Martin "Farmer" Burns Iowa Wrestler

 

Des Moines Register. June 3, 1906.

Martin "Farmer" Burns was born in Cedar County, Iowa, in 1861, and grew into one of the toughest wrestlers of his time. He studied the sport, figuring out holds and techniques that gave him an edge. By the late 1800s, he’d worked his way up to the American Heavyweight Championship.

Burns helped turn Frank Gotch into a world champion. His workouts were brutal—neck bridges, long runs, endless drills—but they worked. He turned wrestling into something smarter, tougher, and a lot more dangerous.

Iowa Wrestler Frank Gotch Demonstrating Toe Hold

Des Moines Register. July 16, 1905.

The Des Moines Register printed this photo of Iowa wrestling champion Frank Gotch applying his famous toe hold. The pain was such that opponents surrendered within seconds of his applying it.
 

Lulu Glaser As Dainty Dolly Varden At The Burtis Opera House 1903

 

Colorized image of Lulu Glaser
(from the Daily Times. October 24, 1903)

Comic opera star Lulu Glaser starred in Dainty Dolly Varden at the Burtis Opera House in Davenport on October 28, 1903. 

Contemporary reviews said Glaser’s strength wasn’t power—it was personality. She had a way of connecting with the audience through small gestures, expressive phrasing, and a gentle humor that suited the operetta style. The songs were delivered with clarity and elegance, not be show-stopping, but they lingerd pleasantly.

Vardon, Perry & Wilber Those Three Boys

The Davenport Democrat and Leader. January 17, 1909.

 Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information on this act. Just a photo, and a simple blurb saying they were one of the musical acts performing at the Family Theater in January 1909.

Coliseum Rollaway Grand Masquerade Davenport 1908

 

The Davenport Democrat and Leader. January 19, 1908.

This one surprised me. A masquerade skating party in 1908. if the advertisement is to be believed, everyone was required to wear a mask. And no intoxicating beverages were served.

Rollerskating must have been a big thing, because they offered a Masquerade Skate every evening and Sunday afternoon.

Balkan Princess At The Burtis Theater Davenport 1913

 

Colorized image, showing the cast of The Balkan Princess

The Balkan Princess was performed at the Burtis Opera House on March 30, 1913. The Daily Times descibed it as a "bubbling musical comedy." It was filled with sentiment and happiness and told the story of the romance between Princess Stephanie of Balavia and Grand Duke Sergius. 

Coca-Cola Advertisement 1914

 

Coca-Cola was Iowa's drink of choice in 1914. And as we learn from the ad, it wasn't just for men or women. Coca-Cola was "Everybody's Drink." This advertisement was printed in the Des Moines Register on September 20, 1914.

Advertisement Clemens Automobile Company Des Moines, Iowa

 

This advertisement for the 1915 Overland Model 80 automobile was published in the Des Moines Register, August 23, 1914. It was available from the Clemens Automobile Company, located at Fourth and Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa.

Sculptor Florence Sprague

Charcoal drawing after an image in the Des Moines Register.
August 23, 1914.

Des Moines sculptor Florence Sprague studied for two years at the Chicago Art Institute. Previous to that, she spent two years studying with Professor Charles A. Cuming. According to the Des Moines Register she spent the summer of 1914 creating candlesticks, bookends, and other knick-knacks to sell in local craft shops.

Click here to read a longer biography of Florence Sprague Smith.

Davenport Baseball Team of 1889

 

The Davenport Democrat and Leader printed this picture of the 1889 Davenport baseball team on August 20, 1912.

Upper row: (left to right) Con Strothers; Whitaker; Routcliffe; and Henry Schuhknecht.

Middle row: (left to right) Joe Kappel; Sammy Nichols; Bob Allen, captain; Charles Gessinger; and Henry Kappel.

Bottom row: (left to right) jerry Harrington; Billy Rhines; Jack Fanning; Jack and Jacj Lauler.

Moore's Original Jazz Band Estherville, Iowa

 

The Des Moines Register printed this picture of Moore's Original Jazz Band on June 11, 1911. They called them the Estherville Military band.

