| The Heatons | |
Lucius Edwin Heaton was born in St. Lawrence County, New York in 1856. He was the second eldest child of Lewis and Mary Heaton. His father was born in Jefferson Co. N.Y. 5/18/1830 and was of English parentage. His mother was Mary Brown who was born at Whitingham, VT. 1/15/1835. She was of Welsh and Irish parentage. Their parents moved to New York State when they were young. They became acquainted there and were married 12/11/1853. There were twelve children born to this union, all of whom grew to man and womanhood except one son who died in infancy and one son who passed away at the age of fourteen. When Mr. Heaton was six months old his parents (fall of 1856) moved to Illinois. They traveled by rail to Chicago and by rail to Delavan, Tazewell Co., where they resided until Mr. Heaton was seven years of age. They then moved to Morrison, Illinois in Whiteside County where they lived for three years. At the age of ten years the Heatons moved to Tama County, Iowa. This was in February, 1867. All the family except Mr. Heaton went by rail. He and his uncle Lucius drove the stock and the wagon which contained their household possessions. On this journey they had many dangerous experiences. It was necessary to cross several rivers and at this time of the year they were unusually high. They crossed the Mississippi river from Fulton, Illinois to Clinton, Iowa just before the ice went out and there was a foot of water on both sides of the river. Later on while crossing the Wapsie Pinicon river, they met with quite a serious misfortune. They crossed on a large bridge which was washed out later in the day. After crossing the bridge, it was necessary to travel on a turnpike which was 20 feet high and the water was three feet above this. A man had been engaged to drive their team and pilot them across. Uncle Lucius drove the stock and Mr. Heaton was riding on the wagon with the driver. Another man, driving ahead of them, reached the opposite side safely but the team which the Heatons were driving became frightened at a cake of ice which slipped down on to the pike causing them to shy and go off the grade. The team, wagon and all their possessions were carried under the ice and the team was drowned. A colt belonging to one of the lost horses came running up from behind after its mother. It made for the bank of an island in the river and as it passed Mr. Heaton grabbed the colt's mane and it pulled him to the bank where he grabbed the branches of some trees. His uncle seeing the accident, came back and pulled both the boy and the colt out of the water. They were taken back to a small village where they were cared for by very kind people. Word was sent to the father in Iowa who came back and Alfred Heaton, Mr. Heaton's uncle, also came from Illinois to help them. Alfred Heaton was the grandfather of S. J. King of Bismarck. It was necessary for them to wait for the water to recede and they remained at this place for about a week. A raft was built to bring the stock back across the river. The stock consisted of 7 head of cattle and 4 pigs. As soon as the river froze over, they resumed their journey by foot and horseback and reached their destination without further mishap. Mr. Heaton grew to manhood on the Iowa homestead. He received his education in the public schools, at the Addison Collegiate Institute at Irving, Iowa and later attended the Teachers Normal at Vinton, Iowa. After finishing school he was engaged int he teaching profession. He was married to Maria Louisa Spracklen in 1878. Mr. Heaton had eight brothers and three sisters--Clara M. Peck of McCallsburg, Iowa--Lewis Heaton of Pierson, Iowa--Louisa M. Tompkins of Spencer, South Dakota (deceased). William of Memphis, Tennessee, Alfred of Minneapolis, Minn.--Ward P. of Gary, South Dakota, Arthur of Perth, North Dakota--Myron E. of Elberon, Iowa and Charles, deceased. Bertha Hilton of Elberon, Iowa and James, deceased. Mr. Heaton's parents celebrated their fiftieth ann. in 1903. His mother died in 1904 at the age of 72 years. His father died in 1919 at the age of 89 years. He had nine grandchildren in the World War. Lewis Heaton I I was born on 18 May 1830 in Jefferson County, New York; the son of Lewis and Seviah(?) Heaton. Lewis grew up in Jefferson County, New York and probably met and married Mary Brown there. About 1853, Lewis and his family moved to Delavan, Tazewell County, Illinois along with Lewis' father and his family. Lewis and Mary remained in Delavan until after 1860. They then spent a few years in Morrison County, Illinois. In 1867, he moved his family to Elberon, Tama County, Iowa. In 1902, he and Mary moved into the town of Elberon, about a mile west of their farmstead. In about 1906, Lewis remarried to a woman named Minerva, who was 21 years his junior. They lived on First Avenue in Elberon according to the 1910 census. Lewis Heaton I do not know much about Lewis Heaton, the elder. He was born about 1796 in Vermont, the son of James and Freedom (Rider) Heaton. Sometime during his childhood, the family moved to upstate New York, near Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties. He married a woman named Seviah (I have also seen her name as Sophia, Sarah, and Judith) before 1825. They had three children: Orrin, Lucius Robert, and Lewis. Sometime after 1853, he and his family moved to Delavan, Tazewell, Illinois. The family appears there in the 1860 census. After that point, I have lost track of him.
James Heaton |
|