Happy New Year from Sumner Garnes ....

Sumner Garnes (1866-1946), a Wayne County native who lived in Leoti, Kansas, at the time, sent this post card postmarked Dec. 30, 1911, to his first-cousin, my grandmother, Jessie (Brown) Miller. So this greeting --- as 2022 comes to an end --- is recycled.

And here's more, probably, that you either care or need to know about this extended family.

Sumner's mother was my aunt --- a generation or two removed --- Frances Susan Boswell, third child of Peachy Gilmer and Caroline (McDaniel) Boswell, born 5 October 1838 near Point Pleasant, Mason County, (West) Virginia. 

In 1850, according to information contained in the obituary of her older sister and my great-grandmother, Chloe (Boswell) Prentiss-Brown, Peachy and Caroline moved their family from (West) Virginia to Van Buren County, Iowa, where they were enumerated as residents of Village Township in the 1850 census, taken 22 October. Frances would have been 11 or 12 at the time of the move. Her age as recorded by the census-taker was 12.

Probably about 1854, she accompanied her parents, brothers and sisters west to Wayne County, Iowa, where they settled on a farm on Wildcat Creek, just north of Corydon. Peachy purchased 120 acries of land in Section 7 of Corydon Township from William and Emily Miles on the 7th of January, 1856.

On the 19th day of April, 1861, Frances Susan was married to Robert Clark Sydebothm Garnes, a son of Joseph Edward and Mary (Clark) Garnes, in Wayne County by W. W. Thomas, a justice of the peace. Robert, according to information contained in a declaration for Civil War pension, was born 11 September 1836 in Clark County, Ohio. He came to Corydon Township, Wayne County, with his parents in the fall of 1856.

While living in Wayne County, Frances and Robert Garnes became the parents of four children whose names and dates of birth are substantiated by information contained in Robert's declaration for pension. The children were: Hattie Olivia Garnes, 21 June 1861; Joseph Clark Garnes, 22 February 1863; Robert Sumner Garnes, 27 May 1866; and Mary A. Garnes, 3 May 1878.

Robert Jr. went by his middle name, Sumner, as a child and young man to differentiate himself from his father, Robert Sr.

According to the pension file, Robert Sr. enlisted as a private in Company E, 34th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, on the 15th of August, 1862, and was discharged a corporal on the 15th of August, 1865, at Houston, Texas.

Robert Sr, and Frances continued to live in Corydon Township, Wayne County, until April of 1887, when they moved to Leoti, the county seat of Wichita County in western Kansas. Robert was 50 at the time and Frances, 49. The Garnes family is enumerated in the 1870 and 1880 census reports of Wayne County. The date of their move to Kansas is contained in the previously cited pension file.

Of the four children, Hattie and Joseph, both of whom were married with families of their own, remained in Wayne County when their parents moved to Kansas. Robert and Mary accompanied them.

Robert died 29 September 1915, at Leoti, age 79, where he is buried. Frances died on the 24th day of July 1918, also age 79, also at Leoti, leaving three surviving children, Hattie, Robert Sumner and Mary.

Sumner lived in Leoti his entire life, but didn't get around to marrying Emma Sanderson until 1919, when he was 53. Although it hardly seems worthwhile, he trimmed four years off his actual age at the time. He and Emma had one child, a daughter, Ruth (Garnes) Betlack --- with whom I corresponded quite a few times prior to her death at 89 in 2010.

Charles H. Cressey reports from Wounded Knee

Burying the dead at Wounded Knee.

Thursday was, among other things, the anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre on Dec. 29, 1890 --- the slaughter of 250-300 Lakota people, men, women and children, on and near Wounded Knee Creek on South Dakota's Pine Ridge reservation.

I'm not about to report upon or analyze Wounded Knee --- that's been done many times, sorted and resorted, and there's plenty of material out there about this sorrowful event. I started many years ago with Dee Brown's 1970 "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," and have kept reading now and then over the years.

But I got to wondering yesterday about how Lucas Countyans learned of the massacre as 1891 dawned more than 130 years ago. And how accurate those first (and later) reports were.

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The information source for some would have been daily newspapers. Two dozen or more reporters were in the vicinity of the massacre when it occurred and three at the scene. Their dispatches began to flow via telegram on the 30th and would have reached Chariton when the Des Moines, Ottumwa, Burlington, Omaha --- even Chicago --- newspapers arrived via train later on the day they were published.

But most Lucas Countyans did not have access to daily newspapers and relied on weeklies like The Chariton Democrat that included the following paragraph in its edition of Jan. 1: "A special from Wounded Knee says that on the 29th a battle occurred between the Indians in which fifty soldiers and 120 Indians were killed and wounded."

By the next week, The Associated Press had distributed dispatches from Wounded Knee nationwide and more complete reports would be included in Chariton's three weeklies, too, including what probably was the most widely read report nationwide --- written by The Omaha Bee's Charles H. Cressey. It was published in dailies on Dec. 31, 1890, and republished in Chariton's Herald along with later reports on Jan. 8, 1891.

Cressey, 33 at the time, was one of three reporters at Wounded Knee when the massacre occurred. The others were Charles W. Adams of the New York Herald and Thomas  H. Tibbles of The Omaha World-Herald. Cressey, native to Cannon City, Minn., had grown up and graduated from high school in Des Moines. (I've utilized material gathered by Samuel L Russell as he prepared for publication his 2016 volume, "Sting of the Bee: A Day-By-Day Account of Wounded Knee And The Sioux Outbreak of 1890--1891 as Recorded in The Omaha Bee," for background material on Cressey)

The Bee was known for its sensationalist reporting and Cressey, a talented writer and aggressive reporter, was a master in that field --- often not allowing the facts to get in the way of a good story. But his reports drew readers and it's been suggested that his dispatches from Wounded Knee and related sites were the most widely read in the United States, helping to shape at the time and for years after how white America perceived the event.

Here is Cressey's original dispatch. No mention of women and children or the very old. Lakota are blamed for instigating the tragedy. The word "massacre," used in dispatches by other reporters at the scene, does not appear. Perceptions are shaped by the way an event is reported rather than by how it actually occurred.

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The Omaha Bee's correspondent at the camp on Wounded Knee telegraphs as follows concerning the battle there:

In the morning, as soon as the ordinary military work of the day was done, Maj. Whitside determined upon disarming the Indians at once and at 6 o'clock the camp of Big Foot was surrounded by the Seventh and Taylor's scouts. The Indians were sitting in a half circle. Four Hotchkiss guns were placed upon a hill about 200 yards distant. Every preparation was made, not especially to fight but to show the Indians the futility of resistance. They seemed to recognize this fact, and when Maj. Whitside ordered them to come up 20 at a time and give up their arms, they came, but not with their guns in sight. Of the first twenty but two or three displayed arms. These they gave up sullenly, and observing the futility of that method of procedure, Maj. Whitside ordered a detachment of K and A troops on foot to enter the tepees and search them.

