OLD SETTLERS' MEETING.
While attending a camp-meeting at Camanche, in the summer of 1868, Mrs. Jane Vincent
Wilkes, a daughter of "Father Vincent," of whom much mention has been made in this work, and
Mrs. John R. Pearce, who was Miss Hannah Ferguson, and who came here with the Hess family,
met each other and talked over the "old times." Before separating, they resolved to make an effort for the re-union of the "old settlers." Mrs. Wilkes soon wrote the following poetical call, which was published in the Clinton Herald of August 22, and in response to which the formal call was made:
THE PIONEERS.
"More than forty years have passed away
Since first we came to Iowa.
For the broad prairies, where we might roam,
We left our kindred and Eastern home,
And made us farms on the prairie land,
Where sod had never been turned by man.
Far away it was from the civilized town,
On the banks of the river of great renown—
The broad Mississippi washed its shore,
The red man was leaving, to return no more;
'Twas beautiful! Seem'd like a garden then,
Waiting the plow of the first white men.
For many a mile no house was seen,
Only the waving grass so green—
No wonder the Indian, when acting as guide
To the first white man, who came to spy
What beautiful land had this red race,
Cried Iowa! Iowa! This is the place!
The white man's soul its beauty bad touched—
Answered the Indian with, "none-such, none-such."
The slow, plodding oxen were 'horses' then,
When they went anywhere, those women and men;
And when they would thresh out the wheat,
The oxen did it with their feet.
The grist was ground so far away
That often it took more than a night and a day.
When the time came round to hear the preaching,
'Twas the oxen they 'hawd' and 'gee'd' to the meeting.
In the quaint old days of an older time;
They worshiped God with a reverent mind.
No schoolhouse or church had these folks then,
Only the cabins of the pioneer men.
"Little by little they grew more strong;
The schoolhouse was made, where to teach the young.
And proud were they when the brick was built,
For it cost them denials; but the good was felt.
There, many a prayer and word for God
Was breathed by those now 'neath the sod.
But some we know are living yet,
Whose lives are good we can't, forget.
"But time has made great change since then.
There are plenty of homes and women and men,
Houses and barns, bushes and trees,
Now cover the ground where the grass waved free.
The prairie is dotted all over with farms,
While the grass and all its flowery charms
Make way for the farmer to grow his bread,
Where once the cattle and horses fed.
They plow while sitting, three horses in team;
Some try to plow and thresh by Steam;
They travel by railroad all through the land,
Where once it was hard to go with a span.
"Yes, time has made a change since then
There's some of them left, those pioneer men
Not many years will pass along,
Before that generation will be gone,
They were straight and strong thirty years ago,
Old people then we did not know;
But now the soul's house needs a deal of propping
The windows are dim, the roof needs thatching,
The uprights totter and tremble around,
A little more shaking and the house comes down.
"And now, before the last roll-call
Shall take some sway, make an effort all
Who used to be neighbors for many years,
To have a re-union of the Old Pioneers.
There are some in Lyons, Clinton, Camanche,
Living in city, town and ranche,
Who would all be glad to meet once more,
Before they leave for Eternity's shore;
To see the face and shake by the hand
Those we knew as the pioneer band.
"Friends, we've performed our promise to you,
Wrote in the paper; now what will you do?
Be quick, set the time, the place, we ask,
For the warm sun weather will soon be passed."
The first formal gathering of the early settlers of Clinton County was held on the beautiful bluff at the head of Second avenue, west of Clinton, Thursday, September 19,1878, and was attended by a large number of the pioneers, who, as they contrasted the scene at their feet with the same view when they first beheld it, must have experienced emotions too deep for ordinary words, and recollections not easy for the younger portion of the community to realize. Before 10 A. M., they began gathering, their carriages contrasting no less than the surrounding with those of the time when they located in the county. By 11:30, when the exercises began, there were on the grounds several hundred people, mostly Territorial residents of the county and their descendants. A speaker's stand and seats, swings, refreshments and other adjuncts of a real old-fashioned picnic were provided.
The assembly was called to order by Mr. Daniel Hess, President of the day, who introduced Rev. J. N. Seeley, one of the oldest settlers, who made a most excellent and fervent prayer, thanking the Father for this happy occasion and for all the blessings that have come to the community through civilization, and hoping that all present might so live as to arrive at full Christian fruition, and, like the golden sheaf, ripe in the season, be finally gathered to an eternal home of bliss.
