An 1856 receipt for the Throckmortons' journey west

I'm willing to bet that Lucas County's Throckmortons are the only local family that, if its members knew where to look, could view the receipt for the stage coach ride that delivered their ancestors to Chariton Point for the first time. That was 165 years ago, just after they had alighted from a steamboat at Keokuk, fresh from Pennsylvania, back in the spring of 1856. 

I'm also willing to bet that none of the Throckmortons know where that receipt's at, so here it is --- in the Lucas County Historical Society collection.

It reads, "Keokuk, Aprile the 15th 1856. Mr. Throckmorton has paid for 5 seat in the Stage to Chariton with the privilege of laying over and resuming his seat the next Stage, if room, but in no case will we send an extra for passengers who have laid over. $40.00. Wm. B. Potter, Agent."

The Rev. John Simpson Throckmorton, at 2 years of age the youngest family member along for the ride, left a note dated April 9, 1929, also in the collection, that puts the receipt in context. It reads in part as follows: "John Throckmorton, my father, paid $40.00 for our passage from Keokuk to Chariton --- five seats (5). Father, Mother, M the Colored girl. And we three children in arms. Uncle Michael (Michael Crow Lazier) told me we were in Chariton. Father walked out from Chariton in p.m. and he, Michael, took team and went to Chariton and got us and brot us out to Morford Throckmorton's. There we landed on the 17th of April 1856."

The family party actually consisted of six people, as the note reports: John Throckmorton (1826-1907) and his wife, Nancy Elizabeth Lazier Throckmorton (1828-1906); three sons, John Robinson Throckmorton (1850-1931), Thomas Morford Throckmorton (1852-1940) and John Simpson Throckmorton (1854-1943); and a girl identified as Emy Miller, age 14, born in Missouri, when the 1856 state census of Warren Township, Lucas County, was taken soon after the family had settled there. 

Emy, the earliest confirmed black resident of Lucas County, remains something of a mystery. It's my theory that she was a nursemaid who had been hired to help Nancy Throckmorton manage her small children, the eldest of whom was 6 and the youngest 2, during the journey and perhaps beyond. Nancy may not have been especially well at the time --- she had given birth to a fourth child, Mary Frances, born Nov. 17, 1855, who had died Dec. 31, 1855. Buried in Pennsylvania just weeks before the family moved west, the infant has a memorial stone in the Derby Cemetery. The fact that Emy was born in Missouri, if the census record is accurate, suggests that she might have been hired by the Throckmortons in Keokuk rather than accompanying them from Pennsylvania. Whatever the case, there is no further record of Emy Miller.

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There seems to have been a slight disagreement between John S. Throckmorton and his brother, Thomas M., regarding the details of the family's arrival in Lucas County as noted on the second page of John's 1929 note: "Dr. T.M., my brother, thinks we came some other way, but Uncle told me how it was when he was here at Derby the last time, and I think Uncle Mike knew best as he was staying in the log house and wintered there while Father was in the East before we moved to our new home."

Here's Dr. Tom's version of the story, as recorded in a 1907 address that he prepared for delivery to the Lucas County Old Settlers Association (you'll find all of that address here in a post entitled "Dr. Tom Throckmorton remembers Derby in 1856").

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After several days steaming down the Ohio to its mouth, then up the mighty Mississippi, they came to a very small town known as Keokuk. There, these emigrants landed. The wife and three children took the stage for Chariton, while the father loaded in his wagon as many household goods as his team could well haul, leaving the rest in storage, and followed his family. By the way, he never got half of his goods on returning to Keokuk for they had been appropriated by other needy emigrants.

The stage coach arrived in Chariton about noon, April 16th, 1856, when I, a small lad, was introduced to this town --- or rather the town to me. My father, John Throckmorton, first came to Chariton in the fall of 1854, when this town was a land office, and entered several sections of land for himself and friends in Warren and Union townships. He returned in the spring of 1855 in company with his brother, Morford, and my mother's brother, Michael C. Lazear, and built what was known as a hewed, double log house. It was a monster affair for this country. There were two rooms downstairs each 14 by 16 feet, the same size upstairs only the ceiling was not so high; the roof was rived oak shaved shingles. He broke out and planted 60 cres of sod corn, returning to Pennsylvania in the fall after his family; the trip I have already described. This winter of 1855-56 is said to be by the old settlers as one of the severest known in Iowa history.

My mother was met in Chariton by her brother, whom she had not seen for over a year, who took us in a stiff tongue wagon with a scoop bed, ironed all over. You old fellows from Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia know all about a linch pin, stiff tongue, tar bucket, trace chain, sole leather back bands, belly bands, breeching, hamestring, rope lines and hickory withs --- don't you? (Will digress a minute and say that the breeching was soon discarded as a necessity in this level country, but was very useful in after years in weighing hogs with the steel-yard.)

Well, that's the kind of a rig that met my mother and her children at this place, that balmy sunny spring day, and took us to my uncle Morford Throckmorton's, the place now adjoining the town of Derby. We arrived there long before dark. He lived in a round log house, 14 by 14, puncheon door and puncheon floor, that is boards split out and hewed with a broad axe. the clapboard roof was held on by logs. You old fellows know what I am talking about! (Note: the cabin was not round; the logs of which it had been constructed were.)

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Whatever the precise details of their arrival were (and actually Dr. Tom, who was 4 when the trip was made, would have been more likely to remember a little about it), John and Nancy Throckmorton lived out the remainder of their lives in Lucas County,  producing seven more children in the process: Dr. Charles M. Throckmorton, born 1857; Lucy Florence, born 1859; Sadie Fannie, born 1861 (married Benjamin Morris), Nancy Elizabeth, born 1863 (married Newton M. Bremer), Jesse William T. Sherman, born 1865; James Reed, born 1867; and Robert Frederick, born 1869.

Here's an image of John and Nancy (Lazear) Throckmorton as they looked soon after their marriage during September of 1849. This image is not in the Lucas County Historical Society collection, but rather from a collection assembled by their granddaughter, Dr. Jeannette Throckmorton, that has been digitalized and shared widely online.

Although the provenance of the Throckmorton papers in the historical society collection is not exactly clear, we believe they were among the belongings of Miss Sarah Throckmorton (1892-1976), one of four children of the Rev. John Simpson Throckmorton and the last of her immediate family to live in Lucas County.

You can read about a Throckmorton photo album that arrived more recently at the museum by following this link to a post entitled, "The Throckmortons and their Photograph Album."

The Throckmortons and their photograph album

This dimunitive leather-bound photograph album, tightly bound by a corset-like clasp, is turning this week into my equivalent of those elaborate jigsaw puzzles that social media friends have been spending countless lockdown hours with. 

It arrived at the Lucas County Historical Society Museum recently with an obscure provenance, identified only as "Throckmorton." Its 20 overstuffed album pages contain 40 images, a mix of carte-de-visite-sized photographs and tintypes, the earliest dating from the 1860s and the latest, I'd say, from the 1880s. There's no indication of who assembled it or to whom it belonged.

So, using extreme caution and a pair of tweezers, I've removed the images from their album pages, found at least partial identifications for a few written on backs, then returned them to their appointed places. Thanks to the miracles of digitalization --- and the fact the Throckmortons and their kin had their images recorded frequently --- I was able to identify others by comparing them to examples shared online by descendants via Find A Grave and Ancestry.com family history files.

