The history of Lee county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., Part 52

Author: Western historical co., Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 898

USA > Iowa > Lee County > The history of Lee county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 52

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Ordered, By the Board that the amount of Edwin Guthrie's account for services as Coroner and for sundry fees in the cause of the U. S. vs. J. R. Osborn and others, as per bill filed, be admitted, and that the Clerk grant an order on the County Treasurer for the amount of $7.50.

Whereupon, ordered that this Board adjourn until to-morrow morning, 10 o'clock.

Signed :

WILLIAM ANDERSON, STEPHEN H. GRAVES, STEPHEN H. BURTIS.

10WA TERRITORY.

The change of Territorial jurisdiction did not interfere with the county officers then in place. Everything went along as smoothly as if there had been no change. The first act of the Commissioners, subject to the new Territory, was the selection of a grand and petit jury, for the August term of the District Court. The following-named citizens were selected as grand jurors :

Arthur Johnson, Jairus Fordyce, Jason Wilson, James Elwell, Isaac Briggs, Calvin Nelson. William Patterson, Isaac Beeler, James McMurray, Harrison Foster, Mathew Kilgore, William Howard, William Holmes, Michael H. Walker, Solomon Fein, Hugh Withrough, Robert Roberts, Thomas W. Taylor, Thomas J. McGuire, Pleasant M. Armstrong, Joseph Webster, Nathan Smith and Isaac Van Dyke-23.

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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.

Petit Jury .- John Bonebright, Jeremiah Brown, Archibald Gilliland, Will- iam Allen, Valencourt Vanausdol, James Wright, Patrick Brien, Stewart M. Coleman, Johnson Chapman, Joshua Wright, George W. Claypole, Thomas Fitz- patrick, Edward Kilbourn, David Kilbourn, Forest W. Herd, George W. Per- kins, James Fyke, Eli Millard, E. D. Ayres, William G. Haywood, William D. Knapp, William Saucer, Thomas Fulton and John G. Toncray.

Most of the remainder of the time occupied by the July meeting was taken up in considering road matters, granting licenses, etc. Aaron White was licensed to maintain and operate a "ferry across the Mississippi River, at or between the branch or stream at the upper end of the town of Fort Madison and the public landing opposite the store [then] occupied by William Richards [about twenty- five yards above the present coal-yards operated by Peter Miller, Jr. ], as a sad- dler's shop." White was required to give bond in the sum of $1,000. Joshua Owens and William Anderson became his bondsmen. The rates of ferriage were as follows :

For each footman .. S 123

For each man and horse. 373

For each wagon and two horses. 1 00

For each additional horse. 25

For loose cattle, each. 123

For hogs, sheep, etc., each. 61

For each wagon and one yoke of oxen .. 1 00

For each additional yoke. 25

The last meeting of the Board of County Commissioners elected under the authority of Wisconsin Territory, was held on the 30th of July, 1838.

Seetion 4 of the act of Congress, "to divide the Territory of Wisconsin and to establish the Territorial Government of Iowa," approved June 12, 1838, provided that the first election for Councilmen, Representatives, County officers, etc., should be held under the direction of the Governor, previous to which, a census of the inhabitants of the Territory should be taken and made by the Sheriff's of the several counties, respectively, unless the same had been taken within three months previous to the 3d day of July. Under these provisions, Gov. Lucas ordered an election to be held on the 10th day of September, 1838. Lee County returned the following :

Councilman .- Jesse Brooks Brown.

Representatives .- William Patterson, Calvin J. Price, Hawkins Taylor and James Brierly.

Commissioners .- William G. Pitman, John Gaines and Peter Miller.

Treasurer .- James C. Parrott.

Assessor .- John P. Barnett.

Coroner .- Robert Stephenson.

Constables .- John G. Kennedy, Henry E. Vrooman, Charles Kellogg, Frank- lin Kenneda, Thomas Small, Samuel W. Weaver, John Patterson, Willis C. Stone, Leonard Parker, Ransom B. Scott, William Burton, Preston N. Miller, William Point.

The first meeting of the first Board of County Commissioners elected under authority of Iowa Territory was held at Fort Madison, on the 1st day of Octo- ber, 1838. The first order appointed John H. Lines, Clerk of the Board.

