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 51
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Hazard, L. B., e. Aug. 18, 1861, died at Little Rock.
Harris, L., e. July 18, 1861, died at Jeffer- son City.
Holmes, C. HI., e. July 18, 1861, died at Austin, Texas.
Knight, R. S., e. July 18, 1861, vet. Jan. 4, 1864.
Kendall, W. B., e. July 18, 1861, vet. Jan. 4, 1864.
Kester, S. M., e. Aug. 18, 1861, vet. Jan. 4, 1864.
Leary, C. O., e. July 18, 1861, died at Rolla, Mo.
Maxwell, W. T., e. Aug. 23, 1861, vet. Jan. 4, 1864.
Neill, Dyas, e. July 18, '61, vet. . Jan. 4,' 64. Remson, A., e. Aug. 18, '61, vet. Jan. 4, '64. Scott, D. W., e. July 18, 1861.
Smith, A. J., e. July 18, '61, vet. Jan. 4,.64. Sullivan, M. W., e. July 18, 1861, vet. Jan. 4, 1864, disd. Aug. 29, 1865, disab.
Shepherd, Israel, e. July 18, 1861, died at Springfield, Mo.
Sinclair, Robert, e. July 18, 1861, vet. Jan. 4, 1864.
Staggers, J. I., e. Aug. 18, 1861, vet. Jan. 4, 1864.
Spurgin, W. H., e. July 18, 1861.
Tuttle, R. W., e. July 18, 1861.
Teas, J. B., e. Aug. 18, 1861. vet. Jan. 4, 1864.
Jefferson, H. H., e. Aug. 21, 1861, vet. Jan. 4, 1864.
Emery, C. A., e. Aug. 18, 1861.
Thompson, G. C., e. Ang. 18, 1861, vet. Jan. 4, 1864.
Gilbert, A., e. Aug. 18, 1861, died at Prairie Grove, Ark.
Hart, A. T., e. Aug. 18, 1861.
George, A. K., e. Aug. 18, 1861, died at Georgetown.
Elder, D. M., e. Aug. 18, 1861, vet. Jan. 4, 1864.
UNKNOWN.
Davis, W. W., e. Feb. 25, 1864.
McCoy, W. W., e. Feb. 11, 1864.
McCoy, M. S., e. Feb. 11, 1864.
Null, Henry, e. Feb. 23, 1864.
Richardson, D., e. Feb. 24, 1864.
Sinclair, A., e. Feb. 29, 1864.
Sprague, J. M., e. Feb. 22, 1864. Teas, George, e. June 19, 1864.
-
432
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
EIGHTH CAVALRY. Company C.
Second Lient. Orson M. Markcum, com. Sept. 30, 1863, resd. March 11, 1864. Sergt. Daniel H. Wills, e. June 15, 1863, captd. at Newnan, Ga.
Corp. D. F. Lafever, e. July 4, 1863, captd. at Pleasant Ridge, Ga.
Breese, Wm., e. Aug. 3, 1863.
Claver, J. W., e. July 18, 1863.
Crowall, V. B., e. Aug. 13, 1863.
Edwards, N. R., e. June 1, 1863.
Graves, A. T., e. Aug. 3, 1863.
Harrison, W. R., e. July 28, 1863, died at Louisville, Ky.
Hitchcock, J. N., e. June 11, 1863:
Harding, I. N. e. June 1, 1863.
Harding, B. F., e. Jnne 1, 1863.
Hlittle, Harvey, e. June 1, 1863.
Harold, Darins, e. June 4, 1863.
Lewis, J. F., e. July 27, 1863. Lovern, Joseph, e. July 11, 1863. McFarland, John, e. June 1, 1863.
Mason, Andrew, e. July 28, 1863. Meffard, J. T., e. June 24, 1863.
Stewart, James, e. June 15, 1863.
Towell, Alex., e. Aug. 17, 1863.
Worthington, George, e. June 1, 1863, captd. at Newnan, Ga.
Company F.
