USA > Iowa > Lee County > The history of Lee county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 48
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DENMARK SETTLEMENT.
RAIL-PEN HABITATIONS, ETC.
The honor of pioneering the way to what is now Denmark Township be- longs to John M. Forrest, who settled on the land now included in the farm of Mr. A. Frazier, in Section 25. in 1833. Forrest was a Tennessean, a sur- veyor by education, and came to the Black Hawk Purchase with the intention of following that business. The climate, however, proved too severe for his feeble constitution, and he sold his claim, in 1837, and removed to Arkansas.
John O. Smith, the present Postmaster at the village of Denmark, was the second settler. Mr. Smith was born in North Carolina, but spent most of his boy- hood's days in Alabama, to which State his parents removed when he was quite young. In later years, he removed from Alabama to Hancock County, Ill .. and came from Illinois to the Denmark country in March, 1885, and located a claim about one and a half miles east of the present site of the village of Den- mark, in what is now Section 34.
After cutting a set of cabin-logs, Mr. Smith returned to Illinois for his .family, and a team to draw the logs to the site he had selected for his cabin. An ox-team and wagon were procured, and loaded with what few household goods they had, and what he supposed would be corn enough to feed the oxen while he was hauling the cabin-logs. But they were delayed so long on the journey. the most of the delay being at the crossing of the Mississippi, that nearly all the corn was used up before they reached their claim, on the Ist of April, 1885. There was no feed to be had west of the Mississippi at that time, and Smith was compelled to send the team back to Illinois before the logs were hauled. His family consisted of his wife and one child, and they must be provided with a shelter. So he went to work and made rails and built a pen, made clap- boards and closed it for a dwelling-place. Quilts, coverlets, blankets and some pieces of carpet were hung around the peu as a protection against the elements. They lived in this pen six weeks before his cabin-logs were hauled, and the cabin raised and made habitable.
Next to Forrest, Smith's nearest neighbors, at that time, were in what is now Washington Township, two and a half and three miles distant. where Joseph White, Samuel Ross and Benjamin Box had settled the year previous. White came there from Nauvoo. Ross was from Louisville, Ky .. and, says
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Mr. Smith, " was a man of fine education, and too good a man to settle in so new a country." Benjamin Box was a brother to John Box, who had settled near Jonas Knapp's. Joshua Owens, the first Sheriff of Lee County, and Isaac Briggs, who were related to Smith, came pretty soon after he did, and settled in what is now Washington Township.
FRONTIER GENEROSITY.
Rough and rude though the surroundings may have been, the pioneers were none the less honest, sincere, hospitable and kind in their social relations. It is true, as a rule, that there is a greater degree of real humanity among pioneers of any country than there is when the country becomes older and richer. If there is an absence of refinement, that absence is more than compensated in the presence of generous hearts and truthful lives. They are bold, courageous, industrious, enterprising and energetic. Generally speaking, they are carnest thinkers, and possessed of a diversified fund of useful, practical information. They are void of hypocrisy themselves and despise it in others. They hate cowardice and shams of every kind, and above all things, falsehood and decep- tion, and maintain and cultivate a sterling integrity and fixedness of purpose that seldom permits them to prostitute themselves to any narrow policy of im- posturo or artifice.
Such were the characteristics of the men and women who pioneered the way to the country of the Sac and Fox Indians. Those who visited them in their cabins in a social capacity, or settled among them as real occupants of the soil, were always welcome as long as they proved themselves true men or women. The stranger who came among them and claimed shelter, food and a place to sleep, was made as welcome as one of the household. To tender them pay in return for their hospitality, was only to insult the better feelings of their nature. If a neighbor fell sick and needed care and attention, the whole neighborhood was interested. If a cabin was to be raised, every man " turned out," and oftentimes the women, too, and while the men piled up the logs that fashioned the primitive dwelling-place, the women prepared the dinner. Sometimes it was cooked by big log fires at the site where the cabin was building. In other cases, the meal was prepared at the nearest cabin, and at the proper hour was carried to where the men were at work. If one neighbor killed a beef, a pig, or a deer, every other family in the neighborhood was sure to receive a piece of it, and a welcome remembrance it often proved. One of the few remaining pioneers remarked : " In those days we were neighborly in a true sense. We were all on an equality. Aristocratic feelings were unknown and would not have been tolerated. What one had, we all had, and that was the happiest period of my life. But to-day, if you lean against a neighbor's shade-tree, he will charge you for it. If you are poor and happen to fall sick, you may lie and suffer almost unattended, or go to the poorhouse ; and just as like as not the man who would report you to the authorities as a subject of county care, would charge the county for making the report." This declaration was made, not be- cause the facts exist as he put them, but to show the contrast between the feel- ing and practices of the pioneers of the long ago, and the people of the present. As an instance of pioneer generosity and liberality, Mr. Smith relates the following :
In 1835, Mr. Smith raised a pretty fair crop of potatoes, but not enough sod-corn to carry him through the winter, and found it necessary to buy. " Old Frankie Redding," as he come to be called, had settled in what is now Des Moines County, near Augusta, a year or so before Mr. Smith made his
F
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claim, and had raised a good crop of corn, quite a surplus over what he needed for his own use, and had corn to sell. Smith heard of the fact, and paid him a visit with a view to buying enough to supply his wants. When he arrived at Redding's place, he found him busy gathering his corn, and making his business known, Mr. Redding gave him a searching look, and asked, "Have you the money to pay for the corn, Mr. Smith ? " " Yes, sir," replied Smith. " Have you a team to haul it away ? " " Yes," " Well, Mr. Smith," said Old Frankie, " you can't have any of this corn."