Two meetings were held by the Board this year. the last meeting being held on the 13th of October. These meetings were taken up with the details of county business, and were essentially the same in practice as inaugurated under authority of Wisconsin Territory, and similar in all respects to the prac-

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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.

tice ever since in force. The business has always been of the same nature- sometimes, perhaps, a little more complicated, particularly when the bond mania possessed the people, and the Board or County Judges were besieged to use their influence and power to secure an issue of county bonds to aid in the con- struction of railroads, dykes, etc., and thus saddle a debt on one generation for another one to liquidate.

The political economy of Lee County, as commenced and practiced under authority of Wisconsin, and thus far under Iowa Territory, has been introduced for the purpose of preserving the modus operandi of perfecting county organiza- tion and the different systems of county management. The old journal of the first county authorities has been carefully overhauled, and voluminous extracts made from its well-written and well-preserved pages. These extracts will pre- serve the names of the representative men and public officials of that period to generations yet to come. While many of them remain among the useful, honored and respected citizens of Lee County, others of them removed to other counties or other States, while some others have been " gathered to the home of their fathers."

The details of county management are here dismissed to write of other incidents and events that will be of more interest to the general reader.

GOVERNMENT LANDS.

MAKING AND PROTECTING CLAIMS.

Long before the Government survey was completed, and even before it was commenced, home-seekers had crossed the Mississippi River, and selected claims in different parts of the Purchase, the first settlers confining themselves to the immediate vicinity of the "Father of Waters," or the tributaries thereto. In the absence of established township and section lines and corners, claims were settled at random. When township lines were fixed, it was not a difficult mat- ter to divide the township into sections, and the sections into quarters, etc. In very many cases the lines fixed by the settlers were almost directly confirmed by the Government Surveyors. Sometimes, however, the settlers' lines would be pretty widely at fault. It not unfrequently happened that the house of one settler and the farm of another would be on the same 160 acres, as established by the United States Surveyors. In each township the settlers had a Claim Association, rules and regulations for the protection of each other. The rules required a registered description to be kept of every man's claim as he located it. When the United States surveys were made, and there was found to be conflicting interests among the settlers, the Claim Committee were called together and the claimants and their respective witnesses cited to appear. Each party and their witnesses told their own story without oath or affirmation, for such proceedings were not necessary in those days to get the truth. The word of honor of a " squatter " was as good as his oath or his bond. After hearing all the facts in the case, the Committee would correct the register according to the evidence, and from that correction and the rulings of the Claim Court there was no appeal. An old settler says: "I never knew of injustice being done in a single case."

The pioneer settlers of the Forty-Mile Strip, and especially of that part of it whose history is under consideration, were a class peculiar to themselves. They possessed a keen sense of honor, and a steadfastness of principle and of purpose that admitted of no criticism. To the people of the present age it may

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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.

seem a little remarkable, but it is a fact, nevertheless, that but few disputes ever arose among the settlers about the boundaries of their claims. At that time, there were no laws to govern them except the rules adopted by claim associa- tions. In almost every instance the people were a law unto themselves. The laws of honor prevailed to a much greater extent in those days than at present. Men regarded their individual word as good as their bond. When. perchance. disputes would arise, instead of seeking their adjustment in the courts of law, where such courts were accessible, they were submitted to referees. This was notably so as regarded claim disputes, and the decision of the referee was final. No one thought of appealing from their judgment. The pioneers had all sub- scribed to the rules adopted by claim associations, and, be it said to their credit, they almost invariably kept their faith. As a case in point. the following report of the rulings of a " Claim Court " is contributed by W. B. Frame. a citizen of Round Pririe Township. Jefferson County, who was familiar with the facts :

" The first settlers were very anxious to secure an abundance of timber. In a certain locality a Mr. Jones had . blazed ' out a claim of eighty acres of tim- ber, which a Mr. Smith also claimed. As a consequence. a dispute arose between them. The Claim Committee was notified, and a day was appointed to meet the parties interested and their witnesses. The weather was cold and the ground covered with a deep snow. The . Court' met in the timber, where a huge log-heap fire was started. When the preliminary arrangements were completed, the parties were notified that the Committee had decided that the first thing to be done was to procure a jug of whisky, to be paid for by the con- testants. The whisky was soon provided, and when the jug had twice made the circuit of the fire. the case was opened and the parties and their witnesses patiently heard. When the evidence was all in. the Committee retired to a fallen tree some distance from the fire, swept the snow from the log, and sat down to deliberate upon their judgment. After a brief consultation, they returned to the fire and declared themselves ready to report. The report was in the words following :