That ability to compare allowed me to idetify the gentleman in uniform as John Throckmorton (1826-1907), who arrived in Lucas County from Pennsylvania during 1855 with his brother-in-law, Michael Crow Lazear, and half-brother, Morford Throckmorton, to establish the Throckmorton outpost in southwest Lucas County, including the site of what during the 1870s became the village of Derby. John was joined by his wife, Nancy (Lazear) Throckmorton, and their children during 1856.

Michael Lazear moved on during 1859 to California, settling eventually at Marysville; and Morford died during 1863 in Lucas County leaving behind a young family. So the Lucas County Throckmortons who came along later descend from John and Nancy or Morford and Agnes. Several of John's descendants were physicians, which is one of the reasons why the name has been so widely known in the county.

John is in uniform because he left his family behind during 1862 to enlist in Co. E, 34th Iowa Volunteer Infantry,, even though he was 36 at the time.

Among the images in the album are these two of Eliphalet Reed Throckmorton, younger brother of John and Morford, who never made it to Iowa, living out his relatively long life (1840-1924) in Greene County, Pennsylvania. But I'm fascinated by that untamed mountain of hair atop his head that must have taken considerable effort to maintain.

Whatever the case, we're happy to provide a safe home for the little album at the museum where it will  join a collection of John Throckmorton's early papers, dating back to the 1850s, and a magnificent prize-winning quilt created by his granddaughter, Dr. Jeannette Throckmorton. 

The early Throckmortons and many later ones, too, are buried in the Throckmorton section in the far southeast corner of the Derby Cemetery --- in case you'd care to visit.

Dr. Throckmorton & that devilish peek-a-boo waist

Dr. Jeannette Throckmorton (1883-1963) had practiced medicine in Chariton with her father, Dr. Thomas Morford Throckmorton, for roughly 10 years by the early winter of 1918, when she accepted a position with the U.S. Public Health Service as traveling consultant and educator. The primary reason was increasing deafness, which made it difficult to communicate with patients.

As a result, she found herself during early December of that year in Chicago to address delegates to the annual convention of the American Public Health Association.

World War I had just ended, but economic challenges remained worldwide --- including a shortage of coal as winter set in. So one topic addressed during the convention was the advisability of Americans dressing more warmly in order to conserve what then was the most widely used fuel.

Dr. Throckmorton chose to direct her comments toward women, who had increasingly during recent years shed many of the garments that had shielded them from both the elements and the lustful eyes of men. And it was those remarks that caught the attention of reporters for the Chicago newspapers and spread nationwide via The Associated Press.

Here's how The Chicago Tribune of Dec. 12 reported Dr. Throckmorton's address under the headline, "Doctors Argue For and Against the Peekaboo Waist."

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Is the present fashion in women's dress hygienic and moral or unhygienic and indecent? This discussion came up before the administration section of the American Public Health Association convention yesterday.

Dr. Jeannette Throckmorton of Chariton, Ia., denounced the present fashions. She said: "Morals and dress are intimately associated, and never before has modesty in dress seemed to be so little in demand among our young girls. The customary street dress of last summer was an offense to one's finer sensibilities, with its abbreviated skirt, shoes designed to attract the eye, hose likewise, thinnest of crepe waists with only a little ribbon and lace underneath and cut so low in the neck as to be indecent.

"I believe the good women of our country are to blame because they do not frown upon such vulgar costumes. We must teach our girls that they have a responsibility toward young men, that the uniform is a symbol of a sacred cause, and if they aid the man who wears it to degrade himself they surely are degrading the cause for which he is fighting. A great factor in accomplishing this is to dress modestly, so as not to attract or arouse the sex passion.

"The majority of young girls who come into my office in winter are half clad, from choice rather than from necessity. This condition prevails also among college girls in my state, and I presume feminine nature is no different in your respective states.

"If mere man in the dead of winter should strip off his flannels and, attired in a low necked undershirt, silk pajamas, cobweb stockings and paper soled slippers, should venture forth to spend an evening at the opera, with no protection about his bare shoulders except a pearl necklace, it would be necessary to remove him from the theater in an ambulance. Pneumonia or influenza would set in.

"Yet high school girls and college girls and some of their mothers, too, do this very thing. Hence we are forced to conclude that the feminine physique, frail though it appears, is able to resist hardships and exposure that no man could survive.

"The corset worn by the majority of women is a relic of Victorian barbarism and tends to produce that ideal of feminine beauty of the age of hoop skirts. Gradually there is coming into use the corset known as the straight front, which gives the desired upward and backward pressure on all the viscera and which fits snugly at the hips and loosely at its upper extremity."

Dr. Throckmorton also denounced the fashionable footwear for women.

Dr. Effie L. Lobdell, of Chicago, endorsed the peekaboo waists, thin stockings and all the other features of modern dress, declaring that they strengthened the constitution of women. She said this kind of clothes also compelled women to keep clean, something they did not always do before. She was not afraid for the girls' morals.

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Dr. Throckmorton's remarks, although endorsed by many, were scorned by more and did nothing to affect fashion trends.

In 1928, she married Dr. Charles Noah Dean, a Keokuk Medical College classmate, but he became critically ill within days of their marriage and died 10 days later.

In 1929, Dr. Jeannette became head of the Iowa State Medical Library in Des Moines and remained in that position until shortly before her death on July 24, 1963. She is buried in the Throckmorton family enclave at the Derby Cemetery.

Summer outing in Kalona for our Throckmorton quilt

Jeannette Throckmorton Dean

A legendary quilt from the Lucas County Historical Society collection --- created in 1943 by the late Dr. Jeannette Throckmorton Dean --- was on the move this week, headed for Kalona. It will be part of an exhibit there, at the Kalona Historical Village, opening later this spring and continuing into August. So if you're in that neighborhood during the summer, stop in.

We're grateful to Nancy Roth, village director, who drove down Wednesday to pick the quilt up and who will chauffeur it home during August. If you look carefully here, you'll see hands and feet --- Kay Brown and Kathleen Dittmer were holding the quilt up so that it could have its picture taken before being packed for transport.

Dr. Jeannette, who continues to hold a special place among quilters both state- and nation-wide, created the quilt in 1943 for Marcia Murray Eikenberry, whose name is sewn into it. It came into the society collection as a gift from her son, the late Bill Eikenberry, during 1967.

The artist was born Jan. 26, 1883, at Derby into one of Lucas County's prominent family of physicians. Her parents were Dr. Thomas Morford Throckmorton and Mary Anna (Bentley) Throckmorton. 

A 1900 graduate of Chariton High School, Dr. Jeannette went on to earn a degree from Simpson College in 1904, then enrolled at Keokuk Medical College, completing the four-year course of study there in three and graduating at the top of her class.

She practiced with her father in Chariton until 1919, but deafness had been an issue in her life since childhood and by that year it was beginning to hamper her communication with patients, so she accepted a position with the U.S. Public Health Service as a traveling consultant and educator. In 1928, she married Dr. Charles Noah Dean, a Keokuk Medical College classmate, but he became critically ill within days of their marriage and died 10 days later.

In 1929, Dr. Jeannette became head of the Iowa State Medical Library in Des Moines and remained in that position until shortly before her death on July 24, 1963.