The answer was so blunt and emphatic, and so entirely unexpected, that Smith was nonplused. It seemed so contrary to the usual practice of the first settlers to refuse to divide with their less fortunate neighbors, that he marveled what kind of a man this corn-rich nabob could be. He buckled up courage, however, and demanded a reason for such seeming selfishness. " Well," replied Redding, " there are a good many new settlers who have located near me who are not as well off as you are. They have no money to pay for corn and no teams to haul it away, and I am saving my surplus for them. You have money and a team, and can go somewhere else." Smith could scarcely credit the statement, and afterward took pains to satisfy himself that it was honestly made. Five years afterward Redding told Smith that he had not yet got his pay for all the corn credited out that fall, but said he, "it will be returned to me when I have quit raising corn."
Smith came home, took his team and went to the Mississippi River, opposite Pontoosuc, Ill., at which place he bought what corn he wanted. A son of Black Hawk was camped on the west side of the river, and Smith employed some squaws to bring his grain across in canoes. Owing to the rough water they were nearly two days in getting it over.
A PREACHER IN THE WILDERNESS.
You raised these hallowed walls; the desert smiled, And paradise was opened in these wilds .- Pope.
The first religious services (preaching) in this part of Lee County were held at the cabin of 'Squire Owens, who was one of the founders of the Lost Creek Church. The services were conducted by Rev. David Chance, a Christian (sometimes irreverently called Campbellites, after the founder of that branch of the Christian Church) minister, who lived in what is now Des Moines County. [The exact date of this first sermon has been forgotten.] There were not more than a dozen or twenty persons present, and they were there without regard to fashion or display. There was neither organ nor organized choir to add vocal melody to the occasion. The preacher gave out the hymn, two lines at a time, something after the following manner:
" Before Jehovah's awful throne, Ye nations bow with sacred joy ; "
then, raising his voice, the preacher led in singing. When these two lines were rendered, he lined the next two-
" Know that the Lord is God alone, He can create and He destroy ; "
and resuming the last measure of the tune, completed the stanza, and so on, to the end of the hymn.
At that meeting the seeds were sown that grew into the organization of the. Lost Creek Christian Church, which is believed to be the oldest church organ- ization in the State of Iowa. The organization was perfected at the cabin of
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
'Squire Owens, on the 6th day of April, 1836. The society was made up from the families of Samuel Ross, Joshua Owens, Isaac Briggs, John Box, P. P. Jones, Frederick Lowry, Dr. Stephenson, Samuel Thombs, Col. Jonas Rice, Samuel Briggs, John Stephenson, John O. Smith, John Wren, Silas Gregg, Barzilla Mothershead, Carroll Payne, and others of that day and generation. In the beginning, Joshua Owens, Isaac Briggs, John Box and P. P. Jones were the active, guiding members, and to their energy, zeal and devotion to the interests of the pioneer society, and their discretion and judgment in meeting and overcoming obstacles of opposition when the society was in its infancy, is attributed much of the success and usefulness that have attended the organization to the present. In 1838, John Thompson settled in the neighborhood, and became an Elder in the society. The organization has always been maintained intact, and but few Sabbaths have passed since the 6th of April, 1836, that services have not been held and well attended. The ministrations of Elder Thompson are held in sacred remembrance by the members of this society. He was an eminently good man in all the relations of life, and his death was sincerely lamented.
