Lula Martha Keatts Erickson (1875–1948)

Lula Martha Keatts Erickson (1875–1948)

Life Overview

Lula Martha Keatts was born on September 10, 1875, in Legate, a community in Stewart County, Tennessee. She grew up in the Middle Tennessee region, where she also received her education. Her life story is defined by a major mid-life migration in 1918, when she moved from the South to the lakes and timber country of Hubbard County, Minnesota, where she spent her remaining thirty years.

Stewart County is located in the northwestern region of Middle Tennessee, along the northern state line bordering Kentucky. On historical maps of Tennessee, it is shaded in green in the upper-left area of the state.

Marriage and Family Life

On January 14, 1903, Lula married Samuel "Sam" Erickson in Dover, Stewart County, Tennessee. Samuel was a Swedish immigrant born around 1860. While pre-printed marriage forms from the period listed various legal authorities authorized to perform ceremonies, the official return confirms they were married by a local Justice of the Peace (J.P.). 

Together, Samuel and Lula had two children:

• Oscar Edward Erickson
• Sylvia (Sadie) Erickson

Erickson Family

Following their marriage, the family lived for about twelve years in and near Tennessee Ridge, Tennessee, operating a household and raising their children.

The Migration to Minnesota

In 1918, the Erickson family migrated westward and settled in Akeley, Hubbard County, Minnesota. They operated a family farm in the area for many years. Following Samuel's death in 1937, Lula moved off the family farm and relocated directly into the town of Akeley, where she continued to maintain her home.

1918 Migration Route from Tennessee Ridge, TN to Akeley, MN

High School, Akeley Minnesota, 1918

By the time of her passing in 1948, her children had relocated to major urban hubs:

• Her son, Oscar, resided in Granite City, Illinois.
• Her daughter, Sylvia, resided in Los Angeles, California.

Faith and Community Life

Throughout her thirty years in Hubbard County, Lula was a devout Seventh-day Adventist. While living in Akeley, she regularly traveled about 23 minutes south to the village of Hubbard, Minnesota, to attend services at the Seventh-day Adventist church. Her faith and involvement with the church community remained central to her life.

Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hubbard, Minnesota, where Lula attended services while living in Akeley.

Main Street, Akeley, Minnesota (c. 1930s)

Main Street, Akeley, Minnesota (c. 1930s)

Following Samuel’s death in 1937, Lula moved off the family farm and into a home directly in town. This vintage postcard captures the Main Street of Akeley during that era—the very sidewalks and storefronts she walked past on her daily errands during her final decade.

Death and Legacy

After living with ill health for four years, Lula Martha Keatts Erickson fell suddenly ill with a heart ailment and was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Park Rapids, Minnesota. She passed away a week later on the morning of Saturday, July 17, 1948, at the age of 72.

A devout Seventh-day Adventist, she was remembered by her community as a kind, sincere, and helpful neighbor. Funeral services were held at the Methodist Church in Akeley, co-officiated by Rev. Samuel Helps and Rev. Vernon W. Emmerson of the Hackensack Adventist Church. The service featured musical selections "Nearer Still Nearer" and "Under His Wings" sung by Mrs. Philip Hein and Mrs. Paul Miller. Pallbearers were Jerry Cramer, Gus Axelson, Gust Gustafson, Carl Miller, Wm. Myers, and Wm. Nelson.

She was laid to rest in the Akeley Cemetery beside her husband, Samuel. She was survived by her son Oscar (who was the only out-of-town relative in attendance), her daughter Sylvia (Sadie), four grandchildren, her sister Gorda (Mrs. Gorda Gregory), and a wide circle of friends.

 

Contemporary obituary notices from July 1948 recorded four surviving grandchildren. However, subsequent genealogical research and family records confirm that her son Oscar fathered another daughter—a granddaughter who was unknown to Lula during her lifetime, expanding the recognized branch of her descendants.

Daughters of Oscar Edward Erickson, representing both Lula's documented family line and the previously unrecorded branch of her lineage

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Quick Facts Checklist for Profile Fields

• Birth Name: Lula Martha Keatts
• Birth Date: 10 Sep 1875
• Birth Place: Legate, Stewart County, Tennessee, USA
• Marriage Date: 14 Jan 1903
• Marriage Place: Dover, Stewart County, Tennessee, USA
• Death Date: 17 Jul 1948
• Death Place: Park Rapids, Hubbard County, Minnesota, USA (St. Joseph's Hospital)
• Burial Place: Akeley Cemetery, Hubbard County, Minnesota, USA
• Spouse: Samuel Erickson (c. 1860 – 1937)
• Children: Oscar Edward Erickson, Sylvia Erickson
• Grandchildren:  The grandchildren considered in the obituary:  Margaret Ruth Erickson, James "Jim" Malcomb Erickson, Donald "Don" R. Erickson, and Robert Eugene "Bob" Norfleet. 
2024 Discovered branch:  Lillia Mae Woock

Author & Research Note Researched and compiled by Amber, great great-granddaughter of Lula Martha Keatts Erickson.

This biographical profile brings together documented archival records alongside modern family discovery. For decades, official accounts recorded four grandchildren surviving Lula at her passing in 1948. Through DNA testing and genealogical research, our family uncovered the history of Lula’s unrecorded granddaughter—my grandmother—Lillia Mae Woock.

Remarkably, though grandmother and granddaughter never knew of one another during Lula’s lifetime, their paths remained close. My grandmother lived in Minnesota until 1954, by which time she was married with a child, before relocating to Oregon. Connecting these branches restores a missing piece of Lula’s legacy and ensures her full story is remembered.