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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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.
