How can I drill through rim joist/sheathing for a dryer vent?
Your house is more than likely Balloon Framed. Stick and Platform framing hadn't come into being in 1900. In a balloon-framed house, the studs you see in the basement run all the way up to the roof. The filler material is a concrete mixture that was used as a partial fireblock and also to hold the spacing of the studs. 

You can put a hole through the concrete using a 4" coring bit and a coring drill. Google for "coring drills rental" and you find plenty of places that rent them. Your local home center probably does, if they rent tools.