Minnie is the only child of Little Berry (MO) and Bertha Steinhauer (Germany)Pennington who survived infancy. There were at least 3 siblings who died the same day they were born.
When Minnie was 17, she became pregnant. She said the father was Elmo T Nelson. Elmo's parents refused to believe that their son could have possibly been involved with Minnie, as they thought him quite handsome, and her quite homely and from such a poor family. When the baby (my grandmother Emma Lucille) was born on 04 Mar 1909, she was gorgeous, and Elmo & Nelsons reportedly decided that the only way Minnie could have had such a beautiful baby was if their son was the father. So the young couple got married on 14 Apr 1909 in Clarksburg, and were sent to live in Kansas City for a while until all the small town gossip died down.
It is not known when they returned, but Emma Lucille attended all of her school years in Clarksburg, so they were back by 1914 or so. I have found no evidence that Minnie ever got pregnant again.
Minnie became a widow at age 41 when Elmo died suddenly of a heart attack while cranking his car out in front of the house getting ready to go to town.
She married Charles Emmit Stinson of Tipton by March 24, 1948 when she applied for her social security card, and was living at 704 Cherry, KCMO.
Charley died 04 Nov 1968, leaving Minnie a widow again. She was brought to Gladstone to live with my family.
My memories about "Granny" are not very pleasant. She was a tall (5'9"?), thick woman, the pioneer type. She wore the old chunky black lace-up shoes with hosiery that she rolled down below her knees. She always wore a flowered bib-type apron around the house. As far back as I can remember (1953?), her hair was silver and pulled up in a bun.
She seemed never to be happy. She griped at Charley a lot. Today they would say he was henpecked, but as a child I always just thought he was too nice to fight back. She also griped at my Mom a lot. Wait, she griped at everybody a lot!
Maybe it the humiliation of being unwed and pregnant in 1908, maybe having to be married to someone who had publically denied her, maybe having been widowed so young and shockingly, maybe having to take care of her father, Berry Pennington, who as I recall, must have been almost totally unable to take care of himself for his last few years. Knowing now that depression runs in the family, she might very well have been depressed all those years.
My father, Kenneth Fox, did not like Granny at all and always hated having to go over to her house to visit. According to an old family story, when I was a toddler and had just starting to talk in sentences, we drove to Granny's for a visit, me standing in the front seat between Mom & Dad in our 1948 Chevy coup, with my dad complaining and criticizing Granny all the way. Reportedly, when we got to Granny's I ran inside and repeated all the negative stuff my dad had said. I don't imagine that helped the relationship any at all!
In 1968, when Charley died, Mom brought Granny to stay with us. Mom could not bring herself to put Granny in a nursing home like Mom Copas (Emma Lucille) and Aunt Betty thought was best. I stayed gone as much as possible, but I remember Granny walking around the house griping and complaining and having "accidents" all over the floor. Fortunately, we hadn't installed carpet yet. But I remember being down on my knees wiping up the "accidents". Dad was NOT happy, it wore Mom out, and finally Mom, Mom Copas and Betty put Granny in the New Market nursing home, north of KC on I-29. Granny was furious and never forgave any of us.
I was glad she was gone, but now that my Mom is in a nursing home and hates me for putting her there, I have a deeper understanding of the dynamics of this whole situation. Granny had taken care of her father right up until the day he died, and she couldn't get the same care from her descendents. She must have felt very betrayed.
Debra Claussen
April 27, 1998
When Minnie was 17, she became pregnant. She said the father was Elmo T Nelson. Elmo's parents refused to believe that their son could have possibly been involved with Minnie, as they thought him quite handsome, and her quite homely and from such a poor family. When the baby (my grandmother Emma Lucille) was born on 04 Mar 1909, she was gorgeous, and Elmo & Nelsons reportedly decided that the only way Minnie could have had such a beautiful baby was if their son was the father. So the young couple got married on 14 Apr 1909 in Clarksburg, and were sent to live in Kansas City for a while until all the small town gossip died down.
It is not known when they returned, but Emma Lucille attended all of her school years in Clarksburg, so they were back by 1914 or so. I have found no evidence that Minnie ever got pregnant again.
Minnie became a widow at age 41 when Elmo died suddenly of a heart attack while cranking his car out in front of the house getting ready to go to town.
She married Charles Emmit Stinson of Tipton by March 24, 1948 when she applied for her social security card, and was living at 704 Cherry, KCMO.
Charley died 04 Nov 1968, leaving Minnie a widow again. She was brought to Gladstone to live with my family.
