William Davidson's Youngest Trio

Welcome back, cousins!

Today we look at the last three of William Montgomery Davidson's seven children.

     E. Iva E. Davidson (1879–1881) was born on 12 December 1879 and died on 23 July 1881. Iva was buried in the IOOF Cemetery in Harrisburg, Linn County, Oregon.

     F. Oral Everett Davidson (1883–1955) was born on 13 July 1883 in Harrisburg, Linn County, Oregon. About 1910, he married Flora Belle Miller (1885–1973), who was born on 31 May 1885 in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Her parents were William Ross Miller (1862–1929) and Jane Ann Wolfe (1850–1931).

Oral and Flora farmed in Rowland, Linn County, and raised their daughter and two sons. They were active members of the committee that planned reunions of the Davidson and Murphy families, notably the one held at the state fairgrounds in 1930.

Oral died at age 71 on 28 Mar 1955 in Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon, and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Harrisburg. Flora died on 27 August 1973 in Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, and was buried with Oral.

     1. Julia Louise Davidson (1911–1990) was born on 11 November 1911 (11/11/11!) and grew up in Rowland, Linn County, Oregon. She graduated from Eugene Bible College in 1931 with her piano teacher's diploma.

On 12 June 1937, she married Ira Albert Harrington (1902–1976) in Linn County. Ira was born on 2 May 1902 in Dallas, Polk County, Oregon, to Orie Newton Harrington (1875–1952) and Fannie J Owen (1870–1936). He later served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, serving from 25 May 1942 through 31 May 1945.

The couple had two sons and two daughters they raised in Eugene. Ira died there on 28 November 1976 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Harrisburg. Louise died on 20 October 1990 and was buried with her husband.

     2. Hillis Everett Davidson (1916–1970) was born on 24 September 1916 in Harrisburg, Linn County, Oregon. He worked in sales and attended school for many years, and was ordained in January 1955. He died in Sacramento in 1970 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Harrisburg.

     3. James Stanley Davidson (1923–2013) was born on 15 November 1923 on his family's farm in Harrisburg, Linn County, Oregon. He spent his life working that farm, especially growing grass seed. In 1964 he married Nona Ernestine Cochran (1921–2009) and became father to her daughter and son. She was the widow of Carl Joseph Greene (1915–1959) and daughter of Walter Doyle Cochran (1902–1966) and Nellie Ernestine Gray (1903–2002).

During his last two years, Stan lived at the Junction City Retirement Center. He died on 11 March 2013 in Junction City, Lane County, Oregon, and was buried in Masonic Cemetery in Harrisburg.

     G. Lydia D Davidson (1886–1975) was born on 30 Aug 1886 and grew up in Linn County, Oregon. On 18 October 1911, in Brownsville, Lydia married Clinton Floyd Morse (1884–1968), the son of Franklin Pierce Morse (1854–1930) and Esther Cora "Etta" Bartlett (1866–1920). He was born on 8 November 1884 in Landaff, Grafton County, New Hampshire, and moved to the Lebanon area in 1908 from Colorado.

Clinton was a farmer and sometimes worked as a carpenter. He served as an Albany police officer from 1943 to 1947. He and his eldest son, Joe, also ran a feed business, C.F. Morse and Son, in Tangent. The company failed when Clinton reinvested its earnings in the family home rather than in the business, a lesson his son and grandson would recall years later.

Clinton died on 19 September 1968 in a Lebanon hospital having lived the previous five years in a nursing home in Salem, Marion County. Lydia died on 11 November 1975 at a nursing home in Lebanon. They were interred in the Masonic Cemetery in Harrisburg.

They were survived by six children, 17 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.

     1. Joseph Davidson Morse (1912–2002) was born on 30 July 1912 in Brownsville, Linn County, Oregon. Through the years his family lived on several farms, and he attended country schools. During the early part of the Great Depression, he dropped out of school and worked to help his family. He then returned to school, graduating in 1932 from Tangent High School.

In 1936, Joe bought a gravel dump truck and scouted around for contractors who needed gravel for their construction projects. When he found a customer, no matter how many trips it took, Mr. Morse shoveled the required amount of rock into the truck that he parked by a sandbar in the Willamette River near his Harrisburg property. In 1941, Joe and his brothers, Forrest and William founded Morse Bros., a sand and gravel business that grew into the largest construction materials company in Oregon. The Morse brothers later turned the operation over to their children.

Joe married Marjorie Gertrude Price (1919–1998) in Harrisburg on 16 June 1939. She was born on 8 May 1919 in Mohawk, Lane County, Oregon, to Warren J Price (1899–1970) and Lottie R McMurry (1900–1985). The couple lived in Albany after they were married, then spent 32 years in Lebanon, where their four children attended schools. They also lived for nine years in Eugene before returning in the late 1980s to Albany, where they celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1989.

In 1955, Joe began another venture: prospecting for minerals. In 1973, Mr. Morse and his wife, along with his brothers and their wives, purchased mining property in northeastern Washington. The Morse family spent considerable time there over the next 20 years.

Marjorie died on 25 April 1998 at Tucson Medical Center in Arizona and was buried in the Lebanon IOOF Cemetery. Joe died on 24 May 2002 in Albany, Linn County, Oregon.

     a. Judith Reine Morse McBride (1940–2000) was born on 16 June 1940 in Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon. She graduated from Lebanon High School in 1958 and graduated from Northwest Christian College in Eugene in 1962 with a Bachelor's Degree in Theology.

She died on 4 February 2000 in Sandpoint, Bonner County, Idaho, and was survived by her husband, son, daughter, and one grandson.

     2. Shirley Morse (1914–2008) was born on19 September 1914 in Brownsville, Linn County, Oregon. She married Arthur Harold Kuehl (1906–1979)  in Tangent, Linn County, on 8 August 1935. Arthur was the son of Herman D Kuehl (1871–1934) and Mary Karsten (1873–1962), born on 19 August 1906 in Albany, Linn County, Oregon.

Shirley and Arthur had a son and a daughter. They owned the Smith-Kuehl Implement Co. in Lebanon until they sold it and moved to a ranch on Powell Butte, near Portland. They later moved back to Albany, where Shirley worked for French's Jewelry Store. The couple divorced in 1977, and Arthur lived near Salem, where he died on 2 November 1979. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Albany.

Shirley went to work for her brothers' company, Morse Bros. She later married Emmett N Dowding (1915–1989), and then Gilbert S "Gib" Morgan (1912–1999). In 2000, she moved to The Oaks retirement home.

Shirley died on 17 June 2008 in Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon, and was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Albany. She is survived by her son, daughter, six grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

     3. Esther Carol Morse (1916–1999) was born on 3 May 1916 in Brownsville, Linn County, Oregon. She graduated from Harrisburg High School. On 6 June 1936, she married Samuel Dale Brock (1913–2000) in Linn County, Oregon. Sam was the middle of five children of Luther Greenlee Brock (1879–1948) and Alta Bell Dawson (1888–1968), born on 5 March 1913 in Harrisburg.

Sam was a grass seed farmer and member of several local community boards in Harrisburg. Esther died on 11 October 1999, and Sam died on 22 June 2000, both in Harrisburg. They are survived by two daughters, one son, nine grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild.


     4. Forrest Webster Morse (1918–2011) was born on 15 July 1918 in Brownsville, Linn County, Oregon. After high school, Forrest went to work for the Linn County road department where he drove a truck and worked on the road oiling crews. In 1941, brother, Joe asked Forrest to join him in the sand and gravel business in Harrisburg. Brother, Bill soon joined them in 1943 and Morse Bros, Inc.

Forrest was married in 1943. In 1946, the couple moved to Lebanon where they raised their three children until moving to Corvallis in 1978. He died on 11 February 2011 in Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon, and was buried in IOOF Cemetery in Lebanon. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Jody Morse, in 1976, but is survived by his wife, sons and daughters-in-law, six grandchildren, and eight grandchildren.

     a.  Jody Lee Morse (1958–1976) was born on 23 May 1958, in Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon, and graduated from Lebanon Union High School. She died on 29 June 1976, in an automobile accident west of Halsey on Peoria Road. She is buried in the Lebanon IOOF Cemetery.

     5. William Franklin Morse (1921–2013) was born on 9 February 1921 in Roland, Linn County, Oregon, just east of Harrisburg.

During war years he worked at H. J. Kaiser Shipyards on Swan Island in Portland as a quality control inspector. Following that he worked for the Oregon State Highway Department, traveling the state to supervise traffic monitoring teams. His life’s work began in Harrisburg with his two brothers. He joined with them in 1944 when they formed the Morse Brothers partnership.

Music was an avocation and he became regionally known as a soloist. His first solo was at age 5; a male quartet with high school classmates won first place in Forest Grove; he sang solos at church, for civic gatherings, and for decades at the Pioneer Picnic in Brownsville.

Bill died at age 92 on 27 November 2013 in Eugene, Lane County, Oregon. He is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

     6. Rose Alice Morse (1923–1992) was born on 5 March 1923 in Harrisburg, Linn County, Oregon. On 11 December 1945, she married Raymond Leroy Trenholm (1919–1986), son of Claire Udell Trenholm (1883–1959) and Mary Howe (1895–1965). He was born on 23 July 1919 and grew up in Monroe, Benton County, Oregon.

 On 29 January 1942, Ray enlisted in the U S. Navy at Portland and served in the South Pacific during World War II. He was honorably discharged on 26 November 1945, at Bremerton, Washington. He had graduated from Monroe High School and got a forestry degree from Oregon State College in 1949. In 1949, he started to work for the Linn County Fire Patrol Associates and the Oregon Department of Forestry. He retired as a supervisor for the department in 1977.

Ray died on 3 February 1986 in Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon, and was buried in Oak Lawn Memorial Park. Rose died on 22 February 1992 and was buried with Ray. They are survived by their son, daughter, and grandchildren.

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So, despite losing a few weeks in October, we're still pressing on through the rest of the tree. Once we get to the end, I'll have some choices to make about turning all of this into a book. If you have an opinion about what that book should have in it, join us on Facebook or send me an email. Nothing is set in stone (or bound in leather) yet!


As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.

We now have more ways to reach out:

a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MightierAcorns/
a Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/MightierAcorns
a Ko-Fi cup - https://ko-fi.com/mightieracorns


...and if you prefer a private group, we still have the Callin Family History group on Facebook for "cousins only" (there will be a question about how you're related to the family before you can join).

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

The Next Eldest Davidson Children

Hello, Cousins!

Last time, we looked at the first of William Montgomery Davidson's seven children, Clara. Today we'll continue with the three next-eldest children:

     B. Henry Bruce Davidson (1870–1953) was born on 16 January 1870 in Harrisburg, Linn County, Oregon. He grew up in Linn county and served as a postmaster for Rowland, Linn County, in 1899 and 1901.

