USA > Iowa > Mahaska County > The history of Mahaska 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 > Part 36
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To the stranger Mr. Williams seems somewhat reserved and uncommuni- cative, but to those who know his peculiarities he is in their eyes the es- sence of geniality and good nature. Socially he is most entertaining, and is one of those good hearted old men whom young people feel like calling " Uncle," and who is grandfather to all good little children. His enjoy- ment of company is proverbial, nor do his friends suffer him to be lonely. He is fond of reading, especially of current and magazine literature.
The minute of his life, as given on another page, show him to have been a constant worker, and one who has attended strictly to his own affairs. Mr. W. is not what would be termed a positive man. He does not surprise nor startle people. No man has a more honorable record. Few men have not more enemies.
Mr. Williams is now living in Oskaloosa, and is its oldest inhabitant. He enjoys a good law practice and the comforts of a well deserved and pleasant home.
As has been stated, the organizing sheriff of the county and the bailiff of
282
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
this first court was Wm. Edmundson. This gentleman has a history quite intimately connected with early times in Mahaska, and of considerable in- terest in and of itself.
Mr. Edmundson was a Kentuckian, born in Harrison county, in that State, October 7, 1805. Here he spent his boyhood, and enjoyed a good common school education, but never attended college. When a young man of 22, he removed with his father's family to Putnam county, Indiana, and subsequently to Rockville, in that State. From this place, in 1832, he enlisted with a company, raised in Park and the adjoining county, for the Black Hawk war. The company reached the scene of trouble, but we believe was not actively engaged. The most celebrated event in the expedition was the ridiculous fright of a boasting captain over a sham ambush prepared by his own party. The expedition lasted about three months.
After his return, Edmundson took a boat-load of provisions to New Or- leans. Here he sold these to a speculator, who took them to Texas, and Mr. Edmundson went with him to secure his pay. This speculator proved to be a sharper, and Mr. Edmundson staid with him some eighteen months before he recovered the price of his cargo. During this time Edmundson's people in Indiana knew nothing of his whereabouts, as he had determined not to write home, nor return until he could come back with a good report of his expedition. He was in Texas at the time of the revolution in that State.
In 1836 young Edmundson's father having died in Indiana, the entire family removed to Des Moines county, Iowa, where William engaged in farming. Here he served several years as justice of the peace, and one year as county commissioner. January 25, 1838, he married Miss Priscilla De- pew, of Park county, Indiana. This wife died May 31, 1843, leaving two children, James D. and William.
Leaving the little boys with their sister, Mr. Edmundson removed to Fairfield, and in the same year, 1843, to Mahaska county, where he made a claim and commeneed " keeping bach" on the same, not far from what was known as Auburn.
His appointment as first sheriff and justice of the peace in Mahaska di- verted his attention from farming, and after serving in these capacities some six years, in 1850, he, with his brother David, went to California, and remained there until the spring of 1855, from which time he made his home in Oskaloosa. It should have been mentioned that Mr. Edmundson represented the county in the Iowa legislature during the session of 1847- 8, being elected to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John W. Smith. He died at Albia, Monroe county, September, 1862, where he had gone on a business trip.
In Mr. Edmundson's character there were many things to admire, and some things unfortunate. He was an honest and upright citizen, and in- spired the confidence of his friends. He was fine looking and intelligent, fond of reading, and of good attainments. He was a dreamer, and some- what visionary. To some extent he lacked decision and exeentive force, though he made a good sheriff. He was not a man of strong affection, nor eminent social qualities, though when in the spirit was an excellent talker.
The following is the first marriage license appearing on the county records:
283
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
SAMUEL C. NICHOLSON, ELEANOR MAY.
TERRITORY OF IOWA, ¿ MAHASKA COUNTY.
SS.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
To any person duly authorized to solemnize marriages in said county, greeting :
You are hereby authorized to solemnize marriage between Mr. Samuel C. Nicholson and Miss Eleanor May, and this shall be your voucher, and make due return thereof within three months from this date.
Given under my hand, with the temporary seal of the district court of said county affixed at Oskaloosa, this 30th day of May, A. D. 1844.
M. T. WILLIAMS, Clerk D. C. M. Co.
TERRITORY OF IOWA, { MAHASKA COUNTY.
- ss.