This work had hardly been entered upon when the 120 desperate Indians turned upon the soldiers, who were gathered closely about the tepees, and immediately a storm of firing was poured upon the military. It was as though the order to search had been a signal. The soldiers, not anticipating any such action, had been gathered in closely, and the first firing was terribly disastrous to them. The reply was immediate, however, and in an instant it seemed that the draw in which the Indian camp was set was a sunken Vesuvius. The soldiers, maddened at the sight of their falling comrades, hardly awaited the command, and  in a moment the whole front was a sheet of fire, above which the smoke rolled, obscuring the central scene from view. Through this horrible curtain single Indians could be seen at times flying before the fire, but after the first discharge from the carbines of the troopers there were few of them left. They fell on all sides like grain in the course of a scythe.

Indians and soldiers lay together, and the wounded fought on the ground.

Off through the draw toward the bluffs the few remaining warriors fled, turning occasionally to fire, but now evidently caring more for escape than to fight. Only the wounded Indians seemed possessed of the courage of devils. From the ground where they had fallen they continued to fire until their ammunition was gone or until killed by the soldiers. Both sides forgot everything excepting only the loading and discharging of guns.

It was only in the early part of the affray that hand-to-hand fighting was seen. The carbines were clubbed, sabers gleamed, and war clubs circled in the air and came down like thunderbolts. But this was only for a short time. The Indians could not stand that storm from the soldiers. They had not hoped to. It was only a stroke of life before death. The remnant fled, and the battle became a hunt.

It was now that the artillery was called into requisition. Before, the fighting was so close that the guns could not be trained without danger of death to the soldiers. Now, with the Indians flying where they might it was easier to reach them. The Gattling and Hotchkiss guns were trained, and then began a heavy firing, which lasted half an hour, with frequent volleys of musketry and cannon.

It was a war of extermination now with the troopers. It was difficult to restrain the troops. Tactics were almost abandoned. The only tactic was to kill while it could be done. Wherever an Indian could be seen, down to the creek and upon the bare hills, they were followed by artillery and musket fire, and for several minutes the engagement went on until not a live Indian was in sight.

Nathan Kendall's memory of Col. William F. Cloud

Quite a few of my relatives, including a set of great-great-grandparents, headed west into Kansas from Lucas County during the waning years of the 19th century, so Cloud County --- in the north central part of that state --- is not unfamiliar territory. But I'd never given a thought to how it came by its name, assuming I suppose that it had something to do with the fact Kansas is big sky country, too.

It was a Civil wartime memory published in The Russell Union-Tribune on Dec. 29, 1932, that informed me that the county was in fact named after Col. William F. Cloud (1825-1905), the dashing gentleman with the mighty moustache shown here. You just never know when you're going to learn something new.

Here's a paragraph from the website "Legends of Kansas" that goes some distance toward explaining why the Kansas Legislature named a county after him:

At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in the Second Kansas Infantry and participated in the hardest engagements of the Southwest, especially distinguishing himself at Wilson's Creek, Missouri. At the expiration of his first enlistment, he assisted in organizing the Second Kansas Cavalry and was commissioned colonel of the regiment, which took part in the engagements of the Army of the Frontier in Missouri, Arkansas, and the Indian Territory (Oklahoma.) Later, he was transferred to the Fifteenth Kansas Cavalry and served in the campaigns against the Indians in western Kansas and Indian Territory. His most conspicuous act of bravery was in 1862 when with 500 men he attacked an enemy of 5,000 at Tallequah, Oklahoma, rescued the Indian Agent, and saved the money held for payment of the annuities of the Indian tribes.

Russell's Nathan W. Kendall (1842-1925) had a personal memory of Col. Cloud, in command of a coalition of Army of the Frontier units for a time when Nathan and his brother, Elijah, were serving in Company C, 18th Iowa Infantry.

Nathan wrote that memory down during December of 1920 and it was published in that newspaper's final edition of that year. Unfortunately, no copies of 1920 Russell newspapers survive.

Fortunately for us, 12 years later (on Dec. 29, 1932), the Union-Tribune republished the piece, and others, under the headline, "Peering into the Past." So here is Nathan's memory of Col. Cloud and one of the tragedies he witnessed while in the service:

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Russell, Ia., Dec. 28, 1920

Editor Russell Union:

Please allow me space in your paper to relate a Civil War story that came under my personal observation. N.W. Kendall

"In the summer of 1864 our regiment, the 18th Iowa Infantry, commanded by Lieut. Colonel Campbell, lay at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Our regiment and the Second Kansas Cavalry commanded by Colonel Cloud, and one section of the Second Indiana Battery, better known as the Bobs Battery, were sent down the Kansas River about 60 miles to guard a water grist mill situated on a little stream called Spraddry about four miles north of the Arkansas River and near the little village of Clarksville, whcih at that time was about half as large as Russell  is now, and is situated in a beautiful place. On the west the hills shape down gradually and on the east there is a high rocky bluff and a beautiful white oak ridge. Our regiment was camped on this ridge, and the other troops near the village.

"One day some of the boys and I were down on Main street when a woman and some children came driving down the street with a yoke of oxen. We saw that she was in distress. She asked us who the commander was and we told her Colonel Cloud. She said she wanted to see him. We went to the wagon and there was sure a gruesome sight. There lay an old man with long white hair and beard, over 80 years old, just literally shot to pieces.

"By this time Colonel Cloud had come, and I want to say that he was one of the finest looking men that I ever saw; straight as a rush with long black hair which came down over his shoulders and a heavy black mustache. He was as tender-hearted as a woman but as brave as a lion, and his regiment fairly worshipped him.

"Here is the woman's story to him. She said her husband was in the Union Army and this man was her father, and had been making his home with her. They had a small piece of wheat which was ready to harvest and they thought they would try to save it that morning. They had been in the field but a short time when about 20 mounted bush-whackers tore down the rail fence and rode into the field. some of them got off their horses and two of them held her while the others shot the old  man to death. Then they got on their horses and told her that if her husband ever got back he would meet the same fate, and then galloped away.

"After she saw that her father was dead she went to the house and she and her little boy hitched a yoke of oxen to the wagon and drove out to get him. But he was so heavy they could not load him. She sent the little boy after a spade and they dug deep trenches close to him and backed the wagon until the bed almost came to the ground, then pulled him in.

"They then came to Clarksville to have the soldiers give her father a decent burial. I can never forget how Colonel Cloud looked while she was relating her story. His eyes fairly flashed fire. He told her that he would see that her father was given a decent and respectful burial, which he did, then the broken-hearted woman and children drove back to their lonely home."

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After the Civil War, Col. Cloud settled in Carthage, Missouri, where he had considerable success in the real estate business and as an author and orator. He was living in Kansas City had the time of his death, but his remains were returned to Carthage for burial on the family lot.

The passing of Chariton's venerable Phineas Palmer

Phineas Palmer almost certainly was Lucas County's oldest resident when he passed to his reward in Chariton at the age of 97 as midnight struck on Dec. 31, 1882-Jan. 1, 1883.

This New Year's Eve will be the 140th anniversary of his death and we could, if it seemed useful, stand at the Chariton Cemetery grave of someone born 237 years earlier as 2023 launches on Sunday. For Iowa, that's a long time.

Two of Mr. Palmer's sons, Oliver L. and Thomas E., were among Chariton's earliest merchants, locating here in the early 1850s. They brought their father and maiden sister, Julia, west to live near them about 1858.