Bruce married Genevieve Major (1876–1962) the daughter of John W Major (b. 1840) and Jemima Luceneth Springer (b. 1844) on 30 December 1903 in New Elberton, Whitman County, Washington. Genevieve was born on 25 August 1876 in Oregon.

Bruce and Genevieve adopted a son, Philip Neil Davidson (1910–1976), soon after his birth on 23 March 1910 in Eugene, Lane, Oregon. The family lived in Eugene, where Bruce worked as a carpenter, until at least 1918. By 1920, however, Bruce and Genevieve had divorced, and she and young Philip were living in Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California.

Bruce remained in Eugene, and at age 74 he married his second wife was Ada B. (Healy) Sidwell (1888–1985) on 27 January 1944.  He died in Eugene on 31 August 1953 and was buried in the Harrisburg Masonic Cemetery. Genevieve died on 13 August 1962 in Los Angeles; their son died 20 September 1976 in Los Angeles, too.

     C. Laura Elsie Davidson (1872–1913) was born in June 1872 and grew up in Harrisburg. In 1891, she married George B. Pugh (1868–1939), who was born on 16 February 1868 in Linn County, Oregon, to John Wesley Pugh (1845–1913) and Frances Elizabeth Thompson (1848–1870).

George and Elsie had two daughters and raised them in Shedd (1900) and Brownsville (1910), Linn County. George supported the family running a livery business. Elsie died in Salem on 2 May 1913 and was buried in the Pugh Cemetery in Shedd.

George remarried on 24 October 1917 in Lane County, Oregon, to Margaret Serfling (1877–1943). He died on 22 August 1939 and was buried in the Pugh family cemetery in Shedd, Linn County, Oregon.

     1. Verdis G Pugh (1894–1983) was born on 15 August 1894 in Albany, Linn County, Oregon and grew up in Brownsville, graduating from Brownsville High School in 1912. She married Harry Rosecrans Burke (1885–1956), son of Richard Burke (1853–1918) and Clemenza Rosecrans (1853–1936), in Des Moines, Iowa, in June 1920.

Harry worked for 28 years as reporter, editor, and editor-manager on 13 newspapers In Iowa, Oregon, Idaho, and California. He was employed by the old St. Louis Times in 1920 as music and drama critic and as a columnist. In 1924, he became a magazine feature writer for the Post-Dispatch. Then, from 1927 until his retirement, he served the Globe-Democrat as a music critic, art critic and book editor.

Harry died on 19 July 1956 in Brownsville, Linn, Oregon and was buried in the Pugh family cemetery in Shedd. Verdis died on 12 April 1983 in Brownsville and was buried with her husband.

     2. Frances Rose Pugh (1898–1980) was born in Shedd, Linn County, Oregon, in the spring of 1898 (records disagree whether her birthday was 3 May or 4 April). After she reached adulthood, she went to work as a telephone operator in Brownsville, and in 1920 she was living with her father and step-mother.

In November 1921 Frances was married to a traveling salesman named Paul Wright, and living in Reno, Nevada. They soon moved to Los Angeles, and during the 1930s, to Sacramento. Frances died on 19 January 1980 in Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, and was buried in the Pugh Cemetery in Shedd.

     D. John Halbert Davidson (1877–1953) was the fourth child of William Montgomery Davidson, born on 1 January 1877 in Harrisburg, Linn County, Oregon. Soon after 1900, he married Lora X Powell (1880–1944), daughter of Abraham Thomas Powell (1841–1932) and Evaline Terry (1855–1899). Lora was born on 21 June 1880 in Scio, Linn County, Oregon.

John and Lora had two sons and a daughter during the first decade of their marriage; one born in Rollin and the younger two in Stayton, Marion County. They about 1909 they moved their family to Sutter, Sacramento County, California.

Lora died in Sacramento on 9 October 1944 and was buried there in the East Lawn Memorial Park. John died there also, on 16 November 1953, and was buried with his wife.

     1. Robert Dair Davidson (1903–1949) was born on 3 January 1903 in Roland, Oregon, according to his obituary. He was a graduate of Sacramento College and the American Institute of Banking and became the assistant cashier of the main Bank of America office in Sacramento. Dair, as he was called, was also head of the City Music Association and City Symphony Association.

In 1927, he married Lenore Virginia Wiren (1906–1990), the daughter of Scandinavian immigrants, Frank M Wiren (1868–1934) and Inga B Foosness (1879–1939). She was born on 30 June 1906 in St. Louis County, Minnesota, and came with her family to Sacramento in the mid-1920s.

Dair and Lenore had two daughters together before his death from a stroke at age 46 on 27 October 1949 in Sacramento. After Dair died, Lenore remarried William Joseph Geery (1909–1993). She died on 1 September 1990 in Sacramento, and William followed on 8 February 1993. The three of them are buried together in East Lawn Memorial Park in Sacramento.

Dair and Lenore were survived by both of their daughters, one of whom is still living.

     a. Joan Virginia Davidson Bales (1930–2016) was born in Sacramento on 27 June 1930. She married her husband on 30 June 1950 and lived her entire life in Sacramento. She died on 13 October 2016 and is buried in East Lawn Memorial Park with the rest of her family.

     2. Princeton Loraine "Bing" Davidson (1906–1976) was born on 2 January 1906 in Stayton, Marion County, Oregon. His family moved to Sacramento when he was small, so he grew up there and became a salesman.

Bing married Zeola Alice Green (1910–1957), the daughter of Lloyd Allen Green (1871–1947) and Sarah Alice Smith (1877–1963) on 7 May 1932 in Alameda County, California. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served from 17 October 1942 to 15 October 1945.

Zeola died on 14 February 1957 and is buried in East Lawn Memorial Park in Sacramento. Bing remarried on 2 March 1959 to Adeline A Meredith. He died on 30 January 1976 in Rancho Cordova, Sacramento, California.

     3. Evaline Lucille Davidson (1908–1999) was born on 16 January 1908 in Salem, Marion County, Oregon. She graduated from San Jose State College and began teaching in elementary school in Sacramento. She married Harlow Alfred Hanlon (1910–2004) on 17 December 1931, and they had two daughters together.

Harlow was born on 30 November 1910 in Meade, Meade County, Kansas, the son of James William Hanlon (1865–1931) and Anna Belle Moorman (1867–1955). He was a 1932 graduate from the State Teachers College at San Jose.

In 1950, the family moved from Sacramento to Southern California. Lucille taught school for 37 years, retiring from Littleton (Colorado) Public Schools in 1973. Lucille and Harlow divorced in 1960. She married Jack Firth in 1962, and he died in 1977. Harlow died on 11 May 2004. Lucille died on 4 September 1999 at age 91 and was interred at East Lawn Cemetery in Sacramento.

Lucille was survived by her two daughters.

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 This post relied more heavily than usual on clues and research posted by one of these surviving daughters. It is encouraging to see the love and attention that others put into their family trees, and I don't always get the chance to personally thank those who are doing that work. I only hope that my project brings you all as much joy and help as you have brought to me.


As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.

We now have more ways to reach out:

a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MightierAcorns/
a Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/MightierAcorns
a Ko-Fi cup - https://ko-fi.com/mightieracorns


...and if you prefer a private group, we still have the Callin Family History group on Facebook for "cousins only" (there will be a question about how you're related to the family before you can join).

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

Back to Linn County

Welcome back, cousins!

The last half dozen posts covered the descendants of Rebecca Davidson Murphy, the eldest daughter of Sarah Montgomery Davidson (1824-1918), and granddaughter of Caleb Montgomery and Elizabeth Callin. At long last, we get to move on to Rebecca's brother:

II. William Montgomery Davidson (1845–1939) 

William M. Davidson was born on 8 April 1845, in Rochester, Fulton County, Indiana. He was the second son of Henry and Sarah Montgomery Davidson, who came to Oregon with their family in 1845 and settled on a 320-acre homestead three miles north of Halsey. Mr. Davidson attended the Halsey public schools and during 1863-64 attended the Christian college at Monmouth. In 1865 he went to eastern Oregon where he engaged in stock-raising. The following year he returned to Linn County where he resided for the rest of his life.

In 1867 he bought a place two and one-half miles east of Harrisburg, and on 2 June of that year, he married Sarah Rosetta "Rose" Morris (1848–1928). Rose was born on 24 October 1848 in Moniteau County, Missouri, to George Jackson Morris (1818–1896) and Eliza Ann Cook (1825–1903). (Records suggest her full name might have been "Elizanna Matilda Cook".) The Morris family were also pioneers and crossed the plains in 1853.

Rose and William had the following seven children:

     A. Clara M Davidson (1868–1950)
     B. Henry Bruce Davidson (1870–1953)
     C. Laura Elsie Davidson (1872–1913)
     D. John Halbert Davidson (1877–1953)
     E. Iva E. Davidson (1879–1881)
     F. Oral Everett Davidson (1883–1955)
     G. Lydia D Davidson (1886–1975)

(We have time to talk about Clara's family today, and the rest will follow in the coming weeks.)

The Davidsons lived on the farm until 1874 when they sold it and bought a home 5 miles east of Harrisburg. They lived there until 1907 when Mr. Davidson retired from farm work and moved to Brownsville. Rose died in Brownsville on 17 February 1928 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Harrisburg, Linn County, Oregon. Soon after, William made his home in Albany with his daughter, Mrs. Clara McCoy. He died there on 26 May 1939 and was buried with his wife.

They were survived by five of their children, 17 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

     A. Clara M Davidson (1868–1950) was born in Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon, on 16 June 1868. She married Clyde McCoy (1869–1942) in Harrisburg in 1888. Clyde was born on 7 February 1869 in Halsey, Linn County, Oregon, to William McCoy (1817–1900) and Margaret Ann Downey (1849–1931).

Clyde was a businessman who ran a drug store and was a part-owner of a building in downtown Halsey but lost a great deal in a fire that destroyed several businesses in January of 1895. After that, he is listed as a laborer, farmer, and salesman when his occupation is listed.

Clara and Clyde had three children together over the 12 years they were married, but they divorced in 1900. He moved to Portland after that, and he died there on 21 October 1942.

Clara lived in Albany for 34 years but in 1948 she moved back to Corvallis. She had also lived at Harrisburg, Halsey, Brownsville, Salem, in Crook county, in Seattle and in Washington, D.C. according to her obituary. After she suffered a hip fracture, she lived with her daughter, Gertrude Brown, in Corvallis. She died there on 26 October 1950 at the age of 82 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Harrisburg.

     1. Lilla Orlean McCoy (1889–1969) was born on 4 September 1889 in Linn County, Oregon, and lived all her life there. She never married, but for several years she operated the first Brownsville telephone exchange with her mother. She also was a legal secretary, working for the Linn County Court and Tripp and Tripp Realtors. Lilla died on 11 July 1969 at the Albany Linn Nursing Home after a brief illness and was buried in Masonic Cemetery in Harrisburg, Linn County.

