The Carthage Republican
Carthage, Illinois
Wednesday
June 17, 1891
Page 1
Column 3THE SCRIBE'S HOLIDAY
One Saturday afternoon, self, wife, Iernel, our baby, and Mrs. S. A. Riggin's wife's sister, boarded the train at Colmar, and in one half hour were landed at Macomb. At the depot our old friend J. C. Rhea was in waiting with a hack to convey us to his fine home in the eastern part of the city. Mr. Rhea lived in Hancock township from infancy until after his marriage in 1850. He is a son of Lewis Rhea, one of the first settlers in this part of the county; came perhaps as early as 1826. His wife was raised in this township near Jo Duncan, east from Ft. Green, and one of the most intimate lady friends in our young days. Mr. R. has lived in Macomb for twenty-five years past; has been during that time in the employ of the C. B. & Q. R. R. Co. Our mission was to unite in the holy bands of matrimony, our brother-in-law, Mr. T. B. McCubbin, of Selma, California, and Mrs. Jennie Lampher, of Macomb. The ceremony was performed at 10 o'clock a. m., Sunday, in the presence of relations and a few invited friends, in the parlor of our friend Mr. Rhea. The groom is well known in Hancock county. The bride is a charming lady, well educated, has property in Macomb, no children, or relations in Illinois. She was attired in a lavender colored armure silk dress, trimmed in brocade, bonnet to match, made of same material, with elaborate trimmings. The groom wore the conventional black suit. Among the guests were A. J. Camren and wife. Mr. C. some years ago resided in Carthage; was in business with the late Dr. J. M. Randolph. He was born and raised in this township, leaving at about the age of 25 years. Mrs. Camron nee Wilson, was born in St. Marys township. It was truly a great rest for ye humble scribe. We also here met Miss Nina Rhea, who's father and mother was the first couple we ever married, perhaps ??????? years ago. The groom, bride and several guests attended services at the M. E. church in the morning; upon their return a magnificent wedding dinner was served. Mrs. Rhea and her accomplished daughter know exactly how to do these things. The newly married couple will be given a reception at the home of Dr. Booz tomorrow. We returned home Sunday evening, arriving at 9 o'clock, to reflect upon the events of our youthful days; to call up in memory many friends of those days who are either summoned to other localities, or have gone to the "undiscovered country."
Macomb from what we saw is improving rapidly; the electric lights are splendid. However we saw little, being worn out with hard work; we did not leave the grounds of our friend Rhea until train time Sunday evening. Would gladly have called upon many friends had we been differently situated.
COUNTRY JAKE.
The Carthage Republican
Carthage, Illinois
Wednesday
January 9, 1901
Page 5
Column 6Golden Wedding Anniversary
The golden wedding anniversary of Dr. and Mrs. Wm. Booz is being quietly celebrated today by the family, at their home in this city. Historical sketch next week.
Hancock County Historical Society
Carthage, IllinoisObit 1
Page 51
THE PASSING OF DR. BOOZ. After a Year of Suffering and Final Longing
for the End, the Spirit of this Noted Phy-
sician, Preacher, Philosopher and Friend
Passed to the Painless Realms of the Un-
known -- A Great Character.All that was mortal of Dr. Booz was laid reverently to rest in Moss Ridge last Friday. His soul, the sweet fragrance of his memory and the beneficent effects of his medical skill, his preaching, his philosophy and his friendship, are marching on and will endure long after those who knew him best, have joined their mentor in the silent halls of death.
William Booz was born on a plantation in Woodford Co., Ky. on March 16th, 1831. His father was an overseer and until six years of age William was a mere incident in the strenuous life of a large plantation. In 1837 his parents moved to Morgan county, Ill, and in 1839 to a log cabin where Oak Grove church now stands. There were six children in the family and there was little means. The succeeding six years were ones of pinching hardships but fair schooling and when William was fourteen years of age his parents both died within a few months of each other, leaving the children penniless and alone.
