Bertha Shares Family News and Local Skeleton in the Closet



Ella Jane Stevens Atwater Sherwood, AKA Julia Eldora Welch

Ella Jane Sherwood, matriarch of our part of the Sherwood clan, was born to Mary Elizabeth Richardson and her husband Evi Welch on the 18th of June 1861and her birth name was Eldora Julia Welch.  Evi Welch died at 22 years of age (of consumption we believe) when Eldora was less than six months old on November 11, 1861.  In March of 1863 Mary Elizabeth married Martin Dexter.  Their first child, Eva Jane, was born in 1865 and lived six months.  Their second child was Ursula who was born in 1866 and their third child was Bertha in 1867. 

Bertha Dexter Tillotson, half-sister of Ella Jane

Their 4th child, Lizzie was born on Nov 11, 1868. Mary Elizabeth and Martin had one more son, Solomon King Dexter, who died as an infant in 1870.

Just days before Eldora Julia turned six years old in June of 1867,  she was legally adopted by her Aunt and Uncle, David Eastman Stevens and Rosina Jane Richardson Stevens.  Rosina Jane and Mary Elizabeth were sisters, David and Jane were ten years married and were childless.  They were generally prosperous, but by no means rich.  The story is told that Eldora's stepfather, Martin Dexter, held her on his lap all night the last day she was with them so that she would always know that she was loved.  Her new legal name became Ella Jane Stevens.

Ella Jane grew up in Wisconsin and Minnesota and a short time in Iowa as well, but mostly Minnesota.  When she was 18 years old she married Elmer Atwater of Wisconsin and they had one daughter, Dora, and then Elmer passed away in a logging accident on a river in 1881.Dora was not quite 2 months old.  There must have been a sense of déjà vu in  Ella Jane's heart and mind as she and her daughter faced the future husband and fatherless just as she and her mother had done two decades before.  A few years laterElla Jane met Will Sherwood in Minnesota (he worked for her parents at one time) and they were married in 1887.  The two of them moved to Kendall, Wisconsin and rented the family farm from his parents.

 

Sometime after they all became adults, Ella and her two remaining half-siblings began corresponding and getting to know each other.  She, Bertha and Ursula corresponded but mostly it was Ella and Bertha. They corresponded irregularly, but always managed to talk about all the relatives and what was happening in the extended family.  Because Ella's adoption has been a "relative placement" all the family connections had remained the same on the maternal side and she often heard news about the Welch or Dexter lines.  Ella's and Bertha's mom Mary Elizabeth passed away July 10, 1879 at 38 years of age.



Mary Elizabeth Richardson Welch Dexter



Ella had a note among all her paperwork that said "My mother died at the age of 38 of heart failure during childbirth."   I have found no record of another child born or otherwise acknowledged at that time. Perhaps the child could not be born quickly enough and they were buried together or it could be a family error in the story.  . 

        Bertha wrote this letter to Ella Jane in 1918 when they both had sons (Bertha's Martin was four months older than George) heading for the conflict in Europe.  Bertha wrote a very newsy letter, mostly about family but some  pretty shocking community gossip! 

March 5 – 1918

Dear Sister Ella and all:-

            I got your letter after it had been over to Uncle Roberts[1]. I read it and sent it all back to him writing him a letter also.  Then he read it and wrote to me and sent your letters back to me.  What do you think of that?


Robert Fletcher Richardson II; husband of Rosetta Dexter
Richardson of whom the post-script at the end refers

 
             I was going to try to go over and help them, but Sylvester[2] had gone into a job with another man to cut, saw, slab and pile 100 cords of wood and the weather has been against them, so they didn’t get it done in time for me to go over.

Sylvester Luther Tillotson, husband of Bertha

We had all the help to board and I being alone, had quite a bit to do. I have had a very hard cold this [winter] which has not left me entirely yet.  Mary[3] also was having a bad time with her ears. She had three sores gather and break in her ear. Then she had a mastoid abscess back of her ear. All the same ear.  I took her to the doctor and he gave her chloroform and lanced it, taking out about one half tea cup of blood and puss.  We had to go back the next day and have it dressed.  She is all right now.  She hasn’t been to school this winter.  Leonard[4] had had a hard cold most all winter.  The older girls[5] are both in Meredith, N.H. They are all well.  Jessie has a pretty cute little girl we think. Sylvester is down with them now.  He will stay and work until he can work on the ground if he likes down there $18 a week, in the woods he can’t get that here.

The Tillotson Girls; L - Gladys, R - Jesse and Mary Elizabeth center in 1912

Well, I think Aunt Eva[6] would remember Lucinda Bixby[7] that lived just below grandpa’s place, it was her.  She was Lucinda Willey, married Frank Bixby after the civil war she left him and married Center Jackson. [They were married Dec 5, 1874 and he died May 30, 1907 of stomach cancer]  She stayed all winter with me and then she went to the village to live with an old man that she was as crazy to have as any young girl could be after a fellow.  She had about $2,000 she signed over to him.  After she did it and she found she had no money of her own, she and her sons found it out they went to see her, and; had a talk with her.  Well when the man that she gave her money to was getting ready to go to put it in the bank in his name she went into one of the neighbors a few minutes then went back and down across the garden and; into the river and was drowned.  It was some time before they found her as they didn’t see her go but they tracked her.  She must have known what she was doing because there wasn’t water above the waist, and hardly above her knees.  [She died June 6, 1917 and is buried at West Topsham Cemetery near Center Jackson.] Well she was a trial. 

