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 CHAPTER
XXV MILITARY TOWNSHIP When one essays to record the history of Military township and the town of Ossian, which is its only municipality, he is impressed with the lack of facts and figures necessary to convey adequately the progress of this unit of the county. H. P. Nicholson, who made a brief sketch for the Anderson & Goodwin Atlas, remarks upon his inability to find only meagre data, but writes in this manner: The history of Military township is not dyed with any blood-curdling tales of Indian massacre; no dire calamity ever befell the aborigines that white man has record of; neither is it filled with tales of romance or sentiment, but simply the converting of a wilderness covered with tall prairie grass and scrub oak, interspersed with hazel brush and other wild bushes, into the beautiful fields and homes of the prosperous farmer and merchant of today.
The first settlements were made along the creeks, whose steep sides abounded in good springs and were covered with a growth of timber sufficient unto the needs of the pioneer. Not being equipped with the tools for making deep wells or converting timber into a commercial state, he naturally accepted the gifts which nature had bestowed upon him and improved upon them to the best of his ability. The first settler came in 1850, but who he was is not within the knowledge of this writer. The march of the pioneer was steady and continuous and no marked event recorded his advent into the newer fields. Neither was the birth of the first white child worthy of a page in history, for such events were the same then as today, of every-day occurrence. The occupation of the lands within its borders was very rapid, for as early as 1854 no unoccupied land was to be had. Settlers either entered it as school land or bought it outright at $1.25 per acre. Prices advanced rapidly as improvements were made and values as high as $4.50 and $5.00 per acre were reached by r854. In order to give the reader an insight into the methods used and the privations experienced by the 235 PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 236 people of an early day, it will be necessary to relate some personal experiences. This writer's father started from Northwestern Pennsylvania in December, 1854, with team, lumber wagon, and a board for a seat, to come to what was then the far West to seek a home in which to spend his future days. He was accompanied by a brother with similar conveyance, bent on a like mission. They were not seeking something they knew naught of, for others preceded them and delivered glowing accounts of the opportunities offered in the newer fields. The trip was not worthy of special mention but no doubt grew monotonous to the participants in the short winter days. The Mississippi river was reached at last, however, and was found to _e clear of ice, but as the weather turned cold that day a crossing was effected the next morning by leading one horse across at a time and drawing the wagon by hand. The journey was continued on the day following, as far as Decorah, a party at McGregor wishing transportation to that place. The route traversed was via Moneek and Frankville, at that time two prosperous villages. On January 8, 1855, the drive from Decorah to what proved to be a home for over half a century, was made. The road taken ran out through Madison township, to where Calmar now stands, and so on down the Military ridge from which this township takes its name. At an early date land was selected and purchased of an earlier settler for $4.50 per acre and preparations were made for settlement in the spring following. The horses were sold and the return trip was commenced on foot as far as Dubuque, where transportation was taken back to Pennsylvania. He with his family and some of the necessaries of life removed in April by rail as far as Galena, Illinois, thence by boat to McGregor and overland the rest of the way. Wealth was not sought by these people. They were simply looking for a home in which they could secure a competence in their later years, and an opportunity for their offspring. Their surroundings were primitive, indeed. A. log house twelve by thirteen feet, with no attic, was kitchen, dining room, bed room and pantry combined. A small lean-to and an attic were afterwards added and in these surroundings seven children, all robust and healthy, were reared until better accommodations could be afforded. Not alone the family, but visitors were entertained and strangers were often sheltered within its walls. And those were the days of hoop skirts, and who can imagine the neighborhood ladies gathered together for an afternoon visit with good old-fashioned families added. The roof was protected by oaken shingles which shed water well enough, but when a genuine blizzard raged much snow was sifted through the chinks and our urchin brothers and sisters upon arising in the morning would have to seek a place to plant their bare feet to miss the little snow banks scattered promiscuously upon the floor. The spinning wheel and loom were also in evidence, for no home
was complete without the wherewithal to be self-supporting. Long
strings of oxen were hitched to large breaking plows and the natural
sod was broken, crops were put in by hand and harvested with the
cradle. The building of flour mills quickly followed the advent
of the pioneer and a sustenance was achieved within the reach
of all. The next thing was the market for the surplus. This was
found at McGregor, a drive of forty miles, which took three days.
