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 47
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In Farmington, a score of years ago, When times were easy-locomotion slow- We used to be so quietly content : We wondered what life's hurried action meant.
"T'was Smith and Barton through that peaceful calm, But when the action came 'twas Smith and Schramm, For, with the railroad came a change of work, And pills and powders must give way to pork. There's many a sturdy farmer here to-day Who took his porkers there with loud display, And, home returning with his merchandise, Displayed to wife's and daughter's wondering eyes The lovely dresses, they had oft been told Would surely come the day the pork was sold.
Republicans ! if any man you seek To prove your doctrine, take old Dr. Meek ! I heard him at the opening of the war, When every word he uttered left a scar. You see, just then, we didn't quite agree,
And so he made his opening charge on me.
Am [ disloyal ? Wait, and hear me through, And then pass sentence, ye who donned the blue.
The upward growth of Farmington was planned When Charley Gleckler left the Fatherland ; For her it were indeed a sad affair Had he not settled permanently there, And with him all such men as Tuttle, Bower, Perry and Whitlock, Anderson and Tower, Cooley and French, with Campbell, Browning, Rice, Stoddard and Miller, Thompson, Ringer, Price,
Manning aud Bateman, Church and Kings the twain, Goodin and Davidson, Flood, Willis, Hayne, And dear old Deacon Smith, whose blindness here Will make Heaven's cloudless radiance dawn more clear.
If Henry Benson ever moves away, 'Twill be for Farmington a sorry day. This much I prophesy ; and, more than that, "Iwill be a blow to every Democrat. The party, too, would feel a heavy shock Were they compelled to lose the old man Brock.
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
George Whittall would be apt to miss him most, But, crowded with the duties of a host, He might not grieve as men of leisure do, But, rushed with business, work his sorrow through.
Hail to inventor-Dibble is the man With hand to fashion and with brain to plan, Like old Goliath, tallest of the braves, Van Buren cries, " Comest thou to me with staves ? " And Dibble answers, with triumphant shout, "I come; just see how fast I turn them out. My last improvement you have not yet seen : It crowns mine as the Model Stave Machine."
A passing glance is all my space allows Of Jimmy Thomas, driving home his cows. And dear old Aunty, weak and pale to-day, Straining the milk, and bearing it away To cellar cool, where cream would shortly rise As golden as our glorious sunset skies.
And Frederick Rueckmeyer's kindly hand appears ; I've watched it oft, through bitter, blinding tears ; For when, each time, the coffin's sable lid Closed o'er, and a white face in darkness hid, That sympathizing hand would tremble so I knew one pitying heart could feel my woe.
If upon Seth Craig you wish to call, You'll have to venture near a prison-wall. Ah ! Good Samaritan, your kind heart grieves, Perchance, for him who fell among the thieves. Yet, spare your sympathy, or else divide With Pharisee, who seeks the other side. He's only Warden of the thieving clan- An honest, upright, generous-hearted man. Who puts their deeds of infamy to shame By pointing to his own untarnished name.
Come,Harvey Adams, make the closing prayer, And then dismiss the group assembled there. The Reaper has not passed his golden grain, Some ripened shocks, though scattered, yet remain ; They, with the aged Sower, waiting stand For their ingathering to the better land.
Never be Lawrence by the brave forgot, While she can claim as hers O. H. P. Scott ! Like ancient kinsman, when the pibroch rung, With sword in belt, carbine from shoulder flung, Calling young Strawn-the eldest of his clan,
He went as Captain-every inch a man ! He fought as heroes fight, while near him stood The son, whose valor showed his father's blood. He rose to Colonel's rank, nor asked release, Furlough nor rest, until the dawn of peace.
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
But, ah! I know who suffered most ! 'Twas she, The wife and mother, who so silently Waited and watched in her deserted home With bursting heart, and lips all white and dumb, Fearing when battle's roar had died away, To read their names coupled with " killed to-day." I watched her through those years of dread suspense, And when, at last, there came a recompense- The glad return of husband and of son- I felt her share of victory had been won, Her faith been tried by sacrifice as grand As heaven required at the old patriarch's hand.
And hers but one of twice ten thousand hearts Wounded and tortured by those barbed darts- The arrows of suspense that rankled there, The spears of doubt, the wounds of black despair. Oh, mothers, daughters, wives, your country's weal Was purchased not alone by shot and steel !
