No picture provided.
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| Spouse: |
John W. Farrell
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| Children: |
John Russell Farrell
Nellie Cecil Farrell Robertson Chamberlain
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| Grandchildren: |
Doris Joan Robertson
Great Grandchildren
Noel Scott Robertson
Shari Anne Robertson Church
Great Great-Grandchildren
Sarahbeth Robertson Kayton
Seth Robertson Kayton
Bryan Hurston Church
James Bradley Church
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| Parents: |
William W. Nichols and Mary Luella Howard Gillespie Nichols
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| Siblings: |
Pearl Ann Nichols Camp
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| Grandparents: |
None listed
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| Family
Legacies™ |
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Cemetery Location Map to Gravesite |
Birth Date: 08/02/1877
Death Date: 3/3/1970
Memorial Park Cemetery
Section 11, Lot 160, Grave 7
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| Ada C. Gillespie was born on a summer day in 1877. It was said that her father died soon after. Her mother, Mary Howard Gillespie married William Nichols and they had a daughter, Pearl. Ada lived on her Grandmother Howard and Great Grandfather Howard's farm for a few years. Later she lived with her mother and stepfather Nichols, the Thompson children, Amy, Will and Leonard. (Mary Nichol's sister, Mathilda Howard Thompson had married John Lane Thompson and went to Missouri or Iowa and died enroute back to Indiana.) They considered themselves a complete family.Ada married John W. Farrell who owned a bicycle shop in 1899. They had a son, John Russell in 1903, but he died at six months. Ada delicately wrapped his obituary in silk and preserved it in a little tin box after his funeral at Crown Hill Cemetery. Her daughter Nellie was born in 1906. Ada washed the family's laundry in two metal tubs set on a wooden stand, one for washing and one for rinsing, and hung her laundry out to dry in the sun. She was an expert in the garden. She grew rhubarb, peaches and pears for her own pies and jellies. She made her own grape jelly. She was a wonderful cook! When the family went camping, she helped in the cook tent. Her garden was full of roses, peonies, hollyhocks, bachelor buttons, lilies of the valley and so much more. Nellie's family moved in with them in the late 1920's. Ada sewed Joan's clothes, tap dancing costumes and doll clothes. She made beautiful linens and quilts. Ada's husband John died in 1934 and Nellie divorced Earl in the late 1930's. Nellie went to work to support them and Ada's job was to take care of the household. Ada did all of the cooking and didn't allow anyone in the kitchen to help.Joan's family rented the other side of Ada's duplex in the 1950's. Apartments were hard to find after WWII. Joan, Herschell, Noel and Shari enjoyed the closeness and Ada's cooking. She still walked to the grocery with her grocery cart. Every weekday after breakfast, in this order, Ada cleaned house; ate a light lunch; worked in the yard; bathed; wrote letters, quilted, embroidered, sewed or crocheted for an hour; took a half-hour nap; and then began supper. Just like clockwork.Ada usually only spoke when she had something to say. She was stern, but kind and fair. In her younger days, she was quite daring inching out on a diving board at a lake, driving a car and leading the way into caverns. Her kitchen was always warm and smelled wonderful! She enjoyed visiting with friends and relatives. She raised three generation of children. People today marvel at her embroidery and sewing skills. She worked hard all her life, still washing her laundry in those metal tubs until she died in 1970. She was very loved! |
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Ada C. Gillespie.
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Ada on the left and her half-sister, Pearl.
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Ada on the left, her half-sister, Pearl with Len and Will Thompson.
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Nellie sitting on Aunt Annie and Uncle Clarence's porch with Ada, right looking on.
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Ada and Mrs. Ward clowning around.
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Ada and John Farrell.
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Joan (left) and Nellie (right) prepare to eat one of Ada's (center) wonderful meals. Patsy has her own meal on the floor.
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Ada, Uncle Ed (Silas Camp), Joan and Nellie pose for a picture.
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Ada and Pearl visiting in Ada's backyard.
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Ada holding her great grandson, Noel.
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