Her quilting companion during the years she was at her creative peak was Frances O. "Aunt Fanny" Crist (1868-1962), who had been taken into the home of Dr. Jeannette's grandparents after she was orphaned and remained a member of the extended Throckmorton family until her death.

Aunt Fanny continued to live for so long as she was able on the John Throckmorton homestead near Derby, which did not have electricity at the time. When daylight hours were at their peak during warm weather, the two women quilted there and shared their mutual passion for wildlife, especially birds. In the winter, Miss Crist moved to Des Moines to live with Dr. Jeannette and they continued to quilt together there.

The quilts Dr. Jeannette is best known for are applique works to original designs featuring extensive trapunto and stuffed work. Because she gave so many quilts away, she lost track of exactly how many she had created, but guessed somewhere in excess of 60. Four of her works are part of the quilt collection at the Art Institute of Chicago --- Goldfinches & Flowers, State Birds & Flowers, Rosebreasted Grosbeak and Iris and Blue Iris.

Fanny Christ died during 1962 and Dr. Jeannette, during July of 1963. Both are buried in the Throckmorton enclave in woodland at the rear of the Derby Cemetery.

Memories of Dr. Tom Bentley Throckmorton

Both the city of Chariton and The Herald-Patriot newspaper celebrated their centennials during September of 1957, a century after The Chariton Patriot had been established. As far as the city was concerned, it had been decided for some reason to celebrate the year the town was incorporated, 1857, rather than the year it was founded, 1849.

The 40-plus page edition of The Herald-Patriot, issued on Sept. 12, was an impressive one; and the letter that follows adds a few details that I found interesting. The author was Dr. Tom Bentley Throckmorton, whose great-grandmother was Mary Howard --- I've been writing a little about her lately because her remains occupy Lucas County's oldest marked grave.

The Throckmorton family, which produced many physicians, is identified largely in Lucas County with Derby, but Dr. Tom (left) was a son of Dr. Thomas Morford Throckmorton, who practiced for more than 50 years in Chariton, and his wife, Mary Ann Bentley.

Dr. Tom and his sister, Dr. Jeanette Throckmorton, attended medical school at the same time, but he practiced and taught in Des Moines from 1911 until his death in 1961 at the age of 76. Here's the letter:

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Glancing through the Centennial issue of the Chariton Herald-Patriot, which someone kindly sent to me, I felt a peculiar nostalgia for the old town where I was reared and schooled.

My memory goes back to the old brick courthouse which was replaced by the present cut stone structure in the early '90's. It is my impression that the early stopping place for stage coaches was on the south side of the square where later the Knights of Pythias Temple was erected. Dave Buffington, a harness maker by trade, made my father's saddle bags in which he carried his medical and surgical supplies when he rode horseback over the prairie. Buffington had his office in the old wooden building for a number of years before the Temple was built.

I recall the Patriot location on the west side of the town square where the sign "Job Printing" intrigued me as a child for I thought it meant the paper would give a man a job if he applied. This idea was further strengthened when I observed a colored man turning a big wheel on the press as the paper was printed, first one side and then the other. The reporter then was Grace Blouse who allowed  me to sit in the front room and watch the men as they worked on the new courthouse.

The picture of Old Betsy brought back a flood of memories, for my grandfather, John A.J. Bentley, and my uncle, John Bentley, belonged to the volunteer fire company. I recall seeing my uncle, at work in the blacksmith shop, drop his uplifted hammer, jerk off his leather apron and start running down the alley for the fire station when the bell rang out its first warning that a fire had broken out somewhere in town. Day or night, fair or foul weather, the fire boys always responded.

Meeting the trains at the old station was a pastime for a few of the town's loafers. It was a delight to see the picture of the old depot. Another of my early recollections was to watch the goings and comings of the Bates House bus, which met all passenger trains. Grandfather's house and shop were across the street south from the Bates home and the hotel, so it was easy to observe the happenings from my seat on the corner post of the picket fence which ran across the front of grandfather's yard.

Ilion, of course, was the show place of the town with Crocker's magnificent residence, encircled by an iron fence, running a close second. Beardsley's Funeral Home now occupies the latter.

I recall when the first electric lighting system was built; also when the first telephones were installed in the town. The paving of the town square in the early 1900s was a big improvement as was likewise the more modern buildings which sprang up from the ashes of the wooden structures which were destroyed by fire.

Your reference to the Mormons --- the first white settlers in Lucas county --- brought to mind a story which my Grandfather related. In the mid 1850s, smallpox broke out at LaGrange. The disease was virulent and devastating in those days. The citizens in Chariton became alarmed and a town meeting was held at which time ways and means were discussed as how best to handle the situation. It was decided to quarantine the town --- no exit or entrance of people to be allowed.

At this state of the meeting Dr. Charles Fitch (left), the town doctor, entered, and on learning as to what had happened, he suggested putting a sign at Chariton Point, southeast of town, warning all travelers that Chariton was quarantined. This was agreed upon. Then the good doctor made the coup de grace. He informed the merchants that a Mormon train was en route west and had expected to take on fresh supplies at Chariton. However, he  reminded his listeners, that since the town was quarantined they would be unable to do this. At once the merchants sprang forth to denounce the action taken so shortly before and the motion to quarantine was rescinded. Fortunately, no new cases of the disease appeared in the county at that time and everybody was happy.  It shows what can happen when one's  pocketbook is touched.

There are many other things I could mention which the perusing of the Centennial Edition brought to mind. Permit me to congratulate you on the fine job you did in bringing out this special number. It is of great historical value. What the 200th Centennial will bring forth only  the Omnipotent One can foresee. I am confident were we to behold what the next hundred years will bring forth in Lucas county, we would be as much dismayed as would those folks who pioneered the county a century ago, were they permitted to see the great changes due to the remarkable progress of the last 100 years.

Cordially yours,

Tom B. Throckmorton, M.D.

"Best game of football ever witnessed ...."

Thanksgiving football was a tradition in Chariton back at the turn of the 20th century, but in the absence of television the action was live --- on the rough and tumble playing field located in what now is Eikenberry Park, sandwiched between North 12th and North 13th streets with Auburn Avenue running along its north boundary.

There had been three football teams in Chariton during the fall of 1899, none affiliated with Chariton High School. One was fielded by Company H, made up of members of Chariton's National Guard unit recently returned after deployment to Florida for the Spanish American War; another, by the Noxal Club, an organization for young gentlemen who could afford its dues (and be invited to join); and the third, the Chariton Tigers, composed of young men who fitted into neither of the proceeding categories and just wanted to play football. For Thanksgiving purposes, it appears that members of the Noxal team and the town team (the Tigers) had joined forces.

Chariton High School would launch its first football team during the fall of 1900 and members of that team are pictured here: (first row from left) Harry Hickman, Charlie Ervin and Arlie Curtis; (second row) Dorsey Artley, Fred Young, Leo Leinen and Jim Baker; and (third row) Bun Graves, Charlie Johnson, John Blous, Charlie Copeland, John Law, Jim Hickman and Dot Jackson. This is the earliest football team photo that we've got.

I wish there were photographs of one or more of the 1899 Chariton teams, but there aren't.

