History of Linn County Iowa / From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time [1911]

I left northeastern Linn county thirty-four years ago.

In 1856 I commenced the study of medicine in Pennsylvania. After that I was a tramp schoolmaster, farmer, student at Wisconsin university, and U. S. soldier. I graduated from Rush in '63. After looking for a location in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, I located at Waubeek—think of it—in Waubeek, in Maine township, in 1863.

I had tried it a month at Fairview, in Jones county, before going to Waubeek. By the way, old Dr. Ristine made his first start in Iowa in the same historic town of Fairview before locating in Marion.

Northeastern Linn county at that time was very much on the frontier. There were no bridges on the Wapsie from Quasqueton to Anamosa, but at Central City; now there are five. At Waubeek we had a postoffice but no regular mail carrier. Any one going to Marion took the mail sack and brought back the mail.

Our first mail route was on Friday morning. It left Quasqueton horseback, making Paris, Central City (which was formerly called Clark's Ford), Waubeek, Necot (Perkins), Anamosa. Saturday it would return over the same route.

The earliest doctor of whom I can get any word of locating in this territory was Doctor Ashby at Paris. When I came in 1863, Doctor Patterson was at Central City. Dr. Lanning was at Paris. He sat next to me at Rush in 1861 and 1862. Dr. Stacy lived out the Anamosa and Quasqueton road at Valley farm. I never met him. He sent me my first case of fractured thigh in June of 1863; a boy, eight years old, who lived in a sod house with a board roof, two miles north of McQueen's (now Hill's Mill), now owned by Coquillette. The splints were made with an axe and pocket knife out of an old cradle found on the roof of the house. Extension on the ankle was by the top of an old shoe with strings through the foot-piece of the Liston splint. Results all right.

At Paris, after Lanning came Drs. Byam, Mrs. Dr. Byam, and my brother, M. P. Sigworth, Fullerton, McTavish, and Ellis, all of whom I knew, and not one of them alive now.

Where the thriving village of Prairieburg now is was a cross road, the northeast corner lying out to commons for years.

The first doctor to locate there was Dr. Young. He drove a little sorrel horse in a light rig with one wheel dished, which made a crooked track, and his disposition was something like the track of his buggy. Following him at this place was Dr. Ellis, who went to that place from Paris.

At Central City after Dr. Patterson came Mitchell, a state of Maine Yankee. At an early date a majority of the people here abouts were from the state of Maine, henceforth the name of Maine township. The Jordans, Friesons, Clarks, Waterhouses, were early settlers from the state of Maine.

Dr. Mitchell was a good doctor and a fine man. Poor fellow, he lost his life by having administered to him by a mistake a teaspoonful of poison when he was to have a tonic.

After his death at Central City the place was filled by Drs. Ristine, Fisher, McTavish, my son, Dwight Sigworth, and Percy, a scientific fellow. This field is now filled by Drs. Fisher and Woodbridge.

Waubeek was in the field of Dr. Love, he going northwest to Nugent's Grove at times. Dear old Dr. Love was a splendid man, a first-class diagnostician and a good physician and surgeon. If he lacked anything it was aggressiveness in surgery.

While at Waubeek I had for co-laborers Drs. Phipps, Scott, Bowers, and Grimm. Bowers tried to commit suicide by taking a teaspoonful of poison which made him very sick, but he ultimately recovered. Dr. Grimm was known as the Dutch doctor.

While I was at Waubeek when the river was high I had a stable on the north side of the river and I used to cross in a skiff to feed my horse and attend to calls on that side.

The north side of the river was all woods for three miles in those days, and my practice was largely on that side. I used to go into Delaware county, and I had a large slice of Jones county. And may I say it, there are some families in that county which have had no doctor but a Sigworth for forty-four years. After fourteen years I sold to Dr. Crawford and then in four years he sold to Dr. Woodbridge, who in ten years moved to Central City. At the present time Dr. Ward is in Waubeek.

The practice in those days was fraught with a great deal of difficulty and inconvenience. Swimming the river on horseback was one of the experiences which I did not like. Many times have I been wet while fording the streams with my feet on the dashboard of the buggy, my attention being taken in guiding my horse to an opening in the timber or a safe place to land.

Those were the days in which we drank brandy mixed with sorghum, which was browned in the oven. This served the place of coffee. Grape-nuts, I think, originated from this.

Of all of the forty-two doctors whom I have mentioned in this article I have met thirty-five, and at the present time there are six doctors on this field.

THE OLD MILL OF CENTRAL CITY

One of the land marks of the county is the old grist mill on the banks of the Wapsie at Central City. For a history of this mill, as well as for other interesting matter relative to the neighborhood, we are indebted to E. S. Wetherbee, editor of the Central City News-Letter, which paper in its issue of May 2, 1907, contained the following sketch and reminiscence:

There are in the history of every city or hamlet many incidents of early times which are interesting to the present day generation, and are often worth recording, otherwise they are apt to pass into entire oblivion. But few remain of the early settlers of this community to tell the story of those early days. Although not one of the first, yet being among the very oldest of those yet alive and living here is Mr. James Outing, and it is to him we credit the data of the contents of this article. [Mr. Outing died about a year after this interview.]

Among the very first people to settle here may be named Chandler Jordan, who still lives on his farm southeast of town, old "Uncle Joe" Clark, who came in 1839, and other families by the names of Heubner, Crawley, Pond, Tisdell, and others who might be named who appeared here about the same time. For a number of years the only way of getting across the river, and that only when the water was low, was by fording it somewhere near what is now known as the upper bridge. From this the place received its first name, and whatever honor was attached to it was given Mr. Clark by calling it Clark's Ford.

