Following is a description of the church written by Amelia Bower. "The church was built by two resident carpenters, Whistler and Farley. In the old days, everybody you might say, turned out to help build the church, for those days a church was as essential to our well-being as the air we breathe—were it so now. The men took their log wagons, their horses and ox teams out to the woods and hewed out the timbers, then hauled them to the two lots in the outskirts of the town, which I believe were donated by John Holzworth, for the site of the new church. A board fence was built around the church and hitching racks on the north and east sides and a "stile" in front with the steps on each side for convenience of those who rode or drove, for these were the days of horse back riding and of buggies, spring wagons and, yes, even of farm wagons.

The fence, hitching racks and stile have long since disappeared, but the old church, despite its many ups and downs, is standing staunch and true as ever, thank God. But sad to say, the number of members has dwindled to almost nothing, since the old congregation has passed on, but the few who are left are still pressing on to the goal. One man told me to be sure to write that Mrs. Salisbury was the "backbone" of the church. Then I think back to those days, when there were many "backbones" in our little church, all those dear old sisters and brothers of the Lord. I hope soon to meet in an unknown "circle in the sky, " the Richardsons, the Ren- frews, the Salisburys, the Rosencrans, the Whistlers, the Wingets, the Keeleys, the Fishers, etc., etc.

I wish I could remember who donated the bell and the little cottage organ, which has been replaced by a piano. I know that Harper Brothers Publishing Company (for whom the town was named) made some donations to the town and the church.

Our furniture dealer, John Ludwig, an old Catholic gentleman, donated a table which is a curio now with its movable top and receptacle beneath. In these late years Rev. Banghart donated a picture of the "Lord's Supper" which we prize very highly, and also a reading stand from the Rev. Pike.

"We have been most fortunate in having ministers from the Bethel Church during the last 13 years who have done much work for the Lord, instead of for money, and in that we have such true Christian neighbors, as our Catholic friends have been to us. For were it not for that, we would have had to close the doors long ago. But the Lord will provide as long as we put our trust in Him and we hope to carry on until He calls, and may we heed that call. We need not go to war or fight and shed blood to be obedient to that call, but live like Jesus did when He was here on earth."

Signed—Amelia Bower 1939

Through the years the church had a very active Sunday School. In 1932 Rev. Paul Hamilton was minister, Amelia Bower was superintendent of the Sunday School and Clara Crooks was her assistant. The teachers were Rev. Paul Hamilton, Amelia Bower, Edna Wilson, Mrs. Stapleton, Mrs. Ed- mondson, Clara Crooks, and Mrs. Yoder. Mary Simmons was secretary, with Virginia Clarahan as her assistant. Organist was Grace Clarahan. Mary Morrison was appointed to take charge of a Junior Choir.

In April of 1934 the church sold the south lot to Jess Gable. The trustees at that time were Mrs. W. H. Crooks, Mrs. Fred Wilson, and Mrs. H. P. Clarahan.

The church joined the Southeast Iowa Methodist Conference in 1939. The Harper church was to be a mission church with the minister from the Keota Methodist church preaching the Sunday Service. The following year the church was redecorated. The steeple was rebuilt, the outside painted, the interior was painted and electric lights installed. All of the labor and most of the material were donated.

Some of the last ministers to serve the church were Rev. Paul Hamilton, Rev. Barnhart, Rev. Colman, Rev. Prichard, Rev. Betz, Rev. Greer, and Rev. William Smith. Over the years the parish attendance had dropped and by 1957 the conference had warned the church if attendance didn't pick up they would close the church in six weeks. The attendance didn't pick up and in six weeks the church was closed and put up for sale. Henry and Marilyn Williams bought the church and land. In 1958 they tore the church down and built a home on the lot.

The pews, pulpit, and piano went to the Methodist Church in Keota for their use.

