USA > Iowa > Keokuk County > The history of Keokuk County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. : a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 36
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" We accordingly conchided to press him into service, soothing by that proposal much of the distress of the materfamilias, who appeared to be a person rather superior to the ordinary grade of squatters. The soldiers set about the work of removing her property from the house, and loading such portions of it as she was least disposed to abandon for the night into the old fellow's wagon, and comfortably stowing herself and children on the load, we started him off as soon as she was ready to leave, after having placed the rest of her effects in as secure a condition as we could. To guard against any possible treachery on the part of the old bee hunter, as well as in view of any break down before he could strike a smoother road, the lieutenant took the precantion to detach a corporal with a half dozen
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inen to act as an escort over the three miles or so to the Indian boundary, beyond which our jurisdiction ceased.
' The house with its combustible appendages having been set on fire, we continued our march to a point a mile or two within the civilized part of Iowa Territory, where a well fixed, thrifty settler supplied our commissa- riat, as well as our forage department, with sundry items that a three days expedition through the brush had made acceptable, if not actually needful. Night had fairly set in. The corporal had rejoined the command, and re- ported the bee-hunter and his cargo to be making satisfactory and appar- ently friendly progress at the point he was ordered to leave them. Our camp fires were soon blazing and the tents pitched, and in a short time a good supper increased the contentment which the lieutenant and agent could not fail to enjoy over the final conclusion of a most unpleasant duty. An early reveille, and the next day at noon found us at the agency."
Some years ago Mr. A. C. Romig delivered an address before the Sigour- ney Literary and Historical Society, in which he gave an account, by Mr. William Scearcy of a drunken revel he once witnessed among the Indians who resided in his neigborhood :
"The village consisted of about forty wigwams or lodges, built of poles and bark, and contained about seven hundred inhabitants-Indian squaws, pappooses, dogs and all, under the chieftainship of the memorable Wapello. This band of Indians lived, as Indians usually do, by hunting, fishing, and cultivating a few acres of corn, or Indian maize, rudely enclosed by a miserable excuse of a fence, consisting of stakes driven into the ground and light poles secured by bark. Their flimsy enclosures were a poor pro- tection, and offered but little resistance to the cattle and stock of the neigh - boring white settlers, that continually broke into their fields and destroyed their crops. The natural result of all this was to embitter the feelings and excite the hatred of the savages, whose natural thirst to revenge their wrongs, either real or imaginary, was not ameliorated in the least; but on the contrary it was vastly increased and irritated by the use of ardent spir- its, which they obtained a short distance down the river at a mill, and which they used to great excess.
"I have been a frequent witness," continues Mr. Scearcy, "of their drunk- en carousals, and saw at one time not less than five hundred drunken In- dians and squaws upon the ground at once, presenting a scene of squalid wretchedness, and human degradation painful to behold. There, a squad of stalwart Indians, drinking, carousing, quarreling and fighting, while close at hand were a squad of fifty, perhaps a hundred, squaws in alike unenviable con- dition, chattering, drinking, quarreling and pulling each other's hair, scratch- ing, biting, gouging, crying, laughing, yelling, and making all sorts of hide- ous noises-the scene relieved occasionally by a member of the sterner sex pitching in to display his superior qualities, while to add comicality to the affray the dusky mother might be seen with pappooses strapped upon their backs, and safely screened by some friendly tree, or other shelter, quietly contemplating the scene, but, like Falstaff, taking good care to keep out of harm's way. We stood and gazed in mute amazement upon this living, re- volving, squirming mass of human flesh and hair, utterly unconscious of any danger to ourself until approached by the chief, Wapello, aud admon- ished by the friendly word, puck-a-chee, which signifies you had better
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leave, and then deeming discretion the better part of valor we gave them ' French leave' and turned our faces homeward."
