First day meeting

First day, 4th [November 4, 1867] Went to Wm's, dressed & went to school and meeting. Raining very fast. Good school. Lotan came to meeting just after it set. After meeting, started to Peter's but it rained so we stopped at Jerrie's. Emily & the children were there. Just after dinner Peter & Fanny Albert & Marion came to bring cousin Ellen E. & her 2 children. She is here on a visit to her niece Isabel Well's (Cousin Nicholson's daughter). She is Aunt Nancy Millis's daughter & looks much like Grandmother used to. Stayed at Jerrie's all night. Lotan & Emily went home with Peter. They have been plastering & not fixed to keep much company till it dries. Had a good Carolina visit with cousin Ellen. Rain over."

My cousins and I went to the Sugar Plain Friends Church on "First day" morning. Although this is not the same building where our great-great-grandparents worshiped , we were glad to be in the house of the Lord and among Friends who have continuously met in this very place since 1838.

"Second day 5th [November 5, 1867] Went back to Wm's & helped do up chores till evening. Lotan & Emily came. Henry, Logan and Wm. Went to town & bought a stove but we can't get the use of it for a week. Went to our old cabin to sleep. Real open & cold."

This is a picture of the cabin taken some 30 years later.


"Third day 6th [November 5, 1867] Went with L. & Em. to Thomas's then came back to the cabin & helped cord up a couple of pairs of bedsteads we got of James Brown."

Ann's diary of her journey ends here, one month and two days after writing the first page. Ann kept other diaries, but none so interesting as this account of her trip from Iowa to Indiana in the fall of 1867.

An Underground Railroad stop in Salem

When Ann & Henry passed through Salem in 1867, the Civil War had been over for 2 years. But when they lived there in 1855, the War Between the States still lay ahead. Beginning in 1839, Quakers in Salem began helping runaway slaves along routes that led north.

Salem, Iowa became known as "the main ticket office of the Underground Railroad". And this house, built by Henderson Lewelling in 1840, was thought to be a major stop. It has a trap door leading to a crawl space under the floor. If slave catchers were in the area, the family could hide the fugitives under the floor, put a rug down over the trap door and place a table on top.

There was a saying that it was "as easy to find a needle in a haymow as a Negro among Quakers". Salem was within 20 miles of Missouri, a slave state. Several Quakers in Salem refused to obey the Fugitive Slave Law and instead assisted slaves to freedom.

We don't know for certain if Ann & Henry were involved in Underground Railroad activities, but they did hold strong anti-slavery views.

Our new Salem acquaintance, Jean, let us into the house and gave us a tour, even though it was closed. Thank you, Jean!

A little more about Salem

Ann & Henry arrived in the Salem area October 8th and stayed a week. (They had lived there for a time in 1855 before moving further west.) Ann's brother, Curtis stayed put in Salem, and there were several nieces & nephews and many old friends to see. Some of their visiting was in Cedar Creek, a few miles north of Salem. Ann's diary indicates that she and Henry also attended some Quaker business meetings. Much of what Ann writes is about who they visited, what they bought, and who is not feeling well. Several days' entries are condensed here:

"Fourth day morning 9th [Wednesday, October 9, 1867] Rain, with considerable wind last night. Glad we were not camping out. Henry gone to Salem Monthly Meeting. Anna J. Winslow & her blackeyed little Orestus Alson [Ann's niece & her baby son] came over to see us."

"Fifth day, 10th [Thursday, October 10, 1867] Went to Monthly Meeting - very small & I thought a little backward in speaking to business. Job Smith obtained a minute to labor in Truth's service in Western Indiana and Ohio Yearly Meeting." [A minute seems to be a directive or declaration]

"Seventh day morning, 12th (Saturday, October 12, 1867] After breakfast went to Curtis' in Salem. A thimble for 5 cts., a lb of sulphur for 20 cts. Curtis not at home, but came just after we had eat dinner. How my heart yearns for him my youngest brother."

"First day morning [Sunday, October 13, 1867] Job & Elizabeth went to Oak Ridge meeting. Pretty good meeting. An omission of duty clothed my mind with poverty most of the afternoon. [She forgot to do something and felt awful about it.] Got back to John's a little after dark. Had a solemn favored family meeting. After the sitting Henry & I went to Josiah's to sleep. Stayed till after breakfast then came back to John's to do up our working & washing. Aim to start tomorrow for Indiana. Washed and baked some."

