1911-1913: Creating a Home and Family -- then, Moving On

A week researching in Deming answered many questions and created others. I made several trips to the Deming Luna Mimbres Museum, the museum's Archives, the county clerk and one to the Assessor's office -- as well as digging deeper on line.

Homesteading, Editing and Teaching

Bedi gained editorship of The Deming Headlight in January 1911.

I could not believe my luck while at the Deming Luna Mimbres Museum. I found photos of The Deming Headlight printing room from 1911 -- the exact year that Bedi operated the paper (with Lillian's help, of course)! Lillian writes about going to the newspaper office right after school on Thursdays and staying late into the night to get the weekly paper printed, then riding out to the claim and riding back early the next morning to get to school.

The building which housed The Deming Headlight and the Chamber of Commerce still stands but looks nothing like it did in 1911.

Lillian served one year --  school year 1910-1911 -- as Asst. Principal of the Deming High School (all grades were in the same building). She was fluent in Spanish and spent much of her career as a Spanish language educator -- evening writing a Spanish textbook, Mastering Spanish, which was used throughout Texas.

1911-1912: Here Comes Family and There Goes the Paper

One year after Bedi and Lillian's marriage on Christmas Day 1910, their first child and my grandmother, Mary Virginia, was born on December 11, 1911. To prepare for her birth, they moved into town in September. Lillian describes the little adobe house and its location as east of town and south of the railroad tracks, but as far as I can tell, it is under a Walmart now -- so no luck finding it.

In the spring of 1912, Bedi lost his share of the paper and the family of three moved back out to the claim. According to Lillian, Bedi lost the paper due to a prohibition vote in November 1911. Bedi's editorials, though not pro-prohibition, did question the need for 13 saloons in a town the size of Deming. The saloon and alcohol production businesses took offense. Several months later, when Bedi approached the bank for an extension on his loan (that funded his share in the newspaper), those businesses bent the ear of the bank leadership and Bedi's loan extension was denied. Later, Bedi admitted he did not have the business and political acumen to run a paper. He just wanted to write. This cost him the paper. He sold his interest to his partner and continued on as Chamber secretary and gained paid contracts preparing materials and articles promoting the Deming area to farmers and homesteaders.

Bedi's younger sister, Una, also moved to Deming and became a teacher in the high school. I was excited to find a photo of her in the Museum "Old Timers' Room." Una eventually took the helm of the new high school as principal, but was forced out with several other teachers by the school board. The school board was wracked with political posturing and fights, it appears from newspaper articles.

Una stayed in Deming longer than her brother. She met her future husband, Ned Willard, who was at Camp Cody in a position with the Christian Scientists. Una became a Christian Scientist and went to Denver for some training. She and Ned married in Denver and then moved to Portland, Oregon, where they stayed until their deaths.

1913: Here Comes More Family and the End of an Era

In April 1913, the Bedichek's second child, Sarah Craven Bedichek, was born.

Also in that year, Bedi and Lillian moved from the claim -- for good -- to a home in Deming. Although I found a legal description of their home in Deming, I was unable to locate the property. Even the staff at the assessor's office were stumped.

Not only did the Bedicheks welcome a second child, Roy's parents also moved to Deming. JM and Lucretia retired from their teaching careers in Eddy, Texas and moved to Deming to take over the homestead claim. Bedi notes that with their automobile, they were true "suburbanites."

After more research, I am fairly certain that Bedi and Lillian were unsuccessful in completing the necessary steps to "prove up" on the claim. Lillian states that they "relinquished their claim" to Roy's parents. I also found an announcement in the newspaper that stated JM Bedichek assumed the claim on September 4, 1913. He initiated the process for submitting "proof" for proving the claim shortly before his death on November 16, 1916. It was approved on November 21, 1916. I also found warranty deeds documenting that Lucretia gave the land to Roy after JM's death.

According to their children, JM and Lucretia were more successful farmers than Roy and Lillian on the claim. They also made a name for themselves in the three years they lived there. JM died in Deming in 1916 and was taken back to Eddy, Texas for burial.

Later in 1913, Roy and Lillian left Deming altogether and moved to Austin, Texas.

Questions that Remain

Another Homestead Claim

In my research, I stumbled upon documentation from 1913 showing that Bedi filed another homestead claim on property adjacent to the claim of which we already know. How this property left the family is a mystery. I will have to continue digging on line to find a title trail.

Why They Left

I am still unsure why they left Deming. With the arrival of Bedi's folks, they would have had more help. One theory is they could not make a living that would support their family of four.

However, knowing how industrious they both were and how they blossomed and prospered in Austin, I also wonder if they were starting to reconsider life on the edge of the "vanishing frontier." They were both intellectuals and social activists. Maybe they started to think "the farming life is not for me" or "homesteading -- fun adventure, but now it's time to move on."

In their later years, they both reminisced fondly of their homestead years. Lillian wrote several stories about it. But I don't remember reading anything about regret for leaving New Mexico.

A Fond Farewell

This has been a great adventure for me and my family! I will continue to dig in on line and try to find answers to the remaining questions -- which will most likely lead to even more questions! Although we have no plans to move to Deming and build on the property that remains in the family, we do plan to visit more often. I really like Deming and feel a connection to the community.

Read the whole series here.