Ella or Auntie El as her nieces and nephews called her, was the 7th child of 10 born to William and Ellen Flannery Arnold. She was born on the 630 acre Arnold Ranch, 7 miles NW of Bozeman, MT in 1881. She was an accomplished and self taught seamstress. She enrolled in the Home Ec Dept at Montana Agricultural College in Bozeman, MT. Unfortunately she apparently knew more than the instructor about sewing, and ended up becoming the unpaid teacher in the class. She decided very quickly that she had enough knowledge to make it on her own, and so left school after a short time.
In 1904 she was chosen to represent the Gallatin Co as princess at the Lewis and Clark World's Fair in St Louis.
In 1910 she married Cary Ward (CW to his friends) Parsons who was a real estate and insurance broker. They moved and settled in CA in the towns of Hollywood, Los Angeles and Bevery Hills. Ella worked her entire life as a seamstress and her last business was a dressmaking and alteration shop in Beverly Hills. Two of her regular clients were prominent actresses of their time Betty Gable and Myrna Loy. Both very successful and well known film actresses of the 1930s and 40s.
Ella also shared her talent with her family and her neice, Roberta Anderson remembers fondly many outfits for the special occasions that were made by Auntie El. Ella also made wedding dresses for her grandnieces Mary Jeanne Harper Allen and Charlene Harper Fuller in the early 1950s.
CW and Ella had no children of their own and often "adopted" the younger generations into their home. Niece Roberta Anderson stayed with them awhile during college and so did grandniece Catherine Roche Grant, along with her brother Theodore Roche. Ella was an excellent cook and one of her specialties was vegetable soup and rhubarb chiffon pie.
One of Auntie El's favorite pastime was baseball. In later years as her health declined, and she was confined to a wheelchair, every visitor was regaled with the latest baseball sports story of the week. She also was always on the lookout for stamps for her great great niece Christine who was a stamp collector. Christine still has envelopes with Auntie El's handwriting address to her in her stamp collection.
After her husband died, Ella moved to Santa Monica to a nursing home and died in Oct of 1971.
Compiled from the Arnold Family History by Roberta Anderson, her niece, in 1982 and personal family history of Chris Allen Forest, her great great niece.
In 1904 she was chosen to represent the Gallatin Co as princess at the Lewis and Clark World's Fair in St Louis.
In 1910 she married Cary Ward (CW to his friends) Parsons who was a real estate and insurance broker. They moved and settled in CA in the towns of Hollywood, Los Angeles and Bevery Hills. Ella worked her entire life as a seamstress and her last business was a dressmaking and alteration shop in Beverly Hills. Two of her regular clients were prominent actresses of their time Betty Gable and Myrna Loy. Both very successful and well known film actresses of the 1930s and 40s.
Ella also shared her talent with her family and her neice, Roberta Anderson remembers fondly many outfits for the special occasions that were made by Auntie El. Ella also made wedding dresses for her grandnieces Mary Jeanne Harper Allen and Charlene Harper Fuller in the early 1950s.
CW and Ella had no children of their own and often "adopted" the younger generations into their home. Niece Roberta Anderson stayed with them awhile during college and so did grandniece Catherine Roche Grant, along with her brother Theodore Roche. Ella was an excellent cook and one of her specialties was vegetable soup and rhubarb chiffon pie.
One of Auntie El's favorite pastime was baseball. In later years as her health declined, and she was confined to a wheelchair, every visitor was regaled with the latest baseball sports story of the week. She also was always on the lookout for stamps for her great great niece Christine who was a stamp collector. Christine still has envelopes with Auntie El's handwriting address to her in her stamp collection.
After her husband died, Ella moved to Santa Monica to a nursing home and died in Oct of 1971.
Compiled from the Arnold Family History by Roberta Anderson, her niece, in 1982 and personal family history of Chris Allen Forest, her great great niece.
Ella or Auntie El as her nieces and nephews called her, was the 7th child of 10 born to William and Ellen Flannery Arnold. She was born on the 630 acre Arnold Ranch, 7 miles NW of Bozeman, MT in 1881. She was an accomplished and self taught seamstress. She enrolled in the Home Ec Dept at Montana Agricultural College in Bozeman, MT. Unfortunately she apparently knew more than the instructor about sewing, and ended up becoming the unpaid teacher in the class. She decided very quickly that she had enough knowledge to make it on her own, and so left school after a short time.
In 1904 she was chosen to represent the Gallatin Co as princess at the Lewis and Clark World's Fair in St Louis.
In 1910 she married Cary Ward (CW to his friends) Parsons who was a real estate and insurance broker. They moved and settled in CA in the towns of Hollywood, Los Angeles and Bevery Hills. Ella worked her entire life as a seamstress and her last business was a dressmaking and alteration shop in Beverly Hills. Two of her regular clients were prominent actresses of their time Betty Gable and Myrna Loy. Both very successful and well known film actresses of the 1930s and 40s.
Ella also shared her talent with her family and her neice, Roberta Anderson remembers fondly many outfits for the special occasions that were made by Auntie El. Ella also made wedding dresses for her grandnieces Mary Jeanne Harper Allen and Charlene Harper Fuller in the early 1950s.
CW and Ella had no children of their own and often "adopted" the younger generations into their home. Niece Roberta Anderson stayed with them awhile during college and so did grandniece Catherine Roche Grant, along with her brother Theodore Roche. Ella was an excellent cook and one of her specialties was vegetable soup and rhubarb chiffon pie.
One of Auntie El's favorite pastime was baseball. In later years as her health declined, and she was confined to a wheelchair, every visitor was regaled with the latest baseball sports story of the week. She also was always on the lookout for stamps for her great great niece Christine who was a stamp collector. Christine still has envelopes with Auntie El's handwriting address to her in her stamp collection.
After her husband died, Ella moved to Santa Monica to a nursing home and died in Oct of 1971.
Compiled from the Arnold Family History by Roberta Anderson, her niece, in 1982 and personal family history of Chris Allen Forest, her great great niece.
In 1904 she was chosen to represent the Gallatin Co as princess at the Lewis and Clark World's Fair in St Louis.
In 1910 she married Cary Ward (CW to his friends) Parsons who was a real estate and insurance broker. They moved and settled in CA in the towns of Hollywood, Los Angeles and Bevery Hills. Ella worked her entire life as a seamstress and her last business was a dressmaking and alteration shop in Beverly Hills. Two of her regular clients were prominent actresses of their time Betty Gable and Myrna Loy. Both very successful and well known film actresses of the 1930s and 40s.
Ella also shared her talent with her family and her neice, Roberta Anderson remembers fondly many outfits for the special occasions that were made by Auntie El. Ella also made wedding dresses for her grandnieces Mary Jeanne Harper Allen and Charlene Harper Fuller in the early 1950s.
CW and Ella had no children of their own and often "adopted" the younger generations into their home. Niece Roberta Anderson stayed with them awhile during college and so did grandniece Catherine Roche Grant, along with her brother Theodore Roche. Ella was an excellent cook and one of her specialties was vegetable soup and rhubarb chiffon pie.
One of Auntie El's favorite pastime was baseball. In later years as her health declined, and she was confined to a wheelchair, every visitor was regaled with the latest baseball sports story of the week. She also was always on the lookout for stamps for her great great niece Christine who was a stamp collector. Christine still has envelopes with Auntie El's handwriting address to her in her stamp collection.
After her husband died, Ella moved to Santa Monica to a nursing home and died in Oct of 1971.
Compiled from the Arnold Family History by Roberta Anderson, her niece, in 1982 and personal family history of Chris Allen Forest, her great great niece.
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