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Pioneer Life
In and Around Cedar Rapids, Iowa from 1839 to 1849
Rev. George R. Carroll

- Chapter XIII  -

(pages 138 - 162)

Chapters:
I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, X (cont), XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX

Mr. John G. M'Leod.

The name of John G. McLeod is remembered by the early settlers, as one of our most prominent men, and a very useful citizen.

His claim included the big spring which has always borne his name, and which is located two and a half miles north of this city. It is one of the finest springs I have ever seen, and I am not aware of anything in Iowa that surpasses or even equals it, in the amount and clearness of the waters it discharges. There may be others just as fine, but although I have traveled over the state quite extensively, I have not yet seen them. The water power of one of the first saw-mills in this county was furnished by that spring.

I am not sure but that this mill was the first in the county. Certain it is that no one antedated it very many months.

To Mr. McLeod belongs the honor of erecting that mill. It was an event of the greatest importance to the pioneers of this section of the country. Few can understand at this distance of time the absorbing interest with which the people watched the progress of this new enterprise.

It was in 1841, two years after our arrival, that this mill was built. I remember well when Mr. McLeod came to invite our family to the raising. After extending the invitation to father and the older boys, he turned to mother and said: "You must come, too, and bring all your dishes with you." The thought never seemed to enter his mind to ask if it would be convenient for her to go; but he used the imperative mood with an emphasis that seemed to admit of no excuse or failure. Of course, mother was only too happy to go with her dishes and cooking utensils, together with what provisions she could supply, and do all she could towards providing a good dinner for the busy workmen who were assisting in this new and welcome enterprise. She had a hearty laugh, however, afterwards over the earnest and summary way in which Mr. McLeod commanded her presence on that important occasion.

Sometime after the saw-mill had been put in operation, Mr. McLeod decided to put in a small run of stone, which he did. The stones were only eighteen or twenty inches in diameter perhaps, but they served a very good purpose for "cracking corn" as they called it. This mill afforded us our first corn meal manufactured in this region, and it was a matter of no small interest to the surrounding inhabitants, when it was set in operation. The meal was probably not of the finest grade, but it was fresh and sweet, and the people were too glad to get it to be critical in regard to its coarseness. A few years later, Mr. McLeod erected a larger and better mill that was capable of manufacturing both meal and flour of very good grades. This mill did a very large business and proved a great blessing to the people all through this region, and for many miles around. This property in after years passed into the hands of Mr. N. B. Brown, who converted it into a distillery, to afford drink to those who were not satisfied with the cool, limpid waters of the spring. A few years later this famous mill afforded food for the flames, and so passing out of existence, many more hearts rejoiced than when it was first erected.

Mr. McLeod in after years moved into the northern part of the state, where he continued in the milling business up to the time of his death, which occurred many years ago.

C. C. Cook.

Captain Charles C. Cook, being one of the earliest settlers of the country, deserves honorable mention in these reminiscences of primitive times in Linn county.

He was a half brother of the writer, and came to the country at the same time.

Personally, Mr. Cook was a man of fine physique, six feet and one inch in height, and in his earlier years, of a ruddy countenance, his hair of such as made him remarkable for his strength and power of endurance. In his later years, however, his health gave way under the pressure of the extreme hardships through which he had passed, and for years before his death he suffered a great deal from his bodily infirmities.

He was a man of unbounded ambition and unconquerable energy. He never favored himself in the least, and he never shrank from any undertaking, no matter how arduous, if he saw that the interests of the town and the general public good could be advanced by it. He performed an immense amount of hard work for which he received no remuneration, except the consciousness that he had acted honestly and earnestly for the best good of the community in which his lot was cast.

His education was limited, but he had a bright intellect, and he had learned many valuable lessons in the school of experience, of which he made good use in his busy, restless life. He was naturally very diffident, but his intense interest in his public affairs overcame this natural bent of his character to some extent, and not infrequently his voice was heard in public assemblies advocating those measures and principles which he deemed were for the interests of the people.

