When Lilla's mother, Emma, died at the young age of 28 years old, Lilla was sent to Minnesota to be raised by her maternal grandfather, Kelsey, and her Aunts - Kate and Lilla.
It is not exactly clear why this was done, although it appears that her father, Rodolph, did a lot of traveling. It could be just as well that Rodolph was not geared toward raising a young daughter on his own.
Whatever the case may be, in the town of Janesville, in Waseca County, was a young boy being raised in a large family. His father owned the hardware store in town. The boys name was Arthur Eugene Hagen.
Arthur was the son of Frederick and Mary (Everling) Hagen.
Frederick, according to his obituary, was a 14 year old German immigrant, settling in Wisconsin, probably with his parents who are reported to be John and Sophia Hagen.
Mary Everling, daughter of John and Maria Everling, was born in New York, but the family moved to Wisconsin sometime prior to Mary's 3rd year.
Fred and Mary raised eight children - Onie, LaVinnie, Bivinis (aka Berthis), Walter, Arthur, Grace, Etta, and Percy.
Onie married Alvin Fuller and lived out their lives in Janesville. They did not have any children.
LaVinnie moved to the State of Washington. Her occupation was teacher. Vinnie died in Seattle in 1914 at the age of 41 years, four years before the death of her father. She is buried in Janesville.
Bevinis, or Berthis, married Frank Mullen. They had one son - Charles. Frank and Bertie resided in Madelia for many years as Frank owned a Dry Goods Store in the town of his birth.
Sometime after 1940 and prior to 1952, the couple moved to Los Angeles County. They both died there - Frank in 1957 and Bertie in 1964.
Charles married Esther Bredshall sometime after 1940 and prior to, at least, 1943. They also probably married in Minneapolis where both were residing during that time. The couple had 4 children. They moved to Oroville, California where they both died in 2002, just a few months apart. They share a beautiful grave marker where it is written "Together Forever".
From what I can find in the records, so far, Fred and Mary's son, Walter, never left home. Born in 1876, every census, every residence record has him residing in the home of his parents. He never married. The 1930 Census records that he is a merchant in the hardware business. Since this Census shows that he is living with his mother, brother, Percy, sister, Onie, and niece, Pearl, and that Percy is also a merchant in the hardware business, I am assuming that the brothers continue to operate the hardware store founded by their father. Walter died in 1953, and is buried with most of the rest of the family in Janesville.
Grace Ethel married Elmer Hanson in 1909 in Janesville. Together they had 4 children. After their marriage, they moved to Polk County, living there for the rest of their lives. Elmer died in 1950 in Wabasha County, Grace in 1971. They are both buried in Polk County.
Fred and Mary's daughter, Etta (aka Pearl), seemed to be ahead of her time for women of that era. According to her obituary, Etta left home for Madison, Wisconsin for training in the nursing profession. After working in her profession in Nebraska (and possibly other locations), she returned to Minnesota and married Emil Hauge when she was 33 years old. One can only surmise that she had a very modern life plan of career, than marriage and family. Sadly, it came to an end when she was 35 years old.
About a week after her daughter, Pearl, was born, Etta died. Emil, who was a teacher, moved to Montana shortly after Etta's death, leaving Pearl to be raised by Etta's sister, Onie.
Pearl married Alfred Winter sometime in the 1950s, and they moved to Santa Barbara County, California. They had at least one child. Alfred died in 1979, and Pearl died in 2001.
The youngest of the Hagen children was Percy Everling. Percy served for a short 4 months as a Private in Battery B, Motor Field Artillery, Replacement Depot at Camp Jackson in 1918. His father's obituary states that Percy is serving at Camp Jackson. He returned home to work as an insurance agent before moving on to help his brother, Walter, in the hardware business. Percy married Mabel Nyquist later in life, and it appears they had no children although there are some records that indicate Mabel may have had a prior marriage with children. Percy died in 1954, and Mabel in 1961. Both are buried in Janesville with other Hagen family members.
Now, we come to Arthur Eugene. Lilla's first husband, and father of her two children - Nodene Grace and Arthur Curtis.
Arthur was born in 1877 in Janesville, Minnesota. According to Rodolph Spencer's 1898 letter to his brother, Orra, Arthur was in Washington State working, a year before his marriage to Lilla in 1899. The marriage took place in Waseca County, Minnesota, probably Janesville.
Since both Nodene and Uncle Curt were born in California, Arthur and Lilla moved to California sometime between the time of their marriage in 1899, and the time of Nodene's birth in 1902. But by 1905, the marriage had fallen apart. I remember reading a small article granting a divorce to Lilla due to cruelty and abandonment of Arthur. I am unable to find that article again, but am still looking for it.
It is not known where Arthur goes after the divorce, and he doesn't pop up again in the records until 1917 in Aitkin, Minnesota on his World War I draft Reg Card. He is not married and reports his next of kin as a niece, Maron Hagen. I have no record of a Maron Hagen.
Arthur, again, doesn't pop up in the records until the 1940 Federal Census. It is in the Census, and his mother's obituary of 1933, that reports him living in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Census reports that he lives at the Bethel Hotel, and lived there in 1935, and his occupation was a stove repairman in a hardware store. It states that he is not employed for pay, and has been unemployed for 26 weeks. He lists himself as married, but I can find no record of a second marriage for him.
According to the Minnesota Death Index, Arthur died in Ramsey County in 1954. He is buried with his family in Janesville.
