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Chapter IV
Early Settlements
1880 Boone County History

Return to 1880 History of Boone County Index

Every nation does not possess an authentic account of its origin, neither do all communities have the correct data whereby it is possible to accurately predicate the condition of their first beginnings. Nevertheless, to be intensely interested in such things is characteristic of the race, and it is particularly the province of the historian to deal with first causes. Shonld these facts, as is often the case, be lost in the mythical tradition of the past, the chronicler invades the realm of the ideal, and compels his imagination to paint the missing picture. The patriotic Roman was not content till he had found the "First Settlers," and then he was satisfied, although they were found in the very undesirable company of a she bear, and located on a drift, which the receding waters of the Tiber had permitted them to preempt.

One of the advantages pertaining to a residence in a new country, and the one possibly least appreciated, is the fact that we can go back to the first beginnings. We are thus enabled not only to trace results to their causes, but also to grasp the facts which have contributed to form and mould these causes. We observe that a State or county has attained a certain position, and we at once try to trace out the reasons for this position in its early settlement and surroundings, in the class of men by whom it was peopled, and in the many chances and changes which have wrought out results in all the recorded deeds of mankind. In the history of Boone county, we may trace its early settlers to their homes in the Eastern States and in the countries of the Old World. We may follow the course of the hardy woodman of the “Buckeye" or the “Hoosier" State on his way west to “grow up with the country,” trusting only to his strong arm and his willing heart to work out his ambition of a home for himself and wife, and a competence for his children. Yet again, we may see the path worn by the Missourian in his new experience in a land which to him was a land of progress, far in advance of that southern soil upon which he had made his temporary home, in his effort to adapt himself to new conditions. We may see here the growth which came with knowledge, and the progress which grew upon him with progress around him, and how his better side developed. The pride of Kentucky blood, or the vain glorying of the Virginia F. F. V.'s, was here seen in an early day only to be modified in its advent from the crucible of democracy when servitude was eliminated from the solution. Yet others have been animated with the impulse to “move on," after making themselves a part of the community, and have sought the newer parts of the extreme West, where civilization had not penetrated, or returned to their native soil. We shall find much of that distinctive New England character which has contributed so many men and women to other portions of our State and the West; also we shall find many an industrious native of Germany or the British Ísles, and a few of the industrious and economical French - all of whom have contributed to modify types of men already existing here. Moreover, there were representatives of a hardy, industrious and enterprising race from the inhospitable climes of northern Europe, who were among the first to found homes on the more productive soil and under the milder skies of Iowa. Whoever has read that inimitable work, the history of Charles the Twelfth, and with the author has followed the stalwart Swedes on their conquering career through northern and central Europe can but exclaim "how stranger are the facts of history than the myths of fiction.” Those who have noted the career of the descendants of those brave, strong men in subduing the wilds and overcoming the obstacles and withstanding the hardships of this country in early times can but admit that they are worthy sons of illustrious sires.

With confidence that general results will prove that there is much of good in everything, and that a justice almost poetic has been meted out to the faults and follies, to the foibles and the virtues of the early settlers of this county, we may now enter upon their story.

The first white man who resided in the present limits of Boone county was Col. L. W. Babbitt. He had been for a number of years commanding a detachment of United States Dragoons, and while serving in that capacity had frequently crossed the country. During these excursions from Fort Des Moines to the vicinity of Fort Dodge, he was struck by the beautiful scenery and natural resources of the country lying along the Des Moines river. He had also noted what he regarded as a particularly favored point, just above the present site of Moingona, formerly familiarly known as Noah's Bottom, but more recently called Rose's Bottom. At this place he had discovered the remains of a former village. The character of these remnants of human habitation convinced him that the people who had previously dwelt there were not representatives of the Sioux, Potawattamies, Sac and Fox Indians, nor yet of any tribe or tribes of savages known to the civilized world. The dwellings were of a more permanent character, and the tools used in their erection were evidently of a better quality and a more approved character than the Indians referred to had been known to possess. There were also found the remains of cooking utensils, which the savages were not accustomed to use and other unmistakable evidences of a pre-historic civilization.

It was probably in part due to desire to investigate these remains of the former village, and partly due to the fact that the surroundings were of such a nature as to make this location a desirable winter quarters that Col. Babbit, on retiring from the United States service, determined to locate at this point. He arrived there in the autumn of 1843, and erected temporary quarters in which he and his attendants could comfortably pass the winter. Provisions were readily procured at points further down the river, and by reason of his familiarity with the country he had a comparatively easy and convenient communication with the white people who had located in the older settled country to the south and east. Then, too, the country for miles in every direction being entirely new, and many parts of it scarcely if ever before having echoed to the sound of that great instrument of civilization, the rifle; game of all kinds was abundant, of the best quality, and easily obtained. Fish were easily caught in great numbers, and the choicest of fur-bearing animals were numerous. Added to this the further fact that the Colonel bad for many years spent his time on the frontier, and by reason of many a solitary march and lonely camp in the solitudes of the wilderness, had accustomed himself to being shut off from the conveniences and luxuries of civilized society, he doubtless found his temporary home in Noah's Bottom a very pleasant and enjoyable one. In regard to the remains of the former habitations already referred to, Col. Babbit, on careful examination and mature deliberation, came to the conclusion that they had constituted the dwellings of a band of half breeds who were known to have dwelt along the shores of the upper Des Moines in very early days. These half breeds were a cross between the French and Sioux, and by reason of their relationship with the Sioux were allowed to remain in that region long before it would have been safe for any white people to dwell there. These people, half French and half Indian, were frequently referred to in the Indian traditions; at one time they were quite numerous along the upper Des Moines, and it was probably they who gave the name to the river. Authority has already been cited, in a former chapter, for the statement that the word Des Moines is a corruption of the French phrase Rivere des Moines, meaning “river of the monks.”

After spending the winter of 1843 and 1844 in Noah's Bottom, Col. Babbitt emigrated to the Missouri Slope, and was among the most energetic and influential of the first citizens of Council Bluffs.

Although Col. Babbitt spent the winter of 1843 and 1844 within the bounds of Boone county and no other white man located here till early in 1846, he cannot properly be regarded as the first settler, as his stay was but brief, and he did not locate there with the intention of making it a permanent home; he staked off no claim and made no permanent improvements.

As to who was the veritable "first settler” in this county, accounts somewhat differ. Though the various accounts regarding tnem are almost legion, yet no two of them seem to fully correspond when placed side by side. After examining many authorities and interviewing many of the oldest settlers now living in the county in regard to this much vexed question, it should not surprise the reader if the following statement of the case should somewhat differ from the preconceived opinions of many. The stranger who comes into the county with none of the information which those possess who have resided here for years, works at great disadvantage in many respects. He does not at first know whom to interview, or where to find the custodians of important records. However, he possesses one great advantage, which more than makes up for this: he enters upon his work with an unbiased mind; he has no friends to reward and no enemies to punish; his mind is not preoccnpied and prejudged by reports which may have incidentally come into his possession while transacting the ordinary affairs of business; and when, in addition to this, he is a person whose business it is to collect statements and weigh facts of history, he is much better qualified for the task, and to discriminate between statements seemingly of equal weight than those who are either immediately or remotely interested parties, and whose regular employment lies in other fields of industry. This is true even though the former be a total stranger and the latter have become familiar with men and things by many years of intercourse and familiarity. He is best judge and best juror who is totally unacquainted with both plaintiff and defendant, and he is best qualified to arbitrate between conflicting facts of history who comes to his task without that bias which is the price of acquaintanceship and familiarity. The best history of France was written by an Englishman, and the most authentic account of American institutions was written by a Frenchman, and it remained for an American to write the only reliable history of the Dutch Republic.

The first settlements in Boone county, like those of all other counties of the State, were made in or near to the timber. As timber was originally found only in strips along the water-courses, we find that the first settlements were made along the rivers and creeks. In fact, the most beautiful prairies were shunned by early settlers. Inhabitants of to-day, whilst contemplating the broad prairies dotted with neat, commodions dwellings, barns, orchards, and artificial groves, look back with surprise at the choice of the first settlers. The uninviting features of the Western prairies is suggestive of a poem written of them which many have read in their boyhood days. The poem was doubtless written by some New England pedagogue after returning from a flying visit to some such a country as this was in early days:

"Oh, lonesome, windy, grassy place,
Where buffalo and snakes prevail;
The first with dreadful looking face,
The last with dreadful sounding tail.
I'd rather live on camel hump
And be a Yankee Doodle beggar,
Than where I never see a stump
And shake to death with fever 'n' ager."

