Biographical
Record of Linn County, Iowa
Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company,
1901.
C
Joseph J. Caldwell
Joseph J. Caldwell, a prominent citizen and prosperous agriculturist
of Bertram township, was born in Fountain county, Indiana June 20, 1836, and is of Scotch
ancestry, his paternal great-grandfather having emigrated from Scotland in the early part
of the eighteenth century. The vessel on which he sailed was wrecked in a terrible storm,
and he was the only one on board that was saved. He finally reached land and later went to
New York. He located in the south and there reared his family, in which were four sons who
fought for the freedom of the Colonies in the Revolutionary war. One of these was wounded
in the hand during his service and another died of camp fever. The third subsequently
removed to Butler county, Ohio, and engaged in farming. By trade one of the number was a
weaver.
Robert Caldwell, the grandfather of our subject, was the youngest of these patriotic
brothers, and was only fifteen years of age when he enlisted in General Washington's army.
After the war he continued to make his home in Maryland for some time and was there
married. When the father of our subject was about two years old the grandfather removed
with his family to Butler county, Ohio, becoming one of its early settlers. He was one of
the ten prospectors who first settled on the present site of Cincinnati. At that time the
Indians were very troublesome, and the pioneers needed stout hearts and ready hands to
protect themselves against the red men and the wild beasts that roamed through the forest.
Mr. Caldwell was a carpenter by trade and found a knowledge of this craft most useful in
his pioneer life. He was in every sense of the word a representative frontiersman -
courageous, energetic and enterprising. For some time he engaged in agricultural pursuits
in Butler county, Ohio, and then removed to Fountain county, Indiana, where he died at a
good old age.
Joseph J. Caldwell, Sr., our subject's father, was a native of Maryland, and was reared
to agricultural pursuits upon the frontier. The greater part of his life was passed in
Indiana, but in 1852 he removed to Johnson county, Iowa, purchasing four hundred and
eighty acres of raw prairie land in Cedar township, which he proceeded to break with six
yoke of oxen and a breaking plow. He soon had his land under cultivation, and erected
thereon a good house and barn. There he died in October, 1855, at the age of sixty-two
years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Nancy Runnolds, was a native of Virginia and
a daughter of Nehemiah Runnolds. She passed away in January 1855, and her death was widely
and deeply mourned. In their family were seven children, namely: Mary, who married Jacob
Spitler and both died near Solon, Iowa; Eleaza, who died in California in 1850; Robert,
who wedded Mary Spurgeon and both died in Holt county, Missouri; Frank, who first married
Mary Williams and second Christina Bock, and died at his home eleven miles south of
Independence, Iowa; Simon, who died at the age of two years; Joseph I., the subject of
this sketch; and Amzi, deceased, who married Eliza Williams, now residing near Solon,
Iowa.
Our subject's early school privileges were very limited, being able to attend the
subscription schools for a brief time only. His elder brother, however, had received a
fair education, and taught him at home, and by the time he was five years of age he was
able to correctly repeat the multiplication tables. At the age of six he commenced work in
the fields, and has since labored on an average of sixteen hours per day. He grew up to a
self-reliant and self-respecting manhood in his birth place, and came with the family to
Iowa in 1852. Immediately succeeding the death of his parents he took complete charge of
the homestead farm. His father gave him eighty acres of land, and to this he subsequently
added until he had three hundred and thirty acres of rich and arable land in Johnson
county, where he made his home until 1897, when he sold his property there and removed to
Linn county. He bought one hundred and thirty acres of land on sections 26 and 35, and has
since made many improvements upon the place.
Mrs. Caldwell, who was a most estimable lady, a devoted wife, a sincere friend and kind
neighbor, died in September, 1892. Our subject was again married at Solon, Iowa, June 7,
1894, his second union being with Miss Elizabeth Blain, who was born in Linn county, April
2, 1874, and is a daughter of Jesse and Erma (Hunter) Blain, natives of Johnson and Linn
counties, respectively. She is the second in order of birth in a family of ten children,
the others being May, who died in childhood; Ella, wife of Frank Knapp, a merchant of
Bertram; Charles, a farmer of Bertram township; Julia; James, Raymond, John and Vesta, all
living at home. One died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have two children: Sherwin,
born April 4, 1895; and Ilza, born July 20, 1897.
