Mary Ann was the last child of Thomas and Sarah Williamson Helme, who had immigrated from England. The town where she was born, Allegheny City, is now part of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. It is near three rivers. Her father was a rope maker.
When she was about two years old, her parents left Pennsylvania, going first to Kentucky. I have heard there were relatives living there. In 1857, they moved the family west to the territory of Kansas. I wonder if the Civil War unrest, or the available land was an influence on their move? They may have gone down the Ohio River by boat.
Her father settled his family in Wyandotte County, Kansas. Their home was eight miles south, and one mile east of Leavenworth, near Wallula, Kansas. That was just a train stop. Being a roper, her father did not farm, which was unusual for that area. The land was left natural, with much of it in woods. She grew up in this pretty, very rural area, and must have had plenty of room to roam. Her parents were educated in England. They could both read and write. There was a brick school building just across the fence from their place. It is quite evident that she went to school when she was young as she was a prolific letter writer. She loved to keep in touch with her family and friends. Many evenings were spent writing letters by lamplight.
Even though she was quite young during the Civil War, she did remember that soldiers came for lodging. They would also take horses without paying for them and hunt for hidden Negro's. There were still many American Indians in that area. When they came by, they would run their hands over her very bright red hair, because it was so unusual to them. This frightened her. She thought they would scalp her. She spent many hours helping with the rope making and was quite good with her hands. She told of getting her long red braid caught into the rope and some of her hair had to be cut off. That was a very special piece of rope.
Because the family lived close to the large town of Leavenworth, we have a few pictures taken in her youth. Mary Ann's mother died when she was just ten years old, in 1865. Her older sister, Isabell, who was nineteen at that time, must have been a great help to her father and other members of the family. Her brother, William was still living at home. She always felt very close to Bell and William. Her two older brothers were away. John was married and James was a soldier at that time.
As a child, she was tiny. As a lady, she was very small boned, short and slender. She was mighty and strong. She never weighed over 138 pounds. She had a fair complexion, with freckles and hazel eyes. This was an artistic family. John wrote poetry. William was the painter. She was an accomplished seamstress and quilter. Her stitches were very tiny and neat. She made flowers from the hair of her family, which was a common form of art at that time. Keeping touch with her family was very important to her.
In 1870, when Mary Ann was 15 years old, her older sister was married, but lived nearby. That year her father remarried Barbara Burgh Meyers, a widow, with a daughter. She was treated well by her stepmother.
Through Paul Larkam, Bell's grandson, I learned that Mary Ann had been in love with Henry Markam. He married her stepsister, Nora Meyers. Later in 1872, William Langeheineken married Mary Ann, before he left with his parents for Cowley County, Kansas. He was eight years older than she.
About 1923, Mary Ann wrote this interesting letter to her granddaughter, Mary Rogers Henry. "When I was sixteen, I got married and we went to Cowley County, Kansas in a covered wagon. It took twelve days to get there. I got back home every two years to see my father and stepmother at Wallula. Wallula is between Kansas City and Leavenworth in Wyandotte County. One year we had chinch bugs and hot winds, so crops were poor and that fall, my father wrote for us to come up so Grandpa (William L. Heineken), could chop wood on my father's place and sell it. My father made rope and only had 15 acres plowed up of the eighty acres. Sixty-five acres were in heavy timber. The last time I was there was when Ernest was three years old and about all of it was in wheat."
In a letter to her great grandson, Harry Van Horn, dated 24 Feb 1933, Mary Ann wrote, "We started to Cowley County February 12, 1872 and got there February 24. Lived in a one room log house six months while they built a house and other buildings (for William's parents). Then lived with the Old Folks till they built us a one room house. We only lived in it five months. Then Grandpa's father (Augustus) rented a hotel in Winfield, Kansas and wanted us to go with them. We ran it a year, then went back and started over. Had to plow with oxen for we had to sell our team of mules and grandpa's best team of horses to pay out, after doing all that years hard work."
