Daughter Mary E. Leydig (1855- ? ) was born in 1855 in Ohio. She traveled as an infant with her parents to their new home near Greene Butler County, IA. She married Milas Shaw ( ? -1914). Their only known daughter was Laura Ferris. Residing in Topeka in June 1912, Milas suffered some sort of stroke of paralysis, and their daughter and son in law, newly graduated from the University of Iowa, rushed to his side. Following the stroke, Milas seems to have moved into the home of their daughter in Melbourne, Marshall County, IA. Sadly, while traveling to visit family in Greene and Clarksville, IA in late June 1914, Milas was again stricken and was admitted to a hospital in Waterloo, IA. He died there on June 29, 1914. His remains were shipped home for burial on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P) Clipper. An obituary in the Greene Recorder said among his survivors were Ed Shaw and Mrs. Lafe Wamsley. 

• Granddaughter Laura Shaw married Louis Ferris and made their home in Melbourne, Marshall County, IA.

 

Daughter Eliza J. Leydig (1857-1913) was born on Feb. 11, 1857, the first of the children born on the family farm southeast of Greene, Butler County. In about 1880, when she was about age 23, she married 27-year-old farmer Joseph M. Harrington (1853- ? ). They dwelled near Greene and had one daughter, Rebecca A. Harrington. The 1910 federal census shows this family together near Greene, with their farm located foru miles west and one mile south of town. She died at the age of 56 on Jan. 9, 1913. The Greene Recorder said that she "had been quite sick for several months. The best of medical care had been given her and a nurse had been with her for several weeks. She had been seriously afflicted with rheumatism and fatal complications followed the chronic muscular rheumatism which caused her death." Funeral services were held in the home, followed by interment in the Dunkard Cemetery, two miles south of Greene.

• Granddaughter Rebecca A. Harrington (1890- ? ) born in 1890.

 

Son Jacob Valentine "Jake" Leydig (1861-1947) was born in Feb. 1861 in Iowa. As a young man he worked in the timber business in northern Minnesota, often scaling large trees. In about 1893, at the age of 31 or 32, he married Greene resident Susanna "Susie" Nixt (Dec. 1873-1962). Their brood of children were Harold William Leydig, Carl Frederick Leydig and Catherine "Alice" Matson. Wrote their daughter, "Dad being an interior fine finish craftsman always cold find work." Jacob also had an aptitude for mechanical devices and on May 11, 1886, he received a U.S. patent for a sheaf-carrier for harvesters. [Patent #341,668] Circa 1899, working as a carpenter, he subscribed to the Mississippi Valley Lumberman trade journal, in which a man named Ketridge "continue[s] to agitate violently the idea of the lumber dealer in the small town becoming the boss contractor with a view to elevating architecture and having the entire business done on a high moral plane." Jacob wrote a lengthy letter in response which was published in the Improvement Bulletin edition of June 10, 1899: "I have been much interested in Mr. Ketridge's articles in the past, especially those on contracting and contractors, and will say, like the old German with whom I had a business conversation the other day, 'Just talk enough, more is waste of breath.' This applies, I think, to Mr. Ketridge, as I think he is getting like Hobson's kissing. He doesn't know when he has said enough about the poor carpenters." Jacob is known to have been very close with his double cousin, James Valentine "Jim" Leydig, son of Josiah A. and Winifred Agnes "Winnie" (Shirer" Leydig, of the family of Valentine and Hester "Esther" (Gaumer) Shirer. The two kept in touch all of their lives. Wrote Jacob's daughter Catherine Matson, "They couldn't have been much closer related."

When the federal census enumeration was made in 1900, the Leydigs dwelled in Dougherty, Cerro Gordo County, IA. As a carpenter, he took on a project in California and in January 1904 was named in a Greene Recorder article saying he was "building a fine house in California for Dan Carney. All the folks from here out there are enjoying the fine weather." After completing the Carney house, he returned to Greene to work on a large barn for Albert Boggs as a subcontractor to Mr. Daly. Then in April 1904, he was busy building his own carpentry shop on a town lot behind Hoil's blacksmith shop in Greene. Later in 1904 or early 1905, the family pulled up stakes, left Dougherty and "started for the West," wrote their daughter. "First stop Kansas where there was a big family gathering at cousin James Valentine's. I remember it well -- picnic out under big trees. How long were we there?" The family spent the next winter in Springdale, AR, and then moved to Shawnee, OK for another year. They moved once again to Long Beach, CA. A large earthquake hit California about this time, breaking the dishes and scaring the entire family. Their daughter wrote that "We soon left for Missoula Montana where Dad established us in the odl Florance Hotel... Dad then went on to Spokane to find a home there and work in one of the big lumber yards. He was well qualified for any type of construction."

