Frank Randolph Mather

MATHER HALL

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 9/21/2010 at 19:56:41

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984

Frank Randolph Mather
By Alliene Baker Lindgren

Frank Randolph Mather, September 25, 1868-February 27, 1948, was the third son of John W and Druscinda Mather. He was born in Liberty Township, Woodbury County, Iowa, on the farm his parents owned there. He received his education in the Weedland School and the Sergeant Bluff High School. He married Rachel Hall in 1891 and they were the parents of seven children: Matilda ‘Tillie’, Hazel, Aurelia, Esther, George, Alliene and Allen. Alliene and Allen died infancy. Frank farmed in Weedland until a couple years before his death in 1948. He served many years as school director both for the Weedland School and Sergeant Bluff Consolidated School. His wife died in 1932.

Matilda ‘Tillie’ Mather, November 3, 1802-August 1, 1944, graduated from Sergeant Bluff Consolidated School and attended Morningside College for a while. She taught at Lawton for three years. She married Lyman Shafenberg and they had three children: Dale, Keith, and Margaret. Lyman and Tillie lived in the Sergeant Bluff area and farmed here until Dale and Keith were graduated from high school. Then they moved to Monmouth, Illinois, where they operated a bowling alley. Tillie died in 1944 and Lyman in 1972. Dale was married twice. He was an ace in World War II and taught flying for the Army afterwards. He has one daughter, Margaret Ruth. Keith also was a flyer in World War II but he did his combat stint in the Marines (Pacific area). Keith made the military his career and taught on a base in Alabama. He is retired now. Keith has two children, Keith and Linda. Margaret graduated from Monmouth High School, Monmouth, Illinois. She married Robert Lynch and they raised their family of six in St Paul, Minnesota. They are the parents of Joan, Dennis, Michael, Keith, Robert, and John.

Hazel Loretta Mather, September 30, 1894- , was born and raised in Weedland. She graduated from the Sergeant Bluff High School and Teachers’ College at Cedar Falls. She returned to Sergeant Bluff to teach at the Liberty Township ‘Dane’ School. She was the last teacher there before consolidation sent these pupils into Sergeant Bluff to school. She married Ward E Baker in 1914 and lived on a farm near Sergeant Bluff. She was an instigator in the founding of the Sergeant Bluff Women’s Club and is the last charter member still living in 1983. Ward and Hazel raised three daughters: Alliene, Phyllis, and Harriet. All are graduates of Sergeant Bluff High School and have college degrees. Alliene graduated from the University of Iowa and taught school in Iowa towns of St Marys, Mallard, Sergeant Bluff, Sloan, and Hinton. She is the author of two books, That Old Gang of Mine and History of Pioneer Valley, a story of the first century of living at Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. Alliene married Conrad Lindgren and they are the parents of three children: Janis Alliene (Mrs Boyd Harman) a real estate agent in a Glenview, Illinois; William Ward (Ruth Geerdes) owns a chemical outlet in Algona, Iowa, and several farms in that area. He has two daughters, Angela Jean and Jill Nichole; Jerald Wayne lives at home. Alliene and Conrad live on one of the Baker farms in Liberty Township. They are retired farmers. Phyllis (Mrs Fred Nance) attended the University of Iowa and then graduated from Morningside College. She taught in the schools at Sloan, Charter Oak, and Bayard, Iowa. She and Fred are now retired and live part of each year in Bayard and the rest in Auburndale, Florida. They have two daughters, Marcia and Peggy, both employed in Denver, Colorado. Harriet, the third daughter of Ward and Hazel, attended the University of South Dakota and then returned to graduate from Morningside College. She too taught school in Holstein and Sergeant Bluff. She married George Wood and they farmed another of the Baker farms south of town. Harriet and George had two children, Ward Douglas and Linda Loretta. Doug married Lynn Trujillo and has adopted her two daughters, Misty and Stormy. Doug farms with his father. Linda lives in Des Moines where she is a nurse. Harriet died of a stroke on June 1, 1962.

Aurelia Mather, November 23, 1895 - , graduated from Sergeant Bluff High School, from NBT in Sioux City, and later from nurses’ training in Los Angeles, California. She married Charley Paige and they had two sons, Patrick and Michael, both still living in the Los Angeles area. She separated from her husband and raised the boys by herself. They both have college educations and both served in World War II with distinction, in the Marine Corps and Navy respectively. Both sons have married and raised families in California. Aurelia nursed in Army and Veterans hospitals for most of fifty years. She is now retired and living in Glendale, California.

The George Mather family is covered separately in this volume.

Esther Mather, May 23, 1900-April 26, 1975, graduated from Sergeant Bluff High School and from a beautician’s school. She operated a beauty shop for several years. She married Frank Jones and moved to Alhambra, California. They had one daughter, Sharon. Frank died in 1951. Esther then took up nursing and worked in the Alhambra Hospital.