For almost a quarter of a century Mr. Caldwell has engaged in buying, feeding and
shipping cattle and is considered an excellent judge of stock, as well as a man of good
financial ability. He is a scientific farmer, and has acquired a comfortable competence,
to which he is continually adding. For many years he has been a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and has always been found on the side of right and justice. He takes an
active interest in all things pertaining to the good of the community in which he lives,
and was a prominent factor in building the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Great Northern
Railroad through Linn and Johnson counties. In his political affiliations he is a
Republican. His wife is a bright, intelligent lady, most pleasant in her social relations,
and takes a very active interest in church work.
Colonel Charles A. Clark
Among the prominent attorneys and influential citizens of Cedar Rapids is
Colonel Charles A. Clark, who devoted the opening years of his manhood to the
defense of our country from the internal foes who sought its dismemberment, and
his gallant service on field of battle won for him distinctive preferment in
military circles. He was born in Sangerville, Maine, on the 26th of January,
1841, and belongs to a family which was founded in this country by Hugh Clark,
who came from England in 1640 and located in Massachusetts. William G. Clark,
the Colonel's father was a life-long resident of the old Pine Tree state, and a
prominent lawyer, who was noted for his great oratorical ability. As a speaker
he took a very active and influential part in the national campaigns, and was
one of the leading politicians of the Whig party in his state. In 1855 he was
secretary of the state senate of Maine, when Hon. James G. Blaine and Chief
Justice Fuller were members of that body, the latter being at that time editor
of the Augusta Argus, the leading Democratic paper of the state. Throughout his
active business career Mr. Clark continued to follow the legal profession and
died in Sangerville of typhoid fever at the age of forty-two years, honored and
respected by all who knew him. In early life he married Miss Elizabeth White
Stevens, a daughter of Dr. Whiting Stevens, who for over half a century
successfully engaged in the practice of medicine in Limerick, York county,
Maine. The Stevens family was of English origin and among the early Puritans who
came to this country. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Clark were born eleven children, of whom
the Colonel is third in order of birth. The four oldest sons were soldiers of
the Civil war and all were wounded, while one was killed in battle, and another
died from the effects of his wounds several years after the close of the war. Of
the four our subject and his brother Frank A. are still living. He has four
other brothers namely: George E. and Eugene H., both prominent lawyers of
Algona, Iowa; William G., who is now engaged in practice with our subject; and
Frank A., who has served in the second auditor's office in the United States
treasury for many years. The mother of these children died in Algona, Iowa, at
the age of sixty-eight years.
During his boyhood and youth, Colonel Clark attended the Sangerville public
schools and the Foxcroft Academy of Maine, where he pursued a literary course
fitting himself for Harvard University, but when the Civil war broke out he laid
aside his books and entered the service of his country, enlisting in April,
1861, as a private in Company A, Sixth Maine Volunteer Infantry. For his
meritorious service and bravery on field of battle he won promotion rapidly, and
was soon made adjutant of the regiment. Later he was successively commissioned
captain and assistant adjutant-general, brevet-major and lieutenant colonel.
While serving as adjutant he received a congressional medal of honor by saving
his regiment from capture through his personal gallantry and skill at Banks
Ford, Virginia, just outside of Fredericksburg, May 4, 1863. He was severly
wounded in a successful charge on the Confederate works at Rappahannock,
November 7, 1863, when from his regiment sixteen out of the twenty-one officers
that entered the charge were either killed or wounded, and in the official
report it was recorded that Adjutant Clark fell "after he had driven his
sword into an enemy" in the hand to hand contest which resulted in holding
the works and capturing two thousand prisoners, seven pieces of artillery and
five Confederate battle flags. He was also with his regiment in its successful
chrge upon the heights of Fredericksburg, May 3, 1863, a portion of Sedgwick's
operation, while Hooker was engaged in the battle of Chancellorsville. Colonel
Clark was in the successful charge upon the Confederate works at Petersburg,
July 15, 1864, and upon Fort Harrison in front of Richmond, in September of the
same year. He was with General Burnham, who led the victorious column, and
received that commander in his arms when he fell mortally wounded within the
assaulted fort. Thus Colonel Clark bore aa conspicuous part in four out of the
eleven successful charges made by the Union forces on earth works during the
entire Civil war as recorded in Fox's work, "Regimental Losses." With
exception of the first battle of Bull Run he participated in all of the
important engagements in which the Army of the Potomac took part, including the
battle of Yorktown, the "seven days' battles" in front of Richmond,
under McClellan, the battle of Williamsburg, the second battle of Bull Run, and
the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Brandy Station, Gettysburg and
Rappahannock Station. He was in the command of General Butler during his
operations around Petersburg and Richmond, and was with General Grant at the
battle of Cold Harbor, where ten thousand men were lost before breakfast. He was
with Baldy Smith in his successful charge on the works of Petersburg and the
engagements around that stronghold and Richmond. Being broken down in health and
suffering from the wounds he had received, Colonel Clark resigned in the fall of
1864 and returned to his old home in Maine, with a war record of which he may be
justly proud.
