Do you ever see family history lying around in places like antique stores, used book stores, eBay even and wonder who those families are? Me too! So, I research them! Here is the story of Ella Stine.
HOW IT BEGAN
I first learned about Ella from a set of postcards my friend gifted me earlier this year. As it goes with postcards, sometimes there is writing on them. In the set my friend gave me, there were 8 postcards all addressed to the same woman — Rosella “Ella” Stine. In my search for clues, there are plenty! Here is a timeline of the postcards and what I learned from each of them.
- Postcard #1: September 8, 1908 – a postcard of Santa Catalina Island, California – from Emily. Addressed to “Miss Ella Stine” on 711 Montague St. in Rockford, Illinois.
- Postcard #2: July 17, 1912 – a postcard of a beach in Glencoe, Illinois from a person whose name I cannot read. It is addressed to “Miss Rosella Stine” of Rockford, Illinois c/o A.C. Deming
- Postcard #3: November 19, 1915 – a postcard of Pike’s Peak in Colorado from Nettie & Harry. It is addressed to “Miss Ella Stine” of 240 Rockwood Ave in Rockwood, Illinois
- Postcard #4: September 3, 1916 – a postcard of the Wilson Hotel Grill in Salt Lake City, Utah from G. Briggs, who may be a relative? It is addressed to “Miss Ella Stine” on 240 Oakwood Ave. in Rockwood, Illinois
- Postcard #5: September 18, 1916 – a postcard of Lincoln Hospital in Rochelle, Illinois from Josephine. Addressed to “Miss Ella Stine” of Demming Store in Rockwood, Illinois
- Postcard #6: September 25, 1916 – a postcard of Fort Pierce, Florida from Hazel? It is addressed to “Miss Ella Stine” on 240 Rockwood Ave in Rockwood, Illinois
- Postcard #7: October 11, 1917 – a postcard of the Carter Building in Houston, Texas from her friend Tillie who works in a store. The postcard is addressed to “Miss Ella Stine” c/of A.C. Deming in Rockford, Illinois. Tillie mentions that Ella has a cousin in Houston.
- Postcard #8: July 2, 1924 – a postcard of the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, NJ from a friend whose name I cannot read. The postcard is addressed to “Miss Ella Stine” c/o A. C. Deming in Rockford, Illinois
The clues in this set of postcards were such that I was able to find Ella and learn more about her life journey.
FINDING ELLA
Given that the postcards were dated between 1908-1924, the first place I searched was the 1910 census. I knew that she was likely to be Rockford, Illinois given that it was her address on all 8 cards. The cards provided two different addresses – one on Montague Street and later, Oakwood Avenue.
I quickly found her – right at 711 Montague Street as on Postcard #1. Ella is living with mom, Margaret, and sister Annie. Ella is 36 years old, single, and working as a sales lady in a seed store. All three women were born in Pennsylvania.
1910 census – Rockford Ward 5, Winnebago, Illinois, United States (link to record)
Curious about the link with A.C. Deming, I looked for him too and learned his name was Alvinus “Albert” Deming and he ran a dry goods store at 722 North Main Street in Rockford (link to 1910 census record). I even found a picture of the store on the website of the Midway Village Museum.
As I tracked Ella through her life, I found her in later census years too; I then switched to newspaper records.
I found an article in the September 27, 1951 issue of the Forreston Journal newspaper of Forreston, Illinois; this mentions a visit from a former co-worker at the Deming department store.
And, I also located her obituary: Ella passed away in October of 1953
Given that the cemetery she is buried in is named, I searched on Find-A-Grave and found her headstone.
DOCUMENTING ELLA
I am thrilled that I have now added all of the postcards to her FamilySearch FamilyTree record for others to see! And maybe, someone else will be able to use them to further tell Ella’s story. It does not appear that Ella had any children – no direct descendant to tell her story. I think any extended relative who comes across her entry will be tickled to see these postcards now.
And this… is why I LOVE researching old postcards!
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In a quest to tell the stories of abandoned family history items, this is second in my “Legacy Lost and Found” series. Last time, I shared the story of Dr. Orion T. Ayer.