McMurray Family, Benjamin Family (Click for Family Tree)

[Are you related? Yes, if you are a descendant of the Jasper County, Iowa McMurray,  Benjamin, or Lambert families. This would include having Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Dr. Herbert McMurray, or Maude “Midge” McMurray Cook as ancestors.]

(Continued from yesterday.)

Will McMurray and his younger brother Harry McMurray, their cousin Roland Benjamin, plus the other Company L, National Guard of Newton, Iowa members met at the Old Armory at one o’clock on Tuesday, April 26th, 1898, for one last time. The nineteen men and two cooks formed up to march off to the train station for their trip to training camp in Des Moines, Iowa. Lieut. Col. Elliott Ellsworth Lambert (1863-1948), above, another cousin on the Benjamin side, mounted a very handsome black charger and the horse pranced off down the street. A large crowd had gathered at Lister’s Opera House to see off their sons, brother, fathers, friends, and neighbors. An “eloquent prayer” was offered by the Methodist minister, and the Mayor spoke briefly. A minister of the Christian Church gave the benediction for the young men, and the crowd heartily sang the hymn, “America.”

Company L once again formed up to march. About forty veterans from the Civil War, members of the G. A. R. (Grand Army of the Republic- a group of Civil War veterans) led the Knights of Pythias and then “the heroes of the day,” Company L, in a march to the train depot. The young men bravely sang, “The Battle Song of the Iowa Troops” written especially for this war, trying to distract themselves from the sadness of the moment.

A special train of six coaches arrived at the train station at about three p.m. to rousing cheers. The cars already contained young volunteers from Davenport, Muscatine, Maquoketa, Grinnell, and Student Cadets from the State University at Iowa City.

“Soon the last farewells were spoken and the last kisses received from the mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts. There was scarcely a dry eye or a lip that did not quiver in the vast crowd…”

The Newton soldiers marched into their own car, which was added to the train. The steam train chugged out of the station as the crowd waved goodbye, and likely many more tears were shed.

“Thus the boys have won their first battle, and though hallowed by tears instead of blood, it was one of the hardest battles that they will be called on to meet– the sad goodbyes with loved ones and going out from home for the first time with the possibility of never returning.”

 

(To be continued…)

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. “Our Boys March Off to War,” The Newton Record, 28 April 1898, Vol. 4, No. 40, P. 1.
2. Lieut. Col. Elliott Ellsworth “E. E.” Lambert was the son of Reuben K. Lambert (1839-1918) and Cynthia Adeline Benjamin (1841-1925). Cynthia was the sister of Hannah Melissa Benjamin.
3. The photo of Elliott Ellsworth Lambert appears to have embossed on it “G.L. Bates” and to the left of the name, probably “Newton,” to the right, “Iowa.” There was a photographer named G. L. Bates in Newton Iowa at least from 1901-1902, and one, possibly the same person, in Prairie City, Iowa (near to Newton), from 1884-1885. See “Langdon’s List of 19th & Early 20th Century Photographers” at https://www.langdonroad.com/ban-to-baz.
4. E. E.’s uniform in this picture was likely ceremonial dress. http://www.spanamwar.com/American49Iowauniform.htm
5. The ‘hymn’ “America” was originally a poem, and sung to as many as 75 different tunes before being first published in 1910. We know it today as “America the Beautiful.” See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_the_Beautiful for details.

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 

Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.

 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

Every place has their old settlers- those who braved a hostile land and brought ‘civilization’: farming and ranching, churches and school houses, commerce and vice, as well as families and friends. Newton in Jasper County, Iowa, had meetings of these brave [some would say foolhardy] souls regularly in later years, and the original book recording those get-togethers is in the Jasper County Historical Society Library. The book may also be found online, at the Iowa GenWeb Jasper county page for Old Settlers of Newton, Iowa.

Wonderful records were kept by the Old Settlers Association, and they are a wealth of information for anyone whose ancestors were pioneers in the area. Even for those of us whose families were latecomers to the area, “Old Settler” groups recorded many stories of the life that was, and may have continued for some years after our ancestors moved to the area. Plus, these stories are just delightful reading!

