USA > Iowa > Clinton County > The history of Clinton County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns &c., biographical sketches of citizens > Part 65
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Seth Lum and wife, and Phineas Cass, a brother-in-law, settled in this town- ship in the spring of 1840, west of what is now the town of De Witt, and adjoining the corporation.
Early in the spring of 1837, a man of the name of Miller, with his family, settled on Silver Creek, northwest from what is now the town of De Witt ; during that same year, in the winter, he went to Davenport for provisions ; came back to the Wapsie, having walked the entire distance ; was compelled to swim the river ; caught cold and died. Ilis was the first death in the township. He was buried in the timber west of Silver Creek about eighty rods, a little southwest of the present Eureka Mills.
John Firman, wife and seven children, located at the Kimball Place in 1839; at the same time, the Achords, three brothers, bachelors, boarded with him, but got the ague, and finally became discouraged, and all left the country. A child of Firman's, who died early in 1839, was the second person who died in the township.
John Knott, a Frenchman, settled at the north side of Evans, or Independ- ence Grove, at an early date ; afterward, sold his farm to a man of the name of Titcomb, who lived here a few years; sold out to Mr. Desmond, who now owns the farm.
Titcomb removed to Missouri with his family ; was elected County Judge of the county in which he resided ; got into a dispute with his son, which ended by his son's shooting him dead. The son was sent to the penitentiary for twenty years.
Adoniram Kendall and wife, settled at what is known as Work's Mill, and built a saw-mill in 1841. He built the mill in company with Ashbel Bedford, brother of Samuel N., now residing in De Witt.
Absalom Dennis, wife and family, consisting of two daughters-Christiana, afterward married to Hon. J. D. Bourne, and Jane, who married J. W. Dear- born-settled at what is known as the Holmes place, southwest of De Witt, near Silver Creek, in 1839.
Jonas Oaks and family, consisting of wife, one son, Chessman, and two daughters, Celinda and Rachel, settled in Independence Grove in 1841. Jonas Oaks died in 1846. Chess, or Dr. Oaks, married a Miss Olive Martin, of Scott County. Moved to Denver, Colo. (was appointed Indian agent to the Utes), where he now resides. Celinda married a man of the name of Healy in 1842, who died a year after their marriage, leaving one child. She, after- ward, in 1845, married Jonathan Shinn. Rachel married John Soliss in 1845, who died shortly after, and left her with one child. She then married a man of the name of Howard; the family then moved to Nebraska.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
A Mr. Dudley settled in Independence Grove in 1839; lived there two years, and sold out and moved away. In 1840, Daniel P. Soliss and family moved into the grove northwest of De Witt, and settled on Silver Creek. Abram and Nicholas Walrod, brothers of John Walrod, with their families, settled here in about 1841. Abram's family consisted of his wife and six sons -Michael, Benjamin, N. N., John, Abram. James, and three daughters-Bet- sey, married to Esquire Names; Sarah, married to Lyman Evans, Jr. ; Sylvia, married to George Scott. Abram settled in what is now known as the John Walrod farm, in Welton Township, then a part of this township.
Nicholas' family consisted of his wife, four sons-Hiram, Nicholas, Abram and Jacob, and three daughters-Kate, married to Alonzo Names ; Anna, mar- ried to William Brown (Brown was drowned in the Wapsie River, while bath- ing, in 1864) ; Betsey, married to M. A. Harrington. The Walrods were quite a numerous family in those early days, and were a power in politics. It was said of them, that any aspiring politician, who was "solid " with the Walrods, was secure of his election.
Long since that time, however, the population of this county has increased to such an extent that it has been beyond the power of any one family to con- trol the elections of this county.
A. R. Bissell, wife and family, came to this town on the 12th day of May .. 1840, and settled on the place now occupied by him just north and outside of the corporation. Mr. Bissell was, for several terms, School Fund Commissioner of the county, besides holding other offices of trust. He now resides at his home near De Witt, enjoying the fruits of his labors; his daughter Helen is married to W. H. Talbot, a prosperous hardware merchant engaged in business in the town of De Witt. J. B. Bissell, a son, served in the war of the rebellion in the Twenty-sixth Iowa Infantry Regiment, and lost a limb in battle. Charles P., another son, is a physician in Dakota, and Evelyn is the wife of A. W. Jack, a merchant at New Jefferson, Iowa.
