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 92

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 92

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In the winter of 1848 Mr. J. C. Jordan says he walked nearly every day from his claim in Walnut, to build a rail fence around a corn-field, which was where the corner of High and Sycamore streets now are. That win- ter was very severe, and settlers suffered greatly.

There are a few of the party of women now living, who, in 1855, got lost one day in the thicket east of the present State-house, and wandered about until late at night before they were discovered by anxious friends.

The early members of the Fifth Street Methodist Church, will remem- ber that the church was but partially completed when the conference met. there in September, 1857; Bishop Ames, presided. He was a large, portly man, who had a habit like that of Judge Miller, of the United States Su- preme Court, of sitting with his eyes nearly closed, while proceedings were going on. A candidate for license to preach was one day rejected. When the announcement was made, the unsuccessful one, with a contemptous voice remarked: " I hope the Fathers in Israel will remember their own examination." The Bishop, opened his eyes wide, yet with great calmness, replied: "Brother, we have no evidence as yet, that they have forgotten them." Another candidate received strong opposition because he was from the South and a pro-slavery man, but he was carried through, and granted a license " to preach against sin." As he preached that slavery was a di- vine institution, it did not interfere with his license.

The Gazette of June 14 gives the following price of provisions:

DES MOINES, June 14, 1850.

Flour, per bbl.

$14.00

Flour, per 100 1bs

4.50

Wheat, per bush 1.25

Corn, per bush 1.25

Oats, per bush

1.00

Potatoes 75@85c

Ham, per lb.

Shoulders, per 1b 6c

Butter, per lb. 123c

Eggs, per doz.

The flour was brought from Illinois and butter from Vermont. 10c

755

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

The Gazette of March 22, 1850, contains the following:

INFORMATION WANTED-Of the whereabouts of the editor of the Star [Barlow Granger]. When last seen he was on a grey gelding, plying whip and spur, heading toward the ferry. It was rumored on the day he left that there was a case of small-pox in town, and some ill-natured people assign that as the cause of his departure.

The first golden wedding of an old settler was that of Uncle David and Catharine Norris, September 24, 1880, on which occasion the Old Settlers' Association gave them a generous and hearty housewarming. About three hundred guests were present and a luscious banquet was spread. Of the old settlers there were present:

David Norris and family, 1845; R. L. Tidrick, 1849; L. P. Sherman and family, 1849; James Stanton and family, 1848; Job Throckmorton and family, 1856; Judge M. D. McHenry and family, 1856; A. F. Dicks and fam- ily, 1849; S. A. Robertson and family, 1857; A. Newton and family, 1854; Col. Griffith and family, 1838; Gus. Smith and family, 1856; John C. Smith and family, 1847; Philander Smith and family, 1847; J. H. Givin and family, 1848; Peter Ankeny and family, 1850; W. W. Williamson and family, 1848; H. C. Hargis and family, 1853; A. Y. Rawson and family, 1856; John Hays and family, 1846; Thomas Longnecker and family, 1847; C. H. Rawson and family, 1856; L. H. Bush and family, 1848; Albert Bell and Mother Bell, 1856; C. A. Mosier and family, 1847; Abe Brake- bill and family, 1847; I. J. Herod and family, 1847; Giles H. Turner and family, 1857; T. H. Napier and family, 1846; Wesley Redhead and family, 1844; P. M. Casady and family, 1846; Albert W. Swalm, 1854, and wife, 1851; Mrs. W. W. Moore and family, 1851; Joseph Davis and family, 1849; Thos. Hatton, Sr., 1858; Richard Holcombe and family, 1846; Add Hepburn and family, 1855; George Whittaker and family, 1856; Mother Grimmel, 1846; Mrs. Mary Barnes, 1849; Mrs. Spaulding, 1846; Mrs. Kelly, 1855; Dr. James Wright and family, 1853; Mrs. J. M. Barnard 1849; Mrs. Alex Bowers, 1849; David Manbeck and family, 1853; John West and family, 1856; Barlow Granger and family, 1848; Mother Gith- ens, 1856; Isaiah Maple and family, 1854; Charles Stratton and family, 1856; J. A. Everett, 1848; Mrs. R. Sypher, 1849; Mrs. F. M. Hubbel, 1846; Mrs. W. H. Guinn, 1846; Mrs. D. V. Cole, 1849; Col. Dewey and family, 1855; Mrs. M. Henry, formerly Miss Tillie Elder, 1854; Mrs. Dewey, now Atchison, Kan., 1856; Miss Waterbury, 1853; R. S. Hughes and family, 1854; Richard Stanton, 1847; A. Newman and family, 1855; Martin Tuttle and family, 1848; Mrs. George Maish and family; Samuel Gray and family, 1849; Mrs. George Randall, 1845; Mrs. R. Nagle and family, 1845; M. L. Devin and family, 1859; John Coggeshall and daughter, 1859; J. S. Carter and family, 1857.

