USA > Iowa > Delaware County > The history of Delaware county, Iowa, containing a history of its county, its cities, towns &c., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers > Part 35
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In 1840, in the Summer, says Mr. Jacob B. Moreland, who was then a young man of 19, a log school house was built about three-fourths of a mile north of his father's house.
In this school honse, before it was "chiuked," says Mr. Moreland, Preacher Clark held religions services. " One pleasant Sunday morning, Clark, with his
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rifle on his shoulder, rode up to the fence near my father's (David Moreland's) house, and called father and me from the cabin and informed us that he had just shot and badly wounded a deer, in the grove near by, and if we would go out we could get it. We went out, of course, and brought it in. That day, Mr. Clark preached in the new school house." Shooting deer on the Sabbath was evidently considered by the pioneer preacher of Delaware as falling within his legitimate calling, and he probably wanted a nice venison steak for dinner.
" As soon as the new school house was completed," states Mr. Moreland, " the first school in the county was opened in it, during the same Fall, by Mrs. McClelland, wife of Hon. James A. McClelland, who had been for some years a Member of Congress from Fayette Co., Penn., and who came to Iowa shortly before in reduced circumstances." Congressmen did not get rich in those days. " About two months after school commenced, the school house was burned, and afterward Mrs. McClelland kept her school in James Cole's cabin. In the Spring of 1842, another school house was built, of logs, near the site of the former one, and the first school in it was taught by Miss Maria Phillips."
In the Autumn of 1840, William and Cornelia Dillon, twin children of Mr. and Mrs. G. D. Dillon, were born, being the first births recorded after the birth and death of Mr. Bennett's child, in 1837-38 ; and on the 7th of January, 1841, John W. Corbin was born.
The first law suit, so far as is known, occurred about this time. Charles W. Hobbs bought a yoke of cattle of Mr. Kibbee, and, shortly after, one of the oxen died. Hobbs thought he ought not to pay full price, and Kibbee thought differ- ently. Suit was brought before Gilbert D. Dillon, Justice of the Peace, and the case was considered one of such magnitude that a jury was called. Among the jurymen remembered were Joel Bailey, Leroy Jackson and Roland Aubrey. The jury thought that if they adhered strictly to law they could not do equal and exact justice to both parties, and failed to agree, but intimated that referees might agree. At the request of both parties, the jurymen consented to act as referees. Sitting in equity thereon, they readily agreed upon a decision they considered just and right, but, says one of them, " we made both parties mad.
THE FIRST MARRIAGES.
The first marriage license issued to Delaware people by the Clerk of Du- buque County, now on record, was issued to John Delong and Matilda A. Kibbec, June 19, 1840. Miss Kibbee was the daughter of Lucius Kibbee, then living where Rockville now stands, and the inference is, in the absence of absolute knowledge, that the wedding, which took place June 21. 1840, was at his house. If so, this must, in the light of present knowledge, be considered the first wedding in Delaware County. Mr. Delong lived at Cascade, Dubuque County.
July 20, 1840, it is said that Thomas Cole and Miss Barbara Nicholson, step-daughter of William Eads, were married at Eads' Grove, by Rev. Simeon Clark ; and it has been stated that this was the first wedding in the county.
The license register of Dubuque County does not show that license was issued, and the marriage certificate is not now on file there. There is on file, in the Office of the Clerk of the Court at Dubuque, a document which was, doubt- less, filed to show Mr. Clark's authority to solemnize marriages as a substitute for a minister of the Gospel. This is a certificate, signed by Bishop Thomas A. Morris, certifying that " Simeon Clark is set apart for a Deacon in the Metho- dist Episcopal Church," and "recommending him, in the absence of an Elder,
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as a suitable person to administer the ordinance of baptism, marriage and burial of the dead." This document was dated at Plattville, W. T., August 29, 1841. Doubtless Mr. Clark neglected to make the proper return of the marriage to be recorded at Dubuque.
The next license recorded after Delong-Kibbee was granted January 7, 1841, to John Nagle and Delotia Padelford : "on oath of Nagle." certifies P. S. Dade. the Clerk, " that she was a resident of Delaware County, and of the age of eighteen years, and had no husband, and that he was over the age of twenty- one and had no wife." This couple was married at Eads' Grove, January 13, 1841, by the Rev. Hiram Hubbard.
