Milford chronicle., 1893-01-20
THE CHAMPION sTepMoTAER.
shO Has made Iifo woEk Of aIarryia
VVidoweys ana Rearing Their chlidren.


sho Has Akade Life Work Of Marrying
WidOwegs and Rearing Their Children,
Byher sixth marriage the Widow Gaddes,
as she has been known for five years past,
becomes tho stepmother Of forty-seyen chill
dren, ths step-grandmother OF fifty-two,
the step7great-g grandmother Of eleven and
the step-greHt-gr grandmother Of four.
The Widow Gaddes was born Barnes. Her
first husband was George Walker, q wid-
over with five children, all OF whom she
continued TO care for after her husband
died, and she in time became the wife Of
George Offender, who was also a widoweF.
He had six children, to whom she became
second mother. When she became the
Widow Offender, which she did in less than
year, the i've Walker children and the
six young Offenders continued living with
her IN peace and harmony, which was not
disturbed when the Widow Offender be-
came the wife Of Charles Gregg and q
mother to his nine motherless children.
A good many Of the children Of these
different families had gys.Sn TO be men and
women by this time, and, when four years
after she became the vito Of Charles Gregg
she became his widow, several Of them had
married and started families Of their own
some Of the Walkers marrying Offenders
and some Of the GFeggs marrying both
Walkers and Ottenders-so that when the
Widow Gregg became Mrs. Jehiel Fitch
her husbands seven children found only
one Of the Walker offspring, three Often
ders and five Greggs claiming a share of
the attention Of their new mother.
In course Of time the Fitch contingent Of
stepchildren was reduced by marriage until
there were only three Of them left rs
-. -, l., =
riages the number Of unclaimed Greggs
was reduced TO two, the Offenders to one,
and the Walker stock was entirely wiped
out. Thus were Mrs. Jehiei Fitch's family
cares made 30 light that she felt unbearably
lonesome when she at last became the
Widow Fitch-so lonesome, indeed, that in
less than a year she ceased being the Widow
Fitch and became Mrs. Solomon Gaddes
and the willing stepmother Of Solomon |
Gaddes' seven chlldren. The Oldest Of these |
children was fifteen, the youngest two, and |
as Mrs. Gaddes was now fifty and her latest ]
husband ten years her junior she had vir- |
tually started in to raise another entire |
family This became literal fact, for In |
less than year she was the Widow GaddeS, !
with the whole seven Of the new stepchil- |
dren, the Oldest not old enough to support 4
herself, on her hands.
She kept them together, but two OF them |
having married and gone away recently |
nearly six years having passed since there |
became Widow Gaddes-and the last one /
Of the Greggs, the Offenders and Fitches /
having also set up homes Of their own, 4
the Widow Gaddes felt 80 lonesome again |
that she took it as an providential interven-
tion when John c. Callan asked her to take |
charge Of him and become stepmother to /
his thirteen children, although she re |
gretted that only three Of these were to |
come under her maternal protection, and |
each one was older than herself.
Her new husband Is twenty-five years her
senior. Although he brings her no young |
children, II of her other husbands did. |
she console self with the reflection that
he has thirtS ldchildren, many Of them
small, eleven lsTeat-glsia.dchildFen and four
grc1t-gle gleat-gTandchildren, some Of whom
may throw uponkzar peEsoS q
care. <our woiIl
Mrs Callan, with all herr a4s-i-
never had q child of her ON OuI sCOcA &
her stepchiidren grew nj 4. u
Only one child died amoD&r from 05c
lilies she reared. The fri
she lived on "A farm 81
fro.a it to her hush; PAPER now IN
riage took her from NJ
and so o /lo+ ,e elo,,,,,.ol
ing her to new a. vorv ~ K.
which she now O W u very low q
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