Sarah Geer McIntyre: The Courage to Carry On, Part 3

Continued from Part 2, published May 13, 2021.

 

Meanwhile, from 1865 until his death in 1913, Sarah’s father, William E. Geer, made a life for himself in Wisconsin. On April 26, 1868, he married Julia Trumbull, the foster daughter of Maiden Rock’s founder and leading citizen, John D. Trumbull, and his wife, Betsy Lyon Trumbull. Julia was 18 years old at the time of her marriage to William, who was 38. They had no children.

 

If William ever considered returning to Virginia, he must have pushed the idea further and further back in his mind as the years passed. Did he receive an occasional letter from his mother with word about Sarah? Was he plagued by feelings of guilt for not returning to see them? Did Sarah feel abandoned by him? Did the pain of his mother’s letter telling him not to come home continue to trouble him? He left no record to answer these questions.

 

Evidence from the Maiden Rock Press indicates that William’s life in this tiny village on a bluff above Lake Pepin was busy and full. For a time, he apparently operated a restaurant and saloon. When he sold his business, the Pierce County (Wisconsin) Herald ran this notice on the March 29, 1877:

Religion, since the decision of the Commission, seems to occupy a permanent place in the thoughts of the sedate people of the “Rock.” Mr. Wm. Geer, who has been keeping a restaurant and saloon in the village, experienced a change of heart and immediately sold out. Ed Eldridge will fill the vacancy.1

 

Some time later, William began delivering mail. His mail runs took him from Maiden Rock to six other towns in the area around Lake Pepin. After William had carried the mail for ten years, he calculated his total miles traveled. He gave these figures to the Maiden Rock Press:

The following is the distance traveled by our mail carrier, Mr. W. E. Geer, in a period of ten years: From Maiden Rock to River Falls, in three years, 9,984 miles; from Red Wing to Reed’s Landing, in three years, 12,480 miles; from Maiden rock to Rock Elm in one year, 1,664 miles; from Maiden Rock to Lake City in three years, 7,488 miles; from Maiden Rock to Frontenac, 730 miles; from Maiden Rock to Ellsworth in three years and three months, 7,006 miles; from Maiden Rock to Hersey in three years and four months, 18,712 miles; making a total of 65,542 miles travel in ten years. 2

 

The Press also reported that William was instrumental in chartering a post of the Grand Army of the Republic. He had found camaraderie with a group of war veterans in Maiden Rock, and together they organized Grand Army of the Republic Post 158. William enjoyed planning Memorial Day programs at the Maiden Rock Cemetery. Eventually, because of his active participation, his loyalty, and his story of sacrifice for the Union, the post was named for him. To this day, it retains the name, “W. E. Geer American Legion Post 158.”

 

Highlights in the lives of the village’s citizens inevitably ended up in the Maiden Rock Press. In December of 1905, a momentous occasion for William received the headline, “An Old Soldier’s Romance”:

W. E. Geer received what was probably as greatly appreciated a Christmas

remembrance as was received by any one in town. It was a box from his daughter, who lives near Saltville, Va., and contained numerous pictures of his daughter and her son, their home and a bird’s-eye of the salt works; also of the village in the “Gap.” In the last picture he can easily locate the homes of his daughter and of his sister; also the old stone spring-house where he drank many a refreshing draught of cool water in his early days.

 

Among other presents was a cake, a portion of which Mr. Geer divided among his

friends. Ye editor received a liberal portion, and we can testify that it was fine. The reception of the box brought up a flood of remembrances of former days.

 

Mr. Geer has not seen his daughter since he left her, a motherless child, 1½ years

old, in the care of his mother, when he was compelled to leave home in 1862, because of his strong northern ideas. He was first taken as a conscript, in the year above mentioned, and was compelled to join Co. G, 48^th Virginia regiment. But, on July 3, 1863, at the battle of Gettysburg, he and his brother Tom, escaped and made their way to the Union lines. The brothers became separated that day and have never met since.

 

Mr. Geer fell in with a company of Union soldiers, and later enlisted in Co. G, 1^st

Connecticut cavalry, as a teamster. Later he was promoted to wagon master—a position

he held till the close of the war.

 

When Grant took command, Co. G (made up largely of southern men) was ordered to Ft. Snelling to fill a vacancy. After being mustered out of the service, Mr. Geer received word from his mother that it would be unsafe for him to return to the home of his boyhood; so he remained in the north. After spending a few years around St. Paul, Prescott, and other places, he came to Maiden Rock, where he has since made his home. He has often thought of visiting the old home, but his health will not permit the journey.

