Spec. Coll. 977.771 F928 v. 19
Vnl19,No.2 Quarterly of the Pottawattamie County (IA) Genealogical Society April - June 2013 SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Kori Nelson of The Historic Dodge House Speaks at May Pot-Luck Dinner
Kori Nelson, Executive Director of the Historic Dodge House, gave a very interesting presentation on the house at the quarterly pot-luck dinner on May 14. In the fall of 1961, the house of General Grenville M. Dodge was designated a National Historic Landmark. This special honor was bestowed upon the home of General GM Dodge, not because of the house itself, but rather because of the man who lived in it. To achieve this designation the site had to have local, state, and national significance. The General's home was not only the first national landmark in Council Bluffs, but is the only National Historic Landmark in the city. Currently there are 24 National Historic Landmarks in Iowa; the Historic General Dodge house has the distinction of being the second site in the state of Iowa to receive this honor. continued on page 2
The Frontier Chronicle Vol. 19, No. 2 April- June 2013 ~ ------JT 'f II IT ,, ,, - Grenville M. Dodge of Council Tales, Tidbits & Topics Bluffs, Iowa, was a Civil War gen By Bob Anderson, Editor eral; prominent national railroad [email protected] surveyor and engineer; and U.S. Representative. Dodge conducted surveys for the Illinois Central, - - OUR SPECIAL THANKS TO Sue Rock Island (Mississippi to Mis Millward for her article on The Peoples Store in this issue. Sue is a great wnter souri line), and the Union Pacific and we did very little editing. We'd sure railroads before the Civil War. He like to have more of you send us your was commissioned as Colonel stories. Don't worry if you think you can 't write well, we'll make sure it with the 4th Iowa Volunteer In looks good. If you'd rather not write it fantry in 1861 and promoted to but have an idea you think others would Brigadier General of the United be interested in, just let me know and I'll research it and write it. States Volunteers in 1862 and --REMEMBER THE OLD DAYS then Major General in 1864. In when we traveled from comihouses to addition to combat, he distin libraries to graveyards with our pencils guished himself as overseer of and notepads and cameras? Now we sit in our homes at our computers. There railway construction and repair, are so many websites out there it makes and organized a spy network to one head spin. Yes, we can spend a lot monitor the Confederate army. of money subscribing to the various sites but at least we're not traveling as Dodge was chief engineer of the much. And there are many free sites out Union Pacific Railroad, 1866- there, too. Just Google "genealogical 1870, during the building of the first transcontinental railroad. He also websites" and see what comes up. did survey work for the Texas and Pacific Railway and lines in the - -THAT BEING SAID, it doesn't mean we should totally abandon the idea of southwestern U.S., Mexico and Cuba. He served as Republican Con visiting libraries, especially our Frontier gressman from Iowa, 1867-1869 and head of the commission investi Heritage Library. Our dedicated volun gating the War Department's conduct in the Spanish American War. teers have collected and organized a plethora of Pottawattamie County data In 1869, Dodge built his hand you won't find on any website. Having been away for several years, I'm still some Victorian home at 605 Third learning what all is here and will begin Street at the cost of $35,000, a sharing my findings in future issues. lavish sum for that day. The house We're now in our summer hours so the library is open Tuesdays & Thursdays was designed by architect William 2-4 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Boyington, a Chicago architect. - - HERE'S A WEBSITE YOU must The fourteen-room, three-story check out: The Internet Archive is a mansion stands on a high terrace 50l(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library. Its purposes overlooking the Missouri Valley, include offering permanent access for and displays such architectural researchers, historians, scholars, people features as parquet floors, cherry, with disabilities, and the general public to historical collections that exist in walnut and butternut woodwork, and a number of "modern" conven digital format. Just go to archive.org and iences quite unusual for the period. General Dodge was deeply search for, say, " 1907 Pottawattamie involved in the planning and building of his home, making