Chapter XLII
Roster of County Officers
Linn county was organized in 1838 and the first election for county officers was held August, 1839. The legislative board of the county, or what corresponds to our present board of supervisors, was composed of three members called a board of commissioners. The following persons served on the board of commissioners:
Samuel C. Stewart, Peter McRoberts, Luman M. Strong, 1839. E. T. Lewis, B. McGonigle, S. C. Stewart, 1842. E. T. Lewis, Oliver Day, B. McGonigle, 1843. Oliver Day, E. T. Lewis, W. B. Davis, 1844. W. B. Davis, Andrew Safely, 1846. Andrew Safely, Benjamin Waterhouse, Samuel Hendrickson, 1847. S. Hendrickson, Andrew Safely, Johnson Hill, 1850. A. Safely, Johnson Hill, Wm. A. Thomas, 1851.
The above system continued until the first code was enacted in 1851 which abolished the board of commissioners and provided for the election of one officer to be called "county judge" who performed the duties of our present board of supervisors and in addition was probate judge and presided over what was called a "county court." The old election books now preserved in the county auditor's office show the following persons to have been elected to this office:
Norman W. Isbell, elected August, 1851. James M. Berry, elected August, 1854. Daniel Lothian, elected August, 1857, three terms. Johnston Elliott, elected October, 1863, two terms. A. B. Dumont, elected October, 1867, one term.
Isbell resigned June 12, 1854, and Joseph B. Young, prosecuting attorney, acted as county judge until the next election when James M. Berry was elected to fill the vacancy.
The legislative duties of the county judge were vested by the Eighth General Assembly in a board of supervisors consisting of one member from each township or two in those townships having over 4,000 inhabitants. The first board sat January 7, 1861. The clerk of the district court was ex-officio clerk of the board of supervisors. The Twelfth General Assembly abolished the office of county judge altogether and vesting the judicial duties in the district court created the office of county auditor to assume the ones not already vested in the supervisors and clerk of the district court. The first auditor's term began the first Monday of January, 1869.
Bertram--Perry Oxley, 1861-1867 and 1870; Wm. G Darr, 1868-1869.
Brown--Wm. Carbee, 1861-1862; Hosea White, 1863-1866; T. M. Giffen, 1867-1868; J. F. Gritman, 1869-1870.
Boulder--Jos. Whitney, 1861-1862 and 1869-1870; Earhart Burke, 1863, resigned and term completed by John B. McQueen; J. B. McQueen, 1864; Neeley Parsons, 1865-1867; Wm. Wagner, 1868.
Buffalo--Jos. Story, 1861-1862; E. M. Crow, 1863-1870.
Clinton--D. M. Smith, 1861-1863; Geo. Buchanan, 1864-1866 and 1868-1869; I. T. Updike, 1867; Edwin Cadwell, 1870.
College--John W. Henderson, 1861-1862; Robert Pierce, 1863-1864; Adam Perry, 1865-1867; Jonathan Neidig, 1868; W. H. Shuey, 1869-1870.
Fairfax--Phillip Moody, 1861-1864; W. B. Reynolds, 1865-1866; Wm. Ure, 1867-1870.
Fayette--Levi W. Johnson, 1861-1863; resigned and last term completed by J. D. Hays; John E. Langley, 1864-1865; W. J. Whiting, 1866-1868; H. B. McKean, 1869-1870.
Franklin--Wm. Hayzlett, 1861-1862 and 1868-1869; Henry Kepler, 1863-1867; C. H. Kurtz, 1870.
Jackson--Jos. Blodgett, 1861-1862; John P. Fay, 1863 and 1866-1867; Seth Bishop, 1864-1865; Wm. Henderson, 1868-1870.
Linn--William L. Miller, 1861; George Yeisley, 1862-1863; D. M. Richardson, 1864-1865; J. W. Handley, 1866-1867; James Johnston, 1868-1869; H. C. Platner, 1870.
Maine--Samuel F. Buxton, 1861-1862; L. D. Jordan, 1863-1866; Ormus Clark, 1867-1868; E. A. Warner, 1869, seat contested in 1870 and board declared seat vacant and notified trustees of Maine township.
Marion--A. J. Twogood, 1861-1862; A. B. Dumont, 1863, resigned and term completed by A. Manson; A. Manson, 1864; R. D. Stephens, 1865-1869; R. D. Stephens and E. A. Vaughn, 1870.
Monroe--Daniel Albaugh, 1861-1869; M. N. Kramer, 1870.
Otter Creek--James H. Mason, 1861-1862; L. F. Dance, 1863-1864; Caleb Hendryx, 1865-1866; John Lanning, 1867-1868; Henry Harris, 1869; A. F. Yambert, 1870.
Putnam--Wiley Fitz, 1861-1862; Elmore H. Prickett, 1863-1864; Abner Arrowsmith, 1865, resigned and term completed by Ferdinand Kershner; Ferdinand Kershner, 1866-1867; Joseph Moorhead, 1868-1870.
Rapids--John Weare, 1861, 1864 and 1867; J. F. Charles, 1862; Charles Weare, 1863; J. M. Chambers, 1865; H. G. Angle, 1866; William Stewart and William Richmond, 1868; William Stewart and Charles Weare, 1869; Charles Weare and W. D. Watrous, 1870.
Spring Grove--J. H. Fairchild, 1861-1862 and 1864 to 1866, and 1869-1870; R. C. Shinn, 1863; J. H. Walton, 1867-1868.
Washington--Corydon Gilchrist, 1861; John Carr, 1862 and 1867-1868; Z. Mentzer, 1863-1864; William Langsdale, 1865-1866; E. D. Hazletine, 1869-1870.
In 1870 the number of the board was reduced to three members, one being elected each year in the county at large, but at the 1874 election the county had been divided into three supervisor districts and a supervisor was elected from each district as at present. The following persons have served up to date:
FIRST DISTRICT
William Ure, elected October, 1870, two terms.
James Yuill, elected October, 1875, two terms.
John T. Hamilton, elected October, 1881, one term.
James Yuill, elected November, 1884, two terms.
Patrick Mullaly, elected November, 1890, one term. Resigned and Charles H. Playter appointed to complete the term.
William J. Donnan, elected November, 1893, two terms.
Andrew J. Fuhrmeister, elected November, 1899.
SECOND DISTRICT
Robert P. Rose, elected October, 1870. Robert P. Rose, elected October, 1871.
Daniel Travis, elected October, 1874, two terms. Robert Smith, elected November, 1880, one term. Mordecai E. Bunting, elected October, 1883, two terms. Garry Treat, elected November, 1889, three terms. John J. Ives, elected November, 1898.
THIRD DISTRICT
Joseph Whitney, elected October, 1870. Joseph Whitney, elected October, 1873. Miles M. Crookshank, elected October, 1876. Albert C. Burnett, appointed June, 1881. E. D. Wilson, elected October, 1881. James H. Davis, elected November, 1882, two terms. Abraham C. Coquillette, elected November, 1888, two terms. Henry Fairchild, elected November, 1894, two terms. Leonidas L. Wilson, elected November, 1900.
George E. W. Leonard was declared elected supervisor in October, 1873, but the election was contested by Joseph Whitney and the court for trial of contested election reinstated Mr. Whitney.
Crookshank resigned and Albert C. Burnett was appointed and took his seat at the June, 1881, session and at the general election October, 1881, E. D. Wilson was elected to fill the vacancy.
COUNTY AUDITORS
J. P. Coulter, elected November, 1869, three terms. Samuel Daniels, elected October, 1875, three terms. Jos. Moorhead, elected October, 1881, three terms. Jas. K. Bromwell, elected November, 1887, two terms. Wm. G. Treat, elected November, 1892, one term. Edward L. Camp, elected November, 1894, two terms. Wm. T. Jackson, elected November, 1898, two terms.
The terms of all county auditors were extended one year by the legislature during Mr. Bromwell's second term, so that county treasurer and auditor would not be elected the same year.
RECORDER AND TREASURER
The code of 1851 provided that these two offices should be held by one person.
Isaac Cook, elected August, 1851, two terms. Nathan M. Day, elected August, 1855, two terms. Wm. Cook, elected October, 1859, two terms. Jas. Johnston, elected October, 1863, one term.
COUNTY TREASURER
Richard T. Wilson, elected October, 1865, four terms. Stephen T. Berry, elected October, 1873, three terms. Robert M. Jackson, elected October, 1879, four terms. Jos. Barnhill, elected November, 1887, two terms. Jos. S. Lake, elected November, 1891, one term. Franklin E. Witter, elected November, 1893, two terms. Geo. W. Eakle, elected November, 1897, two terms.
COUNTY RECORDER
John J. Daniels, elected November, 1864, four terms. Chas. E. Putnam, elected November, 1872, four terms. Christian H. Kurtz, elected November, 1880, four terms. R. Hershey Jones, elected November, 1888, one term. Chas. C. Mentzer, elected November, 1890, one term. Elvin H. Dunbar, elected November, 1892, two terms. John H. French, elected November, 1896, two terms. Perley O. Clark, elected November, 1900.
SHERIFF
Hosea W. Gray, 1840.
Ambrose Harlan, 1844.
Samuel W. Durham, 1846.
Ambrose Harlan, 1848.
Vincent Beall, elected August, 1851, one term.
Samuel Brazelton, elected August, 1853, one term.
Levi H. Mason, elected August, 1855, two terms.
Thos. J. McKean, elected October, 1859.
Resigned and John A. Ide appointed February 28, 1861, who in turn resigned and W. W. Smith appointed March 11, 1861.
Wm. W. Smith, elected October, 1861.
Resigned and Oliver O. Stanchfield appointed September 3, 1862, to fill the vacancy until the next general election.
Oliver O. Stanchfield, elected October, 1862.
Hiel Hale, elected October, 1865, one term.
John G. Hayzlett, elected October, 1867, three terms.
G. D. Gillilan, elected October, 1873, two terms.
David Carskaddon, elected October, 1877, one term.
Aaron F. Yambert, elected October, 1879.
Died in office and J. H. Yambert appointed to fill vacancy. At the next general election (November, 1880) E. L. Swem was declared elected by the board of canvassers, but the court for the trial of contested election seated B. F. Seaton.
J. H. Yambert, appointed September 6, 1880.
B. F. Seaton, elected November, 1880.
Geo. W. Burnside, elected November, 1885, two terms.
Dan R. Kinley, elected November, 1889, three terms.
John Cone, elected November, 1895, two terms.
Martin Evans, elected November, 1899.
CLERK OF THE DISTRICT COURT
S. H. Tryon, 1841, 1842, 1843. John C. Berry, 1844, 1845, 1846. Porter W. Earl, 1847, 1848, 1849. Hosea W. Gray, September, 1849, 1850. James M. Berry, 1851. James M. Berry, elected August, 1852. Andrew J. McKean, elected August, 1854, nine terms. John L. Crawford, elected November, 1872, three terms. George L. Stearns, elected October, 1878, four terms. Jackson W. Bowdish, elected November, 1886, one term. Oscar F. Lamb, elected November, 1888, one term. David W. Reynolds, elected November, 1890, one term. Oscar F. Lamb, elected November, 1892, two terms. James W. Bowman, elected November, 1896, two terms. Charles W. Braska, elected November, 1900.
COUNTY ATTORNEY
This office was created in 1886 by the Twenty-first General Assembly.
M. L. Ward, elected November, 1886.
Resigned to remove from the county and Milo P. Smith appointed September, 1887, to fill the vacancy until the next general election.
Milo P. Smith, elected November, 1887.
John M. Redmond, elected November, 1890, one term.
John M. Grimm, elected November, 1892, three terms.
William O. Clemans, elected November, 1898, two terms.
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
This office was created in 1858 by the Seventh General Assembly.
Albert Manson, elected April, 1858.
Ira G. Fairbanks, elected October, 1859, two terms.
P. W. Reeder, elected October, 1863, one term.
H. S. Bradshaw, elected October, 1865, one term.
Z. V. Elsberry, elected October, 1867, one term.
William Langham, elected October, 1869, two terms.
Eli Johnston, elected October, 1873, four terms.
John S. Willard, elected October, 1881, two terms.
Frank J. Sessoins, elected November, 1885.
Resigned July 30, 1889, to accept superintendency of schools at Waterloo, Iowa, and Fred Chamberlain appointed to complete the term.
Fred Chamberlain, appointed July 30, 1889.
F. Sherman Thompson, elected November, 1882, two terms.
Nathan H. Richards, elected November, 1893, two terms.
Ira E. Gould, elected November, 1897, two terms.
CORONER
Oren E. Shipman, elected August, 1851, one term.
Isaac Whittam, elected August, 1853, one term.
Benjamin Gaylord, elected August, 1855, one term.
Johnston Elliott, elected August, 1857, one term.
Mowry Farnum, elected October, 1859, four terms.
Mr. Farnum was re-elected a fifth time in October, 1867, but refused to qualify and accept the office and Alexander Laurance was appointed January 11, 1868, to fill this office.
Alexander Laurance, appointed January, 1868, eleven terms.
John B. Turner, elected November, 1889, four terms.
Cordy H. Ranek, elected November, 1897, two terms.
COUNTY SURVEYORS
Ross McCloud, 1839.
Samuel W. Durham, 1841.
Thomas J. McKean, 1843.
A. D. Bottorf, 1847.
Col. Samuel W. Durham stated that Mr. Bottorf was accidentally killed in office. A gentleman from Putnam township by the name of Cox was in the county surveyor's office on business, and as was frequent in those days, carried a musket which he leaned up in the corner of the door and door frame. The opening of the door threw the gun on the floor, and it was discharged, wounding Mr. Bottorf in the heel. The wound was not considered serious but blood poisoning set in and death resulted.
John McArthur, ----. Samuel W. Durham, elected August, 1851, one term. Thomas J. Stone, elected August, 1853, one term. Adam Perry, elected August, 1855, one term. Plimpton Greer, elected August, 1857, one term. George A. Gray, elected October, 1859, one term. John L. Crawford, elected October, 1861, one term. John M. Greer, elected October, 1863, two terms. George A. Gray, elected October, 1866. Samuel W. Durham, elected October, 1871, two terms. James E. Lyman, elected October, 1875. George W. Wynn, elected November, 1880. G. A. Mitchell, elected November, 1885, two terms. Samuel W. Durham, elected November, 1889, two terms. Edmond P. Boynton, elected November, 1893, one term. Thos. R. Warriner, elected November, 1895, one term. John H. Lary, elected November, 1897, one term. Jos. D. Wardle, elected November, 1899.
COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1900
Supervisors--A. J. Fuhrmeister, J. J. Ives, L. L. Wilson. Auditor--W. T. Jackson. Treasurer--Geo. W. Eakle. Clerk District Court--C. W. Braska. Recorder--P. O. Clark. Sheriff--Martin Evans. County Attorney--W. O. Clemans. Superintendent of Schools--I. E. Gould. Coroner--C. H. Ranck. Surveyor--J. D. Wardle. Judges District Court--W. G. Thompson, H. M. Remley, W. N. Treichler.
COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1901
Supervisors--A. J. Fuhrmeister, A. B. Strother, L. L. Wilson. Auditor--William T. Jackson. Treasurer--Geo. W. Eakle. Clerk District Court--Chas. W. Braska. Recorder--P. O. Clark. Sheriff--Martin Evans. County Attorney--Wm. O. Clemans. Superintendent--J. E. Vance. Coroner--D. W. King. County Surveyor--J. D. Wardle. Judges--W. G. Thompson, H. M. Remley, W. N. Treichler.
COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1902
Supervisors--A. J. Fuhrmeister, A. B. Strother, L. L. Wilson. Auditor--William T. Jackson. Treasurer--Chas. D. Carroll. Clerk District Court--Chas. W. Braska. Recorder--P. O. Clark. Sheriff--Martin Evans. County Attorney--Wm. O. Clemans. Superintendent--J. E. Vance. Coroner--D. W. King. Surveyor--J. D. Wardle. Judges--W. G. Thompson, H. M. Remley, W. N. Treichler.
COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1903
Supervisors--A. J. Fuhrmeister, A. B. Strother, L. L. Wilson. Auditor--R. C. Jackson. Treasurer--Chas. D. Carroll. Clerk District Court--Chas. W. Braska. Recorder--P. O. Clark. Sheriff--Martin Evans. County Attorney--Joseph Mekota. Superintendent--J. E. Vance. Coroner--D. W. King. Surveyor--J. D. Wardle. Judges--W. G. Thompson, J. H. Preston, B. H. Miller.
COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1904
Supervisors--A. J. Fuhrmeister, A. B. Strother, L. L. Wilson. Auditor--R. C. Jackson. Treasurer--Charles D. Carroll. Clerk District Court--Chas. W. Braska. Recorder--P. O. Clark. Sheriff--A. W. Coquillette. County Attorney--Joseph Mekota. Superintendent--J. E. Vance. Coroner--D. W. King. Surveyor--J. D. Wardle. Judges District Court--W. G. Thompson, J. H. Preston, B. H. Miller.
COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1905
Supervisors--A. J. Fuhrmeister, A. B. Strother, L. L. Wilson. Auditor--R. C. Jackson. Treasurer--Chas. D. Carroll. Clerk District Court--H. C. Ring. Recorder--C. W. Biggs. Sheriff--A. W. Coquillette. County Attorney--C. G. Watkins. Superintendent.--J. E. Vance. Coroner--D. W. King. Surveyor--J. D. Wardle. Judges--W. G. Thompson, J. H. Preston, B. H. Miller.
COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1906
Supervisors--E. W. Virden, A. B. Strother, L. L. Wilson. Auditor--R. C. Jackson. Treasurer--Chas. D. Carroll. Clerk District Court--H. C. Ring. Recorder--C. W. Biggs. Sheriff--A. W. Coquillette. County Attorney--C. G. Watkins. Superintendent--J. E. Vance. Coroner--D. W. King. Surveyor--S. N. Parsons. Judges--W. G. Thompson, J. H. Preston, B. H. Miller.
COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1907
Supervisors--Allan McDuff, Wm. P. Secrist, J. C. Gritman. Auditor--F. J. Cleveland. Treasurer--H. E. Pratt. Clerk District Court--H. C. Ring. Recorder--C. W. Biggs. Sheriff--A. W. Coquillette. County Attorney--Chas. J. Haas. Superintendent--A. B. Alderman. Coroner--W. S. King. Surveyor--P. F. Randall. Judges--Milo P. Smith, W. N. Treichler, F. O. Ellison.
COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1908
Supervisors--Allan McDuff, Wm. P. Secrist, J. C. Gritman. Auditor--F. J. Cleveland. Treasurer--H. E. Pratt. Clerk District Court--H. C. Ring. Recorder--C. W. Biggs. Sheriff--A. W. Coquillette. County Attorney--Chas. J. Haas. Superintendent--A. B. Alderman. Coroner--W. S. King. Judges District Court--Milo P. Smith, W. N. Treichler, F. O. Ellison.
COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1909-1910
Supervisors--Allan McDuff, Wm. P. Secrist, J. C. Gritman. Auditor--F. J. Cleveland. Treasurer--Harry E. Pratt. Clerk District Court--Wm. Dennis. Recorder--J. E. Cook. Sheriff--Wm. G. Loftus. County Attorney--Chas J. Haas. Superintendent--A. B. Alderman. Coroner--W. S. King. Surveyor--J. W. Bowdish, Jr. Judges District Court--Milo P. Smith, W. N. Treichler, F. O. Ellison.
COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1911
Supervisors--Allan McDuff, Wm. P. Secrist, J. C. Gritman. Auditor--F. A. Canfield. Treasurer--J. B. Travis. Clerk District Court--Wm. Dennis. Recorder--J. E. Cook. Sheriff--Wm. G. Loftus. County Attorney--G. P. Linville. Superintendent--A. B. Alderman. Coroner--W. S. King. Surveyor--Raymond Swem. Judges District Court--Milo P. Smith, W. N. Treichler, F. O. Ellison.
Chapter XLIII
History of Marion, the County Seat
BY HON. JAMES E. BROMWELL
Marion, most fittingly called the "City Beautiful," or the "Grove City," was laid out in 1839 on a semi-circular plateau of prairie that lay within a timbered crescent bordering and following the course of Indian creek on the west, and opening into a vast extent of prairie on the east, to which it lay joined like a protected harbor of the sea. Before it was laid out in the spring of 1839, it was located by a special board of commissioners appointed by the territorial legislature of Iowa in 1838, as the county seat of Linn county, and was named in honor of General Francis Marion.
David A. Woodbridge, who was appointed to superintend the work, and Ross McCloud, the first county surveyor, proceeded to lay out the town, and on December 2, 1839, assisted by Hosea W. Gray and A. J. McKean as chain carriers, Elisha Kemp stake driver, and Ira Wilson flagman, and under the direction of David A. Woodbridge, agent, the town of Marion was platted on the west half of the northwest quarter of section six, township eighty-three, range six, and the east half of the northeast quarter of section one, township eighty-three, range seven.
The town consisted of fifty-six blocks, 250 feet square. The lots were 60 by 120 feet, and the alleys ten feet wide. The four streets that enclose the public square were laid out eighty feet wide, all other streets sixty feet wide. The lots on which the court house and other county buildings now stand, were then reserved for public use, as was the park, consisting of the block directly north of that on which the county buildings now stand, and block fifty-six, the southwest block of the plat, was reserved for a public cemetery.
Isbell's Grove, now known as Irish Hill, lay to the southeast of the town plat like a beautiful emerald island cut off from the body of timber lying south of it by a strip of prairie, where, in 1838, William K. Farnsworth had entered a claim. He was the first actual town settler, although James Preston and Prior Scott had entered a large tract of land east of Isbell's Grove about the same time, and a part of which lay open until the eighties, and was known as Scott's Prairie.
Soon after the town was located, Luman M. Strong and James W. Bassitt located northwest of the town; Rufus H. Lucore, west; John C. Berry and Hosea W. Gray, north; James W. Willis, northeast: George W. Gray, south; John Margrave, northwest; and Aaron Moriarity, James and Henderson Smith on the land now owned by Emmett Kemp; James Blackman, adjoining on the northeast; Samuel Ross, his mother and several brothers, adjoining the Willis place, later known as the E. A. Vaughn farm.
Henry Thompson erected a mill three miles south on Indian creek. The timber southwest and west was taken up in small parcels; and Ephraim P. Lewis, one of the second board of county commissioners, and A. B. Mason settled between Marion and Cedar Rapids and were the first settlers in that direction. All of these came to Iowa in 1839; and in the fall of that year the Brodies and Leveriches settled two miles northwest of town. A little later Norris Cone settled southeast towards Mount Vernon, and Norman, George, and John Elihu Ives, four miles east; and a large part of the Ives land is now owned by two sons of Elihu Ives, viz: John and Julius Ives. W. L. Winter and wife settled on Dry creek, northwest of Marion, in 1842; and the wife, Clarissa D. Winter, eighty-eight years of age in March, 1910, with her mind unimpaired, and intellect grown seemingly brighter with the years, is living with her daughter, Mrs. R. Lee Taylor, in Marion.
The first house built in Marion, although then without the town plat, was that of Luman M. Strong, erected in 1839. It was also the first tavern. It stood on the Center Point road, now known as Central avenue, and occupied the site where Alvin M. Goldsberry built his home, which is now owned by J. B. Michel. The second house was built the same year by Henry Thompson and David A. Woodbridge, also outside the town plat, and on the site now occupied by the residence known for years as the H. P. Elliott home, on Twelfth street, just north of the Odd Fellows building. These men also built the first store, a log shanty, near where Charles A. Patten's residence now stands on north Eleventh street; and were licensed by the commissioners as follows: "Ordered, that Woodbridge and Thompson be allowed a license to vend and retail foreign merchandise at their store in Marion, for one year from the 9th day of October, 1839." In 1840 Addison Daniels came to Marion on horseback from Iowa City, seeking a business location, although there was not a house nor tree within the city limits, just a sea of tall, waving, wild grass with cow-paths running here and there. But he contracted with Hosea W. Gray for the erection of a store building 20×22 feet in size, and went to Muscatine by horse and thence to St. Louis by boat, where he purchased a stock of goods and returned to Marion. It took him about six months to make the trip, and when he returned he found his store room ready, and three residences in the town proper, viz: that of George Greene, afterwards judge of the supreme court of Iowa, capitalist, and later a prominent citizen of Cedar Rapids, on Main street west of Market street on the lot later occupied by the residence of Joseph Mentzer in the rear of C. F. Reichert's grocery store; that of Joseph W. Bigger, later a prominent farmer southeast of Marion, where Dr. Bardwell lived so many years, and now occupied by Eliza Bardwell: and that of L. D. Phillips, built by Joseph W. Bigger, assisted by James E. Bromwell, as a hotel and known for many years as the American House, later as the Newhall, on the site now occupied by Ed. Sigfred's clothing store.
The first store of Marion, in the city proper, was that of Addison Daniels, who continued in business for nearly half a century with marked success. It stood on the site now occupied by the Home Bakery of Mrs. Smith, on Tenth street. Mr. Daniels was Marion's first postmaster, a man of public spirit, sterling integrity, and unimpeachable character. He died June 18, 1883.
In the spring of 1840, O. S. Hall, a pioneer of marked christian character, built a one and a half story frame building just north of the first store of Mr. Daniels, where he opened a hotel known as the Iowa House. He also served one term as county recorder in 1843. He died in 1846, but the hotel was continued by his widow and son, O. S. Hall, Jr., still living in Marion, until 1871, but in later years in the large brick building in the same block at the corner of Tenth street and Eighth avenue. In the same spring the first jail of the county was built, a log structure, on lot two, block thirty-six, and where the Catholic church now stands, at a cost of $635.00. It was built by William Abbe and Asher Edgerton. William Abbe had removed to Marion from his claim near Mount Vernon on Abbe creek, which was named for him, and where the commissioners met to locate the county seat, and which was also one of the first polling places of the county. The first court house was built on the northeast corner of the block occupied by the present county buildings. Here the first school was held in Marion. The building was bought in 1845 for use as a Methodist church. It was later occupied for many years by Leonard Stowe for a bakery and grocery, and has recently been remodeled for residence flats. However, the county records show that the Methodists had made provision for a church building several years before, but probably by reason of the scarcity of money in those days, had been unable to build such an edifice as was required by a resolution of the county commissioners at their April term, 1842, which read as follows: "Ordered by the Board that the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal church of the Town of Marion be allowed and they are hereby authorized to purchase of the county agent lots number three and four in block number thirty-seven on condition that they pay said agent the sum of ten dollars and erect on said lots a good and substantial church building worth at least $1,500 within two years; and the said agent is hereby empowered to execute the above sale." This description of the lots was doubtless wrong, for these were the lots where A. J. McKean built his home, where he lived until his decease. The lots intended, and where the first Methodist church was built, were lots one and two in block twenty-seven. The present court house was built in 1841 by George W. Gray, contractor.
In the spring of 1840 Hiram Beales built and operated a saw mill, if not the first, one of the first in the county, on Indian creek west of the town and on the west side of Indian creek, opposite the site of the present Howler Mill. In 1841 Richard Thomas became a partner in this mill and mill stones were introduced for grinding grain. The first upper mill stone used in this mill has an interesting history. Ambrose Harland, once sheriff of Linn county, and who first lived at the place known later as the "Old Stone Barn," on the old road between Marion and Cedar Rapids, was a stone mason and built the first brick residence in Marion in 1842 for William H. Woodbridge. This house stood in the street, where now the Methodist parsonage stands, and was for years known as the Berry house. In 1884 Samuel Daniels, who settled in Marion after the war and was Linn county's third auditor, bought this Berry house, and by reason of it occupying a part of the street and thus disfiguring the block of which Mr. Daniels owned the greater part, tore it down. As one of the corner stones of this house, Mr. Daniels found this first upper mill stone of the Beales and Thomas mill, which had in 1842 been replaced by a larger one, and has preserved it as a relic of early days.
Richard Thomas, commonly known as "Uncle Dick," came to Marion in 1840, and was a remarkable character. His farm embraced what is now known as "Orchard Heights," one of the most beautiful additions of Marion. He was of southern birth, quaint, plain-spoken, energetic, and died in 1893 at the age of 111 years. His widow and daughter, Mary English, also a widow, occupy a beautiful home in "Orchard Heights" near the original building site of the old farm.
In 1841 the first school house was built in Marion by subscription, and on the site now occupied by the C. R. Fairfield Lumber Company's office. It stood alone in the open prairie, and was surrounded by wild grass fully five feet high. Mr. Higby was Marion's first school master. It was in this building that Rev. Mr. Emerson organized the first Methodist society.
In 1838 the territorial legislature appointed Richard Knott, Lyman Dillon, and Benjamin Nye commissioners to locate the "seat of justice" in Linn county, and on the first Monday in March, 1839, two of said commissioners, Richard Knott and Benjamin Nye, met at the house of William Abbe, on Abbe's creek, and chose the site of the town of Marion as the proper location for the county seat.
In August, 1839, three commissioners were elected to act as fiscal agents of the county. The polling place was Westport, near the present site of Bertram, and Samuel C. Stewart, Peter McRoberts, and Luman M. Strong were elected. This commission was invested with about the same powers as are now exercised by the board of supervisors of the county. They held their first meeting in Marion on September 9, 1839. H. W. Gray, the first appointed and first elected sheriff of Linn county, proclaimed the board in session. Its first official act was the appointment of John C. Berry, clerk. It next named the county seat, Marion. It next appointed A. J. McKean and William H. Smith constables. At its October session, 1839, it divided the county into three election precincts, viz: one at William Abbe's, on Abbe creek, known as the Sugar Grove precinct; one at Marion, known as the Marion precinct; and one at Michael Green's, known as Green's Grove precinct. The first election judges of Marion were James W. Bassitt, Henry Thompson, and Rufus H. Lucore. At this session James W. Willis was allowed $7.75 for five days' work making town stakes and hauling same, "three loads." The first road laid out was as follows, and ordered January 6, 1840: "Beginning at the county line west of Lathrup Olmsted's farm; thence on the nearest and best ground to the town of Marion; thence to the rapids of Cedar river; thence to the county line on a direction to Iowa City, the seat of the Territorial government."
We quote one other entry of the county commissioners made at the January term, 1840: "Ordered by the Board that James W. Willis be and is hereby allowed the privilege of cutting a sufficient amount of timber off from the quarter section of land on which the town of Marion is located to finish a certain frame for which he has already got a part; provided, however, that he shall not cut any timber that is not included in the streets of said town. Said privilege is granted in consideration of house rent and fuel for the January term of this board. 1840." A very significant entry was made by this board of commissioners at its April term, 1840, in which Luman M. Strong, one of the commissioners, was granted a license to keep a grocery and "vend spiritous liquors at retail for one year at his house near Marion by paying into the county treasury the sum of $50.00." In a later record, and the only one referring to the claimant as a public officer, R. P. Lowe, district attorney for 1840, is allowed $75.00.
The county judge plan succeeded the commissioner system of government in 1851, and Norman W. Isbell was the first judge, and was elected in 1851. He was succeeded in turn by J. M. Berry, Daniel Lothian, Johnston Elliott, and A. B. Dumont. The supervisor system, one from each township of the county, by order of the legislature, supplanted the county judge in 1861; and Marion was represented on this first board by A. J. Twogood. In 1871 the present system of county government by a board of three supervisors was adopted. County Judge J. M. Berry, in 1855, in his official capacity, contracted for the erection of the present jail and fire proof building where the county offices are now located, and this brought on the court house fight of 1855, when the issues were fairly joined in the contest for election to the county judgeship between J. M. Berry, representing Marion, and Rev. Elias Skinner, representing Cedar Rapids. Berry won by a handsome majority.
Hosea W. Gray, a man of marked ability and prominent in the early history of Marion, was elected the first sheriff of Linn county. At the same election, to wit: in August, 1839, Thomas W. Campbell was elected county treasurer; Socrates H. Tryon, who was also Marion's first physician, county clerk; and G. H. Tryon, was either elected or appointed the first county recorder. Although it is well authenticated that Richard Osborn and Sarah Haines were married in Linn county in 1839, the first marriage in Marion and the second license of record in the county is that of James E. Bromwell and Catherine Gray, date August 26, 1841. This saintly pioneer died in Marion May 5, 1900, after more than sixty years continuous residence in Marion and on his farm, one and a half miles east of the town, honored and loved by all. The same year John Hunter was married to Hannah Barbary Hines, and Charles Rowe to Phebe Putnam, and Ans Safely to Margaret Hunter, and Samuel Ross to Mary Vaughn, and John Mann to Mary Mann, and Julius Allen Peet to Esther Ann Crowe, and Aaron Moriarity to Hannah Ross, and Joseph Crane to Agnes Bogard.
Hosea W. Gray, who in the Civil war was captain of Company A, Sixth Iowa Infantry, and Linn county's first sheriff, took the first census of Linn county in 1840, which showed a population of 1,373. The vote at the first election in 1839 showed thirty-two ballots cast. October 28, 1840, Peter Garrow, born in Scotland, renounced allegiance to Queen Victoria and declared his intention to become of citizen of the United States. The first divorce case was filed May 26, 1842, and entitled Dyer Usher vs. Mary Ann Usher. At the September term, 1843, it was ordered dismissed. The first divorce granted in Linn county was at the March term, 1844, of the district court, when Parthena E. Hewitt obtained a decree of divorce from her husband, Oliver Hewitt. The title of the first case filed in the district court of Linn county is Richard Thomas vs. O. S. Hall, being an appeal case brought for trespass. After several continuances it was dismissed. George Greene, Marion's first lawyer, was counsel for the plaintiff. William G. Thompson was the first prosecuting attorney for what was called the second circuit, consisting of the counties of Cedar, Jones, and Linn, and of the eighth judicial district after the establishment of the circuit court, in 1868. The first murder committed in Linn county occurred in Marion March 20, 1847, when James Reed--who then and for many years after occupied the farm later known as the Bachman farm, on the old road about half way between Marion and Cedar Rapids, and whose house was destroyed by the tornado of 1860--struck Nathaniel Carnagy with a sled stake, fracturing his skull, from which injuries he died two weeks later. Reed was indicted but found not guilty by a jury.
The tornado of 1860, which passed through Linn county on Sunday, June 3, started about six miles west of Marion. It struck the southwest part of the town but the only damage done was to a brick smoke house standing west of the house then occupied by Willard Harlan, now the home of J. Q. A. Dutton, the last house on the street car line east of Indian creek. The first deed recorded was for lots five and six, block eleven, Marion, and was executed by the county commissioners April 4, 1843, to Horace Metcalf. The second deed is to Addison Daniels. The consideration is nine dollars. It bears the same date and is for lots one and two, block fourteen, the present Clogston home, lot seven, block twelve, where the T. J. Davis building on Tenth street now stands, and lot eight, block thirteen, on a part of which the First National Bank now stands. The selection of these lots is good evidence of the business ability of Mr. Daniels in those early days.
The plats of the towns of Marion and Cedar Rapids were recorded on the same day, to wit: April 3, 1843, "O. S. Hall, Recorder." In volume 216 on page 48, Recorder's office, is a record showing the organization of the Presbyterian society, on November 11, 1839. William Vaughn is named as one of the elders.
A. J. McKean, who came to Linn county in 1839, helped lay out the town of Marion, was the first constable of Linn county, and the first assessor for the whole county, by appointment in 1840. He served as clerk of the courts from 1854 to 1872, and was one of Marion's most prominent citizens for over half a century. His brother, Thomas J. McKean, was the first mayor of the town of Marion which was incorporated in 1865. He was elected sheriff of the county in 1859, serving until the spring of 1861, when he resigned to enter the government army service, having already served in the Florida and Mexican wars, and November 21, 1861, was appointed brigadier-general, and after a brilliant service in the Civil war was honorably discharged in 1865, as brevet major general. On September 5, 1848, he was married to Sarah T. Gray, who still survives him, is a resident of Marion, and still bright and active at the age of ninety years.
One of the most prominent men in the early history of Marion, and we might add of the county, was Samuel W. Durham. A courtly gentleman of the old school, honored and respected by every one who knew him, he died at his home in Marion, May 2, 1909, at the ripe old age of ninety-two years. He was sheriff of Linn county from 1846-1848, county surveyor in 1841, serving one term, in 1851 serving one term, in 1871 serving two terms, and in 1889 serving two terms. He was also a member of the first constitutional convention of Iowa, which convened at Iowa City October 7, 1844.
