John Lord died far from home in Louisiana, Missouri on May 23rd, 1873. He left behind a widow and two small children who relocated to Bloomington after his death. The employees of the railroad gave her funds and materials to eke out a living after his death. I wonder how many of the young women widowed by the railroad received such assistance as they returned to their hometowns and began the work of supporting a family unassisted or relinquished their children to an orphanage.
As we can see here, Mrs. Lord intended to make a small living sewing and taking in laundry. Thanks to the generosity of her husband's workmates she had a good start toward making her own living, but how could a woman left alone with two children hope to raise such a sum as $135.25 in 1873?
