To wear green or orange on St. Patrick's Day?

This is just going to be a quick note today.  I have had these four leaf clover's with the Tanner possessions and I thought they belonged to them, until I talked to my mom today.  I turns out they were John McMillan Hayes' which would make more sense.  These are actual dried four leaf clovers that he owned and are now in my possession.  How cool is that?  Especially since today is St. Patrick's Day.

Also, to clear up any confusion.  The Hayes' family were Protestant Irish which orange is their symbol.  According to Wikipedia and yahoo.com the Protestant's wear orange and the Catholic's wear green. The flag of Ireland is a strip of orange to signify the Protestants and a strip of green to signify the Catholic's and a strip of white in the middle signifying the hope for peace between the two.

Personally, just because it's fun and seen more as a generic Irish color, I wear green on St. Patrick's day.

Kiss Me I'm Irish

Normally I will try to keep spouses next to each other, but in honor of St. Patrick's Day and I completely jumping lines to my maternal grandmother's line and honoring my ancestor John McMillan Hayes who comes from Belfast, Ireland. This is not the Tanner line at all and if you want to know how you're related to him, feel free to email me.  I have a wonderful story about him written by his daughter, Margaret Stoll Hayes.  She is his daughter from his second wife.

John M Hayes
(copy given to me by Ann Peterson)

JOHN MCMILLAN HAYES

(Written by his daughter Margaret Stoll Hayes)

            John McMillan (or McMullen) Hayes was born in Belfast, County Down, Ireland, September 18th, 1866, the son of John Orr and Ann McMullen Hays.

John Orr & Ann McMullen Hays
(picture from Ann Peterson)

His parents were honest, industrious, God fearing members of the Presbyterian Church. John was one of a family of ten children. Only the names of eight are available as yet. They are, Robert Brownlee, who was given a gold medal for being judged the best elocutionist in all England, Ireland and Scotland, and who played on the stage of London with such renowned actors as Barry Sullivan; William Hayes, Jean Brownlee Hayes, Margaret (Maggie) Hayes Hill, Samuel Hayes, Elizabeth Hayes and little Jenny who died before she was a year old. Despite the duties of caring for such a large family, no effort was spared by their kind mother in giving the training and love every child deserves.

            Honesty was one of the outstanding characteristics of the Hayes family. Once when John was only a small boy he found tuppence on the shelf of the cupboard. Several times he looked at it and felt it. Finally the temptation became so great that he took the money and went to the sweet shop and spent it. Candy was not common in his home and it was a treat that he soon finished. He returned home and soon his mother asked who had taken the money. No one answered, but no doubt John looked pretty guilty. At any rate, his mother picked him up and carried him outside. There was a pump outside with a bucket under it. Quickly she filled the bucket with water, and before he hardly realized what was happening, she held him, head down, over the water. He was sure she was going to drown him and in fright he confessed what he had done. She set him down on his feet and said, "I would rather have my child dead than that he be a liar." John never forgot the lesson. This is one of the few incidents he remembered about his Mother who died when he was only nine years old.

           

John M Hayes

            When a young man he joined a very unpopular religion, the Mormons. His father and step-mother, who were staunch and devout Presbyterians, were horrified when they learned, and refused him admittance to their home. They told him he was no longer their son, and that any clothes or money he might have in the house no longer belonged to him. This was indeed a sad situation as he had planned to emigrate to America and had saved a large portion of his fare. His reputation for honesty stood him in good stead now for he soon found a friend ready and willing to lend him the needed money. He sailed for the United States on the S.S. Nevada, of the Guion Line on Saturday, April 17th, 1886 and arrived in Salt Lake City on May 3rd. He met Eliza Stoll, who later became his wife, on the boat.

            In Ireland he learned the printing trade so when he arrived in Salt Lake he went to work as a printer's devil. (A printer's devil was an apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of task.) But he was determined to make something more of his life. He soon paid back his emigration loan and then spent all spare money and time studying book keeping. He was able later to pass the test as a CPA.

 

John M Hayes
Mission to Great Britain
(picture from Ann Peterson)

           

John M Hayes with missionary companions.
He is the top right
(Picture from Ann Peterson)

John M Hayes
Mission to Great Britain
(Picture from Ann Peterson)

John M Hayes
Missionary to Great Britain
(Picture from Ann Peterson)

Not many years later the Church called him on a mission to his native land and he was able to visit his people and was reconciled with his family. However, before they would see him he had to promise that he would never speak to them of his new religion.

