THE 1880’S IMMIGRATION AND OUTLAWS THE GERMAN INVASION Clay township and Steamboat Rock’s earliest settlers were mostly of 106 American birth. Shortly thereafter German immigrants began toA arrive in small numbers at first. Through the 1860’s and 70’s and 80’s the German population began to swell to such great numbers […]

THE 1880’S IMMIGRATION AND OUTLAWS BUT, THE CRIMES CONTINUED It is very interesting that in 1886, when two Rainsbarger brothers were in their graves, Nate in the penitentiary, and Frank in jail in Marshalltown awaiting trial for the murder of Enoch Johnson, the horse thieving in Hardin county went on. […]

THE 1880’S IMMIGRATION AND OUTLAWS FEAR “David John Johns was the brother of Henry Johns and had moved to Hardin county in 1854, the same time that Henry arrived.” “On October 10, 1858 in Hardin County, Iowa David and Lucinda Emmaline (Emma) Rice were united in marriage. Emma was 15 […]

THE 1880’S IMMIGRATION AND OUTLAWS THE RAINSBARGER STORY As written by: Mildred O. Janssen “Although many counties in the state of Iowa had the unsavory element among their citizens, Hardin County in the 1800’s received nationwide publicity because of the five Rainsbarger brothers, William, Finley, Nathan, Emanuel and Francis. They […]

THE 1880’S IMMIGRATION AND OUTLAWS FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE Once again quoting from Quick’s autobiography, One Man’s Life, he relates several direct experiences with a couple of the Rainsbarger brothers. Quick, it seems, draws little conclusion as to the actual guilt of the Rainsbargers. He may or may not have known if […]

THE 1880’S IMMIGRATION AND OUTLAWS MURDER The Rainsbarger’s, seemed to be highly intelligent and respected citizens. No member of the family had ever had even a minor scrape with the law until 1866, when Finley Rainsbarger was charged with murder. Herbert Quick describes, the incident in his book, One Man’s […]

THE 1880’S IMMIGRATION AND OUTLAWS THE RAINSBARGERS In the early days of Steamboat Rock, and Hardin county, there were some citizens of questionable character. Looking back on some of the incidences of the area’s first fifty years, and particularly the 1880’s we get the strange feeling that maybe the stories […]

THE 1880’S IMMIGRATION AND OUTLAWS GROWTH & DECLINE Steamboat Rock seemed to be a thriving community in 1880. The mayor was E.M. Campbell; the recorder E.W.Skerry; the assessor, R.C. Wright; and council members were A.A. Noyes, Jerome Seabury, D.W. Turner, W.D. Shattuck, Henry Luiken and D.G.Cunningham. As the decade of […]

TIMES ARE CHANGING BEE HUNTING PARTIES A great form of recreation for the early settlers, bee hunting, became an art to some of the pioneers. Those who excelled at the gathering of honey, would watch a bee as it gathered its nectar, and then took careful notice of the direction […]

TIMES ARE CHANGING SNAKES According to the History of Hardin County, “In pioneer times snakes were numerous, such as rattlesnakes, vipers, adder, blood snake, and many varieties of large blue and green snakes, milk snake, garter and water snakes, and others.” Reuben E. Wardwell, an early merchant, who we have […]