People
Photos
Purpose
Advertisement
Advertisement
  2. People
  3. Surname Directory
  4. S
  5. Statswell - Steinnety
  6. Steenlage - Steeveel
  7. Steeples
  8. Hellen Isabell "Nellie" (Steeples) Kroetch Abbott
A photo of Hellen Isabell "Nellie" (Steeples) Kroetch Abbott

Hellen Isabell "Nellie" (Steeples) Kroetch Abbott 1879 - 1968

Hellen Isabell (Steeples) Kroetch Abbott of Renton, King County, Washington United States was born on September 27, 1879 in Zurich, KS to Mary Ann (Morrison) Steeples and Francis Oliphant Steeples. She had a brother David James "DJ" Steeples. She married John Baptiste Henry Kroetch on January 2, 1901 in Plainville, Rooks County, KS and they later divorced in 1904. She had children Juanita Josephine (Kroetch) Maxwell and Hollis Joseph Kroetch. Hellen Kroetch Abbott died at age 89 years old on September 27, 1968 at Home - Renton in Seattle, King County, WA, and was buried on September 27, 1968 at Pleasantview Cemetery in Palco, Rooks County, KS.

Hellen Isabell (Steeples) Kroetch Abbott
Nellie Abbott, Nellie, Nell Campbell, Nellie
Name
Update name details
Renton, King County, Washington United States
Last residence
Update residence details
September 27, 1879
Zurich, Kansas, United States
Birth
Update birth details
September 27, 1968
Home - Renton in Seattle, King County, Washington, United States
Death
Update death details
Updated: November 6, 2023
Biography ID: 499650 What's this
Hellen Isabell "Nellie" (Steeples) Kroetch Abbott Hellen Kroetch Abbott (1879 - 1968)
ADVERTISEMENT BY ANCESTRY.COM
This page exists for YOU
and everyone who remembers Hellen.
Share what you know,
even ask what you wish you knew.
Invite others to do the same,
but don't worry if you can't...
Someone, somewhere will find this page,
and we'll notify you when they do.

Hellen Isabell (Steeples) Kroetch Abbott's History: 1879 - 1968

Uncover new discoveries and connections today by sharing about people & moments from yesterday.
- Discover how AncientFaces works.

  • Introduction

    Nellie was my great-grandmother and she was a spitfire! A strong woman who made her way in the world working as a seamstress (on the Barbary Coast in San Francisco - sewing for the prostitutes and pimps!), a maid, a hotel manager, and finally the owner of a hotel in Seattle Washington. Her first marriage was to my great-grandfather, JB Kroetch. Rumor has it that she had a couple of other husbands (I know of a man whose surname was "McKenzie”) and then finally, the only great-grandfather I knew - David Shirley Abbott (who went by Shirley). They were married until she died. His profession was gambling - and he was very good at it. He did work in the Merchant Marines for several years but he said (and I believe him!) that was just so that he could win the wages of the other men on the trip home. He and Grandma Nell were a pair - she didn't allow drinking or smoking in her house and he adored her. She always wore dresses (usually satin, with several petticoats), even at home, and a fur (mink) coat when she went out. She made good bread but boy, could she over-cook a roast! Since she grew up on a farm in Kansas, she followed the customs she knew - dinner was at noon, the main meal of the day, and supper (in the evening) was a light meal. She sewed clothes for my sister and me until she died and made "smoking jackets" for her grandsons. (Following the Victorian fashion, she made them multi-colored and of silk - a patchwork construction. My Dad - her grandson - said wearing it outside when we lived on Bird Ave in San Jose CA, traffic would stop!) She also crocheted/tatted - she made a tablecloth for both of her grandsons and their wives. I still have both of them. She loved arts and crafts. Remember "Popsicle" lamps? She made those - and she used "paint by numbers" kits to make art for the walls. (This was in the 60s - Grandpa Shirley also brought home velvet paintings when he went on trips in the Merchants.) And she made leather purses for my sister and me - still have my purse too. You should have seen their house! It was very large for the time and it was filled with her finished projects and his memorabilia from his travels. Also, they kept a lot of cash (from his gambling - although he had stocks too) in the house, hidden in various places. So when they bought a car - always a Lincoln - the salesman would deliver the car to their house and they would give him cash for the full price. What a treat to have both of them as great-grandparents and how blessed were we to know them all of the time we were growing up.

  • 09/27
    1879

    Birthday

    September 27, 1879
    Birthdate
    Zurich, Kansas United States
    Birthplace
    ADVERTISEMENT BY

  • Ethnicity & Family History

    Both of Grandma's parents were born in Scotland and emigrated to the U.S. But anyone with Scottish roots - no matter how deep they run - knows that there is probably some Norse or French in there, at least. AND, in doing our genealogy, we found out (horror of horrors to anyone who is Scottish and/or Welsh) that there was an English soldier in there - one who was stationed in Scotland and stayed to marry a Scottish lass.

