USA > Minnesota > Wabasha County > History of Wabasha County : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc. : gathered from matter furnished by interviews with old settlers, county, township, and other records, and extracts from files of papers, pamphlets, and such other sources > Part 50
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German Lutheran .- This congregation was organized in 1875, with a membership of fifty, with the Rev. August Kanne as pastor. Their service was held in the court-room until July, 1876, when their church building was completed which stood on Market street. The
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size of this church was 25×40 feet, and the whole expense, includ- ing the church lots and belfry, amounted to two thousand dollars. The first trustees of this church were Jacob Thoney, Sr., Christian Florine and Wilhelm Ruchenbauch. They were succeeded by Her- man Lessing, Philip Grub and Maurice Ending. These were snc- ceeded by J. Breger, Jacob Scholer and Albert Lueck. This church and society have a Sunday school, which was organized in 1876, with forty scholars, and the school and congregation number at the present date about one hundred and fifty. A seven-hundred-pound bell was purchased in 1877. The first pastor of this church was Rev. August Kanne, who was succeeded in 1879 by the Rev. A. Krahn, who still remains in charge. The lot upon which the church was built was found to be not pleasing to the congregation, and in the spring of 1881 another was purchased on corner of Jefferson and Second streets, South Wabasha, and the church removed to it in the spring of 1882, at an expense of one hundred and fifty dollars. The members constituting this church were : John Voelger, Henry Balow, Jacob Thoney, Joseph Thoney, Jacob Ray, Jacob Gengnagle, Peter Ter- vana, Peter Yanette, Herman Lessing, George Bance, Peter C. Cavedetesher, Jacob Miller, William Reichenbach, Jacob Mingold, Peter Klaus, Philip Grub and Jacob Schuler.
The first Protestant services held in Wabasha were by Rev. Dwight Kidder, in the bar-room of the American hotel, in 1855. Mr. Kidder was a Methodist. and had been sent to take charge of the mission embracing Read's Landing, Wabasha, Central Point and Wacouta. A class formed in Wabasha, consisting of H. B. Potter, leader, H. Tracy, T. G. Bolton, J. W. Bolton, Nancy Bolton, Ruth E. Bolton, Mrs. Wilds and Hannah Drew. Wabasha at that time contained about one hundred inhabitants. The first quarterly meet- ing held in the place was in the log chapel belonging to the Catholics, December 15-16, 1855. A Mr. Crist was appointed to this charge in 1856, but did not remain, and services were interrupted until August, 1857, when the Rev. S. Salsbury was placed in charge by the first Minnesota conference, his work to comprise Wabasha, Read's Land- ing and Cook's valley. Mr. Salsbury left in the spring of 1858, and the next pastor in charge was the Rev. James Gurley. A Sunday school was instituted this year of forty-five scholars. The next pastor in charge was a Mr. Dyer, the next Rev. Jesse Smith, in charge to the fall of 1861, when the Rev. Harvey Webb was placed in charge, and remained until 1863. During his administration, the
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church was reorganized according to the statutes of the state, by appointing John R. C. Creighton, secretary, Rev. H. Webb, pastor, presiding. Five trustees were elected, namely, Thomas Roberts, John R. Creighton, James Crowley, John Lewis and James Luscombe. The term of years each trustee was to serve was determined, and they decided to build a church upon a lot which had been previously purchased for that purpose by Mrs. T. Roberts. This lot was on Second street, and the church bought it of Mrs. Roberts. A build- ing committee was chosen, consisting of Rev. H. Webb, L. Dietz, John McArthur, Thomas Bolton and Thomas Roberts. Specifica- tions for the church building were, size 24×40 feet, height 14 feet, the vestibule being added afterward. John Luscombe, builder. The whole expense of building amounted to one thousand dollars, and it was dedicated on August 6, 1862. The Rev. A. Wilford was placed in charge September, 1863, and remained in charge during 1863-4. In November, 1864, Rev. Wilford was appointed, by the governor, chaplain to the 3d Minn. Vol. Inf., and his place was supplied by Rev. J. R. Creighton, who had received license to preach at confer- ence of 1864. At the