My memories about "Granny" are not very pleasant. She was a tall (5'9"?), thick woman, the pioneer type. She wore the old chunky black lace-up shoes with hosiery that she rolled down below her knees. She always wore a flowered bib-type apron around the house. As far back as I can remember (1953?), her hair was silver and pulled up in a bun.
She seemed never to be happy. She griped at Charley a lot. Today they would say he was henpecked, but as a child I always just thought he was too nice to fight back. She also griped at my Mom a lot. Wait, she griped at everybody a lot!
Maybe it the humiliation of being unwed and pregnant in 1908, maybe having to be married to someone who had publically denied her, maybe having been widowed so young and shockingly, maybe having to take care of her father, Berry Pennington, who as I recall, must have been almost totally unable to take care of himself for his last few years. Knowing now that depression runs in the family, she might very well have been depressed all those years.
My father, Kenneth Fox, did not like Granny at all and always hated having to go over to her house to visit. According to an old family story, when I was a toddler and had just starting to talk in sentences, we drove to Granny's for a visit, me standing in the front seat between Mom & Dad in our 1948 Chevy coup, with my dad complaining and criticizing Granny all the way. Reportedly, when we got to Granny's I ran inside and repeated all the negative stuff my dad had said. I don't imagine that helped the relationship any at all!
In 1968, when Charley died, Mom brought Granny to stay with us. Mom could not bring herself to put Granny in a nursing home like Mom Copas (Emma Lucille) and Aunt Betty thought was best. I stayed gone as much as possible, but I remember Granny walking around the house griping and complaining and having "accidents" all over the floor. Fortunately, we hadn't installed carpet yet. But I remember being down on my knees wiping up the "accidents". Dad was NOT happy, it wore Mom out, and finally Mom, Mom Copas and Betty put Granny in the New Market nursing home, north of KC on I-29. Granny was furious and never forgave any of us.
I was glad she was gone, but now that my Mom is in a nursing home and hates me for putting her there, I have a deeper understanding of the dynamics of this whole situation. Granny had taken care of her father right up until the day he died, and she couldn't get the same care from her descendents. She must have felt very betrayed.
Debra Claussen
April 27, 1998
Minnie is the only child of Little Berry (MO) and Bertha Steinhauer (Germany)Pennington who survived infancy. There were at least 3 siblings who died the same day they were born.
When Minnie was 17, she became pregnant. She said the father was Elmo T Nelson. Elmo's parents refused to believe that their son could have possibly been involved with Minnie, as they thought him quite handsome, and her quite homely and from such a poor family. When the baby (my grandmother Emma Lucille) was born on 04 Mar 1909, she was gorgeous, and Elmo & Nelsons reportedly decided that the only way Minnie could have had such a beautiful baby was if their son was the father. So the young couple got married on 14 Apr 1909 in Clarksburg, and were sent to live in Kansas City for a while until all the small town gossip died down.
It is not known when they returned, but Emma Lucille attended all of her school years in Clarksburg, so they were back by 1914 or so. I have found no evidence that Minnie ever got pregnant again.
Minnie became a widow at age 41 when Elmo died suddenly of a heart attack while cranking his car out in front of the house getting ready to go to town.
She married Charles Emmit Stinson of Tipton by March 24, 1948 when she applied for her social security card, and was living at 704 Cherry, KCMO.
Charley died 04 Nov 1968, leaving Minnie a widow again. She was brought to Gladstone to live with my family.
My memories about "Granny" are not very pleasant. She was a tall (5'9"?), thick woman, the pioneer type. She wore the old chunky black lace-up shoes with hosiery that she rolled down below her knees. She always wore a flowered bib-type apron around the house. As far back as I can remember (1953?), her hair was silver and pulled up in a bun.
She seemed never to be happy. She griped at Charley a lot. Today they would say he was henpecked, but as a child I always just thought he was too nice to fight back. She also griped at my Mom a lot. Wait, she griped at everybody a lot!
Maybe it the humiliation of being unwed and pregnant in 1908, maybe having to be married to someone who had publically denied her, maybe having been widowed so young and shockingly, maybe having to take care of her father, Berry Pennington, who as I recall, must have been almost totally unable to take care of himself for his last few years. Knowing now that depression runs in the family, she might very well have been depressed all those years.
My father, Kenneth Fox, did not like Granny at all and always hated having to go over to her house to visit. According to an old family story, when I was a toddler and had just starting to talk in sentences, we drove to Granny's for a visit, me standing in the front seat between Mom & Dad in our 1948 Chevy coup, with my dad complaining and criticizing Granny all the way. Reportedly, when we got to Granny's I ran inside and repeated all the negative stuff my dad had said. I don't imagine that helped the relationship any at all!