And to be honest, there is a little uncertainty about the year of his birth. His tombstone, erected long after his death, gives his age at death as 98. But whatever the case, he was very old. Here's the text of his obituary:

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Phineas Palmer died Monday night at 12 o'clock, aged 97 years. He was born in Stonington, Connecticut, in 1785, and at an early age moved to Auburn, N.Y., where he was married. His wife died 40 years ago. He was a member of the Presbyterian church in Auburn and kept up his connection with the church there until the time of his death.

He came to Chariton 27 years ago and has lived here ever since, except one year's visit to his old home.  He was a man of sterling worth and marked force of character. Seldom indeed is it given to any man to have lived such a long and useful life. He was contemporary with the nation. When Mr. Palmer was born the war of the revolution had only just closed and the nation, bleeding from the wounds of the fearful struggle, was facing the future with the untried problem of self government.

Rarely has a single lifetime witnessed such vast changes as have taken place during the life of this venerable man. Coming from that earnest old puritan stock who gave practical lesson to the world of the doctrine of liberty, regulated by law, he was always an ardent lover of his country, a quiet unobtrusive citizen, and a christian man.

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Phineas's son, Thomas, lived a long life, too --- passing to his reward at the age of 91 on May 27, 1914. He and his wife, Anne, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary during October of 1912 and a paragraph in the write-up of that event, published in The Ottumwa Courier on Oct. 5, suggests that longevity was a family trait ---

"(Thomas Palmer's) father, Phineas Palmer, lived to be 98 years old, and his grandfather, James Palmer, reached the ripe old age of 99 years. He died on his 99th birthday, the result of an accident. He had been engaged in chopping down a tree and it fell on him, causing instant death."

We should all be so fortunate as to pass on at the age of 99 while chopping down a tree.

Chariton's depot in disguise marks its 80th year

If I told you that Chariton's Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Depot was celebrating its 80th birthday in these waning days of December 2022, the response "What depot?" might follow logically.

That's because in recent years the simple structure, a classic 1930s-1940s masonry "moderne" in style, has been encased in metal siding and given a pitched roof that causes it to look something like a large machine shed parked along the tracks northwest of the C.B.&Q. Freight House.

Look more carefully, however, and you'll see the projecting office window trackside.

There was considerable rejoicing in Chariton when this was built --- the old depot, a grand affair incorporating a hotel on its upper floor and large restaurant on the lower that was built in 1872 --- was falling apart. The hotel rooms had been abandoned for years and there wasn't much need for a restaurant either. 

Now, 80 years later, although the BN&SF tracks are as busy as ever and Amtrak does pass this way still, the trains don't stop at Chariton any more. So the old depot is part of a maintenance operation.

But if you were alive and kicking in Chariton back on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 1942, you would have been invited to tour this new state of the art transportation milestone on its first official day of operation. Here's a report from The Leader of Dec. 29:

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All was in readiness today for open house to be held at the Burlington depot Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The temporary baggage and freight room and the old-type passenger car which served as a passenger waiting room have been taken away. Sand and gravel piles have been removed and all work is completed.

The public is invited to inspect this new modern freight and passenger station.

The new building was started in August and represents an expenditure of about $20,000. It was constructed by the Galesburg Construction Co. of Galesburg, Ill., under supervision of the engineering department of the Burlington.

The landmark it replaces was built in 1872, five years after the arrival of the Burlington in Chariton on July 1, 1867. Extension of the Burlington across Iowa was halted at Ottumwa in 1859 by the Civil War, but construction was resumed in the late fall of 1866 and Chariton was reached by the following year.

By the end of 1867 the line had been opened to Woodburn and by 1869 the Missouri river had been reached. the Chariton-Indianola branch was built in 1878-79 and the Chariton-Leon line was built in 1871-72.

The old building contained a hotel and restaurant which operated until recent years. The station was the social center of the community and many parties, weddings, etc., were held in its then grand surroundings.

The new building is finished in gray inside and contains an enlarged office, a large waiting room, modern restrooms, an enlarged baggage and express office. The canopy on the north will cover baggage and mail trucks which have been repainted for the opening. All light fixtures, etc., in the building are modern.

Construction was completed without moving the office with its electric cables and wires. An old-type passenger car was run onto a special siding for use as a passenger waiting room while the building was constructed.

Chariton civic organizations had requested for many years that a new station be built here to replace the antiquated structure of 1872 vintage. That the project had been approved was announced by Supt. Connett of Ottumwa at a dinner at the Lake View Country Club last summer.

Feeding the hungry on Christmas in Chariton in 1932

Christmas fell on Sunday, too, back in 1932 --- but times were far harder. Lucas County provided coal to families that otherwise would have been unable to heat their homes. Associated Charities --- a coalition of Lucas County service and social organizations established in 1927 --- distributed food, used clothing and other items from its headquarters in a donated storefront on North Main.

That organization, which had set as its goal the previous January to feed 50 families throughout the year, had prepared and distributed 120 Christmas baskets that included second-hand toys and holiday treats for impoverished families.

The Chariton Newspapers, in search of a way to be helpful as the holiday neared, decided to sponsor a Christmas dinner for children who might not otherwise have enjoyed a full holiday meal. The setting was the American Legion Hall. Here's a report from The Chariton Leader of Tuesday, Dec. 27:

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Approximately 150 Chariton children enjoyed the free Christmas dinner sponsored by the Chariton newspapers at the American Legion Home Christmas day. A steaming plate of roast chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and chicken dressing, together with fruit salad, milk, ice cream and cake was placed before the children of Chariton to whom Christmas might otherwise have been just another Sunday.

Christmas cheer radiated from every corner of the Legion House basement as the boys and girls ranging from two years old to sixteen enjoyed the meal. Included also in the group were several mothers and fathers of small children who would have been unable to reach the top of the tables alone.

Tickets for the affair were distributed by the Associated Charities, and every section of the city was searched for children whose parents were unable to furnish them with the type of Christmas dinner which means so much to them. From Williamson, a large group was brought to the event by Dwight Smith, who is in charge of relief work there.

In addition to the dinner, the children each received a free Christmas gift from Jones Bros., and a ticket to the Monday matinee from the Ritz theatre. Others who donated food or shared in the expense of the event were Flatt's confectionary, the American Legion and American Red Cross, Dwaine Lindquist, the Rotary club, the Chariton Volunteer Fire department, the People's Gas company and the A.F. Thibodeau company.

Under the direction of Dayton Piper, 38 chickens, 14 gallons of fruit salad, more than a bushel of potatoes, five gallons of ice cream, 300 biscuits, 15 gallons of milk and an appropriate amount of chicken dressing and cake were either prepared or made ready for serving. Every participant in the dinner was given all that he desired to eat, and from the remainder 18 baskets of food were prepared for distribution to needy homes in the city.

Assisting in the preparation and serving the dinner under Mr. Piper's direction were Bill Beck, George Williby, Harold Johnson, Andy McRoberts, Frank Munch, A. R. Bartell, Joe Wahl, Verne Williams, Elizabeth Ritson, Dorothy Lewis, L. R. Fisher, Chas. Lewis, Dr. J.H. Malony, Lou Callison, Glen Peasley, Bill Taylor, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Watkins, Guy Norton, Donald Norberg, Frank Cover, Margaret Davis, Maudetta Halden and Mr. and Mrs. Berry F. Halden.

