Below is an excerpt from the Jones County Historical Review Volume 7 #1 1981. On a previous post I mentioned hearing about a mother, father and baby who had died on the portion of Old Military Road near Langworthy, Iowa having been caught in a surprise blizzard, leaving behind 10 children. I came across this detailed account of the incident and thought I would include a portion of it now.
It was December 3, 1856, and it was to be a day of tragedy, long to be remembered in Jones County. On that day a killer blizzard struck Iowa, moving into the state from the northwest….
A pioneer family by the name of Wade, consisting of Mother, Father and 10 children had homesteaded on a piece of ground some two years before slightly south and west of the then small village of Monticello. The military trail passed directly in front of their cabin.
The cabin, of more than average proportion had been constructed with a large rock fireplace at one end of the combination kitchen and eating area, and two large bedrooms, narrow but long at the other end. The bedrooms were separated from the eating area and one another by log partitions.
Crude bunks for beds had been fashioned against the outer walls, then covered with prairie grass “ticks” and in these two bedrooms, children of the family slept- boys in one room , girls in the other. Brothers and sisters were almost evenly divided in number.
Mr. and Mrs. Wade retired nightly to a made up “tick” in the kitchen area, so they might keep the fireplace stoked, especially in damp or cold weather….
This early homestead was the first place on the left-hand side of the “Lower Prairieburg Road,” from it’s intersection with today’s highway 151. In 1856, this portion of the road…..was still part of the original military trail from Dubuque to Iowa City.
Mr and Mrs Wade had business in Langworthy on that ill-fated day. All of the children except the very youngest, a baby girl less than one year old, were left at home to fend for themselves, which for pioneer children wasn’t too difficult, and seldom was cause for anxiety to the parents..”
The day had dawned bright, clear and relatively mild. Not a great deal of snow lay on the ground; In fact, not enough to warrant taking the “bobsled”, rather than the farm wagon. Very little traffic at that time assured that there would be bare spots which would require an exertion on the pulling ability of the team, should the sled be used.
Heading out of the driveway, they turned left at the Military Road and progressed westward about a mile, where the trail then followed the land contour into a small gully, where the trail crossed a clear running stream.
Mrs. Wade was probably in high spirits, for she was going to Langworthy, and it would give her an opportunity to bargain for a few of the simple niceties at the “Buckhorn,” a combination provisions store and tavern.”
(Editor’s note: At this particular time the settlement was not officially known as Langworthy, but was most often referred to as “Spencers Place” due to the fact James Spencer had been the first to build a long cabin on the north bank of the stream. It was also referred to as “Buckhorn,” although there were many other “Buckhorns” scattered throughout the area.)
(Editors note: Evidence of the original route can still be found in this section for almost three-fourths of a mile, and is perhaps the ONLY clear cut portion of the “old military trail” still in existence between Dubuque and Iowa City) (and as I DM type this account January of 2008 it is still there, having visited it myself this past Summer) This portion is not only part of the military trail but is part of “Dillon’s Furrow” which pre-dated the military trail some six months, and which the Military engineers, under command of Jefferson Davis, later President of the Confederacy, followed in large part.)
I’m going to stop there with the account. In addition to this material there is additional information in the two volume Jones County History set which tells about what happened after it was discovered the parents had in fact died. I’m intending to include all of the information from both of these sources in my book On The Trail Of Lyman Dillon hopefully to be published sometime in 2009. Drop me a note if you have any specific questions or suggestions on anything you read on this blog. Sincerely, DM