James
R. Hartsock, elected first senior deacon; age 24, came from Washington
county, Pennsylvania, to Burlington, May 5, 1838; came to Iowa City
December, 1842; first candidate in Iowa to receive the degrees in Iowa;
first delegated to the Grand lodge of Missouri from this lodge; elected
master of this lodge four times; postmaster; candidate for mayor of
Iowa City on republican ticket; well posted on Masonic ritual and in
early times probably the best posted Mason in Iowa; the last of the
original charter members to pass away. (Source:
Iowa City Press-Citizen, 3 Jan 1935, Thu., pg. 5; Excerpt is from:
Story of Organization of Masonic Lodge in Iowa City Reveals Much Early
History)
JAMES HARTSOCK DEAD
Passes Away Sunday Night at 10 o'clock in Des Moines - Will be Buried in this City.
A
dispatch to THE CITIZEN from Des Moines, this afternoon, states that
James Hartsock died in that city last night at ten o'clock and will be
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tonight, the funeral services taking place from
the Baptist church tomorrow at 4 o'clock. In his death Iowa City loses
one of its most respected and honored citizens. Few men, in the history
of this city, have received more unsolicited honors at the hands of
their fellow citizens. His death is not only a private grief to his
many friends in this city, but an occasion of public sorrow.
James
Rush Hartsock, a resident of Iowa City and secretary of the Ark of
Safety; was born May 15, 1818 in Washington Co., Pa. Came to Iowa, May
5, 1838 and finally settled in Iowa City, in December, 1842. He settled
upon a land claim in Sharon township, Johnson county.
He was
married February 10, 1863, to Miss Jessie Henry, only daughter of David
and Mary Henry, from near Inverness, Scotland, and old settlers of Iowa
City.
They had three children: George L., Josephine and James Oliver.
April,
1861, Abraham Lincoln appointed him postmaster of Iowa City. He filled
the office for 6 years and when he refused to follow "Andy Johnson's
policy", he was requested to hand over the office to Hon. E. W. Lucas,
a democrat, but as soon as the victorious General U. S. Grant was made
the president he re-appointed Mr. Hartsock as postmaster. Owing to some
dissatisfaction, Mr. Hartsock, always for peace, entered into a written
agreement to submit the question to a vote of the patrons of the
office, a spirited election was had and Mr. Hartsock was elected by
several hundred majority, and held the office until June 1872, in all
nine years. He was a Republican in politics. He was a candidate on the
ticket in 1868, for mayor, the city was largely Democratic and the
opponent, the Hon. George W. McCleary, only succeeded by a majority of
one vote.
He is now engaged in a history of the work and
progress of Masonry in Iowa from 1840 to 1881, entitled "Forty Years of
Masonry in Iowa." (Source:
History of Johnson County, IA 1836 - 1886, pg. 838 and Excerpts from
Death Notice published in The Iowa Citizen, 16 Mar 1894, Fri.,
pg. 3)
A STRANGE ELECTION
Within
the recollection of how many of our readers is the memory of any man's
display of sublimated citizenship sufficiently altruistic as to decline
to fill a high local office, when appointed thereto, because he feared
that he might not be the choice of the people? One such incident is
recorded by historians of Iowa City, and may be recalled by some of our
pioneers of really advanced age.
The "hero" of the episode was
James Rush Hartsock, Abraham Lincoln's appointee to the post mastership
in Iowa City, as related in this department, some weeks ago. The honor
conferred by the later martyred president, however, is not the one in
question now. The immortal Lincoln had yielded his life to the
assassin's bullet, when Postmaster Hartsock was placed in the
limelight, by his unusual, if not unprecedented, behavior, in reference
to the retention, or resumption of his duties in the old time post
office Mr. Lincoln had named the Iowa Citian but three days before
Booth laid the president low. It will be remembered by Press-Citizen
readers that this was the second time President Lincoln had selected
Mr. Hartsock. The third appointment provided the foundation for this
little sketch.
General U. S. Grant had chosen him from the same
office, on April 21, 1869, during the soldier-chief's first term, three
years before Grant defeated Horace Greeley as decisively in civic life,
as he had beaten certain southern warriors, in military circles, seven
years earlier. Some dissatisfaction was expressed in Iowa City, by
certain opponents of Mr. Hartsock. He might have ignored that sentiment
and simply queried, as he took his office. "When was a postmaster's
appointment unanimously endorsed by any community?" Instead, however,
this exceptional man declared: "I
shall not accept the post mastership, unless the people, themselves,
prove by a majority vote that they want me. Let's have an election in
Iowa City on the subject."
His strange proposition
(possibly never before, nor since, made) was adopted. A special
election was held, and despite the fact that the friends of his rivals
rallied strongly to the support of their respective favorites, he was
elected formally, by 700 majority. He then accepted the office and
thereafter filled it acceptably for the third time. In all, he served
nine years and really established other records here, in addition to
this queer election. He made a mark with that near decade; was named
twice as shown above, by Lincoln; served under Johnson; was recalled by
Grant; and climaxed his political adventures with a public election.
