Jo Daviess Township

Jo Daviess Township

It is bounded by the following townships in Faribault county: Verona on the north, Blue Earth City on the east. Pilot Grove on the south, and by Pleasant Pi-airie township, in Martin county, on the west.

General Physical Characteristics

The mean elevation of this town above tide water is eleven hundred and fifty feet, and the depth of the drift here, to bed rock, probably, exceeds one hundred feet. The surface is correctly designated as rolling prairie. The only streams of living water are the Badger Creek, and its tributaries. There are several small clear water lakes in this town, one known as Gorman lake, on sections seventeen and twenty, and Pilot Grove lake, which lies partly in this town on the south boundary, and also one or two others not named. Good water is easily obtained by digging or boring anywhere, at moderate depths. There is no native timber in this township, except what is found at Pilot Grove, on the south side of the town, but there are many fine artificial groves found in all parts of the township. The soil is very fertile and well adapted to all farming and grazing purposes.

It is proper here to state, that there is in this township, a large nursery of fruit and ornamental trees and shrubbery of all kinds, on the farm of John A. Dean, Esq., which nursery was started in 1865, and enlarged from time to time, and always carefully attended. This was the first nursery of fruit trees started in the county.

The Name

Having given this hurried description of the general physical aspects of this township, we now pass to a sketch of its history, and first, a few words as to the name. The town was first named Johnson, by the special commissioners, in 1858, in honor of James and Alexander Johnson, two of the earliest settlers of the county, but not at that time residents of this town. It appearing, however, that there was another township in the state of this name, the name was changed by the county board on the fourth day of January. 1B59. to Jo Daviess, on the suggestion of James L. McCrery, a member of the board, and resident of the town. And who was Jo Daviess, after whom this town was named?

Joseph HaTiiiltnii Daviess, familiarly named "Jo Daviess,'' was a bold and linivo soldiiT, an able lawyer and an eloquent orator, who, in the early days of Kentucky, ranked with her most (,'ifled and honored names. He was born in Virginia, in 1774. When he was about five years old, his parents removed Uj the wilds of Kentucky. Subsefiuently, while still in his early youth, he was placed under the care of competent tutors, and obtained a classical education. He studied law under the direction of one of the ablest jurists of his day - Geo. Nicholas - and became as-ociated in the profession with such men as Felix (.rundy, Bledsoe, Talbut, Pope - all men eminent in their time. In 1801 he appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States, though then but twenty-eifht years of ajje, and ar^'ued a iireat cause before that able tribunal, with marvelous ability and eloi|uence, and won his case. In 1803 he was ruarrie.i to the sister of Chief Justice John Marshall. He was subsequently appointed United Slates District Attorney for the State of Kentucky. But Daviess was also a soldier, and as such, took an active part in the border wars of his time, with the Indians. He was in a trreat number of famous lights, and finally fell in the bloody and wonderful battle of Tippecanoe. The memory of Jo Daviess is still treasured in Kentucky, as that of one of h(?r noblest and bravest sons. He was somewhat eccentric in his habits, and usually wore the style of clothing common among the western hunters - a coonskin cap, homespun frock coat and belt, buckskin breeches and moccasins, but all of the best materials, and neatly fitting. There is a county in Indiana, one in lUiuois, one in Missouri, and one in Kentucky named Jo Daviess.

First Settlement

Mr. McCrery came to this county in 1855. and took a claim. But this claim was "jumped," using the elegant language of that day, or in other words, the land was settled upon and claimed by another person, as Mr. McCrei-y had left the land and returned to Iowa temporarily. In the spring of 1856 he returned with his family to this county, and on or about the tenth day of May of that year, located in this town.

Mr. McCrery was born in Kentucky, emigrated at an early day to Indiana, from thence to Franklin county. Iowa, and from the latter place to this town. He was quite a prominent and inlluential man in the earlier years of the county. He held various town offices, and was for some time a member of the county board. In politics he was a democrat. He held the office of justice of the peace for a number of years, during which time he did most of the justice court business in the south half of the county. He removed to the state of Nebraska some years ago, where he has since died.