At that time Mr. Clark owned quite a large tract of land here, comprising all the land now inside the corporation west of Fourth street, the eighty acres lying east of Fourth street being owned by some land concern in Cascade. As did all his neighbors, Mr. Clark farmed in those days entirely with oxen.

The place went by the name of Clark's Ford but a few years, however, for Mr. Clark and a few others conceived the idea of laying out a town, and the Cascade men came over and together they laid off the plat, and it was then decided to call it Central City.

One of the first needs of the people of the little neighborhood was a more convenient way of crossing the Wapsie, and this meant that a bridge must be constructed. Accordingly one was built at the place where the north or upper bridge now crosses the river. It was not what in this day would be called an expensive structure or so very handsome when completed, but it represented much hard work, privations, and expense to those interested in the building of it. The county had but little to do with it, if any, the whole thing being done by popular subscription, and in those times, there not being many to subscribe, the task was indeed a big one for the little handful of people. There was some money raised, but more gave in work, others furnished lumber, a stick of timber, and so on, until finally it was completed and traffic over it was begun in 1857. This bridge did not stand the test long. In the summer of 1859 there came a big freshet and the bridge went down stream. With its going out occurred an incident, which, though possibly forgotten by others, yet still remains fresh in the memory of Chandler Jordan. He was on this side of the river and while the bridge swayed and was considered unsafe he concluded to risk it as he was anxious to get home. He was on horseback and over he started. When about half way across the bridge began breaking loose, and realizing his danger Mr. Jordan jumped off his horse and started on the run for the shore. The horse also made an extra effort to find solid footing and both succeeded in getting on the opposite bank just as the bridge swung out into midstream and started floating down the river. It was soon replaced by another wooden structure built by the county and costing about $4,000. This stood for many years but has long since passed away and been replaced by the steel bridge now spanning the river on the same site.

But we started out to write about the old mill. It still stands, and with the exception of the necessary repairs which from time to time have been made, contains the same timbers and lumber it did when built. In the early fifties there came to this neighborhood two men, one by the name of St. John, the other by the name of John Peet, both men of push and ambition. Realizing the tremendous power to be obtained from the waters of the Wapsie, and the ease with which a dam could be constructed where it now is, with the rocky banks on either side, and knowing the great demand for lumber, in the then fast settling community, they begun the construction of a dam with the intention of running a saw mill with it. The work on the dam was begun in 1855 by the two men mentioned, but was not finished until the next year, the work being engineered by old Mr. Bowdish, father of I. P. Bowdish. It was finished in 1856, as was also the old saw mill which stood for many years on the south bank of the river and did a flourishing business. Like many other old land marks it is gone. But many a stick of timber and lots of the old oak boards sawed there may yet be found in the older buildings about town.

The country all about here was fast settling up, and one of the principal crops was wheat. It was a long way to market, the nearest railroad station being at Marion. St. John and Peet concluded that a flouring mill would be a paying enterprise, and began the erection of the mill. The lumber was sawed at the sawmill, and the heavy timbers, of which there were many, mostly came from a forty on what now belongs to the Gus Hatch farm north of town.

Mentioning these timbers calls to the mind of Mr. Outing an incident which he threw into this narrative. There was a character who lived here by the name of Henry Hutchins. He was fond of hunting and fishing and would be gone often for a period of several days, no one knowing of his whereabouts. About this time he disappeared, and his absence became so protracted that his many friends began to fear that something had happened to him. It was while a party of choppers was hunting for timbers for the mill on the forty mentioned that one day they found Hutchins' lifeless body and beside it lay his gun with every indication that he had committed suicide.

When the timbers were all on the ground, hewed and framed, everybody for miles around was invited and came to help with the raising. It was a mammoth job and occupied the better part of a week. Mr. Outing was there from start to finish. The mill was completed and began operations in 1859. St. John and Peet ran it for only about three years when they sold it to E. R. Burns, who ran it until 1867, when it passed into the hands of Hatch & Co., they paying for it the sum of $16,000. They conducted it for five years when it again passed into the hands of Mr. Burns who owned and operated it until sometime in the latter eighties. Since then it has changed hands several times, but the valuation for many years has not been one-fourth of what it originally was. For a great many years it did a big business grinding thousands and thousands of bushels of wheat each season, the flour being hauled across the country to Marion by teams. As the raising of wheat played out so the value and popularity of the mill depreciated until finally, as now, it was used only as a grist mill. The building is now owned by parties in the east and is being run by T. J. Liddington who runs it and any day may be found there taking care of any demands made upon him. He works alone, surrounded by a vast amount of empty space that was once filled with piles of grain, machinery, and the several men required to look after the big business.[O]

LAND ASSESSMENTS

Statement showing total acreage, valuation and average equalized actual value per acre of land in Linn county for 1909 and 1910.

