Ida Jane Myers was red-haired, left-handed, 5 ft. 2 in., 98 pounds, and wore size one shoes when she was married in Middlebury, IN. She was a saver, and many of the family history relics from the Mather lines were preserved by her. She kept an autograph book 1879-80-81, she taught "select school" in 1883-84. An article in the local newspaper praised her work: "Miss Ida Myers pleased her select school last Friday afternoon with appropriate ceremonies in the presence of a number of visitors, who all speak very highly of the manner in which Miss Myers conducted the exercises. Miss M has given excellent satisfaction in her schoolwork and her prospects for becoming an accomplished school ma'm are excellent." She wrote poetry, hooked rugs, did needlework, caned and rushed chairs and led a very active social life in Middlebury IN as evidenced by a letter written by her mother-in-law in 1896. Her first three children died soon after birth, so she adopted a son, George Wurtenberg, naming him Fred Mather. She soon had a son Milton, then daughters Helen and Mary. They moved to Weatherford, OK in 1911 where Ida had a "best" dress made for the then outlandish price of $75.00. They always had "hired" help, for farm work and housework. After they moved to Smethport, PA in 1919, Ida lost an eye in an unusual accident. While shaking a dresser scarf, an unnoticed pin flew back and pierced her eye, necessitating the removal of the eye. After her husband died in 1928, she sold their property, The O.K. Farm, and lived with her daughter Helen. She traveled to IN and OK, returning to Smethport where she worked as a housekeeper for the King and Comes families. Although she and her husband left Indiana with about $200,000.00, through business failures etc., she ended up with just $4000.00 after the estate was settled, forcing her to earn her way as she lived to the age of 92. Deed recorded May 29, 1929 Ida J. Mather sells to John B. Oviatt a total of 143.5 acres in Keating Township (the O.K. Farm) for "the sum of one and more dollars". She worked for a doctor in Selinsgrove, PA, and went to South Carolina with her daughter Helen's family in the 'thirties. She took another trip west before working for Mr. Hummel in Progress, PA, as a housekeeper. Her last job was caring for Mrs. Kennedy in Stoney Creek, PA. She lived the remainder of her life with her daughter Helen in Dauphin, PA. She organized a "Cane Club" in Dauphin, served many years as president. The amazing qualifications for membership were a cane, and attainment of the age of 80 years. There were as many as 10 or 12 members at times, in that small town of 500. She always called the morning hours "the forenoon", a blouse was a "waist", the train station the "depot". She was a gentle person that I remember most often with a smile on her face, frequently her Bible in her lap.
McKean Co., PA Keating Twp. Deed Book 209 p. 86 Ida Mather sold to John B. Oviatt 96.7 acres Middlebury, December 6, 1896 My Dear Mary, I suspect as you could not come over to Joe and Ida's party you would like to hear all about it. They came over Thursday evening to get some forks and spoons, and Ida asked me to come and as your father was away (He went to Goshen to attend the Farmer's Institute), as he was away she said to bring May too. (May was her hired girl) So we went with Charlie and Ola, Well, it was an immense success. In the first place, she had told all the ladies to bring their youngest picture. These were put in envelopes and sealed, and when the company were all there, Ida passed them in a tray to the gentlemen and they had to find the original of the picture for their pardner. It caused lots of amusement, for they were all baby or very small girl pictures. When that was done with, she opened the dining room door and asked the company to go in and guess the number of seeds in the object on the table and register their names and their guess on the paper there. Well you would have laughed, could you have seen into the room. It was illuminated with four jack-o-lanterns, immense punkins scooped out and grotesque faces cut in them (and when I tell you that Joe did the carving you can imagine how funny they were) and candles put inside. On the table was a large punkin and a large sheet of paper, for the names and guesses. Of course that was lots of fun, then Ida's father took the punkin to the kitchen and cut it and he and Mrs. Myers and Mrs. Fry counted the seeds. While that was being done, the company were seated in the rooms and Ida read a little story of a floral courtship and marriage in which the names of different common flowers were to be guessed and inserted to make sense to the story. (You perhaps remember it, it was in the "Ladies Home Journal" a year or so ago) and the one who guessed the most names got a prize. Mrs. Frank Myers won it. The prize was a primrose plant that I gave Ida for the purpose. By this time the punkin seeds had been counted and Ella Nihart came the nearest to the correct number, and got a punkin pin cushion. Mary Elliott got the booby prize, some punkin seeds in a gingham bag. Then they played games for a while, and then we served supper, which was