The date following the names is the year of their arrival.

The oldest man present was Richard Stanton, aged 84, who was in ro- bust health and sprightly as a lad. The oldest women present were Mother Githens, aged 81, and Mother Bell, aged 74.

W. W. Moore, Dr. W. H. Ward and Lamp. P. Sherman, celebrated their silver weddings at the house of Mr. Moore, Dec. 25, 1876. Mr. Moore was married by Rev. J. A. Nash; Dr. Ward was married by Rev. Sanford Haines; Mr. Sherman was married by Rev. Father Bird. Mr. Nash was the one of the three clergymen present, the others being deceased. On

756

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

this occasion the old settlers presented the celebrants with a set of silver- ware each, Judge W. W. Williamson making the presentation to Mr. Sher- man and wife; Judge William Phillips to Mr. Moore and wife; and Judge P. M. Casady to Dr. Ward and wife. Rev. Mr. Nash responded on behalf of the receipients for the splendid testimonials of esteem and good will of the old pioneers.

The first board of trade of Des Moines was organized September 13, 1880, with the following officers: President, J. H. Windsor; 1st vice- president, Thos. Hatton, Jr .; 2d vice-president, Samuel Merrill; treasurer, Simon Casady; directors, W. W. Witmer, H. C. Colver, E. J. Ingersoll, Thos. S. Wright, L. Mott.

Felix G. Clark, Register of the United States Land Office, has an old map of the Western States and Territories, printed in 1849, on which he, in 1853, traced several railroads from the East to the Missouri, according to his idea of the probable future construction of roads and his personal knowledge of the country. One was from St. Louis to Des Moines, and that line is almost identical with the C., B. & Q., to the south line of the State via. Indianola and Chariton. Another line was from Lyons west, across the State, and is almost identical with the present Chicago & Northwestern. When he drew his route on the map Stephen A. Douglas told him he had gotit too far south, and should put it about where the Illinois Central now is. The incident shows the foresight and good judgment of Mr. Clark, as that was years before these roads were thought of.

The residents of a year ago, will recollect an old low one-story weather- beaten building in ruins, standing near the corner of West Twelfth and Walnut, on the south side of the street, at an angle to Walnut street. In the daily Register, of July, 1876, reference is made to it as follows:

"Years ago the old house-part log and part frame, at the southeast cor- ner of Twelfth and Walnut streets was one of the fashionable mansions of Des Moines. It was built in 1848, by an early settler whose name we can- not recall. The next year it became the property of Mr. Keene, and then found its way into the hands of his brother, the husband of Mrs. Sypher. When that lady resided there, there was no other house in sight of it, although by taking a short walk to a stake and ridered fence, just east of it, the residence of Mrs. Grimmel on the hill, and one other house on what is now Third street, were visible. It was the headquarters for Des Moines society, and there, after the day's toils were ended, Judge Casady, Major Hoyt Sherman, D. O. Finch, and many of the gentlemen now known as Old Settlers, but then young men with the world before them, were wont to congregate and talk of 'the girls they had left behind them,' and enjoy the hospitality, never stinted, of Mr. and Mrs. Keene.

