To view this or another nurse profile at any time, click the “WWI Profile” link beside the nurse’s name on Fort Caswell WWI Nurses, which is also accessible by the blue button on the top right of the webpage.
Source: findagrave
Ida Estelle Trollinger
Durham, NC (registered in Baltimore)
Army Nurse Corps
Served:
March 23, 1918 – January 29, 1919
Fort Caswell, US Army Post Hospital:
March 23, 1918 – January 29, 1919
Ida Estelle Trollinger was born and raised in Caswell County, NC, which is north of Burlington near the Virginia border. There is a family tree in FamilySearch.
In 1900, there were eight children, all living, ranging from infant to 14. Ida was 8 years old. Her father was a farmer.
In 1910, three more children had been born, two passed away: Sadie Gertrude, age 2; and Laura Myrtle, age 19 . Her mother would have one more in 1911, for a total of twelve, ten living. Ida was 17 years old. One of her older sisters, Ann Elizabeth, was a teacher at a public school.
From 1915-1917, Ida was listed in the Durham City Directories as a nurse at Watts Hospital. Stories about her graduation were found in newspapers from Durham and Raleigh ( News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), 20 May 1917, p. 6.)
Source: “Nine Nurses to Graduate.” Durham Morning Herald (Durham, NC), 17 May 1917, p. 7.
Of the nine nurses who will graduate tomorrow, five have indicated their intention of entering the service of the American Red Cross and will contribute their quota to the efforts of the United States to successfully prosecute plans for termination of the world war and the bringing about of a permanent peace.
Nurse Trollinger did join the effort. She entered the Army Nurse Corps from Maryland. Despite spending her entire life in North Carolina, she has been recorded as a Maryland nurse. Her WWI service consisted of the post hospital at Fort Caswell until her honorable discharge on January 23, 1919 .
WWI Service Card from MD
Name: Ida E Trollinger
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 25
Birth Date: 30 Oct 1892
Birth Place: Leasburg, N.C.
Residence Place: 1413 Park Ave., Baltimore
Military Year: 1917-1919
Military Place: Maryland, USA
Comments: ANC 3/23/18 nurse, Post Hosp Ft Caswell N.C., Hon disch 1/23/19
Maryland in the World War 1917-1919; Military and Naval Service Records, Volumes I & II
Ida’s brother, Cpl Thomas Trollinger, enlisted in 1914 and served in WWI. After the war, he moved to CA, living in San Diego in 1920. He worked in the oil industry, married Clara Alice MacRae, had two daughters, Norma and Lillian, and passed away in 1938 in Los Angeles.
Nurse Trollinger was listed in the Fayetteville City Directory of 1919 as a nurse at Highsmith Hospital.
In 1920, Ida was back with her family, who now lived in Alamance County. Her parents were still living; five children lived at home. Ida was employed as a nurse in a hospital. Her father’s employment is illegible.
Her name appears in numerous Raleigh City Directories, beginning in 1926. In 1931 she was listed as a Wake County City Nurse, living in downtown Raleigh.
From 1934-1960, until age 68, she is listed as a nurse or superintendent at the infirmary for NC State College, living close to or on campus. The 1938 NC State Yearbook lists her on the faculty page.
In 1940, RN Ida Trollinger lived at 922 Johnson St, Raleigh. She had a roommate, an elementary school teacher, Ethyl D. Burks.
Ida Estelle Trollinger passed away in Rex Hospital, Raleigh, on September 11, 1975, at age 82. The cause of death was acute septicemia with complication from pulmonary embolism and GI bleeding.
She was laid to rest in Raleigh, with a military flat marker, shown at top.
If you would like to help us honor Ida Estelle Trollinger or another Brunswick County WWI veteran, please use the following links:
Click here for the announcement: Announcement: Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran
Click here for directions to donate and honor a veteran: How to Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran
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