The Story of Lost Lynn: Part 2

This is the second in a series about Lynn Walker Westaby, my children's paternal great-grandmother's uncle. When their great-grandmother was still alive, she told me about her Uncle Lynn, who had a short and tragic life. Although he never married nor had children, he is worth remembering. Come along with me as I tell the story of Lost Lynn.

The Westaby family, c. 1908 with Will Leland, Izma's future husband, and unknown boy. Probably taken on their farm west of Forsyth. All photos in this post scanned by author in 2014 from the collection of Troy W. Midkiff, Vancouver, Washington.

In Part 1, we learned that little six-year-old Lynn lost his right foot and part of his lower leg due to a terrible railroad yard accident in his hometown of Forsyth, Rosebud County, Montana. It couldn't have been easy to navigate the world as a disabled person in 1911, especially in a small rural town or on the family's farm. Somehow, he and his family figured it out. We don't know if he had a prosthesis at such a young age; he was known to wear one later.¹ But for sure, he was using crutches within a few months of his amputation.²

He certainly didn't let his injury slow him down! He was a bright lad and held nothing in back, in school or in activities. By second grade, he was a top-notch speller in class.³ During Forsyth's Fourth of July celebrations in 1914, when he was nine, he won first place in the greased pole contest,⁴ which involves climbing a vertical greased pole the fastest! His upper body strength must have been pretty good due to compensating for his missing lower limb. In third grade, he was lauded for having perfect attendance and never being tardy during the month of February.⁵

By the time he was 15, he could play either the catcher or the pitcher position on his school's sixth grade baseball team (the Panthers) and was scheduled to play a series of seven games against the seventh grade team (the Giants) for the grand prize of five gallons of ice cream. While the Giants ultimately won, a local reporter stated that the game was well played: "...although the Panthers received a bad defeat they put up a good exhibition of the national past-time and took their defeat like veterans of a couple of world series. Both teams pounded the horsehide hard and often, but the superior playing of the Gaints [sic] was too much for the Panthers."^{6, 7}

It's not clear why he was 15 years old in sixth grade, but schooling in those days was different than today. When students were required to help in the family business or on the farm--and his family had both--they could miss months of school and have to pick up where they left off when they returned. Speaking of the farm, Lynn raised pigeons and was declared a winner for his pair of giant runts in the 1920 Eastern Montana Fair held in Glendive, in neighboring Dawson County.⁸ The following year, he won second prize for the best booklet on an agricultural topic. The choices were poultry, cattle, horses, hogs, wheat, corn, dairying, or potatoes.⁹ While the newspaper article doesn't give more details, it would not have been surprising if the topic was dairying, as Lynn's father Rice had started his Jersey Island Dairy in 1905 on their farm on Westaby Island on the Yellowstone River, about a mile west of town.¹⁰

The Westaby siblings pose c. 1910.
Back row, left to right: Izma, Lynn, George
Front row: Reuben, Guy, Charles

But all was not fair fun and ball games in the Westaby family: by the time of the 1921 fair, Rice had married his second wife, Nora Alice Myers.¹¹ We don't yet know when he and Rebecca divorced, but as early as 1914, she had been living separately from him in a home in Forsyth that may have been owned by her family, working in her son Guy's steam laundry.¹² She was listed as the head of the household in the 1920 census in her Forsyth home, with Lynn living with her.¹³ Rice was enumerated on the farm with their son Reuben.¹⁴ By then the older children were adults and no longer living at home. George and Izma had each married; George and his wife Rena Lerfald lived in Forsyth with their four-year-old daughter Helen (my children's great-grandmother) and George's brother Guy.¹⁵ Izma and her husband Will Leland were living in Glendive with their toddler, Velma, and Will's brother Joe.¹⁶ Charles had moved south to Sheridan, Wyoming to work for the railroad.¹⁷

Will Leland holds Helen Westaby while Lynn stands nearby, c. 1917.

Lynn was now a young man. Like his older brothers and sister, he would soon be off on his own.

