Elizabeth Fountain's century --- and her pipe

Elizabeth Knowles Fountain attracted considerable attention across Iowa during the autumn of 1905, as her 101st birthday approached, when someone, somewhere decided that she was the state's oldest resident. It's not clear how that conclusion was reached, but it was reported in the following brief news item published in many Iowa newspapers, including The Chariton Leader of October 5:

"Since the death of Mrs. O'Brien, Wayne county claims the oldest woman in the state. Grandma Fountain, a resident of Wright township, this county, will be 101 years of age on December 24 and is now hale and hearty. Mrs. Fountain dispels the belief that the use of tobacco is injurious to the body and mind, as she has been a constant pipe smoker since 6 years of age. When she came to Iowa in an early day she lived for months entirely surrounded in Indians."

Elizabeth was born Dec. 24, 1804, in Virginia; married Moses Fountain during 1830 in Indiana; and during 1838 moved with him and others into Iowa --- jumping the line that then marked the eastern boundary of confederated Sauk and Mesqwaki tribal territory to settle, illegally, in what now is Davis County.

Moses Fountain died in Davis County on April 18, 1857, when he was 50, and is buried in an unmarked grave there (his particulars, however, are inscribed on the tombstone in the Confidence Cemetery, Wayne County, that marks Elizabeth's grave as well as the grave of their youngest son, John).

Elizabeth continued to live in Davis County, but moved during the later 1870s to English Township, Lucas County, with her son, Moses Fountain Jr., where she was living when the 1880 census was taken. When Moses and his wife, Malinda, decided to move to Kansas, Elizabeth relocated to Independence Township in far northwest Appanoose County to live with (or near) her daughter, Clarissa, married to Owen Owens. 

So that's how she became a resident of Wayne County's Confidence community --- the village of Confidence is just a mile west of Independence Township's western boundary. Another son, Stephen Fountain, lived nearby with his family in Wayne County's South Fork Township.

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Elizabeth first attracted media attention when she celebrated her 100th birthday near Confidence on the 24th of December, 1904 --- an event reported upon (at the least) in Corydon, Centerville and Des Moines newspapers. Here's the report from The Register of Jan. 5, 1905:

SHE IS HAPPY AT A HUNDRED YEARS

Des Moines Register, 5 January 1905

CORYDON, Ia., Jan. 4 (Special) --- Memories of the pioneer days of Iowa are still fresh in the mind of Grandma Fountain, who celebrated her 100th birthday during the Christmas season.

Mrs. Fountain came to Iowa in 1838 with a party which consisted of seventeen people. There was only one other woman in the party besides herself and she saw no other white women for years. The party camped on the Fox river in Davis county and were surrounded by Indians. For six days while the male members of the party were absent, the two women were by themselves and close by was a tribe of seventeen hundred Indians, but Mrs. Fountain says she had no fear of them and spent most of the time in the Indian camp. The nearest white settlement was sixty miles and there they went to mill.

No trouble was ever experienced with the numerous Indians, and calls were quite frequently exchanged. Dining with the Indians, however, was not much pleasure as they allowed their dogs to eat at the same table, and there were often as many dogs as redskins. When asked by Mrs. Fountain why, they allowed this, an old squaw replied that "a dog was just as good as an Indian." Mrs. Fountain can recall many Indian words and used to be acquainted to a certain extent with their language.

Wild turkeys, she says, was a favorite dish of the Indians, and describes how it was prepared. The fowl was given to a squaw who rolled it in mud and clay until it was completely covered and then put it in a hot fire to roast. After being baked the feather and skin came off with the clay, the head was jerked off, the entrals taken out and given to the dogs and the turkey was ready to be eaten. Fancy carving sets were unknown in those days, and the pieces of meat were jerked off.

When Mrs. Fountain first came to Iowa there was a hot dispute between this state and Missouri as to where the state line should run, which was not settled until recent years. Mrs. Fountain is ready at any time for a heated argument with anyone who says tobacco is injurious to the health. She has been smoking a pipe for ninety-four years and enjoys it immensely. Her husband, Moses Fountain, has been dead forty-seven years and she makes her home with relatives in Wright Township.

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Elizabeth was 102 when she died at the Owens home two years later, on May 6, 1907. She reportedly had been in good health with all faculties intact, devoting much of her time to making quilts for her descendants, until near the end.

We're lucky that some of her story has been preserved. Elizabeth lived all of her 102 years without the ability to read or write, so she had no way other than story-telling to pass her wisdom and knowledge on.

Family Narrative: Jane Anna (Boswell) Ratcliffe

Jane and Thomas Ratcliffe with their youngest, Peachy and Lloyd.

By Frank D. Myers

Jane Anna, born Feb. 14, 1836, near Point Pleasant, Mason County, (West) Virginia, was the second child of Peachy Gilmer and Carolyn (McDaniel) Boswell and named, perhaps, for Peachy's aunt and occasional benefactor, Jane (Boswell) Lewis, widow of Andrew at the time of her namesake's birth.

Jane grew up along the Ohio River not far from Point Pleasant and the fact that half her middle finger on the right hand was missing would have served as a somewhat painful reminder of childhood. According to her grandniece, Verna Brown, Jane and her older sister, Chloe, were sent out to split kindling as girls --- Chloe wielding the ax, Jane holding the wood. Jane's finger ended up in the path of Chloe's ax and the result was evident for the remainder of Jane's life.

Jane may already have celebrated her 14th birthday when the family left Virginia behind, traveling most likely by river boat from Point Pleasant down the Ohio to the Mississippi, then up the Mississippi to Keokuk, From there, an ox-drawn wagon would have brought the Boswells to their new home on a farm between the pioneer villages of Leando and Iowaville in Village Township, Van Buren County, Iowa.

During 1852, a new family moved into the neighborhood from Ohio --- Jesse and Rosanna (Cozad) Ratcliffe along with seven children, the eldest among them Thomas Jefferson Ratcliffe, then 18.

During 1853, Thomas apparently traveled three counties west to Corydon Township, Wayne County, in search of land. Finding what he wanted, he returned to Van Buren County and, according to that county's records, marred Jane Anna on Feb. 2, 1854. They returned to Wayne county to begin housekeeping in a cabin north of Corydon at about the time Peachy and Caroline as well as son-in-law and daughter Moses and Chloe (Boswell) Prentiss, moved from Van Buren County into the same neighborhood.

Two of the nine Ratcliffe children were born in the cabin on the Corydon Township farm --- Maurice Gilmer on Dec. 12, 1856, and Reuben Edward, on Aug. 15, 1859.

In 1861, Thomas and Jane moved slightly northwest, to a farm that paralleled the south shore of the South Fork of the Chariton River in Section 1 of Benton Township. This farm, called "Homestead Farm," would remain their home for the remainder of Thomas's life. The farm increased in size as the years passed to 207 acres, forming at the time what was considered an ideal setup --- ready access to water, plenty of timber, level land to crop and more land to pasture. When the Ratcliffes lived here, it was on was the main road north from Corydon to Chariton and a bridge across the South Chariton was just north of the farm house. Now, the road dead-ends at the river and little remains of the farmstead.

