Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1876-07-07

OIcek. JOnn COrdell entered th'
first land in Como township in 1s43
and Leander Kcyes and Il. X. Bur
CESS settled in that township Just be
low Quasqueton in 184S. No lan(
was entered in Homer township til
1851, when John S. Williams enter
ed forty acres on Section 10. Th.
first actual settler in Jefferson town
ship was J. B. Stainbrook, in June
1850, and his daughter Martha, now
Mrs. Masters, and residing in Bran
don, was the first white child borr
in the township. Mr.. Stainbrool
yet occupies the same farm he frs
settled upon, and the first cabin he
built is still standing. John Rouse
and Able Cox were the next settlers
and arrived in July, 1850, and in
September Nicholas Albert, Phillip
Zinn, and Joseph Rouse. The mex,
year came John Rice, Thos.. Frink
Matthew Davis, and Hamilton Wood
In the fall of 1851 a State road
was surveyed from Quasqueton tc
the county seat of Marshall county
Two of the Commissioners were D
S. Davis and John Cordell. The
party started from Quasqueton to
look out the route and passed near
Brandon, or where Brandon now is
No one, even at Quasqueton, had
ever visited Jefferson township, no,
did any one of the party know
whether there was q settler there OF
not. 1t was known that some per-
sons from that direction had crossed
the prairie to the Quasqueton mill,
but there was no road, nor even a
discernible track of any kind. Aid
ed by the compass, the party made
its way to Lime Creek, and found
nestled in the brush near that stream
the cabins of Joseph and John Rouse
and close by them went into camp
the first night out From Rouse il
was learned that there were two OF
three families little south, and by
strict search and Rouse for guide,
they found their houses the next fore.
noon.
No settlement was made in West
burg township till 1858; nor do l
know who was the first settler; out
VIM. b. Wilkinson must have been
among the first. In 1s49 Michael
Ginther settled in Sumner township,
and, being at loss to describe the
land he desired to enter, he carried
the corner stake to the land Office at
Dubuque, going there Oh foot for
that purpose. This entry was after.
ward found to be on the wrong Sec
ton entirely. He had intended to
buy the land on which he had set.
tied, and on which is the famous
spring known yet as the 'Ginther
Spring." about half way between In
dependence and Quasqueton on the
west side of the river; and when he
found the entry he had really made
was one mile west, and out on the
prairie, he was completely discourag-
ed, being poor man, and believed
that land so far out would never be
of any value whatever. The first
settler in Mlddlefield was p. NJ.
Dunn, who entered his land on Sec
ton "a, April cath, 1850, followed
soon after by Daniel Leatherman
and Stillman Berry. Fremont town
ship remained unsettled till 1853,
when u. p. and S w. Rich located
on Buffalo Creek near the southeast
corner of the township. They were
induced to venture so far out from
the timber from the fact that at that
time the road direct from Indepen.
dencc to Coffin's Grove, Delhi and
Dubuque, had begun to be considera-
bly, travelled, though almost up to
that year the only travelled route had
been via Quasqueton; but in 1852
the few citizens of Independence and
vicinity had turned out voluntarily
and built a bridge of split logs across
Buffalo Creek near the correction
line, making the route practicable
Robert Sutton settled in Byron on
Section 80, as early as 1850, if not in
ls49; and Thos. Ozias in 1851. The
first settlers IN Perry township were
James Minton, Chas. Melrose and
Gamaliel Walker, in ls49. Martin
Depoy and Jacob Slaughter entered
land in that township the same year,
but did not become settlers till 1850;
and in that same year Alex. Steven,
son, and John and Thos. Cameron
settled in the same township, all in
the northeast corner near Littleton.
Melrose had made an error in his
entry, entering in the north part of
town SS, 10, instead Of 50, 10, being
near the present village of Jesup,
and not supposing land in that local
ity would ever be valuable, by much
effort and the aid of the then U. S.
Senator, G. w. Jones, special act
Of Congress was passed vacating his
entry and placing it on the Section
intended, where Mr.. Melrose now
lives. OF the first settlement IN
Hazleton township l have already
spoken. VIM. Jewell settled and
made the first entry of land in Buffalo
township in ls49. where now lives
c. H. Jakway. Abiathar Richard
son and Silas X. Messenger came
next, in 1850; and Thos. and Rock
we'll Jewell and A. J. Eddy, in 1851.
In Madison township Silas Ross, L.
r. Ward, and Seymour Whitney
settled at nearly the same time in
1853, and were the first comers.-
They located in the east part of the
township near the place now known
as Wards Corners. In Fairbank
township VIM. S. Clark was the first
TO locate, settling IN the south part,
just above Littleton, in ls4s or 40,
and was the very first settler in that
region. He went to California
about 1856, but the house he built is
yet standing. Thos. Wilson must
have found his way into the timber
west of the little Wapsie very soon
after, for l remember finding him
and one McKinstry settled here in
1850. Robt. Wroten located near
Clark in 1850.
In ls49 S. z. Stoughton and S. S.
Mcclure returned to Independence,
and with them the writer of this
sketch. There were then in Inde-
pendence ONLY DIR. Brewer. Thos. w