Rosida "Ida" Otella Oliveira Gallagher

Ida is my great-grandmother.

October 2, 1887 ~ July 19, 1985

From the time her first grandchild was born, my great-grandmother was known in the family circle as Ba (pronounced buh). Ba was my dad's way of saying Grandma, and it stuck with each successive child born into the fold. But before she was Ba, she was known as Ida to her friends and peers. Needless to say, it astonished me when I discovered that Ida was not the name she was born with, but rather it was her nickname. Her full name was Rosida Otella Oliveira.

Rosida was one of seventeen children born to parents Antone and Mary. Her father and mother were both from Portugal and they bestowed their daughter with a typical Portuguese girl's name. Meaning "little rose," Rosida's next oldest sibling was Rosa, so it would seem that little Rose, was named after her big sister Rose. It is possible that she was known as Ida to her family, because Ida (the last three letters in her name) is a shortened version of Rosida in both Portugal and Brazil. However, it would have been pronounced ee-duh, not eye-duh. That being said, her records referred to her with her formal name until just after her twentieth year. And in the telling of this story, I will refer to her as Rosida until she reaches her twentieth year, as well.

Be that as it may, she was not alone in creating a new name for herself. In the early 20th century, it was fairly commonplace for someone in her position to transform their name to a more Americanized sounding name as they grew to adulthood. Racism and ethnocentrism ran rampant in this country. Each new group of people that showed up in the United States for their version of the American Dream felt the pangs of being an outsider. Accordingly, a plethora of first-generation Americans, who simply wanted to fit in as quickly as possible, changed their names. Some of Ida's siblings did just that. Francesca became Frances and Rosa became Rose. So, it's not surprising that Rosida became Ida. 

But before she had time to think about being an outsider in the country she was born in, Ida was born on October 2, 1887, or possibly February 10th, 1888. Yes, Ba has two totally different birth dates on various records. She famously fibbed about her age, but why choose different months and days? I can't even wager a guess. For the most part her records say she was born in October. In fact, there is only one record that claims the February birth date, and it came in the form of one of her death records.

There are two death records available on her: one listed on the California Death Index list, which shows her birth date as February 10th, 1888, and the U.S. Social Security Death Index, which shows her birth date as the other records do on October 2nd, 1887. These are not different people. They have the same social security number and her parents are listed on the California version. So, either a clerical error was made, which is certainly possible, or Ida had another record somewhere with the different date.

And the discrepancy with her age doesn't end there. It is very clear that as she became an adult, she reported on her legal documents to be four years younger than she actually was. In fact, I do believe she told her family that she was the youngest of her siblings, which in her mind made her sound like she was younger. However, I can report that she was not the youngest of her siblings. George was. She wasn't event the second to the youngest either. Leonora was. She was the third youngest. That being said, her childhood records claimed she was born in October of 1887, so unless her parents were lying, this is probably the correct date.

Centerville around the turn of the 20th century.

Born in Centerville, California, which would later incorporate into Fremont, Rosida grew up on her parents' farm. Centerville was called such because in its establishment in 1850, the city lied on a crossroads of four intersecting streets that were in the direction of a compass. Around the time of Rosida's birth, it was considered to be a lovely and quiet little village surrounded by farmland with some professional amenities at its center. Her father worked very hard as the owner of his own farm. He was well respected in the community and he was prosperous, as well. Ida grew up in a family of at least some relative privilege.

Rosida was able to read and write. The family legend states that she only went through the third grade, but the records show she was in school until she was 12, which would have been common for people in her generation to attend school for this length of time. 

While I don't know for certain, I have to assume that since Rosida's mother could not speak English, that she was actually bilingual so that she could communicate with her mom. If that were true, she unfortunately didn't pass down the Portuguese language to her daughter. People in her generation wanted nothing to do with the "old" language. They disavowed their heritage and chose to integrate and become as American as possible. Rosida seemed to fall under that category.

SCANDAL LEADS TO TRIAL: 

The typo with her last name is corrected in all other clippings.

On March 13th, 1907, Rosida was involved with a scandal that led to not one, but three court trials. According to The Oakland Tribune and The San Francisco Call, she was the victim of a Mr. Manuel Correia.

Correia, who was the Centerville barber, allegedly told Rosida he wanted to speak to her father about taking her hand in marriage. She believed the ruse, but Correia had no intention of marrying her. He simply used his words in the hopes of manipulating her into getting what he wanted—and it worked. He convinced her to come to Oakland, where he seduced her and afterwards, instead of speaking to her father, he hopped onto his bicycle and rode to San Jose, where he was thereupon arrested. He spent some time in the county jail before a bond was eventually put up for him and he was released.

