Chapter VIII
The County Seat Contests--First Railroad in the County
The county seat of Linn county was established at Marion by a board of commissioners consisting of Lyman Dillon, Ben Nye, and Richard Knott. As the years rolled by the question arose as to the removal of the county seat to Cedar Rapids, where it seems that it was needed, being what was then known as the commercial metropolis of the county. The people of Marion insisted that that city was the center. While there was more or less feeling in the county over the county seat fight, the legislature of Iowa in 1850-51 created the office of county judge, which was designed to and did succeed the former legislative bodies of the several counties of the state. The judge had the same powers possessed by the board of supervisors which controlled the affairs of the county later. Among the rights and privileges peculiar to the office was that most important one of submitting to the people the question of raising money for the purpose of repairing and erecting buildings for the use of the county officers. (See Code of 1851.)
In 1855 James M. Berry was county judge, and a shrewd fellow he was. In pursuance of the law, and what he thought his duty, Judge Berry took steps to erect a jail and a fireproof building for the use of the county officers. These buildings were contracted for by a firm at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, in the spring of that year. Then the people arose in arms as to the high-handed methods of Judge Berry. Political questions were lost sight of in the court house struggle. Speakers were employed pro and con. Judge Berry's term of office expired January 1, 1856, and a successor was to be elected in August of 1855. Marion put up Judge Berry for re-election, while Cedar Rapids put up Rev. Elias Skinner, a well known Methodist preacher who had traveled about the county and who was well known by everyone as an aggressive fighter and a man who believed in what he did and would have things his way if possible. The canvass was in the aggregate with Judge Berry at 1,233 votes, while Skinner showed up with 993 votes, the judge being re-elected by a majority of 240 votes, thereby affirming by a referendum vote his policy.
Reverend Skinner is still living at Waterloo, and not long ago the writer had a conversation with him about this the most famous fight that has ever occurred in Linn county over the removal of the court house. Mr. Skinner just laughed and said he put up a good fight, but the other fellow had the votes.
In 1871 another court house fight was had, but the board held that because of many names of voters being on both petitions these petitions were defective.
In the spring of 1872 another petition was brought out for the re-location of the court house and an endless number of names were again filed pro and con. Much money was spent on both sides; again the Cedar Rapids faction was beaten, some preliminary steps were taken for an appeal but the appeal was stricken from the docket.
Another attempt was made by Cedar Rapids for a change of location of the court house a few years ago, and again the petitioners lost out, and that case has been pending on the court docket but no action has been taken, so that it has for the fourth time been lost, much to the surprise of the citizens of Cedar Rapids and to the satisfaction of the people of Marion and a large portion of the northern part of the county who have always stood out for Marion in the fights on the re-location of the county seat.
THE FIRST RAILROAD IN LINN COUNTY
While it may have been charged at times that Iowa was slow in getting in touch with railway builders, it must be borne in mind that the first railroad to be built in the United States upon which a steam engine was used was constructed in 1829; but very little was done until about 1833-34. By 1835 there were not over 100 miles of road in active operation within the confines of the entire country. Up to 1841 not a mile of track had been laid in any of the following states: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan. By the end of 1848 there were only twenty-two miles of tracks laid in Illinois, eighty-six in Indiana, and none in Wisconsin or Missouri.
Traffic so far had been exclusively by river, lake, canal, or in wagons. Much money had been expended in opening up rivers for steamboat traffic and more or less had been voted to build roads and dig canals. But over such a large stretch of country it was impossible for the nation to do much.
As early as 1837 many citizens of Iowa and others began to agitate for a transcontinental line of railroad to run from the Atlantic states to the Pacific, and for a grant of land by congress for this purpose. Asa Whitney, of New York, an able and public spirited man, had written much in the papers proposing such a project. There was of course at that time more or less speculation as to just where such proposed railroad might pass. The southern senators proposed a road through St. Louis and across Missouri to Kansas. There was a spirit of rivalry at this time. When Chicago began to get its growth the far-sighted people of that city saw that it would be in the interests of Chicago to have the line go directly west and through Iowa, and thus cut out a dangerous rival.
The Chicago press henceforth always favored a direct route through Iowa. As early as 1838 G. W. Jones, then delegate in congress from Wisconsin, secured an appropriation of $10,000, which was expended in making a survey from Lake Michigan through southern Wisconsin.
Now the people of Iowa became active. They wanted a railroad from the lakes west, and this could only be secured by public or state aid. The legislature of 1844 joined in a petition to congress asking a grant of public land to the Territory of Iowa to aid in the construction of a railroad from Dubuque to Keokuk. The grant was to consist of alternate sections extending five miles in width on each of the proposed roads or its equivalent in adjacent government lands.
During the winter of 1844-45 a convention was held at Iowa City where nearly all the counties of the territory were represented by wide-awake young men in the interest of this railway promotion. Several proposed lines were agitated and as some of these lines did not start at any place and went to no place many of these projects failed.
The first grant of public lands in Iowa for transportation was not for railroads but for improving navigation on the Des Moines river. It was made in 1846. Strong then was the prejudice against railway promotion, and little faith did the public men in congress put in this so-called wild speculation.
The people of Iowa were so enthusiastic in the way of railway building and in the promotion of enterprises that they even ignored old political standards. It would appear that when the subject of the training of the candidates was looked into it, it depended more on what use such person would be for the work of getting a railway grant than how he would vote on the tariff or on the rights of South Carolina.
The following letter, written May 28, 1848, by W. H. Merritt to S. W. Durham, an old friend and fellow democrat, shows plainly the attitude of one of the leading men of the party, then living at Dubuque, but who had formerly resided at Ivanhoe and hence was one of the early men in Linn county. He mentions Preston (Colonel Isaac Preston), and gives his reasons for not wanting him. The Leffingwell mentioned was the well-known W. E. Leffingwell, who formerly resided at Muscatine, then Bloomington, and later removed to Clinton county. He was an eloquent lawyer and a popular man. He was later defeated by William Smyth for congress in this district. Bates and Folsom were both prominent Iowa City men, and well known in political circles for many years. Judge Grant was the noted jurist of Davenport, and was a well-known railroad promoter who had much influence in early years in Iowa.
In this letter Mr. Merritt suggests George Greene as a candidate from Linn county. There is no doubt that if at this time Mr. Greene had been selected, he would have carried the district and made an enviable record as a statesman, and no doubt on account of his judgment and his keenness in business, he would have obtained from congress such favors as would have amounted to much good for Iowa in the first stages of her statehood. The letter does not show whether or not Mr. Greene had consented or would consent to such a course, although it has been stated that he most likely would have consented to have made the canvass. For congress the whigs nominated this year, 1848, D. F. Miller for the first district and Tim Davis for the second district. The democrats nominated for the first district William Thompson, and for the second district Shepherd Leffler. The whigs were strong, the total vote for president at the November elections being, Cass, democrat, 12,093; Taylor, whig, 11,144; Van Buren, free soiler, 1,126.
Leffler was elected, and Miller on a close vote contested the election of Thompson before congress. The committee on elections declared the seat vacant. Leffler, who was elected after an exciting canvass, was a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Iowa Territory in 1835. He sat in the first constitutional convention in 1844, and two years later was elected to congress by the state at large, and hence in 1848 he had the inside track. In 1856 he was again a candidate but was defeated by Tim Davis, his old whig opponent of 1848. In 1875 he was a candidate for governor against S. J. Kirkwood, and was defeated. He died at Burlington in 1879. He had been one of the trusted leaders of his party for many years.
The letters from W. H. Merritt and George Greene show what interest these men had in the railroad enterprise.
LETTER FROM MERRITT
"Strictly confidential. Dubuque, May 28, 1848. "Friend Durham:
"Having retired from the editorial tripod I find more time to devote to my friends in the reflective and agreeable exercise of correspondence than formerly. Since my second return to Iowa it would have been highly gratifying to my feelings had I been so situated in business as to have employed a portion of my time in personal communication with my friends, in viewing scenes connected with the early settlement of Iowa, and in witnessing the numerous monuments reared to attest the prevailing, the restless and resistless enterprise of the Anglo-American. In 1838, when I first pitched my tent at Ivanhoe, Linn county had but few white inhabitants, possessed but few attractions for one accustomed to the society of one of the old Federal colonies, and was entirely destitute of political or judicial organization. Everything that the eye could behold appeared in a rude state of nature. Vast prairies which extended for miles presented no evidences of civilization, no familiar sound like that of the woodman's axe appeared to interrupt the solemn stillness of an uninhabited wilderness. The marks of wild beasts and wild men were now and then visible and the similitude was striking between the two, as though both were born to the same sphere of action and subject to the same laws of being. A sort of wildness and sacred stillness seemed to pervade the whole atmosphere. Reclining upon a buffalo robe in my tent, reflecting upon the varied scenery without and quietly listening to the solemn murmurs of the Cedar, I thought I could perceive visions of earthly happiness for the man of true genius nowhere else to be found. The longer I remained upon the spot, the more it endeared itself to my affections, and the less I thought of cultivated society and the dazzling beauties of wealth, and its primeval companion, aristocracy. Nature seemed to be decked in her nuptial dress and wild beasts danced to and fro with a festive heart to the harmonious notes of a troop of forest birds.
"Circumstances forced me to leave that consecrated spot after a year's residence, and once more become a victim to the cold restraints and relentless laws of civilization. For five years was I bound by stern necessity to a habitation worse than a prison, and associated with men as little to be admired for their social qualities of character as the cannibals of old. To be engaged in merchandising among a people whose only article of faith was 'cheat and grow rich,' and whose friendship could be secured only by corrupting the morals and lacerating the heart of the innocent, was a pursuit little to be desired by one whose heart had been consecrated to a different field of enterprise and nourished by the sacred impulses of the West. Be assured I escaped from this thralldom as soon as I could, and never to this hour has my mind enjoyed that repose that it did when seated upon the banks of the Cedar and surrounded by the beautiful scenery of Ivanhoe. I experienced a kind of maternal affection for the spot, a mystic tie instinctively chains my mind to its early history, and a magic like that which bound Blennerhasset to his favorite island in the Ohio seems to pervade every recollection connected with its name and its founder.
"But I must abandon this subject, or I shall trespass upon the time and space designed for another, and convert what was intended for a political letter into a literary bore. As you manifested a friendly solicitude when here that I should take up my residence in Linn county when my studies were finished, I thought it not out of place to remind you where my inclination would lead me.
"I would speak privately to you upon the subject of a candidate for congress in this district. I understand that Mr. Preston of Linn is to be a candidate; that Leffler will be a candidate; Leffingwell of Bloomington and Bates and Folsom of Iowa City. Leffler I do not believe can be nominated. I think he has acted in bad faith with his constituents. Leffingwell has no chance, although he has the untiring vigilance of S. C. Hastings to support him. Preston I fear has no chance. He is deceived by Hastings and I fear erroneously counts upon the delegation from Dubuque. We have appointed eight delegates. I am one. I have spoken to them all and find that every man is in favor of giving the nomination to Linn County for the reason that the interest of Linn is identical with that of Dubuque in properly agitating and ultimately constructing the Railroad from this to Keokuk, but they will not support Preston because they have no confidence in his ability.
"One thing is very certain, Friend Durham, and that is that we must elect a man who is identified with this great railroad improvement. Preston would no doubt do all in his power, but he fails to unite that confidence in his favor necessary to give him the nomination. Leffler would no doubt do what he has done, give Davenport the preference. Leffingwell as a matter of course would feel but little personal interest in a railroad running through the interior of the state and forty or fifty miles removed from his immediate constituency, to whom he is more nearly allied and intimately associated in political friendship. All residing upon the banks of the Mississippi and in its immediate vicinity, except those at Keokuk and this point, are opposed to any grant by Congress for this railroad, and I can hardly conceive that it reflects any dishonor upon them as a community or as private individuals, for they are no doubt influenced like all men from natural and selfish impulses. But with Mr. Leffler the case is far different. He was elected to represent the wishes and interests of one entire community of people, eight-tenths of whom have a direct and vital interest in the success of this enterprise. He is requested and repeatedly urged by petition and memorial to give it his earnest support. But he pays no regard to their solicitations until a scheme in which he is more directly interested is matured, forwarded to him, and he puts it upon its passage through Congress. At least six weeks before a single step was taken in aid of the Davenport road in this state, petitions were forwarded to Mr. Leffler for the Dubuque and Keokuk road. In truth no move was made for the Davenport road until Judge Grant returned from Washington City, which was some twelve days after the Legislature had convened, and after the petition had gone from this place, Cascade, from your town, a memorial from the legislature, and the convention had been held at Iowa City, at which, if I mistake not, you were present. Under this state of facts I cannot but regard Mr. Leffler as hostile to this road, in which case our delegation cannot support his claim.
"As to Bates and Folsom of Iowa City, we regard them as feeling an equal interest in both roads, both proposing to pass through Iowa City. Under these circumstances what policy does it become us to adopt? Emphatically to select a candidate upon the proposed line of road. Can you not bring forward some man besides Preston? Mr. Boothe and some three or four of our leading men have suggested to me that if Linn county should bring forward G. G. [George Greene], he would get the nomination and be elected by an overwhelming majority. Mr. G. is absent and I know not whether it would suit him if conferred. He is in feeling and interest emphatically a Linn County man, but whether such a proposal would strike him favorably or meet with his sanction are questions which I am unable to solve. I think if sent to Congress he would be a working man and would be very active towards procuring an appropriation for the said road. He feels, as does every Linn county man, a very deep interest in the enterprise. I wish you would give this subject a candid investigation and then write me upon the subject.
"I have been solicited to become a candidate for the Legislature. I have peremptorily declined. I feel no particular aspirations for office. I desire to give my time to the study of the law. You will recollect that I have introduced the name of Mr. Greene to your notice without his knowledge and entirely upon my own responsibility.
"Our families are all well. Mr. Greene has been absent between three and four weeks. Remember me to all friends and believe me, your obedient servant and faithful friend,
WM. H. MERRITT.
"P. S.--Will you be so kind as to inform Wm. Greene that Mr. Bonson is anxiously waiting for that two yoke of oxen, which George contracted with him for. He wants them immediately.
Respectfully yours, "WM. H. MERRITT."
Mr. Merritt was a man of ability and prominent in the democratic party up to the time of his death. As candidate for governor in 1861, against S. J. Kirkwood, with four other candidates claiming to run on the democratic platform, Mr. Merritt received 43,245 votes out of a total vote cast of 108,700. This testifies to Mr. Merritt's popularity among the people of Iowa.
LETTER FROM GEORGE GREENE
"Dubuque, March 3, 1847.
"Dear Durham:
"I find that I cannot without great injury to my business here, leave until next week; but still I am very anxious to see the work go on. If you like my suggestion of finishing Jo's [Joseph Greene] contract first in order to expedite the arrival of the money it will be as well to have Wm. [Greene] send Andrew or some other person out to bring the field notes in. I propose the finishing of Jo's first because it can be done soonest. It will not require so long to plat the work in the S. G.'s office, and it will not interfere with the operations of Mr. Ross, who will take the field at the time, or soon after, you do. He wrote Mr. Wiltse that he should return to the work as soon as the snow decayed sufficient to justify. If any, he has done but very little in the T.s south of the one you have to correct. You may get any one you please to go out in my or Jo's place at our expense. The weather may not suffer you to start out before I come down, which I think will be early next week. You will take my horse, wagon, or anything else of mine that you may need. Mr. Wiltse thinks you had better make all your calculations before going upon the ground. He thinks you can do it more correctly and with a great saving of time and expense.
"If you should consider it necessary you can employ Major McKean to go in our place; though I should think Andrew or some other good hand will do as well. If you should see fit to adopt my plan I will be at Cedar Rapids at the time the notes reach there and will bring them on immediately to Dubuque. Out of the money first received we will of course pay off the balance of the expenses of the surveys. You can show this to Wm. and Jos.
"Yours truly GEO. GREENE.
"S. W. Durham, Esq., "Marion, "Linn Co., "Iowa."
The following is a report of the railroad meeting held at Marion in 1850 in which nearly all the public-spirited men of the city took part:
RAILROAD MEETING, MARION, NOVEMBER 30, 1850
Meeting called to order by appointing P. W. Earle chairman and J. Green, secretary.
On motion of W. Smythe, Esq., Resolved that a committee be appointed to report names of delegates to attend the State Rail Road Convention to be held at Iowa City on the .......... day of December next.
Committee appointed by chair, H. W. Gray, Sausman, Dr. Ely, Hill of Putnam, Ashlock, Griffin, Mills of Marion.
Maj. McKean was called for to address the meeting. He proceeded to do so in an appropriate address.
On motion of Hon. G. Greene, Resolved that the delegates appointed to attend the State Rail Road Convention form themselves into a Rail Road Association and draft articles of said association for the advancement of the Dubuque & Keokuk Rail Road.
The committee appointed to report names of delegates to attend State Convention through H. W. Gray report the names of the following persons as delegates:
T. J. McKean, Hon. G. Greene, Dr. Jacob Williams, W. P. Harman, Esq., Ed. Railsback, Mr. Steadman, E. D. Waln, Freeman Smythe, J. J. Nugent, E. Jordan, Dr. Brice, Col. I. Butler, Robert Robinson, Jas. M. Berry, Isaac Cook, Esq., John C. Berry, A. R. Sausman, N. W. Isbel, Esq., P. W. Earle, Esq., William Smythe, Esq., Dr. J. F. Ely, Dr. Carpenter, Hon. S. W. Durham.
Which report was by substituting the name of H. W. Gray in place of W. Smythe, Esq., adopted.
On motion of I. Cook, Esq., If any fail to attend they appoint a substitute.
On motion of Dr. Carpenter, Resolved that the secretary inform absent delegates of their appointment.
On motion of Hon. G. Greene, Resolved that the delegates shall assemble in a separate convention if they shall deem expedient after the action of the State Convention to advance the interest of the Dubuque & Keokuk Rail Road.
Messrs. Cook, Esq., and Hon. G. Greene being called for, addressed the meeting in appropriate addresses.
On motion the meeting adjourned.
J. GREENE, Secretary.
The getting of a railroad into Cedar Rapids then was the much talked of scheme, and many people believed that this would also end in failure as many other paper railroads had ended before. But the men at the head of this company were men who had a standing in the financial world and were in touch with the big banks of the country. They did not rely on the taxes voted or on empty promises, for if these failed they would still go on with the work. It is needless to add that this company, like all others, got as much tax as possible and changed the location of the route according to the amounts of bonuses offered. When the road entered Cedar Rapids it was the beginning and the end in the long struggle for railroad supremacy in the county, and decided for all times the supremacy of the river city over the county seat. The latter without a railway could do nothing more than sit down and wait till such a time as some company saw fit to extend a line across the state through other points.