It was at this time that William Booz showed that insight into character and quick perception and decision that made him the success he was. An early longing had taken possession of him to become a doctor and be able to read and be somebody. A proposition by a relative for him to go to work in the field without hope of an education, was promptly frustrated by his appealing to Judge Greenleaf for permission to choose his own guardian. His right to make such a choice he had gleaned from a copy of the statutes that was lying on the Judge's table and which he scanned while his relative was arranging for his guardianship. The Judge promptly gave young Booz the privilege asked for and three weeks time to make the selection. Facing a friendless world, his naturally shrewd instinct led him to select a man who made no great pretensions of sancity or affable manners, -- a man outwardly severe but possessing a great, big, kindly heart: that man was Joseph McCubbin. To him the homeless boy told his story, -- of his ambitions and his hunger -- and he had not mistaken his man.
During Dr. Booz residence with the McCubbin family he shared with the children the advantages of those early pioneer days. When he started to school with the McCubbin children, the only school book he had was a British novel which he would read aloud to the edification of the entire school. Text books were unknown at that time. The smattering of learning he had acquired in cabin schools and by pine knot efforts at home, emboldened him to teach school and that fall, -- but fifteen years old, he raised a subscription school at Joetta and taught one term in the kitchen of Mrs. Davis Mason's cabin. The money obtained from teaching that school enabled him to make trips to Carthage where he took a series of lectures under Dr. Barnes -- now living in California -- and by borrowing and buying books, continued his medical studies through the next three years, teaching school at various points to pay his way.
His religious tendencies developed early and he was in his youth the best posted of anyone in the neighborhood on the bible. Elder Gilmore Callison was a prominent preacher in this county at that time and by him Dr. Booz was ordained when 17 years old, a regular elder in the Christian church. From that time until he moved to Carthage eight years ago, Dr. Booz, in addition to his wide medical practice, was an active and eloquent expounder of the gospel of Christ and did immeasurable good in building up the church in his vicinity and in defending the faith as taught by his church. His ability as a preacher and even as a theologian was widely recognized and he was often selected to meet others in debate on questions of Christ’s doctrines. On one occasion he was sent for to meet a noted divine of another denomination at Pontoosuc and so well posted was he that his opponent failed to appear on the second evening of debate.
To Dr. Booz medicine was the most important science and it was his aim to master it to the extent of his means and ability, and despite his restricted environment and advantages, he came as near doing it as any country doctor and his skill was recognized in several states. He had patients in Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Kentucky and all over Western Illinois. As has been stated in this paper recently, at one time he had the entire practice of 170 square miles of territory around his home, save in twelve families. When he commenced to practice at the age of 22 years he laid down certain rules for his guidance which he never deviated from in the 47 years of service to the public.
He was a hard student of his profession always. He kept constantly in touch with the latest development in medicine and surgery and in an unostentatious way added much to the advancement of the healing art. For instance, he never confined himself to set formulas of medicine for certain diseases. He was constantly seeking a better remedy and thousands upon thousands of tablets, pills and other forms of medicine were manufactured for him by a well known Ohio chemist, from prescriptions written by himself which he tried and found superior to anything he could buy or had formerly used. He had occasion at times to know that this firm of chemists took advantage of his discoveries and placed his prescriptions on the market. He felt there was no way to protect himself and even if there was he was too generous to place a commercial value on any general good he could do mankind.
Thus, in the practice of medicine, as in other things, Dr. Booz was distinctly original.
The possibilities of the materia medica were to him boundless and he rang the changes on combinations that demonstrated his knowledge of chemistry and his courage and ability to bring into his practice this knowledge.
