1886: A Father & Son Adventure Down The Mississippi.

On another page, we offer you the amazing story of Iowa City’s own Sherlock Holmes. His name is Deputy Marshal Lewis (L.A.) Clearman (1847-1934). Above left, you see him pictured as an adult, and above center, as he appeared around 1865 when he returned from serving in the Union Army. Records show that Clearman enlisted – December 1863 – when he had just turned 16, and was assigned to Johnson County’s Company H of the 2nd Iowa Cavalry Regiment, which participated in major battles throughout Tennessee. Records also indicate that he was wounded in battle in Memphis, but continued with his company until April 1865, when the war ended.

Now, allow me to introduce you to Lewis A. Clearman’s oldest son – Frederick William Clearman (1871-1968). Sadly, we’ve only recovered a couple of pictures of Fred (as he was known), and the one seen above (right) is Fred with his father when they were both much older.

According to family records, the William & Semantha Clearman family moved from Ohio by covered wagon to Iowa – settling on farmland in Union Township of Johnson County – in 1855/1856, when Lewis A. Clearman was about 8 or 9 years old. It’s our belief that Lewis moved into Iowa City soon after his marriage to Isabelle Harriett Lloyd (1870), and as we said earlier, Frederick William Clearman was the couple’s firstborn – entering into the world on September 1, 1871. Which brings us now to our father and son story that takes place from September 1886 to February 1887, when Lewis was 38 years old and young Fred had just turned 15…

The rite of passage is an age-old ritual or ceremony signifying an event in a person’s life -indicating a new and different status, usually in reference to adolescence. Rite of passage rituals are prevalent across different cultures and societies, marking significant moments such as birth, reaching puberty, marriage, or even death. It’s our belief that the story we are about to share is an example of a rite of passage – in this case, for 15-year-old Frederick (Fred) William Clearman.

In May 2025, as we were writing up the story of Deputy Marshal Lewis A. Clearman, his great, great grandson Paul Valdick, who had provided the valuable material that got us started, also provided us with a typed-out version of an old logbook (journal) that Valdick had in his family collection. The title of the log: Frederick W. Clearman’s Trip Down The Mississippi River in 1886. Below left, you see the title page…

Sadly, there is only one photograph (see below) from this 138-day, 1200+ mile father-son excursion. Most of the other pics you see on this page (except a handful of family photographs taken much later) are stock photographs inserted to help you envision the Clearman journey.

Taken on October 5, 1886 by the Columbus Junction, Iowa photographer – G. L. Thomas, this pic (above) features the three boats the Clearman team used on their journey down the Mississippi: a rowboat, a skiff (a shallow, flat-bottomed open boat with sharp bow and square stern), and a cabin (house) boat.

***Interestingly, Fred writes… “The reason for the trip was that we expected to make some money, you know — hunting, fishing and trapping.”***

Yet, we believe if one asked Papa Clearman the reason for the trip, we’d find a completely different set of answers. First of all, as we mentioned, this was a father-son rite of passage excursion – a 138-day, 1,200+ mile journey that took a 15-year old city boy into the wilds of the Mississippi River Valley, offering him a “grow up before you grow old” opportunity. We know, with fairly good certainty, that the Clearman’s didn’t need to raise money back in Iowa City, especially in such a manner as this! At the time, Louis Clearman was working – at least part-time – with the City of Iowa City as a police officer, and his family still owned and operated a fairly successful farm in Johnson County. We also know, from Clearman’s records, that Lewis was an excellent outdoorsman who had no problem living off the land and finding odd jobs in order to survive. We also know that this trek down the Mississippi River to Tennessee and Arkansas brought Lewis (and his son) face-to-face with his past Civil War experiences, including Memphis – the city where, it’s believed, he was wounded 22 years earlier (1864). And finally, we find it interesting that Papa Clearman was the one who suggested Fred keep a log throughout the trip. Sounds like a very wise father making sure his son keep these memories for a lifetime – which, in this case, Fred did!