While the man of PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 237 the house was gone on these necessary trips the wife and mother was governor-general and general roustabout combined. In the spring of 1856 a small prairie fire started in the southern part of the township and extend_d nearly the whole length north and south, destroying fences and numerous buildings in its path. When we consider that fences were made from rails split from burr oak we can realize what loss they were to the farmer of those times. Following this we have the terrible winter of 1856 and 1857, a winter never to be forgotten by the pioneer. Snow fell to a depth of four feet, followed by rain which formed a crust on the snow, encasing everything in its grasp. It became impossible to get a horse or ox off from the beaten path, and fire wood had to be procured by hand. This also marked the fall of the deer and elk. They became famished and were an easy prey to hunters on foot, the crust not being strong enough to sustain the deer's weight. The settlers here, as in nearly every other place, had their Indian scare. It was reported the Indians were coming slaughtering and burning all before them. Many people turned out their stock to shift for themselves, and loading their valuables and families into their wagons started for ,McGregor; others, whether from more thoughtful disposition or more stubborn, refused to leave and prepared to stand a siege if such there came, but it proved only a rumor enlarged by nervous people and everyone soon returned and resumed his place and pursuits.
OSSIAN Of the town of Ossian "Sparks' History" gives the following facts: "The original town site of Ossian was laid out by its founder, John Ossian Porter, on the southeast corner of the section. It consisted of three blocks, in all fourteen lots. It was acknowledged by J. O. Porter and wife on the 13th of April, 1855, and was filed for record in the recorder's office of Winneshiek county on the 30th of April, the same year. Mr. Elijah Middlebrook did the surveying. Two years later, on the 8th of April, Capt. C. E. Brooks acknowledged the plat of the first addition to Ossian, which was accordingly placed on the proper record. It consisted of six blocks, containing sixty-three lots. On the 8th day of October, 1864, Capt. C. E. Brooks acknowledged the plat of his second addition to Ossian, which consisted of thirty blocks, divided into lots. This plat was properly recorded. On the 4th day of May, 1869, he laid out ten additional blocks, and called it Brooks' Western Addition to Ossian. This, so far as the records show, was the last addition to the place, and, minus the vacation of a few blocks by Mr. Brooks, is the Ossian of today.
PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 238 "Ossian was nearly twenty-one years of age before a single church edifice had been erected. The Catholics erected a building for worship, which was the first, about the year 1869. About two years later the Methodists built a church."
Ossian has not in late years experienced a remarkable growth, yet at all times it has maintained its place in the progress of events, and it harbors within its borders business men of enterprise and sagacity who are ever on the alert for the best interests of their community. It has two banks-the Ossian State Bank and the Citizens Bank of Ossian-with ample capital and resources. A good representative in the newspaper field in the Ossian Bee; and ere this book is issued its streets will be lighted by electricity, as at a recently-held election a large majority was recorded in favor of granting a franchise to Ballard Brothers, to erect and operate a plant.