In his 47 years of practice Dr. Booz rode over a half million miles, principally through the breaks of Crooked Creek. During the first years of his practice that country was sparsely inhabited, and his trips took him largely through the trackless forest and unbridged creeks. Countless trips were made on nights as dark as Egypt to distant cabins of suffering, where perchance no fee or reward awaited him except the possible love and gratitude with which that Crooked Creek country regarded the Doctor to his dying day. He regarded a call to a bed of pain as a call of duty, and no distance was too great or circumstances too unfavorable but a summons was answered promptly and cheerfully. He had a peculiar personality that inspired his patient with a confidence in his ability and skill that greatly aided the work of his curative agents. He was the embodiment of cheerfulness, and the blues -- and even aches -- vanished before his inimitable stories. Had Dr. Booz been of a turn to enjoy metropolitan life, he could have occupied a high position in the profession in a wider field of action. He loved the fields and the trees and the common people, and his highest happiness lay in their companionship and the enjoyment of his home.
Politically, Dr. Booz was a democrat of the old school, and wielded a wide influence for his party. He was recognized as a leader, and his assistance was sought by aspiring candidates. He could swing as many delegates as any man who ever lived in the county. Among many others, Squire R. Davis, George J. Rogers and John D. Stevens owed their nominations to Dr. Booz, and to these gentlemen's credit at least, be it said, they never forgot his friendship. As for himself, he had little or no political ambition, and although preferment was tendered him he would accept nothing but township offices. He was supervisor eleven years, and for a while chairman of the board. He also held other minor offices, all of which he filled with zealous patriotism and conscientious ability. He was one of the best posted men in Illinois on political economy, and in his vigor successfully debated the issues with opposing orators. During the Douglas-Lincoln contest he stumped the county for Douglas, and it was at Webster that he outwitted James McGee, and was metaphorically carried from the hall on the shoulders of the cheering and admiring audience.
As a writer, Dr. Booz early showed a peculiar aptitude. His papers, written for township literary societies, were gems of pathos, wit and homely good sense.
In the early sixties he was inspired to send a communication to THE CARTHAGE REPUBLICAN over the signature of "Country Jake." The late editor, J. M. Davidson, was struck with the pungent character of the letter and encouraged him to send weekly contributions. Thus was born provincial journalism in Illinois. It was the starting of the splendid system of county correspondence, for which THE REPUBLICAN has for years been far famed. Of late years Dr. Booz's writings have been confined almost entirely to historical sketches, of which his brain was a vast storehouse. He had a wide and personal acquaintance with the leading actors of pioneer life in Western Illinois, and his memory of dates and events was retentive and accurate. It has been a source of much regret to THE REPUBLICAN that the Doctor had not the time, in the busy years prior to his death, to more fully contribute to its columns his knowledge or the unwritten history of people and things in Hancock county, and which now is lost to posterity.
In medicine Dr. Booz was a genius; to the world a christian, a philosopher and a gentlemen; to his family an idol of greatness and goodness. As one of his girls recently said, "there never was such a father" -- kindly, loving and sympathetic. Frequently Dr. Booz was misunderstood. He was extremely sensitive, and a slight, intentional or otherwise, hurt him deeply. Any suspicion on his acts or thoughts was the more deeply felt because he was the soul of honor, justice and generosity. There was not a selfish or mean drop of blood in his body. The pride of his Kentucky blood was veiled beneath a plain exterior, but it was there, and its presence made his apparel only an incident to his exalted character.
If Dr. Booz had foibles, they were overshadowed by his luminous virtues and the greatness of his personality. Hancock county had but one Dr. Booz; it will never produce another.
In Grateful Remembrance.
Dr. Booz was of the heroic mould that makes great men. There was in him the native nobility and shrewdness of character that belonged to such men as Abraham Lincoln. He possessed to an extent rare among men all the qualities that go to make up a complete and perfect manhood. To name his leading traits of character is but to give a catalogue of the christian virtues.
As I recall his personality, the first thing that impresses me to speak of, is his simple-heartedness, -- a characteristic of all great men. He knew not the meaning of affectation or unsincerity. He was as open and frank as the day; you felt every moment you were in his presence the power of his truthfulness and candor. He inspired you with his sincerity; and to those that knew him, his advice and judgment was to them their law and rule of action.
