AVERY and ORIE KNIGHT & "Empress" from Chickasaw County, Iowa

I was very surprised to find that Avery and Orie Knight were not twins. In fact, they were more than two years apart in age. Avery was born on June 24, 1900, and Orie was born exactly 27 months later on September 24, 1902.


In the 1920 census their parents, William and Carrie are 49 and 47 years of age respectively. They were also the parents of ten children ages 3-22. And if that isn't interesting enough, they were all boys! While I was feeling sorry for Mother Carrie who had no female help in the house, I checked the 1910 census and found that there were originally thirteen children in the family. The three oldest children, a boy first and then two girls had moved away, leaving the youngest ten boys and more chaos than I can imagine. (Purely my guess; I am the mother of eleven--seven girls and four boys.)  :)

 Iowa Farmland

 I can find no records for Avery after 1920, he just disappears, but I can find quite a few records for Orie. In the 1930 census he is married to Evelyn and they are living in Indiana. Ten years later I find them in Fort Worth, Texas, living in a rented house for $33 a month and their yearly income is listed as $2,080. The couple continues to move south where Orie dies at the age of 79 while living in Sun City, Arizona.

TAKING A VACATION

I do not anticipate updating this blog until sometime after the first of the year (2013.) Thanks for your patience.

LUELLA FISCHER & "Lightning" from Morton County, North Dakota

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PONY CLUB CHILDREN?

I am greatly enjoying the new 1940 census records. The government asked more questions in 1940 than they had ever done before, and it is wonderful to see these little insights into people's lives.

I was researching Luella Fischer who lived in North Dakota and won a pony named "Lightning." She had such a bright, sunny smile, and I especially loved her second picture with her younger sister Helen, and baby sibling. I thought this quote from Luella's letter especially funny. "'Lightning" is so gentle that mamma can trust us to take the baby out riding."' Can you imagine allowing two young girls to take a very young baby out for a buggy ride?? Apparently, Luella's mother thought that it was perfectly fine.



Luella, Baby Verrill, Helen and "Lightning"

Luella's parents were named John and Emma. John was born in Germany in 1875, and Emma was born in South Dakota in 1881. In the 1940 census, John's occupation is listed as a "clergyman," and his salary was $1,250 a year. Their oldest daughter, Luella, was born in 1903, and younger sister Helen, was born in 1907.

The difficulty with tracing girls is that they often get married and, therefore, change their names. Some states follow through with the name change in their records, and some do not. In this case, I could not find any records for Luella or sister Helen past their teenage years.



Verrill & Ruth Fischer

However, I was able to trace the baby. It was a boy named Verrill, and he was born in 1914. When he grew up, he earned his medical degree in 1937 and married his wife, Ruth, in 1939. In 1944, he jumped with the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division on D-Day in France. After the war, he returned to North Dakota where he and several physician colleagues founded a Medical Clinic in 1958. Verrill had a long and illustrious career as a physician and surgeon. He delivered over 5,300 babies and performed more than 20,000 surgeries.

Verrill and Ruth became the parents of one daughter and three sons, with two of the children becoming doctors like their Dad. Verrill and Ruth lived long lives, he passing away at the age of 88 and she at the age of 90.

Luella had to be an ambitious and hardworking child to earn herself a pony, so it doesn't surprise me that her younger brother was ambitious and hardworking, too. I'm just glad that Luella, Helen and "Lightning" didn't drop Verrill on his head :) or North Dakota would have missed a good citizen and doctor.

GENEVA HOLT & "Princess" from Nicholas County, West Virginia

Nicholas County, West Virginia

Nicholas County, West Virginia, is located in the center of the state. The population is small with the largest town, Summersville, being home to 3,572 people.

This posting should be called "Geneva Holt and Family" since I found more information about her family than I did about Geneva. What interested me most about her letter was her mention of her siblings that had passed away. "I have three little brothers and two little sisters whom God has taken away, and before I got 'Princess' I could not go and take flowers to put on their graves, as it was too far to walk to the cemetery. Now brother and I can drive "Princess" and take flowers and she doesn't seem a bit tired when we get back home."