Even outside of these series of trials, Manuel Correia was hardly one of the good guys. He had already been charged with assault with a deadly weapon prior to this case. However, regardless of his previous criminal activity, it is quite an extraordinary thing that he would be put on trial for breaking a commitment to marry. Granted his lack of chivalry is reprehensible, but in today's world, this behavior is hardly criminal. Nevertheless, a century ago it was considered not only scandalous, but a criminal offense. 

These events took place during the first decade of the twentieth century, when women were in essence thought of as property rather than as individuals. They belonged to their father and then to their husband. They didn't even have the right to vote, nor did they have sexual freedom. I imagine, that if Rosida's father found out about what happened, and learned that his daughter had been "tainted" by Mr. Correia, he would have been determined to bring his wrath down upon him. He had the financial backing to pay for attorneys in order to put this man behind bars. 

And for a time, it worked.

Mr. Correia was found guilty in the first trial, but there was a re-trial due to some apparent errors that were made. In the second trial, there was an issue with some of the testimony in the case. It was reported that Deputy District Attorney R.C. Staats used evidence that was detrimental to Correia, but the judge later found that the evidence was immaterial to the case. The immaterial evidence included Mr. Correia's apparent mistreatment of his former wife. The judge didn't consider his past behavior relevant to how he treated Rosida. So, a third trial became necessary.

In the third trial, the plaintiff was represented by Assistant District Attorney W.H.L. Hynes and Attorney M.C. Mickle, while the attorneys for the defense were Peter J. Crosby and Lin S. Church.

The last trial had the air of a three-ring circus. The Oakland Tribune reported that, "Womankind sustained a dreadful blow this morning from the jury box in Superior Judge Henry A. Melvin's court room when Peter G. King, a gray whiskered veteran...was being examined to sit in the jury that will hear the third trial..." Mr. King stated for the record, "After 52 years of experience, I have now come to the conclusion that women are not angels. Time and time again have they tried to seduce me, both married and single women. Up to the time I was 22 years of age, I believed a number of women were angels. But after 52 years of experience, I have come to the conclusion that the only angels are of neuter-gender."

The judge had the sense to excuse him, but it made the papers and must have made an impression on the men who sat on the jury. Yes, I wrote the "men" who sat on the jury. It's hard to believe that only men were the decision makers in a criminal's destiny, but women were not eligible to participate as a juror in California until 1917, although in practice there were usually barred from serving until the Supreme Court case Ballard v. United States in 1946 changed the law around the country.

Moreover, the issues didn't end with the jury selection either. During the actual trial, the two attorneys in the case incurred the wrath of the judge. Reportedly, the judge's "judicial temper" was stirred up by both men's repeated disregard for addressing their remarks to the court or to the witnesses only. He finally threatened them with jail if they did not behave.

Judge Melvin also became angry when the attorney for the defense, Mr. Crosby, objected to the judges questioning of witnesses for the defense. The judge ordered him to, "Sit down," and continued, "I will let you know, I am conducting this trial and can ask any questions I choose."

While a judge is supposed to be impartial, he seemed to lean on Rosida's side. Regardless of his opinion, the men sitting on the jury most definitely leaned on Rosida's side. On August 22nd, the San Francisco Call reported that after three trials, Mr. Correia was found guilty as charged. I am curious what his punishment might have been. As of this date, the judge's sentence alludes me. 

An interesting note: It would seem that it was after this trial that she no longer called herself Rosida and Ida was officially born. 

MARRIAGES:

On June 1st, 1909, it was announced in the paper that Ida and Mr. John Anthony Focha applied for their marriage license. She was 21, while he was a year older. They were married 26 days later by the priest named Father Battesti.

They lived together in San Leandro next door to her husband's parents, as well as his two younger sisters. John's father was also Portuguese, while his mother was first generation American, from Portuguese parents. 

The marriage didn't produce any children, nor did it last. I don't have the records of exactly when, but certainly by 1920, the Fochas were divorced.

At some point, she met Walter Gallagher who was married to a relation of Ida's. The woman's name was Geraldine (maiden name Silva). When Walter went through his divorce trial from his first wife, Mrs. Ida Focha was named in the trial. Geraldine claimed Walter had a friendship of some sort with her cousin, Mrs. Ida Focha. I am not certain how they were cousins, but one of Ida's sisters, Minnie, was married to a Silva. So, it's possible that this is family connection.

