Maud Evelyn SUMNER was born on February 17, 1881 to Samuel Thomas "Sam" and Sophronia Ann "Phrona" (née GILMORE) SUMNER in Clay County, Nebraska near Clay Center. Maud was the first child of seven children born to Sam and Phrona. Her siblings were: Matilda "Tilla", Ada Viola, Owen Perry, James Ephraim, Nora Belle, and Iva Pearl.
Maud earned a Lifetime Nebraska State Teacher's License from a college in Fremont, Nebraska (possibly the Midland Lutheran College) circa 1900. Her wages as a teacher were $30 a month. With her first paycheck, she bought a new dress and a watch brooch; she then posed wearing those items for a photographer's portrait (refer to the photo gallery for a photograph of this portrait on a table alongside a lamp and a Bible). She taught in a one room schoolhouse on the Nebraska prairie until her marriage (alas, "in those days", societies in most districts deemed it unacceptable for married women to teach).
She married James Willard ABRAHAM on March 18, 1903 in Waterloo, Douglas County, Nebraska. Her husband, James, loved telling his children the story of how he met their mother. Per their firstborn, Ila May, her Dad thought it was funny to tell about the day when he decided to see for himself "that schoolmarm" a neighbor had told him about. He would tell how he was headed home for the day when he met a neighbor girl on the road. She told him about a pretty little schoolmarm giving a program in the one room schoolhouse down by Waterloo and everyone was invited. Ila's Dad drove his wagon and team of horses on home, unhitched them, and put them up, but after he sat alone for a while in his house, he decided to hitch his team back up to the wagon and "go on down and see about that schoolmarm." As Ila put it (with a twinkle in her eyes, a sly smile, and a few chuckles), "He went down there and he got in a mess – he wound up marrying that "pretty little schoolmarm" and raising a family of N-N-NINE-E-E KIDS!!"
Six of their nine children were born in Douglas County: Ila May, Mary Leona, Ralph Sumner, James Howard, Margaret Elise, and Alice Marie. James and Maud lived in Nebraska until March 1916 when they moved to Siloam Springs, Arkansas with their six children. In Siloam Springs, three more children were born to the couple: Willard Earl "Bill", Catherine Jean, and Donna Lee.
In Nebraska, and later in Arkansas, Maud earned extra income for the family by sewing aprons and selling them to the local general stores along with homemade butter and cream made from the milk of the family milch cows (cows kept for their milk), and fresh eggs gathered from the family's chickens for the stores' customers to purchase.
When I was nine years old, Grandmother Maud taught me how to cut out fabric for an apron and sew it together to give to my mother. Grandmother had a Singer sewing machine in a cast iron treadle stand. The treadle was operated by tipping the peddle back and forth by applying pressure with your toes then your heels; a push rod connected to the side of the treadle moved up and down by this continuous motion and would power the sewing machine without the use of electricity. I treasure the memory of us working together on the apron; it was the first time the two of us had the opportunity to spend a whole afternoon together. I had never seen anyone make an article of clothing before let alone cut fabric or use a sewing machine; she made it all seem so effortless. Grandmother Maud was a wonderful, patience teacher; us spending an afternoon together working on the apron is a warm loving memory that always brightens my day.
Maud liked Siloam Springs because there were schools for their children to attend and several churches in the community. She became a member of the First Christian Church of Siloam Springs, taught Sunday school there for many years, and remained a devoted member throughout the rest of her life. When Maud died, her church published the following tribute to her:
A tribute to Mother ABRAHAM:
We never knew a more devoted Mother, first to her Lord and Master, second to her family and friends. Mother ABRAHAM never gave up her study of the Bible because she knew it was her life. She never gave up her relationship to her kind and lovely family and friends even in her last days. It is going to be wonderful to meet again with Christian friends like Mother ABRAHAM. A life well spent is a life well lived.
NOTE: Per Ila May McNAIR, née ABRAHAM, her mother's given name was Maude Eveline SUMNER. After James and Maud moved from Nebraska to Arkansas, Maud made the decision to drop the "e" from Maude and to use "Evelyn" instead of "Eveline".
-------------------------------------
Contributed to Find A Grave by L. ABRAHAM, grandchild of Maud Evelyn ABRAHAM, née SUMNER.
-------------------------------------
PLEASE NOTE: The photograph of the headstone of my paternal grandparents, kindly posted by David McCLELLAN, was engraved with the wrong year of death for my grandmother; she died on January 23, 1974 not on January 23, 1973. On her husband's memorial, I posted an image of their headstone where her year of death was digitally corrected along with a note in the photo gallery of the correction.
