A Spooky Halloween Story – Burlington, Iowa – 1838.

Allow me to take you to the corner of Valley & Main Streets – Burlington, Iowa. It’s the late afternoon of All Hallows’ Eve – October 31, 1838. Everything seems peaceful here on the streets of the new Iowa Territorial capital. But beware – danger is lurking nearby!

Much like today, the political differences between the nation’s two parties were causing deep division in communities across America. Burlington was particularly susceptible to political bickering because it was the capital city of the new U.S. Territory of Iowa. On another post, we cover the history of the how, the why, and the when Burlington came into this position, but suffice, here, to say that there were very few citizens living in and around Des Moines County in southeast Iowa who hadn’t picked a side, politically, to stand with.

On one hand, Iowa Territory (see map above) had a healthy number of Democrats, led locally in Burlington, by newspapermen James Clarke and Cyrus Jacobs. These two politically-minded entrepreneurs moved to Burlington from Belmont, Wisconsin in July of 1837, in order to set up their newspaper, The Iowa Territorial Gazette And Burlington Advertiser, and be near the political happenings of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature which planned to meet, for the first time, in Burlington beginning in November.

Soon after their arrival, two other businessmen, who sided, politically, with the Whig Party – James Edwards and David Rorer – came to town, setting up a very vocal competitor to The Gazette – The Burlington Hawk-Eye.

On July 4, 1838, Iowa, officially, became a U.S. Territory with Burlington continuing to serve as the Territorial capital – which it had been doing for Wisconsin Territory since November 1837. This new development, of course, brought the political tension in Burlington to a whole new level as both parties bickered over the best way to run the new Territorial government. The editors of the two Burlington newspapers, of course, devoted many columns to their political differences, each criticizing the other – which, of course, sold a lot of newspapers along the way!

At the center of this political storm were two lawyers – Cyrus Jacobs (Democrat) and David Rorer (Whig). When Iowa became a Territory on July 4, 1838, Jacobs was appointed to serve as an attorney for the newly-formed Territory of Iowa, and in the fall election (October) was also elected to the new Territorial Legislature. Rorer, on the other hand, was a very prominent city attorney, and had just recently been defeated in that same election – running for a seat in the U.S. Congress. During the political campaign, both newspapers had been pretty rough on each other, and, from all the reports, Jacobs and Rorer – while not competing for the same political seat – had spoken a lot of harsh words, publicly, about each other. More on that later. So, now, we take you back to that spooky corner of Valley & Main Streets – downtown Burlington – Monday – late afternoon – October 31, 1838. Watch out – here it comes!

Can you tell which report came from the Democrat-leaning Gazette – and which one originated from the Whig-supporting Hawk-Eye? I bet you can! But, despite the editorial differences – here are the facts. One well-known Burlington lawyer – Cyrus S. Jacobs, Esquire – the newly-elected Territorial representative, and up-n-coming Democrat from Pennsylvania – lay dying on the streets of Burlington!

Within days, the news about this shocking encounter – that resulted in the death of the young Cyrus Jacobs – spread around the country…

Interestingly, David Rorer was never charged for a crime since the most reliable reports clearly showed that Cyrus Jacobs was the perpetrator – attacking Rorer, first with his cane, and then pulling out his pistol before Rorer did the same, protecting himself from Jacobs’ ire.

It’s reported that Attorney David Rorer never forgot the trauma of that day, and vowed to never run for public office ever again. Interestingly, Rorer did go on to become a very prominent attorney in Iowa – read more here – and befriended Cyrus Jacobs’ business partner – James Clarke, actually serving as one of the pall-bearers at Clarke’s funeral – who died prematurely, at age 38 – during the cholera epidemic in 1850. And, oh yes, we shouldn’t forget to tell you that it was David Rorer and his newspaper partner – James G. Edwards – who are credited with being the originators of Iowa’s famous nickname – the Hawkeyes! Read the details here.

