EXERPTS FROM "THE JOHNSTOWN STORY"
This is from a book, The Johnstown Story, written by Freda (Landrus) Misenheimer copyrighted in 1976 and now out of print. She lived in Trilla, Illinois.(Starting from middle of page)
I went from Bills to Ed Elsons, near Neoga. He's just 80. He 'was horne and in a jovial.mood. His sister, Lillie Elson, had married John Haga. I asked him where the old home place was and he said just south of the Hulla Landrus place and on the west side of the road on the Johnstown to Trilla road.
"Oh, yes. I know Johnstown very well. Johnstown, the metropolis of the brush country. I remember the postoffice in the store, and a tale they told of one of the Richardsons". He told rne, "The Richardsons were the bad men of Johnstown," said Ed, "snake mean when they were drunk. in fact, they ran the saloon. Anyway, there were two Richardsons. One of them was in the post office, bragging how he was going to beat someone up, how he was going to tear him limb from limb. One of the listeners glanced out of the window and shouted to Richardson, 'hey, there he comes now,' and Richardson said, disgustedly, 'yeah, and me sick as hell today, too!'"
Of course we laughed. Ed was endowed of a very dry humor, that was extremely jestful. He said he remembered hearing his folks speak of the Dillsavers. They had a child, Louetta to burn to death. Probably George's sister.
George Dillsaver had said when in the store that he was born in 1871. and Nancy died in 1868. Too, there was a gap of four years in the death dates. 1865 to 1869. Possibly Louetta was born in 1867 and had lived. Said Ed, "it seemed the parents had gone to the village when the child got her clothes on fire, She rushed to the door and saw her parents coming along the road and ran screaming toward them and fell at their feet in a sheet of flame!"
If the little girt died here where was she buried? If at Wright possibly she had no stone and the grave was lost.
I spoke of the Straders.. and what Ed Brown had told me. "Oh. yes. I knew Benton Strader," Ed said. "He rnarried a Betty Starwalt. He lived only a short distance from me, on south along the road. Benton wasn't just right in his mind after he had taken sick. Oliver Beals had been there caring for him and he stopped to tell me how sick Benton was.so I went down to see him and offer any help I could. I tried to cheer him. but he was fuzzy and had the obsession he wouldn't live long. I said, 'yes, you will, you'll be better in a few days, you'll be okay.' 'No, Ed, no I won't.' whispered Benton, 'I'm not long for this world-- I just swallowed my throat!'"
Ed remembered Syd Greeson ran a grist mill. He and Levi Beals went to the Johnstown mill once, each with a bag of corn behind his saddle. They got the meal into the sacks and tied back in place. They got into the saddle again. "Now, I never was a fancy horsernan," said Ed, grinning, "but I sure wished l was that day. For no reason, that horse reared sky-high! How I stayed on, I don't know. but I did, then he bucked all over the place. Everytime he lit, he did so just about a second before the bag of meat got down, bob up, bob down. bob all over the road. Everyone was laughing fit to kill, thats the way it always was with me, Everyone laughing, but the joke always on me. Every buck, that meal bag bounced higher than I did, luckily the ties held and I didn't lose it." I asked if he knew Seymour Garren. "He saved John Connell's life once, you recall John was crippled by a horse when young? Well, John had climbed in a pen with a mean hog and it had attacked and bowled him over. He knew Seymour was working not far away so he shouted for help and Seymour ran. As he neared the pen, John kept shouting. 'save me, Seemer, save me Seemer!' And Seemer leaped fearlessly upon the animal and beat it off of John and dragged him out. They lived nexl door to each other and till their death, they were good friends." I remarked upon the oddity of Seymour's nickname. Seem or Seemer; that I could remember my mother, when the washtng machine broke down, rushing out into the road as Seem was passing by. calling, "Seem! Oh, Seem could you come see if it can be fixed ?" I close my eyes trying to see more clearly this so controversial figure of Seymour, grandson of Jesse Benjamin, dark, handsome. soft voiced and gentle. He was older then and this younger man they told me of eluded me. But he came to the aid of my mother and repaired her washing machine in a jiffy. I asked of Johnstown as he remembered it as a boy. "Oh, just a normal little old town," he smiled. "Every Sunday afternoon, the boys met in the road there by Johnstown, ran races, jumped etc., maybe 100 people would be there lining the road on both sides. They called it a "fair". Once. I remember they drove a stake in the road and asked for runners.. one on foot and one on a horse. They would run so many yards to the stake, turn and run back.
Now. who would be fool enough to run on foot against a horse, I asked. "Oh, Lots of them," he said. "John Connell was the one on a horse this day. as wild and ornery a three year old critter as could be found anywhere. John had been injured sometime before, but he had a daring streak and the horse was wild and in air half the time, finally threw John and we all thought had surety killed him, but, he rose and lived to ride again. Believe me. boys could run in those days too. without diet, or training."
He spoke of this group of runners.. a Rube Scott, down Bradbury way. A canny, fast runner who meant to win. Another was Alex Nash. Noseless Alex, he was called, Sometime before a horse had bitten his nose off. "Alex arranged for a race between Rube and me," Ed said mildly. "For l was Johnstown's fastest runner. Alex cautioned me about Rube, that he had a line, would jocky along and call for a new start, unless he chanced to be a few feet in the lead. Well, I was ready for him, and when we crossed the tine, we were even. I beat him and good. And that ended Rube's running at Johnstown. If he couldn't win. he wouldn't run. The gatherings there on Sunday were a great thing in the way of entertainment, and never cost a cent, only a littte foot wear, maybe," "Too, I can remember the big baptizings they had there by the old bridge, my, the great revivals, the big crowds, the singings, the music would mount to the sky, and there was romance and laughter and fun, and there was Uncle Jourdan Brown, the day be was baptized. I'll never forget Uncle Jourdan Brown. Everyone loved him and his wife, Lydia. He had been a hard one to convince he should be baptized. The preacher led him into the water as the choir sang, and over the spectators a hushed air of solemnity hung, but, coming up out of the water onto the sand bar, Uncle Jourdan broke it to bits. He turned to Lydia and said, 'I'll bet you five dollars, Lydia, I'll get pneumonia over this. I'll bet you I get sick as a dog'.
"Ah, yes," said Ed, "Johnstown was quite a place. I'm almost sorry to see It go"... I wonder who said it was going. Author's Note: Ed Elson died of a heart attack, June 11, 1955. Burial place, Neoga Cemetery.
5-1 Elizabeth Campbell, called Lizzie, marr. , Montie William M. EIson, b. Aug. 22, 1856, d. Mar. 18, 1919.
Children: Oscar Elson, marr. . Myrtle Titus, dau. of Wm. and Maude (Highland) Titus.
One son, Glen Elson, marr. , and divorced. No children.
Bertha May Elson, single, b. Nov. 26, 1894, d. Jan. 16, 1937.
Lizzie Elson owned and lived on the farm, West of the old Geo. D. Coleman farm 2 miles due west of Johnstown.
Hello! I actually found this page while on a search. My grandmothers great great grandparents were Jourdan Brown and Lydia Alexander and I believe this quote might be including them! I actually have a photo of them from my Grandma. I do have a question for you though... I was wondering if you knew the parents of Jourdan Brown? I've been looking everywhere and I get Jonathan Brown, but then I either get Phoebe Boone (Daniel Boone's descendant) or Phebe Carman (Royal Family of France's descentant). Any help you have would be really helpful! So awesome of you to have this page!
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