The court record shows that Ida denied having a romantic relationship with Walter. Whether or not they were having a romantic relationship while he was still married to Geraldine is unknown. However, they eventually did have a relationship. And on August 29th, 1920, Ida walked down the aisle once again, this time with Walter. It was the second marriage for both of them and it is their union that is the most important to all of us, as he is our direct-line ancestor. 

It was during her marriage with Walter when Ida began claiming she was four years younger than she actually was. She presumably told her husband she was younger, because every ten years she told the census taker that she was four years younger. Additionally, on one of the reports it asks at what age she was at the time of her first marriage. She said 17, but she was most definitely 21. In order to keep up her fib about her age she needed to say she was just 17 in order for her marital timeline to fit the age she claimed to be.

No matter what age she purported to be, only nine months after their wedding date, Ida and Walter welcomed their only child together to the world, a daughter named Elizabeth "Bette" Jean Gallagher.

The Gallaghers in happier times.
Left to right: unknown woman, Ida (Ba), Walter, Bette

The family of three initially lived on Peralta in Oakland, but around 1922 they purchased their home at 4168 Park Blvd. Bette grew up here and she would eventually inherit this home. She owned it until her death in 2017. It sold shortly thereafter, after remaining in the family for nearly a century.

While living here, Walter worked as a police officer and brought home the bacon, while Ida maintained their home and raised their daughter. I would like to say that Ida and Walter had a happy marriage, but the records paint a different picture.

On May 12, 1928, Walter posted in the personal column a notice stating he was no longer responsible for Ida O. Gallagher's debt or obligations on or after this date. It surprised me to learn that this was the first stage of the divorce process in California at the time.

The following day, Ida posted her own notice in the paper. She claimed they had been separated since May 10th (so, for 3 days). She had filed for divorce and charged her husband with extreme cruelty. According to this article, Ida claimed that at least once a week Walter told her he did not love her and wished she would get a divorce. Ida requested from the court to have custody of Bette, a $100 monthly alimony payment, as well as $150 in attorney's fees.

While 1928 was difficult on the Gallaghers, they did not divorce—at least not yet. They stayed married until 1949. However, at some point in their marriage they had their home split in two. Sometimes they rented out the extra space and sometimes they used the extra space to live separately in either part of the now separated home.

An interesting note: The Park Blvd home was valued at $7,000 in 1930.

Bette & Ida in the 1920's.
(Ida LOVED her fur).

POST DIVORCE:

After 29 years of marriage, Ida and Walter finally divorced for good and Ida became a single parent. I don't mean to imply that she was still raising her daughter. On the contrary, Bette had already grown up, married, and had a son of her own at this point, but Walter not only stopped speaking to Ida, he disowned his daughter. So, Ida was the parent that was around.

She would never remarry.

After the divorce, Ida used the other half of the house as a rental unit for extra income. She eventually had an additional unit put on the property, which helped to supplement her income. 

Furthermore, she transitioned from being the housewife she had been for all of her adult life, into a working woman. She held a position at the H.C. Capwell's Department Store in Oakland, where she worked in the millinery department. For someone who had never worked before, this seemed to be the perfect placement for her as she was a fashionable lady who owned many hats herself. I imagine she used her discount on a regular basis to add to her collection.

An early rendition of H.C. Capwell's Oakland.

It opened in 1929 replacing an earlier building.

While Ida had an eye for fashion, she didn't really have the pocketbook to match, but that didn't prevent her from looking the part she wanted to portray. Ida was a master seamstress—not by trade, but by skill. I recall her showing me a dress she had made. She was very proud of the piece and with good reason. It was beautifully made. She kept herself and her daughter well-dressed with items that she sewed, including lined coats, dresses, blouses and pants. She even created Bette's wedding dress. Bette was always a pinnacle of fashion with matching clothes and accessories. So, she seemed to have inherited her mother's sense of style. Later, when Ida had granddaughters, she created matching yellow gingham dresses for Bette and her daughters as an Easter present.

Ida cherished new things. She didn't like anything old in her home. When her granddaughter began collecting antiques, she couldn't understand why anyone would want to collect that "old junk." While everyone has their own taste, I wonder if not liking the old had anything to do with not wanting to be a part of the "old" world where her parents came from. First generation Americans tried to steer clear of the old ways, so I am not surprised she had an aversion for anything that wasn't new and shiny.

