USA > Iowa > Muscatine County > The History of Muscatine county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 46
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
Brief indeed have been the days between the era of savagery and the era of civilization. But, short as that intervening space has been, it was ample for the sowing of seeds which will, beyond peradventure, bear marvelous fruitage. The hand of intelligent man was laid upon this region, as it were, but yester- day. To-day, one beholds the finest farms, the best tilled acres, the richest orchards, the most substantial buildings and the newest implements of hus- bandry that can be met with throughout the length and breadth of " Beautiful Iowa.' , .
Where once the fierce blasts of winter howled with increasing monotony over nuobstructed plains, the dense grove now stands a barrier between man and the elements, in silent protest against the forces of the air. Where once the single camp-fire of the lonely hunter wreathed its slender spire of smoke as he reposed, solitary and silent. near the beaten path of the deer, there now ascend the choking fumes of many furnaces, as they glow and roar in the busy centers of manufacture. Churches and schoolhouses-those edifices which pro- claim the moral development of a country and represent the two greatest factors in the problem of civilization-dot the prairie on every hand. At the centers of trade these institutions stand. eloquent evidences of the intelligence of the populace, and point to a still grander outcome.
Wealth has succeeded poverty, and privation has given way to comfort. The children of the pioneers have grown up surrounded by refining influences, and bear the stamp of training in a broader school than their parents were privileged to attend. Books and music have their appropriate places in the farmhouses, and social intercourse is no longer restricted to the range of ox-cart communication. The finest horses, the choicest animals, the largest herds graze in rich pasture-lands. It is no longer necessary to " turn the cat- tle into the big lot," as a pioneer expressed his early method of caring for his
397
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
patient oxen. Fences mark the boundaries of farms and subdivisions of farms. As year succeeds year, the flocks increase in numbers and condition, and the markets of the East find profit in choosing the cattle from a thousand hillocks.
Railroads stretch across the county, affording the facilities for transportation so much desired a quarter of a century ago. Villages have sprung up along these lines of traffic and added to the market value of lands in their vicinity. Timber, which was so highly prized when first the region was sought out, now ranks far below the open prairie-lands in point of value. Modern inventive genius has found a way to meet the requirements of the day for fences, and coal is rapidly becoming an article of general use as fuel. Hence, it is found that groves are prized more for the sake of their protective qualities than for the intrinsic worth of their products.
Where formerly the settlers were compelled to traverse the country for flour and provisions-consuming days in the tedious journey-are now busy mills, which supply the local needs of the communities. Nor is it longer necessary to rely upon the uncertain visits of friends to a distant post office for unfrequent mails ; for the system of postal delivery reaches to the farthest limits of the country, and the rapid transit of news matter is an established affair, accepted without surprise, or even a second thought. Thirty years ago, there were few papers received by the settlers, and these few came from other and older local- ities, while now the press of Muscatine ranks high among the hosts of publica- tions in the State and nation. Daily and weekly issues are scattered broadcast over the region, carrying news from the earth's four quarters, and enabling the pioneers, even, to read the transactions of Church and State simultaneously with the denizens of the great cities of the land. The telegraphic wires bring to their doors tidings from commercial marts, and tell them when and how to dispose of the enormous products of factory and farm. Banking institutions of solid worth exist, and monetary matters are conducted on as large a scale as in many an Eastern city. Social clubs and amusement societies relieve the routine of business after the approved methods of cosmopolitans. Secret societies flourish and celebrate their mystic rites in richly-appointed lodge- rooms, and hold honored rank among the general bodies of their respective crafts.
The social world is as brilliant in its state and as cultured in its character as that which graces the salons of the capitals of the East. Wealth and refine- ment are evidenced in the bearing of the people. The honest housewife of the olden time may look with distrust upon the grander display at civil ceremonies, but cannot stay the tide as it sets toward the obliteration of simple habits. There may be much truth in the often-repeated assurance that "girls were worth more in the early days," if the estimate of excellence be based upon physical prowess and domestic "faculty ;" but it must be remembered that each generation plays its separate part in the drama of life. As the poet writes of individuals.