            He came to Utah at the time polygamy was being practiced, and being a dedicated and devoted member of the Church he felt he should embrace the principle. He was married to Mary Ellen Fenton in August 1887 and to Eliza Stoll on November 9th of the same year.

Mary Ellen (Fenton) Hayes

John M Hayes
(Picture from Ann Peterson)

Eliza (Stoll) Hayes
(Picture from Ann Peterson)

It was a wonderfully happy situation, for the women were kind and unselfish and loved each other as sisters. It was a sad day for all when the manifesto was announced, for John could not accept it as the word of the Lord, and turned his back on the leaders of the Church. This made Eliza feel that there was not place now for her, and with love still burning in each heart they parted on the 25th of February, 1901.

            He was married four times. Mary Ellen Fenton, his first wife, was the mother of four sons and two daughters. Clara Jeanie; Robert Fenton, who was killed in a explosion at the copper mine in Bingham after saving the lives of many others; John Francis, who died in 1970; Edward Fenton; William Brownlee; and Marian. Eliza Stoll was the mother of twins; John Stoll who was still born and Margaret. Agnes Austin, his third wife was the mother of one son, John M Jr. who died at birth in March 1913 the day after Robert was killed. They were divorced in California. The fourth was the most unfortunate marriage. Margaret was a hypochondriac and that marriage ended very soon in divorce. The last eighteen years of his life he lived alone in hotel apartments in Los Angeles, being unwilling to live with any of his family lest he become a burden to them. During a part of this time, Mrs. Jessie West, a friend, cooked his meals, drove him in his car wherever he wished to go, and was a pleasant companion.

John McMillan with his children; Jeannie, Robert & Francis (Frank) Hayes
(picture from Ann Peterson)

            The following is copied from a letter written to John's daughter Margaret, at the time of his death, by Charles T. S. Parsons who was his dear friend and assistant at the Copper Company. "In 1903 the Utah Copper Company was organized... D.C. Jackling, one of the primer movers of the venture, who was making an inspection trip at the time, inquired of Lawrence Greene, a prominent Salt Lake business man, if he knew of an accountant he might get to make an analysis of the construction accounts. Mr. Greene had hear of Mr. Hayes' ability and recommended him for the assignment. Mr. Hayes performed the task so satisfactorily that Mr. Jackling remarked to Mr. Green: "Hayes is my man."

John McMillan Hayes

            "General offices of the Copper Company up to this time had been maintained in Colorado Springs. It was decided to expand the offices in Salt Lake City and Mr. Hayes was placed in charge. He put his analytical mind to work on the problems and in a short time the office was functioning smoothly and efficiently.

            During this period of early development many other problems presented themselves for solution and Mr. Jackling made good use of Mr. Hayes' ever expanding capacity. There was a matter of obtaining additional land facilities in which Mr. Hayes' sound judgment and careful bargaining abilities were manifest. In the matter of obtaining an adequate water supply for increased milling operations his contribution was outstanding. Then there was the problem of legislative enactments affecting the growing mining industry. Mr. Hayes' keen judgment and understanding did much to promote a reasonable tax climate for the industry. There was also the necessity for sound public relations, and Mr. Hayes proved himself exceptionally capable in this assignment. His abundance of friendliness, his rare wit and humor, his sense of fairness and good judgment did much to lay the foundation of the good will in which the present officers and employees take great pride. All of his various assignments were faithfully and effectively fulfilled and bear the hallmark of a many of many talents.

            "Mr. Hayes resigned his position as Assistant Secretary and Treasurer of the Company on December 31st, 1920, and moved with his family to Los Angeles, California."

            He died March 31, 1950 in a rest home in Los Angeles at the age of 83. He wished his body to be cremated and so stated in his will. His ashes were buried in the family plot beside his wife Mary, in the Salt Lake City Cemetery April 12th, 1950. At the time of his death he was survived by three sons and three daughters, ten grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. Will and Francis were at his bedside when he passed away. All of his living children attended his funeral which was held at the Erickson Funeral Home in Los Angeles. Short graveside services were held in Salt Lake.

