The history of Polk County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., biographical sketches of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, Part 79

Author: Union Historical Company, Des Moines, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Des Moines, Iowa : Union Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1074

USA > Iowa > Polk County > The history of Polk County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., biographical sketches of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 79

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

It is one of the early successors of this man to whom, by mistake, Mr. J. at time for family worship, handed a bound volume of the Congressional Globe instead of a family bible, from which to read.

Several brothers by the name of Bennett, a family by the name of Crow, and John Evans were also early settlers.

Presley Bennett, a native of Kentucky, came from Indiana in the spring of 1848, located in this part of the county, and at present resides on section eleven, township seventy-eight, range twenty-five. When he arrived in the county he had nothing except indomitable courage and his strong arm; but with these for capital he has steadily prospered, till now he is in very com- fortable circumstances.

A small tributary of Walnut Creek passes through the southwestern part of section twenty-eight. On the south side of this branch and near the bank of the stream S. H. Lewis settled in the spring of 1848. He was from Indiana, and, after having spent his youth assisting in the conquest of the dense forests of Henry county in that State, he was sufficiently inured to hardship to be able to make an easy conquest of the less obdurate soil of Iowa. He now resides in section three, immediately south of Walnut Creek.

R. Campbell, who now resides south of Walnut on section six, located in the Walnut Creek neighborhood in the spring of 1848. He is a native of Ohio and immigrated to Iowa, first locating in Van Buren county, from whence he again removed after three years, to Polk county. He was one of the first settlers in the Walnut Creek neighborhood, and located where he now lives in 1870.

John Crow is a native of Kentucky; removed to Indiana in 1819. In the. fall of 1850 he immigrated to Iowa and settled in the Walnut Creek neigh- borhood where he still resides.

Calvin Bennett and Benjamin Bennett came from Indiana in the summer of 1847 and settled about six miles west of Des Moines, between Walnut Creek and Raccoon river. They are both residents of the county at the pre- sent time.

Charles Murrow and D. B. Murrow came from Indiana in 1844 and lo- cated in Henry county this State. The latter was but fifteen years old when the two came to Polk county. In 1859 they removed. to Kansas, but not finding anything there which would compare with Polk county, re- turned in 1865, and now lives but a short distance south of Walnut Creek in section eleven.

J. K. Holaugh

649

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

Samuel Shaw, James Henton, Leroy Lambert, Joseph Mott and Samuel Lewis were also early settlers in this neighborhood.

In 1848 or '50 came P. C. Terhune, of Indiana, a most worthy chris- tian gentleman. He died in 1862, but his estimable family reside still in this township, except one boy, who has gone west. The intelligence and refinement of this family have made them a valuable acquisition to the society of the community in which they live.

The first marriage in the bounds of this township occurred on the twenty. eighth of January, 1849, and the parties thereto were Calvin Ben- nett and a young lady of the county whose name we have not been able to learn. The ceremony was performed by Squire W. H. Meacham of Des Moines. The ceremony was performed in a buckeye log house, near where John Crow now resides. The first birth in the township was that of James Jordan, son of Mr. J. C. Jordan.

The first of the early settlers to die was probably Noah Berry, aged about 60 years, in 1848 or '49. He was originally from Ohio, and was quite a hunter. He had one adventure on the middle 'Coon, which came near being his last. He had ventured far beyond civilization and had been quite successful in accumulating furs, when he was surprised, knocked down, and robbed, by the Sioux Indians, but he thought himself extremely fortunate to escape with his life. This was about midway between Redfield and Panora. There seems not to have been a disposition to settle this por- tion of the county as rapidly as that south of the Raccoon and east of the Des Moines, at an early day; in after years this became the most popular region in the county, and since then the country settled rapidly and its. growth may be said to have been rapid and continuous.

The first school was taught in a little cabin by Mrs. Ockerman, wife of Rev. Ockerman. She received twelve dollars per month and boarded around.

The first school-house was built in 1849, on the bank of 'Coon river, at or near where Valley Junction now stands. It was constructed of logs; one log was cut out the full length of the building for a window. Sam'l Hiner was architect and builder, and J. C. Jordan was superintendent and cashier. The enterprise covered an outlay of sixty dollars.