For the air line known as the Iowa Central Air Line, the citizens of Linn county voted in June, 1853, the sum of $200,000 to aid in the construction of the road. In 1856 congress voted a grant of land to the state of Iowa to aid in the construction of four roads across it, including one on the line of this company. The legislature in extra session conferred the land on this road in case it was completed. A contract was let to a New York concern to complete the road to Marion, a distance of eighty miles. On account of the financial crash in 1857 the contractors failed to raise the money and to go on with the work. While the people were sore over this failure another company began building from Clinton west and had completed forty miles during the year 1858. It came as far as Lisbon by the end of this year, and this was the first railroad station within the borders of Linn county.
The Dubuque and Southwestern was extended through to Cedar Rapids in 1865, just six years after the Northwestern road had laid its track to the river and had trains running. This caused Cedar Rapids to become at that early day a sort of railway center, and opened up a new territory towards Dubuque. It was not a success financially till it was absorbed by the Milwaukee road in May, 1878.
The following letter from one of the first employes will be of interest in this connection:
"Lamar, Mo., Sept. 5, 1910.
"The Dubuque and Southwestern track was laid to Springville in the year 1859 or 1860. Mr. Jessup was president, and J. P. Farley, superintendent and manager. Mr. McConnell was road master. He owned a farm near Langworthy. I remember the first regular train was composed of one mail, express and baggage car combined, and one flat-top coach. The engine pulling the string was named 'Prairie King,' a little 14 by 16 or 18 inch cylinder. The track was laid with about 50 pound English T rail. The road had at this time three engines besides the 'Prairie King,' viz: the 'Prairie Queen,' still smaller than the King, the 'Anamosa,' and the 'Monticello,' which was of the Rogers make of engines, the other three being of Mason manufacture. The conductor, Archie Cox, engineer, Ace Owens, and Baggagemaster Watson came to our house for supper and boarded with our folks until they could get accommodations at the Bruce house, and I went the next day on the train as the first newsboy. I was still newsboy when Vicksburg was taken. I then went to the army and stayed until after the war closed. I went on the road again after the war as fireman, brakeman, and baggageman. About 1870 I was promoted to conductor and stayed with the company until 1875. After Archie Cox quit the road Frank Farley took his place, and when the road was extended to Cedar Rapids, two or three years later, they put another train on, one leaving Cedar Rapids in the morning and one leaving Farley Junction in the morning. After they put on the second train Charley Farley was conductor of that train and George Farley was agent at the station at Cedar Rapids. Pat Cunningham was roadmaster for several years, and James Rollo was master mechanic and engineer for ten or twelve years. Our first stock cars were flat cars and when we got an order for a stock car we would take a flat car to the shop and put stakes and slats on in order to hold the stock while in transit.
C. H. BRANCH."
One of the most important occurrences in the county was when on June 15, 1859, the first railroad made its entrance into Cedar Rapids and once and for all made the town the chief city in this part of the state.
This was accomplished after many failures and after much money had been expended for surveys and in other ways. The following from men still living, who remember the affair, will give the reader an idea as to how jubilant all were on the day of this celebration:
George C. Haman was at that time running a drug store at about the same location he has now. The corner of First avenue and First street was then occupied by what was called Greene's hotel, and Mr. Haman occupied a store room in the south side of the building. He remembers distinctly the big celebration held in honor of the first train to arrive.
Mr. Haman said, as near as he could remember, that the town of Cedar Rapids had a population of about 1,500 people at that time and a big celebration was inaugurated and carried out. People from the surrounding country came to town to see the train come in, and the Indians on the reservation at Tama almost turned out enmasse to see the great piece of machinery that they had heard so much about but had never seen. The day was a great holiday, much of the regular business being suspended and the people turned out in their best clothes to celebrate what was to them the greatest day in the history of the city.
The train pulled into the city to the tune of hundreds of voices, that contained but little harmony but plenty of volume. Arms, hats and handkerchiefs were waved in accompaniment, displaying a due appreciation for the beginning of what was to make Cedar Rapids the beautiful and prosperous city that it is. A railroad was what was needed and it was now theirs.
The terminal of the road was about where the packing house is now located, and it was a couple of years before an extension was made, the track being laid as far as the location of the cereal mills, which at that time was an enterprise yet to come.
Mr. Haman says that one incident is fixed indelibly on his memory, and that was the big dance that was held that night. He was obliged to remain at the store during the day and did not get to see the train come in, but he attended the dance which continued until sunrise the next morning. He was a single man and as was the custom had his lady friend with him and was obliged to send her home in an omnibus, the then prevailing means of transportation about the city, as it was time to open the store and he did not have time to accompany her home. The dance was held in what was known as Daniels hall, located where the Masonic Temple now stands.
Another who has recollections of the great event is Emery Brown and it was in conversation between Mr. Haman and Emery Brown that these facts were collected. The road was extended to Cedar Rapids from Clinton, where connection was made to Chicago. There was no bridge across the Mississippi river at that time and the trains were ferried across the river by means of a large, flat ferry boat.
In order to secure the railroad the town was obliged to give $100,000 to the railroad company. Stock was issued in payment. James L. Bever was another man in business here at that time and he made it a point to purchase all this city stock he could, which proved to be to his advantage. The road was later leased by the Northwestern and finally purchased.
With reference to this road a Linn county biography offers the following:
"The organization under which this line came into Cedar Rapids was the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad company, which was organized at Clinton in January, 1856. There were several railroad prospects about this time formulating in Clinton, or in places having a close proximity to the Mississippi. Finally all the railroad enterprises extending westward from the river united in the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska railroad. When that company commenced their operations, it was expected it would have the co-operation of the Galena company. Failing to receive this it pressed forward its work unaided, and by the latter part of 1857 had the track laid as far as the Wapsipinicon river, a distance of thirty-six miles. In July, 1858, it was laid as far as Clarence, Cedar county, and in December, the same year, the road was completed to Lisbon, sixty-four miles from Clinton. The following June (1859) the locomotive steamed into Cedar Rapids, a distance of eighty-two miles from the Mississippi. There was great rejoicing here and the event was duly celebrated.
"It was a most important event to Cedar Rapids for it was the termination of a struggle for railroad supremacy in the county.
"In 1862 the road was leased to the Chicago and Northwestern company, and before the lease expired it had secured control of it. Work was resumed on the extension (for which the Cedar Rapids and Missouri Railroad company was organized), and pushed with vigor. It was completed across the great state of Iowa to Council Bluffs in 1867, where it made connections with the Union Pacific."
Chapter IX
The Old Settlers' Association
A vigorous Old Settlers' Association has been maintained for several years, the meeting being held at Marion. Following are lists of the officers since its beginning in 1891 to date, of the members and the death roll:
OFFICERS
1891
Chas. Weare, president, Cedar Rapids J. C. Davis, secretary, Marion A. J. McKean, treasurer, Marion
1892
I. P. Bowdish, president, Waubeek J. C. Davis, secretary, Marion A. J. McKean, treasurer, Marion
1893
Wm. Cook, president, Marion J. C. Davis, secretary, Marion A. J. McKean, treasurer, Marion
1894
Wm. Cook, president, Marion J. C. Davis, secretary, Marion A. J. McKean, treasurer, Marion
1895
Robert Ellis, President, Cedar Rapids J. C. Davis, secretary, Marion A. J. McKean, treasurer, Marion
1896
J. S. Butler, president, Springville J. C. Davis, secretary, Marion A. J. McKean, treasurer, Marion
1897
John Lanning, president, Lafayette Z. V. Elsberry, secretary, Marion A. J. McKean, treasurer, Marion
1898
John J. Daniels, president, Bertram J. C. Davis, secretary, Marion E. A. Vaughn, treasurer, Marion
1899
John Ashlock, president, Center Point Z. V. Elsberry, secretary, Marion E. A. Vaughn, treasurer, Marion
1900
E. A. Vaughn, president, Marion Z. V. Elsberry, secretary, Marion James Oxley, treasurer, Marion
1901
M. P. Smith, president, Cedar Rapids John Cone, secretary, Marion James Oxley, treasurer, Marion
1902
Chas. Kepler, president, Mt. Vernon Fred Knowlton, secretary, Marion James Oxley, treasurer, Marion
1903
P. G. Henderson, president, Central C'y Jas. W. Bowman, sec. and treas., Marion
1904
J. C. Davis, president, Marion M. W. Courtney, sec. and treas., Marion
1905
J. C. Davis, president, Marion M. W. Courtney, sec. and treas., Marion
1906
M. P. Smith, president, Cedar Rapids J. C. Davis, sec. and treas., Marion
1907
A. B. Dumont, president, Marion J. C. Davis, sec. and treas., Marion
1908
Garry Treat, president, Marion J. C. Davis, sec. and treas., Marion Ben R. Reichard, acting sec, Marion
1909
A. M. Secrist, president, Marion T. J. Davis, sec. and treas., Marion
1910
Alex Torrance, president, Springville F. J. Cleveland, sec. and treas., Marion
1911
Marshall Oxley, president, Marion F. J. Cleveland, sec. and treas., Marion
MEMBERS
Names preceded by a star note those who have died since joining the association.
1837
*Crow, Edward M., Anamosa Ellison, Mary, Mt. Vernon *Hahn, Daniel S., Mt. Vernon McKee, Daniel, Kenwood
1838
Clark, Edwin, Marion *Clark, Luther, Mt. Vernon *Clark, David, Martelle Elson, Melissa T., Marion Ellis, Robert, Cedar Rapids *McKean, A. J., Marion McCoy, J. F., Center Point McManus, Jennie, Springville White, Rebecca, Bertram
1839
Baker, Mary J., Cedar Rapids Barber, Orpha, Marion *Beall, Dorcas, Marion *Beeler, Fred, Marion *Beeler, Nancy, Marion Beeler, Sarah, Marion Brockman, Rizpah L., Marion *Bromwell, J. E., Sr., Marion *Busenbark, Agnes, Mt. Vernon Barret, Amelia, Waubeek *Brown, Horace N., Springville *Brown, Mrs. H. N., Springville *Burge, Jeremiah, Mt. Vernon Corbley, Sarah, Paralta Carroll, I. W., Cedar Rapids *Carroll, Geo. R., Cedar Rapids *Clark, Ormus, Marion *Cone, Byron, Marion Cone, Geo. W., Marion *Cone, Oliver B., Marion Cronk, Amy, Robins *Dill, Thomas, Ely *Gray, G. A., Marion *Hare, Thomas, Marion *Higgins, Anna E., Central City Hogland, Francis, Center Point Ives, Elihu, Marion *Ives, John, Marion *Kramer, Andrew, Marion Kramer, Isaac, Marion Kramer, Lewis, Marion Kramer, Wm. D., Cedar Rapids *Lewis, L. D., Mt. Vernon *Lewis, Thomas, Palo *Lucore, Sarah A., Marion *Lutz, Ann M., Marion *Lutz, Barnette, Cedar Rapids *Manley, Nancy, Linn County Martin, Giles R., Marion Martin, James A., Jesup *McElhinney, Robert, Lisbon Mentzer, Charlotte I., Marion *Oliphant, Edward, Center Point *Patterson, Geo. A., Marion *Perkins, Geo. C. Anamosa Railsback, John, Palo *Strong, Christena L., Kenwood Park Torrence, Caroline N., Cedar Rapids *Usher, Dyer, Covington Usher, Henry A., Covington Usher, Hiram, Covington Usher, Rosanna, Covington *Webber, Sarah, Lisbon White, L. C., Alburnette *Wilson, Ira G., Marion *Yeisley, Geo., Mt. Vernon Yeisley, Oliver, Mt. Vernon
1840
Anderson, James C., Bertram Ashlock, John M., Center Point *Bardwell, T. S., Marion Boxley, Jno. S., Cedar Rapids *Bishop, J. H., Springville *Brazelton, Samuel C., Coggon *Butler, J. S., Springville Butler, Mrs. J. S., Springville *Carnegy, John, Marion Clark, Barbary E., Mt. Vernon *Clark, Oliver, Mt. Vernon *Darr, Mary Jane, Cedar Rapids *Dodd, Silas W., Randolph Dodd, C. M., Randolph Dunlap, A. T., Springville *Durham, Samuel W., Marion *Gray, John W., Marion *Gray, Richard, Marion Gray, W. W., Marion *Hagerman, Mrs. A., Toddville Hemphill, Rachel, Alice *Ives, Hannah, Marion Jordan, Mrs. L. E., Kenwood McBride, Kenwood *McElhinney, Clara, Lisbon McKinney, Mose E., Waubeek McIntyre, Elizabeth, Lisbon McDonald, Mrs. M. H., Cedar Rapids Oliphant, John, Toddville Osborn, John H., Center Point *Oxley, Joseph M., Marion *Patterson, Wm. J., Cedar Rapids *Reynolds, Nathan, Marion *Smyth, Robert, Mt. Vernon Speake, J. B., Walker *Squires, Milton, Center Point Stambaugh, Rachel, Bertram Stewart, Mrs. M. M., Cedar Rapids Thomas, Richard, Marion Thompson, Samuel D., Marion *Thompson, Lucretia, Marion Williams, Mary J., Marion
1841
Bardwell, Eliza A., Marion *Beall, Jeremiah, Marion Clark, Cyrial H., Central City *Cone, John, Marion Courtney, Joel M., Marion Doty, Elias, Bertram Dutton, Louisa, Marion *Durham, Mrs. E., Marion Elson, Mrs. Andrew, Fairfax Glover, Mary, Marion *Gray, Mrs. Emeline, Marion Harvey, Edna A., Marion *Hemphill, Johnson, Alice Hemphill, N., Alice *Hunter, J. G., Cedar Rapids Kearns, Catherine, Springville Larrabee, W., Kenwood Listebarger, Maria, Cedar Rapids McQueen, J. C., Prairieburg McKee, Sarah, Kenwood *Mentzer, Joseph, Tacoma, Wash. *Oxley, Albert, Marion Oxley, James, Marion Plumley, Susan, Waubeek Pletcher, Catherine, Robins Pletcher, Catherine, Marion Preston, Edmond C., Cedar Rapids Preston, J. H., Cedar Rapids *Rhoten, Sarah J., Viola Richards, Daniel, Palo *Richardson, D. M., Mt. Vernon *Ristine, Henry, Cedar Rapids Snyder, Mary B., Cedar Rapids *Ure, William, Fairfax *Vaughn, E. A., Marion *Waln, E. D., Mt. Vernon *Waln, Mary J., Mt. Vernon Ward, George, Center Point Willard, Mrs. L. L., Center Point
1842
Alexander, J. S., Marion Bardwell, L. P., Mt. Auburn, Cal. Blackmar, Mrs. E. E., Marion *Brockman, James A., Marion Brockman, J. L., Missouri *Cheadle, Dean, Marion Combs, Wm. H., Cedar Rapids *Combs, Harriet F., Cedar Rapids Gillilan, N. C., Central City *Goudy, J. C., Mt. Vernon *Goudy, W. H., Mt. Vernon *Greer, John M., Marion *Greer, Mary, Marion Grove, Jennie R., Mt. Vernon *Harmon, Peter D., Cedar Rapids Harmon, Speare, Bertram *Higley, M. A., Cedar Rapids *Higley, W. W., Cedar Rapids Hollenbeck, C. W., Cedar Rapids Holmes, Geo. W., Cedar Rapids Holmes, Mrs. Eliza, Marion Howard, Matilda, Cedar Rapids *Hunter, John, Marion *Hunter, William, Cedar Rapids Irish, Mary, Springville King, Rebecca, Marion Knapp, G. W., Bertram McDowell, Catherine, Cedar Rapids *McCall, David, Martelle *Parks, Mrs. L., Cedar Rapids Powers, Eliza J., Elmont *Reinheimer, Valentine, Marion Robins, John W., Robins Williams, Mary J., Cedar Rapids
Winter, Clarissa D., Marion *Woodcox, Newman, Mt. Vernon
1843
