Mary Jane Chadbourne was born March 22, 1860 at Norwich, Ontario, Canada. Her father was Josiah Chadbourne, her mother Nancy Ann Bowerman. she is believed to have been raised by her grandmother, a Nancy J McKinstry??, until she was 13 years old. When she did come back to her own family to live, there were many younger brothers and sisters and she was treated like a slave. There were 13 children in the family, but only 7 survived to maturity. Two died of diphtheria and were buried in the same coffin. One child begged for lemon; the doctor said she would die anyway so let her have it. She got well! Her sisters were Lydia, Sarah Katherine (Kitty), and Laura. Her brothers were Henry, Fred and Will. The boys were tall; one was 6'8".
Mary Jane Chadbourne married Payson Ephraim Upham in Detroit Lakes, Becker Co, Minnesota on Novermber 17, 1879. Payson's son, Osmer, was five years old at the time. They lived on a farm near Dume, in Otter Tail County. Osroe Darius was born there in 1881 and died when one and one-half years old. Anna Elizabeth was born in the spring of 1884. Darius Gilbert was born in 1885 at Pelican Rapids in Otter Tail County. The family was on the move thereafter. Evelyn May was born 1888 in Orient, Hand Co, So.Dakota. as was Neal Willard in 1890; Ralph Edward, George Emery, and Myrtle Laura were born in Omaha, Boone Co, Arkansas; and last Mary Ethel in Dickinson Co, Kansas. The family was not doing well in Arkansas so left that state in 1898.
Payson and Mary Jane spent most of the winter getting to Morris County and arrived in 1899. They lived at the first place Kickapoo about 8 months, then moved to Kelso in Morris Co, then to the Rinehart community near Woodbine. Later they moved to the Albert Miller place in Geary Co, then to the Ben Ruhnke place in Dickinson Co. Mary was born there in 1901.
They lived in a tent on Lyons Creek, about 12 miles south of Junction City, for more than a year. In May 1902, George drowned in Lyons Creek in rapidly rising water flood water when he and Ralph were returning home with horse and cart from delivering milk to a cheese plant on the other side of the creek.
The family probably lived on the Tiegs farm at Lyonsdale while they were building a home three miles west of Junction City in 1903. They moved that year into their new home.
In February, 1907, tragedy again struck the family. Payson had loaded a hay rack of hay about a mile and a half west of his home when the hay rack tipped over. He fell to the ground, and the top of the hay rack fell across his chest with the hay falling on top of him. He was dead when found.
Mary Jane went on to marry twice again prior to her death in 1941.
Information obtained from the archives of Greary Co. Historical Society and Museums, (Junction City Kansas) which obtaind it from Alta McCluskey who probably learned it from Ralph Upham.