USA > Iowa > Monroe County > The history of Monroe County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion > Part 44
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All this time, his sufferings from cold had been intense. The winds were piercing, the snows drifted, his long nights were sleepless, he had no water, no fire, no cooked provisions, a little raw meal and dry corn being his only provis- ions. He was ten days out beyond the time it should have taken him, before he did at last reach his home in safety.
The Spring of 1845 was an early and pleasant one. Breaking up the prairie sod began in every direction, three or four yokes of good stout oxen being required to do that duty. The pioneers had little time for going to Keosauqua to mill, or for neighborly visiting. They wrought diligently from morning till night, scarcely stopping; for after sod-breaking, came corn plant- ing. Squashes and potatoes were put in the hazel brush patches, or else planted on the sod with an ax. The children of the settlers' families generally herded the cows, there being several hundred miles of pasture for them to range over.
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. Sometimes cattle were lost and never recovered, or were killed by emigrating Mormons on their trail to the Far West. In this year the Clarks, at Clarks- ville, sold coffee at 9 cents per pound, flour for $4.00 per barrel, and brown sheeting at 13 cents per yard.
In the Winter of 1848-9, the snow was three feet deep in many places, and many of the little cabins on the prairies were nearly buried in their snowy shrouds. Passage-ways were cut through the drifts to doors and windows to let in the light. There was no January thaw, but snow lay on the ground from the 1st of December to the 6th of April. As a consequence, there was much privation, owing to the long distances to mill. Mr. Clark's family went without bread for a period of three weeks at a time three times in this year, and many of the settlers passed through like experiences. This was the year of the exodus to California, and many crossed Iowa on their way to the land of gold. Ottumwa lost many of her best men at that time. Houses in that place were left with their doors and windows open by their owners as they hurried West- ward with their spades and picks to get their share of the precious ore.
Through the Winter of 1850-51, quite a number of sleigh-rides were impro- vised from Albia into different neighborhoods to spelling schools. Two yokes of oxen were hitched to a large sled, the hay was placed in, then buffalo robes and quilts, and then the boys and girls were sandwiched in promiscuously, shouting and singing as they went on their plodding merrymaking. At the end of the ride a dance would be improvised to help to warm up the chilled blood.
The 7th of May, 1851, is remembered as one of the rainiest of rainy days, and from that time forward for forty days the skies poured their volumes of water down upon Iowa. The Des Moines River rose to an unprecedented height- thirty-seven feet by actual measurement-and from one bluff to another it was a rushing, foaming sea of water. Corn was planted this season with water in the furrows, and the farmers wore their overcoats as they put the seed in the ground. Eddyville was overflowed, and a man of the name of Roberts, quite tired of having no substantial resting-place for the sole of his foot anywhere on his premises, tore down his house, and, putting the remains on a flat-boat, ferried the dismantled home across into Pleasant Township, and commenced the village of Bridgeport. Others followed suit, and in a little while there were twenty families in the neighborhood. But after the flood subsided there was no increase.
The first settler on the west side of the Cedar was a man of the name of Har- ter, who had a present of his grain to sow from W. G. Clark and David Prather.
Capt. Saunders came to Iowa in 1862, and lived for a time in Cedar Town- ship, but removed to Albia in 1853, and refitted the Albia House, and as it stood on the thoroughfare from Bonaparte to Chariton, there was a heavy travel, and many a tired emigrant blessed the good cheer which refreshed him for his next day's journey, Capt. Saunders was the first man to raise a company of volunteers in Monroe County in our civil war, and their first engagement was with Bill Anderson's men at Athens, Mo., where several rebels were killed, and in the Union regiment ten were wounded.
Georgetown, a village of one house and a few stakes, was a part of the product of. 1852 for the township of Guilford. It was hoped for it that churches and other buildings would go up; but somehow, trade did not make its appear- ance, either in produce or real estate, and Georgetown finally went back into a cornfield.
One of the earliest settlers of Wayne Township was William T. May, who in 1852 came to Iowa and opened a farm of 160 acres. Mr. May was Town Assessor and Clerk for some years.