When the Civil War broke out, Thomas enlisted in an unidentified company at Corydon, but his hearing had been badly impaired since childhood and when it came time to muster the company into federal service, Thomas was sent home.

Jane and Thomas became the parents of seven more children while living along the South Chariton --- Mary Elizabeth on March 22, 1862, Christopher Archibald on Sept. 15, 1864, Jesse on April 18, 1867, William Thomas on Jan. 5, 1871, Emma on July 19, 1872, Lloyd on May 16, 1875, and Peachy Gilmer on July 5, 1877.

As the years passed, the Ratcliffes had many members of Jane's extended family as neighbors --- sister America E. Cox just across the river to the north; brothers Ellis and Reed, to the south and east. Her uncle, William M. Boswell, also lived in the neighborhood as did their cousin, Wiley Boswell and his family. All were communicants of the Corydon Methodist Church, of which Peachy G. and Caroline Boswell had been founding members.

Thomas Boswell died on Jan. 15, 1896, just a few days short of his 62nd birthday and after 42 years of marriage, and was buried in the neighborhood cemetery, Hogue, just northwest of the family home. 

Jane continued to live on the farm for a few years, sharing the house with sons or sons-in-laws and their families who farmed the acres that surrounded it. Eventually, however, the household was broken up, the farm sold and Jane went to live with her children.

She was living with her youngest son, Peachy G., and his family southwest of Humeston when she died on Sept. 18, 1912, at the age of 76. Following a funeral service at the Boswell home, her remains were taken to Hogue Cemetery and buried beside those of Thomas.

"Sailor Jean" sails through Chariton (on foot)

Sailor Jean, reincarnated as Colonel Jack, navigated the United States twice on foot between 1903 and 1909, visiting all of our state capitals on the first trek, paralleling national borders on the second.

John Albert Krohn (1873-1956) is best remembered for his second trip, which commenced in Portland, Maine, during June of 1908 and ended there in June 1909, because he wrote a book: "The Walk of Colonel Jack."

The stakes of his first journey, which began in April of 1903 and concluded during 1906, were $5,000 --- and brought him to Chariton as well as other locations in Iowa. On that trip, he pushed a wheelbarrow outfitted as what he called a "trolleyette." His wife and daughter paralleled his route by train, serving as public relations advance staff.

Support for the journey came from the sale of cast aluminum tokens, pass-the-hat public appearances and Mr. Krohn's gift of the gab. He actually seems to have done quite well for himself. The book he planned to write about this trip never materialized, however.

Anyhow, "Sailor Jean" passed through Chariton on Oct. 7, 1903, and made public relations visits to all three of the weekly newspapers being published here at the time. Here's the report in The Chariton Herald of October 8, published under the headline, "Sailor Jean Arrived Yesterday."

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A queer pedestrian arrived in Chariton yesterday, over the Q right of way from Indianola, and after a short stop proceeded southward. He called himself Sailor Jean, his right name being Jean A. Krohn, and he is walking to every state capital of the nation, on a wager of $5,000. He started from Augusta, Maine, on April 1 of this year, and if he completes his trip --- which will be 22,000 miles long --- within three years and six months, he will get $5,000, and $20 extra for every day he beats his time limit. He must walk all the way, and push a barrel wheelbarrow contraption that he calls a trolleyette. Inside the barrel he has a dress suit case, a lunch box, and a few other necessities of travel. The barrel is pasted all over with cards of offices and men through whose towns he has passed.

When Sailor Jean stepped into the Chariton Herald office yesterday, we knew him instantly. He was dressed like a sailor (although he never was a sailor) and his wheel barrow outside quickly attracted a crowd of sightseers, to whom he offered for sale his aluminum card plate souvenirs, by the sale of which he pays his way as he walks. The wheel of his trolleyette is equipped with a cyclometer, which registered yesterday 3,650 miles --- a pretty good jaunt on foot since the first of April.

Sailor Jean has already visited eleven out of the forty-nine state capitals, and is nineteen days ahead of his schedule. He has averaged 25 miles a day, rain or shine, which is 5 miles a day better than he needs to do. He was at Des Moines last Sunday, and is now heading for Jefferson City, Mo. He must get proof from the state officers as he goes that he has really been in their city, else he would not get the prize money.

His wife and baby are with him on the trip, but they go by train ahead of him. They arrived in Chariton from Des Moines on Monday, stopping at Mrs. Hurd's on north Main street, until Jean arrived here on foot and started on to his next town of importance.

Sailor Jean is a newspaper man by profession, and will write a book of his travels after he completes his unique and sole-wearing journey.

Family Narrative: Chloe Boswell Prentiss/Brown

Chloe Boswell Prentiss/Brown and daughter Jessie Brown Miller

By Frank D. Myers 

Chloe T. Boswell, my great-grandmother,  was the eldest of Peachy Gilmer and Caroline (McDaniel) Boswell's children, born 23 August 1833 near the Ohio River town of Point Pleasant, Mason County, (West) Virginia, in the second year after her parents' 1831 marriage. 

We have no idea who, if anyone specifically, Chloe was named after. "Chloe" is of Greek origin (reportedly meaning "blooming" or "green shoot"), but Chloe Boswell probably could, if she cared to, trace her given name to the Bible. Apparently a prominent woman in Corinth, that early Chloe, and her household, informed St. Paul of divisions in the church there as reported in his first letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verse 11: "For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you."

A signature is the only source for her middle initial, "T," but we have no idea what the full name was or where it came from. Chloe's only known signatures are found on two documents within the Appanoose County, Iowa, probate file (No. 1156) of her uncle, Creed M. Boswell, who died intestate on 17 July 1880. On the 23rd of July 1881, she signed "Chloe Brown" to a receipt acknowledging that she had received notice that in order to settled Creed's estate a friendly lawsuit had been filed against all his heirs by the executor, W.S. Johnson. On the 26th of April 1883, she signed as "C T Brown" to acknowledge receipt of $10 "in full of my claim against the said estate." The "T" is clear and unmistakable. 

In both instances, the handwriting is elegant and natural, suggesting that Chloe was accustomed to corresponding. This apparent ease with a pen may tell us something about a childhood we know next to nothing about. Her parents apparently saw to it that she was well educated although they were not affluent people. 

When writing her mother's obituary during 1914, daughter Jessie told us that Chloe "was converted in early youth and united with the M.E. church at Corydon (Iowa)." Her father, Peachy G. Boswell, was a founding member and early leader of that Corydon church, suggesting that Methodism was an expression of faith the family brought with it from Virginia.