Band members: 

Back row (left to right) - Orville Moore, Walter Crowell, Jr., Jay Haffelfinger, Charles Dischler, William Gavin, Herman Max Maine, Edward Norelus, and Earl Hipple.

Front Row: (left to right) - Ray Floyd, Norman C. Maine, Fred Marshall, and Elmer Moore.

7th Iowa Volunteer Infantry In The Civil War

 

Battle flags of the 7th Iowa infantry

The 7th Iowa Volunteer Infantry mustered into service in July 1861 at Burlington. The men came off farms, out of shops, off the river. Most had never been farther than the next county. They signed on thinking they’d be home before long. That idea didn’t last.

 

They were organized fast and pushed out just as fast. Colonel Jacob G. Lauman took command. He wasn’t a trained soldier, but he knew how to keep men together. Augustus J. H. Merritt served as lieutenant colonel. Elliott W. Rice came in as major. That was the core. Everything else would be learned in the field.

 

They moved south into Missouri almost at once. The job was simple on paper—secure the river, hold ground, keep Confederate forces from pushing north. The reality was marches over bad roads, long stretches without supplies, and constant uncertainty about where the enemy was.

 

Their first fight came at Belmont in November 1861. Grant’s force crossed the Mississippi and moved against Confederate camps opposite Columbus, Kentucky. The plan was to hit hard and pull back.

 

It didn’t stay that simple.

Davenport Man Witnesses Wilbur Wright Flying At Le Mans France

 

The Daily Times. February 1, 1909.

In February 1909, the Davenport Daily Times talked with Dr. A. L. Hageboeck, who’d seen something few Americans could imagine—an airplane in flight.

 

Hageboeck had spent three days in Le Mans, France, watching Wilbur Wright fly, and what he saw left him shaken.

 

He said the real secret of the Wright brothers’ success was simple, almost too simple. The canvas wings of the machine could be tilted up or down at either end, allowing the pilot to adjust to the wind—just like a bird shifting its wings in flight.

 

That one idea changed everything.

 

He said Wilbur Wright wasn’t polished or impressive in the usual sense. He was thirty-five years old, tall, awkward, and quiet. There was nothing graceful about him. He barely spoke.

An Early Attack On Fort Madison

George Catlin painted this picture of a Sauk & Fox war dance in the early 1830s

 

The following passage has been reprinted from “Old Fort Madison: Some Source Materials” by Jacob Van der Zee, published in the Iowa Journal of History and Politics. October 1913. P. 520-525. It is part of a journal entry from a soldier or trader stationed at Fort Madison in 1808 and 1809.

 

[The Indians] kept in a body and counseled among themselves, the best manner of surprising Fort Madison, or rather the temporary stockade before the new fort could be occupied. They knew the new fort could not be occupied before the following summer; the soldiers hauled all the pickets and timber in the winner, hitched to sleds, 10 or 15 men to a sled, for want of horses or oxen.

 

Whilst they were occupied, the Indians were debating on the best mode of attack, several head, men and warriors spoke in council, each submitting his favorite mode of attack. They kept themselves posted up in regard to the progress of the new fort, which was to be of picket work and blockhouses. The pickets were to be about 15 feet high and sharpened at the top. The month of May was decided upon as the time for attacking the troops and kill every man if they could.

Black Hawk Purchase And The Opening of Iowa Territory

 

Chief Keokuk signing the Black Hawk Purchase

It ended at the Bad Axe River in August 1832.

Black Hawk and his followers were trying to cross the Mississippi. They were tired, hungry, and running. U.S. troops caught them at the river. What followed wasn’t much of a battle.

It was a massacre.

Soldiers fired from the shore. A steamboat moved into position and opened fire. People tried to swim across. Many didn’t make it. Men, women, and children were shot in the water or cut down on the shore.

By the time it was over, hundreds were dead.

That ended the war.

Black Hawk escaped with a small group and headed north, but he didn’t get far. Ho-Chunk men captured him and turned him over to U.S. forces.

He was taken to Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis and held there as a prisoner.

While he was in custody, the future of his people was being decided.