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 51
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A blackberry hunt was the occasion of a comical mishap to Mrs. Willigrod, of Marshall. She and Mrs. Bissel and a few others started out one day with a team on a little excursion, with Mr. Pratt as driver. They were going for the blackberries on the other side of the river. Mrs. Willigrod put on a pair of her husband's boots as a safeguard against snakes. On arriving at the river, they all seated themselves in a canoe. Mrs. Willigrod in the stern. In crossing the stream, they amused themselves with laughing and singing, and the rest splashed water upon Mrs. W., she retaliating in kind as best she could. But as the boat touched the opposite bank, she felt an irresistible desire to have the last spatter-supposably from the same instinct that prompts a woman to have the last word-and she rose in the boat to give them a final baptism. As she did so. she fell back into the river, boots and all. It was very funny, but came near being very serious, for she sank twice before the stupefied Mr. Pratt could rescue her. The wetting satisfied the party for that trip, and they returned without waiting for the blackberries.
At Mr. Robinson's, in Timber Creek, they had a quilting, the gentlemen being invited with the ladies. The dinner pot was boiled out-of-doors over a chunk fire, and the guests, excepting the quilters, sat on the wood pile and other rude seats outside, to wait until the feast should be served. This con- sisted of boiled ham, corn bread, good coffee and wild fruit ; and, after supper. they shook the quilt over the prettiest girl, who blushed scarlet. She is now a wife and the mother of seven boys.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
Dr. Whealan's family, of Marietta, lived with good cheer in a house mostly furnished by the work of his own hands. They had three-legged stools, splint- bottomed chairs, a shoe box for a cradle, and a dry goods box for a buffet. If the reader does not know what a buffet is, we will explain that in those days it was a cupboard where a tidy soul could not only store all her dishes, but could also find a corner for her fine-tooth comb and bottle of hair oil-two very essen- tial things in arranging a coiffure then, when such frizzes as are worn to-day
would have suggested Bedlam. 3 Well, Mrs. Whealan's dry goods box made a very comfortable buffet. And otherwise she had the ingenuity of a truly hospitable woman. She entertained twenty-two persons in her cabin for a while; but in order to do it, at night the cradle, chairs and table were set out-of- doors to make room for the beds on the floor. Partitions were improvised from overcoats and dresses, and amiability must surely have ruled where the comfort of others was the aim sought, at so much personal inconvenience. At this time, there was a great scarcity of milk and butter, owing to the fact that the cows were not properly cared for. For months, the Whealans were without, and Mrs. Whealan, writing to a friend in Ohio, said: "The cows in Iowa do not give milk, for I have tried all belonging to the neighbors, and they were dry."
Women felt then, as now, as if they had some rights, and they were by no means slow in asserting them. In Le Grand, in 1856, a saloon was opened, which so aroused the indignation of the ladies that they determined to shut it up. A party of nine sallied out on the mission, and though Mrs. Hiram Ham- mond confessed afterward that she "made very awkward work in handling the ax on the barrel heads," yet they seem to have accomplished what they under- took. The next day, Samuel Hoffman (a bachelor, as ironical fate would have it), set out to capture the fearless nine, to bring them to justice. Some had gone to Tama on a visit; others were out of sight in cellars and stables; and it is said that Hoffman swore it was the hardest day's work he ever did, trying to capture those girls. Finally, it fell through by default, and the women were victorious, upheld, too, by an overwhelming public sentiment.
In other ways they testified their ability to do men's work, or better. Mrs. Myers, of Washington Township, hired help to do the housework, and with a bloomer dress made of bedticking, hauled wood, drove a reaper or sulky plow, and was one of the best managers in the county. She was known to go to Iowa City for a load of lumber, accompanied only by her little boy, camping out, boiling her tea-kettle by the roadside, and taking care of the team herself.
When the Starrys came into this same township, the daughter, Mary, walked nearly all the way and drove the cows before her. It was well that they had flour for a year's use, for it was one hundred miles to the nearest mill.
Courtship and marriage are, by far, the most entertaining and important themes to women, and a wedding was an occasion of, the greatest jovialty and merry-making to these Western dames, in their very practical and working-day life.
