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Excerpts from Souvenir Submitted by David M. Waid |
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MY
FIRST TRIP TO KANSAS, OCTOBER, 1888. "Though long the wanderer may
depart And far his footsteps roam, He clasps the closer to his heart The image of his home."
J. D. BURNS.
On October 8, G. W. Cutshall and I
left Meadville, Pa., via the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad
for Cincinnati, Ohio, arriving there on Tuesday morning and leaving the
morning of the same day for St. Louis, Mo., where we found ourselves at
dusk the following day. Leaving
behind us this great city of the Mississippi at 10 o'clock on the night of
October 9, we passed swiftly over the Central Pacific, and entered Kansas
City at daybreak. Allowing
ourselves just enough time for rest, we took up the journey, and
proceeding over the A. T. & S. T. F.
Railroad, we found a resting place at Ottawa, Kas., at noon. Our ride from Cincinnati through Southern Indiana and
Illinois took place in the day time, and as a consequence we were able to
obtain a fine view of the country. This
we particularly enjoyed, and in fact as the country after leaving
Louisville, Ky., was entirely new to us the sight-seeing sensation was
very pleasant. We saw but
little of Missouri as our trip over that State took place at night,
although we stopped long enough at Kansas City to see some of its points
of interest. A ride of three
and one-half miles on one of the principal streets, by means of the cable
railway, gave us an opportunity to see not only the business portion of
the city but many of its schools, churches and fine residences with their
spacious lawns and substantial appearance. It was about the school hour, when the children gathered in
groups in the play grounds and along the streets, and made the air ring
with their merry voices; I thought it to be one of the pleasantest sights
in the whole city. We saw
many other interesting things which time and space forbid my mentioning.
In going from Kansas City to Ottawa, a distance of only fifty-eight
miles, we passed through some fine country, with improved farms.
The stocks, crops and buildings made a most favorable impression on
our minds. Although we had
never before been in the State we had had at the Centennial Exhibition an
opportunity to learn much of "Noble Kansas."
From reading and from talks with men who had tilled Kansas soil I
also had gained much knowledge, but the best way to learn of a thing is to
see it for yourself and I have more satisfaction from a view of the State
than from all other sources combined.
The reader now has my first impression of Kansas.
I went there upon business and for pleasure, and in both ways I was
remarkably successful. I
wanted particularly to visit friends and kindred whom I had not seen in
nearly eight years. From
Ottawa we took a train to Norwood, a place six miles north, where we were
met by our friend Rouelle Tyler, who drove us
to his father's, Freeman Tyler, home, about
one and one-half miles from the village.
As Mr. Cutshall and I stepped from the train a young man approached
us, and as he extended his hand I recognized him as
Rouelle Tyler, from his resemblance to his father.
He knew me as readily, and after introducing Mr. Cutshall we
started for the house, where we met our friends of eight years before.
At that time my brother, George N. Waid, G.
W. Cutshall and I were on our way from Council Bluffs to Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, and meeting Mr. Tyler's family, a friendship sprang up
between us so sincere that it resulted in a continued correspondence.
Our welcome was a warm one. To
me it was much more than a simple meeting of friends.
Before I further proceed let me explain. Change is written on everything that pertains to earth.
How many homes were made vacant during the year 1887?
How many families had been bereft of a fond mother, a beloved wife?
I need say nothing more save this:
Eliza had gone before (In my diary
proper, farther on in this book, will be found an account of the illness
and death of my dear wife, Eliza, which occurred July 4, 1888.--F.
C. Waid), and since her departure true friendship had sprung up,
and the fruit of that friendship as it existed between Mr. Tyler's
daughter and the writer was love. This
will explain to some extent the circumstances under which we met, and as
Rouelle drove up to that beautiful home you, my reader, are left to
imagine the feelings of the writer. By
the door stood Mr. Tyler and his beloved wife; their greeting was most
cordial, and then, as ever, showed the loveliness of their lives.
Near them stood their daughter, Anna Tyler.