     2. Gertrude Doris McCoy (1891–1983) was born on 28 August 1891 in Halsey, Linn County, Oregon. On 11 August 1915, she married Lyn Arthur Brown (1891–1956) in Brownsville, Linn County, Oregon. He was born on 20 September 1891 in Carthage, Miner County, South Dakota, the son of Fred Martell Brown (1867–1938) and Lilian R Prescott (1870–1952). The Brown family moved to Oregon at the turn of the century, and Lyn grew up in Brownsville.

Lyn and Gertrude had two children and raised them in Corvallis. Lyn worked as superintendent of a cannery, and the couple was active in the local community. Lyn died on 6 August 1956 while visiting their daughter, Bette, in Roseburg. He was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Harrisburg, Linn County. Gertrude died at the Corvallis Manor nursing home on 7 March 1983 and was buried with her husband.

They were survived by their son, daughter, five grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

     a. Bette Ann Brown (1917–2012) was born on 24 February 1917 in Brownsville, Linn County, Oregon. She attended Albany College and graduated from Oregon State College in 1939.

On 14 June 1941, she married Wallace Russell Wright (1918–1967), who was born in Medford, Jackson County, Oregon, on 15 January 1918. Wallace was the son of Alexander Lincoln Wright (1888–1960) and Odis Effie Wise (1890–1918), but his mother died when he was 8 months old, and her sister and brother-in-law, Ailey E Wise (1888–1959) and Albert Cleveland Cochell (1884–1946), took him in and raised him.

Wallace worked in the woolen mills while taking an extension study from the University of Oregon, later attending the Oregon College of Education. Bette taught in Independence and Central Point before settling in Roseburg. They raised a son and a daughter together. She and Wallace moved to Garden Valley in 1954. He died there on 28 July 1967. She later married Dick Scarborough.

Bette taught biology and physical education at Sutherlin High School until she retired in 1979. Dick died on 18 August 2009 and was buried in Roseburg National Cemetery in Roseburg, Douglas County, Oregon. Bette moved to Clearwater Springs in Vancouver, Washington in 2009, where she died on 7 November 2012. She is also buried in Roseburg National Cemetery.

Bette was survived by her son, daughter, two grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

     b. Lyn Arthur Brown Jr (1920–2005) was born on 13 July 1920 in Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon. On 12 August 1942, he married Dorothy Ann Winter (1921–1987), daughter of Raymond Robert Robinson (1899–1983) and Vera Catherine Gantz (1902–2003) (Her biological father was Raymond Herbert Winter (b. 1899); records don't suggest whether he and Vera divorced or if he died.)

Dorothy was born on 3 January 1921 in Portland and moved to the Corvallis-Philomath area as a child. She was the secretary for the Corvallis School District for many years, retiring in 1984.

Dorothy died on 5 July 1987 in Philomath, Benton County, Oregon. Lyn died on 3 Jun 2005 in Corvallis. They were survived by two daughters and a son.

     3. Charles William Henry McCoy (1894–1970) was born on 2 October 1894 in Halsey, Linn County, Oregon. His parents divorced when he was about six years old, but Charles and his siblings grew up living near his mother's family, appearing in the 1900 Census in his grandparents' household in North Harrisburg, and living with his mother and sisters next door to the Pugh family (his mother's sister and brother-in-law) in Brownsville in 1910. During World War I, he served with the Marine Corps as an instructor of the machine gun, rifle, and pistol.

Charles married his first wife, Violet L Stellmacher (1904–1994) on 24 August 1920 in Linn County, Oregon. She was a daughter of Alfred Conrad Stellmacher (1861–1941) and Ida Louisa Spink (1869–1953), born in Oregon on 24 June 1904. The couple had a son and a daughter in Albany before they divorced.

By 1930, Violet had remarried and was living in Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California, with her daughter and new husband, Tom Tomson Leal (1905–1976). Violet and Tom had a son and daughter together and raised their family in Los Angeles. Violet died on 17 October 1994 in Placer County, California, where she had lived with her third husband, John A. "Jack" Doyle Jr. (1911–1992).

Charles married his second wife Guinevere L Kerns (1907–1954) on 29 May 1931 in  Josephine County, Oregon. She was born on 17 October 1907 in Oregon to John Wesley Kerns (1868–1951) and Jennie Houck (1885–1978). They also had a son and daughter together whom they raised in Medford.

Guinivere died on 30 September 1954 in Rogue River, Jackson County, Oregon, and was buried there in Woodville Cemetery. Charles died on 17 March 1970 in Rogue River and was buried with Guinivere. He was survived by all four of his children and eleven grandchildren.

Two of his children are still living.

     a. Alfred Lee McCoy (1922–2006) was born in Albany on 4 February 1922. When his parents divorced, he went to live in Calapooia, Linn County, Oregon, with his maternal grandparents, Alfred and Ida Stellmacher, where he appeared on the 1930 Census. He graduated from Albany High School in 1941 and briefly attended Oregon State University.

Lee joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 during World War II and served in the Pacific Theater as an electrician's mate. He also served in the Korean Conflict in 1950. Upon his discharge from the Navy, he married Patricia Gertrude Richey (1924–1995) in 1945 in San Francisco. She was born on 24 June 1924 in Washington, District of Columbia, to Thomas Beall Richey (1895–1953) and Winifred Mary Benbow (1893–1951).

Patricia's family moved to San Francisco from Washington, D.C. when she was two years old. She graduated from George Washington High School there in 1942, and after high school, she worked for Graybar Electric, at a detective agency and at an insurance company in San Francisco. Lee worked as an electrician in Los Angeles before moving back to Oregon in the late 1940s. About 1946 they moved to Albany, where Lee worked for Pacific Power & Light and Patricia worked for a title company and for Dr. Wade. In 1952 Lee transferred to the Linn County Telephone Company in Lebanon (currently CenturyTel) and worked as a construction superintendent for many years. Later, he became a safety engineer until his retirement in 1986.

Patricia died in Lebanon on 6 November 1995. Lee was later married to his old high school sweetheart, and they lived in Albany, where Lee died on 1 December 2006. Patricia and Lee are survived by their son and daughter, three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

     b. Margery Ann McCoy Holly (1924–2004) was born on 14 August 1924 in Medford, Jackson County, Oregon. She was married in 1948, and they lived in the Los Angeles area for many years before moving to Palm Springs.

Margery was vice president of Palm Springs Camera and Sound, Inc. for 12 years. Her paintings were featured at a one-woman show and received numerous awards from the Indio Date Festival and other venues. Her civic involvement included serving two terms on the Palm Springs City Art Commission, president of the Desert Art Center, chairperson of the Auditorium Project, a docent at Palm Springs Desert Museum and a volunteer at Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Margery died on 28 February 2004 in Palm Springs, Riverside County, California. She is survived by her husband, daughter, son, and five grandchildren.

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As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.

We now have more ways to reach out:

a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MightierAcorns/
a Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/MightierAcorns
a Ko-Fi cup - https://ko-fi.com/mightieracorns


...and if you prefer a private group, we still have the Callin Family History group on Facebook for "cousins only" (there will be a question about how you're related to the family before you can join).

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

The Final Murphy

Hello, cousins, and welcome back.

Today we'll take a brief look at the last family descended from  Henderson and Rebecca (Davidson) Murphy, their youngest son.

     G. Claude Henry Murphy (1885–1970) was born on 4 October 1885 in Independence, Polk County, Oregon.
Claude and Ethel Murphy 50th Anniversary Sun, Jul 26, 1959 – Page 16 · Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon) · Newspapers.com

On 29 July 1909 in Linn County, Oregon, Claude married Ethel Blackburn (1892–1980), the youngest daughter of  Addison Pollard Blackburn (1844–1918) and Arabelle S "Belle" Woodworth (1846–1935).

Ethel was born in Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon, on 19 June 1892. She grew up in Lebanon, and after their wedding, Claude and Ethel lived in Klamath Falls, where Claude was a hardware salesman.


Over the years, Claude sold hardware, cars, and real estate, and insurance as the couple raised their three children. In July 1949 Claude was appointed to serve as the Oregon State Insurance Commissioner, a post he held for ten years.

The couple celebrated their 50th Anniversary in 1959. Claude died in Salem on 30 June 1970. Ethel moved to Portland in 1978, presumably to live near their son; she died in Portland on 29 October 1980. They are buried together in the IOOF Cemetery in Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon.

They were survived by two daughters, one son, and one granddaughter.

     1. Lucile Claudena Murphy (1910–1995) was born in Oregon (most likely in Klamath Falls) on 9 November 1910. She graduated from Albany Union High School in 1928 and went on to graduate from Temple University in Philadelphia. By the early 1940s, she had become the principal of Linnton school in Portland.

Lucile married Paul Maxwell Brunskill (1910–2000) on 17 Jul 1943 in Marion County, Oregon, after he returned from twenty months of service in the U.S. Navy. Paul was born on 10 January 1910 in Hawarden, Sioux County, Iowa, the son of David Ellsworth Brunskill (1877–1952) and Nellie May Maxwell (1880–1952).

As far as I can tell, both continued their careers in the Portland area, she in education and he as a pharmacist. Lucile died in Portland on 4 December 1995 and was buried in Skyline Memorial Gardens. Paul died on 23 October 2000 in Forest Grove, Washington County, Oregon, and was buried with Lucile.

     2. Kenneth Addison Murphy (1913–1985) was born on 10 December 1913 in Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon. His family moved to Albany when he was age 5. He later lived in Salem for 39 years before moving to Portland in 1977. He was an Eagle Scout and active in the Boy Scouts of America, and was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Portland.

He died on 3 February 1985, in Portland at the age of 71, and was buried in Skyline Memorial Gardens, Lebanon.

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This post was meant to be at least a little bit longer, but because I never post information about living people, I had to leave out the youngest daughter of Claude and Ethel. I think that's some rather good news, don't you? Here's hoping the rest of this family is well and having a lovely holiday season.


As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.

We now have more ways to reach out:

a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MightierAcorns/
a Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/MightierAcorns
a Ko-Fi cup - https://ko-fi.com/mightieracorns


...and if you prefer a private group, we still have the Callin Family History group on Facebook for "cousins only" (there will be a question about how you're related to the family before you can join).

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

The Rayburn and Diekman Families

Welcome back, cousins!

I hope everyone has had a Happy Thanksgiving, and I'd like to wish a special happy birthday to my dad, Ted Callin today! Today we continue with two more Murphy daughters and their descendants - so let's get into it:

     E. Nellie Murphy (1873–1958) was the fifth child of Henderson and Rebecca (Davidson) Murphy, born in Oregon in June 1873. She grew up in Oregon and Washington state, and she taught school for many years. Then, at 26 years of age, she married Andrew Mack Rayburn (1871–1940) in 1899.

