History of Iowa County, Wisconsin, Part 86

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 958

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Regiment unknown-Samuel Givens.

TOWN OF WYOMING.

Eleventh Infantry-Co. G-T. 1. Smith.

Twelfth Infantry-Co. C-William E. Morris, Selah Anthony, Henry Jones, Washington Joues, William Jones, B. S. Butterfield, Dewitt C. Wood, Enoch P. Wood, John M. Lavoke, William C. Reed, Richard Higgins, Ellmore Gear, Plympton Rawden, Miner Rawden, Audrus Swan- sen, Elward Paul, Jr., Lewis l'aul, Edward l'aul.

Fourteenth Infantry-Co. D -- Donald Brauder.

Fifteenth Infantry-Co. G-Ole Anderson.

Twentieth Infantry-Company unknown-Wm. Miller.

Thirty-third Infantry-Co. A-John Morris, Charles Reed, George Rollins, John Ferry, Frank S. Joiner, Ben- jamin Franklin, Alexander Cameron, William B. Culver, H. T. Love, David King, Safford Hewitt, George Wanni- maker.

Second Cavalry-James Allen.

Sixth Battery-11. T. Shultz, Billings Brown, George D. Brown.

CHAPTER IX.

. THE TORNADO OF 1878-COUNTY OFFICERS-PROPERTY VALUATION-FARM PRODUCTS-IOWA COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY-EARLY VOTING POINTS-PRESS.

THE TORNADO OF 1878.

The storm of May 23, 1878. will long be remembered by the inhabitants of Central Iowa, Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, as the most destructive that ravaged their districts from time immemorial. The tornado was occasioned by a conflict of various elements in an up- per-air stratum, where, becoming surcharged with vapor, the cloud-center was depressed to a lower level. It first struck the ground on the farm of J. W. Rewey, two miles south of Mifflin Village, in the northwest quarter of Section 8, in the town of Mifflin. The storm pursued a northeast- erly course through Iowa County, sweeping along the northern boundary of the city of Mineral Point, thence into Dane and Jefferson Counties. When the storm encroached on Iowa County, it signalized its advent by a destructive passage through the farm of J. W. Rewey, two miles south of Mifflin Village, and fifteen miles southwest of Mineral Point.

Leaving the Rewey farm, the storm struck the house of Edward Williams, inflicting dam- age to the extent of several hundred dollars. The residence of Mrs. Hannah Jones, mother of Judge J. I. Jones, next attracted a share of attention, the house being carried away in mid-air. Among the various places visited were the following houses, which received damage of a more or less serious nature : The residences of John M. and Frank Owens, P. D. Thomas. J. Evans, Stephen Thomas, John Lewis, Mrs. Phillips, M. Hughes and David R. Davis. Mrs. Frank Owens was seriously injured, but recovered. Mrs. Phillips, whose injuries were anticipated to be fatal, likewise recovered.

From the Welsh settlement, the storm swept across the country to Lost Grove, leaving a trail of devastated homesteads in its rear to define its progress. At Lost Grove, James Howe's domicile was demolished. The family, consisting of husband, wife and children, occupied the house at the time, and, being unprepared, Mrs. Howe was transported over a distance of several rods, and deposited on the ground with such violence that she succumbed to her injuries. At the first alarm, Joseph Howe caught his infant child in his arms, and both were dashed about furiously in different directions, but, happily, escaped unscathed, and the child was uplifted and gently borne to an adjacent slough, where it was comfortably buried in the accommodating mire. To this circumstance is to be attributed the child's escape from death. It also crossed the farms of Mrs. McCormick, John L. Miller and James F. Brown, doing considerable damage on each place. A house occupied by Mr. Doney was swept away, in company with a valuable line of fencing. The loss here was estimated at $2,000. Thomas Kealey's new house, which had jast assumed a look of substantial comfort, winged its flight, in minute sections, to another portion of the county. Mr. Kaley's old house, occupied by himself and family, was damaged. the family sin- gularly escaping by retreating to the cellar. Bearing around the bluff, the tornado was diverted from its direct course for seventy or eighty rods, and, coming in contact with a new barn erected on Hugh Phillips' farm, shattered it into minute fragments, and damaged other property in the vicinity to the sum of $1,500. This appeared to have changed its course. for, reversing, the storm careened down the valley in its former easterly direction.

