Ida Madison

BIOGRAPHY

Madison was born in Berlin Township, Steele County, Minnesota, USA, on 27 March 1882, to parents Christian “Chris” Anderson (1840–1918) and Lovisa Segerborg (1859–1940). Her father was born in Denmark, and mother in Helsingborg, Sweden. She had seven siblings: Nettie Louise Nelson (1880–1974), Arthur Edward Anderson (1884–1967), Oscar Nels Anderson (1886–1985), Nina Elvira Magnuson (1888–1976), Clarence Lawrence Anderson (1890–1961), Lillian Violett Jensen (1895–1994), and Agnes B. Anderson (1897–1982). Her brother Oscar died at 99, and her sister Lillian at 98. In 1887, the family moved to a farm about two and a half miles south of Alden. They had no choice, as the Anderson homestead where she was born was taken over by an Irish family, who allegedly discovered that her father didn’t have a deed for the property. After the move, she and her siblings attended a nearby one-room schoolhouse.

Her work ethic began early. At age 10, she began babysitting a young child, and by 14 or 15, she went to Albert Lea to work for a local family. At 17, she became a housekeeper, cook, and full-time nanny for another family with four daughters, as their mother was ill and in the hospital. She continued in this role until she married. Even though she had to leave school, but she began teaching herself. At 14, she used her savings to buy an organ and took three lessons to learn how to read music. Later in life, she replaced the organ with a piano.

In 1901, she went to St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, to work for a local family. During that time, through friends from Albert Lea who had moved there, she became acquainted with Marinus Madison (1876–1946), and they later became engaged. On 24 September 1902, at the age of 20, she married Marinus, and they made their home in Albert Lea. The couple had three children: Bonita Ione Madison (1903–1995), Kenneth Carlyle Madison (1905–1914), and Louise Ann Madison (1920–1993). As a married woman and housewife, she enjoyed canning food, sewing, embroidering, crocheting, tatting, wallpapering rooms, painting woodwork, and cooking. In 1918, she competed in the State Bread Baking Contest for schoolgirls at the Minnesota State Fair. The family moved frequently around Albert Lea—”just about every six months,” as she recalled. Tragically, their son Kenneth died in March 1914 from spinal meningitis. In 1917, after the start of World War I, she became active in the Red Cross, often working late into the night. In 1928, the family moved to a 17-and-a-half-acre farm west of Albert Lea. She admitted that she was initially afraid of cows but eventually learned how to milk them. By 1942, after 14 years on the farm, they returned to town, where she spent the rest of her life.

In March 1946, her husband passed away from cancer after being cared for over many months. Now widowed, she taught herself how to manage banking, oversee her property, and take up babysitting.

After retiring at 80 from the housekeeping, she felt the need to stay active and pursue something new. In 1964, at the age of 82, she began her art career (oil paintings), taking her first lessons from Lloyd Herfindahl. In 1981, at 99, she held her first solo exhibition—a “one-woman art show”—at the Albert Lea Art Center. At 100, she was working on a new artwork.

After turning 100, she remarked that she didn’t feel any different than she ever had. She said she always minded her own business and planned to keep doing so. By “business,” she meant she was still able to shovel snow in the winter, rake leaves in the fall, play the piano, bake, do her own shopping, and more. She celebrated her 100th birthday at Calvary Baptist Church, where over 200 people attended her open house.