Fred’s preface continues (below) by explaining the three boats, the traveling party (Lewis Clearman, Fred Clearman, family friend – Henry Hawley, and Fred’s dog – Jack) used on the long journey. FYI – a fourth boat – a dugout canoe – was added when the team arrived at Realfoot Lake in Arkansas.

Throughout the 138-day, 1200+ mile journey, we will provide maps – like the ones above – so you might visualize the cities and locations Fred mentions along the way. Keep in mind, the Clearman roadway from Iowa City to St. Helens (Helena), Arkansas in 1886 was 1) The Iowa River, and 2) The Mississippi River – roughly a distance of 600 miles using today’s highway mileage.

On **September 27, 1886**, the journey begins with three boats, starting 8 miles south of **Iowa City** (see map below left – **Red #1**). Papa Lewis A. Clearman, 15-year old Frederick, and his dog -Jack, are all headed to the home of Henry Hawley (H.H.) – the third person in the traveling party. On **September 28** – the team arrives in **River Junction, Iowa**, on **September 29** – walk to **Riverside, Iowa**, on **September 30** – plan to sell fish in **Lone Tree, Iowa** *(see map below right)*, and on **October 1**, they leave River Junction, going 20 miles – heading for Columbus Junction.

On **October 2**, the team is 10-20 miles from **Columbus Junction, Iowa** (see map below left – **Red #2**), and Fred shoots his first duck! **October 4**, 6 miles to go, and on **October 5,** a little below the mouth of the Cedar River (see map below right) – and a walk to Columbus Junction. It’s very likely, this is the day the G.L. Thomas photograph (below) of the three boats was taken. As you can see from the September 16, 1892 edition of The Muscatine Journal (below right), Thomas had shops in both Muscatine and nearby Lettsville in Louisa County.

On **October 6**, the team stops at the Wapato Dam, located 5 miles west of Wapato. Sadly, we can’t find a record of a Louisa County town called Wapato, and from the way the log is written, it’s not an abbreviated name for Wapello. On **October 8**, a walk over to **Wapello, Iowa** (see map below right), and on **October 9**, the team was below (south and east of) Wapello – near the mouth of Iowa River at the Mississippi River. On **October 11**, Fred crosses over the Mississippi in the skiff, walks into **New Boston, Illinois** *(see map below left – **Red #3**)*.

On **October 13 & 14**, Papa Lewis joins another fisherman, using a seine (a large net) to catch fish in larger numbers. They, obviously, were successful, catching 800 pounds of Mississippi River fish! On **October 15 & 16**, the team is still camped near **New Boston, Illinois** *(see map below middle – **Red #3**)*.

By **October 17**, the team leaves **New Boston, Illinois**, heading south on the Mississippi. The next Illinois town that Fred mentions is **Keithsburgh**, followed, on **October 18**, by **Oquawka** – which was known earlier in the century as Yellow Banks (see map above left). On **October 19**, the team arrives in **Burlington, Iowa** – Iowa’s first capital city (1837-1840). *See map above center – **Red #4** – and above right*.

Below – When Fred was 94 years old, he recalls another story from the time the team was in **Burlington**…

On **October 20**, the team leaves **Burlington, Iowa**, heading past **Ft. Madison, Iowa** and **Nauvoo, Illinois** (see map above left). On **October 23**, they arrive at the southeastern corner of Iowa – **Keokuk, Iowa** (see map above middle – **Red #5** and above right). Heading south on the river, the team passes into Missouri, heading past **Quincy, Illinois** (see map below right) and into Mark Twain’s hometown – **Hannibal, Missouri** (see map below left – **Red #6** and below right).