Castle Rock, a massive projection of sandstone, corresponding somewhat to the ruins of an ancient castle, was the providential means of saving Mineral Point from being laid in ruins. Striking this natural barrier, further progress was temporarily arrested by the unmovable obstruc- tion. The scene at this point was grandly sublime beyond the power of expression. The in-

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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.

flated storm-cloud swayed and surged around the rock, as if determined to compass the destruc- tion of a foe with sufficient temerity to bar its triumphal march. The wild conflict of the elements lasted for the space of several minutes, when the tornado was perceived to have again altered its course, and was then proceeding in a northeasterly direction. Departing on a tan- gent from its previous course, the storm overwhelmed James Spensley's furnace, involving a loss of $1.000.

J. Coleman's house was bodily lifted into the air, injuring all the occupants. Mr. Coleman, wife and daughter, and John Allen, were in the house. The first mentioned was dangerously injured, and his recovery was at first regarded as doubtful.

The large frame house of John Spensley was uplifted and crushed in the remorseless max of the aerial monster, the remains being distributed over a wide range of country. At the time, there were twelve persons in the house, including William Coates, a visitor from Dubuque. Seeing the portentous black clouds approaching, with their Cimmerian darkness illuminated with intermittent flashes of forked lightning, the family and their guests hastened into the cellar, running down a stairway leading from the dining-room. All succeeded in gaining the basement, except Mrs. T. C. Roberts and Mrs. Maria Waller. The latter occupied a position on the stairs, urging the former lady to follow her down, but suddenly it occurred to Mrs. Roberts that one of her four children remained up-stairs. The two ladies started together to recover the child. Simulta- neously the storm struck the house, which oscillated and cracked violently, while the stairs on which Mrs. Roberts stood, swayed to and fro in an ominous manner. The ladies then retreated to the cellar stairs. The windows of the house were blown in, and the glass was showered around the females like hail. The following instant, the house was torn into two sections, and the whirl- wind, penetrating, seized Mrs. Waller, and bearing that hapless female through the air for 400 yards, dashed her lifeless body to the carth, in a terribly bruised condition. Her feet were de- nuded of shoes and stockings, which were carried away. The house was forcibly removed from its foundation, leaving the terrified women and children unharmed in the basement. A part of the house was on the ensuing day found one mile away, and a rafter was discovered over a mile distant, driven five feet into the soil. A commodious barn and carriage house, situated about three hundred feet northeast of the house, together with its contents, proved a total loss. One horse alone escaped. One of the hubs of Mr. Waller's buggy, was cut out of the wheel, with all the apparent precision of work accomplished with the aid of mechanical ingenuity. The ruins of the barn were elevated into the air, where, seized by a cross current, they were borne toward the southwest.

The farmhouse of John and Calvert Spensley, occupied by George Leonard, was also car- ried off. and Mrs. Leonard almost instantly killed. Her body was recovered in a ravine, about 100 yards from the house, in a terribly mangled condition. Another house, the property of Mr. Addington, was swept away, and the stone residence of John Francis, situated adjacent, was unroofed. One of the inmates of the latter house was slightly injured. Benjamin C. Bennet's house suffered the fate of its numerous predecessors, and was blotted from the surface of the earth. Mrs. Bennet was the sole occupant when the dreadful blast involved her in its folds. She was carried across an open area, and dashed with violence against a wood pile, escaping with trifling wounds. William Jacka's abode was shifted from its foundation several feet, the terrified dwellers escaping uninjured. James Prince's house suffered the loss of the roof. A barn belonging to John Lanyon was utterly demolished. The predatory mood of the winds directed the course of the storm through the German Catholie Cemetery, where havoc and deso- lation, marked by numerous decapitated monuments and broken tombstones, illustrated the fury of the incursion. C. Gillmann's brewery was laid in ruins. Twelve persons were in Mr. Gill- mann's house when warned by the roar of the approaching hurricane, they sought a timely refuge in the cellar. They all escaped save Miss Alice Zimmer, of Eden, who sustained injuries which ultimately resulted in her death. The brewery was completely prostrated. At the first touch, the roof was borne away, and shattered to pieces in the air; the stone walls were over- thrown, and two adjoining barns were leveled to the ground. Mr. Gillmann's residence was