Remarks were made by J. D. Bourne, Esq., of De Witt, who said he first passed along the Mississippi River on a pony in 1832, when there was not a house from Rock Island to Savannah. He related an amusing incident of how he and a party stopped at a log house on an island in Rock River and tarried all night, and how, after most of the inmates had gone to bed in the loft, the floor gave way, precipitating the gentlemen to the lower room, and when a light was struck none were found in a very presentable array, except a young couple who had been "sparking" in a corner of the room. (Laughter.) There were more people now present than could have been gathered together in two weeks in Territorial times. He thought the "young people" a little too fast, and that economy is what is now needed. The speaker had served eight years for Sheriff for $300, and done for $400 at the Recorder's office what the county is now paying $5,000 for. He said they lived just as well then as now—when they lighted their humble home. at night with candles made from the tallow of wild deer killed near by on the prairie. The speaker was then living in one of the oldest frame houses in the county. He first came into Iowa in 1833, when Dubuque consisted of a single log cabin.
Mr. Elijah Buell also made a few remarks, noting the great progress made in the county since he arrived, and the sturdy character of men of early times.
Judge Cotton, the orator of the day, spoke as follows:
PIONEER LIFE.
ADDRESS OF HON. A. B. COTTON AT THE OLD SETTLERS' PICNIC, IN CLINTON,
SEPTEMBER 19, 1878.
Mr. PRESIDENT, AND PIONEERS OP CLINTON COUNTY: This is the first formal meeting of the old settlers of Clinton County. We have present with us to-day the men who were the first to build a cabin, to plow a furrow, to erect a schoolhouse, or to organize a church within the limits of what is now Clinton County; and we have present the women who were the first of a civilized race to pluck a flower from its beautiful prairies.
These are the men and these are the women who inaugurated the era of civilization in this land, and will ever stand at the head of that interminable Succession of free and enlightened people who are to follow in the ages to come.
Little do you old settlers appreciate the important work which it has been your mission to accomplish, or the part which you have had in that grand transformation which has changed what, for unknown centuries, had been the land of the savage to that which is to be, during all future time, the abode of civilized man.
It was Bishop Berkeley. of England, a great friend to America, who,
almost a century and a half ago, wrote those memorable lines;
"Westward the course of empire takes its way;
The four first acts already past,
A fifth shall close the drama with the day
Time's noblest offspring is the last.
"In happy climes, where from the genial sun
And virgin earth such scenes ensue,
The force of art by nature seems outdone,
And fancied beauties, by the true.
"There shall be sung another golden age,
The rise of empire and of arts,
The good and great inspiring epic rage,
The wisest heads and noblest hearts."
You led the van in this westward march of Empire, and joined is's laying the foundations of a new State. You came intent on securing a home and independence, whatever hardships and privations that might involve. And now, away down in Time's course, in the year 1878, at a long distance in the journey of life from the point at which you set out on your pioneer career, you have to look back over what once seemed a rugged, but now appears but a pleasant patio in life's journey, to talk over the events that occurred by the way, and to read the names of those who were your early comrades, but are with you no more.
I have thought on title occasion it would not be inappropriate to give something of a history of Clinton County.
Iowa is embraced its what. is known as the Louisiana Purchase, which was acquired from France under treaty with Napoleon, in 1803.
On the 12th day of June, 1838, Congress passed an act, which took effect July 3,1838, creating the Territorial Government of Iowa.
January 11, 1840, the Territorial Legislature enacted a law organizing the county of Clinton,
the county to be established from and after the 1st day of March, 1840, and making Camanche the seat of justice, at which place the first term of the United States District Court in Clinton County was begun, October 12, 1840, with the Hon. Thomas S. Williams as Judge; James D. Bourne, Sheriff; and Martin Dunning, Clerk. Judge Wilson continues to reside at Dubuque and is still engaged in the active practice of the law, and Mr. Bourne, whose home is in De Witt. is hale and youthful, and is on the grounds with us to-day. Martin Dunning died at Comanche a few years since.