. We find that, aside from this eighty-acre lot, Mr. Jones has claimed all the timber land he needs. and Mr. Smith has claimed all he can possibly purchase at the approaching land sale : therefore we decide that Mr. Brown, who lately settled among us, and who holds a prairie claim, has no timber, and that, as he can get none within a reasonable distance, he shall have this eighty acres of timber.'

" This finding of the Committee was final, and gave the elaim to a good man who did not claim to have even the shadow of a claim to it. The contestants did not appeal, but paid the fees allowed the Committee by the rules of the Claim Association, as well as for the whisky. The jug again went around, and all present joined in a . parting pull,' the . Court adjourned.' and the settlers departed for their homes, fully satisfied there . was many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip.' "

THE LAND SALES .- SQUATTERS AND SPECULATORS.

The first Government sale of the Black Hawk lands commeneed in Novem- ber. 1838. The land office was located at Burlington, and the sale was attended by thousands of " squatters." as the first settlers were sometimes derisively called by unscrupulous capitalists and money-sharks. Many of these first set- tlers came to the country without means. except. perhaps. a yoke of cattle. or a pair of horses and an old wagon in which they hauled all their earthly posses- sions. Some of them didn't even have that much. This latter class was the

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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.

bravest of them all, and trusted to Inek and their own brave hearts and strong arms to earn the means to buy their claims when the land sales came on. Others of the pioneers were in better condition and brought money with them, or knew where to get it, when the time came to perfeet their titles by " bidding in " the land covered by their claims.

The Burlington land sales of November. 1838, constituted an epoch in the history of this country, and was one of extraordinary interest to two classes of people. First, to the settlers who wanted homes, and had braved the exposures incident to frontier life to secure them ; and second, to the " money-sharks " and " land-grabbers." The latter class, as soulless as the managers of a Chi- cago savings-bank, were always ready to take advantage of the poverty of a settler, and either loan him money at " 50 per cent," or buy his home from under him.

In the preceding paragraphs reference is made to the manner in which the settlers protected themselves and each other in their legitimate rights. It is also stated that a record was kept of every claim made in the several townships. After this register or record was completed, the Claim Association in each town- ship elected a bidder to attend the land sales and " bid in " for the occupant each particular claim, as the description of the land was called by the land-office authorities. In this way, every bona-fide settler was protected in his rights. The law never did and never will protect the people in all their rights so fully and so completely as the early settlers of Lowa protected themselves by these claim organizations. They secured justice to all, and, at the same time, fully paid the Government for the lands occupied by them, and who, by their pru- dence and industry laid the foundations of that economy that has made the commonwealth of the " Beautiful Land " the garden-spot and granary of the world.

" Squatters and Speenlators at the First Land Sales," is the title of an article written by Hawkins Taylor, Esq., and published in the July (1870) number of the Annals of Iowa. This article is so accurately descriptive of the scenes and incidents of the land sales that it is considered worthy of preser- vation in this history of Lee County :

" The land officers at Burlington, Gen. Van Antwerp and Gen. Dodge, most heartily entered into the spirit and interests of the settlers at the land sales, in securing them their lands, for which the early settlers honored Gen. Dodge, politically, as few men were ever trusted by any people. Gen. Van Antwerp, fortunately or unfortunately for himself as a politician, never went to the people for office : he was of the old Knickerbocker chivalry-was edu- cated at West Point, and always wore a . boiled shirt' and starehed collar. He was full of grit, always true, but never of the masses. God bless, as He will surely do. the . Old Settlers,' generally and collectively, of that day.

