Caroline was born as the youngest daughter of Carl F. L. Schafer and Caroline Sharf, 1870s immigrants from Waldeck, Germany. She had no known middle name. When her brother William got sick with polio and could not finish a business course, she begged her father to let her finish it out, but he refused, as that was "not a woman's place." Growing up, she felt her much older sisters Tillie and Minnie were overly "bossy."
As a young redhead, she was eager to move from the farm and modest family home in Durant to Davenport, Iowa, where she worked as a domestic. (A family story says she was once in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was arrested in some sort of a police raid.) Because of her independent streak (especially in choosing her own husband, unlike her obedient siblings), her father left her with a single dollar in his will. That estrangement caused her tears even in old age.
In 1917 she married Clarence Alden Rogers at Davenport. When he cheated with whom she thought was a good friend of hers and for whom she had been baby-sitting, she was humiliated. In 1923 she left supposedly for a "weekend visit to her sister Tene" with their two kids (whom she called "Bud" and "Sis") and moved to Denver. There she assumed the alias of Ethel Stoneburner to avoid him finding them. (Her daughter knew why she chose that name, but would not say why.) She filed for divorce, and worked for many years as a laundress in Denver, and later as a seamstress at Donnell's of Denver dress shop, sewing colorful ricrac onto square dance dresses.
In November of 1925 she married James Alvin Stewart at Denver. She apparently did not know that he had tried to shoot his prior wife and was still married. He was a barber by trade, and she helped him outfit three barber shops, two of which were in Denver, and one in Lodge Grass, Montana (1930). Some of the start-up money may have been part of her 1925 inheritance from her mother in Iowa, Caroline (Scharf) Schafer. She also physically helped him build two modest houses, one in west Denver, and the other on West Iliff Avenue in SW Denver. Letters she wrote to her son in Service during WWII described some of the progress. Photos show ducks and chickens around the house, which must have supplemented the menu during the war, although poultry and eggs were not rationed.
When Stewart died in 1949, she became very upset upon discovering she had never been completely divorced from Clarence. On remembering it, her daughter giggled and said, "She about had a kitten!" She evidently feared that she herself would be jailed for bigamy. The situation was subsequently corrected by a "now for then" declaration in a Saturday court session, which her dear daughter also attended for moral support.
In September of 1950 she married Frank G. Ellis. After 5 1/2 years she obtained a Reno divorce, and in September of 1956 she married Floyd Waterman. Fearing for her safety, she abruptly left him and was estranged from him until she died. She always rented her homes, although for a short time she tried living in a converted garage at her son's home on the north edge of Brighton, Colorado. After more years in Denver, she lived her last years in a mobile home next to her son's house out in the country at Barr Lake, near Brighton. She repaid her son for the mobile home, and she made it a point to stay current on her burial insurance so she would not be a burden.
She was a smoker for many years, but one day in old age she could hardly catch her breath. Frightened, she gave it up cold turkey. While a young woman, she loved to dance. As a pensioner, watching the Lawrence Welk show on TV reminded her of those fun days. She always tried crossword puzzles with a pen, loved fishing, and going to bingo (often with her friend Carrie Hammond), with 12-14 cards before her at a time. Her homes always seemed to have potted geraniums and "Mother-in-law's tongues." She never drove a car, but used buses, walked, or rode with others all her life.
In the 1950s she accompanied her daughter and Rego family on a trip to Mexico. She was fearful of the idea of flying, but gathered her courage in traveling with her daughter to New York for a grandson's wedding. She was treated so well by airport staff and the flight attendants that she ended up enjoying the experience.
She had a strong spirit. Six years after her death, her daughter and a grandson were both greatly surprised to learn each had been visited by her spirit the night before her funeral, comforting them. For those years, neither had known of the other's similar experience.
She is lovingly remembered.
As a young redhead, she was eager to move from the farm and modest family home in Durant to Davenport, Iowa, where she worked as a domestic. (A family story says she was once in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was arrested in some sort of a police raid.) Because of her independent streak (especially in choosing her own husband, unlike her obedient siblings), her father left her with a single dollar in his will. That estrangement caused her tears even in old age.
In 1917 she married Clarence Alden Rogers at Davenport. When he cheated with whom she thought was a good friend of hers and for whom she had been baby-sitting, she was humiliated. In 1923 she left supposedly for a "weekend visit to her sister Tene" with their two kids (whom she called "Bud" and "Sis") and moved to Denver. There she assumed the alias of Ethel Stoneburner to avoid him finding them. (Her daughter knew why she chose that name, but would not say why.) She filed for divorce, and worked for many years as a laundress in Denver, and later as a seamstress at Donnell's of Denver dress shop, sewing colorful ricrac onto square dance dresses.