The following table presents the names of all the residents of the town in June, 1860, as appears from the rolls of the national census of that year:

None of these persons are now residents of the town, except Burton Chute and a part of his family, the others having died or removed, and Mr. Chute is entitled to the honorable designation of the patriarch of Jo Daviess.

Organization

This town was attached, for civil purposes, to the township of Pilot Grove, by the special commissioners, in 1858, and so remained until January 7th, 1864, when it was detached by the county commissioners. The first town meeting was held at the house of W. B. Belding, January 26th, 1864, when officers were elected, and the town organized.

The board of town officers for the year 1879, was composed of the following named residents of the town: Supervisors, C. C. Briggs, chairman, L. Y. Bobbins and W. R. Winn; town clerk, L. L. Coutier. Mr. Coutier had been clerk for nine previous years. Assessor, W. H. Behse; treasurer, E. Nash; justices of the peace, L. L. Coutier and W. H. Behse; constables, G. Rockwell and J. Neitzal.

Educational

The first school-house erected in this town was built in the fall of 1859. It was a very small, cheap log house, and was known as the "Belding School-house." Sometime afterwards it was superseded by a very cheap frame building, near the same site, and this was succeeded, in 1867, by a good frame house, on the same location. Another school-house was erected, at an early day, in the north part of the town, and was known as the "Pezler School-house. " Miss Melissa Chute, it is said, was the first school teacher in this township. She taught a school here in 1859. There are now four good school- houses in the town, all well finished and well furnished.

Religious

On June 14th, J 868, a society of Seventh Day Adventists was organized in the town by Elders Ingraham and Pierce. Other religious societies were formed here also, at an early day, and held public worship in the school-houses. The Belding school-house was for a number of years quite a noted place for the assembling of religious bodies.

Sundry Incidents

As to bounties given to encourage enlistments during the war of the rebellion, the reader is referred to the historical sketch of Pilot Grove township, for both towns then constituted the town district.

Prior to the closing year of this sketch, this township had furnished to the public service, two county commissioners, J. L. McCrery and J. A. Dean, and a county surveyor, J. A. Dean.

In the years 1873 and 1874, the crops in this town were almost entirely destroyed by grasshoppers, which caused much distress and discouragement, and compelled many of the people to remove from the town to procure a living, and this fact accounts for the great decrease in population between the years 1870 and 1875.

As illustrating the terrible destruction of crops here in 1874, we quote the following statement from the Blue Earth City Post of January 9th, 1875. The whole town was carefully canvassed, and the following result was obtained.

Number of acres sown lo whoat, 1,407; number of bushels of wheat sown, 2,400; number of bushels harvested, (iOl; number of acres sown to oats, 560: number of bushels of oats sown, 1,5C3; number of bushels of oats harvested, 3,482; number of acres planted to corn, 535; number of bushels gathered, 3,020: average yield of wheat per acre in pounds, 25; average yield of oats per acre in bushels, a fraction over 6: average yield of corn per acre in bushels about 5».

Blue Earth City is the principal railroad and trading point for this town, but for the northern portion of the town, Huntley and Winnebago City are also convenient.

Some Figures

Now here is a second roll of honor, embracing the names of many residents of the town, prior to the close of 1879, many of whom have not yet been named in this sketch.

a. W. Adair, P. Allen, W. D. Belding, A. Bork, C. C. Barber, E. C. Barnes, F. Barnes, C. C Briggs, A. R. Brockett, R. IT. Barker, Jonathan Burgess, A. Bonwell, J. Burgess, W. II. Behse, Jas.Brownlee.T.Corbett, W.Cummings, Wm.

The town is now being rapidly settled up, and its fertile lands improved, and at no distant day it will rank with the best townships of the county.