USA > Iowa > Van Buren County > The history of Van Buren 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, general and local statistics history of the Northwest, history of Iowa &c > Part 43
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Then it took two bushels and a half of corn to pay postage on one letter. Now for one bushel we can pay postage on fifty letters.
Then it took six dozen of eggs to get a letter from mother or sister. Now we can get from ten to twenty for one dozen of eggs.
When we remember that the usual time for our letters and papers to reach us was ten to thirty days, we can hardly realize the fact that the full proceedings of this meeting of Iowa Pioneers, to-day can be printed and read by the people of San Francisco, 2,000 miles away, before the sun goes down.
My friends, your thoughts go back to-day to your old log cabins, claim-pens, as they were sometimes called. But little and mean as they looked, they held all that was dearest and brightest to you-your wives and little ones-while the bright halo of hope shed its rays around them, gilding, with its glory, the horizon of all your future. And I appeal to you, venerable pioneers, if in those little log cabins you did not spend the happiest days of your lives, the brightest hours of your existence.
As I have before stated, immigration flowed into this county rapidly from 1836 to 1843. In 1838. the population of the county was about 3,000. In 1840, it was 6,140. In 1840, the New Purchase was opened to settlement, and many who had stopped in this border county only until they could get a chance to "go West," moved on into the new country.
The first assessment of property for taxation in the county, that I can find on record, was in 1839, on about $152,336 of property; and the tax collected was $873.83. In 1840, there were sixteen towns recorded in the county, and the town property was assessed at $59,550.50. Their names were Rising Sun, Rochester, Philadelphia, Birmingham. Harrisburg, Des Moines City, Watertown, Keosauqna, South Keosauqua, Hedvolant, Winchester, Farmington, New Lex- ington, Columbus, North Bentonsport and South Bentonsport; each town looking grandly on paper, and in the estimation of their founders, the embryo of great cities; all blowing their trumpets and making a great noise in the world on an average capital of $3,722.22 each.
The annual assessment of property shows our progress in wealth, while the National census shows our increase in population. But time will not permit a statement of the assess- ment of each year. I will therefore take periods that sufficiently illustrate our advancement in wealth and population.
In 1850, our population was 12,270, an increase of 100 per cent in ten years, 10 per cent per annum. Our property was assessed that year at $1,353,671. In 1860, our population was 17.081, an increase of about 40 per cent in ten years, or 4 per cent per annum. The assess- Inent that year was of farms, $2.811,859; of personal property, $964,661 ; of town property. $386,070; total, $3,662,590, showing an increase in ten years, of about 170 per cent, or 17 per cent per annum. In 1870, our population was 17,672, an increase in ten years of only 591, about } of 1 per cent only, in that time. The assessment for that year was : farms, $3,264,862; personal property, $1,623,387; towns, $552,304; total, $5,440,553; showing that, while from 1860 to 1870, our population increased only about } or 1 per cent, our property increased in the same period about 50 per cent, or at the rate of 5 per cent per annum.
For this year, 1875, the assessment is: farms, $3,327,543; personal property, $1,501,402 ; towns. $530,730; railroads, $261,890; total, $5,621,565. There are 65 miles of railway in the county. They were not assessed in 1870, nor at any time before that year. Showing that the assessed value of our property has increased in five years only $181,012, about 33 per cent in five years. Deduct the railroad property, and our other property has gone back in valuation since 1870, $90,878.
To form a just idea of the progress we have made, we will take a view of the revenues of the county from time to time. As I have said, the taxes collected in 1839 were $873.83; in 1850, the levy was $10,581.70; in 1860, $26,996.32; in 1870, $78,717.
About 1850, is, perhaps, the period when the increase of our population and the development of our county settled into something like a normal condition. It will be observed that the value of the property of the county has increased about ten times as fast as our population. This increase is almost entirely the result of the labor of its citizens. It will also be observed that the annual in- crease in the value of property has not kept pace with the rate of interest upon moncy. And it will be further observed that the increase in direct taxes is about twice as great as the rate of property increase.
ALVAH CLAYTON'S ADDRESS.
