sister Sarah were sent
out on the sidewalk as if we were playing, to see if any strangers
were lurking around. Mother stood in the front door and talked with us
while sister Mary, accompanied by my small brother, took the money and
went up to the other parsonage and let herself in, then into the
church. It was still daylight. So as not to use a light, she quietly
slipped into the church, removed one side of the pulpit steps and let
my brother crawl over to the other side and put the gold beneath the
steps there. After depositing it, she quietly put everything in place
and returned to the house. Then we retired for the evening.

None of the neighbors knew of the money being received. It came at an
hour when no one was coming home or happened to be on the sidewalk.
The shutters on the first floor were solid wood so no one could molest
us. We had been clearing the house and packing things away. We were
all tired and slept well. Mary and Emma occupied the front room and
for some unknown reason left the wooden bar off that made the door
secure, and these two men came in so quietly that no one heard them.
They had unlocked the doors to escape in case they were discovered.
Mother was awakened during the night and said, "Mary, are you up?" No
answer. After a short silence she heard another sound and she called,
"Are you ill, Mary? If you are, I'll get up and help." Receiving no
answer, she reached out to light the candle, but hearing nothing more
she thought she had been mistaken and went to sleep. She arose early
and found the shutters unlocked and the side door ajar. Then she went
into the parlor and all the chairs had been taken from the front door
where they had been piled. She immediately realized that there had
been robbers in the house searching for the gold. She awoke the girls
and told them of what had happened, and you can imagine our
consternation. As long as we remained in the house we lived in fear of
a second attempt. The next morning sister Sarah was sent with the gold
to our friend, Mr. Butler, who was surprised and simply amazed at the
amount sister gave him to keep. He immediately put it into safer hands
at the mint where the gold was weighed and the value given in money
and placed in the bank subject to mother's order. When Mr. Butler was
told of the attempted robbery he immediately arranged to have the
house watched each night until our departure, which came the first
week in June, 1851. We left Cincinnati f