In 1968, when Charley died, Mom brought Granny to stay with us. Mom could not bring herself to put Granny in a nursing home like Mom Copas (Emma Lucille) and Aunt Betty thought was best. I stayed gone as much as possible, but I remember Granny walking around the house griping and complaining and having "accidents" all over the floor. Fortunately, we hadn't installed carpet yet. But I remember being down on my knees wiping up the "accidents". Dad was NOT happy, it wore Mom out, and finally Mom, Mom Copas and Betty put Granny in the New Market nursing home, north of KC on I-29. Granny was furious and never forgave any of us.
I was glad she was gone, but now that my Mom is in a nursing home and hates me for putting her there, I have a deeper understanding of the dynamics of this whole situation. Granny had taken care of her father right up until the day he died, and she couldn't get the same care from her descendents. She must have felt very betrayed.
Debra Claussen
April 27, 1998
When Minnie was 17, she became pregnant. She said the father was Elmo T Nelson. Elmo's parents refused to believe that their son could have possibly been involved with Minnie, as they thought him quite handsome, and her quite homely and from such a poor family. When the baby (my grandmother Emma Lucille) was born on 04 Mar 1909, she was gorgeous, and Elmo & Nelsons reportedly decided that the only way Minnie could have had such a beautiful baby was if their son was the father. So the young couple got married on 14 Apr 1909 in Clarksburg, and were sent to live in Kansas City for a while until all the small town gossip died down.
It is not known when they returned, but Emma Lucille attended all of her school years in Clarksburg, so they were back by 1914 or so. I have found no evidence that Minnie ever got pregnant again.
Minnie became a widow at age 41 when Elmo died suddenly of a heart attack while cranking his car out in front of the house getting ready to go to town.
She married Charles Emmit Stinson of Tipton by March 24, 1948 when she applied for her social security card, and was living at 704 Cherry, KCMO.
Charley died 04 Nov 1968, leaving Minnie a widow again. She was brought to Gladstone to live with my family.
My memories about "Granny" are not very pleasant. She was a tall (5'9"?), thick woman, the pioneer type. She wore the old chunky black lace-up shoes with hosiery that she rolled down below her knees. She always wore a flowered bib-type apron around the house. As far back as I can remember (1953?), her hair was silver and pulled up in a bun.
She seemed never to be happy. She griped at Charley a lot. Today they would say he was henpecked, but as a child I always just thought he was too nice to fight back. She also griped at my Mom a lot. Wait, she griped at everybody a lot!
Maybe it the humiliation of being unwed and pregnant in 1908, maybe having to be married to someone who had publically denied her, maybe having been widowed so young and shockingly, maybe having to take care of her father, Berry Pennington, who as I recall, must have been almost totally unable to take care of himself for his last few years. Knowing now that depression runs in the family, she might very well have been depressed all those years.
My father, Kenneth Fox, did not like Granny at all and always hated having to go over to her house to visit. According to an old family story, when I was a toddler and had just starting to talk in sentences, we drove to Granny's for a visit, me standing in the front seat between Mom & Dad in our 1948 Chevy coup, with my dad complaining and criticizing Granny all the way. Reportedly, when we got to Granny's I ran inside and repeated all the negative stuff my dad had said. I don't imagine that helped the relationship any at all!
In 1968, when Charley died, Mom brought Granny to stay with us. Mom could not bring herself to put Granny in a nursing home like Mom Copas (Emma Lucille) and Aunt Betty thought was best. I stayed gone as much as possible, but I remember Granny walking around the house griping and complaining and having "accidents" all over the floor. Fortunately, we hadn't installed carpet yet. But I remember being down on my knees wiping up the "accidents". Dad was NOT happy, it wore Mom out, and finally Mom, Mom Copas and Betty put Granny in the New Market nursing home, north of KC on I-29. Granny was furious and never forgave any of us.
I was glad she was gone, but now that my Mom is in a nursing home and hates me for putting her there, I have a deeper understanding of the dynamics of this whole situation. Granny had taken care of her father right up until the day he died, and she couldn't get the same care from her descendents. She must have felt very betrayed.
Debra Claussen
April 27, 1998
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See more Stinson or Pennington memorials in:
- Hickman Cemetery Stinson or Pennington
- Clarksburg Stinson or Pennington
- Moniteau County Stinson or Pennington
- Missouri Stinson or Pennington
- USA Stinson or Pennington
- Find a Grave Stinson or Pennington
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