EARLY EXPERIENCES IN IOWA
In the spring of 1850 I had determined to seek a location for the
practice of law in some western state. I first thought of migrating to
Oregon, but gave up that idea for the reason that I feared if I
traveled that far from my intended I might never have the means to go
back to Kentucky to claim her. So, finally, I fixed upon the idea of
removing to Iowa. Before deciding this important question, however, I
wrote to my intended wife explaining to her the situation and again
calling her attention to the uncertainties of the future. As she was
two years older than myself I felt that it was hardly justice to her to
insist upon our engagement if she felt that my future was too
uncertain. I received in answer to this letter a kind assurance that
her faith would not fail, and she cited that beautiful passage of
scripture containing the answer of Ruth to Naomi: "Entreat me not to
leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou
goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people
shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die,
and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if
aught but death part thee and me."
The spring of 1851 I returned to Kentucky for a short visit, my brother
Joseph having loaned me fifty dollars in money and trusted me for a new
suit of clothes. In the meantime my father had removed to Millersburg,
Kentucky, and commenced teaching there, a branch of what I think was
known as Johnson's Military Academy, the principal school being at Blue
Licks, Kentucky, in charge of James G. Blaine, afterwards a republican
candidate for President of the United States. The lady he afterwards
married also assisted my father, and received visits from Mr. Blaine on
Saturdays and Sundays. It was whilst residing here that my sister Susan
became acquainted with your grandfather, William Vimont, whom she
married in January, 1853.
[Illustration: _Old Stone House on Public Square,
Sharpsburg, Md._
Birthplace of Charles Clinton Nourse]
It was the latter part of May, 1851, when I started west "to grow up
with the country." We had then no railroads reaching the Mississippi
river from the east, and I took the steamer at Louisville, Kentucky,
for St. Louis, Missouri. At St. Louis I took the steamer for Iowa, not
yet determined as to my landing. The waters of the river were at flood
tide, and on our passage up we saw frame houses floating past us. I
landed in Burlington the last day of May, and stopped at the Barrett
House. I was not acquainted with a single person in the state of Iowa,
had no relative, kindred, or friend to whom I could apply for advice or
assistance. After a hearty dinner I retired to my room, took a chair,
put my feet up on my trunk, and held a consultation with myself. The
question before the house was, what to do next. I had with me a general
letter of recommendation from Professor Dodd, then president of
Transylvania University, and a particular friend of my father, and
another from Dr. T. O. Edwards of Lancaster, Ohio, an ex-member of
congress from that state, and also my letter as a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and my diploma signed by the law faculty
and trustees of Transylvania University. After proper consideration I
inquired of the landlord of the hotel where I could find a Methodist
preacher, as I was satisfied there must be such a person in the city.
He directed me to the parsonage. I called upon the minister and made
his acquaintance, the Reverend Mr. Dennis, who afterwards obtained some
notoriety as a pastor in Kansas at the time of the Kansas troubles. He
was a tall, white haired man of pleasant countenance and affable
manners. I showed him my papers and told him my object in calling upon
him was, through him, to make the acquaintance of some of the leading
lawyers of the city from whom I could obtain information and determine
what part of the state I would attempt to locate in. At that time the
supreme court of the state of Iowa was in session in Burlington,
consisting of Joseph Williams, Chief Justice, George Greene and John F.
