Dearborn County Donations for Soldiers’ Families – Oct 1863

The following article appeared in:
Aurora Commercial – 22 Oct 1863 – Page 3, Column 2

Wooding Of—In accordance with previous arrangements, some forty of fifty of the farmers of the country adjacent to this city came in on Saturday last with the wood and other articles that they intended for the use of soldiers’ families, which having been put away, the kind donors were invited into the vacant room under Schulze’s Hall, where a very nice lunch had been spread for them by the ladies of this city, and to which they paid their respects.

It was intended to get up a wood chopping frolic, to cut wood that had been donated for the purpose, but several circumstances prevented the carrying out of this project, and those who subscribed their names for this purpose agreeing to pay in money instead of labor, some three or four hundred dollars was subscribed, a large part of which has been collected. We give below the names of the donors of wood and provisions:

  • A. D. Hopping, load wood, lot potatoes.
  • C. Bainan, 3 bu. potatoes
  • Henry Shuten, load wood
  • Strawder Cheek, load wood
  • Christian Bosse, load wood
  • John Hill, load wood
  • A. L. Bailey, load wood
  • W. S. Bailey, load wood
  • S. A. Bundy, load wood
  • Ephraim Buderfeldt, load wood
  • J. D. Curtis, 6 bu. potatoes
  • Henry Wood, load wood
  • George Givan, load wood
  • H. Abbott, load wood
  • Charles Goulding, load wood
  • Henry Tufts, load wood, lot potatoes
  • John Tufts, lot potatoes, lot apples
  • S. D. Cole, load wood
  • E. G. Herron, load wood
  • Jonathan Cole, load wood
  • George Greer, load wood, lot potatoes
  • John Collins, lot potatoes
  • Wm. Chambers, lot potatoes
  • Jno. McConnell, load wood, lot potatoes
  • Jno. P. Tufts, lot potatoes
  • Z. Barker, lot potatoes
  • Thomas Davis, load wood
  • Joseph Beckett, 2 cords wood
  • S. S. Clark, lot turnips, &c.
  • Geo. W. Lane, 100 lbs. flour
  • D. C. Wright, 6 gals. molasses
  • Wm. Sawdon, load wood
  • A. D. Baker, load wood
  • Jacob Zinn, load wood
  • W. C. Buffington, load wood
  • A. Stevenson, load wood
  • George Wright, 8 bu. potatoes
  • R. J. Kilner, lot potatoes
  • James Younker, load wood
  • John Younker, load wood
  • Mrs. H. Winkley, load wood
  • Wm. Bruce, load wood
  • John E. Wymond, cash, $2
  • Samuel Sweet, cash, $1
  • George E. Briggs, load wood
  • Mrs. Dr. Ebersole, 4 bu. apples
  • Mrs. Elizabeth Cole, 6 bush. apples

We have no doubt that the donations, particularly of wood, would have been much larger, if our farmers were not so terribly behind with their work. Thirty loads of wood, with the cash that has been subscribed, will go a little ways in providing against present wants; but it will not last all winter. The next thing to do now is to make some arrangements for provisions, and we hope that our citizens will give the matter their immediate attention. We shall have to open our pockets pretty often this winter to keep our soldiers’ families in comfortable circumstances, and it would be more wise and economical to reduce the matter to a system at once. Who will move first in the matter?