The railroads, the public highways, the manufacturing interests, the schools and the churches always found in him a warm advocate and a ready helper.

In the opening up of the boulevard from Cedar Rapids to Marion, he took a very active part, laboring incessantly from the time of its inception, till it became an accomplished fact.

In the time of the war he raised a company and entered with enthusiasm into the service of his country. Here, as he was wont to do, he forgot himself in his anxiety for the welfare of his men, and in a few months after he entered the service he was stricken down with a disease that came very near terminating his life.

His wife, however, going to his relief was able finally to get him home, but with a constitution shattered beyond recovery.

But his unconquerable will kept him moving about until a few days before his death. His busy life and his well fought battle, came to an end March 5, 1880.

His wife Emily, daughter of Hon. L.M. Strong, Marion's first settler, survived her husband only a few years longer. She died August 8, 1889, honored and loved by all who knew her. She and her husband were members of the First Presbyterian church.

Mr. Cook was a native of Niagra county, New York, his birth occurring May 2, 1822, and his wife was born in Ohio.

They were the parents of four children, George F. and Henry A., who were twins; Kittie and Charles. George having enlisted in the regular army, died a number of years ago in Dakota, and Kittie died several years later in this place. The whereabouts of Charles is unknown, but he is supposed to have died on his way to California several years since. Henry A. is the editor and publisher of the Denison Bulletin.

Hon. George Greene.

On coming to this county, Mr. Greene first located at Ivanhoe, where he taught school one winter. In 1840 he was admitted to the bar and soon after located in Marion.

In 1841 he bought an interest in the lands upon which the city of Cedar Rapids now stands. It was somewhere about 1842 or '43 that he purchased the mound claim of Mr. Joel Leverich.

He afterwards went to Dubuque and practiced law in partnership with Judge Dyer, his brother-in-law, Mr. Edward Merritt, I believe, being also associated with them in business.

It was not until 1851 that Judge Greene came to Cedar Rapids to take up his permanent residence.

He was of English birth, his place of nativity being Staffordshire, England, where he was born April 15, 1817.

Coming to this country with his parents when but a child, he was reared and educated in western New York.

While in Dubuque he edited and published the Miner's Express, in company with his brother-in-law, W.H. Merritt.

For eight years he served as Judge of the Supreme Court of Iowa.

He was the editor and publisher of Greene's Reports, a work which contains several volumes and which is regarded as of permanent value.

Judge Greene was a man of massive brain and commanding presence. He possessed a mind that was keen to observe and far-reaching in its sweep of events. He was characterized by his broad views and wonderful faith in the possibilities of this town and country for the future. He even went further than this. He not only believed in the possibility, but in the probability of a growth and prosperity for this city that far transcended the faith and foresight of our most sanguine citizens. He was thought sometimes to be almost chimerical and visionary in his plans and predictions with regard to the future of our city. And yet now we can see that he planned wisely and well, and that his views were none too broad and that his anticipations were none too high.

It was indeed a good day for Cedar Rapids when Judge Greene decided to make it his home. His coming gave a new and decided impetus to our business interests that was felt all over this pare of the country. No man that has ever lived here has taken a deeper interest in public affairs, nor done more towards developing our resources nor towards the building up of all those institutions that tend to make a city truly great, than he.

He had a large interest for many years in one of our most noted mercantile houses, in company with his brothers; he was an extensive operator in banking and real estate; he was a heavy contractor in the building of railroads; and, in short, there was scarcely any great enterprise, or any important institution that tended towards the development of our resources and the promotion of our best interests as a city and State, that did not feel the impress of his powerful hand.

He was always identified with the Episcopal church as one of its most benevolent and active members. His benevolence, however, was not restricted to his own church, but every religious, charitable or educational institution, enlisted his sympathies and shared in his liberal benefactions.

Judge Greene departed this life June 23, 1880, leaving behind him the record of a busy and useful life, and a name that the people of Cedar Rapids will always love to honor.

