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Isaac Martin Wilson was the third child of James Harvey and Susanna Martha (Martin) Wilson, and probably was named after his grandfather Isaac Martin. He was born in Monroe Township, Fremont County, Iowa, most likely in February 1867.1 A Wilson family history says he had a twin brother named Samuel, who lived only 10 months. I have found no independent record of Samuel’s birth, death, or burial, but James Wilson's obituary confirms that there was one child in this family who died in infancy. Isaac’s family moved to Prairie Township (still in Fremont County) when he was about 3 years old. Census records show him in his parents’ home in 1870, 1880, 1885, and 1895. Early in 1895, though, Isaac moved out and began farming some land on the Missouri River bottom about 4 miles southwest of Sidney, Iowa (according to notes in the Fremont County Herald). By the fall of 1896, it seems he was feeling sufficiently independent and prosperous to start his own family, for he married (1) Luella Jane Stephens on 29 October 1896. She had been born 27 December 1861 in Sidney Township, Fremont County, the daughter of Jacob H. and Francis M. (Richards) Stephens, and she had been teaching in the Fremont County schools for 14 years. The Fremont County Sun (5 November 1896, p. 3) printed a detailed description of the wedding. The marriage did not last. The 1900 census shows both Isaac and Luella with a status of “Divorced” and living apart from each other, each back in their parents’ homes. The Fremont County Herald of 14 June 1900 (p. 5) confirms that the official divorce decree was issued 9 June 1900. Luella was granted custody of the couple’s two daughters, who were:
Isaac’s father died in July 1900, after which Isaac and his brother Elza apparently took over operation of the family farm in Prairie Township. Their mother moved to Colorado about 1902, but Isaac and Elza remained on the old farmstead for another seven years. The Fremont County Herald of 26 Feb. 1903 (p. 2) described Isaac as “a successful farmer of Prairie township.” Isaac and Elza sold their father’s farm in February 1909 and moved to Colorado. They did not, however, settle in Delta County, where their mother lived, but instead went on to Montezuma County, more than 100 miles southwest of there. According to a note in the Montezuma Journal (Cortez, CO, 12 March 1909, p. 1, copied from the Dolores Star): “Isaac M. Wilson arrived Wednesday from Fremont county, Iowa, with two car loads of live stock, farm implements and household goods. He came here to join his brother [Charles] who has been here for the past year. They bought the Clyde White ranch and the Patterson ranch adjoining it on the south. Mr. Wilson says he came from the best country in the world to the poorest, but he will be agreeably surprised when he learns how far from the truth that statement was.” The 1910 census shows Isaac living with his brother Charles in Precinct 8 of Montezuma County. His brother Elza lived nearby, as his household (including Elza’s wife and three children) immediately precedes theirs in the census. Isaac’s marital status is listed as “widowed,” which is strange, because his ex-wife Luella was still very much alive back in Iowa with Elza’s two daughters at that time. Isaac apparently had settled about 4 miles north of Cortez, in the area then known as Mildred. In addition to that property, however, he also homesteaded 160 acres about 4 miles southeast of Cortez (NE¼ sec. 9, T35N, R15W). He filed his claim in 1911 and “proved it up” in 1913. Isaac married (2) Anna P. Smith on 12 June 1913 at Greeley, Weld County, Colorado. She had been born 12 August 1878 near Youngstown, Ohio, the daughter of John Finley Smith and Phoebe Elizabeth (Root) Smith. Her family had moved to Greeley when she was 2 years old, and she had grown up there. According to multiple items in Montezuma County newspapers, Anna was teaching in the Cortez Public Schools as early as 1909, so that explains how she and Isaac came to meet each other. Isaac made the 400-mile trip up to Greeley in order to marry Anna in her home town, after which they returned to the Cortez area. The 1920 census shows Isaac (“Isiac”) and Anna in Precinct 8 of Montezuma County, with 8-year-old Thelma Blanchard, who is identified as a “daughter.” Clearly, though, she was an unrelated girl that Isaac and Anna were caring for temporarily.2 Once again, the census also showed Isaac’s brother Elza and family living nearby (listed further down on same page). It’s important to note that the official census date in 1920 was January 1 — the only Federal census compiled that early in the year — inasmuch as various Wilson family researchers report that Isaac died in February 1920. I have found no obituary or official record of his death, although Anna’s obituary, published 41 years later, confirms that Isaac had died in 1920, without giving a specific day or month. A tombstone for “Ike Wilson” at Arriola Cemetery might be his (various records show that he was sometimes called “Ike”), but the birth and death dates shown there (1874–1921) do not seem quite right. Isaac’s first wife, Luella, remained in Fremont County, Iowa, and died there on 27 February 1929. The Sidney Argus Herald published an obituary for her, and she was laid to rest at Sidney Cemetery. His second wife, Anna, moved to Cañon City, Fremont County, Colorado, where she lived with her sister Carrie Anthony, also a widow. Both the 1930 and 1940 censuses show her and Carrie living together, and both teaching in the Cañon City Schools. Carrie died in 1944, after which Anna retired and moved to Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado, where she passed away in 1961. An obituary was published in the Fort Collins Coloradan, and she was buried near her parents at Linn Grove Cemetery in Greeley. If you can suggest any corrections to the information above or provide any further details about the lives of Isaac, his two wives, and their descendants, please contact me at the address shown in the image below:
Thanks,
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to Susanna Martin bio page. Footnotes:
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