The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-05-09
The Late A. w. Harlan
Of Lee County

sources into stock of goods which
he opened UP at Des Moines (Keosa'i-
qua), balance owing for his goods
to be realized from the sales. Credit
then being the universal custom,
times being hard and growing harder,
his cash receipts were too small for
his obligations and bankruptcy be-
came hts lot, as that of others who
! suffered panic times" He wrote, II
did good business, but voluntary
payments were too few. could not
bear to compel payment. was flat
broke and without hope, but / have
lived to meet all my own obligations
even with the loss Of accounts Of
more able people. 1t has been great
satisfaction to me to be able to say
that during the dark time and always
since | sued no one and neved bid a
cent at a forced SALE
After his experience in business he
moved to the southwest part of Van
Buren, county, entering piece of
land and building a cabin This he
called .Hedvolante," and there was
held the first meeting of the citizens
of Hedvolante (now Des Moines)
township, Van Buren, County" He
was united in marriage with Miss EG-
nice Briggs and they began house
keeping in that cabin. He was one
of the first seven men licensed to be
married in Van Buren, county, and his
home in the township of Hedvolante,
now Jackson, in that county, was the
first voting place there. He was a
dominant spirit in the organization of
the Claims club of that community,
whose bidder at the land sales in Bur
lington in November 1888, was chosen
at melting in whose minutes he has
always said there were recorded the
words, Resolved that our govern
ment is by the people, of the people
and for the people, and that we set
/ tiers are the people" Mr.. Harlan con-
tended that he still possessed the
minutes OF that Claim club meeting
until about 1870, after which time he
could no longer find them His home
claimed as the state line, and south
of what the Missourians contended
for. and he hastily joined the troops"
in Keosauqua when they gathered to
characterized as "the most bloodless
battle ever fought on Iowa soil" In
the early '40's he became one of the
proprietors of a town on the Missouri
side of the Des Moines river not far
from it's mouth. and was in the mids.
of a debate as to what it should be
called when boat put ashore and in.
terrupted their proceedings. A num-
Der of the deckhands struck up AMI
sang words and music that he had not
before heard, and which so impressed
him as to cause him to propose for
the name of their town the title of
the song, Sweet Home
During the entire history Of the
half breed land title difficulties, he
was an active factor in furthering a
peaceable adjustment which finally
brought quiet and prosperity to sec
| ton of the state which lay dormant
so long He was the local agent of
! Judge Charles Mason in the disposi-
/ ton of the interests the judge had in
i these half breed lands. The delicacy
and difficulty of his services in these
/, matters have never been set forth in
/ books, but If ever this is done 1t will
reflect upon him great credit. He was
also an indispensable aid to Judge Ma
son upon local names and landmarks
4 in the litigation over the Iowa-Mis-
/ souri, boundary.
/! He was present at Nauvoo on the
( famous day after the assassination of
! Joseph Smith, when the leadership
of Sidney Rigdon was rejected. He at
/ tended the public meetings at Salu-
bria and elsewhere where Abner
Kneeland taught free thought in his
eloquent way. He joined one of the
! first overland trains to California from
southeast Iowa, and was the only
member of his company to walk every
step, whose health and heart was
/ strong enough to keep their pledge to
walk every step of the way He was
i engaged at Sacramento in truck gar
dening when cholera broke out, AMI
his immunity therefrom in earlier ex-
periences admitted of his services as
nurse and funeral director on occa-
sions when few able bodied men re-
NAMED to help. His garden was soon
plot of graves, and a record kept and
preserved of those whom he buried is
said to be the original record of Sac
ramento's cemetery system.
Returning by way of Panama. his
ship was burned on the Mexican
coast, his own skill in handling water
craft and his valor in fisticuffs prov
ing the salvation of himself and few
of his companions. After his return he
settled in the vicinity of his late resi-
dence, near Croton, Lee county, where
he acquired about 300 acres of land
I began life in earnest, cleared up the
dense bottom land planted fruit trees
and constructed fences. But at the
age Of 81 with family. peace, plenty
and comfort all about. he turned from
all at the fall of Sumter.