Alexander married Lucille Pauline Dexter [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[Hiram Dexter from Gail.FTW]

Paul Dexter was born on September 10, 1894 in Clarks, Nebraska and received his early schooling in Pleasant Hill School District 15 in Merrick County. According to a drawing tablet I have he was taking further schooling in February 1914 at what appears to be an auto mechanics school of some sort. He took a lot of math also. Around 1915 or so he went with his brothers, Kenneth, Cedric and Lloyd along with his parents to Montana where they each homesteaded a section of ground in and around Kinsey & Miles City, Montana. His father also purchased a section in the same area. Paul met his wife Leta Eaton in Montana but went on to mine coal in the Badlands to earn some extra money to get married. Coal was free for the mining at that time. Mom (Leta) told me the story of how worried she was as she hadn't heard from him in a long time. He finally showed up one day very thin and was recuperating from lead poisoning. He told her he almost died. She was so happy to see him and know he was okay. After returning to Montana he married Leta Elva Eaton on March 28, 1921.

They lived near his brother Cedric and his wife Gertrude in a place called "Poverty Bench" and tried to farm. They would have barn dances for recreation and he played the violin for these dances. His brother Cedric also played the violin. Paul and Leta started their family there where Lucille and Barbara were born. Leta raised chickens to have eggs to sell as well as chickens to eat and sell for extra money. She bought her treadle Singer sewing machine for $35.00 worth of chickens paid on the "installment plan". So many chickens a week.

Farming was very hard in Montana. Either droughts or too much rain ruined the crops and as the name of the place suggested there was a lot of poverty and very little money. Sometime between 1924 and 1927 Cedric had moved to Portland,Oregon then on to Washington State and gave up farming. He wrote to his brother Paul telling him to give up farming and move to Yakima, Washington as there was work to be had and a fair living for the family. Paul, Leta, Lucille and Barbara moved to Yakima where Paul got a job at the local Cascade sawmill where he worked for 35 years. They had three more children there but lost Barbara in a car accident in 1927 at 7 years old. Paul's father, Mark, was driving the car when another car came thru an intersection without stopping at the stop sign. Barbara was thrown out the window of the car and landed in a ditch. She died of internal injuries shortly thereafter. Lucille also received a bad head injury in the accident. Mark never fully recovered from this having happened.

During the next few years after arriving in Yakima, Paul either bought or built four homes on North 4th Street in Yakima. In 1936 the depression was still not good but Paul had saved $3,000 and felt (since I believe he was out of work at this time) it would be a good time to build his final home and help men feed their families also. Every day men would line up to get a days work so they could feed their family and help Paul build the house at 909 No. 4th Street. In order to dig the full basement, a team of horses were hired along with some equipment that could be pulled behind the horses to dig out the dirt for the basement. (Information on this given to Maxine by her oldest sister Lucille and her brother, Harold.) According to Lucille she was fascinated watching the digging of the basement. She said many families liked our mother and father very much and were friends for most of their life partly because Dad gave them work when there was no work to be had. I, Maxine, was born just after the family moved into the new house.

Paul lived a full life being active in the First Methodist Church and working at the sawmill grading lumber and became foreman. During the WWII he was a Head Air Raid Warden in our district, responsible for seeing everyone in the area knew what to do in case of an air raid. They even dropped fake bombs (boxes) near our home so everyone in the area would be alert and put up their blackout drapes!

He worked hard and was a good husband and father and provided a good living for all of us. He died of a heart attack after taking down the storm windows. He came in feeling tired after a days work, brought in some peonies for Mom from the garden and put them in a vase then having eaten dinner sat in his favorite chair to watch TV. Around 10 PM Mom had been in the kitchen working and noticed he hadn't moved for a long time. She went in to check on him and found he had not only fallen asleep but had a heart attack and died in his sleep. [Broderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 1 A-L, Ed. 6, Social Security Death Index: U.S., Date of Import: Jan 11, 1999, Internal Ref. #1.111.6.63809.87]

