Willow Wave Morris b. Feb. 14 1896 near Corry, Erie Co. PA. Note: Her drivers  license from 1926 gives her birth year as 1896.  Ages given on some records indicate the year was 1895. I think 1896 is correct. Died July 26 1981 in Penn Yan, Yates Co NY. Buried in Hillside Cemetery, Dundee, Yates Co. NY.

At left is the earliest known photo of Willow. It is undated. It is probably about 1910 when she was 14 years old.

She was the fifth of six children born to George Morris [2], b. 1861 - d. 1900/10 ? & Genevieve Morrison b. April 15 1863 - d. Oct. 21 1924.

    The first official record we have of Willow Wave is the 1910 census for Bradford PA. she is age 14 living with her mother Genevieve “Eva” Morris, a widow age 40. Also in the household are brothers Harold age 17 & George [3] age 10. A postcard sent to Wave dated March 25 1910 shows her living at 4 Pearl St. in Bradford. In April 1910 she received a postcard addressed Campbell NY. There is no present day post office for Campbell. Campbell is near Bath NY.

Next record, a birth certificate for Wave’s 2nd child, Alice May Bond born in Gibson, Steuben Co. NY Feb. 17 1914. Father listed as Walter Andrew Bond age 30 & mother as Willow Wave Morris age 19. [ actual age 18]. We now know that Alice’s father is actually Albert H. Coleman Jr.

    The 1915 census for the Town of Starkey, Yates Co. NY lists Alice Bond age 1 as a “boarder” in the household of Benjamin [aka Benson] Lane age 34. It also lists a “Lulu” Bond age 22 as a servant. Is “Lulu” actually Wave ? Was she on the lam from husband Walter? Was “Lulu” a feeble attempt at an alias ? Her age at this time would have been 19. Her first born, Genevieve Bond, age 4 not listed. Probably with her grandmother, Genevieve Morris

    The 1920 Starkey census lists Benson Lane age 39 - a farmer with wife W. Wave age 25 & 4 children living on Glenora road.

Genevieve M. - age 8 - daughter - [Wave’s child with Walter Bond]

Alice M. - age 5 - daughter - [Wave’s child with Albert Coleman]

Floyd B. - age 2 years 5 months - son -[ of Ben & Wave]

Mildred - age 12 - daughter - [Ben’s child with 1st wife Grace]

Harry B. - age 15 - son - [of Ben & Grace]

Sometime between 1915 & 1920 Wave married Benson, aka Benjamin Lane. No record found

    The 1925 census for the Town of Milo Yates Co. NY lists Ben S. Lane age 48 with wife Wave Lane age 29 & 4 children.

Genevieve Lane - age 15 - daughter - [of Wave & Walter Bond]

Alice Lane - age 11 - daughter - [of Wave & Albert Coleman Jr.]

Note: The girls are going by the name “Lane” now. Alice, a least did not know her actual last name was Bond until she got married in 1933.

Floyd - age 13 - son - [of Ben & Wave]

Orville - age 3 - son - [ of Ben & Wave]

Others in the household: Guy Se Christ - age 25 - son in law - [of Ben]

Mildred [Lane] Se Christ - age 18 - [wife of Guy & child of Ben & Grace]

Willow Wave Se Christ - age 3 months plus - [child of Guy & Mildred]

    1930 census for the Town of Milo, Yates Co. NY. lists Benson Lane age 48 with wife Wave age 34 & 4 children living on Telegraph Rd. [not shown on map of Town of Milo]

Alice Lane -  age 16 - daughter - [of Wave & Albert Coleman]

Floyd Lane - age 13 - son - [of Ben & Wave]

Orville Lane - age 8 - son - [of Ben & Wave]

Margaret E, Lane [aka Betty] - age 7 months - daughter - [of Ben & Wave] - b. Sept. 1929

Others in the household: Guy Se Christ - age 30 - son in law - [of Ben]

Mildred Se Christ - age 23 - daughter - [of Ben & wife of Guy] - b. 1907 - d.1976

Wave Se Christ - age 5 - [child of Guy & Mildred]

Clifford Se Christ - age 3 - [child of Guy & Mildred]

Edward Mc Ginley - age 50 - [probably a brother of Ben’s first wife,Grace]

    Between 1930 & early 1934 the Lane family moved to a farm on NYS 14A just south of Second Milo. The author was born there Feb. 6, 1934. All signs of the buildings are now gone. The family continued to live there until Ben met with an accident. The story is that he split his foot with an axe. From this he contracted blood poisoning. He died May 25, 1938.

