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Polk County Information

This file consists of selections from the book The History of Polk County, Iowa, 1880, Union Historical Company, Birdsall, Williams & Co. The selections were made to include as many names as possible for I feel this would be of most interest and use to genealogical researchers. This file includes information about the early settlers in southeastern Iowa in addition to more information about the settlers in Polk County. There are several pages of names of those who filed claims for land in 1848 including the legal description of the land they claimed.

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EARLY SETTLEMENTS, AND TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION.

The first white men who are known to have set their feet upon the soil of Iowa, were James Marquette and Louis Joliet, in 1678, as we have seen in a former part of this work. It was 115 years after the visit of these celebrated French voyageurs before any white man established a settlement, during which time several generations of the Indian tribes occupied the valleys of the beautiful rivers of Iowa, or roamed over her broad prairies. During all this time they doubtless kept alive among them the tradition of the strange Black-Robe Chief and his pale-faced companions who came in their canoes to see their fathers so many years before. It was likewise a Frenchman, Julien Dubuque, who had the honor of making, the first permanent white settlement. In 1788, having obtained permission from the Indians, he crossed the Mississippi with a small party of miners for the purpose of working lead mines at the place where the city is now located which bears his name, the lead having been discovered a sort time before by the wife Peosta, a Fox warrior. Dubuque was a native of France, but had emigrated to Canada and become an Indian trader. While engaged in that business he reached Prairie du Chien about the year 1785, and with two other Frenchmen, laid out a village which now constitutes the northern part of that city. As a trader he acquired great influence with the Sac and Fox Chiefs. Six years after he engaged in mining (1796), he wrote a very diplomatic petition to the Spanish Governor of Louisiana, Baron de Carondelet, to confirm the Indian grant. The governor referred the petition to a merchant and trader named Andrew Todd, who recommended that the grant be confirmed, with a restriction prohibiting Dubuque from trading with the Indians, without first obtaining Todd's consent in writing. With this restriction the petition was granted. Dubuque, as was a common custom among the French traders, had married an Indian woman. He gave to the district embraced in his grant the name of the Mines of Spain, in 1796, in compliment to the Spanish governor. He remained engaged in mining, until his death, which occurred March 24, 1810. He was buried on a bluff near the present city, and at his grave was placed a cedar cross, hewn square,

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and about twelve feet high. On the arms of the cross there was, in French, an inscription, of
which the following is a translation:
JULIEN DUBUQUE,
MINER OF THE MINES OF SPAIN,
DIED MARCH 24TH, 1810,
AGED FORTY-FIVE AND A-HALF YEARS.
A number of Indians were afterward buried at the same place, and among them the chief Kettle and his wife, who both died some eighteen years after Dubuque. Kettle had requested his tribe to bury him and his wife in the vault with Dubuque. In 1828 their bodies were on the surface of the ground, wrapped in buffalo robes, protected from animals by closed walls and a roof. The cross and vault of Dubuque, it is said, were torn down about the year 1854, by some thoughtless boys, or perhaps men. The vault was built of roughly dressed limestone taken from the edge of the bluff only a few feet distant. But little more than is here stated is known of the first white man who settled on Iowa soil.
At the death of Dubuque the Indians claimed that the right, or lease of the whites to work the mines had expired, and but little more mining seems to have been done there until after the Black Hawk War. When attempts were made to engage in mining the military authority interfered to prevent intrusion upon the rights of the Indians. In 1829, James L. Langworthy, a native of Vermont, who had been engaged in lead mining at Galena, Illinois, crossed over the river for the purpose of working the mines known then as the "Spanish Lead Mines." The Indians refused to give him permission, but allowed him to explore the country. With two young Indians as guides, he traversed the region between Maquoketa and Turkey rivers. When he returned to the Sac and Fox village, he secured the good will of the Indians, and formed his plans for operating the mines. The next year, with his brother, Lucius H. Langworthy, and some other miners, he crossed over the river and engaged in mining. In June, 1830, the miners adopted a code of laws or rules, reported by a committee consisting of James L. Langworthy, H. F. Lander, James McPhetres, Samuel Scales and E. M. Wren. They erected an independent civil government of their own, the first government established by white men in Iowa. Some time after this the War Department issued an order to Col. Zachary Taylor, then in command of the military post at Prairie du Chien, to cause the miners to leave the west side of the river. Notice was accordingly given them and the order was reluctantly obeyed, but not until a detachment of troops was sent to enforce it. After the close of the Black Hawk War, and the treaty went into effect which allowed settlement, on and after June 1, 1833, the Langworthy brothers and some others returned and resumed their claims, and soon there was a considerable settlement at Dubuque. The first school house in Iowa was erected there the same year, and before the close of the year there were five hundred white people in the mining district. At a meeting of the settlers, in 1834, the place was named Dubuque.
Except the mining settlement at Dubuque, the first traces of the white man in Iowa, are to be found in Lee county. On the 30th of March, 1799, Louis Honori Fesson obtained permission of the Spanish government to establish himself at the head of the rapids of the river Des Moines for the purpose of trading with the Indians. The place was at this time occupied by a half-breed Indian named Red Bird,

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but known among the whites as Thomas Abbott. Subsequently the town of Montrose was located on the ground where Fesson had his trading post and Red Bird his wick-e-up. Settlers of a later day have felt much interest in the existence here of some full grown apple trees which must have been planted by some hand long before the Black Hawk War. It has been claimed by some that they were planted by Fesson as early as the beginning of the present century. Hon. D. W. Kilbourne, one of the early settlers of Lee county, claimed that they were planted by Red Bird some time between the years 1795 and 1798. Mr. Kilbourne was personally acquainted with Red Bird as well as with Black Hawk and other noted Indians of the Sac and Fox tribes, and from them he received what he believed to be an authentic account of the origin of the "ancient apple orchard" at Montrose. It was the custom of the Indians once a year to visit St. Louis for the purpose of obtaining supplies of blankets and other articles. The half-breed, Red Bird, then a young man, made his customary pilgrimage in the early spring, and on his return stopped a few days at St. Charles on the Missouri river. There a white man made him a present of about twenty small apple trees and gave him instructions how to plant them. Red Bird carried the trees home with him and planted them near his wick-e-up, placing stakes around them. Nearly all of them grew and remained to excite the wonder and curiosity of succeeding generations of white men.
In 1809 a military post was established where Ft. Madison is now located, but of course the country was not open to white settlers until after the "Black Hawk Purchase." In 1834 troops were stationed at the point where Montrose is now located, but at that time the place was called "Fort Des Moines." They remained until 1837, when they were removed to Fort Leavenworth. At first they were under the command of Lieut. Col. S. W. Kearney, who was afterward relieved by Col. R. B. Mason. The command consisted of three companies of the 1st United States Dragoons, Co. C, Capt. E. Y. Summer, Co. H, Capt. Nathan Boone, and Co. I, Capt. J. B. Browne. Capt. Browne resigned his position in the regular army in 1837, and remained a citizen of Lee county.
In 1838 he was appointed by Gov. Lucas as M aj. Gen. of Militia. He was also elected as a member of the first Territorial Legislature which convened at Burlington, and had the honor of being the first President of the Council and afterward Speaker of the House Of Representatives.
At the " Foot of The Lower Rapids " there was a place which prior to 1834 was known as "Farmers' Trading Post." In September of that year a meeting of half-breed Indians and their assigns was held in the old trading house then owned by Isaac C. Campbell. The object of the meeting was to petition Congress for the passage. of a law granting them the privilege to sell and convey their respective titles to what was then known as the "Half-breed Reservation," according to the laws of Missouri. In attendance at this meeting were representatives from Prairie du Chein and St. Louis. At this time there were about nine families residing in the vicinity, and after the adjournment of the meeting the resident citizens repaired to the saloon of John Gaines to talk over their prospects when the half-breed title should become extinct. They looked forward to the time when a city should grow up at that point. John Gaines called the meeting to order and made a speech in which he said the time had now come to agree upon a name for the town. He spoke of the chief Keokuk as the friend of the white man, and proposed his name for the future town. The proposition met with favor and the name was adopted. In the spring of

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1837 the town was laid out and a public sale of lots took place in June. Only two or three lots were sold, although many attended from St. Louis and other points. In 1840 the greater portion of Keokuk was a dense forest, the improvements being only a few cabins. In 1847 a census of the place gave a population of 620. During the year 1832 Capt. James White made a claim on the present site of Montrose, and in the same year, soon after the close of the Black Hawk War, Zachariah Hawkins, Benjamin Jennings, Aaron White, Augustine Horton, Samuel Gooch, Daniel Thompson and Peter Williams made claims at Ft. Madison. In 1833 these claims were purchased by John and Nathaniel Knapp, upon which, in 1835, they laid out the town. The next summer lots were sold. The lots were subsequently re-surveyed and platted by. the United States Government.
The first settlement made at Burlington and in the vicinity, was in the fall of 1832. Daniel Tothero came with his family and settled on the prairie about three miles from the Mississippi river. About the same time Samuel White, with his family, erected his cabin near the river at what is known as the upper bluff; within the limits of the present city of Burlington. This was before the extinction of the Indian title, for that did not take place before June 1st, 1833, when the government acquired the territory under what was known as the "Black Hawk Purchase."
There was then a government military post at Rock Island, and some dragoons came down from that place during the next winter and drove Tothero and and White over the river, burning their cabins. White remained in Illinois until the first of the following June, when the Indians surrendered possession of the " Black hawk Purchase," and on that very day was on the ground and built his second cabin. His cabin stood on what is now Front street, between Court and High streets, in the city of Burlington. Soon after Mr. White's return his brother-in-law, Doolittle, joined him, and in 1834 they laid out the original town, naming it Burlington, for the town of that name in Vermont. The name was given at the request of John Gray, a Vermonter and a friend of the proprietors. Thus White and Doolittle became the Romulus and Remus of one of the leading cities of Iowa. During the year 1833 there was considerable settlement made in the vicinity, and soon a mill was erected by Mr. Donnell, on Flint creek, three miles from Burlington. In 1837 Major McKell erected a saw-mill in the town. In June, 1834, Congress passed an act attaching the "Black Hawk Purchase" to the Territory of Michigan for temporary government. In September of the same year the Legislature of Michigan divided this purchase into two counties, Des Moines and Dubuque. The boundary between them was a line running due west from the lower end of Rock sland. They also organized a county court in each county, and for Des Moines county made the seat of justice at Burlington. The first court was held in April, 1835, in a log house. In 1838 Iowa was made a separate Territory and Burlington was made the capital and so remained until after the admission into the Union as a State. The Territorial Legislature met for several years in the first church erected in Burlington, known as " Old Zion." In this same building the supreme judicial tribunal of the Territory also held its sessions, as well as the district court.
The first white man to settle permanently within the limits of Scott county, was Capt. B.W. Clark, a native of Virginia. He had settled and made some improvement on the Illinois side of the Mississippi, but in 1833 he moved across the river and made a "claim and commenced an improvement

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where the town of Buffalo was laid out. His nearest white neighbors on the west side of the Mississippi, were at Burlington and Dubuque. David H. Clark, a son of Capt. Clark, born April 21, 1834, was the first white child born within the limits of what is now Scott county.
Before the time, June 1, 1833, that the Indians were to give possession to the whites, Geo. L. Davenport had been permitted to make a claim. He had been a favorite with the Indians from boyhood, and for this reason he was permitted to go upon the lands while others were kept off.
The land upon which a part of the city of Davenport is located, and adjoining or near Le Claire's reserve, was claimed by R. H. Spencer, and a man named McCloud. Mr. Le Claire afterward purchased their claim interest for $150.
The project of laying out a town upon Mr. Le Claire's claim was first discussed in the autumn of 1835, at the residence of Col. Davenport, on Rock Island. The persons interested in the movement were Antoine Le Claire, Maj. Thos. Smith, Maj. Win. Gordon, Phillip Hambaugh, Alexander W. McGregor, Levi S. Colton, Capt. James May and Col. Geo. Davenport. , In the spring of 1836, the enterprise was carried into effect by the purchase of the land from Mr. Le Claire, and the laying out of a town to which the name of Davenport was given, in honor of Col. Davenport. The survey was made by Mal. Gordon. Some improvement had been made upon the ground by Mr. Le Claire, as early as 1833, but none of a substantial character until 1836.
During this year Messrs. Le Claire and Davenport erected a building which was opened as a public house or tavern, by Edward Powers. During the same year John Litch from Newburyport, N. H., opened the pioneer whisky shop in a log shanty on Front street. A ferry across the Mississippi was established by Mr. Le Claire, who was also the same year, appointed the first postmaster, and carried the mails in his pocket while ferrying. The first white male child born in Davenport was a son of Levi S. Colton, in the autumn of 1836. The child died in August, 1840, at the Indian village on Iowa river. The first female child was a daughter of D. C. Eldridge.
Alex. W. McGregor, opened the first law office in 1836. Rev A. M. Gavit, a Methodist minister, preached the first sermon in the house of D. C. Eldridge. At the close of the year 1836 there were some six or seven houses in the town. The Indians still lingered about the place. Col. Davenport still kept a trading house open on Rock Island, and furnished supplies.
When the Sacs and Foxes removed from the lands embraced in the first purchase they settled for a short time on Iowa river, and after the second purchase removed to the Des Moines river, where they remained until the last sale of their lands in Iowa when they were removed by the government to Kansas.
Scott county was organized and named in honor of Gen. Winfield Scott at the session of the Legislature of Wisconsin in December, 1837. Major Frayer Wilson was appointed sheriff.
The election for county commissioners was held on the third Monday in February, 1838, when the following were elected: Benj. F. Pike, Andrew W. Campbell, and Alfred Carter. On the 4th of July, 1838, by an act of Congress, Iowa became a separate Territory, and Robert Lucas, of Ohio, was appointed the first Territorial Governor. He made the following appointments for Scott county: Williard Barrows, notary public; Ebenezer Cook, judge of probate; Adrian H. Davenport, sheriff; Isaac A. Hedges and John Porter, justices of the peace. D. C. Eldridge received the appointment of postmaster at Davenport. The first

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District Court met in Davenport in October, 1838, Hon. Thomas S. Wilson, of Dubuque, presiding.
For two years a contest had been going on between Davenport and a place called Rockingham as to which should have the honor of the county seat. The fourth Monday of August, 1840, was fixed for holding an election to decide the vexed question. It resulted favorably to Davenport, the citizens of the successful town building a court house and jail free of expense to the county.
On the 7th of July, 1838, Andrew Logan, from Pennsylvania, arrived with a printing press, and on the 17th of September following issued the first number of a paper called Iowa Sun and Davenport and Rock Island News, the first newspaper published in the county. On the 26th day of August, 1841, the first number of the Davenport Weekly Gazette was issued by Alfred Sanders.
One of the most exciting incidents connected with the early history of Davenport and Scott county was the murder of Col. George Davenport on Rock Island, July 4,1845. The country on both sides of the river had been infested by a lawless band of freebooters, with their supposed headquarters at Nauvoo. They had organized themselves into bands and engaged in horse stealing, counterfeiting, burglary, robbery, and murder. In some places men in official positions and of good standin in comrriunity were associated with them. On the fatal 4th of July, Col. Davenport's family was away at Stephenson attending a celebration when three inen attacked him in his house, one of whom shot him with a pistol through the thigh. They then bound him with strips of bark and blindfolded him. They then made a search for the key of his safe but were unable to find it. Returning to the wounded man, they carried him upstairs where the safe was and compelled him to unlock it. The booty obtained was about $600 in money, a gold watch-chain and seals, a double-barrelled gun, and a few articles of minor value. Col. Davenport lived long enough to relate the incidents of the robbery. For several weeks no trace could be found of the murderers. Edward Bonney, of Lee county, Iowa, undertook to ferret out their place of concealment. About the middle of August he went to Nauvoo were he obtained trace of them by representing himself as one of the gang. On the 8th of September he arrested a man named Fox at Centerville, Indiana, and committed him to jail there. On the 19th he arrested two others, Birch and John Long, at Sandusky, Ohio, and brought them to Rock Island byway of the lakes and Chicago. These three men were known at the west as leaders of gangs of desperadoes, but operated under different names. Three others were also arrested as accessories, Richard Baxter and Aaron Long, near Galena, Illinois, and Granville Young, at Nauvoo. Aaron was a brother of John Long. On the 6th of October all of them were indicted by the grand jury of Rock Island county, except Fox, who had escaped from jail in Indiana on the 17th of September. On the 14th of October the two Longs were put up on trial, found guilty, and sentenced to be hung on the 27th of the same month. Birch, the greatest villain, turned States evidence. Baxter was tried separately, convicted and sentenced to be hung on the 18th of November. In his case a writ of error was obtained and a new trial granted, when he was again found guilty and sentenced to the penitentiary for life, where he died two years after. Birch took a change of venue to Knox county, and while awaiting trial escaped from jail. Upon the gallows John Long confessed all; but died a hardened wretch without sign of repentance or fear of death. 

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During the year 1834 settlements were made at various points besides those mentioned, in what are now the counties bordering on the Mississippi river, and soon other settlements began to extend to the western limit of the Black Hawk Purchase.
The first post-office in Iowa was established in Dubuque in 1833. Milo H. Prentice was appointed postmaster.
The first justice of the peace was Antoine Le Claire, appointed in 1833, as " a very suitable person to adjust the difficulties between the white settlers and the Indians still remaining there."
The first Methodist Society in the Territory was formed at Dubuque on the 18th of May, 1834, and the first class meeting was held June 1st of that year.
The first church bell brought into Iowa was in March, 1834.
The first mass of the Roman Catholic Church in the Territory was celebrated at Dubuque, in the house of Patrick Quigley, in the fall of 1833.
The first school house in the Territory was erected by the Dubuque miners in 1833.
The first Sabbath school was organized at Dubuque early in the summer of 1834.
The first woman who came to this art of the Territory with a view to permanent residence was Mrs. Noble Dean, in the fall of 1832.
The first family that lived in this part of Iowa was that of Hosea T. Camp, in 1832.
The first meeting-house was built by the Methodist Episcopal Church, at Dubuque, in 1834.
The first newspaper in Iowa was the Dubuque Visitor, issued May 11th, 1836. John King, afterward Judge King, was editor, and William C. Jones, printer.
By the year 1836 the population had increased so that the people began to agitate for a separate Territorial organization. There were also several other matters in which they were deeply interested. In November, 1837, a convention was called at Burlington to take action. Some account of this first Iowa convention, and the action taken by it, will be of interest to every citizen of the State.

TERRITORIAL CONVENTION.

On Monday the 6th of November, 1837, a convention of delegates from the several counties in that portion of Wisconsin Territory west of the Mississippi river, then sometimes calle Western Wisconsin, convened in the town of Burlington. Among the principal purposes for which this convention was called were: 1. To memoralize Congress for the passage of an act granting the right of pre-emption to actual settlers on government lands; 2. To memoralize Congress on the subject of the attempt then being made by the State of Missouri to extend her northern boundary line so as to embrace territory claimed as being a part of Wisconsin; 3. To memoralize Congress for the organization of a separate territorial government in that part of the Territory of Wisconsin west of the Mississippi river.
The following were the accredited delegates in the convention from the several counties:
Dubuque County -P. H. Engle, J. T. Fales, G. W. Harris, W. A. Warren, W. B. Watts, A. F. Russell, W. H. Patton, J. W. Parker, J. D. Bell, and J. H. Rose.
Des Moines County.-David Rorer, Robert Ralston, and Cyrus S. Jacobs.

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Van Buren County. -Van Caldwell, J. G. Kenner, and James Hall.
Henry County.-W. H. Wallace, J. D. Payne, and J. L. Myers.
Muscatine County.-J. R. Struthers, M. Couch, Eli Reynolds, S. C. Hastings, James Davis, S. Jenner, A. Smith, and E. K. Fay.
Louisa County.-J. M. Clark, Wm. L. Toole, and J. J. Rinearsan.
Lee County.-Henry Eno, John Claypool, and Hawkins Taylor.
The officers of the convention were: President, Cyrus S. Jacobs; Vice Presidents, J. M. Clark, and Wm. H. Wallace; Secretaries, J. W. Parker, and J. R. Struthers.
The following committees were appointed:
To draft and report a memorial in relation to the right of pre-emption Messrs. Engle, Kenner, Payne, Struthers, Patton, Rorer, and Smith.
To draft and report a memorial on the subject of the boundary line Messrs. Eno, Claypool, Kenner, Ralston, Davis, Watts, and Toole.
To draft and report a memorial on the subject of a separate territorial organization-Messrs. Rorer, Hastings, Caldwell, Myers, Claypool, Rinearson, and Harris.
The convention continued in session three days, and on the afternoon of the last day all the committees reported, and their reports were unanimously adopted.

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TERRITORY OF IOWA.

CONGRESS considered the prayer of the memorial favorably, and " An Act to divide the Territory of Wisconsin, and to establish the Territorial government of Iowa," was approved June 12, 1838, to take effect and be in force on and after July 3, 1838. The new Territory embraced " all that part of the present Territory of Wisconsin which lies west of the Mississippi River, and west of a line drawn due north from the head water or sources of the Mississippi to the territorial line." The organic act provided for a Governor whose term of office should be three years, and for a Secretary, Chief Justice, two Associate Justices, and Attorney and Marshal, who should serve four years, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The act also provided for the election, by the white male inhabitants, citizens of the United States, over twenty-one years of age, of a House of Representatives, consisting of twenty-six members, and a Council, to consist of thirteen members. It also appropriated $5,000 for a public library, and $20,000 for the erection of public buildings. President Van Buren appointed Ex-Governor Robert Lucas, of Ohio, to be the first Governor of the newTerritory. William B. Conway, of Pittsburg, was appointed Secretary of theTerritory; Charles Mason, of Burlington, Chief Justice; and Thomas S. Wilson, of Dubuque, and Joseph Williams, of Pennsylvania, Associate Judges of the Supreme and District Courts; Mr. Van Allen, of New York, Attorney; Francis Gehon, of Dubuque, Marshal;

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Augustus C. Dodge, Register of the Land Office at Burlington, and Thomas McKnight, Receiver of the Land Office at Dubuque. Mr. Van Allen, the District Attorney, died at Rockingham, soon after his appointment, and Col. Charles Weston was appointed to fill his vacancy. Mr. Conway, the Secretary, also died at Burlington, during the second session of the Legislature, and James Clarke, editor of the Gazette, was appointed to succeed him. Immediately after his arrival, Governor Lucas issued a proclamation for the election of members of the first Territorial Legislature, to be held on the 10th of September, dividing the Territory into election districts for that purpose, and appointing the 12th day of November for the meeting of the Legislature to be elected, at Burlington.
The following were the names, county of residence, nativity, age, and occupation, of the members of that first Territorial Legislature:

COUNCIL.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

154a

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Jesse B. Browne, of Lee county, was elected president of the council. He had been an officer in the regular army, was a gentleman of dignified appearance and commanding stature, being six feet and seven inches in height. William H. Wallace, of Henry county, was elected speaker of the House. Some years after he held the position of receiver at the United States land office located at Fairfield. He subsequently removed to Washington Territory, and at one time served as a Delegate in Congress from that Territory.
Among the acts passed were those for organizing the counties of Linn, Jefferson and Jones; for changing the name of Slaughter county to Washington; providing for the election in each county of a board of commissioners, to consist of three persons, to attend to all county business, and acts providing for the location of the capital and the penitentiary. The Territory was divided into three judicial districts, in each county of which court was to be held twice a year.
The counties of Lee, Van Buren, Henry and Des Moines constituted the first district, to which Charles Mason, of Burlington, was assigned as judge. The counties of Louisa, Washington, Johnson, Cedar and Muscatine constituted the second district, with Joseph Williams, of Muscatine, as judge. The counties of Jackson, Dubuque, Scott and Clayton constituted the third district, with Thomas S. Wilson, of Dubuque, as judge.
Among the proceedings was the passage of a resolution by the council, instructing Wm. B. Conway, the secretary of the Territory, to procure a seal. In compliance with this instruction, on the 23d of November, Mr. Conway submitted to the inspection of the council what became the "great seal of the Territory of Iowa." The design was that of an eagle bearing in its beak an Indian arrow, and clutching in its talons an unstrung bow. The seal was one inch and five-eighths in diameter, and was engraved by William Wagner, of York, Pennsylvania. The council passed a resolution adopting the seal submitted by the secretary, but it does not appear that it was adopted by the other branch of the legislature. In his communication to the council presenting the seal, Mr. Conway calls it the " great seal of the Territory of Iowa," but the word "great" did not appear upon it. This old territorial seal appears to have been lost in the removal from Iowa City to Des Moines.
Under the act passed for the location of the capital, Chauncey Swan, of Dubuque county, John Ronalds, of Louisa county, and Robert Ralston, of Des Moines county, were appointed commissioners, and were required to meet at the town of Napoleon, in Johnson county, on the first Monday of May, 1839, and proceed to locate the seat of government at the most suitable point in that county. They proceeded at that time to discharge the duties of their trust, and procured the title to six hundred and forty acres. They had it surveyed into lots, and agreed upon a plan for a capitol, selecting one of their number, Chauncey Swan, to superintend the work of erecting the building. The site selected was about two miles northwest of what was then the town of Napoleon, a place which now is not known as a town. The new town was named Iowa City, and the first sale of lots took place August 16, 1839. In November, 1839, the second Territorial Legislature assembled in Burlington, and passed an act requiring the commissioners to adopt a plan for a building, not to exceed in cost $51,000. On the 4th day of July, 1840, the corner stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies, Samuel

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C. Trowbridge acting as marshal of the day, and Governor Robert Lucas as orator.
This first legislative body which enacted laws for the government of the new Territory of Iowa held its sessions in the then unfinished Methodist church in Burlington, the lower story or basement being built of stone, and the upper story of brick. It was known in later years as "Old Zion." Of the members of that legislature several afterward held prominent official positions in the State. Two of them, Stephen Hermpstead, of Dubuque, and James W. Grimes, of Burlington, held the office of Governor. The latter also became prominent in the United States Senate, and in the National Cabinet.
William G. Coop continued to be returned as a member of one or the other branch of almost every General Assembly, up to the change of parties in the election of James W. Grimes, as Governor. His later legislative career was as a member of the State Senate from Jefferson county. He was the Democratic candidate in that county against James F. Wilson in 1856, for member of the constitutional convention, but was defeated by the latter. He was a man of strong party attachments, being a Democrat in the strictest sense, but was faithful to his constituents, and honest in his discharge of duty. We recognize other names that were familiar in the subsequent history of the Territory or State, and among them, the following: Asbury B. Porter, who became the first colonel of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry during the Rebellion; Hawkins Taylor, of Lee county, who, during later years, has resided most of the time in Washington City ; Warner Lewis, of Dubuque, who afterward held the position of Surveyor general for Iowa and Wisconsin; William L. Toole, of Louisa county, after whom the town of Toolesboro in that county was named; Laurel Summers, of Scott. county, and others. In the organization of this first Territorial Legislature party ties do not seem to lave been very strictly drawn, for General Browne, who was chosen president of the council without opposition, and Colonel Wallace, who was elected speaker of the house, with but little opposition, were both Whigs, while both branches of the legislature were largely Democratic. Party lines were not tightly drawn until the campaign of 1840, when the young Territory caught the enthusiasm which characterized that contest throughout the country.

THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE.

One of the exciting questions with which the Territory of Iowa had to deal was that in relation to the southern boundary. The constitution of Missouri in defining the boundaries of that State had defined her northern boundary be the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the Des Moines river. In the Mississippi river, a little above the mouth of the Des Moines river, are the rapids, which had been known as the Des Moines Rapids, or the Rapids of the Des Moines river. Just below the town of Keosauqua, in Van Buren county, there are rapids (though very slight and inconsiderable) also in the Des Moines river. The Missouri authorities claimed that the latter rapids were referred to in the definition of her boundary, and insisted on exercising jurisdiction over a strip of territory some eight miles in width which Iowa claimed as being a part of her territory. At the first court held in Farmington, Van Buren county, in April, 1837, by David Irwin, Judge of the Second Judicial District of Wisconsin, an indictment was found against one David Doose for exercising the office of constable in Van Buren county 

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under authority of the State of Missouri. This, and other similar acts by Missouri officials, were the origin of the despute which resulted in demonstrations of hostilities, and very nearly precipitated a border war. Governor Boggs, of Missouri, called out the militia of that State to enforce its claims, and Governor Lucas, of Iowa, called out the militia of the Territory to maintain its rights. About 1200 men were enlisted and armed. There was no difficulty in raising volunteers, for the war spirit ran high. At this stage, however, it was considered best to send peace commissioners to Missouri with a view of adjusting the difficulties. Gen. A. C. Dodge, of Burlington; Gen. Churchman, of Dubuque, and Dr. Clark, of Fort Madison, were appointed and proceeded to discharge the duties of their mission. When they arrived they found that the county commissioners of Clarke county, Missouri, had rescinded their order for the collection of taxes in Iowa, and the Governor of Missouri had sent messengers to Governor Lucas with a proposition to submit an agreed case to the Supreme Court of the United States. This proposition was declined, but afterward both Iowa and Missouri petitionedCongress to authorize a suit to settle the question. This was done, and the decision was adverse to the claims of Missouri. Under an order of the Supreme Court of the United States, William G. Miner, of Missouri, and Henry B. Hendershott, of Iowa, acted as commissioners to survey and establish the boundary line. They discharged the duties assigned them, and peace was restored.
In September, 1838, the election was held for delegate to Congress. There were four candidates in the field, to-wit: William W. Chapman and David Rorer, of Des Moines county; B. F. Wallace, of Henry county, and Peter H. Engle, of Dubuque county . William W. Chapman was elected by a majority of thirty-six votes over P. H. Engle. During the time that Iowa remained a separate Territory, from 1838 to 1846, the office of Governor was held successively by Robert Lucas, John Chambers, and James Clarke. Robert Lucas had been one of the early Governors of Ohio, and was appointed the first Governor of the Territory of Iowa by President Van Buren.
John Chambers had been a Representative in Congress from Kentucky, and a warm supporter of Gen. Wm. H. Harrison for President in 1840. After the change of the National administration he was appointed to succeed Governor Lucas. James Clarke had been the editor of the Gazette at Burlington, but at the death of Wm. B. Conway, Secretary of the Territory, which occurred at Burlington, November 6. 1839, Mr. Clarke was appointed his successor, and afterward succeeded John Chambers as the last Territorial Governor.
The death of Wm. B. Conway, Secretary of the Territory, was an event which cast a gloom over the Territory. Prior to his appointment by President Van Buren he had been a resident of Pittsburg, Penn. His remains were taken to Davenport for interment, and on the 9th of November a public meeting of the citizens of that place passed resolutions expressing the highest esteem both for his character as a citizen and as an officer of the Territory. His remains were taken to St. Anthony's Church where the solemn services.for the dead were performed by Rev. Father Pelamorgues. On the 11th a meeting of the members of the bar of the Territory was held at Burlington, in.which his associates in the profession also passed resolutions of respect for the deceased. Of this meeting Charles Mason was chairman and David Rorer was appointed to present the resolutions to the Supreme

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Court of the Territory, for the purpose of having them entered on the record of the court. The deceased left a wife and one child.
The first Territorial Legislature provided by law that "no action commenced by a single woman, who intermarries during the pending thereof; shall abate on account of such marriage; secured religious toleration to all; vested the judiciary power in a Supreme Court, District Court, Probate Court, and Justices of the Peace; made real estate divisible by will, and intestate property to be divided equitably among heirs; made murder punishable by death, and provided proportionate penalties for other crimes; established a system of free schools, open to all classes of white children; provided for a system of roads and highways; enacted a law to prevent and punish gambling, and in fact enacted a pretty complete code of laws, many of which still remain in force.
Among the various institutions and associations incorporated were the following: The Wapello Seminary, in Louisa county; the Bloomington and Cedar River Canal Company; the Des Moines Mill Company, in Van Buren county; the Burlington Steam Mill Company; seminaries of learning in Fort Madison, West Point, Burlington, Augusta, Farmington, Bentonsport, Rockingham, Keosauqua, Dubuque, and Davenport; the Burlington and Iowa River Turnpike Company; the Burlington and Des Moines Transportation Company; the Keosauqua Lyceum, and the Iowa Mutual Fire Insurance Company at Burlington.

STATE ORGANIZATION.

