General Notes

[Joanne's Tree.1 GED.GED]

2  PLAC H4666
2  SOUR S332582
3  DATA
4  TEXT Date of Import: 14 Jan 2004


[daveanthes.FTW]

BIOGRAPHY: 578. PHILENA REBECCA ROSENKRANS, daughter of Benjamin (268), was born near Edgewood, Iowa, September 5, 1857. She was named for Philena Bevans (105) and her grandmother, Rebecca Rosenkrans (104). She was married December 19, 1878, to Hartley M. Elliot, a farmer, and in May, 1881, moved with her husband westward in Iowa, to Wright County, settling on the prairie, where they lived awhile in a tent, which blew over in a night storm, and subsequently in a shanty, where two of her children were born, where her husband died, and she like Naoma was left a widow with two children in a strange land.
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But let us return to the story of Philena Rebeccas tent life on the prairie, as given by her mother and by herself, showing what the pioneers of our country in the early days and on the prairie have been willing to sacrifice and endure for the sake of securing homes for themselves and their families. Her mother in a letter of March, 1898, says , "Philena Rebecca Rosenkrans, daughter of Benjamin, lived with her parents until she was twenty-one. December 19, 1878, she married Hartley M. Elliot. May 17, 1881, they moved to Wright County, Iowa. They landed on the prairie and pitched a little tent, having a wagon cover for their bed. They had some very hard times, but were only driven in a neighbors house one night by a storm, which blew the tent over, but no damage was done. That summer they built a shanty and about the 4th of July moved in it. Then it was more like home.
Teresa R. Elliot. Born on Prairie, Iowa.
They had two children born to them in Wright County. Teresa Rebecca Elliot was born April 20, 1882, Clarence Hartley Elliot was born February 22, 1884. Hartley M. Elliot, the father, died April 3, 1884, and Philena had a sale and she and her children went back to her fathers in Clayton County." After making further inquiries regarding her life on the prairie, Mrs. Elliot, now Mrs. Woodridge, wrote as follows from Edgewood, Iowa, October 30, 1899: "Dear Relative: I will now try and answer your welcome letter and give you some history of myself. I have gone, through so much hardship in my life it is hard to tell it. * * * Elliot and I started for Wright County, 17th of May, 1881. We went with horse teams, and covered wagons and slept in our wagon, and drove on straight through. Took two pigs in a box, tied on the back of our wagon, and a box of chickens, and when night came we camped out, turned our pigs and chickens loose and let them have a run, and when dark came, caught them, milked our cows, fed the calves, then strained the rest of the milk in a big dish pan and in the morning we had all the cream we wanted. If we were near a house we gave it to the people, if not, threw what we could not use away. One night we camped where you could look as far as your eyes would let you and all could see was one little house, and two little straight maple trees, they had set for shade in time. In the morning we saw, as we supposed, a big cloud rising, and to our surprise it was a herd of cattle. We had an oil stove to cook on, on the road, and also used the oil stove all summer. We landed the last of May near Wall Lake, Wright County, at John McKinnis where we pitched our tent and with our wagon cover for our bed, we had our home. It looked like a lonesome home to me, and so it was. I would have died with loneliness had it not been for the kindness of Mrs. McKinnis.
Clarence H. Elliot. Born on Prairie, Iowa.
About the 4th of July we got a little shanty built 14x16 feet then it was better. It was ship lapped inside and out. It was quite cozy. We could shut the snakes and frogs out then. The grass there was so full of garter snakes and frogs, you could not go a rod from the house without running on them. Now I will tell you how I made butter: I had a tub by the well and tall cans, strained the milk in the cans, pumped water in the tub, covered the tub and put blankets over the cans for shades, raised the cream and churned it out doors, then put it in a dugout to keep it cool. I got the highest price for my butter. I must tell you the expression my father made when he heard of it: "She can make butter on a log." The wind always blew there, and we had some very hard storms. We never got injured ourselves, but had a horse killed by lightning. My husband did breaking for a living the first summer, but we never went hungry. We took about one hundred quarts of canned fruit with us. There wasnt any fruit to speak of in Wright County, at that time."
Two years after Mrs. Elliots return to Edgewood she was married April 7, 1886, to Francis Irvin Woodridge, a farmer. Their children are: Benjamin Irvin, born January 24, 1888, Louie Arthur, born June 29, 1889, and Pearl Edna Woodridge, born February 20, 1892. Mr. Woodridge is a mason and carpenter as well as a farmer, and as reported by Mrs. Woodridge in the fall of 1898, was engaged in building themselves a new house on a small farm, which they own near Edgewood. Mr. and Mrs. Elliot were both members of the "United Brethren Community," or church, and were immersed at the same time. Mr. Woodridge, her present husband, is also a member of that church, though the church services of that denomination, it is said, have been discontinued in Edgewood since the establishment of the M.E. church there. The likenesses of the two children of Philena Rebecca, born on the prairie are herewith presented in sketch drawing from very small pictures.


BIOGRAPHY: Second marriage for each. Total of 2 daughters and 3 sons.