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 39
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HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
why the reverse of all this is the true situation of the case to-day, not only in this country and in this State, but throughout our whole common coun- try.
" I have dwelt sufficiently long upon what we suffered, and think it but right that some reference should be made to the joys which come as a com- pensation for the suffering and self denial.
" The kind and generous soil which you secured by being here at an early day has yielded you rich rewards for the labor bestowed. You have lived in affluence and comfort, rearing healthful, stalwart children, deeply imbu- ing them with a love of freedom, home and country, educating them un- der the auspices of the noblest free school system ever inaugurated and maintained by man. These results achieved, life may be said to have been well spent and rewarded.
" Many of you who were the first to settle in this county as young mar- ried men and women, are still young and strong, with much yet to be en - joyed. Many who started in the race with you have fallen ; some who have gone lived to see the fruition of their hopes; others fell early in the struggle with the hard life of the pioneer. I remember, with pleasure for having known them, and with deep regret for their loss, inany settlers who have passed over; a few of whom I shall name in the order in which their names occur to me:
. "J. B. Whisler, J. G. Crocker, P. B. Shawhan, George Shawhan, Judge Pinkerton (and I think all of his family), Wm. A. Jordan, Joseph Knox, Samuel Johnston, Jacob Goodheart, Thomas Hendryx, Ezekiel Sampson, James L. Hogin, J. T. Axtell, Judge Baker, William Landers, B. S. McCoy, John C. McNabb, Sanford Leathers, Austin Jacobs, Wm. Jacobs, and last but not least, the gallant General Marcellus M. Crocker-
'He was a man, take him all in all, We shall not look upon his like again.'
"Many of you remember the fact, if not the circumstances, connected with the warm and almost more than brotherly friendship between Gen'l Crocker and myself. We became acquainted when we were boys, and that friend- ship grew and strengthened with increasing years, until the end ef his life. The last letter I ever received from him, written but a short time before his death, and when he knew that his life was fast drawing to a close, was one in which he poured out his soul to me in such words as he only, of all the men I ever knew, could ntter, referring to the friendship which was the result of our mutual struggles in early life to maintain our lives and those dependent upon us. His great indomitable soul was called from earth all to soon.
" I hope I may be pardoned, and not thought vain or immodest, when I refer to the fact that of the general officers in the late war who achieved dis- tinction, and whose acts during the war became a part of the history of the Republic, no less than three were pioneer settlers in this county, though all had removed from the county before the war commenced. My friend General Crocker, was one of the number, and I do hope and believe that the old settlers of Keokuk county still cherish and love his memory, and feel a just pride in the fact that his boyhood days, and a part of the days of his early manhood were spent among you.
" I have not referred to the record of Keokuk county soldiers during the
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late struggle for the nation's life. I have not had at my command the roll of honor, and cannot remember the history of many of the brave men who offered their lives that the Union might live, yet I should not hesitate to assert before all the world that the soldiers whom this county sent to the army were loyal, brave and fearless, and helped to create and fully sustain the high reputation borne by Iowa soldiers throughout the Republic. I can at this moment only recall the history of one private soldier of the county who fell in the late war. When I was myself a boy, a very young man, I knew a fair young boy, many years my junior. I loved this beautiful boy for his intelligence and gentleness. Years rolled by; I grew into manhood and went away from among you while he was still a young boy of great promise. The cruel, wicked war came on, and I heard that my young friend had enlisted. Later on I learned the number of his regiment, and also in what portion of the army it was serving. Bearing this in mind, I visited his brigade commander, on the first opportunity, and asked him to. send for the young soldier. That gallant, great hearted soldier, General Wm. W. Belknap, told me, while tears streamed from his eyes, that I was too late. He told me that my gallant young friend had fought his last battle -had laid down his young life for the salvation of the nation-that he had fallen in the face of the enemy on Kenesaw's rugged embattled front. That young hero was Robert Lowe. He also stated, if I remember aright, that my young friend had been appointed a cadet at West Point, and was to have left in a few days for that place."
