Chapter X
Susanna Millan
was born in Virginia of patrician parentage whose uncles and great uncles had
served their state under presidents William H. Harrison and John Tyler. Since t his girl was later to become the
grandmother of Chariton’s late postmaster, Howard C. Copeland, her colorful
life-history, taken from her own hand written "journal" and given to this column
by Mrs. Edith Copland is worth reading and preserving in the annals of Lucas
county.
Her father was Henry B. Millan of the
Virginia State Militia. The description
of this young many springs to mind Saul, the Benjamite, tall, dark, handsome
and withal, stalwart and progressive. A
very spacious stone house built by the British near their Virginia home looked
irresistible to the Captain because his mother had had two pairs of twins and
it seemed wise to him to seek a large house.
As soon as his bride-to-be could finish her pillowslip full of
home-knitted stockings and a dozen patch work quilts (without which no Virginia
girl ever married) the wedding took place with many gifts and the regular
complement of slaves.
The stone house, vine clad and surrounded
by great trees had been vacant for many years, ever since the "Britishers" moved
out and left it to the bats and owls, but it had now been renovated and
furnished for the new family. They lived
there several years but the young mistress was unhappy because the slaves had
convinced her that it was haunted. The night
sounds inside and out were the g ghosts of the "Britishers" whom the slaves were
sure would carry off their young mistress some dark night. The Captain looked upon a frame house with
disdain but the wife preferred it so they moved to another place where they had
a form garden, arbors and lawn seats and a cemetery in which peach and pear
trees grew. Susanna writes that the most
delicious pairs grew nearest the graves and she always wondered while eating
them, which ancestor they were eating!
She had learned that in the economy of nature, "nothing is ever lost or
added and thus it is possible that the particles of which we are made are all
as old as the Creation."
But life in Virginia was to come to an
end. The big world outside was
beckoning. The Captain had a brother who
had emigrated to Missouri and whose letters were glowing with the riches and
blessings to be enjoyed in this "new west."
Eventually, the urge overcame all family protests and bribes and the day
came for departure. It was a sad, sad
day. Everyone was weeping, caught in the
agony of farewell and not the least was dear old black Aunt Hannah, in whose
spacious and generous arms each child had been tenderly nurtured. Aunt Hannah refused to be sold. She could not part from her mistress and
family nor could she bear to leave her husband, Uncle Ben, who was owned by another
planter. When he came over to bid her
goodbye, the "fruitful river in the eyes" of all were loosed and shattering sobs
took hold of everyone. It was too much
for the Captain. He mounted his horse,
rode over and bought Uncle Ben for $800.
Returning, he told Uncle Ben to get his clothes and come along. Uncle Ben threw his hat on the ground, gave
Mrs. Mill a tremendous hug and went to the Captain crying: "God will bless you
for this Marse, Henry!” Susanna wrote, "It was here that my father first realized that he had a heart and he felt that
God was on his side." A happy "camp
meeting" was held that night to celebrate the purchase of Uncle Ben.
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Next day the big schooner-like, six horse
wagon pulled out, plodding along for eight days toward the Ohio River, there to
meet the steamer that would take the family to the junction of the Mississippi,
then up to Green’s Landing 12 miles north of Hannibal. Uncle Ben was left behind to bring the teams
and wagon through. As he came through
the free states of Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana, he was told many times the he
was now in free country and was foolish to go on being a slave, but he was true
and loyal and would not leave "Marse Henry" and the family. (In the slave states, a slave could not go a
mile from his master’s property without being asked for his "pass").
Weeks’ later came the rendezvous and this
called for another camp meeting celebration.
Finally, they were all settled in their new home in Canton,
Missouri. Susanna writes, "We have found
everything better than what we had left.
Even the 'common' schools were excellent." From the common school, Susanna was sent to a private school for the
last five years of classical education.
Graduates from this school, in addition to all other prescribed
subjects, must be able to memorize and recite all the kings and queens of
England from Ethelred to Queen Victoria; all the 24 Empires before the
Christian era; all the states of the Union and who settled them; all the
planets and their satellites and many of the asteroids.
By this time, the restless spirit of the
Captain had occasioned another move for the family, this time to Lancaster,
Missouri. Another family from Virginia
was already there – the Custer family.