*Breed, R. A., Martelle Daniels, Mary A., Marion Fleming, Sarah E., Alburnett *Fuhrmeister, A. J., Ely Gray, W. O., Jewel City, Kan. Hall, Oliver S., Marion Haas, Wm., Central City *Hollan, Samuel, Cedar Rapids Hollan, Susan, Cedar Rapids *Howard, Paine, Cedar Rapids *John, Mrs. L. J., Mt. Vernon Kemp, Zenophon, Marion *Knapp, John F., Bertram *Lillie, Eulalia L., Marion Mann, Alva, Paralta McKinnie, Lovina, Waubeek Metcalf, H. S., Cedar Rapids Morrison, J. B., Cedar Rapids Parkhurst, Mrs. L. K., Marion Peet, W. R., Viola Rench, Melinda, Center Point Snyder, Sarah A., Bertram
1844
Anderson, Mary E., Palo Birch, Victoria A., Marion Clark, Geo., Covington Clarke, George, Cedar Rapids Combs, Mrs. H. E., Cedar Rapids Cone, Caroline, Marion Cooper, Mrs. Chloe, Marion *Cordes, Mrs. C., Mt. Vernon *Daniels, John J., Bertram *Emmons, Emeline, Bertram Gray, James M., Marion *Harris, Wm. M., Marion Hoffman, John, Lisbon *Johnson, John, Mt. Vernon *Jordan, Chandler, Waubeek Kepler, Chas. W., Mt. Vernon *Kepler, Conrad, Mt. Vernon *Kepler, John W., Mt. Vernon Kershner, F., Ely Knapp, Asa P., Cedar Rapids Lacock, Mrs. C. A., Mt. Vernon Miller, C. L., Cedar Rapids *Oxley, James M., Springville Penrose, Lewis, Shellsburg *Pisel, Susanna, Marion Porter, Mrs. R. H., Robins Robertson, P. P., Marion Secrist, Mrs. A. M., Marion Snyder, Sarah A., Bertram Stinger, F. B., Marion *Stinger, Philip, Mt. Vernon Thompson, W. C., Marion Waterhouse, M. J., Coggon
1845
*Becker, Francis, Marion *Beckner, Elizabeth, Marion *Beckner, John, Marion Beckner, Miss Rebecca, Marion *Beall, Elizabeth, Marion *Beall, Sarah J., Cedar Rapids Bice, Mary C., Troy Mills *Black, Isaac, Marion Courtney, Mary A., Marion *Cooper, Joseph, Marion Cooper, Polly P., Marion Cumberland, M. E., Alice *Dumont, A. B., Marion *Dumont, Julia A., Marion Fernow, Ann, Marion *Glass, John P., Cedar Rapids Gray, Sarah M., Marion Hale, Mary S., Cedar Rapids Howard, William, Cedar Rapids Hopkins, A. C., Cedar Rapids Heaton, Peter A., Central City *Leffingwell, Mrs. B., Marion Marshall, L. S., Central City Marshall, Warren S., Central City McKean, Sarah P., Marion McLaughlin, Cassa, Marion *McShane, John, Springville Murphy, M. F., Cedar Rapids Nott, Lydia L., Marion *Nuckolls, Susanna, Viola *Ovington, T. S., Marion Ovington, Mrs. T. S., Marion Oxley, Sarah, Marion *Paul, Alexander, Marion Paul, George, Springville Perry, Sarah E., Central City Pugh, John, Troy Mills *Robins, Isabella, Marion Smith, Mary A., Cedar Rapids *Stone, Sarah J., Springville *Stone, Zephny, Springville Wightman, Joanna, Marion
1846
*Albaugh, Daniel, Robins Alexander, Lenora, Marion Baker, Elmira, Marion Beeler, J. M., Marion *Bigger, Francis, Marion *Clark, Sabra G., Mt. Vernon Coffits, John, Cedar Rapids *Daniels, Martha R., Bertram *Daniels, Preston, Marion Daniels, Samuel, Marion Gillette, Charles A., Lisbon *Gott, Willis S., Marion *Guzzle, Daniel, Marion Hein, A. A., Marion Harman, Warren, Cedar Rapids Hart, Geo. B., Viola Hayes, Mrs. L. C., Marion Hayes, J. B., Marion Huffman, James M., Marion Jordan, Geo. L., Springville Keenan, H. G., Marion Martin, Sarah, Center Point McShane, Frank, Springville Minehart, Mrs. John, Central City Palmer, Mary, Marion Sigworth, Mrs. M. P., Anamosa Smyth, Margaret, Mt. Vernon Starbuck, Laura, Marion Stentz, Esther, Paralta *Thomas, James, Lafayette Wood, Wm. W., Viola
1847
Ackley, DeWitt C., Viola Bascom, Lizzie, Lisbon Bennets, Susan, Paralta *Brenneman, A., Marion *Charles, J. F., Cedar Rapids Dicken, Isaac, Toddville *Ely, John F., Cedar Rapids Floyd, Elizabeth, Lisbon *Gillilan, Elizabeth, Viola *Hoover, Jonathan, Lisbon Hershey, Henry, Lafayette Hurshey, Margaret, Viola *Johnson, S. S., Cedar Rapids Keithley, J. W., Prairieburg Kurtz, C. H., Marion *McManus, Joseph, Palo Miller, Samuel, Robins Moors, Mrs. C., Viola Neidig, Nancy, Mt. Vernon Newton, Geo. W., California Oxley, Perry, Marion Perkins, Elizabeth, Anamosa Ristine, John M., Cedar Rapids Ringer, B. H., Lisbon Shields, Mattie E., Cedar Rapids *Stewart, Wm., Cedar Rapids *Stone, J. D., Springville Torrance, Alexander, Springville *Wickham, S. J., Troy Mills Wickham, Mrs. S. J., Troy Mills
1848
*Adams, Fannie, Lafayette Blair, Elizabeth, Cedar Rapids Blessing, Wm., Cedar Rapids *Busenbark, John, Marion Burch, Leroy, Cedar Rapids Burch, Mrs. M. V., Cedar Rapids Cook, Letita, Marion Cone, Mrs. John, Marion Clark, W. O., Mt. Vernon *Glass, I. O., Cedar Rapids *Gray, Mattie Jane, Marion *Granger, Amelia, Marion *Howe, Joseph A., Marion Hazzlerigg, Francis, Viola Hemphill, Barbara, Lafayette Hastings, W., Marion Johnson, William, Cedar Rapids *Jones, Harriett, Springville *Jones, Pierson, Springville Kinley, D. R., Marion Kennedy, C. B., Cedar Rapids Klenknecht, Laura, Mt. Vernon Kurtz, D. H., Cedar Rapids Morrison, Louisa, Cedar Rapids McCleary, Margaret, Marion Oxley, Henry C., Marion *Patmore, Mary J., Mt. Vernon Reynolds, Jap, Marion Rickard, W. S., Cedar Rapids Russell, Geo. W., Walker Scott, David, Mt. Vernon Strite, Mary C., Springville *Thomas, Jeremiah, Mt. Vernon *Travis, Daniel, Mt. Vernon *Wallace, D. R., Marion Wallace, John C., Marion *Wilson, John, Marion *Weare, Charles, Cedar Rapids Wilson, Mrs. C. M., Troy Mills
1849
*Anderson, J. S., Cedar Rapids *Bolton, A., Paralta Bryan, Mrs. Louisa, Center Point Clark, Margaret J., Marion *Cooper, Wm., Marion *Dean, Preston S., Marion *Dorwart, David, Cedar Rapids Ford, E. P., Central City *Fullerton, Geo. E., Marion *Gillilan, D. C., Central City Grove, S. N., Marion Hence, Mary, Lafayette Hahn, E., Mt. Vernon James, Mehitable, Viola Jordan, Mrs. E. A., Springville Keyes, A. J., Marion Kyle, Isaac, Mt. Vernon *Kyle, John, Mt. Vernon *Kyle, L. B., Mt. Vernon Langsdale, Wm. I., Center Point Langsdale, Julia A., Center Point *Martin, Almira, St. Paul Milner, Sarah A., Marion Miller, Mrs. C. L., Cedar Rapids McFarland, J. G., Mt. Vernon Null, Mary E., Cedar Rapids *Nugent, J. J., Coggon *Oxley, Wm., Delta, Idaho Parker, Mrs. B. F., Cedar Rapids Quass, Barbara, Cedar Rapids Quass, Godfried, Cedar Rapids Shanklin, Mary A., Viola Swan, John P., Marion Taylor, John, Toddville Taylor, M. V., Marion *Vannote, B., Cedar Rapids White, Elizabeth, Springville *White, Hosea, Springville *Wickham, B. P., Marion Wilson, Mrs. Eva, Marion
1850
*Andrews, C. C., Marion *Andrews, Geo. H., Coggon *Alderman, E. B., Riverside, Calif. Beall, Mrs. James M., Cedar Rapids Beall, Wm. E., Marion *Blessing, Henry, Lisbon Biggs, E. W., Marion *Booze, Geo., Robins *Brown, John, Central City Bressler, A. P., Cedar Rapids *Carbee, John P., Springville Daniels, A. L., Marion Dunn, Amelia, Springville Ellison, Wm. G., Mt. Vernon Enders, Fred, Cedar Rapids Esgate, D. W., Mt. Vernon Evans, Buel, Central City Fitzgerald, Geo., Center Point *Floyd, Martin, Lisbon Furstenmaker, N., Prairieburg *Gardner, Amanda, Marion Goodyear, Anna B., Mt. Vernon Garretson, Mrs. Angela W., Marion *Henderson, Mrs. P. G., Central City Graham, Josiah, Cedar Rapids Holland, I. W., Center Point Hoover, Mary, Lisbon Kramer, Valinda, Marion *Kelsey, J. C., Cedar Rapids Lacock, Nira, Martelle Minehart, John, Central City Oxley, J. T., Marion Piper, Martha A., Cedar Rapids Parmenter, Mrs. Lyda, Marion Reinheimer, Jacob, Marion Rollins, Rachel, Viola Rundall, G. W., Viola Scott, James R., Marion *Smith, C. E., Marion Smith, Daniel, Central City Smith, Joseph, Central City Stewart, J. O., Cedar Rapids Stookey, Mary E., Bertram *Taylor, Ernestine, Marion *Wagner, Wm., Central City *Wilson, Dr. E. D., Troy Mills Wilson, Rebecca J., Lafayette Willard, Mary G., Marion
1851
Arnold, Sarah, Cedar Rapids Baker, J. A., Ely Baker, John, Marion *Barnard, Asher, Springville *Berry, Robert, Bertram *Breed, Ira, Martelle *Breed, C. W., Martelle Carbee, Mrs. J. P., Springville Cardis, Christian, Mt. Vernon Clarke, Caroline, Covington Cook, Mary C., Marion *Cook, Wm., Marion Cumberland, H. C., Alice *Dunlap, John, Springville Evans, James, Paris Fernow, C. G., Marion Finson, Ida, Central City Fitzgerald, Jas. B., Cedar Rapids Fleming, James, Marion Hale, Mary S., Cedar Rapids Hall, Mrs. Ida, Marion Hall, J. J., Cedar Rapids Hazeltine, E. D., Center Point Hendryxson, F. M., Marion Hill, Mrs. A. T., Cedar Rapids Shinn, Joab R., Marion Slife, James, Martelle Smith, Wm. A., Mt. Vernon *Smith, C. G., Springville Smyth, Wm., Cedar Rapids Sprague, Mrs. R. C., Cedar Rapids Stinger, Eliza E., Mt. Vernon Strawn, N. P., Shellsburg Stuart, Geo. W., Cedar Rapids Taylor, Mrs. S. V., Marion *Thompson, H. J., Marion Thompson, Christina, Marion *Torrance, H. F., Mt. Vernon White, John R., Bertram Wilson, R. J., Lafayette Wilson, W. M., Lafayette Wright, George J., Waubeek
1852
*Anderson, G. H., Waubeek Anderson, Gerselda, Waubeek Andrews, Elizabeth, Waubeek Ashlock, G. W., Lafayette Bever, James L., Cedar Rapids *Beechley, Jesse, Mt. Vernon Biggs, E. F., Troy Mills *Bixby, Jesse C., Marion *Black, John, Marion Black, Mrs. John, Marion Bromwell, M. E., Marion Brown, John B., Marion Brown, T. C., Mt. Vernon Brown, F., Prairieburg Burns, Hannah, Robins Buchanan, George, Cedar Rapids *Bunting, Eli, Marion Clark, Francis M., Mt. Vernon Coleman, Martha, Marion Coenen, Sophia, Marion *Cone, Mary A., Marion *Crosby, Alice G., Central City *Dance, L. F., Lafayette *Denny, John Q., Waubeek Denny, Mrs. John Q., Waubeek Dutton, J. Q. A., Marion Evans, Adam, Paris Evans, James, Paris Freeman, John, Paris Gilblaith, John, Fairfax Hall, Mary A., Coggon *Hansell, Hannah, Marion *Hansell, Jos. A., Marion Helbig, F. A., Lafayette Hill, Deborial, Cedar Rapids Hill, James, Cedar Rapids Holloway, John C., Marion Houver, Sadie E., Marion Hogland, P., Center Point Houston, A. P., Coggon *Irish, Joel S., Springville Ives, Lawson L., Marion Keller, John, Cedar Rapids *Kendall, W. J., Marion Lanning, John, Lafayette Legore, John, Cedar Rapids *Legore, James E., Cedar Rapids Leigh, John B., Mt. Vernon Lincoln, Fannie A., Cedar Rapids Listebarger, I. C., Cedar Rapids Listebarger, Maggie, Cedar Rapids McArthur, M. E., Palo *McShane, Jacob, Paralta Miller, Acquilla, Cedar Rapids *Mills, Mahlon, Central City Perkins, Chas. E., Anamosa Paul, Arthur, Springville Pifer, Martha A., Center Point *Reinheimer, Paulina, Marion *Reece, David, Troy Mills Rhoten, John H., Portland Riger, J. C., Lisbon *Rose, R. P., Lisbon Shaver, Margaret, Fairfax Jordan, Geo. E., Marion Knapp, Henry, Bertram Lanning, Margaret J., Lafayette *Long, David P., Paris Mills, Julie L., Central City *Mills, Mrs. Lucy, Central City Manahan, A., Center Point Manahan, Mrs. A., Center Point Maudsley, Mrs. S. M., Cedar Rapids Morse, Mary E., Riverside, Calif. McShane, Geo., Springville Newlin, Geo., Viola *Nott, B. H., Marion Nott, J. H., Marion *Nott, R. H., Marion Oxley, R. S., Marion Oxley, Margaret, Marion Pletcher, Amos, Marion Paul, Mrs. M. J., Springville Post, Geo. W., Viola *Pollock, John, Springville Rhoten, Rilla, Portland, Ore. Rundall, S. W., Marion Shanklin, A. T., Waubeek Shanklin, F. M., Viola Sherwood, Jos. B., Viola Smith, Caroline, Marion
*Smith, Darwin, Marion Smith, Rachel M., Marion Smith, Louisa, Cedar Rapids *Snouffer, J. J., Cedar Rapids Snyder, Marion D., Bertram Tathwell, Josie, Marion Webb, Alice A., Marion Webb, Milas, Marion Webb, Sophia, Marion West, Mrs. J. B., Marion White, Augustus, Cedar Rapids *Whitenack, J. W., Marion Whitenack, Mrs. J., Kenwood Park *Wilson, John, Marion Wilson, Jno. M., Cedar Rapids Young, Lewis, Lisbon
1853
*Anderson, J. S., Cedar Rapids Benedict, L. D., Cedar Rapids Berry, Nancy, Bertram Beechley, N. K., Cedar Rapids *Bishop, Seth, Central City *Bolton, Susan, Paralta Booth, L. G., Marion Breneman, Mrs. S. A., Marion *Brown, W. H., Springville Brown, Mrs. W. H., Springville Bruner, Emma, Cedar Rapids Burt, Mrs. L. W., Cedar Rapids Buttolph, Edwin, Cedar Rapids Calvert, Amanda J., Springville Certain, Wilson, Marion *Cornell, J. D., Springville Cory, Abel L., Marion *Cory, Daniel M., Marion Cory, Samuel E., Cedar Rapids Coulter, John, Cedar Rapids Crawford, Geo. E., Cedar Rapids Crogan, Thomas, Cedar Rapids Crowl, Jacob, Marion Dixon, Mrs. Harriett, Cedar Rapids Evans, Hattie, Central City Fawley, Hannah, Springville Fawley, Samuel, Springville *Fitzgarrald, W. F., Marion Fleming, Julia, Alburnett Floyd, Jacob, Center Point *Forsythe, H. M., Cedar Rapids Forsythe, Mrs. H. M., Cedar Rapids Goudy, Mrs. L. A., Marion Goldsberry, W. N., Central City *Graul, Daniel, Lisbon *Harris, Richard, Marion *Hayden, Z. L., Cedar Rapids *Henderson, J. W., Cedar Rapids Hendrickson, F. M., Center Point Hall, O. S., Marion Hunter, Harriet E., Marion Johnston, Mary, Mt. Vernon *Kearns, John A., Springville Kyle, W. H., Mt. Vernon King, Wm., Cedar Rapids Lamson, Eva, Marion Lathrop, Virgil A., Marion *Lockhart, Robert, Cedar Rapids Lord, Clara, Fairfax Marsh, Harriett, Robins *McAfee, D. T., Marion *Mentz, Michael, Cedar Rapids Mentzer, Samuel, Center Point Metcalf, Mrs. C. P., Cedar Rapids Mohler, Mary S., Lafayette Moreland, John, Central City McCrelles, Z., Central City Myers, W. H., Cedar Rapids Oliphant, Permelia, Toddville Oxley, Marshall, Marion Pennington, J. M., Alburnette Phelps, Sarah B., Covington Rickard, C., Cedar Rapids Ring, W. C., Center Point Schultz, Chas., Marion Scott, T. W., Marion *Smith, John T., Cedar Rapids Smith, Dr. J. H., Cedar Rapids Smyth, Jay J., Marion *Stark, Laurance, Marion *Stentz, Peter A., Springville Stick, Wm., Lafayette Stockberger, John R., Marion Thompson, Wm. G., Marion Thoring, Samuel, Bertram Treat, Mrs. D. J., Marion *Wagner, Geo., Toddville Ware, Mary E., Coggon Weed, Egbert, Marion *White, Crawford, Marion Whitenack, Sarah J., Marion *Wilson, Polly, Marion White, James F., Alburnette White, N. J., Marion Wilson, John H., Marion *Yount, Broxton, Mt. Vernon
1854
Adams, Margaret, Marion *Armstrong, W. B., Marion Austin, Wm. A., Marion Bartleson, J. M., Center Point Bauman, Simon H., Mt. Vernon Bombardner, Mrs. C., Cedar Rapids Beach, B. F., Mt. Vernon Bedell, Elwood T., Springville Bice, Isaac, Troy Mills Bice, James, West Prairie *Bishop, Henry O., Waubeek *Blackmar, Augustus, Marion Blodgett, Simpson, Central City *Braska, Louise, Marion Braska, C. W., Marion *Busby, Geo., Marion Busby, B. C., Marion Butcher, A. P., Paralta Cadwell, Edwin, Cedar Rapids *Cadwell, Mary, Covington Cairns, W. A., Ely *Camburn, J. H., Cedar Rapids Caraway, John S., Bertram Carlin, Geo. W., Cedar Rapids Carpenter, Mary A., Cedar Rapids *Carsner, Mathias, Marion *Conklin, Chauncey, Prairieburg Cornell, Amy, Springville Cory, James, Robins Cutler, Eva G., Central City *Davis, Geo. A., Jr., Central City *Davis, J. C., Marion Davis, Jas. H., Central City Dawley, Darius, Cedar Rapids Dawley, John, Marshalltown *DeWitt, J. V., Martelle Edgerly, Geo. C., Central City Elrod, Jonathan, Marion Ellis, Martha, Cedar Rapids Ellis, Levi, Springville Fay, H. H., Troy Mills Fitzgerrald, Mary A., Cedar Rapids *Floyd, Geo. W., Marion *Ford, B. S., Marion Ford, Margaret, Marion Fowler, S. J., Marion Goodlove, W. H., Marion *Goldsberry, Mrs. A. M., Marion Groll, Geo. F., Marion *Gitchell, Chas. G., Waubeek Heaton, Mary A., Central City Heaton, Olive, Cedar Rapids *Heaton, Samuel, Cedar Rapids Henderson, Henry, Coggon Henderson, P. G., Central City *Hess, Abraham, Marion *Heer, Mary, Marion *Hollis, Elizabeth C., Marion Huston, Chas. A., Waubeek Huston, James M., Waubeek Johnson, Wm., Marion *Jones, Wm., Marion Kaiser, John L., Marion Kennedy, C. B., Marion Kennedy, Mrs. C. B., Marion Kimball, Emma J., Springville Kinkead, Alexander, Springville *Kleinknecht, Geo., Mt. Vernon Klumph, V. G., Marion Knowlton, Fred, Seattle, Wash. Knickerbocker, W. B., Cedar Rapids *Lacock, Joab, Mt. Vernon Lacock, Wm. A., Martelle *Lillie, Mary, Marion Lord, Clara, Fairfax Lord, Lydia, Cedar Rapids Lord, Robert, Cedar Rapids Lutz, John E., Kenwood Manson, Dwight, Marion *Marshall, S. H., Viola *Marshall, Mrs. S. H., Viola *Martin, F. M., Center Point Mason, Edwin R., Marion McIntyre, Z., Mound City, Kans. McKay, John M., Cedar Rapids *McFarlin, J. J., Mt. Vernon McLord, Maggie, Central City Melton, Nancy, Marion Melton, P. T., Marion *Moody, Philip, Cedar Rapids Mentzer, B. F., Marion Mentzer, Mrs. B. F., Marion *Mentzer, C. C., Marion Miles, L. W., Marion *Miles, Geo., Robins Moles, Robert M., Paris *Myers, J. V., Mt. Vernon Neff, M. K., Mt. Vernon Nye, John W., Cedar Rapids Odell, Lewis H., Mt. Vernon Oxley, Mrs. H. C., Marion Palmer, H. G., Marion Parr, Geo., Cedar Rapids *Pearson, Geo., Springville Pearson, Hanna K., Springville Pearson, Mary, Springville Pearson, O. J., Springville *Pearson, Thomas, Springville *Pearson, Wm., Springville Pearson, Margaret A., Viola *Penn, Rebecca T., Viola Penn, R. R., Viola *Penn, S. J., Central City Penn, Wm. B., Central City Platner, Henry C., Mt. Vernon Plumly, Chas. O., Waubeek *Reece, Henry, Troy Mills Reece, Lucia, Troy Mills Rhoten, Chas. W., Viola Rich, Allie, Marion *Richard, D. H., Cedar Rapids Riley, Allie, Marion *Ross, James G., Marion *Reynolds, J. W., Center Point Rogers, Mary C., Cedar Rapids Runkle, Abraham, Lisbon Runkle, A. J., Cedar Rapids *Samson, E. L., Marion *Samson, Catherine, Marion *Scott, J. B., Marion *Scott, Mary E., Marion Secrist, Alice, Marion *Simpson, S., Marion Sawyer, Ebner, Central City Sheets, Geo. W., Palo Smith, John, Cedar Rapids Smith, S. G., Cedar Rapids Swollom, M., Solon Snyder, Elias, Cedar Rapids Snyder, Michael, Mt. Vernon *Snyder, Thos. G., Robins Stentz, Peter, Paralta *Staddon, James, Marion Stratford, John, Palo Strite, Levi, Anamosa *Stowe, Leonard, Marion Swan, Emma, Marion Taylor, D. C., Central City *Thomas, O. E., Cedar Rapids Treat, Garry, Marion *Vance, Willis, Cedar Rapids Walser, John, Marion Weeks, W. H., Coggon Whitcomb, Mary E., Marion Withers, Caroline, Marion *Williams, Mrs. M. C., Marion Wilson, Thomas R., Waterloo *Wiggin, Geo. W., Waubeek *Wink, Samuel, Lisbon Wilson, Wm., Lafayette Winsor, James R., Walker *Yearick, Dr. S. W., Cedar Rapids
