Biography for Bertie Daily, Putnam County, Illinois Alberta "Bertie" Daily (1908-1997) Birth: March 3, 1908, Florid, Putnam County, Illinois Death: June 21, 1997, Minonk, Woodford County, Illinois Parents: Albert E. Daily (Birth-IL) and Lillian E. Beck (Birth-IL) Siblings: Ray, Bernice (Roth), Haroll, Darlene and "Babe" Walker Marriage: October 8, 1927, Hennepin, Putnam Co. IL Spouse: Remijus Dennis Gerard Stoens Children: 1.Elsworth 2.Howard 3.Robert 4.Edith (Tucker) 5.Arnold Bertie Daily was born on March 3, 1908 in an old yellow house that belonged to her grandparents on a corner in Florid, Illinois which is a small village 4 miles south of Hennepin in Putnam County. Bertie spent the first three years of her life in Florid, Illinois in that old yellow house. During that time, two new additions were added to her family. Her sister Bernice was born on July 28, 1909 and her brother Haroll was born on September 3, 1910. Bertie's father worked for Edward Reynolds faming the bottoms. Her family was very poor and sometimes would not have made it without the help of her grandmother, Rosa Beck. At the age of 2, in the summer of 1910, Bertie's family moved to Peoria by boat. Her father thought perhaps he could find a better job in a large city and went to work in a small factory near their home. Her uncle, John Dinkey was also living in Peoria at that time and the two families spent a lot of time together. Then in October of 1912, The Putnam Record, the local newspaper of that time stated that Bertie's family and her Uncle John's family moved back from Peoria to the Florid, Illinois area. Her grandfather Joseph Beck had a paralytic stroke earlier that summer. Her uncle John settled in Florid and Bertie's family moved to the Harry Clemen's residence at Todd's Point. Sometime between 1912 and 1914, Bertie's family moved back to Peoria. Her father again went to work at a factory. When Bertie was 6 years old, her little sister Darlene was born in March of 1914. The baby only lived 3 weeks. Bertie remembers her mother picking up the baby and saying it was cold. Her mother took the baby to the window and saw it was dead. Bertie's grandfather Joseph Beck had 3 more strokes in 1914. Her grandmother Rosa Beck had broken her wrist earlier that spring and could not care for her husband properly. Because of this, Bertie's family moved in with her grandparent in September of 1914 to take care of her grandparents. Bertie and her family stayed and helped take care of her grandfather Joseph until his death on February 19, 1915. They stayed with her grandmother Rosa Beck until the summer of 1916. Her sister Lorraine was born on January 26, 1916. Since she was the baby, she was always called Babe. Bertie's family then moved back to the house she was born in and stayed with Little Rob (her uncle John Dinkey's son). Bertie recalls vividly an Easter they celebrated while staying with Little Rob. Her parents and Little Rob had hidden nests with eggs in them all over the yard. Of course, the Easter rabbit was supposed to have left the eggs, so when Little Rob and her father found manure in their nests, they threatened to shoot the Easter Rabbit. Bertie said that made it all the more fun. It was also that year that her father dressed up as Santa Claus and brought in the presents. Bertie's family finally moved into their own home and Bertie and her sister, Bernice started school together when Berty was eight. The school was a one room school house about half a block from her grandmother's house. Berty missed a lot of school and didn't like her teachers very much. So, at the age of 13, Bertie finished seventh grade and quit school. The only thing that bothered her about quitting is that when her sister Bernice turned 13, she was made to quit school also by their mother. A man was willing to pay for Bernice's education so that she could become a teacher, but their mother said no. Bertie didn't think it was very fair. Bertie and her family continued to live in Florid until Bertie was 13. Her brother Ray had moved out on his own by 1918 and was living with John Beck, helping him farm. Between then and 1921, he and Little Rob had moved to Iowa. Little Rob stayed in Iowa with his new family, but Ray came back in December of 1921. Bertie's father had worked for a while at George Hetrick's sugar camp in 1919 according to the Putnam Record. After that he went to work for George Breneman. Bertie and her family moved to a house about four miles outside of Florid, which was owned by George Breneman in March of 1921. The old house had no well and they had to walk half a mile to the neighbors for water until the well was dug. Bertie and her brother's and sisters also had to walk four miles to school each day. Bertie remembers the snow being so high that they could walk right over the fences. Bertie said that she and her sisters and brother Haroll got into a lot of mischief on that farm. Bertie once broke all her mother's dishes by running around the table and knocking it over. She and her sisters would tell their parents to go visit their Grandma Rosa so that they could get the plug horses out and ride them while they were gone. Those horses were so big that all the kids could get on one horse and away they would go. Bertie, Bernice and Babe would use up all their mother's sugar making candy. Bernice and Babe learned quickly not to send Bertie outside to cool it, because she'd eat it all. They always locked the door when Bertie and her brother and sisters went to play. One time it nearly got them in trouble because they lost the key. They found it just it the nick of time because their parents were coming up the lane. The only time that Bertie and her sisters and brother ever really got in trouble is when they broke their dad's colt before it was ready. That's the only time Berty can remember really catching "HELL" from her father. Bertie's father was a very gentle man. He never scolded and loved to play with the children. Bertie's mother was the stern one in the family. Sometimes perhaps she was too strict. She would allow the boys to run, but wouldn't allow the girls to do anything. Even when they went to visit their grandmother, the girls were not allowed to play with the other children in Florid. They had to sit with their mother on the front porch while she visited. Several times Grand- mother Rosa and Ray had to stop her mother from being overly strict with the girls. The first great excitement in Bertie's life in when the chimney of their farmhouse caught on fire. Bernice handed a bucket of water to Bertie and she put it out by dumping cold water down the chimney. To this day, she doesn't remember how she got up there. When she told her mother, what had happened, her mother said it was a miracle that she didn't crack the chimney. Bertie's mother used to make them soda pop by mixing vinegar, water, sugar and baking soda together. That and popcorn were Bertie's favorite treats. Most of Bertie's childhood memories are from that farm. It was the most enjoyable time of her life before her marriage. Bertie's family stayed there until Bertie was seventeen. Her family then moved to a house owned by Peter Stoens outside of Florid. It was there she met her future husband, Remijus Dennis Gerard Stoens (Remi). Bertie can still remember the day she met him. Remi was painting their house "shitty" yellow. For a while, it was a touch and go romance. Bertie wasn't certain whether Remi was going to marry her or her sister Bernice. He used to go for walks with Bertie on one side and Bernice on the other. But all along, Remi wants Bertie. Their courtship was very short. Bertie remembers Remi throwing rocks at her bedroom window to try to get her to come out (but Bertie never would). They did however, drink coffee together in the mornings and go parking at Lover's Lane in Remi's old Ford. (Bertie never did say what they did when they went parking). At the age of 19, Bertie was proposed to and she became Mrs. Remijus Dennis Gerard Stoens on October 8, 1927. Remi was 33 years old at the time. Bertie and Remi were married at a house in Hennepin. Since Bertie's family didn't have any money, Remi bought her a new dress to wear for their wedding. After they were married, Bertie and Remie went to live with her Grandmother Rosa Beck in Florid, Illinois. They stayed with her grandmother until her death in 1928. On March 13, 1928, Bertie and Remi were sitting in the livingroom when Bertie's Little Aunt Dinkey came in and said that Bertie's grandmother wanted to see Bertie. Bertie went in with her grandmother and stayed with her until she passed away. A short time later, Bertie lost another loved one. Bertie and Remi had a son on October 20, 1928. They named him Elsworth. The child unfortunately was born without a rectum. From birth, Bertie knew that there was something wrong with the baby. He refused it eat. The doctor said that there was nothing that could be done. Elsworth died 5 days after his birth. Because women back then had to stay in bed for at least 10 days after childbirth, Bertie couldn't go to her son's funeral. It broke her heart. After her grandmother's death, Bertie and Remi moved to George Haun's place outside of Florid. It was there that Bertie and Remi had another child. Howard Gerard was born on April 28, 1930. Later that year, Remi taught Bertie how to drive a car. He took her out in a pasture and had her drive his old Ford coupe until she had it down pat. Bertie didn't drive for very long though. She was going down the boom road one day with her mother in the car with her. The car had studded tires and hit sand. It tipped over and Bertie's mother hurt her head. Bertie blamed herself for the accident and never drove again. Bertie was also having difficulties with Remi's family. Remi's mother and older sister did not want Remi to marry Bertie. Remi's mother did not want her "baby" to leave home and Remi's sister Mary, thought that Bertie was too young. Mary even told her children that they couldn't call Bertie "Aunt". Whenever Bertie and Remi went to visit them, Remi's mother told Remi to stay with her and that "Berta" could go home. Another one of their problem's was Remi's religion. Remi's family were devout Catholics and Bertie would not join the church. There was a violent argument over their baby Howard and Remi was extradited from the church. Because of these problems, in 1931 Remi and Berty moved to Mark Kay's place in Oxbow (no longer exists) which was outside of Magnolia, Illinois. The place, like the Haun's place had no electricity, inside toilet, or inside running water. The water had to be gotten from a well outside and it made living rather