George Willey Holt, age 24, married Betty F. Dotson, age 25, on Christmas Eve 1901. Nine years later in the 1910 census, George and Betty are the parents of four children: Ione (6); William (5); Geneva (3); and an unnamed baby son who was less than a year old.

The Gauley River
flows through
Nicholas County 

By the next census in 1920, only two children remain, Geneva and the brother (William) that she mentions in her letter. I can find no record of the death of her baby brother, but I was able to learn something about Ione. She was born October 2, 1903 and died on March 23, 1913. The cause of her death was listed as paralysis. Unfortunately, I can find nothing about the other two brothers and one sister that Geneva mentions.

And sadly, in the 1930 census, the family only numbers three; siblings Geneva and William and their father George. Mother, Betty, had died in Ohio on March 1929. Why was she in Ohio? The only connection that I can find to that state is through Geneva's brother William. He died in the Cleveland area in 1982 at the age of 77.

What became of Geneva? I don't know. Since I cannot find any death record for her, all I can assume is that she married and therefore has a different last name that I have been unable to trace.

CRYSTAL ANDREAS & "Marmalade" from San Bernadino, California

I (Laurie) was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1956. Our family moved thirty miles east to the Charter Oak area of the town of Covina when I was eighteen months old. I stayed in the family home until I joined the Navy after my high school years.



San Bernadino County outlined;
Upland is in the southwest corner

I have been particularly interested in Crystal since she lived only fifteen miles east of my childhood home. I wonder if her beautiful rock home is still standing? I have very little family left in Southern California now, but someday I would like to return and find Crystal's home if it is still there. I'll let you know if I do.


As you can see from the map, San Bernadino County is very large and is in fact the largest county in the lower 48 states. The county is comprised of the San Bernadino Valley and Mountains, and the Mojave Desert and Death Valley, and has a population of over two million people.



Upland in 1906, the year
it was incorporated

I am afraid that I don't know Crystal's real last name. The Farmer's Wife lists it as "Andreas," but her death certificate leaves out the "a." I have also seen "Andrews" and even perhaps "Anderson," so it is quite possible that I have missed something in her life story by not having the correct name.

Crystal's father, Godfrey, was born in New Mexico, and her mother Caroline (Carrie) was born in New York. Now how Crystal could have been born in Indiana, (and the family ending up in California) I can't possibly imagine, but apparently it is so. Her birth date was January 8, 1905. 

Crystal and "Marmalade"



The first census records that I can locate for the family are in 1920. At that time, Crystal is 15 and she is living in Upland, San Bernadino County, California. This is the same place that she won "Marmalade," so the family must have been there for quite some time. Crystal also has a younger brother, (August) John, born in 1908.

In the 1930 census, the parents are alone, and it is unknown where Crystal and John are living.

I do not know how Crystal spent the years in between, but I do know that she died in Los Angeles (about 45 miles west of Upland) in 1977 at the age of 72. Since her last name was still Andreas (actually listed as Andres), I can assume that she never married.

I permanently moved away from the L.A. area in 1978. Perhaps Crystal and I crossed paths once or twice? I'll never know...



IRENE BROOKS & "Ray" from Cheshire County, New Hampshire

Cheshire County,
New Hampshire

Irene Brooks is the only winner from the state of New Hampshire. Her home in Cheshire County is the location of the famous Mt. Monadnock. This mount is said to be one of the most frequently climbed mountains in the entire world.

The view from the summit of
Mt. Monadnock

Irene's letter and photograph are some of my very favorites. Imagine a five or six year old being taller than her pony! And I wonder if “Ray” ever did learn to say his prayers.

If you have done any genealogical research there is one thing that you learn very quickly, the records are sometimes wrong. There can be inconsistencies in the spelling of names and places, and occasionally the dates just don't seem right. I found some of these questionable records while researching the Brooks family.

Irene's father, Charles, was born in 1852, and her mother, Elizabeth, was born in either 1862 or 1872. Since Irene's birth year is in 1908, her father was 56 when she was born and her mother was either 36 or 46 years of age at the time.

Irene Brooks & "Ray"

In the 1910 census, along with Irene (2 yrs. old) and her parents, is listed a boarder named Carlos Messinger, age six. In the 1920 census, Carlos apparently has been adopted by the Brooks family. His name has been shortened to Carl, but he has lost four years and is now the same age as Irene! Which date is right? I don't know, since I can find no other records for Carl after 1920.

