Some 15 years before that, thanks to an enterprising correspondent for The Humeston New Era, his eventful life was the topic of an article published on April 2, 1890, under the headline "Among the Old Folks: Chats With Some of the Old Settlers of the County."
The piece is somewhat unusual because Mr. Sayers didn't quite fit the profile of those generally allotted such a lavish dose of publicity --- he was neither affluent nor especially prominent; just a guy who had led an interesting life.
The correspondent is not identified and made a huge error, misspelling his subject's name "Sears" throughout. But there's no reason to doubt the general accuracy of the rest. In order to avoid confusion, I've corrected the spelling throughout. So here's the account of the life and times of Mr. Sayers.
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There is always something interesting in the lives of old people. Their memory reaching back to long years before the most of us were born gives us a bit of history that is always full of interest. Books give us history of great events but it remains for the old people to furnish those quiet reminiscences of bygone days so interesting to the younger generations.
The thought of this occurred to your correspondent, and having occasion to visit Mr. A. Sayers, one of the old and honored citizens of Washington township (Wayne County), I will give your readers the benefit of the pleasant chat I had with him.
Mr. Sayers was born in Orange county, New York, May 5, 1826, and at the age of 20 started west to seek his fortune. His worldly possessions consisted of a grip sack, a few clothes and $100 in gold, which he earned by working for four dollars per month in winter and nine in summer. He went on foot to Harrisburg, Pa., a distance of 180 miles, and finding this kind of travel wearisome, he went by canal to Pittsburg, being 14 days on the road.
The canal boats at that time were built in sections so that they could be transferred over the mountains, there being an engine on top and a track like our present railroad track was built up the side of the mountaiin on which the sections of the boats were carried over. Three different mountains were crossed in this way. After the boats were safely in the canal again, they were fastened together and started, making about five miles an hour and changing teams every six hours.
From Pittsburg he started by steamer to Wheeling, Va. The Ohio river being very low, the boat was three days getting to Wellsburg, only a short distance from Pittsburg. There not being enough water to float the boat at this point,, several of the passengers, Mr. Sears among them, waded ashore. From there he Walked to Wheeling, and then by stage of Cadiz, Ohio, and then to Newcomerstown.
A few miles from here he found an old friend named Daniel Burt. He had been 28 days making the trip which would be considered very slow in these days. He hired to Mr. Burt at $20 a month and remained there seven years, during which time he made several trips with stock to New York City. One trip with fat cattle taken from Coshocton county took from April 13 to July 4. The cattle were on full feed all the way through and often traveled but 7 or 8 miles a day. During his stay with Mr. Burt he had accumulated some $800 and thinking to make a speck, he bought two good teams and took a contract of one mile of grading on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. He did $1,000 worth of work and received $200, the head contractor skipping out and leaving sub-contractors in the ditch. One team and wagon was all that was saved from this wreck.
About this time a printer named Wolf, at Wheeling, sent out cards offering to send people to San Francisco for $200, half to be paid down and half at the end of the journey. This caught Mr. Sears, along with about a hundred others, and he sold his team and paid his $100 to Wolf. After waiting 10 days for the steamer to take them from Pittsburg to New Orleans, they found that the Wolf had fled to his den. Some of them have their tickets yet --- and the Wolf the $100.
He and his brother, Amos, then went to Illinois, arriving there in February 1853. He took a job driving back from Danville to Champaign, and had the honor of carrying Judge Abraham Lincoln and several lawyers two trips. They were a jolly set of fellows and many a good joke was passed among them. One trip being in the night some of the lawyers lost their stovepipe hats. There was a jug of peach brandy on board which probably had something to do with the losing of the hats.
Mr. Sayers came to Lucas county, Iowa, in 1855, and having some $250 in cash, he invested $100 in 80 acres of land in the southwest corner of the county. A few days after securing his land he took sick with fever, and was attended by the late Dr. Fitch, of Chariton. The spring found his pocketbook much depleted, and he went to work making rails at 50 cents per hundred and after gathering a few dollars together he bought 40 acres of university land, mostly on time, and went to work improving.
He got 20 acres broke the first year and the next year fenced it with rails and built a log cabin. He was married to Miss Mary Fudge June 18, 1857, and together they began life in his new home. He got a job making shingles for a new mill being built at Chariton, doing the shaving mostly by night. The spring of 1857 was one extremely hard on the new settler. Corn was $2 per bushel, flour $9 per hundred. Coffee was manufactured from corn meal and sorghum molasses, and people had but little use for sugar. In 1858 his wife took sick and continued so for over a year, leaving Mr. Sayers badly in debt.
In 1859, the Pike's Peak fever struck him and he went through with an ox team in the hope of building up his fortune. He returned in a short time however, poorer than when he went. In the spring of 1860 he went to work for G. Westfall for 50 cents were day, having to walk two and a half miles to his work each day, the price being raised to 75 cents per day through harvest. In the fall of 1860 he sustained his first real grief in the loss of his son, aged some 18 months.
In 1862 he enlisted in the 34th Iowa Infantry, went to Burlington where he remained two months; then to St. Louis, Helena, Ark., and Vicksburg. While at Burlington he took the measles and was sick all the time, but stayed with the company. After the defeat at Vicksburg he went to Arkansas Post and took part in the battle. He at last got back to St. Louis and still being sick was discharged after nine months service. Some two years passed before he was able to work and by that time the little home was gone to pay doctors' bills. After renting for several years he bought his present home and has managed to pay for it. At the present time he is in poor health, and draws a pension of $10 a month.
At the age of 17 he joined the M.E. church and was baptized by immersion in Ezra Stanford's mill pond, close to the line of the state of New Jersey. He has been sometimes in the valley, sometimes on the mountain top, but never forgetting the time and place where he first obtained a hope that reaches beyond the grave.
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