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Edward Alexander Pace 1837-1925 letter written 1907
From Jane Sanderman Mason posted on Pace-L Wed. Sept 6 2006
I am happy to give permission for the Pace Society to include the Edward A. Pace letter with its material. The letter is is the collection of family material owned by Shirley (Pace) Newfarmer. Shirley is the daughter of Charles Wesley Pace 1867 - 1937, granddaughter of Charles Wesley Pace 1827 – 1908 and great granddaughter of Edward Pace 1790 – 1874. A copy of the letter was sent to me by James Pearce. Jim was helping Shirley organize her family history material. I wrote asking if I could share the letter with others and received the following reply - Email from Jim Pearce 8Aug2002 “ I asked her about putting the letter on a website, and she said that would be fine – actually she said ‘that would be wonderful.’ She is real proud that it was salvaged. She doesn’t know anything about the original. She found the typed copy in a box of her father’s papers after he died.” The letter is written by Edward Alexander Pace 1847 – 1925, oldest son of Charles W. (b.1827). Edward A. was raised in the home of his grandfather, Edward Pace (b.1790), in Orange county Indiana. Edward A. became a lawyer and lived most of his adult life in Taylor county Iowa. Edward A.’s father, Charles W. (b.1827) eventually settled in Delta county Colorado. In the last years of his life he lived with his daughter Rausie “Rose” (Pace) Campbell in the small town of Paonia. The letter is written to Rose’s son Albert Campbell 1884 – 1964. Shirley’s father, Charles W. (b.1867) also lived in Paonia and in the 1930 census Rose and Charles W. are enumerated in the same household. I believe this letter was definitely handwritten and that the copy we have was typed by Albert. Edward A. writes in the next to last paragraph of the letter “but I shall write on one side of the paper”. The date of the letter is Jan 25 1907. At the bottom of the typed copy is the following -
Moores Modern Methods Mr. Albert B. Campbell Paonia, Colorado Delta County February 20th, 1907
Note the date is shortly after the letter’s date. I don’t know what Moores Modern Methods were but I suspect Albert was learning to type. One of the important aspects of this letter is the naming of Edward’s (b.1790) siblings. There is always the possibility that Albert overlooked one name in transcribing but I don’t think so. In the letter the brothers names are separated out into two columns:
Henry, Thomas and William in the first column Elish and George in the second. The columns are centered on the page. If he had overlooked one it would have been obvious to him. Edward A. mentions other letters he plans to write but those have not been found. Recently I made contact with Albert’s grandson. He did not know of the existence of this letter and does not have the original. I have gone through the letter again, word by word, to make sure that I have reproduced exactly what Albert typed. I found a few typos that I had corrected in my original copying of the letter but nothing major. Sincerely, Jane Sanderman Mason
And now, the letter: New Market, Iowa Jan, 25, 1907 My Dear Neqphew, In endeavoring to comply with your request for a short biography of my father, I am hampered by lack of material and will be compelled to rely on my recollection of conversation with father, and my grandfather and fathers brothers. Supplemented by reading I have examined the indexes of hundreds of law books to find where men of the name of Pace had been Plaintiff or Defendant with no cases reported and it is only in recent yearts that I find the name, and never have I found it in the criminal reports. Hence, I conclude that the race has never had great wealth and that they were never great criminals. I have read what Englis history I could get hold of, with a view to ascertain if any of them had been prominent in history. However, I have been able to find it only once. Pace was under secretary to Henry Eighth, in his struggle with the Pope of Rome for the establishment of the English Church. Henry Eighth was a Tudor from Wales which is in the southwest part of the British Isles. My Grandfather told me that we were Welch and Welchmen tell me the name Pace is as common in Wales and Smith is in this country, and as I never saw the name in either Scotch or Irish history, and it is not a French or German name, I conclude we are of Welch Decent. The name Pace means measure and it is a characteristic of the Paces to measure every thing, and every body by our own standard. Those who fall below we despise and those above us we never admit. That is our peculiar trait, as a people. Those below us can't help us and those above us won't on account of our distrustful, cold and distant dispositions. For that reason we have never sunk to th depths of the criminality or risen to high position in life. The tow extremes have made us a hardy, self-reliant, mediocre people. This is the Paces in a nut shell. Your Grandfathers Grandfather, William Pace, [NOTE: See donors 6379 and 35533 on Pace DNA donors page] settled in Virginia, previous to the Revolutionary war and was a soldier under General Washington and was wounded at the battle of Monmouth. He had six sons – the youngest was named Edward, who was my Grandfather. The names of his brothers were Henry, Thomas, William, Elish, George But I do not know the order in which they came. Grandfather, has some sisters but the youngest Margaret is the only one, that I know anything about. She married a man by the name of Wineinger. They emigrated to the state of Indiana with my Grandfather Pace. Father (Charles Wesley Pace) was the 6th son of Edward Pace and was born on the 7th day of April, 1827, in Scott County, Virginia near the border of Tennessee. Grandfather Pace was married twice. The first time to a lady by the name of Pots. Of here people I know nothing, except her sons John, Daniel, George (who died) in infancy) and Cynthia. Cynthia married a man by the name of Wineger and as early as 1848 removed to Linear, Linn county, Missouri. Grandfather married a second time in the State of Virginia to Susannah Foster. Of her people I know nothing. I have met some men of the name of Foster that claimed that they were cousins of fathers, but at the time I did not know, nor did father care whether they were related or not. When father was about 9 years old or about 1836, and 1837, there was a great exodus from the county in East Tennessee, bordering on Virginia and North Carolina. Grandfathers brothers, most of them going to Ohio and Kentucky and lately to Illinois. My Grandmothers people to Georgia and Alabama. My Grandfather and his sister (Margaret) (pronounced by them – Margut) came with all their families to Indiana in 1836. During the 9 year residence in Tennessee and Virginia. I never heard father recall but one instance and that will show how