Franklin Culver

From: Jan Botkin Therkildsen, at THERKILD@aol.com, Nov. 19, 2005

ELLEN JOSEPHINE CULVER KENNEDY (1857-1946) MEMOIRS 1928

[NOTE: Ellen was born 5 months after her father died.]

About her father Franklin Culver (December 31, 1819 - January 14, 1857)

Place: Delaware County, Iowa

My father Franklin Culver and Aunt Deborah went to Iowa a year before the rest (Jan's note: perhaps 1841 because Franklin was on 1842 tax roles for Delaware County, Iowa). Those who followed were Uncle Ebenezer, his wife (Mary), sister Priscilla and my mother and her nephew Will Carpenter, and grandmother Priscilla Culver. They crossed Mississippi at Ft. Dubuque. Most settled in Delaware County, Iowa east of the Magnolia River; but Franklin was living in Dubuque County (Jan's note: See tax record above that shows Franklin also in Delaware County at least for a time). My father had a dream, he called it a vision, that the Lord stood by his bed and told him that he must do all that he could for his family for he would die when he was forty two. On his birthday Dec. 1, 1856, mother had a quilting party. In those days the women quilted all day and the men and young people came in the evening. Father was the gayest of anyone of them but near the close of the evening he stood by the mantle over the fireplace and said "Friends, my time is growing short now." My mother said, "Oh Franklin, that was only a dream." He replied, "Dream or not, it will come true." Soon after he was taken ill and on January 14, 1857, he passed into the Beyond. When he was dying he asked them to sing "I'm Going Home to Die No More." Then he said "Wrap up the children warm because it is growing very cold." The Dr. asked for an autopsy. They found he was in such a condition that had he gotten well of the typhoid fever, he was in danger of dropping dead any time with heart disease. . . . ."