Frances O'Donnell, Montgomery County

A letter from Frances reached the Juvenile Asylum in 1892, when she was eighteen years old. She had come to Illinois in 1883, when she was about nine years old. When she was seven she was confronted with the sad truth that her parents could not afford to give her a home in New York City.

One family's record seems to indicate that Frances married August Doiss, a Montgomery County farmer, some time between 1910 and 1920 in Montgomery County. Prior to marrying Frances, August was married to Rosa Tully, the daughter of Owen and Margaret, and sister of John Tully, a fact that points to Frances and August being in the same social circles. No death date is available for Rosa Tully or marriage record for Frances, but Rosa was twenty years older than Frances, so the children born to August and his wife in 1915 and 1916 are more likely the children of Frances O'Donnell.

Although Frances obviously lived in the Nokomis area for decades, she is only found in the census after her marriage.

August Doiss died in 1935, leaving his entire estate to his wife and making her executrix (rather than a male professional). They had two sons, John and Frank Doiss, who both lived in Nokomis. Frances died in 1949, in Nokomis. She and her her husband are buried in the Calvary Cemetery in Nokomis.