While we were living in Tucson during World War II, we would sometimes travel to Casa Grande to visit my mother's aunt Eva and uncle George. The trip seemed to take forever in Dad's 1941 Plymouth in the broiling Arizona sun, thanks to the 45-mph wartime speed limit. George and Eva lived in a big old house next to an irrigation ditch which we always referred to as "the canal". Sometimes Eva's grandchildren, my little second cousins, Ron and Sharon Montgomery would be visiting from Tempe. Eva loved to bake and her house was always filled with the fragrance of home-baked bread. George worked at the O'Malley Lumber Co., near the railroad tracks.
Eva May Seward was born 7 Dec 1883 in Bloomington, Indiana, the second of William Henry and Jennie (Allen) Seward's four children. She attended Bloomington High School and continued her education at Indiana University, where she graduated 20 Jun 1906 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics. This was at a time when women didn't usually go to college. The next two pictures, which may have been taken around the time of Eva and George's wedding, were provided by their great grandson, Craig Montgomery and his wife Marie.
George William Lingard was born 19 Jul 1878, near Mill Creek, in LaPorte county, IN, a son of William Henry and Ellen (Cosgriff) Lingard. He was a grandson of John and Julia (Davis) Lingard of LaPorte. He and Eva were married in Bloomington on 15 Oct 1908. The story of their wedding was told in this article which my grandmother clipped from a newspaper:
LINGARD-SEWARD.
At 2 o'clock this afternoon at the home of the bride's parents, occured the wedding of Miss Eva May Seward to George W. Lingard and at 3:05 the couple left for their distant home in Shoshone, Idaho. The W. H. Seward home was tastefully decorated with autumn flowers for the ceremony which was witnessed by a large number of the relatives of the bride.
The ceremony was performed by Rev. T. J. Clark who came from Albion, Ill., especially for it. The wedding was a quiet, homelike affair and very beautiful. An hour after the ceremony and congratulations, the couple were hurried to the 3:05 train on the Monon to go to Indianapolis, Chicago and then to Shoshone where they are to reside. A table loaded with beautiful presents were the gifts of relatives and friends of the contracting parties.
The bride is the accomplished daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Seward on north Morton street and well known Bloomington girl. The groom formerly attended the University and is now engaged in the mercantile business in Shoshone, Idaho.
Rev. Thomas Clark, who has been here for a few days on account of the Lingard-Seward wedding, has returned to Albion, Ill. He and his family are much pleased with their new home and the people of the Albion community.
Shoshone, ID, where George and Eva made their first home together, is a very small town about 120 miles southeast of Boise. At the time of the 1910 census, less than 2,000 people lived there. The census taker didn't bother to note what streets the inhabitants lived on, perhaps because the streets had no name. For a contemporary account of the Wild West atmosphere in another tiny Idaho town, read "The Weiser Wonder". Eva must have returned to Bloomington several times to visit her family there. The following clipping from the Bloomington Weekly Courier, 24 Oct 1911, reports one of her visits, but doesn't mention the two little ones she undoubtedly would have brought with her to see their grandmother:
Mrs. George Lingard has returned to Shoshone, Idaho, after a visit of six weeks with her mother, Mrs. Will Seward, north Morton street.
George and Eva had four daughters:
About 1916, George and Eva and their children moved to Casa Grande, about halfway between Tucson, where Eva's sister, Alice Walker, lived until 1924, and Phoenix. Casa Grande may not have been any bigger a town at that time than Shoshone was. The 1920 census doesn't give the names of any streets there, while the 1930 census identifies their street as 4th St., but doesn't give any house numbers. Some time in the 1950s, they moved to a new house on Orange Drive. While living in Casa Grande, they were both active in the local Presbyterian Church. The next photo could have been taken in the '40s or '50s and is how I remember Aunt Eva:
The following clipping from my grandmother's scrapbook describes Elsbeth's wedding in 1939 to Carl Hoisington:
Ceremony Unites Elsbeth Lingard, C. W. Hoisington
In an early morning ceremony at the Lingard home, Miss Elsbeth Lingard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Lingard, and C. W. Hoisington, supervisor of music in the Casa Grande schools, were united in marriage. Rev. Curry H. Love performed the ceremony which was attended only by members of the immediate family and a few close friends.