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William M. Roff came to Bluff Creek in 1853, and in a short time had a nice farm. Of course there were many hardships to encounter. Brobst's mill hrad washed out on the Cedar in the high water of 1851, so that the settlers had to go a long distance to mill.
Bluff Creek Township is noted for its fine farms and good buildings-not, as in some places, straw-thatched sheds, but good commodious stables as well as two-story, well-painted farm houses. The farmers keep good stock and raise a great variety of fruit. Near the center of the township is a remarkable sulphur spring. In 1854, bridges were built, and a few school houses lifted their new roofs above the green of the prairie.
Immigration poured into Iowa through the year 1856, and towns on paper sprung up like mushrooms. Fairview-Cuba more recently-was laid out this year in Mantua Township, and for a little while flourished finely. Real estate rose in value with unprecedented rapidity. Towns were laid out everywhere, even in the grass, leagues from rivers and projected railroads. Eldora in Cedar Township had two houses, a brush knoll, a few stakes, and, in 1857, was talked of as quite a place. This was laid out by Knight & Mattox. Another city was named Osprey in 1857-a Mr. Evans, proprietor. But it had only one house, and was soon resolved back into a wheat field. Smithfield resigned itself, after a glorious promise of a city, into the dead ashes of disappointment, and had only a single house to tell the tale. Hollidaysburg, laid out by Holliday, met a like fate. Pleasant Corners, in Pleasant Township, three-fourths of a mile north of the present site of Frederic, also had aspirations of a like char- acter. It had the Seceder's church, a blacksmith shop and one store.
The Winter of 1856-7 commenced with a furious snow-storm that lasted three days from the 1st of December, and through the whole season the white snow shrouded the silent prairie. Provisions for man and beast in some places were high, and the grass did not start in the Spring much before the 10th of May. The credit system was then in vogue, and such was the effect of this severe Winter that immigration nearly stopped ; men were land poor ; they could neither sell their land nor pay their debts. To add to their distress, a bank and commercial panic from the East sent a wave of trouble over the en- tire country, so that merchants, middlemen, capitalists and farmers went down in ruin together. Wildcat currency from Nebraska and Illinois and broken down bank notes were all the currency, except Missouri money, which was at par. The Autumn, though, was unusually pleasant for the ingathering of crops that had a late Spring to retard their growth.
The year of 1858 was a rainy one. This discouraged farmers a good deal. The heaviest rains came, too, harvest, so much so that wheat molded before it was ready for the mill, and the result was the bread made from it was both moldy and sticky. Rivers were high, bridges went sailing off, fences were washed away, and many a farmer wished the seventh year could be left out of the calendar. According to old Hardfish, the Indian Chief, "Every seventh year, big rain."
On the 21st of December, 1861, ten men passed through Albia in pursuit of two guerrillas, one named Evans and one McGee. They were from Missouri, and had been lurking about Davis County, one teaching a school and the other attending it as pupil. Both pretended to be Unionists, but it was discovered what they were when Mr. Griston, a Union soldier, was sent to make their arrest. They offered no resistance, but pretended to go quietly, until they were some distance from the school house where the arrest was made, when they both drew revolvers and fired upon Griston, wounding him severely but not mortally.
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They then seized his horse and made their escape, and in their flight passed through this county, with ten men in chase.
In September, 1862, we find that Monroe County was doing her duty in the matter of soldiers. Three full companies of volunteers had been raised. Capt. Wilson's company had been mustered into service ; M. J. Varner's and George Noble's companies were still drilling. When the two latter left they were each presented with handsome flags, Miss Amanda Craig presenting the one to Capt. Varner, and Elder Hare the one to Capt. Noble. Later, Elder Hare was appointed Chaplain of the Thirty-sixth Regiment of Iowa Volunteers.
