USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > The history of Black Hawk 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 > Part 37
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Although no order of court appears changing the name, the above territory appears to be recognized in subsequent records as "Miller's Creek Township,'
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY.
to which an election was held on the first Monday in April following, when Thomas R. Points, John C. Walker and Michael Bunting were elected Trustees ; John G. Forbes, Clerk ; Joseph Bown, Assessor ; John C. Reeves, Justice of the Peace, and R. C. Harris and John King, Constables.
PRECINCT NO. 2-(SPRING CREEK TOWNSHIP.)
It is hereby ordered, That the inhabitants of that part of Congressional Township 88 north of Range 12 lying east of the C'edar River, and south of a line running east from said river to the east line of said township, and south of Section 12; and those parts of Congressional Towns 87 north of Range 11 and 87 north of Range 12 lying east of the Cedar River ; and of Congres- sional Town 88 north of Range 11, in said county, be organized as an election precinct of said county, under the name of Precinct No. 2; and that the first election thereof be held on the first Monday of April next after the date hereof, at the house of E. Sawyer * * And that B. Winsett, John Clark and Stephen Evans be the Judges of said Election.
February 7, 1854.
Like Precinct No. 1, or " Miller's Creek," Precinct No. 2 appears in other and subsequent records as Spring Creek Township ; and an election was reported in such a township on the first Monday in April, 1854, when there were about thirty votes polled, and Stephen Evans and Isaac Skinner were elected Justices ; Edward Wood, Charles N. Moberly and John Clark, Township Trustees ; Henry Gipe, Clerk ; James H. Hampton, Assessor; Henry Clark and John Blackford, Constables.
The first sermon in this township was preached by Rev. C. N. Moberly, a Methodist minister, in 1853.
Peyton Culver taught the first school, in 1854. He had eight or nine pupils.
BUTLER PRECINCT.
There is no preceding order creating Butler County into a precinct or township, but it is evident that there was such, as appears from the follow- ing order :
STATE OF IOWA, BLACK HAWK COUNTY, SS., To M. B. Wamsloy : You are hereby requested to give due notice of the election which is to be held in Butler Precinct on the first Monday of April next, for the purpose of electing the following officers : Three Trustees, one Clerk, two Constables, two Justices of the Peace, one Assessor, and to vote for such other State officers as are to be elected on said day. J. R. PRATT, County Judye.
March 8, 1854.
JURORS CALLED.
Under date of March 11, 1854, the following entry appears of record :
Warrant has this day been issued to the Sheriff of said county to notify the Judges of the several election districts of said county to return to this office the following number of names as Jurors from the several election districts, viz. : From Washington, 21; Waterloo, 57; Cedar Falls, 22; Spring Creek, 24; Miller's Creek, 19; Lester, 7.
In the above order, it is evident that Precinct No. 1 is called "Miller's Creek," and No. 2 " Spring Creek."
April 4, 1854, John H. Brooks, Clerk of the District Court, resigned, and on the 20th of the same month the following order appears of record :
Be it known, That on the 20th day of April, 1854. Luther L. Peas was, by the County Court, appointed Clerk of the District Court of Black Hawk County, Iowa. Luther L. Peas having given bonds according to law, and on the above date appointed and was sworn and duly qualified according to law, and entered upon the duties of said office.
J. R. PRATT, County Judge.
In the matter of the petition of Robert Stuart and others asking that the County Court of Black Hawk County attach so much of Congressional Township 90, Range 14, as lies west of Cedar River and south of Beaver Creek to Township 89, Range 14, for election purposes, it is thereupon Ordered, That the prayer of said petition be granted and the same be made a part of the record of said Township 89, Range 14, as relates thereto.
June 17, 1854.
L. L. PEAS, Clerk.
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY.
The first dam across Cedar River was built at Cedar Falls in 1847-8; the second at Waterloo, by James Eggers. June 20, 1854, Mr. Eggers received permission from the County Court to construct a dam across the Cedar at the village of Waterloo, in accordance with an act of the Territorial Legislature of Iowa, approved February 15, 1843, Mr. Eggers having filed a bond in the sum of $2,000, according to law. He located his dam a short distance above the one that in 1878 dams the waters of the river, built it of logs and brush, and in three weeks after he received his permit he had a dam that raised the water two feet.
POYNER'S CREEK TOWNSHIP.