George Greene, Marion's first lawyer, and who built one of its first three residences, was the first member of the General Assembly from Linn county. He also served in the council, now called the state senate, of the third legislative assembly of Iowa, which convened at Burlington November 2, 1840, representing Cedar, Jones, and Linn counties. He also served in the fourth assembly, which convened at Iowa City December 6, 1841.
The first court was held in Marion October 26, 1840, and the following record was made: "Minutes of the District Court of Iowa Territory, within and for the county of Linn:
"Iowa Territory } } Linn County }
"Pursuant to an act of the Legislature of the Territory of Iowa, approved July, 1840, the District Court of the United States, and also for the Territory of Iowa, met at Marion, in said county, on Monday the 26th day of October, 1840. Present: Hon. Joseph Williams, Judge of the Second Judicial District for the Territory; W. G. Woodward, Esq., District Attorney of the United States for the District of Iowa; R. P. Lowe, Esq., prosecuting attorney for Second Judicial District; Hosea W. Gray, Esq., Sheriff of County of Linn; Socrates H. Tryon, Clerk of the District Court; Lawrence Maloney, Marshall of the Territory."
The following are the lists of the early officers of Linn county, who were all residents of Marion:
Sheriffs--Hosea W. Gray, 1840; Ambrose Harlan, 1844; Samuel W. Durham, 1846; Ambrose Harlan, 1847; Vincent Beall, 1850; Samuel Brazleton, 1853; Levi H. Mason, 1855; Thomas J. McKean, 1860; William W. Smith, 1861; O. O. Stanchfield, 1862; Hiel Hale, 1866; John Hayzlett, 1868; G. D. Gillilan, 1874.
Clerks of District and Circuit Courts--John C. Berry (Com.'s Clerk), 1839; S. H. Tryon, 1840; John C. Berry, 1844; Porter W. Earl, 1847; Hosea W. Gray, 1849; James M. Berry, 1851; A. J. McKean, 1854; J. L. Crawford, 1873.
Treasurers and Recorders--Addison Daniels, 1841; O. S. Hall. 1844; John Zumbro, 1844; O. S. Hall, 1845; P. W. Earl, 1846; William M. Harris, 1846; Isaac Cook, 1851; N. M. Day, 1855; William Cook, 1860; James Johnston, 1864.
Recorders after the offices of treasurer and recorder were separated--John J. Daniels, 1865; Charles E. Putnam, 1873.
Treasurers after offices were separated--R. T. Wilson, 1866; S. T. Berry, 1874; R. M. Jackson, 1882.
Auditors of the County--A. B. Dumont, 1869; John P. Coulter, 1870; Samuel Daniels, 1876; Joseph Moorhead, 1882; James E. Bromwell, 1888.
The following is a list of the early State Senators: I. M. Preston, 1852; William G. Thompson, 1856; H. G. Angle, 1860; J. B. Young, 1864; Robert Smyth, 1868; E. B. Kephart, 1872.
The following is a list of the early judges of the Eighth Judicial District: Joseph Williams, 1840; Thomas S. Wilson, 1846; James B. Carleton, 1847; William Smyth, 1853; Isaac Cook, 1857; William E. Miller, 1859; Norman W. Isbell, 1862; C. H. Conklin, 1864; N. M. Hubbard, 1866; James H. Rothrock, 1867.
Ira G. Fairbanks was the first superintendent of county schools.
In the first constitutional convention which was held at Iowa City October 7, 1844, and whose work was rejected by the people at the polls August 4, 1845, Linn county was represented by Thomas J. McKean, Samuel W. Durham, and Luman M. Strong. At the second one, held at Iowa City May 4, 1846, and whose work was endorsed by a small majority at the election held August 3, 1846, Socrates H. Tryon represented Linn and Benton counties.
The first estate ministered upon in Linn county was that of James Travis, who died in December, 1839. James Doty was appointed administrator February 15, 1840. His bond was for $200. His bondsmen were Jacob Leabo and John Stambaugh. Israel Mitchell, who had been appointed by Governor Lucas, in 1839, was the judge of probate. It was this same Judge Mitchell who located the first town in Linn county, viz: that of Westport, near the present site of Bertram, and who was the orator of the day at the first Fourth of July celebration in Linn county, held at Westport in 1839.
The second estate appearing of record was that of William Marion, who died July 4, 1840, and of which William Abbe was appointed administrator in 1841.
The third was the estate of Martin Martindale, who died in February of 1841, and of whose estate William Garrison was appointed administrator.
The following is the record of the first coffin made in Linn county: "Be it remembered that on the 21st day of June, A. D. 1841, James E. Bromwell filed his account in the Court of Probate against the estate of Martin Martindale, deceased, in the words and figures, to wit:
"To J. E. Bromwell, Dr. "To one white walnut coffin, $12.00"
Marion was the home for years of three Mexican war veterans, who were also veterans of the Civil war, viz: Thomas J. McKean, G. A. Gray, both deceased, and Samuel B. Thompson, now past ninety years of age and living with his daughter, Mrs. Nellie Schimmerhorn, of Kansas City.
Marion was incorporated in 1865. Its first mayor was General Thomas J. McKean. The other officers were: recorder, G. A. Gray; trustees, D. H. McDanel, who died in Chicago and whose widow is now living in Cedar Rapids; S. W. Rathbun, still living in Marion and editor and proprietor of the Marion Register, which was established as the Prairie Star in 1852 by A. Hoyt; G. F. Woods, who died in Marion some years ago; O. C. Wyman, now a merchant prince of Minneapolis; and Dr. N. W. Owen, who died in 1880.
The Marion fire department was organized in 1874 and consisted of the Phoenix engine company and the J. C. Davis hook and ladder company. D. P. Thurber was elected the first foreman of the Phoenix company, and A. J. Keyes of the hook and ladder company. The first engine house was the old Baptist church which stood on the site of the present C., M. & St. P. depot. Such was the beginning of the later noted Marion Volunteer Fire Department, with its matchless Mentzer Hose Company, which as a drill corps, under the captaincy of James E. Bromwell, for twenty years, in the state of Iowa and elsewhere, challenged all military and civic companies, and met all challengers in competitive contests, winning over fifty first prizes, cups, and purses, acting as special escort to Governor Cummins at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904, and winning over all contestants at the National Firemen's Tournament of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, held at Omaha in 1898, and retiring without a single defeat as a drill corps after its first three years, although as a fire company it is still active and efficient and the possessor of a beautiful home of its own on Seventh avenue in Marion, the lower story being used as a hose house and armory, and the upper story for reception and club rooms.
In 1864 the Dubuque and Southwestern Railroad, running from Farley to Cedar Rapids, was built into Marion, and in 1872 the Sabula, Ackley & Dakota Railroad--now the C., M. &. St. P.--connected Marion with Chicago. Here it terminated until it was extended west to Council Bluffs in 1880, and south to Kansas City in 1882.
Marion was especially favored in its early history, as it is today, by competent and popular physicians. Of these there were three, probably best known, who are worthy of mention, viz: Drs. Thos. S. Bardwell, Henry M. Ristine, and N. W. Owen. Dr. Thomas S. Bardwell came to Marion with his father, Dr. Leonard Bardwell, in 1841. He studied medicine with his father, and after attending lectures in St. Louis began practice in Marion in 1850. He was a natural doctor, bringing into his practice not only a knowledge of medicine but that intuition and instinctive comprehension of the law of cause and effect as applied to the human system which mark the genius in materia medica and surgery. He was a great hearted man, kind, generous, charitable, a devoted son and brother, a loyal friend and citizen. He died in Marion in 1895.
Henry M. Ristine came to Marion in 1842. He, too, was a master in the ministry of relief to human suffering. His genial presence and cheerful and encouraging words added much to the magic of his medicine. His friends were legion. He was welcomed to the homes where he was called as a physician as a beloved brother, and was always a comfort and a blessing in the sick room. In the early days and to the second generation his name was a household word throughout Linn county. He moved to Cedar Rapids in 1875, where, crowned with success and honors in his chosen calling, he died in 1897.
Norman W. Owen came to Marion in 1856. He continued the study of medicine, which he had begun in the east, under Dr. Henry M. Ristine, and graduated from Rush Medical College in 1862. He at once entered into a partnership with Dr. Ristine, and during his absence in the Civil war, he drove almost night and day, attending the large practice which he was left alone to care for. He was a most skilful and successful physician. He united with a wide knowledge of diseases and their remedies, the tenderness and skill of the trained nurse. An earnest student, of analytical yet comprehensive mind, he became a pioneer in the discovery of new remedies for human ailments, and while he formulated and compounded many preparations now of common use, his greatest achievement was the discovery and composition of Owen and Chamberlain's--now Chamberlain's--Colic, Cholera, and Diarrhoea Remedy, a world-wide panacea, of which Dr. Owen was the sole and undisputed originator. This alone places him among the "immortals" in the realm of medicine. He died in Marion in 1880.
Among the early great financiers of Marion--and we might say of Iowa and the west--was Redmond D. Stephens. He came to Marion in 1855. He was a lawyer, teacher, and scholar, as well as a banker. He obtained the third charter ever issued for a national bank in Iowa, and instituted the First National Bank of Marion in 1863. He was one of the county supervisors in 1867, and was elected to the state legislature in 1879. He organized the Merchants National Bank of Cedar Rapids in 1881, of which, as well as of the First National Bank of Marion, he was president when he died in Cedar Rapids in 1883, where he then resided. His rare acumen, keen perception, unerring judgment, and almost prophetic endowment, mastered every business enterprise he undertook and won for him the merited distinction with which success ever crowns the union of genius and studiousness, of being enthroned, honored, and acknowledged as king in the chosen realm of his life work.
No early history of Marion would be complete without mention of that brilliant coterie which illumined Linn county's seat of justice and as pillars and ornaments of the law established and adorned the now famous bar of Linn county. Nothing in later years has compared with the gladiatorial contests of the early years when true forensic oratory, keenest wit, and brilliant satire made forever famous the legal arena within the old court house at Marion. What memories and achievements cluster about the names of Corbett, Hubbard, Preston, Isbell, Thompson, Young and Smyth.
Nathaniel M. Hubbard, the greatest legal general of his time, who served one year as judge of the eighth district in 1865, was keen, alert, tactful, resourceful, and tireless. He won marked distinction in his profession, and died in Cedar Rapids a few years ago, as chief counsel for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway.
Norman W. Isbell, student, scholar, interpreter of the law, judge of the eighth district in 1862, died in the prime of life, a great mind in a frail body.
J. B. Young, brilliant, scholarly, eloquent, came to Marion in 1853; was elected prosecuting attorney for Linn county in 1854. He served in the state legislature in 1861, in the state senate in 1863, and was re-elected in 1866. He was army paymaster, with the rank of major, during the Civil war, elector-at-large in 1868, and United States pension agent in 1869. Impetuous, fiery, generous, of marked aptness and ability, he honored and adorned his chosen profession.
William Smyth came to Iowa in 1843 and to Marion in 1846--the year he was admitted to the bar. He was elected prosecuting attorney for the county in 1847, appointed judge of the fourth district in 1853, elected in 1854, and re-elected in 1856, but resigned in 1857, and with his brother, Robert Smyth, and A. J. Twogood established the first bank in Linn county, later known as the Twogood and Elliott bank of Marion. In 1858 he was chairman of the committee of three to revise and codify the laws of the state of Iowa, and the criminal code of 1860 is largely his work. In 1862 he was commissioned colonel of the Thirty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry, serving until 1864. He then formed a law partnership with J. B. Young, and was actively engaged in the practice until 1868, when he was elected to congress. He was renominated in 1870, but on September 30, 1870, before the election, died at his beautiful suburban home adjoining the city of Marion, now owned by the Sisters of Mercy, and known as St. Joseph's Academy. A man of sound judgment, a lawyer of merit, a judge of ability, a statesman of fidelity and purity, he yet stood pre-eminently before all as a man of integrity, honor, and character, the true and highest type of the Christian gentleman.
I shall now mention as the last, the two greatest lawyers of the early days of Marion, judging from their practice, marked success, and general recognition, viz: Isaac M. Preston, and William G. Thompson.
Isaac M. Preston came to Marion in 1842. He was elected probate judge of Linn county in 1842, appointed district attorney for the eighteenth judicial district of Iowa in 1845, again elected probate judge in 1847, the same year was appointed United States district attorney for Iowa by President Polk, was elected to the state legislature in 1848, and elected the first state senator in 1852 for Linn, Benton, and Tama counties. He moved to Cedar Rapids in 1878, where he died in 1880. He was possessed of a strong mind, his reasoning was logical, and his analysis keen. He aspired to greatness in his profession above all else. He was pronounced by competent judges the greatest criminal lawyer of Iowa in his day. Rugged, determined, persistent, tireless, profound, thoroughly versed in the common law, of broad conception, a close student and able judge of human nature, deliberate, careful, prudent; in speech plain, masterful, convincing; he having reached a conclusion in law or taken a position legally or morally, was seldom if ever compelled to compromise or retreat.
William G. Thompson came to Marion in 1853 and first began the practice of law with I. M. Preston. He was prosecuting attorney in 1854, editor of the Marion Register (which he bought to insure a republican paper for Linn county) in 1855 and 1856, state senator in 1856 and 1858, major of the Twentieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, serving until 1864, elector-at-large on the republican ticket in 1864, district attorney of the eighth judicial district from 1867 to 1874, chief justice of Idaho in 1878, elected to congress in 1879, and refused to accept a renomination. In 1884, to save the republican legislative ticket, he was nominated for the state legislature and elected. He was appointed judge of the eighteenth district in 1894, and was elected in the fall of the same year, re-elected in 1898 and 1902. He is now living in retirement with his son. J. M. Thompson, at his beautiful home, "The Elms," on the boulevard between Marion and Cedar Rapids. Major Thompson was naturally possessed of the elements of true greatness, viz: simplicity, sympathy, generosity, and charity. While he was in truth the "poor man's friend," he was more truly everybody's friend. His was a brilliant mind, a tender heart, an eloquent yet poignant tongue. Of quick intuition, forceful expression, and impassioned oratory, he carried juries with the force of the mountain torrent. His great tender heart was the repository of anybody's troubles or sorrows or legal difficulties "without money and without price," if needs be. As a lawyer he was comprehensive, ingenious, and aggressive. As a judge, merciful, conscientious, and just. The equitable appealed to him in every branch of the law. No truer friend, no more loyal partisan, no more zealous advocate, ever stood rock bound, unchangeable, and immovable as William G. Thompson always stood without malice or offense. Devoted to his home, his wife, and only son, cheerful, sunny, optimistic, unerring in his measurement of men and motives, charitable and forgiving beyond belief, honored and honorable, commonplace and companionable, always kind and considerate and helpful, great hearted, of noble soul, and of almost divine compassion, Judge William G. Thompson has already erected his monument of Christlike deeds, and his sepulchre will be the inner shrines of the hearts of all who knew him.
The character of the early settlers of Marion was of the highest type. Little wonder, then, that it has grown into a city of schools and churches, that its moral atmosphere has been fairly free from the fetid breath of vice and crime, and that its intellectual, spiritual, and social ideals have been largely realized in its system of schools, number and quality of its churches and church membership, and its unexcelled fraternal organizations, literary and musical clubs, and societies. Of ideal location, modern and progressive, its water supply direct from the noted Bowman springs, clean and wholesome, its people contented and prosperous, never destined, under the shadow of Cedar Rapids, to be a great city, but unique, beautiful, the county seat of the great county of Linn, undoubtedly the prize winning slogan of Cedar Rapids, with Marion substituted, would be acceptable to every resident: "Marion suits me."
Chapter XLIV
Linn County in War
The men and women of Linn county have always been patriotic. They have responded promptly and cheerfully to every call to arms. One of the earliest settlers in the county had served in the Revolutionary war. Nathan Brown, who came here in 1839 and for whom Brown township was named, at the early age of sixteen years joined the American forces.
T. J. McKean, George A. Gray, A. R. Sausman, William Hampton, S. D. Thompson, "Democ" Woodbridge, and a Mr. Courtney served in the war with Mexico. These men all enlisted from this county, entering the service in June, 1847. J. J. Snouffer, who came to the county in the early days and who long was an important figure in the business and political life of Cedar Rapids, was a veteran of this same war.
It is not out of place here to say a word regarding T. J. McKean, the only man from the county who received the commission of brigadier-general in the Civil war. General McKean was born in Pennsylvania in 1810 and entered West Point in 1827, graduating with honors in 1831. He immediately entered the service with the rank of lieutenant, and was stationed in Louisiana. Resigning his commission, for a time he followed the profession of civil engineer. He came to Marion in 1840, and when war with Mexico was declared he raised a squad of six men as above and joined Company K, 15th Regulars, the only company sent out from Iowa. He served in the Mexican war for a year and a half and then returned to Marion. At the breaking out of the Civil war he was holding the office of sheriff of the county. He was not able to resist the call to arms and surrendered his office to accept a post as paymaster in the Union army. He entered upon his duties early in 1861. In the fall of that year Governor Kirkwood proposed his name for a brigadier-general. He received that commission and served his country with ability.
On April 12, 1861, Sumter was fired upon. On the 15th, President Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 ninety-day men. It was erroneously believed that our internal difficulties could be adjusted in that period. Within thirty days after the president's call had reached Iowa this state had a regiment in the field. In that regiment, the First Iowa. Linn county had a full company under the command of Capt. T. Z. Cook.
Before giving a detailed account of the various companies that served in the Civil war from Linn county, it may be well to treat briefly of some of the stirring events that were witnessed in the county in the early days of the war.
The board of supervisors early held a special session to provide means for the relief of the families of such men as were willing to volunteer for field service. At the September, 1861, session of that body the following resolution was adopted: "That the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors issue an order or orders for the benefit and relief of any of our volunteers now in the United States service, upon the certificate and approval of the resident Supervisor of the township in which the family or applicant resides."
The press and pulpit of the county strongly advocated the cause of the Union. No conservative position on the burning question was taken by either. Many are the emphatic appeals to the loyal spirit of the county. In its issue of April 18, 1861, the Cedar Valley Times has this to say:
"More than ever, it is now the duty of every true man to respond to the call of his country. Party ties are broken, party divisions forgotten, in the common necessity which summons every true American to the standard of his country--to the defence of our Union, our Constitution, our liberty and our rights.... Every man to his post, that post the support of the Administration."