" All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players : They have their exits and their entrances, And one man, in his time, plays many parts."
so is society constructed upon a plan that places each succeeding division in a role different from that which preceded it. The standard by which to measure woman's might to-day is not that which tests her qualities as a pioneer, but rather that which proves the use she has made of the advantages of the present. It would be as just to condemn the young man of to-day because he is not drilled
398
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
in woodcraft and able to read the marks of Nature like the red man. The fathers who paved the way for the introduction of modern ideas, needed, per- force, to know the signs by which the Indian chief governed the warriors of his band, but those symbols are obsolete now, and would lumber the mind with useless information.
The man whose genius introduced the principles of mechanics into the working of farms, signed the last pages of the first volume of the history of the pioneers, and inaugurated a new era from which the present power of man must be calculated. The farmer who tills a thousand acres now is surely no weaker than he whose limits were a hundred in the "good old days." Yet the museu- lar development has not increased during the half-century past. It is mind, not matter, which governs, and the tendency of this age, which is truly termed the mechanical, is to produce maximum results from minimum forces. The laborious method of planting and harvesting by hand has given way to the more admirable plan of employing mechanical devices in the work.
Muscatine County ranks her neighboring counties in just the degree that her intelligence has progressed. The end is far away, for the improvements over the original settlement are insignificant compared with the capabilities of her men and the possibilities of her resources. Nature has lavished abundant wealth upon her, and it remains for man to extract it from the earth. The farms are inexhaustible in productive qualities, if rightly cultivated. The future promises much more marked changes in every branch of trade and commerce, and there remains for her inhabitants an enviable harvest of results.
Pleasant for situation, rich in material wealth, peopled by intelligent men and abounding in an atmosphere of mental health, the county of Muscatine is destined to become a leading one in the Northwest, as it is to-day a leading one in the State. The responsibility of developing it is intrusted to good men and true, and the dawn of the twentieth century will behold in this fair region a source of constant pride.
WHO WAS THE FIRST SETTLER.
It is not unfrequently a most difficult question to determine who was the original settler in even the comparatively young counties of Iowa. Muscatine County presents a case of peculiar embarrassment to one who seeks earnestly to ascertain the truth and to do impartial work as a chronicler of historic events. The writer of these lines found that the prevailing sentiment relative to priority was in favor of Benjamin Nye, when first the labor of compiling these records began ; but no sooner was the effort put forth to substantiate the the claim of Mr. Nye, than the subject became one of grave doubt.
It was ascertained that the basis of much of the historical belief was a very carefully prepared sketch of the settlement of the county, gotten up in connection with a directory of Muscatine City, in 1856, by Mr. John Mahin. now senior editor of the Muscatine Journal. Mr. Mahin devoted conscientious labor to his volume, and made it an acceptable authority on all topics embraced in its table of contents. From that book numerous other similar works have drawn liberally in the preparation of historical sketches, and they could do so with safety, as many of the old settlers unhesitatingly pronounced the original Directory an unusually accurate book. Thus it has become generally under- stood that the party therein accredited with the honor of being the first settler, was in reality the pioneer.
However, the oft-repeated statement has led to the discussion of the ques- tion, both in private and through the press, and the writer finds himself
399
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
confronted at the very outset with contradictory reports which cannot be ignored. In such cases we have but one rule to follow, and that is to give the statements of all parties who are able to throw any light on the subject, and leave the matter in that shape. It is clearly a question which never will be definitely determined beyond the point reached by us in these pages. It is a mooted question, upon which but one party can now be interrogated. There are no wit- nesses living to substantiate the assertions of either claimants, nor can there be found any documentary evidence to corroborate the declarations of interested parties.
The evidence before the writer deprives Mr. Nye of the honor of priority and accords it to Err Thornton and his brother Lott Thornton. Mr. Err Thornton is still living, near Drury's Landing in Illinois. From him is obtained the informa- tion that he and his brother first came to this region and made claim to lands within the limits of the present county of Muscatine, in the fall of 1833. The site chosen by them was on the slough, about twelve miles south of the existing corporation of Muscatine City. It is not claimed that they brought their families with them at the time, but merely that they made preliminary claims, and erected a cabin on the spot designated. To prove that this assertion is not one of recent origin, but that it bears evidences of having been made to correct the statement in the Directory, the writer has before him a memorandum- book belonging to Mr. J. P. Walton, a gentleman whose tastes and habits in the direction of collecting and preserving memoranda, historic and scientific data, etc., are well known. In passing, we may observe, also, that Mr. Walton's collection of books, papers, and documents is the best and most extensive we have found in Muscatine. Therefore, when it is shown that Mr. W. made entry of a statement uttered to him on February 21, 1863, the reader will per- ceive that the claim made by Mr. Thornton is no new one. At the time just named, Mr. Thornton declared that he came to this section in the fall of 1833, and at that period there was no cabin standing in the present county limits.