 

Thus, at this season of good cheer, was he remembered by the daughter he has not seen for 43 years; and to say that he was pleased is but a mild expression of what he felt when he opened his Christmas box.3

 

This “Christmas box” initiated a correspondence between Sarah and her stepmother, Julia Geer, a correspondence that lasted until Sarah’s death in 1928. In her letters, Julia addressed Sarah as “Dear Daughter” embracing her as the daughter she never had, and Julia even specified in her will that Sarah should receive all her earthly belongings.4 Unfortunately, Julia never revised her will after Sarah’s death. Therefore, none of Julia’s estate, worth about $400.00, could be passed on to Sarah’s son Martie because he was not related to Julia by blood. Instead, Julia’s estate reverted to the state of Wisconsin.5

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1 According to Lelynn Trumbull, a nephew of Julia Geer, “The ‘decision of the Commission’ . . . probably was a pre-Prohibition restriction of the sale of alcohol.” Lelynn Trumbull. Personal note attached to newspaper article sent to Lois Troutman, 8 Feb. 1991.

2 Maiden Rock Press. N. dat. N. pag.

3 “An Old Soldier’s Romance,” Maiden Rock Press, February 1905, n. pag. After searching Civil War records, I have found that parts of this story are not true: (1) Wm. E. Geer volunteered in 1861; he was not taken as a conscript in 1862, although he was forced to return to service after he left without leave in 1862. (2) William and his brother did not “[escape and make] their way to Union lines” during the Battle of Gettysburg. Records show that William was actually captured on July 5, 1863, during a dramatic retreat from Gettysburg and imprisoned at Fort Delaware. He signed the oath of allegiance on Oct. 1, 1863, and joined the Union army then. Thomas continued his Confederate service until the end of the war, in spite of being captured on May 12, 1864, at Spotsylvania and imprisoned at Point Lookout, Md., and Elmira, N. Y. (Chapla, p. 124).

4 A copy of the will is in the possession of the author. The original is in a Will Book at the Pierce County Court House, Ellsworth, Wis.

5 A copy of the Petition for Probate of Will for Julia E. Geer and a copy of The Final Account and Petition for Assignment of Estate is in the possession of the author. The originals are in the Pierce County Court House, Ellsworth, Wis.

 

More to come . . .

 

William E. Geer in front of his home in Maiden Rock, WI, c 1910.

Julia and William E. Geer, c. 1880.

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1 According to Lelynn Trumbull, a nephew of Julia Geer, “The ‘decision of the Commission’ . . . probably was a pre-Prohibition restriction of the sale of alcohol.” Lelynn Trumbull. Personal note attached to newspaper article sent to Lois Troutman, 8 Feb. 1991.

2 Maiden Rock Press. N. dat. N. pag.

3 “An Old Soldier’s Romance,” Maiden Rock Press, February 1905, n. pag. Records show that parts of this story are not true: (1) Wm. E. Geer volunteered in 1861; he was not taken as a conscript in 1862; however, he was forced to return to service after he went AWOL in 1862. (2) William and his brother did not “[escape and make] their way to Union lines” during the Battle of Gettysburg. Records show that William was actually captured on July 5, 1863, during a dramatic retreat from Gettysburg and imprisoned at Fort Delaware. He signed the oath of allegiance on Oct. 1, 1863, and joined the Union army then. Thomas continued his Confederate service until the end of the war, in spite of being captured on May 12, 1864, at Spotsylvania and imprisoned at Point Lookout, Md., and Elmira, N. Y. Source: John D. Chapla, 48^th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, VA: H. E. Howard, Inc., 1989), p. 124.

4 A copy of the will is in the possession of the author. The original is in a Will Book at the Pierce County Court House, Ellsworth, Wis.

5 A copy of the Petition for Probate of Will for Julia E. Geer and a copy of The Final Account and Petition for Assignment of Estate is in the possession of the author. The originals are in the Pierce County Court House, Ellsworth, Wis.

Sarah Geer McIntyre: The Courage to Carry On, Part 2

Continued from previous post. . .

Little is known of Sarah Geer’s life between the end of the Civil War and her marriage to Martin McIntyre in 1897; no censuses recorded where she lived or with whom. She likely lived with her mother's sister Hannah Allison and her large family, although the 1870 and 1880 censuses of Smyth County, Virginia do not include her in the Allison household. Family tradition says that her dark complexion earned her the nickname “little black Sally,” and she was said to be “black Dutch,” a term commonly applied to Melungeons, a group of people of mixed ethnic ancestry first noted living in northeastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia.1 At this writing, however, there is no proof of Melungeon ancestry.