On petition of Nathan Fancher and others, it was
Ordered, That all that part of Township 87, Range 12, laying east of Cedar River, and all that part of Township 88, Range 12, lying south of Elk River and east of Cedar River, and one mile of the west side of Township 88, Range 11, and the whole of Township 89, R. 11, and all that part of Township 89, Range 12, east of Elk Run, shall constitute the township of Poyner's Creek, and that the election will be held at the house of Nathan Poyner.
June 20, 1854.
J. R. PRATT, County Judge.
The Township 89, Range 11, was afterward ceded to Barclay.
Previous to this time, a portion of the above territory was a part of Precinct No. 2, or Spring Creek Township.
At the first election of record, in April, 1855, M. S. Oxley, Benjamin Brown and Job Engle were Judges, and J. H. Hampton and J. C. Engle, Clerks. Nathan Poyner and I. T. Corwin were elected Justices of the Peace ; W. W. Engle and T. B. Vaneaton, Constables.
The township was named in honor of Rev. Nathan Poyner, a Baptist cler- gyman, who settled here in 1853. It is said that he used to hold religious serv- ices under a large oak tree near his cabin.
The first settlement was made by Amasa Nims, in 1850, on Section 26, Township 88, Range 12; but he sold to Benjamin Winsett in 1852; and dur- ing that year, John Perry, Joseph Perry and George Arthur settled in the township. Rev. Nathan Poyner, Thomas Poyner, Edmund Sawyer and John Van Etton came in 1853. John Morgan, a soldier in the Black Hawk war in 1832, settled near the mouth of Poyner's Creek in 1854. John Chamband and John Felton came the same year and founded the town of Gilberts- ville.
The first marriage was that of Henry Clark and Sarah J. Winsett, in 1853. The first death, that of Mrs. Nathan Poyner, in the Spring of 1853.
The first school house was built on Section 25, Township 88, Range 12, in District No. - , and the first school taught during the same year.
There are ten school houses in the township, and two churches-one Catho- lic Church, at Gilbertville, Rev. John Nemmert, Pastor; and one Methodist Church, at Raymond, Rev. Mr. Alden, Pastor.
Township officers, 1878: J. P. Kieffer, Clerk ; W. Waterfield, E. Marble and J. Dobson, Trustees ; J. P. Kieffer and E. Marble, Justices of the Peace.
PIONEER JURISPRUDENCE.
The dockets of the earlier Justices of the Peace, of Cedar Falls Township, in which were most of the cases tried in the county prior to 1855, were lost by fire some years ago, and the dates and many details of the primitive adminis- tration of justice cannot now be obtained.
Among the cases remembered, was one trial at Cedar Falls, wherein A. F. Brown, counsel for the defense, made application for a change of venue and
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY.
moved that the cause be tried before a Justice in Hardin County, which appli- cation was duly granted.
Another Justice, it is said, assumed jurisdiction of an application for a di- vorce, and even went so far as to order the amount of alimony and make provis- ion for the custody of the children.
One of the early marriages was solemnized by R. P. Speer, Justice of the Peace. During the progress of the ceremony, the blushing lady discovered, to her dismay, that she was standing on the unlucky side, and requested the Jus- tice to wait till the mistake could be rectified. "Keep right hold, just as you are, ma'am," commanded the custodian of the peace and dignity of Iowa ; " for, by G-d, we'll soon be through with this job." The Justice was not going to allow trifles to hamper him in the discharge of his pleasing duty.
A citizen had committed an assault upon a gentleman from Vaterland, for which he was arrested and taken before the nearest Justice, without a warrant. The hour was late and the weather was hot when they appeared before the magis- trate. He was roused from his sleep and appeared in his office without dress- ing. He called for a statement of the case, which was given. Without making out either complaint or warrant, the Justice announced judgment upon the prisoner as follows : " I fine you one dollar, and, by -, if you ever hit a Dutchman again without drawing blood, I'll fine you ten dollars !" The fine was paid and His Honor adjourned court.