1855
Adams, A., Lafayette Adams, Hudson, Marion *Ashlock, Geo. W., Center Point Ashlock, J. M., Center Point Ashlock, Margaret J., Center Point Basset, Thomas, Cedar Rapids Beall, Della N., Marion *Becks, John, Marion *Beatty, Andrew, Mt. Vernon Bever, Rachel F., Viola Beechley, N. K., Cedar Rapids Biggs, E. J., Troy Mills Bigsby, Mary A., Marion Black, Mrs. John, Marion Blodgett, Austin, Central City Blodgett, Maria L., Central City Blodgett, Sarah F., Waubeek Bowdish, Sarah F., Waubeek Brown, W. L., Viola *Buck, Daniel, Cedar Rapids Burchell, Sarah M., Marion *Burtis, Wm., Marion Burroughs, N. E., Marion Busenbark, Alfred, Marion *Burtis, Elizabeth B., Paris *Bumgardner, Geo., Cedar Rapids Cain, Sallie, Palo Cain, S. W., Palo Chambers, Mrs. J. M., Cedar Rapids *Collin, Henry A., Mt. Vernon Cone, Sarah E., Marion *Cook, Geo., Marion Cook, Mrs. Geo., Marion Crosby, A. T., Central City Davis, L. L., Cedar Rapids Davis, Minnie C., Marion Dean, Rachel M., Marion *Dix, A. W., Coggon *Dix, Sylvanus, Coggon *Dunn, Pheobe C., Marion *Dunn, Wm., Marion *Elrod, Kate, Marion *Ellsberry, Z. V., Marion Emmons, Wm., Marion *Elrod, F. M., Bertram Evans, Adam, Paris Evans, E. H., Marion *Fairchilds, J. H., Coggon Finson, Lee R., Central City Ford, Frank, Central City Glover, Agnes, Marion Glover, Wm. C., Marion *Granger, Earl, Marion *Gray, Martha J., Marion Grant, John, Marion Gray, S. E., Marion Goodyear, A. E., Mt. Vernon *Hahn, Elias S., Lisbon *Harkness, Margaret, Marion Hale, E. S., Cedar Rapids *Hale, Josiah, Cedar Rapids Hale, John P., Cedar Rapids *Hawk, John, Marion Helbig, Fred A., Lafayette Hayden, Elma Jane, Bertram Henry, Lizzie, Robins *Houver, Sadie C., Marion Hunter, W. H., Cedar Rapids Inks, Mrs. L. A., Mt. Vernon Inks, M. L., Mt. Vernon Ives, John J., Marion *Jackson, J. W., Springville Jeffries, A., Troy Mills Jeffries, Elizabeth, Troy Mills Johnson, James, Cedar Rapids Kearn, Joseph, Marion Kettering, A., Marion Kinkead, Geo., Springville Kinkead, Mary J., Springville Knapp, Henry J., Bertram Lewis, T. J., Cedar Rapids Lamson, Wm. H., Marion Lewis, Chas., Orange City Lilly, Joseph, Cedar Rapids Marshall, Lucretia, Central City Martin, Rilla H., Troy Mills Martin, Thos. C., Robins Mason, F. P., Toddville McFarland, Wm., Mt. Vernon McDowle, W. K., Cedar Rapids McKean, Allen B., Marion Milner, Wm. T., Marion Mills, Sylvester N., Marion Mitchell, Mrs. Eliza, Marion Moorhead, James, Marion *Moorhead, Joseph, Marion *Myers, John A., Lisbon Morrow, L. E., Marion Newlin, Geo., Viola Neff, A. G., Mt. Vernon North, G., Mt. Vernon *Oakley, M. M., Marion Oakley, Susan M., Marion Oxley, John C., Troy Mills Oxley, Marguerite, Marion *Parmenter, M., Marion Parmenter, S. A., Marion Paul, Mrs. Alex, Marion Patmore, Henry, Marion *Pfeiffer, Christopher, Marion Potter, Mary A., Marion Petty, Chas. H., Mt. Vernon Porter, H. G., Central City Potter, Charlotte, Walker Potter, J. B., Marion Ray, John H., Palo Robins, J. D., Robins Rogers, Mary C., Cedar Rapids Schafer, Jacob, Fairfax Schultz, Henry, Marion Sisam, Henry, Walker Smith, Martha G., Cedar Rapids Smith, Milo P., Cedar Rapids Smith, Rebecca, Central City *Smith, Robert, Mt. Vernon Smyth, Robert, Marion *Snyder, A., Center Point Stark, Andrew, Cedar Rapids Stark, Mary, Cedar Rapids *Stephens, Louisa, Chicago *Stookey, Levi S., Marion *Sutzin, Elizabeth, Marion *Sutzin, Henry, Marion Tordoff, Geo., Marion *Tomlinson, Joe, Cedar Rapids Van Fossen, J. R., Marion *Vosburg, Eva, Marion Ware, E. L., Coggon Webb, Alice A., Marion Whitcomb, Calvin, Marion *Whitenack, Joseph, Marion Whitenack, Mary J., Marion *Whitney, Joseph, Prairieburg Wiggins, James, Waubeek *Wilson, John, Marion Wilson, L. L., Center Point *Willis, A. L., Coggon *Winsor, F. E., Marion Winter, Stillman L., Marion Winans, H. W., Springville *Yost, C. A., Center Point Yost, F. M., Center Point Young, Louis, Minneapolis Young, Mrs. J. B., Minneapolis *Young, S. K., Mt. Vernon *Yuill, James, Cedar Rapids
1856
*Alexander, Anna A., Marion *Ayers, Lyman M., Cedar Rapids *Allen, M. B., Marion Bailey, Anna C., Springville Barrett, T. M., Waubeek Barry, W. H., Bertram Beach, Lucy, Mt. Vernon Berryhill, Kate M., Marion Bishop, Louise, Waubeek Blackford, John, Marion Boudinot, E. V., Western College *Bowman, Benjamin, Marion Bowman, Eliza, Marion Bowdish, I. P., Waubeek Bowdish, J. W., Des Moines Bowdish, Sarah A., Waubeek
Bowdish, S. L., Waubeek Bowdish, S. L., Central City Booze, Leander, Cedar Rapids Brown, R. C., Marion Brock, R. G., Cedar Rapids Brundt, Rosalia, Waubeek Bunting, M. E., Marion Bunting, C., Marion Busby, Cora C., Marion *Byram, Seth, Paris Cottle, Eliza, Marion *Cronk, J. T., Marion *Davis, Wm. C., Martelle Dawson, Daniel K., Marion *Dingman, D. A., Cedar Rapids Dripps, Geo., Martelle *Elliott, J. J., Marion Elliott, M. L., Grand Rapids, Mich. Elsberry, Sarah J., Marion *Emberson, Andrew, Marion *Emberson, John, Marion *English, Josie P., Waubeek Etzel, Levi, Alburnette Everhart, S. S., Mt. Vernon Fordyce, C., Cedar Rapids Fordyce, Kate, Cedar Rapids Gibson, B. W., Marion Gibson, James, Springville *Gibson, J. K., Marion *Gibson, Lewis, Marion *Gill, Jacob A., Marion *Gilchrist, C., Walker *Giffen, James D., Marion *Giffen, Thomas M., Marion *Giffen, Wm. M., Central City Gooley, Mrs. F. E., Central City *Grauel, John, Marion Halstead, W. C., Prairieburg Harvey, Mrs. A., Cedar Rapids *Hatch, E. K., Central City *Hays, J. D., Palo Hoentz, Philip, Marion Howe, M. W., Marion Huffman, James M., Marion *Huffman, Mrs. J. M., Marion Johnson, O. S., Springville Jones, Mrs. L. E., Marion Jones, Mrs. M. B., Marion Knickerbocker, E. H., Fairfax Kerns, Valentine, Paralta *Kettering, J. H., Lisbon *Kinkead, James, Springville Kelsey, H. M., Cedar Rapids *Kirkpatrick, James, Mt. Vernon Kramer, W. S., Marion Lake, Mrs. E., Marion Leonard, John, Kenwood *Lapham, H. M., Cedar Rapids Lentz, Lucia A., Cedar Rapids Lillie, Ida L., Marion Lord, Thomas, Fairfax *Lyons, Amos, Alburnette *Mack, Mrs. W. B., Cedar Rapids Maier, Jacob, Lafayette *Marshall, Alex S., Marion Martin, Electa, Marion Mason, Mary E., Marion *Mathes, Anna, Marion *Mathes, Ben, Marion McCalley, Luncinda, Marion *McConahy, F. A., Marion McCalley, Marshall, Marion McKean, E. W., Marion McKean, Mrs. General, Marion McKean, Phebe L., Marion *McKeel, A. M., Fairfax *Mefford, Sarah, Cedar Rapids Meeker, Henry, Central City Meeker, Henry R., Central City Miner, Samuel, Cedar Rapids Mobey, F. B., Palo Moles, John D., Central City Moore, C. R., Viola Moore, Wm., Viola Moore, Wm. K., Springville Nash, Isaac, Springville Newlin, H. N., Viola *Needles, Geo. H., Kenwood *Null, J. M., Cedar Rapids *Owen, Luther P., Marion Owen, Rachel, Waubeek Parkhurst, Mary E., Marion Perkins, Mary C., Marion Pearson, L. H., Viola Pherrin, M. C., Springville Pherrin, Will H., Springville Platner, Henry C., Mt. Vernon Plummer, Talbert, Marion Post, M. C., Viola *Rahn, B. G., Marion *Rahn, Rebecca, Marion *Rathbun, Nelson, Marion Reichard, Ben R., Marion *Reichard, J. G., Marion Richard, Emma T., Cedar Rapids Robertson, Frank B., Viola *Rogers, W. H., Covington *Runkle, Adam, Lisbon Sanborn, J. W., Center Point *Schrimper, Fred, Cedar Rapids Schadle, Jacob, Springville Schadle, Mrs. Jacob, Springville Scott, H. A., Marion *Shakespear, A. B., Springville Schantz, Geo. W., Cedar Rapids *Shaver, I. H., Cedar Rapids Smith, A. W., Cedar Rapids Smith, Henry B., Cedar Rapids Spencer, Ellen J., Cedar Rapids Stilson, Luther, Cedar Rapids Stilson, Eleanor, Cedar Rapids Stinger, Harriet, Marion Stinson, E. B., Marion Tanner, T. C., Palo Taylor, E. P., Marion Thomas, James, Marion Thomas, Wm. A., Cedar Rapids Thompson, Augusta, Martelle Thompson, Geo., Mt. Vernon *Thompson, Geo. W., Mt. Vernon Thorn, Wm. A., Cedar Rapids Travis, Mrs. R. J., Marion Usher, J. P., Cedar Rapids *Wallace, Leroy, Cedar Rapids Ware, A. J., Coggon *Waterhouse, Henry S., Coggon Webb, S., Center Point Winsor, H. C., Walker Wright, Charles, Paralta Wynn, Geo. W., Cedar Rapids Wood, Chas. C., Paralta
1857
Atwood, John E., Troy Mills Barrett, Philip, Central City Bennett, Clara Waubeek Berry, Almanda R., Bertram Bowdish, Laura E., Waubeek Burnett, A. C., Alburnett *Carpenter, Nancy M., Marion Davis, A. F., Central City Davis, H. E., Central City Chesmore, Mrs. E. E., Coggon *Gritman, John F., Springville Gritman, J. C., Springville Gritman, Hannah B., Springville Henderson, Hannah, Coggon Henderson, Geo., Cedar Rapids Heller, Chas., Lisbon *Hickey, John, Marion Ingham, E. A., Marion Kirkpatrick, R., Mt. Vernon *Leach, A. P., Marion *Leach, Harriet, Marion Listerbarger, Frank, Marion Lutz, George, Kenwood Manahan, E. G., Kenwood Mentzer, Geo. W., Robins Mentzer, S. W., Robins Mentzer, B. W., Robins Marshall, C. H., Marion Newman, C. R., Cedar Rapids Patterson, U. L., Central City Pearsole, C., Walker Phelps, H. H., Covington Phillips, F. M., Coggon Powers, Mary E., Paris *Rawlins, Samuel, Viola Richards, Mrs. E., Cedar Rapids Robbins, Anna, Martelle *Robinson, John, Marion Rundall, J. C., Viola *Simkins, Allen G., Marion Simkins, James T., Marion Snyder, Jacob, Alburnette *Snyder, Martha, Mt. Vernon Stoneking, J. R., Marion Stoneking, T. C., Marion Ubel, F., Cedar Rapids Vaughn, Elizabeth P., Marion Vaughn, L. P., Marion *Warner, E. A., Waubeek Warner, Laura, Waubeek Webb, Chas., Center Point White, Editha, Marion Whitney, G. F., Prairieburg Withers, Frank B., Marion Williams, T. T., Marion Wilson, DeWitt C., Viola Witter, F. E., Mt. Vernon
1858
Bromwell, J. E., Marion *Brubaker, Hattie A., Cedar Rapids Chrisman, Mary J., Alburnett *Coenen, Joseph, Marion Collin, Alonzo, Mt. Vernon Grauel, Sarah, Marion Gibson, J. W., Marion Good, Henry, Kenwood Kemp, E. L., Marion Lake, C. S., Marion *Love, J. S., Springville *Mack, Walter B., Cedar Rapids *McKean, J. B., Marion Minehart, L. E., Central City Moore, Jos., Cedar Rapids Rudolph, S. L., Cedar Rapids Strite, Mrs. Mary E., Springville Stoneking, M. E., Marion Ware, Milo L., Coggon Whitenack, E. P., Robins
1859
Blakely, I. M., Paris Breed, M., Des Moines Cline, Isaac, Anamosa Fleming, Wm., Alburnett Forest, R. D., Central City Greer, Annetta, Marion *Hood, John B., Waubeek King, Mary A., Cedar Rapids McCorkle, C. A., Toddville Owens, Carl N., Marion *Vanlst, M., Toddville Vanote, M., Toddville Vaughn, Laura, Marion *Wilson, Jas. B., Marion West, I. N., Mt. Vernon Yount, D. W., Marion
1860
Applegate, W. H., Marion Cline, M. M., Olin Cline, E. B., Springville Dows, Col. W. G., Cedar Rapids Everhart, Ida E., Mt. Vernon Johnson, I. V., Marion Knapp, J. W., Marion *Lillie, Geo. A., Marion Mann, Mrs. Alice, Springville Mann, Lucy, Springville Matheny, T., Toddville O'Herron, Mrs. Maggie, Marion Parker, Emma Murray, Marion *Secrist, Chas. V., Marion Seaton, B. F., Marion
1861
*Burns, Abbie, Central City *Burnside, Geo. W., Coggon *Freisinger, D., Marion Garnett, J. C., Marion *Hollis, C. M., Marion Hartley, S. H., Cedar Rapids McDowle, E. E., Cedar Rapids Kinknead, Margaret, Springville Petticord, Sarah, Mt. Vernon Scott, Ed M., Cedar Rapids Secrist, Albert M., Marion *Secrist, Susan B., Marion Tathwell, E. E., Cedar Rapids Thomas, Mary J., Marion Winter, W. S., Marion
1862
Goodlove, Mrs. S., Central City Smith, Mrs. Olive, Marion Torrence, Nellie B., Marion Weis, H. J., Marion Wickham, W. F., Waubeek
1863
Cherry, Jos., Walker Cherry, Susan, Walker Christman, L. B., Springville Daniels, J. F., Cedar Rapids Davis, W. L., Cedar Rapids Deacon, C. J., Cedar Rapids Freer, H. H., Mt. Vernon Gibson, Mary L., Marion Gill, Chas., Marion Hagerman, R. H., Toddville Newland, H. N., Marion Oxley, Mrs. James, Marion *Palmer, Wm. A., Paralta Palmer, E. E., Cedar Rapids Spencer, Chas. H., Cedar Rapids
1864
*Aldrich, Mrs. Hannah, Cedar Rapids Carpenter, Claude, Marion Carpenter, W. B., Marion Doolittle, E., Central City *Dodge, G. F., Fairfax Fernow, Owen S., Marion Fishell, P. H., Marion Garrison, Edwin, Marion Hindman, D. R., Marion *Hindman, Mrs. M. J., Marion Hall, S. M., Cedar Rapids Horton, W. R., Marion Horn, W. R., Cedar Rapids Horn, F. M., Marion Horn, J. W., Cedar Rapids *McClain, W. H., Marion Murray, S. G., Marion Shumack, V. G., Marion Snyder, Geo. L., Marion Travis, Jas. B., Marion Weis, Louis, Marion
1865
Booth, John M., Marion Burns, S. C., Marion Burns, G. W., Marion Burke, Mary, Marion Faulk, Jonathan, Marion Gilmore, David, Marion Horn, Jennie, Cedar Rapids Hunter, Mrs. Samuel, Robins Karmody, Wm., Springville Kearns, Mrs. E. E., Springville Mann, J. H., Marion Perry, W. J., Central City Searls, J. M., Cedar Rapids Searls, Mrs. J. M., Cedar Rapids Savage, Mack, Coggon Starbuck, J. A., Marion Sternberger, Mary, Lisbon *Voss, Christian, Marion Tanner, Addie, Palo Wilson, A. H., Springville White, L. E., Marion Wiltsey, M., Center Point Wiltsey, Mrs. C. V., Center Point
1866
Armstrong, S. G., Cedar Rapids Baird, M. O., Palo Birdsall, C. H., Marion Calder, C. A., Cedar Rapids *Coquillette, A. C., Coggon Good, Jas. W., Cedar Rapids Isaacs, J., Walker Johnson, Adelade L., Marion Johnson, Oliver S., Marion Lessard, Clara A., Heber, Ark. Malone, Mrs. Fannie, Springville McAllister, John, Cedar Rapids *Powers, E. D., Elmont Redmond, John, Cedar Rapids Scott, H. A., Marion Teeters, M. J., Marion Todd, Geo. W., Marion Ward, F. K., Cedar Rapids Ward, Mary E., Cedar Rapids *Weller, W. L., Cedar Rapids Witwer, B. H., Cedar Rapids Wolf, G. P., Cedar Rapids
1867
Anderson, Lew W., Cedar Rapids Cleveland, F. J., Marion Coquillette, A. W., Coggon Graves, J. G., Cedar Rapids Healey, L. M., Cedar Rapids Howard, T. C., Cedar Rapids Kassler, Mrs. Peter, Marion Lopata, Ernest, Mt. Vernon Minor, R. L., Marion Nagle, Jacob, Marion Plummer, Amos, Springville Taylor, H. N., Marion Wing, Martha, Cedar Rapids Yapels, J. C., Sutton, Neb. Yapels, Mrs. R. C., Sutton, Neb.
