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Pioneers of Marion County W Much respected, and still well remembered among early settlers, was the late Conrad Walters, whose name is also on record in another place as a member of the first Board of Commissioners for the county. Mr. Walters was a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1794, from which State he came to Ohio in 1814, and learned the art of printing in Wilmington, Clinton county. After various removals he finally came to Mr. Pleasant, Iowa, in 1839, and from there to this county in October, 1844, and settled six miles south-east of Knoxville. Here he remained till a few years previous to his death, at which time, July 28, 1870, he resided in the city of Knoxville. His age was 77 years. Dr. James L. Warren - Page 149 to 152 Not less distinguished, nor less favorably remembered among those who settled in this township at a very early date, was Dr. James L. Warren, who died at his residence near Peoria, Mahaska county, Jan. 18, 1870, aged 69 years. He was born in Green county, Tenn., July 1st, 1801; immigrated to Iowa and settled in Lee county in 1841. He made his first claim in what is now Mahaska county, where he cut some logs and employed a man to put them up in the shape of a cabin; but he afterwards abandoned the idea of settling there, and made a claim about three miles south-east of where Pella now is, where he succeeded in planting about twenty acres of corn and wheat in the spring following. Those who came up at the same time and helped to found a settlement were John B. Hamilton, Robert Hamilton, Henry Miller, Green T. Clark and Henry McPherson. On their way up the dragoons refused to them pass Libertyville with their wagons, so they packed on horses what provisions they thought would last them till after the first of May, and proceeded. Approaching an Indian village near the present location of Oskaloosa, the Doctor, who had some practical knowledge of military tactics, called a halt, and suggested that they march through the town in military order. This was agreed to by all except an old man named McPherson, who thought such a maneuver would be regarded by the Indians as a challenge to fight. Being excused from service the old man made a wide circuit to the north of town, still keeping in view, in order to witness the result, whilst the remainder obeyed the command to "forward march." On entering the place they found the inhabitants engaged in worship, in consequence of which they paid little or no attention to this mock military demonstration. The men were collected in a large tent, seated in a circle, singing in a monotonous, drawling tone to the equally musical rattle of beans in gourds, that they shook up and down, as an accompaniment to their voices. The door of tent was closed against intruders, but Robert Hamilton, having an ungovernable curiosity to witness the performance, raised the tent wall near the ground and peeped under. Not one of the solemn-faced worshipers took the least notice of this breach of good manners; nor did they for an instant seem to permit their attention to be diverted from their devotions; but an old squaw, who seemed to be standing guard without, noticed the intruder, and indignantly ordered him away. Not being instantly obeyed, she took hold of Robert, gave him a violent pull, and uttered the word "Manitou" (God), as an explanation of the sacredness and privacy of the place and performance, at which he deemed it advisable to desist. Soon after leaving town our heroes were rejoined by McPherson, who was rejoiced to find them all safe and unhurt. On the 26th of April they reached the present location of Pella, and contemplated making claims there; but, owing to its distance from timber, they thought it very probably that it would be many years ere much improvement could be made there, and the land become valuable. So they made choice of the timber about three miles to the southeast. But ere the time came for them to get their wagons, and the remainder of their provisions, what they had brought with them began to come short. As soon as possible Green B. Clark was sent for the wagons, and some of the others resorted to hunting as a means of economizing the scanty remainder of breadstuffs. But the bread finally quite gave out, and hunting, even in those early days, was not so reliable a means of supporting the demand for food as some might suppose. It is said that game was plentiful, which was generally true, but, like fishing, the taking of it depended upon skill and good luck. An instance is related of an old settler name Cunningham, who still lived in Mahaska county, who, by hunting, maintained a half starved existence for eight or ten days, on his claim near Oskaloosa, not daring to leave it lest it should be "jumped." Our settlers now found it necessary to use energy and skill or starve. Hunger already incited them to do their best. Robert Hamilton shouldered his rifle and went in search of a turkey, or anything else he could find that would do to eat, whilst Henry Miller went in search of a bee-tree. Both were successful; and, what added much to their good fortune, their wagons came the next day, bringing breadstuffs and other conveniences. Dr. Warren was among
the first ministers of the M. E. Church who preached in the county,
and organized the first class west of Libertyville. He was licensed
as a local preacher in 1828; ordained deacon at Oskaloosa in 1852, and
was ordained an elder by Bishop Ames in 1863. He also commenced the
practice of medicine in 1831, which he continued till a short time before
his death. In this he was very successful during his residence in this
county, especially in the management of the miasmatic diseases, to which
the early settlers were subject, and his field of practice often extended
from Oskaloosa to "Tool's Point," now Monroe, Jasper county,
and over a large territory north and south of this route. Over this
wide field he ministered both in spiritual and temporal things. He was
a man universally loved and respected by all who knew him. Many instances
illustrative of his charitable nature, and many acts of kindness performed
by him, have been related to us, and are well remembered by many who
have shared the privations of pioneer life with him. His departure was