Individual: Dexter, Paul
Social Security #: 533-09-8368
Issued in: Washington

Birth date: Sep 16, 1894
Death date: May 25, 1970


Residence code: Washington

ZIP Code of last known residence: 98901
Primary location associated with this ZIP Code:

Yakima, Washington

Paul married Leta Elva Eaton on 28 Mar 1921 in Lewistown, Fergus County, Montana. Leta was born on 31 May 1895 in Plainsville, Daviess Co., In (Cornetsville Rd.); died on 29 Dec 1985 in Yakima, WA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From Gail Ferris' notes:
Hiram Marcus Dexter was born in Aug.7, 1854 in Wayne Co., Pennsylvania. At the age of 1 year old he moved with his parents to Morristown, Minnesota. His father died in 1864 leaving his mother to rear four children of which he was the oldest. At the age of 12 or 14 he and his brother Clarence started the life of a cowboy leaving home after their mother remarried as Hiram did not get along with his stepfather, Philip Smith. They were living in Minnesota near Morristown, having come from New York. Hiram worked his way south to Texas and worked as a cowboy for the Goodnight Ranch riding the range from Minnesota to Texas. He helped trail cattle up through Nebraska on the Old Chisholm Trail until he was twenty-six years of age.

Hiram met Katherine Amanda James when he wintered some cattle near Silver Creek, Nebraska. After marrying, they started housekeeping on a farm near Silver Creek where they lived for two years. They then moved to a farm in Clarks, Merrick County, Nebraska, where their six children were born on a place owned by him. It later was owned by Lloyd Dexter (at present, 1999, property is owned by Bill Dexter). In 1914 Hiram and Katy decided to go west. They located on a ranch near Kinsey, Montana, (near Miles City Montana) as he loved the frontier life. He felt Nebraska was getting too thickly populated. Paul, Kenneth, Cedric and Lloyd all went to Montana too. Each homesteaded a section of ground and Hiram purchased a section in the same area. Lloyd stayed 5 years, from 1915 to 1920. He then returned to Nebraska. Paul and Cedric went on to Washington State and Kenneth went to California. While in Montana, they cut cedar trees for posts to fence their ground. They mined coal in the Badlands. Coal was free for the mining at that time. This was to earn extra money. Katy died in Miles City, Montana, after a goiter operation for hyperthyrodism. She was brought to Pierce Chapel Cemetery in Clarks, Nebraska for burial.

In 1932, when Mark (Hiram aka Mark) became ill his son Claude received a message stating he was very sick and wanted to come "home" at once. Claude went to Montana and brought him back to live with them, (Claude & Pearl Dexter) where he was diagnosed as having cancer of the stomach. As there was no cure for the disease, he bore his sickness in faith believing in God to the end. Fifty-one years before the question was asked of him, "In whom do you put your trust? He replied, "In God". He united with the Episcopal church in his youth.

In 1881 he joined the Masonic order at Morristown, Minnesota. He was a continuous member for fifty-one years. He helped to organize Solar Lodge, No. 134 of Clarks, Nebraska. He was the last of the charter members of that lodge. He died September 16, 1932. He was also buried at the Pierce Chapel Cemetery on the Dexter lot.
[Hiram Dexter from Gail.FTW]

Hiram Marcus Dexter was born in Aug.7, 1854 in Wayne Co., Pennsylvania. At the age of 1 year old he moved with his parents to Morristown, Minnesota. His father died in 1864 leaving his mother to rear four children of which he was the oldest. At the age of 12 or 14 he and his brother Clarence started the life of a cowboy leaving home after their mother remarried as Hiram did not get along with his stepfather, Philip Smith. They were living in Minnesota near Morristown, having come from New York. Hiram worked his way south to Texas and worked as a cowboy for the Goodnight Ranch riding the range from Minnesota to Texas. He helped trail cattle up through Nebraska on the Old Chisholm Trail until he was twenty-six years of age.

