West Liberty History 1838-1938

Source: One Hundred Years of History
* Commemorating a Century of Progress in the West Liberty Community * WEST LIBERTY, IOWA
THE TRUSTY FAMILY

Elijah Trusty and his wife, both former slaves, owned a 40-acre tract on South Prairie. Many of their children attended the Plum Grove school. One daughter, Susie, was adopted by a neighbor, Mrs. Thorp, a typical southern lady. Mrs. Thorp said that she thought as much of Susie as she did her own daughter Mary. When the census taker called and asked the number of children, Mrs. Thorp, without hesitation, said that she had three sons and two daughters. When he asked what color, that was not so easily answered but Mrs. Thorp satisfactorily explained the adoption. Susie grew to womanhood, married, and now owns and operates a rooming house in the suburbs of Minneapolis.

Ike, one of he many sons of the Trustys, when an epidemic of diphtheria prevailed, was terribly alarmed and wrapped yards of red flannel about his neck as a preventive. He looked much like a turkey gobbler, but the charm worked, and he escaped the dread disease.

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