  • Nationality & Locations

    She was born in Kansas and later in life lived in San Francisco, Aberdeen Washington, and Seattle Washington (where she died).

  • Early Life & Education

    I know that Grandma Nell went to grade school but since it was common when she was young to only go through 8th grade, I don't believe she had any higher education. BUT she was smart as a whip. I asked her about her school - all that I remember is that it was a one-room schoolhouse, that she rode her horse to school, and that each child had to take a lump of coal for the schoolhouse stove. That's how they stayed warm!

  • Religious Beliefs

    Hmmm . . . good question. I never knew Grandma to go to church. Her first husband, JB Kroetch, my great-grandfather, was Catholic, and Nellie had to convert in order to marry in the Catholic Church, which they did-St. Joseph’s in Plainville, KS. Nellie’s children were also baptized in the Catholic Church. Being from Scotland, Nellie’s family were members of the Church of Scotland.

  • Military Service

    Grandma Nell wasn't in the military. Her son and both grandsons were in the Navy - WW1 and WW2.

  • Professional Career

    Although she had two children (a boy and a girl), Grandma Nell and "old man Kroetch" (that's what she called him!) were divorced after only a few years of marriage. This was somewhere around 1907 or so, so divorce was fairly rare. She took her daughter with her (Juanita was the eldest) and left her son (my grandfather) with his paternal grandmother, Angeline Kroetch. He sometimes also stayed with his maternal grandmother, who lived nearby in Kansas. The family story is that she could pass off her daughter as her sister but my grandfather, being around 9 or so, would have been seen as her son. Grandma then worked as a seamstress, maid, and hotel manager at various times in various locales. She also owned a millinery shop in Portland, OR for a year or so. Since she was a "liberated" woman, her Kansas family - her brother and his children - viewed her as wild, giving rise to some scandalous stories in their family. She encouraged these stories and even made them more expansive. She LOVED poking at people's perceptions. When she visited the Kansas family, she would outrage them by going in to a bar/tavern, alone. You know, women weren't allowed in such places! She didn't care. By the time I was born, Grandma Nell was co-owner of the Blackstone Hotel but didn't work.

  • Personal Life & Family

    Nellie and her husband owned a 1/2 interest in a hotel in downtown Seattle, but was also a professional seamstress, artist, did leather tooling, and crafts. She was married to John Baptist Henry Kroetch and David Shirley Abbott.
  • 09/27
    1968

    Death

    September 27, 1968
    Death date
    Sepsis X 1 week, secondary to breast cancer x 11 years
    Cause of death
    Home - Renton in Seattle, King County, Washington United States
    Death location
    ADVERTISEMENT BY
  • 09/27
    1968

    Gravesite & Burial

    September 27, 1968
    Funeral date
    Pleasantview Cemetery in Palco, Rooks County, Kansas United States
    Burial location
  • share
    Memories
    below
Advertisement
Advertisement