The children began to arrive at the Legion Home more than an hour before the dinner was scheduled to begin and before it was ready for serving practically the entire group was gathered in the assembly room. It was not long before the entire group was engaged in singing Christmas carols and games were organized for the younger members of the group. All filed to the tables which filled the basement at 12:30, and an hour later 150 well-fed youngsters departed to their homes.

Glaedelig Jul!

 Someone asked about Christmas memories and traditions last evening as we were gathered for supper in the parish hall after a lovely Christmas Eve service at St. Andrew's.

Several of mine are in Norwegian --- sort of. Not that I am of Norwegian descent, nor do I speak the language, but I lived for quite a few years among the Norwegian diaspora in north central Iowa and absorbed it by osmosis.

And although Episcopalian I be, Lutheran is my first language.

So here's a Christmas card I've held on to for many years, circulated originally in Winnebago County, Iowa, and a lovely recording of "I Am So Glad On Christmas Eve," performed by the St. Olaf College Choir.

Merry Christmas one and all! Carry the joy and promise of the season with you into the new year and spread it widely.

Back when Chariton was just a "calf pasture"

Mary (King) Clowser celebrated her 94th birthday in Chariton on Dec. 11, 1932, and an enterprising reporter for The Herald-Patriot paid her a call, capturing for posterity the glimpse of her life that follows, published on Dec. 15.

In the end, Mrs. Clowser very nearly made it to the century mark, passing on March 9, 1937. She is buried with her husband, John, in the Ragtown Cemetery, near the farm home they occupied before retiring and moving into Chariton.

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"Chariton was just a calf pasture when I first came to Lucas county," says Mrs. Mary Clowser. That was a long time ago --- Mrs. Clowser has been a resident  for 74 years. She celebrated her 94th birthday at her home on West Linden avenue last Sunday.

Mrs. Clowser was born in Indiana in 1838, and began the journey to Iowa with her family at the age of 15. The journey was made in a covered wagon.

"My sister and I walked from Burlington to the farm upon which we settled near Russell," she told the Herald-Patriot this morning. She did not consider the trip a hardship. "We had lots of fun enjoying the scenery and camping out," she said.

In describing early Chariton as a "calf pasture," Mrs. Clowser explained that there were few homes or business places here during her youth. "The court house was built of logs, and was located on the east side of the square near where the Beem and Atwell store is now situated. There were a few other buildings scattered around the square, but not many."

Chariton did not have a single church at that time, according to the pioneer woman. The lone school house stood where the Baptist parsonage is now located, and church services were held there on Sunday. Later a petition for funds to erect a church was circulated, and it was erected near the southwest corner of the square.

Outstanding in the memory of Mrs. Clowser concerning her youth in Lucas county are the log house in which she lived, and the total eclipse of the sun.

"I will always remember that day," she said. "Suddenly, in the afternoon, the sky was overcast and it was almost like night. The chickens went to roost and the cows came up from the pastures. We children were very much frightened until Mother explained the spectacle."

Her first husband was James Cobb. He enlisted with the Southern forces during the Civil War, was reported to have been held in prison camps, but was never heard from after the end of the fighting. He is believed to have been killed in battle.

She was later married to John L. Clowser. She has four children, Ed Cobb of Russell, Mrs. Florence Childs of Moulton, Mrs. Jessie McClure of Woodburn and Harry Clowser of Chariton.

In spite of her advanced age she easily conducts the household of her son here. The only handicap of her age, she says, is her inability to remember incidents of later years. "Sometimes I start to tell  something, and forget what it was before I get through," she says. She finds little difficulty in bringing to memory things that happened during her childhood, however.

One of the outstanding incidents of her late life was the occasion upon which Elmer Gookin of Chariton saved her from being badly burned. "I had been burning some rubbish in the back yard, and thought the fire was completely  out. A spark reached my dress, however, and  it commenced to burn. Elmer Gookin happened to be passing, and immediately ran to the pump where a bucket of water stood and tossed it over me." Mr. Gookin is a distant relative of Mrs. Clowser.

Mrs. Clowser has been very fortunate with fires and rescues.  On another occasion she lighted an oil lamp in order to smoke a  piece of glass for viewing a  partial eclipse of the sun. She went into the yard, leaving the lamp in the pantry, and a fire started there. It was put out by a mail carrier who was passing the house. She has lived in Chariton for 27 years. Her husband died here several years ago.

Life has not lost interest for Mrs. Clowser. She enjoys having visitors, bustles about to assure their comforts, and insists that they return again. "So many of them say, 'I will come back, grandma,' but they don't. I don't want you to be that way," she warned as her guests departed.

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Now and then, 21st century family research tools uncover without too much difficulty information that our ancestors might have preferred remain confidential, and that's the case with Mary's marriage to James N. Cobb which, according to family historians, occurred on May 18, 1858, in Putnam County, Missouri.

The young couple was living in Chariton with their first child, Florence, when the 1860 federal census was taken. His occupation was given as "engineer."

Compiled Civil War records show, too, that James enlisted on May 1, 1861, in Company F, Tennessee 2nd Infantry (Confederate). So he returned to the South to enlist, leaving his family behind in Lucas County.

I think it quite likely that Mary believed that James had not survived the war when she married a Union Civil War veteran, John Clowser, in Lucas County on April 14, 1870.

But that does not seem to have been the case. James N. Cobb resurfaces in Alabama, where he married Paulina Willingham --- twice (for unknown reasons, although the first marriage may have been flawed), during October of 1883 and June of 1887. They went on to have a family of seven children. He died on May 18, 1912, at Wallington in Calhoun County, Alabama, age 72.

Did Mary ever know? Perhaps. Perhaps not. I just can't say.

And a Merry Christmas to Rural Free Delivery, too

If you live on a rural route these days, those holiday cards and Christmas letters have been arriving lately in your roadside mailbox courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service and a trusty carrier. But that was not always the case in Lucas County and elsewhere.

As the 19th century ended, mail was delivered in bulk by private contractors to countless post offices large, small and tiny scattered across the landscape. There were dozens in Lucas County ranging from Belinda and Oakley through Last Chance to Ola. The mail was sorted there and farmers made their way to the office nearest their homes to pick it up. Quite often, the "office" part of the operation was located behind a counter in a general store.

Congress approved legislation establishing postal service-funded rural free delivery (RFD) in 1893, but implementation was slow. Some private mail carriers and tiny-town postmasters objected, fearing they'd be put out of business, and many merchants were none too happy either. They were afraid farmers would come to town less often if mail were delivered to their doors.

The process began with a petition for a route from potential patrons --- and that required organization.

As a result, RFD did not arrive in Lucas County until 1900, as reported in The Chariton Herald of Oct. 12:

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Some time ago a petition for free mail delivery was circulated by the residents of English township. Through the efforts of Hon. W.P. Hepburn the petition was granted.

Monday, Government Inspector J. T. Boylan, accompanied by (Chariton) Postmaster L.F. Maple, John White and Carrier Geo. Brown inspected and approved the prospective mail route. The route is 26 miles long and covers considerable territory, more than 230 houses being in the district.

The mail will be supplied once a day to the 230 families and the carrier will also have for sale postage stamps, postal cards, stamped envelopes, etc., besides application blanks for money orders.