Township	Acreage	Valuation	Average
Bertram	15,816	$705,880	$44.63
Brown	22,689	1,226,160	54.04
Boulder	22,275	1,149,447	51.60
Buffalo	14,985	568,850	37.96
Cedar	13,268	1,002,296	75.54
Clinton	20,689	1,256,772	60.74
College	22,361	1,350,511	60.39
Fairfax	22,852	1,451,070	63.50
Fayette	15,463	770,599	49.83
Franklin	20,621	1,222,768	57.92
Grant	22,267	1,030,492	46.27
Jackson	22,090	1,016,365	46.01
Linn	22,874	1,278,324	55.88
Maine	29,537	1,345,650	45.55
Marion	46,922	2,779,332	59.23
Monroe	22,025	1,044,440	47.42
Otter Creek	22,423	1,206,721	53.82
Putnam	17,467	786,950	45.05
Spring Grove	22,558	1,086,186	48.15
Washington	18,026	797,423	44.23
	———	—————	———
Totals	437,208	$23,076,236	$52.78

COMPARATIVE TABLE

Showing actual and taxable valuation of Linn county, 1899-1909.

	Actual value	Taxable value
1909	$67,148,140.00	$16,787,035.00
1908	64,391,760.00	16,097,940.00
1907	63,806,912.00	15,951,728.00
1906	59,215,180.00	14,803,795.00
1905	57,547,092.00	14,386,773.00
1904	59,404,000.00	14,851,000.00
1903	57,505,160.00	14,376,290.00
1902	51,864,092.00	12,941,023.00
1901	50,501,132.00	12,625,283.00
1900	48,876,016.00	12,219,004.00
1899	48,083,716.00	12,020,929.00

The history of the settlements in Linn county has been a history of struggle, of privation and of endurance. It was not an easy matter to have to go to Muscatine or Dubuque to mill and market; to travel by night on horseback some fifty miles for a doctor, and equally far to find a drug store. There were no roads passable for a greater part of the year; the rivers were not bridged, and the streams oftentimes were swollen so that the only means of crossing was by swimming or by making some temporary raft. The pioneer settler who wandered out over the prairie in a winter blizzard no doubt many times looked for the "smoke that so gracefully curls above the green elms" to indicate that a cabin was near.

The new settlers found Iowa as they had so often heard of it as "a wilderness of prairie land." It was well watered, and along the streams could be found enough timber to erect fences and furnish fuel and rails. They generally located in the edge of the timber and along the streams, and hesitated about locating on the prairie till much later. There they found richer land than along the timber. These first settlers came from the far east and south, Ohio, Indiana, New York, Virginia, South Carolina, and the New England states. They came from Maryland, from Kentucky, and Tennessee. Some walked, like Ellis and Crow. Still others came in canvas covered wagons, in which the family were housed. They brought enough utensils to cook their scanty meals. The wagon was drawn by horses or oxen, followed by a few cows, an extra horse or two, and several dogs. At night they would camp by the side of some stream or near an oak tree.

Not till the fifties and sixties did the foreigners arrive in any large numbers. As soon as they had been here a short time they wrote home their first impressions, and from that time a steady stream of foreign immigration poured into Iowa. These early pioneers waited long for railroads, for steamboats, and for good roads. Their produce was cheap and money was scarce, while interest was high. But they held on to their claims, ever looking for the brighter day. They possessed courage, hope, and the ability to wait and struggle till the times would change for the better. While many of the first settlers did not live to see their plans realized, later descendants sing their praises and embalm the memories of those who made the county, the cities, and the towns what they are today.

Truly it can be said of the settlers of Linn county that they were a sturdy class of men and women, of whom their descendants may be justly proud. And the old pioneers who remain—when they reflect on the past and recall the days of old lang syne—cannot refrain from shedding affectionate tears for those who have gone hence. They call to mind the lines of the poet:

"Two dreams came down to earth one night
From the realms of mist and dew,
One was a dream of the old, old days,
And one was a dream of the new."

Pioneer days in Linn county were days of hardships, often of exposure, but their trials only served to develop the manhood and womanhood of the early settlers who never thought of returning, whose "only aim was to wait and see."

Certainly Kipling's lines apply to conditions as they existed in Linn county in pioneer days:

"To the far flung fenceless prairie
Where the quick cloud shadows trail,
To the barn in the neighbor's offing,
To the land of the new cut rail,
To the plough in the league long furrow,
To the gray lake gulls behind,
To the weight of half a year's winter,
To the warm, wet western wind."