Henry C. Markham, who, under the first call for volunteers, raised a com- pany and was made its Captain, was, after several months' service, obliged to resign on account of ill health, when he again began recruiting, and raised the " Gray Beards," a company of men who were all over 45. Even with this rapid recruiting, and the loss of so many young men out of the county, the erops were fine that year and splendidly harvested.
On the 27th of January of 1863, the citizens of Albia gave a grand Soldiers' Re-union Supper, the occasion of which was the soldiers of Company I, Eighth Iowa, who were home on furlough. The members of all other regiments who were within reach were invited.
One day in October, 1864, the rumor was afloat that a band of bushwhackers was marching upon Bloomfield, in Davis County, and the citizens of Albia called a meeting, and sent out scouting parties to ascertain the truth of the probable raid. But the rascals were rapid in their movements, and made all haste to retreat. after having killed four citizens and plundered others in Davis County.
CEDAR TOWNSHIP.
Cedar Township is situated in the northwestern corner of the county. It is of fine, undulated surface, well watered, with Cedar Creek running through it to the northeast. The history of its settlement is the same record of primi- tive living, of deprivation in nearly every case, of struggle to overcome the adverse circumstances of the pioneer, and of a final conquering of impediments that marks the history of all new settlements where determination and persever- ance are the characteristics of the settlers. This township has a post office at Miller, a little village that was laid out in 1853 by Jonathan Smith, he being the first Postmaster and the first resident. The first store here was opened by John Hoagland ; the first doctor was J. Way, and the first lawyer, D. C. Gladson.
There is at present one Catholic society in the village, with Rev. Cadden as Pastor, and one Methodist, with Rev. Mr. Nye as minister. There is one store and blacksmith shop.
The present Postmaster is C. W. Maddy.
LOVILIA AND UNION TOWNSHIP.
The town of Lovilia is nicely laid out on a pretty, rolling piece of ground, gently sloping castward from a grove of timber on the west, and is situated near the center of Union Township, about nine miles northwest from Albia. It has an abundance of stone and coal, good water, and a beautiful and fertile country adjacent.
It was laid out in 1853, by D. B. Dixon, who was the earliest resident there. He erected his house in the year of his location, and also built a store and opened a small stock of goods in connection with Mr. Hittle. The post office was established there the same year, with Michael Hittle as Postmaster.
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The first hotel was built in 1856, by G. II. Clemmons. The first doctor was Jerry Huffard, and the present physicians are Dr. Berrell and Dr. Miser.
The Church societies are three in number-the Methodist, Baptist and Christian. The Rev. Mr. Jones is Pastor of the M. E. Church, and Rev. Mr. Vallet, of the Christion, while at present the Baptists are without a minister.
In December, 1857, the Good Templars of Lovilia dedicated a Lodge with a fine supper.
The business interests of the place are thriving, from the fact of the salubri- ous situation of the town, the general fertility of its surroundings and the energy of its people. They consist at present of two dry goods and grocery stores, one hardware, one harness and leather store, one grocery, one harness and boot and shoe store, one flouring-mill, two blacksmith shops, one hotel, two doctors and no lawyers. John White is the present Postmaster.
FREDRIC AND PLEASANT TOWNSHIP.
The township of Pleasant is significantly named. It is the northeastern township in the county, and its surface presents the happiest combination of timber lands and prairie. Water is plentiful, building stone of the best quality abundant, and coal sufficient to supply all home needs. Fredric, in this town- ship, is on the C., B. & Q. R. R., was laid out by Hale & Hamilton, and was named in honor of Frederick Joy, former President of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad. The plat of Fredric embraces eighty acres of beautiful undulating prairie land, sloping to the south, seventeen miles west from Ottumwa, seven miles southwest from Eddyville, and nine miles east from Albia. The country surrounding is diversified, on the northeast and west, beautiful prairie, owned and tilled by enterprising farmers. On the south, the face of the country is more uneven, but not enough to prevent remunerative cultivation of the soil, and has been chiefly developed by Swedes in tracts from forty to one hundred and sixty acres, their settlement, in which there is a church, being known as Bergholm. Among the prominent buildings is a handsome Baptist Church, neatly painted and well furnished.
