A Good Summer Reed

Hello, cousins!

I hope you're enjoying your summertime - I know I am. A term paper per week, combined with absorbing the history of Germany, and working full-time means I'm keeping busy this month! Fortunately, I worked ahead to give you this series. 

Last week we talked about the second marriage of Elizabeth Belle Ferguson McNabb, and the descendants of the oldest child of that marriage, James F. Reed. This week, we continue with three of his five younger siblings.

Just to help find our place in the tree, here's a "map":

Elizabeth B. Ferguson McNabb Reed's tree

     III. Emma A Reed (1865–1934)

Emma was born on 22 November 1867, according to her Find-A-Grave memorial (though her death certificate gives the year as 1870). Raised in De Kalb County, Indiana, she married Charles Allen Picker (1871-1951) on 26 September 1894.

While I found many records that seem to tie Charles's story together, I'm not 100% that I am not just piecing together records for men with similar names and birthdates. That said, here is my best guess: He was born in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, to Edward H Picker (1843–1918) and Mary Ann Kaho (1848–1875). After his mother died, Edward remarried and moved the family to Colorado, where Charles grew up, appearing on the Census for 1880 in Denver, Arapahoe County. Charles may have lived with his uncle, George, in Cherokee, Montgomery County, Kansas, in 1885, before moving to Indiana, where he married Emma.

Charles and Emma had a daughter together, but they had separated by 1904, when Charles married Mary Sands in Belmont County, Ohio. After that marriage record, there is a twenty-year gap where I could not trace Charles at all - until a Charles Allen Picker turned up back in Denver, where he married Sarah "Sadie" Lamont on 11 April 1924. If this is the same Charles, he died in Denver in 1953 and was buried with Sadie, who died in 1964.

In 1910, Emma and little Myrtle were living with Emma's brother, Charles Albert Reed, according to the census. Emma married her second husband, David Daniel Moody (1845–1920) on 9 March 1916 in Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana.

Emma's third husband was Charles Wesley Bowman (1882–1947), and they married on 30 December 1926. Emma died on 4 January 1934 in Fort Wayne and was buried in Lindenwood Cemetery in that city.

     A. Myrtle Picker (b. 1899) born about 1899, Myrtle grew up in Fort Wayne and became involved in the theater and vaudeville scene. In 1917, the Pretty Baby company came to town, and Myrtle joined the company and went on tour with them. In August of that year, she married the producer, Al Garbelle. Their marriage was short-lived, and in 1919, Emma traveled to New York to bring her daughter back to Fort Wayne, where she lived in 1920.

After the 1920 Census, there are no definite records telling us what happened to Myrtle. She is mentioned (as "little Miss Myrtle Moody") in a 1923 newspaper item about a celebration for her mother's birthday. Sadly, that is where the trail has ended for this family.

     IV. Eliza A. "Lida" Reed (1866–1951)

My best guess is that while George and Elizabeth named their second daughter "Eliza Alise" and her husband and children called her "Lyda" or "Lida." I went into much greater detail with my analysis of her records in Wednesday's essay "The Corruption of Names" if you'd like to see how my analytic process works.

Born 23 November 1867, Lyda married Norman Perry Donaldson (1868–1940) on 14 October 1890 and they lived in Auburn from then on. Norman and his twin brother, Newton, were born on 2 August 1868 to James Donaldson (b. 1835) and Susan M Sherwood (1837–1921). Norman worked drilling wells until finding employment at the Auburn Automobile Co. He retired from the plant in 1934.

Norman died on 4 December 1940 after having a heart attack, and he was buried in the Roselawn Cemetery in Auburn. Lyda died at age 84 in the Williams Convalescent home in Butler, De Kalb County, on 25 August 1951. She was buried with her husband, and they were survived by four of their five sons, 12 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren. Many of these folks attended the Donaldson family reunion in 1951 (see article at right).

     A. James Andrew Donaldson (1891–1951) was born in Auburn on 11 May 1891 and after attending the schools in Auburn worked as a painter. He would spend time as a tire builder working for the Auburn Rubber Corp. and as a leather cutter for the Auburn Automobile Co. before returning to his trade as a painter.

On 2 June 1917 married Celestia Carrick (1894–1959). She was the daughter of Frederick Samuel Carrick (1869–1946) and Nettie Myers (1875–1949), born on 26 November 1894. They lived in Auburn for 22 years and left in 1939 to move to Muncie, then to North Webster, Indiana, in 1946.

James died suddenly of a heart attack on 20 July 1951, just a month before his mother died. A few years later, Celestia's health also began to decline, and she died in Michigan, where she was under the care of her daughters, on 17 July 1959. They are buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Auburn.

       i. Alice Lanett Donaldson (1918–1987) was born in Garrett on 23 May 1918 and attended Auburn High School in 1935. She married Warren Albert Beehler (1910–1988) on 7 March 1937. He was born on 18 September 1910 to David Christian Beehler (1867–1948) and Clemma Irene Troup (1874–1947).

Warren served in the U.S. Army from 3 January 1944 through 11 December 1945, and after the war, he was a manager for Montgomery Ward, and the family lived in Elkhart, Indiana, and in Spokane, Washington, during the 1940s and 1950s. They raised one daughter.

Alice and Warren spent their final years in Lake Havasu, Arizona. She died there in January 1987, and Warren died on 2 January 1988.

       ii. Martha M Donaldson (1923–2011) was born on 5 September 1923 in Auburn and grew up to marry James Jay Stinson (1920–2007) on 6 February 1941. James served in World War II, being discharged in 1944 according to his death certificate. After the war, the couple raised their family in the New Albany area.

James died on 20 December 2007 at Westminster Nursing Home in Clarksville, Clark County, Indiana. Martha died 5 December 2011 at Kindred Care in Sellersburg, Clark County. They are buried in Kraft-Graceland Memorial Park in New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana. They are survived by a son, a daughter, three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.


     B. Russell Charles Donaldson (1893–1963) was born in Auburn on 17 June 1893 and raised in Union Township. On 11 March 1916, he married Florence Gertrude Marsh (1898–1988), the daughter of Julius B Marsh (b. 1845) and Minnie Bell (1865–1918). Florence was born on 8 March 1898 in Garrett, and her older brother was Holly Harvey Marsh (1887-1961), whose son, Dale Emerson Marsh, married Georgia Irene Carper from an earlier post.

Russell worked for the Auburn Automobile Co., and later as a newspaper carrier agent. He and Florence had two children, but after about 15 years, they separated in 1932. She married Archie G. Weller in Chicago on 19 February 1933. Russell remarried on 14 July 1946 to the widowed Audrey O. Rohm nee Tomlinson (1896-1979).

