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 46
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The election took place on the 7th day of August. To the consternation of the Democrats and the joy of the Whigs, the vote of the new precinct was cast almost solidly for Daniel F. Miller, the Whig candidate, and the Demo- cratic candidate, William Thompson, was left out in the cold.
The cause of this surprising conduct on the part of the Mormons is vari- ously explained. Some men have remarked to the writer that rumors were current at the time to the effect that the Democrats had offered but $1,000 in money, while the Whigs had seen fit to pay $1,200 for the vote; but that is the merest surmise, so far as any auth entic report goes. The more probable reason of the revolution in sentiment is that the Mormons had become thor- oughly embittered at the Administration, and imagined that a Whig vote would spite some of the prominent men of the West. The expulsion of their sect
398
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
from Illinois had wrought upon their temper and prepared them for wonderful feats. This opinion is far more sensible, and may be regarded as approxi- mately true.
No sooner was the result of the election made known than the Democratic leaders took counsel, one with another, what to do. J. C. Hall came to Albia from Burlington, and it is asserted that he and others advised the rejection of the poll-books. The messenger with the returns arrived in Albia, and the canvass of the votes was held on the 14th day of August. Dudley C. Barber, as Clerk of the Board, had a deciding voice in the matter. The canvass was made at his log cabin, one of the three or four buildings then standing on the town plat.
Among the influential men of the county seat was Dr. Flint, a man highly esteemed, but an intense partisan on the Democratic side. He was brother-in- law to Barber, and exerted no small influence over him.
The little cabin was filled with excited men when the canvass was in prog- ress. There was present a prominent man from Jefferson County-Israel Kister. Mr. Mark, who succeeded Barber as Postmaster of the town, stood directly behind the Clerk when he finally concluded to reject the returns from Pottawattamie. Mr. Mark inquired :
" Do you really intend to reject the returns made out on poll-books pre- pared by yourself, and in legal form, Mr. Barber ?"
" Yes, sir, I do !" responded the Clerk.
At this juncture, further examination of the books was to be made, when the disputed volumes could not be found. Search was instituted and vigor- ously prosecuted, but to no effect. The books were gone from the table where they had lain but a moment before. It was announced that the books had been stolen, and could not, therefore, be used as returns.
It is reported by an eye-witness of the scene that pistols were drawn and a general row seemed imminent, but no serious outbreak followed the coup d'etat of the Democrats. Of course it was clear that the Whigs had not stolen the books, since it was for their interest to retain them. It rested, consequently, with the opposing faction to explain the mysterious disappearance of the documents.
It is stated by one well informed that Mr. Kister afterward admitted that he quietly secured the books during the height of the controversy, placed them in his saddle-bags and rode off. Mr. Kister was subsequently chosen, by the Democrats, State Treasurer.
The Pottawattamie returns gone, no course remained for the canvassers but to issue their certificates. Following is a copy of the original records of this election : ABSTRACT OF ELECTION FOR REPRESENTATIVE TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED
STATES FOR THE FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT IN THE STATE OF IOWA.
MONROE COUNTY.
LUCAS Co.
CLARKE Co.
FOR REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS.
Troy Township.
Union Township.
Pleasant Township.
Mantua Township.
Urbana Township.
Monroe Township.
Records' Precinct.
Total
Majority.
Chariton Precinct.
Total
Majority.
Clarke Co. Precinct.
Total.
Majority.
Total Majority.
William Thompson
101
24
24 *
21
+
+ 170
69
+
2
..
...
23
Daniel F. Miller
47
21
13
20
101
.....
48
46 ...
* Illegal returns. 1 ยก No election.
399
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
STATE OF IOWA, {
MONROE COUNTY, j . ss.
We, Michael Lower and Thomas E. Forrest, Justices of the Peace in and for the county of Monroe, State of Iowa, do hereby certify that we this day assisted Dudley C. Barber, Clerk of the Board of Commissioners of said county, to canvass the polls of the election held on the 7th day of August, A. D. 1848, in the counties of Monroe, Lucas and Clark, in said State, for the election of one Representative to the Congress of the United States, for the First Congressional Distriet in said State, and we hereby certify that the foregoing contains a true and complete abstract of the votes given in each of the townships and precincts in each of the counties afore- said, for each person voted for for said office of Representative, on the said 7th day of August.