In November of 1925 she married James Alvin Stewart at Denver. She apparently did not know that he had tried to shoot his prior wife and was still married. He was a barber by trade, and she helped him outfit three barber shops, two of which were in Denver, and one in Lodge Grass, Montana (1930). Some of the start-up money may have been part of her 1925 inheritance from her mother in Iowa, Caroline (Scharf) Schafer. She also physically helped him build two modest houses, one in west Denver, and the other on West Iliff Avenue in SW Denver. Letters she wrote to her son in Service during WWII described some of the progress. Photos show ducks and chickens around the house, which must have supplemented the menu during the war, although poultry and eggs were not rationed.
When Stewart died in 1949, she became very upset upon discovering she had never been completely divorced from Clarence. On remembering it, her daughter giggled and said, "She about had a kitten!" She evidently feared that she herself would be jailed for bigamy. The situation was subsequently corrected by a "now for then" declaration in a Saturday court session, which her dear daughter also attended for moral support.
In September of 1950 she married Frank G. Ellis. After 5 1/2 years she obtained a Reno divorce, and in September of 1956 she married Floyd Waterman. Fearing for her safety, she abruptly left him and was estranged from him until she died. She always rented her homes, although for a short time she tried living in a converted garage at her son's home on the north edge of Brighton, Colorado. After more years in Denver, she lived her last years in a mobile home next to her son's house out in the country at Barr Lake, near Brighton. She repaid her son for the mobile home, and she made it a point to stay current on her burial insurance so she would not be a burden.
She was a smoker for many years, but one day in old age she could hardly catch her breath. Frightened, she gave it up cold turkey. While a young woman, she loved to dance. As a pensioner, watching the Lawrence Welk show on TV reminded her of those fun days. She always tried crossword puzzles with a pen, loved fishing, and going to bingo (often with her friend Carrie Hammond), with 12-14 cards before her at a time. Her homes always seemed to have potted geraniums and "Mother-in-law's tongues." She never drove a car, but used buses, walked, or rode with others all her life.
In the 1950s she accompanied her daughter and Rego family on a trip to Mexico. She was fearful of the idea of flying, but gathered her courage in traveling with her daughter to New York for a grandson's wedding. She was treated so well by airport staff and the flight attendants that she ended up enjoying the experience.
She had a strong spirit. Six years after her death, her daughter and a grandson were both greatly surprised to learn each had been visited by her spirit the night before her funeral, comforting them. For those years, neither had known of the other's similar experience.
She is lovingly remembered.
Caroline was born as the youngest daughter of Carl F. L. Schafer and Caroline Sharf, 1870s immigrants from Waldeck, Germany. She had no known middle name. When her brother William got sick with polio and could not finish a business course, she begged her father to let her finish it out, but he refused, as that was "not a woman's place." Growing up, she felt her much older sisters Tillie and Minnie were overly "bossy."
As a young redhead, she was eager to move from the farm and modest family home in Durant to Davenport, Iowa, where she worked as a domestic. (A family story says she was once in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was arrested in some sort of a police raid.) Because of her independent streak (especially in choosing her own husband, unlike her obedient siblings), her father left her with a single dollar in his will. That estrangement caused her tears even in old age.
In 1917 she married Clarence Alden Rogers at Davenport. When he cheated with whom she thought was a good friend of hers and for whom she had been baby-sitting, she was humiliated. In 1923 she left supposedly for a "weekend visit to her sister Tene" with their two kids (whom she called "Bud" and "Sis") and moved to Denver. There she assumed the alias of Ethel Stoneburner to avoid him finding them. (Her daughter knew why she chose that name, but would not say why.) She filed for divorce, and worked for many years as a laundress in Denver, and later as a seamstress at Donnell's of Denver dress shop, sewing colorful ricrac onto square dance dresses.
In November of 1925 she married James Alvin Stewart at Denver. She apparently did not know that he had tried to shoot his prior wife and was still married. He was a barber by trade, and she helped him outfit three barber shops, two of which were in Denver, and one in Lodge Grass, Montana (1930). Some of the start-up money may have been part of her 1925 inheritance from her mother in Iowa, Caroline (Scharf) Schafer. She also physically helped him build two modest houses, one in west Denver, and the other on West Iliff Avenue in SW Denver. Letters she wrote to her son in Service during WWII described some of the progress. Photos show ducks and chickens around the house, which must have supplemented the menu during the war, although poultry and eggs were not rationed.
When Stewart died in 1949, she became very upset upon discovering she had never been completely divorced from Clarence. On remembering it, her daughter giggled and said, "She about had a kitten!" She evidently feared that she herself would be jailed for bigamy. The situation was subsequently corrected by a "now for then" declaration in a Saturday court session, which her dear daughter also attended for moral support.