" At one time it was the residence of Dr. Fagan. Then Mr. D. O. Finch and wife made it a seat of pleasant hospitality. Just west of it, a portion of the flat being now used by Peter Lambert, for green-house purposes, was the play ground of the Indians, whose close proximity and boisterous sport, kept Mrs. Keene in constant alarm.

" The old house has a history rich in items for a local's pencil, and some day they may be told, but the present purpose is only to record that the old land-mark is no more. It had become too old for service or beauty, and has been torn down and removed."

757

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

The Corning Gazette, B. T. Hoxie, editor, responded to the foregoing, in his paper as follows:

. " The house was built by B. T. Hoxie, father of the editor of this paper, and it was in the year 1847, if we are not mistaten. The logs for the house were cut in the timber north of Fort Des Moines, and what was rare in those days, they were hewn. That was style on the frontier then. The winter of the 'deep snow,' as it was always refered to by the old settlers, Dr. P. B. Fagan was married to our eldest sister, the ceremonies taking place in that house. The storm was so severe that the guests were com- pelled to remain, some of them for several days. But who ever knew a pioneer's house to be too small to entertain any sized crowd? Among those present were Thomas Mitchell, who then lived in Apple Grove; T. K. Brooks, then of Agency Prairie, and many others whose names we can- not remember. C. C. Van was there, coming in an ox team, but pretend- ing it was a carriage. Any of the old settlers of Polk county can tell other incidents of the wedding. Years afterward, a brother, M. B. Hoxie, was married and commenced housekeeping in the old homestead, living there some time.

" This house was the last one standing, to our knowledge, erected by our father, and we are sorry it has been torn away. It has been our custom, when visiting Des Moines, to take a look at the old house, in memory of the days of yore. Now it is gone. The time was, when it was the best house in all Polk county. Fort Des Moines was not the capital then, and did not contain a two million State-house, palace hotels, or palatial residen- ces, as it now does; but it did contain, and does yet, as true and warm- hearted a set of people as the sun ever shone on. Here's to the memory of the old times, in the old homestead."

Both somewhat anticipated the final destruction of the old landmark, which did not occur until 1879. The old trees which lifted their heads above it still stand.

In the spring of 1851 was the memorable great freshet. The Des Moines and 'Coon rivers rose to an unprecedented height. For three weeks it rained day and night. The Des Moines rose twenty-two and a half feet above low water mark.

The Iowa Star of that date says:

"Neither the memory of the oldest inhabitants along the banks of the Des Moines river, nor the memory of the natives, who resided here before it was settled by the whites, nor any traditionary accounts from the Indians, furnishes any evidence of such a flood having occurred here in all past time. The 'Coon and the Des Moines are higher by several feet than they were in the spring of 1849, which was the greatest rise of water ever known here up to that time." To this H. B. Turrill adds:

" The damage done to the farms in the river bottoms was immense. Some were stripped utterly of their fences; fields under cultivation were washed into ruts by the violence of the water; all hope of a crop for one season being destroyed, not only by what was carried away, but by the de- bris which was left by the subsiding of the river. It was almost impossi- ble to estimate the losses. Roads were rendered impassable-bridges swept away-the mails stopped, and traveling by land to any distance utterly vetoed. Houses were carried away, mills damaged, timber floated off, and all manner of mischief done by the flood.

Owing to the peculiar means which had been adopted to drain Fort Des

758

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

Moines, the water was led into the town instead out of it. The water was conveyed from the lower portions of the town up Second street, and finally through a rising ground into the Des Moines, just below the floating bridge.

