Pictured are a teacher, third from the left in the back row, and her 12 students. (Note the two pairs of sisters in the front row – twins?) The teacher’s name is Ina, and she’s writing to her grandmother, Mrs. H. P. Benson, in Marysville, Kansas. Ina writes on this postcard postmarked in November of 1911:
“Dear Grandma, This is my ‘flock’ and I. And they are all here. Twelve you see. I look like a cranky old school marm, but I haven’t felt at all cranky, since school started. I hope you are all well, I am just fine. Lovingly, Ina”
I believe Ina is Ina M. Barbour, third oldest child of Addison Reed and Ella Allie May (Benson) Barbour of Marysville, Kansas. Ina is writing to her maternal grandmother, Maria (Travelute) Benson. Her maternal grandfather is Henry P. “Hiram” Benson.
Ina was born in Illinois on April 21, 1891, but grew up on the family farm outside of Marysville. When her mother died in 1901, the family moved to Wheatridge, Colorado, where her father continued to pursue farming. We know from the postcard that in 1911 she was teaching. In June of 1915 she married Ralph D. Mulhollen, a minister at the time, in Denver. They made their home in Pueblo, and in 1918 she gave birth to a son, Ralph Donald, who went by “Don.” The year 1940 found the Mulhollens living in Lake Worth, Florida, where Frank was in furniture sales. Ina did some teaching there. As reported in a 1941 newspaper article, she taught a vocational class in “store arithmetic.” In 1946, Ina and Frank divorced.
Ina and Frank’s son, Don, was an airborne radar officer during World War II. In January of 1945 he was reported as missing in action after being shot down over Verona, Italy, and in March of that year was identified as a prisoner of war in a prison camp in Germany, where he spent six and a half months. He wrote in a letter to his wife, Martha: “We have roll call at 6:30 a.m. and twice while we sleep. Our food is issued once a day, with the exception of soup at dinner. Normal issue is 1/6 loaf of bread, three medium sized potatoes, augmented by 1/2 block cheese about the same as American cheese every third day and once a week sausage. But our Red Cross packages make life liveable.” Don was discharged in 1947 with a Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart.
Upon the outbreak of the Korean War, Don applied for active duty and was sent to Korea as chief observer for a night fighter squadron. On May 26, 1951, with over 20 missions under his belt, he was piloting an F-82 Mustang on a night weather reconnaissance mission 20 miles north of the 38th parallel when contact with his plane was lost. He was reported as missing in action, and on January 31, 1954, was officially presumed dead. In addition to his wife, Martha, he left behind two children, Don 10, and Lynne, 7.
Ina died at age 95 in March of 1987, and her remains are interred at Lake Worth Memory Gardens in Florida.
REFERENCES:
- Colorado County Marriage Records and State Index, 1862 – 2006 (www.ancestry.com)
- Florida Divorce Index, 1927 – 2001 (www.ancestry.com)
- Korean War Project Remembrance (at https://www.koreanwar.org/html/21303/korean-war-project-colorado-ao1692664-capt-ralph-donald-mulhollen )
- The Marysville Advocate, dated December 16, 1971, at www.newspapers.com
- Moore and Proctor Family Tree (www.ancestry.com)
- Nashville Banner, dated February 4, 1954, at www.newspapers.com
- The Palm Beach Post, dated October 19, 1941; January 23, June 22, 1945; May 29, 1951; Feb 5, 1954 , at www.newspapers.com
- 1900, 1910, and 1940 Censuses (www.ancestry.com)
