Davenport Daily Times Davenport, Scott, Iowa Saturday, November 10, 1900 Foundations of Scott County. Old Rockingham. Its Bustling Days and Noted Pioneers Some of Them Still Survive While Others Have Traveled the Path Over Which None Return, Leaving a Monument of Worthy Deeds. By. F.J.B. Huot Rockingham furnished Scott county a sweet poetess, who yet survives as one of the pioneers of the county. She still resides upon her ancestral acres. Here are a few gems from her published verses which particularly refer to Rockingham, the most historic of any township on Scott county. Her name is Mary Mead and she is the daughter of our first clergyman, Rev. Enoch Mead: "In humbler strains we surely may rehearse The deeds of these by whom our hearts were raised, Who left their kindred to return no more And reared their pillars on this wildwood shore. "Howe'er that be, of this there is no doubt; In those good times the latch-strings all hung out, And the neighborhood friend and the stranger guest might share The roof-trees shelter and the simple fare E'en now the cabin ten by twelve is seen Where on a time 'tis said there lodged fifteen." "Rock River Parish" "Rock River Parish," located in the town of Rockingham, was organized at the house of Ira Cook on June 15th, 1843 with Rev. Zachariah H. Goldsmith in the chair and S.S. Brown secretary. A constitution was adopted after which the vestry men were chosen out of which were elected two wardens, one treasurer and one secretary. The following gentlemen were selected: President and Pastor-Rev. Zachariah H. Goldsmith Secretary - George B. Sargent Treasurer- William Van Tuyl Wardens- James Davenport, John Willis. Vestrymen- James Davenport, John Willis, William Van Tuyl, S.S. Brown and George B. Sargent. The organization of the above parish was the first establishment of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Rockingham. Two years before the same denomination had organized the "Trinity Church Parish" of Davenport, which endures today, and elected a vestry with Rev. Z.H. Goldsmith as pastor. Rev. Mr. Goldsmith was appointed as Missionary to the Davenport Station by the Domestic Committee of the Board of Missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, his time being divided at intervals between Davenport and Rockingham, which latter place, at the time, promised to become the most important. Rev. Enoch Mead Rev. Enoch Mead, of whom some mention has already been made, was doubtless our first clergyman. He was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, September 2d, 1809. His parents were Colonel Ebenezer Mead and Elizabeth (Holmes) Mead, both of good old Puritan stock. His grandsire was a hero of the revolutionary war and had seen old Israel Putnam dash down the rocky precipices at break-neck speed, the British dragoons in close pursuit. The subject of our sketch received an excellent education, graduating from Yale College in 1830, after which he adopted the profession of clergyman, and in the fall of 1830 became a member of the Theological Seminary at Auburn, New York. he completed his course in due time, after which he successfully and successively filled pulpits at Lockport, New York and New Haven, Vermont, where on January 20th, 1835 he married Miss Mary E. Jones, the oldest daughter of Deacon Samuel Jones, a successful farmer of Middlebury, Vermont. a son and a daughter, James R. and Mary E. were the fruits of this union. Saw Lovejoy Die Immediately after his marriage Rev. Mr. Mead left his wife in the care of his parents in Connecticut and turned his face toward the setting sun with no particular destination in view. His route was by the way of Philadelphia, Pittsburg, the Ohio river and the Mississippi to Alton, Illinois. While resting in Alton from the fatigue of a three week's journey, a proslavery mob destroyed the printing press and murdered the publisher of the Alton Observer, Elijah P. Lovejoy. Mr. Mead, with a few sorrowing friends, attended the obsequies of the early martyr to the cause of emancipation and administered the last solemn rites. From Alton he proceeded up the Illinois river to Peoria, the last boats of the season having gone up the Mississippi; thence he went to Knoxville, the end of public travel at that time. Leaving there his baggage he set out on foot and alone for Rock Island, which he reached after three days travel over a new country without roads or bridges and with the settlements from ten to fifteen miles apart. Located at Rockingham Arriving at Rock Island he passed direct to Davenport, then a new town containing about half a dozen families at the most. He soon learned that there was a promising town four miles below called Rockingham, then the county seat, and already harboring several hundred inhabitants. He betook himself to that place where he received a hearty welcome as a minister of the gospel. It was represented to him that the "Sabbath had not crossed the Mississippi," but that the people generally desired a Christian minister to settle among them and establish a religious institution. Finding a promising field Rev. Mr. Mead determined to stay so the next year he returned to the east, packed up his household goods, purchased a span of horses and a covered spring wagon and with his wife, his goods and his chattels, he set out on the 1200 mile journey from the Green Mountains to the Mississippi. The overland journey was made in a little over a month, without accident and without much fatigue. Was Then Declining The once prosperous town of Rockingham, about the time of his arrival with his wife, commenced a rapid decline which continued until it was nearly deserted. The church which had been organized through his efforts was later absorbed by the Metropolitan Church in Davenport. Rev. Mr. Mead then devoted himself to the missionary work in his own and adjoining counties and for many years continued in this field. At Blue Grass he ministered for nearly ten years and his itinerary in Scott county often took in the area 150 miles. Location of the Estate The Mead estate lies four miles directly west of the city of Davenport and commanded a charming view of the great river for several miles and of the twin-cities-Rock Island and Davenport. Mr. Mead filled several important township offices and was for one term a county supervisor. In politics he was a staunch Republican. As one of Scott county's pioneers he served as president of the Old Settler's Association. His character was temperate and during a long life the veteran clergyman never used liquor or tobacco in any form. Kind, generous and open-hearted, with a broad love for humanity and a pathetic devotion to his Master, Rev. Enoch Mead was a true type of the ideal missionary and frontier settler who preached and ploughed with equal earnestness and served his fellow men equally as diligently as he served his God. He lived to a great age and in his demise there passed away the only remaining representative in Rockingham of that energetic and determined band who labored so hard to make it a famous city. ...to be continued... Cathy Joynt Labath Scott Co, IA USGenWeb Project http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/index.htm