On **October 27**, the team is told that they are 127 miles north of St Louis. When they arrive in **Louisiana, Missouri**, there are about 100 miles to go, and over the next several days they pass *(see map below left)* **Clarksville, Missouri**, and **Hamburg, Illinois**. **Grafton, Illinois** *(see map below right) is next on **October 31**,* followed by the mouth of the Missouri River near **Alton, Illinois** on **November 1**. Finally, after another 25 miles, on **November 2**, the Clearman boats reach **St. Louis** *(see map below center – **Red #1** and below right).*

Setting out from **St. Louis** *(see map below left – **Red #1**)* on **November 3,** the team ends up near **Fort Charters (Fort de Chartres), Illinois** on **November 5**. On **November 8**, they pass by **St. Geneva (Ste. Genevieve), Missouri**, arriving in **Kakaski (Kaskaskia), Illinois** on **November 9** *heading toward **Chester, Illinois** (see map below right).*

**November 10**, the team arrives at **Chester, Illinois** with **Magnolia, Missouri** directly across the river (see map above right). On **November 11**, on their way to **Grand Tower, Missouri**, arriving there on **November 12** (see map below left – **Red #2** and below right).

On **November 13**, the team pushes their way south of **Grand Tower, Missouri** – past **Cape Girardeau, Missouri** (see map below left) and by **November 16** reach **Cairo, Illinois** – the southernmost city in the state, with **Missouri** directly to the west and **Kentucky** directly to the east (see map below center – **Red #3** and below left & right). With the cold November winds blowing all night, the team heads southward on **November 18**, slowly moving toward their next major destination – **Reelfoot Lake** in **Tennessee**.

Leaving Cairo, Illinois on **November 19**, the team heads past **Columbus, Kentucky** and **Belmont, Missouri**, arriving at **Hickman, Kentucky** on the morning of **November 20** (see map below right). Later that same day, the team arrives at **Pope’s Canal** – which is located five miles north of Island Number 10.

Pope’s Canal is also referred to as New Madrid Canal, and was dug in the Mississippi River area during the Civil War by Union forces under the command of General John Pope. It was constructed in 1862 to bypass the Confederate stronghold located on **Island Number 10**, and allowed Union gunboats and transports to reach **New Madrid, Missouri** *(see map below left – **Red #4** and below right)*, and ultimately, to capture the island. Obviously, Papa Clearman, who joined the Union Forces in December 1863, knew of these war stories, and this re-visiting of this Civil War battlefield – twenty years later – must have brought him a mix of emotions.

On **November 21**, the team arrives at **Island Number 10**, located at the southern-most bend of this section of the Mississippi, just before the Great River turns north again toward **New Madrid, Missouri** (see the Civil War map above left). As we mentioned earlier, Island Number 10 was located on the New Madrid Bend of the river and provided a strong Confederate defensive position. In 1862, Union gunboats attacked the island and started a weeks-long struggle, eventually gaining access to the South. Today, Island Number 10 is submerged under the ever-changing river, and no longer accessible as it was in 1886 when the Clearman party landed there. On **November 22**, the team sails north to **New Madrid, Missouri** *(see map below middle – **Red #4** and below left).*

*Below, Fred Clearman adds this Island Number 10 remembrance to his log when he was 94 years old…*

On **November 23**, the team heads south to **Tiptonville, Tennessee** (see map above left and right), and the next day – **November 24** – arrive at **Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee** (see map above middle – **Red #5** and below). On the 24th, Fred mentions trying to walk to **Rat Island** but has to settle for **Caney**. As you can see from the modern maps (below left & right) the Reelfoot Lake area has obviously changed since 1886, as those two islands are now connected as one piece of land. Note that Papa Clearman had camped on **Caney Island** before – obviously during his Civil War days.

On **November 25** – **Thanksgiving Day** on **Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee** – being thankful for a meal consisting of duck meat and the discovery of a slightly-used dugout canoe!

From **November 26** through **November 30**, it appears that the team stays put for several days at **Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee**, with Fred’s commentary focusing on Papa Clearman’s amazing markmanship with his rifle. Interestingly, family records show that Lewis A. Clearman won numerous marksmanship awards over the years at the Johnson County Fair back home in Iowa City. One account credits his amazing shooting ability to lessons he learned during the Civil War. We’re guessing that L.A. Clearman much preferred using his rife here in Tennessee for shooting ducks versus killing soldiers, as he was required to do twenty years earlier.

