My paternal great-grandmother Martha Ellen Kelley was born in Henry County, Iowa, near Mt. Pleasant. She was the seventh of nine children to John W Kelley and Eliza Hurd.
John and Eliza moved from Champaign County, Ohio, to this area in 1856. John’s mother, Mary Hibbard Kelley Stewart, and Eliza’s father, William Hurd, and their families accompanied them. They can be found living near one another in the 1860 census. I visited the site of the Kelley farm in 2019.
These are the fields that the Kelleys, Stewarts, and Hurds worked. The houses on this street were built up against the hill. It was really peaceful there.
Sometime before 1880, her family moved across the state to Council Bluffs. Mattie married Noah James in Omaha, Nebraska on June 10, 1888.
Mattie and Noah’s marriage license
She and Noah had eight children from 1889 to 1908, including my grandfather. The Jameses lived in the same house at 2700 Second Avenue for at least 30 years. Martha is posed next to the porch of the house in almost every photo I have of her.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of paperwork documenting her life other than censuses, so I hope we can get a sense of her personality through her photos.
Martha was a Methodist. There is a family story that she was estranged from her mother at the time of her mother’s death in 1906 because she was raised Irish Catholic. I haven’t been able to corroborate this. The couple lost their eldest daughter Frances in 1913, the year Frances turned 20 years old.
This last photo and the mention of her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren in her obituary seem to point to a nurturing spirit.
She died on April 19, 1937 at the age of 68 from heart disease.
Martha’s obituary
*The bolded names in this article indicate my direct ancestors.
US Federal Censuses, 1860-1880, Henry County, Iowa; 1900-1930, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Accessed on Familysearch.org and Ancestry.com
Nebraska Marriage Records, 1855-1908, Douglas County 1887-1888, Noah James and Mattie Kelly. p 855/1000 in record. Accessed on Ancestry.com
Iowa Certificate of Vital Record, County of Pottawattamie, File 378-216. Personal records. Received from Iowa State Dept of Public Health, 11 Aug 2016.
US City Directories, Council Bluffs City Directory, 1918-1936
Photos sourced from family members. Video from my own files.
In celebration of 10 years of blogging, I’m reposting old entries. This is the second post to ever appear on this blog!
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Genealogists work in an economy of questions and answers. It seems like for every answer I find, 5 more questions pop up to take its place. The obituary of Mary Benn that I posted in my previous entry is a good example. Before I sit down to research, I try to focus on finding the answer to just one question I have about a family member or a document. This technique has worked well for me because I’m distractible. The question I was trying to answer when I found Mary’s tribute was, How did my relative, Eliza Kelley, meet and marry Hank Ruffe?
A little back history is required here, I think. According to census records taken in Council Bluffs, IA, our Miss Eliza lived in the same house with her parents until she was about 50. I lose her after the 1905 Iowa special census and pick her up again on her wedding day in Portland, Oregon, in 1912. For a while after I found it, I wasn’t sure their marriage record was the right Miss Eliza. I mean there she is taking care of her elderly parents and then suddenly she pops up as a wife in Oregon? It seemed unlikely. But, her brother’s obituary confirmed that she was indeed Mrs. Henry Ruffe of Oregon. Finding her brother’s obituary supplied an answer, but it also generated more questions for me. The following is what I call a list of rabbits:
1. Where was Eliza in the 1910 census? (US Censuses are taken every ten years starting consistently in 1790.)
2. Did she disappear from the census because she was traveling to Oregon?
3. What made 2 people well into their golden years (we’re talking 1912 remember) decide to retire their single lives?
4. How exactly does someone move from Iowa to Oregon in 1910?
5. How did she meet this man from Oregon after seemingly leading a sheltered life?
Let’s just chase #5 down the rabbit hole.
Obviously Mary Benn’s obituary alone doesn’t answer my question. It’s definitely interesting, though. She ran a cigar factory, she grew alfalfa, she hunted bears, she collected rocks for posterity. So, when the obituary mentions her father’s eccentricities, I had to look him up. How could Mary’s father possibly top his daughter’s ‘colorful’ life?
Turns out Mary Benn’s father founded Aberdeen, Washington. He sailed through the Panama Canal, and up to Olympia, WA. He then set off south, found a spot where 2 rivers meet, and decided it was going to be a town. And since Samuel Benn was a founding father, his life and family are very well documented.
