Valentine’s Day was yesterday and it brought to mind a
pioneer love story.
In 1854 it
became known that Pawnee was to be the site of the Territorial Capitol and people
began flocking there. The first legislative session was scheduled to take place
there in July of 1855. The site was located near the edge of Fort Riley and
almost overnight a town sprang up. There were workers who came to build the
homes and buildings needed for the new town. There were also entrepreneurs and
adventure seekers coming to see what new opportunities they would find. Many
brought their families with them to this new territory.
Among these
were the Berry and Wallace families, emigrants from Juanita, Pennsylvania. They
came to seek their fortunes in the newly opened territory. The families arrived
around the same time as the Territorial Legislatures. Before they could even
find lodgings for themselves they were recruited to help feed the delegates.
Ruth Berry,
16 years old, was quickly set to work making pies for the delegates from
“anything which could be found in the way of pie filling”. It is recorded that
she made over 70 pies under the most primitive cooking conditions. Ruth had the
honor of serving her pies at the representatives opening banquet.
Sitting at Governor
Andrew Reeder’s table was a 28 year old Quaker school teacher from
Pennsylvania, Garbet Fisher Gordon. He had come to Kansas lured by the countless
opportunities the territory offered.
Gordon was
smitten when he laid eyes on Ruth. Although
there was a considerable difference in their ages Gordon courted Ruth. During
their courtship they saw many changes in the little town of Pawnee.
They met on
the eve of the first and only legislative session that was held in the First
Territorial Capital. There was much to see and witness while the legislatures
were there. Disagreements between the residents and the delegates quickly broke
out. The residents of Pawnee were predominantly free staters but the visitors
were mostly pro-slavery and both sides were extremely vocal in their beliefs.
The legislative session opened on
July 2, 1855 and officers were elected. The officers quickly made motions to
expel the only two free staters who had been elected. On July 3rd
the Governor made his address, guiding the assembly in how Kansas should be
governed. His words were largely ignored by the legislatures. On July 4th
a bill was passed to move the legislative seat to Shawnee Mission, which was
where the legislatures originally wanted to meet. Governor Reeder promptly
vetoed the bill. However, the legislature passed it and quickly suspended the
session planning to reconvene in Shawnee Mission on July 16th.
By the end
of July cholera was running rampant among the workers at Fort Riley. Many residents
left Pawnee fearing an epidemic. Many who stayed fell ill and died from the
disease.
By
September the remaining residents were ordered to leave Pawnee by the US
government. The reservation had extended its borders and the site of Pawnee was
now within the reservation. Writings by Reetta Morris Hadden, who was a child
at Pawnee, describe the time, “a squad of mounted troops from the fort rode
into Pawnee. They came to give official notice that the site of Pawnee had been
taken for the use of the government, and all of its citizens must vacate their
homes on or before the 10th of October… the next day the
quartermaster at the fort made the lower story of the Capital building a
commissary department.”
On the
evening of October 10th, 1855 there were still a few families living
in Pawnee as they had not been able to find or build other shelter. Troops came
with huge grappling hooks and began pulling the homes down. When they were
finished the only building left standing was the capital.
Despite the
traumatic events going on around them Gordon kept courting Ruth. By February of
1856 she had agreed to be his wife.
Years later Ruth recounted crossing
the frozen river with her family on the eve of her wedding in a sled pulled by
oxen, “it was in the night, because the ice was stronger.”
Their destination was the former territorial
capital which was being used as the quarters for the Rev. Clarkson, the Fort
Riley Chaplin, and his family. It was there on February 14, 1856 that G.F.
Gordon and Ruth Berry were married in the Clarkson’s parlor where not long
before the future of Kansas had been debated.
They were married for 37 years and
saw many changes in Geary County throughout their lifetimes. But that will be a
story for another time.
Little did Ruth
Berry know that when she agreed to make pies for the First Territorial
Legislature that she would meet her future husband.
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