"We lived in our little house two years before we had it plastered. It was straight up native lumber sides, with strips over the cracks. We carried water from a stream seven years, then moved the house near the creek so we could have a well dug and had our house plastered."
"We went back to Leavenworth four times in our covered wagon while we lived down there. We moved back up here fifty years ago last month. I went back on a visit ten years ago. Was away forty years. Mrs. Seaman (a neighbor) came to see us and wanted me to go home with her. I still get letters from her. Have ever since we came from there. She and her husband rode two mules across our creek when the mules had to swim, to set up with grandpa's father, when he was sick before he died. They sure were good neighbors. There were eight children in her father's family and I think she only has one sister left and that one is sick. Soon she may be left alone like myself. She lives alone and wanted me to stay with her when I was there. Grandpa's mother and father both died while we lived down there. his brother and sister since."
In April of 1872, her sister Isabella, with husband, Charles, and baby Thomas moved to Southern Kansas, not far from them. They had another baby, Grace, later in October. They lived 15 miles from Winfield, but later decided it was too hard to live there, so they went back to northeastern Kansas.
Mary and William helped run a hotel at Winfield, called the Bradish House, for one year. Mary was young and had never worked away from home. They put most of the kitchen work to her and she was expecting her first child by then. She said she never worked so hard. There were dishes, dishes all the time. Her first child was born in September 1873. After the year at the hotel they moved back to the farm, 15 miles northeast of Winfield, Kansas. They didn't have much, but it was so much better than the Hotel. They had 60 acres with a house, well and stable. The chickens roosted under the corn crib, because they had no hen house. There were many Indians around. They often came to look in the windows. They lived there ten more years. During that time, they had three more children and both of William's parents died.
Mary Ann's stepmother died in 1880. After William divided the property in Cowley County with his brother and sister, he sold his portion and returned to northeastern Kansas. He bought some property south of Effingham in Atchison County, Kansas. This farm was not far from Nortonville. They moved there early in 1884. Another daughter and five more sons were born there. Her sister Bell lived nearby, but later moved to Baldwin City, Kansas.
Thomas Helme made no more rope after the death of his second wife. He spent much of his time walking to visit family and friends. He later lived with the Heineken's and Mitchell's. He was living with the Mitchell's when he died in 1901.
One of her favorite things was going visiting, or having others over to visit. About the year 1900, she would go to visit her married children and friends, driving one horse, hitched to a two wheeled cart. Friends or family were always invited for a meal. It was not unusual for her to have 10 to 18 people over for dinner or supper.
She was a very ambitious person. She always had her work done on time, and usually had a certain day each week for each job. She washed for her large family on the wash board. She did milking and separated the cream and butter milk, then churned the butter. She hung the butter down the well to keep it cool. She planted and cared for a large garden and canned the vegetables, also the fruit from their large orchard. She made the bread for her large family.
All of her ten children outlived her and she tried to teach them correct principles. She was a good nurse in a time and place where there was very little medical help available. When her sister Bell was ill during 1923 and 1924, she stayed in Baldwin City to care for her and her family, until she was better. When her brother, William, was older and ill, she sent her oldest son, Edwin, on the train to Salt Lake City, Utah. He took him back to Kansas where she cared for him until he died of cancer in 1924.
When she was over 80, she fell and broke her hip. I remember visiting her in the Atchison Hospital. No one expected her to be able to walk again. She was a spunky and very determined lady and proved everyone wrong. She did walk again. She later lived in a house at Nortonville, west of son, Chet. Minnie Morlatt, Pearl and Virginia Heineken cared for her. Her pretty red hair became pink as it changed to grey. After being a widow for about 21 years, she passed away in 1943, of Myocardial failure due to Arteriosclerosis. She was 88 years, 4 months and 6 days. At the time of her death, she weighed about 87 pounds. She had 18 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild.