Andrew was the son of John Barnett Rayburn (1837–1905) and Sarah Francis Frazier (1844–1915) and was born in West Virginia on 12 December 1837. He had also been a teacher, and after they married, he and Nellie homesteaded a wheat farm in 1902 near Hatton, Adams County, Washington. They had three sons and three daughters and raised them on their farm.

After several years of living in a two-room shack, Andrew had a two-story house built about 1917 in Othello on a promontory overlooking the wheat fields. Before the house was built, his daughter Hazel remembered "sleeping in a tent in summers, but the rest of the year we made do with sheet partitions in only two bedrooms." That house was purchased by C.C. Andrews and his son, Clyde, in 1974 and they moved it to their farm north of Bruce Siding, six miles northeast of Othello, where they planned to restore it.

Andrew died on 20 June 1940 in Othello, Adams County, Washington. Nellie sold the farm equipment and moved first to Walla Walla, Washington, then to Spokane. She lived in the Spokane area for 17 years and died there on 21 June 1958. She and Andrew are buried in Lind Cemetery in Lind, Adams County, Washington.

     1. Wilma Lucretia Rayburn (1900–1990) was born on 6 September 1900 in Columbia County, Washington, and grew up on her family's farm in Adams County, Washington. She graduated from Cheney Normal and attended Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. She taught school in Oregon and Washington for several years.

In the mid-1940s, Wilma married James Wilson Rogers (1905–1987). James was born in Davis County, Iowa, on 14 March 1905 to James Nelson Rogers (1876–1910) and Lydia Mae Carter (1884–1958). He was a butcher in Ottumwa, Iowa, for many years and moved to Spokane after divorcing his wife of 15 years around 1945.

James died on 6 March 1997 in Spokane, and Wilma died there on 14 December 1990. They were survived by James's daughter from his first marriage.

     2. Lawrence Mack Rayburn (1902–1977) was born on 25 July 1902 in Hatton, Adams County, Washington. After growing up in Adams County, he became an electrician working in Spokane in 1929 and 1930. He lived in West Allis, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin in the early 1930s, where he was listed in the City Directory as an engineering student.

While he was living in Milwaukee, he met Frances H Poepke (1904–2000), a stenographer from New London, Waupaca County, Wisconsin. Frances was the daughter of Joachina Ike Poepke (1877–1950) and Marguerette Knapstein (1876–1962)  and was born on 24 July 1904.

Lawrence and Frances were married on 1 June 1935 and soon returned to Washington state, appearing in Port Angeles, Clallam County, on the 1940 Census. They lived mainly in the Bremerton area during the 1940s before relocating to Portland, Oregon, where they remained during the 1950s. Lawrence worked as an electrical engineer with the U.S. Department of Interior from 1949 to 1965, according to his obituary.

Lawrence died at age 73 in Desert Samaritan Hospital, Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona, and was buried in the Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery in that city. Frances died in Bend, Deschutes County, Oregon, on 12 October 2000 at the age of 96. She was buried in Mesa with Lawrence. They are survived by a son, daughter, and at least three grandchildren.

     3. Hazel Frances Rayburn (1904–1995) was born on 15 August 1904 in Hatton, Adams county, Washington. She graduated from Cheney Normal School and then from the University of Washington (Class of 1930). In 1926-27 she taught the seventh and eighth grades in Othello, and after graduating from University, she taught for 43 years in Washington, Idaho, and Alaska, retiring in 1969.

On 6 June 1958, Hazel married Harvey Hiscott Burgett (1912–1994). He was the son of William H Burgett (1874–1931) and Minnie Bertha Hiscott (1879–1964), born in Spokane on 25 November 1912. He worked as a warehouse-man for a paper company, and in road construction.

Harvey died in Spokane on 14 May 1994, and Hazel died there a year later on 17 November 1995. They were survived by nieces and nephews.

     4. Clarence Howard Rayburn (1907–1983) was born in Hatton, Adams County, Washington, on 13 May 1907, and he grew up in Adams County. in 1926 he attended State College of Washington in Pullman, Whitman County, Washington, and he eventually became a research chemist.

Clarence's career took him east to Richmond, Virginia. On 25 December 1934, he married Dorothy Jean Cahill (1910–1996) in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina. She was born on 6 April 1910 in Rockingham County, North Carolina, to Benjamin Marshall Cahill (1862–1926) and Katherine Louise Lewis (1866–1955).

The couple lived in Richmond together until Clarence's death on 3 July 1983. He was buried in Dale Memorial Park in Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, Virginia. Dorothy was living back in North Carolina when she died on 14 June 1996, and she was buried next to Clarence. They are survived by a daughter, two sons, and at least two grandchildren.

     5. Lena Rayburn (1911–2003) was born on 31 January 1911 in Hatton, Adams County, Washington. She grew up in Adams County and moved to Spokane, where she was listed as a maid in the household of Herbert and Virginia Barrett in 1930.

On 25 July 1931, she married Carl Julius Roning (1911–1988), the son of Norwegian immigrants Elmer Roning (1873–1962) and Caroline "Carrie" Bjornes (1882–1961), born on 2 June 1911 in Spokane. Carl worked as a lineman for the telephone company, and they raised their son and daughter in Walla Walla and Spokane before Carl retired from Pacific Northwest Bell in 1971. They then settled in Loon Lake, Stevens County, Washington.

Carl died on 8 March 1988 in Loon Lake, at 76 years of age, and Lena died there at age 92 on 3 October 2003. They are survived by their daughter, four grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

     a. Clifford Mack Roning (1934–1993) was born on 12 March 1934 in Diamond Lake, Pend Oreille County, Washington. He grew up in Walla Walla and in Spokane, attending the University of Washington in 1956.

Clifford died on 15 October 1993 in Saint Petersburg, Pinellas, Florida. I believe he was married and may have had a daughter, but I was unable to find records to confirm these facts.

     6. Warren Dale Rayburn (1916–1994) was born on 13 April 1916 in Sprague, Lincoln County, Washington and grew up in Adams County with his siblings. He married Ida Mary Roach (1917–1991) on 11 July 1939 in Kelso, Cowlitz County, Washington. She was born in Malden, Whitman County, Washington, on 1 February 1917, the daughter of John Davis Roach (1891–1933) and Katie M Evans (1892–1970).

Warren and Ida lived in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington, in the late 1940s and moved to Pendleton, Umatilla County, Oregon, where they remained throughout the 1950s. They divorced on 26 October 1965. Ida remarried Calvin Vance Day (1911–2001) on 19 June 1966 in Kennewick, Franklin County, Washington. She died on 6 October 1991 in Richland, Benton County, Washington.

Warren died on 16 February 1994 in Wasco County, Oregon.

     F. Carrie M Murphy (1878–1954) was born in Oregon on 2 October 1877. She married her first husband, Charles Jacob Diekman (1873–1942), in 1898. Charles was born on 14 June 1873 in Marshfield, Coos County, Oregon, to parents Charles W (1844–1916) and Lydia C Diekman (1851–1933). Charles was a carpenter and he and Carrie raised their children in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. In the 1920s, Charles and Carrie moved down to California, and by 1940 had moved to Hawaii. Charles died there on 3 June 1942.

Carrie married her second husband, Thomas Henry Joy (1870–1963), at the end of 1946. She died in Honolulu on 9 March 1954, and Thomas died on 22 March 1963.

     1. Warren William Diekman (1900–1957) was born on 22 November 1900 in Moro, Sherman County, Oregon. He grew up in the general Vancouver area and was briefly married to Lucy Alice McBroom (1890–1934) in the 1920s.

Lucy was the daughter of Walter Hill McBroom (1859–1932) and Lillian N Rasey (1867–1960), born on 14 May 1890 in Butterfield, Watonwan County, Minnesota. She had been married to Daniel Oliver Williams (1888–1976) from 1909 to 1915, and to William Raymond Leslie (1882–1955) from about 1915 to 1920. She remarried Mr. Leslie in 1929.

Warren worked in construction, working in Los Angeles and Hawaii. Prior to World War II, he was in charge of the installation of the fortifications at Midway and Pearl Harbor from 1938 to 1940 and was a construction superintendent for Waale-Camplan contractors during the war.

On 26 November 1938, Warren married Grace Lee Campbell (1909–1977), daughter of Robert Campbell (1874–1952) and Irene Katherine Campion (1878–1950), in Multnomah County, Oregon. They lived in Hawaii in 1940, but in 1942, Warren was seen listing Portland as his home of record.

Warren died in Portland on 28 April 1957 and was buried in Riverview Abbey Mausoleum and Crematory. Grace raised their two young daughters; she died in Portland on 3 February 1977 and was buried with Warren. They are survived by their daughters and three grandsons.

     2. Virgil Otto Diekman (1903–1964) was born on 13 June 1903 in Moro, Sherman County, Oregon. He married Blanch Irene Joy (1903–1984) on 30 January 1922 in Chehalis, Lewis County, Washington. Blanch was born on 24 January 1903 in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. She was the daughter of  Thomas Henry Joy (1870–1963) and his first wife, Etta Clara Higdon (1877–1945). (This is the same Tom Joy who later married Virgil's mother, Carrie.)

Like his father and older brother, Virgil worked in construction. He and Blanch had a son, and lived in the Portland and Vancouver areas during the 1930s. They likely moved to follow Warren to Hawaii, arriving in 1937. In 1940, they were living in Honolulu, Hawaii, which is where Virgil died on 20 April 1964.

       a. Dwaine Omer Diekman (1922–2000) was born on 10 September 1922 in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington, and moved to Hawaii with his family in the mid-1930s. He worked as a branch manager of an appliance store in Kailua, Hawaii, for many years. Dwaine was married to
Kimie Taira "Peggy" Ishihara (1922–2003) from about 1955 to about 1960, and in 1962 he married Winifred M Magpiong (1922–1990) in Agana, Hagåtña, Guam.

Winifred died on 16 March 1990 in Otis, Lincoln County, Oregon; Dwaine died in Otis on 9 June 2000 at age 78. Her obituary suggests that she and Dwaine may have had two daughters, but I was unable to confirm whether they were his daughters or Winifred's daughters from her previous marriage.

     3. Lois Carol Diekman (1911–?) was born on 15 September 1911 in Washington state and spent her early childhood in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. She graduated from Glendale Union High School in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California in 1929 and married on 17 April 1930 in Los Angeles County, California, to Cecil William Swartz (1907–1990), the son of William Edgar "Willie" Swartz (1877–1934) and Addie Johnson (1878–1936). He was born on 31 July 1907 in Alderson, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma.

Lois worked in the Burbank Unified School District for 28 years, managing the Children's Center programs at Emerson and Washington nursery schools. She became the supervisor of Emerson in 1947. In 1952 she was transferred to Washington, where she became the supervisor. In 1973, because of budget cutbacks, she became supervisor of both Washington and Emerson, and she retired in 1974.