            On one of Norman's and my many visits with Papa in Los Angeles, all three of my brothers with their wives came in to spend the evening. We had a delightful time together, but someone mentioned the presiding authority of the Mormon Church. It so happened that he was a person Papa did not like and he spoke out quite strongly against him. At that time I was a member of the Primary General Board and I said: "Please Papa, don't say those things about the President of my church. You know that I would not be where I am, not what I am, if it had not been for the training and opportunities I have had in the Church." He immediately reached over to where I was sitting, patted my hand and said: "I am sorry. I know what the Church has done. I am proud of you. Stay with the Church always and do what they ask of you."

 

Riverside Bowling Green May 19, 1928
(picture provided by Ann Peterson)

           At another time Norman and I went to pick him up at the bowling green at Exposition Park. While there he introduced us to a friend with whom he had been playing, as his son in law and daughter from Salt Lake. The man said, "Oh, that's where the --- Mormons live. I was glad to get through that town between two days." Papa preached him a regular sermon about the wonderful things the Mormon Church had done and about the outstanding and growing membership it had. Papa was so wrought up and disturbed that he talked about it all the way home from the park.

Riverside Bowling Green May 19, 1928
Margaret (Reed) Hayes (4th wife), John M Hayes and Eliza (Stoll) Hayes (2nd wife)
(Picture provided by Ann Peterson)

             At one time he said to me: "It's hard to admit you were wrong and to say you are sorry." And so I feel that he must have carried a testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel in his heart always.

 

John M Hayes with his daughters, Jeannie, Margaret & Marian
(picture provided by Ann Peterson)

            He was a most wonderful, kind and loving Father to all of us.

This story was provided to me by Ann Peterson.  I added the pictures which most of them were also given to me by her.

Lewis Alexander Tanner - father of William Lewis Tanner

Lewis Alexander Tanner

Lewis Alexander Tanner was born February 12, 1818 in either Lenox, Massachusetts, Pennsyvlania, or Connecticut.  In the book “William Tanner, Senior and his descendants, 1910” by Reverend George C. Tanner his birth is listed in Massachusetts. On the 1850 census, it states Connecticut. On a U.S. Civil War draft registration record, 1863-1865 his place of birth is listed as Pennsylvania. I am still researching this. He was the son of William Tanner and Anna Williams.  Lewis had four brothers and three sisters. 

            On January 26, 1841 he married Sarah Dibble Perkins in Meriden, Connecticut.

Sarah Dibble (Perkins) Tanner

 Their first child, Mary Alenah was born October 25, 1842 followed by William Lewis on Mary 3, 1844.  On July 26, 1845 Norman Alexander was born.  All three were born in Meriden, New Haven, Connecticut. 

Mary Alenah Tanner

William Lewis Tanner

Norman Alexander Tanner

Sometime between 1845 and Jan 1849, Lewis and Sarah moved their family to New Haven, Connecticut.  Their address was 117 East Pearl Street, which is only a block away from the Quinnipiac River, just up from the New Haven Harbor. 

117 East Pearl Street, New Haven, Connecticut

Map showing how close they were to the harbor. 

During this time, Lewis was a tinsmith and had a partner named Seth De Wolf who lived with them. They started to make oyster cans, a lucrative business at the time. Reverend George C. Tanner wrote that Lewis was one of the first to manufacture tin oyster cans. The cans were made by hand, cutting tin sheets that were bent around a cylindrical mold and the seam soldered.  Tops and bottoms were cut and soldered to the body. A cap hole was left in the top through which oysters were inserted. It was closed by soldering a cap over the hole.  The same type of can was used by vegetable and fruit canners in the summer and fall. Information about the tin cans were found just by a google search.  Lewis and Seth had their tin shop on the side of the house. They also made jacks for the kids and tin boxes. 

Homemade jacks and a wooden  ball made by Lewis A. Tanner

Tin boxes made by Lewis A. Tanner

On January 28, 1849, Sarah Anne was born in New Haven, passing away less than a month later on February 18, 1849.  Nancy Ally was born November 12, 1851 in New Haven.  Francis L was born next on May 8, 1854, living a few months and passing away on September 15, 1854.  In January 1856, when Nancy was about four years old, she also passed away.

 Lastly, Ida Lewie was born on November 18, 1860.

Ida Lewie Tanner

Lewis Alexander Tanner (Tintype)

(Their address at 117 E. Pearl Street is from both Van Buren Lamb and the picture of their house and also from U.S. City Directories, New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1879 page 239. Accessed through Ancestry.com.)