INDEX

Abbe, Augustus: letter from, 53
Abbe, William: mentioned, 10, 92, 102;
government agent, 11;
mentioned, 32, 33, 34, 35, 44;
first settler in the county, 51;
member state senate, 52;
Ellis speaks of, 147
Abbe, Susan: probably first teacher in Cedar Rapids, 198, 481
Agassiz, Louis: quotation from, 1
Agricultural Association: first in county, 480
Albrook, Rev. J. B.: 209
Alderman, A. B.: gives information as to schools, 200
American Fur Company: 14
Atkins, John W.: superintendent of schools, 418
Attorneys: those now practising in the county, 188
Austin, Leonard: first settler in Spring Grove township, 289
Avery, E. H.: president Coe college, 227
Banks and banking: history of in the county, 435 ff
Bardwell, T. S.: early Marion physician, 87, 467
Barnes, William H.: Cornell professor, 204
Barry, Justin: writes history of Grant township and Walker, 279
Bassitt, James: comes to county, in 1839, 148
Bates, E. N.: tribute to, 112; lawyer, 178
Beales, Hiram: builds saw mill, 462
Belt, A. Sidney: lawyer, 179
Bench and Bar: chatty mention of, 177 ff
Bennett, Henry: early settler at Quasqueton, 101
Benton, Thomas H.: reference to, 19
Berry, James M.: county judge, 56
Berry, John C.: clerk of commissioners, 33
Bertram township: history of, 270
Bishop, Homer: postmaster at Cedar Rapids, 84
Blair building: 232
Blair, John I.: 232
Blair Town Lot and Land Company, 239
Black Hawk: mentioned, 9, 12
Black Hawk Purchase: mentioned, 14
Black Hawk War: 14, 31
Boggs, Governor: of Missouri, 15
Bohemian Element in Cedar Rapids: 121 ff
Bottorf, Andrew: lays out Center Point, 290
Bowling, O. S.: came to Cedar Rapids in 1838, 152
Bowman, George B.: founder of Cornell college, 201
Bowman, H. G.: brilliant lawyer, 186
Boulder township: history of, 278
Boye, Nels C.: first Scandinavian settler, 159
Brice, S. M.: postmaster at Center Point, 82
Bridges: the Cedar Rapids, 420
Brodie Gang: 38
Broeksmit, John C.: treasurer Coe college, 226
Bromwell, James E.: writes history of Marion, 460
Bromwell, James E., Sr.: early settler, 46, 257;
makes first coffin in county, 466
Brown, Alpheus: school fund commissioner, 196
Brown, N. B.: mentioned, 11;
lays out town site of Cedar Rapids, 43;
buys portion of town, 49;
a progressive citizen, 150
Brown, N. E.: speaks of railroad to Cedar Rapids, 64
Bryan, B. S.: 267
Bryan, Hugh L.: 267
Bryan, Michael: 267
Buffalo township: history of, 279
Burke, Thomas: 163
Burkhalter, E. R.: writes history of Coe college, 215 ff
Burlington: first capital of Iowa, 14
Burrell, H. A.: quotation from, 103
Butler, Isaac: first postmaster in Brown township, 84
Calhoun, Senator: quoted, 18
Calvin, Samuel: quoted, 1
Camburn, Dr. J. H.: an able justice, 189
Carroll, G. R.: his Pioneer Life quoted, 92, 93, 215
Carroll, Isaac: came to Cedar Rapids in 1839, 152
Carpenter, Gabriel: buys much land in Cedar Rapids, 160
Carpenter, S. D.: early physician, 88;
quoted, 154;
writes of early banking, 435
Carondalet: Spanish Governor at New Orleans, 13
Catholicism in Linn county: 401
Cavanaugh, Mr. and Mrs. Matthew: first graduates Cornell college, 210
Cedar Rapids: townsite surveyed, 43;
figured in county seat fight, 57;
the postoffice in, 84;
early schools in, 198 ff;
beginnings in, 207;
Robert Ellis reaches, 307;
N. B. Brown here in 1839, 308;
surveyed in 1841, 308;
the Listebargers build log house in, 310;
Rev. Carroll's reminiscences of, 310;
railroad reaches, 312;
ferries established in, 313;
first brick building in, 314;
first store, 314;
first newspaper, 314;
first mayor, 314;
first school, 316;
Dr. Carpenter's reminiscences of, 317 ff;
early hotels in, 328;
business of the city in 1856, 328;
sketch of the city from an early directory, 332;
sketch of Mrs. N. B. Brown, 333;
Cedar Rapids today, 335;
the railways of, 337;
manufacturing in, 339;
the street railways of, 341;
Commercial club, 345;
who paid the taxes in, fifty years ago, 347;
text of incorporation act, 353;
first city officials of, 356;
second election in, 356;
first tax levy in, 357;
election of 1851 in, 357;
first sidewalk ordinance, 357;
election of 1853 in, 358;
the cemeteries of, 358;
election of 1854 in, 358;
election of 1855 and 1856 in, 359;
officials of the city from 1857 to 1910, 359;
the city fifty years ago, 365;
how the first railroad came to, 370;
some of the early brick houses in, 374;
some strenuous days in, 376;
Mrs. Rock's reminiscences of, 379;
when land was cheap in, 382;
first decoration day celebration in, 384;
first labor union organized in, 390;
story of a mountain howitzer, 391;
a fortunate tumble, 392;
interesting bit of ancient history, 393;
churches and fraternities in, 395;
history of Catholic churches in, 402;
bridges, 420;
some municipal figures, 482
Cedar Rapids Clearing House Association: 442
