Samuel Hartwell of Bridgewater (1693-1760), 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 41 Theme: "Water"

With so many possibilities to write about water, the obvious choice would be the Atlantic Ocean crossed by my ancestors to get our family to North America from Europe. Certainly there were many ocean adventures that could be shared. Also dozens of rivers, streams and lakes feature in the lives of family members. I have chosen instead to write about a place with "water" as part of its name: Bridgewater, Massachusetts. 

Bridgewater, Massachusetts, is situated within a triangle formed by Boston, Providence and Plymouth.

Location of Bridgewater, MA
Google Earth image

Like so many other New England settlements, Bridgewater may have been named for the English ancestral home of some of its early residents -- in this case Bridgwater, Somerset. Although no record has been located to link the name of the town of Bridgewater to the significance of its bridges, it does not seem an inapt name for the new settlement. Nahum Mitchel's history of the town includes a listing of some of the local waterways: Nuncketest River (formerly Mill River, Town River), Cowesit and West Meadow Brook, South Brook, Salisbury River, Beaver Brook, Matfield River, Byram's Brook, Spring Brook, John's River, Poor Meadow River, Middle River, Great River, Satcuket River, Black Brook, Titicut River, Taunton Great River and Hullet's Brook. So much water to get across!

Perhaps not surprisingly, earliest records for the town of Bridgewater, Massachusetts (established in the middle of the seventeenth century) indicate the significance of bridges to deal with all that water in the construction of the original roads connecting local residents to each other and to the broader world beyond. 

Bridge construction and maintenance was included in the town records over the years. Sometimes the bridges were described as horse bridges. In 1680, John Washburn Jr. (my 8th great granduncle) was one of those tasked with maintaining a bridge and causey (presumably a short form of "causeway") toward Thomas Snell's house. The specification was that it be fit for cart, horse and foot traffic.

Included in the list of surnames of original and early settlers in Bridgewater are a whole slew of ancestors: Alden, Carver, Hartwell, Johnson, Latham, Mitchell, Perkins, Pratt, Simmons, Snow and Washburn. These families often intermarried over the years.

At the time of our genealogical journey to New England in 1999, we knew of just one Bridgewater family, that of my 7th great grandfather Samuel Hartwell. Samuel was born 12 November 1693 in Concord, MA to Samuel Hartwell Sr. and his wife Abigail Stearns.

He married Hannah Billings in about 1717 and had a family of 8 children with her before her death in 1736. The couple had moved about 45 miles from Concord to Bridgewater shortly after their marriage. 

Samuel outlived Hannah by many years before succumbing to smallpox in 1760. 

In May of 1999, we visited Samuel's gravesite at the Jerusalem Graveyard in West Bridgewater.  He is buried in plot 34 and his inscription (very difficult to see) reads: "Here lies buried Mr. Samuel Hartwell, who dec'd December y 25, 1760, in the 67th year of his age."  Buried with him were son and granddaughter: "Here lies buried Mr. Jonathan Hartwell, who died Feb. 8, 1761, in the 40th year of his age.  And Hannah, his daughter, dec'd Jan'y 30th, 1761 in y 3d year of her age."  In the book detailing the graveyards of Bridgewater found in the Bridgewater library, on page 48, it indicates parenthetically that these persons died with small-pox

Jerusalem Graveyard from Google Earth

Some Sources:

• Hartwell, John F., The Hartwells of America A Genealogy, Higginson Book Company 1956/58, based largely on Handbook of Hartwell Genealogy 1887 by Lyman Willard Densmore, Accessed 21 September 2024 on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/hartwellsofameri00dens/page/n7/mode/2up
• Mitchell, Nahum, 1769-1853. History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater, In Plymouth County, Massachusetts: Including an Extensive Family Register. Facsimile ed. with a new name index. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1983.  Also accessed online at Internet Archive on 22 September 2025 at https://archive.org/details/historyofearlyset00mitcch/page/124/mode/2up?view=theater

Bethel Cemetery, Leinan, Saskatchewan, Canada (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 40 theme: "Cemetery")

This cemetery near my childhood home is the one that comes to mind in connection with this week's theme.

