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 38
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At this session, the following order was passed, relating to the Territorial road located by Green, Bailey and Olmstead, viz. :
Ordered, That the returns made by the Commissioners and Surveyor to locate a Territorial road from Wapsepinacon or Bennett's Mill to the east line of Delaware County, near O. A. Olm- stead's mill, be accepted by the Board, and the same shall be considered and deemed as a recorded public highway.
The first Post Office in Delaware County was established at Delhi, March 14th, 1844. Mr. Hobbs, having been appointed Clerk of the United States Territorial Court, was not eligible for Post Master. His wife, Mrs. Mary E. A. Hobbs, was appointed Post Mistress, and Joel Bailey and Henry Baker became her bondsmen. William Smith, or " Uncle Billy," as he was familiarly called by the settlers, the same who located the county seat near Eads' Grove, was the first mail carrier, and carried the mail once a week between Dubuque and Delhi, sometimes on horseback, sometimes on foot. The next year, the route was continued to Quasqueton, Buchanan County, where a Post Office was established. The office was kept at Penn's Grove, until Mr. Hobbs removed to his cabin at Delhi.
July 2. 1844, the County Commissioners met for the first time in the Court Ilonse. The floors were laid, but the roof was not yet put on. The Legisla- ture had appointed a term of the U. S. District Court to be held at Delhi in September following. The completion of the building could not be delayed much longer, and William II. Whiteside was authorized and directed to " have the Court House finished on the best terms he could get." It was ordered also that " the bounty on wolves for 1844 be equal with and the same as other counties. and as established by law."
At the election in August, 1844, the following officers are supposed to have been elected, viz. : Henry A. Carter, Lawrence McNamee and Simeon Phillips, Commissioners ; Charles W. Hobbs, Recorder; John W. Penn, Sheriff; Drury
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
R. Dance, Treasurer. Roland Aubrey became Deputy Sheriff, and so re- mained as long as Penn held the office of Sheriff.
August 31, the following order was passed :
Ordered. That the road, as returned by O. A. Olmstead and Leroy Jackson as a Territorial road, commencing at the Linn County line and running to O. A. Olmstead's mill, according to a plat and return of said road as filed, be and the same is hereby recorded as a public road.
Delaware had now reached an important epoch in her history. As previ- ously shown, the county had been made a part of the Third Judicial District, and, for the first time, a Judicial Court was held, as appears from the following extract from the first page of the court record :
TERRITORY OF IOWA, COUNTY OF DELAWARE, SS.
This being the day fixed by law, to wit, 30thi of September, 1844, for the session of the District Court of the United States for said county, the court met. Present, IIon. Thomas S. Wilson, one of the Judges of the Supreme Court and presiding Judge of the Third Judicial District ; William E. Leffingwell, United States Marshal ; John W. Penn, Sheriff, and Charles W. Hobbs, Clerk pro tem.
By order of the court, the Sheriff returned into court the venire for a Grand Jury, issued in behalf of said county, the following persons summoned and in attendance, viz .: Gilbert D. Dillon, lIenry Baker, John Stansberry, Samuel Dickson, Oliver P. Anderson. Edward Flinn, John Bradley, Daniel Noble, John Keeler, Fayette Phillips, Allen Wilson, Hiram Minkley, Adin Padelford, David Moreland, Daniel G. Beck, Morris M. Reed, Joel Bailey, Drake Nelson, Ezra Hubbard and Liberty W. Coale
The Jurors were sworn, and the Judge appointed David Moreland, Foreman. It was ordered that Charles W. Hobbs be appointed Clerk of the court.
The first case that appears of record was that of Missouri Dickson vs. Ezra Hubbard. This was an appeal from the decision of Daniel Brown, Justice of the Peace, and was continued until the next term. But- one other case was entered at this term, that of Bierer vs. Wiltse, which was also continued.
The upper story of the Court House was designed for a jury room, but the only means of reaching it was by a ladder, and, as there was only a single floor of boards, it was quite too public for the private deliberations of a jury. Accordingly, after the Grand Jury had been duly charged by " his Honor," Judge Wilson, the members were conducted by U. S. Marshal Leffingwell to a little grove thirty or forty rods southwest of the court house. Here, seated on a fallen tree, with the Foreman occupying the chair-a stump-the first Grand Jury of Delaware County held its first session ; and it is proper to remark that, until the new Court House was built, in 1853, the juries generally deliberated in that or some other clump of timber near the log court cabin, the officer in charge remaining at a respectful distance to prevent any intrusion on their privacy. There were no cases presented to the Grand Jury, and they soon returned to the house, so reported, and were discharged. There was no petit jury called, and the court adjourned on the evening of the 30th, having been in session but a single day.
The name of James Crawford appears of record as an attorney at this time, and he was, probably, the only lawyer present.
At this time, says Judge Wilson, " The log Court House was the only build- ing in Delhi. Mr. Hobbs, the Clerk, had a little cabin in which he was living, west of the Court House. The road had not been opened to Delhi from Rock- ville, and I was obliged to go by way of the military road and up to Hopkinton, where I stayed over night with Mr. Jackson. The next day I went to Delhi and held court, and took my dinner out of Mr. Moreland's wagon."
In 1844, William Bennett returned again to Eads' Grove and built a small flouring or grist-mill, the first in the county, on Honey Creek, near his original location, Clement Coffin doing the work. It was a substantial frame, but was
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
a primitive affair. At first, it had no " bolt," but was furnished with a sort of sifter or seive, which they called a "searcher," but it manufactured good corn and unbolted wheat meal. Bennett soon afterward sold the mill to Hinkle, and removed, never to return.
October 7, the County Commissioners passed an order to pay Thomas Denson thirty-six dollars, " out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated," for services in locating the old county seat in 1840.
The efforts of the Commissioner to obtain money with which to enter the quarter section on which the county seat was located in 1841 had thus far proved unavailing. The arrangement contemplated with Mr. Sanford by the order of April 5, 1842, does not appear to have been consummated, and although the town of Delhi had been platted, no lots could be sold, and the town existed only on paper. It became necessary that efforts to raise the money should be renewed, and on the 8th of October, 1844, the Commissioners passed the following order :
Ordered, That Henry A. Carter be and he is hereby authorized and empowered to borrow money to enter the county seat or one eighty, if he cannot get more, and he is authorized to pay 25 per cent. for the loan of the same.
On the same day, an order was passed directing the payment of sixteen dol- lars to John W. Penn for summoning the grand and petit juries for the District Court, September term, 1844. Buchanan County being a province of Delaware, the following order appears of record at this date :
Ordered, That the returns of the survey of the Territorial roads running from the Cedar Rapids in Linn County to the Wapsipinicon Rapids in Buchanan County. as it runs through Buchanan County, be and the same is hereby accepted and recorded as a public road as per report.
The first Methodist camp meeting in Delaware County, of which record remains, was held at the Colony during 1844, but only the general fact remains, the details are lost.
The county marriage register was commenced in 1844, and the first marriage in this year is recorded as follows :
TERRITORY OF IOWA, DELAWARE COUNTY, SS.
I, G. D. Dillon, one of the Justices of the Peace for said county, do hereby certify that on the 24th day of April, 1844, I did join in marriage, Joel Bailey and Miss Arabella Coffin, agree- ably to a license issued from the District Court of Delaware County. The said Joel Bailey aged about 20 years, and said Arabella Coffin, of the same place, aged about 18 years.
Given under my hand, this 25th day of June, 1844.
G. D. DILLON, J. P.
The bride was the daughter of Clement Coffin, the first settler in what is now Coffin's Grove Township. The second marriage in this year, but the first to be recorded, was that of Gilman Newton, of Jones County, and Eliza Wright, Octo- ber 28, by John Stanberry, J. P., and November 24, Thomas D. Hall and Ex- perience F. Warren were joined in wedlock by J. W. Griffith, Justice.