June 14, 1841, Gilbert D. Dillon, Justice of the Peace, certifies that B. Beardsley and Miss Mary Ann Wright were joined in matrimony by him ; and, November 17, of the same year, Daniel Brown, Justice of the Peace, officiated at the marriage of John Clark and Miss Olive Rexford. Samuel Kelly and Phebe Aun Tubbs were married in September, 1842.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY.
The people of Delaware had no representative from their own territory in the second Legislature of the Territory of Iowa, of 1839-40. There were hardly settlers enough in the county to make one full school district. But difficulties arose between the two counties of Dubuque and Delaware, as the latter, being unorganized, was practically a part of the former ; territorial roads had been and were being laid out across the county, and the people of Dubuque were sharp enough to see that they might be called upon to expend more money in Delaware than they could reasonably expect to receive in revenue from its settlers. They did not like the idea of expending their money in sloughs fifty miles away when they needed it so much nearer home. The settlers of Dela- ware, they thought, ought to take care of themselves and build their own roads, and concluded, by a little gentle force, to compel them to organize their county, and thus relieve the Dubuque people from a disagreeable burden. Hence it is said that the following aet was passed without the knowledge or consent of the Delaware people, and was originated by the Dubuque delegation in the Terri- torial Legislature. If any of the settlers of Delaware knew of such contem- plated action, it is certain, says Judge Bailey, that " the most of them were entirely ignorant of it until after the passage of the act," which, as a matter of historical interest, is given in full as follows :
[CHAPTER 7, LAWS 1839.]
AN ACT to provide for the organization of the County of Delaware, and to locate the seat of justice thereof.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Council and House of Representatives of the Territory of Iowa: That the County of Delaware shall be organized for county purposes as other counties of this Territory have heretofore been organized.
SEC. 2. The seat of justice of said county shall be located by three Commissioners, non-resi- dents of said county, which said Commissioners shall meet together on or before the first day of May next, eighteen hundred and forty, and forthwith proceed to examine into and determine upon the most eligible point for the county seat of said county, having reference as far as practi- eable to a central situation, and also to the convenience of the present and prospective population.
SEC. 3. The said Commissioners shall, before they enter upon the performance of their said duties, take and subscribe before some District Judge or Justice of the Peace, the following oath, to wit : " 1, - , one of the Commissioners appointed to locate the seat of justice in and for the county of Delaware, do hereby swear by Almighty God, the searcher of all hearts, that I will perform the duty imposed by said appointment honestly and faithfully, according to the best of my understanding and abilities, and according to the law relative to locating said county seat : and I do further swear, as aforesaid, that I am not interested in said location in
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any manner whatever, present or in expectancy, but that in locating said county seat, I will be actuated only by a desire for the best interests of said county, without the slightest partiality toward any person or persons, and without any bias from fear, favor or recompense, or the hope of gain or advantage to myself in any respect whatever."
SEC. 4. So soon as convenient, not exceeding fifteen days after the location shall have been made, the said Commissioners, or a majority of them, shall make out and return to the Governor a full statement or report of the place selected, describing the same as fully as practicable, which report, together with the foregoing affidavits, shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of the Territory, to remain of public record.
SEC. 5. The county shall, so soon as said report shall be filed, be considered as a separate county, and shall have all the privileges and be subject to all laws and provisions now in force, or that may be hereafter in force, in regard to the counties of this Territory, and shall proceed hereafter to elect their county officers at the same time and in the same manner as in other organ- ized counties.
SEC. 6. The first general election shall be held, for the whole county, at the houses of Wm. Eads, J. Schwartz and David Morland ; and thereafter, the county shall be divided, by the County Commissioners elect, into precincts, at the first regular meeting of their Board after said first general election, so as to suit the convenience of the inhabitants generally. And the Judges of said election shall seal up and direct the returns to the Clerk of the Commissioners' Court of Dubuque County ; and the said Commissioners shall proceed to open and canvass the said returns, and enter the same upon their records ; and shall issue certificates, notifying the persons having a majority of votes for the different offices.
SEC. 7. The Commissioners appointed to locate the seat of justice, as aforesaid, shall receive $3.00 per diem for the time they shall be actually engaged in locating the same, not exceeding ten days, together with $3.00 for every twenty miles' travel in going and returning to and from said county.
SEC. 8. S. B. Umstead, of Clayton County, Shadrach Burliston, of Jackson County, and Paul Cain of Dubuque County, shall [be] and they are hereby appointed Commissioners to locate said county seat, under the provisions of this act.
Approved December 20, 1839.
