Grandfather Strand's Farm

The 1880 census record lists my grandfather still living at the home in Dayton with his parents and also lists as a member of the household my grandmother Strand, then serving as a domestic servant. So it appears that propinquity may well have played a considerable role in their getting married. I seem to remember learning that there was a blood relationship between my grandmother and grandfather Strand. Whether this was correct or not I don’t know and I do not know if there was such a relationship whether it was as cousins or second cousins or more distant. My grandmother Strand had at least three sisters — one of these, Hulda, served as housekeeper for my grandfather after my grandmother died and I remember Hulda well.

Hulda was a fairly tall, rather ruggedly built woman, rather “old country” in her speech, actions and demeanor and I suspect not too intelligent. I believe that she had worked earlier as a domestic servant (in Denver?) but of this I am not certain. Two other sisters are buried in Lost Grove cemetery in Iowa — according to Richard Carlon who told my brother Vincent, they lie there in unmarked pauper’s graves. Richard knew of this since he was the gravedigger for the cemetery and had apparently knowledge of the people buried there.

My grandparents settled down fairly shortly after 1880 to farming life on the farm south of Gowrie that my father eventually inherited and which my brother Vincent farmed from the late 1940s into the early 1980s. On this site my grandfather eventually bought and farmed 120 acres, more or less. In addition he eventually bought an additional 100 acres about half a mile south of the homestead and close to the little town of Lena. In the family this was always called the Lena land.

When my grandfather retired from farming, the basic 120 acres was rented out to Anton Holmer, who I believe had served as a hired man for my grandfather before this. Whether this rental agreement occurred directly after my grandfather left the farm I don’t know for sure but I think it did. During the time Anton farmed my grandfather’s 120 acres (the Lena land was rented to my uncle Reuben) he purchased 40 acres that filled out the quarter section.

When Anton left the farm in the middle 1930s, my grandfather purchased Anton’s 40 acres and added it to the farm. When my father’s estate was settled after the death of my mother, I acquired about 40 acres of what had been my grandfather’s farm and we purchased an additional 40 acres. At this time we still have this land. Vincent let me have the original abstract of title and this can be referred to get the details on when my grandfather acquired the basic farm. As to the Lena land I don’t know when it was acquired.

When my grandfather rented his farm to Anton Holmer, he told Anton that he could farm it as long as he wanted to. This promise was not adhered to, because of pressure from Uncle Reuben and cousin Leonard doubtless, to let Leonard rent the land. At that time it was difficult for young farmers in particular to secure land to farm. This, to me, is the kind of family pressure brought to bear on my grandfather by Uncle Reuben, in my grandfather’s declining years, that was quite uncalled for and representative generally of Uncle Reuben’s lack of scruples.

I virtually never heard my father speak about the life his parents lived on the farm, or his relations with them during the time he was still at home. Once he mentioned that it was hard on the horses when they had been used for fieldwork all day, to be used in the evening hours to take some member of the family on a social outing (that was before the days of automobiles).