USA > Iowa > Des Moines County > Burlington > The semi-centennial of Iowa. A record of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Iowa held at Burlington, June 1, 1883 > Part 10
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Great changes has taken place in the north-west in the last fifty years. We can not much blame the Indians for wishing to retain so fine a country; yet it is right that they should give it up to a people who are making a better use of it than they were.
Respectfully yours, W. B. GREEN.
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GENERAL JAMES A. WILLIAMSON. Col. of the 4th Iowa Infantry.
BOSTON, MASS., MAY 24, 1883.
HON. A. G. ADAMS:
My Dear Friend :- I have to thank you for your verbal and writ- ten invitations to be present at the "semi-centennial anniversary of the first settlement of Iowa," but more particularly for your most kind invitation to be your guest on that occasion. I am very grate- ful to you for your kindness, and deeply regret my inability to avail myself of it. May the occasion be a joyous and happy one, worthy of the event it commemorates, the laying the foundation of a great and free state. Your friend,
J. A. WILLIAMSON.
MRS. AVIS PRENTICE STANLEY, OF AXTELL, KANSAS.
AXTELL, MAY 24, 1883.
My father, Milo H. Prentice, was born in Connecticut, August, 1800, and when four years of age came with his parents to Augusta, N. Y. He entered Hamilton College, but did not graduate, and in the fall of 1831, came to Galena, Ill., and remained there until the close of the Black Hawk War. Fifty years ago my father, mother, one sister and myself came to Dubuque. He was the first postmaster there, and the first judge of Dubuque county, receiving his commis- sion from Governor S. T. Mason, of Michigan Territory, in 1834. The post office consisted of a small desk at one end of the counter from which he sold promiscuous merchandise. My mother was one of the first to organize the first church in Dubuque, (Presbyterian, I think). I well remember the hardships and privations of our pioneer life, also, the fear and dread of my sister and myself, of the Indians, who would come to the village five hundred strong, decked with paint and feathers. Their horrid whoop rings in my ears yet. My father with others founded the town of Sinapee, in Grant county, Wisconsin. The place proved exceedingly unhealthy, most of the founders dying in less than a year, my father among them. He died at Sinapee in August, 1839, and was buried in Dubuque.
A. P. STANLEY.
HON. J. K. GRAVES, OF DUBUQUE.
DUBUQUE, MAY 24, 1883.
Gentlemen :- I thank you for your cordial invitation to attend your "semi-centennial celebration of the first settlement of Iowa," and I would that I could be with you June Ist, to share in the pleas- ures of the occasion, but this now seems impossible.
It is fitting that this epoch in the history of Iowa be marked by this vast concourse of people, now that this half a century has passed away since the "Scott Treaty," known as the "Black Hawk Pur-
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chase," went into effect. What was then practically a wild wilder- ness, stretching along the Missisippi river for a breadth of fifty miles from what is now the Missouri line, has gradually grown and expand- ed in area, wealth, population and intelligence, until the geographi- cal borders embrace what the world has been pleased to call the "model state of the republic," with a present population of nearly a million and three-quarters of souls.
With her generous people, her matchless soil, genial climate and unexcelled system of public schools, who can predict her future? Who measure her undeveloped possibilities? Iowa now annually ex- pends for her schools vastly more than the entire original value of the millions of acres embraced in the Black Hawk Purchase.
Nowhere else within the boundaries which the Black Hawk Pur- chase embraced could such celebration be more appropriately made than at Burlington, the original seat of government and the home of a man who did more to shape and direct the destinies of our growing Iowa in her infancy than all else combined-the honorable James W. Grimes.
Later on and in our day when Fort Sumpter fell we had a "War Governor," whose every act stamped him as the co-equal of our be- loved Grimes, and though eulogy of the dead may be more fitting than praise of the living, impartial history attests that Grimes and Kirkwood constituted in an eminent degree the archimedian fulcrum which lifted Iowa to the proud position she enjoys in the national galaxy of States, and the living and the dead, are entitled to the grateful homage of the people of the State.
But for the dauntless energy and resolution of Governor Grimes during the Kansas troubles, our own State would have been the ser- ious battle field of many a conflict, while bugle notes in favor of "Freedom to the Slave," seem now to have been the voice of Inspira- tion which moulded subsequent events. No wonder that this Black Hawk Purchase should become the garden spot under the fostering care and guidance of such a far seeing statesman, whose sterling char- acter and firmness is typified in the "Flint Hills" of the Orchard City.
