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The photo shows the Olmsted family about 1880 (I calculate). The label I have lists (back row) Lillis Emeline, George, Ermida (Mida) and front row, John, Grandpa Olmsted (George Orson), Grandma Olmsted (Rachael Jane), and Orrin, with Chloe (Coda) sitting. I gather that the serious expressions had more to do with the photography of the era than with personalities. As the negative had to 'set up' for a few minutes, subjects were told not to smile, as they couldn't move at all, and smiles were too hard to hold.
The Olmsted family is well documented in a book published in 1912 by Henry King Olmsted. At that time, he followed my line of Olmsteds down to my great-grandmother, Lillis Emeline, and her siblings, giving dates of birth as follows (and dates of death in a few instances):
- Samuel Woodburn Olmsted 9-9-1852 / 4-27-1867
- Jesse Fremont Olmsted 11-14-1856 / 3-5-1877
- Lillis Emeline Olmsted 5-4-1860 / 1-1-1944
- Ermidah Abina Olmsted 12-10-1862
- John Rosencrantz Olmsted 12-24-1864
- George Washington Olmsted 5-12-1867
- Celina Candas Olmsted 9-18-1869 / 8-31-1878
- Chloe Jane Olmsted 11-28-1872
- Orrin Errett Olmsted 8-13-1875
My current knowledge of the family since that time is limited to what my grandmother, Katharyn Jane Lass Halkyer wrote in her memoir, "Lest We Forget". She tells what she knows about each of her aunts and uncles, the Olmsted siblings, where they settled, etc. Naturally, I can now add the information about Lillis Emeline's (Emma's) family, mostly from first-hand information. She is my namesake, although my mother spelled my first name as Lillas.
Emma ( May 04, 1860 to January 01, 1944) was married and divorced before she married Paul Lass. Her first husband's name was Eckenrode(spelled Ecanrodes on her marriage license) and together they had a son, Jim. Her son initially lived with Emma's family and even stayed in Kansas when Emma and Paul moved to Texas. According to 'Lest We Forget', he came to Texas as a teenager, but I believe he returned to Kansas until he joined the Lasses in Edinburgh, where he managed a filling station for Paul. For whatever reason, Jim took the name Olmsted and used it throughout his life. (Kansas census records for 1885 and 1895 record Jim as residing with the Olmsteds.)
Emma was an accomplished seamstress who sewed and crocheted quite a bit. She crocheted the bedspread that Kay has, as well as a string of long red beads for Kay's mom, Xelpho, during the 1920s. As she and Paul helped raise her, they were very close to Xelpho. Unfortunately, Emma died just before Kay was born. Shown below are Emma and Paul Lass, Xelpho and her mom, Katharyn.
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