Grandparents

[Marilyn]

My grandparents passed away when I was very small, all except my maternal grandmother. I was 13 when she died.

My maternal grandparents, born in the 1880's were pen pals. My grandfather even proposed by letter. He lived in Kansas and she in the Oklahoma Territory. I don't know how they started corresponding. I have one living uncle who may know. I will have to ask him. My mother had all of their letters, even the proposal one, but one holiday when a bunch of the family were visiting, she gave one of my cousins most of the letters for some reason. He lives out of town & I don't know what happened to them. My grandparents were very happy together. However, he was over 6' tall, and she was less than 5' so in all of their pictures together, he is sitting and she is standing. He was a farmer and a preacher. They had 7 children.

On of my aunts married her pen pal, also, but this was not a happy union, and she died of cancer when she was in her 40's.

My mother never allowed me to have a pen pal.