Stephen Palmer & Emmeline Davis

In the past three weeks we have shared with you the stories of the three children Mary Alice Godwin had with her first husband, Ezra Benton. Unfortunately, consumption claimed Ezra’s life early, leaving Mary a widow with three children to provide for. As a widow, Mary met Edward Palmer, a widower with a young son to raise. First she works for Edward; eventually they marry. Mary soon loves her young stepson, Stephen, as if he was one of her own. When it came time to celebrate the marriages of the grandchildren, she made quilts for them, too.

 

The question is, considering Mary and Edward Palmer settled in Kansas, right smack-dab in the middle of the country, how did Stephen’s children end up on opposite sides of the country? Gloria lives in Virginia when she meets the love of her life, while Tad has found his way to Oregon. 

Here is the story of Stephen Palmer and Emmeline Davis Palmer written by our own exceptionally talented Kathryn Albright, one of the authors who wrote about the Palmer children.

STEPHEN PALMER’S STORY

Grandma Mary met Edward Palmer two years after her first husband passed away due to poor health. Mary is thirty-three years-old when they meet. Edward’s seven-year-old son, Stephen, falls from a horse and breaks his leg near her small sheep farm and cabin just outside of Boonville, Missouri. She takes him to her cabin to recuperate for several weeks.

General Lyon's March from Booniulle to Arkansas

In 1845, Mary marries Edward Palmer and makes a life there in Boonville with her three children and Stephen. They farm and raise cattle until they learn of a great influx of settlers heading to settle Saline County in Kansas. Worried about the rising conflicts on the Kansas-Missouri border, they decide to move further west and find land in Saline, Kansas. They move in 1859 when Stephen is twenty-four years old. 

Salina, Kansas hotel and depot, 1867

Stephen enjoys ranching but he is restless and wanting to make a name in his own right. Recognizing his son’s gift for finance and figures, Edward asks him to travel to Washington DC to negotiate better shipping arrangements for the cattle they own. While there, Stephen meets Percy Davis and his beautiful daughter Emmeline at a glittering east coast party. 

Alexandria, Virginia city and harbor

In 1860, Stephen marries Emmeline and takes a job in the family business, Davis Shipping Company, that is located on the Potomac River just south of Alexandria, Virginia. He quickly makes a name for himself up and down the east coast as a shrewd and honest businessman. 

Old Town, Alexandria

Stephen and Emmeline have two children, Theodore “Tad”, is born two years after their marriage when Stephen is twenty-six. Then seven years later, at the age of thirty-three, Gloria comes into his life. He and Tad are so much alike that they butt heads at times, but they have a healthy respect for each other. Gloria is his precious little princess.

Church near Junction City, Kansas - Not far from where the Palmers live.

Three weeks of every summer, he makes a point of taking Tad back to Saline, Kansas to visit Grandma Mary and Edward. After the first few trips, Emmeline declines accompanying them to “that hot, dusty prairie” for any subsequent trips. 

However, Tad thrives there. He loves the wide open space, the endless skies, and the chance to get dirty without a nightly bath. He loves everything about ranching and cattle and horses. While his father goes over the yearly finances, Tad shadows Butch, and old crusty cowboy and learns important things like how to spit accurately and also how to work leather.  

Gloria, when she turns five, is finally allowed to travel with her father to Kansas. She isn’t quite as enamored with ranch life, but she surely loves Grandma Mary, and loves the time she spends with her grandmother every summer after that. She learns how to embroider at her grandmother’s knee.

Stephen is forty years old, when his father, Edward, passes away. Twenty years later, in 1896, after gifting each grandchild with a beautiful wedding quilt, Grandma Mary passes away at the age of eighty-six.

Once again, here are the books about Stephen and Emmeline Palmer's children:

Gloria’s Song by Kathryn Albright:

Gloria Palmer has always done the proper thing expected of her as the daughter of a shipping tycoon. The approval of her family and friends mean everything. And yet, when the perfect suitor offers for her… she hesitates. Colin McDougal has little use for those living on the fancy side of the trolley tracks. He is too busy managing the family pub and, in his spare time, writing down the lively tunes in his head. So, when Miss Palmer asks for his help to prepare for a music audition, he is flummoxed. What does he know of highbrow music? But with each practice session, their feelings for each other grow. When it comes time for Gloria to make a choice between what is proper and what she desires, will she realize that if music can cross class lines, it might also be able to harmonize two hearts.

You may purchase Gloria’s Song by CLICKING HERE.

Tad's Treasure by Shanna Hatfield: 

He never intended to fall in love with her.

Tad Palmer makes a promise to his dying friend to watch over the man’s wife and child. Years later, he continues to keep an eye on Posey Jacobs and her precocious little boy. The only problem is that he’s not sure his heart can withstand the vow he made when he falls in love with the widow and her son.
Posey Jacobs misses her beloved husband, but her wrenching grief has given way to hope for the future as she finds herself falling deeper and deeper in love with Tad Palmer. However, the infuriating man doesn’t seem to notice her interest and treats her as he would his sister.
Throw in a goat who thinks she’s a dog, a town full of quirky characters, and this widow has her work cut out for her if she wants one handsome cowboy to give her his heart.

You may purchase Tad’s Treasure by CLICKING HERE.
 

You may purchase all of the books in the Grandma’s Wedding Quilts series by CLICKING HERE.