Duty and conviction were the guiding stars of his daily life, and led him, on a memorable occasion, to cast his vote in the United States Senate, under the dictates of conscience and against party clamor, but the sublime act elevated Senator Grimes in the eyes of the civilized world.
Let the free men of Iowa ever applaud and uphold the bravery and integrity of any man who dares to do right and follows the dictates of conscience, regardless of any party clamor or personal interest in the discharge of public duty, and it matters not whether such true manhood be found in the pulpit, at the bar, upon the bench, or in private walks of life. The name of James W. Grimes is inseparably linked with the early history of this land, and we should ever cherish his memory and keep it as green and bright as the lands of the Black Hawk Purchase.
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The pioneers of those early days have nearly all been gathered to their eternal sleep. A few yet remain, and one is the honored presi- dent of the day, whose long and eventful life is the epitome of brav- ery, honesty and industry.
Let us of a later generation say to these surviving pioneers, that it shall be our aim in life never to forget the privations they endured in giving us a home, and let us renew our assurance to the world that Iowa, "The beautiful land," will sacredly guard the memories, not only of those pioneers who blazed the pathway, but also of those brave men who in the later times inspired by patriotism, went forth to battle in defense of that land, under that dear old flag, which though deeply imperilled, now floats triumphantly over our whole country, represents every State, and is respected everywhere.
Your Obedient Svt.,
J. K. GRAVES.
HON. A. C. DODGE, Pres't.
J. W. BURDETTE, Sec'y.
HON. MORGAN LEWIS MARTIN.
A distinguished lawyer,-was our sole representative in the Michi- gan Legislature, when Des Moines and Dubuque were first organized. He was afterwards Delegate to Congress from Wis. He writes thus:
GREEN BAY, WIS., MAY 25, 1883.
My Dear General :- Your very welcome letter, as also the very cordial invitation to attend the Semi-Centennial anniversary of the settlement of your state, were duly received. They carry me back in imagination, to a period fifty-five years ago, when I first set eyes on the beautiful country now embraced in the populous and peerless State of Iowa, and to the rude log cabin in Dodgeville, where Hon. Lucius Lyon and myself were hospitably entertained by your excel- lent parents. It seems like a dream. I recognize the portly Roman, the saintly wife, the stalwart lads and modest daughters comprising the household, protected in their well armed fortress (block house) from the dangers incident to frontier life; and from that early period note that wonderful metamorphosis which time has wrought in the en- tire West. It is much to be regretted that we had no historian to make daily record of the incidents of those early days when your honored father with others, who might be mentioned, were laying the founda- tions of the present flourishing empire of the Upper Mississippi, but, unfortunately, "those who make history seldom write it", and the daily occurrences of that early period, important only as shaping the future of the State, are lost in oblivion or known only to us who are still numbered with the living.
In that dead past we had our elections as now, for representatives in the Michigan Legislature, a body holding in hand the destinies of the vast region extending from Lake Erie to the Rocky Mountains. We organized municipal government, and in 1834 created the coun-
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ties of Dubuque and Des Moines, then comprising all of what is now Iowa.
In 1831 your father and myself were selected to represent the whole district west of Lake Michigan, but the stirring events of the Black Hawk War in 1832, requiring his services in defending the Western settlements from Indian warfare, which threatened their entire depop- ulation, prevented his attendance on the sessions at Detroit. I was left the only representative, and as such I labored hard to secure the passage of the act. "To lay off and organize counties west of the Mississippi River, approved the 6th day of September 1834." It was the law that created the original counties of Des Moines and Du- buque. My services continued from 31 to 35, terminating on the ad- mission of Michigan, and I may therefore well claim participation in your Semi-Centennial which I much regret to be unable to do in per- son. In the panorama of the past, so vividly presented by your let- ter, I see the gallant form of our friend Jefferson Davis, then a mere graduate of West Point, and on a visit to his fellow officers here at Fort Howard. He was then (1829) stationed at Fort Winnebago and floated off soon after with the Ist Dragoons to re-appear years after- wards in the House of Representatives of the U. S. at Washington City, where you and I as brother delegates to Congress met him in 1845. I recall also the erect figure and proud bearing of your father when in 1828 he volunteered to guide Mr. Lyon and myself, on horse back to the recent discoveries of copper ore, at Mineral Point, and to the many pits and shafts in the vicinity of Dodgeville, Wis., from which his supply of lead ore was hauled to his furnaces, the athletic figures of your brother and yourself, youths of some fifteen or eighteen, labor- ing about the smelting works with others engaged around the premises. Nor can I forget the appearance of the negro slaves, who clung to your father's family even after they were given freedom as dutiful children dependent for protection and daily wants upon a parent.