From an address delivered by Mr. Alvah Clayton, of St. Louis, before the Pioneers' Association, in 1878, we take the following extract :
The incidents of which I propose to speak are necessarily of a personal nature, and I must ask you to excuse the seeming egotism in mentioning them. My only motive is to illustrate to
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the younger portion of this audience the trials, privations and self-sacrificing labors of the early settlers of this county, and to give them an insight into the state of society as it then existed. The experiences of our own family were no doubt very similar to those of the other pioneers. My father, leaving his family in the State of Ohio, came into this valley in the spring of 1836, and laid his claim, as I have before said, at the mouth of the Chequest Creek, just above the present village of Pittsburg. His claim embraced a frontage of half a mile on the river, and extended up the creek about a mile, and included what he regarded at the time as an excellent site for a water-mill ; and there he subsequently erected one of the first mills ever erected in this county. Alone and unaided, he built him a cabin on the bank of the river, and cleared off the timber and brush from five acres of the ground, preparatory to planting a crop of corn and other vegetables. By this time the season was well advanced. He had no team, except a poor old ox, which he had purchased of Mr. Peter Gillis, who had already settled a short distance below the site of the city, on the opposite side of the river. For this ox he made a single yoke, with ropes attached for traces. But, unfortunately, he had no agricultural implements-no plow, no har- row, nor even a hoc. The nearest point where such articles could be secured was the then vill- age of Quincy, Ill. Thither he determined he would go, late as was the season. Taking his Indian canoe, which was his only means of transportation, he paddled his way to the mouth of the river, where he was fortunate enough to meet a steamboat, on which he took passage to Quincy. Procuring the irons for a plow, and other implements which he needed, he returned by steamer to the mouth of the Des Moines River, whose rapid current he ascended in his canoe, by the toil- some process of paddling, poling and towing. Finally, after a wearisome voyage of many days, he reached home-hastily constructed a stock for his plow, hunted up his old ox, which had by this time become fat and strong from feeding upon the luxuriant grass of the rich bottom land, and was ready to commence plowing. But the middle of June had now arrived ; the grass and weeds had grown up nearly as high as the back of his ox, and all he had time to do was to run single furrows in which to plant his corn. Ile afterward plowed out the intervening spaces, and thus, by dint of hard work and perseverance, succeeded in raising a fine crop of corn. Mean- while, he had written back to my brother, who was in charge of the family in Ohio (the brother who has been a resident in your midst during the last forty-two years), to bring the family on as soon as possible. This he hastened to do, making the long and tedious journey overland, through the black swamps of Indiana and the seemingly boundless prairies of Illinois. Crossing the Mississippi at what is now the city of Nauvoo, we made our way through the trackless prairies without seeing any signs of a white settlement until we arrived on the bank of the Des Moines, opposite my father's cabin, in the month of November, 1836, after a toilsome journey of five weeks. Then commenced our long and laborious struggle for a subsistence in this wild but fertile valley. The obstacles and discouragements were met and overcome, not without the sorest trials, both mental and physical. Of the Inxuries of life, which you now enjoy so abundantly, we were wholly deprived. For a time, it was with the utmost difficulty that we could obtain even those things which now seem absolutely necessary.
It is true, we never suffered for the want of food and clothing, though what we had was necessarily of the plainest and coarsest kind. At first the rifle supplied our table with meat, and for bread we were limited to corn and buckwheat. But even these we had no means of grinding. Forty miles away in Missouri was the nearest mill, and thither, occasionally, would my father and brother go with a wagon-load of corn to be ground into meal. When it was incon- venient to make this long journey, we had to resort to the expedients of the tin " grater," the woodin mortar and the coffee-mill. With the manner of using these implements many of you are doubtless familiar.
At first the Indians were our most numerous neighbors. They were constantly passing up and down the river, sometimes on foot, but generally in canoes. They seldom passed our door without stopping to beg or steal-and you can readily imagine that their visits were not cordially welcomed. A few white people soon settled around us, and we hailed their coming with joy. To show you how gladly we welcomed new-comers, I will mention an incident which occurred in the spring of 1837-the spring following our own arrival. In April, there arrived on the bank of the river opposite our residence, two large families from Illinois, both well provided with teams, wagons and stock cattle. They were to be our neighbors, and we rejoiced to see them. We assisted them in getting their teams and effects across the river by lashing two canoes together and placing planks across to form a platform. On this rudely and hastily constructed boat, all were safely ferricd over.
If I mistake not, each family consisted of ten persons, making twenty in all. They had come without any previous preparations for houses in which to dwell. Although our cabin con- tained but one room, sixteen feet square, yet we took them all in, and sheltered them as best we could for about two weeks, until they had erected cabins for themselves, on claims they had pre- viously selected not far from our own homestead. Just how we succeeded in accommodating so many people in so very small a space, I am utterly unable to tell you, I remember, however, that at night beds were spread all over the floor, under our bedsteads, and in the low attic overhead. Even these could not accommodate all, and a number of larger boys had to sleep in the wagons out-of-doors. At meal time, those who could not be accommodated at the first table had to wait for the second or third. This was rather a rough way of entertaining visitors, but it was the
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best we could do under the circumstances, and it is but just that I should say that our guests accepted the rude hospitality we had to offer with thankful hearts. And now, it would hardly be proper for me to close this narrative without saying that these two families bore the honored names of Duffield and Swearingen. The heads of these families, with the exception of the aged Mrs. Duffield, have long since been called to their last reward; but they have left behind them a numerous progeny, many of whom are now respected and influential citizens among you.
