Lanklyn Sylvester Spicer 1884 1970

Lanklyn Spicer was my great-great grandfather, and his name fit as he was a very tall lanky man and I am told he had a wonderful twinkle in his eyes. He lived up north on a farm in Bruno Minnesota. He grew beautiful roses and was quite proud of them.

Lanklyn came from a large family, with nine brothers and sisters. As a young boy, Lanklyn’s family frequently moved by covered wagon back and forth from Nebraska, where he was born, to Minnesota. The reason for these frequent moves was due to the various Indian ‘uprisings.’ In 1895 on the family’s last journey back to Minnesota, Lanklyn’s younger brother Nathan contracted diphtheria and passed away near the city of Winnebago. Lanklyn’s family settled in Faribault, Minnesota before permanently setting in Sandstone, Minnesota.

According to his sister Evelena, Lanklyn had a wonderful sense of humor and was quite a prankster. He and his siblings all learned to play various instruments, Lanklyn learned to play several instruments quite well, and the family often entertained themselves with 'concerts.'

Lanklyn grew up on the family farm but had the Spicer wanderlust and eventually left home to see what life had to offer off the farm. He surprised his family when he returned to the farm in 1909 with a new bride, Estella Mae O‘Connell. In 1912 Lanklyn’s brother’s family came to visit Lanklyn’s growing young family including a son recently born. Joy turned to sorrow when it was discovered that the visiting relatives had brought ‘the fever’ with them. Lanklyn’s wife and new born son caught the fever and the child soon passed away. The local undertaker left a small white box out on the deserted street in front of Lanklyn’s home. After fetching the box, Lanklyn and Estella said their goodbyes and placed their infant inside. Securing the lid, Lanklyn then placed the box back out in the street to be picked up by the undertaker for burial.

Life was hard at the turn of the century but Lanklyn managed to support and raise 8 children. As a farmer Lanklyn didn’t have modern conveniences such as tractors and reapers, the land was plowed while walking behind a horse or mule and water was ‘drawn’ from a well he had to dig. Wood had to be chopped for fuel to heat the house and cook meals. Vegetable gardens were essential and were hoed by hand. Meat was raised and hunted to feed the family.

Lanklyn was a quiet man, at least in his later years, who enjoyed spending his evenings sitting in his easy chair reading his Bible and watching the small green tree frogs that would cling to the glass of the big picture window he sat beside.

1. 2. Cecil William SPICER   b. 10 Jan 1910, Pine Lake, Pine County, Minnesota; d. 15 May 1974, On the Amtrak train enroute to Pasco, Washington; bur. 18 May 1974, Coon Rapids, Anoka County, Minnesota.
2. 3. Thelma SPICER   b. 25 Aug 1911, Pine County, Minnesota; d. 17 Dec 1991, Sandstone, Pine County, Minnesota; bur. 1991, Sandstone, Pine County, Minnesota.
3. 4. Baby boy SPICER   b. 1912, Pine County, Minnesota; d. 1912, Pine County, Minnesota; bur. 1912, Pine County, Minnesota.
4. 5. Cora Igsli SPICER   b. 27 Oct 1913, Brook Park, Pine County, Minnesota; d. 9 Nov 1913, Brook Park, Pine County, Minnesota; bur. 19 Nov 1913, Pine County, Minnesota.
5. 6. Faith Oralie SPICER   b. 19 Oct 1914, Pine Lake, Pine County, Minnesota; d. 14 Aug 2001, Moose Lake, Carlton County, Minnesota; bur. 19 Aug 2001, Minnesota.
6. 7. Robert Claude SPICER   b. 29 Oct 1920, Pine Lake, Pine County, Minnesota; d. Jan 2001, Moose Lake, Carlton County, Minnesota; bur. Jan 2001, Minnesota.
7. 8. Baby boy SPICER   b. 29 Oct 1920, Pine Lake, Pine County, Minnesota; d. 29 Oct 1920; bur. 1920.
8. 9. Bryan Monroe SPICER  
9. 10. Elaine SPICER  
10. 11. Baby boy SPICER   b. 29 Oct 1920, Pine Lake, Pine County, Minnesota; d. 29 Oct 1920; bur. 1920.

What kind of man was my grandfather Cecil?