" The first school," writes John Platt, Esq., of Colesburg, " established in what in early times was known as the Dickson settlement, was taught by Abby Hall in 1844, in a small log smoke house, on her brother Thomas' farm. The same year, the farmers built a hewed log school house on the farm of John Platt, Sr. A select school was taught in the new house the following sea- son-1845-by John Humphrey. Both were select or private schools. Public schools were unknown then in this section. The first Justices of the Peace elected in this (Colony) township were Lawrence McNamee and John Platt, Sr., in 1844." William Montgomery was elected Justice of the Peace at the second election in Colony precinct, in . August, 1842.
In the Winter of 1844-5, Hugh and James Livingston made a trip to Cas- cade to mill. The brothers separated on their way home in the night, and the
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
next day James was found dead and frozen. His breast was bare and it was supposed that he died of heart disease.
January 5, 1845, the Commissioners met at the house of C. W. Hobbs. There was no fire-place in the Court Cabin, and it was cold weather. At this meeting, it was
Ordered, That Joel Bailey shall proceed, with David Moreland, Missouri Dickson and Wel- lington Wiltse, to survey a public road, as viewed by them according to an order passed July 5, 1842, running from the Dubuque road, near Mr. Floid's, to the White Oak Grove, from thence to pass the school house and intersect the road running from Prairie du Chien to the county line of Delaware, and that said Commissioners make due return of the same.
In February, 1845, probably about the 22d, Mr. Drury R. Dance, the County Treasurer, who lived in the timber, about midway between Delhi and the Liv- ingston settlements, went out into the woods to see to his hogs. The Winter was mild and open ; there was but little snow on the ground, and the hogs sub- sisted largely upon "mast " (acorns). He did not return home that night, and the next morning his wife, becoming anxious, fearing that some accident had befallen him, alarmed the neighboring settlers, who turned out in search of him, and he was found dead, having been shot, some distance from his house. His body was first discovered guarded by his faithful dog, it is said, by Jefferson Lowe, who was immediately charged with the murder, arrested and taken before Leverett Rexford, Justice of the Peace, near Bailey's Ford, on the 24th, for preliminary examination. Justice Rexford committed him to await trial for murder, but, as there was no jail in Delaware, the prisoner was lodged in the jail at Dubuque.
March 8, 1845, the Board of Commissioners met at the house of Charles W. Hobbs, and appointed Joel Bailey, County Treasurer, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of D. R. Dance. On the same day, "John W. Penn, County Sheriff, was authorized and empowered to borrow money for the use of the county, to defray the expense of boarding Jefferson Lowe, now confined in Dubuque County Jail."
The second term of court was a special term, commencing April 1, 1845, Judge Wilson presiding. The Grand Jury was as follows : Leroy Jackson, Foreman ; James Eads, Robert B. Hutson, William H. Martin, Lucius Kibbee, Jr., Phipps Wiltse, Malcom McBane, Lawrence McNamee, Missouri Dickson, Robert Gamble, Daniel Brown, Moses Dean, William Phillips, Silas Gilmore, James Cavanaugh, Henry W. Hoskins, John Hinkle.
FIRST CIVIL CASE.
The case of Missouri Dickson vs. Ezra Hubbard, continued from first term, was tried by the first petit jury impaneled in Delaware County, consisting of John Flinn, O. A. Olmstead, John Padelford, Eli Wood, Orlean Blanchard, S. V. Thompson, Levi Billings, Jacob Dubois, James Collier, Samuel P. Whitaker, John Corbin and John Clark.
