Descendants of Hattie May Lake and William "Henry" Poore
My gratitude to Darrla Henderson Westberg of Copperopolis, California who provided me the new information on this page concerning the descendents of Hattie May Lake. All the photos here, except the ones designated differently, were sent to me from Darrla. She is married to Rick Westberg. M.H.
Generation No. 1
1.
WILLIAM "HENRY" POORE
was born 19 Feb 1864 in
Marshal, Miami Co., Indiana, and died 25 Jan 1944 in
Greenfield,
Arizona and is buried there. He married
HATTIE
MAY LAKE
March 17, 1885 in Bassett, Chickasaw Co., Iowa. She was a daughter
of
VALENTINE
LAKE
and
SOPHIA
TAFT. She
was born 31 May 1870 in Rockton, Illinois, and died 14 Mar 1901 in Bassett.
Nebraska.
She was 30 years old. William Poore was
widower left with 6 children to care for. As was customary in that day
and age, the children were "farmed out" to relatives mostly because a
widower
with children was unable to earn a living and take care of
children
at the same time. Sometime after her mother's death, Erma was
raised by her "mother's people", the Humphreys, who lived in
North
Dakota and then Saskatchewan. I suspect her brother
"Ned" was farmed
out to the same family. (Emma Lake Humphreys
was the sister of Hattie)
At the right is a photo of Erma and Ned
as youngsters.
(This photo is courtesy of Dawn Coon Barber, the great grand
daughter of William and Hattie Poore) ►
See here a
photo of William Henry Poore and his children
in 1901 after
the death of Hattie May.
Children of WILLIAM POORE and HATTIE LAKE are:
i.
WILLIAM H. POORE,
b. 1884, died as infant.
ii. FLORENCE E. POORE
b. 20 Apr 1886, Logan, Iowa. She married
Mark Whitman. Nothing
further
is
known.
iii. ANDREW FRANK POORE,
b. 20 Apr 1891, Bassett, Nebraska. He married
Cora ? and had
5
children. He married a second time and had a son by that marriage.
iv. FREDERICK J. POORE,
b. 16 Apr 1893, Bassett, Nebraska. Nothing further is
known.
v. ERMA IMOGENE POORE,
b. 09 Sep 1896, Hardscratch, Harrison Co. Iowa; d. 20 Jun
1972,
Columbus, Ohio.
See below for other information.
vi. CHARLES NED POORE,
b. 30 Jul 1898, Logan, Iowa; married
AMY SIMPSON on June 1, 1918 at
Moosejaw, Sask. She was born in 1896 in Yorkshire, England. Amy Simpson
Came to Canada as a trained nurse in 1911. When WWI broke out, she
enlisted as a nurse and volunteered for overseas service, but was
stationed in the Military Hospital in Saskatoon, Sask. She was later
transferred to Moosejaw. There she resigned and was
married to Charles Ned Poor. Charles had
enlisted as a private in the Tenth Battalion at age 16 on
Aug 14, 1914. He swore he was eighteen and so was accepted. He was in
the Canadian service for three years and ten month. He was trained in
England and saw service in France for twenty-eight months. In an attack
at Vimy Ridge
he was wounded in the thigh, dislocated a shoulder and
had three ribs broken by the concussion of the shell.
vii. GLENN LEROY POORE,
b. 30 Nov 1900, Bassett, Nebraska. After his mother's
death, the Pottawattamie County Court in Council Bluffs, Iowa took
charge of baby Leroy. He was
later adopted by a J.J. Rains in Council Bluffs. He was in school
there in 1916. Nothing further is known of him.
Generation No. 2
2.
ERMA IMOGENE POORE (WILLIAM HENRY) was born 09 Sep 1896 in Hardscratch, Harrison Co. Iowa, and died 20 Jun 1972 in Columbus, Ohio. She married (1) WALTER Manuel VALLEY on 21 Aug 1912 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was born in 1879 (17 years older than Erma) in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and died 05 Jun 1914 in Ravenscrag, Saskatchewan, Canada. Erma is pregnant with their second daughter when he dies. She married (2) JOHN AUGUST WESTBERG on 16 Jun 1915 in Minneapolis, Minn. He was born 03 Oct 1875 in Rush Point, Chisago County, Minnesota, and died on 25 Mar 1959 in Cambridge, Minnesota. (See here a wedding day photo of Erma and John Westberg) She married (3) REV. CHARLES C. FALKENSTINE on 08 May 1945 in Columbus, Ohio. He was born on Nov. 5, 1884 in Terra Alta, West Virginia. Rev. Falkenstine had four children when he married Erma. Randolph, Wanda, Rhea Lou, and Jo Ann.
Notes for ERMA IMOGENE POORE and John Westberg:
In 1918 John and Erma move to Ravenscrag, Saskatchewan, Canada. Their land is located near the homestead of Joshua and Emma Humphreys. When Glen is born, Erma is 21 years old and the mother of 4 children. She takes her two daughters, fathered by Walter Valley, with her and leaves the boys, Woodrow and Glen, with John. She does not divorce him until July 27, 1921. Later, John moves to Summit, South Dakota, where he operated a restaurant. In 1959, he returned to Cambridge, Minnesota where he lived the rest of his life. John is remembered by his relatives as a pretty mellow man. He did have a temper but would never swear when he was angry. His strongest cursing phrase was, “Good Gravy”. His favorite grandchild was Elaine, as she resembled his ex-wife Erma. He loved Erma until he died. (This information is supplied by Elaine Westberg.)