The Fredric Mills are built in a very substantial manner, with three run of buhrs, and the latest improved machinery, the engine being extension power.
The Seceders built a church at Pleasant Corners in 1849, a mile or so north of Fredric. This sect was a division from the old Scotch Presbyterian, and in good, stanch Covenanter fashion they have held to their tenets, refusing to join with the United Presbyterians. They do not materially differ in faith, but the original sect in the old country had the sturdiest of Republican blood in their veins, and would not pray for the King. These same traits are manifested in a greater or less degree in these later generations, and there is always an element of substantiality in them wherever found.
COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
At the time of the establishment of Kishkekosh County, the system of gov- ernment then in force required the election of three County Commissioners, who controlled the business of their county, and served in a capacity similar to that of the present Board of Supervisors. The existence of this original Board is not fully known to some of the young people of the county, who suppose that the first method of government was the County Judge plan.
In 1851, the Commissioner system was abolished, by act of the Legislature, and the power of the former board delegated to one man, elected by popular vote, and called County Judge. For obvious reasons the Judge plan did not
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long retain the favor of the people. Men do not like to curtail the appearance of authority, or intrust to a single individual full freedom of decision in busi- ness matters. In many cases, although it cannot be asserted that Monroe County furnished one of them, the Judge proved too autocratic. After ten years of trial the Judge system was abolished by the Legislature, and an extreme method was instituted instead; that is, one man was chosen from each township, who was called a Supervisor, by the vote of each respective civil division of the county. This plan was as cumbersome as the Judge plan was meager, and that. too, succumbed in turn, after a few years of experiment. The present method is called the Supervisor system, but is constituted of three representatives. chosen respectively from three districts by ballot. Frequent meetings of this conveniently small body are held instead of semi-annual sessions, as with the enlarged Board, and the body politic moves with regular order and satis- faction.
Subjoined is a list of the leading county officers from the first elec- tion, while Kishkekosh was a precinct of Wapello, in 1844, to the present time.
The first officer in the county, W. G. Clark, Justice of the Peace, elected August, 1844.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
From 1845 to 1851 (given in regular order)-Joseph McMullin, James S. Bradley, Moses H. Clark ; Jeremiah Miller, Clerk of the Board ; William Mc- Bride, Andrew Elswick, Smith Judson ; Dudley C. Barber, Clerk, 1846 ; Andrew Elswick, William McBride, George R. Holliday, 1847; Smith Judson, George R. Holliday, John Clark, 1848-9; George R. Holliday, John Clark, Lewis Arnold, 1850. George W. Piper was Clerk from 1849 to change of system in 1851.
COUNTY JUDGES.
For 1851-D. A. Richardson ; 1855, J. N. Massey was elected, but his election was contested by Judge Richardson, because Massey then held a county office, and the contest eventuated in Judge Richardson retaining the office. In 1857, James Hilton was elected Judge.
FIRST SUPERVISORS.
For 1861-J. M. Richardson, Pleasant ; Wm. Mercer, Bluff Creek; Sebas- tian Streeter, Union; Warren L. Rall, Cedar; David J. Prather, Wayne: John Kirby, Guilford; John Clark, Troy; John McFarland, Mantua; Hiram Hough, Urbana; W. G. Clark, Monroe; W. A. Lemaster, Franklin; John Hays, Jackson.
For 1862-R. W. Moss, C. C. Osburn, H. Hough, J. McFarland, William Mercer, Samuel Richmond, D. J. Prather, Michael Campbell, John Clark, Thomas C. Crouch, W. A. Lemaster, J. R. Stock.
For 1863-R. W. Moss, Joseph Robb, C. C. Osburn, Lot King, Henry Freeland, M. Campbell, John Clark, W. F. Walker, Hiram Hough, T. C. Crouch, W. A. Lemaster, J. R. Stock.