The case as tried before Brown, Justice of the Peace. appears to have been a suit commenced by Hubbard, to recover pay for building a chimney. Hub- bard was employed by Dickson to build a cabin, and in erecting the chimney did not follow the design as agreed upon. Upon occupying the premises, Dick- son discovered that the chimney "drew " the wrong way-that it "smoked." He informed Hubbard, who tinkered it, but still it "smoked." Hubbard wanted his pay, but Dickson declined to liquidate, whereupon Hubbard brought suit before Brown and recovered judgment, from which Missouri appealed. The appeal was tried before the jury above named. Hubbard appeared by Timothy
C
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
Davis, Attorney. Dickson was without an attorney, but, on the suggestion of Mr. Hobbs, retained Gen. Wilson.
Davis made a long speech, in which he instructed the jury fully in the method of building chimneys and the various remedies to be employed in cases of defect- ive construction. Gen. Wilson's speech was not more than fifteen minutes, and was devoted mainly to the essence of the contract ; he urged that if Hubbard had built a faulty chimney, and that if he could not set it drawing right, he had not fully performed his part of the bargain, which was to build a reliable chim- ney for Dickson. The case was given to the jury, who, in a short time returned with a verdict of $5.33 for plaintiff. This was the first jury trial and first ver- dict in the Delaware County courts.
FIRST CRIMINAL TRIAL.
April 2, the Grand Jury returned a true bill of indictment, United States v's. Jefferson Lowe, for the murder of Drury R. Dance. On the 3d, a jury, consisting of John Flinn, James Collier, John Cordell, Leonard Wiltse, Sr., James Montgomery, S. V. Thompson, Levi Billings, Jacob Dubois, S. P. Whit- aker, Wellington Wiltse, Orlean Blanchard and S. A. Hardin, was impaneled.
Lowe was put upon his trial ; Gen. James Wilson was his attorney. James Crawford, Public Prosecutor, and Timothy Davis conducted the prosecution. The defense is said to have been that Lowe's sister, a girl of about fourteen, who was keeping house for him and his brother, had informed her brother that Dance had seduced her, and that if Lowe had killed him it was justifiable homicide. Public opinion was strongly in Lowe's favor. After the hearing, the jury brought in a verdiet of not guilty, and he was generally congratulated on his acquittal.
Public opinion, however, changed somewhat when, after the trial, Lowe con- fessed to Mr. Carter, Mr. Jackson and others, that armed with his rifle and concealed behind a tree, he laid in wait for Mr. Dance, and, as he approached with his arms full of little pigs, unconscious of danger, shot and mortally wounded him. Lowe stepped up and spoke to him, when the dying man said, "For God's sake, take me to the house; don't leave me here to die alone." But Jeff, unheeding his piteous appeal, left him to die where he fell.
This was the first indictment and trial for murder or any other crime in the courts of Delaware County.
FIRST DIVORCE CASE.
At this term the first petition for divorce was filed and tried. This was the case of Eliza Corbin vs. John Corbin. Timothy Davis appeared for plaintiff and Gen. Wilson for defendant. Divorce decreed, with fifty dollars alimony, one dollar per week for support, and custody of minor children, John W. and Esther Eliza Corbin, to plaintiff. It is proper to add that the parties to this snit amicably arranged their difficulties, and were re-married April 4, 1846. The other cases entered at this term were Dickson vs. Brown and Moreland vs. Slack. The court adjourned April 4, 1845.
The attorneys in attendance at this term, so far as can be ascertained, were James Crawford, James Wilson, Timothy Davis and William Hamilton. The members of the Delaware Bar were not numerous for several years. Among those whose names appear at subsequent term were A. K. Eaton, probably the first lawyer to settle at Delhi, in 1846; Zina A. Wellman, George Wattson and John V. Wattson. John V. Wattson died at Dyersville about 1873.