_______________________ BLUFFTON TOWNSHIP Bluff ton, appropriately so named, embraces in its meaning the most prominent natural features, which undoubtedly inspired its application, says John F. Murtha, in a sketch in "Anderson & Goodwin's Atlas." It occupies the sixth place, being in the third tier from the east and the second from the north, among the sister townships in the county, and fourth in the third supervisor's district. The village of the same name is centrally located, from east to west, and one mile north of the center, on the north bank of the Upper Iowa river. In it there is one general store and postoffice, a refreshment or club room, blacksmith shop, hotel, schoolhouse and church. The village's most prosperous times were her earliest, continuing on through the wheat-growing period which ended with the blight or wheat failures of 1876 and 1878. Since that time it has been going the way of nearly all the smaller towns the country over, and in these recent years the institution of rural delivery of mail is the second serious blow to its prosperity. The passing of the mill recently sold, now razed to the ground, marks the end of its usefulness. The founders were the Morse brothers. Henry built the sawmill in 1852; the following year they built the small, or baby, grist mill, around which. Lyman D. built the large one in 1856, thus keeping pace with the rapidly increasing patronage and requirements of the new settlers far and wide. Even then, in the busiest season, patrons had to wait from two to four weeks for their turn at grinding. * * * * Settlers as far west as Albert Lea, Minnesota, used to come with ox teams to get milling done. The old mill had a good many ups and downs, Mr. Morse remaining owner until around the seventies, when he sold to Blackmarr & Meader. In general, the land is owned by those who live here and whose well tilled fields-iron and steel bound-fine houses and barns, and herds of cattle, horses, sheep and swine; last but not least the numerous large and happy families born and reared here, in conjunction with natural advantages of native forest, good water and fertile soil, give evidence of what our fathers, the pioneers, have wrought. The physical features of the township are strongly marked by the course of the Upper Iowa river. This enters just a half mile south from the northwest 241 PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 242 corner. It almost laps upon itself in three great loops, the second of which enters Burr Oak, returning, resumes its flow, while making about ten miles in every direction of the compass, has only made two miles headway, continuing in a southeasterly direction passes into Canoe, making about twenty miles of river in this township. Bluffton, as a whole, is generally broken and rolling; the rougher parts being covered with native forest, insuring abundance of timber. It is fairly well adapted to general farming and stock raising and the same is now carried on in a full measure. The population is a composite of Irish, Norwegian, German and English. They are rugged, honest, industrious, economical and prosperous. The opportunities for the youth to obtain a common school education are as good as in any rival community. Three of her young men have gone into the Catholic ministry--Michael Foley, Peter Gallagher and John Courtney. The first wave of immigration, setting in with George Smith, Lyman Morse, G. R Emery, Chas. McLaughlin, Michael Gilice, Barney Sutton and Terrence McConnell, in 1851, is considered to have existed up to the commencement of the Civil war. A great many of these came from Northern Illinois with covered wagons drawn by ox teams, and bringing a few head of cattle and other belongings necessary to begin life in the new country. The civil township was organized in 1856 and on April 7th of that year, the first election was held at the house of Lyman D. Morse in the village, choosing the following officers: Justices, Abner Stevenson and Alfred Jones. Constable, L. H. Brink. Trustees, Franklin Fletcher and M. M. Ferguson. Road Supervisor, Wm. H. McIntosh. Assessor, Edwin Snell. Clerk, Joseph F. Nickerson. The numeration then taken shows a population of 196. The greatest event, the one by which we feel the most honored, was the patriotic response of our boys forty-five years ago, to their country's call. The enrollment for service was John Gallagher and son, J 01111 Thomas, Asberry Lanty, Warrick Brisco, Lewis Richmond, Dan Wash, Lut Barrett, Wm. Murdock, Dan and Ben Lewis, Moritz Lange, Patrick Nolan and son Denis, Owen Smith, Abner Stevenson, John Jones, Jonathan Reynolds, Frank Foley, Joseph F. Nickerson, Rube and Frank Palmer, Simon Gates, AI. Perry, Harrison Stockdale, Albert Richmond, Will Powers and Hezekiah Brisco. That the first settlers brought with them their religion and
were soon followed by ministers and priests is a well-known traditional
fact, for before any churches were erected divine services were
held in many of the log houses in the settlement. In 1858 the
little log church was built on Mr. Nolan's land. It was considered
large enough to accommodate the attendance, but in a few years
a frame addition in front, making it as large again, was required
by the growing congregation. This sufficed until 1877 when the
present fine brick edifice was built on a new site. The parish
has always been attached to Decorah. It also, in an early day,
included Plymouth Rock, and as far \Vest as Granger, making an
extensive field for the early pastors, who could not make the
regular attendance of these days. Of Revs. Father Hoar, Kinsley
and DeCailey little is known. Father Farrell being frail and in
poor health did not remain long. Father Lowrey ministered quite
a few years, and went away universally regretted by his people
and all who knew him. Then came Father Lenihan, who PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 243 in late years became bishop of Cheyenne. Fathers Butler, McNulty,
Garrahan and the present Father Hawe followed in succession. Religion
in the village seems to have had a varied existence from the beginning.
