Kimball family

KIMBALL, ADAMS, GREEN, CANFIELD, BRANCH, COOK

Posted By: Kelli Wilslef (email)
Date: 10/18/2010 at 09:29:25

Maquoketa Community Press, January 10, 1967
(Editor’s note: Where’s Kimball Hollow? For many Jackson Countians the name may ring a familiar note; for others its mention may mean little. Mrs. Garnet Eggers of rural Miles, and the Kimball Hollow area, recently presented a study of the area and early Iowa Township settlers at a meeting of the Historical Society. The report is interesting, and chocked full of colorful information. We think many of our readers will enjoy it.)

The story of Kimball Hollow…. had its beginning in the eastern part of our United States. Along the Atlantic Coast within the boundary of the state of Connecticut, there dwelled a family known as Elisha Kimball. The Kimball family lived in the east-southern part of Connecticut, in a little village known as Preston.

Preston has always been principally an agricultural town, though many small industries did flourish. Most of the residents were farmers, the rest tradesmen.

There were many Kimballs in Preston and they lived in many different sections of town. There was a one-room school with the name Kimball, which has been made into a home and is still in use. There was the Kimball Brickyard in still another area and Kimballs are buried in a cemetery in still another area of town. There were many land transactions among the Kimballs.

Elisha Kimball passed away on October 22, 1829, leaving to mourn and survive, his widow, Lucy Lanthrop Kimball, five daughters and three sons.

They were: Sybil (1804) 25 years of age; Abigail (1806) 23 years of age; Sarah (1808) 21 years of age; Lucy, who died in infancy; Susan (1814) 15 years of age; Nelson (1816) 13 years of age; Lucius (1822) 7 years of age; Nathaniel (1825) 4 years of age.

They were toilers of soil, for with his father’s death, the old homestead was left in the care of the eldest son, Nelson, who was 13 years of age. He farmed under guidance of his grandfather, Elisha Kimball, Sr. They farmed in this manner for three years, and then the grandfather passed away. With his grandfathers’ death the great share of the responsibilities of the management of the farm and caring for his Mother and brothers and sisters became a greater burden to this young man.

It was custom in those days to serve New England wine to the helpers at harvest time. Even at the age of 16, Nelson already has a touch of the temperance movement, and did not wish to continue this practice on his farm. It was one of his reforms he inaugurated when he got control of the farm, and that was to gather the grain without the use of old Connecticut wines. Some predicted that he would fail to secure help, but he stood firmly by his principles and he succeeded.

Ten years after her fathers’ death, Sarah Adams Kimball, whose birthdate was August 14, 1808, was united in marriage to George Forster Green. They were married in Preston on April 2, 1839. Mr. Green was born at Foster, Rhode Island, in Providence County, on August 15, 1809.

After their wedding, Sarah and George visited a few weeks with relatives and friends, and then decided to cast their lot with other who were planning to immigrate to the far west. They decided to homestead on rich virgin soil of Iowa Territory, knowing that the journey would be long and tiresome, fought with all the hardships of early pioneer travel.

Perhaps they were not aware that only the year before the Indians had moved from this territory. The land had not been broken with a plow, nor was there little in the way of earning a living in this area. George and Sarah used the best and quickest route that there was at that time.

They went from Connecticut to New York by steamboat. Then to Philadelphia, by boat, then by rail to Columbia. There they took the canal, in a boat which was called an iron boat. At Raladaburg, it was unlocked and made into three parts, as though it were three railroad cars, and drawn up to the top of the mountain by a stationary engine nad lowered down to Johnstown by the same kind of engine.

It was then run into a canal, locked together again as a boat, and on to Pittsburgh, they journeyed on down to Ohio River then the Mississippi River to St. Louis. From then on they traveled upstream in a steamboat to Charlestown, Iowa. (Sabula), arriving the 19th day of May, 1839. They were met by all of the townspeople of Sabula.

The passage cost $51.00 for each, and took approximately 3 weeks for the trip. They made their home with people in Sabula for a few days. It cost 25 cents to send a letter at that time, and the one who received it was the one to pay the cost.

After spending the few days in Sabula getting rested, they started to make their way of Canada Hollow, where settlers homesteaded in July, 1838. George Canfield and family, settled there after having come here from Canada.

George and Sarah went on a few miles further, when they came to a nice spring, for their source of water supply they decided to “take up land and make their home.”

Their first home was nothing more than a shelter of prairie grass, for that was all there was! It has been said that there were no trees here, or shrubs, nothing but miles and miles of virgin prairies, and from that they made their home,

Some grasses reached 10 feet high and a man on horseback could only see for a few rods in the distance ahead of him, if there were trees, perhaps they had no way of getting them.

Later when they were able they went back to Sabula to secure some cheap lumber and that was erected as their first permanent shelter. An entry in an old ledger mention having secured some good pine lumber, 207 feet, for the amount of $2.07.

In 1840, seven years after the death of his grandfather, the old homestead in New England was sold. Having heard from his sister, Sarah Green, that there was still much land available, Nelson Kimball decided that he too would like to come and take up land. So he, his mother, his two brothers, and 2 sisters started for the west. The two older girls, Sybil and Abigail remained in Connecticut. Their married names were Mrs. Sybil Branch and Mrs. Isaac Cook. When the westward family arrived close to the Illinois area, the other girls, Susan and Francis decided they would rather stay at Fort Dearborn, (Chicago). There names later changed to Susan Brown and Frances DeWolf. At that time, Chicago streets were paved with Marsh hay. There were two railroads, one to Freeport and the other to Rock Island.

When Nelson, age 24, his mother, and brothers, Lucius aged 18, and Nathaniel 15 years of age, arrived here, they homesteaded land adjoining Sarah and George’s property. The layout of the farms are still today, similar to the way they were then.

The family was so numerous in this area when they settled in this township, that the locality took the name of Kimballton, later being changed to Kimball Hollow, which it has since retained.

The next year, the mother, Lucy Kimball, passed away, and her grave may be found, with its stone marker in the Sterling Cemetery, It has been thought that her grave was in the Miles cemetery, but Miles was not Miles in the year 1841. She died, on December 4, 1841, at the age of 58 years, 11 months, and 17 days.

The very early settlers staked off their claims, and built their cabins, and depended upon such material protection as they could afford each other by banding together as a claim society to prevent speculators from taking advantage of them, and entering land that they had settled on and improved.

For supplies they had to go to Sabula, where they could purchase cornmeal, at first there was no flour available, but later a sort of coarse flour known as shorts was obtainable. The bacon was brought from the south to the new settlers. The next years the ground was broken, and some wheat was planted, so that food was assured for the next year.

(To be continued in next week’s Community Press.)

Kimball Family Grave
 

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