He was twice married, first to Miss Harriet Merritt, by whom four children were born, only two of whom still survive, Edward M. and Mrs. Susan H. Belt, (widow of the late A. Sidney Belt, attorney at law), the former living in Chicago, and the latter residing in this place, in the midst of a host of friends, many of whom have known and loved her from the days of her childhood. Mrs. Greene died at Dubuque April 25, 1850.

In 1855 Judge Greene was married to Miss Frances R. Graves, of Cooperstown, N.Y. Of the eight children born of this marriage, six still survive, Calvin G., George, William J., Elizabeth, (Mrs. McIvor), now in Japan, Frances and Woodward K.; the other two, Fannie and Robert C., died some years ago.

Mr. Calvin G. Greene is a well-known and highly-honored business man of our city, and the next younger brother was the popular Adjutant-General during the two terms of Governor Boies' administration.

Mrs. Greene is still a resident of our city, honored and loved by hosts of friends who have been attracted to her by many womanly virtues.

Henry Weare.

In 1844 Mr. Weare came to Cedar Rapids with the intention of making it his home. He boarded with his sister, Mrs. Shearer, while they were still living in the log house on the bank of the river below Fourth avenue. He came here directly from Allegan, Mich., although his native state was Vermont.

He was a man of medium height and of rather slender build. He possessed a clear, keen intellect and was very fond of reading. He was an easy and pleasant conversationalist, and could talk intelligently on any subject, although he seemed especially at home in the realm of politics. He was always gentlemanly in his manners and kindly disposed towards those with whom he mingled. He was a man of good judgment, and had a clear insight into business affairs, and had he lived, I have no doubt, would have occupied a prominent place in the business circles of our city.

He was a frequent visitor at our house and we were always glad to welcome him to a seat around our ample fireside.

During the first year that he was here my father had a business transaction with him which was to us of great importance, and which left an impression on my mind that has never been effaced.

The land had recently come into market, but as yet we had been unable to get money enough with which to pay for ours.

In the meantime our neighbor, Mr. John Stambaugh, who then owned the Bever place, secretly entered that part of our claim on which the house stood. It was a most villainous act and our neighbors were up in arms about it, and they made it so uncomfortable for Mr. Stambaugh that he was glad to give it up upon my father's paying the entrance money, which was fifty dollars for the forty acres upon which our improvements had been made. But the question was how could we raise even that small amount of money? It was no easy matter in those days to raise even one dollar, much less the amount necessary to pay for forty acres of land.

We brought with us from Canada, a very valuable black mare which we considered one of the finest in the territory. She seemed to be the only available piece of property that we could spare at that time, and so she was offered for sale, although it seemed almost like putting upon the market a member of the family.

Mr. Weare decided to buy her, but as money was so scarce, and horses so low in value, she brought only fifty dollars.

It was sufficient, however, to pay for the land, and so we readily gave her up that we might relieve ourselves from the pressing embarrassment that had been thrust upon us by a man who was devoid of any sense of true manhood.

About a year later we sold to Mr. Weare the eighty acres lying on the west part of our claim for seventy-five dollars in gold. The sale of a yoke of steers which we had raised, for twenty-five dollars, made out the one hundred dollars with which we paid for the eighty acres adjoining the forty acres we had already purchased. The one hundred and twenty acres of land, paid for in this way, were all that we were able to secure out of the three hundred and twenty acres that composed our original claim.

This detailed account of our business transactions, in those early years, is here recorded in order to give the reader a little glimpse of what the pioneers of this now rich commonwealth had to endure, in laying the foundations for its future prosperity.

Mr. Weare died very suddenly at the house of Mr. Ramsey, near Polo, in Illinois, June 2d, 1846, at the age of 29 years.

He was on a business trip when the fatal disease overtook him that terminated his life. His death was so sudden that we were greatly shocked by the sad news, and our house became one of true mourning for one who had become to us more than a neighbor, or any ordinary friend.

