USA > Iowa > Boone County > The history of Boone County, Iowa, containing biographical sketches war records of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, history of the Northwest, history of Iowa, map of Boone county etc. > Part 55
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"The first meeting of the old settlers of Boone county will be held at the public square, in Boonesboro, the 12th inst., October, 1874. The court- house rooms and Union hall will be open for the use of the meeting. Fif- teen years a resident of the county, and four bits in cash with your names to the constitution, entitle you to membership in the society, together with the members of your family. Tables will be spread for dinner. Stew- ards will receive provisious at the booths at the center of the tables. Euchre and old sledge playing positively prohibited, but the floor of Union hall will accommodate forty-one couples of old-fashioned French fours. The reunion will not close till next morning. We have concluded that it will be useless to impose the office of marshal on any one, or to organize a po- lice force, for the reason that every one who has been in the county fifteen years will do as they please, and why not so long as they please to do right.
"Come, old settlers, bring your wives and children and grandchildren and their children, and bring lots of old-fashioned grub, and help us com- memorate the time when pumpkins were the only kind of fruit and there was but one preacher and no one could be called mean in the whole county.
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
" A general invitation is extended to our sister counties, north, south, east and west, to meet with us.
" At 11 o'clock A. M. the meeting will be called to order by G. W. Crooks, president of the society.
" Prayer by Rev. Lewis Doran.
" Address of welcome by Hon. I. J. Mitchell.
" Dinner.
" Address by Judge A. B. Holcomb, followed by J. A. Hull, who will tell how Judge McFarland used to get over the sloughs.
" Love-feast, in which every old settler is requested to give his or her experience.
" The Boonesboro brass band will enliven the occasion with choice old- fashioned music.
" By order of the committee.
" GEORGE W. CROOKS, President.
" J. B. PAXTON, Secretary."
The reunion, which was held according to the plan of the call, was a grand success as will be seen from the following report published in the " Standard " in the issue of the next week, October 19th, 1874:
"On Saturday last the old settlers of the county held their first reunion under the organization effected in June last. The morning dawned brightly, the air was cool and bracing, reminding the many comers of the chill winters of the olden time.
"The court-house square, the court-room and Union Hall were the centers of the gathering. Early in the day wagon loads of old settlers came pour- ing in from all directions, and men and women met who, though living fifteen miles apart were once near neighbors, but had not seen each other for years. Many, many were the heart-felt, deep-meaning hand-shakings and earnest 'God bless you' of these pioneers. Looking over the ground now, the committee can see many instances wherein the preparations and programme fell short of the wants of the occasion, this reunion being, in fact, only an experiment from which future reunions might be modeled, yet it was one of the most enjoyable occasions that has been witnessed in Boonesboro since the advent of the white man in this county. A band of martial music, so long crowded out of public ceremonies for brass bands, pianos and organs were upon the ground, and the shrill whistle of the fife and the rattle of the drums irresistibly carried one back to the old musters and marches of the people in by-gone years and waked many tender mem- ories in the hearts of the people there assembled; we noticed a little three- year old child tear away from its father and begin to dance to the time of the music. We cannot speak of those who were there. Old men and women who had come to the county young and strong, whose heads are white and bending to the grave, boys that came before their school-days began, now middle-aged men, mothers that were brought here in their mother's arms, and women that were born here and are now in the prime of life, made the vast concourse.
"At about twelve o'clock, Mr. George W. Crooks, whose first pair of shoes were made in the county, as president of the association called the meeting to order, and at his request the Rev. Lewis Doran invoked the blessing of God upon the people, feelingly referring to the times when they had asked for and received assistance from on high.
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
"After this, Hon. I. J. Mitchell delivered an address of welcome to the old settlers and their families. Mr. Mitchell was in his happiest mood, and his address was exceedingly worthy of the high praise it receives. Mr. Mitchell can talk better when the real feelings of the heart are to be touched than on any other subject. Many were heard to say 'God bless Ike Mitchell, whether he is our next judge or not.'