In the same issue there was a call for a meeting on that evening to obtain an expression of the feelings of the people. This meeting was held in Carpenter's Hall, Cedar Rapids, and was characterized by great enthusiasm. Dr. J. H. Camburn presided and Isaac Van Meter acted as secretary. These gentlemen, together with Porter W. Earle, William Greene, H. G. Angle, Dr. Taylor, E. N. Bates, W. H. Merritt, and others gave stirring talks. At this meeting a despatch was read from Gov. Samuel J. Kirkwood, as follows:
"If Linn county shall tender me a full company of seventy-eight good men, properly officered, by Thursday of next week, I will offer the company as one of the regiments required of this state by the President of the United States."
A committee was appointed to push the matter of raising a company. On this committee were E. N. Bates, T. Z. Cook, W. H. Merritt, J. H. Stibbs and W. R. Sweitzer. Twenty-five names were signed that night to a muster roll.
Other towns of the county were not behind Cedar Rapids in enthusiasm. On the evening of April 19th a mass meeting was held at Kingston, with J. H. Elder in the chair. He at once offered his purse to its limit for the cause. Here Rev. A. G. Eberhart, and Messrs. Churchill, Stewart and Detwiler were the speakers. Eight men added their names to the roll of Cedar Rapids volunteers. In Marion a meeting of equal enthusiasm was held and a full company volunteered. By noon of the 19th thirty-five men had signed a muster roll in Mt. Vernon. A great crowd gathered in the chapel of Western college on the evening of the 19th. Young men, students and others, were urged to enroll for the honor of Linn county and the cause of the union. Nine were added to the list. The meeting also contributed five dollars to aid in purchasing bibles for the company--the boys from Western going with those from this city. On Monday the 22d, this contingent came to the city, and on the same day twenty-seven of the Mt. Vernon volunteers were accepted for the first company from Linn county. Captaincy of the company, K, First Infantry, fell upon T. Z. Cook.
In Buffalo township there were but twelve voters, and just half of these volunteered for army service. At Palo a spirited union meeting was held, and at once thirty-five men pledged their lives to the cause.
The boys at once began drilling under J. J. Snouffer, a veteran of the Mexican war. Dr. S. D. Carpenter was made quartermaster of the regiment. On Saturday, May 4, a flag was presented to the company. On May 6 Company K left for Clinton. Following is roster of the company, at the time it left Cedar Rapids: Captain, T. Z. Cook; first lieutenant, J. C. Marvin; second lieutenant, Robert Stinson; orderly, J. H. Stibbs; second sergeant, J. Van Meter; third sergeant, E. Coulter; first corporal, R. L. Wilson; second corporal, J. H. Hammond; third corporal, E. L. Carpenter; fourth corporal, Jos. McClelland. Privates--Geo. H. Angell, Geo. W. Aylesworth, John Agler, Geo. C. Burkmeister, Benj. E. Butler, A. C. Blood, H. H. Boyes, H. C. Bates, John M. Chase, Henry P. Covertson, W. J. Conley, Paul Carpenter, B. Franklin Cook, A. D. Collier, Wilson Certain, A. J. Churchill, J. M. Clark, Edward Calder, Joseph B. Daniels, John K. Daniels, Samuel Daniels, Addison Davis, Robert P. Dewey, John J. Perry, Chas. W. Esgate, B. E. Eberhart, Wm. J. Eckles, Stuart Erwin, E. P. Fellows, John Fitzgerald, J. B. Fisher, J. D. Ferguson, Andrew Geddes, Geo. Granger, Andrew Harmon, Hiel Hale, F. W. Hollingrane, J. J. Hollan, Perry Hoyt, W. P. Hubbard, Peter Hauger, Charles A. Harper, R. W. Hayzlett, J. C. Hayes, Nathaniel Johnson, Geo. A. John, W. B. Jacobs, Frank Klump, J. H. Little, G. C. Miller, Philip Murdock, J. C. Morehead, H. J. McManus, John McGowen, E. R. McKee, Michael Mentz, D. W. Prescott, N. Russell, G. Rifenstahl, H. W. Ross, J. W. Robinson, R. M. Rogers, A. T. Rigby, W. D. Robins, E. W. Stewart, R. B. Stewart, James O. Stewart, Henry Shaffer, John S. Starkweather, L. E. Stevins, J. W. Smith, C. C. Smith, E. B. Soper, J. M. Secrist, Geo. F. Schoonover, J. B. Stine, F. J. Shuey, M. Taylor, E. Thompson, G. F. Vandever, J. N. Van Arsdel, L. P. Winterstein, C. Wynn, William Walt, D. H. Wilson, Geo. H. Yager, L. J. C. Ziengenfus.
The regimental officers were J. F. Bates, Dubuque, colonel; W. H. Merritt, Cedar Rapids, lieutenant-colonel; A. B. Porter, Mt. Pleasant, major.
The company before the close of its services endured many hardships. It took part in the skirmish at Forsythe on July 20. On the evening of the 9th of August the First Iowa, under command of Lieut. Col. Merritt joined the other forces at Springfield, under Gen. Lyon. Marching to within three miles of the enemy's camp at Wilson's Creek, the attack was begun at 3 o'clock on the morning of the 10th. It was a severely contested engagement. At this battle Gen. Lyon was killed, while personally leading the First Iowa. Victory was with the Union army and pursuit of the enemy was continued until nightfall. Following is the report made by Captain T. Z. Cook of casualties sustained by his company:
"Killed--Private Perry Hoyt. Seriously wounded--E. Coulter, leg; Henry Shaffer, leg and arm; John Stine, leg and breast; E. R. McKee, arm; W. D. Robins, leg; Samuel Daniels, leg. Slightly wounded--J. O. Stewart, leg; John Fitzgerald, face; Joseph Hollan, foot; J. M. Chase, back; George F. Schoonover, arm badly bruised by grape shot. Sergeant Coulter and Privates Shaffer and Stine were left at Springfield. Isaac Van Meter, second sergeant, and John H. Stibbs, sergeant, particularly distinguished themselves for coolness and bravery. T. Z. Cook, captain."
This battle really ended the service of Company K. The regiment was mustered out at St. Louis August 25 and started at once for home. On the evening of August 26 the volunteer's returned to Cedar Rapids. The Kingston Guards, of eighty men, with a local company of about the same number, furnished an escort and headed by the mayor and council met the train at the depot. Five thousand people were estimated in the gathering. The dwellings and stores were illuminated in honor of the return. A procession was formed and marched to the same place where a few months before the flag had been presented. On behalf of the city Mayor Bishop voiced its welcome to the volunteers. Judge Isaac Cook supplied a little more speech-making and a supper followed of quality to make these soldiers forget all hardships of camp and march.
In other portions of the county the enthusiasm was as great as it was in Cedar Rapids. The Linn County Register of April 20, 1861, in announcing the commencement of hostilities stated that "already, some seventy-five persons, in the vicinity of Marion alone, have signified their intention to volunteer under the call of President Lincoln." In its issue a week later the same paper said that "on every corner the people are assembled, in squads of a dozen or more, discussing the chances of the conflict. Men in the country leave their plows, and rush into town, to inquire about the news."
In the Sixth Infantry, which was mustered in July 6, 1861, Company A was entirely from this county. It was organized at Marion. The regiment was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, July 21. 1865. It saw some hard battles, several of its officers being killed in action, and eighteen wounded. Of the enlisted men 274 were killed or died in the service, and 331 were wounded in action. It is said that this regiment suffered more casualties than any other regiment from Iowa. The regiment suffered severely at Shiloh, Mission Ridge, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, and Jackson, Miss.
Its first captain was Hosea W. Gray, who was succeeded by Tarlton Caldwell, Willard H. Harland, and Rodney E. Barker, who served as captains at different periods. A. L. Ingram, who entered the company as a private, was first lieutenant at the time of mustering out. Other well known names among the officers of this company are those of George A. Gray, W. M. Harbeson, A. P. Alexander, Samuel D. Springer, C. A. Huston, Chas. L. Byam. Among the members of the company are found the names of T. H. Alexander, Daniel K. Kinley, Chas. Robins, S. A. Stearns, D. F. Stinson.
George M. Holmes, of this county, entered as sergeant of this regiment, and was promoted from time to time until he became captain of Company K on July 30, 1863, resigning October 17, 1864.
In the Eighth Infantry Joseph C. Stoddard, yet a resident of Cedar Rapids, was commissioned adjutant November 15, 1865, having been promoted from sergeant-major. Among those from this county in this regiment may be noted Jno. M. Dawley, J. H. Gardner, Hiram Inks, Wm. H. Ostrander, David G. Usher, Homer H. Phillips, D. W. Yount.
The county was also represented in the Ninth Infantry, being especially strong in Company K, in which Abraham Bowman was commissioned second lieutenant and promoted to the captaincy on January 9, 1864. Its first captain was David Carskaddon, afterwards colonel of the regiment. Among the familiar names in this company we find those of David Bowman, Jas. C. Morehead, Oliver B. Cone, John Cone, John S. McKee, J. M. Burkhart, W. S. Dingman, John W. Gray, I. N. Lutz, A. R. Whiteneck. The company was organized in Marion and mustered into the service July 23, 1861.
In the Eleventh Infantry these names are noted: Robt. L. Wilson, Samuel H. Harrison, Chas. W. Mason, Wm. H. McRoberts, Wm. Burge, Henry M. Cook, Jno. Coburn, John Elder, E. P. Listabarger, Wm. Mitchell, Jas. D. McRoberts, And. W. Satley, Thos. Strang, John B. Stine, Geo. W. Sparks, Samuel Shafer, Wm. A. Thompson. Company K of this regiment was organized in Cedar Rapids, John C. Marvin, captain. It was mustered in July 23, 1861.
Company D, Twelfth Iowa Infantry, was captained by John H. Stibbs. The regiment was organized at Dubuque and mustered into the service November 25, 1861, with Joseph P. Woods, a West Pointer, as colonel; John P. Coulter of Cedar Rapids, lieutenant-colonel, and S. D. Brodtbeck, major. The Twelfth was then ordered to St. Louis. The Linn county company was organized in Cedar Rapids, and mustered in October 26, 1861.
First of the year 1862 found seventeen members of the company in hospitals. A malignant outbreak of measles at that time caused many deaths in the Twelfth and other regiments.
During the week ending January 15, 1862, Capt. Stibbs, in a letter to his brother in Cedar Rapids, reported that six of his men had died in hospital. These were William H. Webster, William L. Dailey, John L. Jaques, John S. Lee, Jasper Cyner and Henry Haradon. Seventeen others were in various hospitals at St. Louis. On Saturday, January 11, the regiment was ordered to be ready to start for Kentucky on the 15th, but because of ice in the river, these orders were countermanded. On the 27th it was ordered to report to Gen. Grant at Cairo. From thence the regiment was sent to the mouth of the Cumberland river, and established its camp in the field. On February 5 it joined the expedition against Fort Henry.
The company was at Ft. Donelson when it capitulated. The regiment remained at Fort Donelson until March 12, when it was moved to Pittsburg Landing. On the evening of the 9th of April news was received of a great battle at Pittsburg Landing, in which the Twelfth Iowa had share. It was only known that slaughter had been immense, and until full details were received the anxiety in Cedar Rapids can be imagined. Yet how slow this news was in coming may be judged from an editorial note in the Cedar Valley Times for April 17: "Three of our Iowa regiments--the Eighth, Twelfth and Fourteenth--were cut off and taken prisoners while bravely defending their flag and the glory of their country. They fought like tigers. We are not yet able to publish full lists of losses, and the anxiety so long felt must continue."
The report made by Lieutenant-Colonel Coulter gave the following returns for Company D: Killed--First Lieutenant James B. Ferguson; Privates Daniel Luther and James P. Ayres. Wounded--Sergeant J. M. Clark, Corporal Joseph Stibbs, H. C. Morehead and H. Panborn, all slightly; Privates J. G. Clark and Frank Renchin, severely. R. C. Cowell and Ed. H. Bailey, slightly. Missing--(prisoners)--Capt. J. H. Stibbs, Second Lieutenant Hiel Hale, Orderly Sergeant R. Hilton; Corporals H. W. Ross and J. J. Broughton; Privates L. M. Ayres, Ed. Buttolph, Samuel Baumgardner, Thomas Barr, J. W. Burch, S. Birch, P. Brennan, D. L. Conley, D. Conley, F. Dubois, S. A. Flint, W. A. Flint, A. J. Frees, C. Ferrerbend, H. Grass, P. Gephart, A. Hill, R. L. Johnson, Eli King, William Lee, John Luther, T. J. Lewis, Wm. B. Lutz, J. Lanagan, E. B. Martin, A. J. Milen, D. W. Minor, R. McClain, J. Nicholas, J. O. Sartwell, D. Sivets, J. Scott, L. Snell, R. K. Soper, A. A. Stewart, J. M. Garponning, W. H. Trowbridge, W. Whitenack, J. J. Whittam, J. Wagner, J. Craft, F. Curren, R. P. Zuver, A. McIntyre.
Lieutenant Jason D. Ferguson, one of the killed, was at the outbreak of the war a student in Cornell College. He was one of that gallant band who left their studies to take up men's work. He was a member of Company K, First Iowa, serving throughout the brief but arduous campaign in which that regiment participated. His efforts were untiring in organization of Company D, of the Twelfth.
But the losses of Linn county soldiers were not confined to those of Company D, of the Twelfth Iowa in the battle of Pittsburg Landing. Quartermaster Mortimer A. Higley sent back to friends in this city, a list of those in Company A, Fifteenth Iowa, there killed and wounded. Among the killed were Pat H. Kennedy and Wm. W. Wood, privates, both of Cedar Rapids. Wounded, Corporal John Kimbro, in arm, severely; privates, Elisha Hopkins, severely; Charles Stewart, slightly; Jacob Brown, severely; Newton Dawson, and Henry Bunn, slightly, all being from Linn county.
The Twelfth Iowa regiment was mustered out and the members from this county returned home during the last week of January. Company D, enlisted in 1866, came home with the following Cedar Rapids survivors: S. R. Burch, adjutant; Homer Morehead, regimental quartermaster; John Clark, captain; Eli King, first lieutenant; N. G. Price, orderly sergeant; H. Pangborn, John Burch, I. G. Clark, B. P. Zuver, sergeants; J. Lanagan, John Luther, R. C. Cowell, Josiah Scott, R. L. Johnson, P. Brennan, A. A. Stewart, T. Lewis, corporals; S. Baumgardner, John Whittam, Wm. Whiteneck, J. W. Rowen, W. H. Trowbridge, A. J. Freese, R. S. Martin, J. B. Lambert, Daniel Sivetts, Sam H. Flint, H. Grass, F. Dubois, H. Ross, Wm. Lee and R. K. Soper, privates. Citizens of Cedar Rapids and Kingston gave a reception to these returned soldiers on the evening of February 6. This took form of a ball at Daniels' Hall and a supper served at the American House.
The Thirteenth Infantry was organized at Mt. Vernon and mustered in July 23, 1861, John Q. Wild, captain. Chas. W. Kepler was a captain and E. R. Mason a sergeant. Among the members were Geo. W. Doty, Jacob W. Easterly, Chas. Gardner, Jos. M. Harper, S. P. Harman, D. A. Hamilton, Jas. E. Neal, Robt. W. Thompson, Wm. Thompson, F. A. Varner, Thos. W. Wilson, D. C. Weaver, John Shaver, John Archer, Henry Blessing, Frank Cook, David Hoster, Geo. W. Thompson, John Bierly, Wm. Cline, T. B. Fullerton, John Gregg, Wm. Hackett, Joseph Livington, Jas. A. McClellan, O. T. Petit, M. W. Sweet, Wm. Teeters, Edw. Ware, Julius A. Jackson.
In the Fourteenth Infantry Jos. Legore was a corporal, and a number enlisted in the regiment from this county. The same is true of the Fifteenth. Sixteenth and Eighteenth regiments. Company A of the Fifteenth was composed largely of Linn county men. M. A. Higley was first lieutenant in this company and later a major in the commissary department.
The Eighteenth regiment was organized at Clinton, but Company A was made up almost entirely of men from this county. T. Z. Cook, of Cedar Rapids, was lieutenant-colonel of the regiment.
On July 9, 1862, Governor Kirkwood called for five additional infantry regiments from Iowa. In response to this call a "mass war meeting" was held in Cedar Rapids on the evening of July 22. E. G. Brown was chairman and J. H. Elder, secretary. The result of this meeting was the organization of Company A, 20th Iowa. Many of the most substantial citizens of Cedar Rapids for the time being laid aside their private business to engage in raising men for the war.
The Twentieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry was composed of five companies from Linn county and five from Scott county. The companies from this county were A, B, F, H, and I. They were mustered into service August 25, 1862. The company went from here to Clinton and from there to Davenport. On September 5 they took the boat for St. Louis. The regiment experienced several hard marches in Missouri and Arkansas; it took part in the siege of Vicksburg, saw service in Louisiana and Texas; was in the attack on Mobile, and was mustered out there July 8, 1865.
William McE. Dye, of Marion, was colonel of the regiment, William G. Thompson was major. Dr. Henry Ristine was surgeon, C. S. Lake, adjutant, and J. S. Lake, commissary sergeant. Company A was captained by E. N. Bates, Company B by Edward Coulter, Company F by N. M. Hubbard, Company H by R. H. Lucore, and Company I by C. C. Cook. Among the well known Linn county men in this regiment may be mentioned the following: Milo Adams, W. H. Boyce, John H. Culp, George W. Homer, Robert Keeler, George W. Mentzer, John D. Mounce, C. E. and Daniel W. Robbins, Erin Rucker, John M. Starbuck, B. F. Snyder, F. Uebel, William D. Robbins, A. J. Mallahan, John J. Robbins, Robert C. Hall, D. G. Manahan, D. A. Dingman, Joseph Floyd, R. C. Ring, L. L. Wilson, N. C. Gillilan, Geo. W. and William Bice, H. Hollenbeck, H. C. Adams, W. C. Bowen, S. A. Beach, George Beebe, Byron Cone, F. M. Elrod, H. P. Eastman, Geo. D. Gillilan, J. N. Huston, James W. Howlett, J. W. Newhall, E. J. Reynolds, W. Stinson, Geo. A. Gray, J. J. Hollan, William H. Scott, George W. Wynn, B. P. Wickham, L. D. Elsbery, A. B. Lucore, William Busby, D. L. Castle, S. P. Hollan, James M. Hunter, Hiram Inks, J. D. Jordan, F. A. McConahy, C. H. Sawyer, J. C. McClellan, S. L. Dows, William E. Earl, E. D. Stedman, S. F. Seeley, Casper J. Hart, John W. Whitenack, S. B. Mann, Chas. Morehead, John C. Weatherwax, John Chambers, George W. Daniels, G. B. Daniels, Abraham Hess, M. B. Plummer, Samuel M. Whiteing, Henry White. J. O. Stewart.