I certify that on the second day of June, 1844, at the house of Alexander May, in said county, I solemnized the rites of matrimony between Samuel C. Nicholson, of said county, twenty-five years of age, and Miss Eleanor May, of the said county, aged nineteen years. LEVI BAINBRIDGE, Justice of the Peace.
However, the parties above mentioned lived west of the present bound- aries of Mahaska county, and, in point of fact, the first marriage in the county was that of George Lienrance and Amanda Jared, who became "one flesh " through the offices of George N. Duncan, justice of the peace, on June 6, 1844. The clerk of the court, M. T. Williams, informs us that he has a very distinct recollection of issuing the license in this case. He carried the office in his hat and vest pocket, and when called on by the trembling young Lienrance for this document, the dignified clerk sat down on a log just southwest of the square, and, with the tricks of a legerdemain, drew forth from his hat a writing-desk, paper, pen and ink, the seal of the court and a territorial Code, proceeded to write out the necessary instru- ment under a blazing sun, and a vaulted roof, such as few clerk's offices of the present day can rival in its silvery splendor, and delicate, cloud-like frescoing.
We are informed of the case of the marriage of one Jerry Libby, to a Miss Higgenbothem, on Middle creek, in which the pioneer justice per- formed the ceremony just as a magistrate would administer an oath-re- quiring the parties, with the uplifted hand, solemnly to "swear to take this man or woman," etc., a performance which excited no little merriment among the guests present. Thus knots were tied in various ways, and Hymen's altar was served by butchering priests in the early days of Mahaska.
The first bill of divorce found on the records of Mahaska county is dated November 15, 1845, in case of Rebecca Ash versus Thomas Ash, in which the court granted the petition, and declared the complainant, to be the inno- cent and injured party.
Following a marriage notice in the columns of the Herald of the early times we have this sample, which will prove interesting, as showing to what etherial flights the pioneer poet essayed when inspired by the mar- riage of a widower friend:
Though Daniel was old, He concluded to marry; And off to see Sarah, He went without tarry.
And Sarah being willing, To a bargain they agreed, And up to the altar Daniel Sarah did lead.
284
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
The knot was then tied, The work is now done; And old Father Daniel And Sarah are one.
In justice to the anthor of this it should be stated that this poem was a communication, and not an editorial effort.
The election of August, 1844, resulted in the choice of the following of- ficers: Sheriff, Wm. Edmundson; Commissioner Clerk, John W. Cun- ningham; Recorder, Wm. Pilgrim; Surveyor, David Stump; Commis- sioner, Simon Drouillard; Treasurer, W. D. Canfield. About 350 votes were cast at this election.
MAHASKA COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
The only court house ever possessed by Mahaska county was built during the winter of 1844-5. Mr. James Edgar, the father of Wm. S. Edgar, Esq., had the contract for building. The means were seenred by the sale of town lots, the proceeds of which were by law set apart for the purpose of erecting a court house and jail. The building was a frame structure, about 28x50 feet, two stories high, the second floor being used as offices. The timbers were raised by the settlers who assembled for that purpose on a certain day, when they had a regular frontier frolic. The building was occupied for almost all purposes imaginable, church, opera house, court room, etc, being comfortably seated with ordinary benches. An Indian dance which took place there in the winter of '48-'49 will doubtless be remembered by some readers of this history who were eye witnesses. The building was occupied by the county as a court room till 1855. It was built on the ground now occupied by the savings bank, and a little more than two years ago it was moved west on High street, where it is now known as the Oskaloosa House. Some wag gave it the name " Noe's Ark" and it is well known by that name to most Oskaloosa citizens. For a number of years previous to its sale the old court house was leased to various commercial purposes, first to H. Tredick & Co., in 1859, and afterward to Mitchell Wilson, to whom it was sold June 7, 1867, for $3,800.
The question of building a new court house has been agitated a number of times. The present county offices are scattered through different blocks in the business parts of Oskaloosa. They are difficult of access, hard for strangers and persons from other parts of the county to find. The records, although most of them are in fair vaults, are much more subject to fire than if they were in a substantial and fire-proof court house; and the rents of these offices is almost, if not quite, the amount required as interest on bonds to build a good court house. These considerations have brought the question of a county court house before the people a number of times. At the October election of 1877 the matter was submitted to the voters of the county, as follows:
1. Shall the board of supervisors of said county be authorized to order the erection of a Court House within the corporate limits of .Oskaloosa, in said county, to cost when completed not to exceed the sum of $75,000?
