Jordan, Mary Ann (Roberts) 1830 - 1923

JORDAN, ROBERTS, STRONG

Posted By: Reid R. Johnson (email)
Date: 12/14/2021 at 12:11:32

Elkader Register, Thur., 15 Feb. 1923.

Mrs. Mary Ann Jordan, born in Plattsburg, New York, July 30th, 1830, died in McGregor February 10th, 1923, being over 92 1/2 years of age. She came west with her young husband in 1854. He died i 1875, leaving her with four small children. From 1867 on, Mrs. Jordan lived in the same house in McGregor, excepting for ten months spent in Colorado when she proved up on a homestead claim at the age of 79.

Four children, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren survive her. There are two daughters and two sons: Mrs. Minnie Strong, of Lansing, Mich.; Chas. A. of Topeka, Kansas; Edwin B. and Eva R. at home.

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Added by S. Ferrall 1/26/2026:

Mary Ann Roberts, was born in Plattsburg, New York, July 30, 1830, and died in McGregor, Iowa, February 10, 1923, aged 92 years, 6 months and 11 days.

She was married Sept. 23, 1851, to Amasa J. Jordan, who died in 1875.

Seven children were born to them, the three eldest, Cornelia, Mary and Clara, dying in childhood. The four left are Mrs. Minnie Strong, of Lansing, Minn.; Charles A., of Topeka, Kas.; Edwin B., and Eva R., at home. There are six grandchildren and nine great grand children.

She was a member of the Baptist Church, and after the little church here was abandoned she gave her interest to the Methodist society, tho never joining.

The funeral was Monday, services being held in the Methodist church, and tho the day was so inclement a large company was present to do her the last honors. The sermon by Rev. Roscoe Sires was on "Immortality" and was strong and comforting. The music by the choir was very good, especially the duet by Mrs. Martin and Miss Ray. The closing hymn, "Asleep in Jesus" was sung 48 years ago at the funeral of Mr. A.J. Jordan.

The children of the deceased were all present at the funeral, as were also Mr. W.R. Strong and his son, Arthur B. Strong, of Lansing, Minn.

A Tribute to a Wonderful Mother
Words are inadequate to express the feeling we have for the mother who has passed away, and yet it seems as if something more should be said than to give the bare facts of her birth, death, etc.

Born of Yankee parents, the daughter of Eli and Deliverance Roberts, Mary Ann was reared on the farm on the edge of Plattsburg, which had been in her family for generations, since it had been homesteaded by ancestors.

Her grandfather was Major Roberts, a hero of the Revolutionary War, and of the Battle of Plattsburg in 1812.

Her father was Sheriff Roberts of Clinton County, in charge of the famous Dannemora Prison, for twenty-five years. Many are the tales of the war and of prisoners and crimes she used to tell us when we were eager for stories of adventure.

After her marriage, she and her young husband journeyed west, coming by slow stages, up the Mississippi by boat from Galena. They settled in McGregor in 1854. The experiences of those early days were indeed character builders. Indians, drunken brawls, snakes, ague and cholera, all had to be encountered and overcome.

Father was a lawyer, but supplemented his office work at first by carpentry, and there are several houses still standing here and in Marquette that he had a hand in building. And other things he fashioned by hands, also, for Mother has told us how the neighbors would call on him to make coffins for their dead because in those days it was hard to get such things nearby.

In 1867 the family, which then consisted of two children, moved to the little house on Ash Avenue. The lot was sloping, and under the house a cow barn was located, but they changed that, terracing the front yard to the walk. Here the two youngest children were born and here father passed away, May 30, 1875. He was a Mason, and many a good office his fellow Mason performed for the sorrowing family.

Mother was a charter member of the first Eastern Star order here, but in this early days housewives were too busy to attend meetings, and the organization soon failed because of lack of interest. She never joined any other lodge or club. Her church (Baptist) was all the society she had time for.

Father's death left her with very little with which to carry on. He had been ill at home for four months. The home had a small mortgage on it. We four children were too young to help. But she was brave and strong, and went ahead to keep the home and family together.

I never knew a more unselfish person than my Mother. She lived for the children and her neighbors. She never went abroad much. Her circle of friends was close about her. She possessed a cheerful disposition, with a tendency to always look for the bright or hopeful side. Her powers of resourcefulness were wonderful.

Our childhood was made happy by her invention of toys and games which were better than could have been bought. She made our sleds and bobs in winter and our kites and boats in summer. She was mother to the whole neighborhood of children. In the winter our home was the gathering place of all the boys and girls it would hold. We put on plays and programs, under her direction. We look back and marvel at her willingness to fuss with such trivial things.

Tired as she must have been with the cares of the household - taking boarders and working on anything she could get to do in the house to make a little money - yet she took the time to fit up a stage, make costumes, and give us at least once a week, an entertainment that would keep us and neighboring children off the streets.

We never knew what it was to go to the Opera House. I can't remember that my mother ever attended a real show until we were all grown. After we were old enough, she helped us to help ourselves to secure the right kind of amusements.

While she had only a common school Education herself, she was a great reader and very intelligent, and she always tried to impress it upon us that our Father was a learned man, and, to follow his footsteps we must grasp every opportunity to get on with our studies.

She was a great nature lover. Her feeding places for birds were carried on long before it became a "fad" to encourage the feathered tribe. With her, tho, any bird deserved care and the despised sparrow and treasured robin were fed indiscriminately. Her flower garden was admired by all who chanced our way, and she had every variety of old fashioned plants and flowers we ever heard of. It was her idea that started the business of selling buttonhole bouquets, and every week day after school or Saturdays "little Eva" carried her basket, and sold tiny bunches of flowers. In the winter Mother popped corn which took the place of the flowers, and the family purse was helped out considerably.

In the summer picnics were the order after school and every Saturday. She taught us the wild flowers, and the rocks. Her collection of geological specimens and Indian relics is the best private collection in town. We went down the track along the river bank, or climbed the hill back of our house. Her plan seemed always to be to get us away from town, and teach us nature while enjoying an outing.

We had all the diseases belonging to childhood. Charlie had a bad accident, cutting the knee cap with a sharp hatchet. Her care of him was unceasing, and when he was able to be about after months of suffering, and the doctors said his knee would be doubled up and he'd never walk, she never gave up, but rubbed and exercised it constantly. Many would have became discouraged, but not she. After years he was able to run with other boys, and the doctors wondered at her success.

Her son Edwin, lost his wife, who left two small children, and tho she was over 70 years old, she took them in, and reared the, in the same motherly painstaking, self-sacrificing way. In 1910 she and Ed. and his children went to Colorado, and homesteaded claims, and except for those few months spent there, she has made her home continuously in that one house. It is not given to many children to pass over half a century in one house in company with such a wonderful mother.

Her health was always good. Her outdoor life had much to do with it, and her unfailing interest in the young people about her helped to invigorate her and keep her young. She enjoyed life up to the last week of her existence, reading the papers, and talking over the news of the day.

She did not suffer much during the ten days of her last illness, but passed peacefully away. Her often expressed belief, "I cannot drift far from His love and care," is a blessed assurance that she is now receiving from her Heavenly Father the love and care she so unselfishly showed her children and friends.

The neighbors and friends were very kind and thoughtful and helped in every way to lighten our troubles and sorrow. The floral offerings were so beautiful and profuse we wished our Mother might have seen them.
-E.R.J.

~North Iowa Times, Thursday, February 8, 1923 (included the photo)

Clayton Obituaries maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
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