several County Iowa History," and both vol umes are there! On the left side of the modifications, such as central heating and hot and cold running water. screen are the various ways you can Despite the home's elegant appointments, it is important to remember read it, but if you select "full text" you that it was built on what was essentially the frontier. can then search it. Just do a Command f and a search box comes up at the bottom For more information about tours and admission, and about the of yo ur screen. I've found tons ofbios I neighboring August Beresheim House, the spacious home of a well-to had been looking for! do Council Bluffs family who had close associations with General - - OUR SOCIETY IS EXPLORING the Dodge and his businesses, visit their website at www.dodgehouse.org. idea of hosting some all-day work shops. It wo uld be very helpful if yo u'd let us know what nationality(ies) yo u'd be most interested in: Danish, German, English, Slovakian, etc. We can line up some great presenters for any of them. Please let me know! - - Fl NALLY, IN A PREVIOUS issue we asked if you wanted our membership list distributed. The response told us you do not . . . so we won't. The Frontier Chronicle z Vol. 19, No. 2 Aprtl- June 2013 Louis Grell Photo Presented to Grell Family Association
On May 21, 2013, at the PCGS Frontier Heritage Library, an au tographed photo of Louis Grell was presented to the Grell Family Association. The photo had been found in a Baumeister home in Council Bluffs by Mary Jane Slightam who donated it to our society. Mrs. Slightam had lived in the former Baumeister home for nearly 20 years and found the photo in a box in the attic. It's assumed that Louis had sent the photo to a Baumeister friend as the inscription reads, "In friendly remembrance of the days in Co Bluffs" and is signed "Your friend Louis Grell." The date on the At center is Richard Grell holding the photograph. Left to right are: Kathy (Grell) photo is March 24, 1908. Emery, Bob Anderson, PCGS director, Joan Weis, PCGS recording secretary, Patri Louis Frederick Grell was born cia Grell, Ruth (Grell) Applegate, and Barb Christie, PCGS corresponding secretary. in Council Bluffs November 30, 1887 to butcher shop owner Louis to become an art instructor at the F. Grell II, and Magdalena Geotz. oldest and most prestigious art Known as "Louie" by family and academy in the U.S. at the time friends, he displayed a great deal The Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. of talent as early as two years. By There, in 1917, he had the pleasure the age of eight he was drawing of instructing an unknown, and detailed sketches and portraits, very young, Walt Disney. The convincing his parents to send young and gifted Walt Disney him at age 12 to Hamburg to live attended McKinley High School with his grandmother and attend during the day and devoted a great Europe's finest art institutions. deal of time at night learning how Louis Grell studied art in Paris, to draw at the Chicago Academy of Hamburg and Munich from 1900- Fine Arts. 1915. From 1905 - 1907 he attend Grell's grand-nephew, Richard ed the School of Applied Arts in Grell, recognized the crest on the Hamburg, Germany. From 1908- cover of the photo as that of the 1910, he attended the Royal Acad Royal Academy of Fine Arts in emy of Fine Arts in Munich and Munich, where Grell would have the famed University of Munich, studied from 1908 to 1910. also during 1910-1913, under Carl "This would have been during von Marr and Angelo J auk. From his first year there," Richard said. 1913-1915, Grell worked, painted "He would have just returned to and traveled Europe exhibiting Germany after spending time in spent three years in the School of his works. Council Bluffs in June 1907." Applied Arts in Hamburg. He After America joined World After visiting Council Bluffs, would eventually return from War I, Grell returned to the U.S. Grell traveled to Salt Lake City, Europe and settle in Chicago in and began designing stage sets for Utah, where he would get his first October 1916. He moved to the large production shows on Broad mural commission at the age of 20 Tree Studio art colony in Chicago way in New York City. in August 1907. Richard said the in 1917 and stayed there until his In 1916 Carl Werntz, Academy mural delayed his entrance to the death in 1960. founder and world traveler had an Royal Academy by three months. By 1908, young Grell had already For more on Louis Grell, visit the Grell opening and Grell was recruited Family website at louisgrell.com.
