"On the 16th of October, 1852, the county judge of Taylor County, ordered that Ringgold County be a separate election precinct, to be called Schooler Township, and that the place of voting at the presidential election be at the house [cabin] of Lot HOBBS. This was in the southern part of the country, where there is now a creek that bears the name of Lott's Creek, which derived its name from this early settler. Charles H. SCHOOLER, Abner SMITH and Jesse HARPER were appointed to act as judges of this election. Charles H. SCHOOLER was elected justice of the peace, and Lot HOBBS constable of Schooler Township. The latter was also appointed supervisor of roads, and one Littleton ALLEN, a commissioner to locate a road from the State line, in a northeast direction across the county."

NOTE: Lot HOBBS married Liza GRIMES on May 14, 1857 at Daviess County, Missouri.

Meanwhile, in Worth County, Missouri:

"The name of this first settler--this advance courier--who first braved the dangers and hardships of an unsettled country, was Henry LOT, who, from the most reliable accounts we can obtain, came to the country in 1840, and built a small cabin in the northeast part of the grove. Here he continued to remain for a few years, when he sold his claim to a man named WOLFE. The grove was then called Wolfe's Grove by the old settlers, but is now oftener called Lot's Grove. After Lot sold his claim he moved a short distance south into another belt of timber, on Lot's Creek, where he located. He left the country in the summer of 1845, following in the wake of the Indians. It is said that LOT was a man of crooked ways, and that he earned his livelihood in a doubtful manner, his greatest fault being an inordinate fondness for his neighbors horses." NOTE: Henry LOTT was born July 20, 1823 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Samuel Lott, Sr. and Margaret (BACHE) LOTT. Henry's youngest sibling was Louis Bache LOTT, born September 1, 1825, Pennsylvania and appearing in the 1860 Iowa Census as residing in Ringgold County.

In the history of Ringgold County, Iowa, Lotts Creek was named after Lot HOBBS. In the history of Worth County, Missouri, Lot's or Lott's Grove was named after Henry LOT. Lotts Creek runs south from Ringgold County into Worth County. Just south of the Iowa-Missouri border, the rural area in northeast Worth County, Missouri is known as Lotts Grove where there is an active Southern Baptist Church and cemetery, both names Lotts Grove.

Henry LOTT is the same man who moved his familty to "Pea's Point" in Boone County, Iowa, where he continued with his dealings with the Sioux Indians. Some of the Sioux, perhaps angered over LOTT's shady deals and definately feeling as though he was intruding on their land demanded that he leave the area. LOTT declined and the Sioux came to "convince" him that LOTT should leave with his family. Through the course of events, LOTT's wife died and his twelve-year-old son, Milton LOTT, fled from the cabin. Milton was found a couple of days later, frozen to death near the Des Moines River. Milton was the first white death in Boone County. The Madrid Historical Society placed a marker at the site where Milton's body was found and interred. Read more about the Milton LOTT tragedy on the Boone County GenWeb page.

SOURCE:
Biographical & Historical Record of Ringgold County, Iowa, pp. 570-571. Chicago. 1887.
History of Gentry and Worth Counties, Missouri, p. 406. 1882.

Transcription and note by Sharon R. Becker, 2008

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