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Addie Brown Abernathy

Birth	:	4 Nov 1890 Milton, Van Buren County, Iowa, USA
Death	:	30 Jan 1982 Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa, USA
Burial	:	Cedar Memorial Park, Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate	:	42.0224991, -91.6335983
Plot	:	Lakeview
Description	:	The following biography was written by Hazel Gertrude Abernathy Hamm, daughter of Addie Brown Abernathy and William Thayne Abernathy. Hazel wrote it when she was 82 years old and remembering her family’s early life in Canada and Cedar Rapids. Were my parents Addie and William pioneers? Not really. They didn’t cross the prairie in a covered wagon and stake out land in the frontier; that was a generation earlier. However, in many ways, they were pioneers of their time. When William Abernathy and Addie Brown married in 1910, he was a laborer in... Read More	The following biography was written by Hazel Gertrude Abernathy Hamm, daughter of Addie Brown Abernathy and William Thayne Abernathy. Hazel wrote it when she was 82 years old and remembering her family’s early life in Canada and Cedar Rapids. Were my parents Addie and William pioneers? Not really. They didn’t cross the prairie in a covered wagon and stake out land in the frontier; that was a generation earlier. However, in many ways, they were pioneers of their time. When William Abernathy and Addie Brown married in 1910, he was a laborer in a brickyard. However, he came from a long line of farmers. In 1920 William and Addie decided to go to Canada with their three small children and try their luck as farmers. Addie’s brother Dick Brown and his family had gone to Canada first, and they encouraged Mom and Dad to join them. So William borrowed $800.00 from his parents and off they went in search of a better life. They traveled by train, taking their household belongings, a team of matched work horses, and some cows in a railroad car. According to immigration records, they arrived in Manitoba, Canada on March 25, 1920. The farm they rented from the Eaton Land Company was about 25 miles from Winnipeg, near the small village of St. Agathe. They planted rye and hoped for a good harvest. Dad worked hard and Mom too. During harvest time she cooked for the extra help hired to help with the harvest. She made homemade bread, and biscuits every morning as well as pies for dessert while also caring for her family. Laundry was done on a wash board and all their food came from the farm. Addie grew vegetable in a home garden and canned the excess for the winter. Winters were very cold and their heat came from a pot-bellied stove and the range in the kitchen that was used for cooking. The upstairs bedrooms were very cold, and they didn’t take many baths in the winter. They had a well, but my dad William still had to haul water in barrels from the Red River. The one room schoolhouse was about eight miles from their home. In good weather, the older children Helen and Donald rode a horse to school; both on the same horse. Sometimes the horse would decide it wanted to stay home, and, just out of sight of the house, would stop and refuse to go. It was a day or vacation, for the kids, but a headache for my mom Addie! In the winter, Helen and Donald went to school in a sleigh filled with straw, blankets, and bottles of hot water. The schoolhouse also served as a sort of community center. Mom and Dad would gather the kids and head there for dances; all the neighbors did the same. They all had a wonderful time. Sometimes friends gathered at the Flippen’s house where willing hands moved the big dining table, and they danced in the big dining room, probably to music from a record player that the children had the honor of winding! My parents loved Canada, but they had three years of crop failure. One year black rust on the rye ruined the entire crop. The next year, locusts ravaged the fields. They stripped our fields and then skipped the next ones. The final blow was a late winter storm that killed the new crop just coming up. Finally, they were forced to give up their land. Addie and William tried working for Mr. Eton on his farm, but by that time my brother Howard and I had been added to the family, so they decided to return to Iowa. Mother told me they went to Canada with three children and a boxcar full of animals, furniture, and personal belongings then returned to Iowa almost four years later with five children and one trunk. When Dad returned to Iowa, he had nothing with which to start farming again, and times were very hard for them. He worked for a time on a farm in Clarence, Iowa, and Mom helped out by sewing for ladies. Eventually, Dad got a job as a punch press operator with Speeder Manufacturing Company and moved the family to Fairfield, Iowa. The company changed hands and names several times over the years and eventually moved to Cedar Rapids, which is where we moved. He worked for them for 35 years. My mother Addie took out a very small insurance policy on each of us when my dad went to work for Speeder. Each week the insurance man came to collect for the policies; I think they were five cents each. During the Depression, the company let people pay when they could and did not cancel their policies. Sadly, my mom had to use my brother Howard’s policy to pay for the funeral home and cemetery after he died of heart problems complicated by pneumonia when he was eleven. Mom did housework for the doctor’s wife to pay Howard’s medical bills; but the other policies, long paid up, were still around when my mom moved into a retirement home. We kids cashed in our policies to help pay her expenses. During the Depression my dad was very fortunate to have a job, so my parents helped other members of Mom’s family - the Brown family - who had no jobs. Our Abernathy relatives were still living on farms and were able to care for themselves, but the Browns didn’t have land to farm for food. I remember a time when thirteen of us shared a two-bedroom, one bath house. It had a full attic and no heat, but beds were put up there so everyone had a place to sleep. Often, we’d just eat bean soup and homemade bread, but we always had enough food for everyone. Even though, it must have been hard on the adults in our house; I must admit, though, I thought it great fun to have a houseful of people. My mom Addie worked hard to provide for her family. Even after all her children moved out of the house and her husband William died in 1952, she continued working, usually as a sales clerk in the sewing goods section of the local Cedar Rapids department stores. However, she always had time to sew beautiful clothes for her daughters and granddaughters and even dressed their dolls. Addie Brown was a strong woman with a pioneer spirit. I am proud to call her my mother. - Hazel Gertrude Abernathy Hamm (1922-2009)

