Lena’s Life- Part 3
In 1920, Lena is living at home with her father (Andrew McCoy) in Anderson County, Texas along with Aunt Lou and Lena’s first cousin, George Clark, age 17. George was the youngest son of James and Susan (McCoy) Clark. If you remember James and Susan (Andrew’s sister) had died a few weeks a part in 1909 leaving their nine children to be farmed out to relatives.
On 24 December 1921, Lena marries James Wilbert Mathews at the home of her father in Elkhart, Texas. James was born in Jefferson County, Kansas. In 1903, his family had moved from Eskridge, Kansas to a farm in Montmorency County, Michigan just 20 miles east of Gaylord. James attended Michigan Agricultural college at East Lansing, Michigan from 1914 through 1915. He served during the First World War in the U.S. Navy as a signal quartermaster on the battleship U.S.S. Virginia from 1917 through 1918.
After James and Lena marry, they decided to move to Michigan and take over James’s family farm. Lena would never think of leaving Texas without Aunt Lou. So, Aunt Lou’s belongings were packed in trunks and she joins the newlyweds making the trip to Michigan with them.
Lena’s father had been seeing a widow lady and three months after Lena’s marriage, Lena’s father marries Emma (Brown) Brunson. Emma was born in 1870 and had been previously married to A.C. Brunson who had passed away in 1917. They had two daughters who would have been 10 and 13 at the time of her marriage to Andrew.
Between 1922 and 1930, James and Lena have seven children. They were Dr. John Andrew Mathews born 8 Oct 1922, Richard Calvin Mathews, born 16 Oct 1924, twins, Daniel and Donald Mathews, born 11 Oct 1925 and sadly, died the same day; Ruth Olivia Mathews, born 6 Oct 1926, Dr. Frederick Lawrence Mathew, born 28 Mar 1929 and Dr. Thomas Edward Mathews, born 24 Sep 1930. (Did you notice she liked to deliver in the month of October.)
James and Lena stayed and operated the family farm until June 1953. Leaving the farm they moved to Three Rivers, Michigan where James was employed by the General Telephone Company until his retirement in 1957. They were life-long members of the Reformed Presbyterian church.
Aunt Lou (Lois Ann Wickerham) died 23 Oct 1930 of heart valve disease at the age of 79. Lois Ann’s parents always thought she was frail and would never live to adulthood so she never married. After checking the record, the fact is she out lived all her brothers and sisters except one. Aunt Lou was the major source of Lena’s stories and had been like a mother to her and grandmother to her children. She was there at every one of Lena’s deliveries, dying just 29 days after Lena delivered her last child.
Andrew McCoy, Lena’s father remained in Texas until 1940 when his second wife Emma passed away. Andrew moved to Michigan and lived with Lena until his death in 1948 and is buried in the Meridian Line cemetery in Otsego County, Michigan.
Lena made the best of every situation in which she found herself. The educational level she achieved, both as a nurse & teacher, she achieved under the most adverse conditions with no family financial assistance. Her
constant encouragement and inspiration explain why, in northern Michigan rural community where, going to college was a rarity, all five of her children received college degrees. When her day ended at 10 PM, she would sit down and hook rugs or crochet until midnight. She used this hobby during the depression days to supplement the family’s meager income. Every summer she canned around 650 quarts of fruits and vegetables. During those tough years, she never locked the doors on winter nights in case some homeless person walking by should be cold and need to come in. In later years, James & Lena were members of the First Assembly of God Church in Three Rivers, Michigan. She kept house until she was 90 and was alert and ambulatory until just days before her passing.
James died 26 Jun 1978 at the age of 86. Lena died 31 May 1988, at the age of 94 in Three Rivers, Michigan. James and Lena are buried together in Moore’s Park cemetery, St. Joseph County, Michigan.
As Paul says in II Timothy 4:7 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” Congratulations Lena, you did well!
Next week we will take a look at Lena’s uncle Cargill Wickerham who left “The Ridge” in 1908 and moved to Logan County, Ohio.