Mills, Jesse and Hattie

ELLIS, MILLS, HAWLEY, COCHRAN, MORGAN, HOYT, HILLARY, GEITER, MORRISON

Posted By: Janice Young (email)
Date: 10/15/2003 at 23:30:44

Jesse and Hattie Mills

Jesse Jonah Wilson Mills was born near Mingo on June 8, 1876, the son of Noah and Susan Marquis Mills. Noah was killed by lightning three months later.

Jesse was sent to live with the Charles Hillary family. Mr. Hillary was a preacher at the Church of the Brethern at Peoria. When the Hillary family was transferred to a chuch in Kansas, Jesse went, too. But he ran away when he was about sixteen and came back to Mingo by train.

Jesse was married to Harriett (Hattie) Ellis, the daughter of John Calvin and Mary Showalter Ellis.

In 1908, Jesse and Hattie lost a baby girl. she lived to be three days old.

On October 3, 1909, another daughter, Mildred Belle was born. She married George Hawley. Their children are : Roger Hoyt, Donna Joan, and Richard George. After her husband's death Milfred married Elmer Geiter. she lives in Grundy Center, Iowa.

Orville Wilson was born on August 16, 1914, and married Josie Marie Bownes. They have one daughter named Dorothy Marie. Orville is retired and they live in Grundy Center.

Lawrence Omen Mills was born near Kellogg on October 9, 1919. He married Louise Morgan in 1945. They lived at Laurel when their children were born, but later mover to the Ira area. Their children are Susan Katheryn Cochran, twins Gale Leonard and Dale Orval , and Charlotte Irene Page. Lawrence and Louise live at Baxter.

Arthur Calvin was born on May 16, 1923. He married Carrie Jane Rhoads and was the father of two children: Edward Arthur, and Sandra Kay Morrison. Art died in January of 1974 at the age of fifty. He had lived at Grundy Center.

Jesse and Hattie lived in the Ashton area for years and worked as hired help. When they moved to Rushville, they bought a farm, but those were depression years. When the house caught fire, it was the last straw. They lost the farm and moved to Baxter, where they once more hired out.

Hattie had had arthritis for years and walked with a stoop. When her dressed were hemmed evenly, the excess material from the fronts of the skirts made a lovely quilt. Hattie died December 16, 1949, at Baxter.

In later years, Jesse stayed in the homes of his children. My most vivid memory of my grandfather is of his baby-sitting talents. It must have been summer, because we had watermelon. Grandpa taught all four of us how to spit watermelon seeds and how to snap them from between our fingers. By the time our parents got home, seeds were everywhere - this whole experiment had taken place in the kitchen - and my mother was certainly not impressed. It's my favorite memory, though.

Jesse died at Baxter on Feb 10, 1960, at the age of eighty-three and is buried at Ashton.

by Susan Mills Cockran.

The Mingo Iowa Community Centennial 1884-1894 Book by the History Book Committee