VIRDEN, James 1823-1909

VIRDEN, PRATT, RICHARDSON, MULLAN, MCCALLUM, FAUCHER, BUNTON

Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 8/1/2012 at 16:03:37

[Waterloo Semi Weekly Courier - Friday, November 19, 1909, Waterloo, Iowa]

DEATH TOUCHED
JAMES VIRDEN

Pioneer of Black Hawk County.

NATIVE OF KENTUCKY

Died Yesterday Morning At Rowan, Iowa

Further messages received in this city last evening and this morning confirm, the news of the death of James Virden at Rowan, Iowa, yesterday morning.

Nothing has been received concerning the last illness of the aged gentleman, although relatives and friends in this community have known for some time that he was failing in general health rapidly and it was recognized that he could not in all probability long withstand the ravages of time.

Friends here have been advised that the funeral services will be conducted tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock at Rowan, where Mr. Virden and his aged wife had resided for about eight years. Interment will also be at Rowan.

In addition to the widow and four children — Mrs. Laura Mullan of Aberdeen. S. D.; Frank Virden of Minneapolis and Mrs. Emma McCallum and "Dick" Virden of Rowan — there are also two nephews and a niece, surviving in Black Hawk County. The nephews are the Hon. C. W. Mullan and C. W. Virden, member of the board of supervisors of the county and the niece is Mrs. Elizabeth Davison, a sister of Mr. Mullan.

The decedent was a member of a family of twelve children - eight brothers and four sisters. Three brothers survive. They are: Daniel, Thomas and Frank Virden, all residents of Colorado. Mrs. Lizzie Faucher of Chicago and Martha Bunton of South Dakota are the sisters surviving. The decendent was a brother of Mrs. America Mullan and Oscar Virden, the latter dying in Black Hawk County within the past two years.

The death of Mr. Virden, one of the pioneers of Black Hawk County and in fact one of the two earliest white settlers on the site of the Waterloo of today, has awakened many memories of the days that have gone before and particularly memories of the pioneer days, when the forest and the stream and the unbroken prairies were first subdued for the livelihood and habitation of man.

Mr. Virden was a native of Kentucky. He was born in Lexington in that state on February 22, 1823, and was the son of William and Martha (Williamson) Virden. The decedent resided in Lexington with, his parents until he was nine years of age, when the family moved to Wayne County, Illinois. Young Mr. Virden remained there until he was twenty-two years old and he then worked in the lead mines at Galena, Illinois, for one year. He then came to Black Hawk county, Iowa, on June 1st, 1846.

In 1848 he pre-empted 158 acres of land in East Waterloo Township, but for a time he worked on the mill race at Cedar Falls, returning to the land he had pre-empted and living there in a log cabin standing near Virden's creek until 1856, in which year he erected a frame house, drawing the lumber by team from Dubuque.

In 1858 Mr. Virden sold his farm in Black Hawk county and moved to Brunswick, Chariton County, Missouri, where he bought property and engaged in the grocery business for one year. His store was greatly damaged by the flood of the spring of 1859 and he sold the establishment, returning shortly to Waterloo. Until it was burned down in 1861, he operated a steam saw mill. Mr. Virden suffered a loss of about $3,000 by this flre. He then operated a saw mill for M. H. Moore for one year at Waterloo,

He next ventured into farming again, having purchased 80 acres of land near Waterloo and he followed this occupation for two years. He sold this farm and removed to Elk Run, four miles east of Waterloo where he purchased 120 acres. After living on this land for about ten years he sold it and moved to a section near, where he built a house and which was soon afterward destroyed by fire. The family then resided for a number of years in Waterloo, until 1880, when they again located on a farm. Mr. Vlrdon and his family left here about a score of years ago.

During 1880 and 1881, Mr. VIrden was interested in the silver mines of Colorado and acquired a number of claims in connection with his brother, Daniel.

Mr. Virden was first married to Charlotte Pratt, daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Wilcox) Pratt, on February 27, 1851. Mrs. Virden died on April 3, 1865, at the age of twenty-three years, leaving two sons—George and Willard—who are now residents of Colorado, where they have lived for many years.

The decedent was again married on January 18, 1858, to Harriet Richardson, who was born in Chenango County, New York, in 1832. The widow and her four children survive.

Other interesting events in the life of Mr. Virden are related in sketches which have heretofore been printed in the Waterloo Courier and which are here reproduced.

(From Evening Courier, Jan. 1, 1902.)

First White Settler.
The first settlement on the ground on which the modern and progressive city of Waterloo is now built was made in the year 1846. One of the first white men to visit this region, as far as known was James Virden, who passed through this section early in 1846 and went on to Cedar Falls early where a few settlers were then located and where Mr. Virden, then a young man, engaged in helping a man named Sturgis build a dam across the river.

