A gentleman should be an honest, hard-working member of society, a faithful husband, and a good provider for his family. He should treat others with kindness and respect. He should educate his children and pass on to them his strong moral values. Erastus Caleb Aplington was a gentleman.
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Erastus Caleb Aplington
Photo taken after 1873
Courtesy of Rene Rodgers |
He was born on October 12, 1852, in Deposit, Broome County, New York to James Page Aplington and his wife, Sarah Jane Anthony. The youngest of 8 children, he joined five older sisters (Catharine 17, Charlotte 16, Murietta 13, Sarah Anne 11 and Helen 7) and two older brothers (Nathan 9 and Lewis A. 5). When Erastus was a toddler, his family moved west, settling for a time in Buffalo, Ogle, Illinois near his Uncle Zenas Aplington's family. It was here that his sister Charlotte met and married her husband, Cyrus Doty, and here she remained while the rest of the family traveled further west to Butler County, Iowa where James Aplington bought some land and began farming.
Erastus and his brothers helped their father with the farm work while the girls helped their mother with the housekeeping. Weddings seemed to always be on the horizon as his older siblings reached adulthood. Murietta was married in 1862, then both Catharine and Nathan in 1866, followed by Sarah in 1867. This left Helen, Lewis, and Erastus at home with their parents when, in the fall of 1867, tragedy struck the family. Father James died at the age of 53. Fifteen-year-old Erastus now had to work even harder to help his widowed mother. It would be several years before there was another wedding as the family struggled to survive without James' guidance. Sarah must have been quite savvy because the farm flourished with her at the helm. They weren't rich by any means, but they were much better off than some of their neighboring farmers. During these early years, Erastus was very close to his sisters and his mother who taught him to respect all women. He also learned the value of hard work as he worked alongside his family members to become a successful farmer.
In the early 1870's, Erastus met a young woman named Affa Harding Goodsell and the two fell in love. Soon, the Aplington family was planning another wedding. On November 13, 1873, the young couple was married in what would be one of the last things Erastus did in Iowa.
Soon after the wedding, Erastus, Affa, his sister Helen, brother Lewis A. and mother Sarah prepared to move. They sold the farm and packed up their belongings. Erastus's married siblings Catharine, Murietta, Sarah Anne, and Nathan went too, as did Affa's brother Ansel. All of these families made the 500-mile journey to Norton County, Kansas, a trip that probably took a few weeks or longer. They settled in an area close to the town of Almena along the county line between Norton County and Phillips County. Catharines's husband Isaac Hall was a minister, and the other families took up farming.
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Sarah (Anthony) Aplington homestead in Northeast Norton County, Kansas, circa 1890.
Photo shared 24 Nov 2008 on Ancestry.com by user Richard_Pittaway_1954 |
Near Almena, in August of 1874, Erastus and Affa had their first child, a daughter they named Anna Claire. Two weeks later, Erastus's sister, 33-year-old Sarah Anne Stevens died, leaving a husband and small children. For the next several years, Erastus and Affa were very busy caring for a farm and a growing family. Daughters Maretta (1876), Ella May (1878), and Katherine Irene (1880) and son Guy (1881) joined their big sister Anna. Once again, though, a life ended too soon. This time it was little Guy, dead in 1883 at barely 18 months old. It is so difficult to lose a parent. Then a siblings death brings one's own mortality front and center. Guy's death, however, would surely have left a big gaping hole in Erastus's heart. Parents are expected to die before their children. Thankfully, there was some joy to be found when another daughter, Mary Edna, was born later that year. Followed by more sorrow when his mother Sarah passed in 1884. And then joy again when two more sons, James William and Erastus Clifford, were born in 1886 and 1888, respectively.
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29 Oct 1885, Norton Courier, Page 4
clipping from Newspapers.com |
These joys and sorrows, a roller-coaster ride of emotions, were surely all felt deeply by Erastus and the impact of these events would have a profound impact on him. He was a very busy man. He became more civic-minded, joined clubs and ran for public office. Twice (1885 & 1886) he was paid for assessing Almena township at census time. He was elected a County Commissioner on the Democratic ticket in 1886 and opened a restaurant in Almena. He ran for County Treasurer in 1887 on the Union Labor ticket.
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26 April 1888, Almena County Plaindealer, Page 3
clipping from Newspapers.com |
He was a member of the
GAR (though I'm unaware of any military service) and the
Knights of Pythias, where he held the second highest position in the local lodge, the Keeper of Records and Seal. To become a member of the Pythagorean Brotherhood, Erastus's character had been rigorously tested and he was found to be of the highest moral character. He was appointed to a committee on credentials for the Phillips County
Farmers Alliance in 1890.
But Erastus was also a risk-taker. Perhaps to put money away for his family in case he should die young like his father. Or maybe there was a bit of gambler in his personality. He invested in a very expensive
Percheron horse which the local paper wrote about. A show horse, or a stud horse, the nature of the animal is unknown. They were very large, tough animals often used in farming.
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2 April 1886, The Alma Enterprise, Page 1
clipping from Newspapers.com |
A few years later, in 1892, Erastus was named in a lawsuit - a foreclosure action brought against him, Affa, and his sister Catharine Hall for almost $1600.00. He and Affa had transferred a parcel of land to Catharine previous to this, and it may be that parcel in question. The outcome of the lawsuit is not known.
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10 March 1892, Norton Courier, Page 4
Clipping from Newspapers.com |
Did he lose money on the horse and/or the lawsuit? Did he lose credibility as an honorable man because of these or other events? While his financial and social positions at the time are unknown, something persuaded him to take his family to Park County Colorado by 1895 and try his luck at mining. Erastus signed his daughter Rena's (Katherine Irene) autograph book in Alma, CO.
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Oh may your life like a beautiful day
Be ever one bright morn
May you pluck lifes blossoms with gentle hands
And avoid its bitter thorns
Is one of the dearest wishes of your Father
EC Aplington
Alma Colo Feb 3. 1895
Courtesy of Rene Rodgers |
In September of that year, his daughter Ella May married Joseph Warden in London Junction, near Alma. During the next two years, the family lived in the bustling mining community situated at the highest elevation of any town in the country. I imagine hard winters, some lawlessness they must have encountered, and the fear that Affa surely felt each day as her husband headed out to do dangerous work. Her fears were realized with the devastating news on November 22nd, 1897 that Erastus had perished in a mine accident. His loss was an enormous blow to the family. He was adored by his children and his wife, and he was their provider. The community also felt the loss. Though the family had been there for just a short time, Erastus had made many friends among the miners and their families. He worked hard, doing whatever was necessary, even in the face of extreme danger, and by doing so he had earned the respect of the mining community.
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| Shared on Ancestry.com by user plantdude3441 on 31 Mar 2013. |
Affa was able to call on the
Woodmen of the World to pay the funeral and burial expenses for her husband, thanks to his forethought in purchasing insurance through the fraternal organization. Erastus was buried in Buckskin Joe Cemetery in Alma, with a stately headstone, courtesy of the Woodmen.
Like many mining communities of the period, Alma is now virtually a ghost town. The cemetery remains, though, and Erastus's stone stands tall and proud, as he did in life.
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Gravesite of Erastus Aplington.
Photo courtesy of Rene Rodgers. |
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