Letter to Frances from Uncle Joe Catlett - April 18, 1919

Paula, Jennifer, Grandma, Judith, Grandpa, Anne, John, Carla, Jeff, Nancy, Tommy

This post is about a letter written to Frances Pope (my grandmother) in 1919 by her Uncle Joe Catlett.  Joe was writing to remember Frances' mother (Joe's sister) on the one year anniversary of her death.  The sweet poignancy of the letter and of the situation which prompted it, made me think of Frances in a different way.

I knew her solely as "grandma" and I'm not sure I ever could have imagined her as anything else. She looked exactly like a grandma and, as far as I could remember, never changed from that. She always looked like she did in the photo above. Always in a dress. Always in sensible shoes. Wavy gray hair. Surrounded by assorted grandchildren. (As an added bonus, she was far and away the fastest knitter on the planet!)

So, I started thinking about her as a young girl in high school, living in Miles City, Montana. And what it would have been like for her to lose her mother at that time in her life, a girl left with three brothers and a father. I went back over the photos I have of her growing up, and did a little more research on the internet, and tried to fill in some of the gaps.

I'm not sure I have the story entirely correct at this point, but I'm getting there. Here's my best shot at painting a picture of the early life of Frances Pope and family, so that the letter from 1919 will be nestled within some helpful context. Frances passed away in 1969, so I hope that those of you who didn't get to know her, will get to know her now.

[As usual, you can click on any of the images to enlarge. To return to the blog, click on the black border, the ESC button, or the X in the upper right of the pop-up window.]

On December 29th, 1893, Gershom Barlow Pope (aka G.B. Pope, aka "Gert") married Lucy Grace Catlett in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  His first wife, Emma Wood Pope, had died the previous year. Within the next year, G.B. and Lucy moved to South Dakota.  

Gershom Barlow Pope

Lucy Grace Catlett Pope

Estelline, South Dakota

  In 1895, Clarence Catlett Pope (aka "Sandy") was born, in Estelline.  

Clarence

NOTE: I'm going to be including some reminiscences from  Clarence from an interview done with him in 1977.  Those reminiscenses will be in italics.

Mother [Lucy] was born in Missouri. They lived on a farm. Her father raised cattle, horses, and mules. He was a very successful man. Mother was on the farm in Missouri and father came by for some reason. She said that when dad stepped off the buggy, she said, "There's my man, right there!"  She knew it right then... knew the man she was going to marry. He never had a chance after that...

In 1897, James Marion was born. 

Sometime before 1900, G.B. and Lucy adopted Harold Pope.  Harold was born in 1888, so he would have been 13 when Frances was born the following year.

Harold was there ever since I could remember... I guess even before my day. He was older than I was and it fell on his shoulders to do most of the work, like carrying wood, water, etc. We had a pump outside. He was a tough ol' cuss, always into somethin'. He got many a whoopin' but that didn't seem to phase him. He just kept right on.

Frances was born on January 25th, 1901, also in Estelline.  (Note that this is about 30 miles from where Paul Kemp Sr. was born!)

Frances Elizabeth Pope

Father [G.B. Pope] was in the lumber business for a long time, in Estelline. Then he moved into the hardware business and Mother lived above the store. She had these "speakin' tubes" and she could whistle down these tubes and get Father when she wanted him.

Then he used to feed sheep there in Estelline.  He had an elevator where they used to store all the grain. And he had an old treadmill and a horse would furnish the power. The horse would walk all over this treadmill and keep the machinery running. Later on they got a gasoline engine and retired the horse. I can still see that horse walking on that treadmill...

The house in Estelline was down across the railroad tracks from the main part of town and there was a plank walk leadin' down toward the place. Those were the only sidewalks we had in those days. It was on the road that ran from Estelline out to the farms and outlying country. South Dakota in those days was about half wild country.

Father used to haul logs on a sled in the winter and the Indians used to climb on and ride with him. He used to delight in going down a steep hill and then he'd turn right quick and it would throw the Indians off. He was full of the devil.

Father went out to Montana with his brother, Leon. He and Uncle Leon had this ranch up on Fallon Creek and they had some cattle and sheep there. Uncle Leon kind of stayed there and looked after the place. My folks moved out to Fallon Creek first and then later on they moved to Big Timber.

Bertha, Elmer, George Leon "Uncle Leon" Pope, 1902

South Dakota, especially where we were, got pretty "settled up," so we moved out to Montana and started raising cattle and sheep.  Father was always very fond of sheep...

Pope Sheep in winter - horses had to plow so that the sheep could eat

Frances, Marion, and Clarence Pope c. 1903

Frances

Frances

Frances (left) in Kindergarten class

Frances - close up

If you recall the photo of the sheep in the snow above, you'll understand why the family began to spend some winters in California. The photo below is labeled, "Dr Coller and Pope families." It shows Frances on the right lying down, her mother Lucy far right, then (from right to left) Helen Coller, G.B. Pope, and Marion Pope. Amazing attire for the beach. I love those hats...

Long Beach, CA, 1906

Below is Big Timber Ranch in the county of Sweetgrass, Montana. The Popes owned this ranch and lived here circa 1908-1911. The ranch is listed as their residence in the 1910 census.