There is no uncertainty, however, that Sarah’s lifelong best friend was Sarah Alice (“Allie”) Rumbley. Allie’s pale blue eyes, blonde hair, fair skin, and round face contrasted sharply with Sarah’s brown eyes, black hair, dark skin, and bird-like features. Family tradition says that Sarah and Allie met while they worked at the Palmer Inn in Saltville, where Sarah was the cook and Allie was the housekeeper.2 Earliest written evidence suggests that their friendship began possibly before 1888. A note in a small account book written by Allie in her even and carefully slanted script describes important events in their lives:

Sarah Alice Rumbley was borned June 6, 1858  was convicted of sin Feb 14 1877. Sunday the 18, candidate for membership. May Thursday 2^nd 1878 professed faith in Christ. First prayer in public July Thursday 25 1878 amersed september Thirsay 6 1883.

Sarah A. Geer convicted November 21 1888 converted the 22^nd and received in the church.3

Another page identifies the church as Methodist.

 

Between the time Allie says she felt “convicted of sin” and the time she “professed faith in Christ,” she wrote the following letter to an “Absent Friend” entreating that person’s prayers for her:

By the request of a friend

Woodland, Virginia

July 7^th, 1877

My Absent Friend

I hardly know how to address you, as I have never bin blessed with anoppertunity of forming your acquaintance, but by the halls of God’s Spirit, and the influence of your earnest prayer I will endever to address you in the best way and manner that I know how. In the first place I must confess how greatly your request surprised me; and at the same time I thank God for ever giving me such a friend here in this selfish world to take such a deep interest in my soul’s eternal welfare. O, that true Christians would a wake to the deathless interest of poor perishing sinners; ever remembering that he that converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. My friend don’t think me presumptuous or unkind when I endever to impress upon your mind the request of an increased interest in your prayers, for freely you have received and freely give.

Oh, pray earnestly till I have received that good potion which can never be

taken from me. I do thank God for the impression that secret prayer has made on my heart, for often I feel happiness unspeakable.

Excuse me if I have bin two plain, for thoughts welcome to my bosome, may

make yours bleed. My friend you will do me a great favor by keeping those few illcomposed lines in secret—let them be as though they had never bin written, and as if the occasion for them had never arisen.

To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,

both now and ever. Amen.

                        I remain most affectionately and respectfully yours,

                                                                                                Sarah A.

 

Both Allie and Sarah could have signed a letter Sarah A., but the handwriting is Allie’s uniformly slanted script. By contrast, Sarah’s handwriting looks haphazard, angling this way and that, like a river meandering through the countryside.

 

Allie’s letter reveals the religious language commonly used during that day, phrases such as “my soul’s eternal welfare” and “wake to the deathless interest of poor perishing sinners.” Her words are elegant and passionate: “I do thank God for the impression that secret prayer has made on my heart, for often I feel happiness unspeakable.” The “ill-composed lines” she references, we shall never know. This letter reveals a passion for God that continued with Allie and Sarah throughout their lives, a passion they passed on to Sarah’s son, stepchildren, nieces, and grandchildren.

 

Other than her conversion at age 28, no other record exists of Sarah’s activities for another nine years. In 1897, at age 37, Sarah would have been labeled a spinster or an “old maid” when she was married on June 16, 18974 to Martin McIntyre, a laborer and widower with four children. Allie Rumbley and Sarah’s cousin Rachel Allison, daughter of Hannah and John Allison, witnessed the marriage.5 Martin’s first wife, Susan (neé Chapman) McIntyre, had died the previous summer (July 13, 1896).6

 

Whether Sarah was acquainted with the McIntyre family before Susan’s death is unknown. The marriage may have been one of convenience for Martin who surely needed a cook and housekeeper and caretaker for his children: Katie (16), Stephen (14), Gould (12), and Elizabeth, or Lizzie, (7).7 On the other hand, Katie was old enough to step in as cook and housekeeper, so his marriage to Sarah may have been a love match. Existing evidence does not answer this question.

 

Whatever the case, tragedy struck less than eight weeks later when Martin suffered a sudden heart attack and died on August 7, 1897, as he was splitting wood.8 Suddenly, Sarah was left a widow with four stepchildren in her care—and she was pregnant. At Martin’s death, Sarah’s friend Allie immediately came to her aid. Eight and a half months after Martin died, Sarah gave birth to a son on April 30, 1898. She named the child John Martin and called him Martie. By the time the 1900 census was taken, Allie Rumbley was living with Sarah,9 and Martin’s children were scattered, as often happened with the death of parents. Gould lived in Kentucky,10 Lizzie lived with Sarah and Allie,11 and the whereabouts of Kate and Stephen is unknown.12 Allie and Sarah supported their family by their work as cook and housekeeper at the Palmer Inn.