next session of conference in 1865, Rev. T. M. Gossard was appointed in charge, and he was succeeded by Rev. J. L. Farber, who was reappointed in the fall of 1867 and remained until 1868, when the Rev. S. G. Gale succeeded him. Rev. W. C. Rice was pastor in 1869-70, and he was succeeded by Rev. B. Y. Coffin, who remained in charge until the fall of 1871, when the Rev. S. G. Gale was returned as pastor. Mr. Gale remained two years, when Rev. W. C. Shaw succeeded him. Mr. Shaw died in February, 1874, and the Rev. M. O. M'Niff was appointed to supply the remainder of the year. September 14, 1875, Rev. W. H. Soule was appointed pastor and remained in charge until October 21, 1878, when the Rev. James Door succeeded him. October 11, 1880, the Rev. W. C. Miles commenced his pastorate, which continued until October 10, 1882, when the Rev. D. J. Higgins was placed in charge and is the present incumbent. This church was removed to its present site on Fourth street. lots 7 and 8, in 1870, the old lot being sold for three hundred dollars. The first stewards were : H. B. Potter and R. F. Morris, in 1855 ; James Crowley and A. Gibbs, in 1856; A. W. Weston and O. W. Collier, in 1860; J. S. Felton, J. W. Lus- combe and L. Emery, in 1861 ; J. R. Creighton and T. G. Bolton, in 1862; M. H. Brown, in 1866; James Crowley and T. Roberts, in 1870; and Thos. Roberts and O. H. Porter, in 1878. The present stewards
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. are John Lewis, O. H. Porter and H. Coval. The first trustees were James Crowley, Thomas Roberts, J. R. Creighton, John Lewis, John W. Luscombe. In 1866 James Crowley, Thos. Roberts, George B. Downer and C. Piper were elected. In 1868 M. H. Brown, E. C. Crum and J. K. Benedict were elected to fill vacancies. In 1879 M. II. Brown, V. R. Mace, Thos. Roberts and O. H. Porter were elected, and the present trustees are O. H. Porter, M. H. Brown and V. R. Mace. The Sunday school has had various superintendents, the first one being R. F. Morris, then James Crow. ley, J. F. Creighton, T. G. Bolton, J. W. Howland, M. H. Brown, V. R. Mace, J. M. Martin and O. H. Porter. The school now numbers some thirty scholars, and congregation, all told, about sixty members.
SCHOOLS.
The first school taught in Wabasha was a private school taught by Thomas Flyn. After the first school-district in the county was organized, which was that of Wabasha district No. 1, in 1855, a school was taught in it by H. B. Potter, the building used for the purpose being the old log church mentioned in another chapter, which stood upon what was thien called "The Point." Mr. Potter taught a few months in 1856, and then the school was discon- tinued. Miss E. Hogard taught a private school for a few months in a small building on Bridge street, erected by B. S. Hurd in 1856 ; Miss Hogard taught during the spring of 1857, but discontinued it on account of the public school being resumed by Miss A. Strickland, who taught for about three months. Mrs. J. J. Stone then opened a private school in her own house on Pembroke street, and taught more or less during the years of 1858 and 1859, removing her school to a small frame building on Main street, below Pembroke. During the summer and fall of 1858 a private school was taught on the west side by E. F. Dodge, in a building erected for that purpose by Mr. Jarvis Williams, of Saco, Maine, who then resided on that side. Meantime steps were being taken by the city for the erection of a schoolhouse adapted to the needs of the town, and lots were purchased in block 5 of South Wabasha for that purpose. A stone building was erected during the summer and fall of 1859, the corner- stone being laid with appropriate ceremonies on July 4, 1859. This house cost twenty-five hundred dollars, size 40×45, and a school was opened in it on January 3, 1860, taught by W. C. Bry- ant, assisted by Miss Henrietta Angier, of Toledo, Ohio, all private
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schools merging into it. Mr. Bryant was from Cincinnati, Ohio, where he had done much to establish a high grade of common schools, and his efforts here were the very first made in Wabasha county toward the union or graded schools. Mr. Bryant continued his teaching until the close of the spring term. No other school was taught in the building as a schoolhouse, as the city donated the building to the county for a courthouse the same year, and the county offices were removed thereto in the fall of 1860.