Cecil died on 20 April 1990 in Los Angeles, and while I have a record placing Lois in Sun Valley, Los Angeles County, in 1992, I don't know for certain what happened to her after that.

     4. Harold Elton "Red" Diekman (1913–1974) was born on 27 December 1913, in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. He married Susanne Roberts Noyes (1923–2009) on 15 February 1942. Susanne was born on 2 March 1923, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Chief Warrant Officer Joseph Everett Noyes (1876–1952) and Lois Howard Brown (1888–1965). Being a military family the Noyes moved to Honolulu, where Susanne attended McKinley High School.

After they married, Red and Susanne had three children. In 1953, the family moved to Guam to participate in the post-war reconstruction of the island. Susanne worked as a school secretary for many years at Adelup Elementary School. In 193 they moved to Springdale, Washington, where they built their home and settled into the community She was the Springdale Town Clerk and served on the Springdale School Board.

He died on April 8, 1974, in Spokane, Washington, at the age of 60. Susanne died many years later on 26 January 2009. They were survived by two sons and a daughter, as well as nine grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson.

     a. Harold Elton "Hal" Diekman Jr (1943–2018) was born on 8 August 1943 Honolulu, Hawaii. Hal spent his childhood in the pacific islands but he graduated from Stoneham High School in Stoneham, Massachusetts, in 1961 while residing with his aunt and uncle. He graduated college from Lowell Institute in Lowell, Massachusetts, where he enjoyed rowing crew. He joined the United States Air Force in 1968 and began a twelve-year military career as an Air Weather Reconnaissance Officer.

Hal was married in 1971, and he and his new wife resided in Guam while Hal served as a "typhoon chaser." In 1975 the family transferred to Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma. After leaving the military, the family relocated to Lawton, Oklahoma in 1982 where they raised their three children.

Hal died just last year on 26 December 2018 in Lawton and is survived by his wife, three children, and six grandchildren.

     5. Diekman (1916–1916) Carried and Charles also had an unnamed baby daughter who died on 11 October 1916 in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington.

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There is one more Murphy child to cover, and my semester ends in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, we'll get back to a more regular schedule, soon.

As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.

We now have more ways to reach out:

a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MightierAcorns/
a Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/MightierAcorns
a Ko-Fi cup - https://ko-fi.com/mightieracorns


...and if you prefer a private group, we still have the Callin Family History group on Facebook for "cousins only" (there will be a question about how you're related to the family before you can join).

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

Murphy's Law: We Shall Carry On!

Hello, cousins!

Fortunately for me, it is not Murphy's famous law that has interfered with my posting schedule - it's just school and life. Circumstances being what they are, something had to give. My apologies for those who wait patiently for these posts, but I fear the schedule is going to be erratic until I get to the end of the Fall semester.

But, we're here now, so let's pick up where we left off from last time and press on:


     D. Katherine M "Katie" Murphy (1873–1942) was born in May 1873 and lived with her family in Alder Creek, Klickitat County, Washington, in 1880. She married Wilmer Stuart Cooper (1857–1937) in 1897 when she was 24 and he was 40.

Wilmer was a son of Harben Mills Cooper (1829–1904) and Ann Jane Stewart (1831–1919), born in December 1857 in Oregon Territory. His sister, Viola, was the mother of Mabel Grace Sloper (1877–1913), who married Katie's older brother, Omer Murphy, whom you might remember from our last post.

Wilmer and Katie had five sons and a daughter, but they divorced sometime between their appearance on the 1910 Census and Katie's marriage to her second husband. Records are pretty clear that she married Arthur Elmer Fletcher on 20 Sep 1915, in Kalama, Cowlitz County, Washington, but that marriage also did not last very long, and she married again on 7 October 1918 in Vancouver, Clarke County, Washington. This third husband was Austin Graves Stultz (1867–1936).

Austin was born 24 October 1867 to Elijah L Stults (1831–1896) and Philena O Graves (1833–1894) of Licking County, Ohio. He was buried in Hartford Cemetery in Croton, in Licking County, Ohio, after he died on 4 May 1936 in Portland, Oregon. Katie went to live with her eldest son, Oris, and she died in Portland on 28 November 1942. Katie was buried as Kathryn M. Cooper in Rose City Cemetery in Portland.

     1. Oris Leo Cooper (1897–1980) was born on 13 September 1897 in The Dalles, Wasco County, Oregon. When the United States entered World War I, he enlisted as a private in the U.S. Marine Corps and served from 8 April 1917 through 22 May 1919. After the war, he returned to live with his mother and step-father in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon. A few years later, on 1 November 1926, Oris re-enlisted, and in 1930 he was stationed in the Marine barracks at Mare Island, near Vallejo, Solano County, California.

Oris left the military and worked in construction jobs with the Works Progress Administration, living in Clackamas County in 1935 and 1940. With the second World War on the horizon, he enlisted in the National Guard on 15 September 1940. His mother was living with him in those years, until her death in 1942. He remained in the Portland area until his death on 4 April 1980, and he was buried in Willamette National Cemetery.

     2. Marshall Blynn Cooper (1899–1971) was born on 25 April 1899 in Goldendale, Klickitat County, Washington. Based on various records, he seems to have been a sailor, serving in the U.S. Coast Guard in the 1920s. He appeared on the 1930 Census as residing on the Coast Guard Base at Neah Bay, Washington, and while that record indicated that he was married in 1922, I have not found a corresponding marriage record and do not know the name of his wife at that time.

He did marry Opal Odelight (Olson) Singer (1908–2003) on 23 February 1937 in Montesano, Grays Harbor, Washington. Opal was born in Chehalis, Lewis County, Washington, on 18 January 1908, the daughter of Ernest Oscar Olson (1874–1967) and Anna Marie Haines (1879–1975). On the 1940 Census, Marshall appeared as a member of the Grays Harbor Coast Guard station, and Opal appeared under the name Opal Cooper in her parents' household in Quinault; both are listed as "married," but considering Opal remarried in 1941, they may have been legally separated at that point.

Marshall married his younger brother's widow, Winnie Florence Boydston (1898–1976), on 15 March 1963 in Kitsap County, Washington, and they seem to have remained together until his death on 4 July 1971 in Grayland, Grays Harbor County. Marshall was buried in Fern Hill Cemetery in Aberdeen, Grays Harbor County. Winnie died in Hoquiam, Grays Harbor, on 26 October 1976, and was buried in Fern Hill Cemetery with Marshall.

     3. Cooper (1900) was an unnamed baby girl born in Goldendale, Klickitat County, on 4 August 1900. While I have not found documentation to confirm this, I suspect that she probably died in infancy, considering the short amount of time between her birth and that her older brother, Marshall.

     4. Merton D Cooper (1901–1944) was most likely born on 22 May 1901, in Klondike, Sherman County, Oregon - but his military records say he was born on 22 May 1899. Census and other records that give approximate birth dates suggest 1901 is correct, but if he was born in 1901, then he would have only been 17 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 23 October 1917. He was honorably discharged after World War I on 27 June 1919.

On 3 November 1923, he married Winnie Florence Boydston (1898–1976) in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. Winnie was the daughter of Benjamin F Boydston (1844–1933) and Mary Stoker (1871–1954) and she was born in Oregon on 15 February 1898.

Winnie and Merton lived in Vancouver through the 1930s, where they had two daughters and a son. Merton worked as a longshoreman. He died in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, on 4 March 1944, and was buried in the Veteran's Lawn Area of Lincoln Memorial Park in Portland. Winnie married Merton's older brother in 1963, and she died in Hoquiam, Grays Harbor, on 26 October 1976.

     5. Milford Roland Cooper (1903–1968) was born on 15 March 1903 in Wasco County, Oregon. He married Agnes Amelia Lundquist (1904–2004), daughter of Petrus Nathan Lundquist (1877–1925) and Amelia Katherine Lundquist (1875–1961), on 4 September 1928. Agnes was born in McPherson County, Kansas, on 6 February 1903. She lived in Kansas until about 1914, when her family relocated to the Portland area.

Milford was a salesman, and the couple lived for a few years in Yakima before settling in Portland, where they lived in 1940. They raised one daughter, who is still living. Milford died in Portland on 28 March 1968 and was buried in Rose City Cemetery there. Agnes died at age 99 in Portland on 14 January 2004 and was buried next to her husband.

They are survived by their daughter, who had two sons and one daughter, as well as two grandsons.

     6. Wendell Wright Cooper (1905–1968) was born in Wasco County, Oregon, on 1 September 1905. He grew up living in Independence and, later, in Portland.

He married Hilda Augusta Doering (1907–2000) on 30 May 1925 in Multnomah County, Oregon. Hilda was born on 8 March 1907 in Rosthen, Saskatchewan, Canada, the daughter of David J. Doering (1878–1958) and Katharina Elizabeth Schmidt (1879–1973). Hilda's parents were both German-speaking immigrants from Russia who moved to Canada at the turn of the century, and raised their large family near Saskatoon before moving to the United States in 1923. They came through Blaine, Whatcom County, Washington, and settled in the Portland area, where Hilda met Wendell.

The couple had two children, a daughter and a son. In the early 1930s their family moved to Sacramento, where Wendell worked as a butcher and meat cutter. They resided until after 1953. It may be the case that Wendell and Hilda moved back to Oregon after he retired.

Wendell was 63 years old when he died in Newberg, Yamhill County, Oregon, on 11 May 1968. Hilda died on  23 March 2000 in Douglas County, Washington, at 93 years of age.


     a. Wilma Blanche Cooper (1926–1953) was born on 18 December 1926 in Oregon and grew up in Sacramento, California. She became the fourth wife of Harold Frederick Schug (1898–1978) around 1949, and they had a daughter together. Wilma was found unconscious in her bed one Saturday night in June 1953. She died 13 June 1953 in Sacramento and was buried in Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery and Mausoleum.

     b. Richard Cooper (1929) only appears in one record: the 1930 U.S. Census, which shows his family living in Englewood, Multnomah County, Oregon. He is not listed in the 1940 Census, which places his family in Sacramento, and he is not mentioned in his father's 1968 obituary; presumably, he died young.

- -- --- -- -

No promises on the regularity of future posts, but I'll do my best.

As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.

We now have more ways to reach out:

a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MightierAcorns/
a Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/MightierAcorns
a Ko-Fi cup - https://ko-fi.com/mightieracorns


...and if you prefer a private group, we still have the Callin Family History group on Facebook for "cousins only" (there will be a question about how you're related to the family before you can join).

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

A Very Murphy Sequel

Hello, cousins!

I'm sorry I missed my usual Friday deadline; some things in the real world have made it hard to stick to my schedule. Hopefully, the world will cooperate with my preferred schedule, and I'll be able to keep up regular updates.

