Biographical and historical record of Greene and Carroll counties, Iowa. Containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Cleveland, with accompanying biographies of each; portraits and biographies of the governors of the state and a concise history of the two counties and their cities and villages, Part 71

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 728

USA > Ohio > Greene County > Biographical and historical record of Greene and Carroll counties, Iowa. Containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Cleveland, with accompanying biographies of each; portraits and biographies of the governors of the state and a concise history of the two counties and their cities and villages > Part 71
USA > Ohio > Carroll County > Biographical and historical record of Greene and Carroll counties, Iowa. Containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Cleveland, with accompanying biographies of each; portraits and biographies of the governors of the state and a concise history of the two counties and their cities and villages > Part 71

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

635

--- ..

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

ker, settled in the same county, and in 1874 came to Carroll County, where he died in 1882. The mother died two years previous. Mr. Parker has usually been engaged in agri- cultural pursuits, and is an enterprising citi- zen. He married Adeline Hupp, daughter of John Hupp, who settled in Cedar County in 1853. The father is now deceased and the mother lives with Mrs. Parker.

OHN BELL, a prosperous farmer of Car- roll County, Iowa, residing on section 23, Sheridan Township, is a native of Down County, Ireland, born January 26, 1838, and was the fourth in a family of ten children of Andrew and Elizabeth (Brown) Bell. The father being a blacksmith, John was reared to the same avocation. He re- mained in his native country till 1857, when he sailed from Liverpool, England, alone, landing at New York City, and a short time afterward went to Warren County, New York, where he followed farming, working by the month for two years. He then went to Washington County, New York, where he resided about nine years, when he immi- grated to Cedar County, Iowa, where he worked on a farm by the month for one year. He was married in New York State March

15, 1870, to Miss Emma Wood, who was born in Washington County, New York, May 10, 1849, a daughter of Charles and Saralı (Hollinbeck) Wood, who were natives of the State of Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Wood had a family of eight children, Mrs. Bell being the sixth child. To Mr. and Mrs. Bell have been born nine children, of whom seven are living-Lizzie, Jennie S., Albert, Carrie M., Minnie A., Effie C. and Mattie E. Mattie died in 1878, aged thirteen years, and Stephen A. died in 1884, aged one year and seven months. Mr. Bell left Cedar County in 1870, when he came to Carroll County and settled on his present farm, which at that time was raw prairie land. He now has one of the finest farms in the county, located as follows: the northwest quarter of section 23, the east half of the southwest quarter of sec- tion 23, the south half of the northeast quarter of section 22, and the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 15, Sheridan Township. He is success- fully engaged in farming and stock-rais- ing. He has on his farm a native grove covering two aeres, and one acre of ground for an orchard. His residence is both comforta- ble and commodious, and his farm buildings are in good condition, making his farm one of the most desirable in his neighborhood. In politics Mr. Bell is a Republican, and is a strong advocate of the principles of his party.

4/音/具/

- -

SMART SE.

6/ 1 ーーーーーーライス 0 1/3 1/ 5/3/ 4/6/ 13/6/ 1/0 7/7/ 07/4/064 1 0/1/0/1/2

GENERABA

HISTORY

4/1/7

/售/美/版へ

///////////

一

039

-----

INTRODUCTORY.

INTRODUCTORY. **

HE fact that Iowa is situated near the geo- graphical center of the United States, be- tween the two great rivers of the conti- nent, and on the line of the great trans-continental rail- ways, presages for her a future in the development of her resources which, it does not require the prevision of a pro- phet to see, will at no distant day place her in an eminent position among the States of our Union, which nature, as- sisted by the energy, thrift and enterprise of her eitizens, has so abundantly fitted her to occupy.

When we call to mind the fact that the present greatness of Iowa is all the growth of little more than forty years, we may well anticipate the grandeur that awaits her in the near future-now that she is provided with all the means necessary for the more rapid development of her inexhaustible re- sources. In her healthful climate, produc- tive soil, railroad and water transportation 45

facilities, and her intelligent, enterprising people, we have the best guaranty that her future progress will be unprecedented.

The pioneer work has been done in most parts of the State, and railroads, public buildings, churches, school-houses, etc., are provided, so that the citizens of Iowa now enjoy all the comforts, conveniences and advantages obtained in the older States, and Iowa offers to-day proportionately greater inducements to capital, enterprise and labor. Incaleulable wealth lies hidden in the inex- hanstible coal mines, furnishing motive-power, and the nnused water-power form natural inill-sites, in almost every county in the State, for manufacturing industries. Iowa, for agricultural and manufacturing resources, has no superior among all the States, while her channels of trade radiate in all directions.