Prior to the summer of 1843 very little progress had been made in the settlement of the country west and north of North Skunk river. It was at this time there appeared in this part of the county a man, who, probably more than any other, contributed to the future prosperity, development and good name of the county. Energetic in manner, upright of character, prompt and accurate in business matters, his fellow citizens long and often honored him with the most important office in the county. His name is S. A. James. We have frequently referred to him as authority heretofore, and shall hereafter refer to him possibly still more frequently. There is nothing which we could say as appropriate and relevant, at this period of the history of the county, as the following so aptly said in this gentleman's own language.
" About the first of June, 1843, I left the town of Washington, Iowa, in- tending to make a claim in Keokuk county. I went in the company of Arora Clemons and family, who had a yoke of oxen and lumber wagon, with which they hauled some provisions and a very small amount of house- hold plunder. Mr. Clemons had, before that time, been up to Keokuk county, made him a claim, and had built on it a small log cabin at the grove on the present (1879) John Holzworth farm, about a mile north of Harper. Staying with Mr. Clemons the first night, at his cabin, I set out early next morning to find a couple of friends who were improving a claim, lately known as the Jack Lightfoot farm, but now owned by Mr. Detchon and Mr. Renfro, about three miles northwest of Sigourney.
At this time there was not, besides Mr. Clemons, a single inhabitant in the northeast fourth of the county. Taking the landmarks with which I had been furnished, I struck out, as stated, to find my two friends. But. I bore off too much southwest, crossed over the prairie where Sigourney now stands, and first learned I was too far south by finding one Robert Linder and some others cutting logs for a cabin where Mr. John M. Brunt now
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HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
lives. They could give me no tidings or directions to find my friends, and I commenced to retrace my steps. At the close of the day I found myself alone in the small elm grove where Joel Long now resides, about three miles northeast of Sigourney, and finding a bark cover beside a large log, where some one had previously camped, I determined to make a night of it there, which I did, after making supper on two or three cold biscuit I had with me.
" The next morning when I awoke at sunrise, my ears were greeted with the songs of birds, and the calls of numerous turkeys, not fifty yards from me. I had no gun, or any arms larger than a penknife, and, perforce, I stood and gazed at the large gobblers as they strutted by.
" I then struck northward, visiting every grove, to find some settler. In this way I continued my search till I came to the timber of South English river, on the outskirts of which was a pretty well beaten road, made by the bee hunters. I was now satisfied I could not find my friends without a better direction and equipment, so I went down this bee hunters' road till I came in sight of the upper timber of Crooked creek, for which I aimed, and spent my third night out from Washington at David Delong's, some eight or nine miles northwest of that town.
" The next day I returned to Washington, rested a day or two, obtained better directions, a rifle, an ax, a pint of salt, a few more biscuit, and again started out in search of my two Keokuk county friends. It had been, meantime, raining very much, and in many places the prairie was three to six inches deep in water, especially on the bottoms. I found my ax of ser- vice in crossing small streams, by felling saplings, and finally made my destination about dark, all O. K, but oh! so tired.
"I soon after made me a claim four miles north of Sigourney (where Leander Delong now lives), and after assisting my friends in their improve- ments for a month or two, we all returned to Washington to spend the winter. On this return trip we found a Mr. Schnakenberg had settled on German creek. We reached his cabin at dark. The family were about to take mush and milk for ther supper, but gave us the first table. I know the family must have thought our stomachs were made of India rubber. We were so hungry, and it was so palatable! The next day we got to Washington. And this was my first trip to Keokuk county."
Richard Schnakenberg, mentioned in the foregoing sketch, together with five or six others, had formed the first settlement in that neighborhood, May 1, 1843. Among others who came about this time, or shortly afterward, were Casper Klett and John Beinhart, who are both now dead, the latter dy- ing shortly after arriving. These gentlemen, as well as a large majority of the people who afterward settled in that neighborhood, were Germans, and upon the organization of the county, the township was called German from that fact. The people in that settlement, have always been noted for their industry and thrift, and have fully contributed their share toward the development of the material resources of the county.