Irene married when she was twenty years old. Her husband's name was Lawrence P. West and he was nineteen at the time of their marriage. In the 1930 census the couple is living with Lawrence's aunt and they have no children.

I cannot find death records for either Irene or Lawrence. Perhaps they are both still alive? At 104 and 103, although unlikely, it is still possible. 

Irene's short letter and photo is on page 63 of The Farmer's Wife Pony Club Sampler Quilt.

HAROLD A. PIERCE & "Sportsman" from Waushara County, Wisconsin



Waushara County, 
Wisconsin, Courthouse

Waushara, in central Wisconsin, is a very rural county, with the largest town, Wautoma, having a population of less than 2,000 people.

Unfortunately, my information about Harold A. Pierce is rather scant. He was born in 1905 in Wisconsin. His parents, Clarence (b. 1884) and Alta (b. 1885) were also born in the state. Harold was the oldest of the six Pierce children. Percy Otis was two years younger than Harold and was likely the other boy in the photograph below. The younger children were, Ona Mary (b. 1911), Edgar (b. 1913), Leslie (male-b. 1919), and Elizabeth (b. 1923.) 

The last that is known of Harold in Wisconsin is in the 1920 census when he was 15 years old and living at home with his family. In the 1930 census, when Harold would have been 25 years old, his parents and the four youngest children are living at home, but he and Percy are at an unknown location.

Waushara County,  
Wisconsin

After 1930, the only record of Harold that I can find is in the Florida state census of 1945. He is living in Pinellas County as a single man, and is 40 years old. 

I can find death records for two of Harold's brothers in Wisconsin, but it is unknown when and where Harold died. 

"Sportsman," Percy (?), & Harold

"When the time came for the pony to come my brother and Papa and I went to the depot to meet him but when the train came in no pony, and we kept this up for two nights. Everybody said my pony would not come, but I knew he would and sure enough on the third night when the train rolled in the express man opened the door to the car. I heard a pony neigh and how tickled I was for there he was in the crate all decorated with ribbons on his tail and mane."

KEITH WALKER & "Tramp" from Juneau County, Wisconsin



Juneau County, Wisconsin
 The Wisconsin River forms the
eastern border of the county




Keith, Bernice and Raymond Walker

 

The winner of "Tramp," was born, Keith Singletary Walker in 1904. The children in the picture above are believed to be his sister Bernice (b. 1906), and brother Raymond (b. 1909).

Clara, Bernice, Keith (top), Levi Walker, circa 1907

Keith's parents were Levi Blaine Walker (b. 1879) and Clara Janetta Singletary Walker (b. 1877) and they were married in 1902. The family was all listed in the 1910 census, but by the 1920 census, Keith's father was a widower. Keith's mother Clara died in 1918 when she was 41 years old.  I do not know if his father, Levi, remarried, but he died in 1968 and is buried in the small town of Wonewoc in Juneau County, Wisconsin.

Myrtle & Keith Walker and 
grand-niece and nephew

taken in 1962 in Barron County, Wisconsin

Undated photo of Levi Walker,
Keith's Father

In the 1930 census we find that Keith is married to Myrtle Stewart who was also born in 1904. It is unknown when they moved to Florida, but that is where they both passed away; Keith in 1972 at the age of 68, and Myrtle in 1984 at the age of 80. It is unknown if they had any children. 

“I want to write and tell you how glad I was when I received word that I was one of the "Lucky Pony Winners” in the contest that closed September 30^th, 1912, and what good times I have had with my pony, 'Tramp.'...I was at school when the letter came telling me I was a winner... My, but I was the happiest boy you ever saw. I went to the train twice to meet him but he did not come, but the next day papa went and he was there. Everybody around town was at the depot to see him. He came the 15^th of October and I have  had lots of fun with him ever since.”

It was wonderful to obtain so many photos of the Walker family. I still hope to find some descendants of Keith. 

Keith's entire letter and both photograph's can be found on pages 10-11 of The Farmer's Wife Pony Club Sampler Quilt.