Tenderness and gentleness were in him most beautifully combined with strength and ruggedness of character, -- another quality of greatness. I never heard him speak unkindly or harshly of anyone, and yet his convictions on great matters were clear and at all times frankly maintained. His charity was as divine in its quality as it was boundless in its depth and breadth.
His intellectual powers were keen and well balanced; his mind was logical and analytical. His range of knowledge was co-extensive with the best thought of the day, and embraced all events and interests of human importance. He was able always to see the brightest and happiest side of human nature, and wonderfully gifted in imparting his sense of enjoyment in it to others. But no grain of unkindness or taint of coarseness ever marred his conversation on any topic. His soul was the seat of a refinement and un-sullied purity that gave to all his relationships with others, whether social, personal or professional the charm of a wonderful delicacy, courtesy and honor.
His religious convictions were deep, unfaltering and abiding; no one ever questioned the sincerity or reality of his christian character. He believed and he lived by his belief; and yet his tolerance toward all opinions and shades of honest belief, transcended all bounds of creed, and won for him the confidence and love of people of widely divergent standards of thought.
His humility was profound, and yet it was of that noble type that served to exalt him in the eyes of all who ever knew him. Self assertion had no part in his mental make up; but a serene self-knowledge, dignity and calmness of purpose, as native to him as the air he breathed, secured for him the respect of all with whom he had dealings, and gave him an influence far beyond the confines of his immediate sphere of life. He was conscientious, but not to a fault -- for he never painfully or oppressively obtruded that or any other of his virtues upon your notice. His fidelity, integrity and sincerity seemed to set upon him like well-fitting clothes; they were simply a part of him. Of his loyalty as a friend, his public spiritedness as a citizen, his marvelous skill as a physician, his nobility, devotion and unselfishness as a husband and father, -- of his grandeur as a man -- it would take a volume to speak. For over half a century he has been a towering personality throughout a wide community -- for he belonged to the county and to many far beyond its confines. It will be difficult to adjust ourselves to the thought of his absence from among us. Not only his loved and loving wife and family, but thousands of hearts walked as mourners behind his bier to his last resting place, and now sit in silence and sorrow of a great and irreparable loss. No heart or tongue among all who knew this man, will withhold from him the highest tribute of honor that it is possible for humanity to deserve by honor, nobility and greatness of soul, or begrudge this word of praise to him from hearts that found in him, in hours of sore bereavement and dark sorrow and trial the sympathy and the help and comfort that only god-like natures can bestow. Great-hearted friend, farewell! Calm be thy rest and glorious the awakening eternity's dawn shall bring
thee! J. M. D. D.--------------
I was greatly saddened to learn of the death of Dr. Booz. I know of no man for whom I have entertained a greater love and admiration. Years ago I became impressed by his rugged manliness, and upon better acquaintance found him thoroughly genuine in every fiber of his being. There was a practical saintliness about Dr. Booz that reminded me of the great physician Christ, for he, like the Master, "went about doing good." When I began to study for the ministry we had some conversations which greatly influenced me in these after years, for he threw into that nebulous cloud of enthusiasm, -- emotion and unclassified theological views which possessed me, such a clear light of practical, common, christian sense, that from him I learned a great deal that other young clergymen learn only after bitter experience. Among other things, he said to me once: "See here, Philip, those chaps that lead prayer meetings never make allowances for preachers or women. They would run Peter and Mary Magdalene out of town. When you get into trouble, go talk to some fellow sinner about it; don't bother the sanctified."
Good, loyal, kindly, honest, capable man! May he rest in peace, and light perpetual shine upon him. P. G. D.
