Temperance

On Friday, October 26, 1900[i], a female child was born in Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai County, Idaho, to 38-year-old Richard Ela Lord from Toolesboro (also spelled Toolesborough, formerly known as Black Hawk), Louisa County, Iowa and 35-year-old Ida May Butler from New Boston, Mercer County, Illinois.  Richard, a farmer, and Ida were either married on October 18, 1883 or October 30, 1886[ii], in Wapello, Louisa County, Iowa.  Richard and Ida May were already parents to seven other children:  Hazel Kirk 1884-1984, Mabel May 1887-1984, Harry Richard 1889-1970, Ruth Betsy 1891-1965, Truman Ray 1893-1972, Clifford Lea 1896-1957, and Francis Pearl 1899-1994.   They named their eighth child Temperance Lulu.  Three more children born after Temperance completed their family:  Minnie Esther 1903-2002, Merritt Ela 1906-1987, and Theodore Roosevelt 1909-1991.

Update:  I recently found a typed document "Partial Genealogy of the Lord Family" which lists all the children born to Richard and Ida.  I am not sure who composed this document but it lists two premature babies: a baby boy born between Hazel and Mabel, and another baby born between Merritt and Theodore. This answers a question brought up a few months ago on our family Facebook page when I posted a copy of Grandma's Delayed Birth Certificate (see below) which listed 10 or 11 pregnancies and 8 living children for her mother, Ida May. There were indeed at least two infants who did not survive.

Early on, Lulu or Lu, as she was called, remembers asking her father Richard where was she born.  His answer was “in a crow's track in the snow.”  A few years later when she started school, she learned that she was born in a snow storm, but in the log cabin which her father had built on a timber claim, seven miles southeast of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  [iii]

Temperance Lulu Lord @1940s

When Lulu was 42 years old, she found out that she did not have a birth certificate because her birth had never been registered.  She was advised by the Kootenai County Recorder's Office to have a brother or sister vouch for her birth by filling out a certain form and her birth would then be registered. I recently submitted a request for Grandma's Delayed Birth Certificate and was more than surprised when I received it in the mail just a few weeks later. It was verified by Grandma's mother, Ida May, not any of her brothers. Click on the image below to enlarge it.

The name "Temperance[iv]" seems to be a family tradition namesake as it can be traced back to at least five other females in the Lord family line. I have also found a few other "Temperances" going back to the Harris line in the early 1700's, but I have not verified those relationships yet. 

Name	Relationship to Temperance Lulu Lord & Other Data
Temperance Louisa Lord Millsap	Aunt; half sister to her father Richard Ela Lord. Parents were Charles Knowles Burnham Lord (1805-1886) and Sarah Bellows 1820-1852). b. 22 Jun 1852 in Washington County, OH m. 16 May 1895 in Knox City, Knox County, MO to Edward R. Millsap (1855-1925. They had three children, only one survived infancy. d. 22 May 1926 in Knox City. Buried in Bee Ridge Cemetery, Edina, Knox County, MO, USA Photo is identified as Louisa's Family in the Lord Photo Album. Temperance Louisa Lord Millsap (standing on the right) with her husband Edward R. Millsap, daughter Edna Elizabeth "Bessie" (1879-1943), and unknown male child on left.  The Millsaps only had one child so I don't know who the boy might be.
Temperance Colt Lord Ransom	Great Aunt; sister to her grandfather Charles K.B. Lord. Parents were Thomas Lord  (1757-1830) and Eleanor E. "Nellie" Oliver (1777-1840). b. 01 Sep 1796 in Washington County, OH m. 10 Apr 1817 in Lowell, Washington County, OH to Truman Ransom (1793-1869). They had six sons and one daughter. d. 4 May 1858 in Wayne, Knox County, OH. Buried in  Green Valley Cemetery, Mount Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, USA
Temperance Lord Backus	First Cousin 3x Removed; daughter of her father's Great Uncle Colonel Abner Lord. Parents were Colonel Abner Lord (1760-1821) and Mary Seldon (1761-1800). b. 3 Apr 1786 in Lyme, New London County, CT m. #1 26 Feb 1804 in Lyme to Othniel Williams (1785-1805) having no children. #2 18 Nov 1810 in Marietta, Washington County, OH to Thomas Backus (1785-1825). They had four sons, one daughter. d. 28 Mar 1864 in Columbus, Franklin County, OH. Buried in The Mound Cemetery, Marietta, Washington County, Ohio, USA
Temperance Colt Lord	Great-Great-Grandmother. Parents were Deacon Benjamin Coult/Colt (1698-1754) and Miriam Harris (1700-1765). b. 27 Feb 1736 in Lyme, New London County, CT. m. 28 Feb 1757 in New Haven Second Church, Lyme, New London County, CT to Captain Abner Lord (1733-1790). They had three sons and one daughter. d. 3 Jul 1797 in Bethel, Fairfield County, CT. Buried in The Congregational Church Cemetery, Bethel. Interesting fact: You may recognize the last name Colt, as in Samuel Colt (1814-1862), who invented the Revolver firearm in the 19th Century. He is indeed one of our relatives.  His great-aunt was this Temperance Colt Lord, so that would make him, and I hope I have this right, Grandma's 2nd cousin, twice removed. More can be found about cousin Sam by googling his name or quickly visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Colt.
Temperance Harris Shaw	5th Great-Aunt. Parents are not verified at this time. b. 24 May 1709 in Lyme, New London, CT. m. 5 Nov 1730 in New London, CT to Nathaniel Shaw (1703-1778). They had 6 sons and 2 daughters. d. 27 Jun 1796 in New London County, CT. Buried in the Ancient Cemetery, New London, New London County, Connecticut, USA. Interesting fact: Temperance's husband, Nathaniel Shaw, served on the Committee of Safety and was agent of the colony for naval supplies and taking care of the sick seamen. He sent out privateers at his own expense and furnished the militia with powder he brought from the West Indies. He was born in Fairfield, died in New London.

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[i]   Idaho State Department of Health; Boise, Idaho; Idaho Birth and Stillbirth Index, 1913-1964.  Idaho, Birth Index, 1861-1914, Stillbirth Index, 1905-1964.  Certificate Year 1900; Certificate Number 350204.   Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2013.  http://www.Ancestry.com. 

[ii] Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880-1937.  Iowa State Archives; Des Moines, Iowa;  Volume:  335 (Lee-Musctine).

[iii]   My Grandma Dotes, Anecdotes of 93 years of the Life and Times of Temperance Lulu Lord O'Connor Otherwise Known as Lu O'Connor Wife of 1, Mother of 3, grandmother of 9, Great-grandmother of 21, Great-great-grandmother of 2 or 3 or more, And still running!  Page 3, I Was Born.  Written and Mis-typed by Lu O'Connor at Willson House 1993.

[iv] Parents in early America followed regional tradition in the selection of baby names. The Puritan parents of New England usually chose biblical names.  The names Elizabeth, Mary, and Sarah accounted for more than half of all girl names in seventeenth century New England. Girls were also given names that exemplified traditional virtues, such as Charity, Comfort, Deliverance, Hope, Patience, Peace, Silence, and Temperance.Women in Early America: Struggle, Survival, and Freedom in a New World By Dorothy A. Mays