Kinney, justices. Mr. Dennis informed me that the judges were boarding
at the same hotel, the Barrett House, and he made an appointment to go
with me to their consultation room that afternoon and introduce me. We
made the visit and I found the judges of the court very cordial, and at
their request I produced my diploma from the law school, told them who
I was and where I was from, and that I desired some information in
regard to the best possible location for a young attorney. They
requested me to call at their courtroom the next morning at the opening
of the court, and they would have me admitted to the practice of law in
their court and throughout the state. The next morning I went to the
court, and at the request of Judge Kinney, Mr. Dickson, of Keokuk, who
was then in attendance at the court, made a motion for my admission to
the bar, and suggested the appointment of a committee to examine me as
to my qualifications. The Chief Justice announced that an examination
was unnecessary--the court had already examined the applicant and was
entirely satisfied with his qualifications, and requested me to come
forward and take the oath of office, which I did. I made the
acquaintance of the clerk of the court, then "Old Timber," as we
afterwards called him, his real name being James Woods. That evening
Judge Kinney asked me to take a walk with him, and told me he had a
brother-in-law, Augustus Hall, living at Keosauqua, Iowa, who was
desirous of having a young lawyer associated with him in his office,
and if I would go to Keosauqua he would give me a letter of
introduction. I ascertained that the stage fare to Keosauqua would be
six dollars. Upon taking an inventory of my pocket-book I found I only
had about eight dollars left of the money my brother had loaned me. I
had with me two trunks, one full of my law books, the other containing
my clothing, etc. I interviewed the landlord and told him my situation
financially, and proposed to him that I would leave my books in his
custody as I was still uncertain where I should settle, and leave my
bill unpaid, if agreeable to him, until such time as I could send for
my books. He readily agreed to the arrangement, but proposed that I
should take my books and he would risk my sending the amount of my
bill, which, however, I declined to do. The next morning Judge Kinney
called me to one side, kindly suggesting that it was not unusual for
young men to visit Iowa for the purpose of locating who were short of
funds, and he would be glad to loan me a small amount if I would accept
it. This kindness I also declined. I had no doubt that he had been
advised by the landlord of my situation, and he was kind enough to
attempt to help me.
The next morning I took the stage-coach for Keosauqua, but owing to the
condition of the roads, and particularly of Skunk river, I was taken to
Keokuk where I had to stay all night. After paying my bill the next
morning I found I had only twenty cents left. The next day the
stage-coach took me to The Divide, as we called it, as far as Utica
postoffice in Van Buren county, and there left me. The hack that should
have taken me from there to Keosauqua had already gone before our
arrival. I could not stay here all night because I had no money to pay
any bill, so I left my one trunk in charge of the postoffice to be sent
to Keosauqua the next day on the hack, and I started to walk, then
about ten miles, to reach Keosauqua. I had not walked far before I
found that I had sprained my ankle slightly in jumping from the coach
that morning. The walking became very painful, but I managed to reach
Keosauqua about sundown that evening. The first building that looked
like a hotel or public house was a frame building that stood southeast
of the court house. The high waters of the Des Moines river had flooded
the lower part of the town, and I found this house was a boarding
house, at that time full of guests. I inquired for the lady of the
house and took my seat on a bench on the porch near the front door.
Presently the lady of the house appeared, and looking at me very
inquiringly wanted to know who I was, where I was from, what was my
business, and where I was going. I was a sorry looking subject, having
waded through the mud for ten miles, and I presume I looked as I
felt--very tired. I gave her my real name, told her I had no business,
that I did not know where I was going, and that I had come from Keokuk
that day. She told me her house was full and she did not believe she
could accommodate me with a night's lodging. I then asked her very
politely for permission to remain upon the porch until I was
sufficiently rested so I could go further down town and obtain lodging,
but I asked her about the town, its population, and about the high
waters. The lady turned out to be Mrs. Obed Stannard, the mother of Ed
Stannard, afterwards Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, and a very
successful business man of St. Louis. She was a good talker, and after
conversing with her about twenty minutes I got up to leave, thanking
her very cordially for her kindness in permitting me to rest on the
porch. She relented and told me she thought if I would stay that she
could find accommodations for me. I told her no, that I could not put a
lady to any inconvenience when it was unnecessary and I must go, so I
left and went down to the front street in the town to the Keosauqua
House, kept then by "Father Shepherd," as we always called him, with
whom I boarded until after I was married in 1853.
