Lillian Nichols, 1902 - late 1950's

Lillian Nichols, the mother of Charles Albert Galford, was a unique individual, especially for the times she lived in. She was born November 15, 1902, Lillian Nicholas, to Albert Nicholas, during his first marriage. Lillian's mother's name and circumstances are lost to history. It is believed she may have died giving birth to Lillian. Where Lillian was born is also not known. While she spent much of her childhood in and around Wellston, Ohio,it is known that Albert, her father had moved there at some point, having lost his employment in the mining industry.

Albert Nicholas did remarry after the death of his first wife. His second wife had a daughter, Flora, who was 13 years older than Lillian. Flora was a paraplegic and spent her entire life in a wheelchair. Given the places the Nicholas' choose to live, this must have been a very difficult existence for Flora. Lillian seemed to have treated her step-sister well and took good care of her in the years they were together.

Lillian was not a well-educated woman, even by the standards of the early 1900's. Before the age of 14, she had stopped attending school entirely. Albert and his second wife had a child, Clifford, when Lillian was 11. All evidence points to her providing most of the care for her brother throughout his upbringing. By the time Lillian was 15, she was working full-time either in local offices or as a dress-maker/seamstress. though lacking in formal education, Lillian, from an early age, showed a willingness to work and a strong sense of accounting and an ability in the dress business.

When she was 14, Lillian began to visit the vaudeville shows that came around. Wellston was located near Toledo and northeast of Columbus. Traveling shows passed through regularly and locals could travel to nearby Toledo to see performances easily. During one of the on-going tours, she met a worker of one of the shows, a set-up man named Charles Clarence Galford, 30 years old. They began seeing each other and the relationship became serious.

On March 14, 1917, at the age of 15, Lillian Nichols gave birth to her son, Charles Albert Galford. He would be known as Al from that point on. Charles Clarence, the father would be gone. Al was later told he died about two years after his birth of the flu, one of the epidemics that sweep the nation around the war years. From the time of his birth on, he lived with his grandfather, Albert.

There is evidence that Lillian was briefly married to Charles at the time of the birth of her son. She would have been 15 years old, though she did doctor legal documents to indicate she was 19, and Charles Clarence was 31 years old. The marriage lasted less than 2 years. She later told her son that Charles died during a flue epidemic. There is no evidence of this actually occurring.

Lillian stayed with her family, raising her son. Al was, always was, the focus of her life. His birth certificate was altered to indicate that Lillian was 19, not 15, and she used her altered last name, Nichols, not Nicholas. She never bothered to change the errors again.

From 1917 on, Lillian was the mother for both Al and Clifford. She worked full-time while they lived in Wellston and then cared for the two small children, who were only four years apart, when she returned home each day. When the family moved to Kentucky in 1920, she became the complete parent to both, as she no longer had employment outside the home.

When her father was murdered in 1926, her family dispersed; her step-mother and step-sister moved to Colorado. Lillian, now nearly 24, was an independent adult. She took Cliff and Al and headed to Ashland, to establish herself. She knew she had the ability to run a dress shop. Cliff, now 13, could help out after school. soon she was set-up and earning her way.

When she met and fell in love with Ransom Abbott, she still kept her focus where it always had been, directly on her son. She enjoyed her life with Ransom, she liked traveling, but nothing would interfere with her goal of seeing her son educated and raised into adulthood. Ransom did not get in the way. He understood the relationship and cared enough about both to assist. They were married in Ashland or at least she assumed his name at that time.

When they left Ashland, Cliff stayed. They moved first to Topeka, then to Oakland. With the Depression setting in, they left Oakland and headed back east to Kentucky. From there they tried Saginaw, arriving in Michigan in 1931 with nothing. A distant cousin assisted them back on their feet and they stayed there until 1940.

In 1940, having fallen in love, Al secretly was married. Lillian was outraged at her son and cut off communication with him for two weeks after the wedding. This was her son, who she had groomed and raised. She could not deal with anyone else having him, let alone someone making decisions involving him that she was not a part of. Ransom knew better then to become apart of this quarrel, but he also was aware that she loved her son too much for this to continue or to end their relationship.

After two weeks, Ransom convinced her that she could not cut her son off. She agreed and called him, offering to have the new couple over for dinner and conversation. The evening commenced, the meal went well, the conversation was pleasant. Later in the evening, Ransom excused himself briefly, left the room, and as he walked down the hall, collapsed, dying of a massive heart-attack.

Whether the events, the death, or what, within a few weeks, Lillian left Saginaw, moving to Detroit. Eventually she would meet another man, Frank Baldour, who she would spend the next 15 or so years with, until her death. She was only in her early forties at the time. Again, while no documentation exists of a marriage, she either married Frank or assumed his name. Each week, Al, the dutiful son, would make the drive from Saginaw to Detroit to visit, always respectful of her, as she was of him.

However, after Ransom, Lillian never again went back into business. She never attempted to try her skills. Though when she left Saginaw, she was only in her forties, the loss took something from her. Outwardly, she was a happy person, but she now was content to be a homebody. The inner-drive was gone. Later, when the leukemia came on, even that faded away. Yet her son remained, as she always wanted it to be.

In 1958, Lillian succumbed to the leukemia and passed. Al brought her back to Saginaw to be buried, to be near him.