Other Neighbors. – William Knowls.
Mr. William
Knowls was the first settler, so far as my knowledge goes, upon what
is now known as Judge Greene’s Mound Farm.
It is possible
that some one claimed it for a short time before him, but certain it
is that he was there in 1839.
Where Mr. Knowls
came from, I am unable to say, but from his general appearance and
conversation, I think he was an eastern man, probably from
Pennsylvania or New York.
In personal
appearance he was a little above the medium height and of light
complexion. He lived in a little cabin on the south side of the mound,
and so far as I remember he lived entirely alone, as was the case with
many of the new settlers in this country.
He was a man of
very fair intelligence and was considered trustworthy in all his
business transactions. He had a few acres of prairie broken up on the
south side of the mound, probably in the spring of 1840, and planted
it with sod corn, but as there was no fence around it, and no law to
restrain stock from running at large, I think that when the time came
to gather the crop there must have been but very little left to be
harvested. Of course our stock shared in the plunder, but as it was
impossible for us to watch our horses and cattle day and night, and as
there was no Keeley cure, or any other device by which we could take
away their appetite for green corn, no one was to blame for the
destruction of that first crop on the mound farm. And although Mr.
Knowls must have felt a little uncomfortable to see the labor of his
hands so rapidly going to waste, yet I do not remember to have heard
that he ever uttered a word of complaint against his neighbors on
account of their stock trespassing upon his premises. This is proof
enough of his mild disposition and amiable character.
Of his fate after
he disposed of his claim here I am not advised. For some years, I
believe, he remained in the vicinity, but for many years past I have
known nothing of his whereabouts, or as to whether he is living or
not.
Caleb Hendricks.
About a mile and
a quarter south of us, in the edge of the timber, there lived another
lone bachelor by the name of Caleb Hendricks. It was the same place,
that, after passing through the hands of John Stambaugh and John G.
Cole, finally came in to the possession of Mr. S. C. Bever.
Mr. Hendricks was
a tall, loose-jointed man, of rather dark complexion, and possessed of
a countenance not remarkably attractive, but nevertheless giving you
the impression that behind it there was a kind heart, honest and true.
Mr. Hendricks was
here when we came, or he made his appearance shortly after, but at
this late date I am unable to state where he came from with certainty,
but my impression is that he was a native of Ohio. He was a frequent
visitor at our house, and we were always glad to welcome him to our
family board.
More than once we
shared our plain provisions with him, for mother pitied him in his
loneliness, and she often cooked up something for him to take home
with him. He was a consistent member of the Methodist Church, and was
in every way a citizen of the most substantial character, and to whom
any community might well extend a welcome hand. After selling his
claim here, he located in the northern part of the county, where he
died some years ago.
Mr. Levi Lewis.
Our next neighbor
on the south was Mr. Levi Lewis, who came to this country some time in
the spring of 1840, I think. He was a native of Pennsylvania, I
believe, and he had two brothers and two sisters who settled on the
west side of the river ten or twelve miles above this place. My
impression is that they all came to this place direct from Indiana.
Mr. Lewis was
considered quite forehanded for those days. He was a man of
intelligence, but very plain in his style of dress and manner of
living. His family came some months later. They were always regarded
among our kindest and most reliable neighbors. Mr. Lewis and his wife
were members of the Methodist church, and so far as I know, their
lives corresponded with their high profession.
Their cabin was
located near the entrance of Oak Hill cemetery. Soon after his
arrival, Mr. Lewis broke up a hundred acres of his land, which lay
south and east of Tenth street and Sixth avenue, and extending to the
river.
For several years
my father rented a part of that land until our own farm was
sufficiently improved to require all our attention.
Many days of toil
were spent by my father and us boys on this ground which is now so
densely populated, and where are located some of our most comfortable
homes, and where to-day many business houses and factories flourish.
I am sure that it
was generally regretted when, some ten or eleven years later, Mr.
Lewis decided to sell out his property and go to Texas. His death
occurred in that State many years ago.
The change that
has been wrought, not only in this town, but in all this county,
during the half century that is past, seems to us who have lived here
from the beginning, to be simply marvelous.
Our nearest
railroad station was Ypsilanti, Michigan, and even that short line of
railroad was not yet finished.
Jason Bartholomew.
Mr. Jason
Bartholomew, who came a little later, probably about 1841, lived a
half mile further south from Mr. Lewis, his log cabin being situated
on the hill near the North-Western railway track as it is now located.
He came here direct from Warsaw, Ill., I believe, though more remotely
he was from Ohio, according to my best recollection. Still further
back, I think, he must have been from New England, as his language and
manner of life seemed to clearly indicate.
Mr. Bartholomew
and his wife were members of the Methodist church, and were quite
active in the performance of their religious duties. Mr. B. was a
licensed exhorter and was somewhat fluent of speech. His voice was
often heard in public assemblies. He was quite eccentric in his
manner, and very radical in his views.
He was a violent
opposer of slavery and a deadly enemy of secret societies.