Here's a report of the 1899 Thanksgiving game, "the best game of football ever witnessed in Chariton," as reported in The Chariton Democrat of Dec. 8:

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With rain pouring down, the boys of Co. H and the Chariton Tigers marched to the football ground south of the depot Thanksgiving Day and promptly at 3 o'clock the game began.

With horns blowing, snow flying, rain pouring, was played by far the best game of football ever witnessed in Chariton. Co. H won the toss and chose the west goal.

Rose kicked off for Chariton. Bartholomew got the ball and returned it a few yards. The teams lined up and Co. H lost the ball on a fumble. Gookin made an end run for five yards and Co. H got the ball on a fumble. Co. H tried bucking the line and lost the ball on downs. Chariton tried same tactics with same effect. Johnson made an end run for Co. H and made a five yard gain and was downed by Rose. Line bucking was tried but with no effect.

Throckmorton carried the ball for a ten yard gain round left end and was tackled by Blous. Chariton again tried line bucking and Rose succeeded in gaining five yards but was downed by Blous. Blous again tried the line with no result.

Throckmorton was sent through the lines for a short gain and was stopped by Johnson. Chariton lost the ball on downs and Blous returned it through Chariton's line for three yards. Co. H tried line bucking and lost the ball. Chariton's ball within five yards of Co. H goal. Gookin made a short gain through the line. Throckmorton carried the ball for a short gain. He was again given the ball and went through the line for a touchdown.

Dalin kicked goal for Chariton and the game stood, Chariton 6, Co. H O.

Blous kicked off for Co. H to the 25th yard line and the ball was held there. Chariton made a short gain and the first half ended.

Blous kicked off for Co. H to the 40th yard line and Gookin returned the ball 35 yards and was stopped by Hasselquist, the last man, just in time to save a goal. Here is where the fight began. Both sides were held for downs repeatedly, and after about fifteen minutes of play the ball was still in the center of the field.

Johnson and Blous carried the ball for Co. H around the left end for repeated gains and were stopped within twelve yards of Chariton's goal. Here Capt. Blous punted and Bruce carried the ball over the goal for a touchdown. Blous tried for goal, but not allowing for the wind a strong gust came and carried the ball against the south goal post. The score, Chariton 6, Co. H 5.

Rose kicked off for Chariton but the ball went out of bounds a few feet from the goal line. It was brought back and Rose kicked again to the 25th yard line. The ball was returned a few yards and line bucking was tried on both sides with but little gain.

Blous carried the ball around left end for a long run, dodging his assailants, and another touchdown seemed certain, but Throckmorton was still in the game and got his man in time to save the game.

Considering the condition of the ground and weather, a better game of football is seldom witnessed on our college gridirons. If the interest in the game continues until next year, Chariton bids fair to have one of the best teams in southern Iowa.

The star players were Throckmorton, Gookin, Johnson, Rose, Blous.

Fodder for the war machine: Draft physicals in 1917

I'm wondering how many Iowans now poised on the jagged edge of old age remember that trip to Fort Des Moines back in the 1960s. In my case, a charter bus that left Iowa City before dawn was involved, filled for the most part with young men scheduled to receive their University of Iowa bachelor's degrees in early June, now potentially little more than fresh meat for Vietnam.

Then long lines, degrading if you thought about it --- poking, prodding, visual assessments and questions.

Fifty years or more earlier then --- exactly a century ago now that it's August in Chariton --- similar lines formed. But inside the Lucas County Courthouse as the first physical examinations for potential World War I draftees commenced.

The United States had declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917; and the Selective Service Act of that year went into effect on May 18, remaining in effect until the war ended during November of the following year.

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Here's how The Herald-Patriot reported those first physicals in its edition of Thursday, Aug. 9, under the headline, "Selective Draft Examination Begun: Lucas County Young Men Subject to Military Duty Called Before Board Saturday, Monday and Tuesday:

"Men whom fate directed as the first contingent of the army which is to crush kaiserism and keep the world safe for democracy were before the local examining board Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, the total called being 278, though probably twenty-five of those listed to appear were examined elsewhere.

"The official board consisted of Sheriff Thomas, Auditor Rose and Dr. T.M. Throckmorton, but Gov. Harding named Dr. T.P. Stanton as assistant examiner and Dr. R.F. Throckmorton, of Derby, volunteered his services in the same connection. W.J. Marshall, of Russell, and Jerome Oppenheimer acted as clerks. Geo. Verner, Dee Batten and Chas Wennerstrum gave valuable help and all of these men served without pay of any kind.

"Examinations began promptly at 7 o'clock Saturday morning and continued until those notified to appear the first day had been looked over and their condition recorded. Examinations were held in the court room and the men were first taken before Dr. Stanton, thence passed on to Dr. R.F. Throckmorton and then for final approval to Dr. T.M. Throckmorton and C.W. Rose, the latter writing the record as it was called to him.

"All were reduced to birthday clothing in the final analysis and their weights were carefully noted, together with all other physical conditions.

"Monday and Tuesday were repetitions of Saturday. The records will not be complete for several days, but it is known that perhaps thirty men will be disqualified because of physical or mental troubles.

"Altogether the men examined were a fine lot and the condition of the vast majority was beyond criticism; the spirit of the men, too, was admirable and comparatively few of them grumbled at the ordeal before them in leaving home and associations for the battle front.

"Many exemption claims were filed, however, because of real or fancied claims on their services. Claims must be wholly substantiated by strongest evidence before they will receive favorable consideration at the hands of the local and state examiners.

"Under instructions received from Provost Marshal Crowder local examiners have little option in the matter of exemptions and the married man who has a family able to care for itself is just as much subject to draft as the single fellow who has no dependents. The feeling has been quite general that married men would be exempted, especially where there are small children, but Order No. 2750, issued by provost Marshal Crowder and sent to local boards for their guidance by Gov. Harding, says in part: 'In order to bring about uniformity of exemptions on account of dependencies throughout the state, the provision is made for appeal to be taken to the district board. A set of rules was formulated that both local and district boards will follow on the question of exemptions on account of dependencies.'

"One paragraph of the rules drawn by Marshal Crowder gives a very good idea of what is necessary to gain exemption from service and it is said that the rules will be strictly enforced. So many, many men have offered flimsy excuses that a hard and fast rule, pretty severe in its term, has been adopted throughout the country. This reads as follows and will come as a distinct shock to those who believed themselves protected because of their marriage:

'You will observe from a reading of these rules that the mere fact that one is married is not ground for exemption. There must be actual showing of dependents and that showing should go to the extent that the dependent would be left without support and be a charge upon the state or community if the exemption is not made for that reason. In other words, if the dependents can apparently support themselves, or have relatives who are able to support them, the case should be thoroughly looked into and doubt solved in favor of the government.'

"Interpretation of the above rule precludes the exemption of many married men from Lucas county for there are few citizens who do not have relatives able to care for those left behind. Further, there are few who would become charges upon the county in case the husband and father was required to go to war.

"In industrial claims for exemption it must be shown conclusively that the industry in which the claimant is engaged would be seriously crippled or discontinued in the absence of the person it is proposed to draft. Men who follow farming must be able to show, under oath, that their places cannot be taken by others; married miners must be able to prove that their family and their work cannot survive if they leave. Clerks and businessmen must show, without shadow of a doubt that they are indispensable to the business they follow if they are to be exempted, and the same rule applies to other vocations. A mere statement or opinion will not be considered; there must be undeniable proof and it is up to the applicant to make a showing which cannot be questioned insofar as dependency is concerned.

