GEORGE ALLANSON
George Allanson has a farm of three hundred and twenty acres of land on section 26. He came here in the summer of 1876, and bought land, which was unimproved, but soon made many improvements, and now has a fine dwelling surrounded by a beautiful grove in which are over one thousand evergreens, from five to twenty feet high, barns and every means of keeping his large number of stock. This stock is of the most valuable kind, he having over one hundred head of steers. His farm is known as one of the largest and best stock farms in the county. Mr. Allanson was born in Lower Canada, on the 13th of July, 1827, and when yet an infant, moved with his parents to Cherry Valley, Otsego county. New York State, and there remained several years, when he removed to Kane county, Illinois, where his father died. George was married in New York State, to Clara Marks, a daughter of David and Martha Marks. They have four children--Mary, wife of Samuel W. James, of Adair county; Edward G., Willis and Mabel C. Mrs. Allanson was born in 1830, in Cherry Valley, New York, and was a student of Alfred's academy, of Alleghany, New York, for several terms, and is probably best known to her friends as "Emilie Clare," having for years been a contributor to the literary publications of Chicago and New York. Mrs. Allanson descended from an old New England family, her mother being a niece of the famous Hugh Mitchel, who figured conspicuously as a strong opponent of the Tory and Indians, in the revolutionary struggle. One of the poems written by Mrs. Allanson, is given in this connection, as it is really meritorious and worthy of preservation:
A THOUGHT.
BY EMILIE CLARE.
It speeds across the continent,
And broad Pacific's wave,
O'er arid plains of burning sands,
Where Baltic waters lave;
Through oriental palaces,
'Mid ruins dim and old;
Adown the steep and dizzy shaft
Where miners delve for gold.
From clime to clime, and sea to sea
A shuttle vast and fleet.
It weaves the web of destiny,
For good, and wise, and great;
With fingers deft, invisible,
It writes the final scroll.
And seals a title for the skies,
Or sorrow for the soul.
And swifter than an eagle's flight
It seeks the prisoner's cell
To fold the downy wings of peace
Or ope the gates of hell.
None may deny an interview
To this self-invited guest,
Who in the gruesome hours of night
Would make, or mar his rest.
For thousands upon thousands wait
A thought's magnetic thrill,
So potent in its tireless round,
For blessings or for ill.
Resplendent diamond of the mind.
Reset in crowns above,
A glist'ning dew drop on the flower
Of Charity and Love!
And treasured as a thought may be
A twofold wealth is given
A path of peace while here below
And one of bliss in heaven;
But evil thoughts of sin and strife,
Resisting Mercy's plea.
Will madly follow on the way
To endless misery.
Contributed by Lisa Varnes-Rex, from "History of Cass County, Iowa. Together With Sketches of its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History: Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Representative Citizens." Springfield, Ill.: Continental Historical Company, 1884, pg. 771-772.
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