Although other points not far off had been frequently visited
by ministers of the M. E. church much earlier, this place was
not put on the list of speaking points until 1855. A Congregational
society was organized by Rev. Chas. Wiley of Burr Oak in 1878.
The Adventists started a society with Rev. John Ridley of Burr
Oak as pastor in 1881. 1884 brought in the Friends society with
Rev. Ezra Pierson pastor. To their efforts is due the erection
of the fine frame church, dedicated at the close of the year 1889.
The Baptists made an organization, an outgrowth of revivals by
Rev. James of Decorah in 1895. All of the foregoing church circles
have gone out of existence by removal of adherents or remote residence;
even the Friends society has only a nominal existence, but the
church is open to the service of other denominations or those
not belonging who aided its erection. _______________ CHAPTER XXVII CANOE TOWNSHIP Canoe township adjoins Bluff ton on the east and is immediately north of Decorah. J. C. Fredenburgh describes the township as follows: The west half of Canoe township is very fine farming land. The northwest quarter, known as Franklin Prairie, is gently rolling, and is productive of all kinds of crops. The southwest quarter is more hilly and quite bluffy along what is known as the Upper Iowa river. The uplands on the hills are a clay soil, while the bottom lands are sandy. There is an abundance of timber on the bluffs along the streams. Canoe creek which flows from near -the northwest corner of the township in a southeasterly direction, heads about three, miles north of the north line of Canoe, in Hesper township. Continuing his sketch, which appeared in the "Winneshiek County Atlas," published in 1905, Mr. Fredenburgh gives some interesting reminiscences: We quote a portion of them. "In the year 1850 when David Kinnison and John Fredenburgh came west to seek their fortunes, they came to northwest Canoe township. They found Canoe creek with its clear sparkling waters and fish in' abundance. I have heard them tell about wading through the water and the fish would part ahead of them and close in behind them, they were so thick.. In those days there were springs of pure water on nearly every farm and as many as three or four on some of them. "With the exception of along the streams; timber was scattering, with openings here and there. They called them white oak openings. In these openings the blue grass grew to the height of many feet. There were a few Indians here, but they were friendly. They would steal a little sometimes, but that was all the harm they did. There were some deer, bear, quail, pheasant and prairie chicken. When these early settlers wanted lumber and provisions, they had to haul it from Prairie du Chien, their one conveyance being ox teams. It usually took about a week to make the trip. As the county grew older they went to McGregor and Lansing and later to Conover and Decorah. 245 PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 246 "The first wheat I can remember my father marketing was hauled to Conover, and the first train of cars I ever saw was at that place. "Canoe has never had a town of her name to boast of. She has had some country postoffices and two taverns. One, kept by a man by the name of Harmon and later by a Mr. Leach--The Leach Tavern. The frame is still doing service, as it has been re-sided and a new roof put on. It is owned and occupied by W. C. McLain.* It was known by the name of the Half-way House, being about half way between Burr Oak and Decorah. "In the early '60's we sowed our grain by hand, dragged it in with an A-shaped harrow, planted our corn with a hoe, and cultivated it with one horse and a two-shovel plow; planted our potatoes and dug them with a hoe. We cut hay with a scythe, spread it out with forks, let it dry and then raked it up with a hand-rake, and stacked it by hand. Our grain was cut with a cradle, raked and bound by hand and treaded out with horses and flail. I remember when a boy of dropping corn by hand for 25 cents per day, from half past six or seven in the morning until sundown at night. "The first reaper I ever saw was about 1867. It took two men and a team to run it. One man drove the horses and the other, with a fork, raked the grain off in gavels. Two or three years later came the self-rake, next the harvester. Two men stood on the platform and bound the grain. The next laborsaving improvement in this line was the self-binder, which has been improved upon and is still in use at the present time. In looking back over years that have come and gone since I first saw Canoe township, we are led to exclaim, 'what a change!' Thus we acknowledge that we have a blessed heritage and should be thankful and happy." Lars L. Iverson was the first white child born in Canoe township and still resides on the farm where he first saw the light of day on December 7, 1852. He tells the following circumstance concerning the first mill stones used in that township, his father, Lars Iverson, Sr., being the man who made them: When Lars Iverson came to Winneshiek county in 1852 the mills were few and far between. When grists were brought to the mill they would be there so long before being ground that the mice and rats would cut the sacks and waste the grain and the grist would diminish, so that the farmers would look around for something that would remedy this inconvenience and loss. Mr. Iverson had thought of this difficulty when he left Norway and as hand mills were in use there, more or less, and being familiar with their construction, he brought with him the irons for such a mill. The stone which he used was selected from rock found on his farm in Canoe township. With hammer and chisel they were trimmed into proper form. The mill was turned by hand by two men, and would grind corn fine enough so one could have corn meal mush. This was considered good enough in those days. The mill was not only used by Mr. Iverson, but after a while the neighbors would come three or four miles to get their corn ground. These millstones measure two feet three inches in diameter, the lower one weighs 160 pounds and the upper one 250 pounds. They are kept as a relic of pioneer days on L. L. Iverson's farm, on section 2, Canoe township. *Mr. McLain has since passed away, and the farm is now conducted by one of his sons.
PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 247 IN MEMORY OF SPRINGWATER THE TALE OF A PIONEER COMMUNITY OF WHICH ONLY TRADITION REMAINS Not a Hint of It on the Latest County Map of Canoe Township By Edgar Odson During this Home Coming time and backward glance at auld lang syne in Winneshiek, a few glimpses of pioneer days and the people of Springwater may be of interest to some readers before memory of the beginnings of that settlement become quite extinct. In the intellectual realm, in educational matters in those days when the spelling school was a test of superiority, Springwater was a community to be reckoned with. Its beginning was a saw and grist mill erected about 1850. This mill soon after passed into the possession of Ansel Rogers, a preacher and leader in the colony of Quakers that gathered about it in the early '50S. A number of families of Friends were attracted to the site by a description written by a member of that denomination while on a prospecting tour beyond the Mississippi and published in a Friends paper in the East. Delighted by the picturesque beauty of the locality the writer created the impression that here might be founded another Eden. People in the older communities, especially in New England, were beginning to move uneasily in their cramped home conditions and to turn their eyes to the West. Beyond the Mississippi was then sufficiently distant to lend enchantment to the view and to seem what it proved to be. Quakers in the older settlements reading about this spot which later became Springwater, with its glorious climate, its wooded hills swarming with deer--its magnificent springs--its crystal brook (the Canoe )--full of rainbow trout --decided that this was the spot they long had sought, and left their old homes to locate on it. They came in considerable numbers, without concerted action, from widely separated localities. The following names of members of the colony will be remembered by some of the older settlers in Winneshiek county: Ansel Rogers, Moses Gave, Lorenzo Blackmarr, Nathan Chase, Samuel King, Joseph Mott, Aaron Street, Ezra King, Amos and Henry Earle, Henry Chappell, the Gripmans, John Tavernier, David West, John Odson, etc. These were men with families more or less numerous and all but two were Quakers. Younger, unattached members of the community were A. A. Benedict, Charles Gordon, Joseph Brownell, Nathan Rogers, Lindley, Josiah and John Chase, Lucretia Bean, Mary Gave, Rachel and Abbie Matt, Zilpah Gordon, Rhoda and Eunice Gripman, Lydia Grisell, Mary and Carrie Chase. Several of these young people did not long remain unattached. Somewhat later the colony was increased by the arrival of Harvey and Lovinia Benedict and their children Aiden and Eva; Washington Epley, with a family and two nephews, George and John Epley; Isaac Gidley and family; Joseph Cook and family. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, Michigan, England and Norway were represented
among these early settlers. PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 248 Plain living (enforced) and high thinking was the order of the day in the settlement. The years immediately preceding had been a time of political unrest in the Old World and of intellectual ferment in the New, finding outlet in rebellions, Fourierism and transcendentalism. Springwater did not escape the contagion, and so the younger set at once organized a literary society which met at stated intervals to read papers and discuss weighty matters. The society also published a paper--in longhand--which probably was the first publication issued in the county, The Atheneum Banner. At any rate it antedated the Decorah Republican published by the present owners by several years. The writer never had the good fortune to see a copy of this journal and it is doubtful if one is now in existence. THE COLONY BUILT A "MEETING HOUSE" OF BOARDS SAWED AT THE MILL For a number of years this-served as a house of worship and as a schoolhouse. In this building Joseph Brownell-one of the first if not the first young man to be married within its walls-taught several terms of private school, public schools not having yet come into existence. In the barn-like structure the Friends met every Sunday (First Day) for religious worship, which consisted chiefly of silence and meditation--of the right sort. The "elders" occupied the high places during the meeting--that is, the two or three benches elevated some feet above the floor of the main body of the church and facing the audience. These dignitaries sat with hats on or off, according to individual caprice. Sometimes hats were worn during the first half hour and then laid aside. The leader sat at the head on the rear bench--the benches were elevated one above the other in tiers--and when it was time to close the service he turned toward his neighbor and gravely shook his hand. This was the signal that meeting was over, eyes brightened, smiles appeared--especially among the younger members--a hum of voices replaced the silence and everybody became ordinary humans once more. But these meetings were not always passed in silence. Members had the privilege of exhorting sinners and others whenever the spirit moved and as the years passed the spirit seemed to move more and more frequently. There was, of course, no ordained minister. Midweek services were held, generally on Wednesdays, and school was dismissed at 11 A. M.; pupils were expected to attend, but attendance was not compulsory. The sexes sat separated on opposite sides of the main room, which
