Ada May Whittington was the daughter of Thomas Whittington and Mobelia Bryant. She was born on December 27, 1881, in Bayou Chicot, Louisiana. She married John Rudolph Koll on April 4, 1908 when she was 26 years old. She died on May 25, 1963, in Jennings, Louisiana, at the age of 81, shortly after their 55th wedding anniversary.
John Rudolph Koll was born on January 31, 1884, in Kiron, Iowa to Henry Frederick Koll and Anna Fredericka Wulf. After leaving Iowa, the Koll family spent four years in Arkansas before moving to Jennings, Louisiana in 1900 when he was 16. His father helped him and four of his brothers buy their own land. A 1957 newspaper article says John operated a 620 acre farm, with 172 acres in rice and the rest in pasture for 250 head of cattle. He served on the parish school board for 36 years and held the position of president. He gave a silver dollar to every Hathaway High School graduate while he served on the school board. He died on February 17, 1965, in Jennings, Louisiana, at the age of 81. Both he and Ada are buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Jennings.
Mom says when he was at a grandkid’s birthday party, he would count the birthday candles in German. He said he didn’t remember much German. He was young when his grandparents died so I wonder if he just never had much exposure to the language.
In his later years, he would drive his tractor to his nearby children’s houses when he wanted to visit.
John and Ada had four daughters:
1. Bertha Mobelia Koll, born March 19, 1909 in Elton, LA
2. Dora Anna Koll, born October 14, 1911 in Elton, LA
3. Marie Gertrude Koll, born December 11, 1912 in Elton, LA
4. Esther Maria Koll, born April 27, 1920 in Elton, LA
I didn’t do as heavy research on these Kolls because I know many of you actually knew them and can probably tell me more than I could find online or in old newspaper articles.
On our recent trip to the farm, I was able to scan some old photo albums thanks to Ada and Effie Whittington. This was an interesting photo found in Effie’s collection. My Great Grandmother Ada May Whittington Koll seems younger than most photos I remember seeing her in. Based on the age of the baby, I guess the photo was taken around 1930. That makes Ada about 50 here. I know I have seen a few younger photos, but there certainly are more of her in her later years so that is how I think of her.