2. For the purpose of raising the money with which to erect said Court House, shall the board of supervisors be authorized to issue and negotiate bonds of the county to the amount of $75,000, drawing interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum, payable semi-annually, of
285
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
which amount 20 per cent shall be due in three years, 20 per cent in five years, 20 per cent in eight years, and the remainder due in ten years from the date of the issuance thereof?
3. For the purpose of paying said bonds and interest at maturity, shall the board of supervisors of said county be authorized to levy an annual tax not exceeding two and one-half mills on the dollar of the taxable property of said county, and continue the levy of such rate of tax or so much thereof as may be necessary, from year to year, until said bonds and the in- terest thereon shall be paid ?
All those voting for said proposition shall have written or printed on their ballots substan- tially the words "For Court House, bonds and tax," and all those voting against the proposi- tion shall have written or printed on their ballots the words, "Against Court House, bonds and tax."
The result of the ballot was 995 ballots in favor of the proposition and 2866 ballots against the same. This decided answer, of course, will post- pone the question for a period, at least until times are better. The county owns certain lots east of the Square, in Oskaloosa, which have been talked of as a court house site, but the location, as well as the building, is a question of the future.
COUNTY JAIL.
The first jail of Mahaska county was built in 1845. It was a log struct- ure, and stood on lot 1, block 6, where the present jail is located. This was quite a rude structure, but answered the requirements of a peaceful county for a little more than ten years. A prisoner named Sam Lester, confined in this jail for larceny, excited more or less admiration for his mechanical skill in boring his way out by means of an ordinary augur, and this in the dark. After his escape the building was plated with iron.
The present jail was built by J. M. Byers, in 1857, at a cost of $9,000. The building is a two story brick and stone, about forty feet square, and contains ample room for the keeper's family, besides the cells. The latter are nine in number, five being on the first floor and four on the second. The lower ones are of stone. The floor is laid with six-inch flag stones, and under these is a four-foot layer of broken rock run together with cement. The walls are of hard limestone, two feet thick, each stone extend- ing through the wall, and with cast iron balls between every joint, to prevent sawing out. The upper cells are of briek.
FIRST SCHOOL.
The first school in Mahaska county was opened in September, 1844. It was kept by Miss Semira A. Hobbs, now Mrs. T. G. Phillips, of Oskaloosa. This school was located about two miles east of the present town of Oska- loosa, surrounded by the wilderness of a new country. Mrs. Phillips tells us that on her way to school she frequently saw wolves and deer, the latter of which were so tame they would not flee from her approach. Nor was the wilderness without more marked than the rustic air which awaited her at the end of her walk. The school house had been built by the voluntary labor of the settlers. It was constructed of round linn timber, was abont sixteen feet square, and was floored with puncheon floor. An opening about five by six feet answered for the fire place. The chimney was built of sod, and stood outside the building. That it might not be all darkness within, a log was left out on either side, and an elongated window, one by twelve feet was formed, and to mellow the light these openings were covered by greased paper. These probably answered the purpose of stained
286
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
glass in modern school houses, and kept the urchins from gazing at the buffalo feeding on the distant hill, etc .! A large opening opposite the fire płace afforded a means of entrance and exit, and a large coverlet hung over this rendered the absence of the door itself doubly conspicuous. A punch- eon writing desk and puncheon seats completed the furniture. This school afforded opportunity of improvement to abont twenty pupils, for whose instruction Miss Hobbs received $1.25 per capita for a session of thirteen weeks.
During the winter following Samuel Caldwell opened a school in Oska- loosa, in the house of Mr. A. G. Phillips.
PROBATE COURT.
John White was the first Probate Judge, and held his first term of court in Oct., 1844. The following is from the first record:
TERRITORY OF IOWA, ¿ MAHASKA COUNTY.
PROBATE OFFICE.
October 3, 1844.
At a special term of the Probate Court in and for said county, it is ordered that the lettered side of a half dime of American silver can be adopted as the temporary seal of this court, to be used by this court till a permanent seal be provided for the same.
Ordered, That Van B. Delashmutt be and he is hereby appointed administrator of the estate of John Hemisphere, late of this county, deceased, and that Geo. W. Jones and John Rose be appointed appraisers of said estate.
