Morrison Historical Society Trustee Patricia Pessman shared her book, “The Saga of the Lilac Bush, An American Pioneer Narrative,” with Historical Society members and the community. At least 50 attended the PowerPoint presentation, on Sunday, May 21, 2023.
She stated, “This book is the account of an Illinois and Arizona story that has spanned 50 years of my life. It began 70 years after another Illinois and Arizona pioneer story ended [in tragedy.] These stories are uniquely connected.”
Mary Ann Oatman, her husband, and four children lived in Ustick Township from 1846 to 1850, near the log cabin of her sister, Sarah Abbott. When the Oatmans decided to head west, Mary Ann brought Sarah a lilac bush cutting; they planted it near the Ft. Dearborn Trail (now U. S. Route 30.) Tragedy struck the family in February 1851 near Fort Yuma. They were attacked by Yavapai Indians, who killed six members of the family and Mary Ann’s unborn child. Daughters Olive and Mary Ann “were marched off into captivity and enslaved by their captors, the Yavapai and then the Mohave…for four years.” Olive was released in 1856 and, in a year’s time, became famous as a Nationwide celebrity and lecturer.
In 1974, it was Mary Ann’s still-blooming bush that inspired Pessman to eventually write her book. She began in 2013 and finished in December 2022.
After her presentation Pessman held drawings for a half-price book and a potted lilac bush. The “descendant lilac bush” came from Trustee Marc Gravert’s Spring Valley Farm. The first Graverts purchased the property 160 years ago, and a hearty lilac bush was already in place.
The book cover shows the Abbott Lilac Bush in full bloom, and it is still there today. It is one-of-two in the yard of former owners Ed and Dorothy Abbott, for whom the book is dedicated. One of their two daughters, Susan Abbott Gidel, left, attended the program; she received a complimentary book from the author.
All copies sold out during the event, but reorders are coming soon. For more information, contact Patricia Pessman at cubbyfan56@yahoo.com.