I might detain you a long time by the recital of interesting incidents connected with early times in this county ; but, lest I weary you, I will ask your attention only a few minutes longer.
At the early date at which my father arrived here, this territory was nominally under civil jurisdiction of the Territory of Michigan ; but no courts had been established, or officers appointed to execute the laws. Practically, we had no laws except such rules as the settlers found it necessary to establish for their own protection. Every man was, to a limited extent, a law unto himself, and was not molested in the exercise of his own free will, unless he infringed upon the rights of his neighbors. IIence, many things were done which would hardly be con- sidered proper in the present advanced state of society. To illustrate, I will mention one inci- dent, and then I will close.
There lived in our neighborhood a man having a wife and two children -a boy and a girl. There was another lady, somewhat advanced in years, who had been a member of his family for some considerable length of time. He also had in his employment an unmarried man, on the . shady side of thirty. It happened that the husband and wife did not dwell together as harmoni- ously as husband and wife ought to. Just what was the cause of the trouble I never knew ; but in order to settle the difficulty, a mutual agreement was entered into of the following nature : The husband transferred his wife to his hired man, and himself took the other woman for a wife. As the arrangement was agreeable to the ladies, all parties were satisfied. The mother took the daughter and the father retained the son. There was also some agreement as to the division of property ; and to give the whole transaction a show of legality, some neighbors were called in to witness the contract.
JUDGE WRIGHT'S PERORATION.
The address referred to in the foregoing pages, delivered by Judge Wright, was concluded with the following personal mention, which is too valuable to be omitted :
I have purposely omitted any reference to Keosauqua and its settlement for the reason that I told what I knew on that subject in an address before its Library Association, March 4, 1856, and as the collection and preservation of facts connected with the early settlement of the county is one object of the Association, that being published can be used, and I have hence for the most part devoted my attention to other localities. To other towns and neighborhoods and individuals I should with pleasure have referred, if I had been successful in gathering the material, or if time permitted. Indeed, I feel that I am not to be excused for passing over many others. Thus I would like to refer at length to my early and warm friend, Isaac N. Lewis, who had so much to do with laying the foundations ; who struggled with the rest of us amid the trials of a frontier life ; and who, to use his own energetic method of profanity, "by gum!" could do anything else but drink whisky with the best of us. And he that, with the rest of us, Isaac was accustomed to call his competitor, now Col. Summers. who it were hard to tell whether he loved congenial com- puny, a fine horse or a big fee best. And to Uncle Jonny Seaman* (I wonder if he rides a “ blue buck " yet ?). And to Uncle Tommy Beer, honest, quaint and ever inoffensive. And that other Uncle Tommy (Hearn), loving Maryland first and Iowa last and best. And Uncle Ira Claflin, from the Land of Steady llabits, and whose habits are always steady, with his good wife with her good black eyes; and once again to Capt. Josiah Bonney, with his big heart, and by his side Orpha, whom he found at Rochester when he and I were young-once more afflicting Father Stannard with a Democratic son-in-law ; and George W. Games, and Eliza, too, who were the life of the social circle years long gone, but now, alas ! the " weight of years," just a little, is upon them ; and John, of the tribe of Goodall- good old Kentucky stock-among our best and truest citizens-most of them "across the River" now, the Great River-but those remaining. as were those gone, worthy and respected by all; and that enthusiastic friend and Whig, his brother-in- law, Isaac W. McManaman, who did nothing by halves, and whether at home or in a political con- vention, or the Legislature, by his very earnestness and whole-souled manner, won the esteem and respect of all ; and up the Des Moines, just below Iowaville, that man of positive character and Baptist proclivities, Benjamin Saylor, and his long line of boys, John, Conrad, Hiram, Jehu, and perhaps a dozen others, who made big farms in this and Polk County, and who, by his force of character, commanded attention in all circles.
And again, the long line from near Posey County, Ind .- they of the tribe of Mccrary-James and Abner and John C., and their relatives and descendants-for have they not given us Esquires, and Senators, and Representatives, and Sheriffs. and M. C.'s, filling all with admirable ability ? and Andrew (he of altitude-Merideth), who, with his industrious wife, the best housewife with
*Died August 5, 1873.