Samuel Benn, builder of cities
I have never owned land or a house in my lifetime. The idea of traveling somewhere, sticking a flag in the ground, and declaring it to be Oregon’s next BIG THING is just amazing to me. If I were to go to some remote part of the country and declare it for myself, I would immediately be deemed as eccentric. Thankfully, when Mr. Benn was doing it, it was a highly respectable prospect.
This article mentions that Mary Benn’s mother was born and raised in Polk County, Iowa. That’s a couple counties over from where our Miss Eliza was raised. As Mary Benn’s right hand (so the obituary paints him), it would follow that Hank may have been introduced to Eliza as a freshly-arrived acquaintance of Mary Benn’s Iowan family. So, BAM! Question answered.
Well, a little bit. I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that I’m never going to be able to wrap up my family tree in a neat little package. It’s messy work that never ends; it’s a kid eternally stuck in the “Why” phase.
The death of a brother; a cigar rolling ranch hand; a Native American artifact collection; the father of Aberdeen, WA. Answers to the questions we ask our family trees can take us on a journey to unexpected places. I never know where I’m going to end up.
All of this is to say that the questions and the messiness are worth it for the journey. In fact, they’re probably more valuable than the hard copy of my family tree. To put it a different way: the paper work is the body, the journey is the soul.
It’s important to mention also that Mary’s obituary may have solved another mystery. Its explanation of Michigan lumbermen in Oregon might explain some relative’s migrations on my mom’s side of the family, but the details of that clue aren’t important here.
This story continues. I’m awaiting the arrival of Eliza Kelley Ruffe’s obituary from the University of Oregon library. We’ll see where that rabbit leads us together. I can’t wait!
The subject of this post is also related to the song “Come As You Are.” Google Aberdeen, Washington, and look around a little; you’ll see how pretty quickly.
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If you were to be the founder of a town, like Samuel Benn, where would it be in the world? Why there? How would you run it?
My 2nd great-grandfather through his daughter Jane.
George Leary was baptized April 14, 1837 in Welton, Lincolnshire, England. I couldn’t find a birthdate. He was the second son of William Leary and Rebecca Smith.
There are several Welton Towns in the UK, so I’d like to clarify that this is Welton-by-Lincoln in the north central part of the shire. One of the oldest buildings in town is the Welton & Dunholme Methodist church, which was likely where the Learys worshipped.
Welton & Dunholme Methodist church (credit: Budby on flickr.com)
George lived in Welton with his 6 siblings until some point between 1851 and 1861. I have not found an immigration record for him. It seems the rest of his family stayed in England.
Around April 1861, George is living in a house in Toronto Gore Township, Peel County, Canada, immediately west of Toronto. And that is where, seven months later, he weds Jane Crawford.
George Leary and Jane Crawford’s marriage record.
The marriage records states that they’re both living in Chinguacousy Township in Peel County, but I don’t see Jane in the census earlier that year. Since they are both Methodist, I assume they met in church or through church.
The Leary children: (l to r) William, Mary (standing), George Smith, John, Jane (standing), Elizabeth
George and Jane will go on to have six children. Most or all of them are born in Perth County, Ontario, where the family moves shortly after the wedding, likely to join Jane’s brother John who owned land there.
Throughout his life, George is listed as a farmer. The couple spend the rest of their days in Hibbert, Ontario. Most of their children stayed near them.
George dies suddenly of a brain aneurysm on May 27, 1899.
My records for George are mostly governmental. The service in which I received the newspaper articles has been taken down from the Perth County Genealogical Society website, a common thing that happened during the pandemic. I hope they can offer the service again soon.
Sources
UK Censuses (1841 – 1851) Welton-by-Lincoln, Lincolnshire, UK. Accessed on Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org.
Canada Censuses (1861 – 1901) Hensall Township, Perth County, Ontario, Canada. Accessed on Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org.
Exerpt from A Hibbert Review, County of Perth, 1953. Book by Isabelle Campbell. Printed by the Huron Expositor (Seaforth, Ontario). Reprinted in 1979. Concession XIII, Lot 13. Personal holdings.
Canada, City and Area Directories, 1819-1906. Hibbert, Perth County, Ontario. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
Obituary and Funeral Notices. Some sources and dates not given. Exeter Advocate (Exeter, Ontario); Huron & Middlesex Gazette. 1 Jun and 8 Jun 1899. Accessed from Perth County Genealogical Society on 6 June 2019.
Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938 George Leary. Perth County, Ontario. Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection MS935, Reel 93. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
In celebration of 10 years (!!!) of blogging, I’m reposting my very first entry on this site.
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Growing up, my Pop rarely told stories about his childhood, but when he did I was riveted. I think his stories caught my attention because his childhood was so different from mine. You see, he was taken from his parents and raised by various foster families. He and his siblings grew up in three separate houses around town.
I couldn’t conceive of a childhood like my Pop’s: without siblings and parents. I marvel at the strength and independence necessary for him to reach adulthood. Because of his childhood, he never knew the basic facts of his family most people take for granted: the names of his grandparents, where they came from, and what kind of people they were. About ten years ago, I started asking him about his tumultuous past. It wasn’t until his illness a while back (He’s fine.) that he told me the first clue I needed to find his relatives: his mother’s name.
So I set myself the task of finding out about her and her family. Suddenly, towns I’d never thought twice about before became important places: Council Bluffs, Iowa; Hensall, Ontario; Portsmouth, Ohio. These were the communities my family was a part of for generations. These towns were springboards for where my family is today.
“When a man’s stories are remembered, then he is immortal.” ~ Daniel Wallace, Big Fish
In my research, I’ve discovered mysterious and intriguing characters on both sides of my family. So, recently, I found myself telling a friend about a spinster great-grandaunt who left her small Iowa town in the 1910s to marry a cigar manufacturer in Oregon. A half hour later, my mouth was dry from talking and my friend was volunteering to help me research.
That made me think it was time to get these stories ‘on paper.’ This blog will be my funnel for the people I encounter in my research and a recommitment to my love of writing. Hopefully, this internet thing isn’t just a craze and my words will be available to future family members who share my curiosity. I will also include some of the history involved, as well. For instance, I found myself researching exactly what a 1910 cigar manufacturer did for a living. But, more on that later.
This is how I see this blog working:
Does anyone else think it’s weird that her ranch manager is mentioned more than her father, and her husband wasn’t mentioned at all?
Nothing will be posted about living relatives, except an occasional reference to my parents. Some of the posts will be my thoughts on actual documentation: census records, random certificates, photographs, and articles. Other posts will be fictional stories with names changed, if necessary. The stories will be edited for dramatic effect, but they will all fall somewhere on the ‘truthy-ness’ spectrum between the plain facts of a Civil War pension document and the outlandish tales of the book/movie Big Fish by Daniel Wallace. They will be cobbled together as my imagination interprets the information I have at the time. As I gather more information, the stories may change, but that’s the beauty of history.
My ancestors were mostly Midwestern farmers— not the most exciting bunch on paper, but their stories and relations often surprise me. If I find such interesting people in my humble family, I’m sure everyone else’s families are just as interesting. So I hope my stories and research will inspire others to look into their own pasts and share the stories they find.
Among other things, I’m working on telling what I know of the man who lost his government job because of Roosevelt’s New Deal and the significant ripple effects of that case of unemployment across my family tree. And the story of my sweet grandfather’s dahlias. And, of course, that great- grandaunt who found her cigar-smoking love, Hank Ruffe. The article at right is a hint at what’s to come. It is the obituary of Hank’s employer and sister-in-law, who seems to merit her own post based on her big-game hunting skills alone.
Albert Clayton, whose name was written down most often as A.C., Romine was born on August 15, 1898, in the tiny town of Frisco, Stoddard County, Missouri. His father Edward Romine was a farmer, his mother Fanny Grace’s family farmed just down the street, as did his grandfather Samuel Romine.
Fanny likely died when AC was 3 years old. His father married Louella Cunningham Rayborn in 1902. In future records, she is listed as his mother. However, on his application for Social Security, AC lists Fanny as his mother in his own writing.
Albert married Elizabeth Minnie Lewis on August 16, 1917 in Parma, Missouri. A year later, his WWI Draft card lists Elizabeth as his wife and his father as his employer in a timber company. Unfortunately, A.C. didn’t stick around long enough to raise their three children.
A.C. Romine’s WWI Draft card
In 1920, Elizabeth is found in the census living with her parents in Parma, Missouri. Clayton is nowhere to be found. His being missing from records becomes a theme.
Clayton Romine of Parma was brought to New Madrid Saturday…and lodged in jail to serve a sentence of six months for wife abandonment… Sikeston (MO) Standard, 2 Sep 1921.