Hiram met Katherine Amanda James when he wintered some cattle near Silver Creek, Nebraska. After marrying, they started housekeeping on a farm near Silver Creek where they lived for two years. They then moved to a farm in Clarks, Merrick County, Nebraska, where their six children were born on a place owned by him. It later was owned by Lloyd Dexter (at present, 1999, property is owned by Bill Dexter). In 1914 Hiram and Katy decided to go west. They located on a ranch near Kinsey, Montana, (near Miles City Montana) as he loved the frontier life. He felt Nebraska was getting too thickly populated. Paul, Kenneth, Cedric and Lloyd all went to Montana too. Each homesteaded a section of ground and Hiram purchased a section in the same area. Lloyd stayed 5 years, from 1915 to 1920. He then returned to Nebraska. Paul and Cedric went on to Washington State and Kenneth went to California. While in Montana, they cut cedar trees for posts to fence their ground. They mined coal in the Badlands. Coal was free for the mining at that time. This was to earn extra money. Katy died in Miles City, Montana, after a goiter operation for hyperthyrodism. She was brought to Pierce Chapel Cemetery in Clarks, Nebraska for burial.

In 1932, when Mark (Hiram aka Mark) became ill his son Claude received a message stating he was very sick and wanted to come "home" at once. Claude went to Montana and brought him back to live with them, (Claude & Pearl Dexter) where he was diagnosed as having cancer of the stomach. As there was no cure for the disease, he bore his sickness in faith believing in God to the end. Fifty-one years before the question was asked of him, "In whom do you put your trust? He replied, "In God". He united with the Episcopal church in his youth.

In 1881 he joined the Masonic order at Morristown, Minnesota. He was a continuous member for fifty-one years. He helped to organize Solar Lodge, No. 134 of Clarks, Nebraska. He was the last of the charter members of that lodge. He died September 16, 1932. He was also buried at the Pierce Chapel Cemetery on the Dexter lot.

Hiram married Katherine Amanda James on 3 Aug 1882 in Columbus, NE. Katherine (daughter of Joshua James and Catherine Brown) was born on 23 Dec 1863 in Haverdegrace, Harford Co., MD; died on 9 Nov 1924 in Miles City, Montana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From Gail Dexter Ferris notes:
"Katherine Amanda James was born December 23, 1863 in Haverdegras, Harford Co., Maryland. (This information was shown on her death certificate, however I have been unable to find such a place or verify this as her birthplace. I did find a P.O called Haver de Grace in Harford Co. Maryland however, where the family was listed on the census records in 1860). Later, Katy, as she was called, moved to Indiana then to Nebraska. She lived in Silver Creek where her parents (or her brother Joseph H. James) ran a grist mill. She was a schoolteacher and met Hiram when he wintered some cattle near Silver Creek, Nebraska. (She and her parents are buried at Pierce Chapel Cemetery Clarks, Nebraska on the Dexter Lot.) After moving the family to Kinsey, Montana (near Miles City) around 1915, Katy died in the Holy Rosary Hospital in Miles City, Montana after a goiter operation & hyperthyroidism. She was brought back to Pierce Chapel Cemetery in Nebraska for burial."
[Hiram Dexter from Gail.FTW]

Katherine Amanda James was born December 23, 1863 in Haverdegras, Harford Co., Maryland. (This information was shown on her death certificate, however I have been unable to find such a place or verify this as her birthplace. I did find a P.O called Haver de Grace in Harford Co. Maryland however, where the family was listed on the census records in 1860). Later, Katy, as she was called, moved to Indiana then to Nebraska. She lived in Silver Creek where her parents (or her brother Joseph H. James) ran a grist mill. She was a schoolteacher and met Hiram when he wintered some cattle near Silver Creek, Nebraska. (She and her parents are buried at Pierce Chapel Cemetery Clarks, Nebraska on the Dexter Lot.) After moving the family to Kinsey, Montana (near Miles City) around 1915, Katy died in the Holy Rosary Hospital in Miles City, Montana after a goiter operation & hyperthyroidism. She was brought back to Pierce Chapel Cemetery in Nebraska for burial.