USA > Minnesota > Rice County > History of Rice and Steele counties, Minnesota, Vol. I > Part 15
USA > Minnesota > Steele County > History of Rice and Steele counties, Minnesota, Vol. I > Part 15
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Mark Wells was one of a party of young men that arrived at Faribault with Luke Hulett in 1853. He selected a claim in Wells township, on section 35, and put up a small log cabin, plastering it with mud and clay. In this he made himself at home, and being a single man, in company with several others kept bachelor's hall until 1858, when he was married and moved to Faribault. About the same time that Mark arrived, a man named Standish, of the same state, became his neighbor and took a claim adjoining him in section 35. He remained until 1856, when he returned to his native state. "Bully" Wells had also made his appearance, and was making a claim in section 34 his home. This, it will be remembered, all occurred in 1853,
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and the three settlers mentioned secured places adjoining each other in the southeastern part of the township, this being the most inviting, because it was prairie land, and almost the only locality that was prairie in the township. With these few the settlement of the township remain until 1855, and probably the fact that the remainder of the town was timber land had some influence in keeping the influx at bay for the year 1854. In 1855, the settlement began to spread, and other parts of the town received the initiatory member of society.
William Roberds, a native of North Carolina, came in from Indiana and commenced a settlement near the center of the town, taking a claim in section 22, on the banks of the lake which now bears his name. He put up a small log shanty the saine year, erected a saw-mill, and became a very prominent man. He made this his home until his death in 1869. John Wesley Cowan, a native of Kentucky, having stopped for a time in Indiana, soon swelled the Roberds' settlement by taking a claim in section 22. He cleared some land and erected a log hut. Thomas B. Owings also helped fill the settlement and took a claim north of Roberds' Lake. He later moved to the Roberds settlement and took a claim in section 22. In the meantime a settlement had been commenced north of Roberds' lake. John H. Passon, a native of the Buckeye state, made his appearance and settled on section 10. He was a millwright by trade, and erected a number of mills in Rice county.
The same year there arrived a party consisting of James Byrnes, Michael Brazil, Thomas and Timothy Casey and Patrick O'Brien.
James Byrnes, who had stopped a while in Vermont, took a claim in section 4. Timothy Casey made himself at home in section 6, and remained there until his death, in 1869. His widow died in 1876. Thomas Casey surrounded a claim in section 5. Michael Brazil secured a tract of land in section 9. James O'Brien made a habitation in section 9. John L. Squier. of the Empire state, swelled the settlement in the southern part of the town by taking a farm from the prairie land of section 34. Thomas Kirk had taken land on sections 14 and 23, where he made his home until the grim messenger called him hence in October, 1868. The deceased was the father of the first child born in the town. Samuel J. Keller, a native of the Buckeye state, having stopped for a time in Indiana, drifted in and dropped anchor on the only quarter left in section 22 in the Roberds settlement. He remained a few years and then retraced his steps to Indiana. Section 34 received another set- tler this year in the person of William McCalla, a native of Ireland, who, after remaining a few years, removed to Cali-
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fornia. Isaac Anderson, from Ohio, made his appearance and proceeded to enlarge the settlement in the northern part of the town by taking a farm from section nine, which had already received one settler. John Manahan did his part also, securing a home in section 1, in June, 1855. Two brothers, John and Thomas Johnson, arrived in the summer of this year and both took farms in the northern settlement ; John on section 3, where he died in 1863, and his brother on section 11, where he remained until 1861, when he went to Vermont. This is about the list of arrivals for the year 1855, and it will be seen that from the three settlements started in the township, one in the south, one in the center and one in the north, the incomers had branched in every direction until every portion of the township had re- ceived one or more settlers, who had gone directly to work, putting up shanties and opening land for cultivation. The fol- lowing year the immigration commenced and continued with a rush until all the government land within the borders had been secured. We shall endeavor to give most of these arrivals, although to give them all would be almost impossible. S. O. Case, originally from Ohio, but directly from Grant county, Indiana, arrived in 1856, and planted his stakes in section 3. He later located on section 27. Peter Dunn settled near Mr. Case, in section 4. lle was a native of the land of the Sham- rock, having stopped for a time in Vermont. Robert Dudley, of the same nationality, stationed himself on the farm lying south of the one secured by Peter Dunn, in the same section. Andrew Fredrickson came about the same time and located on a farm in section 3, in the same neighborhood. Many others came in in 1856, many of whom have again pulled up stakes and started on, with their faces still turned to an ever-promising West. In 1857, John Murray, a native of the Emerald Isle, put in an appearance and secured a tract of land. Barnard Mehagnoul, a native of Belgium, also arrived about the same time and pre-empted a farm in section 29. The following year, 1858, he was joined by a number of his countrymen, named Duchennes, who settled a short distance north of him, and about these gathered quite a Belgium settlement. In 1859, came many. others, among whom may be mentioned John and Owen Varley, who took claims in section 11. Joseph Milliron arrived and secured a habitation in section 16.
