Helen ("Hydie") Frances Armstrong and Her Family

So far, I have introduced two children of Baker White Armstrong, Sr., who left his home in Salem, Virginia, for Texas: those children are Mary Ophelia Nugent Armstrong (named after her mother) and Baker White Armstrong, Jr..  Of the four children of Baker White Armstrong, Sr., and Mary Ophelia Nugent Armstrong, only one had offspring: my husband's grandmother, Katharine Nugent Armstrong. I will introduce this grandmother in the next post. This entry is dedicated to the third child of Baker and Mary: Helen Frances Armstrong, also known as "Hydie."

The family left hundreds of letters, and of those I have read, I have learned that Hydie was epileptic. The family evidently spent a lot of time, effort, and money seeking a cure, or at least comfort, for their daughter. At times Hydie had a personal teacher and a personal nurse, for family letters mention these people. Other letters describe a household filled with sadness during one of Hydie's episodes or sudden onset of illness. As I go through the letters, I will discover more about Hydie and will include some of that information on this blog. Another thing I do know is that Hydie loved creating geometric ink drawings and that she collected postcards. She left behind boxes and boxes of these collected postcards.

The second photo is of Mary Ophelia Nugent Armstrong and her daughter Helen ("Hydie"). The writing on the back of the photograph (dated Oct. 1909) suggests the family sadness over Hydie's health: "Sorry Mother is not more of a comfort to her. She looks neither comfortable nor happy." Click on the photos for larger images.

The next photograph is of Mary Ophelia Nugent Armstrong and her three daughters. The mother is at the far left; next to her is Katharine (my husband's grandmother), Mary ("Mimi"), and Helen ("Hydie").

The photo below is of all the Armstrong children. Although there is no date on the photo, I estimate that it was taken around 1910 or 1911. From left to right: Katharine  ("Tash") Nugent Armstrong, Baker White Armstrong, Jr. (the baby), Helen ("Hydie") Frances Armstrong, and Mary ("Mimi") Ophelia Nugent Armstrong (Jr). The photograph was likely taken at the family home in Houston, Texas.

I'll end this post with another photograph of Helen and with her obituary. She was the first of the Armstrong children to die.; she was sixty-three years old at her passing.

Helen Frances Armstrong: October 2, 1898 to February 15, 1962