Stand forth, ye braves ! Speak out, each dauntless soul " Answer, if present, as I call the roll ! Are Wilkins, Johnson, and brave Cutler here ? Do Cy. and Tillman Langford re-appear, As, after fourteen days of travel sore, They stood within the Union lines once more ? If he be absent, soldiers, search the prairie, And bring old trusty Major John McCrary ! He flinched not 'neath the rain of shot and shell, Had more engagements than a modern belle, Fulfilled them all, yet never once was stung By questions of his faith in Brigham Young.
Captain Leroy S. Elbert answers not, Yet never by his bravery forgot ! Entwined with laurel and embalmed with bay, Our memories fold it tenderly away.
If Hoskins and the Messrs. Brown are here, Let them arise ; and brave Lieutenant Muir-, Receive your share of glory with the rest, You, who with Sherman to Atlanta pressed ! And Thatcher, too, who joined that living wall, Built of the bravest hearts the North could call.
A little east of old Van Buren's heart, You strike against a rib-a bony-part (Bonaparte)- And there, Old Settlers, you may fondly dwell Upon the memory of Van Caldwell. The Old Dominion gave his great heart birth, Van Buren cherished his exalted worth, And Iowa, to consecrate her trust, Unveiled her boson to receive his dust.
With pride and pleasure do we turn to view What persevering energy will do. The Meek are blessed, and for their quiet worth,
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
Says prophecy, " they shall inherit earth." Their factory, with loom and flying-wheel, Attests their industry, while years reveal What patient, unremitted toil may claim The title to an honest, upright name.
Good Dr. Cresap rises at my call, His dapple gray, old saddle-bags and all ; His finger on the pulse, his solemn guise, For which you all pronounce him wondrous wise.
Josiah Clifton with the brothers Scott, The Keiths and Reeds can never be forgot. And Wrigglesworth and Singleton and Lee, With Warner, Smith, Ray, Richardsons the three, And Doans, Ellis, Langford, Boston, Stotts (To save the time, I give them thus in lots), And Reynolds, Bower, Claflin Enerick, Johnson and Stewart (Christian name was Dick), And Judd and Welch, who near old Jordan stand To test the riches of their promised land ; While Slaughter, Nelson, Cave, propose to show, How red men fled and left their Jericho; How valiant to the core, and brave of heart, The "pale-face " met, and called it Bonaparte.
Would see a specimen-a matchless job Of nature's handiwork ?- take Harvey Robb; His generous nature, unassuming worth Can scarcely claim a counterpart on earth. You'll find more wisdom, he makes no pretense To erudition ; but for common sense, Plain go-ahead-a-tive-ness, bring your mau And prove you have excelled him-if you can.
Benton, I stood in cool Bellefontaine's shade And saw thy grave, before thy form was laid Beneath the mold, and said, with tearful eye : "'Twill hold as much of greatness as could die." Yet there I erred ; 'twas but thy feeble frame They hid that day ; thy glory and thy fame Live after thee -e'en from yon distant hill We hear thy honored name re-echoed still.
'Twas not Seth Richards (this you know, of course) Proposed to give his kingdom for a horse. He earned it all, and knows its value well, And therefore is not keen to trade or sell.
It took some people of the queerest sort, In early days, to settle Bentonsport. The name of Green, for instance, brings to view Actions and manners of a kindred hue. We never deem its bearers sharp or tough, But verdant, innocent, not " up to snuff ; "
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
Yet does our neighboring paper-mill proclaim Its builders were not green, except in name, But men, whose judgment ripe and honor rare, Made friends throughout the country everywhere.
And then the man who boasted least was found To be one Bragg-called so the country round, While Brown was whiter than his neighbor Snow, Moore long enough, and Long extremely low.
Sanford and Sullivan and Ross can tell How much it cost to keep a good hotel, In early days, when men, without pretense, Lived by their labor and plain common sense.
Does Dr. Bailey feel content. repaid, For building such a home in Vernon's shade ? It must be satisfying thus to dwell With friends he's known so long and proved so well.
I tell you what, there's not a bit of sham In the school founded up at Birmingham. It does the county credit, and you'll see How wonderful its future growth will be. Descendants of such men as Cameron, Rutledge and Norris-(I mean Dr. John), Of Miller, Plaskett, Bryant, Christy, Crumb, Will prove by this their ancestors were "some," A Western phrase you doubtless comprehend, At least you do, Old Settlers of this Bend.
Hill, Holcomb, Johnson, and the Tollmans, too, Belong to Portland, where Jo Dickey grew Into a merchant -a successful one, And then moved down and sold at Farmington. Whitten and Walker, Moreton, Belknap, Dowd, Remained behind at Portland with the crowd.