Pope's "Big Timber Ranch"

And below are Harold, Marion, and Clarence at the ranch.

That photo was taken out at Big Timber.  Sweet Grass was the name of the crick. A hard lookin' bunch!

Harold, Marion, and Clarence Pope 1908

My brother Marion was always kind of a cut-up. He was into everything there was to get into. He got some beer bottles one day and was taking them into the local saloon. He handed the bottles over the counter to the saloon keeper and Mother saw him and came marching down the street with a buggy whip and she went right into the saloon after him. She threw that buggy whip around his knees and he made for the back door. Uncle Joe was in the bank there and he was standin' there with Father when Mother came by with the buggy whip.

Frances

Below is Lucy, along with her sisters, brother Joe, and her father, James William Catlett.

Mary, Winifred, James, Lucy, and Joe Catlett 1910

Mother was a member of the Christian Church. She went to church all the time. She would take us once in a while, when she could round us all up. Father didn't belong to any church. He was probably as religious as most men. 

Lucy Pope

In approx. 1911, the Popes moved to Miles City, but kept the ranch. 

Miles City, Montana

Sheep herding near Miles City

A story was told by Jack Kemp (Balboa), who claimed he'd heard it from his brother, Paul Kemp Sr.:

"G.B. had bought this new Franklin [automobile] because it was air-cooled. They didn't have water cooling in those days. He came home and had three sheep in the back seat, and the car was practically brand new! His wife, Lucy, saw it and she gave him the devil. He replied, 'Well, if it wasn't for these sheep, you wouldn't have the car."

Frances didn't go out to the ranch too often. She was mostly in town, but when she did come out to the ranch, she did a lot of riding.

Frances, 8th grade - 1915

Frances - 1917

Clarence - WWI - 1917/18

On March 26th, Easter Day, 1918, Lucy Catlett Pope passed away. Harold was 30, Clarence 23 and in the Army, and Marion was 21. Frances was 17, a high school junior. 

Lucy Grace Catlett Pope

One year later, Lucy's brother, "Uncle Joe," wrote to Frances to commemorate Lucy. The handwriting is full of flourish, as are the words themselves. It is in a style of that time, but conveys a sentiment true to all time. Below it is a transcription, courtesy of the transcription help of Emily and Rob Hummel. There's one phrase at the end that I've yet to figure out. (All suggestions are gratefully accepted.) But it's a letter filled with love, from a dear uncle.

Joe Catlett and his wife, Lizzie

Letter from Joe Catlett to his niece, Frances, 1919

TRANSCRIPT:

Miss Frances Pope                                                            Brookings, SD  Apr 18^th ‘19

Miles City Mont-

My Dear Niece,

If we have rightly timed ourselves, you will receive this letter on Easter Day and like ours, tonight & then, your thoughts will be on the sad event of Easter a year ago when, with moistened eyes and aching heart we bore to her last resting place our dear and your sainted Mother.  I think it was the immortal Washington Irving that said, “The sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced.  Every other affliction we seek to forget, every other wound we seek to heal, but this we consider it a duty to keep open.”  To forget those sad, anxious, love lit eyes as they beamed in tenderness, awful tenderness, the long last goodbye to those loved dearer than life, to cease to recall at intervals the many acts of love and devotion, the many words of earnest counsel & fervent prayer that your feet may follow straight in the path of truth & right, I know would be foreign to your nature.

All our hearts will mingle in sorrow for our dead and I trust we will in remembering her virtues will resolve to honor her memory and live true to her ideals.  I hope that Clarence is getting stronger and that Marion has returned to his house sound & well.  We are rejoicing that none of our boys had to pay the great debt, make the great sacrifice not even [???].

With love and best wishes to all of you, I am your affectionate uncle,

Joe

Frances' high school graduating class
(Frances is in the back row, 4th from the right)

Frances

Frances completed high school and went on to the University of Montana.

G.B. Pope

G.B. had been building a new "Prairie Style" home in Miles City, but hadn't moved in when Lucy passed away. The house was described as being built with a new product called "Flex-O-Tile," a substance resembling stucco but said to be "more lasting and practically indestructible - and fireproof." The family moved in around 1919.  Below is a more recent photo of the home.

Pope Home - 1906 Main St., Miles City, MT

G.B. also bought a new ranch, called the "Cold Creek Ranch," and began to winter his sheep down in New Mexico.

Cold Creek Ranch

G.B. Pope, Clarence, and workers, New Mexico

Lucy was buried in the Custer County Cemetery in Miles City. Here's a photo of the site in 1929, followed by a more recent close-up of her marker.  (For those who would like to find it some day, the GPS location is: N46 23' 19.1" W105 49' 34.2")

Miles City

Jeanne Swick, a woman who contacted Dick when she thought her family tree was intertwining with ours, provided the photos (and GPS location!) above. She also happened upon a stained glass window in a Miles City church. The window is dedicated to the memory of "Mrs. G.B. Pope" and has a beautiful cross and crown. I don't know the name of the church, but will find out eventually.

I'll leave you with what I think is my favorite photo of Frances. It was taken around the time of her high school graduation, one year after her mother passed away. I think it speaks for itself.

Frances 1919