Bethel Church and  Cemetery - photo courtesy Ray Martinson on Findagrave.com

 

The land for the cemetery was donated in 1909 by Sigvald Jorgenson. The area was just opening up to homesteaders and before long, it became apparent that a cemetery would be needed in the community. The cemetery was alone on the prairies until Bethel Church was built in 1926-27 adjacent to it on land donated by Mrs. Anna Vatne, heir to homesteader Peter Anderson. This followed years of planning, fundraising and work by the community. There had been much discussion of various other locations for the church to be built, but in the end it made sense to place it adjacent to the cemetery. albeit on two separate quarter sections of land. 

Bethel Cemetery is located at SW22-18-14 W3M in southern Saskatchewan. I spent the first 10 years of my life just south of there on the farm at SW15-18-14-W3M. This was a short walk to the Bethel Church at NW15-18-14-W3M for Sunday School and Church services, though it was always done by car if my parents went.

Many activities occurred in the church: weddings, baptisms, funerals, Fowl Suppers, Christmas Pageants, bridal showers, and various meetings. The children all tagged along but escaped to play in and around the parked cars -- and, of course, in the graveyard. We would make a point of not stepping on any of the concrete and stone grave coverings, probably more out of superstitious fear than of respect for the dead. 

Findagrave.com website lists Bethel as cemetery id 2495060 and indicates that it has 101 memorials listed for people buried there. Surnames reflect the predominant Norwegian background of the congregation and include: Anderson, Bardahl, Berg, Bow, Brown, Bye, Doverspike, Eidem, Fladaasgen, Gilbertson, Grand, Hanvold, Hjermanrude, Johnsgaard, Johnson, Jorgenson, Kantrud, Koziol, Kvale, Kvello, Martinson, McCauley, Miller, Moen, Nygaard, Olson, Robertson, Rude, Rustad, Saaler, Sjoberg, Tangen, Tollefson and Wengel.

Bethel Church Congregation unknown year - probably 1940s

Although the church itself has not been used in decades and has fallen into a sad state of decline, the cemetery remains available. It was here before the church and is surviving long after. 

Despite the Bardahl homestead being on the adjacent farm, my Dad Ken is the only Bardahl who has been buried here. 

Ken Bardahl grave marker at Bethel Cemetery - photo by Ray Martinson of Findagrave.com

Some Resources:

• Anderson, Reynard, History of Bethel Church 1919-1954, privately printed, date unknown
• Memories to Cherish, Stewart Valley and Leinan, compiled by Stewart Valley - Leinan History Book Committee; Printed Altona, Manitoba: Friesen Printers, 1987, pp. 103-105
• Success, The Success History Book Committee, Printed Steinbeck, Manitoba: Derkson Printers, 1981, pp. 45-46

What Became of Mr. Murdy? (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 39 theme: "Disappeared")

Mr. Murdy (Murdie or McMurdy) was my 4th great grandfather. No first name has ever been found. He was believed to have been from Scotland and to have married Jane Davidson, though any evidence to support these suppositions has itself disappeared. 

He had a daughter Jane Murdy, my female mitochondrial DNA line ancestor (possibly going back another generation to Jane Davidson). Jane Murdy is said to have been born in 1801 in Hannibal, New York. She married David Bullen there in 1823.

Location of Hannibal, Oswego County, NY - Google Earth image

The only references that have been found relating to Jane's father are from the Source Book for the Bullen Family. One letter there dated 19 October 1935 from Americus Brown (a grandson of David and Jane's) reads: 

"Mother was born in Hannibal, NY.  Her mother was Jane Murdy. Her grandmother and she who was her mother came west from NY and settled in northern Illinois with their people.  Her grandfather came later as he was a breeder of fine horses -  bringing some blooded stock.  When he got where they were he wanted to see farther west so he hitched up a team and started out.  It was the last seen or heard of him.  It was always supposed he was killed by the Indians for his team."