There were two reasons for this: First, the settlers were in the main the descendants of those hardy backwoodsmen who conquered the dense forests of Indiana, Ohio, and the regions farther east. When farms were opened up in those countries a large belt of tiinberwas invariably reserved from which the farmer could draw his,supply of logs for lumber and fence rails, R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.and fuel for cooking and heating purposes. Even at the present day a farm without its patch of timber is exceedingly rare in those countries. Having from their youth up been accustomed to timber, the emigrant from these timbered regions of the East would have ever felt lonesome and solitary deprived of the fainiliar sight of the tall forest trees and shut off from the familiar sound of the wind passing through the branches of the venerable oaks. Then again, timber was an actual necessity to the early settler, In this day of railroads, herd laws, cheap lumber and cheap fuel, it is easy enough to open a farm and build up a comfortable home away out on the prairie, far from the sight of timber. But not so under the circumstances surrounding the first settlers. There was no way of shipping lumber from the markets of the East, coal mines were unknown, and before a parcel of land could be cultivated it was necessary to fence it. In order to settle the prairie countries it was necessary to have railroads, and in order to have railroads it was necessary that at least a portion of the country should be settled. Hence the most important resource in the development of this Western country was the belts of timber which skirted the streams; and the settlers who first hewed out homes in the timber, while at present not the most enterprising and progressive, were nevertheless an essential factor in the solution of the problem.

In one sense of the word the first settlements of Boone county were along the Des Moines river, in another sense they were not. They followed the general course of the river, but owing to the density of the timber near its banks and the character of the soil, the country iminediately bordering on the Des Moines was not so desirable as that somewhat more remote.

From either side of the river flowing in a southwestern and southeastern direction are a number of small streams or creeks. The uniform width of the belt of timber along the Des Moines was originally about four or five miles, but where these smaller streams empty into the river the timber extends much further out. These places were called "points" and at these points were the first settlements made; here were the first beginnings of civilization; here began to operate the forces which have made the wilderness a fruitful place and caused the desert to blossom as the rose.

The first settlements were made on the east side of the river, not because the country there was any better than on the opposite side, but because emigration came from the east; for the same reason the south part had settleinents before the north part had any. With a few exceptions this has been true of every other county and of the State itself - the direction which civilization has taken has been toward the northwest. It is true that the first settlement in the State was at or near Dubuque and that settlements were made at other points along the river at the same time, or even earlier than at Burlington, Ft. Madison and Keokuk. it is also true that Lee county in the extreme southeast was the first county to be generally settled and the great tide of emigration continued to press from that point and even to-day it follows the same course. Thus it is that while Boone county is near the geographical center of the State it is yet too far north and west to be in the center ofMelody Engle gave me your name as a dachshund breeder. I called a few weeks ago and was told that you had company and that Martha would call back, but I never received a call. I am wondering if you have a "runt" or an unpapered dachshund that you would consider selling at a lower price. Thank you. population, and while the city of Boone is somewhat northeast of the geographical center of the county, it is, nevertheless, very near in the center of population.

The first settlements made in Boone county were in 1846; all accounts agree in substantiating this fact. During this year some twenty settlements were made by different individuals. In some instances claims were taken and permanent improvements begun by different persons at different places on the same day. Some were here days, and perhaps weeks, before the others knew of their arrival; over thirty years have passed since then and as none of these first settlers took the precaution of making a record of the date of their arrival, they are, many of them, uncertain as to the precise time, consequently their accounts of whom was the veritable first settler are somewhat conflicting. The honor of being the first settler is claimed for different parties; the writer having heard all the accounts and carefully weighed all the evidence concludes that this honor, without doubt, rightfully belongs to Charles W. Gaston, who settled near Elk Rapids, on section 34, township 82, range 26, in January, 1846. Mr. Gaston had previously been in the United States service, and while performing the duty of a soldier had passed through this section of country as early as 1835. It was probably at that time, and during that journey, that he was favorably impressed with the physical features and natural resources of this section and determined at some future time to make it his permanent home. By the terms of the treaty made with the Indians they were to leave the Territory of Iowa in the fall of 1845, at which time some of them departed, but they were not all removed till some time after. Mr. Gaston, donbtless, was frequently very uneasy in his new home during the first months of his residence in the county, as many Indians were still here. Though their title had expired they had not been removed to their reserva tion in Kansas, and although the savages who still remained were of a peaceable disposition, they were liable when intoxicated or enraged over some real or imaginary wrong, to wreak their vengeance upon any representative of the pale-faced race who chanced to be within their reach. Mr. Gaston, however, was naturally of a brave and adventurous disposition, and his discipline while in the army, and his experiences with the Indians on the frontier, were all calculated to prepare him for the hazardous undertaking of becoming the first permanent white settler of the county. He was within a distance of twenty miles from Fort Des Moines, where there was a garrison R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.permanently located and where quite a number of settlements had been begun. In case of impending danger or scarcity of provisions a forced march of twenty miles would not have been much of an undertaking to a man who had undergone the privations and endured the hardships which he had already passed through. Then again, it is probable that a chain of scattering settlements had been formed between Des Moines and Elk Rapids prior to the time Mr. Gaston settled at the latter place, and he doubtless had frequent communication with his white neighbors toward the south. At any rate we do not hear that Gaston was subjected to any great annoyances from the Indians or endured any peculiar hardships further than those to which the early settlers were in common subjected. As soon as the heavy snows of the winter melted away and the roads became passable he doubtless soon ceased to feel like a stranger in a strange land, for one by one the characteristic ox wagon of the emigrant made its way up the Des Moines, and the driver was sure to stop at Mr. Gaston's cabin to enquire concerning the country farther north. Then, too, the work of felling trees, making rails, building fences and other preparatory work essential to the opening up of a field for cultivation doubtless so far employed his mind as well as his energies that he was tronbled very little with despondency or loneliness. Moreover, Mr. Gaston was not one of those shiftless and aimless adventurers who were ever liable to be overcomne by the desire to move on; he had come [to] stay; in other words he had settled. The faculty of being able [to] fix the mind upon some definite plan of operations does much to achieve success and snatch victory from R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.the jaws of impending defeat. Such faculty Mr.Gaston seems to have possessed in a remarkable degree, and as a result he has been enabled to see the country improved all around him, and as the country has improved he himself has prospered and been blessed with plenty. He still resides near the place where his first cabin was originally built. Not long since he took to himself a new wife, and although quite advanced in years, he still has expectations in the future: that they may be realized is the wish of the writer, and his many friends throughout the county.

The Hull family is the most numerous family in the county. The Jones and Smiths stand no show with the Hulls. Of the early settlers were three brothers, James, George and Uriah. George and James came here in 1849, and Uriah in 1851. James was a doctor, and was known as Dr. Hull. He had three sons, Wesley C., Saml. A. and Fenlon W., and four daughters, Mrs. Jno. M. Wane, Mrs. R. M. Gwinn, Mrs. Jessie Seigler and Mrs. Milden Luther. His widow, Sophia, still survives.

George had four boys, Uriah, James, Wm. and Geo. F., and one daughter, Mrs. Judge Montgomery. In later life he married Mrs. Hannah Crooks, mother of Hon. Geo. W., who still survives. Uriah had one son, Philip, and four daughters, Mrs. John Hoffman, deceased, Mrs. L. B. Gilden, Mrs. Ben. Holcomb and Mrs. J. B. Patterson. The old man still survives.

Levi Hull, one of the early settlers, was cousin of James and Jesse. He died of cancer about 1860. He left one son, James, and several daughters, among them Mrs. E. J. Vontries.

An uncle of these, George Hull, came to the county about 1849. Of his family that came to the county were Jesse, William, John, Nathan, Isom, George, Jackson, Martin, Sarah, Anna Grogan, Mary Dickison and Martha Long. Of these, John, Jackson, Martin and Mary now survive.

Jesse had three boys, David, Risse and William, and four girls, Civilla Graves, Amanda Luther, Carrie Graves and Mary, all of these survive but William and Mary.

John had four boys and two girls. His son Henry was the first child born in the county. William had eight children, Nathan had seven, Isom had eight. George was lost in the army, and the others have all done well in multiplication. Some of these were here as early as 1847. Jesse was a long time stage agent and kept a wayside tavern at Bell Point. John A. and S. Asbury are sons of Rev. Samuel Hull, of Terre Haute, Ind., and nephews of Dr. James, George and Uriah. John A. came in 1854 and Asbury came at same time, but he returned to Terre Haute, coming back in 1868.

