July 18, 1849
Father and I have quarreled extensively over the placement of our privy and I have at last decided to take the matter in hand.
We have never related well. Perhaps it is because of my circumstances in becoming a part of this family. The death of my parents when I was thirteen years of age and then being adopted into the Yeo family after protracted legal proceedings have always led me to believe that I do not really belong. And after fighting so hard for the Duffey inheritance it seems certain to me that my father was more concerned with monetary gain than the son that came with it. After many years residing across the Ohio River in Covington we moved here to Harveysburg, Ohio this past two months to avoid the dreaded cholera which is even now consuming Cincinnati and the surrounding regions like a savage beast. The poisnous miasma of the congested city for the fresh atmosphere of the farmland is a more than advantageous trade and all should be well. But for this struggle over the privy all would be quite satisfactory.
Father is insistent on being the patriarach of the family and his orders are to be followed without question. I am 28 years old though and fully in my own manhood now however and I see no reason that my perfectly reasonable thoughts on the matter shouldn't also be considered. In short, I felt it was most practical to place the privy near the run. The ground is easily managed and disposal of the waste will require little effort. Also, because it is further from the main house we will not be plagued with the noxious odors that will emanate from it once it has seen heavy use. It is very clear to me that this is the better location for the privy. Father feels otherwise. He would prefer to have the privy near the oak tree adjacent to the house for convenience of use. This despite the laborious work that will be required to dig through the rocky soil on this part of the property and the lack of ease in waste disposal. Most likely a deep pit would need be dug and this would require many more man-hours that would be better employed elsewhere.
We have had sharp words on the matter. The old man even dared to quote scripture at me reminding me of my duty to honor my father. I shall be damned if I allow father to use the Holy Writ to manipulate me into doing his bidding. My siblings all looked on in silence. I would have expected them to come to my aid, but they were all cowed by father's wrath. I alone resisted him. At last it came to some physical struggle, and I regret the manner in which I was forced to handle him. But he left me no choice. Having established my primacy, I ordered Joshua and Bernard to assist me in the immediate construction of the privy at the site I had chosen before Father had recovered sufficiently to oppose me once again. But once recovered he gave no further interference. It gave me some momentary sadness to see him so thoroughly defeated, but only momentary. I was right and it had to be done.
And so the work is done. The privy sits just adjacent to Jonah's Run as planned. I sit here now breathing in the clear fresh air free of the unpleasant odors that would surely have accompanied the recent business of the family at the privy had I not prevailed. I enjoy a cold cup of water from the stream and rejoice in my spirit, knowing that all is well.
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| Levi Duffey son of Joshua & Ally Yeo, Died July 25, 1849 at age of 28 |
Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee
--Exodus 20:12
So, I came up with this story after making a quick stop at the historic Jonah's Run Baptist church in Harveysburg, Ohio. The church and accompanying cemetery are right on Route 73, which we take going to and from Barbara's mother's house. I've noticed the church for years now and always wanted to stop off and look around the beautiful old building. In this case, it was the easiest cemetery for me to visit. I was able to pull into the parking lot, take about two minutes to take some snaps of some of the tombstones and be on my way.
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| Historic Jonah's Run Baptist Church where many members of the Yeo family are buried. Remarkably this church is still in use today. |
Right away I noticed a string of deaths of adult children of Joshua and Ally Yeo in 1849. I found that rather unusual. I knew that infant mortality was high in those days but for a bunch of adults to die in quick succession like that seemed odd to me. I took to Google to do some research. I found very little information about the Yeo family other than some evidence of some sort of a legal dispute with the James & Jacob Douglas in Kentucky in 1834 (see p.96, Folder 29 in the records of the Warren County, Kentucky Equity Court Cases file archived by Western Kentucky University) . I suspected that the cause of death was some sort of epidemic and sure enough, further research revealed that the Midwest had been devastated by a horrific cholera epidemic in 1849 and 1850. Cincinnati and other small towns in Ohio were ravaged by the disease. Compounding the problem was the fact that no one correctly understood what caused the disease. The prevailing belief was that cholera was an airborne disease spread through "miasma". People fled the cities in droves to escape the disease, not understanding that they were bringing the disease with them. Cholera is caused by drinking water contaminated by human fecal matter. Because people often literally pooped where they drank, the disease spread with ease. You can read more about the epidemic here and here.
With this information, I had everything I needed for a story. Of course, the story of the conflict between Levi Duffey and his adoptive father is entirely made up. I don't have any information on them or their relationship and certainly no specific details on how cholera swept through the Yeo family claiming four young adults in the space of five months. But a story requires conflict so I created one. And the sad results of my fictional conflict, in addition to Levi's own demise?
Mary Yeo daugher of Joshua & Ally Yeo: Died August 8, 1849 at age of 26
Flavilla Yeo daughter of Joshua & Ally Yeo: Died Oct. 5, 1849 at age of 25
Joshua Yeo son of Joshua & Ally Yeo : Died Nov 30, 1849 at age of 18
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