USA > Iowa > Des Moines County > The history of Des Moines county, Iowa, containing a history of the country, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of citizens, war record of its volunteers > Part 58
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In every historic sketch thus far published, White and Doolittle have been termed the " Romulus and Remus of Burlington." The reliable statements herein made, prove that Doolittle did not become a citizen of the place until the fall of 1833, although slightly interested in the claim. It is a pity to spoil so pretty an expression, but the duty of a writer of history is strongly iconoclastic.
THE FIRST TAVERN.
In September, 1833, Amzi Doolittle, who had an interest in the claim of Burlington, moved there with his family. The following spring, Lyman Chase, who was the first carpenter to locate in the place, built two frame houses, one for White and the other for Doolittle. The latter was used as an hotel. Henry Moore, who has attained the distinction of being the oldest mechanic and oldest citizen in Burlington, did his first carpenter work on those original frame build- ings. John G. Kennedy, who has lived in Fort Madison since 1836, relates that in the spring of 1834 (his residence then being at Rushville, Ill.), he took passage on a steamboat at Quincy for Galena. In due time, the boat arrived at Flint Hills. At that time, there were three or four log cabins in the place, as seen from the river. Near the landing was a grocery, for which the boat put off two or three barrels each of sugar and whisky, and a sack or two of coffee. Kennedy noticed three or four men at work about what seemed to be the frame of a house, near the site of the old Burlington House, corner of Water and Washington streets, and being a carpenter himself, he strolled up the landing where the men were at work. The frame was for a story-and-a-half house, corner posts of heavy timber, squared with the ax, and studding prepared in the same way. Kennedy asked who was "boss" of the job ; one answered that he was trying to be, but he hadn't force enough to raise the timbers. Kennedy turned to the six or eight passengers on the boat, and called out : " Boys, come ashore and help these men, and we will have it to say that we assisted in raising the first frame house in Flint Hills." The passengers responded with alacrity, and in half an hour the timbers were in place, and the boat proceeded up the river.
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HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY.
THE FIRST DOCTORS.
Dr. W. R. Ross, as before stated, who also opened the first drug stock ; Dr. Crawford, from Brooke County, Va., settled in Burlington in 1833 ; he- practiced during the winter, and then moved to Texas. In the spring of 1834, Drs. Shuff, of Kentucky, and Cutler, of Indiana, located in Burlington, and formed a partnership. Cutler died within the year, and Shuff returned to Kentucky. Dr. Teas practiced in 1835. Dr. D. W. Hickock, of New York, located there in 1835, and remained until his death. Dr. S. S. Ransom, of Vermont, settled there about the same date. Dr. E. Lowe, of Indiana, came in 1836 ; he afterward removed to Omaha.
THE FIRST MARRIAGE.
In the fall of 1833, an engagement of marriage was entered into between William R. Ross and Matilda Morgan. The region west of the Mississippi was- then attached to Michigan Territory, for judicial purposes, but was newly- acquired Indian territory. Marriage ceremonies could not, therefore, be observed on the west bank. Mr. Ross had to go to Monmouth, Ill., for a marriage license. He then engaged Judge Allen to go to the east shore of the river, opposite Flint Hills, and meet the young couple to marry them. On the 3d day of December, Mr. Ross and Miss Morgan crossed over the river in a flatboat and were joined in wedlock, by Judge Allen, while standing under a sycamore-tree on the east bank of the river. This must be regarded as the first marriage in Burlington, since it was the union of two of the original pioneers, and was as near being celebrated on the soil of Iowa as the circumstances would then allow. On the 5th of December, 1878, Mr. Ross celebrated his seventy- fifth birthday. He is a hale man, and shows the force of intelligent habits by the clear and unusually good chirography of his several letters to the writer of this work.
THE ORIGINAL PLAT.
There is some question as to who surveyed the original plat of the city. Mr. Ross says that Benjamin Tucker and William R. Ross made the survey and plat in November and December, 1833. This, be it understood, was the main portion, claimed by White and Doolittle. Mr. White bears Mr. Ross out in this assertion. The original plat was small in size, consisting of but two blocks. No written evidence of this first survey is extant. The earliest plat is of the later survey.