Today, we're continuing our catalogue of the descendants of Rebecca Lucretia Davidson Murphy, the granddaughter of Elizabeth Callin Montgomery. Last week we discussed the family of Lucretia's second child, John D. Murphy - today, we'll pick up with Lucretia's third child, Omer:

     C. Omer Thurston Murphy (1871–1961) was born on 28 April 1871 in Linn County, Oregon, at Peoria, west of Shedd. He married his first wife Mabel Grace Sloper (1877–1913) in 1895. She was born in May 1877 in Oregon to Mortimer Sloper (1849–1891) and Viola Cooper (1854–1909). She and Omer had a son and a daughter before her death on 9 February 1913.

Omer married his second wife, Florence Bowling (1888–1971) in 1914, and they also had a daughter and a son. Florence was born in May 1888 and raised in Gallatin County, Illinois, the daughter of John M Bowling (1830–1911) and Nancy Miranda Bain (1851–1909).

After Omer retired from farming, they moved to Salem from Washington County around 1958. Omer died there on 16 February 1961, survived by two sons, two daughters, ten grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren. Florence remarried Ivy Jerome Sawyer (1885–1966) on 5 March 1964, but she also survived him. She died on 19 December 1971 and was buried with Omer in City View Cemetery in Salem, Marion County, Oregon.

     1. Raymond Henderson Murphy (1897–1968) was born on 22 August 1897 in Independence, Polk County, Oregon. He married Greeta Lucile Carter (1899–1983) on 17 September 1921 in Benton County, Oregon. She was born in Benton County on 8 May 1899 to Virgil Anson Carter (1870–1944) and Nora Persis Bilieu (1873–1946).

Raymond was farmed (general and dairy) in the Oak Creek area near Albany until he and Greeta moved to Albany in 1961. Raymond died of a heart attack at his home on 21 October 1968 and was buried in Twin Oaks Memorial Gardens in Albany. Greeta died on 30 December 1983 and was buried with Raymond. They were survived by two daughters and several grandchildren.

       a. Marjorie Joyce "Marge" Murphy (1923–2007) was a daughter of Raymond and Greeta Murphy. She born on 5 October 1923 in Hubbard, Marion County, Oregon, and she grew up on a large dairy farm between Albany and Lebanon, attending Albany Union High School. She spent her adult life living in Albany, La Pine, and in Castle Rock, Cowlitz County, Washington, for her last 35 years. She died on 22 December 2007 in Bothell, Snohomish County, Washington, and was survived by her husband, three children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

     2. Kathryn Leon "Katie" Murphy (1899–1978) was born on 22 July 1899 in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon. She grew up on her father's farm in Polk County, and she was about 14 years old when her mother died.

Katie married Otto Andrew Olson (1898–1985) on 7 June 1919 in Vancouver, Washington. Otto was the son of Danish immigrants Ole Olson (1861–1942) and Bertha Marie Hansen (1868–1931), born in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, on 2 March 1898. When they married, Otto was working as a riveter in the shipbuilding industry and he worked as a mechanic and as a foreman later on.

Katie died in Portland on 17 October 1978, and Otto died there on 13 July 1985.

       a. Ray Otto Olson (1920–2010) was born on 20 June 1920 in Portland, Oregon. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served from 22 July 1940 through 20 July 1946.

Ray married Florence Isabella Burns (1917–2004) on 6 October 1943 in Stevenson, Skamania County, Washington. They divorced on 13 June 1980 in Multnomah County, Oregon. Florence died on 13 January 2004 in Gresham, Multnomah, Oregon; Ray died there on 28 June 2010. They were survived by at least two sons.

       b. Ronald Vern Olson (1922–1993) was born in Portland on 2 July 1922. According to Ancestry's U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 database, both Ronald and his brother Ray served aboard the Yorktown class aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6). The record shows they both enlisted on 22 July 1940, and while Ray arrived on the Enterprise on 8 October 1940, Ronald arrived on 8 October 1942.

Ronald married Shirley Jean Fox (1925–1982) on 6 August 1943 in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. Shirley was born on 21 January 1925 in Salem, Marion County, Oregon, the daughter of
Glen Elmer Fox (1896–1951) and Lydia Therwachter (1895–1925). He worked as an auto mechanic, and they raised two daughters and two sons together.

Shirley died in September 1982 in Salem, and Ronald died on 11 March 1993. They were survived by their four children and four grandchildren.

     3. Helen M Murphy (1916–2016) was born on 27 August 1916 in Oregon. She married John Theodore Glodt (1912–2001) in Washington County, Oregon on 2 June 1940. He was the son of John Louis Glodt (1867–1950), and Ursula Stangle (1869–1942), born on 14 March 1912 in Park City, Stillwater County, Montana.

John sold cars, worked in the bakery and grocery business and cut meat before going into the restaurant business. He owned restaurants in several cities and operated the Cupboard Cafe, Ham & Egg and J's restaurants. Helen was one of a group of Salem ladies who starred in the 1960's Bisquick commercial that ran for several years on TV nationwide.

John died on 13 February 2001 in Salem, Polk County, Oregon, and was buried in Fircrest Cemetery in Monmouth, Polk County. Helen also died in Salem at age 99 on 20 February 2016; she was buried with her husband, and they are survived by a daughter, two sons, nine grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

     4. Robert Bowling Murphy (1918–2010) was born on 10 October 1918 in Hubbard, Oregon. His family moved to Forest Grove, Oregon, when he was nine years old, where he worked in the hops field for his Dad and did other farm work including hand-milking cows.

After graduating from Forest Grove High School in 1937, Robert worked in a restaurant in Gresham and worked in the shipyards before enlisting in the army in 1943. He served overseas in Europe until discharged in 1946. He settled in Salem, Ore., where he worked in a restaurant before working in the garage at Mayflower Farms Dairy.

He married Frances Mary Downing (1921–2015) on 4 October 1947. Frances was born on 26 August 1921 in Beaverton, Washington County, Oregon, to Hiram Parker Downing (1875–1953) and Maynie Eliza Ayres (1884–1965). She graduated high school in 1938. She then attended the University of Oregon for two years before transferring to Oregon State University to finish her secretarial degree. After graduating she enlisted into the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve Battalion and served from 1944-1946 at Camp Pendleton. After returning from the Marines, Frances worked for the City of Beaverton.

After Bob and Frances married, he moved to Beaverton and operated his father-in-law’s farm. He and Frances operated the 300-acre farm, which included a u-pick produce business — starting with strawberries in the spring to walnuts in the fall.

They bought a 400-acre farm in 1971 in Prineville on Grimes Road, which they operated until retirement in 2004. After that, they traveled and lived in their RV, residing mainly in Fort Mohave, Mohave County, Arizona, but visiting every state in the United States as well as visiting Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

Bob died on 13 August 2010 at 91 years of age and was buried in Crescent Grove Cemetery in Tigard, Washington County, Oregon. Frances moved to Redmond in January 2011. After living at Brookside Place for four years, she moved to Prineville to live with her son, and she died on 18 November 2015 in Prineville leaving behind her son, two daughters, eleven grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren. She was buried with Bob in the Crescent Grove Cemetery.

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As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.

We now have more ways to reach out:

a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MightierAcorns/
a Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/MightierAcorns
a Ko-Fi cup - https://ko-fi.com/mightieracorns


...and if you prefer a private group, we still have the Callin Family History group on Facebook for "cousins only" (there will be a question about how you're related to the family before you can join).

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

Arizona Murphys

Hello, cousins!

If you're just joining us, today's post is the second of several posts cataloging the descendants of Rebecca Lucretia Davidson Murphy, who is the granddaughter of Elizabeth Callin Montgomery. Last week gave us a long post listing the family of Lucretia's eldest child, Sarah Frances Murphy Wells - a surprisingly adventurous group of people!

Today, we'll pick up with Lucretia's second child, John:

     B. John D Murphy (1867–1955) was born to Henderson and Lucretia Murphy on 20 April 1867 in Oregon - most likely in Linn County. His family followed his father to Alder Creek, Klickitat County, Washington, where Henderson raised livestock in the early 1880s. John returned to rural Marion County, Oregon, where he married Olive Della Lemmon (1873–1950) in 1898.

Della was born in Indiana on 4 August 1873 to Elijah Lemmon (1832–1876) and Amanda Brenton (1837–1900). Her father died when Della was small, leaving her mother to raise her and her six siblings - three boys and three girls.

John and Della farmed and raised their family in Oregon, appearing in Sherman, Marion County (1900) and Grass Valley, Sherman County (1910), and then in Buhl, Twin Falls, Idaho (1920). By 1924, however, they seem to have decided to retire to Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, where John and daughter Beulah appear in the voter registration rolls.

Della died in Tucson on 1 July 1950 and was buried in South Lawn Memorial Cemetery. John died while under the care of the Twin Pines rest home on 14 August 1955 and was buried with Della.

     1. John Carl Murphy (1902–1968) was born on 18 February 1902, in The Dalles, Oregon. He died on 25 August 1968, in Imperial, California, at the age of 66, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in El Centro, California. He appears to have remained single throughout his life.

     2. Beulah A Murphy (b. 1904) was born in Oregon and grew up with her family in the Pacific Northwest. She attended the University of Arizona in Tucson from 1926 to 1930, and after graduating she became a home economics teacher in Casa Grande and in Coolidge. In 1943, she married a man named Gene Stroud in Nogales, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, and moved with him to El Centro, Imperial County, California. They appeared at the same address in the city directories and voter registration rolls from 1946-1952, but Beulah was listed by herself after that, appearing in El Centro as recently as 1957. After that, I do not know what happened to her. (Per cousin Nancy Ellis: "Aunt Beulah was a teacher in El Centro who was widowed.  She was childless so remained close to Grandma and Grandpa Lockhart for the rest of her life.")

     3. Guy Henderson Murphy (1909–1968) was born on 21 January 1909 in Grass Valley, Oregon. In his youth, he farmed with his father. He attended the University of Arizona starting in the mid-1920s, which is where he met Elizabeth Kilborn (1911–1953). They were married on 24 May 1934 in Pima County, Arizona. Elizabeth was the daughter of Joseph Walker Kilborn (1875–1961) and Mary Liscomb (1876–1959), born in Maine on 26 May 1911 and raised in Akron, Ohio.

In 1940, Guy was working as an educational adviser for the Civilian Conservation Corps in Silver City, Grant County, New Mexico, with Elizabeth and two sons. He soon accepted a commission in the U.S. Army, however, and subsequently served for 29 years before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Elizabeth died in Los Angeles County, California, on 5 October 1953, and she was buried in Foreside Community Church Cemetery in Falmouth, Cumberland County, Maine, where her mother's family originated. Guy remarried Jessie May Higgins (1897–1979) sometime before 1955 when they were stationed in the Washington D.C.-Virginia area.

