52 Week Challenge –Week 31–Ada Elizabeth Hoddinott (1862-1916)

The optional theme for week 31 of the 52 Ancestors 52 Week Challenge is “Easy”. For week 31, I picked my second great grandmother on my father’s side, Ada Elizabeth Hoddinott. Ada has been easy to research because one of my distant cousins had already done most of the work for me.

Ada was born on September 18, 1862 in Woodlands, Frome, Somerset, England to John Ball Hoddinott and Ellen Crees. Ada was one of eleven children. Ada was the second child born to John and Ellen, her being the first girl. Ada grew up and married William Few on January 9, 1883. Ada and William had a daughter Ellen Edith (Nell) Few. When Ellen was only three months old, William was killed while working on a railroad in London. After William’s death Ada and Ellen Edith moved in with William’s parents, George and Martha, and his brother Frank. Ada married Frank three years later in 1886. Ada and Frank had 15 children, eight girls and seven boys. Some of her children moved to America and at least one moved to Australia.

Ada died on July 13, 1916 and  is buried in Hannington Church yard. Ada’s son added a stone on her grave after World War II in 1946.

52 Weeks Challenge–Week 3–Tough Woman–Mentzer, Almaretta Florence McManigle

Almaretta Florence McManigle Mentzer

For the third week of the 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks, we are supposed to pick a woman we consider tough. My immediate reaction to reading a “Tough Woman” was to choose my great grandma Edna Mentzer Emminger.  When I saw the February themes, I decided to wait to write about my great grandma until the week of the “Love” theme.

I decided to write about my great grandmas’ mother, Alamaretta Florence McManigle Mentzer, instead who is my second great-grandmother. Almaretta Florence McManigle Mentzer was born on October 28th, 1862 in Eldred Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania to Alexander McMangile and Juliet Graham. She was their seventh child, the youngest girl, but not the youngest child she had one younger brother. Almaretta finished elementary school and only obtained a sixth grade education.

She married George Washington Mentzer on March 16, 1882, in Rose Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. George and Almaretta had four biological children, three girls and one boy, but ended up taking in a five year old boy. This boy was treated like a son and even took the family name even though he was not officially adopted by Almaretta and George. You will learn more about him in my next post (Week Four–Closest to My Birthday). The boys ended up being bookends to the girls, the oldest and youngest. My great grandma was their youngest biological child for roughly nine years before Sheldon came to live with them.

In the picture is Almaretta marked as grandma, her daughter Clara Spitzer, Clara’s daughter Alamretta, and Almaretta’s daughter Dorothy. I found this picture when looking through my grandma’s old pictures. I wish all her old pictures were marked like this one because most of the people in her pictures are a mystery to me.

You might be wondering why I consider her a tough woman. I consider her a tough woman because she took in her another woman’s son when his parents died and her courageous battle with cancer that would ultimately take her life. But, most of all, because of what she endured on a cold and quiet night in 1924. Almaretta and George were living with Edna and her husband Claude. Edna had just given birth to her youngest child on October 16, 1923. After two of her pregnancies, Edna suffered minor paralysis so her parents were living with them to help with her and the children. On this fateful night as George, a nephew, and the seven children were sound asleep upstairs, Edna, Almaretta, and Claude were sleeping soundly on the first floor because of Edna’s paralysis, a fire broke out and consumed the house. Claude managed to get Almaretta and Edna out of the house quickly. He could not get to the others. George, the nephew, and all of the kids perished. I will have more to say on this story during the seventh week which is the “Love” theme. Almaretta lost her husband, seven of her grandchildren, and a nephew in one evening. All that was left of her husband, grandchildren, and nephew were enough to bury in one casket.

Almaretta continued to live with Claude and Edna. They moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio prior to 1930 back to Pennsylvania in 1932 and then returned to Ohio one more time to settle down. They lived on Bell Street in Akron Ohio in 1935. Almaretta was diagnosed with cancer in the later months of 1946. Her granddaughter, Vera, was to marry in January of 1947 but Almaretta took a turn for the worse. The wedding was postponed and Almaretta passed on January 21, 1947. Almaretta never married after her husband’s passing in 1924. She was widowed for 23 years. She loved her family and the Lord. Her “adopted” son wrote a lovely letter to his sister Edna about their mom’s love of Jesus and that they would all meet in Heaven one day. I’m sure they are all together now having an amazing time together.

The day my husband and I went to take this picture, we looked and looked and looked some more. I even thought about yelling her name in frustration. It took forever until we realized she was buried in a section that the people were buried in order of the day they died.