Only one incident from Chloe's Virginia childhood survives. A portrait of her sister, Jane (Boswell) Ratcliffe, found in the family photo album, shows clearly that the middle finger on Jane's right hand ended at the knuckle. A good many years ago, I asked Chloe's granddaughter and Jane's grandniece, Verna Brown, if she knew how that had happened. She told me that Chloe and Jane had gone out to cut wood at their Virginia home when both were girls, Chloe wielding the ax and Jane steadying a chunk of wood that was to be split. Jane's middle finger ended up in the path of the ax with painful and permanent consequences.

Jane Boswell and husband, Thomas Ratcliffe

Sadly, I did not ask Verna enough questions about her grandmother's childhood --- and the opportunity to do so is long past. But I do know, with my mother as the source, that Chloe's memories of West Virginia were warm and that she missed it, even though she last saw Mason County's hills and the broad Ohio River that flows below them when she was 16.

Chloe was 16 going on 17 in the spring of 1850 when her parents moved their family of seven from their home near the Ohio River and Point Pleasant to landlocked Iowa, most likely traveling down the Ohio to the Mississippi, upstream to Keokuk and then by ox-drawn wagon across southeast Iowa, paralleling the Des Moines River, until they reached Village Township, Van Buren County, and settled on a farm between the historic villages of Leando and Iowaville. That was where the 1850 census-taker found them on 22 October (1850 Census, Village Township, Van Buren County, Iowa, Page 317, Household/House Nos. 24/24).

Their neighbor in Village Township that fall --- only three cabins away --- was Robert Prentice (Prentiss), age 60, a widower born in New Hampshire, whose household included among others an unmarried son named Moses Warren. Priscilla (Warren) Prentiss, wife and mother, had died three years earlier, on 1 August 1847, and was buried in Leando Cemetery. Moses had been named for her father, Moses Warren.

According to Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., author of a 1997 update of C.J.F. Binney’s 1883 “The History and Genealogy of the Prentice Families of New England,” Robert Prentiss, born about 1790, probably was a son of James (Hogg) Prentiss and either Pauline or Julia Warren. Robert married Priscilla Warren 25 January 1816 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and had the following children, all born in Cuyahoga County: Sophronia,, born 29 March 1817; Warren, September 1818; Almira, 24 September 1820; Alphonso, 23 April 1822; Mary Lovica, about 1824; Alonzo Robert, 19 April 1825; Moses Warren, 2 February 1827; and Margaret Warren, 7 February 1830.

The Robert Prentiss family had arrived in Van Buren County prior to 15 May 1845, when county marriage records show that daughter Margaret Warren Prentiss married Benona Freel.

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A year and a half after the 1850 census was taken, on 18 March 1852, Chloe and Moses Prentiss were married in Van Buren County. She was 19 at the time and he was 25.

The couple established their first home in Van Buren County, but two years later, in 1854 according to Chloe’s obituary, moved three counties west into Wayne county where they settled in Corydon Township, just northeast of the county seat, Corydon.

Moses’s first purchase in Wayne County, by original entry, was made on 10 November 1853. This was the NE¼ of the SW¼ of Section 8, Corydon township, about a mile and a half northeast of Corydon. In all likelihood Moses and Chloe as well as Peachy and Caroline and their unmarried children moved to Wayne County the following spring. They all are enumerated as Corydon Township residents in a special 1854 census of Wayne County.

When the 1856 census of Wayne County was taken, Moses “Prentice,” 29, his wife, Chloe, 22, and their daughter E(va) L., 1, were recorded again as Corydon Township residents. 

In October of 1857, according to Wayne County land records, Moses purchased the west half of the northwest quaarter of section 17 and 5 acres in section 8, Corydon Township. This land joined land purchased the previous year by his father-in-law, Peachy Boswell.

There are indications that Moses occasionally found himself in financial hot water. On the 12th of October 1857, Moses mortgaged “a yoke of oxen described as 4 years old, one red and the other brown” to Johnson, Davis & Co. of Keokuk in order to secure an account due of $54.31. The mortgage was paid in full on 9 March 1858.

And on 19 October 1857, Moses issued a mortgage to Jeremiah Brower for a “certain 2-horse wagon and a calf now about 6 months old” on condition “I pay said Brower $5 and interest which by a judgment Sarah Brower recovered against me before S.E. Biddle, justice of the peace.” 

Four daughters were born to Chloe and Moses in Wayne County — Eva L., on 25 February 1855; Laura Rozella, on 2 July 1857; Sarah Olive, on 9 March 1862; and Emma Caroline, on 12 September 1864. The Moses Prentiss family, which included Chloe, age 27, as well as Eva L., 5, and Laura R., 3, were recorded as residents of Corydon Township, Wayne County, when the 1860 census was taken.

Shortly after arrival in Wayne County, Chloe and Moses bought second-hand this now somewhat battered cherrywood bureau, which remains a family member.

Although it is now impossible to say when, the Prentiss familly left Wayne County for a time and settled in Nebraska, according to a family story told by Verna Brown. Perhaps they joined Moses’s sister and brother-in-law, Margaret and Benona Freel, who had lived briefly in Wayne County before settling near Barada in extreme southeast Nebraska’s Richardson County prior to 1860.

In any case, according to the story, Chloe became extremely ill while living in Nebraska, apparently in the spring, and her father, Peachy Boswell, set out to visit her. Because his family’s only horse was needed for plowing, he walked. The reunited family returned to Corydon by wagon.

Daughter Emma was about 10 months old and Chloe, almost 32, when tragedy struck the young family. Moses, according to a story passed down through several generations, was working at a saw mill in the summer on 1865. On July 6, a steam boiler used to power the saw exploded, killing him.

Moses Prentiss tombstone, Corydon Cemetery

He was buried in the Boswell plot in the Corydon cemetery and a stone was erected on his grave with the following inscription:

"Remember friends, as you pass by,

As you are now, so once was I.

As I am now so must you be.

Prepare for death and follow me."

Following her husband’s death, Chloe and her four daughters moved across the fields to her parents’ home. Her father, Peachy, died there during August of 1868, and was buried near Moses in Corydon. 

When the 1870 census of Corydon Township was taken the Boswell household consisted of Carolyn Boswell, age 59; Chloe’s sister, America E. Boswell, age 22; Chloe, 36; and the four Prentiss daughters, ages 15, 13, 9 and 5.

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Joseph Brown

During the summer of 1870, according to another family story, Chloe visited Boswell aunts, uncles and cousins who had moved from Van Buren County to Pleasant Township, Appanoose Couonty, at about the same time Chloe and Moses moved to Wayne County. These Boswell relatives lived south of the small town of Cincinnati in the south central portion of the county, quite near the Missouri state line. 

Chloe’s aunt, Mary Boswell, had married Archibald S. Brown Sr. during January of 1859. Archibald had a brother, Joseph Brown, 60 during 1870, whose second wife had died in Washington County, Iowa, during July of that year. 