Sources:

1. Westaby Family Notes, MS (No place: no date); privately held by Helen Mary (Westaby) Midkiff Tucker, Sunnyside, Washington, c. 1980s. A handwritten copy was made by her grandson, Michael J. Midkiff [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Spokane, Washington, c. 1980s. Whereabouts of the original manuscript is unknown after 8 November 1997, the date of Helen Tucker’s death.

2. “Is Improving Rapidly,” Forsyth Times-Journal, (Forsyth, Montana) 4 May 1911, p. 1, col. 7, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 February 2025).

3. "Spelling Report: Marcyes School," Forsyth Times-Journal, 5 February 1914, p. 3, col. 5-7, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

4. "Forsyth Has Big Celebration," Forsyth Times-Journal, 9 July 1914, p. 4, col. 3, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025.)

5. "Have a Good Record," Forsyth Times-Journal, 11 March 1915, p. 3, col. 6, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

6. "Hammond School Plays 1st Ball Game of Season," Forsyth Times-Journal, 1 April 1920, p. 1, col. 3, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

7. "Giants Take First of Series of Five," Forsyth Democrat (Forsyth, Montana), 22 April 1920, p. 10, col. 2, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

8. "Success Crowns Eastern Montana Fair in All Departments," Yellowstone Monitor, (Glendive, Montana), 23 September 1920, p. 1, col. 23 and p. 4, col. 3, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

9. "List of Winners at Fair Given Below," Yellowstone Monitor, 20 October 1921, p. 2, col. 4, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

10. "Local and Otherwise," The Forsyth Times, (Forsyth, Montana), 16 March 1905, p. 8, col. 2, Newspapers.com (accessed 16 March 2025).

11. Custer County (Montana) Clerk of the District Court, marriage license and certificate no. 3902 (1921), Rice Westaby and Nora Alice Myers; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 1 March 2012), "Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950."

12. Miles City, Glendive, Forsyth and Ekalaka City Directory and Custer, Dawson, Rosebud and Fallon Counties Directory 1914 (R. L. Polk Co. of Montana, 1914), entry for Mrs Rebecca C Westaby, p. 397; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/ : accessed 25 June 2025), image 213 of 284, "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995."

13. 1920 U.S. Census, Rosebud County, Montana, population schedule, Forsyth City, p. 19B, dwelling 386, family 459, Rebecca A [sic] Westaby household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 27 May 2025), image 37 of 38; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 975.

14. 1920 U.S. Census, Rosebud County, Montana, population schedule, School District No. 4, p. 2B, dwelling 42, family 42, George R. Westaby household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 27 May 2025), image 4 of 9; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 975

15. 1920 U.S. Census, Rosebud County, Montana, population schedule, Forsyth City, p. 11A, dwelling 206, family 251, George R. Westerby [sic] household; Ancestry.com;(https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 9 June 2025), image 21 of 38; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 975.

16. 1920 U.S. Census, Dawson County, Montana, population schedule, Glendive City, p. 5A, dwelling 85, family 101, William Leland household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 4 July 2025), image 9 of 42; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 968.

17. 1920 U.S. Census, Sheridan County, Wyoming, population schedule, Sheridan City, p. 26B [corrected], dwelling 187, family 266, lodger in the James Dawson household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 4 July 2025), image 49 of 51; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 2029.

Notable July Fourth Events in Our Family History

Free photo image by Kaboompics.com
Found at Pexels.com

Today is Independence Day in the United States, the 249th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by our founding fathers. On this day, Americans celebrate the birthday of our nation.

I thought it would be interesting to look through my RootsMagic family tree databases and see what significant events happened on July 4th in our family's history. I ran queries in my own database, my children's paternal lines database, and my grandchildren's paternal lines database.

There were many July 4th births, marriages, and deaths of individuals, mostly distant relatives. There were no July 4th burials, which makes sense. A burial is a sad occasion and Independence Day is for celebrations.

