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 67
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96
568
HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
farming in this township. He lives on section 16, township 76, range 11. John Helcher settled in German township in 1869, where he married Miss Auna Snakenberg. He lives on section 36. Martin Weaver lives on sec- tion 16; he came to the township in 1857 with $700, and is now worth abont $7,000. John Beinhart came to the township in 1846 and entered the land upon which his son, John Beinhart, Jr., now lives. He died shortly after coming to the township. Calvin McCay settled in German township in 1858. He bonght eighty acres of land and had only $100 to pay on it. He now has two hundred acres of well improved land, and is out of debt. The foregoing illustrates the character of the majority of the farmers of German township. There are in this township thirteen school-honses. The first one was built in 1847, and stood east ot Garabaldi in the timber, and was called No. 1. In 1849 district No. 2 built a house one mile west of Garabaldi: both were log houses 16x20 feet with one window and one door. In 1854 district No. 4 was organized and a house built. It was 16x18 feet, made of hewed logs, puncheon floor one door and five windows; the district was three miles wide and six miles long, and here Levi Bower, the present county treasurer, tanght his first school. One among the first school teachers of the township was Dnke Rosecrans, an uncle of Gen. Rosecrans and Henry Rosecrans, of Sigourney. Win. Love also taught school in the same neighborhood in early days. H. D. Todd, for many years subsequently county superintendent, taught school in German town- . for several terms.
The first church in German township was a German Methodist church, organized in 1852. The first members were Didrick Snakenberg, Lewis and John Snakenberg, Andrew Hoffman, Court Meyerdick, Anton Glander, John Flitch, David and John Beinhart. The present pastor is Rev. Philip Barth. There is a Catholic church at Baden, built in 1857, the present pas- tor being Rev. P. Kerr. There is also a Lutheran church, built in 1857, or- ganized in 1855, first members were Christian Dunsing, Win. Bienman, Ferdinand Wickenknmp, Didrick Strohman, John Shermer, Didrick Buns and Herman Beinka.
A coal bank known as Wm. Longhridge's bank, was discovered in 1856 by John Hartman. The vein was only eighteen inches thick and has not been operated for a number of years.
In 1856 John Hartman built a saw-mill on- German creek; it was the first and only experiment with water.power in the township, and was not a success. It was washed away shortly after it was built. In 1855 John Holsworth built a steam saw-mill on land owned by Sebastian Striegle, which was afterward removed one mile west of Garibaldi, where it is still operated. Joseph Kohlhonse bnilt a steam saw-mill in the southern part of the township and operated it till 1871, when it was destroyed by the tor- nado.
The first cemetery was laid out on Didrick Snakenberg's land near the old German Methodist church, in 1847. The first person buried there was John Beinhart. In 1856 another cemetery was laid out near the Lutheran church. John Brumert, one of the first settlers of the township, was among the first buried there There is still another cemetery in the north part of the township which was laid out in 1859 Silas Richardson, one of the old pioneers was buried there.
There are no doctors at present. Samnel Todd has practiced law for twenty years. C. H. Mohland began the practice a few years since. There
569
HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
were formerly two breweries in the south part of the township, one of them operated by William Jugenheimer and the other by Philip Mitchell; both were discontinued some time since.
Baden was the first town laid out in German township. It was laid out in 1856 by Sebastian Striegle. The first house was built by G. H. B. Strie- gle, now of Harper, who built a dwelling house and blacksmith shop in 1857. The next building was erected by a Mr. Franken, who erected a dwelling and grocery-house combined. L. Striegle erected a store room and Christ. Striegle built a dwelling-house soon after. In 1857 a Catholic church was built in Lafayette township, and some time after it was moved to Baden, where it is now located.
Garibaldi was laid out in 1858. It contains a post-office, one store and a Turner's hall. It is chiefly noted for its facilities for furnishing amuse- ment for the boys.
The present township officers are:
Justices of the Peace -- Henry Gortner and Fred. Cox. Constables -Mart. Mohland and J. W. Snakenberg. Clerk-C. H. Mohland.
Trustees-John Knox, John Helcher and Henry Kilmer. Assessor-Theodore Blaise.
SIGOURNEY TOWNSHIP.
The boundaries of this township are very irregular on the north and south sides. The east and west boundaries are the same as the congressional township lines, and in this particular corresponds with range 12. The ir- regular channel of Skunk river forms the southern boundary, while on the north it corresponds with congressional township No. 75, except in north- east corner, where two sections, thirty-five and thirty-six, are taken from Van Buren township. Until September, 1844, it was a part of German township; at that time the county commissioners made the following order:
"Ordered, that the boundaries of German township be extended so as to make its western line be the range line dividing ranges twelve and thirteen, and that the name of said township be changed to the name of Sigourney." Some time after there was a division made and the former name of German township again appeared on the map with its present boundaries.
