Mrs. Sara Jane Wellman Axtell was born December 19, 1839 in Monmouth County, Illinois, which was founded in 1831. She married Linus Condit Axtell on December 1, 1862, who was a farmer living in Roseville, Warren County, IL. She and her husband were childless but they were very religious and felt greatly blessed, so they devoted their income to missions both foreign and domestic. Mrs. Axtell purchased her first colony of bees in 1871. “As those increased Mrs. Axtell’s interest in them increased andwith increase in interest came increase in health.” (Gleanings, February 1888.) She wrote articles for the Farmers Review and Gleanings in Bee Culture about selling honey, what to wear in the bee yard, how to light a smoker and many more interesting articles. Mrs. Axtell is recognized in the ABC of Bee Culture, published by A.I. Root in 1891, among the accomplished men in bee culture, such as Langstroth, Doolittle, Adams, Cook and many others. Mrs. Axtell is also listed along with Mrs. Harrison, as theonly two notable women listed under “Biographies of Noted Bee-Keepers.”
展开▼
