Clayton Co. IAGenWeb Odds & Ends

~Strawberry Point Mail-Press, Thursday, October 17, 1907, pg 9
~transcribed by S. Ferrall for Clayton co. IAGenWeb, June 2024

The following very interesting sketch of Pugh and Chipman hollows northeast of this city was read last week at the old settlers' reunion by Attorney C.B. Hughes of Arlington:

Pugh Hollow
Pugh Hollow was named after Hugh Pugh, who came from Illinois and settled in 1854 on the farm in Section 5 in Lodomillo township, now owned by his grandson, Warren Pugh. He lived on this farm and the one adjoining it on the East, reared quite as large family, and died about 1885*.

His oldest son, Luther P. Pugh, located further up the hollow to the south, where he lived for a number of years and where he still resides. He today enjoys the distinction of being the oldest settler now living in Pugh Hollow.

The first settlement in this hollow was made about 1845 by two families of Dutch coming from Jones county, who built a log cabin near where Warren Pugh now lives, but they were taken captive by the Indians one year later and it is supposed that they were killed.

No one else came into this hollow until 1852 when Azzie Alloway* and James Alloway* settled on what is known as the Strehlow farm on Section 4. These men were large muscular men and great hunters. They moved over onto Gooseberry Creek in 1854 and built a house on the farm now owned by C.H. Donaho in Section 3.

Amos Breed located and built a cabin in 1854 north of the road on the Fremont Pugh farm in Section 5, lived there a number of years, and later moved to Britt, Iowa, where I understand he is still living.

William Eckheart located near the site of Hanks saw mill in 1856. A year later a man named Cook built a saw mill on the spot where the present mill stands. The old mill was burned down in 1866 and the present one was built in its place by L.L. Hanks in 1867, who came there from New York and who died several years ago still owning the farm upon which the mill was located.

Forty rods east of this mill, near a great natural spring of as pure water as ever rippled out of the rocks of the hills and near the bank of the creek, James Hughes, who was my grandfather, located and built a log house in 1855. He lived here six years, moved back to Ohio one year, went overland to California, and in 1867 settled on Gooseberry Creek on the farm now owned by E. Baker, where he lived until 1882.

He was a carpenter and joiner and about 1860 built the house on the Strehlow farm and it is still in a good state of preservation. My grandfather, among his duties as a carpenter, was ofen called upon to make coffins and to give you an illustration of the differences existing in the coffin industry between his times and mine, I wish to refer to the way in which they were then made.

He furnished his own black walnut timber, paid his own saw bill, hauled his own lumber, planed, sand papered, and polished the boards, fitted them together with mortised joints and screws, and sold the coffin for $1.00 per foot. If it was three feet long it brought $3.00. If it was six feet long it brought $6.00. Today black walnut lumber commands a fabulous price, and I am informed by our undertaker that black walnut coffins cannot be obtained except on special order and at a cost of about $130.00. Yet, I venture to say of the departed pioneer that his dust is as sacred and his eternal sleep is as sweet as he rests in his black walnut coffin at $1.00 per foot as though he lay in yonder cemetery under tons of marble rock and enshrouded in all the extravagance of the present age.

Across the creek on the Liepelt farm J.J. Carptenter* and his family established a home in 1854. He lived here a number of years, then moved to Cox Creek and died in 1902. This farm upon which he located was sold by John McKinniss to A.M. Hughes in 1881, and it was in this house that I found board and lodging for thirteen years.

Andrew Marshall moved onto the Strehlow farm in 1854 and lived there a number of years. Felix Randall settled on the East side of this farm in the same year. Charles Bryan settled across the creek on this farm in 1855, coming from Pennsylvania with a number of others. He sas a cobbler and an extra handy man with tools and was a valuable addition to the new country. Later he moved South into Section 9, and died about 1900.

Reason HInes came to the country with the Alloways in 1852 and located on the Joseph Randall farm near the school house. He lived here a number of years.

John Peters located on the Nading farm in 1855 and later moved south into Section 21 where he developed on the finest farms in Clayton county. He has been dead a number of years.

The Myers' and Stevens' also located in here about 1855, but all passed away before my time.

