USA > Iowa > Iowa County > The history of Iowa County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 31
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SEC. 14. At the same election that this constitution is submitted to the people for its adoption or rejection, a proposition to amend the same by striking out the word " white," from the article on the "Right of Suffrage," shall be separately submitted to the electors of this State for adoption or rejection, in manner following, viz :
A separate ballot may be given by every person having a right to vote at said election, to be deposited in a separate box; and those given for the adoption of such proposition shall have the words, "Shall the word 'white ' be stricken out of the article on the 'Right of Suffrage?'-Yes." And those given against the proposition shall have the words, "Shall the word ' white' be stricken out of the article on the 'Right of Suffrage ?- No." And if at said election the number of ballots cast in favor of said proposi- tion, shall be equal to a majority of those cast for and against this constitu- tion, then said word "white " shall be stricken from said article and be no part thereof.
SEC. 15. Until otherwise directed by law, the county of Mills shall be in and a part of the Sixth Judicial District of this State.
Done in convention at Iowa City, this fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, and of the independence of the United States of America, the eighty-first.
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
239
In testimony whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names:
TIMOTHY DAY,
M. W. ROBINSON,
S. G. WINCHESTER,
LEWIS TODHUNTER,
DAVID BUNKER, D. P. PALMER,
JOHN EDWARDS,
J. C. TRAER,
GEO. W. ELLS,
JAMES F. WILSON,
J. C. HALL,
AMOS HARRIS,
JOHN H. PETERS,
WM. H. WARREN,
S. AYRES, HARVEY J. SKIFF,
ROBT. GOWER,
J. A. PARVIN,
H. D. GIBSON,
W. PENN CLARKE,
THOMAS SEELEY,
JERE. HOLLINGWORTH,
A. H. MARVIN,
WM. PATTERSON,
D. W. PRICE,
J. H. EMERSON,
R. L. B. CLARKE,
ALPHEUS SCOTT,
GEORGE GILLASPY,
EDWARD JOHNSTON.
FRANCIS SPRINGER, President.
ATTEST: TH. J. SAUNDERS, Secretary. E. N. BATES, Assistant Secretary.
JAMES A. YOUNG,
D. H. SOLOMON,
JNO. T. CLARK,
H. W. GRAY,
THE PIONEER.
In the heart of the grand old forest, A thousand miles to the West, Where a stream gushed out from the hill side, They halted at last for rest. And the silence of ages listened To the axe-stroke loud and clear, Divining a kingly presence In the tread of the pioneer.
He formed of the prostrate beeches A home that was strong and good; The roof was of reeds from the streamlet, The chimney he built of wood. And there by the winter fireside, While the flame up the chimney roared, HIe spoke of the good time coming, When plenty should crown their board-
When the forest should fade like a vision, And over the hill-side and plain The orchard would spring in its beauty, And the fields of golden grain. And to-night he sits by the fireside In a mansion quaint and old, With his children's children around him, Having reaped a thousand-fold.
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
PREFATORY.
The Plan and Scope of this Work-The County-Its Location and Name.
IT is well for the reader as it also is for the writer of history to have a brief outline or synopsis of the work before him ere he enters upon the work proper. The architect has his plans and specifications before he begins with the stone, brick or timber; and before there is sound of pick or ham- mer he has the outline of the structure as plainly visible in his mind as it is to his literal sight after the edifice stands before him in all its majesty and beauty, complete and finished. The architect who should enter upon the building of a house without first having this outline of the work would constantly labor at a great disadvantage, and the building when com- pleted would necessarily be all out of proportion. The same is true of the farmer; before entering upon the planting of his crops or even the prepara- tion of the ground therefor he must have a general outline of his summer's work before him; unless he do this it will transpire that the corn is planted where the wheat should have been sown, and after a portion of the crop has already germinated he will too late learn to his sorrow that the herbs which should have been planted early so as to have had the advantage of the early spring sunshine, have been so long delayed in the planting that the frost overtakes them before they are mature.