SELMA DILLBERG & "Bud" from Lyon County, Minnesota

Lyon County, located in southwest Minnesota, was named after General Nathaniel Lyon, who was killed in the Civil War.

Selma Isabell Dillberg, the winner of "Bud" was the youngest of seven children. Her father Swan (b. 1858) and mother Dorothea (b. 1855) both came from Sweden. Her older siblings were born in Illinois, but Selma was born in Minnesota, so they must have recently moved there. The family made their home in Coon Creek Township.

Lyon County, Minnesota

The Dillberg family is really very interesting, but a bit complicated to explain. Some random thoughts...

First of all, their names changed...a lot! Brother Evest is also Fred; brother Ernest is also Cernent; sister Gertrude is also Yarda; and Selma is also Zelma. In that era it was more common for the family to stay in one area, but not so with the Dillberg clan. I have found death records for the family in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Boise, Idaho; Los Angeles, California; and Nicolette County, Minnesota.

I wonder if the Dillberg parents enjoyed having a full house more, or an empty one. It seems that it was either feast or famine for them. In 1900, they lived with their seven children, the oldest being 19. In the 1910 census, all the children were still at home, along with Mr. Dillberg's widowed brother Adolph and his two motherless children, Josie, age three and Robert age one. A 21 year old female boarder finished out their family, for a total of thirteen people.



In the 1920 census when the parents were in their 60s they lived alone. By 1930, however, their home was full again. Their household included, daughter Gertrude and her husband Ollie and their three daughters ages 11-15. A nine year old grandson, Keith Dillberg, is also listed. 







Selma, "Bud" and Friends

 Now back to Selma. She was born on May 25, 1899. In the 1920 census we find that she and her sister Rose are boarders in Minneapolis, Minnesota, about 150 miles from their Lyon County home. The next ten years must have been trying for her. I wish I knew her story. In 1921 she became the mother of a son, Kenneth (Keith) Girard while she was still in Minnesota. I could not discover the first name of her husband or how long they were married.

In 1930 she was living in Los Angeles, California, and is the wife of James Donald Bellor. I was unable to find if she had any children with Mr. Bellor. Selma died on January 13, 1947, in Los Angeles, California, never reaching her 48th birthday. Her son too, died very young, at just 46 years of age.


Selma thought “Bud” was the best present in the world. Here is a portion of her letter. “When I want to go to a picnic, I take my little pony and drive him. He takes the buggy right along as easy as can be and he is as kind as a kitten. I take my pony to town for groceries sometimes and sometimes I take my mamma out for a ride in the afternoon. One day mamma and I went six miles and I thought that 'Bud' would be tired but he did not get tired or lazy.” 

Selma's complete letter and two photographs can be found on pages 22-23 of The Farmer's Wife Pony Club Sampler Quilt.

MABEL GRAVLEY & "Scrappy" from Lyon County, Minnesota

While compiling Mabel's story, I have had the wonderful advantage of being in contact with her second daughter, Ruth. She has been a great help to me in writing her mother's story accurately. Ruth told me that she and her sisters knew that their mother had a pony, but not the details of the pony contest. Thanks, Ruth, for all of your help.

Mabel Amanda Gravley was born on February 11, 1901, and was the youngest of five living children (two boys had died.) Her three sisters and one brother were all older than she--Sarah (b. 1887), Otelia (b. 1888), Oscar (b. 1891), and Hannah (b. 1893.)

Mabel's father, Brygnel, was born in 1861 in Norway, and immigrated to the United States when he was ten years old. His wife, Bertina, was born in Wisconsin in the year 1862, and the couple married in 1886. From the 1900 census to the 1930, the family is always listed as living in Murray County, which is directly south of Lyon County. I do not know why this discrepancy occurred.

Mabel's parents lived long lives in their family home. Her father died in 1940, at 79 years of age; and her mother, Bertina, had just celebrated her 98th birthday when she passed away.

Unknown Girl, Nephew
Raymond, "Scrappy" & Mabel



Little Raymond in the photo is Mabel's nephew, and he was born in 1913. Raymond was the only child of her sister, Otelia, who died when Raymond was two years old. Mabel spent a great deal of time with little Raymond, so it is not surprising that he is seen riding "Scrappy."