"Second day evening 14th [Monday, October 14, 1867] John and
Matilda, Henry & I and all of the small children went to Mary's and stayed all night. Had a real good visit. Jane and
her children were there. Henry went home with J & M."

"3rd day morning [Tuesday, October 15, 1867] I stayed and ironed and baked some more to eat on the road -- went back to John's about noon, packed & loaded up again, & in the evening went past Mary's, got Jane & the children & came to Curtis' in Salem, a little after dark."

Next: A surprising discovery in Saint Paul, Iowa.

Cedar Creek Cemetery

We wanted to visit the Cedar Creek Cemetery near Salem, Iowa but weren't sure how to find it. Inside a local cafe, our ears perked up when we heard a conversation about Quakers, ancestors, and the Cedar Creek Meeting. We met Jean, a member of that church since childhood, who kindly took us out to the cemetery. It sits on a gravel road beside corn fields. We never would have found this little cemetery if not for Jean. It was there we saw the gravestone of our great-great-great grandparents, Henry Frazer and Mary
Otwell Frazer. Mary was Ann's mother. She died soon after the families came to Iowa in 1855. Below are excerpts from a poem Ann wrote when her mother died:

Alas! The parting hour has come
The ransomed spirit's took its flight
And in the cold and silent tomb
My dear mother sleeps tonight.

At Cedar Creek, Friends burial place
Her toil-worn body now doth rest
And by the marvelous plan of grace
We trust in Christ her soul doth rest.

A weeping willow's boughs shall wave
To mark the place where thou dost lie
And sing a requiem o'er thy grave
As moaning winds are passing by.

And brothers, sisters, let each sigh
Bear up, in faith a fervent prayer
That we may live with her on high
When our day's work is ended here.

That we may all again unite
A happy family complete
On plains of never-ending light
With joy unminded each other greet.

Level Lawn
Henry County Iowa
Tenth mo. 19th, 1855

Ann & Henry undoubtedly visited her parents' graves as they passed through Salem in 1867. The headstone is not the original. Possibly a descendant placed a newer marker on the graves.
We marveled that we "just happened" to encounter Jean who, as it turns out, is a 4th cousin to us!

Fairfield Town Square

"Second day noon [Monday, October 7, 1867] Got to Fairfield about 1 o'clock & seeing a great concourse of people in the public square, we inquired the cause and found that they had a political rally & saw one speaking under the stars & stripes. Jane bought a Delaine dress, 30 cts a yd. & Henry bought 6 yds. of muslin for pillow slips at 18 cts a yd & 3 yds of towel crash 15 cts a yd. Came on about 4 miles & camped in a beautiful grove. Came through Glassgo & got me a shaker & Eddie some shoes."

We loved Fairfield, Iowa! The beautiful town square is green and filled with flowers. Historic buildings line the streets. Right in the center is a lovely gazebo. We could certainly imagine someone speaking right there. The Jefferson County Courthouse sits imposingly a block north. As we stood admiring its architecture, a man walked over and introduced himself as County Supervisor Dick Reed! He spent a few minutes telling us the background of the building and its ongoing renovation. (Every Iowan we meet is friendly and helpful.)

It is good to see Fairfield flourishing 143 years later, and to know that we saw the same town square as Grandmother Ann.

Glasgow was another story. All we saw was an old cemetery and one gravel road with a few houses on either side. There must have been a store there in 1867 if Ann bought a shaker and shoes.

Next we are headed for Salem, Iowa. At one time, it was an important Quaker settlement, and many of the Quakers who came to Iowa entered through Salem. We've heard stories about a station on the Underground Railway there. How has Salem fared over the last 143 years? We'll find out!

Agency and Batavia

"Second day morning 7th [October 7, 1867] Got 4 miles past Ottumwa & camped in a nicer place than we had night before last & got an earlier start than we did yesterday morning. Came through Agency City & Batavia. Now 3 miles of Fairfield & boiling meat and turnips for dinner. Think we will have a feast. A little cloudy & windy this morning, clear now & the wind pretty brisk from S. East."


My cousins and I spent the night in
Ottumwa. We had Mexican food which sounds much better than boiled meat and turnips. (I haven't eaten a turnip since I left for college!) Agency City is now just called Agency. Most of the streets were paved. A few miles down the road we pulled into Batavia. These small towns all seem to have the same four things: a water tower with the town's name, a United Methodist Church, a Masonic or IOOF (Oddfellows) Lodge, and a cemetery.