Keosauqua, at that time, as indeed it has been ever since, was a small
town of about 1,500 inhabitants, the county seat of Van Buren county,
located on the Des Moines river. It possessed one of the best bars of
the state, and among its inhabitants were men who afterwards became
distinguished in the history of the state. The men more actively
engaged in practice were George G. Wright, for many years afterwards a
judge of the supreme court of the state, Joseph C. Knapp, judge of the
district court of that district and afterwards United States District
Attorney, and Augustus Hall, afterwards a member of congress from that
district and appointed by Mr. Buchanan United States District Judge in
Nebraska. The courts of this county were also visited by J. C. Hall,
afterwards one of the judges of the supreme court. The pastor of the
Methodist church at that time was Henry Clay Dean, who afterwards
became chaplain of the United States Senate, and a notorious political
orator. One of his converts was Delizon Smith, who had been an infidel
lecturer and prominent politician in the state, and was afterwards
elected for a short term to the United States Senate from the state of
Oregon. The next year after I settled in Keosauqua, Henry Clay
Caldwell, then a student in the law office of Judge Wright, was
admitted to the bar, and after the Civil War was appointed United
States District Judge and afterwards United States Circuit Judge, being
located during his official career as judge at Little Rock, Arkansas,
now retired by reason of age and continued service, and residing at Los
Angeles, California.
The state of Iowa at that time in its politics was democratic, and the
democratic party numbered a majority of about two hundred in Van Buren
county. Delizon Smith, however, had failed to obtain a nomination by
his party for the office of Governor, and had organized what was called
"The Young Democracy of Van Buren County," numbering about two hundred
voters. This left the party badly demoralized in the county, and in
August, 1852, I had so far succeeded in making the acquaintance of the
people of the county that I was elected on an independent ticket to the
office of county attorney, which then paid a salary of about three
hundred dollars a year.
After I had boarded with Father Shepherd for a few weeks I received
from my brother Joseph a small remittance. I sent for my books that I
had left at Burlington and took Father Shepherd, the landlord, into my
confidence, told him my situation financially, and paid my bill up to
that date. Father Shepherd at that time was himself a justice of the
peace, and his hotel was the stopping place of most of the people who
acted as guardians and administrators, and who attended once a month
sessions of the county court that then had jurisdiction in probate
matters. I told Father Shepherd of my desire to make the acquaintance
of these officials as they visited his hotel from time to time, and
that his pay for my board depended largely upon my success in business,
and I asked him to be my friend, and at least let people know why I was
there and what my proposed business was. He became my fast friend and
helped me to make very many valuable acquaintances. Father Shepherd was
the father-in-law of Delizon Smith, and a leader of the faction known
as the "Young Democrats" of that county.
Early in the spring of 1853 I received a letter from my then intended
wife, suggesting that my success in business she thought gave
sufficient promise for the future, and that it was not necessary for us
to wait longer. Accordingly I got together one hundred dollars in
money, made a trip around the river to Louisville, Kentucky, and thence
via rail to Lexington for the purpose of realizing something of the
deferred hope. We were married on the 15th of April of that year, my
father in the meantime having removed from Millersburg to Winchester,
Kentucky. I made him a visit in company with my bride and had the
pleasure of meeting there my sister Susan and her husband, William
Vimont, your mother's father and mother. Before going to Kentucky and
claiming my bride I purchased from the Reverend Daniel Lane a house and
two lots in Keosauqua at the price of three hundred and fifty dollars,
and borrowed fifty dollars from Thomas Devon to make the first payment.
I had also attended several auction sales and bought some chairs and
tables, a cook stove and a few dishes. My wife's mother had packed a
feather bed, some pillows and bed clothes, and quilts of the old style
in a store box, and we returned to Iowa the latter part of April, 1853.
The expense of my trip and marriage left me only two dollars of the one
hundred dollars I had when I started for my bride. We arrived in
Keosauqua on Sunday in a slight April shower. On Monday we proceeded to
the house I had purchased, which was in need of repair. We whitewashed
the walls and my wife washed the windows. The next day we made a bill
of about forty dollars at the store for additional house-keeping
facilities. I bought a sack of flour and a ham of meat, and on Tuesday
evening we took tea at home. It was the first home I had had (in the
proper sense of the term) since we left Maryland, and when we sat down
at our own table to drink our cup of tea and eat the new made biscuit
baked by my own wife, I could not repress the tears that came to my
eyes, and I thanked God for the mercy that he had bestowed upon us.
In the fall of 1853 I made a trip west through the southern tier of
counties, attending the courts at Davis, Appanoose, Wayne, and Decatur
counties. I made the trip on horseback with a pair of saddle-bags that
contained my necessary baggage.
