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| Ina Burdick |
Some catch my interest more than others, as is the case of this sweet little girl, Ina Burdick, seen on the left. Her chubby pretty little face captivates me! Her gorgeous wavy hair, so nicely kept, must have been a source of delight to her mother, as in the photo on the right, little Ina is seated so her hair in its glory is displayed.
Little Ina captured my interest so much that I wanted to find out all about her although there were some things I didn't want to know, such as when she died! I was afraid she might have died young, and as silly as might seem, that would make me incredibly sad.
And Lillie Burdick, possible sister to Ina, had such a sweet face I wanted to know more about her too.
My curiousity was too much. I set off to find out what I could about Ina and the other Burdick individuals in the album, pictured below. Were Will and Lillie her siblings? Was Sarah her mother?
Spoiler Alert: After much research I found the Burdick family and the two sisters Ina and Lillie. It is not a happy story but read on if you wish to know what happened to the girls. If you want to see the other photos of their relatives in this rescued album, visit Album #9 on LostFaces.com
Ina Burdick
Lillie Burdick
Will Burdick
Sarah Frank Burdick
"Ina D. Burdick....died in Milton, Wis., June 22, 1909, the day following her 47th birthday..... In childhood, for reasons not clearly understood, her bodily growth was arrested, which was followed by rheumatic and other troubles that rendered her practically helpless. In this state of enforced inactivity there came an abnormal accumulation of fatty matter which rendered her a helpless invalid for the latter part of her life, and made her subject to heart trouble from which she died." Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126946652/ina-demaine-burdick
I found out quite a bit about the Burdick family by searching Ancestry for various records. For a summary, Sarah Frances (not Frank) Coon married Ira D. Burdick and had several children. Ina Burdick, Lillie Burdick, and Will Burdick pictured above were their children.
Lillie sadly died at age 9 in Wisconsin. Her tombstone shows 25 Jul 1872 to 8 Mar 1882. She is buried in Milton Junction Cemetery, Milton Wisconsin with her sister Ina. Ina lived a challenging life of physical issues and heart problems which led to her early death at age 47. My fear proved founded - and while it may seem odd, I felt sad after reading her obituary, a portion of which is below:
"Ina D. Burdick....died in Milton, Wis., June 22, 1909, the day following her 47th birthday..... In childhood, for reasons not clearly understood, her bodily growth was arrested, which was followed by rheumatic and other troubles that rendered her practically helpless. In this state of enforced inactivity there came an abnormal accumulation of fatty matter which rendered her a helpless invalid for the latter part of her life, and made her subject to heart trouble from which she died." Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126946652/ina-demaine-burdick
Lillie and Ina's mother's obituary also made me sad. She was only 55 when she died of pneumonia. But what bothered me most was the last sentence in her obituary which only mentioned her son Will, not her daughter Ina.
"Mrs. Sarah Frances Burdick .... died at No. 47 Columbia Place, Chicago, April 27, 1893, after an illness of five days with pneumonia.... She leaves her husband and one son to mourn their loss." Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88468002/sarah-frances-burdick
"Mrs. Sarah Frances Burdick .... died at No. 47 Columbia Place, Chicago, April 27, 1893, after an illness of five days with pneumonia.... She leaves her husband and one son to mourn their loss." Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88468002/sarah-frances-burdick
Do other genealogists get caught up in these old photos and feel as if they know the individuals? I really wanted those two pretty little girls to grow up happy, and live long healthy lives.
I do that too. I have an old picture from the 1850s of one of my husband’s ancestors 16 year old sister and I found out that she died of TB when she was 18. It makes me sad every time I see it, but I know she’s not forgotten because she’s in my database with that picture.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. I regularly browse EBay for vintage photos where the people are identified so I can return them to descendants. Many, more than one would expect, turn out to have no living descendants and sometimes a family lost most of their children in childhood.
ReplyDeleteYes I do too. I have a photo of several children I don't know who they are but I love the little girl. It makes me sad I don't know anything about her. She and her siblings must have been loved because we have a tintype and a cardboard photo of them. Reading about this little girl and her family made me sad too. They are adorable.
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful to people like you who rescue old photos or memorabilia. If it weren't for someone who had gotten a book of my great grandmother's from a yard sale and notified my cousin, it would still be out there somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
As a possibility, Ina may not have been mentioned in her mother's obituary because prior generations kept family members with mental (and perhaps physical) limitations secluded from the outside world within their family homes, or they were institutionalized.
ReplyDeleteI know some that get interested by pictures and also newspaper articles. Lots of research into families not their own.
ReplyDelete