of
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| History of Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume I, 1911, pages 293-295
MUSCATINE'S FIRST CITY DIRECTORY.
(By John Mahin in 1906.) I will write concerning Muscatine's first city directory, issued in 1856, just fifty years ago. It was the first book ever printed that was devoted entirely to the interests of Muscatine. The title is Muscatine City Directory and Advertiser for 1856, containing a history of the city and county, notices of the various religious, benevolent and literary associations, names of state, county, township and city officers, and an alphabetical list of the names of heads of families and male adults in the city, with their several places of business and residence. Compiled by John Mahin.
In the preface it is stated that it was the author's design when he commenced the work to give in an appendix information relative to the fertile and fast populating region in the interior of Iowa then tributary to the Muscatine market, which would have been of particular interest to immigrants but as only meager and unsatisfactory accounts were obtained from some of the counties, and as the work proved to be larger than at first anticipated without such an appendix, it was thought best to omit it altogether. Nevertheless, the book contains three pages of the early history of Iowa and twent-five pages of the history of Muscatine city and county in chronological order, including five pages descriptive of the soil and productions of Muscatine county, with meteorological observations, etc., by T. S. Parvin, from 1837 to 1855, inclusive. Altogether, in this respect, no work ever issued contained so much information of local interest on these subjects. The population of the city at that time was estimated at 8,000 (probably 2,000 too much), and of the county at 14,000.
The names in the directory proper number 1,384. In the As were 30, not one of whom remains a resident of the city at this time. In the 146 Bs there remain Benjamin Beach, Barney Beil, Joseph Biles and W. F. Brannan. Of the 96 Cs Jerome Carskaddan alone remains. Of the 71 Ds none remain. The same may be said of the 20 Es, the 63 Fs, the 46 Gs, the 141 Hs, the 7 Is and the 18 Js. Of the 66 Ks there remain Barney Kemper and W. B. Keeler, the latter now of Chicago. Of the 59 Ls only Ewing B. Lewis remains--though if I mistake not he has recently moved from Muscatine. Of the 139 Ms there remain John Mahin, Joseph Morrison and B. F. Mull, the first named now residing in Evanston, Illinois. Of the 25 Ns Maurice O. Neidig and J. R. Nisley remain. Of the 22 Os none remain. Of the 43 Ps J. S. Patten is the sole representative. Of the 5 Qs none remain. Of the 60 Rs J. Scott Richman, John Roth and W. G. Robb remain. Mr. Robb, however, lives in Jasper county, Iowa. Of the 129 Ss there remain George A. Satterlee, S. P. Sladden, T. D. Smith, Philip Stein and William R. Stone. Mr. Satterlee, however, is an inmate of the Old Soldiers' Home at Los Angeles, California; Mr. Sladden resides at Eugene, Oregon, and Mr. Stone in Duluth, Minnesota. Of the 33 Ts none remain. The same can also be said of the 7 Us and the 14 Vs. Of the 117 Ws the only one I know of now living is Charles H. Wilson, of Washington, Iowa. There were 4 Ys and 3 Zs, none of whom remain.
The name of Benjamin F. Neidig should have been in the directory, though he was not then the head of a family. As a printer he put in type most of the directory and it is a credit to his handiwork.
Of the 91 firms and individuals who had advertisements in the directory, W. F. Brennan, J. Carskaddan and J. S. Richman, attorneys, are still in the same business. W. F. Brannan's card appeared alone. J. S. Richman's name was in the firm of Richman & Brother, D. C. Richman (now deceased). Mr. Carskaddan was in the firm of Thayer & Carskaddan. T. D. Smith was then in the firm of Smith & Lord, booksellers. Two firms in business remain the same in name as then--H. Molis & Company, gunsmiths, and S. G. & P. Stein, furniture dealers, but the first name in each of the firms is that of the son of the senior partner at that time. Barney Beil was then the "Company" in the firm of H. Molis & Company, as he is now.
The pastors of the principal churches in 1856 were: John Harris, Methodist; A. B Robbins, Congregational; S. J. Baird, Presbyterian; A. G. Eberhart, Baptist; John Ufford, Episcopal; and Martin Bowman, United Brethren. It was stated in the directory that St. Matthias Catholic church had no pastor at that time but Philip Laurent had been before and was subsequently for nearly fifty years pastor of St. Matthias. He was probably absent at the time the directory was printed. It is remembered that he made an extended visit to the western part of the state about that time.
The teachers in the public schools were George B. Denison, D. Franklin Wells, Miss Margaret M. Lyon (afterward Mrs. George G. Denison), Miss Fannie A. Adams, Miss Henrietta F. Mikesell and N. F. Hoag.
The chief lawyers were Stephen Whicher, Jacob Butler, W. G. Woodward (then associate justice on the supreme bench), D. C. Cloud, Henry O'Connor, J. S. Richman and W. F. Brannan.
The principal doctors were George Reeder, C. P. Hastings, C. O. Waters, D. P. Johnson, C. Hershe, B. W. Thompson and C. H. Thompson.
The county officers at that time were: George Meason, judge (an office subsequently abolished); D. G. McCloud, sheriff; Richard Cadle, clerk; W. G. Robb, recorder; Peter Houtz, surveyor; Asa Gregg, school fund commissioner; Shepherd Smalley, drainage commissioner.
The city officers were: John H. Wallace, mayor; John B. Dougherty, treasurer; W. L. Browning, wharfmaster; Abial Fry, marshal; D. P. Johnson, recorder; John A. McCormick, assessor; Ed Hoch, weigher and measurer; Isaac Longstreth, street commissioner; John Seller, sexton of cemetery.
The members of the city council were: Jacob Butler, F. S. Phelps, Charles Neulley, D. C. Cloud, William Leffingwell, Cornelius Cadle.
Henry Reece was postmaster, George W. Wilkinson, senator in the state legislature, and R. Pritchard and John H. Pigman, representatives.
Men then prominent in business enterprises who are now deceased, may be enumerated alphabetically as follows: W. D. Ament, Joseph Bennett, Marx Block, Joseph Bridgman, R. M. Burnett, Jacob Butler, S. O. Butler, Anderson and William Chambers, Alexander Clark, S. B. Crane, J. B. Dougherty, Douglas Dunsmore, Pliny Fay, Suel Foster, J. P. Freeman, Henry Funk, G. A. Garrettson, John G. Gordon, J. E. Graham, Joseph A. Green, A. M. Hare, J. S. Hatch, B. Hershey, Dr. C. Hershe, S. B. and S. G. Hill, H. H. Hine, Thomas M. Isett, Peter Jackson, A. Jackson, Elias M. Kessinger, John Lemp, George D. Magoon, S. M. McKibben, Henry Molis, H. W. Moore, Peter Musser, Richard Musser, Adam Ogilvie, L. W. Olds, John A. Parvin, T. S. Parvin, Adam Reuling, Abraham Smalley, Simon G. Stein, W. H. Stewart, George C. Stone, John H. Wallace, J. P. Walton, Zephaniah Washburn, Chester Weed, James Weed.
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