Russell died of a sudden and unexpected heart attack on 29 July 1963 at his home in Garrett, De Kalb County. He is buried at the Waterloo Cemetery in Waterloo, De Kalb County. Florence died at age 90 on 19 September 1988 of heart failure. She is buried in the Cedar Creek Cemetery in Cedar, De Kalb County.

       i. Russell Norman Donaldson Jr (1924–1991) was born on 17 December 1924 in Auburn. At 18 years of age, after graduating from Waterloo High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served from 17 March 1943 to 17 October 1945. Then, on 6 April 1946, he married Patsy Lou Holser (1927–2011) in Kendallville, Nobel County, Indiana.

Patsy was born in Kendallville on 3 January 1927 to Lawrence W Hosler (1902–1967) and Bonita Rider (1907–1958), and was raised by her mother and step-father, Earl Danzer, in Kendallville. After they married, Patsy and Russell remained in Kendallville. She worked for Campbell and Fetter Bank from 1955 until she retired in 1989. Russell worked for Lincoln Food Service and won a seat on the Kendallville city council in November 1963.

Russell was involved in a two-car collision on 24 January 1991 and died from his injuries on 8 March 1991. He was buried in the Lake View Cemetery in Kendallville. After his death, Pasty returned to work part-time at the bank from 1991 until 2009, and she served as a volunteer at the Mid-America Windmill Museum in Kendallville and sponsored the new Kendallville Library.

Patsy died on 24 February 2011 at Chandler House in Kendallville and was buried with Russell. They are survived by two daughter, five grandsons and a granddaughter, and seven great-grandchildren, as well as step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

       ii. Sally Diana Donaldson (1929–1971) was born on 20 July 1929 in Auburn, and she was about four years old when her parents separated. While her brother stayed with their father, Sally went with her mother to live in Chicago, and her step-father, Archie Weller. She appears to have remained in Chicago, unmarried, until her death at age 42 on 4 December 1971. She is buried with her mother in the Cedar Creek Cemetery in Cedar, De Kalb County.

     C. Newell Edward Donaldson (1900–1962) was born on 6 April 1900 in Auburn. He found work as a painter and decorator and established himself early on. He married Ruby Bassett (b. 1903) on 6 July 1923, but they soon divorced, after she admitted to preferring a wilder lifestyle than Newell would tolerate.

He married again on 4 June 1927, this time choosing Georgia L Phelps (1907–1987), daughter of Clyde E Phelps (1883–1945) and Sophia G Picker (1885–1944), for his bride. Georgia was born on 22 September 1907, and also grew up in Auburn. They raised two sons together, one of whom is still living, and Newell made his living working at the Auburn Automobile Co. for 11 years, then at Fort Wayne Decorators before partnering with his son, Joe, in Donaldson Decorating in Auburn. Newell also served on the De Kalb County Alcoholic Beverage board from 1950 on.

Newell died on 26 February 1962 and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Auburn. Georgia died in Fort Wayne on 2 November 1987 and was buried with Newell in Woodlawn Cemetery.

       i. Joe Edward Donaldson (1928–2018) was born 19 May 1928 in Auburn. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force and served during the Korean War, spending 18 months in Africa. After the war, JD went to work with his father's Donaldson Decorating company.

He married Fannie Jane Cox (1934–2018) on 5 February 1955 at the First Presbyterian Church in Auburn. Fannie was born on 8 June 1934 to Orland Dwight Cox (1900–1989) and Mary D. Gaylord (1903–1993). She and JD raised two sons together, both of whom are still living.

JD painted many homes in the Auburn area over 52 years, and because he loved the Eckhart Public Library fountain, he always volunteered to paint the fountain. After Newell died, JD was the owner of JD's Decorating.

Fannie and JD were divorced and each remarried in 1975. Fannie Jane Pepple died 15 March 2018 at Betz Nursing Home in Auburn, and she was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. JD died at his home in Auburn on 12 September 2018, and he was also buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. They were survived by their two sons, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren, as well as several step-children and step-grandchildren.

     D. Glenwood Linden "Glenn" Donaldson (1904–1976) was born on 6 September 1903 in Auburn. On 30 April 1927, Glenn married Emma L Radabaugh (1909–1971), the daughter of John Radabaugh (1874–1915) and Zoma Bell Wolff (1878–1951), who was born on 9 May 1909 in Marion County, Indiana.

       i. Rose Marie Donaldson (1927–2014) was born on 28 October 1927 in Auburn and graduated from Waterloo High School with the Class fo 1945. She married Daryl Oliver "Todd" Ford (1924–1999), son of  Rollie A Ford (1895–1945) and Cladie Olive Fee (1893–1945) on 16 February 1946. Todd was born on 28 January 1924 in Pleasant Lake, Steuben County, Indiana and served in the U.S. Army, enlisting on 12 March 1946.

Rose and Todd raised their family in Waterloo. She worked at Charleston Metals for 23 years before retiring in 1989, and he was a self-employed contractor. Todd died of prostate cancer on 30 August 1999 and was buried in Waterloo Cemetery. Rose died 5 January 2014 and was buried with her husband. They are survived by three sons, two daughters, 14 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, and 5 great-great-grandchildren.

       ii. Ralph Linden Donaldson (1929–2001) was born on 9 January 1929 in Auburn, and served in the U.S. Army just after World War II, achieving the rank of Corporal. He married in 1949 and raised his family in the Waterloo area. He died on 11 October 2001 after choking on food and was buried in Waterloo Cemetery. He is survived by his wife.

     E. Gerald LeRoy Donaldson (1906–1986) was born on 6 August 1906 in Auburn, the youngest son of Norman and Lyda Reed Donaldson. On 9 October 1926, he married Wilma Dora Zigler (1908–1980), the youngest daughter of Charles Preston Zigler (1875–1962) and Amanda Lanius (1881–1911). Wilma was born in Montpelier, Williams County, Ohio, on 13 May 1909.

Gerald worked as a plumber Wilma worked as a store clerk; they raised their family in Auburn. Wilma died of an acute coronary thrombosis on 16 September 1980, and Gerald died from a heart attack on 25 February 1986. They are buried in Waterloo Cemetery. They are survived by two of their four children.

       i. Annabelle Donaldson (1927–2000) was born 21 April 1927 in Auburn and graduated from Auburn High School, Class of 1945. She married Maurice Eugene "Gene" Stafford (1924–2003) on 21 April 1946 in Auburn. Gene was born on 8 August 1924 to J. Frank Stafford (1869–1956) and Dora Shields (1884–1950) and was wounded in action while serving as a private in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.

