Ethellena was born in Ontario, Canada the eldest of 4 children of David and Elizabeth McCabe Fansher. She was 7 when the family moved in 1880 to a small farm in Mills County, Iowa.
She was a fun-loving tomboy who loved the outdoors.
She followed her parents to Long Beach California in 1901. She convinced her parents to join her in entering the lottery for homestead parcels being offered in San Bernardino County in 1908 near Needles, CA. They were awarded adjoining parcels and every weekend they motored across southern CA to build small cabins and improve the land. After 5 years they were awarded title to their land but in 1916 David Fansher died from a heart attack while clearing giant yucca plants.
Ethellena remained single well into her 30's because, according to a cousin, she was only willing to date a man who didn't "drink, smoke, or swear." To her family's surprise she found such a man in in the desert - fellow homesteader Franklin Crary Threlfall, the son of a Missouri preacher, and 7 years her junior.
They had one son, Franklin Jr., who was born with disabilities and died before age 2. Ethellena and Frank worked as private nurse and assistant to a wealthy family in Beverly Hills, CA. They were able to buy a home of their own on Pelham Ave. After retirement they enjoyed travelling and spoiling their nieces.
When Frank died unexpectedly in 1947, Ethellena discovered that the house was not in her name and his will left everything to his two unsympathetic half-brothers back in Missouri. Ethellena was left with very little money of her own, eventually dying in a nursing home.
She was a fun-loving tomboy who loved the outdoors.
She followed her parents to Long Beach California in 1901. She convinced her parents to join her in entering the lottery for homestead parcels being offered in San Bernardino County in 1908 near Needles, CA. They were awarded adjoining parcels and every weekend they motored across southern CA to build small cabins and improve the land. After 5 years they were awarded title to their land but in 1916 David Fansher died from a heart attack while clearing giant yucca plants.
Ethellena remained single well into her 30's because, according to a cousin, she was only willing to date a man who didn't "drink, smoke, or swear." To her family's surprise she found such a man in in the desert - fellow homesteader Franklin Crary Threlfall, the son of a Missouri preacher, and 7 years her junior.
They had one son, Franklin Jr., who was born with disabilities and died before age 2. Ethellena and Frank worked as private nurse and assistant to a wealthy family in Beverly Hills, CA. They were able to buy a home of their own on Pelham Ave. After retirement they enjoyed travelling and spoiling their nieces.
When Frank died unexpectedly in 1947, Ethellena discovered that the house was not in her name and his will left everything to his two unsympathetic half-brothers back in Missouri. Ethellena was left with very little money of her own, eventually dying in a nursing home.
Ethellena was born in Ontario, Canada the eldest of 4 children of David and Elizabeth McCabe Fansher. She was 7 when the family moved in 1880 to a small farm in Mills County, Iowa.
She was a fun-loving tomboy who loved the outdoors.
She followed her parents to Long Beach California in 1901. She convinced her parents to join her in entering the lottery for homestead parcels being offered in San Bernardino County in 1908 near Needles, CA. They were awarded adjoining parcels and every weekend they motored across southern CA to build small cabins and improve the land. After 5 years they were awarded title to their land but in 1916 David Fansher died from a heart attack while clearing giant yucca plants.
Ethellena remained single well into her 30's because, according to a cousin, she was only willing to date a man who didn't "drink, smoke, or swear." To her family's surprise she found such a man in in the desert - fellow homesteader Franklin Crary Threlfall, the son of a Missouri preacher, and 7 years her junior.
They had one son, Franklin Jr., who was born with disabilities and died before age 2. Ethellena and Frank worked as private nurse and assistant to a wealthy family in Beverly Hills, CA. They were able to buy a home of their own on Pelham Ave. After retirement they enjoyed travelling and spoiling their nieces.
When Frank died unexpectedly in 1947, Ethellena discovered that the house was not in her name and his will left everything to his two unsympathetic half-brothers back in Missouri. Ethellena was left with very little money of her own, eventually dying in a nursing home.
She was a fun-loving tomboy who loved the outdoors.
She followed her parents to Long Beach California in 1901. She convinced her parents to join her in entering the lottery for homestead parcels being offered in San Bernardino County in 1908 near Needles, CA. They were awarded adjoining parcels and every weekend they motored across southern CA to build small cabins and improve the land. After 5 years they were awarded title to their land but in 1916 David Fansher died from a heart attack while clearing giant yucca plants.
Ethellena remained single well into her 30's because, according to a cousin, she was only willing to date a man who didn't "drink, smoke, or swear." To her family's surprise she found such a man in in the desert - fellow homesteader Franklin Crary Threlfall, the son of a Missouri preacher, and 7 years her junior.
They had one son, Franklin Jr., who was born with disabilities and died before age 2. Ethellena and Frank worked as private nurse and assistant to a wealthy family in Beverly Hills, CA. They were able to buy a home of their own on Pelham Ave. After retirement they enjoyed travelling and spoiling their nieces.
When Frank died unexpectedly in 1947, Ethellena discovered that the house was not in her name and his will left everything to his two unsympathetic half-brothers back in Missouri. Ethellena was left with very little money of her own, eventually dying in a nursing home.
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