Given under our hand and seal this 14th day of August, A. D. 1818.
THOMAS E. FORREST, MICHAEL LOWER, Justices of the Peuce, Monroe County.
STATE OF IOWA, } - ss.
MONROE COUNTY.
I hereby certify to the facts contained in the foregoing certificate of Thomas E. Forrest and Michael Lower, Justices of the Peace of Monroe County. D. C. BARBER, Com'rs' Clerk, Monroe County.
William Thompson was declared duly elected, and in accordance therewith took his seat in the first session of the Thirty-first Congress, which convened in 1849.
If we may be allowed to parody a classic quotation, uneasy sits the Con- gressman who is not soundly elected ! No sooner was he there than the Whigs made an effort to oust him. The case was laid before a proper committee, and voluminous discussion ensued. Finally the case was remanded to the District Court at Keokuk. Before a decision could be reached, an election took place in the State for State officers and member for the Thirty-second Congress. The campaign was a hot one. During the stump-speech season, and just prior to the election in August, a meeting was held, at which A. C. Dodge, Mr. Baker, et al., addressed the Democracy. At this meeting cheers were proposed for Mr. Barber, on the grounds that he had defeated the election of Miller.
It may be here incidentally remarked that the August election resulted in a majority for the Democratic ticket in Monroe County, and that Bernhart Henn, of Fairfield, was elected to Congress from this district, his term beginning in 1851.
There still remained one session of the Thirty-first Congress, and the con- test over the Thompson-Miller case was carried on after the August election. It is said that during the trial of the case in Keokuk the missing poll-books were accidentally produced. At all events, the court ordered a special election to be held on the 24th of September, 1850. The vote was taken, and resulted as follows in Monroe County :
ABSTRACT OF AN ELECTION HELD ON THE 24TH OF SEPTEMBER, A. D. 1850, TO ELECT ONE REPRESENTATIVE TO FILL A VACANCY IN THE FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
FOR REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS.
Pleasant Township.
Union.
Cedar.
White's Creek.
Guilford.
Troy.
Mantua.
Urbana.
Monroe.
Franklin.
Total.
Majority.
Wm. Thompson
35
8 1
3
12
5
71
23
31
*
*
196
78
Daniel F Miller.
14
..
8
1
1
54
23
8
118
Delazon Smith
2 2
1
. .
..
1
* No election held.
400
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
STATE OF IOWA, }
MONROE COUNTY. SS.
We, Daniel A. Richardson and Michael Lower, Acting Justices of the Peace, in and for the county and State aforesaid, do hereby certify that the foregoing abstract truly sets forth the number of votes cast in the several townships and precincts in the county aforesaid, for each of the several persons voted for for the office to be filled at a special clection held on the 24th day of September, A. D. 1850, in the county aforesaid.
Witness our hands and seals this 30th day of September, A. D. 1850.
Attest : GEORGE W. PIPER, Clerk Board Com'rs, Monroe Co., Iowa.
DANIEL A. RICHARDSON, [Seal. ] MICHAEL LOWER. [Seal.]
Mr. Miller was successful in the District, and held his seat during the last session of the Thirty-first Congress.
Thus ended the spirited contest. It was noticed in the Valley Whig, a paper published at the time, that J. C. Hall testified that Mr. Kister took the poll-books from the Clerk's table during the originial canvass, and put them in Hall's saddle bags, unbeknown to the latter. That the presence of the books was not known until Mr. Hall arrived at home. This version is given for what it is worth.
THE DAIRY BUSINESS.
This chapter will be far more suggestive and prophetic than historic, and might be introduced into some current publication with more propriety, perhaps, than into the pages of a work of permanent value. But we give place to this article for the sake of the prediction implied or expressed.
At the present time, one of the greatest industries' within the reach of the people is almost untouched. The region is designed by nature for a dairy country. There is an abundance of everything needed in a crude state to intro- duce and conduct this important business. But in spite of all the advantages of soil, water and climate, there have been but two or three attempts to carry on dairying here, and those, for obvious reasons, proved only moderately suc- cessful.
In the first place, let us consider the question in a practical manner, and judge by the prosperity of other localities whether Monroe County can safely invest in the manufacture of butter and cheese.
