Mary Jane (Garnder) Williamson (1859-1948)

WILLIAMSON, GARDNER, VOSBURG, DAY, ELLSWORTH

Posted By: jane austin (email)
Date: 9/13/2021 at 17:55:21

Thursday afternoon last week Mrs. Alexander Williamson, 90 year old early resident of Paullina, was buried here. Mrs. Williamson died at Pennington, N. J., the home of a son.

Mrs. Williamson came to this country with her husband in 1882. He was the builder of the Paullina Mill and later the elevator that finally became the Paullina Grain Co.

Mrs. Williamson was buried in Prairie View cemetery following a graveside service conducted by Rev. L. R. Middents.

Mary Jane Gardiner was born on September 24, 1859 in Killy Keeran, county Fermanagh, Ireland. In 1876 she came with her father to join her brothers in Warren, Illinois.

She married Alexander Williamson, a stock farmer and cheese factory manager near Marengo, Illinois in 1881. They first came to Iowa by rail to Cherokee in 1882 to visit her brothers. Mr. Williamson started off across country to find her brothers in O'Brien county, east of what became Paullina. In 1891 Mr. Williamson, formed a partnership with her brother, John Gardiner, a miller by trade. Mr. Williamson erected the Paullina Mills in the spring of that year, his family moving to Paullina that fall. Mr. Gardiner withdrew about 1895 and engaged in farming and banking in Primghar. Mr. Williamson built the elevator about 1900 and gradually dropped the flour business as wheat became poorer in the area.

Burton, Blanche and Paul preceded their mother in death. Mr. Williamson died in 1912 and thereafter Mrs. Williamson lived with her scattered children from Minneapolis to the Rio Grande Valley and New Jersey to California.

Five children, six grandchildren and a great grandchild survive her. Mrs. Ruth Vosburg, A Day, and A. Ellsworth live in Los Angeles vicinity. Robert is in Sioux City and Ralph in New Jersey.

Mrs. Williamson died on March 12 in her ninetieth year at Pennington, New Jersey.

Paullina (Iowa) Times, 24 Mar, 1949, p6

Mary Jane Gardner Williamson on FindAGrave
 

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