The first trial was October 14, 1840, of an appeal case, in which John Thomas was plaintiff and John Eldred defendant and the twelve good and lawful men who composed the jury were William H. Onley, John Sloan, Philip Deeds, Nathaniel Barber, William Pearsoll, Reuben Root,
Daniel Hess, Robert Aikman, Stephen Tripp, Charles E. Langford, Francis F. Ketchum and Stephen Briggs, who found a verdict of 55.25 for the appellee, but the record does not disclose; without an examination of the files in the case, who was the appellee and the winning man.
The second jury trial did not occur until April 14, 1841, which was between James W. Kirtley and George W. H. Turner, and before a jury consisting of M. A. Harrington, R. It. Benedict, John Peck, Seth Loon, William Welch, Robert Thomas, Simeon Gardner, William V. Follett, Charles Bovard, Absolam Dennis, Robert Aikman and Amos Holoway; and the verdict was an improvement iin size on that at the first trial, having been for S7.35 for the plaintiff, Kirtley.
The grand jury empaneled at the organization of the court, October 12, 1840, to inquire of public offenses committed in the county of Clinton, embraced James Clayborn, Richard Crawshaw, Robert Thomas, Shubael Coy, Benjamin Baker, Otis Benedict, Richard H. Damson, Eldred Beard, Henry Strickler, Robert C. Booing, Alanson Dickerman, Arthur Smiths, Samuel N. Bedford, George W. Harlan, John Welsh, Absalom Dennis, John C. Holbrook, Simeon Gardiner and Ralph R. Benedict, with Richard H. Damson, Foreman.
The list of grand jurymen at the second term of court, which commenced April 12, 1841, also includes many familiar names: James Hall, Robert Smith, Herman B. Shaff, Jonathan L. Pearce, Otis Bennett, John D. Simmons, Isaac Ramsey, John R. Boyd, John Aikman, William Hogan, Lyman Evans, Daniel Hess, LeRoy Dutton, Franklin K. Peck and Charles Harrison, and had Lyman Evans for foreman.
The act organizing Clinton County declares that the County Commissioners and other officers should be elected on the first Monday in April, 1840, but I find no record of any proceedings by the Board of Commissioners until January 5,1841, when Elijah Buell, Robert C. Bourne and Eli Goddard, who were elected October Cs, 1840, met at the house of Samuel Doolittle, in Camanche.
It is interesting to observe the moderate taxes of that day. The Board adopted a resolution, classifying lands, declaring that first-rate lands should be valued at $3 per acre; second rate, at $2.50, and third rate, at $2 per acre; and that the rate of tax should be 5 mills. In the statement of the account made in July, 1841, by the Board of Commissioners, with James D. Bourne, tax collector, he is charged with $472.18 as the amount of the tax list of Clinton County for the year 1841.
Those voluminous title records now appearing in the office of the County Recorder had their beginning on the 5th day of May, 1840, with Reuben Root as Recorder, when a mortgage was recorded, made by John C. Holbrook to Melvin Lord, en the southwest quarter of Section 13, Town 81, Range 6, also on a quarter-section, stated to be adjoining, and on another quarter-section on Beaver Island, known as the Booth Claim. It was not until June 12, 1840, that the first deed of conveyance was recorded. That was a deed from Nathan Atwell to George Merriam for Lots 3 and 4 in Block 4, Range 1, with a house in Camanche, according to plat made by George Peck, consideration, $1,000, and title warranted against all claims but those of the United States, a rather superficial title. Camanche was platted in advance of the entry of the land at the United States Land Office, and this accounts for the character of the covenants of warranty.
Those settlers who secured on the bank of the Mississippi what were regarded as favorable sites for future cities had a due appreciation of the natural advantages of these points, and soon
had the plats planned and surveyed, and with such ample dimensions as not to cramp the growth of the rising cities, and the proprietors bestowed upon them names of no insignificant import.
New York was located en a part of the now site of Clinton. The name New York appears on the official plat of the Government survey, but no plat of the town was ever recorded in the records of Clinton County, so New York vanished with the entry of the land on which it baa been founded.