Ordered, That this court adjourn until Monday next, at ten o'clock A. M.
JOHN WHITE, Probate Judge.
The following is a copy of first inventory and appraisement made in the county, being of the estate of Robert Curry, and filed Nov. 25, 1844:
2 cows appraised at
$ 17.00
1 heifer
.6
7.00
2 calves
66
3.00
5 pigs 1 sow
66 66
2.00
1 yoke of oxen
35.00
1 black mare
.66
30.00
1 wagon
65.00
5 stands of bees
10.00
3 plows
5.00
2 log chains
66
... . .
.. .
4.00
1 pair stretchers
1.50
1 set of harness
1 saddle, bridle and saddle bags appraised at
2 axes
66
2 iron wedges
66
1 lot of irons
. .
1.00
1 hand saw
66
1.00
1 gun
8.00
300 bu. of corn @ 25c
75.00
3 hoes
66
50
2 singletrees
50
Improvement on claim
90.00
Amount of appraisement.
$305.50
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....
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...
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66
. .
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2.00
3 drawing knives
..... .
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·
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2.50
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10.00
4.00
1.00
1.00
.... .
. .
This list is given as showing the implements, etc., held by early claim- holders, and valuation at that day. In the records the addition is as above, being in error $71.50.
a
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HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
LETTERS OF 1846-7.
A certain Joseph Bailey, of Carlton, York county, Eng., came to this country in 1842, and was one of the first settlers near Oskaloosa. Said Bailey died in August, 1847, and in settlement of his estate two letters were filed with the Probate Judge of Mahaska county, which were written to England by said Bailey as below indicated, from which we make the fol- lowing extracts:
Dear brother : * *
OSKALOOSA, Aug. the 5th, 1846. *
* * *
I wrote you that I had bought me one hundred and sixty acres of prairie and forty acres of timber land. When our government lines were run and surveyed Mr. James C. Morgan at- tempted to take the advantage of me, and my woodland from me. I cut down trees and James Morgan cut and split them up. I sued him before the squire and beat him; then he appealed it to the District Court, and I then not being satisfied, he was going to take advant- age by pre-emption, but in this I got the start and beat him again. He also tried to take my prairie. Now you will want to know what is meant by pre-emption. It is a law made by the Congress of the United States called the pre-emption law, granting a person the priv- ilege, after land is surveyed, of building a house and moving into it; and then, by notifying the opposite party, if there is any dispute, he will attend at the office with a witness to prove that he has fulfilled the law. I filed my intention to become a citizen of the United States of America; it I had not done so I could not have held my land. I have entered one eighty of woodland, and on the 4th of July I entered one hundred and sixty of prairie. My land I have made safe now. I paid one hundred dollars for iny prairie; one for my timber. * * *
I feel thankful that I have got to a free country. A land of plenty and a free country where all are free men-one as good as another. I am well pleased with Iowa. It is the best land that I ever saw. It is far before Wisconsin or Illinois. I live a mile and a quarter north of Oscaloosa. Henry Blackburn lives one mile out of town. I am boarding with one Jonathan Dillon. Our farms join. Mr. Dillon is a fine man, and his wife too. They are Methodists. Both belong to the church. There has been a Methodist camp-meeting one mile and a half from us. It held four days. It was held in the woods. They bought five acres of land for that purpose. Members of the church build tents to live in during the meeting. People come from far and near to that meeting. They have great times in chant- ing. There were about 32 joined the church at that great time. I got in my harvest and had only seven acres wet. 1 beat most of the farmers in a wheat crop this year. Wheat was good in Mahaska and some other counties. * * *
We have four stores, two blacksmiths, two tailors, one druggist, two doctors. It is sickly * this season; a great deal of fever and ague. *
* Best regards to brother Eli. He wanted to know if it would do for him to leave England. I would advise him to come to America, and I will write him all he pleases to hear about it.
Your affectionate brother, JOSEPH BAILEY.
Dear brother: *
*
OSKALOOSA, June the 3d, 1847.
