Part 31 (2/2)

December 25, Daniel Cavin to Mary H. Ellsworth, by Rev. Samuel Goodale.

December 28, Geo. W. Garretson to Almira Corporan, by W. P. Gardner, J. P.

Dec. 31, Wm. H. H. Flemming to Ann E. Eliza Eastman, by Thos. Taylor, J. P.

---- Jesse Beechley to Harriet Craig, by Rev. G. B. Bowman.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ”OLD SEM”, CORNELL COLLEGE]

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOWMAN HALL, CORNELL COLLEGE]

1855

January 3, John O. White to Mary A. Metkeff, by Levi H. Mason, J. P.

January 3, Enoch Irish to Rhoda J. Dodd, by Rev. J. S. Fullerton.

January 4, David Stambaugh to Sophia Boyce, by Thomas G. Lockhart, J. P.

Jan. 9, Ladurnia Larrabee to Amanda S. Renfrew, by Rev. Williston Jones.

January 24, Greenberry Daniels to Susan Doty, by Rev. Elias Skinner.

January 25, Jonathan Simpson to Isabella McCaughey, by Rev. Daniel Runkle.

January 27, Wm. Croghan to Cornelia Ellis, by Wm. P. Gardner, J. P.

January 28, Thomas Skales to Lucy Serton, by Rev. Rufus Ricker.

January 31, Henry Ogan to Charlotte Cress, by Thomas Taylor, J. P.

February 19, Jas. Richardson to Elmira Blanchard, by J. M. Berry, co. judge.

March 1, Wm. Wilson to Jane Thompson, by Rev. Daniel Runkle.

March 9, Jacob Cress to Lucy Ann Porter, by Thomas Taylor, J. P.

---- Wm. Winsor to Rachel Leatherman, by John Plummer, J. P.

---- George Justin to Sarah Chandler, by John Plummer, J. P.

---- A. I. Allen to Ann Eliza Kaufman, by Rev. J. T. Tate.

---- James Biggs to Margaret Mitch.e.l.l, by Rev. Rufus Ricker.

---- Byron Rice to Hannah C. Colder, by Rev. C. C. Townsend.

CHAPTER XVIII

_Historic Roads and Other Monuments_

In the early days it was essential to establish means of communication between points. Where there were no navigable rivers the legislatures, and even congress, pa.s.sed certain acts establis.h.i.+ng roads. The Territorial legislature which met in Burlington in 1838 and 1839 among many other road laws approved the following pa.s.sed January 25, 1839:

”That Isaac [Israel] Mitch.e.l.l, of Linn county, Iowa, John G.

Fay, of Cedar county, and Jonathan Pettibone, of Muscatine county, be and are hereby appointed commissioners to lay out a road commencing at Bloomington, Muscatine county, thence to Rochester and Cedar county and thence to the county seat of Linn county. That said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall meet at Burlington on the first Monday of May next to discharge their duties.”--Section 3, p. 461, Laws of Iowa.

”It is further enacted that Alfred Carter, Warren Stiles and A. F. Russell, of Scott county, be and are hereby appointed commissioners to lay out a territorial road commencing at Davenport, Scott county, thence to Hickory Grove, thence to Poston's Grove, thence to Red Oak Grove, thence to Pioneer Grove, thence to Big Linn Grove, thence to the seat of justice of Linn county, said commissioners to meet, or a majority of them, to discharge their duties at Davenport on the first Monday of May next.”--Section 8, p. 462, Laws of Iowa.

A number of these laws were pa.s.sed laying out what were known as ”territorial and state roads.” For example, there was the well known Dubuque-Iowa City road pa.s.sing through Anamosa, Springville, and Mount Vernon. Then there were the two well known roads pa.s.sing through Marion, one known as the Toledo road running nearly directly west of Cedar Rapids to Toledo, and a road much travelled in the early day; the other road branched from the Toledo road about four miles west of the city and was an angling road known in this county as the Marengo road, the State road, as well as the Des Moines road, which also was laid out over high ground in nearly a straight angling line to Marengo, and then west through Brooklyn, Grinnell, and Newton to Des Moines. This road was used much by the forty-niners crossing the state for the gold fields of California, and now and then some farmer has picked out of his field where the old road has been changed little horse shoes, shoes used for oxen, hammers and hatchets, and other utensils which had been left or lost by the early gold seekers.

There were two roads between Cedar Rapids and Marion well known in the early days, one called the old Marion road and the other running about where the street railway now runs.

Another road which was much used in the early days was known as the Cedar Rapids and Center Point road. It was much travelled by all people from the north part of the county.

Another road was the Marion-Mt. Vernon road, as well as the Western road, and the Mt. Vernon-Ivanhoe Bridge road leading to Iowa City.

The Code of 1851, referring to the State roads, directs that these roads shall be maintained by the respective counties but that such State roads shall not be discontinued or diminished in size.--Sections 557, 558, Code of Iowa, 1851.

At this time roads were under the supervision of the county court.

Later they came under the supervision of the county supervisors.

For many years it was believed that a certain hill overgrown by trees near the Milwaukee tracks in the edge of Kenwood had been a fortification erected by the United States government in the early days for defending the settlers from Indian attacks.

A school house was later erected on or near this locality and was known as ”Ft. George School House.” Many of the old settlers remembered this locality and called it the old fort. An investigation was made and the following letter written by Samuel W. Durham explains itself:

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