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FREDERICK HOLLINGSWORTH FAMILY - GENERATION THREE - CONTINUED
IDABELLE (HOLLINGSWORTH) McPHERSON
Idabelle Hollingsworth was the sixth child and third daughter of
Edward Earl2 & Rachel (McFadden) Hollingsworth, born July 24, 1872,
in Woodville township, Waseca County, Minnesota: died May 1, 1956, in
Los Angeles, California, aged 83 years, 9 months & 7 days. She was
cremated and her ashes put into the grave of her brother Levi David3
Hollingsworth, in Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles.
She married, by marriage contract before a Notary Public, March
22, 1893, in Los Angeles, California, JAMES WILLIAM McPHERSON, son of
James & Priscilla (Dean) McPherson, natives of Pennsylvania & England,
respectively. He was born June 6, 1867, in Illinois, and died Dec. 10,
1951, at 6:00 P.M. in Los Angeles, California, aged 84 years, 6 months
and 4 days. He was buried in Rosedale Cemetery. No issue.
Idabelle Hollingsworth was always known as "Belle." Hers was
true beauty, and the name seemed to fit. Photographs taken when she
was young, verify the stories which this writer has heard, namely, of
her physical beauty, and of the beautiful clothing she wore. In the
vogue of that age - the 'Gay Nineties' - she decked herself out in
rich velvets and taffetas, and topped it off with gaudy, ostrich feath-
ered creations we might mockingly call a hat, today. Other accessor-
ies, of course, included the proverbial handbag, rings and umbrella.
But as the years gathered, she became out of place, and was thought
to be rather eccentric by members of her family.
In earlier times, she had come out from Minnesota to live with
her beloved brother Lee (Levi) at his home in Los Angeles at 111 West
14th Street. That was in 1887. Mr. McPherson was a bookkeeper. Af-
ter their marriage they lived at 411 East 11th Street. At this place
her mother, Rachel (McFadden) Hollingsworth, passed away in the sum-
mer of 1924, to be buried on her 83rd birthday anniversary.
Because she had no children, she became more and more given to
the life of a recluse, surrounded by mementoes of yesterday. After
her husband's death, this situation was compounded. Several of the
nieces and cousins kept in touch, to care for her needs. Finally, she
fell, breaking a hip. She was found in time, and taken to the hospi-
tal, only to be found suffering with cancer, of which she died not
long afterward. Many old and interesting items were found in her house
when the inevitable cleanup came, some carefully wrapped, as evidence
of her love of the past.
It is unfortunate that this writer never met Idabelle McPherson,
his grandaunt. Undoubtedly, she could have told many valuable pieces
of information, especially about the Hollingsworths in Ireland, which
she would have gotten from her father. A nephew, when discussing the
hard feelings of the Hollingsworths, who were Orangemen, against the
Roman Catholic Irish, especially, and the Roman Church, in general,
and their intense aversion to "mixed marriages" between the Hollings-
worths and any Roman Catholic, asked "Aunt Belle" why this was so. Her
answer was: "Because the Catholics killed all the Hollingsworths and
Granddad (Frederick) Hollingsworth was the only one who escaped!" Not
true in the exact sense, but now we can never ask her to tell us more!
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