History of Clayton County, Iowa
1882
Chapter XVII
ILLUSTRIOUS AND PROMINENT DEAD

Hon. P.G. Bailey * Elisha Boardman * Horace D. Bronson * Major E.V. Carter * Hon. Timothy Davis
Hon. M.L. Fisher * John W. Gillett * Willard Knight * Dr. John Linton * Dr. Samuel Little
Alexander McGregor * Hon. E. Odell * Eliphalet Price * Robert R. Read * Louis Reuther
John Schroeder * Rev. Samuel P. Sloan * Allen E. Wemzer * Dr. Amos Warner

ILLUSTRIOUS AND PROMINENT DEAD
(page 570)

Clayton County has furnished some of her ablest and best men to people the "City of the Dead". It is here proposed to give short sketches of some of the prominent ones who have passed away. These are arranged alphabetically:

Hon. P.G. Bailey
(page 570-573)

P.G. Bailey was born in Uniontown, Pa., Feb. 9, 1819, and was of Quaker descent. though he did not adopt the religious ideas of his parentage in the letter, he held to the general tenor of the Quaker ideas in the spirit throughout all of his life. Though naturally a reverent man, and at all times liberal to churches in the vicinity where he lived, a connection with any one church was never formed by him. His high estimation of the Bible was evidenced when at the death of his mother he requested that the family Scriptures might become his own.

In 1845 Mr. Bailey came West, and for some time resided at Colesburg, and in 1852 be became a citizen of Clayton County, engaging in the milling business in Mallory Township. The business of miller was a trade he had learned in all its departments, but he only engaged in it a few years with a brother, after he was married, when in 1853 he removed to the present homestead. A log house was built, and the farm opened and cultivated by degrees, until at present it is one of the largest and best farms in the county, containing 1,000 acres. As a farmer Mr. Bailey became very successful. Very industrious, and always living in comfort in proportion to his means, he soon amassed a competency and became an influential member of society, socially and politically. He placed a high estimation upon the education of his family; was resorted to for counsel by all who knew him; he was an excellent business man, always ready to give others the benefit of cool, wise reflection, and never failing to meet an appointment. Of a fine social nature, he was never known to be other than kind and indulgent. Above all, he was not a man who lived to himself alone, and there are many who will never forget the extreme cordiality with which he greeted every one who came to his doors.

Mr. Bailey may be said to have been a model in his public life, and he has represented the people in many positions of trust. Possessing a good common-school education, based upon the good judgement of common sense, he took a decided stand upon every question of important issue. In the office of county supervisor he became intimate with the ways and customs of the people, and in 1868 he represented this county in the Lower House of the Legislature. Aside from political distinction, Mr. Bailey has been honored with many civil honores. He has been one of the managing officers of the district fair ever since it was organized, at first Director, then Treasurer and Vice-President, and this year President. Whatever success has been attained by this association is largely due to the energy of its late president. He has for many years been a Director and stock holder in the First National Bank of McGregor, and during his connection was never known to miss attending ameeting of its officers. He was also interested in the bank at Elkader. Politically, P.G. Bailey was a staunch Republican, and always stood ready to aid his country and uphold the sacred cause of free and united government by the people. He died Oct. 21, 1878.

Elisha Boardman
(page 573-575)

This early pioneer of Clayton County and Boardman Township was born at Princeton, Conn., Oct. 25, 1781, six days after the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, amidst the rejoicings of the American colonies. When quite young his parents died, and he went to live with his grandparents, where he remained until sixteen years old. Then, with an older brother, he went to Grand Isle, Vt., where, by his untiring energy and industry, he accumulated a considerable property, married an estimable woman, and had a daughter born to him. At the age of about fifty his wife died. He never married again. The daughter married a man of the same name, had two children, and then died.

