8EF.  Harriet Bianca Lilly was born in Byron Center, Kent County, Michigan, on Sunday, June 28, 1896, and died in Calgary, Alberta, on December 5, 1964. August Gottfried Spaeth was born in Stuttgart, Germany, _____. He was called Gus. They were married _____. She took the name Harriet Bianca Spaeth. She is the daughter of Grove and Alma (Gilbert) Lilly. They had two children:

Your loving Nov. 14th   '14 Nanton Dear Grandpa,         Just a note to show we haven't forgotten everybody back Home. We are all well & hope you are getting around enough to come & see us out here. Say Grandpa, if you'll come we'll have the swellest time, Riding Horse-Back Dressed just like Deb and Elton are on the front of this card. I'm afraid mother won't get home this fall, its an awful dissapointment to her But crops were dreadful this year & the war has knocked everything flat here. I was dining-room girl on the outfit this fall, the first time I have ever been out & I like it fine. Well Bye Bye with lots of Love from us all.

Harriet Lilly

She was called Hattie. The text at the left is from a postcard she wrote to her grandfather, Truman Gilbert, from Alberta, Canada. The picture on the postcard was of her brothers Elton and Delbert "Deb" in cowboy costumes. See Elton's entry.

Hattie's reference to home, meaning Michigan, would indicate that they did not consider Alberta home. It would also appear that travel back and forth to Michigan was not uncommon, even for such a long distance on those days. The picture of young Hattie shows mountains in the background. Since Nanton is at the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, this could have been taken on the farm.

Harriet (left) with her sisters Henrietta and Alma about 1920

Gus was the youngest of 13 children and came to Ohio in 1905. He soon moved to Montana to homestead where he met Harriet.

• Correspondence with Ruth (Clark) Dann; March 2002