I won't list every July 4th birth, marriage, or death below, but I will list ones for direct ancestors or those which may have had an effect on a direct ancestor.

Births

Oddly enough, only one of the three July 4th ancestor births was on American soil.

My paternal great-great-grandfather, James W. Barber, was supposedly born on this date in 1841, somewhere in England. He is a brick wall ancestor, which means I know nothing about his family of origin: parents, siblings, etc. I also don't know where in England he was born or lived. The first record in which I can positively identify him is the 1871 Canada Census, although I did find an 1862 marriage record for a couple with somewhat wrong names in the correct location (that's a blog post for another day!).

Another July 4th birth belongs to John D. Concidine, my adoptive 3rd-great-grandfather, who was born to Dennis Concidine and Honora "Nora" Gilligan in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. John's granddaughter Nellie May Concidine and her husband Alfred Henry Holst adopted my paternal grandmother, Jane Marie York, who became Jeanne Marie Holst.

Polly Emeline Dennis, my grandchildren's paternal 3rd-great-grandmother, was born on July 4th in 1840 in Tennessee. It probably was in Overton County, where her father James Thaxton Dennis was found in the censuses from 1820 through 1840, before moving on to Dent Co., Missouri. 

Polly's mother was Lucinda Catherine Hunter, which I find interesting because my grandchildren's surname is Hunter; their father's direct paternal line. But Polly and her mother Lucinda are found in their paternal grandmother's line. This means my grandchildren have Hunters on both sides of their dad's family tree. These lines don't seem to be related: on their dad's paternal side, the Hunters can be traced into early New Jersey, while Lucinda's line is found in South Carolina. But Hunter, after all, is a common occupational surname.

Marriages

My children's paternal great-great-grandparents, George Rice Westaby III and Rena Lerfald, were married on this day in 1915 in Glendive, Dawson Co., Montana. I've been spending a lot of time lately researching the Westaby family and am in the middle of a series about George's youngest brother Lynn.

In my own family, the only ancestor who had a July 4th marriage was Filippus Willems Jonker. He married his first wife, Grietje Eisses, on this date in 1812 in Kloosterburen, Groningen, the Netherlands. His second wife, Catharina Klaassens van der Laan, was my ancestor. They married 4 April 1831 after Grietje's death, and were my 4th-great-grandparents.

Deaths

No July 4th ancestral deaths were located in any of the three family trees. However, on this date my great-great-grandparents Tjamme Wiegers "James" Valk and Berber Tjeerds "Barbara" de Jong tragically lost two children, two years apart, in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan.

In 1895, their youngest daughter Chaterina died at age 5 months, 9 nine days of "summer complaint." This was an old medical term describing severe diarrhea and dehydration, usually in infants, typically caused by spoiled milk. Remember that pasteurization was not common until the 1920s and people in the 1890s relied on ice boxes or cellars to keep their food cool, but it was not reliable. What's especially sad is that Chaterina was the third and last daughter James and Barbara had named for James's mother in an attempt to carry on her name in the family.

In 1897, little Tjamme died from measles at one year old. The family had just celebrated his first birthday four days earlier. His name was recorded as Thomas on the death record; another anglicization variation. Pneumonia and encephalitis complications are the most common causes of death from measles. It would have been horrible for Tjamme's parents to watch him burn up with a fever they couldn't bring down and watch him struggle to breathe. We are so fortunate to have a measle vaccine available for our children today.

---

What July 4th significant events have you found in your family tree?

The Story of Lost Lynn: Part 1

This is the first of a series about Lynn Walker Westaby, my children's paternal great-grandmother's uncle. When their great-grandmother was still alive, she told me about her Uncle Lynn, who had a short and tragic life. Although he never married nor had children, he is worth remembering. Come along with me as I tell the story of Lost Lynn.

