So I enter the world of blogging where I began my family history journey eight years ago. With my great grandmother, Ida Ellen Andrews. Her early life has been largely a mystery.
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| The only known photograph of Ida Ellen Andrews |
Ida's daughter, Bertha, wrote the following undated biography of her mother, probably about the same time she wrote a biography of her father, Isaac Rickell. Isaac's biography was finished in 1948, twenty-two years after Ida's death. In the beginning, I took every detail as the gospel truth. In time I realized after many years, memories fade and details blur.
Bertha referred to her maternal grandparents as Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, apparently not knowing their given names. And, Isaac did not know their names when he applied for a marriage license in 1889. The clerk who recorded the information, listed Ida's surname as Anderson, but it is Andrews on their marriage certificate.
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| Application for Marriage License, 11 Nov 1889 |
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| Marriage Certificate, 14 Nov 1889 |
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| Obituary, Ida E. Andrews Rickell |
Ida's obituary gives her year of birth as 1865 which supports her age of 24 at her marriage in 1889. The 1860 birth year in her biography is likely an error.
So who were Ida's parents? The search continues with my next post.