1868
Foster, E. F., Cedar Rapids Francis, Mrs. P. H., Cedar Rapids Hamilton, J. T., Cedar Rapids Jenkins, Mrs. C. P., Cedar Rapids *Jenkins, L. E., Cedar Rapids Kubias, Frank, Cedar Rapids Michel, J. B., Marion Robinson, J. D., Marion Watt, John R., Cedar Rapids Wild, David, Springville Wild, Mary A., Springville Wenig, Geo. K., Cedar Rapids
1869
*Barnhill, Joseph, Marion Barnhill, Sarah E., Marion Benley, Charity, Viola Biggs, C. W., Marion *Bourne, N. P., Cedar Rapids Clogston, Anna M., Marion *Clogston, T. P., Marion Fernow, F. P., Marion Hart, T. J., Center Point *Rowe, J. D., Marion *Rowe, Mrs. J. D., Marion Sailor, Geo. D., Springville Shellhammer, D. W., Springville
1870
Anderson, John B., Cedar Rapids Donnan, W. J., Cedar Rapids Emerson, C. P., Cedar Rapids Fitzgerald, R. N., Marion Plattenburger, P. L., Lisbon *Powell, J. J., Cedar Rapids Ring, H. C., Marion
1871
Senninger, P. W., Marion Yocum, Edd, Springville
1872
Beck, C. C., Marion Berry, J. C., Fairfax Emmerson, J. W., Cedar Rapids Holsinger, J. B., Marion Maudsley, Mrs. John W., Palo Plummer, Mrs. C. C., Mt. Vernon Parker, Mary E., Marion Reiter, A. J., Marion Rubek, Joseph, Marion Scott, Bently, Marion Scott, Chas. M., Marion Stark, Eliza J., Marion Swem, Edd L., Cedar Rapids
1873
Coenen, Wm., Marion Courtney, Marlin W., Marion Carroll, C. D., Marion Healy, E. T., Cedar Rapids Holmes, Frank, Marion Scott, Sadie J., Marion Johnson, Edward, Cedar Rapids Johnson, Maggie, Cedar Rapids
1875 and Later
*Bach, Mrs. C., Marion Busby, Geo. E., Marion Buzza, Geo., Marion Coenen, Ben, Marion Davis, T. J., Marion Dennis, A. Z., Walker Dennis, Mary L., Walker Gates, Elizabeth, Marion Gates, W. A., Marion Hall, J. E., Marion Jellison, Ernest C., Marion Johnson, M. F., Marion Kassler, Peter, Marion LaGrange, Dr. J. W., Marion Love, Richard, Marion Mercer, B. H., Marion Parker, Edd Jr., Marion Parsons, Effie, Marion Perrin, Ruth G., Springville Rathbun, D. W., Marion Sargeant, D. E., Marion *Sergeant, Harriett M., Marion Sikora, Otto, Cedar Rapids Taylor, Mrs. J. S., Cedar Rapids Unangst, J. H., Marion Vannote, W. A., Cedar Rapids Webber, Thos., Marion White, Mary Alice, Marion
Recent Members Enrolled
Allen, Geo. W., Bertram Bailey, J. M., Marion Burgess, Martin, Marion Busby, Fred K., Marion Canedy, Leroy, Marion Careir, J. E., Marion Clark, P. O., Marion Cunningham, Mrs. F. A., Marion Daniels, J. D., Springville Deacon, Syloid M., Cedar Rapids Dill, Isabelle, Cedar Rapids Grommon, Chas., Marion Heir, A. A., Marion Hess, J. T., Marion Holland, J. W., Center Point Holland, Mrs. R. A., Center Point King, J. E., Marion Maddo, Wm., Marion Maudsley, J. W., Palo Miller, Thos., Marion Mitchell, C. E., Marion Mitchell, John, Jr., Marion Murray, Mrs. R. C., Marion Nihill, Lizzie, Cedar Rapids Schultz, P. F., Marion Straley, A. W., Marion Temow, E. L., Marion Temow, Mrs. E. L., Marion Turner, John B., Cedar Rapids Turner, Mary B., Cedar Rapids Van Tossen, Mrs. A. L., Central City
Chapter X
Postoffices and Politics
The following may be of some interest, especially as to the names of the persons mentioned by S. W. Durham as proper persons with whom to consult on matters bearing upon the political issues of the day. It also shows how they fought for postoffices then as they do now, and how careful and shrewd these old fellows were in getting in touch with their constituents. According to a letter from the assistant postmaster-general, Dr. Brice is not deserving of the office, and George Melton is recommended. This was referred to S. W. Durham, as well as the change of the name of the postoffice from Lindon to Springville. It was signed by fifty-eight citizens of Springville. A. C. Dodge was born in 1812, the son of Henry Dodge. He was in congress until the territory became a state, and with G. W. Jones became one of the first two senators from Iowa. Mr. Dodge remained in congress till 1855 when the democratic party lost control of the state and a union of all the other parties elected James Harlan to succeed him. Senator Dodge was later minister to Spain. He died in 1883, having won the respect and confidence of all political parties. The letters show how carefully the friends of Dodge kept him in touch with political conditions in every township in his district.
The assembly met at Iowa City on December 4, 1848. G. W. Jones was a candidate against Judge T. S. Wilson, who lost by a majority of one. Dodge had no opposition in his own party and received the unanimous nomination. The democratic party in this session had a majority on joint ballot. He no doubt had been busy, and had his friends keep him posted on the course of events. This list no doubt was furnished him for the purpose of keeping in touch with the electors and to give him an opportunity to select postmasters in accordance with services rendered. The letters give some the name whig, which would go to show that all the remainder could be relied upon as democratic in their beliefs.
The list has names of a number of men who later became noted lawyers, doctors, and shrewd business men.
The Marion postoffice was not always a plum to fight over, as it has been of late. It was first established in 1839 at the home of L. M. Strong, a farmer and tavern-keeper within the present confines of the county seat. L. Daniels came in 1840 to start the first store, and he in turn became the postmaster for a time till he gave it up to John Zunro, who with Mr. Hoops started a grocery store and wanted the postoffice so as to have people coming in now and then.
Marion, Linn County, Iowa, December 30, 1848.
HON. A. C. DODGE,
Dear Sir: In compliance with your request I have the pleasure to forward the following names of suitable persons in this county to be addressed by you:
Center Point P. O.: Jonathan Osborne, William B. Davis, James Downs, Samuel C. Stewart, Thomas G. Lockhart, James Chambers, E. B. Spencer, W. A. Thomas, Dr. S. M. Brice (Whig).
Lafayette P. O.: Samuel Hendrickson (Co. Com.), Nathan Reynolds, Duff Barrows, Smith Mounce, Perry Oliphant (Whig), John Wisehart, Abel E. Skinner, William Hunt, William Chamberlain, Paddock Cheadle.
Marion P. O.: And. D. Bottorff, Esq., V. Beall, Alpheus Brown, Esq., Richard Thomas, Perry Oxley, Wm. H. Chambers, Nathan Wickham, Wm. L. Winters, Wm. M. Harris, Albert Kendall, Elihu Ives, Iram Wilson, Jno. Millner, Seth Stinson, Wm. Smythe, Frederick Beeler, Elisha Moore, Robert Jones, J. P. Brown, Orlando Gray, Daniel Harris, Jno. S. Torrence, Jno. Riley, James M. Berry, Thomas S. Bardwell, Wm. Hunter, Geo. A. Patterson, Captain Benj. Waterhouse, L. D. Jordan, Chandler Jordan, M. E. McKenney, Jos. Clark, Samuel Powell.
Springville P. O.: Col. Isaac Butler, Horace N. Brown, Jos. Butler, Ezekiel Cox, Esq., Wm. Brohard, Squire Rob, Geo. Perkins, Jas. Butler, Geo. House, Harvey Stone, Wm. Evans, Edward Crow, John Johnson.
Ivanhoe P. O.: Robt. Smythe, Mr. Bunker, Dan'l Hahn, Henry Kepler, And. J. McKean, J. Briney, ---- Hoover, Hersia Moore, And. R. Sausman, A. I. Willits, C. C. Haskins, ---- Cook, Jos. Robeson, Dr. Jno. Evans, John Stewart, ---- Mason, Thos. McLelland.
St. Julian P. O.: And. Safely, Esq., (Co. Com.), ---- McShane, Jas. Scott, Preston Scott, Jno. Scott, Jos. Conway, Geo. Hunter, David McCall, John Emmons.
Hollenback P. O.: Edward Railsback, Jno. Cue, Doctor Williams, Dan'l Richards, Thomas Lewis, Geo. Slonecker, Lawrence Hollenback.
Cedar Rapids P. O.: Jos. Greene, Jno. L. Shearer, C. R. Mulford, Jno. Hunter, Esq., Joel Leverich, ---- Klump, E. T. Lewis, N. B. Brown, David W. King, Jason C. Bartholomew, Stephen L. Pollock, ---- Nelson, Dr. Ely, Jno. Weare, Sen., Jos. McKee, Thos. Railsback, Abel Eddy, Mr. Simms.
Post Office Department Appointment Office, Aug. 9, 1854.
Sir:
S. M. Brice, the Postmaster at Center Point, County of Linn, State of Iowa, is said not to have deserved the appointment. The late P. M. recommends George Melton.
Before submitting this case to the Postmaster General, I have to request the favor of any information you may possess, or be able conveniently to obtain, respecting it.
I have the honor to be, Very respectfully, &c.
HORATIO KING,
First Assistant Postmaster General.
HON. A. C. DODGE, U. S. Senator.
Endorsed: (Private)
Dear Friend:
Please enquire into the matter herein referred to & let me know the result & greatly oblige,
Truly your friend, A. C. DODGE.
S. W. Durham, Esq.
Dr. S. M. Brice was located in Center Point about 1840-41, going there from Cedar Rapids. He remained but a short time. Dr. Brice was a whig in politics, and Center Point had always been strongly democratic. He was the first postmaster of the village.
The objections set out in the letter must have been political for he was considered a wide-awake and estimable man in every particular.
Post Office Department, Appointment Office, July 22, 1854.
Sir:
A. P. Risley, the Postmaster at Springville, County of Linn, State of Iowa, with 58 citizens, recommends the change of site and name of the office to Lindon.
Before submitting this case to the Postmaster General, I have to request the favor of any information you may possess, or be able conveniently to obtain, respecting it.
I have the honor to be, Very respectfully, etc.,
HORATIO KING, First Assistant Postmaster General.
HON. A. C. DODGE, U. S. Senator. Endorsed, The same of this, etc., greatly oblige Yours truly, A. C. DODGE.
S. W. Durham, Esq.
In 1842 the first postoffice was established in the township known as Brown by Isaac Butler. It was the third postoffice in the county and was known as Springville. Mail was received on horseback weekly. A. P. Risley opened a store in 1845 and became postmaster. He is the person referred to in the letter of Senator Dodge. Mr. Risley sold out and removed a mile east of the town, and with A. E. Sampson laid out a new town called Lindon. A postoffice was secured though not without a fight, and the town of New Lindon assumed the airs of city life. A hotel and blacksmith shop also kept the town alive for the time, but it died like other towns when the railroad was secured by Springville, and the booming town of Lindon has been for many years a good corn field and a rich pasture. Sterling became postmaster at Springville after Risley. He was succeeded by John Hoffman.
THE CEDAR RAPIDS POSTOFFICE
While Joseph Greene was postmaster he also acted as the first storekeeper of the town, and it is related of him that he carried his mail in his hat. The following, written by J. L. Enos, in the Cedar Valley Times, may give the reader an idea of the postoffice situation up to the close of the Civil war. He writes as follows:
"The postoffice was established in 1847 and Joseph Greene appointed postmaster. Mr. Greene was removed on a change of administration, and L. Daniels appointed to succeed him. Homer Bishop was the third incumbent and held the office through a succession of years, giving very general satisfaction. At the commencement of Lincoln's administration Mr. Bishop was removed, and in accordance with a mistaken and dangerous policy which promotes men of a particular class or profession in places of trust, without regard to their moral or any other qualifications--J. G. Davenport, until then the editor of the Cedar Valley Times, was appointed.
"Those acquainted with Davenport did not suppose he would be able to present satisfactory bonds but after some little delay he succeeded in procuring them and in due course of time took possession of the office. (Though a republican in politics, Mr. Davenport had to appeal to democratic friends for these bonds. J. J. Snouffer was one of them and shared in the subsequent loss.)
"A large number of clerks (?) was found necessary and it became evident that the office was managed with great recklessness. Money was lost through the mail when sent to the nearest postoffice on the route, and money sent to persons in the city from adjacent offices never came to hand. Postage stamps were borrowed from neighboring offices and return payment obtained with great difficulty, and in some cases there was a refusal to pay--because as he (Davenport) said, he had already paid the amount borrowed. He was at last removed, and on settling up the affairs of the office, there was found to be a shortage to the amount of fifteen hundred dollars. His bondsmen went to work and finally succeeded in effecting a credit on a part of the amount and had the satisfaction of paying about one thousand dollars, which had been stolen from the government by this arch swindler. After minor swindling operations he absconded, thus relieving the city of the most bare-faced falsifier and swindler that has infested the city since the time of Shepard & Co., in the early day.
"George M. Howlett, the present incumbent, was appointed his successor and makes an efficient officer. In the spring of 1865 Cedar Rapids was designated as a money order office, commencing operations as such on the 3d of July following. This enlarges the responsibility of the office and great care is necessary to keep all things right--though the blanks furnished make the work simple in honest hands."
* * * * *
L. Daniels was another of the early postmasters. He, also, was a merchant, and so was Homer Bishop, his successor in office. It was not until J. G. Davenport became postmaster that the postoffice got into politics. In fact it was no plum worth having till about the time of the Civil war. A number of prominent men have since that time held the postoffice--such as Captain W. W. Smith, Charles Weare, Alex. Charles, Geo. A. Lincoln, W. R. Boyd, and W. G. Haskell, the present incumbent.
A. C. Taylor relates how, when he came to Cedar Rapids, he carried on his jewelry store in the postoffice building, his store being located on the alley, in the rear of where the Masonic Temple now stands. The postoffice at Cedar Rapids soon outgrew the first government building, erected in the '90s, and the second was completed in 1909 at a cost of $250,000.
If a person asked for his mail in the olden days more than once a month he was considered too important, and the postmaster would gently remind him that he had no legal right to bother a man more than once a month, at least, about such a small matter as a letter. The postoffice during the past sixty-three years has grown to enormous proportions, till it now takes the entire time of a score of people to expedite the handling of the mails.
Chapter XI
The Physicians of the County
BY FREDERICK G. MURRAY
Among the first doctors who located in and around Marion should be mentioned S. H. Tryon, F. W. Tailor, and James Cummings. These men came before 1840. They were followed by T. S. Bardwell and L. W. Phelps. Dr. Tryon at least came as early as 1838 and was for many years a well-known public character. He acted as county clerk and held many posts of honor.
Dr. J. K. Rickey bought John Young's claim in Cedar Rapids as early as 1841 and must have been located in that vicinity at that time. What became of him is not known, and whether or not he engaged in the practice extensively is doubtful. There were not many whites there in those early days and it is a question if any had the time or inclination to be very sick. In case they were it was no doubt homesickness, for which a doctor has so far been unable to offer any permanent cure.
The first doctor who came to Cedar Rapids was inclined to blow his own horn. J. L. Enos, the editor of the Cedar Valley Times, has the following to say: "Once when he had returned from Muscatine he claimed to have lost forty pounds of quinine in one of the streams below the Cedar. Constable Lewis once called on him with an execution to secure a judgment. The doctor threw off his coat and prepared for a fight. The constable seeing his opportunity seized the coat and made away with it and found therein sufficient money to satisfy the debt."
Profiting by the example, later comers have avoided fights and have tried to pay their debts.
In the correspondence between S. W. Durham and A. C. Dodge in December, 1848, the following named doctors are referred to: S. M. Brice (whig), Center Point; Ivanhoe, Jno. Evans; Hollenback P. O., Dr. Williams; Cedar Rapids P. O., J. F. Ely.
Thus during 1848 the above named persons must have been residents and practicing physicians in their respective localities. Dr. Brice was the second doctor in Cedar Rapids. Later he moved to Center Point. These men were no doubt slated as candidates for postmasters. Dr. Brice later acted as postmaster at Center Point.
A history of the medical profession in Linn county must be largely made up of a list of names, as the intrinsic work of the medical practitioner is scarcely a fit subject matter for the casual reader.
