Edna Grace Niles- my great-grandmother
Born: 24 May 1894, Darke County, Ohio
Parents: Joseph Niles (1857-1933) & Anna E. Shomber (1868-1947).
(When I first started doing research YEARS ago, I had different parents for Edna..there are trees on Ancestry.com that has the same wrong names as well. But, a couple of years ago, a cousin messaged me Proof of her real parents- the joys of collaboration!)
Siblings:
Edna had at least 2 siblings:
1. Bertha "Bessie May" (1886-1966)
2. Earl David (1891-1969)
Edna married my great-grandfather- Earl Dwight Mendenhall (1894-1972) in 1915 in Darke County, Ohio. You can read his biography Here.
They had 3 children:
1. Harold Earl (1916-1989) (my grandfather)
2. Robert Eugene (1919-1993)
3. Ruth Eileen (1926-2002)
I knew most of this when researching Edna...but there were a few surprises and interesting facts---
Surprise 1: Edna married secondly on 13 Jul 1931. I don't know when she divorced Earl. Her new husband was Fillmore Hax Chapman (1886-1941), son of Eugene Baldwin Chapman (1855-1937) & Pauline Hax (1856-1913).
Surprise 2: Edna died on 28 Jul 1933 in Union City, Indiana at the age of 39. I knew this. However, after JUST discovering her death certificate, I read her cause of death as: "Coronary Embolism 6 hrs after delivery"... This sparked my interested in 2 ways:
1. Factor V Leiden (an inherited disorder of blood clotting) runs in my family, so for her to die of a blood clot in the heart, makes sense.
2. She gave birth??! I didn't know she had anymore children before
her death.
So...NOW, more research! I found a birth certificate with both Edna and Fillmore's names: Jack Chapman, born 27 Jul 1933 in Union City, Indiana. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything else about this baby- whether he died or lived. In 1940, Fillmore was a salesman, living with his brother. This doesn't mean that the baby died though, just means he didn't have custody. The baby might have been adopted after the death of his mother. WHO KNOWS.
Something interesting occurred to me while scanning through all my research. In some of the records (the first marriage document between Edna and Fillmore), Edna's name was Eileen. This threw me off because her name is Edna Grace. Also, Fillmore's death certificate, his deceased wife's name is Eileen as well. Maybe this was a nickname? Either way, her daughter with Mendenhall, her name was Ruth Eileen. And Ruth EILEEN married a Jack. Obivously, this is just pure coincidence and has no meaning whatsoever in any aspect, I just thought it was interesting! AND my 8 year old son's name is Jack...LOL
Edna died so young- only 39 years old. She was buried in the Greenville Union Cemetery in Greenville, Darke County, Ohio.
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