A lot of whisky was seized at Cedar Falls in the early years of the town. The owner of the contraband goods, through his attorney, obtained a change of venue to Justice Knapp, of Washington Township. Whisky, witnesses, owners, and attorneys all appeared on the day fixed. The defense demanded a jury, which was impaneled; the case was tried and submitted. After being out a reasonable time, the jurors sent word to Justice Knapp that they could not agree, for some of them were not sufficiently convinced as to the identity of the fluid with the article mentioned in the information, and that it would be neces- sary to inspect the casks more thoroughly than had been done. Accordingly, a twelve-quart tin pail was filled with the liquor, a dipper placed therein, and the sample conveyed to the thirsty jury by the Constable. The Justice, not knowing but the jury might have an arduous task before them, allowed the attorneys, witnesses and spectators to partake of what was left, which was as refreshing to their throats as "a great rock in a desert land " to a sun-burnt traveler. The result was that the spirit of the law in that case made and provided, was fully carried out. To the lasting credit of the legal profession, which is always regarded as able to take care of itself, it is said that all the attorneys engaged in the case got back to Cedar Falls before any of the witnesses.
Mr. Francis Cox relates the particulars of his own arrest while removing to Cedar Falls, in October, 1854. For a day before reaching the eastern limit of Black Hawk County, a party with ox teams had been close to him on the jour- ney. He was gradually drawing ahead of them, on the second day, when Mr. Cox, in looking back, saw that the prairie was on fire, set, no doubt, by the men with the ox teams. Toward night, Mr. Cox was confronted by the Sheriff, who politely informed him he was under arrest for setting the grass on fire. Some settler had gone to Waterloo and had made the complaint. The Sheriff and his prisoners, the ox-drivers having been also arrested, proceeded to a Jus- tice of the Peace not far off, who heard the case and promptly discharged Mr. Cox. He not being able to give evidence as to the fact of the others having set the fire, although fully convinced in his own mind, they were also discharged. Although the effort of the complaining witness was a failure, there is no doubt
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY.
that it was of advantage in that vicinity, as it would have the effect of deterring others from needlessly exposing houses and grain stacks to the dangers of prai- rie fires.
A pertinacious liquor dealer of Cedar Falls was frequently arrested for sell- ing liquor contrary to statute. Some of the people of Cedar Falls, believing that a saloon was a necessary factor in the growth of the community, and being generous with their money, would usually assess themselves and pay his fines. On one occasion he was fined five dollars and costs for a new offense. One of his friends, who was attending the trial, inquired the total cost. Having been informed by the Justice, he counted up the number of friends present, figured up the pro rata to each, and paid his share, promptly followed by the rest. To make it as easy as possible, the Justice and the witnesses contributed their own fees.
The Judge of the Second Judicial District appointed a term of court in Black Hawk County on the 27th day of June, A. D. 1854, and on that day court was duly opened at Cedar Falls in the school house then standing on the block now occupied by the Baptist Church. Present, Hon. Thomas S. Wilson, Judge; Luther L. Peas, Clerk ; John Virden, Sheriff.
On the same day, a petit jury was impaneled as follows : Jesse Shimer, James Hampton, Thomas R. Points, Joseph Brown, Zimri Streeter, J. D. Dewey, William H. Virden, J. C. Hubbard and Myron Smith. No grand jury was summoned.
The first case entered was that of Mathew Bevard vs. John A. Dunham, attachment. In this case, D. L. Deyo appeared as attorney for plaintiff, but it appears to have been settled and plaintiff's demand paid previous to the term of court, and was ordered to be stricken from the docket.
The second entry was the petition of Emeline Peterson vs. William Peter- son for divorce ; but the petitioner failed to appear, and the suit was discontinued at her costs.
The other cases entered at this term were G. W. Burton vs. L. D. C. Mag- gart, D. C. Overman vs. John H. Brooks, J. R. Pratt vs. William True, Henry Mellin vs. Covil & Butterfield.
On motion of D. S. Wilson, William H. McClure, a practicing attorney of the State of New York, was admitted to practice in the courts of Iowa.
The jury was discharged and the court adjourned, having been in session one day.
There appear to have been present at the first term of court in Black Hawk County, D. S. Wilson, Esq., of Dubuque; D. L. Deyo, of Independence and William H. MeClure, the latter being admitted to practice in the morning.
The census of Black Hawk County for 1854 shows a total population of 2,488, of which 1,385 were males and 1,103 females. There were 603 voters, 523 militia men, and 14 aliens.
MT. VERNON TOWNSHIP.
Sept. 19, 1854 .- It is ordered by the County Court that Township 90, Range 13, be organ- ized a civil township by the name of Mt. Vernon, for all the purposes of a township of Black Hawk County.
(Attest) MARTIN BAILEY, Clerk.
The county record does not show that any township officers or Judges of Election were appointed, but from other sources it is understood that the first Trustees were : Frederick Pattee, Henry Cole and S. S. Knapp, appointed by the County Court. These Trustees appointed Abraham Eyestone, Township Clerk, and Wallace Pattee, Road Supervisor.