John Weare, Jr.

It was in January, 1845, when Mr. John Weare, Jr., came to Cedar Rapids seeking a new home. His brother Henry had returned to Allegan, Michigan, in the fall of 1844, and at the date above mentioned the two brothers came on to Cedar Rapids together.

He was born in Stanstead, Lower Canada, Oct. 5, 1815. On coming to this place he also boarded with his sister, Mrs. Shearer, until his family came in the spring. We soon became acquainted with Mr. Weare, and he often visited our home.

The family consisted, when all had arrived, of Mr. and Mrs. Weare, Portus, Laura and Alexander, the last named being a baby of only a few months old.

At one time the whole family boarded at our house for two or three months together. At that time we had built on a little addition to our house, otherwise we could hardly have taken in so large an accession to our family.

From the very first Mr. Weare showed himself to be a man of unusual pluck and energy, and he soon found ample scope for the exercise of his large business capacity. At that time there were no very easy places to step into, whereby a man could make money rapidly with but little labor. The men who came in those days did not expect to find easy and lucrative positions prepared to their hands, but they came to make places for themselves and to open up lines of business that would eventually afford them permanent employment and secure a comfortable competency for their declining years.

Mr. Weare was a man of this kind. He could turn his hand to almost anything that would afford employment and secure even a small return for his labor. He could drive oxen, chop down trees, draw wood, run a threshing machine, make long journeys with a team of horses to carry away the products of the country, and bring back the necessary supplies; in fact, he could do anything to keep business moving, and to lay foundations for the future progress and a fuller development of our country.

With such a spirit of industry and enterprise, Mr. Weare worked his way onward and upward till almost before he was himself aware of it, he stood in the front rank of the business men of the new State of his adoption.

After opening his farm on the west side of the river, to which he had only given a portion of his time, he finally established an office in town, where, about the year 1851, he commenced operations in banking and real estate. Continuing the business alone a few months, he finally took in as his first partner Daniel O. Finch, Esq., a young attorney, who had come to the place, and who published our first newspaper, under the name of The Progressive Era.

Later Mr. Weare entered into partnership with George Greene and Thomas H. Benton. They had branch houses in Des Moines, Fort Dodge and Omaha, and they did a very extensive business.

When the First National Bank of Cedar Rapids was organized, Mr. Weare held the position of cashier, Mr. W. W. Walker being president. Later, and for many hears, Mr. Weare himself held the office if president of that widely known institution.

He was possessed of broad views, and he took a great interest in public affairs.

He felt proud of the State of his adoption and never tired of expatiating upon its boundless resources, and more especially upon the productiveness of its fertile soil.

He was deeply interested in all public improvements, and gave his aid and influence in the building of railroads, the establishment of factories, and whatever contributed to the growth and prosperity of the city and the country at large.

His failing health compelled him in his later years to lay aside his active business cares and to confine himself more closely to the rest and quiet of his own comfortable home.

He had been accustomed for some time past, owing to the state of his health, to spend his winters in a milder climate, and it was during one of those temporary sojourns at Hot Springs, Arkansas, that the stern messenger came that summoned him away from earth. He peacefully passed away March 10, 1891.

His remains were brought home a day or two later, and the funeral services were held in the First Presbyterian church, where he had been in the habit of attending, and a large concourse of sorrowing friends and neighbors followed him to his last resting place in Oak Hill cemetery.

His first wife, Mrs. Martha (Parkhurst) Weare, was a woman of rare excellence of character, and was highly respected by all who knew her. Having lived so long in our family, we all learned to love her, and the intimacy then begun continued to the end of her life.

She died August 11, 1858, sadly lamented by a large circle of friends and neighbors, whose respect and love she had won during her stay with us.

The children of this marriage now living are, Portus Baxter, Laura, wife of the late lamented W. W. Walker; Ely E., Charles A., and Martha, wife of Mr. Mark Morton, all of whom reside at present in Chicago.

