Chapter 13 cont. T. S. PARVIN GOVERNOR'S SECRETARY The young man whom Conway refers to in his letter to the territorial council was T. S. Parvin, who had come from Ohio to serve as governor's clerk.  Governor Lucas sent his young fellow Ohioan to Cincinnati after books and suggested that he purchase stationery there.  Congress had appropriated $5,000 for a territorial library and Mr. Parvin was appointed librarian.  Mr. Parvin came to Davenport to consult Secretary Conway and was joined by him on the boat, and the two made the trip to Galena together arranging the prospective purchases.  Conway was disbursing officer for all funds appropriated by congress and held all to the letter of instructions, thus becoming involved in trouble with both the governor and legislature.  In Bloomington Herald of Dec. 25, 1840, for which paper Mr. Parvin was acting as legislative correspondent, Mr. Parvin writes, "The 'Iowa Minstrel' was one of Nature's poets, and had he lived would have left more numberous proofs of his claims to the proud title which has so justly been awarded him.  Should your distant readers adk to whom I refer, tell them the late Secretary Conway, the scholar and the poet whose untimely death deprived his adopted land of one of its brightest ornaments, and the literary world of a devoted son and an aspirant after all that is noble and worthy of emulous fame." In penning these lines the great man who in after years was one of the most honored citizens of Iowa showed his magnanimity toward an associate who for a long portion of their acquaintance delighted in belittleing him and systematically spelled Parvin with a small p in all communications referring to him by name. Debbie Clough G-erischer G-erischer Family Web Site http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/ Assistant CC, Iowa Gen Web, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ List Manager for: IASCOTT-L * G-erischer-L * D-encker-L Fitzpatirck-L * V-lerebome-L * Huntington-L * Otis-L * Algar-L EIGS-L * Pickens-L * McNab-L * Patris-L - Rankin-L