(Lewis’ occupation is also noted in the above mentioned William Tanner book and is stated on the 1860 Federal Census).

(Lewis’ brother’s occupation noted in the book William Tanner, Sr. of South Kingston, Rhode Island and his descendants in four parts.  By Rev. George C. Tanner, D.D. Faribault, Minnesota)

(Lewis & Sarah’s marriage is recorded in the Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630 – 1920)(All their children are listed on censuses, gravestones and the above mentioned book)

Family Tree

Before I get too engrossed in family stories and research problems, I thought I would break down who's who.  For now, this only covers the first few generations I am posting about.  I will not be posting information on anyone who is still alive. In order to respect everyone's privacy but still start with someone most people would know, or easily able to figure out, I am referencing people in my stories to Millard Edwin Tanner. For example: William Lewis Tanner - grandfather of Millard Tanner.  If you are young and don't know who that is, ask your parents or you can always email me privately and I will help you establish this relationship.

For reference purposes though:

Millard Edwin Tanner born: 26 October 1920 died: 20 January 1975
His parents were: William Roy Tanner and Hazel Devereaux Call

William Roy Tanner's parents were: William Lewis Tanner and Helen Clarissa Finch

Hazel Devereaux Call's parents were: Millard Augustus Call and Velzora Pease Devereaux

William Lewis Tanner's parents were: Lewis Alexander Tanner and Sarah Dibble Perkins

Helen Clarissa Finch's parents were: William Charles Finch and Angeline Kelsey

Millard Augustus Call's parents were: Augustus L. Call and Emily Benner

Velzora Pease Devereaux's parents were: Dennis Devereaux and Rhoda Cottle Parkhurst

That should give everyone a basic breakdown.  For more information, connections and family tree you can also check out Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org.   For immediate family members I will send you an invite to my ancestry.com if you will email me to request one.

In everyone's stories I will add sources and bibliography information. I am not going to take the time here.

Helen Clarissa Finch (Millard's grandmother and wife of William Lewis Tanner)

I am going to leave most of Helen’s story to a biography written by her daughter Ruth.  I have let it how I received it with no editing.  I love reading about her red hair and the little childhood stories. I was given this story by Diana Thompson. 

Helen Clarissa Finch

The Pioneer Baby

My mother came to Minnesota in the Spring of 1850, eight years before Minnesota became a state. She was born on the 29th of October, 1849, in a little village in the Catskill Mountains, called Poest-en-kill, now incorporated in the town of Sands Lake, New York. Her parents, William Charles Finch and Angeline Kelsey, his wife, decided to follow his Uncle John North to St. Anthony Falls. This land and “take up land” on the prairie west of St. Anthony Falls. This land was part of the original Fort Snelling reserve and was offered for pre-emption to settlers.

Uncle John North was a lawyer and was settled in a frame house in the village of St. Anthony on the east side of the river. Aunt Ann, his wife, had the first piano in St. Anthony, and gave music lessons. It was to his home that the Finches (with my mother) came at the end of their long journey. 

They left their two oldest children in Poest-en-kill, with their grandparents, Cyreus Finch and Minerva North, his wife. They came on the next year and brought the two little girls, Emily and Frances, with them. And they built a small frame house nearby. This house is still standing not far from the original site.

Of the journey with the six months old baby Helen, my mother, I know very little, except hearing my mother say, “they came by boat as far as Albany, by train to Syracuse, and the rest of the way by stage coach.” Or, as my grandfather put it, “the rest of the way by easy stages,” to which Grandmother always added, “None of the stages were easy.”

One can well imagine they were not, not with a six months old baby in ones arms all the way. I can picture them in my mind’s eye. I have pictures of Grandpa and Grandma Finch. Both were large stocky people. He had fair skin, wide-open blue eyes, and a prematurely bald head. And he always carried a red bandana handkerchief to wipe his head, and a blue one for his nose. She was large, too. Ample seems to be the word for Angeline, deep of bosom, expansive of heart, and laughs and ready friendliness. Her hair, my mother used to tell us was black as a raven’s wing, parted in the middle, combed neatly back with short round curls all around.