Joseph apparently had moved to Appanoose County soon after her death to live near his children, Archibald Brown Jr. and Mary (Brown) DeMack, and brother, Archibald Brown Sr., all of whom lived in or near Cincinnati. 

Joseph and Chloe were introduced, and on 17 November 1870 were married in Wayne County. Joseph’s children were by this time all grown and married, but by marrying Chloe he acquired a second, ready-made family. 

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In February of 1871, probably after spending December and January with Caroline, Chloe, Joseph and the four Prentiss girls moved from Wayne County across Lucas County to a small farm south of Columbia in southern Marion County. 

Among the reasons for a move to Columbia apparently was the fact that a Presbyterian congregation was located there, and Joseph was a devout Presbyterian. 

Title to this farm, which was located south of the Columbia Cemetery, could not be cleared, however, and the family moved soon to a small home located in Columbia itself.

This home was located on a small acreage, two-and-a-half acres at the time of Joseph’s death during 1893, which filled the southeast corner of the crossroads around which Columbia was built. Across the road to the north, Joseph purchased 40 acres of land. At the time of Joseph’s death, 38 acres remained. Two acres in the far southwest corner had been sold as business and residential lots, including the site of the legendary May Store. 

Existing photographs of the house in which Joseph and Chloe settled show it to be an attractive, but small, story-and-a-half cottage. 

Chloe’s granddaughter, Verna Brown, who was born and raised in the house, said that a sitting room was located in the northwest corner of the house, and a bedroom in the northeast corner. The kitchen was located south of the living room, and stairs to two large bedrooms ascended between the kitchen and the living room. The southeast corner of the house apparently contained a porch enclosed within the structure. A cellar under the kitchen provided storage space. The house no longer exists. It was torn down, or moved, when the property was sold to the Caruthers family in the early 1900s and a much larger house constructed to the east of its site and business buildings on the crossroads corner.

Joseph Ellis Brown

In this house, two children were born to Chloe and Joseph. The first was Joseph Ellis, born on 4 September 1871 and named for his father and Chloe’s brother, Ellis Boswell. Jessie Frances, the second child, was born 19 January 1875. Her middle name probably honored an aunt, Susan Frances (Boswell) Garnes. Jessie said years later that she could remember her father only as an old man. He was 65 at the time of her birth.

Jessie Brown Miller (left) and Cora Bingaman in Columbia

When Jessie was born, there probably were seven members of the Brown household. Chloe’s daughter, Laura Prentiss, had married Alpheus Elkahan Love on 7 July 1873, but Eva, Olive and Emma still would have been living with their mother and stepfather. 

The 1880s were a peaceful decade for the family. Jessie and Joseph attended the Columbia school and Joseph Sr. farmed until he no longer was able, then turned those duties over to his son, Joseph Jr., who also worked as a Columbia blacksmith. 

Eva married John Rush West on 1 September 1880 and Olive married Sam McCorkle on 23 February 1882, but Emma continued to make her home with the Browns until her death. 

At some point during this period, according to family lore, the Presbyterian church, among the factors that had brought Joseph and Chloe to Columbia in the first place, burned, and the family then attended the Methodist Church, which had been Chloe’s denomination originally. Jessie and her brother were raised as Methodists.

Chloe and her daughters provided additional income for the family by doing laundry for guests at a Columbia boarding house and Emma developed into a skilled seamstress.

These are members of the blended Brown-Prentiss family photographed (probably by Uncle Al Love) in 1888 or 1889 to the side of the family home in Columbia. Sam and Olive (Prentiss) McCorkle were visiting from their home in Superior, Nebraska, and their wagon is visible by the side of the house. Standing (from left) are Byron Love, Eugene Love, Sam McCorkle holding daughter Alma, Emma Prentiss and Laura Love. Seated (from left) are Ada McCorkle, Olive (Prentiss) McCorkle, Alma McCorkle, Joseph Brown, Chloe (Boswell/Prentiss) Brown and Jessie Brown holding Verna Prentiss/Brown.

Beginning in 1887, however, a period of difficulties began for the family.

Emma Prentiss

Emma, on 27 October 1887, gave birth to a daughter she named Verna Jones Prentiss, implying that the father’s surname was Jones. Family stories suggest Joseph Brown would not allow his stepdaughter to marry Verna’s father, and so mother and daughter remained within his household. As an infant, Verna developed polio, which left her physically handicapped throughout a long life. At some point, an effort was made to eradicate her middle name, "Jones," from the family Bible record of her birth by crossing it out with ink. It remained faintly visible, however.

Verna

In August of 1893, Emma and her half-brother, Joseph, were visiting the Jonathan Edward Brown family at Durham, a small community northeast of Columbia, also in Marion County. Jonathan was a son of Joseph Brown Sr. by his first marriage. 

The lane leading to the Brown home in Durham crossed railroad tacks, and as Emma and Joseph left for home in a buggy, a train spooked the horses, the team ran away and both were thrown. Emma landed on a pile of posts and suffered internal injuries that could not be dealt with in those days. She was brought home to recuperate. Joseph escaped uninjured. 

As winter set in, Joseph Brown Sr., now in his 80s, became ill and bed-ridden. Jessie left school in order to help her mother take care of the two invalids. Emma, apparently recovering, went to the home of her sister, Eva West, to sew for the West children before the winter term of school began. While there, she became seriously ill and was brought home. 

Joseph died on 4 December 1893 and was buried in Columbia Cemetery. Emma followed on 14 January 1894 and was buried nearby.

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Happier times returned for the family in 1895, and on 15 March of that year “brother Joe” married Anna Stone. 

Joe, however, became ill soon after the marriage and the illness was diagnosed as consumption, or tuberculosis. Although the causes of tuberculosis now are known, his family felt that it had been brought on by his work as a blacksmith and in the limestone quarries around Durham. 

About 1897, seeking relief, he moved to Nebraska, near Superior where his half sister, Olive McCorkle, and her family had settled some years earlier. Joseph’s and Anna’s only child, Ronald Merle Brown, was born 27 October 1897 near Burr Oak, Kansas, a few miles south of Superior. 

By the fall of 1898, Joseph considered himself well enough to return to Columbia and to bring Chloe, Jessie and Verna back to Nebraska. During October of that year, Chloe, now 65, Jessie, 22, and Verna, 11, set out with Joe, Anna and Merle in a covered wagon for Nebraska. They arrived safely, despite snow and bad weather, but the trip apparently had aggravated Joe’s tuberculosis. His condition worsened, and on 25 September 1899 he died at Bostwick, Nebraska, also near Superior. His family returned to Iowa with the body by train, and he was buried a few days later in the Columbia Cemetery. 

Chloe, Jessie and Verna then returned to their old home at Columbia, where they lived for six more years. Jessie was hired to operate the Columbia switchboard, which was moved into the sitting room of the Brown home. Through her work she met William Ambrose Miller, treasurer of a rural Lucas County telephone line with "central" in his mother's parlor, and they were married in Corydon on 3 June 1905. 

