Ethel Thompson & Cora DeLudough-Cobb

What an incredibly sweet picture. This is on sale at a wonderful Etsy store for those interested. I was determined to find out who these ladies were and I think I have. The names on the back, according to the owner, are Ethel Thompson and Cora DeLudough-Cobb. I knew I had a chance of finding out who it was when I saw Cora’s last name – what duzy! Initial searches didn’t reveal much – but when I looked for the EXACT spelling of the name (which I rarely do because it’s so limiting) I got a hit. Cora Mae Deludough married James MacCall of Scotland in 1904 in Michigan and was born in 1878 in Wisconsin. Also on the marriage record it had her parents names, Sam Deludough and Carrie Lockridge. Well, that’s not exactly what I wanted. I wanted a husband with the last name of Cobb!

So I looked for Ethel. Now that’s a much more common name, but interestingly there was an Ethel Thompson born in Wisconsin in 1878 and living in Michigan during the 1900 census with a father from Scotland and a mother from Germany. She was divorced. Now we’re getting somewhere! Similar ages, lived in same states, let’s keep going.

I went back to Cora – putting in the birth year and place I’d found earlier along with the name – I now found a Cora May Deludough with an actual copy of the marriage record – same one, to James MacCall. And guess who the witnesses were? A Edward and Carrie Cobb! THEN, as if that weren’t enough, the 1900 Michigan census had Cora and 2 siblings living as step-children with Edward and Sarah Cobb. Clearly this was a name she used frequently after her mother remarried.

I’m confident I know who Cora is. But Ethel still needs some work. There’s a lot of coincidence there, but a little more evidence is needed. And I’m sure I’ll get it!