Next to the fertility of its soil, its excel- lent elimate, and the energy of its industrial elasses, the prosperity of the State is dne to wise legislation, by which its financial credit has been maintained, internal improvements encouraged, public instruction rapidly ad- vanecd, and immigration and eapital attracted. Thirty-eight years have elapsed since Iowa was admitted as a State, and during that

640

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.

time wonderful changes have taken place. Then savage beasts and savage men contended for the supremaey in this fair domain, but both have retreated before the white man, and to-day civilization has left its mark in numberless school-houses and churches, and in the prosperity and happiness which every- where abonnds. Of lowa, whose name is a synonym for prosperity, and her high rank in the sisterhood of States, in respect of moral and material greatness, it is unnecessary to speak at length. Aside from the experiences of the civil war, in which the State furnished her full quota of men-and no braver men were sent to the front-the history of Iowa is that of one uninterrupted mareh of progress in the paths of peace, and she has risen from the condition of a Territory to one of the principal States of the Republic, in popula- tion, wealth and moral greatness. With these elements of empire inherent in it, it is not surprising that Iowa is making strides which must soon place her where she will be recognized as one of the foremost in manu- facturing and other industrial pursuits, as well as in agriculture.

In order of admission into the Union, Iowa stands twenty-ninth; in number of square miles she is twenty-fourth; in population, tentli, while in acres of tillable land her place is first. She is the third State in the amount of corn raised, while she is second in number of hogs raised, third in cattle, fifth in wheat, sixth in oats, fifth in barley, fifth in flax, seventh in hay, third in milch cows, fifth in number of hogs packed, fifth in valne of farm implements, sixth in value of farm products, fourth in extent of eoal area, and fifth in num- ber of banks and newspapers. In religious, educational, charitable and benevolent institu- tions Iowa stands among the foremost. In regard to healthfulness her rank is fourth, while in point of the intelligence of her

people she is first. having a less percentage of illiteracy than any other State. Twenty- one States have more persons in prison, and thirty-two States more female prisoners than Iowa. In the number of postoffices she is seventhi, and in the amount of postal receipts sixth, being one of the eight Northern States which contribute two-thirds of the entire national revenue.

BOUNDARIES AND DIVISIONS.

This empire is composed of ninety-nine subdivisions, or little republics, called coun- ties, of which Carroll is one. It is bounded on the north by Calhoun and Sae counties, on the east by Greene, on the south by Guthrie and Audubon, and on the west by Crawford. It contains sixteen congressional townships, numbered from 82 to 85 north, in ranges 33 to 36 west of the Fifth Principal Meridian. For organic purposes the county is now divided into sixteen eivil townships, coincident with the congressional townships. These will be mentioned in the next chapter. The county is the third east of the Missouri River, and in the fifth tier of counties, both from the northern and southern boundary of the State.

TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY.

Carroll is emphatically a prairie county, the eastern portion being composed of a gently undulating surface sufficiently rolling to break the monotonous sameness of the level plain, while to the westward of the Middle Raccoon River the surface is more broken and uneven, in many places rising into hills of considerable prominence. The great watershed dividing the waters which flow into the Mississippi from those which flow into the Missouri passes through this county, and at the highest point is 858 feet above Lake Michigan and 800 feet above the Mississippi River at Clinton. From this

641

INTRODUCTORY.

summit can be obtained a fine view of the surrounding country, extending in every direction as far as the eve can reach. On the east and the southeast is seen, in the dis- tanee, the rich, fertile valley of the Raccoon Rivers, on the south the unsurpassingly lovely country surrounding the Nishnabotany, | and on the west the magnificent vale through which flows the Boyer. All of which in a clear summer's day afford seenery at once grand, beautiful and picturesque.