"Then came the dinner so bountifully provided, in which honey and corn dogers, the chief dish in earlier days, figured conspicuously beside the delicate and modern viands. After dinner and more hand-shaking the crowd once more assembled at the stand and were addressed by Hon. John A. Hull. Mr. Hull's remarks were in the main statistical, and proved that he had been at great pains to gather the facts touching the settlement of the county. He gave the first settlers' names and their history, the first death, the first birth, the first preacher, doctor, lawyer, law-suit, etc. He made several happy hits. He stated that wild honey was so plenty in those days that they used it to grease wagons with, and that an old settler avowed to him that Oskaloosa whisky and wagon-grease was better medicine for Iowa complaints than any of the bitter stuff now furnished them by the drug store. Being promised immunity from present and future danger he related the story of John A. McFarland crossing the sloughs in early times. It appears that he and McFarland were going to Des Moins 'when the sloughs were up.' McFarland had on a new pair of pants which he did not want to soil when they should 'mire down' or 'swamp' in the sloughs, so he took them off and put them under the buggy seat. They had great trouble in crossing the slough near Swede point, and it was so near the town that he ought to have got his pants muddy, but still he did" not. This created considerable talk among the young folks, and Mac cir- culated the report that it was Hull without pants, and the latter gentleman would have been pounded by some offended Swede Pointer but for Mac's timely hiding him away.
"Mr. Hull's remarks were evidently intended for preservation by the so- ciety, and we shall print them in due time.
"Next came the class meeting. The president opened out with his ex- perience, which, though full of circumstances showing the sufferings of the pioneers, was the kind of talk the people wanted. George was one of the bee hunting party.
" A part of the settlers would hunt wild honey, take it south and sell it, and bring supplies for the settlement, while others would look after the crops and attend the settlement generally.
" After this several other old settlers told their stories of early times. It was truly a splendid time. Happy faces everywhere showed the success of the reunion.
" In the meantime there was fun going on at Union hall. Old folks and young folks joined in the merry dance till the clock pointed at half past eleven, when the party broke up sorry that the next day was Sunday. Our good friend Shannon, of the 'corner grocery,' who the old settlers called 'governor' for some reason or other, was leader, committeman, manager and all of the dance. He filled these offices with dignity and success. He has danced on the puncheon floors of the log cabins years and years ago, but the round dances with Frenchy names, waltzes, schottisches, and galops were too much for such men as John A. Hull, A. L. Speer, W. M. McIn- tosh, Wm. Pilcher and others. But they soon learned how to 'swing part-
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
ners ' as well as anybody. At no time since our residence in Boone have we seen such heartfelt enjoyment, good feeling and fun, as at the old set- tlers' hall. We are henceforth and for all time an old settler, and insist that they shall have reunions monthly.
" In this connection we have the pleasure of presenting to the reader a copy of the address delivered on the occasion by Judge Mitchell.
"'Mr. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN-Amid the busy bustling scenes of this weary careworn life, we have upon this day thrown aside all care and trouble which seem so constantly to beset our pathway through life; have discarded all business and labor, ignored all political and religious differ- ences, in order that we may to-day enjoy unalloyed the festivities of this occasion in commemoration of the early settlement of this county. To refresh our recollections in relation to the scenes and incidents con- nected with pioneer life in the early settlement of the county; to contrast the cares, troubles and difficulties incident to the first settlement of our county at that day, to the great wealth, many facilities, and general prosperity of this day; and while the memory of the trials and poverty of these early days may be somewhat painful, yet will the heart ever swell with pride and joy at the recollection of the unbounded hospitality which was ever extended in those pioneer days, notwithstanding the limited resources of the host. Fifteen years have passed away since the close of those pioneer days; what a change has occurred. Aye! what a wonderful transformation of the county has been accomplished since those days. The only settle- ments that were then made in the county skirted along the edge of the Des Moines river timber, along the timber upon the Squaw-fork of the Skunk, and along the edge of Buffalo-grove. The broad intervening prairie was unbroken by any settlement at that time. Large numbers of the prairie wolf then made it their home, and deer were quite plenty in the forest along the Des Moines river, and occasionally a straggling elk, bear or buf- falo would wander back to their former feeding ground in this county, and afford rare sport until they