Edwin, Cora, Hazel, and Margaret in Jefferson and Douglas County (1903-1915)
Upon arrival in Sarcoxie, Jefferson, Kansas, Edwin purchased an 80-acre farm in the Chester community. The farm was located on the South Half of the Northeast Quarter of Section 23, Township 11, Range 19 East (2180 Republic Road, Chester, Sarcoxie, Jefferson, Kansas). The farm was nine miles north of Lawrence, where Edwin's parents, Thomas and Mary Lamont lived. Edwin established his farm, raising livestock and planting crops. He was active in the community, repairing roads and elected as Treasury in 1905. Lawrence Weekly World (12 Oct 1905) shows Edwin won best bushel of white corn at the county fair, with nineteen entries.
Cora purchased Lot 1 and 2, Block 9, Section 36, Township 12, Range 19 on 13 Aug 1906 for $380 from Joseph and Annie Du Mars (701 and 707 Missouri Street, Lane Place, Lawrence, Wakarusa, Douglas, Kansas). Edwin built a home on Lot 1 and sold Lot 2 1 Apr 1909 for $375 to Fredrick Olmstead.
Lawrence Daily World - 30 Sep 1908
Edwin
and family split their time between the farm in Chester and the home in
Lawrence. Cora, Hazel, and Margaret helped with farming chores and house
duties. By 1912, Edwin was considering homesteading in Southeast Colorado near
Towner, Colorado. He made many trips to the area looking for a possible site.
During the fall of 1914, Edwin moved the family from the Chester farm to the
newly built Lawrence home so he could rent out the farm in preparation for
moving to Southeast Colorado.
Lawrence
Daily Journal World - 30 Jan 1913
Edwin, Cora, Hazel, and Margaret in Caddoa Colorado (1915-1919)
12 Feb 1915, Edwin established a homestead claim 16098 at the South Half of
Section 29, Township 24S, Range 49W. The claim was in Caddoa, Bent, Colorado.
In the summer of 1915, Cora, Hazel, and Margaret moved to the homestead. They moved their belongings on a
flatbed rail car and traveled by train. The family struggled to survive because
of the drought conditions.
Looking Northwest toward homestead on left (photo taken Oct 2023)
Gate entrance with homestead in the distance (photo taken Oct 2023)
Homestead still standing (photo taken Oct 2023)
Moving back to Lawrence and back to Colorado Homestead (1919-1926)
Edwin and Cora decided to move back to their home in Lawrence on Missouri Street during May 1919. They received their homestead claim in February 1919 and decided the harsh conditions make it too difficult to survive. Their two daughters would stay at the homestead until Margaret completed her junior year from Bent County High School in Las Animas, Bent, Colorado. During this time, Hazel continued to work at the First National Bank in Las Animas as a bank clerk. The two sisters, Margaret, and Hazel, returned to Lawrence in June. Edwin resumed farming at the Jefferson County farm. Margaret enrolled at Lawrence High School for her senior year, and Hazel worked at a local bank as a bank clerk. After a few years in Kansas, Edwin wanted to give it another attempt in Colorado. Edwin and Cora moved back to the Caddoa Colorado homestead and try to make it work in March 1922.
Home at 701 Missouri Street, Lawrence, Kansas (photo taken Oct 2017)
North Lawrence Years (After
1926)
By 1926 they have had enough of the Colorado homestead and moved back to Lawrence for the last time. Edwin and Cora started to recover from the bad times in Colorado. They exchanged their property on Missouri Street with a small home at 800 North 7th Street in North Lawrence, Grant, Douglas, Kansas. This property had about two acres of land to farm. There was a small barn for the animals, along with the farming equipment. Edwin planted corn and winter wheat using a mule and plow. He had a milk cow, chickens, geese, ducks, and pigs. The chicken and pigs were butchered and stored in a Lawrence meat locker. A goose or duck was butchered for special occasions. Edwin farmed wearing cotton dark-colored pants and colored shirts. He wore black laced low top boots and a straw hat in the summer or black felt hat in the winter. On special occasions, he wore a tie. Cora made all of Edwin's cloths. After a day of farming, he took the bus or walked to work his second job at the Lawrence Journal World for the swing shift from 3pm to 1am as a custodian. Edwin and Cora did not have transportation.