Lynn Walker Westaby was the youngest child of George "Rice" Westaby, II and Rebecca Catherine Snook's family of seven children, six of whom survived infancy. He was born 27 November 1904 in Montana, probably in or near Forsyth, Rosebud County.¹ He was a handsome boy with a mischievous smile, and surely he was the darling of his four older brothers--George III, Guy, Charles, and Reuben--and his older sister, Izma.^{2, 3} (His parents' first child, a little girl named Clarice Orvilla who was born 22 August 1889, died in infancy.)⁴ Keeping with the tradition of giving their children family names, Rice and Rebecca gave Lynn the middle name Walker in honor of his maternal grandmother's surname.⁵

Lynn Walker Westaby, c. 1906, Forsyth, Rosebud County, Montana
Original photo scanned in by author in 2014 from the collection of Troy W. Midkiff, Vancouver, Washington.

When Lynn was only 6 1/2 years old, a terrible accident left him injured for life. One Saturday around noon on the first day of April, he and a number of friends attempted to jump on the swiftly moving freight train at the elevator crossing and ride to the schoolhouse as it headed east. A work train had just unloaded several piles of cinders beside the tracks. Being little, Lynn could only grasp the bottom rung of the ladder attached to the freight car. As he hung there swinging, he was knocked under the train by one of the piles as they rode by. The train crushed his foot just above the ankle as it rolled over him.

He was taken to the doctor. His foot was so badly crushed there was no repairing it. The only way to save his leg and his life was to have the injured foot amputated.^6,7 This must have been a horrible experience; both the traumatizing accident and the resulting amputation. However, there was a great deal of spunk in the little boy. Only a month later the local paper reported "Lynn Westaby, the little fellow who lost a foot by falling under the cars last month, is able to be out again with the aid of crutches."⁸

And just a few days before Christmas, this intelligent child who celebrated his seventh birthday only a month earlier, would stand in front the congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church one evening and recite Clement Clarke Moore's poem, "The Night Before Christmas" as part of the Sunday School program!⁹

Sources:

1. Westaby Family Notes, MS (No place: no date); privately held by Helen Mary (Westaby) Midkiff Tucker, Sunnyside, Washington, c. 1980s. A handwritten copy was made by her grandson, Michael J. Midkiff [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Spokane, Washington, c. 1980s. Whereabouts of the original manuscript is unknown after 8 November 1997, the date of Helen Tucker’s death.

2. 1910 U.S. Census, Rosebud County, Montana, population schedule, School District No. 4 Forsyth, p. 26B, dwelling 314, family 341, R. Westaby household; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 February 2025), image 47 of 56; citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 835.

3. Westaby Family Notes.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. “Child Loses Foot Jumping on Trains,” The Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana), 2 April 1911, p. 3 col. 6; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 February 2025). Note this article incorrectly states Lynn’s age as seven years old.

7. “Westaby Boy Hurt,” Forsyth Times-Journal, (Forsyth, Montana), 6 April 1911, p. 8, col. 3; Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

8. “Is Improving Rapidly,” Forsyth Times-Journal, 4 May 1911, p. 1, col. 7, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

9. “Program of Exercises: Methodist Episcopal Sunday School Will Have Entertainment Dec. 23,” Forsyth Times-Journal, 21 December 1911, p. 6, col. 4, Newspapers.com (accessed 18 February 2025).

Read Part 2

Steve Goes to Reform School

Back in October, I wrote about how my children's paternal ancestor reportedly blew up the local schoolhouse and that his younger sons took the fall so that their father could stay home and continue to support his large family. The newspaper articles I shared then showed there was some truth to the story, although it seems to have played out somewhat differently than the family story stated.

I discovered three more newspaper articles in the Bonners Ferry Herald at Newspapers.com as a follow up to where I left off. The first was a short mention in the Local News section about the hearing for the younger son, Stephen.

Untitled news item, Bonners Ferry Herald (Bonners Ferry, Idaho), 22 September 1916, p. 4, col. 4; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : 30 October 2024).

