Introduction to Wilson Journal
INTRODUCTION TO THE
JOURNAL OF MRS. NELSON TURNER WILSON
copyright
Louisa County
Genealogical Society
Transcribed and published for the first time - April 7, 2002
(Notes by Norma Jennings)
This journal was in the possession of Laura M. Moffett
until 1956 when she gave it to Ralph Thompson to type up, if possible. (Emma
Wilson, the baby whose birth Mrs. Wilson mentions in the journal, married
John Moffett so Laura may have been a descendant of hers.) Mr. Thompson had
typed up over half of the journal in his lifetime. A couple years ago his
son, Denny Thompson, of Savage, MN, sent it on to Norma Jennings to retype
and complete the transcription of it for the Louisa County Genealogical Society.
The original journal will be donated to the Genealogical
Library in the Heritage Museum. The very first entry is intriguing and gives
us an immediate glimpse of this hearty and intelligent lady’s personality.
Some pages were damaged and on scraps of paper smaller than the original
journal. The Journal itself ends around the 1st of June, but the segments
during the rest of the year have been salvaged to some extent.
The journal begins in eastern Ohio, on October 1st 1856,
shortly before they crossed the State to Union City, Ohio as newlyweds. Brief
accounts of their daily activities take them on from Union City, Ohio to
Grandview, Iowa in the spring of 1857. She tells of teaching school in Ohio
with 70-74 scholars, their trip across Indiana and Illinois, a smallpox scare,
their second wedding anniversary (October 26,1856) what they ate and how
they lived. They packed up their things to come to Iowa on April 14,
1857. Her narrative depicts sparse living conditions and hardships when they
first came to Iowa and the birth of their dear baby girl Emma Wilson on August
28, 1857. One of the later entries reports the birth of a son to Mrs. Newell
on January 7,1858.
Their destination in Iowa was P. Knott’s. We learn later
that this is Peter Knott. To more fully identify the people who are named
in this journal, you can check out Concord Twp. in the 1856 census.
For the most part, the spelling and grammar has remained
the same. Some of the pages were very faded and so dim they had to be
photocopied to darken them enough to read some 145 years after they were
written. While some days are merely weather reports, the journal does
give a very good view of life in Louisa County in 1857. There may be some
errors in transcription and interpretation due to the handwriting, especially
in the capitals. However, many names of neighbors and friends in the
Grandview - Letts area will come to light in this journal, and we learn much
about how they survived during those difficult times. The Knotts, Fosters,
Jordans, Newells, Paulding (Paullins), are a few of the neighbors they worked
with and visited often.
We did not learn the author's first name from the journal
but she refers often to Nelson and N.T. as her husband. The Indian Creek cemetery
records revealed a bit more about this family. If I have definitively identified
some of the people, I have inserted the first name (often omitted) or dates
found in the cemetery records in parenthesis.
Nelson Turner Wilson (09-07-1832 to 12/16/1901) is buried in
the Indian Creek Cemetery beside his wife Mary Ann Payen (Payne)(07-13/1825
to 11/19/1899), the author.
Children also in Indian Creek include:
Wilson, Albion Galloway 01/29/1870 - 02/14/1946 son of Nelson T. & Mary A Wilson,
Lillian May 1865 - 1957 daughter of Nelson T. & Mary A.
Wilson, Olive Payne 1867 - 1961 daughter of Nelson T. & Mary A.
LDS Records: Nelson Turner Wilson married Mary Ann Payne 26
Oct 1854 in Urbana, Ohio. Mary Ann was born in Madison County, Ohio, the
daughter of Amasa Payne and Sarah Green. Nelson Turner Wilson was born 7
Sep 1832 Clark County Ohio and was the son of Joseph Nelson and Mary Ann
Jones. Marietta, Artemesia and Vanzonia that are mentioned in the journal are his siblings.
Artemesia married Samuel Patton. Nelson died in Florida
but was buried here.
Mary Emma Wilson b. October 28, 1857, married John McIntire Moffett
28 December 1881
in Leon, Iowa
Census records: Although buried here in Louisa County, the 1880 census records
show this family was living in Decatur County, Center Twp. at that time. The
1880 census has Nelson F. (error) Wilson, age 49, Mary A. age 54, May
L. age 15; Olive age 13; and Albin G. age 10 which matches with the gravestone
data. E.O. Wilson, age 20 was in the Nevill household."