Mr. Weare was married a second time to Miss Martha Rogers, of Clinton, in 1862. She still survives, and until recently, during the summer months, has occupied her commodious residence, around whose hearthstone gather so many pleasant memories of days gone by.

Mrs. Weare has two daughters, Mrs. William H. Hubbard, and Ms. Eli Gage, of Chicago, who make frequent visits to the old homestead.

Mr. Ely E. Weare, her step-son, continued up to a few months ago to make his home with his mother, his time being mainly occupied in settling up his father's estate.

Mrs. Weare is a woman of marked intelligence and decision of character, and she has always moved in the highest circles of society. She is a member of the First Presbyterian church of this city.

The Weare home on the hill, has always been the scene of many pleasant gatherings, an the centre from whence many streams of benevolence have gone forth to bless the needy.

The Sons of Mr. John Weare, Jr.

Pr. Portus B. Weare, the eldest son, has for many years been a well known business man in Chicago. It may be safely said, I think, that no man that has ever gone to Chicago from this region has become more widely known in the commercial world, nor made a more honorable record than he. Being a lose and accurate judge of human nature, and possessing a breadth of intellect that enables him to grapple with the great financial problems of the country, his business career has been one of constant activity; and in planning and carrying on of the great commercial enterprises to which he has given his attention, the degree of success that has attended him, notwithstanding the recent great financial reverses of the country, has been truly remarkable.

Portus Baxter Weare was born in Otsego, Allegan county, Mich., January 1, 1842. He came to Cedar Rapids with his father in 1845, where he grew up and received most of his education. He attended the common schools of this place and Sioux City, and spent one year at Western College, then located ten miles south of Cedar Rapids.

In 1858 he went to Sioux City and was employed in the bank of Weare & Allison, where he remained for four years. During that time he made frequent trips into what was then the Sioux country, on the upper Missouri river, spending some time at Fort Rankin, the Yankton Agency, and other points above Sioux City.

In 1862 he went to Chicago and engaged in the general produce and commission business in connection with Henry W. Rogers, Jr. After three years he severed his connection with this firm and commenced business under the name of P. B. Weare & Co., at first doing a large business in the way of exporting prairie chickens, mostly from Iowa and Nebraska, to England, France and Germany, the shipments amounting to ten thousand barrels per year. After the country became more settled and this business was done away with, they engaged on a large scale in the buffalo robe trade, handling yearly from twenty-five to fifty thousand robes. This trade involved a great deal of travel in the far west. But, before the advancing population in these new regions, the buffalo also disappeared and put an end to this trade. But another branch of business was soon commenced to take its place. The Weare Land and Live Stock Company was formed, and at one time they had as high as fifty thousand head of cattle.

These herds were located at different points in northern Wyoming, eastern Montana, on the Belle Fourche, Powder, Tongue, and Big Horn rivers.

I find in a recent number of the Chicago Evening Post, this brief but significant statement concerning the present business operations of Mr. P. B. Weare: "Mr. Weare's grain interests are extensive, the company maintaining sixty-five stations in the states of Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. He owns a storage capacity of over 5,000,000 bushels along the Northwestern system, and is prepresented in Minneapolis, Duluth and Omaha. The Chicago Railway Terminal Company, of which he is manger, embraces eight of the largest local elevators, having an aggregate storage room for over 10,000,000 bushels. He is also director of the Globe Elevator Company at West Superior with 5,000,000 bushels capacity. He has been a member of the Chicago Board of Trade since 1862."

In the Chicago Tribune of May 5, 1895, I find this record concerning the sons of Mr. John Weare, which it seems to me not inappropriate to transcribe to these pages. It has reference to their operations in Alaska, in which Mr. P. B. Weare has been a prime mover.

"In 1891 P.B. Weare, E.E.Weare, and C.A. Weare, of the Weare commission company, had their attention called to the Yukon country by Capt. J. J. Healy, and old Montana miner, who had spent ten years in Alaska, and knew its resources and needs. The Weares have had an extensive traiding and mining experience in Montana, being traders at old Fort Benton on the Missouri as early as 1859, and had long known Capt. Healy.