--------------
I do not remember of ever "getting acquainted" with Dr. Booz. He was a part of the life of the "Old Home Paper" when I, a tow-headed boy, perched upon a high stool, painfully picked out his letters from the type case in my first efforts as a compositor. His visits to THE REPUBLICAN office were frequent, and his genial presence affected me much as a boy is affected by the sunshine on the meadows; the running brook with shady trees hanging over; the birds calling, and the click of the reaper out in the yellow grain. The country boy does not get acquainted with such things -- they are part of his life. And so Dr. Booz was a part of my office life. W. H. D.
--------------
AS TEARS BLOT THESE PAGES.
The cry of a lone wolf; the answering wail of another wild creature; the half-moon hanging low, and the awful silence of a pioneer forest. From out the Southland -- the Virginias, from proud Kentucky and Tennessee -- and from the sturdy east had pilgrimed the hardiest specimens of heroic womanhood and manhood to dot with civilization these wilds. And the half-moon is ready for her plunge into the eternity of the other side of the world. Hoof beats startle the solitude. A crying panther, strangely affrighted, slinks into further cover and is silent. The rough path leads to a humble roof. "Hello! Hello!" The challenge from without is answered almost simultaneously by a call from within and the door swings ajar. A hurried message from the mount in the saddle, again raining hoof-beats through the loneliness, yet, ere the horseman has reached the creek that must be swum, another horse and rider is close at hand, so that both spurred animals seem to have plunged as one into the current. Over on yonder hill, beyond the turn and through the little vale, death idles at a cabin door. Fitful moving lights within tell their own story. But as the man of healing passes beneath the rude portals, death shrinks back, and wrapping his sable mantle to him, becomes as the darkness .…….. And the old creek that murmured through the forest, that sang to the mill-wheels in the summer, that moaned with its burden of waters in the spring, that lay dead in its white casket when winter came; ah, the olden days -- those first struggles in that wild new region, the first new friendships that die not at the tomb nor ever in that fair and far country; almost a half century of healing of bodily ills, as many blessed years of mercy-dealing, of heart-ache healing; and three-score years and ten of nobility! ……… The cry of a lone wolf on the hill -- the answering call of another; the half-moon hanging low!
"And rest comes at last."
I can add no word to the story of his life told herewith. He was very near and dear to me and mine. Now that he is gone it seems that we shall never behold his like again. What a busy useful, honored life! Such labor is worthy of reward; such toil earns rest:
And this is sleep, so real and true.
To close loved eyes forever from the view,
To fold worn hands that ministered to you.
And this is rest, long sought, and blest,
So needed oft, ’midst cares opprest,
And yet, at last, God’s blessed rest.
GAY.-------------- DR. MOOREHEAD'S TRIBUTE.
Dr. Moorehead, one of the members of the College of Physicians and Surgeons for years, now editor of the Gate City and always a personal friend of Dr. Booz, thus adds his tribute to that exalted character:
The dispatch in The Gate City yesterday morning announcing his death had a peculiar effect all over Hancock county. He occupied a unique position there and one that will never be filled again.
He had been practicing medicine there for half a century. Hundreds of the men and women now heads of families came into the world with his assistance, told him their family secrets, called him when their own children had the croup and felt a comfort from his presence when death could no longer be warded off. He was to Hancock county all that Dr. MacLure was to Drumtochty, and more. Nobody in another fifty years can attain to his position among the people who knew him best, honored him most, loved him devotedly and made him a part of their own lives.
His activity began away back when Joseph Smith was in combat with his environment at Nauvoo. There were deeds then that were done at night and some that have never been told, and Dr. Booz knew more about what was happening than any other man. He was riding day and night all over the country and had a clear perception, close observation and the confidences of everybody.
He lived the most of his life at Middle Creek, a postoffice and a name a dozen miles south of Carthage. The country was not thickly settled, but he reached out with his great human nature and absorbed it all for miles and miles around. He took an active interest in the current events great and small and had large influence among his fellows. He was selfmade, decidedly original, always picturesque and withal a scholar and a gentleman of genuineness but no particular polish.