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY.
The first township election appears to have been held at the house of Wal- lace Pattee, April 2, 1855, when Joel Hiser and Randolph Leland were elected Justices ; Thomas Gordon and Frederick Pattee, Trustees ; Wallace Pattee, Assessor ; A. Eyestone, Clerk. Mr. Leland refused to qualify, and in August following, Alpheus Lawrence was elected to fill the vacancy, and Moses W. St. John was elected Constable.
The first settlement in this township, it is said, was made by a Mr. Allen, on the northeast quarter of Section 4, in the Summer of 1852, although the record of original entries shows that William Bergin entered a part of Section 3, July 21, 1852. Allen sold to Isaac McCaffrey in 1854. William Hogan settled in northeast quarter of Section 3 in 1853, and his daughter Rebecca and Elihu Thorpe were married the following Autumn by Rev. Jonathan Go- forth, being the first marriage in the township. George Housch settled on Sec- tion 4, and Thomas Gordon on Section 3, in 1853. Joel Hiser built a cabin and broke some prairie on the southwest quarter of Section 4, in 1854, and re- turned to Western Virginia and married in the following Winter. The follow - ing settlers located in 1854 : Abraham Eyestone on Section 30; Moses W. St. John, Section 27 ; Alphens Lawrence, southeast quarter of Section 27 ; Joseph Thomas, northeast quarter of Section 1; S. S. Knapp, Section 29 ; Wallace Pattee, Section 5. The township was named Mt. Vernon by S. S. Knapp.
The first child born was a son to Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Leland in the Spring of 1855, and Clement Leeper, son of Jacob Leeper, was born in the following August.
In 1855, Milton Smith built a tavern on the Independence, Janesville and Waverly road, on the southwest corner of Section 1. This was well known to the early settlers as the " Seven-Mile House." Smith sold it to Charles Gibbs the same Fall. One warm summer's night the next year, it is said that while Mr. Gibbs was asleep a wild cat bit his big toc. Two large cottonwoods mark the spot where the old house stood.
The first independent school district was formed in 1856. A Presbyterian society was organized in 1856 by Rev. Mr. Colwell, services being held in Mrs. Cleaver's house on the southwest quarter of Section 1. A. Methodist Church was organized in November of the same year by Rev. A. N. Odell.
The first grove meeting in the township, and probably in the county, was held in the only natural grove in the township, on the northwest corner of Sec- tion 3, in 1857. A Grange of Patrons of Husbandry was organized at the King school house in 1870.
May 29, 1871, at a special election, the proposition for a tax to aid in build- ing the Grinnell, Cedar Falls & Winona Railroad was defeated by twelve ma- jority. At another trial on the 24th of June, however, the proposition was car- ried by a majority of eighteen; but the road was not built, and the people saved their money. Mt. Vernon Township is considered one of the best in the county for farming.
On the 30th of September, 1854, twenty-six of the Cedar Falls town lots belonging to the county were sold, from which about $400 was realized.
October 30, A. F. Brown was appointed Prosecuting Attorney to fill a vacancy.
November 13, the question of incorporation was submitted to the voters of the town of Waterloo. The election resulted in its favor, and another election was appointed by the County Court to accept Articles of Incorporation ; but for some informality in the proceedings the project was abandoned.
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY.
INDIAN PANICS.
The hardy pioneers of Black Hawk County, like most others who endured the toils, privations and hardships of frontier life when they were brought into frequent and disagreeable contact with the Indians, who were being slowly but surely crowded toward the setting sun by the active encroachments of the Anglo-Saxon race, have many thrilling stories to tell of their experiences.
During the years 1853-4, the settlers in this and neighboring counties were frequently alarmed by reports of Indian depredations and massacres north and west of here. Every few weeks settlers would come in from a distance and tell the most wonderful stories of hair-breadth escapes from cruel deaths by blood- thirsty savages, of houses burned and stock driven off. But investigation invariably demonstrated that all these alleged frightful occurrences were utterly without foundation.
