.
3d. Said writ is not issued upon information ; or, if so, the informant is not made known to defendant by said writ.
4th. Said writ is misdirected, in that it issues to the County Judge, who is not authorized to perform the act required by the mandate of said writ.
5th. Said writ requires defendant to make an order for election not conformable to the prayer of the petitions referred to in said writ, in that said petitions are alleged to have asked for a vote on the first Monday in April. A. D. 1860, and said writ commands defendant to order an election in April, A. D. 1861.
6th. Said writ does not show that any petition, such as is required by the law of 1855 on the subject of relocating county seats, was ever presented to defendant, praying an order such as is required by the mandate of said writ.
404
HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
7th. Said writ commands the County Judge to do what could only be done by the County Court.
Sth. There is no law authorizing a vote on the question of relocating the county seat of said county.
0th. There is no April election now authorized by law, and the County Judge is not authorized to appoint an election for the purpose designated in the mandate of said writ.
10th. The writ seeks to control the discretion of a judicial officer, acting in a judicial capacity.
11th. Said writ commands the defendant to perform a judicial act in a particular manner.
12th. Said writ shows upon its face that the County Court has acted and determined the questions referred to in said writ.
13th. Said writ shows that by the finding of the County Court an actual majority of the legal voters of said county remonstrated against an order for a vote on the question of relocating the county seat of said county. as prayed for by the petitioners, and therefore,
14th. Said writ shows that the prayer of said petition ought not to have been granted, and it cannot now be granted.
15th. Said writ expressly declares that the relator-whoever he may be-and the citizens of the county of Marshall, have no plain, speedy or adequate remedy at law ; and, therefore, he and they are not entitled to the writ.
16th. If the relator, or any person aggrieved by the decision of the County Court, have any remedy, it is by appeal of writ of certiorari. WM. BATTIN, By H. C. HENDERSON, County Judge.
His Attorney.
The Court sustained the demurrer, and the counsel for the people took exceptions thereto, but the case was never taken to the Supreme Court.
Thus ended the county seat contest, which had extended over nearly a decade of the history of Marshall County. No effort to renew it has ever been made, and Marshalltown may rest safely on the numerous laurels she has won.
When the county seat was finally given to Marshall, many of the most active men removed from Marietta and cast their fortunes with their whilom rival.
Among those who are still living in Marshall are James L. Williams, John Turner, William H. Weatherly and H. E. J. Boardman.
Judge Smith removed to his farm on Timber Creek, and, three years ago, to Albion, where he still resides.
Judge Battin is living on his farm near Liscomb.
The feeling which so long controlled the men of Marshall County is fast dying out. The greater number accept the theory of Aaron Burr, "There is no use repining over the inevitable," and join in the development of the enter- prising city of Marshall.
MARIETTA.
Let us approach this village with heads uncovered, and for a moment stand in silence, as before the dead ! There is something pitiful in the record here transcribed. It is the story of that which was, yet is not ; of a village which might have been.
It was not written in the book of Fate that Marietta should hold dominion over the lovely region of Marshall County, and the hand of the destroying forces have wrought sad changes where hopeful minds conceived bright possi- bilities.
There is an air of desolateness about the ruins of the little town that strikes one like a chill blast, as one gazes on the scene once busy with ambitious life. The bright sun could not dispel the atmosphere of solitude as we drove through the deserted streets and paused upon the spot where hostile men stood in crude but desperate array.
405
HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
Here, where the corn grows highest and promises a rich harvest of golden grain, the Court House stood. There, where the trench still breaks the even- ness of the prairie sod, the Marshall soldiers awaited the grim order to assail the weak fortress of the county. Yonder, half hidden by the waving fields of corn, stand the homes of the several participants in the struggle that so nearly terminated in bloodshed.
There is no air of idleness or decay on the fertile farms of Robert Timmons, Martin Braddock and Jacob Whealan, but we cannot help speculating on the might have been, as we rest in the shades of the enormous stacks of hay and grain that are piled up in the very center of the village limits.
