CHAPTER III THE FIRST SETTLERS By F. Q. Lee THE ARRIVAL OF PRESTON BELL-SETTLERS IN 1850-SETTLERS IN 1851-SETTLERS OF BENJ. ARRIVAL OF PRESTON BELL Early in the spring of 1849, a young man, born and raised in the state of Indiana, seeking a home on the frontier, and who had been stopping for some time near Des Moines, Iowa, loaded his few worldly possessions into a covered wagon and with an ox team, started northward in search of a location. He followed the course of the Des Moines river, passing through the small settlements on the way until, at Swedes Point in Boone county, he left all settlements behind him. When he came to where the Boone river empties into the Des Moines, he followed that stream a few miles, where he found a location to his liking. It was on the west bank of the Boone. What he found was from forty to sixty acres of what is called "weed bottom," which made it possible to plant a crop at once. A high bluff ran back of the cleared bottom lands and at the foot of this bluff, he built a pole cabin and blazed out a "claim" running from the river over the bluffs and back over the level lands to the west. All of the lands thus "blazed out" were wooded, except the weed bottom. Having brought with him one of those old "bull plows," he went to work to raise a crop of corn. The soil was intensely rich, and was as mellow as an ash heap. He succeeded in raising the finest corn he had ever seen, and was in position next year (1850), to supply the U. S. surveying party with corn when they arrived to survey the lands. This young man, whose name was PRESTON C. BELL, better known as "PRESS BELL," proved to be the first settler within the present limits of Hamilton county. And there, where he staked out his first claim, he continued to live most of the time until 1892, when he sold out and moved to Kansas. When the writer visited him in 1888, he found him, and his wife, whom, by the way, he married in 1850, living in a neat farm house within a few rods of the site of his original cabin. When Mr. Bell settled on the Boone river, no survey of the public lands north of Boone county had yet been made. Boone river had not yet been named and for several years it was known to the first settlers as "The East Fork of the Des Moines" or more commonly, "The East Fork." It presented altogether a different appearance then, than it does now, being narrow and deeper and having no sand bars. The broadening out of the river came with the settling up of the country, and of the many excellent water power sites then to be found along the river, scarcely any now remain. The river was probably given its present name at the time the government survey was being made near its mouth, in 1850. When Mr. Bell first settled here, he knew of no neighbors nearer than sixteen miles. When the government survey had been made, Mr. Bell found most of his claim to be within the northeast quarter of section No. 30, township No. 87, range No. 26, west of the fifth principal meridian Iowa, and this quarter was therefore entered by him. During the course of the summer, he discovered that he had neighbors within four or five miles, as three families had moved up into the forks of the Boone in Webster county. These families were those of Squire and Frank McGuire and Henry Lot. The second settler in this county was Osborne Brannan, who came sometime during the summer of 1849 and located a claim on what is now section 28-87-26, and thus he became Mr. Bell's nearest neighbor. They were the only settlers in the county, prior to 1850. In recording the events of the early settlement of a county, where no effort has been made to preserve its history, it is difficult to be entirely accurate as to dates. It is found that the recollection of early settlers is so treacherous as to dates that it is difficult for some of them to tell with certainty just when they came. It is not strange, therefore, that different claims to priority in settlement should arise, and it is almost impossible to determine who was first upon the ground. Their recollection of the time of coming is often expressed in such terms as "early in the spring" or "just as winter was breaking up," which expressions admit of considerable doubt whether the time was March, April or May, as any of these months might have been thought to be early in the spring, and in any of them, it might have appeared to the settler that "winter was just breaking up." They often came from different directions, and did not discover each other's presence, sometimes for months, so that, looking back now, it is not strange that each should think he was here before the other. Several of those coming in 1850 claimed for a long time to be the first settler and in nearly every sketch of the early settlement, credit is given to Wilson Brewer as being the first settler, but upon that point there is no room for doubt. SETTLERS IN 1850 Whoever may have been first, we