THE NAME "BURLINGTON "
was given by John B. Gray, who located here in January, 1834, with his fam- ily. In the spring of that year, he finished a frame house, and filled the build- ing with merchantable goods.
In February, 1834, S. S. Ross took up his residence in Burlington, and brought with him not only his family, but also a large stock of goods. S. S. Ross bought out the mercantile business of W. R. Ross. This was the third store opened in the place, Mr. Gray's being the fourth in point of time.
THE FIRST SCHOOL.
In the spring of 1834, Zadoc C. Inghram taught the first school opened in Burlington, in the building erected by W. R. Ross for school and church pur- poses, and which had been occupied by Phillips during the winter. The house stood southwest of what is now the public square. Mr. Ross boarded In- ghram free of cost.
474
HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY.
THE FIRST BIRTH.
The first birth which occurred in the village of Burlington, and also the first in the county, was a child of S. S. White, the original claimant. The event transpired in 1833. The second birth occurred in the family of Tothero. The third was that of Abigail Ann Gray, daughter of John B. Gray. Mr. Gray was the man who named the town. This birth took place March 3, 1835. The lady is living in Albia. During 1835, there were a number of births in the county.
EARLY NEWSPAPER ITEMS.
There is no more valuable aid in the preparation of a work of this character than the early newpaper publications. Man's memory may fail, and the crowd- ing events of more recent times confuse the dates and names so essential to accuracy in compilations such as this. But even an imperfect record of a trans- action, if jotted in the local issues of the day, furnishes indisputable confirma- tion of oral testimony. The first papers printed in new regions do not, or rather did not-for modern ideas have changed with experience-appreciate the importance of preserving unbroken files of their issues ; but the newspapers of Burlington are so nearly complete as to be invaluable to the searcher after his- toric truth.
In the first and second numbers of the Iowa Patriot are published brief sketches of the entrance of white men, as settlers, in Des Moines County. The communications are not given over an individual signature, but from their style and from our familiarity, by correspondence, with a certain gentleman's compo- sition, we believe the " Citizen of Burlington " was none other than Dr. Will- iam R. Ross, the surveyor and platter of Burlington. However, the fact that, within six years of the original settlement, the articles referred to were given in the local press, and passed then as authentic statements of truth, without challenge, places them to-day at the disposal of the historian as worthy of credence. The "Reminiscences of Early Settlement," as the papers are called, were editorially indorsed as correct. Therefore, in confirmation of the state- ments made relative to the original claimants, we give a copy of the papers entitled " Reminiscence of Early Settlement of Burlington," and published in the Patriot in June, 1839. If one is disposed to question the authenticity of what is given elsewhere, the following sketch will serve to sustain our work :
" I arrived at what was formerly called the upper end of Flint Hills, now the city of Burlington, in August, 1833, at which time everything was in a rude state of nature; the Indian title to the lands having been extinguished only the first of June previous. The only white persons whom I found residing in or near the place on which Burlington has been built were Messrs. M. M. McCar- ver and S. S. White, who had ventured here, previous to the extinguishment of the Indian titles, with their families, and who were suffering all the privations and difficulties attending the settlement of a wilderness country. Frequently they were without bread or meat, save such as the God of nature supplied them bountifully with. In addition to those troubles, they were driven from their newly-finished cabin, which was fired and destroyed by the soldiers from Rock Island, under orders of the United States Government. Much credit is due these citizens for their enterprise in having made the first claim, and in estab- lishing the first ferry. by means of which emigrants were enabled to cross the Mississippi to the newly-favored lands. The pioneers always endeavored to make settlers as comfortable as possible.
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HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY.
" A short time after they had made their claim, they sold a portion-one- third-of their interest to Mr. A. Doolittle, who went on to improve, but did not become a citizen until the latter part of 1833.
" In September, 1833, William R. Ross brought a valuable stock of goods to Burlington, and thus began the first store. Mr. Ross also brought his house- hold goods, at great hazard and much expense. He was accompanied by his aged father, who had fought throughout the Revolutionary war, and who was one of the first settlers in Lexington, Ky. Worn down with age and toil, and being exposed to the inclemencies of a new home, the old gentleman was carried off the same fall, with chills and fever, and now lies (1839) on the top- most pinnacle of our city. This was the first death in Des Moines County of a white person.
