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Edith "Lillian" (Boyes) Collins was NOT born in 1878 as indicated on her cemetery marker, but rather she was born on April 14, 1877 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, one of two children born to Peter Boyes (1856-1894) and Isabella (Boyes) Boyes (1855-1929) ~ Yup, the same last name for both of 'em! Lillian was baptized on June 22, 1877 in the Presbyterian Church in Trois-Rivières, and she was 4 years old when the family moved south into the United States and settled in North Dakota.
Transplanted from Scotland to French Canada, Peter and Isabella quickly picked up the ability to speak and understand that North American version of French. However, when they moved to the United States in 1881, any French lingual ability young Lillian had was soon lost.
Her heritage from Scotland did shine through, however, in her red hair, and that, among other things, is what caught the eye of young cowboy Roy Day Collins (1880-1960), when he first met her in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It wasn't a quick courtship, however, because Lillian continued her schooling, graduating from high school and going on to graduate from the University of North Dakota in 1901. After that she worked for an insurance firm.
Meantime, Roy went west with a friend and bought land in eastern Montana where he, in partnership with his dad, outfitted and ran Spring Valley Stock Ranch.
Eventually Roy returned to Grand Forks, where he and Lillian were married on October 11, 1905. After their first child was born, the family packed up and left for eastern Montana, where they settled on a homestead on Second Hay Creek in what later became Richland County.
The trip west was an arduous one, and in later life Lillian would recall with a bit of mock-severity how, when crossing the Missouri River with all their goods and belongings, she was surprised to see a box float away down the river: Soon enough she was to learn to her dismay that is was the box containing her fine china!
Finally settled in Montana, two more children were born, and during that time Roy built a very substantial 2-storey home for his family. Eventually that home was moved several miles closer to - and just southwest of - the developing town of Fairview which straddled the Montana-North Dakota state line.
As time went on and their children grew up and married, Roy and Lillian built a new home across Highway 23 from their 1st home, and their daughter Edith and her husband moved into their old home.
Lillian and Roy farmed and raised sheep, although Roy's primary occupation was in partnership with his son Carlos and his son-in-law Ken Gardner developing and growing the Collins Mercantile Company, a John Deere farm implement dealership in Fairview.
After her husband died in 1960, Lillian lived with her daughter Edith in much expanded, original Collins home. In November 1972 she moved to Richland Homes in Sidney, and she was 96 years old and a widow when she passed away at Community Memorial Hospital on April 29, 1973.
Survivors included her son Carlos Peter Collins of Fairview, daughters Mrs Edith Deming and Mrs Mildred Gardner both in Fairview, eight grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren and a 2nd-great-grandchild.
Funeral Services were held on May 2nd at Community Presbyterian Church in Fairview, and burial was in Fairview Cemetery, just east of Fairview, Montana in McKenzie County, North Dakota.
Original obituary in THE SIDNEY HERALD in early May 1973
Children of Roy and Lillian:
~ Mildred Isabelle Collins (1908-1984)married Kenneth Harris Gardner
~ Edith Mae Collins (1909-2005) m Howard "Robert" Deming; m James F Gardner
~ Carlos Peter Collins (1912-2011) married Lucille Mae Sedlacek
Edith "Lillian" (Boyes) Collins was NOT born in 1878 as indicated on her cemetery marker, but rather she was born on April 14, 1877 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, one of two children born to Peter Boyes (1856-1894) and Isabella (Boyes) Boyes (1855-1929) ~ Yup, the same last name for both of 'em! Lillian was baptized on June 22, 1877 in the Presbyterian Church in Trois-Rivières, and she was 4 years old when the family moved south into the United States and settled in North Dakota.
Transplanted from Scotland to French Canada, Peter and Isabella quickly picked up the ability to speak and understand that North American version of French. However, when they moved to the United States in 1881, any French lingual ability young Lillian had was soon lost.
Her heritage from Scotland did shine through, however, in her red hair, and that, among other things, is what caught the eye of young cowboy Roy Day Collins (1880-1960), when he first met her in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It wasn't a quick courtship, however, because Lillian continued her schooling, graduating from high school and going on to graduate from the University of North Dakota in 1901. After that she worked for an insurance firm.