By the year 1844 the population of the Territory had reached 75,152, and the people began to desire a State organization. In October of that year a constitutional convention was held at Iowa City, which formed a constitution defining the boundaries of the State as follows: " Beginning in the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi river, opposite the mouth of the Des Moines river; thence up the said river Des Moines in the middle of the main channel thereof, to a point where it is intersected by the Old Indian Boundary Line, or line run by John C. Sullivan in the year 1816; thence westwardly along said line to the ' Old northwest corner of Missouri'; thence due west to the middle of the main channel of the Missouri river; thence up the middle of the main channel of the river last mentioned to the mouth of the Sioux or Calumet river; thence in a direct line to the middle of the main channel of the St. Peter's river, where the Watonwan river (according to Nicollet's map) enters the same; thence down the middle of the main channel of said river to the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi river; thence down the middle of the main channel of said river to the pace of beginning."
On the 3d of March, 1845, Congress passed an act providing for the admission of the State into the Union, but with boundaries different from those defined in the proposed constitution. By this act the State was to extend north to the parallel passing through Mankato, or Blue Earth river, in the

159 HISTORY OF IOWA

present State of Minnesota, and west to the meridian of 17 deg. 30 min. west from Washington.
These boundaries would have deprived the State of the Missouri Slope and of one of the grand rivers by which it is now bounded, while in shape it would have been long and comparatively narrow. As a result, at an election held August 4,1845, the people of the Territory rejected the constitution with the change of boundaries as proposed by Congress. The vote stood 7,235 for, and 7,656 against it, being a majority of 421 against the adoption. On the 4th of August, 1846, Congress passed an act repealing so much of the act of March, 3, 1845, as related to the boundaries of Iowa, and fixing the boundaries as now defined. On the 4th of May of that year a second constitutional convention had convened at Iowa City, and after a session of fifteen days formed the constitution which was sanctioned by the people at an election held August 3, 1846.
The popular vote stood 9,492 for, and 9,036 against the constitution at this election, being a majority of 456 in favor of it. A copy of this constitution was presented in Congress, and on the 28th of December, 1846, an act was passed and approved for the admission of the State of Iowa into the Union.
On the 26th-of October, 1846, an election had been held for State officers, when the following were elected: Ansel Briggs, Governor; Elisha Cutler, Jr., Secretary of State; Joseph T. Fales, Auditor, and Morgan Reno, Treasurer. At this time there were twenty-seven organized counties with a population, according to the census, of 96,088.
The first General Assembly under the State organization, convened at Iowa City, November 30, 1846. Thomas Baker was elected President of the Senate, and Jesse B. Browne, Speaker of the House of Representatives. As the latter had been President of the first Territorial Council, so he was the first Speaker of the House when Iowa became a State.
The capitol building at Iowa City being at this time still in an unfinished condition, an appropration of $5,500 was made to complete it. The boundary being so much extended west of the limits of the Territory when the capital was located at Iowa City, the question of removal and permanent location at some point further west began to be agitated, and the first General Assembly appointed commissioners to locate the seat of government, and to select five sections of land which had been granted by Congress for the erection of public buildings. The commissioners in discharge of their duties selected the land in Jasper county, lying between the present towns of Prairie City and Monroe. The commissioners also surveyed and platted a town, to which they gave the name of Monroe City. Four hundred and fifteen lots were sold, the cash payments yielding $1,797.43, being one-fourth of the price for which the sold. When the commissioners made their report to the next General Assembly, it was observed that their claim for services and expenses exceeded the cash received by $409.14. The report was referred to a committee without instructions, but the location was never sanctioned by the General Assembly.
The money paid by purchasers was mostly refunded. Meantime the question of re-location continued to be agitated at each session. In 1851 bills were introduced in the House for removal to Pella and Fort Des Moines, but both of them failed to pass. At the next session a bill was introduced in the Senate for removal to Fort Des Moines, which was also defeated on a final vote. In January, 1855, the effort proved successful, and on the 15th of that month the Governor approved the bill re-locating the seat of government within two miles of the Raccoon Fork of the Des Moines, and providing for the appointment of com-

160 HISTORY OF IOWA

missioners for that purpose. Under this act the commissioners made selection of the present site.
A temporary building was erected by an association of citizens of Des Moines, or Fort Des Moines, as it was then called. On the 19th of October, 1857, Governor Grimes, having been advised that the building was completed and ready for occupancy, issued a proclamation declaring the city of Des Moines the capital of Iowa. The officers with the archives of the State removed during the fall and winter, and on the 11th day of January, 1858, the Seventh General Assembly convened at Des Moines.
Meantime a third constitutional convention had been called to frame a new State constitution. It convened at Iowa City, January, 19, 1857, and adjourned March 5th of the same year. Francis Springer, ot Louisa county, was chosen President. The constitution as adopted by this convention was approved by the people at an election held August 3d of the same year, the vote being 40,311 for, and 38, 681 against it. It took effect by proclamation of the Governor, September 3, 1857. In this constitution the location of the seat of government at Des Moines was made a part of the fundamental law. In 1868 an amendment was made to this constitution, striking the word "white" from the clause defining the qualification of electors. The whole vote cast by the people on this amendment was 186,503, with a majority in favor of striking out, of 24,265.
The first capitol building erected in Des Moines being inadequate for the growing wants of the State, being too small and not sufficiently safe, an act was passed and approved April 13, 1870, providing for the erection of a new one. The following were constituted a Board of Commissioners to have charge of the erection: Grenville M. Dodge, of Pottawattamie county James F. Wilson, of Jefferson county; Jarnes Dawson, of Washington county; Simon G. Stein, of Muscatine county ; James O. Crosby, of Clayton county; Charles Dudley, of Wapello county; John N. Dewey, of Polk county, and William L. Joy, of Woodbury county. The Governor was also constituted a member of the Board, and President ex-officio. A. R. Fulton was elected Secretary of the Board. It was provided in the act that the plan to be selected should not be for a building exceeding in cost $1,500000, and the sum of $150,000 was appropriate to commence the work. In the fall of 1870 excavation for the foundation was commenced, and on the 23d of November of the next year, the ceremony of laying the corner stone took place. Gen. N. B. Baker was chief marshal of the day, and Governor Samuel Merrill delivered an appropriate address.
The Board of commissioners experienced many difficulties in finding stone, especially within the limits of the State, that had been sufficiently tested for a building of such magnitude.
The law required them to give preference to material obtained in tie State, price and quality being equal, and they desired to comply with the spirit of the law. As a result, however, some material was placed in the foundation, which being exposed, during the next winter, was affected by the weather, and the next season it was neccessary to remove a portion of the foundation, involving a large additional expense.
The Fourteenth General Assembly convened in January, 1872, and in March a joint committee was authorized to examine and report upon the character of the material used. They reported that unfit material had been placed in the foundation, and recommended its removal. An act was passed at this session appropriating $100,000 for the work in 1872, and

161 HISTORY OF IOWA

$125,000 to be used annually thereafter for the prosecution of the work, but the whole cost not to exceed the limit of $1,380,000. The Board were required, however, to direct all their action with a view to the completion of the building for $1,500,000. The same act placed the work in charge of a Board of commissioners consisting of five members, including the Governor, who was also to be President, ex-officio. The following were constituted the members of the new Board: John G. Foote, of Des Moines county; Maturin L. Fisher, of Clayton county; Robert S. Finkbine, and Peter A. Dey, of Johnson county, and the Governor, as above stated. Ed. Wright was appointed Secretary by the Board. This Board proceeded with the work in accordance with the general plan adopted by the former Board, and when completed Iowa will have one of the finest and most substantial capitol buildings in the Union.
Having presented a brief review of the legislation in regard to seat of government, which, as we have seen, was inaugurated by the first General Assembly, we return to that session. The contest between the two political parties for ascendency was at that time a very earnest one, and especially in view of the election of U. S. Senators. The two political parties in the legislature were nearly equally divided. The friends of the several candidates were present at the opening of the session to take part in the lobby branch, in behalf of their respective favorites. Keokuk county was represented in the House by Nelson King, a Whig, although his county at that time was regarded as Democratic. Gen. A. C. Dodge, of Burlington, was the prominent Democratic candidate for Senator, and the name of J. C. Hall, also of Burlington, was likewise favorably mentioned. On the afternoon of December 9th, Mr. King, of Keokuk county, by consent of the House, rose in his place and made a statement to the following effect: That since he had presented his credentials, and taken his seat as a member, he had been approached by several different persons relative to the casting of' his vote for United States Senators; that several distinct propositions for the payment of money and other reward had been offered him, if he would vote for certain candidates, or either of them, as might be determined upon, which determination was to be made known to him previous to casting his vote for United States Senator; and that the said parties offering thus to reward him for his vote, had promised to secure him from all blame or suspicion, by procuring written instructions from his constituents, urging him so to vote. He further stated that one Marshall had the day previously given him a five dollar note on the State Bank of Ohio, and told him to call on him at any future time, and he would give him one hundred dollars, or any amount he wanted. He said that Marshall had also surrendered to him two receipts for indebtedness=one for legal service while he (King) had resided in Lee county, and the other in discharge of a claim of two dollars and fifty cents, held against him by one William Stotts. Mr. King having concluded his statement, Mr. Stewart Goodrell, then a member of the House from Washington county, moved the appointment of a committee of five to investigate the charges made by Mr. King. The committee was subsequently increased to seven, as follows: W. J. Cochran, of Lee county ; Stewart Goodrell, of Washington county; Alfred Hebard, of Des Moines county; Andrew Leech, of Davis county; Samuel Whitmore of Jefferson county; John L. Morton, of Henry county, and Robert Smyth, of, Linn county. The committee commenced their investigations on the same day that Mr. King made his statement. Marshall was arrested, and various witnesses were com-

162 HISTORY OF IOWA

manded to appear before the committee to give evidence in the case, and the investigation which was commenced on the 9th of December, 1846, appears not to have ended until the 19th of January, 1847. Not until the 4th of February was any report made to the House, and then it did not show that the committee had arrived at any conclusions. The report and testimony were ordered to be laid on the table, subject to the further order of the House. The report was never called up. On the same day that Mr. King made his original statement to the House of the attempted bribery, a resolution tendering him a vote of thanks, was laid on the table. Near the close of the session (Feb. 24) this resolution was called up, and a substitute offered for it by Mr. Smyth, of Linn, censuring both King and Marshall. The original resolution and the substitute were both laid on the table, and that was the end of the bribery case, which excited a great deal of interest among the politicians and people of the State at that early day in her political history. It should be stated that Mr. Marshall was not a member of either branch of the General Assembly.
The developments on investigation were generally understood at the time to be quite as damaging, to the party making the charge as to any other person. The legislature adjourned without electing United States Senators at that session. The next General Assembly elected George W. Jones, of Dubuque, and Augustus C. Dodge, of Burlington. A. Clinton Hastings, and Shepherd Leffler, represented the State in the 29th Congress, 1846 to 1847, being the first Representatives in Congress from Iowa.

EDUCATIONAL

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

We have seen that the first territorial legislature made provision for general education by organizing a system of common schools. The famous ordinance of 1787 required that "schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged," and this has been the policy of the government in the admission of every new State since that time, as evinced by the liberal grants of the public lands for educational purposes.
The public schools are supported by funds arising from several different sources. In the first place, the sixteenth section of every congressional township was set apart by the government for school purposes being one thirtysixth part of all the land in the State. Congress also made to the State an additional donation of 590,000 acres, and an appropriation of five per cent on all the sales of public lands in the State. The State also gives the proceeds of the sales of all lands which escheat to it. The money derived from these sources constitutes the permanent school fund, and, including the proceeds of the land still unsold, will amount to over four millions of dollars. The interest on this fund is apportioned by the State Auditor semiannually to the several counties of the State, in proportion to the number of persons between the ages of five and twenty-one years.  The counties also levy, an annual tax for school purposes, which is apportioned to the several district townships in the same way. A district tax is also generally levied for the same purpose.
The money arising from these several sources consti-

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tutes the support of the public schools, and is sufficient to enable every subdistrict in the State to afford from six to nine months school each year.
While Iowa is fostering and building up many excellent institutions of a higher order, the glory of her educational work consists in her admirable system of common schools--her peoples' colleges. The superintendent of public instruction is the highest school officer of the State, and exercises a general supervision over its educational interests, so far as relates to the pubic schools. Each county has a county superintendent, who examines applicants for teachers' certificates, visits the schools, reports annually to the State Superintendent, and exercises a general charge over the schools of the county. Each civil township constitutes what is called a district township, which is divided into sub-districts, and each sub-district elects a sub-director:
The several sub-directors in the district township constitute a board of directors. In towns and cities there are independent districts, which elect officers to manage their affairs independently of the district townships.
The common school system has recently been greatly improved by the inauguration of normal institutes, under the auspices of the superintendent of public instruction, and also by the establishment of a permanent State normal school at Cedar Falls. The total permanent school fund, November 1, 1877, was $3,460,348.76. This is being augmented from different sources, and the interest only is applied toward the support of the common schools.

STATE UNIVERSITY.

By an act of Congress of July 20,1840, the secretary of the treasury was authorized to set apart and reserve from sale not exceeding two entire townships of land in Iowa, for the use and support of a university. The constitution under which Iowa was admitted into the Union contained a provision requiring the General Assembly to take measures for the protection, improvement, or other disposition of the land granted by Congress for the university, and to create from the proceeds of the same a permanent fund for the use of a university. A bill was passed by the, first General Assembly, establishing at Iowa City an institution to be called the "State University," with such branches as, in the opinion of the General Assembly, the public convenience might thereafter require. The same act also granted for the use of the university the public building with ten acres of ground, at Iowa City, the same to be used, however, for the purposes of the State government until the removal of the capital. By acts of January 15, 1849, and January 16, 1849, two branches of the university, located respectively at Fairfield and Dubuque, were established, and placed upon equal footing, " in respect to funds and other matters," with the university established at Iowa City by the act of 1847. The branch at Fairfield was organized May 6, 1849. A site of twenty acres of ground was purchased and a building erected, upon which twenty-five hundred dollars had been expended. The building was almost destroyed by a hurricane in 1851. No aid from the State or the University fund was ever given in support of the branches. The board at Fairfield requested the termination of its relation to the State, and, in accordance with this request, an act was passed January 24,1853, severing the connection. The branch at Dubuque was never organized. The new constitution, which took effect September 3, 1857, provided that " the State University shall be established at one place, without branches at any other place, and the university fund shall be applied to that institution and no other."

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At a special meeting of the board, February 21, 1850, it recognized the " College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Upper Mississippi," an institution at Davenport established under the laws of the State as the "College of Physicians and Surgeons of the State University of Iowa," but with the express stipulation that such recognition should not render the university liable for any pecuniary aid, nor was the board to acquire any control over the property or management of the medical association. Soon after this the medical college removed to Keokuk. This arrangement was terminated by the operation of the new constitution.
In March, 1855, the University was partially opened for a term of sixteen weeks, and there was an attendance of from seventy-five to one hundred students during the term. The first regular catalogue was published for the year 1856-7. At a meeting of the board, August 4, 1858 the degree of Bachelor of Science was conferred upon Dexter Edson Smith, being the first degree conferred upon a student of the University.
From 1860 to 1877, inclusive, the total number of ladies in the collegiate department was  2,994, and gentlemen 3,941; total number of ladies in the law department since its organization, 6, and gentlemen, 632; total number of ladies in the medical department since its organization 48, and gentlemen 469.
The presidents since its organization have been:
Amos Dean, of Albany, N. Y., elected July 16, 1855.
Silas Totten, D. D., LL.D., elected Oct. 25, 1859.
Professor Oliver M. Spencer, elected August 19, 1862.
Professor Nathan R. Leonard, elected June 26, 1866, as president pro tem., during absence of President Spencer in Europe fifteen months by leave of the board.
James Black, D.D., elected March 4, 1868.
Rev. George Thacher, elected March 1, 1871.
C W. Slagle, of Fairfield, elected president pro tem., June, 1877.
J. L. Pickard, elected in 1878.
The faculty of the University consists of the president, nine professors in the collegiate department, one professor and six instructors in military science; chancellor, three professors and four lecturers in the law department; eight professor demonstrators of anatomy; professor of surgery and two lecturers in the medical department, and two professors in the homeopathic medical department.
The law department was established in June, 1868; the medical department in 1869; the chair of miltary instruction in June, 1874, and the department of homeopathy in 1876.
From 1858 to 1876, inclusive, the General Assembly has made appropriations for buildings, and for the support of the University, sums aggregating $264,757. The Seventeenth General Assembly, by an act approved March 22, 1878, made an appropriation, as an endowment fund, of $20,000 annually, and an additional appropriation of $10,000 for repairs of buildings, fences, walks and other purposes. On the 30th of September, the University held interest bearing mortgage notes amounting to $195,423.13; contract notes amounting to 10,357.74, and a fund known as the Saline fund, amounting to $4,106.85. These amounts, aggregating $209,887.72, constitute a permanent fund, the interest of which goes to the support of the University. There were also, September 30, 1877, remaining unsold, 2,059.70 acres of University lands, and 3887.10 acres of Saline lands, making a total of 5,946.86

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acres, the proceeds of which when sold, will go to increase the permanent University fund. At
five dollars per acre these lands will add to the permanent fund $29,734, which amount added to the above will give to the University a permanent endowment fund of $239,621.72.

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

By an act of Congress passed in 1862, a grant of 240,000 acres of land was made to the State for the endowment of schools of agriculture and the mechanical arts. Under this act 240,000.96 acres were appropriated to the State; but as 35,691.66 acres were located within railroad limits, which were computed at the rate of two acres for one, the actual number of acres in the grant was 204,309.30. In addition to this grant Congress also gave its assent to the State to use for the same purpose the five sections of land in Jasper county, which had been selected for the seat, of government of the State. There were also donated in Story and Boone counties for the use of the institution 921 acres, making a grand total of 208,430.30 acres. This last donation of 921 acres was made by citizens of Story and Boone counties.
The General Assembly passed an act which was approved March 22,1858, establishing the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm. Under this act a board of trustees was appointed, which at a meeting in June, 1859, received propositions for the location, and in July the offer of the present location in Story county, was accepted. In 1864 the General Assembly appropriated $20,000 for the erection of a College building, and in 1866 an additional appropriation of $91,000 was made. The building was completed in 1868. An office was opened in Fort Dodg for the sale of the Colege lands, and Hon. George W. Bassett was appointed agent for their sale.
From the establishment of this agency in August, 1865, to November 1, 1867, the amount received on sales of lands was $68,782.81, and the amount of interest collected on leases for the same time was $338,931.78, making a total of $406,714.65, which is a permanent endowment fund.
The courses of study in the College, as revised in 1877, are as follows: 1-The Course in Science as related to Agriculture. 2-The Course in Mechanical Engineering. 3-The Course in Civil Engineering. 4-The Ladies' Course in Science. 5-Course for Juniors and Seniors in Special Industrial Sciences. 6-Post-graduate Courses of Study. 7-The Preparatory Course. From 1872 to 1877, inclusive, the number of graduates of the College was 123.
By the terms of the law, tuition in the Agricultural College is made forever free to pupils from the State, over sixteen years of age, who have resided in the State six months prior to their admission. Each county in the State has a prior right of tuition for three pupils, and additional pupils to the extent of the capacity of the College, are distributed by the board of trustees among the counties in proportion to the population.
The following constitute the Faculty:-A. S. Welch, LL. D., President and Professor of Psychology and Philosophy of Science; Gen. J. L. Geddes, Professor of Military Tactics and Engineering; W. H. Wynn, A.M., Ph. D., Professor of English Literature; C. E. Bessey, M. S., Professor of Botany, Zoology, Entomology; A. Thompson, C. E., Mechanical Engineering and Superintendent of Workshops; F. E. L. Beal, B. S., Civil Engineering; T. E. Pope, A. M., Chemistry; M. Stalker, Agricultural and Veterinary Science; T. L. Budd, Horticulture; J. K. Macomber, Physics; E. W. Stanton, Mathematics and Political Economy; Mrs. Margaret P. Stanton, Pre-

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ceptress, Instructor in French and Mathematics, J. S. Lee, B. S, Assistant Professor of Chemistry; Mrs. M. B. Welch, Instructor of the English Language, and Lecturer on Domestic Economy; J. C. Arthur, M. S., Librarian, and Demonstrator of Botany and Zoology. There are also instructors in Vocal and Instrumental Music.

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.

The State Normal School,was established by the General Assembly, at Iowa Falls, in 1876, and under the law the property of the Orphans' Home, at that place, was transferred for the use of the Normal School. The first Board of Directors organized June 7th, of that year. H. C. Hemenway, was chosen President; J. J. Tolerton, Secretary, and E. Townsend, Treasurer. At the same meeting Prof. J. C. Gilchrist, A. M., was elected Principal of the school.
The following constitute the Faculty-J. C. Gilchrist, A. M., Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Didactics; M. W. Bartlett, A. M., Professor of Languages and Natural Science; D. S. Wright, A. M., Professor of Mathematics; Miss Frances L. Webster, Teacher of Geography and History; E. W. Burnham, Professor of Music.
During the second year 105 ladies and 50 gentlemen were in attendance, 33 counties of Iowa being represented. By an act of the General Assembly, approved March 25, 1878, the sum of $13,500 was appropriated for the maintenance of the school for the next biennial period of two years. By the same act the board of directors were empowered to charge pupils a tuition fee of not exceeding six dollars per term, if necessary, in order to properly support the school.

COLLEGES, SEMINARIES AND ACADEMIES.

There are also in Iowa the following educational institutions:

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.

COUNTY LOCATION TITLE.

Des Moines Burlington Burlington University
Fayette Fayette Upper Iowa University
Fremont Tabor Tabor College
Henry Mount Pleasant Iowa Wesleyan University
Henry Salem Whittier College
Humboldt Humboldt Humboldt College
Jefferson Fairfield Parson's College
Linn Mount Vernon Cornell College
Linn Western Western College
Mahaska Oskaloosa Oskaloosa College
Mahaska Oskaloosa Penn College
Marion Pella Central University of Iowa
Mills Malvern Baptist College

Page 166a

Page College Springs Amity College
Polk Des Moines University of Des Moines
Poweshiek Grinnell Iowa College
Scott Davenport Griswold College
Warren Indianola Simpson Centenary College
Winneshiek Decorah Luther College

169 HISTORY OF IOWA

STATE INSTITUTIONS.

Hospitals for the Insane-College for the Blind-Institutions for the Deaf and Dumb-Orphans' Homes-Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children-The Penitentiary-The Additional Penitentiary-State Reform School-State Historical Society.

HOSPITAL FOR THE- INSANE, MT. PLEASANT, HENRY COUNTY.

THE General Assembly, by an act approved January 24, 1855, appropriated $4,425 to purchase a site for a Hospital for the Insane, and $50,000 for the erection of a building. Edward Johnston, of Lee county; Charles S. Clarke, of Henry county, and the Governor Grimes, were appointed to select the location and superintend the erection of a building. They made the location at Mt. Pleasant, Henry county, and adopted a plan with sufficient capacity to accommodate three hundred patients. Henry Winslow was appointed to superintend the erection of the building. The building was not ready fbr occupancy until March, 1861. Within the first three months about one hundred patients were admitted. Richard J. Patterson, M. D., of Ohio, was appointed Superintendent, and in 1865 he was succeeded by Dr. Mark Ranney. From the opening of the Hospital to the 1st of November, 1877, there had been admitted 3,584 patients, of whom 1,141 had been discharged recovered, 505 improved, 589 unimproved, and one died. The total number discharged was 2,976, leaving 608 under treatment.

HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE, INDEPENDENCE, BUCHANAN COUNTY.

In 1868 a bill passed the General Assembly making an appropriation of $125,000 for the erection of an additional Hospital for the Insane, at Independence, Buchanan county. A board of commissioners was appointed, who commenced their duties June 8,1868. They made the location about a mile from Independence, on the west side of the Wapsipinicon river, and about one mile from the river. The building was ready for occupancy April 21,1873. On the 1st of October, 1877, the Superintendent, Albert Reynolds, M. D., reported 322 patients' in the hospital. 

COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND, VINTON, BENTON COUNTY.

In August, 1852, Prof Samuel Bacon, himself blind, established an institution at Keokuk for the instruction of the blind. In January, 1853, the General Assembly passed an act by which the State adopted the institution at Keokuk, and on the 4th of April, of the same year, it was opened for the reception of pupils, at Iowa City. A board of trustees was appointed, with authority to receive propositions and make a permanent location. Liberal donations were made by citizens of Vinton, Benton county, and that place was selected. In October, 1862, the institution was opened at Vinton with twenty-four pupils. Up to 1878 about $285,000 have been expended in buildings and improvements connected with this institution. During the period of two years, ending November 6, 1877, about 135 pupils were in attendance. The faculty is presided over by Rev. Robert Carothers, A. M.; as Principal.

170 HISTORY OF IOWA

INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB, COUNCIL BLUFFS, POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.

This institution was established first at Iowa City, by an act of the General Assembly, approved January 24, 1855. W. E. Ijams was the first Principal. He resigned in 1862, and the board of trustees appointed Benjamin Talbot his successor. In 1868 commissioners were appointed to relocate the institution and superintend the erection of a building, and the sum of $125,000 was appropriated to commence the work. It was located about two miles south of Council Bluffs, and connected with it is a tract of about ninety acres of ground. The main building and one wing were completed October 1, 1870, and. immediately occupied. On the 25th of February, 1877, the main building and east wing were destroyed by fire, and and on the 6th of August, of the same year, the roof of the new west wing was blown off and the walls partially injured by a tornado. About 150 pupils were in attendance at the time of the fire. About half of the classes were dismissed, reducing the number to about seventy. The institution remains in charge of Benjamin Talbot as Superintendent. By an act of the General Assembly, approved March 25, 1878, the sum of $40,000 was appropriated for the purpose of rebuilding and completing in a plain and substantial manner the main building.

SOLDIERS' ORPHANS HOMES, DAVENPORT, CEDAR FALLS, GLENWOOD.

In 1866 the General Assembly passed an act establishing three Homes for the soldiers' orphans, as follows: located at Davenport, Cedar Falls, and Glenwood. This was the result of a movement inaugurated by Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer, during the civil war. In October, 1863, she called a convention at Davenport, to devise measures for the support and education of the orphan children of Iowa soldiers who had fallen in the national defense. An association was formed, and provision made for raising funds. A sufficient amount of funds was raise to open the Home, and at a meeting of the Trustees in March, 1864, they decided to commence operations at once. A large brick building in Van Buren county was secured, and on the 13th of July, of the same year, the executive committee reported that they were ready to receive pupils. In little more than six months seventy pupils were in attendance. The Home continued to be sustained by voluntary subscriptions until 1866, when it was assumed by the State and the three Homes established as above stated. In 1876 the Homes at Cedar Falls and Glenwood were discontinued, and the pupils remaining in them removed to the Home at Davenport. The buildings at Cedar Falls were appropriated to the use of the State Normal School, and those at Glenwood to the use of the Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children. September 30, 1877 there were in attendance at the Home in Davenport 139 soldiers' orphans, and forty-one indigent children, the Sixteenth General Assembly having passed an act opening the Home for the admission of indigent children. 

ASYLUM FOR FEEBLE-MINDED CHILDREN, GLENWOOD, MILLS COUNTY.

By an act approved March 17, 1876, an Asylum for Feeble-Minded Childxen was established at Glenwood, Mills county. The buildings and grounds for the Soldiers' Orphans' Home were by the same act transferred 

171 HISTORY OF IOWA

to the use of the new institution, which was placed under the management of three trustees, who held their first meeting at Glenwood, April 26, 1876. The property having been repaired, the Asylum was opened September 1, 1876, and the school organized on the 6th with only five pupils. In November, 1877, the number had increased to eighty-seven.

THE PENITENTIARY, FORT MADISON, LEE COUNTY.

The Territorial Legislature by an act approved January 25,1839, provided for the election by joint ballot of the Council and House of Representatives of the Territory, of three directors to locate the Penitentiary within one mile of the public square in the town of Fort Madison, and provided further, limiting the cost of the Penitentiary to an amount not exceeding forty thousand dollars.
The same act authorized the Governor to draw the sum of twenty thousand dollars which had been appropriated by Congress for the erection of public buildings, in the Territory of Iowa, to pay for materials and work on the building. The location at Fort Madison, however, was coupled with a proviso that the citizens of that place and Lee county should execute to the directors a deed for ten acres of ground. All the conditions were complied with,. and the erection of the building was commenced July 9, 1839. The main building and warden's house were completed in the autumn of 1841. Since that time additions and other improvements have been made.

ADDITIONAL PENITENTIARY, ANAMOSA, JONES COUNTY

The Additional Penitentiary at Anamosa was established under an act of the Geperal Assembly approved April 3, 1872. Three commissioners were appointed to make the location and provide for the erection of the necessary buildings. They met at Anamosa, dune 4, 1872, and made selection of a site donated by the citizens. Work was commenced on the building September 28th of the same year, and May 13, 1873, twenty convicts were transferred from the Penitentiary at Fort Madison to Anamosa. The entire enclosure embraces fifteen acres.

THE STATE REFORM SCHOOL, ELDORA, HARDIN COUNTY.

On the 31st of March, 1868, an act of the General Assembly was approved establishing a State Reform School near the town of Salem, Henry county. A board of trustees, consisting of one from each Congressional district, was appointed. A proposition was accepted for the lease of White's Iowa Manua1 Labor Institute at Salem, the buildings fitted up, and on the 7th of October, 1868, the first inmate was received from Jasper county. In 1872, an act was passed and approved providing for the permanent location, and $45,000 appropriated for erecting the necessary buildings. The permanent location was made at Eldora, Hardin county. Inmates are admitted at ages over seven and under sixteen years. The object of this school is the reformation of juvenile offenders.

STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

This society was organized in 1856, under an act of the Sixth General Assembly, "for the purpose of collecting, arranging and preserving books, pamphlets, maps, charts, manuscripts, papers, paintings, statuary, and other 

174 HISTORY OF IOWA

OFFICIAL RECORD

TERRITORIAL OFFICERS

Governors-Robert Lucas, 1838-41; John Chambers, 1841-45; James Clarke, 1845.
Secretaries-William B. Conway, 1838, died 1839; James Clarke, 1839; O. H. W. Stull, 1841; Samuel J. Burr, 1843; Jesse Williams, 1845.
Auditors-Jesse Williams, 1840; Wm. L. Gilbert, 1843; Robert M. Secrest, 1845.
Treasurers -Thornton Bayliss, 1839; Morgan Reno, 1840.
Judges-Charles Mason, Chief Justice, 1838; Joseph Williams, 1838; Thomas S. Wilson, 1838.
Presidents of Council-Jesse B. Browne, 1838-9; Stephen Hempstead, 1839-40; M. Bainridge, 1840-1; Jonathan W. Parker, 1841-2; John D. Elbert, 1842-3; Thomas Cox, 1843-4; S. Clinton Hastings, 1845; Stephen Hempstead, 1845-6.
Speakers of the house-William H. Wallace, 1838-9; Edward Johnston, 1839-40.; Thomas Cox, 1840-1; Warner Lewis, 1841-2; James M. Morgan, 1842-3; James P. Carleton, 1843-4; James M. Morgan, 1845; George W. McCleary, 1845-6.
First Constitutional Convention, 1844-Shepherd Leer, President; Geo. S. Hampton, Secretary.
Second Constitutional Convention, 1846-Enos Lowe, President; William Thompson, Secretary.

OFFICERS OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT.

Governors-Ansel Briggs, 1846 to 1850; Stephen Hempstead, 1850 to 1854; James W. Grimes,
1854 to 1858; Ralph P. Lowe, 1858 to 1860; Samuel J. Kirkwood, 1860 to 1864; William M. Stone, 1864 to 18.68; Samuel Merrill, 1868 to 1872; Cyrus C. Carpenter, 1872 to 1876; Samuel J. Kirkwood, 1876 to 1877; Joshua G. Newbold, Acting, 1877 to 1878; John H. Gear, 1878 to--
Lieutenant Governors-Office created by the new Constitution September 3, 1857-Oran Faville, 1858-9; Nicholas J. Rusch, 1860-1; John R. Needham, 1862-3; Enoch W. Eastman, 1864-5; Benjamin F. Gue, 1866-67; John Scott, 1868-9; M. M. Walden, 1870-1 ;. C. Bulis, 1872-3; Joseph Dysart, 1874-5; Joshua G. Newbold, 1876-7; Frank T. Campbell, 1878 to--
Secretaries of State-Elisha Cutler, Jr., Dec. 5, 1846, to Dec. 4, 1848; Josiah H. Bonney, Dec. 4, 1848, to Dec. 2, 1850; George W. McCleary, Dec. 2, 1850, to Dec. 1, 1856; Elijah Sells, Dec. 1, 1856, to Jan. 5, 1863; James Wright, Jan. 5, 1863, to Jan. 7, 1867; Ed. Wright, Jan. 7, 1867, to Jan. 6, 1873; Josiah T. Young, Jan. 6, 1873, to 1879; J. A. T. Hull, 1879

Auditors of State-Joseph T. Fales, Dec. 5, 1846, to Dec. 2, 1850; William Pattee, Dec. 2, 1850, to Dec. 4, 1854; Andrew J. Stevens, Dec. 4, 1854, resigned in 1855; John Pattee, Sept. 22, 1855, to Jan. 3, 1859;

175 HISTORY OF IOWA

Jonathan W. Cattell, 1859 to 1865; John A. Elliott, 1865 to 1871; John Russell, 1871 to 1875;
Buren R. Sherman, 1875 to ----
Treasurers of State.-Morgan Reno, Dec. 18, 1846, to Dec. 2, 1850; Israel Kister, Dec. 2, 1850, to Dec. 4, 1852; Martin L. Morris, Dec. 4, 1852, to Jan. 2, 1859; John W. Jones, 1859 to 1863; William H. Holmes, 1863 to 1867; Samuel E. Rankin, 1867 to 1873; William Christy, 1873 to 1877; George W. Bemis, 1877 to ---
Superintendents of Public Instruction-Office created in 1847James Harlan, June 5, 1847
(Supreme Court decided election void); Thomas H. Benton, Jr., May 23, 1847, to June 7, 1854;
James D. Eads, 1854-7; Joseph C. Stone, March to June, 1857; Maturin L. Fisher, 1857 to Dec., 1858, when the office was abolished and the duties of the office devolved upon the Secretary of the Board of Education.
Secretaries of Board of Education-Thomas H. Benton, Jr., 1859-1863; Oran Faville, Jan. 1, 1864.
Board abolished March 23, 1864.
Superintendents of Public Instruction-Office re-created March 23, 1864-Oran Faville, March 28, 1864, resigned March 1, 1867; D, Franklin Wells, March 4, 1867, to Jan., 1870; A. S. Bissell, 1870 to 1872; Alonzo Abernethy, 1872 to 1877; Carl W. von Coelli, 1877 to ---
Registers of the State Land Office-Anson Hart, May 5, 1855, to May 13, 1857; Theodore S. Parvin, May 13, 1857, to Jan. 3, 1859; Amos B. Miller, Jan. 3, 1859, to October, 1862; Edwin Mitchell, Oct. 31, 1862, to Jan. 5, 1863; Josiah A. Harvey, Jan. 5, 1863, to Jan. 7, 1867; Cyrus C. Carpenter, Jan. 7, 1867, to January, 1871; Aaron Brown, January, 1871, to January, 1875; David Secor, January, 1875 to 1879; J. K. Powers, 1879 to ---
State Binders-Office created February 21, 1855-William M. Coles, May 1, 1855, to May 1, 1859;
Frank M. Mills, 1859 to 1867; James S. Carter, 1867 to 1870; J. J. Smart, 1870 to 1874; H. A. Perkins, 1874 to 1875; James J. Smart, 1875 to 1876; H. A. Perkins, 1876 to 1879; Matt. C. Parrott, 1879 to --.
State Printers-Office created Jan. 3, 1840-Garrett D. Palmer and George Paul, 1849; William H. Merritt, 1851 to 1853; William A. Hornish. 1853 (resigned May 16, 1853); Mahoney & Dorr, 1853 to 1855; Peter Moriarty, 1855 to 1857; John Teesdale, 1857 to 1861; Francis W. Palmer, 1861 to 1869; Frank M. Mills, 1869 to 1870; G. W. Edwards, 1870 to 1872; R. P. Clarkson, 1872 to 1879; Frank M. Mills, 1879 to -
Adjutants General-Daniel S. Lee, 1851-5; Geo. W. McCleary, 1855-7; Elijah Sells, 1857; Jesse Bowen, 1857-61; Nathaniel B. Baker, 1861 to 1877; John H. Looby, 1877 to 1878; Noble Warwick, resigned; -G. L. Alexander, 1878 to --
Attorneys General-David .C. Cloud, 1853-56; Samuel A. Rice, 1856-60; Charles C. Nourse, 1861-4; Isaac L. Allen, 1865 (resigned January, 1866); Frederick E. Bissell, 1866 (died June 12, 1867); Henry O'Connor, 1867-72; Marsena E. Cutts, 1872-6; John F . McJunkin, 1877 to ---
Presidents of the Senate-Thomas. Baker, 1846-7; Thomas Hughes, 1848; John J. Selman, 1848-9; Enos Lowe, 1850-1: William E. Leffingwell, 1852-3; Maturin L. Fisher, 1854-5;
William W. Hamilton, 1856-7. Under the new Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor is President of the Senate.
Speaker of the House-Jesse B. Browne, 1847-8; Smiley H. Bonhan, 1849-50; George Temple, 1851-2: James Grant, 1853-4; Reuben Noble,

176 HISTORY OF IOWA

1855-6; Samuel McFarland, 1856-7; Stephen B. Sheledy, 1858-9; John Edwards, 1860-1; Rush Clark. 1862-3; Jacob Butler, 1864-5; Ed. Wright, 1866-7; John Russell, 1868-9; Aylett R. Cotton, 1870-1; James Wilson, 1872-3; John H. Gear, 1874--7; John Y. Stone, 1878.
New Constitutional Convention, 1857-Francis Springer, President; Thos. J. Saunders, Secretary.

STATE OFFICERS 1878

John H. Gear, Governor; Frank T. Campbell, Lieutenant Governor; Josiah T. Young, Secretary of State; Buren R. Sheaman, Auditor of State; Geo. W. Bemis Treasurer of State; David Secor, Register of State Land Office; John H. Looby, Adjutant-General; John F. McJunken, Attorney-General; Mrs. Ada North, State Librarian; Edward J. Holmes, Clerk Supreme Court; John S. Runnells, Reporter Supreme Court; Carl W. von Ceolln, Superintendent Public Instruction; Richard P. Clarkson, State Printer; Henry A. Perkins, State Binder; Prof. Nathan R. Leonard, Superintendent of Weights and Measures; William H. Fleming, Governor's Private Secretary; Fletcher W. Young, Deputy Secretary of State; John C. Parish, Deputy Auditor of State; Erastus G. Morgan, Deputy Treasurer of State; John M. Davis, Deputy Register Land Office; Ira C. Kling, Deputy Superintendent Public Instruction.

STATE OFFICERS 1879

John H. Gear, Governor; Frank T. Campbell, Lieutenant-Governor; J. A. T. Hull, Secretary of State; Buren R. Sherman, Auditor of State; George W. Bemis, Treasurer of State; J. K. Powers, Register of State Land Office; G. L. Alexander, Adjutant-General; John F. McJunken, Attorney-General; Mrs. Sadie B. Maxwell, State Librarian; Edward J. Holmes, Clerk Supreme Court; John S. Runnells, Reporter Supreme Court; Carl W. von Coelln, Superintendent Public Instruction; Frank M. Mills, State Printer; Matt C. Parrott, State Binder.

