Do you ever have trouble figuring out whether females with different surnames are the same person? That’s been my struggle when researching Pearl, daughter of Frederick Doolittle and his wife Ida Phelps.
Fred Doolittle’s obituary identifies the daughter as Mrs. Will Nysen.
Fred W. Doolittle
“Fred W. Doolittle,” , Jackson Citizen Patriot, (Jackson, Michigan), 25 April 1913, page 2; Public Member Story, , submitter, linked to , GenealogyBank, genealogybank.com, posted .
Tekonsha Man Passes Away After Several Years’ Illness
[Special to The Citizen Press]
Tekonsha, Mich., April 25, — Fred W Doolittle passed away at his home on Jackson avenue, Wednesday night. He has been in poor health for a number of years, having been stricken with paralysis. The deceased was a highly respected citizen, a Mason and a member of the Woodmen lodge of this village. He was a prosperous farmer and had been a local stock buyer, being a member of the Merrifield, Proctor & Doolittle firm. He is survived by an invalid wife, two sons, Clifford and Earl, both of this place, and one daughter, Mrs. Will Nysen, of Coldwater and two brothers, Lester and Talbot Doolittle, all of Tekonsha. The funeral was held this afternoon, conducted by Rev. F. R. Randall, Burial in the Riverside cemetery.
However, the name changes when Fred’s wife, Ida dies in 1927. According to Ida Doolittle’s obituary, she had a daughter named Mrs. Edwin Friend.
Dies after Long Illness
Mrs. Ida Doolittle Passes at Home in Tekonsha — Daughter and Two Sons Survive
Mrs. Ida Doolittle died at her home Saturday following years of invalidism. She is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Edwin Friend, of Pueblo, Colorado and two sons, Earle J. and Clifford E. Both of Tekonsha. Mrs. Doolittle was preceeded in death by her husband, Fred Doolittle about 10 years ago.
“Dies after Long Illness,” Battle Creek Enquirer (Battle Creek, Michigan), 11 January 1927, page 15; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 29 June 2022).
Based on these two obituaries, it appears that Pearl Doolittle, Pearl Nyssen and Pearl Friend are the same person. However, the FamilySearch tree does not show a second spouse for Pearl Doolittle,
Based on the 1927 obituary, I found an Edwin Friend on Find a Grave who was buried in Pueblo, Colorado. And he has a wife named Pearl. Unfortunately, Edwin Friend on FamilySearch has a wife named Pearl Yeagla.
So is Pearl Yeagle actually Pearl Doolittle? If so, can I find sources to prove it?
In 1907, Pearl Doolittle married William Henry Nyssen in Branch county, Michigan. They were divorced in 1919 in Branch county, Michigan. When I looked for a marriage record between a Pearl Doolittle or a Pearl Nyssen, I could not find one. Instead, I found a marriage record for Edwin Friend and Pearl Yeagla in Colorado which supports the Edwin Friend family on FamilySearch.
Suspecting that Pearl Yeagle was Pearl Doolittle, I searched for a marriage record between Pearl and a Yeagle. So far, I haven’t found such a record. However, thanks to another Ancestry user sharing an image of a newspaper clipping about the marriage of Pearl and A. L. Yeagle, I was able to locate the article which provides the link between Pearl Doolittle and Pearl Yeagle.
Mrs. Pearl Nyson daughter of Mrs. Ida Doolittle was recently married to A. L. Yeagle of Pueblo Colo. A wire from Mrs. Yeagle states they were not injured in the recent floods near the city.
“Teokonsha News,” The Evening Chronicle (Marshall, Michigan), 8 June 1921, page 2; digital images, Newspaper Archives (newspaperarchive.com : viewed online 29 June 2022).
Thus, I believe that Pearl Doolittle, daughter of Fred Doolittle and his wife Ida Phelps, is also Pearl Nyssen, Pearl Yeagle and Pearl Friend.