From Bloomfield I was accompanied by several attorneys of that bar, and
at Centerville two or three additional lawyers joined our party. The
counties west of Centerville were very sparsely settled and the road
consisted merely of two paths worn by the horses and wagon wheels on
the prairie grass. In Wayne county we applied at one settler's house
for accommodations for the night, but the housewife informed us that
her husband was away from home, had gone to mill, and that she had
nothing in the house to eat save a little bacon. She said if we would
remain she would entertain us with such accommodations as the place
afforded. The corn was hardly yet ripe enough to feed our horses, but
she told us if we would select the ripest and use some salt in feeding
we were welcome to do so. We also, at her request, plucked some of the
softer ears of the corn, and these she grated upon a large tin grater,
and frying some of the bacon in her skillet she made cakes of the
grated corn and fried them in the fat. She also gave us a cup of good
coffee, and with the appetites we had acquired in our day's travel we
made a very hearty and palatable meal.
When bedtime came she made some kind of a bed upon the floor. The next
morning we had a breakfast of the same corn and bacon and coffee. The
lady made a very reasonable charge for our entertainment, and she had
no reason to doubt the sincerity of our compliments upon our fare, as
the avidity with which we had eaten what she had supplied gave full
evidence that we had appreciated our entertainment. The next morning we
rode into Corydon, the county seat of Wayne county. The only hotel in
the place was a small one and one-half story frame house, with a shed
addition for kitchen and dining hall.
Our bed room was the upstairs, and our beds were in two rows, with our
heads under the eaves and our feet touching each other in the center of
the room. We had no separate apartment or separate beds, our wearing
apparel furnishing the pillows.
The court was held in a frame school house on the public square. The
boundaries of the public square were ascertained by a lot of wooden
stakes or pegs. There was no general store in the place for the sale of
goods. An enterprising peddler with two large peddling wagons came
through with us from Centerville and erected a large tent in the center
of the square for the display and sale of his goods, and whenever the
court was not in actual session his store was opened for business.
Judge Townsend, of Monroe county, was the judge of the court.
From Wayne county we went to Decatur, the peddler also keeping us
company with his itinerant dry goods establishment. During this trip I
made the acquaintance of very many young men who afterwards became
distinguished as lawyers, legislators, and judges. The only lawsuit in
which I was consulted was a slander case tried in Wayne county. The
suit was brought in behalf of a young woman for damages because of
words spoken against her reputation by the defendant. Amos Harris, a
lawyer from Centerville, was engaged as attorney for the defendant.
When the case was about to be called for trial Harris expressed his
wish to have my advice in regard to the course to be pursued, and at
his request I retired with him to the shady side of the school house
for consultation. He told me that his client was a man of some property
and that the plaintiff had some witnesses who would testify clearly and
positively to the slanderous words spoken by the defendant of and
concerning the young lady. He said his client really had not injured
the reputation of the young woman at all because nobody believed any
thing that he said as he had a very bad reputation for veracity. He
said they could make no defense whatever, as the girl's character was
good, and he was afraid of a large verdict for damages against his
client, and asked me if I could think of any way that he could help his
client out of the difficulty. I asked him if he could prove that nobody
believed what his client said on account of his bad character. He said
yes, there were plenty of persons that would testify to that, but he
could not see how that was any defense. I told him it was no defense
against the slander, but it might be proved with advantage in
mitigation of damages, provided his client would be willing that he
should undertake to do so. He called his client out and explained to
him the situation as I had advised, and asked him if he was willing to
save his money at the expense of his reputation. The fellow winced, but
finally consented that Harris might make the proof. I suggested that as
the plaintiff's witnesses were all friendly to the young lady Harris
might on cross-examination prove by them that they did not at the time
or ever believe the slander that the defendant had uttered against the
plaintiff, and that they had never repeated it to anyone except
accompanied by their statement of their belief that it was all false,
and Harris introduced several other witnesses to prove the bad
reputation of his client for truth and veracity. The plaintiff's
attorneys objected and the court first hesitated to allow the witnesses
to so testify, but upon the suggestion that it was the best thing for
the plaintiff's reputation, and that as nearly the whole population of
the county was there upon attendance of the court, it was better to
clear up her reputation by this testimony than to give her money to
heal her wounded feelings, the court finally took this view of the case
and permitted the evidence to go to the jury in mitigation of damages.
