The circle of life - 2025 holiday newsletter

This year began with the birth of our youngest granddaughter - Zelda Therese Anuenue in February:

and sadly ended with the death of my brother-in-law, Lynn, in mid-December. Along the way, Arian and Danielle officially announced their engagement:

We didn't often venture far from home this year, a wonderful trip out west in June, where we visited those who remained of my dad's family in Idaho and Montana, and went to Yellowstone.

We took a short trip to beautiful French Lick, Indiana for our anniversary.

Our time at home was spent gardening (great garlic and lavender crops), working on genealogy (Kim), and John's new hobbies of talking to Grok and keeping aquariums. And hosting family - my niece and her spouse, our offspring and their spouses, and grandchildren and their intendeds.

Many blessings from our house to yours for the coming year.

A Genealogical Goldmine

In 1944, my aunt (Gladys) made this scrapbook for her only sister, who was soon to be married. While most of the pages were cut out from magazines, like this one

some held the answers for which I've searched high and low.The first question was about a cousin named Tore, who my mother wrote about in several letters to my father. All I had was a first name, the fact that his parents were Norwegian, and they escaped from Norway in World War II. Hunting through newspapers with such limited information, hadn't yielded an results. But lo and behold, here were four articles about him!

It turns out the little boy was named Tore (Thore) Kvammen, and he was born in the last quarter of 1942 in the Hammersmith District of London, during an air raid. His mother was the daughter of Karoline Antoinette Larsen and Bernhardt Johannesen, who was born in 1918 and married to Mathias Kvammen, a Norwegian army captain. The mother and son left from Swansea, Wales on 11 Mar 1944 on the Grey County, a Norwegian merchant vessel that could carry up to 12 pass. It was involved in various convoys, often sailing between North America, Halifax, St John, New Brunswick and the UK. An article published in the Chicago Tribune - 26 Oct 1944 - p.15 reported the following story. When they arrived in Canada, the mother stayed in Toronto, serving as a member of the Norwegian Women's Army, based at Camp Little Norway. Her 2 year old son, traveled by train in the care of a 20 year old Royal Norwegian Air Force flier, Just Ebesen, and then left with my grandparents, and my mother, who was living at home. My grandmother is quoted as saying "She will keep the child until her niece is able to come for him - in a month or a year." I'm not sure exactly how long he did stay, although I do know that in March 1945, he left from St John, New Brunswick, Canada to return to Liverpool, England. Much more of the story remains to be uncovered.
The other mystery solved by the scrapbook had to do with who was in my parents wedding. I share the sharpened image here:

Before finding the newspaper article in the scrapbook, I could only identify my parents, her siblings, Roy and Gladys, and the flower girl, her niece Virginia. That left the two bridesmaids, two groomsmen, and the ring bearer, who I now know to be Katherine Golden and Edith Streat, mom's schoolmates, and Stewart Grove and William Morgan, who I believe to be dad's friends from the navy. The little ring bearer was a 5 year old named Lee Brink. All those people with stories to tell. Whose stories can I find and share?

The journey of Frank Harris and Minnie Agee to couplehood

 The other day I received a document from the National Archives for my grandfather, Frank Allen Harris (1889-1957) that was all they had on his military service in World War I. From his 1917 WWI Draft Registration card we find out that he was born 9 Jun 1889, in Great Valley, NY. In 1917, he was single, living in Baker, Lemhi county, Idaho, working on a farm owned by Peter Kinney. From various census records, we know that he was in New York in 1905 and in 1910 working as a farm hand for Walter Brown, who was also from New York. (He must be the Walt referred to in the postcard below, which shows Frank (in the sidecar) and his just younger brother Duane in 1917).

On the back: Dear Father, How are you all? Us boys are getting along fine. We've has a pretty snug winter here so far. Has been 24 below. How is Grandma & Grandpa. I suppose Velma is in Franklinville and is Walt still in York. Didn't have any idea he could ever give up the west. I am going to write in a day or two. Will close with best wishes to all. D.H.

From the NARA document, we see he enlisted out of Salmon, Idaho on 27 May 1918 and in August 1918, he was on the Briton, an Army transport as part of the 40th Division, "F" Company 115th Ammunition Train, on his way to France. I was hoping to find more details from NARA about this part, but no luck. More research is required there. What I did find out is that he was part of the Fort D.A. Russell Casual Detachment, in Laramie, WY, mustered out on 30 Apr 1919, given $128.42 in pay, which included travel funds of $41.40. From there he caught the train back to Salmon.