Chipman Hollow
Chipman Hollow was named after Seymour Chipman who located up in Section 10 near Mossy Glen with a man named Babcock in 1851. They built a saw mill, and later built a grist mill. The old grist mill was a three story bulding and was standing the last I knew, although I have heard that it was recently burned to the ground.

Ephraim Maxon located just below their saw mill in 1853. He built a chair factory and a small grist mill. Mr. Maxon built hickory chairs at the rate of one set of six per week. these he sold $2.00 per set, or 33 1/2 cents a piece. That they were durable is proven by the fact that Lewis Howes has one of them in his home at the present day where he says it sits in the dining room and sees active service three times a day.

John Chipman came in 1853 and built another saw mill.

A man named William Chandler settled there in 1854 and was the carpenter who built the Chipman grist mill.

William Abel and Chandler Abel built a carding mill on their settlement in Section 9 in 1855. They enjoyed quite a large business for several years and were located over on a small branch known as Abel Branch.

Norman Hawley built a house about 100 rods below the grist mill in 1853. He later moved to Wisconsin where he died.

Alonzo Carner moved into this hollow in 1852 and built a house on the farm now owned by Press Stalnaker. Later he moved onto the hill to the northwest where he owned a small farm until 1890 when he died.

The first school house in the Hollow was built on the Baker farm in the year 1858. I have been unable to find the name of the first teacher, but understand she received $12.00 per month for her labors.

On the north-west quarter of section 3, Lewis Howes, Sr., settled and built the largest house in the community in 1854. This house is still standing and is occupied by H.P. Stalnaker. It has the old fashioned stone fire place and the fire burns just as good in the old fire place now as it did 52 years ago. As the house was more roomy than the others nearly all the dances and gatherings of that kind were held in the home of Mr. Howes. Dancing constituted a large part of the amusement of the early settlers and a dance was considered a tame affair unless there was a good fist fight to settle the misunderstandings naturally coming up in the neighborhood and to see who was the best man. Tradition tells me they had some good fights and some good fighters.

There were a great many deer in the country at this time and nearly all of the pioneers hunted more or less.

There being a very heavy growth of large maple trees on the side hills and creek bottoms, the early settlers gave much of their time in the early spring to the manufacturing of maple syrup and sugar. This was so plentiful that it was about all the sugar that was used for a number of years.

Coming in contact with nature so closely and being naturally a strong healthy, rugged class of people, there was little sickness and the prevailing ills were usually cured by the combined judgement of the women as to which kind of herb tea would be the best to take on the occasion and the kind of poultice that could be most effectively applied.

As to the virtues and the habits and intentions of this people, I believe their standard of honor and usefulness equalled, if not excelled, any pioneer population that has ever lived, with hardly an exception, as I have heard them spoken of by the older residents who were acquainted with them and came in contact with them in a business and social way. They have always been referred to in a way that is a compliment to the citizenship of any community.

In looking up their record in the civil war I find the names of 9 volunteers, which comprised nearly every one of the available able bodied men living in the two hollows.

We often wonder how it was that the early pioneers coming long distances from the east moved into and built their homes in the roughest and steepest valley that could be found rather than staking out what is today considered to be the very best, easiest cultivated and highest priced land we have today. This, I presume, is explained by the natural advantages offered in the way of wood and shelter, and they were searching a place to build a home rather than a place to build up dollars. They placed the home above the dollar and kept it there, while there is a tendency at the present day to get the dollar whether the home is taken into consideration or not; with them, they had a standard of what was enough for their physical necessities while with us we never have enough of anything. The more we get the more we want, while with them after they had about so much it was a bother to them and they had sense enough to know it.

When we sum up their complete history, together with their habits and their standards of morality and business we can truly say that they need not be ashamed of their record anywhere, and if the next generation can look back over our course and our accomplishments with the pride with which we look back over theirs, then we can pass away and go down into history with the consolation that our duties to mankind, our country, and to posterity have been well performed.

~*~*~

Notes, added by the transcriber:

*Hugh Pugh died July 23, 1887

*Azariah & James Alloway, sons of William Alloway

*John Jackson Carpenter died in November 1903.