The jury found a verdict in favor of the plaintiff against the
defendant for the sum of only twenty dollars. The young woman went home
with her character thoroughly vindicated and her reputation restored,
and the only one unhappy over the result of the trial appeared to be
the attorney for the plaintiff, who was undoubtedly expecting a
handsome recovery as the only means of compensating him for his
professional work.
From Decatur county I returned home, having learned much of the country
and its people, and having made many interesting acquaintances among
the members of the bar.
And now I must tell you something of my political career, which
properly begins at about this date. I had been made chairman of the
county committee of the fast dissolving organization known as the whig
party. In the fall of 1854 I was a candidate for re-election as county
attorney. We had nominated a county ticket of two candidates for the
state senate and four representatives, what we then called the
anti-Nebraska whigs. James W. Grimes was the candidate for Governor of
the state. The democratic party had passed what was called the
"Kansas-Nebraska Bill," containing a clause repealing the Missouri
Compromise measure, adopted in 1820, that prohibited slavery and
involuntary servitude north of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes of
north latitude in the territories of the United States, acquired by the
Louisiana Purchase. This had resulted in the partial disorganization of
the democratic party throughout many of the northern states. I had left
Kentucky because of my opposition to slavery, and especially to what I
regarded as the baleful influence of that institution upon the white
population. I had settled in Iowa because it was a free state and
because I felt that the opportunities for success in life would be
greater than in a slave state. I had observed whilst in Kentucky that
fixed conditions of political, social, and business life made the
success of the young man, depending only on his own energies and
abilities, always doubtful and difficult.
Upon my defeat as prosecuting attorney in 1854, at the suggestion of
the members elected to the legislature from Van Buren county I went to
Iowa City in their company at the beginning of the session, and through
their influence I was elected clerk of the house of representatives of
the state of Iowa. I found this position of great advantage and help,
not only pecuniarily, but I made the acquaintance of public men of all
parties during the session. Afterwards in 1856-7 I was elected
secretary of the senate of the state.
In 1854, at the dissolution of the old whig party there existed a
political organization in many of the states of the Union called "The
Know-Nothings." It was a secret political organization, having for its
principal doctrines opposition to the Roman Catholics and to the
foreign-born citizens of the United States. I refused to affiliate with
this "Know-Nothing" organization for the reason that I did not believe
in secret political societies or organizations in this country, and I
did not believe in making the religious faith or affiliations of any
man a test for office, neither did I believe that anyone should be
excluded from the confidence and respect of his fellow men because of
the place of his birth. As county chairman of the expiring whig party I
issued to the people of Van Buren county a circular stating my position
and declining to call any convention to coöperate with the
"Know-Nothing" organization. I did this for the further reason that the
opposition to the extension of slavery into the territories was
becoming every day more and more pronounced in the northern states of
the Union, and the nucleus of what was afterwards the republican party
had already been formed in many of the northern states.
It may be interesting to you to have the history of how Henry Clay Dean
became a democrat, and how a little thing may change the destiny and
fortune of a man in this life. In the fall of 1854 the Methodist annual
conference for Iowa met at the city of Dubuque. It was the custom at
that early day for the members of the conference to become guests of
the citizens of the locality where the conference had its meetings.
Dean was then a member of the conference, and had been receiving and
filling regular appointments as a pastor. At Dubuque resided Honorable
George W. Jones, then a democratic United States Senator from Iowa.
Jones maintained a good table and was a good liver, and his wife an
excellent, hospitable lady. In assigning the members of the conference
to the different citizens, Dean was assigned as the guest of Senator
Jones and his wife. After the conference had been in session a few
days, the "Know-Nothings" having been secretly organized in the city of
Dubuque became very active in obtaining the names of the Methodist
ministers attending the conference, and in initiating them into their
order. Among other names presented and favorably acted upon was that of
Henry Clay Dean, my former pastor and friend. After he had been elected
and the time appointed for his initiation a few nights hence, one of
the over zealous ministers represented to Brother Dean that as he had
now been elected a member of the "Know-Nothing" organization it was not
proper for him to continue to be the guest of and accept of the
hospitality of the wife of George W. Jones, who was a Roman Catholic.
