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DAVISON, Elizabeth (Mullan) 1842-1921

DAVISON, MULLAN

Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 3/18/2014 at 23:56:42

[Waterloo Evening Courier, Tuesday, May 10, 1921, Waterloo, Iowa]

Mrs. E. Davison City’s earliest resident, Dead

Death comes peacefully as she sleeps; Saw Waterloo’s growth from window

Mrs. Elizabeth Davison, daughter of Charles Mullan Sr., the first settler in the west section of Waterloo, died in her sleep last night while visiting an old friend, Mrs. M.L. Hewitt, 826 First Street West. She was the oldest resident of Waterloo, having come here from Wayne Co., ILL. In July 1846 with her parents when three years old. She was 78 years old last Dec 31.

Mrs. Davison, who spent nearly 75 years of her life in Waterloo in a home at 166 Falls Avenue, attended Mother’s Day services at First M.E. Church, of which she was a member. She had frequently visited Mr. Hewitt and accepted an invitation for dinner after the services. The two visited in the afternoon and Mrs. Davison was urged to stay all night and she consented. She was in her usual apparently excellent condition of health. The old friends visited yesterday and Mrs. Davison was urged to remain another night. Mrs. Hewitt says Mrs. Davison was in especially good spirits, when she retired last evening. No sound came from her room in the night and Mrs. Hewitt was shocked when, upon going to her guest’s room at 7 a.m. today, she found Mrs. Davison dead. A physician who was called said death had come several hours before.

There was no evidence of a struggle, or even of distress. Apparently the sleep of life had imperceptibly been merged into the sleep of death.

Mrs. Hewitt and Mrs. Davison were alone at home. They had often visited each other. Last autumn, Mrs. Davison spent a week with her friend. They had much in common, both elderly, both interested in the church and both pioneers.

Saw City Grow From Window

For 67 years, Mrs. Davison had lived in the present home. She had slept in the same bedroom all those years, a room in the southeast corner of the second story overlooking first an unbroken expanse of prairie, then the sparse settlement of the town and then the built-in section of the city.

When her parents, Charles and America Mullan, came here in a prairie schooner in the summer of 1846, there was only one other settler, James Virden. He landed on the east side of the river in June of that year. The Mullans settled on the hill at the westerly edge of the tract which later became the incorporated town of Waterloo. It was a picturesque location. At the west the slow waters of Black Creek wended their way along open vistas of open prairie and thru patches of timber. To the north lay the course of the Red Cedar River. Beneath the hill were laid later the tracks of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Minnesota Railway. The prairies were aflame with wild flowers. The streams were alive with fish. The nights were made hideous to the childish heart by the sharp bark of the wolf.

ERECTED LOG CABIN

Mrs. Davison’s father erected a log cabin on the hill. When Elizabeth was 12 years old he built the present two-story frame house in 1854. Mr. Mullan, with his own hands, hewed most of the hard wood logs for the frame. The doors, window casings and other finishing materials also handmade were hauled from Dubuque and Cedar Rapids. At that time there were no railroads in this section of Iowa.

Mrs. Davison, when a child, slept with her grandmother in the room which she occupied when she died. In the later years of her life, Ray Mullen Davison, her only child with whom she lived, tried to induce his mother to sleep downstairs, but she refused. “It seems more natural to sleep in this room where I have slept for so many years,” she said.

FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE

It was in the Mullan home, the original log cabin, that the first religious service in Waterloo was held. The Methodist circuit riders stopped on their arduous rounds among the pioneer settlements for food and shelter at the Mullan home and held services there. Mrs. Davison has been a member of the Methodist Church all her life. In fact, she antedated the church in her religious experiences. It was because the first services were held at the site where her present home is located that Mrs. Davison, during her later years, expressed the wish that when she died, her funeral might be held from the same place. And so it will be held there at 3 p.m. Thursday, the Rev. Frank W. Court, her pastor officiating.

The remains were taken to the Peterson Bros. mortuary this morning, but it will be removed to the old home on 166 Falls Avenue this evening. Burial will be in Elmwood.

Mrs. Davison was married to Benjamin F. Davison about 53 years ago.

BROTHER DIED TWO YEARS AGO

A brother of Mrs. Davison, Judge C.W. Mullan, died two years ago. Her surviving brothers are H.C. Mullan, Sioux City; Marion F. Mullan, Pomeroy; John W. Mullan, Tacoma, Wash.; and William Mullan, Aberdeen, S.D.

A volume might be written about the early experiences of the Mullan family. Mrs. America Mullan, the courageous wife and mother, was almost in daily contact with the Indians. She professed no to be afraid, but her outward demeanor at times did not correctly reflect her real feelings. Mr. Mullan, being a surveyor, was away from home a great deal of time, and this left the mother to guard her young brood. Once when he was gone, an Indian came into the cabin and wanted to buy Elizabeth, the pretty 3-year-old child. He called Elizabeth his “little white papoose.” He poured out a stream of gold pieces from a buckskin bag to tempt the mother, but she spurned it and him. Then the Red Man stalked away sullenly. His demeanor frightened her, but she kept a bold face.

HAD INDIANS AS GUESTS

On another occasion an Indian reached the cabin at dusk and would not leave. So America Mullan gave him a blanket and let him sleep in a corner. That night the mother did not sleep. She kept vigil over Elizabeth and the other children. When the Indian arose in the night to stir the fire, Mrs. Mullan pointed a gun at him and compelled him to lie down. The next morning he made her understand he had a toothache, asked for some red pepper pods, which he boiled, and then drank the liquid. He left after breakfast, saying Mrs. Mullan “was a brave squaw.”

It was in the cabin where Mrs. Davison spent her early childhood that her father established the Post Office. He used an old teapot as the mailbox, placing it near the door where the patrons could step in and deposit or receive their letters.

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[Waterloo Evening Courier, Thursday, May 12, 1921, Waterloo, Iowa]

OLD FRIENDS PAY FINAL TRIBUTE TO MEMORY OF MRS. ELIZABETH DAVISON

Funeral services for Mrs. Elizabath Davison, a daughter of Charles Mullan, Sr., the first settler of Waterloo, were at the pioneer Mullan home, 166 Falls Avenue, at 3 p.m. today, in charge of Rev. Frank W. Court, pastor of First Methodist Episcopal Church.


 

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