What are the primary requisites in the case ? First, a fertile soil, which will produce a perennial sod, from which hay can be cut for winter use, and also which will furnish proper green pasturage during the outdoor feeding season. Second, a soil and climate which will produce corn and small grains, artichokes, pease, etc. Third, good water, and a cheap and abundant ice crop.
These may be regarded as the fundamental conditions necessary to the economic manufacture of dairy products. There are others which may be sug- gested to the minds of practical dairymen, but surely these are the first and most important points to be considered. Has Monroe County these advan- tages ? Yes. There is no longer a doubt as to the quality and durability of her sod ; the abundance and richness of her grasses, of her hay crop. She has a climate between that of Minnesota and Kansas-an intermediate grade which enables her to raise luxuriant corn, and at the same time reap rich harvests of small grains. It may be said that no country surpasses this for diversity and quantity of yield of crops. Others are better exclusive corn regions or wheat regions, but none combine wheat, oats, corn and the small grains in the same degrec. Therefore, we say that this county is adapted by natural productive- ness for dairying.
401
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
Can cattle thrive here ? Yes. A grade of common stock crossed with blood of pure strain, are hearty, strong in flesh and rich milkers. We doubt if pure bloods do as well as coarser textures ; but mixed stock is suited to the climate in admirable degree.
Is the water and ice supply ample ? Yes. In quality and quantity there is sufficient water to warrant the erection of many creameries in the county.
If these statements are true, why is it that so few good butter makers are found in the county ? We are not speaking of private dairying, but of the introduction of skilled men and approved machinery. Private butter making has no more comparison to creamery business than hand spinning has to the power loom.
In 1866, this county produced 273,254 pounds of butter and 21,291 pounds of cheese ; and in 1874, 625,418 pounds of butter and 5,083 pounds of cheese. This exhibit shows that no systematic attention is paid to the work, but that the natural increase forces people into a greater production. At the same time, the quality ranks only as " grease " in the Eastern market, except in the few rare cases of choice butter makers among the farmers' wives. This is not intended as a reflection upon the women of the county, for it is true that the fault lies fully as much at the men's door as theirs. The men have not pre- pared suitable places in which to make and preserve the butter that is made, and, consequently, the most careful products deteriorate because of lack of ice and dairy-rooms. We do not blame the women for not working with better heart, under such circumstances. Dairying is laborious in the extreme and scarcely worth the time expended on it, if the butter so made is salable only at third rate or as grease.
This article is designed to benefit both men and women. It is intended to point out a way by which the men can effect a revenue 365 days in the year, instead of having two seasons of hurry and distraction and then an idle time, so far as pro- duction goes ; and it is also intended to indicate this desirable improvement in a way to relieve the hard-worked women of a portion of their task.
As we have said, the present system of farming furnishes a time of bustle and expense at seeding season, and another when harvest approaches. The profit rests almost entirely upon the result of one crop. If wheat runs light, the net result of all that year's labor is most discouraging. Between harvest and harvest there is work enough to do, but it does not bring in money. The farmer feels depressed over the hazard of his main crop, and loses half the comfort of living.
Suppose the system is slightly changed. The farmer increases his past- urage and meadow lands, and puts more stock on his farm. He hires men to milk his cows, and twice a day places 300 to 500 pounds of milk on the plat- form near his barns. The teamster employed in the neighborhood drives by and carries the milk to the creamery, a mile or two distant. When he returns he deposits the cans filled with buttermilk on the platform, and the men care for them.
Thus, day after day, an income is derived from the herd. The labor on the farm is not increased, for men perform the work that once so dragged upon the mothers and daughters.
The milk is not the only product of the herd. There is the increase of the stock. In Linn County, one man who milked a herd of sixty crossed breeds, told the writer that those cows netted him $48 per head, the year before, in milk and calves, without counting the original herd. They more than paid for themselves in one year. This is not an isolated case. All over Linn County
402
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
the farmers are going into dairying. They milk from ten to seventy-five cows each. Many of them still cling to the common stock, but the more careful find that the value of calves is greater with better grades, and that the weight and quality of blooded milk is more profitable, while the cost of keeping is but little increased.
