To the Midwest

My 6th Great Grandfather left Guilford, England and settled in Guilford, CT. He was one of the signers of the Guilford Covenant. Later in 1790 part of the family settled in Chenango Bridge, NY and the built the first house in that area. Generations later my Grandfather was born there in 1855 but as a young man moved west to homestead in Hendley, Nebraska. He married my Grandmother in 1885 and seven children were born. One daughter died in infancy and one son died at the age of sixteen. The children are buried in the Lynden Cemetery along side my Grandmother's parents Marie and Magnus Larson. My Grandmother came to this country with her parents and four siblings from Sweden in 1871 when she was five years of age. Great Grandfather Magnus Larson brought his family from Sweden and traveled to Nebraska via Illinois. He was naturalized as a citizen of the United States in Jacksonville, Illinois in 1878.

My Grandfather farmed, not too successfully, and when he heard of the many trees and better farm land in Missouri was eager to move. They moved to a farm and apple orchard near Humansville, MO. Here was a more productive farm and they soon began selling apples, tomatoes and produce to the local store. They even had a small canning factory for tomatoes and hired several people to help out. Grandma picked wild blackberries to sell. She was always so prim and proper in her ankle length dress, except when she was picking blackberries. One day as she was picking blackberries wearing Grandpa's overalls, a neighbor happened to see her and stopped to visit. Grandma was so embarrassed. She visited, but kept herself hidden in the brambles until he was gone and well out of sight.

The farm was soon too much for them and they moved into town. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a family picnic in the park. Grandpa was 80 years old. He had never gone down a sliding board and thought it looked like fun. Before anyone knew it, there he was up the ladder and ready to slide down. Fortunately there were no broken bones. This anniversary was a few days before I was born so I didn't have many years with them. I remember how Grandpa's mustache tickled. I think I remember the floor plan of the house in town but I certainly remember the sounds and smells. The cooing of the mourning doves and the sounds of the ice plant are very real. I remember the smell of morning coffee and the frying of pancakes from the wood cookstove. There was a "smoke house" just outside the back door over a cellar, a small barn and a garden. Grandma raised goats with the help of little dog Andy.

In 1921 they owned a bakery in Humansville.

When ill health got in the way they were moved to Springfield and lived two houses from us. I remember Grandpa sitting with his ear on the radio trying to hear the Cardinal baseball game through all the static. Grandma did lots of sewing, made beautiful button holes by hand and mended the hated brown cotton stockings I was forced to wear. It seems I was constantly falling down and tearing out the knees of the stockings and I can hear Grandma saying, "Your knees will heal but these stockings won't!"

Grandpa died in January 1944 of pneumonia. Grandma was not well and would eat very little. When asked if she had eaten, it was always the same, "Oh, yes, I had bread and butter and applesauce." Grandma died in December of that same year.