I fear that I am becoming garrulous, as is the habit of old men, and I will add my kindest regards to all your family, and trust you may muster up courage to visit a place you have never yet seen, Green Bay, and make yourself and lady the welcome guests of
Your Friend, M. L. MARTIN.
HON. GEO. D. RAND, MAYOR OF KEOKUK.
KEOKUK, MAY, 25, 1883.
Dear General :-- The invitation to the Sem-Centennial Celebra- to be held at Burlington, with your endorsement upon the envelope, came a few days since, and press of business has occasioned my delay in acknowledging. Accept my sincere thanks for your thoughtfulness in sending me the same. It is a gratification to be remembered by those persons, whom as boys, we have been taught to honor and re- spect, and maturer years have only confirmed those teachings.
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To be acknowledged and recognized as a friend by one who has served his country in so many distinguished positions with so much credit and honor, and whose purity of character, both in private and public life, is so marked as to win the approval of all parties, is suf- ficient honor for a Burlington boy to sign.
Your friend, GEO. D. RAND.
HON. JAMES F. WILSON, OF FAIRFIELD.
FAIRFIELD, IOWA, MAY 25th, 1883.
Hon. A. C. Dodge, President, etc., Burlington, lowa: Dcar
Sir :- Your invitation to me to attend the Semi-Centennial cele- bration of the first settlement of Iowa, to be held on the Ist proximo, at Burlington, was received several days ago. I have postponed my answer thereto, hoping to be able to say definitely that I will be present. Owing to other matters not yet fully determined, I cannot now give the definite answer; but as the date for the celebration is so near at hand, I can no longer delay the acknowledgement of your in- vitation given above.
Mighty results have been crowded into the half century that will close on the first proximo. Three-fifths of the time thus measured I have spent in Iowa. When the events of the thirty years of my resi- dence in Iowa marshal themselves before my mind, they seem like the elements and movements of a wondrous dream. And when I add to this period of my personal experience, the twenty preceding years, which reach back to the date when the presence of the white settler in Iowa was first made lawful, and compare the then insignificance with the stupendous present, I can not wonder that our people desire to come together and make common acclaims over the bewildering achievements which have been added to Iowa, to the world's gener- al progress in that short space of two score and ten years.
I will be present in person if I can; but if this may not be, then will my liveliest sympathies be with you and with all the good peo- ple of our beloved state, who may congregate at Burlington on the coming Ist of June.
Yours truly, JAMES F. WILSON.
JAMES PUTMAN, ESQ.
An early and well known citizen of Burlington.
NASHVILLE, TENN., May 26, 1883.
General :- I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your invi- tation to be present at our Semi-Centennial celebration. I had hop- ed, until within a few days, to be at home on that day, but find my engagements here will deprive me of that pleasure, and can only re-
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turn my sincere thanks to the committee for so kindly remembering me.
During a recent visit at the "Hermitage" I secured a "stick" of genuine Jackson timber*, that I to-day forward with a simple inscrip- tion, which I hope you will accept, not merely as a reminder of the important event to which it makes reference, but as a slight recogni- tion of a third century of unmarred friendship and manifestations of your good will as well, and trust that now in the afternoon of an hon- orable and useful life, you may find it indeed a "stay and staff." I remain with due consideration,
Your obliged neighbor and friend,
JAMES PUTMAN.
Hon. A. C. Dodge, Burlington, Iowa.
The Nashville Banner of May 26, contains the following notice published upon the day the cane was forwarded to Burlington. TENNESSEE TO IOWA.
Mr. James Putman, of this city, received a few days ago, an invita- tion to attend a celebration at Burlington, Iowa, commemorative of the fiftieth anniversary of the treaty with the Indians, which convey- ed to the early settlers the Territory now known as the present State of Iowa. Mr. Putman found it impossible to leave his business in this city, but obtained from the Hermitage a hickory cane, which he had elegantly mounted and sent off by express to-day. The inscrip- tion on the head of the cane contains the following:
1833, Iowa, 1883. June 1, To Hon. A. C. Dodge from James Putman.