Mabel was a country school teacher for many years after high school, sometimes boarding away from home. In the 1930 census, she is listed as living with her parents and brother Oscar who is 38 years old.

In 1933 Mabel married John Edwin Oppen who was eighteen years her senior. They had three daughters, Ramona, Ruth and Shirley. Sadly, John passed away on June 17, 1942, leaving Mabel to raise their three young girls, then ages 9, 7 and 5. Mabel was a woman with courage and faith. She wrote in a letter to her sister describing how tough life was after her husband's death, but stating that she wasn't going to worry, because it was a sin to worry.

Mabel and the girls stayed on the farm for a few years after John's death, but eventually moved to Washington state in 1948. Mabel's older sister, Hannah, had moved there some years earlier. The sisters were close and wanted to be together, besides Mabel hoped to find work there. She eventually did find employment at the Bremerton Naval Shipyard near Seattle. The two families were able to spend a good deal of time together. Big sister, Hannah was also a widow and had a daughter, so they must have had much in common.

Mabel's three daughters all married and stayed in Washington and are now in their 70s. To date, Mabel has six grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild on the way.

Mabel Amanda Gravley Oppen lived a long life and passed away at the age of 88 in 1989.

Mabel ends her letter with, "This is my story, this is my song, praising my pony, all the day long." Mabel had substituted the word "pony" for "Savior." The famous, blind hymn writer Fanny Crosby wrote these words, and died the same year that Mabel won her pony, 1915.

Mabel's entire letter and both photographs can be seen on pages 156-157 of  The Farmer's Wife Pony Club Sampler Quilt.

ARNOLD ANDERSON & "Pedro" from Kandiyohi County, Minnesota

Kandiyohi County, Minnesota

The word Kandiyohi (Kan-dee-YOH-hy) comes from the Dakota word meaning "where the buffalo fish come." The county was organized in 1858, but the Dakota War of 1862 discouraged settlement for a time. With the advent of the railroad in 1869, many settlers (most often from Norway or Sweden) came to make Kandiyohi County their home. 

Four children won ponies from the county, but only two sent in photographs and letters to The Farmer's Wife. These two children, Arnold Anderson and  Harold Bush are featured in The Farmer's Wife Pony Club Quilt.

Arnold F. Marcellus Anderson, winner of "Pedro," was born on September 24, 1901. This was the second Arnold born into the family. His older brother, Arnold F., was born in December 1899, and lived to be at least six months old before he died.

Arnold's parents were both born in Sweden and immigrated to America before their marriage. Martin, born on March 18, 1859, arrived when he was 20; and Anna, born in 1868 came when she was 16.

The couple married in 1890, and had four living children: Esther (b. 1892), Agnes (b. 1894), Arnold (b. 1901), and Anna (b. 1907); and two children who died in infancy: Arnold (b. 1899), and Anna (b. 1906.)

Arnold's parents lived their adult lives in the Elizabeth Lake area of Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, and passed away at a ripe old age; Martin at the age of 87, and Anna at the age of 82. 

Thought to be: Mother Anna, Agnes, Daughter Anna, 
Arnold & "Pedro," Martin, Esther

I believe that Arnold won his pony “Pedro” in the year 1913, when he was twelve years old. The entire family appears to assembled in the photograph on page 15, with the addition of unknown man behind Arnold and “Pedro.” 

An excerpt from Arnold's letter to The Farmer's Wife says, "'Pedro' is the cutest little Shetland Pony I ever saw and all my friends say so too. I feel as if I were the happiest boy in the country just on account of 'Pedro'.... 'Pedro' is very fond of apples and we have a big orchard of apples so 'Pedro' is going to have all he can eat. I tried to feed him sugar but he just shook his head and spit it out as if to say, 'That's too sweet for me."'

In the 1930 census, when Arnold was about 28, I find that he is married. His wife's name is Selma T. and she is 27 years old. They are the parents of three children: James & Jerrie age four, and a girl, Ruth, age three. Unfortunately, Selma did not live to see her children grow up, but died on July 14, 1936, at the age of 33. She is buried at the Calvary Lutheran Cemetery in Willmar, Minnesota. In records I see that Selma was listed as Arnold's first wife, but I have not as yet identified the name of his second wife.