Cedar Rapids & Marion City Railway Company: 344
Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad: 233
Cedar River: early steamboating on, 423
Central City: 284;
old mill at, 486
Center Point: 290
Cemeteries: some of the old, 242
Child. J. J.: lawyer, 172, 182
Clark, Joseph: arrives at Central City in 1839, 148
Clay, Senator: quoted, 18
Clinton township: history of, 278
Coe, Daniel: founder of Coe college, 217
Coe college: history of, 215 ff
Colby, Farnum: early settler, 153
College township: history of, 287
Columbus (now Cedar Rapids): 43, 48
Commercial Club: of Cedar Rapids, 345
Company C, Cedar Rapids: brief account of, 477
Condit, R. A.: principal Coe Collegiate Institute, 223
Conkey, John P.: first member of legislature from Cedar Rapids, 158
Conklin, C. H.: judge, 173
Conway, William B.: territorial secretary, 14
Cook, Isaac: nominated for secretary of state, 158;
mentioned, 170;
lawyer of ability, 177
Cooke, Harriette J.: dean of women at Cornell, 204
Corbett, Thomas: 176
Cornell college: historical sketch of, 201 ff
Cousins, Robert G.: quoted, 20 ff;
elected to congress, 305
Craig, John: 162
Crane, Joseph: early settler at Bertram, 159
Crocker, L. D.: 234
Crow, Edward M.: 45, 48;
came to county, 56;
mentioned, 92, 161
Crow, John: one of first permanent settlers, 48, 161
Dale, Mrs. Ruth A.: interview with, 481
Daniels, Addison: has first store in Marion, 461
Daniels, John J.: quotation from, 55, 270;
early teacher, 148
Daniels, L.: postmaster at Marion, 82;
at Cedar Rapids, 84
Daniels, Samuel: early settler, 462
Davenport: 44
Davenport, J. G.: postmaster at Cedar Rapids, 84, 108
David, John: 176
Davis, William: early settler in Grant township, 280
Dawson, James: 45
Deacon, Charles J.: quoted, 220
Deem, Hiram: early settler, 153
Democratic party: organization of in county, 260
Devendorf, Thomas: article on taxes in Cedar Rapids by, 347;
article on first railroad to Cedar Rapids by, 370
Dinwiddie, J. M.: treasurer Coe college, 226
Dodge, A. C.: mentioned, 31;
senator, 82
Dodge, Henry: mentioned, 31, 82
Donnan, Helen R.: writes of Masonic Library, 248
Doty, Elias: helps on court house, 34
Doty, Elias: a constant litigant, 188
Doty, James: helps erect court house, 34, 35
Doty, James M.: plats Newark, 143;
first pottery maker in Iowa, 146
Doty, Susan: kind to the Indians, 11
Downing, Thomas: early settler, 152
Dows, S. L.: 263
Dows, W. G.: his military record, 477, 478
Dubuque, city: mentioned, 13, 20, 44
Dubuque, Julian: obtains grant of land, 13
Dudley, J. W.: 172
Durham, S. W.: letter to from Col. Merritt, 58;
as to postoffices, 82;
letter by, 143;
address by, 164 ff;
honored pioneer, 464
Eastman, A. V.: secretary Coe College, 225
Edgerton, Asher: gets contract for Court House, 34, 35
Ellis, Robert: knew the Indians, 10;
agent for the government, 11;
walked to Iowa, 45;
meets Bill Johnson, 101;
oldest living settler in county, 146
Elkhorn Land & Town Lot Company: 240
Ely, Alex. L.: 47, 50
Ely, John F.: early physician, 88;
mentioned, 233
Endicott, W. I.: quoted, 335
Engle, Peter H.: letter written by, 19;
referred to, 31
Enos, J. L.: newspaper articles by quoted, 84, 86
Evans, George A.: captain Company C, 477
Ewing, Senator: quoted, 18
Fairbanks, Ira G.: superintendent of schools, 196
Fairfax: Catholic church at, 407
Fairfax township: history of, 271
Fellows, Rev. S. N: 202 note
Ferguson, Henry V.: 233
Ferguson. Jason D.: killed in Civil War, 474
Fifth Iowa Battery: 478
Fifty-third regiment: 477
Fisher, A. W.: writes history of Spring Grove township, 288
Fiske, John: quoted, 8
Florida: admission of, 15
Flynn, Rev. P. J.: contributes article on history of Catholicism in county, 401
Fordyce, Emma J.: writes of early schools, 198 ff
Fort Atkinson: 10, 11, 12
Fort George school house: 143
Fortner, Catharine A.: early Cornell teacher, 204
Foster, Sidney A.: 17 note
Freer, H. H.: professor Cornell college, 208
Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad, 237
Gainer, Thos.: came to Cedar Rapids in 1839, 152
Garrow, Peter: first citizen to be naturalized, 464
Geer, C. M.: quoted, 13
Geology of Linn county: 24 ff
Gillilan, James: 45
Glass, J. P.: early settler, 46
Good, James W.: elected to congress, 305
Goudy, John, family of robbed, 38 ff
Grant township: history of, 279
Gray, George W.: builds present court house, 35
Gray, Hosea W.: 33, 35, 47, 48, 49;
takes first census of county, 95, 463;
first sheriff, 463
Gray, Miss Pethenia: early school teacher, 285
Grafton, Dr. S.: early settler at Ivanhoe, 159
Greene, George: school teacher, 34;
member legislative council, 48;
buys portion of Cedar Rapids, 49;
letter to Col. Durham, 61;
lawyer, 178, 465
Greene, Joseph: first postmaster at Cedar Rapids, 84
Grist mill: first in county, 257
Gunn, Thomas F.: 404
