*^jjg9rtj**f«« mmm &J< r---:^:''^^-'^"--^ 2§P*9<«ilBiK««»*"**2 >"<; KHHHHHHM CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM History Fees Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028913824 Cornell University Library F 627B4 H671878 History of Benton County Iowa, containi olin 3 1924 028 913 824 THE HISTOEY Benton County, I O W A.. CONTAINING A Biographical Directory of its Citizens, War Record of its Vol- unteers in the late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics, Portraits of Early Settlers and. Prominent Men, His- tory of the Northwest, History of Iowa, Map of Benton County, Constitution of the United. States, Miscellaneous Matters, &e. IL1TJSTEATED. CHICAGO : WESTERN HISTORICAL COMPANY, 1878. A?S/C>3( Entered, according to Act ot CongreBB, in the year 1878, by THE WESTERN HISTORICAL COMPANY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. PREFACE. j ESS than half a century has rolled into eternity since the resistless tide of -J— * emigration was permitted to flow across the Mississippi, by the extinguish- ment of the Indian title to any portion of the State of Iowa ; and only thirty-five years have gone since the Indians were the owners of nearly the whole of Benton County. Less than forty years have elapsed since the first log cabin was built by white settlers in Benton County ; and only thirty-two years since it became an independent county. But those fleeting years have been full of eventful changes — of history that it has been the purpose of this work to collect, arrange and preserve for transmission to posterity, as one of the almost countless chap- ters in the annals of this great country. The task has not been an easy one. Some years had passed after the first settlements by Weight, Hinkley, Lockhart, Bordwell and others, before any written records were made — indeed, before the western and central portions of the county were open to settlement; and the written records made during the first five years of the existence of the county have been lost or destroyed. This has added very materially to our labor, and the compilers have been indebted largely to the recollections of the early settlers, who still remain to tell the story of their struggles, toils and privations, for many of the incidents recorded in the following pages. Men's memories fail, however, with the accumulating burdens of years, and it frequently happens that incidents and events that were fresh and vivid in memory ten or fifteen years ago, are now so nearly lost that they are recalled with difliculty. Justice to ourselves requires us to state, also, that many persons to whom application was made for information made no reply. In the absence of written records, it has often occurred that different indi- viduals have given honest but nevertheless conflicting versions of the same event ; and it has been a task of extreme delicacy to harmonize these diverse statements, and arrive at the absolute truth as nearly as it is possible for human judgment to do. How thorough and well this task has been performed is for the intelligent reader to judge. It is not to be expected that the work is beyond criticism, or that, in all its numerous and varied details, it is absolutely correct ; but it is hoped and believed that it will be found measurably correct, and, in the main, accurate and reliable. Studious care has been constantly exercised in the preparation of the text, in the hope of making a standard work of refer- ence, as well as a volume of interest to the general reader. PREFACE. Such as it shall be found to be, however, our work is done, our offering completed, and it remains for us to tender a grateful acknowledgment to the people of Benton County for the liberal patronage that has enabled us to pre- sent them with this volume, and for the courtesy and kindness extended to our representatives, to whom was intrusted the work of collecting and arranging the historical record herein presented to posterity. Particularly do we desire to express our warmest thanks to those citizens who have so generously and so freely furnished so much valuable information, without whose aid this history of Benton could not have been so complete as it is hoped it will be found to be. To .James Rice, Esq., Dr. J. C. Traer, James Wood, Esq., L. D. Bordwell, Esq., J. C. Collister, John W. Filkins, J. F. Pyne, Prof. S. A. Knapp, W. H. Ehred, Clerk of Le Roy Township; to the county officers, who have so courteously and kindly aided us and placed the official records of the county at our disposal ; to the members of the press of* the county — particularly the Vinton Eagle — who have so generously offered us free access to their files ; to ihe clergymen and official representatives of the churches, lodges and societies — this paragraph of grateful appreciation and thanks is respectfully dedicated. We are also under obligation to the Post Office Department at Washing- ton, for courtesies extended to our representatives. In conclusion, we must be permitted to express the earnest hope that before twoscore more of years have passed, other and abler pens than ours will have gathered and recorded the historic events that are to follow the close of this offering to the people of Benton, that the history of the county may be pre- served unbroken from generation to generation ; and to this end, public recjards private journals and newspaper files should be carefully preserved. Publishers. August, 1878. CONTENTS. Page. History Northwest Territory 19 Geographical Position 19 Early Explorations 20 Discovery of the Ohio 33 English Explorations and Set- tlements 35 American Settlements 60 Division of the Northwest Ter- ritory 66 Tecumseh and the War of 1812 70 Black Hawk and the Black Hawk War 74 Other Indian Troubles 79 Present Condition of the North- west 86 Chicago 95 Illinois 240 Indiana 242 Iowa... 243 Michigan 244 Wisconsin 245 Minnesota 247 Nebraska 248 History of Iowa : Geographical Situation 109 Topography 109 Drainage System..... 110 Rivers Ill Lakes 118 Springs 119 Prairies 120 Geology 120 Climatology 137 Discovery and Occupation 139 Territory 147 HISTORICAL. Page. Indians 147 Pike's Expedition 151 Indian Wars 152 Black Hawk War 157 Indian Purchase, Reserves and Treaties.... 159 Spanish Grants 163 History of Iowa : Half-Breed Tract... 164 Early Settlements 166 Territorial History 173 Boundary Question 177 State Organization 181 Growth and Progress 185 Agricultural College and Farm.186 State University 187 State Historical Society 193 Penitentiaries 194 Insane Hospitals 195 College for the Blind 197 Deaf and Dumh Institution 199 Soldiers' Orphans' Homes 199 State Normal School... 201 Asylum for Feeble Minded Children 201 Reform School 202 Fish Hatching Establishment. 2n3 Public Lands 204 Public Schools 218 Political Record 223 War Record 229 Number Volunteers 233 Number Casualties — Officers. ..234 Number Casualties — Enlisted Men 236 Page. History oi Iowa : Population 2*3*8 Agricultural Statistics 274 History of Benton County from its early settlement to the pres- ent time 307 War History 384 RoBter 392 County Officers 406 Educational 411 Press 417 Post Offices 419 Agricultural Societies 420 Medical Society 421 Patrons of Husbandry 421 Blind Asylum 423 Miscellaneous 424 Real and Personal property 469 Tax Levied, 1877 470 Vote, 1876 471 Town Histories: Vinton 424 Belle Plain© .443 Blairstown 453 ShellBburg .- 459 Luzerne .'.463 Florence and Norway 465 Watkins 466 Mount Auburn 467 Benton 467 Benton City .467 Irving 468 Marysville , 468 Page. Mouth of the Mississippi 21 Source of the Mississippi 21 Wild Prairie 23 La Salle Landing on the Shore of Green Bay 25 Buffalo Hunt 27 Trapping 29 Hunting 32 Iroquois Chief 34 Pontiac, the Ottawa Chieftain 43 Indians Attacking Frontiersmen.. 56 A Prairie Storm 59 ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. A Pioneer Dwelling 61 Breaking Prairie 63 Tecumseh, the Shawanoe Chieftain 69 Indians Attacking a Stockade 72 Black Hawk, the Sac Chieftain 75 Big Eagle 80 Captain Jack, the Modoc Chieftain 83 Kinzie House 85 A Representative Pioneer 86 Lincoln Monument 87 A Pioneer School House 88 Page Pioneers' First Winter 94 Great Iron Bridge of C, R. I. & P. R. R., Crossing the Mississippi at Davenport, Iowa 91 Chicago in 1833 95 Old Fort Dearborn, 1830 98 Present Site Lake Street Bridge, Chicago, 1833 98 Ruins of Chicago 104 View of the City of Chicago 106 Hunting Prairie Wolves 249 LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS. Page. Horridge,Geo 425 Johnson, E. S.' 441 McMorris.J 227 Page. Nichols, John D 373 Tobin, T 407 Voris, D. E 261 Page. Voris, F. R 279 Wateon, Saml. H 339 Wood, Jas 305 CONTENTS. REMOX COU\TY VOI.17KTEERS. Page. Infantry : First 392 Eighth 393 Twelfth 395 Thirteenth 395 Eighteenth 397 T „ Page. Infantry : Twenty-eighth 398 Fortieth 400 Forty-seventh 401 Cavalry : Fifth, Veteran 401 Page. Cavalry : Sixth 401 Seventh 402 Ninth 402 Miscellaneous 402 BIOGRAPHICAL TOWNSHIP DIRECTORY. Page. Big Grove 579 Benton 618 Bruce 597 Canton 557 Cedar 545 Eden 573 Eldorado 630 Page. Florence 623 Fremont 585 Harrison 538 Homer 609 Iowa 504 Jackson ; 541 Kane 551 Page. LeRoy 521 Monroe 591 Polk 604 St. Clair 635 Taylor 473 Union 616 ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS. Page. Adoption of Children 287 Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes 275 Commercial Terms 289 Capital Punishment 282 Charitable, Scientific and Religious Associations 300 Descent 275 Damages from Trespass 284 Exemptions from Execution 282 Estrays 283 Forms : Articles of Agreement #....291 Bills of Sale 292 Bond for Deed 299 Bills of Purchase 290 Page. Forms : Chattel Mortgage 298 Confession of Judgment 290 Lease 296 Mortgages 294 Notice to Quit 293 Notes 290, 297 Orders 290 Quit Claim Deed 299 Receipts 290 Wills and Codicils 293 Warranty Deed 298 Fences 284 Interest 275 Intoxicating Liquors 301 Jurisdiction of Courts 281 Page. Jurors 281 Limitation of Actions 281 Landlord and Tenant 288 Married Women 282 Marks and Brands 284 Mechanics' Liens. 285 Roads and Bridges 286 Surveyors and Surveys 287 Suggestions to Persons Purchasing Books by Subscription 303 Support of Poor 287 Taxes 277 Wills and Estates 276 Weights and Measures 289 Wolf Scalps 2S4 Page. Map of Benton County.' Front. Constitution of United States 250 "Vote for President and Vice Pres- ident 264 Practical Rules for Every-Day TJse..265 United States Government Land Measure 268 insiELL am :o r s. Page. Surveyor's Measure 269 How to Keep Accounts 269 Interest Table 270 Miscellaneous Table 270 Names of the States of the Union and their Significations 271 Population of the United States 272 Population of Fifty Principal Cities^ of the United States... 972 Population and Area of the United" States 275 Population of the Principal Couu- tnes in the World... 2 73 Population of Benton County 304 O 3 -TfT j