Tag Archives: Minerva (Lawhead) (Riggs) Metcalf

A Funeral

Another three photographs create a grouping in my collection. Since everyone is dressed in black—at least they seem to be in the black & white photographs—I assume the foursome attended a funeral. Again, the time frame appears to be the mid to late 1920s. None of the women are wearing jackets, but the ground is covered by a light layer of snow. The tree limbs are bare. The photographer is unknown (since they never make an appearance). The petite woman standing next to Gladys is believed to be her Aunt Minerva, fraternal twin to Gladys’ mother Emma. Minerva’s dress is old-fashioned compared to Gladys’ stylish frock. The longer skirt hem and squarish collared neckline hearkens back the the World War I years. James (Jim) and Emma stand in the background. He was quite tall; his shoe can be seen on the ground next to Minerva’s feet. While Emma stands on the lower step—her boot just visible behind Gladys’ legs—creating the illusion that mother and son are the same height.

Gladys, Emma, & Jim Foster, with Aunt Minerva (Photograph from the author’s private collection)

I do not know whose funeral generated these photographs—especially since the mood is not particularly somber. Gladys smiles in both pictures. I have not discovered a Foster or Lawhead relative, living in the Terre Haute area, whose death occurred in the late 1920s, who would have prompted such a reunion. Perhaps I will someday…

[Photographs from the author’s private collection.]

Aunt Minerva Died (Gladys)

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: January 27, 1944 envelope

: January 27, 1944, p. 1

: January 27, 1944, p. 2

: January 27, 1944, p. 3

: January 27, 1944, p. 4

Letter transcription:

Kentland Ind.
1-27-44

Dear Daddy –

Rec’d yours of Jan. 16, 17 & 19 today. David is taking a nap just now, I have lunch cooking and thought I would write the daily line while I have time to sit and think. That is quite a job when David is awake and going. It seems to me he is much more restless than either J. or M. Before this last cold I could pen him up in the nursery and get something done in the mornings, but last week when he had a temp I kept him on the couch and was with him constantly, consequently he doesn’t want to be alone now. This morning I finally put him in his bed and he went to sleep. I was getting along fine on the thumb business until last week and not wanting him to cry when it caused him to cough, let down on the breaking business and the past two days he has been keeping a thumb in his mouth almost constantly. I pin his sleeves shut at night so he can’t get to them at night but the first thing he does when I take his sleepers off if to stick either one or both thumbs in his mouth. I have one thumb guard on today so he is using the other thumb. I took him out for a long walk yesterday. It was so warm out I knew it wouldn’t hurt him. He still coughs but so many people do. There must be a cough bug around this year.

[page 2] John is coughing now. He told David he got a cough from him. I think John’s cough may be an allergy. He had one such last fall. When I took him to Dr. V. he said it was hay fever. John went back to school this a.m. after taking yesterday p.m. off. He had a terrible headache but it was due to reading a book & writing a review – working too constantly on it. He reads all the time but not quite as steadily on this book. The way he like to read it, is too bad his eyes bother him. However, I wish sometimes he would get out a little more. I think he would be happy just to study all the time without any activity and that isn’t normal. I am glad he has to take physical ed. in school. Mark on the other hand studies just as little as possible and is always ready to play something out of doors. He gets out in the yard and kicks his football around if he doesn’t have anyone to play with.

It has been so warm the past week, yesterday was just like a spring day. It is too dry for the good of crops in the spring. The government is already predicting crop shortages next summer, or if not shortages, the crops won’t come up to last years. We haven’t had much snow or rain either this winter. Of course this is easy on the present coal supply but that isn’t all to think about. I do hope they get in more of the better coal but am afraid they won’t. I think we have enough yet to run us thru the coldest part of the winter, providing we don’t have an unusually cold March, which we may have since it is so warm now.

[page 3] The Democrat had the acc’t of Mrs. Kindall’s death. I didn’t know she was ill but the paper says she had been down two weeks. She used to stop and visit with me once in a while, and had been here not so long ago. I suppose it was her diabetes.

Bun Walkup hauled the clinkers yesterday. I had been trying to get him to get them for weeks. We had quite a pile, due to that Ind. coal we used in Nov. He says he will have to go in Feb. for his physical. He thinks he won’t pass. I told him he probably would. He seems to think he has enough wrong with him to keep him out but apparently he is enjoying good health.

Had a letter from Juanita. Ralph is in the Navy now. He was due to go in the Army but joined the Navy instead. She also told me Aunt Minerva had passed away – I don’t know when – the family didn’t let me know. I sent Aunt M. a birthday card (Nov. 14) and I had a letter from her after that but that was the last I heard from her.

