Almaranda Jane Grisell was born 18 July 1856 in Monroe County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Simeon and Rebecca J. Wilson Grisell. She lost her mother while still quite young. On 30 Oct 1879 she married Joseph Carle, a blacksmith from Belmont County. Around 1898 or 1899, a flood destroyed their smithy and they lost everything.
Consequently, on April 5, 1899, the family arrived in Kansas, where so many of Joe's siblings had already gone. Shortly after they arrived, tragedy struck. While Joe was visiting his brother Will in Burlington and Alma and the children were visiting Joe's recently widowed brother-in-law, Dave Gillaspie, in LaHarpe, Joe contracted spinal meningitis. Word was sent to Alma and she arrived just before Joe died on May 1, 1899. He was taken to Waverly for burial with his sister, Araminta, who had just died a year earlier.
Alma and the children lived a very difficult life after Joe's death, nearly starving along the way. On December 24, 1901, in Emporia, Alma married Joe's brother-in-law, Dave Gillaspie, but the union was not a happy one. He abused her and the children. Tragedy struck again when Joe and Alma's youngest son, Forest, was killed while hopping a train to come home for lunch. Alma and the older boys threw Dave out and he was never heard from again. Fate was not through with Alma, though...she experienced great loss again when her next youngest son, Will, died of pneumonia in 1940, leaving six children and a wife.
Alma was a talented quiltmaker and throughout her lifetime enjoyed making small chains of beads. In her later years she divided her time among her children's homes, where she helped out with childcare and cooking. She loved to play cards, but, due to her Quaker upbringing, refused to play on Sundays. Even on Sundays, however, she couldn't resist coaching other players.
Alma died June 22, 1944 in Emporia, having outlived two of her four children, and is buried with Forest at Maplewood/Memorial Cemetery in Emporia. According to her niece, Nellie Grisell Lee, who stayed with her in her last days, her last words were, "I can't quite reach you, Forest."
Consequently, on April 5, 1899, the family arrived in Kansas, where so many of Joe's siblings had already gone. Shortly after they arrived, tragedy struck. While Joe was visiting his brother Will in Burlington and Alma and the children were visiting Joe's recently widowed brother-in-law, Dave Gillaspie, in LaHarpe, Joe contracted spinal meningitis. Word was sent to Alma and she arrived just before Joe died on May 1, 1899. He was taken to Waverly for burial with his sister, Araminta, who had just died a year earlier.
Alma and the children lived a very difficult life after Joe's death, nearly starving along the way. On December 24, 1901, in Emporia, Alma married Joe's brother-in-law, Dave Gillaspie, but the union was not a happy one. He abused her and the children. Tragedy struck again when Joe and Alma's youngest son, Forest, was killed while hopping a train to come home for lunch. Alma and the older boys threw Dave out and he was never heard from again. Fate was not through with Alma, though...she experienced great loss again when her next youngest son, Will, died of pneumonia in 1940, leaving six children and a wife.
Alma was a talented quiltmaker and throughout her lifetime enjoyed making small chains of beads. In her later years she divided her time among her children's homes, where she helped out with childcare and cooking. She loved to play cards, but, due to her Quaker upbringing, refused to play on Sundays. Even on Sundays, however, she couldn't resist coaching other players.
Alma died June 22, 1944 in Emporia, having outlived two of her four children, and is buried with Forest at Maplewood/Memorial Cemetery in Emporia. According to her niece, Nellie Grisell Lee, who stayed with her in her last days, her last words were, "I can't quite reach you, Forest."
Almaranda Jane Grisell was born 18 July 1856 in Monroe County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Simeon and Rebecca J. Wilson Grisell. She lost her mother while still quite young. On 30 Oct 1879 she married Joseph Carle, a blacksmith from Belmont County. Around 1898 or 1899, a flood destroyed their smithy and they lost everything.
Consequently, on April 5, 1899, the family arrived in Kansas, where so many of Joe's siblings had already gone. Shortly after they arrived, tragedy struck. While Joe was visiting his brother Will in Burlington and Alma and the children were visiting Joe's recently widowed brother-in-law, Dave Gillaspie, in LaHarpe, Joe contracted spinal meningitis. Word was sent to Alma and she arrived just before Joe died on May 1, 1899. He was taken to Waverly for burial with his sister, Araminta, who had just died a year earlier.
Alma and the children lived a very difficult life after Joe's death, nearly starving along the way. On December 24, 1901, in Emporia, Alma married Joe's brother-in-law, Dave Gillaspie, but the union was not a happy one. He abused her and the children. Tragedy struck again when Joe and Alma's youngest son, Forest, was killed while hopping a train to come home for lunch. Alma and the older boys threw Dave out and he was never heard from again. Fate was not through with Alma, though...she experienced great loss again when her next youngest son, Will, died of pneumonia in 1940, leaving six children and a wife.
Alma was a talented quiltmaker and throughout her lifetime enjoyed making small chains of beads. In her later years she divided her time among her children's homes, where she helped out with childcare and cooking. She loved to play cards, but, due to her Quaker upbringing, refused to play on Sundays. Even on Sundays, however, she couldn't resist coaching other players.
Alma died June 22, 1944 in Emporia, having outlived two of her four children, and is buried with Forest at Maplewood/Memorial Cemetery in Emporia. According to her niece, Nellie Grisell Lee, who stayed with her in her last days, her last words were, "I can't quite reach you, Forest."
Consequently, on April 5, 1899, the family arrived in Kansas, where so many of Joe's siblings had already gone. Shortly after they arrived, tragedy struck. While Joe was visiting his brother Will in Burlington and Alma and the children were visiting Joe's recently widowed brother-in-law, Dave Gillaspie, in LaHarpe, Joe contracted spinal meningitis. Word was sent to Alma and she arrived just before Joe died on May 1, 1899. He was taken to Waverly for burial with his sister, Araminta, who had just died a year earlier.
Alma and the children lived a very difficult life after Joe's death, nearly starving along the way. On December 24, 1901, in Emporia, Alma married Joe's brother-in-law, Dave Gillaspie, but the union was not a happy one. He abused her and the children. Tragedy struck again when Joe and Alma's youngest son, Forest, was killed while hopping a train to come home for lunch. Alma and the older boys threw Dave out and he was never heard from again. Fate was not through with Alma, though...she experienced great loss again when her next youngest son, Will, died of pneumonia in 1940, leaving six children and a wife.
Alma was a talented quiltmaker and throughout her lifetime enjoyed making small chains of beads. In her later years she divided her time among her children's homes, where she helped out with childcare and cooking. She loved to play cards, but, due to her Quaker upbringing, refused to play on Sundays. Even on Sundays, however, she couldn't resist coaching other players.
Alma died June 22, 1944 in Emporia, having outlived two of her four children, and is buried with Forest at Maplewood/Memorial Cemetery in Emporia. According to her niece, Nellie Grisell Lee, who stayed with her in her last days, her last words were, "I can't quite reach you, Forest."
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