HISTORY OF GREEN COUNTY. 
 
through the winter and in the spring rented a 
farm adjoining, and worked that summer. In 
the fall he removed to Monticello and rented a 
house during the winter, then went to look after 
his Iowa land. He lost pretty near all he had 
there, and traded what interest he had left for 
forty acres in the town of Jefferson, Green 
county, built a frame house and lived there two 
years, then bought eighty acres in the town of 
Washington, on which he lived six years, then 
sold and bought a farm on section 11l, of Mount 
Pleasant, where he remained ten years, then 
traded for a farm of eighty acres on section 10. 
He lived there one year, then rented out his 
land and removed to Albany, where he rented 
a farm three years, then bought a farm on sec- 
tions 16 and 20, also the lots in block 18, of the 
new addition'to Albany, and sold his farm on 
section  10, town of Mount Pleasant. He 
erected a frame house and barn and has since 
made this his home. Mr. and Mrs. Colton have 
five children-Rizpah A., Mary,,E., Armelia, 
Sarah J. and Phebe D. 
Richard Hamer, a pioneer of Green county, 
was born at Glanravon, in the parish of Llanba- 
darn-ffynydd Radnorshire, South Wales, March 
23, 1817. He was reared to agricultural pur- 
suits until he was eighteen years old, when he 
was apprenticed to Benjamin Davis, of Mou- 
ghke, blacksmith, with whom he served two 
years. He afterwards worked at Dolver and 
Llanbadarn, as journeyman. He, however, re- 
turned to farming, at which he remained until 
he emigrated to America. On the 1st of May,. 
1845, he was married to Mary Jarman, daughter 
of Ezekiel and Maria Jarman, of Bryngwain, 
in the parish of Llandinam, Montgomery- 
shire, North Wales, and on the 7th day 
of May, in the same year, they took passage 
across the Atlantic from Liverpool, in-the sail- 
ing ship, John Bentley. After a voyage of six 
weeks and three days they landed at Quebec, Can- 
ada. He, however, was for two weeks laid up in 
the quarantine suffering from rheumatism. From 
 
Quebec he started and traveled by steamer to 
Kenosha. They then traveled by ox team from 
Kenosha   to Burlington  and Green county, 
to the same spot where he has ever since resid- 
ed. The first night in his new home was one 
that will ever be remembered by him and his 
wife, they having to encounter a terrific thunder 
storm, the like of which they had never seen 
before or since. The only shelter was a wagon, 
and the vivid flashes of lightning served them 
as a lantern. Mr. Hamer pre-empted land on 
section 14, of township 3, range 9 east, now 
known as the town of Albany. He erected a 
log cabin and covered itwith hay; the next sum- 
mer he undertook to cover it with boards, but 
having only half enough, a portion of the origi- 
nal hay roof remained on through the summer. 
A blanket was hung in the doorway which an- 
swered the purpose of the more modern and 
substantial wooden door. He found employ- 
ment in the neighborhood, working for fifty 
cents a day. At harvest he undertook to cut 
grain by the acre, getting fifty cents an acre. 
In this way he cut 1091 acres. That same year 
(1846), a dutchman named Shomaker cut 111 
acres, it taking him three days longer than Mr. 
Hamer. In the fall of 1846, Mr. Hamer 
and  his wife had   the ague   very   bad, 
Mrs. Hamer suffering   with it for seven 
months ;   at  this  time  they  felt the 
necessity  of having  a good   house, for 
their house had no door, and the roof only half 
covered, and no stove whatever, only a little 
fire on the ground in one corner and the smoke 
finding its way out between the logs as best it 
could. Mr. Hamer did considerable work dig- 
ging out cellars and wells and fencing. He 
made 11,000 rails in the winter of 1847. He 
also undertook to cut out a cellar 18x24 feet 
and Six and one half feet deep, for $5, which 
task he completed in four and one half days. 
It was that winter that he assisted to build the 
first house (which belonged to Dr. Nichols) 
ever raised in Albany. He also worked out, 
 
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