Only those persons who were residents of the Newton area prior to 31 May 1855 were invited to the party held by Albert Lufkin, himself an early settler, at his home on 30 May 1885. Albert had arrived in the area on 31 May 1855, but since the 30th anniversary of that date fell on a Sunday, the gathering was held on the Saturday before. Albert invited about 50 persons, which was all he could entertain with the size of his home.

Of course, as the years went on the gatherings became smaller due to further migration, old age, and death of the members. They began to invite those who had come after 1855 in order to keep the party at about 50, and at one point, had over 100 people, the largest gathering in Newton to that date.

The Old Settlers Association met on 1 June 1891 at the Lambert House Parlors in Newton.

“The tables were lighted as of old Pioneer days with tallow dips and cotton wicks hanging out of saucers of Lard. All at once however, (as the eyes of the Company were not as good as 36 years ago,) the full blaze of the Electric lights – was turned on and the dainties disappeared in a manner to reflect – credit – upon the digestion of the company, and the skill of those who prepared the repast.”

What changes those early pioneers, some of whom may have been born about 1830, witnessed throughout the century!

One of my favorite stories from the Newton Old Settler’s Association:

“I might tell of some of our meetings; I will mention one that was dismissed without the benediction, in consequence of bees stinging the preacher and congregation, but enough for now.” B. Aydelott.”

There are newspaper accounts of the meetings, and those include many of the events of the meeting as well as the historical. Food was, of course, a primary focus of the event, with storytelling, songs, and speeches after, although sometimes, that good food was a problem:

“A. J. Osborn had eaten too much and didn’t feel much like talking.”

By the time my ancestors arrived, there was probably little prairie left to break, but farming was still a difficult task back then- even today. (What would our ancestors have thought of air conditioned, GPS-guided combines???) Our  families who took up residence in Jasper County were:

Sylvanus Rufus Benjamin and Sara Ann Palmer in 1865 or 1866

Jonathan N. Benjamin and Hannah E. Ford in 1867

John S. Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell  by 1868

Robert Woodson Daniel and Margaret Ann Hemphill (between 1866-1870)

Frederick Asbury “F.A.” McMurray and Hannah “Melissa” Benjamin by 1870

 

Cynthia A. Benjamin (1841-1925), sister of Hannah Melissa Benjamin, married Reuben K. Lambert- perhaps she was the “Mrs. Lambert” who prepared such delicious repasts for the Old Settlers?

A handwritten note under the newspaper article for the [likely] 1896 Old Settlers Association meeting noted that $6.68 was collected, and the disbursements were listed. The reunion had been planned to be outdoors but because of rainy weather, it was moved to the Armory. Three dollars were disbursed to “Will McMurry for rent of hall.” William Elmer McMurray (1874-1957) was the son of F.A. and Melissa (Benjamin) McMurray. There was also a note that, “The drapage bill is still unpaid, and nothing in the treas.” (Drapage would be cloth hanging festively, such as red, white, and blue festoons/banners.)

 

The moral of the story? Even though I knew my family members were not early settlers in Jasper County, Iowa, reading through this booklet gave me information about times both past and present. One can do a search within the document to find family names, but sometimes it is just more enjoyable to read through and get a sense of what life was like for early settlers, and those same folks when they became “Old Settlers.” You never know what you will find- the payment to Will McMurray was quite a surprise in this booklet!

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1) Old Settlers of Newton, Iowa: http://iagenweb.org/jasper/history/OldSettlers/Newton.pdf

2) The “dainties” referred to in the 1891 meeting would have been small appetizers and desserts.

3) Old Settlers of Newton, Iowa, page 6.  Bee Sting- unknown date of newspaper article, unknown newspaper.

4) Ibid., 14. Eaten too much- unknown date of newspaper article, unknown newspaper. Probably between 28 Apr and 9 June 1896.

5) Ibid., Will McMurry- page 19, Secretary’s note of 09 Jun 1896.

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

Copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.