Mrs. Sam Montgomery, sister of the bride, was matron of honor. The bridegroom was attended by Dr. Russell A. Holy, superintendent of schools. Verne C. Dalby, also a member of the high school faculty played several selections preceding the ceremony. The bride was dressed in a traveling suit of aqua blue with wine accessories.
After the ceremony, guests were entertained at breakfast at small tables decorated in white and pink crystals and flowers. The couple left soon afterward on a tour of the northwest, stopping en route for visits at the Grand Canyon National Park and at the San Francisco exposition.
The bride has lived most of her life in Casa Grande, coming here at an early age from her native state of Idaho. She attended the grade and high schools in Casa Grande, was graduated from the University of Arizona and has a degree as dietician from the Leland Stanford university. She was active among the junior women of Casa Grande having been treasurer of the Junior Woman's club and librarian of the College club during the past year.
Mr. Hoisington came to Casa Grande last fall from Idaho to accept the post as music supervisor in the schools. He is a native of Minnesota but has lived most of his life in Idaho where he received his master's degree from the University of Idaho. He is a member of the Casa Grande Lions club.
The next clipping describes Virginia's 1941 wedding to Paul Sisk:
CASA GRANDE, Aug. 17 -- A pretty home wedding took place in the residence of Mr. and Mrs. George W. Lingard on East 4th street at 6:30 p. m. Friday, when their daughter, Virginia, was united in marriage to Paul Sisk, by the Rev. Curry H. Love, retired pastor of the Presbyterian Church.
The bride was given in marriage by her father, and attended by Miss Virginia Kenyon, a lifelong friend, as maid of honor.
Matt Crouse of Bisbee, brother-in-law of the bridegroom, attended as best man. Only the immediate families witnessed the ceremony.
The bride wore a pink beige street ensemble with brown and navy accessories, and the maid of honor wore a blue crepe ensemble with white accessories. Both wore corsages of gardenias.
Mr. Sisk is a native of Missouri, where he received his education, and came to Arizona in 1930. For several years he has been with the Martin Drug Company of Tucson, and is manager of the branch store in Casa Grande.
Mrs. Sisk was graduated from Casa Grande High School and also attended the University of Arizona and a business college in Santa Monica, Calif. For six years she has been employed in the office of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration at the city hall in Casa Grande.
Present at the wedding were Mr. and Mrs. Matt Crouse and children of Bisbee, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Montgomery and small son of Tempe, Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey Van Zandt, Mrs. Jennie Kenyon and daughter Virginia, Mr. and Mrs. Lingard and the Rev. Mr. Love.
A wedding dinner was served in the home after the ceremony, and the bridal couple left immediately after for a short honeymoon trip to Catalina Island and Los Angeles. Upon their return, the newlyweds will be at home in the Beeler house on West Eighth street.
The last time I saw aunt Eva and uncle George was during my drive home from Monterrey, México, after I resigned from the Foreign Service in 1963. I reached Casa Grande on 3 July and spent the evening with them, then went to a 4th of July picnic with them in a local park before resuming my drive to Los Angeles.
George Lingard died 10 Jun 1969 in Mesa. Eva died 7 Jan 1971 in Tempe. Even though she had been gone from Bloomington for more than sixty years, Eva's passing was noted in the Herald-Telephone Saturday, 9 Jan 1971:
Eva Lingard
Word has been received of the death Thursday of Mrs. Eva Seward Lingard, Casa Grande, Arizona, where she had iived for over 50 years.
She was the daughter of William S. Seward and Jennie Allen Seward. Graduated from Bloomington High School in 1902 and from Indiana University in 1906, she taught in the Bloomington public schools.
Surviving are two daughters and three grandchildren.
She was the sister of the late Fred Seward and Mr. Austin Seward, Bloomington. Funeral services will be Tuesday in Casa Grande.
Here are three of George and Eva's descendants, whose pictures were sent to us by Craig and Marie Montgomery:
