The house was built for Herman and Helen Becker, who were married in 1864 and had four sons - Frederick, George, Henry and Herman.
When the father Herman died, he left the house and the land it was on to his son George A. Becker. Through some old newspaper articles from The Foley Independent, I was able to discover that both Herman and Helen passed away in the house. Yes, people died HERE. Although, I must say, I'm not surprised.
Herman and Helen were both members of the Old Settlers Association and were considered respected members of the community, according to their obituaries. Herman died in 1908 and Helen in 1926.
The family were farmers and even owned a feed mill which used to be on the old property. Now the land has been divided from a few hundred acres total down to the present 8.7 acres.
Below is a section of a plat map from 1903, the year the house was built.
I hope that the search for information about the house continues to be this successful! I just want to give a shout out to the Benton County Historical Society for their continued help! Such an amazing organization.
What do you think is most interesting about the history of Mayhew House and the people who once lived there? What information would you like to know more about? Sometimes finding the right answers requires asking the right questions!
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Herman died only 5 years after the house was built. I assume that his son(s) lived at the house with there mother for the remainder of her life? Did they get married? Have kids?
ReplyDeleteHis wife, Helen, inherited the house when Herman died. It then passed to their oldest son George in 1926 when Helen passed away.
DeleteCheck out this new post for the family genealogy: http://mayhewhouse.blogspot.com/2012/12/becker-family-tree.html.