"The pioneer settlers of Knox county brought with them from the east and the south the spirit and the purpose which have made intellectual development and culture the natural outgrowth of the seed implanted in the breasts of their children. Since the significance of the root from which the word "Club" is derived is that which is collected and clings or cleaves together, it may be said that club life in Knox county began with the women of the Galesburg colony soon after their arrival at their new home in 1837, then the trackless, treeless prairie, now the fair city of homes and schools and churches, of shaded streets and well trimmed lawns, and parks and gardens. That little band of noble women, some of them only recently married, some of them still unmarried, others in the prime of mature womenhood, and all of them earnest, thoughtful, prayerful women, formed themselves into a society called the "Maternal Association." We smile at the name from the standpoint of present day ideas and ideals, but was not theirs the true ideal working itself out through the instincts of motherhood, impelled by the thought of the mother love and the mother influence which must pervade and control the life and the destinies of the homes which had recently been, or were to be established?

The purpose of this organization was to discuss the interests of the community of which its members formed so important a part, and the more intimate and vital questions relating to their home life and the training of the children and the youths so far removed from any other educational or cultivating influences. There was no occasion for jealousy or pique because of a fancied or intentional slight in the omission of an invitation to join that club, for all who would might become members and share in its duties and privileges. And while they had no printed programs as have their daughters of today, they kept a record of their meetings and a list of the members.

The membership list of that first woman's club of Galesburg included old colony family names familiar as household words in the homes of our city—Gale, Waters, Blanchard, Kellogg, Losey, Farnham, Ferris, Colton, Conger, Buckingham, Sanderson, Prentice, Swift, West, Wilcox, Avery, Phelps, Holyoke, McMullen and all the rest sacred to memory in the history of those early days.

This association continued its life and activities for a number of years, at least until at sometime after 1850, and therefore its history antedates that of the Sorosis founded in 1868 in New York city.

In their earnest and prayerful efforts for the betterment of community and family life, the women of Galesburg were but laying the foundations for that altar of sacrifice upon which were to be offered their husbands and sons, and the added gift of their own hearts' best treasures of love and devotion when the fiery days of the civil war burst upon them and kindled the flame upon their altar, a flame which continued to burn consuming one by one the offerings laid thereon until the sacrifice was complete.

The natural sequence of the moral influences and the home training which preceded these events, followed, when husbands, sons and brothers marched to the front, while wives, mothers and sisters remained at home to work and weep as they strove to give them relief and succor. To be efficient their help must be given through the medium of organised effort, and here again becomes apparent the idea of the club, the "cleaving together" of the women in a common sympathy and interest which found its expression in the Soldiers' Aid Society of Galesburg, one of many found in almost every hamlet and city in the land, and in which the women of the surrounding towns also, as in Knoxville and Abingdon, and doubtless in other neighborhoods, bore a noble and devoted part.

This work as an organization was supplemented to some extent by the work of the women in their homes, some of them taking home garments to finish, or to make entirely, in order to make it more of a personal service to their loved ones and to the cause. At the beginning of the war the material for the uniforms of the volunteer soldiers was furnished by the government, and this material with pattern for cutting and shaping them was sent to the different localities where military companies were organized. These were distributed among the different organizations in the neighborhood of the military camps. The women of Galesburg gathered practically in a body to sew for the soldiers who were in camp in Knoxville, Peoria and Quincy. When the uniform was finished a testament and a handkerchief, and often a keepsake of some kind were slipped into the breast pocket of each coat. One devoted and truly patriotic mother, a widow, Mrs. Adaline Clendenin Ewing, the mother of Mrs. Martha Cobb and Mrs. Miron Rhodes, took home the garments which were to be the outfit of her first born son, her offering to her country's service, and made them all by hand. Into every stitch was wrought a mother's love and anguish. Then she tucked into the pocket the testament, the handkerchief and a letter, a sacred message, from mother to son in that crucial hour, and sent him forth with a mother's love and blessing. Only three short months thereafter, stricken with mortal illness, he was brought home to receive that mother's tender ministries in his few remaining hours of earthly need.

And this was only a forerunner of the many experiences that thrilled the hearts of the community with sympathy and with sorrow. Again and yet again were the homes of Galesburg and Knox county opened to receive their dying and their dead.

But still undaunted, the women toiled on making garments, scraping lint, filling comfort bags, preparing delicacies, packing boxes, forwarding literature and writing letters to the soldiers in hospital and camp.