A year later, in April of 1906, Chloe and Verna moved to English Township, Lucas County, to live with William and Jessie. 

Chloe died 15 June 1914 at the age of 80 years, 9 months and 22 days in her daughter’s home. She was buried a day later beside Joseph and Emma in the Columbia Cemetery. 

Chloe was described by her granddaughter, Verna, as a tall, fair, blue-eyed woman with a gentle manner. Apparently well-educated, Verna recalled that when she was not working she was reading. Of her children, Verna said, Joe was most like her in appearance. Jessie resembled her father in appearance but had her mother’s laid-back disposition. Here's the text of the obituary Jessie prepared for her mother:

CHLOE BOSWELL BROWN

Chloe Boswell, daughter of Peachy and Caroline Boswell, was born in Mason county, West Virginia, August 23rd, 1833, departed this life June 15th, 1914, from the home of her daughter, Mrs. Jessie Miller, age 80 years, 9 months and 22 days. Deceased came to Iowa with her parents in 1850, locating in Van Buren county. Four years later they moved to Wayne county, living near Corydon. 

On March 18, 1852, she was united in marriage to Moses W. Prentiss, who departed this life July 6th, 1865. To this union was born four daughters, Eva, Laura, Ollie and Emma. On November 17th, 1870, she was married to Joseph Brown of Appanoose county and came to Columbia, Marion county, in February 1871. To this union was born two children, Joseph E. and Jessie. She was again left a widow, December 5, 1893, but continued to reside at the old home until April, 1906, since which time she has made her home with her daughter, Jessie, in Lucas county. 

One daughter and son preceded their mother to the beyond, Emma, Jan. 14, 1894; Joseph E., Sept. 25, 1899. The deceased leaves four children, 23 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Also one brother and two sisters, Ellis G. Boswell and America E. Cox of Corydon, Frances S. Garnes of Leoti, Kansas. She was converted in early youth and united with the M.E. church at Corydon. Was a kind and loving mother, devoted to her home and family. Very patient in her daily trials and bore her affliction with christian fortitude and often expressed her abiding faith in her Savior. 

Gone home mother, where life's tempests beat upon thy path no more.\

With thy life barque safely anchored, hard by the Eternal shore. 

Gone home mother, and we miss thee and our hearts by grief are riven,

but we hope again to greet thee on the sunny plains of Heaven. 

Thy sweet life of love we cherish like perfume from Heaven blown

and we'll talk of thee in pleasure. Gone home mother, dear, gone home.

Funeral services were held at the Columbia church, Wednesday, June 17, conducted by Rev. Williamson of Des Moines, after which friends and neighbors bore the remains to the Columbia cemetery, where it awaits the final resurrection. (Chariton Herald-Patriot, 18 June 1914)

Sanctuary

A little calm for Sunday morning --- this brief introduction, then performance of "Sanctuary" by Cantor Julia Cadrain at Manhattan's Central Synagogue, one of the largest Reform congregations in the United States.

The song itself has an interesting history. Based in the Torah (Exodus 25:8) it became the basis for Christian hymnody (the tune reportedly is Shaker-inspired), then was reclaimed. This was recorded during a 2015 Shabbat service at Central Synagogue:

O Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary

Pure and holy, tried and true

And in thanksgiving I’ll be a living

Sanctuary for You!

Nearly three-quarters of a ton of Osenbaughs

I'm guessing that the six children of John and Martha Osenbaugh had senses of humor to match their size. That would explain why, on the 16th of October, 1902, and en route to the Smith Studio in Chariton to have this wonderful portrait taken, they stopped to have themselves weighed collectively and discovered that the average was 231 pounds.

The siblings are (seated from left) Aaron, Charles and John; standing, Elizabeth, Andrew and David.

Thanks to brother Charles, the Osenbaugh name still is a familiar one in Lucas County. I grew up with Roger and Mary Louise and attended the University of Iowa with Bess.

And here's the story of how this portrait came to be, as published in The Chariton Democrat of Oct. 23, 1902:

Last Tuesday, October 14th, Mrs. Elizabeth Humphrey of Lincoln county, Nebraska, arrived at the residence of her brother, A.J. Osenbaugh, in Ottercreek township. Aaron D. Osenbaugh of Kingfisher, Oklahoma, Dr. John Osenbaugh of Chicago, Illinois, and D.T. Osenbaugh of Alton, Kansas, had arrived some time before their sister.

Immediately after the death of their mother (Martha) near Maroa, Illinois, the children separated in 1872. They took up their residences in five different states and territories in the middle west.

Thursday, October 16, the five brothers and one sister had their photographs taken at Smith's gallery after having dined at Mrs. Stone's boarding house and having been weighed on their way to the gallery. They are not dwarfs as their average weight is 231 pounds.

Perhaps nothing will show the high esteem the brothers have for their sister better than to say that all of the three brothers who are married have each named their youngest daughter Elizabeth after the name of their sister.

After the death of their mother in 1872, the only sister married, the father (John) sold his farm and emigrated to Ottercreek township, Lucas county, Iowa, where he purchased a quarter section of land for "a rallying place for the boys," as the old gentleman used to say.

Andrew J., the eldest, and Charles, the second youngest, settled on the original quarter section. Lizzie settled in Nebraska, David T., the second eldest, settled in Kansas where he owns the best nursery in the state, Aaron D., the third son, settled in Oklahoma where he homesteaded a quarter section, John, the youngest son, being of a scientific turn of mind, settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he studied medicine in one of the best colleges in the country, graduated with the highest honors and soon after received a professorship. He was surgeon in the regular army in Puerto Rico under the command of General Fred Grant during the Spanish-American war.

It is to be hoped they will have many more happy reunions in the future.

American Tune ...

I've been listening to Paul Simon's 1973 "American Tune" this morning --- this version a 2015 performance on Stephen Colbert's show. And thinking about the lyrics --- not deep thoughts, just bemused thoughts as our current political circus continues to play out in several rings.

Many's the time I've been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and often felt forsaken
And certainly misused
But I'm all right, I'm all right
I'm just weary to my bones
Still, you don't expect to be
Bright and bon vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home

And I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
or driven to its knees
But it's all right, it's all right
We've lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road
we're traveling on
I wonder what went wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what went wrong

And I dreamed I was dying
And I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high up above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying

We come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the age's most uncertain hour
and sing an American tune
But it's all right, it's all right
You can't be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest
That's all, I'm trying to get some rest

Rallying around with the Oakley Rough Riders

Lucas Countyans were, as a rule, feeling good about themselves during the fall of 1900. The economy was flourishing and Spanish American War successes had left behind a patriotic glow.

The candidates at the top of the national tickets that year were Republican William McKinley, virtually undefeatable in his quest for a second term because of the general state of the nation, and William Jennings Bryan, Democrat. Theodore Roosevelt,  just 42 and polishing his image as the ultimate Rough Rider, was the GOP candidate for vice-president.

