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Andrew
'Edward'
Minard |
Andrew "Edward" Minard was born on
July 18, 1878 in Richland, south of Topeka, Shawnee County, KS, the son of Nathan
W. and Sarah Jane (Woodruff) Minard.
Courtesy Janice Mattson and Ed Griggs
The historical record gives differing information -- one source says he was born on Aug. 28, 1868 in Cedar, IA, and another that he was born in 1880 in Richland. A third source, his newspaper obituaries in the Richland Citizen and Topeka Daily Capital, say he was born in 1878.
A July 1893 article in the Richland Argosy referred to him as "a bright boy." He lived on and off in Topeka as a teenager but by 1899 had moved to the city for good. On a return to Richland in August 1903, the Richland Observer said he "has not been here for four years. He says the town has made many changes for the better since he was here before."
Edward was of medium height and slender build, with blue eyes and light brown hair.
When he was 39 years of age, Edward entered into marriage with 24-year-old Lillian Watson (1896- ? ), a native of
Texas. The groom was 16 years older than the bride.
Janice Mattson/Ed Griggs
They produced one daughter together, Betty Jean Bell.
Edward began working for Karlan Furniture in about 1913, and remained with the company for 25 years, according to the Daily Capital. Evidence suggests that he may have moonlighted selling insurance.
The Minards moved to Little Rock, AR by 1918, where Edward worked in 1918 as a messenger's helper for the American Railway Express Company, with his work place at the city's Union Station. Census records for 1920 list him as a laborer in a casket factory, presumably for the Karlan company.
By 1930, they had migrated again, back to Topeka.
Lillian added to the family's income through her work as a saleswoman in drapery goods.
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Topeka's Kansas Avenue, looking North from Eighth Street |
Their address was at 1520 North Tyler Street
in Topeka. The family were were members of the Nazarene Church.
Topeka Daily Capital, 1938
Edward passed away at age 59 of heart trouble on June 6, 1938. His newspaper obituary was published in the Daily Capital, which noted that he "had lived in Topeka most of his life." An obituary in the Richland Citizen said he "was well known in Richland and community having been born here..." His sister Ida Bell Cole and her son Harry and daughters Candace Thurber and Florence Metsker traveled from their homes in Lone Star, KS to attend the funeral. The remains were lowered into the sleep of the ages in Mount Hope Cemetery.
The widowed Lillian moved with her daughter to Soldier, Shawnee County, as shown in the 1940 United States Census. There, she earned a living as a seamstress with a furniture company.
Lillian is thought
to have passed away in Topeka, but her final fate remains unknown for now. She has not been located on the 1950 federal census enumeration.
~ Daughter Betty Jean (Minard) Bell ~
Courtesy Janice Mattson and Ed Griggs
Daughter Betty Jean Minard (1925-1960) was born on Dec. 20, 1925 in Topeka.
She moved in girlhood with her widowed mother from Topeka to Soldier, Shawnee County, KS and lived there in 1940. She was a 1943 graduate of Topeka High School.
In Aug. 1943, at the age of 17, she was united in the bonds of holy matrimony with 20-year-old Floyd Chaffin "Junior" Bell Jr. (Sept. 5, 1922-1986), son of Floyd Chaffin and Lena R. (Vincent) Bell Sr.
Two daughters of this couple were Paula Lee Bombay and Janice Kay Griggs Mattson.
Floyd is known to have served in the U.S. Army during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. He was deployed to Europe and and attained the rank of corporal.
At some point after the war, Floyd attended Austin College. The 1950 federal census enumeration places this family in Sherman, Grayson County, TX, with Floyd having no occupation and Betty employed as a bookkeeper for a radio broadcasting company. In time he secured employment with the U.S. Civil Service.
Sadly, Betty Jane died in Mobile, AL on July 7, 1960.
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Betty and Paula Lee Bell Courtesy Janice Mattson and Ed Griggs |
Floyd survived her by more than a quarter-century and married again to Charlene Murphy ( ? - ? ). She brought a stepdaughter into the second union, Mrs. L.D. Fox.
The Bells made a home in Sherman, TX. He belonged to the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Floyd passed away in a hospital in Sherman on Oct. 25, 1986, at the age of 64. An obituary was published in the Fort Worth Star Telegram. His remains sleep for the ages in Cedarlawn Memorial Park in Sherman, TX.
Daughter Paula Lee Bell (1944-2019) was born on June 12, 1944 in Topeka. On April 21, 1963, when she was 18 years of age, Paula was joined in matrimony with 23-year-old Joseph Andrew Bombay ( ? - ? ). Rev. Capt. Bernard R. Reilley is known to have presided at the wedding ceremony, held in the base chapel of Perrin Air Force Base in Texas. One known daughter produced by the couple was Kathleen Renee Bombay. Their residence in 1986 was in Denison, Grayson County, TX. Sadness blanketed the family when Paula passed away in Denison on July 15, 2019.
- Granddaughter Kathleen Renee Bombay (1968- ? ) was born in 1968 in Texas.
Daughter Janice Kay Bell (1948- ? ) was born in about 1948 in Kansas. She was united in wedlock with (?) Griggs and (?) Mattson ( ? -? ). One known son is Ed Griggs. Janice is known to have dwelled in Plano, TX in 1986.
Copyright © 2001-2003, 2009-2010, 2015, 2022, 2023-2024 Mark A. Miner