Capt. J. O. Stewart, long clerk in Cedar Rapids of the U. S. District Court, entered Company B of this regiment as first sergeant. In March, 1863, he was appointed second lieutenant and in 1864 commissioned captain. For a year and a half he acted as adjutant of the regiment.
Companies F, G. and H in the Twenty-fourth Infantry were from Linn county. E. C. Byam was for a time colonel of this regiment, John F. Sly was surgeon, John Q. Wilds, of Mt. Vernon, was lieutenant colonel. C. L. Byam, D. W. Camp and William H. Smouse were adjutants, F. W. Vinson was both a captain and chaplain. W. C. Dimmett was captain of Company F. John G. Hayzlett and C. H. Kurtz were first lieutenants, T. L. Smith, A. T. Waln were second lieutenants, and among the members of this company may be noted the following: William Camp, Andrew Doty, John W. Firkins, John F. Goudy, John Geiger, William Hall, John A. Ide, Samuel Johnson, J. H. Kepler, A. Lacock, William McQuiston, John Peddycoard, John Renfrew. This company was organized at Mt. Vernon.
W. W. Smith was captain of Company G and among the members of this company were George F. Coleman, James Morrison, David Briggs, A. Cox, H. H. Felton, Jacob Grow, J. G. Hall, D. W. King, Daniel Matson, John L. Ogan, John F. Prather, Willis Vance, John H. Worden. This company was organized in Cedar Rapids.
Of Company H William Carbee was captain. Among the other officers were F. A. Jones, I. B. Dutton, William C. Glover, George W. Martin, J. H. Shanklin, Josiah Bundy, and among the members may be noted Michael Boyer, C. H. Burlingham, Joe L. Bundy, John B. Bowman, C. H. Branch, David Ely, Z. V. Elsbery, C. R. Elsbery, E. R. Gregg, M. Griffith, T. J. Gibson, Benjamin W. Gibson, Joseph Hyatt, F. C. Hunter, I. Lambert, Charles Penn, D. J. Post, J. S. Vernon, David C. Winans, and John Yount.
This company was recruited from Springville, Waubeek, and Prairieburg.
The Thirty-first Infantry, Company A, Robert Stinson, captain, was recruited in northeastern Linn county and was organized at Marion. William Smyth, of Marion, was colonel of the regiment, G. L. Carhart surgeon, L. H. Mason and A. J. Twogood quartermasters, Milo P. Smith sergeant-major, and Donald Lothian commissary sergeant. J. S. Alexander, at present postmaster at Marion, was promoted to the captaincy of Company A on June 14, 1864. Dyer Usher and John H. Harvey were lieutenants in this company, John M. Robbins, Hiram Deem, Jesse Abbott, Richard Abbott, Alfred Stinson and A. P. McKinley sergeants.
Linn county was represented in the Thirty-seventh Infantry by men in Companies A, D, G, H and I. Jas. S. Morehead, George A. Calder, G. L. Snyder are familiar names on the roster of this regiment. Company A was organized in Cedar Rapids with John Hogendabler as captain. The company was made up of men from Linn, Benton and Blackhawk counties. The regiment was known as the "Grey Beards."
Toward the close of the war some 100-day regiments were organized in Iowa. The county had men in these also--John S. Harrison, J. T. Christian, Geo. W. Bever, Henry S. Bever, B. F. Snyder, Geo. S. Bushnell, I. S. Barger, John Allsbaugh, H. O. Kearns, R. N. Maudsley, S. H. Metcalf, N. H. Martin, P. Otterbein, Homer H. Phelps, and others. Half of Company E, 46th, Infantry were from Linn county. John Harrison of Cedar Rapids, was the captain. David B. Henderson, of Dubuque, was colonel of the regiment.
The county had also scattered representation in several cavalry regiments.
According to the reports of the adjutant general of Iowa, out of a population of 18,947, Linn county furnished 1,737 men for the army from 1861 to 1864 inclusive.
It is scarcely possible to sum up in brief space what Linn county did in raising men for the war. Company K of the First Iowa. Company D of the Twelfth, the companies raised by Captains E. N. Bates, C. C. Cook, R. H. Lucore, N. M. Hubbard, and J. P. Coulter, had already gone out from the county or were ready to enter the service early in 1862. W. W. Smith and Rev. F. W. Vinson had also a full company. More than fifty men had been recruited at Western, seventy-five at Springville, a full company at Mount Vernon, some fifty additional men at Marion, and a company was then forming at Center Point.
In its issue for August 21, the Times stated: "Within the past two weeks she [Linn county] has sent five companies out, and four others, full and organized, are waiting orders to leave. A tenth company will soon be filled. Nothing less than a regiment will satisfy the martial feeling prevailing in our county."
On Monday, August 18, the companies of Captain Cook, Lucore, and Coulter, about 250 in all, left Cedar Rapids for Clinton. Captain Vinson's company was filled on August 20, with Sheriff W. W. Smith as first lieutenant. This company was made a part of the Twenty-fourth, or "Temperance" regiment. Mr. Vinson later resigned as captain to accept a position as chaplain of the regiment. In the meantime Captain T. Z. Cook had received a commission as lieutenant colonel of the Eighteenth Iowa. At the time he was mayor of Cedar Rapids but resigned and Charles Weare was appointed in his place.
In April, 1862, Dr. J. H. Camburn, of Cedar Rapids, was commissioned as surgeon of the Sixteenth Iowa and about the same time Dr. R. R. Taylor was appointed as medical officer of the Fourth cavalry, then stationed at Benton Barracks, St. Louis.
To speak at length of the services rendered in the field by the men from Linn county is not possible at this time. Our boys all distinguished themselves for bravery, and suffered patiently the many privations to which they were subjected. Many of them saw hard service, and quite a number were taken prisoners. At Shiloh among the Linn county officers made prisoners were Capt. John H. Stibbs, and Lieut. Hiel Hale of Company D, Twelfth Iowa. These officers were later released on exchange. Captain Ed Coulter of the Twentieth Iowa fell into the hands of the enemy down in Texas. It seems that officers of the Twentieth were somewhat unfortunate. Major W. G. Thompson was badly wounded at the battle of Prairie Grove. Captain Bates resigned because of ill health, returned home, and died. Captain Lucore became ill with the small pox and also died. Captain C. C. Cook resigned on account of sickness, and was succeeded by Joseph McClelland, who at the time was ill in New Orleans. Lieutenant Joseph Holland resigned and came home sick, dying soon afterward.
Company A of the Thirty-first Iowa reached Cedar Rapids after being discharged on July 3, 1865. This company went into the war 100 strong and returned with only about forty. Early in August of this same year, the three companies from Linn county in the Twenty-fourth Iowa reached home. Of Company C there were only twenty of the original members left.
On the 7th of September, 1865, Cedar Rapids gave the returning soldiers a big reception. The elaborateness of the reception was greatly marred by a heavy rainfall. The spirit manifested was all right, however.
COMPANY C, CEDAR RAPIDS
One of the best known military companies in the state is Company C, of Cedar Rapids. This company was organized November 1, 1883, its first captain being George Greene. Many of the best known young men of the town at one time or another have been members of this organization.
After serving a number of years Captain Greene resigned, and for a short time W. G. Dows was acting captain. Ed. II. Smith was then chosen to the position. He was succeeded by George A. Evans.
W. G. Dows, long a member of this company, for a time was adjutant of the First Regiment Iowa National Guards.
Upon the call for troops because of the Spanish-American war, on April 25, 1898, the entire membership of Company C left that same night for Des Moines, where the entire First Regiment was assembled. This regiment was mustered into the United States service as the Forty-ninth Iowa United States Volunteer Infantry. William G. Dows, colonel, commanding. After drilling for a time they went to Jacksonville, Florida, and then to Savannah, Georgia, where they took a government transport for Cuba. The members of the regiment did all kind of service in the army of occupation, much of it being very laborious. In May, 1899, the regiment returned from Cuba and shortly afterwards was mustered out at Savannah.
While the company was in the service in Cuba George A. Evans was its captain.
A few months later the present Fifty-third Regiment was organized, each city in the old regiment being allowed a company in the new. Company C was reorganized, and is now a part of this regiment. The first captain of the new company was Frank Hahn. He was succeeded by T. A. Berkebile, and he by John Rau, who is now the captain of the company.
Col. William G. Dows, who is now a member of the governor's staff, served for twenty-five years in various capacities in the same regiment, a service for continuity unequalled. Though offered promotions, he maintained that he would rather stay by the old boys and the old regiment.
FIFTH IOWA BATTERY
Promptly upon the declaration of war in 1898 with Spain a battery was organized in Cedar Rapids for service in that war. It was mustered into the service as the Fifth Battery Iowa Volunteer Light Artillery. Nearly all of the 100 members came from Cedar Rapids and vicinity. The members were enrolled during April and May, and the battery was mustered in at Des Moines in June by Major Olmsted of the U. S. regulars. The battery saw no regular service, but it spent ten weeks in camp waiting, ready for service in the field if called upon. George W. Bever was the captain, R. Tasker Forbes and S. Craighead Cook, lieutenants, Charles A. Loring was first sergeant, Robert M. Witwer, quartermaster sergeant. Dr. C. H. French and Roy Waite were also sergeants in the company.
Chapter XLV
Odds and Ends of History and Reminiscence
In this chapter we give some odds and ends of history and reminiscence that could not well be inserted elsewhere or that came into our possession after the foregoing chapters were written:
The result of the vote in Linn county in 1860 showed 2,227 for Lincoln electors, 1,220 for Douglas, 24 for Breckinridge, and 84 for Bell. In Rapids township Lincoln had 397, Douglas 201, Breckinridge 3, and Bell 26.
The first telegraph line reached Cedar Rapids February 24, 1860.
On the evening of Sunday, June 3, 1860, a destructive storm occurred, since known as "The Great Tornado." It was most destructive about five miles north of Cedar Rapids, and passed southward, leaving the county in the vicinity of Western. Some lives were lost and many buildings destroyed.
THE TOWN OF WESTERN
Western was laid out in March, 1856, under the auspices of the United Brethren church, with the design of forming proper surroundings for the college. Ground was first broken in June of that year. By August, 1857, there were forty-three dwelling houses and three hundred inhabitants. One college building had been completed. This was of brick, three stories in height, 36 by 62 feet. This was placed upon a campus of seventeen acres. Rev. S. Weaver was first president of this institution. The plan was to operate a large farm in connection with the college, that students might earn their way. In this new town there were already two stores, one hotel built and one building, a blacksmith shop, two physicians, and fourteen busy carpenters. Land in the vicinity was worth from $10 to $20 per acre. Its quality was proven when the college president, on his own farm, raised 1,800 bushels of wheat. There was a railroad coming there, of course, as there was one prospected to nearly every cross-roads in the state. This particular line was the Iowa Union, to run from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City.
Western was above all things a moral town. One Daniel Quin having opened a grog shop near the place, where the college authorities could not interfere, the people took up the matter. Sentiment was aroused and a mass meeting was held. At this meeting resolutions were adopted, which provided that a committee should wait upon the dram seller and urge him to desist. In case of his refusal the committee was to try legal methods for his suppression. If these proved ineffective the meeting was to be again called, to devise further measures. A very significant addendum was that the meeting would support the committee in any plan which might be considered necessary to eradicate the obnoxious business. It was further resolved to use the boycott--though the Irish captain had not yet given his name to the scheme. In other words they were not to employ or trade with any man engaged in the liquor business or who might in any way support the traffic. It is perhaps needless to say that Quin surrendered at discretion without forcing the committee and the people to extremities hinted at.
MT. VERNON
Mt. Vernon makes showing in several directions during 1857. The Congregationalists of that town being without a place of worship were enabled to rent from the Covenanters. But by the terms of the lease with that strict body promise was made that no minister of pro-slavery sentiments should be heard within the building, nor upon any occasion was a musical instrument of any description to be used therein. The institution at Mt. Vernon which had before this time been known as "Iowa Conference Seminary," was in August, 1857, changed in name to Cornell College. And Mt. Vernon, like the other college town of Western, was careful for civic peace and righteousness. Christianity in that time and in a new country was required sometimes to be of a stalwart and muscular kind, that it might meet evil tendencies sharply and effectively. Thus we learn of the discomfitures of a gang of rowdies from Linn Grove, who invaded the peace of Mt. Vernon and disturbed its Sabbath quietude, with intent to break up a religious meeting then in progress. These were overcome, after a tussle, by the worshippers, and held until passing of midnight brought a civic day. Then the justice was roused, the disturbers formally accused, tried and fined to the utmost extent of their resources. The affair was over before one o'clock Monday morning, the rowdies started home with empty pockets, sadder and wiser men, and the godly inhabitants of Mt. Vernon again slept the sleep of the just.
FIRST AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION
The Linn County Agricultural and Mechanical Association was organized in 1855, its first meeting being held at Cedar Rapids in May of that year. The organization was completed in July. The object, as stated, was "the encouragement of agriculture, manufactures and the mechanic arts." To accomplish this laudable purpose an annual county fair was to be held. The first of these was at Cedar Rapids in September, 1855, and the second at Marion the next year. These are reported as very creditable in exhibits, and fairly well attended. In 1857 the association was incorporated, and in consequence drew $200 from the state treasury. The third fair was again at Cedar Rapids, and the management took the public into its confidence in advance by revealing its slender resources. The premiums for '56 were not paid, but those of the next year were very promptly met, and a surplus remained over for the future. These annual fairs were recognized as something to be aided by all parties, and the various toll bridges notified intending exhibitors that all live stock taken to the fair would be passed free.
The statement of the association for 1860 shows total income of $462.00, of which amount $259.00 represented the gate receipts. The expenditures were $414.95, including $146.98 for premiums. The indebtedness of the society had increased to $618.65. The amount received from the state each year was $200.00. Officers elected for 1861 were: President, Charles Taylor, Cedar Rapids; vice presidents, Andrew Safely and W. S. Gott, Marion; secretary, S. D. McCauley, Cedar Rapids; treasurer, Lysander Jones, Marion.
FIRST TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
Another organization, though having nominal existence before this time, was really made effective in 1857. This was the Linn County Teachers' Association.
On October 31, on call of J. L. Enos, the teachers and others interested met in Cedar Rapids. Mr. Enos was then editor of the Voice of Iowa, the educational organ of the state. At this meeting a reorganization of the association was effected, and officers elected as follows: President, Rev. S. Weaver, president of Western college; vice presidents, Prof. S. M. Fellows of Mt. Vernon, E. A. Cooley of Marion, Ira G. Fairbanks of Cedar Rapids; secretary, Prof. N. W. Bartlett, Western; treasurer, Hon. E. N. Bates of Cedar Rapids. The executive committee consisted of M. Bowman, Franklin township; S. M. Bruce, Washington; William Parmenter, Western; J. L. Enos, Cedar Rapids; and A. Witter, Franklin. The work of preparing a constitution was committed to J. L. Enos, E. A. Cooley, and Ira G. Fairbanks. A further meeting of the association was held at Western, December 12th, at which time the constitution was adopted and the organization started on a very useful existence.
FIRST TEACHER'S CERTIFICATE IN CEDAR RAPIDS
The first teacher's certificate issued in Rapids township reads as follows:
"This certifies that I have this day examined Miss Susan A. Abbe, touching her ability to teach, both in regard to her education and to her moral character, and I find her well qualified for a teacher of common schools.
"This certificate shall be valid for one year.
"Rapids township, Linn county, Iowa, July 16, 1847.
"Alexander L. Ely, "Inspector of Common Schools for said Township."
Alexander L. Ely was one of the early settlers of Cedar Rapids, was interested in the public matters of the new town, and early engaged in politics. He was also largely interested in real estate, and operated one of the first mills on the Cedar river at the dam, which he caused to be built with N. B. Brown and other leading citizens.
Susan A. Abbe, the person to whom this certificate was issued, is still living in Hollister, California, and is known as Mrs. Susan Shields. She was seventeen years when the certificate was issued, and had then been a resident of the county ten years. She taught for a number of years in the public schools of this county.
Mrs. Shields maintains that she was the first legally qualified person to teach in the public schools of Cedar Rapids, according to the laws then in force in the state.
The evidence seems to confirm her contention.
TEACHERS' INSTITUTE
A teachers' institute, first of which record is made and notable in point of attendance, was held in Cedar Rapids December 26, 1859, and continued for three days. There was constant drilling for the pedagogues in common school branches. Some sixty teachers were present.
Linn county teachers held their institute for 1860 at Western October 29-30, with Prof. F. Humphrey of Cedar Rapids, president. Some of the subjects discussed may serve to illustrate differences in the times. Question of teachers (presumably male) using tobacco came up, and a resolution was adopted expressing "disapproval of the use of tobacco by teachers, and recommend to those of Linn county to abstain therefrom entirely." Dr. J. Maynard of Tipton made an address on the subject of "Children's Rights." Prof. Wheeler of Cornell orated on "Demosthenes." Editor Jerome of the Iowa City Republican urged teachers to use the press as an ally in the cause of education.