Minnie, Walter, and John Calvin Agee c. 1917

Minnie Agee (1903-2000), came to Idaho from Missouri with her parents James Alexander Stark (Allie) and John Calvin Agee sometime between the birth of her sister Lizzie in 1907, and Virginia Velma  in 1910. I have a letter, written by my Uncle Frank in 1995, that tells the story of her early life. From what I can piece together, the last of October or first of November, 1918 she started back to Missouri with her father but only got as far as Denver and everyone there was sick with Influenza (the Pollard family). Mother stayed there and took care of the family - Jack, Ada, Louie, Freddy and their mother, Mrs. Pollard. She stayed there until Easter [April 20, 1919] and came back to Salmon. Her siblings, Walter, Mettie, and Lizzie were in Salmon by then, and Mettie was married to Richard Evans. Walter sent mother the money to come back. 

It was on the train trip from Denver to Salmon (via Laramie?) that my grandparents met. She was still 15, she would turn 16 in June. He was 29, turning 30 in June. They went to Dillon, Montana four months later, in September, 1919 and were married for 38 years until my grandfather's death in 1957.

This crudely done map represents their journeys. Grandpa Harris is the blue paper/red dots. He started in New York in 1889, came to Idaho around 1910, was released from the Army in Wyoming in 1919. Grandma (yellow paper/green dots) was born in Missouri in 1903, moved with her family to Idaho around 1907, and was coming back from Denver, Colorado in 1919. The pink paper in Dillon, MT where they got married.

You can read more about Allie's story here: https://xbmill.blogspot.com/2025/08/james-alexander-stark-extraordinary.html

James Alexander Stark, an extraordinary woman.

5 Sep 1878 - 19 Aug 1917

My great-grandmother was an extraordinary woman. She was the second daughter of James Alexander Stark and his (second) wife, Nancy Elizabeth Owsley. She had an older sister, Susan Emma, three older Stark half siblings, three older Brown step-siblings, and six younger half siblings from her mother's second marriage. 

Growing up, I had always been told her name was James Alabama Stark, but that she was called Allie. It was only a few years ago, when I started seriously researching her, that I found her actual name was James Alexander Stark, after her father who died five months before she was born. I knew she was born in Missouri, in Hickory County in 1878, so the only pre-marriage census that is extant is the 1880 one.  But I couldn't find her in any 1880 Missouri census. 

I had 2 clues to her parents. Her father's name was James Alexander Stark, and her mother signed permission for her to marry with the name Nancy E Brown. So I starting looking for Nancy Stark in the 1880 census, and found her, now a widow living on Main St in Cross Timbers, Hickory County, Missouri. She was the head of household that included the 2 Stark children, and her brother and sister with the last name of Owsley. I hadn't known her mother's maiden name, so this was a breakthrough.

The only catch was that the children were Emma, age 2, a daughter and  a son, James A., age 1. But wait, what if the enumerator just asked the ages and names of the children, and unbeknownst to Nancy, recorded her baby girl as a son? This was confirmed in her grandfather's will, written just months after she was born - as granddaughter James Alexander Stark. 

I will that at marriage or when they become of legal age that my executor pay to Susan E. Stark and James Alexander Stark, daughters of James A Stark and my grandchildren, the sum of Ten Dollars each.

From the Will and Testament of Pleasant Stark, dated 9 December 1878

Little is known of Allie's childhood. Her mother married a widower, William Samuel Brown, when Allie was about three years old, and from this marriage, six children were born. And so it was, that just after her 17th birthday, Allie married John C. Agee, age 21. For the next 12 years they remained in Hickory County, Missouri, where Allie gave birth to at least six children, two sons dying in infancy. 

In 1907 or possibly 1908, the family packed up and moved out west. We know that they took a trip in May 1907: "John Agee and son Guss and family started last Wednesday overland in a covered wagon for a trip through the Ozark country for the benefit of Guss's health." 

