Bio: Ingham, Edwin & Elizabeth

Transcriber: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Ingham, Lenhart, Jeras, Clair, Thompson

----Source: Family Scrapbook

Edwin (E.G.) Ingham was born in Frontenac, Minnesota in 1868. He took logs across Lake Pepin from Stockholm to Pepin in the dead of winter on the ice, back when he was a young man.
He had to drive to Caryville every day to get the mail. After several years they moved back to Spencer where he was in many businesses, grocery store, meat market, garage and boarding house. This brings us up to 1915 when he bought a bankrupt store in Tioga and put my brother Rae and my family there.

There he met Elizabeth Lenhart and they were married at a young age. They moved to Ludington, Wisconsin where the four children were born. They were; Jim, Guy, Rae and Vera.

Six years later they moved to Spencer, staying there two years then moving to Rock Falls where father started the first post office.

In 1917 he heard of another store in Willard that wasn't making it. There was a post office in the store. It was located in the building that they later moved down to the corner after father died (the tavern there).

Father was appointed postmaster in 1917 and held it until his death in 1931. He also had the first radio in Willard and would call up those who had telephones and have them listen to the program on the radio.

Alma Clair was assistant postmaster and Johanna Jeras worked for father in the store. Daughter Vera, helped out weekends when she came home from high school in Greenwood.

In 1921 Harley Thompson and Vera were married and Harley was appointed assistant postmaster and remained so until 1931. Vera and Harley later moved to Abilene, Kansas.