An additional notation was made by Source Book for the Bullen Family co-compiler Mrs. A.H. Nelson: 

"My grandmother's (Jane Murdy) father died and her mother married a Mr. Chambers who was the father of Kate and Mary Chambers." 

I have learned that Kate and Mary's father was John Chambers who married a woman named Jane Davidson. Was this Jane Murdy's mother and the presumed widow of Mr. Murdy? 

All efforts to locate additional information about the Murdys/Murdies/McMurdy's have proven futile. Nothing relating to the Davidson or Chambers surname proved of any relevance in locating information on Mr. Murdy. Nor could anything further be found in the history of Hannibal, NY.

Unanswered questions: Where in northern Illinois did Mr. Murdy disappear from? Was he killed by Native Americans or by someone else keen to rob him of his fine horses? Was he involved in a fatal accident in the wilderness? Or did he voluntarily disappear, change his name and start a new life with a new family farther west? 

He disappeared. End of story.

Some Resources: 

Nelson, M. and Dunlop, R., Compilers,  Source Book for the Bullen Family; Privately printed in the 1930s, p67 (copy in possession of author)

Martha Pray and Joseph Wilkinson (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 38 theme: "Animals")

My 7X great grandparents Joseph and Martha (Pray) Wilkinson were born in Providence, Rhode Island in the latter part of the 17th century. They were married in Smithfield, Providence, RI in 1713 and  went on to have a large family of 15 children. 

Joseph Wilkinson had come to the northwest part of Scituate in 1703 and spent 10 years establishing himself there prior to their marriage.  He erected the first barn there to house the first cow brought to town.  His home, on the most northern turnpike, was considered to be a good farm. It was said that Martha had planted apple trees on their farm during the first year of their marriage. Both were doing their parts to establish a good home for their family in the new community.

Locations of Providence and Scituate, R.I. - Google Earth

Joseph was known to have used the hunting lodge that was built for the convenience of sportsmen from Providence and surrounding places. But sometimes the tables were turned and it was the wildlife doing the hunting.  

One often repeated story tells how Joseph and Martha in their early married years had to keep guard on their sheep at night to protect them from bears and wolves.  The sheep were kept in log enclosures near the house.  One night Joseph and Martha were awakened by the sound of a bear rolling the logs away; they had to get up quickly to rescue their sheep.  

Another frequently told animal story relates to Martha being visited by a bear when she was home alone. Martha had an apple tree full of ripe fruit that the bear was shaking from the tree. In desperation, Martha took her husband's loaded gun kept on a peg on the wall for just such emergencies. She took one shot.  This so frightened her that she dropped the gun, ran back into the house and fastened the door.  When her husband returned home and was told what she had done, he went out to investigate and found the bear dead near the apple tree. Not only had Martha saved their apples but also provided some fresh bear meat for the family.

In fairness to the bears, black bears were believed to have been common throughout Rhode Island when the first Europeans arrived. Colonists soon cleared about 2/3 of the forest lands, drastically reducing bear habitat. It isn't surprising that the bears were doing what they could to find food amid depleting resources. Bears had essentially disappeared from the area by the 18th century.