THE JUDICIARY

SUPREME COURT OF IOWA

Chief Justices.-Charles Mason, resigned in June, 1847; Joseph Williams, Jan., 1847, to Jan., 1848; S. Clinton Hastings, Jan., 1848, to Jan., 1849; Joseph W illiams, Jan., 1849, to Jan. 11, 1855; George G. Wight, Jan. 11, 1855, to Jan., 1860; Ralph P. Lowe, Jan., 1860, to Jan. 1, 1862; Caleb Baldwin, Jan., 1862, to Jan., 1864; George G. Wright, Jan., 1864, to Jan., 1866; Ralph P. Lowe, Jan., 1866, to Jgan., 1868; John F. Dillon, Jan., 1868, to Jan., 1870; Chester C. Cole, Jan. 1, 1870, to Jan. 1, 1871; James G. Day, Jan. 1, 1871. to Jan. 1, 1872; Joseph M. Beck, Jan. 1, 1872, to Jan. 1, 1874; Wm. E. Miller, Jan. 1, 1874, to Jan. 1, 1876; Chester C. Cole, Jan. 1, 1876, to Jan. 1, 1877; James G. Day, Jan. 1, 1877, to Jan. 1, 1878; James H. Rothrock, Jan. 1, 1878.
Associate Judges.--Joseph Williams; Thomas S. Wilson, resigned Oct., 1847; John F. Kinney, Jan 12, 1847, resigned Feb. 15, 1854 ; George Greene, Nov. 1, 1847, to Jan 9, 1855; Jonathan C. Hall, Feb. 15, 1854, to succeed Kinney, resigned, to Jan., 1855; William G. Woodward, Jan. 9, 1855; Norman W. Isbell, Jan. 16, 1855, resigned 1856; Lacen D. Stockton,

177 HISTORY OF IOWA

June 3, 1856, to succeed Isbell, resigned, died June 9, 1860; Caleb Baldwin, Jan. 11, 1860, to 1864; Ralph P. Lowe, Jan. 12,1860; Geo. G. Wright, June 26, 1860, to succeed Stockton, deceased; elected U. S. Senator, 1870; John F. Dillon, Jan. 1, 1864, to succeed Baldwin, resigned, 1870; Chester C. Cole, March 1,1864, to 1867; Joseph M. Beck, Jan. 1, 1868; W. E. Miller, October 11, 1864, to succeed Dillon, resigned; James G. Day, Jan. 1, 1871, to succeed
Wright.

SUPREME COURT 1879

Joseph M. Beck, Lee county, Chief Justice; Austin Adams, Dubuque county, Associate Justice; William H. Seevers, Mahaska county, Associate Justice; James G. Day, Fremont county, Associate Justice; Jas. H. Rothrock, Cedar county, Associate Justice.

CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATION

UNITED STATES SENATORS

The first General Assembly failed to elect Senators.
George W. Jones, Dubuque, Dec. 1848-1858; Augustus C. Dodge, Burlington, Dec. 7, 1848-1855; James Harlan, Mt. Pleasant, Jan. 6, 1855-1865; James W. Grimes, Burlington, Jan. 26, 1858--died 1870; Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa City, elected Jan 13, 1866, to fill vacancy occasioned by resignation of James Harlan; James Harlan, Mt. Pleasant, March 4,1866-1872;
James B. Howell, Keokuk, elected Jan. 20, 1870, to fill vacancy caused by the death of J. W. Grimes-term expired March 3d; George G. Wright, Des Moines, March 4, 1871-1877; William B. Allison, Dubuque, March 4, 1872; Samual J. Kirkwood, March 4, 1871.

MEMBERS OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Twenty-ninth Congress-1846 to 1847-S. Clinton Hastings; Shepherd Leffler.
Thirtieth Congress-1847 to 1849-First District, William Thompson; Second District, Shepherd Leffler.
Thirty first Congress-1849 to 1851-First District, First Session, Wm. Thompson; unseated by the House of Representatives on a contest, and election remanded to the people. First District, Second Session, Daniel F. Miller; Second District, Shepherd Leffler.
Thirty second Congress-1851 to 1853-First District, Bernhart Henn; Second District, Lincoln Clark.
Thirty third Congress-1853 to 1855-First District, Bernhart Henn; Second District, John P. Cook.
Thirtyfourth Congress-1855 to 1857-First District, Augustus Hall; Second District, James Thorington.
Thirtyfifth Conyress-1857to 1859-First District, Samuel R. Curtis; Second District, Timothy Davis.
Thirty-sixth Congress-1859 to 1861-First District, Samuel R. Curtis; Second District. William Vandever.

178 HISTORY OF IOWA

Thiryseventh Congress-1861 to 1863-First District, First Session, Samuel Curtis.* First District, Second and Third Sessions, Jas. F. Wilson; Second District, Wm. Vandever.
Thirtyeighth Congress--1863- to 1865-First District, James F. Wilson; Second District, Hiram Price; Third District, William B. Allison; Fourth District Josiah B. Grinnell; Fifth District, John A. Kasson; Sixth Dist,, Asahel W. Hubbard.
Thirtyninth Congress-1865 to 1867 First District, James F. Wilson; Second District Hiram Price; Third District, William B. Allison,; Fourth District Josiah B. Grinnell; Fifth District John A. Kasson; Sixth District, Asahel W. Hubbard.
Fortieth Congress-1867 to 1869-First District, James F. Wilson; Second District, Hiram Price;
Third District, William B. Allison; Fourth District, William Loughridge; Fifth District, Grenville M. Dodge; Sixth District, Asahel W. Hubbard.
Fortyfirst Congress-1869 to 1871-First District, Geo. W. McCrary; Second District William Smith ; Third District, William B. Allison; Fourth District, William Loughridge; Fifth District, Frank W. Palmer, Sixth District, Charles Pomeroy.
Fortysecond Congress-1871 to 1873-First District, George W. McCrary; Second District, Aylett R. Cotton; Third District W. G. Donnan; Fourth District, Madison M. Walden; Fifth District, Frank W. Palmer; Sixth District, Jackson Orr.
Forty-third Congress-1873 to 1875-First District, Geo. W. McCrary; Second, District, Aylett R. Cotton; Third District, William G. Donnan; Fourth District, Henry O. Pratt; Fifth District, James Wilson; Sixth District, William Loughridge; Seventh District, John A Kasson; Eighth District, James W. McDill; Ninth District, Jackson Orr.
Forty fourth Congress-1875 to 1877-First District George W. McCrary; Second District, John Q. Tufts; Third District, L. L. Ainsworth; Fourth District, Henry O. Pratt; Fifth District, James Wilson; Sixth District, Ezekiel S. Sampson; Seventh District, John A. Kasson; Eighth District, James W. McDill; Ninth District, Addison Oliver.
Fortyfifth Congress-1877 to 1879--First District, J. C. Stone; Second District, Hiram Price; Third District, T. W. Burdick; Fourth District, H. C. Deering; Fifth District, Rush Clark; Sixth District, E. S. Sampson, Seventh District, H. J. B. Cummings; Eighth District, W. F. Sapp; Ninth District, Addison Oliver.
Forty-sixth Congress-1879 to 1881-First District, Moses A. McCoid; Second District, Hiram Price; Third District, Thomas Updegraff'; Fourth District, H. C. Deering; Fifth District, Rush Clark; Sixth District, J. B. Weaver; Seventh District, E. H. Gillette; Eighth District, W. F. Sapp; Ninth District, Cyrus C. Carpenter.

STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

On the 14th of April, 1853, the following editorial appeared in the.Fairfield Ledger:
"STATE FAIR.-Iowa is an Agricultural State, but as yet her agricultural resources are but in the infancy of their development. In some counties,

* Vacated seat by acceptance of commission of Brigadier General, and J. F. Wilson chosen his successor.

179 HISTORY OF IOWA

however, some attention has been paid to the organization of societies for the promotion of the interests of agriculture. These several societies have had their annual fairs, and in this way much good has been done, but the growing importance of our agricultural and industrial interest now demands a more general and extensive arrangement. Let us then have a State Agricultural Fair sometime in next October or November. Let some central point be fixed upon for an exhibition which will be an honor to our young State. It would not be expected that the first exhibition of the kind would vie with those of older States, where societies have long been established. But in a few years a well organized State Society with its annual fairs; would accomplish the same good results that have attended them in other States. The mechanical arts, as well as the raising of stock or grain, might be brought to a high state of perfection. We suggest that this matter be taken into consideration in time, and let there be a union of all the county societies that are organized, with such as may be organized, for the purpose of holding a general Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition next fall."
The suggestions of the foregoing article were heartily seconded by several papers of the State, and especially by the Iowa Farmer and Horticulturist, at Burlington.
No definite action was taken until the 14th day of October, 1853, when at the close of the Second Annual Exhibiton of the Jefferson County Agricultural Society, that Society met for the election of a board of officers. At this meeting C. W.Slagle offered the following resolution: Resolved, That the officers of the Society be instructed to take immediate steps to effect the organization of a State Agricultural Society and use their influence to have said Society hold its first exhibition at Fairfield, in October, 1854.
This resolution was adopted, and on the 21st of November, a notice signed by P. L. Huyett, C. Baldwin, and J. M. Shaffer, was issued to the different county societies, inviting them to send delegates to a meeting to be held at Fairfield, December 28, 1853, to take part in the organization of a State Society. Pursuant to this call, the meeting was held, and delegates were present from the counties of Henry, Jefferson, Lee, Van Buren and Wapello. Communications from officers of societies, and one from Hon James W. Grimes, were read, heartily approving of the movement.
D. P. Inskeep, of Wapello county, was chairman of the meeting, and David Sheward, of Jefferson county, secretary. A committee was appointed which reported a constitution for the society. The society was duly organized with the folfollowing officers: Thomas W. Claggett, Lee county, President; D. P. Inskeep, Wapello county, Vice President; J. M. Shaffer, Jefferson county, Secretary; C. W. Slagle, Jefferson county, Corresponding Secretary, and W. B. Chamberlin, Des Moines county, Treasurer.
In addition to the above officers, the following were appointed a Board of Managers Lee County.-Arthur Bridgeman, Reuben Brackett, and Josiah Hinkle.
Van Buren County.-Timothy Day, Dr. Elbert, and William Campbell.
Henry County.-Thomas Siviter, Amos Lapham, and J W. Frazier.
Jefferson County.-P. L. Huyett, John Andrews, and B. B. Tuttle.
Wapello County.-R. H. Warden, Gen. Ramsay, and Uriah Biggs.
Mahaska County.-Wm. McKinley, Sr., John White, and M. T. Wiliams.
Polk Countv.-Dr. Brooks. Thomas Mitchell, and William McKay.

180 HISTORY OF IOWA

Des Moines County.--J. F. Tallant, A. K. Avery, and G. Neely.
Louisa County.-George Kee, Francis Springer, and Joshua Marshall.
Muscatine County.-J. H. Wallace, James Weed, and John A. Parvin.
Dubuque County.-W. Y. Lovel, Orlando McCraney, and L. H. Langworthy.
Johnson County.-R. H. Sylvester, LeGrand Byington, and C. Saunders.
Scott County.-J. A. Burchard, James Thorington, and Laurel Summers.
A resolution was adopted providing that the first State Fair be held at Fairfield, commencing Wednesday, October 25, 1854. A resolution was also adopted for the appointment of a committee of five to memorialize the General Assembly for pecuniary aid, and the following were appointed: George W. McCleary, of Johnson county; George S. Hampton, of Johnson county; David Rorer, of Des Moines county; Ralph P. Lowe, of Lee county, and George Gillaspy, of Wapello county. At this meeting the following fourteen persons affixed their signatures to the Constitution, agreeing to become members: Charles Negus, J. M. Shaffer, D. P. Inskeep, Amos Lapham, J. W. Frazier, Josiah Hinkle, J. T. Gibson, Stephen Frazier, Evan Marshall. Thomas Siviter, John Andrews, B. B. Tuttle, Eli Williams, and P. L. Huyett.
This meeting was held in the court house at Fairfield, and was not very largely attended, for at that time there was not a mile of railroad in the State.

THE FIRST STATE FAIR

In accordance with the arrangment made at the organization of the Society, the first annual fair was held at Fairfield, commencing October 25th, 1854, and continued three days. The number of people in attendance was estimated at the time at from 7,000 to 8,000. The exhibition was considered a grand success. All portions of the State at that time settled, were represented by visitors. The fair was held on the grounds which have for many years been occupied as the depot grounds of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad. There was a fine display of stock, agricultural implements, farm products, and articles of domestic manufacture. In the ladies' department there was an attractive exhibit of their handi-work. The natural history of the State was illustrated by Dr. J. M. Shaffer's collection of reptiles and insects, and by a fine collection of birds shown by Mr. Moore, of Des Moines. The dairy was well represented, and a cheese weighing three hundred and sixty pounds was presented to Gov. Grimes by his Lee county friends.

The most exciting incident of the fair was the equestrian exhibition by ten ladies. This took place on the afternoon of the second and the forenoon of the third day. The first prize was a gold watch, valued at one hundred dollars. It was awarded by the committee to Miss Turner, of Keokuk. One of the fair contestants was Miss Eliza J. Hodges, then only thirteen years of age. She rode a splendid and high-spirited horse, the property of Dr. J. C. Ware, of Fairfield. The daring style of her riding, and the perfect control of the animal which she maintained, enlisted the favor and sympathy of the throng present in her behalf: The popular verdict would have awarded the prize to Miss Hodges. A purse of $165, and some other presents, were immediately contributed for the "Iowa City girl," as the heroine of the day was called. Provision was also made for her attendance,

181 HISTORY OF IOWA

free of all charge, for three terms, at the Ladies' Seminary at Fairfield, and one term at Mt. Pleasant, all of which she gracefully accepted.
George C. Dixon, of Keokuk, delivered the first annual address. Thomas W. Claggett was re-elected President, and Dr. J. M. Shaffer, Secretary. The second annual fair was appointed also to be held at Fairfield, commencing on the second Wednesday in October, 1855, and continuing three days.
Such is a brief account of the humble beginning, and first exhibition of the Iowa State Agricultural Society, which has since grown to be one of the important institutions of the State, attracting to its annual exhibits many thousands of people, not only from all parts of Iowa, but from other States.

THE FISH COMMISSION

The Fifteenth General Assembly, in 1874, passed "An act to provide for the appointment of a Board of Fish Commissioners for the construction of Fishways for the protection and propagation of Fish," also "An act to provide for furnishing the rivers and lakes with fish and fish spawn."
This act appropriated $3,000 for the purpose. In accordance with the provisions of the first act above mentioned, on the 9th of April, 1874, S. B. Evans of Ottumwa, Wapello county; B. F. Shaw of Jones county, and Charles A. Haines, of Black Hawk county were appointed to be Fish Commissioners by the Governor. These Commissioners met at Des Moines, May 10, 1874, and organized by the election of Mr. Evans, President; Mr. Shaw, Secretary and Superintendent, and Mr. Haines, Treasurer. During the first year the Commissioners erected a "hatching house" near Anamosa, and distributed within the State 100,000 shad, 300,000 California salmon, 10,000 bass, 80,000 Penobscot salmon, 5,000 land-locked salmon, and 20,000 of other kinds.
The next General Assembly amended the law, reducing the commission to one member, and B. F. Shaw was appointed. During the second year there were distributed 533,000 California salmon, and 100,000 young eels; in 1877, there were distributed 303,500 lake trout in the rivers and lakes of the State, and several hundred thousands of other species. During the years 1876 and 1877, the total number of different kinds distribute and on hand, was over five and a half million.
The Seventeenth General Assembly, by an act approved March 23, 1878, appropriated $6,000 for continuing the promotion of fish culture in the State. B. F. Shaw was continued as Commissioner.

STATE ENCOURAGEMENT OF IMMIGRATION

The first legislative act in Iowa designed to promote immigration, was passed in March, 1860.
The law provide for the appointment by the Governor of a Commissioner of Immigration to reside and keep an office in the city of New York, from the first of May until the first of December of each year. It was made the duty of the Commissioner to give to immigrants information in regard to the soil and climate of the State, branches of business to be pursued with advantage, the cheapest and best routes by which to reach the State, and to protect them from imposition. To carry out the objects of the law, the sum of $4,500 was appropriated to be applied as follows: for the payment of the Commissioner two years, $2,400;

182 HISTORY OF IOWA

for printing documents in English, German, and such other languages as the Governor might
deem advisable, $1,000, and for office and office expenses for the Commissioner, $1,100. Under this law, Hon. N. J. Rusch, of Scott county, who had previously been Lieutenant Governor, was appointed Immigration Commissioner, and in May, 1860, established on office in New York.
The object of the law seems to have had special reference to foreign immigration. The Commissioner in his report to the Governor, in December, 1861, gave it as his opinion, that the establishment of an agency in New York was not the most successful method of inducing immigration to a particular State. He thought far more could be accomplished at less expense by the distribution of documents. In February, 1862, the law was repealed, and the office of Commissioner of Immigration was discontinued May 1st of that year.
The next effort put forth by the State to promote immigration was under an act passed by the Thirteenth General Assembly, in 1870. Hon. M. J. Rohlfs, of Scott county, had at the previous session introduced a bill in the House of Representatives for the purpose, but the measure did not then succeed. At the next session he renewed his efforts with success. The law provided for the appointment by the Governor of a Board of Immigration, to consist of one member from each Congressional district, and the Governor, who was ex-officio President of the Board. It also provided for a Secretary, to be ex-officio Commissioner of Immigration, and to be chosen by the Board. Provision was also made for the appointment of agents in the Eastern States and in Europe, and for the publication and distribution of documents. To carry out its objects an appropriation of $5,000 was made. This was designed to pay expense of documents, salary of Secretary, and compensation of agents, the members of the Board receiving no compensation, except mileage,for two meetings each year, to be paid out of the general fund. Under this law the following persons were appointed by Governor Merrill: Edward Mumm, of Lee county; M. J. Rohlfs, of Scott county; C. L. Clausen, of Mitchell county; C. Rhynsburger, of Marion county; S. F. Spofford, of Polk county, and Marcus Tuttle, of Cerro Gordo county. At their first meeting, held in April, 1870, they elected A. R. Fulton their Secretary, and authorized him to prepare a pamphlet for distribution, in the English, German, Holland, Swedish and Norwegian languages.
Many thousands of copies of a pamphlet entitled " Iowa: The Home for Immigrants," were printed in the several languages named, and distributed throughout the East and in European countries. Many other pamphlets and documents were also distributed, and several agents commissioned. So successful were the efforts of the Board that the next General Assembly appropriated $10,000 for continuing the work. The amendatory law, however, reduced the Board to five members, including the Governor. The Board, as reduced, was composed of the following members M. J. Rohlfs, of Scott county; S. F. Spoford, of Polk county; Marcus Tuttle, of Cerro Gordo county; C. Y. Gardner, of Pottawattamie county, and the Governor. The new Board continued the former Secretary, and pursued its work by the distribution of documents, through agents and by correspondence. After four years existence the Board of Immigration was discontinued, but not until it had doubtless been the means of inducing thousands to find homes within the borders of Iowa.

191 CENTENNIAL AWARDS

TO IOWA EXHIBITORS

UNDER the system of awards adopted at the Centennial. Exposition of 1876, every article exhibited was placed in one of thirty-six groups, numbering from 1 to 36. The examination was not of a competitive character, but upon the merit of the article. Each article of merit was entitled to receive a diploma and a bronze medal of uniform value. The following awards were made to Iowa exhibitors:

GROUP NO. I

Wesley Redhead and Mahaska Coal Mining Company are accredited with samples of coal. The
committee says: "Commended as samples of bituminous coal of Iowa."

LEAD ORE

John Harvey, of Dubuque.-Report says a large and instructive exhibit of Galena lead ores of Iowa.
W. P. Fox, of Des Moines.-Commended for an instructive exhibit of the stratified deposits of the State of Iowa.
NOTE.-In this group were shown fifty-five varieties from stone quarries in Iowa, prepared by Donahue & McCosh, of Burlington, in blocks six by nine inches square; also were shown samples of building and moulding sands, and three specimens of glass sands, twelve of fire and potters' clay, six or eight samples of mineral paint, and one sample of peat; also some fine samples of geodes from Keokuk. Judge Murdock, of Clayton county, exhibited a collection of relics of the mound builders. The most prominent one was his large collection of mound builders' skulls.]

GROUP NO. IV

State of Iowa.-Commended as a very fine collection of cereals in the straw, beautifully cleansed; also grasses and seeds-sixty varieties-a fine collection beautifully arranged; also a collection of Indian corn, seventy varieties.

BUTTER

Stewart & McMillen, of Manchester, Delaware county, Entry No. 880.-Commended for the best samples of 200 lbs. and 30 lbs. respectively, made at Newberg factory, Edgewood and Hebran.

192 CENTENNIAL AWARDS

Stewart & McMillen, Entry No. 895-Commended for clean, sweet flavor, firm texture and superior excellency generally, comprising samples of different creameries.
[NOTE.-The general report of the committee on butter puts the yield of the United States for 1876 at 710,000,000 lbs. Messrs. Stewart & McMillen had about ninety competitors, among whom were the best butter makers of the world. In addition to the centennial awards, they got the golden medal awarded by the national butter and egg association. Iowa creamery butter sells in the Philadelphia market readily with the gilt edged brand. The butter crop in Iowa is an item of interest, and the State owes Stewart & McMillen a debt of gratitude for their very active exertion at the centennial in raising Iowa butter to a level with the gilt edge manufacturers of the eastern States. Delaware county, Iowa, is to our State what Chester county is to Pensylvania.]
Bryan & Curtis' butter, Strawberry Point, Clayton county.-Commended for fine quality and
superior skill in manufacturing.

GROUP NO. VI
Collection of woods by Prof. McAfee, Agricultural College.-Commended as a good State exhibit, containing 160 specimens arranged in vertical and transverse sections.
J. C. Arthur, Charles City, No. 185.-Herbarium of plants. The herbarium contains species named and classified, neatly mounted, labeled and one in duplicate. The duplicate collection ingeniously arranged for exhibition on large sliding frames within a glass case. The whole accompanied with a printed catalogue.

AWARDS ON COLLECTIVE STATE EXHIBITS

State of Iowa, No. 11.-Commended for a large display of its minerals, soils, native and cultivated grasses, its pomology in large variety, and collection of woods and a valuable collection of mound builders' relics.

GROUP NO. XXXIII

EDUCATIONAL

Board of Education, Burlington, No. 76.-Commended for a creditable display of the work of pupils.
State Educational Department, No. 77.-Report good exhibit of the statistics of State school system and work of public schools.
Board of Education of West Des Moines, No. 78.-A creditable exhibit of work of pupils.

GROUP XXII

PLOWS.

Skinner Bros., Des Moines, No. 63.-Commended for excellence of material, good workmanship and beauty of form.

193 CENTENNIAL AWARDS

GROUP NO. XXIII

BOOK BINDING AND PAPER INDUSTRY

John D. Metz, Dubuque, No. 94.-Blank books with patent ends and mode of stitching. Report an admirable made book aside from the patent improvement claimed.

GROUP XXX

HORSES AND CATTLE

Eli Elliot, West Liberty.-Short Horn bull, Baron French, No. 8.-Report in form, quality and useful characteristics he is entitled to rank as a superior specimen of the Short Horn breed.
State of Iowa, Short Born Herd, No. 12. One bull and four cows. The animals composing this herd, in high excellence of form, quality and useful characteristics, are entitled to be ranked as first-class specimens of the Short Horn breed.
J. W. Jacobs, West Liberty, No. 13.-Two cows, Maid of Honor and Lucy Napier, commended for high excellence of form and useful characteristics, entitled to rank as first-class specimens of the Short Horn breed.
E. S. Wilson, West Liberty, No. 35.-Heifer, Louden Mirvine, for high excellence in form, quality and useful characteristics is entitled to rank as a first-class specimen of the Short Horn breed.
E. S. Wilson, No. 36.-Emma Down and heifer calf Centennial Mine: In form and useful characteristics they are entitled to be ranked as first-class specimens of the Short Horn breed.

GROUP XXXV

Henry Avery, Burlington. Commended for a collection of apples, among which Grimes' Golden Pippin, an excellent kind, is especially meritorious in size and flavor.
David Leonard, Burlington, No. 16.-Commended for a valuable selection of varieties very well grown, and especially for a seedling named Robinson, which promises well for the northwest, both as respects to tree and fruit.
No. 27.-Polk County, by James Smith, Des Moines. Commended for 160 varieties of apples, and for the very large number of valuable varieties and for the very superior manner in which they are grown; also for great care and correctness in naming.
No. 30.-E. H. Caulkens commended for twenty varieties and their valuable characteristics; also great excellence and beauty in growth.
R. S. Willet, Malcolm.-Commended for 40 varieties of apples of general value and the superior manner of growth.
No. 39, L. Hollingsworth, Montrose.-Seventy-five varieties of apples, commended for a large number of useful sorts and for the meritorious manner in which they are grown.
No. 65, G. B. Brackett, Denmark.-Pears are Plate White Doyenne.

194 CENTENNIAL AWARDS

These specimens of this old and important variety reach the highest standard of excellence of large size and beautifully colored.
No. 81, Wilson T. Smith, Des Moines.-Twenty varieties of pears commended for being well grown, and handsome collection. The Flemish Beauty and Beaurae Clangean being superior.
No. 83, White Elk Vineyard, Keokuk.-Eighteen varieties, creditable display of pears. The Beaurae Clangean having brilliant coloring.
Iowa State Horticultural Society wax models of fruit. No. 209.-Three hundred varieties of apples in wax, of perfect accuracy and beautifully displayed-the work of the Iowa State Horticultural Society.
[Note.-There were in all 1020 specimens. The fruit furnished as models was by various members of the State Horticultural Society, crop of 1875, the greatest number of which was by James Smith, of Des Moines, and to whom the nomenclature is mainly due; 610 of the casts were made by Mrs. Wm. Greenland, of Des Moines, and- 410 of them by Col. G. B. Brackett, of Denmark.
This was the most attractive display made by Iowa, and was universally admired; and in this line Iowa can boast of as fine talent for accuracy as to model and coloring as is found anywhere. Two hundred of these casts were sold to and exchanged with the Japanese authorities, and are now doing duty in the archives of their government.]
Iowa State Horticultural Society, No. 217.-September collection, report a very good collection, containing many varieties.
[Note.-The Horticultural Society showed in May thirty-five varieties of apples of late keepers, also the summer varieties were shown in their season. The fall display was very fine, covering seven tables 35x6, and numbering about 335 varieties of apples, and filling over 2,000 plates.]
W. W. Winterbotom, Fort Madison, No. 191.-Timothy grass seed. The seed is remarkably clean, and every way meritorious.
H. C. Gordon, Davis county, No. 204.-His yellow corn was of peculiar weight and good quality, one ear weighing one pound and thirteen ounces.
L. T. Chute, Manchester, No. 207.-The cereals and roots in the Iowa collection exhibited are a well grown collection of twenty-five varieties. Potatoes especially meritorious.
State of Iowa, September exhibits of the crop of 1876, No. 208.-They make a collection of cereals, grasses and roots, exhibiting the ability of the State to produce these articles in the highest degree.
The information contained in the notes is additional to that given in the official reports of the Exposition, and is furnished by Dr. Alex. Shaw, of Des Moines, who held an official position in connection with Iowa exhibits up to August 18, 1876.

239 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF IOWA

(Signers of the Constitution shown heretofore in the book)

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names:
TIMOTHY DAY,
S. G. WINCHESTER,
DAVID BUNKER,
D. P. PALMER,
GEO. W. ELLS,
J. C. HALL,
JOHN H. PETERS
WM. H. WARREN,
H. W. GRAY,
ROBT. GOWER,
H. D. GIBSON,
THOMAS SEELEY,
A. H. MARVIN,
J. H. EMERSON,
R. L. B. CLARKE,
JAMES A. YOUNG,
D. H. SOLOMON,
TH. J. SAUNDERS, Secretary.
E. N. BATES, Assistant Secretary.
M. W. ROBINSON,
LEWIS TODHUNTER,
JOHN EDWARDS,
J. C. TRAER,
JAMES F. WILSON,
AMOS HARRIS,
JNO. T. CLARK,
S. AYRES,
HARVEY J. SKIFF,
J. A. PARVIN,
W. PENN CLARKE,
JERE. HOLLINGWORTH,
WM. PATTERSON,
D. W. PRICE,
ALPHEUS SCOTT,
GEORGE GILLASPY,
EDWARD JOHNSTON.
FRANCIS SPRINGER, President.

308 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Besides the soldiers who constituted the garrison, and the officers, there were the Indian agent, Major Beach; and his interpreter Josiah Smart; the Indian traders Washington George and George Washington Ewing; Phelps & Co., fur dealers; J. B. Scott, W. A. Scott, William Lamb and Alexander Turner, who had contracted with the government to furnish hay and other farm produce to the garrison; Charles Weatherford and a man by the name of Baker, were government blacksmiths; J. M. Thrift was the government tailor, and John Sturdevant and James Drake were gunsmiths.
One of the first to arrive, not of the garrison, was Benjamin Bryant. He was at that time in the employ of the Ewings, regularly authorized Indian traders. In some explanatory notes to a poem published some time since Mr. Leonard Brown gives a list of Indian names; which he says he copied in 1857 from a day-book then in the possession of Benjamin Bryant. This book referred to was the one in which the Indian accounts were kept, and Bryant was then a citizen of Polk county in 1857, and continued to be until a few years ago.
The trading-house where the Ewings carried on their business as well as their residence, which was the first one erected in Polk county, were located on the east side of the river, still east and south of the capitol, and not far from the present residence of Mr. Wesley Redhead. The quarters of Major Beach and his interpreter, Josiah Smart, were not far off.
Robert A. Kinsay was a trader, or more properly a sutler, whose business transactions were not with the Indians but with the members of the garrison. He was not allowed to sell to the Indians as the Ewings had a monopoly of that trade, and his customers being exclusively the soldiers and government employes of the garrison; his place of business was on the West Side, near the Fort buildings. As near as can be located at present Kinsay's place of business was on Vine street, between Second and Third.
The Fur Company's establishment was on the east side of the river upon what was afterward known as Hazen farm. Several of their buildings remained for many years after the company abandoned the agency. Turrill says that " Dr. T. K. Brooks purchased the establishment when the agency at Fort Des Moines was discontinued. A curious and valuable relic of that company's transactions is now in the possession of Benjamin Bryant, Esq., of this city. It is an account book kept by the agent with the Indians, containing the polysyllabic names of several hundred of them, the articles which they purchased, the money or furs paid, and the price of each article sold or traded."
The foregoing statement would seem to conflict with a previous statement which we have made on other authority; whereas here Mr. Bryant is represented as being in the employ of the Fur Company, and at the other place he was said to have been in the employ of the Ewing's, Indian traders. We are inclined to the opinion that Mr. Turrill was wrong in his statement, or at least not strictly accurate. The book which he represents Mr. Bryant having in his possession as late as 1857, and the one Mr. Brown says he copied the Indian names from, contained a record of transactions of which the Indian traders had a monopoly; the fur agents could buy furs

309 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

of the Indians, but the Indian traders alone could sell or trade goods to them.
Sturtevant and Drake, the gunsmiths before alluded to, had their shop on the East Side, near the agency buildings; hence it is probable that their business was to mend the fire-arms of the Indians rather than those of the garrison.
The Scotts, Wm. Lamb, and Alexander Turner, were allowed to make claims outside the limits of the Fort for the purpose of raising a crop of corn and curing a quantity of prairie hay for the use of the garrison. These were the first regular claims taken in Polk county, and were probably regarded as legitimate and binding in law after the whole county was thrown open for settlement.
Worthington and Parker, the blacksmiths, had their shop on the West Side within the limits of the Fort. Their business consisted chiefly in shoeing the horses which were used by the garrison, and the coal used by them was procured, it is said, near the Fort.
Several of the soldiers constituting the garrison, and nearly all of the attaches of the Fort became permanent setters of this and adjoining counties after Des Moines ceased to be an Indian post; hence Fort Des Moines became a sort of center from which radiated in all directions the light of civilization. Warren, Dallas, and Boone counties, especially, number among their first settlers persons who had previously been located 'at Fort Des Moines. J. M. Thrift, who has already been mentioned as having been attached to the garrison as tailor to Uncle Sam, as it were, afterward became one of the leading citizens of Boonesboro, and finally was Mayor of that town. The message which Mr. Thrift delivered to the council upon retiring from office is still preserved, and is regarded as a most valuable document by the people of that town. It is as follows:
"Mayors Message
"To the Hon Town Council of the Incorporate town of Boonsboro.
"Gentlemen of the Council I submit the following report for the fiscal year of my term of office for the year 1867 and part of 1868, this seventh day of March 1868.
" Report of finances of Current year according to receipts and minutes I kept of Matters of a two small amount to encumber the records with for which I have the Treasures receipt to show for all to compare with.
"these several amounts is $51.50. the mayors Book of record for which I submit as follows: first receipts of S. G. Moffatt's late Treasurer for $156.62. amount for licenses for current year 344.50.
"amount of Fines in all on record paid and unpaid $93.00 of which fifteen is unpaid and $78.00 paid $78.00, there air some other fines that was assessed by me of a small amount $650.62 that was not placed on record on account of some action growing out of my orders not being Strictly carried out for all such I have remitted and the parties are not held for so far as the fines are concerned, those fines that air a matter of record air to be collected and no other. my Business has been strictly adhered to and all orders carried out, is a matter of record and no others of a doubtful nature, as for proof My Receipts and the Record will show for proof of the assertion. I would very much to make a report of the financial condition of the Incorporate Town of Boonsboro-and will some day for the satisfaction of the People and show the true State of the financial condition of our

310 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

town and stop the Eternal Gassing in relation to the affairs and the true condition and that published is all that will satisfy the people.
"Gentleman, our administration in the main has been social but some times rather spirited, for which often will occur in all bodies where men are a doing Business for the people, but those matter ought to end with our administration, and mingle and co mingle as if the ocean of life had been as smooth with us as a calm see, it ought to be a satisfaction to us to think that we have done the best we could, let others say what they will. My Motto threw life is, mine conscience of itself is "rite can never No never be deraded in its own estimation."
"Gentleman I retire feeling that I have tryed to do my duty ; and if I have errered, it is not a falt of the heart, it is an error of the Hed, and as for your deliberations whilst working in your official capacity I am now well satisfied with for which you have my best wishes.
J. M. Thrift Mayor "In a retiring position
"March 1868."

Summing up, we have the garrison of Fort Des Moines consisting of one hundred or a hundred and twenty soldiers, Kinsay, the Sutler; Worthington & Baker, blacksmiths; Dr. Griffin, the surgeon; Thrift, the tailor; the Scott, Lamb and Turner families; and on the East Side, Beach and his interpreter; the Ewings; Sturtevant & Drake, gunsmiths; Phelps & Co., fur dealers, and Benjamin Bryant, who was also located on the East Side. Such was Fort Des Moines at the close of 1843 and such was Polk county as far as civilization was concerned. South of Des Moines, on the river, was Eddyville, which was first settled in June the same year, and had probably a dozen families at the close of the year. Ottumwa was settled about the same time, and excepting the garrison, had probably a larger population at the close of 1843 than Des Moines. Between Eddsville and the Fort there were no settlements, the whole country being an unbroken wilderness.
Such was Fort Des Moines and such was the condition of the territory, now known as Polk county, in 1843, and such they virtually remained till the fall of 1845. Notwithstanding the fact, however, that no settlements, according to the terms of the treaty could be made till October, 1845, there were some who by special permit and for specific reasons were allowed to settle. It will be proper to notice such before we enter upon the history of the first settlements proper. First among the number, both in point of time and importance, was Peter Newcomer. Whoever has long resided within the bounds of Polk county has heard of this gentleman; whoever has traveled southeast of Des Moines on the Winterset branch of the Rock Island Railroad has doubtless heard of Newcomer's Point, and whoever has passed Newcomer's Point, a narrow space between the high bluffs and the river barely wide enough for a railroad track, has been in the vicinity of the residence of one of Polk county's most worthy pioneers, and one of the first improvements in Polk county, outside of Fort Des Moines.
From Mr. Newcomer's own account of himself he was born in Washington county, Maryland, August 29, 1812, and in 1837 moved to Wayne county, Indiana. From Indiana he moved to Ohio, and then again back to Indiana and then to Jefferson county, Iowa. He says that he came from Jefferson county to this place in 1843, but it was not till the following February that he obtained permission of Captain Allen to take and improve a

311 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

claim. During the fall of 1843 a military road had been laid out from Fort Des Moines to Tool's Point, now Monroe, in Jasper county; at the point where this road crossed Four Mile Creek it was impassable during a large part of the year. Realizing the importance of a bridge, and there then being no board of county supervisors with a large bridge fund at command, before whom the Captain could appear and petition for a bridge, he did the next best thing; he contracted with Mr. Newcomer to erect the much needed bridge, the latter to receive as consideration for his work, a government permit to take a claim of three hundred and twenty acres of land. It seems that in this contract Mr. Newcomer was not required to select his claim at any particular locality but had his choice of the whole country.
The bridge which Mr. Newcomer erected was located very near the point where the Rock Island Railroad crosses Four Mile, but instead of selecting his claim there, he went about two and a half miles southwest and began to establish a home on the banks of the Des Moines. The land which he preempted in accordance with the contract with Capt. Allen, and which ever since the summer of 1844, has been his home, is in section 18, township 78, range 23, and is now within the bounds of Grant township. As soon as he constructed his cabin he removed into it with his young wife, whom he had married about a year and a half previous in Jefferson county. Mrs. Newcomer was a native of Wayne county, Indiana, and her maiden name was Rosa Lamb. The hard work and privations of pioneer life were no new thing to either Mr. Newcomer or his wife and, although all alone and cut off from the conveniences of civilized neighbors, they had a prosperous and happy time of it.
It was here, and shortly after he had fully established himself in his new log cabin that he manufactured the famous churn, which has become historical. One account of the churn is to the effect that it was constructed out of a hollow log, but Mr. Newcomer assures us that such was not the case; according to his own statement the churn was made of hickory bark, peeled from a green tree. No matter how the churn was constructed it did good service and Mr. Newcomer would have done well to preserve it, both for his own satisfaction in old age and to exhibit to his children's children, who doubtless have much better accommodations than their grandparents had.
Mr. Newcomer says that for some time he was compelled to travel one hundred and forty miles to mill, and then sometimes had to wait many days before he could have his grist ground. Though a modest and unassuming man Mr. Newcomer has much to congratulate himself upon, and now in his old days can look back upon a life of more than ordinary usefulness.
Shortly after Mr. Newcomer settled on his claim on the Des Moines river two other gentlemen came from Jefferson county, Iowa, and settled in the east part of the county on Camp Creek; they were Henry B. Mitchell and Thomas Mitchell. The latter, more prominently and for a longer time, has been identified with the interests of Polk county than any other man. The settlement was made in April, 1844. At that time there was constant communication between Fort Des Moines and Keokuk. As river communication with the latter point was impossible during a large portion of the year and very uncertain at any time, the Indian agent, the Indian traders and the garrison had to depend very largely for their supplies on wagon

312 HISTORY OF P0LK COUNTY

transportation. The route generally traveled passed almost directly east through this county, and where the road crossed Camp Creek was, at certain times well nigh impassible. Thus it was, that when the Mitchells proposed to locate at that point and erect a bridge, Major Beach, the Indian agent, very cheerfully gave his permission.
The place where Thomas Mitchell erected his cabin and installed his family, consisting of a wife and two children, was some distance south of the present town of Mitchellville, and was by him named Apple Grove, on account of the large number of wild apple trees, which he found growing there. For three months after locating at Apple Grove Mrs. Mitchell did not see a white woman, except a girl, who was an adopted member of the family. The principal trading point was at Fairfield, one hundred miles distant. Mr. Mitchell had brought a plentiful supply of provisions with him, but these soon gave out on account of the hospitable nature of the tenant, and he was soon compelled to visit Keokuk for a new supply. Eastward from Mr. Mitchell's cabin there was a wide stretch of country wholly unoccupied, there being no settlement nearer than Bear Grove, near the present site of Marengo; westward there was no stopping place nearer than Fort Des Moines; consequently, people traveling over the route very frequently drove up to Mr. Mitchell's cabin and applied for refreshments and lodging. Both because he was of an accommodating disposition and because he had the sagacity to see in it a lucrative business, Mr. Mitchell opened up his house for the entertainment of the public. The Mitchell House consisted of a double log cabin, constructed of green timber, with puncheon floors and pole bedsteads; here the weary traveler could lodge over night for twenty-five cents and any one could get a good square meal of corn bread, bacon and milk for the same price.
Here Mr. Mitchell lived and prospered and although these were days of self-denial and hardship, he here laid the foundation for his future popularity and a career of more than ordinary distinction and usefulness. Beside filling several offices of honor and trust, he has, as a private individual, done much to aid in the development of the material resources of the county, while in a social point of view he has exercised a very prominent if not the highest influence of any man in the county. In the promotion of good morals and the support of schools, his enterprise and liberality have done much to place Polk county where it now stands in the front rank of progress.
An unmarried man by the name of G. B. Clark received permission to make a claim in 1844. He erected two cabins on his claim south of the Des Moines river, in what is now Allen township. In 1846 he disposed of his claim to a gentleman whom we shall presently speak of, entered into partnership with William Lowry, who had begun the improvement of a claim nearby. Mr. Clark boarded with Lowry, and the two cultivated the claim in common. One morning during the spring of 1847 Mr. Clark was drowned in the Des Moines river, near Newcomer's Point. He had started on horseback for the residence of Mr. Lamb, for the purpose of procuring seed corn; he did not return, and on searching for him, the horse was found, with the saddle, bridle and corn sack; the missing man, however, was never after heard of, and his body was never found.
In April, 1845, John Saylor settled on the east side of the Des Moines river, some distance above the Fort. The conditions of his permit to settle there before the expiration of the Indian title, were that he should furnish

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hay and other provisions to the garrison. To Mr. Saylor belongs the credit of making the first settlement in the Des Moines valley, north of Fort Des Moines. The claim which he selected was a very valuable one, there being a beautiful grove near by, good water was easily obtained and the land was of the best quality. He must have seen something peculiarly attractive in the locality to be induced to endure the privations which he could not help knowing were in store for him.
Moreover, both Mr. Saylor and his wife were persons of brave and persevering disposition, and they cheerfully endured present ills in hope of certain future good. It is said that Mrs. Saylor remained alone on the claim for six weeks, while her husband went to Van Buren county to transact some business. The wolves were numerous and fierce, and she has remarked that they would chase the house dog past the door of the cabin and stare at her with their fiery eyes as she sat down to her sewing.
It appears also that Mr. Newcomer, in manufacturing his wonderful churn, was not alone in his experiments for supplying a lack of home comforts; Mr. Saylor, too, had experiences of the same kind. His better half had no tray or bread bowl in which to prepare the staff of life; he soon found a way to supply the want; he hollowed out a log, and doubtless the bread, which was mixed in that rude and readily improvised tray, tasted as well and was fully as nourishing as if the tray had been manufactured by the most skilled workman, and had been fashioned after the most approved pattern.
At one time a party of Indians, intoxicated, came to Saylor's cabin and demanded his meat; he was not frightened, neither did he surrender the supply of food which he had laid up for a rainy day. Instead of acting the part of a coward, which would have been bad for himself and would have encouraged the savages in the commission of other depredations, he assumed a bold attitude, grasped a club and after prostrating four or five of the number, informed the remainder that the soldiers were coming. At another time a couple of half drunken Sacs came to the cabin when Mr. Saylor was away; they asked for whisky and offered to trade their moccasins for the coveted drink; Mrs. Saylor did not know what to do, but in her extremity, a small boy, who had doubtless witnessed the efficacious treatment administered to the savages a short time previous by his father, caught up a bean pole and administered several blows on the heads of the Indians, who thereupon quickly took their departure.
In August, 1845, about two months prior to the time that the county was properly opened for settlement, a gentleman appeared on Four Mile, east of the Saylor settlement, and although he had no authority to make a claim, and was trespassing to even so much as prospect through the country, yet he remained in the vicinity and probably had everything in readiness for the eventful night of October 11th.- The gentleman referred to was Isaac Cooper, afterward a very successful and prominent citizen of Des Moines.
It is thought that Mr. Cooper made the first chair manufactured in the county. The body of the chair was of the most approved quality of timber-black walnut-while the seat was constructed from the bark of that good, substantial, Democratic tree, the hickory. The chair was still in the possession of the family when Mr. Cooper resided in the capital city, and formed quite a contrast with the rest of the furniture. The writer cannot say whether or not Mr. Cooper conveyed the heirloom to his more recent

314 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

far Western home, but it would have been creditable to his taste and judgment for him to have done so. In their haste to grow rich, and by reason of their restless, active, practical lives, the people of Iowa give too little attention to the preservation of relics and mementoes. There was, in former years, very little opportunity for the settler of Polk county to accumulate relics or devote his attention to the realm of the ideal; but with the conveniences, luxuries and wealth of the present day, there are many whose duty it is to devote a certain portion of their time and money to the collection and preservation of relics, and what few souvenirs of early days remain should be carefully hoarded.
The persons already mentioned include in number nearly all the settlers who came prior to October, 1845, when the Indian title expired. There may have been some whose advent to the county dates as far back as 1843, or 1844, whom we have not mentioned; but if so, they were connected in some way with the garrison at the fort, or their coming into the county was clandestine, and their presence was unknown.
" Some renegade white man," says Turrill, had penetrated into the reserve, sold whisky to the Indians, and, after gaining their acquaintance and friendship, abused it by stealing their horses.
Incidents of this kind caused Captain Allen to send out a detachment of dragoons to capture the thieves and restore the stolen horses to their legal owners.
"This was a difficult task, the illimitable wilderness around affording an ample retreat for the miscreants. But finally one of them was captured and brought into the fort. This was Jonas Carsner, since notorious in the criminal records of this and other counties, for felonies of every description. He was tried by the officers of the Fort, and, although there was no doubt of his guilt, no direct proof of it could be obtained. Captain Allen, therefore, thought it not best to sentence him under the civil law; but, knowing the culprit was certainly deserving of punishment, he delivered him over to the Indians (some say white men disguised as Indians). They took him out, tied him to a tree, and gave him an unmerciful whipping. This certainly should have had some beneficial effect, but subsequent events proved otherwise. One of the horses stolen by Carsner had been found. The same night Carsner was rewarded with the cat-o'-nine-tails two horses were stolen from a man by the name of Fish, who was bringing supplies to the Fort, and had encamped for the night a few miles from the settlement. The Indians kindly lent Mr. Fish the horse which they had just reclaimed and he started to search for his own. But while following their trail through a lonesome strip of timber, suddenly Jonas Carsner appeared, mounted on one of Fish's horses, and riding abruptly up, he dexterously cut the saddle girth with a huge knife, hurled Fish to the ground and bore away, at full speed, the twice-captured horse.
" The discomfited man now 'felt I like a Fish out of water' No recourse was left him but to trudge doggedly back to his Indian friends, whose curses when they fully comprehended Carsner's last coup d'etat-may be imagined, but not recorded."
There is one name which we have thus far omitted to mention-the name of John D. Parmelee. He was in all probability the first white man to visit Polk county. His name has not been introduced in the previous account of the first settlement, in and around the Fort, because he was not properly a permanent settler of the county; yet, in two particulars he was one of the first settlers, and in this regard should be named permanently

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in the history of the first settlement of Polk county; First, he did permanently locate at a point which formerly was within the bounds of Polk county; and, second, he visited the present site of the city of Des Moines, even before Captain Allen, or any of the persons heretofore named, set foot upon the sacred soil of 'Coon Point.
Mr. Parmelee was a native of Vermont. Early in life he became dissatisfied with the conditions surrounding him in his native New England village, and he determined to take a series of " new departures." He made the journey by degrees. The first year he went to Massachusetts; the next year he went to New York City; then South, then to Indiana, where he remained one year; leaving Indiana, he came to Iowa in 1840, as the agent of a fur trading company. His first location, as we learn from a letter written in 1841 while on a business visit to St. Louis, was on the Des Moines river, about one hundred and fifty miles from its mouth, in what is now known as Wapello county. In describing it, he says:
" It is one of the most pleasant countries that can be found in the world, and I think very healthy. The Des Moines river is the most beautiful stream that ever flowed. It is about as wide as the Connecticut river, but shallow, with high banks, with gravel or rock bottom, and as clear as the streams that tumble from the mountains of Vermont. The country is well divided into timber and prairie for the convenience of the farmer."
Writing to his friends-some time later, he said: 
"It is certain I should be glad to live in the neighborhood of my friends, but the prospects for a young man are so much better in this country that I have almost come to the conclusion. that I shall spend my days, let them be few or many, in this country. On the banks of the lovely Des Moines, if I had my friends around me, then would I bid a long adieu to old Vermont; but there is something that makes the name of old Vermont sweet to me: it is the home of all that are dear to me."
On the 27th of March, 1843, he writes again, dating his letter River Des Moines, Iowa. The letter had reference to a change of location which he had then recently made from his work in Wapello county; he had in the meantime become connected with some Indian traders, and in the interest of the firm with which he was connected was visiting the point which is now the capital of the State. In. the letter referred to he says:
"The Indians have sold their whole country, but retain one half of it for three years more. This will cause us to move our trading post one hundred miles up the river, by the first of May, and there remain for three years."
He then proceeds to explain where the new fort was located, and in describing it says:
"You can see where I have located our next trading post by looking at your map of the United States. We shall be on the north side of the Des Moines river, directly opposite to the mouth of the Raccoon river, which is a little more than one hundred miles above where we now are. The winter has been remarkably cold, with an immense fall of snow, from one and a half to two feet deep. Since the twelfth of this month I have been to Raccoon river, and have taken men and provisions for building our post on the ice. It is still cold winter weather, very good sleighing, and ice from twelve to eighteen inches thick on the river. It is equal to old Vermont. Its parallel was never known in this country."
In the same letter he announces that he was married about a month before. Thus it appears that John D. Paremlee was the first man to visit

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the location of Des Moines city, with a view of establishing himself there as a permanent settler.
In May, probably about the time that the government forces arrived, Mr. Parmelee returned to the mouth of the Raccoon river, but remained only for a short time. His employers failed to pay him his salary for some time, and there was then due him five hundred dollars, a sum which in those days was regarded as a small fortune, and which indeed was a fortune, and a large one, too, if properly used. He quit the service of his employers in June, 1843, and took the place of Moses Barlow, as a partner of Capt. James Allen, in building and operating a saw mill. The mill in question was located on Middle river not far from Carlisle. The site of the mill was for many years within the bounds of Polk county, but now is in Warren. The change of boundaries whereby Polk county lost a tier of counties, will be fully treated of in another place. This mill referred to was the first one erected in this whole section of country, and people came to it from all the surrounding counties to have their grists ground. Indeed this mill figures extensively in the history of the first settlements of Warren, Madison, Dallas, and Boone counties, and we shall speak more definitely of it in our chapter on " Pioneer Times"; for the present we design simply to refer to the first settlement of Parmelee in the vicinity of the mill-site. The mill was located on Indian territory and of course Parmelee or no other person had any right to settle there without special permission from the government authorities. As Capt. Allen, the commander of the garrison, had an interest in the mill, and the enterprise had been begun before Parmelee became identified with it, it is very reasonable to suppose he authorized Parmelee to begin a settlement there, and this he did, not as a partner of Parmelee, but as the representative of the United States, and as party to the treaty whose provisions it was his duty to enforce. In authorizing settlement at the place specified he was acting in the interests of the government, while probably he expected to reap some advantage himself. The building of the government buildings then in course of construction required the use of considerable lumber, and it was for the purpose of manufacturing this lumber that Capt. Allen took such an active part in the erection of the mill. The circumstances attending Parmelee's location on Middle river can be best understood from his own language, as used in a letter written to his friends in Vermont some years after. He says:
"The work at that time was just commenced. I took charge of the work, completed the sawmill that winter and furnished lumber to build Fort Des Moines and since that time have added to the building sufficiently for a grist mill with four run of burs, one of which we have in operation-all of the best quality-and shall put in more as the country settles and requires it. Our frame is 45x35 and three stories high-as fine a building as any of that size that you can see in Vermont.
 * * * * 
Capt. Allen was an officer in the First regiment United States Dragoons and was promoted last spring, at the commencement of the Mexican War, to be lieutenant-colonel of volunteers, and ordered to California, but was taken sick just at the time he was to start, and died at Fort Leavenworth. It has been very expensive work, and it was done at a time when this was an Indian country, and of course hands and provisions were hard to get. But it is in the flower of Iowa and the garden of the world. I have a farm adjoining, with eighty acres in cultivation and about one hundred and forty under fence, but this I will have to pay Uncle Sam for when it comes into

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market at $1.25 per acre, though my claim includes three hundred and twenty acres, half timber and the rest bottom prairie, all lying on the banks of the Des Moines river, one of the prettiest rivers that flows, and only ten miles below Fort Des Moines, the probable place of our future seat of government, it being within eighteen miles of the center. The commissioners are at this time in the county for the purpose of locating."
William Mason, at present a citizen of Warren county, came from New Jersey in 1843 and stopped for a short time in Wapello county, and then came to Fort Des Moines and assisted in cutting the shingles for the government buildings then in course of erection; he also helped to erect the mill on Middle river. After the completion of the mill he returned to New Jersey and in 1845, when the country was thrown open for settlement, he returned and took the claim where he now resides.
The Moses Barlow spoken of in Parmelee's letters, the person whose place the latter took in the mill enterprise, came with his brother from Vermont in 1843, and after Parmelee's connection with the enterprise they returned to their native State.
Before proceeding to the history of the first settlements proper of the county, viz: those made after the expiration of the Indian title, October 11, 1845, it will be proper to speak further of a gentleman who arrived among the first, early in May, 1843; we have reference to Benjamin Bryant, before alluded to. Although he was connected with the Indian agency and in that capacity may be said to have lost his occupation when the Indians were removed, he nevertheless remained, became permanently and prominently identified with the history of Polk county, and for many years filled some of the most important offices in the county. Mr. Bryant was not only one among the first arrivals of Polk county but to him is due the distinguished honor of having successfully wooed, won and wed the first white lady married in the county. The lady to whom belongs the honor of having been the first One wooed, won and wedded according to the approved civilized rules was Miss Elvira Birge. This allusion to the marriage of Mr. Bryant very naturally suggests the name of the functionary whose ostensible mission it was to mete out justice and incidentally, as there were no ministers in the county at that time, to tie the connubial knot. His name was Addison Michael, who prior to this time had been connected in some way with the garrison and whose advent into the county dates as early as the spring of 1843.

THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS PROPER

The persons already mentioned were those connected with the government military post at Fort Des Moines, or if not directly a part of the government forces and agents were here by special permit and indirectly connected with the Fort. The list as given includes nearly all who came from May, 1843, till October, 1845. As before remarked, these cannot properly be termed settlers, as the country was not yet open for settlement and those who came during that period and remained were here by special permission and were the creatures of official permission. It would not be proper to date the settlement of Polk county from the time of the arrival of the government forces, in May, 1843, for during the following three years the territory was forbidden ground and on account of the measures taken to prevent settlements and improvements very little in that direction

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was done, and the growth of the country was necessarily very slight and almost imperceptible.
The settlement of the county properly began when the country was formally thrown open and immigration was invited and encouraged. From this time the population increased rapidly, and the development of the material resources of the country was so speedy as to be almost unprecedented. In treating of the settlement of the county during this period we shall strive to be somewhat analytical in our style, as by this course we hope to be able to give a more accurate and lucid account than could otherwise be done; to this end we shall subdivide the county into districts, and having spoken of the first settlement in each, will continue to follow out the subsequent settlements during a number of years, Until the time when the county became generally settled and the distinctive neighborhoods or settlements grew together and practically constituted one settlement-Polk county.
Those who are any way familiar with the early settlement of Polk county, or, in fact, any of the Iowa counties, are already aware that the first improvements were made along the various streams of water; not on the banks of these streams as a general thing, but in or near the timber which grew in the vicinity of these streams. Owing to the abrupt turns in the various streams, and especially at those places where they neared larger streams, the belt of timber spreads out, and viewed from the wide stretch of prairie beyond, presents the appearance of detached groves; such places were in early times called "points" or groves, and these were the beginnings of civilization. These points or groves took their names from the first settler locating in each, which names they, in many instances, still bear, thus we have Newcomer's Point, Trulinger's Grove, Lavishe's Grove, etc. We fully realize that the task of tracing out these first settlements, so as to accurately and fully give a history of each individual making them, is a difficult one; in proportion as the reader understands the magnitude and difficulty of the work, to that extent will we have his sympathy and forbearance.
The data upon which we found our supposed facts consist mainly of notes taken by our agents, who have visited every part of the county, and if the narrative should, in some particulars, seem to the reader to be incorrect, we wish to remind him that the particular fact which he questions is founded on the statement of some one individual who resides in the immediate neighborhood, and, in all probability, substantiated by the best evidence obtainable; such persons should remember that they are as liable to be mistaken as their neighbors, and that in the little circumscribed realm of their own neighborhood, even as in the boundless realm of the universe, "truth is stranger than fiction." In speaking of this subject, we shall divide it into the following subdivisions, and treat each separately:
1st. Fort Des Moines.
2d. South Des Moines; which includes the settlements south of the Des Moines river and south of the Raccoon river.
3d. North Des Moines; those settlements north of Fort Des Moines, adjoining the Des Moines
river, but not including those more particularly belonging to the smaller tributaries.
4th. Big Creek.
5th. Four Mile.

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6th. Camp Creek; including also those on Mud Creek and Spring Creek.
7th. Skunk River.
8th. Indian Creek.
9th. Beaver Creek.
10th. Walnut Creek.

FORT DES MOINES

In the account already given of Fort Des Moines, a tolerably good idea can be formed of the place at the time the Indians were removed. With the exception of the soldiers' quarters, and the establishment of Robert Kinzie, the government sutler, there were no improvements on the West Side. The improvements on the East Side consisted of the buildings occupied by the Indian agents, Indian traders, and fur dealers. According to that account there could not have been more than twenty-five or thirty log buildings all told, and not exceeding fifteen or twenty inhabitants, excluding the soldiers. In speaking of this matter, Mr. Turrell says:
"The foregoing enumeration includes very nearly all of the residents who settled near the fort in 1843 except the government troops. Their numbers continued about the same until the Indian title expired, when immigrants poured in like a flood.
" reserve of a square mile around the fort was maintained so long as Fort Des Moines continued a military post. Part of the troops were removed in the autumn of 1845, the remainder continued till June of the ensuing year. One hundred and sixty acres of this reserve, including all the buildings belonging to the fort, were afterward ceded by Congress to Polk county, and for several years these buildings furnished the county with various public offices."
It will be impossible, and it would not be practicable were it possible, to give a full list of the persons who settled at Des Moines during the first few years, neither will it be practicable to note definitely all the improvements which were made from 1846 to 1850; it belongs to the history of those early settlements to mention the more prominent and influential persons and notice the business houses and dwellings which figured most conspicuously in the first history of the town.
We begin with Dr. T. K. Brooks, who arrived in 1845, just about the time that the Indians were getting ready to leave and the white man was legally authorized to come in. Mr. Brooks was from Terre Haute, Indiana. He was a native of Montpelier, Vermont, where he was born May 4, 1811.
At the age of twenty-four he emigrated to Ohio and settled at New Lisbon, where he studied medicine under the tuition of Dr. George McCook. After reading the usual length of time he attended a medical college at Columbus, Ohio and afterward graduated from the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia. He entered upon the practice of his profession at Terre Haute, Indiana, and from there, as before remarked, removed to Des Moines, where he located in September, 1845. Considering the early date of his settlement here and the eventful career he had from that time till 1868, the time of his decease, there is probably no other name among the number of early settlers which could be selected as more appropriate to head the list: While Dr. Brooks did not design to abandon his chosen profession upon coming to this country, he nevertheless, in common with a large majority of the first immi-

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grants, chose this location on account of the agricultural advantages offered, and his mind was imbued with the idea of "cattle upon a thousand hills." He accordingly bought the claim and buildings belonging to Phelps & Co., the fur dealers, and the next season raised quite a crop of corn. It does not appear that Mr. Brooks was pre-eminently successful as a farmer but as a physician, public officer, and a genial and enterprising citizen he made a record of which his descendants may well be proud.
As a regularly practicing physician his record extends over a period of five years, from 1845 to 1859, during which time, as has been well remarked, "he manifested the kindness and benevolence of his nature and his eminent skill as a physician; he was often called upon to fill positions of trust and importance, and he always acquitted himself in these capacities in a manner which reflected honor on himself and substantial good to his fellow men. No pioneer who has passed through the gates of death has left the fragrance of a better or brighter memory as a legacy to sorrowing friends."
Dr. Brooks was the first man to make extensive improvements on the East Side, and there was his permanent place of residence till the time of his death. Beside the many important offices to which he was elected, we notice the following events of his life:
Early in the year 1846 the first mail route was opened to Des Moines; in April of that year Josiah Smart was appointed postmaster, but declining to serve, Dr. Brooks was appointed, " the key being sent to him in a separate package, and when he opened the mail he found the bond and his commission." Thus a former account reads, and we therefore conclude that Mr. Brooks was the first postmaster of Des Moines, the first in Polk county, and probably the first west of the Red Rock line. When the county seat contest existed between Des Moines and Brooklyn, a forgotten town east of the river, Mr. Brooks, in connection with Jeremiah Church and William Lamb, championed the cause of the latter place; but the odds were greatly against him, and the prospective city of Brooklyn lost the county seat, its local habitation and name, and the time soon came when the Doctor was well satisfied that at least this one ambition of his life was not achieved.
Doctor Brooks was an active, influential and useful member of the claim association, and did as much probably as any other in protecting the right's of the early claim-owners. At a meeting called for this purpose, we read that Dr. Brooks and Josiah Myers addressed the people.
After a life of more than ordinary activity and usefulness, Dr. Brooks died at his home in East Des Moines on the 24th of February, 1868, at 6 o'clock in the evening: He was at the time of his death young in years, being not quite fifty-seven, but old in the amount of work performed. His disease was pneumonia. The following funeral notice appeared in the Register of February 27, 1868:

FUNERAL OF DR. BROOKS

The funeral of the late Dr. T. K. Brooks will be held this afternoon at the Methodist chapel, East Side. The friends of the deceased will meet at his late residence at one and a half o'clock, and the procession will move thence to the church, where services will be conducted by Rev. T. O. Rice, of the Central Presbyterian church. The Masonic fraternity will be in attendance in a body, and the old settlers of Des Moines and vicinity will

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also attend in a body. The members of the City Council are requested to meet at the council rooms at one o'clock, to proceed from there to the late residence of Dr.Brooks. The friends of the family are requested to be in attendance at the funeral without further notice.
"The presiding officer of the Masonic order on this occasion will be Lieutenant-Governor John Scott. Municipal, county and State officers are requested to move with the procession."
In the same issue we find the following:

OLD SETTLERS' MEETING.

At a very large meeting of the old settlers of the county, having met on the occasion of the death of Dr. T. K. Brooks, Isaac Cooper was called to the chair by Hoyt Sherman, and Peter Myers was chosen Secretary, and after a very appropriate prayer by Rev. T. O. Rice, the following was adopted:
"That we learn with unfeigned sorrow of the death of our old friend Dr. Thomas K. Brooks.
Emigrating to this county at the early period of 1845, almost before the original denizens had been pressed back by the advancing wave of civilization he selected a farm, now within the limits of our city, and at once permanently identified himself with its destinies. We recall with grateful pleasure the many acts of open-handed hospitality extended to us by him in the early settlement of the country-the many cheering words of encouragement in our days of adversity. In every effort for the advancement of the interests of agriculture in the State he took a prominent part-in every movement to secure to our city the advantages of public improvements, his time, and energy, and means were freely given; in every work of public charity or private good he was alike active and liberal. While our whole community mourn in his death the loss of a good citizen of enlarged and liberal ideas and great social worth, to us it comes nearer home as that of a long-tried, trusty friend.
"That to his widow who shared with him the trials and discomforts of early pioneer days, we tender; in her great affliction, the poor consolation of our heart-felt sympathy.
"Tributes of respect to the memory of Dr. Brooks were paid by Messrs P. M. Casady, Judge Wright, W. H. Leas, S. F. Spofford, Judge Hatch, G. W. Cleveland and others, in which many interesting reminiscences connected with the early settlement of the county were related.
"The meeting resolved to attend in a body the funeral services.
"The foregoing was ordered to be published in both of the city papers, and a copy of the same be presented to the widow.

ISAAC COOPER, Chairman.
PETER MYERS, Secretary.
February 26, 1868.
P. M. Casady was one among the earliest settlers of Polk county, having come during the summer of 1846. From that time till the present he has been a citizen of Des Moines, and after an active and illustrious career of thirty-four years, is still permanently identified with the business interest of the city. When he came to the country he was a pioneer of the characteristic stamp, and like a pioneer he patiently endured the privations of those days and accommodated himself to his surroundings. The changes which have occurred during these thirty-four years have been so rapid and

324 H1STORY OF POLK COUNTY

marked that it would be impossible to find, in any town outside the rich mining regions of the Rocky Mountains, a parallel. Mr. Casady has never wavered in his faith that the place had a bright future, and firm in his belief he has, to use a common phrase, "stuck to" the place, and through all the sudden changes and trying vicissitudes of the town he has accommodated himself to his surroundings, and now that the small village, as he found it, has grown to be the capital and metropolis of the State, and the center of intelligence, wealth and refinement, he is still in the place, and not only in the place but with the city in that throughout its past brilliant career he has fully kept pace with the onward march of events, and is still with the city in the front ranks of progress. Were we to look for a representative western man, one who most nearly represents the county both in the particulars which form his past history, and the personal characteristics which distinguish the man, we could find no better representative than the plain, unostentatious and humble pioneer of the past, the refined, gentlemanly and wealthy citizen of the present who is the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Casady, in company of Dr. P. B. Fagan and W. D. Frazee, an attorney, entered the county on the eleventh day of June, 1846. On the day they first set foot on the soil of Polk county they took dinner at the Mitchell tavern at Apple Grove. On the day they arrived at the Mitchell tavern two things occurred which made this solitary county tavern a place of unusual excitement. Benjamin Bryant and Elvira Birge, the first couple married in the county, were united in matrimony at this place by Squire Michael. Orin T. Mitchell, a youthful son of the landlord, was bitten by a rattlesnake, and when it became known that one of the gentlemen in the house was a physician he was called upon to prescribe for the patient, Dr. Fagan did prescribe, the treatment being tobacco and whisky, two drugs which could generally be found in any pioneer settlement. The wedding was a successful if not brilliant affair, the patient recovered, and Mr. Casady and the doctor and lawyer, his companions, wended their way westward to Fort Des Moines. Arriving at their destination the three immediately set about the work of making a living, prepared to remain and grow up with the city. Dr. Fagan opened up an office and offered his services to the afflicted public, prepared to visit the sick in all parts of the country, at all times of the day and night, ready to work for cash in hand, and able to cure anything from the fever and ague to a rattlesnake bite; his skill in treating cases of the latter kind having already been demonstrated. His office was located on the west side of the river. Mr. Casady opened up a law and land-office, and signified his ability and willingness to get people into trouble or out of trouble, or in case no one needed any assistance in this direction he was ready to assist them in the selection and purchase of a homestead. Soon after his arrival at the place Mr. Casady was selected as Dr. Brooks successor, and he thereupon became the Nasby of Raccoon Fork. When Mr. Casady became postmaster the office was removed from the old agency building, southeast of where the capitol building now stands, to the fur company's building, near the river about one mile south of Walnut street bridge. 
It is related of the Hon. P. M. Casady, P. M., that it was a common occurrence for him to bring up all the "mail" for the Fort in his hat, so little correspondence did the pioneers of those days have with the world they had left behind them. The writer is not familiar with the size of Mr. Casady's

325 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

head and the number of his hat, but we venture that the hat is not large enough to hold the mail for the Fort at the present time, and the mails are daily instead of weekly as at that time.
As an attorney Mr. Casady not only looked after the interests of his clients within the bounds of Polk county, but traveled into the adjoining counties in the practice of his profession. Among the first court records of Boone county is the following:
" Wesley C. Hull having presented to the court a certificate, certifying that he is of good moral character and possesses the requisite qualifications for an attorney at law, signed by P. M. Casady and B. Granger, Esqs,. heretofore appointed by the court for that purpose, it is therefore ordered that Wesley C. Hull be admitted to practice as an attorney at law and solicitor in chancery in this court. Whereupon he appeared in court and took the oath required by law."
In 1854 Mr. Casady was candidate for the office of District Judge in opposition to Judge McKay, who was the incumbent at that time; after serving for a short time Mr. Casady resigned, and the eccentric and notorious Judge McFarland was appointed in his place. Mr. Casady had been Register of the Government Land Office prior to his election, and after resigning returned to it. The land business occupied his attention mainly for a number of years, and in connection with R. L. Tidrick, who was associated with him as law partner, he did the leading real estate business of the city for a number of years. In speaking of the early history of Des Moines the name of these two gentlemen should not be separated, they were associated together in all business enterprises, and although but one of. them was postmaster at the same time, the post-office was kept in the law office of the firm and practically it was the firm which was postmaster, and the emoluments of the office, which consisted chiefly of the patronage it brought to the law and land office, accrued to both individuals.
Mr. Tidrick came from Guernsey county, Ohio, arriving in Polk county May 4, 1847. His coming
to the county, therefore, was about one year later than that of Mr. Casady. Though not so prominent a public man as his partner Mr. Tidrick has been equally as successful in business, and like Mr. Casady, has done much to develop the material resources of the country and make Des Moines what it is.
In one of the first numbers of the Iowa Star, published in 1849, we note the following records of these men as a firm and as individuals:
"Casady & Tidrick, Attorneys-at-Law, Fort Des Moines, Polk county, Iowa."
" Notice is hereby given that I will, on the 14th day of November, A. D., 1849, at the town of Fort Des Moines, in the county of Polk, and State of Iowa, by virtue of a deed of trust duly executed to me by William F. Curry, offer for sale, at public outcry, to the highest bidder, the west half of the east half of section No. 33, in Township No. 76 north, of Range No. 23 west of the 5th P. M., Iowa. Terms of sale cash in hand.
" ROBERT L. TIDRICK, Trustee."
Mr. Tidrick was the second Register of the United States Land Office at Des Moines, he having occupied that position for about one year. Mr. Casady was Receiver of the Land Office from June, 1854, to September, 1857. Mr. Casady was postmaster from January, 1847, till January, 1849. Mr. Tidrick become poatmaster January 1, 1849, and held the office about three months, when he was succeeded by a gentleman who equally with

326 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Messrs. Casady and Tidrick has been identified with Des Moines and Polk county from the first, and went into the post-office in the place of Tidrick because his politics suited the new administration and Tidrick's didn't.
Among the records of the proceedings of the County Commissioners we find the statement that P. M. Casady was paid $5.00 for professional services in a case before Squire Meacham.
The office where Casady and Tidrick were located when they were lawyers, land agents and postmasters, and where they commenced to grow up with the country was located not far from the corner of Market and Second streets. That locality would not now be a very good location for men ambitious to excel in the particular profession which they had chosen, but at that time it was in the very heart of the city; no more aristocratic quarters could anywhere be found and it is the point where many other persons who afterward achieved great success started to grow with the country, and all who like them have not fallen behind the country in its growth, have no reason to regret the choice of location or look back with disdain to the day of small things away down on 'Coon Point.
One of the most active and prominent among the early settlers of Des Moines, although but for a few years identified with the interests of the county, was A. D. Jones, afterward of Winterset, Madison county, and more recently of Omaha, Nebraska. He was born January 30, 1814, at Philadelphia, Penn., and emigrated to Iowa in February, 1846, coming directly to Fort Des Moines, where he arrived on the 13th of the month. He spent the first night after his arrived with 'Squire Meacham who kept a tavern on the East Side; the 'Squire also carried on a small store in connection with the tavern. He says that on the 23d he formed the acquaintance of Mayor McKay, the first licensed attorney of the place and in later times the two frequently met as common pettifoggers before the high court of justice of the peace. He states further that: "In the first case he was in the right of it, but I succeeded in throwing his client into the costs and obtained the release of my employer. A gentleman who had watched the progress of the case until its termination, came and tapped me on the shoulder and said: "See here, Mister, I have been waiting here to see who would be the successful lawyer in this case; I therefore want you to come with me as I have three cases for you. I went and succeeded in gaining my point of releasing the prisoners. These were my first cases before the justice of the peace."
On the 14th of February Mr. Jones attended a political meeting on the West Side; was appointed secretary of the meeting and nominate for the office of County Surveyor, to which office he was afterward elected. This shows the way the early settlers did things. There was no higgling nor holding off because a man was a stranger. An ambitious man did not need to wait five or ten years till the people got acquainted with him. Mr. Jones' experience affords, a good illustration of the manner in which they proceeded: a man came to the county one day and on the following day was nominated for a county office, and that particular office too, which at that time was one of the most responsible and lucrative ones.
When the commissioners appointed to locate the seat of justice made their report Mr. Jones' was ordered, by virtue of his office, to lay off the place which became the county seat of Polk, county and afterward the capital of the State. The following is the order of the County Commissioners:

327 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Ordered, A. D. Jones, County Surveyor, proceed as soon as practicable to lay off a town, at the site selected for the county seat of Polk county.
Mr. Jones, in accordance with this order proceeded to survey the town, commencing the work on
the 4th day of June, 1846. It is said that in running a line near the Des Moines river the brush and trees in some places were so dense that it was impossible for him to see the rod-man and in such cases he would require the latter assistant to halloo, and then he would take his bearings from the sound.
By reason of his having the reputation of being an ex-postmaster and from the extraordinary knowledge of the civil service which this previous experience was supposed to have imparted to him, Mr. Jones was waited upon by a special messenger, and requested to assist in the opening of the first mail which arrived. In the mail was found Dr. Brooks' commission and a bond; the latter was signed by Jeremiah Church and Peter Newcomer, and the new postmaster and the new post-office formally entered upon their career of honor and usefulness.
Mr. Jones was a very energetic and industrious man in his way and with the start he made in 1846 would have achieved great things had his activity and tact been supplemented with that patience and perseverance which characterized such men as Casady, Tidrick, Sherman, Redhead, Granger, and others. As it was he left the place at the very time when everything depended upon his staying. From Des Moines he went to the new county of Madison and assisted in organizing the county and laying out the county seat. The early settlers of Winterset remember A. D. Jones as one of the most conspicuous men of early times, and in the early history of that town, just as in the early history of Des Moines, his name figures more extensively than any other. From Winterset he went to Omaha, which latter place he helped to usher into being, just as he did the two Iowa towns. Whether or not he profited by the remarkable advantages there presented for achieving wealth and position is a matter which does not come within the scope of this work. 
Dr. James Campbell, who still resides in Des Moines, having his office and residence on the corner of Front and Elm streets, came to Polk county in March, 1846, and has constantly resided here during the last thirty-four years. He was born in Ohio July 11, 1815, and emigrated to Iowa as early as 1839, locating at that time in Van Buren county. Shortly after his arrival at Fort Des Moines he fell in with Robert A. Kinsay, the government sutler who, that the government troops were about to evacuate the post and his occupation was gone, was desirous of disposing of his stock of goods. Mr. Campbell soon struck a bargain with him and opened up, soon after, a stock of dry goods and groceries in the old guard-house, which was located near the present corner of Vine and Third streets, the location being not far from the present site of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad depot. In one of the first numbers of the Iowa Star, published In 1849, we find the following advertisement:
"James Campbell, retail dealer in Dry Goods, Groceries and provisions, Fort Des Moines, Iowa.
Keeps constantly on hand a general assortment of Dry Goods, such as: Sheetings, fancy prints, cassimeres, jeans, alpacas, cloths, satinets, tweeds. Also, Groceries, such as: Coffee, sugar, molasses, cotton yarn, salt, whisky, iron nails, peach brandy, Cognac brandy, Port Malaga and Madeira wines,

328 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

gin, rum and Pittsburg ale. Also, Hardware, Queensware, Boots, Shoes, Hats and Caps. Also, the attention of farmers and others is particularly called to my assortment of groceries, and liquors which will always be full and cheaper than the cheapest, as I am determined to make it an object for the farmers to deal with me. Give me a call."
There was another merchant whose settlement in Polk county was cotemporaneous with that of Mr. Campbell; his coming to the county may possibly have been even earlier. Of the precise date of his arrival we cannot definitely speak, as the old settlers, record upon which we chiefly depend for these dates is blank in the column where this date should appear. This record was not begun till 1868 and Mr. Sypher probably had forgotten the precise date of his arrival, hence the omission. The only record following his name is the following:
"Born January 3d, 1819; died April 9th, 1879."
Mr. Sypher's first place of business was in a log building, east of the river, on the claim first owned by Phelps & Co., and afterward the property of Dr. Brooks. The house where he exposed for sale a great variety of merchandise, was located where the pork house now stands. He afterward removed his establishment to the West Side and located on the corner of Second and Vine streets. The corner of Second and Vine was probably the best location for a business house in the town during the first ten or fifteen years of its career, and Mr. Sypher was one of the most popular and successful merchants in the whole region of the country. It may not be interesting to any one and may seem to be even unappropriate to some, but nevertheless for the sake of authentic facts of history incidentally connected therewith, and the early reminiscences which are thereby suggested, we herewith reproduce an address which Mr. Sypher circulated among his customers in 1849:
" R. W. Sypher takes this method of returning thanks to his friends in Polk and the adjoining counties of Dallas, Boone and Madison, for the liberal patronage he has received from them and solicits a continuation of their past favors. I have on hand a good assortment of such goods as are usually kept in my line of business; consisting in part of dry goods, groceries, hardware, queensware, boots, shoes, glass, nails, etc., and intend to make frequent additions to my stock. " Persons desirous of making purchases are solicited to give me a call, as I am determined to sell on as reasonable terms as any other establishment in the place. Store on the corner of Second and Vine streets, Fort Des Moines, Iowa."
It will be seen by the foregoing that Mr. Sypher did an extensive business, and that among his customers were many of the early settlers of Madison, Dallas and Boone counties, together with the people of Polk county, who bought goods of him. In after years and during the time that this whole region of country was yet in its infancy, Mr. Sypher established branch houses in other counties and he was regarded by many of the early settlers as a veritable merchant prince. Among other branch stores which he established was one at Boonesboro, the county seat of Boone county.
His partner was Samuel B. McCall, the first sheriff and for many years county judge of Boone county. He also represented the district of which Polk county formed a part in the General Assembly of the state. The Boonesboro store was started in 1851 and the business was closed out in

329 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

1855. There are few business men succeeding Mr. Sypher who had a more extended trade or a better business reputation.
While speaking of the early business men of Polk county, the name of B. F. Allen is suggested to the writer. He is a nephew of Captain Allen, who appeared at Raccoon Fork, May 9, 1843, and the fact that the uncle was dispatched to this point by the government to superintend the construction of the fort, and that he formed a most favorable impression of the country during his stay here, doubtless had much to do in bringing the nephew. Mr. Allen's remarkable career in  Polk county began in 1848 and may properly be said to have ended a few years ago, when his unexpected and disastrous failure created such wide-spread surprise and disaster.
Immediately after arriving at Fort Des Moines Mr. Allen opened a store of general merchandise.
He had one advantage over many others who came at an early day, in that he had considerable ready money. Whatever enterprise he entered upon Mr. Allen prosecuted to to its conclusion with rare tact and remarkable energy. What money he had when entering upon his Iowa career he invested to the very best advantage, and the amount, though not considered large at the present day, was readily increased by reason of the favorable surroundings until it became a princely fortune. His extensive business transactions, extending into nearly all the counties of Central Iowa, threw him into contact with an unusually large number of people, and his acquaintance was probably larger, extending through a periodfrom 1848 to 1876, than that of any other man in Central Iowa.
Though many people in Polk county suffered by his failure, many more profited by his success, and although the city in particular felt the shock when the doors of his Des Moines house closed, it was through the doors of that house, which for over a quarter of a century swung on easy hinges, that much of the vital current of enterprise, which made it great, passed. He threw himself unreservedly into every enterprise and scheme which promised to aid in the development of Des Moines and the surrounding country. What he did in later years the reader is familiar with, but to show what he did in early times, when daring enterprises more directly affected the people, we reproduce some paragraphs from the Des Moines Gazette of 1851.
"Messrs. Griffith and Marvin have just returned from below, being unsuccessful in bringing up a boat. They obtained one at St. Louis, placed upon it over two hundred tons of freight for Ottumwa and Fort Des Moines. The boat proceeded up the Des Moines river as far as Bentonsport and there unfreighted, being unable to get over the dam. The result is greatly to be regretted, and especially now, from the fact that it had on board a large quantity of flour for this place. There is not a pound in the market and everybody's out.
"We have received no mail from the East for ten days past in consequence of the loss of bridges, etc. It is reported that the mail for this place was lost in a creek between Ottumwa and Eddyville one day last week."
These foregoing paragraphs appeared during the month of May and the issue of June 25th contained the following:
"Steamboat again.-Three of our enterprising citizens, J. M. Griffith, B. F. .Allen and F. W. Sypher, together with Mr. Corwin, of Eddyville, left here on Tuesday of last week for St. Louis with the sine qua non to purchase a steamboat to run up the Des Moines river. There is no doubt

330 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

that the boat will be purchased and will come up. We shall look for her at our wharf early next week. We shall date this event as the commencement of a new era in the history of the Des Moines republic, an era of increased and unceasing prosperity and wealth."
Mr. Allen was one of the first to invest money in the erection of a large steam mill, an institution which aided much in the development of the county, and one much needed by the people. The matter of steamboat navigation and the erection of mills will be treated more fully hereafter.
Whatever may have been the wreck and ruin which followed the down fall of Mr. Allen, or whatever the causes which led to the disaster, he was, in the days of his prosperity, a public benefactor. He gave with lavish hand,was prominent and active in all measures which would aid the prosperity ,of the people with whom he lived, and an important factor in the development of the county and its material prosperity, and he deserves a prominent place in the history of the county.
His career as a merchant extended through a period of seven years, from 1848 till 1855, part of which time he had a partner by the name of Lyon. His partner in the erection and management of the steam saw and grist mill was agentleman by the name of Van. The house where the store was carried on is still standing and is one of the few old landmarks which have been able to withstand the spirit of innovation, demolishing nearly all other works of primitive time. The old store room is located on Second street between Market and Vine. It is very long for its height and width and has the appearance of being built in sections at different times. It is in a bad state of repair, the decaying floor revealing the hewed sleepers and the falling plastering showing the split-oak lathing.
Hoyt Sherman came to Iowa April 28, 1848, and on the 2d of May following arrived in Polk county. As is well known by many of our readers he is a member of the illustrious Sherman family, whose representatives have distinguished themselves alike in the civil and military service of the country. He was born at Lancaster, Ohio, November 1st, 1827, and therefore had not yet arrived at majority upon coming to this county. A brother by the name of James had preceded him about one year and it was probably on this account that young Sherman ventured into the wilds of the West so far from home.
James Sherman had engaged in merchandise and the younger brother came out to assist him. This James Sherman was one of the first merchants of the county. He died a number of years ago. The next year after Hoyt Sherman came to the county another brother by the name of L. P.Sherman came, arriving in November. He was born at Lancaster, Ohio, October 12, 1822. We notice in the old settlers' record, from which these dates have been obtained, that Hoyt Sherman arrived in the State April 28th, and in Polk county May 2d., The date of L. P. Sherman's arrival in the State was November 15th, and in Polk county November 18th, from which we conclude that it took from three to four days to get to Des Moines after crossing the Mississippi river.
Hoyt was appointed postmaster of Des Moines by President Taylor in the spring of 1849, and during the first week in January, 1850, L. P. started the Gazette, the first Whig paper published in Des Moines, and the second journal established here, Barlow Granger having begun the publi- 

331 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

cation of a Democratic paper called the Iowa Star about one year previous.
After publishing the paper for one year, Mr. L. P. Sherman sold it to other parties and engaged in other pursuits. He has been a man of restless activity and a citizen of more than ordinary prominence from the time of his arrival till the present time. He is now and for some time has been an officer in the United States Civil Service, with his office in Des Moines.
Hoyt Sherman held the office of postmaster during the term of four years; in 1853 President Pierce coming into office, a good reliable Democrat was appointed as his successor, in the person of Wesley Redhead. In order to show the number cf mail routes at that time, the direction in which they extended and the postal facilities of a city thirty years ago, which now has mails arriving every day, free delivery, fast mail routes, etc., we reproduce the postmaster's notice as published in the Iowa Star of November 22, 1849, giving information on that subject: 
"Arrival and departure of mails to and from Fort Des .Moines:
" East-via Oskaloosa, arrives every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8 P. M., and departs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, 5 A. M.; closes at 7 P. M.
" East-via Iowa City, arrives every Wednesday and Saturday at 6 P. M., and departs every Monday and Thursday at 7 A. M.; closes on Wednesday and Sunday at 8 P. M.
" Southeast-via Knoxville and Albia, arrives every Saturday at 6 P. M. and departs every Monday at 8 A. M.; closes Sunday at 8 P. M.
" South-via Lancaster, Missouri, arrives every Saturday at 6 P. M. and departs every Monday at 8 A. M.; closes Sunday at 8 P. M.
" West-to Council Bluffs, arrives every Sunday at 6 P. M. and departs Monday at 8 A. M.
" West-to Penoach, arrives every Friday at 11A.M. and departs same day at 2 P. M.; closes at 1 P. M. same day.
" Southwest-to Winterset (Madison county), arrives every Friday at 11 A. M. and departs same day at 2 P. M.; closes at 1 P. M. same day.
"To Castleton (Polk county), arrives every Saturday at 12 M. and departs same day at 2 P. M.
"Office open every day (except Sundays) from 8 o'clock A. M. till 8 P. M.

" HOYT SHERMAN P. M."

In connection with Mr. Allen, already alluded to, and others not yet mentioned, Mr. Sherman manifested much enterprise and public spirit in assisting to secure steamboat navigation when the people of the town were out of provisions, and, by reason of the heavy rains and bad roads, wagon communication was an impossibility. The Iowa Gazette of May 30th, 1851, contained the following paragraph:
" Messrs. Griffith, Marvin, P. Myers and Hoyt Sherman left this place on last Tuesday in a skiff, bound for Keokuk and St. Louis, designing to freight a steamboat for Des Moines. They may be expected to return some time next week."
With the Iowa Shermans it has been similar as has been the case with the Ohio Shermans; they have not always been successful in getting the office for which they aspired, but their ambition in this direction has probably been as frequently gratified as the average ambition of men. They

332 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

have invariably proved efficient public servants, and as individuals and as a family may well be proud of their record.
Barlow Granger was a most active and energetic citizen of Fort Des Moines and Polk county during the early pioneer days. His career in Iowa may be said to be contemporaneous with that of Polk county. As the editor and publisher of the first newspaper, among the first land agents and attorneys, no account of the early settlement of the county in which he did not extensively figure would be at all authentic or reliable.
Mr. Granger was born in the state of New York, May 31, 1816; learned the trade of printer in the office of the Courtland Advocate, went to Albany in 1838 and considered it his home until 1847, although during the time he started out as a wandering journeyman printer, and though his career in that line was not very extensive it was somewhat extended. After traveling from place to place for some time he finally landed in St. Louis, and while engaged on a paper at that place was visited by an old acquaintance from Albany by the name of Jones. After being together for a few days the two concluded to go to Des Moines.
They took a boat to Keokuk and from there to Fairfield took passage on a stage. At the latter place they hired a buggy in which they came to Des Moines. Arriving here things did not at all suit them and they started to leave the country. On their way to leave the county and when they had arrived near where Mr. Granger's suburban residence now stands they took a view of the Des Moines valley, and from that standpoint the country presented new beauties and resources. They immediately changed their minds and determined to remain. Mr. Granter selected the place near where they then stood as the location of his future residence and his companion selected the place where afterward Mr. Allen erected his mansion.
After deciding to remain they returned to the Fort much better satisfied. To some this short  trip out of town and back would seem to have had no significance, but they really accomplished a great deal in that short drive, which, in the case of at least one of there, was the turning point in his future destiny. Although they had no friends here, no money and no business, the two young men seem to have been well satisfied. Having determined to stay, and the feeling of indecision which is so fruitful of discontent having been banished they were contented with the present so long as they could by some honorable means obtain a meal, and looked confidently and hopefully to the future.
After looking around for some time they finally determined to engage in the real estate and land warrant business and for this purpose they finally succeeded in negotiating a loan of five thousand dollars for the purpose of carrying on the business. Not long after, Mr. Jones, while temporarily absent in the southeast part of the State, fell in with some acquaintances who were making ready to go to California, and he falling a victim to the gold fever, concluded to accompany them. He rashly concluded that his friend Granger would also embark in this scheme and join the company upon their arrival at Des Moines. In this he was mistaken for the latter had fully determined to make this his home and he possessed too much power of will to be persuaded from a course which he had fully decided upon. Jones went to California. Granger remained, and in remaining had his most sanguine expectations gratified. The real estate and land warrant business was not very brisk at first, but it gradually grew on his hands, 

333 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

while he had his share of the law business. It is the impression of the writer that Mr. Granger had no partner after the departure of Mr. Jones. It was almost universally the custom for lawyers and real estate dealers, in those days, to have partners, and it is said that, at one time, Mr. Granger's advertisement read as follows:
"Barlow & Granger, attorneys at law, notaries public and real estate dealers. The former will at all times attend to all kinds of business belonging to his line, and the latter will attend to all other business which may be placed in the firm's charge."
He did not pride himself as some others upon his legal attainments, but was, nevertheless, a< successful lawyer. 
One of his first clients was a man by the name of Robinson, who had erected a cabin upon his claim before it was surveyed; afterward, when the government surveys were made and the lands entered, it transpired that Robinson's cabin was a short distance across the line on the land entered by one Daily. Daily was an unreasonable man and signified his intention of holding the cabin. Robinson came in haste to the Fort and counseled with Lawyer Granger; the latter informed him that Daily had the law on his side and probably could hold the cabin. At this information Robinson became very despondent and inquired whether there was nothing could be done. The lawyer studied awhile and then replied, that there was nothing he could do and he could not think of any human aid which would avail; however, as some consolation to his client, he would suggest that the Iowa winds were very powerful, so much so, in fact, that he had known houses and barns to be moved by them much farther than the distance his client's house was from his line. " Now," added the lawyer, " if, one of these nights, a powerful wind were to arise and blow your house across on to your land, I think Daily would have a hard time of it to get it back." 
Mr. Granger, after delivering himself of this opinion, resumed his reading and the client departed. In the course of a few days Robinson again made his appearance at Granger's office, wreathed in smiles and looking jubilant:
"Good morning, Robinson," said the lawyer. " How are things up the river "
"Bad enough, bad enough," replied the client; " we had a h-l of a wind up there last night and my house was blown from Daily's land across the line onto my own ground."
Having delivered himself of this speech he handed Mr. Granger a five dollar bill and departed.
The facts in the case were that Robinson was not slow to act on the lawyer's hint; he had gone home and, the first dark night, procured the assistance of some friends and moved his house, and Daily finding that he had been outwitted, never took any steps to deprive the former of his rightful property.
It does not appear that Mr. Granger ever took any very active measures to elevate himself to office, neither, as a rule, was he a very active politician, preferring rather to attend quietly to his business and make money. However, in hotly contested elections, when on the eve of election day the Democrats despaired of success they usually held a council at Granger's office and sought his advice as a last resort. By reason of the plans laid and the tactics adopted at these secret conclaves victory was sometimes snatched from the very jaws of defeat. Hoyt Sherman probably remembers how that after the election was over and the returns, which elected him County ----- by a safe majority, were supposed to all be in, one Spalding came in

334 HISTORY OF POLK OOUNTY

with the returns from a forgotten precinct sufficiently Democratic to overcome his supposed
majority and elect one of Granger's satellites. There are few of the early settlers who will fail to recollect that unexpected turn of affairs, but probably none of them know that it was all done according to a plan suggested by Mr. Granger two days before the election and after the Democrats had entirely despaired of success.
In July, 1849, Mr. Granger began the publication of the Iowa Star. The material for starting the paper was purchased at Iowa City, it having been previously used in the publication of a paper at that place. Mr. Granger gives the following account of the circumstances attending the establishment of the paper:
"In 1848 A. W. Blair issued a circular announcing to the people of Polk county and vicinity that he would soon engage in the publication of a paper at Fort Des Moines. Mr. Blair had emigrated from Indiana to Iowa in 1845 and settled first at Sigourney, in Keokuk county. He was there engaged in the practice of law till the beginning of the Mexican War, when he enlisted as a volunteer and served till the close of the war, when, not having anything in particular, he, at the suggestion of Curtis Bates, concluded to start a paper at Fort Des Moines and issued his prospectus accordingly. He had some difficulty in procuring the necessary printing material and before he succeeded in fitting out the office became a victim of the gold excitement and went to California, where he afterward engaged in the practice of law and had a successful career.
Some time after Blair emigrated to California Mr. Granger visited Iowa City and while there was approached by Mr. Bates, who, being an active politician and ambitious of official promotion, prevailed upon Mr. Granger to take up the enterprise which Blair had embarked in and carry it through. The latter was somewhat favorably disposed to the project, and, on looking around, found the material and fixtures of a printing office of that city for sale. He bought the material on time and Mr. Bates indorsed his paper. He then returned to Fort Des Moines and dispatched Charles Winkley and Jonathan Rathburn for the printing material. These two men loaded the type and presses onto their wagons, and after much difficulty, especially in crossing Skunk river bottom, finally arrived at the Fort with their freight.
The presses, type and fixtures were deposited in a double log cabin on " 'Coon Row," where the office was fitted up and the paper published for some time. The office was afterward removed to the second story of a frame building, which still stands on Elm street, between Front and Second. 
The first subscriber whose name appeared on Mr. Granger's newspaper list was Lewis Jones and the first money paid on subscription was by Thomas Mitchell.
The history of this first newspaper, in connection with the history of the other journals of the city both past and present, living and dead, will be given at length elsewhere, but in this connection it will be proper to add that the Star was a seven column, folio sheet, published weekly at two dollars per year, and payments, like the subscription price of all country newspapers, were theoretically, to be made in lawful currency and invariably in advance. Practically, they were made at the option of the subscriber, and when made consisted of ragged bills on bursted banks, country produce, snake root, rags and sourkrout.
Finding that the publication of a newspaper materially interfered with 

335 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

his law and real estate business, not being particularly anxious for political honors, and soon ascertaining that the newspaper business would not very rapidly raise him him to affluence and wealth, Mr. Granger disposed of the paper the following year, after it had reached the then large circulation of eight hundred.
The Des Moines Leader of today is the legitimate offspring of the old Iowa Star; the different generations through which the Leader must trace its lineage before getting back to the original ancestor enthroned in that princely cabin on " Coon Row" will be noted elsewhere.
Mr. Granger continued his business as attorney at law and real estate dealer in Des Moines for some fifteen years, when, according to the intention made known to his comrade, on first coming to the place, he laid aside the cares and vexations of business and located on the beautiful and picturesque bluff overlooking the Des Moines river, and where he can now sit, and from the veranda of his elegant residence contemplate a city whose career and his own are indissolubly interwoven.
The foregoing is a brief and imperfect synopsis of the leading men of business who first settled at Des Moines; brief in that but a few facts and incidents connected with the career of each is given; imperfect in that there were others equally active and prominent in the first settlement of the county, but whom, on account of the difficulty in obtaining accurate information, we have not mentioned. However, what has been given will afford a general and we think authentic account of the first settlements of the city, and from which the reader can form an estimate of the men who laid the foundation of the city's prosperity.
Lewis Whitten, one of the early county officers and the first school teacher came in 1846. Perry T. Crossman, the first clerk of courts, and Thomas H. Napier for several years county judge, were early settlers of Fort Des Moines. E. R. Clapp who is still a resident of Des Moines, and a brother of W. W. Clapp, who died many years ago, was early identified with the business affairs of Polk county. Wesley Redhead, of whom every one has heard who knows anything of Des Moines, came some later; his early career as an orphan boy and his experience as a canal employe, printer's devil and journeyman tailor in various parts of the United States and Canada, would afford material for a lengthy biography. From the time he came to Polk county till the present he has had firm faith in the country, and has done as much or more than any other individual in building up the capital city and developing the resources of the country. William McKay, at first clerk of the board of county commissioners, then the leading attorney of the county, then district judge of the Fourth Judicial District, was one of the most prominent and successful professional men who came in early times. Curtis Bates was not one of the earliest settlers, but came during pioneer times. His location in the county dates from 1850, at which time he and Luther Johnson, a talented young man who soon after died, took control of the Iowa Star. Mr. Bates was, without doubt, one of the most distinguished men who located in the county in early times. Many who came before him afterward established an enviable reputation and won a great name. Mr. Bates was a great man when he came. D. O. Finch and . M. Crocker, at one time law partners, were also among the illustrious pioneers of Polk county. Crocker did not come till late, some time after Finch, but their connection in business makes it appropriate that their 

336 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

names should appear together. Mr. Crocker's gallant war record and untimely death will be treated more fully hereafter, while the name of Dan Finch, for so long a time, one of the most talented and eccentric members of the Polk county bar, will figure extensively in our chapter on the courts and early bar of the county. In speaking of L. O. Finch there is suggested the name of McFarland, who was for several years judge of this judicial district; he was a great favorite of Finch. During the time that McFarland was on the bench his residence was at Boonesboro, but prior to locating in the latter town he and a brother, John A. McFarland, now the leading banker of Boone, located in Polk county. William H. Meacham, a member of the first board of county commissioners, kept a tavern on the east side from time immemorial. One Tucker was, however, the first landlord at the Fort. Martin Tucker was his name, Martin alone; but owing to the fact that his early education had been sadly neglected and to the accompanying cross which always appeared along with his name he soon became known as Martin X. Tucker. S. E. Spofford did not come to the county till 1855, but he is regarded throughout Polk and adjoining counties as one of the leading pioneers of the county and a foster parent of the capital city. Simon Casady and his wife are the first couple married who were both born in the county. Messrs Polk, West, Hippee and Dewey, who are known as among the leading citizens of Des Moines, came about the same time, in 1854 or 1855.
There are others who should not be forgotten though they moved in the humbler walks of life;
such as Mr. Basgard and A. B. Fuller, who manufactured the first plow and the first wagon; C. C. Van, who first used steam power; Jesse Dicks, who kept the first stove store; Michael Kennedy, the first drayman, and many others who, while they did not figure so extensively in public affairs and who were scarcely known outside the narrow limits of the then narrow town, nevertheless performed some of the hardest work and endured the severest hardships, and in their own humble sphere performed their part heroically and well, and who filled their place in the community so faithfully that they should ever be regarded as one of the most important factors in the problem of material development.
According to the plan of this work it is designed to speak definitely and more fully of the schools and churches of the county at another place, but while treating on the early settlement of Des Moines we deem it proper to allude to some of those early settlers who as ministers and educators laid broad and deep the foundation upon which were afterward built the schools and churches which now adorn the social system of the city. These first teachers and preachers were brave, heroic and able men and women. They were industrious, zealous, and enthusiastic and on this account as well as from the fact that the people with whom they labored were in sympathy with their work, were they enabled to accomplish such great things. It is universally admitted that nothing is so potent in its influence to shape the social condition of a people as schools and churches. It is a fact already elicited and will become more and more apparent as the work progresses that the persons who came during the period referred to were from those localities in the East where the greatest attention had been paid to these mighty forces of civilization. Many of them had been educated at the best colleges of the East, and with a few exceptions they all availed themselves of the liberal facilities furnished by the best common school system in the world. The ancient Grecian and Roman prided himself on his devotion to 

337 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

his household gods, and while he might lose on his journey a father, mother, sister or even wife without a great pang of grief, yet it was a mark of unpardonable folly or cowardice to lose his gods. Those who have read the story of Eneas fleeing from the ruins of his native Troy, and leaving behind him in the devouring elements his beloved Creusa, and stopping on the way to bury the aged Anchises, yet amid fire and sword, amid shipwreck and famine, still clinging to his trusted gods. But there is no account of the heroes of antiquity clinging to their lares and penates with any greater tenacity or hastening with any greater alacrity to set them up on the soil of their new found home than did the first settlers of this county cling to their churches and free schools and hasten to establish them in the goodly land which they had found west of the Father of Waters.
Among the denominations first represented by a minister the Methodists here as well as in most every community throughout the West are deserving of first mention; however, by reason of their peculiar system of itinerancy, the early Methodist ministers did not acquire as great personal popularity nor wield as much personal influence as did those of the Baptist and Presbyterian Churches. They did not remain long enough to stamp their individuality upon the community; the churches they established remained and continued to grow in influence; the men who organized them, loyal to their institutions, and in obedience to the command of their bishops, after having served their two or three years, moved on. Ezra Rathbun was one of the first Methodist preachers to locate in Des Moines. By some writers he has been termed a negro; this we are satisfied is a mistake. It is true that he was not a full blooded Anglo-Saxon, but from the best authority we are lead to believe that his blood was a mixture of AngloSaxon with that of Spanish or Moorish. He was a very modest man but of great zeal for his work and possessed of much native eloquence and fervor. He resided in Des Moines quite a while, but his ministerial work was done chiefly elsewhere. There was another Rathbun, who also preached throughout the surrounding country.
Rev. Mr. Russell had charge of a circuit in early days which included in its territory the counties of Madison, Polk, Dallas, Warren and Marion. It required much moral courage and physical endurance to accomplish the work comprehended by the bounds of such a circuit, but. the itinerant found a hearty welcome and eager hearers ,wherever he went, and what of hardship and exposure he had to endure was borne cheerfully. The first sermon preached in Des Moines was by Rev. Ezra Rathbun, on the occasion of a funeral in 1845. During the same year a Methodist Church was organized by. Rev. Mr. Russell. The original members of this church organization were as follows:
Joseph Solenbarger, Sarah Solenbarger, Abner Rathbun, Betsy Rathbun, Sr., Ezra Rathbun, Jonathan Rathbun, Benjamin T. Hoxie and Squire Meacham and wife. Mr. Solenbarger was
appointed class-leader.
The minister who in early days exercised the most influence on the settlers of Des Moines, and who, perhaps, more than any other one stamped his own individuality upon the community, was Rev. Thompson Bird, who located in Des Moines in 1847. He was a man of more than ordinary culture and ability, and after having been constantly identified with the religious and educational interests of the place for nearly thirty years departed to his heavenly reward, leaving behind him a record of spotless purity and a name of undying fame.

338 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

He was born in North Carolina in 1804 and graduated at the university of that State in 1827, and at Andover Theological Seminary some years afterward. Located at Thorntown, Indiana, in 1840, and in 1847 came to Iowa, stopping for a few months at Red Rock, in Marion county. He was appointed Missionary of the Des Moines Presbytery for Polk and adjoining counties. He< organized in Des Moines a Presbyterian Church in 1848, of which he remained pastor till 1865.
This church organization is now called the Central Presbyterian Church, the church edifice< originally having stood near the present location of Mills & Co.'s Publishing House; it was destroyed by fire in 1867.
The old Bird residence still stands on the same lot where it was first located and where for many years was the home of this eminent divine. A small stream which is formed up among the bluffs of West Des Moines and winds its tortuous way down through the city and empties into the Des Moines river near this old residence, is known as "Bird's Run," so named in honor of the gentleman who was among the first to reside in its banks.
Another minister and educator of national reputation who is still a resident of Des Moines, and has been identified with the city since 1850, is J. A. Nash. He was born in New York in 1816, graduated at Madison College in 1842, and from the theological department of the same institution in 1844. He organized the First Baptist Church of this place in 1850 and was its pastor for seventeen years. He also organized the Baptist Church on the East Side, and was largely instrumental in the organization of some thirty other churches throughout Central Iowa.
Dr. Nash established a select school in the city in 1853, has been permanently identified with all the educational institutions of the city, was for a time State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and is at present President of the University of Des Moines. We shall frequently have occasion to allude to this veteran teacher and preacher in the further account of the schools and churches of the county.
Among the first teachers of Des Moines were persons who usually followed other occupations, which they temporarily laid aside and took up the educational work temporarily, to be laid aside again at the expiration of the term.
The first school was taught by Lewis Whitten, county clerk, in the winter of 1846-47. The school was held on "Coon Row," in one of the buildings formerly erected for the accommodation of the garrison.
In 1847 R. L. Tidrick taught a school. This school likewise was held in one of the government buildings. The next year a Mr. Davis taught a school, and was followed by Andrew J. Stevens.
The public school of Des Moines was formally organized in 1849, and Byron Rice was the first teacher.
Mrs. Anna Bird, wife of Rev. Thompson Bird, established a select school at an early day, and conducted it for a number of years very successfully. She had a building erected for this special purpose on the corner of Second and Locust streets, which building still stands at the same place; and, although at present used for a cooper shop, is one of the most honored relics of former times. This lady had much to do with the moulding of society during the early history of Des Moines, and in the capacity of school principal and pastor's wife, was industrious, zealous and exemplary. She is still a resident of the city, and is properly an object of veneration and respect by all who know her. Her maiden name was Anna Parkhurst

339 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Knowlton, and is a native of Vermont, where she received a liberal education. She was married to Mr. Bird while in North Carolina, where she had gone to teach in 1838. Her long and useful life is a good illustration of the typical New England woman, who has a mind and a mission of her own. There are few women now 1iving who can look back upon a life of such activity and usefulness.
With this brief sketch of the early settlement of Des. Moines, we now pass to the early settlements of other parts of Polk county. The reader will observe that the account as given extends through a period of but four ears. Many distinguished persons, both living and dead, who came to Des Moines from 1850 to 1856, the date when pioneer times are supposed to have ended, might be added to the list of old settlers of the county. A further discussion of this topic, while it would be proper and intensely interesting, would swell the book to a size far exceeding the proportion intended. In 1850 Des Moines was quite a place, and its growth from that time till 1856 was so rapid that in order to given even a synopsis of the settlements made during that period would fill a book of ordinary size.