Mr. Virden, who is now a well preserved man of 75 years, still makes frequent visits to Waterloo. He was here a few days ago and to the editor of the Daily Courier related some incidents in connection with the early history of Waterloo and his experiences which are well worth preserving.

In the early spring of 1846 Mr. Virden left his home in Wayne County, Illinois, and went down to St. Louis, making the journey to a large extent on foot. When he started on the journey to St. Louis, Mr. Virden accepted a commission to collect, for a neighbor, a debt from a man who had left Wayne County and located near the Missouri City. He found the man who owed the money, but in settlement was obliged to take a horse in payment. He rode the animal back to Illinois, but found the man who had given him the commission had in the meantime moved to Wisconsin. Mr. Virden continued his journey north until he found where his man was located and delivered the animal to him at a town named Falrplay.

About this time, learning that his brother-in-law, Chas Mullan, and family had decided to emigrate from Wayne County to Iowa, to a point on the Red Cedar river, located about 100 miles west of Dubuque, he decided to precede them, and that same spring started for the new country alone and on foot. On arrival at Dubuque after some hard walking he became acquainted with another adventurous spirit by the name of Flemuel Saunders and the two encumbered only by their packs and guns, started out from the Key City on the stage road by way of Anamosa and Marion, crossing the Cedar river at Cedar Rapids and making the rest of the journey up the west bank of the river. This journey was accomplished during the last week in May, and Mr. Virden says the weather was in good condition for walking.

When they reached what is now the thriving little town of Vinton these men only found a bleak stretch of prairie with a cross stuck in the ground at a certain point on which had been scrawled in good sized letters the name of the town. The only house in that vicinity then was a log cabin located on the bank of a creek. The travelers continued their Journey without visiting the cabin and at a point four miles north of Vinton they stopped for the night at the cabin of a settler named Pratt, he was afterwards Judge Jonathan R. Pratt of Black Hawk County.

Mr. Virden and his companion continued their journey north along the bank of the river the next morning, but they did not find another house or habitation until they reached the cabin of Geo. W. Hanna near Cedar Falls, a distance of fully 30 miles.

Jokingly Selects a Wife.
Mr. Pratt accompanied the two a distance from his cabin and on parting with them asked where they were expecting to locate. Mr. Virden, while in the cabin had noticed that Mr. Pratt was the possessor of a couple of daughters, young ladies of vivacity and good looks, and in reply to the question he said they intended to locate at Sturgis Falls, which is now Cedar Falls, and that when he had built himself a cabin he intended to return to the hospitable cabin of his host and claim the hand of one of his winsome daughters in marriage. The remark was made in half jest, but it turned out that the young frontiersman was speaking the truth, for a few years afterward he was married to Miss Charlotte Pratt at Cedar City, the exact date being the 27th of February, 1851.

On the afternoon of the day the travelers left Pratts cabin, June 1, 1846, they reached the point on the Cedar where Waterloo now stands. They found no signs of habitation here then excepting a well worn Indian trail which led to and crossed the river somewhere near the present Fourth Street bridge. Passing over the site of Waterloo they found at the Black Hawk Creek an emigrant by the name of Taylor, who was traveling across the country with a covered wagon and several yoke of oxen, but who had been stopped by the high waters in the creek. They accepted Mr. Taylor's hospitality for the night, and the next morning being anxious to finish their journey, the travelers swam the creek, and soon came to the cabins of George W. Hanna and William Virden a few miles distant. The next day they took a canoe from William Virden's back to the creek and with it, helped to get Taylor and his outfit across.

After a short visit with his brother and with the Hannas, James Virden went on to Cedar Falls, where he found two settlers located. They were Erastus Adams and William Sturgis. Adams had erected a cabin on the bank of what is known as Dry Run Creek, and Sturgis had built himself a habitation near the river. Virden engaged to work for Sturgis, who was then engaged in building across the Cedar at that point the first dam constructed in this part of the state. He worked for Sturgis the balance of the summer.

Pre-empted Government land
In 1848. Mr. Vlrden pre-empted three fractional pieces of government land, one part of which today includes the greater portion of the present Third Ward of Waterloo. On this land he erected a cabin near the river. Mr. Virden held the opinion with other early settlers that no one would ever reside on the prairie back from the river, and considered the prairie land as practically valueless.

Shortly after making this settlement Mr. Virden came into possession of two Indian canoes and utilized them for some time carrying travelers across the river. These canoes were made by the native Indians and the largest and best one which had been hewn from a walnut tree which had a considerable history. In the winter of 1847 and 1848 a large party of Indians of the Winnebago tribe camped between the present Mullan residence on the Cedar Falls road and the Black Hawk Creek on Mr. Mullan's homestead place. Two very large walnut trees then stood on the bank on the round pond in what is now known as Cobb's pasture.