" Late in the same fall, Maj. Jeremiah Smith landed with a fine stock of goods, having, sometime previously, settled and improved the farm on which he located, one and a half miles from Burlington. Having thus given a history of all the permanent settlers of what is now Burlington in 1833, I will relate a few circumstances concerning the natives.
" Burlington had long been a great point of trade for the Indians, as would appear from the numerous old trading-houses, root-houses and number of graves that were along the bank of the river, together with several corpses deposited in canoes, with their trinkets, and suspended in the trees, fastened by strips of bark. Among the most noted graves, was that of the celebrated French half-breed, M. Blondeau, who was interred with a paling around his grave, and a cross with his name cut thereon, he having been a Roman Catholic. This grave was immediately in front of the warehouse erected by S. S. Ross, at a date somewhat later than 1833. When the warehouse was built, we had the body re-interred in the regular burying-ground. The Indian trade was valuable to the merchants in 1833:
" The original town of Burlington (which should have been called Shok-ko- kon, the English interpretation of which is Flint Hill), was draughted and surveyed by Benjamin Tucker and William R. Ross, in the months of Novem- ber and December, 1833."
We have taken the liberty to correct what was evidently a typographical error in the foregoing communication, concerning the date of Mr. Doolittle's residence. He came, according to authentic report, in 1833-not in 1838- as the newspaper article says he did. Probably an 8 was substituted for a 3, by mistake.
It is said that some years after the death of the elder Ross, his son and friends attempted to exhume the remains and re-inter them in the cemetery. The most careful search, however, failed to discover the grave, and the ashes still repose where originally deposited.
As additional testimony in corroboration of the foregoing pages, we insert the following extracts from a short historic sketch, published some years since, prepared by one of the oldest settlers of Burlington :
"The first merchants in Burlington were Dr. W. R. Ross and Jeremiah Smith. Both opened stores here in 1833. Dr. Ross began in a log building, but soon sold out to his brother, S. S. Ross, who erected a frame store during the summer of 1834. It stood on the south side of Court street. His framed store was built in front of it. Jeremiah Smith erected his framed store on Front street, where Mccutchen's stable now stands. The same year, John B. Gray opened the first grocery store. About 1836, Jeremiah Lamson and .Jacob Ladd were added to the list of Burlington merchants.
K
476
HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY.
" The first framed houses were erected for Doolittle and White, by Lyman Chase, who was the first carpenter in Burlington, in the summer, of 1834. Henry Moore, the oldest settler now living in the city, and who carried on carpenter business successfully here for many years, did his first work in the erection of these buildings. These two houses stood, one of them on Water street, near the Gas Works, and the other on the northeast corner of Court and Water streets. The former was built and occupied for a tavern.
·· The first brick building was a dwelling-house, erected by Judge Rorer, in July, 1836. on the lot subsequently occupied by Gen. Fitz Henry Warren's residence. Isaac Leffler then built a little one-story brick dwelling on the side of South Hill, near Division street. The residence of Hon. H. W. Starr, on Fifth street, between Jefferson and Washington, was built (a part of it) by Dr. Ross, in 1858, and since enlarged by Mr. Starr. The portion of it built by Dr. Ross is the oldest brick dwelling now standing in the city."
Burlington, in 1837, is described by an eye-witness as " a village of some three hundred inhabitants, occupying houses mostly of a single story, and even of a single room, constructed of logs or slightly-built frames. Not more than two of the whole number were composed of more substantial materials, and even these have long since vanished before the advance of superior improvement. A small opening had been made, extending a few squares up and down the river, and a still less distance perpendicularly from the shore ; but the hills around, now crowned with comfortable and tasteful residences, were then covered with the unbroken primeval forest.
"Not a church or schoolhouse had as yet made its appearance among us, and although the streets had received their geographical position, yet the plastic substratum of clay, which had perhaps lain dormant for hundreds of generations, had not evinced its capacity for tormenting its disturbers, and for imposing the ruling fashion which prevailed for so many years, of the frequent change of sides between the leg of the boot and of the pantaloons.