They had three daughters and one "shy, bashful" son, who was greatly
attracted to Miss Susanna, but her father had laid down the law that any man
she wished to marry must be a Virginia, a Whig and a Methodist. The Custer family scored on the first
qualifications, but alas! and alack! they were Democrats and Presbyterians! But love finds a way. The unacceptable was changed to the
acceptable and wedding bells rang, not only for James B. Custer and Susanna
Millan, but for two other young people in these families. Susanna's father, the Captain, was not yet
ready to live in a "free" state, so the family remained in Missouri, but the three
young couples, Mr. and Mrs. James B. Custer with their two brothers-in-law and
their wives came to what would later become Liberty Township, Lucas County,
Iowa in the year 1848. There were neither
towns nor roads. They followed the
Mormon Trail to Chariton Point, then leaving it, they traveled by compass and
some knowledge of surveying, following the divide between the Missouri and the
Mississippi Rivers, as did all the early explores and settlers. The blue stem prairie grass was so tall that a
man on horseback could not be seen.
Shannon Point was where Oakley now
is. Mr. Custer bought 600 acres of
land. In no time they built a 12-foot
square cabin with one door but no windows.
Indians were all about. One day
while James was out where the men were breaking prairie with six yoke of oxen,
several Indians came to the cabin.
Susanna saw them coming, put a ladder against the house, climbed to the
roof with her baby in her arms and pulled the ladder up after her. The Indians went inside but her husband had
seen them and came galloping in. He
ordered them to stay away, saying his "squaw" was afraid of them. One of them answered, "your squaw no good
squaw."
Two years went by when Susanna never saw a
white woman. The two brothers-in-law had
bought land also but too far apart to admit of fellowship. Susanna wrote, "One day James had to go out
to hunt the mules when he returned he found me crying. He said, ‘Oh, Susanna don’t cry. You don’t know what good news I have for
you. I saw some men up on the prairie
who are going to lay out a town and then you can go to church.’ The town was Chariton."
In due time the township was organize and
Mr. James B. Custer at age 23 was chosen Justice of the Peace. There was no courthouse so his cases were
tried in their log cabin. Susanna wrote
that while the first case was in progress, she was down at the barn dressing a
chicken for the gentlemen’s dinner, "which they seemed to relish so much." Later, Mr. Custer was elected County
Treasurer and continued to be re-elected for ten years. Their daughter, Caroline, married Howard
Darlington Copeland and the son of this union was the late Howard C. Copeland,
postmaster of Chariton for many years.
Susanna’s youngest sister, Pocohontas Millan, married Major Gardner
Hooper and they became thew parents of the late Harry Hooper, Thomas M. Hooper
and Stanton Hooper and of Mr. L. Kent Hooper who still resides in Chariton.
Chariton was growing. There was great joy in the spring of 1853
when the Land Office was located here.
No longer was it necessary to "send to Knoxville for mail and for Dr.
Huff." Dr. Charles Fitch located here. He later married and became the father of
five children, one of whom was Miss Laura Fitch, who became Lucas County School
Superintendent and later a teacher in the Chariton Schools for many years.
There was a new log courthouse. "Preaching" was held there on Sunday mornings
whenever an itinerant preacher came through.
On one occasion, two or three men who were out making hay, came in, set
their scythes at the door and attended the meeting. At the close of the service an announcement
was made that there would be a dance in the courthouse that night and everyone
was invited. Eventually there was
Chariton's first hotel - a double log house on the southeast corner of the
square. Henry Allen was proprietor. Dances and prayer meetings were held there
alternately.
Susanna writes: "There were many
doctors and too many lawyers. We have
the honorable T. M. Stuart" (the great-grandfather of Justice William C. Stuart) and we need no other. We are saving him for President and I’m going
to live longer to go to Washington City to hear him deliver his inaugural
address. It will be the proudest day of
my life."
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A much later entry in this journal is
this: “Chariton is now quite a city with two important railroads, the C B &
Q and the Rock Island and a fine prospect for a third – the Northwestern. Won’t we grow! We now have four fine school
buildings – not made of logs – a fine courthouse and six or seven fine
churches. I was the oldest grandmother
here – there may be two or three persons older but they did not come before the
town was laid out. When I look back and
contrast that with the style we put on now – our churches, sidewalks, paved
streets, I really don’t know whether this is me or not, but I hope it is.”
Time eventually built the entry “I am
nearing my 86th milestone. I am not as active as I was when we came
over that road 65 years ago, but I feel that I am the mother of Lucas County
that we tried so hard to find.”
Oh, our Pioneers! Are there any words to express the debt we
owe them? Their relatives back east were
ashamed of them and taunted them with “Only trash go to that jumping-off
place! It is outside the pale of
civilization.” How wrong, how very wrong
they were! Today as we spin along the
concrete ribbons and gaze at the incomparable beauty of the broad field, the
comfortable homes and the mechanized farming industry, let us sometimes turn
our minds to visualize the hostile prairie, the sullen forests, the
overwhelming prairie grass, the lurking death and the unspeakable loneliness…” Lest we forget, lest we forget.”
Pages 26-31
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Select Older Posts below right - for more chapters
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