Being situated upon the great dividing ridge or watershed, this county is watered and drained mostly by small streams which flow both into the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The largest stream is the North Raccoon, which euts across the northeast corner of the county, while the next two in importance are the Middle Raccoon and Brushy Fork, which take their rise in the watershed divide in the northwest, and flow- ing nearly parallel from four to six miles apart in a southeast direction, make their exit near the southeast corner of the county. Storm Creek, a tributary of the Middle Rac- coon, drains a large tract in the northern- central as does the Willow Creek in the eastern border. The North Raccoon is deeply excavated into the drift deposit, and its valley is bordered by rather steep acelivities from seventy to one hundred feet in height, while the Middle Raccoon is bordered on the west by high bluff-capped slopes, and on the east by drift hills, which gain the interior heights by more gradual ascents. Brushy Fork possesses a beautiful valley with gentle acclivities on either side, as does the East Nishnabotany and Boyer Rivers and Whitted's Creek, which are on the west side of the watershed divide. The upper course of all of these streams are little more than diminu- tive prairie brooks, with gravelly beds and clear, rapid currents, many of those having

their headwaters in the great divide inter- locking, as it were, being separated by a narrow erest as sharply defined as a gable ridge. Springs issue from the gravel deposits along these water courses, furnishing them with an abundant supply of limpid, pure water at all seasons of the year. East of the Middle Raccoon River wells are easily obtained, while in the uplands west of that stream those seeking water must go to a much greater depth, though the certainty of finding a never-failing supply is just as good.

In a shallow depression or plain below Car- rollton, on the east side of the Middle Rac- coon, several interesting spring mounds ocenr, which have excited much attention and are described as follows by Dr. White, in the Iowa State Geology: "The plain is thirty or forty feet above the present level of the river, from which it is separated by a well- defined drift ridge which, in places, rises into considerable knob-like eminences from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet above the stream. The plain, however, com- municates with the valley both above and below, and was probably once the channel of the river. The spring mounds are situated along an irregular line more or less in the middle of the depression; they are from four to six feet in height and as many yards in diameter, and are apparently entirely com- posed of vegetable matter, forming a peaty deposit which is largely mixed with the ex- uviæ of shells and other animal remains. The crests of the mounds are covered with a tall, rank flag or marsh grass, but upon the sides there are usually two well-marked bands of short herbage and moss encircling the monnds and separated by a narrow belt of tall grass. The deposit of the vegetation upon these places is exceedingly interesting, though the mounds themselves, doubtless, owe their origin to the existence of pools of

642

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.

water, indicating more or less accurately the course of a former water channel, and which, being fed from higher sources, the tendency is what we observe-a gradual building up of a peaty formation. The surface of the plain beyond the limits of the mounds is perfectly level, and the deposit consists of decayed vegetable matter mixed with sand, forming a sandy muck."

Like that of Guthrie County, which lies on the great divide just southeast of Carroll, the soil of this county presents two well- marked varieties: that on the east side of the Middle Raceoon being of the drift formation, is a gravelly loam of great strength and pro- duetiveness, while to west of that stream the uplands are deeply enveloped in the bluff formation, which has imparted to the soil of this portion of the county its own peculiar characteristics. Small groves of native tim- ber are found on the principal streams; and in favorable locations, even upon the uplands, forests of young oak are springing up. Some two or three small patelies are met with in the valley of Brushy Fork, and between Coon Rapids and Carrollton; on the Middle Rae- coon more extensive traets are covered with a fine growth of young timber.

No beds of coal have as yet been dis- covered, except at Coon Rapids, on the | briek.

southern edge of the county. though it is not deemed improbable, says Dr. White, that the coal-measure formation underlies at least a portion of the county. The only specimens yet found have been discovered in digging wells and making other excavations, and are only small fragments associated with the loose material of the drift deposit. Peat is known to exist in several places in the county, some of which are of considerable extent, and should they be found to be free from sand and gravel, they will eventually become of some value as a resource for fuel. Good building stone is not found within the limits of Carroll County, the cretaceous sand- stone being too friable to answer for ordinary. building purposes, except some of the harder layers, which are employed in laying up rough under-pinnings, in walling wells, ete. Material for the manufacture of brick is found in abundance, yet care is necessary in selecting elay in the western portion of the county, in consequence of the prevalence of calcareous matter derived from the disin- tegration of the bluff deposits on the surface of the lower slopes. The lime thus mixed with the earth is converted into quicklime in the process of burning briek, and on exposure, to moisture the lime slakes and bursts the

-- -

613

EARLY AND CIVIL HISTORY.

*Early and Civil History.

HE Indian title to this 8 region was extinguished many years before any white man selected a site in what is now Carroll County to be his per- manent home. From 1837 to 1851 the county was theoretically 9 a part of Benton, which then in- cluded all the territory between its northern and southern lines, extending to the Missouri River. In 1851 Carroll County was established and attached to Polk, and two years later attached to Shelby. These changes possess but slight interest, as the settlement of the county had not commeneed. The Indians remained be- eanse there was no white man to objeet to their presence. The county was named in honor of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Indepen- dence.