The "corner lots " fronting the " public square " are given over to the use of cattle, and where there might have been high blocks of handsome stores, there are the unpoetic pig-sties and the appurtenances of a farm yard. The large farm house owned by Mr. Timmons stands on the corner opposite the "park," and just across the street is his immense barn. These buildings show the prosperity of their proprietor, but they mock the weather-stained, preten- tious buildings that have survived the shock of time and disaster. Mr. Tim- mons turned from town to country life, with that philosophic determination to succeed, which proves his shrewdness, and his bravery to fight fate as well as invading forces.
We step across the street from this home of comfort, and pass the park. There, in a central location, stands the post office, a little building, covered with brilliantly colored circus posters, displaying men and women in all sorts of impossible attitudes, and imparting to the dilapidated structure the appearance of trying to be gay in spite of its broken windows and dusty floor. A pane of glass is gone, and we gaze through the aperture at the official array of lettered boxes within. The Postmaster is at home, for there is little need of his await- ing the coming of an applicant for mail. A few letters and papers still repose in sleepy quiet in their appropriate receptacles, as though they contained no startling intelligence to shock their sometime readers, and were thankful for it. A stray urchin rushes by us, the only sign of human life upon the streets, and manifests his free, American spirit by tearing the circus-bill equestrian, who stood so defiantly an instant before, in a most shocking manner. Satisfied with his work of destruction, the boy runs away and hides himself behind a barn.
We continue our ride across the village plat, and pause before the door of the venerable Postmaster, who, with his good wife, greets us cordially. Mr. Jacob Randall was one of the first to locate on the charming site, and still retains his early admiration for the place. Well he may do so, for Marietta was a lovely spot, and still is pleasing to the eye, despite the gloomy air which so affects a chance observer. This disturbing sensitiveness the worthy Postmaster does not possess, for he has seen the gradual change occur and has become accustomed to cach trifling phase. As they relate to us the history of the con- test, and point out the several scenes of action, we feel that, had all been imbued with the spirit manifested by Mrs. Randall and her friend Mrs. Crow, the termination of the day's conflict might not have been so peaceful as it was.
We see the former homes of Thomas B. Abell, William Dishon, J. L. Will- iams, Jacob Holland, John Robbins, Edward Hall, W. C. Smith, Richard Lackey, Thomas Greener, Israel Griffith, John Miller, Lot Holmes, Joseph Mills and others whose names are associated with the place and times. Many of the houses have been torn down, while the old Court House was removed to Marshal! and transformed into a less prominent building, as though to add to the degradation of the memorable pile.
406
HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
Now we are passing a cottage that once must have been a constant delight to the proprietor and a source of pride to the town. A well constructed fence, of neat design, surrounds the yard, but the hand of the careful owner no longer trims the vines or prunes the shrubs which thrive luxuriantly therein. A grape clambers recklessly about and seems to be endeavoring to get away from the place. Trees cast a shade as deep as twilight over the ground. Wild bushes and weeds lift up their heads in open defiance of right, and rejoice at their undisturbed possession of the garden.
The streets of the town present the appearance of an unkempt country road. The whole place is neither village nor farm-it is that strange combination of life in death. Thrifty farms and spacious buildings crowd out the tumbling residences of by-gone days.
Let us glance backward at the times when Marietta promised to become the leading city of the region.
The first entry of land in the vicinity of the town of Marietta, as it is now defined, was made by Dr. E. B. Bush, June 23, 1848. The quarter section chosen by him was the southeast quarter of Section 34, Town 85, Range 19, just south of the Iowa River, but across the north line of Marietta Township, in Bangor. That entire section was included in the precinct of Minerva Creek, at the first election in 1849. Mr. Sherman, his brother-in-law came with Dr. Bush and located in the neighborhood of the first claim, but no record of land purchase is made.
Among the first settlers in the vicinity of Marietta were Reuben Rosseau, Dr. O. P. Hixson. Alexander Crow, William Peterman (who was probably one of the very first to settle), Mr. Coddington, Chester Brackett, Mahlon Wood- ward, Thomas Wimberly, Martin Braddock, Richard Lackey. In the year '51, William H. Weatherly settled in that town.
John B. Hobbs located in what is now Iowa Township in 1850, and in 1851. William Dishon moved to a point just north of the village site, and expressed a determination to lay out a town there.