In all branches of mental and intellectual labor the same principle ob- tains and this is especially true in the matter of reading. Every person who aspires to the position of an intelligent American citizen, capable of discharging all the duties which attach to such a person must read, and his reading should, if not extensive, be devoted to matters which particularly affect him in the proper understanding of home and local affairs; he should be informed in regard to the history of his own State and county; he should, in brief, read just such a work as we propose to make the history of Iowa county. But if he should even read no more it would be better that he have a definite time for such reading, and before reading it would be well to know what he read yesterday and what is to come to-morrow. The voluminous reader must have an outline of his work and it would be well to have it in writing where it could be consulted as frequently as the archi- tect consults his plans and specifications. It is even more important for the writer, and that both reader and writer may have the benefit of such
16
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
plans and specifications we herewith give a brief outline of the plan and scope of the work.
A synopsis of the history of the State and the Northwest, which is as brief as could well be, and contains nothing except what is absolutely neces- sary for a proper understanding of the circumstances and conditions bearing upon the settlement of the county.
The history of the county proper: first its features, in which will be briefly described the rivers, soils, timbers, prairies and topography of the county; then a number of pages devoted to the subject of Indians and In- dian affairs. The history of Iowa county cannot be written without fre- quent allusions to that unfortunate race of people who originally owned the soil, and who, from the first settlement of the county even to the pres- ent time, make occasional visits to the hunting grounds and burial places of their forefathers. A chapter on the Indian affairs of the country will be given, not only because it comes within the legitimate scope of the work, but also because nothing in the whole realm of literature is more fascinat- ing to the common average reader than narratives of this kind, and al- though this chapter will doubtless contain many things old, as well as new, there are few of our patrons who would desire to have it omitted. We shall then speak of the first settlers, treating of them as accurately, definitely and fully as warranted by the facts at our disposal; giving the date when each one came to the county, from what State or country, and where row located if still living. In connection with the few first settlers we shall aim to speak of many leading citizens who have come more recently, and in connection with each township history will be found a biographical direc- tory, the value of which will increase with years. Pioneer times will then be described and incidents related showing the trials and triumphs of the pio- neer settler. Then county organization, political affairs, newspapers, rail- roads, schools, etc. Finally a soldier's record, and a history of cities, towns and townships in detail.
Such a plan may seem to be very simple in its conception and easy of execution, but the experience of the world is that a large proportion of plans conceived miscarry because the importance and difficulty of the work have been underestimated.
In entering upon the work of compiling a history of Iowa county, we have not underestimated the difficulty and importance of the task. The im- portance of the work becomes more and more apparent as, in passing from county to county, we become more and more deeply impressed by the fact that there exists throughout the several counties of the State a deplorable, if not a reprehensible ignorance of those events which form the staple of local history, in which consist the data for determining the ratio of ma- terial progress, and which form the sole basis for estimating the social, mental and moral conditions of the present. The difficulty of the task con- sists, to a large extent, in the fact that the events to be be treated, while they have to do with the past, are so intimately interwoven with the pres- ent that they are a part of it. The writer of history, as a general thing, deals wholly with the affairs of past generations, and his aim is to pause when he arrives at that realm bounded by the memory of men now living. The whole field of our investigations lies inside that boundary line, as there are, doubtless, many who will peruse this work who have witnessed, and acted a part in the events which we shall attempt to narrate.