12 Memories, Stories & Photos about Hellen

Nell Steeples and Olive Burns
Photo of Pam Marks Pam Marks
2.54k+ favorites
01/01/2001
Nell Steeples and Olive Burns
A photo of half-sisters, Hellen 'Nellie' Steeples Kroetsch (left) and Olive Burns..daughters of MaryAnn Morison Steeples Burns. Nellie was born Sept. 1879 in Zurich, Kansas; sister Olive was born in March, 1889. Both lived in Plainville, Kansas.
People in photo include: Olive Burns
Date & Place: in Plainville, Kansas USA
Comments
Leave a comment
The simple act of leaving a comment shows you care.
Cancel Share
Mother & Children
Photo of Pam Marks Pam Marks
2.54k+ favorites
06/04/2006
Mother & Children
Photo of Mary Ann Morison Steeples with her children, David James Steeples and Hellen Isabell "Nellie" Steeples. The children's father, Francis Oliphant Steeples died of pneumonia in 1881. The next year, Mary Ann married George Samuel Burns and had 3 more children: George Henry, Ethel Mary and Olive May Burns.
Date & Place: in Plainville, Rooks Co., Kansas USA
Comments
Leave a comment
The simple act of leaving a comment shows you care.
Cancel Share
Heather Lurvey
5 favorites
06/05/2006
Hello sorry to bother you but i couldn't help but see the beautiful picture of someone whom i might be related to. My name is Heather Lurvey. I am the daughter of Keith Lurvey and Christine Uber. Could you shed some light on my dark search for my family's past?
Reply
Fred Kroetch & Nell Abbott
Photo of Kristi Floyd Kristi Floyd
30 favorites
02/03/2003
Fred Kroetch & Nell Abbott
A photo of Hollis Fredrick "Fred" Kroetch (my father) with his Grandmother Helen Isabel (Steeples) Kroetch Abbott. Grandma Nell was born 9/27/1879 in Zurich, Kansas. She died 9/27/1968 in Seattle, Washington
Date & Place:
Comments
Leave a comment
The simple act of leaving a comment shows you care.
Cancel Share
3 Generations of Kroetch/Steeples
Photo of Pam Marks Pam Marks
2.54k+ favorites
09/26/2023
3 Generations of Kroetch/Steeples
3 generations, from left to right: Pat, Juanita, Gloria and father Jimmy Maxwell, Frank Kroetch with daughters Pam (in front) and Kathy (back)...back row are Jimmy and Frank's grandparents (the kids great-grandparents), Shirley Abbott and Hellen Isabell 'Nellie' Steeples Kroetch Abbott.
Date & Place: at Kroetch family home in Seattle, Washington USA
Comments
Leave a comment
The simple act of leaving a comment shows you care.
Cancel Share
Mother & Son
Photo of Pam Marks Pam Marks
2.54k+ favorites
09/15/2023
Mother & Son
Hellen Isabell 'Nellie" Steeples and son, Hollis Kroetch..via Nellie's 1st marriage to John Baptist Kroetch.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
Comments
Leave a comment
The simple act of leaving a comment shows you care.
Cancel Share
Nell Steeples & Peggie Kroetch
Photo of Kathy Pinna Kathy Pinna
2.74k+ favorites
01/01/2001
Nell Steeples & Peggie Kroetch
Helen Isabelle "Nellie" Steeples Abbott and daughter-in-law Ida Mae "Peggie" Ryno Kroetch with doberman friend.
Date & Place: in Seattle, Washington USA
Comments
Leave a comment
The simple act of leaving a comment shows you care.
Cancel Share
Photo of Kathy Pinna Kathy Pinna
2.74k+ favorites
05/26/2011
Grandma Nell was born and raised in Kansas but lived most of her adult life in both California and Washington State. She died in Seattle WA. Grandma Peg was born, raised, and lived in Washington State her entire life. (With time out for a couple of years in San Jose CA)
Reply
Loading...one moment please loading spinner
See more memories
- See how biographies work.
Be the 1st to share and we'll let you know when others do the same.
ADVERTISEMENT BY ANCESTRY.COM
Advertisement

Hellen Steeples' Family Tree & Friends

Advertisement
Advertisement
Friendships

Hellen's Friends

Friends of Hellen Friends can be as close as family. Add Hellen's family friends, and her friends from childhood through adulthood.
Advertisement
Advertisement
9 Followers & Sources
ADVERTISEMENT BY ANCESTRY.COM
Advertisement
Other Biographies

Other Steeples Family Biographies

Steeples, David (Jan 27, 1873 - Apr 1953) Whisman, Edith (Aug 23, 1900 - circa Nov 17, 1993) Steeples, Nellie (Born Sep 1879) Steeples, George (Jun 6, 1884 - Aug 1962) Steeples, Madelon (Dec 15, 1910 - Feb 10, 2002) Steeples, Dolores (Jul 5, 1937 - Jan 15, 2008) Steeples, Margaret (Oct 17, 1888 - Nov 1973) Steeples, Jack (Aug 25, 1932 - Sep 16, 1995) Steeples, Gordon (Aug 25, 1916 - Jan 1979) Steeples, Clamenza (Jul 4, 1951 - Jul 1979)
Steeples, Wilbert (Jun 16, 1950 - Apr 1992) Steeples, Maria (Aug 4, 1953 - Jan 2, 2011) Steeples, Bobby (Nov 30, 1946 - Jul 1977) Steeples, William (Sep 2, 1921 - Nov 1973) Steeples, Audrey (Sep 30, 1925 - Sep 5, 1998) Steeples, Stephon (Sep 12, 1963 - Aug 1986) Steeples, Junne (Jun 20, 1921 - Nov 17, 2001) Steeples, Rachel (Aug 24, 1898 - May 1987) Steeples, Jewell (Dec 17, 1929 - Oct 29, 2001) Steeples, Earl (Jul 7, 1897 - Mar 1968)
Advertisement
Advertisement
Show more
  2. People
  3. Surname Directory
  4. S
  5. Statswell - Steinnety
  6. Steenlage - Steeveel
  7. Steeples
  8. Hellen Isabell "Nellie" (Steeples) Kroetch Abbott
Back to Top
Advertisement
Advertisement