Note: This is excerpted from Uncle Arthur's "Fact's concerning our family" that he compiled many years ago. A lot of his writing was "family traditon" before the late 1700's, however, the balance is considered factual.

This part is specific to my great, great, grandfather's settling in Iowa, is a first person narrative by Arthur.

"Our own father was named Ebenezer. This was a very common name in Grandmother Price's family and there were several Ebenezer Rawson's. One of Grandmother's brothers was so named, which, I suppose, accounts for our Father's name. Father lived with his folks at Brimfield until he was fourteen years old and the family moved to Knox Co., ILL. There he grew to manhood. While still a very young man, in the year 1849, our father, along with his brother, William and other Knox Co. boys, formed a company call the Jayhawkers and started across the country for the gold fields of California. This was a perilous journey, the dangers and hardships of which we of the present generation cannot realize. Before starting it was agreed that as they only had teams to haul the food and other things necessary for the journey, all should walk unless sickness or accident made it impossible to do so. I have been told that the records show that Ebenezer Price was the only one who walked all t! he way. After arriving there they dug gold on Gold-Run, a little stream that emties into the Yuba River about 30 miles north of Sacramento, Calif. Here they got together considerable money for that day, and from here, Uncle William, with all his money and a good part of Father's, started home. He was never heard from afterward. Father always believed that Uncle William was murdered for his money. Just before Father died he called Uncle William's only daughter to his bedside and told her that he knew no more about her father than he had already told her, but that he had never had a doubt but that he was dead, and was just as sure as he could be of anything that were he alive he would have come home just as soon as he could have gotten there. Father remained at Gold Run for five or six weeks after Uncle William left, then made his way down to Sacramento and from there to San Francisco, where he remained for some time. After reading and studying a letter that was written by Father from Portland, Oregon, in December, 1850, I have come to the conclusion that Father was in San Francisco on the day that California was admitted to the Union as a State. It was my privilege, in company with Mrs. Price, to be in San Francisco seventy-five years later to the day when all California celebrated in San Francisco, their 75 years of Statenood in what is known as the Diamond Jubilee of Calif. Father remained at San Francisco a few weeks longer, then made his way by sailboat to Portland, Ore., a journey that required, an account of contrary winds, about six weeks time. It was from this place that he wrote the letter referred to above, in which he said: "This Portland will be quite a port when they get the stumps out of the s! treets." The following year, viz 1851, father decided to return home. His first thought was to return by the way of the Orient, but he later decided to work his way south along the Coast to a point near where the Panama Canal now is, and from there, in company with an Indian Guide, walked acrosss the Isthmus to some seaport on the Gulf of Mexico. From there he took a ship to New York and then came home, mostly by rail, where he found his brother had never returned. After reaching home I have no record of what he did until he came to Iowa in 1854 and settled on the North West Quarter of Section 20, Townshiop 70, Range 25W.5th P.M. The title to this land he acquired from the Federal Government by Patent signed by Benjamin Harrison, then President of the United States. This Patent I have seen many times. It was written on parchment, commonly known as Sheepskin. It was in my possession many years, but was finally stolen from my bank box at the time of the robbery at Van Wert a number of years ago. On this piece of land our Father, Ebenezer Price, made his home, building with his own hands a little log cabin, ten by twelve, with a small "dug out" cellar in the center. Here he lived alone, toiling early and late, making rails with which to fence his farm, breaking prairie sod on his own land and on the land of others, till the year 1858, when, after building a more commodious house, he was united in marriage to Sarah Melissa Tift, daughter of James and Rozilla Tift. (Records indicate she was an orphan who had been raised by a Mr. & Mrs. Bliss.) The wedding occurred on the 16 day of September, 1858, in Knox City, Illinois. Soon after this our father brought his young wife, who was only 15, to their new home in Iowa, where they spent the blessed happy years of their married life together. Frances Edna was the first child born to this union on the 26th day of August, 1861. At this time the War of the Rebellion was in progress. Our father answered the call of President Lincoln for volunteers in 1862 and on the 13th day of August of that year enlisted in the service of the United States, to serve for three years or to the close of the war. He was assigned to Company D, Thirty Ninthe Iowa Infantry, under Captain Bennett. In the course of his service he came to be under the command of William Tecumseh Sherman and was in a unit in that great army that made the historic March to the Sea. After that, he, with his Company, made his way to Washington, D.C., where he had part in the great parade at the close of the war. He received his discharge in the city of Washington on the 5th day of June, 1865. Coming home he took up, again, his occuptation as a farmer. Following in the footsteps of his father, he helped to establish a Christian Church at Van Wert and was a charter member and an Elder. On the 16th day of April, 1867, was born to this happy pair their first son, Arthur Elva Price, (the writer of this history) and a little over two years later, on the 14th day of July, was born the second son, Clarence Jerome Price. Again, after two years, on the 31st of March 1872, was born another son. He was named Ira Festus Price, making in all, four children born to this union. This happy home in its entirety only continued till the fall of that year, for on the 6th day of October, 1872, the husband and father, Ebenezer Price, died, being at the time of his death only 43 years, 11 months and 10 days old. It is thought he died of acute appendicitis. Our mother lived to struggle on in the care of her children. She was of Scotch-Irish stock and to a greater extent than we c! ould then realize, she gave herself in sacrifice for her children until death claimed her. She died on the 2nd day of October, 1886, when only 43 years, 1 month and 10 days old. Many years have passed since that day, but the four children of this noble pair are still living. How much we owe to our parents, who were of noble birth, of sturdy pioneer stock and of strong Christian faith, we can never know. How well we have used our talents and improved our opportunities, perhaps those who come after will be better able to say than I, who write these words in this, the year of our Lord, 1929. I therefore lay down my pen in the hope that others who love the story as I love it, will, in turn, take it up and carry the story on to the end."

Arthur Elva Price--1929