SOUTH DES MOINES SETTLEMENTS

We have already incidentally alluded to the fact that up till 1852 Polk county included in its territory a strip of country which now belongs to Warren county. How it came that the strip was attached to Polk in early days and was afterward taken off and made a pact of Warren are matters which will be spoken of more fully elsewhere. We refer to the matter here as some of the early settlements which we are about to describe were located in that disputed territory.
Some settlements were made in that region at a very early day; some as early as 1843. Such persons carne and settled by special permission from Capt. Allen, in whose honor two civil townships-one in Polk and one in Warren-have since been named. They were in some way connected with the mill, which Capt. Allen caused to be built near the mouth of Middle river.
There was also a gentleman by the name of G. B. Clark, who settled the Warren county line in what is how Allen township, in 1846. He received permission to settle there in consideration of building a bridge over North river on the line of an old trail, which afterward became the Fort Des Moines and Knoxville road. In 1845 James Davis located in the same locality, and is supposed to have made the first rails and built the first fences in that region. Elias Compton, Joseph Williams and J. Knuckols also settled there in the fall of 1845.
A man by the name of George Leslie came from Indiana in 1843 and assisted in erecting the mill; after the mill was built he was employed in various kinds-of work and as soon as it was allowable took a claim which is now known as the Reese farm, just across the line in Warren county. He lived in that county till a few years ago, when he died at the village of Hartford. He was a genial soul, a favorite of the children, to whom his bachelor ways were ever winning and pleasant. He remained a bachelor until perhaps, as late as 1863, and died eight or ten years ago. 
In 1845 Simpson Hargis carne from Indiana, to which State he had previously emigrated from Kentucky. He remained in that vicinity until 1852.
Anthony Smith came, in 1845, from Ohio, and settled on a tract of land

340 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

belonging to Parmelee, located about two miles east of the present site of Carlisle. Mr. Smith was a cousin of Parmelee's wife. He died in the same neighborhood some twenty years ago. 
Wm. Stumbo came from Indiana in 1845, and settled on what afterward was known as the Pearson's farm. His residence was in what is now Polk county, but a large portion of the farm was across the line in what is now Warren county.
Uriah Dotson came from Virginia in 1845 and settled in what is now Richland township, Warren county.
The Myricks came from Indiana the same year and settled still further south, but in what was then Polk county. Several representatives of that family still reside near the old homestead.
During the following year came the Freels and the Phillipses, William Reynolds, surnamed "Buffalo Bill," and the Whites, all from Indiana. Old man Winpigler, Jerome Davis, Thomas Ward, Asahel Ward, William Rowe, John Parkinson, Austin Howard and the McMahans, came from Ohio; Riley Driscol came from Burlington, in this State.
In the Carlisle neighborhood, the same year, came Mordecai Disney, a blacksmith from Indiana; probably the first of that trade in that whole section of country.
David Moore came from Louisa county; he was formerly from Pennsylvania. He still resides near Carlisle.
This year Dr. Spear, the first physician, came; he remained only two or three years.
The Carlisle settlement was at an early day regarded as the most important in the county.
July-11th, 1851, the following notice was published in the Des Moines Gazette:
"Carlisle is the name given by the proprietors to a town just located in the lower part of this county. Its situation is high and healthy and the country adjacent unsurpassed in the State for fertility and productiveness. Every material requisite for building purposes is to be found in abundance and of easy access. It is about a mile and a half west of the Des Moines and close to North and Middle rivers, on which latter there are several saw and grist mills. "Uncle Jerry " says Carlisle is bound to make a town, and we should like to know who is better qualified to make the prediction, seeing that he has had some experience in the business. Messrs. Church and Moore, the proprietors, have a sale of lots to-morrow on the premises and an opportunity is presented to those desirous of investing to do so. "
The Uncle Jerry here referred to was Jeremiah Church, one of the proprietors of the town, the other one being Daniel Moore, whose name appears in a preceding paragraph. 
In another record we read the following:
"The first physician in the neighborhood was Dr. Spears, who cast his lines with the settlers in 1846, but only for a short time. He is said to have been a man of good attainments. The next was Dr. Huff, who came from Indiana in 1848. Squire Guthrie says he started on his westward way as a blacksmith, but ere the journey of six hundred miles was completed be had blossomed out into a physician. The next, immediately following him, was Dr. Hull, who came early in 1849. He remained, however, only a short time. After him probably was Dr. Ward, who had come from Crawfordsville, Indiana, in the early part of 1849 to Fort Des Moines,

341 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

where he remained only a short time, when he went to Dudley, Uncle Jerry Church's latest town at that time. When Dudley was drowned out in the flood of 1851 and was removed to the present site of Carlisle, also laid out by Mr. Church, Dr. Ward went with the town and remained in it till 1862, when he removed to Des Moines, where he had for a long time been one of the leading physicians."
Uncle Jerry Church contributed more, probably, to the development of that region of country in early days, than any other individual. He came to Fort Des Moines in the summer of 1845, and remained till the following winter, when he laid out the town of Dudley, which was located a little north of the line which now divides Polk county from Warren. He was the first merchant of that new town, and probably the first in that whole section of country.
It is said that at midnight of October 11, 1845, Uncle Jerry Church set fire to some of the old Indian huts for the purpose of making it light enough to mark out his claim; the landmarks then made by him were the initials of his name cut into trees with a penknife. Not far from where he first located he laid out the town of Liberty, but it soon after appearing that his town was upon school lands he abandoned it and then laid out the town of Dudley, already alluded to.
Mr. Church was very ambitious to make Dudley a rival of Fort Des Moines; he maintained a ferry across the Des Moines river at that point, and even aspired to have the county seat located there. The territorial commissioners appointed for the purpose of selecting a location for the seat of justice visited his town, but it is said that the commissioners objected to the town because it was located on too low ground, and in many other respects did not suit the tastes of that almost omnipotent trio whose fiat decided the fate of towns, and in a moment annihilated the prospective fortune of the enterprising real estate dealer.
In connection with Dr. T. K. Brooks and William Lamb, Uncle Jerry was also proprietor of the town of Brooklyn, another county seat, and his name, along with that of Peter Newcomer, appears on the bond of the first postmaster appointed for Polk county.
After the boundary line of the county was changed in 1852, Carlisle was no longer a part of Polk county, and Uncle Jerry Church, alone with his town, was transferred to Warren county. Mr. Church continue to reside at Carlisle till the time of his death, which occurred in November, 1874.
One of the first and most frequently used roads in the county was through the settlement we have just been describing. It was, for a long time called the Dragoon Trail, and extended from Allen's mill to Fort Des Moines. This road was used by the dragoons in transporting lumber from the saw mill to the fort, to be used in the erection of the barracks.
The next road through that neighborhood was probably the old Mormon trail, passing from Dudley to the Hargis farm, then on up over the Scotch Ridge. These roads were selected for special purposes and were, of course, over the natural irregularities of the country, and no work was put upon them. Fort Des Moines was the nearest post-office till 1850.
The first school was taught at Carlisle by Miss Amelia Brand, in the summer of 1849. The directors were John Hargis, Nicholas Beezley and Charles Keeney, and the amount of permanent school fund apportioned to the district, which was then very large, was twenty dollars, and was paid to John Hargis. The salary paid Miss Brand for her three months work was

342 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

thirty dollars. The school was held in a house standing on Daniel Moore's land. Miss Brand
emigrated to Oregon in 1852 where she now resides.
J. D. McGlothlen arrived, in what is now Allen township, in June, 1846, and settled on section 27. He was a native of Indiana, having been born in Wayne county of that State, December 10, 1810. We judge from the place and time of his birth that he came inured to the trials and privations of pioneer life from his earliest childhood, as the whole of Indiana at that time was in its primitive state of wildness. There were a few settlers in that region of. country at the time of Mr. Glothlen's arrival, but there could not have been very many. It seems that he purchased the claim which had been partially improved by Mr. Clark, whose mysterious disappearance, which occurred shortly after, has already been noted. There was a rude cabin on the claim which Mr. McGlothlen immediately occupied with his family. He continued to reside in that neighborhood till the time of his death, which occurred April 26, 1878. He was one of the most prominent citizens of the county, and as early as 1848, two years after his arrival, was elected to the responsible position of County Commissioner.
Some accounts which Mr. McGlothlen was accustomed to give of the trials of his first few years of residence may be interesting:
"Soon after locating in my new home the ague made its appearance and myself and family were almost constantly victims of that scourge for a number of years. Removed to the new cabin which I erected on the second of October, 1846. The structure had but one apartmemt, and, not having enough of puncheons to cover the floor, part of the floor for some time consisted of the virgin soil. It had no doors nor windows, and as a substitute for these we used the opening which had been left for a fire-place. In time, however, as the fire-place and chimney were in process of construction, it became necessary, in order to have communication with the outside world, to construct a doorway at one end of the cabin. In the midst of darkness, sickness and all sorts of discouragements the building was finally completed and we were comparatively well provided to withstand the inclemency of the winter.
"The nearest grist mill at that time was the Duncan Mill, near Oskaloosa. During the fall of 1846 I took my four-horse team and the covered wagon, which I brought from Indiana, and proceeded to Oskaloosa with a number of grists for families in the neighborhood. Upon arriving at the Oskaloosa mill I found it so beset by a multitude of people who had come on the same errand that I proceeded to Farmington. There I found that the prospect for getting my grinding done was no better than at Oskaloosa. I then proceeded to Bonaparte, where my grinding was done and I set out for home. But the bad weather set in before I accomplished my return trip and the journey was very slow and difficult. The entire trip occupied just twenty-one days." 
About the same time that McGlothlen came, or shortly afterward, a gentleman by the name of McMahan settled on section 28; McRautin, on section 33; James McRoberts, on section 33; Aaron Copic, on section 33; Owen Osburn, on section 33; O. Edgerton, on section 31; Mr. Beach, On section 34; Wm. Compton, on section 27; J. P. Deaton took a claim in section 33 during the year 1847, where he still resides.
In 1849, James Smith, the celebrated nurseryman, removed from Delaware township and settled in Bloomfield township. This gentleman has

343 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

done more for the development of Polk county and the whole surrounding region in his particular way than any other person who could be mentioned.
The early settlers who came from the older States labored under the delusion that while Iowa was undoubtedly a good agricultural country, the soil and climate were wholly unadapted to fruit raising. The first fruit trees planted were imported from the nurseries farther south and the trees, of course, were not adapted to this country, and, consequently, were a failure. After having made repeated failures with imported trees the people settled down in the conviction that fruit could not be produced in this country. Mr. Smith held that Iowa was not only a good fruit country but that this part of the State particularly was especially well adapted to fruit raising provided the trees and shrubs were first acclimated to their surroundings by being produced from the seed in the soil where they were to be transplanted.
He determined to make it his special business to plant seeds and raise trees and shrubs, and it was his special mission to convince the early settlers that such trees and shrubs would flourish in Iowa. The settlers were slow in being convinced, but as successful experiments multiplied the proof, and as Mr. Smith succeeded in getting the people to make the experiment, people finally began to have faith in fruit culture. Mr. Smith won a widespread fame, and at the present time there are old farmers living throughout Polk, Boone, Dallas, Warren and Madison counties who speak of Mr. Smith as the father of Iowa horticulture and honor him as the founder of one of the most important branches of industry.
The following were early settlers in this part of the county: H. C. Harges, Smith Means, Messrs. Chiles, Phillips, Blye, Bentley, Jones, Krysher, Hiskey, Fleming, Gooch, four brothers by the name of Perkins, Matthew Spurlock, Stephen Shelton, Dr. Myrick and Dr. J. W. Bishop. Miss Eliza Kenworthy, Thomas McClelland, Miss Foreman and Miss Amelia Brand were the first school teachers. Rev. C. B. Jones, a United Brethren preacher, Revs. Keeney and Nash of the Baptist Church, and of the Methodist Church Revs. Fink, Fleming, Rathbun and Bussick were the first to conduct public religious services and organize churches. Among the first deaths were those of Mrs. Knuckols, wife of one of the first settlers, and a youth by the name of Perry Smith.

NORTH DES MOINES SETTLEMENTS

In speaking of the early history of Fort Des Moines it has already been stated that John Saylor received a permit to make a settlement near the Des Moines river several miles north of the Fort and he was undoubtedly the first settler in the region now under consideration. It was also stated that Isaac Cooper appeared in that locality before the Indian title expired and selected his claim and was ready to begin a permanent improvement just as soon as he had the legal right to do so. 
Addison Michael, who afterward removed to Des Moines, was one of the first settlers in this neighborhood. The first birth was that of a son of Mr. Michael, in April, 1846. It is said that James Ewing built the first frame house, and a Mr. Case taught the first school.
John Witmer had a claim and made permanent improvements near the present site of Saylorville at a very early day.

344 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Across the river was a settlement called the McLean neighborhood; the McLeans were among the first settlers. and it was from them that the neighborhood received its name. There were two brothers, Thomas McLean and John McLean, both of them were from Virginia. Among others Widow Fouts, from Missouri, Benjamin Hunt and Samuel Hunt, from Kentucky, and Thomas Bull, from Missouri, were early settlers.
Two murders were committed in early times in the settlements along the Des Moines, one on the west side of the river and the other on the east side. Pleasant Fouts, who is supposed to have been a son of Widow Fouts, murdered his wife, cutting her throat with a hunting knife, and a man by the name of Smith was shot by a man by the name of Howard. The circumstances will be given more fully elsewhere; the fact is alluded to here because the parties were early settlers. 
A man by the name of Cantrell had a mill a few miles north of the Saylor settlement, and Andrew Grosclose had a famous mill on the Des Moines further up the river. Mr. Grosclose resided on Big Creek, but his mill was situated in the territory now being treated of. Benjamin Saylor was married to Elizabeth Norris at an early day, but the first wedding in that neighborhood was probably the marriage of Tilman Bandurant, who married a young girl by the name of Kooney; the wedding occurred in 1847 at the house of Mr. Saylor.
Franklin Nagle, the first justice of the peace in Saylor township, was one of the first and most prominent settlers of this region.
Elijah Crawford was one of the first settlers who took an active part in organizing a religious society. A Methodist Church was organized in 1848 and he was the first class-leader.
It was not long after the country was thrown open for settlement till the most desirable claims along the banks of the-Des Moines were taken up, and the names of those who located there, during the fall of 1845 and the year 1846, would form quite an extensive list. To compile an accurate list would be so difficult that we shall not attempt.

BIG CREEK SETTLEMENT

This was a most favorite region of country, and not only did the western bound emigrants flock in there in large numbers, but they made their mark. The influence of this settlement was felt in the social, political and industrial affairs of the county, and it plays a most important part in the history of the county. Andrew Grosclose and George Beebe were the most prominent among the early settlers of this region. The former took a claim and opened up a farm on the west side of Big Creek, about three miles north of the present site of Polk City; the latter located near the same place in 1846 during the month of May.
Mr. Grosclose erected a mill on the Des Moines, southwest three, or four miles from where he lived. This mill was one of the best in Polk county; it did an immense business, and was not only a source of considerable income to the proprietor, but a matter of great convenience to that whole section of country. Mr. Grosclose was a very prominent person and held, during the time of his residence in the county, some very responsible and honorable offices; he disposed of all his real estate and personal property in Polk county and migrated westward years ago. Mr. Beebe was the first magistrate in that part of the county, and in 1850 laid out the town of Polk

345 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

City, where he erected a mill, opened a store of general merchandise, and sold lots. Piper and Barnum were among the early merchants of the town, and Dr. Mather was the first physician.
During the winter of 1846-47 a Mr. Longnecker, had been to the Fort for supplies, and in the blinding snow lost his path. After wandering around until overcome by fatigue he sank to the ground and perished from cold.
It is also related that one Seth Williams, who lived several miles from Polk City, was lost one night during the year 1848, and a severe snow storm coming on, hitched his team and kept walking in a circle till daylight appeared.
D. 0. Marts came to the neighborhood soon after Mr. Beebe. He selected his claim in the fall of 1846, and moved on it with his family early in 1847.
Andrew Messersmith, one of the substantial and permanent early settlers, came in 1846. J. M. Marts came the following year. Mr. Messersmith furnished supplies to the garrison at Fort Dodge, when there were few, if any, settlers between the Fort and his house.
Alban Pandom was one of the first settlers of Madison township. He has resided at Polk City since 1849. He drove the first stake and helped to lay out the town. He was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, and when yet a mere youth his parents moved to Indiana, where he had the best educational advantages afforded by the common schools of the State.
C. M. Burt settled in what is now Crocker township in May, 1846. Here he made a claim in connection with a man by the name of Campbell. After living on his claim for some time and improving it, he sold out his interest and took a claim in what is now Madison township. In the fall of 1846 he went back to Scott county for his family, and returned in 1848 to the farm which now constitutes his homestead. He was born in New York in the year 1818. In 1838 he came to the State and settled first in Scott county, near Davenport. He has followed the occupation of farming all his life.
Calvin Burt was another early comer; his wife died shortly after his arrival; she was buried on the farm of Andrew Grosclose. This was probably the first death that occurred in that neighborhood.
The following were among the number of the first settlers of the Big Creek settlement: Jacob Van Dorn, the Martses, already mentioned, Stephen Harvey, two or three by the name of Byran, Adolphus and Josiah Hopkins, two families by the name of Bowman, three persons by the name of Crabtree, Jacob and George Hauser, Small, Spaulding, Bristow, Norris, Hayes, Bryant, Herbert, Swim, Williams, H. M. Harvey, Jacob Wilson and Conrad Dietz. It is possible that some of the above may have been residents of the west side, where among others resided the following: Nathan Andrews, who came in 1850; John Murray, came in 1853; Miles Stanford, came in 1853; J. D. McClain, carne in 1851; T. A. McClain, came in 1846; Samuel Hunt, came in 1846; J. W. Gregory, came in 1850; Joseph Murray, came in 1852; J. C. Beck, came in 1853; P. P. Bristow, came in 1849; the last named gentleman soon after settling in Polk county became one of the acknowleded leaders of the people and continued to maintain the prominent position for which his energy and intelligence so eminently fitted him.
Polk City had two rivals in early times, one Montecute and the other

346 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Corydon. The former was laid out by John Hauser and the latter by J. H. Skidmore.
Conrad Stutzman came to the county in May, 1846; he sometime afterward became a resident of Big Creek neighborhood, where he erected a mill. Mr. Stutzman was an enterprising and highly respected citizen; he continued to reside in the county till the time of his death, November, 1869.
A man by the name of Hammond also located in the Big Creek settlement and built a saw mill.
The first mill, however, located in that neighborhood was a horse mill owned and operated by Alexander Swim, who, when he came to that region, found the remnants of an old Indian village, called Wauconsa, and out of the material of these rude aboriginal dwellings constructed for himself. a house to live in. In speaking of the early mills of the Big Creek neighborhood, Leonard Brown, the poet laureate of that section, says:

Conrad Stutzman built his mill then:
And George Hammond built his mill then.
These were water-mills on Big Creek.
Some were saw mills-others grist mills;
But before this Swim's grand horse mill Ground the corn for all this region.

Squire Deford was one of the first justices of the peace, and Revs. Messrs. Marts, De Moss and Thompson Bird did the preaching for the people in early days.
J. F. Adams located in the north part of the county in 1853. He at present resides on a farm in section 15, Madison township, where he has lived ever since coming to the State, with the exception of four years, from 1866 to 1870 during which time he resided in Indianola Warren county, for the purpose of educating his children. Mr. Adams was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1823. At the early age of twelve years, having lost his parents, he was left alone to resist the temptations and fight the battles of life. His youth was passed on a farm in Ohio where he remained till 1840 when he removed to Cumberland county,. Illinois. In 1844 he went to Lafayette, Indiana, where he remained till the spring of 1853 when he came to Polk county, Iowa, and settled on the identical tract of land which now constitutes his farm. Mr. Adams entered the ministry of the M. E. Church in 1851, and although not constantly engaged in preaching, has done much to advance the interests of that pioneer church in the county.

FOUR MILE SETTLEMENTS

With the exception of the Des Moines river Four Mile Creek extends over a greater extent of the territory of Polk county than any other stream. Along the course of this stream there were originally extensive and beautiful groves of timber which were very attractive to the early settler, and there in early times were some of the most flourishing communities in the county. It was on this stream that Peter Newcomer constructed the first bridge in the county and in consideration of this improvement was permitted to take and improve a claim. The claim which he selected for his future home was not however on the banks of the creek, but some distance to the southwest nearer the banks of the Des Moines.

347 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Among the first settlers along the lower course of this stream were Lewis Barlow, a gentleman by the name of Ellison, Joshua Barton and A. J. Barton, a minister, W. W. Harris, Calvin Thornton, Wesley A. Barlow, S. Harvey, F. E. Elliott, J. B. Tiffin, who was for eight years County Treasurer, Thomas McCall and Ross Garrett, who kept store in the then thriving village of Rising Sun, a gentleman by the name of McBroom and Benjamin Frederick. Thomas Humphreys taught the first school and George Currans was the first justice of the peace. The first couple married was George Stewart and a Miss Rogers; a man by the name of Isaac Barton was married soon after.
Farther north Riley Thornton located on a branch of Four Mile in 1846. James Smith, the nurseryman, before referred to, settled near Four Mile in what is now Delaware Township at an early day; he afterward removed to Bloomfield township.
William Haworth, Isaac Thornton, William James and C. Brazleton were pioneers of the community. 
A minister by the name of Corey located in a belt of timber which extended out from Four Mile, and the place was for many years known as Corey's Grove. The first wedding in that neighborhood was the marriage of C. Van Doren to a daughter of William James. The first death was that of a child of William Haworth.
The Rev. Demas Robinson, a Baptist minister whom every one in the county has probably seen or heard of, settled there many years ago; also a Dunkard minister by the name of Florey. Several years ago some seventeen of these early settlers or their immediate descendants and relatives were on an excursion train visiting their former hornes in the East when the train was wrecked and two of the number, Mrs. Brazleton and Isaac Thornton, were killed. The latter came to the county in 1846 and took a claim in section 33, township 80, range 23.
The country in the valley of Four Mile Creek farther north was not much settled till some years later, and the prairie on either side remained unimproved until comaratively late times. When the prairie country did begin to settle up here originated quite a feud between the settlers who had for many years been living in the timber and those who at later times settled on the open prairie. The residents in the timber had been in the county longest and claimed that those who went off on the prairie would starve; in the meantime they were not disposed to accord to the others the facilities of good roads or school-houses. The residents of the prairie, however, did not starve but prospered so that their number rapidly increased by the arrival of immigrants. The result was that the inhabitants of the timbered regions finally lost the majority and their neighbors out on the prairie were enabled to enforce their rights.
Four Mile Creek, while not a stream of great size, has considerable fall and the water power was utilized in early times. In 1851 there were two mills on this stream; one of these, a saw mill, was operated by a man named Thompson and had a capacity for sawing two thousand feet of lumber per day. Another, owned by a man named Napier, was arranged for the manufacture of both lumber and flour. In later years Stephen Harvey erected a saw mill which was very convenient and useful to the settlements along Four Mile.

348 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

CAMP CREEK SETTLEMENTS

Reference has already been made to the fact that the first settlement made in this part of the county was by Henry B. and Thomas Mitchell in February, 1844. The circumstances which brought about a settlement in that particular neighborhood before the extinction of the Indian title have also been briefly narrated. The importance of this early settlement and the prominence of one of these early settlers in the history of Polk county demand that a more elaborate account of Hon. Thomas Mitchell should be given at this place. He was born in Sullivan county, New Hampshire, March 3, 1816. He was of Scotch and Irish descent and inherited those peculiar characteristics which have distinguished him as one man among a thousand and contributed to make him deservedly great among great men. At a very early age he was left by the death of his father in charge of a widowed mother and a large family of helpless children. For seven years he worked as a common day laborer on the farm of a neighbor, attending school for a few months each winter. He started west in the fall of 1839, spending the first winter in St. Charles county, Missouri, and the following March removed to Jefferson county, Iowa, where he remained for four years. In April, 1842, he was elected County Commissioner and served two years when he obtained permission of Capt. Allen to settle in the present bounds of Polk county and removed to the new location as before described. He assisted in the organization of the county in 1846, and was elected first Sheriff. He was elected to represent the district composed of Polk and Jasper counties in the first legislative assembly which met at Des Moines; was elected and served two terms as County Supervisor, and in 1873 was elected to the State Senate. His career as a public officer has been an honorable and active one, but. his reputation more particularly rests upon his long, energetic and benevolent career as a private citizen. Few, if others, have done more to develop the material resources of the county while every moral and educational enterprise has found in him a prompt and liberal patron. The claim which he first took on coming to the county was located in section 25, township 79, range 23. Here amid the solitude of an almost boundless wilderness Mr. Mitchell pitched his tent and unfurled the banner of civilization. To the eastward there was not a settlement nearer than Bear Grove, near the present site of Marengo; southward the nearest settlement was at Red Rock, in Marion county; to the southwest some fifteen or twenty miles distant was the military garrison of Fort Des Moines; to the west and north nothing but an unknown expanse of boundless wilderness. It required a brave man and a no less brave woman to found a model American home in the midst of such a howling wilderness; Mr. Mitchell and his estimable wife were equal to the emergency, and although the latter did not see a white woman for over three months after coming to the county and was compelled to endure privations, the character and extent of which few women of the present time know anything about, it does not appear that she ever grew discontented or seriously thought of returning. Among the many, who possessed of a mind and a mission, have aided in the development of the western country there are none who more deservedly hold a place in the memory and affection of the present generation than the wife of this brave pioneer.
There was an abundance of wild apple trees on Mr. Mitchell's claim and on this account it was named Apple Grove. Either solely for the accom-

349 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

modation of travelers who passed along the solitary road, or as a business venture, or possibly from both reasons, Mr. Mitchell opened his newly constructed cabin for the entertainment of guests. The Apple Grove Tavern was known far and wide and few persons passed that solitary cabin without partaking of its hospitality. Twenty-five cents for a meal and ten cents for lodging were the rates charged by the host and willingly paid by the guest. Not unfrequently it would happen that persons tired out and hungry and penniless would halt at this pioneer inn; none such were denied the needed rest and refreshment. In the early times, shortly after the Indians left and Fort Des Moines began to be something of a business point, a young man far from home, alone and on foot, with but ten cents in his pocket, stopped late one evening at the Mitchell tavern. As he entered the door the delicious smell of prepared victuals was inhaled by the tired and hungry lad, but the smell of those victuals was like the cup of Tantalus to the youth's senses, for he had no money to pay for a supper. Finding the host the young rnan engaged lodging and desired to be shown immediately to bed; Mr. Mitchell inquired if he did not wish supper; the lad said he was sick and could eat nothing; the former had his doubts about the truthfulness of the reply, but at the earnest solicitation of the latter showed him to bed. In the morning the young man arose, dressed himself, passed through the house, and having paid for his lodging was about to depart when the host insisted on his remaining for breakfast; the young man again pleaded sickness and seemed anxious to be off; Mr. Mitchell was confirmed in his opinion of the evening before and was now certain that it was impecuniosity rather than indisposition which ailed the lad, so taking him by the hand he told him to wait for breakfast; that he was welcome though he had no money; the young man's sickness all vanished at this statement; he remained, ate a hearty breakfast, came to Des Moines, clerked in a store for a number of years; then he engaged in business on his own account and prospered; today he is one of the best known business men of Des Moines, and although Mr. Mitchell has doubtless long since forgotten the circumstance his guest has not.
During the exciting times when the settlers had their difficulties with the speculators Mr. Mitchell was an earnest and uncompromising advocate of the rights of the claimholders. He was one of the committee of five whom the settlers appointed to adjust difficulties and enforce the rights of the settler.
After the removal of the Indians in the fall of 1845 a few families settled in the vicinity of Apple Grove, but not many came till the spring of 1846. It was then that Lewis M. Burk came from Illinois and took a claim in section 33, township 79, ran a 22, and afterward entered the south half of that section. He continue to reside on his original claim till the spring of the present year, when he removed to section 34, where he now resides.
Prior to coming here, and since, his career has been beset with strange vicissitudes. He was born in Maryland in 1779, and in 1802 he removed with his parents to Pennsylvania. When yet a boy he went to learn the miller's trade, which occupation he followed until he became of age. He then engaged in wagoning, which, in connection with stage driving, he followed for fifteen years. In 1833 he removed to Zanesville, Ohio, but after remaining there a short time, went to Wheeling, Virginia, and again engaged in stage driving. In 1834 he went to Adams county, Illinois, and from there came to Polk county in 1846.

350 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

In 1849 he bought a half-section of land of the Government, and in 1852 received a patent for it, and, after having had peaceable possession of it for more than thirty-four years, the River Land Company recently dispossessed him of the land. Few men now remain in any part of the county who were here when he came. Mr. Burk is the father of twelve children, eight of whom are living, and has been married twice.
I. A. Vice, although very young at the time, was one of the early inhabitants of this region. His parents located in Fort Des Moines when he was two years old, and two years afterward, in 1849, removed to section 33, the same where Mr. Bark resided, where he remained till 1870, when he removed to section 34.
In July, 1846, George Barlow, from Indiana, bought of Mr. Thomas Mitchell his claim and improvements, and, in connection with his brother Bluford, settled there. The former was accidentally killed in 1847, while the latter remained on the claim for some four or five years. In 1851, Mr. Green Wheeler bought of Barlow the old Apple Grove claim.
Mr. Wheeler was for many years, till the time of his death, October 10, 1876, one of the leading citizens of that part of the country, and a more extended account of him is proper at this place.
Mr. Wheeler was born in Kentucky in 1820; he came to Polk county in 1848, and first located near Rising Sun, in Four Mile township, where he resided till he purchased the old Mitchell claim. On the death of Mr. Wheeler, his wife, to whom he had been married in 1844, took charge of the farm, where she still lives, and which, in connection with her children, she still continues to manage.
The claim which Mr. Mitchell first took was south of the Wheeler place, where Mr. Keeney now lives. When be sold that he moved across the creek and then to the Wheeler farm, and again then to the vicinity of his present residence. It will be seen that Mr. Mitchell has changed his location three times, each time going further north, the last when he disposed of his claim to Mr. Barlow, and went where he has extensive possessions, in the northeast corner of Beaver Township, near where is the enterprising town bearing his name, and where he continues to reside in affluent circumstances, respected and honored by all who know him.
Canfield is another name which has for thirty years or more been familiar with the settlers of the Camp Creek neighborhood. Elijah Canfield located to the south of Apple Grove, in what is now Camp township, in the fall of 1845. Shortly prior to the coming of Mr. Canfield, a man by the name of Patrick Kelley, long since dead, built a cabin and moved his family into it. Among others who came during the fall of 1845 were David Ridgeway and Edwin Martin. The latter was one of the first County Commissioners.
The following spring William Wallace, R. Porter, arid James M. Montgomery settled in what is now Camp township; Mr. Wallace emigrated to Missouri where he still resides. Thomas Black, a member of the second Board of County Commissioners came at an early day; he died some years since.
Among the early settlers who are still living are James Miller and Elijah Nicker, who came in the spring of 1846. Some time later came Calvin Brockett, Z. M. Brockett and Jonathan Hauser.
Arch. Everett came in the fall of 1849. In the fall of 1849, John Warren and Rhoda Canfield were married. This was the first marriage which occurred in that neighborhood.

353 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Elijah Canfield was born September 8, 1807, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, where he
continued to live till 1845, when he located in Mahaska county this State. During the fall of the same year he came to Polk county and took a claim in section 5, west of Camp Creek, near the north boundary of Camp township, where he lived for three years. From there he moved to section 36 of an adjoining township. After leaving there about two years he removed to his present location, in section 32 Clay township. On first settling in Polk county he found nothing but a wild wide prairie, but by economy and industry he prospered, and has lived to see the wilderness changed to a garden. His home has ever been the resort of newcomers, and the stranger ever found in him a hospitable and accommodating neighbor. He has successfully held the office of justice of the peace, member of the county board, assessor and township treasurer, which latter office he now holds; there has seldom been a time since he became a resident of the county that he has not held some office, and few trials incumbent to pioneer life which he has not experienced; few persons who were residents of the county when he came now remain, some having moved away and others having died. He was present when the Allen & Parmelee mill was first put in operation, and saw the first bushel of grain which was ground in this region of the country changed from corn to cornmeal. He says that when the mill was completed Parmelee sent word to all the settlers, informing them that the mill was ready for business and inviting everybody to be present and witness the great event; he also gave notice that he would be provided with a ten-gallon jug of whisky and would treat all his visitors. Mr. Canfield says, that although he was on the ground early he was too late for the treat, as the jug had already been emptied, and he had to be content with a smell: Mr. Canfield organized the first school district in Camp township, and helped to build the first school-house in Four Mile township, which was located on section 36; this latter event occurred in 1847. The material for the school-house was provided by the settlers of the school district, each one furnishing two logs. In 1845 he was present and helped organize the first church, in the south-eastern part of the township. It was a Methodist church, and the exercises were conducted at his house on section 5, township 78, range 22. Rev. Mr. Russell officiated, and Rev. Mr. Rathbun afterward preached there at regular intervals.
Mr. Canfield has the oldest orchard in the township where he lives.
J. F. Oglevie was another early settler in this neighborhood. He came to Keokuk county, Iowa, in 1843, and in the spring of 1847 removed to Polk county, locating in section 35, township 79, range 23, where he has remained constantly ever since. When he first move to his present farm he lived in a shanty which was ten by twelve feet, and was built by planting four posts in the ground, upon which were nailed boards; these boards were just from the saw-mill and were made from green logs; the floor was also constructed from the same kind of lumber.
D. B. Oglevie, who now lives in section 35, located at Rising Sun in 1846, and from there moved to where he now lives. He thinks that he and his brother are the oldest settlers in the township.
G. P. Canfield came to Polk county with his father in 1846, being but three years old at that time.
He has clung to the county through all of its varying fortunes, never for once losing faith in its future prosperity. He

354 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

is now one of the most prosperous farmers in the county, having a well improved farm of two hundred and eighty acres.
Mr. Harvey is another early settler of this part of the county. Among the pioneers, who, through privations and hardships, manfully endured and patiently borne, who deserve to have a prominent place in the history of the county, there are none more deserving of mention than Mr. Harvey. Mr. Harvey came from Shelby county Indiana, and located near where he now resides on section 34, township 79, range 23. He has contributed much to the development of the material resources of the county, and every enterprise calculated to advance the moral and intellectual condition of the people has ever received his cordial support. He erected a saw-mill on Four Mile in 1854 which aided the settlers much in their efforts to build houses and establish comfortable homes.
He was largely influential in organizing a religious association, and the public religious services were, for several years, held at his house. Jacob Butts, a young exhorter of the Methodist denomination, divided his time between preaching and teaching a singing-school at his house.
Mr. Harvey, now well advanced in years, is enjoying the peace and quiet of his country home, respected by all that know him, and honored by many who have never seen him but who have heard of his active and heroic life.
Lysander Harvey, who resides on section 5, township 78, range 23, is a son of Mr. Samuel Harvey, with whom he came to the county in 1848 when but fourteen years of age. The history of the older men who came at an early time is one of hardship and intense activity; and that of the younger men, who were mere boys when they came is not less so. His father, Mr. Samuel Harvey, died when forty-two years old.
The early settlements which began on Camp Creek rapidly grew in extent if not in density, and soon extended to Four Mile Creek. It is therefore, unavoidable that our account of the settlements in the Camp creek neighborhood should blend with those in the Four Mile valley.
Growing out of the Camp Creek settlement, but more properly belonging to that of Four Mile, was the settlement of C. D. Reinking, who first stopped in Fort Des Moines, and afterward moved to a farm in section 34, township 79, range 23. While in Fort Des Moines he followed the cabinetmaker's trade and probably manufactured the first furniture made in Des Moines. He says that furniture of his make was shipped to Iowa City and Burlington, and he furnished all the coffins used for twenty miles around. When he arrived at Des Moines he had but ten dollars in his pocket, and half of that he had to pay to the government, as an entrance fee on two land warrants which he held. Mr. Reinking had the industry and business sagacity, which in a new country go far to make up for a lack of capital; these, in fact, formed the chief capital of all the early settlers who have achieved success. As a result of his enterprise and good judgment he has accumulated considerable property; he has a great deal of land and beside this owns a valuable business house in the capital city, known as the Reinking Block.
Among other early settlers in this region, we mention the following: John S. and James H. Dean, David Hughes, L. Stuart, J. W. Stuart, B. Stuart, A. B. Sims and L. D. Sims. Further south and east were Joseph Kintz, Patrick Kelly, the Garretts, Wm. Sweeney, the Plummers, the Stewarts, David Johnson, Mr. Woodward, Montgomery McCall, Abel Fouts, Joseph Langdon, Mr.
Robertson and Miss Lavina Hendricks. Mr. 

