Robert and Mary Jeanette had five children; Mary Elizabeth who married George Frain, William Alonzo who married Stella Kennedy, Ella Belle who married John J. Kilgore, John who married Bell Alexander, and Joseph who married Sarah Mercer.

Mary Elizabeth and George Frain were the parents of Mattie, Viola, Nettie, Lydia, Henry, Elmer, Sylvester, John Arthur, Clarence, Ernest, and Leona. Most of them lived in Pottawattamie Co. all their lives.

John and Bell Alexander moved to Council Bluffs and had three sons; Alonzo, Alfred and James.

Ella and John [Jack] Kilgore were the parents of Arthur, Vesta Viola and Clyde who was killed in Argonne, France during WW I. Two sons died at an early age, Ralph and Carl and are buried in the Carson Cemetery.

Joseph and Sarah were the parents of Delpha, Morris, Vena, Jennie, and Verne Alexander. They moved to Adair and later to Polk County.

Written and submitted by Gail Meyer Kilgore 2003.

FRAIN George Frain walked from Fayette, New York to Cedar County Iowa in 1837 to see if he would like living in Iowa. He built a two room house, put in a crop amd walked back to New York after his family. The next year they came to Iowa. About 1850 two of his sons, Peter and John, came to Pottawattamie county.  John didn’t like it but Peter stayed working as a ferryboat captain, farming and working in a mill. Peter married Lydia Smith daughter of John Smith of Grove Township. His sister Mary Catherine married Lydia’s brother Stephen. George and Mary Frain

The rivers and streams always seemed to go out of their banks with every heavy rain and anything in their path was washed away. During one such time as the water started coming into the mill, Peter lashed his wife and son to the upstairs steading of the mill so they would not be thrown around if the mill went. Soon it was washed down river where it lodged against some fallen trees. They spent the rest of the night on the roof of the mill until they could see to climb down. The next time Peter was not too fortunate. Lydia and the children were taken to her folks but Peter stayed to move the flour to the upper room and was expected to follow on horse when he had finished. However, the sand bags did not hold and the mill was washed away. This time Peter was drowned, October 12, 1861.

Peter and Lydia had four children George, Elizabeth who died when she was 16, Mary Frain Cavern who lived in Missouri and Margaret [Mag] Price, who lived in Kansas.

George worked out among the farmers and hauling grain to and from the mill with an oxen team when he was quite young. His favorite companion was his Uncle Steve, who taught him several trades so he could always find work even though he was only a boy. He always liked to tell his grandchildren that he once plowed up Macedonia. Old Macedonia was west of the present town and he was hired to plow the sod where the present town now is, walking behind an oxen team and sod buster or walking plow.

On March 5, 1875 he married Mary Elizabeth Alexander, daughter of Robert and Mary Jeanette Alexander. Their children were Masey Mabel [Mattie] who married Otto Roberson. Viola married Jacob Houser. Lydia married Frank Flowers. Margaret Janet married Albion Barr. Leone married Guy Armstrong. Oliver Allen died at am early age. Henry married Myrtle Houser. Elmer married Alta Barker and lived in Blair, Nebraska. Sylvester [Vess] married Helen King. John married Hattie Bisbee. Arthur married Joy Swacker. Clarence married Olive Freeman and in later years he married Gladys Campbell and lived in Council Bluffs. Ernest married Bertha Swacker and lived in Lincoln, Nebraska.

George and Mary Frain spent all their married life in Pottawattamie County except for one year when they tried living in Kansas. The hot winds and rattle snakes they would see crawling under the wall paper of the soddy or across the kitchen floor soon made them hurry back to Iowa the next year.

John Arno Graybill, son of Levi and Patience Graybill , was born August 4, 1854 near Wheeler Grove, east of Macedonia, Iowa. He married Frances [Fannie] M. Green on Feb. 18, 1880 and to this union was born ten children, five of whom died in infancy. The other five children are: Arno Peter, Leslie Gould, Elba George, Vena Muriel and Neva Wanda. John was a carpenter by trade and both he and Fannie were affiliated with the Reorganized Church of the Latter Day Saints. Fannie was born Aug. 4, 1861 in Fremont County, Iowa but lived in Carson, Iowa until her death May 26, 1920. She and Levi are buried in the Old Morman Cemetery, 3-1/2 miles east of Macedonia, Iowa.

Levi Graybill was born in Bloomfield Township, Jackson County, Ohio on March 12, 1818 and died Nov. 30, 1912. He married Patience Smith on June 21, 1841 and they moved to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1845, from Nauvoo to Kanesville [now Council Bluffs, Iowa] in June 1846. In the spring of 1847 Levi discovered a stone and a fall of water in the Nishna Botna River at Old Macedonia, Iowa and posted a squatter's notice at the waterfall and cleared 80 acres of timber near the river. Here he built the first log cabin one-half mile south of main street in the present Macedonia, Iowa. He moved his family back to live in the log cabin, later they moved to Wheeler Grove. Levi and Patience had several children but only five grew to maturity. Salathiel, Lafayette, David, John and Patience [Mrs. Sidney Pitt]. Levi was a farmer and a self-sustained missionary for the early Latter Day Saints and later was rebaptized into the Reorganized Latter Day Saints. Patience was born Nov. 26, 1825 and died Aug. 14, 1895. Both Levi and Patience are buried in the Old Morman Trail Cemetery,3-1/2 east of Macedonia, Iowa.

After the death of his wife Elisabeth in Adams County, he married Sarah Winegar. Their children were Rhoda Ann, Hiram, Samuel Carolos [Lot] and Abraham who married Olive Melissa Knopp. Several children died in infancy.

In the fall of 1847 Stephen Smith helped some friends and relatives move to Council Bluffs and he stayed there through the winter. Due to illness in the family and bad weather John Smith did not come all the way until April of 1848. He built the first house in what is now known as Macedonia Township and lived there six or seven years, In 1853 or 4 he built a house in Grove Township. He build a saw mill on Farm Creek and on Jordon Creek. Up until then the pioneers had been making their houses of round logs. However, the elements were against him and his saw mills were either washed away or damaged so badly he gave it up and devoted his life to farming. We know that he had a kind heart because when the Mormons were sick and starving out along the Platte he and some of his sons took some grain to the mill to be ground and took it to them so they could bake bread at least.

He served several terms as commissioner of his township and was a member of the County Board when the courthouse at Council Bluffs was built.

John Smith helped organize the first Religious Organization in Grove Township around 1863 and a church was built on the road north of the McKenzie Blacksmith shop near the Lawrence and Hollis Frain farm. Some of the first members were John Smith and wife Sarah, E. W. Knopp and wife, A. J. Fields and wife Sarah, James Otte and wife Mehitable, Levi Greybil [Graybill] and wife Patience, John Winegar and wife Eizabeth, Joseph Smith and wife Rachel and Stephen Smith. John Smith was president of the organization. John and Sarah and many of their descendants wre buried in the Latter Day Saints Cemetery in Grove Township.

Children of Stephen Smith and Mary Catherine Frain were Henry, George M., Mrs. Clara Bogue, Willard and Arthur.

Children of Peter Frain and Lydia Smith were George, Elisabeth, Mary and Margaret.

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