Now left alone, Mr. Boardman invested a large share of his property in the lumber business, in Canada, with H.D. Bronson. He got together over a million feet of lumber, in the St. Lawrence River, and started for market. In a violent storm all was wrecked. He lost every foot of his lumber. Returning to his old Grand Isle home, with his property nearly gone, he concluded that the star of empire was westward. With his friend Bronson he came to Green Bay, Wis., whence he went to Chicago. Here, in speculation with sharpers, he lost $300 of his hard earnings. Returning to Green Bay, to his old friend Bronson, they held counsel and concluded to follow the star still farther westward. Falling in company with a Mr. Hastings, they procured two yokes of oxen and a wagon, with which Mr. Bronson and family started across the country for Prairie du Chien. Mr. Boardman and Mr. Hastings went to the head waters of Wisconsin River, there dug out a canoe, and sailed down to the Mississippi and over to Iowa. This was in 1836, soon after the Blackhawk war. Each intent on securing a mill site, came to Turkey River. Hastings found a good site at th emouth of Otter Creek, where the town of Elgin now stands, and commenced a saw-mill. He was soon driven off, finding himself on the Indian reservation. Mr. Boardman came down to where Elkader now stands, made his claim and built his cabin where the depot now stands. Here he and his old friend Bronson lived together many years. Uncle Bronson was a good millwright. They found a small creek in Boardman Grove, running down through Clayton Center, and emptying into Pony Creek just above its mouth. On this stream they put up a saw-mill. It was on section 16, the geographical center of Clayton County, near John Barrett's. The mill was finished, the machinery all put in, and everything ready for a start. In the evening a log was put upon the carriage with a view of starting next morning with ceremonies befitting the introduction of a grand enterprise in a new world. Morning came. the dam and mill and machinery and logs were all there, but the water was gone! It had escaped through the crevices of the rock, and could never be brought back again so as to be made to turn a wheel. The stream or hollow now goes by the name of Dry Mill Creek.

One might naturally suppose, with all these reverses he would have been discouraged. But his energy of mind caused him to rise above the tide of reverses. He now returned to his cabin on Turkey River and prepared to break the soil, but another clamity lay in wait for him. the Indians stole one yoke of his oxen. Unable to break his claim with the team left, he went down by the river where it was sandy, plowed thirty acres, planted corn, raised it, ground it with a steel hand mill, and ate the bread earned by the sweat of his brow. he continued to labor until more than eighty years old. In 1843 the Turkey rose twenty-five feet above low water mark, and swept his fence all away. Not yet discouraged, he gathered what rils he could find and fenced in a part of his field. Again the water came and swept his work away, and at this he abandoned his field.

Messrs. Thompson, Sage and Davis bought his mill site, which enabled him to improve his claim on which his house stood. In 1853 his grandchildren came to Iowa, Captain Boardman and Mrs. Betsey Grannis, with whom he resided the remainder of his days well provided for. He died at Elkader, July 5, 1876, at the age of ninety-five years, nine months and nineteen days. He thus lived to a ripe old age, lacking a little over four years of being a centenarian, beloved and respected by all who knew him.

Horace D. Bronson
(page 575-576)

Horace D. Bronson was born at Chatham, Conn., Dec. 25, 1797. When he was quite young his parents moved to Vermont. He was married at an early age to an estimable lady of New York. Shortly after his marriage he removed with his family and effects to Canada, and there kept a hotel for a number of years. At the age of thirty-nine he and his old friend, Elisha Boardman, came to the State of Iowa, then the Territory of Wisconsin. Here in the valley of Turkey River, "Uncle" Bronson and Elisha Boardman made claim to a large tract of Government land, and laid out the site for the town of Elkader.

The old house that formerly stood where the depot building now stands, and an old house torn down in 1870, that stood near the house of P. Garaghty, were built by these two pioneers, and for many years served as dwelling-places for them, and as places of refuge from troubles by Indians for many a pale-faced adventurer. Uncle Bronson was known for miles around, and noted for his kindness and hospitality, even among the Indians.

In 1838 he prevailed on his parents to move hither, but shortly after their arrival his father was delivered from all troubles and dangers by the hand of death, and was buried in the neighborhood of GArnavillo. His mother survived the death ofher husband some eight years, and then she, too, followed him to the grave. At dearth they were both very old people.

When Uncle Bronson had arrived at the age of fifty-eight years, his wife died.

For fifteen or twenty years Mr. Bronson was coroner of the county, and, strange to say, he was sometimes elected to office by one party and sometimes by the other, party politics never affecting him in the least.