The first settlement was made in the county in 1840, and there continued
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
to be new arrivals from time to time until the organization of the county in 1845. More importance attaches to the first few than to the many who came subsequently, yet the history of the county properly dates from its organi- zation; and taking the latter date as a beginning, there is a period of thirty- five years elapsed since then, and many who came at that time, or shortly after, still live here, and have been critical observers of passing events even as they will be critical readers of the following pages. And such, while they have grown prematurely old in body by reason of the hardships and privations incident upon a life of more than ordinary activity and trial, have not grown old in spirit. Each one of such knows the history of the county; and, be it said with due reverence for their hoary heads and bended forms, each one knows that history better than any one else. Such readers are very uncharitable critics; and a work of this kind absolutely accu- rate in all its details and particulars, were it within the scope of human possi- bility to make such a work, would undoubtedly be pronounced by many well-meaning and honest persons, faulty and untrustworthy. This results from the fact that thirty-five years, though not a long period in the history of the world, is a long time in the past life of an individual. Events oc- curring at that length of time in the past we think we know perfectly well when the fact is, we know them very imperfectly. This is proved and illustrated by the reluctancy and hesitation manifested invariably by old settlers when called upon to give the details of some early transaction; the old settler usually hesitates before giving a date, and after having finally settled down upon the year and the month when a certain event occurred, will probably hunt you up in less than a day and request the privilege of correcting the date. In the meantime you have found another old settler who was an eye-witness of the act in question, and the date he will give you does not correspond with the first date nor the corrected date as given by the first old settler.
We have noticed the same uncertainty in regard to other details of a particular transaction; such for instance as an early election, whether Mr. A. was the successful or defeated candidate; and in regard to an altercation whether Smith or Brown was the aggressor.
There is at this time living in an adjoining county a noble old grey- headed man, whose pioneer feet trod close in the tracks of the receding aborigines; he has held many offices of honor and trust, and although life has lost none of its charms he would rather die than utter an untruthful word or commit a dishonorable deed. It appeared from the official record that at an early day he held the office of county surveyor, and the fact hav- ing been made public in a work of this kind, he sought out the writer and informed him that the statement was incorrect; that not he, but a certain Mr. W. had been elected to the position named at the time mentioned. He clung tenaciously to his position, and refused to recede from it even when the poll-book was produced confirming the statement of the writer. To this day the old gentleman firmly believes that Mr. W. and not himself was county surveyor in 1849, although in addition to the evidence of the poll- book was the evidence of the county plat-book, where were certified over his signature the surveys of at least three different towns. There are some marked exceptions, but as a rule the memory of the old settler is untrust- worthy; his idea of the general outlines are usually correct, but no one who puts the proper estimate upon his mental faculties when they are impaired
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
by age and weakened by the many infirmities of years will trust his memory in the arbitrament of questions of particulars and details.
The stranger who goes into a county possessed of none of the informa- tion which those have after years of residence, works at a great disadvan- tage in many respects. At first he knows not whom to consult, or where to find the custodians of important records. However, he possesses one great advantage which more than makes up for this: he enters upon his work with an unbiased mind; he has no friends to reward, and no enemies to punish; his mind is not preoccupied and prejudiced by reports which may have incidentally come into his possession while transacting the ordinary affairs of business; and when in addition to this he is a person whose busi- ness it is to collect statements and weigh facts of history, he is much better qualified for the task, and to discriminate between statements, seemingly of equal weight, than those who either immediately or remotely are in- terested parties and whose regular employment lies in other fields of indus- try. This is true, even though the former be a total stranger and the lat- ter have become familiar with men and things by many years of intercourse and acquaintanceship. He is best judge and best juror who is totally un- acquainted with both plaintiff and defendant, and he is best qualified to arbitrate between conflicting facts of history who comes to the task with- out that bias which is the price one must pay for acquaintainceship and fa- miliarity. The best history of France was written by an Englishman, and the most authentic account of American institutions was written by a Frenchman, and it remained for an American to write the only authentic history of the Dutch Republic.
