| Ernest Wentworth (Page 2)1859 - 1945Shortly after being married, Ernest and Mabel moved to Minneapolis where their first child Eunice was born in 1900. They then moved to McGregor Iowa where Verna and Mildred where born in 1903 and 1905, respectively. While in McGregor, Ernest ran some kind of heavy machinery for a lumber company on the Yellow River which emptied into the Mississippi. While there he became friends with a man named McGary who convinced him that the place for a man with his skills was North Dakota, so off he and his family went. He settled in Willow City, ND where four more children were born: Wells (1907), Dean (1909), Virginia (1910), and Ross (1911).
Ernest became somewhat of a historical figure in Willow City where he was the first rural mail carrier. According to a newspaper account, "Mr. Wentworth drove horses over the rural route and seldom made the trip in less than a full day for perhaps $65 per month." Ernest was temporarily assigned to Route #1 on April 1, 1912 for an annual salary of $600. After 12 years, he was given a permanent position, and his salary had increased to $1980 per year. He retired from his position in 1924 at an annual pesion of $500.04.
In 1927 they purchased from Mabel's mother, Eunice Jean, a forty acre lake side farm and cabin in Crow Wing County near Aitken, Minnesota for $665. Eunice Jean Live in Deary, Idaho at the time. They attempted to retire in northern Minnesota, but the dwellings where not suitable for winter living so they spent most of the time in Minneapolis with their children.
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