It is proper to remark in this connection that the exposures and hard- ships of this early day were by no means slight. Sometimes going to mill meant a journey of sixty to eighty miles, and perhaps having to wait a week or two for your turn before you could start back with the grist, in which case the family at home would have to grate their corn for bread. One of . the settlers of this township, assisted by a young man, in the winter of 1846 or '47, was making rails to fence in what is now known as Hoxie's addition to Des Moines. A light snow having fallen they concluded to have a 'coon hunt. They soon tracked their game to a large tree, and hav- ing neither dog nor gun, the question of capture was getting serious, when it was agreed to cut down the tree and kill the 'coons with clubs. Down came the tree, but no 'coons came out. A hole was then cut and one pulled out the 'coons while the other killed them. All went well until the fifth 'coon was reached, when it was suddenly discovered that that coon had been taken by the wrong end, and instead of the settler having the 'coon the 'coon had him by the thumb of the right hand. The result was

650

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

that Hon. J. C. Jordan did not catch any more 'coons or split any more rails for some time thereafter.

JORDAN CHAPEL M. E. CHURCH

was organized in 1862. The names of the original trustees are J. C. Jor- dan, S. H. Vestal, M. E. Nordyke, H. Youtz, N. Baylies, R. Preston, J. Smith. The same year a frame church building was erected at a cost of one thousand dollars. The pastors of the church have been as follows: Rev. H. H. Badley, S. Haines. B. A. Wright, S. Jones, James Lisle, G. Clam- mer, J.W. Adair, D. LaMont, A. Badley, D. Thompson, W. F. Laidley and C. H. Newell. The membership numbers about sixty-eight, and it is in & flourishing condition.

COMMERCE.

was laid out in August, 1871, by A. J. Jack. It is situated on the northwest quarter of section twenty-nine, township seventy-eight, range twenty-five. The town is situated on a gentle slope overlooking the valley of the Raccoon river. One of the chief features of the place is the dam and flour mill which was erected in 1872, by A. J. Jack. Some years ago it became the property of S. F. Spofford, who sold it to the present owner, W. J. Delano, in 1876. The mill is one of the best in the county and has a capacity for manufacturing about four hundred bushels per day.

The chief business house is that of J. W. McClure, dealer in general merchandise. Dr. U. A. Rice is proprietor of a drug store, and manufac- tures several varieties of medicine.

During the year ending June 1, 1880, there were ninety-two car loads of stock shipped from this point, and during the same time Corbet & McLees, grain dealers, shipped four hundred and sixty cars of corn.

COMMERCE LODGE, NO. 372, I. O. O. F.,

was chartered November 20, 1877. The charter members were John Thomp- son, E. P. Corbit, G. W. Vinall, Joseph Winters, D. E. Weigle and G. S. Kinsman. The following are the officers at present:

Thomas D. Hulne, Noble Grand; J. A. Stevens, Secretary; E. P. Corbit, Treasurer.

The order numbers about twenty-five members at present.

ASHAWA.

was laid out in June, 1875. It is located on the west half of the southeast quarter of section eight, township seventy-eight, of range twenty-five. It is situated on the line of the Des Moines & Fort Dodge Railway, about eight miles from Des Moines.

Fisher & Hahworth are grain dealers and stock shippers; they shipped over one hundred thousand bushels of corn during the year ending June 1, 1880.

HANOVER M. E. CHURCH

was organized in 1862. Some of the leading persons instrumental in the organization of the society were Jarvis, Elizabeth and Lorenzo Whitmarsh,

651

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

Jackson and Mary A. Wilson, Richard and Margaret Shafer, and John Youngerman.

In 1868 a frame church building was erected at a cost of fourteen hun- dred dollars, which was dedicated in 1868 by Rev. J. G. Dimmitt.

Owing to the well-known usage of this denomination there have been frequent changes of pastors, and there have been some fifteen different ones since the organization of the church. C. H. Newell is the present pastor. The membership numbers fifty-three.

The church building was destroyed by a wind-storm in 1873; it was re- built the same year and re-dedicated by Bishop Andrews.