"Strange as it may seem to people at this day of free lands to all who will settle upon them, at that day, the settlers on public lands were held as 'squat- ters' without any rights to be respected by the Government, or land specu- lators. Many amusing incidents happened at the land sales, one of which I will relate :

". There were thousands of settlers at the sale at Burlington, in the fall of 1838. The officers could sell but one or two townships each day, and when the land in any one township was offered, the settlers of that township constituted the army on duty for that day, and surrounded the office for their own protec- tion, with all the other settlers as a reserve force, if needed. The hotels were full of speculators of all kinds, from the money-loaner, who would accommo-

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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.

date the settler at 50 per cent ; that is, he would enter the settler's land in his- own name, and file a bond for a deed at the end of two years, by the settler's paying him double the amount the land cost. At these rates. Dr. Barrett, of Springfield, Ill .. and Louis Benedict, of Albany, N. Y., loaned out $100.000 each. and Lyne Sterling and others, at least an equal amount, at the same, or higher rates of interest. The men who come to Iowa now cannot realize what the early settlers had to encounter. The hotels were full of this and a worse class of money-sharks. There was a numerous class who wanted to rob the settlers of their lands and improvements entirely, holding that the settler was a squatter and a trespasser, and should be driven from the lands. You would hear much of this sort of talk about the hotels, but none about the settlers' camps. Amongst the loudest talkers of this kind was an F. F. V., a class that has now about . give out.' This valiant gentleman was going to invest his money as he pleased. without reference to settlers' claims. When the township of West Point was sold, it was a wet. rainy day. I was bidder, and the officers let me go inside of the office. Just when I went into the office, 'Squire John Judy, who lived on Section 32 or 33, whispered to me that he had been disap- pointed in getting his money, at the last moment, and asked me to pass over his tract and not bid it off. I did so, but the Virginian bid it off. I was inside and could not communicate with any one until the sale was through, and, as I did not bid on the tract, the outsiders supposed it was not claimed by a settler. and the moment the bid was made, the bidder left for his hotel. As soon as I could get out, which was in a few minutes, and make known that Judy's land had been bid off' by a speculator, within five minutes' time not less than fifteen hundred of as desperate and determined a set of men as ever wanted homes. started for the bold bidder. Prominent in the lead was John G. Kennedy, of Fort Madison, who enjoyed such sport. Col. Patterson, now of Keokuk, a Virginian by birth, but a noble, true-hearted friend of the settler, and who had been intimate with the Virginian, made a run across lots and reached the hotel before Kennedy and his army. The Colonel informed the bidder of the con- dition of affairs, and advised him at once to abandon his bid, which he did, or. rather, he authorized the Colonel to do it for him. The Colonel went out and announced to the crowd that the bid was withdrawn, and that the bidder had also withdrawn himself. Both offers were accepted, but the latter was bitterly objected to. and only acquiesced in when it was found that the party had escaped the back way. and could not be found. There was no other remedy. This was the last outside bid given during the sale, and you heard no more talk about outside bidding around the hotel. The squatters' rights were respected at that sale.

" I will give one case of hundreds and thousands that could be given, of the hardships of the early settlers : Alexander Cruickshank, a Norwegian sailor. and one of the noblest works of God, an honest man in all things, settled a few miles west of West Point, in Lee County. in 1835. and by hard work made himself a large farm. When the sale of his land was ordered by the Govern- ment. he went to Western New York and borrowed $400 of his brother, to enter his land. This was when Martin Van Buren's specie circular was in force. and certain designated banks were made Government depositories. Cruickshank, to be certain that his money would be ' land-office money' when he got home, paid a premium of 8 per cent, in New York, to get the bills of a city bank that was a Government-deposit bank. His brother gave him $34 to pay his expenses home. At that time there were no railroads. Alex-

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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.

ander walked to Pittsburgh, and there took a boat to St. Louis. When he got to New Albany, Ind., the Ohio River was so low that there was no certainty of getting to St. Louis in time to get home by the day of the sale of his land, and he had no money to spare to go by stage. So he crossed Indiana and Illinois on foot, reaching home the Friday before the sale on Monday. When he went to Burlington, he found that his New York money would not be taken by the land office, and he had to shave off his money that he had already paid a premium for to get ' land-office money ' for 'land-office money,' and pay another premium of 123 per cent, reducing his $400 to $350. To make up this $50, he had to sell off a part of his scanty stock at less than one-fifth of what the same kind of stock would sell for now. I remember the day Alexander started to New York to borrow the money to enter his land, and of asking him what he would do if he failed. His answer was, 'I will come home and try to borrow at the sale ; but if I fail, and lose my land, I will cross the Rocky Mountains but what I will have and own my own land.' Of such stuff were the old settlers. Why should not the State be great and noble now ?" '

