History of Linn County Iowa Part 100

McKean, was the first mayor of the town of Marion which was incorporated in 1865. He was elected sheriff of the county in 1859, serving until the spring of 1861, when he resigned to enter the government army service, having already served in the Florida and Mexican wars, and November 21, 1861, was appointed brigadier-general, and after a brilliant service in the Civil war was honorably discharged in 1865, as brevet major general. On September 5, 1848, he was married to Sarah T. Gray, who still survives him, is a resident of Marion, and still bright and active at the age of ninety years.

One of the most prominent men in the early history of Marion, and we might add of the county, was Samuel W. Durham. A courtly gentleman of the old school, honored and respected by every one who knew him, he died at his home in Marion, May 2, 1909, at the ripe old age of ninety-two years. He was sheriff of Linn county from 1846-1848, county surveyor in 1841, serving one term, in 1851 serving one term, in 1871 serving two terms, and in 1889 serving two terms. He was also a member of the first const.i.tutional convention of Iowa, which convened at Iowa City October 7, 1844.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JAMES E. BROMWELL, SR.]

George Greene, Marion's first lawyer, and who built one of its first three residences, was the first member of the General a.s.sembly from Linn county. He also served in the council, now called the state senate, of the third legislative a.s.sembly of Iowa, which convened at Burlington November 2, 1840, representing Cedar, Jones, and Linn counties. He also served in the fourth a.s.sembly, which convened at Iowa City December 6, 1841.

The first court was held in Marion October 26, 1840, and the following record was made: "Minutes of the District Court of Iowa Territory, within and for the county of Linn:

"Iowa Territory } } Linn County }

"Pursuant to an act of the Legislature of the Territory of Iowa, approved July, 1840, the District Court of the United States, and also for the Territory of Iowa, met at Marion, in said county, on Monday the 26th day of October, 1840.

Present: Hon. Joseph Williams, Judge of the Second Judicial District for the Territory; W. G. Woodward, Esq., District Attorney of the United States for the District of Iowa; R.

P. Lowe, Esq., prosecuting attorney for Second Judicial District; Hosea W. Gray, Esq., Sheriff of County of Linn; Socrates H. Tryon, Clerk of the District Court; Lawrence Maloney, Marshall of the Territory."

The following are the lists of the early officers of Linn county, who were all residents of Marion:

Sheriffs--Hosea W. Gray, 1840; Ambrose Harlan, 1844; Samuel W. Durham, 1846; Ambrose Harlan, 1847; Vincent Beall, 1850; Samuel Brazleton, 1853; Levi H. Mason, 1855; Thomas J. McKean, 1860; William W. Smith, 1861; O. O. Stanchfield, 1862; Hiel Hale, 1866; John Hayzlett, 1868; G.

D. Gillilan, 1874.

Clerks of District and Circuit Courts--John C. Berry (Com.'s Clerk), 1839; S. H. Tryon, 1840; John C. Berry, 1844; Porter W. Earl, 1847; Hosea W. Gray, 1849; James M. Berry, 1851; A. J. McKean, 1854; J. L.

Crawford, 1873.

Treasurers and Recorders--Addison Daniels, 1841; O. S. Hall. 1844; John Zumbro, 1844; O. S. Hall, 1845; P. W. Earl, 1846; William M. Harris, 1846; Isaac Cook, 1851; N. M. Day, 1855; William Cook, 1860; James Johnston, 1864.

Recorders after the offices of treasurer and recorder were separated--John J. Daniels, 1865; Charles E. Putnam, 1873.

Treasurers after offices were separated--R. T. Wilson, 1866; S. T.

Berry, 1874; R. M. Jackson, 1882.

Auditors of the County--A. B. Dumont, 1869; John P. Coulter, 1870; Samuel Daniels, 1876; Joseph Moorhead, 1882; James E. Bromwell, 1888.

The following is a list of the early State Senators: I. M. Preston, 1852; William G. Thompson, 1856; H. G. Angle, 1860; J. B. Young, 1864; Robert Smyth, 1868; E. B. Kephart, 1872.

The following is a list of the early judges of the Eighth Judicial District: Joseph Williams, 1840; Thomas S. Wilson, 1846; James B.