AI tells me a trip by covered wagon from Hickory Co, Missouri to Lemhi Co, Idaho would take between 4 and 6 months, would require meticulous preparation of up to a year in advance, and often was preceded by the family selling off their goods and property. This occurred in Oct 1907 (30 acres of land) and Nov 1907 (joint sale of goods between John and his brother-in-law Tilden Johnson). This leads me to believe that the fall and winter were spent getting ready and the two families probably left in the spring of 1908. Tilden and Ida Belle Johnson would only stay a short while out there, long enough for their son Harry Giles to be born, but they were back in Hickory County for the 1910 census and every one thereafter.

John and Allie lived on Sandy Creek and would have one more child together, Virginia Velma, who was born in October 1910, but died the same year. This is what a cabin on Sandy Creek looked like in 1934, theirs was probably less elaborate.

They separated soon after. Allie and her remaining children (Walter, Mettie, Minnie - my grandmother, and Elizabeth) moved out into Salmon, where Allie worked to provide for them as a cook, either on ranches or at the Yellow Jacket mine, according to a 1995 letter from my uncle. 

Allie, Minnie and Elizabeth Clarissa c. 1908

In 1913, a life changing event occurred. Allie was working on the Brown ranch as a housekeeper for a 60 year old man. She was by now divorced from John and keeping company with a young man named Guy Buster. One night while Allie, Guy and her 15 year old son, Walter, were out walking they met Mr. Brown, coming from the other direction.

All Idaho, U.S., Old Penitentiary Prison Records, 1882-1961

Guy Buster, 1913

Mr. Brown told Guy to leave, and started hitting him with his walking stick. Guy then proceeded to shoot him 3-4 times. He claimed self-defense. Both Allie and Walter supported and testified to that claim. Guy was first convicted and sentenced to 10-30 years in the penitentiary, but the conviction was later overturned, a new trial took place in 1915, and it was overturned a final time in 1917. 

It was about this time that Allie left Idaho and went to Dillon, Montana, where she worked in the Acaia cleaning establishment. In 1917, she contracted erysipelas, a Streptococcus A bacterial skin infection, and died a month later in August, 1917, leaving four minor children Walter, 19, Mattie, 17, Mattie, 14 and Lizzie, 10, and a $94.00 funeral bill. 

The funeral home still exists today, and sent me a copy of this bill, and was very helpful in trying to obtain for me the actual location of where she is buried. 

We went west this summer, and that was one of my main objectives, but all I could find out was that she was likely buried in the churchyard of the First Baptist Church, where the funeral was held. However, when the church moved into town, the marked graves were disinterred and the remains taken to Mountain View Cemetery. There is no record of her in the cemetery, so her final resting place remains a mystery. Wherever she is, may she rest in peace.

Mamie Van Epps, an extraordinary woman (1897-1993)

Mamie Hope Van Epps (1897-1993) was by all accounts an extraordinary person. She was the only daughter of Cora Bateman and Elmer Van Epps, having two full brothers (Charles and Glenn Van Epps), two half-brothers from her mother (Levi Nazer and William Henry Nazer) and at least one half-brother from her father (Fred Van Epps).

The Van Epps children were born in Waynoka, Oklahoma, but by the time Mamie was seven, the family had moved to a farm in Robinson, Kansas, where her grandmother, Mary Howe Bateman (my second great-aunt) lived. One or more of Cora’s brothers also lived in the area. The year 1909 was a difficult one for the family. Things were not going well between the parents, Cora and the children were now living in Everest, Kansas. On June 2, Mamie’s half-brother, Fred Van Epps, who was 20 years old and about to get married, shot and killed himself in Oklahoma. Sixteen days later, Mamie herself was shot accidentally, by her mother, who mistook her for a burglar. It appears that she fully recovered, though.

For the next few years, Cora and the children struggled, with everyone pitching in to help. Then, in 1914, when Charles was 19, Mamie, 17 and Glenn just 14, their mother died. It is in their mother’s will that we find out that she has two other sons, Levi and William Nazer, who she leaves $25 each. Mamie is left $50, and her brother split the remainder of the estate after the bills have been paid.(Will of Cora Van Epps, Newspapers.com - Brown County World - 13 Nov 1914 - Page 4)