Joseph died at the age of 58 and is buried in the Westcott-Wilkinson Lot (also known as R.I. Historical Cemetery #14); Martha lived to the age of 91 and probably told her bear story many times to her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Westcott-Wilkinson Lot  burial site for Joseph Wilkinson (and possibly Martha Pray Wilkinson)

photo courtesy Gene Kuechmann of Findagrave.com

Some Resources: 

• A History of Scituate, R.I., Being an account of its Early Settlement & Events to the Present, Compiled by the American Studies Class, Scituate Jr./Sr. High School, N. Scituate, Rhode Island, Project Heritage 1977
• Beaman, C.C.,  An Historical Sketch of the Town of Scituate, RI,  published by Order of the Town Council, Delivered in Scituate July 4, 1876 at the Request of the Town Authorities, Phoenix Capron & Campbell, Steam Books and Job Printers 1877
• Roberts, Gary Boyd, "Genealogies of Rhode Island Families volume 1", New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1989
• Kuffner, Alex, Providence Journal 11 June 2019, "Bears, too, Finding R.I. A Good Place to Settle Down" article accessed online 25 August 2025 from The Herald News at https://www.heraldnews.com/story/news/2019/06/11/bears-too-finding-r-i/4938185007/

Steve Bardahl: Sheriff in the Old West (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 37 theme: "In the News")

My great granduncle Steve Bardahl (1868-1947) was, for a period of time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,  employed in law enforcement in North Dakota. News articles cover some of his cases dealing with bootleggers, con men, forgers, horse thieves, mental health cases, assaults and even a murder. 

The earliest newspaper report about Steve's law enforcement career is from September of 1897. 

Bismarck Tribune 1897-09-21 p.3 from Newspapers.com

Steve was listed as a "constable" in the 1900 US Census, was elected as Sheriff at Langdon, is called "Marshal" in Milton and also often served as Deputy Sheriff to Sheriff Allan Pinkerton in the south end of the county. (It should be pointed out that this is not the famous Pinkerton of Pinkerton Detective Agencies who had died in 1884. It is not known if the two are related.) 

Since the news reports are so numerous, just a couple of his cases will be featured.

First up: the horse thief Thomas McDonald.

Courier Democrat (Langdon, N.D.) 25 April 1901 p.1 from Newspapers.com

Although the stolen horses had been recovered, the thief and his ill-gotten gains had disappeared and Bardahl was "on the chase". By the time the above article was published in the Langdon Courier Democrat, McDonald had been captured.

Grand Forks Herald, 24 April 1901, p.5 from Newspapers.com

No mention was made in the Grand Forks article about any involvement of Marshal Bardahl, but the Langdon Courier Democrat soon rectified that.

Courier Democrat (Langdon, N.D.) 2 May 1901 from Newspapers.com

Also in 1901 one of the greatest murder scandals in North Dakota history unfolded on Steve's patch. The well-liked local farmer William Barry of Milton was charged with the murder of his equally well-liked hired man Andrew Mellen.

It seems that Mellen was thought to have wronged Barry's sister by not standing by her after getting her pregnant.  Barry initially said he had tried to hang Mellen, but when that failed, he had slit his throat. At the first trial, Barry's lawyers sought to absolve him of responsibility by pleading temporary insanity. 

Bismarck Tribune, Bismarck ND 7 Jan 1901 from Newspapers.com 

The unnamed sheriff pledging his personal responsibility for the defendant in the above news item was probably Steve Bardahl. Although there is no other indication that Steve was involved in the investigation, he was responsible for seeing that Barry was imprisoned after the first trial resulted in a guilty verdict.

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The Bismarck Tribune 29 August 1901 p. 2 from Newspapers.com

This did not end the matter. A second trial was held in 1903.

Sister blamed at Second Trial - Grand Forks Herald, Grand Forks, ND 19 Nov. 1903 from Newspapers.com

Throwing the blame on his sister did not work but did get his sentence reduced from life down to 10 years.  (The sister had mental health issues and died a few years later in an institution but no report could be found suggesting the birth of any baby.)  The third trial in 1904 resulted in his life sentence at Bismarck's State Prison being reaffirmed. Newspaper coverage was extensive over the years, filling many columns - most far too long to easily share here in readable format. 

Finally, in 1911 William Barry was released from prison putting an end to the case. Still, the community must have remained divided in opinion even after his release. No indication could be found about Steve having had an opinion in the matter, though no doubt he did.