On the state level, Denison's Leslie M. Shaw, Republican, was running for another term as governor and Logan's James C. Milliman, another term as lieutenant governor. Lieutenant governors always have been forgettable --- and, it would appear from the following report, that the editor of The Chariton Patriot, Lucas County's Republican newspaper, had forgotten Mr. Milliman's name (and identified him as J.C. Williams).

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As September turned to October that fall, Liberty Township Republicans gathered at Oakley, now almost a ghost town, then a thriving village, to organize themselves into Lucas County's own incarnation of the Rough Riders --- a mounted unit of some sixty volunteers, male and female, formed to campaign for Republican candidates. Here's The Patriot's report, published on Oct. 4, 1900, of its organization:

The Liberty township Republicans have organized at Oakley a "Rough Riders" Uniformed Cavalry Club of 40 members. The officers are: Captain, C. Cottingham; First Lieut., R.D. Piper; Second Lieut., James Robinson. The ladies have also a club of 20 members who are ready to parade on horseback.

It is the intention of the club to appear in full force at the meeting to be held at Oakley on Saturday evening, October 12, when the lieutenant governor of Iowa, Hon. J.C. Williams (actually J. C. Milliman), will be present and address the people.

The Liberty Republicans are certainly to be commended for their public spirit and enthusiasm in the campaign. It is always a sign of good citizenship to see a live and proper interest taken in political affairs by any community. The whole danger, and the only one, is apathy and indifference in public business on the part of the people.

That fine company of "Rough Riders" is not an indication of the spirit of "Militarism," which so disturbs the sleep of Mr. Bryan, but an encouraging sign of a healthy and vigorous public spirit, which taking nothing for granted, questions with intelligent discrimination the promises, predictions and history of political parties. That is precisely why they are all going to vote for McKinley and the whole Republican ticket this year.

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At mid-month, The Patriot was able to report upon a successful rally at Oakley by the Rough Riders --- clad in Khaki uniforms and looking fine --- and a follow-up ride from Oakley down to Cleveland to put in an appearance at a rally at the Miners' Hall led by Monroe County's Nathan E. Kendall. The Rough Riders were in demand for rally appearances elsewhere in the county, according to The Patriot.

In the weeks that followed, the McKinley-Roosevelt ticket emerged victorious; in the year that followed, McKinley was assassinated during September of 1901, thrusting Roosevelt into the presidency. Roosevelt named Iowa's Gov. Shaw secretary of the treasury, a post he held until 1907.

There were no further reports about the Oakley Rough Riders, however.

Riding along with Cole the Cornstar

I have my favorite vloggers, too --- and as Iowa's harvest season has commenced the YouTube product of a young man from central Iowa who styles himself "Cole the Cornstar" has helped to entertain (and inform) me twice weekly. Cole is kind of a YouTube phenomenon, having picked up more than 100,000 subscribers to his channel in somewhat more than a year of vlogging.

He's a recent graduate of the University of Northern Iowa who farms 1,700 of land, some owned by his family and some rented, with his father, who calls himself "Daddy Cornstar," and younger brother, Cooper. All make regular appearances in the vlog. His mom's there, too, as well as an older sister --- but they avoid the camera.

The farming operation is located in the general vicinity of Marshalltown. Cole himself lives on a farmstead acquired by his great-grandparents during the 1930s and in a house occupied by his grandfather until his fairly recent death. During his grandfather's lifetime, that farmstead earned the reputation as the messiest place in the region. An ongoing theme of the vlogs is the determination of his grandson, somewhat obsessive about neatness, to clean it up.

I grew up in a farming operation, mixed livestock and grain, less than a sixth the size of the Cornstar operation, but not unusual at the time. Farming has changed considerably --- and this young man's light-hearted product I've found to be an entertaining way to catch up a little on the ins and outs of family farming in Iowa in the 21st century.

Recent blog posts have focused on the hard work involved in maintaining and preparing for the harvest season the equipment needed, from combine to augers, to get the soybeans and corn out of the field and into the bins before snow flies.

So if you're interested in family farming --- and if you live in Iowa especially you should be --- the posts you find here are well worth the investment of a few minutes twice a week. Here's a link to the channel.

An summer outing in a wheat field

Another photograph this morning from the Lenig-Umbenhower collection --- just because I like it so much, despite obvious technical imperfections. First, because of the informality of the pose --- subjects standing in what appears to be a field of wheat at a time when the majority of surviving images are stiff studio portraits.

Secondly, because I'd be willing to bet the image was taken, probably about 1908 near Belinda, by my great-uncle, Alpheus Elkanah Love, who was the photographer in nearby Columbia. Uncle Al had a great eye --- I've got quite a few of his images myself --- and although his equipment wasn't that advanced he loved adventuresome poses. Also, he always mounted his prints on plain cardstock, never on imprinted backings.

In this case, slow shutter speed combined with the difficulty of controlling subjects in a non-studio setting resulted in a few blurs.

This is one of several photographs donated last week to the Lucas County Historical Society by Gay Hedrick Moffit of North English and the young couple in the middle are her grandparents, Estella (Umbenhower) Lenig and Thomas Clyde Lenig. Tom probably is holding their firstborn, Oral Dwight, who arrived during April of 1908.

They are flanked by Estella's brother-in-law, Jobe McMannis, and sister, Sabra (Umbenhower) McMannis. Jobe probably is holding one of their children.

The young man at left in the bowler hat who is clad in an adventuresome shirt is not identified; nor do we have the names of the young couple on the right.

Ice skates & lawsuits at Eikenberry Park

Someone asked the other day about the various uses of Chariton's Eikenberry Park. Known primarily in recent years as the location of a baseball field with a small shelter house and playground equipment to the east, the park fills the half block between North 12th and North 13th streets at their intersections with Auburn Avenue. It received its name in 1962 in honor of the late Bill Eikenberry who had donated the property to the city during 1957.

Although privately owned until 1957, the area (platted as W.W. Baker's subdivision of the north half of Outlot 16, original city of Chariton) has a long history as some of Chariton's earliest public ground. Never really developed, it was valued by the Eikenberrys primarily because of its strategic location adjacent to the C.B.&Q. railroad tracks to the east and the depot to the north. The family business --- grain, coal, lumber, building supplies and other commodities --- was founded by Daniel Eikenberry (the donor's grandfather) and headquartered a block east, on the current site of the Autumn Park apartments.

But three generations of Eikenberrys were generous with its use. Circuses and traveling shows were allowed to pitch their tents there, it was the site of revival meetings, many of the earliest baseball games in Chariton were played there and it even served for a time as the Chariton High School football field.