Dean was an enormous eater, and the suggestion that he should give up
his nice boarding place greatly offended him, and he denounced the
suggestion as bigotry and presumption inexcusable. He at once went to
Senator Jones and told him of the proposition that had been made to him
and the cause of it, and denounced the "Know-Nothing" organization in
most uncompromising terms. The Senator was pleased with Brother Dean's
zeal in the matter, and induced him on the succeeding Sabbath to preach
a sermon on "Know-Nothingism" and to denounce it from the pulpit. Dean
was a man of more than ordinary ability, with a wonderful command of
language. Upon the adjournment of the conference Senator Jones wrote to
Judge Knapp at Keosauqua stating the situation and suggesting that Dean
be employed in the political canvass against the "Know-Nothings" that
fall, and be encouraged in his opposition to that order. Dean returned
to Keosauqua, and I had a long conference with him upon this matter. I
knew that he had been engaged several years before that in collecting
the most learned and effective arguments in favor of protective tariff
as delivered in congress from time to time, especially from whig
members from the state of Pennsylvania. I also knew that he had
preached some of the bitterest sermons against human slavery that I had
ever heard from the pulpit or from any source, and I urged upon him
that he could not consistently coöperate with the democratic party
because of his views in regard to the tariff and because of his
opposition to slavery. I pointed out to him that the organization of
the republican party was then proceeding in most of the states and that
his feelings, sentiments, and views would be better expressed by the
position of that organization; that the "Know-Nothing" party was a mere
temporary passion and would effervesce and disappear in a short time,
and that his efforts in opposition to them would be wholly unnecessary
and gratuitous. But he was too wroth and anxious for his revenge
against those who suggested that he decline the hospitality and good
dinners of Senator Jones. He accordingly entered the canvass, and that
fall there being the election in Virginia in which Henry A. Wise was a
democratic candidate for Governor and was opposed by the
"Know-Nothings," Dean with letters of recommendation from Jones and
Senator Dodge and other leading democrats of Iowa went to Virginia and
entered the political canvass in favor of Wise and in opposition to the
"Know-Nothings." Wise was elected, and Dean then went to Washington
City. With the influence of Dodge and Jones and the Virginia delegation
he was elected chaplain of the United States senate, and thereafter,
and especially during the Civil War, he made himself notorious as a
democratic orator.
Without observing the exact chronology of events, it would be well here
to recite certain facts and incidents that had a material influence
upon my mind, and determined my action in regard to the question of
human slavery. While residing in Kentucky and boarding in the family of
my friend, Abraham S. Drake, I had frequent conversations with him in
regard to the subject. He was at that time decidedly opposed to the
institution, regarding it as morally wrong and detrimental in its
effect upon the white as well as the slave population of the state.
Slavery at that time existed in Kentucky in its most modified and
humane condition, but the system itself and the law gave to the slave
owner a power over the slave that was too frequently abused. One
instance I recall that made a powerful impression upon my mind. On a
beautiful Sabbath morning in the early part of the summer I was taken
sick, while in attendance upon religious services at the Methodist
Episcopal church, and was compelled to leave the church and go home,
soon after the singing of the opening hymn. On the way to my boarding
house I passed near what was known as the "Watch-house" or headquarters
of the police, and was shocked to hear the cries of a negro woman who
was maid to some wealthy mistress, who had become offended at her that
morning, and had sent for the police and given orders that her servant
be taken to the police quarters and given a certain number of lashes,
administered in expiation of her offense.
The contrast between the quiet worshipers at the church and their
seeming devotion, and the horrible cries that filled the air from the
unfortunate negro slave woman was a comment upon the injustice and
brutality of the institution, that made an impression upon my mind that
has never been erased.
In 1853 when I went to Kentucky for the purpose of being married I was
the guest of my friend Drake for several days. While sitting upon the
veranda one evening one of his children was playing upon the lawn in
front of the house, with a little negro tot two or three years of age.