If ever Milton's citizens feel sick, They straightway send for Doc Gillfallin quick ! So at Mt. Sterling, when they feel the need Of counsel in their town affairs, with speed They seek James Alcorn, who, by prompt advice, Settles disputes and discords in a trice.
Mechanics, you have reason to rejoice, For, lo, a Carpenter, the people's choice, Stands at your head ; and right before you, here, A Mason, whom you honor and revere. Judge Hendershott should not be far away When to the honored we our tribute pay ; And not our county only, but our State Enrolls Charles Negus with her truly great.
Though the machinery of sister States By party friction weakens till it breaks, Your running Gear, though lately set aside, Will serve in future, for 'tis strong and tried.
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
Our Miller's strength we surely, too, should know, Because he served in Congress years ago. You take no risks, though, for McCrary's known, And Palmer's latent force may yet be shown.
The welcoming shouts will scarce have died away From this fair valley where you meet to-day Until there rises, jubilant and free, An answering chorus from the plains of Lee. Then unto you will flash, as from afar, E'en as the golden beams of star to star, The light of Intellect, of Genius true, That warms, electrifies and thrills you through.
You know that Lee has heroes of her own; Old Settlers some, some ripe in wisdom grown, Though not in years, for Craig, Mccrary, Browne. Rice, Howell, Gillmore have achieved renown. And Hornish, Lomax, Anderson can claim The foremost ranks upon the rolls of fame. Then Marshall, Gibbons, Lowry, Sprague are found High up the ladder, on the topmost round, While Cochran, Ballinger and Edwards stand With Hagerman and Collier on each hand, Each weaving in the galaxy of fame The glorious sheen of an immortal name. At Keokuk no stranger need to wait, If he would enter, open is her "Gait ;"
Its keeper ne'er extorts an extra toll,
He even "dead-heads" those who wish to stroll,
When he discovers that his favored man Is a stanch, out-and-out Republican. Another editor (Old Settler, too), Asserts his health has proved this statement true, That fearless, bold attacks on party wrong Have made his Weekly Constitution strong.
With the Old Settlers' early hopes and fears Came thoughts of John F. Sandford's former years ; And with these thoughts the labor he has done, The wide-spread reputation he has won. And wondering what experience and skill Might yet, in future, lead him to fulfill, My ear was startled when the words were said : " His work is finished-Sandford's soul has fled !" And can it be ? Has Science lost so soon The life that had not reached its brilliant noon " Have the hands fallen, pulseless, at his side, Whose matchless skill was tested far and wide ? Van Buren, 'tis a loss you may deplore ; Where will you turn since Sanford is no more ?
'Twas D. F. Miller, friends, who bade me say His heart and prayers were with you here to-day. When first he came, your State was new and wild, She claims him as her own adopted child.
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
He linked his fate with hers, and near and far Is justly called the Nestor of her Bar.
Can I refer to David, Jesse's son, Without a word of praise for Jonathan ? Can Damon's constancy through memory pass Without a thought of faithful Pythias ? Miller and Viele ? Death will not divide Their friendship on the golden other side.
Beyond the darksome river they will meet, And through Eternal Day hold converse sweet.
What sister State, from Oregon to Maine, Can fairer record than our own sustain ? Explore the continent! Its crowded mart Yields not for our own Dean his counterpart. What brighter history can you wish to boast Than Delazon has left Pacific's coast ? Look north and south with persevering ken, And show, if you can find them, nobler men. Go back through all the years and search in vain For minister that graced the court of Spain, Whose native dignity and courtly mien Entranced the eyes of an admiring Queen, As did our own, who, with his modest ways, Would Dodge, could he escape a word of praise.
Then on to Washington ! (not Richmond now),
. Count, when you reach it, each familiar brow, Looming ahead, like a resplendent star, Behold our Secretary, first, of War, See Williams, Miller and Mccrary there, Of honors reaping an adundant share. Then back returned, perhaps within your sight Search out the man you know is always Wright. Each thistle of your prairie he has trod ; His intellect expanded on your sod ; Be true to him, your champion and guide, Even though politics your views divide.