We have been blessed with reasonable crops. * Wheat is worth 50 cents; Indian corn 15 to 20 cents; oats 18 to 20; potatoes from 37 to 50 cents per bushel; flour is worth two dollars per hundred; beef is worth four or five dollars per hundred; bacon from six to eight dollars per hundred; butter six cents per pound; eggs four to five cents per dozen; chickens from 8 to 12 cents apiece; I mean tame chickens, for we have thousands of wild prairie chickens, that devour a portion of our crops; they are as large as the tame chicken; I can drive up thousands of them in a gang. We have wild turkeys and pheasants, deer, bears, foxes, wild-cats, wolves, which catch our sheep, birds of various description, all of which I have full liberty to hunt. Sheep are worth $1.50 per head; oxen from 30 to 50 dollars per yoke; cows are worth from $10 to $12 per head; two-year-olds are worth from 6 to 7 dollars; yearlings are worth $4; calves are worth in the fall $2; horses are worth from 40 to 60 dol- lars. Prairie breaking is worth 2 dollars per acre. Timber is worth from one dollar to $1.50 per acre. I will give the prices of labor: carpenters are worth from $1.50 to $2 per day; common labor on a farm is worth from $8 to $10 per month. * * *
* The common crop of wheat per acre is from 18 to 22 bushels; Indian corn from 40 to 60 *
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HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
bushels. The raising of this grain is something new to you, of which I will give you the de- scription: First the land must be well broken or plowed up; then it must be crossed both ways with a horse and plow about four feet apart, so as to leave it in rows both ways; the last time crossing the corn is dropped at the crossing, and then it must be ploughed two or three times at least. In sowing wheat we sow from one to one and one-half bushels, and sometimes it is too thick. The winters sometimes freeze out our wheat. * *
I will let you know that our land needs no draining. I intend to build on my land when I get able. Tea is worth one dollar per pound; sugar 12 cents; coffee 12 cents; tobacco from 12 to 50 cents; broadcloth from $4.00 to $4.50 per yard; blankets from $3.00 to $5.00; flan- nels 50 cents. I drink for a beverage cold water, and sometimes coffee. I will tell you how much team it takes to break prairie: it takes 4 yoke of good oxen and a steer and one cow, two men and a big plough. That is the way prairie is broken in this country. Crow for the people of Oscaloosa: 6 stores, 2 groceries, 2 taverns, 2 blacksmith shops, 1 cabinet maker, 8 house carpenters, 2 shoemakers, 4 tailors, 3 doctors, six lawyers, 1 meeting-house. The Methodists hold a camp meeting on the 11th of this month within two miles of me.
JOSEPH BAILEY.
TOWNSHIPS.
On the 7th of January, 1845, the Commissioners divided Mahaska county into fourteen townships, as follows:
1. White Oak township.
Ordered, That congressional townships number 74 and 75 north, 14 west, shall form one township, to be known by the name of White Oak township, and the place of holding elec- tion to be at the house of Mat. Kinsman.
2. Harrison township.
Ordered, That congressional township 74 north, 15 west, shall form one township, to be known by the name of Harrison, and the place of holding election at Samuel Tibbets'.
3. Spring Creek township.
Ordered, That congressional township 75 north, 15 west, shall form a township to be known by the name of Spring Creek township, and the place of holding election to be at the house of Edwin Mitchell.
4. Monroe township.
Ordered, That congressional township 75 north, 14 west, and that part of township 75 north, 15 west, that lies north of Skunk river, shall form a township to be known by the name of Monroe township, and the place of holding election to be at the house of M. P. Crowder.
5. Union township.
Ordered, That congressional townships 77 and 78 north, 14 and 15 west, and township 78 north, 13 west, shall form a township to be known by the name of Union township, and the place of holding election to be at the house of Nathan Brown.
6. Des Moines township.
Ordered, That congressional township 74 north, 16 west, shall form a township to be known by the name of Des Moines township, and the place of holding election to be at the house of John Stumbo.
Ordered, That the part of township 74 north, 17 west, which lies north of the Des Moines river, be attached to Des Moines township.
7. Oskaloosa township.
Ordered, That congressional township 75 north, 16 west, shall form a township to be known by the name, Oskaloosa township, and the place of holding election at Oskaloosa.
8. Madison township.
Ordered. That congressional townships 76, 77 and 78 north, and 16 west, and that part of township 76 north, 15 west, which lies south of Skunk river, shall form a township to be known by the name of Madison township, and the place of holding election to be at the house of George N. Duncan.
289
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
9. Jefferson township.
Ordered, That congressional townships 74 and 75 north, 17 west, the part of which lies south of the Des Moines river, shall form a township to be known by the name of Jefferson township.
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