The township of Sigourney thus received its name from the town which had been located and named more than a year before the township was formed. The township, as it is now defined, contains about 12,500 acres, and has a population, exclusive of the town, of abont 750. In 1850, the township, exclusive of the town, had a population of 536, and in 1856 it was 934. The present township officers are as follows:
Justices of the Peace-John Rogers and R. L. Donnell. Constables-L. A. Berry and Chas. Berry. Clerk-W. Shean.
Trustees-David Mc Murray, A. G. Brown and G. Kleinsmith. Assessor-W. A. Barker.
570
HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
THE CITY OF SIGOURNEY.
In treating of the organization of the county and the county-seat con- tests, much of the history of Sigourney has already been written. In this chapter we shall treat of it in its character as a place of business; of its growth and development, and of its literary, benevolent and religions in- stitutions. The circumstances which led to the naming of the place have already been given, and at this place it will be proper to give a brief sketch of Mrs. Sigourney.
Mrs. Sigourney was born at Norwich, Connecticut, on the 1st of Septem- ber, 1791. Her maiden name was Lydia Huntley. At a very early age she manifested a fondness for painting. Almost in her infancy she began to draw with a pin and lilac-leaf, and advanced from that to slate and pencil, and by-and-by to a lead pencil and backs of letters. Having in some way obtained a cake of gamboge, she begged of a washerwoman a piece of in- digo, and by combining these two ingredients she could make different shades of yellow, blue and green. At length, to her great joy, her father gave her a complete box of colors. When yet a girl her day-dream of the future was to be a school teacher. The long cherished wish which, for a long time, was kept a secret, was at length revealed to her parents, neither of whom made any objections, and the pleasantest room of the house was fitted up for the reception of pupils. Her first venture did not prove to be a success, parents having some hesitancy in intrusting their children to one so young. She afterward associated herself with another lady, and suc- ceeded better.
In 1815, while enjoying the hospitality of Daniel Wadsworth, her kind and appreciative host by chance obtained possession of some of Lydia's manuscript in prose and verse; he pronounced them worthy of publication, and under his auspices a volume was published entitled, " Moral Pieces in Prose and Verse." This was the first appearance in print of any of her productions. The public gave the little volume a generous welcome, and its success lead to a career of authorship that lasted near a half-century and resulted in the publication of fifty-six volumes of poetry, tales, novels, bi- ographies and letters.
When twenty-eight years old, she was married to Charles Sigourney. For the next fifteen years she resided in the most elegant mansion in Hart- ford, her husband being a very successful merchant of that place. She be- came the mother of several children, all but two of whom died in infancy.
After years of prosperity, Mr. Sigourney met with heavy losses, and they were compelled to leave their pleasant residence and seek a home in a less pretentious part of the city. Mr. Sigourney died at the age of seventy-six. During the last seven years of her life Mrs. Sigourney's chief employment was contributing to the columns of the New York "Ledger." She died in June, 1865, after a brief illness, she having enjoyed excellent health up to a short time previous to her death. She contemplated the approach of death with great tranquility of mind-and well she might; for, having spent her life in honorable labor for the benefit of her race, she could look back upon her career with pleasure and satisfaction.
She always looked toward the rapidly developing West with deep inter- est; especially is this true of Iowa, where was located the scene of one of her most touching poems. An Indian girl by the name of Ka-la-we-quois, belonging to the Sac and Fox tribe of Indians, died of consumption and
The Adams dans
573
HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
was buried in a county southwest of here. Mrs. Sigourney, seeing a notice of her death, wrote the following touching lines:
THE INDIAN GIRL'S BURIAL.
A wail upon the prairies, A cry of woman's woe, That mingleth with the autumn blast, All fitfully and low. It is a mother's wailing! Hath earth another tone Like that with which a mother mourns Her lost, her only one ?
Pale faces gather 'round her; They mark the storm swell high That rends and wrecks the tossing soul; But the cold blue eyes are dry. Pale faces gazed upon her, As the wild winds caught her moan; But she was an Indian mother, So she wept those tears alone.
Long o'er that wasting idol She watched, and toiled, and prayed, Though every dreary dawn revealed Some ravage death had made, Till the fleshless sinews started, And Hope no opiate gave, And hoarse and hollow grew her voice- An echo from the grave.
