Earlier this Spring as I was doing research on my family tree I happened to read an account of two men who walked Old Military Road from Iowa City to Dubuque in 1920 Their story can be read here:
http://iagenweb.org/history/palimpsest/feb1921.htm
One thing led to another and I decided that I would like to do the same trip….tentatively planned for September 2008. In preparation for this walk, I am doing as much research as I can to identify the original route. A former teacher of mine is also interested in this project along with my wife. I have decided to pick out 5 or 6 specfic aspects of this route….using 1839-1939 as a guideline of what I’ll look into in more detail.
At this point here are some of the “themes” of my research:
Lyman Dillon
Bowen’s Prairie (a town that no longer exists but was on the original route)
Langworthy and my personal family of origin
Grant Wood/ artist who is from this area
Something pertaining to the spiritual and religious aspects of pioneer life during that first 100 yrs
??? One or two other themes yet to be decided on
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Tonight we went to the Cascade Protestant Cemetary to attempt to locate the gravestone of one of Lyman Dillon’s daughters Lyma Dillon Parrott who was said to be buried there….after looking around for 15 minutes we hit paydirt! We found Lyma’s marker right next to her dad Lyman’s as well as Charlotte’s (Lyman’s wife) as well as the tomb stones of Charlotte’s mother and father Alvin and Elizabeth Winchell
