Ella and Benjamin
My great-great grandparents, Ella Bidwell and Benjamin Graham, were married April 18, 1886 in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Ella was 19, Benjamin was 20.
A snippet of the marriage record:
In 1900 Ella and Benjamin were living in Saginaw, Michigan at 608 Hess (a search on Google Maps shows a vacant lot there now). By 1900 they already had a houseful of kids, among them my great-grandpa Thayer.
In 1920 Ella and Benjamin lived on Myrtle Street in Flint, Michigan in a house they owned, no mortgage. Somehow the age gap between the two of them widened from one year to six years - Ella is listed as 51 years old and Benjamin 57 years old. Mistake on the part of the census taker, I guess!
In the 1930 census they are still living on Myrtle Street in Flint, and now they're same age - both 61 years old. An added bonus - we get Ella listed as Elnora. Full name or census taker error? I'm still working on that one. Other facts from this census are that the family had a radio set, Benjamin could not read or write, but Ella could do both.
Benjamin died in 1938 and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Saginaw. I found Ella again in the 1940 census, listed as "Elanora," so perhaps her full name really was something along those lines, By 1940 she was living with her son Vernon, his wife Mary, and their daughter Margery in a house on Ruth Street in Flint (this house still stands according to Google Street View). I also learned from this census that Ella only completed the fourth grade.
Ella died April 1, 1951. She's buried in Forest Lawn, right next to Benjamin. He has a gravestone, but she doesn't. Ella and Benjamin also had a stillborn baby girl on March 29, 1909; she's in Forest Lawn as well. Baby Girl Graham's death certificate:
A snippet of the marriage record:
In 1900 Ella and Benjamin were living in Saginaw, Michigan at 608 Hess (a search on Google Maps shows a vacant lot there now). By 1900 they already had a houseful of kids, among them my great-grandpa Thayer.
In 1920 Ella and Benjamin lived on Myrtle Street in Flint, Michigan in a house they owned, no mortgage. Somehow the age gap between the two of them widened from one year to six years - Ella is listed as 51 years old and Benjamin 57 years old. Mistake on the part of the census taker, I guess!
In the 1930 census they are still living on Myrtle Street in Flint, and now they're same age - both 61 years old. An added bonus - we get Ella listed as Elnora. Full name or census taker error? I'm still working on that one. Other facts from this census are that the family had a radio set, Benjamin could not read or write, but Ella could do both.
Benjamin died in 1938 and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Saginaw. I found Ella again in the 1940 census, listed as "Elanora," so perhaps her full name really was something along those lines, By 1940 she was living with her son Vernon, his wife Mary, and their daughter Margery in a house on Ruth Street in Flint (this house still stands according to Google Street View). I also learned from this census that Ella only completed the fourth grade.
Ella died April 1, 1951. She's buried in Forest Lawn, right next to Benjamin. He has a gravestone, but she doesn't. Ella and Benjamin also had a stillborn baby girl on March 29, 1909; she's in Forest Lawn as well. Baby Girl Graham's death certificate:
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