Elizabeth and Clayton divorced even though he never appeared in court when he was called to. He marries Mellie Herndon Zinzel in New Madrid County, Missouri, in 1932.
The Weekly Record (New Madrid, MO) 28 Mar 1926, p 8. Newspapers.com
He can’t be found anywhere in the 1920 and 1930 census. In the 1940 census, A.C., Mellie, and stepdaughter Helen Zinzel live in East Prairie, Missouri, just north of New Madrid. Considering AC can be found in the Flint City Directory in 1939 and 1941 living in Flint, it seems like he moved around a lot. Probably to follow work.
An address he tended to go back to every two or three years was 1311 2nd Avenue in Flint. This is the house his father had bought when they first moved to the area. His stepbrothers and stepsisters are often listed there too.
Of all my relatives, A.C. has the widest variety of occupations. He works as a foreman in auto factories, on farms as a teamster, in lumberyards for his father, and as a cook in a restaurant. This last job is one he shared with his daughter, my grandmother.
A.C., probably working at Thompsons Restaurant in Flint
A.C. probably moved to Detroit after his divorce from Mellie around 1945. In the Flint phone directory after this, Mellie claims she is Albert’s widow. I notice she still lives on 2nd Street with AC’s stepsister Amnier Craig’s family until her marriage to Roy Wood.
Flint City Directory, Flint MI, 1947
I can’t find him in any censuses or phone directories in Detroit. His obituary says he lived on Henry Street. He died of lung cancer on April 4, 1967. He was buried in Flint.
Obituary, The Flint Journal (Flint, MI), Apr 1967. Retrieved from Flint Public Library in 2019.
Sources
US Federal Censuses (1900 – 1920, 1940) Stoddard, New Madrid, and Mississippi Counties, Missouri. Accessed on Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org.
Application for Social Security Account Number Albert Clayton Romine: 384-07-0921. Personal Records. Received from NARA.
Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 U.S., Marriage Records, 1911-1914. New Madrid County, Missouri; Albert C Roumine [sic] and Elizabeth Lewis, p 418 of 493. Accessed on Familysearch.com.
“Divorces,” The Weekly Record (New Madrid, MO), 28 May 1926, p 9. Newspapers.com.
Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 New Madrid County, Missouri; A. C. Romine and Mellie Opal Herndon [sic], p 275 of 950. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
U.S. WWI Draft Registration Card, 1917-1918. Albert Clayton Romine, New Madrid County, Draft Card R, 24-3-24 C. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
Michigan Department of Health, Divorce Record. Mellie Romine and Albert C. Romine. State Office number 25 14472. Personal Records.
Flint City Directories, 1935-1945. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947. Albert Clayton Romine, Michigan, Reed-Rossow. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
Michigan Certificate of Death. Albert C. Romine as reported by Amnier Craig. Personal records. Certificates, 4860: Detroit (Michigan).
My great-grandmother through her daughter, Bernice.
Minnie Mae Porterfield Wilson, my maternal great-grandmother, came into this world on May 29, 1885 in Hazelton Township, Shiawassee County, Michigan. She was the first of two children for Ellen Zendler and George Porterfield. Her brother John Wesley came along in 1889.
Minnie and John Wesley circa 1893
George was a farmer. The 1900 census states that he emigrated from Canada to the US in 1870, and that his father emigrated from Scotland. Ellen was also born in Canada, having emigrated in 1879 with her German father and English mother.
Another fact that sticks out on this census record is the name of her future husband and his family living a few houses away. I can only conclude they met because they were neighbors, or maybe they attended the same church. This area of Michigan is rural now; I imagine the closest neighbors during this time could be miles away.
She married Fred Wilson on December 25, 1906 at her parents’ house. Her uncle, Samuel Porterfield, a local Methodist minister, officiated the wedding.
“While At Wedding,” Flint Daily Journal (Flint, MI), 26 Dec 1906, p 1
The couple had three children: two daughters and a son. They stayed in Hazelton Township until 1917 or 1918, when the family is listed on Becker Street near Corunna Road in Flint. Two years later, they are in Flushing. I think Fred got a job at an auto plant and wanted to move closer to work. He continued to farm though when he lived in Flushing.
