Early day Nimrods in Johnson County were skilled in the use of
firearms – being worthy of the scriptural sobriquet that was accorded
each hunter. Among these “mighty hunters” one of the best was
especially notable in that he triumphed over afflictions that normally
would intervene between a man and keen eyes and steady nerves. This was
Jacob Oldaker, a pioneer of the Frank Pierce settlement.
He was a
son of Jacob Oldaker, a Virginian, the son of a native of Germany, who
died in Ohio, before the representatives of the other two generations
came to Iowa. Jacob’s crippled condition was surmounted, as above
intimated, by his mastery of the rifle, and he could outshoot many a
rival, in possession of perfect physical equipment. It is related that
in one hunt, he shot down 15 deer.
He came to Johnson County
overland, wagon wise, devoting an entire month to driving across
country, from Knox County, Ohio, in 1849. This was ten years after his
wife’s kinsman, John Fry, another pioneer with an interesting history,
also settled at Frank Pierce.
Mr. Oldaker secured a small tract from
Uncle Sam, and aided greatly by his sons, built it up to more than 600
acres, despite his physical handicaps. He was elected repeatedly by the
republicans of Frank Pierce and vicinity, as the years went by, and he
filled practically every office in the township, at one time or
another. He passed away 56 years of age.
His son, James W., one
of 12 children, was born in 1833. He was educated in the old time
“subscription schools” of Ohio, which state he left, at 16, to
accompany his parents hither. When they arrived only a corporal’s guard
of pioneers resided at or close to Frank Pierce.
It was he, as
one of the older boys, upon whom devolved the largest hare of the farm
duties, and his loyalty to his afflicted father was proverbial. He was
recognized throughout the community, as the practical household captain.
Following
his marriage (in 1857, two days after Christmas) James W. Oldaker
settled on Section 16, in Washington township, and carved out a then
modern farm from the unimproved acres. Subsequently, he purchased his
20th century 160-acre farm – then a post-Civil war tract – and
eradicated duly the log houses and barns that “adorned” it, supplanting
these with modern residences and other structures.
He adopted
the political faith of his republican father, and expounded it
publicly, at conventions, caucuses, and the like, throughout his life.
In Washington township, he was elected assessor repeatedly.
He
and Mrs. Oldaker were Christian church members for years. The hardships
and privations of pioneer days, when the boy, James, toiled so long and
so hard, in a pioneer district, where there were far more Indians than
whites, left their marks on him and he suffered therefrom, in the
closing years of his life.
(Source: A Fact A Day About Iowa City, by J.E.R., Iowa City Press-Citizen, Fri., Dec. 8, 1944, pg. 4)
The Oldaker “Tree”
Not
only in Johnson County, but in Iowa county, as well, the name of
Oldaker is “writ large” in the annals of the two big communities. The
earlier generations of Oldaker’s were Germany born. James W. Oldaker
was the son of Jacob Oldaker, a Virginian, whose father was the first
of the tree to settle here.
Jacob Oldaker was a Virginian by
birth, but was the son of a native of Germany. Reared on a farm in
Ohio, Jacob Oldaker received his “book-learnin’” in an ancient log
schoolhouse, being of the type that legendary lore – not all without
basis of fact – styled “little, red” structures “on the hill.”
Largely,
the pioneer was a self-made man, and a self-educated one. His first
acreage (a tract of 110) was located near Mt. Vernon, Ohio. It was of
uncleared ground, but he improved nearly 100 acres before he sold the
place in 1849. Then, traveling in a wagon, probably ox-drawn, he passed
30 days, enroute to Johnson County, where he landed Wednesday, October
25th. Before Christmas day, just two months later, he had staked out a
claim near Frank Pierce. Time passed, and he acquired, as the years
went by, splendid properties, totaling 600 acres. His pioneering
included many privations, among wild animals, which he hunted well. His
“trusty rifle” or musket helped to fill his primitive larder, felling
as many as 15 deer in a day.
Indians were many, but they seem to
have been his friends and he recorded no battles with them. A
Republican, his party elected him again and again to public office –
and ultimately, he filled practically everyone in the township.
James
W., his son, attended the once frequent and popular “subscription
schools” of Ohio, and was well-educated for his time. Born 112 years
ago, he came here two years after the technical creation of S.U.I.
(Then 16, he was less interested in universities than the problems of
life, beyond the campus.)
His father was physically disabled,
and “Jim”, the next oldest of 12 children, assumed a large share of the
responsibility of conducting the Oldaker farm. He did it well. He wed
Adelaide Crosby (a New Yorker) who gave him 10 children. Her ancestors
were Mayflower voyageurs. The Crosbys drove hither from Muscatine, by
wagon, after steam boating from Ohio, on the Mississippi and Ohio, to
Iowa. Like “his father before him”, J. W. Oldaker became a township
official (his service being in Washington township).
Albion J.
Oldaker was the son of Henry, and grandson of Jacob G. Oldaker. Henry,
the father, died on his farm of nearly 600 acres, near Iowa City, 59
years ago. A gold-questing Argonaut, in the early ‘50’s, he was
compelled to fight Indianans several times, as ox-drawn teams were
ambushed- if the term applies on open, arid plains. Years later, he
crossed the desert on horseback, without danger.
Albion J.
became a farmer, a smith, and an educator. He was a leading Mason and
Pythian. As other Oldaker’s, he was elected to township offices, such
honors being accorded, after he removed to Iowa County
(Source: A Fact A Day About Iowa City by J.E.R., Iowa City Press-Citizen, Wed., Oct. 24, 1945, pg. 4)
(Source: Iowa City Press Citizen 1894 11 05 Pg. 5) |
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