The following are the names of all the members of the Soldiers' Aid Society that are still living—Mrs. Lucy Chase, widow of Dr. M. J. Chase; Mrs. Betsy Cook, widow of M. D. Cook and Mrs. Ann Sanderson, widow of Hon. H. R. Sanderson. Mrs. J. V. N. Standish, recently deceased, was also an active member.

The reports of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Galesburg, which have been preserved, speak eloquently, and with a touching pathos of the work of the mothers and sisters, even of the little children, for the relief and comfort of the brave boys in blue who had gone out from among them. The story of what was accomplished for their aid, both in the hospitals and upon the field, reads like a romance. The climax of one supreme effort is worthy of note. In the spring of 1864 special appeals were made in behalf of the soldiers through the agency of the Christian Commission. In response a "Sanitary Fair" was held in Galesburg which netted over three thousand dollars. This was followed in a few days by a great mass-meeting held in the Old First church, which stood on the site now occupied by the Central Congregational church. On this occasion, the afterward world-famous Chaplain McCabe, then just out of Libby Prison, made an appeal so powerful in its effect that in one short half hour, notwithstanding the effort of a few days previous, one thousand six hundred dollars were pledged to the Christian Commission, thus making five thousand dollars raised within a week in response to that special appeal, while at the same time the regular work of the society was not permitted to lapse.

It is in the light of such facts as these that we are made to realize the intensity of the devotion and the patriotic fervor which sustained those women through the unremitting toil and the long agony of that bitter experience.

Mary Allen West, who enjoyed the distinction of having been born in 1837 in "Log City," the first home of the Galesburg colonists, and whose influence as an educator, a writer and a philanthropist afterward encircled the globe, was prominent in the work of the Soldiers' Aid Society. During the greater period of its existence she served as its efficient secretary, and she brought to bear upon the work entrusted to her the unusual qualities of leadership and of executive ability with which she was endowed. She possessed a heart of fire and wielded a pen of flame, and her burning words, whether written or spoken, must have kindled anew the fires of patriotism in sinking, sorrowing hearts, while they made even the dry statistics of her annual reports eloquent with hope and encouragement.

And should we of the present imagine for a moment that impassioned thought, eloquence of sentiment and elegance of diction belong more especially to this period of culture and intellectual attainment, let us but read the address prepared by order of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Galesburg and sent to their brothers in the field. It was undoubtedly written by Mary Allen West, a graduate of Knox college of the class of 1855, although her name does not appear. It is a most eloquent, soul-inspiring message which must have thrilled the hearts and strengthened the purpose of the weary and discouraged soldiers to whom it was addressed.
In the arduous work and the consuming anxiety and sorrow of those eventful years, as in all the undertakings which have come to their hands, the heroic spirit of the women of Knox county triumphed. The word failure did not occur in their vocabulary, and to shrink in the presence of hardships, obstacles and grief was to them an unknown principle of action. Their heroic creed might well have been expressed in these words:

"For right is right, since God is God,
And right the day must win; To doubt would be disloyalty,
To falter would be sin."

And so lovingly and reverently do we pay our tribute of remembrance and appreciation to the heroic example and worthy deeds of the women of Knox county of 1861-65.

After the close of the war, indeed for some time preceding its close, when there was no longer necessity for work for the soldiers in camp, field or hospital, it became apparent that work must be done for the aid of the widows and orphans left destitute when their natural protectors and supporters had been stricken down by the cruel hand of war. And therefore organized relief work was continued under the name of the Dorcas Society.

This organization was actively supported by many of those ladies who had worked in the Soldiers' Aid Society. Its beneficent work in caring for the needy and suffering of the city was continued through the many intervening years, until a few years ago when it became affiliated with the Free Kindergarten Association, now; a county institution, maintained by the efforts not only of the women of Galesburg, but also of auxiliary branches in adjacent towns.

During the decade which immediately succeeded the close of the civil war, and when all the evils which follow the trail of such a tremendous upheaval in civic and national life ran riot in the land, the movement for temperance reform swept over the country like a mighty tidal wave, bearing upon its crest the thoroughly aroused public sentiment of city and village and country-side alike. Knox county did not escape the effects of the on-rushing current. She too was aroused and awakened to effort. And again, here as elsewhere, the women took the initiative and organized for battle. This time it was the women who were to do the fighting as well as the praying and the weeping.

The fight which was then begun so many years ago is still on. The heroic creed which had been the impulse to action in the past has ever been their inspiration and incentive, for again and again, many times repeated, have they flung defiance to the foe with the war cry,

"For right is right, since God is God, And right the day must win."