The American people are much given to reading, but the kind of reading is such that in reference to many it may truthfully be said that "truth is stranger than fiction." Especially is this the case with respect to those facts of his- tory belonging to one's own immediate county and neighborhood. This is, perhaps, not so much the fault of the reader as a neglect on the part of the book maker. Books as a rule are made to sell, and in order that a book may have a large sale, its matter must be of such general character as to be applicable to general rather than particular conditions-to Nation and State rather than to county and township. Thus it is, that no histories heretofore published pertain to matters of county and neighborhood affairs, for such books, in order to have a sale over a large extent of territory, must necessarily be very voluminous, and contain much matter of no interest to the reader. The fault, however, belongs not wholly to the book publisher; it lies partly at the doors of the people themselves. Things are regarded great in porportion as they are far off; distance invariably lends enchant- ment, and like a lens of wonderful powers of refraction makes events im- portant in proportion as they are far away. The fact is illustrated by the thousands who annually leave America for a journey through Europe. The inconvenience, the expense and the danger of an ocean voyage, are cheerfully endured by the tourist in order that he may view the mountains and riv- ers of Germany and Italy, while loftier peaks, larger rivers and broader plains at home conspire to make American scenery grander and more mag- nificent by far than European scenery, and the thousands who cross the At- lantic to view the Rhine know nothing of their own grand Mississippi, the Father of Waters; they become ecstatic over the prospect from the Alps, while their own homes are in the shadow of the Cordilleras. It is the satne with great men as with great events and grand scenery; the great man is
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
usually in the distance, and now, as eighteen hundred years ago, is it true that "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country." The same is true of books. For many years subsequent to the settlement of America no book was ever regarded as worth reading which had not been published in London or Edinburgh. In more recent times no book could be sold which was not published in New York or Boston. Owing to the enterprise of western authors, and intrepiditý of certain western publish- ers, the fact has been demonstrated in recent times that a book worth read- ing may be written and printed west of the Alleghany Mountains, and peo- ple are beginning to realize that right in their own State, and in their own county are to be found materials for the making of books, the reading of which will afford more interest and profit than those books which are con- cerned with times and places more remote.
The compiler of a history of the county has a task which may seem to be comparatively easy, and the facts which come within the legitimate scope of the work may appear commonplace when compared with national events; the narration of the peaceful events attending the conquests of industry as "Westward the course of empire takes its way," may seem tame when com- pared with the account of battles and sieges. Nevertheless, the faithful gathering and the truthful narration of facts bearing upon the early settle- ment of this county, and the dangers, hardships and privations endured by the early pioneers in advancing the standards of civilization, is a work of no small magnitude, and the facts thus narrated are such as may well chal- lenge the admiration and arouse the sympathy of the reader. though they have nothing to do with feats of arms. The narratives as given may not be characterized by that rhetorical grace which furnishes the crowning glory of a ten-cent novel; nevertheless, the writer hopes to make himself under- stood, and he believes that the facts themselves, without coloring or word- painting, will be of sufficient interest to entertain, amuse and profit the general reader.
Over a score and a half of years have passed away since the first white settlement was made within the bounds of the territory now known as Iowa county.
It is less than half a century since the uncivilized aborigines roamed over the prairies, wild and free, unfettered by the restraints of statutory law and uncircumscribed by township boundaries and county lines.
The transformation which has taken place in the physiognomy of the country alone is beyond the comprehension of the finite inind; luxuriant groves where there was the wide-stretching prairie; cultivated fields where was the primeval forest; orchards, vineyards and gardens where waved the tall prairie grass. So marked has been the change in the physiognomy of the country that there has been a decided change in the climatology. The elements themselves seem to have taken notice of the great change and have governed themselves accordingly. While the annual rain-fall and the mean annual temperature remain the same in quantity, they are now entirely different in quality, and although imperceptibly and independent of man's will, they have nevertheless come under the same civilizing power which has changed the wilderness into a fruitful land.
The great change which has taken place in the development of the ma- terial resources of the country is more noticeable, as man can more readily discern the changes that take place by detail in his own circumscribed field of activity than he can those grand revolutions in the uncircumscribed do-
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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
main of nature. The changes that have occured in social, intellectual and moral conditions are still more marked, mind being more swift to act on mind than on matter.