The Colonel then took up the study of law with A. W. Paine, of Bangor, one of
the foremost lawyers of the state. Taking Horace Greeley's advice, he came west
in May, 1866, and located in Webster City, Hamilton county, Iowa, where he made
his home for about ten years, enjoying a large and lucrative practice, which
extended all over northwestern Iowa, taking in fifteen or twenty counties. As
there were no railroads in that locality at that time he traveled over the
territory either on horseback or with livery teams and in stage coaches. He was
instrumental in getting the first railroad through, acting as attorney for John
I. Blair, when he built what is now the Illinois Central from Iowa Falls to
Sioux City.
In 1876 Colonel Clark came to Cedar Rapids and formed a partnership with
Judge N. M. Hubbard, which connection lasted for ten years. He was then alone in
practice until 1898, when he admitted his son James W., to partnership under the
firm name of Charles A. Clark & Son, and now his youngest brother William G.
Clark is also with them. During his residence here the Colonel has been
interested in much of the important litigation of the state, either on one side
or the other, and has practiced in the United States courts of half a dozen
other states; in the United States supreme court at Washington, D. C., since
1880; and in the United States circuit court of appeals since its establishment.
He has argued in person a large number of important cases in the United States
supreme court. He is a man who thoroughly loves his profession, and is eminently
gifted with the capabilities of mind which are indispensable at the bar. He is
also a man of deep research and careful investigation, and his skill and ability
have won for him an extensive practice. He has a very valuable and complete law
library.
On the 19th of December, 1863, in Sangerville, Maine, Colonel Clark was
united in marriage with Miss Helen E. Brockway, a native of that town and a
schoolmate of our subject. Her father, Cyrus Brockway, was a prominent and
prosperous manufacturer, proprietor of Brockway's Mills at Sangerville, and a
representative of an old pioneer family of that locality. He had four children
of whom Mrs. Clark is the youngest. Of the seven children born to the Colonel
and his wife one son died in infancy. Those living are Mary A., at home; Laura
A., wife of Robert I. Safely, of Cedar Rapids, whose sketch appears on another
page of this volume; Helen and Florence, both at home; James W., who married
Miss Messer and is now engaged in the practice of law with his father; and
Atherton B., who is attending the public schools of Cedar Rapids.
Fraternally Colonel Clark is a prominent member of the Loyal Legion and was
commander of the order in this state in 1899 and 1900. He is also a member of
the Medal of Honor Legion of Washington, D. C., and the Grand Army Post of Cedar
Rapids. He now belongs to the blue lodge, chapter and commandery of the Masonic
fraternity, and was master of the lodge at Webster City during his residence
there. Formerly he was a Democrat in politics, but in 1896 and 1900 he supported
William McKinley for the presidency. He has always taken a very active and
prominent part in political affairs, and has made many addresses in every
important campaign in Iowa during his residence here. The bar of Linn county
made him their candidate for supreme judge in 1900, and he received a good
support from lawyers all over the state but was not nominated, very much to his
own satisfaction, as he prefers to give his entire time and attention to his
extensive private practice. He served one term as mayor of Cedar Rapids, during
which time he made many improvements in the city, especially as to its
cleanliness, driving the horses and cows from the streets, and the pig pens from
the back yards. It is but just and merited praise to say that as a lawyer
Colonel Clark ranks among the ablest in the state, and as a citizen is
honorable, prompt and true to every engagement. It is not alone because of
special prominence at the bar that he has, and is justly entitled to, the
respect and confidence of his fellow men, for his personal qualities are such as
to make him loved and honored. He is a worthy representative of that class to
whom more than to any other is due the continued growth and prosperity of many
thriving cities of the west.
Edward M. Crow
Wherever there is pioneer work to be done, men of energy and ability are required, and
success or failure depends upon the degree of those qualities that is possessed. In
wresting the land of Linn county from its native wilderness; in fitting it for the
habitation of men; in developing the natural resources of the community in which they
lived, few if any contributed more than Edward M. Crow, who was the first white man to
locate permanently in this county.
