myth #4

I haven't done this for a while, so here goes:

You might see it all over the internet that Lydia Louisa Ingalls (Charles Ingalls' sister, so Laura Ingalls Wilder's aunt) was married twice, first to Isaiah Clough and then to Joseph Stouff. This is INCORRECT. Lydia's first husband was named Robert Fulton Clough.

From individual handwritten marriage records, Courthouse, Watertown (Jefferson County) Wisconsin, Book E, page 91 -- "Lydia L. Ingalls married 15 Jan 1856 in Concord to Robert Cluff." There are two other records of this marriage in the courthouse in the indexes to marriages, both with variations in spelling of the Clough and Ingalls names, two pages apart, but same marriage date, same location. One has Robert F. Claff marrying Lyda L. Ingath. The other has Robert F. Cluff marrying Lydia C. Engalls. The indexes were usually compiled later from the individual sheets, so it's not unusual for spellings to be incorrect. And they were not written by the bride or groom, but were usually reported by the person who married the couple, be it minister or judge or justice. Please note that there's not an Isaiah or even an Isaac (that's another one you often see) in sight.

Ask people where they got the information that Lydia married Isaiah Clough and see if they cite a primary source. I found these at the courthouse where the marriage was recorded, in the original records.

Furthermore, the scan above supports that Lydia and Robert Clough were husband and wife. It was taken from the marriage record (Jefferson County, Wisconsin) of Lydia and Robert's son Isaac Lafayette Clough in 1876. The marriage records at that time included the names of the parents of both bride and groom. And if you didn't realize that Isaac Lafayette was the name of Lydia's first child, it's also recorded as that (by her) when she applied for a widow's pension after Joseph Stouff died.

There's still lots of research to be done on Robert Clough. because it looks like this same Robert Clough was married twice after he married Lydia.... and to the same woman both times!
- posted by pioneergirl at 1:59 AM