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Mrs. Ruth A. Dale, of Cedar Rapids, sister of Elias Doty, now living near Bertram, where the family settled in the early days--1839--has distinct recollections of pioneer life in the county. She states that Aretas Crane and Daniel C. Doty, brothers of Elias and James M. Doty, the pioneers, settled at Ft. Stevens, now Davenport, in 1836 or 1837--1836 she believes is the correct date. Daniel Doty and his son, J. M. Doty, and his son-in-law, Aretas Crane, passed over the ground on which Cedar Rapids now stands in 1837. This being the fact, it is evident that these people were the first white men to look upon the present site of the city, with a view to finding a permanent settlement for themselves. They, however, after looking over the ground concluded that the site afterwards known as Westport, and somewhat later as Newark, was the preferable location. They returned to their home at Middletown, Butler county, Ohio, and arranged their affairs. James M. Doty and Elias Doty, sons of Daniel Doty, returned to the county in 1839 and took up a claim at Westport. There they started what was, without question, the first manufacturing plant within the limits of the county, and possibly in the state. This was a pottery. The date of its establishment was probably in 1840. Later the same year Elias Doty began the erection of the first saw-mill in the county.
The Dotys were induced to come to Iowa through the fact that their brother, Daniel C. Doty, was at the time engaged in steamboating on the Mississippi, his headquarters being at Davenport.
In this connection the following extracts from a letter written by Elias and J. M. Doty to their parents and dated May 2, 1841, are of interest:
"I have my mill frame up, that is, the lower frame. The upper frame is almost ready to raise. The millwright work can be done in about six weeks from the time we raise the frame. I have commenced the race. I have three hundred feet in length of a race and two hundred feet dam. As soon as I get water to it, it will be ready to run.
"There are hard times enough here for anybody. There is nothing that will bring cash that I know of. For my part I am hard run to live. I would like to have some money. It has not come yet.
"I cannot say that we are all well, but we are able to keep about. We had a great deal of sickness last fall. I cannot say that I like this country, it is too cold for me, the ground freezes from two to four feet deep. The frost is hardly out yet. The trees look like winter time. I think I will leave this place as soon as I can get my business settled, and money enough to carry me away. I have between two and three hundred dollars coming but can't get enough to buy myself a shirt. I bought corn last fall at three cents per bushel. I have three claims and want to sell them.
"Last night was a pretty moonlight night. Parmelia kicked up a fuss and after all night's watching about six o'clock this morning after a bright sunrise she was delivered of a prosperous looking son, weight nine pounds, seven ounces."
VOTE OF LINN COUNTY 1910
The vote of the county in November, 1910, for governor was as follows:
Twp. Rep. Dem.
Bertram 33 75 Brown 209 102 Boulder 76 90 Buffalo 40 27 Cedar 133 127 Clinton 52 64 College 49 95 Fairfax 60 111 Fayette 94 35 Franklin 385 182 Grant 124 95 Jackson 166 51 Linn 57 57 Maine 225 79 Marion 519 391 Monroe 99 66 Otter Creek 67 63 Putnam 43 96 Rapids 1761 2443 Spring Grove 83 22 Washington 145 168 ---- ---- 4420 4439
In addition to the above there were 382 votes cast for other candidates.
SOME MUNICIPAL FIGURES FOR CEDAR RAPIDS
The net taxable value of property in Cedar Rapids for the year 1910, on the one-fourth valuation, is $6,579,183. In addition the city has a mulct tax revenue and an income from licenses, police court fines, etc., of about $60,000 per year, giving a little more than $300,000 available for city purposes.
The real estate valuation for 1910 is $21,280,294, and the personal property is valued at $5,026,438. The valuation twelve years ago was one-half of the above amount. It has increased at the rate of one million dollars per year since 1898. This increase is largely due to improvements and new buildings. Land values have doubled in the past twelve years. For 1911 the valuation will go above these values as the city has increased in value so fast that it will be necessary for the assessors to raise the valuation on all property for 1911 at least three million dollars, which will bring the total valuation to nearly thirty millions by 1912.
EARLY DAYS IN LINN
IN CEDAR RAPIDS REPUBLICAN JUNE 20, 1910
Being in a somewhat reflective mood today I shall attempt to acquaint you of a few incidents in a life as memory unfolds them to me. It will be necessary before narrating these incidents to introduce to you my friend and acquaintance, Colonel McIntyre of Indian Creek bottom, familiarly known as "Pinkey" by his class mates at West Point. The colonel measured six feet two, symmetrically proportioned, tipping the scale at a trifle over two hundred pounds, eyes of steel grey, beard auburn, bordering slightly on the reddish and a military bearing in keeping with his long years of service as a disciplinarian. The incidents of this life take me back some years to that little cabin, that stood on the east side of the road running north and south past Indian creek bottom, built from roughly finished logs hewn from the trunks of trees cut from the nearby forest. Time does not seem to efface from memory recollections with the boys and girls of the sparsely settled neighborhood, attending spelling schools and such like. The unfolding of memory reveals to me versions of the old place and the childhood days spent beneath the clapboard roof as vividly as though it were but yesterday.
A little farther on up the road from this cabin, perhaps a half mile, there is a fork in the road, one fork leading on to what was then known as Turkey Grove and now to feather ridge, the other on to the Inn dwellers cave on the "Pinican" bluffs. On the flat iron point where the road forks was erected the first school house in that vicinity and is still standing as a monument to the men who were not afraid to do what they knew to be right regardless of the whims and petty clamorings of dissatisfaction that continually sway committees from the paths of rectitude and right. From this nucleus of education there go forth its quota of youth each year to enter higher institutions of learning or grapple with the more serious problems of life. The impressions I received while attending this school by the pleasant grove have not been eradicated by the conquering of new worlds or by the glamour of political conquests. Youthful dreams and the bewitching smile of some fair maid were a source of great pleasure to me; a smile from Miss Rose LaBelle during school time would set my heart going at a two minute clip and detract materially from my studies and the routine of school work.
From this miniature "college" have gone forth men and women who are now wielding an influence almost nation wide in its scope. Some are gradually wandering from the truths that were enunciated and make a cardinal principle of its teaching and are now searching in hidden paths of sociology for new light. I now recall an event that happened while attending this school that conveys to my mind another fact tending to establish the truth of the proposition, that "ingratitude" is no dream.
One bright morning in early spring when all nature seemed aglow with freshness and beauty, myself and a number of girls were the first to arrive at school, the teacher, Miss Theresa McCurty, being a little later than usual. On entering the school house we were held spellbound and speechless for a moment by a strange musical yet weird sound which seemed to come from the rear of the room. It took considerable effort to muster up courage to make an investigation, but finally a search was started and on approaching the rear end of the room the same musical weird sound would be at the other end of the room. Now in order to discover what it was that was making this strange weird noise and put the intruder to rout and discover if possible what kind of a looking monster he was, it was decided that two of us would go around to the rear and the rest remain in front and keep a sharp lookout for whatever it might be, when all at once one of the girls let out an unearthly scream and pointing at some object in the corner of the room shouted, "There it goes." We all gave chase, although some of the girls were rather timid on the start, and succeeded in capturing the intruder alive. It turned out to be a large white wood-mouse. What to do with this new and unruly possession was the important question now up for solution. Some were in for dispatching it at once, others said let's turn it loose, but Miss Orrie, who always had an eye for business when there was any fun in sight, suggested putting it in the teacher's desk and the result was that Miss Orrie had her way and we proceeded with all haste to carry out her plan, the girls holding up the lid of the old fashioned teacher's desk while I dropped the musical wonder in. This done, we went about our play as though nothing was ever expected to happen, impatiently waiting for something to happen, but not quite sure what. We didn't have long to wait.
Now the teacher, Miss Theresa McCurty, was of the type of spinsters who are apparently self-willed and thoroughly versed in the art of throwing round them an atmosphere of ability to convince others of their dependence only on themselves in case of emergency to take care of themselves.
We had barely completed the capture and imprisonment in the teacher's desk of the musical wonder, when Miss McCurty arrived, ready for her day's work of training the youthful intellect. It seemed as if this morning in particular she was more precise than ever and went about her work very deliberately.
It was her custom (a custom that the "Blasting at the Rock of Ages" ought not to minimize) to read a chapter from some book of the bible every morning to the scholars before commencing the further duties of the day, and that chapter which speaks about bearing false witness was the one chosen for this morning, a very fitting prelude too, to the further developments of the day. We were more prompt than usual in taking our seats after school was called this morning with an evident desire to impress the teacher as being very attentive to our studies, but at the same time keeping one eye in the teacher's direction, so as not to miss any of the movements of the teacher in case the anticipated fun was thrust upon us. Lowell Taylor, the boy who couldn't keep still if he had to, was bubbling over with mirth (every school has them) and was severely reproved for not keeping quiet and for disturbing the whole school by his antics. After delivering to Lowell this short lecture on disobedience she went to her desk to get her bible and as she lifted the lid out jumped the prisoner and such a screech as she let out seemed to almost freeze the marrow in your bones and sent the cold chills chasing up and down your spinal column as with one bound she made the first row of seats and in a jiffy was clean to the farther end of the room, perched upon the rear desk with her skirts tucked snugly around her shaking limbs and terror pictured in every line of her face.
In this position she remained impervious to all efforts to induce her to come off her high perch, until a second chase had been made and the intruder ejected from the room.
By recess time she had again settled back in the old well beaten path and assumed her usual calm and dignified way, her reason, which had been so suddenly dethroned by the advent of the harmless mouse, was again gaining mastery of the situation. With the return of reason came the tangled threads of suspicion, that perhaps she had been the victim of a designing bunch of scholars and that a huge joke had been perpetrated on her. With this object in view she began a systematic search for evidence and among the girls she struck a responsive chord. They were ready to convict any one in order to exculpate themselves. They gave the whole plot away and every last one of them persisted in their innocence so eloquently that the teacher was fully convinced of my guilt. She therefore proceeded to relieve her pent up feelings by putting into action several of her "suffragette" ideas about personal liberty. She restrained me of mine for the next two weeks during the noon hour.
EARLY DOCTORS IN THE COUNTY
The following extracts from a paper read in December, 1910, before the Iowa Union Medical Society at its meeting in Cedar Rapids, by Dr. H. W. Sigworth, of Anamosa, himself a pioneer physician in Linn county, is of interest:
I left northeastern Linn county thirty-four years ago.
In 1856 I commenced the study of medicine in Pennsylvania. After that I was a tramp schoolmaster, farmer, student at Wisconsin university, and U. S. soldier. I graduated from Rush in '63. After looking for a location in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, I located at Waubeek--think of it--in Waubeek, in Maine township, in 1863.
I had tried it a month at Fairview, in Jones county, before going to Waubeek. By the way, old Dr. Ristine made his first start in Iowa in the same historic town of Fairview before locating in Marion.
Northeastern Linn county at that time was very much on the frontier. There were no bridges on the Wapsie from Quasqueton to Anamosa, but at Central City; now there are five. At Waubeek we had a postoffice but no regular mail carrier. Any one going to Marion took the mail sack and brought back the mail.
Our first mail route was on Friday morning. It left Quasqueton horseback, making Paris, Central City (which was formerly called Clark's Ford), Waubeek, Necot (Perkins), Anamosa. Saturday it would return over the same route.
The earliest doctor of whom I can get any word of locating in this territory was Doctor Ashby at Paris. When I came in 1863, Doctor Patterson was at Central City. Dr. Lanning was at Paris. He sat next to me at Rush in 1861 and 1862. Dr. Stacy lived out the Anamosa and Quasqueton road at Valley farm. I never met him. He sent me my first case of fractured thigh in June of 1863; a boy, eight years old, who lived in a sod house with a board roof, two miles north of McQueen's (now Hill's Mill), now owned by Coquillette. The splints were made with an axe and pocket knife out of an old cradle found on the roof of the house. Extension on the ankle was by the top of an old shoe with strings through the foot-piece of the Liston splint. Results all right.
At Paris, after Lanning came Drs. Byam, Mrs. Dr. Byam, and my brother, M. P. Sigworth, Fullerton, McTavish, and Ellis, all of whom I knew, and not one of them alive now.
Where the thriving village of Prairieburg now is was a cross road, the northeast corner lying out to commons for years.
The first doctor to locate there was Dr. Young. He drove a little sorrel horse in a light rig with one wheel dished, which made a crooked track, and his disposition was something like the track of his buggy. Following him at this place was Dr. Ellis, who went to that place from Paris.
At Central City after Dr. Patterson came Mitchell, a state of Maine Yankee. At an early date a majority of the people here abouts were from the state of Maine, henceforth the name of Maine township. The Jordans, Friesons, Clarks, Waterhouses, were early settlers from the state of Maine.
Dr. Mitchell was a good doctor and a fine man. Poor fellow, he lost his life by having administered to him by a mistake a teaspoonful of poison when he was to have a tonic.
After his death at Central City the place was filled by Drs. Ristine, Fisher, McTavish, my son, Dwight Sigworth, and Percy, a scientific fellow. This field is now filled by Drs. Fisher and Woodbridge.
Waubeek was in the field of Dr. Love, he going northwest to Nugent's Grove at times. Dear old Dr. Love was a splendid man, a first-class diagnostician and a good physician and surgeon. If he lacked anything it was aggressiveness in surgery.
While at Waubeek I had for co-laborers Drs. Phipps, Scott, Bowers, and Grimm. Bowers tried to commit suicide by taking a teaspoonful of poison which made him very sick, but he ultimately recovered. Dr. Grimm was known as the Dutch doctor.
While I was at Waubeek when the river was high I had a stable on the north side of the river and I used to cross in a skiff to feed my horse and attend to calls on that side.
The north side of the river was all woods for three miles in those days, and my practice was largely on that side. I used to go into Delaware county, and I had a large slice of Jones county. And may I say it, there are some families in that county which have had no doctor but a Sigworth for forty-four years. After fourteen years I sold to Dr. Crawford and then in four years he sold to Dr. Woodbridge, who in ten years moved to Central City. At the present time Dr. Ward is in Waubeek.
The practice in those days was fraught with a great deal of difficulty and inconvenience. Swimming the river on horseback was one of the experiences which I did not like. Many times have I been wet while fording the streams with my feet on the dashboard of the buggy, my attention being taken in guiding my horse to an opening in the timber or a safe place to land.
Those were the days in which we drank brandy mixed with sorghum, which was browned in the oven. This served the place of coffee. Grape-nuts, I think, originated from this.
Of all of the forty-two doctors whom I have mentioned in this article I have met thirty-five, and at the present time there are six doctors on this field.
THE OLD MILL OF CENTRAL CITY
One of the land marks of the county is the old grist mill on the banks of the Wapsie at Central City. For a history of this mill, as well as for other interesting matter relative to the neighborhood, we are indebted to E. S. Wetherbee, editor of the Central City News-Letter, which paper in its issue of May 2, 1907, contained the following sketch and reminiscence:
There are in the history of every city or hamlet many incidents of early times which are interesting to the present day generation, and are often worth recording, otherwise they are apt to pass into entire oblivion. But few remain of the early settlers of this community to tell the story of those early days. Although not one of the first, yet being among the very oldest of those yet alive and living here is Mr. James Outing, and it is to him we credit the data of the contents of this article. [Mr. Outing died about a year after this interview.]
Among the very first people to settle here may be named Chandler Jordan, who still lives on his farm southeast of town, old "Uncle Joe" Clark, who came in 1839, and other families by the names of Heubner, Crawley, Pond, Tisdell, and others who might be named who appeared here about the same time. For a number of years the only way of getting across the river, and that only when the water was low, was by fording it somewhere near what is now known as the upper bridge. From this the place received its first name, and whatever honor was attached to it was given Mr. Clark by calling it Clark's Ford.
At that time Mr. Clark owned quite a large tract of land here, comprising all the land now inside the corporation west of Fourth street, the eighty acres lying east of Fourth street being owned by some land concern in Cascade. As did all his neighbors, Mr. Clark farmed in those days entirely with oxen.
The place went by the name of Clark's Ford but a few years, however, for Mr. Clark and a few others conceived the idea of laying out a town, and the Cascade men came over and together they laid off the plat, and it was then decided to call it Central City.
One of the first needs of the people of the little neighborhood was a more convenient way of crossing the Wapsie, and this meant that a bridge must be constructed. Accordingly one was built at the place where the north or upper bridge now crosses the river. It was not what in this day would be called an expensive structure or so very handsome when completed, but it represented much hard work, privations, and expense to those interested in the building of it. The county had but little to do with it, if any, the whole thing being done by popular subscription, and in those times, there not being many to subscribe, the task was indeed a big one for the little handful of people. There was some money raised, but more gave in work, others furnished lumber, a stick of timber, and so on, until finally it was completed and traffic over it was begun in 1857. This bridge did not stand the test long. In the summer of 1859 there came a big freshet and the bridge went down stream. With its going out occurred an incident, which, though possibly forgotten by others, yet still remains fresh in the memory of Chandler Jordan. He was on this side of the river and while the bridge swayed and was considered unsafe he concluded to risk it as he was anxious to get home. He was on horseback and over he started. When about half way across the bridge began breaking loose, and realizing his danger Mr. Jordan jumped off his horse and started on the run for the shore. The horse also made an extra effort to find solid footing and both succeeded in getting on the opposite bank just as the bridge swung out into midstream and started floating down the river. It was soon replaced by another wooden structure built by the county and costing about $4,000. This stood for many years but has long since passed away and been replaced by the steel bridge now spanning the river on the same site.
But we started out to write about the old mill. It still stands, and with the exception of the necessary repairs which from time to time have been made, contains the same timbers and lumber it did when built. In the early fifties there came to this neighborhood two men, one by the name of St. John, the other by the name of John Peet, both men of push and ambition. Realizing the tremendous power to be obtained from the waters of the Wapsie, and the ease with which a dam could be constructed where it now is, with the rocky banks on either side, and knowing the great demand for lumber, in the then fast settling community, they begun the construction of a dam with the intention of running a saw mill with it. The work on the dam was begun in 1855 by the two men mentioned, but was not finished until the next year, the work being engineered by old Mr. Bowdish, father of I. P. Bowdish. It was finished in 1856, as was also the old saw mill which stood for many years on the south bank of the river and did a flourishing business. Like many other old land marks it is gone. But many a stick of timber and lots of the old oak boards sawed there may yet be found in the older buildings about town.
The country all about here was fast settling up, and one of the principal crops was wheat. It was a long way to market, the nearest railroad station being at Marion. St. John and Peet concluded that a flouring mill would be a paying enterprise, and began the erection of the mill. The lumber was sawed at the sawmill, and the heavy timbers, of which there were many, mostly came from a forty on what now belongs to the Gus Hatch farm north of town.