"It is not believed that the men examined will be called out for several months as training quarters have not been prepared for them as yet, though the time of their going is wholly problematical."

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This article was accompanied by the list that introduces this post --- 77 young men "who were passed by the examining board and made no claims for exemption." I cannot tell you how many of the 77 actually were drafted; only that six of these men were and did not make it home.

Those from the list killed in combat or dead of disease during the next year were Roy Tickel, Joe Dachenbach, Earnest Herndon, Rudolph Otz, Walter West and Forrest Youtsey.

More of the story of Chariton's Dr. Charles Fitch

Some days I get the cart a little ahead of the horse, as was the case yesterday when I published the magnificent obituary of Dr. Charles Fitch, 1825-1889, pioneer Lucas County physician. So I rounded up a couple of other items at the museum yesterday to share this morning.

The first is a portrait of Dr. Fitch from the collection (above) and the second is the text of a fairly comprehensive biography taken from "History of Medicine in Lucas County," written by Dr. Thomas Morford Throckmorton (1852-1940), who practiced medicine in Chariton, and his son, Dr. Thomas Bentley Throckmorton (1885-1961), who practiced in Des Moines.

This excellent resource is a reprint of a series of articles published during 1933 and 1934 in the Journal of the Iowa State Medical Society. The senior Dr. Tom Throckmorton wrote the article about Dr. Fitch.

Dr. Fitch was a son of Lyman and Jane (Cregar) Fitch. Lyman Fitch died during 1851 in Wyandot County, Ohio, and his widow as well as Charles and at least three of his siblings came to Iowa during the next year. Charles landed in Chariton, the others settled at Garden Grove, where Jane died on Nov. 1, 1885. Her remains were brought to Chariton for burial on the family lot here.

Here's the rather lengthy text of the Throckmorton article about Dr. Fitch:

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The most outstanding man ever to practice in Lucas County, in the writer's opinion, was the late Dr. Charles Fitch.  He was born in Orleans County, New York, June 25, 1825, and afterwards moved with his parents to Ohio. At the early age of 15 years he began to teach school. He received his  literary education at the Methodist Seminary at Norwalk and at Oberlin College in Ohio. In 1846, when he was 21 years of age, he enlisted in the Fifteenth Regiment of the United States Regulars and served through the entire Mexican War, taking part in the battles of Contreras, Cherubusco, Molino del Rey and Chapultepec. He received an honorable discharge from the army at the close of the war.

Charles Fitch then returned to his home and, taking up the study of medicine in Cleveland, was graduated from the Western Reserve Medical College in 1852. During the Civil War, he held the position of contract surgeon, since he declined to muster in the service under the commission which he had received as regimental surgeon. He served three years in this capacity with distinction. At Fort Pillow, he was wounded in the thigh and taken prisoner; but was paroled on the following day.

Dr. Fitch came to Chariton in 1852 and may truly be called a pioneer. This was at the time when there was neither a church nor a schoolhouse in the county. Here he was married in 1853 to Miss Lucy Jane Wescoatt by the Rev. Robert Coles, one of the first ministers to locate in Chariton. Dr, Fitch's residence was continuous in Chariton except for a few years spent in Keosauqua, Van Buren County. 

His practice extended into the adjacent counties of Marion, Warren, Monroe, Wayne and Clarke, and even as far south and west as to include Decatur and Union. Dr. Fitch was the right kind of a doctor for this new and wild territory for nature and education had fitted him well for his tasks. He was robust in constitution, intrepid in character and possessed of a skill in medicine and surgery that was equal to the best of his day.

The writer quotes from an address he gave at the old settlers' reunion in Chariton, September 24, 1907: "It is with profound respect that I recall the name of Dr. Charles Fitch. To my mind, no other man who has  lived in Lucas County did more for the early settlers than did the good doctor, who  came to Chariton in 1852. Over long roads, traveling dark nights through storms, crossing swollen streams not spanned by bridges, following an obscure trail with only the sky and boundless prairies around him,  the doctor journeyed ofttimes cold, hungry and  weary; many times arriving at his destination, on account of the distance traveled, or the loss of the trail, only to find the patient dead, or a child born without medical assistance.

"Dr. Fitch was an outstanding character. His personality was his own. He was a man well developed physically, with an acute, inquiring mind and a keen intellect, not sluggish or lazy. He was endowed with a natural ability to see into the complex workings of the most wonderful handiwork of God, the human body, and to interpret its ills. He was a man, in my opinion, who never had a superior, nor even an equal, in medical science in Lucas or in the adjoining counties. He really was 50 years ahead of his time. I made the acquaintance of the good doctor many years ago and, as a medical brother, I can truthfully say of him that he was always ready to respond to the call of ailing humanity. No matter how far the distance, how uncertain the condition of the roads or the weather, whether the ailing one be rich or poor, be it night or day, the doctor went when he was summoned. The physicians of the past 40 years know nothing of hardships or privations as compared to those which this early pioneer and medical patron had to face and surmont. May peace be to his ashes."

Dr. Fitch, in 1855, became a member of Chariton Lodge No. 63 A.F. and A.M. In 1868 he joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows No. 64.

He was a good citizen and a man of keen judgment and quick action. In 1854 when smallpox broke out in the eastern part of the county, William Parmenter, Edwin Maydole and others became afflicted. Dr. Lind of Lagrange, in Cedar Township, was the first to be called in attendance. Later, Dr. Wyatt Waynick and Fitch were called in consultation. The citizens of Chariton, on learning of the nearness of the disease, raised a furor, called a meeting of the townfolk, and demanded quarantine of the town in the  hope of preventing the spread of contagion. Dr. Fitch,  who came in late at the meeting upon learning of its purpose said: "We have no smallpox in Chariton and we do not need a quarantine. If you insist on quarantining the town you will have to go east three miles to the fork of the road and put up a warning sign saying, 'Smallpox --- Take the Left Hand Road.' Gentlemen, you may do this if you wish, but if you do, not a merchant will do business outside of the townspeople and those of you who are preparing to sell to the Mormons who are no on their way west will have no customers. Quarantine if you like, but remember what that means."

Needless to state the resolution, so  hastily passed, was at once rescinded, Fortunately, no other cases of smallpox developed in the county at that time. The writer well remembers the pockmarked faces of William Parmenter and Edwin Maydole, as they were tenants on his father's farm in 1857.

Dr. Fitch, who had no mean ability as a surgeon, amputated William McDermott's leg for gangrene of the foot June 20, 1875. Mr. McDermott was the first settler to build a cabin and live in the territory of what is now known as Lucas County. Soon after the doctor had located in the county an epidemic of so-called "dysentery" broke out and many of those who were stricken then died from the disease. Doctors were few and far between, but Dr. Fitch, who had seen much of cholera while at Cleveland Ohio, and in the upper and lower Sandusky regions, recognized the ailment at once and realized its seriousness. Rather than to stampede the people through fear, he kept his  own counsel, and in time the epidemic waned and finally ceased. Thus, one may gain insight into the character of the man who always had at heart the interest and welfare of both patient and community.