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
April 7, the Board of County Commissioners met at the Court House. The report of the Commissioners, appointed January 5, to locate a road from the Dubuque road, near Mr. Floid's, to White Oak Grove, etc., was accepted and ordered to be recorded as a public highway. Joel Bailey, having declined to accept the office of Treasurer, the order of March 8 was rescinded and Oliver A. Olmstead appointed County Treasurer. Not long after this, it is said that Mr. Olmstead removed to Oregon Territory, where he was living when gold was discovered in California, whither he went at once and soon acquired a fortune.
At the April session, the following orders were passed :
Ordered, That the west line of the North Fork Precinct shall cross the South Fork of the Maquoketa at the mouth of Plumb Creek, to intersect the mouth of Buck Creek, and run from thence a west course up Buck Creek to the Delaware County line.
Ordered, That the election for the North Fork Precinct shall hereafter be held at the house of Lucius Kibbee, instead of at G. D. Dillon's.
Ordered, That the north line of the Delhi Precinct shall commence at stake corner to Sec- tions 18 and 19, in Township 89 north and Range 6 west, thence east through the center of said township to Plumb Creek.
May 23, O. A. Olmstead, the Treasurer, was instructed to proceed, by law, to collect a fine of five dollars each from G. D. Dillon, North Fork ; Amos Williams, Colony, and Daniel Thornburg, Eads' Grove, for neglecting to qualify as Precinct Assessors.
An order was passed, directing the payment of $80 to Simeon Phillips for work done on the Court House.
July 7, Clement Coffin, Henry Baker and Aaron Sullivan were appointed to view and mark a road " from Joel Bailey's to Baker & Coffin's Grove, thence westerly to intersect the Territorial road from Buchanan to Delhi," and Joel Bailey was appointed Surveyor to "survey the above road."
A petition was received for a public road from " Eads' Grove to Hail's Mill, to be run on the nearest and best route to the house of James Montgomery, thence on the open line between James Montgomery's farm and McMullen's ; east on Bailey's line, north of the new burying ground, thence on the nearest and best route to the county line, near Hail's Mills." Daniel Brown, Archibald Montgomery and Samuel Dickson were appointed to view the route, at the expense of the petitioners.
Jefferson Lowe, whose trial for the murder of Dance has been mentioned, soon afterward had a quarrel with one Gaines, originating in whisky. Gaines shot at Lowe with a rifle, injuring his little finger and grazing his hip. Lowe made complaint before the Grand Jury, which failed to find a bill against Gaines. Shooting at each other with rifles was an innocent pastime among some of the settlers in those days.
At the August election that year, as appears from subsequent records, Henry A. Carter, Lawrence McNamee and Henry Baker were elected Commis- sioners ; Charles W. Hobbs, Recorder ; John W. Penn, Sheriff, and Joel Bailey, Treasurer.
The assessment roll made in September, 1845, shows a greater increase of tax than of tax payers. The county tax assessed was $743.79; Territorial tax, $33.79. There were 46 tax payers in North Fork Precinct, 26 in Delhi, 51 in Colony, 26 in Eads-aggregating 179 in Delaware, and there were 21 in Buchanan.