Mamie now starts working full time, in 1915, she joins the Hiawatha Steam Laundry as their bookkeeper. While working there, she takes some civil service exams in Leavenworth, and despite not having gone to high school, manages to score high enough to land a job with the adjutant general. The local newspaper is quoted as saying “The success of Miss Mamie Van Epps, the laundry worker who has secured a civil service appointment in Washington at $1,100 ayear, is another instance of what: an ambitious boy or girl can do when they try. Miss Van Epps' schooling has been limited; she has worked for the support of her widowed mother. Business men and others who know Miss Van Epps have always had a good word for her because of her unusual activity. She studied and prepared herself for the examination and passed with creditable grades.” (The Kansas Democrat - 14 Feb 1918, p. 5)

Mamie seems to enjoy her time in Washington, sharing her experiences in letters, telling in one report to the local newspaper “that she is working in the Receiving and Recording Department of the Sanitary Division of the General Surgeon's office. She helps in keeping the record of the sick and wounded in the different hospitals here and in France. Recently, in her days' work, she found that her brother, Charlie, had the mumps while he was at Jefferson Barracks.” (Brown County World - 8 Mar 1918 - Page 4).

In all she spends about 2.5 years in Washington, coming home for visits, and in February 1920, when her father, Elmer Van Epps dies. By summer, she has advanced as far as she can without a diploma, and leaves Washington to work in the railroad office in Detroit, Michigan. In September, she comes home and finishes high school, where she is awarded the first of several scholarships she receives to attend Kansas University. She is featured in an article in 1922 Topeka Daily Capital where she describes how she can pay her fees, board, room, laundry bill, insurance dues, books and still have money to buy a new spring bonnet on $1.10 a day. Among her many jobs are working in the school cafeteria, child care, waitressing, and her most unique – contacting each female high school graduate offering to send an itemized account of her expenses at the University of Kansas and tips for living frugally, for the sum of 15c. (Brown County World - 14 Apr 1922 - Page 6). But it isn’t all work for Mamie, as she is active in several activities, including the Snow Zoology Club where she is an officer, as well as being a member of the K. U. delegation to the International Student Volunteer Convention in Indianapolis. She receives her A. B. Degree from the University of Kansas, and will later earn a B.S. from the University of Arkansas in home economics.

In September 1924, Mamie marries Willmont Stacey Van Epps in Benton, Arkansas. She is 28 and never married before, he is 36 and recently divorced with one child. His previous occupation was as a physician and surgeon, specializing in eyes, but after his marriage he settles on his farm. It is interesting to note that on his marriage license he claims to be 36, or 12 years older than Mamie, but in every census for the rest of his life, he is actually 20 years older (Arkansas, Marriage Certificates, 1917-1969). When he dies, in 1952, after 28 years of marriage, he is 75 years old (Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969).

Mamie worked as the county and district home supervisor of Farmers Home Administration in Little Rock for 16 years. After her husband’s death in 1952, she moves to Missouri, where she becomes the Lawrence County, MO home agent in December 1953, only to resign her post six months later, to go to New Mexico to teach native Americans. (Although if this actually happened, I can find no reference to it). Sometime around 1955 she became the home economics adviser for the State Department for three years in Cochbamba, Bolivia, South America (obituary The Monitor, McAllen, Texas - 24 Mar 1993 – p. 42), coming home in May 1958 (Florida, U.S., Arriving and Departing Passenger and Crew Lists, 1898-1963).

Mamie married and outlived two more husbands, Ralph Barnum in 1958, until he died in 1963; and Elmer Reynolds in 1964, until his death in 1981. Following her marriage to Ralph, she moved to Texas, where she lived out her life, dying in McAllen, Texas on 24 Mar 1993.

She lived a full life that spanned most of the twentieth century. She lived through two world wars, the depression and throughout it all sought to help those people hardest hit by serving in a variety of government positions. And she spent her retirement years doing genealogy!

A note about sources My sources included the following: 1900, 1910, 1930, 1940 US Census; 1905 Kansas State Census; Arkansas Marriage Certificate; Texas Death Certificate; 1925 University of Kansas Yearbook, 1958 Florida Arriving Passenger list.
Thirty articles from various newspapers in Kansas, Missouri, Washington, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, accessed through Newspapers.com

Recommendation for further study – I see I haven’t accessed the 1920 or 1950 US Census, and I only have one official marriage certificate, the other marriages are documented through newspaper accounts. I would like to learn more about the common surname she shared with her first husband, and whether they were related in any way. I would also like to learn more about her three half-brothers, about whom I know very little.

