Kate and Rufe's Kids

My great grandparents, Lydia Katherine (Kate) Mauderly and Rufus (none) Ridnour were the parents of four children. The sober looking one in the middle above was my grandfather, Joseph Rufus Ridnour. He was born June 11, 1896.

Grandpa had a younger brother, Freddie who died as a child. I know he is buried in the Nodaway Cemetery, but his little headstone only has his name - no birth and death dates. But judging by the ages of my great aunts, I believe Freddie was the second son born, after Grandpa Joe.

Florence Mae, on the left, was born July 3, 1899. Lottie, right, was the baby, born in 1901.

There is no date on this picture, but I would guess the ages around 16, 13 and 11. I am enthralled by the girls' hairdos and bows. I'm also noticing their lockets and wondering if any of their descendants still have them? And all three look well-dressed. They are very attractive young people. What were they thinking as their likenesses were captured?

I knew my aunt Florence better than Aunt Lottie. She was married to Thomas Haley. They had nine children. Aunt Florence and Uncle Tom and Grandpa Joe and Grandma Delphia were closer than Grandpa & Grandma were with Aunt Lottie and Uncle Guy. Which meant my Mom and her sisters were closer to their Haley cousins. It might have been because the two families lived nearer to one another, but I think it was more than that.

Aunt Lottie married Guy Inman. I don't know how or why he came to Iowa. His family lived in Oklahoma. He was one-quarter Cherokee. That always fascinated me when I was young. I remember Aunt Lottie got rather reclusive in later years. We would see her in town occasionally. But Uncle Guy was very outgoing. We would meet him on the street in town and he would always stop and talk. I wish I had a picture of him. He had those dark eyes and high cheekbones. I always liked him. There was something about him which escapes me now - whistling? a pipe? a cigar? riddles? His hat?- some little thing that marked him as Uncle Guy to a young child.

Aunt Lottie and Uncle Guy had five children. Macy died when she was six years old in August, 1939. Their son, Ray, died at age 18 in April, 1940. I think Macy had appendicitis and Ray was kicked by a mule. To lose two children in less than nine months is unimaginable. I grew up knowing only their three other children: Leona, Lola and Cleo. Cleo is several years older than I am. I remember when she finished 8th grade she did not want to go to highschool. For some reason (probably fear), I did not want to go to highschool when I graduated 8th grade. I told Mom I wanted to be like Cleo. Thankfully she didn't listen.

There are only four children still living of the 17 born to these three: Aunt Florence's daughters, Darlene Haley Palmer and Doris Haley Pashek and Aunt Lottie's two girls, Leona Inman Kirkman Veatch and Cleo Inman McCuen. I can't even guess how many hundreds of descendants there are now.

Grandpa Joe and Grandma Delphia only had three girls, Evelyn Roberts, Ruth Lynam and Lois Mitchell. Aunt Evelyn and Aunt Lois each had six children; Mom had four; sixteen granchildren. How many of us carry on these Mauderly/Ridnour traits? The brown eyes? The shape of a nose or mouth? Mom used to say her youngest, my brother, Les, looked like her Dad. I don't see it so much in this picture as I do in some when Grandpa Joe was older.

I got the brown eyes. I was lucky.