355 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Woodward and the latter were united in marriage shortly after their arrival, Squire Fouts officiating. Montgomery McCall afterward removed to Boone county, and became one of the most prominent among the organizers of that new county.

SKUNK RIVER SETTLEMENTS

The first settlements made in this locality were by Eli Trulinger and Michael Lavish. A small stream flows in a northeastern direction emptying into the Skunk river in section 23, township 80, range 22. Along this stream in sections 26, 27, 34, and 35 there was originally a wide belt or "point" of timber. In April, 1846, Eli Trulinger took a claim and began a settlement in the southwestern part of the belt of timber in section 34. He having been the only settler in that locality for a number of years, the belt of timber took his name and the place is still known as Trulinger's Grove. This was a very desirable location in early days and the country became rapidly settled up, especially such portions as were well supplied with timber. Farther to the northwest, following the general course of the Skunk river, in sections 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, was originally quite an extensive belt of timber. In May, 1846, Michael Lavish took a claim there and the place is still called Lavish Grove.
Among the early settlers in that neighborhood were Nathan Webb, Ezekiel Jennings, Joseph Jones and a son of Michael Lavish. This was a favorite resort in early times for trappers and hunters; game of all kinds abounded in the timber and region round about, while fur-bearing animals and fish, for which Skunk river has always been famous, were easily taken in great numbers. Wandering bands of Indians belonging to the peaceable Pottawattamie tribe, and a remnant of the Musquakie, who remained long after the stipulations of the treaty of 1842 went into effect, made this region a favorite resort. The Musquakie band originally lived on the south bank of the Iowa river, near where is now the western boundary of Tama county. They were removed west with the other Indians in 1845-46, but many of them wandered back to their old hunting grounds. For a time the government declined to allow them a pro rata share of their annuity unless they would return to their reservation. They, however, persisted in remaining, and from time to time acquired the title to several tracts of land, amounting to over four hundred acres, when the government changed its policy, paying them their proportion of the annuity, and allowing them to remain. There a remnant of the tribe still lives, cultivating a portion of the land, and as a rule, behaving themselves in a becoming manner. During certain portions of the year they leave their home and visit other portions of the State, either on hunting excursions, or to dispose of the pelts they have already taken. The Indians who are frequently seen in Polk county, belong to that band. During the early settlement of Polk county, they frequently visited this locality, and especially to the settlers along Skunk river they were a familiar sight. The few families of early settlers were seldom molested by these roving bands of savages, although they were frequently very saucy and threatening. These roving bands were more numerous in the Skunk river settlements than any other part of Polk county, owing to the splendid facilities for hunting and fishing. It was no unusual occurrence for as many as fifty deer to be found in one drove in the Lavish settlement. Wolves also were

356 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

very numerous and troublesome. It is said that in the winter of 1846-47 a pack of these noxious animals attacked a man by the name of Elliott; he was on horseback and was compelled to flee for his life; the wolves pursued him a distance of eight miles.
Further to the northwest was Corey's Grove, named thus in honor of Walker Corey who settled there in 1846; John Fisher also settled there at an early time and these two were the only settlers who lived in that neighborhood for some time. This settlement was the farthest north in the Skunk river valley, and the two solitary settlers had many hardships to endure. They, however, aided each other. When there was no flour, as was frequently the case, they used bran and when this was gone they ate cakes made of pounded corn.
Christopher Birge located in the vicinity of Lavish Grove in 1846, and in the fall of the same year he was prostrated by an attack of malarial fever, from the effects of which he died during the winter. Mr. Birge had previously lived in Fort Des Moines and it was his daughter, Miss Elvira Birge, a young woman of eighteen years, who became the wife of Benjamin Bryant, on the 11th day of June, 1846, being the first marriage in the county. Mr. Turrell, in his reminiscences, says: " The ceremony was performed by Aaron D. Stark, Esq. It was also Squire Stark's first essay at performing the marriage rite, and he is said to have introduced some variations from the ordinary ritual."

INDIAN CREEK SETTLEMENTS.

The first settlements along Indian Creek, in the northeast corner of the county, were not made until 1852. At that time Aaron Pearson, Elkanah Pearson and Abel Pearson settled in sections 2 and 12, on the east side of Indian Creek. They were from Henry county, Indiana, and came in June.
John K. Hobaugh came in 1853 and located on section 1, in the extreme northeastern part of the county. He was born in Logan county, Ohio, in the year 1820. At the age of 15 years he was apprenticed to a shoemaker, and after having learned the trade, followed it on his own account till the year 1835, when he moved to Indiana and engaged in farming. In 1853 he emigrated to Iowa, and located on section 1, where he still resides. He was elected justice of the peace when Washington township was organized in 1856, and held the office for five years, when he resigned, because the duties of his office conflicted with his business. He was elected from Washington township as a member of the Board of County Commissioners in 1862 and held the office for two years. In 1863 he was elected school treasurer and held the office for six years. Mr. Hobaugh has been one of the most prominent citizens of the Indian Creek country from the very first.
G. W. Hobaugh settled in section 1 in 1853; he was also from Indiana, Grant county.
In 1854 James Randal and David Randal, from La Grange county, Indiana, located on section 10.
The first marriage in that neighborhood was that of Isaac N. Alderman to Elizabeth Pearson, in 1853. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Mr. Corey at the house of Aaron Pearson. The first birth was that of Sarah Jane Alderman, daughter of Isaac N. Alderman and Elizabeth Alderman, the first couple married there. The first deaths were those of Zenas Pear-

357 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY 

son, in September, 1853, and G. W. Hobaugh in October, 1856. They were buried in section two, where there was a cemetery laid out in 1853, which is still used for burial purposes. Seth Pearson died in 1856, who was also buried in that cemetery.
Peoria City, a village bordering on the Story county line, was laid out at the time settlements were first made in that part of the county, and Mr. J. K. Hobaugh, with a number of his relatives, were the first residents of the place. The fact that Peoria City had a population of two hundred, two years after it was first laid out, shows that the settlement of that part of the county was very rapid.
Dr. John W. Rawls, from DeKalb county, Indiana, located in that neighborhood in June, 1854; he was the first physician who located there. In the spring of 1861 Dr. Rawls returned to Indiana. Religious services were held at the house of Aaron Pearson in 1853, conducted by Dr. Jessup, of the Christian Church.

THE BEAVER CREEK SETTLEMENT

After the country was thrown open for settlement the country east of the Des Moines river, and west of the Des Moines and south of the Raccoon, filled up rapidly. There was not so much disposition manifested by early settlers to locate west of the Des Moines and north of the Raccoon. We have already seen, however, that as early as 1848 the McLeans, Fouts, Hunt and others, settled within the bounds of Jefferson township between Beaver Creek and the Des Moines river.
W. H. McHenry, one of the early mayors of Des Moines, and at present (1880) Judge of the District Court, settled on Beaver Creek at a very early day. He was one of the most active members of the claim club, and did much to protect the settlers of his neighborhood in their rights. He says that the people were a law unto themselves, and in 1848, when he first settled on Beaver Creek, it was no unusual thing for Judge Lynch to assume jurisdiction, and thus make up for the lack of the imperfectly executed civil law. He states further that the club laws were drafted by Thomas Baker, Mr. Watts and himself, and that it was made his duty to attend the land sales at Iowa City. From this we are led to conclude that the settlers in the Beaver Creek neighborhood organized a claim club of their own as the club which was first organized at a general meeting of the settlers of the county, held at Des Moines, was held in April 1848, probably before Judge McHenry came to the county; the persons who drafted the resolutions were Winchester, Mitchell, Scott, Sypher, and Saylor, and Mr. Tidrick was appointed bidder.
A man by the name of Doggett laid out a town in this neighborhood at an early day; another village called Lovington was laid out at the mouth of Beaver Creek in December 1854.
A family by the name of Murray, consisting of the parents and seventeen children, located in the Beaver Creek settlement about the year 1850.

WALNUT CREEK SETTLEMENT

The first settlement in this locality was made in 1846, by a gentleman named Towne Hall. He settled early in the year, and his claim included the Presley Bennett farm. Soon afterward came Samuel Shaw, and during

358 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

the same spring John Jordan settled in what is now called Hiner's Grove. A Mr. Hinton lived where Mr. Clegg now resides. Jacob Lion settled on a claim where the Crow farm is now located.
This region of country gradually, but not very rapidly, settled up, and in 1846 Mr. J. C. Jordan located a claim near the west part of the county between Raccoon and Walnut. His claim was in section 16, township 78, range 25. The lumber which he used in the erection of his house he procured at the Parmelee mill. Mr. Jordan, in the course of time, acquired considerable property and the reputation of being one of the first citizens of the county. His rude cabin, constructed of logs and green boards, has long since been replaced by a commodious and elegant residence. For some time after locating on his claim, Mr. Jordan's nearest neighbors were in Dallas county. A Methodist preacher, by the name of Raynor, preached in Mr. Jordan's house as early as 1849.
Several brothers by the name of Bennett, a family by the name of Crow, and John Evans, were also early settlers.
Presley Bennett, a native of Kentucky, came from Indiana in the spring of 1848, located in this part of the county, and at present resides on section 11, township 78, range 25. When he arrived in the county he had nothing except indomitable courage and his strong arm; but with these for capital he has steadily prospered; till now he is in very comfortable circumstances.
A small tributary of Walnut Creek passes trough the southwestern part of section 28. On the south side of the branch, and near the bank of the stream, S. H. Lewis settled in the spring of 1848. He was from Indiana, and after having spent his youth assisting in the conquest of the dense forests of Henry county, in that State, he was sufficiently inured to hardship to be able to make an easy conquest of the less obstinate soil of Iowa. He now resides in section 3, immediately south of Walnut creek.
R. Campbell, who now resides south of Walnut, on section 6, came and located in the Walnut Creek neighborhood in the spring of 1848. He is a native of Ohio, and emigrated to Iowa, first locating in Van Buren county, from where he removed after three years to Polk county. He was one of the first settlers in the Walnut Creek neighborhood, and located where he now lives in 1870.
John Crow is a native of Kentucky; removed to Indiana in 1819. In the fall of 1850 he emigrated to Iowa, and settled in the Walnut Creek neighborhood, where he still resides.
Calvin Bennett and Benjamin Bennett came from Indiana in the summer of 1847, and settled about six miles west of Des Moines, between Walnut Creek and Raccoon river. They are both residents of the county at the present time.
Charles Murrow came from Indiana in 1844, and located in Henry county, this State. He came to Polk county in 1848, where he settled with a numerous family; one of the sons, D. B. Murrow, still lives on the old homestead. Some of the early settlers of the neighborhood removed to Kansas and other portions of the western country. Samuel Shaw, James Renton, Leroy Lambert, Joseph Mott and Samuel Lewis were also early settlers in this neighborhood.
The foregoing account of the early settlements of Polk county is necessarily imperfect, and may not be strictly accurate in some particulars, but in years to come will be a valuable compendium of facts relating to the first settlers, many of whom have already been forgotten.

369 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

In a copy of the Des Moines Gazette, published January, 1850, we find the following:

"LIST OF ALL THE GRIST AND SAW MILLS IN POLK COUNTY JANUARY, 1850."

Hickman's saw mill, on Beaver, nine miles above Fort Des Moines; capacity about ten thousand feet of lumber per day.
Stutzman's saw mill, on Big Creek, fifteen miles up the Des Moines river from Des Moines; had capacity of two thousand and five hundred feet of lumber per day.
Gilpin's saw mill, eight miles up the Des Moines river from Des Moines; had capacity for manufacturing about one thousand feet of lumber per day.
Thompson's saw mill, located on Four Mile Creek; had capacity for sawing ten thousand feet of lumber per day.
Napier's saw mill, on Four Mile Creek; had a capacity for making two thousand feet of lumber per day. This mill also had a run of burs for grinding corn and wheat.
Keeny's saw mill, on North river, six miles above the mouth; it had a capacity for manufacturing two thousand five hundred feet of lumber per day, and also had a run of burs for grinding meal.
There was still another mill on North river, a few miles above Keeny's which had a capacity for making about twenty-five hundred feet per day.
Perkins & Jones had a saw mill on North river, about ten miles from Des Moines, which had a capacity of about twenty-five hundred feet per day.

370 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Parmelee had two mills, one eight and the other ten miles from Des Moines. The capacity of one was two thousand and the other three thousand feet per day. There were burs attached to each for the purpose of grinding meal.
Wrigft & Stump had a saw mill located in Dallas county, some twelve miles from Des Moines; it had a capacity of two thousand feet per day.
B. F. Jesse had a saw mill on Walnut Creek, three miles from Des Moines; it had a capacity for cutting two thousand feet of lumber per day.
A gentleman by the name of Meacham had a saw mill located on the east side of the river from the Fort. It was a circular saw propelled by six horses. He manufactured about fifteeen hundred feet of lumber per day.
Bundrem had another horse mill located six miles from Des Moines. It was propelled by twelve horses and had a capacity of about twenty-five hundred feet per day.
The Snodgrass mill, about six miles from Des Moines, on Beaver, had a capacity of twenty-five
hundred feet per day.
A. Grosclose had a grist mill located on the Des Moines river, which had a capacity of grinding about one hundred and fifty bushels of wheat per day.
A paragraph, published in the Gazette, issue of January 25, 1850, says:
" These mills are principally in running order, and those that are not will be by spring. All these mills, with one exception, are in Polk county. What county in the State can present such a list-and what is more these mills and the steam mills heretofore noticed, altogether cannot cut a foot more lumber than they will readily dispose of the coming season."
The steam mills alluded to in the paragraph were those of Van & Allen, Dean & Cole and E. & E. Hall. The notice referred to appeared in the third number of the Gazette, and was as follows:
" In our last we gave a description of Messrs. Van & Allen's steam mill, and promised a notice of that of Messrs. Dean & Cole. We visited the mill one day last week, and although it is not entirely or even nearly completed, enough is done to show that it will be a very large and handsome structure, unsurpassed in the West.
"This mill is situated on the east bank of the Des Moines river, directly at the ford and opposite the town. It is to be built in the form of an L, facing south and east, and is designated as a grist and saw mill.
"The south wing running traversly to the river is fifty feet in length by twenty-five feet in width; three stories high and is to be occupied as a grinding department, with two run of burs, smut machine and all things necessary to make superfine flour. This division of the mill it is not expected will be put formally into operation before the first of April. The east wing, to be used as the saw mill, measures fifty feet by twenty, and is calculated to run one upright and one four foot circular, and one lath saw.
"Messrs. Dean & Cole are pushing forward the work on this part of the mill as fast as the weather will permit, and contemplate being ready to start one saw by the middle of next month. When the river is high the logs will be floated up close to the mill, and the proprietors intend to erect the necessary machinery to haul them out of the river at its lowest stage.
"The motive power is a steam engine; cylinder two feet stroke, eight and a half inch bore, supplied from a boiler thirty-one feet in length by forty-two inches in diameter. The fly-wheel is calculated to make one

371 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

hundred and eighty revolutions per minute. The stack towers seventy feet for a draft. For fuel they have a coal bank within half a mile and plenty of wood around the mill. The power of their engine is not sufficient to run the entire machinery at the same time, and it is their design to run the saws by day and grind at night, proposing hereafter should the business require it to construct a race from Hall's dam, a few hundred yards above, to and under the grist mill for the purpose of driving that by water power.
"Messrs. Dean & Cole have, at almost every step, encountered many and discouraging difficulties, but relying upon the prospects in the future, they have steadily and perseveringly pursued the even tenor of their way and we trust, as we verily believe, they will eventually reap a rich reward for their labor.
"Messrs. E. & E. Hall have nearly completed a new saw mill just above the town, on this side of the river. They have a good substantial dam constructed, which is being further improved and strengthened. When finished this dam will enable the mill to cut from three thousand to five thousand feet of lumber per day. It has been in operation some two months. The Messrs. Hall are enterprising men and will not rest until they have one of the best mills in all the country."
Many who peruse this book will doubtless be surprised at the prominence that is given to the mills of the county during the pioneer period, but if such could, for a short time, be taken back to the pioneer days, days when, houses had to be erected in a short space of time, no lumber for their construction, no railroads to convey it here and no money to pay for it even were there means of transportation; no flour nor meal except what was hauled by ox teams from points along the Mississippi river-if in all or any of these particulars the reader could realize the condition of the pioneer of Polk county, he would in his very heart bless the pioneer millwright and when he passes one of these old weather-beaten mill structures would feel like taking off his hat as a work of reverence.

384 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

WESTERN STAGE COMPANY

During pioneer times public travel was exclusively by stage. The journey was often long and wearisome. The sloughs were not bridged and in the spring it was no uncommon thing for a passenger on the stage to make his journey on foot and carry a rail with which to help pry the stage out of the mire. This was " high-toned" traveling and from this may be imagined what sort of a journey was that of a lone settler and an ox team.
A history of the county would not be complete without mention of the transportation company, which preceded the day of railroads. It was called the Western Stage Company. Among the prominent partners of this compauy were W. H. Sullivan, of Columbus, Ohio, president; E. S. Alvord, of Indianapolis; Kimball Porter, of Iowa City; Messrs. Shoemaker, D. Talmadge and Campbell of Ohio, and Col. E. F. Hooker of Des Moines.
The headquarters of the company were at the Everett House in Fort Des Moines; the office of the company being located there July 1, 1854, when A. Morris was the proprietor of the hotel. The general manager of the stage lines was Col. E.F. Hooker, whose residence and business office were located near the present site of Harbach's furniture establishment. A gentleman of the name of Smith was the first agent of the company, and he was succeeded by W. H. McChesney, who died in 1858. The last agent was A. T. Johnson, who is now favorably known by the people of Des Moines and vicinity as proprietor of an omnibus line. E. B. Alvord, T. R. Fletcher, E. W. Sparhawk and E. G. Sears were secretaries of the company at various times and resided in Des Moines.
The shops and barn of the company were located on the present site of Getchell's lumber yard, corner of Eighth and Vine. streets. These shops were divided intofive departments; in one of them the, wood work was done, in another the iron work, in the third the painting, in the fourth the horse-shoeing, and in the other the harness making, all of which were for some time under the superintendency of A. B. Woodbury.
Col. E. F. Hooker retired from the superintendency of the company in 1866, and was succeeded by R. Lounsberry, who was the last one filling this office. H. B. Alvord settled up he affairs of the company at its close, with great profit to the corporation. To give some idea of the business of the company, it is proper to state in this connection that the receipts for one year on the line between Des Moines and Boone reached the extraor-

387 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

dinary sum of $100,000. After the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was completed to Council Bluffs, the Boone line fell into insignificance and the days of the Western Stage Company, as far as Iowa was concerned, were numbered. The stages of this corporation transported to Davenport, with all their personal equipments, the members of the Thirty-third and Thirty-ninth Iowa infantry, requiring just two days to take an entire regiment. In this way parts of the Second, Sixth, Tenth and Fifteenth regiments were taken to their rendezvous. On the day after the adjournment, in olden times, the members of the Legislature, living abroad were either at their homes or far on the way to their destination.
The last coach belonging to the company in Des Moines was sold to James Stephenson. of Omaha, in 1874. Mr. Johnson rode on the driver's seat from the stage barn to the freight depot of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, and as he left the old vehicle to take its journey westward on the cars, he bade it an affectionate farewell. The Western Stage Company was quite an important factor in all Central Iowa. It had two lines to Council Bluffs; one to Fort Dodge, by the way of Boonesboro, and other lines reaching out in all directions. They changed from semi-weekly to tri-weekly, and then to daily trips as the country settled up and business warranted it. It was the only means of conveyance for travelers and the mails, and many were the anxious ones who waited for news or friends by the old stage company. It was like all other human agencies, in that it was fallible, and complaints were made against it. It was some of these complaints which provoked the following newspaper article in 1858: 
"We notice a number of our exchanges are raking down the Western Stage Company for the manner in which they convey passengers over their lines. A little reflection will doubtless show to those who are censuring the stage company that they are wrong in their censures. The company, we think, deserves the praise of the people of Iowa for its indomitable perseverance in ploughing through snow, rain, sleet and mud for the past eight months, imperiling the lives of their drivers and teams in crossing swollen streams to accommodate the traveling public and deliver the mails at the post-offices. But few persons would endure the privations and hardships which the company has passed through in Iowa during the past eight months for double the amount they receive. We believe the company has done more to forward the mails and passengers than the public could reasonably expect at their hands, taking into consideration the awful condition of the roads. A little more, work on the highways and a little more patience on the part of passengers would be a good thing just at this time."

CLAIM CLUBS

Some time before the lands were all surveyed and consequently before any were offered for sale, speculators from the East with plenty of money in their pockets, industriously scoured the country over, noted the most valuable portions, even though they were claims, and were prepared to give high prices for them when they came into market, thus robbing the first settlers who had borne the privations and hardships of the wilderness for several years of their lands, and whatever improvements they had put upon them. The homesteads which they had wrested from the primitive wilderness of prairie or forest and changed by enterprise and industry into

388 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

cultivated fields, laden with yellow corn or waving grain were liable to become the property of land-sharks, whose avaricious eyes saw the value of the land and cared little for justice or right; provided, themselves might secure a handsome profit. With longer purses they could afford to pay higher prices than the poor settler; while the latter sensible of their rights and aware of what labor, exposure and self-denial they had acquired these rights felt, in the view of these prospects, indignant and exasperated, and felt so justly."
Such is the account as given by Mr. Turrell in his reminiscences of early times, regarding the condition of affairs at the time the claim clubs first organize He continues:
"So highly incensed did the people become at the idea of speculators overbidding them at the land sales, that they viewed every stranger with distrust, lest his errand among them should be to note the numbers of some choice tracts, and make them his own by giving prices beyond the reach of the claimant. A unity of feeling on this subject filled the entire country. They were determined to save their claims despite any effort or intervention to the contrary, and, if possible, their intention was to pay no more than the lowest government price. Strangers passing through the country had to be careful not to meddle with the lands claimed, otherwise than honestly buying them from the possessors. If the object was thought to be different, if they were suspected of being engaged in any scheme for the unjust deprival of any settler of  what were considered his unquestionable rights, they at once incurred the hostile feeling of every inhabitant, and were not safe until they had entirely left the country.
"It soon became evident that some regular organization was needed among the settlers the better to control any outbreaks of popular rage, and cause non-residents to pay due respect to the claims which had been made, as also to prevent difficulties among the settlers themselves, the dishonest of whom did not scruple to take advantage of a neighbor's temporary absence, sickness or remoteness from aid, and jump his claim, that is, take and hold possession of it vi et armis, depriving him totally of his rights in the premises. The settlers, or citizens as they may now more properly be called, of Polk county, held a meeting to consider the proper course to pursue, and as the document which reports their proceedings is particularly interesting, we give it entire.
Through the kindness of Benj . Bryant, Esq., in whose possession it has been preserved, a copy of it has been procured for this work:
" At a public meeting of the citizens of Polk county, Iowa, held on the 8th day of April, 1848, at Fort Des Moines, W. H. Meachem was called to the chair, and L. D. Winchester elected secretary of the meeting. " The object of the meeting was then stated by the chairman to be to adopt measures for the security and protection of the citizens of said county in their claims against speculators, and all persons who may be disposed wrongfully to deprive settlers of their claims by preemption or otherwise.
" Dr. Brooks being called upon, made a speech appropriate to the occasion, as also did Mr. Myers.
" On motion of the secretary, the following gentlemen were appointed a committee to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting, towit: Winchester, Mitchell, Scott, Sypher and Saylor.
" The committee reported the following resolutions:

389 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

1. Resolved, That we will protect all persons who do or may hold claims, against the interference of any person or persons, who shall attempt to deprive such claim-holders of their claims by preemptions or otherwise.
2. Resolved, That we will, in all cases, discountenance the speculator or other person who shall thus attempt any innovation upon the homes of the rightful settlers; that we will not hold any fellowship with such person, and that he be regarded a nuisance in the community.
3. Resolved, That no person shall be allowed to preempt or purchase in any form from the government, any land which shall be held as a claim, unless he shall first obtain the consent of the claimant.
4. Resolved, That the filing of an intention to preempt, contrary to the rights of the settler, be regarded as an attempt to wrongfully deprive the citizen of his home and his claim.
5. Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed, and that it shall be their duty to inquire into and adjust all difficulties and contentions, in cases where claims are in dispute.
6. Resolved, That it shall be the duty of said committee to notify any person who shall preempt or attempt to do so, by filing his intentions to preempt, the claim of any other person, to leave the vicinity and the county; and that they have authority to enforce a compliance with said notice.
7. Resolved, That we will sustain and uphold such committee in their decisions, and in the discharge of all their duties as defined in the foregoing resolutions.
8. Resolved, That all persons be invited to sign the foregoing resolutions, and that the signers pledge themselves to be governed by, and to aid in sustaining the same.

" The above resolutions were unanimously adopted.
" On motion, the following named gentlemen were appointed a committee to adjust claims: J. B. Scott, John Saylor, P. Fagan, Thomas Mitchell and Thomas Henderson.
" On motion, the meeting adjourned.
" W. H. MEACHEM. Chairman.
" L. D. WINCHESTER, Secretary."'
The resolutions were signed by the following named persons:

W. H. MEACHEM N. REEVES.
J. B. SCOTT WM. COOPER.
P. B. FAGAN JOHN MCMAHAN.
T. HENDERSON Wm.' HUGHES.
T. CRABTREE A. L. DEAN.
W. A. SCOTT P. WEAR.
W. WEAR E. KEELER.
JOHN MYERS JAMES ANDERSON.
T. MCCALL J. CHURCH.
J. THOMPSON H. EVERLY.
Wm. BRADFORD C. B. MYERS
N. BALL D. L. JEWETT.
J. BUNDRUIN DAVID NORRIS.
JOSEPH DEFORD Wm. BUSIC, JR.

389a

J. M. KIRKBRIDE CHAS. KURVEY.
JOHN SAYLOR B. A. HARBAN.
JOHN HAYES J. D. MCGLOTHLIN.
J. H. FINCH Wm. LOWER.
P. NEWCOMER JACOB BAYCUS.
DAYTON HARRIS SOLOMON BALES.
JOHN BENNETT GEO. DAILY.
D. S. COCKERHAM L. GARRETT.
BENJ. BENNETT A. N. HAYES.
J. T. THOMPSON G. W. LACY.

390 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

GEORGE KNOOP T. K. BROOKS.
ASA FLEMMING JOSEPH MYERS.
THOS. GILPIN J. TRIBES.
JOHN MILLER J. G. TUTTLE.
D. S. BOWMAN B. PERKINS.
CHARLES MURROW JACOB WINTER.
ROBT. HOPKINS D. HAWORTH.
JOSEPH KEENEY S. W. MCCALL.
JAMES PHILLIPS MONTGOMERY MCCALL.
L. D. WINCHESTER A. W. HOBSON.
JOHN SAYLOR B. F. FREDERICK.
T. MITCHELL Wm. BUSIC, SR.
BENJ. SAYLOR E. COMPTON.
H. D. HENDRICKS JOHN WILDY
T. CAMPBELL J. HARRIS.
G. MAGINNISS H. HUNTINGTON.
J. C. JONES JOHN BAIRD.
J. FREDERICK W. B. BINTE.
R. W. SYPHER B. J. SAYLOR.
SAML. KELLOGG GEORGE KRYSHER.
WM. GARRETT C. STUTSMAN.
W. F. AYERS D. S. MEARTS.
JOHN S. DEAN C. S. EVANS.
ELI KEELER DAVID MILLER.
GEORGE OGLEVIE JAMES McROBERTS.
Wm. KUREN FRANKLIN NAGLE.

Several other meetings followed this first one throughout the summer of 1848, and the last one was held during the same year just a short time before the land sales began at Iowa City. This meeting was an immense affair, its chief object being to elect a bidder to attend the sales. R. L. Tidrick was elected bidder, and a platoon of men were selected from the club whose duty it was to thoroughly arm themselves and accompany the bidder in the capacity of an escort. Mr. Tidrick and his bodyguard attended the sales, and such a formidable array did they present that the rights of the settlers were not interfered with. The claims were ultimately secured at the minimum price of $1.25 per acre, and the matter was as a general thing finally adjusted amicably. There were, however, a few instances in which difficulties sprung up that were not so amicably adjusted. We reproduce two incidents of this character as related by Mr. Turrell in his reminiscences.
"In the Spring of 1849 occurred what was called the Flemming and Perkins difficulties which, arising from a subject particularly relating to the settlers, threatened for a time to prove very serious. The difficulty at first sprung from a contention about land. Asa Flemming had made a claim a few miles below Des Moines, and B. Perkins, a neighbor, endeavored to preempt it, and had actually filed his intention to that effect. Perkins' fraudulent scheme being discovered caused

390a

a great excitement in the vicinity, and many and dire were the imprecations invoked upon his head. It was also rumored that one Holland had been a partner of Perkins in the movement, and was to furnish the money with which to obtain the patent

391 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

from the United States, but the truth of this report was never fully substantiated.
"Perkins and Flemming were both members of the claim club, whose rules and regulations have already been given, and this circumstance proving fully the perfidious character of the former, enlisted an additional hatred against him. Non-residents and strangers, the settlers expected, would encroach upon their rights. Such they were vigorously watching, and were prepared to counteract and resist any innovations from such sources; but that one of their own citizens-one who was a member of an organization for the mutual protection of all-who had bound himself to abide by the club laws, and whose interests if jeopardized would have been amply guarded from danger would prove recreant to every sentiment of integrity, justice and honor, was unthought of, unexpected, and therefore the more condemned and detested. Under the circumstances Flemming easily succeeded in effecting a combination of the settlers residing near him for the protection of his claim, and to administer exemplary punishment to Perkins. The members of the claim club were all ready to assist, for the interests of one were the interests of the whole community. If Perkins should succeed in his plans others would follow his example; a claim would soon be of no value, and a general disturbance arose throughout the whole country. Mr. Perkins being found one day in the vicinity of the claim in dispute, the settlers, led by Flemming, resolved to wreak their vengeance upon him, and armed and equipped themselves for that purpose. Perkins, however, became aware of their plans before they could secure him, and on their approach stood not upon the order of his going, but mounted a horse and fled at once. Several shots were fired at him without effect, and the terrified fugitive flying for his life,

'Stayed not for brake, and he stopped not for stone,'

until he arrived at Fort Des Moines. With a horse covered with sweat and trembling with fatigue, himself without a hat or coat and almost frantic with the delusion that his pursuers were close upon him, he reached the Raccoon ferry, and eagerly besought the ferryman, Alex. Scott, to lose not a moment in crossing him over the ferry into town, where he hoped to find a secure asylum from his bloodthirsty enemies.
"Safely ensconced in Fort Des Moines, Perkins in a few days recovered from his recent fright, and growing valorous at the abuse of his foes, and the distance from anger, contrary to the advice of his friends, swore out a warrant for the arrest of Flemming, whom only he could identify, charging him with shooting with intent to kill. Flemming was subsequently arrested by George Michael, a constable, and brought before Benj. Luce, Esq., for examination. Luce's office was in a building formerly a part of the Fort, situated near the Point. Its site is at present occupied by a German grocery.
"While Flemming was upon his trial a mob of his friends armed to the teeth, surrounded and broke into the office, carrying away the prisoner by main force and bidding defiance to the authorities. Resistance to this mob was not for a moment thought of. Probably the unfavorable opinion entertained for Perkins by the citizens of Fort Des Moines led them to look more leniently upon so dangerous a proceeding; but it is more likely that

392 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY.

the absence of force on the side of the law and the suddenness of the attack rendered any opposition unavailing, and, therefore, was not attempted. Flemming, rescued from the bonds of the law, was triumphantly escorted to his home with every demonstration of success and exultation."
"He was afterward re-arrested, and again did the mob endeavor to rescue him, but their presence was expected. When some eighty of these were seen on the other side of the Raccoon river, brandishing their weapons and loudly calling for the ferryboat to take them over, the good people of Des Moines grew nervous with excitement, and nothing less than a battle was expected. James Phillips, then coroner, but in the delirium of the exciting crisis, and doubtless over-stimulated by a few extra potations of brandy, styling himself a major in the army of the United States, proclaimed martial law in the town, and went around to all the stores, commanding the proprietors to lock up their houses in order to save their goods from pillage, arm themselves and be ready to act under orders. Many of them did so. A large crowd collected at the Point' where the band of insurgents could be plainly seen, endeavoring to gain passage over the stream, and could be heard uttering loud threats against every power, judicial, executive and military in fort Des Moines."
" But by the coolness and intrepedity of Alex. Scott, the ferryman, their riotous project was completely frustrated. He calmly and firmly refused to take them over unless they unarmed themselves. They stormed, cursed, threatened, but not an inch would he let the boat go until they stacked their arms, and laid aside every offensive weapon. Unmoved by their threats and unprovoked by their maledictions, Scott resolutely adhered to his purpose, and finally the mob sullenly stacked their arms, and then, and not till then, were they ferried across the Raccoon."
" Armed intervention was no longer practicable, and Flemming was examined, the charge found true and he was obliged to give bonds for his appearance at the next term of the district court. However, he finally escaped as the grand jury failed to indict him. Perkins found his conduct, in reference to preempting Flemming's land, so universally condemned, and himself an object of such general detestation, that he was glad to execute to Flemming a bond, in which it was stipulated that the latter should have a warranty deed for the claim in dispute, so soon as a patent could be procured from the government, upon paying to Perkins the sum of one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. The execution of this bond ended all persecution, suits and riots in the case, but Perkins was but little esteemed ever afterward."
The account of the Holland difficulty as related by Mr. Turrell is as follows " Holland was trading through the country, stopping at various places where his business demanded, and among the rest at Fort Des Moines. While here some malicious person reported that he was a speculator, and was engaged in selecting choice claims, which he intended to purchase. He was also suspected of being connected with Perkins in his attempted frauds. These statements, although false as far as is known, being spread far and wide among the settlers, caused no little excitement, and their exasperation soon raised to that pitch that a crowd of them resolved to give Mr. Holland a sample of pioneer justice, in the prompt application of that notorious branch of jurisprudence which Judge Lynch has the merit of introducing. Holland was made aware of the inhospitable intention, but he took it very

HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY. 393

coolly, manifesting no uneasiness whatever. He cared not a whit for the mob, whether they were many or few, or however they were armed or infuriated. He was a match for them and would meet them, and had no doubt they would go away faster than they came. They probably would not come near him at all, and if they did it was all right. He knew how to fix them; and so he did."
"However, they came, a mob of fierce, determined, bloodthirsty men, bent on taking the most signal and exemplary vengeance. The infuriated crew numbered about thirty. Their oaths and threats loaded the air with their pestilential burden. Surrounding Holland's house with a guard of armed men, to prevent the possibility of his escape, the ringleader ordered him to come forth and meet his doom, the doom of all men who should tamper with the interests of Polk county by fraudulent schemes. As called for, Holland appeared, told the mob he was willing to submit to their will if they would first allow him to make a speech. None could deny permission though some viewed it with impatience, and Holland mounting a box that stood near, and gazing with calm, unmoving eye into the faces of his hostile auditory commenced his vindication.
" He was an orator and accustomed to sway at will the minds of an audience and direct the feelings of his hearers into any channel he chose. With a voice whose deep, impressive and skillfully inflected tones arrested and held spellbound the most careless listener, with language, if imaginative, which clothed every thought with the most fascinating garb, and, if argumentative, in an impregnable armor and the mysterious, undefinable spirit of eloquence, permeating through and rendering irresistibly powerful every tone, word and gesture, he stirred the hearts of the murderous crowd, impatient for his blood, and turned their sympathies enthusiastically in his favor. Their faces, before distorted with rage, were wreathed with smiles, not only of friendship but of admiration. Their hands, which lately had clinched with angry grasp the most deadly weapon, were frankly extended toward him with all the kindness of intimacy and respect. At the conclusion of his speech they all asked his pardon for the wrong they had done in the impetuosity of their passion, conceived and nearly accomplished, and, having assured Holland of their unfaltering attachment, they withdrew in the very best of humor to the nearest grocery where each drank a" glass of whisky in commemoration of the occasion, the expense of which Holland, who accompanied them, generously defrayed."