Carleton, 1847; William Smyth, 1853; Isaac Cook, 1857; William E.

Miller, 1859; Norman W. Isbell, 1862; C. H. Conklin, 1864; N. M.

Hubbard, 1866; James H. Rothrock, 1867.

Ira G. Fairbanks was the first superintendent of county schools.

In the first const.i.tutional convention which was held at Iowa City October 7, 1844, and whose work was rejected by the people at the polls August 4, 1845, Linn county was represented by Thomas J. McKean, Samuel W. Durham, and Luman M. Strong. At the second one, held at Iowa City May 4, 1846, and whose work was endorsed by a small majority at the election held August 3, 1846, Socrates H. Tryon represented Linn and Benton counties.

The first estate ministered upon in Linn county was that of James Travis, who died in December, 1839. James Doty was appointed administrator February 15, 1840. His bond was for $200. His bondsmen were Jacob Leabo and John Stambaugh. Israel Mitch.e.l.l, who had been appointed by Governor Lucas, in 1839, was the judge of probate. It was this same Judge Mitch.e.l.l who located the first town in Linn county, viz: that of Westport, near the present site of Bertram, and who was the orator of the day at the first Fourth of July celebration in Linn county, held at Westport in 1839.

The second estate appearing of record was that of William Marion, who died July 4, 1840, and of which William Abbe was appointed administrator in 1841.

The third was the estate of Martin Martindale, who died in February of 1841, and of whose estate William Garrison was appointed administrator.

The following is the record of the first coffin made in Linn county: "Be it remembered that on the 21st day of June, A. D. 1841, James E.

Bromwell filed his account in the Court of Probate against the estate of Martin Martindale, deceased, in the words and figures, to wit:

"To J. E. Bromwell, Dr.

"To one white walnut coffin, $12.00"

Marion was the home for years of three Mexican war veterans, who were also veterans of the Civil war, viz: Thomas J. McKean, G. A. Gray, both deceased, and Samuel B. Thompson, now past ninety years of age and living with his daughter, Mrs. Nellie Schimmerhorn, of Kansas City.

Marion was incorporated in 1865. Its first mayor was General Thomas J.

McKean. The other officers were: recorder, G. A. Gray; trustees, D. H.

McDanel, who died in Chicago and whose widow is now living in Cedar Rapids; S. W. Rathbun, still living in Marion and editor and proprietor of the Marion _Register_, which was established as the _Prairie Star_ in 1852 by A. Hoyt; G. F. Woods, who died in Marion some years ago; O.

C. Wyman, now a merchant prince of Minneapolis; and Dr. N. W. Owen, who died in 1880.

The Marion fire department was organized in 1874 and consisted of the Phoenix engine company and the J. C. Davis hook and ladder company. D.

P. Thurber was elected the first foreman of the Phoenix company, and A.

J. Keyes of the hook and ladder company. The first engine house was the old Baptist church which stood on the site of the present C., M. & St.

P. depot. Such was the beginning of the later noted Marion Volunteer Fire Department, with its matchless Mentzer Hose Company, which as a drill corps, under the captaincy of James E. Bromwell, for twenty years, in the state of Iowa and elsewhere, challenged all military and civic companies, and met all challengers in compet.i.tive contests, winning over fifty first prizes, cups, and purses, acting as special escort to Governor c.u.mmins at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904, and winning over all contestants at the National Firemen's Tournament of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, held at Omaha in 1898, and retiring without a single defeat as a drill corps after its first three years, although as a fire company it is still active and efficient and the possessor of a beautiful home of its own on Seventh avenue in Marion, the lower story being used as a hose house and armory, and the upper story for reception and club rooms.

In 1864 the Dubuque and Southwestern Railroad, running from Farley to Cedar Rapids, was built into Marion, and in 1872 the Sabula, Ackley & Dakota Railroad--now the C., M. &. St. P.--connected Marion with Chicago. Here it terminated until it was extended west to Council Bluffs in 1880, and south to Kansas City in 1882.