W. H. Pease was a pioneer in Minnesota, arriving from New York state in 1855. He finally secured a place in section 21
A. C. Judd, another prominent man in Wells, and a native of the Empire state, arrived in 1860 and located in section 33.
E. A. Orne, of Boston ; Joseph Sescoult, of Canada: and C.
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Meillier, of Wisconsin, later arrived at various times and settled in the township, where they became influential men.
Joseph Ducreyt, a Frenchman, was another early settler in the county, and a prominent man. He originally took a claim in Wheatland in 1856, but finally found his way to the shores of the lake bearing the memorial name in honor of his nativity, in section 17.
Charles T. Winans, a native of New York state, came to Minnesota in 1856, and located in Warsaw. In 1860, after hav- ing been engaged for several years in mercantile business in Faribault, he moved to section 15 in Wells.
Asa Bebce, a native of Monroe county, New York, having stopped for a time in Illinois, was another early settler in this vicinity. He first located in Warsaw, but later located in section 26, in Wells township.
James G. Scott, another prominent man, came to this county in 1854, and settled first in Faribault, where he was engaged in various pursuits, afterward locating in Wells township.
James Wells, or, as he was always known, "Bully" Wells, having been a prominent and conspicuous figure in the settle- ment of Wells, which town received its name in honor of him, a few words as to a sketch of his life will not only be interesting to the residents of Wells but to the entire county. James Wells was the true name of the subject of this sketch, but he won the nickname of Bully Wells. He was born in New Jersey in 1804, and when a boy ran away from home, going to sea on an Ameri- can war vessel, serving as a cabin boy. He finally enlisted in the United States army and served for fifteen years, coming to Fort Snelling in 1819 with Colonel Leavenworth. When his time as a soldier expired he started a little trading post at Little Rapids, or what is now Chaska, and remained at this point for some time. September 12, 1836, he was married to Jane, a sister of the wife of Alexander Faribault, and a daughter of Duncan Graham. The marriage took place at the house of Oliver Cratte. at Fort Snelling, the ceremony being performed by the Indian agent at the fort, Lawrence Taliaferro. The same year he came Southwest and started a small trading post at the point where Okaman, Waseca county, now is, and remained here for about one year, when he again removed. this time to locate at the head of Lake Pepin, on the Mississippi river, where he carried on a trading business until he came to Wells township. Having made up his mind while passing through to take land in the vicinity of the Cannon lake, as soon as it came into market, in 1853 he made his way to the lake and started a trading post on section 34, at the foot of Cannon lake, in Wells township. Here
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he did a profitable business for a short time, but gradually turned his attention to farming, and continued in it until the close of the Sioux war in 1863, when he was murdered mysteriously. the supposition being that it was the work of the treacherous Indians.
The first blacksmith shop opened in the township was erected in 1855 by William Roberds, in section 22, on the shore of Roberds' lake. The shop was operated by his nephew, Free- man Roberds, for about three years, when it was discontinued. the manipulator moving to Faribault. The first birth in the township of Wells took place on section 23, in October, 1855, and ushered into existence Elizabeth, a daughter of Thomas and May Kirk. The father of the child died in October, 1868. The next event of this kind brought into the light John, a son of T. B. and Elizabeth Owens, on May 22, 1856. This child, how- ever, died on December 11, 1864. On February 4, 1857, a son was born to Isaac and Lydia Anderson, who was christened Elias, and who now lives in Faribault, a grown man. Four days later, on February 8, John C., a son of Peter and Margaret O'Brien, was born. Within a month after the arrival above mentioned, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Peter Dunn. The child was named Maria. Leonora, a daughter of John H. and Minerva Passon, was born on May 19, 1857.