The hardship of the journey would be difficult for people of today to imagine. And no doubt the beauty of the untamed landscape would be hard to imagine. The Mohawk Valley opening before them, the views of the Great Lakes, the small villages and hamlets, which perhaps gave the far-sighted traveler a premonition of the great cities they were destined to become. Hope must have beat high in their hearts for the new home they would build in this virgin country, and longing for little Emily and Frances they had left behind must have dimmed the eyes, looking so hopefully ahead. And baby Helen, my mother, big blue eyes, pink and white skin and curly red hair, filling their arms and mind making the journey harder and at the same time easier for the pioneers. [The baby with red hair and blue eyes was my Grandmother Tanner who died when I was 6 years old, living on King Street in Monrovia, CA with my mother Helen Barnard.—this note was added by Doris Barnard West Dec 1998]

Arriving at St. Anthony, they were welcomed by Uncle John North and Aunt Anne. Grandma remained there with baby Helen while Grandpa built his house on the land he had taken up in Richfield. Not a log house, for St. Anthony boasted a saw mill. The house was a two-story frame, with an upstairs and a cellar, built on one of the low rolling hills of the prairie dotted with small native oaks. They lived here for many years, and raised a family of seven children. All I know of their childhood my mother told me when I begged for stories about when she was a little girl. I can’t give them sequences—they are only bright bits like a patchwork quilt.

One of Mother’s early recollections was of being attacked by an angry rooster that flew at and clawed her—perhaps on account of her bright red hair—or perhaps because they were visiting at a home where there were no children and he had never seen a child. 

My grandmother used to tell her that when she was very tiny she used to stretch out her arms to the prairie chickens and beg – “come prairie chickens, come play wis me.” As older children they used to be delighted if a dish were broken because they could have the broken bits for doll china. My grandmother used to make corn husk dolls for them. My mother used to fold up an old shawl as though it were wrapped around a baby, and put a safety pin in to hold the “head” in place, and would tell me her mother used to make her a “baby” that way.

My grandmother must have been a wonderful person, and a neighbor to be loved and admired and looked to in time of trouble. She it was who served as doctor and nurse to many, and many a pioneer baby was assisted into the world by her. When the McCabes came from “Back East” to take up their land nearby, they arrived in a covered wagon, the wagon box full of children, all sick with the measles—and Grandma rose to the occasion—opened her home and heart, took in all the McCabes, measles and all, gave the measles to all her own children and her husband as well and housed and cared for them all until their house was ready—and very soon after assisted at the birth of the newest McCabe, Nora, whom I remember as a tiny white haired old lady who never failed to mention this episode whenever she saw any of us.

My grandfather was ambidextrous and was one of those rare people who could sow grain “broadcasting with both hands” thereby doing a better job in half the time it took ordinary mortals. He was much in demand by neighboring farmers, and they did all sorts of things for him to repay him for sowing their grain.

My mother was his special favorite. The two older girls were needed in the house to help Grandmother—and since no boy arrived till the fifth child, Grandpa needed a helper with him. So my mother spent many hours out of doors with him. He was an extremely well-read man and something of a philosopher, too, and no doubt was a great influence in Mother’s life. Though they were poor and endured many hardships, there were always papers, Harpers Weekly magazines and books to be had.

One story Mother used to tell that gave me the “creeps” was about the time when she found a poor little chicken that had been abandoned by its mother. It was a cold raw windy day, so Mother took pity on the poor little thing, wrapped it up in an old shawl and got it in the oven. After the fire had gone out awhile the oven was still warm. She went out to play, forgetting all about it—you have probably guessed what happened. Grandma built up the fire and when Helen remembered the chicken, she found him cooked in the shawl in the oven. Mother hated to think about it—even after she was an old lady.

The sixth child to arrive was a boy. Charlie was the first boy, the fifth child. Charlie was Cornelia’s special charge, “Nealy” was next younger than my mother. But the new boy, Myron, was my mother’s special charge. He was big and fat and slow, so my mother used to carry him on her right hip (she was left-handed). This left her left hand free. All her life her dresses had to be made a wee bit larger on her right hip—and I often heard her explain to her dressmaker why that hip was larger. In my childish imagination, I used to visualize a miniature “Uncle Myron” bald head and curling red moustache riding gaily on my mother’s hip. He must have been a darling though, for my mother never sounded as though taking care of him had been a hardship at all. She loved to tell cute things he said and did. Once he was sitting in the doorway between the kitchen and the weed shed and he said “Mama I see sompin” and she said, “What do you see?” and he said, “I don’t know but I think it’s a little cowie”—she concluded he must have glimpsed a mouse. Another time they were walking down the road after a rain and the sky was reflected in the roadside puddles, and Myron stopped and looked in a puddle seeing the sky and said “Ooh it’s deep as the sea.” No one knows where he, a prairie child go the idea.