How she is related to me – She is my 2 cousin twice removed, our common ancestors are Nancy Mudgett and Nathan Howe, Jr (my 3rd great grandparents), from Great Valley, NY.

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to leave comments and suggestions.

Who was Orretta/Rettie L/Lauretta/Laura Squires/Wilbur/Wade/Hall/Gavitt?

Here are the facts that most people know and accept:

She was the daughter of George E Squires (1831-1901) and his wife, Elizabeth Hale (1834-1920). She had two siblings, Priscilla "Nettie" (1857-1947) who married Charles E. Markham, and Walter J. Squires (1859-1930) who married his first cousin, Grace Hale. She was born 9 Jun 1869, in Little Valley, NY. In the 1870, 1875 and 1880 census, she is listed as Orretta (ages 3 and 13). (1870 and 1880 United States Federal Census for Little Valley, Cattaraugus, New York); (Little Valley, Cattaraugus,New York, State Census, 1875).

By 1892, the household, still located in Little Valley consists of George, 63, Elizabeth, 58, Walter, 33, Grace, 15, Florence, 6 and a Rettie L. Wilber, 24. (Little Valley, Cattaraugus,New York, State Census, 1892). Upon discovering that Grace was the wife of Walter, my first thought was that Walter had been married before and Florence was his daughter. But I could find no evidence of that being true. This is the first significant name change - from Orretta to Rettie L, and from Squires to Wilber. There is only anecdotal evidence supporting this, a news clipping for Whig St saying Mrs. Eugene Wilbur visited friends in Bradford recently. (Is this Lauretta Squires??)This is right above a blurb about her brother, Walter. Not the most solid evidence. (The Post, 17 April 1889)

Another news clipping (The Post, 22 Jul 1896) mentions Miss Laura Wade of Bradford and her mother, Mrs. G. Squires of Elkdale, visited at C.E. Markham's. So we know that her sister is Mrs. C.E. Markham, her mother is Mrs. G. Squires, and there are no other female siblings, which leads me to believe that Miss Laura Wade is another alias. In 1896 and 1897, the Bradford city directory (U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995) shows a Laura Wade listed as a dressmaker.

Her father's obituary, in 1901 does not list the names of his children, only that he has 3 adult children.

Her next name change comes in 1905, when, as Lauretta Squires, she marries Willie E Hall on 5 Nov 1905, in Olean (New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967). Of interest is this news clipping: Miss Florence Squires and Mrs. Ed Hall were in Olean Tuesday (The Post, 22 Dec 1904). Is this Florence and her mother? If so, she is going by Hall almost a year before the actual marriage. She keeps the Hall name until at least 1920, we find her in 1910 in Bradford, PA living with Willie E Hall, 38 at 37 High St. She is known as Laurette Hall, 39 and has given birth to one child, who is still alive, but not living with them. (1910 United States Federal Census, Bradford Ward 5, McKean, Pennsylvania). By 1920, she appears not to be with her husband anymore. She lives at 28 West Washington St, where she is listed as single, and the "housekeeper" for S.D. Foley, but also as a dressmaker with her own shop. Also in the household is Florence N. Wilber, a boarder and a dressmaker.(1920 United States Federal Census for Bradford Ward 3, McKean, Pennsylvania).

In November, 1920 her mother, Elizabeth Hale Squires dies. Her obituary says she is survived by one son, Walter of Whig street and three daughters, Mrs. Hall and Mrs. Flossie Wilbur of Bradford and Mrs. Jeanette Markham of this city (Salamanca Inquirer, 13 November 1920). Notice that she is identified only as "Mrs." Hall, her sister is Mrs. Jeanette Markham, and her daughter is misnamed as the child of Elizabeth, but with her own first name.

Sometime after her mother's death, she returns to New York, and in 1925 is living on Atlantic Ave, Salamanca with Charles Gavitt, using the name Laura. She dies on 2 Jan 1927, at the age of 57. In not one of three different obituaries is her given name mentioned, she is referred to as Mrs. Charles Gavitt, in each one. Besides her husband, she is survived by her sister, Mrs. Charles Markham, her brother, Walter Squires, and a daughter, Mrs. Florence Wilbur.(Democrat and Chronicle - 1927-01-05; Salamanca Inquirer, 7 January 1927; Cattaraugus Republican, 5 January 1927).