And so that great organization known throughout the civilized world as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union sprang into being.

The following account of the work in this county was written by Mrs. B. F. Arnold of Galesburg and we insert it without change. Mrs. Arnold has been associated with the movement from the beginning, and acted as president of the Galesburg union for fourteen years, and is therefore better fitted than anyone else to write of its history and work.

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Galesburg was the outgrowth of a society organized by the women under the name of The Women's Union Temperance Society. The first meeting was held on the 20th of February, 1874, and the organization of the society was completed March 16th. On the first board of officers were the following: President, Mrs. M. Waite; Vice-president, Mrs. J. H. Sherman; Rec. Secretary, Mrs. H. S. Hurd; Cor. Secretary, Mrs. J. H. Little; Treasurer, Mrs. Job. Swift.

The great temperance crusade in Ohio had recently sprung into being and the success of the active campaign against intemperance and the saloon inspired the women to follow in their footsteps.

The record book shows the names of 112 of the most prominent women of the city as charter members. In 1875 the society voted to become auxiliary to the state W. C. T. U. In this year the use of a store room on South Prairie street was given by Mr. Sheldon Allen for twenty-five years, the society paying all taxes and assessments. For twenty-three years this was headquarters for the society and the rooms were the rallying point for all kinds of reform work. The rooms were also used by the Woman's Christian Association and for several years a morning prayer meeting was held every morning at nine o'clock. The prayers which ascended from these rooms surely were heard and answered in later years when the licensed saloons were voted out of the city. These coffee rooms were the scene of much good work along temperance lines. Lunches and dinners could be had at all times, and all regular meetings were held here. A lady in charge was always ready to give help and advice to those who sought her counsel.

It is of interest to know the names of some of the good women who have passed on to their reward, but whose good works live after them. In addition to the first officers already recorded, the name of Mary Allen West stands pre­eminent, ably sustained by Mrs. J. V. N. Standish, Mrs. Warren Willard, Mrs. Clement Leach, Mrs. S. H. Ferris, Mrs. O. T. Johnson, Mrs. Geo. Dieterich, Mrs. A. Hyde, Mrs. Geo. Holyoke, Mrs. Hamblin and others.

In 1875 the Second Annual meeting of the State W. C. T. U. was held in Galesburg presided over by Mrs. Jennie Fowler Willing.

Some of the departments in which the union has done especially good work are the following:
A band of Hope of several hundred members was organized among the children of the city, and many of the men of today give credit by their staunch temperance principles to the instructions received from Mary Allen West, Mrs. Geo. T. Holyoke and Miss Jenney.

A Girls' Temperance union ably assisted by young men was the center of many instructive and enjoyable occasions where the leadership of Miss Mary Hazzard stood pre-eminent. In later years Miss Hazzard was president of the County W. C. T. U.

An Employment Bureau furnished help for many homes and homes for many workers, ably managed by Mrs. E. N. Lovejoy.

Mothers' meetings have always been a feature of the work of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and have been carried on with great success in later years by courtesy being held in the Free Kindergarten building. Those who attend are working women who have small time for enjoyment, and many cares. An instructive program is given and suitable refreshments served by committees from different churches.

The department of work among the soldiers and sailors has been exceptionally well conducted by Miss Catherine Long. Clippings and short interesting articles in envelopes are sent to hospitals and army camps and are circulated by nurses and chaplains. Hundreds of envelopes and comfort bags are prepared and sent every year.

In the year 1901 the 28th Annual Meeting of the state was held in Galesburg. At this meeting Mrs. Louise S. Rounds presided and laid down the gavel after nineteen years of service as state president. Miss Marie C. Brehm was her successor.

In December, 1892, the world was called to mourn the passing on of Miss Mary Allen West and her body was brought from far Japan to be laid by the side of loved ones in Hope cemetery. The union conducted the services which were attended by representatives from Chicago, Peoria, Monmouth and other cities. It was said of her that "The state has produced no other woman who has rendered it such signal service."

By courtesy of the city editors the press department has supplied our daily papers with a part column of notices, communications and short items of interest along temperance lines, which has been appreciated by all interested in the cause. The temperance rooms were given up in 1901 on account of changed conditions, and many other good reasons, and a room in Central church was occupied for seven years. Since 1907 the union has met in the Baptist church. Sixteen departments of work are being carried on by different committees.

In 1911 the Galesburg union was the largest in the state, having 268 members.

Other unions in the county are Abingdon, Knoxville, Wataga, Rio, Delong and East Galesburg, and the enrolled membership is nearly five hundred.