"An Interesting Early History of Decatur County"by Mrs. O.N. Kellogg |
| Chapter Nine CHURCH ORGANIZATION-CLUB LANE-DEATH OF EARLY SETTLERS |
| Josiah Morgan came to Garden Grove in the Fall of 1849 and bought in
town that portion of the Mormon improvement between the river and the
old Mormon church. His purchase included no less than thirty Mormon
cabins including the old horse power mill and the building around it. In
the course of two or three years he sold out most of his claim there and
moved out upon the prairie northwest several miles where he made a fine
improvement. He and his wife had passed through the trials of pioneer
life and had raised their large family of sons and daughters-all
unusually well favored and physically perfect. Some of the eldest had
married and settled near them, and the prospect of spending the evening
of their days in comfort seemed very fair, but he passed suddenly away
and his stalwart from is greatly missed by the old friends and his
family finds it hard to be reconciled to his apparently untimely death.
He was a kind husband and father and a good neighbor and citizen. John Patterson came to the county November 3, 1850. He wished to rent a cabin of Mr. Morgan to stop in until Spring, but they were all full and he found a shelter at the Stanley's who lived near his claim three-quarters of a mile south of Leon. In a very short time he had built a comfortable cabin twelve feet square and moved in. Soon after getting settled and comfortably fixed for the winter he and his good wife “whose praise is in all churches” began to realize somewhat how David felt when he said: “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life “ for “I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the places where thine honor dwelleth. A day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had better be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord.” Impelled by this he started near Christmas and went about thirty miles into Missouri “Hunting for Methodists.” He found Rev. Gerris Kepper, preacher in charge; Rev. A Still, presiding elder; Grand River district, Missouri conference. Rev. G. Klepper came up from there and organized a class March 3rd, 1851 composed of the following members: John Patterson, class leader; Pamela Patterson; Abner Harbour; John Jordan; Artennsia Jordan; and Levi Clark. They had all come into the county since October 1850. In October, 1851, the Rev. Mr. Briggs was sent out by the Iowa conference to establish a mission. Rev. John Hayden was the presiding elder. His district embraced all of Iowa lying west of Albia. The first quarterly meeting that Mr. Patterson attended in this State was at Albia. T took a day and a half to go, attending the meeting and returning, occupying altogether five whole days. Brother Briggs lived in Chariton and had Lucas, Union and Ringgold counties for his work. In those days the word of the Lord was precious. The little claim cabin would be crowded every preaching day and Auntie Patterson's heart was so full of joy and gladness, she wanted everyone to stop and eat with them before going home, and thus get acquainted, as all were strangers in a strange land. It was never a bit of trouble. She always had plenty, and after meeting was over, everything was ready but setting the table. How quickly she would jerk down the door from its hinges, laying one end on a barrel and the other on the table, thus extending it to the extreme limit of the cabin. She would in this way wait upon as many as would stay, generally from fifteen to thirty. In the Autumn of 1851 the first mail route was established through the county. In the Spring of that year there were only five names on record who had entered land in the county. Up to this time land was considered perfectly safe which was held by claim or possession. There was a club organized here at a very early day (the constitution and bylaws draughted by my nephew, Dr. D.C. Roberts) by the laws of which it became incumbent upon the members to protect each other in the right to hold their lands. As I had endured a good many hardships incident to frontier life I thought it no more than fair that some of its benefits should balance them and being informed where there were good claims vacant by John S. Brown, who I think was secretary of the claim club, I went with one of my boys on one of our horses and John riding the other and selected three eightys, which pleased me, being timber and prairie together. It was afterward selected as school land by the commissioners, and my husband bought it for me and afterward traded it for an improved farm of a hundred and sixty acres on which we lived until sickness, death and misfortune overtook us, then I sold it and bought a government piece in Taylor county two thousand acres lacking one eighty which by some means escaped Mr. George Piper, my locating agent. Soon, however, the tide of immigration set in so strongly in this direction that it was deemed advisable to dispense with the machinery of club land, and depend only upon a legitimate title, either from the State, or the United States government. Especially was this made extremely easy to do by circumstance of so much of the best land having been given to the State for school purposes, and it was only necessary to pay one-fourth of the price (a dollar and an quarter an acre) at the time of entering and having ten years time on the remainder, the interest to be paid annually. E. M. Knapp and family arrived in