He called my attention to the colored child, stating that that was his
"carriage driver" and that he was a child of one of the negro women
that his wife had inherited a few years before, and he remarked that
the child was worth then $600. I reminded him of our former
conversation and discussion in regard to slavery and expressed my
surprise that he would have any pleasure in calculating the money value
of this child. He informed me that his views on the subject of slavery
had undergone quite a change, and upon investigating the subject he was
satisfied that the Bible fully justified the institution of slavery,
and he thought it was right morally as well as legally to own and enjoy
the possession of such property. I said but little in response to these
arguments, but could not but reflect and be convinced that it was
pecuniary investment that had its baleful influence upon the conscience
of my friend and perverted his moral sense, and this was only to me an
additional reason for hating the institution.
When returning from Kentucky with my bride we stayed over a day at
Louisville, as my wife desired to visit some old friends and former
neighbors who had resided near them in Lexington. We accordingly made a
call upon her friends, and while sitting in the parlor conversing about
old times a colored woman about the age of my wife came into the room,
and greeting us begged to inquire of my wife in regard to her husband,
it appearing from her story the family had moved from Lexington to
Louisville about two years before, and that the woman had been
separated from her husband, who still resided in Lexington and was the
property of another party. In the meantime the slave woman had given
birth to a child, and amid her tears told how she longed to see her
husband and have him see her young babe. The interview was cut short
when the slave woman was remanded to the kitchen, and the cheerful
recall of pleasant reminiscences became rather sad. The family insisted
upon my wife and myself remaining to dinner and pressed upon us with
great earnestness their hospitality. My wife was disposed to accept of
the invitation, but having only been married the week before, I was not
prepared to accept of the hospitality of people who separated a husband
and wife thus ruthlessly, and I retired with thanks, and we took our
dinner at the hotel.
After I settled in Keosauqua, Iowa, I became a subscriber to and a
constant reader of the New York _Tribune_, and in due time also read
with much interest that wonderful book written by Harriet Beecher
Stowe, called _Uncle Tom's Cabin_.
During the winter of 1857, whilst I was secretary of the state senate,
I enjoyed the pleasure of hearing Wendell Phillips deliver his lecture
upon the "Lost Arts." At the close of his lecture Hon. J. B. Grinnell,
then a member of the state senate from Poweshiek county, rose in the
audience and requested Mr. Phillips to give us his views upon the
subject of slavery, and especially called his attention to the fact
that Mr. Phillips had been represented by the public press as favoring
a dissolution of the American Union. Mr. Phillips courteously complied
with the request, and proceeded to say that when the constitution of
the United States was formed it contained within its provisions, as he
believed, the germ of human liberty. That the declaration of American
independence had declared that all men were entitled to the inalienable
rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He said that he
was in favor of the development of this germ to its fullest extent;
that the constitution of the United States might be compared to a box
in which was planted an acorn; the acorn would grow in the very nature
of things and become an oak, but whether or not the box in which the
acorn was planted was sufficient to contain the development and growing
germ, he could not say. He was not concerned in regard to the safety of
the box, but he was anxious that the germ should develop and that the
tree should grow. That whether or not the constitution of the United
States could survive the development and growth of this germ of human
liberty that had been planted therein, he could not say, and upon that
question he did not feel any very great anxiety; all he had to say in
regard to the matter was that he was in favor of the growth of the
germ, and he believed that the acorn would grow and ought to grow.
Wendell Phillips was one of the most eloquent and graceful public
speakers it was ever my privilege to listen to. I had expected from his
reputation as a reformer and abolitionist to hear a man with loud voice
and vehement gesticulation, but instead he proved to be mild, quiet,
self-possessed, delivering his utterances in the clearest, mildest, and
most persuasive tones, commanding the respect of his audience and
almost fascinating them with his words.
During the same session I also had the pleasure of hearing at
Davenport, Iowa, a lecture from Horace Greeley, the great editor of the
New York _Tribune_. I was greatly disappointed in Mr. Greeley's
lecture. As a writer I knew him to be the clearest and most incisive in
his utterances. His manner on the platform and his speech were those of
a drony, sing-song, intonating Episcopal minister, devoid of life and
spirit.