Com. Sergt. Albert H. Welch, e. June 2, 1863, captd. at Newnan, Ga.
Sergt. James P. Evans, e. June 24, 1863, captd. at Newnan, Ga., died at An- napolis.
Corp. James M. Hlays, e. Aug. 10, 1863, captd. at Newnan, Ga.
Trump. John N. Vance, e. June 24, 1863. Anderson, J. D., e. June 1, 1863.
Barker, Thomas, e. July 5, 1863. Duncan, Win., e. July 13, 1863.
Eggen, Wm. T., e. July 9, 1863, captd at Newnan, Ga.
Isley, H. H., e. June 24, 1863.
Kell, E. C., e. July 10, 1863, captd. at New- nan, Ga.
Mattice, Evan, e. June 1, 1863.
Sylvester, L. S., e. July 10, 1863, captd. at Newnan, Ga.
Company H.
Sergt. Chas. C. Ross, e. June 1, 1863, captd.
at Newnan, Ga., disd. July 20, '65, disab. Sergt. C. C. Ellmore, e. Ang. 9, 1863.
Farrier, Benj. Verden, e. June 1, 1863, captd. at Newnan, Ga.
Campbell, Daniel, e. Ang. 11, 1863, captd. at Newnan, Ga.
Coffelt, L., e. June 23, 1863.
Dunn, John F., e. July 10, 1863.
Nolan, Jas. A., e. Aug. 3, 1863.
Searcy, H. M., e. Aug. 11, 1863.
Taylor, O. C., e. June 1, 1863.
Company I.
Corp. Bennet A. Armstrong, e. Aug. 18, 1863.
Company L.
First Lieut. Thomas F. Fouts, com. Sept. .30, 1863, resd. July 26, 1864.
Corp. D. Netherrow, e. June 1, 1863. Burd, Jos. M., e. Ang. 3, 1863.
Coder, John A., e. July 1, 1863, wd. at Florence, Ala.
Dodson, B. R., e. June 1, 1863, died at Keokuk.
HIortzer, Jasper, e. Aug. 5, 1863.
McKnight, Milton, e. Aug. 7, 1863.
Summers, R. W., e. July 28, 1863.
SPECULATIVE AND PROPHETIC.
The man who cannot find something to love and applaud in the land he has chosen for a home, is devoid of the elements of patriotism-that devotion which cements these State and preserves the Union in indissoluble bonds. But where one finds a region so abundant in natural advantages, so enchanting in landscape, and so salubrious in climate as this in which we write these lines, the lack of patriotic enthusiasm falls little below a crime in magnitude and character.
That such a deficiency does not exist in the hearts of Monroe County men and women we have learned by personal investigation. The residents are proud of their homes and ambitious that the world should know of it. Nature smiled when these broad acres were perfected. The gradual action of the ele- ments resulted in artistic forms of hillock, plain and valley, as though the cre- ative force had endowed the agents of transformation with æsthetic attributes. The crude touches of the landscape are found where the. water-courses still push they way through gorge and marsh, and offer a protest against criticism, as though to impress one with the idea that their work is but half performed. As an artist might turn in angry warning upon one who was bold enough to speak harshly of his sketch when but half completed, so do the smaller streams
433
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
speak volumes of the to the thoughtful mind, which is prepared by culture to commune with Nature. The graceful sweep of field, which now gladdens the heart of the expectant husbandman, was once the bed of such a stream as this. Ages ago, the process of evolution began, and countless years have passed since first the impeding twigs or pebbles changed the direction of the waters. The results of Nature's ceaseless workings are now beheld in the lovely range of prairies, dotted with homesteads and beautified by waving grain.
