Adams Cleghorn
was born in 1813 at Liberton, Near Edinburgh, Scotland. He came with
his parents and family to the United States in 1828 and was
baptized at Utica, New York in 1830. Adams entered Madison
Theological Institute at Hamilton, New York (later Colegate and now
Colegate-Rochester at Rochester). He graduated in 1837 with a degree of
A. B., later A. M., and in 1869 was made Dr. of Divinity while in New
York City.
His first pastorate was at Niagara Falls, Canada;
then moving to Niagara Falls, New York. Another pastorate was at
the academy town of Bellville, New York. At the time of the Civil War,
he took a company of young men from the Academy and town to the south
where they saw real action. Later he was made Captain of Heavy
Artillery while being stationed at Ft. Richmond on Staten Island, N.Y.
While
in New York, Dr. Cleghorn married Asemath Stone…Aunt of Mellville E.
Stone, who was for twenty-five years head of the Associated
Press. It was Mr. Stone who made the Associated Press
International; going personally to the heads of the principal foreign
powers: Germany, France, Italy, and Russia. Dr. and Mrs. Cleghorn
had two daughters and one son. The older daughter died in
Belleville, N.Y. Mrs. Cleghorn was called the model minister’s
wife in the Annual Report of Baptists in Illinois.
At the close
of the Civil War, Dr. Cleghorn was called to the Old North Baptist
Church in New York City. This church was located near Washington
Square in Greenwich Village. An old Scotch friend in Ottawa,
Illinois wrote grandfather (Dr. Cleghorn) asking if he could not send
them a good live minister for their church. The idea appealed to
Dr. Cleghorn as he loved a touch of adventure, and he replied that he
would come himself; which he did in 1868. While there, a
daughter, Delgracia, married a young English lawyer, E. E. Lewis in
1869; leaving in 1871 for Sioux City, Iowa to open a law office.
While in Ottawa, Illinois, Dr. Cleghorn knew Abraham Lincoln very
well. At the time, Lincoln was then writing the Circuit Court.
Dr.
Cleghorn’s last church was in Champaign, Illinois. While there he
traveled to Sioux City, Iowa to visit. Mother (Delgracia Cleghorn
Lewis) had a tea party for him to which were invited two of Sioux
City’s leading citizens: E. C> Peters and Dr. Davis, who had been
members of the Sunday School in Grandfather’s Niagara Falls
Church. They learned that Dr. Cleghorn was looking around for a
good piece of land to retire to and be near his daughter and
family. They suggested the land east of Sioux City where they
also had homes and took him out the next morning. They told him
he could name the whole place if he bought there. He said he’d
call it “Morningside”…the name of his birthplac3. A year or two
later he found fine rolling prairie between Marcus and Cherokee and
purchased a section of land; writing back to Sioux City friends of his
choice and telling them to name their land what they liked. But
what could be better for the land high to the east…catching the first
morning sun…so “Morningside” it remained.
Dr.
and Mrs. Cleghorn moved out later to their new section of land and
built a nice house with sort of a tower. They rented out part of
the land on both east and west sides. Also planted a cotton wood
grove for a wind break as all new tenants did. They put up sort
of a bell tower granary and barns, kept several horses to help out
tenants, and brought his favorite horse “Gyp” as his carriage
horse. He was very fond of horses. Gyp’s colt, Prince,
later became his driving horse to the last days.
In 1888 the
farmers of Sheridan and Liberty Townships called a meeting to discuss
the advisability of asking the Illinois Central Railroad Company to put
in a side track somewhere near the present site of Cleghorn. An
enthusiastic meeting was had and 150 land owners signed a petition
requesting such a move. After many refusals, the petition
was carried to the Iowa State Board of Railway Commissioners, only to
be rejected once again. Just at this junction, Dr. Adams
Cleghorn, on whose land the town was finally located and who had been
in Scotland on a visit to his native land, returned and took hold of
the matter in earnest. He called on important railroad officials
and finally succeeded in getting a side track put in and the village
was made a flag station.
Dr. Cleghorn immediately plotted the
town, and laid out a public park which he has since fenced and filled
with threes. This turned out to be a beautiful spot and a fit
reminder of the generous doctor. The town was very appropriately
cale “Cleghorn” after the proprietor of the village. Dor.