Dr. Fitch was a pleasant and congenial gentleman and, as a consultant, he always showed a due deference to the writer. I recall vividly an incident which occurred in the early years of my practice while I was located at Derby. In the spring of 1881, my office door was opened one frosty morning and a friendly voice inquired, "Good  morning, doctor. May I have the loan of a horse for a few hours?" Looking about I discovered that the visitor was none other than my good friend, Dr. Fitch  of Chariton. "Certainly," I replied. Finding that the doctor's destination was in a locality where I was expecting to make a call, I gave orders for two horses to be saddled and brought at once. The  condition of the roads absolutely precluded the use of a buggy or buckboard. Together we started out over very rough and frozen roads. 

As we turned our mounts onto the old Mormon Trace road, we passed the Jacob Taylor farm. Recognizing the house my guest remarked, "I had a rather peculiar experience there many years ago. I was called out one night to see young Jake. He had been ill for several days with quinsy. I found him seriously ill. His throat was badly swollen and he was having great difficulty in breathing. I examined him as best I could by candle light and made up my mind that I would not attempt to lance a throat abscess under such trying conditions. After debating the problem in my mind for a time, I said to the father, "Now, Mr. Taylor, what this boy needs, more than anything else, is some sleep. He is all worn out. I will given him some medicine to help him rest and in the morning, if his  throat is not better, I will lance it. I called for a pitcher of boiling water and after adding some myrrh and chlorate of potash, I directed the patient to inhale the steam. Then I fixed up the "easing powder" which consisted of a good round dose of ipecac and powdered alum. I finally succeeded in getting the patient to  sip a glass of hot water, and then I gave him  the powder. Assuring the family that the boy would soon be better, providing he kept his head over the edge of the bed and continued to inhale the steam, I climbed the ladder to the loft, presumably to get a little sleep. Of course I did not take off my clothes; I just waited to see what would happen. In a little while I heard the patient begin to cough and then to retch, the sure signs of the oncoming storm. Soon a  voice called out at the bottom of the ladder, "Doc, O Doc, come down quick! Jakey is puking like a sick dog.' I  called out for them to keep the patient's head low until I could come down, but I didn't hurry. When I finally got down in the room I found that the retching and coughing had ruptured the abscess. Soon the patient was easy and asleep." This incident  illustrates the resourcefulness which the doctor exhibited when confronted by some unusual circumstance.

Dr Fitch was a hard working man. Endowed by nature with a strong, rugged phyique, he had an almost inexhaustible amount of energy. His willingness to serve the people  kept him extremely busy and, at times, he would go without sleep or rest for days. The uncanny ability to persevere in his work irritated some of his colleagues who were unable to stand a similar strain. This gave rise to some feeling among a few of his confreres, and on one occasion a certain physician referred to Fitch as having "a cast-iron constitution and a wrought-iron rump," to which the amiable doctor returned the compliment by calling his fraternal brother "a big bag of pomposity." The latter remark was certainly warranted, for I happened to know well the one to whom the appellation was applied.

The doctor's health began to fail in 1887. He spent the winter of 1888 in Los Angeles, California, in the hope of retaining his vitality; but it was not to be. He died at his home in Chariton, in diabetic coma, October 29, 1889, in his sixty-fifth year. The writer attended him during his last sickness and was present when he died. A wife and five children survived him: Mrs. Henry Bertram, Dr.Ella, Charles, Miss Laura and Frank, all of Chariton. His remains were tenderly and affectionately laid to rest in the Chariton cemetery, the last sad act which sympathizing friends and devoted patients cold offer as an outward expression to one they loved so well; and thus ended the earthly career of a good man and worthy physician.

Dr. Tom Throckmorton remembers: Derby in 1856

Dr. Tom Throckmorton (1852-1940) arrived in what now is the Derby neighborhood during 1856 when he was four --- four years after "Pioneer," whose narrative of Union Township's earliest days was posted yesterday as "Between Derby and Goshen --- in 1852."

The Throckmortons, who went on to produce some of Lucas County's most notable physicians, were considerably more affluent than Pioneer's family --- and by that time, the mixed prairie and savanna of Union and Warren townships was beginning to take on a settled look. So while Dr. Tom's experiences were similar to Pioneer's in many ways, there also were substantial differences.

The physician, whose proper name was Thomas Morford Throckmorton, opened his medical practice in Derby during 1877, but moved to Chariton in 1888.

In 1907, Dr. Tom prepared the following address for presentation during the annual Lucas County Old Settlers' Reunion, held during September of that year. His script was preserved by Warren S. Dungan, president of Lucas County's first historical society, and now is part of the Lucas County Historical Society collection. Here's a transcript:

ADDRESS DELIVERED BY DR. T.M. THROCKMORTON 

AT THE OLD SETTLERS' REUNION, CHARITON, IOWA, SEPT. 24, 1907

In the month of March, 1856, a four horse wagon followed by a (wagon pulled by a) single team was seen winding down a steep hill in western Pennsylvania, and entering a fork of Wheeling Creek, followed the stream for several miles, the water averaging in depth about one foot. Finally the team emerged from the stream and commenced the ascent of a steep hill. After one wagon had arrived at the top, a team was unhitched and brought back to help the other wagon up. After frequent doubling for steep hills and mirey places, the emgirants arrived at the wharf in Wheeling, Va., and took passage on the steam-boat "Lady Bell" down the Ohio River for that far away country called Iowa.

After several days steaming down the Ohio to its mouth, then up the mighty Mississippi, they came to a very small town known as Keokuk. There, these emigrants landed. The wife and three children took the stage for Chariton, while the father loaded in his wagon as many household goods as his team could well haul, leaving the rest in storage, and followed his family. By the way, he never got half of his goods on returning to Keokuk for they had been appropriated by other needy emigrants.

The stage coach arrived in Chariton about noon, April 16th, 1856, when I, a small lad, was introduced to this town --- or rather the town to me. My father, John Throckmorton, first came to Chariton in the fall of 1854, when this town was a land office, and entered several sections of land for himself and friends in Warren and Union townships. He returned in the spring of 1855 in company with his brother, Morford, and my mother's brother, Michael C. Lazear, and built what was known as a hewed, double log house. It was a monster affair for this country. There were two rooms downstairs each 14 by 16 feet, the same size upstairs only the ceiling was not so high; the roof was rived oak shaved shingles. He broke out and planted 60 cres of sod corn, returning to Pennsylvania in the fall after his family; the trip I have already described. This winter of 1855-56 is said to be by the old settlers as one of the severest known in Iowa history.

My mother was met in Chariton by her brother, whom she had not seen for over a year, who took us in a stiff tongue wagon with a scoop bed, ironed all over. You old fellows from Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia know all about a linch pin, stiff tongue, tar bucket, trace chain, sole leather back bands, belly bands, breeching, hamestring, rope lines and hickory withs --- don't you? (Will digress a minute and say that the breeching was soon discarded as a necessity in this level country, but was very useful in after years in weighing hogs with the steel-yard.)

