Uncle Will's poems & an afternoon with the Johnsons

I've been kicking myself this morning for not remembering yesterday to pull the camera out of my pocket and take a photo of my Johnson cousins, who spent the afternoon at the museum where we had a great visit (in the air-conditioned Lewis Building) and tour of the campus (much of which is not air conditioned and it was a darned hot day). But I was so busy talking I forgot. That happens too often.

In any case, the cousins were Keith Johnson and his daughter, Terry, who were visiting Chariton from Plano, Illinois, and their niece and cousin, Deb, of Chariton. For those who like to figure out somewhat complicated family relationships, Keith, 88, is a son of the late Richard and Bertha (Schumann) Johnson, of Russell. His siblings were Ralph Johnson --- Deb's father, who died during February of this year; and the late Arlene (Johnson) Rupp. Richard Johnson was my dad's first-cousin. In addition to visiting with Deb and touring cemeteries and landmarks --- including the farm at Cambria where Keith and family lived before moving to Illinois during the late 1960s --- they also visited Terry's and Deb's aunt, Barbara McCormick, also of Chariton.

What I did have on the camera this morning is this photograph of a little book, "Greer's Poems," published in 1853 in Pittsburgh, an item from the museum collection that I happened to be recataloging earlier in the week. Coincidentally, "Greer's Poems," or rather its author, is related to both the Johnsons and myself, so it was kind of neat to have it at hand and be able to show it off.

That's the author, William Henry Harrison Greer (1826-1866), our uncle, at left. Uncle Will never made it to Iowa, but his book did --- brought west in 1892 by his sister, Mary Geho, here on a visit, and given as a souvenir to another sister, Isabel (Greer) Redlingshafer, great-great-grandmother of both Keith and myself.

I've written before about Uncle Will and "Greer's Poems" --- anyone interested can find that post here.

Anyhow, after writing that piece some years ago, I mentioned the book to another of my cousins, Ilene Church, and she said, "Oh, I have a copy of that." And this is that copy, given by Ilene to the historical society a few years ago.

This post seems to be turning into proof of the old contention that if you're native to Lucas County you're related to nearly everyone else who is, too, or if not that to someone who is. So here's the lineage of "Greer's Poems" --- after Isabel (Greer) Redlingshafer's death, it passed to her youngest son, Greer Redlingshafer, then to Uncle Greer's daughter, Twila (Redlingshafer) Burley (Mrs. Claud), then to Twila's daughter, Arlene (Burley) Stewart, and then to Arlene's daughter, Ilene.

Ilene was kind enough to share it with everyone through her donation. I wish everything in the historical society collection had this clear a provenance!