During sickness there was usually great attention given to the comfort of the Indians, and diligent efforts to cure the patient, but when it became apparent that recovery was impossible, the patient, while still alive, was dressed in his best attire and painted according to the fancy of the relatives present, ornamented with all the trinkets, jewels and badges, dressed in his best attire, and then placed upon a mat or a platform to die. The guns, bows, arrows, axes, knives and other weapons, were all carried away from the house or lodge and concealed. They alleged that these preparations were necessary to evince their respect to the Great Spirit who, at the mo- ment of death, visits the body of the dying, receives the spirit, and carries it with Him to Paradise, while the concealment of all warlike implements shows their humble submission to, and non-resistance of, the Divine will.
Dead bodies were sometimes deposited in graves; others placed in a sit- ting posture, reclining against a rock or tree; others, again, were deposited in boxes, baskets, or cases of skins, and suspended in the branches of trees, or upon scaffolds erected for the purpose. Elevated parcels of dry ground were usually selected as burial places, and not so much regard was had for the cardinal points of the compass as to the relative position of some neigh- boring object. The graves were arranged usually with reference to some river, lake or mountain. Where it was convenient, the grave when enclosed, was covered with stones and under other circumstances it was enclosed with wooden slabs, upon which were painted with red paint certain signs or symbols commemorative of the deceased's virtues. The death of a near relative was lamented with violent demonstrations of grief. Widows vis- ited the graves of their deceased husbands with hair disheveled, carrying a bundle composed of one or more of the deceased's garments, and to this representative of her departed husband she addressed her expressions of grief and assurances of undying affection, and extreme anxiety for the comfort and well being of the departed.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
Every nation does not possess an authentic account of its origin, neither do all communities have the correct data whereby it is possible to accu- rately predicate the condition of their first beginnings. Nevertheless, to be intensely interested in such things is characteristic of the race, and it is particularly the province of the historian to deal with first causes. Should these facts, as is often the case, be lost in the mythical tradition of the past, the chronicler invades the realm of the ideal, and compels his imagination to paint the missing picture. The patriotic Roman, was not content till he had found the "First Settlers", and then he was satisfied, although they were found in the very undesirable company of a she bear, and located on a drift, which the receeding waters of the Tiber had permitted them to pre- empt.
One of the advantages pertaining to a residence in a new country, and the one possibly least appreciated, is the fact that we can go back to the first beginnings. We are thus enabled not only to trace results to their causes but also to grasp the facts which have contributed to form and mould these causes. We observe that a State or county has attained a certain po- sition, and we at once try to trace out the reasons for this position in its
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. HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
early settlement and surroundings, in the class of men by whom it was peo- pled and in the many chances and changes which have wrought out results in all the recorded deeds of mankind. In the history of Keokuk county, we may trace its early settlers to their homes in the Eastern States and in the countries of the Old World. We may follow the course of the hardy wood- man of the "Buckeye" or the "Hoosier" State on his way west to "grow up up with the country," trusting only to his strong arm and his willing heart to work out his ambition of a home for himself and wife, and a competence for his children. Yet again, we may see the path worn by the Missourian in his new experience in a land which to him was a land of progress, far in advance of that southern soil upon which he had made his temporary home, in his ef- fort to adapt himself to new conditions. We may see here the growth which came with knowledge, and the progress which grew upon him with progress around him, and how his better side developed. The pride of Kentucky blood, or the vain glorying of the Virginia F. F. V's, was here seen in an early day only to be modified in its advent from the crucible of democracy when servitude was eliminated from the solution. Yet others have been animated with the impulse to "move on," after making themselves part of the community, and have sought the newer parts of the extreme West, where civilization had not penetrated, or return to their native soil. We shall find little of that distictive New England character which has contributed so many men and women to other portions of our State and the West, but we shall find many an industrious native of Germany or the British Isles, and a few of the industrious and economical French-all of whom have contributed to modify types of men already existing here. With confidence that general results will prove that there is much of good in everything, and that a justice almost poetic has been meted out to the faults and follies, to the foibles and the virtues of the early settlers of this county, we may now enter upon their story.
