1956
1878
78 years old
Her mother Nancy Her G mother be Rachel
Morgan
January, 1956
This is the story of an ironstone china plate. it began nearly
150 years ago, when my Grandfather Daniel Holcroft and his wife
Rachel lived in a town called Vivay in Ill.(Ind.) on the banks of
the beautiful Ohio River. There were four children in my Grand-
-father’s family, Elizabeth, Clarinda, Marion, and Tobias. In
those, days the only transportation overland was by team and wagon.
About the time I am writing of, a family near Grandfathers named
Pickett decided to move to Southern Ill. This family consisting
of Father, Mother, and several children came past Grandfathers and
stopped for the night. As was customary in those times they were
taken in with the usual hospitality. During their stay a baby
boy was born. The Mother became seriously ill, too much so to travel.
After a lingering illness, she died. Before she passed away, she
requested. the baby would be left with my Grandparents. They con-
-sented on the condition they should adopt the little one. He was named
William. The Picketts went on their way and was never heard from
again. Before the death of the mother, she gave to Grandmother a
large ironstone china plate; or platter as they were called then.
About 1850 my Grandparents decided to move westward. They
came to Iowa and settled near Moravia. After a few years they came
to Mo. There, they purchased a small farm where they spent their
last years. Uncle Marion went to Sea, died and was buried at Sea.
Elizabeth married Caswell Hamilton, Clarinda, my mother, married
Elbert Fugate. Tobias, or Tobe, as he was called, married. Jane
Shepherd, and with his wife and three children went to Camden County
Mo. The little-.adopted boy grew to manhood, not knowing but that
his name was William Holcroft ‘til the day he was twenty-one Grand-
father told him of his adoption. Afterward he assumed the name of
Pickett. When Grandmother died, He and Grandfather went to live
with Aunt Elizabeth. After her death, they came to live at my fathers.
The plate, together with his other possesions, were brought to
Mother. About 1890 or 1891 Uncle Will decided to go to Ill., pre-
sumably to try to find some of his kin We heard form him regularly
until Grandfather’s death in 1894 when he ceased writing. We never
heard from him again. Mother kept the plate ‘til I was married in
1901 she gave it to me, saying if Uncle Will ever came back, He was
to have it. If not, it would be mine. He never returned, so I
have kept the platter. It has been mine over 50 years. I will pass
it on to the next in line, hoping it will be cared for as I have
c_
c red for it
Nancy Drucilla (Fugate) Campbell