Miss Ballard was the first bride in Iowa Township, and was married in the Spring of 1850. We may state, en passant-for it is of no material impor- tance-that the groom's name was Almarion Gear, and that Andrew Jackson Smith was the Justice who performed the ceremony. The quaint license is still to be seen among the county papers.
The wedding was a jollification in which they carried the fun to the limit of tucking the bride snugly up in bed, and laughing at her discomfiture. A boun- tiful supper is remembered as not the least pleasant feature of the affair. Per- haps they had pounded or cracked corn for refreshments (we can only suppose,
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
since what they did have is not on record), which always served to provoke a good deal of merry rivalry as to whose teeth were the strongest iu crushing the. tough kernels ; or perhaps they had crab-apples stewed in sorghum syrup- another delicacy, which had two merits : the sorghum had of itself such a pow- erful flavor that it quite deadened the pucker of the apples, and the apples were so fearfully sour and astringent that they went a long way toward neutralizing the sorghum. At any rate, whether these were a part of the menu or not, we do know that all had a good time.
The difficulties that lay in the way of courtship then, as always, were disre- garded.
At one time, Mr. Greer, a widower, of Timber Creek, went to Jack Brad- dy's to pay his addresses to a young lady who lived there. It was only eight miles away, and it is supposable that the wings of Cupid helped the swain along, for the distance was as nothing.
When he got there, being in some doubt as to the state of his inamorata's feelings, he whispered to Jack Braddy, "Do you suppose she'll set ?"-mean- ing that if she would set with him he could feel certain of being looked upon with favor.
But with the sound of feasting comes also the voice of mourning. In the year 1855, a family of the name of Hoppin settled in Jefferson Township .. The husband had been a dry goods clerk in New Jersey, and the wife had seen better days, and there were two little children. He had only $500, and was wholly inexperienced in pioneer living. But seeing the beautiful prairie, it looked an easy task to make it yield forth its abundance. So he bought an un- fenced claim, a cabin, a cow, and a yoke of oxen, and began.
The first year, his crop was a little corn, a few pumpkins and perhaps a peck of garden beans. The cold Winter of '56-57 came on, and he was taken down with typhoid fever, and died without medical attendance. Soon after, the. cattle died, and this brave woman and her two children lived alone all that ter- rible Winter. There was nothing to buy ; and had there been, she had no. money. She wore her husband's boots and coats, got all their fuel, dug snow- drifts, lived on parched corn for bread, and did not see a cup of tea or coffee for eighteen months.
Still she clung to the farm, and the next year she raised a good crop, with- out a fence. the neighbors lending a team. In six years she sold the farm for $1,800, and, with the proceeds of the year's produce, went back to her old home.
It is supposable that she knew more about farming than the Baltimore lady did, who. in Marshalltown, took her hoe and went out into the garden to. get some cucumbers. She returned to the house and reported that she could not find any, for she had dug up three hills and not one could she discover. She supposed that they grew like potatoes.
A further instance of pluck, though not under such sad circumstances as Mrs. Hoppin's, was shown by the Marshalltown ladies of the Bell Society. They were accustomed to meet afternoons in each other's parlors, and their ob- jeet was to procure a bell. One of their rules was that any lady who had upon her supper table more than one kind of cake or fruit should pay a fine of $5.
Well, one day, in discussing matters of interest, as ladies will, Mrs. Lacey read an essay on the prospects of their growing young city. She avowed the purpose of the ladies to help finish the Court House in time for the election- that is, they would use hammer and nails, planes and saws upon the temple of Justice.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
Mr. Woodbury took them at their word, and ordered them out the next Monday, to take their places with the volunteer workmen. But any man of sagacity should have known that Monday is washing day in all thrifty cominu- nities. The consequence was, but few responded to the order. But they made up for it later, when the public square was to be fenced, for they inclosed three sides of it, buying all the lumber, nails, etc., themselves.
STATISTICAL.
It is interesting to compare this county with others of the State, in the matter of acquired knowledge. In a population of 19,629, there are but eighty persons over 16 years of age, of both sexes, who cannot read. There were 25 persons between the ages 16 and 21, of both sexes; 25 additional males over 21 years of age, and 30 females over 21, who were unable to read.
There were 653 children born in 1874 (the last State census), and 215 deaths. The healthfulness of this climate is beyond question or dispute.
POST OFFICES.