There is a township in the county known as Pleasant. The traveler may well pause to admire the scene and speculate upon the comparative beauties of the original and modern region. It is almost impossible for man to conceive of a more delightful combination of hill and dell than that which uprolls itself before his eye, in grateful succession, as he journeys slowly through it. The popular Eastern idea of lowa is that the monotony of landscape is wearisome to eye and brain ; that the prairie reaches away like some limitless sea, which is unruffled by a breeze until the horizon swallows it up in very desperation. The truth is, that no Eastern field presents the variety of conformation that these fertile ranges do. From some elevation one may see far away, but from a carriage, one's vision is intercepted before the eye is fairly satisfied with the glimpse obtained. The waves of land are not in mathematical regularity, like some humanly planned creation, but are as broken in outline as the face of some great mountain. The characteristic difference between mountain and prairie is that the former is crude, from upheaval of rock and from the action of mighty tempests, while here, the gradual mounds have been shaped by the constant deposit of sediment from the stream that lapped the base. The sinuous course of rivers is traceable as distinctly as when the northern waters rushed through their winding beds. Here a gentle ascent widens and lifts itself into a ridge which bends with graceful sweep, but increasing proportions, far out of sight behind the mound vonder. Two rivers met here, one day, and ever after sep- arated, to unite again where the ridge descends to the level of the plain. The mound was once an island, caused by the eddy that swirled just beyond the force of the river stream.
Thus has the prairie land been made as is explained in the article upon the geologic formation of the county.
How marked have been the transformations in the social world since the organization of Monroe County! The slow-moving ox-cart has given place to the stately family carriage; the patient beast to the spirited, blooded horse. Those who made pilgrimages to primitive altars for the worship of God, now bow their heads in costly piles of stone and brick, and offer devotional sacrifi- ces in the scores of church edifices which stand so thickly in every portion of the land.
School houses have been erected at almost all the crossings of section-line roads, and educational advantages are offered the children of the pioneers. Nor is the system of instruction as of old, but a slow, inadequate exercise of the mental powers. The methods then were like the ox-cart itself in movement and result ; all was plodding, heavy, ungraceful, unskilled. But now the youthful brain is stimulated by the most carefully arranged gradations. The child, from the first, has just the point of intelligence appealed to that is necessary for his swiftest growth. And with the mental stimulus the physical is roused as well : the whole nature is included in the training. By rapid and certain stages, the pupil is brought to the desired knowledge, and the result is a quick and well- balanced development that shames the cumbrous growth of earlier years. There need no longer be any proportion of illiterate persons in the census returns.
434
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
The avenues to education are as open as the highways, and he who will not walk, at least a little way in them, must be indeed a blind and unworthy creat- ure. That which a large proportion of our fathers and forefathers lacked was opportunity. With capacities equal to those of the present, circumstances often dwarfed and misdirected them. But this cannot be urged now. In ali direc- tions the scope has widened ; male and female alike have the range of all fields of learning. But a few years ago, the question of the equal education of the sexes was one that agitated the enlightened world; to-day, it is practically settled ; and what then seemed to involve momentous resolution, and possibly large social destruction, is now one of the smoothest-running wheels in the whole machinery of life. Thus rapid have been the steps toward enlightenment -thus long and grand the strides toward universal freedom.
A prophet who should in this day attempt to forecast the future, could scarcely dip his wand in too bright colors. He would be safe in exaggeration, safe in seeming to exceed even the bounds of possibility. From the near past, what may we not hope and expect in the near future ? We are growing to look upon miracles as commonplace. The bump of wonder is likely to be wholly obliterated from the phrenological chart. And the West, young and vigorous as it is, is not a whit behind older civilization, but leads off already in many ways, and is likely yet to distance all by the strength of its sinews and the courage of its heart.
These reflections come up naturally from the contemplation of a portion of country like this county of Monroe, which we have been studying in all its phases, with a view to a thorough understanding of its present status and of its future possibilities. It would be too much like flattery to apply them strictly to Monroe ; but it is simply truth to apply them to the West as a whole, and surely no one will deny that Monroe is a typical Western region.
One sure sign of continued progress is that progress no longer startles people. With what sang froid even the wonders of the telephone are accepted ; for within the year of the application of that wonderful principle, we find that business men here, as in older places, make nothing of connecting their houses and offices with the bewitched wire on which speech travels audibly. It is not a matter of wonder; it is accepted as the most natural and commonplace thing in the world. No one's equanimity is disturbed, no one's pulse quickened.
