What We Know About Our Ida's

[Research Journal #3, Entry #3]]
It's important in genealogy to assess what you have. So, here's a run down on the two Ida's.

Ida #1 aka Ida Cosmer Drew
What we know is that Ida was the daughter of Manoel Jacinto da Camara and Minnie Pavon (aka Manoel and Mary Cosmer). She was born in 1907 in California. She married someone with the last name of Drew.

Ida #2 aka Ida Camara Pacheco
What we know is that Ida was the wife of Jose A. Pacheco, the son of Francisco Pacheco and Alexandria de Caires. Ida and Jose lived on Highland Ave, between 1920-1950. She had, at least, two children: Dorothy and Thelma. At some point, they moved to Lakeport, CA.

This wasn't much to go on. Both Ida's could still be the same person married twice from the information given above. The Ida's would have to be researched individually to prove who was who.

A Little Help from a Relative

Entry #2: A Little Help From A Relative

One of the best ways to learn about your family is to talk to people who are the farthest removed from your line. The more distant the cousin, the more likely they will tell you the juicy tidbits you want to know. The more closely related they are, the less likely they will be to give you more than names!

I learned alot from my distant cousin, Elsie. Elsie and I are related many times over through various marriages. Because she lived in the same neighborhood as my Pacheco's when she was a child, and moved back there after marriage, she knew the Pacheco clan pretty well. Many of them were daily visitors to her house. Her children went to the same schools as theirs. They went to the same church and participated in many of the same neighborhood events.

Elsie was friends with Ida, wife of Jose A. Pacheco. The Cosma's were Elsie's cousins. In her opinion, Ida was a Cosma, but she had no idea who she belonged to.

Without my asking, Elsie tracked down one of Ida and Jose's daughters. She and this daughter knew each other from way back. According to the daughter, Ida was a Camara, but NOT a Cosma. Say what???? How could that be possible? If true, this meant that Ida Drew and Jose's wife were two different people. It also meant there were more than one Camara family (aka Jacinto da Camara and Cosma's)

The Problem with Ida

Research Journal #3, Entry #1

As I followed the Pacheco research trail, I learned that the surnames Jacinto, Jacinto da Camara, Jacintho, Camara, Cambra, and Camera all referred to one family! (Read Journal #2 for their story) It was difficult sorting out those families. Things really got muddled when I found out about Ida, wife of Jose A. Pacheco.

Ida was said to be "Ida Cosma". She married Jose A. Pacheco, son of Francisco Pacheco and Alexandria de Caires. If this was true, then she was the daughter of Manoel Jacinto da Camara and Minnie Pavon (aka Manuel & Minnie Cosmer). But, this didn't make sense. Everyone referred to their daughter as "Ida Cosmer Drew". These two individuals appeared to be one and the same and two different people all at the same time!

A couple of questions had to be answered to solve this mystery:

1. Were their two Ida's or one?
2. If there was one, why didn't anyone refer to Ida Cosmer Drew's two marriages?
3. If there was two Ida's, who did Jose A. Pacheco's wife belong to?

The Case of the Two Ida's

In the last research journal, we learned how confusing the Camara and Cosma families had become. This month we follow the same family but a different problem. Along the research trail, I kept hearing about "Ida Camara". The problem was how many Ida Camara's were there? If there was only one, she certainly accomplished alot in her life! The details of "Ida Camara's" life were so jumbled that there was no telling how many Ida's there were. This journal explores the case of the two Ida's.

A Note about my absence

I apologize for not blogging this past week. My dog was diagnosed with a soft tissue tumor three weeks ago. We saw a specialist who laid out the treatment plans. The options were so extreme! Choice one was surgery to remove the tumor, skin graphs, and then radiation treatment. Choice two was to amputate her leg.

They lead us to believe we had several weeks to decide on how to handle the situation. However, within the short two week period she went from happy go lucky to losing blood. She was bleeding through bandages twice a day by last Monday. It was horrible to see her suffer.

On Tuesday 2/28, we arranged to go to our regular veterinarian to see if there was any hope. We had talked to several people including another vet about amputation. After talking to our vet, we decided this was her only chance. She would not survive another month bleeding the way she was.

To make a long story short, Sierra went into surgery that day and is now a week into recovery. It takes all of my time as she needs round the clock care. She can walk already (in fact, she walked 7 hours after the surgery) but must be watched so she doesn't hurt herself.

The vet bills are mounting up. If anyone would like to make a donation, we would appreciate in very much. I've set up a page for donation and also updates on her recovery.Here's the link: http://www.islandroutes.com/donation.shtml

She is doing amazingly well. She is such a great dog with an incredible spirit.

I hope to be back blogging next week.

Thanks for your support and patience!