The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
March 4, 1943
To have seen a real prince and princess as a boy was one of the many interesting experiences of William C. Tomlinson, Luverne. Mr. Tomlinson was the son of Joseph and Mary Tomlinson. He was born in Nottingham, England, April 5, 1866, and recalls that Prince Albert of England and his wife had come to Nottingham to dedicate a museum which had been remodeled from a royal castle which had been damaged by fire. At first the instructor of his class at school had decided to permit his pupils to take the day off for the occasion, but later changed his mind.
Intent of seeing the royalty, Mr. Tomlinson and about five or six friends left the school without permission and went to see the royal procession. They would wait on the street corner until they passed, and then would run as fast as they could to the one beyond and wait until they had passed again. This kept up until the boys were almost eight miles from home, but they had the satisfaction of having seen the prince and princess, although they went without a thing to eat from morning until 10 o’clock that night.
Nottingham, which by the way, was the city made famous by Robin Hood, was one of England’s big manufacturing towns. Its factories provided work for men, women and children of all ages. When Mr. Tomlinson was seven, he worked in a hosiery factory, daily turning 100 dozen pairs of stocking inside out for 16 cents. He was so small, he had to stand on a stool beside his work table.
Later he worked in a lace curtain factory and became quite expert at his duties. When he was 19, a number of young men were being selected from the various factories to go to Australia to work, but Mr. Tomlinson followed his mother’s request. She had told him that if he wanted to leave England, he should go to America.
Having an uncle and aunt living in Illinois, Mr. Tomlinson decided he would leave home, and on St. Patrick’s day, 68 years ago this month, he boarded a boat for the United States. The boat was not a luxury liner, he recalls, for on the trip to England, it had been loaded with cattle. After they were unloaded, it was remodeled somewhat into a passenger vessel. It was seaworthy, however, and that was the main thing. He landed in Delaware Bay on the last day of March, and on April 2 arrived at Bloomington, Ill. From there he went to Arrowsmith the following day.
The trip to Arrowsmith he recalls vividly. The ground had thawed and the mud was so deep and sticky that the road was almost impassable. In those days, nearly everyone traveled on horseback. If they went to town to make a few purchases, they would put them in a grain sack, climb on the horse and ride back home.
Mr. Tomlinson hired out at $18 a month that first spring, and although he found the work considerably harder than it was in the factory, he never became discouraged.
“I guess I was born about 30 or 40 years too soon,” he states, “as at that time, the only machines that had seats were mowers and binders. It was all walk from sun up until sun down and at first, I became so footsore I could hardly walk. When I would go to bed at night, my feet were almost raw from blisters, but the next morning, they would feel pretty good, and I’d start all over again.
“Finally, I found an old timber man who made me some moccasins. They really helped, and later, I was able to buy a certain kind of shoe they had on the market, for about $1.15. After that time, I didn’t have any trouble.
Many farm implements which are now being used had not yet become common. All corn stalk ground was cultivated before the small grain was planted. There were no grain elevators, and when the corn was sold, it was shoveled directly from the wagon box into the box car.
He worked as a hired hand for three years, and then married May Coss at Bloomington in 1889. They began farming for themselves and it was not all sunshine, according to Mr. Tomlinson. “In those days, a farmer was on his own. He had no help from Uncle Sam and often, the going was pretty hard. We sold oats for 10 cents a bushel, corn for 15 cents, and hogs for $2.50 a hundred. We managed to live, and after the Spanish-American war, things became somewhat better. I sold corn the year of the Spanish-American war at three bushels for a dollar. After that, prices continued to get better,” he declares.
There was a great deal of timber in the vicinity where Mr. Tomlinson lived in Illinois, and he recalls that he bought an acre of woodland for $12.50. This strip furnished them with fuel for three years, and it still had many trees on it when they left Illinois to come to Rock county.
They came here in 1903, after Mrs. Tomlinson’s uncle had told them of the inexpensive and productive land. Mr. Tomlinson never regretted making a move as he states, “Here, I was able to make two dollars to every one I made in Illinois.” They farmed one year south of town, then moved to the Bierkamp farm in Springwater township which was their home for six years before they moved to Luverne.
Mr. and Mrs. Tomlinson became the parents of six children, five of whom are living. They are Albert I., Emery and Lee Tomlinson, all of Luverne, Dewey Tomlinson of Sioux City, and Mrs. Vera Eckert of Imola, Cal.
Since Mrs. Tomlinson’s death last month, Mr. Tomlinson has lived alone in his home. He does his own cooking and housework, and other work about the place and is in good health.
Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.