Elizabeth Kelly

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/2743-T7J

Lizzie Brown was born in Lebanon, Laclede County, Missouri, on January 25, 1888. When she was thirteen the family moved to Pueblo, Colorado where her father worked in the steel mill and she attended school. After her father passed away, the family moved to Springfield Missouri to be near the family of her mother. From Missouri the family moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma, where, at the age of seventeen, Lizzie worked in the post office. From Oklahoma she returned to Pueblo, Colorado, where her older sister lived, and here she worked as a waitress in a boarding house. It was during this time in Pueblo that she became acquainted with, and later married, Thomas Kelly. Lizzie along with Thomas and two young sons, came to Kiowa County in 1910, by team and wagon, from Pueblo. They homesteaded eight miles east of Eads. On this homestead they built and lived in a small one room house. They proceeded to farm the land which they broke out. In addition to being a mother, Lizzie worked along side her husband and was his farm helper. As always on the prairies, water was a necessity and when the family first arrived they hauled water from a neighbor's well several miles distant. Later, they drilled a hand-drilled well and were blessed with a quantity of good water. Throughout the years nine more children were born to Lizzie and Thomas and larger homes were needed and were built. The first one was a basement home and later a large frame house was constructed. Lizzie cooked on a coal-wood stove for her large family and also washed their clothes on a wash board during all these years. She also helped shock feed, stack feed, feed cattle, milk cows, raise chickens and planted a garden. Lizzie also sewed, and she made many of the clothes the children wore. During these years on the homestead there were droughts, insect infestations, low farm and cattle prices and the expense and worry of raising a large family of eleven children. It took true faith and grit to continue against these hardships. Even with all the hardships of life on the prairies of Eastern Colorado, the joy of a large family and the many blessings provided a very fruitful life for Lizzie, and she was truly a real pioneer.

Newspaper Obituary for Lizzie Brown Kelly:

  Services for Mrs. Lizzie Kelly, 87, of Eads, were Wednesday, June 25, at 2 PM. in the Eads United Methodist Church with the Rev. Leonard Sammons officiating.  burial followed in the Eads Cemetery.

  Mrs. Kelly died Saturday, June 21, in the Weisbrod Nursing Home following a sudden illness.

  Born Jan. 25, 1888, Lebanon, Mo., Mrs. Kelly was a housewife.

  Mr. and Mrs. Kelly moved to the Eads area in 1910, coming here from Pueblo.The couple were engaged in farming and ranching.

  Thomas Kelly died in August of 1945 while a son, James Clyde, died in 1952.

  Mrs. Kelly was a member of the Eads United Methodist Church, the Widows Club and the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary.

  Survivors include 10 children, Thomas Romayne Kelly of La Mesa, Ca., Harold S. Kelly of Norwalk, Ca., Mrs. Helen Marcum of Terra Bella, Ca., Mrs. Ruth Guthrie of Gig Harbor, Wa., Mrs. Lois Grancich of Downey, Ca., Mrs. Alice Thompson of Downey, Ca., Mrs. Lela Fister of Tempe, AZ., William L. Kelly of Fort Morgan, Co., Mrs. Mary Edith Aldrich of Eads and Mrs. Betty Jane Weber of Cheyenne Wells; and one sister, Mrs. Carrie Gibson of Whittier, Ca.  Twenty-seven grandchildren and 41 great grandchildren, as well as several nieces and nephews, also survive. 

  Music selections were "The Beautiful Garden of Prayer" and "The Old Rugged Cross" played by Mrs. Roy Sibcy on the piano and Mrs. T.T. Teal on the organ. Casket bearers were Robert Miller, Ralph Koch, Ray Weil, Richard Hockett, Clarence Weber and Merle Frazee.

  Almont Mortuary of Lamar was in charge of the arrangements.