In the fall of 1860 Mr. Walter Gurley opened a private school in the courtroom of this building, teaching it until January, 1861, when Mr. Joseph Gates took the school and completed the term, teaching another terin during the spring of 1862. The public school was taught very successfully during the winter of 1861-62 by Mr. H. I. Whitmore, his school numbering one hundred pupils. The next school was taught by Mr. Gates, during 1862-3, in the Baptist church building, which was rented for that purpose. A wooden structure at this time was in process of erection, by private enter- prise, for an academy, which stood on Third street, between Walnut and Allegheny streets. It was completed in November, 1865, and a very successful school taught in it during the winter of 1865-6 by Mr. L. Jenness. A parish school had been instituted under the anspices of the Episcopal church, by the Rev. H. G. Batterson, in 1863-4, which was first taught by Miss Kate Dougall, -afterward by Miss Wealthy Tucker, of Winona, -in a building owned by Henry de Camp, corner of Bailly and Second streets, but as the other schools ad- vanced in character and course of study, it was given up, the teacher, Miss Tucker, accepting a position as assistant in the school of the academy. Mr. Jenness, having a better offer in Minneapolis, left in the spring of 1865, and no school being taught, Mrs. Marian T. Bowditch opened a private one in the courtroom for the summer. Mrs. Bowditch continued her school, assisted by her niece, Miss E. Bowditch, in her own house the next winter, discontinuing it in the spring of 1866. Meanwhile the school in the academy was taught by Rev. Bonnel, a Baptist clergyman, assisted by his wife. The city needing a schoolhouse badly, finally negotiated for the academy building, and it passed into the hands of the city in 1865. Previous to that the public school had been taught in the Baptist chapel by J. Gates very satisfactorily, assisted by Mrs. J. J. Stone, Miss M. Staples teaching the summer term. After the purchase of the academy by the city, Mr. Hopper was employed as principal, Mr. Henry F. Rose succeeding him. Mr. Rose remained two years, and
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was succeeded in the fall of 1867 by E. Hogle, who taught the school two terms, assisted by Miss D. Clark and Miss J. Lynch. Mr. E. A. Booth succeeded Hogle, and remained until the spring of 1858, when he resigned the place, his position being filled the next term by Mrs. E. L. Douglass ; Miss Jennie Fyfe, teacher of interme- diate department ; Miss McCune, of primary.
The academy building was now too small to accommodate the different grades, and rooms were rented therefor in different parts of the city. In the spring of 1858 the subject of a more com- modious and central schoolhouse was agitated, which resulted in the erection of the present fine edifice in block 4, South Wabasha, and in the gathering of the different departments of the graded school under one roof. The board of education, after deciding upon the amount of funds needed for that purpose, and to issue bonds upon the credit of the school-district No. 1, submitted the same to a vote of the electors of said district on April 27, 1868, as required by law. The vote cast was for the issue of these bonds, and they were issued to the amount of twenty thousand dollars, redeemable between July 1, 1870, and July 1, 1880. The size of this building is 622 ×822 feet, is three stories high, including basement, and con- tains twelve rooms, besides the halls and wardrobes; four in the basement, four on the first floor, with a wardrobe to each room, and four on the upper floor, with wardrobes also. The high school department occupies the double room on the northwest side of the house. A belfry in the center of the building contains a bell of six hundred pounds, and it is warmed by three Lossing furnaces. Messrs. Gates, Brink & Harlow were the contractors, and the whole cost of building and seating the rooms amounted to twenty-five thou- sand dollars. Board of education at the time consisted of Rev. B. Wharton, S. S. Kepler, J. Satory, J. B. Davis and George Hall.
The school was opened in this building in December, with R. H. Sturgis, principal, and four assistant teachers. In September, 1870, S. L. Sayles, of New York, accepted the position of principal of the school, with five assistant teachers, and taught and regraded it very successfully. Mr. Sayles resigned the position in 1872, and was succeeded by Mr. M. B. Foster, also an able and efficient teacher, who remained four years. Mr. E. Hogle succeeded him for one year, when J. B. Hawley was employed, together with six assistant teachers. In the fall of 1880 Mr. Hawley resigned and Wm. A. Snook succeeded him, remaining two years. The present efficient principal, Horace Gibson, took charge of the school in September, 1882.
CHAPTER LX.
BENCH AND BAR.
MINNESOTA was organized as a territory in March, 1849. By the organic act the judicial power of the territory was vested in a supreme court, district courts, probate courts and courts of justice of the peace.
The territory was divided into three judicial districts, and one of the supreme judges assigned to each district, and the three acting together formed the supreme court of the state.
The judges appointed by the president, and comprising the supreme court in 1856, were William H. Welch, chief justice ; Moses Sherburne and A. J. Chatfield, associate justices.
Wabasha county formed part of the first judicial district, and the Hon. William H. Welch, residing at Red Wing, was assigned to the first district, and held the position of district judge for said district until superseded by the election of the Hon. Thomas Wilson as district judge under the state constitution in 1858.
Although Wabasha county is one of the oldest counties in the state, it was not organized for judicial purposes until the winter of 1856 ; prior to that time it was attached first to Washington and then to Goodhue counties for judicial purposes.
