The Old Gray Homestead (edit title/settings)

A wealthy widow moves to town to rent a room from the formerly beautiful home she once admired. The kind mother takes her in, but not only because she needs the money. She is simply kind, practically a saint, in fact. The family has allowed debt and want to lead them to hopeless inertia, and the home and farm suffer as a result. The widow manipulates the family by asking them to allow her to make changes, such as planting flowers, adding a porch, having the house painted, installing an indoor bathroom, bringing her car to town, etc. The lazy and spiteful son falls for her, and his admiration of her beauty and goodness cause him to reform his ways. She sends him on a trip to Europe to broaden his experiences so that he will be more productive. She falls for him but is fearful of marriage, having been abused in her first one. Of course, they marry at the end after overcoming all obstacles, after the hero learns from her uncle that he must reign her in and teach her to obey.