Gladness. The name just makes you want to smile, doesn’t it? It
conjures up an image of a happy, smiling little girl, with no worldly
cares - perhaps wearing a pinafore and pigtails, skipping rope or playing
dolls. This image, however, is based solely on my imagination, as I have
never seen a picture of my grandmother, Gladness, at any age. Even worse,
my mother, Marie Blakely, never saw a picture of her own mother, who died
of complications from Marie’s birth. How terribly sad.
Gladness had a life all too short, surely with both joys and sorrows, but
perhaps not enough joys. She was the last of four children. Apparently a
“late in life” baby, as her mother, Affa Isabelle (Polmateer) was
nearly 40 years old when Gladness was born April 6, 1894 in Sioux City
Iowa. The family was living at 11 W 13th St in Sioux City at the time of
Gladness’ birth. The first of the four children was born in Wisconsin,
the remaining three in Iowa.
Peter A Ladd, Gladness’ father, married Affa in Brillion, Wisconsin, 25
January, 1874. Their first child, Jessie Isabelle, was born December 1st,
1876 in Brillion. Peter’s Civil War pension application indicates the
family lived in Iowa from 1876 - 1899, which means Jessie was a very young
infant when they made the move in Dec of 1876. Why the family left
Wisconsin and migrated to Iowa is unknown. They remained there for 23
years, first in Mary Township, then in Sioux City. Jessie died in Sioux
City, November 5, 1892, one month shy of 16. The cause of death is
not known. Gladness was yet to be born.
The second daughter, Mary Mabel, was born in Mary Township, Iowa, November
3, 1879. It is known that Mary Mabel did marry, but pages from the family
bible do not indicate a marriage date.
Son, Archie, was born eight years before Gladness, March 18, 1886. He was
the only one of the four children to live a full life, dying in a Mt
Vernon, Washington nursing home, June of 1968, age 82. Archie was likely
the one sibling that Gladness remembered being at home during her early
years, as Mary Mabel was 15 when Gladness was born, probably married soon
after and left home.
Gladness was five years old when the family left Iowa in 1899, settling in
Clark County, WI. The 1900 Federal census shows the family in Sherwood
Township. The Wisconsin state census of 1905 shows the family still in
Sherwood Township, living two doors from the family of Samuel Shoop. A
school census of June 30, 1907 shows Hazel Shoop, 17, and Gladness Ladd
13, in the same one room schoolhouse. Known as Longfellow school, it was
located in District 4 of Sherwood Township. A little over a month later,
August 4, 1907, Archie and Hazel Shoop were married in Sherwood Township,
and soon after moved to La Centre, Washington.
Gladness was now the only child at home. She likely had friends from the
neighborhood, but due to the gap in ages between her and her living
siblings, she had likely been raised a bit like an only child. Death
pays another visit to the Ladd family. An entry in the family bible
indicates “Mrs. Mary Miller, died Sept 30 1908, age 28 years 11 months,
27 days”. There is no indication of place of death. Gladness was 14
years old at the time of Mary Mabel’s death. She was aware, of course,
of another sister who had died before her own birth, but Mary was a sister
Gladness knew and loved. Gladness now knew the sorrow of a sibling’s
death.
And Peter was about to take a new fork in the road. Less than two
months after the death of Mary Mabel, Peter applied for admission to the
Wisconsin Veteran’s Home, King WI. His crippling rheumatism had made it
impossible for him to function, and adequately care for his family. He and
Affa entered the home on January 19, 1909 from Neillsville, WI, which
merely indicates a mailing address, as the family was still living in
Sherwood. Gladness was about to experience a big change. A minor, not yet
15, she evidently was not allowed to live in the Veteran’s Home. How
alone she must have felt at this point in her young life.
Peter’s
admission records, dated December of 1908, indicate Gladness living in
Merrilan WI, with no specific mention of what family she might be with.
Affa’s brother, Henry Polmateer, is in Merrilan and is named on the
admission papers as the one to contact in the event of Peter or Affa’s
death. It might be assumed that it was Henry who took Gladness in.
A very personal death then touched young Gladness. In January of 1910, her
mother died in the Wisconsin Veteran’s Home and is buried there. By the
April 15, 1910 census, Gladness, just turned 16, is in Neenah WI, working
as a domestic in the home of L.M. Kimball, Postmaster. It is assumed that
she came to Neenah to be nearer to her father residing in the Wisconsin
Veteran’s Home. Sometime soon after, still in her 16th year, she is a
domestic in the home of Josiah B. and Isabella C Blakely. An interesting
note is that Peter A Ladd and Josiah B Blakely are both found in the
Neenah WI census for 1860. Perhaps they were friends who then kept in
touch, though their life paths were very different. Peter entered the
Civil War navy and was discharged with disability at age 18. Josiah
graduated Ripon College, WI; attended Oberlin College divinity school in
Oberlin OH; and served 5 ½ years as missionary in China. Gladness’
future husband was born in China.
Family lore said that from the time Gladness came into the Blakely home
Isabella assumed the role of mother for Gladness. When Albert Blakely came
to visit his parents, he fell in love with Gladness and wanted to marry.
Albert was nearly 15 years her senior. Isabella said Gladness was too
young and they must wait. Finally, Albert, 35, and Gladness, 20, were
married September 23, 1914, in Neenah WI. The newlyweds set up
housekeeping at his new farm just west of the town of Bayfield, WI. It was
in this farm house, one year and four months later, that Gladness gave
birth to baby Marie. One week later, Gladness was gone.
No substantiating documentation has yet been found, but family lore has it
that on January 2, 1916, the snow began to fall and it snowed constantly
through January 19, 1916, when Marie Isabella was born. A week later, when
it came time to remove Gladness’ body, a team of horses was needed,
dragging a huge log, to clear the roadway for the horse drawn hearse.
Clark Bell, future husband of baby Marie, remembered watching these
efforts from a hill nearby.
The January 28, 1916 issue of The Bayfield County Press gives this
obituary:
MRS. ALBERT BLAKELY DIED WEDNESDAY NIGHT
A great deal of sympathy is
being expressed by local people for Mr. Albert Blakely over the death of
his young wife, which occurred at the Blakely home near this city
Wednesday night. The death of Mrs. Blakely, while not entirely
unexpected, she having been ill for several weeks, is indeed a great shock
to her many local friends and the community as a whole, as she was a
sweet-dispositioned, generous and lovable lady, well liked and respected
by all who had gained her acquaintance during her residence of a little
more than a year in our community.
Mrs. Blakely was born on the 6th day
of April, 1894, and came to Bayfield a little more than a year ago with
her husband, to reside upon the farm property he had purchased just west
of here.
Funeral services for the deceased will be conducted tomorrow,
the Rev. F. L. McKean officiating, and interment will be made in Greenwood
cemetery.
The Press joins with all Bayfielders in extending sympathy to Mr. Blakely
and other sorrowing relatives.
The epithet on her tombstone reads “Sometime we will understand”.
Written by Donna Bell Cross
Daughter of Marie Blakely
August 2005