Marion was especially favored in its early history, as it is today, by competent and popular physicians. Of these there were three, probably best known, who are worthy of mention, viz: Drs. Thos. S. Bardwell, Henry M. Ristine, and N. W. Owen. Dr. Thomas S. Bardwell came to Marion with his father, Dr. Leonard Bardwell, in 1841. He studied medicine with his father, and after attending lectures in St. Louis began practice in Marion in 1850. He was a natural doctor, bringing into his practice not only a knowledge of medicine but that intuition and instinctive comprehension of the law of cause and effect as applied to the human system which mark the genius in materia medica and surgery. He was a great hearted man, kind, generous, charitable, a devoted son and brother, a loyal friend and citizen. He died in Marion in 1895.

Henry M. Ristine came to Marion in 1842. He, too, was a master in the ministry of relief to human suffering. His genial presence and cheerful and encouraging words added much to the magic of his medicine. His friends were legion. He was welcomed to the homes where he was called as a physician as a beloved brother, and was always a comfort and a blessing in the sick room. In the early days and to the second generation his name was a household word throughout Linn county. He moved to Cedar Rapids in 1875, where, crowned with success and honors in his chosen calling, he died in 1897.

Norman W. Owen came to Marion in 1856. He continued the study of medicine, which he had begun in the east, under Dr. Henry M. Ristine, and graduated from Rush Medical College in 1862. He at once entered into a partners.h.i.+p with Dr. Ristine, and during his absence in the Civil war, he drove almost night and day, attending the large practice which he was left alone to care for. He was a most skilful and successful physician. He united with a wide knowledge of diseases and their remedies, the tenderness and skill of the trained nurse. An earnest student, of a.n.a.lytical yet comprehensive mind, he became a pioneer in the discovery of new remedies for human ailments, and while he formulated and compounded many preparations now of common use, his greatest achievement was the discovery and composition of Owen and Chamberlain's--now Chamberlain's--Colic, Cholera, and Diarrhoea Remedy, a world-wide panacea, of which Dr. Owen was the sole and undisputed originator. This alone places him among the "immortals" in the realm of medicine. He died in Marion in 1880.

Among the early great financiers of Marion--and we might say of Iowa and the west--was Redmond D. Stephens. He came to Marion in 1855. He was a lawyer, teacher, and scholar, as well as a banker. He obtained the third charter ever issued for a national bank in Iowa, and inst.i.tuted the First National Bank of Marion in 1863. He was one of the county supervisors in 1867, and was elected to the state legislature in 1879. He organized the Merchants National Bank of Cedar Rapids in 1881, of which, as well as of the First National Bank of Marion, he was president when he died in Cedar Rapids in 1883, where he then resided.

His rare ac.u.men, keen perception, unerring judgment, and almost prophetic endowment, mastered every business enterprise he undertook and won for him the merited distinction with which success ever crowns the union of genius and studiousness, of being enthroned, honored, and acknowledged as king in the chosen realm of his life work.

No early history of Marion would be complete without mention of that brilliant coterie which illumined Linn county's seat of justice and as pillars and ornaments of the law established and adorned the now famous bar of Linn county. Nothing in later years has compared with the gladiatorial contests of the early years when true forensic oratory, keenest wit, and brilliant satire made forever famous the legal arena within the old court house at Marion. What memories and achievements cl.u.s.ter about the names of Corbett, Hubbard, Preston, Isbell, Thompson, Young and Smyth.

Nathaniel M. Hubbard, the greatest legal general of his time, who served one year as judge of the eighth district in 1865, was keen, alert, tactful, resourceful, and tireless. He won marked distinction in his profession, and died in Cedar Rapids a few years ago, as chief counsel for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway.

Norman W. Isbell, student, scholar, interpreter of the law, judge of the eighth district in 1862, died in the prime of life, a great mind in a frail body.

J. B. Young, brilliant, scholarly, eloquent, came to Marion in 1853; was elected prosecuting attorney for Linn county in 1854. He served in the state legislature in 1861, in the state senate in 1863, and was re-elected in 1866. He was army paymaster, with the rank of major, during the Civil war, elector-at-large in 1868, and United States pension agent in 1869. Impetuous, fiery, generous, of marked aptness and ability, he honored and adorned his chosen profession.