On **November 30**, the team finally leaves Reelfoot, heading toward **Cotton Wood Point, Missouri** (below right). And on the following day – which Fred decides to call **November 31** – the team ends up in **Hickman, Arkansas** (see map below left – **Red #6** and below right).

Sadly, over the years between 1886/1887 and 1966, several pages of Fred’s log were lost, so we don’t have a day-to-day account. But because this rite-of-passage adventure made such a big impact in the life of this 15-year-old, Fred was able to recall many of the details – even at age 94!

With Fred’s log missing entries from December 1 and following, we’ll never know how (and why) the Clearman traveling party hopped westward from **Hickman, Arkansas** – which sits on the Mississippi River (see map below left – **Red #6** and below right) and ended up on the **St. Francis River** – in what is called the **Big Mile, Arkansas** (see map below left – **Red #7** and below right).

Today, the “Big Mile” refers to a section of the St. Francis River known as the **St. Francis Sunken Lands Water Trail**, and if one draws a straight line from Hickman Landing to the north end of the St. Francis “Big Mile”, it is indeed around 65 miles, as Fred mentions. But, here’s the rub. Since we know that the team took their boats with them, we don’t find any easily-accessed waterway between these two points. Regardless, Fred’s story picks up in early December, somewhere along the **St. Francis River** – which runs from the Missouri border in the north to its mouth near Helena in east-central Arkansas. It’s somewhere along this long and winding St. Francis River valley where the Clearman’s meet the Blake family living on a large plantation located on the bank of a bayou. Here, the team stays for about six weeks – through Christmas and into mid-January – earning money by picking cotton for the Blakes.

The two log entries (above) that survive tell us that on **January 12**, Papa Clearman walks southward to **Park Place, Arkansas**, and on **January 13**, a Mr. Dry is taking a skiff to **Madison, Arkansas**. Both communities are located in east-central Arkansas, in the St. Francis River valley (see maps below), *and obviously, were relatively close to the Blake plantation.*

One editorial note here: throughout Fred’s journal, there are four short references to African-Americans that Fred encounters along the way. Obviously, Clearman’s language concerning these individuals was written during the height of the Jim Crow era, and, in our view, is not appropriate for today’s publication. Nor, in our opinion, do these short entries actually add to the overall story’s content. Suffice to say that in each of the four removed references, Fred – a northerner from Iowa, and whose father fought for the Union Army during the Civil War – is noting the very harsh treatment that blacks are receiving from white Southerners. One example, is that on the Blake farm, there are a number of former slaves – now free – who are “contractors” with Mr. Blake. Sadly, Fred comments on how poorly these men and women of color are still being treated by their former slave-owner.

Leaving the Blake plantation in mid-January, the Clearmans move “up the bayou about 12 miles” to **Cutoff Banks, Arkansas**. Here, they be-friend Mr. Anderson – the Union soldier who never left the South after the Civil War. Papa Clearman and Fred hit it off well with Anderson and his teen-age son, and we’re certain that they both learned a lot about the fine art of bear hunting in east-central Arkansas! Makes one wonder if the Clearmans and Andersons stayed in touch in the years after this time together.

Selling their houseboat in **Cutoff Banks, Arkansas** in late January, the Clearmans take a steamboat down the **St. Francis River**, arriving around **January 31** in **St. Helens (Helena), Arkansas** *(see map below left – **Red #8** and below right)*.

Note that **St. Helens (Helena), Arkansas** – sitting at the mouth of the St. Francis River – is the furthest point south in the Clearman’s 138-day journey. Today, Iowa City and Helena, Arkansas are about 600 miles apart, but obviously, traveling by river, and adding in all of the other side-trips, our traveling team easily journeyed over 1200+ miles between September 27, 1886 and their return to Iowa City on February 11, 1887.