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
the best home of the early days, which I shall never forget, for at their table more than once I have been cared for when tired and hungry ; and that woman of marked character, the wife of Obed, who was the son of William Stannard, for she and her husband truly made their impress upon the country, and all remember them to praise; and Russo (of the royal family of Kings), who made our mills, built our houses, and at the same time builded, as he deserved, well for him- self and family ; and Roger N. Cresap, with that wife who has accomplished more and with more life and good-humor than any one that lives-he I should not forget ; for whether in Louisiana or Texas, wherever thrown by fate or fortune, he still turned to the same beautiful and rich land where he now lives as the brightest and most pleasant spot on earth ; and then, there is Harvey -of the long tribe of Alexanders-irrepressible in his politics, endless in his story-telling, never exaggerating in the least, whether on the block or off, and is still going, going, going, and will be till he's gone ; and my old friend Robert Forbes, who never had but a "mere whang of apples," which meant more than all his neighbors, and who never let any poor Whig or Radical rest if he could get a chance to punch him in the ribs; and those pioneers of large personal, political and social influence, Capts. llancock and Sanford; and that blessed good man, Sheriff Johnson, with his son-in-law, McPherrin-twice a member of the General Assembly-and of whom to say that he is as good and honest as the father-in-law, is but simple truth and no faint praise ; and that fine specimen of manhood and old-fashioned Methodism, Uncle Johnny Spencer and his good and solid neighbors, Groom and Warren; and that jolly Democrat from Delaware, Billy Holland, and his equally jolly neighbor, Onias Hale, and scores of others in the same vicinity, from the land of Rush, in the much-abused State of Indiana; and then, too, he that was among our earliest and truest men, Mark C. Thatcher, of Quaker stock, and that quiet wife of his, and their boys almost num- berless, Jonathan, Isaac, Thomas, Aaron, Amos, Ezekiel, and how many more I cannot tell; and his old neighbors, whose influence was fully equal to any others in their vicinity, Lippincott, and Muir, and Burns; and Ralph, of the house of Peterson, than whom no county ever had truer men ; and of course Dr. Nathan Shepherd, always fighting for the right and peddling pills ; while James, of the same name, dealt in politics ; and Benjamin F. Pearson, also, who kept public house in Pittsburg at the time of the Young Mormon war there, in the winter of 1840-41, and which I shall never forget, and who did build our houses, fought for his country, and esteems Republicanism next to Methodism ; and Ashahel, who went home within the last few years, who owned those rich acres just down the river from where we now are, a good citizen, and his chil- dren do follow him; and Benjamin, of the numerous tribe of Barkers; and that other Barker (Esq. Joseph), who started in the woods, but woods no longer, and who has more children to love than any man in the county, for he beats Dr. Sturdivant, having, as I am told, eighteen, the Doctor only fourteen ; and Joel and Wesley Walker, from the land of Penn, who have had as much to do with Keosanqua and its growth as most others, perhaps any, unless it be one I should not forget, Edwin Manning, of the strong frame and marked face, rather slow of speech and movement, and yet never idle, and who holds the largest purse and more lands than any other, save his friendly rival, Seth, of the land of Bentonsport, both of them still New Englanders somewhat in manners and habits, notwithstanding their many days in the West; and the neigh- bor of Seth, Dr. Cowles, recognized among the best physicians of the early days, and, perhaps, still so ; and Timothy, whose other name is Day, that never tires, with energy and good sense enough to govern a nation, and who has added more to the (stock ) wealth of the county than all others; and Harvey Robb, who goes (or did) to New York, Albany, Chicago and Philadelphia, with more cattle and hogs than any man in the county, and who, if not the handsomest man, is as good and energetic as many claiming better looks. (He and 'Squire Neal can settle the ques- tion of good looks, and if it should be a tie, they might divide honors with Billy Holland, or with John R. Wright, who I know belongs to a good-looking family) ; and that most devoted of all Methodists, Father Thomas Miller, and I must not forget him or them, James J. (the White Pigeon) and Margaret, his wife, for they were the friends of everybody, good to the sick, always well and happy; and John Lyon, the man of inventive genius, and whose shop and name are known all over this and adjoining counties ; and that stern old Presbyterian, James A. Brown, of Bear Creek first, then of Bentonsport, could I forget him and his true friendship I should be indeed most ungrateful ; and I must not pass by Samuel of the red hair-Robinson; John of Irish Bend-Parks, who has " awful " nice apples, an "awful" good farm, is an " awful" good man, and has an "awfuller" good wife ; and then, too, his old neighbors, the Johns, Steeves, Baggs and Mckibben ; and Miner, in name merely, always old enough