Pretty soon after the organization was perfected, the society took possession of a house which Briggs had erected for a dwelling, and in which services were held until the present church edifice was built in 1849.
John Box, named above as one of the founders of this church, moved to Davis County, about fifteen years ago, to live with a son, and died there in 1876.
The first school was taught in a small cabin on the farm of David Tibbetts, in the year 1837. The name of the teacher was Williams. He died a few years afterward, and his remains lie buried on the present farm of John Sten- ger, Section 10, Washington Township.
A man named Pedigo, who settled near Skunk River, was the first one of the pioneers to this part of Lee County to be called to " quit this mournful vale," and to be carried away and left in the "silent city of the dead." His death occurred in the fall of 1835, and was the first in the neighborhood.
The first funeral sermon was preached at the burial of a son of John O. Smith, who died in August, 1837. Rev. Micajah Rowland was the preacher.
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Mr. Smith occupied his claim for thirty years-years that were full of trials and tribulations. In that time, he lost the son whose death was the occasion of the funeral sermon just quoted. When the hardships of pioneer life had vanished before his industry and economy, he built a fine frame residence, which was destroyed by fire soon after it was completed. About the same time, a man for whom he had indorsed in the sum of $2,000 failed to meet the obligation, and he was left to "foot the bill." He was houseless and $2,000 in debt.
On the 11th day of August, 1862, two sons, aged respectively fourteen and seventeen years, were drowned in Skunk River, near Augusta. On the 9th of September following, another son who had grown to manhood and gone to seek his fortune on the Pacific Slope, was cruelly assassinated in California. Mrs. Smith, the wife and mother, died on the 12th of December, 1863. On the 4th of December, 1865, Mr. Smith nearly severed his foot with a chopping-ax. A disease of the bones set in, and amputation became necessary, and on the fortieth day after the accident his right leg was taken off between the ankle and knee joints. Thus disabled from farm work, he sold his farm, stock, etc., and removed to the village of Denmark, where he is now serving as Post- master.
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
GLEANINGS FROM THE MEMORY OF A. W. HARLAN.
HOW GILES SULLIVAN PERSUADED A CLERK TO ISSUE A MARRIAGE LICENSE .- THE FIRST SETTLER ON THE DES MOINES .- COURTING BY MOONLIGHT .- MAIL FACILITIES, ETC., ETC.
A. W. Harlan, who has lived for twenty-five years in Van Buren Town- ship, first came to what is now Lee County in 1834. He is a native of Indi- ana, and prior to 1834, was, for several years, trading on the Lower Mississippi. In his young days, he was lithe and active, fond of sport, and when it came to a wrestle, either with white man or Indian, the size of his opponent was a mat- ter of small consideration. He has often swam the Mississippi River, below the mouth of the Ohio, for amusement.
Mr. Harlan first landed in what is now Lee County September 10, 1834, crossing the river in a leaky canoe from Montebello. The nearest ferry at that time was at Warsaw, a small boat, propelled by horse-power, and owned and operated by Lieut. Wilcox, who had been an officer in the army at Fort Edwards.
Harlan was employed by Lieut. Crossman in building the barracks at Fort Des Moines. He was the owner of a horse which, when not needed for use, was turned out to graze below the barracks. Giles Sullivan lived near Nashville in 1833 and 1834, and traded with the Indians, and when the dra- goons occupied the fort, had quite a trade supplying them with whisky. One day a stranger from Kentucky, riding a good horse which had become lame, stopped at Sullivan's cabin and wished to trade his horse for one better able to travel. Sullivan caught Harlan's horse which was grazing in the neighbor- hood, and, without consulting Harlan, an exchange was made, much to Sulli- van's advantage. Harlan had great difficulty in getting pay for his horse, and finally, to secure himself, took a small stock of whisky from Sullivan, and began cultivating the patronage of the soldiers. Col. Kearney came down to see him one day, and, threatening destruction to his liquors if his trade with the soldiers was not stopped, Harlan shortly afterward sold out to Ezra Overall, who soon after met the fate which Harlan had escaped.
The cabin occupied by Giles Sullivan was one and a half miles below Nash- ville, on what came to be known in after years as the " Burtis " place, and was built by John Tollman before he took his claim on the Des Moines River, oppo- site St. Francisville. Sullivan had been a trader with the Indians for many years, and could speak their language fluently. He was a reckless character, and is described by Harlan as his " evil genius."