Annabelle served as secretary-treasurer of Waterloo Press Inc from 1958 until her death. She was a bus driver for the DeKalb Central United School District for 15 years, retiring in 1992. Gene was a printer, and published for the Waterloo Press. They raised four sons and a daughter.


Annabelle died at age 73 on 5 June 2000 at her Waterloo home. Gene died on 1 July 2003 at DeKalb Memorial Hospital, in Auburn. They were buried in Waterloo Cemetery, and they are survived by four of their five children, eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.  Their grandson, Dennis Duane Stafford (1966–1994), died on Christmas Day 1994, after crashing into a guard rail with his car on 22 December.

       b. Randy Lee Stafford (1949–2002) was the second child of Gene and Annabelle Donaldson Stafford, born on 26 July 1949 in Auburn. He died of lung cancer on 28 June 2002 and was buried in Waterloo Cemetery.

       ii. Jack Leroy Donaldson (1928–1993) was born on Christmas Day 1928 in Auburn to Gerald and Wilma Zigler Donaldson. He married Betty Jean Deal (1932–2007) on 2 September 1950. She was the daughter of Walter Arthur Deal (1909–1961) and Ida Arvella Murphy (1912–1986), born on 25 July 1932.

Jack and Betty had three daughters, one of whom survived to adulthood. Toni Rae Donaldson (1951-1955) and Kim Renee Donaldson (1960) are both buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Edgerton, Williams County, Ohio. Jack died on 24 July 1993, and is also buried there.

After Jack's death, Betty married Brooks Reign Fee (1918–2013) on 5 December 1995. She died in Edgerton on 23 January 2007 and is also buried in Maple Grove Cemetery. Jack and Betty were survived by one daughter and two grandchildren.


     V. Mary Reed (1868–1869) was born about 1868, according to The Callin Family History, and died "at one year old." No other records have been found.

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I'll stop there for now - we have one more set of siblings to look at next week, and we'll be finished with the Reed family for now. (You're never really finished with family history...I hope!)

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
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...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!

Essay: The Corruption of Names

Most cultures contain within their most primal beliefs the idea that Names have Power.

You see this idea pop up in fantasy stories about magic, in mystical belief systems, and in most creation stories; Adam's first act in the Garden of Eden was to name the creatures being created. (The first taxonomist!) It is also true in modern society, where your username gains you access to the world and where your "personal brand" is often more important than the substance of what you sell under that brand.

In genealogy, the first thing most novice researchers focus on is their collection of names. It can be thrilling to find a name you recognize attached to your ancestors, especially if it's a famous name. My paternal grandfather, for example, knew that his maternal grandmother's name was "Hale," and I grew up hearing that we were "probably related to Nathan Hale" based solely on the power of that name connection. As far as I have been able to discover, we have no family connection to the 21-year-old American spy, and he died unmarried and childless. (Though I did find The Nixon Connection.)

As important as names are, it can be brutally difficult for a researcher to figure out what a person's name actually was, and how to find that person in historical records. Today I wanted to talk about one example of how someone's name became a puzzle.

From Name to Record

We don't often think about how names get attached to a person, or how those names get recorded, but when you do think about it, the process starts to resemble the old Telephone game. Before a name gets to you, the researcher, it can go through several layers:

• the people who pick the name
• the person who uses the name
• the people who know the person
• the people who record the name
• transcribers and indexers

As with the Telephone game, errors can creep in at any point between any of these layers. I've seen countless examples where parents have used one name for their child only to have that child prefer to use a middle name or an alternate spelling later in life. My great-grandmother Hannah Merle was named "Hannah" after her grandmother but went by "Merle" or the diminutive "Merly" until her death in 1984. My great-uncle, Byron Herbert Callin, was called "Byron" in his youth but preferred to use the more distinguished-sounding (to his ears) "Herbert" in his career as an educator.

There are, of course, nicknames: Jack for John; Libby for Elizabeth; Sadie for Sarah; Polly for Mary; and Dick for Richard. These are pretty common even if they don't always make sense to later generations, and some of them have taken on a life of their own. I've seen countless examples of people who were christened with a pet name or diminutive like "Billie," or "Johnny."

As these names get written down, there can be a mix of factors that lead to some wildly different recorded results. Let's take a look at one person whose name looks different on almost every record: Eliza Alice "Lydia" Reed Donaldson (1866-1951).

Following the Records

The first record I had that named Eliza was The Callin Family History record of her mother, which identified her as "Eliza, married, five children living." Great-Uncle George did not cite his sources for his information in the CFH, but we might assume from the newspaper reports of regular Callin Family Reunions in Ohio during the early 1900s that gatherings of distant cousins would share what they knew, and he probably collected the names of his cousin Elizabeth's children at one of those gatherings.

The earliest public record I have is her family's appearance in the 1870 U.S. Census, where her name is given simply as "Eliza" - here is how her name seems to have evolved each time she appears in the Census (as transcribed for Ancestry):

• 1870: Eliza (Reed)
• 1880: Eliza A. (Reed)
• 1900: Lisa A. (Donaldson)
• 1910: Leda A. (Donaldson)
• 1930: Eliza (Donaldson)
• 1940: Liza Alise (Donaldson)

The game of telephone becomes really apparent when you consider how the Census records get to us. First, of course, you have the family that knows the information; then you have the enumerator who writes down the information; and after 70 years or more, the records are scanned and transcribed by a human being to create the index we search against.

Since we don't know who told the census enumerator the names of the Reed or Donaldson families in each of these records, we don't know for sure what the family actually told them. The three records where our girl is listed as "Eliza" are pretty straightforward - the enumerators of those records wrote clearly, and the indexes were transcribed accurately. But the other three are harder to read, and make the name more ambiguous:

detail from 1900 U.S. Census record on Ancestry.com

detail from 1910 U.S. Census record on Ancestry.com

detail from 1940 U.S. Census record on Ancestry.com

If we assume that Norman gave the enumerator his wife's information, it's possible that he said "Liza" each time, but the different enumerators heard it differently. Of the three, only 1910 is clearly written with a "d" in "Lida" or "Leda" - and while it's not a common name today, "Lida" was a fairly familiar name in the Midwest at the turn of the 20th century. (Familiar enough for a song with that name to appear in the 1962 Broadway musical The Music Man!)


Taking all of these records together, I'm inclined to believe that her given name was actually "Eliza" and that everyone knew her by the nickname "Liza" - but there are more records to consider.

The Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001 database on Ancestry is very useful, as it provides the names of the bride, groom, and both sets of parents, in addition to the marriage date and location. As with the Census, though, we don't know who is providing the information on the record, and we don't know which human being(s) were involved in digitizing and transcribing the records for the index. At the least, I think it's safe to assume that the bride and groom gave their parents' names to the county clerk. So, with that assumption in mind, here are the variations of Eliza's maiden name as known to her children:

Year / Groom / name given for mother:
1916 / Russel Donaldson / Lydia Reed
1917 / James A Donaldson / Lida Reed
1926 / Gerald Donaldson / Elizabeth Reed
1927 / Glenn L. Donaldson / Lyda Reed
1927 / Newell Donaldson / Lida Reed

Note: I linked the names of the grooms to the original record images at FamilySearch.org so you can examine them for yourself. With one exception, they appear to have been transcribed accurately; Russel's document clearly says "Lida," though, and was incorrectly transcribed as "Lydia":

detail from Indiana Marriages 1811-2007 on FamilySearch.org

This tells me that four of her five sons knew her maiden name as "Lida Reed" - and they probably all knew that was a nickname, but Gerald thought that "Lida" was short for "Elizabeth."

Oh, Have You Met Lydia?

As I pointed out, one transcriber seems to have misread "Lida" as "Lydia" - possibly not knowing that Lida was a popular nickname, or thinking that it was a shortened version of Lydia. There are two other records which list Eliza's name as "Lydia," however, which could either mean she started using that name later in life for some reason, or that this is a very common mistake.

The first example, chronologically, is the Death Certificate of her husband, Norman Donaldson, who died on 3 December 1940. This is a typewritten document that can be found in the Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 database on Ancestry.com. Oddly, the transcriber entered the name in the index as "Ludia," but the document quite clearly gives her name as the wife of the deceased: "Lydia D."

The second example is another Death Certificate, this time for Eliza's son, James, from 20 July 1951, again from the Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 database. This record is also clearly typewritten, and gives the mother's maiden name as "Lydia Reed."

In the first example, the informant is recorded as "Newton Donaldson," which either refers to Norman's brother, or to Norman and Eliza's son, Newell Donaldson (1900-1962). If they were referring to the latter, then the clerk botched the name of the informant, and that makes me suspect that Newell probably gave her name as "Lyda" and the clerk got that wrong, too. In the second example, the wife of the deceased, Celestia Donaldson, is the informant. The clerk did a much better job spelling the name of the informant on this document, but given the patterns we've seen in other records, I'm inclined to think that either Celestia didn't know her mother-in-law's name was "Lyda" or (more likely) the clerk just corrupted it into Lydia, as we've seen done elsewhere. It's possible, if the informant on Norman's death certificate was Newton, that both clerks made the same error.

Conclusion

Based on the totality of the available evidence, I have recorded Eliza's name as "Eliza A. 'Lyda' Reed" with alternate names included to highlight the one record that gives her middle name as "Alise." And while I will refer to her as "Lyda," since that seems to have been the name she was known by, I tend to give the final authoritative word on what someone's name is to whatever the family is willing to set in stone.

Find a Grave Memorial 141478294

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If you're interested in learning more about this family, subscribe to my RSS feed or come back on Friday morning for A Good Summer Reed.

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 Second Life of Mrs. McNabb

Hello, cousins!

Over the past several weeks, we learned that Elizabeth Belle Ferguson's first husband, James McNabb, died in 1860 leaving Elizabeth widowed with a small daughter, Ella. We just spent three posts covering the descendants of Ella, "The Carper Children," and now we will move on to her half-siblings.

Just to help re-orient yourself:

Elizabeth B Ferguson McNabb Reed

James, Elizabeth, and Ella appeared on the 1860 U.S. Census in Cedar Creek, Allen County, Indiana, living in the household of a William and Fanny McNabb (this William most likely being the older brother of Reuben McNabb). William and Fanny McNabb's household is listed just above a Robert McNabb (age, 38; wife, Prudence) and another William McNabb (age, 28; wife, Celia) who appear to be from another McNabb family. The upshot is that we don't have many records, and we have a LOT of people with similar names, which makes the puzzle of who's who in the McNabb zoo a very tricky one to solve.

But thanks to Elizabeth's obituary, quoted in our earlier post, and this 1860 Census record, we can assert that James most likely died in Cedar Creek after the date on this record: 12 July 1860. And that's where we'll rejoin Elizabeth's story - but first, we must introduce Mr. Reed:

George Washington Reed (1825–1874) was born in Ohio around 1825. I believe his parents were James C. Reed and Mary Glass, but the evidence for this is somewhat thin. We do have the record showing that George married his first wife, Clarinda "Clara" Trindall (1828–1853) on 26 October 1847 in De Kalb County, Indiana. They then appeared on the 1850 Census with their son, Jacob, in Mifflin, Ashland County, Ohio. Their household consisted of:

• George W Reed, Age 23
• Clara Reed, Age 22
• Jacob M Reed, Age 1
• Mary Reed, Age 53 (possibly George's mother)
• James P Reed, Age 21 (possible brother)
• S. A. Reed, Age 18 (possible sister)

George and Clara had more children, notably Lovina Reed (1853–1925), who would grow up and marry John D. Ferguson (1848–1922), the younger brother of the very same Elizabeth Belle Ferguson George is about to marry!

We don't have a record to say when Clara died, but Elizabeth's obituary tells us that she and George married on 27 March 1861. In 1870, we see George and Elizabeth on the Census record for Jackson, De Kalb County, Indiana, listed below the households of James Ferguson Jr and Sr. There are two boys, Franklin and William, who are older than Elizabeth's daughter, Ella, so presumably they are Clara's younger children. From that, we might assume that Clara died after William's birth around 1857.

There is a memorial on Find-A-Grave for a "Clarana Reed, wife of George W. Reed, Died 11 March 1859" located in the Vesper Cemetery in Mifflin Township, Ashland County, Ohio; in the same cemetery, there is a memorial for a Mary Reed, d. 1882, "wife of James Reed" - that could be George's mother. Until we can confirm some of this with additional records, all of this is just speculation, but these facts do seem to fit together.

At any rate, from this point, we will be focused on the children born to George W. and Elizabeth Ferguson (McNabb) Reed. Since we numbered Ella Florence McNabb, Elizabeth's first child, as "I." in our earlier post, I'll continue to number her half-siblings for consistency:

     II. James F. Reed (1863–1936)
     III. Emma A Reed (1865–1934)
     IV. Eliza A. Reed (1866–1951)
     V. Mary Reed (1868–1869)
     VI. Margaret Jane Reed (1870–1952)
     VII. Charles Albert Reed (1871–1927)

George W. Reed died on 21 February 1874, and he was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Auburn, DeKalb County, Indiana. According to her obituary, Elizabeth "lived in the present home [the farm she and George moved to in 1867] for 28 years. She kept the family together, and looked after their welfare." When she died on 8 June 1896, she was buried in Evergreen Cemetery with her husband.