rugged. Bertie had her share of excitement at Mark Kay's. A bull scared her by coming up to the house and eating Remi's socks off the railing. Another frightening incident happened when a hobo showed up at the house when Remi wasn't home. Bertie hid in the bedroom until he left. Bertie and Remi's first few years were filled with adjustments just as all married couples are. At first Remi wanted to do everything for Bertie. He wouldn't let her lift a finger to do anything and didn't even want to leave her alone to go to work. Finally, Bertie convinced him that she was perfectly capable of doing things for herself and she would be all right by herself (all though she did wonder a little when the hobo showed up). Remi worked by the month farming at Mark Kay's and every night he came home to his "Pet" (his nickname for Bertie). The Putnam Record, showed that Bertie and Remi were good friends with John Brandstatter and his family and they continued visiting them quite often. The Putnam Record listed two of those times as being June and October of 1931. While at Mark Kay's, Bertie and Remi added another addition to their family. Robert Albert was born on August 13, 1932. They were just as proud of him as they were their first. Along with the miracle of birth, came also the sadness of death. Bertie's favorite aunt, Little Aunt Dinkey died that same year and it was to leave a little sadness in Bertie's heart. Remi soon grew tired of farming for someone else and in 1934, he decided to try farming for himself. Bertie and Remi rented a farm called the Rismire's place outside of Magnolia and Remi struggled to make his farm pay. By now, Bertie's sister Babe had married Aldin Haun and the four of them spent a lot of time together. In 1934, Bertie's brother, Ray and his wife moved to Florid. After that, Bertie and her family spent a lot of time visiting her brother during the following years. They are mentioned visiting Ray and his wife many times in The Putnam Record. It even showed that Bertie and her sisters were invited to a picnic dinner on the lawn at her brother Ray's home in July of 1938. Bertie's father, Albert Daily died in the spring of 1935. Albert caught pneumonia cutting brush along side the road near McNabb and just couldn't seem to shake it. He died on March 14, 1935 at his home in McNabb where he was living with Bertie's brother Haroll. Ray and his family came to take care of their father. Bertie stayed as long as she could, but had to go home to rest. Later that morning Remi came home and told Bertie that her father had died early that morning. While at the Rismire place, Bertie and Remi had their only daughter. Edith Roseanna was born on January 19, 1936. She was so tiny that they didn't think she would live. They wrapped her in a blanket and put her in a buggy near the stove to keep her warm. Edith might have been tiny, but she was healthy and she became the apple in her father' s eye. Bertie remembers Remi looking down at that tiny baby and saying, "She's so little, she looks just like a doll. Pet, let's call her Dolly". Remi stuck it out at Rismire's for about 3 years trying to make a living from farming. Remi just wasn't making a living and they both decided it would be best to try farming someplace else. Bertie and Remi found another farm called the Shlesher place and settled there hoping that this time they were at their permanent home. The farming there was also poor and the house was so very cold that they just couldn't stay there. When Bertie was seven months pregnant with her fourth and last child, they moved again. It was January when they moved to a place outside of Henry for 2 weeks until they could find a place they could afford. This house had everything - running water, inside bathroom and electricity. The children were so fascinated with the lights that they kept running around the house turning the lights on and off. Bertie knew that they couldn't stay there though, so she only unpacked what was absolutely necessary. For two weeks, the whole family lived out of boxes. Finally they found a place outside of Toluca owned by Ed Spangler and Remi went to work for Spangler farming. There Arnold Edward was born at 8:00 at night on Tuesday, March 18, 1941. The reason Bertie remembers this so well is that she fell that day. This house was a little better than the others. It didn't have running water, but it did have an inside pump and a bathtub. They stayed there until 1950. Remi was then offered the job of taking care of pigs for the Hydridges and decided to take it. Bertie and Remi moved to the Hydridge place outside of Toluca and they both hoped that Remi would make more money at taking care of pigs than at farming. They stayed for two years trying to make a living a raising hogs but it simply didn't work out. Bertie and Remi rented the Helander place east of Toluca and Remi went to work at the Cheese Factory in Toluca. After they had only lived at the Helander place for several months, Remi's old boss, Ed Spangler offered Remi and Bertie back their old house, rent-free, in return for doing chores. Remi and Bertie gladly accepted the offer. Bertie and Remi stayed at Spangler's for two years. Then in 1955, they decided to make another move. They bought a little house in Toluca, Illinois, by the Jumbo. It was the first house they had ever owned. They