The tendency is to universalize. Regions no longer produce types-all are cosmopolitan. The West, which was for a long time the synonym of the New, the Crude, the Out-of-reach, is to-day just as accessible, just as central, has just as many advantages as the East. And it is a little younger and spryer and more eager and more daring, and for that reason rather leads in the march. We have said that the West wonders at nothing, and yet the world wonders at the West.
It is by comparison that we best mark progress. It will be interesting, and no doubt even amusing, a quarter of a century hence, to take, for example, the pages of this history, and, reading of Monroe County as it was, to note how old-fashioned and moderate were our estimates of its possibilities; from the height of its achievement to look back to the level of its aspirations. Some may then speak of its early days with perhaps the half-pitying, half-charitable affection with which men speak of their youth. Yet there will never be a day when Monroe will not be proud of its youth-of that youth's mighty brawn, of its equal courage, of its efforts that would not be stinted, of its determination that would not be balked. There will never be a day when the men who began the structure, and laid its foundations so strong and broad, will not be gratefully remembered by those who
435
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
are at work on its towers and pinnacles, and adding the finishing beauty to its vast- ness. Had the pioneer been shiftless and idle and uncivilized, the generations that followed him would have been the same. But we are safe in hoping what we do when we remember from what seed the present has sprung. It is not arro- gating all the greatness to To-day, but it is giving honor to Yesterday, when we boast of what is being done, and augur for the future still more remarkable achievements. It is because the root was sound that the plant has thriven and flowered so beautifully. Honor to the pioneer ! Honor to the good right arm that turned the fruitful furrow ! Honor to the patient ones who helped him to toil and build and endure !
MONROE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
On the 5th of March, 1853, pursuant to a previous notice to the citizens of Monroe County, a meeting was held in the M. E. Church in Albia, for the purpose of organizing an Agricultural Society. David Rowles was called to the Chair, and Daniel Anderson was made Secretary pro tem.
Daniel Anderson, John Reitzel, David Wills, David Rowles and John Mark were appointed a Committee to draft Articles of Incorporation, which were to be reported and acted upon at a meeting to be convened the 26th of March.
This meeting was duly held, pursuant to adjournment, with David Rowles as Chairman and John Mark as Secretary pro tem. After the adoption of the constitution submitted by the Committee, and some discussion as to extending the benefits of the society to the citizens of other counties-which was finally decided against-a committee of two from each township was appointed to can- vass their respective districts and do general work therein for the benefit of the society. The Committee was as follows: J. B. Gray and Wm. Beadle, Pleas- ant ; J. Heuston and John Castle, Mantua ; G. P. Holliday and Thomas Myers, Urbana ; James Tate and Wm. C. Hatton, Monroe ; David Rowles and Wm. Piper, Troy ; D. H. Scott and Andrew Robb, Bluff Creek ; J. H. Knight and Vincent Goodwin, Union ; N. B. Preston and J. Flattery, Guilford ; Rowland Ingham and A. Lemaster, Franklin ; - - Vestal and - - Evans, Jackson ; Dr. W. H. H. Linn and D. J. Prather, Wayne; M. A. Goodfellow and John Bishop, Cedar; and John Mark for Albia.
In July, 1854, there was a meeting of the Society, at which the By-Laws drawn up by the appointed committee were adopted. The Hon. C. Mason, Dr. Lee. - Wright, - Abbott, James D. Eads, A. C. Dodge and James W. Grimes were elected honorary members. The officers were Joseph Sherrod, President ; Wm. Robinson, Vice President; V. K. Read, Secretary.
At the meeting in September, 1856, a committee of seven was appointed, consisting of Wesley L. Knight, John Webb, Sr., Allen White, John B. Gray, Wm. H. Claver and Rowland Ingham, for the purpose of choosing Judges of articles on exhibition at the fair. An addition of one from each township was added to this committee, as follows : Hardin Searcy, Guilford ; Amos Lewman, Union ; Samuel Holliday, Urbana; Wm. Way, Cedar; W. H. H. Linn, Wayne; Lewis Kester, Mantua ; Marcus Herman, Jackson. The fair was held this year on the 22d and 23d of October.