VALLEY TOWNSHIP:

This township was well named as it lies almost exclusively in the low lands of the Des Moines river, and was originally almost entirely covered with timber. A few sections in the west and southwest were originally prairie land. It is located north of the latitude of Des Moines, with the exception of a strip, one mile wide, which extends south to the Raccoon river. Beaver Creek crosses it from the northwest and empties into the Des Moines at the southeast corner of section seventeen. The northern limits of Des Moines form part of the southern boundary of the township; while the irregular course of the Des Moines river forms its eastern boundary, the length of which is over ten miles. At the north end the township is less than a mile wide,and the south end, which borders on 'Coon river, is just a mile wide; the entire length of the township, including the strip which lies between Des Moines and Walnut township, is over eight miles. It is one of the small- est townships in the county, and does not include more than about eighteen sections of land, or about one half of a congressional township. The pub- lic roads follow the general course of the Des Moines river rather than the direction of the section lines, and much of the land is cut up into three- cornered parcels. A belt of timber, averaging a mile and a half, extends out from the Des Moines river, and a strip over a half mile in width extends clear across the township along the course of Beaver Creek. The surface is somewhat broken and irregular. Originally the township belonged to Des Moines and Jefferson townships. It became a separate organization in March, 1860. The first measures for the formation of the township were taken in February, 1860.

The following is the court record:

" Be it remembered that at the March term of the county court, which was held on Monday, February 27, 1860, that there was presented to the county court a petition signed by one hundred and ninety-two persons, cit- zens of Des Moines and Jefferson townships, asking the court to attach to the township of Des Moines all that part of Jefferson township which lies south of the north line of congressional township seventy-nine. The pe- titioners further pray that when the said portion of Jefferson township shall have been attached to Des Moines township the court divide Des Moines township, as then constituted, into three townships for election, school, road and other purposes, described and bounded as follows, to-wit: The first to be known and called Valley township, and consist of all that part of town- ship 79, range 24, which lies on the west side of the Des Moines river. The second to be known as Walnut township, and to consist of all the territory west and south of Valley township, now included in Des Moines township,

652

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

except so much as is included in the corporate limits of the city of Des Moines, on the west side of the Des Moines river. And the third to be known as Des Moines township, and to consist of all the territory included within the corporate limits of the city of Des Moines on the west side of the Des Moines river."

The record of March 26, 1860, says the court granted said petition, and it is ordered said townships be organized. For Valley Seth W. Curtis is appointed constable, and election ordered to be held at the house of John Richarts. For Walnut township Joseph H. Mott was appointed consta- ble, and Mott's school-house designated as the place of holding election. For Des Moines township H. H. Hilton is appointed constable, and elec- tion to be held at the usual place of holding elections in said township.

WEBSTER TOWNSHIP.

This township is bounded on the north by Jefferson, on the east by Val- ley, on the south by Walnut, and on the west by Dallas county. It con- tains about twenty-six sections, or about 16,640 acres of land. Beaver Creek crosses the northeast corner, while the south part is watered by the north branch of Walnut Creek.

The surface is generally level and mostly prairie. There are small belts- of timber along Beaver Creek in the east part, and along the tributaries of Walnut Creek on the south part.

This township was a part of Walnut until June, 1878, when a separate organization was formed. The boundaries of the township are shown in the following official record made by the Board of Supervisors on the 14th of June, 1878.

WHEREAS, A petition has been presented to this board, asking that a new township be- created from Walnut township; and,

WHEREAS, It appearing to the board that the public will be benefited by such change ;: therefore,

Resolved, That a new township, to be called Webster, be, and hereby is created, as fol- lows:

Beginning at the northwest corner of the southwest quarter of section 30, township, 79, range 25, and running thence east on the half section line and terminating at the north- east corner of the southeast one-fourth of section 25, township 79, range 25; said township to include all that part of territory lying north of said line as above described, and now in- cluded in Walnut township.

Owing to the fact that most of the land in this township was prairie, it was shunned by the early settlers, and not many important improvements. were made till comparatively modern times. This remark must, of course,. be taken with certain limitations, as a few important settlements were made within the bounds of the township at a very early day. During more recent times the rich prairie lands lying in the center and northwestern parts of the township have been in great demand, and the settlements have been rapid and the improvements very extensive. Considering the loca- tion of the township, all parts of which are of easy access to the capital of the State, the character of the surface of the land and the fertility of the soil, this is destined to become in the near future one of the most densely populated and the most prosperous parts of the county. It has all the ele- ments of prosperity, and these will be fully developed in due time.