Guy was only 58 years old when he died on 14 January 1968 in Kerrville, Kerr County, Texas, and was buried with military honors in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio. Jessie died on 27 December 1979 in Pecos, Reeves County, Texas, and was buried with Guy. They were survived by Guy's two sons and three grandchildren.

     4. Ross Bengal Murphy (1910–1989) was born in Grass Valley, Sherman County, Oregon, on 16 July 1910. He attended school in Tuscon during the 1920s. He married Wilda Carlisle (1913–2000) on 13 August 1932 in Pima County, Arizona. She was born on 15 August 1913 in Texas, the daughter of Walter Louis Carlisle (1890–1969) and Artie Dosia Coffman (1893–1976).

Ross was a mining engineer, among other things, and he and his family lived in Peru for a time in the 1950s. He was also a pilot of small aircraft. In 1936, his airplane crashed after taking off from Ajo Airport at about 5pm on March 11. According to a report in the Arizona Republic, Ross was an employee of New Cornelia Copper Company and suffered a dislocated hip, loss of his front teeth, concussion of the brain and severe lacerations on his face and body. One of his passengers died, and the other was severely injured.

Ross recovered, and kept flying. However, he died on 5 April 1989 when his homemade plane crashed into the Saguaro Chevrolet car dealership on the Colorado River Indian Reservation, about a half-mile south of Parker, La Paz County, Arizona. Wilda died in 2000, and they are buried in Parker Community Cemetery. They are survived by two sons and several grandchildren. 

     5. Della Mae Eldora  Murphy (1912–1985) was born on 11 August 1912 after her family had moved to Buhl, Twin Falls County, Idaho, and she was brought to Tucson with her parents and siblings while she was young. (per cousin Nancy Ellis: "my grandmother Della Mae Eldora Murphy Lockhart told me that they traveled to Arizona via covered wagon, and actually farmed in Marana.  This is where Della met John Hall Lockhart.")

She married John Hall Lockhart (b. 1907) on 9 July 1931 in Flagstaff, Coconino County, Arizona; her sister, Beulah, was one of the witnesses. John was the son of Lyman Henry Lockhart (1874–1937) and Sarah Savannah Duckett (1875–1908), born in Snyder, Scurry County, Texas, on 1 September 1907.

John was a railroad switchman and yardmaster in Tucson when he met Della. They raised their son in Tucson, and Della died there on 18 May 1985, survived by her husband, son, and five grandchildren. John died in 1994, and they are buried in Tucson Memorial Park South Lawn, in Tucson, Arizona.

(Per cousin Nancy Ellis: "Among many things I have that belonged to my grandma is her union time card, dating to WWII when she worked on the wiring in nose cones of aircraft because of her small build.  I believe that is the only work she ever did outside the home.  Grandpa worked for the railroad his whole life, and I believe exempt from military service because of the necessity of keeping railroads moving.")

       a. John Frank Lockhart, D.D.S. (1933–1995) was born on 30 September 1933 in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona.  After graduating from the University of Arizona, he attended the Washington University School of Dentistry at St. Louis, Missouri. He married his first wife in 1956 and returned to Tucson where he began his dental practice. The couple had five two children before they divorced in 1969.

Sometime after that, Frank relocated to Willcox, Arizona, where he spent the rest of his life. Frank remarried, adopting two step-sons and having another son with his second wife. Frank died on 26 January 1995 in Willcox, Cochise County, Arizona,  at age 61. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, three sons, and nine grandchildren.

- -- --- -- -

As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.

We now have more ways to reach out:

a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MightierAcorns/
a Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/MightierAcorns
a Ko-Fi cup - https://ko-fi.com/mightieracorns


...and if you prefer a private group, we still have the Callin Family History group on Facebook for "cousins only" (there will be a question about how you're related to the family before you can join).

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

Traveling the Oregon Trail

Hello, cousins!

Apparently, I have made a grave mistake. (Pun incidental...)

About this time last year, I published a series of posts about the descendants of an Elizabeth Callen, who I believe to be the daughter of James Callin. For your convenience, here is the series, so far:

• Echoes & Rhymes
• The Montgomery Connection
• A Ferrell Child
• Turning Another Page

But somehow I forgot to keep going! Those posts only traced the descendants of Elizabeth's first daughter, Mary, but Elizabeth had five children, which means I owe you a few more posts. In fact, as I've begun preparing these, I have discovered that this family is larger than I first thought, and putting their stories together has been taking longer than usual. This means I'll be giving you shorter posts spread out over a longer time, until we get caught up.

We'll begin today with the second daughter of Caleb and Elizabeth (Callin) Montgomery:

Sarah Montgomery (1824–1918)

Sarah was the second of Caleb and Elizabeth (Callin) Montgomery's five children, born on 27 December 1824 in Olivesburg, Richland County, Ohio. She was 9 years old when her mother died, and she was 12 when her father moved the family to Fulton County, Indiana.

Sarah married Henry Davidson (1818–1894) in that county on 22 April 1841. They had six children of their own, who we'll look at over the course of the next few weeks:

• I. Rebecca Lucretia Davidson (1842–1917)
• II. William Montgomery Davidson (1845–1939)
• III. Theodore Bruce Davidson (1848–1932)
• IV. Frances Mary Davidson (1850–1855)
• V. Samuel Thurston Davidson (1853–1889)
• VI. Mary E Davidson (1854–1929)

 Henry Davidson was born in Ohio, according to most of his Census records; the 1880 places his birth in Illinois, but 1850, 1860, and 1870 all say he was born in Ohio, and his record in the Oregon, Early Oregonians Index, 1800-1860 asserts he was born in Wayne County, Ohio. His Find-A-Grave memorial says he was born in Michigan on 28 May 1818.

In 1850 the Henry and Sarah Davidson family was living in Newcastle, Fulton County, and by this time they had taken in Sarah's orphaned niece, who is listed in their household as "Sarah E Faroll" (age 4). You might recall Sarah Ferrell from the post, A Ferrell Child.

Based on research compiled by Stephanie Flora at oregonpioneers.com the Davidsons set out for Oregon as part of the Murphy Train. Captained by John Ecles Murphy, the group consisted of family and friends, all members of the Christian Church (aka Campbellites or Disciples of Christ).  According to Flora's site, "In April 1852, a second migration of church members began the journey.  It was made up of the families of Burford, Butler, Davidson, Lucas, Mason, Murphy, Roundtree and a number of single men."

The Davidson family settled in what is now Halsey, Linn County, Oregon, where the two youngest children, Samuel and Mary, were born. Sarah and Henry lived out their days in Linn County. Henry died on 19 February 1894 and was buried in Pugh Cemetery in Shedd. Sarah lived in Lebanon until her death on 8 May 1918, and she was buried with her husband.

I. Rebecca Lucretia Davidson (1842–1917)

The oldest child of Henry and Sarah (Montgomery) Davidson, Lucretia was born on 18 August 1842 in Fulton County, Indiana. She would have been 10 years old when her family embarked on their journey to Oregon.

About 1864, she married Henderson Warren Murphy (1835–1918), son of John Ecles Murphy (1806–1876) and Frances Wright Doughty (1810–1891) - the same John Ecles Murphy who led the wagon train Lucretia's family took to Oregon in 1852. Henderson was born on 3 February 1835, during the years when his father was establishing the Church of Christ on Cedar Fork of Henderson River in Warren County, Illinois.

After they married, Henderson and Lucretia farmed and raised livestock in Oregon and Washington Territory. They raised a family of seven children, all of whom were born in Oregon:


     A. Sarah Frances Murphy (1865–1931)
     B. John D Murphy (1867–1955)
     C. Omer Thurston Murphy (1871–1961)
     D. Katherine M "Katie" Murphy (1873–1942)
     E. Nellie Murphy (1873–1958)
     F. Carrie M Murphy (1878–1954)
     G. Claude Henry Murphy (1885–1970)

(The rest of today's post will follow the descendants of Sarah Frances Murphy.)

About 1879 the family moved to Alder Creek in Klickitat County, Washington Territory, where they appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census and the 1883 territorial census, per Washington State and Territorial Censuses, 1857-1892. But their youngest child, Claude Henry, was born in Oregon in 1885, so it would seem they moved back to Linn County by that point.

Lucretia died on 20 July 1917 in Linn County, Oregon, and is buried in the IOOF Cemetery in Lebanon, Linn County. Henderson died at the home of his daughter, Carrie, in Vancouver, Washington, on 31 December 1918 and was brought back to Oregon and buried with his wife.

     A. Sarah Frances Murphy (1865–1931) was born on 5 January 1865 in Halsey, Linn County, Oregon. She married William Lawson Wells (1859–1949) on 3 November 1887 in Polk County, Oregon. William was born on 6 January 1859 to George Andrew Wells (1830–1900) and Henrietta Turner (1830–1911) in Hubbard, Marion County, Oregon.

William and Sarah lived at Dallas in Polk County, where William served as a county sheriff from 1890 to 1894 and as a county judge from 1896 to 1900. They raised seven children together. In 1903 the couple moved back to Halsey. Sarah died there on 21 September 1931 and was buried in Pugh Cemetery in Shedd, Linn County.

William married the widowed Winifred Snyder on 3 November 1932 in Halsey. He died at his home in Halsey on 15 February 1949 at the age of 90. He was buried with Sarah in the Pugh Cemetery.

     1. Leroy Henderson "Roy" Wells (1888–1971) was born on 21 October 1888 in Independence, Polk County, Oregon. He was a life-long farmer who never married. He moved to Albany in 1968 and died on 26 January 1971 in the Mennonite Home for the Aged.

     2. Elbert George Wells (1890–1961) was born in Independence on 4 April 1890 and grew up in Polk County, Oregon. By 1917 he was living in Calexico, California, where he worked as an engineer on the canals of the Imperial Valley's water company. He and Loreto Villa-Escusa (1895–2000) raised a family of five children: two daughters and three sons. The records I've found say that Loreto was born in 1895 in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico and that she and Elbert lived at 1384 Avenida Lerdo in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, but I have not been able to find marriage records - most likely due to my own inexperience looking for records in another country.

     a. Elbert George "Bari" Wells Jr. (1931–2016) was born on 3 July 1931 in Calexico, Imperial County, California. He was raised in Mexicali, Baja California, until his mid-twenties when he met and married his wife of 62 years. He worked hard all of his life in many jobs, starting as a farmworker in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley with his father and brothers at the age of 13. He then worked for Caltrans where he retired as the Brawley Yard Superintendent in 1991.

Bari died on 4 February 2016 at his home in Oceanside, California, and he is survived by his wife, son, two daughters, and two granddaughters.

     i. Elbert George Wells III (1954–2017) was born on 13 July 1954 in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, and was raised in Brawley, CA, where he attended Brawley High School. He later graduated from Imperial Valley College and the University of California, San Diego.