Maud earned a Lifetime Nebraska State Teacher's License from a college in Fremont, Nebraska (possibly the Midland Lutheran College) circa 1900. Her wages as a teacher were $30 a month. With her first paycheck, she bought a new dress and a watch brooch; she then posed wearing those items for a photographer's portrait (refer to the photo gallery for a photograph of this portrait on a table alongside a lamp and a Bible). She taught in a one room schoolhouse on the Nebraska prairie until her marriage (alas, "in those days", societies in most districts deemed it unacceptable for married women to teach).
She married James Willard ABRAHAM on March 18, 1903 in Waterloo, Douglas County, Nebraska. Her husband, James, loved telling his children the story of how he met their mother. Per their firstborn, Ila May, her Dad thought it was funny to tell about the day when he decided to see for himself "that schoolmarm" a neighbor had told him about. He would tell how he was headed home for the day when he met a neighbor girl on the road. She told him about a pretty little schoolmarm giving a program in the one room schoolhouse down by Waterloo and everyone was invited. Ila's Dad drove his wagon and team of horses on home, unhitched them, and put them up, but after he sat alone for a while in his house, he decided to hitch his team back up to the wagon and "go on down and see about that schoolmarm." As Ila put it (with a twinkle in her eyes, a sly smile, and a few chuckles), "He went down there and he got in a mess – he wound up marrying that "pretty little schoolmarm" and raising a family of N-N-NINE-E-E KIDS!!"
Six of their nine children were born in Douglas County: Ila May, Mary Leona, Ralph Sumner, James Howard, Margaret Elise, and Alice Marie. James and Maud lived in Nebraska until March 1916 when they moved to Siloam Springs, Arkansas with their six children. In Siloam Springs, three more children were born to the couple: Willard Earl "Bill", Catherine Jean, and Donna Lee.
In Nebraska, and later in Arkansas, Maud earned extra income for the family by sewing aprons and selling them to the local general stores along with homemade butter and cream made from the milk of the family milch cows (cows kept for their milk), and fresh eggs gathered from the family's chickens for the stores' customers to purchase.
When I was nine years old, Grandmother Maud taught me how to cut out fabric for an apron and sew it together to give to my mother. Grandmother had a Singer sewing machine in a cast iron treadle stand. The treadle was operated by tipping the peddle back and forth by applying pressure with your toes then your heels; a push rod connected to the side of the treadle moved up and down by this continuous motion and would power the sewing machine without the use of electricity. I treasure the memory of us working together on the apron; it was the first time the two of us had the opportunity to spend a whole afternoon together. I had never seen anyone make an article of clothing before let alone cut fabric or use a sewing machine; she made it all seem so effortless. Grandmother Maud was a wonderful, patience teacher; us spending an afternoon together working on the apron is a warm loving memory that always brightens my day.
Maud liked Siloam Springs because there were schools for their children to attend and several churches in the community. She became a member of the First Christian Church of Siloam Springs, taught Sunday school there for many years, and remained a devoted member throughout the rest of her life. When Maud died, her church published the following tribute to her:
A tribute to Mother ABRAHAM:
We never knew a more devoted Mother, first to her Lord and Master, second to her family and friends. Mother ABRAHAM never gave up her study of the Bible because she knew it was her life. She never gave up her relationship to her kind and lovely family and friends even in her last days. It is going to be wonderful to meet again with Christian friends like Mother ABRAHAM. A life well spent is a life well lived.
NOTE: Per Ila May McNAIR, née ABRAHAM, her mother's given name was Maude Eveline SUMNER. After James and Maud moved from Nebraska to Arkansas, Maud made the decision to drop the "e" from Maude and to use "Evelyn" instead of "Eveline".
-------------------------------------
Contributed to Find A Grave by L. ABRAHAM, grandchild of Maud Evelyn ABRAHAM, née SUMNER.
-------------------------------------
PLEASE NOTE: The photograph of the headstone of my paternal grandparents, kindly posted by David McCLELLAN, was engraved with the wrong year of death for my grandmother; she died on January 23, 1974 not on January 23, 1973. On her husband's memorial, I posted an image of their headstone where her year of death was digitally corrected along with a note in the photo gallery of the correction.
Maud Evelyn SUMNER was born on February 17, 1881 to Samuel Thomas "Sam" and Sophronia Ann "Phrona" (née GILMORE) SUMNER in Clay County, Nebraska near Clay Center. Maud was the first child of seven children born to Sam and Phrona. Her siblings were: Matilda "Tilla", Ada Viola, Owen Perry, James Ephraim, Nora Belle, and Iva Pearl.