At the right is a young John August Westberg ►
This from Darrla Westberg:
From my understanding of Grandpa John (without ever meeting him) is that
he was a very patient man, a man of deep faith. He took care of his
brothers and sisters after his parents death. He took the boys (Woodie &
Glen) after Erma left and moved in with his sister and her husband (Mr. &
Mrs. J.P. Froke) in Summit, SD. Auntie Froke never had her own children so
cared for Woodie & Glen while John worked. The Froke's were a somewhat
wealthy family. Auntie made sure the boys "walked the line" so to speak. His
grandson, Rick, (Darrla's Husband) shared a bed with his grandfather John
and remembers him reading his Bible every day and praying every day.
The following narrative was written by Darrla's husband, Rick Westberg, the grandson of John and Erma Westberg.
My Dad, “Woodie”, never did talk about his mom,
Erma, much. He did say that when Erma left her husband, John Westberg,
she took her two girls Imogene and Evelyn, that were fathered by her
first husband, Walter Valley, and left the two boys fathered by John,
unattended in the house. We figure my father was about 4 years old at
that time and that he put his little brother, Glen in a wagon and pulled
him to the neighbors. When I was told this story as a youngster and as
I became familiar with the Rush Point homestead in Minnesota, I could
visualize him and Glen walking down the road. It wasn't until I was an
adult that I found out they lived in Ravenscrag, Saskatchewan when that
event took place.
Dad said the reason they went to Saskatchewan was that they could still
claim the 80 acre homestead Erma inherited from her deceased first
husband and they could claim another 80-acre homestead as well, giving
them a 160-acre farm. I do remember a comment from my mother, Mable,
about the homestead in Rush Point. She said that the machinery used to
till the soil on that farm would be worn out before it could be paid for
because of the very rocky soil in the area. Another family joke was that
when “Lars” (my great-grandfather) had finished his indentured
servitude, he told the man he worked for he would like to homestead
around Rush Point, an area that looked like Sweden.
Apparently, they logged in the Rush Point area during the winter. His
former boss tried to talk “Lars” into homesteading near the waterfalls
on the Mississippi River. This is the punch line: the waterfalls area
would be near downtown Minneapolis and we would be wealthy real estate
heirs today! But, he was Swedish, with a love for the forest. This is
a family curse because I chose a parcel of land in the trees with lots
of rock only 20 miles away from one of the richest agricultural valleys
in the world, the San Joaquin Valley!
In
about 1957 when the “Woodie” Westberg family lived in the town of
Summit, SD, the town was offered a free fire engine but could only
obtain it if they traveled to Ohio to pick it up. Being a small town,
the town fathers knew that Dad's mother lived back in Ohio, so they paid
for Dad to fly out and drive the fire engine back as well as see his
mother. This plane trip to Ohio was both and adventure and an ordeal
for my Dad as he had never flown before.. He was quite impressed with
the tunnels under large trees on Ohio highways made by big trucks
shearing off the leaves and branches. (Large trees in South Dakota were
scarce at that time except near rivers, streams and in towns.) Also,
driving the fire truck back was exhausting as it was an open cab truck,
no wind/sun/rain protection.
Erma drove out to
visit us in Summit with one her girls in 1957 or 1958. I think that
this visit to South Dakota from Erma was because of Dad's trip to Ohio
when he was reunited with his mother. I was about 7 or 8 years old. I
remember the house in Summit. We only lived there about 3 years, so I
am sure about this time period. This was the only time that I met my
Grandmother. I do remember Grandpa John being there. He and I roomed
together at that time also. Here are photos Dad with his daughter,
Janice and her first born Bobby with Erma. (See
photos of this reunion)
My mom's (Mable) dad died when she was about 4
years old and Grandpa John became her father figure. Mom was married at
18 years and Grandpa John, Glen, & Dad (Woodie) lived together on the
homestead at Rush Point during the Depression doing subsistence
farming. Mom's relationship with Grandpa John was very strong and one
of admiration. Grandpa John took this young bride under his wing, taught
her how to cook on a wood stove, and would eat with pleasure anything
she made, (burnt or raw). This probably jades her comments about Erma.
As I grow older, I have more understanding and appreciation for my
Grandma (Erma). I also wonder if her prayers for her family have been
answered in my relationship with Jesus.
My Dad was always interested in listening to Oral
Roberts and then my mom would have negative comments about evangelists.
I am sure this had something to do with Erma's conversion and strong
faith. My mom and my sisters have made comments about Erma being a
missionary in Egypt as well as possibly writing a book. However, we have
no proof of it.
Interestingly enough, Summit, South Dakota is the town where Erma's cousin, Frank William Humphreys' wife Vesta Viola Whitefoot is born with the rest of her sisters. It seems that this family is inexorably tied with the family of Josh and Emma Humphreys. Emma is the sister of Erma's mother, Hattie May Lake. Erma's first husband husband (Walter Valley) dies in Ravenscrag, Saskatchewan where the Humphreys lived in those years. Ravenscrag, Saskatchewan is a town so small and remote that this cannot be just a coincidence. I suspect that Erma and possibly her brothers and sisters have been "farmed out" to this family after the early death of Hattie May who dies when Erma is only 4 years old. M.H.
Go to this page to see the children of Erma Poore,
her two husbands and their many descendants.
If you find any mistakes on any of these pages or if you have further information to add,
please contact me (Marla Miller Hembree) at: