Houston County, Minnesota - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 53 of those read), 1882

Jefferson Village Religious 8Chool8 A.

This town occupies the southeast corner of Houston county, and of the state of Minnesota. The eastern boundary is the Mississippi River. The northern tier of sections in the original government survey is taken to help make Crooked Creek township, but the loss of these is compensated for by the addition of several sections on the east from the adjoining township, the bulk of which falls on the Wisconsin side of the river, and so this town, in area, does not differ very widely from an original government township.

The topography of the town, in the eastern portion is characteristic of the western bank of the Mississippi in this region. For two or three miles from the river bank, there are numerous sloughs, the intervening land being hardly land at all, but a mass of swampy alluvium, a part of which has not been utilized for any purpose whatever. Back from this are the ridges, the bluffs, the dunes, and the conical shaped hills, with the intervening ravines. The great ravine of the town is that of the Winnebago River, which comes in from the west through sections thirty and twenty -nine, as well as twenty-eight, and then tortuously into twentyseven, turns south through thirty-four, and finally empties into a slough in the eastern part of section thirty-five. North and south of this depression, which has several branches on each side, there may be said to be table lands, of greater or less widths.

The soil is a rich loam along the valley, which is comparatively narrow. The bluffs rise several hundred feet, but there are some good, but small farms on these ridges. Some of the bottom lands near the river, where not timbered, furnish perennial crops of hay of a wild or meadow variety.

Near the Catholic Church in section twenty-eight, is a fine large spring, which, in earlier days, was so much larger than now, that a bargain was almost closed with Mr. P. Donahue, the owner, for a mill site, as it -was thought at that time to furnish sufficient water to run a factory, which was in contemplation.

The varieties of soil are not unlike other parts of the county near the river. There is timber and prairie, ravine and ridge land, giving to the scenery a picturesqueness which is ever changing as one travels from place to place. The town is tolerably well settled, but there are still, according to the plats, quite a number of government forties with other larger tracts still in the market.

In surveying the State line between Iowa and Minnesota, west from the Mississippi, no suitable place could be found to plant the iron monument, prepared to mark the boundary /-until reaching about three miles from the river, when it was placed on the line in the center of section thirty-five.

The Iron Post. - The line post above mentioned is on the first high ground west of the river. It is an obelisk of cast-iron, a half-inch thick, and five feet eight inches above ground; it is twelve inches square at the base and tapers to seven at the top. The lettering and figures are cast upon the monument. On the north side in a vertical line, a*s they are on each side, is the word, Minnesota, on the south, Iowa, on the west, Lat. 43 degrees 30 minutes, on the east, 1849. It was brought up the Mississippi by a surveying party, landed at the nearest point and hauled with oxen with great difficulty to the spot. This was several years after the date on the monument.

The Chicago, Clinton, Dubuque, and Minnesota railroad skirts the inner sloughs up and down the river, which for about two miles opposite the town is nearly a mile wide, but in section twentynine is narrowed up to less than eighty rods.

Earliest Settlement

The township of Jefferson was, unquestionably, the first point settled in Houston county, although Brownsville has often been accorded that honor, and it is true that not until the Browns located there, did the county attract particular attention, although the early settlers who first located in Wilmington, Winnebago, and Caledonia, did not know of the Browns at all, until after making their claims.

In the year 1847, John Boss, a native of Pennsylvania, who had been in the Mexican war, came up the river from Galena, Illinois, and built a log cabin. His brother Samuel also came, and they had two places, one of them was left in Minnesota and the other in Iowa by the government surveyors.

The place was then known as Boss's landing and was so designated on the maps published at that period. Some of the Winnebago Indians who were on this side of the river assisted in rolling the logs to build the cabins. It seems that Samuel Boss bought the place, and they lived there six or seven years, when he sold to JohD, who did not keep it long but transferred it to an Illinois man, who never settled on it, and the property is still occupied by renters. John Boss engaged quite extensively in lumbering, running his timber to Galena and other points below. He made other claims at various points, but did not consider them worth holding, and so they were abandoned.

It is supposed that the oldest living settler in town now is Patrick Collins, who settled here in May, 1854, and resides on section thirty. John Cauley and family came the same year; he has since died. Thomas Brady and Patrick Donahue came about the same time, and also Patrick Mc- Cue, D. Friney, and Daniel Kennedy.

Michael Crowley came from Louisville, Kentucky, where he had lived five years. He died a few years afterwards, and Mrs. Crowley died November 14th, 1880.