As before stated, prior to October 21, 1838, the whites were not allowed to settle in any part of the territory now embraced in the boundaries of Keokuk county. At that time the United States came into possession of territory before held by the Indians; this new territory embraced within its bounds a small portion of what is now Keokuk county, including nearly all of the southeastern (Richland) township, and about half of the first, and a small portion of the second townships north of it. Upon this " strip," as has already been shown, the whites were then entitled to set- tle. This, however, cannot be taken as the date of first settlement; prior to that time a number of claims had been made and improvements com- menced. The treaty had been made, and although, theoretically, this was forbidden ground, and the pioneers could at best but take a position on the border line and view at a distance the promised land, yet, practically, the country was open for exploration some months sooner, and the more adventuresome land-viewers and claim-seekers crossed over, looking at the country and marking the best localities, in order that they might be the better prepared to make an intelligent selection before settling a perma- nent claim. Early in the spring of this year a claim had been taken and a permanent settlement began. From this time, therefore, must be traced the history of Keokuk county, and at that time must be dated the "first settlement."
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HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
THE FIRST SETTLERS.
In some counties there is great uncertainty as to who was the veritable " First Settler." In Keokuk county no such dispute is likely ever to oc- cur. All accounts agree in attributing this distinction to Mr. Aaron Mil- ler, who, together with his son, John Miller, took claims and settled in the immediate vicinity of the present site of Richland. The first habitation erected was a cabin built by Mr. Miller, near the present residence of Mr. Isaac Davis. Mr. Miller is now dead; so is his son, John Miller, but his son-in-law Wm. Scearcy, still lives in an adjoining township.
In the fall of the same year a few others came, and in the spring of 1839 Robert Pringle, James Higginbotham, Win. Lewis, Wm. Bristow, John Wasson, Mitchell Gill and James M. Smith, came from the same neighbor- hood in Indiana, and settled near to and east of the present site of Rich- land. Some of tlrese still live near where they originally settled; some are dead, while others, after remaining a number of years, again fell in with the tide of emigration and have been borne westward.
Mr. Bristow is the oldest settler in the county who still resides on his original claim. He knows all that is comprehended in the meaning of the word " Pioneer," and has experienced all the trials and hardships incident to frontier life. Notwithstanding this, Mr. Bristow is still robust and healthy. and thanks to a more than ordinarily vigorous constitution, has not known a day during the past forty years when he was not able to attend to his affairs of business.
Mr. Smith was prominently identified with the organization of the county, and became a member of the first board of county commissioners.
Prominent among those who came during the years 1839-40 were tlie following: Joseph Kellum, Joab Bennett, five brothers by the name of Brown, to-wit: Jerry, Bowzier. William, Talton and Monroe; Jerry Ken- dall, James Roy, Henry Hardin, Peter Perry, James Miller, Wm. Miller, Elijah Searcy, David Myers, Richard Quinton, Horace Bagley, Wm. Lew- man, James Lewman, Elias Whetston, Theodore Cox; and three brothers: William, John, and Ross Franklin; and four brothers: Henry, Thomas, Joel, and Pleasant Pringle; S. P. Bristow, Cyrus Jordan, Jacob Wimer, Mr. Troxel, Ed. Fayes, Robert Blacker, J. O. Casterline, and J. J. Franklin.
Mr. Kellum became the first Probate Judge of the county. Mr. Quin- ton was one of the delegates to the first constitutional convention; and others of the afore-mentioned gentlemen became, in one way and another, prominently associated in the early development and organization of the county.
Prominent among those on the north side of the river were Harvey Ste- vens and the Hendersons, Dr. Worthington, Dr. Mealy, William Grimsley, Wm. Shockley, John Baker, Wesley Goss, James Junkin, E. B. Holmes, Robert Alexander, John Crill, Sr., Ed. Cooley, and Michael Hornish.
Not many of the settlers of the spring of 1839 came early enough to raise a crop that season. A few, however, with their long team of oxen, and wooden mould-board plows, turned the sod and raised some sod corn, which helped them much in getting their stock through the winter. Most of the people, however, had to depend on prairie hay for feed for their stock which they had driven from the States, and which were by the long journey reduced to great poverty. The result was that inch of this stock
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HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
died during the winter, and the teams with which they were compelled to begin the spring work were not in a condition to do the vast amount of work consequent upon the opening of farins. Their bread was made of cornmeal and water. Their meat was such as they were able to procure by the use of their trusty rifles. Flour was scarce and dear, and they had to go to Burlington to procure it.
