Johnson County >> 1883 Index

History of Johnson County, Iowa
Iowa City, Ia.: [s.n.], 1883.

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Unless otherwise noted, biographies submitted by Mary Hitchcock.

John Parsons, a farmer and stock-raiser, residing in Graham township, post-office address, Morse; was born in 1834, in Summersetshire, England; a son of George and Betty Parsons; came to America in 1858, and lived ten years in New York State, and went back to England, and remained there six months, and during the time married Miss Jennie Ham. They have seven children. They came to America, and finally settled in Graham township, Johnson county, Iowa, in 1869. The family attends the Methodist Church.

Lieutenant-Colonel John Pattee, a resident of Iowa City; was born July 23, 1820. His father was a Methodist missionary, and preached in Canada, where he resided when the subject of this sketch was born; he soon moved back to the States. Col. Pattee commanded Cos. I, K, L, and M, soldiers from Iowa stationed at forts Randall, Sulley, and Sioux City, during the war. He settled in Iowa City in 1851, and worked at the carpenter trade. He was married August 23, 1855, to Lidia Lanning of Iowa City, who died February 20, 1869. They had one child, the wife of Samuel Fanning. He was married July 7, 1861, to Miss Pricilla Clark, sister of the Hon. Ezekiel Clark, of Iowa City. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church o Iowa City. Col. Pattee was auditor of state by appointment in 1855, and was elected in 1856. He is a republican in politics. He was appointed a special agent under the interior department, to secure an agreement with the Sioux Indians to let the Ponca Indians return to their old reservation. He was the first librarian of the State Historical Society.

BRUCE PATTERSON, farmer, a resident of Washington township, section 24, post-office, Frank Pierce; was born December 8, 1842, near Utica, Licking county, Ohio; came to Iowa and settled with his parents in Washington township, Johnson county, in October, 1847. He was married December 25,1870, to Miss Jennie Van Meter. This union is blessed with two children: Ray and Ney. He is a democrat in politics; his party has honored him with the office of member of the board of supervisor for two terms, and he was elected chairman of the board January, 1883, and he has proved faithful to every trust confided to his care; he has proved himself a successful politician, as well as a successful farmer. He owns a well kept farm with plenty of good stock, and comfortably situated in life.

HON. LEMUEL B. PATTERSON, a practiceing attorney in Iowa City, in partnership with Levi Robinson, on Clinton street, since 1860, near post-office, the oldest law firm in the State of Iowa; was born September 12, 1824, in Rushville, Indiania; the spring of 1841 found him in Iowa City; he was admitted to practice law in 1846. A democrat in politics; was city attorney in 1868-70, and again in 1874-76; a member of the city council in 1857-59. He was librarian of Iowa territory for three years, and while in that office drew up the first homestead law passed in Iowa; he won the railroad bond suit in the supreme court of the United States, case of Lucius Clark vs. Iowa City, reported in the 21st Wallace, U. S. S. C. R., page 20. He was married May 10,1851, to Miss Jane Hazard; she died in 1856 in Iowa City, of cholera; also his little boy and hired girl of the same disease. He has always taken a lively interest in all public interest of Iowa City, and has accumulated some valuable city property.

J. G. PATTON, farmer, post-office River Junction; was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, October 30, 1840. At the age, of ten he moved to Steubenville, Ohio, with his father, who was a printer and one of the old Jacksonian men. He published the "Genius of Liberty," at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and claimed to be first man that pushed Jackson's name for president, being a personal friend of his. In 1854, he came to Iowa City, where he lived until his death, November, 1861. The subject of this sketch learned the printer's trade in the old "Capital Reporter" office, now the "State Press," commencing when eighteen years of age. In September, 1861, he enlisted in company F, First Iowa cavalry, and spent three years and a half in the army. Since returning from the army he has paid his attention to farming, and now owns 140 acres of land. He was married December 19,1864, to Miss Effie Dodder, a native of New Jersey. They have six children, viz., William C., Nellie, Fannie, Frank M., Charles J., and Effie. Mr. Patton spent two years in Kansas and was constable and deputy sheriff in Iowa City under M. Cavanaugh two years.

Evan Payn, farmer, Solon; was born in Licking Co. OH December 20 1812, where he spent his early life and followed farming. In the fall of 1845 he emigrated to Iowa and settled in Big Grove township, section 22, and has since lived here. He now owns 233 acres of well-improved land, which he has improved himself. He was married February 9, 1837 to Ruth Hall, a native of OH. They have eight children, viz: William H., Rachel A., now Mrs. Wheeler, Mary J., Francis M., Esther E., now Mrs. Ulum; Margaret E., now Mrs. Rimion; Henry C., and Samuel W. He is a member of the Christian Church.

Tress Phelan submitted by Darrell Manrique

Miss Tress Phelan, a teacher in room B, 4th ward. She graduated from the St. Agatha Seminary, Iowa City . She has taught sixteen years in the primary department and two or three years in the country. She is a valuable teacher, and has succeeded in winning the love of her pupils and the confidence and esteem of the patrons.

POWESHIEK submitted by Darrell Manrique

POWESHIEK was originally one of the minor civil chiefs of the Sac and Fox nation, who inherited their rank by birthright, but could not beome war chiefs except by distinguished bravery and success in battle. He is supposed to have been born while his tribe or nation was settled along the banks of the Rock river , Illinois , and probably about the years 1787 to 1790, for he was reckoned to be of about the same age as Wapello, who was born at Prairie du Chien in 1787. When his tribe moved west of the Mississippi after the treaty of 1832, known in history as "the Black Hawk purchase," Poweshiek located on the Iowa river, and still remained here when most of the tribe went further southwest onto the Des Moines river; and Poweshiek's people received the name of the Musquaka band. If they had thrived and prospered, and grown powerful, they would have become in a few years an entirely new tribe or nation—for such is the law of evolution, and that is the way nations arise; but instead of that they dwindled away and became extinct, just as many of the mightiest nations of old times have done. The origin of this name, "Musquaka," is not entirely known; we find that the island opposite Muscatine was formerly occupied by these Indians, who called it Mus-qua-keen, and from this the name of Muscatine City originated and also the nickname of Poweshiek's band. Poweshiek was one of the chiefs who visited Washington and other eastern cities in 1837, other being Keokuk, Black Hawk, Wapello, Appanoose, and over thirty other chiefs and braves, assompanied by Col. Geo. Davenport, of the Rock Island trading-post. In May, 1838, Gen. Joseph M. Street organized a party to explore the new purchase, and was accompanied by a band of thirty Musquaka braves under the command of Poweshiek.

When Col. S. C. Trowbridge first came to Johnson county, in 1837, Poweshiek's village stood where 'Squire Cox's residence is now standing in Pleasant Valley township, and Trowbridge became quite an intimate friend of the old chief. He says Poweshiek was a large, fat, lazy man, weighing about 250 pounds, and fond of whisky; often drunk. He had a strong sense of justice, and was brave, true to his word and faithful to a friend; his word was sacred; and any gift from a friend was kept with a scared recerence bordering on superstition. He was rather slow to be aroused, but when fairly aroused to action, showed a great deal of energy and force of character, combined with a fair degree of executive talent and judicial faculty. His word was law in the two villages. He was, on the whole, rather a noble specimen of the American red man.