Henry Strickler and William Strickler early made claims east of Thomas Hatfield's place, sold out to W. H. Bennett, and left the country, as did the Bassetts who lived on the Wapsie River. The Pureells were also early settlers near the Wapsie, south of De Witt, but early left the country. Ambrose Betts came to the township at an early date, resided here until 1870, when he sold his farm two miles southeast of De Witt, and removed to Oregon.
A. G. Dearborn, wife and two sons, J. W. and Frank B., eame to the township in 1846; he occupied a farm south of De Witt, and died in 1875. J. W. was, from 1871 to 1875, Deputy Sheriff and Jailer of the county, with his office at De Witt. Both J. W. and F. B. are residents of the town of De Witt.
M. Gillooley was an early settler, and still occupies, with his family, the farm originally purchased by him southwest and adjoining the town of De Witt.
Grandfather Lepper, an old Revolutionary soldier, settled at an early date in the Grove north of the town, with his wife and three sons. Jacob, Ira and John. Grandfather Lepper died in 1840. The descendants of Jacob and Ira still live in the community. John also died at an early date.
The Pomeroys, two brothers, came in 1839, lived for awhile on Silver Creek, northwest of the town, and then moved away.
David Cass, wife and family, came to the township in 1840 ; his children were John, Stephen and Betsey. He moved to Jackson County after residing here four years, where he died.
Alex. Work came to this township about the year 1838, located the farm now owned by his son Alex. Work, Jr., lived there a number of years and mov d
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
into the town of De Witt, where he resided with his wife. He went West in 1878. Mr. Work was the second Recorder in the county.
R. C. Bourne, Esq., brother of Hon. J. D. Bourne, made a claim to the land now owned by Alfred Smith, southeast of the town of De Witt, in 1836. He also at the same time made a claim to land just below the mouth of Ames Creek, on the Wapsie River. He sold the first claim to David Bedford. He went to California, in 1849, returned in 1852, and returned to California with his family, consisting of his wife, formerly Margaret Brophy. and three chil- dren, William, Thomas and Mary C., and settled in Grass Valley, where he died. He was a member of the first. Board of County Commissioners, and was elected in 1840.
Louis Hayden and a man of the name of Chittenden, settled east of Ames' place, in 1839, between that place and Brophy Creek, made claims, remained for a short time and left the country.
A Mrs. Holland settled west of the town of De Witt, on Silver Creek, in 1840 ; she was a widow. Married George Macomber, and afterward moved to Davis County.
Benjamin Rollins and family came to this township in 1840; he died in 1846.
Moses Goff and family, and George Goudie and family, settled here in about the year 1841 or 1842.
Alvin Ketchum and family came in 1840, remained a year and returned to Ohio.
Edward West and wife, two sons, Daniel and Harry, and two daughters, Ellen, married to Volmer, Sarah, married to Israel Barr, Davenport, lowa, came to this township in 1843, settled on a farm in the southwest part of the township, where Mr. West now resides, with his sons situated on good farms around him.
Reuben Cudney and Zephaniah Allen, with their families, lived in the township for about one year, coming here in 1840.
Father John Cotton, with his wife and family, consisting of three sons- Aylett R., Salem, John and Wickliffe, and sister-in-law, Miss Rachel Lane, who afterward married Robert Bedford, came to this township in 1844. His two daughters, Arcana, married to W. W. Wolcott, and Talitha, married to G. W. Pascal, came with their families a short time afterward. Father Cotton died January 20, 1870. Father Cotton was born on the old Plymouth farm in Massachusetts, which we believe he once owned and was a lineal descendant of the famous Puritan, Rev. John Cotton. Father Cotton died as he had lived, a zealous, faithful and devoted Christian. He formerly owned the farm now owned by L. S. and N. S. Harrington.
Aylett R., whom we mention in another place, is an eminent lawyer of Clinton, Iowa. John died in March, 1856.
Salem and Wickliffe, the one an energetic business man and the other a leading lawyer, are residents of the town of De Witt.
William Horan and family settled in this township on the north side of Round Grove in the year 1840.
Monroe Warren and wife settled in this township in 1844.
R. L. Smith came to this township with his family in 1848, and settled on the place now owned by him, called the Rural Home. Mr. S. was an ardent Abolitionist, and his house was for years a station on the underground railroad. Mr. S. often relates how negroes escaping from slavery were brought to him at night, and he, assisted by others, among whom we may mention Judge E.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Graham and Hon. S. S. Burdett, would hitch up his team and take them to the next station on their way rejoicing to that then haven of the colored man- Canada.
John G. Wallace, wife and family, with two daughters-Emily, married to J. L. James, and Kate, married to T. H. Ellis, settled in this township in 1843. Mary, a daughter married to W. A. Cotton, Esq., and George and Albert are residents of the town of De Witt.