Together with John Cudahy, the packer, and a number of other Chicago capitalists, they formed the North American Trading and Transportation Company, and in the summer of 1892 Mr. Weare took from Puget Sound the timbers, materials and machinery for the five hundred tons burden river steamer, P. B. Weare, to St. Michael's Island, at the mouth of the Yukon. Here it was built and launched in time to take a cargo from an ocean steamer and ascend the Yukon that fall. *** The company have now invested three hundred thousand dollars in steamer, buildings and merchandise, the demand for which is out-growing the supply. This made more extensive prospecting possible.

The result of this enterprise is to open up to the world rich and extensive gold placer mines, as well as quartz, to the citizens of the United States, and making it possible for men to spend their summers and winters prospecting and developing mines hitherto shut out by the high cost of living and want of transportation to that far away Arctic land.

Mr. Weare was married January 2, 1865, to Miss Susan Wheelock Risley, daughter of Levi and Sophia Risley, of Shady Brook Farm, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the ceremony being performed in Grace church by the Rev. C. S. Percival.

Two children were born of this union, William W. and Nellie Darling Weare.

The latter died January 1, 1892. The former is now living in Chicago, being president of the Humboldt Land and Cattle Company.

This will show what some of the pioneer children of Cedar Rapids are doing at the present time.

Mr. Alexander L. Ely.

The coming of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander L. Ely, through the influence of Judge Greene, to our community in 1842, was an important event in our history.

Many long years have gone by since Mr. Ely passed from us, but I must be permitted to lay one little wreath upon the green turf that has so long covered his mortal remains. A kinder heart never beat in any man's breast than in his. A more generous, purer or nobler spirit than his never animated any man's body. He was always and everywhere the polished, courtly, Christian gentleman, and yet so modest and so gentle and kind in his bearing, that even the most timid child in his rustic, pioneer garb, felt at ease in his presence, and proud at his polite recognition.

From the time of his coming, a new moral and religious impetus was given to the community, which has been felt from that day to this, and which will continue to be felt, I doubt not, to the end of time.

Of his decided Christian character and his scrupulous regard for the Sabbath, the late Rev. Glen Wood wrote some years ago:

"Brother A. L. Ely was a man of God, who did not leave his religion behind him when he came west, but came forward a pioneer of the Hosts of the Lord, to plant the standard of the cross, and take possession of the land in the name of the Lord Jehovah. When he had built his mill, which was a great event in those days, the tidings had spread far and wide; and the farmers came rushing in with their grists. Many of them thought to 'take time by the forelock,' and so made their calculations to arrive Saturday night or Sunday morning, that they might have their grinding done on the Lord's day.

"What was their surprise when their sleep was broken at midnight by the ceasing of the music at the mill. Ah! There was a man of God running that mill; and when the Sabbath day had come, all work must cease there. No considerations could induce him to start up again until the whole of that day had passed. Here is one of the secrets of the success of Cedar Rapids."

Added to the social and moral influence which he exerted was the new impetus which he gave to the business and commercial interest of the place.

Mr. N. B. Brown had built the temporary dam across the river and had erected a small saw-mill and grist-mill; but his means were at that time quite limited, and his mills were inadequate to meet the growing demands of the country.

The erection of a more permanent dam and of the larger, more substantial and stately mills by Mr. Ely, with a capacity of the more extensive manufacture of lumber and flour, and of a finer grade, gave such an impulse to our business interests as we had not hitherto enjoyed, and the influence of which has ever since been felt in a marked degree. Mr. Ely's mill, when completed, was the largest and best in the State.

If the erection of a common dwelling, such as the early pioneers inhabited, was very difficult to accomplish, how much more so was the erection of this splendid mill? True, they began to have saw-mills and lumber at that time, but there were so many other disadvantages to labor under in the erection of such a building, that it seemed, as it truly was, a gigantic undertaking.

