Grace
'Maude' (Swearingen) Mansfield
(1885-1966)
Grace
'Maude' (Swearingen) Mansfield was born on Jan. 13, 1885 near Concordia,
Cloud County, KS, the daughter of Thomas
J. and Laura Catherine (Johnson) Swearingen. She was a "lifetime
resident" of Cloud County.
On Oct. 26, 1904, Maude married Sidney Linton Mansfield (1882-1964), at the home of her parents in Center Twp. Sidney was a native of near Troy, Doniphan County, KS, and the son of William S. Mansfield. He and his parents had moved to near Concordia when he was age 3.
The Mansfields had 7 children -- Hazel Leota Johnson, Robert 'Lloyd' Mansfield, Austin Dale Mansfield, Billie Elden Mansfield and Melvin Ferril Mansfield, as well as stillborn twins (circa 1916).
Maude
and Sidney were longtime farmers. They are seen here on the
porch of their farmhouse south of Concordia, at an unknown date. Also seated
with them are son Austin and his wife Rhea.
As Maude's mother Kate aged, she came to live with the family. She passed away in their home at age 93, in 1955.
The Mansfields were married for more than 60 years. Sadly, just two months after celebrating this milestone anniversary, Sidney died of heart trouble at age 82, on Dec. 20, 1964, at St. Joseph's Hospital.
Maude passed away at the age of 80 on Jan. 2, 1966. Her
obituary in the Blade Empire said she "had been in ill health for
six months but seriously ill a week." She is buried beside her husband in
Pleasant Hill Cemetery, near their infant twins.
At the time of Maude's death, she had 9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
Daughter Hazel (1905-1994) married William Harrison Johnson
(1906-1996) and resided for many decades in the Concordia area. She was a graduate of Colorado College and
was a teacher in a country grade school for a quarter of a century. They had one daughter, Eloise.
Son Lloyd (1908-1997) never married. He lived in his parents' home in Center Twp. for many years.
Son
Austin (1921-1997) resided in Liberal, KS. During the 1930s, he worked for the
Works Progress Administration, a federal government program to keep Americans
employed on public works projects. He also labored for the Civilian Conservation
Corps and planted many trees in the Concordia area. Later, he was a rural contract mail carrier,
and is seen here circa 1958 with his favorite automobile. He was married twice,
first to Darkis Graham, and then to Rhea
L. Ninemire. He had 3 children -- Eileen, James and Ila.
Son Billie (1926-2002) lived in Buena Vista, CO. He married Betty Graham and had 5 children -- Phyllis, Beverly, Billie, Ronald and Laura.
Son Melvin resided in Concordia. He married Marjorie DeGraff and they had 2 children, Curtis and Susan. Later, he married Barbara (Crum) Sheridan.
For more information on this branch, contact granddaughter Ila (Mansfield) Hittle.
Copyright © 2003 Mark A. Miner