What seems to be the earliest date in connection with which there is mention of a physician in the county annals is 1841, in which year Dr. Magnus Holmes came to the town of Marion from Crawfordsville, Indiana. Promising to be of great value to the community, Dr. Holmes passed away a short time after his arrival. Dr. Henry M. Ristine, father of Dr. J. M. Ristine, of Cedar Rapids, was a brother-in-law of Dr. Holmes, and came to Marion from Indiana in 1842. Another of the very earliest practitioners was Dr. Sam Grafton, who was located on the Cedar river at Ivanhoe bridge, on the old military road from Dubuque to Iowa City. Just when he came is not known; this was one of the earliest settlements in the county and he had practiced there for some four years previous to 1847, in which year he fell a victim to a typhoid epidemic. Dr. Amos Witter was one of the first physicians in Mt. Vernon. He passed away in 1862 at the age of fifty-five, having been several years a member of the legislature. In 1886 there was still living in Viola a Dr. S. S. Matson, who had practiced there since 1845. He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1832, the same year in which Dr. Elisha W. Lake, an early Marion physician, graduated from the Ohio Medical College. These two men are in point of graduation the oldest men the county has had. In northeastern Linn the first physician was Dr. Stacy, who lived on the Anamosa and Quasqueton road near Boulder church. He was a brother to the late Judge Stacy, the pioneer promoter of the Dubuque & Southwestern Railroad. Some of the other early practitioners were Dr. E. L. Mansfield, who came to Cedar Rapids or Kingston in 1847; Dr. J. M. Traer, who made Cedar Rapids his home from 1847-51; Dr. J. F. Ely, who came to the same place in 1848; and Dr. S. D. Carpenter, who came in 1849.
Dr. Shattuck, of Green's Mills, now Coggon, Drs. Lannin and Byam, of Paris, Drs. Patterson and Mitchell, of Clark's Ford, now Central City, and Dr. Young, of Prairieburg, were all pioneer doctors in their respective communities. Dr. T. S. Bardwell, who became a leading physician of Marion, settled on a farm in that vicinity in 1840, making his residence in the county date back farther than that of any other medical man except S. H. Tryon.
A rather incomplete business directory of Cedar Rapids in 1856 gives the following as physicians: S. C. Koontz, J. H. Camburn, W. D. Barclay, J. W. Edes, Smith & Larrabee, R. R. Taylor.
A complete city directory published in 1869 gives the names of the following: C. F. Bullen, J. H. Camburn, G. P. Carpenter, J. P. Coulter, J. W. Edes, Mansfield & Smith, Freeman McClelland, John North, Israel Snyder, C. H. Thompson, W. Bollinger, J. C. May. Of these, Dr. Camburn and Dr. Edes were prominent in their profession for many years. Dr. R. R. Taylor was a Virginian, who went to reside in Philadelphia about the time of the Civil war. Dr. J. C. May was a druggist as well as a very popular physician. He was a brother of the late Major May, of island fame.
A medical and surgical directory of Iowa for 1876 gives the first authentic list of doctors in Linn county to which access has been had. A list of fifty is given as in active practice in the county at that time. Only six of these remain: Dr. George P. Carpenter, dean of the profession in Cedar Rapids; Dr. G. R. Skinner, of Cedar Rapids; Dr. T. S. Kepler, of Mt. Vernon; Dr. Hindman, of Marion; Dr. Edwin Burd, of Lisbon; and Dr. F. M. Yost, of Center Point. The last of these, Dr. Yost, class of 1853 University of Pennsylvania, is the oldest living practitioner in the county. His two sons are now associated with him in his work. One other, Dr. J. H. Smith, of Cedar Rapids, has not been in practice for many years but preserves a close relation to his old calling through his presidency of the board of directors of St. Luke's Hospital. The two Doctors Sigworth are still living near their old neighborhood, having retired to Anamosa.
A registry of all physicians practicing in the county was begun in the county clerk's office in 1880-1881. It started with sixty-four names, probably the full number of those in active practice at the time. Since then about 230 additional doctors have been registered, and of this total of nearly 300 about 125 are now practicing in the county.
At Western some of the early physicians were Dr. Crouse, Dr. W. B. Wagner, Dr. Miller, all of whom preceded Dr. J. C. Schrader who removed to Iowa City. Dr. J. C. Hanshay located here in 1863 and Dr. Favour in 1877. Dr. Patterson was the first doctor in Bertram, in 1857. Dr. J. Stricklippe was an early doctor and druggist at Palo, and Dr. J. W. Firkin was the second doctor at Vanderbilt, later known as Fairfax. His son, Edgar Firkin, is now a popular druggist there. Dr. U. C. Roe came to Fairfax in 1864 for the practice of medicine. He also sold drugs. The business finally drifted into a grocery store, as it seems that the settlers preferred sugar and prunes to pills and quinine.
Among names of note in the early history of these parts are those of several medical doctors whose prominence came along lines outside of their professional work. Dr. John P. Ely's name is prominently connected with the early business enterprises and later growth of Cedar Rapids. The doctor was called in the year he finished his medical studies in New York to the management of commercial and manufacturing interests in this county. The growth of these drew him gradually from the excellent practice for which he at first found time. To the close of his life, however, Dr. Ely kept himself well informed on the progress of scientific medicine. Perhaps the first autopsy in this locality was performed by Dr. Ely in the interests of both science and sobriety, if early annals are authentic, the subject having been in life notorious for his potations.
Dr. Eber L. Mansfield along with a large medical practice found time to build up successful business and real estate interests on both sides of the river at Cedar Rapids.
Dr. Seymour D. Carpenter left the practice after the Civil war and became active and highly successful in the building and financing of railroads in this state and further south. Dr. Carpenter is still living in a hale old age in Chicago.
Dr. Freeman McClelland, a talented graduate of Jefferson Medical College, won for himself enviable popularity and influence through his editorship of the Cedar Rapids Times. The flavor of his writings and rare personality are an enduring remembrance with all who knew him.
Dr. J. T. Headley, the eminent platform lecturer, at present living retired in Philadelphia, is said to have first hung out his "shingle" in Cedar Rapids.
Dr. G. W. Holmes, son of Dr. Magnus Holmes, of Marion, after finishing at Bellevue, went as a medical missionary of the American Board to Persia, where in addition to his other work he became royal physician to the Crown Prince, afterwards Shah of Persia. Dr. Holmes passed away in June, 1910.
Linn county sent a number of doctors to the army during the Civil war. The following list is as nearly accurate as to men and organizations as it was possible to make it:
Dr. H. M. Ristine, surgeon 20th Iowa Infantry.
Dr. J. F. Ely, surgeon 24th Iowa.
Dr. J. H. Camburn, surgeon 16th Iowa Infantry, also 6th Iowa Cavalry.
Dr. Freeman McClelland, surgeon 16th Iowa Infantry.
Dr. H. M. Lyons, surgeon 16th Iowa Infantry.
Dr. John F. Smith, assistant surgeon 65th Illinois Infantry.
Dr. G. L. Carhardt, surgeon 31st Iowa.
Dr. J. C. Shrader went from near Western College, this county, with the 22d Iowa Infantry as captain and later as surgeon.
Dr. Amos Witter, surgeon 7th Iowa Infantry.
Dr. T. S. Bardwell served as first assistant surgeon with the 6th Iowa Cavalry, Col. Carskadden of Marion, notably in an expedition against the Indians who were threatening the Nebraska and Dakota frontier, the male portion of the settlers there being largely absent in the Union army.
Dr. Seth Byam, of Jackson township, was surgeon in the U. S. army.
Dr. Seymour D. Carpenter, surgeon U. S. A., during the four years of the war.
Of those who served otherwise than as surgeons, Dr. J. P. Coulter was lieutenant colonel of the 12th Iowa Infantry. He afterwards was active in city and county politics and held several official positions, and distantly related to him was the late Dr. A. B. Coulter, in whose untimely passing away the community lost one of its most promising professional men.
Dr. G. R. Skinner, who came to Cedar Rapids in 1871, spent four years in the Civil war, leaving the service with a captain's commission.
Dr. W. H. French served through the war in the 89th Illinois Infantry.
Of those men whose distinctly professional work brought them especial esteem, space will allow for the mention of only a few.
Perhaps for no other one of their brethren did the Linn county profession award so universal preference as to Dr. Henry Ristine. Pioneer, patriot, and public-spirited citizen, he was first and before all a doctor, combining in generous measure the traits and faculties that make an eminently successful surgeon, with culture and genial sympathies. It could be truly said of him that he adorned his profession. His portrait hangs in St. Luke's Hospital along with that of the late Judge Greene, whom he ably seconded in the work of founding that institution. Jurist and surgeon alike believed in the hospital as the workshop without which the doctor could not do his best work, and their efforts accomplished much toward the establishment of medical and surgical justice to the physically afflicted, a form of service that deserves more and more public recognition in every community where moral justice to the criminally accused is so amply facilitated by the courts of law.
Among other well remembered physicians were Dr. J. S. Love, of Springville, Dr. James Carson, of Mt. Vernon, Dr. D. McClenahan, of Cedar Rapids, and Dr. G. L. Carhardt, of Marion. Beginning at an early date and devoting themselves exclusively to their practice till advancing age forced retirement, they all four typically exemplified in their respective communities the life of the family physician. They were, none of them, modern doctors, but they lived not only to see but to rejoice in the day of modern medicine. Long after they had ceased from practice they kept up attendance at medical society meetings, keenly alive to the advancements of medical art and scientific research there discussed. They were resourceful men, and they had labored faithfully and well with the art available in their day, how often futilely none felt more keenly than themselves. The realization that modern methods promised control of much that had baffled them seemed to lighten the burden of their declining years. Their abiding interest and faith in the future things of medicine was an inspiration to their successors.
Of medical organizations in Linn county the oldest is the Union Medical Society, founded as the Linn County Medical Society at Mt. Vernon in 1859 by Drs. Love, Ely, Ristine, Carson, and Lyon. Dormant during the war, it resumed in 1866 and ran till 1873, when its name was changed to the Iowa Union and it became a district society, taking its membership from half a dozen or more counties and centering in Linn and Johnson counties. It still meets twice a year at Cedar Rapids, occasionally at Iowa City for scientific work. Its officers now are: president, C. W. Baker, Stanwood; secretary, F. G. Murray, Cedar Rapids; treasurer, C. P. Carpenter, Cedar Rapids.
The present Linn County Society was organized in Cedar Rapids in 1903. It holds meetings twice a year and is the unit of the State and American Medical Associations. One of its members, Dr. G. E. Crawford, is the outgoing president of the Iowa State Medical Society. Its present officers are: president, Dr. A. B. Poore; secretary, Dr. H. W. Bender; treasurer, Frank S. Skinner.
There are other local organizations at Mt. Vernon and Cedar Rapids. The Practitioners' Club of the latter place meets once a month for discussion and action upon medical subjects of special interest to the members. Its officers are: Dr. H. S. Raymer, president; H. E. Pfeiffer, secretary; G. P. Carpenter, treasurer.
St. Luke's Hospital at Cedar Rapids has already been mentioned. It was founded in 1883. On its consulting staff are Drs. G. P. Carpenter, J. M. Ristine, G. R. Skinner, G. E. Crawford, A. B. Poore, and A. H. Johnson. It has an attending staff of younger men. The hospital has seventy-five beds, having recently added a new and completely appointed maternity department. Mercy Hospital, ninety beds, founded at Cedar Rapids in 1902 and housed in its spacious new building in 1904, is under the care of the Sisters of Mercy. These finely equipped institutions serve Cedar Rapids, Marion, the railroad systems and their contributing territory with facilities for the best of medical, surgical and maternity work. Few realize the large amount of free humanitarian work they accomplish every year. Together with Linn county's own excellent infirmary north of Marion they represent in a material and public way the present status of medical art, science, and humanitarianism in the county. Personally and privately these are represented by the 125 active practitioners of medicine.
It will be noted that the names of only a few of these have been mentioned and then only incidentally. The scope of this sketch does not allow adequate individual reference to the remainder. Nor is this the place to record contemporary progress. The lives of all the present members of the profession belong not to the past but to the future history of medicine in Linn county. The attached list gives the names of the practicing physicians in Linn county in 1910:
Adams, Ernest, Central City Anderson, P. O., Cedar Rapids Bailey, F. W., Cedar Rapids Bailey, H. H., Cedar Rapids Beardsley, D. E., Cedar Rapids Bender, H. W., Cedar Rapids Bliss, C. S., Cedar Rapids Bradley, W. J., Cedar Rapids Brown, C. T., Cedar Rapids Burd, Edwin, Lisbon Busta, Chas., Cedar Rapids Byerly, A. J., Coggon Carhart, Wm. G., Marion Carpenter, G. P., Cedar Rapids Carroll, Frank, Cedar Rapids Carson, Geo. A., Mt. Vernon Childs, Edward P., Cedar Rapids Cogswell, C. H., Cedar Rapids Cogswell, C. H., Jr., Cedar Rapids Crawford, A., Mt. Vernon Crawford, G. E., Cedar Rapids Crawford, J. L., Cedar Rapids Crew, Arthur E., Marion Dando, G. A., Marion Davis, J. L., Alburnette Downs, J. W., Paris Dvorak, Jos. F., Fairfax Ebersole, F. F., Mt. Vernon Eilers, Paul G., Alburnette Fisher, C., Central City Fitzgerald, Wm., Cedar Rapids French, Chas. H., Cedar Rapids French, W. H., Cedar Rapids Gardner, Jno. R., Lisbon Gearheart, G. W., Springville Graham, J. DeWitt, Springville Groff, H., Cedar Rapids Gross, H. G., Cedar Rapids Hamilton, John, Cedar Rapids Hayes, L. C., Cedar Rapids Hasner, C. T., Cedar Rapids Heald, Clarence, Cedar Rapids Hill, M. W., Mt. Vernon Hindman, D. R., Marion Hogle, Geo., Mt. Vernon Hogle, Kate Mason, Mt. Vernon Houser, Cass T., Palo Hubbard, W. A., Cedar Rapids Hubbell, S., Cedar Rapids Ivins, H. M., Cedar Rapids Jicinsky, J. Rudis, Cedar Rapids Johnson, A. H., Cedar Rapids Johnson, B. R., Cedar Rapids Kegley, E. A., Cedar Rapids Keppler, T. S., Mt. Vernon King, W. S., Cedar Rapids Knox, J. M., Cedar Rapids Krause, Chas. S., Cedar Rapids Kresja, Oldrich, Cedar Rapids Keech, Roy K., Cedar Rapids Ladd, F. G., Cedar Rapids La Grange, J. W., Marion Lee, J. A., Lisbon Lindley, Thos. H., Cedar Rapids Lindsey, Harry A., Walker Lord, Richard, Cedar Rapids Lowrey, N. J., Ely Loy, J., Cedar Rapids Manahan, Chas. A., Center Point Mantz, R. L., Cedar Rapids Martinitz, S. V., Cedar Rapids McConkie, Jas. J., Cedar Rapids McConkie, W. A., Cedar Rapids Meythaler, A. J., Coggon Miller, W. B., Center Point Moorehead, Jas., Marion Morrison, Wesley J., Cedar Rapids Munden, R. E., Cedar Rapids Muirhead, Geo. S., Marion Murphy, Jas. J., Cedar Rapids Murray, F. G., Cedar Rapids Nash, E. A., Troy Mills Neal, Emma J., Cedar Rapids Netolicky, W. J., Cedar Rapids Neuzil, W. J., Cedar Rapids Newland, M. A., Center Point Owen, W. E., Cedar Rapids Petrovitsky, J. C., Cedar Rapids Pfieffer, H. E., Cedar Rapids Poore, A. B., Cedar Rapids Raymer, H. S., Cedar Rapids Richardson, E. F., Cedar Rapids Richardson, J. F., Cedar Rapids Ristine, J. M., Cedar Rapids Robinson, J. B., Mt. Vernon Ross, Alice I., Whittier Ruml, W., Cedar Rapids Safley, Agnes Isabel, Cedar Rapids Sheldon, B. L., Cedar Rapids Skinner, Frank S., Marion Skinner, Geo. C., Cedar Rapids Skinner, G. R., Cedar Rapids Spencer, W. H., Cedar Rapids Spicer, S. S., Cedar Rapids Stansbury, G. W., Western, C. Rapids Sherman, D. F., Cedar Rapids Swab, C. C., Cedar Rapids Swett, P. W., Cedar Rapids Tiffany, D. E., Cedar Rapids Van Duzer, F. H., Cedar Rapids Walk, F. D., Walker Walker, H. L., Cedar Rapids Ward, J. A., Waubeek Webb, Sula M., Cedar Rapids Whitmore, Clara B., Cedar Rapids Wilkinson, L. J., Prairieburg Wolf, John M., Mt. Vernon Wolf, Thos. L., Mt. Vernon Woodbridge, Ward, Central City Woodruff, L. F., Cedar Rapids York, N. A., Lisbon Yost, C. G., Center Point Yost, B. B., Center Point Yost, F. R., Center Point
Chapter XII
The Material Growth of the County
In scarcely any locality has the material growth been so fast and substantial during the past seventy years as in Linn county. Old residents who have returned after a period of twenty-five to thirty years mention this fact, and what is true of the cities and towns is perhaps much more true of the rural districts in general.
William Abbe erected a bark cabin for the use of his family the first summer, after he came here, and built a log house that fall for his winter abode. Ed Crow, C. C. Haskins, and others also erected very frail cabins during the first year they lived within the confines of the county. John Henry, it is said, built a small store-building facing the river in the squatter town of Westport in 1838. It was a frame building about 14 x 18, scarcely high enough for any of the Oxley Brothers (who were very tall men) to enter. He also erected a small dwelling house near the store-building, which, if anything, was smaller than the store-building. All the lumber in these buildings, except the window frames and the sills, were cut in the timber adjoining the river; even the roof was cut out of rough boards, with a broad saw. The nails used were brought from Muscatine, as well as a few hinges, and the windows. These buildings were torn down in 1860. The Shepherd Tavern was also a rude log building, as was the John Young house, which was afterwards used as a hotel, with additions added later.
G. R. Carroll, in his Pioneer Life, mentions the first cabin erected by his father, Isaac Carroll, in 1839. It took about ten days to erect an ordinary cabin. "It stood on the east side of the road near Mr. Bower's nursery on the boulevard one and a half miles from the river. It was a very primitive looking structure, 16 x 18 perhaps, with what we called a cob roof, made of clapboards with logs on top to hold them in place. It was quite an agreeable change from our tent and wagons when we entered this new cabin, although there was not a great deal of room to spare after our goods were unloaded and the nine members of the family were gathered within its walls. When the table was spread there was no passing from one side to the other, except as we got upon our hands and knees and crawled under."