To prevent the town from being submerged entirely, the authorities were obliged to stop up this drain, and keep the water out! This kept the element in statu quo. The river could not deluge the streets, which was well enough, but the streets could not discharge the torrents received from the hills, which was not well enough. However, no part of the then town was overflowed. East Des Moines was under water, to the second bank or terrace, and boats passed in all directions over the bottom. In all this de- struction of property, it is gratifying to state only one life was lost. Three men, John and Conrad Youngerman, and L. D. Karnes, were engaged with a skiff, in quest of saw-logs, a short distance below the town, when, by an unavoidable accident, the boat was over-set, and Conrad Younger- man was torn away by the swift waters and drowned. He was a member of the order of Odd Fellows, and highly esteemed in the community. The rest of the party with difficulty escaped a like deplorable fate."

September 27, 1880, the pioneer women met at the residence of Mrs. R. W. Sypher and organized The Ladies' Pioneer Society, the object of which was to secure a closer union of the pioneer women of the county, and nearer social relations with those who suffered the want and privation of those early days-a closer union in illness, sympathy and encouragement in affliction, aid in distress, and visitation in sickness. The following offi- cers were elected :

President-Mrs. S. A. Robertson.

Vice President-Mrs. W. W. Williamson.

Secretary-Mrs. Pauline Swalm.

Executive Committee-Mrs. P. Cassady, Mrs. Wm. Baker, Mrs. A. Newton, Mrs. D. V. Cole, Mother Bell, Mrs. M. L. Devin, Mrs. C. D. Reinking, Mrs. J. M. Griffiths, Mrs. J. A. Nash, Mrs. Judge Bailies.

Meetings to be held regularly, and a social gathering every three months, to consist of literary, social and musical exercises, and a supper, the latter to consist of bread and butter, meat, sauce, cake, tea, coffee, and pickles. A violation of the rule for the bill of fare to incur a penalty of five dollars, for the use of the society. The membership includes all ladies who lived here prior to 1857.

April 9, 1852, John Tyler, township clerk of Des Moines township, sub- mitted his annual report to the trustees, for the year ending March 29, 1852, in which he says he had collected, by hard work and tight screwing, the sum of $52.47. The amount collected to date of report was $132.56, leaving a balance due the township of ninety-seven cents. He concludes · his report as follows:

"In the above report I have endeavored to lay before your honorable body a concise statement of the financial department of the township. In transcribing the tax into the township record I may have omitted some. If, upon examination at any time, such may be the case, I hold myself in readiness to correct the same. And, gentlemen, since I have been breath- ing pure democratic air, the land of sin has left me, and I am free to act and speak the sentiments of one who has his country's good at heart."

759

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

POPULATION OF THE COUNTY.

Since the pages containing the population of Polk county were printed, the United States census enumeration has been made, which gives the fol- lowing result by census districts. It will be seen in some cases two town- ships are consolidated, but the writer hereof has no means of separating them:

1880.

Allen and Four Mile

1,109

Beaver and Franklin

2,140

Bloomfield .

1,692

Camp ..

1,344

Crocker and Douglas

1,831

Clay. .

1,140

Delaware and Grant.

1,068

Elkhart

913

Jefferson and Madison

3,075

Lincoln.

1,217

Saylor and Valley

1,902

Walnut and Webster

1,350

Washington .

988

Lee.

8,460

Des Moines

14,246

22,696

42,465

This shows an increase since 1870 of 24,608, much larger than that of any county in the State.

760

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

1852.

1866.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

DES MOINES.