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obliterated, and his thriving orchard denuded of foliage and bark. A number of persons, including all the employes. who had taken refuge in the brewery, miraculously escaped without a blemish. Among the refugees was the driver of the Arena stage, who, confiding in the stability of the brewery, had hurried thither with his vehicle in search of shelter. Overtaken by the storm, the driver jumped down from his elevated perch, and, seizing the spokes of the rear wheel, tenaciously clung to them with a vise-like grip. The stage was whirled around several times withont relaxing the driver's grasp, or perpetrating any material injury. The inail bag was preserved uninjured, but a package was picked up out of the coach and carried into Waldwick, a distance of twelve miles, where it was discovered the next day. Frank Bowen's homestead was lifted from the ground, and carried backward for several rods, where, by the violence of the wind, it was crushed, and fell to the earth a chaotic mass of splintered timber. By this visitation, Mrs. Bohan was deprived of life. Miss Annie Bohan, Frank Bohan and his son Peter, were severely lacerated about the head and face. At John Jeuck's summer garden. Mrs. Myers was fatally injured. John Beardsley's house, situated on the brow of a hill east of the brewery, was also carried away. A neighboring schoolhouse was wrecked. Miss MeIlhon and fifteen scholars were inside the building, but, through some fortuitous circum- stance, the majority of the pupils were rescued from the ruins unharmed. The only fatalities were the cases of Oliver and Eliza Beardsley. The latter, enfolded in the teacher's arms, was carried for several rods, and met her death by being forcibly dashed to the ground. Miss Mellhon was but slightly hurt. William Cocking's house, barn and farm appurtenances were all destroyed, and the proprietor and his wife both badly wounded. Cocking was found in an apple-tree unconscious.

The following is a carefully compiled statement of the individual losses and casualties, several of which are recapitulated to complete the table of disasters: The house owned by Edward Williams. in the Welsh settlement, was first struck, and completely destroyed ; loss $300. Three houses in a row, owned by Mrs. Phillips, Frank Owens and Mrs. Jones, mother of John I. Jones, Judge of Iowa County Court, were then struck and leveled, and a house across the road was unroofed ; loss to the four, $1,500. John Davis' house was also blown down : loss, $350; Steven Thomas' house and outhouses were blown down; loss, $250. The next was John Lewis' outhouses and part of his dwelling ; loss. $300. Hugh Hughes' dwell- ing and outhouses were also wrecked; loss, $450. David R. Davis' house, cultivator, buggy, wagon and reaper, blown away; loss, $1,000. The next was David Thomas' stone house, which was unroofed ; damage, $100. Stephen Thomas' house blown down ; loss, $300. No one was killed, and only two seriously injured-Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. Owens-at this place. Mrs. McCormick's place, two miles west of here, was next struck by the storm, which carried off part of the house and outbuildings ; loss, $250. A bridge, situated about a quarter of a mile from this place. was carried one mile. John J. Ross suffered damages on his farm to the extent of $1.500. Thomas Keeley, adjoining, had his house, stable and wagon demolished ; loss. $1,300, Mrs. Howe's place, in Lost Grove, was demolished, killing Mrs. Howe; loss, $200. James Spensley's furnace was destroyed. Hugh Phillips' place was struck, demolishing a new barn and killing five head of cattle, besides destroying two miles of fence ; loss, $1,500. John Coleman's house was next wrecked, seriously injuring Coleman and his daughter ; loss. $300. John Spensley's residence and barn, and a house occupied by George Leonard, were razed, Mrs. Waller and Mrs. Leonard being killed ; loss, $12,000. John Francis' stone house was damaged to the extent of $200. John Addington had $50 in money and $150 in property destroyed. Benjamin Bennett's house and barn were both swept away; loss, SI, 200. J. Lan - von's barn was blown down, two men being in it at the time, one of them-John Oates-receiv- ing injuries about the hips ; loss, $75. A. Jenkins' house was unroofed ; loss, $75. S. Webb's house, occupied by James Prince, was blown over ; loss, $500. William Jacka's house, barn and woodshed, partially carried away ; loss, $700. Judge Cothren's and John Hutchinson's fences blown away ; loss, $300. S. Adam's house unroofed ; loss, $400. C. Gillman's house, stables and brewery, damaged to the extent of $20,000. About a quarter of a mile from this place,

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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.