One of the earliest marriages to occur in the township of Wells was the union of Martha Roberds and J. S. McCartney, by E. J. Crump, Esq., at the residence of the bride's father, William Roberds, in section 22.
In October, 1856, Joseph Byrne and Alice O'Brien were made one in the bonds of matrimony and commenced house- keeping in his log house on his farm in section 4.
Pursuant to notice the first township meeting was held on May 11, 1858, in the log schoolhouse in section 14, and organ- ized the township by the election of the following officers : Supervisors, Thomas Kirk, chairman, William McCalla and Pat- rick O'Brien ; collector, J. W. Cowan ; clerk, S. P. Case ; assessor. T. B. Owens ; constables, William Roberds and Timothy Casey : overseer of the poor, S. C. Dunham.
The government of the town has been tranquil and even. The funds and expenditures have been managed in a frugal but efficient manner, and on a whole, the interests of the public in town matters have been taken care of in a way that is com- mendable.
In 1878 the township purchased a school house on section 22, the original cost of which was $500, to be used for a town hall.
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BRIDGEWATER TOWNSHIP.
Bridgewater township is amply provided with railroad facili- ties and water power. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and the Chicago Great Western all operate lines through its arca. The Cannon river divides the town, winding its tortuous course almost parallel with the railroads running in a northeasterly direction. This town is bounded on the north by Dakota county, on the south by Cannon City township, on the east by Northfield, and on the west by Forest and Webster. It embraces forty sections, in all 25,600 acres, and takes in all of township III, range 20, with the exception of the northeast corner section, and also includes sections 31 to 35 inclusive, of township 112, same range. This makes it the second township in size in the county.
The township is well watered by numerous streams, among them Heath creek. Spring creek and others of more or less im- portance. The Cannon river has been mentioned elsewhere. Aside from these rivers and streams there are several small lakes nestling among the hills, among which are Macklewain, Spring, Albers and Hart.
One peculiar physical feature of the township is what is known as "Ilog's Back," which is a narrow ridge, composed of sand and coarse gravel, about twenty to forty feet high and 100 feet through at the base. This commences in section 21 and extends in a southwesterly direction for a mile or more. This mound is due to geologic action in ages far remote.
The auspicious epoch of the first arrival in this township dates back farther than most of the subdivisions of Rice county, and it may be said that from the first advent of the early settler until its fertile lands were the abiding place of thrifty farmers, the tide of incomers was constant and irrepressible. In this sketch it is not possible, nor is it the intention, to carry the set- tlement of the township in detail up to the present day, but an effort has been made to chronicle the interesting incidents of early settlement and the most notable arrivals.
The first exploration of this township, with a view to securing homes, occurred in 1852.
Albon and John Hoyt, two brothers, were the first to make their way to the town, and their first trip through was in the fall of 1852, although they did not take claims until some time later. They had been stopping on the Mississippi river for a short time, and having heard considerable about the Cannon river vallev, decided to take their earthly possessions on their backs and see what the reports were based on. They started with the intention of going as far as Faribault before returning. Their
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first night was spent in camp on the Vermillion river, and the next night at Waterford, from there passing over the territory of Bridgewater and reaching Faribault. Here they met Alex- ander Faribault, who told them that they had just passed over the finest country in the territory of Minnesota, and they decided to look more closely on their return. They returned by the same route as they came, but failed to find claims that suited them. Albon Hoyt later said: "Although one upon the land at that time was 'monarch of all he surveyed,' it was a more difficult matter to select farms than would be imagined. The country was beautiful and impressive. I could gaze all about me, on the beau- tiful hills covered with a mass of green verdure swaying in the gentle breeze, that dipped silently down to the level of the many trickling streams, and say, 'here is the place of my choice'; but, upon gazing to the right or left I saw another that lured me on by its fascinating beauty. And I followed. The mania had seized me and almost before I knew it I had reached my old stamping ground on the Mississippi." The brothers remained on the Mississippi until March 10, 1853, when they again started for the Cannon river valley, this time determined to stay. They brought with them a couple of barrels of flour, 200 pounds of sugar, axes, etc. A man by the name of Irish brought them in by team, and the greater portion of the distance they were obliged to cut their way through the timber. In due time they arrived at Faribault and pushed on to Cannon City, where they camped and began to look for claims in earnest. Albon Hoyt finally took a claim on section 11, in Bridgewater; John, his brother, took a place west of him, adjoining the site of Dundas village, and Irish made up his mind to secure the townsite of Dundas, which he did.