Shortly after locating upon his claim, Mr. Schnakenberg, in company with an old gentlemen by the name of Seaba, visited the place where Sigourney is now located. The latter was by no means enthusiastic over the pros- pects of the present county-seat, and remarked that there never could be any market here, and that he would return to Cincinnati and make a living by doing " days' work." Mr. Seaba, however, did not go back to Cincin- nati, but settled down and lived long enough in the county to surround
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HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
himself with all the comforts of life, and died at a very advanced age, re- spected by all his neighbors as one of the most intelligent and enterpris- ing citizens of German township. Mr. Klett was always noted for his lib- erality. It is said that he would divide his last pancake with a neighbor, would lend anything he had, and was very accommodating in various ways. He did a great deal of freighting with horses and oxen to and from Keo- kuk and Burlington. On one of these trips the roads were so bad that it took two days to go four miles. He always kept the best of horses, and plenty of them, and when their was a boiler or anything particularly heavy to move, Mr. Klett was generally called on to perform the work.
Farther west, in the neighborhood of what was destined to become the metropolis of the county, and the center of trade, there had been very little done in the way of settlement as early as the summer of 1844. About this time S. A. James, who had recently been appointed county clerk, came into this neighborhood looking for the county-seat, which had just been located. Upon reaching the place he found a stout pole planted in the ground, the stake of the commissioners, but nothing else to disturb the ramblings of the grey wolf or the cooings of the wild grouse. The eye swept the cir- cle of vision to rest on one single habitation, that of Jacob Shaver, who had located in the grove southwest, now known as "Skillman's Grove." Mr. Shaver had made his claim and erected his cabin the previous season, and early that spring had moved his family upon the premises. William Shaver, John Shaver and Robt. Linder located about the same time, one mile southwest of Jacob Shaver. This constituted the whole of the settle- ment in the neighborhood of the present county-seat. East, west and north, the whole county for miles lay unclaimed, and remained so for some time.
Upon arriving at the seat of justice, Mr. James forthwith set to work erecting a cabin. This cabin was erected in short order. Considering the speed with which this builing was erected, the total absence of all building material and the complicated plans which necessarily entered into the erec- tion of a building which was to subserve such a variety of purposes, we hesitate not in saying that one would search in vain to find it surpassed in the whole annals of public improvements. This remarkable edifice was 12x16, floored with puncheons and covered with clapboards put on with nails purchased in Washington. Here were the county offices and the public records; the judge's room and the jury-room; indictments filed and suits tried; the county's cash hoarded and its criminals incarcerated; here, also, the county officials ate, lodged and slept.
Later in the fall another cabin was erected, and the following spring the population was augmented by the arrival of a lawyer by the name of Blair, who for a while had a monopoly of the criminal as well as the civil business in the courts of the county. Mr. Blair was soon followed by a representa- tive of the medical profession, Dr. B. F. Weeks, who was succeeded by Dr. E. H. Skillman, who for several years was the only physician in that part of the country, his professional visits leading him to the various settlements scattered around throughout the county. During this time there were the following arrivals : G. B. Cook, A. Covey, Joseph Adams, E. Shugart, Wm. Basey, James Shields, Josiah Crawford, W. Hulbert and B. F. Ed- wards. The nearest settlements were as follows : The Rosecrans neigh- borhoood, three miles northwest ; the German creek neighborhood, six miles east, and the Sinith settlement on Smith creek, five miles west.
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During this summer James Shields erected a cabin and stood behind a rough counter offering groceries for sale. Mr. Crawford reared a pole shanty or house, and placed therein a very fair law library. It was prob- ably the best the county afforded, and Mr. Crawford was studying law. At the July term of the District Court, that year, he applied for license to practice law; the committee reported adversely to his admission, whereupon he arose and made a speech to the court in which the bar, and especially the committee, were severely handled: his practice would not leave them mnuch to do; they were jealous of his abilities, jealous of his library, and he intended to rise yet head and shoulders above themn. He closed his speech by announcing that he intended to emigrate from the judicial dis- trict, which he accordingly did.