(l to r) Fred, Wilma, George, Bernice, and Ellen Wilson
Minnie and Fred lived in Flushing and Swartz Creek the rest of their lives: first on Dillon Road, then Beecher, then 2444 Seymour Road.
Bottom row: Wes Porterfield, Ersal Porterfield, Unknown girl, Unknown boy, George Porterfield, Charles Porterfield. Center: Bernice Wilson. Top: Ellen Porterfield, Minnie Wilson, Wilma Wilson, Unknown woman, Fred Wilson
In 1947, the family endured a tragedy when daughter Wilma, her husband, and two of their four kids died in a car crash. The two survivors of the crash lived with Fred and Minnie on the Seymour Road farm.
Minnie and Fred celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on December 25, 1966. When Fred passed away on May 28, 1967, Minnie moved in with her daughter Bernice on Labian Drive in Flushing.
She passed on April 30, 1974, in Flushing at the age of 88 from heart failure. She was buried in Flushing City Cemetery. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Flushing, the Fellowship Class, Golden Rule Missionary Society, and the Golden Age Organization of Owosso.
Notable Facts
Minnie Porterfield Wilson shouldn’t be confused with her cousin, Minnie Porterfield Barnes Canfield Robinson, the daughter of James and Teresa Boyce Porterfield, who lived nearby and was 2 years older.
My mother remembers going to Minnie’s house and seeing tons of baked goods in her kitchen.
Sources
OntarioCanada Births, 1869-1913 Archives of Ontario; Series: MS929; Reel: 11. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
Canada Censuses (1881 – 1911) Hibbert, Perth County, Ontario; Hensall, Huron County, Ontario. Accessed on Library and Archives Canada or Familysearch.org.
US Federal Censuses (1920 – 1940) Genesee County, Michigan. Accessed on Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org.
Ontario Canada Marriages, 1801-1928 (Archives of Ontario, MS932, Reel: 83) Accessed on Ancestry.com.
US Border Crossings From Canada National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Manifests of Passengers Arriving at St. Albans, VT, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1895-1954; National Archives Microfilm Publication: M1464. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950 File Number 011077. Accessed on Ancestry.com. Ordered on seekingmichigan.org now Michiganology.org. Personal records.
“Obituaries and Funeral Notices”, Flint Journal, Flint, Michigan, September 24, 1946, Page: 18; Col 6; Item 7. Personal records. Accessed at Flint Public Library.
“The William Harburn Family in Michigan”, Flushing Sesquicentennial History 1835-1987, Flushing Area Historical Society (Michigan), Vol. 2 (1987). Page 166. Personal records.
Findagrave.com “William M Harburn,” ID#62465870, Flushing City Cemetery, Flushing, Genesee, Michigan
On July 27, 1900, Elizabeth Minnie came into this world in Marrs Township, Posey County, Indiana. This area is wedged between the Ohio and the Wabash Rivers, which divide the state from Kentucky and Illinois. She was likely brought into this world on the Lewis farm on Caborn Road. Her parents Nathaniel Lewis and Lena Benner had four daughters before her.
After her, many more daughters and only one son were born. Based on Elizabeth’s brother’s birth and death records, the Lewis family moved to Missouri sometime between 1913 and 1917.
Many Lewis daughters with Elizabeth third from left, mother Lena next to her, Lewis sons seated. About 1911.
Elizabeth married Albert Clayton Romine on August 16, 1917 in Parma, Missouri. The Romines were part of the population boom in the town at the time, surging from 900 in 1910 to over 1200 in 1920. I’ve yet to discover why the town grew by 33% over that decade. Unfortunately, Elizabeth raised their three children there, including my grandmother, seemingly without Clayton’s help.
In 1920, Elizabeth lived with her parents in Parma, Missouri. She has a toddler, and husband Clayton was nowhere in the records even though his draft card says he worked in town for his father.
Clayton Romine of Parma was brought to New Madrid Saturday…and lodged in jail to serve a sentence of six months for wife abandonment… Sikeston (MO) Standard, 2 Sep 1921.
I assume Elizabeth and Clayton divorced because Elizabeth married John Zint on 17 June 1926, and Clayton remarried in 1932. I haven’t found a divorce record yet.
Marriage License, John Zint and Elizabeth Romain both of Parma. Sikeston (MO) Standard, 25 Jun 1926.
Elizabeth was six months pregnant with a daughter at the time she married John. They lived a peaceful life in Parma. Elizabeth was a homemaker and John was a bus driver and hardware store clerk.