     II. James F. Reed (1863–1936)

James was born on 5 January 1863 in Indiana, most likely in De Kalb County, where he grew up. It should be noted that out of the six children born to George W. and Elizabeth Ferguson Reed, James is the only one not mentioned in The Callin Family History.

In 1885, he married Ellen Walter (1866–1941), the youngest child of Joseph Walter (1818–1882) and Sarah Nixon (1818–1888). They lived in Auburn until moving to Fort Wayne in 1900. I should note that the records were very inconsistent on whether their surname was "Walter," "Walters," or even "Waters" or "Watters." The family appears to have preferred "Walter."

James worked for the railroad, and then as a laborer until winding up working in the streets department of the City of Fort Wayne. He suffered from liver and heart trouble and died at age 73 on 2 September 1936. Ellen also died in Fort Wayne on 22 January 1941. She and James were buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Auburn. They were survived by their two sons and one grandchild.


     A. Elmer Charles Reed (1886–1954) was born in Auburn on 27 February 1886 and lived there until his father relocated the family to Fort Wayne in 1900. Elmer married Seauretta Bonsay (b. 1887) on 21 May 1909, but divorced her five years later, claiming she "up and left" him.

Elmer was a barber and worked in a number of barber shops in Fort Wayne over the years. He appears to have remained single after his divorce and left no children behind. He died on 28 December 1954 in Fort Wayne and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery with his parents.


     B. Ralph R Reed (1888–1946) was born 3 December 1888 in Auburn and married Lucille L Havert (1893–1964) on 5 August 1913 in Fort Wayne. She was born on 21 March 1893, the daughter of Alphonsus Havert (1850–1903) and Ellen Didier (1861–1947).

Ralph retired as a switchman from the Casad Ordnance Depot in New Haven and then worked as a taxi driver in Fort Wayne. He suffered from heart disease for several years and died at the age of 57 on 31 May 1946. Lucille died on 20 March 1964 after suffering from uterine cancer for 6 years. They are buried in Catholic Cemetery in Fort Wayne.

     i. Ralph Raymond Reed Jr (1916–2007) was born on 3 October 1916, and listed his birthplace as Jackson, Michigan, though he was raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was living in Los Angeles, California when the war came, and he enlisted there on 23 October 1943.

After the war, Ralph married Anna Marie McLaughlin (1922–2017) on 11 February 1946 in McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Francis H McLaughlin (1881–1965) and Estelle M Bigley (1888–1966).

Ralph worked for the Uniroyal Corp. in Mishawaka, Indiana, for more than 30 years. Anna was a secretary for Wilts Office and Sears. He died on 5 July 2007 from renal failure after suffering from kidney trouble for many years. Ralph donated his body to Indiana University Anatomical Education Program, Indianapolis. Anna died on 16 May 2017, and they are buried in the Bigley Family Cemetery in Coulter, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

They left behind one son (now deceased), one daughter, two granddaughters, and three great-granddaughters.

     a. Raymond Richard Reed (1950-2017) was born on 1 July 1950 in Fort Wayne and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Ray died in Coulter, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, 6 May 2017. He is survived by his daughter, sister, two grandchildren, niece, and great-niece.

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Next week, we will continue with James Reed's younger siblings. I'm still in summer school for a couple more weeks, and then I get to take some vacation in August before settling into my "senior" year!

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 Carper Children, part 3

Hello, cousins!

For the past several weeks, we've been talking about a breakthrough that let me find the missing family of my 1st cousin, once removed, Elizabeth Belle Ferguson (1835–1896). We talked about the dozens of descendants of Elizabeth's granddaughter, Alda Florence Carper McCosh, in The Carper Children, part 1; and we looked at the many descendants of Howard Carper in The Carper Children, part 2; this week, we wind down with a brief look at Elizabeth's two younger grandchildren: John D Carper and Callie Bell Carper Harper.


     C. John D Carper (1886–1964) was born on 30 August 1886 in De Kalb County, Indiana. On 25 May 1911, he married Inez Alene Reinhart  (1891–1973), daughter of George Reinhart (1862–1932) and Lydia Io Buchanan (1867–1961). She was born on 8 May 1891 in De Kalb County.

John and Inez had four children, three of whom survived to adulthood. John was a farmer and the family lived mainly in the Kendallville area in Noble County. He suffered from kidney disease the last five years of his life, and he died on 8 July 1964 in Helmer, Indiana. Inez died from a heart attack on 21 July 1973. They were buried in Fairfield Cemetery in Fairfield Center, De Kalb County.

     i. Margaret Mine Carper (1911–1983) was born on 30 November 1911 in Fairfield and grew up in De Kalb and Noble Counties. On 14 September 1929, Margaret married Marshall B Housel (1909–1966), the son of Arthur Wakefield Housel (1882–1960) and Alta Florence "Aldy" Miller (1881–1965). Marshall was the twin brother of Marceile B Housel (1909–1984), who married Margaret's cousin, Silas J. McCosh (whom you might recall from a previous post). Marshall and Marceile were born on 11 October 1909.

Marshall died on 10 August 1966 in Centreville, St. Joseph County, Michigan. Margaret died on 12 November 1983 in Sturgis, St. Joseph County, Michigan. They were buried in Fairfield Cemetery in Fairfield Center, Indiana. The couple does not seem to have left behind any children.

     ii. Georgia Irene Carper (1917–1999) was born in Kendallville, Noble County, Indiana, on 12 March 1917. On 2 October 1937, she married Dale Ellsworth Marsh (1911–1994). He was a son of Holly Harvey Marsh (1887–1961) and Elsie V Long (1890–1978) and was born on 15 January 1911 in Keyser, De Kalb County, Indiana.

Dale enlisted in the U.S. Army on 27 Jul 1942, and after the war, he worked for the Kirsch Company in Sturgis, St. Joseph County, Michigan. He died on 8 July 1994 at Thurston Woods Village, and Georgia died on 23 May 1999, both in Sturgis. They were survived by brothers and sisters, and nieces and nephews.

     iii. Arthur Raymond Carper (1920–1920) was born on 17 June 1920, but died from meningitis barely two weeks later, on 30 June 1920.

     iv. Phyllis Jean Carper (1926–2001) was born on 6 March 1926, in Kendallville, Indiana. On 25 May 1948, she married James Adrian Easterday (1923–2009), the son of Laurel J Easterday Sr (1891–1961) and Berniece Kline (1895–1990). He was born on 23 December 1923 in Kendallville and enlisted to serve in the U.S. Army on 1 January 1942. He served in the European theater, and after the war, he was employed with McCray Refrigeration for twenty-one years and eventually retired from the AirWay Corporation.

