For Love

I finally have all the documents in order to draw my conclusion to the Cleo Mallison Hughes and Illda Martha Austin debacle.

A baby girl was born to Dennis E Austin and Minnie (maiden name Daniels) Austin on 15 Mar 1895.  They had not named the baby yet.  Dennis and Minnie only had one baby which they eventually named Illda Martha Austin.  The Illda came from a Russian novel that Minnie was reading at the time and I'm pretty sure the Martha was Minnie's mom.  The baby was born in Toledo, Ohio.  Illda was born in Toledo, Ohio.  Granny Illda's birthday was 15th of March.  I feel it is safe to say that Illda, my grandmother was that unnamed child of Dennis and Minnie Austin.

I have in my possession 2 birth certificates or record of birth for my grandfather Cleo Mallison Hughes.  The record number is 181 on page 158in the County of Branch Michigan.  Earl Linn, the Clerk of Branch County, Michigan says that Cleo Mallison Hughes was born or 28 March, 1903.  His parents were Alfred J. Hughes of Coldwater City, Michigan, and Ella E Hughes of 1st Ward.  Alfred J Hughes was born in New York and was a carpenter by trade.  Ella was born in Michigan.  The date of record is May 14, 1904.

Now here comes the fun.

I have here in front of me the marriage license:

Up in the right hand corner, you can see the date is 1920.

Now here's a close up of the pertinent information:

Cleo claims that at the time of this license he is 21 years old.

Now Cleo was born in 1903.  Hmmmm.  According to my math, in 1920 Cleo would have been 17 years old.  I do believe 17 was too young to get married without your parents permission.

Illda claims to be 22 -- only one year older than her intended.  Illda was born in 1895.  In 1920 she would have been 25 years old.

I'm pretty sure that Cleo might not have known how old Illda was, but you can sure as hell bet that Illda knew that Cleo wasn't 21.

I wonder what old Ella Mallison Hughes thought when her baby boy brought home a 25 year old bride?  Of course, Ella made some questionable decisons herself.

Here is a picture of Cleo Mallison Hughes.  There is no date on it but I reckon he's around 15 or 16.

I think I look like him.  I grew up thinking that I was his favorite grandchild.  Maybe it's because we shared a face.

And here's a trio of shots of Illda Martha Austin.  I can't get it any lighter.  I'm guess she is around 11 as there is now date.

Ella O Mallison Mallison Hughes Griffith Hollibaugh Ashbaugh

Louis, Ella, Cleo and Thelma Hughes

So I decided to quit obsessing for a bit and work on another family member, my great grandmother Ella O Mallison.  I actually remember her as well as her last husband Llwelyn Ashbaugh.

First off, she married her cousin Edward Mallison on 4 Jul 892 in St. Joseph, Michigan.  They had one child, named Charles.  I have not yet looked into just how close a cousin Edward was, but I'm thinking that it was way closer than it should have been.

Ella O Mallison's father was Samuel Lee Mallison and her mum was Permelia (spelled many different ways) Hortense Smith.

Her one marriage that is pertinent to me is her marriage to the widow Alfred Joseph Hughes.  The marriage date was 3 July 1900 in Dorrance, Michigan.  The 1900 United States Federal Census has her listed in the Alfred Hughes household as the housekeeper.  Besides Alfred and Ella, there are 3 children from Alfred's first marriage:  Alfred Leroy (14 years old, born in March 1886), Bertha V (11 years old, born August 1888) and Fray A (5 years old, born December 1894).

On the marriage license with Alfred J Hughes, the witnesses were Fred and Eva Kayce from Quincy, Michigan.  I am guessing that Eva is Ella's younger sister.  Not for sure yet, but it gives me a place to check out.

Ella was born in Quincy, Branch, Michigan on 07 Sept 1874.

After Ella O Mallison, married her cousin Edward, and Alfred Joseph Hughes, she then married a Orison Hollibaugh or Halibaugh on 25 Feb 1911.  I can't find anything about that marriage but I did notice that it was only 7 months after Alfred died.  She shows up in a lot of directories still carrying the name of Ella Hughes.  So I don't know if the marriage was annulled or what.  I'll have to look into the law and social mores regarding name changes back in those days.  She married Charles Griffith on 27 December 1922 and she kind of vanishes.  Don't know if she was divorced or widowed from Charles.  She marries Llewelyn Ashbaugh in 1930.

If you are researching Ella O Mallison, you will find her married to a Floyd Hughes in the 1910 United States Federal Census.  If you'll click all the way in to view the original document, you'll see that it is Alfred Hughes, but whoever wrote "Alfred" down made quite a mess of it.

Besides Charles, Ella had three other children:  Louis or Lewis -- my grandpa called him Red, my grandfather Cleo and Thelma.  I've found a few random clues that I have not followed up on.  Louis or Lewis was named after Alfred's dad, Louis Hug.  I have read that Thelma's middle name is Permillia which would be after Ella's mom and Cleo's middle name (this I know for sure) was Mallison, his mother's maiden name.

Permilla Mallison had given birth to  children, but as of 1900 only 8 were alive:  Ella, Eva, Melinda I, Settie or Lettie, Myrtle, Howard and John.  That's 7, and I believe that there was another boy, Lee who was born after 1879 and old enough to leave home by 1900.

Ella worked as a housekeeper, a cook and a "packer" for the Kellogg Company.