I have written about Nellie in my other genealogy blog https://www.sutherland-swla.com . Her father, Isaac Sutherland, was one of the younger sons in a large Midwestern family. The Sutherlands had followed the frontier in the years after the Louisiana Purchase. They drove oxen from New York state to Indiana, then on to Illinois, and finally Iowa. Nellie’s grandfather, also named Isaac Sutherland (1802-1877), had been widowed in Indiana. He married another widow with children of her own. The combined family contained eight children. They had six more sons, the 2nd youngest was named after his father.

Isaac Sutherland (1846-1874) purchased (or homesteaded) land in Guthrie, Iowa. The 1870 census includes 23 year old Isaac, his wife Anna, and 5 month old Nellie. Four years later, he had returned home to his parent’s farm in Bureau County, Illinois. He was dying.

There are strong hints that Isaac was dying of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis was the plague of the 19th century. It killed one out of seven people in the United States. Entire industries catered to TB patients. There was no cure but large sanatoriums housed the dying. Some western cities became meccas for tuberculosis victims such as Colorado Springs and Santa Fe .

Isaac’s will largely addresses provisions for his two children, Nellie and Robert (b. 1873). His step-brother, Robert Keerns, was executor of the estate.  The will is transcribed here.  There is no mention of Anna, his wife. She may have died before 1874 or abandoned her sick husband. I think it more likely that she preceded him in death. There is no record of Anna Sutherland after 1870.

Robert lived with his grandmother, Margaret McKegg Keerns Sutherland (1805-1892). He appears in the 1880 census in the home of his uncle, Charles Wesley Sutherland (1849-1892). Robert died when he was 7 years old.

Where was Nellie? She is not listed as living with any of her Sutherland or Keerns family. Then I found this entry in the 1885 Colorado State Census.

Facts for Nellie Sutherland living in the Newitt boarding house in El Paso County, Colorado in 1885:

Age: 15
State of Birth: Iowa
Father’s State of Birth: Illinois
Mother’s State of Birth: Pennsylvania
Relationship (to Daniels Newitt): Adopted daughter

All of the facts for Nellie Sutherland match Isaac’s daughter. How did she end up in a boarding house in Colorado Springs? I think that the key item in the census record is that she is listed as an “adopted daughter”.

Daniel Nevitt and Mary Rebecca Thompson Nevitt lived in Milo, IL (Bureau County) prior to 1880. This is same community in which Nellie’s grandparents lived. Mary Thompson had an older sister, Sarah Anne Thompson, who was same age as Anna Sutherland (Nellie’s mother). Sarah Anne does not appear with the rest of the Thompson family in the 1870 Illinois census. This is strong indication that she was married (possibly listed as Anna Sutherland in 1870 Iowa census?)

It is understandable that Anna’s family would have taken in her orphaned daughter. Particularly, Anna’s closest sister. In earlier posts, I suggested that the Nellie was sent to Colorado Springs in an effort to prolong her life. This may have been the motivation for the Nevitt family to move to the high mountain air or perhaps Colorado provided opportunities that did not exist in Illinois. Robert Keerns may have helped with the move – he owned property in Colorado. In 1899, Robert Keerns died in Colorado Springs. His body was transported back to Adel, Iowa for burial.

Questions still remain about Nellie after 1885. Did she survive to adulthood? Unfortunately, the 1890 U.S. census was destroyed in a fire in 1921. Information about Nellie Sutherland (as well as millions of other Americans) was lost in the blaze.

I will update this blog as additional info is uncovered. There are still many records in courthouses, church basements, and family Bibles that have not been digitized. Answers about Nellie Sutherland may be found some day.