In the winter of 1854 the village of Wabasha was designated, by legislative enactment, as the county seat of Wabasha county. Alexis Bailly was chosen the first justice of the peace of the county, and an effort made to establish law and order.
It is related that Augustine Rocque, an old half-breed Indian trader, then residing at Wabasha, learning of the appointment of Alex Bailly as justice of the peace, called his numerous progeny around him and admonished them that it now stood them in hand to be on their good behavior, "for," said he, "the law has come, and Alexis Bailly is the law."
The first term of the district court for the county was held in what was known as H. S. Allen & Co's warehouse, in the spring of 1856, Hon. William H. Welch presiding ; S. L. Campbell, clerk ; Blois S. Hurd, sheriff; and Thomas Wilson, of Winona, district attorney. No business of importance was transacted. The bar of
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the county was John McKee, J. W. Tyson and S. L. Campbell. No grand or petit jurors were in attendance, and after hearing a few motions and granting a few naturalization papers, court adjourned. At the next term of the district court there was a full attendance of jurors. Seventeen indictments were found, all of which were dis- missed for irregularity, much to the disgust of the then district attor- ney, Samuel Cole, and J. W. Tyson, acting as county attorney.
Alexis Bailly applied for admission to the bar as a qualified attorney, but failed to pass an examination. He was subsequently admitted at St. Paul. Being asked by one of the attorneys of the county how he managed to pass an examination, he replied that he had a bottle of champagne under each arm and two in his pockets, and nary question asked by the committee.
J. A. Criswell succeeded Alexis Bailly in the administration of the law, and was the principal judicial officer of the county, until it was organized for judicial purposes. Although his education was limited, he was an excellent judge of the law, having held the office of justice of the peace in Michigan and Minnesota for over twenty years. Seldom was one of his decisions reversed. He was a man of iron will and strong physical ability, which well fitted him for a frontier justice of the peace. The following incident will illustrate his manner of administering justice. At one time one of the leading physicians was before him, charged with an assault and battery upon one John Murray. During the trial the contestants engaged in a fisticuff, in which the learned justice immediately took a hand, sending each of the combatants to his respective corner. Saying as he did so, "I fine you twenty dollars each for fighting in my court, and you will pay it before you leave the room, or I will lick hell out of you." The doctor soon produced the twenty dollars, but Murray could only find ten dollars. Criswell very generously remitted the balance, say- ing, "The fine goes to the poor, and I would like to see any one poorer than I am," as he chinked the money into his pocket.
The first attorneys to settle in the county and open offices were Frank Clark and John McKee, men whose characters were dia- metrically the opposite of each other. John McKee was open, frank, and generous to a fault ; the other was shrewd, cunning and dis- honest. He was arrested in the winter of 1855 for stealing and mutilating the county records, but succeeded in escaping from the officer who had him in charge, and fled the state. He subsequently
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abandoned the profession and opened up a doctor shop in Chicago as a specialist of bad repute.
In 1858, Minnesota, having adopted a constitution, was admitted as a state, and the Hon. Thomas Wilson, of Winona, was elected district judge, and held the position until he was appointed chief justice of the supreme court of the state in 1864.
