Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-10-08
MRS. J. F. kERFooT HELPS UN.
VEIL MONUMENT.
In HONOR OF REVOLUTIONARY HERO
Daughters of the American Revolution
Dedicate Monument at Mt. Pleasant
to Memory of Charles Shepherd Sol
dier in Revolution,

/
American Revolution. was present at
| Mt. Pleasant at the recent unwilling of
the monument erected in Forest Home
| cemetery in memory of Charles Shep-
! herd, revolutionary soldier, who set
TIED IN iowa at an early date and who
| after ne died, was buried in an un-
marked grave some distance from the
! city. Through the efforts of the
| Daughters of the American Revolution
| the Iowa legislature was induced to
grant the sum of $500 for the pur-
pose of erecting suitable and lasting
memorial stone
While the exact location of the grave
is known it is in an out-of-the-way
place and it was thought that the pur-
| pose for which the monument was to
| be erected could be best carried out
in more popular and convenient loca-
| tlon. small plat of ground was do
mated in the Forest Home cemetery
and the monument erected upon it.
Exercises Simple.
The exercises attending the unveil-
| ing of the monument were simple but
were none the less beautiful because of
| their simplicity. The service was
opened with the song America" and
as the closing strains died away Mrs.
| kerfoot Of Ottumwa. Miss Emily
| Peckwith of Mt. Pleasant. both mem
/ Tiers of the Elizabeth Ross chapter of
| the Daughters of the American Revo-
| lution, with Mrs. Palm and Miss Penn
| from the Mt. Pleasant order of the
Daughters Of the Revolution released
| the curtain and revealed the statue
Addresses followed by George Van
Beck and by Senator Young of Wash
| ington.
In the afternoon the exercises were
continued in the Mt Pleasant Baptist
church. Judge A. r. Dewey of Wash
| ington delivered an address and pa
per giving sketch Of the
| life of Charles Shepherd was read by
| H. Heaton.
| The paper was as follows:
). Sketch of Charles Shepherd.
This man was Charles Shepherd
| He had been soldier of the war Of In
| depencence. serving as private in
the Pennsylvania troops under Capt
Patrick Duffee and Col Thomas Proc
tor For the three years OF his actu-
! q
/ sion OF eight dollars per month AT the
time of application for pension Shep-
herd lived at Duanesburg New York
and was fifty-eight years old.
The above facts | had from pension
commissioner. Lochran
He removed from Duanesburg to
Brooklyn and from thence to the Ter
ritory OF Iowa, with two of his sons,
who were married. Henry, the eldest,
settled on tract of land adjoining the
| salt or deer lick in Round Prairie town
ship, Jefferson county, now owned by
| Ward Lamson, and through tracing
| his eccentricities the writer learned of
the fathers having been revolution
/ airy war soldier. Joseph. the youngest
| of the three sons, lived with his par
ents in cabin beside the highway two
| miles west of where Rome has since
been built.
A Small Man.
Mr.. Shepherd is remembered as
being small man whom time had
bowed until he went almost double.
Like prophet in his own country,
4 he received little respect from his
neighbors, partly on account of the
/ worthless character of his sons; but
when immigrants and travellers in
passing his cabin learned of his his
tory many would stop to see him that
they might have the pleasure of say
ing they had seen Revolutionary
soldier These passers by would make
him small presents of tobacco and
whisky. To those. who, mindful of
the honorable part he bore in our
country's history and who cared to
listen, Shepherd was never tired of
fighting his battles all over again.
4 Deceived by His Son.
SIN the spring of 1874 Shepherd re-
moved to the east side Of the Skunk
river a mile north of Crawfords mill.
With what proved to the the last in
stallment of his pension that he lived
to receive he wished to enter the for.
ty acres on which his cabin stood. He
sent his sons to Fairfield to make the
entry for him. The day being cold
James left the ox-team in Joseph
care while ne went into the land Office
and made the entry. He made the
entry in his own name.
Death and Burial.
THE spring of 1S45 came on early
and in April the grass was high enough
! for cattle to feed. A number of young
men and boys were employed in get
ting material together to construct a
dam for the mill John Crawford had
built and which the rainy season of
1914 had prevented being built One
OF the young men called at the cabin
and found the old soldier very ill.
That night Mr.. Shepherd died.
and the young men, George Crawford,
Isaac Grant and several others buried
him on the hill just east of the house
where in his lifetime he had pointed
out the spot on which he wished to
be buried, and it is without doubt one
of the loyeliest spots in all the coun-
try in which hero should rest. over
looking as it does beautiful expanse
of both Henry and Jefferson counties
with the river cleaning through its
midst