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a.
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Note: REFN54 From letter of Betty Jean Lees dated May 19, 1998. "However, the name
Benjamin Tourgee does stir a faint memory of my mother saying Ida married
3 times. Poor Ida--I don't think she had an easy life--right from the
beginning. If the dates are correct and her father sailed on the
whaleship on September 5, 1857 and didn't return until July 25, 1861, her
birth in 1860 must have been a surprise! But I notice on the Anthony Goff
Line you sent me, her birth date is listed as 1858. Wish we could get to the bottom of this."
According to the 1865 US Census, Ida was 7 years old. According to the 1870 US Census she was 12 years old. This seems to corroberate a birth
date in 1858. If she was born on April 6, 1858, she must have been
conceived around July 1, 1757. Since Jerome did not leave on the
whaleship until September 5, 1957, he could be Ida's father. My scenario: Jerome found out that Abby was pregnant so he took off on
the whaleship in September, 1857. He came back on July 25, 1861, saw Ida
(now three years old) and married Abby on March 7, 1862. He then enlisted
in the Army on May 26, 1862 and served on and off for three years.
Or---Jerome didn't know Abby was pregnant when he sailed away and didn't
find out about it until he got back. (Kind of far fetched!) Abby must have been 13 years old when she became pregnant with Ida.
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