When I was 15 I had a cyst removed from my left wrist. After the surgery and when I was put in a regular room they were still having trouble getting me to wake up. They thought I just needed to sleep off the anesthesia but the truth is I was severely dehydrated. The staff wouldn't tell my parents what was going on, just that they couldn't see me until I was fully awake so my parents were left worrying in the waiting room for over 6 hours.

In the meantime my grandpa who we called Gop or Goppy had also tried to see me and like my parents he was turned away at the nurses station. So there I was alone drifting in and out of consciousness. I remember struggling to wake up and being so frightened that I couldn't reach that state of consciousness. Even in that hazy state I knew enough to be scared that something wasn't right but not quite awake enough to do anything about it. Then suddenly through the fog in my brain I heard my grandpa Gop's sweet soothing voice telling me I was going to be OK because he was there for me now.

Then a nurse came into my room. She was angry and told him I wasn't allowed visitors and ordered him to leave. He refused and began raging at her about the inadequate care I was getting. Couldn't they see the reason I wasn't coming to was because I was severely dehydrated!! I was not having trouble coming out of the anesthesia, I was so dehydrated I couldn't regain consciousness! The nursed finally took a good looked at me. My lips were cracked, my skin gray and dry - I must have looked awful because the next thing I knew I was being jabbed with needles in both arms as they set me up for IV's. They pushed the fluids in me as fast as they could and soon I was able to become fully alert.

My grandfather had a severe heart problem and he was not suppose to climb stairs or do anything that would strain his heart yet when he got turned away at the nurses station he went down to the main floor, found a back stairway and walked up 3 flights of stairs in order find me. And he snuck in and out of rooms until he did find me! His perseverance probably saved my life.

Of course my mom was extremely grateful that her stubborn father was so determined to see me that he snuck his way in, but she was also very upset that he had climbed all of those stairs and risked his own life in order to get to me. And that is the kind of man my grandpa, my "Goppy", Cecil William Spicer was.

1. 12. SPICER  
2. 13. SPICER  
3. 14. SPICER  
4. 15. SPICER  

1. 16. VORK  
2. 17. VORK  
3. 18. VORK  

Cora's Death Certificate correctly identifies her mother's maiden name as Estella Mae O'Connell but incorrectly identifies her father Lanklyn S. Spicer as Conkly S. Spicer. I believe the mistake occurred due to the circumstances of little Cora's death. One of Lank's brothers and his family came to visit Lank and Mae around the time of Cora's birth. This family brought Scarlet Fever with them and Mae and her newborn daughter Cora contracted the illness. To prevent the spread of the Scarlet fever the family was under quarantine when Cora died so the undertaker left a small casket at the curb. Lank retrieved the casket and gently placed his infant daughter in it then returned the casket to the curb. The undertaker removed Cora and immediately buried her. On all of the other death certificates I have collected a family member has filled out the father's name and mother's maiden name, then signed the certificate as the "informant." Because Cora's family was under quarantine no family member signed her death certificate, instead it names the informant as "Taken from register." I believe whoever copied the register misread Lank's name. Perhaps it was smudged or faded. Whatever the reason the L was mistaken for a C and the A for an O, then they got the next 3 letters correct; KLY, but then for whatever reason did not add the N.

1. 19. CHILDREN  

1. 20. SPICER  
2. 21. SPICER  
3. 22. SPICER  
4. 23. SPICER  

1. 24. SPICER  
2. 25. SPICER  
3. 26. SPICER  
4. 27. SPICER  
5. 28. SPICER  
6. 29. SPICER  
7. 30. SPICER  
8. 31. Thomas Wayne SPICER   b. 9 Jul 1950, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota; d. 23 Jul 2000, Concrete, Washington; bur. Jul 2000, Washington.

1. 32. Larry CHRISTIANSEN  
2. 33. Linda CHRISTIANSEN  
3. 34. Sheryl CHRISTIANSEN  
4. 35. Beverly CHRISTIANSEN  
5. 36. Steve Mark CHRISTIANSEN   b. 1 Aug.
6. 37. Kathy CHRISTIANSEN   b. 13 Sep.
7. 38. James CHRISTIANSEN   b. 23 Sep.
8. 39. Michael Carl CHRISTIANSEN   b. 16 Nov, Askov, Pine County, Minnesota; d. Askov, Pine County, Minnesota; bur. Askov, Pine County, Minnesota.