The post offices of the county are: Marshalltown, State Center, Albion, Gilman. Dillon, Liscomb, Laurel, Timber Creek, Edenville, Lamoille, Quarry, Le Grand, Green Mountain, Marietta, Minerva, Bevins' Grove, Illinois Grove, Stanford, Bangor and Vienna.
THE PRESS.
The newspapers of Marshall County have always wielded a powerful influ- ence. From the date of the establishment of the first paper up to the present time, there has been a tone of vigor about the press that has commanded a wide following. To-day the newspapers of Marshalltown rank high in the State, and are managed by men of responsibility, experience and weight.
Wherever we go, in the work of preserving records, we find the early press one of the most valuable aids in the prosecution of our task; but we have never found more emphatic exponents of the sentiment of the people than here in Marshall County.
During the long years which covered the county seat contest period, the opposing factions were ably represented by newspapers of far more than ordi- nary power. The circumstances demanded papers of weight, and the demand was met in full degree. The development of the press in most counties is not stimulated as it was in this. Here the great question of the location of the seat of justice permeated all things, governed all things, and finally settled all things. Which ever way we turn, we encounter the evidences of the struggle. as clearly as we can determine the geologic eras by the records of the rocks. Men were made rich or poor by it; towns were increased or diminished by it ; business was controlled by it. Newspapers, like all other public institutions, found their fate hanging upon the issue thereof, and fought for mastery with the determination of desperate beings.
The introduction of newspapers into civilized communities is always at an early date, nowadays. This county is so young as to be properly classed among the modern organizations, in the matter of papers as well as many other
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.'
refining institutions. We find that the people were but comfortably located upon their farms and in the little hamlets before a cry was raised for a county organ.
In the Fall of 1855, but six years after the organization of the county, a company was formed at Comanche. on the Mississippi River, for the purpose of publishing a paper at La Fayette, now Albion, in Marshall County. The selec- tion of La Fayette, instead of the county seat, Marietta, was doubtless deter- mined upon because of the preference manifested by the editor that was to be, for that little village as a place of residence, and possibly with an eye to the avoid- ance of open partisanism in the county seat question, then looming up omi- nously. It may be that the projectors of the plan hoped to gain patronage from both parties, and prevent any overt demonstrations of hostility to the hazardous scheme. The company consisted of J. W. Tripp, Thomas J. Wilson, H. C. Knapp, A. L. Dunn and Orson Hobert. Mr. Tripp had fully decided upon the village of La Fayette as his future home, and regarded the introduction of a newspaper there as the surest way of improving the place.
Mr. Wilson was chosen as the editor, and in November, 1855, after the press and furniture of the office had been transported to the village by means of ox teams, the Central Journal made its first appearance. It was a very creditable sheet, but the genius of a Greeley could not create business patronage in a town where it did not exist. Mr. Tripp did not find the investment very profitable. and in the Spring of 1856, he sold his share in the office to Ellis Weaver. S. W. Griffin purchased a small interest in the concern. The busi- ness of the first year was discouragingly small, and utter abandonment of the project was talked of. It was also proposed to remove the paper to Marshall. At this period in the life of the journalistic infant, Mr. E. N. Chapin visited La Fayette. He saw the possibilities that opened up in the dim future. He bought the company out, paying $800 in gold for the newspaper concern.
Mr. Chapin associated with himself Mr. R. H. Barnhart, under the firm name of Chapin & Barnhart, and began the publication of the Iowa Central Journal. The first issue appeared December 31, 1856. The paper was the only one within a 100 miles radius (with possibly one exception, a paper at El- dora). and was conducted in a manner satisfactory to the people.
One year after the publication of the Journal, under its new management, A. J. High and A. J. Kinney introduced the Marietta Express, sending out the first number December 17, 1857. The new paper was, as might be ex- pected, a champion of Marietta as the county seat. These rival papers began to wage war after the fashion of western editors.
In February, 1858, Mr. Chapin leased his interest in the Journal to his partner, and engaged in other business. The probable removal of the county seat to Marshall induced Mr. Barnhart to remove the office to that place, where. on the 13th day of October, 1858, the first paper was issued from a Marshall office. The name of the paper was changed to The Marshall County Times. The Times was Republican in politics, and promised to observe the require- ments of a county newspaper, without being a " tool " or an " organ." H. C. Henderson and R. Howe Taylor were editors. Mr. Barnhart soon purchased Mr. Chapin's interest, and became sole proprietor.
