Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-07-05
OLD Settlers REUNION.
MRS. MAReAREr RLA1R.

OLD Settlers REUNION.
MRS. MARGARET BLAIR.
This paper was not read at the Reunion.
Early in the spring of 1854 my hus-
band David j. Blair, of Hartland, Hur-
on county, Ohio, started west to find a
to settle where he could get
cheaper and better land than could be
had in that state. The first stop was
made in Gratiot county, Michigan; the
next in Walworth county, Wisconsin,
thence to Dubuque, Iowa, where his old
Ohio neighbor Capt. West, put him on
to the fact that the very finest prairie
land in the world was for sale by the
government in Delaware county 81. %
per acre. He and his son-in-law Edwin
Thomas, made the trip by team to Del.
aware county, were very much i'm
pressed by the beautiful prairie and 10.
Gated half a section each, Mr.. Blair's
section being the one on which the old
Blair homestead now owned by Miles
E. Blair still stands.
In the spring of 1866 Mr.. Blair with
his family started for the new Eldorado
by train, reaching Elgin, Illinois, early
in April, where We were met by our team
which had left Ohio the fall before,
driven by our son Charles, who remained
through the winter in southern Wiscon-
sin. After short rest hero we started
by team for Iowa, crossing. the Missis-
sippi river at Dubuque and arriving at
Deacon Robinson's. a mile north OF
Edgewood on the 2sth Of April, 1856.
Here we remained for few days get
ting the bearing of the new country and
that spring planting few acres Of corn
on the Hardin place joining Deacon
Robinson's to the west. After leaving
Deacon Robinson's we moved into a
house known afterward as the blair
Cave" on Sildon Bush's place on the
county line one mile west OF Edgewood
1t was only 14x18 feet square and had no
floors
We had no HOUSEHOLD goods, hs ours
had been shipped from Nowalk, Ohio
by rail and we did not get them for sew
eral weeks. We had no stove until
our goods came) so we built place out
side for a fire place, borrowed d kettle
and dripping pan, fixed up dry
goods box for cupboard, got few
slabs out Of which we made table and
benches for chairs. In this way we
lived until our goods got to Dubuque,
when we went after them, and was bet
ter fixed; but Notwithstanding these
privations we were never happier as
everything was new to us and thee
try looked beautiful. Mr. Blair found
an old shanty near by, which he con-
verified into a cooper shop and as soon
as his tools came with our goods he
went to work in the shop. He got all
the work he could do, as there was no
cooper here then.
Here we remained the first winter,
during which we were getting out tim
Der for the first house built the next
spring on the homestead, building
long since gone to decay. This first
winter was the finest we ever exper-
fenced in Iowa. 1t was pleasant and
not very cold.
Early in the spring Of 1856 we moved
to our new home. Just having had a
few acres of breaking done by Alden
Pierce, we put in few acres of wheat
in Norman Platt's place near the Bay
State Tavern on the county road, two
miles west of Edgewood. We now be-
gan to feel like living again, as we were
settled on our own place, but while it
was beautiful place with much to ell
joy, there were also many hardships TO
endure, and especially during the rigid
winter months following. Our house
was a good log one, but wood was
scarce and long distance to haul, SO
we had pretty hard times for the first
few winters.
About the first of August, of our first
summer here, clamity fell on our
little community in the shape of
cholera A short time before William
Stewart came west from New York
State. On his way he and his family
put up at u hotel where cholera pa
tient had just died. They came in to
Little York CLOSE by where we lived) and
after they got here his wife came down
with the cholera. A few days after
wards they sent for one our girls
to wait on her, my daughter Iva went
and SO did Mary Howe. Mr.. Stewards
two little girls was taken with it on
Sunday morning and died before night.
My daughter and Miss Howe put them
in their collins on Tuesday night. Iva
and Mary Howe took the cholera.
Mary died at half past six o'clock the
next morning and Iva died at half past
ten the same morning, this was on the
18th of August. There were in ull
twelve cases OF cholera in that nelghbor.
hood and nine deaths, Mrs. Field and
little daughter died whit. There were
three corpse taken to the grave yard in
one day. This spread black cloud
over the community and created great
panic in our little settlement.
| We had lots OF billiards. after
the first winter we came here.
During many OF the frequent billiards.
it was as much as ones life was worth
to go from the house to the barn and
many people lost their lives that were
obliged to leave home or that were
caught out away from home during
these storms.
After the country became settled and