– – It is afternoon now. David is awake, has been fed and in and out of everything he can find. I finally penned him up in the nursery and he is now dragging his bath towel around to amuse himself. His favorite place to play is the downstairs bathroom. He had his nap this morning so is full of pep for the afternoon.

[page 4] It is raining now. I hope we have more and tho I don’t care for cold weather, would rather have it now than later in the spring.

While walking yesterday met Mrs. Krull. She had been with Louise, but Father Krull died and after attending the funeral in Ohio, Mrs. Krull decided to remain home. I told her D. had a cough – She said “Are you greasing him?” I said “What good would that do?” She said “You young mothers.” – She related some experiences at Louise’s about using some home remedies on the new baby – of course on her own – Louise doesn’t share her mother’s belief in the curative powers of goose grease, etc. She said I should use goose grease on David.

Margaret Kruman is taking her yearly vacation in Fla. I see in the paper that Mrs. Shandy & son have gone to Miami to join Cliff. I imagine Marg. went with Mrs. S. – They both left Monday. Also Mrs. Dixon & Nettie have gone and I saw in last week’s paper that Mrs. Dye, son Ross & Gladys Webber had gone to Fla. together.

Lucile just called and while we talked D. went from one thing to another, the last thing he did to get me to stop talking was get some bread out and scatter it over the floor. Lucile was having similar trouble with J.E. David is being unusually – whatever you want to call it today.

“Love Mother”

©2015 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2015/11/02/aunt-minerva-died-gladys/ ‎

Farewell Emma (Gladys)

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[Editor’s note: Gladys did not write a letter on October 17th as she was likely too busy with the funeral and all the visiting relatives. Emma’s obituary appeared in the next edition of the Newton County Enterprise. The paper announced that the funeral had been the previous Sunday (10/17).]

RITES HELD FOR FOUR RECENTLY

Emily Foster, Adda Watkins, Florence Archibald and Dr. Cox Succumed

Mrs. Emily H. Foster

Final rites were conducted from the Hufty-Crane funeral home here for Mrs. Emily H. Foster, 71, Sunday at 2 p.m. with the Rev. V. B. Servies in charge. She died at the St. Elizabeth hospital in Lafayette Friday after a three months illness.

Born at Robinson, Ill., she was married to James E. Foster, in 1894. Surviving are three sons, Jesse, of Arkansas; Glenn, of Nevada, and James, USN, at Norfolk, Va., a daughter, Mrs. Gladys Yegerlehner, of Kentland, and a sister, Mrs. Minerva Metcalf, West Union., Ill. She was a member of the Methodist church.

“Rites Held For Four Recently,” Newton County Enterprise (Kentland, Indiana), 21 October 1943, p. 1.

Emma was buried at the Fairlawn Cemetery, Kentland, Indiana. You may visit her memorial at Find A Grave.

Friday’s Faces of the Past – Family Funeral?

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: Gladys, c1920s

: Emma with Jim, Gladys and unknown woman

: Unknown Foster or Lawhead relation

The three above pictures appear to have been taken on the same day. The two single portraits were clearly taken at the same location. The group photo shows Gladys and the older woman wearing the same clothing as their individual pictures. Everyone appears to be wearing black or dark colors. Hence my assumption that the photograph was taken around the time of a family funeral. I date the picture circa1925. Gladys was born in 1905 so she would have been 15 in 1920 and 20 in 1925. Gladys’ haircut is straighter and less wavy than it was later in the decade. Her skirt length is short which moves the date further from 1920. The older woman is wearing a dress styled from the late teens. It was quite common for older people at that time to wear clothes that were more “old fashioned.” Even today the trend continues.

McCammon, Lydia & Jesse with Minerva Metcalf

Minerva (seated) likely 1916

Many years ago I sent a copy of the picture of the older woman to my father’s cousin. She identified the woman as Minerva, Emma’s twin sister. Since the cousin knew Minerva, I generally take her word for it. However, I still say “the older woman,” because I am not 100% sure that she was Minerva (Lawhead) Metcalf. I have only seen two pictures of Minerva and they are of a somewhat younger woman. The earlier photograph was taken about 1908 and Minerva was plumper and would have been about 36 when the picture was taken. The second photograph was taken about 7-10 years later between 1915-1919. Again the picture shows Minerva with a fuller figure. Minerva would have been in her early to mid 40s at this point.

