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Journal of Mariah Case McAninch (1850-1918), |
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Ringgold County, Iowa, and Neodesha, Kansas |
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Mariah Case, daughter of Jacob and Mary Brison (Cox) Case, married Cyrus Clark McAninch, 1870. |
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“Mariah Case Journal”, also known as “Mariah Case Record”, transcribed by two grand-daughters -- |
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Marjorie (McA.) Waggoner, San Jose, daughter of Peter Clark McAninch, and Betty Jo (McA.) |
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Barker, Las Vegas, daughter of Ebon Merritt McA. (Betty Jo has the diary now) [Notes 1, 2, 3] |
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[pg. 1] Mariah Case was born in (Benton County) Arkansas, April the twelfth, 1850, and in a short time was moved to Missouri, and only stayed there a short time, moved from there to Decatur County (Iowa), close to where Davis City is now. ... I being old enough to begin to remember some things. |
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I remember my little brother (Martin Alexander, 4-24-1852 - 4-06-1853) died there, and my Mother has told me that Father was so grieved to give up his little boy he could not stay there, and then he moved to Iowa. He moved to Ringgold County, Iowa, where the Indians was [Note 4]. I was only four years old. I remember of how afraid I was when I saw the red Indians the year that we moved to Iowa in 1854. |
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[pg. 3] The Indians would pass by our log hut all looking so savage. Sometimes there would be as many as twenty or thirty all riding one right behind the other with their blankets around them or thrown across their ponies, and most of them would have some kind of game (on) it. So strange to see. … It seemed like the wolves would come to our shanty every night and try and get in at those cracks, before Father could get them fixed. [pg. 4] We had a small bed that Mother put under the large bed. When night came the wolves came and Mother would draw the small bed out against the door so when the wolves would fight with the dogs they could not push the door down. |
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[pg. 9] I think my father was one among the first white men that came to Ringgold County. I have heard him say that when he came to enter his home (claim the land) he stayed all night with the Indians. |
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[pg. 10] In about 1857 we began to have our country school. Our school house was made out of logs just like the ones (houses that) we lived in. Some of the children had to go two or three miles to school and only a few scholars in each school. Sometimes they would teach in some of their homes. We heard of one little girl being torn to pieces. They found her foot with the shoe and stocking up to the knee. We would often see a bunch of wolves going home from school, and deers was so many that folks shot them for their meat. Some time we would try to make pets of them. They would be good (pets) until a herd came along. Out they would go, jump the fence and bolt. |
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[pg. 11] When I was about ten years old I was going to school in one of those old log huts. The brush was so thick that I could hardly find the way. When we got there (there was) so much brush around the school there was no room to play. So I and another girl about my size went to play and she got snake bit. The teacher sent me to take her home. She walked aways and I would try to carry her. She was too heavy for me and we would both sit down and cry and then we would try to go again. I could not get her home. So, as dark came to us there was a man came by. I told him to take her home. He took her in his arms and carried her home. She died that night. |
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[pg. 18] When I began to think of housekeeping I thought of so many things that I was needing to keep house with. I never got to go to school much of my days. Not over three months out of each year. My education was not so much in books so I never knew much about the arithmetic. |
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Journal of Mariah Case McAninch (1 of 6), transcribed by Marjorie Waggoner and Betty Jo Barker |
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McAninch Family History NL, VII-3 July 1999 Copyright Frank McAninch page 1999-19 |