Unfortunately, their daughter Betty died in 1955 of a heart attack complicated by ovarian cancer at 28 years old. A month later, the Sikeston Standard reported that Elizabeth traveled to Detroit, Michigan, to visit her father, Nathaniel. In my mind, those two facts are related.
Guests this week of Mr and Mrs John Zint are their grandchildren…Sikeston (MO) Standard, 5 Aug 1955, p11.
Elizabeth lived with John in Parma until her death on 11 Sep 1984 at the age of 84. She passed six months after her son Wilfred died. She was survived by her husband and her two daughters from her first marriage.
(l to r) Mary Lou Romine, Delana Smith, Nathaniel Lewis, Mary Lou’s other daughter, baby boy, Elizabeth Lewis Zint, girl. 5 Aug 1955
Sources
Certificate of Birth Elizabeth Lewis, Woodrow, Lewis. Posey County Health Department, Mt Vernon Indiana, Record #2040257, Personal records. Received from State of Indiana Vital Records 13 Oct 2016.
US Federal Censuses (1910 – 1950) Posey County, Indiana; New Madrid County, Missouri. Accessed on Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org.
Application for Social Security Account Number Elizabeth Minnie Zint: 486-46-5886. Personal Records. Received from NARA.
Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 U.S., Marriage Records, 1911-1914. New Madrid County, Missouri; Albert C Roumine [sic] and Elizabeth Lewis, p 418 of 493. Accessed on Familysearch.com.
Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991 New Madrid County, Missouri; John Zint and Elizabeth Romaine [sic], p 275 of 950. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
Missouri Certificate of Death. Elizabeth Minnie Zint as reported by John Zint. Personal records. Certificates, 124-84-020680: New Madrid (Missouri). Woodrow Lewis as reported by Nathaniel Lewis.
My maternal great-grandfather through his daughter.
Born to Ambrose Wilson and Lucy Thompson on August 4, 1882, Fred Newell Wilson was the third of five children who grew to adulthood living on a farm in Hazelton Township, Shiawassee County, Michigan.
The Wilsons had been in the state for just over a decade at Fred’s birth as his grandfather Thomas used his Civil War pension to move his family from near Rochester, New York, sometime between 1865 and 1870.
Hazelton Township and the village of New Lothrop just north of it were very small. So small that Fred and his future wife were mentioned numerous times separately in the newspaper.
Fred married his neighbor and likely his fellow parishioner Minnie Mae Porterfield on Christmas Day 1906. While at the wedding, his parents lost their barn in a fire.
They had three children: Bernice, Wilma, and George. By 1918, he and Minnie moved to Flint. On his WWI draft card, his employer’s name is Chevrolet Motor Co. and his occupation is “work on motors.” His physical assessment describes him as tall, medium weight, with black eyes and black hair. By 1920, the Wilsons lived in Flushing, a suburb of Flint.
(l to r) Fred, Wilma, George, Bernice, Minnie about 1920.
Fred had farmed for most of his life and, according to census records, continued to do so, to make ends meet. Frequent address changes in records seem to indicate that Fred had a house in Flint nearer the auto plant and kept a farm in Flushing as well, and the family split time between places.
By World War II, Fred is self employed and the family lived on a farm on Seymour Road in Flushing.
In 1947, the family endured a tragedy when Wilma, her husband, and two of their four kids died in a car crash. The two survivors of the crash lived with Fred and Minnie on the Seymour Road farm.
He and Minnie celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on December 25, 1966. Fred passed away of a stroke on May 28, 1967 at age 84. He is buried in Flushing City Cemetery.
Notable Facts
In every record Fred, his wife, or his daughter filled out, they pointedly wrote Fred Newell Wilson as his full name. Not Frederick. If it was his given name, he clearly didn’t use it, so I don’t either.
Another note on Fred’s name: Apparently, the family pronounced Fred’s middle name Newell as “Noll.” It wasn’t until my mom saw it written out that she found out it wasn’t spelled Noel.
Sources
US Federal Censuses (1870 – 1950) Ontario County, New York; Shiawassee County, Michigan; Genesee County, Michigan. Accessed on Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org.
Michigan Birth Records, 1867-1902; Roll #4207042, Image 213 of 850. Accessed on Ancestry.com
Personal files. Application for Social Security, “Fred Newell Wilson.”Accessed from National Archives site.