Arnold died in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, on August 21, 1984, at the age of 83. He is buried at the Union Cemetery in Atwater, Minnesota. I do not know if Arnold's other children are alive, but I do know that his son, James B. Anderson, of New Hope, Minnesota, died on May 23, 1998, when he was 72 years old. 

Arnold's entire letter can be found on pages 14-15 of The Farmer's Wife Pony Club Sampler Quilt.

HAROLD BUSH & "Carlo" from Kandiyohi County, Minnesota

Kandiyohi County, Minnesota is in the southern-central part of the state. Their motto, "Where The Lakes Begin" is very appropriate, since there are more than seventy named lakes in the county.

The beautiful countryside of Kandiyohi County, Minnesota

Harold's letter is unusual because he lists so many of his relative's names. With such a large group of family living nearby, I was surprised to find that Kandiyohi County was not the family's permanent home.

Harold's father, Charles, was born in Illinois and his mother, Vivian, came from Iowa. In the 1910 census when Harold was four years old, he and his two older sisters Viola (7 yrs. old) and Bessie (6 yrs. old), and parents were living in South Dakota.

Viola, Harold, "Carlo," and Bessie

 Harold won his pony "Carlo" on May 29, 1912 (100 years ago) while he was living in Kandiyohi County.  However, in the 1920 census, Harold's family has now moved again, and is living in Kanabec County, Minnesota. It is unknown how long the family stayed in Kandiyohi.

A small excerpt from Harold's letter reads, "A short time after we got 'Carlo' and he wasn't accustomed to being away from the other ponies, we left him loose in the yard at night and he started back to the pony farm. Uncle John found him 13 miles from home the next morning, so you see he is some traveler. We went to the circus the other day. My, but 'Carlo' did feel proud, because he was just as nice as any pony in the circus..."

In the 1930 census we find Harold and his wife Helen, living in a boarding house in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. However, this was not the last move for Harold and Helen. I found death records for both of the them in Los Angeles, California. Helen passed away in 1982 at the age of 70, and Harold was 65 years old at the time of his death in 1971. 

Harold's complete letter and another family photograph can be found on pages 36-39, of The Farmer's Wife Pony Club Sampler Quilt.

INA ZOE PRUETT & "Spot" from Richland County, North Dakota

Richland County, North Dakota, is located in the southeast corner of the state. Ina and her family probably lived near the town of Wyndmere (population 429) where a railroad station was located.  

Railroad Map of North Dakota With the Arrow Pointing to the Town of Wyndmere 

Ina Zoe Pruett was born in North Dakota in the year 1908. She was the oldest child of Charles Austin Pruett, born in 1877 in Illinois, and Faye D. Pruett, born in 1882 in Iowa.

Ina had one brother, William Eugene (b. 1910) and two sisters, Myrna (b. 1914) and Lucille (b. 1917.)

In Ina's letter she mentioned a funny incident involving "Spot" and a Mr. and Mrs. King.

"Another time while I was at Mr. King's on 'Spot' Mrs. King came in from the garden with a head of cabbage in her hand. She came up to pet 'Spot.' He did not wait to be asked to have some cabbage, but reached out his head and began to help himself."

I wasn't trying to discover who they were, but I happened to notice two King couples on the census records, so they must have been very near neighbors to the Pruetts. For what it's worth, Mr. and Mrs. King were either named George and Clara, or Orren and Nellie.

"Spot" and Ina

Unfortunately, in my quest to find descendents of Ina, I have come up short since I cannot trace her or her siblings very far. 

In the 1940 census (the last census on record) her brother William was married to Marguerite, but no children had been born yet.

Her sister, Myrna married a man with the last name of Haan, and she died in 1987 in Indiana.

The youngest child, Lucille, married Howard Cofell and they had a daugher named Patricia, who was born in 1935. Lucille died in June of 2011 at the age of 94. (Only last year! I'm sorry that I missed her.)

I cannot be sure, but it is possible that Ina never married. The only Ina Pruett that I could find was born May 13, 1908 and died May 10, 1984 in Odessa, Texas.