He originated the idea of country correspondence for newspapers and was the original of the tribe which now is numbered by hundreds of thousands all over the United States. He wrote the news of his vicinity for the CARTHAGE REPUBLICAN in the middle of the last century and signed his communications Country Jake. Through all the years he contributed to that paper under the same pseudonym, of late years writing some valuable historical data of his own experience and observation. Two things in newspaper work which were unthought of before have stuck and are continually being elaborated; one is the interview originated by McCullaugh of the Globe-Democrat, and the other is country correspondence for weeklies and dailies below the metropolitan press which Dr. Booz originated and developed.
As a physician he was as interesting as any of the characters made famous by recent fiction. He had rather sharp features with a scraggly beard and rather thick hair; his clothes were always out of fashion and never came within a hundred degrees of fitting him, the coat being generally too long and stretched tight in an effort to make the buttonhole meet the button across his chest; his manners were those of a man thoroughly at home who did not desire to obtrude himself into the landscape and did not care what kind of figure he cut when he did get silhouetted against the sky line. His voice was strong, but vibrated with something that suggested the tenderness of a woman. When one looked at his boots and trousers, one took him for an unsuccessful farm hand; when one heard him speak, one thought of a poet of nature; when one looked into his face with discrimination, one instinctively tipped the hat to brains and character.
He always called himself a country doctor, with a tone of depreciation, but with really a full sense of the honor lying in that term among those who know most of the history of American medicine.
He constantly talked to his clients of his impotency in dealing with the great laws of the physiological world; he always used a tone of deference in consulting his fellow practitioners; but his was modesty like that of Newton, for he knew more science in medicine than most of those with whom he came in contact professionally.
William Booz and Elizabeth Jane Emery McCubbin, were married at the residence of the lady's parents in Hancock township on Jan. 9th, 1851, at high noon, by Elder Gilmore Callison. On Jan. 9th 1901, this honored couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary quietly at their home in Carthage, surrounded by their entire family of ten children.
The life of Dr. and Mrs. Booz has been so closely identified with the history of Hancock and adjoining townships and their citizens, that a brief review would not do the subject justice, but for the present a passing glance will be taken of their half century of married life.
At the time of his marriage, Dr. Booz was an inmate of the McCubbin home, Mr. McCubbin being his guardian until he arrived of age. He worked for Mr. McCubbin in the summer and taught school in the winter. He was the district school teacher at the time of his marriage. The wedding took place on Thursday. On Friday Mr. and Mrs. Booz walked two miles to a friend's where a fine reception was given them. They returned home Saturday and Sunday he preached forenoon and night, undoubtedly two of the best sermons ever heard in that vicinity. On Monday he returned to school and finished the term.
In the early spring Dr. and Mrs. Booz went to housekeeping in the "Bias" cabin, standing on section 35 on the 80 where the present homestead now stands. The Doctor taught school and farmed until October 1854, all the time preparing himself for the practice of medicine. In October he entered the medical department of the Iowa state university at Keokuk and began the practice of medicine in the spring of 1855.
To Dr. and Mrs. Booz were born twelve children; -- Alexander Campbell, the first, died in infancy and another, Melgar Couchman, many years after. The other ten are living and were all present at the golden wedding. They are: Sarah Evaline Gibbs, of Plymouth; Leonora Wilson Reno, of E. C.; Fannie E. Cannon, at home; Joseph Meighs Booz, at home; Emma Willard Cloud, St. Marys Prairie; Dora Maybell Clowes, living on old home place; Elizabeth Ann Cloud, of Plymouth; Willie McCubbin Booz, of this city; Zilpha Follin Davis, of Sciota; and Nellie Jewel at home.
During these long years there never was a night too dark or weather too inclement or distance too far for either the doctor or his wife, or both, to go to relieve suffering. It made no difference whether to the lonely cabin of poverty or to the mansion of wealth, the call was equally as cheerfully responded to, the question of fee or reward always being an after consideration. It is this "strenuous" life of philanthropy and devotion to profession, that has made the doctor and Mrs. Booz loved and respected throughout a wide territory and where ever known.
