52 Ancestors In 52 Weeks: Overlooked

1 March 1895 Alton, Osborne County, Kansas

Dearest sister Ella Jane,
With our father’s passing comes the last chapter in our parents’ life story. Mother has been gone these eight years and Father just a few months. So much happened in those years between that may have been overlooked by others. No recounting in Father’s obituary…no mention of this part of his story. Overlooked but not forgotten by most others in our family.

When Mother died in 1887, Wash, Frank, Fred, and I were left alone with Father on this big farm. Little Fred was only 11 and Frank was 16…Brother Wash was 22 while I was 26. Father was too far into grief so I stepped forward to be a maternal figure to our youngest brothers. Suddenly, I was the main caretaker of not only my brothers but the house, gardens, and some of the livestock. A few months after Mother’s death, Father’s sheep farm started to lose money so he sold off his livestock to a farmer in Nebraska. Not only did he lose Mother, he lost the mainstay of the farm.

The good news was…some of the Mennonite farmers in the area were advocating the growing of wheat. They stated Turkey Red wheat could resist droughts and the harsh Kansas winters. It could be harvested in early summer. These farmers had had much success with their crops. There was this ray of hope that Father dared not overlook. He succeeded in saving the farm.

Since you moved to Montana, we have not written back and forth as often as we can. I am happy to report that the young boys are now young men so my job of raising them is done. The farm is doing well under the management of our brother Wash. I have started to step out with our neighbor Frank Whitaker by attending barn dances and socials with him. Hope appears on our horizons.

May this letter find you well and happy.

Lovingly your sister,
Hattie Mae

Note: Hattie Mae Storer was my second great aunt. Her parents were Andrew and Mary Etta (Soule) Storer. Hattie Mae did marry neighbor Frank Whitaker. They remained in Kansas for the rest of their lives. They would be neighbors to her brother Wash and his family.