No. 38

The Elders in 1831 & The Logans

Dear Stewart,

I feel like I was there when Henry Brother, your grandfather, rushed out of the house when he got word that Robbie Logan died, leaving seven minor children. This was in Bath, New York in May 1831.

When he arrived at the Logan house, the oldest was trying to manage, but reported that Logan’s neighbor, who they thought would soon be his next wife, emphatically refused to help.

Well, the boy got only part of the situation right. The lady refused to help when she refused Logan’s dirty hand, just days earlier.

Brother knew some of this from the men at the Freemason lodge. Although he wanted to tap on the boy's shoulder, whispering that they were all better off without her, he bit his lip. He picked up the baby, who promptly soiled him, and one by one added the rest of that household to his wagon, rehearsing what he was going to say for the women at the parsonage.

When he returned for dinner at his own house, wild now with three young children of his own, he promptly walked up the stairs and changed his shirt.

Mary Ann, his wife, walked in and started talking about something in the kitchen while carrying on her hip, little Rebecca, the newest addition, who waited patiently for her father to get on a dry shirt on before climbing on him, before wetting on him.

Years later Mr. Brother would tease Rebecca about this day. He remembered it clearly for the suffering of the Logan bunch and the drama in court that followed, taking months to arrange their permanent guardians. He reminded Rebecca of this day in particular because she was the one who grew up most intolerant of mess, clutter, dirt, and, in general, any low brow sloth and slop.

From time to time, he felt that his second girl needed a reminder of the outdoors and those who work with their hands, close to the earth, at the mills, or with the Logans. And it was getting into her, eventually, the dirty business of truth.

Henry enjoyed the way Cornelia and Rebecca taught the Logan children in both regular books and in Sunday school, showing them where to leave mud, how to wash their hands, how to dry their hands, where to hang the linen, and always with a song or a Bible verse, washing, scrubbing, and loving the smell of soap, and hating the taste of soap, when correction was needed.

— Miss Minnie

2025 Copyright Christine Friesel