Michigan Marriage Records, 1868-1925; Roll #4209085, Image 564 of 628. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
Military Draft Cards. WWI and WWII. Fred Newell Wilson. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
According to the 1900 census and his death certificate, Edward Tennessee Romine arrived as the second of six children in his family on June 17, 1871 somewhere in Missouri.
I can’t be more specific on his birthplace because I don’t trust the info on Edward’s death certificate. All the names on it are wrong. His wife Luella’s name is typed Lulia, and she was the informant. His parents names are listed as William and Lillian, which aren’t even close to Samuel Romine and Sisley Scruggs.
The troublesome death record.
I suspect Samuel was either an itinerant farmer or a sharecropper at this time. If he was itinerant, then Edward being born in “Slater, Mo”, as the record above states, is more likely. Slater is a town in the center of Missouri. As far as I know, the Romines had no ties there. But itinerant farmers go where the work is, so maybe they ended up there.
If Sam was a sharecropper, he more likely stuck near his parents and siblings in the northeast Arkansas and the Missouri boot heel.
In the 1870 census, the year before Edward was born, Sam and Sisley lived in Bradshaw, Greene County, Arkansas. The next child they had, Mary Cordelia, was definitely born in Stoddard County, Missouri and that’s where the family was ten years later. So I believe Edward’s birthplace is probably there. Plus it’s really easy for me to imagine that the person who heard “Sisley” and wrote “Lillian,” also heard “Stoddard” and wrote “Slater.”
Edward married Fannie Grace, a neighbor’s daughter, “at the bride’s residence” in 1894, and had two children by 1898: Delia and Albert Clayton. Albert’s records state he was born in Risco, Stoddard County, Missouri. The small family appears in Elk Township, Stoddard County, Missouri in 1900. Edward rented his house (as opposed to a farm) there, but his occupation is listed as Farmer. This renting a house but not living on a farm points to sharecropping. Not long after, Edward’s younger sister Mary married his brother-in-law Willard Grace, tying the two families further together.
Strummers in Risco, MO around 1910 (Stoddard County History)
Unfortunately, Fannie falls off the record after this. My theory is she died in childbirth soon after this census.
In 1910, the Romines consisted of Edward, his second wife Luella Cunningham Rayborn; their three children Ira, Iva, and Amnier; Lora Rayborn, Luella’s daughter from her first marriage; and Delia andClayton. I’m not sure where the name Amnier came from or how to say it, but it’s consistently spelled this way on all of her records.
In addition to a new family, Edward’s status had improved in the past decade. He now owned a house without a mortgage near Parma, Missouri. This fact makes me think he was sharecropping with a family friend or relative. Itinerant farmers usually had a harder time making this kind of money so fast, especially with six children to feed.
The Parma Hotel (Stoddard County History)
In 1920, the family lived in Como Township, New Madrid County. So they moved once again. The youngest Romine, Thomas Rudolph, appears on this census. Edward worked in a veneer mill. His oldest children, Delia and Clayton, had married John Kindred and Minnie Lewis, respectively, and live nearby.
I cannot find them in the 1930 census. But in 1931, Edward, Luella, and Thomas appear in the city phone directory for Flint, Michigan. Perhaps they don’t appear in the 1930 census because they were moving at the time. Daughter Amnier married and moved up to Flint as well. Ira and Iva lived in Arkansas. Delia and Clayton in Missouri. That is until 1937 when Clayton also appears in the Flint phone book, which sets off a whole string of events in my family, but that is for another biography.
Edward died of heart disease (aortitis) and cirrhosis of the liver just two years later on August 2, 1933 at Hurley Hospital in Flint. His burial was in Sunset Hills Cemetery the following day.
Hurley Hospital, 1915, Flint, Michigan. Paul Petosky, genealogytrails.comEdward’s death notice in the Flint Journal. The six grandchildren is incorrect. He had at least 12 grandchildren in 1933.
Notable Facts
Edward’s middle name, Tennessee, is his grandfather’s name also. It seems Tennessee Romine was named after the state in which he was born.
Currently, I don’t have any photos of Edward, or any of this family. If you’re reading this and are willing to share, I would love to see pictures!
Sources
US Federal Censuses (1870 – 1920) Greene County, Arkansas; Stoddard and New Madrid Counties, Missouri. Accessed on Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org.