398 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

The following is a record of the surveys of Polk county:
Township 77, range 22; surveyed by deputy surveyor Jesse Williams; commenced October 17,
1847, and finished November 1, 1847.
Township 78, range 22; by Samuel Jacobs; commenced August 6 and finished August 21, 1847.
Township 79, range 22; by Samuel Jacobs; commenced August 22, and finished August 29, 1847.
Township 80, range 22; by John D. Evans; commenced September 16, and finished September 23, 1847.
Township 81, range 22; by John D. Evans; commenced September 8, and finished September 15,
1847.
Township 78, range 23; by Samuel W. Durham; commenced November 4, and finished November 19, 1847.
Township 79, range 23; by Samuel W. Durham; commenced September 6, and finished September 11, 1847.
Township 80, range 23; by Joseph Morehead; commenced June 25, and finished July 3, 1847.
Township 81, range 23; by Joseph Morehead; commenced September 6, and finished September
13, 1847.
Township 78, range 24; by S. W. Durham; commenced October 20, and finished November 3, 1847.
Township 79, range 24; by S. W. Durham; commenced September 13, and finished September 27, 1847.
Township 80, range 24; by Joseph Morehead; commenced July 5, and finished July 16, 1847.
Township 81, range 24; by Joseph Morehead; commenced July 17, and finished July 24, 1847.
Township 78, range 25; by S. W. Durham; commenced October 4, and finished October 19, 1847.
Township 79, range 25; by S. W. Durham; commenced September 25, and finished October 2, 1847.
Township 80, range 25; by Joseph Morehead; commenced August 25, and finished September 4, 1847.
Township 81, range 25; by Joe Morehead; commenced July 25, and finished August 5, 1847.
from the foregoing it will be seen that it required about one week to complete the survey of one township.

FIRST LAND ENTRIES

Of course no lands could be sold till they were surveyed, and as the surveys were not completed till late in the year 1847, it follows that but little land was entered prior to the year 1848.
When one township was surveyed the land in that township could be sold, and as we have already seen that the surveys were all completed during the year 1847, it follows that the lands were ready for sale in 1848. In examining the book of original entry we were able to find but one r two entries made in 1847. During the year 1848 considerable land was entered, though probably not so much as during the following year. We have carefully compiled a list of all the lands entered during the first land sales,

399 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

together with the date of entry and names of purchaser. The following is the result:

TOWNSHIP 77, RANGE 22

State of Iowa, sec 1, Jan 12, 1847
Thos. C. McCall, se qr, sec 2, Dec 18, 1848.
Thos. C. McCall, sw qr, sec 2, Dec 18, 1848 .

TOWNSHIP 78, RANGE 22

Susannah Hendrick, SW qr, sec 8, Oct 30, 1848.
Jeferson Robertson, se qr, sec 8, Oct 30, 1848.
Christopher Smith, nw qr, sec 8, Nov 11, 1848.
Thos. Black, sw qr, sec 12, Oct 30, 1848.,
Robert Warren, ne qr of ne qr, sec 18, Oct 30, 1848.
William A. Porter, e hf of sw qr; sec 18, Oct 16, 1848.
Joseph Powers, nw qr, sec 20, Oct 30, 1848.
Valentine Boutwright, sw qr, sec 20, Oct 30, 1848.
George C. Rees, w hf of nw qr and w hf of sw qr, sec 22, Nov 23, 1848.
Patrick Kelley, ne qr, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.
Nathan Cowley, se qr, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.
Ezekiel Jennings, lots No 8, 9, 11 and 12, sec 30, Oct 30, 1848.
Robert Warren, w hf of nw qr, sec 32, Oct 30, 1848.
Holiday Wiley, lot No 2, sec 32, Oct 30, 1848.
Holiday Wiley, ne qr, sec 32, Oct 30, 1848..
David Johnson, n hf nw qr, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
James McCollam, nw of ne, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
Chas. Hunter Hamlin, sw of nw qr and nw of sw qr, sec 36, Nov 17, 1848.
William Howard, se of sw qr, sec 36, Nov 23, 1848.
William Howard, se qr, sec 36, Nov 23, 1848.

TOWNSHIP 79, RANGE 22

Blewford Barlow, se qr of ne qr and ne qr of se qr, sec 22, Oct 30, 1848.
Blewford Barlow, e hf of sw qr and w hf of se qr, sec 23, Oct 30.1848.
George Barlow, w hf of ne qr and se qr of ne qr, and se qr of nw qr sec 23, Oct 30, 1848.
Bluford Barlow, w hf of sw qr, sec 23, Oct 30, 1848.
Thos. Mitchell, sw qr of sw qr, sec 24, Oct 30, 1848.
Thos. Mitchell, w hf of nw qr and nw qr of sw qr, sec. 25, Oct 40, 1848.
Thos. Mitchell, nw qr of nw qr, sec 26, Oct 30, 1848.
Thos. Mitchell, e hf of ne and e hf of se qr, sec 26, Oct 30, 1848.

TOWNSHIP 80, RANGE 22

Page 399a

Michael Lavish, s hf of ne qr and s hf of nw qr, sec 8, Oct 30, 1848.
Michael Lavish, ne of sw qr and n hf of se qr, sec 8, Oct 30, 1848.
Michael Lavish, nw qr of sw qr, sec 9, Oct 30, 1848.
William Frederick, sw qr, sec 23, Oct 30, 1848.
William Frederick, se qr, sec 23, Oct 30, 1848.
William Frederick, nw qr, sec 26, Oct 10, 1848.

400 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

James Monroe Gates, e hf of sw qr and w hf of se qr, sec 26, Oct 30, 1848.
William Frederick, w hf of sw qr, sec 26, Oct 30, 1848.
William Frederick, nw of se qr, and a hf of ne qr, and sw qr of ne qr, sec 27, Oct 30, 1848.
William Frederick, e hf of se qr, sec 27, Oct 30, 1848.
George Barlow, sw of se qr, see 27, Oct 30, 1848.
James Monroe Gates, ne qr, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
Eli Trullinger, nw qr, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
James Monroe Gates, nw qr, sec 35, Oct 30, 1848.

TOWNSHIP 81, RANGE 22

John Penn s hf of sw qr, and nw qr of sw qr, sec 3, July 18, 1847.
John Penn, ne qr of se qr, sec 4, July 18, 1847.

TOWNSHIP 78, RANGE 23

John Barlow, sw qr, sec 2, Oct 30, 1848.
Lewis Barlow, lots Nos 5, 6, 11 and 12, sec 2, Oct 30, 1848.
George Barlow, lots Nos 2, 3 and 4, sec 2, Oct 31, 1840.
Jacob Frederick, se qr, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
Jacob Frederick, lots 5, 6, 11 and 12, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
Jacob Frederick, sw qr, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
Jacob Frederick, lots -Nos 1, 2, 3 and 4, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
Jacob Frederick, lots Nos 7, 8, 9 and 10, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
Jacob Harris, lots Nos 1, 2 and 8, sec 6, Oct 30, 1848.
George Curran, se qr, sec 6, Oct 30, 1848.
Samuel Harvey, nw qr, sec 8, Oct 30, 1848.
David F. Randolph, ne qr, sec 8, Oct 30, 1848.
Thos. H. Napier, nw of se qr, and ne of sw qr, and w hf of sw qr, sec 8, Oct 30, 1848.
Lyle Garrett, e hf of se qr, and sw qr of se qr, and se of sw qr, see 8, Nov 4, 1848.
William Stuart, w hf of ne qr, sec 12, Oct 16, 1848.
James N. Stuart, e hf of nw qr, and e hf of sw qr, sec 12, Oct 16, 1848.
Jesse B. Grimstead, w hf of nw qr, sec 12, Oct .30, 1848.
J. D. Vice, se qr, sec 14, Oct 30, 1848.
Lewis Barlow, sw qr, sec 14,-Oct 30, 1848.
Peter Newcomer, n hf of ne qr, and lots Nos 1 and 2, sec 18, Oct 30, 1848.
Peter Newcomer, lots Nos 3, 4 and 5, and se qr of nw qr, and nw qr of se qr, sec 18, Oct 30,
1848.
Peter Newcomer,e hf se qr, and nw of se qr, and e qr of ne qr, sec 18, Oct 30, 1848.
Newton Lamb, lot No 3, sec 20, Oct 30, 1848.
Charles Keeney, se qr, sec 20, Oct 30, 1848.
James Connett, w hf se qr, sec 26, Oct 16, 1848.
Joshua B. Chapman, e hf of sw qr, and e hf of nw qr, sec 26, Oct 30, 1848.
Delilah Gooch, e hf of se qr, sec 28, Oct 16, 1848.
John McMahan, w hf of se qr, and e hf of sw qr, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.

401 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

John D. McGlothlen, ne qr, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.
John D. McGlothlen, e hf of se -qr, and s hf of ne qr, sec 30, Oct 30; 1848.
George Krysher, nw qr of ne qr, and e hf of nw qr, and sw qr of nw qr; sec 32, Nov 27, 1848.
George Krysher, sw of ne qr, and w hf of se qr, and ne qr of sw qr, sec 32, Nov 27, 1848.
William Buzick, sw qr, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
William Buzick, nw qr, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
James P. Deaton, ne qr, sec 34, Dee 16, 1848.
Jeremiah Church, s. hf of se qr, and lots Nos 5 and 6, sec 36, Oct 16, 1848.

TOWNSHIP 79, RANGE 23

Mary Ann Cooney, se qr, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
Foster Elliott, nw qr, sec 5, Oct 30, 1848.
Dillon Haworth, ne qr, sec 5, Oct 30, 1848.
Foster Elliott, sw qr, sec 5, Oct 30, 1848.
Frederick Elliott, se qr, sec 5, Oct 30, 1848.
John T. Bundrum, e hf of se, and nw of se, and se of ne, sec 8, Oct 30, 1848.
Isaac Cooper, ne qr, sec 14, Oct 30, 1848.
William Cooper, e hf of se qr, and nw of se qr, and se of ne qr, sec 20, Oct 30, 1848.
William Cooper, ne qr of ne qr, sec 20, Oct 30, 1848.
William Cooper, n hf of nw qr, and nw qr of ne qr, sec 21, Oct 30, 1848.
State of Iowa, s hf and nw qr, and sw of ne qr, sec 25, Aug 8, 1846.
State of Iowa, n hf of ne, and se of ne, Sec 25, August 8, 1846.
Stephen Harvey, s hf of nw qr, and ne of nw qr, and sw of ne qr, sec 26, Oct 30, 1848.
John Hanlin, e hf of se qr, and sw of se qr, and se of sw qr, sec; 26, Oct 30, 1848.
Stephen Harvey, sw of sw qr, and n hf of sw hf, and nw of se qr, sec 26, Oct 130, 1848.
Pembroke Gault, ne qr, sec 32, Oct 30, 1848.
Larnard S. Case, nw qr, sec 32, Oct 30, 1848..
Daniel W. Ballard, se qr of se qr, sec 32, Nov 6, 1848.
Conrad D. Reinking, sw qr. sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
Conrad D. Reinking, nw qr, sec 34, Oct 30. 1848.
Jacob Frederick, se qr, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
John W. Oglevie, se of ne qr, sec 34, Nov 6, .1848.

TOWNSHIP 80, RANGE 23

Isaac W. Cory, nw qr of nw qr, sec 1, Oct 30, 1848.
Nathan Thornton, se of nw qr, sec 18, Nov 9, 1848.
Nathan Thornton, sw qr, sec 29, Oct 16, 1848.
Riley H. Thornton, se qr of ne qr, sec 31, Nov 9, 1848.
Daniel Justice, se of se qr, sec 31, Oct 30, 1848.

402 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Daniel Justice, ne of se qr, and w hf of se qr, and sw of ne, sec 31, Nov 9, 1848.
State of Iowa, w hf of nw, and w hf of sw, and se qr of sw, sec 31, Jan 12, 1847.
Riley H. Thornton, nw qr, sec 32, Oct 16, 1848.
Daniel Justice, w hf of sw qr,,and ne of sw qr, sec 32, Oct 30, 1848.
Isaac Thornton, s hf of se, and se of sw, sec 32, Oct 30, 1848.
Riley H Thornton, s hf of ne, and n hf of se, sec 32, Dec 16, 1848.
Isaac Thornton, sw of sw qr, sec 33, Oct 30, 1848.

TOWNSHIP 81, RANGE 23

Isaac W. Cory, se qr of se qr, sec 35, Oct 30, 1848
Jeremiah Cory, ne of se qr, sec 35, Oct 30, 1848.
Jeremiah Cory, ne qr, sec 36, Oct 30, 1848.
Jeremiah Cory, nw qr of sw qr, and w hf of nw qr, sec 36, 1848.
Jeremiah Cory, e hf of nw qr, and e hf of sw qr, sec 36, Oct 30, 1848.
Isaac W. Cory, sw qr of sw qr, sec 36, Oct 30, 1848.
Jeremiah Cory, se qr, sec 36, Oct 30, 1848.

TOWNSHIP 78, RANGE 24

Thomas K. Brooks, se qr, sec 2, Oct 30, 1848.
Joseph Myers, n hf of nw qr, and sw qr of nw qr, sec 2, Oct 30, 1848.
John S. Dean, ne qr, sec 2, Oct 30, 1848.
Thos. K. Brooks, sw qr, sec 2, Oct 30, 1848.
John S. Dean, lots Nos 1, 2 and 3, sec 3, Oct 16, 1848.
John S. Dean, nw qr of sw qr, and ne qr of nw qr, and lot No 4, sec 3, Oct 30, 1848.
Andrew Grosclose, James Mount and Thos. Black (Commissioners of Polk county), lot No 5, sec
4, May 12, 1848.
Richard Holcomb, s hf of nw qr, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
Richard Holcomb, sw qr, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
Edwin Hall and Edward Hall, nw qr of ne qr, and n hf of nw qr, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
Edwin Hall and Edward Hall, lots Nos 2, 3 and 4, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
John S. Dean, lot No 1, sec 4, Dec 16, 1848.
Andrew Grosclose, James Mount and Thos. Black (Commissioners of Polk county), lot No 5 of
sec 4, lot 1 and nw qr of ne qr, sec 9, and lot No 5 of sec 10, ay 12, 1848.
Henry Everly, e hf of ne qr, sec 5, Oct 16, 1848.
John S. Dean, w hf of nw qr, sec 5, Oct 16, 1848.
Lewis Jones, sw qr, sec 5, Oct 30, 1848.
Abel J. Cain, e hf of nw qr, and w hf of ne qr, sec 5, Oct 30, 1848.
Jonathan Lyon, Jr., se qr, sec 5, Oct 30, 1848.
Solomon McCain, se qr, sec 6, Oct 30, 1848.
Eli Mosier, n hf of ne qr, sec 6, Nov 18, 1848.
John Crabtree, Jr., se qr of sw qr, sec 7, Oct 30, 1848.

Page 402a

Ezra Rathbun, ne qr, sec 7, Oct 30, 1848.
Ezra Rathbun ne qr of se, and lot No 1, sec 7, Oct 30, 1848.
William W. Jones, e hf of nw qr, sec 7, Dec 16, 1848.

403 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Jonathan Lyon, Jr., ne qr of ne qr, and lots Nos 2 and 3, sec 8, Oct 16, 1848.
John Rupe, nw qr of nw qr, and lots Nos 4, 5 and 6, see 8, Oct 30, 1848.
William R. Close, lot No 8, sec 8, Nov 18, 1848.
Martin Tucker, lots No 2 and 3, sec 9, Oct 16, 1848.
Pierce B. Fagen, nw qr, sec 9, Oct 30, 1848.
William T. Ayres, lot No 4, sec 9, Dec 18, 1848.
Charles C. Van, lot No 7, sec 9, Dec 4, 1848.
Andrew Grosclose, James Mount and Thomas Black (Commissioners of Polk county), lot No 1
and nw qr of ne qr, sec 9, May 12, 1848.
Andrew Grosclose, James Mount and Thomas Black (Commissioners of Polk county, lot No 5,
sec 10, May 12, 1848.
William Lyon, n hf of ne qr, and lots Nos 1, 2, 3 and 4, sec 10, Oct 16, 1848.
Charles C. Van, lots Nos 7, 8 and 9, sec 10, Oct 30, 1848.
Charles C Van, se qr of sw qr, and w hf of sw qr, and lot No 6, sec 10, Oct 30. 1848.
Thos. J. Henderson, ne qr, sec 12, Oct 30, 1848.
Thos. J. Henderson, lots -Nos 1, 2, 3 and 4, sec 12, Oct 30, 1848.
Thos. J. Henderson, nw qr, sec 12, Oct 31, 1848.
William Lamb, ne qr of ne qr, sec 14, Oct 30, 1848.
James Anderson, se qr, sec 14, Nov 18, 1848.
William R. Close, sw qr of nw qr, and ne qr of nw qr, and lot No 2, sec 17, Nov 18, 1848.
Henry Everly, ne qr, sec 17, Dec 6, 1848.
James Campbell, lots Nos 2, 3 and 4, see 18, Oct 30, 1848.
Alexander N. Hayes, se qr, sec 20, Oct 30, 1848.
Robert A. Harbord, se qr, sec 24, Oct 30, 1848.

TOWNSHIP,79, RANGE 24

John Saylor, w hf of sw qr, sec 2, Oct 30, 1848.
Jehu P. Saylor, nw qr of nw qr, sec 3, Oct 30, 1848.
John G. Myers, ne qr, sec 3, Oct 30, 1848.
John Saylor, s hf of sw qr, and s hf of se qr, sec 3, Oct 30, 1848.
John Saylor, n hf of se qr, and n hf of sw qr, sec 3, Oct 30, 1848.
Benjamin Saylor, nw qr, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
Jehu P. Saylor, s hf of ne qr, and ne of ne qr, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
John Hays, se qr, sec 4, Oct 30, 1848.
Solomon Bales, nw qr of ne qr, and ne hf of nw qr, sec 5, Oct 30, 1848.
Solomon Bales, e hf of ne qr, and lot No 3, sec 5, Oct 30, 1848.
William P. Koger, s hf of ne qr, and n hf of se qr, sec 6, Oct 30, 1848.
Joseph Deford, e hf of se qr, sec 8, Oct 30, 1848.
Allen W. Hobson, e hf of ne qr, and lots Nos 3 and 4, sec 8, Oct 30, 1848.
Allen W. Hobson, ne qr, sec 9, Oct 30, 1848.
Joseph Deford, w hf of aw qr, sec 9, Oct 30, 1848.
Allen W. Hobson, nw qr, sec 9, Oct 30, 1848.

Page 403a

John Saylor, n hf of ne qr, and n hf of nw qr, sec 10, Oct 30, 1848.
David Norris,e hf of ne qr, sec 11, Oct 30, 1848.
John Saylor, w hf of nw qr, sec 11, Oct 30, 1848.
David Norris, w hf of nw qr, sec 12, Oct 30,1848.

404 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Joseph Deford, lot No 4, sec 17, Oct 16, 1848.
James Thomas, w hf of nw qr, and lots Nos 5 and 6, sec 17, Oct 30, 1848.
Christopher Baker, s hf of ne qr, and n hf of se qr, sec 20, Oct 30, 1848.
Benjamin F. Allen, lots Nos 1 and 12, sec 21, Oct 17, 1848.
Thos. Baker, lots Nos 6, 7 and 8, sec 21, Oct 30, 1848.
Thos. Baker, e hf of sw qr, and lots Nos 4 and 5, sec 21, Oct 30, 1848.
Benjamin F. Allen, sw of nw qr, and nw qr of aw qr, sec 22, Oct 30, 1848.
Rebecca Daily, s hf of ne qr, and n hf of se qr, sec 22, Oct 30, 1848.
Benjamin F. Allen, nw of sw qr, sec 26, Oct 30, 1848.
Andrew McF. Thompson, s hf of sw, sec 26, Oct 30 1848.
Andrew McF. Thompson, se qr, sec 26, Oct 30,1848.
Benjamin F. Allen, nw qr, sec 26, Oct 30, 1848.
William R. Close, lots Nos 4 and 5, sec 27, Oct 16, 1848.
Andrew McF. Thompson, lots Nos 2 and 3, sec 27, Oct 30, 1848.
Andrew McF. Thompson, lot No 1, and se qr of se qr, sec 27, Oct 30, 1848.
Thos. Crabtree, n hf of nw qr, and n hf of ne qr, sec 27, Oct 30, 1848.
Andrew McF. Thompson, s hf of ne qr, and n hf of se qr, sec 27, Oct 30, 1848.
Andrew McF. Thompson, lot No 1, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.
John Stroup, e hf of nw qr, and lots Nos 3, 4 and 5, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.
Pierce B. Fagen, sw qr of se qr, and lot No 6, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.
John Stroup, lot No 1, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.
John Lewis, sw qr, sec 29, Oct 30, 1848.
John Lewis, se qr, sec 29, Oct 30, 1848.
Eli Mosier, se qr of se. qr, sec 32, Nov 18, 1848.
Daniel Hickman, n hf of ne qr, and e hf of nw qr, sec 32, Dec 9, 1848.
Jonathan Lyon, Jr., sw qr, sec 33, Oct 16, 1848.
George Shell, se qr of se qr, sec 33, Oct 30, 1848.
Pierce B. Fagen, n hf of ne qr, sec 33, Oct 30, 1848.
John C. Jones. s hf of ne qr, and n hf of se qr, sec 33, Nov 4, 1848.
Benjamin T. Hoxie, nw qr, sec 33, Dec 16, 1848.
William W. Jones, se qr of sw qr, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
George Shell, n hf of sw qr, and sw qr of sw qr, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
Benjamin F. Allen, se qr, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
Benjamin F. Allen, s hf of ne qr, and lots Nos 2 and 3, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
Thompson Bird, nw qr, sec 24, Oct 30, 1848.
Benjamin F. Allen, lots Nos 6, 7 and 8, sec 35, Oct 16, 1848.
Andrew McF. Thompson, lots Nos 1 and 2, sec 35, Nov 18, 1848,
Andrew McF. Thompson, lot No 5, sec 35, Oct 30, 1848.
Andrew McF. Thompson, n hf of ne qr, and lots Nos 3 and 4, sec 35, Oct 30, 1848.
Andrew McF. Thompson, se qr of ne qr, sec 35, Oct 30, 1848.
Andrew McF. Thompson, w hf of sw qr, and sw of nw qr, sec 36 Oct 30, 1848.
Andrew McF. Thompson, e hf of nw qr, and e hf of sw qr, sec 36, Oct 30,1848

405 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

TOWNSHIP 80, RANGE 24

Stephen Harvey, se qr, sec 7, Oct 31, 1848.
Henry Everly, ne qr, sec 18, Oct 16, 1848.
Jacob M. Marts, w hf of se qr, and ne of se qr, sec 18, Nov 18, 1848.
Jacob M. Marts, sw qr of ne qr, sec 19, Nov 27, 1848.
Jacob M. Marts, e hf of nw qr, and nw of nw qr, and lot No 3, sec 19, Nov 18, 1848.
Jacob M. Marts, nw qr of ne qr, sec 19, Nov 18, 1848.
Thomas Gilpin, sw qr, sec 21, Oct 30, 1848.
Conrad Dietz, s hf of se qr, sec 21, Oct 30, 1848.
Nathan Koons, n hf of se qr, sec 21, .Oct 30, 1848.
Daniel Brumbaugh, nw qr, sec 21, Oct 30, 1848.
Nathan Koons ne. qr, sec 21, Oct 30, 1848.
Nathan Koons, nw qr, sec 22,,Oct 30, 1848.
Conrad Dietz, s hf of sw qr, sec 22, Oct 30, 1848.
Nathan Koons, n hf of sw qr, sec 22. Oct 30, 1848.
Samuel Harvey, nw qr, sec 26, Oct 31, 1848.
Lysander Harvey, s hf of nw qr, and n hf of sw qr, sec 27, Oct 30, 1848
David Miller, n hf of nw qr, sec 27, Oct 30, 1848.
Lysander Harvey, s hf of ne qr, and n hf of se qr, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.
David Miller, n hf of ne qr, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.
Jacob F. Randolph, e hf of sw qr, and s hf of se qr, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.
Jacob Shelhart, n hf of nw qr, sec 28, Dec 4, 1848.
Garrison Sulser, lot No 6, sec 29, Oct 16, 1848.
Samuel Harvey, e hf of nw qr, and w hf of ne qr, sec 29, Oct 31, 1848.
William Snodgrass, lot No 2, sec 29, Dec 4, 1848.
John Shelhart, e hf of ne qr, sec 29, Dec 4, 1848.
William Snodgrass, lot Nos 7 and 8, sec 30, Dec 4,1848.
William Snodgrass, lot No 1, sec 31, Dec 4, 1848.
Solomon Bales, w hf of ne qr, and se of nw qr, and lot No 2, sec 32, Oct 30, 1848.
Solomon Bales, w hf of se qr, sec 32, Oct 30, 1848.
William Snodgrass, lot No 1,. sec 32, Dec 4, 1848.
Solomon Bales, e hf of ne qr, and e hf of se qr, sec 32, Oct 30, 1848.
Benjamin Saylor, sw qr, sec 33, Oct 30, 1848.
Edward Keeler, e hf of se qr, sec 33, Oct 0,1848.
Franklin Nagle, ne qr, sec 33, Oct 30, 1848.
John G. Myers, ne qr, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
Edward Keeler, w hf of sw qr, sec 34, Oct 30, 1848.
John Saylor, se qr, sec 34, Nov 18, 1848.

TOWNSHIP 78, RANGE 25

Calvin Bennett, w hf of se qr, sec 12, Oct 16, 1848.

Page 405a

Samuel L. Shaw, SW qr, sec 12, Oct 30, 1848.
Thomas Britton, e hf of se qr, sec 12, Oct 30, 1848.
Thomas Britton, lots No 1 and 2, sec 13, Oct 30, 1848.
Henry Everly, lot No 5, sec 13, Nov 13, 1848.
Henry Everly, sw of sw qr, sec 13, Nov 13, 1848.
Charles Goods, lots Nos 3 and 4, and nw qr of nw qr, sec 13, Nov 23,1848.
Samuel Hiner, se qr of sw qr, and sw of se qr, sec 13, Dec 9, 1848.

406 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

Henry Everly, lots Nos 6, 7 and 9, sec 14, Nov 13, 1848.
Henry Everlv, s hf of se qr, and se qr of sw qr, sec 14, Nov 13, 1848.
Charles Goods, lot No 1, sec 14, Nov 23, 1848.
Thomas McMullen, sw qr of nw qr, and n hf of sw qr, and lot No 3, sec 15, Dec 6, 1848.
Thomas McMullen, lot No 1, and nw of ne qr, and e hf of nw qr, sec 15, Dec 6,1848.
Jacob Lyon, lot No 5, sec 21, Oct 30,1848.
Samuel Hiner, n hf of nw qr, sec 24, Dec 4, 1848.
Jacob Lyon, e hf of nw qr, and lot No 2, sec 28, Oct 30, 1848.

TOWNSHIP 79, RANGE 25

John Watts, w hf of sw qr, sec 13, Nov 27, 1848.
Samuel Hiner, se qr, sec 13, Dec 4, 1848.
John Watts, ne qr of ne qr, sec 23, Nov 27, 1848.
John Watts, nw of nw qr, sec 24, Nov 7, 1848.
Jacob Thrailkill, e hf of ne qr, and e hf of se qr, sec 35, Oct 30, 1848.

TOWNSHIP 80, RANGE 25

George Beebe, w hf of nw qr, and n hf of sw qr, sec 1, Nov 13, 1848.
William VanDorn, s hf of se qr, and s hf of sw qr, sec 2, Nov 18, 1848.
George Beebe, n hf of sw qr, and n hf of se qr, sec 2, Dec 6, 1848.
Pleasant Foutz, se qr, sec 26, Nov 18, 1848.

TOWNSHIP 81, RANGE 25

Andrew Grosclose, e hf of nw qr, and w hf of ne qr, sec 27, Oct 30,1848.
Samuel Hiner, w hf of sw qr, and se of sw qr, and lot No 2, sec 29, Dec 4, 1848..
John Foutz, lot No 1, sec 29, Dec 18, 1848.
John Foutz, e hf of se qr, and lot No 4, sec 30, Dec 18, 1848.
John Crabtree, Sr., e hf of se qr, sec 35, Oct 30, 1848.
George Beebe, sw qr, sec 35, Oct 30, 1848.
John Crabtree, Sr., w hf of sw qr, sec 36, Oct 30, 1848.
John Crabtree, Sr., e hf of sw qr, and w hf of se qr, sec 36, Nov 27, 1848.

492 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

OFFICIAL DIRECTORY

In 1846 the following officers were elected:
Probate Judge-John Saylor. Sheriff-Thomas Mitchell. Coroner James Phillips. Surveyor-A. D.
Jones. Recorder-Thomas McMullen. Treasurer-W. T. Ayers. Assessor-G. B. Clark.
Collector-Addison Michael. Commissioners-Benj. Saylor, W. H. Meacham, G. W. Fouts.
After this first election there was no record of elections kept till the year 1852. From some
documents in existence we learn, however, that during this time there were the following
officials

1847
Sheriff-Peter Myers. Prosecuting Attorney-.L. D: Winchester.

1848
Clerk of Court-Henry Early. Commissioner-J. D. McGlothlen.

1849
Clerk of Court-Hoyt Sherman From 1852 the record is complete, and shows the following:

1852
County Judge-Byron Rice. Clerk of Court-Wm. T. Morris. School Fund Commissioner-R. W.
Sypher. Prosecuting Attorney-J. M. Perry. Senator-A. Y. Hull. Representatives=Benj. Green and
J. F. Rice.

493 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

1853
Treasurer and Recorder-Samuel Gray. Sheriff-Wm. H. McHenry. Surveyor-John McClain.
Coroner-Walter Oyler.

1854
Clerk of Court--R. L. Chrystal. Prosecuting Attorney-Barlow Granger.

1855
Treasurer and Recorder-John E. Groom. Coroner-Noah Devault. Surveyor-John H. Millard.
County Judge-T. H. Napier. Sheriff D. B. Spaulding.

1856
Representatives-William P. Davis and Benj. Green. Clerk of Court H. M. Hoxie. Prosecuting
Attorney--J. H. Gray.

1857
County Judge-T. H. Napier. Treasurer and Recorder-S. M. Dyer. Sheriff- D. B. Spaulding.
Surveyor-J. C. Booth. Coroner-G. W. Conner. Representative-Thomas Mitchell.

1858
Clerk of Court-H. M. Hoxie. Superintendent Schools--Samuel Bell.

1859
Representative-Stewart Goodrell. County Judge.-John H. McClelland. Treasurer and Recorder-J.
B. Tiffin. Sheriff-John Hays. Superintendent Schools-C. C. Dawson. Surveyor-N. R. Kuntz.
Coroner -James Stanton. Drainage Commissioner-John Hartman.

1860
Clerk of Court-J. M. Laird.

1861
Senator-J. H. Hatch. Representative-John Mitchell. Sheriff - I. W. Griffith. Treasurer and
Recorder-J. B. Tiffin. County Judge-J. H. McClelland. Superintendent Schools-E. D. Hawes.
Surveyor-B. Callan. Drainage Commissioner-A. C. Bondurant. Coroner-Thomas Elliott.

1862
Clerk of Court-J. M. Laird.

494 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

1863
Representative-N. Baylies. County Judge-J. H. McClelland. Sheriff-H. M. Bush. Treasurer and
Recorder-J. T. Tiffin. Superintendent of Schools-S. Borrows. Surveyor-J. P. Foster. Coroner-J. M. Reicheneker. Drainage Commissioner-William VanDorn.

1864
Clerk of Court-H. H. Griffiths. County Recorder-John Jack.

1865
Senator-Jonathan Cattell. Representatives Hoyt Sherman and G. S. Godfrey. County Judge-W. G.
Bentley. Sheriff- Nathaniel McCalla. Superintendent of Schools-Leonard Brown. Treasurer
Jeremiah B. Tiffin. Surveyor-J. B. Bausman. Coroner-William F. Tate. Drainage
Commissioner-J. N. Newell.

1866
County Judge-John G. Weeks. Clerk of Court--H. H. Griffiths. Recorder-I. N. Thomas.

1867
Representatives-J. H. Hatch and John A. Kasson. County Judge-J. B. Miller. Treasurer-C. G.
Lewis. Sheriff-P. H. VanSlyck. Superintendent of Schools-C. A. Mosier. Surveyor-J. B.
Bausman. Coroner -Madison Young. Drainage Commissioner-James Bruindigi.

1868
Clerk of Court-H. H. Griffiths. Recorder-I. N. Thomas.

1869
Senator-B. F. Allen. Representatives--John A. Kasson and G. W. Jones. Auditor-John B. Miller.
Treasurer-C. G. Lewis. Sheriff-P. H. VanSlyck. Surveyor-P. B. Reed. Superintendent of
Schools-J. A. Nash. Coroner-A. G. Field.

1870
Clerk of Court-H. H. Griffiths. Recorder-I. N. Thomas. County .Supervisors-P. D. Ankeny, Brian Hawley and Edwin Oakes.

1871
Representatives--John A. Kasson, J. M. Tuttle. Auditor-John B. Miller. Treasurer-F. R. Laird.
Sheriff-D. M. Bringolf. Superintendent of Schools--J. A. Nash. Supervisor-G. W. Baldwin.
Surveyor Frank Pelton. Coroner-A. M. Overman.

495 HISTORY OF POLK COUNTY

1872
Clerk of Courts-John H. McClelland. Recorder J. C. Read.

1873
Senator--Thomas Mitchell. Representatives-Isaac Brandt, W. G. Madden. Auditor-Geo. C.
Baker. Treasurer-William Lowry-Sheriff D. M. Bringolf. Surveyor--Frank Pelton. Superintendent
of Schools D. G. Perkins. Coroner-A. M. Overman. Supervisor-Nathan Parmenter.

1874
Clerk of Courts-J. H. McClelland. Recorder-J. C. Read. Supervi,sors-T. T. Morris, William
Christy, William B. Butler, H. L. Y oung.

1875
Representatives-Josiah Given, William G. Madden. Auditor-Geo. C. Baker. Treasurer-William
Lowry. Sheriff--George Lendrum. Surveyor-Frank Felton. Superintendent of Schools-R. S. Hughes. Coroner-I. W. Griffith. Supervisor-James Porter.

1876
Clerk of Courts-J. L. Keyes. Recorder--J. C. Read. Supervisors-N. Parmenter, Wm. Ellison.

1877
Senator-R. C. Webb. Representatives-C. S. Wilson, J. B. Tiffin. Auditor-G. W. Bristow.
Treasurer-William Lowry. Sheriff-George Lendrum. Surveyor-Frank Felton. Superintendent of
Schools-James H. Koons. Coroner---I. W. Griffith. Supervisors--Geo. W. Baldwin, ,Wm. Christy, Samuel Britton.

1878
Clerk of Courts--James L. Keyes. Recorder--George H. Gardner. Supervisor--James Porter.

1879
Representatives-J. C. Jordan, J. A. Harvey. Auditor--G. W. Bristow. Treasurer-Richard K.
Miller. Sheriff-A. D. Littleton. Surveyor--Frank Pelton. Superintendent of Schools-J. H. Koons.
Coroner-I. W. Griffith. Supervisors--G. W. Miles, Levi Krysher.

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Revised: April 04, 2006