The Hulls are of Scotch and German stock, the father of the family being a pioneer in the mountains of Virginia and among the first settlers of Licking county, Ohio. They are almost unanimous in the Methodist faith, and Dr. James and his son, Wesley C., are the only two that ever faltered in their democracy, so far as heard from. In early days in the county, when local questions were prominent and all-absorbing, they sometimes “bolted” and they were so strong that, by fusing with the three Whigs in the county, they could carry the elections, and for several years the old liners had to look out or the Hulls and Whigs would unite and beat them. They have all raised large families and the present generation can scarce be counted.

In May, 1846, came John Pea, James Hull, John M. Crooks, S. H. Bowers and Thomas Sparks. They all settled in or near the timber bordering on a creek which empties into the Des Moines river about three miles north of Elk Rapids. Two of them, John Pea and James Hull, came near the same time, probably on the same day, although they were not from the same neighborhood in the East, and probably had not met till arriving in this connty. The others came later, but all during the month of May, 1846. Mr. Pea was a pioneer of the old stock; a positive, outspoken, blunt man. He was a Pennsylvanian by birth and prior to settling in this county had for a time resided in every State intervening between this and the place of his birth. He resided for a time in Ohio when its forests were in a prineval condition. That country settling up, he gathered together his effects and penetrated the dense forests of Indiana. Having resided in Indiana till the representatives of a higher civilization pressed too close around him he again emigrated and pitched his tent in the van of civilization on the broad prairies of the Garden State. From Illinois he removed to Missouri and was one of the pioneers of that State. Whether he was again crowded out or whether he disliked the “peculiar institution” of the State and was induced to come to the free soil of Iowa to escape the blighting curse of slavery, we know not. It is sufficient to know that he came, and for many years was one of the leading citizens of Boone county. The neighborhood in which he settled was, in his honor, named Pea's Point. This locality, we believe, R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.was afterward called Flat Rock. The stream a short distance southeast of Boone and emptying into the Des Moines some three miles above Elk Rapids was called Pea's creek, and it is our understanding that it still bears that name. Pea's ford, a favorite crossing of the Des Moines directly west of Boone, was also named after this hardy pioneer. After the county began to be tolerably well settled up Mr. Pea become somewhat discontented and conceived the idea of again emigrating. He even made the preliminary preparations and had the locality picked out in Nebraska where he proposed to drive his stakes for the sixth time. From some reason his plan of emigrating to Nebraska was not carried out and John Pea, one of the most active and characteristic pioneers of Boone county, died a few years ago and was buried not many miles from the spot of ground upon which he erected his first Iowa cabin. We have already said that John Pea was a plain, blunt man; this statement does not necessarily conflict with the further statement that he was a man of kind heart and generous impulses. He was a man of vigorous constitution and powerful frame, and after his head was covered with the gray hairs of three-score and ten winters, such were his erect form and robust constitution that time seemed to have broken its billows over his manly form only as the ocean rends its fury over the immovable rocks of the shore. Both physically and socially he was altogether such a man as is the R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.product of a busy life on the wild frontier; from such factors, and only such, can a like product be obtained.

One of the of most eventful scenes, and one greatly regretted both by friend and foe, in the life of John Pea was enacted during the progress of the late war. Although an ardent admirer of the American Union, and at heart as patriotic a citizen as could be found from Maine to Oregon, Mr. Pea was an ultra Democrat of the anti-war stamp and was a good represent ative of that class of citizens known in every community throughout the north, vulgarly called copperheads. It is not known that he took active measures to retard recruiting, or that he frequently even so much as openly spoke against the prosecution of the war. However, during the exciting times when the Union army was meeting with repeated reverses, and the call for volunteers was so large and frequent that the quota could no longer be filled, and it became necessary to order a draft, under the excitement of the hour and probably with no evil intent, Pea made some very insulting remarks, addressed to some recruits who were upon the pointof leaving the county for the seat of war. The persons to whom these remarks were addressed, being in charge of a commissioned officer, did not dare to resent the insult, but they treasured up in their memory the words spoken. This was especially true of one of the number, a man who was physically Pea's superior, and when in the course of time he returned to the county on a recruiting mission he assailed Pea on the streets of Boonesboro, and after addressing the old man in the most abusive language knocked him down, whereupon Pea inflicted upon the person of his assailant two or three frightful stabs, from the effects of which the officer was likely not to recover. A large number of returned soldiers were in the town at the time, and when the various accounts, as usual highly colored, were spread abroad, threats of lynching the old man were freely made. The civil authorities seeing that a movement in this direction was taking definite shape, and that a rope for that purpose had already been procured, took Pea to a place of safety. He was indicted by the grand jury at its next sitting, and although the officer who had been stabbed had in the meantime recovered, a powerful effort was made to convict Pea of a crime which would have sent him to the State prison. The accused, however, had in the meantime enlisted the sympathies of many of the leading citizens, and through the untiring efforts of his connsel, ex-Judge Mitchell, he was acquitted.

James Hull, who came to the county the same time John Pea did, was from Indiana. He was the advance guard of a numerous following of enterprising farmers of the same name and of the same ancestry. He first located at Pea's Point, where, in years afterward, numerous representatives of the same family and from the same locality in Indiana settled. In later years he removed to Boonesboro, where he still resides. Later came Jesse Hull, John Hull, William Hull, and others of the same name and family. The Hulls were so numerous at one time that they became quite an important element in the politics of the county. There were in early days the Democratic party, the Whig party, and the Hull party. On questions of national and State politics the Hulls were Democrats, and the Democratic party was largely in the majority, but on local questions the Hulls did not always vote with the Democratic party, and if they went with the Whigs the Democrats were in the minority. Thus it was that in all contests of a local character it was a matter of vital interest to know how the Hull party would vote. The first contest in which the Hulls showed their strength was in an election which decided the location of a certain road. The policy of the dominant party was to have the road run through the timber; the Hulls objected, and by uniting with the Whigs came very nearly defeating themeasure, and would have done so had not some of the Whigs broken away from the alliance. The Hulls have always been known in the county as an active, energetic, and intelligent class of people; they represented nearly all of the known callings, trades, and professions. Jesse Hull resided for inany years at a place some ten miles south of Boone, called Bell's Point, where he kept a stage station for the Des Moines and Fort Dodge line of the Western Stage Company. James Hull R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.was a physician and lived at Pea's Point, where he erected a house, which is known in late years as Dr. James Hull's old farm house. Rev. George Hull, a Methodist minister, organized the first religious society in the county during the year 1848. John A.Hull, Esq., has for many years been known in this and adjoining counties as one of the leading lawyers of the State. At another place we shall speak more fully of these representative men of the county.

R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so. John M. Crooks was from Indiana. He was one of the most influential citizens of the county in early days. It was at his house that the settlers congregated at the timeof the Lott difficulty. When the Pottawattamies, under the direction of Lott, came across the prairie flourishing their weapons and uttering their war cries, the band of white settlers, supposing that they were the bloodthirsty Sioux, went out to meet them, under the command of Mr. Crooks. Their weapons consisted of but a few trusty rifles, while the larger part of the force was armed with pitchforks and scythes, yet that little band, under the command of their brave leader, would have made a desperate fight had the Indians proved to be enemies, as they were supposed to be, instead of friends, which they really were. John M. Crooks emigrated to the West years ago and is now a citizen of Nevada. Jacob Crooks, with his wife, Hannah, the parents of J. M. Crooks, settled in the county the following year. They first located in Jefferson county, this State, in 1845, and after remaining there two years, followed their son to this county. Old Jacob Crooks has long since passed away, but the memory of the good old man still remains a grateful heritage to those who, by many years of intimate association, learned to prize his many sterling traits of character. G.W.Crooks, another son, came to the county at an early day. He held the office of sheriff, first by appointment to fill out an unexpired term, and then by election for a number of consecutive years. He afterward was elected to the General Assembly of the State and is now one of the prominent attorneys of Boone.