Lyons was surveyed and platted in 1887, and the proprietors, Elijah Bush, Beal Randall, Dennis Warren, George W. Harlan and Chalkley A. Hoag, made division of Iota by placing the numbers in a hat and drawing there from. The first survey was by Crawford, but, after the entry of the land, in 1840, John Brophy remodeled the plat and the parties made deeds to each other in pursuance of the division of the lots they had previously made. The name of Camanche, as well as that of Lyons, also appears on the p1at of the United States survey.
January 14, 1841, the Territorial Legislature passed a law appointing William Miller, of Cedar County, Andrew F. Russell, of Scott County, and William A. Warren, of Jackson County, Commissioners to relocate the county seat of Clinton County, and they were directed to meet at the house of Abraham Folkes, in Clear Creek Precinct, within six months thereafter, and to proceed and locate the seat of justice as near the geographical center of the county as a good and suitable situation, convenient to wood and water, could be found : and the Commissioners wore authorized to name the county seat. The law provided that Camanche should remain the temporary county seat until the Judge of the District Court should be notified in writing, by the County Commissioners, that suitable buildings were erected at said seat of justice for the accommodation 'of the court and suitors; nod that when the Judge should be so notified, the Sheriff should give notice that the next term of the Court would beheld at the new seat of justice.
The Commissioners accordingly met on the 18th day of March, 1841, and made the location, and reported that on that day they had located the seat of justice of Clinton County by setting a, stake in or near the center of the north half of Section 18, Township 81, Range 4, and by naming the seat of justice—in accordance with the will of the people as near as they could ascertain—Vandenburg. October 4, 1841, the Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution that Hon. Thomas S. Wilson be notified "that there are suitable buildings now erected at the town of Vandenburg to accommodate the court and suitors of the District Court for the county of Clinton for the October term, 1841,'' and the court at that term commenced being hold at Vandenburg. It was understood the name Vandenburg was chosen because if was that of a sweetheart of Col. Warren.
By an act of the Legislature, February 17, 1842, the name Vandeuburg was changed to De Witt.
The accommodations thus provided for the court and suitors consisted of a very fair log building, which supplied the court-room and the jury-rooms, and it was in this court-room, in 1844, that I first saw a court in session in Iowa, and, in fact, the first court at which I was ever present.
There was not a great pressure of law business in those days, and the Judge did not hesitate to adjourn court occasionally to and go prairie-chicken shooting with the Sheriff (Bourne), and, in as much as Uncle Sam paid the court expenses, the people bad no ground for complaint. The
lodging accommodations for suitors, witnesses and jurymon, during
court, were furnished in a pretty compact form, chiefly at the houses of Seth Lum and Col. Lyman Evans.
De Witt continued the county seat until the removal, in 1869, to block 8, in North Clinton, where the first term of court was begun November 22, 18fi9, J. Scott Richmond, Judge.
February 12, 1844, the first step was taken toward obtaining the admission of the Slate of Iowa Into the Union, by the passage of a law by the Territorial Legislature, providing for the expression of the opinion of the people of the Territory at the April election of that year, upon the subject of the formation of a State Constitution. The method of taking this expression was rather novel. The law provided, that, as each elector approached the polls, he should be asked whether he was in favor or against a convention, and that he should respond, simply, Convention," or " No Convention," and that the officers of the election should thereupon record his name and his decision. The majority-opinion proved to be favorable, and, in accordance with the law in that event, delegates to form a Slate Constitution were elected at the general election in August, 1844. They convened en the first Monday in October, and the Constitution formed by them was submitted to the people for adoption or rejection at the August election, 1845. In the mean time, and on the 3d day of March, 1845, Congress passed a law for the admission of Iowa under that Constitution; but, in the law, the western boundary of the State was fixed at 17 30' west of the Meridian of Washington, which is only some thirty miles west of Des Moines, the present capital of the State; and when the people came to vote, the manner of doing which was also on the viva voce plan, each elector being interrogated and responding "Constitution,'' or "No Constitution,'' a majority answered " No Constitution." They decided wisely in rejecting admission, with a boundary with would have so detracted from the present limits and importance of the State.
The question of admission was not suffered to rest long. The Legislature, on the 17th day of January, 1846, fixed the next April election as the time to elect delegates to another convention. This convention, on the 18th day of the following May, completed the Constitution which was voted on and adopted by the people at the August election, 1846.