Mr. Boylan, after he had inspected the route, pronounced it the banner route of Iowa, as more families would be supplied for the amount of mileage than in any other district in the state. Service will be established as soon as the department can get to it.

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Mr. Brown began his appointed rounds in Lincoln and English townships on or about Nov. 1, 1900, and before long the push was on throughout the county.

The Herald of Jan. 4, 1901, reported that "The great success of rural free delivery route number one, through Lincoln and English townships, has stimulated the residents of other sections of the county to secure more routes that will come to their doors. The second route to be established in Lucas county will be through Whitebreast and Warren townships. The residents of this section have already laid out the route which they wish to establish, which is 26 miles long and will furnish a population of 208 households with free mail delivery each day. The route as mapped will start out of Chariton, running south to Freedom, then west to within two miles of Derby, turning north and running to the old Mormon Trace road at the old Taylor brick yard, and thence back to Chariton. The petition has been circulated and signed by about 80 more residents than is required from the establishment of a rural delivery, and sent to Mr. Hepburn, who personally presented it to the department and says that as soon as they can catch up in their work which is about three months behind that an inspector will be sent out to look over the route and an order made for its establishment."

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It took most of the year to gain approval for the southwesterly route and during that time, petitioners for a southeasterly route jumped aboard. The Herald of Dec. 12, 1901, reported as follows:

"Instructions from the post office department changed the previous plans concerning Rural Routes Nos. 2 and 3, which were not scheduled to start until January 1. The routes will now start next Monday with Will C. Fuller as carrier for Route No. 2, which runs south and west and W.E. Badger for Route No. 3, which runs east and south. All patrons of the new routes should be careful to have all their mail sent with the number of their rural route on it as this willl prevent much trouble and delay in transmission."

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In addition, The Chariton Democrat reported in its edition of Dec. 12, 1901, that "Rural free delivery service will be established February 1, 1902, at Russell, this county. The length of the route will be 25 and a quarter miles and the population served, 530. The carrier will be John H. Willitt."

A close call in December's cold and snow

Three weekly newspapers --- the Patriot, Herald and Democrat --- were being published in Chariton back in December of 1902 when a youngster named Ralph had a close call with Iowa's cold and snow along what now is the Cinder Path southwest of town.

All three reported on the circumstances of his predicament and his rescue, but only The Patriot of December 11 took the reporting farther, delving into the boy's home life, suggesting that he was part of a family that we probably would describe as disfunctional in this day and age.

Here's The Patriot's Page 1 report:

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After being lost for more than ten hours, little Ralph Helmer, eight years old, was found some four miles southwest of Chariton Saturday morning about half past one o'clock. He was found by his stepfather, Frank Kesler, lying asleep by a shock of fodder in a field just west of the south branch railroad track in the extreme south part of Whitebreast township. He had been lost since three o'clock Friday afternoon.

The Kesler family lives in Brookdale. The boy, in company with an older brother and another boy, went down to the creek Friday. They had a dog with them and were hunting rabbits. The dog caught a rabbit and Ralph took it and started home, followed by the dog, about three o'clock in the afternoon.

The other boys went home later. About 5 o'clock the dog, soaking wet, arrived at home but Ralph and his rabbit were missing. The family became alarmed, thinking that the boy had fallen into the creek and downed, but it was not until 11 o'clock that they gave the alarm.

They then went to the home of W.S. Long and told him their fears. Max Long immediately went down town, found Constable Waynick, and they went to the city hall and sounded the bell. A crowd soon gathered and a searching party headed by City Marshal Householder started for the creek. Kesler and his oldest stepson had already gone on the hunt.

The party went down the south branch railroad track as far as the creek, then separated to search over the creek bottom. Many tracks of the boy and his dog were found. Kesler went further down the track and found tracks leading into a field. Along the boy's trail were blood stains in the snow made by the blood dripping from the dead rabbit the boy carried. The spots of blood became lost and Kesler nearly lost the trail but he persevered in the hunt and was rewarded in his search by finding the boy lying on the ground in the snow asleep by a shock of fodder. The little fellow through scantily dressed had taken off his coat and placed it over his body.

He was not at all frozen but was exhausted and chilled and had to be carried. The other searchers were notified of the fortunate ending of the search and the party proceeded to the home of E.E. Borer on the Mormon Trace road. The boy was found to be all right and in no danger of suffering ill results from his sleep in the snow. Mr. E.E. Borer kept him at his house that night. The boy explained the losing to sight of the blood spots, saying that a strange dog took the rabbit from him.

It is remarkable that the boy was none the worse for his experience. He was meanly dressed having on no underclothes and nothing but a thin child's suit with knee pants, a cotton shirt and shoes and stockings. In his tramp through the snow his stockings had rolled down over his shoes and the snow turned to ice was caked around his little bare legs and had to be broken to get his stockings off.

The Kessler family are shockingly poor. Kesler is a worthless sort of man who does not provide for his family, who live little better than pigs. The children can be seen almost any day, begging about the streets illy and filthily clad. Kesler at one time ran the billiard hall in the old Willoughby building on Main street, north of the square, and it was a resort of the lowest element of our town's society.

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Immediately after its report of little Ralph's rescue, The Patriot published this item about his stepfather, Frank Kesler, under the headline, "Child Beater Arrested."

Frank Kesler was arraigned before Justice Long Wednesday charged with cruelty toward his stepson, Charlie Helmer. Kesler was found guilty and sentenced to 30 days in jail. The boy had earned money carrying in coal for someone and bought mittens with the money. His stepfather undertook to take the mittens from him and he resisted, thereupon Kessler struck him,  knocking him down and blacking his eye. At the trial Kesler's family all testified that they were afraid of him.

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There are all sorts of complications involved in figuring out what was going on with this family, among them the fact that "Helmer" is a misspelling of "Helmel," the maiden name of the mother, Elizabeth.

And none of her children in later years used the Helmel (or Helmer) surname, instead identifying as Welch after John Welch who Elizabeth said was the father of a majority of her children.

Actually, Elizabeth appears to have had at least seven children by three fathers and by 1898 when she seems to arrived in Chariton from the Bauer neighborhood of Marion County the younger ones at least were known as Helmel.

Elizabeth and her children were in dire straits that year, supported by Lucas County with a pauper's allowance. Because she had been a resident of Marion County, however, the Lucas County supervisors expected to be reimbursed. Marion County supervisors agreed that they were obligated to support Elizabeth and her family, but demanded that Lucas County deliver mother and children to the Marion County poor farm.

Her marriage during 1900 to Frank Kesler, a coal miner quite a few years her junior, seems to have resolved that issue. They were living together with her four youngest sons, including Ralph, when the 1900 census was taken.

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Whatever their conflicts may have been, Elizabeth and Frank remained together until her death on Nov. 5, 1926, at the age of 73. After a funeral Mass at Sacred Heart Church, she was buried under her maiden name, Elizabeth Helmel, with her parents at St. Josephs Cemetery, Bauer.

Frank Kesler died during 1928 at the age of 62 and was buried in the Chariton Cemetery.

