ster City high school in 1884 and attended Cornell college at Mt. Vernon, Iowa. She was married to W. F. Hunter December 22, 1887.

Bayard Detlor, for twenty years a merchant in Webster City, died May 23, 1891. B. Detlor was born in Ontario in 1846 and came to Webster City in 1871 and immediately engaged in business. About four months prior to the time of his death, he began to shown signs of insanity and it was at last found necessary to send him to the hospital at Independence. On May 23 he escaped from the hospital and when found he was dead, having drowned in a small stream near the hospital.

December 26, 1891, occurred the death of W. L. Church at Port Angeles, Washington, and as a tribute to his memory is reproduced an article appearing in the Port Angeles Democrat at the time:

"Capt. Wm. L. Church was born in Richland county, Ohio, in 1862. In 1846 he enlisted in the Third Ohio Infantry and served in the Mexican war. In 1847 he returned from the war and was married to Louisa Jane Swanger. In 1851 he moved to Dekalb county, Indiana, and in 1853 was appointed lieutenant in Company G, Indiana State Militia. In 1855 he came to Hamilton county and a year later, moved to Springfield where his family was at the time of the Spirit Lake massacre. In the fall of 1857 he enlisted in the Iowa Frontier Guards and became a lieutenant in one of the companies. At the breaking out of the Civil war, he enlisted in Company F, Second Iowa Cavalry, and was made lieutenant, but resigned about three months later. In Hamilton county he followed the business of farmer and auctioneer, and was very popular."

Henry Biernatzki died March 18, 1893, aged thirty-five years. He was a son of Charles Biernatzki, Sr., and had lived in the county practically all his life. He was a good business man, well known and universally respected.

Benjamin Beach died in Webster City April 14, 1893. He was born in New Jersey, in 1829. He came to Hamilton county in 1854. Was married to Alvina Dulin in 1865. "Uncle Bennie" was an important factor in the pioneer history of Webster City.

Chas. Wickware died May 4, 1893. The following account of his life appeared in the "Annals of Iowa:"

Lieut. Charles Wickware, who recently died at Webster City, was a heroic soldier of the army of the Potomac. He enlisted as a private, in the Sixth Vermont Infantry, near the beginning of the war. He was shot through the body at the battle of Savage Station, and lay all night on the battlefield, falling into the hands of the enemy. He was taken to Libby prison, but soon after exchanged, and under skilful treatment at the hospital in Philadelphia finally recovered so far as to be able to rejoin his regiment in the field. In the terrible battles in the Wilderness he lost an arm. He was promoted to lieutenant in a colored regiment and served gallantly to the close of the war. He settled at Webster City in 1868, and held many important offices in the city, county and district, serving with the utmost fidelity. He was an active and honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic from the time of its organization to the day of his death."

J. D. Sells died February 6, 1892. He was born in Ohio in 1818 and came to Hamilton county in 1857. He purchased land in both Hamilton and Wright counties and added to it until he owned about eleven hundred acres at the time

of his death. Mr. Sells was the father of thirteen children-six by his first wife and seven by his second. He was one of the strong men of this part of the state. Horace Segar died February 3, 1892. He was born in New York in 1816. Moved to Hamilton county in 1855. He located in Cass township and continued to reside there until his death. He left a wife and five children.

John R. Clark died in Haukinson, South Dakota, March 22, 1892, at the age of sixty-six. He was born in New York in 1816 and moved to Hamilton county in 1857 and settled on a farm in Cass township and lived there until 1881. He was the father of Will L. Clark, at one time editor of the Argus.

O. C. Donaldson, a pioneer shoe dealer, died April 3, 1892, aged sixty-two. He was born in Maryland in 1830, and came to Hamilton county in 1878. He was the father of Oscar F. Donaldson. He was a man of rare intelligence and unflinching integrity.

John Rhodes died in June, 1892. He came to Hamilton county in 1851, and built the first brick store building in Webster City. He moved to Indiana in 1867 and finally settled at Anamosa, where he died.

Allen Brock died at his home in Webster township December 23, 1893. He was born in Indiana in 1813. Moved to Hamilton county in 1855, settled on a farm near Saratoga and resided there until his death.

A. Haswell died in Webster City February 13, 1895. He was born in Ohio in 1832, moved to Hamilton county in 1856. His first wife was Julia A. Cunning who died in 1861. His second wife was Maggie Sinclare who survived him. He enlisted in the Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry August 12, 1862, was captured by the confederates in 1864 and was confined in Tyler prison in Texas for about fourteen months. He was honorably discharged from the Union army July 7. 1865. He was a man of good education, religiously inclined and often filled the pulpit of his home church. He was also a graphic writer.