determined father was and what an early impression will do and how long it may last and what effect it sometimes has. Grandfathers father-in-law owned an old darkey called Charley. Fathers brothers teased him and said his name Charles was for old Charley the negro. Father of course resented it and would never own that his name was Charles Wesley. He claimed it was just Wesley and he clung to that name. He was called Wes or Wesley until he went into the army. All business matters were signed Wesley Pace – notes – bonds – deeds – and mortgages made by him or given by him were in the name of Wesley Pace. I did not know that his name was Charles Wesley until he had enlisted in the Army. After he returned from the Army he signed his name Charles W. Pace but more generally C. W. Pace. This difference in the signing of the name has led to considerable legal vexation to prove that they are one and the same man. Grandfather settled in Duboise County, Indiana, in the heavy timber and commenced to and did clear out a farm. Grandfather was a very pious Methodist and believed the world was flat, that the sun and stars went round the earth. How it was done he left in the hands of God in whom he believed and worshiped with all the force of an unreasoning blind faith. His library consisted of the Holy Bible and Foxes bood di Martyrs. He loved Methodism as the true church of God and hated Catholicism as the enemy of all that was good and pure. Politically and religeously, and christened his children at 8 days old without knowing that Methodism was the grand daughter of the Catholic Church and that in christening his chilrren he was following in the footsteps of the Catholics whom he hated as the devil hates holy water. He held family prayer night and morning and no chold could sleep until prayer at night nor lie in bed unless in case of sickness, after breakfast work commensed immeadiatly. The weather did not matter. It was work either in the clearing of the fields, cleaning the barn or out buildings. He believed in prayer – he also believed in the rod and he had recourse to the one about as often as the other. Solomon said spare the rod and spoil the child and he believed it. He was a invalid and carried a cane and when prompt remedy was required to administer disciplin he used his cane if it was handyer than a breech limb. He was honest as the sun and never contracted anything but that he knew he could perform and taught, yes, instilled that principle into his children, with the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread was brought constantly to their minds by the industry that was forced upon them. His children naturally attended religious services there was no other means of rest and recreation. That is where the girls went and where the girls were gathered together will be found the boys also. There were no district or public schools in that country in those days. Nothing but subscription schools and they were few and far between. Indeed education was not thought necessary and the majority of men prided themselves more on their marksmanship than they did on their scholarship. Father attended a subscription school for three months and that was all the schooldin he ever had. He had a book called Websters Elementary spelling book. I tore it up when I was bout 4 years old. His brother John Pace taught him how to write and cipher, addition, subtraction, multiplication and Division and how to find interest. That was all the preparation he had for a business career. In 1846 father, then 19 years old, married Mary Adams or Wineing, My mother, and when he married Grandfather gave him a horse, saddle and bridle and gave Grandmother[sic] a feather bed. My mother had the bed clothing. Their personal property consisted of these items plus one cow, a rifle, axe, Bed and Bedding, kettle, skillett and coffee Pot. Father went out into the heavy beech woods on "Congress Land" to make a home. It was in this lonely cabon on the first day of March 1847 that I was born. About a year after that Father was sick a long time with abcess on the liver and after the Doctors had given him up to die, Father prevailed on his brother Daniel to cut it open with a razor and you have the evidence before your eyes that he got well. It was during this sickness that I first recollect Father. I yet wore dresses and father who was in bed scolded me and I struck at him with the fire-board. In the early fall of 1849, my mother died with Pueperal (?) Fever and my little sister was buried in the coffin with her. Then we, Father and I, went to live with Grandfather Pace. Early in the spring of 1850 Father with 4 other men whose names I do not recollect fitted out a team of 5 yoke of Oxen and a wagon and loaded the wagon with Flour, Bacon, Lard and dried fruit and other provisions and started for California, the land of gold. When you read this letter to Father, I think it will recall many things to his mind and perhaps it will be a pleasure to him. As well as yourself. And if it should be so, then I will write my recollections of what he told me of his trip to California and return, but I shall write on one side of the paper _________________ After his removal to town will be the third letter. My recollection of his army life will be the fourth letter. Remember that in writing these letters I am attempting anything but something to amuse Father and by which you can lean something of his liffe history. Very affectionately yours, E. H. Pace Moores Modern Methods Mr. Albert B. Campbell Paonia, Colorado Delta County February 20th, 1907
Added comment by Jane
Donor #6379 descent-Edward's(b.1790) son Daniel Rice Pace 1818 -1896 This is the only donor I see that is a direct descendent of Edward. Over the years I have shared research with this donor's family and feel good about their documentation of descent from Edward. I am also very comfortable with my documentation of descent from Edward's son Charles Wesley. Donor #35533 descent-William's(b.1745) son William Jr. c1790 This donor is interesting to keep in mind. According to the 1907 letter, Edward's father was William who served in the Rev. War and had a sister named Margaret who married a Winineger(many spellings on that surname!). It seems to have been accepted that this William is the William who was born c1745 and who served in General Washington's Guards and is the son of John (b.c1721). But this is unclear to me. I see no definitive proof. I think it is probably true but until more is found I have to say Wm. *probably* is the father of Edward. The 1907 letter gives sons names not usually associated with William. The Scotts county deed of 1814 which William made does list a Wm. Jr. and an Edward as sons. Why aren't other sons listed? Well, that is the story of genealogy, I could go on and on. At any rate I do keep the above donor in mind and hope the future will turn up more definitive info re William (b.1745).