His house was
always open as a resting place for ministers of the Gospel, and both
himself and his beautiful, modest wife, made these frequent visitors
feel quite at home around their fireside.
His extreme views
on the subject of slavery and secret societies led, in the end, to his
separation from the Methodist church, and he sought a home in another
branch of the church, whose tenets were more in consonance with his
own cherished views.
He showed his
eccentricity in his great partiality for donkeys and mules. He always
had his farm well stocked with them, and the smaller the animal, and
the longer his ears, the better he seemed pleased with him, and the
more ready was he to ride, or drive him, so that he could show off his
prominent points, which, of course, were his ears. But with all his
eccentricities, Mr. B. was an honest, well meaning man, and his
intention was to do the right thing under all circumstances. After
selling his property in town, he moved to another farm near Western,
where he lived many years. This farm was also sold, and his last days
were spent on a small farm near Kenwood, which he purchased. His wife
died at this latter place some years ago, and he was married a second
time to a lady whom I have never met. Several years later, he too,
passed away. The date of that event I am unable to give.
Osgood Shepherd.
The First Settler in Cedar Rapids.
Our next neighbor
was Mr. Osgood Shepherd, who occupied the only human habitation on
what was afterwards the original plat of Cedar Rapids. His house was
built of logs, after the usual pattern of those days. It was a
somewhat squatty looking structure, about 16 x 20, covered with
clapboards, which were held in place by logs on top, with ends
protruding at the gables, the corners also being somewhat jagged and
unsightly.
Mr. Shepherd
brought his family here, consisting of his wife and two or three
children, and his aged father, sometime during the summer of 1838, he
having been here earlier for the purpose of erecting his house. This
being the only house on the east bank of the river, it became per
force of circumstances, the stopping-place of the newcomers, and the
few travelers that came this way. And so, naturally enough, it became
known as “Shepherd’s Tavern.”
Mr. Shepherd was
quite a large man, of sandy complexion, and was said to be
good-natured in his disposition, and, as might easily be surmised, he
was an accommodating and agreeable landlord. Unfortunately, however,
his morals were of a low order. While many good people were
temporarily sheltered under his roof, and fed at his table, everybody
believed that he also entertained horse-thieves, and these latter
seemed to be his special favorites, and he showed himself ready to
shield and encourage them in their villainous work.
It was afterwards
currently reported here, that he himself, was finally convicted of
horse-stealing in a neighboring state, and sent to the penitentiary.
After writing the
above account of Mr. Shepherd, I am more than pleased to add that word
has come to me from a source that I regard as trustworthy, that in the
latter part of his life he became a professor of religion and was
active in church work. That such a change is possible I am most
willing and ready to believe, and I can but hope that the good report
is true in every particular.
Many years ago,
in Wisconsin, Mr. Shepherd was accidentally run over by the cars and
killed.
This first house
was located at the foot of First avenue, where now stands the splendid
building of the Young Men’s Christian Association.
Around these
premises many exciting scenes transpired. Here the first deaths
occurred, and here the first child was born. Here deeds of darkness
were concocted; and honest men and women made their plans for founding
a town that would prove both an ornament and a blessing to the
surrounding country in the years to come.
Mr. Shepherd’s
father and one of his children died in this little cabin, and from it
were borne to their last resting place on the adjacent hill, not far,
as some say, from where the Episcopal church now stands. Others think
the burial place was near the ground now occupied by the
Congregational church. And here, too, a year later, perhaps, a little
Shepherd first opened its tiny eyes upon this strange world.
Across the river
on the hills beyond I think there was a birth and a death prior to
those just mentioned, but at that time and for many years afterwards,
that neighborhood formed no part of Cedar Rapids proper.
In the early
settlement of a country, there are many questions that come up for
solution that we do not now think about. For instance, when a death
occurs in a country where there is not a board to be found in the
whole region, what is to be done about a coffin, in order that the
dead may be decently laid away to rest? This question had to be met
more than once in the early history of this place. It is tru we had
carpenters; the Listebargers were skilled in the use of tools, and
they had brought their tool-chest with them, not forgetting even to
bring a little varnish, in case of possible need.
But the lumber;
this was the perplexing question of the hour.
Mr. Ellis tells
how it was done, when the elder Mr. Shepherd died. He and the
Listebargers went up the river and cut down a black walnut tree and
split out puncheons which they hewed down with the broad-ax, and then
with their planes they dressed them smooth, which, when finished, made
very nice looking lumber. This done, the making of the coffin was
comparatively an easy matter. In this case the coffin was made after
the old-fashioned pattern, but being nicely varnished it made a very
neat and respectable appearance.
And so even in
the very earliest history of our community the dead were decently
interred, although it cost an amount of labor that few now can
understand.
The Family with Golden Hair.
At one time after
the Shepherd family had retired from the state of active life
hereabouts, a sprightly red-haired woman with two bright little girls
with locks of the same golden hue, became the tenants of this cabin.
