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Lydia Ellen Mendenhall Westgate

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Lydia Ellen Mendenhall Westgate

Birth	:	2 Apr 1845 Indiana, USA
Death	:	14 Sep 1924 Hardin County, Iowa, USA
Burial	:	Union Cemetery, Iowa Falls, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate	:	42.5280342, -93.2704773
Description	:	Wife of Sidney Sheffield Westgate The following was contributed by Robert Fahey The Westgate family is an old and eminently honorable one and for many years it was identified with the development of various parts of New York, Chenango county especially, of which his parents, Paul and Hannah (Collins) Westgate, were natives and well known residents. In 1852 Paul Westgate moved his family to Washtenaw county, Michigan, where he lived for three years, at the expiration of which time he came to Hardin county, Iowa, whither his wife's uncle, Joshua Collins, had preceded him in the spring of 1856. In the fall... Read More	Wife of Sidney Sheffield Westgate The following was contributed by Robert Fahey The Westgate family is an old and eminently honorable one and for many years it was identified with the development of various parts of New York, Chenango county especially, of which his parents, Paul and Hannah (Collins) Westgate, were natives and well known residents. In 1852 Paul Westgate moved his family to Washtenaw county, Michigan, where he lived for three years, at the expiration of which time he came to Hardin county, Iowa, whither his wife's uncle, Joshua Collins, had preceded him in the spring of 1856. In the fall of that year, Mr. Westgate located at Iowa Falls, and about a year later purchased forty acres of timber land two miles northwest of the town, which formed the nucleus of the farm which he afterwards developed and improved and on which he spent the remainder of his days. A few years after making his first purchase he bought two additional forty-acre tracts adjoining the original homestead and in due time brought his place to a good state of cultivation and became one of the leading farmers of the township in which he resided. Paul Westgate was a man of sound, practical intelligence and took an active part in promoting the material prosperity of his community. He was a pronounced Democrat until James K. Polk ran for the Presidency, when he became dissatisfied with certain policies advocated by his party and joined with the opposition. Mrs. Westgate was a birthright member of the Society of Friends. Paul Westgate was born October 24. 1818, and departed this life July 22, 1904, in his eighty-sixth year. Hannah Collins Westgate was born April 15, 1819, and died October 22, 1896. Three children constituted the family of this excellent couple, the oldest of whom being Sydney S., the subject of this review. Henry L., the second in order of birth, lives on the home farm, and Mary, the youngest of the number, for over twenty years one of the most efficient and popular teachers of Franklin and Hardin counties, married Isham Lane, and is now living at Van Wert, this state. Sydney S. Westgate was born December 5, 1844, in Chenango county, New York, and when about eight years of age accompanied his parents to Michigan where he spent the ensuing three years on a farm. In 1856 he removed with the family to Hardin county, Iowa, and during the next four years devoted his energies to farm labor, attending the district schools at intervals in the meantime. At the breaking out of the great war between the Northern and Southern states, young Westgate became so enthused with patriotic fervor that he tendered his services to his country, having been among the first young men of Hardin county to respond to the call of the President for volunteers. On August 9, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Second Iowa Cavalry, which was made up mostly of recruits from Webster City, although about a dozen went from Iowa Falls. The regiment saw much active service in Mississippi, Tennessee and other states, guarding railways and doing scout duty during the earlier part of the war, or until the Atlanta campaign, when it was sent back to Nashville to augment the force gathered at that city to intercept the Confederate advance northward. Mr. Westgate was with command in the bloody battles of Nashville and Franklin, and to the Second Iowa belongs the honor of being the first cavalry regiment to capture a fort, which feat was accomplished at the former city in the thickest and most obstinate part of the battle. By reason of disability he was afterwards detailed as a teamster, in which capacity he continued until his discharge after three years and two months of faithful and arduous service. Returning to Hardin county at the close of the war, Mr. Westgate resumed the pursuit of agriculture and not long after his arrival he was united in marriage with Lydia Ellen Mendenhall, daughter of Johnson and Lucinda (Jones) Mendenhall, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively, the ceremony having been solemnized in March, 1865. The parents of Mrs. Westgate moved to Indiana in an early day and from that state to Illinois in 1849. Later, about 1855, they moved to Hardin county, Iowa, and located on Elk river, near Iowa Falls, the farm on which they lived being contiguous to the present corporate limits of the city. A number of years later Mr. Mendenhall sold his farm and moved to Guthrie county, Iowa, where his death subsequently occurred, Mrs. Westgate being the only representative of her family in Hardin county at the present time. During the eleven years following his marriage, Mr. Westgate traveled quite extensively throughout Nebraska and other western states, visiting many points of interest with the object in view of finding a location suitable to his tastes. In 1876 he purchased the farm in Hardin township on which he has since lived and prospered, and which under his effective labors and judicious management is today one of the finest estates and among the most beautiful and desirable places of residence in that part of the county. In connection with agriculture, which he carries on quite extensively, he devotes considerable attention to live stock, especially cattle and hogs, which he breeds and raises in large numbers and for which he always received the highest market prices. In the year 1904 Mr. Westgate went to New Mexico and took a soldier's homestead, selecting a site in a beautiful and fertile valley on which he was able to prove up within three years and which will doubtless become quite valuable in the no distant future. Mr. Westgate cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, since which time he has been an uncompromising Republican and a factor of no little importance and influence to his party in his township and county. He is a member of the Charles Payne Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and the present commander of the same, in which office he is now serving his third term. He is quite prominent in Grand Army circles and has represented the post to which he belongs in national encampments at St. Paul and Minneapolis, besides taking a prominent part in the organization in various other capacities. Mr. and Mrs. Westgate have four children whose names are as follows: John, a farmer living near Tracy, Minnesota; Alonzo, who lives with his parents and manages the homestead; Lucinda, a former teacher of Hardin county, but now the wife of Eugene Morris, of Guthrie county, this state; and Effie Ann, who married H. E. Ridge, a successful farmer and public spirited citizen of Hardin county.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Lydia Ellen Mendenhall Westgate's memorial?
Lydia Ellen Mendenhall Westgate's memorial is located at: Union Cemetery, Iowa Falls, Hardin County, USA.
When did Lydia Ellen Mendenhall Westgate death?
Lydia Ellen Mendenhall Westgate death on 14 Sep 1924 in Hardin County, Iowa, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Lydia Ellen Mendenhall Westgate's memorial?
Latitude: 42.5280342
Longitude: -93.2704773