I have not seen one Starbucks in all of Iowa! Of course, we are sort of... um... off the beaten path!

Looking for Green Plain and Newbern

Today we tried to find Green Plain, Iowa -- the starting point of Grandmother Ann's diary. She writes, "Green Plain. 10th Mo. 3rd. [October 3, 1867] In a real bustle loading up to start to Indiana." When we asked some locals in Lacona, IA for the location, we got directions that included driving a significant distance on gravel roads. There is no longer a community of Green Plain, so I took some photos of the general area. In Lacona, we found a historic cabin dating from 1846, the year Iowa became a state. Did Ann & Henry Way live in a cabin like this when they came to Iowa in 1855?

"Seventh day. morning 5th. [October 5, 1867] Had an affectionate and solemn parting with the children about 11 o'clock yesterday. David came with us to Newbern. We
bought Eddie a cap for a dollar & a quarter and a couple of watering buckets for 55 cts. Came on to L. Chance's about 1 and had a good warm dinner prepared for us. Then we took leave of our kind friends and came to the Knoxville road to camp. Had a good fire, & all slept in the wagon."

Newbern was another mystery we were not able to solve today. After driving several miles on a different gravel road, we decided to turn around and get back on paved roads to towns that actually exist on a map. Here's where we pick up the rest of Ann's entry:

"Got to Marysville about 11 and bought a coal oil lantern for a dollar & a horse brush for seventy five cts & a plug of tobacco for twenty. Went on about half a mile & fed where Elma cut her dress out on the ground as we went to Henry Co. 4 years ago. Then came 3 miles to Hamilton & watered."

Marysville is on the map, but not much of a town exists. It's pretty much one paved street and several gravel roads. A peaceful hilltop cemetery overlooks a handful of houses. We didn't see any businesses or even a post office.

Hamilton turned out to be another very small community. We saw a few houses, a post office and a church that was founded in 1869.

Since leaving Omaha this morning, we have logged over 220 miles
and crossed nearly the entire state of Iowa. As my cousins and I drove, we reflected on how our great-great grandparents traveled. If they got in 20 miles, it was a good day. We have gone 10 times as far in only a few hours. More adventures are ahead tomorrow as we meander toward the Mississippi River.

First, they had to get to Iowa

Iowa became a state in 1846 and was soon settled by restless pioneers looking for land. An eye-witness described migration to Iowa in 1854: "The immigration into Iowa the present season is astonishing and unprecedented. For miles and miles, day after day, the prairies of Illinois are lined with cattle and wagons pushing on towards this prosperous state. At a point beyond Peoria, during a single month, seventeen hundred and forty three wagons had passed, and all for Iowa. (The Friend, Vol. XXVII, p. 319)

Quakers were part of this throng, crossing the Mississippi River and settling in the fertile valleys. It was said that ferrymen on the river became familiar with the Quaker salutation 'thee' and 'thou'.

Ann and Henry Way were part of this migration, moving to Iowa in 1855.

Quaker meeting records show that the Way family moved several times during their 12 years in Iowa including Cedar Creek Meeting, Salem Meeting, Western Plains Meeting, Bangor Meeting, South River, Ackworth Meeting, and Rosemount Meeting.

Eventually in 1867, the family made the decision to return to Indiana. They stayed another 18 years in Indiana before coming west... which is why I am a Californian and not a Hoosier.

I can't wait to see the Iowa towns where Great-great-grandmother Ann lived!

Iowa to Indiana 1867

In October of 1867, my great-great-grandmother Ann Millis Frazier Way and her family traveled by wagon from Iowa to Indiana. She kept a diary along the way, recording towns, roads, river crossings, and places where they camped.

Now in 2010, one hundred forty three years later, my cousins and I are following Ann's trail. Ann and her husband Henry took 26 days to make the journey. We will drive it in less than 5.

Ann's family had a long Quaker lineage, extending back to England. Because it was felt that the "idolatrous Saxons" named the days of the week after their gods (Sunday for the sun, Monday for the moon and so forth), Quakers kept their diaries by numbering the days of the week. Thus Ann's diary begins "10th month, 3rd day" in Green Plain, Iowa.

Does Green Plain still exist? Is it accessible by car? How does it look 140 years after Ann began her journey?

We will find out as we follow Ann's diary. The journey begins June 28, 2010!