JOHN R. REDING.
PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE, MAY 26, 1883.
GEN. A. C. DODGE,-My Dear Sir :- I thank you for the kind remembrance of me by sending an invitation to be present at the Semi-Centennial celebration of the settlement of your flourishing state. How true in our own experience is the fact that the star of empire westward goes, since our acquaintance first commenced in 1842, what a mighty change has taken place in our country. Then you represented a youthful Territory as a delegate, myself a full fledged representative from N. H., with four others; now we are reduced to two members, and your state increased to eleven full fledged mem- bers.
Well I don't care how powerful the West becomes, if its power is rightly exercised for the benefit of the whole people and not for wealth and grasping monopolies.
*Presented by Hon. B. J. Hall to Gen. Dodge at commencement of his address of welcome.
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It would be gratifying to me to be with you on the first of June, but the length of the journey, and my aversion to leaving home at my time of life-and you know that in point of age, I am no chicken- will prevent. It will be a proud day for you doubtless, to reflect up- on the anxiety you have had in nursing a feeble and infant Territory into a great and powerful State-destined in your time to become much more populous and mighty than at present. May all things go off to your entire satisfaction, is the sincere wish of
Yours most respectfully, JOHN R. REDING.
HON. ALVIN SAUNDERS, OF OMAHA, NEB. Member of the 2nd Constitutional Convention of Iowa, 1846. OMAHA, NEB., MAY 26, 1883.
HON. A. C. DODGE-My Dear Sir :- I returned last night from a long trip up the Niobrara river and found here your kind invitation to me to attend the semi-centennial to be held on June ist. I assure you, my dear general, that it would give me great pleasure to be able to respond affirmatively to the request, but prior engagements for that date will prevent me from doing so.
My entrance to what is now the great state of Iowa, but then a part of Michigan territory, was not early enough to make me one of the original semi-centennials, but I would not fall much short of it. I crossed the Mississippi river at or near Burlington in the latter part of 1836. I don't know whether the river at that point has grown any since, but it was ther about four miles wide. There was no ferry at the town proper, but we crossed at what was called "Smith's Ferry," which was about two miles below Burlington. We stayed that night at Burlington and learned that they then claimed a population of about one hundred and fifty people. I was then making my way to join my brother, Presley Saunders, who, as I now remember made his first visit to that part of the country in 1834. He settled at what was then called "English Point," but at which he afterwards laid out the town of Mt. Pleasant, and where he has made his home ever since. There were but two houses then between Burlington and Mt. Pleasant; so you see it was what might be very appropriately call-
ed a "new country." But I need not dwell long on these things to you, for you were not much behind me in locating on that side of the Mississippi. How glad I would be to be present at your meeting and hear what some of the "old settlers" will have to say to the pres- ent inhabitants, but I can't. Hoping the meeting may be a pleasant one; and with my best wishes for you personally,
I am with great respect, your friend, ALVIN SAUNDERS.
HON. FIRMIN A. ROZIER, OF St. GENEVIEVE, MO. ST. GENEVIEVE, MO., MAY 26, 1883.
Gentlemen :- Your kind invitation to attend the celebration of
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the anniversary of Iowa was received; nothing would give me greater pleasure than to participate in the same, but my health and business prevents me that pleasure.
My recollection of the early settlement of Iowa, is replete with in- terest, and what is gratifying to us here at St. Genevieve is that some of our native and earliest citizens, became the pioneers of your great State, and distinguished themselves in the service of their country, embracing the Dodges (father and son), Jones', Davis' and others. Many thanks for your kindness, and wishing your State great prosperity. I am, yours truly, FIRMIN A. ROZIER.
D. SHEWARD.
Long a resident of Iowa, and formerly editor for many years of the Gazette of this city.
SANTA ROSA, CAL. MAY 26, 1883.