Well, that's the kind of a rig that met my mother and her children at this place, that balmy sunny spring day, and took us to my uncle Morford Throckmorton's, the place now adjoining the town of Derby. We arrived there long before dark. He lived in a round log house, 14 by 14, puncheon door and puncheon floor, that is boards split out and hewed with a broad axe. the clapboard roof was held on by logs. You old fellows know what I am talking about! (Note: The cabin was not round, but the logs used to build it were --- logs used to build more permanent homes generally were squared off, or hewn. FDM)

We had supper of mush and milk, and then the cousins and we young ones went out and rode the wagon tongue, after which we were called in and the trundle bed hauled out --- the kids now days know nothing about a trundle bed, or a stuff tongue wagon and its wonderful hammer. Say, you young kids back there, aged about 60 to 80 years, where is that wagon hammer? What did you do with it? Your dad hitched up old "Mike and Doll" to go to the timber and he can't find that wagon hammer!! You all have had your jackets well tanned for swiping that hammer!

Well, we all slept in that one room and there was plenty of room to spare. The next day my uncle took us over to our own house --- the two story, double log house with a ladder for a stairs. A family by the name of Westfall was then living in it; and well do I remember a fat rosy-cheeked black-eyed girl --- Velossa Virginia Westfall --- who afterwards married a former townsman and old soldier, William Monroe Fisher, who has answered the Roll Call of the Great Beyond.

In a cabin nearby lived Joseph Garland, who likewise answered the Roll Call about a year ago. He had a blacksmith shop in a rail pen when he first came to Iowa. The cabin on the north was occupied by Wm. Cowden. Just east on Chariton Creek and adjoining Cowdens' was Alexander McMain's; no more hospitable people or better neighbors ever came to Lucas County than they; the old people have long since passed away; Alfred deceased was county recorder; Leroy, favorably known as Roy or Mac, was an auctioneer of no little renown, he too has passed away, his wife "Aunt Polly" lives in our city; and Miss Kate, a daughter, who married James Burley, an old pioneer. He, too, is gone. (Probably some of you here have heard Mr. Burley's story of going to mill, taking 3 months, yes 3 months, going to mill!).

John Harper, hunter and trapper, dug more wells than any other man in his day. Conrod Fisher, called "Coon," was snake bitten one morning when he went out to shoot a crow which had been trespassing on his garden. As he kneeled down in a fence corner to keep himself from being discovered by that wary bird, he felt what he supposed to be a thorn stick him in the thigh; keeping his eye on the bird and putting his hand down to remove the cause, he received a sting on the back of the hand. Looking down he beheld to his horror a large rattlesnake. He shot the head off the rattler and returning to the house, Granny Sacket, a neighbor woman who had quite a reputation as a doctor in various ailments, applied gunpowder externally to the wound, and a liberal amount of whiskey internally. "Coon" grew worse, his limbs and body became enormously swollen, and on the second or third day a profuse and alarming hemorrhage from the nose set in, which completely demoralized Granny Sacket. Dr. Chas. Fitch was then sent for, who staunched the hemorrhage and gave the necessary treatment and saved the life of Conrod Fisher. This staunching of hemorrhage from the nose --- plugging the posterior nares through the mouth, is quite a surgical procedure, and few doctors have done it or even seen it done.

It is with profoundest respect that I recall the name of Dr. Fitch. To my mind no other man who lived in Lucas County did more for the early settlers of this and adjoining counties than did Dr. Fitch. Long roads, dark nights, through storms, without a guide, an obscure trail, no bridges, only the sky and boundless prairies around him, the doctor traveled; many times not arriving on account of the distance to travel or the loss of the trail, until the patient was dead. Dr. Fitch was a character, his personality was his own. A man physically well developed, with an acute inquiring mind, keen intellect, not sluggish or lazy. endowed with a natural ability to see into the complex workings of the most wonderful handiwork of God --- the human body; and to interpret its ills. A man, in my opinion, who has never yet had a superior, or an equal, in the medical sense in Lucas or the adjoining counties thereof. He could not tolerate a pretender or sham. I made his acquaintance over 30 years ago as a medical brother, and I know whereof I speak --- that he was always ready to respond to ailing humanity, no difference how far distant, or condition of roads or that of the weather. Rich or poor, the doctor went the same. Doctors of the past 30 years know nothing of the hardships as compared with those of the time of Dr. Fitch.

Dr. D.Y. Collins was another pioneer; he pulled my first tooth and clipped my tongue as my mother thought it would make me eloquent in after years. The operation was a complete failure and a disappointment to my mother; but in the words of Happy Hooligan, "If me moither could only see me now."

Adam Fudge or Fodge settled in the timber on the Chariton River, also John Connor and Monroe Dooly. Jacob Taylor came in 1852 and settled on what was known as the Old Mormon Trail or Trace road, along with the Plymates, Charles and Banona, brothers; Joseph Mundell; Alfred Connor; Simeon and Boynton Chapman --- brothers and both noted fiddlers; Matthew Irvin, whose sons Jackson and Guy are now living on the old homestead. Jack tells a story of starvation, living three weeks on pumpkins while his father went to mill. 

James and Andrew Leech, America Risher, John Loper, Abner Fuller, James Roach, Stephen Low (known as Cap. Low), Milton Williams, John Hollingsworth, Alonzo Williams --- say, have you seen an erect spritely boyish looking little man on our streets? Well, that is Alonzo. Granville Westfall, Mark Mabry, Amos and Abraham Sayer, William Sanders, Peter Winegar (who built a mill), Martin Hood, Waitman T. Wade (who built the old courthouse), Isiah Robinson and Ann Robinson, my first school teacher, who afterward married William McKnight. All these were settlers in Union Township.

The names of Rains, Ballinger, Shamburg, Ezra Hipsher, Harrison Bowles, Benjamin Garfield and Jacob Rhodes are familiar. The homes of James Gilmore, a Kentuckian whose wife taught school, of John Murray, deceased (his widow still living in Chariton), and of Charles Oehlman were good places for a boy to go; they always gave him something to eat.

David Mercer, located on the creek east of Alex McMain's, was an early settler and always opened his home to preachers; his wife, whom everyone called Aunt Katie, was a sister of Eli Hammers who recently died at Russell, Iowa. Would time permit I could name many more who were pioneers in the true sense of the word.

One name more I wish to mention, Henry Finlay; when last heard of he was in California. He came from Ohio with his young wife who lived with us while they built a house on the prairie just west of Derby. She died within the year, and now is sleeping with her young babe in the Chariton Cemetery. Perhaps you have noticed the lone grave with an iron fence about it in the northwest corner of the cemetery; well, this is Mrs. Finlay's grave; the woman who was so cheerful, so kind to my mother, and won my boyish heart; she peacefully rests there, a martyr to the new country, waiting the resurrection and the gathering home of friends from far and year, yes, from the remotest parts of the earth.

the last few years have claimed many of these old pioneers and soon, perhaps before another Iowa winter has passed, many more will be taken.

Let us honor these men and women of the earlier days, who just as truly fought hard-won battles in conquering a new country as did those who are to meet tomorrow --- the defenders of our country and our flag. These two --- early pioneer and old soldier --- equally share our profoundest respect and homage.

(Note: "Tomorrow" in the final paragraph refers to Wednesday, Sept. 25, 1907, when a parade on the square featured among others 100 surviving Civil War veterans, many of them members of Iseminger Post, Grand Army of the Republic, who held a reunion of their own that year. The Old Settlers celebration and homecoming during 1907 was a multi-day affair. FDM)

A procession of urns at Derby

This modest procession of urns marching off toward the woods caught my eye Sunday at the Derby Cemetery, where I'd stopped to admire another tree --- then stuck around for a while. More interested in pattern than people, I neglected to note who rests under them.

