My great-grandmother Grace Elizabeth Hess was born 29 Feb 1880 in Syracuse, Indiana to Mary Mellinger and Henry Hess. Being a leap year baby or "leapling", she was one of a very small percentage of people in the world who could call that day their birthday. The chances of being born on the 29th day of February are just 1 in 1,461 (less than 0.07%) instead of 1 in 365 for the rest of us with a common birthday.
Mary Elizabeth Mellinger (1861-1882) and Henry Balser Hess (1857-1930) were married on 16 Sep 1877 in Kosciusko County, Indiana. In September of 1878 their first child Jacob was born but he died after just sixteen days. Grace Elizabeth was born sixteen months later in February of 1880. Mary and Henry must have been so happy to have a healthy baby girl join the family. The happiness lasted a little over two years until Mary passed away on 7 Sep 1882, leaving behind her husband and 2-year old Grace. I've never found a cause of death for Mary but given the timing of a little over two years since Grace's birth, my suspicion is that Mary and a third child may have both died during a difficult birth.
Where did Grace live in the first years after her mother died? Did she live with her father or did she live with relatives? I've never found evidence to say. What I do know is that on 1 Jan 1888 Henry married Sarah Ann Rensberger (1861-1921). Several years ago I found a picture of the three children that Henry and Sarah had together. Grace wasn't included in that family portrait. When I posed a question about why that was to the Bird Family page on Facebook, Grace's granddaughter Kenlyn replied that when Sarah married Henry she made it clear that she wouldn't raise a child who wasn't her own so Grace had to live elsewhere. Kenlyn remembered that Grace was raised by an aunt, but didn't know who the aunt was. That made we wonder if Grace had already been living with the aunt since her mother Mary died. Even though she was rejected by her step-mother, Grace must have spent time with her three step-siblings. As adults, she kept in regular contact with and spoke fondly of Frank (b. 1889), Charles (b.1891), and Addie (b. 1893).
On 13 Nov 1898 when she was 18 years old Grace married Charles Orastus Bird (1874-1954) in Milford, Indiana. Nine months later, my grandma Eva Mae Bird was born. She was followed by Ethel Elluria (b. 1901), Thelma Alvertia (b. 1903), Buenola Bernice (b. 1906), Dorothy Lucille "Babe" (b. 1908). After a gap of six years, Grace had her first son, Errie Franklin. Errie lived from 1 Mar to 3 Mar 1914 and died of "congenital debility". In 1916 Grace gave birth for the last time when Albert Henry "Hank" was born.
Grace and Charles's children
I'm not sure about the other four daughters, but my grandma Eva (seated by Hank) gave birth to her four sons in her mother's house. I can remember swinging on a swing that hung on the porch of that same house at a family gathering. I know that Great-Grandma Bird loved to grow African violets and that starts from some of those plants live on with her grandchildren. She was known for her Sugar Cream Pie and her unique method of making it. According to the Bird Family Cookbook, Great-Grandma would put sugar, a little flour, a pinch of salt, and ½ tsp. of nutmeg into a pie crust and stir them together with two fingers before adding milk, half-and-half, vanilla, and a chunk of butter, again mixing with just two fingers before baking. Great-Grandma always told her daughters and granddaughters that the pie wouldn't turn out right unless it was carefully stirred in this way.
Sugar Cream Pie is the official Indiana state pie.
Great-Grandma Bird is buried next to Great-Grandpa Bird in the Milford Cemetery in Milford, Indiana, where she lived for 67 years. She is remembered for her kindness, her sweet disposition, and her love for her family.
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