Ralph, who took the surname Welch, grew up in Chariton, served honorably during World War I and then returned to Lucas County to operate a welding and blacksmith shop, his occupation when he died of a heart attack, age about 58, during January of 1951. Here is his obituary from The Chariton Leader of Jan. 30, 1951:

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Funeral services for Ralph Welch were held at the Miley funeral home Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The Rev. D. G. Holman of the Christian church officiated. Burial was made in the Chariton cemetery. Chapter 11, Disabled American Veterans of Waterloo and the Chariton American Legion conducted the military rites.

Welch, 58, a veteran of World War I, suffered a heart attack and died Wednesday as he left the square to walk to his welding and blacksmith shop three blocks away.

He was unmarried. Survivors include two brothers, Jack, of Knoxville and George, of Waterloo and one half-sister, Mrs. Sophia Askren, of Chariton.

Mr. Welch had made a distinguished record in World War I of which little was known locally. His companions in France said he was one of a group of 3,300 men who took a hill in that country that the French had tried to take for three years. Out of the 3,300 men only 1,100 men came back. Welch was wounded in this attack.

The C.B.&Q giveth and the C.B.&Q. taketh away

The star of this morning's show is a railroad timetable published in The Chariton Herald of Dec.15, 1892, intended to illustrate the range of travel possibility for Lucas Countyans during the late 19th century.

Commencing in July of 1867, when the first trains arrived on the newly built Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line (soon acquired by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy), Lucas County's seat developed into a rail hub where a trip to almost anywhere could begin at the depot northwest of the square. That continued into the first half of the 20th century, accelerating in 1913 when the Rock Island line linking Des Moines and Kansas City opened and a second depot was constructed.

This timetable reports only passenger trains and freights to which passenger cars were attached --- No. 91 and 92, for example, carried both freight and passengers between Chariton and Ottumwa only.

The Herald of Dec. 15 contained numerous reports of arrivals and departures for the Christmas season, but some departures were more permanent.

Albert Ulp McCormick and his family used a rail car to transport their household goods, horses and buggies to a new home in Los Angeles, for example, also reported (as follow) in the Dec. 15 Herald:

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Capt. A.U. McCormick and family (excepting Jim, who is employed in the American Express Company's service) left Saturday noon, on the south branch, via Kansas City, Mo., Albuquerque, N.M. and over the Southern Pacific for their new home at Los Angeles, Cal. His sons, Con and Bob, departed several days previous with a car containing six head of horses, buggies and household goods. This family has resided in Lucas county for many years, are well known, and many pleasant rememberances of the long ago associations will be cherished in the minds of our people. That the change of location may prove profitable is the wish of The Herald.

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Trains presented a variety of hazards, too, and The Herald of Dec. 15 also reported the death of Russell's Isaac Van Gilder, propelled into eternity by a C.B.&Q. freight:

At 2 o'clock last Friday afternoon, Mr. Isaac Van Gilder, an old and respected citizen of Russell, was struck by an engine while crossing the track. In the twinkling of an eye his spirit was ushered to its abode in the home beyond.

He was weightmaster at the stockyards and, in connection with this, bought and shipped poultry. The location of his business was such as to necessitate his crossing the track often, which he had done for many years with safety. But, at this time he was a trifle late in crossing and on leaving the track was struck by the engine of a freight going at great speed, breaking his neck, cutting a deep gash in his head and throwing him about 50 feet. Life was extinct when he was approached.

Mr. Van Gilder was 76 years old. He was born in New Jersey and moved with his family to Lucas county, Iowa twenty-four years ago, where he has continuously resided.

Deceased was a hard working, conscientious christian and an influential member of the Presbyterian church. He leaves an aged wife and six children, bereft of a loving companion and counselor.

Funeral services were conducted from the Presbyterian church Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock and the remains interred in the Russell cemetery.

A sorrowful Christmas at Chariton back in 1872

I happened upon Joseph Wade Wilkerson's obituary the other day while reading through The Chariton Patriot of Christmas Day, 1872, to see if I could find anything interesting from the Lucas County of 150 years ago to write about in 2022.

Wilkerson was among the most prominent of Lucas County's early attorneys --- but due to the  tuberculosis (aka consumption) that claimed his life at 39 on the 23rd of December, 1872, he's been largely forgotten. His wife and younger children already were dead by the time of his passing and although he left a son, "little Joe," that young man eventually died of consumption, too, at the age of 23 in 1889. So an entire family vanished.

If nothing else, Wilkerson's Christmas day obituary serves as a reminder of just how deadly, most often to younger people in the prime of life, tuberculosis once was.

His remains were taken by train from Chariton to Burlington on that long-ago Christmas Eve for burial beside the remains of his wife, Maria, in Aspen Grove Cemetery, but no tombstone ever was erected. So the battered remains of her tombstone, shown here, is their only marker.

Here's the text of Mr. Wilkerson's obituary:

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Death of J. W. Wilkerson Esq. --- We are pained to announce the death of our friend and townsman J.W. Wilkerson. As is generally known, he has been suffering for years with consumption, which disease resulted in his death at three o'clock on Monday morning last (Dec. 23d).

Mr. W. was born on the 21st day of December, 1833, in Rock Island County, Ill. (we believe) and was hence 39 years old at the time of his death. At the age of 19 he had a severe attack of measles that so affected his  lungs as to bring on the terrible disease that has been gradually preying on his system ever since.

He studied law at Galena, Ills., and came to this county about 15 years ago, where he has since resided, and been engaged in the practice of his profession. Some six or seven years ago he was married to a Miss Cox of Burlington, who died suddenly of heart disease in a couple of years afterwards. The deceased had recently returned from California, where he had gone in hopes to recover partially his health.

His funeral services here took place on Tuesday afternoon. The members of the Masonic Fraternity as well as the Lucas county bar attended, in a body, and escorted his remains to the train that carried him to Burlington, where he will be buried near his wife.

He leaves "Little Joe," his only child, who is about five years old, and a host of friends to mourn his loss. The members of the bar held a meeting and appointed a committee to draft resolutions expressing their feelings on the occasion of his death, and their sympathy with his bereaved relatives and friends.

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Census records 1850-1860 of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, and of Lucas County, Iowa, 1860-1870, show that J.W. was born in Indiana, rather than Illinois, as the obituary suggests.  His parents, James and Margaret A. Wilkerson, who were farmers, brought their family west soon after J.W.’s birth and they lived briefly in Illinois and then in Scott County, Iowa, before settling down in Jo Daviess County, perhaps during 1850.

J.W. had arrived in Chariton by June 11, 1860, when he was enumerated in the federal census of that year as an attorney boarding in the home of James Baker, also an attorney, and Baker’s family. His assets were modest, $200 in real estate and $200 in personal property, suggesting he had not been in the profession long.  James Baker may have been his first partner.

Because of his impaired health, he did not serve during the Civil War but continued a solo practice in Chariton. By 1867 he was practicing in partnership with Napoleon Bonaparte Branner who had recently returned to Chariton from service in the Confederate army. Their offices were in the 1858 courthouse, then Chariton's principal building.

J.W. married during the early 1860s, probably at Burlington, Maria Louisa Cock. Maria’s father, Oliver Cock, of Burlington, was a brother of Robert Coles, who had changed his name from “Cock” to “Coles” by act of the Iowa Legislature in 1853, the year he settled with his family in Chariton. It may have been that family connection with Lucas County that provided the opportunity for J.W. and Maria to meet.