could be divided into two distinct compartments by a movable upper
partition which was lowered onto a stationary lower partition
fixed to the floor. The latter was about four feet high. During
religious meetings the upper section was raised--by means of ropes
and pulleysso that the whole congregation was in view. But when
"monthly meetings" were held--meetings for the transaction
of church business and for disciplining members who had been naughty--the
sexes were rigidly; separated by the partition and they could
communicate with each other only by messenger. At times members
were hauled over the coals for shortcomings, but not often. It
was a pretty good community--and died young. The meeting house
was hot in summer-- and cold in winter. During the latter season
the feminine portion of the congregation often brought heated
bricks to keep their feet warm and their minds in a proper state
of meditation. PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 249 The Springwater school in those days must have been the most advanced of any in the county, and in the spelling contests it always gave a good account of itself. Independent of the regular school, a peculiar geography class flourished, conducted by Charles Gordon at so much per head for the term. A set of large wall maps was used containing all the geographical knowledge then extant and the pupils met on certain evenings in the week to chant in unison the lesson under consideration. The members of the class were mostly young men and women. It was a pretty good method of fixing geographical locations in the mind, and interesting because the world was new and the pupils were interested in each other. Some of the elders looked askance at this class On account of the singing-not by any means too hilarious-because they regarded music in any form as a snare devised by the. adversary of man to entangle human souls. They thought it essential to salvation that all the aspects of life should be drab colored. This view, however, was held by a minority of the congregation only, and was more or less a bone of contention. A school entertainment in the winter of 1857-8, perhaps, produced a rift within the lute, which, while it did not widen sufficiently to produce discord that could be discerned by outsiders, it still impaired the harmony of the life there more or less. One of the features of this disrupting entertainment was music from an accordian or concertina, or whatever the instrument was, and Miss Mary Gove was the performer. In the midst of one of her selections, one of the elders, sitting on the other side of the lower partition--the two rooms had been thrown into one--placed his hands upon it and vaulted over with the agility of a boy who has been robbing an orchard, and rushing up to Miss Gove, seized her hands exclaiming, "Does thee know that this is the house of God?" The entertainment ceased then and there and that elder did not enhance his popularity in the community by his zeal. He was one of the first to move away. David West, who was not a Quaker, in relating the incident, said: "Why, when the old man vaulted over the fence, his coat tails snapping in the breeze, I thought it was a part of the performance, d-d if I didn't!" An interesting Sunday school was maintained for a number of years in which everybody, young and old, showed much interest and nearly every member of the community became an expert in bible knowledge. In connection with this school a circulating library was maintained by individual contributions. This literature, as a matter of course, was highly flavored with Quakerism, but books were scarce and it served. The autobiography of John Woolman was one of the books. An intellectual-devotional diversion was a "reading circle" held on Sunday afternoon in summer and in the evening during winter. At these gatherings members took turns in reading aloud recent books of an instructive nature, biographies, travels, etc., alternating with purely religious matter. At a somewhat later period a peripatetic writing master drifted into Springwater and taught some terms of writing school. He was a good penman but a bad citizen and subsequently married and deserted one of Decorah's fair daughters. The sentiment in regard to music eventually changed to such an