The northern part of Lafayette Township was settled largely by people of Scottish origin whose families had first settled in Tazewell, Illinois, then in 1854 came on to Iowa. Very soon, they began to investigate the possibility of establishing a Presbyterian Chruch in the community. Citizens in and about Sigourney met together at a Session meeting at South English on September 23, 1855, under the direction of officials of the Des Moines Presbytery, and the Church was fully organized. The following year a small frame building was erected in Sigourney with Rev. S. C. Kerr as the first pastor. He also conducted services in the homes at South English and Webster and often in the Wilson Schoolhouse that was also known as the Scotland School.

In October of 1859, the members in the eastern part of the area petitioned the Presbytery of Des Moines to organize themselves into a separate church. This petition was denied, and it was not until January 29, 1860, that the Church of Lafayette was officially reported as having been organized. Rev. D. V. Smock was instrumental in getting the members organized into a separate church and served as its pastor for seventeen years. In 1869, the frame church was built and dedicated to Rev. Smock.

In 1922, the Church was closed and the membership was transferred to the Keota Presbyterian Church. This did not prove satisfactory, and on June 1937, the Lafayette Presbyterian Church was organized. Though the Church was closed from 1922 to 1937, the Sunday School, which had been started in January 1885, reorganized in 1931, six years before the Church was reorganized. Ministers from the Keota Presbyterian Church, and later, the Federated Church, served the Scotland congregation for many years.

This Church was located in Section 8 of Layfayette Township, just east of the Loren Turnipseed home. In late years, the congregation voted to disband and the building was eventually sold in 1962 to Hal Huber who moved it to his farm. At a later date the building was again sold to Mr. Humphrey; a church converted into a farm building.

A ladies association, known as the Scotland Kensington was organized with the aim to promote the best interests of the community. While not a church organization, it had a close association with the Church.

CEMETERIES SERVING THE HARPER COMMUNITY

History records that along with the anticipation of establishing new homes, our pioneers were faced with the trauma of illness, and often death, in their families and realized the necessity of providing a place for the burial of their deceased.

Before cemeteries were established, burials were made in an appropriate spot in a farm field, or even in the yard of a home.

The first Catholic Cemetery to serve the new community of Baden was laid out on the Berg farm. Later most of the bodies were moved to Baden and Clear Creek Cemeteries when those cemeteries were established. However, the location of a few of them was lost, and they are still buried there. The present owner of this farm is Michael Berg, a great-great-grandson of the original owner, Michael Berg, who bought the land from the government in 1849.

The first death in Lafayette Township, then a part of a larger area called Clear Creek Precinct, was that of Peter Besser in October, 1844. Mr. Besser and his family had come from Germany to make a new home in Iowa, and had been in the township only about two weeks when he became ill with malarial fever which took his life. An article in the June 20, 1946 edition of the Keokuk County News states that Peter Besser's burial on October 11, 1844, was the first in- terment in the Shockley, sometimes called the Hornish, graveyard which is located southwest of Talleyrand, and is one of the oldest cemeteries in the county. Peter Besser was the father of Nicholas Besser, and a great-grandfather of William and Francis Besser of the Harper community.

Baden Cemetery

A few years after the town of Baden was platted and settled, and a Catholic Parish organized with the building of its first Church, the pioneers, to make their community complete, realized the need to have a parish cemetery established there. In July 1863, Ana K. Herman gave seven and a half acres of her farm, which was across the road east of the town, for the cemetery. This farm still carries the Herman name, being owned by Howard and Myron Herman, her  great-grandsons.

From the information available, the burial of Julie Michel, the two and a half year old daughter of Phillip and Eva Michel, who died September 28, 1863, can be considered one of the earliest burials, if not the first.

With the founding of the town of Harper, St. Elizabeth Parish moved the Church to the new location. However, Baden Cemetery continued to have burials there until the early 1900's.

As years passed by the cemetery fell into a period of neglect. Many of the headstones had fallen and some were broken. Those headstones not repaired and reset by families of the deceased were buried in the cemetery a little to the southeast of the gate. With the absence of many headstones, and there being no known plat of the cemetery, an accurate record of the burials is unavailable.