The continued hearing in the case of the state against Stephen Martin, charged with being a juvenile delinquent, was heard by Probate Judge O'Callaghan last Monday. Judge O'Callaghan took the case under advisement and will render a decision Monday.

The following week a Herald journalist wrote these paragraphs which appear to be not just reporting  Stephen's sentencing, but an op-ed piece about the County Auditor:

"County Business Plus Politics," Bonners Ferry Herald (Bonners Ferry, Idaho), 29 September 1916, p. 10, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : 12 November 2024).  

County Business Plus Politics

Stephen Martin, who on Monday in Judge O'Callaghan's court was held to be a juvenile delinquent and who was ordered committed to the Idaho State Industrial cshool [sic] at St. Anthony, left last evening for the state school in the custody of County Auditor Stanley.

Just at this time this comes as an interesting bit of news owing to the fact that recently the county auditor alleged the duties of his office required two deputies (at a total salary of $150 monthly) and that he could not get along with less help. Nevertheless the county auditor finds time to assume the role of state land appraiser upon occasions and to act as a guard when an opportunity presents itself to visit other towns of the state, presumably at the expense of the county, all of which needs but little explanation when it is remembered that Mr. Stanley is the democratic nominee for congressman. The trip to St. Anthony should give Auditor Stanley a good chance to look after his political fences.

The final article I found was a notice published also on 22 September 1916 by the Martins' neighbor, John V. Witt, who you may recall reported in the article "Ike Martin Freed By Jury" that "Sunday evening someone fired a bullet from a high-power rifle through the front door of his house, the bullet passing a little over the head of his sleeping baby. On Monday Mrs. Witt was badly frightened when the clothes she was hanging up to dry were peppered with shot from a shotgun." The insinuation was that it was the Martins doing the shooting.

"Notice to Hunters in Katka District," Bonners Ferry Herald (Bonners Ferry, Idaho), 22 September 1916, p. 6, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : 30 October 2024).

Notice to Hunters in Katka District

On and after this date there shall be no hunting upon the ground enclosed by my fence as I have taken notice that some people haven't sufficient brains to use a gun with safety to the general public.  I have to take these precautions to protect the lives of my wife and baby. Any person or persons found hunting on my premises will be prosecuted.

 September 15, 1916

(Signed) JOHN V. WITT.  tf 

 

I had not heard of the Idaho State Industrial School, so I did a Google search. Sometimes called the Idaho State Reform School, it was located in St. Anthony, Fremont County, Idaho. Founded in 1903, it housed wayward youth in conditions so bad that reportedly, some inmates chose to take their own lives. A Wikipedia article discusses the Women's Dormitory which is now on the National Register of Historic Places. A PDF document published by the Idaho Historical Society details the nomination of the dormitory to the National Register. The Men's Dormitory likely looked similar.

I wondered if Stephen was still an inmate when the 1920 Federal Census was taken four years later, but reviewing the census records for the school, line by line, did not yield his name. In fact, I could not find him at all on this census, any where in the United States, even in his parents' home. By 1920, the Martin family had moved to Kahlotus, Franklin County, Washington, over 200 miles southwest of their former home in Katka, Idaho.¹ They had sold their home in 1919² and moved to Washington; whether it was because of the neighborhood tensions or because Frank's job as a "railroad boss", or perhaps both. It's likely that Stephen had served his time and had moved on. 

P.S. Check out the link in the second source below to see a 1910 photo postcard of the Martin's home in Katka and a short article from the Bonner County Historical Society & Museum. Steve is likely the smallest boy on the left wearing overalls.

Sources:

1. 1920 U.S. census, Franklin County, Washington, population schedule, Kahlotus Precinct, p. 1B, dwelling 21, family 21, Frank J. Martin household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 March 2014), image 2 of 9.

2. ---, "From the Archives," Bonners Ferry (Idaho) Herald, 16 September 1921; digital image, BonnersFerryHerald.com (https://bonnersferryherald.com/news/2021/sep/16/archives-sept-16-2021: accessed 4 February 2025).