FRANCES LUCRETIA HANDSAKER

1895 - 1976

Frances Lucretia Handsaker Age 16

Frances Lucretia Handsaker was the daughter of Edward Baker and Mary Clow Handsaker. She was born Nov. 16, 1895 in Drain, Douglas, Oregon and was Edward Baker’s third child.

Edward Baker and Mary divorced in 1903. As told by Frances’ daughter Dolly Jefferson, Edward Baker took the boy (Edward Clow) to raise but couldn’t take Frances, a girl would be too difficult to raise as he was an evangelist and traveled to four parishes on foot. Frances was put in St. Mary’s Catholic Convent in Portland. About 1908 she moved to Newhouse, Utah to live with her “Aunt” Mary (Clow Handsaker) Lemmon. Mary did not want people to know she had a daughter. Frances also told her daughter that Mary did not like children.

In Newhouse she was acting postmistress and taught school in exchange for her high school education. She helped a Doctor Swanson deliver babies and was a “natural” nurse. Her first husband, Fred Jefferson’s family owned a butcher shop and Frances made sausage and sauerkraut. After her husband Fred died she became a x-ray technician. She was also a member of several professional organizations.

In 1913 she married Fred Jefferson and they had two children Harry Fredrick and Barbara (Dolly) Yvonne. In 1930 they lived in San Pedro, Los Angeles County, California. (According to the 1930 Census brother Edward was living in Los Angeles also, did they know about each other?) Her husband Fred died in 1946. She married John Bert Smithson in 1952. She lived most of her life in Milford, Utah and Nevada City, California.

She stayed in contact with her Mother’s side of the family (Clow), but no mention if she stayed in contact with any of her Handsaker relatives. Her daughter told me she held a life long grudge against the Handsaker’s.

Frances passed away Sept. 11, 1976 in Nevada City, California.

           I had the pleasure of meeting her daughter Dolly in 2001.