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Pioneers of Marion County T Hiram Teakel was a native of Tennessee, from which State he moved to this, and to this township in the winter of '48 and settled where John Graves now lives, near Newburn, and purchased the claim of Freeland Willis, giving him $5 for it. On this he built a cabin, broke and fenced ten acres, and after living on it two years, sold it, and purchased another claim of Adam Uchler, in section 17, where he now lives. On moving up from Eddyville, and nearing his destination, Mr. T. found no road and scarcely an object to guide him aright across a treeless prairie; and at the same time the snow was so deep that the fore wheels of the wagons were nearly buried in it. The teams, one a horse team and the other oxen, could make but slow progress. But by constant and untiring efforts they at last succeeded in reaching their chosen place of habitation, and are now, in common with many of their contemporaries in the privations and sufferings of pioneer life, reaping the rich reward of their perseverence through difficulties. Samuel Teters, who still resides on the farm he originally claimed and entered, in the southeast quarter of the township, first came from Ross county, Ohio, in the autumn of 1844, to Van Buren county, Iowa, where he remained till the spring following, when he came to this county. As it was in March when he arrived with his family, and the weather was cold and rough, they took up their quarters with a family name Hahn, living on the north side of the river, till a place could be provided on their own claim. They then took up their residence in a small claim pen that had a bark door shutter, and prepared to battle against the inconveniences of frontier life; and it was, indeed, a hard battle to fight. Mr. Teters was a blacksmith and gunsmith, and with a view of earning something at that business he put up a temporary shop on the bank of the river, set his anvil on a stump, and employed himself at stacking plows, sharpening plow-shares and repairing guns. In the autumn of '46 he and his family fell sick, and became so helpless that at one time they had neither fire nor water in the house for three days. Game was plenty, and once Mr. T. was able to shoot a turkey from the door, but was too weak to get it. And all this time they had no kind of breadstuff except boiled corn. But so soon as he was able to get abroad with his gun, he killed two large deers one day, one of which yielded fourteen pounds of tallow. Next day he got help to bring them home, and on the day following that he took them to Red Rock and sold them for seven dollars in cash and a sack of flour. In the autumn of '48 Mr. Teters had occasion to go to Iowa City, a distance of about one hundred miles, to enter his land. On this occasion the utmost haste was required, and Mr. T. performed the journey in forty-eight hours, going by way of Oskaloosa, and traveling night and day. Chas. M. Thomas was born in Pennsylvania, moved to Virginia at an early age, from thence to Van Buren county, Iowa, and from thence to his present residence in Swan, during the last week in '45. During his residence in Van Buren county, Mr. Thomas was made the victim of treachery, by which he nearly lost his life. Having a partnership interest in a claim there, he had been assisting his partner in the erection of a house, and was to receive his pay in return help. Being fond of milk he was treated to a mess of it at meal time, and took violently sick directly after, from which he did not recover for several weeks. From the sudden and violent nature of his sickness, and remarks made by his partner, it was evident that the latter had drugged the milk with a view of putting Mr. T. out of his way, and getting full possession of the claim. Mr. Thomas has still in his possession a coffee mill with which the family ground several bushels of buckwheat during the early part of their pioneer life in Swan. David and Allen Tice moved from Illinois and settled where David still lives, near the western line of the township, arriving there on the 18th of May, 1843, and lived in a tent till a house was built. They did little or no farming that season, but shipped their provisions from Illinois, except such wild game as they could take fit for meat. In the spring following they planted three acres of corn, and sold some of it in the fall for $1.50 per bushel. They were among those who made early provisions for fruit. In 1845 they shipped from Illinois about fifty apple trees, that they planted that spring, in a piece of grubby, unfenced land. The trees are all still living, except two, and are good bearers. The neighborhood or settlement still remembered by most of the early settlers of Clay township as "the Tong settlement," was located in the southeastern part of the township. Nothing of historical interest relating to this settlement is remembered except what relates to the individual from whom it derived its name. Thomas Tong was born near the Potomac river, in Virginia, in the latter part of 1780, emigrated to what is now Adams county, Ohio, (then the frontier) at an early day; from thence to Darke county, in the same state; thence to Elk county, Indiana; thence to Van Buren county, Iowa, and from thence to Marion county, in the spring of '45, with two sons and two sons-in-law, forming the settlement as above stated. He died in the winter of '50, aged 70. Mr. Tong was what might be justly termed a frontiersman, having spent most of his long life on the frontiers of Ohio, Indiana and Iowa. He was skilled in all the arts of frontier life, pertaining to hunting, fishing and trapping. But, not-withstanding this comparatively rough education, he was in all respects a gentleman, upright and generous in all his intercourse with his fellows, and a warm friend to all with whom he had occasion to entertain friendly relations, and a Christian. The first settler in the neighborhood of Pella was Thomas Tuttle, whose present residence is in Vandalia, Jasper county. He first came to the State in 1838, and settled in Jefferson county the year following. In 1843 he came to this county, arriving there on the 13th of May. Not having any children and no other help, Mrs. T. helped him to build a cabin in the edge of the nearest timber north of the present site of Pella. Soon after this they made a claim of part of the town plat of Pella, and put up a claim pen on what is now "Garden Square." This cabin remained there, and was for a portion of the time occupied several years after the city had grown up around it. When this lonely
pair took up their residence in the county they were not aware of the
existence of another family of white people within twenty miles of them.
After being here a month or so it was found necessary to replenish their
stock of breadstuff ere it should run too low; so it was decided to
go to Fort Madison for a supply, Mrs. T. to accompany husband or to
stay at home as she chose. She chose the latter, and for nine days and
nights was the sole occupant of the little cabin, except a big cat,*
seeing no human beings except Indians, as they passed and re-passed,
and occasionally came in without first announcing their presence or
uttering any kind of salutation. |