William Elmer was the son of Joseph Thomas and Maria Altha Coe LaHue. When Elmer was five, his parents divorced and his mother moved them to Decatur, Illinois. Elmer went to work very early and worked before and after school until he quit school after fifth grade to work full-time. Lacking a formal education did not mean the end of his learning and he worked hard to educate himself. In 1908, his mother joined some family who had migrated to Lawton, Oklahoma. This area was still very primitive and she moved back to Illinois. But Elmer stayed in Lawton, living with an uncle, and met his bride.
Elmer married Agnes Flora Havlik, daughter of Joseph and Mary Slama Havlik, on October 10, 1910 in Lawton. In 1911, they took a belated honeymoon to Colorado Springs and fell in love with Colorado and decided to stay. After a brief stint with a gold refining company, he began a lifelong career with the Santa Fe Railroad.
In 1917, he traded two small houses he had acquired for a homestead in eastern El Paso County. Elmer continued his work with Santa Fe while Agnes and the children lived and worked the homestead with Elmer's assistance when he could get some time off. Once the required years for the homestead were completed, the family moved back to town and rented the farm land until the depression when the land was lost.
Elmer then turned his energies to trying to develop ways to process small amounts of gold that was otherwise unprofitable. This was not successful and financial pressures caused failing health. His daughter came home from college to help contribute income to the family.
After he recovered in 1938, he returned to the Santa Fe Railroad, first in LaJunta and then Pueblo. He commuted to the Springs for several months and then he and Agnes moved to Pueblo in 1939. He had always loved growing things so in 1947, he bought a small irrigated acreage just seven miles east of Pueblo. Elmer and Agnes spent many years on this small farm which became a summer playground for the grandchildren and also an education in collecting eggs, picking fruit and vegetables, and plucking chickens - with time for games of hide-and-seek in the cornfield.
When their health could no longer sustain the farming, they moved to a small house in Pueblo but Elmer continued to backyard garden.
They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 1970. In 1974, Elmer died in a doctor's office examination room waiting for a routine checkup.
Elmer married Agnes Flora Havlik, daughter of Joseph and Mary Slama Havlik, on October 10, 1910 in Lawton. In 1911, they took a belated honeymoon to Colorado Springs and fell in love with Colorado and decided to stay. After a brief stint with a gold refining company, he began a lifelong career with the Santa Fe Railroad.
In 1917, he traded two small houses he had acquired for a homestead in eastern El Paso County. Elmer continued his work with Santa Fe while Agnes and the children lived and worked the homestead with Elmer's assistance when he could get some time off. Once the required years for the homestead were completed, the family moved back to town and rented the farm land until the depression when the land was lost.
Elmer then turned his energies to trying to develop ways to process small amounts of gold that was otherwise unprofitable. This was not successful and financial pressures caused failing health. His daughter came home from college to help contribute income to the family.
After he recovered in 1938, he returned to the Santa Fe Railroad, first in LaJunta and then Pueblo. He commuted to the Springs for several months and then he and Agnes moved to Pueblo in 1939. He had always loved growing things so in 1947, he bought a small irrigated acreage just seven miles east of Pueblo. Elmer and Agnes spent many years on this small farm which became a summer playground for the grandchildren and also an education in collecting eggs, picking fruit and vegetables, and plucking chickens - with time for games of hide-and-seek in the cornfield.
When their health could no longer sustain the farming, they moved to a small house in Pueblo but Elmer continued to backyard garden.
They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 1970. In 1974, Elmer died in a doctor's office examination room waiting for a routine checkup.
William Elmer was the son of Joseph Thomas and Maria Altha Coe LaHue. When Elmer was five, his parents divorced and his mother moved them to Decatur, Illinois. Elmer went to work very early and worked before and after school until he quit school after fifth grade to work full-time. Lacking a formal education did not mean the end of his learning and he worked hard to educate himself. In 1908, his mother joined some family who had migrated to Lawton, Oklahoma. This area was still very primitive and she moved back to Illinois. But Elmer stayed in Lawton, living with an uncle, and met his bride.
Elmer married Agnes Flora Havlik, daughter of Joseph and Mary Slama Havlik, on October 10, 1910 in Lawton. In 1911, they took a belated honeymoon to Colorado Springs and fell in love with Colorado and decided to stay. After a brief stint with a gold refining company, he began a lifelong career with the Santa Fe Railroad.
In 1917, he traded two small houses he had acquired for a homestead in eastern El Paso County. Elmer continued his work with Santa Fe while Agnes and the children lived and worked the homestead with Elmer's assistance when he could get some time off. Once the required years for the homestead were completed, the family moved back to town and rented the farm land until the depression when the land was lost.
Elmer then turned his energies to trying to develop ways to process small amounts of gold that was otherwise unprofitable. This was not successful and financial pressures caused failing health. His daughter came home from college to help contribute income to the family.
After he recovered in 1938, he returned to the Santa Fe Railroad, first in LaJunta and then Pueblo. He commuted to the Springs for several months and then he and Agnes moved to Pueblo in 1939. He had always loved growing things so in 1947, he bought a small irrigated acreage just seven miles east of Pueblo. Elmer and Agnes spent many years on this small farm which became a summer playground for the grandchildren and also an education in collecting eggs, picking fruit and vegetables, and plucking chickens - with time for games of hide-and-seek in the cornfield.
When their health could no longer sustain the farming, they moved to a small house in Pueblo but Elmer continued to backyard garden.
They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 1970. In 1974, Elmer died in a doctor's office examination room waiting for a routine checkup.
Elmer married Agnes Flora Havlik, daughter of Joseph and Mary Slama Havlik, on October 10, 1910 in Lawton. In 1911, they took a belated honeymoon to Colorado Springs and fell in love with Colorado and decided to stay. After a brief stint with a gold refining company, he began a lifelong career with the Santa Fe Railroad.
In 1917, he traded two small houses he had acquired for a homestead in eastern El Paso County. Elmer continued his work with Santa Fe while Agnes and the children lived and worked the homestead with Elmer's assistance when he could get some time off. Once the required years for the homestead were completed, the family moved back to town and rented the farm land until the depression when the land was lost.
Elmer then turned his energies to trying to develop ways to process small amounts of gold that was otherwise unprofitable. This was not successful and financial pressures caused failing health. His daughter came home from college to help contribute income to the family.
After he recovered in 1938, he returned to the Santa Fe Railroad, first in LaJunta and then Pueblo. He commuted to the Springs for several months and then he and Agnes moved to Pueblo in 1939. He had always loved growing things so in 1947, he bought a small irrigated acreage just seven miles east of Pueblo. Elmer and Agnes spent many years on this small farm which became a summer playground for the grandchildren and also an education in collecting eggs, picking fruit and vegetables, and plucking chickens - with time for games of hide-and-seek in the cornfield.
When their health could no longer sustain the farming, they moved to a small house in Pueblo but Elmer continued to backyard garden.
They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 1970. In 1974, Elmer died in a doctor's office examination room waiting for a routine checkup.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