And as the winter of 1919 approached, it became the site of the city's most elaborate ice skating rink, as reported in The Herald-Patriot of Oct. 30:

"Loyd Mikesell, chairman of the committee on the proposed free ice skating rink, reported to the Commercial Club directors last Monday that all preliminary arrangements had been made and that all that was needed was the raising of a small sum, not to exceed $250, for the necessary expense. Fifty dollars of this was raised on the spot and Glen Peasley was appointed a special committee to secure the balance, which, with his well known energy, will be quickly done.

"The grounds, which will cover more than a city block, have been donated for this use by the owners, W.A. Eikenberry and the Burlington railway. Mr. Eikenberry also donates the posts necessary for the lighting system. The city officials have promised free water and ample police protection. The Southern Iowa Electric Co., not to be outdone in furthering the project, has offered free electricity and to erect the lights at cost. An embankment to confine the water will be made at once and the work pushed so that all will be ready for the first real freeze. A concession will be granted for a lunch counter on the grounds, to include shelter for skaters, and for the rental of skates, but the use of the rink will be entirely free. It might be a good plan to inaugurate the grounds with a grand 'rink warming' with a concert by the new band."

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Good deeds rarely go unpunished and that certainly had been the case a few years earlier, in 1907, when Joseph F. Spiker, a prosperous retired farmer who had moved into the neighborhood during 1903, filed suit against W.A. Eikenberry, alleging that by allowing public use of his property he was maintaining a public nuisance.

Judge Charles W. Vermilion, of Centerville, ruled against Eikenberry in Lucas County District Court and issued an injunction against public use.

Annoyed, Eikenberry took the case as far as the Iowa Supreme Court, where he prevailed. Thereafter, no one challenged the family's right to allow public access to what now is Eikenberry Park. Mr. Spiker expired during 1915, so did not live long enough to see his neighborhood flooded for use as a skating rink.

More of the Lenigs & Ben Lenig's suits

As reported yesterday, the Lucas County Historical Society received a fascinating collection of vintage photographs related to the Lenig and Umbenhower families last week from Gay Hedrick Moffit, of North English, a descendant of both.

I shared then a photo of Jonathan D. Lenig (1853-1937) dressed for winter with the team and buggy he used on his Belinda U.S. Mail route. Here's another equestrian image --- this one taken during the summertime --- that shows both of the senior Lenigs, Jonathan and Malinda (Henry) Lenig (1863-1924), presumably taken somewhere near their Belinda-area home.

Here's a photo of the entire Lenig family, probably taken at their home. The children are (from left) Bertha May (Lenig) Parker (1882-1945), Thomas C. Lenig (1884-1964), Fannie A. (Lenig) Richards (1886-1977), William B. "Ben" Lenig (1887-1969) and Jonas J. Lenig (1891-1961). There also were five children who died young, two buried in the Columbia Cemetery and three buried with their parents at Strong Cemetery.

And finally, here's a somewhat earlier image of the three Lenig sons (from left) Tom, Ben and Jonas. Notice Ben's suit. He seems to have been a young man of considerable sartorial splendor, although by the time the later photo was taken he had traded the checkered garment in for pinstripes.

Images of Lenigs, Umbenhowers --- and Belinda

We enjoyed a visit at the Lucas County Historical Society Museum yesterday afternoon from Gay Hedrick Moffit, of North English, and her daughter, Sherrie Maschmann (above), as well as Sherrie's husband, Ron.

They had driven down to Lucas County to visit two family cemeteries, Coal Glen and Strong (aka Belinda), as well as to deliver a treasure trove of vintage photographs related to Gay's Lenig and Umbenhower families and to the once-upon-a-time village of Belinda. A bonus was the small paperweight that Gay is holding, heavy glass with an embedded photograph of the Lucas County Courthouse.

Among the photographs was this wonderful image of Jonathan D. Lenig, Gay's grandfather, who arrived in the Belinda neighborhood from Pennsylvania to farm during the early 1870s. The rig and Mr. Lenig's winter-time outfit are explained by these sentences from his 1937 obituary: "Later for 21 years he carried the United States mail, first on a star route to old Belinda, and later on a rural route. This was done with a team, and every morning his horses were hitched and ready at six o’clock, and his patrons could almost set their clocks by his coming."

Jonathan died at the age of 83 on July 12, 1937, at the home of his son, Thomas (Gay's grandfather), near Columbia and was buried with his wife, Malinda, and other family members in Strong Cemetery, near Belinda and his home.

We have a considerable collection of vintage photographs at the museum and it's always a good day when the collection grows!

Forceful foremothers: Elizabeth (Teas) Hickman

We're going to hear more as the months pass about plans to repair and improve Yocom (formerly East) Park, I believe --- and if the maintenance of existing and the planting of new trees is part of the program, Elizabeth Lovey (Teas) Hickman would be gratified. 

Elizabeth rests now with her spouse, attorney Stephen D. Hickman, and children just inside the main gates of the Chariton Cemetery. 

Born during 1840 in Mount Pleasant and a resident of Chariton since the late 1860s, Elizabeth was one of many influential women who worked very hard to improve her city (and the status of her sisters) over the course of the 60 years she lived here.

She recalled those early years during a program at what then was called East Park on May 16, 1927, held by members of the Chariton Woman's Club, prime mover in development of the park. The occasion was the dedication of 16 trees planted as memorials although we're not sure to whom since a list has not survived. In all the Woman's Club contributed about $1,400 (a not inconsiderable amount in the 1920s), countless hours of labor and plants from their gardens to the park effort.

Elizabeth was 86 and still going strong when she delivered the following address, recalling her own club work that stretched back to 1886 when the Equal Suffrage Society was organized and continued in the Woman's Club, organized during 1921:

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Madam President and ladies of the Woman's Club: I am deeply sensible of the honor conferred by the committee in giving me a place on the program this afternoon. I feel that it is not a personal honor but as a tribute to the pioneer club women who gave their very best to make possible what we are accomplishing today.

Forty-six years is a long time if we count time by heart throbs, as one has said. At that time the Equal Suffrage Club was organized, with a constitution and bylaws that asked for equal rights with men before the law. The U.S. Supreme Court had decided we were not citizens, leaving us in a sort of maverick position; worse off than the man without a country. It was a long, disheartening struggle. But we won, and with achievement time turned backward and the years seemed but as a tale that is told.

Then in the summer of 1892 was organized the Village Improvement Society, founded by Miss Margaret McCormick. In 1895, it was reorganized and renamed the Chariton Improvement Society. Its object was set forth in the new name. We continued with the fundamentals begun by the first organization, to restrain cows and hogs from running at large in the towns, a condition this generation can hardly believe possible. To prevent the streets and alleys from being made dumping grounds for rubbish, and to have the weeds cut on the parking along the sidewalks, and on vacant lots. To have the streets around the public square swept and sprinkled, and the square kept clean, and to provide a rest room for women coming to town to do shopping, or as we spoke of it then, "to trade.''