In the prosecution of this great enterprise, there were obstacles to be encountered of such a magnitude as few at this day can have any just conception. To meet and overcome them required courage and determination such as few men possess. And yet Mr. Ely never faltered in his course till the work was accomplished and the victory fairly won.

There were times, not a few, during the four years in which this work was going on, when the entire force of mechanics were disabled by sickness and the work had to stop short. On account of this, months of precious time were lost each year, causing great discouragement and expense.

There was no railroad then nearer than Jackson the old capital of Michigan, and all of the heavy machinery for the mill had to be shipped from New York by water via New Orleans, and was landed at Bloomington, now Muscatine, from whence it was transported over land to this place.

Such were some of the hardships and sacrifices and heroic efforts that it cost to lay the foundations of our present prosperous city and community.

It was the saddest day that this community had ever experienced, when this good man, this justly distinguished citizen, honored and loved by all, on the ninth day of July 1848 passed away from us to his home in a brighter and better world than this.

Hon. Isaac Cook.

The first lawyer to locate permanently in this place was Mr. Isaac Cook. He was a native of Chester Co., Pa. His first move to the West was to Palmyra, Mo., in 1844, where he completed his legal studies and was admitted to the bar.

In 1846 he went to Dubuque, and from that place came to Cedar Rapids in 1848.

His ability as a lawyer was of the first order, and in 1857 he wa elected judge of the district court, over which he presided with characteristic dignity and fidelity. Finding the salary inadequate and caring but little for its honors he resigned after about one year's service. He was remarkably modest and retiring in his disposition, and he had no taste for the complications and conflicts into which his profession naturally let him. He was a man of the purest motives and the highest aspirations and conscientious and strictly honest in all his business transactions. He could be trusted in any position and to any extent without the slightest concern that he would in any way betray the trust committed to his care.

In the singular integrity and unswerving uprightness of his character, he had but few equals and no superiors.

He was a member and office bearer in the First Presbyterian church of this place for some years, but subsequently removed his church relationship to Marion, that being more convenient to his farm home, where he spent the latter part of this life. His death occurred August 8, 1878.

In 1851 he was married to Miss Luceba Brooks, several children being the issue of that union. Mrs. Cook who is a woman of most amiable character still survives and resides with her children in Dakota.

The old homestead of Judge Cook is now owned by his brother, Mr. William Cook, who came to the place in 1853, and who is one of our best known and highly respected citizens of Linn County.

Col. I. M. Preston

One of the most distinguished members of the Linn County Bar, Col. I. M. Preston. Coming to Linn County, and locating in Marion in the fall of 1842, he spent most of his busy life in that place. In December, 1878, however, he came to Cedar Rapids, where he continued to reside up to the time of his death, which occurred March 6, 1880. He was one of the most widely known and successful lawyers that has ever lived within the limits of our country. His popularity is shown in the various offices of trust which he held at different periods of his life. He held the office, at one time, of Judge of Probate for this county; he was also appointed prosecuting attorney for the 18th Judicial district, comprising Linn, Benton and Tama counties; he was commissioned Colonel of the Third Regiment, Second Brigade, Second Division of the Militia of the Territory of Iowa, was appointed United States District Attorney by President Polk, and in 1848 was elected to the Iowa State Legislature, and in 1850 was elected to the State Senate.

His estimable wife is a resident of our city; her elegant home being situated on Second Avenue between Seventh and Eighth streets. The two sons, Judge Joseph H. and Edmund C. are also residents of this place, pursuing the same honorable profession as their father.

Source: Pioneer Life In and Around Cedar Rapids from 1839 to 1949 by Rev. George R. Carroll. Pub. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Times Printing and Binding House, 1895.

Transcribed by Terry Carlson for the IAGenWeb. For research only. Some errors in transcription may have occurred.

Chapters:
I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, X (cont), XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX

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