Sullivan courted the daughter of old man Willis, who lived in Illinois, near Montebello, then the county seat of Hancock County. The girl was willing, but the family were opposed to the match, and, as she was under age, the question was how to get the license. Sullivan went to the Clerk's office one day, when only that officer was in, tendered the necessary fee, and demanded the papers. The officer refused without being satisfied of the parent's consent, when Sulli- van stepped to the fire-place, took up a shovel full of live coals. and, pointing to a box in which the records of the office were kept, and said : "Now, d-n you, issue that license, or I'll throw these coals in your box of papers, and knock you down with the shovel." The officer believed Sullivan would do as he said, and, with visions of a burning building over his head, issued the license. Sullivan took the paper, and, with the girl, proceeded to a Methodist preacher, with whom he had a previous understanding, and they were married.
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
Sullivan left the vicinity of Nashville in December, 1834, and settled at what is now Bentonsport, Van Buren County. He died many years ago, but his wife, the better half of him, was still living at last accounts, near Lancaster, Mo.
John Tollman was the first settler in Lee County, on the Des Moines River. In the fall of 1834, his cabin, which stood nearly opposite St. Fran- cisville, Mo., looked as if it might have been built two or three years. Pre- vious to locating here, he had lived a short distance below Nashville. He was an Eastern man, and had been a United States soldier. His wife was a half- breed. Dr. Samuel Hearn, who got his title by peddling pills for Dr. Galland, bought his claim on the Des Moines River, and Tollman moved to what is now Van Buren County, first to Summit and then to lowaville. Afterward, still keeping as near the Indian lands as possible, he moved to Soap Creek, in Davis County, where he died a few years later.
Dr. Samuel Hearn and members of the family continued to own the claim purchased from Tollman, until his death some five or six years ago, at the res- idence of his son-in-law, Johnson Meek. He was buried on the farm. His daughter, Mrs. Meek, in her youthful days was possessed of a remarkably luxurious head of hair, coal-black in color, but age has changed it to snow-white.
In 1834, some men were sent over from Missouri by William Phelps, who lived near "Sweet Home," and about two acres of ground was cleared and planted in corn, on what is now A. W. Harlan's farm, in Van Buren Town- ship. Josiah Roberts made some addition to the corn-patch the next year.
COURTING AND DANCING IN PIONEER TIMES.
Some of the ladies may wish to know how courting was done in those days. It was done by moonlight, principally, and, if not in that way, in the house with the lights out and the embers covered with ashes. That was a good way, too. Those were the days when people went sleigh-riding in ox-wagons, and danced on puncheon floors. Sometimes the joists were not high enough to admit of a tall gentleman dancing, but in that case, he danced between them. Once in a while an amusing scene would occur, by one end of a puncheon tip- ping up and striking somebody in the face, but such occurrences were not common.
PIONEER MAIL-CARRIERS.
" About 1834," says Capt. James W. Campbell, "Robert McBride carried the first horse mail from St. Francisville to Montrose, and from Montrose to Keokuk. At that time, Palmyra, Mo., was the distributing post office for all the country west and northwest of that point." Afterward, according to M. Harlan, George Harlan carried the mail from Rock Island to Dubuque ; Dr. Hearn from Flint Hills to St. Francisville, Mo., by way of Fort Madison, and A. W. Harlan from St. Francisville to Keosauqua. The Government refusing to provide facilities, A. W. Harlan established post offices and appointed Postmasters on his route, on his own responsibility. They worked without pay, however.
Nathan Smith, now living at St. Francisville, Mo., carried the mail on horse-back from Warsaw, Ill., to Rock Island, in 1828. His route was on the east side of the river.
LEARNING TO TALK INDIAN.
In the early days, the first settlers were ambitious to be able to talk and understand Indian. Mr. Harlan states that he never mastered the language,
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
but he could understand the talk of an Indian better than he can now decipher one of Judge Johnstone's letters. Giles Sullivan, with whom he was associated in 1834, and afterward, had, from his long intercourse with the Indians, became well versed in their customs and language, and could converse with them . readily. In the winter of 1834 Sullivan and Harlan paid a visit to Black Hawk's camp, on Devil Creek. They called at the lodge of old Not-ta-wa, who, by Harlan's request, related the origin of the creek's name.