Mr. Carroll also speaks of the second house, which was erected the same fall on the same premises. "It was, however, not to be a common kind of a cabin, it was to be a somewhat ambitious structure for the time, in fact it was to be the best house in Linn county, and when completed, it enjoyed that distinction. It was said, that there was nothing in the county that equalled it. The dimensions of this house were 14 x 16, a story and a half high. There were in the walls of this house between fifty and sixty white oak logs, most of them quite straight and free from knots. The ends of the logs were cut off square and the corners were laid up like square blocks, care being taken to cut off enough at the ends to allow the logs to come as close together as possible so as to leave but little space for chinking and plastering when it came to the finishing up. The only boards about the entire building were in the door which I think were brought with us on top of our wagon-box, which was of extra height. The joists above and below were made of logs, the upper ones squared with a broadax. The casings of doors and windows, and the floors above and below, were made out of bass wood puncheons. Slabs were spread out of the logs and then hewn out with a broad axe and the edges were made straight by the use of the chalk line. The gable ends were sided up with clapboard rived out of oak timber three or four feet long, and then shaved off smooth like siding. The rafters were made of hickory poles trimmed off straight on the upper side, and strips three or four inches wide were nailed on the sheeting. Upon these strips shingles made of oak eighteen inches long and nicely shaven, were laid. The logs of the walls in the inside were hewn off flat, and the interstices between were shingled and plastered with lime mortar, the lime being burned by my father on Indian Creek. There were three windows below of twelve lights each, with glass 7 x 9, and a window in each of the gable ends of nine lights, which furnished light for the room above. The fire place was built up of logs on the outside and lined with stone within, and the chimney was built of sticks split out about the size of laths and plastered with clay, both inside and outside."
The description of this house gives the reader an idea of one of the most up-to-date houses built before the year 1840. During the past sixty years many commodious farm houses have been erected, having all the modern conveniences installed, such as heating, lighting, together with bath privileges connected with sanitary plumbing. It is said that the late S. C. Bever installed the first furnace in a dwelling house in Linn county, and many people came from over the county to see such a furnace work. Now, not only cities and towns, but farm residences have installed furnaces and other kinds of heating plants, so that which was a novelty fifty years ago is very ordinary today.
The farmers in Linn county early began to invest their surplus money in farm machinery. William Ure drove an ox team to Chicago and brought back a McCormick reaper, which was the first reaper brought into the county, as far as is known. At least it was the first reaper used and operated in and around Scotch Grove. The neighbors said that Ure was foolish and it would surely break him up, but inside of one season it paid for itself. In and around Stoney Point one of the first threshing machines was used; a very small machine which was staked fast on the ground, without a straw-carrier, and operated by horsepower, which was placed on the ground loose and had to be hauled from place to place on a truck. In Linn Grove, Brown township, Washington township, and in other localities, many of these crude reapers and crude threshing machines and corn shellers were seen in operation during the season. Frequently the people who purchased these early machines lost money. The machinery was not always recommended, and sometimes the farmers were not mechanics skilled enough to make repairs when needed. A number got fooled on the first wire-binders and on the check-rowers, as well as on some of the early mowing machines, and many lost heavily in early days on thoroughbred horses and full-blooded cattle. But after all, the spirit of progress was abroad in the community, and in spite of failures, it did a great thing for the people who became interested. The advent of the reaper no doubt changed farming methods in this country. It is said that "the struggle for bread ceased when the reaper was put on the market." At least it placed the struggle for existence on a higher level. Certainly when a machine was invented that could do the work of five or six men and be depended upon, such a machine was worth having, and it soon paid for itself.
The manufacturing of farm machinery in Linn county was not a financial success, as is shown by the failure of the Williams Harvester Works, the Ogden Plow Works, the Star Wagon Works, and many other enterprises, but the spirit displayed by those who were willing to put their money into these untried enterprises, showed the mettle and the ingenuity that many of these early settlers had. People profited by these failures, made a study of the subject, and in course of time these men who lost at times on some investment or purchased machinery which was not suitable to the country, became owners of magnificent farms and up-to-date farmers by long experience.
The early corn cribs and granaries were generally built of rails, the kinks filled in with straw or hay. They of course had to be rebuilt every fall, and more or less grain was wasted. The rail corn crib was superseded by long board cribs generally built on the ground without any foundation. These cribs, when empty, were generally blown about the premises and had to be hauled back and propped up before they could be used in the fall. The farmers of Linn county frequently visited in Illinois, and there found models for economical corn cribs. They also read the farm journals, and it was not long until our farmers erected the modern corn crib and granary with gasoline engines, dumps, and elevators. These cribs were substantially built on cement foundations with cement floors, and with a driveway large enough and wide enough to house several wagons and three or four buggies at one time. The early corn crib, it is true, cost little or nothing, but they were a source of expense and annoyance, and much grain was wasted. The modern corn crib, as now erected, is built for a life time, but at a cost of from two thousand to three thousand dollars, which would have been a sum impossible to raise by the early settler, who generally paid the government price on his land by disposing of skins which he prepared during the winter, and who went barefooted in summer for the reason that he had no money to buy shoes and no time to make moccasins for himself or his children.
Thus the early farmer housed his horses and cattle in straw stacks during the winter and in the timber during the summer. Sometime a hay thatched stable was erected for the use of the horses. He milked his cows out on the snow in winter, and expected them to yield a fair supply of milk on a diet of slough hay and dry corn stalks, and would drive them to water to some creek or river once a day, using an ax with which to cut a hole in the ice. These stables would leak in spring and summer and had to be rebuilt nearly every fall. All hay was stacked outside and nearly half of it would rot during the rainy season. But hay was cheaper than lumber and for that reason a man had to figure on putting up enough hay during the summer, and take into account the waste. It was not till after the Civil war that many barns were built, and then only the rich farmer could afford them. Not till the '70s and '80s did the craze for barn building come, and now nearly every farm of any size, and nearly every farmer of any financial standing, has a good substantial barn, as well as machine sheds, all of which improvements may cost from three thousand to ten thousand dollars.
In the early days many farmers were fooled or taken in on the creamery proposition, as many of these small country creameries failed. The people then began to study the cow and the cost of producing milk and butter. True the first attempts were not a success, but the butter and milk of Linn county have during the past twenty-five years made many of the farmers wealthy. It used to be, that if the cows could keep down the grocery bill that was well done, but now, many a farmer gets a monthly milk check of from fifty to seventy-five dollars, which not only pays the grocery bill, but generally the hired man as well. But then the price of butter has increased from six cents to thirty, which makes a difference. The butter has also gradually become a better quality, and is really worth more. It is taken care of now, while in the pioneer days the cream was left out doors during the hot summer and the rancid butter was placed in a shallow slough well so as to be kept cool. It was generally not fit to use and was traded at the store for dried prunes, brown sugar, and dried herring. Thus, while the farmer may not have given the merchant much, the merchant certainly did not give the farmer anything of much value in return for his farm produce.
During the past twenty years no class of people have fared better financially than the farmers, and no class of people have become more enlightened on the subject in which they are engaged than the farmers. This may be due to several reasons. The farm journals have no doubt done much in stirring up a local pride in the vocation of farming. The farm journal has taught the farmer not to be ashamed of his calling; that while he may be called a "Rube" in some localities, he is an intelligent, up-to-date, wide-awake man, who knows what is going on in the country; is familiar with political questions and interested in the welfare of the country and of the state in which he resides. During the past twenty years the farmer, especially in Linn county, has traveled much. He has attended the county and state fairs where he has seen the latest inventions in machinery. He has attended nearly all of the exhibitions held in the country from Chicago to Seattle, and has come in contact with farmers from other sections of the country as well as with financiers and men of affairs. He has traveled much on land excursions and has learned to study and understand the nature of the soil. While it is true, that these various journeys have taken some time and money, yet they have made the farmer an up-to-date man, familiar with all sides of human life, and he has discovered, after all, that he is one of the most fortunate men in the country, and financially better off than many a city brother who may wear broadcloth and a boiled shirt, but whose bank account is generally depleted. The Linn county farmer has learned during the past twenty-five years to know himself and to understand and respect the class to which he belongs. No one can become a successful person in any line of business unless he is proud of the line of work in which he is engaged. The farmer has learned this secret, and he is not ashamed to tell anyone, that he is a Hawkeye farmer, owning his own farm and caring for his own property. The Iowa farmer has kept up with the procession, and he certainly is as intelligent, as wide-awake, and as shrewd and keen as the merchant, the banker, and the professional man in his business dealings. But he came to Iowa at the proper time, and for that reason he had the advantage of the old settlers who came to New England or to Jamestown. These men came ahead of their time and before things were ripe for such settlement. The bread tools of the Virginia pioneer were the same as those of the Indians whom they despised and wanted to drive out. The first settlers of Iowa came with the advent of the reaper, when a boy fifteen years of age could cut the grain with ease, which several sturdy men had to do before with the sickle and the scythe.
We seem to think that we have had the modern inventions for ages, but the first white settlers in Linn county, whoever they may have been, knew nothing of matches; of stoves as we know them; of the telegraph or the telephone or electric lights. They did not have modern corn cultivators or stirring plows. All these so-called modern appliances have been invented since the advent of the first settler in this county. But it was not long after these inventions came into use, until some enterprising individual or firm introduced them into Linn county. It is said that it was at a Shriner meeting on the old State Fair Ground, which is now Central Park, Cedar Rapids, that electricity was first used in this county, and people came for many miles to watch this peculiar light, which some thought could only be accounted for on the ground that the operator was in close connection with the Evil One. Barnum, with his show, also exhibited electric lights to the consternation of the vast crowds that came to see his circus, and it was one of the chief attractions during the first year. People came many miles to listen and talk through a telephone, and now every up-to-date farmer has an instrument installed in his own house.
In a material way the settlers in Linn county have succeeded beyond the expectation of the most sanguine. Thrift and prosperity can be seen on every hand. The various farmers' alliances, elevator companies, banking companies, creamery companies, old settlers' unions, and all these have brought the men over the county in closer touch with each other and the farmers of the whole county have learned to appreciate the marvelous benefits derived from social intercourse. It has made them broader and more liberal minded toward one another.
The first real census of the county was made in 1840 by H. W. Gray, who found 1,373 men, women, and children here. There were no less than 200 people who celebrated the 4th of July at Westport in 1838, but these may not all have belonged to the county. There was a rapid influx of people, and by 1845 it has been estimated that no less than 4,000 had declared Linn county their permanent home. The men who came here in the early days knew nothing of luxuries, for it is said that there were not over twenty buggies in the county and not to exceed two pianos. The gold excitement took many of the bright young men away, most of whom never returned. The census of 1850 shows that there were 5,444 people in the county, further demonstrating that the land seekers were still coming despite the fact that many residents must have left for the gold fields of California. By 1860 fully 19,000 residents claimed the county as their home. At the first election in the county 39 votes were cast. In 1875 there were more than 7,000 voters, and this number has gradually increased till the votes cast in 1908 were 6,558 republican, 5,008 democratic, 220 prohibition, and 121 scattering, making a total vote of 11,900. Long ago the farming districts were filled up and the country portions have not grown in population. The demand for pioneers has ceased, and the growth henceforth will be in the cities and towns, and not in the country until such a time as the cities will be compelled to expand or the people congregating therein will be enabled to seek the country to make a living. There may also come a time when the large farms will be divided up among members of the family and when it will pay better to farm on a small rather than on a large scale. If the land can be subdivided into small tracts, as in many parts of Europe, Iowa and Linn county will be able to feed a much larger population and at greater ease than can the exhausted lands of the old countries.
The soil in Iowa is as rich today and will if well cared for produce more today than it did some forty years ago. The farmers will now devote more of their time to make the farms yield more and not in the purchase of more lands as heretofore. What the modern farmer is now up against is better markets, cheaper freight charges, more local manufacturing, and increased commercial conveniences.
For many years after the lands were taken up and cultivated the farmers were unable to get rid of their products. There were no other markets than the local ones. Robert Ellis had tried the experiment of running flat boats down the river and had returned without any profits. Holmes, the Higley Brothers, Daniels, and others built flat boats at Ivanhoe and shipped wheat in the early spring down the Cedar and made a little money. But there was more or less risk, and much labor was expended, and the returns were not always satisfactory. Many teamed and hauled dressed pork, wheat, and barley to the Mississippi river, mostly to Muscatine, but after the driver returned and figured up his expenses and the cost of a few groceries and a calico dress for the wife, he had little left with which to pay interest and tax on the land.
The farmer was kept busy in paying taxes and breaking up and fencing more land. To do these things and keep his family was all he could hope to accomplish. The business man who had come here was without funds, and interest rates were high. He could not borrow enough to carry out his scheme of factory building, as he had expected. Saw mills and grist mills were erected so as to supply the local trade with enough materials for building, and enough food to live on, but that was all. The cost of transportation was high, and the cost of anything like luxuries was so great that it was out of the question to purchase any. As late as 1855 there were no markets and no means to ship anything out except by flat boats early in the spring of the year when the water was high. N. B. Brown started the first woolen mill as early as 1848. This was later disposed of to the Bryan family, but the mill never was a real success. There was no demand for the goods and the expense was too high to ship the raw products in and the finished products out. To haul any amount in a farm wagon a hundred miles over poor roads, subject to all kinds of weather, is not a success to the hauler nor to the man who hires him.
Even after the railroad was brought to Cedar Rapids the people did not realize that there was any other but a local market for any product. During the early years of the war, from 1862-3, the people awoke to a realization that it would pay to get in touch with a larger market, and the Chicago prices on stuff began to be quoted. R. D. Stephens built an elevator at Marion and began sending corn to the river. Cattle and hogs began to go up in price, and soon the people realized that the railroad was not built to carry passengers only, but freight as well, and that on a large scale.
In 1866 the number of acres assessed was 452,486, and the land, exclusive of towns and villages, amounted to $3,012,754. The assessment for Linn county in 1878 was 449,774 acres, $5,127,133. The actual valuation in 1855 was about three and one-half millions, while in 1900 the taxable valuation of the county was something over twelve millions.
Butter and cheese making were at one time businesses which made the farmers much money, but not till they learned how to prepare good butter and get a market established for it. Soon agents came to Iowa looking over the crops, and presently few towns were without local agents who handled stock and grain on a commission basis.
Henceforth it was the Chicago market and not the local market that governed, and the railroads were loaded down many seasons of the year in hauling train load after train load of corn and wheat and cattle and hogs, the property of the Iowa farmers. Iowa became in a short time the food producing state in the Mississippi Valley and has so remained till this day.
It was the productiveness of the soil, the manner in which the soil was prepared and the prices for farm products that made the land valuable. And it was the outside market that made farm produce worth the price it was for a local market cannot do this. The Chicago market has become the world market on many commodities, and lucky is the person who owns lands within a safe radius of such a market.
Chapter XIII
Rural Life
The rural life of the pioneers in Linn county was much the same as it was in any of the adjoining counties in eastern Iowa. The settlers were intelligent, young, active, and enthusiastic, believing in the future of the new State. The men were able to do nearly all kinds of mechanical work without any help or assistance, while the women were equally dextrous in spinning, weaving, and doing all kinds of house work. They were all clad in homespun and no false standards were maintained by the so-called well-to-do.
Wheat was the product for many years until the pest took it, and Indian corn was grown. It was soon found that wheat was expensive to raise, as seed was high, the cost of harvesting expensive, and frequently a shower or a storm when the wheat was ripe destroyed a great deal of it, so the farmer's summer work at times would be entirely gone. It cost less to raise corn, and in course of time a market was found for it, although it scarcely ever sold for more than 30 cents a bushel.
"In ye olden times" master and servant had no trouble. They ate at the same table, worked side by side during the day, and it was a sort of partnership affair throughout the season from the early spring until the crops were gathered in the fall. During the entire season the hired man had handled scarcely a dollar and he had taken up at the village store on credit in the master's name goods that would not exceed in value ten or fifteen dollars. While it has been often stated that in the pioneer days the men were overworked and underpaid, which might be true in part, still during these formative years, when everything was new, and there were no classes, all settlers were on the same level--socially and financially. It was not long until the hired man had worked long enough to get sufficient money to make a first payment on a farm, and in a few years the renter became a land owner and well fixed.
The scattered settlers during the early years of their residence in Linn county relied on their own ingenuity for everything they needed; thus, they were their own blacksmiths, cabinet makers, carpenters, tanners, stone masons, and shoe makers. They would tan their own leather, shoe their own horses and oxen, make their own crude harness, and get along and be satisfied. While they would depend on the village blacksmith and on the wagon maker, roads were impassable in the spring of the year and a yoke of oxen was not the swiftest means of getting to and from a town twenty-five or thirty miles away. Hence a farmer who had any ingenuity at all, would rather do his own work in a crude way, than have to go to town to get anything repaired which was broken.
Much amusement was also had in the early days in the various communities where men and women enjoyed meeting together at social functions. There were quilting bees, spelling schools, barn raisings, log rolling, debating schools, singing schools, and many other gatherings which frequently ended with a barn dance or a house warming supper, provided by the host and hostess.
The winter season in "ye olden times" was not an easy time of it by any means, for the pioneers went to the timber early in the morning and would stay all day and until late at night, cutting wood, making rails and getting big logs to the saw mills. It mattered not what was the kind of weather, the young man would start off to the timber with the thermometer frequently at from twenty-five to thirty below zero. Sometimes it would be pleasant in the morning when they started out, but frequently a severe blizzard would come up before night, and many were the frozen hands and ears they would bring home to thaw out late at night, having been out all day in the most severe weather. But as soon as it was over it was forgotten, and the next day or the next week the young man would again repeat the same performance.
While the men were strong, active, and hardworking, the women were equally active, persevering and industrious. The girls always took care of the milk and butter; the straining of the milk was done by the slough well or in a dark mud cellar, with no stone in it, and which always kept caving in until the entire house had to be put on pillars. The wife frequently had the family washing out by sunrise and the hired girl, if the family could afford one, would work side by side with her mistress and would do both inside and outside work if needed. No one was afraid to work: in fact they were all proud of what they had accomplished.
There were not many varieties of dishes on the table in pioneer days, and still the settlers had plenty of good, wholesome food, and were always hungry. Salt pork, johnny cake, honey, and game were the customary foods of the farmer in ye olden times. They scarcely ever tasted fresh meat from spring until fall, unless some of the boys shot a little game now and then. The settlers were companionable, good natured, and contented. They traded cattle, horses, mules, and at times farms, only now and then would trouble arise as one would accuse another of smart dealings, and a lawsuit would ensue. It is related of an itinerant preacher who purchased a yoke of oxen from one of the deacons in the church, that while he was testing the oxen on a hot Sunday driving to church with his family, the yoke squatted down in a mud hole and remained there and it was impossible to move them at all. The preacher spied the deacon coming to church and was not slow in telling him what he thought of him as well as the oxen he had sold him. The deacon was not at all worried but replied, "parson, you must not forget to swear at 'em, that is the only thing they know," and drove on as though not at all offended by the remarks of the preacher.