In 1980, George moved to Santa Barbara, California for work, where he met his late wife, Joann Napoli. In 2009, George moved to Oceanside, California, with his parents, where George assisted his father as a caregiver until Bari's death in 2016. During this time, George also battled diabetes. After his father's death, he moved back to Santa Barbara, where he died on 26 July 2017.

Order of Leopold II

     3. Goldie Ruth Wells (1893–1979) was born on 6 August 1893, in Dallas, Polk County, Oregon. She became a missionary to the Belgian Congo, where she assisted in establishing the mission station at Mondombe in 1919. She was an author, publishing Sila, Son of the Congo in 1945, and in 1937 she was decorated by the King of Belgium with the Order of Leopold II for her long and outstanding service in the Congo. When she was in America, she was a popular guest speaker in churches throughout the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.

Goldie died on 30 May 1979, in Salem, Marion County, Oregon, at the age of 85, and was buried in Shedd, Oregon.

     4. Gladys Leona Wells (1897–1980) was born on 24 August 1897 in Dallas, Polk County, Oregon. She married Emil J Helseth (1895–1980) on 16 September 1920. He was the son of Norwegian immigrants, Lars J Helseth (1864–1922) and Elise Pedersen (1867–1895), born on 9 January 1985 in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.

Emil served in the Army Medical Corps in World War I, enlisting from 29 March 1918 to 11 April 1919. After the war, he attended the University of Oregon and graduated from Eugene Bible University, later called Northwest Christian College. He served pastoral assignments in Washington and Oregon, became an Army chaplain in World War II, serving from 5 June 1943 to 14 February 1946, and returned to Ontario as pastor of the First Christian Church. He later served in Boise and Burley, Idaho, retiring in I960 and moving to Salem. He was active in starting Keizer Christian Church, he was an elder emeritus of Garden Road Christian Church and a member of Salem Retread Organization, an association of people who served in both world wars.

Gladys and Emil died just a month apart in Salem; Gladys at home on 19 January and Emil on 11 February 1980 in a nursing home. They are buried in the City View Cemetery in Salem. They are survived by their two daughters, one of their three sons, 15 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

     a. Raymond Wells Helseth (1921–2005) was one of a set of twins born on 25 December 1921 in Eugene, Oregon. He received degrees from Northwest Christian College in Eugene and from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. While they were students at Northwest Christian College, he met Miriam Myrta Eccles (1923–2004), and they were married on 24 August 1943 in Orting, Washington.

Miriam was the daughter of missionaries George Emery Eccles (1890–1988) and Lulu M Moffitt (1896–1969), born on 16 March 1923 in Bolange, Belgian Congo. (As it happens, the Eccles family served at the mission station in Mondombe in the 1920s, which Raymond's aunt Goldie had helped to establish.) Miriam was a trained coloratura soprano and soloist. She gave voice and piano lessons and took in typing.

Raymond pastored churches in Colville, Washington; Kimberly, Idaho; and McMinnville, Oregon; as well as several student pastorates in Oregon and Texas. Miriam supported Raymond's ministry as a pianist, choir director, committee chair, and teacher. While in McMinnville, Miriam received a BA in Music Education and an MA in English Education from Linfield College. She taught music at Adams Grade School, taught English and Freshman Girls' Glee at Centennial High School, then English at Gresham High School, and later still substitute taught in Salem before becoming a full-time grade school music teacher for some years.

In 1960, Raymond became organizing pastor of Lynchwood Christian Church in southeast Portland. He served as a part-time campus minister at Portland State University and volunteer chaplain in the Multnomah County jail system. He became Protestant Chaplain at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem in 1968. Miriam volunteered extensively at Oregon State Prison while Raymond was chaplain, giving piano and voice lessons to inmates and directing a men's choir. The choir was limited to 40 men with a long waiting list. Several concerts a year were performed for "outside' guests. One guest was Senator Mark Hatfield whom the Helseths had long known and admired.

 Miriam was active at Keizer Christian Church, becoming the first woman elder in a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation in Oregon. Even after he retired, Raymond served interim ministries in Washington and Oregon. Raymond and Miriam also helped start the Salem Area Habitat for Humanity. They had seen some original Habitat houses in Africa on a missions trip in 1986. Miriam was board secretary for nine years. On 16 March 2003, her eightieth birthday, a house was dedicated in West Salem as the Helseth Home.

Miriam died in Portland on 31 December 2004 at the age of 81. Raymond died on 1 October 2005 in Salem at the age of 83. They were survived by three of their five children and eight grandchildren. They were preceded in death by Merrilyn Joy Helseth (1946), who died in infancy, and by one son:

• Raymond John "Ray J." Helseth (1957–1997) was born on 16 February 1957 in McMinnville, Yamhill County, Oregon, and he grew up to be a long-haul truck driver. Ray J. died on 28 July 1997 in Salem, Oregon, at the age of 40 and was survived by his companion and three step-children.

     b. Ralph Emil Helseth (1921–2001) was the twin brother of Raymond, born together on 25 December 1921 in Eugene, Oregon. He married Julia Evelyn Pedersen (1918–2016) on Christmas Day in 1942. Evelyn was born 20 December 1918, in Seattle, Washington, during the flu epidemic of 1918 and grew up on the Olympic Peninsula. She was the daughter of Edwin Peter Pederson (1882–1925) and Rhoda Maude Stuart (1883–1957).

Like his brother, he became a minister. He attended Pacific Lutheran College in Tacoma. Evelyn was a graduate of Northwest Christian College in Eugene and served in the ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Washington, Indiana, and Oregon with her husband.

Ralph died on 3 January 2001 in Federal Way, King County, Washington, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Auburn, King County. Evelyn moved to Hood River in 2008 as her health declined and lived with her daughter and son-in-law. She died at 97 years of age on 24 October 2016 and was buried with Ralph. They are survived by their daughter, one of their two sons, and their grandchildren.

• Jonathan Mark Helseth (1949–2004) was the son of Ralph and Evelyn Helseth, born on 25 August 1949 in Clarkston, Asotin County, Washington. He was married in Auburn, Washington, in 1971, and is survived by his wife, son, and daughter. He died on 13 November 2004 in Seattle and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Auburn.

     5. William Leonard Wells (1900–1904) was born in Polk County, Oregon, on 17 April 1900, and only lived to be three years old. He died on 24 March 1904 and was buried in Pugh Cemetery in Shedd, Linn County, Oregon.

     6. William Lawrence Wells (1904–1977) was born on 7 February 1904 in Oregon and grew up to be a minister, like many of the men in his family. On 23 August 1927, he married Gracia Thornton (1904–1975) in Lane County, Oregon. Gracia was born on 2 May 1904 in Oregon, the youngest daughter of Josiah Jeptha Thornton (1851–1941) and Frances Emeline Mathews (1863–1937).

The Rev. W. Lawrence and Mrs. Gracia Wells served in Missouri, Snohomish County, Washington, and in Marysville, Yuba County, California, before settling in Pasadena, Los Angeles County in the 1950s. Gracia died in Pasadena on 23 April 1975, and Lawrence died there on 26 June 1977. They were survived by their son and three grandchild.

     a. William Joseph Wells (1937–2016) was the son of Lawrence and Gracia Wells, born 6 March 1937 in Vancouver, Washington. He spent his childhood in Washington State and northern California and graduated from Marysville High School in California in 1955. After he studied for a year at Chapman College, he served in the U.S. Navy for four years. While stationed in Japan, he met and married Judith Kathryn Davis (1940–1992), daughter of American missionaries Dr. Howard Kenneth Davis (1920–2014) and Kathryn Anna Giles (1922–1998). She was born on 8 August 1940 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

After his discharge from the service, Bill returned to Pacific Christian College, then attended Phillips Seminary in Enid, Oklahoma earning both a Masters of Divinity and a Doctorate of Ministry. He served churches in Nelsonville and Findlay, Ohio. Judith was also ordained as a United Methodist pastor, and she served in the Byhalia-Pottersburg (Ohio) area.

Bill and Judith divorced in July 1977, and both remarried - Judith in 1978, and Bill about 1987. Judith died on 22 November 1992 in Centerville, Montgomery County, Ohio.

After he married his second wife, Bill spent 16 years at Anderson Hills Church in Cincinnati, until health complications forced him into retirement. In 2003, Bill and his wife retired to Yuba City where they joined St. Andrew Presbyterian Church and enjoyed a loving community there. Bill suffered many health problems over the next years due to diabetes. He died on 22 December 2016 in Yuba City, Sutter County, California, and is survived by his wife, son, two daughters, and eight grandchildren and step-grandchildren (four of each).


     7. Genevieve H Wells (1906–1999) was the youngest child of William and Frances (Murphy) Wells, born on 29 December 1906 in Oregon and grew up in Halsey, Linn County. She married Glenn Clinton Kendall (1903–1949) on 3 September 1927 in Linn County. He was born on 6 April 1906 in Grant County, Oregon, to John Benjamin Kendall (1867–1943) and Winnifred "Winnie" Mulkey (1873–1946).

Glenn and Genevieve lived in the Albany, Oregon, area until around 1944, when they moved to Paso Robles, California. Glenn died in San Luis Obispo County on 13 March 1949 and was buried in Paso Robles District Cemetery.

Genevieve remarried Leo Estel Smart (1890–1978) on 14 February 1958 in San Luis Obispo, California. Leo died on 6 May 1978 in Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, California, and was buried in Paso Robles District Cemetery. Genevieve died on 12 June 1999, also in Morro Bay, California, at the age of 92, and was buried in Paso Robles, California.

       a. John E Kendall (1929–2016) was born on 13 April 1929 and grew up in Benton County. All I can say about John's biography with the records I have been able to find is that he married his second wife, Jean Belle Lay (1928–2004) on 7 September 1976 in Los Angeles County, California. She died in Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, California, on 20 November 2004, and was buried in the Paso Robles District Cemetery. John died there in 2016 and was buried with Jean.

       b. Lewis Clinton Kendall (1934–2009) was born on 7 September 1934 in Albany, Oregon, and moved to Paso Robles around age 10, where he eventually graduated from Paso Robles High. Lewis was married to his first wife for 18 years. After they divorced, he began his 23-year career with California State Parks. He worked at Hearst Castle for 6 years and 17 years at Lake Oroville. He moved to Chico in 1979, where he died on 27 July 2009.

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That is all I have at the moment - I feel like there is a lot more to say about these very interesting people, but hopefully, we'll get to learn more as we move down the trail!

As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.

We now have more ways to reach out:

a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MightierAcorns/
a Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/MightierAcorns
a Ko-Fi cup - https://ko-fi.com/mightieracorns


...and if you prefer a private group, we still have the Callin Family History group on Facebook for "cousins only" (there will be a question about how you're related to the family before you can join).

Until next time.... Happy Hunting!