I am originally from Iowa and have been researching my family that lived in Benton County in the 1870s. They later lived in South Dakota, which is why I came in contact with the work of the writer Hamlin Garland who, with his family, also moved to South Dakota after spending 10-plus years in Mitchell County, Iowa.
I would like to recommend Mr. Garland's book "A Son of the Middle Border." It contains many chapters about the specifics of living in Mitchell County from 1871 to 1881 plus. The parts of the book concerning Iowa begin when he is almost 11 years old. It is an excellent read for school children and adults, for he describes the joys and hardwork of living on the farm at that time in great detail. He tells of living for a year or so in Osage when he is about 15 because his father became "the official grain-buyer for the county." He speaks of the weather and the birds and animals and plants. He speaks of the roles of women and girls in quite an enlightened way.
Much of the time the book is so rich in detail that it appears to be a diary. Mr. Garland later wrote "A Daughter of the Middle Border," for which he won a Pulitzer. "A Son of the Middle Border" might be hard to find.
I live in Maryland, and was lucky to find the single copy in the county library system. It is from the 8th printing in 1958. Here are a couple of sites I found that give some information, but they really jump over his time in Iowa even though he spent his most formative years there.
- For persons who read the book, this site is very good because it includes pictures: http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/WIReader/WER0051-1.html.
He and his family should appear in the Mitchell County 1880 Census.
Donna Dyhrkopp Clarke <dyhrkoppclarke@yahoo.com>
Edited by Kermit L. Kittleson