In 1858, at the call of the Executive Committee, another meeting was held and officers were again elected. Elisha Hollingshead was made President; and the following named gentlemen Vice Presidents : Lewis Arnold, John Castles, Sr., Wm. W. Fall, E. P. Cone, Michael Lower, J. W. Boyd, Andrew Lemaster,
436
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
Gordan Pike, John Walker, D. Gladson, W. H. H. Linn and Jonathan Han- cock. P. T. Lambert was made Corresponding Secretary and J. M. Humphrey, Recording Secretary ; John Clark was elected Treasurer, and L. D. Ramey, James Farmer, Willis Arnold and William Guiness were the Executive Com- mittee.
On the 19th of March, 1859, the Treasurer made the first recorded report, which showed the financial condition of the Society from its beginning, and that when all demands were paid there would still be a small balance left in the treasury. A deed for the ground occupied as a fair ground was presented at this meeting. and the following officers elected for the ensuing year : President, Elisha Hollingshead ; Vice Presidents, Andrew Truesdell, Lewis Kester, Reuben Moss, E. P. Cone, Willis Arnold, H. Hayes, Andrew Lemaster, Hazard Parks- O. S. Bingham, David Prather, Wm. Bernard ; Treasurer, John Clark ; Cor, responding Secretary, Wm. Plinney ; Recording Secretary, J. M. Humphrey ; Executive Committee, W. A. Dean, Wm. Piper, R. E. Sanders, James Hilton and E. M. Bill.
The Sixth Annual Exhibition of the society was held on the 13th and 14th of October, 1859. The receipts for membership that year were $130; gate tickets, $23-a total of $153. The amount paid out for premiums was $185.25, and incidental expenditures were $38.75. The society borrowed $100 of John Webb to help out on paying expenses.
The Seventh Annual Fair was held on the 10th and 11th days of October, 1860. The number of entries this year was 331; receipts, $161. The Presi- dent was Daniel Anderson ; Vice President, H. Parks; Secretary, P. T. Lam- bert, and Treasurer, John Clark.
In 1866 (February 10th), the Society was reorganized so as to become a cor- porate body under the general laws of the State. It has since that time moved on with varied degrees of prosperity, influenced in some degree by the tempera- ture of the business world in general.
Its officers for 1878 are : Daniel Anderson, President ; John R. Thompson, Treasurer ; J. M. Wilson, Secretary ; John Shannon, A. Trussell, Martin Clever, J. B. Turner, George P. Cramer, Jesse Palmer, J. M. Wilson, Huff Duncan, Val. Fuller and Thomas O'Brien, Directors.
POST OFFICES.
Following is a list of the post offices in the county : Avery, Cedar Mines, Coalfield, Coalton, East Melrose, Fredric, Georgetown, Hickory Grove, Hum- maconna, Lovelia, Tyrone, Weller.
ALBIA.
The legal establishment of the county seat in the wilderness has been duly set forth in the general history of the county, but there still remains a goodly portion of social and anecdotal record to elaborate in reference to the early days of Princeton, ere it became Albia, and of the subsequent periods which have marked the growth and improvement of Albia itself.
John N. Massey surveyed the site of Princeton in the Summer of 1845. At that time, John Stephenson claimed the quarter section chosen by the Locat- ing Commissioners. Those gentlemen were undoubtedly influenced in the selec- tion of the site by the urgent arguments of David Rowles. At the time of the location, John Stephenson was not only the first settler, but he was the man who came before the town did.
437
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
John Webb built one of the first houses on the site of the town. He had in his house a small quantity of goods, and may be named as the first store- keeper.
In those days, the settlers strangely thought that Eddyville would become a city of magnitude. The proposed improvement of the Des Moines River was regarded as the means of opening up a grand future for that place. Eddyville was a commercial center, and supplied the region around with the necessaries of life.