Mentioning these timbers calls to the mind of Mr. Outing an incident which he threw into this narrative. There was a character who lived here by the name of Henry Hutchins. He was fond of hunting and fishing and would be gone often for a period of several days, no one knowing of his whereabouts. About this time he disappeared, and his absence became so protracted that his many friends began to fear that something had happened to him. It was while a party of choppers was hunting for timbers for the mill on the forty mentioned that one day they found Hutchins' lifeless body and beside it lay his gun with every indication that he had committed suicide.
When the timbers were all on the ground, hewed and framed, everybody for miles around was invited and came to help with the raising. It was a mammoth job and occupied the better part of a week. Mr. Outing was there from start to finish. The mill was completed and began operations in 1859. St. John and Peet ran it for only about three years when they sold it to E. R. Burns, who ran it until 1867, when it passed into the hands of Hatch & Co., they paying for it the sum of $16,000. They conducted it for five years when it again passed into the hands of Mr. Burns who owned and operated it until sometime in the latter eighties. Since then it has changed hands several times, but the valuation for many years has not been one-fourth of what it originally was. For a great many years it did a big business grinding thousands and thousands of bushels of wheat each season, the flour being hauled across the country to Marion by teams. As the raising of wheat played out so the value and popularity of the mill depreciated until finally, as now, it was used only as a grist mill. The building is now owned by parties in the east and is being run by T. J. Liddington who runs it and any day may be found there taking care of any demands made upon him. He works alone, surrounded by a vast amount of empty space that was once filled with piles of grain, machinery, and the several men required to look after the big business.[O]
LAND ASSESSMENTS
Statement showing total acreage, valuation and average equalized actual value per acre of land in Linn county for 1909 and 1910.
Township Acreage Valuation Average
Bertram 15,816 $ 705,880 $44.63 Brown 22,689 1,226,160 54.04 Boulder 22,275 1,149,447 51.60 Buffalo 14,985 568,850 37.96 Cedar 13,268 1,002,296 75.54 Clinton 20,689 1,256,772 60.74 College 22,361 1,350,511 60.39 Fairfax 22,852 1,451,070 63.50 Fayette 15,463 770,599 49.83 Franklin 20,621 1,222,768 57.92 Grant 22,267 1,030,492 46.27 Jackson 22,090 1,016,365 46.01 Linn 22,874 1,278,324 55.88 Maine 29,537 1,345,650 45.55 Marion 46,922 2,779,332 59.23 Monroe 22,025 1,044,440 47.42 Otter Creek 22,423 1,206,721 53.82 Putnam 17,467 786,950 45.05 Spring Grove 22,558 1,086,186 48.15 Washington 18,026 797,423 44.23 ------- ----------- ------ Totals 437,208 $23,076,236 $52.78
COMPARATIVE TABLE
Showing actual and taxable valuation of Linn county, 1899-1909.
Actual value Taxable value
1909 $67,148,140.00 $16,787,035.00 1908 64,391,760.00 16,097,940.00 1907 63,806,912.00 15,951,728.00 1906 59,215,180.00 14,803,795.00 1905 57,547,092.00 14,386,773.00 1904 59,404,000.00 14,851,000.00 1903 57,505,160.00 14,376,290.00 1902 51,864,092.00 12,941,023.00 1901 50,501,132.00 12,625,283.00 1900 48,876,016.00 12,219,004.00 1899 48,083,716.00 12,020,929.00
* * * * *
The history of the settlements in Linn county has been a history of struggle, of privation and of endurance. It was not an easy matter to have to go to Muscatine or Dubuque to mill and market; to travel by night on horseback some fifty miles for a doctor, and equally far to find a drug store. There were no roads passable for a greater part of the year; the rivers were not bridged, and the streams oftentimes were swollen so that the only means of crossing was by swimming or by making some temporary raft. The pioneer settler who wandered out over the prairie in a winter blizzard no doubt many times looked for the "smoke that so gracefully curls above the green elms" to indicate that a cabin was near.
The new settlers found Iowa as they had so often heard of it as "a wilderness of prairie land." It was well watered, and along the streams could be found enough timber to erect fences and furnish fuel and rails. They generally located in the edge of the timber and along the streams, and hesitated about locating on the prairie till much later. There they found richer land than along the timber. These first settlers came from the far east and south, Ohio, Indiana, New York, Virginia, South Carolina, and the New England states. They came from Maryland, from Kentucky, and Tennessee. Some walked, like Ellis and Crow. Still others came in canvas covered wagons, in which the family were housed. They brought enough utensils to cook their scanty meals. The wagon was drawn by horses or oxen, followed by a few cows, an extra horse or two, and several dogs. At night they would camp by the side of some stream or near an oak tree.
Not till the fifties and sixties did the foreigners arrive in any large numbers. As soon as they had been here a short time they wrote home their first impressions, and from that time a steady stream of foreign immigration poured into Iowa. These early pioneers waited long for railroads, for steamboats, and for good roads. Their produce was cheap and money was scarce, while interest was high. But they held on to their claims, ever looking for the brighter day. They possessed courage, hope, and the ability to wait and struggle till the times would change for the better. While many of the first settlers did not live to see their plans realized, later descendants sing their praises and embalm the memories of those who made the county, the cities, and the towns what they are today.
Truly it can be said of the settlers of Linn county that they were a sturdy class of men and women, of whom their descendants may be justly proud. And the old pioneers who remain--when they reflect on the past and recall the days of old lang syne--cannot refrain from shedding affectionate tears for those who have gone hence. They call to mind the lines of the poet:
"Two dreams came down to earth one night From the realms of mist and dew, One was a dream of the old, old days, And one was a dream of the new."
Pioneer days in Linn county were days of hardships, often of exposure, but their trials only served to develop the manhood and womanhood of the early settlers who never thought of returning, whose "only aim was to wait and see."
Certainly Kipling's lines apply to conditions as they existed in Linn county in pioneer days:
"To the far flung fenceless prairie Where the quick cloud shadows trail, To the barn in the neighbor's offing, To the land of the new cut rail, To the plough in the league long furrow, To the gray lake gulls behind, To the weight of half a year's winter, To the warm, wet western wind."
INDEX
Abbe, Augustus: letter from, 53
Abbe, William: mentioned, 10, 92, 102; government agent, 11; mentioned, 32, 33, 34, 35, 44; first settler in the county, 51; member state senate, 52; Ellis speaks of, 147
Abbe, Susan: probably first teacher in Cedar Rapids, 198, 481
Agassiz, Louis: quotation from, 1
Agricultural Association: first in county, 480
Albrook, Rev. J. B.: 209
Alderman, A. B.: gives information as to schools, 200
American Fur Company: 14
Atkins, John W.: superintendent of schools, 418
Attorneys: those now practising in the county, 188
Austin, Leonard: first settler in Spring Grove township, 289
Avery, E. H.: president Coe college, 227
Banks and banking: history of in the county, 435 ff
Bardwell, T. S.: early Marion physician, 87, 467
Barnes, William H.: Cornell professor, 204
Barry, Justin: writes history of Grant township and Walker, 279
Bassitt, James: comes to county, in 1839, 148
Bates, E. N.: tribute to, 112; lawyer, 178
Beales, Hiram: builds saw mill, 462
Belt, A. Sidney: lawyer, 179
Bench and Bar: chatty mention of, 177 ff
Bennett, Henry: early settler at Quasqueton, 101
Benton, Thomas H.: reference to, 19
Berry, James M.: county judge, 56
Berry, John C.: clerk of commissioners, 33
Bertram township: history of, 270
Bishop, Homer: postmaster at Cedar Rapids, 84
Blair building: 232
Blair, John I.: 232
Blair Town Lot and Land Company, 239
Black Hawk: mentioned, 9, 12
Black Hawk Purchase: mentioned, 14
Black Hawk War: 14, 31
Boggs, Governor: of Missouri, 15
Bohemian Element in Cedar Rapids: 121 ff
Bottorf, Andrew: lays out Center Point, 290
Bowling, O. S.: came to Cedar Rapids in 1838, 152
Bowman, George B.: founder of Cornell college, 201
Bowman, H. G.: brilliant lawyer, 186
Boulder township: history of, 278
Boye, Nels C.: first Scandinavian settler, 159
Brice, S. M.: postmaster at Center Point, 82
Bridges: the Cedar Rapids, 420
Brodie Gang: 38
Broeksmit, John C.: treasurer Coe college, 226
Bromwell, James E.: writes history of Marion, 460
Bromwell, James E., Sr.: early settler, 46, 257; makes first coffin in county, 466
Brown, Alpheus: school fund commissioner, 196
Brown, N. B.: mentioned, 11; lays out town site of Cedar Rapids, 43; buys portion of town, 49; a progressive citizen, 150
Brown, N. E.: speaks of railroad to Cedar Rapids, 64
Bryan, B. S.: 267
Bryan, Hugh L.: 267
Bryan, Michael: 267
Buffalo township: history of, 279
Burke, Thomas: 163
Burkhalter, E. R.: writes history of Coe college, 215 ff
Burlington: first capital of Iowa, 14
Burrell, H. A.: quotation from, 103
Butler, Isaac: first postmaster in Brown township, 84
Calhoun, Senator: quoted, 18
Calvin, Samuel: quoted, 1
Camburn, Dr. J. H.: an able justice, 189
Carroll, G. R.: his Pioneer Life quoted, 92, 93, 215
Carroll, Isaac: came to Cedar Rapids in 1839, 152
Carpenter, Gabriel: buys much land in Cedar Rapids, 160
Carpenter, S. D.: early physician, 88; quoted, 154; writes of early banking, 435
Carondalet: Spanish Governor at New Orleans, 13
Catholicism in Linn county: 401
Cavanaugh, Mr. and Mrs. Matthew: first graduates Cornell college, 210
Cedar Rapids: townsite surveyed, 43; figured in county seat fight, 57; the postoffice in, 84; early schools in, 198 ff; beginnings in, 207; Robert Ellis reaches, 307; N. B. Brown here in 1839, 308; surveyed in 1841, 308; the Listebargers build log house in, 310; Rev. Carroll's reminiscences of, 310; railroad reaches, 312; ferries established in, 313; first brick building in, 314; first store, 314; first newspaper, 314; first mayor, 314; first school, 316; Dr. Carpenter's reminiscences of, 317 ff; early hotels in, 328; business of the city in 1856, 328; sketch of the city from an early directory, 332; sketch of Mrs. N. B. Brown, 333; Cedar Rapids today, 335; the railways of, 337; manufacturing in, 339; the street railways of, 341; Commercial club, 345; who paid the taxes in, fifty years ago, 347; text of incorporation act, 353; first city officials of, 356; second election in, 356; first tax levy in, 357; election of 1851 in, 357; first sidewalk ordinance, 357; election of 1853 in, 358; the cemeteries of, 358; election of 1854 in, 358; election of 1855 and 1856 in, 359; officials of the city from 1857 to 1910, 359; the city fifty years ago, 365; how the first railroad came to, 370; some of the early brick houses in, 374; some strenuous days in, 376; Mrs. Rock's reminiscences of, 379; when land was cheap in, 382; first decoration day celebration in, 384; first labor union organized in, 390; story of a mountain howitzer, 391; a fortunate tumble, 392; interesting bit of ancient history, 393; churches and fraternities in, 395; history of Catholic churches in, 402; bridges, 420; some municipal figures, 482
Cedar Rapids Clearing House Association: 442
Cedar Rapids & Marion City Railway Company: 344
Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad: 233
Cedar River: early steamboating on, 423
Central City: 284; old mill at, 486
Center Point: 290
Cemeteries: some of the old, 242
Child. J. J.: lawyer, 172, 182
Clark, Joseph: arrives at Central City in 1839, 148
Clay, Senator: quoted, 18
Clinton township: history of, 278
Coe, Daniel: founder of Coe college, 217
Coe college: history of, 215 ff
Colby, Farnum: early settler, 153
College township: history of, 287
Columbus (now Cedar Rapids): 43, 48
Commercial Club: of Cedar Rapids, 345
Company C, Cedar Rapids: brief account of, 477
Condit, R. A.: principal Coe Collegiate Institute, 223
Conkey, John P.: first member of legislature from Cedar Rapids, 158
Conklin, C. H.: judge, 173
Conway, William B.: territorial secretary, 14
Cook, Isaac: nominated for secretary of state, 158; mentioned, 170; lawyer of ability, 177
Cooke, Harriette J.: dean of women at Cornell, 204
Corbett, Thomas: 176
Cornell college: historical sketch of, 201 ff
Cousins, Robert G.: quoted, 20 ff; elected to congress, 305
Craig, John: 162
Crane, Joseph: early settler at Bertram, 159
Crocker, L. D.: 234
Crow, Edward M.: 45, 48; came to county, 56; mentioned, 92, 161
Crow, John: one of first permanent settlers, 48, 161
Dale, Mrs. Ruth A.: interview with, 481
Daniels, Addison: has first store in Marion, 461
Daniels, John J.: quotation from, 55, 270; early teacher, 148
Daniels, L.: postmaster at Marion, 82; at Cedar Rapids, 84
Daniels, Samuel: early settler, 462
Davenport: 44
Davenport, J. G.: postmaster at Cedar Rapids, 84, 108
David, John: 176
Davis, William: early settler in Grant township, 280
Dawson, James: 45
Deacon, Charles J.: quoted, 220
Deem, Hiram: early settler, 153
Democratic party: organization of in county, 260
Devendorf, Thomas: article on taxes in Cedar Rapids by, 347; article on first railroad to Cedar Rapids by, 370
Dinwiddie, J. M.: treasurer Coe college, 226
Dodge, A. C.: mentioned, 31; senator, 82
Dodge, Henry: mentioned, 31, 82
Donnan, Helen R.: writes of Masonic Library, 248
Doty, Elias: helps on court house, 34
Doty, Elias: a constant litigant, 188
Doty, James: helps erect court house, 34, 35
Doty, James M.: plats Newark, 143; first pottery maker in Iowa, 146
Doty, Susan: kind to the Indians, 11
Downing, Thomas: early settler, 152
Dows, S. L.: 263
Dows, W. G.: his military record, 477, 478
Dubuque, city: mentioned, 13, 20, 44
Dubuque, Julian: obtains grant of land, 13
Dudley, J. W.: 172
Durham, S. W.: letter to from Col. Merritt, 58; as to postoffices, 82; letter by, 143; address by, 164 ff; honored pioneer, 464
Eastman, A. V.: secretary Coe College, 225
Edgerton, Asher: gets contract for Court House, 34, 35
Ellis, Robert: knew the Indians, 10; agent for the government, 11; walked to Iowa, 45; meets Bill Johnson, 101; oldest living settler in county, 146
Elkhorn Land & Town Lot Company: 240
Ely, Alex. L.: 47, 50
Ely, John F.: early physician, 88; mentioned, 233
Endicott, W. I.: quoted, 335
Engle, Peter H.: letter written by, 19; referred to, 31
Enos, J. L.: newspaper articles by quoted, 84, 86
Evans, George A.: captain Company C, 477
Ewing, Senator: quoted, 18
Fairbanks, Ira G.: superintendent of schools, 196
Fairfax: Catholic church at, 407
Fairfax township: history of, 271
Fellows, Rev. S. N: 202 note
Ferguson, Henry V.: 233
Ferguson. Jason D.: killed in Civil War, 474
Fifth Iowa Battery: 478
Fifty-third regiment: 477
Fisher, A. W.: writes history of Spring Grove township, 288
Fiske, John: quoted, 8
Florida: admission of, 15
Flynn, Rev. P. J.: contributes article on history of Catholicism in county, 401
Fordyce, Emma J.: writes of early schools, 198 ff
Fort Atkinson: 10, 11, 12
Fort George school house: 143
Fortner, Catharine A.: early Cornell teacher, 204
Foster, Sidney A.: 17 note
Freer, H. H.: professor Cornell college, 208
Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad, 237
Gainer, Thos.: came to Cedar Rapids in 1839, 152
Garrow, Peter: first citizen to be naturalized, 464
Geer, C. M.: quoted, 13
Geology of Linn county: 24 ff
Gillilan, James: 45
Glass, J. P.: early settler, 46
Good, James W.: elected to congress, 305
Goudy, John, family of robbed, 38 ff
Grant township: history of, 279
Gray, George W.: builds present court house, 35
Gray, Hosea W.: 33, 35, 47, 48, 49; takes first census of county, 95, 463; first sheriff, 463
Gray, Miss Pethenia: early school teacher, 285
Grafton, Dr. S.: early settler at Ivanhoe, 159
Greene, George: school teacher, 34; member legislative council, 48; buys portion of Cedar Rapids, 49; letter to Col. Durham, 61; lawyer, 178, 465
Greene, Joseph: first postmaster at Cedar Rapids, 84
Grist mill: first in county, 257
Gunn, Thomas F.: 404
Hagey, Joanna: writes of Cedar Rapids library, 250
Hahn, Daniel S.: claimed to be first settler, 55
Hall, O. S.: a pioneer, 461
Hall, P. E.: 233
Hall, Samuel: early settler, 276
Haman, Geo. C.: tells of coming of railroad to Cedar Rapids, 64
Haman, Mrs. George C.: gives her recollections of society in the early days, 261 ff
Hamilton, John T.: elected to congress, 305
Harlan, James: senator, 82; state superintendent, 201
Harlan, James E.: president Cornell college, 208
Harland, Ambrose, early settler, 143; early politician, 300
Harman, Peter D.: did brick work on present court house, 35
Harper, Bill: a noted character, 181
Hart, Caspar J.: 159
Hart, J. A.: 159, 269