U.S. City Directories Michigan > Flint > 1931-1932, 1938 > Flint, Michigan, City Directory; p 619, 562, 772 respectively. Accessed on Ancestry.com. (p 312 of 533, 284 of 495, 388 of 718 respectively in database.)
Missouri, U.S., Marriage Records, 1888-1895. Stoddard County, Missouri, E T Romine and Fannie F Gran. p 445 of 501. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
Missouri, U.S., Marriage Records, 1880-1905. Stoddard County, Missouri, E F Romine and L E Rayborn. p 159 of 492. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
Michigan Death Records. Edward T. Romine as reported by Lulia Romine. Personal records. Certificates, 1921-1945, 130: Genesee (Flint), 1931-1934.Accessible on Ancestry.
Edward T. Romine death notice. Flint Journal (Flint, Michigan), 2 Aug 1933, page illegible, Col 1, Item 10. Accessed at Flint Public Library 16 May 2019. Personal records.
Findagrave.com “Edward T. Romine,” ID#149562621, Sunset Hills Cemetery, Genesee County, Michigan
William Matthew Harburn was likely born on November 5, 1868, although documents vary widely on the exact date and year. This birthdate is on his naturalization papers, and therefore, most likely a direct quote from him. His parents, James and Sarah Sadler Harburn, lived in Hibbert Township, Perth County, Ontario at the time. Both are recorded as being born in England. William, their first son, was followed by five more children.
William married his neighbor and member of the same Wesleyan Methodist church Jane Leary in Hibbert Township in 1894, moved near Hensall, Ontario, and had 11 children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. William was a carpenter and flower farmer, providing area florists with product.
Jane Leary and William HarburnThe Harburn family around 1911A closer view of William, seated, left
When he immigrated to Flint, Michigan, on August 8, 1919, by boarding a train on the Grand Trunk Railroad, he had his wife and younger children. Two of the older Harburn children had come to Flint a year earlier to prepare for the large family’s arrival.
The Grand Trunk Railroad Depot in Flint, MI in 1917. Paul Petosky, genealogytrails.com
In Flint, William ran another flower farm, this time for the Chevrolet plant downtown. The Teddy Roosevelt environmentalists were concerned about the factory polluting the Flint River, so the Harburns set up a farm along it to prove the water was “fine” (Spoiler: It was not fine.). He then ran a goods store at 1411 Third Avenue, Flint, for many years. At some unknown point, he and Jane befriended my grandmother’s parents. I couldn’t verify whether they were friendly before the marriage or got closer after. The Harburns and the Wilsons lived down the street from one another.
William and Jane later in life
William retired in Flushing, Michigan, in 1935, and passed away on November 24, 1940, of heart disease. He is buried in Flushing City Cemetery.
Notable Facts
Matthew, William’s middle name, is a legacy name for several generations in this family.
The flower gardening and florist skills passed down a generation. William’s daughter Jane owned and ran the florist shop in Flushing, Michigan for many years. My grandfather, Nelson, grew dahlias, his favorite flowers, in his garden.
Sources
Canada, Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register, 1828-1910 Hibbert, Perth County, Ontario. Accessed on the internet at freepages.rootsweb.com
Canada Censuses (1871 – 1911) Hibbert, Perth County, Ontario; Hensall, Huron County, Ontario. Accessed on Library and Archives Canada or Familysearch.org.
US Federal Censuses (1920 – 1940) Genesee County, Michigan. Accessed on Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org.
Ontario Canada Marriages, 1801-1928 (Archives of Ontario, MS932, Reel: 83) Accessed on Ancestry.com.
United States of America Declaration of Intention National Archives. Records on file
US Border Crossings From Canada National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Manifests of Passengers Arriving at St. Albans, VT, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1895-1954; National Archives Microfilm Publication: M1464. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952 Certificates 1921-1945; 121: Genesee 1934-1942. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
“Obituaries and Funeral Notices”, Flint Journal, Flint, Michigan, November 25, 1940, Page: 17; Col 4; Item 1. Personal records. Accessed at Flint Public Library.
“The William Harburn Family in Michigan”, Flushing Sesquicentennial History 1835-1987, Flushing Area Historical Society (Michigan), Vol. 2 (1987). Page 166. Personal records.
Findagrave.com “William M Harburn,” ID#62465901, Flushing City Cemetery, Flushing, Genesee, Michigan
Northwest Journals 