The first term of the district court for Wabasha county, under the state organization, was held in what was then known as Hurd's Hall, in Wabasha, in the fall of 1858, Hon. Thos. Willson, presiding; S. A. Kemp,' clerk ; John W. Tyson, district attorney ; R. M. Piner, sheriff ; Wm. J. Jacobs, foreman of the grand jury. There was quite a strong bar present: John N. Murdoch, John McKee, John W. Tyson and S. L. Campbell, resident attorneys of the county, with quite a number of foreign attorneys in attendance. Among the most noted of these were Hon. William Windom (late United States senator) and Gen. Berry, of Winona, J. W. Brisbin, of St. Paul. Quite a number of civil causes were tried,-none of note, however. Seventeen indictments were found by the grand jury, all of which were quashed on motion for informalities in the drawing of the indictments, much to the chagrin and disgust of the county attor- ney, J. W. Tyson. Judge Wilson, on being elected to the supreme bench, was succeeded by the Hon. Lloyd Barber, of Rochester, who held the position for one term (being succeeded by Hon. C. N. Waterman in the fall of 1872), and died February 18, 1873. He held two terms of court in Wabasha county, and presided at the trial of Hicks, Stacks and Farrell for the murder of one Elliott. This was one of the most exciting trials ever held in the county, and lasted for and during thirty-two days. W. W. Scott, of Lake City, then county attorney, assisted by the Hon. Thomas Wilson, of Winona, prosecuted these cases, and the Hon. S. L. Campbell, of Wabasha, conducted the defenses, assisted in the case of Stacks by Gov. Gorman, of St. Paul, on the trial of Hieks by L. S. Flint, Esq., of St. Paul, and on the trial of Farrell by the John Stew- art, of Wabasha. Strenuous efforts were made by the prosecu- tion to obtain a verdict with the penalty of death attached, while the defense put forth their utmost endeavors to save the parties from hanging. The result of these trials was the finding of Stacks and Hicks guilty of murder in the first degree without the death penalty being attached, while in the case of Farrell it was guilty with the death penalty attached. The former two were duly sentenced
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to the state's prison for life, and sentence of "death " was passed upon the latter, but by the efforts of his counsel and others, his sentence was afterward commuted to imprisonment for life by Gov. Austin. The following is a brief summary of the facts attending the murder as appeared upon the trial. On the day of the murder one William Fitzgerald had drawn, as back pay and bounty money for services as volunteer soldier in the late rebellion, about seven hun- dred dollars. This he, during the day, had unguardedly exhibited in the saloons, especially to Patrick Stacks, who was a boon companion and was drinking with him. Stacks conceived the idea and laid his plans to rob Fitzgerald that night, and persuaded Hicks and Farrell to join him in his nefarious enterprise. Their plan was to visit the honse in which Fitzgerald boarded, and which was occupied by one Nicholas Wagner, being situated directly opposite the cemetery between Wabasha and Read's Landing. Stacks was to spy out the location and situation, Hicks was to enter Fitzgerald's bedroom after he had retired and abstract the money, while Farrell was to stand on guard, and if need be to play the bully and bruiser. One Edward Elliott, a thin, spare man, in feeble healthi, boarded at the same house with Fitzgerald. Between one and two o'clock that night, he had occasion to step outdoors and was seized by Stacks, who put a pistol to his head, caught him by the throat and threw him on the ground, when one of the three jumped upon him. Another called ont, it is not our man, do not hurt him. Another said, dead men tell no tales. Supposing Elliott to be dead, they carried him across the road and threw him into the cemetery. Reviving, he crawled on his hands and knees to a house about a quarter of a mile distant, and was able to arouse the inmates, and was by them taken in and cared for. He survived his injuries about three days, giving the facts, as to what took place at the time of the assault, in his dying declarations, although he was unable to recognize any one of his assailants. The inhabitants of Wabasha and Read's Landing were highly incensed at the crime, and strong efforts were made, and large rewards offered, by the county for the arrest of the murderers. Geo. Young, then marshall of Read's Landing, was successful in striking the trail ; and, by ingratiating himself into Farrell's good opinion, whom he found in jail in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and assisting him to regain his liberty, was able to get a statement of the facts in the matter from him, and to Young is due the credit of bringing all three of the murderers to justice.
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Patrick Stacks was one of the most noted desperadoes of the upper Mississippi valley. On his way from Wabasha to the state's prison, in charge of the sheriff and deputies, and handcuffed to his mate, besides being otherwise heavily ironed, they jumped from the deck of a steamboat, while it was in motion, into the Mississippi river, and succeeded in swimming to an island, on which they were several days afterward recaptured in a half-famished condition, being unable to separate themselves or remove their irons without tools, or escape to the mainland by swimming, until they were removed. He afterward made several attempts to escape from the state's prison, in one of which he was successful, being again retaken after reaching the mountains in Nebraska, through the betrayal of his identity by an associate for the reward offered for him. Again he was incarcerated in the prison, and soon afterward put an end to his miserable existence by poison mysteriously procured. Before he died, but while on his deathbed, he made a declaration in which he stated that Farrell did all he could to save Elliott from harm. Influenced by Stack's confession and by the good record of Farrell while in state's prison, through the exertions of S. L. Campbell, of Wabasha, and others, Gov. Hubbard was induced to extend to him pardon after eleven years' imprisonment. Since his release he has conducted himself in an upright manner and is well liked by his employers. Hicks still remains in prison. Nothing shows the fal- libility of juries and human tribunals more than the result of these trials. During their progress, and from the time of the arrest until final judgment it was the almost universal opinion that Farrell was the most guilty of the three. At the present time it is unanimously conceded that Farrell not only was not guilty of the murder, but that he did all he could to prevent it.
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