As Jacob grew older, he became more sympathetic with the slaves and earned the name "Abolitionist". Feelngs grew, and the South flamed with resentment toward abolitionists, and the father and son found it impossible to live peaceably. Jacob, realizing they were getting more argumentative, strengthened himself and said 'Father we are getting angry, this won't do. This question will be settled, the Great Architect of human destiny will take care of it, but you and I must always be just as father and son should be.' He continued, "I'll take my family and move away from here where we won't be so close together."
As the moving preparations progressed his brother, Jim, said "Well, Jake, I guess I'll go with you so there are two Loughmiller's moving." They settled in New Albany, Indiana, but the name and record of their slave trade attitude followed the family there. Years later they moved again, this time to "Bleeding, Kansas". Part of the journey west was made by flat boat down the Ohio river. It was a long trip and the travelers experienced delay when the boat was grounded on a sand bar. Rations ran low and the family remembered It as an unhappy time. It was somewhere about this time that two Mormon men, driven from the east by angry demonstrators, met and married two of Grandfather's sisters on their journey west. Land in Kansas was under government grands, and people came west, among them was this Loughmiller family. They arrived at last at Easton, Kansas, and made their home there for a time. They were considered a devout Christian family.
Every year brought Increased violence, war threats, and great unrest and anxiety. Gangs of men branishing guns and bottles of liquor, made trips from Missouri to visit homes where there was suspicion of slave sympathy. Jacob Loughmiller had been called a "Damned Old Abolitionist" and he had been accused of taking part in the Undereround Railroad. One day a raiding party stopped at the saw mill where he was at work. A staunch friend realized what was going to heppen, so pushed Jacob into the saw dust under the saw, then shoveled the saw dust over him. After a time, the friend said, "It's safe now but you better hide out." Jacob found safety in the brush covered hills near Easton for a few days.
Along with the terrible strife, was threats and uncertainty, came hardship, death and disease to the early settlers. Rumors of homestead land caused Jacob and his wife, Aurelia, and family to move farther west to Jackson County, Kansas and stop at James Crossing on Soldier Creek. For a time they were able to manage but soon a bad drouth in the growing season dwindled their resources. For a week they ate parched sweet corn, then in desperation, they planned to return to Easton for the winter. It was an early, cold, snowy winter and a bad blizzard caught, them with a wagon half full of corn in the field. The team of horses was unable to pull the wagon to shelter, so it was left. When they returned, they found only the cobs. Prairie Chickens had eaten every grain of the corn then had needed so much for84 Next Page
To the Table of Contents
To Roger Kroth's Homepage