Susan Rosina Sherwood Weber
Susan Stevens Rhodes
I came across this letter from Aunt Dora today and for the first time had some confirmation that the Eastman's that David Eastman Stevens family was descended from was the David and Susanna Ordway Eastman family. Lydia's birth wasn't recorded in Topsham, VT but we believe that is because she was born before the family moved to Topsham and of course the census records do not list individual family members by name until 1850.
1953-0930 – Dora Atwater
Wed. Sept 30, 1953
Dear Sister: - The sheets on nutrition came yesterday and I
do thank you so much. I immediately loaned
them to the lady who lives upstairs. She
is ill and the doctor says she has no blood.
I was interested I the amount of iron in soybeans, lima beans and dry peas. I think that is the reason I crave beans,
especially lima beans. We have a soil
condition here not found everywhere, that is, a lack of iron in the soil. I learned that when out a Marge’s. One of their peach trees turned yellow early
in summer. Took some leaves down to the
county agent who said the condition is common on the high benches which were
the borders of old Lake Bonneville[1]
which used to cover all this part of the state.
The soil is gravelly, having been formed of gravel carried down by the
streams, and of course the heavier part falling to the lake bottom first. Irrigation has tended to leach out what
little iron was originally in the soil and phosphate of iron or sulfate of iron
has to be sprayed on the leaves which absorb it or added at the roots or in
time the leaves turn yellow or spotted and the fruit is inferior until the tree
dies.
Naturally fruits
and vegetables do not have as much iron as they need and so many people suffer
from insufficient iron in the blood. I
believe most of the dried beans we get here come from Idaho which has a different soil.
Of course
you are thrilled about Mary June as we all are.
Atha says she looked well when they were there.
I was deeply
disappointed because George and Atha did not come up or at least call me before
they went to Tacoma because they knew I wanted
them to get some information about the Rhodes
family while they were there. Grandfather
Steven’s sister Susan Rhodes. You
know when you were born grandmother and grandfather [David and Rosina Richardson Stevens] came down and the first
thing he said was, “Have you named the baby?” “No.” “Call her Susan after my
sister.” By the way, Aunt Susan
was named after their grandmother, Susan Ordway Eastman. So you see you have an old Stevens name and
an old Richardson (Rosina) name.
Well, the
Rhodes boys[2],
brothers of Ida Pollyblank, established the Rhodes Store in Tacoma and Mother and Father visited them
when they were there. Of course they
[brothers] are probably both dead but if they [Geo and Atha Sherwood] had gone
to the store or even called it, they could have gotten names and addresses of
living children. Our friend Marian from Seattle says the store is
in operation. But in spite of the fact
that Geo. was named for Grandfather Stevens [David Eastman
Stevens], he was not interested enough to remember. They did bring home some sheets I had sent to
Grace on the Sherwood line and I’m grateful for that but I still do not
understand the indifference to mother’s line.
I have a big wash and ½ bu pears to
do tomorrow and am so sleepy so will close.
Dear, my prayers are with you always.
May you have physical, mental and spiritual strength for all the dear
Father has for you to do.
Your
sister Dora
[2] There
were four brothers and at least three stores (Tacoma ,
Seattle, North Seattle ). Henry Rhodes, 1863
-1954; Albert James Rhodes, 1864-1920;
William Lawrence Rhodes, 1867-1945;
Charles Wesley Rhodes, 1871-1952.
AJ Rhodes died in New York of Influenza in 1920. He had no children. Henry Rhodes
had two children, his son Edward Byron Rhodes (named Byron for the oldest Rhodes brother, who died in 1879 at 20 years of
age.
1 comment:
What a great post! Thanks for sharing it!
-Barb
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