Garden Grove, April 20, 1851. The rain that year continued almost unabated from April until the middle of July. Samuel Baker and his wife (lately married) and Richard Baker came the same Spring. The former planted corn in July which made from thirty to forty bushels to the acre of sound corn. The first death that occurred among the little band of settlers who came in 1848 to Garden Grove was that of Asabel Davis, a strong healthy lad at time of our arrival, aged about seventeen years. He had been desirous of going on a hunt down into the south part of the county, where there was heavier timber and more game, from the time the settlers were comfortably established, and soon after the opening of the New Year of '49 he prevailed upon one of his older brothers, Mr. Enos Davis, to set off with him for that purpose, the roads being good and light tracking snow lying upon the ground. They went in a lumber wagon, and were accompanied by one of the Mormons, Father Farrar, an Englishman. There was no well defined road, especially when there was snow on the ground, and travelers had to guide their course principally by the points of timber. Father Farrer was well acquainted with these and was a useful companion to the Davis, who had not yet learned the landmarks thoroughly. Soon after they started, early in the morning, the snow began to fall, and continued to come down all day; they nevertheless proceeded as far as Hatfields, in the south part of the county, and stopped there fortnight as Asabel complained of feeling unwell. The storm continued unabated all night and the lad grew worse and worse, suffering intensely. His brother kept a warming fir all night in the wide fireplace and watched by his tendance as there was not a woman in the house where they were, and no medicine at hand. (From Page 25A-The rest of the story) His brother kept a warming fire all night in the wide fireplace and watched by his bedside with what sorrowful anxiety may be imagined, thinking that he could not live in such agony until morning. Morning, however, found him, though still very sick, much easier and the snow ceasing toward noon. Mr. Davis resolved to make him as warm and comfortable as possible in the wagon, and start toward home where he could receive better attendance as there was not a woman in the house where they were, and no medicines at hand. Their progress through the deep and drifted snow in a wagon was most tediously slow, and they could get no further than Oney's place that day-a very few miles from their starting point-their horses scarcely able to stand after their toilsome days work. Here another night of anxious, watching was spent. Mr. Davis' anxiety to get his brother home was now greater than ever, but as there was no house between Oney's and Garden Grove, and as it would be impossible on account of the snow to make a trip of twelve miles in one day in a wagon, he made arrangements to leave Asabel in the care of that kind family while he went home for medicine and a better conveyance. Accordingly, very early in the morning he told Farmer Farrar he intended to ride one of the horses home that day, and if he saw fit to ride the other knowing the say so well, he would be glad of his company. They set out over the white, trackless, waste. It was a cold day and the wind springing up filled the air with particles of snow which veiled their landmarks in obscurity and added to their discomforts. Along in the afternoon they began to suffer extremely from cold, and that dangerous stupor which preceded death by freezing, stole over Farmer Farrar. He could no longer grasp his bridle rein and frequently slid from his horse when Mr. Davis would dismount, shake him and shout at him to arouse him until he said he was ashamed, the old man begging piteously to be left behind, but being hustled into his saddle again they would go forward. The last time he slid off, Mr. Davis threw him over his horse more dead than alive. The sun was just going down when they reached Jonathan Creek and they were both almost past speech or feeling, but the horses now knew that they were nearing home and pressed forward with new spirit. Sometime in the evening they reached home alive and were soon resuscitated and refreshed with food and warmth. Enos and Amasa spent the night making a high sled with which to go after Asabel. They took a very large, strong span of horses belonging to their father, and started at the first streak of day light. They reached home again at ten o'clock that night and everything was done for Asabel within the power of his family and neighbors, but in a short time he died. John Thomas, brother-in-law of Ruth Davis, came here in '49. He and his wife were Friends, more commonly called in the west at least, Quakers. Mr. Thomas made a nice improvement on the prairie north of “the Grove” and '54 sold out to Lester Northrup and left the country. But his work survives yet, he being an excellent workman in wood. A strong of post and rail fence that he made on my farm now owned by Mrs. Arnold, and also good as ever at this present writing (1876). The settlers at “the Grove” were quite proud of Mr. Doze's family and very sorry when, a few years later they returned to Missouri. But it is not surprising that they did. A man must be nerved up to the point of committing a homicide who can deliberately take a large, growing and helpless family out upon our frontier. No schools, no churches, nothing. |
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