This picture is of Mabel (Love) Hawes with Cora Love in the background and it was taken in Bozeman Montana in 1939. Cora is one of my great-great grandmothers on my mother's side.
I think that Cora's story must have been amazing. Cora was born February 20, 1858 in Rockford Illinois to George and Mary Snyder. She married Joseph Love and had five surviving children: Lydia (b. @1878), Alice (b. @1881), Mabel (b. @1885), James (b. 1886) and Ruth (b. @1893). Joseph died February 2, 1896. So Cora had to support a family of five on her own in her late thirties.
Cora's son James eventually married Mabel Ruth Deroin (who will always be "Ma" to me) on July 12, 1922 at the age of 35. I never knew James but I have been told that he was a very quiet man . . . Ma must have really livened up his home for him. He looked very kind in the pictures that I have seen of him. I will post more pictures of James as I get them scanned in.
I believe that it was sometime around or after James married Mabel that Cora remarried a man by the name of Henry Francisco. Henry was a drunk and apparently not well liked. The kids of James and Ma would lock the doors of the car when Henry was inside. Remember . . . this was back when cars were a newer thing and Henry in his drunken state would not remember how to get out of the car. No surprise that Ma had spunky kids.
One more detail . . .
This is a copy of the WWI draft certificate for James Love. On the draft card James claimed exemption from the draft due to his dependent mother. I imagine that Cora relied quite a bit upon James as he was growing up to help support both her and the family. According to the draft card James was of medium height, stout (yes it was either slender, medium or stout for the choices), blue eyes and brown hair.
If anyone would like a copy of any picture please let me know.
I am once again organizing the family tree research . . . making sure that I have copies of all of the available historical documents such as census records, marriage certificates, newspaper stories, etc that I can find and also scanning in all of the pictures that we have. Once I am finished with that I plan on making a family history book at http://www.ancestry.com/. The examples that I have seen look very professional. If it turns out well I will let everyone know in case you would like to purchase a copy. In the meantime I will post pictures and or documents here and there with a bit of story if I have it. If anyone would like to contribute any pictures or stories please let me know.
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