made joyful by the hope of eternal life. Richard R. Watts was a native of Ohio, where he was born in 1815, moved to Indiana in '20; to Illinois in '30; to Jefferson county, Iowa, in '42, and from thence to Marion county in the spring of '43, and settled near the present site of Coalport. During his early residence here he and his family suffered some of the privations common to the times. During one winter they were dependent upon the services of a coffee mill for their daily bread, and with it they ground ten bushels of buckwheat that season. William Welch - Page 144 and 145 Among those whose names are more or less identified with the early history of Marion county is William Welch, at present a citizen of Pella. As such, his biography deserves a place among these pages. Mr. Welch was born in the little village of Huntsville, on the Yadkin river, N. C., Jan. 1st., 1800, being a little more than seventy-two years of age at this present writing. Went to Wilkes county, same State - date not mentioned - and from thence to Richmond, Indiana, in 1827; thence to Machonaugh, Illinois, in '31; from thence, in consequence of the breaking out of the Black Hawk war, he, together with many other settlers, went further south, leaving their claims and some other property for whoever might succeed them. Then, in '36, Mr. W. immigrated to Iowa, and settled at what is now Bonaparte, Van Buren county. At that time the territory was under the political jurisdiction of Wisconsin, and was known only by that name. Here Mr. W. (being a potter by trade), erected the first pottery in the territory, the slight remains of which may still be seen in that locality. At one time during his residence there he was also employed as recorder, and was compelled to find his own stationery, which, owing to its exhorbitant price and difficulty of obtaining it from a distance, together with his own extreme poverty, he finally supplied himself with it at considerable sacrifice. Then it was after much delay and difficulty that he obtained only a part of his fees for this service. In 1844, Mr. Welch came to Lake Prairie, and settled in the timber, about four miles south of the present site of Pella. Here in connection with Mr. Nossaman, as already stated in this chapter, he erected a pottery and a mill in the locality. In 1845, Mr. W. was elected to the office of County Commissioner, in which office he served one year. See chapter IX. Joseph S. West, who was the first person that held the office of justice of the peace, within the present limits of Summit, and whose name appears among the first grand jurors in the county, was a native of Mason county, Kentucky, where he was born in 1810, and from whence he immigrated to Iowa in 1844. On his arrival here he purchased a claim in the southern part of the township, from Gadis and Nye, the two traders mentioned in the first chapter of this history, where he has constantly resided ever since. The Indian name for White Breast was Waupa-Cauki, and was said by them to have originated by the circumstance of a bear having been killed near the creek having a white spot upon its breast. But at what period this event transpired tradition does not state. At an early date in the history of the settlement of this part of the county, there lived here an Indian chief also named White Breast. He is remembered by some of the early settlers as a large man, coarse-featured, and badly pock-marked. He was somewhat noted as a warrior, and loved to recount his military exploits against the Sioux; and once after their removal to the west, whilst engaged in this favorite pastime, surrounded by a small but appreciating audience, his life and his glory suddenly ceased forever. Some one, probably actuated by a love of sport, or by a malicious motive, informed a white man of a sort of desperado character, who happened to be present, that White Breast was plotting mischief against him. Without stopping to question or investigate the truth of this statement, the enraged man instantly dashed upon the chief, knocked him down and leaped upon his breast with both feet, causing his instant death. Wilson Family submitted by Dick Barton The
Wilson family, consisting of four sons, two daughters, David Ray and their
mother, took claims and settled in sections 33 and 34, June, 1843. They were
natives of New Jersey, which state they left in 1836, and came to Indiana, and
from thence to Burlington in 1840. On the third day of their journey from
Indiana, October 24th, John, the father of the family, died, aged 56 years. Since
their settlement here, two of the sons, one of the daughters, and the mother
have died. Samuel died September 28th, 1844, and was, so far as is known, the
first white person that died in the township, and his remains were the first
deposited in the burying ground on the farm of James Price. George* died June
16th, 1855, and on the 22 of January, 1870, the mother, Ruth Wilson, died, aged
82 years. During
the first two years of their settlement here, the Wilsons, in company with
others, were subjected to some severe privations and inconveniences in the
matter of subsistance. For some time corn was necessarily the only kind of
breadstuff that could be procured. As we have before stated, the mills for
grinding were so distant that they could not be applied to for a supply at any
time, so that necessity, "the mother of invention," called into
requisition such temporary substitutes for mills as could be manufactured at
home, and as we have already described as in common use at that early period. In
this emergency, however, the Wilsons were fortunately blessed in the possession
of a strong, old iron coffee mill, that they had brought from the east. This
mill was firmly fastened to the wall, and, on one occasion, was kept in almost
constant service for more than two weeks, doing its work slowly enough to
discipline the patience of the young milleress, (now Mrs. W. B. Keeler,) but
producing a good article of meal, fine enough to be successfully sifted through
a fine hair seive, that the family had also thoughtfully provided themselves
with on leaving their eastern home. This
venerable mill now belongs to Freeman Wilson, and is still in the service, not
as a corn-cracker, but legitimately as a coffee mill. We are informed by the
owner that it has had the honor of pulverizing more than $400 worth of coffee,
besides the corn, since it has been the property of the family. They esteem it
as a worthy keepsake. David
Ray settled in the township, in the same neighborhood and at the same date with
the Wilsons, to whom he was related by marriage. He now lives in Red Rock
township. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
*George Wilson settled in Polk [township] directly after their arrival in the country. John Wise, a native
of Virginia, still lives in the township. He moved to his present place
of residence in 1843, and made rapid improvement. But some years afterwards
one of those destructive calamities that often reduce the most affluent
to poverty, a fire, destroyed his dwelling, and all his household property.
Mr. Wise enjoys the reputation of being worthy the name he wears. On
coming to the country he brought sufficient gold with him to enter his
claim, and kept the money through the hard times that prevailed, till
he paid it for his land.
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