The first settlement in the county was made on seetion 2, township 84, range 33 (now Glidden Township), in 1854. The same autumn and the following spring a number

of immigrants fixed their homes here. Feb- ruary 14, 1855, the county was attached to Guthrie.

The county judge of Guthrie County, James Henderson, on the 16th of July, 1855, issued the following order:

"To Solomon Loomis, of Carroll Town- ship. Carroll County, attached to Guthrie County,

"Greeting: It is hereby ordered that an election be held at the house of Ilenry Cop- lin, in Carroll Township, in said county and State, on the first Monday in August, 1855, for the organization of Carroll County and the election of county officers of said Carroll County, and that this warrant be directed to Solomon Loomis, of said township, to adver- tise the legal notice of county officers for said Carroll County, viz: county judge, treasurer and reeorder, elerk of district court, prose- enting attorney, county surveyor, drainage commissioner, sheriff and coroner, to be elected at said election, and that he proceed according to law."

The house of Henry Coplin, above men- tioned, was on section 12, township 84, range 34 (now Grant Township). The entire popu-

644

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.

lation of the county was at this time less than 100. and the number of voters about thirty. The first county officers elected were: County Judge, A. J. Cain; Clerk of District Court, Levi Thompson; Treasurer and Recorder, James White; Surveyor, Robert Lloyd; Prosecuting Attorney, L. MeCurdy; Sheriff, J. Y. Anderson.

EARLY ORDERS OF COUNTY JUDGE.

The first order of Judge Cain was dated December 3, 1855, and reads " James White was allowed 84 for hanling the laws of Iowa for Carroll County from Iowa City to Carroll County." On the same date James White was allowed $12.50 on account of salary as treasurer and recorder; A. J. Cain, $12.50 for salary as county judge; and Levi Thomp- son $16.00 for services as clerk.

On the 18th of the same month "The County of Carroll bought of S. A. Walker, Fort Des Moines, four plats, as follows: No. 82. 83, 84. 85 north, of range 33 west; at $2.50 each."

February 4, 1856, Cain, Thompson and White were each allowed $12.50 on account of salary.

At this time the county was divided into two townships-Newton and Jasper. In the spring of 1856 justices and constables were elected in these townships. In Newton the judges of election were Thomas MeCurdy, Robert Morris and Benjamin Tellor; clerks, Robert Floyd and Cyrus Babbitt. In Jasper the judges were Levi Thompson, Robert Diekson and Enos Butrick; clerk, James G. Anderson.

SELECTION OF COUNTY SEAT.

A petition was presented to the district judge April 7, 1856, asking for the appoint- ment of commissioners to select a site for the county seat. This was signed by the follow-

ing twenty persons, nearly all the legal voters of the county at that time: Thomas T. Mor- ris, George W. Tellor, Henry Coplin, Robert Diekson, Levi Thompson, A. J. Cain, Enos Bntrick, David Butrick, O. J. Niles, S. L. Loomis, Benjamin Tellor, Thomas MeCurdy, Robert Morris, David Vance, Robert Floyd, Conrad Geiselhart, Edward Smith, Cyrus R. Babbitt, Cyrus Rhoades and Jacob Davis.

In accordance with a provision of a statute approved January 12, 1853, Judge E. H. Sears. of the Sixth Judicial District, then in- cluding Carroll County. appointed as such commissioners William L. Henderson, Esq., of Guthrie County, John Purdy, Esq., of Crawford County, and Dr. S. M. Ballard, of Audubon County. They were directed to perform their duty within two months. Dr. Ballard failed to act, but the two others were sworn June 4, and on the 6th of June made the following formal report:

" Whereas we, the undersigned, were ap- pointed by Hon. E. H. Sears, District Judge of the Sixth Judicial District of the State of Iowa, on the 14th day of April, 1856, Com- missioners to locate the seat of justice or county seat of Carroll County, in the State of Iowa, we therefore, in conformity to said ap- pointment, after being duly qualified accord- ing to law and after mature deliberation and carefully reviewing and examining all and every proposed site within the bounds of the said county of Carroll, having dne regard for the welfare and prospects of the people of the said county, also the welfare, prospects and convenience of the future as well as the pres- ent population of the said county of Carroll do hereby by the power invested in us locate the permanent county seat of the said county of Carroll, in the State of Iowa, on the north fractional half of the northeast quarter of section 1 in township 82 north, of range 34 west of the fifth principal meri-

G15

EARLY AND CIVIL HISTORY.

dian, and on the south half of the southeast quarter of section 36 in township 83 north, of range 34 west of the fifth principal meridian, and on which the town of Carrollton is now laid ont, and also such additional territory as may be donated on either side of the premises aforesaid, or that may be purchased by the proper authorities of said county at any time, and added thereto without limit."

