I'll get caught up with my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks later this week. I'm behind a bit, but will be back on track by next week! Right now I want to work on Lou Ella Ledbetter again! This is one big ol' brick wall that just stares me down and refuses to budge.
I came across this article by Anne Gillespie Mitchell, (Ask Ancestry Anne); Ask Ancestry Anne: 5 Tips for Researching the Females in Your Tree -
I'm going to apply her recommendations to the elusive parents of Ella Ledbetter.
1. Search for her married name in other people’s obituaries.
I did find this article; a long while ago.
2. Look at other surnames in the household.
I have searched The Atlanta Constitution at Newspapers.com and have not found her listed in any obituaries other than her son, Samuel T. Bussey, Jr and her brother Eugene Ledbetter.
Eugene's obit was just an announcement without any family information.
A. 28 July 1916 Friday, "Charges Relatives with Scheme to Secure Savings"
This article refers to Ella and a charge by Julia Lawrence that a group of Julie's relations were
conspiring against her to take her money. I do not know exactly the relationship between Julia
and Ella. Ella was living in the same household as Julia Lawrence in the 1880 census; with
Julia's mother Elizabeth Lawrence.
I got nothing for this search. I looked at all the census records that contained Ella, starting with
1880 and the only name that came up was Lawrence in that 1880 census.
I can't search for her mother since I have found nothing with her information in it.
3. Look at neighbors, especially right after the wedding.
Well, Ella was married in 1886, there is no census in 1890 to look at so nope, not going to help. Can't figure out if or where Ella's supposed mother Alice was married; this again doesn't help in this situation.
4. Look through local and family histories.
No luck in finding anything that refers to Ella Ledbetter or Elizabeth Lawrence or Alice Mull in any location as of yet. I've contacted a supposed expert in the research of Ledbetter's and nodda.
5. Check death certificates for all of a woman’s children to see if her maiden name is listed.
In this case, I only was able to find the supposed maiden name of Alice Mull by locating Ella's brother Eugene's death certificate. Ella's death certificate does not have the maiden name listed of her mother.
This article had actually really good tips. If you are doing regular research these can be very helpful. I'm just getting no where with my research since it is not normal. We are dealing with a suspected orphan with no real information about her birth parents nor the actual relationship to the woman she is listed living with in 1880. Just because she is listed as "grandmother" it does not mean she really was.
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