the most fun of all. First we, May and I, took around wooden butter dishes for plates and squares of cheesecloth for napkins, followed by Mrs. Myers with a large wooden bowl of rolls, and Ida with a peach basket in each hand heaped with what looked like cold baked potatoes, but the insides had been scooped out and made into a delicious salad and stuffed into the skins again. Joe followed with cups and Mrs. Fry with coffee, then I with pressed chicken cut in squares and laid on a dust pan (covered with a napkin, of course). Then Mrs. Myers with spiced apples in a huge yellow mixing bowl. The scalloped oysters we dished in anything that came handy, large and small saucers, sauce dishes, and individual butter dishes. They had forks to eat with, but for spoons for the coffee, we passed common clay pipes with name and date written on the stems, which they all took home as souvenirs. The cream and sugar were passed, the cream in two quart tin pails with a tin cream dipper to serve it with, and the lumps of sugar in tin cups. Then we cleared away and served ice cream in nice dishes and our best spoons and lovely cake in silver baskets. {Ida intended to have the tin wash dish and a nig course towel passed for a finger bowl, but it was forgotten until it was too late). I don't believe the None Such Club ever had so much fun over a supper as they had over that. The refreshments were all lovely and we served them as matter of fact as if we had carried them on trays of silver and in golden bowls. Joe went for and took home those who had no way of coming of their own, in a big wagon with cow bells instead of sleigh bells. They meet at Dr. Farber's next Friday. I hope by the time Charlie's have it you can be at home. We are going to find something funny by that time. The Ladies Aid Society meets at Ola's next Thursday to finish piecing a crazy comfort that they have commenced. The family are all well, except that Eugene and Dorothy have bad colds. Was Milt and Will Elliott at Wakarusa last Thursday? Milt told Allie he was going there but Mrs. Elliott told her at the party that they did not go there and told Allie to ask Milt where they were. Allie said to me that if they were not there, there would be a rumpus. I have not seen her since to ask how it came out. I heard that they went down to Billy Martin's today. Well, I could tell you lots and lots more if I could see you, but I have given you a pretty good description of the party and will save something for the next letter. Hoping you are both well and happy, I am as ever, Your loving mother, (Frances DeFrees Mather)
IDA MYERS MATHER'S AUTOGRAPH ALBUM 1879 - 1882
Remember the night the kindling wood was burnt up 1/2 past midnight. M. I. J. C.
To my little friend. Remember when you have no one else to think of. V.
First last & always. J.
This kind of talk is more than I can understand. M.
I deemed thee not so very dear, Till thou were far from me But now thour't ever in my thoughts. My dreams are all of thee.
Ida, Long may you rule. Yours Respy. O.H. Foster Dec. 9th 1882
Compliments of Emma Millington Dec. 17th 1880. Bristol Indiana
Ida: Others may come and strew your way with beautiful flowers fresh and gay. I from an humble and unknown cot bring one sweet flower forget-me-not. Oak Grove. Ind. Oct. 25. 1881 Jennie C. Wright
Dear Ida In sorrow's gloom or pleasure's hour, In crowded hall or shady bower, The pleasures of my heart shall be, Forever to remember thee. Sadie
Miss Ida. There's the marble, there's the chisel. Take them, work them to thy will: Thou alone must shape thy future,- Heaven give thee strength and skill. From a friend and schoolmate. January 27th Frank Mather
Middlebury, 4-15-81 Cousin Ida: Cling to those who cling to you. Ed
Miss Ida When on memorys page you ponder and these lines you plainly see, think of me the one who wrote them, as a friend forever true, Eddie Mather Middlebury, Ind
Miss Ida.- May happiness be your lot, As through this world you - "Trot." Grant Shannon. Mendon, 9-14-1879
Never forget May 5, 1880 "Spooks" When are you going to Portage? Dear Ida: May happiness thy brow entwine, May peace thy pillow strew, May every earthly bliss be thine, "Tis Hattie's wish for you. Remember March 6th, 1881. Schol May 5th 1880. Hattie Foote.
Remember Portage Lake. Miss Ida Our schoolgirl days will soon be o'er, They flying fast return no more Oh: may they in their rapid flight leave with us lasting visions bright. Nellie Benhaur
Friend Ida, Labor for the Beautiful and Good. Tum amicus, Sapiens. Aug. 2, 1881.
Dear Girl, Though our lives may not be marked by great deeds, yet may we scatter the seed of kindness and love all along our pathway in life. Sincerely your Friend Mrs. Nettie Glafke. Mendon. Jan 22 - 1880.
Cousin Ida. God's first gift to man is life. God's best gift is Christ, and God's last gift - Heaven; so use the first that through the best you may win the last. This and this only is the right use of our earthly life. Marion Oliver. Avon Bank, Canada July 23rd/81
:Ida". "Please "Xcept the best wishes of your friend." Matie McDowell Mendon Jan 24. 1880
I leave in your album a mark, a token of friendship forever. Your cousin Katie.