This is the tree, outlined against the afternoon's beautiful blue sky --- an aspiring but less accomplished sister to the giant pine at Confidence noted earlier. It has tried to pull the same stunt, throwing out a branch that then turned up to form a secondary spire, but failed to achieve the horizontal panache of its more confident sister.

This tree is damaged, too, split down the middle --- so perhaps is more endangered than its Wayne County counterpart. Admire it while you can.

The Derby Cemetery, carved from the farm of Tom and Nancy (Lazear) Throckmorton, who brought their family in 1856 to what became the Derby community, begins high on old prairie near the road, then descends to woodland.

Ten of the 11 Throckmorton children reached adulthood and three of their sons became physicians, launching what in its heyday was a major Lucas County medical dynasty. The Throckmortons reserved for themselves a circle at the edge of the woods in the cemetery's southeast corner within which many family members are buried. Others are buried nearby. Tom and Nancy continue, however, to have pride of place within the family enclave.

This handmade monument not far from that big pine, although not as impressive as many of the store-bought stones at Derby, certainly is the most interesting.

There must be significance to the seashells embedded in concrete, but there's not even an inscription on it to tell who is buried here let alone the reason for the shells.

A somewhat enigmatic note in the Lucas County Genealogical Society's 1981 compilation of county tombstone inscriptions suggests that Richard Dodson is buried here. He reportedly was born on March 16, 1855, in Kentucky, and died Jan. 11, 1934, in California. Beyond that, you'll have to try deciphering his story from the shells stuck in concrete here in Union Township, Lucas County, Iowa, a considerable distance from the sound and sight of the sea.

Mary and Harry Finley --- and their fence

The land falls sharply away toward sunset at the far western end of the Chariton Cemetery's north drive. And just before the drive turns south, a double grave surrounded by an iron fence becomes evident abruptly to the north, tucked in a fold at the woodland's edge.

There are many stories about these two graves, some outlandish --- but truth is, here rests a young  pioneer woman so cheerful and so kind that she won a young boy's heart, causing him to remember her distinctly 50 years later. Then she died and eventually found a resting place here with her infant son.

According to the inscription on the stone, it marks the graves of "Mary, Wife of Henry Finley & Daughter of J.W. Stanbery of Ohio, Died June 18, 1857, in her 22nd Year" and "Also their son, Harry, Died Aug. 11, 1857, Aged 6 Mo."

Mary Jones Stanbery, born Jan. 13, 1834, was a daughter of Jacob Wycoff Stanbery (1805-1875) and his first wife, Eliza Jones (1805-1844), who lived in Deerfield Township, Morgan County, Ohio. Jacob was a charter member of the Deerfield Township Anti-Slavery Society and their home, reportedly a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Mary Stanbery and Henry Finley were married June 4, 1856, in Morgan County, and most likely set out that fall --- after Ohio crops had been harvested --- for Lucas County. They were not enumerated in the 1856 state census of Lucas County, which suggests arrival late in the year.  Harry, born during February of 1857, would have been their only child.

Upon arrival in Lucas County, they reportedly settled just west of what now is Derby (a place not even dreamed of then) on the high prairies of Union Township, many miles (in ox-drawn wagon days) southwest of Chariton.

Not long before Mary and Henry were married in Ohio, Dr. Thomas Morford Throckmorton, then a small boy, had stepped off a stage coach in Chariton about noon on April 16, 1856, with his mother and two siblings. His father, John, was some days behind, hauling from Keokuk (where the family had arrived by riverboat from Wheeling, (West) Virginia, a few days earlier) with team and wagon the family's household goods.

By the time the Finleys arrived in Union Township, the Throckmortons already had established their home there in a double log cabin.

Writing many years later, during 1907, about those early days, Dr. Tom reminisced briefly about Mary Finley: "One more name I wish to mention, Henry Finlay (sic): when last heard of he was in California. He came from Ohio with his young wife who lived with us while they built a house on the prairie just west of Derby. She died within the year, and now is sleeping with her young babe in the Chariton Cemetery. Perhaps you have noticed the lone grave with an iron fence about it in the northwest corner of the cemetery; well, this is Mrs. Finlay's grave, the woman who was so cheerful, so kind to my mother, and won my boyish heart; she peacefully rests there, a martyr to the new country, waiting the resurrection and the gathering home of friends from far and near, yes, from the remotest parts of the earth." (The original typescript of Dr. Throckmorton's memoir is in the Lucas County Historical Society collection.)

It's not clear how Mary and her baby came to be buried in Chariton, a considerable distance (in 1857 miles) from Union Township. It may be that Henry brought the bodies here so that they could be interred in a more settled place, or perhaps Mary had been brought to Chariton for treatment during her final illness and died here. Some have speculated that she was buried first near her prairie cabin home, then reburied later in Chariton, also possible.

We do know that she was buried first in the original Chariton Cemetery, located on the Columbus School hill just a half block northwest of where I'm sitting and typing now.

Seventy years after Mary's death, brief mention of the Finley graves was made in a Chariton Herald-Patriot (June 7, 1928) article about various issues the cemetery was dealing with at that time. "As a matter of fact," according to that article, "the bodies were not buried where they now lie in the '50's, but near the present west (Columbus) school building. Later they were removed and on their second removal came to the graves which now house their remains."

The current Chariton Cemetery was developed in 1863 in part because of a need to relocate the graves in the earlier burial ground, by then surrounded by homes and with little room for expansion. Once developed, remains were moved from the old cemetery to the new and Chariton's first substantial school building constructed on the old cemetery site.

The current location of the Finley graves suggests that no family members were on hand to supervise their relocation --- it is not the most desirable spot in the cemetery. Henry Finley seems to have moved on prior to 1860. There would, after all, be little to hold him here after his wife and child had died. In addition, the current tombstone --- and the iron fence --- date from considerably later than the 1850s.

The 1928 article hints at what may have happened: "For a long time the cemetery board wondered who Mary Finley's relatives might be, then one day a stranger came to Chariton and asked Mr. Lamb (cemetery superintendent) if he could take him to the grave of Mary Finley. He could and did, and he was curious to learn something of the relatives who had dropped out of everyone's recollection. The stranger told him Mary Finley left her old home with her young husband and went west. Iowa was west then. Here she died and was buried. That was in the spring. In August the baby followed the mother in death. J.W. Stansbury, was once the governor of Ohio (this is not true, FDM). Through the visit of the stranger, relatives were notified of her grave and the care fee for the graves and from back east came money sufficient to take care of the graves of the two for evermore."

It seems likely that this "stranger," probably a member of the Ohio Stanbery family, also commissioned the current tombstone and the iron fence --- near the turn of the 20th century. What became of Henry Finley, I can't say.

That iron fence had a close call late in the 20th century after complaints from the cemetery maintenance crew that its spikes were hazards and also prevented lawnmower access. The fence was removed.

Then Jim Steinbach complained and Ron Chirstensen's assistance was called for. He crafted (without charge) hinges for one of the fence's panels so that it could be opened for grave maintenance and it was returned to its original location.

So now,  Mary, Harry --- and their fence --- continue to rest in peace in the Chariton Cemetery.