Linn County has been in the creamery business but four years, and most of the factories have been going but one year ; but already there are 6,000 cows milked for them, or about three-quarters as many as are milked in this entire county. We predict that Linn County will use the milk of 50,000 cows before another century begins.
But Linn is cited merely incidentally. Delaware County holds the prize. From the history of Delaware, prepared by the Western Historical Company, we make the following selection, which explains itself and our motive in using it:
" About twenty years ago, the farmers of Delaware began to turn their attention to the dairy, and gradually the industries of the county have changed, until now (1878), it has become one of the leading dairy counties in the State, and the manufacture of butter, cheese and raising pork have been its leading agricultural interests.
"Delaware butter commands the highest price in Eastern markets. Man- chester has become the great butter market of Iowa, rivaling that of any other State in the Northwest, and immense quantities of the dairy products of the county are shipped every week.
"In 1858 or 1859, George Acres and Watson Childs, of Delaware Town- ship, began the manufacture of cheese, and, in 1862, Mr. Acres was working up the milk of about thirty cows.
"In a public address, delivered last Winter, before the Dairymen's Associa- tion, Mr. Childs stated that he was obliged to peddle out his cheese for two or three years, when he first commenced, and used to realize 8 or 10 cents a pound, mainly in trade.
" Asa C. Bowen, who began cheese making in 1858, just south of the county line, says that while in the mercantile business in Hopkinton, in 1856, he brought butter to the town from Albany, selling it at 33} cents a pound, and A. R. Loomis brought butter to Manchester from Marengo, Ill., about the same time. The introduction of the cheese vat, Mr. Bowen says, made the handling of large quantities of milk comparatively easy, and he was among the first to bring the improved plan into use in Iowa.
" In June, 1866, the Delaware Cheese Company was organized at Delaware; Wm. H. Hefner, President, and K. W. Kingsley, Secretary. A building was erected there 24x40 feet, two and a half stories, and an experienced cheese maker from Madison Co., N. Y., engaged to take charge of the factory, which commenced operations during the month of June. It continued in opera- tion until about 1872, when it suspended, and the building was converted into a stable.
" A cheese factory was established at Almoral in 1870, which had a remu- nerative run until 1875, when cheese making was given up and butter only manufactured ; which was kept open but two seasons, but with indifferent suc- cess. Soon after, R. L. and O. E. Taylor built a cheese factory in Milo Town- ship, which was very skillfully managed, but in 1877, cheese making was given up and butter made instead. It was found that making butter was more profit- able than making cheese, and now comparatively little cheese is manufact- ured.
403
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
" The first stimulus to the butter industry was given by L. A. Loomis, of Manchester, who made a contract in 1862 with the Northwestern Packet Com- pany to supply its boats with butter. Buying for cash only, although at the low rate of eight or nine cents a pound, he became master of the situation, and would take only the best offered. Mr. Loomis bought butter without opposi- tion until 1864, when W. G. Kenyon began to buy, followed in 1867, by Per- cival & Ayers, which made competition quite sharp.
" The manufacture of butter increased steadily until 1872, when the cream- ery system was introduced by Mr. John Stewart, and gave the dairy business of the county a powerful impetus. Mr. Stewart had been dealing in dairy products for several years, when, in 1872, he built the first creamery or butter factory in the county, and, it is thought, the first in the State, on Spring Branch, near E. Packer's, three or four miles east of Manchester. Here he commenced buy- ing milk of the surrounding farmers, and making the cream into butter, according to the most approved method practiced by Eastern dairymen. His business increased, and the following year he established similar "creameries " at Yankee Settlement, Forestville, Ward's Corners and other places.
" A. C. Clark & Company started a creamery at Manchester in 1874, and at Masonville in 1875.
" Having obtained the first premium for butter for several years at St. Louis, in 1876, Mr. Stewart determined to compete for the golden prize offered at the International Centennial Exposition, at Philadelphia, and received the gold medal for the best butter in the world. His success removed the prejudice existing in New York and other Eastern markets against Western, and especially Iowa, butter, and placed Delaware butter very high in the estimation of dealers and consumers, and the best grades soon commanded a higher price than the best New York creamery butter.
" The award of this medal to Delaware and Iowa was of almost incalculable benefit to the county and State, and is worth to the farmers of the State many hundred thousand dollars annually. Mr. Stewart is of the opinion that this region possesses certain peculiarities of climate and soil that give it superiority over other dairy districts.