Thomas Reed and family located on the old Reed farm in 1849, where he died. Patrick Lawler came at about the same time, remained a year or two, finally settled in Washington Township, where he now resides.
In collecting the history of the old settlers, so far as it can be gleaned from the recollections of those who survive, we frequently hear the name of "Campo " mentioned. So far as we can gather his history, he appears to have been a half- breed French Indian, who flourished here at an early day. He employed his time in hunting and trapping, and was always welcomed at the homes of the early settlers. He was regarded as one of the finest shots with a rifle in the country, and that, too, with but one hand, one having been taken off at some- time before his career here. He was somewhat nomadic in his habits-here to-day and off to-morrow. Many interesting stories are told of him as a hunter, and were not this history of De Witt Township already exceeding its limits, we should certainly embalm some of them. More than one old settler has said to us that " Old Campo " deserved a conspicuous place in the early history of this county. He went West, it is said, to California, in about 1852, with Burrell Bassett, an early settler of this region, and has not been heard of since.
INCIDENTS, ETC.
In 1845, or thereabouts, David Cass had claimed 160 acres about two miles north of the town of De Witt, now owned by Moses Goff, W. Saltmarsh and M. H. Haskins, in the timber. But Willard Barrows, of Davenport, was desirous of laying claim to it, and sent up a party to the land, on which they put up a cabin, which was immediately torn down by the settlers. A claim meeting was held with reference to the matter, at the house of Jonas M. Oaks, at which the old settlers convened. Norman Evans was appointed Marshal. The claimants were heard, and the land divided between them. Barrows afterward forfeited his right to the land and the whole of it reverted to Cass.
In 1841, J. W. Kirtley and Dr. Turner had a law suit over a claim to some land, in which Kirtley was successful. Kirtley celebrated his victory by giving a barbecue at Point Pleasant on the Wapsie, at which all the old settlers were present, among whom were Seth Lum and wife, A. Kendall and wife, S. P. Burton and wife, the Walrods, Norman Evans and wife, and many others. All joined in the festivities of the occasion and took part in the dance.
The bill of fare was fresh pork, spare-ribs, ham, venison, cakes (a rarity in those days), and besides, a barrel of whisky with the head knocked out and several tin cups close at hand, with which the men helped themselves, and yet there was no drunkenness to mar the general joy of the occasion. Kirtley says that on the occasion of this barbecue he determined to liave a "big blow- out," " and that he had his cards of invitation printed on white satin, with the names of Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster, Martin Van Buren and other noted statesmen of that day, as managers of his ball, with Judges Grant, Leffingwell, Wilson and other prominent gentlemen of this State as deputy managers ; that the affair was a success, and was attended by every- body of note in the county at the time.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
The first election held in the township was in April, 1840, at Abraham Folcke's, at which there were present about twenty persons, at which election John F. Homer was designated as Justice of the Peace, and Jacob Lepper as Constable.
Homer received his commission, and thercupon, it is said, the people began to quarrel and dispute over their claims and other matters, and law suits were the order of the day.
The people concluded that if they had no Justice of the Peace the people would cease quarreling, whereupon Mr. Homer resigned his office. At the election in the fall of that year for that office, there was a tie between Ashbel Bedford and John Thomas for the office of Justice. Both refused to qualify. Bedford was afterward appointed and served for a short time. For several years thereafter, it appears there was no Justice, and if one was needed, the people were compelled to go to Camanche and bring one out, whether to marry a party or to take an acknowledgment.
In 1845, a family by name of Woodruff came to the township from Ohio. A daughter Dolly, aged sixteen years, had contracted the malignant scarlet fever, of which she died here. The people were so much afraid of the disease that they would not go near her. Miss Christiana Dennis, now the wife of Hon. J. D. Bourne, however, braved the danger and took care of the young lady until her death, being the third death in the township.
The first celebration of Independence Day, held in the township, was on the . 4th of July, 1841, at which time Samuel Murray, a lawyer of Camanche, deliv . ered the oration. Rev. B. H. Cartright was Chaplain. The dinner was a regular barbecue, consisting of chickens, and pigs roasted whole, quarters of pork, all cooked in the woods in pits made for the purpose on the premises of Seth Lum. The attendance was large, and the occasion closed with a dance in the evening, at the residence of Lum.