Through thirteen official sources, and seven pieces of social media, we can put together a general timeline that includes at least four men Eugene (?) Wilbur, ?? Wade, Willie (Ed) Hall, and Charles Gavitt. She had a daughter, who was raised at least until the age of 10 by her grandparents, but who followed in her footsteps as a dressmaker. She lived primarily in Cattaraugus County, New York, or across the border in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and in the end was buried where she began life, in Little Valley, New York. (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/253677426/gavitt)

Genealogy, and a grandson

Day 1: (Weds. May 10, 2023) Leftthe house around 9 A.M., planning to drive 6 hours or so, towards our ultimate destination of Saint Robert, MO. By 4PM, we were close enough that it didn't make any sense to stop, so we drove through. Highlights of the day, seeing an eagle outside the Mark Twain National Forest, and BBQ for dinner.

Day 2: Well, my plan to meet up with a distant cousin and do genealogy didn't quite work out. She wasn't able to make it, due to stormy weather, and the genealogy room wasn't open, either. No matter, there were some nearby cemeteries to check out. The first one, Bolles Cemetery, had four ancestors. Really old ancestors with disintegrating headstones.

Although it's difficult to tell, these are my 3rd great grandparents, Calvin J. Agee, his wife, Minerva Thrailkill Agee; and John and Mary Pierce Hughes. They died (respectively) in 1876, 1903, 1877, and 1882.We attempted to go to the Vernon cemetery, where my 4th great grandparents, Joseph Thrailkill and Ziporah Atchley, are buried, but it is literally in the middle of some farmer's field, and we couldn't figure out how to access it. We ended up going to the Lebanon - Lacelede County library, which has both a Missouri History room and a Rte. 66 museum. Very cool.

The final highlight of the day, was running into Alden at Walmart, and then having dinner with him and Julia.

Married at the fair

Like so many genealogy journeys, this one started with a photo.

A cute little baby on a cabinet card from Aunt Laura, circa 1902, that said Leah Linn(?)on the back. Now, I couldn't recall a Leah Linn, so I went to Ancestry and did a name search, and came up with Leah Jobes (born 2 Jul 1901) who married an Ernest Linn. That's where the story got interesting. One of my favorite sources to flesh out an ancestor's story is to try and find mention of them in newspapers of the time. I hit the jackport on this one!

What's this?

Both the Buffalo News (Aug 12, 1922 and Sep 11, 1922) carried articles that told the story of the Chautauqua County Fair Committee coming up with an idea - about a month before the fair - to hold a contest and offer $100 in gold, furniture and wedding presents to any couple in Chautauqua county who will consent to be married at the fair grounds on September 15. Couples who were interested had to send an application in for consideration. Because of the overwhelming response they got, the fair committee ended up drawing a couple's name.

As best I can tell, with the timeline from contest announcement to wedding being 30 days, the lucky couple must have had about 2 weeks to pull this together, by the time they were notified that they had been chosen.As luck would have it, Miss Jobes and Mr. Linn were planning a fall wedding, but hadn't settled on a date.

The Dunkirk Evening Observer described the wedding in a Sept 15, 1922 article:
The public wedding was the attraction at the County Fair- today. Miss Leah Jobes of Kennedy and Ernest Linn of Hanoverton, Ohio, were married on the platform before thousands by the Rev. J. Milton Harris of the Baptist church of Allegany, the bride's uncle. The wedding party drove to the fair grounds from Hotel Francis in four open carriages. Coachmen and footmen were attired in livery, with powdered wigs. The Akbar Sanctorum band of Dunkirk played the wedding march and the guard team of review escorted the bride.The fair committee provided a hotel suite and luncheon for the wedding party and family guests, and the prizes included $100 in gold, a mahagony dining set, a library table, and an upholstered chair, along with some smaller gifts.

A wedding to remember! It's too bad they never had children, that would have made a great story to pass on. I guess it's up to me to share it. But I'll leave you with this thought - can you imagine this happening today when weddings are planned months, if not a year in advance? Oh, and did you catch Uncle Milton's name?

It starts with a picture - Matt's bike accident

Often coming across a photo will trigger a memory, like this one of Matt, with his external fixator.