By 1926 they have had enough of the Colorado homestead and moved back to Lawrence for the last time. Edwin and Cora started to recover from the bad times in Colorado. They exchanged their property on Missouri Street with a small home at 800 North 7th Street in North Lawrence, Grant, Douglas, Kansas. This property had about two acres of land to farm. There was a small barn for the animals, along with the farming equipment. Edwin planted corn and winter wheat using a mule and plow. He had a milk cow, chickens, geese, ducks, and pigs. The chicken and pigs were butchered and stored in a Lawrence meat locker. A goose or duck was butchered for special occasions. Edwin farmed wearing cotton dark-colored pants and colored shirts. He wore black laced low top boots and a straw hat in the summer or black felt hat in the winter. On special occasions, he wore a tie. Cora made all of Edwin's cloths. After a day of farming, he took the bus or walked to work his second job at the Lawrence Journal World for the swing shift from 3pm to 1am as a custodian. Edwin and Cora did not have transportation.
Edwin
and Cora home did not have electricity. So, they used kerosene lamps for
lighting. They used a well to get water and had an outhouse. Many of the rooms were wallpapered and
decorated with pictures on the walls.
The floors were painted wood with a few throw rugs, no carpet. The home was heated with a coal stove. The living area had a rocking chair, dining
table, china hutch, coal stove, ice chest, wash basin, and dish pan. There were two bedrooms on the first floor and
an attic on the second floor. The home
was kept very clean with a phone in the dining room. The home exterior was not painted and was
ugly. The yard around the home was
landscaped and cut grass. The driveway
was dirt with a small amount of gravel.
The city road in front of the home was paved and was on the city
line. Edwin and Cora read the newspaper for
news and sent letters to family. Their
daughter, Margaret, called once a week. Edwin and Cora were quiet and kept to
them self. They did not go on any
vacations or attend family gatherings.
Edwin and Cora enjoyed vegetable gardening. They had a rat terrier house dog, a big outside
dog, and a few barn cats. Edwin and Cora
did not attend church or celebrate Christmas with a tree and ornaments. They followed a very strict anti-Baptist
lifestyle. When needing to go to town, they would walk a distance along the
road and take the city bus to Lawrence.
Cora and Edwin Lamont enjoyed picnicking during the week. Their daughter, Margaret Lamont Westerhouse; Margaret's daughter, Margean Westerhouse, joined them. Oscar Westerhouse, Margaret's husband, was working, so he did not attend. It was common for them to have, fried chicken, pickled beat eggs, coleslaw, white bread, and butter sandwiches. Sometimes, apple or cherry pie, but most times, sugar cookies, for dessert. They had picnics at Edwin Lamont's farm in Chester, laying on a quilt or at the South Park in Lawrence, located at 1141 Massachusetts Street, using a park table. Cora's mother, Margaret Tenpenny, never joined them for a picnic.
Cora and Edwin Lamont enjoyed picnicking during the week. Their daughter, Margaret Lamont Westerhouse; Margaret's daughter, Margean Westerhouse, joined them. Oscar Westerhouse, Margaret's husband, was working, so he did not attend. It was common for them to have, fried chicken, pickled beat eggs, coleslaw, white bread, and butter sandwiches. Sometimes, apple or cherry pie, but most times, sugar cookies, for dessert. They had picnics at Edwin Lamont's farm in Chester, laying on a quilt or at the South Park in Lawrence, located at 1141 Massachusetts Street, using a park table. Cora's mother, Margaret Tenpenny, never joined them for a picnic.
Edwin and Cora Lamont (1945)
1951 Flood
Cora and Edwin Lamont's home was flooded with 5 feet of water in the Lawrence flood of 1951. They moved all their valuables to the attic, protecting items from the floodwaters. As the flood waters entered the home, Cora and Edwin moved to the attic to stay above the waters. Cora was rescued from floodwaters and taken to Red Cross Shelter in Lawrence. Edwin refused to leave at that time. A few days later, Edwin was rescued and taken to the Red Cross shelter. Edwin and Cora lost everything, and their home had very bad water damage. While repairing the damage from the flood, Cora and Edwin stayed in a Red Cross provided upstairs apartment in the downtown area of Lawrence. The apartment had no air conditioning and was had very hot conditions. Oscar Westerhouse and Don Joslin helped Edwin recover household items and Red Cross helped with repairing the damage, as Edwin was elderly. After about six months, Edwin and Cora moved back into their home.
Cora and Edwin Lamont's home was flooded with 5 feet of water in the Lawrence flood of 1951. They moved all their valuables to the attic, protecting items from the floodwaters. As the flood waters entered the home, Cora and Edwin moved to the attic to stay above the waters. Cora was rescued from floodwaters and taken to Red Cross Shelter in Lawrence. Edwin refused to leave at that time. A few days later, Edwin was rescued and taken to the Red Cross shelter. Edwin and Cora lost everything, and their home had very bad water damage. While repairing the damage from the flood, Cora and Edwin stayed in a Red Cross provided upstairs apartment in the downtown area of Lawrence. The apartment had no air conditioning and was had very hot conditions. Oscar Westerhouse and Don Joslin helped Edwin recover household items and Red Cross helped with repairing the damage, as Edwin was elderly. After about six months, Edwin and Cora moved back into their home.
