EDWARD BAKER HANDSAKER

1863 – 1942

Edward Baker Handsaker, my Great-Grandfather is related or connected to many of the Handsakers that will be profiled in future blogs. His parents were Samuel and Sarah (Cannon) Handsaker and he had eight siblings. He was married three times and has descendants from all three marriages.

He was born 13 December 1863 near Oakland, Umpqua, Oregon. He was named after Colonel Edward Baker, who was one of Oregon's first Senators and was killed at Ball's Bluff early in the Civil War. He attended Lost Valley School near Dexter, Lane, Oregon in the 1870’s with his siblings.

Edward married Annie Smith in February 1886 in Jasper, Lane, Oregon. They had a son, Samuel Looney Handsaker in May 1887, however, Annie passed away less then a year later in January 1888 of typhoid fever. She would have been around 19 years old.

Edward married Mary Amanda Clow September 1891 in Junction City, Oregon. They had three children, Edward Clow born in 1892, daughter Frances Lucretia in 1893 and a baby girl in 1896 who died at 3 days old.

In 1894 Edward filed a Homestead Application for 160 acres of land in Anlauf, Douglas, Oregon just outside of Drain. Edward seems to have lived here until at least 1903 when he divorced Mary. The grounds for divorce was desertion by Mary who was now living in Seattle. Edward was given full custody of Edward and Frances. Trying to take care of a little girl as a traveling minister and making little money was to much for Edward so Frances was put in St. Mary’s orphanage, where I was told he would visit her when ever he could.

Edward soon married Hattie May Wood in 1904. Hattie was only 15 years old so her father had to give permission to marry. Edward and his growing family moved many times, mainly in Douglas and Lane Counties. He was a traveling minister as well as working various jobs in saw mills, the railroad, cook, and laborer. Edward and Hattie had seven children: James Robert, Abraham Kenneth, Elsie Irene, Hobart, Vernon, Melvin and Alfred Delmar.

Edward divorced Hattie in 1919. Hattie had an affair with another man and told Edward she did not want to be married any longer. Edward was awarded custody of all seven children, ages 3 to 14.

I think it was a pretty hardscrabble life being a single father and raising his children. I was told by one of his children (Elsie) and several of his grandchildren that he was a wonderful man and father.

Around 1932 he moved to Ashland, Oregon. He remained there until he had a stroke in 1941 and moved to a rest home in Eugene where he passed away in 1942 of cardiac failure.

Edward’s obituary listed all of his children, except his son Edward and daughter Frances, his children from Mary Clow Handsaker. It might be that the informant for the obituary did not know about them, or left them out?