He died at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Tupper, Wednesday, April 19, 1876, at the age of seventy-nine years. For many months previous to his death he had suffered with a lung trouble, attended with a distressing cough; this, together with the infirmities incident to old age, released him from the troubles and cares of life, and his spirit has gone to that bourne beyond the waters. A large concourse of citizens paid the last token of respect to his memory by following his remains to their final resting place the day of the funeral. The services were held in the Universalist church, Rev. Henry Gifford, an old pioneer friend of the deceased, officiating. And thus passed away another landmark of the early history of Clayton county, a pioneer who was here at the beginning, when it "tried men's souls" to battle with the hardships they had to encounter in effecting the early settlements, that were the foundation of the glorious State of Iowa.

Major E.V. Carter
(portrait page 503 & biography page 576-577)

Major E.V. Carter was a native of the State of New York, and was educated in Ohio. In 1847 he moved to Iowa, and located in Clayton County, first in Grand Meadow Township, and subsequently in Elkader. He taught the first school in Elkader, after which he embarked in mercantile pursuits. In this he continued until 1859, when at the request of prominent business men of the county he came to McGregor as President of the McGregor branch of the State Bank of Iowa, which position he filled until the branch bank gave place to the national bank.

Soon after this he accepted a paymaster's commission in the United States service. In the arduous duties of that office he impaired his health and brought on his death sickness. In November, 1865, he returned to his family, only to decline and die among his friends. He died at Elkader, April 21, 1866, in his fifty-seventh year.

During his active public and private career, he established and maintained a reputation for integrity and promptness in all his dealings which made him esteemed, respected and honored by all who knew him. It can be said of him taht he had no enemies. Old and young alike loved him. the announcement of his death caused general sorrow, and a large company of mourning friends accompanied his remains to their last resting place. He was buried Monday, April 23. Rev. S.P. Sloan, of McGregor, of whose society Mr. Carter was a member, delivered an impressive sermon and paid a just tribute to the deceased. The services were held in his church, the erection of which was due more to his efforts and benevolence than to those of any other person.

There was scarcely a man in the county more widely known and more universally respected. He possessed traits of character which could not fail to bring him into notice and command general respect. In his youth he enjoyed more than ordinary advantages for mental culture, and during his whole life he was a close observer of men and things, keeping himself well advised of passing events, and well informed on all the great qustions which engaged the public attention. He was possessed of a very happy disposition, having in his nature a humouous, playful element which made him an agreeable companion of youth, and at the same time a grave and serious element which fitted him to be the companion and counselor of the mature and the aged. But his crowning excellence was the immovable integrity of his character. He was honest, truthful, frank, straightforward, unflinching, always and everywhere.

His religion was eminently practical; it was to do good; as well as to be good; it was the loveof man as well as the love of God. There were two directions in which his benevolence especially took direction: first, in the cause of temperance, he was one of its earliest and latest and most constant advocates; second, he was an abolitionist, one, too when it cost a man something to be the friend of a slave. He believed in the inalienable right of all men to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and believing this, he made it his political platform, and on it he stood and battled for freedom until he saw his principles triumph in the nation. Having lived an earnest life, full of good works, the peaceful death which he died was the fitting close of his upright career.

Hon. Timothy Davis
(page 577-580)

This well-known pioneer of Clayton county was born in Utica, N.Y., in 1794. His parents had emigrated thither and carved out a home among the wilds of that then new country. It was then that Mr. Davis acquired those habits of industry and frugality which ever accompanied him through life. Inheriting a strong physical constitution, and imbued in early life with pluck and energy, he was well prepared in after life to meet and battle with the world.

While yet a young man he left his native State, and after traversing much of this Western country, he settled in the town of West Madrid, Mo., but afterward removed to St. Genevieve, Mo., at that time the capital of Louisiana Territory, embracing all of the country west of the lakes. St. Louis at that time was a small village comared with St. Genevieve.

At St. Genevieve Mr. Davis began the practice of law, a profession for which he was evidently well calculated. Here he married, in 1823, Miss Nancy Wilson, and here his oldest son, L.V. Davis was born. After several years' residence at St. Genevieve, during which time he took a conspicuous part in the politics of the day, he removed to St. Mary's, a town which he had himself laid out, where he remained until his removal to Dubuque in 1836. While in Missouri he was a candidate for the Legislature on the Whig ticket, but that party being in the minority, he was defeated. A like fate befell him some years after, when he was nominated by his party at Dubuque for a similar position. He was then thoroughly conversant, as he was up to the time of his death, with the political questions of the day, and his acknowledged abilities as a speaker and debater made him sought for on all public occasions.