Albert Cook died in February, 1895. He was born in Vermont in 1808. Came to Iowa in 1855 and moved to Hamilton county in 1865. He was a constant resident of Webster City until the time of his death.

Mrs. Willson Brewer died Friday March 26, 1896. She came to where Webster City is now located in 1850 and was one of the first white women to live in Hamilton county. Her husband died in 1857. She survived him almost forty years and was eighty years old at the time of her death. She was born in Virginia in 1816.

B. F. Miller died May 31, 1896. He was born in Virginia February 11, 1833 and he came to Webster City in 1867 and established the first bank in Webster City. what is now the Hamilton County State Bank. He later established the Farmer's National Bank.. He was a man of great force of character.

J. D. Stitzer died at his home near Homer July 4, 1896. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1820, moved to Hamilton county in 1868.

John G. Bonner died at his home in Lakins Grove August 9, 1896. He was born in Maryland in 1809, was married to Mary Sedel in 1834 and came to Hamilton county in 1859.

Charles Biernatzki, Sr., died in Webster City August 14, 1896. He was born in Poland in 1819, where he served in the ranks of the rebellion in 1846. He came to Hamilton county in 1858 and located in Independence township.

H. G. Culp died November 7, 1896. He was born in Marshall county, Iowa, in 1864. Came to Hamilton county in 1892. Soon became engaged in the real estate business as a member of the firm of Culp and Lee. During his short life here he did probably more than any other man to advertise and boom Hamilton county land. His frequent trips to Illinois always resulted in scores of land seekers, who seeing our natural advantages, were only too eager to buy our land. Lars Henryson died at his home in Randall November 14, 1896. He was born in Norway in March, 1822, and came to Hamilton county in 1858, being one of the first settlers in the vicinity of Randall. He was always a prominent figure in his portion of the county.

Peter Lyon died at Webster City February 20, 1897. He was born in Indiana in 1811. He moved to Hamilton county in 1852 and in 1868 moved to Kansas, but returned to Hamilton county in 1889. He was a typical pioneer.

A. J. Allen, a familiar figure, died May 26, 1897. He was born in New York in June, 1821, came to Webster City and engaged in harness business in 1871. J. P. Allington died August 7, 1897. He was born in New York in 1820, came to Iowa in 1856 and to Hamilton county in 1874.

Michael Foster died at his home in Cass township August 28, 1897. He was born in France in 1819, came to the United States in 1840 and to Hamilton county in 1856. He had lived until his death in Cass township.

L. B. Hill died at the Hamilton County Poor House February 19, 1898. He was born in 1818 and was therefore eighty years of age. He came to Hamilton county in 1854, engaged in farming and at one time was one of the wealthiest men in the county. He had for many years owned a fine farm within sight of the poor house, where he died, a county charge.

Geo. Shipp died November 18, 1897. The Freeman gives the following account of his life:

"George Shipp was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, July 12, 1815, a son of James and Catherine (Helman) Shipp. His father was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Maryland. When he was seven years old his parents moved to Wayne county, Ohio, where they were early settlers and where they lived the remainder of their lives. In 1833 George Shipp went to Millersburg, Ohio, where he was employed as clerk in a mercantile house four years. He then returned to Wayne county and engaged in business for himself several years. In the spring of 1852, in company with a hundred men, he started overland for California, taking with him two hundred head of cattle and a number of horses. They were five months on the road. After his arrival in California he engaged in stock raising, and remained two years, when he returned to Ohio and lived until 1856, when he came to Hamilton county, first locating on the farm which is now a part of Webster City. A few years later he embarked in the mercantile business and became an important factor in the growth and improvement of the town, and never withheld generous support from any good work. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers National Bank and was its vice president from the start. In the earlier history of the town Mr. Shipp was treasurer and recorder of Hamilton county two years."

Wm. Tatham, resident of Fremont township, died December 12, 1898. He was born in Ohio February 13, 1833, and came to Hamilton county in 1864.

After living here four years, he went back to Ohio, but in 1882 returned to Hamilton county, where he continued to reside the remainder of his life.

C. H. Brockschink died February 7, 1899. He was born in Germany February 2, 1828. He came to America in 1852 and after living in Ohio a short time located in Webster county, Iowa, in 1857. He came to Hamilton county in 1864 and located in Freedom township. He was a successful farmer and a respected and honored citizen.

