Verdi Altrude Grace

Born on February 29 1904 to Catherine Lou Sumner Grace and Frank Grace. Sister of Pauline Sumner Grace, Frances Maxine Grace, and Bernard Leroy Grace.

m William Warren Ferguson

m Ernest Nelson

children Frank John Nelson and Harry Ernest Nelson

Born in Sanborn, O'Brien Cty, Iowa. After graduating from high school, Verdi taught school in 1922-23 at Fort Lookout, 25 miles north of Oacoma SD, near the Lower Brule Reservation. Her first marriage to William Ferguson, a baker and the son of a Methodist minister, ended in divorce after his infidelity. After her marriage to Ernest Nelson, they adopted two boys from the same family in 1936 and 1938. Ernest was an electrician in the Twin Cities and founded the Lake Johanna Volunteer Fire Department, serving as its chief for a number of years.