HER PARENTS' PASSING:

According to the family stories, Ida had challenges with most of her siblings, but she was close to her parents. I know that Bette did visit her grandparents while they were alive, so the stories of their fondness for one another must have been true. Her father, Antone, passed away on October 12th, 1925, while her mother, Mary, lived for another eight years. She passed away on January 16th, 1933. Even though Ida's name was mentioned in all of her siblings obituaries when they passed on, I wonder if she had anything to do with them after her parents passed.

DEVOTED SISTER: 

There was at least one possible exception to this family story of Ida not getting along with her brothers and sisters. Ida came from a family of 17 siblings, 12 of which survived into adulthood. In the obituary of her older sister, Mary Oliveira Sabina, on April 2nd, 1947, it mentioned that Mary was a devoted sister to her siblings, but in particular it listed Ida's name first. This surprised me, because for all of her other siblings' obituaries, Ida was either mentioned last or close to last on the list of names. They were never in order by age. It is possible the names were listed by how well the siblings got along. If that is the case, then Mary and Ida may have had a better relationship than with the rest of the family

RELIGION:

I've wondered about Ba's religion. She was Portuguese-American and historically about 97% of of the Portuguese population in Europe was Catholic. Was her family Catholic and if so, did her parents pass that down to her? She was certainly married by a priest when she tied the knot with John. So, it would seem that she may have been Catholic initially.

However, when she married Walter, whose heritage was English, which meant the predominant religion for his people would have been some sort of Protestantism, she seemed to switch gears. While Bette was growing up, Ida attended the Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church, just down the street from where she lived. She referred to it as Park Blvd Prez. 

At some point after Bette was married, or perhaps after her divorce from Walter, she stopped attending church—at least on a regular basis. This in no means mean she didn't believe in God. I have no way of knowing this, but she seemed to not be interested in formal religion any longer.

POLITICS:

Ida participated in the election process. She voted with regularity. For the most part, she was a registered Republican. However, in 1928, the year she was separated from Walter, she switched sides and voted for the Democratic party. It may not have had anything to do with their separation, since after this year she went back to being a Republican, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

The Republican running for president that year was Herbert Hoover. She may have simply had a deep aversion to him and his policy. If this is the case, she must have been angry when he became the 31st president to sit in the Oval Office.

An interesting note: the Oval Office was built in 1909, so it was still relatively new when Hoover sat in it.

Ba and Bette

AN AGING BA:

Ida became Ba (buh) once her eldest grandchild was born. He didn't call her grandma or granny. It was simply Ba. To all generations afterwards, Ba was her name. I didn't even know Ida was her name until I was an adult.

Ba was a petite lady. By the time I was about twelve or so, I towered over her. I don't know how tall she was, but I wouldn't be surprised if in her elder years she was perhaps just shy of five feet.

She may have been petite, but she had a mighty personality. Well into her nineties, she took daily walks and mowed her own lawn!

I knew Ba for 19 years and in those years of her life she was soft-spoken and spoke very little, and when she did speak her voice shook. I remember sitting in the living room at Jack and Bette's during the holidays, and when I looked at Ba, she was always smiling. When I walked over to her, her hand would shake as she raised it to meet mine. She always smiled at me. Vary rarely did she speak more than a few words. 

After Ba fell and broke her hip, it was time for her to move out of the home that she had known for over sixty years and into a nursing home. She first stayed in Pleasant Hill and then on Spring Road in Vallejo, so she could be close to where Jack and Bette lived at the time. It was not a pleasant place, but Bette visited her several times a week. 

Ba passed away on July 19th, 1985. Her age at the time of her death has been disputed.

She was cremated and the family held a lunch at the old Union Hotel in Benicia in her honor. She was very old and outlived all of her friends. 

A COMPLICATED BA:

Ba was a very proud woman and would repeat her accomplishments to anyone who would listen. However, she did not have much interest in anyone else's stories or accomplishments. 

She refused to call Bette's husband, Jack, by his true name. She used every other "J" male name when referring to him. (Didn't Endora do that to Darrin in Bewitched!?!)

She adored having the attention of men, especially if they complimented her.

She would tell everyone about her beautiful daughter, but when she was with her daughter, she would tell Bette she needed to lose weight and other condescending remarks.