Matt, like his brothers before him, had a paper route when he was an adolescent. One Friday, March 1, 1996, he came home from school, hopped on his bike and was on the way home to start his route; but while crossing Center Street on his bike, he had an accident. An elderly lady, Charlotte MacDonald, was turning into the Jubilee parking lot, and Matt rode his bike into the side of her car. It chills me to think how much worse this could have been. He wasn't wearing a helmet, and suffered a compound fracture of his leg.

A neighbor kid saw Matt lying in the street after the accident, and ran down to our house to tell John. He rushed down there, told the police to let him through, it was his son, and rode with Matt to the hospital. They transferred him to Strong. After making arrangements for the kids, John picked me up in Rochester, where they performed surgery, and put an external fixator on his leg.

His brothers did his paper route that day, but that was pretty much the end of Matthew and the paper route. Come to think of it, it was probably the last time Matt ever rode a bike, as well.

Solving the Mystery of Dexter May Harris aka Gloria Jean Park (A genealogical case study)

Dexter May Harris aka Gloria Jean Park is a mystery that has intrigued me for as long as I can remember. While she is biologically my first cousin, once removed, she is also my adopted aunt.

I have researched both deeply and widely, looking at more than twenty sources for her, and sussing out information for those whose lives she touched, including spouses, siblings, parents, and children. Briefly, here is what I know: Dexter was born 12 May 1921, in Pocatello, Idaho to Alvin James Harris, 34, and his wife, Flora Castello Lee, 23 (Idaho, U.S., Birth Records, 1861-1919, Stillbirth Index, 1905-1967). She was Alvin’s first child, and Flora’s second, having been married at 18 to William Grenville Bowen, and having given birth to a daughter in 1918, Ruby Irene Bowen, who lived just 5 months. Sometime before November 1923, the family moved from Pocatello to Salmon, Idaho, where Flora gave birth prematurely to a son, Allen Duane Harris, on 4 Nov 1923, who died 11 days later (Idaho, U.S., Death Records, 1890-1971). Four years later, her sister Leona Joleen was born (21 Nov 1927). At the time of the 1930 census, the family consisted of Alvin Harris, 40, Flora Harris, 23, Dexter Harris, 6 and Leona Harris, 2, and the family lived on Water Street in Salmon, Idaho.

Sadly, tragedy would strike the following year, as her father, Alvin, was killed while loading a truck with logs for firewood for the family. The death was ruled accidental on the death certificate, and the informant was his brother, Frank Allen Harris (Idaho, Death Records, 1890-1967). Frank was appointed Administrator for his brother’s estate, which consisted of: No cash in bank, personal property worth $185, including 1 cow, a second-hand Dodge truck, a motor trailer, household goods, and $400 equity in 3 acres of land, known as the Pugh Property on upper Main Street in Salmon (Idaho, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1857-1989).

The remaining family lived together until January 1935, at which time, Dexter, 13, was formally adopted by her uncle and aunt, Frank Allen and Minnie Lee Agee Harris, and she joined their family of five children, including my father, Floyd Duane Harris (Application and Order of Adoption, Lemhi County Probate Court). Her mother, Flora, then married her third husband, John Valentine Abbey, taking her younger daughter, Leona, with her (Western States Marriage Index, 1809-2011). In October, 1935, Flora gave birth to her last known child, Lois Irene Abbey. Dexter would remain with Frank and Minnie just 16 months, as she married with their consent (Affidavit of Consent to Marriage, County of Lemhi), Richard Walter Evans, 18, on 30 Jun 1937, at the age of 16 (Western States Marriage Index, 1809-2011).

It is likely she had known Richard a number of years, as he was the son of Minnie’s sister, Mettie. On 3 Jun 1938, she gave birth to their first child, Richard A. Evans, who lived to adulthood. Unfortunately, the next three children did not survive infanthood. Alvin Delbert (17 Oct 1939 – 17 Dec 1939) died of a digestive condition resulting from premature birth and no subsequent medical attention (Idaho, U.S., Death Records, 1890-1971). Daughter, Shirley Ann, also died at 2 months (6 Nov 1940 – 7 Jan 1941) from influenza (Idaho, U.S., Death Records, 1890-1971). Their final child, Ronald Jean Evans was born 19 May 1942, in Salmon, Idaho, and died 18 months later, on 17 Nov 1943. There are several mysterious things about this death. The cause of death was gastroenteritis, due to teething, and the child died in the State School and Hospital in Nampa, Idaho, which was more than 250 miles from their home (Idaho, U.S., Death Records, 1890-1971).

