Father: John Clayton Elliott
Mother: Matilda Hutchison (Yet unlocated.)

As her father's tombstone shows, he and other relatives spelled the surname Elliott, She went by Eliot, as did her son Alonzo Dwigans- who chose this surname and is buried as such, as well as his two wives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I found a Bible at a thrift store here in Mpls, MN, in April, 2011. Between the New and Old Testaments were bound in 2 double-sided photo album pages holding photos of the small carte-de-visite size popular about 1865, when the book was printed and- as it turned out- the year the original owner was married. All but one photo was named and there were a few labeled spaces from which the photos were missing. All of the photos were before about 1880, except for a few from the 1930s. Two were of Frances Folsom in Long Beach, CA in 1933, upon her 88th birthday; one was of Bernice Dwigans of Antelope, NE. Two were of the Springers from Long Beach, taken the same day and location as Frances' 88th birthday- same leaf on the sidewalk in the photos. Google search revealed they lived just around the corner from each other. All were from Iowa.

I thought the book likely belonged to Frances, as she was the right age to have owned it in her youth, and since the newest photos in the book were of her. So with Ancestry.com and Findagrave.com and Google I began my research.

My goal was to figure out the relationships of all those pictured, post and link their memorials and photos on Findagrave, and hopefully locate a descendant who was interested in genealogy and who would want the Bible.

There was much ephemera in the book: an application for the Women's Relief Corp, many Methodist tracts, a print of Frances Willard of the WCTU, a print of a Methodist orphanage, also a temperance card signed Frances Eliot Dwigans with Folsom added later- which proved the handwritten photo labels were in her script. Also a note to Fred asking for his family member's names and current ages, as she could not remember when people asked.

James F. Dwigans proved to be her first husband, Robert and Margaret Coleman Dwigans her in-laws, Rev. Andrew Coleman (taken in 1863) was Margaret's brother (Quite the character- a fiery-looking Methodist preacher who had 6 wives over the course of his long life.), Howard Coleman his son, but photo missing. Fred B. Dwigans was one of Frances' younger children; Alonzo R. Dwigans, also her son- labeled on the page margin but the slot was empty. Robert Hutchison- likely a relative of her mother, Matilda Hutchison.

It took me 3 months; I also delved into all the Dwiganses in Findagrave in Iowa and researched their relationships. I took a legal tablet page and labeled the top with each Dwigans name followed by census and family info and laid them out on my library floor trying to figure out who was who. Fully 1/3 of my 8 X 10 carpet was covered in Dwiganses!! Then I found Carol B. on Ancestry and she sent me a folder on this branch; which is her husband's family. She also got me in touch with Lea, whose grandfather was Fred B., I mailed the Bible to Lea in July. She was stunned that I had done so much research on a family that was not mine, but very happy to get the relic- she sent me a lovely note: "The box arrived today. Thank you very much again for your time and diligence. I shall send a check soon to reimburse for some of your expenses. I found this picture today—obviously I had seen it before (of Lea on her great grandmother's lap) —but Frances was not a person to me, just a name. Your work has changed my relationship to my great grandmother. I am very grateful."

She also related she had a vague memory of an old woman dressed in black at her 5th birthday but really didn't understand who she was until now. Lea was born in the late 1930s

I could have not have asked for a better ending!

The book appears to have descended to Frances' youngest son George who lived in Minneapolis. He and his wife had no children and George had no other family in the area. He died first and after her death I speculate it went to one of the nieces or nephews mentioned in her obituary; she grew up in Minneapolis and had family here. Now, almost 50 years since her death, I imagine the next generation is passing and as no one in her family was related to these people it ended up being donated to a thrift store.

Upon seeing the book, I was captured with the photos and that they were virtually all labeled. I imagined an antiques dealer getting the Bible, removing the photographs to sell and losing the historical context and identifications, as some- like the tin types- were labeled on the page borders only.

There was a story to tell here and I had no idea of the time I would spent unearthing it. Or what I would learn.

I found the story of the young lady who was born in Iowa Territory- well before railroads extended that far west, who was married to 2 Civil War veterans- the last marriage a work of her charity, according to family; she married Daniel Folsom on 18 Aug 1896. A woman who first married the year the Civil War ended and lived far enough into the 20th century to see the outbreak of WWII.

========================

Frances Emeline Eliot Dwigans Folsom, your life story has been perpetuated by your archive; a lifetime of ephemera and photographs that I was lucky enough to stumble upon.