We have associated the Marietta Express and the Journal and Times with- out completing the history of either, because of the fact that those papers were the leading spirits of the county seat war, or, rather the medium through which the men engaged in the struggle, made known their respective cases. The Express continued to exist until the seat was removed, in 1860, when it was
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
compelled to die from lack of support. The office was removed to Toledo, Tama County.
The Times, being on the winning side, thrived and grew apace. In 1861. Mr. Barnhart sold the paper to William H. Gallup, who continued its publication.
In the Summer of 1861, Mr. Chapin purchased the old Express office of Mr. Kinney, and brought it to Marshall, where he began the publication of the Iowa Valley News, associating with him N. S. Howard and Charles C. Carlton. This concern was prospering, when disaster overtook it. The office, account books, subscription lists and all connected therewith, were burned and everything destroyed, February 19, 1862. This ended the News and wiped out the last traces of the Express.
In Mav, 1862, Barnhart Brothers, G. W., Warren and Arthur A., com- menced the Expositor, which was continued for nearly a year.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gallup sold the Times to Chapin & Co., and in the Spring of 1862, Edwin Rice published the Daily Telegraph, but soon gave up the scheme ; Mr. Chapin then issued the Daily Times and News, but, early in 1863, retransferred the paper to Mr. Gallup, who discontinued the daily edi- tion. The latter made another attempt to dispose of the office, and, in 1862. sold it to I. T. Britton, with G. A. Clark as editor. At this point the Barn- hart Bros. sold the Expositor to Mr. Britton, who merged the Times and Er- positor, and called this paper the Union.
In 1863, the Union was returned to its original owners, Chapin & Barn- hart, who restored the old title of Marshall County Times.
In 1864, Chapin & Barnhart sold the Times to H. C. Henderson. who con- tinued its publication with marked ability until 1866, when he disposed of the concern to Charles Aldrich and G. H. Welch. From the latter firm, the pre- sent proprietors obtained possession July 23, 1869, and have since conducted the business under the name of Chapin & Sower. The firm is composed of E. N. Chapin, the veteran newspaper man of the county and present Postmaster at Marshalltown, and George Sower. A daily edition was begun by the Times April 27, 1875, and is still in successful operation.
The Advance was started in 1865, by Barnhart Bros. & Carlton. The firm was changed by the retirement of Carlton, in favor of F. H. Barnhart. a nephew of R. H. Barnhart. The firm was known as Barnhart Bros. & Barn- hart. A daily edition was published for some time, possibly three months. The business proved unremunerative after something like two years.
On the ruins of the Advance, F. H. Barnhart constructed the Central Iowa Democrat. He had no press, but procured his presswork at the Times office. The paper lived a year and a half, when it was compelled to succumb to the force of circumstances unsuited to newspaper longevity.
The Temperance Standard was raised in May, 1869, by Holt Bros., with E. M. Holt as editor. It waved about six months, and then quietly wrapped the drapery of its little couch about it and lay down to pleasant dreams.
The Marshall Republican was established as a weekly Republican journal, July 1, 1871, by Thomas Mercer and Thomas E. McCracken. Mr. Mercer wrote the leading edtorials and was recognized as business manager, and Mr. McCracken (who . was then Collector of Internal Revenue for the District) devoted his spare moments to the local writing. They continued to publish the paper until Nov. 13, 1873, when Mr. Mercer retired. Mr. M. Waterman purchased a quarter interest in the establishment, and Mr. Chas. Carlton also negotiated for a quarter interest. but held it only a few months, when it reverted to Mr. McCracken. The busi- ness name of the firm was T. E. McCracken & Co., Mr. McCracken being editor in
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
chief. In April, 1874, Mr. A. H. Neidig purchased Mr. McCracken's interest, and the paper was continued under the firm name A. N. Neidig & Co. Mr. Neidig took charge as editor while Mr. Waterman continued as business manager and local writer. On the 15th of March, 1875, a semi-weekly edition was started in addition to the weekly, both of which editions have been successfully continued to the present time by these gentlemen. The importance of the Re- publican in political circles is shown by the fact that Mr. Neidig has filled the post of Chairman of the State Central Committee. The editorials are vigorous and ably written, and the paper is an established institution.
