Iowa Old Press
Mapleton Press
7 April 1932
Another Pioneer Called By Death
Funeral Services Held On Tuesday For One Of Oldest Citizens
Another of Mapleton's real pioneer, a resident of this community for three quarters of a century, was called by death Sunday morning when Mrs. Elizabeth Heisler Holliday, 88 years old, passed away quietly in her home on South Second street.
As far as The Press can learn there is only one other person here now who has lived here longer than Mrs. Holliday, Robert McCleerey, 90 years old, who came to this vicinity in 1855 a year before Mrs. Holliday.
Funeral services were held at 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon in the Methodist church, of which Mrs. Holliday was a lifelong member, with Rev. C. H. Van Metre, pastor, officiating. Interment was in the Heisler cemetery under the direction of the Duschl Funeral Home.
Pallbearers were William H. Thompson, Lawrence Muckey, Sam Chapman, Francis Pinkney, Harry Zediker and Casper J. Uhl, all members of the American Legion in Mapleton. It was Mrs. Holliday’s request that members of the Legion serve as pallbearers.
Elizabeth Heisler Holliday was born at Munich, Ind. May 12, 1843, the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Maynard. The family moved to Guthrie County, Iowa in 1854 and two years later – in 1856 came to this community in the Maple river valley.
For more than 75 years she has received her mail in this place, first at Wilsy tavern, known at that time as "Old Mapleton." and later at the Mapleton office.
For a short time as a young girl she worked in Smithland for a family by the name of Price, getting 75c a week. After receiving a few weeks’ wages she purchased a pony which she rode back and forth to Mapleton across the mild prairies over which the Indians were far more numerous than the white people.
Mrs. Holliday often remarked that she thoroughly enjoyed the wild of those days, the out of doors and all the experiences that attended -real pioneer life.
In 1859 she returned with an uncle and family to Indiana for a short visit. On her return her father met her at Panora, Ia., with a yoke of oxen and they returned to Mapleton.
Mrs. Holliday vividly remembered the return trip from Indiana. They forded the Des Moines River near Fort Des Moines, which at that time was just a small fort. She remembered seeing soldiers there. She also recalled that in 1859 the population was so scattered that it was easy to get lost on the prairies. She never felt that the life of the pioneer was a hardship, however.
She became the wife of Henry Heisler in 1859. This was the first marriage in Cooper Township, Monona County. The couple started housekeeping on a farm 2 miles north of Mapleton where they lived for 26 years. In those early days she frequently made trips with her husband, each one driving their own load of wheat or live stock to Denison or Onawa and even greater distances. They hauled the lumber for their first buildings from Ames.
Throughout her life she proved herself a woman of strength of character and of great usefulness. She was a good neighbor and friend and especially did these traits reveal themselves in the times of need. She was a natural nurse and rode over these prairies ministering in helpful ways to those who were ill and in need. The memories of those days came to her in sweet fragrance in recent days when she was suffering from the infirmities of age.
Mr. Heisler died in 1891 and in 1897 she was married to Elias Holliday, a Civil war veteran who died in 1917.
Mrs. Holliday has lived in the little home where she died for the last 25 years. For the last 10 years her son, Bert, has cared for her with great tenderness and faithfulness. For the last four years she has been bedfast. She united with the Methodist church when 11 years of age and has been a lifelong member.
She is survived by 6 children, Frances Pendleton of Ponoka, Alberta, Canada, Joseph Ross of Blencoe, Bertie L. and Earl of Mapleton, Frederick S. of Beresford, S D, and Mrs. Nora Nepper of Mapleton.
Five children preceded her in death, two dying in infancy, one son, Harry in 1918, and another son, John T., a year ago.
[transcribed by C.S, Oct 2019]