Hannah’s younger sister, Nancy Melinda AKA Lena, Lyn or Linnie Lindsey, was mentioned once in Grandma Eve’s memoir at the very beginning when speaking on Hannah’s sibling’s marriages and early parenthood.
Linnie was apparently considered a bit of a wild child, having run off with an Indigenous musician who was visiting town for a single show.
According to Eve’s telling, their marriage ended badly and Linnie returned home with two young daughters, Mildred and Forrest, both of whom she raised on her own.
What wasn’t mentioned in Eve’s telling was what “ended badly” actually meant. It’s possible she didn’t know herself.
Below is her account:
Thanks to an Ancestry.com hint and the digitization of multiple short articles of the times, it’s apparent now that Linnie’s husband, John B. Aveline, was a bigamist. While the pieces never mention Linnie by name, I believe she was the 1st wife.
Our kin truly were as messy back then as many of us still are today 😉
While I haven’t found much more on Linnie beyond Census records and her Death Certificate, I know she was a Dressmaker for most of her life and lived to be 95. She is listed as married, divorced, and then widowed on consecutive Census records.
I hope to one day find a photo of her.
I also know that her daughter Mildred never married and lived with Linnie all her years. Mildred was a High School English Teacher and also lived to the ripe old age of 95!
While it’s impossible to know the details, based on Mildred’s Obituary, she had knowledge of her Indigenous heritage and must have been involved with her tribe and her kin (if not her father) in some way.
Linnie and Mildred are buried side by side in Grant County, Indiana.
Sadly, it seems that Forrest died rather young, considering, of Cirrhosis of the Liver.
And so, on this day, October 17th, I celebrate the life and mourn the death of Linnie Lindsey, who died today in 1961, on her 95th Birthday.
Onward,
Melis
P.S.
Below is Mildred’s Obituary. I have yet to find one for Linnie.
Also, if interested, here’s a link to learn more about Mildred’s ancestor, Chief Little Turtle: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/little-turtle