Thomas Sparks was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, December 23d, 1815. His parents removed to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, whence they returned to Pennsylvania, young Sparks remaining with them. In 1846 he emigrated to this county where he has since resided. He had no educational advantages in early life except such as were furnished in the common schools of the States where he resided. His early education, however, has been supplemented by extensive reading and self culture in later years. Mr. Sparks is a descendant of a noble line of ancestors who emigrated from England with William Penn in his first voyage to Pennsylvania in 1682. This ancestor, Oliver Copes by name, first settled on Naaman creek in Pennsylvania, the record showing that he purchased of Penn five hundred acres of land which were set off to himn in 1682. Although Mr. Sparks has given his attention chiefly to the business of farming he has also taken an active part in the political affairs of the county. At the election held in August, 1849, for the purpose of organizing the county he was elected to the office of county surveyor, a very responsible and important office in those days. Since that time he has been elected to many important offices and has invariably discharged his official duties with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. He at present resides about six miles south of Boone, where he owns a fine farm of two hundred and eighty acres in an excellent state of cultivation.

Among the number of men of education and refinement who left their comfortable homes in the East and exchanged the luxuries of an old settled country for the hardships and privations of the new, there are none probably who have been more prominently associated with the development of the county or who have exercised a more potent influence in moulding and shaping the community in which they moved than John M. Wayne. He came to the county shortly after the first settlement was made and still lives near the spot of ground where he erected his first cabin on the original claim. The most important part of his education was obtained in the office of “The New York Tribune” where he served an apprenticeship as a printer. It was doubtless under the tuition of the sage of Chapaqua that he imbibed these ideas of industry and economy which have since secured for him a successful career in business and the political principles which were inculcated by this leader of the Whig party Mr. Wayne carried with him to the new country in the defense of which he waged many a fierce contest. At the first election held in the county, August, 1849, Mr. Wayne was elected to the responsible office of clerk of the district court. At this election party lines werenot closely drawn, the only issne before the people being that of securing honest and competent officials. Affairs did not long remain in this condition and although the Democrats were largely in the majority Mr. Wayne adhered rigidly to his Whig principles although in doing so he thereby diminished his chances for official promotion. Notwithstanding the fact that he was recognized as the most radical and prominent of the leaders of the minority party, Mr. Wayne was frequently elected to important offices, and by a frequent coalition with the Hull party, elections were frequently carried in spite of the large majority of the opposite party. Mr. Wayne is comfortably located on an excellent farm a few miles south of Boone and enjoys the respect and confidence of all who know him.

M. Hoffman was born in Indiana in July, 1827. On arriving at majority he came to Iowa and located in this county in 1848. His first claim was in section 15, township 83, range 26, and which he entered some time after, this being the first land entered in the county. He returned to Indiana the sameyear, and in the following spring removed with his family to his claim in this county. The claim was improved as rapidly as circum stances would permit. By patient industry and economy Mr. Hoffman has become the owner of six hundred acres of well improved land, and now in mature age holds the position of being one of the leading farmers and stock raisers of the State. The only capital Mr. Hoffman had on coming to Iowa was two hundred dollars which his father gave him on arriving at his majority.

In June 1846, Benjamin Williams took a claim near the present site of Swede Point. His clain was in section 34, township 82, range 26. When he moved on this claim Mr. Williams found part of it occupied by a band of Pottawattamie Indians. The claim contained a fine grove of maple trees, which was a favorite resort of the Indians in the spring of the year. They had just suspended their sugar-making operations when Williams arrived, and as stated elsewhere, he in later years utilized their implements in the manufacture of sirup. Mr. Williams further states that the Indians having committed some depredations upon the stock of a certain settler, the case was reported to an otticer of the dragoons, who came to inquire into the matter, and finding the Indians all drunk selected two of the leaders of the band and tied them up to an elm tree until they should become sufficiently sober to give an intelligent account of affairs. Mr. Williams still resides in the county and is one of the best representatives of that class of Iowa farmers who have become justly renowned in the history of the State. A native of Ohio, he emigrated to Illinois at a time when that country would have been sufficiently new for most of people, but finding that it was settling up very rapidly, and that he was too late to take full advantage of an unsettled country there, he set out in a short R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.time for Iowa, and having visited several localities along the Des Moines river, returned to Illinois and informed his neighbors that he had found a much better country. He soon made arrangements to remove to this county, where he arrived, as before stated, in June, 1846. He immediately set about the work of improving his claim but was not satisfied with confining his exertions there. Hearing that preparations were being made to build a fort at a point further up the river, he employed two men with teams, and taking these, in connection with his own team, set out for the present site of Fort Dodge. Upon arriving there he found that Capt. Johnson, with a detachment of dragoons, had but recently arrived and that he was just in time to get a job, for which, as he now remarks, he knew he would receive the cash, and that, too, not in depreciated currency of State banks but in the genuine yellow eagles of the government. He was not long in concluding a bargain with Capt. Johnson to haul the logs for the construction of the fort, the compensation to be three dollars per day for each of his teams. After a sufficient number of logs had been hauled, Johnson inquired for lumber and Williams informed him that a saw-mill had been recently erected at Elk Rapids, where a sufficient amount could be procured. Johnson authorized him to procure the lumber, and Williams set out with his three teams for that purpose. He proceeded to Elk Rapids and returned with the lumber, which was received by the officer, the latter paying Williams five dollars and giving him an order for the remainder of the bill. A short time afterward Col. Armsted arrived with some more dragoons and took charge of the garrison at the fort. Col. Armsted was an insolent and overbearing individual, and when Williams asked him for the money due him the Colonel turned upon him and said:

“You can have no money, sir; and what is more I want you to load up the lumber and take it away, as I will have none of it.”

Williams knew that his order was good and, what was more, a quantity of the lumber had already been used by the garrison, the very table and benches at the Colonel's headquarters having been manufactured out of it. He therefore informed Armsted that the lumber would lie where it was till the judgment day if not removed until he handled it, and as for his pay he had an order from Capt. Johnson, which the Government was good for. When the Colonel saw that Williams was not to be intimidated and that he had an order for the money, the irate officer toned down wonderfully, invited Williams into his quarters, where he divided with him the contents of a black bottle, and then paid the bill entire. The lumber was just what the garrison needed and Armsted had no intention to part with it, his object evidently being to brow-beat Williams, whom he deemed to be a timid dividual and, after having frightened him, compromise the matter by paying a small sum for the lumber.

The mill where Williams procured the lumber was on the Des Moines river, and the first one erected in the county. The few settlers who were in the county joined together and put in the dam. Trees were cut out the proper length and dragged into the river; upon these brush and stone were piled until the dam was constructed. The mill was at first constructed simply for the manufacture of lumber, but in the course of a few years an arrangment for grinding wheat and corn was added. The burs were made out of some large round sandstone, commonly called n_____-heads, found on an adjoining prairie.

Mr. Williams tells some interesting stories about his first trips to Des Moines and to Parmelee's mill, in Warren county. He was in Des Moines when there were but two business houses in that place and says he could have hauled all the goods away from there at one wagon load; could have had his choice of lots in the present Capital City at the rate of fifteen dollars apiece. He went to mill down in that country once and, when arriving there, found the dam out of repair and the mill crowded with grists from all parts of the country. Not knowing what to do he walked off a few rods, where his team was feeding, and began to meditate. During his meditations he chanced to see two men wheeling rock to be used in repairing the dam, and the idea immediately suggested itself that the best way to get his grist ground would be to assist in repairing the dam. He immediately threw off his coat and went to work. When supper time came he followed the men and when they sat down to eat he sat down, too. When night came he undertook to sleep in his wagon, but the musquitos were so troublesome he slept none that night; so, on the following evening, when the other laborers went to bed, he followed them and sought to share their bed. They informed him that it was too hot for three in a bed, but he put them off with the remark that he was very fond of company and the more the merrier. Finally, the mill started, and some of the employees informed the proprietor that they had better grind Williams' grist for he was an intolerable bore and they wanted to get rid of him. Upon making inquiry, the proprietor ascertained what work Williams had performed, ground his wheat, paid him for his work, and the latter departed in high spirits. On his way back through Des Moines he saw one of the two merchants, which that town then supported, laboring very hard to manufacture stove wood from some drift which had been brought down by the current of the river during the high water of the preceding spring. Williams saw that cutting wood was hard work for the knight of the yard stick, and, accosting him, inquired what he would pay to have the wood cut up. The latter offered one dollar, which Williams accepted, finishing the task in about one hour, and again set out for home.

Mr. Williams, at an early day, came into possession of the parcel of land upon which is the town of Boonesborough; that is he owned the claim but had no title from the government. When the county seat was located upon it, the county commissioners entered the land, and Williams got nothing for his claim. He had paid the original owner of the claim one hundred dollars in cash for it, which was quite a sum of money to lose in those days. Mr. Williams' first claim consisted of three hundred and twenty acres, all of which was timber. His opinion was that tinber being scarce would always be valuable; while there was such an abundance of prairie land, that it would be comparatively easy to secure that at any time. His wife, Mrs. Elsie A. Williams, died the next year after coming to the county, and was buried on section 34, where a portion of ground was afterward set aside as a burying-ground. Although Mr. Williams is nearing his three-score years and ten, he is still enjoying comparatively good health.

The first settlement at Swede Point was made in 1846. In September of that year Mrs. Anna Delander came direct from Sweden with a family of four sons and three daughters,\ and settled upon the land where Swede Point now is located.

During the following year, 1847, quite a number of settlers came, among whom were the following: Jesse Hull and John Hull, already mentioned; William Sawyer, John Dobson, Richard Green and William Holston. These located during the months of May and June of that year in various parts of what is now Douglas township.

It was in this neighborhood that the first marriage and the first birth occurred. The first marriage was that of Henry Holcomb to Mary J. Hull, in 1848. The first birth was thatof Henry, son of John and Sophia Hull. This part of the county was early settled by Swedes. They have always had the reputation of being an enterprising, industrous class of citizens, and most of them have well-improved farms.

Montgomery McCall settled near the present site of Boonesborough early in February, 1847. For a year or more his family lived nearer the source of the Des Moines river than any other white family. Mr. McCall was a man of inore than ordinary force of character, and being a radical Democrat was for years considered one of the leaders of the party, although he does not seem to have held many, if any, important offices. He was one of that type of pioneer who was so numerous in early days, partizan from principle rather than from policy. He was greatly exasperated at the Hull party for their coalition with the Whigs, and although he was a kind hearted man, and by his general demeanor in affairs of business and politics drew around him hosts of friends, it is not clear that he ever fully forgave the Hulls for their union with his political enemies. Mr. McCall at one time owned the land where Moingonia is now situated, but he parted with the land and probably died without once dreaming of the immense mineral wealth of which he was possessed. Two sons, John McCall and William McCall, still reside in the county on the west side of the river, with one of whom the aged widow of Montgomery McCall now resides. S. B. McCall, another son of Montgomery McCall, emigrated further west several years ago. He it was who lead the “Boone Invincibles" - or "Tigers" as they were sometimes known - against the predatory Sioux who, under the lead of the chief Ink-pa-du-tah, ravished the stricken settlement of Spirit Lake.

Some amusing as well as pathetic incidents are related of Capt. McCall's command against the Sioux. It seems that the great difficulty in fitting out the “Tigers" was the scarcity of fire-arms. After the company had been quickly organized, upon the receipt of the news it was found that there were barely enough arms, including old flint-lock muskets, squirrel rifles, shot guns and horse pistols, to furnish each “Tiger” with a piece. Some of the citizens, jearing that the settlement might be attacked, refused to loan their fire-arıns for the use of the expedition. So it happened that upon the eve of their departure some of the “Tigers" had not so much as a flint-lock musket. Prof. Couch, of Greene county, of late years a writer and lecturer of considerable reputation, was then a citizen of Boonesboro. He had just arrived from the East a few days prior to the Spirit Lake massacre, and when the "Tigers" organized, his Yankee blood rose to the boiling point. He joined the "Tigers” but was unable to procure a gun; those who were the fortunate owners of rifles or muskets had either already loaned them or persisted in R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.holding them for self-defense. When the company were on the point of departing, Couch heard of a musket which for years had been stacked away among some old rubbish in the corner of a lawyer's office. He rushed up into the office, and finding that the disciple of Blackstone was not in, searched out the musket and carried it away in triumph without consulting the owner or so much as examining the piece. Thus armed he joined the company and rode away in triumph. Owing to the excitement and haste which attended the organization and departure of the company, no examination had been made of the arms and ammunition. This oversight suggested itself to Capt. McCall on arriving at Hook's Point, in Webster county, whereupon the Captain called a halt and proceede to make an examination. Upon examining Couch’s equipments it was ascertained that this doughty soldier had no ammunition, and that his musket had neither bayonet, ramrod nor lock. Prof. Couch, however, proceeded with the expedition, notwithstanding his indifferent outfit, and the result of the expedition proved him to be one of the bravest "Tigers” in the herd, and the old musket, notwithstanding its dilapidated condition, did as much execution as any Sharp's rifle in the outfit.

S. B. McCall was the first sheriff of the county by appointment of Judge McKay. The order for his appointment will be found at another place. When the old board of county commissioners was legislated out of existence and the county judge system was established, S. B.McCall became the incumbent of that office.

David Hamilton, another one of the first settlers, located further up the river and laid out the town of Milford.

R. S. Clark first located about three miles south of Boonesboro. He afterward removed to a claim west of Boonesboro now known as the Ziinbleman farm. He emigrated to Missouri some years ago.

John Gault settled near Swede Point; he afterward removed to Oregon.

Richard Greene went to Arkansas and William Holston to Missouri.

John Castle settled near Swede Point, where he still lives.

The first settlements included about twenty families, few representatives of which now remain in the county.

In 1848 emigration set in so rapidly and new settlers came in so fast that it would be impossible to give even a passing notice of each of them. In 1851 the county was organized and in 1854 there was a great rush of emigration; also in 1865. It will be proper to give a brief account of a few of the more prominent ones who settled in the county during these times. In doing this we have experienced some difficulty as welī as in tracing out the date and location of those who settled in the county at an earlier day.

The historian experiences no difficulty in ascertaining the date of battles and sieges, the discovery of continents and the coronation of kings, for by common consent these are important events, worthy of a place in the memory of men then living, who transmit the same to their children. The date of a settlement on the frontier, however, is not deemed so important and is sometimes forgotten by the parties themselves.

At the time referred to, settlements were scattered at regular intervals along the east side of the Des Moines river, but there were few on the west side and scarcely any on the prairie at a distance from the timber which skirted the river. Nevertheless in that portion of the county which was settled, affairs which heretofore were in an unsettled and chaotic condition now began to take shape, and the county settled down in a state of permanent prosperity. Pioneer times had not yet ended, and there were many hardships to endure and sacrifices to make. The persons already mentioned as early settlers, while they were the first and probably endured the greatest hardships, by no means controlled the future policy of the county; they had their share in these matters, and the names of several of these first settlers will be found on the public records as county officers, yet the men who did most to shape legislation and stamp their characters on the permanent institutions of the county were those who came subsequent to 1849. In 1846 Iowa became a State. All that was done prior to 1849 was simply preparatory or introductory. From 1849 to 1855 was the formative period of the State, and what may be said of the State is likewise true of the county. In many respects these six years were the most important in the history of the county. It was during this period that constitutions were adopted, churches organized and school houses erected. Owing to the difficulty with the Indians, the growth of the county was slow from 1846 to 1849, at which time the inhabitants numbered 419. The Indian difficulties having been disposed of by the new purchase, and there being much available timber lands, the growth during thenext two years was more rapid, the per cent of increase in population during these two years being probably greater than during the same length of time in the history of the county. In 1851 the population was 890, or an increase of over one hundred per cent in two years. A great many of those who settled during this period were only temporary, and again removed westward, while nearly all of them settled in the timber, thus leaving the best part of the farming lands unimproved. The settlers who came between the years 1849 and 1855 not only settled on the best lands but came to stay. As a general thing they were men of good sense, well educated, industrions, thrifty and in many cases were men of considerable means; men not driven from the older settlements by want, but who came to better their condition. The per cent of increase during these years was not so great, but it represented a more permanent population and a more thrifty class of people. In 1852 the population was 1,024 and in 1856 it was 3,518.

During this period there settled in the county many persons who afterward became prominently identified with the history of the county, and some of whom are still residing in the same neighborhood where they first settled. Special efforts have been taken to gain information with regard to the leading men of the county who settled during this formative period of the county's history, as well as of some of the more influential citizens who came since. The most interesting facts are those relating to date of birth, nativity, occupation, place of residence, positions of honor and trust held now or in times past, time of coming to the county, date of marriage, names of children, etc., all of which will be found arranged in alphabetical order in a biographical record further on.

It is the object, however, at the present stage of the work to mention the names of certain ones who came to the county from 1849 to 1855 and show what part they performed in the development of the material resources of the county and point out their influence in originating, directing and controlling the moral, intellectual and social enterprises which constitute the distinctive characteristics of the county and distinguish it as being the most radical and progressive in the State. It is admitted that this stage of our work brings us down to a period in the memory of many now living. Many events of that period, however, are becoming indistinct; these we hope to rescue from the confusion of speculation and place them, arranged in analytical order, in the imperishable receptacle of the printed page. The importance of this is all the more apparent from the fact that the number of those who lived here in those times is rapidly diminishing and the memory of such becoming, year by year, more indistinct.

It is generally admitted that a higher moral sentiment and intellectual culture prevail in this county than in most of the counties of the State. This is not accidental; it is the necessary and legitimate result of some cause which must be sought for in the formative period of the county's history. It is universally admitted that nothing is so potent in its influence to shape the moral, social and intellectual condition of a people as schools, churches and newspapers. It will be found in reading the subsequent pages that the persons who came during the period referred to were from those localities in the East where the greatest attention had been paid to these mighty forces of civilization. Many of them had been educated at the best colleges of the East, and with a few exceptions they had all availed themselves of the liberal facilities furnished by the best common school system in the world. The ancient Grecian and Roman prided himself on his devotion to his household gods, and while he might lose on his journey a father, mother, sister or even wife without a great pang of grief, yet it was a mark of unpardonable folly or cowardice to lose his gods. Those who have read the story of Æneas fleeing from the ruins of his native R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.Troy, leaving being him in the devouring elements his beloved Creusa, and stopping on the way to bury the aged Anchises, yet amid fire and sword, amid shipwreck and famine, still clinging to his trusted gods. But there is no account of the heroes of antiquity clinging to their lares and penates with any greater tenacity or hastening with any greater alacrity to set them up on the soil of the new found home than did the first settlers of this county cling to their churches and free schools and hasten to establish them in the goodly land which they had found west of the Father of Waters.

Clark Luther, who now resides on section 35, township 83, range 26, was born in Randolph county, South Carolina, in 1823. When yet an infant his parents removed to Clay county, Indiana, where he grew into manhood. In the spring of 1849, he removed to Story county, this State, where he remained for two years. In 1851 he disposed of his interests in Story county and removed to the place where he now resides. In the first place he entered a half section and immediately went to work improving it. During his residence in Boone county he has devoted his energies almost exclusively to the management of his private affairs of business, leaving to others the arduous and often thankless business of looking after public affairs. He now owns a home farm of eight hundred acres, and twenty five hundred acres in an adjoining township. The fact that he employs over fifty head of work horses affords some idea of the extent of his farming operations.

John Long was born in Virginia February 3, 1812. When about ten years of age his parents went to Lawrence county, Indiana, where they remained three years; then removed to Clay county, where they remained until young Long grew into manhood. He emigrated to Lowa in 1850 and settled in the neighborhood where he now resides. When he came to Iowa he was poor, having scarcely enough money to defray the necessary expenses of his trip here. He now owns about one section of land, and has given to his children, who have married and left the parental roof, over eight hundred acres of choice land. Mr. Long is a quiet and unassuming man and is a good representative of that class of persons who are known by their actions, rather than their words. He is of Welsh and Irish an cestry, his grandfather having been a native of Ireland and his grand mother being from Wales.

W. M. Boone was born in Harrison county, Indiana, May 30th, 1822, where he continued to reside until 1851, when he removed to the tract of land in this county where he now resides. He was of the same family as the renowned hunter and pioneer, Daniel Boone, and consequently a connection of Capt. Boone, who first explored the county and from whom it received its name. It was probably owing to this fact, in part, that Mr. Boone selected this county as his home, and the circumstance will afford additional interest to this sketch. Although many years have elapsed since the illustrious Kentucky pioneer closed his eventful career, his name is still familiar to every school boy. Mr. Boone resides on section 23, township 83, range 26. He has a farm of about two hundred acres, is a conscientious and upright citizen, and enjoys the confidence of all.

S. C. Wood was born in Kentucky in February, 1823. When he was eight years old his parents removed to Illinois. When sixteen years of age he commenced the study of civil engineering, which he pursued for two years, when he went to Wisconsin to engage in his profession. After remaining in.Wisconsin for one year, he returned home and continued his studies till 1848, when he came to Des Moines in this State. Shortly after arriving at Des Moines, he took the contract of sectionizing a portion of Dallas and Madison counties. During the fall of 1849, he made a journey up the Des Moines river and selected for his future home the land upon which he now lives. After locating in the county, Mr. Wood was honored at several successive elections with the office of county surveyor. His terms of service in this office extended over a period of ten years.

In 1851 two brothers by the name of McFarland settled in the town of Boonesboro. This town had just been selected as the county seat and although abont the only title it had to being called a town was the certificate of the locating commissioners, yet it was a place of great expectations and offered great inducements to professional and business men. These two men came up the river from Keokuk by boat, as at that time a somewhat uncertain and hazardous navigation was maintained on that river at certain seasons of the year. During this trip the boat met with some kind of a catastrophe, whereby one of them lost a quantity of household goods and the other his law library. They finally arrived at Des Moines, where they stopped for a few years, and then removed to the incipient town of Boonesboro, where one of them opened up a store of general merchandise and the other entered upon the practice of law. The lawyer became the Hon. Judge McFarland, whose fine personal appearance and natural talents, no less than his numerons eccentricities, won for him a wide-spread reputation. The other has become a banker and financier of State-wide reputation. Shortly afterward, R.W. Sypher, of Des Moines, formed a partnership with S. B.McCall in establishing a store of general merchandise in Boonesboro, and placed the management in charge of James A. Black, a young man who had just come to the county from Terre Haute, Indiana. Ř. J. Shannon also came to Boone about the saine time and engaged in the mercantile business, with other parties, under the firm name of Shannon, Sheets & Co.

The aforementioned persons may properly be termed the pioneers of Boone county mercantile and professional enterprises, and were, in many respects, men well-calculated to lay the foundation upon which not only they, but hundreds of others, have so well builded. These men caine West, not because they failed to find employment for their varied talents amid the busy scenes of their Eastern homes; such rare talent for business as they possessed finds employment anywhere. They came West because they believed that there was a better opening in the new and rapidly developing country west of the Mississippi. It was well for this country that such men did come. Amid the stirring, active and almost reckless push of business speculation, every community needed just such enterprising yet safe men of business, with cool heads, yet active brain, who could safely pilot the finances over this stormy sea of speculation and yet keep up with the ownward march of improvement.

John A. McFarland was born in Knox county, Ohio, in July, 1819. There he remained until the breaking out of the Mexican War, following in the meantime the oc R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.cupation of farming. When war was declared with Mexico, he enlisted in the second regiment of Ohio volunteers, and served throughout the war, first under Gen. Morgan then under Taylor. As before remarked, he came to Des Moines at the close of the Mexican War and shortly after located in Boonesboro, where he engaged in [the] mercantile business. His store consisted of general merchandise and was the first established in Boonesboro. Prior to that time there were no stores in the county north of Swede Point and Elk Rapids, while much of the trade of the county went to Des Moines and other points still farther down the river. After carrying on a successful business for several years, Mr. McFarland retired from the store and opened up a banking institution. He followed the banking business in the old town until it became evident to his mind that the business would eventually be transferred to the new town of Boone, when he transferred his banking business and erected the elegant and commodious block in which the bank, with which he is now connected, is located. This was the finest brick block erected in the town of Boone. It is now, and is likely to remain, a building creditable to the enterprising town where it is situated. Ever since he embarked in the banking business Mr. McFarland has conducted his financial affairs with great care and prudence and, by this course of procedure as well as by a liberal and progressive spirit, has won for himself the confidence of all the people with whom his business brings him into contact, and given him an enviable reputation among the leading financiers of the State.