The Frontier Chronicle 3 Vol 19, No. 2 Aprtl - June 2013 Norfolk with hi s brother-in-law, Sam 3) Other brothers Jake, his son • PEOPLES STORE GROCERY • Rosenthal, and moved on to Pierce, Lawrence and grandson Leslie, Ike Nebraska in 1909 before finally sett and his son Albert (all Krasnes) J,OWBST PB!CE~·~i ling in Omaha. owned and managed the Notions, rl:;ts.H;:L~~V!ff.'WX:t~t.- ~"'"-'-' "" '~'··''~ ,..f ,\ ~ C1mnd l tllulb ' ()ply Jmh.i p ~ n The Frontier Chronicle 5 Vol 19, No. 2 April- June 2013 Understanding the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) From nationalatlas.gov_.:_ Visit their website for printable maps and much morel The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is a way of subdividing and describing land in the United States. All lands in the public domain are subject to subdivision by this rectangular system of surveys, which is regulated by the U.S . Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Stu.H loel'u•d in th#' Pt .SS The PLSS is used to divide public domain lands, which are lands owned by the Federal government for the benefit of the citizens of the United States. The original public domain included the land ceded to the Federal Govern ment by the thirteen original States, supplemented with acquisitions from native Indians and foreign powers. It encompasses major portions of the land area of 30 southern and western States. Since the original PLSS surveys were completed, much of the land that was originally part of the public domain has been transferred to private ownership and in some areas the PLSS has been extended, following similar rules of division, into non-public domain areas. PLSS rules of division are explained below. For areas that were once part of the public domain, legal land descriptions are usually written in terms of PLSS descriptions. The PLSS typically divides land into 6-mile-square townships, which is the level of information included in the Nation al Atlas. Townships are subdivided into 36 one-mile- square sections. Sections can be further subdivided into quarter sections, quarter-quarter sections, or irregular government lots. Normally, a permanent monument, or marker, is placed at each section corner. Monuments are also placed at quarter-section corners and at other important points, such as the corners of government lots. Today permanent monuments are usually inscribed tablets set on iron rods or in concrete. The original PLSS surveys were often marked by wooden stakes or posts, marked trees, pits, or piles of rock, or other less-permanent markers. The PLSS actually consists of a series of separate surveys. Most PLSS surveys begin at an initial point, and townships are surveyed north, south, east, and west from that point. The north-south line that runs through the initial point is a true meridian and is called the Principal Meridian. There are 37 Principal Meridians, each is named, and these names are used to distinguish the various surveys. The east-west line that runs through the initial point is called a base line. This line is perpendicular to the Principal Meridian. Each township is identified with a township and range desig nation. Township designations indicate the location north or south of the baseline, and range designations indicate the location east or west of the Principal Meridian. For example, a township might be identified as Township 7 North, Range 2 West, which would mean that it was in the 7th tier of town ships north of a baseline, and in the 2nd column of townships west of a principal meridian. A legal land description of a section includes the State, Principal Meridian name, Township and Range designations with directions, and the section number: Nebraska, Sixth Principal Meridian T?N, R2W, sec5. Town•hlp etld H While the original PLSS surveys were supposed to ! conform to official procedures, some errors were made due either to honest mistakes or to fraudulent Public land Surv.ey System surveys. Existing surveys are considered authorita (PLSS) E tive, and any new surveys must work from existing corners and surveys, in spite of errors in the original surveys and variations from the ideal. This some times results in sections that are far from square, or that contain well over or under 640 acres. The early surveys in Ohio and Indiana were done when the system currently in use had not yet been fully developed. While these surveys have townships that are 6 miles square, the numbering system used and the types of starting points for the surveys are Se..ctloo 1-4 ~hows lx>th oornul dlvhloo of the. .srctioo Into &liquot parts &fld. the different from those used elsewhere in the United fr&ctional division Into iov.ernment lots. States. These surveys are also named, although the names are not based on Principal Meridians. The Frontier Chronicle 6 Vol. 19, No. 2 Apnl - June 2013 In Louisiana, parcels of land known as arpent sections or French arpent land grants also pre-date the PLSS, but are treated as PLSS sections. An arpent is a French measurement of approximately 192 feet, and a square arpent (also referred to as an arpent) is about 0.84 acres. French arpent land divi sions are long narrow parcels of land usually found along the navigable streams of southern Louisiana, and also found along major waterways in other areas. This system of land subdivision was begun by French settlers in the 1700s, according to typical French practice at the time and was con tiirned by both the Spanish and by the American government after the acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase. A typical French arpent land division is 2 to 4 arpents wide along the river by 40 to 60 arpents deep, while the Spanish arpent land divisions tend to be 6 to 8 arpents wide by 40 arpents deep. This method of land division provided each land-owner with river frontage as well as land suitable for cultivation and habitation. These areas are given numbers just like standard sections, although the section