Which brings us back to the pictures at the beginning of the post. Do you think that the older woman is Minerva? She seems to have aged too much to be in her 50s. But times were different then. For someone who did hard manual farm labor, they could have aged more harshly. I know she is related to the Foster/Lawhead family. She bears a striking resemblance to Jim Foster (Gladys’ brother). When my grandmother was near her end and Alzheimer’s had robbed her memory, she thought the picture was of her brother Jim. So what do you think?

©2013 copyright owned and written by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found at: https://genealogylady.net/2013/11/29/fridays-faces-…family-funeral/

Sunday’s Obituary – James H. Lawhead

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James Henry Lawhead

Was born in the state of Ohio, January 5, 1840, and departed this life at his daughter-in-law, Mrs. J.F. Lawhead Feb. 18, 1920, aged 80 years, 1 month and 13 days. He was united in marriage to Martha Burch, near Bloomfield, Ind. To this union were born three children. His wife and three children preceded him in death. He was again married to Margaret Rea, near Bloomfield, Ind. To this union were born seven children. The wife and four children preceeded him in death a number of years ago. He united with the M.P. church at York, Ill., some thirty years ago and lived a faithful Christian to the end. He leaves two daughters and one son, one step daughter and one step son, a number of grandchildren and eighteen great, grand children to mourn his departure. He had been a sufferer since N [?] But bore his suffering with patience always trusting in his blessed Savior. Only last Sunday he told the relatives and friends that “he wanted to go home to Heaven if it was the will of God.” Thus reconciled with all men and with his God he passed over the mystic river and is now at rest in the land that is fairer than days. May his mantle fall upon another and his good work go for others.

The funeral service took place at U.B. church, Robinson, Ill. Rev. W. H. Duncan was in charge and interment took place at Hutsonville cemetery.

-Newspaper Unknown, likely published in Hutsonville or Robinson, Illinois, 1920.

Minerva with her father James Lawhead, son James R. and grandson (c1908)

James Henry Lawhead was the second known son and child of Joseph and Cassandria (Harding) Lawhead. He was likely born in Marietta, Washington County, Ohio as reported on his death certificate.[1] The family migrated at least twice during his childhood. The census records the family living in Guernsey, Ohio in 1850,[2] and then moving onto Greene County, Indiana by 1860.[3] As a young man, James worked as a farm laborer in nearby Lawrence county, Indiana and was enumerated a second time.[4]

James married first Martha (Lafoon) Burch on 3 November 1861, Greene County, Indiana. They were the parents of three children: James Francis, Margarett A. and a third unknown child (presumably an infant which died young). At the time of their marriage, Martha was a widow with three children: Paris Burch, Ortha E. Burch and Ruth Burch. It is likely that this marriage ended in divorce. James was married again in 1868, and Martha was still living in 1870.[5]

James married second Margaret A. Rea, the daughter of George and Sarah (Jewell) Rea, on 5 December 1868 in Greene County, Indiana. They were the parents of seven children: Jasper R., Emily H. “Emma” and Minerva [twins], Saphrone, Parey, Casan and Joseph. The last four all died as infants. James and Margaret did not remain in Greene County, but moved to Crawford County, Illinois soon after their marriage.

Sometime between 1900 and 1910, James and Margaret moved to Peach Orchard, Arkansas for a while. Their son Jasper had settled there. After Margaret’s death, James married for a third time in Arkansas, a widow named Cora Perkins, on 5 December 1908. James later returned to Crawford County where he died in the home of his daughter-in-law, Belle Lawhead.

Even though James’ obituary states the he was buried in Hutsonville Cemetery, no grave has been found.

[1] Illinois Department of Public Health, death certificate no. 24333, James Henry Lawhead (1920); Division of Vital Statistics, Springfield.

[2] 1850 U.S. Census, Guernsey County, Ohio, population schedule, Seneca Township, p. 474 (penned), dwelling 3045, family 3067, Joseph Lawhead: NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 684.

[3] 1860 U.S. Census, Greene County, Indiana, population schedule, Center township, P.O. Jonesborough, p. 75 (penned), dwelling 530, family 530, Joseph Lawhead; NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 262.

[4] 1860 U.S. Census, Lawrence County, Indiana, population schedule, Spice Valley township, P.O. Bryantsville, p. 149 (penned), dwelling 1910, family 1910, Wm McNabb; NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 276.

[5] 1870 U.S. Census, Greene County, Indiana, population schedule, Centre township, P.O. Solsberry, dwelling 21, family 21, Martha Lawhead; NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 318.