Judge McFarland was probably one of the most eccentric gentlemen who ever occupied the bench in this or any other judicial district of the State in early or later times. He was a man of fine personal appearance and one who would have attracted attention anywhere. He had a luxuriant beard which he permitted to grow at full length, and always wore it in that style. He was a delegate to the convention at Cincinnati which nominated James Buchanan for president. It appears that McFarland was foreman of the Iowa delegation, and as such acted a very conspicuous part in the deliberations of that convention. A correspondent for a St. Louis paper, in giving account of the proceedings of the convention, took occasion to criticise the several delegations, alluding in rather a facetious way to the personal characteristics of some of the more prominent men. In speaking of the Iowa delegation he referred to McFarland as a man with a flourishing crop of whiskers, whose extravagant luxuriance, doubtless exhausted such a large proportion of nutriment as to greatly impoverish the nerve centers of the brain. When McFarland saw the criticism he vowed vengeance against the incorrigible reporter, and doubtless would have given him a thorough castigation could he have found him.
R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.
Many anecdotes, relative to the eccentricities and peculiarities of this gentleman are repeated by the early members of the Iowa bar. He first became judge byappointment of the governor, on the resignation of the Hon. Wm. McKay, judge of the 5th judicial district. This district consisted of quite a number of organized counties, among others Polk, to which was attached for revenue and judicial purposes a large tract of unorganized territory to the north and west, including what is now Boone county. Before the expiration of the term of office which Judge McFarland held by appointinent, Boone county became organized. It seeins that the act providing for the organization of Boone county failed to make any change in the relation which all that unorganized territory northwest of Boone county originally sustained to Polk; consequently as far as the statutes were concerned that territory was still a part of Polk, while practically it was totally cut off from Polk by the organization of the new county of Boone. The jurisdiction of the civil officers of Polk county could not extend across the territory of the newly organized county of Boone, neither could the jurisdiction of the civil officers of Boone extend into the unorganized territory north and west. Thus matters stood when Judge McFarland went before the people for election to the office of judge on the expiration of the term which he held by appointment. There were quite a number of settlers scattered throughout the unorganized territory north and west of Boone county, and according to the provisions of the legislative enactinent they belonged to the 5th judicial district, and being of proper age and citizens of the United States, they had a right to vote. When the day of election came no provisions had been inade by the authorities of Polk county for the opening of the polls in this territory; there were no places designated for holding elections, no judges nor clerks of election, and no poll-books. Notwithstanding this, the settlers gathered together by neighborhoods and voted; those who were in favor of McFarland took their position in a row on one side of an imaginary line, and those opposed to him took their places on the opposite side of the line. Nearly all the people throughout that region voted for McFarland, and although the election was conducted without any of the forms of law, the result was nevertheless transmitted to headquarters, by the board of canvassers and was counted the same as returns from the regularly organized counties. The result of the canvass showed that McFarland was elected, counting the vote of the unorganized territory, but by throwing out that vote his opponent was elected; he was declared elected, however, by the board of canvassers, and received his commission from the governor. Steps were taken to contest the election, and J. A. Hull, Esq., of this place, in connection with other counsel, carried the case before the proper tribunal. It was shown that the vote in the territory in question had been cast without any form of law, but the judges decided that unless the contestants could show fraud, the vote must be counted, even though it was informal. It seems that a short time prior to this election, J. A. Hull had borrowed a barrel of lime from the judge. When the latter ascertained that Hull was taking active measures to defeat him the latter sued him for the lime. Hull paid the bill to the justice, but in the mean time the irate judge was somewhat pacified and refused to receive the money from the squire; Hull also refused to take it, and the proceeds of that judgment still constitute a portion of the assets of that justice or his heirs.

On one occasion D. O. Finch of Des Moines and a certain attorney were trying a case before McFarland. It was a warın afternoon and the trial was proceeding at a slow and tedious pace when the judge fell asleep. Finally Finch and the opposing lawyer got into a quarrel concerning the filing of a certain motion, and the former, in rather loud and boisterous language, was threatening to commit personal violence on the latter for alleged breach of professional faith in filing the motion. In the midst of the dispute the judge awoke and, starting from his seat, informed the two quarrelsome lawyers that if they didn't "quiet down immediately: he would "lick hell out of both of them."

On another occasion a certain lawyer, who was noted for a too extensive use of his nasal organs in articulation and also for the elaborateness with which he discussed questions of law, was at great length endeavoring to impress some legal technicality upon the mind of the judge, when a certain animal anchored to a post in the vicinity of the court of justice begun a most R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.vociferous braying; the Judge immediately called the lawyer to order, informing him that one jackass at a time was enough.

Notwithstanding his peculiarities, Judge McFarland was a man of more than ordinary natural ability and possessed a most generous disposition. He would make any sacrifice of personal ease in order to accommodate a friend. The great fault of the Judge was an inordinate use of that which inebriates as well as cheers. His fondness for the cup grew on him with age and from the effects of intemperate drinking he was brought to a frightful death and an untimely grave.

R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.

Hon. I. J. Mitchell was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1829. When yet a youth his parents removed to a farm in Clermont county, Ohio, where they remained for a number of years, after which they removed to Brazil, Indiana. When he grew into manhood, young Mitchell taught school and studied medicine. In 1855 he came to Boonesboro and established a drug store. Neither the practice of medicine nor the drug business proving congenial to him, he entered upon the study of law and in 1857 was admitted to the bar. In 1858 he was elected a member of the State board of education, which office he filled for two years. In 1868 he was elected to the State Senate and in 1870 was appointed trustee of the State Agricul tural College at Ames. In 1874 he was elected judge of this judicial dis trict, his official term expiring in January, 1879. Besides these positions to which he has been elevated by the vote of the people, Judge Mitchell has held at least two other important offices by appointinent of the general government, that of draft commissioner and assessor of internal revenue. As draft commissioner during the war he was called upon to discharge some very arduous and unpleasant duties. These duties he discharged with such care, impartiality and fidelity that there never was a breath of suspicion nor so much as an insinuation bearing upon his official integrity. The same is true with regard to the discharge of his duties as assessor of internal revenue. There are few men who have held such im portant trusts in the State and nation who have commanded such a large share of public confidence or who have greater reasons for congratulating themselves upon their past record. Judge Mitchell is a man of more than ordinary culture, possessed of fine sensibility. His idea of official dignity and political honor forms a striking contrast to the common and established code of the present day. He does not believe that working up delegations or packing conventions are consistent with the proper estimate of the self-respect of the candidate. Hence he has made no organized attempt to obtain the nomination for any office. He is and always has been an ardent admirer of the principles of the party with which he is identified and when designated as the standard-bearer in any campaign has entered the field and given his best energies to bring about a victory; the position of standard-bearer, however, whenever he did receive it was received unsolicited on his part. His connection with the early history of Boone county is merged into the present, and he is now actively engaged in the practice of his chosen profession. Weconclude that in pursuing his private business he has as wide a field of usefulness and as much real enjoyment as he ever enjoyed while engaged in public and official duties, and should he again exchange the former for the latter it will be not of his own choosing but from a sense of duty to his constituents.

Among the professional pioneers of Boone county there are none more familiarly known in this and adjoining counties than John A. Hull. He is a member of the numerous Hull family before referred to, but owing to the prominent position which he has occupied at the bar for more than a quarter of a century, and the important part he has played in the politics of the county and congressional district, it will be proper to give the following additional facts:

R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so. He was born at Terre Haute, Ind., in 1831; graduated at Asbury University at Greencastle, Indiana; studied law, was adınitted to the bar and engaged in the practice of his profession at Madison, Tennessee. He emigrated to Boone county in 1854, and immediately opened a law office in Boonesboro. The town was then yet in its infancy, but, as is usually the case in western towns, the bar was already well represented, and Mr. Hull had for competitors someof the ablest lawyers then in the State. As far as the practice of his profession was concerned, Mr. Hull was quite surprised to find that there was quite a difference between the theory and the practice, and, notwithstanding the fact that he had previously received a thorough preparation and had passed a most creditable examination before being admitted, he found that there still remained much to learn. However, he readily adapted himself to his new surroundings, and from the first procured a large share of legal business. The prominent position which he first took at the bar Mr. Hull has kept till the present time, and he still is regarded as one of the R. J. Shannon came to the State in the fall of 1856 and settled at Boonesborough. He opened a store of general merchandise the same year, and although the business partners with whom he was connected changed at stated times, he continued in the business till 1861, when he disposed of his business and entered the army. When he returned from the army he embarked in the grocery business at the new town of Boone. As was his experience at the old town so at the new, and Mr. Shannon succeeded well. He retired from the grocery business some time since and is now engaged in settling up the business of the house.