For some time the relations existing between the Sioux and Winnebagoes, living in the neighborhood had not been friendly, which finally culminated in an outbreak in which a Winnebago boy was killed. The news of this affair rapidly spread, gaining strength as it was told by one excited and thoroughly scared settler to another, until by the time it had reached Black Hawk County it was reported that hundreds of painted warriors were marching down the valley murdering and burning everything before them. The people became fearfully excited, and many fled with their families and what little household stuff they could carry, finding safety in the more thickly settled counties or in the adjoin- ing States. A company was raised in Cedar Falls, and under command of Capt. E. Brown and Lieuts. A. F. Brown and W. H. McClure, went out to reconnoiter the enemy, going as far as Floyd County, where they learned, to their great joy and greater chagrin, that it was all a hoax and no hostile Indi- ans were within hundreds of miles. Others went from Waterloo and Independ- ence ; while at Janesville and some other places they hastily constructed rude forts or stockades, and put themselves in the best possible shape to make a strong defense against the blood-thirsty savages.
Mr. James Virden. who lived in the grove at the upper end of Waterloo, was awakened one night by a man from near Waverly, who informed him that the Indians were coming, killing and burning everything in their path, and warn- ing him to pack up and flee to a place of safety. Mr. Virden had passed through two or three "scares," and took but little stock in the story. He asked the man in, and finally prevailed upon him to go to bed. It the morning settlers began arriving on foot, horseback and in wagons, and the yard and sur- rounding grove were soon filled with the fleeing settlers. Mr. Virden, Charles Mullan and one or two others mounted their horses and started up the river on a reconnoissance. After a day's ride, failing to discover any signs of Indians, they returned, and their reports reassured the runaways, who started at once for their homes.
These sensational reports had a bad effect upon the timid, and several fam- ilies left here and went to Linn County, then supposed to be thickly settled and safe.
At the supreme agony of the scare, says Mr. Streeter, who had just got the main part of his house up and inclosed, fifty persons stayed all night with him ; and he says his house was so full he could not step between the sleeping fugitives that night. Many of them had buried their valuables before starting, and some of them, when they got over their fright and returned, could not remember where they had dug and hid their property. The danger became
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HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY.
more imminent as the news was carried eastward, and by the time it had got to Dubuque, 6,000 Sioux warriors were rampaging down the Cedar with the besom of death and desolation.
Some very ludicrous incidents are told in connection with this bloodless war. On the return of the company to Cedar Falls, one of their number, to signalize the victory, rode his horse into the office of the Carter House, around the stove and out again, whereupon his comrades fired a salute in honor of his bravery, rousing the whole town. A settler of the name of Rucker and his wife were so badly frightened by the firing of this salute, supposing it to be the realiza- tion of what they had so long intensely feared, that they left everything and rushing out ran sixteen miles that night. At Waterloo, several of the timid left, and after spending a few weeks in Illinois, or some other supposed safe locality, returned.
Among others thus leaving was Greenleaf Glidden and family, living on the west side. After spending a short time in Linn County, Mr. Glidden returned and resumed his home here. The night of his return there was a wedding in town (Isaac Virden and Eliza May being the parties interested), and the boys had made arrangements to give the newly-married couple a charivari. Soon after Glidden went to bed the clan assembled with cow-bells, pans and various instruments more noted for noise than melody, and the first general break-out of the din aroused Mr. Glidden, who was probably dreaming of Indians ; and when he sprang from his bed the general hub-bub and clatter only confirmed him in the belief that the Indians had surely come, and were killing all the inhabitants. Hastily burying his grindstone, which was evidently a highly cherished posses- sion, and throwing his feather bed and household traps into his wagon, he hitched up his horses and started at full speed for the land of safety, alarming the settlers as he went. IIe made a halt at Abraham Turner's, below town, told his blood-curdling tale, and warned them to flee. While he was talking he glanced backward toward town, expecting probably to see the flames of the burning houses, but instead saw several dark objects approaching at a rapid gait, and with a cry, almost of despair, he shouted, "They are coming! Here they are!" and putting the whip to his team he once more started on his jour- ney at a break-neck speed. A lady at Turner's was so alarmed at Glidden's story that she started at once for some place where she would be safe, and wan- dered around all night in the sloughs and wet grass in her night clothes. The dark objects that had so suddenly and terribly frightened Mr. Glidden, turned out to be a number of colts that had followed the flying team. Glidden con- tinued his journey until he reached the river, and finding he could not ford it in safety in the dark, was compelled to remain there until morning, when the nature of the "scare" was ascertained, and afterward afforded many a hearty laugh.
RELOCATION OF THE COUNTY SEAT.
Like most other counties in this part of Iowa, Black Hawk has had its " county seat fight," but it came early, and was finally settled.
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