Mrs. J. W. Young died February 2, 1899. Margaret Young was born in Maine in 1844. She was married to J. W. Young in 1866 and came to Hamilton county in 1882. She had never enjoyed the best of health and the patience and fortitude with which she bore her suffering excited the admiration and sympathy of all who knew her.

R. N. Woodworth, for years a familiar figure in Webster City, died in Texas February 14, 1899. He came to Webster City about the year 1869 and engaged in real estate and abstract business. He enjoyed the confidence and respect of the people of Hamilton county.

Isaac Rothrock died at his home in Liberty township, February 8, 1899. He was born in Pennsylvania July 25, 1825. Came to Iowa in 1856 and to Hamilton county in 1882. He was a farmer and lived for many years near Blairsburg.

Jotham M. Lyon died March 21, 1899. He was the son of Peter Lyon and came to Hamilton county in 1852. He was born in Indiana August 1, 1837, and was married to Mary Willis in 1865. Mr. Lyon left the house to attend to some cattle and a short time later was discovered by Mrs. Lyon lying on the ground by the kitchen door unconscious. He never recovered.

T. A. Conklin was found dead in his buggy near his home in Webster City November 20, 1899. The coroner's jury pronounced his death due to heart failure. On the same day the family received a telegram announcing the death of Mr. Conklin's son Dudley at Great Falls, Montana.

Mr. Conklin came to Hamilton county in the sixties. When he came here he purchased a fine farm in the suburbs of Webster City, where he lived for more than thirty years. He was a man of good education and took great interest in public matters.

O. W. Hicks, formerly editor of the Graphic Herald, died at the insane asylum Monday, October 9, 1899. He was a man of about thirty-six years of age, unusually bright and active and was a man of great promise. About four months prior to the time of his death he lost his reason and never recovered it. Reuben S. Bennett, a pioneer bachelor, passed away in October, 1898. He left an estate valued at about $25,000. A woman from Montana by the name of Ruby J. Britt appeared and claimed that she was a daughter of Bennett's and heir to his estate. After a long trial, she won her case in court and was adjudged to be Bennett's sole heir. Reuben Bennett was a peculiar character and lived the life of a recluse. He was a man of strict honesty, and one who was moved by many generous impulses.

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE MILLS OF THE COUNTY

By Effie McKinlay Kantor

BRUCE MILL-BELL'S

MILL-GROSECLOSE MILL-BONE'S MILL-TUNNEL

CHASE MILL-TURBINE MILL-HARRIS MILL-THE STEAM
MILLS-THE TEN EYCK MILLS.

MILLMILL-THE MODEL

A roof to shelter and a loaf of bread were the first needs of the pioneer home. The trapper or hunter could bake his corn cake over the hot ashes of a camp fire and find the sky's blue, and the thick leafy boughs of the woods enough for a shelter. But the settler needed a home; and a home meant a woman, children, four walls, a roof, and bread. So it was that the first activities were sawmills, then grist mills.

Water power was abundant, costing nothing but time and time had not then found its wings. With great labor the necessary machinery was carted with oxen from the eastern boundaries of the state and the production of boards and shingles was begun. As fast as money was forthcoming the sawmills added to them grist mills with two burrs if possible; one for wheat and one for corn, and white bread was no longer a luxury. The early loaf was a far different production than our present one, for in the many processes of bolting and sifting, properties once found in wheat flour are eliminated and white bread has lost in flavor and nutrition. The dark nutty wholesome loaf has disappeared and in its place is one much whiter but with less flavor. Bread earned by the sweat of the brow always has more flavor, and no pioneer bread was forthcoming without hard labor.

In this narrative, particular care has been taken to go wherever possible to the mill-wright, the miller, and the man with the grist. They each have their story and their great part in making this one-time wilderness to blossom. Those who were here in the early fifties have but a few more years among us, and indeed from many, it is too late to hear the story. Mill history gathers to itself poetry and sentiment as naturally as the early stone fences gathered to themselves delicate vines and wild roses.

The locations of the mills were in the most picturesque spots, surrounded by deep woods, by the side of running water, by day the ring of the woodcutter's ax, the hum of turning mill wheels, the buzz of busy saw; by night the soft voices of the wind from wood and water. Romance thrives on just such fare.

THE BRUCE MILL

The first mill of any kind in Hamilton county was three miles north of the mouth of Boone river near Stratford. This was built in 1851 or '52 by Bruce,