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WASHINGTON CO., Iowa (KCRG) — What began as Wellman’s Michael Huston to fill his love for Civil War history turned into efforts to preserve Washington County history.
Huston purchased a CDV card from a Washington County soldier serving in Company C; A group of about 100 soldiers in Washington County. His wife’s great-grandfather served in Company C.
“I realized that the name they pasted had a number attached to it and assumed it was part of a larger collection,” he said.
Huston contacted a seller living in Virginia and learned that the painting was one of several she was selling one after another. They were part of a collage of Company C photographs assembled by John W. Morton. Morton also worked with Huston’s distant in-laws at Company C. Huston said Morton wanted to share the stories of those he served with. He paid thousands of dollars for the whole set.
“It was weeks or days away from getting lost and falling apart,” Huston said.
After doing some restoration and donating the printing of the piece to the Washington County Historical Society, Huston turned his attention to continuing Morton’s work of preserving history for another 150 years and telling the stories of those who served in Company C. Towards.
“I plan to research and learn as much as I can about their stories,” he said. “They’re not all that different from us.”
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