In 1970, the cemetery became the property of Lafayette Township under the supervision of its Board of Trustees. Consequently, it is now receiving township maintenance funds, is fenced, has an entrance gate, and is being well cared for.

St. Elizabeth Catholic Cemetery

In 1902, during the pastorate of Rev. H. Grothe, St. Elizabeth's Parish secured 1.79 acres of land from Mr. V. N. Striegel and 1.28 acres from Mr. Peter Boss, directly across the road from the Church for the Parish Cemetery. An interesting feature of the original layout of the cemetery is that the wide walkways were designed in the form of the Cross, and the burial plots filling in the remaining area.

St. Elizabeth Cemetery lies on level ground, is fenced on all sides; the fence facing the highway being a wrought iron fence, having a very attractive gateway at the center. There is a drive along the north, west, and south sides of the present burial space, with open gateways on the east.

In the early 1930's, two additional acres along the south side of the cemetery were made available by the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America for a legal fee of 75 cents. A row of evergreen trees set by the Pipeline Company separates the respective properties. This cemetery is very well cared for and the Church's Administration Board has a plat, which is kept up-to-date and lot assignments are recorded.

The first parishioner to be buried in the St. Elizabeth Catholic Cemetery was Mrs. Michael Striegel.

Lafayette Cemetery

Lafayette Cemetery was established presumably to fill a community need, as there was no other cemetery within a considerable distance. It is located two miles east and one-half mile north of Harper. The cemetery contains approximately five acres, divided into two equal sections, north and south. The south part is fenced and currently rented to an adjoining landowner, but remains available for burial purposes any time it may be needed. The north part is fenced, with plots and roadways mapped.

Lafayette is a very beautiful cemetery, lying near the top of a small rise in the landscape, and is well cared for. Years ago evergreen trees were planted in groups of four at regular intervals over the ground. Most of these have survived to this day. Two long benches toward the east end of the cemetery were once used at the time of Memorial Day Services, a tradition which, in recent years, has been discontinued.

A deed of record, dated March 20, 1871, indicates that the transfer of this land was made by the president and secretary of the School Board (Lafayette Center) to the Lafayette Cemetery Association. Originally, this Association was responsible for the maintenance of the cemetery. However, with township funds now available, this responsibility is in the hands of the Township Board of Trustees.

The first burial in Lafayette Cemetery was Winthrop McLoud, the 16-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. William McLoud. While the family was living on a farm one-half mile east of Harper, the son became ill and passed away. He was buried in the yard at the home. Later his body was moved to Lafayette Cemetery when it was opened for burials.

Burials of Deceased War Veterans

The tragedies of war did not by-pass families of the Harper community. We do not have a complete record of all the young men who lost their lives during a war, but we do list here all veterans who are buried in St. Elizabeth Catholic Cemetery and in Lafayette Cemetery.

St. Elizabeth Catholic Cemetery:
Civil War - M. J. Clarahan, Antone Feltz, Godfrey Klett, J. Peter Besser.
World War - Albert J. Linnenkamp, Frank N. Weber, Vincent Sondag, Frank Palmer, Jake Linnenkamp, Lawrence Herman, Carl Beinhart.
World War II - Fred Drumm, Dean Altenhofen, Charles Hammen, Alvin A. Redlinger, Warren Farrell, Edith Peiffer, Edwin Ruplinger, John Merz, Wilfred Striegel, Francis Ruplinger.
Korean War - John L. Linnenkamp, Dennis Klein.
Army Reserves - Donald Kimm, LaVern Striegel.

Frank Conkity, WWI, who was a member of St. Elizabeth Church at the time of his death, is buried in the Keota Cemetery.

Lafayette Cemetery:
War of 1812 - Marcus Cole.
Mexican War - Peter P. Scott.
Civil War - Jerry Fowler, Wm. Goeldener, Joseph McCord, Wm. Chesney, Harrison White, W. P. Rhodes.
Indian War - Geo. B. McDonald.
World War - Joe P. White.
World War - Richard Meier, Harold Clarahan.