Idella Louise (Haugen) Preus (1884 - 1968)

Born 23 Dec 1884 in Decorah, Winneshiek, Iowa, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Jacob Aall Ottesen Preus — married 26 Nov 1908 in Decorah, Winneshiek, Iowa, United States

Died 15 Jan 1968 at age 83 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

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Biography

Idella was born in 1884. She is the daughter Klemet Haugen and Minnie Boyd^{[1] [2][3]} She married J.A.O. Preus.^[4] She passed away in 1968.^[5][6][7]

Minnesota Governor First Lady

Biography

Idella (Idelle) Louise Haugen was born in 1884 in Iowa to Klemmet J. Haugen, a Norwegian immigrant, and Minnie A. Boyd. She was educated at the Lutheran Ladies Seminary in Red Wing, Minnesota.

Idella met Jacob A.O. Preus in Decorah, Iowa, where he attended Luther College. The couple married in Decorah in 1908 and then moved to Ada, Minnesota, where Preus had a law practice. The Preuses had four sons: twins who died shortly after birth in 1910, Jacob II (b. 1920) and Robert (b. 1925). Both surviving boys became leading Lutheran pastors and scholars.

Jacob Preus was elected governor of Minnesota in 1920, the first election in which women could vote. In a June 1924 Women's Home Companion article Idella was quoted, "I've always believed women should have the vote but I never would have fought for it." Later in the article she mentioned, "I'm not a club woman. How could I be when I'm always with my husband?"

After his term in office Preus took a job in Chicago. The couple returned to Minneapolis after his retirement in 1958; he then served as chairman of the Lutheran Brotherhood, an insurance organization he had helped found in 1917. The Preuses enjoyed traveling, visiting Europe and making annual trips to Mexico. After Jacob's death in 1961 Idella returned to Chicago where she died in 1968. Both are buried in the Decorah Lutheran Cemetery.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ Birth: "Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XVC5-P6V : 1 April 2020), Klemmet J. Haugen in entry for Idella Louisa Haugen, 23 Dec 1884; citing Iowa, United States; county district courts, Iowa; FHL microfilm 1,026,656.
2. ↑ 1895: IA State Census: "Iowa State Census, 1895," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VTQ1-VD7 : 20 February 2021), Idella L Haugen in household of Klemet I Haugen, Winnesheik, Iowa, United States; citing p. 396, 1895, State Historical Society, Des Moines; FHL microfilm 1,022,196.
3. ↑ 1900 US Fed Census: "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9L1-YSN : accessed 22 March 2021), Idella Haugen in household of Klemmet D Haugen, Decorah Township (Excl. Decorah city, incl. Luther College) West Decorah town, Winneshiek, Iowa, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 128, sheet 5B, family 110, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,466.
4. ↑ Marriage: "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KCWZ-DB7 : 25 September 2017), Klemmet Haugen in entry for Jacob Aal Otteson Preus and Idella Louise Haugen, 26 Nov 1908, Winneshiek, Iowa, United States; citing reference 41, county courthouses, Iowa; FHL microfilm 1,026,663.
5. ↑ Death: searched FamilySearch.org but did not find a death record.[[Jares-3|Phillip Jares
6. ↑ US GBHN Obituaries: "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q57W-7Y64 : 29 July 2020), Mrs Idella L Preus, 1968.
7. ↑ Find-a-Grave: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVLF-68QK : 13 September 2020), Idella Louise Haugen Preus, ; Burial, Decorah, Winneshiek, Iowa, United States of America, Lutheran Cemetery; citing record ID 100899905, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
8. ↑ Minnesota Governor First Lady: https://mnhs.gitlab.io/archive/governors-of-minnesota-collections/collections.mnhs.org/governors/10004491.html