William Barry Released - Grand Forks Herald, Grand Forks, ND 25 Jan 1911

Even Steve's wife Laura (sister to my grandmother Louise Nelson who had married Steve's half brother John Bardahl) adopted a role at least once -- accompanying a friend who was being sent to the state mental asylum. 

Courier-Democrat (Langdon, N.D.) 30 August 1906 from Newspapers.com

By 1907, Steve and Laura had moved to nearby Nekoma as reported by this newspaper item:

Courier-Democrat (Langdon, N.D.) 30 May 1907 from Newspapers.com

(Steve was also a terror to his sister-in-law Louise Nelson Bardahl who was certainly no evil doer. She was traumatized -- definitely NOT amused! -- when he locked her in a jail cell as a "joke".)

The final news item for Steve's career is from 1910 as he and Laura planned to leave the area. 

Courier-Democrat (Langdon, N.D.) 18 August 1910

Steve and Laura tried homesteading in Saskatchewan, Canada along with other family members. 

Steve's position as an effective law enforcer was not matched by a happy personal life.  Sadly, the loss of two babies in infancy and Steve's heavy drinking eventually put an end to their marriage and to life in Canada. Steve was living with his widowed mother in Lien, Grant, MN at the time of the 1930 US Census. 

Steve Bardahl believed to be the man on the right in this 1930 photo of his mother Anna Elton Bardahl including her other two  sons Ole and John and their wives Louise and  Anna

Shortly after this, he moved back to the Langdon, N.D. area where he died 24 July 1947. He is buried in an unmarked grave in the Lebanon Cemetery at Milton, N.D.

John Stanley "Jack" Anderson (1927-2003) (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 36 theme: "Off to School")

John Stanley "Jack" Anderson

The younger of my mother's two brothers, Uncle Jack was born in Everett, Washington when his family was living there for the winter of 1927-28. His parents Ingwald and Idella (Edwards) Anderson were American-born but had become Canadian citizens when Ingwald claimed a Saskatchewan homestead and Della became a teacher. All 5 of Jack's siblings were born in Canada. The first difference between Jack and his Canadian-born siblings occurred in his education; following from that, the second was in his military service and the third was in his choice of location for establishing his family and living out his life. 

His early years were spent on the Canadian farm. Like his older siblings, he attended Arrarat School, a one-room country school similar to the one where his mother had taught. All have fond recollections of walking across the prairie to school with lunch tucked into a lard or Roger's syrup can with handle. 

Jack's 3 oldest siblings "off to school" with lunch buckets

Music at Arrarat School - Jack standing 3rd from right, older sister Elinor standing second from left

My understanding is that Jack's allergies made him a very unlikely farmer; the family farm was eventually taken over by his brother Bob. There was no local high school for education beyond Grade 8. Correspondence courses were a partial option. Jack's older sisters had gone to "town" to work as household help in exchange for room and board so they could attend high school in person. Similar non-farming situations for boys would have been less easily obtained.

In  June 1942 he went to Moses Lake, Washington. to live with his maternal aunt and uncle, Grace and Floyd McBride, in order to attend high school. This must have been a difficult separation for him and  this whole close-knit family. His younger sister recalls not seeing Jack very often and, on one of his visits, running to him and throwing her arms around him - so happy to see him! In later years, the family made a point of getting together for many reunions, anniversaries and birthdays.

Jack surrounded by 3 of his sisters at the 1997 Family Reunion

 Jack was just 14 when he crossed the border at Eastport, Idaho,  stating his intention to reside permanently in the United States. 

Eastport, Idaho Border Crossing 30 June 1942

Jack worked in the McBride service station for room and board while attending Moses Lake High School where he graduated in June 1946. According to its Wikipedia page, Moses Lake High School was a 4-room public school known as Neppel High School until 1946 when a new building was built. It seems Jack was part of the last graduating class from the old school.