Hagey, Joanna: writes of Cedar Rapids library, 250
Hahn, Daniel S.: claimed to be first settler, 55
Hall, O. S.: a pioneer, 461
Hall, P. E.: 233
Hall, Samuel: early settler, 276
Haman, Geo. C.: tells of coming of railroad to Cedar Rapids, 64
Haman, Mrs. George C.: gives her recollections of society in the early days, 261 ff
Hamilton, John T.: elected to congress, 305
Harlan, James: senator, 82;
state superintendent, 201
Harlan, James E.: president Cornell college, 208
Harland, Ambrose, early settler, 143;
early politician, 300
Harman, Peter D.: did brick work on present court house, 35
Harper, Bill: a noted character, 181
Hart, Caspar J.: 159
Hart, J. A.: 159, 269
Hartigan, Father: in charge of the Catholic church at Marion, 410
Haskins, C. C.: 92;
early settler at Mt. Vernon, 159
Hazeltine, E. D.: early settler in Grant township, 280
Headley, J. T.: early practitioner, 164
Heins, B. F.: lawyer, 183
Henry, John: operates store at Westport, 42, 92
Hershey, Christian: pioneer minister, 292
Higley, Harvey G.: 158
Higley, Henry E.: 158
Higley, M. A.: 158
Higley, W. W.: 158
Hoffman, John: postmaster at Springville, 84
Hollis, C. M.: editor of Times, quotation from, 111, 112
Hook, Samuel F.: early settler, 152
Hoosier Grove Settlement: 46
Hormel, Frank: able lawyer, 183
Hotchkin, James K: first postmaster of Walker, 280
Howlett, G. M.: postmaster at Cedar Rapids, 85
Hubbard, N. M.: eminent attorney, 179;
anecdotes of, 180;
Decoration Day address of, 387;
mentioned, 467
Hubbard Smyth: political contest, 302 ff
Hull, Philip: 44, 147
Hunter, James: helps build court house, 34, 35
Hunter, John: helps build court house, 34
Humphrey, Joseph: early settler, 276
Illinois: admitted, 31
Indians: account of, 8
Indian nomenclature: 22
Ingham, W. H.: 163
Isbell, N. W.: first county judge, 169, 176, 468
Ivanhoe: 43
Ives, C. J.: pioneer railroad developer, 161
Iowa: a prairie state, 1;
first inhabitants, 3;
history of, 13
Iowa City: constitutional convention at, 15
Iowa Conference Seminary: founding of, 202
Iowa Falls & Sioux City Railroad: 236
Iowa Rail Road Land Company: 239
Iowa State Gazetteer: quoted, 47
Iowas: mentioned, 9, 13
Jackson township: history of, 285
Jenkins, John: first settler in Maine township, 282
Johnson, Alexander: early settler, 276
Johnson, Bill: hero of Canadian rebellion, 101 ff
Johnson, Kate: 101
Johnson, S. S.: early carpenter and builder, 154
Joliet, Louis: discovers Iowa, 4
Jones, Geo. W.: mentioned, 31;
senator from Iowa, 82
Jones, Stephen M.: 109
Jordan, Chandler: early settler in Maine township, 282
Jordan, Charles: early settler, 163
Jordan, L. D.: early settler in Maine township, 282
Justices: early Linn County, 199 ff
Keeler, C. B: lawyer, 186
Keeler, Rev. R. W.: early president Cornell college, 204
Kelsey, J. H.: early settler, 152
Kephart, Cyrus J.: his history of the United Brethren at Lisbon quoted, 291
Kimball Building, 233
Kimbal, L. C: 233
King, David W.: came to Cedar Rapids in 1839, 152, 161
King, William Fletcher: president of Cornell college, 208
Kirkwood, Governor: dispatch from, 471;
calls for additional troops, 475
Kynett, A. J.: helps found Cornell college, 201, 208
Knott, Richard: commissioner to locate county seat, 32, 33
Knox, Rev. James, 224
Kurtz, John E.: one of the founders of Lisbon, 161
Labor: first union organized in Cedar Rapids, 390
Lake, E. W.: early Marion physician, 87
Langworthy, L. H.: quotation from, 104
Lawyers: early, 169
Lazell, F. J.: author of article on newspapers of county, 106
Laylander, O. J.: quoted, 17
Lea, Albert Miller: quoted, 19
Lee, Guy Carleton: his History of North America referred to, 13
Leffingwell, William E.: candidate for Congress, 179
Legare, Margaret S.: 267
Leverich, James: arrives in 1839, 148
Leverich, Joel: becomes owner of Mound Farm, 46;
arrives in 1839, 148;
Dr. Carpenter on, 148;
Geo. R. Carroll on, 149;
early politician, 301
Libraries: Masonic, 248;
Cedar Rapids, 250;
Coe college, 250;
Mt. Vernon, 251;
Marion, 251;
Bohemian Reading Society, 251
Lichtebarger, Jos. H.: early settler, 148
Linn County: act organizing, 32;
first survey, 34;
first court house in, 34;
names of townships in, 35;
judiciary in, 35;
circuit court in, 36;
noted trials in, 36;
outlawry in, 37;
early settlement of, 42;
first marriage in, 46;
organized, 47;
first election in, 48;
first settler in, 51;
county seat contests in, 57;
first railroad in, 58;
old settlers of, 66 ff, 145 ff;
postoffices and politics in, 82 ff;
physicians of, 86 ff;
material growth of, 92 ff;
first reaper in, 93;
newspapers of, 106;
early Bohemian settlements in, 121 ff;
early marriages in, 127 ff;
historic roads and monuments in, 142;
early lawyers and courts in, 169 ff;
chatty mention of bench and bar, 175 ff;
early justices in, 189 ff;
schools in, 194 ff;
old cemeteries in, 242;