to take care of himself since I knew him ; Easling, of the brick house in Harrison, and perhaps the first in the town- ship; and the sons-in-law of Jacob Ream, Mussetter and Smith ; and their neighbor and friend, Lorenzo Ellis; and Brad Ellis, too, and his late neighbor Langford. as good men as we have ; and the taller boys; and Benson and Thomas, of Farmington; John Besecker, Billy Johnson and George Huffman, of Bonaparte ; and the Rutledges and Penetts-I hope they will live for- ever; and Esq. William llackney, bless him, how he and that other good soul, Sam Merritt, used to work for old-fashioned Whiggery ; and Miles MeSurley, who, when last I met him, was as jolly and hearty as ever, and I believe wealthy ; and why should I forget, for I cannot, that personification of jollity and good cheer, the genial, bluff and rotund Esq. Jonathan Nelson, and his equally good brother Isaac ; and from the same vicinity the Averys and the Walkers, who always walked well in Methodist and political paths; that emphatic and truly hospitable pioneer,
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Jordan ; and Father Brewster and his well-brought-up family ; and Henry Anson, now gone, but his boys still among you, of good habits and growing prosperity ; and Isaae W. MeCarty, the politician of the first years, still of Appanoose County, able to use more tobacco than any man in his neighborhood ; and Dudley llardy, twice a member of the General Assembly ; and Charles Jackson, who kept the big hotel at Utica, where we had those big musters; and Father Dibble. whose name I mention with reverence, a member of the Second Constitutional Convention, and a man of as clear a head and honest a heart as ever lived in this or any county ; and that decided genius of irrepressible Whig faith, Samuel Holcomb, near Portland, and the large family of that name ; and those pioneer preachers, Samuel Clark and Milton Jameson, possessing an unction, eloquence and power seldom found now or at any time in the State or elsewhere; and he of com- manding presence, big heart, great energy and fine ability in his profession, Dr. J. D. Elbert ; and those men of prowess, Amos Strickland, Theodorus Davis, John and Josephus Medley, Charles Davis, Jehiel Smith; the Billups, who knew no fear, and many of them preferring a square fight to a square meal : and those men who have performed so important a part in the well- being and good name of their respective neighborhoods. Barger, the Watsons and Morrises, of Cedar, Fordyces of Union, Wells and Cassady and Melntire of Jackson, Moore and Vanfleet of Chequest, and Henry, Dodson, Ellis and Thompsons of Vernon ; and I should be thought most remiss if I should pass Chandler E. Yeager, whom I met at Father Purdom's, as I remember, the first meet- ing I ever attended in this place, November 15, 1840, who still lives to love his Church and to be respected by all ; and those physicians of quick movement and great practical sense in their pro- fession, Ober and Barton ; and the brother of the latter, William Il. Barton, and his long-tried friend and associate, William B. Willes, who, like all of us, is getting old, but who believes, as we should, in driving dull care away ; and that pioneer Abolitionist, Charles Gardner, at Business Corner, who was as fearless in the defense of his principles as he was straightforward in his business habits ; and his near neighbor, Riley, who has gone to the old brick structure (Mt. Mo- riah ) regularly each Sabbath for these many years, who throttles vice wherever he sees it, and has given to his honest father-in-law, Malachi Vinson, over on Indian Prairie, a bevy of grand- children of which we know neither of them are ashamed ; and then again, James H., the son of Samuel Clayton, before named, and his unequaled helpmeet, and where the young people always love to go, and whose invitations to their good cheer and happy home we seniors always accept with pleasure; and, too, the widow of James, who passed to his rest years long gone, known to · us all as Mother Daughrity,* the godmother or grandmother of all the children hereabouts, who delights in the offices of administering to the woes and sufferings of others, and not less in ex- pressing her mind most freely if necessity demands it ; and Titus Moss, the father, whose benev- olent face made you love humanity; and his son, Lloyd, the stillest and quietest, and yet busiest, man in your county ; and away over by the long-known " Brattain's Grove," Joseph, of the Children of Israel ; and, a little further away, Alexander of the Christian tribe, who, though they take radically different routes politically, agree in friendly competition as to which shall have the tallest corn, the most wheat, and the best farms ; and Father John Goddard, whose name was the synonym for honest and blunt frankness, whose children bless the name of father, and to one of whom (Edwin Goddard, Esq.), 1 most cheerfully acknowledge my great obligation for many of the facts herewith presented. I say, to these and scores of others whose names. faces and deeds come trooping into my mind, I should like so much to refer ; but you know and I know I cannot, for I must hasten on to that conclusion which I am sure you think I should have reached long since. And with a few more words you shall have it.
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