He was born in Paoli, Orange county, Indiana, June 4, 1816, a son of John and Mary
(Millis) Crow, natives of North Carolina, who removed to Orange county, Indiana, in early
life and were there married June 20, 1815. They continued their residence there until the
spring of 1834, when they removed to Chicago, but as Joliet, Illinois, was then the most
promising town they went to that place after spending one season in Chicago. Six months
later, however, they removed to Kane county, the same state, locating near Geneva, where
the mother died January 9, 1836. Later the father married Miss Docia Hill, of Naperville,
Illinois, and in the spring of 1838, they came to Linn county, Iowa, locating east of the
present town of Viola. There the father died March 3, 1841. His children were all by the
first marriage and in order of birth were as follows: Edward M., our subject; Garrison C.,
who died in California, December 13, 1875; Wesley, who died in Grant county, Wisconsin,
October 8, 1883; Nelson A., a banker and capitalist of St. Charles, Minnesota; Esther, who
married Julius A. Peet and died in Jones county, Iowa, February 22, 1883; Nancy, who
married Truman J. Peet and died in Buffalo township, Linn county, November 1, 1854; John,
who died in Jones county, this state, November ?? 1873; and Mary, who wedded Charles C.
White and died in California June 10, 1864.
Mr. Crow of this review was eighteen years of age when the family went to Chicago, and
he accompanied his parents on their various removals until the autumn of 1835, when he
returned to his native county and there attended school for one winter. Desiring to try
his fortune farther west, he purchased a horse and on horseback went to Kane county,
Illinois, where he remained until June 4, 1837, when he crossed the Mississippi and came
to Linn county, Iowa. On the 4th of July he laid claim to a large tract of land on what is
now sections 13 and 14, Brown township, east of where Viola now stands. He then returned
to Fox River, Illinois, and shortly afterward, in company with James Dawson and his
brother, Garrison Crow, purchased six yoke of cattle and made preparations to again come
to Linn county. The little wagon train left Fox River in the latter part of August and
arrived at their destination September 5, 1837. They built a shanty on Crow creek in Brown
township, which stream was named by the United States surveyors in honor of Mr. Crow, who
was living on its banks when they arrived. The little company immediately began cutting
hay and making general preparations for the winter season.
Subsequently Edward Crow, in company with John Joslin, returned to Illinois after
provisions to carry them through the winter. Being overtaken by a snowstorm, they left
their teams at a Mr. Nye's on this side of the Mississippi. They crossed the river and
traveled eastward about fifteen or twenty miles, where they bought corn, meat and other
provisions, which were hauled to the river by hired teams. After having their corn ground
at Mr. Nye's mill they started for the big woods on the Wapsie, but were overtaken by a
heavy snowstorm at Cherry Grove and in order to reach their cabin had to wade through very
deep snow. The following winter was intensely cold, long and dreary, and the privations
endured by the little band of pioneers was exceedingly great. Snow lay about two feet deep
on the level.
On the 22nd of February Mr. Crow was obliged to return to Illinois to meet his father
and family, and the third day after starting they reached Black Dick's point, which was a
small grove of timber. The trail was so bad that they could only travel about eight miles
a day. The ice on the river was weakened by the January thaw, but had been somewhat
strengthened by subsequent cold, but as it was then the latter part of February, the
little band of travelers were fearful that it was not strong enough to bear the full
weight of their ox teams, so they unhitched them and drew the wagon across the river with
one ox, the other being led at a safe distance in the rear. Upon the island in the river
they met a band of wood choppers who were cutting wood for steamboats. During their trip
from Linn county to the Mississippi, however, they had only met one white man, a trapper
by the name of Wheat. They proceeded on their journey to Prophetstown, Illinois, where
they crossed the Rock river on the ice, meeting between two rivers only three white
settlers. Near Pawpaw Grove, about twelve miles from the Rock river, they met a little
cavalcade on sleds, which proved to be that of their parents. As the snow melted the
following day the sledges were abandoned and the remainder of the journey was made by
wagon. They followed the Rock river down to within four miles of its mouth, and crossed
the Mississippi at Davenport, reaching home April 10, 1838. The father brought with him
fifty head of cattle and about the same number of hogs, which were the first swine brought
to the big woods.
Mr. Crow could relate many interesting incidents of pioneer life, when he was compelled
to go to the lead mines at Galena, Illinois, for his mail, a distance of sixty miles, and
had to pay twenty-five cents for each letter received. The trip was frequently made on
foot. At one time he went to Davenport, fifty miles away, to get his plow sharpened and
his coulter mended, so that he might continue his work of breaking prairie. The first
grain he raised was sod corn and buckwheat, which he took to Thompson's mill on the Little
Iowa river, five miles from Dubuque, but the mill was so imperfect that when ground the
buckwheat could not be bolted. The trip was made with ox teams and required ten days. Mr.