Maud earned a Lifetime Nebraska State Teacher's License from a college in Fremont, Nebraska (possibly the Midland Lutheran College) circa 1900. Her wages as a teacher were $30 a month. With her first paycheck, she bought a new dress and a watch brooch; she then posed wearing those items for a photographer's portrait (refer to the photo gallery for a photograph of this portrait on a table alongside a lamp and a Bible). She taught in a one room schoolhouse on the Nebraska prairie until her marriage (alas, "in those days", societies in most districts deemed it unacceptable for married women to teach).
She married James Willard ABRAHAM on March 18, 1903 in Waterloo, Douglas County, Nebraska. Her husband, James, loved telling his children the story of how he met their mother. Per their firstborn, Ila May, her Dad thought it was funny to tell about the day when he decided to see for himself "that schoolmarm" a neighbor had told him about. He would tell how he was headed home for the day when he met a neighbor girl on the road. She told him about a pretty little schoolmarm giving a program in the one room schoolhouse down by Waterloo and everyone was invited. Ila's Dad drove his wagon and team of horses on home, unhitched them, and put them up, but after he sat alone for a while in his house, he decided to hitch his team back up to the wagon and "go on down and see about that schoolmarm." As Ila put it (with a twinkle in her eyes, a sly smile, and a few chuckles), "He went down there and he got in a mess – he wound up marrying that "pretty little schoolmarm" and raising a family of N-N-NINE-E-E KIDS!!"
Six of their nine children were born in Douglas County: Ila May, Mary Leona, Ralph Sumner, James Howard, Margaret Elise, and Alice Marie. James and Maud lived in Nebraska until March 1916 when they moved to Siloam Springs, Arkansas with their six children. In Siloam Springs, three more children were born to the couple: Willard Earl "Bill", Catherine Jean, and Donna Lee.
In Nebraska, and later in Arkansas, Maud earned extra income for the family by sewing aprons and selling them to the local general stores along with homemade butter and cream made from the milk of the family milch cows (cows kept for their milk), and fresh eggs gathered from the family's chickens for the stores' customers to purchase.
When I was nine years old, Grandmother Maud taught me how to cut out fabric for an apron and sew it together to give to my mother. Grandmother had a Singer sewing machine in a cast iron treadle stand. The treadle was operated by tipping the peddle back and forth by applying pressure with your toes then your heels; a push rod connected to the side of the treadle moved up and down by this continuous motion and would power the sewing machine without the use of electricity. I treasure the memory of us working together on the apron; it was the first time the two of us had the opportunity to spend a whole afternoon together. I had never seen anyone make an article of clothing before let alone cut fabric or use a sewing machine; she made it all seem so effortless. Grandmother Maud was a wonderful, patience teacher; us spending an afternoon together working on the apron is a warm loving memory that always brightens my day.
Maud liked Siloam Springs because there were schools for their children to attend and several churches in the community. She became a member of the First Christian Church of Siloam Springs, taught Sunday school there for many years, and remained a devoted member throughout the rest of her life. When Maud died, her church published the following tribute to her:
A tribute to Mother ABRAHAM:
We never knew a more devoted Mother, first to her Lord and Master, second to her family and friends. Mother ABRAHAM never gave up her study of the Bible because she knew it was her life. She never gave up her relationship to her kind and lovely family and friends even in her last days. It is going to be wonderful to meet again with Christian friends like Mother ABRAHAM. A life well spent is a life well lived.
NOTE: Per Ila May McNAIR, née ABRAHAM, her mother's given name was Maude Eveline SUMNER. After James and Maud moved from Nebraska to Arkansas, Maud made the decision to drop the "e" from Maude and to use "Evelyn" instead of "Eveline".
-------------------------------------
Contributed to Find A Grave by L. ABRAHAM, grandchild of Maud Evelyn ABRAHAM, née SUMNER.
-------------------------------------
PLEASE NOTE: The photograph of the headstone of my paternal grandparents, kindly posted by David McCLELLAN, was engraved with the wrong year of death for my grandmother; she died on January 23, 1974 not on January 23, 1973. On her husband's memorial, I posted an image of their headstone where her year of death was digitally corrected along with a note in the photo gallery of the correction.
Maud earned a Lifetime Nebraska State Teacher's License from a college in Fremont, Nebraska (possibly the Midland Lutheran College) circa 1900. Her wages as a teacher were $30 a month. With her first paycheck, she bought a new dress and a watch brooch; she then posed wearing those items for a photographer's portrait (refer to the photo gallery for a photograph of this portrait on a table alongside a lamp and a Bible). She taught in a one room schoolhouse on the Nebraska prairie until her marriage (alas, "in those days", societies in most districts deemed it unacceptable for married women to teach).