The Carthage Republican
Carthage, Illinois
Wednesday
December 3, 1913
Page 9
Columns 2, 3 & 4PIONEER REMINISCENCES
The Biography of the Late Dr. William Booz Reveals a
Quaint Story of a Wedding that was Consumated
with Reluctance.It was a cold day in late autumn when a family that lived a few miles from the residence of Dr. Booz were bowed down with grief as the wife and mother had passed away. The body was lying in the best room of the log house and neighbors had gathered there to sympathize with the family in their sorrow. The father and mother had lived to see their children men and women, deprived of a good education, but honest toilers in the house and field. Mr. Reed's family had suffered some of the privations of pioneer life. During the same fall and winter pneumonia was prevalent. Strong men and women were stricken with the fever, requiring the services of the Doctor night and day, he traveled along the Crooked Creek country through sunshine and storm, frequently without the hope of pay for his labor. The suffering and sorrowing ones always appealed to him. One of our family said a few days ago, "Dear affectionate father, how I miss him." The longer we lived to grapple with the conflicts of this life the more we seem to miss him.
During the winter of 1860 some of the most astounding and bewildering events were witnessed by the people of this country. On Oct. 17, 1859, the Associated Press at Baltimore received a dispatch that an insurrection had broken out at Harper's Ferry. John Brown had taken a few men with him and struck the first blow against slavery in Virginia by the capture of the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry. In December the South Carolina secession convention convened. On Nov. 5, 1860, Gov. Gist in his annual message to the senate and house of representatives recommended that such a convention be called to determine for themselves the mode and manner of redress if Abraham Lincoln was elected president. The governor referred to Lincoln as a "sectional candidate." The south looked upon the north as their enemies. Dr. Booz was a democrat and voted for Douglas. I remember hearing a conversation between my father and a school teacher by the name of Paxton. My father seemed serious while talking to the man and deplored the state of turmoil that existed. In the course of the conversation my father said, "I fear if the differences between the north and south are not settled in an amicable manner, we may realize the horrors of civil war." The school teacher replied, "May Good speed the day" and he enlisted at the first call for volunteers. My father read the newspaper reports all that could be obtained and discoursed the stirring events of the time with the neighbors.
One day in midwinter the Doctor was called to the door and he stepped out of the house, held a brief conversation with a man the same one that had lost his wife a few weeks before. After the old gentleman's departure, father seemed perplexed, but after a few minutes passed he took the paper he had been reading and continued to read. All at once he seemed aroused and laughed heartily. "What are you laughing at now?" my mother asked. "I was thinking of the interview I had with Mr. Reed and by the way it was strictly confidential, but I see a humorous side to it, as most of things we meet with from day to day." This is the way my father answered her, but she shared all of his joys and sorrows as far as she could consistently.
The Doctor was so busy he did not think perhaps others might be watching the widower. It was related in the blacksmith shop of Uncle Jesse Riggin's that Mr. Reed had been known to saddle his horse and ride east and turn north. It was well enough for discussion to go on in the shop, but they should have been confined to business matters, politics and other subjects pertaining to things that concern men only. The gossip concerning the widower properly belonged to the women. A certain report was going the rounds much to the amusement of the young people and some of the older ones. "Everybody" said that Mr. Reed's horse had been seen tied to a tree in front of widow Lindsey's house. The tree stood close to the rail fence that enclosed the small farm she owned, and also that the widower had proposed but the widow had told him she did not want to marry. He had discarded his cane and spectacles and walked briskly as when he was much younger. It was plainly to be seen that the old gentleman had grown from a middle aged man to be old and afflicted. The first grace of youth and then the solidness of maturity had gone. We might dwell for awhile on the fact that Mr. Reed was afflicted in a manner that caused him to hesitate in speaking. With all of his afflictions and great sorrow he failed for a time to get the sympathy of the widow Lindsey. Dr. Booz was destined to be more perplexed than ever over the courtship of Mr. Reed. Mrs. Lindsey would not discuss the subject with a woman not even one. Of course the Doctor did not express an opinion until he was compelled to and that was on the wedding day.