McDivit's Grove M. E. Church was organized in 1875. William Mc- Divit and wife, S. H. McMasters and wife, W. H. Zickafoose and wife C.

653

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

L. Sovereign and wife, Chas. D. Waddell and wife and E. Ryder and wife, were the first members of the association, and chiefly active in establishing the church.

In 1875 a frame church building was erected at a cost of $2,900. The church was dedicated the same year by Rev. T. S. Berry. Rev. C. H. Newell is the present pastor. The number of members is twenty.

This church is one of the most pleasantly situated chapels in the county, and is an ornament to the country and a credit to the liberality and chris- tain zeal of those people who erected it.

DOUGLAS TOWNSHIP.

The record of the county court made on the first Monday in September, 1857, contained the following:

WHEREAS, At the September term of the county court held at Des Moines on the first Monday in September, it having been shown that many electors, voters and taxpayers will be greatly benefited by the organization of a new township out of the territory embraced in congressional township number 80, range 23, it is therefore ordered that a new township be formed out of the said territory, which shall be known as hailed as Douglas township. The first election shall be held at the house of Alexander Young, and Calvin Thornton is hereby appointed constable for the purpose of organizing the same.

It will be seen from the date of the organization of the township that Stephen A. Douglas, one of the most illustrious of Democratic statesmen, was at that time in the full tide of popularity, and it was in his honor that the township was named.

This township has suffered no change in the territory composing it, from the time of its first organization. It is bounded on the north by Elkhart; on the east by Franklin; on the south by Clay and Delaware, and on the west by Crocker. It consists of an entire congressional township or twenty- three thousand and forty acres.

Four Mile Creek enters the township from the west at the southwest cor- ner of section seven, and flows in a southeastern direction, leaving the township at the southwestern corner of section thirty-two. With the ex- ception of a narrow belt of timber skirting the banks of Four Mile, the township consists of an unbroken prairie. It is subdivided into nine school districts located as follows: Number 1, in the southeastern part of section two; number 2, in the southeastern corner of section four; number 3, in the northeast corner of section-seven; number 4, in the northwest corner of sec- tion twenty; number 5, in the southwest corner of section fifteen; number 6, in the northeastern corner of section twenty-three; number 7, in the northeastern corner of section thirty-one; number 8, in the northeastern corner of section thirty-three; number 9, in the northeastern corner of sec- tion thirty-five. The school system of the township is carefully and well managed, and the school-houses are of a modern and durable style of con- struction.

Calvin Thornton was one of the first settlers in this township, and was elected one of the first justices of the peace. Daniel Justice, and a number of relatives located there at an early time.

A. C. Bondurant for many years operated the largest farm in the county, It consisted of over one thousand acres, and was located in sections twenty- five, thirty-five and thirty-six.

654

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

William G. Madden located in the township in 1854, he was an extensive stock raiser, and was at one time a member of the State Legislature.

Two families by the names of Thornton and Brazleton, with a large num- ber of relatives, came to the county and located in Douglas township many years ago.

ELKHART,

a town which has now lost its place on the maps, was located in the north- ern part of this township. It was laid out by J. W. Cory in October, 1853; it was in section two, township eighty, range twenty-three. This we- believe was the first and only town which Douglas township ever had the honor to produce. The post-office. originally located there, was afterward removed north into the bounds of Elkhart township.

GREENWOOD

is the only post-office in the township at present; it is located in the south- ern part of the southeast corner of section thirty-two.

The nearest shipping point is at Ankeny, in Crocker township, on the line of the Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad.