Meantime, Roy went west with a friend and bought land in eastern Montana where he, in partnership with his dad, outfitted and ran Spring Valley Stock Ranch.
Eventually Roy returned to Grand Forks, where he and Lillian were married on October 11, 1905. After their first child was born, the family packed up and left for eastern Montana, where they settled on a homestead on Second Hay Creek in what later became Richland County.
The trip west was an arduous one, and in later life Lillian would recall with a bit of mock-severity how, when crossing the Missouri River with all their goods and belongings, she was surprised to see a box float away down the river: Soon enough she was to learn to her dismay that is was the box containing her fine china!
Finally settled in Montana, two more children were born, and during that time Roy built a very substantial 2-storey home for his family. Eventually that home was moved several miles closer to - and just southwest of - the developing town of Fairview which straddled the Montana-North Dakota state line.
As time went on and their children grew up and married, Roy and Lillian built a new home across Highway 23 from their 1st home, and their daughter Edith and her husband moved into their old home.
Lillian and Roy farmed and raised sheep, although Roy's primary occupation was in partnership with his son Carlos and his son-in-law Ken Gardner developing and growing the Collins Mercantile Company, a John Deere farm implement dealership in Fairview.
After her husband died in 1960, Lillian lived with her daughter Edith in much expanded, original Collins home. In November 1972 she moved to Richland Homes in Sidney, and she was 96 years old and a widow when she passed away at Community Memorial Hospital on April 29, 1973.
Survivors included her son Carlos Peter Collins of Fairview, daughters Mrs Edith Deming and Mrs Mildred Gardner both in Fairview, eight grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren and a 2nd-great-grandchild.
Funeral Services were held on May 2nd at Community Presbyterian Church in Fairview, and burial was in Fairview Cemetery, just east of Fairview, Montana in McKenzie County, North Dakota.
Original obituary in THE SIDNEY HERALD in early May 1973
Children of Roy and Lillian:
~ Mildred Isabelle Collins (1908-1984)married Kenneth Harris Gardner
~ Edith Mae Collins (1909-2005) m Howard "Robert" Deming; m James F Gardner
~ Carlos Peter Collins (1912-2011) married Lucille Mae Sedlacek
'
Edith "Lillian" (Boyes) Collins was NOT born in 1878 as indicated on her cemetery marker, but rather she was born on April 14, 1877 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, one of two children born to Peter Boyes (1856-1894) and Isabella (Boyes) Boyes (1855-1929) ~ Yup, the same last name for both of 'em! Lillian was baptized on June 22, 1877 in the Presbyterian Church in Trois-Rivières, and she was 4 years old when the family moved south into the United States and settled in North Dakota.
Transplanted from Scotland to French Canada, Peter and Isabella quickly picked up the ability to speak and understand that North American version of French. However, when they moved to the United States in 1881, any French lingual ability young Lillian had was soon lost.
Her heritage from Scotland did shine through, however, in her red hair, and that, among other things, is what caught the eye of young cowboy Roy Day Collins (1880-1960), when he first met her in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It wasn't a quick courtship, however, because Lillian continued her schooling, graduating from high school and going on to graduate from the University of North Dakota in 1901. After that she worked for an insurance firm.
Meantime, Roy went west with a friend and bought land in eastern Montana where he, in partnership with his dad, outfitted and ran Spring Valley Stock Ranch.
Eventually Roy returned to Grand Forks, where he and Lillian were married on October 11, 1905. After their first child was born, the family packed up and left for eastern Montana, where they settled on a homestead on Second Hay Creek in what later became Richland County.
The trip west was an arduous one, and in later life Lillian would recall with a bit of mock-severity how, when crossing the Missouri River with all their goods and belongings, she was surprised to see a box float away down the river: Soon enough she was to learn to her dismay that is was the box containing her fine china!
Finally settled in Montana, two more children were born, and during that time Roy built a very substantial 2-storey home for his family. Eventually that home was moved several miles closer to - and just southwest of - the developing town of Fairview which straddled the Montana-North Dakota state line.
As time went on and their children grew up and married, Roy and Lillian built a new home across Highway 23 from their 1st home, and their daughter Edith and her husband moved into their old home.
Lillian and Roy farmed and raised sheep, although Roy's primary occupation was in partnership with his son Carlos and his son-in-law Ken Gardner developing and growing the Collins Mercantile Company, a John Deere farm implement dealership in Fairview.
