| Life Story
|
Ella Finley worked as a weaver at TKWM from 1913 – 1922.
Mary “Ella” Loella Finley was born 7 Mar 1866 in Winona County, Minnesota, to Moses and Malvina Hall. By 1870, the family, including six children, lived on a farm in Homer, Minnesota. In 1880, when Mary was 14 years old, the family moved to Baker, Crawford County, Kansas.
On 24 May 1883, Ella married John R. Finley in the Baptist Church in Girard, Kansas. She was 17 years old; he was 27. By 1900, the couple had moved to Pittsburg, Kansas where John worked as a carpenter, and they had two children.
In 1904-05, they emigrated to Oregon, eventually settling in Salem by 1910, where Ella ran a dressmaking business. She later worked as a weaver at the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill. While at the mill, she was a part of a group of female employees that actively protested the state welfare commission’s efforts to reduce women’s working hours.
John Finley died on 13 May 1916 in Salem. By 1920, Ella, now a widow, worked as a weaver and lived with her son Delwin. She remarried, a retired farmer named Alexander Heisler on 30 August 1922, in the Methodist Parsonage in Salem, OR.
In 1940, Ella was 74 years old. She and husband Alex were retired and still lived on Myrtle Ave. In Salem. Alex Heisler died 11 November 1941, and by 1950, Ella lived with her son Delwin and his family. Ella died 18 August 1950 in Salem Hospital from an ear infection. She was buried in City View Cemetery with her first husband John Finley. |
| Salem City Directories |
1905 Finlay [Finley] Mrs Ella, 624 S 12th
1907 Finley Mrs Ella, dressmkr, 624 S 12th, res same
1910 Finley Mrs Ella, dressmkr, 624 S 12th, res same
1913 Finley Ella, weaver TKWM Co, res 1258 Leslie
1915 Finley Ella Mrs, weaver TKWM Co, res 1258 Leslie
1917 Finley Ella (wid John) res 2375 Myrtle av
1924 Heisler Alex (Ella) h 2340 Myrtle av
1926-27 Heisler Alex (Ella) h 2340 Myrtle av
1930 Heisler Alexander (Ella) h 2340 Myrtle av
1932 Heisler Alexander (Ella) h 2340 Myrtle av
1934 Heisler Alex (Ella) h 2340 Myrtle av
1936-37 Heisler Alexander (Ella) h 2340 Myrtle av
1938-39 Heisler Alex (Ella) h 2340 Myrtle av
1940-41 Heisler Alexander (Ella) h 2340 Myrtle av
1942 Heisler Ella Mrs, h 2340 Myrtle av
1945 Heisler Ella (wid Alex) laborer, h 2340 Myrtle av
1947 Heisler Ella (wid Alex) h 2340 Myrtle av
1949 Heisler Ella (wid Alex) h 2340 Myrtle av |
| Census Records |
1870 Mary L. Hall Age: 4. Birth Date: abt 1866 in Minnesota. Home in 1870: Homer, Winona, Minnesota. Single, daughter to HOH. Additional household members: Moses W. Hall, age 34 (father), Malvina Hall, age 25 (mother), Elisabeth J. Hall, age 10 (sister), Elvira A. Hall, age 2 (sister).
1880 Mary Hall Age: 14. Birth Date: abt 1866 in Minnesota. Home in 1880: Baker, Crawford, Kansas. Single, daughter to HOH. Occupation: Student. Additional household members: Moses Hall, age 44 (father), Elizabeth Hall, age 35 (mother), Elizabeth Bowen, age 18 (stepsister), Malvira Hall, age 12 (sister), Miles Hall, age 9 (brother).
1900 Mary L. Finley Age: 34. Birth Date: Mar 1866 in Minnesota. Home in 1900: 307 W. 6th St. Pittsburg Ward 3, Crawford, Kansas. Married, wife to HOH. Marriage Year: 1883. Years Married: 17. Mother of 2 children. Additional household members: John R. Finley, age 44 (husband), Frank Finley, age 13 (son), Marie E. Finley, age 5 (daughter).
1910 Mary L. Finley Age: 44. Birth Date: 1866 in Minnesota. Home in 1910: South 12th St. Salem Ward 4, Marion, OR. Married, wife to HOH. Occupation: Dressmaker. Additional household members: John R. Finley, age 54 (husband), Marie Finley, age 15 (daughter), John D. Finley, age 3 (son)
1920 Ella Findley [Finley] Age: 53. Birth Year: abt 1867 in Minnesota. Home in 1920: 2375 Myrtle Ave. Salem Ward 5, Marion, OR. Widowed, HOH. Occupation: Weaver in Woolen Mill. Additional household member: Delwin Findley [Finley], age 14 (son).
1930 Ella M. Heisler Age: 64. Birth Year: abt 1866 in Minnesota. Home in 1930: 2340 Myrtle Ave. Salem, Marion, OR. Married, wife to HOH. No occupation listed. Additional household member: Alex Heisler, age 72 (husband), John D. Finley, age 23 (son).
1940 Mary L. Heisler Age: 74. Birth Year: abt 1866 in Minnesota. Home in 1940: 2340 Myrtle Ave. Salem, Marion, OR. Married wife to HOH. No occupation listed. Additional household member: Alexander Heisler, age 82 (husband).
1950 Ella Heisler Age: 84. Birth Year: abt 1866 in Minnesota. Home in 1950: 2350 Myrtle Ave. Salem, Marion, OR. Widowed, HOH. Occupation: Keeping House. Additional household members: J. Delwin Finley, age 44 (son), Dakota M. Finley, age 40 (daughter-in-law), Ann L. Finley, age 10 (granddaughter), Jill C. Finley, age 4 (granddaughter). |
| Find-a-Grave |
Mary Loella “Ella” Hall Heisler Birth: 7 Mar 1866 Winona County, Minnesota. Death: 18 Aug 1950 (aged 84) Salem, Marion County, Oregon. Burial: City View Cemetery, Salem, Marion County, Oregon. Memorial ID: 34934830.
John Rankin Finley Birth: 19 Aug 1855 Walshville, Montgomery County, Illinois. Death: 13 May 1916 (aged 60) Salem, Marion County, Oregon. Burial: City View Cemetery, Salem, Marion County, Oregon. Plot: Section A. Memorial ID: 49902509.
Alexander Heisler Birth: 12 Dec 1857. Death: 11 Nov 1941 (aged 83). Burial: Lee Mission Cemetery, Salem, Mairon County, Oregon. Plot: D-19-02-04. Memorial ID: 27402474. |
| Digital Newspapers
|
Oregon Statesman 28 Oct 1915, p. 5 – Widows pension application filed in Circuit Court
Capital Journal 6 Mar 1916, p. 7 – Women at Woolen Mill Object to Efforts of Welfare Commission
Oregon Statesman 14 May 1916, p. 2 – Death Notice, John Finley
Capital Journal 13 Nov 1941, p. 9 – Obituary, Alex Heisler
Oregon Statesman 19 Aug 1950, p. 5 – Obituary, Mary Loelle Heisler |