" Such was the unpretending condition of the town, which was at that time the seat of government of a Territory which included what now constitutes three States, and the materials for a fourth."
This writer ignored Mr. Ross's original schoolhouse, and was mistaken as to the destruction of Judge Rorer's brick house, as is shown above.
Mr. Charles Negus, in papers on the Early History of Iowa, printed in the " Annals of Iowa." gives the following description of Burlington at a very carly day :
" Burlington was quite a noted place before it was settled by the whites, and was known by the name of Flint Hills (or by the Indian name of Shok-ko-kon) and had for a long time been a post for carrying on trade with the Indians. At the time when the whites were first permitted to make settlements here, there were numerous old trading-houses, boat-houses, and a number of graves along the banks of the river, and the remains of other Indians deposited in their canoes with their trinkets suspended in the trees, which were fastened to the limbs with bark ropes. Among the graves was the noted French, or half-breed,
Manrice Blondeau, who, previous to his death, lived and had an extensive improvement near the head of the Des Moines Rapids, between Montrose and Keokuk. This grave was inclosed with a paling fence, and over it was erected a wooden cross on which his name was engraved. This was in token of his religion. he being a Roman Catholic. But after the settlement of Burlington, his remains were taken up and re-interred in the place selected for a common burying-ground.
477
HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY.
" This trading establishment was a branch of the American Fur Company, and had been under the superintendence of John W. Johnson, who was a native of Maryland. Johnson had acted in the capacity of Indian Agent, and took up with a Sac and Fox squaw, by whom he had three daughters. He was fondly attached to his children, gave them a thorough education at a Catholic convent, and all three of them married highly respectable gentlemen.
" In October, 1832, some twelve or fifteen persons crossed the Mississippi in canoes at the head of Big Island, and made a landing about two miles below Burlington, and took an excursion through the surrounding country and laid claims for future settlement. They built for themselves cabins, and in February, 1833, they brought over their stock and commenced making fences and prepar- ing the ground for cultivation. But to their great annoyance, they were driven away from their claims by the Government soldiers from Rock Island, and they recrossed the river and stopped on Big Island, taking with them their implements of husbandry and their stock. All the labor which they had performed availed them nothing, for their cabins and fences were set on fire by the soldiers and burned up. But notwithstanding these molestations, they resolved to hold on to the sites selected for their homes. They held a council and 'agreed to strike their tents, and went to work to build a flatboat,' so that they could cross over the river and improve their claims whenever they had an opportunity.
" The first persons who settled within the limits of the city of Burlington, were Morton M. McCarver and Simpson S. White, who moved there with their families previous to the extinguishment of the Indian title, suffering all the privations and difficulties attending the settlement of a wilderness country, which were very great. These individuals have the honor of having made the first claims at Burlington, and also of having established the first ferry at his point, by which emigrants were enabled to cross the great Mississippi. A short time after they had established their claims (?) they sold out one-third of their interest to A. Doolittle, who immediately went to improving his purchase, but did not become a citizen until the fall of 1833. [This erroneous statement is corrected in the letter from S. S. White, already given .- ED. ]
" In the fall of 1833, Dr. William R. Ross came to Burlington with a valu- able stock of goods, accompanied by his father, who was an old Revolutionary soldier, and who was one of the first settlers in Lexington, Ky. But the old man being worn down with toil and age, and not having the constitution to stand the exposures incident to the settlement of a new country, was attacked with chills and fever, and died that fall, being the first of the emigrants who died in this part of the Territory.
"Late in the same fall, Jeremiah Smith brought to the place a fine stock of goods, and engaged in merchandising, but previous to that, he had taken up a claim about a mile and a half back from the river, and made some valuable improvements on it. These adventurous pioneers have erected for themselves a monument on the pages of history which will outlast the iron pillar or the marble słab.
" The original town of Burlington was drafted and surveyed by Benjamin Tucker and William R. Ross, in the months of November and December, 1833 ;. A. Doolittle and Simpson S. White being the proprietors. In 1837, the whole town was resurveyed by Gilbert M. Harrison, under the direction of the Gen- eral Government, but it retains its original name.