The winter 1848 and 1849 was long to be remembered by settlers of what was known as the Cory Grove settlement. The snow covered every- thing to an enormous depth, and the icy fetter of grim old winter seemed to have bound every thing in its insatiable grasp. It was nearly impossi- ble for the settlers to communicate with each other, or the outside world, for several months. During this period there was encamped near the Grove a party of Musquakie Indians, whose condition, during this period beggars description. They had been nearly on the point of starvation for several weeks on account of not being able to secure any game, owing to the great depth of snow. They succeeded in keeping alive by begging all conceiv- able kinds of food from the settlers, such as corn, potatoes and even the dead carcasses of animals which were lost during the storms. After several weeks of such privations, hardships, etc., they came to the whites with the terrible news that a large war party of Sioux were about to advance upon them from the northwest, and massacre them as well as the whites. They strongly urged the whites to abandon the settlement and thus save themselves from their impending doom. The report caused a great flutter of excitement in the small settlement of hardy pioneers, and was received by them as somewhat doubtful. But their doubts were soon put at rest by their discovering a camp-fire far in the distance, which the settlers knew but too well was the signal for them to rally previous to an attack on the settlement. Actuated with this thought, they gathered to the residence of Mr. J. W. Cory. with their wives and families; and everything in the settlement which might be used as a weapon of defense, was gathered there. Every one who was able at all to do anything took positions for defense at their homes their wives and loved ones. They were soon joined by the Musquakie braves, who all vol- unteered to sell their lives as dearly as possible. They all mustered under the control of Mr. J. W. Cory whom they selected as their captain. Night was soon upon them. Sioux were reported to have been seen then in the Grove. Near the house the shrill war-whoop, in all its terror, could be fre- quently heard. The condition of the women and children can better be. imagined than described, huddled together on the floor in one corner of the-

655

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

building, and expecting every moment to be their last, or afterward that of captivity. These thoughts of loved ones being sacrificed on the prairies of the Far West, away from friends and loved ones of their former homes, and that to the most terrible kind of death which they expected to meet at the hands of the merciless savage. They dare not even give vent to their feelings for fear of adding to the alarm. The night wore on, and every little while something would occur to add to the suspense. During the first part of the night Captian John, chief of the Musquakies, came to Mr. Cory with the request that their squaws and children be taken into the house also, they being left in the wigwams, which request Mr. Cory promptly refused, but finally gave them permission to put them in a rail pen near the house and cover them with a large pile of straw, which was done, seeing they would not be taken in by the whites. They soon acted on this suggestion, and soon the squaws and pappooses were safely ensconsed in it and covered with a great quantity of straw. The whites soon began to have their suspicions aroused but yet, for the dread of the savage from without, or fearing the treachery those within, they hardly knew what course to pursue.

The night seemed to be an age, and never was daylight more gladly wel- comed than it was by this small band of settlers, not numbering more than five or six families in all. When daylight appeared at last the whites com- menced to get very angry with their red brethren, and upbraided them very strongly for their working upon their fears in such a manner, which the Indians stoutly denied, and were very positive in their assertions that the Sioux were in the grove. But investigations failed to discover the where- abouts of any Sioux. About sunrise the squaws came from their hiding place, and one, the wife of Captain John, their chief, known as "Aunt Sarah," was very loud in her declarations of having heard and seen the Sioux during the night, when she was accosted by an Indian known as " Indian Mike " with the remark that she knew very well that what she was saying was false; that she knew there never were any Sioux in the neighborhood. With this he turned to leave her, when she drew a large knife and made a lunge at him with it, which blow he warded off by draw- ing his own and parrying it. He then struck her across the chest, in- flicting a terrible wound. She then turned to run, when he got possession of her knife, and with a knife in each hand he pursued her, and on over- taking her he plunged both knives twice in her back, when she fell to the ground, a terrible spectacle to behold. He then turned and fled, and was immediately pursued by Captain John and his sons, each with a rifle in his hand ready cocked. They pursued him but a short time when the sharp report of two rifles were borne back to the ears of the now eager crowd of Indians and whites. But it appears that Mike was the shrewdest of them all, as when he started to run his blanket was drawn to one side which greatly deceived his pursuers, whose bullets pierced the center of the flying figure but missed the victim for whom they were intended. He then turned to his pursuers and immediately gave himself up. They then formed a compromise as follows: He agreeing to pay them twelve ponies for the damage done Aunt Sarah should she recover, and his life should she die from the effects of her wounds.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The history of Polk County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., biographical sketches of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, Part 79

Author: Union Historical Company, Des Moines, pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Des Moines, Iowa : Union Historical Co. Number of Pages: 1074

Author: Union Historical Company, Des Moines, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Des Moines, Iowa : Union Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1074