John and Albon commenced at once the erection of a log cabin, the size of which was 12x14. They put up the sides of poplar logs and then Albon Hoyt and Irish left John on the ground with provisions, etc., to finish the cabin while they returned to the shores of the Mississippi to attend to their improvements there. While they were gone, and before John had roofed the cabin, a snow storm came up, and John, in laying in the cold and wet, became very sick with fever and ague; so bad, indeed, that he became delirious and was in a very dangerous condition as he had no means of starting a fire. In this condition he was discovered by the Indians, and they, thinking him drunk, began sporting with him, saying, "Minnewankon seetya do," (whisky bad very), and the band finally went into camp near by. It did not take long, however, for them to discover that he was not drunk, but very sick, and two Indians came to him one day, saying, "Puck-a-chee Habo tee-pee," which meant, "Go to Fari-
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bault's home." After a time he was taken to Faribault by the Indians, and there stayed at Bush's house until he recovered, the "medicine man" making him potions which worked a speedy cure.
In a short time a Mr. Clossen came through Faribault with five yoke of oxen, and he and John moved together back to the Hoyt farms in Bridgewater. Here they finished the cabin begun by John and Albon, and broke ten acres on John's place, this being the first furrow turned in the township. In June Clossen yoked his oxen and took Jolin to the Mississippi, where Albon and Irish were, and here he remained until fully recovered. In the meantime Irish had taken the claim where Dundas now is, with the water power, and intended to get a friend from Ohio to go in partnership with him in the erection of a sawmill.
In June Albon Hoyt, Irish and a man named Bliss came to the farms to make improvements, and Albon planted two acres to potatoes, etc., by just raising the sod and putting his germ underneath. After planting he did not touch or cultivate them until harvest. When harvest time came the entire force left to attend to the crop on the Mississippi river, where John still re- mained, recuperating his health.
In September, 1853, Albon and John both returned to Bridge- water, this time with the intention of remaining, and found that during their short absence another pioneer had put in his appear- ance. This was Mahlon Lockwood, who had arrived with his wife and several children, and located just south of Dundas, and. as he brought a cow and a yoke of oxen, he was a valuable acqui- sition to the meager settlement. He had already put up a little board shanty, the material for which he had brought with him. but this, it is said, would not keep the sun out, so the entire party at once commenced work on and soon finished a substan- tial log house for the protection of the Lockwood family, and all began to make preparations for the winter, which they knew would be long and severe. Nor were they wrong, as the long. dreary and bitterly cold months that followed proved, and some of the settlers hauled rails for fuel when their faces were actually coated with a veil of ice and their fingers frozen stiff.
The Indians were plenty in the neighborhood and the timber abounded with all kinds of game; deer, elk and bear were the main articles of food, and a good hunter in those days could always be a high liver. The settlers made many fast and useful friends among the Indians, and all of them having learned their language were almost as much at home among them as though they were whites. The Indians were not troublesome in regard to thieving if treated well, and the following incident will serve to show the confidence felt in them. An old Indian came one day to Albon Hoyt's cabin and wanted to borrow his rifle, saying he
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could not kill deer with his shotgun, and if the white man would only allow him to take the rifle three weeks, he would return it at the end of that time in as good order as it was at the time of his getting it. Albon allowed him to take it, and the Indian disappeared. For three weeks nothing was seen of Indian or gun, but on the day that the three weeks expired the Indian and rifle appeared at the door, with a handsome present of game that compensated him. Many incidents like this occurred, and the old settlers came to believe, in the words of Mr. Hoyt, that "if treated right they are considerable better than the aver- age white."