Moses Lake aka "Neppel" High School - photo by Rsusemihl

2018     This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Three of Jack's older siblings had taken part in the Canadian war effort during the Second World War. Jack, however,  entered the U.S. Army in August of 1946 and after basic training was stationed with the 8th Army Headquarters in Yokohama, Japan for the next two years.    

Jack in American uniform

After his service, in 1948 he enrolled at Washington State University under the G. I. Bill. He graduated in June 1952 with a B.S. degree in Pharmacy.  Leaving the last words to Jack, from his biographical sketch contributed to the Roots and Branches family history book:

"I then went to California, intending to return to Washington, but I was offered a job and stayed.  I met Catherine * in the  spring of 1961 and we were married November 4, 1961.  We have lived in the Sacramento area ever since.  We have two children . . .  We bought Todd's Pharmacy in Sacramento in 1965, a small neighborhood pharmacy which we operated until 1990.  I semi-retired at that time working a day or two a week and fully retired in August of 1999.   -- by Jack Anderson, November 1999"

Some Resources: 

Anderson, R.W. and Barnard, Joanne, Roots and Branches:The Ingwald Anderson - Idella Edwards Family History, Privately Printed Calgary AB: Chokecherry Press, 2000.

"I've been working on the railroad, all the live long day . . ." (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 35 theme: "Off to Work")

Children (boys, in particular) love trains - train songs, toy trains, train-watching, and perhaps aspiring to work on a train when they grow up.

 

Trains in Montana 1905 from Winfield Scott Lemon's Collection

Steam engines ushered in the golden age of railroads. The huge demand for this method of transportation provided employment in all matters relating to this industry. Several men in my extended family tree chose railroad careers.

North American Railroaders 

The American railroaders in my own family  all relate to the family of my great great grandmother Barbara Hoover (abt 1834-1890) who had been married 3 times and had had at least one additional relationship. Her first marriage to cousin William Hoover resulted in the birth of Samuel Hoover. The second marriage was to Lewis Edwards; she gave birth to twin daughters Mary "Minnie" and Martha "Grace" Edwards. Barbara's third marriage to George Payton resulted in no children but Barbara had given birth to Charles Edwards between the death of her Edwards husband and her Payton marriage.

1. Charles F. Edwards (1869-1941) 

My great grandfather Charles Edwards left home at 17 to work on the railroad, starting as a call boy and later becoming a brakeman. While working for the railway he met his future wife Mayme Wescott who was working at a Montana restaurant. 

Computer Screenshot of Charles and Mayme's Wedding Photo from a video prepared by his grandson Lloyd Miller

After trying and failing to make his fortune as a fruit farmer in Kalispell, Montana, as a homesteader in Saskatchewan and as a prospector in the Yukon/Alaska gold rush, he periodically returned to the railroad. According to his daughter Marion, he  always worked for the Great Northern Railroad, but when it had a strike in 1914, he went to Canada and got work on the Canadian Pacific Railway ("CPR"). Every Canadian knows the significance of the 1885 completion of the CPR stretching from Atlantic to Pacific in the formation of Canada and the opening of the west to settlers; the year after his stint with the CPR, Charles tried homesteading in Western Canada.

The Great Northern stretched along the northernmost part of the United States from St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington. It expanded over the years to include several side lines, including some into Canada.

From the Great Falls Tribune, Great Falls, Montana June 20, 1905, p6 accessed on Newspapers.com

One of the perks of working for the railroad was passes for family travel. This was their general mode of transportation for regular visits to Mayme's family in Wisconsin and  the 1915 move to their Lancer, Saskatchewan homestead, for example. 

After losing his land in Canada, Charles again returned to railroading in the northwestern states, making the family home in Kelso, Washington. He lost a leg while switching when his foot became caught and the train wheels severed his leg.  The accident resulted in a railroad pension, enabling him to buy property at Castle Rock, Washington. It also resulted in somewhat cruel tricks played on at least a couple of his grandchildren who, upon meeting him for the first time, were encouraged to hit his leg with a hammer or poke it with pins.