In the words of Goldsmith: "Her modest looks the cottage
might adorn. Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath
the thorn."
This eight years' acquaintanceship with her father, fostered by
corespondence, had produced its result.
Nay, more, I felt that my life was given me for this very purpose,
and that a kind Providence had guided me to one destined to be my life's
partner. Just how to meet her, just what to say, puzzled me to a
considerable extent. Words
were not at my command, and after a moment's hesitation I remained silent.
I do much more thinking than talking, and, while not demonstrative,
I feel deeply. Before me,
waiting our second greeting, stood Anna Tyler.
Our hands met, and the bond of friendship changed to love.
Plain words are best, and in my diary I find the following:
"The agreement made."
It was not necessary to submit such a compact to paper, for it was
already written in two hearts. October
10, 1888, we were engaged to be married.
Even before I came of age I believed with Scripture that "It
is not good for man to be alone," and carrying out the Apostle's idea
I became engaged to Eliza C. Masiker nearly
thirteen months before my twenty-first birthday, upon which day we were
married. My mind upon the
question of marriage remains unchanged to this day. All my experience of married life leads me to favor it.
Is it not now sufficiently clearly explained what the chief motive
was for my Kansas trip? I
cannot leave this all-important subject of matrimony without saying a few
more words born of observation. As
I look back over my married life of a little more than thirty-four years,
I see it crowded with blessings both temporal and spiritual, and know that
with David I may exclaim: Oh
Lord what shall I render unto Thee for all Thy benefits unto me, I will
take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
I wish God to guide me both in the pleasures and in the cares of
life. One of my father's
prayers was, "Lord guide me in all I say or do," and like my
father I wish to be in all respects.
You will not now wonder, my reader, why I consider October 10 a day
freighted with blessings for me. It
seemed as though I had been blessed not only with a partner, but with a
new lease of life and its joys.
A portion of this same day was spent in rambling over Mr. Tyler's
farm and the two adjoining ones. His
consists of about 240 acres of land enclosed with well-trimmed osage
fences, and passed on three sides by public roads, from each of which a
fine view may be obtained. It
has water and plenty of timber, and as we looked it over for the first
time, the fact was once again brought forcibly home that the farms of
"Sunny Kansas" were finely improved and good to look upon.
The morning of October 12 was one of the most beautiful of the
week, and it appeared to me that the sun never shone more brightly than
that day as we drove into Ottawa in response to an invitation from Rouelle
Tyler, who wished us to view the town thoroughly before leaving for
the East. No plan could have
suited us better, and so with Rouelle and his sisters, Mr. Cutshall and I
drove into this beautiful county seat.
It is a city of 8,000 people, a thriving, growing place, with a
number of handsome public buildings and private residences.
One of the first points of interest to be visited was the
Chautauqua Assembly grounds. I
think, having visited very frequently the celebrated New York Chautauqua,
on the lake of that name, that the grounds of the Ottawa Assembly may be
said to compare very favorably with those in the Empire State, and,
indeed, others who are entirely unpredjudiced say that the place ranks
second to the original Chautauqua, although there are many of the
Assemblies in different parts of the country.
We drove through Ottawa's streets and saw the various objects of
interest, and then drove homeward by a route different from that which we
had taken to approach the city. It
was somewhat longer, and we had a more extended view as we rode slowly
along. Upon reaching home the
many pleasures of the day were increased when Anna said to us, "This
has been the happiest day of my life."
On October 13 Rouelle and Albert Tyler drove
us to a public sale of farming implements and stock in Douglass County;
about eighteen miles from the house.
There we had an opportunity to converse with the farmers of the
surrounding country, and the day was most profitable.
Rain fell heavily on Sunday, the 14th of the month, and we were
prevented from attending church as we had intended.
However, we managed between showers to get as far as the house of Mr.
Albert Tyler, where five of us dined with him and his family.