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Addie Brown Abernathy's memorial?
Addie Brown Abernathy's memorial is located at: Cedar Memorial Park, Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA.
When did Addie Brown Abernathy death?
Addie Brown Abernathy death on 30 Jan 1982 in Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Addie Brown Abernathy's memorial?
Latitude: 42.0224991
Longitude: -91.6335983

Family Members:

Parent

Spouse

William T. Abernathy

(1887 - 1952)

Siblings

Bessie Brown Bradley

(1886 - 1976)

Paul J. Brown

(1893 - 1971)

Children

Donald Paul Abernathy

(1912 - 1974)

William Thayne Abernathy

(1917 - 1992)

Howard Leslie Abernathy

(1920 - 1931)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Cedar Memorial Park
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0224991, -91.6335983

2. Christ Episcopal Columbarium
Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0195500, -91.6352500

3. Mount Calvary Cemetery
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0111008, -91.6268997

4. Oak Shade Cemetery
Marion, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0266991, -91.6025009

5. Shiloh Cemetery
Hiawatha, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0354996, -91.6698990

6. Saint Pauls United Methodist Church Columbarium
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9851700, -91.6528200

7. Robins Cemetery
Robins, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0630989, -91.6575012

8. Grace Episcopal Church Columbarium
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9817000, -91.6655000

9. Oak Hill Cemetery
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9756012, -91.6455994

10. Old City Cemetery
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9752000, -91.6482000

11. Syrian Cemetery
Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9742012, -91.6472015

12. Saint George Orthodox Cemetery
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9737900, -91.6473700

13. Saint Johns Cemetery
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9724998, -91.6433029

14. Brockman Cemetery
Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9735000, -91.6140000

15. Buffalo Cemetery
Hiawatha, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0373400, -91.7006900

16. Eben Israel Cemetery
Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9590000, -91.6550000

17. Czech National Cemetery
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9585991, -91.6541977

18. Muslim National Cemetery
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9580000, -91.6568000

19. Murdoch-Linwood Cemetery
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9560000, -91.6752000

20. Morrison Cemetery
Hiawatha, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0581017, -91.7305984

21. Baker Cemetery
Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9383011, -91.6335983

22. Campbell Cemetery
Bertram, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 41.9756012, -91.5381012

23. Martin Creek Cemetery
Marion, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0093994, -91.5188980

24. Linn County Home Cemetery
Marion, Linn County, USA
Coordinate: 42.0910030, -91.5594740