15. Mendon Sept 12 - 1879. Miss Ida: Write your name in love and kindness upon the hearts of those with whom you come in contact year by year and you will never be forgotten: Good deeds will shine as brightly upon earth as the stars of heaven. A. E. Warrant
Ida. "Be blessings scattered o'er thy way My gladsome, joyous, laughing sprite, Be thy whole life one summer's day, Without the night. Unless in halls, with careless glance You tread the mazes of the dance Or sing sweet songs of old romance By gaslight gay, E'en then might thou be free from woes, Exchange thy bon bons for thy beaus, And in the followers of thy train. May childhood's graces still remain." Ever Your Friend. Anna Hopkins Middlebury Jan 19. 1881
Friend Ida. Remember me as one of your aborignal friends Jennie McKinlay Mendon, Sept. 20th ,79
Lew Fletcher, Mendon March 12. '80
Please accept of the Compliments of your friend Dec 4th / 79. Cassius C. Waring
Jan 21, 1881. Ida. May the snowy wings of innocence and love Protect thee. Your Friend and School-Mate Mary.
Dear Ida. Count that day lost Whose low descending sun Marks from thy hand No worthy action done. Ever your friend, Emma Newman
Ida,, Perhaps in some succeeding year Your eyes may rest one moment here. Let memory once more bring to view The friend who penned these lines for you. Middlebury Indiana, July 1,, '80 Leona Prescott
Mendon Sept 20, 1879.
Miss Ida. To twine around thy bower, To flourish by thy cot Please plant that little flower They call for-get-me-not. Jennie Wolford.
Jan 19.- 1881 Compliments of your Friend Middlebury Ind. Ida Schwin
Sept. 14th 1879. Compliments of Troy Shannon.
Remember well and bear in mind. That a true friend is hard to find. But when you find one kind and true, Trade not the old one for a new. Fannie Cooper Middlebury Ind. Feb 11th 1881.
Dear Ida. That your life may have just enough clouds to make it a glorious sunset, is the wish of your friend. Della Newman. Elkhart, Indiana
(What tidy boys, ha!) To Ida. 'Tis not for one to trifle! life is brief, And sin is here Our age is but the falling of a leaf, A dropping tear. We have no time to sport away the hours; All must - be earnest - in a world like ours." Your friend, Nellie Jan 20th 1881
"Going hickory nutting next summer? Compliments of your friend, Chas. Glafke Mendon Mar. 12 / 80. "Spooks."
Dear Cousin You may break, you may ruin This vase if you will. But the scent of the roses Will cling to it still. From your friend Johnie
Friend Ida: When friendship once is rooted fast It is a plant no storm can sever. Transfixed and headless as the blast, It blooms and flourishes forever. Yours truly Leslie Hall September 20 1879.
Mifs Ida. In menories wreth entwine a blossome for me is the wish of your friend. Dellie Snyder Middlebury; 17. 81.
Miss Ida. Youth is gay, and active, and full of life and hope. It is the time to plant the seeds of knowledge and virtue. R. C. Mendon. 2-27-1880
When are you going after pond lilies Machere Ida. If in after years you chance to read these lines, Think that she who wrote them, Was a friend in "former times." Susie Miner
Ida: "If far away in a distant land Another should come to claim your hand, Should it be _____ or charming Will. You'll be my "little Sister" still. Minnie Aug 30th 1881
Compliments of Elmer Desboignes Dec. 3rd. 79
Middlebury Ind Sept 6/ 81 Your friend and well wisher. V. A. Johnston of Large Rapids Mich Go North young man go north. V. Youvel.
Sept 25th 79. Compliments of Fred Tompkins
Friend Ida May your joys be as deep as the ocean, your sorrows as light as it's foam. Is the wish of your friend Jesse Wakeman Mendon July 8th / 80
Sept 24th 1879. Compliments of Charley Wakeman.
To Ida May heavens blessings e'er attend thee Through the changefull path of life Her choicest gift may fortune send thee Joy unmixed with care or strife. C. W. Whitney. Vistula Ind 4/11 = 81
"Nach dem Regen, scheint die Sonne wieder." Lew Fletcher Mendon Sept 12, 1879.
Friend Ida. In after years as, you ____ these pages ore. and picture in imagination The faces of dear ones. Please rember your friend Belle Klingaman.
Remember Dec 3rd 1879 Friend Ida A grain of wealth is dearer to thee than measures of wisdom as deep as the see Your friend Charcoal
Middlebury Ind. Feb 11th 81 When far away and Friends are few remember Me and I will you. Jessie H.
Compliments of Sheridan Howard. Mendon Nov. 1. 79.