Monday morning dawned with pleasant weather, and taking advantage
of it, we went to Ottawa, and thence by train to Emporia, the capital of
Lyon County. The herds of
stock on each side of the track were a source of comment and interest. The little towns that we passed were in appearance neat and
attractive. Reaching Emporia,
we found a lively town of 12,000 inhabitants, where we stayed until the
following morning, and then drove across the country to Ivy, where I have
living a second cousin, Mrs. Lydia Putnam.
Mrs. Putnam is a daughter of Cyrus and Martha
Brown, of Warren County, Penn.
She was married about seven years ago to Mr.
Fred D. Putnam, and moved with him to Ivy, since which time she has
made one visit to her Eastern home. I
thoroughly enjoyed this short visit to my cousin, and will cherish a
kindly recollection of it during coming years.
I paid, while at Ivy, a visit of a few hours to Mr.
Sydney D. Putnam, and then we returned to Emporia.
The farmers, many of them, were making hay, a fact that struck us
strangely, for the month was October.
A great deal at times may occur in a single day, and this was true
of October 16, for after reaching Emporia we made still another trip, this
time going to Bitlertown, which is about twelve miles to the southward, to
call upon Frank H. Ringer, a gentleman whom from that davy to this I have
looked upon as a brother.
We returned to Ottawa from Emporia on the morning of October 17,
and were soon at Mr. Tyler's, a place that had grown to seem to me like my
home, a feeling that gave rise to the remark as I left them on the day
following: "It seems
like leaving my home instead of returning thither."
The time had come to say good-by; a grasp of the hand, a tear, and
we were on our way. Rouelle
drove us to the depot, and as he was the first to meet us so he was the
last to leave us, like the faithful friend that he has always proven.
While on the way to Kansas City I purchased a book entitled,
"The Battle for Bread." It
was a series of sermons on the relation of labor to capital; from its
perusal I profited to a considerable extent.
We arrived at St. Louis at an early hour on October 19, and as Mr.
Cutshall wished to remain in the city I went alone to visit my cousin, Mrs.
Addie Whicher, who resides at Mt. Vernon, Ill., on the line of the
St. Louis & Nashville Railroad. Mrs.
Whicher's maiden name was Simmons, she being the youngest daughter of
Philander Simmons, of Jamestown, N.Y.
On her return from a trip to her native town in October, 1886, she
had visited Meadville, where I had seen her (Eliza and I met her to bid
her good-by as she was returning home. This was my wife's last good-by to Addie and her son).
My call at Mt. Vernon was a surprise to my cousins, and I trust not
an unpleasant one. I called
upon Mr. Whicher at his store, and accompanied by him and his eldest son,
Archie, we went to his pleasant home where we found cousin Addie.
The younger children, Bertie and Bessie, soon
came in from school, and as we sat down to dine we formed a very social
family party. I was much
interested in an account that they gave me of the cyclone that devastated
Mt. Vernon on February 19, 1887. The
town suffered very severely, and many lives and much property were lost.
It was late in the afternoon when I said good-by to the family and
returned to St. Louis, where in the crowded depot I had much trouble in
finding Mr. Cutshall. When we finally did come together he greeted me with
"Well, I thought you were the one that was lost."
We feared that the time spent in looking for each other would cause
us to lose our train for Cincinnati, but we succeeded in boarding it, and
were soon on our way. We
spent one day at the Centennial in the city, and left on the morning of
the 21st, for Meadville, where we at length arrived safely, and our
journey was ended. I found
visiting Meadville the three daughters of Samuel
Waid, who are the only surviving members of the family that left
Crawford County in 1858. This
was their first return to their old home, and I was glad indeed that I
reached Meadville in time to see them before their departure for Michigan,
where they have lived for many years.
I wish to say, in closing this narrative of my Kansas trip, that I
feel deeply touched by the kindness of friends and kindred.
The reading of the SOUVENIR has called forth from all to whom it
has been given words that are pleasing and a blessing to me.
It was a simple story of real life, and it seems to have bound our
hearts more closely, and to have knitted a bond of union that neither time
nor distance can break.
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