find that in the spring of 1850, THOMAS HOGAN came and took up a claim on what is now section 21-87-26. John Tolman, who was afterward school fund commissioner of Webster county came also and located a claim on the farm which was afterwards owned for a long time by John Robinson. Very shortly after Tolman had located his claim, Mintor, or "Major" Brassfield came and purchased it. Tolman then moved to Webster county. Brassfield remained but a few years, when he moved to Wright county. He took up a claim near Goldfield, where he resided for many years, claiming to be the first settler of that county. In the fall of 1850 Wilson Brewer and family, and a nephew, William Brewer, and William Stanley and family arrived and settled near Bone's mill, about six miles south of Webster City. As usual in those times, they came with ox teams in covered wagons. They had a large tent which they set up. Game was so plentiful that Wilson Brewer was able to bring in a fine yearling deer and the party partook of a bountiful supper of venison. Wilson Brewer staked out a claim just south of the mill site, and built a cabin, but soon sold to his nephew, and coming up the river, staked out a new claim within the present boundaries of Webster City. Mr. Brewer was therefore the first settler within the present limits of Webster City. Mr. Stanley located his claim a short distance up the river from the mill site. He built his house on the east side of the river and cleared a truck patch on the west side. Being a hunter and trapper, he made no other improvements. The site of his cabin is still plainly to be seen, the land being now owned by county clerk, J. C. Sterling. After occupying this claim about a year, Stanley sold it to Peter Lyon and it was occupied by his brother, Isaac Lyon, and family for some time. Shortly after the sale of his claim Mr. Stanley died and his family moved north of Webster City and took up another claim. William Stanley was the first white person to die within the present limits of Hamilton county. His death occurred in the fall of 1851. These were all the settlers who came during the year 1850, and at the close of that year, no more than seven families had permanently located in Hamilton county. SETTLERS IN 1851 ISAAC HOOK was the first settler to come in 1851. He took a claim and settled at Hook's Point. D. S. Jewett followed and took a claim and built a cabin in section 21-87-26, but soon thereafter sold to Jacob Crooks and left the county. He afterwards returned, however, and for many years was a prominent citizen of Cass township, where he resided until his death. Nick Bonnet, a son-in-law of Mr. Crooks, came also in 1851. In September, Ed Leastman and James Brock arrived, and it was also in this year that Peter and Isaac Lyon, with their families came, and settled on the Stanley claim as above mentioned. These were all the settlers coming in 1851, so that at its close, only fourteen families had located in the county and the population did not, perhaps, exceed fifty people. ance. Among these early settlers, the Lyons were noted for their fashion of wearing buckskin clothes, nicely fringed, giving the men a very picturesque appearAn old settler said to the writer, that he would never forget the first time he saw Joth Lyon. Joth, then a boy, was dressed in full buckskin, with a coon-skin cap and moccasins. He was going to the "Bruce" mill with an ox team, attached to a “lizzard" loaded with sacks of grain. A lizzard was a sort of sled, made of a tree fork, shaped like a letter V, with boards laid across for a bed upon which to lay the load. The team was hitched to the point of the V. This primitive sled was not uncommon in early times, though, no doubt, there are many young people in this community today, who never saw or heard of one. Though the settlement of the county up to January 1, 1852, had been slow, the settlers had from time to time gone to Des Moines, Iowa City, and even as far as Keokuk for supplies, and the fame of the splendid country along the Boone and Des Moines had gone forth. So, the year 1852 was destined to be an important one in the settlement of the county. SETTLERS IN 1852 The first settler to come in 1852 was BENJAMIN BELL, familiarly known throughout the county as "Uncle Benny Bell." He came up from Des Moines, where his family was stopping for the winter, early in the year, and, after looking about, returned, and in the spring brought his family, including his father, Benj. Bell, and they rented the Press Bell claim and lived there during their first year. They came, of course, with ox teams, but Uncle Bennie brought a horse along. As the wagon with the household effects was going down a steep hill, Mrs. Bell's spinning wheel, she had brought all the way from Indiana, and had guarded with great care, fell from the wagon and was broken. It was upon this wheel that the flax and wool for all the family clothing