On February the 17th, 1839, Mrs. Jane Edwards was born to Samuel and Susan
Inglist, who were both born in England and emigrated to Evansville, Indiana.
When they were married they moved to Mt. Vernon, Illinois, where she was born.
In the pioneer days everyone had to work hard, even the little children
who were old enough to go to school. When Mrs. Edwards was only four years old
she was not tall enough to reach the top of the spindle on the spinning-wheel,
so her mother put a board on top of a box so that she could stand on this to
reach the spindle. She would catch ahold of the thread and walk back and forth
across the room, and in this way she spun much yarn for her mother.
When
she was old enough to attend school she went to a country school that was built
of logs. In the middle of the room was a big stove which was kept burning by
using logs for firewood. The benches were built on one side of the room and the
little tables which they wrote on were built on the opposite wall. The children
used slates to write on.
Every pupil that attended school paid the
teacher one dollar for his three months' services in teaching them. The school
teacher lived at the different homes during the school term (which lasted for
three months). He was never asked to pay board or room rent.
They also
had the church in the same building as the schoolhouse because they could not
afford to have a separate building. The room for the church was partitioned off
by a wall about three feet high. The children went to Sunday-school and church
every Sunday. They also went to church in the morning and again at night.
Mrs. Edwards' parents raised cotton. They had a hand gin which would
separate the seeds from the cotton. Mrs. Edwards helped gin many piles of
cotton. She did this work at night and used the flames from the fire-place for a
light to see by.
When fifteen or sixteen years old Mrs. Edwards often
went possum hunting. The best time to go was around dusk. She had a dog which
she took with her. She would dress in old clothes and go tramping away for some
fun. Her mother did not want her to go, and even threatened to whip her, but she
went anyway. The possum usually was on a branch of a tall tree. She would climb
the tree and shake the limb. The possum would fall to the ground and the dog
would kill it.
When Mrs. Edwards was a child, if she wanted any little
knick-knacks or trinkets for herself she had to weave blankets or knit socks out
of wool and sell them. Her parents had many blackberry bushes. The sheep were
allowed to run through these briars and some of their wool would be caught on
the thorns. Then she would go out and pick off the wool, card and spin it, to
make useful articles. Whenever she found a buyer she sold these things and with
the money bought whatever she wished.
At the age of twenty-one Mrs.
Edwards was married to Samuel Edwards, her cousin. Her husband lived in Troy
Grove, so that is why she happened to become a resident of our community.
When the Civil war broke out Mr. Edwards went to help serve his country. At
this time she had a son named George. She tried very hard to get enough money to
support her family, but in vain, so she went to Louisville, Kentucky, where her
husband was stationed as a soldier. When she arrived at Louisville she had a
hard time to find her husband, because there were several thousand soldiers
stationed there then. After making many mistakes she finally found Mr. Edwards.
She then went to the soldiers' headquarters and asked for help. She took them to
her rooms and showed them all the socks and other articles which she had knit.
They were pleased, and so every week she received a supply of groceries.
While residing in Louisville they lived in a log house two miles from town,
along the river bank. In the back yard of this place was a log cabin
smoke-house. In this house was a barrel of salt. Mrs. Edwards thought that this
barrel of salt would make a good bank for her money. So she actually salted her
money down. Here is her recipe: She put her money in a fruit can. Then emptied
the salt out of the barrel and put the fruit can in the bottom of the barrel,
then put all the salt back into the barrel. She felt as if this was a safe
hiding place for her money.
After the Civil war Mrs. Edwards came to
Troy Grove, Illinois, where Mr. Edwards worked as a harness maker until his
accidental death.
When George was going to school he had to take his
brother Charles with him in the baby carriage. There was a fence around the
school yard. Sometimes he would put his brother in the hall or in the yard.
Every so often the teacher went out to see if he was all right.
Mrs.
Edwards never complained. She helped the poor and gave them useful clothes.
Although she is 93 years old she has a good memory and is still active. When
I called upon her to get this story she was making plans for her garden. She
lives alone, does her own cooking and housework. She also takes care of all her
business transactions and is perfectly capable of doing these things. She tells
her son that she does not need a guardian. When I asked her how she keeps so
active she said, "It is because I worked in the fields while young and lived a
temperate life."
Extracted 08 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from Stories of Pioneer Days in La Salle County, Illinois, by Grammar Grade Pupils, published in 1932, page 29.
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