Holbrook line: Louis E Stanard 1856-1923

Louis E Stanard (Stannard) was my great grandfather, yet I don't know very much about him.  He seems to have gone from one occupation to another during his lifetime, and it may be that his main goal was to make sure his children got an education.

Louis was born in (probably) Lee County, Illinois on April 16, 1856.  His parents, Hiram Stannard and Susan Eddy, were married in Lee County on December 31, 1854, so it is likely that Louis was the oldest child.  His known siblings were Esther, Susie, and Seba (may be Luceba), so not only was he the first born, but he was also the only boy in the family.  I wonder if he was spoiled in any way, or, on the other hand, if he always had to "do" for his younger sisters. 

Hiram was a farmer in Bureau County, Illinois, and moved to Harvey County, Illinois sometime around the time of the 1880 census.  He is still in Bureau County, Illinois in 1880 but his wife is in Kansas, living in the home of Louis and his wife Mary Alice Hetrick, along with her other children.  I don't know why the family was apart at this time, but perhaps Hiram had stayed behind to sell the farm or take care of other details at home before he joined the family in Kansas.  He is there as head of the household in the 1885 Kansas state census.  I would imagine that newlyweds Louis and Mary Alice were glad to have a household of their own by then. 

The first we hear of Louis other than on his parents census is in 1879, when he is shown as holding a license to teach school in Newton, Kansas.  Since schoolteachers in this time frame were something of a rare commodity, I think it is safe to say he taught school for at least a few years.  He had married Mary Alice Hetrick, daughter of Reverend Isaac Hetrick and Elizabeth Black, on July 8, 1879 so he had a need to have a family income.  One year later he is listed as a farmer, but it is possible he had a  dual vocation.  Farmers sometimes farmed during the warmer months and taught school in the winter. 

He may have had yet another occupation, that of minister or pastor.    I found one reference to him as a "Reverend", having officiated at a wedding ceremony in 1892.  He had been ordained as a pastor in the American Baptist denomination as early as 1888, and was then assigned to a pastorate in Newton, Kansas, where he had earlier taught. 

He and Mary Alice had three children, Elizabeth, Elwin, and Etta.  By 1905, the Stanards are living in Ottawa, Kansas, and he is listed as a "Menshank" in the 1900 census, and as a grocer in the 1905 city directory. By 1907 he is listed as "L.E. Stanard and Son", and the business is described as a railroad contractor.  The home the family lived in was at 820 S. Cedar Street, which is only a few blocks from Ottawa University, which all three children attended.  I've found graduation records for Elizabeth and Etta, but I'm not sure whether Elwin graduated or not.  This may have been a three year school at the time the Stanards attended there.

Almost as soon as Etta had finished her classes, the family was on the move again, to Stevens County, Washington.  There is a family story about a piece of furniture still in our family, a secretary, that "came over by wagon train." It's more likely that the family traveled to Spokane by train and then traveled north to Stevens County by wagon, and that's where the wagon story originated. 

Louis and family stayed in Stevens County for several years. They homesteaded land near Mill Creek, entering it on  August 9, 1909, with a legal notice of an intent to make final five year proof in June, 1914. and Louis is shown as a fruit farmer in the 1910 census.  By 1920, he is shown as a teacher  and a renter in Hunter, Stevens County, Washington.  I don't know what happened to the land he homesteaded.  Perhaps he sold it, as he would have been 58 in 1914, and farming was hard work. 

By 1922, he and Alice had moved to Spokane, Washington, where he and daughter  Elizabeth are both shown as teachers.  He is again listed as a teacher in 1923, at the age of 67.  He died on June 27, 1923 in Portland, Oregon.  I have no idea what he was doing in Portland.  He is buried as "Rev. L. E. Stanard" in the Fraternal section of the Riverside Memorial Park in Spokane, Washington.  (I don't know whether he belonged to a fraternal order, or whether his "Reverend" status gave him the right to be buried in that section).  

As usual, there's more I'd like to know:  Did he pastor other churches besides the one at Newton?  Did he maintain a church affiliation in Ottawa, and in Washington State?  What happened to the homesteaded land?  And what is a "menshank"?  I googled that but came up empty.  

I've used US and Kansas State census information found on Ancestry, city directories found on Ancestry, and newspaper clippings found on Newspaper.com as the basis for most of this post. 

The line of descent is short:

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys/Lois/Ray/Howard
children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of the Holbrook "children"