Ida Belle Hudson ^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13}

  General Notes:

Several researchers (and myself originally) believed that "Ida Belle Hudson" and "Belle Hudson" were the same person who was first married to Mitchell Whitfield and following their divorce she was remarried to Charles Hostetter. The problem with that thinking is that the "Ida" who was married to Whitfield returned home to her parents in Medina, Ohio where she died in 1927. The other "Belle Hudson" who married Hostetter moved with him to Portland, Oregon where she died three years later in 1930.

Obviously they cannot be the same person so how does one know for sure which one was the daughter of Solomon Hudson from Medina, Ohio. Even the book "History of the Bowman Family" lists the children of Solomon Hudson with their birth and death dates but the entry for the daughter "Bell" has no dates and no other information.

The first documents for her would be the 1860 and 1870 US Census records where her name was recorded as "Ida B." and "Ada B." respectively. But then things changed after that date or when she became an adult. All subsequent records show her using the name "Belle" with no reference to the word "Ida". Even her marriage record to Mitchell Whitfield shows "Belle Hudson".

After her marriage to Mitchell Whitfield in 1881 in Medina, Ohio, the two of them appear together in the 1885 and 1895 Iowa State Census living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Shortly after that 1895 state census, Mitchell and "Belle" were divorced and she must have returned home to live with her parents. The 1900 US Census shows her listed as "Belle Whitfield, divorced".

But this is where the confusion starts to appear. In 1886 there is a marriage record for an "Ida B. Hudson" and Charles Hostiller (Hostetter) in nearby Marshall County, Iowa. Notice that her name does not include her married surname of Whitfield nor does it use the word "Belle". This couple soon moved to Portland, Oregon where the 1920 and 1930 Census records show her name as "Ida", once again never using the word "Belle".

Naturally one must ask if she were the same person, did she return to her parents only temporarily only to return back to Iowa and remarry? The proof that they were NOT the same person lies in the death records for each.

"Belle Hudson Whitfield" died on 12 Jun 1927 in Medina, Ohio and the official state death certificate shows that she was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Medina.

The Oregon death index database shows that "Ida B. Hostetter" died on 9 Jun 1930 in Portland, Oregon and is buried at River View Cemetery there. A short obituary appears in "The Oregonian" on 11 Jun 1930 as follows: HOSTETTER '96 June 8, at the late residence, 102 Pennoyer St., Ida B., aged 68 years, wife of Charles Hostetter and mother of Mrs. George McCorkle of Wapato, Wash. The remains are at Finley's, Montgomery at 5th. Notice of funeral hereafter.

The conclusion must be that Belle Hudson married Mitchell Whitfield, lived briefly in Iowa, but died and was buried in Medina, Ohio in 1927. She may have been given the birth name of "Ida Belle Hudson" but used "Belle" throughout her life. The other "Ida B. Hudson" who married Charles Hostetter in Marshall County, Iowa, lived, and died in Portland, Oregon was not the same person and probably was not related to this Hudson family line at all.
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  Death Notes:

Name: Belle Hudson Whilfield
Event Type: Death
Event Date: 12 Jun 1927
Event Place: Medina, Medina, Ohio
Address: 440 East Liberty
Sex: Female
Age: 71
Marital Status: Divorced
Race: white
Occupation: sales agent
Birth Date: 06 Apr 1856
Birth Year (Estimated): 1856
Birthplace: Lafayette Tp., Medina, Ohio
Burial Date: 15 Jun 1927
Burial Place: Medina, O.
Father's Name: Salmon Hudson
Mother's Name: Elizabeth Mesmer
Mother's Birthplace: Massillon, Ohio
Spouse's Name: Mitchell Whitfield
Record Number: 91

Citing this Record
"Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8LC-WHW : 15 August 2019), Belle Hudson Whilfield, 12 Jun 1927; citing Medina, Medina, Ohio, reference fn 36699; FHL microfilm 1,985,068.
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  Noted events in her life were:

• She appeared on the 1860 US Census in Lafayette Township, Medina County, OH on 8 June 1860. ⁶

1860 US Census
Page 10, Family 80, Roll 1007
Lafayette Township, Medina, Ohio, United States
Ida B. Hudson..4..Ohio

(Living with parents.)
.