Under the code of 1851, John B. Hobbs was elected County Judge, and in the early Fall of that year, the Commissioners appointed to locate the county seat, chose the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 18, Town 84, Range 18, and the cast half of the southeast quarter of Section 13, Town 84, Range 19, as the most desirable site.
John B. Hobbs and Isaac Dawson immediately entered these lands, which were public domain at the time of their selection by the Commissioners, and platted a village thercon. The owners recorded their plat October 11, 1851. John Mills Barnard was the surveyor.
One-half of the village was deeded to the county by the owners, as is shown by the following deed.
DEED.
For the consideration of $200. we, John B. Hobbs and Isaac Dawson, of Marshall County and State of Iowa, do hereby convey to Marshall County, in the State aforesaid, the following described tract of land, situated in the Town of Marietta, the county seat of Marshall County, in blocks and lots as follows :
Block 2 and Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Block 3; Lots 7 and 8 in Block 4; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Block 5 ; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Block 6; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Blocks 7, 8 and 9; Lots 3, 4, 7 and & in Block 10; Lots 1, 2, 5and 6 in Block 11 ; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Block 12; Lots 1, 2, 5 and 6 in Block 13; Lots 1, 2, 5 and 6 in Blocks 14, 16 and 18; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Block 19; Lots 3. 4, 7 and 8 in Block 20; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Block 21; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Block 22; Lots 1. 2. 5 and 6 in Block 25 ; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Block 26; Lots 1, 2, 5 and 6 in Block 27; Lots 9. 4, 7 and 8 in Block 28; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Blocks 29, 31 and 33; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Block 34: Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Block 35 ; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Block 36; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in
JAS. L. WILLIAMS MARSHALLTOWN
409
HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
Block 37; Lots 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Blocks 38, 39, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 and 54, all on the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 13, in Township 84, north of Range 19 west ; and on the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 18, in Township 84, north of Range 18 west, to have and to hold the same unto the second part, and its assigns forever. And the above premises is conveyed clear of all incumbrance, except one-half of the expense of surveying the said town of Marietta, in which the foregoing lots and blocks do lay. And we warrant the title against all persons whomsoever, and Emily Ilobbs, wife of said John B. Hobbs, and Sarah Dawson, wife of said Isaac Dawson, do hereby relinquish all their right and claim of dowry in and to said prem- ises. as witness whereof the said John B. Hobbs and Emily Hobbs, and Isaac Dawson and Sarah Dawson have hereunto set their hands and seals, April 6. A. D. 1852.
JOHN B. HOBBS. ISAAC DAWSON. EMILY HOBBS. SARAH DAWSON.
In presence of Jabob Hanser and Martha Dawson.
STATE OF IOWA, MARSHALL COUNTY, SS. : Before me, Jacob Hauser, Clerk of the District Court of the county and State aforesaid, personally appeared the above named John B. Hobbs and Emily Hobbs, his wife, and Isaac Dawson and Sarah Dawson, his wife, personally knowing to me to be the identical persons whose names are subscribed to the above conveyance as grant- ors, and acknowledged the execution of the same to be their voluntary act and deed.
Given under my hand, this April, 22d day, A. D. 1852. JACOB HAUSER,
Clerk of the District Court of Marshall Co., Iowa.
Mr. Dishon was induced to locate in the village, and there opened, in 1851, a general store, which was the second mercantile venture in the county. The first store was opened in Le Grand, by James Allman, in 1850.
The succeeding stores were conducted by Thomas Darlington, Peter and Edward Collins, J. B. Thomas, Henry Crow, Chester Brackett, C. Tomlinson, Alfred Cummings, John Anson, Letchey Brothers (furniture) and John Turner (hardware). Dr. Whealen opened a drug store at an early date.
William Dishon's log house was the first one erected. The Court House, which figures so largely in this history, was the first frame building put up in the limits. Alexander Crow, who was the contractor, hauled the materials from Iowa City and Muscatine.
Mr. Hobbs never lived in the village, but resided on what is now known as the Swearengen farm, near Albion.