Family Members:

Parent

Spouse

Sidney Sheffield Westgate

(1844 - 1921)

Siblings

Clark Isaiah Mendenhall

(1833 - 1910)

Kelita Townley Mendenhall

(1836 - 1921)

Pleasant Jones Mendenhall

(1842 - 1909)

Children

Alonzo Stoel Westgate

(1868 - 1945)

Mary Loretta Westgate

(1873 - 1879)

Frank Mathias Westgate

(1876 - 1904)

Walter Pleasant Westgate

(1879 - 1883)

Effa Ann Westgate Ridge

(1881 - 1915)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Union Cemetery
Iowa Falls, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5280342, -93.2704773

2. Saint Mark Catholic Cemetery
Iowa Falls, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5267000, -93.2701500

3. Friends Cemetery
Iowa Falls, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5222015, -93.2375031

4. Northlawn Memory Gardens
Iowa Falls, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4854200, -93.2678700

5. Montgomery Family Burial Ground
Iowa Falls, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5932028, -93.3105961

6. Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Grant Township, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5859985, -93.2070007

7. Alden Cemetery
Alden, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5218000, -93.3864500

8. Bahr Cemetery
Buckeye, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4380380, -93.3417480

9. Oakwood Cemetery
Owasa, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4500008, -93.1731033

10. Kidwiler Cemetery
Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4571991, -93.1492004

11. Buckeye Cemetery
Buckeye, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4508018, -93.3843994

12. Saint Peter's UCC Cemetery
Geneva, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6143010, -93.1639970

13. Cottage Cemetery
Iowa Falls, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4049988, -93.3133011

14. Maynes Grove Cemetery
Hampton, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6577988, -93.2514038

15. Lincoln Cemetery
Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3964005, -93.2542038

16. Maysville Cemetery
Hampton, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6511002, -93.2024994

17. Jackson Township Cemetery
Owasa, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4219017, -93.1572037

18. Oak Hill Cemetery
Popejoy, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5816994, -93.4447021

19. Hazel Green Cemetery
Ackley, Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4780998, -93.0905991

20. Hardin County Home Cemetery
Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3978004, -93.1524963

21. Tipton Norwegian Cemetery
Hardin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3753014, -93.3458023

22. Saint Paul's Catholic Cemetery
Geneva, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6617012, -93.1442032

23. Oak Wood Cemetery
Ackley, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5591450, -93.0521440

24. Olson Cemetery
Popejoy, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6383018, -93.4403000