Mother and her sisters and brothers had to go barefoot as early in the spring and as late in the fall as possible to “save shoe leather.” She used to tell us how they used to kick or push the cows that they found lying on the ground, and make them get up and then warm their bare feet on the warm place the cows left. Of course being a city child myself I was impressed with the fact that they weren’t afraid to go near a cow. Mother never wanted us to go barefooted. It was a special privilege reserved for hot days that were too hot to play outdoors—queer how in just one generation necessity and luxury changed places.

During the Civil War my grandfather tried to enlist but was always rejected because he had asthma. So he did “teaming” for Fort Snelling—hauling in supplies in his wagon. On one of these occasions he took the older children along for the ride. My mother remembered it distinctly. It was the first time she ever saw the American flag. Times were very hard during the war, and food at best was plain and with very little variation. Mother remembered once when her “pa” was off “teaming” it was cold and the wind was in the wrong direction and the stove wouldn’t “draw” very well. My grandmother made a large pan of white sauce and sat close to the stove with the pan in her lap and all the little folks stood round her and “dunked” their bread in the white sauce and that was “dinner”.

Once Aunt Nealey was invited to have supper with the McCabes and they had sauerkraut, and my Aunt told them “sauerkraut is good when there ain’t no other kind of dessert!”

The best food my mother ever ate was wild strawberry shortcake. Grandma would send all the children out after wild strawberries—and she would make biscuit dough and cook it in the skillet on top of the stove with plenty of butter in which to brown it. She served it hot with crushed berries and plenty of cream.

They gathered hazelnuts for winter treats. My grandfather was very fond of them and usually had some in his pockets for “hand outs” to the children.

Grandmother was a “crack shot” with a rifle and could bring down a squirrel—she often shot just for a pastime. Mother never mentioned using them for food. 

There were Indians in the territory and there were “uprisings” against the whites from time to time. During one Indian uprising an Indian and his squaw came and looked in the schoolhouse window and then came and pounded on the door. The children and no doubt the teacher were frightened—but all they wanted was to bring in the papoose and get warm.

One Christmas, times were even harder than usual, and there were no Christmas presents. Mother never spoke as though they were greatly disappointed. She always had a way of saying “Blessed are those who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed.” They just made the best of it. But the day did not go “unreknowned” [can’t read the word] for before night they received a most appropriate gift—a baby sister—and on Christmas Day!

I’ve said before that my mother was a great favorite of her father’s—and my father used to like to tell me that when he asked Grandpa Finch for her hand in marriage, Grandpa said, “Wouldn’t one of the older girls do? You want the very best one!”

[Note by Doris Barnard West: Ruth was the youngest of Grandmother Tanner’s children. Mother was next to the last.]

Helen Clarissa (Finch) Tanner

Helen was married to William Lewis Tanner at age 19.  Her marriage record and children's information is in my William Lewis Tanner post about his life after the war.  Her sister Frances lived with them for a time also. 

Helen Clarissa (Finch) Tanner

 Up until 1920 she was living in Minneapolis and here I want to note, because I have seen information different ways that she died on April 17, 1924, in Monrovia, California.  Both her daughter's story and the California death index support this information, along with the probate records of her will.  According to findagrave.com she was then brought back to Minneapolis and buried next to her husband in Oak Hill Cemetery in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.  

William Lewis Tanner - After the war

William Lewis Tanner – After the war

William Lewis Tanner

After the war was over, William returned home to New Haven and when he was physically able he worked in his father’s tin shop for about a year.  At this time the west was expanding and he felt he might have better business opportunities out there, so he packed up and headed to Minneapolis in 1866.  Having learned tin working skills from his father, he worked in a cooper shop.  Coopers are also known as barrel makers. They made cask which would hold flour, gunpowder, wine, milk and other commodities that needed to be shipped or stored. After living in Minneapolis, his father Lewis died on December 5, 1867 so he returned home to New Haven, Connecticut for about a year and a half.  While living there he learned how to paint houses and in the spring of 1869 he returned Minneapolis.  He spent the next two years decorating and painting houses with a company until 1873, when he purchased his employers business and owned his own house painting business until his death.  William painted both the interior and exterior of houses and was able to grow his business every year, making his family very comfortable.  He was then able to invest in some rental properties and brought in a comfortable income with his investments.