There are several old settlers who remember hearing Mr. Thornton make the same statement, but we have not discovered any written memorandum of the conversation, dating back any considerable time, except the foregoing. Mr. Suel Foster is inclined to believe that Mr. Thornton's claim is good, and numerous others might be mentioned. But, as has been stated, no one can give positive evidence on this point, except Mr. Thornton himself; and while his word is unquestionable and his standing from the first has always been high in the community in which he lived, there is still the possibility of his being mis- taken as to the year. If he is in error, it is solely an error of recollection. There is no man foolish enough to assert that the memory is always beyond suspicion.
John McGrew came to this region in December, 1834. His own statement of his arrival here, and whom he found living here at the time, was published in the Journal December 3, 1874. It is as follows : Mr. McGrew crossed the Mississippi at New Boston. He stopped at an Indian village called Blackhawk, and there made arrangements with an Indian to act as guide. He was informed that two white settlers were living about twenty miles above. Fol- lowing a trail along the river, McGrew and his guide came to the newly-erected cabins of Err and Lott Thornton, who had made a claim about twelve miles below the site of Muscatine. After staying two days with the Thorntons, the prospector continned his journey. He found Col. Davenport's man, Farnham, keeping a little trading-house near the mouth of Pappoose Creek. There was
1
400
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
no other building on the site of Muscatine, nor any settler as far up as the site of Buffalo. McGrew crossed the river at that point, and returned to New Boston. In February, 1835, MeGrew returned to the Thornton settlement and engaged in rail-splitting. In March, he staked out a claim and erected a cabin near Lettsville. This was the first settlement on " Iligh Prairie." In 1836, Mr. MeGrew married, and remained on the original claim until 1842, when he bought a farm in Seventy-six Township.
Benjamin Nye, the other claimant, is no longer able to argue his own case. His tragie death occurred in 1852, and is described further on in this work. Like Mr. Thornton, he was a man whose word could be relied upon, and the only possibility of error is through a failure to recollect dates. There is no indisputable evidence as to his arrival in this county. In the Old Settlers' Register, his name appears among those who came in 1834, but the entry was not made until thirteen years after Mr. Nye's death, and was the work of the Secretary. On the opposite page from that entry, Mrs. Nye's name is recorded, under the year 1833. As the pioneer's wife did not, of course, pre- cede her husband by a year, the entry is manifestly wrong. It is not claimed by Mr. Nye's friends that he moved here prior to 1834, and some of the settlers even place his coming in the fall of that year. The custom of the period, and the usual methods of making a claim, aid us somewhat in the solution of the problem. It was necessary for a man to " prospect " and make a selection before he could secure a satisfactory site for a farm. It was customary, also, for men to go into the wilderness in advance of their families, and prepare the way for the more delieate sex. Few pioneers moved their families before determining the exact spot upon which they were to locate, and it is unreason- able to believe that Mr. Nye was one of the exceptional class. He evidently made his claim after careful investigation, because the site chosen was such a one as was then deemed especially good. It embraced the dual advantages of a mill-site and a town site.
When John MeGrew made his trip through this region in December, 1834, he discovered no traces of settlement at the mouth of Pine River. It is possi- ble that Mr. MeGrew is mistaken as to there being no cabin there. Even the Indians, who were most likely to know of invasions on their domain, might not have learned of the existence of the new cabin, within the few weeks which elapsed between the autumn months and December of that year. It is asserted that they knew of the Thornton claim, but McGrew says that those men had been there long enough to secure a crop of prairie hay.
Charles Drury accompanied the Thorntons across the river, when they moved into the county with their families. That event transpired, according to his recollection, which is shown to be excellent in other matters, in the spring or summer of 1835.
Mrs. Azuba Nye, whose death occurred just prior to the writer's visit to the county, and thereby deprived him of a personal interview, asserted positively that she moved to Pine River in 1834.
