The history of a pioneer of Dodge Center is always of interest to the readers of the Record. Such a pioneer was Mrs. Joel Tappan, who departed this life last Sunday morning, Dec. 15, 1895. Mrs. Tappan was born in the historic town of Newport, R.I., May 2,1826. She was a daughter of Phillip Saunders and Mary Burdick, and was a granddaughter of Rev. Henry Burdick, a noted Seventh-day Baptist minister in the Newport church from 1807 to 1843. When Caroline Saunders was two years of age her mother was burned to death, she also sustaining injury. She then went to live with an uncle. At twelve years of age she made a profession of religion and united with the Newport Seventh-day Baptist church, a church organized in 1671. From thence she went to Plainfield, N.J. and in 1847 married Mr. Joel Tappan of that city. They moved to Milton, Wis., in 1856 to Minnesota, settling in this township. Many are the tales of hardship and pioneer life she has been able to relate. In 1859, she with ten others, organized the Seventh-day Baptist church, which held its meetings at the log house of Mr. Tappan, and afterwards built a house of worship in Ashland, and again moved to this village. These eleven members have increased to 153. Mrs. Tappan has been a great sufferer from cancer for nearly two years and death came as a sweet relief from her sufferings. Her husband and the following children were with her almost constantly during her last days: Alfred, Fred and Frank Tappan, Mrs. Ann Ayars, Mrs. Josephine Brown, Mrs. Eva Langworthy and Mrs. Wm. Churchward, an adopted daughter. Funeral services were held at the church Tuesday, the pastor, Rev. H. D. Clarke, preaching from Rev. xxi, 7.