In September of 1950 she married Frank G. Ellis. After 5 1/2 years she obtained a Reno divorce, and in September of 1956 she married Floyd Waterman. Fearing for her safety, she abruptly left him and was estranged from him until she died. She always rented her homes, although for a short time she tried living in a converted garage at her son's home on the north edge of Brighton, Colorado. After more years in Denver, she lived her last years in a mobile home next to her son's house out in the country at Barr Lake, near Brighton. She repaid her son for the mobile home, and she made it a point to stay current on her burial insurance so she would not be a burden.
She was a smoker for many years, but one day in old age she could hardly catch her breath. Frightened, she gave it up cold turkey. While a young woman, she loved to dance. As a pensioner, watching the Lawrence Welk show on TV reminded her of those fun days. She always tried crossword puzzles with a pen, loved fishing, and going to bingo (often with her friend Carrie Hammond), with 12-14 cards before her at a time. Her homes always seemed to have potted geraniums and "Mother-in-law's tongues." She never drove a car, but used buses, walked, or rode with others all her life.
In the 1950s she accompanied her daughter and Rego family on a trip to Mexico. She was fearful of the idea of flying, but gathered her courage in traveling with her daughter to New York for a grandson's wedding. She was treated so well by airport staff and the flight attendants that she ended up enjoying the experience.
She had a strong spirit. Six years after her death, her daughter and a grandson were both greatly surprised to learn each had been visited by her spirit the night before her funeral, comforting them. For those years, neither had known of the other's similar experience.
She is lovingly remembered.
As a young redhead, she was eager to move from the farm and modest family home in Durant to Davenport, Iowa, where she worked as a domestic. (A family story says she was once in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was arrested in some sort of a police raid.) Because of her independent streak (especially in choosing her own husband, unlike her obedient siblings), her father left her with a single dollar in his will. That estrangement caused her tears even in old age.
In 1917 she married Clarence Alden Rogers at Davenport. When he cheated with whom she thought was a good friend of hers and for whom she had been baby-sitting, she was humiliated. In 1923 she left supposedly for a "weekend visit to her sister Tene" with their two kids (whom she called "Bud" and "Sis") and moved to Denver. There she assumed the alias of Ethel Stoneburner to avoid him finding them. (Her daughter knew why she chose that name, but would not say why.) She filed for divorce, and worked for many years as a laundress in Denver, and later as a seamstress at Donnell's of Denver dress shop, sewing colorful ricrac onto square dance dresses.
In November of 1925 she married James Alvin Stewart at Denver. She apparently did not know that he had tried to shoot his prior wife and was still married. He was a barber by trade, and she helped him outfit three barber shops, two of which were in Denver, and one in Lodge Grass, Montana (1930). Some of the start-up money may have been part of her 1925 inheritance from her mother in Iowa, Caroline (Scharf) Schafer. She also physically helped him build two modest houses, one in west Denver, and the other on West Iliff Avenue in SW Denver. Letters she wrote to her son in Service during WWII described some of the progress. Photos show ducks and chickens around the house, which must have supplemented the menu during the war, although poultry and eggs were not rationed.
When Stewart died in 1949, she became very upset upon discovering she had never been completely divorced from Clarence. On remembering it, her daughter giggled and said, "She about had a kitten!" She evidently feared that she herself would be jailed for bigamy. The situation was subsequently corrected by a "now for then" declaration in a Saturday court session, which her dear daughter also attended for moral support.
In September of 1950 she married Frank G. Ellis. After 5 1/2 years she obtained a Reno divorce, and in September of 1956 she married Floyd Waterman. Fearing for her safety, she abruptly left him and was estranged from him until she died. She always rented her homes, although for a short time she tried living in a converted garage at her son's home on the north edge of Brighton, Colorado. After more years in Denver, she lived her last years in a mobile home next to her son's house out in the country at Barr Lake, near Brighton. She repaid her son for the mobile home, and she made it a point to stay current on her burial insurance so she would not be a burden.
She was a smoker for many years, but one day in old age she could hardly catch her breath. Frightened, she gave it up cold turkey. While a young woman, she loved to dance. As a pensioner, watching the Lawrence Welk show on TV reminded her of those fun days. She always tried crossword puzzles with a pen, loved fishing, and going to bingo (often with her friend Carrie Hammond), with 12-14 cards before her at a time. Her homes always seemed to have potted geraniums and "Mother-in-law's tongues." She never drove a car, but used buses, walked, or rode with others all her life.
In the 1950s she accompanied her daughter and Rego family on a trip to Mexico. She was fearful of the idea of flying, but gathered her courage in traveling with her daughter to New York for a grandson's wedding. She was treated so well by airport staff and the flight attendants that she ended up enjoying the experience.
She had a strong spirit. Six years after her death, her daughter and a grandson were both greatly surprised to learn each had been visited by her spirit the night before her funeral, comforting them. For those years, neither had known of the other's similar experience.
She is lovingly remembered.
Gravesite Details
OSSW James A Stewart
Family Members
Siblings
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