Oh, dear Ida

Boy, my great grandmother Ida had some secrets! Some time ago, I was surprised to uncover her marriage license to William Butler where she was listed as Ida Rena Williams, a widow. Who was this Williams guy and why did she never mention him to her children? Was her son Earl actually the son of Williams since he was born three years before her marriage to Butler?

When I attended a genealogy event at the public library, I had a professional genealogist help me search for information about her marriage to Williams. They could not find anything more than I did. A librarian called me today and conducted a more indepth interview. She promised to keep searching.

Tonight, I decided to try searching Southhampton County marriage records online (didn't I do this before?) and there she was! An 1887 marriage license for Ida and a man named Lewellen P. Eley. What!??? No doubt this is our Ida... born in 1868 to parents Eley and Margaret Bryant.

Southhampton County Marriage Book 6, 1886-1890, p. 184

I am flabbergasted. No wonder I was having trouble finding her marriage record to Williams - her last name wasn't Bryant when she married him! Even my great grandfather, apparently now her 4th husband, did not know her complete history. This changes the angle of my research. Stay tuned!

Postscript: At a class at the public library on October 12, I learned how to discern information in the 1930 U. S. Census and got another surprise. The 1930 census tells the age at which each person was FIRST married. Ida was 1st married at age 16! So this marriage to Lewellen Eley must have been her SECOND marriage. That makes FIVE marriages!