THE 1880’S IMMIGRATION AND OUTLAWS

“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 became noted for petty thievery, pranks and trickery which soon led to accusations of more serious crimes. Whatever the incidents of misconduct were, every crime committed in the area was
charged to this family often allowing the actual guilty parties to go free.”

“The peacekeeping citizen in and around Hardin County, Iowa in those days feared the dark nights in the sparsely populated countryside.”

“People felt their security was in jeopardy. If anything “bad” happened, the so-called “Rainsbarger Renegades”
automatically got credit for it; and because of fear of retaliation, people hesitated pressing charges but hurled accusations of highhandedness and intimidation. No one could be sure who the real perpetrators were, but suspicions abounded, fingers were pointed and the “Rainsbarger Gang” became the target.”

“Whenever there was a criminal act in the county, the name of Finley Rainsbarger seemed to surface. He
possessed a strong temper and became known as the leader of the gang, feared and hated. His reputation as a dangerous man led to suspicion of all the brothers, and the public was eager to settle scores with those who were the embodiment of all crime in the county.”

“The first murder in Hardin County occurred one winter evening in 1866 in Steamboat Rock. Charles Voiles, a large muscular man, who was under the influence of alcohol, threatened Finley Rainsbarger and Henry Johns, his brother-in-law. During the argument Voiles delivered a drunken blow; the much smaller Finley grabbed a
knife and stabbed him in the heart, killing him instantly. Fin was convicted of manslaughter and served 13 months of a six-year sentence in the penitentiary, at which time he was pardoned. After new evidence was introduced, it was determined that he acted in self-defense. Henry Johns worked incessantly to secure the necessary signers of the petition for his pardon.”

“The rowdy way of life continued for Fin after his release and he was said to be associated with various notorious outlaws. Citizens of Hardin County became even more convinced the Rainsbargers were responsible for terrorism, browbeating and intimidation and suspected they were part of the famous Bunker Gang noted for the wholesale theft of horses among other serious crimes. Most likely the truth was that these brothers were not the gun toters people labeled them to be. In his book called SWIFT JUSTICE OR INJUSTICE, Dennis Van Patter found that “despite what people are prone to believe, there is little evidence to suggest that the family was unusually bothersome or unruly. Small incidents attributed to the Rainsbargers could fill a whole volume. Yet they were legally accused only three times over a 20- year period, and none of these brought conviction.”

“The beginning of the end for the Rainsbargers centered around the scheme of counterfeiting half-dollar coins in Steamboat Rock in the early 1800’s. The Rainsbargers apparently knew of this illegal practice but were not directly involved. In an affidavit (May 15, 1907) which was also substantiated by reliable citizens of Hardin
County, Frank and Nate Rainsbarger described this get-rich-quick plan. They declared one William P. Hiserodt and other well-known area citizens made the coins above a saloon in Steamboat Rock from dies owned by Hiserodt. Some of these were sent to Dakota City, Nebraska to Milton Biggs. Enoch Johnson, father-in-law
of Frank Rainsbarger, was an active member of the gang of counterfeiters and was arrested after being caught with a box of the coins in his possession. Biggs was arrested then too, but while a U.S. officer was taking them to the U.S. Commissioner at Fort Dodge, Iowa, Biggs escaped and was never recaptured. Johnson was indicted by a Grand Jury of which Henry Johns was foreman. Johnson’s arrest and incarceration caused much excitement around Steamboat Rock. The counterfeiters feared Johns would get Johnson to turn state’s evidence, which is exactly what he intended to do.”

“In the meantime while Johnson was in jail, Mag his wife was disposing of all their property. Nettie, Johnson’s daughter by a previous marriage, was Frank Rainsbarger’s wife. To stop her stepmother’s action, she convinced Frank to put up bail for her father, which he did. Immediately upon Johnson’s release, he and Mag quarreled so he moved in with Frank and Nettie. Johnson feared for his life and believed the gang would kill him and. was
afraid to go out alone at night. He had his life insured for his daughter Nettie’s benefit for $7000. About the same time Mag Johnson took out a $16,000 policy on her husband’s life, payable to her in case of his death. Johnson was a good friend of Nate Rainsbarger, who also lived with Frank and Nettie. He begged Nate and Frank to take out insurance on him, too, which Frank finally did, a $5000 policy with a Kansas City, Missouri insurance company, payable jointly to Nettie and Frank Rainsbarger.”

“After bail was provided by Frank, many theorized it was done because of a threat by Enoch to reveal the Rainsbargers’ involvement. However, the fact that their brother-in-law Henry Johns was instrumental in trying to expose the counterfeiters would indicate the Rainsbarger boys had no connection to the counterfeit gang. Frank and Nate maintained that Johnson and the gang had quarreled, and the counterfeiters, fearing disclosure of their activities, threatened Johnson with death if he talked.”

“And death did come to Enoch Johnson, on November 18, 1884. His body was found at the bottom of a hill south of Eldora, after what appeared to be an accident. It seemed his buggy had had a breakdown and Johnson, in his attempt to ride his horse, became entangled in the lines and was thrown and dragged for some
distance.”

“Suspicious evidence came to light at the Coroner’s inquest that prompted a visit to the scene by Sheriff W. V. Wilcox and Coroner Dr. Myron Underwood. This investigation found that a single horse had been hitched near a ravine 65 rods from the broken buggy and spattered blood was found on the trampled grass. But the most
conclusive indication of foul play was that a postmortem examination revealed the victim’s head had been fractured on both sides. The decision handed down by the Coroner’s Jury was that “Enoch Johnson came to his death by blows inflicted upon the head by some blunt instrument in the hands of some person or persons unknown.”

“No arrests were made and some time later rumor surfaced that Frank and Nettie looked into procedures for collecting on Johnson’s life insurance policy. However, it has never been proven that such a policy existed, because the insurance company had become insolvent before Enoch’s death. Nevertheless, because of
hearsay and gossip, Frank’s name became connected to this murder.”

“Weeks later, on January 16, 1885, Frank and Nate Rainsbarger were both arrested for the murder of Enoch Johnson. The arrest was made on the strength of affidavits made by Mag Johnson and Nettie Rainsbarger. Nettie seems to have been influenced into the decision by Mag who visited her often. It was Mag who took
Nettie to see the counterfeit gang leader, Hiserodt.”

“Frank and Nate never stopped denying their guilt. Henry Johns publicly went on record declaring their  innocence, saying he knew Johnson had been killed to prevent him (Johns) from exposing the counterfeiters. He promised to bring the real culprits to justice even if it cost him $50,000. Change of venue was granted
Frank and Nate on the demand of Johns and they were taken to Marshalltown for safety where they were until their trial. District Court was scheduled to convene in late April 1885, when something happened that changed the course of events.

“Henry Johns was a prominent, wealthy farmer who lived a mile south of Abbott. On April 9, returning home from Robertson, he was shot at but escaped injury. Fearing further future episodes of this nature, he consulted his attorney, John Roberts of Ackley, Iowa concerning a way to afford protection, but no record is found of any action being taken.”

”On April 16 business took Johns to Eldora. He took the evening train back to Abbott where he was met by Henry Wikert, his hired man, and Johns’ young son Frank. As they went south toward home with only lantern light to guide them on this dark night, an assault of gunfire erupted in which one of the horses was killed and Johns was wounded.”

“As the boys fled to safety, Henry fell to the ground and the attackers left him for dead. After a while he  managed to find his way to the nearby Deimer’s farm. They assisted in transporting him to his home, and Dr. Potter of Ackley attended him. His left arm had been riddled with a total of nine buckshot, and other bullets grazed his chest and cheek. He seemed to be making satisfactory recovery, but three weeks after the shooting he died.”

“Three versions of the cause of death have been found-one, that he died of gangrene; another, that a condition he suffered from called gravel (kidney stones) was aggravated by the injuries; and third, that he was poisoned by the doctor whose son was involved with the counterfeiters.”

“Before his death, in a sworn statement made out by Justice of Peace Harrington of Marshalltown, Henry
revealed the names of his assailants. This was filed in the county clerk’s office but was never made public. Later it disappeared and has never been located. After about four years, a reward of $500 was offered by
Governor William Larrabee for the conviction of the guilty persons, but no one was ever apprehended.”

“Excitement and tension prevailed in Hardin County. Even as the other three Rainsbarger brothers, Finley, Emanuel (Manse), and William were working to obtain the release of Nate and Frank, the citizens of Hardin County were becoming obsessed with seeing justice done. Seizing the opportunity to divert attention away
from themselves, the counterfeiters joined with these citizens to form a Vigilance Society for the purpose of ridding the county of the criminal element. The action of this group later led to extreme violence.”

”On June 3, 1885 another incident occurred and rumor spread that it was a “Rainsbarger stunt.” Coroner Dr. Myron Underwood and Dr. George Ritenour reportedly had a narrow escape with death in a buggy that allegedly was fired upon by three or four masked men. Some people believed that this act was deliberately planned as a way to implicate the three remaining Rainsbarger brothers. It seems that on the night in question a group of