Greener Grass - Ben and Annie's Meandering Migration from Methley to Mulberry

By Margaret Lile Schmidt

Leaving your family far behind to move to a new country requires courage. Annie and Ben Bell decided to do that, hoping that it would mean a better life for them and their family. It was not always easy for them, and they missed their families and friends every day. This is their story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781387726042

Book preview

Greener Grass - Ben and Annie's Meandering Migration from Methley to Mulberry

Greener Grass

Copyright 2018 Margaret Lile Schmidt

Introduction

Over the years, I’ve heard frequent stories about my grandparents.  Some of them have been recorded in haphazard fashion, scribbled on the backs of envelopes, sometimes typed up from conversations or recollections, and some of them were not recorded at all.  It seemed to me that they should be officially recorded in one location.

I’ve combined the verbal stories with factual research of dates, places, and events to form the most comprehensive story I could of their lives.  Some creative license makes it a more readable story, but the facts are intact.

The best information available came from Annie’s own words.  Annie’s daughters, Eleanor and Kathleen, saved many of the letters she wrote to them.  Although she wrote letters to England for years, most of them to her sister Bertha, none of them were saved.  However, Annie saved many of Bertha’s letters, which gives some wonderful insight into the kind of relationship they had.   A few of Ben’s letters have survived, but without much detail of his day-to-day life.

I’ve also included a copy of the only surviving letter that Annie wrote to Ben, one written while she was in England waiting to come to America.  It was never sent to him for some reason, but she saved it.  Also included are stories written by Annie and Ben’s son and daughter, Kathleen and Paul, with their recollections.  Reading those stories brings back their voices and speech mannerisms very clearly.

This book is centered on Annie and Ben specifically, and their children round out their story.   Their grandchildren are named and included only to complete a story.

I’m appreciative for the oral stories we heard over the years from Annie’s children, my mother’s generation.  I wish I had listened more closely.

For this book my sister, Florence Lile Crawford, helped with story flow and family information, among other things.  My daughter-in-law, Linda Gallegos, provided great insight and editorial skill.  My husband, Bill Schmidt, proofread several versions of every chapter.  Several others have read my manuscript at various stages and given me feedback.  To all these people, I thank them for their support and encouragement.

I especially appreciate Paul’s wife, my Aunt Louise, who remembered many details and personality traits that were useful, and happily shared them with me over the years, and especially as I worked on this story.  Aunt Louise received and read a preliminary copy of the printed book but died a peaceful death about a week later on March 3, 2018, just 10 days short of her 100th birthday.

~~~~~

Timeline

1880-1901 Ben lives in Methley, England.

1901-1912 Ben lives in various places in America, then in Satanta, Kansas.

1881-1912 Annie lives in Methley, England.

1912-1919 Annie and Ben live in Dodge City, Kansas and Hutchinson, Kansas. Three children are born.

1919-1930 Annie, Ben, Eleanor, Paul, and Kathleen live in Brewster, Florida and then Mulberry, Florida. Two more children are born, but the second one dies as an infant.

1930-1936 Annie, Ben, Eleanor, Paul, Kathleen, and Tom live in Garden City, Kansas.

1936-1938 Annie, Ben, Paul, and Tom live in Bunnell, Florida.

1938 Annie, Ben, Paul, and Tom leave Bunnell, and move to Mulberry, Florida.

~~~~~

Maps

These cities in Colorado, Kansas and Florida were part of Annie and Ben’s story.  Orlando, Florida is shown for reference.

Family Facts

Annie

England in October 1912

Ann Elizabeth Ward, known as Annie, looked around the small bedroom in the Leeds bungalow of her sister, Bertha Illingworth, and her family.  Scattered all around her were belongings that she was packing to take to the United States with her.  She was trying to decide what to ship separately, and what to carry, and to get it all packed away. 

She was preparing to travel to the U.S. to marry an old schoolmate, Ben Bell.  He left Methley about ten years earlier and traveled to the United States to visit an aunt who lived in Kansas.  He had decided to stay in America, and even became a naturalized citizen.  He thought that the U.S. would provide more opportunities to build a life for himself instead of working in the mines, as so many young men in Methley did. 

When Ben returned to England for a visit just two years ago, he told her of all the land available in his adopted country and of his plans there.  Before he left England to return to the U.S., she agreed to move there to marry him.  Now they were working hard to save money for her voyage and staying in touch by mail.

It was such a big decision to leave her family and friends.  Many generations of her family had lived in the little village of Methley, near Leeds.  Annie’s father, Thomas Ward, was a wheelwright and master joiner, and a talented cabinet-maker.  He worked in the local coal mine, like many other men in Methley.  He also owned a small store called Thomas Ward Grocer and General Dealer.  Annie’s maternal grandfather, James Dickinson, was a boot and shoe maker.  One of his early apprentices was a young Thomas Bell, the future father of Ben Bell.

Both of Annie’s parents had died recently within a year of one another.  As the youngest daughter, she cared for them in their final years.  Now she was thirty-one years old, with no immediate family responsibilities to keep her in England.

Annie was close to her brothers and sisters and knew that she would miss them.  Her older brother and both sisters had young children, and she would miss seeing the children grow up.  The long ocean trip between England and her new home meant she would not often see friends and relatives.  Really, she admitted to herself through tears, it was possible that they would not see one another again.

Annie's family was a musical family