She was a gentle creature, Of raven eye and tress, And dove-like were the tones that breath'd Her bosom's tenderness; Save when some quick emotion The warm blood quickly sent, To revel in her olive cheek, So richly eloquent.
I said consumption smote her, And the healer's art was vain, But she was an Indian maiden, And none deplored her pain- None, save the widow'd mother, Who now by her open tomb Is writhing like the smitten wretch Whom judgment marks for doom.
Alas! that lowly cabin, That couch beside the wall, That seat beneath the mantling vine, They are lone and empty all. What hand shall pluck the tall green corn, That ripeneth on the plain, Since she for whom the board was spread Will ne'er return again!
Rest! rest then, Indian maiden! Nor let thy murmuring shade Grieve that those pale-browed ones with scorn Thy burial rite surveyed. There's many a king whose funeral A black-robed realm shall see- For whom no tear of grief is shed Like that which falls for thee.
35
574
HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
Yea, rest thee, forest maiden! Beneath the native tree; The proud may boast their little day- They sink to dust like thee; But there's many a one whose funeral With nodding plumes may be,
Whom nature nor affection mourns As now they mourn for thee.
Such is a brief sketch of the lady in whose honor the capital of Keokuk county received its name. She showed her appreciation of the compli- ment at one time by providing for the planting of the trees which now adorn the court-house yard.
The town having been located and named, the next act in the develop- inent of the embryo city was asurvey of the town site and a plat of the same. The preparatory legislation requisite to this end occurred on the 27th of July, 1844, when the county commissioners made the following order:
"Ordered by the board that the county surveyor of Keokuk county be required to repair to Sigourney, in said county, situated on the northeast quarter of section No. 2, in township 75, range 12, which has been selected as the seat of justice for said county, and on the 7th day of August next, or within five days thereafter, proceed to lay off a town on said quar- ter section, by first finding the center of said quarter section, and making the center of the public square the center of said quarter section; pro- vided, however, that if the center should not be situated on an eligible spot then making the center of the public square at a certain stake set by the county commissioners, which stands about one hundred yards northwest of the office of S. A. James; and that the surveyor proceed to lay off the public square two hundred and seventy-six feet square, and that he lay off eight blocks of the following dimensions, to-wit: Two hundred and seven- ty-six feet square, which shall be laid off into eight lots, each with an alley of twelve feet running each way through the center of the block; also four streets; two running east and west and two north and south, which streets shall be eighty feet wide."
At the same session of the board it was ordered that a sale of lots of the sown of Sigourney be held in Sigourney on Tuesday, the 1st day of October, 1844, The sale occurred according to order, and resulted in the sale of a single lot, it being lot three, in block three, which sold for $12, $6 to be paid in three months, and $6 to be paid in six months, the purchaser being Joel Landreth. The town having been surveyed and one lot sold, it now became necessary to buy the land upon which the prospective town was located from the government. The. commissioners accordingly author- ized Mr. S. A. James to borrow the money necessary for this purpose, which he procured from Godfrey Klett, and the land was entered in Jan- mary, 1845. The remaining portion of the town quarter was laid out in February, 1845, and in April the agent appointed began to sell lots; those on the square sold for about $50, and others for $5. As has previously been remarked, Mr. James was the first resident of the town of Sigourney; he completed his cabin, and thus, according to the rules of pre-emption, became a settler in June, 1844. Here Mr. James remained " monarch of all he surveyed " during the fall and winter of 1846. No other habitation came within the circle of his vision except that of Jacob Shaver in a grove
575
HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
to the southwest. Mr. James, like many other men doing business in large cities, had his home outside the city limits, and boarded with Mr. Shaver, who dwelt in the quiet suburb already mentioned. When the court met at the county-seat in July, 1844, it also adjourned to the country for dinner.
In the spring and summer of 1845 there was quite an addition to the heretofore quiet and orderly population of Sigourney. Among those who came at this time were G. B. Cook, A. Covey, Joseph Adams, E. Shugart, Wni. Basey, James, Shields, Josiah Crawford, Rev. W. Hulbert, B. F. Ed- wards, and Dr. B. F. Weeks. Mr. Cook erected the first frame house in Sigourney, which was afterward removed to the rear of Dr. Skillman's store room. Mr Shields erected a log house where the Clark House was after- ward located, and opened up in it a grocery store. Mr. Shugart erected a dwelling house of hewn logs. Mr. Basey put up a double log cabin which was pulled down in 1865 by J. L. Hogin. Rev. Mr. Hulbert erected the second frame house in the town; this house was afterward owned and occu- pied by Joseph Knox. Mr. Edwards erected a log building on the east side of the square, in which he opened up a general stock of merchandise. Mr. A. W. Blair was the first attorney. He came in January, 1845, and remained until the beginning of the Mexican war, when he volunteered in the service and spent some five years in northern Mexico. At the close of the war he went to Des Moines and afterward to California. Dr. Weeks was the first physician; he practiced his profession throughout the sur- rounding country and while on a professional visit to Warren township was taken sick and died at the residence of Maxon Randall.