One of the principal events of his life, and one to which his friends point with pride, was on the occasion of the timber suits in 1850, the particulars of which the old residents well remember. A number of settlers had been indicted and arrested for cutting timber on Government lands, and Mr. Davis, assisted by Platt Smith, Esp., of Dubuque, defended the cause for the settlers. It was a matter in which everybody in the Northwest was deeply interested. Almost everybody, including prominent men, made a practice of cutting and using Government timber, and it may well be imagined that when the prosecutions began there was an intense excitement that pervaded not only Dubuque but the entire Northwest. Indignation meetings were held and the newspapers were filled with exciting discussions on the subject. Mr. Davis rose to the full appreciation of his task as an attorney and as a defender of the rights of the people. In his speech on the occasion he referred to the injustice of the prosecutions in the most impressive and pathetic manner, and when he alluded to the fact that the Government would have to tera up the floors of the business houses, the seats in the churches and school-houses and even the boards of which the coffins had been made, and which were constructed of timber taken from Government land, he certainly struck the most tender cord of popular sentiment; and the result was an entire acquittal of the arrested parties, and immense rejoicings among the sturdy old settlers, in which Mr. Davis was rightly the hero of the day. Mr. Davis was engaged in many other important suits among which were several mining cases which excited equal interest and made him conspicuous among the bar of the country.

In 1857 he was nominated for Congress by the Republican party and elected by a handsome majority. The State was then divided into but two Congressional districts, and Mr. Davis had a large constituency to represent. Though then advanced in years he was a prominent member of the House, an dhis voice and vote was ever on the right side. He had been an ardent Whig, but when that party dissolved and the encroachments of the slave power rallied the Republican party of the North into existence he became one of its first adherents, and firmly and steadfastly defended the cause of freedom.

Mr. Davis, however, was not a mere politician. He identified himself with all the substantial interests of the country, and a full sketch of his life would contain a history of Northern Iowa. The settlement and development of Elkader originated with him. He was on a political tour through Clayton in 1845, and had come to Turkey River, to the present town site of Elkader, where he found Elisha Boardman, who showed him the magnificent water-power and the beautiful town site. Impressed with its beauty and importance, he returned to Dubuque and soon after laid the matter before Messrs. Thompson and Sage, the latter of whom was sent up by Mr. Thompson to inspect the mill site. He returned equally pleased with it, and the result was that the property was bought of Mr. Boardman, and the building of the mill began the following year.

The honor of naming the town fell to Mr. Davis. At that time there was great excitement about the exploits of the Arabian chief, Abd el Kader, and being an admirer of that daring chieftain, Mr. Davis named this place Elkader. He was identified with its interests up to the time of his death. To him it was always the best place in the State. It had the best mill, the best stores, the best society and the best newspapers. He was always a warm defender when Elkader was assailed, and he lived to see the home of his adoption rise from the wilderness to one of the most important towns north of Dubuque.

In 1854 he removed from Dubuque to Elkader, remaining there till 1857, but after the death of Mrs. Davis, in the spring of that year, he returned to Dubuque. In the fall of 1857 he was married to Mrs. Jane B. O'Farrell, with whom he lived happily until his death. A few years after his second marriage, he determined that he could not stay away from Elkader; so he moved back, built himself a fine residence, and passed his last years in the sunshine of his old friends and amidst those nearest and dearest to him.

He died Sunday, April 27, 1872. He was sitting on the porch of his residence, engaged in a lively conversation with John Thompson, his surviving partner, joking and laughing with him over old reminiscences, when he suddenly fell back in his chair, threw up his hands with an exclamation of "O!" and immediately expired. Mr. Thompson held him in the chair until the family came to his assistance, and with their aid carried him into the house. The funeral ceremonies took place the following Tuesday, and a large concourse of people followed his remains to the grave. The business houses were all closed and sorrow pervaded the whole community.

He lived a life of usefulness to himself and fellow-men, and was an active worker for the development and prosperity of his country. The State lost in him one of her choicest intellects, the community an exemplary citizen, and his bereaved wife and children an affectonate husband and kind father.

Your help is needed to transcribe the remaining biographies in Chapter XVII