Vinnie Ream
State Historical Society of Missouri
The Dearborn Independent, March 13, 1820
Madison's First-Born White Child
To The Editor: In your issue of February 21 occurs a marked error of history. This excellent article on Vinnie Ream, sculptress of Lincoln, says she “was the first white child born in Madison– September 25 1847.” As a matter of fact, Mrs. Roseline Peck, wife of Eben Peck, became the mother of a baby girl here on September 14, 1837, and this baby girl, now Mrs. A. S. Hawley, of Delton, still lives. The Pecks were the first permanent white settlers of Madison. Coming in the spring of 1837. Their little log home was the earliest boarding house at the future capital; and in that very home Vinnie Ream also was born, her father Robert L Ream, having succeeded Peck as “mine host” in 1838. The structure was razed in 1857, after having a notable history for twenty years. The Peck baby was named Wisconsiana Victoria, in honor of the territory and of the young English Queen crowned the very year of the birth.
Sincerely Yours,
O. D. Brandenburg.
Madison Wisconsin.
Madison's First-Born White Child, by O.D. Brandenburg, The Dearborn Independent. March 13,1920. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
Brandenburg's letter refers to: As 16-Year-Old Sculptor Saw Lincoln, by H. O. Bishop, The Dearborn Independent. Feb. 21, 1920. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.