Michael S. Brady came here in May, 1856, from Chicago, where he had been for eighteen months. He came originally from County Cavan, Ireland, in 1847. He had been some time in Ohio and in Pennsylvania, where, in the year 1855, he had married Miss Margaret Sheridan, who died about six years after. In March, 1862, he again was married to Miss Mary Lamb. They had eight children, five of whom are living.

The First Births. - The first remembered births in the township were Michael and Patrick, twin sons of Patrick Donahue, who are both living at the present time, one here and the other in Dakota. This was in July, 1856.

Early Deaths. - One of the first casualties was the case of James Malon, who started to go to Brownsville in December, 1855, and perished in the snow. He was living with his sister, Mrs. Hughes, and went to do some trading, and taking the wrong track got lost in a severe snow storm, and his remains were not discovered until the following spring. He was at first buried in town, but afterwards taken up and re-buried in or near Brownsville. His sister, above alluded to, died quite suddenly while on a visit to friends in Wisconsin, and her remains were brought here and buried in the Catholic cemetery. Her son, John, still lives here on the old place in section twentyseven. These people were early settlers.

The First Marriage, of which there is any account given, was not until 1859, when Mr. Dennis Brady and Miss Ann McCue were thus united, and they still reside here.

The First Market the settlers had was in Wisconsin, at a place called Victory, which was reached by crossing the river in skiffs, or they could go to Brow8ville, or down to Lansing, either place being about fifteen miles.

The First Death. - It is evident that the first death in town was a case of accidental drowning in September, 1854. It seems that Patrick Crowley, a young man, son of Michael, while taking some oxen to water, was by them crowded over a high bluff, and although he was soon taken from the water where he had lodged against some brush, all efforts at resuscitation proved unavailing.

An Incident. - Soon after Ross came, a man named Smith located a claim near him, but he soon sold to a Norwegian who brought his wife. Not long after the man died suddenly, and four days later they were found, with his wife too sick to get up from his side. After the man was burned, Ross carried the woman to Lansing, where she was lost sight of.

The two Rosses took the body, rolled it in a sheet, placed it in a box, and in a grave under an oak tree near the spring, not far from the cabin, and the oak still stands as a sentry over his la*t resting place.

Organization

The township organization was effected in 1858. The first election was held at the residence of Patrick Donahue. The board of supervisors elected were: Robert Kenny, Chairman, John Ross and Patrick Donahue. Alex. Durkee was chosen Clerk, with John Ross, assistant and also Treasurer; Alex. Durkee was made Constable; Robert Kenny and Michael S. Brady

Everything seems to have gone on smoothly for the initial year, as everything was serene when the political year 1859 dawned upon the scene. The new election took place and Mr. Robert Kenny was returned as Chairman of the board, and on the last day allowed by law, presented his bond, with John Ross as surety, and then the trouble began. It seems that the Clerk had other views, and induced the other supervisors to name a relative of his for the alleged vacancy. Mr. Kenny was not the man to remain quiet and allow himself to be thus technically slaughtered, so the matter was referred to the District Court, Judge Donaldson being on the bench at the time. Mr. Kenny employed Hon. Daniel Norton, State Senator, as counsel. The result of the affair was that the clerk was required to accept the bond as tendered, and Mr. Kenny was declared the lawfully constituted Chairman of Supervisors.

Jefferson Village

This place was formerly called Ross's Landing, from John Ross, whose family still live in New Albin, across the line in Iowa, and who died a few years ago. He was the nearest resident for quite a while, and in Winnebago may still be seen an old guideboard pointing to Ross's Landing.

In the fall of 1868, Anton Eck located about three-fourths of a mile north of the State line, on a slough, and started a hotel; he still resides there. The next to put in an appearance was James Callihan, who also opened and kept a hotel. In the fall of the next year, 1869, Lewis Hayes located here and built a large building, the lower story arranged for a store and the upper one for a dwelling. The store is now empty, but Mr. Hayes still lives here.

The land where the village was laid out was bought of Mr. Wm. Robinson by Wm. and R. P. Spencer, and surveyed and recorded as a village plat. When the railroad was building there was a disagreement as to damages, and the case went to the supreme court. The railroad company finally run their line by the water's edge.

Wm. Robinson built a warehouse for storing grain, and was for several years in that trade. That same fall Mr. Hayes rented his store to John

Robinson and Mr. Tartt, who opened it and continued in trade for several years. After that Mr. James Bisset took the store and ran it about a year, when, closing out, that wound up merchandising here.

Mr. Wm. Robinson, in the course of two years or so, sold out his business and rented his warehouse to different parties. He died a few years afterwards, at his residence on Portland prairie, Iowa, having just disposed of his remaining interest to the railroad company, a half still belonging to R. P. Spencer, of Lansing Iowa.