At this point, we lose track of Dexter until seven years later, when she shows up in the 1950 census, in the household of George L Creech, in Chapel Hill, Georgia. The household consists of: George L Creech, 26, Gloria Jean Creech, 25, Helen Patricia Creech, 3, and Jerry Lee Creech, 1 (1950 United States Federal Census).

The next official documentation we have of her is her marriage on 10 May 1979 to Lawrence F Brewer, Jr. in Vancouver, Washington (Washington, Marriage Records, 1854-2013), where she is listed as Gloria Jean Park. Five months later, on 15 Oct 1979, she divorces him, using the name Gloria Harris (Oregon, Divorce Records, 1961-1985), in Yamhill, Oregon. Her death is documented in the Oregon, Death Index, 1898-2008, under the name Gloria Jean Park, on 22 Mar 1999, and in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. This is a key source, as it ties together the various pieces of her identity. It lists: Name: Gloria Jean Brewer, Female, Birth Date: 12 May 1921, Birth Place: Pocatello, Idaho, Death Date: 22 Mar 1999, Claim Date: 24 Nov 1976. Father: Alvin J Harris, Mother: Flora C Lee, Type of Claim: Duplicate request; evidence of identity only submitted. Notes: 12 Jun 1979: Name listed as GLORIA JEAN BREWER; 29 Feb 1980: Name listed as GLORIA JEAN PARK; 02 Nov 1976: Name listed as GLORIA J PARK.

Informal sources, such as family obituaries, help fill in a few more details. We find her listed in Frank Allen Harris’ obituary in Oct 1957, as Dexter Park, living in Compton, California (The Recorder Herald, Salmon, Idaho, 10 Oct 1957). Her son, Richard Evans, died at the age of 35, and lists her as mother, Mrs. Gloria J. Park. When her mother, Flora, dies in McMinnville, OR, in 1985, we find her as Gloria Jean Park, McMinnville (Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon 07 Aug 1985, Wed, Page 14). Her remaining son, Jerry Lee Creech, dies in June 2018 in Atlanta, GA, and lists his mother, Gloria Harris as preceding him in death. Her own obituary, is reproduced here from the Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon 25 Mar 1999, Page 24:

May 12, 1921 - March 22, 1999

McMINNVILLE Gloria Park, 77, died Monday at her home. Born in Pocatello, Idaho, she was raised and educated in Salmon, Idaho. She moved to Carlton in 1959, Portland in 1966 and McMinnville in 1968. She was a home-care provider for many years. She belonged to Assembly of God Church. Survivors include her daughter, Patricia Kalogerokis of Atlanta, Ga.; son, Jerry Creech of Atlanta; sisters, Joleen Shipley of Mount Home, Idaho and Lois Steele of Carlton; and three grandchildren. Visiting will be 2 to 7 p.m. today at Macy and Son Funeral Directors. Services will be 2:30 p in. Friday at Yamhill-Carlton Pioneer Cemetery.

Now the questions:

First the children –

Why did Ronald Evans die in an institution a full day’s drive from where they lived?
Is Frances May Evans the child of Dexter and Richard, or Charity and Richard?
As best I can tell, her two children by George Creech remained with their father when she left. Why?
Where is Patricia Creech now, dead or alive?

The marriages –

I can only find partial documentation for two out of four probable marriages.
Marriage to Richard Walter Evans – 30 Jun 1937 to unknown
Marriage (?) to George Lee Creech – no documentation, but is living with him in 1950, with two children, aged 3 and 1.
Marriage (?) to unknown Park spouse – appears to have happened between the 1950’s and 1976
Marriage to Lawrence Frank Brewer, Jr – 10 May 1979 to 15 Oct 1979 – have both marriage and divorce records

The locations –

When and why did she leave Idaho, and did she go directly to Georgia, or did she meet George someplace and they moved to Georgia?
When and why did she leave Georgia, without her children? Is this when she went to Compton, CA?

The names –

After she left Richard Evans, it was almost like she was trying to reinvent herself, changing her name from Dexter May to Gloria Jean. The first documented use of the Park surname is in 1976, prior to her marriage to Lawrence Brewer, but she seems to go back to it, and use it for the remainder of her life after she divorces him.