The Seastone Chair

Charles and Lemma

This is the story of Charles Frank Lloyd and Lemma Bliss Jones from my research.

My great grandmother, Lemma Bliss Jones, was born on May, 5th 1889. She didn’t lead an easy life by any stretch. Times were difficult back then in Murray City, Ohio, and being the eldest daughter, it fell upon her to quit school in the sixth grade and stay home to take care of the rest of her siblings. Don’t let her lack of education fool you because even through the hardships that came her way, she went on to do some amazing things in her life.

She was an excellent seamstress as a young girl, and to make due, she would tear apart the fabric of old dresses and make new ones. Her father was never happy about it, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying one of her passions. Throughout her younger years, she continued to sew and kept up with the latest fashion trends.

In December, of 1907, she married Charles Frank Lloyd and together they went on to have five children, one deceased. Her husband was a coal miner, deep underground in the hills of Murray City every day making a living for his family, while Lemma stayed at home to tend to their three children. After being out of work for a full year, he was finally able to secure work at the Baily Run Mine. On May 15th, 1925, just hours after starting his new job, he was hit by a piece of slate which broke both of his legs, hit him in the head and left him unconscious. He was sent by ambulance from Murray City, Ohio to Columbus, but never woke, dying a short time afterward. Charles left behind my great grandmother with three little ones and a three-week-old daughter. Now she was left to take care of their children.

Being a seamstress wasn’t a lucrative job for a woman with four children at home, even in those times. Within four years something became available that caught her attention, and she knew she could handle the task, but she would have to be elected first. Lemma ran for the office of Ward Township County Clerk in Hocking County Ohio, in November of 1929, and won, beginning her first term on January 1st, 1930. She was the first woman ever elected to this position, quite a feat for a woman, not to mention her lack of formal education. She enjoyed the office and held the position for thirty-two years and five months when she finally retired and moved up to Michigan with my Aunt LaDonna, who remained with her until my great grandmother passed away in 1977.

She was big on family history and kept up with the Roush family, her original origins. Roush comes from the old English meaning living near a clump of rushes. My great grandmother contributed to the reunion books, adding to our family’s history and updating information as it pertained to us. The Roush family reunion has the largest number of participants for any family reunion. There are many volumes that list all the ancestors in the family tree. My mother still has some of these books and I can clearly remember as a little girl being wowed by the fact that my name appeared in one of the volumes.

As car manufacturing jobs took off in the State of Michigan, most of my relatives made the big move up from Ohio in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

My search has only just begun in my quest to find out more about Charles and Lemma. One thing is for sure, I come from a long line of strong women, and Lemma proved that by accomplishing what she did when she could’ve made other decisions. I’m riveted by the fact that she was not only able to raise four young children on her own but that she set big goals for herself after the loss of her husband. I couldn’t imagine taking on such a great task with only a six-grade education, especially in these times where education is a must. I don’t believe a seamstress could make ends meet to support herself and four children either. It’s astonishing to think about.

WC:705

Work Hard ~ Play Hard!