Hartigan, Father: in charge of the Catholic church at Marion, 410
Haskins, C. C.: 92; early settler at Mt. Vernon, 159
Hazeltine, E. D.: early settler in Grant township, 280
Headley, J. T.: early practitioner, 164
Heins, B. F.: lawyer, 183
Henry, John: operates store at Westport, 42, 92
Hershey, Christian: pioneer minister, 292
Higley, Harvey G.: 158
Higley, Henry E.: 158
Higley, M. A.: 158
Higley, W. W.: 158
Hoffman, John: postmaster at Springville, 84
Hollis, C. M.: editor of Times, quotation from, 111, 112
Hook, Samuel F.: early settler, 152
Hoosier Grove Settlement: 46
Hormel, Frank: able lawyer, 183
Hotchkin, James K: first postmaster of Walker, 280
Howlett, G. M.: postmaster at Cedar Rapids, 85
Hubbard, N. M.: eminent attorney, 179; anecdotes of, 180; Decoration Day address of, 387; mentioned, 467
Hubbard Smyth: political contest, 302 ff
Hull, Philip: 44, 147
Hunter, James: helps build court house, 34, 35
Hunter, John: helps build court house, 34
Humphrey, Joseph: early settler, 276
Illinois: admitted, 31
Indians: account of, 8
Indian nomenclature: 22
Ingham, W. H.: 163
Isbell, N. W.: first county judge, 169, 176, 468
Ivanhoe: 43
Ives, C. J.: pioneer railroad developer, 161
Iowa: a prairie state, 1; first inhabitants, 3; history of, 13
Iowa City: constitutional convention at, 15
Iowa Conference Seminary: founding of, 202
Iowa Falls & Sioux City Railroad: 236
Iowa Rail Road Land Company: 239
Iowa State Gazetteer: quoted, 47
Iowas: mentioned, 9, 13
Jackson township: history of, 285
Jenkins, John: first settler in Maine township, 282
Johnson, Alexander: early settler, 276
Johnson, Bill: hero of Canadian rebellion, 101 ff
Johnson, Kate: 101
Johnson, S. S.: early carpenter and builder, 154
Joliet, Louis: discovers Iowa, 4
Jones, Geo. W.: mentioned, 31; senator from Iowa, 82
Jones, Stephen M.: 109
Jordan, Chandler: early settler in Maine township, 282
Jordan, Charles: early settler, 163
Jordan, L. D.: early settler in Maine township, 282
Justices: early Linn County, 199 ff
Keeler, C. B: lawyer, 186
Keeler, Rev. R. W.: early president Cornell college, 204
Kelsey, J. H.: early settler, 152
Kephart, Cyrus J.: his history of the United Brethren at Lisbon quoted, 291
Kimball Building, 233
Kimbal, L. C: 233
King, David W.: came to Cedar Rapids in 1839, 152, 161
King, William Fletcher: president of Cornell college, 208
Kirkwood, Governor: dispatch from, 471; calls for additional troops, 475
Kynett, A. J.: helps found Cornell college, 201, 208
Knott, Richard: commissioner to locate county seat, 32, 33
Knox, Rev. James, 224
Kurtz, John E.: one of the founders of Lisbon, 161
Labor: first union organized in Cedar Rapids, 390
Lake, E. W.: early Marion physician, 87
Langworthy, L. H.: quotation from, 104
Lawyers: early, 169
Lazell, F. J.: author of article on newspapers of county, 106
Laylander, O. J.: quoted, 17
Lea, Albert Miller: quoted, 19
Lee, Guy Carleton: his History of North America referred to, 13
Leffingwell, William E.: candidate for Congress, 179
Legare, Margaret S.: 267
Leverich, James: arrives in 1839, 148
Leverich, Joel: becomes owner of Mound Farm, 46; arrives in 1839, 148; Dr. Carpenter on, 148; Geo. R. Carroll on, 149; early politician, 301
Libraries: Masonic, 248; Cedar Rapids, 250; Coe college, 250; Mt. Vernon, 251; Marion, 251; Bohemian Reading Society, 251
Lichtebarger, Jos. H.: early settler, 148
Linn County: act organizing, 32; first survey, 34; first court house in, 34; names of townships in, 35; judiciary in, 35; circuit court in, 36; noted trials in, 36; outlawry in, 37; early settlement of, 42; first marriage in, 46; organized, 47; first election in, 48; first settler in, 51; county seat contests in, 57; first railroad in, 58; old settlers of, 66 ff, 145 ff; postoffices and politics in, 82 ff; physicians of, 86 ff; material growth of, 92 ff; first reaper in, 93; newspapers of, 106; early Bohemian settlements in, 121 ff; early marriages in, 127 ff; historic roads and monuments in, 142; early lawyers and courts in, 169 ff; chatty mention of bench and bar, 175 ff; early justices in, 189 ff; schools in, 194 ff; old cemeteries in, 242; libraries in, 248; wages and prices in, from 1846 to 1856, 253; some first things in, 256; first grist mill in, 257; early land entries in, 258; organization of democratic party in, 260; early society in, 261; history of townships, 270; politics in, 298; statistics for 1856, 332; Catholicism in, 401; population of, 416; early votes in, 417; members of legislature from, 417; banks and banking in, 435 ff; list of county officers, 451 ff; in war, 470; vote in, in 1860, 479; tornado in, 479; account of Western, 479; of Mt. Vernon, 479; first agricultural association in, 480; first teachers association in, 480; teachers' institute, 481; vote in, in 1910, 482; early days in, 483; early doctors in, 485; land assessments in, 488; taxable valuation in, 489
Linn County Medical Society: 89
Linn, Dr. Louis F.: mentioned, 32; Linn county named after, 47
Linn township: history of, 286
Lisbon: 291; camp-meetings at, 296; Catholic church at, 411
Loughnane, Rev. P. M.: Catholic priest at Marion, 411
Louisiana Purchase, The: 13
Love, J. S.: early Springville physician, 89
Lowry, Father: 403
Lucas, Robert: territorial governor, 14, 15
Lucore, R. H.: early settler, 148
Lund, Mrs. E. J.: early Cedar Rapids teacher, 199
Lynch, Jerry: a resourceful lawyer, 182; anecdotes of, 183
Lytle, James: early settler in Jackson township, 285
McCabe, Bishop C. C.: 163
McClelland, Freeman: 88
McCloud, Ross: county surveyor, 34
McConnell, N. A.: early minister, 289
McCormick, Samuel B.: president Coe college, 228
McDye, William E.: colonel, 475
McIntosh, D. M.: lawyer, 177; erects early brick house in Cedar Rapids, 267
McKean, A. J.: appointed constable, 33; clerk of circuit court, 36; early politician, 158; first constable and first assessor, 464
McKean, Thomas J.: first mayor of Marion, 466; sketch of, 470
McKinney, Ed: early settler in Maine township, 282
McKinnon, William: early settler, 277
McRoberts, Peter: chosen commissioner, 33
McVay, Luther: pioneer minister, 293
Maggart, Rev. C. W.: his sketch of the Cedar Rapids churches, 397
Maine township: history of, 281
Mann, Jacob: one of first settlers, 45, 48, 160
Mann, Sally: probably first white woman to settle in county, 160
Mansfield, E. L.: 88; came to Iowa on horseback, 162
Maple River Railroad: 238
Marion: named county seat, 33, 57; U. S. land office, 34; district court of U. S. and territorial court meets at, 35; railroad meeting at, 62; Catholic Church at, 409; history of, 460 ff; first house in, 461; first store, 461; first hotel, 461; first jail built in, 461; plat of town recorded, 363; first court held in, 465; fire department organized, 466
Marquette, Jacques: quoted, 4
Marriages: early ones in county, 127 ff
Marshall, James: president Coe college, 227
Mason, Albert A.: superintendent of schools, 196
Matsell, G. W.: early settler, 163
May, J. M.: files plat of Mayfield, 143; a stirring man, 157; lawyer, 178
Mayfield: now portion of Cedar Rapids, 143
Maynard, H. H.: field secretary Coe college, 228
Mekota, Jos.: contributes article, 121 ff
Melton, George: and Center Point postoffice, 82
Mercy Hospital, 413
Merritt, W. H.: storekeeper at Ivanhoe, 11, 153; writes political letter, 59
Mexican veterans: in county, 470
Miller, Wm. E.: judge, 173
Mills, J. G.: his Handbook mentioned, 144
Mills, Mason P.: lawyer, 183
Minnesota: admitted, 31
Missouri: admitted, 31
Missouri Valley & Blair Railway and Bridge Company: 238
Missouri Valley Land Company: 240
Mitchell, Israel: lays out Westport, 33, 146
Mitchell, James: early settler, 275
Mitchell, John: lawyer, 177
Mitchell, John: early settler, 275
Moingona Coal Company: 240
Montrose: 20
Mound Builders: mentioned, 3; account of, 4
Mt. Vernon: account of, 479
Mulford, Charles R.: early merchant, 153
Murray, F. G.: contributes chapter on physicians, 86
Muscatine: 44
Muskwaki: mentioned, 10
Newark: extinct town, 143
Newberry, J. S.: quoted, 7
Newhall, J. B.: quoted, 47
New Lindon: defunct town, 84, 143
Newspapers: history of, 106 ff
Neutral Grounds: 14
Norton, William Harmon: contribution on geology of Linn county, 24 ff; writes of Cornell college, 201 ff
Nye, Benjamin: commissioner to locate county seat, 32, 33
Old Settlers' Association: members of, 66 ff
Otoes: mentioned, 9
Otter Creek: settlement of, 46
Otter Creek township: history of, 286
Owen, Dr. Norman W.: 467
Oxley, Marshall: 257
Oxley, Perry: early politician, 300
Parker, N. H.: quoted, 17, 144
Parvin, T. S.: 162
Patterson, William: does carpenter work on present court house, 35
Phelps, Stephen: president Coe college, 226
Physicians: of the county, 86 ff
Plummer, John: first justice in Spring Grove township, 289
Politics: county and district, 298
Pollock, S. L.: early settler, 153
Population: of county and towns, 416
Postoffices: early politics concerning, 82
Powell, J. J.: lawyer, 183
Powell, Major J. W.: quoted, 7
Practitioners' Club: 89
Prairie du Chien: 20
Prairieburg: Catholic church at, 407
Preston, I. M.: 171, 468
Public Instruction: superintendent of created, 195
Railroad: first in county, 58; letter from Merritt on, 59; Iowa Central Air Line, 63; Dubuque and Southwestern, 63; letter from C. H. Branch on, 64
Reiner, W. Fred: his experience as express messenger, 244 ff
Richardson, Rev. T. F.: 406
Risley, A. P.: postmaster at Springville, 84
Ristine, Henry M.: early county physician, 86, 89, 467
Roads: early ones laid out, 142
Roberts, Robert G.: chosen legislator, 33
Rock, Mrs. R. C.: early teacher, 198; mentioned, 261; reminiscences of, 379
Rockingham: 44
Rogers, Wm.: early settler at Rogers Grove, 163
Rood, H. H.: quoted, 210
Rothrock, James H.: judge, 173, 181; anecdotes of, 181, 182
Runkle, Jesse A.: quoted, 196
Sac and Fox, The: 10, 13
Sacred Heart Academy: 414
Safely, Robt.: 163
Sampson, A. E.: lays out town of New Lindon, 84
Sanford, Julius E.: one of platters of Cedar Rapids, 162, 176
Schools: early history of, 194 ff
Scott, General Winfield: concludes treaty with Sacs and Foxes, 14
Seerley, H. H.: 209
Shambaugh, B. F.: quoted, 19
Shane, John: judge, 174
Shaw, L. M.: quoted, 213
Shepherd, Osgood: 46, 49, 149
Sherman, E. A.: quoted, 341
Shields, Mrs. Susan: daughter of William Abbe, 10, 51
Sigworth, Dr. H. W.: address on early doctors in county, 485
Sinclair, Thomas M.: helps Coe college, 225
Sisley Grove: 279
Sisters of Mercy: 412
Sioux City & Iowa Falls Town Lot and Land Company: 239
Sioux City & Pacific Railroad: 235
Sioux Indians: mentioned, 10
Skinner, Rev. Elias: candidate for county judge, 57; letter from, 164
Smith, E. W.: Cornell professor, 204
Smith, Judge Milo P.: contributor, 169; early teacher, 194
Smith, W. H.: appointed constable, 33
Smith, William Wilberforce: president Coe college, 229
Smyth, Robert: an enterprising man, 161
Smyth, William: first county attorney, 170, 179, 468
Snouffer, J. J.: 84, 269
Snyder, Justice: 189
Society in the early days: 261
Southern influence: 267
Soutter, C. B.: president board of trustees Coe college, 228
Speake, John K.: early settler in Grant township, 280
Spring Grove township: history of, 288
Steamboating: on the Cedar, 420
Stephens, R. D.: builds elevator at Marion, 97; mentioned, 171; financier, 177; tribute to, 467
Stewart, J. O.: quoted, 109; commissioned captain in Civil War, 475
Stewart, Samuel C.: chosen commissioner, 33
Stewart, William: early blacksmith, 154
Stoddard, Jos. C.: in Civil war, 473
Stone, William: had store at Westport, 42, 46, 49; probable first settler in Cedar Rapids, 151
Stookey, S. W.: acting president Coe college, 228
Strong, L. M.: chosen commissioner, 33; builds first house in Marion, 461
Sullivan, John C.: surveys southern Iowa boundary, 15
Taylor, A. C.: 85
Taylor, Dr. Robert: 269
Teachers' Association: first in county, 480
Teachers' institute: first in county, 481
Tecumseh: 9
Thomas, Dr. Cyrus: 7
Thompson, Henry: erects saw mill, 460
Thompson, William G.: lawyer, 172, 186; anecdotes of, 187; tribute to, 468
Trans-Mississippi Exposition: 20
Troup, Reverend C.: first minister in county, 48, 291
Troy Mills: founded, 290
Tryon, S. H.: 86
Union Medical Society, 89
United Brethren Church: beginning of in Iowa, 291; at Lisbon, 292 ff.
United Presbyterian Church: origin of the Fairfax, 272
Ure, James: early settler, 275
Ure, Robert: early settler, 272
Ure, William: brings first reaper to county, 93
Usher, Dyer: first divorce action in county brought by, 36; ferries people across the Mississippi, 46
Vardy, John: erects first frame dwelling in Cedar Rapids, 49; arrives in Cedar Rapids in 1841, 152
Vinton, Samuel F.: attitude toward Iowa, 16
Walker: history of, 279; Catholic church at, 409
Washington township: history of, 290
Waubeek: 284
Weare, Charles: early contractor, 154
Weare, John: early banker, 154
Webster, C. L.: quoted, 8
Weld, L. G.: 3 note; 13 note
Western: stage line to, 47; account of, 479
Westport: 33, 43, 46, 48, 143
Wetherbee, E. S.: gives account of old mill at Central City, 486
Wheeler, David H.: Cornell professor, 204
Whittam, I. N.: pioneer lawyer, 178
Whittlesey, Charles: chosen senator, 33
Wick, B. L.: writes on early steamboating, 423
Williams, Joseph D.: judge, 35, 41
Williams, Horace: 239
Willis, James W.: first county commissioners meet at house of, 33
Wilson, George W.: noted attorney, 187
Wilson, Gen. James: 103
Wilson, Judge James: surveyor-general, 31
Wilson, T. S.: 82
Winnebagoes, The: account of, 9
Wisconsin: admitted, 31
Witter, Amos: early physician in Mount Vernon, 87
Woodbridge, Ward: writes history of Maine township, 281
Young, Joseph B.: lawyer, 177, 468
Zumbro, John: postmaster at Marion, 82
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote A: L. G. Weld, Iowa Journal of History and Politics, vol. i, no. 1.]
[Footnote B: This is the view of nearly all the writers and historians, but Professor Weld in vol. i, no. 1, Iowa Journal of History and Politics, holds to the opinion that the landing was made at the point in Louisa county where the Iowa river enters the Mississippi and gives cogent reasons for his belief.]
[Footnote C: Hon. Sidney A. Foster, Des Moines.]
[Footnote D: N. H. Parker in Iowa As It Is in 1855, p. xiv.]
[Footnote E: Iowa As It Is in 1855, p. xv.]
[Footnote F: Response to a toast at a banquet in Waterloo in honor of Hon. Horace Boise, ex-Governor of the State.]
[Footnote G: Notes on the Wisconsin Territory, pp. 14-15 (1836).]
[Footnote H: Letter written by Peter H. Engle, of Dubuque, in 1838.]
[Footnote I: The Constitutions of Iowa, pp. 23-24 (1902).]
[Footnote J: Rev. Dr. S. N. Fellows, A Record of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Cornell College, p. 91.]
[Footnote K: The pioneer settlements about Mount Vernon had sent several flat boats down the Cedar and Mississippi to New Orleans with cargoes of wheat, corn and potatoes. With the proceeds of sale of boats and cargo, sugar, molasses and other goods were purchased and shipped by steamers to Muscatine. Col. Robt. Smyth was one of those who thus made the voyage from Stony Point, three miles south of Mount Vernon, to New Orleans.]
[Footnote L: During the melee a farmer from north of town gave a stentorian yell for Jeff Davis and was promptly knocked down by a federal soldier home on furlough. The soldier was afterwards arrested for assault. On the day of the trial before Judge Preston of Marion some thirty Mount Vernon men were present armed with various weapons, including corn knives. The case was dismissed.]
[Footnote M: See Minutes of Iowa City Presbytery, Lyons, May 9, 1856.]
[Footnote N: This is according to Lawrence's history, and in harmony with statements from Dr. A. W. Drury. Mrs. Elizabeth Harner, daughter of Bro. Troup, says he came to Iowa in 1838.]
[Footnote O: Chandler Jordan, mentioned above, died about a year ago, and Mr. Liddington was killed in the mill in the winter of 1909-10 by getting wound up in the shafting, and since then the old mill has stood idle.]
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes
Obvious typos and misprinted punctuation have been silently corrected.
Spelling and hyphenation variations have been retained to match the original book when no major preference could be determined.
Added to Contents: FOOTNOTES, End of document
Added to List of Maps: Reproduction of the First Map of Cedar Rapids, (Part 1) and (Part 2) 316.
Page 11: The Muskwaki Indians were probably the Meskwaki, also spelled Mesquakie or Meskwahki Indians. (a large number of Muskwaki Indians were camping)
Pages 67-81: Some names in the Members List are not in alphabetical order, but match the order in the original book.
Page 113: The following sentence was incomplete in the original book:
The grain rates from Cedar Rapids to Chicago were thirty cents a hundred pounds and the noise of protest which was made then was quite similar to the noise which is sometimes
Page 131: John B. Taylor may be a typo for Joel B. Taylor, as this is the only mention of John B. Taylor in the book. (May 26, John Zumbra to Angeline Eggleston, by Rev. John B. Taylor.)
Some illustrations and text have been moved slightly to avoid breaking up paragraphs. This might cause a few Index entries to be one page off.