Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-06-28

and died a high protective tariff man
and that he never missed chance to
vote against a free trade or low tariff
policy. His daughter, Elvira Branson,
grew to womanhood in the Ohio from
tier village, became a school teacher
and more than one prominent Ohio
man and woman owe their first educa.
tional instruction to her conscientious
effort.
John B. Lee was born in Hartford
county, Md, and comes of patriotic
and fighting stock. His grandfather.
Parker Hall Lee. was captain of
cavalry company in the Revolutionary
war and his father, William D. Lee,
was captain of cavalry company in
the war of 1912. He and his company
We're nearly captured by the British
when the latter destroyed the village
of Havre de Grace, at the head of
Chesapeake bay. Mr.. Lee was ten
years of age when the famous race oc-
CURED out of Baltimore between q
horse and locomotive, and 1t is a
notable fact that the horse won the
race The builder of the locomotive
on this famous occasion was no less
a, parsonage than Peter Cooper, who
afterwards became noted as very
wealthy man and philanthropist. The
horse won because the engineer could
not keep up sufficient head of steam,
but this embryo railroad was the be.
ginning of the great Baltimore &
Ohio system and was one of the first
pieces of railroad track constructed in
America.
-, ,s,~1s, nv
youth of seventeen, was attending
school at the boarding academy at the
country town of Belair, Md. One Sat
urday evening he went to his home
six miles distant and there met two
young merchants from the Ohio river,
who had been to Philadelphia on a
semi-annual trip to that market to buy
goods. In that day there were no trav-
cling statesmen and the merchant found
| it necessary to go to the market once
or twice year to replenish his stock.
These merchants We're Joseph Jones
and Elisha Cook The latter after
wards became resident Of Iowa, liv-
L ing at Oskalocsa for number of years.
The trip above referred to was not
only a business trip, but was also a
wedding trip, the young men having
recently married and bringing their
brides with them by stage coach over
the mountains to see the metropolis.
These brides were sisters, named
Ladd and we're si!lters of James D.
and Benjamin Ladd who afterwards
came to Iowa and lived for number
of years at Ottumwa.
In talking with these visitors at his
| Maryland home, the youthful Lee
caught the western fever and in less
than a week started for the then from
] tier settlements of the Ohio river II
is Of special interest to note how this
trip was made. He came by private
conveyance to Baltimore. From thai
point the Baltimore & Ohio railroad
had been built west for distance O
sixty miles to Frederictown. Mr.. Let
states that he well remembers hearing
aged wiseacres say that some day thu
road would be built west as far al
Cumberland, but it would never &
over the mountains" Railroading il
4 1897 was conducted on different plal
from the present. Going to the rail
road office in the evening our yonns
emigrant registered as a passenge
for the train that would leave the cit.
!. early in the morning. He told tn
agent in charge where he could b.
found and at an early hour in tn
morning the railroad company sen
out stage or bus to gather up all tn
J passengers who had registered TIL
train consisted of little locomotiv
! and cars that were simply the ole
fashioned stage put upon railroa
trucks An identically similar trail