Lakin’s Pioneer Sweethearts

Thomas Jefferson Pearl was born on Valentine’s Day in 1847 near Terra Haute, Indiana. His father died when Thomas was 10 years old, and his widowed mother moved near Lincoln, Nebraska in 1868 with Thomas and his three brothers and five sisters. The family settled on a farm on what was then the undisturbed prairie. As did so many others, Thomas came to Lakin to work for the Santa Fe Railroad in 1876. A section foreman, he put in 30 years of service for the railroad and also worked at John O’Loughlin’s store. A highly respected member of the community, Thomas also served on Lakin’s City Council.

The love of Thomas’s life, Margaret Catherine White, was born in Dubuque, Iowa, on November 12, 1857. “Maggie” was the half-sister of John O’Loughlin, and she and her mother came to Lakin in May of 1873. They made their home with O’Loughlin in a small dwelling that he had built just north of the railroad right-of-way near where the Kearny County Museum’s parking lot is today. Young Margaret was only 15 at the time. After their mother’s death, Maggie continued living with John and kept house for him.

We don’t know when Thomas and Maggie’s love began to bloom, but according to the late Carrie E. Davies, the whole town was excited over the matter. “A home wedding was out of the question in those days, for we either had to go to Pueblo or to Dodge City for (a) license and someone to say the words to make them one.” Thomas and Maggie chose Pueblo. Chaperone in tow, the duo traveled to Colorado and were married there on November 5, 1879. The Pearls returned to Lakin and made it their home for the rest of their lives. Their eldest daughter, Maude Pearl Nelson, was born in August of 1880 and was the first girl born in Lakin and the second girl born in Kearny County. Their other children were Mabel Pearl Hart, born in 1882, and sons John Thomas and George who were born in 1887 and 1894, respectively.

Maggie Pearl was a devoted mother who not only played an important part in molding the characters of her immediate family but also of many in the community. Her Christian life was marked by living faith, kindness and love. A member of the Catholic Church, she also served a stint as president of the Old Settlers Association.

For a time, the Pearls lived in the house near the railroad that John O’Loughlin had built. Their later home sat in the middle of the block just west of the old Ford Garage on Buffalo Street. Some Lakinites may remember this as the McCoy house. In December 1990, the Lakin City Council approved the demolition of the home. Gingerbread trim that was on the dwelling was salvaged and donated to the Kearny County Historical Society. That trim has been incorporated into our house exhibit in the Museum Annex. Thomas Pearl died in 1915, and his beloved Maggie passed away five years later.

Thomas and Maggie were long thought to be Lakin’s first sweethearts, but Ford County records indicate that the first marriage solemnized in Lakin was that of Lucy E. Mudge and Miles W. Allen, a Santa Fe Railroad employee, in February 1874. In the fall of that year, the couple left for Miles’ claim in Rooks County. They made their way to Oklahoma during the Oklahoma land rush and secured a homestead on Bear Creek in Logan County.

In 1895, Miles bought a mercantile where the post office of that area was located. He became a merchant, and Lucy became the postmistress. When the town of Meridian was platted, the townspeople wanted to name it “Allen” after Miles, but he declined the honor as he thought “Meridian” was a more appropriate name since the townsite was on the Indian Meridian. Miles wrote to Washington with his request; hence, the name Meridian was given. Miles, a native of Iowa, died at the age of 74 in 1925. Lucy who was born in Michigan was 83 when she died in 1936. The Allens had four children.

SOURCES: Diggin’ Up Bones; History of Kearny County Vols. I & II; archives of the Lakin Independent and Advocate; okhistory.org; findagrave.com; ancestry.com; and Museum archives.