For some reason, now unknown, the Commissioners appointed by the act did not meet, as directed, on the 1st day of May, 1840. Perhaps they thought it idle waste of time to locate a county seat on the broad and almost trackless prairie. Perhaps the opposition to the proposed organization among the settlers, when the action of the Legislature became known, may have in- fluenced them. However that may be, at the extra session of the Legislature, in July following, the act was passed :
An act to amend an act entitled " An act to provide for the organization of the county of Delaware, and to locate the county seat thereof."
WHEREAS, The Commissioners appointed by " An act to provide for the organization of the county of Delaware, and to locate the seat of justice thereof," approved December 20, 1839, did wholly fail to meet on the first day of May, eighteen hundred and forty, be it enacted, etc., that William Smith, Sr., of Dubuque County ; William Jones, of Jackson County, and Thomas Denson, of Jones County, are hereby appointed Commissioners, to meet at the house of William Eads, in said county, on the first Monday of October, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and forty, or within ten days thereafter, and proceed to permanently locate the county seat in and for said county, according to the provisions and requirements of the act to which this is amend- atory.
SEC. 2. That the eighth section of the act to which this is amendatory is hereby repealed. Approved July 24, 1840.
Accordingly, at the time appointed, two of the Commissioners, Smith and Denson, met at the house of William Eads, at Eads' Grove, to attend to the arduous duty assigned them. Smith and Eads were old acquaintances, and it soon became evident that the former had become convinced that the county seat should be located in or near Eads' Grove; but it was necessary, for the sake of appearances, if for nothing more, that the Commissioners should visit other localities and make some examinations elsewhere. From Eads' Grove they pro- ceeded to Bailey's Ford. There was hardly a man in the county, and certainly there was no man not a resident of the county, so well qualified to make a judi- cious and satisfactory selection as Joel Bailey. He had surveyed a large part
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of its territory, and was familiar with every stream, grove and spring within its limits. There were three essential points to be considered, viz., wood, water and an eligible site for a town. The exact geographical center of the county was destitute of wood and water, and, hence, it could not be expected that the county seat would be located at that precise point ; but the settlers of the county evidently desired, if they must be organized, that the county seat should be located as near the geographical center as an eligible site could be found.
Mr. Bailey frankly informed the Commissioners that he had made his loca- tion at that point (Bailey's Ford) because, in his judgment, it was the best and most desirable site for the seat of justice of the county. There was an excel- lent mill privilege on the Maquoketa, there was an abundance of wood, a good spring of water, and there was a fine site for a town. These essentials could not be found nearer the geographical center. The next most desirable location, in his judgment, was Penn's Grove, and the third at " The Lake."
Mr. Denson informed Mr. Bailey that Mr. Smith was " set upon locating the county seat at Eads' Grove," but that if Mr. Bailey would relinquish to the county a certain "forty " on Section 9, at a mill site on the Maquoketa, he (Denson) would favor the location of the county seat at Bailey's Ford. Mr. Bailey replied that the location at Eads' Grove would not satisfy the people; it was too far north of the geographical center of the county, and that the "forty " that Denson had designated was not a good location for a town, but that if the ford was considered too far west-as the settlements, at that time, were nearly all on the eastern side of the county-then the Commissioners had better take Penn's Grove and The Lake into consideration.
From Bailey's Ford, the Commissioners went to "The Lake," visited the "Big Spring," and Denson appears to have decided that this was the right spot for the county scat. Smith was equally determined to locate it at Eads' Grove. They spent some time in discussing the question, and the more they argued, the more firmly each was convinced that the other was wrong and ought to submit. It does not appear to have occurred to them that Mr. Jones might have been called in to settle the dispute, and at last they determined to go home and leave the question unsettled.
" The somewhat important question occurred to Mr. Smith, however," says Mr. Hobbs, " that, if they failed to locate the county seat, they would not be entitled to pay for what they had done, and he didn't like the idea of losing so much heavy and useless work." Accordingly, he suggested to Mr. Denson that they had spent two weeks in their arduous efforts to fix the location, and if they went home without doing it they would not be likely to get any pay. " Now," said Smith, " I think Eads' is the best place, you think The Lake the most eligible ; we can't agree, and Jones isn't here ; suppose we 'flip a dol- lar ?'" " Agreed !" said Denson. The dollar was "flipped," Smith won, and the county seat was located in the southern part of Eads' Grove, near the present site of Millheim. or "Dutchtown," as it was sometimes called, in the northern part of Township 89 north, Range 5 west (Delaware). The county seat, thus located by one of the three Commissioners, was named by Smith, " Elizabeth," in honor of Mrs. Elizabeth Bennett, the first white woman who lived in the county.