J.W. and Maria probably had three children during the 1860s, two of whom died as infants. A badly weathered tombstone in the Chariton Cemetery marks the graves of “Our Babes,” children of J.W. and M.L. Wilkerson. The surviving child, Joseph A., was born in 1866 in Chariton.

Maria died at Chariton in the late 1860s “suddenly of heart disease,” according to J.W’s obituary. Although her death is cited in published accounts as the first in St. Andrew’s Parish, no year is cited. Her body was taken to Aspen Grove Cemetery in Burlington for burial beside her father, Oliver Cock, who had died in 1861.

When the 1870 census was taken on Sept. 1 of that year, the widowed J.W. and his son, age 3, were living with several of his siblings, perhaps on the farm adjoining Chariton to the east called Cottage Grove that he and Maria had developed into something of a showplace. Those siblings were his sister, Maria (actually, Emeriah), age 26; and brothers John V., 24, Eugene, 22, and Willard, 17. Although all of the younger Wilkerson males were enumerated as farmers, Eugene had studied law, too, and reportedly practiced with his brother for a time.

Although J.W.’s assets had increased substantially between 1860 and 1870 ($12,000 in real estate and $10,500 in personal property according to the census entry) his health had declined. He attempted to recover in California during 1872, but returned home in the fall of that year and died in Chariton on Dec. 23. 

Joseph A. Wilkerson, age 5 at the time of his father’s death, was raised in Chariton by his aunt, Emeriah, who never married and remained a Lucas County resident until after 1900 when she moved to California. Although his health apparently had been impaired since childhood, Joseph A. was working as a printer by the time of his death in 1889.

During 1887-1888, Joseph sought relief in California and in the mountains of Arizona Territory and thought for a time that he had found it, but the remission was temporary and he returned to Chariton, where he died on June 20, 1889.

The Chariton Patriot of June 26, 1889, characterizes him thus: “His natural intellectual endowments were of high order, and with adequate health would have gained him distinguished position. His sense of humor was quick and incisive, and he perceived intuitively the weakness and shams of human nature. He had a wise head for one so young and many a quiet smile will come at the memory of his quaint and pungent wit.”

Lucas County death records show that Joseph was buried in the Chariton Cemetery, most likely beside his infant siblings who had died in the 1860s. His grave is not marked, however.

Happy Hanukkah!

 Spread the light! That's all you need to remember.

On the long road of weariness and want ....

This seems an appropriate combination for the final Sunday in Advent --- imagery by Kelly Latimer, an Episcopal iconographer based in St. Louis; and a brief poem, "Refugee," by Malcolm Guite, English poet, song-writer and Anglican priest.

We think of him as safe beneath the steeple,

Or cosy in a crib beside the font,

But he is with a million displaced people

On the long road of weariness and want.

For even as we sing our final carol

His family is up and on that road,

Fleeing the wrath of someone else’s quarrel,

Glancing behind and shouldering their load.

Whilst Herod rages still from his dark tower

Christ clings to Mary, fingers tightly curled,

The lambs are slaughtered by the men of power,

And death squads spread their curse across the world.

But every Herod dies, and comes alone

To stand before the Lamb upon the throne.

Veni, Veni, Emmanuel

I invested a little time this morning in the search for a fresh version of "Veni, Veni, Emmanuel," the oldest (and my favorite) hymn of Advent. We'll light the fourth and final candle of the season (save the Christ candle on Christmas Eve) tomorrow morning.

Translated into English as "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," the hymn (or carol) is based upon the “O” Antiphons --- seven brief prayers traditionally spoken, chanted or sung in sequence, one each during evening prayer, or vespers, in the final days of Advent --- the Octave before Christmas which begins today, Dec. 17, and concludes on Dec. 24.

The Great O’s are among the oldest liturgical elements of Advent, found in literature dating to the sixth century and familiar in monasteries across Christendom by the eighth. Traditionally used with the Magnificat, the O’s are most familiar in the Roman Catholic, Anglican/Episcopal and Lutheran churches.

Each antiphon begins with the acclamation “O,” followed by titles for the Messiah based upon the prophecy of Isaiah --- O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Dayspring), O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations) and O Emmanuel (O God with Us).

Another cool thing about the O’s is that the monks who arranged these antiphons centuries ago in prescribed order incorporated a message by doing so. By starting with the last title and taking the first letter of each, Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai and Sapientia, the Latin words “ero cras,” translated as “Tomorrow, I will come,” are formed, an ancient way of announcing a joyful end to Advent preparations for the Messiah.

The performers here are members of the Valley Arts Society, a community choral performance society  open to anyone in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and West Virginia. Look carefully and you'll see that many of the singers are affiliated with anabaptist congregations in the region. This version was recorded in December of 2019.

A Nebraska governor native to Lucas County

This distinguished looking gentleman in a photograph from the Library of Congress is John H. Morehead (1861-1942), two-term Nebraska governor and multi-term U.S. representative, too. 

Although he served Nebraska, the Hon. Mr. Morehead was a native of Lucas County, Iowa --- so we can claim him, too. He's one of two U.S. governors born here --- Nathan E. Kendall, Iowa's 23rd, was the other. Chariton's Leo Hoegh, Iowa governor in the mid-1950s, was born elsewhere and arrived in Lucas County as a young attorney.

Morehead was born during 1861 in the log cabin of his parents, Andrew and Frances Morehead, in Pleasant Township, Lucas County's most northeasterly. They are buried in the cemetery at Columbia, just across the county line in Marion. Raised and educated in Iowa, he headed west into Nebraska as a young man and the rest is history.

Here's his obituary from The Nemaha County Herald of June 4, 1942, which does a good job of telling his story:

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John H. Morehead, Falls City, one of Nebraska's most outstanding political and business men, passed away Sunday morning at 12:30 o'clock at the Missouri Methodist hospital at St. Joseph, Mo., following an illness of about two weeks duration at the age of 80 years.

The former governor and congressman died peacefully with his wife and son, Edwin, and Mrs. Edwin Morehead at his side.

The death of John H. Morehead brought to a close one of the most illustrious careers in the political and business history of the state.

The body was taken to the Morehead home on Tuesday afternoon, where it lay in state until the funeral services, which were held Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 at the Presbyterian church with Rev. A.O. Kaul officiating. Burial was made in the Steele cemetery.

Mr. Morehead was born on a farm in Lucas county, Iowa, December 3, 1861, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Morehead, early day settlers of that section of the Hawkeye state.

He attended the district school, walking two miles through rain, snow or under a burning sun to reach the little schoolhouse where he received his early education seated on slab benches fitted with pegs for support. There were no desks at that time.

After competing the course at the district school, whose terms ranged from four to six months, Mr. Morehead worked his way through a select school at Knoxville, Ia., remaining there until he was 17 when he matriculated at a business college at Shenandoah, Ia.

In the early 80s, Mr.. Morehead started westward, planning to locate in western Nebraska. He paused at Nemaha, Neb., for a brief visit with friends and as a result continued to live in the southeastern section of the state.

For several years, he worked as a farm hand in the summer and taught school in the fall and winter.

On February 17, 1885, he was married to Minnie Weisenrader, a native of Aspinwall, Nemaha county, Nebraska, the daughter of Edward and Minnie Weisenrader.