One day when Mr. Mullan made a trip to the creek from this cabin he made the discovery that the Indians had cut down both the trees and were engaged in shaping the trunk of the largest of them into a canoe. He ordered the Indians to cease their work, informing them that the trees belonged to him. The Indians stopped their labors, but the next morning a delegation from the camp visited the Mullan cabin and made overtures which resulted In their being allowed to proceed with the work of making the canoes. They informed Mr. Mullan that they would need the canoes badly when the spring hunting season opened and promised that after the season closed they would bring them back and present them to him.

In the spring the Indians started out on their hunt, and several days after they had gone Mr. Virden, who was exploring along the river near Cedar Falls, found one of the vessels turned over on the bank of the river. He saw no signs of the red men and believing they had abandoned the boat appropriated it to his own use. He says it was splendidly built, strong, swift and safe.

The nearest post office which Mr. Virden and other settlers in this section had then was located at Marion, about sixty miles distant. For their mill grists a drive to Cedar Rapids or to Quasqueton, both about the same distance away, was necessary.

Cold Winter of 1847
Mr. Virden remembers that the winter of 1847 was very severe with the snow covering the ground to a great depth and forming in such massive drifts as to hide all signs of the roads and trails. The settlers were cooped in their cabins most of the winter and compelled to subsist principally on potatoes and meat, which was not so bad, but which became somewhat monotonous before the spring suns came and liberated them.

Mr. Virden remembers of making hay several seasons on the ground where East Waterloo is now built and recalls many times the shooting of wolves and other wild game which roamed over that section. Mr. Virden recalls that the early settlers while they looked and longed many times for a familiar white face, were not lacking in an abundance of company. He says the wandering tribes, the Pottawattamies, Winnebagoes and Musquakies were almost constant neighbors of himself. They seemed peaceable and kind as a general thing and he visited them and received them at his cabin.

He says on only one occasion did he have his fears aroused. One winter a large band of Indians camped on what is now the old cemetery grounds above Cedar Falls. In the early spring they had crossed the river to an island, now the cut-off, and had tapped a large number of maples in order to secure the syrup and sugar. To carry the syrup from the trees the Indians had constructed a number of rude troughs out of butternut trees. A settler named Barrlck claimed to be the owner of the maple grove, and in order to be avenged on the Indians for taking possession of the trees this settler one night visited the grove and with an ax destroyed all the troughs and spoiled the plans of the Indians. The next day Mr. Virden heard the Indians were holding a council of war, and that they were on the verge of starting out on a massacreing expedition. He fearlessly visited their camp and secured an audience with one of the influential men, a man he had known for some time and who could talk considerable English. From this brave, Virden learned the true state of affairs. The Indians were greatly incensed and the younger members of the camp were anxious to start out on the war path, but their old chieftain, after talking to them a long time convinced them that the murder of the whites would do no good. The government, he said, had many soldiers and a massacre would result in the soldiers coming and killing all the Indians. The chief's counsel prevailed and the Indians broke camp and moved south toward the Iowa River.

Indians Love of Whiskey.
Mr. Virden tells another incident relative to the Indians which shows that the red man's appetite for whiskey or "fire-water" was acquired at an early day. He had been away from home for a load of provisions and on his way home had stopped near Miller's Creek below Washburn to let his team rest. While there a couple of Indians came out of the woods approaching his wagon and asked if "white man got fire-water?" Virden had a jug of good whlskey hid under some of the provisions, but he informed the Indians that he did not bring any with him. They refused to believe him and began a search. Not wishing to provoke the redskins and hoping they might fail in their search Mr. Virden did not interfere. It turned out that one of them soon spied the jug. Then there was a series of grunts of satisfaction and the second Indian who had been standing guard with the gun while his companion searched for fire-water dropped the weapon on the ground. Virden saw that the Indians would soon become intoxicated and prepared to get away from them. While he was hitching up his team he stepped around to where the gun was lying and without the Indians noticing the move picked It up and drove away. He says the red buck followed him for some time, pleading for the return of his gun and threatening all kinds of vengeance, but that he paid no attention to him and never heard from him afterwards.

Virden also tells of a visit to a big Indian camp at the forks of the Cedar twelve miles north of Waterloo in the fall of 1847. The Indians were feasting and dancing and holding a big pow-wow in preparation to starting out on the war path for their old time enemies, the Sioux. There were Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes and Pottawattamies and there were fully one thousand Indians in the camp, Mr. Virden had the spring before lost a valuable pony and suspected some of the wandering bands of Indians of taking it. His visit to this camp was to see if he could locate the missing pony. He was unsuccessful. The Indians welcomed him in a hospitable manner, he says, and he partook of their feast with them, appreciating it heartily until he learned that one of the principal dishes of Which he had eaten was boiled dog.

