ABSTRACT
The depression of 1857 was a significant factor in the life of Ida Minerva Tarbell. Born in Erie County, Pennsylvania on November 5, 1857, her formative years might have been spent in Iowa rather than the oil fields of northwestern Pennsylvania under different circumstances. Ida’s father, Franklin Tarbell, and her mother, Esther McCullogh, had planned on a farm life in Iowa. Childhood days in Rouseville, and later in Titusville, generally seem to have been pleasant ones for Ida after she became accustomed to the change from her grandparents’ home. Ida’s first awareness of death came with news of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. One of the last major events associated with Ida’s life in Rouse ville was her introduction to the Methodist Church. After completing high school, Ida maintained her Methodist connections by enrolling in Allegheny College.