The Marshall Statesman, a Democratic paper, began life under the manage- ment of Boyd, Mitchell & Burkart, July 31, 1875. The following week Mr. Boyd retired, leaving the two last named gentlemen of the firm at the helm. June 24, 1876, Cook Sanford purchased Mr. Mitchell's interest, and since that time the paper has been edited by Mr. Sanford, with Mr. Burkart as prac- tical manager. The Statesman is one of the freest, boldest and most positive papers issued in this or any other county, and will continue to be so while Cook Sanford remains at its head.
The State Centre Enterprise first appeared October 14, 1871, with D. A. Lacey & Co., publishers, and D. A. Lacey, editor. On the 4th of October, 1872, Mr. Lacey retired, and J. W. Merrill became proprietor. The Enter- prise was enlarged by its present owner, and is a successful venture.
A paper called the Northwest was started in Liscomb, in 1875, but did not long survive.
Among the editorial profession in this county, Mrs. Nettie Sanford holds a position of honor, fairly won by the trenchant vigor of her pen and the enter- prise of her works. The lady has done much to elevate the tone of the press and preserve its dignity. Mrs. Sanford has written several historical sketches of Marshall County. Her last editorial work was done in a journal called the Ladies' Bureau, and published in Marshalltown for several months. in 1876.
In 1874, a paper called the Independent Critic was started at Gilman, by a man named Parish, and was continued about forty weeks. The printing was done at Grinnell. The Critic disappeared from earth.
In 1876, the Gilman Record was established by S. W. Grow, who contin- ued the same from June of that year until March, 1877, when he sold to E. Hoskyn. Mr. Hoskyn sold the paper in February, 1878, to F. W. Browne, of Tama City, who is the present owner. Prior to this last transfer, the name of the paper was changed to that of The Gilman Dispatch, and is now so called.
The National Greenback was brought from Marengo to Marshalltown, in March, 1878. The first number was issued in April, under the name of Rutherford's Porcupine, by George W. Rutherford. In July the name was changed to the first given title.
The Daily Sun began as the Daily Porcupine, July 14, 1878, under the management of George W. Rutherford, in Marshalltown. Aug. 9th, it was purchased by Lambert & Co., and the name changed to the Daily Sun.
AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS.
COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
The first fair in Marshall County was held at Marshall, in the public square and in the Court House, Oct. 14, 15, 16, 1858. The officers of the association were E. T. Currens, President ; William Bremner, Secretary. The
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
fair proved a grand success. The Marshall County Times of that date, says : " We never saw finer vegetables at any fair. The display of horses and cattle was . very good. Of swine there were some fine specimens. We saw no sheep on the grounds, but this certainly was an oversight, for Mar- shall County has some fine sheep in it." The other departments were pronounced well filled. An incident of the fair: A godless young scamp, dressed himself in his sister's riding-habit and entered the lists at the ladies' equestrian match. He was detected and expelled from the ground and received a ringing rebuke from the Times. Boys were boys in 1858, as well as in 1878. No money premiums were awarded at this first meeting of the association.
The next meeting was held at Albion, Oct. 11th and 12th, 1859. The Times of Oct. 26th, says : "The first day's exhibition commenced by the exhibition of horses on the public square, where a ring had been formed a quar- ter of a mile in circumference, which we thought rather too large for the spec- tators to get a fair view of the stock, although mighty fine for trotting nags. The second day's work was opened by the exhibition of cattle, and the fore- noon consumed in awarding premiums on cattle, swine, etc.
" In the afternoon, female equestrianship was the first thing on the docket. Mrs. Jenny Crow received the first premium. The display of in-door articles was fine, as was also the display of vegetables." The fair proved quite a suc- cess, and was a source of great gratification to the visitors. The officers for 1859 were E. T. Currens, President ; Thomas Swearingen, Vice President ; W. C. Smith, Treasurer ; Wm. Bremner, Secretary. The receipts were about $145, and an aggregate of about 475 entries.
The Treasurer's exhibit for 1859 is as follows :
Amount in treasury .
Received from all sources for 1859. 145 00
$150 00
$295 00
Paid out in premiums ...
139 00
Paid out for papers, diplomas, etc. 136 00
$275 00
Balance
20 00
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