Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 55, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 October 1919 — NOTABLE CHANGES IN 50 YRS. [ARTICLE]

NOTABLE CHANGES IN 50 YRS.

Aged Resident of Carpenter Township Tells of Early Experiences. George Welch of west Carpenter came over Monday with his son, County Commissioner Charles Welch. Mr. Welch, who will be 82 years old next January, is holding his age remarkably well. He is among the oldest continuous residents of Jasper county, having lived here since 1867, when he bought an 80-acre farm 1% mlleo east of Goodland, on the GoodlandRemington road, and which he still owns, at sl2 per acre. It is probable that he could get in the neighborhood of S4OO an acre now if he cared to sell. At the time he bought his 80 the owner of a 40 Immediately north and which is now a part of the Merritt Jqhneon farm, occupied by his son Charles, offered him the 40 for $9 per acre cash. Mr. Welch thought that 80 acres was ail h® eared to buy and, besides, he didn’t have the cash. Mr. Welch is a native of England and came to America with his folks when but 14 years of age. There were 10 children in the family and the others all settled near Syracuse, N. Y. His first visit to Rensselaer wias in 1857, when he came to Monon (then Bradford) and took the stage from there to Rensselaer. It was a very wet time and the stage driver cautioned the passengers to lift up their feet in driving through the sloughs, the water coming up over the bed of the wagon. Several years later he drove from Goodland over with his sister, and it took him all day and a good part of the night to make the round trip over the mud roads. He remarked Monday it was some different making the trip now over all stone roads than it was 50 years ago.