And en the 28th day of December, of that year, Congress passed the final act, in which it is declared "that the State of Iowa shall be one, and is hereby declared to be one, of the United States of America, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever."
Let us take a little view of the marvelous growth and development in this county. We all remember well when it wan thought that, in consequence of the distance to timber, the large prairies in this county could not be settled, not certainly in our time, and when parties desired to enter Government land to obtain a little advance on it, they were careful to make selections as near timber as possible. The early settlements were made in the skirts of the groves. A good spring, or a lasting stream of water and a piece of timber, were decisive of the spot where the early settler would establish his home.
By and by the speculators, in entering land, became a little bolder, and they came to believe that it was not very hazardous to locate land in the middle of our prairies. The settlements, in like manner, grew and extended from the groves out toward the center of the prairies, and we began to find those meandering and pleasant reads by which we used to pass in any direction we pleased, in crossing the uninhabited prairie, obstructed by the obtrusive farmer, who persisted in having the roads straightened and put en the boundary lines of his farm, until at last the county has become one solid block of farms.
At the organization of the county, in 1840, it bad a population of 821 in 1850, it had 2,822. During the next ten yearn, if had a large increase in population, the census of 1860 showing 18,938, against the 2,822 in 1850. and during the next ten years ending in 1870, the population grew to 35,357.
The acres of improved land in 1850, were 19,008, and in 1870. 323.182.
The county produced in 1850, 61,945 bushels of wheat in 1860, 592,117 bushels ; in 1870, 954,175 bushels, and, in 1874, 1,010,345 bushels.
In 1850, there were 94,050 bushels of corn ; in 1860, 795,305 bushels in 1870, 2,493,660, and in 1874, 3,061,338 bushels; so we have no reason to fear a famine in this county from the-present outlook.
The census of 1870 puts down the estimated true value of real and personal property in the county at $20,207,080; and the census further shows what is unquestionably very satisfactory to the old settlers, an well as new, that the county has not one dollar of bonded debt.
In securing railroads through ifs limits, the county has also been exceedingly fortunate.
It was a marvel to you old settlers to see in your day the path of the Indian superseded by the railway. Within twenty years of the first settlement of this county, a railroad had been constructed part-way through and put in operation. The county is now interlaced with railroads, there being within its limits 143 miles of railroad, believed to exceed the number of miles in any other county in the State.
The first telegraph line and the first railroad extending to the Pacific coast were constructed. through Clinton County.
The first settlers were not mistaken in their opinion that they were locating where would pass a great line of railroad stretching across the continent.
The theory of Mr. Elijah Bush and others was, that here the Mississippi approaches nearest to the lakes between this point and Chicago, the shortest line of transportation by land; here are the narrows in the river, a favorable crossing, and that a railroad from Chicago would be directed to this point Before a railroad had reached the Mississippi, Dennis Warren used to tell us that the tea from China was bound to be shipped through to the East by a railroad passing right by this point.
These men have lived to see all these things come to pass.
You old settlers have great reason to be gratified with the prosperity of the county, in the development of which you have taken so prominent a part; and you who saw it in the days of its poverty and weakness, above all others, can appreciate its present strength and wealth; and you are to be thanked, and your good judgment commended for that economical and successful management of its affairs during the years of its growth, which aided its rapid progress, and enables it to appear to-day in so sound a financial condition.
I understand that for this meeting we are indebted to the ladies; that they were the first to propose it; and that it was one of these ladies who composed the poetry on early times in this county, which was read with so much interest recently, in one of our newspapers, and we thank chose ladies for having brought about this meeting.
I have taken quite enough of your time. We are all anxious to hear from the old settlers present, many of whom preceded by a number of years the arrival of my father and his family, including myself, and they can tell 1ou of the county and its settlers before I had knowledge of it.
The roll of old settlers, which it is proposed to make to-day, we realize, will not be long responded to by all whose names will be thereon inscribed, and that as the advancing years increase the number will be reduced, until not one will remain as the custodian of this record
"Like as star by star declines,
Till all are passed away,
As morning higher and higher shines
To pare and perfect day.
Nor sink these stars in empty night
They hide themselves in heaven's own light."
Other old settlers would have made remarks had it not been for the threatening weather, which made it advisable to proceed first with the dinner and organization of the Society, and have afterward any extempore speeches. Accordingly the well-filled baskets were opened and the next hour was a merry scene of al fresco feasting and sociability.