As early as 8 a. m. on a day agreed upon the Doctor and Mr. Reed got on their horses and rode north, keeping the main road, crossed the creek at Brown's Ford and kept the road towards Webster, but they stopped at the home of the widow. Mrs. Lindsey's children were living with her. One girl and three boys and she had two boarders, a young school teacher and his wife. The widow did not seem glad to see my father and Mr. Reed, but did invite them in. She left the room and kept busy with her household duties until noon, then she espied the old gentleman walking in front of the house. She came back in the best room of the log house and sought an interview with the Doctor. She says, "Well, I don't think I will get married. His wife has not been dead long enough for him to think of such a thing. She died only a few weeks ago."
The widow had changed her mind and this change was certainly working on the Doctor's mind. He was thinking no wonder she had kept so silent on their arrival at the house and stayed in the kitchen all morning. The Doctor rallied to the situation and talked after this manner, "Mrs. Lindsey, I've known Mr. Reed for years, been entertained at his house when I was a boy, practiced medicine in his family and he paid me for my services, and as to his wife passing away recently, you don't seem to realize how lonely he is. When a home is without a wife and mother, it certainly is a dreary place." Mrs. Johnson, the school teacher's wife had been reading the papers and she said "Mrs. Lindsey it is too late to recede, you will have to get married." The widow went back to the kitchen and the Doctor meditated on the strange way the widow had expressed herself. He thought of the patients he must visit that day or night. Surely this was enough to puzzle the brain of even one of those characters -- a Philadelphia lawyer to strictly explain. The Doctor had read the newspapers Mrs. Johnson had provided him with and told several funny stories that failed to amuse the widow. While the other members of this family and Mrs. Johnson were convulsed with laughter, Mrs. Lindsey failed to see any wit, humor, pathos or any quality that was entertaining. It was now 3 p. m., the Doctor thought again of his patients and he could get no word, or did not, to Elizabeth, as to why he was delayed. It was perplexing and amusing to consider the excuse or explanation he would be compelled to make on arriving home and meeting the persons that would surely be waiting for medicine and have him tell the latest news in the papers.
At 3:30 p. m. the widow was getting ready the late dinner was prepared. She removed her apron, rolled down her dress sleeves, brushed her delaine dress with her hands, and presented herself to the family and guests, saying, "I am ready.''
Mr. Reed took his place by the side of Mrs. Lindsey in front of two chairs that were placed there by Mrs. Johnson. Mr. Reed handed the marriage license to my father and he opened them never caring whether he looked at a five dollar bill or not. He asked the usual question at the right time and every person held their peace and perhaps their breath, for a short time. The Doctor surely never performed the marriage ceremony with as much exultation as he did on this occasion, however it was probably that the witnesses failed to understand his feelings at the time.
Dear reader if you now anything of the style of dress of the average farmer at the time of the civil war, you can guess this bridegroom wore the home spun suit with a long woolen scarf or comfort, called by some perhaps not correctly, wrapped several times around his neck. He wore that scarf through the winter in the house and out of doors and he did not leave it off on that memorable day. After congratulations the Doctor with others partook of the late dinner, as it was called then. He got on his horse and rode home. It was growing dark and he started to see several of his patients.
Different kind of things may delay weddings. There has been a story told of a well known lawyer of this county, I don't know but have heard that it is a true story. It seemed the young man thought he was ready to get married, but on meeting the girl and witnesses at the place agreed upon, he reached for the important document, supposing it was in the inside pocket of his new coat, but he could not get it. He had forgotten such a document was needed at a wedding. Evaline.