Schools and churches were not organized till some time later; the first church, the Methodist, being organized and a building erected the follow- ing year. There was a post-office established, and the first mail received on the 7th of February, 1845 ; the mail was carried on horseback from Washington to Oskaloosa by Mr. J. H. Bragg, the contractor, once every two weeks. Mr. James was the first postmaster. This was the only post-office in the whole section of the country at that time, and as there was but one mail every two weeks, mail day was a very important occasion.
Before the close of the next year several new business enterprises had been started. Joseph Knox began to sell dry goods ; Martin Grimsley and J. G. Crocker sold groceries ; Joseph Adams started a blacksmith shop, Rob't Linder a harness shop, Jacob Shaver a cooper shop, and Haskell & Burgess a shop for. manufacturing fanning mills. B. F. Edwards erected a log building where he displayed quite a creditable assortment of general merchandise for sale.
At that time there were but seven families residing along English river. One hot summer day while Edwards was rubbing his hands for a customer, a man from that part of the country came in and inquired the price of bees- wax. He was informed that he could have twenty-five cents a pound in trade. He produced a small quantity tied up in a pocket handkerchief, which upon being weighed proved to amount to a half-pound. Upon being asked what he would have for it he surveyed the shelves for a few minutes in silence and then replied that his wife would be in town in a few weeks and he believed that he would prefer to have her " take up the goods."
The first settlements inade in the vicinity of English river were in the neighborhood of the present site of South English, in 1845. The first set- tlers were Jas. Mahaffa, James Thomas and John Houston. Thomas took a claim on the northwest quarter of section 22 ; Houston on section 24, and his place was for many years known as "Houston's Point." Afterward came James, Chambers and H. H. Rodman, who located on section 30. John Duke and John Ballard made settlements farther west. Some later Thomas Morgan came. Chambers Rodman froze to death some few years after he located in the county.
Churches were organized in this neighborhood shortly after its settle- ment. They were organized in the following order : first came the Metho- dist, then the Baptist, Christian and Congregational. The first school was taught by S. M. Glandon in a school-house which had no windows in it. The first store was kept by Ethan Post, and it is said by the old settlers that he could generally be found at his post, fast asleep.
Mr. Arora Clemmons, in 1842, took a claim and began a settlement south-
5
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HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
east of South English, near what is now known as Holsworth's Grove. Although the land in that vicinity is not excelled by any other tract in the State for its beauty and the fertility of the soil, on account of the scarcity of timber it was not settled till some time after the other parts of the county where timber was more abundant. We quote from the centennial address delivered at Keota, July 4, 1876, by Hon. Isaac Farley:
" In fact, our most beautiful prairies were shunned by early settlers. In- habitants of to-day whilst contemplating our broad prairies, dotted witlı neat, commodious dwellings, barns, orchards and artificial groves, look back with surprise at the choice of the first settlers. The uninviting features of our Western prairies remind me of a poem descriptive of them which I used to read in my boyhood days. The poem was doubtless written by some New England pedagogue after returning from a flying visit to some such a country as this was in early days :
" 'Oh, lonesome, windy, grassy place, Where buffalo and snakes prevail; The first with dreadful looking face, The last with dreadful sounding tail. I'd rather live on camel hump And be a Yankee doodle beggar, Than where I never see a stump And shake to death with fever 'n' agr.'"
Fortunately for the settlers of this locality, owing to its high and dry surface, they were seldom afflicted with malarial diseases and fever and ague have been almost unknown. In 1843 came J. J. Kreamer and J. P. Kreamer and settled on Clear creek. This was prior to the time the land was put into the market, consequently settlers at that time were called squatters. Six of the first settlers, to-wit .: the Kreamers, Newton, Gil- bert, Keeley and Carris, still live upon the land they first entered.