2. Samuel L. Hoover (1855-1912)

Samuel was Charles Edwards' older half-brother. His was a long career in the railroad business.

Samuel Hoover

A certificate of the Union Pacific Railroad Co. dated 18 December 1898 in Denver certified that he had been employed as a Switchman in the Denver yard from 5 November 1895 until his resignation.

Union Pacific Certificate for Samuel Hoover, Switchman

He was the Master of the Grand Lodge of the Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association when he signed his own Delegate's Credential as a representative of Salt Lake City Lodge No. 71 at the Convention to be held in Dallas, Texas on 19 September 1892.

His Certificate of Examination from the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company Southern Pacific Company - Lines East of Sparks dated 17 September 1910 certified his qualifications as a "Herder" (coupling or decoupling engines upon arrival or departure of trains). More information can be found here about the life of Samuel Hoover. 

3. Henry M. Bradshaw (1879-1946)

Charles and Samuel's half-sister Grace Edwards'  second husband was a man named Henry Bradshaw. The 1920 census had Henry Bradshaw and Grace Bradshaw living in Portland, Oregon.  His age was 41, born Oklahoma and his occupation was as a switchman on the railroad.

Henry Bradshaw and Grace Edwards

4. John Filmore Lemon 

Grace Edwards' first husband was, according to his son Win, "an inveterate gambler" who would take her hard-earned wash money as well as his own small wage check and lose it over the card table. He worked at various odd jobs over the years but deserted her in 1903. I could find no evidence of him being connected to the railroad other than the mystery picture below. (Nor has evidence been found showing that John had divorced his first wife in order to marry Grace in 1891, yet in 1908 the newspapers announced the dissolution of Grace's marriage to him under the heading "Lemon Gets Lemon"!)

John Lemon in foreground on railroad track

5. Winfield Scott Lemon (1884-1966)

Purportedly the son of John Lemon, my half first cousin 2XR was born in Winfield, Kansas to one of twin sisters Mary "Minnie" or Martha "Grace" Hoover. His obituary repeats his own belief that his parents were Minnie Simmers Lemon and Harry Lemon. Minnie was never married to a Lemon; her husbands were Harry Simmers and Claude White.  Win was officially taken to be the son of Grace and her husband John Lemon. The following photo shows Win and his sister Maude at their home in Colorado with Grace and John Lemon. 

Win eventually made a career as a switchman on the railroad. He left school early and found work for the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company in Pueblo, Colorado  at the age of just 13 in order to help with the family finances. The miners' strike of 1902 put him out of work and he walked to Independence, Kansas (554 miles) to find work in the oil fields, but that proved too heavy for him. 

In 1905 he moved to Great Falls, Montana, the home of his uncle Charles Edwards (see #1 above); while there he hired out as a brakeman on the Great Northern Railroad where his uncle also worked. Many different jobs and moves led to a marriage to Anna Inez Boyd and the birth of son Winfield Lester Lemon in 1909.

Although his formal schooling was cut short, he was a man with a love of learning and expanding his abilities. While working full time, his "hobby" was to  concentrate on chemistry and metallurgy for many years, building up his own well-equipped laboratory and shop for research. He said that while working with George Hibler, the chemist for Wasatch Oil Refinery, they developed asphalt. 