I know that Ba and Bette had a "complicated" history. Bette and I spoke about this even in the last couple of years of her life. However, family has a way of getting under your skin, but you still love them anyway. When Bette was in the last hours of her life, she began to "see" two people. Jack, of course, was one of them, Ba was the other. She was upset that she couldn't hear what they were saying to her. I told her she would be able to hear them soon. No matter what, Ba was her mother and at the end she was there for her in Spirit.

FAMILY STORIES I HEARD OVER THE YEARS: 

I believe that family stories conveyed by way of an oral tradition are important. It keeps us interested in the stories of our ancestors. I listened to Jack and Bette's stories for five decades. I remember when my younger cousin came out to California as a teenager and she and I sat with Bette in our grandparents' living room as we poured through old photo albums. As we gazed at our family's pictorial  history, I began sharing the stories of Jack and Bette's life that I had heard for so many years. Since I was the oldest of this generation, I had heard their stories for the longest period of time. They were bound to stick to me so that I could share them.

That being said, oral tradition has its flaws. We remember what we were told with imperfect remembrance. I began writing these stories after Bette passed, so I cannot confirm them. But these are how I remember the stories about Ba to the best of my abilities.

* Great-grandmother Ba was a very different person than the stories I have heard of grandmother Ba. While my perception of Ba as a great-grandmother meant that she was reticent and observant, grandmother Ba was outwardly mobile and the queen of feisty. 

* One story my dad tells is that Ba would take her grandsons to the local market. While meandering through the aisles, she would call the two young boys to her. Of course, the two unsuspecting boys did as their grandmother told them. They corralled together around the fruit stand. Ba showed them the cherry tomatoes. My father had never seen a "baby" tomato in Virginia and they fascinated him. But before his fascination waned, Ba would insist that they hurry up and eat one while no one was looking.  

The way my dad tells the story is that he had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, they hadn't paid for those tomatoes. They weren't supposed to eat those tomatoes until they were paid and it bothered him. On the other hand, these were the most succulent tomatoes he'd every tried. They were delicious! As he put it, "Talk about a mixed bag."

Ba's house on Park Blvd.

* As previously mentioned, Grandmother Ba was feisty. Whether this story is true or one of legend, I am uncertain, but this is what I heard and the reader can decide for themselves. According to family lore, when she returned to California from visiting her family in Virginia, she apparently wouldn't disembark from the plane. The plane had been diverted to San Francisco instead of Oakland. While all the other passengers left the plane, presumably without any issues, Ba insisted that her ticket was to Oakland and she refused to leave until the "contract" on her ticket was met. According to the story, the pilot actually flew from The City across the bay to Oakland and delivered her to her to the correct destination. She had gumption all right.

* And speaking of gumption, after hopping on a bus, she would look for a conveniently located front seat. If one wasn't available, she would haul off and belt a younger passenger with her purse if they hadn't offered their seat to her. Amazingly, this little old lady, never got belted back. The person sitting in the seat would simply get up and offer their now former seat to them.

* While she was on the bus, she took daily trips to the bank. Every day, she asked the bank manager to show her "her" money. It didn't matter how often the bank manager tried to explain to her that it didn't really work that way. She wanted to see "her" money and that was that. Of course, he eventually gave in. Every day, he guided her to the vault where he showed her to "her" money. She always left satisfied that her money was safe.

* Bette told me that Ba hid at least some of her money in a mayonnaise jar in the refrigerator. No one would look in the mayonnaise jar for riches, so it seemed to me to be a pretty good place to hold it. I imagine she put them inside something to keep the bills protected before submerging it into the white goo.

Interestingly at one point, when she was hospitalized, my parents visited her. Ba only spoke one word, "refrigerator." Everything was refrigerator this and refrigerator that. I heard this story about thirty years too late. As soon as I heard it, I had the sneaking suspicion that she was trying to tell them about her money in the mayonnaise that was inside the refrigerator. I wonder if there is an old mayo jar sitting in a dumpster somewhere filled with money. 

* Along with the funny stories, I think it's important to mention the not so funny ones too. 

I have heard that Ba made racist remarks with some regularity. I never knew her in this way, but when she was younger, apparently she was quite vocal about her feelings. 

Of course, this saddens me beyond measure that anyone from my family could have these feelings, but I think I also understand where she was coming from. She was Portuguese-American. Her parents were from Portugal. They were foreigners. Ba grew up in a time when all outsiders were considered suspect. Foreign accents and foreign sounding names were not welcome. I have the sneaking suspicion that she must have had a few ethnocentric jabs thrown her way as she was growing up. Whether good or bad, if you hear something often enough, you begin to believe it. So, if my suspicions are correct and she was ostracized in some way in her youth, then perhaps this taunting made her feel uncomfortable in her own skin, which in turn could have lead any self-loathing she may have felt for herself outward and directed to others that were "different".

