Iowa
Old Press
Waterloo Courier
Waterloo, Blackhawk co. Iowa
February, 1924
Greenberry Luck Pony Mail Carrier Dies at Age of 91
New Hartford, IA., Feb. 7:
Greenberry Bright Luck, 91, one of the first of the pony riders
to carry mail to the settlers of this section, and the first
white man to be married in Butler county, died at his home here
Friday from pneumonia, which
developed after an operation on Thursday. He served the federal
government on the mail route from Cedar Rapids to the settlement
which later became Cedar Falls. The only intervening white
settlement was at Buck's Crossing, later Vinton, where a few
cabins had been erected. The mail was carried in saddlebags and
the trip between the two terminals took two days. Mr. Luck was
born in Bowling Green, Mo., Nov. 9, 1833 and when six months old
was brought to Bellevue, Ia., by his parents. His marriage to
Miss Susan
Williams, on Nov. 1, 1854, was the first performed in Butler
county. Of their 10 children, seven survive the father. Mrs. Luck
died in 1920. Both Greenberry and Susan were buried at Beaver
Grove Cemetary New Hartford, Iowa Besides the children there
survive 42 grandchildren and 47 great
grandchildren.
[transcribed by A.L., February 2005]