Two of these early settlers deserve to be especially mentioned: William Scearcy and Jacob Wimer. The former still resides in the county. Al- though he is now quite aged, and his life one of trial and hardship, yet his step is still elastic and his mind clear and memory reliable. A short sketch of his early life will be interesting to the reader and eminently proper in this place. We will let him tell his own story :
" My father, Robert Scearcy, was born in Virginia in the year 1782, and died and was buried in this township April 18, 1857. My mother's name was Mary Spivey. They were married in North Carolina, and were the parents of thirteen children: ten girls and three boys, I being the fifth child.
I was born in Buncombe county, North Carolina, in the year 1813. When quite young my parents moved to Warren county. Tennessee, where we re- mained until the fall of 1829, when we started for Indiana, but owing to sickness we did not reach our destination until the spring of 1830; stayed a while in Morgan county, Indiana, and from there to Sangamon county, Illinois, where I was married April 7, 1836, to Sarah Miller (daughter of Aaron Miller, who was the first settler in this county, and died several years ago in this township). The same spring after I was married, myself and wife, in company with two brother-in-laws, John and James Miller and their families, started for Iowa, and being the first emigrants with teams that came west farther than Lockridge, we followed the township line from there by the marks on the trees in the timber. and the stakes and mounds on the prairies, until we reached what is now known as Pleasant Plain, in Jefferson county. The land at that time had not been surveyed out in smaller subdivisions than townships, and was not yet in market. I purchased a claim of 160 acres and adjoining my claim I laid out that town, consisting of 300 lots. The town of Brighton, in Washington county, was located the same fall. I broke about twelve acres of prairie that spring, during which time we lived in a tent. The greater part of the summer we spent in breaking prairie on the north side of Skunk river. A great many emi- grants came in without families, would take claims and hired us to break a. few acres-just sufficient to hold their claims until they should return in the fall, agreeing to pay us for the work when they returnd; but they did did not come back, and we found that we had done our work for nothing- lost it all.
" While on the north side of the river we lived in an Indian 'wigwam ' made of bark. Here is where Wapello and his tribe lived at that time. They had quite a town, and some of them had small patches of ground that they cultivated, raising some corn and a few vegetables. It was a great sight to the Indians to see the prairie plow turning the sod over. The little fellows would follow us day after day, watching the plowing pro- cess. The Indians, as a general thing, treated us kindly enough, but seemed to look upon us with a kind of jealousy. They were great fellows for whisky at all times, but on special occasions they made whisky a special resort.
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HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
On the occasion of the death of one of Wapello's sons, the old chief him- self swam across the river, procured a barrel of whisky, floated it across the river, and such a time as they had I never witnessed before or since. Men, women and children beastly drunk for several days, some shouting the war whoop, some crying and wailing, and some sleeping-one continuous uproar as long as the whisky lasted.
" After laying out the town of Pleasant Plain, I made a sale of lots and sold about five hundred dollars worth, some desirable ones going as high as forty dollars. The land not yet being in market, I could make 110 deeds, but gave bonds for deeds to be made as soon as I should get deeds from the government, taking their notes, to be paid when they received the deeds.
" The only ferries we had to cross the river was our wagons; we had no other means of crossing except by swimming the teams, wagons and all. In the fall we went back to Sangammon county, Ill., expecting to return in the spring, as our provisions were all gone, and no means of securing a sup- ply for the winter, as we had no money and could not have bought supplies if we had money. Owing to sickness in my family, I did not return to Iowa until the spring of 1839. When I came to Pleasant Plain I found the Quakers had taken advantage of my absence and 'jumped' my claim, town and all, and as I could not legally hold it, they would not give it up nor pay me anything for what I had done. So I came on west and settled in Richland township, where Moses Mendenhall now lives. David Myers took a claim adjoining on the south, and although there was not a solitary house between him and Fairfield, yet he had not room enough. He crowded me out, and I abandoned that claim and settled another, the one which J. C. Johnson now lives on. I lived around in that vicinity until the spring of 1843. On the 30th day of April I moved into Jackson town- ship, although, according to the treaty, we were not allowed to settle on this purchase until the first day of May. I commenced staking out my claim early the next morning. William Brown, who was then living at Blue Point, tried to frighten me away from the claim, threatening to inob me; but having actual possession first, I held the claim, on which I have lived ever since. . The first year I fenced forty acres, broke out thirty acres of sod and put it in corn, on which I raised a good crop-plenty to do me and some to sell. I raised as good potatoes and cabbage as I have ever raised since. I planted the corn before I fenced the ground, made the rails and fenced it during the summer. I laid out in my corn many nights with a sod for a pillow, watching the cattle off my crop, and this barefooted, when rattlesnakes were as numerous as the grasshoppers and squirrels- and have actually killed them in the dark. I lived in a tent that summer, and in the fall I built a cabin.