HON. A. C. DODGE-Dear Sir, and Kind Friend :- An invita- tion to attend the celebration of the "Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the first settlement of Iowa" with your compliments has just reach- ed me. You will please accept my thanks and my warmest feelings of gratitude for your kindly remembrance. I only regret my inabil- ity to be present on the occasion, and clasp by the hand once more the honorable gentleman who has done so much, during the years that have past, for the promotion of the interests and growth of the State he so honorably represented for years in the Senate of the Unit- ed States. Believe me my friend, that, though we have not met for years, and thousands of miles separate us, I have not forgotten your many kindnesses, nor the occasion when you clasped my hand on the Eastern shore of the "Father of Waters" and bade me welcome back to Iowa after my weary months of imprisonment in the "Old Capitol" at Washington, nor shall the kindly words and wishes, and generous acts of your noble wife, ever be eradicated from the minds of Mrs. Sheward and myself, whilst reason remains and time lasts. May God's blessing ever rest upon you and your good wife-par ex- cellent among all her sex.
May I ask you to kindly remember me to all who knew me in the days that are past, and say to them that I shall join with them in spir- it on the first of June, in commemoration of the birth of one of the most prosperous states and brightest stars in the galaxy-brought in- to existence and fostered in infancy by yourself and other true hearts. Iowa has grown and prospered in the fifty years of her existence be- yond comparison. May her growth and prosperity continue until she knows no rival.
My wife desires to be remembered to you and Mrs. Dodge in the most earnest and loving words-hoping that you are both blessed with health and prosperity and that your lives may be preserved for many years yet to come, and wishing that we may yet clasp you by the hand 'neath the sunny skies and amid the beautiful flowers of the
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delightful valley of Santa Rosa. And in all this, our boy, now grown to manhood, joins with us. Though in his infancy when last we met and clasped hands at Council Bluffs, your names are never- theless familiar to his ears.
With kindest regards to yourself, wife and family, believe me kind sir, as ever,
Your friend, D. SHEWARD.
JOHN W. HANEY.
PITTSBURG, May 26, 1883.
HON. A. C. DODGE,
President, Semi-Centennial, Anniversary of the First Set- tlement of lowa :- Dear Sir :- Your cordial invitation to attend the Fiftieth Anniversary of the settlement of Iowa, has been received, and I beg to say that it would afford me great pleasure to be with you, but my business engagements prevent.
I have a very warm regard for Iowa. It is now about thirty years since my first visit; I left this city in December, 1852, for Iowa City, then the Capital of the State; arriving there I took the stage to Fort Des Moines, which was located between Coon River and Des Moines. The latter was at that time a very small place. I lodged there in a large barn-like house, which stood facing towards where the Capitol building now stands. Finding the Land Office closed-the purpose of my visit being the purchase of land-I started with a Mr. Hubert of New York, to Panora, the county seat of Guthrie county. We were treated very kindly by the settlers among whom were Messrs. Squires and Copeland and their families. We also were entertained by Mr. Slack, an old trapper and hunter. He lived in a cave, was very eccen- tric, but kind hearted; he would have us share his bed and board, but one night was enough for us. We were also very kindly entertained by Squire Niles. We located our lands and purchased timber and re- turned to Richard Squires, where we had our first exposure to a West- ern snow, hail and rain "North-Wester". While there, we tried hunting, but our limited experience did not meet with much success; we returned to Des Moines after nineteen days absence, had our lands entered, and I came back to the smoky city-after three years sojourn here, I returned to the West, arriving in June. The country looked beautiful, and I found that many changes and improvements had been made during my short absence; houses built and prairie plowed.
I then commenced to build a house myself. It was not so gorgeous a one as those now being put up. It was a plain one and half a story 16x28, built with black walnut planks. I also had ten acres broken by oxen. Our nearest post office then was 32 miles. We established a volunteer corps of four to make weekly visits to N -; the vol- unteers were Mr. Floyd, Mr. Parrell, Mr. T. T. Morris, (afterwards Judge of the county, now a resident of Des Moines), and myself. I remember well the first Sabbath school started in Carroll county, the 7
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school papers were sent for to Pittsburgh, and it was my lot to go for them to the post office,-all were very anxious for my return and suc- cess. The opening day of the Sabbath school was a glorious and joy- ous one in Carroll county, the settlers came there with their families, some on horse-back, and others with ox teams. I again left for Pitts- burgh in December 1865, to remain here finally. It took me about one week to bid good-bye to all my friends, they living some ten or fifteen miles apart; the last stop was at Mr. Gilley's, and while there we discovered a large drove of elk about two miles off. Five of us start- ed on the hunt. We got nine of the drove, they weighed about two hundred pounds each, and we felt proud of our success. Mr. Gilley,
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