A BBETT, CAPT. W. A .- Is a native of Lafayette, Ind .; born Dec. 6, 1840; about the year 1850 removed with his parents to Indianapolis, where he was raised. His education was obtained partly in the common schools and high school, supplemented by a course in the university. While out of school his time was devoted to clerking and as a newsboy. At the first call for troops he enlisted in the Third Missouri, but through the entreaties of his mother, and also the officers, he was rejected, and then returned to clerking; but in June, 1862, he again enlisted, as private in company A, Seventy-ninth Indiana volunteers, and managed to be accepted and sworn into the service before it was known at home. He was pro- moted to sergeant, and in February following to first lieutenant. In July, 1864, he received his commission as captain; was ranking officer, and remained in command of the regiment for some time. At the close of the war in 1865 he was mustered out, having been in all the battles with the Army of the Cumberland, participating in Stone river, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Dalton, Atlanta and Kenesaw Mountain, and several others, in all over thirty battles and skirmishes, receiving but one wound. He entered into the commission business, con- tinuing one year, and then engaged in the boot and shoe business, and in 1867 came to this city. He became associated with W. E. Talbott in the wholesale and retail shoe business, under the firm name of W. E. Talbott & Co., and later as Talbott & Abbett. In 1875 Mr. J. H. Hatch bought out Mr. Talbott, and the firm continued as Hatch & Abbett until March, 1880, when they sold out. On the 25th of October, 1871, Mr. Abbett was mar- ried to Miss Nona J., daughter of Hon. J. H. Hatch, of this city. They have two children: May and Emma. Have lost one son, Charles L .; died in July, 1875.

AINSWORTH, E. E .- Was born in Burlington, Vermont, August 15, 1839. His youth was spent on a farm, where he remained until 1860, when he removed to Macoupin county, Illinois. While residing in Ma- coupin county he was engaged in the insurance business. In 1863 he was appointed military store-keeper of the Army of the Potomac, which posi- tion he held for one year. In 1864 he was employed in the mustering office at Brattleboro, Vermont, in which position he remained till the close of the war. He removed to Iowa in the fall of 1866, and located in Des Moines. The business in which he engaged upon settling in this city was that of the agricultural implement trade. This business he has success-

762

BIOGRAPHICAL.

fully followed for nearly fifteen years, and has by energy and fair dealing established a large business and an enviable business reputation. The firm name is that of Ainsworth & Bonbright, and their place of business is on Court Avenue, near the river.

AITON, ROBERT-Was born in New York City, December 11, 1844, and was there raised. In May, 1862, he enlisted in the Twelfth New York regiment; was commissioned first lieutenant of the Twenty-sixth United States colored troops in January, 1864, and in February, 1865, to captain of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth United States colored troops. He came to Iowa in 1868, and was principal of the Bedford High School in 1868 and 1870. Having studied law, he was admitted to practice in Sep- tember, 1869, by Judge McDill, and moving to Malvern, Mills county, in March, 1873, soon acquired an extensive practice. He was elected mayor of Malvern in April, 1875, and served for one year. In September, 1877, he established the Mills County Republican, and in August of the year following he came to this county, locating in Des Moines, having purchased the Des Moines News, of which paper he has since been the editor. Mr. Aiton is a stalwart Republican, and is doing good work for the party as secretary of the State Council of the Union League. In 1869 he was mar- ried to Miss Nellie Pangburn. They have by this union two children: Archie and Maude.

ANDREWS, L. F .- Secretary of the State Board of Health. Was born at Athol, Worcester county, Massachusetts, March 8th, 1829, and when two years of age accompanied his parents to Brandon, Vermont. Ten years later he returned to Massachusetts, and at the age of sixteen years entered the office of the Barre (Mass.) Patriot, serving an apprenticeship of three years. He then removed to Michigan, and in 1850 established the Western Union Newspaper, which with presses and type went up in a cloud of fire as a victim of a fourth of July pyrotechnic display. He then removed to Wisconsin, and for a time was city editor of the Oskosh North- western; thence to Lafayette, Indiana, where he was for two years assistant editor of the Daily Courier. In December, 1864, he came to Des Moines, and at once entered journalism. Has been the special correspondent of the Chicago Journal since '64, and at presents represents that paper, together with the Chicago Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, St. Louis Globe-Demo- crat, and New York Tribune. He has probably been the longest in con- tinuous practice as a journalist of any person in the city. While employed ten hours a day at his regular business he found time to read law; entered the first class of the Iowa Law School, now the law department of the State University. Graduated with the class of 1866, and was admitted to the bar of the federal and State courts. Was appointed United States Com- missioner for the district of Iowa by Judge Dillon in 1856. He was night editor of the Daily State Register under the administration of Mills & Co., and city editor of the Daily Republican and Daily State Journal, with brief intervals during their existence. May 5, 1880, he was elected to his present position. He is faithful to every duty which he undertakes, and is well known beyond the borders of the State as a most reliable correspondent. His acquaintance with prominent men of the State is extensive, and he has made many friends by his straightforward manners and unostentatious course in the performance of his work. He was married at Kalamazoo, Michigan, August 11, 1861, to Sophia M. Crittenden, a native of Palmyra,