He remembers a band of fugitive Winnebagoes, who were fleeing from a war party of Sioux braves who had defeated them in a battle near Shellrock in 1849, came down the river and camped one night near his cabin. They carried their wounded with them, and among tho latter was an old man who had been shot through the back and was near to death. The Indians started on south the next morning, but they had only got to Miller's creek when the old warrior died. They made a grave for him there and Mr. Virden thinks the Cicero Close house was built in later years directly over the mound. The Indian graves were then made by the placing of the body in a sitting position on the ground with a blanket about it and the warrior's gun crossing his knees. Around the body a small palisade of hickory slabs was built to protect it from the beasts of the forests, and then dirt was thrown over it until the body was covered anda large mound raised. Mr. Virden says he arid Charles Mullan found one other grave of an Indian In Poyner Township burled in this manner and that they removed some of the palisade slats and saw the skeleton and the decayed gun stock and red blanket of the red man. This grave was near where Benjamin Winsett's cabin was later built. Two more Indian graves were located in what is now Cedar River Park, north and east of where the amphitheatre is located. An Indian child who died one winter was lashed in a blanket to a limb of a tree and hung there for several years. This was on the bank of Dobson's lake, northwest of this city.

Game Was Plentiful.
In speaking of the scarcity of game here now Mr. Virden recalls that this scarcity was not noticeable during the early years of his residence. He remembers when he stood on the main street in Cedar Falls and shot wild turkeys in a jack oak thicket near by. The game season of 1846 and 1847 was remarkable especially for deer and wild turkeys, but during the winter of 1846 the Indians slaughtered the deer in great numbers and they were scarce ever after then. The wild turkeys were plentiful for some time and furnished rare sport.

These are but incidents in the life of Mr. Virden in the then new-country. They are interesting to a certain extent because none of them have ever been published and because the relator still lives to retell them in this quiet, modest way.

Killed a Buffalo Near Present Town of Hudson.
In response to a request to contribute a hunting story to the fiftieth anniversary edition of the Evening Courier, January 15th last, Mr. Virden sent in the following:

Editor Courier: Black Hawk county-

At your request I will make you a brief sketch of the state of the country and of the people fifty years ago.

At that time the county was new and consequently there was a sufficient amount of game. I will tell you of the only buffalo herd that is known of after settlement.

In the winter of '46-47, William Virden, a brother of mine, and I were trapping for beaver and mink, along the Cedar River. At that time sufficient snow had fallen to make trapping easy.

One afternoon when out trapplng we found a trail of what we supposed were tracks of cattle. Thinking that we could follow for a longer distance with a team than on foot we went home and prepared for a hunt, for the next day.

We set out the next morning, driving a yoke of oxen hitched to a large dog sled.

After a short time we struck the trail at where now "Virden's Grove" is located, on the Black Hawk Creek, four miles south of Waterloo. We followed the trail till we came within three miles of where Hudson now stands. We then tied our oxen and started on foot along the creek. After a walk of nearly a mile we came upon the buffalo. They were standing in a thicket of trees. We were much surprised and by the actions of the buffalo we decided that they were not in the habit of being so near human life. They turned suddenly, broke cover and started up the creek on a rim. We pursued them for nearly a hundred yards, when they stopped, turned and looked back at us to see if we were still there. But we had dropped among the tall brown rushes and crept forward till we were close enough to shoot one. I took aim and flred. On hearing the report of my gun they set out at a rapid rate toward the prairies.

We followed them for half a mile, where in a hollow amongst the hills, we saw great drops of blood on the snow. On a few feet farther, back of a cliff, we saw a buffalo struggling on the ground. It was the one I had wounded when I flred at the herd. The animal still continued to struggle, so I fired and she fell dead. I went forward and knelt by the side of the buffalo. On examining the result of our chase we found It to be a buffalo cow nearly four years old.

When I rose to my feet I glanced up at the sun and noticed it was lowering in the west. So we concluded that we would not follow the rest of the herd any farther that night. Leaving my brother in care of our much-prized beef I went back for the oxen and sled. By the time I again arrived upon tho scene William had the buffalo skinned and we loaded her into the sled and started back home, pleased with our results.

When we reached home the wind had risen and the air became freezing cold. My brother predicted a storm.

The next morning I arose and beheld the wind blowing a gale and snow fling in every direction. We quickly decided that we would not venture out that day.

And that ended our buffalo hunt.

James Virden, January 15, 1909, Wright Co. Iowa

Black Hawk Obituaries maintained by Karen De Groote.
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