Cora Death and Burial
After the 1951 Flood, Cora's health declined. By the time she was able to return to her home in 1952, she was having issues with gallbladder, having to go to the hospital to get fluid drained regularly. She died from gallbladder failure 11 Feb 1953 at 10:35 am at Lawrence Memorial Hospital at the age of eighty. Her funeral was at Rumsey Funeral Home 14 Feb 1953 at 2 pm with Rev Lawson officiating. Following the funeral, burial was at Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, Kansas at Section 14D, Lot 26, Space 4.
After the 1951 Flood, Cora's health declined. By the time she was able to return to her home in 1952, she was having issues with gallbladder, having to go to the hospital to get fluid drained regularly. She died from gallbladder failure 11 Feb 1953 at 10:35 am at Lawrence Memorial Hospital at the age of eighty. Her funeral was at Rumsey Funeral Home 14 Feb 1953 at 2 pm with Rev Lawson officiating. Following the funeral, burial was at Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, Kansas at Section 14D, Lot 26, Space 4.
Edwin Death and Burial
Starting in the late 1940s, Edwin would be found passed out and overheated from a mini stroke. These strokes caused him to limp and required to use a cain. After the 1951 Flood, Edwin's health declined further. He had a major stroke after the death of Cora in Jun 1955 and spent three weeks at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, before recovering at his daughters, Margaret Westerhouse, home in Eudora, Douglas, Kansas. Jul 1955, he needed further care and was admitted to the Metsker Rest Home, a couple houses down from his old house on Missouri Street, at 721 Missouri Street. Edwin died from Leukemia 16 Dec 1955 at 1 pm at the Metsker Rest Home, he was eighty-four years old. His funeral was at Rumsey Funeral Home 19 Dec 1955 at 2 pm with Rev David Ellsworth officiating. Following the funeral, burial was at Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, Kansas at Section 14D, Lot 26, Space 3.
Starting in the late 1940s, Edwin would be found passed out and overheated from a mini stroke. These strokes caused him to limp and required to use a cain. After the 1951 Flood, Edwin's health declined further. He had a major stroke after the death of Cora in Jun 1955 and spent three weeks at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, before recovering at his daughters, Margaret Westerhouse, home in Eudora, Douglas, Kansas. Jul 1955, he needed further care and was admitted to the Metsker Rest Home, a couple houses down from his old house on Missouri Street, at 721 Missouri Street. Edwin died from Leukemia 16 Dec 1955 at 1 pm at the Metsker Rest Home, he was eighty-four years old. His funeral was at Rumsey Funeral Home 19 Dec 1955 at 2 pm with Rev David Ellsworth officiating. Following the funeral, burial was at Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, Kansas at Section 14D, Lot 26, Space 3.
Edwin and Cora Lamont gravestone at Oakhill Cemetery
Edwin Described
Edwin lived a very frugal lifestyle, quiet, kept to himself, enjoyed gardening, including melons. He read the Lawrence newspaper, magazines (Farm Journal, Cappers). As an older man, wore reading glasses, hard of hearing, thin hair, and bad hernia, walked with limp and used a cain.
Edwin lived a very frugal lifestyle, quiet, kept to himself, enjoyed gardening, including melons. He read the Lawrence newspaper, magazines (Farm Journal, Cappers). As an older man, wore reading glasses, hard of hearing, thin hair, and bad hernia, walked with limp and used a cain.
Cora Described
Cora was short and wore homemade housedresses that were plain that were made from chicken feed sacks with an apron. She wore black shoes with wide heel. She had a treadle sewing machine in the bedroom. Cora was quiet, homemaker, kept to herself, loving, and caring to her family, wore reading glasses, lived a very frugal lifestyle, enjoyed gardening and flowers. Canned fruits, vegetables, jelly, jam, and meat. She read the Lawrence newspaper, magazines (Farm Journal, Cappers).
Cora was short and wore homemade housedresses that were plain that were made from chicken feed sacks with an apron. She wore black shoes with wide heel. She had a treadle sewing machine in the bedroom. Cora was quiet, homemaker, kept to herself, loving, and caring to her family, wore reading glasses, lived a very frugal lifestyle, enjoyed gardening and flowers. Canned fruits, vegetables, jelly, jam, and meat. She read the Lawrence newspaper, magazines (Farm Journal, Cappers).
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