It was the men who faced hardships of pioneer days, entering an almost uninhabited country and bringing the broad prairies under cultivation, who made Iowa one of the greatest agricultural States of the Union. To them we owe a large share of our present prosperity. Those pioneers deserve to have their names inscribed on the pages of history that they may be handed down from one generation to another to be revered by their posterity. No monument can be erected over their resting place which will tell of the hardships they endured or give their lives' history, but the record should be preserved in the annals of the community with which they were identified.
In this connection mention should be made of him whose name heads this sketch, for he belonged to the band of pioneers who laid the foundation of our civilization, and lived to see the State of Iowa a prosperous commonwealth. Isaac T. Pope was a native of Oswego County, New York, where he was born, August 13, 1811, son of Esquire S. and Sally (Angel) Pope, who emigrated to Quincy, Illinois, in 1836.
He received a common school education and when he set out in life on his own account, was poor in everything but energy, industry and a capacity for hard work. He came to Iowa in 1840, and erected a log cabin on Government land claim in Lee County when the Indians were more plentiful there than white settlers. In this cabin he began life with his young wife, and they continued to reside there until 1854, when he moved to Scott County, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1863.
Mr. Pope was united in marriage to Miss Mary A., daughter of Washington Rathburn, in January of 1834. To this union nine children were born: Sarah J. married James Wood; William H. married Miss Mary Allen; Melvina married John Fanning; James K. married Miss Mary Green, and George W. married Miss Maria Van Epps. Mrs. Pope died in 1886. The following is a clipping from an obituary notice published at the time:
"We have to this week record the death of the rapidly disappearing pioneer settlers of Scott County, in the demise of Mrs. Mary A. Pope. We are not satisfied that even one who has borne the hardships and privations of frontier life, as did the subject, and the best of whose life has been intimately connected with the early settlement of her adopted County, should pass with a mere mention by the press. Mrs. Pope was born in Oswego County, New York, March 15, 1814, and was the daughter of Washington and Eunice Rathburn. In 1835 she came west with her husband and infant daughter; crossing the mountains they descended the Allegheny and Ohio rivers to Cairo, Illinois, on a raft, she cooking for the men on the raft to pay her fare. * * * The last fourteen years of her life was spent in Princeton with her daughter, Mrs. Fanning, at whose home she died of pneumonia, on the morning of December 30, 1886. * * * She was a member of the Scott County Pioneers' Society since its organization. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. J.L. Hammond, in the Presbyterian church, the pallbearers being Captain J.W. Walker, Charles T. Myers, Griff Condron, Sr., S.B. Yohn, J.B. Parcell and C.W. Pinneo. The interment was at Oak Ridge Cemetery."
William Henry Pope, the second child of Isaac T., was born in Lee County, Iowa, October 12, 1840. He received his early education in the common schools of Lynn and Scott Counties, coming to Scott County with his parents in 1854. He remained on the farm with his father until October 14, 1861, when volunteers were called for to defend the Union. He then shouldered a musket in Company C, Second Iowa Cavalry, and was in many battles and skirmishes during his three years' term of service. He received an honorable discharge, October 4, 1864.
October 31, 1872, Mr. Pope was united in marriage to Miss Mary A., daughter of William and Martha Allen. To this union an only son was born, Frank E.
Mr. Pope was a man who made many friends, and was a kind and loving husband. He had acquired a comfortable home in Pleasant Valley, and was in the prime of life and so situated that he could take the future as it presented itself when he was taken away from home and family by death. He was a member of the Baptist Church, and always affiliated with the Republican party.
BIOGRAPHIES