had been spun and it was regarded as quite a serious accident. During the year Mr. Bell staked out a claim and made improvements, built a cabin and prepared to move to it by the next spring. HOW "JAS" CAUGHT A DEER For the benefit of our boy readers, as well as others, we insert here an account of the capture of a deer by Jasper Bell, the oldest son of "Uncle Bennie." Jas was thirteen years old at this time and it was his business, as it is that of many boys, even at this day, to prepare and bring in the kindling with which to start the morning fire. It was late in the fall, and ice had frozen for four or five feet along each side of the river, but the center was open. Jas had forgotten to get in his kindling at night, and was ordered out of bed just at daybreak to supply it. He ran out to the "woodpile" without dressing himself and was clothed only in his night clothes. When reaching the wood pile, he chanced to look up the hill toward the house and saw an antlered deer. He forgot his undressed condition, and ran back to the house calling the greyhound and bulldog. Returning with them, he pointed out the deer to them. No sooner did the hound see the deer than she went after it like a shot, and the deer, to escape, ran down the hill. The bulldog headed it off and it plunged into the river and swam across, but was unable to land on account of the rim of ice frozen there. The bulldog plunged in too and seized the deer by the throat. Under the water they went, then up again, and a fierce struggle took place, churning the water into a foam. The dog held on and gradually worried the deer out while he towed him toward the shore upon which young Jasper stood shouting at the top of his voice: "Sick em Bull, hold on Bull." When the dog reached the edge of the ice, Jas ran out and taking him by the short stubby tail, lifted him up and taking hold of his hind legs, tried to draw him into the ice, yelling all the time, "Hold him fast, Bull." All this noise and racket brought "Uncle Bennie" to the scene and as the deer was about worried out, half drowned, and was held close to the ice by Jas and the dog, he took it by the horns and killed it. When it ceased to struggle, he drew it onto the ice. Then looking around and discovering Jas in his unclad condition, said, "You'd better get to the house, boy, or you'll freeze." Jas then remembered, for the first time, his lack of proper raiment, and, of course, scampered off to the house double quick. But he declares to this day that he wasn't a bit cold, nor were his feet frozen by standing on the ice. He thinks in his excitement he danced about so energetically that he was kept perfectly warm. What boy in these days would not glory in such a chance to catch a deer! But the opportunity for such good luck comes only to the earliest settlers in the countries where deer are found, and before the sight of men and human habitations have so alarmed them as to keep them far away from the settlements. In those days deer were plenty, and were often seen near the dwellings of the early settlers, and few, indeed, were they who did not have a nice fat deer always hanging in the "smoke house" and "venison" was an every-day supply that would gladly have then been traded for salt pork. THE FIRST STORE David Carroll came next, and to him may be accorded the credit of keeping the first store near Hook's Point. His stock of goods was exceedingly limited. and it is reported that he kept most of it under the bed. Still it was a source of supply to the settlers for gunpowder, lead, and a few other indispensables. Indeed a much larger stock would have gone begging among so few customers. Whiskey was considered a prime necessity and while almost all the settlers brought with them a small amount for present use, ISAAC HOOK was the first to keep it for sale. His place was therefore resorted to to such an extent that he also put in a small stock of goods and became the second storekeeper, if indeed, he was not the first, as some aver he was. Both stores, however, were started the same year, and probably but little time intervened between the opening of each. It must not be thought that these stores began business with a "grand opening" as do the mercantile institutions of the present day. They simply brought forward a supply of those articles most needed by the early settlers, and as customers were few, the members of the storekeeper's family were his clerks, and they chalked on the door, the items of credit or carried them in their minds. Whichever way it was done, there was little grumbling by storekeepers about bad debts, for the men and women who braved the hardships of pioneer life, were honest, as a rule, and whether any account was kept of debts or not, they were usually paid. Mr. Hook, in addition to his small store, opened a hotel, and Hook's Point, as the place was called, became the principal trading point in the county. Vol. I-3 |