Wistful Wednesday : The Lemons Part Two

I knew the headstone had to be someplace in that cemetery.  Sometimes the names run all together in my head.  Good thing the cemetery is just a mile down the road.  Now that these graves have been “found” we will put flowers there too.

This is the headstone for Robert B. Lemon and his wife Martha E. Lemon.  They are Far Guy’s Great Grandparents on his Mother’s side of the family..

Robert B.  May 15, 1855  -  Dec. 27, 1919

Martha E. Lemon  1862 – 1943

Death Came Suddenly to Mrs. Robert Lemon, Ponsford Pioneer

Mrs. Robert B. Lemon, aged 81, one of the very early pioneers of Ponsford vicinity died suddenly Monday evening at her home.  Death followed only a few hours of illness, and came as a great shock to the relatives, neighbors and friends, as she had been up and around the house as usual earlier in the day.

The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Michels, Martha Etta Michels was born May 27, 1862 in Winneshick County Iowa where she spent her young life and grew to womanhood.

She married there almost 60 years ago to Robert Bruce Lemon and eight children were born to the union.

The family came to Becker County about the year 1885, making the trip overland by team and settled on a homestead in what is now a part of the town of Ponsford.  Mrs. Lemon had spent all the years in Carsonville Township, seeing the country develop from a wilderness into a land of fine farms and homes.

Mrs. Lemon was a splendid neighbor and friend at all times and especially in times of sorrow or distress.  In her home life she was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother.

Mr. Lemon preceded her in death December 26, 1919.

“Grandma” Lemon as she was affectionately known, is survived by three daughters and five sons, who are Mrs. Curtis Abbott,  Mrs. Ira Burlingame and Mrs. James Robinson and sons Ernest, Bernard and Robert all of Osage vicinity, Loren Lemon of Henrietta Township, Hubbard County and Frank Lemon of Nehawka, Neb.  There are 17 grandchildren, three great grandchildren, also a sister Miss Lucy Michels and a brother George Michels of Bassett, Iowa.

Funeral Services will be held Friday afternoon at 2o’clock at the Baptist church in Osage, Rev. C. H. Peters officiating.

Pallbearers will be J.A. Mc Grane, H.H. Chilton, Brice Stephens, Lawrence Siegford, Arthur Mayberry and W.T. Mc Grane.

Burial will be made in the Linnell cemetery in Carsonville township.

The son Frank, of Nehawka, Neb and grandsons Ivan Burlingame of Camp Barkeley, Texas and Hugh Robinson of Scott Field, Ill are relatives from a distance expected for the funeral.

Well that obit answered a few questions from last week.  Robert’s middle name was Bruce…and here I was expecting it to be Bonaparte!

Robert and Martha are Far Guy’s Great Grandparents, Mrs. Curtis Abbot (Almeada Clara) is his Maternal Grandmother.

I did not recall that they lived in Ponsford proper.  I know they lived just down the road from us about two miles, they farmed and the bachelor boys Ernest (Ern), Bernard (Bundt)and Robert (Dave) had a sawmill there.

From Ethel (Burlingame) Kivinen (a grandaughter) April 2009.  Ern, Dave and Bundt were bachelors and they never married.  They continued to live on the Lemon Homestead (Located South of Hwy 225, and 3/4 mile west of the Linnell Cemetery)  They had a sawmill at the farm, they farmed and took care of their Mother.  One day Dave came walking across the fields to the Burlingame’s (Amy and Ira)  Dave said “Amy needs to come home to help take care of mother.”  The next day they up and moved.   Ethel says “Grandma Martha was a heavy lady.  Grandpa Robert died of Cancer a long time ago in 1919.”

Martha is on the far right.  I don’t know who the other people are?  Could be neighbors or friends or it may be her sister Lucy and brother George from Iowa.

The lane going to the Lemon Farm.  I remember when it was a two track road, I used to watch out the bus window every morning on the way to school.

The farmstead was in the center of this photograph.  Far Guy says he can remember when the foundation of the barn was still visible.

Bit by bit I am getting this part of Far Guy’s family history together.  His Mother paper clipped a note to the newspaper clipping that has her grandmothers name and birth and death dates noted.  The newspaper clipping is taped to a piece of cardboard that nylons used to be displayed on…you know the old kind…where they were stretched on the cardboard and then packaged.  The newspaper clipping has been covered in Saran Wrap and taped securely.  I will put it away again in my Obituary box upstairs.