Many the vessels wrecked upon life's sea, But squadron-like your own can never be. 'Twill steer aloof of breakers and the shore With matchless Baldwin for its Commodore. Was ship e'er known to sink or yet to strand When she a Bonney Captain could command ? What dauntless courage, vigilance and skill Are there to ward off every coming ill. When, with a Pilot's ever-watchful eye, Goddard the far-off danger can espy, The old " Van Buren " weathering each gale, Safe into port, at last, will proudly sail ; Safe into port with all her gallant crew Gathered on deck to catch the passing view. Manning's grand convoy foremost in the van,
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
Marlow its captain, Brown its leading man ; While other ships hold Kinnersly and Moore, Parker and Pittman, Millers three or four ; Morris and Christy, Ober, Barton, Gaines, Mills and St. John-both good Old Settler names ; Smith, Hall and Wood, with Jackson, too, appear, And young George Wright (whose starting-point was here);
Cowles, Moss and Rankin (once a favorite beau), The D'Orsay of this region long ago ; And last, because the eldest of the crew, " Pap" Shepherd's kindly face is held to view. It often takes a superhuman rap To wake a man from a continuous nap (Knapp), But when aroused, his full expanded soul, Longing for action, will not brook control.
It is not needful that a man depart From jurist's bench to manifest a heart Of generous friendship and a mind of grace, For, in his daily life, in honored place, Judge Sloan shows both, on the broadest plan- An upright Judge, a Christian gentleman.
I had a friend, 'twas in those earlier days, Whose giant efforts won him highest praise ; He shone in magnitude the first, a star, Illumed with brightness Keosauqua's bar. And yet he shines ; and yet his radiance gleams, In meteor flashes, yet with purer beams ; For in one rapturous, pentecostal hour, The Holy Spirit came with might and power And thus renewed, he dares not pause and shrink, But cries to all that thirst, " Ho ! come, and drink." Israel was ruled by Judges, till her call- " A king ! a king !" (her trouble came with Saul) And they who judged found succor ever nigh, Because they trusted in the Lord Most High.
The age repeats itself ; in its advance, Weak, timid woman clamors for a chance, And man looks on and thinks it wondrous strange That we should dare demand a little change. Yet, years ago, here, ere the " move " began The nurse (Nourse) you called and trusted was a man; And, wondrous to relate, whenever tried, Success attended ; all were satisfied.
Clark, Lane and Jewett, names that we revere, Good Shepherds, are your flocks now gathered here ? The fields beyond the blue are fresh and green, The waters cool that gently flow between. Not long your sheep o'er earthly steeps will roam, But to the Fold above will hasten home.
Before me gathered, Keosauqua, here The members of thy far-famed Bar appear ;
F
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
Here thy physicians, men of judgment sound ; Thy ministers to hallowed labor bound ; Soldier or citizen whiche'er you be, Each seems alike a cherished friend to me. Were I a priestess 'neath this vaulted dome, I'd pray that Israel's tribes be gathered home ! And, when each solemn rite was softly said, Would breathe my benediction on thy head. Yet, after that, 'neath the shekinah's glow I'd proceed alone, and there in whispers low Would plead that, most of all, kind heaven would bless For auld lang syne the heroes of thy Press.
As some lone pilgrim, weary, faint and worn, Musing on what may nevermore return, Sees suddenly the vanished years come back, And finds herself returned to childhood's track, So I, with faithful hand and heart, have come To pay this tribute to my early home ; To kneel, as at a sainted mother's knee, And breathe my prayer, Keosanqua, to thee.
Van Buren, one Old Settler proudly stands Pledged unto thee with loyal heart and hands, And by these furrowed cheeks, these locks of gray, Through which the loyal winds now fondly play, She feels that unto thee, through woe and weal. Are pledged, till death, ten thousand hearts of steel. Our banner, foremost in the ranks of war, With shattered staff and many a veteran scar, Snatched from the thickest of the deadly fray, Is seen within our Capitol to-day. 'Twas old Van Buren sent that banner out, With many a jubilant, triumphant shout ; 'Twas old Van Buren sent the young Voltaire, Who held the colors firmly, proudly there ; 'Twas old Van Buren sent the Colonel, too, Who led to victory the Boys in Blue.
The Boys in Blue ! Oh, mothers, most of all Be yours the praise whose heroes went-to fall ! Who, after weary waiting, prayers and tears, Felt blight and desolation crown your years. But yet, remember, 'twas your country's call, You bravely answered when you gave your all. And ask no brighter, more enduring fame Than what, through them, still glorifies your name.
Old Settlers, when the final debt is paid, Here in Van Buren's arms may you be laid. Be this our Mecca-sanctified this sod By the sweet thought, you mounted thence to God ! And, oh, if seraphs in that loftier sphere May guard and guide the feet still lingering here, When we return to take each vacant chair, May you, unseen, be waiting, hovering there !
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
THE STATE BOUNDARY DIFFICULTY.
Hon. Charles Negus is the author of the following history of the Missouri- Iowa boundary difficulty. The story as here told contains none of the per- sonal incidents of the " war," but must be accepted as a reliable record, worth preserving and fair in every particular. He says :
"Soon after the organizing of the territorial government of Iowa, there arose a dispute between Missouri and Iowa about the jurisdiction of the State and Territorial authorities over a tract of country in the southern part of Iowa, which Missouri claimed as being within the boundary of that State as defined by Congress.