Now Ella isn’t it hard to think of our boys going across the water to be a target for the German's. Martin[8] enlisted the 5^th of June. Was at Ft. Ethan Allen[9] until the 26^th of Sept.  From there to Westfield, Mass a little while and the next I heard was to be moved. I got a letter about a month after that he was in England, then got some letters from France.  He hadn’t gone into battle last I heard, which was written Jan. 21. I had one of his letters printed so will send you the letter.  This has been a hard blow for me. You having your only son go must be and; mean a lot to you. I saw Martin several times after he enlisted. He said that he would rather be “led than drove.”  I write and have written to him about every week, sometimes oftener. And the girls every week so I have quite a bit writing to do.  It has been a very cold, hard winter here.

            Will close hoping to hear from you again, remember me to Aunt Eva.  Would like to hear from her. I can remember her. I will just write a few more words as I want to say that I got a letter from Uncle Robert saying that he was getting along fine. I don’t think he ought to live there alone this cold winter with no one in sight, although he seems so smart for one as old as he is.  Don’t Aunt Eva ever think she will come east?  I can remember her when she lived with Alfred Thomas. Guess I shouldn’t know her now. Would like to see you all. I am not feeling very well this spring or soon to be spring.  Susie must be a lady now.  How old is she?  I shall be 51 the 15 of March.  Old enough to be good.                                         Love and best wishes to all.

                                                                        B

[Post Script]

Rosetta Dexter Richardson

 

            Aunt Rosetta[10] was nothing but skin and bones.  She asked me, when I was over to see her after she took her bed, if I thought she had anything to build upon[11].  She said that she had lived her time and hoped Uncle Robert would have as good care as he had given her.  How thoughtful.  I think she was a beautiful woman all through her life.

---

[1] Robert Fletcher Richardson II; born 18 Sept 1832 and died 17Jan 1922. He was recently widowed of Rosetta Dexter (Richardson) referenced at end of letter.  Robert was brother of Bertha’s mother and Rosetta was sister of Bertha’s father.

[2] Sylvester Luther Tillotson, born 4 July 1868 and died 3 May 1954.   Writer Bertha’s husband.

[3] Mary Elizabeth Tillotson (Avery then Bean), youngest daughter of Sylvester and Bertha Tillotson.  She was born 11 April 1908 and passed away Sept 25, 1991. Almost ten years old at this time.

[4] Leonard Tillotson was fourth child and second son of Sylvester and Bertha. Born 15 Nov 1898 and died 10 Nov 1955.

[5] Jessie Naomi Tillotson (Weeks), born 2 June 1892 and died 7 April 1959  and sister  Gladys Eva Tillotson Kimball, born 26 April 1894 and died December 1986_.

[6] Youngest maternal Aunt of Bertha.  Eva was youngest sister of Bertha’s mother, Mary Elizabeth Richardson Dexter.  Aunt Eva was born Evalina Irene Richardson and was first married to Alfred Thomas.  He was apparently prone to domestic violence and they divorced.   She later married a widower George Thompson who was a veteran of the Civil War and was always known to family after that as Nellie Thompson.  She was born in Vermont on 26 June 1847 and died in Kendall, Wisconsin in 8 December 1926.

[7] The 1870 Federal census taken at Topsham, VT,  shows Franklin Bixby, 34, with wife Lucinda, 30, and sons Ira, John and Walter, 13,12, and 10 in dwelling number 81. Bertha’s mother, Mary Elizabeth Richardson (formerly Welch) Dexter and her husband Martin Dexter were dwelling number 80.  Parker and Betsy Dexter, parents of Martin Dexter (and Rosetta Dexter Richardson, mentioned later) were dwelling 82. Joel and Sarah Bixby were dwelling number 83 and appear to be of the age to be parents of Franklin Bixby, so they all lived close together.  Carter Jackson was a household member in dwelling 81with Franklin and Lucinda Bixby and appeared to have a partnership in the value of the property.  Both were listed as being farmers and one had value of $1200 and the other $1400. 

[8] Martin Luther Tillotson, 3^rd child and first son born to Bertha and Sylvester on 2 Aug 1986 and died on 20 Dec 1973 in Waits River, VT

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Ethan_Allen

[10] Rosetta Dexter Richardson, late wife of Uncle Robert Fletcher Richardson II had just passed away the month before.

[11] She was contemplating her life in light of the verse in 1 Cor 3:11-15 --   "For other foundation can no man lay, than what is laid, which is Jesus Christ: And if any one build on this foundation, gold, silver, costly stones;
wood, hay, stubble, Every one's work shall be made manifest;
 for the day shall declare it: for it is revealed by fire; yea the fire shall try every one's work, of what sort it is.
 If any one's work which he hath built thereon shall remain, he shall receive a reward.
 If any one's work shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss, but himself shall be saved, yet so as through the fire."