For 1864-Wareham G. Clark, R. W. Moss, Joseph Robb, C. C. Osburn, Lot King, H. Freeland. W. B. Hill, W. A. Dean, G. W. Gammond, W. A. Lemaster. J. R. Stock, W. F. Walker.
For 1865-Washington Akens, H. Fullerton, C. C. Osburn, R. M. Thompson, W. H. H. Lind, W. B. Hill, W. A. Dean, J. L. Anderson, S. G. Finney, W. G. Clark. W. A. Lemaster, J. R. Stock.
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For 1866-W. V. Beedle, H. Fullerton, T. H. Duncan, R. M. Thompson, W. H. H. Lind, L. McGuirk, W. A. Dean, J. L. Anderson, S. G. Finney, O. P. Rowles, W. A. Lemaster, J. R. Hurford.
For 1867-W. V. Beedle, S. Wyckoff, T. H. Duncan, D. Cross, William Kelsey, L. McGuirk, John Clark, J. McCormick, S. G. Finney, O. P. Rowles, W. A. Lemaster, J. R. Hurford.
For 1868-J. R. Hurford, Wm. Kelsey, G. W. Grass, Simeon Wyckoff, R. A. Hewitt, D. Cross, L. McGuirk, John Clark, J. McCormick, S. G. Fin- ney, James Hilton, W. A. Lemaster.
For 1869-Lewis Heninger, H. R. Teller, J. Findley, Jr., James S. Hog- eland, William Jenkins, L. McGuirk, W. R. Ross, Samuel Bain, S. G. Fin- ney, James Hilton, W. Lemaster, J. R. Hurford.
For 1870-Lewis Heninger, H. R. Teller, J. Findley, Jr., J. S. Hogeland, William Jenkins, L. McGuirk, W. R. Ross, Samuel Bain, G. W. Reading, W. D. Kinser, W. A. Lemaster, V. G. Kemper. This was the last session under the old law.
For 1871-Under the provisions of Section 1, Chapter 148, of the XIIIth Session of Iowa, the new Board convened January 2, 1871. It was composed of H. R. Teller, P. T. Lambert and C. A. Miller.
For 1872-John Clark, H. R. Teller, C. A. Miller.
For 1873-John Clark, C. A. Miller, William Hardy.
For 1874-John Clark, J. B. Bell, H. L. Vosburgh.
For 1875-John Clark, H. L. Vosburgh, William Mercer.
For 1876-John Clark, H. L. Vosburgh, Joseph Nickel.
For 1877-John Clark, John Nickel, Thomas B. O'Bryan.
For 1878-Joseph Nickel, Val. Fuller, T. B. O'Bryan.
SHERIFFS.
John Clark, 1845; Ezra P. Coen, 1847 ; D. Durall, 1851 ; Willis Arnold, 1853; John M. Porter, 1855; Riley Wescoatt, 1859; E. P. Coen, 1861; A. J. McDonald, 1865 ; J. M. Robb, 1871; S. F. Miller, 1877.
JUDGES OF PROBATE.
W. G. Clark, 1845; George W. Reading, 1847. When the Commissioner system was abolished the office of Judge of Probate was consolidated with that of County Judge. When the latter office was done away with, the County Judge still attended to the probate business until 1869, when the newly created Circuit Court absorbed the business and still retains it. After the change of office, in 1861, there were three Judges elected : 1862, W. P. Hammond ; 1863, A. A. Mason ; 1866, George Hickenlooper.
CLERKS OF THE DISTRICT COURT.
James Hilton, 1845; Jonas Wescoatt, 1848; Jacob Webb, 1850; Samuel E. L. Moore, 1854; Samuel Buchanan, 1856; William E. Neville, 1858; Henry Miller, 1860; Josiah T. Young, 1867; John W. H. Griffin, 1873. Since the Circuit Court was instituted in 1869, the title of the Clerk has been Clerk of the District and Circuit Courts.
DISTRICT JUDGES.
Charles Mason, 1845; Cyrus Olney, 1847 ; William McKay, 1849 ; J. C. Thompson, 1851.
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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
CIRCUIT JUDGES.