were hunted down and slain. Now the county is one continued settlement from beginning to end. Again how strange when I remember many that I now see that were then little wee toddling ones are now men and women grown, many of them married and have little children now toddling around as they then were. Some that were Sabbath- school scholars in my class in those days, are now married, and a few Sun- days ago I could look over the Sabbath-school and see their children there, a duplicate of what their parents were sixteen or seventeen years ago. But while we see many faces here that were familiar to us in those pioneer days, together with their children that now occupy the position that their parents did in those days, yet in the midst of our festivity and joy a feeling of sadness will come over the soul when we remember the many familiar faces of that day who are now absent. Some, it is true, have gone to other lands to dwell, and some like the harvest sheaf in the ripeness of a mature age, and in the fulness of time, have been reaped down and garnered away by the great reaper, Death; but there are others in the prime of life, and buoyant with hope of the future, whose sun of light went down at noon. Some at home amidst friends, whose tender assidnities and kind care tended somewhat to alleviate the suffering and lessen the gloom connected with the last trial, the dying hour. But others went down upon the bloody battle-field, amid the roar of cannon and the rattle of musketry, far from home and the loved ones who longed for their return. Some of them now
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
sleep upon some of the many bloody battle-fields of the South, and when the angry storm sweeps over the place where they are sleeping, it seems to go sighing and sobbing among the pines beneath which they lie, and each gentle zephyr that passes o'er the hallowed spot where they sleep In mourn- ful cadence chants a funeral requiem for the martyred dead, whose glorious death in the cause of civil and religious liberty consecrates the very ground where they sleep, and has thrown over their acts, aye, and the very age in which they lived and died, a halo of glory and renown, the refulgence and brightness of which shall continue to increase so long as time shall last.
"I crave the indulgence of my audience for a few moments while I briefly mention a few of those who fell in the midst of their usefulness among us in those pioneer days. There was L. J. Meechem, a young man of rare promise, of great scholarly attainment, and brilliant intellectual endowment, and whose moral character was of the very brightest and with- out reproach. I knew him intimately for about a year and a half. yet in all that time I never heard him speak disparagingly or reproachfully of any person, although he had met with considerable abuse on account of his political proclivities. He had a devoted love for his profession (the prac- tice of law), and was ambitious to establish a reputation in his profession, but was destined to bitter disappointment, for death, inexorable death, came in the guise of consumption, that great enemy of human life, and ere life's sun had reached its meridian height, he passed away from earth. Then there was L. C. Sanders, who established the first newspaper that was ever published in our county, a man of far more than ordinary ability as a writer and editor, and of rare social qualities, which caused him to have the friendship of all his acquaintances, even those who were politically strongly opposed to him; he, too, was called away in the prime of life, and again the messenger sent by Death was inexorable consumption. Then there was N. W. Dennison, who established the first Democratic newspaper that was ever published in the county. He also was a lawyer, and stood high in the profession and was considered among the best lawyers of central Iowa. He had attained a good degree of literary culture, and was a man of ex- emplary character, and in his personal relations he was respected and liked by all regardless of their political proclivities. . He was the first law part- ner I had in my practice; he, like the others, was called away in the prime of life; he died during the term of the district court in April, 1860. Then there was George Hoover, Samuel Burton and a number of others whom want of time forbids that I shall now give each a separate notice; but if we continue our meetings I hope sometime to mention fully the older pioneers, who died at a good old age, among whom were old Uncle Billy Webster, old Uncle Johnny Pea, the old gentleman McCall and several others whom I have not time in this short address of welcome to name. But I hope I have said enough to show that in our present prosperity it is well that we should meet together and refresh in our memories the recol- lection of the many interesting scenes and incidents which occurred in the early settlement of the county, and rehearse alike the sorrows and joys, the trials and the triumphs of those early pioneer days; and for this purpose, in the name of the old settler's association, I greet you, one and all, with a hearty, old-fashioned pioneer welcome."
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
RELIGIOUS.
You raised these hallowed walls; the desert smiled, And Paradise was opened in the wild .- Pope.