numbers frequently exceed the normal upper limit of 36. Originally proposed by Thomas Jefferson, the PLSS began shortly after the Revolutionary War, when the Federal gov ernment became responsible for large areas west of the thirteen original colonies. The government wished both to distribute land to Revolutionary War soldiers in reward for their service, as well as to sell land as a way of raising money for the nation. Before this could happen, the land needed to be surveyed. The Land Ordinance of 1785 which provided for the systematic survey and monumentation of public domain lands, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 which established a rectangular survey system designed to facilitate the transfer of Federal lands to private citizens, were the beginning of the PLSS. Under Congressional mandate, cadastral surveys (surveys of the boundaries of land parcels) of public lands were undertaken to create parcels suitable for disposal by the Government. The extension of the rectangular system of surveys over the public domain has been in progress since 1785, and, where it applies, the PLSS forms the basis for most land transfers and ownership today. The Manual of Instructions for the Survey of the Public Lands Of The United States, 1973 documents current official procedures for PLSS surveys. Certain lands were excluded from the public domain and were not subject to survey and disposal. These lands include the beds of navigable bodies of water, national installations such as military reservations and national parks, and areas such as land grants that had already passed to private ownership prior to subdivision by the Government. France, Spain, and Mexico all conferred land grants in territory they claimed; many of these grants were confirmed by the U.S Government when the territory in which they were situated was acquired by the United States, and the land was then excluded from the public domain. Over the past two centuries, almost 1.5 billion acres have been surveyed into townships and sections. The ELM is the Federal Government's official record keeper for over 200 years' worth of cadastral survey records and plats. In addi tion, ELM is still completing numerous new surveys each year, mostly in Alaska, as well as conducting resurveys to restore obliterated or lost original survey corners. COMMONLY USED TERMS Initial point-The starting point for a from the native Indians or foreign pow Aliquot part-The standard subdivi survey. ers. Sometimes used interchangeably with Public lands. sions of a section, such as a half section, Land Grant- A land grant is an area of quarter section, or quarter-quarter sec land to which title was conferred by a Public lands-Lands in public owner tion. predecessor government and confirmed ship, therefore owned by the Federal by the U.S Government after the territo Base line-A parallel of latitude, or ap government. Sometimes used inter ry in which it is situated was acquired by proximately a parallel oflatitude, run changeably with Public domain. ning through an arbitrary point chosen the United States. These lands were nev er part of the original public domain and as the starting point for all sectionalized Range-A vertical column of townships were not subject to subdivision by the land within a given area. in the PLSS. PLSS. Cadastral-Having to do with the Section-A one-square-mile block of Principal meridian-A meridian line boundaries of land parcels . land, containing 640 acres, or approxi running through an arbitrary point cho mately one thirty-sixth of a township. Government lot-A subpart of a sec sen as a starting point for all sectional Due to the curvature of the Earth, sec tion which is not described as an aliquot ized land within a given area. part of the section, but which is designat tions may occasionally be slightly small ed by number, for example, Lot 3. A lot Public domain-Land owned by the er than one square mile. may be regular or irregular in shape, and Federal government for the benefit of its acreage may vary from that of regular the citizens. The original public domain Township-An approximately 6-mile aliquot parts. These lots frequently bor included the lands that were turned over square area of land, containing 36 sec der water areas excluded from the PLSS. to the Federal Government by the Colo tions. Also, a horizontal row of town nial States and the areas acquired later ships in the PLSS. The Frontier Chronicle 7 Vol 19, No. 2 April- June 2013 From Early Days at Council Bluffs By Charles Henry Babbitt (1843-1925) "This is a picture of the Phoenix Block, north side of Broadway at the comer of what was originally Hyde, subsequently Madison, now North First Street. It was one among the first brick business build ings erected in the city. At the extreme right is seen the weather-boarded side of the old log store of Cornelius Voorhis, a portion of the sign being shown. "The 'prairie schooner' is drawn by a typical Mormon team - three yoke of oxen and one of cows. In the foreground is a calf. The emigration authorities of the Church of Latter Day Saints required that each team should comprise not less than three yoke of cattle, one of which must be cows. The owner of the team here depicted more than fulfilled the terms prescribed. It A STREET SCENE IN COUNCIL BLUFFS. will be observed that, in addition to the full team, he has an additional bovine of some description on the off-side of one of the pairs in the team. "The drawing from which the cut here shown was produced is from a photograph now in the possession of Mrs. L. S. Hills, of Salt Lake City, Utah, whose husband (Lewis S. Hills) was the last democratic Register of the United States Land Office at Council Bluffs, and who emigrated to Salt Lake in 1861, where he died, July 21 , 1915." Pottawattamie County Genealogy Society POBox394 Council Bluffs, IA 51502-0394 Council Bluffs Public Library hand deliver The Frontier Chronicle 8 Vol. 19, No. 2 April- June 2013