In 1906, the family relocated to Washington State, settling in Spokane, WA and remaining for 41 years. Circa August 1916, Jacob helped construct a Catholic school building at Dougherty. The census of 1920 lists them in West Spokane, and for many years, he owned and operated Leydig Sash and Door Company. The Leydigs occasionally returned to Greene to see relatives including an August-September 1938 visit with his sister Carrie Shook, as noted in the gossip columns of the Recorder. In 1940, Susanna is known to have resided in Garden Springs, OR and provided a living space for her widowed daughter-in-law Fay and grandson Harold. But grief and despair blanketed the family when, despondent over poor health, Fay shot her own son and then herself while in her in-laws' home. Sadly, just five months after relocating to Selah, WA, Jacob died in St. Elizabeth Hospital at the age of 86 on Feb. 21, 1947. His obituary in the Spokane Spokesman Review called him a "pioneer Spokane contractor." Susie outlived her husband by 15 years. She died at the home of her daughter Alice Matson in Selah on March 27, 1962, with a short obituary printed in the Recorder.

• Granddaughter Catherine "Alice" Leydig (1900-1998) was born on Sept. 20, 1900. She took two years of college classes and was hired to teach seventh grade and art at Selah, WA, located in the Yakima Valley. In 1923, she wedded 32-year-old Chicago native Roger Emanuel Matson (July 8, 1890-1955), a resident of Selah, near Spokane, WA. News of their marriage license was printed in the Spokane Spokesman-Review. Alice later wrote, "We met first Sunday in Selah and were together for too few years." The pair bore four sons -- Keith Roger Matson, Alan Leydig Matson, Paul August Matson and Marc John Matson. Having been born in Illinois, Roger had migrated to the Yakima Valley in childhood and stayed until 1910. He then moved to Minneapolis, remaining there until a return to Yakima in 1920. The family remained in Selah for good. Roger was a "prominent Selah fruitman," said the Spokesman-Review, as a partner in Matson Fruit Company. He also "was prominent for many years in Republican party activities in the county" and was a member of the Elks Lodge and American Legion post. Sadly, Roger died on April 15, 1955, at the age of 65, in St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Yakima. Circa 1962, Alice remained Selah and in 1966 she and her nephew Fred began researching the family history. Then in her early 80s, she exchanged letters with cousins Elsa Bernice Haupt, daughter of James Wilbur and Kathryn "Annabelle" (Thomas) Haupt, and Corinna (Leydig) Talbot, daughter of Harry Spencer and Cora Amelia (Linn) Leydig, both of the Hester "Esther" (Gaumer) Shirer branch. Writing on May 18, 1983, she said that "Today 3 years ago this morning 10:00 A.M. Our Lady Mt. St. Helens blew her top. Was that ever a mess but we were so fortunate that only some 60 people lost lives. She still builds a big dome and sends steam clouds as high as 20,000 ft. No damage frmo steam vents. Do hope she just continues to steam and build dome." At the age of 98, she died in Yakima County on Oct. 13, 1998. Her remains were laid to rest in Terrace Heights Memorial Park in Yakima.

 

Daughter Carrie Leydig (1863-1945) was born on March 25, 1863 on the family farm two miles southeast of Greene. At the age of 19, on Nov. 26, 1882, she was joined in marital union with Andrew Shook ( ? -1918). He had been married before and brought a daughter to the family, Ida Pettit. The couple went on to have two more children of their own, Paul D. Shook and Mrs. George Hamilton. They spent their years in the Greene area and were members of the Church of the Brethren. In June 1903, Carrie accompanied her pastor and several other friends to Franklin County, MO to attend a Brethren love feast. Terminating their 36-year marriage, Andrew was swept away by death in 1918. Carrie survived her husband by 27 years. She was named in a Greene Recorder obituary of her cousin Wilson Haley Crane at his death in October 1937. At her birthday in March 1943, her son Paul and his daughter and grandchildren visited from their home in Plainfield and prepared a dinner and decorated cake. She suffered from an "extended illness," said the Recorder, and died at home at the age of 82 on June 19, 1945. At the time of her passing, two of her grandsons were serving in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II and tried to obtain furloughs home to attend the funeral.

 

• Grandson Paul Shook lived in Plainfield, IA in 1945.

• Granddaughter Mrs. Hamilton dwelled in the mid-1940s in Greene.

• Step-granddaughter Ida Pettit made a home in Mason City circa 1945.

