10 March 1887 Alton, Osborne County, Kansas
To my dearest great great granddaughter MaryAnne:
As I come to the closing chapter of my life, I am leaving some breadcrumbs for you to follow so you can meet me in the future. You will discover, if you dig deep enough, about my childhood in New York…about my traveling down the Erie Canal…about my late teens in the Minnesota Territory where my mother and I were the first White women to live in that area. You will uncover in a family history book how I meet my husband Andrew and how our marriage was not a love match…it was a marriage of mutual convenience. Through records you will meet up with my nine children…3 girls and 6 boys. You will locate newspaper articles in The Osborne County Farmer that relate what a successful sheep and wheat farmer my Andrew was. There is even an article about an evening spent with the editor of that same paper who writes about how we raised God-fearing, hard working children. Yes, these breadcrumbs were left for you to find.
There are also segments of my life story that were not written down and recorded. Some events you have to read between the lines to piece together clues. Then, there are what is not written…and I know you will have questions. Here are a few of the questions you might have: why did we move from territory to territory before we settled happily in Kansas? What was it truly like for a farmer’s wife to live in isolation from other women? What were my true talents as a woman, a wife, a mother? Did I ever fall in love with my husband Andrew? How did I make our farmhouse a home? What stories did I tell my children? How would I raise my daughters differently from my sons? How would I wish to tell my life’s story? How would I wish to be remembered? Oh, I know you will be full of questions that will never be truly answered…the answers for you are not written down.
And so I end this letter to you with prayers and blessings for you as you try and bring me to life…often just piecing together clues and finding those magical bread crums.
Love,
Your Second Great Grandmother
Mary Etta Soule Storer
Hi Maryanne, my name is Frank Valliant. I’ve been following your story about your family history. I started many years ago to write down my family history. I was born in Osborne in 1940. My parents were Cloyd Valliant and Martha Gordon. My mother was born in Osborne County (Covert, no longer a town), and she lived her life in Osborne and Downs. My father was born in Bazine KS. He worked as a refrigerator mechanic for Quenzer Industries in Osborne. He had Rheumatic fever as a child and it damaged his heart. He died when I was 10. My mother raised myself and two younger brothers. I will now jump to where you and I intersect with our lives. My father’s mother was Almina Wynona Whitaker (born in Alton in 1890). Her parents were Frank Clark Whitaker and Hattie Marie Storer. Now you know how your family connects to mine. Hattie Marie’s parents were Andrew Storer and Mary Etta Soule. My grandmother is buried just a few feet from Andrew Storer and Mary Etta Soule. My grandmother had many family photos. I copied them all and packaged them together in an album. The album consists of 102 pages, with names. I would be very happy to send you a copy. Many pictures won’t have any connection to your family, but I’m sure that some of the pictures will be new to you. I’m hoping that you have pictures of Andrew and Mary Etta that I don’t have (and any pictures of the rest of the family). Please send me your mailing address and I will mail you the photo album. I’m looking forward to conversing with you about our connections.
Frank Valliant 352-314-2530
631 Timbercrest Dr. Leesburg FL 34748
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My great grandfather was Washington Irving Storer, the son of Andrew and Mary Etta. The Storers and the Boultinghouses of my family all settled in Osborne County. Born in 1924, my mother Merna Mae Storer was the daughter of Andrew Earl Storer and Isabella Mary Boultinghouse. Maybe you knew some of my relatives.
I do not have any pictures of Andrew and Mary Etta Storer. I do have a picture of his brother Aaron Storer…his last wife related that Aaron was very abusive and cold-hearted. May Andrew have fared better.
Thank you for your offer of sending pictures. I have gotten many from Ancestry. At this time, I will marinate that idea. You are appreciated.
Please continue to follow my blog as I tell more stories. Thank you for your kind comment.
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Enjoyed your poignant blog post about your ancestor Mary. Just the facts of an ancestor’s life still leave so many questions unanswered, I agree. So often I want to know “why” an ancestor did something, and how that ancestor thought and felt about his or her decisions and life changes. TY for this thought-provoking post.
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You are most welcome. Thank you for visiting my blog.
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