Among other prominent firms, there was that of Butcher & Cox. When Princeton became the county seat, the Eddyville firm proposed to capture the trade of Kishkekosh County. So they erected a small log cabin in the Fall of '46, and placed therein a small stock of goods. Dudley C. Barber, the first male teacher in the county, was employed as clerk and general manager. The little store that Webb had soon ceased to be the center of attraction, and the fine "emporium " of the new firm was the stopping-place of all who visited the prairies of Princeton.
CHANGE OF NAME.
When the town reached the dignity of a real store, and the vote of the peo- ple had fixed the county seat, the next step in the progress of the place was the securing of a post office. There happened to be a Princeton in the State, and a change was required ; so a meeting was called and the subject discussed, and the name of the town changed to ALBIA. In the Spring or Summer of 1847, a post office was established at Albia, and Barber was made Postmaster. The office at Clarksville was abolished. Barber went to the latter place with a wagon to get the effects, when Mrs. Clark dumbfounded him by handing out a little parcel which he might have carried in his pocket. That was all there was of the office.
Meanwhile, the name of the county had been changed from Kishkekosh to Monroe, as is explained elsewhere, and the Board of Commissioners had ordered the erection of a log court house. The building was put up on Lots 5 and 6, Block 7, on the cast side of the square. This matter is fully recited in the general history.
The court house was used as a dwelling also, and was rented to those who came to town and were desirous of a temporary shelter.
In the Fall of 1847, John Mark and family moved to Albia. He found the court house occupied by two families-Dr. Flint and the Park-Sharp family, as it was called. Lemuel Park and Edward Sharp had married sisters. and were living as one family. The Park-Sharp combination moved out of the court house to make room for the Marks. John and Martha Mark were natives of New York, and were married in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Mark was a liberally educated man and a teacher by profession. He arrived at Albia September, 1847.
The Flint family was an intelligent and estimable family. Dr. Flint was the first physician in the place. He brought with him three sisters, one of whom married Dudley Barber, and the other two, Mr. Meek and Mr. Wescoatt, as is related hereafter.
Mr. Mark moved into the court house intending to remain there but a short time. He brought with him a carpenter named Walgamott to build a frame house. Work was begun at once, and
THE FIRST FRAME HOUSE
was pushed as rapidly as circumstances would permit. Mr. Mark fell danger- ously ill, and was unable to move into his new house until the following Spring.
438
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY.
During the occupancy of the court house, the discomfort of the two families may be realized when the reader remembers that the house was but twenty feet square and fourteen feet high, with a rattle-trap loft. It was in the court house that
THE FIRST CHILD WAS BORN,
a son of Mr. and Mrs. Mark, christened Frank Oscar, on the 17th day of De- cember, 1847. One or two little cabins had been put up on the plat that were what may be termed semi-frames. The stuff used was rived out.
Sharp was a blacksmith, and had a little shop "on the prairie," but now where the town stands. The first forge was a crude affair, but it answered the purpose very well.
Dr. Flint had located land south of town with a land warrant issued to his mother, for his father's services in the war of 1812. He was a strong Demo- crat.
In the Fall of 1847, Jonas Wescoatt started a little tan-yard just out of " town."
THE FIRST WEDDING IN PRINCETON.
The story of the first wedding that was solemnized in the limits of Princeton, as related by an eye-witness, is worth preserving. The ceremony was performed for two couples at the same time, and the incidents connected with the whole affair are of a decidedly humorous character.
In the Fall of 1847, the town consisted of but four families, as has been stated heretofore. There was but limited room in the few houses standing on the site. The old Court House was occupied by two families-the Flints and the Marks. Mr. Mark had not completed his house at the time of the wedding, because of his illness, and was occupying a portion of the county building. Dr. Flint's faily consisted of himself, wife and two sisters-Amy P. and Nancy Flint. The family was an estimable one, and the ladies possessed more than ordinary attractions. It naturally followed that the sisters had suitors, for the country was not too new to render love-making an impossibility.
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