    Notes on the “daughters”: Mrs Guy Secrist - should be Se Christ - name = Mildred Lane - his daughter with 1st wife Grace. Mrs Charles Blakeslee - should be Blakesley - name = Alice May Bond - his step daughter. Mrs Harry Griswold - name =  Genevieve Bond - his step daughter. Miss Betty Lane - name = Margaret Elizabeth - his daughter with Wave.

Above:  Benson S. Lane around 1933, age 53. He is buried in Hillside Cemetery, Dundee NY in a plot purchased by Wave, May 31, 1938. 

    At some point,Mildred left Guy & their 4 children. Guy & the children stayed with Wave. She provided a home for the children until they were grown & Guy for the rest of his life.

    On Dec. 2 1938 Wave purchased a house & lot at 26 Bigelow Ave. in Dundee NY. When Wave moved to her new home a large family group went with her. They were: son Orville age 17, daughter Betty age 8, step daughter Mildred age 31, her husband Guy Se Christ, age 38, their children, Wave age 13, Clifford age 11, Grace age 4 & Alice age 1 year 5 months. Their ages are approximate

   Records show she married Walter A. Bond, age 26, of Campbell NY Dec. 30 1910. She gives her age as 19. She would be 15 the following Feb. 14th. Their first & only child together, Genevieve, was born Jan. 1, 1911 ! Genevieve died Jan. 25 2012 at age 101 !

    To support the household Guy worked at several different jobs, farm work, laborer at Barden & Robenson, a basket factory in Penn Yan & for many years at International Salt Co. in Watkins Glen NY. He also was the trash man for Dundee. For that job he used a Welsh pony named Junie pulling a small wagon. The pony had belonged to the author’s mother Alice. The pony had been bought for her when she was young. When Wave moved to Dundee she rented a barn near her home & kept the pony until it died of old age.

Wave also worked at various jobs including Barden & Robenson. How long she worked in the basket factory is not know, but she was still there in Jan. 1946 when she received $200 in workman's compensation. Her injuries were not specified. Later when the household had grown smaller she took in borders which she ruled with the same iron hand she used on her family

   The love bug bit again when she married Charles V. [“Vic”] Champlin on her birthday Feb. 14, 1946. She was age 50.

    It is not known when Wave sent “Vic” on his way, but it was probably before 1958. On Sept. 13 1958 she sold the 26 Bigelow Ave. property in Dundee to Ellery “Duke” & Margaret E. Temple. Margaret, aka Betty, is her daughter with Ben Lane. She continued to live with them until they divorced around 1967. Yates Co. deed records show Wave selling a house & lot in Dresden NY to Grace Se Christ Nov. 2 1961. This record gives her address as 26 Bigelow Ave. She had bought this property June 1, 1960. Don’t think she ever lived there. Margaret sold her share of the 26 Bigelow property to Ellery July 1, 1967.

    After 1967, Wave moved in with her son-in-law & daughter, Harry & Genevieve Griswold. They ran a home for VA outpatients. The place was located on the northeast corner of the intersection of NYS 14A & Harpending Ave in Dundee. Wave acted as cook, nursemaid & generally ruled the roost. She “took care of her old men” most of whom were younger than she was.

    In the mid 1970s Wave retired from working. At that time she rented a small house at 96 South Main St. in Dundee. She lived there on her savings, Social Security & with considerable help from her daughter Alice Bardeen & other relatives. Shown below with her dog Brutus in 1979.

    As time went on the physically robust Wave started to fade. Finally she suffered a serious lower leg fracture which put her in the Penn Yan NY hospital [below]. When this author went to visit her mind was still sharp & she could still roar like an old lioness ! It looked as if she she was going to recover but she suffered a heat attack & died. See obituary below.

The photo at the right is undated. She probably looked like this when she got her 1926 drivers licensee. At the time she was 30 years old, 220 pounds & 5’-10” tall. This is why she was called “Big Gramma”. She had a voice & personality to match her size.