In view of all these statements, there remains no alternative but to leave the question of original settlement still undecided so far as the men were con- corned, and to accord Mrs. Nye precedence in the line of pioneer women. The right of priority rests between Err and Lott Thornton and Benjamin Nye, and. so far as we can see, there is no possibility of determining beyond cavil which of the men is entitled to the name of first settler. There is nothing shown which proves that the Thorntons came prior to the summer of 1834, but they must have been here as early as that, in order to have secured the hay which
401
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
McGrew saw in December of that year. It is, therefore, reasonable to suppose that an error of one year occurred in Mr. Thornton's recollection, and that the first settlement was effected by both elaimants, in the summer and fall, respectively, of 1834.
At the beginning of 1835, the settlements in this section were three in number : The Davenport claim, where Muscatine stands; the Nye claim, at the mouth of Pine River, and the Thornton claim, on the slough, toward the sonth.
In May of that year, the first gentle swell of the tide of immigration was felt. James W. Casey laid claim to the land just south of the Davenport claim, and began improving the same, with the intention of locating a town thereon. This locality was soon known as Casey's Landing, and subsequently as Newburg.
Arthur Washburn moved from New York State, and stopped at Casey's Landing during the summer of 1835.
Dr. Eli Reynolds chose a tract of land three miles up the river from Daven- port's trading-house, where he afterward, in conjunction with Harvey Gillett. laid out a town and called it Geneva.
In 1835, Dr. Reynolds was elected, from this section of old Des Moines County, to the Belmont Legislature. In the winter of 1837-38, he attempted to secure the relocation of the county seat at his "town," but failed. The bill authorizing the change was passed by the Legislature, but when the news reached Bloomington, special parties were sent out in all directions, with pro- tests ; and so formidable were the expressions of disapproval from the people, that. Gov. Dodge vetoed the bill. Geneva is known only in history at the pres- ent time.
Benjamin Nye also caused a town to be surveyed, at the mouth of Pine River, about this time, and called the site Montpelier. The only evidence of the existence of such a place is the name, which is attached to the township in which the survey was made. The plat was staked ont about twelve miles above the present city of Muscatine.
W. P. Wright, of Montpelier Township, still resides upon the farm claimed by his father in 1836. Some time since he celebratedl his silver wedding. Mr. Wright's father was a Kentuckian and a slaveholder; but in 1836, he sold his plantation for $19,500, and came to Iowa, to get away from the evils of the " peculiar institution." Ile never realized more than the $500, the balance being lost by breach of trust. Mr. Wright's homestead is regarded as the oldest in the county.
It is impossible to give a list of those who came to this county in 1835, as there were, doubtless, a few who did not remain long enough to gain even the title of pioneer.
The year 1836 was one of marked improvements in this region. Col. Van- ater purchased the claim of Davenport, in February, as is fully described in the chapter on Muscatine City, and many people took up their residence within the limits of the newly-advertised domain.
By an act of the Territorial Legislature, approved December 14, 1838, Joseph Williams and Charles Alexander Warfield were authorized to keep a ferry across the Mississippi, at Bloomington, and for one mile above and below the town, provided horse or steam power was used, and no individual rights of proprietorship in the lands on either side of the river, where landings were made, were interfered with. This license was not improved, however, and lapsed, because of inaction.
402
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
By an act of the same body. approved December 29, 1838, Aaron Usher and Thomas M. Groom were authorized to keep a ferry across the Mississippi, opposite the town of Wyoming, with landing at Illinois City.
Benjamin Nye was authorized to construct a mill-dam across Pine Creek, at any point on the northwest quarter of Section 21, Township 77 north, Range 1 east, and to erect miils and other machinery, etc., by act of the Leg- islature approved January 12, 1839.
THE FIRST POST OFFICE.
In 1836, Maj. William Gordon laid claim to the tract of land adjoining, or near to Benjamin Nye's farm, and there opened a little trading-post. Arthur Washburn acted as clerk for the Major. Sometime that year a post office was established at that point, and Mr. Washburn was made Postmaster. The name of the office was "Iowa."
EARLY MILLS.
Weare Long built the first saw-mill in the county, in 1837, on Sweetland Creek : but there was not sufficient water to run the machinery at all times. The building fell down and was rebuilt, in 1845, by Calvin Bruce and J. P. Walton, but never amounted to much.
Benjamin Nye's grist-mill, at the mouth of Pine River, was the first grind- ing-mill erected in the county, in 1837.