F. Bohan's new house was carried away, killing his wife and fatally injuring his daughter : loss, $1,000. John Jeuck's summer garden and Solomon Myers' residence were blown away, killing Mrs. Myers; loss, $1,200. About half a mile east of this place, John Beardsley's hop house, barn and orchard were razed to the ground ; loss, $1,500. William Cocking's place was next struck and damaged to the amount of $1.000. The schoolhouse was carried away com- pletely. Out of fifteen scholars in the building when it was struck, Oliver and Eliza Beardsley, brother and sister, were killed, and one boy was badly injured by being deprived of his scalp : loss, $700. M. O'Dowd's house, barn and outhouses were totally demolished; loss, $1,200. William Salmon had his house, orchard and farm destroyed ; loss, $1,000. Stephen Terrill's barn, blacksmith-shop, a new buggy, threshing machine and outhouses were destroyed ; loss. $800. At William Terrill's. 500 cords of wood were scattered. but no damage inflicted to dwellings. John Kreamer's house, at a distance of six miles, was blown over, killing William Ooley ; loss, $1,500. William Targuson's house and outhouses were leveled to the ground. Miss Libbie Campbell, daughter of Senator Campbell, received injuries from which she died on the following day. Mrs. Targuson and three daughters were terribly bruised. Loss to the property, $1,300. Mrs. Marcy had her house blown down ; loss, $800. John Powers' house was carried away, and outhouses blown down ; loss, $700. David Powers' house. barn, reaper and granary were destroyed and himself and wife seriously wounded. Crossing Blue Mound Branch, the tornado struck Peter Petersen's farm, unroofing the house and otherwise injuring the building : loss, $400.

Ole Swansen's residence was completely demolished, and $100 in money blown away. Mr. Swansen was found with a rail driven through his body, and his head frightfully bruised. Mrs. Swansen was found dead about six rods from the house, with her baby, uninjured, clasped in her arms. George Swansen had his leg broken. Loss to property, $3,000. Kettle Paulson's house was blown over ; loss. $450. George Paulson, Chairman of the town of Moscow, had his house blown away ; loss. $1,500. Louis Hovred had part of his house unroofed, and barn and outhouses demolished ; loss, $300. Ilolver Ilailey's house blown over ; loss, $400. John Wild had his house unroofed, and barn, outhouses and two miles of fencing destroyed ; loss, $500. Rev. A. Jacobson, Pastor of the Norwegian Church at Perry, had part of his house carried away, and outhouses destroyed. Haly Waring, a friend stopping at the house, was killed, and Mrs. Jacobson received slight injuries. The church adjoining was unroofed ; loss, $1,000. Dr. McFarland's house was destroyed, killing one man and injuring another.

The appearance of the storm-eloud, while moving along the earth's surface. varied with the account of each individual. The most reliable testimony is the statement of William T. Henry, of Mineral Point, and Prof. Chamberlain. On the day in question, both gentlemen had ascended a high bluff, and, while there, were favored with an unobstructed view of the cloud as it appeared several miles distant. He describes it as being much narrower at the base than at the summit, otherwise presenting a funnel-shaped appearance, composed of dark, heavy clouds, united by centrifugal action. S. Terrell, of Mineral Point, who observed the cloud approach- ing his place, depicts it as a column of black clouds, reaching to the ground, and filled with trees, leaves, shrubs, timber, etc., which were hurled about in indescribable confusion.

The appearance of the cloud was very unusual, as indicated by the large number of per- sons who saw it, and, fearing danger, sought safety for themselves. It has been a matter of surprise that so few of those who saw the storm could give an adequate description of its appear- ance. Lightning and thunder seem to have begun about an hour before the advent of the tor- nado, and to have grown more frequent and violent until its approach, when they were almost continuous. Many saw clouds from the north come in contact with clouds from the south, pro- ducing the tornado. This phenomenon was witnessed by observers along the entire line of the storm. Very little rain fell with the tornado, but after it had passed, variously estimated from five to thirty minutes, rain fell in torrents, and continued to do so for an hour. The amount of rain which fell directly in the line of the storm was recorded nowhere except at Milwaukee,

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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.

where it was 1.13 inches. But, as the winds were much less violent for forty miles before reach - ing Milwaukee, the storm, as a whole, was doubtlessly being dissipated throughout that distance, and the rainfall was consequently less than further west. At Madison, nine miles north of the path of the storm, 1.48 inches of rain fell from 4.10 to 5:45 P. M.