James and Phyllis had two daughters together, both of whom are still living, but they appear to have divorced sometime around the late 1950s, as Phyllis remarried in 1965. James also remarried and had a third daughter with his second wife; he died 26 February 2009 at Shepherd of the Hill nursing home in Kendallville at 85 years of age.

Phyllis married Maynard P. Evers in Wolcottville on 2 October 1965. The couple lived in Longmont, Colorado until they settled in Sturgis in 1981. Phyllis was employed as a nursing home aide and a clerk in a shoe store and enjoyed traveling.

Phyllis died on 29 June 2001 at her home in Sturgis; Maynard died there on 26 July 2004. They were survived by two daughters and two grandchildren.


     D. Callie Bell Carper (1891–1980) was born on 12 September 1891 at Auburn Junction in De Kalb County, Indiana. She married Frank Lester Harper (1885–1971) at her parents' home on 24 July 1909. Born on 6 April 1885 in Corunna, De Kalb County, Frank was the youngest child of George P Harper (1831–1917) and Eliza Catherine Wylie (1841–1929).

Frank attended Valparaiso University for one year but mainly worked as a railroad man. He died on 20 February 1971 in Garrett; Callie died on 11 September 1980 in Auburn. They were buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Auburn.

     i. Vera Naomi Harper (1910–2014) was born on 25 March 1910 in Garrett. She married Omar Claude Webb (1909–1994) on 8 June 1929. Omar was born in Monon, White County, Indiana, on 3 March 1909. He was the son of Ellsworth "Elsie" Webb (1874–1961) and Lelia May Holman (1876–1954). Omar was a factory worker in Auburn, and he and Vera attended the Auburn First United Methodist Church.

Omar died from pneumonia at age 85 on 17 August 1994. Vera died at Betz Nursing Home in Auburn on 21 December 2014 at the age of 104. They are buried in Roselawn Cemetery in Auburn. They are survived by a son, 2 daughters, 9 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren and 24 great great grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren preceded Vera in death.

     ii. Laurence Melvin Harper (1917–1982) was born on 6 October 1917 in Jackson, De Kalb County. He married Naomi Pauline Freeman (1918–2004), the daughter of Clarence Freeman (1881–1938) and Catherine Zerns (1881–1966), on 21 November 1935. Naomi was born in Auburn on 7 August 1918.

Laurence supported the family as a machinist and driver for International Harvester. He died of chronic lung disease on 19 November 1982. Naomi died 26 June 2004, at Wesley Health Care in Auburn and was buried with Laurence in Woodlawn Cemetery of Auburn. They were survived by two of their three sons, 12 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

     ii. James Freeman Harper (1939–2002) was the second son of Lawrence and Naomi, born on 9 January 1939. He married Karen Diane Carpenter (1941–1992) on 16 January 1965 in Auburn. Her parents were Murray Dale Carpenter (1914–1967) and Treva E Turney (1917–1999), and she was born in Auburn on 10 September 1941.

Karen died 4 October 1992 after suffering from breast cancer for 6 years. James died of congestive heart failure on 9 April 2002. They were survived by at least one son.

- -- --- -- -

With that, we have finished working through the descendants of Ella McNabb Carper; but after her father died, her mother remarried and had six more children! Next time, we'll begin looking at those folks.

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 Carper Children, part 2

Hello, cousins!

As you read this, I'm probably up to my elbows in my new summer classes - I'm taking two summer courses - History of Germany (1871-1945) and Writing About Literature - at Towson University, so I can stay on track to graduate in 2020. Yes, this is still for my Bachelor of Science in Music, but I needed upper-level non-music electives, and I happen to like history and writing... as you might have noticed! But I've got a couple more of these posts already queued up for you, and I'm still working on the draft of the Callin Family History behind the scenes.

Howard Carper's place in the tree
(click to see a full-size version)

If you're just joining us, I recently made a breakthrough that let me find the missing family of my 1st cousin, once removed, Elizabeth Belle Ferguson (1835–1896). Last week, we talked about the dozens of descendants of Elizabeth's granddaughter, Alda Florence Carper McCosh, in The Carper Children, part 1; this week, we continue with Alda's brother and his progeny:

     B. Howard Leroy Carper (1882–1948) was born 9 May 1882 in De Kalb County, Indiana, and grew up working his father's farm in Jackson Township. On 29 May 1909, Howard married May J Smith (1891–1939) the eldest of three daughters of Edward G Smith (1862–1938) and Celia R. Stonebraker (1872–1934). May was born in Corunna, De Kalb County, on 8 May 1891, and after they were married, they lived on the farm of May's grandfather, James Stonebraker (1844-1924).


May and Howard had two children, son Richard, and daughter Ruth, but their marriage did not last out the decade. As the clipping on the right will show, Howard "left his home owing to domestic trouble" around October of 1912, and returned from Chicago in April 1913 having lost both of his legs in an accident that occurred while he was working as a brakeman for the railroad.

His disability does not seem to have kept Howard from getting into trouble, as the 12 September 1918 edition of The Garrett Clipper reported his arrest for stealing coal from the Indiana Fuel & Light company. Officers traced the tracks of Howard's wheelbarrow from the coal pile to the Carper home. (You may appreciate the irony that several of Howard's sons ended up working for the power company years later!)

Howard remarried Mina Pearl Mitchell (1901–1970) on 24 November 1919. She was the daughter of George Jacob Mitchell (1870–1957) and Emma May Davis (1870–1957), born on 11 April 1901. Mina and Howard had 12 children between 1920 and 1940, several of whom died in infancy. In 1943, Mina sued for divorce, accusing Howard of habitual drunkenness, and suing for custody of the younger children.

Howard's first wife, May, married Roscoe C King (1898–1965) on 20 August 1927 and moved to Lansing, Michigan. She had another daughter with Roscoe, Sarah Jane (King) Anderson (1928–2009), and died in Lansing on 6 March 1939. Howard died on 25 December 1948 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Fort Wayne, after spending two months there due to an unspecified illness. He was buried in Roselawn Cemetery in Auburn. Mina died in July 1970 and is buried near Howard.

     i. Richard Raymond Carper (1910–1998) was the son of Howard and May (Smith) Carper, born on 3 October 1910 in Corunna, De Kalb County, Indiana. When May divorced Howard, it seems she retained custody of Richard and his sister, Ruth, as they appeared in the household of May's second husband, Roscoe King, in Lansing in 1930.

On 25 Nov 1932, Richard married Marjorie Ferne Mitchell (1915–1934) in  East Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan. She was the daughter of Burton Dale Mitchell (1875–1950) and Margaret A Horton (1873–1952), born on 27 January 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. (She appears not to have been related to her mother-in-law, Mina Pearl Mitchell, before marrying Richard.)