ITEMS, 1856.

The census of Carroll County in 1856 was taken by the assessors of the two townships, and showed the total population to be 251.

The first case of pauperism in the county occurred in the summer of 1856, when Dr. I. P. Miller, the pioneer physician, was allowed 824 for attending one John Sals- bery, and Enos Butrick contracted with the county court to care for him at $2 a week as long as he was sick. Dr. Miller was after- ward allowed $50 additional.

Robert Floyd was allowed $3.50 for sur- veying the blocks in the town of Carrollton. S. L. Loomis was allowed $1 for dividing the blocks into lots.

August 5, 1856, the county officers had a mutual settlement, and it was found that the county owed A. J. Cain 819.25; James An- derson, $5.00; Levi Thompson, $12.50.

Cyrus R. Babbitt was allowed $34.00 for assessing Newton Township. The first tax levy made after the organization of the county was in 1856: 14 mills for State tax; 6 mills for county tax ; 1 mill for school tax; 3 mills for road tax; poll tax, $2.00; county poll tax. 50 cents.

The first law prohibiting the running at large of hogs and sheep was passed in 1856 by a vote of 27 to 6.

Among the immigrants of 1856, besides those already mentioned, were Lafayette Mc- Curdy, Amos Basom, Wesley H. Blizzard,

Urialı Gibson, William HI. Teitsort, N. H. Powers, J. II. Watson, William Gilley, Will- iam Ochampaugh and Simon Ochampaugh.

The proceeds of the sale of lots in Carroll- ton, belonging to the county, were loaned at interest for a time. Samuel L. Loomis bor- rowed $262.50; Thomas MeCurdy, $190; Robert Morris, $25.

SUBSEQUENT ORDERS.

The following unique item bears date of June 8, 1857, and is signed by L. McCurdy, County Judge:

" License was granted this day by the county court to Samuel L. Loomis to peddle dry goods, fancy notions and patent medi- cines throughout the State of Iowa, for three months from this date, and he has paid twelve dollars and fifty cents for the use of the State of Iowa, which entitles him to use two or three animals in transporting his merchan- dise."

James Y. Anderson assessed the whole of Carroll County in 1857, and received there- for $125. The taxes for the year amounted to $3,505.17.

March 1, 1858, James Thorington, of Wash- ington, D. C., was appointed as agent, with power of attorney to select and secure to the county of Carroll all swamp lands belonging to said county by act of Congress passed September 28, 1850.

April 6, 1858, County Judge Morris ap- pointed Robert Hilland Noah Titus surveyors to select the swamp lands in Carroll County. Hill was assigned the townships in ranges 33 and 35, and Titus those in ranges 34 and 36.

Robert Hill was shortly after allowed $5 for furnishing plans and specifications for a court-house. This Hill, who has now been dead for a number of years, was an odd character, and it is related of him that his

646

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.

manner of surveying was to tie a handker- chief on a wagon wheel, and then connt the revolutions of the wheel. Of the swamp land surveys in this county, not any ontside of range 33 were ever approved.

The last official act of Judge T. T. Morris was to settle, on December 13, 1859, with H. L. Youtz, administrator of the estate of Nelson B. Moore, who had taken the contract for building the court-house at Carrollton. In this settlement the county paid $818, and took the responsibility of finishing the build- ing, which was unpainted and unplastered.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.

Judge Morris was succeeded by Judge William Shriner in January, 1860. At the close of that year the general government of county affairs was taken from the county judge, who was left in charge of only probate matters, and given to a Board of Supervisors. The Board at first included two members, one for each township. It was in 1863 increased to three, when Union Township was added to Jasper and Newton. In 1867 three more townships were added-Carroll, Glidden and Sheridan-and then the Board had six members from 1868 to 1870. In 1871 the township system was abolished, and the county Board reduced to three members. This was increased to five in 1873, and has since remained at that number. The first Board met and organized January 6, 1861, and consisted of Crockett Ribble and Jacob Cretsinger. The first act of this organized body of two was to pass the fol- lowing resolution:

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Author: Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1887 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 728

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 728