" An association of the dairymen was formed at Manchester, in February, 1877, under the name of :'Northwestern Dairymen's Association.' The meet- ing continued two days, and much instruction was given and received. John Stewart was elected President, and Col. R. M. Littler, of Davenport, was chosen Secretary. The Association met at Manchester in February, 1878, with added numbers and increased interest.
" From abroad came Messrs. Folsom, J. N. Reall and Francis D. Moulton, of New York ; Mr. McGlincey, Secretary of the Dairy Board of Trade, Elgin, Ill .; and A. Ondesleys, Baltimore. The subjects discussed covered the whole business of dairying, from raising grass to shipping butter and cheese to market.
"Mr. L. O. Stevens furnished a description of the creamery at Almoral, which will answer, in a general way, to describe the system pursued :
" The Almoral Creamery was established in 1876, under the name of ' The Almoral Dairymen's Company.' It is an incorporated company, with a capital stock not exceeding $10,000. Farmers are the stockholders. Farmers, not stockholders, patronize the institution, receiving for their milk, or rather the butter product-for butter entirely is made at this creamery-their pro rata share of the net sale in market of the butter, deducting all expenses, viz .: rents, ice, marketing, commissions, brokerage, etc. The butter is shipped weekly,
404
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
and, in warm weather, in a refrigerator car, from Manchester to New York. The Company's works are equal to 500 cows. Our building is thoroughly fitted, with flagstones laid in cement as the groundwork, with all needful tanks, ventilation, etc., and with all requisites for sweetness and neatness. We require the manufacturer of the butter to be scrupulously tidy in all branches of the business, and also all packages of butter to be placed on the track free from all stains and carelessness ; the milk to be delivered in first-class condition, as respects neatness in milking and proper care as to cleanliness of cans and cooling of the milk. We propose at this creamery never to make either skim butter or skim checse ; but to ever make the best article possible of cream butter, and to continue to fight it out, steadily and protractedly, 'on that line.'
" We regard the sour milk returned to the patrons of the creamery worth a very large per cent. in the raising of calves to replenish the dairy, and young stock hogs. Whey is comparatively valueless, compared with sour milk, and there exists no substitute for sour milk for calves and pigs. As we run our creamery, we find it profitable, and are contented to run it in our (the farmers') best interest.
" There are now in successful operation in the county thirty-three creamer- ies. The production for 1877 was largely in excess of any previous year, and the value of butter and cheese shipped was not far from half a million of dollars. Over twelve hundred thousand pounds of butter were sent from Manchester. The product is shipped in refrigerator cars twice a week, and most of it goes to New York. Manufacturers estimate that the dairy product of the county for 1878 will be materially greater than in 1877. Mr. Stewart thinks the ship- ments of butter for Manchester alone, this year, will reach the enormous quan- tity of 1,500,000 pounds."
SWINE CULTURE.
A controlling factor in the question of profitable dairying is the raising of hogs. If the products of a region are not suited to the growth of swine, the scheme might better be abandoned before much money is wasted in experi- ment. Here the advantages of the climate stand out bold and enticing. The cultivation of the cereals necessary to hog culture is one of the established facts. Corn, Brazilian artichokes, pease, and all vegetables-roots or grains- needed by the hog raiser, here grow in great abundance and with certainty of yield.
There is a feature of this business that has not been sufficiently enlarged upon, as yet, by the agriculturists of Monroe County. Attention has not been bestowed upon the breed of hogs raised, nor has the subject been considered in a scientific manner. Farming, hog raising and dairying are as susceptible of scientific analysis as are any of the several branches of trade and industry. Fixed laws govern them, and these rules cannot be deviated from one iota with- out hazard to the enterprise.
For example, if a farmer insists that coarse stock will breed as well and sell as readily as fine strains ; if he insists that care is not required to fatten pork and place it in marketable condition, he will surely find that his neighbor, who differs from him in theory and pratice, wins the prize away from him in every case.
The statistics show that, in 1866, there were 21,218 hogs of all ages returned in the county ; but the grades are not named. In 1874, the total number shown was 32,934, of which but 509 were Berkshire and 684 were
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