Harlan Lincoln House hosts author

The board of directors of the Harlan-Lincoln House in Mount Pleasant hosted researcher and author C.J. King the weekend of April 20.

  Buy Photo

Ms. King, from Jamaica, Vermont flew to Iowa the prior week to research Ann Eliza Harlan, wife of Sen. James Harlan, in preparation for writing an article about Mrs. Harlan’s soldiers’ relief work during the Civil War. King received a grant from the State Historical Society of Iowa to write the article for their publication, The Annuals of Iowa.

Ann Harlan is one of the lesser known members of the Harlan and Lincoln families, but she rose to leadership during the Civil War by working to decrease the suffering of the soldiers.

King spent two days in Des Moines researching at the State Historical Society and two days in Iowa City where she spent a day each at the University of Iowa and at the State Historical Society. She spent the weekend researching at the Harlan-Lincoln House and at the Henry County Heritage Trust museum in Mt. Pleasant.

King, who is a member of the Harlan family, wrote the book Four Marys and a Jessie about the Harlan and Lincoln women in 2005 and updated it with a second edition in 2015. The Harlan-Lincoln House has sponsored well-received presentations about her book and these women in Mount Pleasant over the years. The book is available at the Harlan-Lincoln House, which is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2:00 — 4:00 (except for April 27) and by special appointment by request on the website https://www.harlanlincoln.org.