According to Fred, it took 11 days to get back home to **Iowa City** from **St. Helens, Arkansas**, which includes one whole week for the steamboat headed to **St. Louis** to travel north from **Memphis**. Once the Clearman’s arrive in St. Louis, it’s assumed they rode the Rock Island rail line from St. Louis to **Rock Island, Illinois/Davenport, Iowa** (see map below center). From Davenport, of course, they caught the westbound Rock Island Rocket to Iowa City, arriving home on **February 11, 1887**. You can read more about the Rock Island Railroad and its Iowa City depot here.

We’re assuming that Papa & Fred’s traveling partner – Henry Hawley – either returned to Iowa City on his own, or possibly joined up with the Clearmans while they were living with the Blake family on the St. Francis River.

138 Days – 1,200+ Miles – Two Tired Clearmans – One Unforgettable Journey!

***Sweet dreams, Fred. You’ve just experienced one remarkable journey!***

Deputy Marshall Lewis A. Clearman (1847-1934) returned to Iowa City and made a name for himself becoming the Sherlock Holmes of eastern Iowa and beyond. You can read his full story here…

As for Frederick W. (Fred) Clearman (1871-1968), he returned to Iowa City, married Annie Donaldson on November 16, 1899, and soon after the turn-of-the-century, moved westward to Miles City, Montana, where Fred became a well-respected building contractor. Below, The Miles City Independent reports on Fred’s work in 1910, and as you can see, his father – L.A. Clearman, left Iowa City (1906) to join his son there, teaming up to form Clearman & Company…

*Below we find Fred & Annie Clearman, listed in the 1910 U.S. Census, living in Miles City, Montana…*

Here is some additional biographical information we found on Fred & Annie Clearman, who moved to Longview, Washington in 1923, and then Seattle in 1939…

Above left: Papa Lewis A. Clearman (1847-1934) died, at age 87, on November 7, 1934. Read more here.

Above right: Fred & Annie Clearman are pictured at their home in Seattle with Fred’s brother – Lewis C.W. & Cora Clearman of Iowa City (far left) and his sister – Isabelle & Cash Cross (middle) of Union Gap, Washington.

Annie Donaldson Clearman (1879-1966) passed away on February 4, 1966, at age 86, and Frederick W. Clearman (1871-1968) died on December 23, 1968, at age 97. Both are buried in Washington Memorial Park in Seattle.

Thank you, Fred, for leaving us this very entertaining journal that takes us back to an age long gone. It seems the life lessons you learned on this Mississippi River adventure remained with you for the rest of your days. Here’s to Papa Lewis & Fred Clearman, Henry Hawley, and Jack the Dog! Godspeed!

***February 11, 1887 – Iowa City’s Deputy Marshal L.A. Clearman and his 15-year old son, Fred, complete a 138-day, 1,200+ mile Rite of Passage trip on the Mississippi River.***

Kudos to the amazing resources below for the many quotes, photographs, etc. used on this page.

L.A. Clearman Quits Office, Iowa City Police Department Press Release, April 8, circa 1904, from the family records of Clearman’s gg grandson – Paul Valdick of Grants Pass Oregon.

G.L. Thomas, Photographer-Muscatine, The Muscatine Journal, September 16, 1892, p 1

Then and Now: Pope’s Canal To New Madrid, Craig Swain, Monitor.com, March 27, 2012

Island No. 10, David J. Gerleman, EssentialCivilWarCurriculum.com

Men And Enterprises That Are Making A Greater Miles City, Miles City Independent, August 6, 1910, p 10

Clearman & Company Certificate, Miles City Independent, August 15, 1913, p 4

Family Dinner For 55th Anniversary, Tacoma News Tribune, November 24, 1954, p 14

Lewis Abrams Clearman, Find-A-Grave

Isabelle Harriett Lloyd Clearman, Find-A-Grave

Mrs. F. Clearman, Former Resident, Dies In Seattle, February 7, 1966, p 2

Annie Donaldson Clearman, Find-A-Grave

Fred Clearman Dies At Age 97, Longview Daily News, December 24, 1968, p 5

Frederick William Clearman, Family Search