Among the early settlers present were: Mrs. Mary Pearce, widow of J. L. Pearce, Sr., eighty-eight years of age, who arrived in 1887; Mrs. Elmira Seymour, widow of Judge Seymour, eighty-three years old, who arrived in 1841, was present, also Mr. and Mrs. William Roberts, who came in 1837. There were also present Dr. I. P. Yeomans, 1837; Capt. F. K. Peck, 1837, appointed by Gov. Dodge the first militia Captain in the Territory; S. L. Horn, a Territorial resident of Muscatine County; Charles and George N. Thomas, 1837:James Cassady, 1850; Elijah Buell, 1835: David Hess, 1839; Thomas Harbean, 1847; Adam and Aleck Dunn, 1839, and their wives, formerly the Misses Crawshaw, 1837; George P. Baker, 1838; Benjamin Lake, 1839; H. B. Schoff, of Camanche. 1837; C. L. Dutcher, 1841; Homer Carpenter, 1845; G. A. Griswold, Elk River, 1839; M. T. Sweeney, 1844; Samuel Perrin. 1836, and others, including Messrs. F. P. Wilcox, A. P. Hosford, J. C. Young and R. S. Seaman, who came from 1854 to 1858.
As officers of the Pioneers' Society were chosen: President, Daniel Hess, of Lyons; Vice Presidents, J. D. Bourne, of DeWitt; George A. Griswold, of Elk River, and H. B. Shaff, of Camanche; Secretary, A. R. Cotton. of Clinton; Treasurer, Elijah Buell, of Lyons; Executive Committee, E. Buell, Ira Stockwell, S. R. Pearce, G. N. Thomas, C. L. Seymour; and Mmes. Jane C. Wilkes, Hannah P. Pearce, Ellen Hess, Jane T. Baker and Betsev Foster.
It was desired to draw the line of membership in the association on the date of the Iowa's admission into the Union, December, 1846, and necessarily excluded many who would otherwise have joined, including Mr. H. Carpenter, of Camanche. who came in 1837 to the Territory; Dr. Yeomans, 1837; M. T. Sweeney, in 1841; but all locating since 1846 in the county. Others were present and entitled to join, but had left the grounds in apprehension of a storm. Autographs were secured as members of the Society with date of locating in the Territory of the following old settlers:
GENTLEMEN
NAME
In Territory
In County
James D. Bourne
June 1833
Sept. 1836
Elijah Buell
July, 1835
July, 1835
Franklin K. Peck
Feb., 1837
Feb., 1837
John R. Pierce
Nov., 1837
March, 1845
Daniel Hess
June, 1838
June, 1838
C. L. Dutcher
June, 1841
June, 1841
G. A. Griswold
June, 1839
July 1839
William Roberts
Sept 1837
Sept., 1837
Ira Stockwell
April, 1840
April, 1840
Heman B. Shaff
March, 1830
March 1839
Sheldon Wood
Oct., 1842
Oct, 1842
George N. Thomas
July 1844
July 1844
Charles Thomsas
Oct., 1837
Oct., 1837
Jonathan L. Pearce
Nov., 1838
Nov., 1938
George P. Baker
June 1838
June, 1838
Samuel T. Perrin
March 1837
March, 1837
David Hess
June, 1839
June, 1839
Jackson Knapp
June 1939
June 1839
Jesse N. Seeley
Oct., 1843
Oct., 1843
Aylett Rains Cotton
May, 1844
May, 1844
Christopher C. Roberts
Sept, 1837
Sept, 1837
William D. Follett
Aug., 1837
Aug., 1837
C. L. Seymour
March, 1838
March, 1838
LADIES
NAME
In Territory
In County
Eunice R. Lake
Nov., 1838
Nov., 1838
Frances Hess
June, 1840
Aug., 1843
Tryphene C. Snyder
Nov., 1838
Nov., 1838
Hannah P. Pearce
Oct., 1837
March, 1845
Jane Vincent Wilkes
June, 1844
June, 1844
Sarah J. Roberts
Sept., 1837
Sept., 1837
Jane T. Baker
Feb., 1837
Feb., 1837
Hannah Dutcher
Aug., 1842
Aug., 1844
Mary. J. Strahan
Nov., 1846
Nov., 1846
Emma E. Cone
May, 1842
May, 1842
Jane B. Harrison
March 1837
March, 1839
Frances P. Hart
Nov., 1846
Nov., 1846
Frances E. Peck
March, 1838
March, 1838
Almira Seymour
May, 1841
May 1841
Teresa O. Thomas
July, 1844
July 1844
Mary F. Knapp
Sept., 1837
Sept., 1837
Maggie A. Wilson
June, 1841
June, 1841
The book of autographs was placed in the charge of J. R. Pearce, who, by the next annual meeting, will probably have 100 names enrolled.