Helen Clarissa Finch

 While living in Minneapolis he met Helen Clarissa Finch, daughter of William Finch and Angeline Kelsey.  She was born in Ponsinkill, New York on October 29, 1949.  Her father was a farmer and they lived for awhile in Sands Lake, New York until her parents moved them to Minnesota.  They were married on September 9, 1869, in Richfield County of Hennepin, Minnesota.

Marriage Certificate of William Lewis Tanner & Helen Clarissa Finch

Helen’s parents moved onto California 1876 yet William and Helen decided to stay in Minneapolis.  About 1870 William built a home at 1425 5^th Avenue South in Minneapolis.  On April 4, 1871 their first son, Harry Lewis was born. 

Harry Lewis Tanner

Harry Lewis Tanner

Wallace North joined the family on August 19, 1873.

Wallace North Tanner

 He was followed by a daughter, Mable Hattie born April 22, 1876.  Mable only lived until the young age of three, when she died of typhoid fever in 1879.

Mable Hattie Tanner

Another daughter Alice May was born on May 1, 1879.

Alice May Tanner

Alice May Tanner

Alice, Harry & Wallace Tanner

Then a son, William Roy was born August 4, 1882.

William Roy Tanner

Daughter, Helen Edith was born September 6, 1887.

Helen Edith Tanner

Finally Ruth Marian on August 5, 1891. I am not sure why I don't have a picture of Ruth as a baby, but I will relook over all my files.

Copy of Tanner Family Bible given to me by Diana Thompson

Picture provided by Diana Thompson

 On the 1880 census her sister Frances Finch is listed as living with them.  She is listed as single, unemployed and a dressmaker who is either maimed, crippled, bedridden or otherwise disabled.  According to Diana Thompson, she had a club foot. Diana has a beautiful quilt made by Frances that I will add to another post later.

William was a lifelong republican in his political views and also was a Mason, loyal to the teachings and purposes of the craft.  He also proudly wore the little bronze button that signaled him a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.  

Civil War medals I think are actually William's brother Norman, but William would have had similar.  The medal to the farthest right is for Infantry so I know it is Norman's and they came down through Van Buren Lamb who lived with Norman for a time.  Hopefully one of William's other descendants have his.

Helen & William Tanner (picture from Diana Thompson)

I love this picture of Helen and Will relaxing on the porch.  They look so happy. 

On August 4, 1884, William’s mother, Sarah Dibble Perkins, passed away. A few years later, on November 1, 1892 he signed a quit claim deed giving his portion of his parents home to his younger sister, Ida Lewis for the amount of $1. 

Front row seated: Helen Clarissa Finch Tanner and William Lewis Tanner. Standing: (left to right): Alice Tanner Wilson, Wallace Tanner, Ruth Tanner Ensign, and Helen Edith Tanner Barnard. (picture from Diana Thompson)

On December 4, 1899 his son Harry died at the age of 28 in Manhattan, New York.  It is said he died of pneumonia, but I don't have documentation yet of that. 

William Lewis Tanner

On December 9, 1918, at the age of 74 years old, William died of hemiplegia, which he suffered three paralysis attacks within two years. Hemiplegia is the total or partial paralysis of one side of the body. Also contributing to his death was pneumonia and a coma. 

William's Death Certificate

  He was buried in Richfield Cemetery on December 11, 1918.  In his will he first leaves the sum of $500 to his widowed sister Mary and then leaves rest to his wife, which is the rental properties and quite a bit of money for the time. 

[*Stories of William were found in “History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; Chicago-Minneapolis, The SJ Clark Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I-Shutter (Historical); Volume II – Biographical; Volume III Biographical,  Vol III, pg 90-93.

*All originals of pictures of William and family members are in my possession (or my mom’s) unless otherwise stated.

*All children are listed in his application for pension certificate #866.736 in the National Archives. I have a copy in my possession and from the copy of the birth page of the Tanner bible I received from Diana Thompson. The original is in another family member's possession.]