Sadly, Marjorie died on 21 January 1936 from severe complications of pregnancy, leaving Richard with a small daughter, Gloria. He soon remarried Miss Ada Lillian Holmes (1913-2004), the daughter of George Holmes (b. 1883) and Ada Hooton (1876–1940). Lillian was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on 22 April 1913, to parents who had immigrated to Canada from England in about 1907. The Holmes family moved to Michigan in the 1920s.

Lillian and Richard raised Gloria and had a second daughter together. He worked at Oldsmobile Corporation as a metallurgist for 20 years and owned and operated two A&W Restaurants. Richard died on 28 February 1998 in Lansing, at the age of 87; Lillian also died in Lansing on 19 August 2004, at 91. They left behind their daughters, 5 granddaughters, and 7 great-grandchildren.

     a. Gloria Kay Carper Hibbard (1934-2019) was born to Richard and Marjorie (Mitchell) Carper on 14 July 1934 in Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan. Her mother died when she was still very small, and she was raised by her father and step-mother, Lillian.

"Glo," as she was called, was a member of the Lansing Eastern High School Class of 1952 and Michigan State University Class of 1956. She earned her Master's Degree in teaching and taught elementary education in the Lansing Public Schools for 30 years.

When she died on 10 April 2019, she was survived by her husband, 5 children, 11 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.

     ii. Ruth Lorraine Carper (1912–2004) was born 2 June 1912 in Corunna, De Kalb County, Indiana, to Howard and May (Smith) Carper. Ruth married Bennie Francis Yoder (1912-1977) in Lansing, Michigan, on 21 March 1930.

There is some confusion in the records over whether Bennie and/or his father was born with the name "Benneville" or "Benjamin" - I've gone with "Bennie" as that's on his Social Security paperwork and his World War II Draft Card. He was born on 18 July 1912, the son of Ben H Yoder (1888–1957) and Minnie B Walsh (1894–1956). 

Ruth and Bennie made their home in Bliss, Emmet County, Michigan, for many years. Bennie died in Ocala, Marion County, Florida on 10 December 1977, and was buried in Bliss Township Cemetery. After his death, Ruth moved to Mackinaw City and lived at the Huron Apartments for 23 years. She died 24 September 2004 at Hospice House in Cheboygan, Michigan, and was buried with Bennie in Bliss. She was 92 years of age.

They had two sons, two daughters (one of whom is still living), 16 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren, and 17 great-great-grandchildren.

     a. Beverly June Yoder Cassidy (1930–2010) was the oldest child of Ruth and Bennie Yoder, born on 12 April 1930 in Lansing, Michigan. She attended Michigan State University in East Lansing in 1950 and married her husband on 13 May 1950 in Lansing. She died on 4 August 2010 in Gladwin, Gladwin County, Michigan, and was survived by her husband, 3 daughters, 1 son, 12 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren.

     c. Eddie Gene Yoder (1934–2004)  was born 20 July 1934 in Lansing, Michigan. He served in the United States Army in Greenland. He was married on 2 May 1957 in Petoskey, Emmett County. He was a self-employed carpenter for many years and belonged to the Michigan Carpenters Union. When he died at age 69, on 5 April 2004 at his home in Mackinaw City surrounded by his family, he was survived by his wife, two daughters, two sons, and five grandchildren.

     d. Arthur Duane Yoder (1936–1981) was born on 27 July 1936 in Lansing, Michigan. He worked as a factory worker in the mid-1950s and served in the U.S. Army from 12 February 1957 through 11 February 1959. He died on 20 October 1981 in Petoskey, Emmett County, Michigan, survived by his wife.

    iii. Robert LeRoy Carper (1920–1996) was the first child of Howard and Mina (Mitchell) Carper, born on 3 November 1920 in Auburn, Indiana. He grew up in De Kalb County and on 5 April 1941 he married Irene Lurea Brown (1924–1986). She was the daughter of Herald D Brown (1899–1991) and Reba F Johnson (1903–1953), born on 14 August 1924.

Robert and Irene had four children: twin boys, a daughter, and another son, all still living. According to reports in The Garrett Clipper, Robert enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 20 September 1944, and after he was discharged in October 1945, he moved back in with his mother and told Irene to file for divorce. The divorce was filed in November 1945, but according to his obituary, Robert had remarried on 25 July 1945 in Chicago.

Irene remarried, and her second husband, Robert Henry Kessler, adopted the four Carper children, giving them his surname. Irene and Robert Kessler had three children of their own and raised their family in Indiana. They divorced in 1970, and Irene married Donald Pence; she died in Boulder, Colorado, on 9 March 1986.

Robert's second wife was Mildred Merna "Dolly" Jensen (1924–2006), the daughter of a Danish immigrant, Nels C. Jensen (1878–1962) and Julia Paulson (1889–1951). She was born on 18 July 1924 in Saxville, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Robert and Dolly moved to Wisconsin, where Robert found work as a  mechanic with the Waupaca County Highway Department. Dolly was a cook and nursing assistant at the Bethany Home in Waupaca for 20 years. They raised three sons together.

Robert died at home in Iola, Waupaca County, Wisconsin, on 22 July 1996. When Dolly died on 29 November 2006 at the Woodlands of Oconto in Oconto County, Wisconsin, she left behind their three sons, 11 grandchildren; 18 great-great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

     a. Joe Franklin Kessler (1941–2014) was born on 23 July 1941, in Auburn - one of the twin boys born to Robert and Irene Carper. He and his siblings were adopted by Robert Henry Kessler and raised with his name. Joe worked for Penn Central, Conrail and Norfolk-Southern railroad as a bridges and buildings foreman and a scale inspector for his entire career. He was married in 1960, and when he died on 9 September 2014 he was survived by his wife, three of their four children, three grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.

     1.) Deborah Jo Kessler McKee (1962–2014) was born 19 March 1962, in Kendallville, Noble County, Indiana. She graduated from Fremont High School in 1980 and worked for many years at Angola Wire. She worked for the Angola Speedway for the last 8 years of her life, and she volunteered with the Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous organizations, chairing the AA meetings at the Branch County Jail. She was a resident of Coldwater in Branch County, Michigan. Deborah died on 21 February 2014 at the Community Health Center of Branch County.

     b. John W Kessler (1941–2014), like his twin brother, Joe, was born in Auburn on 23 July 1941. He worked for Navistar Inc. for 42 years, retiring in 2007. He also framed houses with Fox Framers for five years. He is survived by his wife, a son, two daughters, and a grandson. John died at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne on 17 April 2014.