" The act of Congress, passed March 6, 1820, authorizing the Territory of Missouri to form a State government, provided that (if the State should ratify the boundaries) the State of Missouri 'should consist of all the territory within the following boundaries : Beginning in the middle of the Mississippi River, on the parallel of 36° north latitude ; thence west, along that parallel of lat- itude, to the St. Francis River ; thence up and following the course of that river, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the parallel of 36° 30'; thence west along the same to the point where the said parallel is intersected by a meridian line passing through the middle of the mouth of the Kansas River, where the same empties into the Missouri River ; thence, from the point aforesaid, north along the west meridian line, to the intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the river Des Moines, making ","said line to correspond with the Indian boundary line, etc. ; thence east, from the point of intersection last aforesaid, along the said parallel of latitude to the middle of the channel of the main fork of the said River Des Moines; thence down and along the middle of the said River Des Moines. to the mouth of the same, where it empties into the Mississippi,' etc. These boundaries, as defined by Congress, were adopted by Missouri through the Convention which formed the State Constitution.
" The northern boundary of the State, which was defined as ' the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the river Des Moines,' though it might have been well understood at the time, was vague and uncertain, and subsequently gave grounds for an open dispute.
" In the treaties made with the Sacs and Foxes and the Iowa Indians on the 4th of August, 1824, for the purchase of a portion of their lands, it is set forth that they sold to the United States all their lands within the limits of the State of Missouri, which are situated, lying and being between the Missis- sippi and Missouri Rivers, and a line running from the Missouri at the mouth of the Kansas River, north 100 miles to the northwest corner of the State of Mis- souri, and thence east to the Mississippi. The line, as defined in this treaty, commencing at the mouth of the Kansas River, thence running 100 miles due north, and thence east until it strikes the Des Moines River, had been run in 1816, by John C. Sullivan, and duly marked by blazing trees, driving stakes and erecting mounds.
" But in a period of between twenty and thirty years, those marks had be- come so obliterated that they were not easily to be found, and the rapids of the river Des Moines was so uncertain a place that it was hard for those first settling the country at the time Iowa was first opened for white settlement, to designate where the northern boundary of Missouri was located. There being several rapids in the Des Moines River, and one of considerable fall, near Keosauqua,
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
in Van Buren County (a fall in eighty rods of twenty-one inches), the Missou- rians claimed that the latter were the rapids referred to, in the act of Congress authorizing Missouri to form a State Constitution, as a point in defining their boundaries. And in 1837, the authorities of Missouri, without the co-operation of the United States, or of the Territory of Iowa (then Wisconsin), appointed Commissioners to run and mark the northern boundary.
"The Commissioners so appointed, instead of commencing to run the line upon the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the river Des Moines in the Mississippi, proceeded to search for rapids in the Des Moines River itself, from which to commence. They finally fixed upon the ripples in the great bend in the Des Moines River, in Van Buren County, which they assumed to be the rapids of the Des Moines River named in the act of Congress of 1820, and in the Constitution of Missouri, notwithstanding those ripples had never been known as 'the rapids of the river Des Moines.' From this point, the Commissioners proceeded to run and mark a line, which the authorities of that State claimed was the northern boundary, while the early history of the West showed, and it was subsequently decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, that the rapids of the river Des Moines were in the Mississippi River.
" Gen. Pike, who first explored the Upper Mississippi, after the acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase by the United States, in his journal, kept while ascending the river in 1805, says he 'arrived at the foot of the rapids Des Moines at 7 o'clock,' and thus goes on to give an account of the difficulties he had in getting over those rapids with his boat, on his way up the Mississippi River. And, after passing the rapids, in writing to Gen. Wilkinson, he dates his letter, 'Head of the Rapids Des Moines.' Also, in his map of the Upper Mississippi, Pike lays down the Rapids Des Moines as being in the Mississippi River, a short distance above the mouth of the Des Moines River. And, before the United States acquired possession of this territory in 1779, Zenon Tendeau, acting as Lieutenant Governor of Upper Louisiana, in one of his official acts, says : ' It is permitted to Mr. Lewis (Fesson) Honore to establish himself at the head of the rapids of the river Des Moines.' Upon this grant, Honore made an actual settlement and improvement immediately upon the banks of the Missis- sippi River, at the head of the Des Moines Rapids in that River, some eighteen or twenty miles above its mouth.
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