BARTLETT, Hannah Jane (Vye) 1860-1961

BARTLETT, VYE, CONNOLLY, OULMAN

Posted By: Diane M Scott (email)
Date: 5/4/2012 at 10:28:44

Hannah Jane (Vye) Bartlett – October 9, 1860 – March 9, 1961

HIGHLIGHTS OF CENTURY TOLD BY MRS. BARTLETT

Riceville – Mrs. Hannah Bartlett, who maks her home with her son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Nate Oulman near Riceville, observed her 100th birthday Sunday. The celebration was a quiet one since big celebrations would upset her usual quiet way of life.

A span of a century of living has seen such activities as Indians invading her family home, doing seamstress work, and riaising her family.

Hannah Vye was born to William and Margaret Vye 10 miles north of Anoka, Minnesota at Oak Grove, a small town of about 200 people. Her father, William Vye, homesteaded the land near that town. When she was six, her family moved to Fair Haven, Minnesota, where she was married to Merritt C. Bartlett July 11, 1885. They lived on a farm just across the river from her parents all their married life.

The Bartletts had three children, Hazen, who lives at Los Gatos, California; Mrs. N. R. Oulman (Grace), Riceville; and Loye, who died in 1931. Mr. Bartlett died in 1930. She continued to live on her home farm until eight years ago when she came to Iowa to live with her daughter.

Mrs. Bartlett recalls many interesting memories of her early childhood. She said her father built the first flour mill in the Fair Haven area. The mill is still in operation, though not owned by the family. A few years after it was built a flood raged in and it was destroyed, but later rebuilt.

Among the most vivid recollections of her early life is the time the Indians came to the Vye home asking for food. Her mother was alone with the children at the time. She gave them all the food in the house. They sat down and ate at their table. When the last morsel was gone they left the house and fled through the cornfield to a neighboring farm.

Before her eyesight failed, Mrs. Bartlett made many crocheted and braided rugs, and she still has a part of a rug she made for her home shortly after her marriage. Mrs. Bartlett was only a small girl when the weekly paper they got told of the death of President Abraham Lincoln, but it made a deep impression on her.

Mrs. Bartlett has a wealth of enjoyment from her nine great grandchildren. Six children of her grandson, Ronald Oulman, live just a short distance from her. The youngest great-grandchild was a son born to her granddaughter, Mrs. Charles (LaVonne Oulman) Brodt, Concord, California, October 3rd on her parents wedding anniversary.

Her son, Hazen, who is physically handicapped following a stroke, has three children, Manfor, Milbank, South Dakota; Mrs. Beverly Bartlett Snyder, Los Gatos; and Merritt Jr., Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Mrs. Bartlett broke her hip more than a year ago. Since that time she has had to give up helping her daughter with dishes and other such activities. Now she is content to sit in her rocking chair before a window and enjoy her memories.

Mason City Globe Gazette, October 11, 1960

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Hannah Jane Vye was born October 9, 1860 in Minnesota, the daughter of William Vye and Margaret (Connolly) Vye. She married Merritt Clarence Bartlett. He was born January 29, 1860 and died March 5, 1930.

Hannah died March 9, 1961 in Riceville, Iowa and was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery, Annandale, Wright County, Minnesota. Her husband and sons William Hazen Bartlett and Loye Burfield Bartlett are also buried in this cemetery.