"A great deal of trouble was caused to settlers on account of 'claim jumping;' when the land came into market there were a great many poor men who had not money to pay for their land, and others more able would enter the land at the office, and had it not been for a kind of club law got- ten up by the settlers for their own protection, probably much more dis- tress would have been than really was.
" The first church organization in this county was by Andrew P Tanne- hill, building on Spainshower's foundation, in the fall of 1843; organized the Baptist church.
" The first school taught in the township was by a man by the name of Brown, in a log cabin near where John Dare now lives.
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HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
"I have raised a family of ten children: six boys and four girls, all of whom are still living; and they are all here, except one daughter who lives in Kansas.
" I professed religion in the year 1819 and joined the Baptist church, of which I have been a member ever since.
"Politically, I am a Democrat, alway have been, and always expect to be; my first vote being cast for Martin Van Buren for President.
" In looking over the county now, and contrasting its appearance with thirty-five years ago, what a remarkable change we discover: then a vast ocean of prairie, upon miles and miles of which nothing could be seen but the native grass, interspersed with groves, belts of timber, rivulets and streams, inhabited only by the red skins and wild animals. Now, how dif- ferent! The white man has made his mark here. All over this country what was then one vast wild prairie, we see, we might say, one continuous farm, separated only by roads and fences. In looking over those few years past, it seems that such a change could not have taken place in so short a time. Then we had our log cabin school-houses, with split logs or fence rails for seats. Then we had preaching in our log cabins, and people were not ashamed to ride in an ox wagon four or five miles to meeting, and if they were not able to wear shoes they did not hesitate to go barefoot and without any coat. They went to meeting for the enjoyment of true relig- ion, and had no fears of being insulted by Mr. Etiquette or Madame Fash- ion."
Jacob Wimer settled in the vicinity of Richland in the year 1839. He proved to be the most valuable accession which had, up to this time, been made to the little colony. He was a man of the most invincible energy, possessed of other striking traits of character, and, moreover, a practical mill-wright. No one man did more to advance the interests of the early settlers, and to develop the resources of the county, than he. Soon after arriving, Mr. Wimer set about the work of mill-building. The first mill in the county was commenced by liim in June, 1842, and located on South Skunk river, near the confluence of the two streams. It was completed in the following February. The mill was built about five rods west of the boundary line of the original Black Hawk purchase. In selecting the site he found that he could not erect the mill to advantage unless he put it on the Indian side of the line. The trespass was but a few steps, and he sup- posed that it would work no injury to the red man. But the red man came and pointed out to him the line between Che-mo-ke.man and Mus- qua-ke. Mr. Wimer was apparently too dull of comprehension to under- stand the import of the Indians' protestations, and went on with his mill. The red skins had learned too much of freedom in their own wild forests. to be thus encroached upon, and regarded in a diplomatic manner a tres- pass of fifty yards as equal to the inundation of the whites to the very center of their hunting grounds. The consequence was that they appealed to the United States authorities, and a troop of dragoons was dispatched to drive Mr. Weimer off the forbidden ground and burn his buildings. One morning, shortly after the completion of the mill, these epauletted gentlemen bore down upon Mr. Wimer. This gentleman, however, was not altogether taken by surprise, as he had certain intimations of the raid upon his premises. He had, accordingly, prior to the arrival of the dra- goons, removed all vestiges of the boundary line, for several miles on
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