This tornado was a whirlwind of unusual proportions, its motion being revolutionary, and in a direction opposite to that of the sun, or from the east to the north, west. south, to the east again. This fact was very evident to one following its path for any distance, and it is believed that the following observations will substantiate the point beyond question :

The opportunities for ascertaining the motion of the wind, by the direction in which the trees were prostrated, was not relied upon to a great extent, on account of the peculiar nature of the timber which, with one exception, to be mentioned later, was oak, much of it of second growth and consequently small, very tough, and the trees so close together that the wind could neither turn them over nor twist them off. IHowever, in many places, there were clumps of oaks in- terspersed with popular. In such places, frequently nothing would be left standing, and the wind's motion could be easily studied. No observations with a compass, of the direction in which trees had fallen, and of the angles at which they had crossed each other, were taken. All the trees southward of the axis of the tornado, fell eastward. Most of them fell north of east, and the angle to the north gradually increased from the southern limit of the storm northward, somewhat beyond the axis where they lay north or nearly north. A few trees in the southern course of the storm fell with their tops pointing sonth of east. These trees, when crossing those pointing northeast, were invariably uppermost, showing that they were last in falling. On the north side of the track, extending two- fifths of its width inward from the northern limit, there was much less uniformity in the direction in which these trees were prostrated, than upon the south. Quite a large number of trees fell to the northwest, others directly west, a few to the southwest and a still greater number to the

southeast. The bodies of trees very frequently lay across each other in this portion of the storm's track. The order in which they crossed each other is well illustrated by a group of three black oaks which fell on the land of J. S. Frary, near the east line of Section 3, town of Oregon, Dane County. The angles are as nearly correct as could be estimated by reference to a north- and-south fence near by. The tree at the bottom pointed north, 45° west; the middle tree sonth, 50° west ; the upper tree, south, 40° east, the latter two lying at right angles with each other. These trees were seventy paces south of the north boundary of the tornado.

Another proof that the storm was a whirlwind, is found in the directions in which fences were blown down. North-and-south fences in the south two-thirds of the path were always thrown east ; in the north one-third they were generally thrown east, but frequently were thrown west. East-and-west fences south of the storm's center, were carried north ; near the north limit of the storm they were, perhaps, most frequently thrown north, but were very often prostrated to the south.

It has often been noticed that the severity and destructive violence of tornadoes were much greater in some portions of their path than in others. This peculiarity was frequently observed in the present storm. Very often there were trees left standing, while all timber in their vicin- ity was leveled. Such a phenomenon was witnessed where the tornado climbed the bluff south- east of James Spensley's furnace, near Mineral Point. The same peculiarity was noticed with regard to buildings. In the town of Mineral Point, Stephen Terrill's house, contiguous to the center of the storm's track, was uninjured, although his barn, fifteen rods west, was reduced to fragments.

In the adjoining counties, this feature was more strongly accentuated. In the town of Ore- gon the residence of H. Palmer was not injured, while his stables and granary, ten rods north- east of the house, were swept away, and a house across the road south entirely demolished. In many places where there was continuous timber there would be strips from ten to thirty rods long, in a direction parallel to the axis of the storm, where nearly every tree was prostrated. then an interval where little damage was done, and again another piece where all were down. Very frequently, these plats so completely prostrated were on ground descending to the east, or

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HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.

just at the bottom of such a slope. Tracts of interrupted violence frequently reached entirely across the track of the tornado, but they usually extended only partially across.

The damage occasioned by this visitation was as follows :

Mineral Point $39,045 00

24,945 00

Rest of Iowa County. Dane County. 43,455 00

Jefferson County

23,535 00

Total loss

$130,980 00

The largest individual losses are accredited to Mr. Gillman and John Spensley, respectively, $20,000 and $11,000, both of Mineral Point City.

The number of fatalities, divided among the respective counties were, in Iowa County, thirteen ; Dane County, six ; Jefferson County, one. To these are to be added the deaths from injuries and wounds received during the storm. The number is incalculable. as in many instances the sufferers survived in agony for months subsequent to the date of infliction.

The broad and liberal maxims of benevolence, which teach men to bury local enmities and assist each other in the moment of common danger, were observed in the darkest hours of the disaster. The news of the terrible misfortune had hardly been promulgated, when. with mag- netie influence and unsparing speed, the citizens set about repairing their shattered fortunes. A central collection committee was organized in Mineral Point on May 24, 1878, under the name of the Tornado Fund Committee. The following gentlemen compose the committee : Mayor Calvert Spensley, William 'T. Henry, Treasurer ; Joseph Gundry, R. D. Pulford, J. M. Hlad- field, Cyrus Lanyon and John Hoard.

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History of Iowa County, Wisconsin, Part 86

Author: Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Company Number of Pages: 958

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 958