The History Among Us

The new zip code we live in, actually has it's own glossy magazine. It is mostly advertisements, but usually has several  interesting stories. One such story caught my eye this month. It was about an old house in my neighborhood, that I have noticed on walks.

So, I walked over, and took my own picture.

The house was built in 1895, and at the time, surrounded by a lot more land. No one is quite sure who the first owner was, but in 1905 a widow, named Lillie, and her three small children moved in . The husband a Kentucky Colonel, who had been in the grain business, had recently died of tuberculosis. Lillie became a civic leader, a trustee in her children's public school as an example. She did go on the marry again, but out lived that husband as well. The part I find heartbreaking, is that Lillie buried all three of her children. Her youngest daughter dieing at thirteen from appendicitis. Later, her older daughter died of tuberculosis of the hip, which I had to look that up...I thought it was only a lung disease. That only left her beloved son, who unfortunately was hit by a car, as he crossed a street. I will always enjoy looking at this beautifully cared for home...but will also be reminded of the sadness that must have hung over it .....so many years ago.

* research for this article from 76107 magazine