She married James Willard ABRAHAM on March 18, 1903 in Waterloo, Douglas County, Nebraska. Her husband, James, loved telling his children the story of how he met their mother. Per their firstborn, Ila May, her Dad thought it was funny to tell about the day when he decided to see for himself "that schoolmarm" a neighbor had told him about. He would tell how he was headed home for the day when he met a neighbor girl on the road. She told him about a pretty little schoolmarm giving a program in the one room schoolhouse down by Waterloo and everyone was invited. Ila's Dad drove his wagon and team of horses on home, unhitched them, and put them up, but after he sat alone for a while in his house, he decided to hitch his team back up to the wagon and "go on down and see about that schoolmarm." As Ila put it (with a twinkle in her eyes, a sly smile, and a few chuckles), "He went down there and he got in a mess – he wound up marrying that "pretty little schoolmarm" and raising a family of N-N-NINE-E-E KIDS!!"
Six of their nine children were born in Douglas County: Ila May, Mary Leona, Ralph Sumner, James Howard, Margaret Elise, and Alice Marie. James and Maud lived in Nebraska until March 1916 when they moved to Siloam Springs, Arkansas with their six children. In Siloam Springs, three more children were born to the couple: Willard Earl "Bill", Catherine Jean, and Donna Lee.
In Nebraska, and later in Arkansas, Maud earned extra income for the family by sewing aprons and selling them to the local general stores along with homemade butter and cream made from the milk of the family milch cows (cows kept for their milk), and fresh eggs gathered from the family's chickens for the stores' customers to purchase.
When I was nine years old, Grandmother Maud taught me how to cut out fabric for an apron and sew it together to give to my mother. Grandmother had a Singer sewing machine in a cast iron treadle stand. The treadle was operated by tipping the peddle back and forth by applying pressure with your toes then your heels; a push rod connected to the side of the treadle moved up and down by this continuous motion and would power the sewing machine without the use of electricity. I treasure the memory of us working together on the apron; it was the first time the two of us had the opportunity to spend a whole afternoon together. I had never seen anyone make an article of clothing before let alone cut fabric or use a sewing machine; she made it all seem so effortless. Grandmother Maud was a wonderful, patience teacher; us spending an afternoon together working on the apron is a warm loving memory that always brightens my day.
Maud liked Siloam Springs because there were schools for their children to attend and several churches in the community. She became a member of the First Christian Church of Siloam Springs, taught Sunday school there for many years, and remained a devoted member throughout the rest of her life. When Maud died, her church published the following tribute to her:
A tribute to Mother ABRAHAM:
We never knew a more devoted Mother, first to her Lord and Master, second to her family and friends. Mother ABRAHAM never gave up her study of the Bible because she knew it was her life. She never gave up her relationship to her kind and lovely family and friends even in her last days. It is going to be wonderful to meet again with Christian friends like Mother ABRAHAM. A life well spent is a life well lived.
NOTE: Per Ila May McNAIR, née ABRAHAM, her mother's given name was Maude Eveline SUMNER. After James and Maud moved from Nebraska to Arkansas, Maud made the decision to drop the "e" from Maude and to use "Evelyn" instead of "Eveline".
-------------------------------------
Contributed to Find A Grave by L. ABRAHAM, grandchild of Maud Evelyn ABRAHAM, née SUMNER.
-------------------------------------
PLEASE NOTE: The photograph of the headstone of my paternal grandparents, kindly posted by David McCLELLAN, was engraved with the wrong year of death for my grandmother; she died on January 23, 1974 not on January 23, 1973. On her husband's memorial, I posted an image of their headstone where her year of death was digitally corrected along with a note in the photo gallery of the correction.
Inscription
MAUD E. ABRAHAM
1881 - 1974
JAMES W. ABRAHAM
1871 - 1954
Family Members
Siblings
Children
-
![]()
Ila May Abraham McNair
1904–2002
-
![]()
Mary Leona Abraham Martin
1906–1994
-
![]()
Ralph Sumner Abraham
1909–1994
-
![]()
James Howard "Jim" Abraham
1911–1993
-
![]()
Margaret Elise "Peg a.k.a. Mugs" Abraham Jameson
1913–1985
-
![]()
Alice Marie Abraham Daniels
1916–2016
-
![]()
Willard Earl Edward "Bill" Abraham
1918–2015
-
![]()
Catherine Jean Abraham Canon
1923–1990
-
![]()
Donna Lee Abraham Nelson
1926–2018
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