KG

***************************

1850 United States Federal Census-

Name: Emeline Elliott
Age: 4
Birth Year: abt 1846
Birthplace: Iowa
Home in 1850: Linn, Iowa, USA
Gender: Female
Family Number: 335
Household Members:
Name Age
John C Elliott 35
Matilda Elliott 25
Ohio H Elliott 6
Emeline Elliott 4
Clayton F Elliott 2

=========================

1860 United States Federal Census-

Name: Frances E Elliott
Age: 13
Birth Year: abt 1847
Gender: Female
Birth Place: Iowa
Home in 1860: Franklin, Linn, Iowa
Post Office: Mount Vernon
Family Number: 151

Household Members:
Name Age
John C Elliott 45
Matilda Elliott 35
Ohio Elliott 15
Frances E Elliott 13
Clayton F Elliott 12

========================


1870 United States Federal Census-

Name: Frances Dwiggins
[Frances Dwigans]
Age in 1870: 25
Birth Year: abt 1845
Birthplace: Iowa
Home in 1870: Bear Creek, Poweshiek, Iowa
Race: White
Gender: Female
Post Office: Brooklyn

Household Members:
Name Age
J F Dwiggins 28
Frances Dwiggins 25
Alonzo R Dwiggins 4
Elenora Dwiggins 2

======================

1885 Iowa State Census -

Residence Place: Lincoln, Cass, Iowa, USA
Gender: Female

Household Members:
Name Age
Francis Dwiggins 39
Alonzo R Dwiggins 18
Elnora Dwiggins 16
Maggie Dwiggins 14
Fred B Dwiggins 10
George C Dwiggins 7

=========================

Missing from 1880 census.

==========================

In the Iowa Select Marriages Index-

Name: Frances E. Elliott Dwigan
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birth Date: 1845
Birth Place: Iowa
Marriage Date: 18 Aug 1896
Marriage Place: Atlantic, Cass County, Iowa
Marriage Age: 51
Father: John Elliott
Mother: Hutchinson
Spouse: D. N. Folsom
FHL Film Number: 1035239
Reference ID: 2:3Q4T6L7

======================

Missing from 1900 census.

=======================

1910 United States Federal Census-

Francis E Folsom

Age in 1910: 64
Birth Year: abt 1846
Birthplace: Iowa
Home in 1910: Atlantic Ward 4, Cass, Iowa
Street: Price
House Number: 503
Race: White
Gender: Female
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Widowed
Father's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Mother's Birthplace: Ohio
Native Tongue: English
Home Owned or Rented: Own
Home Free or Mortgaged: Free
Farm or House: House
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Number of Children Born: 5
Number of Children Living: 4

Household Members:
Name Age
Francis E Folsom 64

============================

1920 United States Federal Census-

Name: Frances E Folsom
Age: 74
Birth Year: abt 1846
Birthplace: Iowa
Home in 1920: Atlantic, Cass, Iowa
Street: Pine
House Number: 503
Race: White
Gender: Female
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Widowed
Father's Birthplace: Ohio
Mother's Birthplace: Ohio
Able to Speak English: Yes
Home Free or Mortgaged: Free

Household Members:
Name Age
Frances E Folsom 74
Elnora Johnson 51
William Gross 39 (B-I-L)
Emma R Gross 48 (Sister)

NOTE- Frances' father's obit states he had three children, two sons and one daughter, all living.
I cannot figure out who this "sister" could be- 26 years difference in age.

========================

1930 United States Federal Census-

Name: Frances Folsom
Birth Year: abt 1846
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Iowa
Marital Status: Widowed
Relation to Head of House: Mother
Home in 1930: Long Beach, Los Angeles, California
Street address: Crystal Court
House Number in Cities or Towns: 403
Dwelling Number: 114
Family Number: 114
Age at First Marriage: 20
Attended School: No
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father's Birthplace: Ohio
Mother's Birthplace: Ohio
Able to Speak English: Yes

Household Members:
Name Age
Elnora Johnson 61
Frances Folsom 84

============================

In 1940 Francis is still in Long Beach, CA- Nora is not living with her. She has a boarder, Emma B. Putnam, 54, widowed, b. in Ohio, in 1935 she was living in Ponca, Dixon co. NE.

=====================

Of her children, only Elnora (Nora) has not been located. She had married a policeman named Larkin Johnson who committed suicide with his own hand gun. She was enumerated as a widow living with her mother in 1920 and lastly 1930.

Please click on their profiles.