The squatters attended the land sales in force. They went to Burlington by boat, by wagon, on horse-back, and on foot-any way to get there and be present at the opening of the sale. They went up for a campaign of several days, taking with them cooking utensils, quilts, blankets, etc., fully prepared to " camp out " and wait till every settler had secured his claim. They went with a determined purpose, and bound together "like a band of brothers," prepared to stand by each other to the last. It was a dangerous undertaking for any "land-grabber " to attempt to bid against any of the hardy, honest squatters, a fact the sharks were not long in finding out. They governed themselves accordingly, and took good care not to give the despised squatters occasion for helping them away from the vicinity of the land office with their stoga boots or strong arms.

THE COUNTY SEAT ON WHEELS.

FRANKLIN.

Section 8 of the act under which Lee County was organized (already quoted) provided "that the District Court should be held at the town of Madi- son." " An act to establish the boundaries of the counties of Lee, Van Buren, Des Moines, Henry, Louisa, Muscatine and Slaughter (Washington) ; to locate the seats of justice in said counties, and for other purposes," passed by the second session of the Legislative Assembly of Wisconsin Territory, and approved January 18, 1838, declared the seat of justice to be "established at the town of Fort Madison."

As settlements extended back into the interior of the county, rival interests sprang up, and a more central location for the county seat came to be agitated. Under this agitation, influences were brought to bear upon the second Territo- rial Legislature of Iowa (1839-40) that resulted in the passage of an act, approved January 14, 1840, appointing Samuel C. Reed, of Van Buren County, James L. Scott, of Jefferson County, and one other, whose name and place of residence is lost, as Commissioners to carry out the purpose of the enactment. The law provided that the Commissioners should meet at Fort Madison on the first Monday in March, 1840, and that, after being duly sworn by any Judge or Justice of the Peace to faithfully and impartially discharge the duties imposed, they should proceed to examine the situation of the county, to con-

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sider the future as well as the (then) present population, and also to pay strict regard to the geographical center, and to locate the seat of justice as near the center as an eligible site could be obtained ; and that, as soon as they had come to a determination, they should name the place as they might see proper, etc. They were also required to make a report in writing, which was required to be filed with the County Clerk ; but no such instrument is found of record.

Pursuant to the requirements of this enactment, two of the Commissioners, Samuel C. Reed and James L. Scott, met at Fort Madison on the day named, and proceeded to discharge the duties for which they were appointed. After an examination of several sites, they selected the south half of the southeast quarter of Section Number Twenty-three (23), and the north half of the north- east quarter of Section Number Twenty-six (26), Township Sixty-eight (68) north, Range Six (6) west, which location was accepted by the Board of County Commissioners. and called Franklin. The land was owned by John Brown, Thomas Douglass and John C. Chapman, who donated the same to the Board of County Commissioners on these conditions : That when the town was laid off, the Board of County Commissioners were to have the first choice of said lots and the donors the second choice, and so on until all the lots were chosen.

March 9, 1840, the Commissioners "ordered that the County Surveyor make a survey of said town, under the direction of Mathew Kilgore (one of the County Commissioners), and make a return thereof according to law." The town was to be "laid off into blocks, lots, outlots (if necessary), one public square, streets and alleys." The blocks were ordered to be 300 feet square, divided into eight lots each, 75x140 feet; alleys, 20 feet in width, and the streets 60 feet, except the first street north of the public square, which was to be 80 feet in width," etc. It was further "ordered that the County Clerk make out a copy of this order and transmit it to the County Surveyor (George Berry) immediately." Mathew Kilgore and Samuel Brierly (or either of them) were appointed to superintend the division of lots between the Board of County Commissioners and the donors of the land. The Commissioners, at this time, were Jesse O'Neil, Mathew Kilgore and Samuel Brierly.

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The history of Lee county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., Part 52

Author: Western historical co., Chicago. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 898

Author: Western historical co., Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 898