USS Gillis (AVD-12) leaving ARD-6 Dutch Harbor, Alaska, 11 April 1944

     iv. Joseph Evan Carper (1921–2011) was the second child of Howard and Mina (Mitchell) Carper, born on 10 December 1921. He joined the U.S. Navy and served during World War II aboard the USS Gillis (AVD-12). Records suggest he enlisted on 31 October 1941 and according to his obituary he served as a Chief Metal Smith from 1941 to 1947.

Joseph married Eleanore Mary "Jo" Pfeffer (1925–1989) on 1 November 1944 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. She was the daughter of Austrian immigrants who came to the United States from Hamburg, Germany, aboard the Tyrrhenia on 7 May 1923: Joseph Pfeffer (1898–1979) and Karolina (Caroline) Muhr (1899–1933).

After the war, Joe worked as an Operations Supervisor for 37 years for Northern Indiana Fuel and Light Company in Auburn, retiring in 1989. Sadly, Jo died on 20 January 1989 after suffering from heart failure. Joe died on 21 March 2011 at Betz Nursing Home in Auburn, survived by their daughter, three grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

     v. Ralph Jacob Carper (1923–2013) was born 11 July 1923, in Auburn, to Howard and Mina (Mitchell) Carper. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, enlisting on 17 August 1944. After the war, he was married in 1948, and worked at the Northern Indiana Fuel and Light Company in Auburn for 43 years, serving the last 14 years as vice president of operations.

Ralph died on 4 June 2013 at Laurels of DeKalb Nursing Home in Butler. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter, four grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter.

USS Gandy (DE 764), 8 June 1945

     vi. Aden Lewis Carper (1926–2014) was born in Auburn on 28 January 1926, one of a set of twins born to Howard and Mina Carper. Aden enlisted in the U.S Navy and served aboard the USS Gandy in the latter half of the war.

After the war, Aden married Opal Valette King (1928–1991), daughter of Raymond Orval King (1899–1989) and Wilhelmina Louise "Minnie " Henschen (1894–1958), on 12 April 1947 in Auburn. She was born on 4 February 1928 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The couple raised their six children in the Auburn area, and he worked for the DeKalb County Highway Department, retiring in 1988 after 18 years of service.

Opal died on 10 July 1991 and was buried in Roselawn Cemetery in Auburn. Aden died at Betz Nursing Home in Auburn at age 88, on 5 December 2014; he was buried with Opal in Roselawn Cemetery. They were survived by two sons, four daughters, 14 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.

     1.) Cynthia Louise "Cindee" Carper Bonahoom (1949–2018) was born on 29 July 1949, in Garrett, De Kalb County, to Aden and Opal (King) Carper. She graduated from Garrett High School in 1967. Cindee worked at Magnavox in Garrett, Auburn and Columbia City for eight years. She also worked for ITT Aerospace in Fort Wayne for 18 years and Jo Ann's Fabric in Fort Wayne for seven years. She died on 1 February 2018 at her home in Fort Wayne and was survived by her husband, a son, two daughters, a stepson, nine grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

     vii. Idin Aaron Carper (1926–1927) born on 28 January 1926, like his twin brother, Idin lived only one month and 13 days, dying from influenza on 11 February 1926.

     viii. Harold Lloyd "Hank" Carper (1927–2000)  was born 11 May 1927 in De Kalb County. On 27 August 1949, he married Luetta Bernadene Dapp in St. Michael's Catholic Church, Waterloo. The daughter of Albert A. Dapp (1896–1986) and Margaret A. Dibling (1899–1982), she was born 22 August 1929 in De Kalb County and was a 1947 graduate of Ashley High School.

Hank worked for 30 years in the maintenance department at S&S Oil Co. in Auburn. Luetta was an operator for Indiana Bell in Auburn, retiring in 1978 after 30 years of service. After her retirement from Indiana Bell, she went to work at Betz Nursing Home in Auburn.

Hank died at age 73 on 15 December 2000, in his home on Walden Drive, Auburn. Luetta died at 79 on 18 July 2009, at Betz Nursing Home. They are survived by a son and three grandchildren.

     ix. John William Carper (1929–1929) was born on 16 March 1929 and died on 16 September 1929 from what his death certificate identified as "cholera infantum" and the newspaper called a "bowel infection".

     x. Ellen May Carper (1930–2018) was born 19 June 1930 in Auburn, Indiana.She married Herman Mack Van Auken (1923–1967), son of Clare Van Auken (1895–1975) and Edith Lyle Griffith (1902–1989), on 24 June 1948. They had three sons and a daughter together before Mack's untimely death at the age of 44 on 24 June 1967.

Ellen remarried Orval Ray Shryock (1934–2018) on 18 July 1981 in Hamilton, Steuben County, Indiana. His parents were Ray Millard Shyrock (1905–1976) and Nan Marie "Nannie" Rothwell (1912–1995). They would have three daughters together. Ellen was the manager of Nobbson’s Clothing store in 1983; Orval worked as a teacher with Emmanuel Lutheran School and later with Fort Wayne Community Schools. Ellen and Orval both volunteered at Wellspring and Community Corrections, and Orval also volunteered in the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Dept. (One of us!)

Orval died on 1 May 2018 in Fort Wayne, and Ellen died 18 November 2018, in Auburn. They were survived by seven children and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

     xi. Arthur Harry Carper (1933–1993) was born on Christmas Eve 1933 and grew up in Auburn. He graduated Auburn High School, then served in the U.S. Air Force from 12 August 1952 through 19 July 1956.

He married Anna Mae Walter (1938–2013), the daughter of Ford F Walter (1915–2003) and Lola Koeppe (1919–1999), on 2 July 1960. She was born 23 May 1938 in Auburn and taught music for 35 years at Ashley High School then in the Ashley and Fairfield Elementary Schools. She and Art owned Carper Insurance in Hamilton.

Art died in Fort Wayne on Boxing Day, 26 December 1993, and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Auburn. Anna moved to Hagerstown, Maryland, to be near their daughter, and she died on 23 November 2013 at the home of her daughter. They were survived by their daughter and three grandchildren.

     xii. Samuel Emerson Carper (1936–1994) was born on 26 December 1936 in Union, De Kalb County, Indiana. He worked as a driver, and retired from the Allen County Highway Department. He died on 7 November 1994 in Fort Wayne from coronary artery disease, and was survived by his wife, son, and daughter.



     xiv. Charles McClellan Carper (1940–1940) was born 17 May 1940 and died on 12 October from a streptococcus infection. This was about two years before penicillin became available; it was first successfully used to treat burn victims in 1942.

Note: a sharp-eyed reader may have noticed that someone is missing from this list. The child who would be "xiii." the youngest daughter of Howard and Mina Carper, is happily still living.

- -- --- -- -

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!