In 1846 Joseph Knox, for many years the leading merchant of Sigour- ney, settled at the county seat. Then followed John C. Hogin, J. L. Hogin, Walker & Hawk, Reeves & Lash, I. N. and S. E. Hall, J. D. McNeff, Page & Startsman, James Carr, A. Meyer, Jackson & McElroy. These all dealt in dry goods and groceries, except the latter, who also handled hardware very extensively. John Tressler, Heider & Allgayer, A. G. Brown, Win. Wait, A. H. Mensley, Reeves & Shebe, C. D. McCally. Ray & King also handled a stock of general merchandise during the years of '49 and '59 in- clusive. W. A. Beeks, J. L. Hogin, Miller & Blair, Shelby & Ross, Miller & Landers supplied the drug and book trade during the same period, while Martin Grimsley, James Bowen, Martin Butch, C. J. Smith, C. H. Achard, J. G. Crocker and J. Shipfer supplied the grocery trade. Mr. Achard put up the first ice house in the winter of 1857, and during the following sum- mer disposed of the first ice cream sold in Keokuk county. J. T. Clark kept the Clark House, A. Gann, the Exchange, Daniel Heider, the Sigourney House.
Dr. Skillman succeeded Dr. Weeks in the practice of medicine, and he is probably the oldest physician in the county beginning the practice in 1846 and being still located in the same place. The following physicians located in Sigourney as follows:
In 1847 Dr. A. C. Price located in Sigourney, Dr. A. Parks in 1856, Dr. B. F. Raif in 1855, Dr. A. Hensley in 1854, Drs. H. W. Selbey, H. W. Jay and F. Seeberger in 1858; Dr. Towndrow in 1853, H. G. Lachmund in 1856.
The bar of Sigourney will compare favorably with any other county of Iowa. On its roll may be found two men reared in the county, who are certainly exceptions to the rule that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country. The names of attorneys who located at different times
576
HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
in town after Mr. Blair, who has been noticed, are: T. S. Byers, J. V. Baldwin, J. M. Casey, S. Harned, J. J. Heider, U. H. Keath, R. S. Leake, H. R. McPherson, S. E. Start, A. J. Stevens, J. B. Shollenbarger, G. Wil- kinson and George D. Woodin. Hon. J. M. Casey, afterward county judge, was first prosecuting attorney, elected in 1847, re-elected in 1848, and again re-elected in 1850 and 1855. E. S. Sampson, Esq., was elected to the same office in 1856, and was succeeded by G. D. Woodin Esq. A. J. Stevens, Esq., removed to Des Moines, and was afterwards elected au- ditor of state. Hon. S. Harned was elected county judge in 1855, and was re-elected in 1857. J. J. Heider, Esq., who removed to Osceola, was first mayor of Sigourney, the town having been incorporated in October, 1858.
In 1853 a steam saw mill was put in operation by Cook & Keck. In 1855 another was erected by Foster & Glandon. Mr. Covey, put up, in . 1856, an engine by which John W. Miller ran his foundry, and McLean & Covey propelled a carding machine.
The following different trades were followed by the persons named at various times in the past history of the town:
Blacksmith Shops .- Joseph Adams 1845, F. Gearing 1850, G. P. Ellis 1853, J. F. Malin 1854, G. Hutchinson 1857, Brown & Bell 1857.
Wagon Shops .- I. Plaff 1948, H. Smith 1847, Klinesmith & Kleet 1857, Mr. Barker 1860.
Cabinet Shops -- M. S. Sanders 1848, M. Pfaff 1855, Malin & Griffin 1857, H. Haughkenberry 1853, H. Olmyer 1856.
Fanning Mill Shops .- Haskell & Burgess 1846, J. T. Clark 1852.
Clocks and Watches .- J. K. Shean 1857, D. W. Shean 1858, H. Passig 1859, J. M. Fox 1856.
Boots and Shoes .- G. W. Dobie 1856, C. Goldthwait 1858, A. Gann 1859, C. Leliman 1856.