• She appeared on the 1870 US Census in Medina Township, Medina County, OH on 15 June 1870. ⁷

1870 US Census
Page 13, Family 121
Medina Township, Medina, Ohio, United States
Ada B. Hudson..14..Ohio

(Living with parents.)
.

• She appeared on the 1880 US Census in Medina, OH on 5 June 1880. ⁸

1880 US Census
Page 361A, District 195, Family 127, Roll 1047
Medina, Medina County, Ohio
Belle Hudson..Daughter..24..OH..At Home

(Living with parents.)
.

• She appeared on the 1885 Iowa State Census in Cedar Rapids, IA on January 1885. ²

1885 Iowa State Census
Page 54
Cedar Rapids, Linn, Iowa, United States
74 B Avenue
Belle Whitfield..28..Ohio

(Living with husband.)
.

• She appeared on the 1895 Iowa State Census in Cedar Rapids, IA on January 1895. ³

1895 Iowa State Census
Page 39, Family 231
Cedar Rapids, Linn, Iowa, United States
Belle Whitfield..38..Ohio

(Living with husband.)
.

• She appeared on the 1900 US Census in Medina, OH on 15 June 1900. ⁹

1900 US Census
Sheet 15A, District 49, Family 393
Medina, Medina, Ohio, United States
Home owned, no mortgage
Belle Whitfield..Daughter..Apr 1857..43..Ohio..Divorced..0/0

(Living at home with her parents.)

NOTE - Her birth date is believed to be in 1856 instead of in Apr 1857. Therefore her age should have been 43 or 44 depending upon which month she was born.
.

• She appeared on the 1910 US Census in Medina, OH on 5 May 1910. ¹⁰

1910 US Census
Sheet 18B, District 139, Family 508, Roll 1205
Medina, Medina, Ohio, United States
440 West Liberty Street; Home owned, no mortgage
Belle Whitfield..Daughter..53..Ohio..Divorced..0/0

(Living at the home of her widowed mother.)
.

• She was buried on 15 June 1927 in the Spring Grove Cemetery in Spring Grove Cemetery, Medina, OH.

Find a Grave Memorial 74013941
. ^{12 13}

• Death Image: 15 June 1927, in Medina, OH. ¹²

Ida married Mitchell John Whitfield, son of John Whitfield and Martha Mitchell, on 27 April 1881 in , Medina County, OH.^{1 2 3} The marriage ended in divorce. (Mitchell John Whitfield was born on 1 May 1854 in England,^{2 3 14} died on 22 April 1932 in Cedar Rapids, IA ¹⁴ and was buried on 24 April 1932 in Murdoch-Linwood Cemetery, Cedar Rapids, IA ¹⁴.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Marriage Image: 27 April 1881, in , Medina County, OH. ¹

• They appeared on the 1885 Iowa State Census in Cedar Rapids, IA on January 1885. ²

1885 Iowa State Census
Page 54
Cedar Rapids, Linn, Iowa, United States
74 B Avenue
Mitchell J. Whitfield..31..England
Belle Whitfield..28..Ohio
.

• They appeared on the 1895 Iowa State Census in Cedar Rapids, IA on January 1895. ³

1895 Iowa State Census
Page 39, Family 231
Cedar Rapids, Linn, Iowa, United States
M. J. Whitfield..40..England..??? Trave
Belle Whitfield..38..Ohio
.

• Mitchell John Whitfield and Ida Belle Hudson were divorced before 1900. ⁹

  Marriage Notes:

Name: M.J. Whitfield
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 27 Apr 1881
Event Place: Medina, Ohio, United States
Sex: Male
Spouse's Name: Belle Hudson
Spouse's Sex: Female
Record Number: 91
Reference ID: Pg 15 # 91

Citing this Record
"Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZHN-R6L : 26 August 2019), M.J. Whitfield and Belle Hudson, 27 Apr 1881; citing Marriage, Medina, Ohio, United States, Pg 15 # 91, Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society, Columbus; FHL microfilm.
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