 

About 1905, a Church of God preacher from Norton, Virginia, named M.P. Rimmer traveled  to Allison Gap and held a revival. Influenced by Rimmer’s sermons and those of other evangelists, such as A. G. Riddle of Atkins, Virginia, and W. P. Long and W. A. Sutherland, both of Greenville, Tennessee,13 Sarah and Allie left the Methodist Church and became followers of the Church of God movement.14 Through this association, they would later play a part in establishing a Church of God congregation in Allison Gap. 

 More later. . . .

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1 For more on the Melungeons, see The Melungeon Heritage Association web site at http://www.melungeon.org/.

2 This version is according to Lois McIntyre Troutman. Other family members assert that Sarah and Allie started working at the hotel after Sarah’s husband, Martin McIntyre, died.

3 Booklet is in the author’s possession in Anderson, Indiana.

4 McIntyre Bible. This Bible was in the possession of Mayo Moses McIntyre in about 1985 when family historian, Carol Noonkester, visited with Mrs. McIntyre. Carol transcribed the information from the Bible, but the whereabouts of the McIntyre Bible is unknown today.

5 Ibid.

6 Arnold Family Bible. Cordelia McIntyre Arnold was a sister to Martin McIntyre. This Bible is in the possession of Sarah’s granddaughter NH of Saltville.

7 Ibid.

8 This story has been passed down through the family. The piece of wood Martin was said to be splitting is in the possession of a great-granddaughter of Sarah’s, St. Charles, MO.

9 1900 Census; Rich Valley, Smyth, Virginia; Roll T623 1728; Page 13A; Enumeration District 83.

10 1900 Census; Black Oak, Whitley, Kentucky; Roll T623 555; Page 10B; Enumeration District 142.

11 1900 Census; Rich Valley, Smyth, Virginia; Roll T623 1728; Page 13A; Enumeration District 83.

12 According to Arnold Bible records, Stephen died Feb. 18, 1901.

13 The Tie That Binds. Compiled by the Women’s Missionary Society, Allison Gap Church of God, Dec. 1970. p. 4. Republished and updated in July 2005 as A History of the First Church of God, Allison Gap, Saltville, Va, by Jack Barbrow, Geneva Louthen, Thelma Swartz, and Saundra Wassum.

14 According to The Tie that Binds (compiled by the Allison Gap Church of God Women’s Missionary Society, 1970), a history of the First Church of God of Saltville, VA, the Church of God movement dates to 1825-30 when the Rev. John Winebrenner of Harrisonburg, Pennsylvania, began preaching the following points as the basis of the organization:

            1) Under the Divine order, believers in any given place are to constitute one body.

            2) Division into sects and parties under human names and creeds is contrary to the spirit of the New

    Testament.

3) Believers in any community organized into one body constitute God’s household, and should be known

    as the Church of God.

4) The scriptures, without rote or comment, constitute a sufficient rule of faith and practice, while creeds

    and confessions tend to division and sects.

5) Binding upon all believers are the ordinances of baptism by immersion in water, in the name of the

    Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; the washing of the saints’ feet; partaking of breads and wine in

    commemoration of the suffering and death of Christ. (p. 3)

Daniel S. Warner, from Ohio, influenced by these tenets and by the holiness movement spreading across the country, began preaching the importance of the work of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives. This eventually created a split between Warner the leaders of the Winebrennarian Church of God. Warner began publishing his convictions in a periodical called The Gospel Trumpet. At the time that Church of God preachers began spreading their teachings in Southwest Virginia, The Gospel Trumpet was being published in Moundsville, West Virginia. However, in 1906, the entire publishing company moved to Anderson, Indiana. In 1917, the company started a Bible school, which developed into what is now Anderson University. The headquarters of the Church of God remains in Madison County, Indiana, today.

This shows Allie, Sarah, and Martie at the grave of Martin McIntyre, Elizabeth Cemetery, Saltville, VA, c. 1905. The man is Tom Geer, Sarah's uncle. On the back of the photo, Sarah wrote, "This is the graveyarde[.] here is Mr. Mctyre grave [.] Uncle Tom is at the foot[,] me and martie at the head and a lady that is living with us by the name of Allie Rumbley[.] 

This the old Elizabeth grave yard [.] 

Sarah Mctyre

Aunt Nonay is burried here too[.]"

Allie Rumbley, about age 16.