Historian uncovers connections between Iowa Wesleyan, DePaw

By Mariah Giberson, The Union

Local historian Pat White connected Mt. Pleasant and Iowa Wesleyan University to Greencastle, Ind., and its own DePaw University through four main families that were linked to both places.

White spoke on how she originally made these connections Tuesday during a Friends of the Harlan-Lincoln House Brown Bag lecture series. .

'Several years ago, I gave a presentation entitled ‘Mrs. James Harlan or Ann Eliza Peck,' and my research introduced me to Greencastle, Ind.,” she said. 'Since that time, I have come to discover and realize all the similarities, coincidences, and connections between Greencastle and our town of Mt. Pleasant.

'The more you research, the more you discover, and the more the surprising twists and turns you uncover,” White said.

Though there were many connections between Greencastle and Mt. Pleasant, such as both being their county seats and both being college towns, White focused on the four families that truly had a lasting impact in both places.

Before he came to Iowa Wesleyan University, former Sen. James Harlan attended DePaw University where he met Ann Eliza, who was living with the Milton Barlow family in Greencastle.

'There's a story in DePaw history about the romance of the janitor and the milliner, and of course they're referring to James Harlan and Ann Eliza,” White said.

The two would eventually make their way to Iowa Wesleyan where Harlan would take up the Iowa Wesleyan president position from 1853 to 1855. Yet the Harlans were not the only ones that migrated from Greencastle to Mt. Pleasant.

'Several other DePaw graduates made their way to Iowa Wesleyan,” White said. 'In searching the alumni records of both universities, I found that there were way too many to mention them all.”

One of the families that seemed to be connected to both sides of the Harlan family was the Saunders, specifically Alvin Saunders and his wife Martha Barlow. Martha Barlow was the eldest daughter of Milton Barlow, the family that Ann Eliza lived with in Greencastle. Alvin Saunders was the younger brother of Presley Saunders, one of Mt. Pleasant's founders.

'How would the eligible Mt. Pleasant bachelor Alvin Saunders have met a young lady from Greencastle, Ind.,” White asked. 'James Harlan and Ann Eliza, who was Martha's cousin, almost certainly played matchmaker for these two.”

The last person of significance White focused on was Arabella 'Bella” Babb Mansfield.

Arabella Babb Mansfield graduated from Iowa Wesleyan in 1866 and gained notoriety in 1869 when she became the first female lawyer in Iowa. She taught both at Iowa Wesleyan and DePaw, where she became the dean of the School of Art in 1893 and the dean of the School of Music in 1894.

White concluded her presentation by making a more personal connection between Mt. Pleasant and Greencastle.

'Judson and Joyce Green are alumni at DePaw, and I am very proud to say that Joyce Green is my second cousin,” she said. 'I knew that they were big donors and alumni of DePaw, but I had no idea that they erected this gorgeous music hall.”

The next Brown Bag lecture will take place March 16 from noon to 1 p.m. Historian Dennis Wilson will talk about the orphan trains. For more information or to register, visit iw.edu/friends-of-the-harlan-lincoln-house-brown-bag-lecture-series.