The general assembly of 1854-5 elected George G. Wright, then of Van
Buren county, Norman W. Isbell, and Wm. G. Woodard, judges of the
supreme court of the state to fill the vacancies caused by the
expirations of the terms of Judges Williams, Kinney and Greene. At this
session also occurred the first election of James Harlan as United
States Senator. Mr. Harlan was not permitted to take his seat under
this election, for the reason that at the adjourned joint session at
which he was elected the senate as an organized body with their
president, Maturin L. Fisher, had not participated in the election, but
had previously adjourned the session of the state senate. Mr. Harlan
was again elected in the session of 1856-7, and his right was
recognized by the senate.
In the summer of the year 1856 a republican convention was called for
the state to be held at Iowa City, for the organization of that party,
in sympathy with other state organizations of like name and principles.
As the sole surviving official of the old whig party of Van Buren
county, I called a county convention to meet at Keosauqua for the
purpose of appointing delegates to the state convention to be held at
Iowa City. I wrote a letter to my friend, H. C. Caldwell, asking him to
write a letter to Judge Wright and urge upon him the propriety, as he
could not be present at this county convention, of writing a letter
endorsing and encouraging the movement. Judge Wright declined to write
any such letter, and simply wrote to Mr. Caldwell that he hoped we were
doing right in calling the county convention.
I was present at the county convention and started the movement with
such enthusiasm as we were able to awaken. Delegates were duly
appointed, but the attendance at Iowa City required of them an overland
trip of some seventy-five miles.
I then owned what was called a "democrat wagon," having two seats, and
a small gray mare and mustang pony. With this team and wagon, when the
time came, I furnished the transportation for the delegation, and Van
Buren county was represented in the state convention by Abner H.
McCrary, our state senator from Van Buren county, Dr. William Craig,
George C. Duffield, and myself. I had the honor also to be appointed
one of the secretaries of this state convention. This was the first
republican state convention held in the state, and was the beginning of
the political organization that has ever since, with the exception of a
period of four years, controlled the legislation and policy of the
state of Iowa.
The first national republican convention met at Philadelphia in the
fall of 1856 and nominated General John C. Fremont as its candidate for
President. I took an active part in the campaign in Iowa that ensued.
At the request of the central committee of the state I spent several
weeks in canvassing Davis county. Many of the settlers in the southern
tier of townships, both in Van Buren and Davis counties, instead of
finding themselves in a slave state, in the state of Missouri, were
really citizens of the free state of Iowa. It was much easier to
ascertain the true southern boundary of our state than it was to remove
the prejudices of the benighted citizens who had by mistake settled in
Iowa, so when I went into Davis county in 1856 to make republican
speeches opposed to the existence and extension of slavery in our free
territory, I met with small encouragement. We were courteously called
"black republicans," and frequently designated as "damn black
republicans." At one point where I had an appointment to make a
political speech I found an audience assembled that had armed
themselves with rotten eggs, with the intention of driving me out of
their locality. It so happened that the year before most of these men
had been indicted for libel in accusing their school-master of burning
down a school house in the township, notifying him publicly to leave
the county or suffer mob violence. A civil suit was also instituted
against them for damages. I had been employed by them and succeeded in
getting them off with the reasonable sum of eight hundred dollars, for
which they were truly grateful, and when they found that I was to be
the "black republican" orator advertised for the occasion, they
generously assured me that if it had been anybody else they would not
have permitted him to speak, but as I had stood by them in their
trouble I might go on and say just what I pleased. They were a
warm-hearted, hot-headed, impulsive set of men. Just how many converts
I made during the two weeks that I was engaged in speaking in Davis
county I cannot say. We had no republican organization in the county,
and the leading men who took any active part in politics in opposition
to the democratic party were running Bell and Everett as their
candidates. Davis county, at the ensuing election, gave Fremont
electors only two hundred and fifty votes, and the vote in the state of
Iowa stood as follows: Fremont, 43,954; Buchanan, 36,170; Fillmore,
9,180.