The first religious services were conducted in 1851-52, by Father Dunton, of the Methodist Episcopal denomination, who acted as missionary in this region. The first school was taught by Hon. Delos Arnold, in 1850. Dr. Whealen was the first responsible physician in the town in 1853, although Dr. Atwater prac- ticed there prior to that time. Dr. W. B. Waters and Dr. Winterstein were located in the place at a later period.
The legal profession was represented by H. E. J. Boardman, Delos Arnold, Loring Brown, Thomas J. Wilson and J. Crookham.
The first established Pastor was Peter Collins, who came in '52.
There were church societies formed by the Methodists, Christians, Disciples, Baptists, Quakers and Roman Catholics, but full histories of these organiza- tions cannot be obtained. The records, if any were kept, have long since passed out of the knowledge of man.
Alexander Crow opened the first tavern; and shortly afterward, A. L. Hall, now of Marshalltown, and William Shively kept public houses.
Among the first artisans in the place were : Alexander Crow and John Bai- ley, carpenters ; Elias Wolohan, blacksmith ; John Turner, tinner; James Geitzey, furniture maker; Thomas Greener, shoemaker; John Lodge and Henry James, wagon makers.
The post office was established in 1852, with William Dishon as Postmaster. The present incumbent has filled the office honorably for twenty years, or there- abouts. His present term of service is over sixteen years.
G
410
HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
In 1852, we find the names of Lot Holmes, Jesse Amos and William Marsh figuring in the history of the place. It was in this year that George Atwater moved to Marietta.
The following year, 1853, is the date of the inception of the struggle which ended in the death of the town. The resignation of Judge Hobbs, in the Fall of '52, and the sale of his interest in the town to William Dishon, withdrew his name from the exciting events of the next eight years.
Atwater. by virtue of the office of Prosecuting Attorney, to which he had been elected shortly after his arrival, became Judge of the County.
The account of the contest for supremacy between Marietta and Marshall is given a separate chapter, and need not be recounted here.
In 1853, Judge Smith took up his residence in Marietta; and subsequent to that, the Williams family moved to the county and located at Marietta. Mr. J. L. Williams became one of the leading men in the fight. Mr. H. E. J. Boardman was one of the foremost men of the place. Mr. Delos Arnold took no minor part in the drama.
The history of this town is practically the history of the county seat war, after the year 1853, and an attempt to reproduce the personal experiences of those who lived there would be to commit the folly we have all along sought to avoid, that is, the error of awakening unpleasant memories of the past.
All who engaged in the scenes of those days have agreed to bury the hatchet, perhaps with regret at individual losses, for that would be but human, but still with a genuine determination to work for the interests of the county.
Let us, then, ring down the curtain on Marietta, and turn to the more pros- perous city of Marshalltown and to the county generally.
RAILROADS.
The railroad history of Marshall County forms an interesting chapter, inas- much as this question, like nearly all others of a public nature, is more or less involved in the greater one of the county seat location.
No sooner was Marshall County endowed with life, by the settlement of en- terprising men upon its fertile lands, than the attention of the more active minds was turned to the securing of rail communication with Eastern markets. When the need of postal and market advantages was realized, strenuous efforts were made to procure the survey of a line east from Marshall County, as a con- tinuation of some one of the main lines to Chicago.
Marietta, which not only possessed the county archives and was the estab- lished seat of justice, locally, but which even aspired to the dignity of being the State capital, was successful in getting a preliminary survey for a railroad run - to her, before Marshall was able to check the movement.
The Iowa Central Air Line Railroad was sprung into life through the be- stowal of publie land grants by Congress, and was designated as the corpora- tion to construct an east and west road through the State, as near as practicable on the forty-second parallel. In addition to the Congressional subsidy, private and municipal aid was pledged, by interested parties, to this company, and success seemed certain.
The opposition between Marietta and Marshall naturally provoked an in- tense rivalry on the subject of this railroad project. If Marietta obtained the road, the hopes entertained by Marshall of one day depriving that town of the county seat would be forever blighted. We find, therefore, a vigorous spirit.
411
HISTORY OF MARSIIALL COUNTY.
manifested by Marshall against the Air Line Road, shortly after the promulga- tion of the scheme.