William Smyth came to Iowa in 1843 and to Marion in 1846--the year he was admitted to the bar. He was elected prosecuting attorney for the county in 1847, appointed judge of the fourth district in 1853, elected in 1854, and re-elected in 1856, but resigned in 1857, and with his brother, Robert Smyth, and A. J. Twogood established the first bank in Linn county, later known as the Twogood and Elliott bank of Marion. In 1858 he was chairman of the committee of three to revise and codify the laws of the state of Iowa, and the criminal code of 1860 is largely his work. In 1862 he was commissioned colonel of the Thirty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry, serving until 1864. He then formed a law partners.h.i.+p with J. B. Young, and was actively engaged in the practice until 1868, when he was elected to congress. He was renominated in 1870, but on September 30, 1870, before the election, died at his beautiful suburban home adjoining the city of Marion, now owned by the Sisters of Mercy, and known as St. Joseph's Academy. A man of sound judgment, a lawyer of merit, a judge of ability, a statesman of fidelity and purity, he yet stood pre-eminently before all as a man of integrity, honor, and character, the true and highest type of the Christian gentleman.

I shall now mention as the last, the two greatest lawyers of the early days of Marion, judging from their practice, marked success, and general recognition, viz: Isaac M. Preston, and William G. Thompson.

Isaac M. Preston came to Marion in 1842. He was elected probate judge of Linn county in 1842, appointed district attorney for the eighteenth judicial district of Iowa in 1845, again elected probate judge in 1847, the same year was appointed United States district attorney for Iowa by President Polk, was elected to the state legislature in 1848, and elected the first state senator in 1852 for Linn, Benton, and Tama counties. He moved to Cedar Rapids in 1878, where he died in 1880. He was possessed of a strong mind, his reasoning was logical, and his a.n.a.lysis keen. He aspired to greatness in his profession above all else. He was p.r.o.nounced by competent judges the greatest criminal lawyer of Iowa in his day. Rugged, determined, persistent, tireless, profound, thoroughly versed in the common law, of broad conception, a close student and able judge of human nature, deliberate, careful, prudent; in speech plain, masterful, convincing; he having reached a conclusion in law or taken a position legally or morally, was seldom if ever compelled to compromise or retreat.

[Ill.u.s.tration: T. M. SINCLAIR]

[Ill.u.s.tration: J. O. STEWART]

William G. Thompson came to Marion in 1853 and first began the practice of law with I. M. Preston. He was prosecuting attorney in 1854, editor of the Marion _Register_ (which he bought to insure a republican paper for Linn county) in 1855 and 1856, state senator in 1856 and 1858, major of the Twentieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, serving until 1864, elector-at-large on the republican ticket in 1864, district attorney of the eighth judicial district from 1867 to 1874, chief justice of Idaho in 1878, elected to congress in 1879, and refused to accept a renomination. In 1884, to save the republican legislative ticket, he was nominated for the state legislature and elected. He was appointed judge of the eighteenth district in 1894, and was elected in the fall of the same year, re-elected in 1898 and 1902. He is now living in retirement with his son. J. M. Thompson, at his beautiful home, "The Elms," on the boulevard between Marion and Cedar Rapids. Major Thompson was naturally possessed of the elements of true greatness, viz: simplicity, sympathy, generosity, and charity. While he was in truth the "poor man's friend," he was more truly everybody's friend. His was a brilliant mind, a tender heart, an eloquent yet poignant tongue. Of quick intuition, forceful expression, and impa.s.sioned oratory, he carried juries with the force of the mountain torrent. His great tender heart was the repository of anybody's troubles or sorrows or legal difficulties "without money and without price," if needs be. As a lawyer he was comprehensive, ingenious, and aggressive. As a judge, merciful, conscientious, and just. The equitable appealed to him in every branch of the law. No truer friend, no more loyal partisan, no more zealous advocate, ever stood rock bound, unchangeable, and immovable as William G. Thompson always stood without malice or offense. Devoted to his home, his wife, and only son, cheerful, sunny, optimistic, unerring in his measurement of men and motives, charitable and forgiving beyond belief, honored and honorable, commonplace and companionable, always kind and considerate and helpful, great hearted, of n.o.ble soul, and of almost divine compa.s.sion, Judge William G.

Thompson has already erected his monument of Christlike deeds, and his sepulchre will be the inner shrines of the hearts of all who knew him.