 

Daughter Elizabeth Leydig (1867- ? ) was born in about 1867 in Iowa. She married John Martin ( ? - ? ). In March 1910, living in or near Greene, she entertained her sister and brother in law Chrystie and Milton McKee, visiting from Cedar Falls, IA. By 1938, she had established a residence in Long Beach, CA. They had at least one son, Wayne Martin.

• Grandson Wayne Martin is known to have visited family in Greene and Mason City, IA in June 1938.

 

Daughter Ida F. Leydig (1871-1913) was born in about 1871 in Iowa. She graduated from Greene High School in 1887, devoted her life to teaching and never married. She initially made her home in Allison, Butler County. By 1902, she was named Butler County superintendent of schools and focused her attention on the quality and effectiveness of one-room country schools. Said the Greene Recorder, "She is arranging to hold township meetings all over the county and requests patrons, school officers and teachers to turn out to them. The meetings will be informal, and ... subjects of mutual interest and benefit will be discussed." That same year, she was elected president of the Inter-County Teachers' Association, comprised of teachers from Franklin,. Butler, Hardin and Grundy Counties. She also conducted teacher's institutes to further educate her educators. In March 1909, she was awarded a liberal arts degree at the University of Iowa. She then accepted new employment and moved to St. Louis, MO in 1912, but by February 1913 was living in Cedar Falls, IA, likely due to poor health. Tragically, although admitted to a sanitarium in Wisconsin, she died there in August 1913. Reported the Recorder, "The news ... was received with profound sorrow by her Bristow friends, who had not known of her condition. As county superintendent of schools several years ago and as a well known teacher both before and after that time she was widely known and held in highest respect." Her remains were transported to Greene for burial.

Son Wilson Haley Crane (1857-1937) was born on March 21, 1857 near Zanesville, Muskingum County. When he was six years old, he moved west with his parents to Iowa, settling in Greene, Butler County. He appears to never have married. In 1902, when Wilson was 45 years of age, he relocated to Minnesota, where he made his home in Chokio, Stevens County. Reported the Greene (IA) Recorder, "He was a farmer, but later took up the carpenter trade, which he practiced until his health failed him" in about 1934. "He was a kind and upright man and was trusted by his fellow men in all his dealings with them." At the age of 80, Wilson suffered a heart attack and died in his sleep in October 1937 in Chokio. His body was returned to Greene for burial in Rose Hill Cemetery, with Rev. Stanley Kenderdine officiating at the service. An obituary in the Recorder noted that he was survived by a niece Bessie LaRue Smith of Bellingham, WA; his sister in law Mrs. Oliver E. Crane; and cousins Chris Shirer and Mrs. A.S. Shook of Greene.

Son Oliver E. Crane (1871-1940) was born in 1871 in (?). He married Rose A. Brunars ( ? - ? ) and lived in the 1920s and '30s in Mason City, IA. They returned to Greene for a visit in August 1923, in company with Wilts Crane of Morris, MN, "looking over the old town and meeting friends of many years ago," said the Greene (IA) Recorder. "It has been twelve years since their last visit. The Crane home here in the early days is the farm now owned by Harry Drew, which adjoins the city limits to the east." They returned to Greene again six years later for the 1929 Homecoming Week, and made sure to pay a call on "Aunt Jane Bragg," as noted in the gossip columns of the Recorder. Oliver also stopped by the Recorder office and told the editor what had become of the Crane and LaRue families now scattered away from Greene. Oliver died at the age of 69 at home in Mason City on April 18, 1940. The body was shipped to Greene for interment in Rose Hill Cemetery.

Daughter Hattie Crane (1860-1910) was born in 1860 in (?). She married Reason LaRue (1854- ? ). Their children were Charles LaRue, Edward "Eddie" LaRue and Bessie Smith. They dwelled in Greene. She became afflicted with a large tumor and underwent surgery in August 1909. Dr. V.C. Birney, Dr. W.R. Arthur and Dr. E. Birney of Nora Springs were involved with removal of the tumor. Said the Greene (IA) Reporter, "The operation was most successful and the patient is now resting easy and getting along nicely at her home under the care of Mrs. Carrie Yontz." Then in 1910, she was admitted to a hospital in St. Joseph, MO, where she did not rally and where her health was in serious jeopardy. In August 1910, deathly ill, her brother and family traveled from Mason City for a visit at her bedside. She succumbed in September 1910. Several of her friends from nearby Pleasant Grove traveled to Greene for the funeral. Circa August 1929, their daughter Bessie Smith made her home in Bellingham, WA where she was married to a jeweler, and son Edward was "also in the west, where he is teaching school," said the Recorder. Son Charles is believed to have married and dwelled in Waterloo, IA in the mid-1940s.