During
the Johnson-Grant hiatus, he tasted the bitter-sweet of another thrill,
however, when he ran for mayor in 1868, as a republican and was
defeated by democratic George W. McCleary, by just one vote. (Source: Iowa City Press-Citizen, A Fact A Day About Iowa City, 3 Sep 1932, Sat., pg. 4)
James Rush Hartsock
Local News
Jas
R. Hartsock returned from Des Moines last Tuesday, where he attended
the funeral of his daughter, Mrs. Hugh McBride. The services were very
impressive and were conducted by Rev. Geo. C. Henry. Geo L. Hartsock,
of Minneapolis, and Ollie, of Chicago, brothers of the deceased, were
present. Leon Brown, and E. L. Sabin, both graduates of the S. U. I.,
and Frank Pasket, Geo. Poorman and Messrs Grant and Holmes acted as
pall bearers. (Source: The Iowa Citizen, 5 Feb 1892, Fri., pg., 3)
Excerpt from: Them Days Are Gone Forever
Around
the James R. Hartsock home where the public library now stands was a
wonderful iron fence with bunches of purple grapes. Every so often
there was a green bunch of grapes which intrigued us very much. (Source: Iowa City Press-Citizen; article edited by Emma Watkins, 19 Nov 1935, Tue., Pg. 3)
Mrs. Jessie (Henry) Hartsock (1839 - 1907)
Jessie
Henry was born in Cleveland, Ohio, May 4, 1839; when two years old her
parents, David and Mary Henry, came to Johnson county and settled on a
farm just west of the new park. Another Scotch family was their near
neighbor and for this reason the neighborhood was called the Scotch
settlement. The location was gloomy and proved to be unhealthy. There
was passed the early childhood of the subject of this sketch and there
her brother James died in 1847; her father in 1848, and her sister
Mary Jane in 1849. After some years the widowed mother, with her little
family removed to and made her home in Iowa City, where death again
invaded the home, taking two brothers. George died in 1853 and John was
drowned in Ralston creek in 1859. In the companionship and under the
guidance of her mother, here Jessie Henry grew to a noble womanhood.
Dr. Reynolds, in speaking to a friend of his early schools and pupils,
said, "among all my scholars Jessie Henry, Cassie Berryhill and Myra
Crum, are my favorites. Bright of head and good of heart, Miss Henry is
always the queen of my school."
On February 10, 1863, Jessie
Henry was married to James R. Hartsock, a pioneer of Johnson county. In
early days he was an artist with Mr. Calkin; in later times he was
prominent among the business men and politicians. Mrs. Hartsock was an
active and greatly respected member of society. To Mr. and Mrs.
Hartsock were born three children, George, Josephine and Oliver C. In
1871 Mrs. Hartsock, with her infant daughter, visited her brother,
David Henry, at Trinidad, Colorado. At that time travel beyond Denver
was by stage. The country through which she passed was swarming with
Araphoe and Cheyenne Indians, exasperated by the Sand Creek and Camp
Grant massacres. Some years later, in company with her mother, Mrs.
Hartsock again visited her brother in his far away home. In April 1891,
her daughter, Josephine, was married to H. E. McBride of Des Moines and
ere another spring had bloomed the cold hand of death had taken her
from earth and in the bereaved home was left an infant son.
After
the death of her husband in 1894, Mrs. Hartsock removed to Des Moines
and took upon herself the care of her motherless grandchild. As the
years went by her son, Oliver, sickened, and hoping to restore him to
health by a change of climate, the grief stricken mother hastened with
him to the genial home of her brother in far off Colorado, remaining
there until the death of her son. The grief-laden mother returned to
Des Moines with the body and laid it to rest by the side of his sister.
Subsequently, upon the re-marriage of Mr. McBride, Mrs. Hartsock
removed to California and established her home in Los Angeles. Upon the
death of the wife of her brother, David, she determined to make her
home with him and, disposing of her interests in California, reached
the home of her brother late in December, 1907. Two days after her
arrival, she was taken violently ill. Her death quickly followed,
occurring on December 29, 1907, at the age of 68 years, 7 months and 25
days. (Source: The Iowa City Citizen, 24 Feb 1909, Wed., pg. 7)
MRS. HARTSOCK ANSWERS CALL
WIDOW OF PIONEER POSTMASTER GONE
End Comes in Trinidad, Col. Shortly Before Old Year Ends - Son Survives Beloved Mother
Mrs. Jessie Hartsock, a pioneer of Iowa City, passed away on Trinidad, Col., on Dec. 29.
She was the venerable widow of the late James Hartsock, formerly postmaster of Iowa City.
Surviving
are her son, George Hartsock of Minneapolis and her brother, David
Henry, of Trinidad. Mrs. C. E. Clifford of Iowa City is a niece.
Mrs.
Hartsock occupied the Hartsock homestead (on the present site of the
Carnegie library) 28 years and left here in the 90's. A host of friends
will mourn the death of this good woman. (Source: Iowa City Daily Press, 2 Jan 1908, pg. 1)
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