She also accommodated the traveling public and a few permanent
boarders. Her husband was said to be detained in an adjoining State,
in a building whose main characteristics were iron doors well barred,
and whose windows had screens, the meshes of which were larger and
stronger than those in common use on ordinary dwellings, and the
enclosure of which was a high stone wall, rather than an ordinary
picket fence.
One of the
boarders at the cabin at this time was a large, fine looking man,
whose aim in life did not seem to be very well defined. He, however,
soon assumed the duties and responsibilities of landlord of the
establishment, and to all intents and purposes, became the head of
this interesting little family, whose hearts he had won, and with whom
he himself had become so completely fascinated. In the excessive ardor
of affection which they had for each other, they neglected the little
formality of a marriage ceremony, which the usages of good society
require of persons living in the relation which existed between these
two parties.
This state of
things became very offensive to our law-abiding citizens, and they
decided that such conduct should not be tolerated longer. The result
was that this large, fine looking man was one dark night treated to a
ride on a rail, long before the railroad ever reached this part of the
country, and to a coat of tar and feathers long before a tailor had
ever made his advent into this new and beautiful region. This little
hint seemed to have the desired effect, and so these denizens of the
“Shepherd tavern” sought other and more congenial surroundings.
The last use to
which this primitive structure was put was that of a stable where the
Higley brothers kept their horses when they operated the first stage
line to Iowa City.
The building was
finally torn down after serving its generation in various capacities
for ten or twelve years, to make way for the little brick building,
erected by Mr. William Wood, of St. Louis, for a store.
It is a source of
peculiar pleasure that I am permitted to present in this place the
picture of that very substantial and eminently useful building of the
Young Men’s Christian Association. Occupying the ground made forever
famous as the site of “Shepherd’s tavern,” the first habitation ever
reared by white men in this place, it affords, perhaps, the most
striking contrast between the past and present of anything that has
ever taken place within our present city limits.
The building and
grounds are estimated to be worth sixty thousand dollars.
The first story
is fitted up for stores and offices, the Gymnasium occupying the
extreme rear of the building. The second floor is occupied by the
Secretary’s offices, the reception and reading rooms, the parlor, the
library and auditorium.
On the third
floor there are the G.A.R. Hall, the boys’ school room, the room of
the Ministerial Union, and one other room occupied as a musical
studio.
The pleasant
reading room, with its library and periodicals, its cozy parlor, its
commodious auditorium, its fine, well equipped gymnasium, and its
unequalled baths and swimming pool, make it one of the most attractive
places of resort for young men to be found in the western country, if
not in the United States.
It is estimated
that 450 men visit this place every day. Its present membership is
about 900. There is a night school during the winter months of about
125 young men, where the common branches of education are taught,
together with stenography, mechanical drawing, etc., all of which is
free to the members of the Association.
With the
religious meetings, the lectures, concerts, social gatherings, and the
thousand other little rivulets of Christian influence afforded by this
Association, no one can compute the amount of healthful, uplifting
influence that this institution is exerting upon our city and the
community around.
Mr. Porter W. Earl.
This gentleman,
whose name stands at the head of this article, was one of our very
earliest settlers, coming to Marion in 1840, and the following year
removing to Cedar Rapids as his permanent home.
Mr. Earl was a
native of the state of Vermont. He was a house and sign painter by
trade, but he did not follow that line of business here to any great
extent.
He was a man of
unusual intelligence, and always dignified and gentlemanly in his
deportment. He always figured somewhat prominently in politics, being
a democrat of the most pronounced character.
He manufactured
the brick and erected the first brick dwelling house in this city in
1849, on the northwest corner of First avenue and Second street. He
also furnished the brick, I believe, for the three-story building
erected by Judge Greene at the foot of First avenue, on the southwest
corner, where the Greene Brothers, for many years, carried on their
extensive mercantile business. This building was also erected in 1849.
He was at one
time the owner of a good deal of valuable city property. For some
years he was engaged in the mercantile business in the Franklin block,
but in this he was unfortunate, and in the end was a heavy loser.
The latter part
of his life was spent in comparative retirement, his health being too
delicate to permit him to engage in any active business.
Mr. Earl and his
wife were both members of the Methodist church. His death occurred
April 14, 1884.
His estimable
wife being a sister of Col. W. H. Merritt and of the first Mrs. Judge
Greene, was a lady of intelligence and refinement, and always held a
high place in the respect and esteem of our people. She departed this
life June 10, 1876.
Of their children
only Mary Adelaide, the wife of Mr. J. O. Baxter, remains in the
city. She is well known in this city, and is held in the highest
esteem, as a lady of refinement and culture, and one of the most
talented musicians in this country.
The oldest son,
Merritt, died many years ago. Harriet, now the wife of Charles A.
Taylor, lives in Peoria, Ill.; William resides in Guthrie, Oklahoma,
and Ella, now Mrs. J. Thomas Dalton, lives in Chicago, Ill. |