PIONEER LIFE.
The account of early settlements as has already been narrated extends from the time of the first settlement, in the spring of the year 1839, to the time of the admission of the State into the Union, in the autumn of 1846, The account therefore embraces a period of less than eight years from the first settlement on the " old strip," and less than four years from the time when authority was first given to settle that portion of the county west.
During these years the first settlement of Keokuk county was in the earliest stage of pioneer life. All that can be known of this period must be drawn chiefly from tradition.
In those days the people took no care to preserve history-they were too busily engaged in making it. Historically speaking, those were the most important years of the county, for it was then the foundation and corner- stones of all the county's history and prosperity were laid. Yet -this period was not remarkable for stirring events. It was, however, a time of self-reliance and brave, persevering toil; of privations cheerfully endured through faith in a good time coming. The experience of one settler was just about the same as that of others. They were almost invariably poor, they faced the same hardships and stood generally on an equal footing.
20
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HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
All the experience of the early pioneers of this county goes far to con- firm the theory that, after all, happiness is pretty evenly balanced in this world. They had their privations and harships, but they had also their own peculiar joys. If they were poor they were free from the burden of pride and vanity; free, also, from the anxiety and care that always attend the possession of wealth. Other people's eyes cost them nothing. If they had few neighbors, they were on the best of terms with those they had. Envy, jealousy and strife had not crept in. A common interest and a common sympathy bound them together with the strongest ties. They were a little world to themselves, and the good feeling that prevailed was all the stronger because they were so far removed from the great world of the East.
There was a peculiar sort of free-masonry among the pioneers. New- comers were made welcome, and ready hands assisted them in building their homes. Neighbors did not even wait for an invitation or request to help one another. Was a settler's cabin burned or blown down? No sooner was the fact known throughout the neighborhood than the settlers assem- bled to assist the unfortunate one to rebuild his home. They came with as little hesitation, and with as much alacrity, as though they were all mem- bers of the same family, and bound together by ties of blood. One man's interest was every other man's interest also. Now this general state of feeling among the pioneers was by no means peculiar to this county, al- though it was strongly illustrated here. It prevailed generally throughout the West during the time of the early settlement. The very nature of things taught the settlers the necessity of dwelling together in this spirit. It was their only protection. They had come far away from the well-estab- lished reign of law and entered a new country where the civil authority was still feeble, and totally unable to afford protection and redress griev- ances. Here in Keokuk county the settlers lived for quite a time before there was a single officer of the law in the county. Each man's protection was in the good will and friendship of those about him, and the thing any man might well dread was the ill will of the community. It was more terrible than the law. It was no uncommon thing in the early times for hardened men, who had no fears of jails or penitentiaries, to stand in great fear of the indignation of a pioneer community.
Owing to the fact that one of the early settlers was an energetic mill- wright, he employed all his energy and what means he possessed in erect- ting mills at a few of the favorable mill-sites, which abound in the county, yet going to mill in those days, when there were no roads, no bridges, no ferry-boats, and scarcely any convenience for traveling, was no small task, where so many rivers and treacherous streams were to be crossed, and such a trip was often attended with great danger to the traveler when these streams were swollen beyond their banks. But even under these circum- stances some of the more adventurous and ingenious ones, in cases of emer- gency, found the way and means by which to cross the swollen streams and succeed in making the trip. At other times, again, all attempts failed them, and they were compelled to remain at home until the waters subsided, and depend on the generosity of their fortunate neighbors.
An interesting comparison might be drawn between the conveniences which now make the life of the farmer a comparatively easy one, and the almost total lack of such conveniences in early days. A brief description of the accommodations possessed by the first tillers of this soil will be now
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given. Let the children of such illustrious sires draw their own compar- isons, and may the results of these comparisons silence the voice of com- plaint which so often is heard in the land.
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