As soon as the action of the Commissioners became known, it created intense dissatisfaction among the settlers in all parts of the county, except those in the immediate vicinity of Eads' Grove, and they did not propose to submit to it without vigorous protest. A mass meeting, called by the settlers in the south- eastern part of the county, assembled at Penn's Grove, and strong resolutions
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were unanimously adopted, protesting against "Elizabeth," denouncing the Commissioners for their unfair action, and the indignant settlers determined to petition the Legislature for permission to re-locate the county seat by a vote of the people. They justly considered themselves as capable of making a selection as non-residents could be, and, besides, they thought it was their right to locate their own county seat. Petitions were circulated, signed by every man in the county, except those at "Eads' Settlement."
The petition was presented to the Territorial Legislature, and a bill was reported from the committee to which it was referred, providing that the citizens of the county should locate their county seat by a vote of the people at the gen- eral election in August following. The bill received no opposition, except from Dr. Mason, of Dubuque, who argued, very eloquently, that the question of locating the county seat was one of such great importance that it could not be safely entrusted to the people most interested and best qualified to decide it. The Delaware people had been forced into organization, and Mason evidently thought that outsiders ought to locate their seat of justice, and, perhaps, run their county machine as well. But his eloquence failed to convince his colleagues and associates that there was any danger in permitting the people of the county to manage their own affairs without foreign interference. The bill passed, and was approved January 13, 1841.
" An act to establish a Territorial road from the town of Dubuque to Camp. Atkinson," approved January 13, 1841, appointed Calvert Roberts, Samuel L. Clifton and Joseph Hewett Commissioners to locate that road. So much of this act as related to the road in Dubuque County was repealed February 16, 1842, and so much of the road as had been located in Dubuque County was declared vacated ; but this repealing act was repealed June 11, 1845, and Peter D. Sharp, David Moreland and William J. Anderson were appointed by the Legislature to re-locate the road through Dubuque County, and, by way of the Colony and Eads', to Camp Atkinson.
In the Spring of 1841, in order to fix upon some location for the county seat, that the people might vote intelligently and with some degree of harmony, another mass meeting was called at Penn's Grove, and after discussing the mat- ter, a committee consisting of Joel Bailey, Leroy Jackson, William H. White- side, Roland Aubrey, S. P. Whittaker, John W. Penn and Cyrus Keeler, were appointed to select a proper location to be voted for. A few days later, four members of the committee, viz., Bailey, Aubrey, Whiteside and Jackson, met at Penn's Grove, and first proceeded to the geographical center of the county, a short distance west of the present village of Delaware. But it was a high, rolling prairie, destitute of wood and water, and the committee unanimously decided that that point was ineligible. They then proceeded to the nearest timber, southwest on Spring Branch, but upon examination, it was found to be too much broken for a town site. They followed the stream to its confluence with the Maquoketa, two miles west and two miles south of the geographical center, and here some of the committee were in favor of loeating, but all were not satisfied, and they determined to visit " The Lake " (since known as Delhi or Silver Lake), a beautiful sheet of water, surrounded by burr-oak groves, in which was a large spring of living water, at that time considered indispensable in the location of a town site. As they were riding leisurely along, approaching the spring and lake from the west, in a little "run " (about forty rods northwest. of the present Catholic Church at Delhi, and a little west of the town as after wards surveyed), a large deer suddenly sprang up and stood looking at the party Settlers were not numerous then, and the deer were not so timid as they afte .
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ward became. The party stopped instantly, and Aubrey, who, like the true frontiersman he was, always carried his trusty rifle, dismounted, and as he raised his piece, Jackson exclaimed, "Now, Aubrey, kill that deer and we will stick the county seat stake right here." Aubrey's aim was unerring, and the deer fell dead. Jackson's jocular remark was accepted in earnest, and the stake was planted on the southeast quarter of Section 17, Township 88 N., R. 4 W., which the committee recommended to the people as the most suitable site, in their judgment. for the county seat.
