Mary Allen (Rogers) Gorman

From The Spring Valley Sun: Dec. 24, 1936
[Additional notes by William Gorman]

Spring Valley Lady, 91, is Still Alive and Happy

Mrs. C. D. Gorman

Mary Allen Rogers was born at Colborne [Grafton], Ontario, Canada, Dec. 4, 1845. Her family moved to Sheboygan County, Wis., where she grew to young womanhood and married C. D. Gorman in 1865 [May 6, 1866].

They decided to come to Pierce County and take a homestead. They traveled by train to Prairie du Chien, then by boat to Prescott and by ox team to what is now Olivet; there they homesteaded a quarter section one mile west of the corner, now known as Louis Grape farm.

Back over the hill, close to a spring Dad built his first log house, and Jeff Hill built one close by but over the line on his own homestead; hence the two sisters [Mary Allen Rogers-Gorman & Lizzie Rogers-Hill] were close neighbors.

By the way there were a lot of those brothers and sisters, 17 in all - yes, and all had the same dad and mother [David Rogers and Eliza Hinman]. And do you know, many of them settled around Olivet, even to the parents, who died at ripe old ages.

The young couples settled down in their one room log houses in the middle of the woods and started pioneering in earnest. Dad and Jeff with one hammer, one handsaw and one square between them, made their only furniture. And were they ever happy! The men started clearing a patch for a garden, the women helping them in their spare time. When meal time came there was always an abundance of meat, mostly venison, brought down by dad's old army musket, which he brought home with him from the war, with bayonet, bullet moulds and all. I can remember carrying that old bayonet along to dig ginseng when we were boys; in the month of June we would hunt the woods for those precious roots which we sold at 40 cents per pound to get money for the big fourth of July celebration. Lucky was the boy who dug a pound before the big day!

Now to get back to that young couple back in the woods. Like all other pioneers, they had their ups and downs, their joys and their sorrows, and many comical experiences were theirs.

One story she tells about and laughs at is of her brother, Tim Rogers (most all of you old timers remember Uncle Tim) Well, he wounded a buck and rushed up to cut its throat, but Mr. Buck jumped up and rushed him, and were it not for it being wounded the buck would have killed him. They fought for some time until the buck, weakened by loss of blood, fell. When Uncle Tim Finally limped to the house he was stark naked, with cuts and bruises all over him, blood dripping from his wounds, and truly a fit subject for the hospital. But some skunk-grease and pine pitch finally fixed him O.K.

I could relate many of those true stories; but if the editor will permit, I’ll spring just another one and cut the details to the core. Mother slaps her knees and laughs when she tells about her brothers, Tim and Dave; coming home from hunting they spied a bear cub near the road only about 20 rods from the buildings; thinks they, "we’ll take that cub home". So they picked it up and started out on the run for home. But the cub cried; the mother heard it and the race was on. Crashing down a hill through the brush charged Mrs. Bear, gaining ground every jump. The young men decided to drop the cub but didn’t have time to turn and shoot, so they shouted for dear life. The bear passed the cub and kept coming, but a couple of other brothers choring around the barn heard them shout, ran out doors, saw what was up and with their pitch-forks started on the run to help their brothers. As they neared the scene Mrs. Bear, outnumbered for one, decided to go back. No one hurt, but two youths badly scared and a house full of uproarious laughter by the family when the story was related.

Mother tells about Dad hauling a 50 pound sack of flour on a hand-sled home from Maiden Rock. I remember the old boot-jack and the candle moulds; do I ever wish I had them now.

After selling the homestead, they went to Waupaca County and invested in a small saw-mill. There they remained for a time, returning to Olivet with their three children. Then Dad started a store and got the post office and here they remained until after their other three children were born and raised, retiring to the home in Spring Valley in 1915. Here Dad, Lillian and Leonard died.

Pearl came from Bellingham, Wash., and Halbert from Bremerton, Wash., when Dad died; Pearl remained with Mother until the home in Spring Valley was sold last spring and Mother came to live with us at Knapp.

On Dec. 4 she was 91 years old. But her health is nearly perfect; she takes care of herself and her room, takes her own baths and helps with the housework. She reads, threads needles, sews and darns without glasses; she never wore glasses. She sings and repeats poetry by the yard and is always learning new poems.

Only one other of the seventeen children left is Mother’s youngest sister, Mrs. Irwin [Irvin?] Francisco, of Santa Rosa, Calif. By the way, sister Pearl has a genealogy of Mother’s family, the Allen family, from the time they came to America on the Mayflower [William Allen married Pricilla Browne].

Mother is a grand old soul, so happy and contented, and we children thank our great Jehovah God for sparing such a wonderful mother to us for such a span of years, especially in such splendid health.