extent that a singing school was allowed in the schoolhouse, conducted
by James W. Mott, who had previously qualified by taking singing
lessons in Decorah. A musical wave rolled over the community and
in almost every home some instrument was under PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 250 going torture at the hands of would-be musicians. But there were children who were compelled to take to the woods to practice, out of sight and hearing of their dissenting parents. . The New York Tribune was about the only secular paper read in Springwater. It was everybody's friend, philosopher and guide in worldly matters, and Horace Greeley was a prophet in that locality. The abolition sentiment was strong and during the Lincoln-Douglas campaign everyone became a republican except David West, who was a democrat, and did not care who knew it. The dress usually worn was the conventional Quaker, drab-drab gown and bonnet for the women, severely plain habiliments with broad brimmed black hat for the men. The only color allowed the Quaker maidens was that which glowed in their cheeks, and bright eyes were their only ornaments--but these sufficed. At the time of the bloomer outbreak that costume was occasionally seen on the Springwater hills, but not for long. One of the very first pioneers of the place-forgotten in the enumeration above-was a character known by the sobriquet of "Greasy Ole." He was a bachelor who lived by himself in a 6X4 shanty and wore a pair of leather breeches which were never changed or washed. He came to the locality so early that he shot a bear on what later became the Odson farm. One story about him was that being invited to dinner by one of his Quaker neighbors at one time, he showed that he was not devoid of table manners by wiping his knife on his breeches before inserting it into the communal butter. The first white child born in Springwater was the present superintendent of the well known Minnesota school for feeble minded at Faribault, Dr. A. C. Rogers. The first death was that of Eunice Gripman, a fine young woman of eighteen or twenty. Her grave was the first in the Springwater burial ground. The first postoffice was called Aquila Grove, Nathan Chase, postmaster.
No one accumulated a swollen fortune there. No member of the colony disgraced himself by becoming a malefactor of great wealth. The best wheat in the United States was raised on those hills, but it was a slow and strenuous process to grub out the stunted oak shrubs and prepare the soil for the plow, and there was no home market for the grain. It had to be hauled to the Mississippi at McGregor or Lansing, and when the draft animals were oxen it required three or four days to make the trip. So most of the settlers became tired of the hard work and the meager results and by the end of the first decade the community was rapidly disintegrating. Death claimed some but most were lured away by the greater opportunities elsewhere. Only two of the oldest group lived there to the end of their days, John Odsor and Joseph Mott, and only one still survives, Mrs. John Odson, who now lives in Decorah. Of the younger group next in age, Charles Gordon became an inventor
and made a fortune in New York and Brooklyn; A. A. Benedict became
a rolling stone who gathered considerable moss; Lindley, Josiah
and John Chase are somewhere in the West and doing well; Miss
Lucretia Bean married one Thomas PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 251 Truman and lived and died in West Decorah; Nathan Rogers went to the Pacific coast. The whereabouts of others is to the writer unknown. Those who were the children in the settlement are now gray-haired men and women, the radiant light of the world's morning long since faded from their faces. Some departed never to grow old. James Mott went west but returned and died in his prime. His widow is the well known Decorah business woman. Milton Gove, one of the champion spellers of Springwater in the days of spelling schools, lives in Decorah. Aiden Benedict became a theatrical manager and lived in New York during the last years of his life and died there; his sister, Mrs. Rathbone, is at Phoenix, Arizona. J. I. Tavernier is the newest Decorah miller. Bailey Street is a citizen of Hesper. Lucy Mott, Maria Chase and Janie Chappell died when on the threshold of promising womanhood. Mrs. Annis Mott Ellingson is the only descendant of the original settlers who now lives in Springwater. Such are a few glimpses of a brief phase in the history of one settlement in old Winneshiek. "'Tis all a checker-board of nights and days, Where Destiny with man for pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and checks and slays, And one by one back in the closet lays." |
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