Bowen, Mary E. Rees Bound

BOWEN, REES, BOUND

Posted By: Ardythe Rees Stoesz (email)
Date: 8/2/2007 at 10:00:12

~Note: This is handwritten from Mary herself. Mary E. was an English Teacher and early pioneer of Plymouth County. She taught in Collerie Mines of Wales before coming to the United States. No knowledge of the ship or the date but we believe it to be the fall of 1881. She was the oldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Rees. She married three months after coming to Le Mars, Iowa to Thomas Bound Bowen. After the death of her husband she lived with her daughter, Gladys and family until she went to the Tacoma Rest Home. Mary and Tom lived in the Plymouth County area for 20 years.

Autobiography of Mary E Rees Bound Bowen--

This is the biography of an old lady whom we'll call "Mary." She was born in the country. We'll call it Wales. A charming place with little hills and springs. Larks, robins, cuckoos etc. This little girl lived with her grandmother quite a part of the time. A dear loving sweet faced, rosey cheeks, blue eyes, white silky hair, singing snatches of old Welsh songs all day as she went about her work. A very dear cousin lived here too, and so Mary and her cousin Mary Ann had a very happy childhood together. Mary's mother was very fond of riding horseback,too, but she was too small to mount a horse, so one day she and her cousin were playing in the pasture. An old heavy sow happened along and the thought came to Mary that it would be a good time for a ride, even though it was not a horse. So she watched for her chance and climbed on the back of the old sow which ran away, upset her burden (Mary) and threw her against a fence. So that ended sow-back riding.

Mary loved to go to church. Her mother took her there before she was born. So the love was inbred. When she was a small child she united with the Episcopal Church, learned all the requirements and learned so many beautiful hymns the catechism, 10 commandments, names of the 12 apostles and learned a chapter of scripture every so often. Then before she was 12 years old sang in the Junior Chior with a robe and a little round hat with a tassle dropped down the side and she was a proud kiddie. This Episcopal church was in a little village and in that village lived an old hermit who was not very bright but perfectly harmless. Now this church was a little distance from Mary's home and part of the way led through a narrow lane with pastures on both sides. One evening Mary started to church for Bible Study. So at the end of the lane sat this old man. At she did not recognize him and began to run. But when he spoke and came towards her, she could see it was only "Robin Ridge", for that was his name and every child in the village knew his name and not one ever thought of being afraid of him.

A few years after that the family father, mother and one little brother Teddy moved to South Wales to a large mining town, and here she grew up to young womanhood and taught in the public schools. She resumed that profession until she and the other members of the family (another brother having been born in South Wales emigrated to American in 1881). Three months later Mary married to a young man whom she knew in Britain he having crossed to the states 2 years before she landed. This young man was now settled on a fine 200 acre farm in Iowa. They lived there for 20 years when they decided to move to the state of Washington where the climate was more temperate but Mary never forgot old Iowa in her paling days of 20 years even when old zero went down to 40 below and Old Sol climbed up to 107. Yet there were enough happy memories to last another lifetime.

In May of 1934 Mary decided she would like to see her own dear relatives once more before the Lord called her home as she already passed the three score and ten years which were allotted to all men, so to see this dear cousin, Mary Ann she went east through Canada, who then had lived with a daughter in Winnipeg and oh what a grand visit they had together, living over the past and bringing back old memories of 50 years, being longer than since they last met last. Now on to Iowa to visit 2 brothers and family. Two dear brothers having passed away a couple of years before mary tried to divide her time between the dear brothers, sister in law, nieces and nephews. One dear sister placed a bed on the lawn and there Mary slept under the star for a canopy as she always loved astronomy.

She studied it to her heart's content. Then she went out to a brother who had thrashing in progress. By the time Old Sol had climbed quite high and the atmosphere was rather warm. When everything seemed to go alright and them were busy threshing some said, " Did you smell that peculiar odor?"

And Mary piped up, "I smelled that all day yesterday. I think it must a skunk around here." So all decided to investigate. The girls came with picks, shovels, hoes and what not. So one a little brighter than the rest said," I believe the smell comes from under the porch So upon investigation found out it was a poor old
dead cat whom we remembered was sick several days ago, had crawled there to die. Did we all hold our noses and did the threshers laugh.

She came back to Washington declaring that her family of males and females, old and young, long and short, fat and thin were the most adorable in the handiwork of God. ~by Mary Bowen