James W. Black arrived from Indiana at Boonesboro in May, 1855. He was a characteristic representative of that large class of enterprising and adventursome young men who in early days cut loose from the the restraints of home and songht fields which offered a wider range for their active powers. Upon arriving at the town of Boonesboro he was employed by the firm of McCall & Sypher as clerk. McCall not being a business man and Sypher being at Des Moines, the management af the store was confided to the young clerk. Here Mr. Black measured calico, weighed out sugar and coffee, negotiated for the pnrchase of valuable pelts, bartered for butter, eggs and 'coon skins, constantly in the store by day and slept on a dry goods box at night. At the expiration of four years the firm of McCall & Sypher dissolved partnership and the business was closed out. Mr. Black then went to Fort Dodge where he remained for some time, when he went into the army. On returning from the army he opened up a hardware business in Boone which he followed for a while, giving his attention the same time to shipping stock. He then sold out his hardware business and since then has turned his whole attention to the stock business. There is not a more popular stock buyer in the State than he and no better proof is required by the majority of Boone county farmers for the statement that hogs or cattle are worth a certain price than the fact that “Jimmy” Black says so.leading lawyers of the county. Mr. Hull is no fanatic, but has always proved himself to be possessed of positive convictions. During the heated campaign of 1854, when the chief question before the people of the State was the adoption of the prohibitory liquor law, he took a decided stand in favor of that measure, and it was largely due to his influence that the law was indorsed by a majority of the voters of this judicial district. In politics, he has always been a pronounced Democrat of the Jeffersonian and Jacksonian school. It is partly on this account and partly from the fact that he has not been an aspirant for office that Mr. Holl has never been elected to those positions which his integrity and experience have so well fitted him to occupy. Though not an old man, hard work and the cares of business are beginning to tell on his constitution, and he contemplates, at no far distant day, to abandon the practice of his profession and give his entire attention to the cultivation of his farm, located near the city of Boone. He was raised a farmer's boy and, in returning to that occupation, he will gratify a long cherished desire and will be doing what hundreds of other professional men have done before him.

A. B. Holcomb came to Boone county in 1855. He located in Boonesboro, and although he gave some attention to the practice of law, he was chiefly engaged in real estate transactions. At the time the town of Boone was laid out he owned a large portion of the land upon which the town was located. Long before the railroad was surveyed, and even before the town of Boone was thought of, he, with almost prophetic vision, seemed to comprehend what was to come to pass. Mr. Holcomb was from Connecticut, and some of the letters which he wrote to friends in his native State bear unmistakable evidence of his remarkable sagacity. Previous to his death, which occurred but a short time since, Mr. Holcoinb became involved in a lawsuit with some parties in the East, during the progress of which it became necessary to introduce as evidence certain ones of the letters referred to. Through the kindness of J. A. Hull, Esq., wehave had access to these letters, and as they contain many facts which properly belong to the history of the county, we shall take the liberty to make frequent extracts. From the first letter written we take the following:

“ BOONESBORO, Iowa, July 24, 1855.

" E. HOLCOMB, Esq.:

“Turned up at last at this place; 'tis the geographical centre of Iowa, the county seat of Boone county, and one of the points of great interest to land operators. Everybody seems wild with the excitement of entering government lands. Benton's mint drops fly freely, and fortunes are made sure, and no mistake. Forty per cent interest is the lowest sale last week. I got one quarter section; it was run up to $1.30 per acre. I bought a land warrant, so that the lot cost me $202.50.

“The town is now in the third year of its settlement; is the county seat; public building is not built yet; courts are held in the log school-house. It has about forty houses and 200 inhabitants."

He then proceeds to speak of the manner in which lands were sold and the prices which they cominanded, and then speaks as follows of the character of the soil:

“Of the fertility of the soil here, it cannot be excelled. The prairie is rolling, a most magnificent sight; it reminds me of the handsomest Hartford meadows in June, fresh and green. Where it is broken up, you pass corn fields of one hundred acres in extent, yielding from fifty to one hundred bushels per acre. The labor of one man with a pair of horses will easily produce 10,000 bushels of corn, so that we produce the supplies for family wants, and a man has nothing to do. I think it would make some of our Granby farmers' eyes blink to look at a farm here in corn, wheat, oats, etc., and all comparatively with no labor. Corn is planted by horse-drill; it is never hoed, and never fails to produce as much as above stated per acre."

In a letter dated June 30, 1856, he proceeds to answer some questions with regard to the natural resources of some land he had bought:

“1. What is the quality, thickness, and width of the coalbeds?

“Answer. The indications are that it underlies the most of the 140 acres. The mill stream crossing the lot is below the general surface from sixty to one hundred feet. The stream runs on a bed of blue limestone. The broken banks of the bluffs, where the stream washes them, show the formation above the limestone. On the limestone lies potter's clay, say six feet thick. Upon the clay lies a stratum of coal from three to six feet thick, and in one place where the coal crops out it is six feet above the surface of the bottom, and how far below we have not yet ascertained. At this place the coal and clay alternate to the height of tifty feet above the bed of the stream. One time I saw cropping out of the bank, at least fifty feet above the stream, four feet thick, and of the best quality. The coal is usually a stratum of coal, slate two feet thick lying on it. I am satisfied that this place indicates about the general appearance of the bluffs elsewhere when yon uncover them; in fact,we have seen coal in other places on the lot, cropping out as high above the stream as that. The blacksmiths here are working coal from these beds, and say it is the best they find here, and of the quality of the best Ohio coal.

“2. The dip is from one to three degrees southerly, and will be drained with little trouble. The coal burns freely in the ordinary cooking stove, making flame and a hot fire, and generating steam much more rapidly than wood.

"3. It is about one-half mile from the river, with good county road list. In the spring arks can be floated down the river, say two or three months in the year.

“4. The market now, of course, is very limited. But taking into consid eration the immense quantity that will be required for steam pnrposes for railroads, mills, factories, and fuel as the county fills up, we can hardly imagine the immense demand for it in a few years. It must be of great resource here; and then who can imagine the value of these coal beds? I think sandstone overlays the whole. I see it cropping out over the coal usually, but I have not satisfied myself of that yet.

“5. There has never been any salt yet found in the State. I do not know that anybody has ever bored for salt. The idea is new to me. I think that it is possible that by boring through the limestone salt water may be reached, and if so, it would be worth more than the Mariposa grant of Col. Fremont.

“6. Salt is retailing here at $2 per bushel, and is worth that in most parts of the interior of the State. From what examination I have had of the country, I think the best route for the Central Railroad to cross the Des Moines is down Honey creek to the river, and if they go that route they must cut these coal beds for the road, and I think these beds will furnish one of the strongest inducements to lay the road there, for they must use coal for their engines; it is their only resource, and they may not find another place for supply short of one hundred miles either way. If they do so, you see we then have an inexhaustible market for coal. The cars can be loaded from the bed. My opinion is that these coal beds will, one day, and that not far distant, be worth $50,000; such I now regard it. We think the clay and lime valuable. The stone, when burnt, is worth forty cents per bushel now, and we have nothing to do but pile up the stone and coal in alternate layers, and burn it down. The stone will have to be quarried out, and then it is immensely valuable for building stone; it is just two miles distant from town, with good road to it, and is, at present, the only good quarry of stone found so near town. It is of the blue Pennsylvania species, and must be in great demand, as well for building as for lime. The stoneware manufacturers in town are working from a bed of the clay. It is a vein between the limestone and coal, abont five feet thick, clear from grit, and makes very good soap to wash with. They have made about 15,000 fire-proof bricks from it, and have built their kiln with them without burning, and they are hard enough to build a four-story house if kept from the rains. They say they can do a good business making these bricks at $2 per thousand there. I have specimens of block marble, beautifully variegated, which, by rubbing together, immediately take as fine a polish and finish as I ever saw. I never saw any Italian marble superior to it. An Ohio man, a recent settler here, who is acquainted with the different kinds of coal, was with me to-day for the purpose of looking at the premises, and picked up a stone from the bed of the stream which he said was cannel coal. If so, there is a bed in there of the marble and cannel coal. Further examination is to determine. Now, if this 140 acre tract of it lay in Connecticut, Massachusetts, or New York, sir, its coal and clay beds would be worth one- half million of dollars. Here they are considered hardly worth anything. Time will tell. At any rate, they look rich to an Eastern man. We are about putting two men in there digging coal, burning limestone, etc., and see whether they will yield anything or not. They are now the most available coal beds of any yet found here."

These statements made at that early time afford a good idea of what were the expectations of the early settlers and as prophecies recorded almost a decade before the railroad was built seem almost miraculous. We shall have occasion at another place to quote from this correspondence.

Source: The History of Boone County, Iowa, 1880, Union Historical Company
Transcribed by Lynn Diemer-Mathews and uploaded May 5, 2023.

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Chapter IV Early Settlements1880 Boone County History

Chapter IV
Early Settlements
1880 Boone County History