Another early settler was Isaac D. Smith, the father of Mrs. Hayes, who arrived in the fall of 1869. He was a native of the state of New York, as were his children; he had been living seven or eight years in Lansing; his widow still lives here, as well as a daughter.

Mr. Hayes originated in Vermont and came west to Lansing in 1852. His wife was Miss Sophia Smith, who had been living in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The railroad came through in 1873, but there never was a station here, and it is idle to speculate now as to what might have been had there been no contest with the company. But what did happen was this, the railroad company bought some land just south of the State line, and started a village called New Albin, which had a rapid growth for a few years, absorbing what of life had been infused into Jefferson, so that it expired without a struggle. There is a water tank to mark whe re it stood, and the trains whistle remorselessly by, regardless of the hopes that lie buried here.

The few residents who live at the village, as it is still called, are engaged in fishing in the sloughs making up to this point. They cultivate small gardens at the base of the bluffs, but the principal industry is the gathering of fish, using for the purpose immense seines, with which they take at one haul sometimes 50,000 pounds, and one of the fish stories they insist upon being true is that about Christmas, 1879, they made one haul which secured nearly 100,000 pounds. The principal variety of fish thus landed are sheeps head, or white bass, buffalo, pickerel, pike, and often enormous catfish, weighing forty or fifty pounds each.

that it had a vigorous infancy, and was nursed with fond care, but ere long, the diseases of infancy peculiar to some unfortunate western cities threatened its life. Its friends from the country occasionally come down and a boat on the river timidly ventures up to the bank. What is to be the result no one can predict It may be that new life will be infused into the arteries of its trade, and that its vigor will return, and health and prosperity will restore it to usefulness. Let us hope so, and be ready to welcome it back to the busy world.

Religious

Roman Catholic. - The first mass known to h&ve been celebrated in Jefferson, was at the house of Daniel Kenny, on section seventeen, in 1854 or '55 by Father Pendergast, who had six appointments on his circuit, and officiated once in two months at each, spending the most of his time in Winona, where he resided. He was relieved by Rev. Father Essing, of Brownsville, who began about 1859, and held monthly meetings quite regularly at the house of Michael S. Brady for several years, or up to about 1868, when the Rev. Father Mat hew succeeded him, and taking hold of the work in earnest, he soon organized a church, and in the spring commenced the erection of the present edifice, which was in due time completed. Services since the occupancy of the church have been monthly or semi-monthly. The present pastor is the Rev. Father Wm. Brennan, of Brownsville, who started with about twenty-five families and now numbers forty or fifty. The church is a neat frame structure, 30x40 feet, with a ten foot addition for the chancel. There is a spire and belfry, but as yet, no belL The first interment in the church yard was Michael, son of M. C. Brady, twelve years of age. The location of the church is on an elevation north of the Caledonia and New Albin road, on the northeastern part of section twenty-eight, about four miles from New Albin.

District No. 48. - This district was organized about 1860, when a summer term was taught by Miss Mary Donahue at the residence of John Cauley. Afterwards a school was taught in Mr. Collins' claim shanty. In 1864, a schoolhouse was constructed, and the following year Miss B. Gertrude Hacket, of Dubuque, taught the first term in the new house, which was the first one

District No. 44. - This had been in a district connected with a southern part of Crooked Creek, and was organized in 1876. The earliest teacher was Miss Theresa Manix, of Caledonia, the second was Miss B. Gertrude Hacket. Miss Anna Kelliker has previously taught in the house of P. Mc- Cauley on the Crooked Creek side of the line.

District No. 82. - This is located in section thirty -five, in the old village, and was organized in 1870, and in the winter of 1870-71, Miss Ella Haines, of Dorchester, Iowa, taught school. It has from six to seven months school each year.

District No. 27. - This district was organized in 1863. The first teacher was Anna Johnson, who taught in the summer of 1864. The school has little uniformity as to length of school terms, but it usually is from three to four months each year. The sohoolhouse is of logs, and was built about the time the first district was organized.

A Reminiscence. - The conventionalities of official correspondence are sometimes cut across by innovations, which relieve the monotony of traditional forms. Here is an instance where struggling genius was not repressed by any fear of departing from the regular forms in such case made and provided. It was received, and due notice taken, by E. W. Trask, the County Auditor at the time:

"Notice is hereby given, that Jefferson John, On the 9th day of March, thereabout or thereon, Was dnly elected to an office of trust. And by law is equipped, to rake in the dust, That is coming or due to Jefferson Town, From a five hundred note to a dollar bill down. His oath and his bond are duly on file, And ready for action in case he'd beguile The good town of Jefferson of its tin ; John Murphy is Treasurer, so be it, Amin."