The first settlement of the county was scarcely completed before the servants of the Lord were at work in the new vineyard. Within the last fifty years the agents of the Christian religion have been taught and trained to accompany the first advance of civilization, and such was their advent here. In the rude cabins and huts of the pioneers they proclaimed the same gospel that is preached in the gorgeous palaces that, under the name of churches, decorate the great cities. It was the same gospel, but the sur- roundings made it appear different, in the effect it produced, at least.
The Christian religion had its rise, and the days of its purest practice, among an humble, simple-minded people, and it is among similar surround -. ings in modern times that it seems to approach the purity of its source. This is the best shown in the days of pioneer life. It is true, indeed, that in succeeding times the church attains greater wealth and practices a wider benevolence. Further, it may be admitted that it gains a firmer discipline and wields a more general influence on society, but it remains true that in pioneer times we find a manifestation of Christianity that we seek in vain at a later time and under contrasted circumstances. The meek and lowly spirit of the Christian faith-the placing of spiritual things above vain pomp and show-appear more earnest amid the simple life and toil of a pioneer people than it can when surrounded with the splendors of wealth and fashion. But we may take a comparison less wide, and instead of con- trasting the Christian appearances of a great city with that of the pioneers, we may compare that of thirty years ago here in the West with that in the present time of moderately developed wealth and taste for display, and we find much of the same result.
The comparison is, perhaps, superficial to some extent,. and does not fully weigh the elements involved, nor analyze them properly. We simply take the broad fact, not to decry the present, but to illustrate the past. So that looking back to the early religious meetings in the log-cabins we may say: "Here was a faith, earnest and simple, like that of the early Christian. "
The first religious meetings in the county were held in the cabins of the settlers, with two or three families for a congregation. On pleasant days they would gather outside in the shade of the cabin or under the branches of a tree, and here the Word would be expounded and a song of Zion sung.
The first public religious exercises in Boone county were conducted by George Hull. He was not a minister but was a devout believer of the Christian religion, and before emigrating to Iowa had for many years been a prominent and active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. When he left the sacred religious influences which pervaded his old Indiana home he carried with him some of the inspiration, and upon settling here opened his house on the Sabbath day for public class and prayer meetings which he himself conducted. The first sermon preached in the county by a regn- larly ordained minister was at the house of George Hull as early as 1848, by a Methodist preacher who was passing through the country. Some time after this Hull's house became a regular preaching place, Rev. Mr. Hammond and a young man by the name of Hewett alternately filling the
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
appointment. Some time during the year 1849, ministers of the United Brethren denomination occasionally preached in the county and during the following year a United Brethren preacher by the name of Demoss had regular preaching appointments at the house of Samuel Luther. As early as June, 1851, and possibly before then, Rev. W. J. Sparks, a Baptist minister, located in Boone county.
He was born in Wilkes county, N. C., in 1807; converted at twenty-one years of age, and baptized by Rev. George Douglas, of his native county. He removed to Indiana in 1835, where he was soon ordained and spent some sixteen years in doing missionary labor.
In 1851 he removed to Iowa and settled in Boone county. Here he be- gan his life-work-that of preaching Christ-and ceased only when his Master's call "come up higher" was heard. He fell asleep June 28, 1878. During the last few years of his life his labors were somewhat interrupted by sickness, but his counsels were esteemed as of great weight and value by his brethren.
Under his labors the first Baptist church in this part of Iowa was organ- ized. His labors were very abundant in most of the territory now occu- pied by the Upper Des Moines and 'Coon Valley Associations. Many of the churches were organized by him, and both of these associations were largely the result, directly or indirectly, of his labors.
One intimately acquainted with this eminent divine many years, says:
" We feel it but a merited tribute to put upon our records our apprecia- tion of his labors and worth, and to thus.express our sympathy with his bereaved family and the church of which he was for more than twenty- seven years the honored pastor. We feel that their loss is also our loss, their sorrow our sorrow; but that what is our loss is his eternal gain, for the reward of the righteous is life eternal."
