As I’ve poked around, I’ve gotten more interested in Papa’s grandparents, mainly because there is so much information about them. No silence here ! They both made a mark on their communities, as you will see in their obituaries. And, I know where they lived, the exact building where John F’s law office was, have seen many of the deed transfers of land that John bought as he took advantage of growth in Missouri. The obituaries are a treasure of information! I have to thank the Cass County (MO) Historical Society and the Pleasant Hill (MO) Historical Museum for the amazing information about these two. Marion’s obituary is shorter and won’t scan well, so I’ll write it out below:
As published in the Pleasant Hill Times, in 1894:
“LAWDER—All who knew her will feel that the church has sustained a great loss in the death of Sister John F. Lawder. She died at her home in Paola, Kans., June 8, 1894 at 7 o’clock p.m. She was born September 9, 1840 at Palacios, a port on Matagora Bay in the Republic of Texas. Her father dying shortly after her birth, she, with her mother removed to Fleming County, Kentucky, where she remained until 1851, when, with her mother she went to Lavoca, Texas, living there until the fall of 1859, when she visited her relatives in Kentucky and Ohio. When on this visit, she was married to John F. Lawder, in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 1, 1860. Of this union were born five children, three boys and two girls, the last child, a girl, dying in infancy. The other children survive her. She and her family moved from Cincinnati to Pleasant Hill, Mo., in October, 1865, thence moving to Harrisonville, Mo., in February, 1877, and to Paola, Kans., in 1890. Sister Lawder, early in life united with the M.E. Church, South, and remained a consistent member to the time of her death. While living at Harrisonville, she was for years president of the Women’s Missionary Society and manager of the Juvenile Society. Under the greatest suffering she always exhibited a uniform patience and cheerfulness, and an unfaltering faith in her blessed Saviour. This sweet experience she maintained to the last, coming to the end of life in great peace. Earth is poorer and Heaven is richer by the death of Sister Marion H. Lawder.”
Beautiful! So much detail about her path in life and I am impressed by the respect for her volunteer work and leadership. But a couple of questions: why no mention of her husband John F. as surviving her? He lived until 1908. In the 1890 census, they are living in different places, he in Drexel MO and she in Paola, KN, but they are not far apart. I know she was living with her son Paul, wife Alice and their 5 yr. old son, "Dono", their nickname for Papa. Was her husband John the cause of her “greatest suffering” or was it having 4 deaf children, or was that phrase a cliché of the time? In the next post, I'll print the obituary for John F. Lawder, prominent local lawyer who died alone in Oklahoma in 1908.
1 comment:
We're so much more familiar with Emily Olsen or at least we've heard about her and Mom has a photograph of her. Emily was a contemporary of Marion Lawder but lived about 30 yrs. longer. Their only link is the fact that their grandchildren (Papa and Bano) married each other. Emily lived a city life, travelled to Denmark and Marion was the wife of a lawyer in a very small town. Emily had more children, but both women were inspired by their different faiths and became very active in church work. There weren't too many other ways they could be intellectually involved or use their organizational skills.
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