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| Doris Christensen/Find a Grave |
Stopping near LaGrange, he found work with a neighborhood farmer, Milton Allen, and the prudent young couple soon had enough cash to buy land of their own --- due north of Russell --- and moved there about 1863, some years before Russell itself had been dreamed of.
In due course, they had nine children, three of whom died young, and acquired more than 400 acres of land --- separate farms, but all on a trajectory due north of Russell in Cedar Township.
So there was a good deal to celebrate during January of 1909 when the Posts, who had moved into Russell about 1897, planned a celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary. Here's the announcement, published in The Chariton Herald of Jan. 28, 1909.
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Tomorrow, January 29, 1909, Mr. and Mrs. C.H. Post, of Russell, will celebrate their golden wedding. A number of relatives and friends will be entertained at their hospitable home at a dinner, and many will call to extend their congratulations to the worthy couple, who for half a century have trod life's pathway together.
Calvin H. Post and Miss Cordelia A. Jolley were united by marriage in Athens county, Ohio, near Hibbardsville, on January 29, 1859, the ceremony being performed by the groom's cousin, Rev. W.E. Post. They came to this county in the fall of that year, locating in Lagrange, where they lived four years. They then moved to the farm in Cedar township which was their home until 1897 when they moved to Russell.
Nine children have been born to them, six of whom are living. They are Mrs. Lillie Doane, of Cedar township; Sherman, now of San Diego, California; Charles, of Des Moines; Fred and Harley, who operate the home farm in Cedar township; and Mabel, of Russell.
When Mr. and Mrs. Post came to Iowa they made the journey on the road, camping out nearly every night. They crossed the Illinois river in a leaky flat boat, and crossed the Des Moines river in a tramp wheel boat, the tramping being done by a mule.
Their experiences in founding a home in this new country were varied and sometimes thrilling, but in spite of their youth (he being but 19 years old and she a few years his junior), they triumphed over all difficulties and have been successful in their undertakings.
They have lived a quiet, peaceful life and enjoy the high regard of all who know them. Their friends are numbered by their acquaintances, and all trust that their declining days may be peaceful and tranquil and filled with happiness. May they have many more happy wedding anniversaries.
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The weather, however, failed to cooperate with the Post family's plans to celebrate, as the opening sentences of a report in The Herald of Feb. 4 suggests:
The blizzard of Friday, January 29, 1909, will be remembered as one of the severest storms that ever struck this section of Iowa. The wind blew a perfect gale for 24 hours and caused considerable damage to window glass, trees, roofs and other property.... Stock suffered terrible and reports from the country furnish information of the perishing of a large number of animals. People on the rural routes received no mail Friday or Saturday, and the carriers did not get entirely over their routes until the middle of the week. Business in Chariton was almost entirely suspended, the schools were dismissed and everything was at a standstill while the storm continued. During the 50 years this writer has lived in Iowa we do not remember of as severe a storm as that of Friday, Jan. 29.
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The Posts continued to live in Russell, acquiring a second home in California where they spent winters near children who had settled there, until Calvin died, age 77, on April 6, 1918. His obituary in The Herald-Patriot of April 12 provides a few more insights into character and experience:
Calvin Hudson Post was born in Washington county, Penn., September 1st, 1839. Pneumonia caused his death after ten days illness, on April 6th, 1917, aged 77 years, 7 months and 7 days. Interment was in the Russell cemetery.
A mere boy, he removed from Pennsylvania to Athens county, Ohio, where he was married on January 29th, 1859, to Cordelia Annetta Jolley. Within a year, they removed to near LaGrange, Ia.
The trip was made overland in a wagon with goods not exceeding $25. The Mississippi was crossed in a rickety paddle wheel ferry at Keokuk. A log house was put up near LaGrange. Mrs. Post had a brother, Alfred Jolley, who was preaching in Iowa. This was what determined their direction of emigration to Iowa.
Activity and strenuousness always characterized Mr. Post's life. Being thrown on his own resources very young, little book learning was received. For him it was hewing rails alongside the school house at noon and recess to earn money, instead of play. Many other privations and hardships were undergone.
He undertook extensive stock buying from New York and other states. The cattle being shipped to Iowa. There were many dangers and hardships incidental to the trips. But, later in life Mr. Post was able to travel more comfortably, as in going to California, over which distance he traversed eighteen times, with and without his family. Within a day of taking to his bed for the last time, he was in the timber with an axe doing work.
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The next year, Cordelia moved permanently to the couple's California home and continued to live there until her own death on June 16, 1931, age 87. Her remains were returned to Russell for burial in the town cemetery.
This brief account of two lives has no moral (feel free to develop your own) and is intended merely as a reminder that Lucas County's history is filled with the stories of people, now largely forgotten, who did not consider their lives remarkable but who were, in fact, remarkable indeed.
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