This is one of those minor footnotes to personal histories that pop up frequently in historic newspapers, in this case The Chariton Democrat-Leader of Jan. 5, 1882. (The newspaper, with new owners, was transitioning from being The Leader to The Democrat, a title it would publish under for a few years before returning to The Leader.)
"Mr. John McKinley, residing in English township, about ten miles from the city, sold his farm containing eighty acres, to Michael Piercebacher (sic) on Tuesday, for thirteen hundred dollars in gold and got his money in a coffee sack. It was not one of the largest sized sacks either."
Imagine a time when the buyer paid cash for a farm --- in gold.
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Michael (1831-1897) was the patriarch of Lucas County's multitudinous Pierschbacher family. Born in Germany, he came to the United States at age 20 during 1851 and settled in Illinois where during 1858 he married Angelika Wolf, also native to Germany.
They farmed in Fulton County, Illinois, until 1869 when they moved west to Lucas County, Iowa. Four of their children --- John, Adam, George and Cynthia (Edwards) --- were born in Illinois; the fifth, Anna (Peterson), after they had settled just north of what now is Williamson Pond in English Township.
The Pierschbachers had prospered in Lucas County, so the 80-acre purchase was additional land.
Angelika died during 1895 and at some point after that, Michael married again, retired and during 1897 moved into a new home in north Chariton's Brookdale addition. He didn't have long to enjoy his new home, however. He became critically ill with pneumonia during December of 1897 and died on the 14th in Chariton.
John and Angelika and many of their descendants are buried in Zion Cemetery, Pleasant Township. I've borrowed this black and white image of their tombstone from Martha Pierschbacher-Blodgett, who posted it to Find a Grave.
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