Following the wedding, the couple moved to Barada, in Richardson county, where Mr. Morehead started in the mercantile business on a small scale. His business began to show a profit almost immediately and he invested in farm land and then branched out into the handling to livestock, which also proved exceptionally remunerative. His land holdings totaled many acres.

His debut in politics was made shortly after his arrival in Richardson county when he was chosen as Barada's town clerk. He also served the town as treasurer. His first county office was that of county treasurer, his election coming on the democratic ticket in the fall of 1895. He was re-elected in 1897.

In 1889, Mr. Morehead became cashier of the First National bank and while holding that position served one term as Fall City's mayor.

State politics beckoned in 1910 and the Falls Cityan answered by filing as a candidate for state senator from the First district. He was successful. His colleagues named him president pro-tem of the Senate. Upon the death of the lieutenant governor in 1911, Mr. Morehead automatically took over the office in accordance with provisions of the state constitution.

In 1912, Mr. Morehead was chosen to serve his first term as governor. He was elected for a two-year term and his re-election, the first time for a democratic governor, for another two years followed in 1914. When the second term expired in 1916, Mr. Morehead was beseeched to run again. A petition bearing 20,000 names failed to make him change his mind.

Mr. Morehead was noted as a "budget balancer."  His policy was to meddle as little as possible in private affairs and to fight consistently for economy. When he took the reins as governor for his first term, he found a large indebtedness which was paid off without increasing taxes. Then, during his second term, a substantial tax reduction was made and a balance left in all departments.

Mr. Morehead proved that he still was popular among the electorate when he was chosen congressman from the First district for a two-year term. Re-elections came in 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930 and 1932.

The Falls Cityan retired from politics in 1934, returning here from Washington and immediately becoming active in conducting his farming and real estate business on a wide scale.

Mr. Morehead was a member of Scottish Rite, Sesostris Shrine and the I.O.O.F. lodge. In 1940 he was chairman of the Nebraska delegation to the democratic national convention at Chicago and at his death was chairman of the Bryan Memorial committee which has raised funds for erecting a memorial at Lincoln to the late William Jennings Bryan.

Mr. Morehead is survived by his widow, one son, Edwin J. Morehead, and two sisters, Mrs. Vina Smith of Pasadena, Calif., and Mrs. Mary Duckworth of Casper, Wyo. Also surviving are three grandchildren, John, Kenneth and Carol Morehead. A daughter, Miss Dorothy Morehead, passed away in March 1920.

Noble thought but inaccurately attributed

I have to be up and out of the house early this morning to meet incoming electricians at the museum and so had less than the usual amount of time to devote to the search for wisdom.

But I did find this --- a noble thought worth sharing. It took me longer to find an illustration in which the quote was not attributed.

Sadly, there's no indication that Chief Seattle (ca. 1786-1866) ever said it --- he seems most frequently to get the credit; a nameless generic "Native American" comes in second. This probably has something to do with white folks attributing statements to indigenous people without investigating what indigenous people actually had to say.

So I did a little poking around and discovered a couple of things. Obviously, the sentiment here is as old as humanity and has been expressed in many ways.

But the earliest locatable match for the phrasing here seems to go back only as far as “The Unforeseen Wilderness: An Essay on Kentucky’s Red River Gorge,” a book published by environmentalist Wendell Berry in 1971.

Here's the quote: "We can learn about it from exceptional people of our own culture, and from other cultures less destructive than ours. I am speaking of the life of a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children; who has undertaken to cherish it and do it no damage, not because he is duty-bound, but because he loves the world and loves his children…"

Whatever the source and without regard to phrasing, it's a thought worthy of holding on to.

Russell men earn Lucas County's first Purple Hearts

The Purple Heart Medal, awarded to servicemembers wounded or killed in action, is among the most familiar of military awards in the 21st century. Based upon a 1782 Badge of Military Merit established by George Washington but awarded only three times, it was not revived officially, however, until 1932 --- on the 200th anniversary of Washington's birth, Feb. 22.

So the first Purple Hearts awarded as a result of combat during World War I were not authorized until after that date and even then it was necessary to apply for the honor, applications based upon a variety of other awards given for service after World War I commenced, including the Meritorious Service Citation Certificate, Army Wound Ribbon and wound chevrons.

Four of Lucas County's first Purple Heart recipients were Russell men, as reported under the headline "Four Local Veterans Receive Decorations" in The Russell Union-Tribune of Dec. 8, 1932, as follows:

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Four Russell World War veterans are receiving the honor of decoration by the War Department of the Order of Purple Heart, given to soldiers wounded in action and commended for valor.

Atlee Winsor received the first decoration Nov. 11th. He was wounded in action Sept. 26 in the battle of Argonne Forest in the last drive before the Armistice was signed. He was taken to base hospital at Vichy where he remained until Dec. 24, then returned to his regiment, Co. D, 132nd Infantry, then stationed in Germany in the Army of Occupation.

Warren Lodge received his decoration of the Order of Purple Heart Nov. 30th, with special commendation by the Department for bravery in the battle of the Argonne Forest. He with five men swam the Meuse river carrying a rope to fasten a pontoon bridge. They were under heay fire and Lieut. Lodge was the only one to reach the far shore alive. He secured the rope and his buddies were soon by his side driving the Germans toward the Rhine. Warren was a first lieutenant in the 199th battalion and was both wounded and gassed during the war. He was confined in a hospital in Paris with his wounds.

Guy Force and C.M. Hawk also are eligible for the decoration of Purple Heart and should receive their decorations in the near future. Guy was wounded on the front lines while acting as a signal corps dispatch operator. A German shell shattered his leg and foot, complicated with gas gangrene.

Hawk, known to his friends as "Sonny," was a private in Battery B, 149th Field Artillery. He was wounded in action in the Chateau Thierry drive by a piece of high explosive shell casing, which struck him in the side of his face and causing partial loss of hearing and sight. He was cared for at Field Hospital 13, then transferred to Base Hospital 26. Sonny still has the piece of shell casing which caused his  wound, his only trophy of the war.

Russell has cause to be very proud of these lads who have served the country to the extent of sacrificing their health. they still have their lives but the great war took a toll that nothing can repay May we again add our commendation to the others they are receiving and congratulate them on the recognition which is being shown them.

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Atlee Winsor married Florence Willets during 1920 and they lived their entire married life in Russell. Their son was Wilford "Bill" Winsor. Atlee probably is best remembered as the long-time cashier of Russell's First State Bank. He died Aug. 19, 1970, at the age of 76.

Warren Lodge married Lillian Margaret Dodson at Sioux City during 1919 and they had a family of seven children while living in various places, including Russell. They settled finally at Alton, Illinois, where he died at the age of 85 on April 15, 1981. 

Guy Force married Nora Ethel Hanks in 1919 and their married life was spent in Russell where they had five children. Handicapped by his wounds, he went to work as a rural mail carrier in 1920 and continued in that line of work until shortly before his death at the age of 59 on Feb. 6, 1949.

Sonny (Clell Milton) Hawk, partially disabled by his wounds, married Ruhma Ruth Russell in 1927 and farmed for much of his life, then moved with his wife into an apartment on the Chariton square. The couple had six children. He was struck and killed by a Burlington passenger train at the Braden Avenue crossing on June 11, 1960, age 65.