How we worked would be too long a story, but suffice to say the ancient sources of our efforts are still in vogue, though I am glad to say not used by the Woman's Clubs so often, such as refreshment stands and public suppers. We met with much encouragement and also opposition. Mrs. O'Grady complained because her cow had to be herded, but Mrs. O'Brien rejoiced because the beast couldn't break into her garden and eat up her cabbage and chew the wash on her clothesline.

Some said the streets didn't belong to them, so let the town look after them. Some claimed the alleys, and the right to use them as they pleased, and considered it a hardship to have to cut the weeds outside their own fences.

Sitting on the porch one evening, at peace with the world and myself, two Odd Fellows returning home from lodge stopped in front of one of our large trees and made some not very complimentary remarks. As soon as they left I went out and looking up in this beautiful tree, resolved it should never be cut down. But as I glanced down, lo and behold, there was a burdock plant full grown and I realized the conversation was meant for me.

It was very gradually that we extended our efforts to sweeping and cleaning the streets. We bought a street sweeper. I think we paid about $300 for it. It was not a success as a sweeper; it proved a white elephant. I never see those cuts of the white elephant in the Des Moines Register without thinking of our sweeper. I believe the city council has it in charge now. Mrs. Lockwood could take Manuel Spears (note: Manuel was a handyman who worked mostly on the square) in hand and do a better job for $1 than we could do with our $300 sweeper, and she did it. Peace to her ashes. Her works do follow her.

An old copy of the minutes show that when the Fourth of July was celebrated on Saturday by a very large crowd on the public square, when the crowd began to disperse at 11:30 p.m., Mrs. Lockwood came on the scene with her force taken from the club, and by 2 a.m. had removed fourteen barrels of rubbish, mostly watermelon rinds (a carload from the south had been brought up for the occasion), and Sunday morning found everything spik-span. 

But our crowning effort was the founding of the rest room. The county supervisors reluctantly allowed us the southwest room in the southwest corner upstairs of the new courthouse. After rearranging the basement we were given the northeast room down there. Hardly one thing has contributed more to the comfort and convenience of the women and little children of the county than this adjunct. We agreed to operate the room at our own expense and for a time different members took turns staying there and caring for it. To Miss Emily McCormick of blessed memory and Mrs. Effie Douglass, who washed and ironed all the furnishings for the cribs and the curtains for the windows for many months, I am glad to give this late mead of praise.

I hope wherever her intelligence exists, Emily knows of this meeting and knows that we are carrying on. Miss Emily was a real mother, though a childless one, whom every child loved. A woman assured of this left her babe and its bottles of milk with Miss Emily and went out free to shop and visit. The afternoon waned and the sun was going down, but she had not returned. Help was called, but no one knew the mother, no one had seen her. It looked as though the Chariton Improvement Society had acquired the beginning of a family. But we had not, for a frantic mother who had forgotten she had brought the baby to town, rushed in and claimed the baby just as the sun went down.

It is a far call from those days to the present. There is a very great difference in public sentiment. For instance, a sidewalk notice is no longer looked upon in the light of a personal calumny, and a notice to clean an alley is not received in the spirit of criminal libel. Prominently among our hopes for the future were a sufficient water supply, a public reading room or library, perfect drainage and a public park. Fairy tales, so they seemed to many. Thank goodness, this is the day when the fairy tales are all coming true. All honor to those pioneers. Against the name of nearly all is written, "Emigrant." They rest from their labors but their works do follow them.

Today what does it mean to be a club woman? It means simply as a leading financier has said, if you were to take a census in almost any community you would find that nearly every intelligent, progressive woman belonged to a woman's club, because it is there she meets with other progressive, intelligent women who will discuss with her music, literature, travel, education, hygiene, diiet, food values, the best and most scientific way to run her home, to conserve the well being of her family and the community she lives in. There are four million such women with membership in nearly 14,000 clubs, organized to study and apply those branches, including art and civics, and best of all, child care and welfare.

No one can convince me that the world is not growing better and coming near the Kingdom of Heaven, for those women are a tremendous influence in the education of the politics of the country. Those up and coming American women, who believe in clean, efficient, economical government.

It is a very small detachment of this great army of club women who have met here this afternoon to dedicate these trees to the memory of the pioneers who blazed the trail they have made into a highway.

But why the trees for memorials? Because they are the most fitting. Because we are so closely associated with them all the days of our lives. When we come into the world, the most helpless of all young mammals, the tree has provided for our repose in a cradle made from its own body. The roof for our shelter from storms and the four walls of our home. For the common people (Lincoln said God must love them for he made so many of them) wood must, and long will be the building material for America. Because it is the most sanitary, the most economical and the nearest within reach of all. It heats the home in frigid wintry weather, and casts a grateful shade to shield it from the torrid heat of summer; provides the furniture for our homes, the beds upon which we recline, the chairs upon which we sit, the tables from which we eat and much of the most appetizing food we eat. At every turn in life we meet with gifts from the trees, suited to our necessities and comforts, and at the last, "when the lessons and tasks are all ended and we go the way of all the earth," the tree provides the receptacle for our mortal remains, and leaving us not, covers us over, enfolding us with a mother love, remains to moulder with us back to the dust from whence we came, all the way from cradle to the grave. "Earth to Earth and Dust to Dust."

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As a stimulus to our increasing interest in the new City Park many visitors were in attendance at the impressive services held there Monday afternoon and enjoyed the following program:

"America," Girls Glee Club, director, Miss Lyon.

Jerry Paton, scoutmaster, gave a splendid talk on birds, their uses and abuses and wonderful assets.

The Boy Scouts presented a beautiful bird house, which was accepted in a most gracious manner by Mrs. Robt. Adams, president of the Woman's Club.

The noted Girls' Glee Club, which with their efficient leader, Miss Lyon, has recently won state honors, then sang "Trees."

Mrs. E.L. Hickman's reminiscenses on pioneer days.

Mrs. John R. Bonnett, chairman of the committee, and helpers, are to be congratulated on the splendid program. Mrs. C.C. Calbreath gave a brief dismissal after which the guests enjoyed a progressive garden party.

The beautiful gardens belonging to Mesdames Fred Risser, S.C. Hickman, I.L. Guernsey, Dayton Piper, Peter West, O.J. Israel, Claude Gates, Lloyd Penick, J.S. Oppenheimer and the attractive pool at the Frank Schwartz residence were visited.

There were seventeen memorial trees donated to the park. The fountain donated by Mrs. C.J. Stewart made a pretty setting as well as the other shrubbery which had previously been arranged.

Mrs. J.R. Bonnett was chairman of the committee in charge of the garden party and the other committee members were Mesdames Claude Gates, S.C. Hickman, H.W. Elliott and J. I. Dool.

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Elizabeth died a year later --- with her boots on. She attended a Chariton Woman's Club luncheon on April 2, 1928, and delivered what was described as a "splendid" talk on Iowa's Children's Home Society, of which she was a trustee. Then, feeling faint, she stepped outside for a breath of fresh air and expired, surrounded by friends who had accompanied her, on the back steps of the church.