libraries in, 248;
wages and prices in, from 1846 to 1856, 253;
some first things in, 256;
first grist mill in, 257;
early land entries in, 258;
organization of democratic party in, 260;
early society in, 261;
history of townships, 270;
politics in, 298;
statistics for 1856, 332;
Catholicism in, 401;
population of, 416;
early votes in, 417;
members of legislature from, 417;
banks and banking in, 435 ff;
list of county officers, 451 ff;
in war, 470;
vote in, in 1860, 479;
tornado in, 479;
account of Western, 479;
of Mt. Vernon, 479;
first agricultural association in, 480;
first teachers association in, 480;
teachers' institute, 481;
vote in, in 1910, 482;
early days in, 483;
early doctors in, 485;
land assessments in, 488;
taxable valuation in, 489
Linn County Medical Society: 89
Linn, Dr. Louis F.: mentioned, 32;
Linn county named after, 47
Linn township: history of, 286
Lisbon: 291;
camp-meetings at, 296;
Catholic church at, 411
Loughnane, Rev. P. M.: Catholic priest at Marion, 411
Louisiana Purchase, The: 13
Love, J. S.: early Springville physician, 89
Lowry, Father: 403
Lucas, Robert: territorial governor, 14, 15
Lucore, R. H.: early settler, 148
Lund, Mrs. E. J.: early Cedar Rapids teacher, 199
Lynch, Jerry: a resourceful lawyer, 182;
anecdotes of, 183
Lytle, James: early settler in Jackson township, 285
McCabe, Bishop C. C.: 163
McClelland, Freeman: 88
McCloud, Ross: county surveyor, 34
McConnell, N. A.: early minister, 289
McCormick, Samuel B.: president Coe college, 228
McDye, William E.: colonel, 475
McIntosh, D. M.: lawyer, 177;
erects early brick house in Cedar Rapids, 267
McKean, A. J.: appointed constable, 33;
clerk of circuit court, 36;
early politician, 158;
first constable and first assessor, 464
McKean, Thomas J.: first mayor of Marion, 466;
sketch of, 470
McKinney, Ed: early settler in Maine township, 282
McKinnon, William: early settler, 277
McRoberts, Peter: chosen commissioner, 33
McVay, Luther: pioneer minister, 293
Maggart, Rev. C. W.: his sketch of the Cedar Rapids churches, 397
Maine township: history of, 281
Mann, Jacob: one of first settlers, 45, 48, 160
Mann, Sally: probably first white woman to settle in county, 160
Mansfield, E. L.: 88;
came to Iowa on horseback, 162
Maple River Railroad: 238
Marion: named county seat, 33, 57;
U. S. land office, 34;
district court of U. S. and territorial court meets at, 35;
railroad meeting at, 62;
Catholic Church at, 409;
history of, 460 ff;
first house in, 461;
first store, 461;
first hotel, 461;
first jail built in, 461;
plat of town recorded, 363;
first court held in, 465;
fire department organized, 466
Marquette, Jacques: quoted, 4
Marriages: early ones in county, 127 ff
Marshall, James: president Coe college, 227
Mason, Albert A.: superintendent of schools, 196
Matsell, G. W.: early settler, 163
May, J. M.: files plat of Mayfield, 143;
a stirring man, 157;
lawyer, 178
Mayfield: now portion of Cedar Rapids, 143
Maynard, H. H.: field secretary Coe college, 228
Mekota, Jos.: contributes article, 121 ff
Melton, George: and Center Point postoffice, 82
Mercy Hospital, 413
Merritt, W. H.: storekeeper at Ivanhoe, 11, 153;
writes political letter, 59
Mexican veterans: in county, 470
Miller, Wm. E.: judge, 173
Mills, J. G.: his Handbook mentioned, 144
Mills, Mason P.: lawyer, 183
Minnesota: admitted, 31
Missouri: admitted, 31
Missouri Valley & Blair Railway and Bridge Company: 238
Missouri Valley Land Company: 240
Mitchell, Israel: lays out Westport, 33, 146
Mitchell, James: early settler, 275
Mitchell, John: lawyer, 177
Mitchell, John: early settler, 275
Moingona Coal Company: 240
Montrose: 20
Mound Builders: mentioned, 3;
account of, 4
Mt. Vernon: account of, 479
Mulford, Charles R.: early merchant, 153
Murray, F. G.: contributes chapter on physicians, 86
Muscatine: 44
Muskwaki: mentioned, 10
Newark: extinct town, 143
Newberry, J. S.: quoted, 7
Newhall, J. B.: quoted, 47
New Lindon: defunct town, 84, 143
Newspapers: history of, 106 ff
Neutral Grounds: 14
Norton, William Harmon: contribution on geology of Linn county, 24 ff;
writes of Cornell college, 201 ff
Nye, Benjamin: commissioner to locate county seat, 32, 33
Old Settlers' Association: members of, 66 ff
Otoes: mentioned, 9
Otter Creek: settlement of, 46
Otter Creek township: history of, 286
Owen, Dr. Norman W.: 467
Oxley, Marshall: 257
Oxley, Perry: early politician, 300
Parker, N. H.: quoted, 17, 144
Parvin, T. S.: 162
Patterson, William: does carpenter work on present court house, 35
Phelps, Stephen: president Coe college, 226
Physicians: of the county, 86 ff
Plummer, John: first justice in Spring Grove township, 289
Politics: county and district, 298
Pollock, S. L.: early settler, 153
Population: of county and towns, 416
Postoffices: early politics concerning, 82
