Priscilla Jane WILSON [532]

  General Notes:

Picture #1:
Standing l. to r: Brothers Wallace Bruce, George Wilson, Robert Murray, and Thomas Herbert Steele.
Seated l. to r: Priscilla Jane (Wilson) Steele and her brother Nathaniel Wilson.
Taken on the farm in Delhi, 1913 ? after the death/funeral of Robert.

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Hi Terry,
I asked my dad, Maynard Steele, about his grandmother Priscilla Jane (Wilson) Steele. She was called Jane and didn't use the name Priscilla. Dad has never had very good things to say about her. He recalls that she would tattle on him and his younger brother. She would sit in the window, knitting and never drop a stitch when she would look up to see what they were up to! "Those boys are doing this or that" she'd say in her very Irish brogue. He said that she was a small built, stern woman and remembers her as not being very loving. However, my aunt, Effie Jane (Steele) Hemmingsen, who was a few years older, has different memories and I suspect more accurate ones. From the tales my
dad tells he and his brother were hellions. After her husband Robert died, Priscilla lived on the farm with my dad and his family in Olivia, Renvillle county. In fact, she died there and he remembers that there was a wake at the farm and
she was in the coffin in the parlor.

I asked my Aunt Effie about her memories of her grandmother Priscilla. She recalls that her grandmother was a tiny woman and that she took quick little steps when she walked. She said she had a very pleasant face with red rosy cheeks. When I asked if she was a loving person, Effie said, "well, I can't remember her hugging me if that's what you mean
but she was a just a regular grandma!" Effie remembers her sitting at the window on their farm, darning for Effie's mother, Iva. Effie confirms that her younger brothers, Maynard and George, were very mischievous and always
getting into trouble. Among other things they used to ride the pigs and cows on the farm which they weren't supposed to do. I suspect that Priscilla Jane was keeping an eye on them for my Grandma Iva. "She used to like to tell us
kids what to do" was how Effie put it. Effie also said that her grandma was a "good living" woman. When I asked what that meant, she couldn't say. She said that she didn't drink. Effie doesn't recall if Priscilla Jane went to church or not during her last years. She remembers my grandma Iva used to read to her a lot when she was ill, perhaps from bible that bears her name , "Mrs. Jane Steele" in gold letters on the front (copyright date 1923). I have that old, torn and tattered, well used bible. My grandma apparently used the bible after her mother-in-law's death and made and incomplete recording of the birth dates of Priscilla and Robert (unfortunately not their names). I think that perhaps Priscilla Jane gave my grandma the bible sometime before her death. According to Effie, Priscilla was very fond of her daughter-in-law, Iva, and spent the last years of her life on the farm of her youngest son, Wallace, his wife, Iva, and their three children. She also spent some time with her daughter Nellie and her family. Near the end of her life when Priscilla Jane was too sick to come to the table to eat, my grandma Iva used to eat with her at herbedside and keep her company. Effie says that her grandmother was unconscious for about a week before she died and that during that time the family gathered around her bed. Effie doesn't remember the cause of death.

That's all I know about Priscilla Jane!

Vicki
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Last Rites for Mrs.
Jane Steele Sunday
Funeral services were conducted for Mrs. Jane Steele Sunday after-noon, May 5th, at Delhi Presbyterian Church, with the pastor, Rev. E. E. Test, officiating, states the Redwood Gazette. Interment was made in the cemetery at Redwood Falls. Mrs. Steele passed away Thursday, May 2nd, at the home of her son, Wallace, at Olivia. The deceased, Priscilla Jane Wilson was born in Nissorie, Canada, March
24, 1851, where she grew to woman-hood. In 1872 she was united in marrage to RobertSteele of
Avonback, Canada. They made their home there until March 17, 1887 when they brought their family to Delhi, Minnesota. She has resided in Redwood County, for the past forty-two years. Mr. Steele passed Away on April 8, 1913 and since that time Mrs. Steele has made her, home with her children.
Much of Mrs. Steele's life had been devoted to church work and community work. She was
a member of the Presbyterian Church since childhood. She leaves to mourn her loss, four daughters, Mrs. E. E. Bliss of Mor-ton, Mrs. H. C. Engeman of Delhi, Mrs. C. Tramm of Red Top and Mrs. John Bolton of Olivia; three sons, Tom Steele of lakeville, Wallace Steele of Olivia and Robert Steele of Tolstoy, S. D. She is also survived by 25 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Her children were
all present at the funeral'services.

Priscilla married Robert Murray STEELE [531] [MRIN: 167], son of Thomas STEELE [660] and Johanna TODD [661], on 15 Oct 1872 in Avonbank, Downie Township, Perth County, Ontario. (Robert Murray STEELE [531] was born on 4 Apr 1847 in Scotland, died on 8 Apr 1913 in Home and was buried on 11 Apr 1913 in Redwood Falls.)

  Marriage Notes:

Hi, I just sent you the copy of the page from the bible. In case it's difficult to read I thought I'd better send the info. It reads:
Marriage Certificate
This Certifies that
Robert Steele and Priscilla Jane Wilson
were solemnly united by me in the Holy Bonds of Matrimony
at Avonbank on the Fifteenth day
of October in hte year of our Lord One Thousand
Eight Hundred and seventy two conformably to the
Ordinance of God
and the Laws of the State.
In the presence of Robert Francis and Nathaniel Wilson
Signed: Rev. Robert Hamilton

Avonbank is a little town in Downie Township, Perth County, Ontario. One of the witnesses, Nathaniel was Priscilla's brother. I have a photo of him and Priscilla and her son's probably taken after Robert's death - perhaps right after as she is wearing black and the boys are all dressed up in suits. I'll send it.

Vicki