While I had been in attendance at school that spring I had frequently noticed the well improved farm of Mr Andrew McDowelI adjoining Urbana an the east and wished that we owned it. I called Father’s attention to it and he seemed to like it and was favorably impressed with the appearance and location of the farm. Not long after this he exchanged our farm near Buffalo for Mr. McDowell's farm near Urbana, and that fall we removed from Buffalo to our new home.

The dwelling on the farm we left was small and old and Mother had often regretted while we were living there that we did not have a better, more commodious house, and when we moved she was pleased to find that our new dwelling house was a nice white painted two story structure of six rooms, with a one story ell kitchen situated on a farm of 130 acres, about 80 acres of which was in cultivation. Although she was a constant sufferer from the slowly spreading cancer with which she had been afflicted for several years, she was wonderfully cheerful for one in such a hopeless condition, and was spared to enjoy as best she could, the comfort and convenience of her new home. There was a fine apple orchard and many peach trees on the farm and we had plenty of fruit for home use and some to sell. Mother raised a lot of chickens, we had two good cows and so we had plenty of chicken and eggs, milk and butter and we always raised a good supply of vegetables. Father, as it had been his habit for years, always raised and fattened some hogs, and so we had fresh pork in its season and ham and bacon the year round and we were well satisfied with our change of residence.

I think Mr. McDowell and his wife were induced to exchange their Urbana farm for our farm near Buffalo for the reason, probably that it was adjacent to the county seat, a much larger town than Urbana, and farm property there would become more valuable than farms farther from the county seat, but I think the main inducement was that there was more satisfactory church privileges to them at Buffalo than at Urbana. They were members of the Presbyterian Church, or at least they were members of that church before their emigration to Missouri, and there was no Presbyterian Church at or near Urbana and there was a nice Presbyterian edifice and a fairly strong church organization of that denomination in Buffalo, and they had a great desire to live where they could attend religious services in a church of their choice

During the year 1874 and 1875, Mr. William Benton Coon accepted the position of principal of the Buffalo Public School. At the solicitation of Professor Andrews, I assisted him in the fall and winter term of the Urbana Select School. We had a very successful and satisfactory term that year and I enjoyed association with Mr. Andrews in the work very much. At the close of school in the spring, Professor Andrews accepted a position as principal of a school at Dadeville, Missouri and we discontinued the Urbana Select School. That fall and winter I taught a term of public school at Dallas Schoolhouse. There were a great many pupils in attendance, and we had a very interesting and from many expressions at approval by patrons, a satisfactory term of school.

Soon after we moved to Urbana, Father began to make professional calls and before many months had elapsed he was doing a good practice. But as he had become old and less able to do strenuous work, Brother Dolph came to his assistance having exchanged his property in Buffalo for Mr. Benton Coon’s farm near Urbana, and they moved to their new home and Father and Dolph began to do a partnership practice doing a considerably increased practice and continuing their partnership for several years.

I think that during the last year we lived near Buffalo, my brother-in-law, John H. Price, tilled our farm, but it was one of the well remembered "chinch bug" years and his fine prospect for a good crop early in the season was badly damaged by the pestiferous insects, which so discouraged John that he became dissatisfied with farming and accepted a position as engineer at the Buffalo Steam Flouring Mill. He continued at this work for several years when having become proficient as a stationary engineer they sold their farm near Buffalo and removed to John’s old home county in Illinois. He obtained employment with the Illinois Central Railroad and they located at Pana, Illinois where they lived for many years. Having bought a good comfortable home, they were well pleased with having again become residents of Illinois. Not a great while after they located in Pana, their first son was born, whom they named Luther Clay after me (Sister wrote me) and John’s brother Clay. As they now had a much appreciated home and John had a very satisfactory and lucrative job and the daughters, Nelle and Etta, were pupils in one of Pana ‘s public schools, they often expressed themselves in their letters to us as well pleased with their environment.

A year or two after Dolph moved to Urbana, he was subpoenaed as a witness in the United States District Court at St. Louis, and being at leisure at the time I decided to accompany him to the city. He had to attend court several days, during which time I had an opportunity to see some of the sights in the big metropolis. I viewed many of the public and business buildings, spent several delightful hours at beautiful "Shaws Garden", one of the most extensive floral exhibits at that time in the United States; saw and crossed over the recently constructed Ead's steel bridge over the Mississippi River and saw many other things of interest to a country boy. We remained in the city over Sunday and attended religious services at one of the large Methodist churches. The church music was rendered by a large choir, accompanied by a large pipe organ, and it was excellent. The sermon was delivered by Bishop Simpson, one of the most eloquent pulpit orators in America at that time.

Copyright ©2004 Larry Slavens. All rights reserved.