The first burial-ground was located in the wood west of what is now the Kimball place, north of the town of De Witt, where the people of the vicinity who died during the early settlement, were buried. Afterward, in 1844 or 1845, the old cemetery near the town of De Witt was established; both have since been abandoned, and a new cemetery, called Elmwood, was laid out by the town of De Witt, about three-fourths of a mile north of the corporation, in 1869.
The Catholic Cemetery. just west of the town, was established about the year 1853 or 1854, and is still used by that Church as a burial-place.
Lizzie Bedford, daughter of Robert Bedford, now wife of James Dunham, residing in California, was the first white child born in the township; she was born July 16, 1839. Lyman, son of D. H. Brown and wife, born in 1840, was the second.
The first sermon preached in the township was preached by Deacon Hall, as he was called, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at the residence of Thomas Hatfield, in September, 1837. Mrs. Hatfield was very anxious to hear preaching, whereupon Mr. Hatfield went to Camanche, opposite Albany, Ill., crossed the River to that place in a skiff, took Deacon Hall back with him, and, after he had preached, returned with him in the same way.
The first marriage in the township was that of Minerva Cass to Peter Ryan, which took place at the residence of Mr. Seth Lum in 1840; a Mr. Gardner, Justice of the Peace at Camanche, performed the ceremony.
The first school taught in this township was taught by Miss Fannie Moore, in a log house near Silver Creek, on what is now the farm of Martin Ill, two miles northwest of the town of De Witt. Her school was composed of seven
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
scholars, viz. : Hannah Brown, now Mrs. Stevens; Mary A. Brown, now Mrs. Riggs, daughters of David H. Brown; Sarah A., now Mrs. Westbrook ; Elmira and Harriet, daughters of S. P. Burton ; Philena Walrod, now Mrs. Ira Lep- per, and Ephraim Cass. She taught one term of three months. Miss Moore was from Massachusetts-a regular "Yankee school-marm."
A great change has taken place since that time; the township is now com- posed of some eleven subdistricts, with an elegant and commodious schoolhouse built on the most modern and improved plan, in each subdistrict. The school population of the township, irrespective of independent districts, numbers 500 persons. A school is taught in each subdistrict for at least two terms of four months each, during the year, and every facility is provided for enabling the young of both sexes to acquire a good education.
The years 1839 and 1845 are remembered by the old settlers as the years during which much sickness prevailed. In 1839, but few families escaped severe attacks of the ague ; in many families all were prostrated, and had to depend on their neighbors for help. In 1845, fevers of a severe type prevailed, many old settlers dying therefrom.
In 1844, June 5, a terrible tornado passed over the town of De Witt, com- ing from the northwest, through Evans', or Independence Grove, through the town of De Witt, which at that time was thinly inhabited; a house of John Snow's was blown down, and one of J. D. Bourne's, the one he now lives in, was moved from its foundation ; and the fence west and north of the house was destroyed. The tornado passed through Round Grove, destroying the timber in its path, took a southeasterly course, crossing Brophy Creek at about the same place that the torzado of 1860 crossed it, and crossed the Mississippi River near the mouth of the Wapsie River.
On June 3, 1860, the tornado, known as the Camanche Tornado, passed through this township south of De Witt, creating havoc in its path. The day was a very sultry one, and about 5 o'clock, in the afternoon, a huge funnel- shaped cloud seemed to move out of a brazen sky in the southwest eastward. like a terrific monster, scattering death and destruction in its way ; houses, barns, fences, timber, and, in fact, everything in its path, was mown down as though with a besom ; fifteen persons in this township, alone, were killed by it; two persons, now living in De Witt-A. G. Wallace and George A. Fuller- were taken up and carried over the highest tree-tops, and landed without injury.
Many stories are told of the privations and obstacles overcome by the early settlers. Money was out of the question ; there was none in the country ; 25 cents was the highest price paid for wheat, and that out of the store, besides having to haul the wheat to Davenport to market. Very often a man would take a load of wheat or pork to market, and after remaining all night, and pay- his necessary hotel expenses, would have nothing to bring home.
The people were compelled to go twenty miles to mill, to get their meal and flour. Those, however, who endured to the end, reaped their reward. After 1850, business increased ; good prices were paid for produce of all kinds : farms were opened ; the prairies blossomed as the rose, and the rich harvests of golden grain yielded bounteous incomes. Large and comfortable dwellings were erected ; and the result is, that all the comforts and enjoyments belonging to older localities are now accessible to all.