Crow being compelled to camp out on the way and carry food for himself and cattle. In
crossing streams he frequently had to cut the ice or scatter old hag along and pour water
over it and later freeze it to keep the cattle from slipping. On the other hand when there
was no ice he had to built rafts to cross the stream.
In the spring of 1838, Mr. Crow commenced to improve his claim, but the following
October he sold it and returned to Orange county, Indiana, where he attended school during
the winter of 1838-9. He had previously made a claim in Buffalo township, this county, and
erected thereon a shanty, which he found had been destroyed by fire on his return here in
April, 1839. He at once rebuilt and continued to make his home in Buffalo township
throughout his life. In later years he erected a good brick residence upon his place, and
made many other valuable and useful improvements. He prospered in his farming operations
and kept adding to his landed possessions until he had at one time thirteen hundred acres
of land in Linn and Jones counties, but later disposed of a portion of it, retaining four
hundred acres in Buffalo township, this county; fifty-eight acres in Jones county, Iowa;
one hundred and fifty-seven acres in Crawford county, this state; and a large stone quarry
with eighty acres in Kansas. He was quite extensively engaged in stock raising, feeding
about sixty head of cattle, 6 horses and fifty hogs annually.
On the 14th of November, 1839, in Linn township, Mr. Crow was united in marriage with
Miss Elizabeth Bennett, who taught the first school in this county. Her father, Ezra
Bennett, was lost at sea. She was born in Syracuse, New York, but was reared in Canada,
and died at her home in Buffalo township, this county, February 1844. By this union were
born two children: Mary E., born November 11, 1840, married John Wall and died in Redwood,
Minnesota, April 18, 1868; and John Wesley, born May 4, 1842, married Rachel Boltenhouse,
and is now living on a ranch near Houston, Texas. He served over three years in the Civil
War as a member of the Thirty-first Iowa Infantry.
Mr. Crow was again married in Brown township November 14, 1848, his second union being
with Mrs. Narcissa E. Bowman, the widow of Isaac Bowman. By their union three children
were born, namely; Willard D., born November 7, 1849, married Louisa Burke, and is a large
land owner and wealthy citizen of Houston, Texas; Edward Linas, born November 13, 1852,
married Adelia Gillen, and is now a stock and grain dealer of Mapleton, Iowa; and Nancy
E., born May 3, 1856, died December 13, 1891. She was the wife of George S. Elwood, who
was an extensive land owner and stock dealer of Washington county, Kansas. The mother of
these children departed this life in Buffalo township July 17, 1857.
At Anamosa, Iowa, December 8, 1860, Mr. Crow married Mrs. Sarah A. Green, widow of
Addison Green, and to them were born seven children, as follows: Jefferson D., born
December 25, 1861, married Elsie Leaf and is engaged in farming near Mapleton, Iowa;
Nelson M., born March 19, 1863, married Addie Dial and died in State Center, Iowa; Sarah
E., born September 18, 1864, is the wife of Owen Carl, of Perry, Iowa; Charles F., born
August 5, 1866, married Mertie Boyles and is a farmer of Jones county, Iowa; Garrison M.,
born April 28, 1868 and Louis N., born August 17, 1870, are both deceased; and Orpha B.
born September 30, 1871, is the wife of J. Harold Leaf, who is represented on another page
of this volume. Mrs. Crow died November 3, 1872.
In his political views Mr. Crow was a Jacksonian Democrat and a stanch supporter of his
party and its principles. As one of the leading and influential citizens of his community
he was called upon to fill a number of local offices, and served as supervisor for nine
years and justice of the peace in early life. In religious belief he was a Universalist,
broad and liberal in his ideas. He passed away July 26, 1894, honored and respected by all
who knew him. His remains were interred in Wilcox cemetery, Brown township, near the
village of Viola, where his wives were also buried. He always took an active and
commendable interest in the welfare of his adopted county, and was prominently identified
with its growth and development. He was not only genial and hospitable in disposition, but
was exceedingly charitable, and no one coming to him for aid was ever turned from his door
empty-handed. He often gave shelter to those less fortunate than himself, both children
and grown people making their home with him at various times. Mr. Crow was not only Linn
county's earliest settler, but was also one of its best known and most highly esteemed
citizens.
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