Ida (Pickett Fuller West) Bell

Birth: She was born on October 13, 1852 in Wisconsin.  

Family Information:

She married Harry Bell, Sr. in 1922 and joined him and his family in the colony.

She was the step-mother of Frederick J. West who married Cora (Beals) West and the grandmother of Cora's daughter, Gertrude (West) Newman.

Description:

Her obituary stated that she would "be remembered by her friends as the possessor of a particularly vigorous and happy personality which lightened many sick rooms during her years of caring for the afflicted. She was a keen student and a constant reader of the best of literature."

Pre-Colony History: In 1860 she was living in Wisconsin with her parents and siblings; in 1870 she was still with her parents, but they had moved to Minnesota.

In 1880 she was living in Minnesota with her husband, Howard Fuller and their children. During her early years she taught school and, being an accomplished musician, gave instruction in music. By 1900 she was a widow and once again living in Minnesota with her parents and youngest daughter while she worked as a nurse.

In 1910 she had married again, to Frederick West and they were living in Oklahoma, but by 1920 she was once again widowed and living in Minnesota with her eldest son and his family.  

Home in Colony:

The couple lived in one of the "portable houses" which had shingled exterior siding and were built small enough to be moved as needed.

Job in Colony:  

Other Info:

Post-Colony History: Sometime before Harry's death in 1932, he and Ida had moved to Angola, Indiana. After his death, she lived at Minneapolis and Iowa City to be near her daughter.  

Death: She died in December 1936 in Iowa and was buried there.  

Sources: Photo Archives; US Census: 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920; Adair County, Oklahoma Marriage License: January 10, 1910; Vernon Parish, Louisiana Marriage Certificate: May 29, 1922; "Albert Lea Evening Tribune": January 29, 1937; Iowa Death Records