" The old Indian reached up both hands, spread ont his fingers, slapped his hands together once, then stuck up one finger. Then Sullivan said to me : ' Eleven years ; keep still.' The old Indian talked and gesticulated for some time. His squaw at one time made a vigorous gesture toward me saying : ' Che-wa-lis-ki Man-i-tou See-po.' I was somewhat alarmed, and thought she was going to strike me; but I afterward learned that she was only giving emphasis to the name of the creek. Eleven years back from that time, as Not- ta-wa told it, would have made it about 1823, when most of the Indians lived near the mouth of Rock River, in Illinois. Quite a large party came down to this creek to make she-se-pac (sugar). Their sugar-camps or boiling-places extended several miles up the creek. They had an excellent run for three or four days, when the weather suddenly became sultry, even hot. A fog came on, and seemed to hang on the trees, near the surface of the ground, with occa- sional openings so they could see the clear sky above ; yet there was occasional lightning on the under side of the fog, but no thunder. The fog grew thicker and the lightning increased in brightness, but still no thunder could be heard. At last, the earth began to tremble, and a legion of devils came down the creek, riding on a big wave of water that stood up square in front about ten feet high. The devils looked like balls of fire, and run in every direction, caught every Indian they could and carried them off bodily, and their remains were never found. They also carried off their kettles of sirup. Hence the name, ' Che-wa-lis-ki Man-i-tou Se-po,' or Evil Spirit River. The corruption to Devil Creek was easy."
DRIVING CATTLE FROM ST. CHARLES, MO., TO THE SELKIRK SETTLEMENT IN BRITISH AMERICA-THE FIRST DROVE TO ENTER IOWA.
The following account of the first drove of cattle that ever crossed Iowa in any direction, was given to A. W. Harlan by Giles Sullivan, who accompanied the drove from their starting-point, St. Charles, Mo., as far as the Des Moines River :
In 1815, just after the close of the British war, Lord Selkirk, who had established a colony on the Red River of the North, in the British Possessions, arranged with a citizen of New York to deliver at the colony 500 head of cattle. St. Charles, Mo., was the nearest point at which the cattle could be obtained, and the contract was sublet to " Old Dick Carr" and B. Lewis Musick. Carr and Musick were energetic men, and soon had their cattle collected, buying mostly on credit until they had completed the contract. Giles Sullivan was hired to assist in driving as far as the Des Moines River. They came up the Mississippi bottom and crossed the Des Moines about where St. Francisville is now situated, and stopped for several days on the Sand Prairie, near the pres- ent village of Vincennes. Here Sullivan left them, and Carr and Musick, with other assistants. proceeded up the divide between Skunk and Des Moines Rivers, passing through String Prairie, toward Big Mound, and must have passed very near Absalom Anderson's present farm. The Indians troubled them to some extent, and succeeded in stealing some of their stock ; but no serious loss was
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experienced. In due course of time, they reached Selkirk's settlement, where his agent, well pleased with the cattle, issued a bill of exchange for their value in the name of the original contractor. Carr and Musick made their way home, striking the Mississippi River about St. Paul, from which point they came in canoes. They handed over the draft to the contractor, who, by some sort of hocus pocus, cheated Carr and Musick out of every dollar.
John S. McCune, of St. Louis, the king of the steamboat trade, got his first start in the world by helping drive cattle from Louisiana, Mo. (where he was partially raised), to the Selkirk settlement. Whether he went through with Carr and Musick, the writer is not advised ; but it is certain that he made some two or three trips to the Selkirk settlement as a cattle-driver when he was quite a young man.
WISCONSIN TERRITORY.
Wisconsin Territory was organized under act of Congress, approved April 20, 1836. The act declared "that from and after the 3d day of July next, the country included within the following boundaries shall constitute a separate Territory, for the purpose of temporary government, by the name of Wiscon- sin ; that is to say : bounded on the east by a line drawn from the northeast corner of the State of Illinois, through the middle of Lake Michigan, to a point in the middle of said Lake, and opposite the main channel of Green Bay, and through said channel and Green Bay to the mouth of the Menominee River ; thence through the middle of the main channel of the said river, to that head of said river nearest to the Lake of the Desert; thence in a direct line to the middle of said lake ; thence through the middle of the main channel of the Montreal River to its mouth; thence with a direct line across Lake Superior, to where the territorial line of the United States last touches said lake, northwest; thence on the north, with said territorial line, to the White- earth River ; on the west, by a line from the said boundary line, following down the middle of the main channel of the White-earth River to the Missouri River : and down the middle of the main channel of the Missouri River to a point due west from the northwest corner of the State of Missouri; and on the south, from said point due east to the northwest corner of the State of Missouri ; and thence with the boundaries of the State of Missouri and Illinois, as already fixed by act of Congress."
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