As for the up-and-coming Pennsylvanian – Cyrus S. Jacobs – he is buried at Aspen Grove Cemetery in Burlington, with a tombstone that reads as follows…

In closing, allow me to share with you a rare personal letter from Cyrus S. Jacobs – written on February 23, 1838 – only eight months before his tragic death. Interestingly, in it, we find a few hints to the bumpy political pathway that would eventually lead to Jacobs’ death on October 31…

(JP-089) Addressed to **John Humes, Esquire**, in **Cassville, Wisconsin Territory**, **Cyrus S. Jacobs** wrote this letter on **February 23rd, 1838** – about one month after the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature closed its first session in Burlington. Cassville (see map below) was first settled on the Mississippi River in 1827, and by the early 1830’s, it had several log cabins, a tavern, a general store, and a blockhouse constructed during the Black Hawk War. Cassville experienced a brief boom in 1836, when real estate speculators incorrectly bet that the river landing would become the capital city of the newly-established **Wisconsin Territory**. A group of investors from Albany, New York purchased most of the town site, and also financed the construction of the Denniston House, a substantial brick lodging house reputed to cost $45,000 in 1836! Cassville’s failure to become the capital, combined with the Panic of 1837, caused an abrupt halt in the town’s growth, and much of the land was locked in legal disputes for the following decade. Chances are, John Humes was one of those early investors who decided to ride out the Cassville storm.

Mail service around Wisconsin Territory was difficult at best. With the Mississippi River frozen over for the winter, the fastest transportation (riverboats) was not possible, so correspondence between Cassville and Burlington probably traveled the 200+ miles by land – a slow process indeed.

During the first legislative session in Burlington (November 6, 1837 to January 20, 1838), C.S. Jacobs received his first political appointment – Commissary General for the **Iowa District of Wisconsin Territory**. This meant that C.S. was now the head of the Territorial department responsible for supplying provisions, etc. to troops assigned throughout the Territory. This will be the first of other appointments to come his way. In July, when Iowa becomes its own separate Territory, Jacobs will be appointed as an attorney for the new Territory. Indeed, these political assignments indicate that young Jacobs is a rising star in the Democratic Party of Iowa Territory.

As it turned out, C.S. Jacobs had a lot of political pull with his friends and family living back in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and in these earliest days of Iowa Territory, political connections meant everything. Mr. Humes – stuck back in the over-looked Cassville – is obviously fishing for some political leads in Burlington – the Territorial capital, and since Hume is from Pennsylvania, Jacobs will do everything in his power to get some favors for his friend.

Pennsylvania senator **James Buchanan** – who would eventually be elected President in 1857 – was a staunch Democrat, and, obviously, corresponded regularly with fellow-Pennsylvanian – C.S. Jacobs – in Burlington. President Martin Van Buren – following in the footsteps of Andrew Jackson – was a strong proponent for America’s westward expansion, and in April of 1838, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives voted on the proposal of making Iowa a separate U.S. Territory. Here, Jacobs references “the battle” between the two parties – the Democrats and the Whigs. In the October election of 1838, David Rorer – the highly popular Whig attorney – ran for a seat in the U.S. Congress – representing the newly-formed Iowa Territory. During that race, Jacobs loudly voiced his support for Rorer’s opponent – the Democrat candidate – Peter Hill Engle. During the campaign, Rorer often spoke of the “damned Pennsylvania faction” – which as it turned out, had enough support to win the election that fall. It’s Rorer’s attack on Pennsylvanians that was at the core of Jacobs’ hatred. So, ten days after the election – on October 31, 1838, and even after Jacobs and his “damned Pennsylvanians” had won numerous seats both in Burlington and Washington D.C. – it was Cyrus Jacob’s need for revenge that actually ended up costing him his life!

As C.S. Jacob’s ends his February 23rd letter, he, once again, references his beloved Pennsylvania, and offers his undying support to Hume in their corporate pursuit to make the new Territory of Iowa into a land where Jacksonian Democrats rule and Whigs go to die!

Hmm. This might be a good reminder to all of us – in our day – that the pursuit of political power, when combined with unfettered pride and unbridled anger, just might end up being more self-destructive than one might imagine. Rest in peace, Cyrus S. Jacobs. Godspeed!