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     Romola Jean Reese was born on 8 October 1905 in Toledo, Cumberland Co., Illinois.^4,5 She married Lawrence Joseph Bowditch, son of Frederick Darlington Bowditch and Helen Louise Tryon, on 21 June 1930 at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Urbana, Champaign Co., Illinois.^1,6 She died on 13 February 1998 in Wadsworth, Medina Co., Ohio, at age 92.⁴ She was buried in Port Washington, Nassau Co., New York.⁷
     She graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Champaign Co., Illinois, in 1927 with a bachelor's degree in English, then with a master's the following year, and taught English at the university for two years before her marriage.⁸
     After their marriage she and her husband Lawrence lived in New York City, possibly in the borough of Queens on Long Island where their children were born.⁶ Her husband's mother Helen lived with them there for about a year, in 1935-36.⁹ They moved to Charleston, Kanawha Co., West Virginia, about 1938 or 1939, and were listed there on 8 April in the 1940 census.¹⁰ They were enumerated a second time in 1940, on 28 May in Neptune Beach, Duval Co., Florida.¹¹ They returned to New York in August 1940, possibly to Queens where their daughter Adrienne was born in 1941, or to Manhasset in neighboring Nassau Co., Long Island, where they were living by 1946.¹²
     They also had a summer home in Vineyard Haven, Dukes Co., Massachusetts, on Martha's Vineyard. The house formerly belonged to Capt. Gilbert Smith, and was built in the 1700s. They spent about 30 years working on its restoration, and it is now part of the West Tisbury Historic District.^13,7
     In Manhasset she was one of the founders of the local public library in 1946, and served as president of the Plandome Women's Club.⁷
     She and Lawrence both enjoyed collecting antiques, saltwater fishing, and traveling.⁷ On a charter fishing trip while vacationing in Key West, Florida, in 1949, they caught three sailfish, seven dolphins, two bonita, two mackerel, and a barracuda. The two largest sailfish, caught by Romola, were over seven feet long, and weighed 52 and 49 pounds. Lawrence's sailfish was about five feet long.¹⁴
     In 1987, seven years after her husband's death, she moved to Ohio where her daughter Adrienne and her family were then living.⁷

     Bess Laing was born on 29 August 1915 in McAlpin, Raleigh Co., West Virginia.⁴ She married Robert Preston Bowditch, son of Frederick Darlington Bowditch and Helen Louise Tryon, on 5 October 1940 at the First Presbyterian Church in Charleston, Kanawha Co., West Virginia. All three of Robert's brothers were ushers.^5,1 She died on 7 December 2010 at The Forest at Duke retirement center in Durham, Durham Co., North Carolina, at age 95.³ She was buried at Westminster Presbyterian Church Memorial Garden in Durham, Durham Co., North Carolina.⁶
     Her birth record lists her given name as Bessie Louise, but all other records list her as simply Bess.⁴ She moved to Charleston, Kanawha Co., West Virginia, as a child.³
     She attended Duke University in Durham, Durham Co., North Carolina, where she served as president of her class her last two years and graduated in 1937 with a B.A. degree.¹
     After their marriage she and her husband Robert lived for a time in an apartment in the South Hills neighborhood of Charleston⁷, but by 1944 had moved into a house on Brooks St.⁸ In 1957, when Robert's job was transferred to New York City, they moved to nearby Summit, Union Co., New Jersey.⁹ They moved to The Forest at Duke in 1992, a continuing care retirement center in Durham, Durham Co., North Carolina, where they were among the first residents.³
     While living in New Jersey she was an active volunteer with the Junior League and the YWCA, and in Durham she served as chairperson of the Rose Garden Committee and the Book Club.³