were tired of renting. Bertie was 47 and Remi was 61 years old. Bertie got her first real job in 1957. She got a job in Toluca working for Mrs. Rodewall at the Toluca Restaurant. Bertie really enjoyed her job except for one chore. She had to take the slop pail out every day. Bertie worked there for about a year, but then decided she was needed more at home taking care of her granddaughter Nancy (Edith's first), while her daughter worked. Bob remained a bachelor for a while a lived at home with his parents. Bertie's oldest brother died of a heart attack at the age of 58 in 1961. He was the first member of her family to die since her father's death in 1935. Around 1962, Bertie's daughter split up with her husband and decided to move home. They both agreed it would be better if she didn't actually live with her parents, so Edith bought a trailer and set it up in Bertie and Remi's backyard. Bertie took care of Edith's daughters Nancy and Judy while Edith worked. Her grandchildren were always thrilled to see her even though they had seen her just the night before. Bertie watched them for about a year, then Edith moved back with her husband in Ottawa. Bertie spoiled her grandchildren rotten, but they were all fairly good kids so it didn't hurt them too much. The biggest treat of all is when all the grandchildren got to spend the night at Grandma Bertie's house at the same time. Bertie would play games with them, let them smash rocks with hammers and Remi let them build things out of wood in (what they called) The Round House. Bertie loved her home in Toluca. On holidays, especially Christmas, all of her children and grandchildren would come home. Everyone enjoyed these family reunions as much as Bertie did. Bertie planted a peach seed just for fun and before she moved, she had two peaches on that tree. She always had a large garden, lots of fruit trees, and raspberries and strawberries growing across the road from her house. Bertie was always busy canning or baking or just playing with her grandchildren. Bertie had a dog named Pal that was very dear to her. When Pal died, Berty decided to get another "Pal". She got a dog from her sister Babe that was suppose to be a small dog. What a surprise it was when Pal grew up to be a giant mutt! She soon got rid of the dog. Bertie was getting older and her health was failing her. In 1965, Bertie and Remi bought a house in Washburn so that Bertie could be closer to her doctor. Right before she moved, Bertie's mother died on August 18, 1965. In 1966, Berty had a heart attack. She had to have complete bed rest from November through March. That didn't stop Bertie from enjoying Christmas. She simply had a bed made in the livingroom where she could see everything. Bertie and Remi celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in October of 1977. It was a big open house celebration that all of their friends and family attended. The celebration was held at the American Legion in Washburn, Illinois and the place was packed with well wishers. Three years later, in 1980, Remi fell and broke his hip. At the age of 86, he was just too old to recover right. Bertie tried to take care of him for two years. Then in 1982, Remi developed blood clots in his legs. He had to be rushed to the hospital for them to be removed. After 5 hours of surgery, Bertie was told that he would be all right, but he would be hospitalized for a long time. After that, Remi would be moved to a nursing home for special care. This was their first separation in 55 years. Remi was placed in the Hawthorn Nursing Home in El Paso, Illinois. Bertie continued to visit him as least twice weekly, hoping that he would improve and be able to come home. Remi's health though, continued to decline. In December of 1983, he had to have one of his legs amputated below the knee. After that he seemed to lose his will to live. On June 16, 1985, Remi Stoens passed away in his sleep. Bertie continued living on her own for another year. Her health was failing and her daughter Edith felt it was best if someone was there to care for her. Bertie moved in with her daughter in 1986. Bertie and her daughter lived together for 3 years. In 1991, Edith's daughter Nancy and her fiance rented Edith's house. Bertie continued to live with her granddaughter Nancy until 1992. In 1992, Bertie went to stay with her son Arnold for a weekend visit. During that visit, Bertie had a slight stroke and was hospitalized. The doctors at the hospital felt that Bertie would need total care from then on. Since Nancy worked, and Arnold's wife Judy didn't, it was decided that Bertie would live with Arnold and his wife. Bertie moved in with Arnold and his wife in Peoria, Illinois. They stayed in Peoria for about a year, then moved to Washburn, Illinois. In January of 1995, Bertie's son Arnold was told that he didn't have long to live. Because of his health problems, it was decided that Bertie should be placed in a nursing home. Berti continued to live at Lida Home in Minonk, Illinois the remainder of her life.  Bertie died on June 21, 1997 at Lida Home in Minonk, Illinois.  After her death, she was laid to rest beside her husband at Mt. Vernon cemetery, Washburn, Illinois. --------------------------------------------------------------------- UGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Nancy Piper