Marshall turned her attention to Cedar Rapids as the point most likely to co-operate with her, and through the instrumentality of G. M. Woodbury, gained the confidence of such men as Judge Greene, John Weare and others.
The Marshall County Times lifted up its voice in advocacy of some plan to defeat the Air Line and thwart Marietta.
In 1858, the proposed road showed signs of weakness, and was openly de- nounced as a swindle. Efforts were made to bolster it up and retain the grant, but the main purpose was carefully avoided by the manipulators of the funds, and the public became disgusted with the policy of the corporation.
Early in '59, it was proposed to induce the Legislature to transfer the fran- chise of the Air Line to a corporation to connect with the Chicago, Iowa & Ne- braska Railroad, which had reached Cedar Rapids from the Mississippi and opened up communication with Chicago and the East.
Every inducement was offered by Cedar Rapids to obtain the formation of a new company, which was to have the rights of the Air Line, and be a practi- cal extension of the C., I. & N., and intersect the Missouri traffic on the west- ern boundary of this State.
Marshall joined heart and hand in this plan, for it not only made her the railroad town of the county, but also killed, at one blow, Marietta and the Air Line Road.
On the 11th of May, 1859, a convention was held at Marshall, at which the following resolutions were adopted :
WHEREAS, We, the delegates representing the sentiments and interests of the people of the counties of Linn, Tama, Marshall, Boone and Greene, in the State of Iowa, on the subject of railroads, are duly impressed with the importance, not to say absolute necessity, of railroad connection with the East, and deem it to be our duty to extend our sympathies, support and confidence to any company or organization which promises to give us the benefit of an Eastern railroad connection in the shortest practicable space of time ; and
WHEREAS, The long cherished hopes of our people in the success of the " Iowa Central Air Line Railroad Company" have been utterly disappointed, and there no longer remains any reason for expecting the fulfillment of the pledges of that faithless organization, and the conditions on which the munificent grant of lands was ceded to it ; and,
WHEREAS, The Chicago, Iowa & Nebraska Railroad Company, by the energetic, economical and successful management of their affairs, have evinced the capacity andintegrity of its direct- ory, and forced us to a confident reliance on its entire ability to carry forward its plans with characteristic promptness and regard to the wants and expectations of the public ; now there- fore, be it
Resolved, That all the interests, present and prospective, of the tier of counties in Central Iowa, running west from the Cedar River, on the 42d parallel of latitude, demand a railroad on or near said parallel, and that we hereby pledge the hearty co-operation of the people in said counties to such an enterprise.
Resolved, That we have lost all confidence in the capacity and integrity of the " Iowa Central Air Line Railroad Company :" that its reckless mismanagement, the corrupt and extravagant expenditure of its funds, the imbecility of its directory and plan of operation, and its entire failure to meet the just expectations of the people along the line, and comply with the conditions on which the "land grant" was ceded by the State to said company, all combine to drive out the last reasonable hope in its future success, and its power to confer any, even the slightest, benefit upon those for whose benefit particularly said land grant was ceded to it.
Resolved, That we believe that sheer justice to the counties west of the Cedar River, in which the lands heretofore ceded to said " Air Line Railroad Company" lie, demands at the hands of the legislative authorities of the State a transfer of said " land grant " to a more efficient organization, under proper restrictions guarding the interests of said counties in said " grant."
Resolved, That we have the utmost confidence in the directory aud management of the "Chicago, Iowa & Nebraska Railroad Company," inspired by the eminent success which has crowned their efforts in constructing their road from the Mississippi to the Cedar River, a dis- tance of 82 miles, in these times of unparalleled commercial and financial depression.
Resolved, That if said last named company will take hold of the project of extending their line west from the Cedar River, as indicated in the first resolution above, we deem it expedient
412
HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
and proper, and we ereby recommend, that the " land grant" be transferred to said company to aid in the construction of such extension ; but in case said company should decline to enter upon said project, then we recommend the early organization of a new company to carry forward substantially such design by constructing a road west from the terminus of the "C., I. & N. R. R." on the Cedar River, and transfer of said "land grant " to such new company.
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.