Cleghorn donated to the school a liberal amount of suitable ground for
school purposes. He also donated land to the Presbyterian Church
whereon to build their church. This church happened to be the
first building in the new town; being moved in from the north where it
already existed. Dr. Cleghorn also had a standing offer of free
grounds to any and all denominations wishing to build a house of
worship with the village borders. He even occasionally preached
to the people of his own village even though a Baptist Church was never
started there.
Mrs. Cleghorn was a quiet, lovable woman, but
with strong character. She was fond of her flower garden on the
east side of the farm home. The grandchildren spent part of every
summer at the farm, sometimes riding horses bareback with the workmen
inspecting the crops. The farm home was called “Prairie Manor”
and blue stemmed grass and flax straw was burned for heat.
We
cam back from a winter in New York to be present at our grandparents
(Dr. & Mrs. Cleghorn’s 50th wedding anniversary; where the Fred
Cleghorns and daughter were also. I recall the train stopping and
the conductor and brakeman helping all of us and our baggage off; along
with a tall brass easel for a golden wedding gift. Pneumonia took
Grandma (Mrs. A. Cleghorn ) and our Baptist minister from Sioux City
came. The school principal had all the school children attend the
funeral. Then mother (Delgracia Cleghorn Lewis) and her brother
(Fred Cleghorn) went to Belleville, New York with grandfather for
funeral there and laid grandmother to rest y their daughter in the
family lot.
Father (E. E. Lewis of Sioux City) had a nice room
built off the library with lavoratory, outside door, and door to the
dining room. However, Grandfather (Adams Cleghorn) could not feel
settled and decided to go back to his first church at Niagara Falls and
“die under the Queen’s flag”. This was not long before Queen Victoria
died. Grandfather took with him the housekeeper they had had for so
long back at Cleghorn along with the horse “Prince”; and when we
visited him later, we had a ride behind the beautiful black Prince.
Grandfather fell victim to an accident in May of 1904. We were in
London at the time, but father and mother (E. E. Lewis & Delgracia
Cleghorn Lewis) left for the states immediately. Grandfather improved
and lived until December of the same year. Mother and her brother
took Grandfather’s body back to Belleville, New York for burial.
Dr.
Adams Cleghorn was a powerful preacher. Everywhere he had been
the morning service had many men from other churches in the audience.
And in the academy town of Belleville, New York, the students called
him a walking encyclopedia as they never failed to have him give all
the information needed on any subject…as personal comments were much
more interesting to read it.
Signed, Adaline Lewis, 1956
Recent information from a great-great granddaughter of Dr. Adams Cleghorn and Asemath Stone Cleghorn:
From
an old Colgate University (New York) catalogue, I have this
information: Adams Cleghorn was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, January
11, 1813, son of Ulysses Cleghorn. Adams Cleghorn came to the United
States and attended Colgate University, graduating in 1837. He
was ordained in Lewiston, N.Y., 1841; preached in Lewiston, Niagara
Falls, Adams, and Belleville, N. Y. until 1862. He was in the
U.S. Army (Artillery) 1862 – 1865. Preached in New York City, 1867 –
1868; Ottawa, Illinois and Champaign from 1868 – 1883; farmed in
Cleghorn 1883 – 1901. Retired to Niagara Falls, Canada 1901-1904. Died
December 10, 1904.
One of my grandmother Miller’s favorite stories
concerned the time when, as a child, she went by train with her mother
from Sioux City to Cleghorn for a visit. (My grandmother was
Kathleen Lewis Miller; her mother was Del Gracia Cleghorn Lewis,
daughter of Dr. Adams Cleghorn). As the train neared the Cleghorn
Depot, the conductor came down the aisle calling,
“Cleggern”…”Cleggern”. Del Gracia sprang to her feet and said firmly,
“Young man, that is pronounced CLEGHORN, and don’t you ever dare say it
wrong again!!!!”
Signed, Mrs. John T. Henderson, 410 Majorca Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida - 1974
Link to Cleghorn Family Group Sheet
Cleghorn family information is from the Former Cherokee County Historical Society scrap book.
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