Stoves and Tinware .- Mr. Jordan 1856, J. M. McIntosh 1855, J. Ray 1857.
Saddles and Harness .- Robert Linder 1845, W. A. Blair 1851, A. Net- terfield 1857, Leake & Bro. 1855, N. H. Hall 1859, G. L. Littler 1860.
Tailors .- T. Courser 1849, J. & C. Shockley 1850, J. S. Dunbar, also H. H. Boegel 1854, A. G. Robinson 1856, Edward Dwyer 1857.
Coopers .- Jacob Shaver 1844, A. Kleitz 1856, A. J. Israel 1859.
Marble Works .- Jones & Carmean 1855, H. C. Jones 1857, Jones & Abernethy 1858.
Gunsmith .- W. C. Taylor 1857.
Dentistry .- Dr. Carwin 1853, Dr. J. P. Yerger 1856.
Livery Stables .- Johnson & Martin 1856, Donahey & Brown 1857, W. Randall 1858, James Bowen 1859.
Cigars and Tobacco .- H. Knape 1857.
Tanneries .- A. Gann 1860, Blair & Boyd 1860.
The foregoing brief account of the early settlement of Sigourney, and the business prior to the war, will afford an accurate and general idea of the place in times past. During the war of course the town did not grow much. After the war a new energy was displayed and new vitality began to be visible, both in the external appearance of the town and in the in- ternal currents of trade. A few of the old buidings were then torn down and the places occupied by more imposing and durable structures. It was not, however, until the town succeeded in securing railroad communication with the outside world that it began to put on metropolitan airs; a gen-
577
HISTORY OF KEOKUK COUNTY.
eral movement for the erection of commodious brick blocks took place, and Sigourney made a bold strike to become a business point of first-class pretensions.
These changes cannot be noted definitely, as they occurred, nor would an elaborate account of these changes, and the men instrumental in bring- ing them about, be appropriate for this work. With this hasty view of Sigourney, as it was, we will now enter upon a brief account of Sigourney as it is.
The business of Sigourney, as at present conducted, is more clearly de- fined than formerly, the merchants having gradually concentrated their capital and energy upon separate lines of trade, stores of general mer- chandise now being the exception and not the rule. The several learned . professions are ably represented, while the various literary, benevolent and religious societies are in a flourishing condition. The following are the leading law firms of the town: Sampson & Brown, Woodin & McJunkin, Donnell & Brooks, Harned & Fonda, Mackey & Williams, and H. D. Gartner. Among these representatives of the bar, a number have held im- portant offices. Hon. E. S. Sampson was, for a number of years, judge of the District Court, and served for two terms in the National Congress. Hon. S. Harned was a delegate to the second constitutional conventiou; was twice elected county judge, and at present represents the county in the State senate. C. H. Mackey is the representative elect from the county to the State legislature, and his partner, Mr. Williams, filled the same office at the last session of the general assembly. John A. Donnell, for a term of years, filled the office of clerk of the courts. The following physicians have their offices in Sigourney: Dr. Skillman, who has almost entirely abandoned the profession on account of age; Dr. S. D. Cook, Dr. A. C. Price, Dr. J. H. Hair, Dr. T. B. McWilliams, and Doctors Beechler, West and Gray. Dr. Sanford Huff, until recently, was one of the leading physi- cians of the town, but recently died. Doctors Thompson and Armstrong are the dental surgeons. S. A. James & Son and Johnson & Hankins are the leading real estate dealers. There are at present two banks. The First National Bank succeeded to the business of the Bank of Sigourney. The first meeting held looking towards its organization was at the office of Geo. D. Woodin, at Sigourney, on October 31, 1870, when articles of asso- ciation were signed by those parties-Geo. D. Woodin, A. G. Brown, W. B. Merriam and L. McCoy, of Sigourney, and James Dawson, Hugh Smith, Joseph Keck and Henry S. Clarke, of Washington, Iowa.
The first board of directors was Geo. D. Woodin, A. G. Brown, Joseph Keck, H. S. Clarke and James Dawson. The first president was Joseph Keck. The first vice-president was George D. Woodin, and the cashier was R. R. Bowland. After doing this preliminary work they then remained at a stand-still, waiting the voting of taxes in the various townships that would bring the Rock Island railroad to Sigourney, so that their charter bears date February 15, 1871. As soon after this as arrangements could be made the bank entered upon an active career. March 30, 1871, H. Clarke came to Sigourney, took charge of the business then in the hands of the bank of Sigourney, and the next day I. A. Keck put in an appearance as cashier, R. R. Bowland having in the meanwhile resigned that position.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.