The initial gathering of the Society was so heartily enjoyed—a re-union of the patriarchs of Clinton County and their branching families—that it is probable that this year's meeting (1879) will be even more largely attended, and that, as successive years diminish the numbers of the surviving pioneers, their gatherings will become occasions more and more sacred to both themselves and other participants. From the first meeting, those present dispersed with quickened and revived sentiments such as Burns immortalized in—
"Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to min'?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?
"We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu'd the gowan fine;
But we've wandered mony a wearie foot
Sin' auld lang sync.
And here's a hand, my trusty frere,
And gie us a hand of thins,
And we'll tak' a right gude willie.waught
For auld lang syne."
After the "picnic," Mrs. Wilkes wrote the following, which was also published in the Herald, and the sentiment of which the "old settlers" will fully appreciate and consider a proper addenda to the report of their proceedings:
A MEMENTO OF THE OLD SETYLERS' MEETING.
"We have looked on the face of our old-time friends,
And received a friendly greeting;
We have heard the voice and clasped the hand,
For we've been to the pioneers' meeting,
We have listened to hear of the olden days
When land was cheap and plenty,
The cabin homes had enough always
Though the money purse was empty.
"How the wives, to help the ways and means,
Parched peas and corn for coffee;
Sugar was scarce for cake, it seems,
And none was left for taffy.
424
.
Sisters and mothers, 0. how they spun
To make the cloth and yarn for stockings;
Money was scarce—not every one
Could run to the store to do the shopping.
"No silks or worsteds for variety then,
But colored cloth for Monday's working,
While the pretty calico did service when
Their work was done or for the Sunday's wearing.
We met on the beautiful bluffs—
'Twas back of the city of Clinton;
How the wind blew the dust in puffs
Was something that might be mentioned.
"It blew so fierce and strong,
Our speaker spoke more loudly,
The dust bad peppered the listening throng,
And the sky above was cloudy;
The Storm King's voice was heard,
Over our heads the clouds were chasing,
It's going to rain,' some said end feared,
And so for home were hast'ning.
It did not rain, and those who stayed
Had dinner on the benches;
Their tongues—they were not afraid,
For they talked and ate the lunches.
'Twas pleasant thus to meet again
In times that are so changing;
Some we missed, and it was with pain—
They are gone where we are hastening.
We missed among the living. with regret.
One we had wished was near
We missed the voice and halting step
Of Emerson, the Parson Pioneer.
One said, 'It makes me glad and tsakes toe sal:
Glad to see once more the faces
Of those we knew when youth with health was clad—
On which time now had left such traces.
"Sad to see the thin and pallid cheek
Disease had made so feeble;
The quivering lips that scarce could speak,
And mind so gone that once was able.
When clouds of adversity hide our sun.
Sorrow's wind blows the dust of repining;
We'll think how sweet our rest erelong-—
God's love is always shining.
"No wonder we love this house of clay,
When for three score and ten we in it stay;
But when nature has had its longest day.
Or disease has worn the props away,
We will out of the old house and into the new.
For there's One awaiting for me and for you:
Then never shall we he sad any more,
But glad we have reached a sinless shore
In a re-union with those we love
We are parted no more in that home above.''
SOURCE: Allen, L. P., History of Clinton County, Iowa, Containing A History of the County, it's Cities, Towns, Etc. and Biographical Sketches of Citizens, War Record of it's Volunteers in the late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics, Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men, History of the Northwest, History of Iowa, Map of Clinton County, Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c, &c., Illustrated. Chicago IL; Western Historical Company, 1879