In the early days the farmers had no cisterns, no wind mills, no deep wells. Rain water was gathered in barrels which dried up in summer and froze solid in winter, so the house wife had scarcely any rain water either summer or winter. The well was generally a ten foot shallow well dug down by the slough, poorly planked, and frequently it caved in; another well was dug much in the same manner as the old one, the new well soon meeting with the same ending as the former one.
There were few, if any, barns in the olden times and straw thatched sheds and stables were universally used. These stables were moved frequently for the reason that the farmers failed to haul out the manure which accumulated, finding that it was easier and cheaper to move the stable than to haul away the manure. Nearly all of the hay was stacked out doors and had to be cut and hauled away in order to be fed to the cattle.
The farmers were slow and backward in many things. They possessed no spirit of restlessness and took things coolly, relying, it seems, on the old adage which says that "he who drives with oxen also gets there." While they early built fairly good houses, they were slow in erecting buildings and comfortable places for their horses and cattle, and it was many years before they began to erect sheds and buildings for their machinery. Wagons without spring seats sold at from $100.00 to $125.00; reapers and mowing machines were very expensive and they were generally only a few of these in each neighborhood. The household furniture was cheap and simple; there were no such things as furnaces or hard coal burners. Mostly old stoves were in use for the burning of wood, and these perhaps were second hand, or at least had seen better days.
The young man in pioneer days generally started out in life with an ox team, a breaking plow, and a wagon. The wages for breaking were from $1.00 to $2.00 an acre, and when he was not breaking he would often be running a threshing machine or working in the saw mill or in the timber getting out logs. When ox teams were used for breaking, it took one to drive and one to hold the plow in the ground. A person generally broke more land than he could fence, and it was no use to sow wheat and not fence, for in those days the law permitted cattle and horses to run at large.
Corn was not cultivated on the new ground to any extent, except that each one raised enough corn for his own use but no more. The corn was generally put in by hand, plowed only once or twice with a single shovel plow pulled by one old nag.
In the early days all the cooking was done by the open fireplace; such an article as a stove was not much known. Corn bread and pork, with rye coffee, formed the average bill of fare at the wayside inn and at the farm house. The boarders actually preferred pork to venison; they got tired of game--it was so plentiful. Many a pioneer farmer could shoot from five to ten deer near his door before breakfast.
In ye olden times nearly everyone would attend church, especially in summer. While many did not belong to any church, yet they were all interested in it. They supported the churches to the best of their ability. The influence of the country church did much in making this a county which still shows the effect of the early training and of the efforts of itinerant preachers and laymen who went from place to place visiting the scattered congregations. Such preachers as Troup, Searles, Ingham, J. Hodges, Hayden, Twing, Maxin, Dudley, Rankin, Boal, Cunningham, Keeler, Phelps, Roberts, Jones, Elias Skinner, Father Emmons and many of the early itinerant ministers did much to build up churches in this county. Then there were a number of laymen in various denominations who maintained in part some of the associations themselves, such as Tom Lewis, Levi Lewis, Chandler Jordan, Henry Rogers, and the Kurtzes, Runkles, Shueys, and many of the early settlers in and around Lisbon. The community around Mt. Vernon was also much influenced by the college atmosphere and by the itinerant preachers who visited the scattered members in Franklin township. These are only a few of many such communities where an interest was kept up in the small country churches where large congregations gathered weekly for meditation and for prayer. Many old pioneer families did much to help the church.
One can converse with the old pioneer now, and he still loves to recall the old times, the old haunts and the wayside places. It was by some rail fence that a rural maiden had whispered to him as a young man, that the pain in her heart no human touch but his own could heal. It was here loved ones had spoken as they chattered away in childish whispers, when he came home from ended labors, and it was here that he took his family on Sunday to the little church where they all bowed silently in prayer, full of the faith and the hope which made his heart strong and his footsteps light. The simple mode of living in Linn county in an early date made strong men and courageous women. They were brought up to withstand the temptations of life and to despise the false veneer of a later generation. They lived up to the ideals of their way of thinking, and left sturdy families who grew up in the simple ways of the pioneer, themselves dutiful sons and daughters of the old settlers who came here in any early day to make homes for themselves and their descendants.
Truly, the pioneers should be remembered for what they accomplished, for well might they sing with the poet:
"Fading away like the stars of the morning, Losing our light in the rising sun; Thus would we pass from the earth and its toiling Only remembered by what we have done."
Chapter XIV
A Hero of the Canadian Rebellion
What promised to have been a war to death in Linn county in the early '40s terminated because one of our old settlers, then a young man, said what he knew to be the fact and was willing to back it up with force. The interesting story is as follows: Political dissension had prevailed in Canada since 1820, and an open rebellion broke out in 1837. In lower Canada it began among the French settlers who wanted equality and their rights as Frenchmen, while in upper Canada it was brought about by leaders of the radical party insisting on a democratic form of government. The rebellion was lead by Lyon Mackenzie, a native of Scotland who had taken up journalism in Canada. The spirit of rebellion extended also into the United States, and many so-called filibusters joined the insurrectionists from a spirit of adventure. The papers mentioned in lengthy articles these so-called leaders, one especially being given much notoriety, one William Johnson, who, after the rebellion was put down, lived on one of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence and evaded capture. His daughter, Kate, it was said, brought him food and the soldiers were unable to locate the hiding place of this rebel who defied the government militia.
Robert Ellis met this so-called Bill Johnson at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 1842. Johnson asserted with a great deal of gusto that he had escaped from the Islands and was going to make his home among the free people out on the borders. He was accompanied by a woman he claimed to be his daughter who received as much attention as the valiant soldier himself. Johnson drifted into Ft. Atkinson and finally located on a claim two miles above Quasqueton, on the north bank of the Wapsie river. Here he became a sort of feudal lord, told exaggerated stories about his valor, and was surrounded by a number of frontier soldiers who claimed to have fought in the war of 1812, as well as in the Canadian rebellion. For a time Captain Bill Johnson was idolized as no other person in this part of Iowa, and it is certain that his daughter Kate was laid siege to by more than one border hero under the guise of suitor.
It was not long until the arrogant ways of Captain Bill Johnson, who jumped a claim, offended an old settler by the name of Henry Bennett, who resided near Quasqueton, and who was one of the first settlers in that community. Attempted arrests were made pro and con, but the Bennett party was successful and they drove Captain Johnson out of the community, after a sound flogging. He drifted into Marion and put up at the Phillips Hotel, telling stories of Bennett's abuse, how his property had been taken, and how he had been driven out of the county like a criminal. He wanted redress. The good people of Marion believed these stories, and soon a company was organized and provided with weapons of war to surround Bennett and demand restitution. A number of the old settlers of Marion were mustered into this company, such as George Patterson, Col. Durham, and others of the well known residents. It was in the winter of 1843, but that did not keep any of the company away from a forced march to Quasqueton. Bennett had friends and admirers also, and being made aware of the proposed attack he fortified his camp, laid in a supply of food, and had his guns ready. The attacking party demanded restitution, but the old man shook his head and told them to come on. The besiegers had to camp out, while Bennett's followers were well housed and warm. Finally the attacking army ran out of provisions, and after a council of war in which the peace loving spirit prevailed, they decided to return to the quiet haunts of Marion.
Johnson still kept up his abuse of Bennett and his friends, and when that did not satisfy would resort to tales of his wonderful escapades on the St. Lawrence and how he had evaded the British officers with the assistance of his daughter, Kate. The good people at first entertained him as a guest, and he was always willing to accept of their hospitality, but stories were circulated that this so-called daughter, Kate, was not his daughter at all. But Bill Johnson still remained, having a number of supporters.
One night Robert Ellis entered the Phillips Hotel while Johnson was heaping abuse on the Bennett party and on the courts of Iowa, telling Gen. James Wilson, who was surveyor-general of the territory, the story of his abuse. He said, that the day before he and his crowd had tracked Bennett as far as Delhi where the party escaped, being assisted by William Abbe, a prominent settler of Linn county. This was too much for Ellis, and he replied as follows: "That is not true, as Wm. Abbe drove from Ft. Atkinson with me, and we arrived in Marion today, and we were together all of the time." Johnson was full of "wrath and cabbage." He arose and in a much injured manner said, "You might as well call me a liar as to say that," to which Ellis replied, "If that suits you any better I can call you a liar, because that is what you are, if you want us to believe what you have been saying here tonight. You have been telling lies about my friend Abbe." Johnson pulled off his coat and was about to strike him, when Mr. Ellis spied a hickory stick in the wood box. With that he went after Johnson, who quietly retreated, put on his coat, engaged in conversation with Wilson, and the matter for the time dropped. The story leaked out that this Canadian boaster was nothing but a coward, and there were grave doubts as to whether or not he was the person he claimed to be. Finally so much opposition arose against him that he left Marion--much to the satisfaction of the people of the county for they had seen and heard things which reflected against Johnson's relations with his so-called daughter.
In 1849 Robert Ellis drifted into the gold camps of Sacramento Valley on the American river, and who should he find out there but the daughter of Bill Johnson, now the wife of one of the miners. He learned that Bill Johnson had drifted into Southern Iowa and Missouri, where he assumed his old attitude, expecting free board and considerable consideration, but the pioneers in that community had to be "shown" and cared not much for what Johnson had been; the question was what he was then. A suitor in Mahaska county came to see his alleged daughter, but Bogus Johnson opposed and threatened him with dire disaster if he came within shooting distance. The suitor was not at all scared, having lived on the frontier longer than Johnson. The woman may have regretted the double life she had been living, and perhaps with her assistance--no one knows--Johnson was killed in a quarrel by the suitor, it was alleged, and prosecutions followed. The suitor and Kate after a long trial then drifted to California, and there Robert Ellis found them and heard the story that Captain Bill Johnson, once the terror of this part of Iowa, was a bogus Bill Johnson, and the light haired Kate was not the Kate of story and fiction at all. If it had not been for the obstreperous Bennett on the Wapsie and for the hickory stick in the hands of Robert Ellis bogus Bill Johnson might have terrorized this community much longer than he did.
Another story was also told shortly after Johnson left by one of Johnson's henchmen, an old soldier, which shows the bad character and disposition of Johnson. William Abbe, one of the early settlers, and at one time a member of the legislature of Iowa, being in the employ of the government, having a contract to deliver provisions at Ft. Atkinson, was about to return to his home in Linn Grove, which fact was known to Johnson. The soldier related after Johnson's hasty departure that he and Johnson had entered into an agreement to blackmail Abbe and get some money out of him by inviting Abbe to remain in the Johnson cabin over night and then to threaten Abbe that he had assaulted the daughter of Johnson while accepting of his hospitality. Johnson was to remain in hiding while the soldier was set out on the trail to watch for Abbe and invite him to the cabin. This was done and the soldier sat out in the timber watching for Abbe during the afternoon and evening, but fortunately Abbe failed to make his appearance as expected and the deep laid plan fell through.
Bill Johnson, whatever he may have been, was certainly an expert in his line and seemed to ingratiate himself into the good graces of many prominent people. He obtained the assistance and help of Governor Chambers, as well as Surveyor-General James Wilson, and many others in the various law suits which he had with the members of the Bennett party. General Wilson, as is well known, was a native of New Hampshire and on account of the personal friendship of Daniel Webster had been appointed to this office by President Harrison. Webster had intended to slate his friend Wilson for Governor of Iowa, but Harrison had appointed his private secretary and former aide-de camp, Colonel John Chambers. Thus General Wilson had to accept the only vacancy left, that of surveyor-general. On his trip over Iowa, General Wilson was accompanied by his daughter, Mary E. Wilson, better known as Mrs. John Sherwood, who later became one of the best known writers and society women on two continents. It was at Marion, according to the report of Robert Ellis, that Johnson first met General Wilson and that the friendship sprang up between them, and it seemed as though Johnson had known a number of Wilson's relatives and a great many of the prominent men in New England. It is thought, of course, that Johnson imposed upon General Wilson and no doubt used the names of parties he had known of in some way to further his own selfish purposes.
The following may be quoted from the History of Washington County. Vol. I, p. 326, as told by H. A. Burrell:
"A Mahaska county murder case of Job Peck, the murderer of Wm. Johnson, came here on a change of venue September 9, 1843; it was a melodrama: A cultivated Canadian revolutionist, a beautiful girl Kit claiming to be his daughter, horsethieves, etc., being the personæ dramatis, an elopement and kidnapping constituting the action of the piece. The Canuck was shot in his cabin and a lover of Kit was held for the crime. Kit was spirited to Pittsburg, Pa., and the lover proved an alibi; he had married Kit near Fairfield. While in jail here he did not know his bride's whereabouts nor for several months after, but he finally found her with fine people. They lived near Oskaloosa for years when they went to California. Who she was, was never known; she denied that Johnson was her father; he may have been her husband. After Peck's death she married again and had a noble family and was called the Queen of the Thousand Isles--in oil business. Johnson was the subject of state correspondence between the United States and England. A British subject, he revolted, turned renegade and spy in 1812, and robbed the mails to get information. Both countries offered a reward for him and he fled to the Isles."
How much truth there is in the above it is difficult to say. It is at least based on hearsay. Colonel Durham knew Johnson well and was one of his friends in the Quasqueton affair, and Robert Ellis also knew him, as well as the members of the Abbe family. Whether Johnson was a Canadian or a citizen of the United States or had anything to do with the war of 1812 is uncertain. At least in Linn county he claimed to be the Bill Johnson of Canadian fame. For that reason he introduced this young woman as his daughter to carry out the story, as the original Johnson did have a daughter who carried news as well as food to him in his hiding.
To supplement the above account may be mentioned the following from the "Early History of Dubuque," as written by L. H. Langworthy, and printed in the Iowa Journal of History and Politics, July, 1910:
"In 1843 a most ludicrous affair occurred. A villainous fellow palmed himself upon the people of Buchanan county as the renowned patriot and celebrated hero of the Thousand Isles, Bill Johnson. This man, with his daughter Miss Kate Johnson, was suspected, it seems, of being any other than the far-famed Canadian patriot, by the citizens of Buchanan county, who thought fit to take Johnson out in the night, tie him to a tree and whip him severely with fifty lashes on his naked back. The offenders were arraigned before Judge Wilson. The court house was crowded by hundreds of eager spectators who listened with intense interest to the proceedings: all anxious to see the laws of our country administered faithfully. The prisoners' names were Evans, Spencer, Parrish, and Rowley, charged with burglary and riot. It appeared that these defendants accompanied by several other white men and five or six Indians after lynching Johnson, ordered him and his daughter to pack up their goods and be off in two hours, and not to return at the peril of their lives. Great sympathy was felt for this Johnson and the two tender females of his household, who were thrown out in the depth of winter and obliged to travel twenty-five miles over a cold and bleak prairie; so cold that it froze one of the lynchers themselves to death, another lost his feet, and several others were severely frozen. The citizens here declared that Johnson looked as if he was born to command, and betokened in every action that he was the same old Bill Johnson, the hero of the Thousand Isles, the Canadian patriot, and the great friend of human liberty and republican institutions; while all the young bloods of the town declared that Miss Kate Johnson was a very intelligent and interesting young lady, with rare accomplishments, agreeable manners and the worthy daughter of a gallant sire. The case was conducted on the part of the prosecution by James Crawford and General James Wilson; on the part of the defense by James Churchman and I. M. Preston: the counsel on both sides in their speeches were truly eloquent, they were fine efforts of legal talent, and so great was the interest taken in this trial that the ladies attended in goodly numbers until a late hour at night, determined to hear all the proceedings and speeches to which the occasion gave rise. Miss Kate Johnson received great attention and unequalled admiration as the celebrated heroine and daughter of the renowned patriot of the Thousand Isles. The jury after being out a short time returned a verdict of guilty; one was sentenced to the penitentiary for two years and the others to a fine of two hundred dollars, which imprisonment and fines however were afterwards remitted; for lo, and behold! the next thing we hear of the hero of the isles, is that he has grossly imposed himself upon the citizens of the place, he being a different man altogether from the Bill Johnson whom he represented, of a different name and style of character, a great thief and scoundrel. Letters were received showing these facts. The next news received from him by our crestfallen beaux of Dubuque, was that a Mr. Peck, a respectable man in Mahaska county, the place to which the family had removed, fell in love with Johnson's daughter, the heroic Kate, who returned his love. But old Bill would not give his consent to the marriage. So the two turtles fled to an adjoining county where they were united in bonds matrimonial. It was some time before the reputed father knew where his reputed daughter had gone. But as soon as he did, he pursued her and entered the house of Peck with pistol in hand and took her away unmolested. But a few days afterwards while Johnson was sitting in his own house he was shot through the heart with a rifle ball from between the chinks of the logs. Peck was arrested, but on trial acquitted. The lineage of the heroine was traced back to an obscure family in Ohio, her history and romance closing alike in contempt and infamy.
"The young swains, and especially the editorial gallants, who were so greatly enamored with the charms of Miss Katherine Johnson while in our city, often rallied each other afterwards on the subject; and some who appeared from their newspaper eulogies to be the most moon-struck while the romance lasted, and had written the largest amount of very soft poetry on the lovely daughter of the hero of the Thousand Isles, were the first to forget the object of their adoration. Alas for the fickleness of man's affection and the mutability of his attachments."
The above tells the story of how much trouble the various communities in Iowa had with bogus Bill Johnson and the various interpretations of the life and character of the outlaw and his alleged daughter. Mr. Ellis still insists that his interpretation of the life and character of this outlaw is as he tells it and no one perhaps knew the principal characters better than he did. Mr. Ellis was the first one who met Johnson in Wisconsin as he was about to emigrate into Iowa. He was one of the actors in the occurrence at the Phillips House in Marion, he was the old friend and companion of William Abbe and knew most of the men in the Bennett party, such as Evans, Parrish, Rowley, and others, and he met in California many years afterwards the heroine who had become the wife of Peck and there had a conversation with both of them. Mr. Ellis is of the opinion that when Johnson suddenly left Marion he went, to Missouri and later drifted back into Mahaska county, Iowa, where he was murdered. It was thought that Kate knew more about the murder than she let on, but living a life as she had lived it would not be best for her to tell all she knew of the various transactions with her so-called father. So far as Mr. Ellis ascertained Kate had reformed and carried herself in goodly repute among the miners of the far west where she was then known, it is said, at times as the Queen of the Thousand Isles. Her husband, it is stated, was a reputable person and had always stood well in the community up to the time of the Johnson murder, and what part, if any, he took in that no one ever knew.
Bogus Bill Johnson is said to be buried in an unknown grave in Mahaska county and no stone has ever been found that marked his last resting place.
Kate, Queen of the Thousand Isles, sleeps in one of the mountain valleys of the Sierras on the Pacific slope and no one knows just when she died or where she was buried. The dual lives of the characters in this drama ended as all such lives do end, in infamy and disgrace.