After her husband died in 1960, Lillian lived with her daughter Edith in much expanded, original Collins home. In November 1972 she moved to Richland Homes in Sidney, and she was 96 years old and a widow when she passed away at Community Memorial Hospital on April 29, 1973.
Survivors included her son Carlos Peter Collins of Fairview, daughters Mrs Edith Deming and Mrs Mildred Gardner both in Fairview, eight grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren and a 2nd-great-grandchild.
Funeral Services were held on May 2nd at Community Presbyterian Church in Fairview, and burial was in Fairview Cemetery, just east of Fairview, Montana in McKenzie County, North Dakota.
Original obituary in THE SIDNEY HERALD in early May 1973
Children of Roy and Lillian:
~ Mildred Isabelle Collins (1908-1984)married Kenneth Harris Gardner
~ Edith Mae Collins (1909-2005) m Howard "Robert" Deming; m James F Gardner
~ Carlos Peter Collins (1912-2011) married Lucille Mae Sedlacek
Edith "Lillian" (Boyes) Collins was NOT born in 1878 as indicated on her cemetery marker, but rather she was born on April 14, 1877 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, one of two children born to Peter Boyes (1856-1894) and Isabella (Boyes) Boyes (1855-1929) ~ Yup, the same last name for both of 'em! Lillian was baptized on June 22, 1877 in the Presbyterian Church in Trois-Rivières, and she was 4 years old when the family moved south into the United States and settled in North Dakota.
Transplanted from Scotland to French Canada, Peter and Isabella quickly picked up the ability to speak and understand that North American version of French. However, when they moved to the United States in 1881, any French lingual ability young Lillian had was soon lost.
Her heritage from Scotland did shine through, however, in her red hair, and that, among other things, is what caught the eye of young cowboy Roy Day Collins (1880-1960), when he first met her in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It wasn't a quick courtship, however, because Lillian continued her schooling, graduating from high school and going on to graduate from the University of North Dakota in 1901. After that she worked for an insurance firm.
Meantime, Roy went west with a friend and bought land in eastern Montana where he, in partnership with his dad, outfitted and ran Spring Valley Stock Ranch.
Eventually Roy returned to Grand Forks, where he and Lillian were married on October 11, 1905. After their first child was born, the family packed up and left for eastern Montana, where they settled on a homestead on Second Hay Creek in what later became Richland County.
The trip west was an arduous one, and in later life Lillian would recall with a bit of mock-severity how, when crossing the Missouri River with all their goods and belongings, she was surprised to see a box float away down the river: Soon enough she was to learn to her dismay that is was the box containing her fine china!
Finally settled in Montana, two more children were born, and during that time Roy built a very substantial 2-storey home for his family. Eventually that home was moved several miles closer to - and just southwest of - the developing town of Fairview which straddled the Montana-North Dakota state line.
As time went on and their children grew up and married, Roy and Lillian built a new home across Highway 23 from their 1st home, and their daughter Edith and her husband moved into their old home.
Lillian and Roy farmed and raised sheep, although Roy's primary occupation was in partnership with his son Carlos and his son-in-law Ken Gardner developing and growing the Collins Mercantile Company, a John Deere farm implement dealership in Fairview.
After her husband died in 1960, Lillian lived with her daughter Edith in much expanded, original Collins home. In November 1972 she moved to Richland Homes in Sidney, and she was 96 years old and a widow when she passed away at Community Memorial Hospital on April 29, 1973.
Survivors included her son Carlos Peter Collins of Fairview, daughters Mrs Edith Deming and Mrs Mildred Gardner both in Fairview, eight grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren and a 2nd-great-grandchild.
Funeral Services were held on May 2nd at Community Presbyterian Church in Fairview, and burial was in Fairview Cemetery, just east of Fairview, Montana in McKenzie County, North Dakota.
Original obituary in THE SIDNEY HERALD in early May 1973
Children of Roy and Lillian:
~ Mildred Isabelle Collins (1908-1984)married Kenneth Harris Gardner
~ Edith Mae Collins (1909-2005) m Howard "Robert" Deming; m James F Gardner
~ Carlos Peter Collins (1912-2011) married Lucille Mae Sedlacek