763

DES MOINES.

New York, born April 27, 1829. They have two children living: Lillian A. and Frank M.

ANDREWS, WALTER E .- The subject of this brief notice was born in Lowell, Mass., July 24, 1849. After the usual course of primary instruc- tion in the common school, he finished his school education at Barre Uni- versity, Vermont. Like thousands of other energetic and aspiring young men of New England, he early resolved to seek some field of usefulness in the great and growing West. Good fortune directed his footsteps to Iowa, where he landed in the spring of 1870, not yet twenty-one years of age. In December, 1872, he came to Des Moines, where he was employed for several months as city editor of the Iowa State Leader, soon purchasing an interest in the same. In the fall of 1876 he disposed of his interest in that paper to engage in the enterprise of which he has since been the busi- ness head. As manager of the Iowa Printing Company (now Western Newspaper Union) he has contributed largely in giving to the capital city of Iowa one of its most successful business enterprises. Mr. Andrews was united in marriage to Miss Bessie Towne, daughter of J. J. Towne, of Des Moines, February 6, 1877. The worthy young couple are now the happy parents of two daughters: Rose and Esther.

ANKENY, GEN. JOSEPH-This truly noble man was born at Som- erset, Pa., June 30, 1802. At the early age of seventeen he accompanied his brother in his emigration to Southern Illinois, where he spent nearly two years. They floated down the Ohio river to its mouth; thence they pulled up the Mississippi and Kaskaskia rivers to Brownsville. He re- turned on horseback to Somerset in 1820. This early and hazardous jour- ney tended to strongly develop his manliness and self-reliance. He was married at Berlin, Somerset county, Pa., July 29, 1823, to Harriet Gersey, the estimable woman who until his death, and beyond the golden wedding, trod with him the path of life, and who at this writing still lives in the city, a noble type of true womanhood. They lived on the old homestead in Pennsylvania, until 1831, when they removed to Millersburg, Holmes county, Ohio, where as farmer and merchant he lived for thirty-five years. In this time he was a member of the Ohio Legislature during three terms, and filled other offices, both civil and military. He was one of the Repub- lican electors of his State in 1860, and was chosen to carry the electoral vote of Ohio to Washington upon the breaking out of the rebellion. No man exercised a greater or more beneficial influence in behalf of liberty and the Union. He had fifty-two near relatives and descendants battling for the right. His prominent support of the war measures rendered his further residence in Holmes county unpleasant, and he determined to seek a more patriotic locality. This resulted in his making his future home in Polk county, Iowa, in 1867. Here he continued to live until May 19, 1876, when he was removed by death. General Ankeny purchased prop- erty in Des Moines and entered his farm, consisting of section twelve, in Crocker township in 1854, since which time in interest and residence he has been identified with the settlement and progress of Polk county. At the time of his death he was among the oldest Masons in the State. All the Masons of the city joined to escort his remains to the grave. General Ankeny was cast in a heroic mould; a man of tenacious character, the Huguenot blood of his ancestry flowing strongly in his veins. Independent and self-reliant, he was ever forward and energetic in all the duties of life, and through all his career awakened and returned the confidence and re-

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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 92

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