Henry L. Dashiell, 1869-73: Robert Sloan, 1873 to present time. Judge Sloan's term will expire Jan. 1, 1881.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.
William Allison, H. B. Notson, W. G. Clark, J. S. Townsend, A. J. Ritchey, T. B. Perry, Amos Harris, J. B. Weaver, M. H. Jones, T. M. Fee. The office is a district one and not properly a county matter.
RECORDERS.
This office was separated from that of Treasurer in 1865. The then Treas- urer, J. R. Duncan, held the office of Recorder till 1867; then followed James Coen, 1867-9; Calvin Barnard, 1869-75; James R. Castle, 1875 to date.
TREASURERS.
This office was also Recorder until 1865. The first election was in 1845, when T. G. Templeton was chosen. Then followed Charles W. Anderson, re- signed Nov. 2, 1846 ; John Webb appointed, who held the office until 1855, when D. A. Noble was elected. Since then the office has been held by Robert M. Wilson, 1860; John R. Duncan, 1862-6; Harrison Hickenlooper, 1866-70; John R. May, 1870-74 ; Harrison Hickenlooper, 1874 to date.
COUNTY AUDITORS.
This office was created in 1869. Samnel T. Craig served until Dec. 30, 1877. John W. Moss is the present incumbent. When the office of Auditor was created, George Hickenlooper, then Judge of Probate, held the place one year.
LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVES.
Monroe has been represented in the State Senate by James Davis, Barney Royston, Henry B. Hendershott, D. Anderson, Warren S. Dungan, William C. Shippen, Edward M. Bill, Martin Read, A. C. Reck, H. L. Dashiell ; in the House by Charles Anderson, William M. Allison, N. B. Preston, Henry Allen, M. A. Goodfellow, Samuel Gossage, John Reitzel, L. O. Haskall, O. P. Rowles, John Clark, Henry L. Dashiell, A. A. Ramsey, Benjamin F. Elbert, James Hilton, L. O. Haskell, A. M. Gitner, R. W. Duncan.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS.
The second Convention, held at Iowa City, in May, 1846, was attended by Wareham G. Clark, as Delegate from Appanoose and Monroe Counties; the third by John Edwards as Delegate from Monroe, Lucas and Clarke Counties.
THE MONROE COUNTY PRESS.
The Albia Independent Press was the first newspaper published in Monroe County, and the first number was issued October 10, 1854, with A. C. Barnes as editor and proprietor. It did not set out as a partisan paper, but announced its intention to give unbiased and independent views, and stated its aim to be " to promote an expression of the public voice in favor of virtue, temperance. good order and equal rights." The office it occupied was in the old Court
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House, a place that had been abandoned for holding court, and, as the editor said, " only fit to be abandoned for every other purpose." But it was the only room in town to be had for an office. As a consequence of these disadvanta- geous externals, an announcement appeared in the very first number that "no paper will be issued next week, on account of the necessity of preparing our office and dwelling for approaching Winter. After next week , we shall endeavor to be prompt with our weekly issues." The Press was continued under its orig- inal management until the 17th of June, 1857, when it was suspended. At one time, in 1855, Mr. P. T. Green acted as associate editor.
The Albia Weekly Republican made its first appearance November 5, 1857. under the direction and proprietorship of W. W. Barnes, son of the pioneer editor. The paper was, as its name indicates, Republican in politics. Decem- ber 9th, of that year, C. E. Topping became local editor. February 24, 1858, C. E. Topping and A. R. Barnes succeeded W. W. Barnes, as editors and pro- prietors. The struggles of a newspaper in a new country were continuous, oftentimes discouraging. The hard times of 1857-8 told on the Republican, which was compelled to suspend temporarily August 4, 1858. September 15th, A. R. Barnes became sole proprietor, and renewed the issue of the paper. November 3, 1859, Josiah T. Young became proprietor of the Republican, Mr. Barnes continuing as publisher. December 29th, of that year, Mr. Barnes retired altogether from the concern, and the Republican ceased to exist.
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