Self Protection .- Early in the history of these pioneer settlements, before the lands were in the market, but after they had been surveyed, the set- tlers organized a Claim Society, for the purpose of protecting their rights and preventing claim "jumping." It is now impossible to determine the date of the
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ITISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
organization of this society, but nearly every settler in the county was a mem- ber of it, and claim "jumping" was an extremely unhealthy occupation at that time. and of very rare occurrence. This society was in active operation until about 1850. "While it existed," remarks Judge Bailey, "the settlers were perfectly secure and a just claim was as good as a deed to the occupant." In illustration of the mission of this society, it is related that, in 1845, a black- smith, named James Cavanaugh, living near Dillon's, becoming offended with Mr. H. A. Carter, entered forty acres of fine timber on Carter's claim. As soon as the fact became known, the settlers were notified to assemble at Dillon's, to persnade Cavanaugh to relinquish the land to Carter and receive his money back. They met in respectable numbers and started for Cavanaugh's shop. The płucky blacksmith saw them coming, armed himself with a pistol, stepped to the door and coolly informed the society that if they advanced any farther some- body would be likely to die. They stopped and parleyed with him, but he refused to comply with their wishes and refused the offer of $100, if he would vacate his entry or transfer it to Carter. The members were then secretly notified to meet on the disputed land on a certain day, prepared for duty. On the day appointed. nearly every member reported with team and wagon, axe and riffe. "The lines of the doomed "forty" were " blazed" with tolerable accu- racy, pickets, armed with rifles, were stationed all around the lot, to prevent any person from approaching, and the work of destruction commenced. Every tree, suitable for timber or rails, was felled and hauled away, and every tree that was left standing was girdled. The job was thoroughly performed. At noon a sumptuous dinner was prepared by the families of Mr. Carter and Mr. Jackson, assisted by the wives of the settlers who had accompanied them. Sub- sequently, one of the members of the society (Jefferson Lowe, it is said) traitorously divulged the names of those who were engaged in the transaction to Cavanaugh, who prosecuted the parties for destroying his timber. He took a change of venue to Clayton County and finally obtained judgment for $100, double the cost of the land and the least the jury could award him.
During 1845, there were some accessions to the population of Delaware. The Turners, father and son, were the first to settle in Township 90 north, Range 6 west (Richland). The son's name was William. They settled on the East bank of the Maquoketa, where Forestville now stands, and where they afterward built a mill.
John H. Duthman located in Township 89, Range 3 (Bremen), where he died soon after, his estate being the first to be admitted to probate in this county.
George Pease, with his family, consisting of his wife and two sons and two daughters. came to the county in June and entered a quarter section of land near Delhi, but lived near Bailey's Ford. In August, Mrs. Pease siekened and died. She was buried close beside the road about half a mile east of Bailey's Ford, where now (1878) her solitary grave is surrounded by a fence, but no stone registers the name of the peaceful sleeper beneath the evergreens. Soon after his wife's death, Mr. Pease became discouraged and returned to " York State."
About this time, William Van Order became the first settler on Township 89, Range 4 (Oneida), but his precise location cannot now be determined. His brother-in-law, - Wilson, lived with him. Wilson was a desperate character and, it is supposed, was a member of the gang of prairie banditti, that were then the terror of the people of Illinois and Iowa. Ile was a small man and was sick with consumption, but possessed great energy and endurance. At
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one time, it is said that he was sick several weeks at Mr. Sullivan's, at Coffin's Grove. When he recovered, to express his gratitude for the care he had re- ceived, he stole Mrs. Sullivan's stockings and various other articles from his benefactor. Subsequently, Van Order removed Southwest and settled near the Buffalo, and Wilson was shot by a party of settlers from whom he had stolen some horses, and was buried where he fell, it is said in Adams Township, east of the Buffalo.
At the September term of the District Court, at Delhi, in 1845, Esau Franks was indicted for selling liquor to the Indians, and was arrested and arraigned for the offense, but asked for a change of venue to Dubuque County, which was granted. Franks had his trial and was acquitted. One witness testified that he had drank some whisky at Frank's, and saw the defendant furnish the Indians with something, but could not identify it as "something" coming from the same bottle out of which he had drank. It is said that the Indians were somewhat troublesome for several years about this time, and if Franks was guilty, as alleged, he should have been severely punished. The Garden family had been murdered, near where Fayette, Fayette County, now stands. Several families had been killed or driven from their claims in Clayton County, and it is said that some cattle were killed in the northern part of Delaware. It is also said that the people of that part of the county organized at Ead's Grove, under Capt. Shipton and Lieut. Preston, pursued the Indians, and badly punished them near the northwest corner of the county. But this statement is not well authenticated. The Indians, however, were still numerous. Mr. Jackson states that when he first came to the county, in 1836-7, 400 Indians were encamped near where he afterward settled.
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