Mrs. S. A. Westbrook relates, that frequently, when owing to bad roads, which, in the early settlement of the country were notorious, the people could not get to the mills to get their grain ground, they were sometimes compelled
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
to grind their wheat in coffee-mills to make their bread; and she says, that bread made of flour, thus ground, was as sweet as she ever ate.
To accommodate the lawyers in attendance at Court, in early times, Hon. J. D. Bourne relates, that all the spare beds were collected in the community and taken to his house, he then being a bachelor, and Black Bill, of Camanche, was employed to do the chamber work, that the lawyers, among whom were Julge Grant, John P. and Eb. Cook. Charles Weston, United States District Attorney, and Fisher, a noted wag, of Davenport, the Judge Thomas S. Wil- son, Gen. James Wilson, and T. Crawford, of Dubuque, Ralph P. Lowe, after- ward Governor, the Starrs of Burlington, Judge W. E. Leffingwell, and old Joe Knox, a noted Illinois lawyer, were all thus lodged by him without charge. The evenings were passed in telling amusing stories, and in scientific discus- sions, to the profit and enjoyment of all.
An amusing story is told of a trial in this town, in which Judge Leff is the central figure. It was during the preliminary examination of one Grabell, charged with murder, before Col. Evans. as Magistrate. One Burge, a fussy lawyer, residing here, was Prosecutor, and Judge Leff, then a young man, was attorney for the defendant. During the examination, which lasted all night, Barge would, at inopportune times, jump up and interrupt the proceedings. After being told to sit down several times by Col. Evans, without effect, Leff, losing all patience. arose and said: That, being an officer of the Court, it was his duty to see its orders enforced, that if the prosecutor did not obey the Court and sit down, he should knock him down. After scanning Judge Leff's six feet of muscular frame, he evidently concluded that discretion was the better part of valor, sat quietly in his seat and the examination proceeded without fur- ther interruption.
TOWN OF DE WITT.
By act of the Council and House of Representatives of the Territory of Iowa, approved January 14, 1841, William Miller, of Cedar County, Andrew F. Russell, of Scott County, and William A. Warren, of Jackson County, were appointed as Commissioners to re-locate the seat of Justice of Clinton County. They were required to meet at the residence of Abraham Folcke within six months from the date of the passage of the act, and to proceed to locate said seat of justice as near the geographical center of said county as a good and suitable situation convenient to wood and water could be found, hav- ing reference to the present and future population of the county.
In the early part of that year, about May, the Commissioners proceeded to their duties and made selection of the site, the same being 160 acres in the center of the north half of Section 18, Township 81, Range 4 east. Hon. J. D. Bourne was commissioned by the County Commissioners to enter the site selected, which he proceeded to do, going to Dubuque for that purpose. Immediately after this, Lyman Buck, the then County Surveyor, surveyed and platted the town. At the time of the selection of the site, the question of a name was submitted by the county seat Commissioners to a vote of the peo- ple in the vicinity.
It is said that Miller, one of the Commissioners, who was a very large, portly man and withal very popular with the ladies of the vicinity, was very anxious that they should name the new town Millersburg, but it seems that Col. Warren was more of an adept at maneuvering and wire-working and suc- ceeded in securing a majority of votes in favor of the name of Vandenburg for the new county seat, in honor of the daughter of an old German burgher, to
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
whom he was paying his addresses. Afterward, by act of the Territorial Legis- lature, approved Feb. 17, 1842, the name of Vandenburg was changed to that of De Witt.
Immediately after the location of the county seat, arrangements were made by Col. Loring Wheeler (who had moved to the house built by A. G. Harrison with his family) who, with Col. Lyman Evans, assisted by a few others, pro- ceeded to erect a log Court House on the northwest corner of Harrison and Jefferson streets. The building they erected was 24x36 feet in size, two stories high. This building was used for a Court House, and, indeed, for public gath- erings of all kinds, whether dances, religious services, political conventions, elections or otherwise, until the year 1846, at which time the frame building, known as the old Exchange Hotel building, was used for county offices and court purposes. This building was erected by John Snow in 1843, and was situated on the northeast corner of the publie square, and was burned in the year 1865. The brick Court House on the east side of the public square was completed in 1854, the contract for building the same having been let to S. N. Bedford and John Butler, by Judge E. Graham, who was at that time County Judge, having succeeded to that position on the resignation of Hon. A. R. Cotton, who had previously been elected to that office. The Court House was erected at a cost of $6,000. William Lawton built the Jail and Jailer's house, which cost $4,000. From the time of its completion and occupancy, the Court House was retained for court purposes and public offices until 1869, when the seat of justice was removed by a vote of the people from this place to Clinton.
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