At a very early day a brother-in-law of W. P. Berry, by the name of Cameron-a Cumberland Presbyterian minister-preached in the county. His usual place of preaching was on the west side of the river, at the house of Mr. Berry; but sometimes he preached at the house of Judge McCall, on the East side. The first church building was a frame structure, erected by the Methodists in Boonesboro. That building has in later years given place to a very commodions brick church, where the congregation now worships. At the present time nearly all of the different christian denomn- inations are represented in the county. The different church organizations will be more carefully and elaborately noticed in connection with the his- tory of the townships where they are located. The date of first organiza- tion, names of original members, names of pastors, date of erection and cost of buildings, and number of present membership. is given as fully and accurately as it is possible to do from the facilities furnished us.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
A meeting was held in the court-house in Boonesboro October 6th, 1857, for the purpose of organizing a county agricultural society. At that meet- ing, five persons were appointed from each township whose duty it should be to organize the society. The persons appointed were as follows:
Dodge township -- Robert Martin, John Redpath, W. L. Defore, Almon Stinson, Daniel Dillion.
If Jennings C
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
Berry township-V. Preston, W. Wade, J. W. Clark, W. P. Berry, Jerry Gordon.
Union township-Dr. Mower, Peter Mower, E. P. Vail, Isaac Crubel, John H. Moore.
Jackson township-John Mitchell, Messrs. Hanton, Madden, Milan Zenor, W. Blunk.
Boone township-J. F. Alexander, Win. Pilcher, W. M. Boone, Charles Woodhouse, Enos Barrett. .
Yell township-James Spickelnier, G. W. Berry, Jacob Myers, Lewis Kinney, G. W. Cline.
Pleasant township-R. K. Keigley, L. Foster, John Hopkins, Benjamin Williams, James Gilden.
The society was accordingly formed, and annual fairs were held for some twenty years. At first these exhibitions were held in the court-room at Boonesboro. In a few years grounds were bought by the society a short distance northeast of Boonesboro, where the fairs were held. The last fair under the supervision of this society was held a few years ago, when the organization disbanded. Ou the discontinuance of fairs under the manage- ment of this society, the people on the west side of the river organized an agricultural society. The first annual exhibition under the auspices of this society was held at Ogden in 1878. The second fair occurred during the last week in September, 1879. There were over 500 entries, and the exhi- bition was very creditable in every particular. The officers of this society for 1879 were as follows: President, Enos Barrett; Vice-President, P. V. Farley; Treasurer, J. J. Snell; Secretary, H. B. Wagers; Marshal, J. N. Shadle.
During the year 1879 an agricultural society was organized on the east side of the river. Grounds were fitted up southeast of Boone, and the first annual exhibition was held during the first week in October. The following were the officers of the society for 1879: J. E. Buxton, President: L. J. Alleman, Vice-President; John A. McFarland, Treasurer; John C. Hall, Secretary; John Burley, Marshal; John A. Head, Gen. Supt.
Directors, J. E. Buxton, L. Goeppinger, Chas. Goetzmon, Louis Burgess, J. M. Herman, J. C. Perrigo, J. R. Crary, C. W. Carr. O. Schleiter.
Division Superintendents: division A, Henry Yeager; division B, O. Sehileiter; division C, L. Goeppinger; division D, L. Burgess; division E. J. Rush Lincoln; division F. S. K. Hunesinger; division G, R. M. Weir; divi- sion H, John T. Nelson; division I, A. Joice; division J, D. R. Hindman; division K, Minnie Schoonover; division L, Mrs. J. E. Buxton; division M, Mrs. Wm. Wells; division N, W. P. Todd.
The following are the rules and regulations of the society:
Board of directors .- The board of directors will meet at the judges stand on the fair grounds (during fair), at three taps of the bell-repeated.
Superintendents .- The general superintendent will provide for the wants of the exhibitors, and have general charge of the exhibition.
It is the duty of superintendents of divisions to be on the grounds early on the morning of the first day of the fair. They are to be in readiness to arrange, systematically, all animals and articles entered for exhibition, ar- range each in a group by itself, so as to exhibit to the best advantage to the spectators as well as the committee. They should prevent, as much as possible, the handling of manufactures, etc., especially by children.
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