This carried the settlers through a hard winter and brought them into the spring of 1854, with Albon and John Hoyt and the Lockwood family. Irish had gone to the Mississippi, intending to return during the summer. Hopes ran high among them, for they were confident of a good crop, and all had succeeded in getting more or less land ready for seeding ; in fact, all the available land was sown until their seed was exhausted. A good crop was the result, although the acreage sown was comparatively very small.
In the meantime the settlement had commenced in various parts of the county. Northfield and vicinity had received a number of settlers, and the entire settlement north of Faribault was known as "Alexandria," after Jonathan Alexander, who was an early pioneer near Northfield. Other portions of this town had also begun making evolutions toward civilization, as in the same year (1854) Edmund Larkins, Job Chester, Joseph Drake and Daniel Bundy all made their appearance and began opening farms in the eastern part of the town. This settlement. however, properly belonged to the Northfield section, as they were divided from Dundas by the heavy timber ridge, and it was not until several years after the settlement began that a road was cut and graded through the timber strip.
C. C. Stetson, from Philadelphia, came in the month of July. 1854, on his way to California, but as he neared the Cannon valley he heard so much of its beautiful scenery, its excellent farming land, and the unsurpassed advantages of the country. he determined to secure a farm, which he did on section 24. He came in company with Morris B. Stiles, with a team they had bought in St. Paul. Stiles took a claim adjoining Stetson, on section 24, this section being on what was then known as the Indian trail, a north and south stage line from Fort Snelling to Faribault. A short time after their arrival the Hastings stage passed through their farms, this being an east and west line. The former of these received its name of "Indian Trail" from the number of Indians that were constantly passing over it to and from the agency at Fort Snelling, and after the agency was
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removed from there this was the established treadway of the In- dians in visiting one another, until the Sioux outbreak in 1862. This road is now the county road through the eastern part of Bridgewater, having been straightened considerably.
Stetson and Stiles at once put up a log shanty and com- menced keeping house. They were not troubled with Indians, except as beggars, and although they would not "steal for the sake of stealing," as is claimed by some, victuals and liquor had to be carefully guarded or locked up. C. C. Stetson kept several cows and made excellent butter, which he used to treat his visitors with. Mr. Stetson also started a blacksmith shop soon after he got here, which was the first shop in this part of the country, and did a good business shoeing horses on the stage lines. Morris Stiles' place finally went into the hands of P. Oleson. The latter gentleman, in company with Capt. Jolin Hanson, came in 1854. In June, 1854, the eastern part of the township received its first settlers in the persons of the Drake brothers, Charles B., J. R. and A. W. Daniel Bundy came about the same time. They all put up log cabins, in which they lived for a number of years. November, 1854, H. M. Matteson, a New Yorker, arrived with a livery from St. Paul, prospecting for a chance to settle and make a speculation. He was favorably impressed with the location, but did not settle or take any land at the time, driving back to St. Paul and returning the following year. Arriving in the spring of 1855, he jumped the claim that Mr. Irish had selected and paid him for improvements. This was the claim where Dundas is, including the water power, and he at once commenced laying plans for throwing a dam across the river and erecting a sawmill. His next move was to get out timber for a mill, but before it was fairly begun he sold his entire interest and 740 acres of land to the Archibalds. in June, 1857. Mr. Matteson, after selling his property here, removed to Faribault. This year, 1855, yielded a most bountiful harvest to the pioneers of Bridgewater. Wheat yielded from forty to forty-five bushels per acre, and the average price received was $1.50 per bushel. James Babb, of New Hampshire. had become one of the settlements in April, 1854, with his wife, and was located southwest of Dundas. He afterwards, in com- pany with another early pioneer, commenced the erection of a sawmill. James Smith was another who came this year and remained for several years. He was afterwards town clerk for a number of years in Faribault, and was finally killed by Indians on his way to California. In the spring of 1855 Jacob Emery made his appearance, and after looking about for a short time. decided to locate on Little Prairie, south of Dundas. He cut his way three miles through the heavy timber to get to the place
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