Powell, J. J.: lawyer, 183
Powell, Major J. W.: quoted, 7
Practitioners' Club: 89
Prairie du Chien: 20
Prairieburg: Catholic church at, 407
Preston, I. M.: 171, 468
Public Instruction: superintendent of created, 195
Railroad: first in county, 58;
letter from Merritt on, 59;
Iowa Central Air Line, 63;
Dubuque and Southwestern, 63;
letter from C. H. Branch on, 64
Reiner, W. Fred: his experience as express messenger, 244 ff
Richardson, Rev. T. F.: 406
Risley, A. P.: postmaster at Springville, 84
Ristine, Henry M.: early county physician, 86, 89, 467
Roads: early ones laid out, 142
Roberts, Robert G.: chosen legislator, 33
Rock, Mrs. R. C.: early teacher, 198;
mentioned, 261;
reminiscences of, 379
Rockingham: 44
Rogers, Wm.: early settler at Rogers Grove, 163
Rood, H. H.: quoted, 210
Rothrock, James H.: judge, 173, 181;
anecdotes of, 181, 182
Runkle, Jesse A.: quoted, 196
Sac and Fox, The: 10, 13
Sacred Heart Academy: 414
Safely, Robt.: 163
Sampson, A. E.: lays out town of New Lindon, 84
Sanford, Julius E.: one of platters of Cedar Rapids, 162, 176
Schools: early history of, 194 ff
Scott, General Winfield: concludes treaty with Sacs and Foxes, 14
Seerley, H. H.: 209
Shambaugh, B. F.: quoted, 19
Shane, John: judge, 174
Shaw, L. M.: quoted, 213
Shepherd, Osgood: 46, 49, 149
Sherman, E. A.: quoted, 341
Shields, Mrs. Susan: daughter of William Abbe, 10, 51
Sigworth, Dr. H. W.: address on early doctors in county, 485
Sinclair, Thomas M.: helps Coe college, 225
Sisley Grove: 279
Sisters of Mercy: 412
Sioux City & Iowa Falls Town Lot and Land Company: 239
Sioux City & Pacific Railroad: 235
Sioux Indians: mentioned, 10
Skinner, Rev. Elias: candidate for county judge, 57;
letter from, 164
Smith, E. W.: Cornell professor, 204
Smith, Judge Milo P.: contributor, 169;
early teacher, 194
Smith, W. H.: appointed constable, 33
Smith, William Wilberforce: president Coe college, 229
Smyth, Robert: an enterprising man, 161
Smyth, William: first county attorney, 170, 179, 468
Snouffer, J. J.: 84, 269
Snyder, Justice: 189
Society in the early days: 261
Southern influence: 267
Soutter, C. B.: president board of trustees Coe college, 228
Speake, John K.: early settler in Grant township, 280
Spring Grove township: history of, 288
Steamboating: on the Cedar, 420
Stephens, R. D.: builds elevator at Marion, 97;
mentioned, 171;
financier, 177;
tribute to, 467
Stewart, J. O.: quoted, 109;
commissioned captain in Civil War, 475
Stewart, Samuel C.: chosen commissioner, 33
Stewart, William: early blacksmith, 154
Stoddard, Jos. C.: in Civil war, 473
Stone, William: had store at Westport, 42, 46, 49;
probable first settler in Cedar Rapids, 151
Stookey, S. W.: acting president Coe college, 228
Strong, L. M.: chosen commissioner, 33;
builds first house in Marion, 461
Sullivan, John C.: surveys southern Iowa boundary, 15
Taylor, A. C.: 85
Taylor, Dr. Robert: 269
Teachers' Association: first in county, 480
Teachers' institute: first in county, 481
Tecumseh: 9
Thomas, Dr. Cyrus: 7
Thompson, Henry: erects saw mill, 460
Thompson, William G.: lawyer, 172, 186;
anecdotes of, 187;
tribute to, 468
Trans-Mississippi Exposition: 20
Troup, Reverend C.: first minister in county, 48, 291
Troy Mills: founded, 290
Tryon, S. H.: 86
Union Medical Society, 89
United Brethren Church: beginning of in Iowa, 291;
at Lisbon, 292 ff.
United Presbyterian Church: origin of the Fairfax, 272
Ure, James: early settler, 275
Ure, Robert: early settler, 272
Ure, William: brings first reaper to county, 93
Usher, Dyer: first divorce action in county brought by, 36;
ferries people across the Mississippi, 46
Vardy, John: erects first frame dwelling in Cedar Rapids, 49;
arrives in Cedar Rapids in 1841, 152
Vinton, Samuel F.: attitude toward Iowa, 16
Walker: history of, 279;
Catholic church at, 409
Washington township: history of, 290
Waubeek: 284
Weare, Charles: early contractor, 154
Weare, John: early banker, 154
Webster, C. L.: quoted, 8
Weld, L. G.: 3 note; 13 note
Western: stage line to, 47;
account of, 479
Westport: 33, 43, 46, 48, 143
Wetherbee, E. S.: gives account of old mill at Central City, 486
Wheeler, David H.: Cornell professor, 204
Whittam, I. N.: pioneer lawyer, 178
Whittlesey, Charles: chosen senator, 33
Wick, B. L.: writes on early steamboating, 423
Williams, Joseph D.: judge, 35, 41
Williams, Horace: 239
Willis, James W.: first county commissioners meet at house of, 33
Wilson, George W.: noted attorney, 187
Wilson, Gen. James: 103
Wilson, Judge James: surveyor-general, 31
Wilson, T. S.: 82
Winnebagoes, The: account of, 9
Wisconsin: admitted, 31
Witter, Amos: early physician in Mount Vernon, 87
Woodbridge, Ward: writes history of Maine township, 281
Young, Joseph B.: lawyer, 177, 468
Zumbro, John: postmaster at Marion, 82