1914 Day Coach at the Salt Lake City Depot, Winfield Scott Lemon switchman 2nd from left

Mostly, Winfield worked as a railroader. His railroad service as listed in his history (see Resources):

"1905 -  Great Northern RR - Great Falls, Montana

1906 - Rio Grande Western RR - Salt Lake City, Utah

1907 - Great Northern RR - Great Falls, Montana

1907 - Oregon Shortland RR - Salt Lake City, Utah

1909 - Great Northern RR - Great Falls, Montana

1910 - Oregon Shortland RR - Salt Lake City, Utah

1917 - Utah Junk Local - Midvale, Utah

1918 - Northern Pacific RR - Pasco, Washington

1922-1951 - Union Pacific RR - Salt Lake City, Utah

TOTAL TIME WITH RAILROAD: 31 YEARS, 3 MONTHS, 22 DAYS"

 

Scottish/Canadian Railroaders

Railroads had really started in Great Britain and at one time covered the country with a web of rail lines. My granddaughters' family tree contains the following additional men who made careers on the railroad:

6. James McKimmie Grant (b. 1879)

James McKimmie Grant is my granddaughters' 3rd great grandfather. James was born in Alves, Morayshire, Scotland. By the time of his 1903 marriage to Susan Lawrie, he was in his mid-20s working as a railway clerk. In 1908 he was working as a railway signalman. He advanced from there to become station master in 1928.

2006 photo by Iain Macaulay/The Old Station at Alves  The copyright on this image is owned by Iain Macaulay and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

7. George Lawrie Grant (b. 1908)

George Grant on the left with brother Allen and family - photo courtesy Irene Grant Smith

James and Susan's son George was born 1908; he is my granddaughters' 2nd great grandfather. At the time of his 18 August 1928 marriage to Dora Flora Burns in Kilmany, Fife, he was listed as a railway clerk with an address in "Railway Cottage, Wormit". (Within a few months they had moved to Kinglassie, Fife, so the Wormit connection appears to have been brief.)

Wormit was just a hamlet until the Tay Rail Bridge over the Firth of Tay opened in 1878. This connected it to Dundee on the other side of the Firth and made its owner, the North British Railway Company, the predominant player in the battle for railway supremacy in Scotland. It was the longest railway bridge in the world at the time.

I admit to having gone down a deep rabbit hole at this point, but my engineer granddaughter will be interested to learn of the disaster that had befallen that first bridge, long before her 2nd great grandfather lived in the vicinity. The bridge had been open for less than two years when a terrible storm caused the 13 central high girders to collapse. A Court of Inquiry placed the blame on the design by civil engineer Thomas Bouch, though there is some evidence that the blame should have been shared more broadly. Within 5 years, the new Tay Railway Bridge was constructed; it is over 2 miles long. A wonderful silent black and white film was shot crossing the new bridge in 1897 and can be viewed here. 

Dusking Tay Bridge with stump from original bridge highlighted in the setting sun - 2007 photo by Ross2085. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. 

8. James Grant (1928-2001)

Railroading carried on into the next Grant generation. George Lawrie Grant's son James born shortly after his parents moved to Kinglassie, Fife, Scotland was my granddaughters' great grandfather. 

James Grant as a young man - photo courtesy Irene Grant Smith

After his stint in the British army, he moved to the railway hub of Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He sent for his wife Marian to join him, but she hated life in Northern Ontario and moved to Montreal, Quebec; James soon followed. He spent his life as an engineer for the Canadian National Railway ("CNR") system, the headquarters of which were in Montreal.  He was chosen to drive the new Via Rail train when CPR and CNR passenger businesses were combined in the late 1970s. He worked there until he retired. 

James Grant after his retirement - photo courtesy Irene Grant Smith

In my extended family tree, working on the railroad seems to have ended with James Grant's retirement. Once a viable career path chosen by many, it has faded from the list of common jobs but children still often answer the question of what they want to be when they grow up with an enthusiastic "A train engineer!"

Some Resources:

• Miller, Marion Frances Edwards; My Memories, personal memoir written for her family in January 1978 from her home at 5405 Union Street, Lexington, Michigan
• Lemon, Winfield Scott, "Compilation of History prepared in response to constant requests from grandson Dick", Privately printed c.1965
• "The History of the Tay Bridge Dundee," Network Rail website https://www.networkrail.co.uk/who-we-are/our-history/iconic-infrastructure/the-history-of-the-tay-bridge-dundee/ accessed 8 August 2In m025