On June 1, 1898, having finished the house Ida and Edith arrived and we were married at once and commenced housekeeping in earnest. We enjoyed our home and life in Arkansas very much. I finally bought 40 acres more land, set most of it out in fruit and berries. Our one cow had increased to quite a herd, so that we were feeling quite prosperous. In the meantime Mother Pugh had come out and bought Mr. Wilkinson's place joining ours. In time she sold out to Mr. Eicher and they moved back to Des Moines, which seemed to be the rule for all that came from the North. Frederick W. Sims, spelling and punctuation only have been changed. The original copy owned by Everett E. Sims, son of Frederick W. Sims. Sidney G. Sims. The journal was transcribed from Fredrick W. Sims' hand written notes; my grandfather, Everett E. Sims, did this. The original had written journal is not to be found. When I read the neatly typed onion skinned pages, I was in awe. I had no idea the journal existed, or that my great grandfather was anything other than the average nineteenth century citizen that you never hear of. At this point I felt compelled to do something with these stories. I have no idea if there are any revelations exposed here. I really don't care about that. I knew that there had to be a place for this journal to be viewed. I chose the publishing industry for this purpose. 1st Books was a big help in my decision. I hope you enjoy this book. I'm proud of my great grandfathers service to his country, as I am of my fathers World War 2 service and my own military service. Sidney E. Sims, a proud great grandson.