During 1841, the pioneer settlements of Delaware County were considerably enlarged. Charles Osborn, Hiram Minkler, Henry Baker, Horace Tubbs and others settled at Coffin's Grove. Ezra Hubbard, Jared Hubbard (April), Hor- ace Pierce (April), Robert Torrence, Allen Fargo, Amos Williams, William Burnham, John Burnham, Patrick Hogan and others in the northern part of the county. near Moreland colony. Alexander Brown and Morris Reed, near Eads. Simeon Phillips and his son, Fayette Phillips settled near " The Lake." Theodore Marks settled in T. 87, R. 3, about three miles northeast of Jack- son's. " But," says Judge Bailey, "settlers came in very slowly for ten years, and we were frequently discouraged. I never expected to see the day when settlers would go on the open prairie west of us and make farms away from the timber." The idea of planting timber on the open prairie had not then occurred to the settlers, and all the early settlements were made in or very near the groves and water courses.
In 1841, Leverett Rexford put up the walls of a cabin east of Bailey's, where John Lillibridge now resides, and helped Bailey build a new cabin just north of his first one, which is now (May, 1878) still standing in a good state of preserva- tion. After the marriage of his daughter, in November, however, Mr. Rexford went back to " York State."
April 5, 1841, by order of the Dubuque Commissioners, Lucius Kibbee was paid $3.00 and Missouri Dickson $1.50 for wolf scalps.
April 7, 1841, the County Commissioners of Dubuque again appointed Judges of Election in Delaware as follows : Eads Precinct, Daniel Brown, John Hinkle and William Eads; Schwartz Precinct, John W. Penn, John Keeler and Leroy Jackson ; Moreland Precinct, - Cole, - Mallory, - Moreland.
FIRST COUNTY ELECTION.
The election for the location of the county seat, and for the choice of County officers, was held at the several precincts, according to the records, August 2, 1841. The following incident of this election is related : Bennett, whose claim was as likely to be his saddle as one on terra firma, was at Eads Grove where Joel Bailey went to vote. Bailey was informed that Bennett intended to vote, to which he replied, " I shall challenge any illegal vote." Ben- nett soon heard the remark, approached Bailey, and after introducing the sub- ject. shook his finger in the latter's face and menacingly remarked, " If anybody challenges my vote, there's a finger that never trembles." Mr. Bailey fired up a little. He was not a man to be bluffed by a bully, and he very firmly informed Bennett that he should " challenge any man's vote that he believed to be illegal." Bennett finding that his opponent didn't scare worth a cent, did not offer his vote.
In September, 1841, the Dubuque Commissioners ordered the payment of Judges and Clerks of the election held August 2, 1841, as follows : Judges and (lørks one dollar each. Schwartz Precinct-Leroy Jackson, John Keeler and
Aaron Sullivan COFFINS GROVE TP.
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John W. Penn, Judges ; J. R. Harvey and Charles W. Hobbs, Clerks; J. W. Penn, Messenger (40 miles), $4. Eads Precinct-William Eads, John Hinkle and Daniel Brown, Judges; Leverett Rexford and Robert Gamble, Clerks ; William Eads, Messenger (50 miles), $5. Moreland Precinct-Thomas Cole, Missouri Dickinson and David Moreland, Judges ; W. Montgomery and James Rutherford, Clerks ; Thomas Cole, Messenger (35 miles), $3.50. Afterward, however, on the 5th of October, the Dubuque Commissioners rescinded the order for paying these officers, " the Board being of the opinion that the County of Delaware being, by law, a separate county, she in consequence is bound to pay that expense."
Under the law, providing for the first election in Delaware County, the re- turns were to be made to the Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners of Dubuque County, and Charles W. Hobbs was appointed to carry them to Dubuque, which he did on foot, walking forty-five miles, and arriving in Dubuque about 9 o'clock P. M. of the last day on which the returns could be legally filed. On the 4th day of October, at a meeting of the County Commis- sioners of Dubuque County, the votes were canvassed, and the following officers of Delaware County declared elected : Leroy Jackson, Sheriff, having received twenty-two votes; William H. Whiteside (thirty-six votes), William Eads (twenty-three votes), Daniel Brown (twenty-three votes), County Commission- ers; Robert B. Hutson, Treasurer (thirty-nine votes), John Padelford, Recorder (twenty-seven votes) ; Joseph Bayley (Joel Bailey), County Surveyor (thirty- four votes) ; Roland Aubrey, Judge of Probate (twenty votes) ; Fayette Phillips, County Assessor (twenty-one votes) ; William L. Woods, Coroner (fifteen votes) ; Theodore Marks, Public Administrator (two votes) ; Hawley Lowe, Constable for "Swartz " Precinct ; Robert Gamble (eleven votes) and William Evins (Evans) (seven votes), Constables for " Eads " Precinct.
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