Racism is not about outer hatred. It's about inner hatred and how the people that are hated really reflect themselves. Adoph Hitler had a Jewish grandmother and look what happened. He hated that side of himself and reflected that hatred outward. While Ba didn't go to such extremes as what took place in Nazi Germany, her racist remarks must have been a reflection of how she felt about herself and it must have been challenging to have that feeling of hatred stirring around inside of her. 

Granted I don't have any proof regarding my thoughts on the matter. This is all speculation on my part, but my hypothesis does fit what was happening in the country at the time. More to the point, it doesn't make her racial comments right. However, I choose to feel compassion for her inner pain and I choose to learn from her mistake. Hopefully, we can all learn from this tragic way of thinking and love our neighbors no matter what the color of their skin or religious background might be.

FAMILY LEGENDS:

* When I was fifteen, I visited Ba in the convalescent home where she lived the last few years of her life. Every time I had visited her she hadn't been able to speak, but on this occasion she surprised me when she did. She reached out to hold my hand and said that she was worried about me.

"How come?" I asked.

"When are you going to get married?" She answered with a question.

"Well, I'd like to graduate from high school first," was my response.

When I told Bette this story, she told me that I had to understand that Ba was married for the first time at 13. I was horrified to learn this and for years, I thought it was true. 

However, once I began this research, I discovered that Ba's first marriage happened when she was 21. I suppose it's possible she may have been married an additional time when she was 13, but I find that unlikely since she still had her maiden name for the court trial which would happen later. Women didn't keep maiden names, nor did they usually go back to using their maiden names once they divorced in those days. Ba used the last name Gallagher, for 36 years after her divorce. This is simply how it was done. Unless the woman remarried, her husband's last name was hers to keep, even after divorce.

This is the problem with one person telling another person a story, by the time it goes from the first person and reaches the last person, the story morphs into something else. So, either Bette remembered it incorrectly, or I am remembering it incorrectly, or what's probably closer to the truth is that Ba wanted to sound younger than she actually was and so she told her daughter she was 13. We'll never know of course, but it would certainly fit her personality to do such a thing. 

* Another legend, that I already mentioned above, is that Ba only went to the third grade. Both her childhood records as well as the censuses taken when she was an adult claimed that she stayed in school through the 6th grade, not the third. 

SUPPOSITION:

* Ba apparently was proud of her accomplishments, but didn't want to hear about other people's accomplishments. This seems to stem from a deep sense of insecurity. Sure, she was a strong woman, that much is clear from her stories, but there must have been a hidden inner voice that she struggled with. 

* Additionally, she wouldn't allow her step-son, from Walter's first marriage, anywhere near her home or her daughter, due to apparent jealousy. It's sad to me that she would have been jealous of a little boy or her husband's former relationship with his mother, but it must be because she was seriously unsure of herself in the world.

* She also called her son-in-law every other name that began with a J other than his first name. That seems to be a sign of having controlling issues. She couldn't control her daughter's relationship, so this was her way to have some say in the matter.

* When the family was at her home in Oakland after the funeral, I stood on the front porch with my mother and a couple of other people. A man with a smile upon his face ambled over and introduced himself to us. The smiling man told us that owned a small grocery somewhere in the neighborhood and he said he new Ida well. He also claimed that he had records that disputed the age she told everyone she was. According to him, she was 100 years old. If that were the case, she would have been born in 1885. For years I believed this to be true, but now that I have done this research on her background, I do not believe that to be the case. I have childhood records that state she was born in 1887. So, unless her parents also lied about her age, I do not see how this could be true.  

THE MEANING OF HER NAMES:

Personal Names: 

Rosida ~ Portuguese for little rose

Ida ~ Industrious One

Ba ~ A family name meaning "Grandma"

Surname: Oliveira ~ A Portuguese surname meaning olive tree

Sources outside of records:

History of Centerville

History of Women Jurors

Kim filled me in on a great deal about information regarding Ba that was not in the records, including the information on Capwell's, Ba's sewing abilities, her relationship with her daughter and the Oliveira family, where she lived the last few years, information about her death, and so on. I often quoted her directly. I am in deep appreciation for the family oral history (or I should say "email" history) she shared with me so that I could share this information with all of us.