Ada May Rasmussen Nash Cook

I have several pictures of Ada Rasmussen but I couldn't find her on any of my family group sheets.  I vaguely remember hearing mention of Aunt Ada but that was when I was younger and didn't care much about my ancestors.  So last night when I came upon this picture I wanted to know how Ada May fit in with the Richard George Harrison family.

Back- Almira, Arthur, & Richard George Harrison, Ada May Rasmussen, Mary, Garth & Inez Rasmussen Front-Heber, Hannah, & Marie Harrison circa 1921

My first thought was that Ada married one of Mads Peter Rasmussen's children but she didn't show up anywhere as a spouse to the Rasmussen children.  I did some searching online and found out her parents were Mads Peter Rasmussen and Mary Peterson (or Ahlgreen).  If that was the case why didn't she show up on that family group sheet I copied from Mary Collett?  She should be on there as Willard's sister and Inez's  sister-in-law.

To support the idea that she was Willard's sister I found this picture in the lot Brent Collett sent.  Here's Ada  with at least 4  of Mads Peter Rasmussen's children.  If she is Mads' daughter why isn't she on the family group sheet?

Emily R. Collett, Ada R. Cook, Willard Rasmussen, Alice R. Bascom, X, Mary Rasmussen in front.  Picture was taken before 1941 when Mary died.

I also have a picture I received from Brent Collett showing Ada Rasmussen and Mark Cook.  As I looked at that picture I recalled my mother telling me about my father's aunt who married a  Nash boy and then married a Cook boy.  I couldn't understand why she wasn't on the family group sheet. 

Using this picture for a springboard I tried a search for Ada Cook with Mark Nuttall Cook as her husband.  I found a death certificate verifying Mark as her husband but her parents were listed as Carl Helstren and Mary Allgreen.

I went back to the family group sheet where I discovered that Anna Marie Peterson (Willard's mother) went by Mary and was raised by a step-father with the last name Ahlgren (or Allgreen).  Also, after Mads Peter died in 1886 (3 years before Ada's birth) Mary married Carl Fredrick Hellstrom on Sep 1, 1888.  They later divorced.  When I read that, I again remembered something I'd heard years ago - The Hellstom guy didn't stay around so Ada went by the same name as her step-siblings: Rasmussen.  If I only had a brain!  That's one reason I'm writing this down so I don't have to go through this identical search in a few years.

One mystery cleared up, I next hoped to discover the truth about Ada's marriage to Edwin Junius Nash and Mark Nuttall Cook.  According to my remembrance of the story my mother told me - Ada was engaged to Edwin Nash but he died in an accident before they were married.  So a friend of both Ada and Edwin stood in as proxy for Edwin who was sealed to Ada in the SLC temple.  That friend, Mark Cook, was then married in a civil ceremony within the temple, on the same day, to Ada.  Astonishing!  And mind-boggling!

My searching didn't reveal as much as I'd hoped.  I did find evidence of Ada being married to both men but the date of her marriage to Nash varied from 1909 to 1919 on family search.com.  There is evidence that they were sealed in the SLC temple on 2 Oct 1919, which is the same day that Ada received her endowments.   And that is the same day she was married to Mark Cook.  But there are so many variations in dates and info that I don't know if we will ever know the truth.  Suffice it to say Ada is sealed to both Edwin Nash and Mark Cook.  Have any of you heard this story before?  

Willard & Inez were married in 1918, one year before Ada married her two husbands.  Inez and Ada were only 4 1/2 months difference in age and were school buddies long before Inez married into the Rasmussen family.  Ada was probably over to Inez's house many times while they were growing up, thus the tie in I was looking for at the beginning of this post to the Richard George Harrison family.

***Added note - Last night when I was searching Ada Rasmussen Cook, Myke asked if she was Morris Cook's mother.  In an all-knowing voice I said no.  But earlier today I found a 1930 census that listed Mark and Ada Cook as the husband and wife with Morris and Lea (I believe) as children in the home.  After writing the post earlier today I decided to find out if Ada was Morris' mother.  I found a record showing Morris' father as Mark Nuttall Cook and his mother as Amy Amanda Remington.  Amy died in 1918, the same year as Ada's fiance, Edwin Nash.  That somewhat explains why Mark Cook was willing to stand in proxy for Nash to be sealed to Ada, because Mark was already sealed to Amy Amanda.  This way Ada had a husband, someone to take care of her, and Mark had a mother for his children.  Very pragmatic people.