These changes can be best estimated by the institution of a brief contrast:
Then, the material resources of the country consisted of what nature alone had provided; of the streams of water which quenched the thirst of the savage, wherein was found the fish which he ate, and upon which floated his frail canoe; the forest where he procured his fuel, material for the construction of his rude weapons, and which sheltered the game that afforded him a meagre and uncertain sustenance. Such were the material re- sources made available to the owner of the soil. The social condition of the people was scarcely more advanced than is that of certain orders of the lower animals whose social attainments are comprehended in the ability to unite for mutual offense and defense. In intellect and morals there was a people somewhat above the brute, but on the lowest round of the ladder.
Now, the material resources of the country include in their number the soil, with every useful and ornamental product known to the temperate zone; the forest, with every species of manufacture, useful and ornamental, known to the civilized world. The water in the streams, and the currents of the air above us are alike trained to do man's bidding, while from the depths of the earth beneath our feet is brought forth the hidden wealth hoarded by the turmoil of the ages. Cites with their busy people intent on trade and traffic, husbandmen cultivating the soil from which springs all the real wealth of the nation, while from city, village and country rise the lofty spires of churches and school-houses which give evidence of social, moral and intellectual progress.
All this change has been brought about by the incoming of a new people from the far off East, and that, too, within the space of a score and a half years. History furnishes no parallel to the rapid development of this country ; it has been a chain, whose links were ever recurring surprises, and among the surprised there are none more so than those whose throbbing brains have planned, and whose busy feet have executed the work.
Almost a century ago a friend of America, although an Englishman, in language almost prophetic wrote:
"Westward the course of empire takes its way; The four first acts already past, A fifth shall close the drama with the day; Time's noblest offspring is the last."
The settlement of the new world alluded to by the writer has, as a whole, fully met the conditions of that prophecy, but not till the past quarter of a century did the onward march of empire culminate in the settlement of central Iowa. With the exception of a few mining towns in the gold re- gions of California and the silver districts of Colorado, nothing has been like it before, and it will not be exceeded in time to come.
This has not been an accident. All kinds of material development fol- low well established and recognized law, and in nothing does this fact re- veal itself more than in the settlement of a country. Whoever has made it his business to study the "Great Northwest" as it has unfolded itself in history during the last quarter of a century, has doubtless met with ever recurring surprises. The story of its unparalleled growth and almost phe -. nomenal development has been so often repeated that it has become a.com-,
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monplace platitude; but a careful study of the country will suggest ques- tions which have thus far not been answered, and cannot be. Why, for in- stance, have some sections filled up so rapidly, and certain cities sprung up as if by magic, while others, seemingly no less favored by nature, are still in the first stages of development? These questions cannot, in all cases, be answered; but whoever has studied the matter carefully cannot fail to have discovered a law of growth which is as unvarying as any law of na- ture. The two leading factors in the problem of municipal growth are lo- cation and character of first settlers.
The location of Iowa county was most favorable, and what is true, in this respect, of the county of Iowa is likewise true of the State of Iowa.
It is reported, and with considerable assurance of truthfulness that the name Iowa means "Beautiful." According to other authorities, it signifies, "This is the Land." In either case the name was applied to that portion of the Louisiana Purchase for which it was particularly fitting.
The period during which a large part of Iowa was settled, and during which the country was organized, was a period of great events in the his- tory of our country. The martial feeling, when aroused, stirs society from center to circumference, and nothing so quickly and permanently affects a people in its manners, modes and etymology as war. It was during the progress, and immediately after the triumphant close, of the war with Mex- ico that a large number of the counties of central Iowa were organized. The Democratic party in the Nation, which favored the war, was also largely in the majority in the State, and the war spirit, which had taken posses- sion of nearly every one, and which entered into all kinds of conversation and official deliberations, left its impress particularly on the General As- sembly of the Territory and young State of Iowa. In the organization of at least fifteen counties, the names of battle-fields and distinguished gene- rals of the Mexican War were perpetuated. The question of the acquisition of Texas, and the consequent war with Mexico, was one of the leading issues before the people at the time many of the counties of Iowa were organized. It was therefore to be expected, and altogether consistent with the general tendency of affairs that the battles and generals of the Mexican War should be commemorated in naming many of the counties of Iowa.
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