" Cupid was not slow in finding his way to Iowa ; he was among the first emigrants, and he soon got up a little contest of love between William R. Ross and Matilda Morgan, who compromised the affair by agreeing to take each other
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HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY.
for better or for worse through their natural lives. But this agreement did not end their difficulties, for they had not the officials on the west side of the river, by whom the contract could be solemnized. To overcome this, the parties with their friends crowded into a flatboat, and paddled to the Illinois side of the river, procured from Monmouth, Ill., a man possessed of legal authority, who in the flatboat before their friends, pronounced them man and wife, which is presumed to have been the first marriage of emigrants in the Territory after the Black Hawk Purchase."
BURLINGTON IN 1839.
An editorial in the Patriot of June, 1839, gives the following brief descrip- tion of Burlington as it appeared then : "During the present high state of water. Front or Water street is about fourteen feet above the level of the river. This elevation extends to a width of about four or five hundred feet, at which point a gentle ascent commences, which reaches to the top of the bluff, afford- ing a delightful location for private residences. The buildings on this eminence can be seen on the Illinois side for a distance of fourteen miles. Burlington suffered very much during the winter before last (1837-38) in consequence of an extensive fire, which destroyed several handsome buildings, among which was the State-house. The Legislature during the last winter, held its sessions in the new brick Methodist meeting-house. The improvements which have been made are creditable to the enterprise of our fellow-citizens. Among the improvements may be mentioned the block of three-story brick buildings erected by Messrs. Lamson, Ladd and Rorer. During the present season, two new wharves have been constructed by the contributions of the citizens, and we soon expect to see the the whole length of Front street handsomely graded. A steam ferry-boat runs regularly from this point to Montreal, and we have not seen it return once this season without being literally crowded with passengers, mostly emigrants to Iowa.'
The same editorial speaks of the rapid growth of Burlington, but believes that the richness of the agricultural country back of the town will sustain the growing place. The editor could see nothing in the future to " prevent Bur- lington from becoming a city of considerable importance."
The following brief description of the size and business interests of Bur- lington in July, 1839, was published in the Patriot: "The city is supposed to contain about 1,600 inhabitants, having had 1,200 at the taking of the cen- sus in June, 1838. It is the largest town in the Territory except Dubuque, and perhaps exceeds that. It has one large church, well built of bricks, for the Methodists. The private residences, with few exceptions, are at present small, incommodious and unsuited to the climate ; as might be expected in a country acquired but six years from the Indians, and among a people accustomed to live in denial of the luxuries and conveniences afforded by well-built buildings. Burlington is a town of much business, being the port for Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson and part of Van Buren Counties, comprehending a population of nearly 15,000. It has three large brick stores of three stories each, one other smaller brick store, four dwellings of the same material, and some dozen or more other stores and shops. It has also two weekly newspapers."
JULY 4, 1839.
In the light of subsequent events, it is interesting to note that on July 4, 1839, the day was celebrated in Burlington by the reading of the Declaration of Independence by " Gen. A. C. Dodge, and the delivery of an oration by James W. Grimes, Esq." The exercises were held in the Methodist meeting-
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HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY.
house, and Rev. J. Bachelder invoked divine blessing on the occasion and the people generally.
The "Iowa Guards " paraded for the first time on that day "in their new uniforms, and looked very soldier-like."
PROPOSED CHANGE OF NAME.
The name " Burlington " was not satisfactory to some of the settlers, and the Patriot was especially urgent in its advocacy of a change. The argument against the retention of the title provided by Mr. Gray was its lack of originality. Even the Boston papers took the matter up and urged a change. The news- paper discussion lasted for several months, during the decade of 1840-50, but finally died out, The matter did not reach a point where a substitute was generally agreed upon, but some Indian name appeared to be the favorite.
BORN A METROPOLIS.
In 1841. John B. Newhall, of Burlington, published a little volume called "Sketches of Iowa, or the Emigrant's Guide." The book was indorsed by Gov. Lucas and Hon. George W. Jones, then Surveyor General of Wisconsin and Iowa Territories. From that work, which is now exceedingly rare, is taken so much information as relates to Burlington and Des Moines County, the object being to permanently preserve a truthful report of the condition of this region in 1840-41.
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