In 1837, Eli Reynolds and John Lawson built a steam saw-mill at the mouth of Lime Creek, at Geneva, the first steam-mill in the county. Robert Smith brought up the engine and machinery from St. Louis, and was retained as engineer by Reynolds & Lawson. In the spring of 1838, John Vanater purchased Lawson's interest. In later years, the mill was taken down and removed to Muscatine, where it was changed into a stave-factory.
Vanderpool post office was established early in 1838, and S. C. Comstock was appointed Postmaster. Amos Walton was made Deputy. This was the third post office in the county. Mr. Comstock resigned his position before the year was ont, and Mr. Walton succeeded him. The name was changed to Geneva. Mr. Walton remained in office until the time of his death, which occurred in 1841. The office was then discontinued. When Geneva was platted, Harvey Gillett, one of the proprietors, went East to sell lots, and also to move his family, consisting of wife and seven young daughters. to the new " town." IIe had erected two hewed-log houses, and there was one other small log shanty occupied by James Davis, Sheriff of the county. It transpired that Amos Walton was at St. Louis when the Lovejoy murder occurred. and. being an Abolitionist, he feared to settle in a slave State. He met Gillett on a Mississippi steamboat, and was induced to come to Geneva. He reached there in 1838. In 1878, the family of Mr. Walton, twelve in number, celebrated the fortieth anniversary of his landing by a re-union at the deserted village of Geneva. James Davis had a grocery in the place in 1838, and Amos Walton kept the post office in his own little cabin.
J. P. Walton furnishes the following interesting statistics concerning the Vanderpool post office. In those days, it was customary for the receiver to pay the postage on letters, and more than one expectant man has been compelled to leave his mail in the office for weeks. because of his inability to pay the amount due thereon. A letter from St. Louis required 182 cents postage ; one from White Oak Springs, 18} cents ; one from Chicago or Toledo, 25 cents ; from Davenport, 12 cents ; and from other points, in proportion. There was one copy of the New York Observer, one of the New York Courier and . Inquirer,
403
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
one Temperance Journal and one Olive Branch taken at the office regularly. Thirteen copies of the Perrysville (Iowa) Banner were also received. The Postmaster's average quarterly pay was $1.585, or $6.342 per year.
FIRST SURVEY.
The first Government lines run in the county were surveyed in the winter of 1836-37. During the following summer, the townships were subdivided into sections. As frequent allusion has been made to the original settlers and " claimants," it may be well to digress from the story of settlement long enough to explain the nature of a " claim," define the process of selection, and tell
HOW " CLAIMS" WERE MADE.
The claim-making of the early settlers in Iowa was a mode of settlement peculiar to that portion of the public domain which was occupied prior to its being surveyed by the General Government. Newhall, in his " Sketches of Iowa," states that by mutual concession and an honorable adherence to neigh- borhood regulations. claim-making was governed by a pro-tem. law, which answered the purpose of general protection for the homes of the settlers until the land came into the market. So general did this usage become, and so united were the interests of the settlers, that it was deemed extremely hazard- ous as well as highly dishonorable for a speculator or stranger to bid upon a claim, even though it was not protected by a " pre-emption right." More than one " war " was waged when such attempts as that were made, almost in variably resulting in the rout of the interloper. Blood, in some instances, was shed in defense of their recognized rights. When it was clearly understood what improvements constituted a claim, and when the settler conformed to the " by- laws " of his neighborhood, or township, it was just as much respected for the time being as if the occupant had the Government patent for it. For instance, if an emigrant came into the country for location, he looked from county to county for a location. After having placed himself. he set about making an improvement. To break five acres of ground would hold his claim for six months ; or if a cabin was built, eight logs high with a roof, which was equiva- lent to the plowing, he held it six months longer. He then staked out his half- section of land, which was a full claim, generally one-quarter timber and one- quarter prairie, and then his home was secure from trespass by any one. If he chose to sell his " claim," he was at perfect liberty to do so, and the purchaser succeeded to all the rights and immunities of the first settler. As an evidence of the respect in which these claim-rights were held by the people of Iowa, we quote here an act of the Legislative Council of the Territory, passed January 15, 1839, entitled, " An act to provide for the collection of demands growing out of contracts for sales of improvements on public lands."
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.