Ida. Do promptly all life's duties. J. W. Bentley
Time changes all things, even ones autograph Mendon July 17, 1880 Ida A friend is gold, if true, he'll never leave you. Yet both, without a touchstone, may decieve thee. Valda
Feb. 13. 1881 To Ida. Disguise so near the Truth doth seem to run, Tis doubtful whom to seek or whom to shun, Nor know we when to spare or when to strike, Our friends and foes, they seem so much alike. From your cousin, Ella May Nihart
To Ida Ponder well over little things and success shall be your reward. Mendon Jan 22, 1880 Fred Glafke Jr.
Schoolroom 1881. May your cross be crowned with flowers Is the wish of a schoolmate, Belle Cooper. Jan 18th 1881 Middlebury, Ind
Ida: "It is not just as we take it, This mystical world of ours; Life's field will yield, as we make it, A harvest of thorns or flowers." Lillie A. Ernst, Mendon, July 21st 1880.
A Wish May all the names that are written here in the Book of Life appear.
Dec 10th 1879. Friend Ida. May you always continue in Life, as you have commenced, doing whatever you attempt to do, with earnestness. Ida Deys
Ida. In your woodbox of memories Consider me a stick. Yours exceedingly, Millie Cooper Middlebury Nov 10th 1881.
Mendon, Mich, Apr. 24, '80. "May your hopes and passions certre, In the scheme of early strife, So when called upon to enter In the mighty "School of Life", you may act your part so nobly With it's tasks of truth and love That your life may stand ---- "One Hundred" On the merit roll above." Truly your friend, Anna Willemin Florence, Michigan
Think! Think!! Think!!! Cultivate the Understanding and the memory will take care of itself. E. C. Bennitt Middlebury Ind ___ 12, '81 Home, Orland, Ind
Friend Ida Last but not least Of those to be Remembered Are the wishes of your friend Mary Allie
Dear Ida. Yes here is the end, Now take a good look. The last friend of all Is in the last of your book. But should troubles befall you Or care make you quake, I'm the first friend to serve U, The last to forsake. Ego tu amo. Jan 21 1880
Compliments of Clement Schwin January 19, 1881. Middlebury
Little quarrels often prove to be but new recruits of Love Jan 8" 1882 Here - Dec 10"1882. Where Dec 10" 1883 ? M.J.C.
Last in your album, Last in your thought. Last to be remembered and First to be Forgot Your friend S.A.D.B.
Notes from letters to Mary Mather Blough from her mother, Fannny Mather, also the mother of Ida's husband Joe Mather: "Joe and Ida and family was here to dinner today. We had a very good visit. Little Helen is looking much better, and is so cute. As soon as she came in, she said, "Is Aunt Mary at home?" When you ask her to do anything that she does not want to do, she says, "Mrs. Mather don't want me to do it." (c. 1903) "Ida was over a little while Sunday for some books and a pattern. She was at Goshen last week and got her a new hat. It is brown velvet and has four brown wings on it. Milton says she looks like two eagles with it on. It is quite a pretty hat."
References: Birth-Obituary of mother, Helen Oliver Myers Marriage- Marriage application, license, Elkhart Co., IN 6/445, Newspaper announcement, Marriage certificate, marriage invitation. Death-Obituary; Harrisburg Evening News, May 1957 Census-1870, US, IN, Elkhart Co.,Cleveland Twp., age 5, p. 191, family 39, dwelling 38, line 31, National Archives microfilm M-593, roll 311. Census-1880, US, MI, St. Joseph Co., Mendon, age 15, p.4., E.D. 198, family 41, dwelling 38, line 15, NARA film T-9, roll 603. Census-1900, US, IN, Elkhart Co., Middlebury Twp., age 34, p.13, family 18, dwelling 18, line 71, NARA film T-623, roll 369. Census-1910, US, In, Elkhart Co., Middlebury, age 45, p.1750, family 138, dwelling 128, line 41, NARA film T- 624, roll 348. Census- 1920, US, PA, McKean Co., Keating Twp., age 56, p.251, family 88, dwelling 77, line 52, NARA film T-625, roll 1600.
Deed Book 209, p. 86 McKean County, PA
More About Ida Jane Myers: Burial: 21 May 1957, Dauphin Cemetery, Dauphin, PA. Census Records: 1870-IN, 1880-MI, 1900-IN, 1910-IN, 1920-PA. Education: High School, taught "Select School". Migration: IN to OK to KA to MO to PA. Obituary: 18 May 1957, Harrisburg Evening News, Harrisburg, PA. Other-Begin: Middlebury, IN grave marker with husband. Vocation: Taught "select school", housekeeper.
More About Ida Jane Myers and Joseph DeFrees Mather: Marriage: 27 November 1884, Middlebury, Middlebury, IN.2050, 2051, 2052, 2053
Children of Ida Jane Myers and Joseph DeFrees Mather are:
Ida Jane Myers (b. 12 September 1864, d. 17 May 1957)
Notes for Ida Jane Myers: