This week we will look at the second group of descendants of Lark Robinson Cook. There are a lot of them, so we'll jump right in where we left off last week:
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| Lark Robinson's family tree |
I have not been able to find records that might tell her story more accurately, but a lot happened to Etta between 1920 and 1930. By the 1930 Census, she was married to Hugh Grover Watts (1892–1971), and they lived in Lamar with five children in their household.
All of Etta's children appear in the census records (1930 and 1940) with the surname "Watts," but her three eldest children (born in 1920, 1922, and 1924) have records in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 database that list their father as Walter Waring. There is a Walter Waring listed as living in Barton County, Missouri, in 1900, and he was divorced and living in with his sister and brother-in-law in Moniteau County, Missouri in 1920; he was married to someone else and living in Coal, Vernon County, Missouri, in 1930. Without more information, there is no way to conclude whether he is the same Walter Waring or rule him out as the father of Etta's three eldest children.
Hugh Watts was born on 25 September 1892 in Cabool, Texas County, Missouri, to Gilbert Steel Watts (1847–1919) and Lucetta Miller (1860–1899). Etta was Hugh's second wife; he was married to Myrtle Thompson (1901–1957) from about 1919 until at least 1923, during which time they had three sons. Myrtle remarried in 1926 and raised the three boys with her new husband.
Hugh raised Etta's children with his surname, and they had six more of their own. Hugh was an employee of the Missouri-Pacific Railroad and a veteran of World War I. He was dead on arrival at Barton County Memorial Hospital, Lamar, on 21 February 1971, following an apparent heart attack at his home. Etta died on 5 March 1981 in Lamar, survived by 19 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. Two of her nine children are still living.
1. Elsie Marie (Waring) Watts (1920–1998) was born on 1 November 1920 in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri. She grew up in the home of her mother and step-father in Lamar. She married Olen Ernest Rakestraw (1913-2010) about 1937. Olen was the son of James Wiley Rakestraw (1875–1949) and Katie Belle Wilkinson (1878–1963), born in Round Grove, Missouri, on 3 September 1913.
Elsie and Olen moved their family to Wichita, Kansas, during the 1940s, where Olen worked as a carpenter. They later moved to Aurora, Arapahoe County, Colorado. Elsie died in Aurora on 21 May 1998 and was buried in Hampden Memorial Estates in Denver. Olen died on 11 February 2010 and was buried with Elsie. They were survived by three of their four sons, 15 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.
b. Rex Eugene Rakestraw (1941–2009) was born in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri, on 26 February 1941, and grew up in Wichita, Kansas, where he graduated from Wichita High School in 1959. Rex became a machinist for Boeing Aircraft. In 1962, he married LaDonna More Hershberger (1942–2001), daughter of Roy Grover Hershberger (1918–2003) and Lois Lorene Rethorst (1919–1999). She was born on 29 August 1942 and also graduated from Wichita High School.
Rex and LaDonna moved to Houston, Texas, where they raised their three daughters. They moved back to Wichita, probably after Rex retired. LaDonna died in Wichita on 10 March 2001 and was buried in White Chapel Memorial Gardens in Wichita. Rex died on 17 August 2009 and was buried with his wife. They were survived by their daughters, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
2. Mildred Fay Waring (1922–2006) was born on 28 September 1922 in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri. About 1940, she married John Henry Wynkoop (1916–1962) and moved with him to California. John was born on 29 February 1916 in Springfield, Missouri, to William Jedidiah Wynkoop (1882–1924) and Lula Alice Beason (1884–1966).
After John died on 23 May 1962 in Los Angeles, Mildred remarried briefly. She married Howard B Payne in Nevada on 16 August 1966, and they divorced in Los Angeles in April 1967. She remained in California for many years after, eventually returning to Lamar, where she died on 26 February 2006 and was buried in Memory Gardens Cemetery.
3. Ralph William Waring (1924–1998) was born in Lamar on 23 April 1924 and grew up there in the home of his mother and step-father. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 28 February 1943, served in a unit of airborne troops based in England, and was discharged at the end of the war on 16 August 1945.
It isn't clear from the few records I found how many times Ralph was married, or how many kids he had. Here is what I can say about his family with some degree of certainty:
He married Esther Lee Dutton (1928–2013) on 8 October 1947 in Independence, Jackson, Missouri. She was the daughter of Henry Don Dutton (1906–1968) and Clara Belle Taylor (born 1905), born on 17 February 1928 in Independence. They had a son before they divorced. Esther was married five times, and when she died on 30 August 2013 in Independence and was buried under the name of her last husband, Forrester.
Ralph was married to Mely Brown Vermillion (1928–2000) sometime before 1972. She was the daughter of James L Brown (born 1893) and Iva B Romine (1902–1990). He died on 8 August 1998 in Richmond, Ray County, Missouri, and was buried in Richmond Memory Gardens there. Mely died on 28 June 2000 in Rayville, Ray County, and was buried with Ralph.
4. Mary Louise Watts (1925–2001) was born on 7 August 1925, grew up in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri, and graduated Lamar High School 1942. She married Robert (Bob) Walter Cole (1922–1977) on 23 December 1944. He was born in McHenry, North Dakota, on 7 February 1922, the son of Walter B Cole (1897–1979) and Florence Mae Dell (1899–1985).
Bob was a veteran of World War II and made his career with the L.A. Police Dept. after the war. He and Mary raised three sons in Reseda, Los Angeles County, California. After he retired, Bob and Mary moved to Springfield, Missouri, where he died on 4 December 1977 of a sudden heart attack.
After Bob died, Mary lived in the San Fernando Valley, in Beaumont, Riverside County, California, and near the end of her life, she moved to Mount Pleasant, Maury County, Tennessee, to live with one of her sons. She died there peacefully in her sleep on 26 January 2001, after a year-long struggle with cancer. They are survived by their three sons and eight grandchildren.
5. Claude Eugene Watts (1928–1979) was born on 9 January 1928 in Barton County, Missouri. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 15 March 1946, and he re-enlisted after the war, serving until 27 July 1949.
After he left the Army, Claude married Murlin Lee Maggard (1927–2006) on 18 October 1950 in Carthage, Jasper County, Missouri. She was born on 27 June 1927 in Ozark, Christian County, Missouri, to Frank Maggard (1883–1975) and Margaret E Willoughby (1888–1963). Claude was her second husband and she had a son from her first marriage.
Claude was a carpenter, and he and Murlin had a son and a daughter together. Claude died on 15 December 1979 in Carthage and was buried in Memory Gardens Cemetery at Lamar. Murlin died on 20 July 2006 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, having moved to nearby Collinsville in 2005. She was buried with Claude. They left behind their three children, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
6. Hugh Watts Jr (1930–1951) was born in Lamar on 6 April 1930 and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1950. As a member of Battery A, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, he was taken prisoner while fighting near Kunu-ri, North Korea on 30 November 1950 and died while a prisoner on 9 February 1951. Private First Class Watts was awarded the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
9. Kenneth Wayne Watts (1942–1998) was born on 16 April 1942 in Lamar and graduated Lamar High School. He died on 27 September 1998 at 56 years of age and was buried in Memory Gardens Cemetery in Lamar.
E. Harry Lee Cook (1901–1985) was born on 6 September 1901 in Douglas County, Missouri. He married Nellie Stella Hines (1905–1988) in about 1925. She was born on 14 January 1905 in Erie, Neosho County, Kansas, to Andrew J Hines (1871–1944) and Margaret J Linebaugh (1873–1944).
Harry and Nellie had six children before they divorced, probably in the mid-1940s, and she remarried Frederick Earl Bright (1901–1951). She later married Daniel B. Daugherty (1897–1982) on 17 May 1958, and they lived in Sprague, Bates, Missouri, where they raised two granddaughters after the death of their mother, Aleta. She died on 8 June 1988 and was buried in Deepwood Cemetery in Nevada, Vernon County, Missouri.
Harry worked in the ice plant for Skaggs Ice Co. and for Mid-America Dairy as a maintenance man until he retired. He died on 30 September 1985 in El Dorado Springs, Cedar County, Missouri, and was buried in Taberville Cemetery in Taberville, St. Clair County, Missouri.
They were survived by three of their six children, 16 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
2. Leroy Cook (1930–1931) was the second child of Harry and Nellie Cook, born on 20 March 1930 and died 15 November 1931 in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri. He is buried in Lake Cemetery in Lamar.
3. Aleta Maxine Cook (1933–1958) was born on 15 January 1933 in Lamar, Missouri, and she grew up in North Fork, Barton County, with her family. According to reporting in the Kansas City Times, she was killed on 3 June 1958 by her common-law husband, Frank Bannister, leaving behind two small daughters to be raised by Nellie and Dan Daugherty.
Frank had a wife and five children in San Antonio but claimed in his confession to police that he had stabbed Maxine in a fit of jealousy. He pleaded insanity in February 1959. He married again in 1964, presumably after serving his sentence, and he died on 24 March 1993 in San Antonio.
4. Nellie Lee Cook (1937–1978) was born on 19 May 1937 in Lamar, Missouri, and attended El Dorado Springs High School. She married Edward William Knoblich (1936–2006) around 1955, and they lived in Fort Scott, Bourbon County, Kansas. The couple had two sons and two daughters together before they divorced.
On 4 September 1978, Ed left Nellie at the Fort Scott emergency center with a gunshot wound to her head and fled on foot. Nellie died on 9 September and The Iola Register reported that Ed was charged with aggravated kidnapping and first-degree, but was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter in January 1979. Ed died on 31 October 2006 in Fort Scott.
F. Daina Austin Cook (1905–1965) was born in Douglas County, Missouri, on 21 May 1905 to Jeremiah and Lark (Robinson) Cook. He grew up in Cass, in Douglas County, and moved with his family to Lamar, Barton County, when he was a teenager.
He worked as a barber and married Helen Lucille Jarvis (1909–1980) around 1928. She was born on 15 July 1909 in Golden City, Barton County, Missouri, to Albert Cleveland Jarvis (1886–1918) and Mahala Elsie Woodin (1889–1964). The couple had two sons, but they divorced. Daina and the boys moved to Independence, where Daina was employed at the Lake City Army ammunition plant.
Helen remarried Howard Elmo Holt (1911–1969) about 1944 and lived with him in Hollister, San Benito, California, where they had a daughter. Daina remained in Independence until his death on 20 October 1965 at the osteopathic hospital in Kansas City. He was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence.
1. Robert Austin Cook (1929–1964) was born in Lamar, Missouri, on 7 September 1929. He graduated from William Chrisman High School in Independence. Bob worked for the Social Security Administration in Independence and in Baltimore. He died in Independence at 36 years of age on 29 November 1964 survived by his wife and two young sons.
G. Willie Walter Cook (1907–1984) was born on 16 September 1907 in Douglas County, Missouri. He married Jennie June Bell (1909–1967), the daughter of Harry Thomas Bell (1875–1957) and Sarah Louise "Sadie" Bowen (1878–1956) on 20 October 1933 in Stockton, Cedar, Missouri.
They had a son and three daughters together. Willie worked for the Lamar School District as a custodian and for Horton Plumbing Co. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in the last year of the war, serving from 17 May 1944 to 12 October 1945. Unlike most of the families we look at, June and Willie had already had all their children before he joined the Army.
June died on 9 September 1967 in Lamar and was buried in Memory Gardens Cemetery there. Willie died on 7 December 1984 in Mount Vernon, Lawrence County, Missouri, and was buried with June in Lamar. They are survived by two of their daughters, 18 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.
2. Thomas Otto Cook (1937–2012) was born on 1 November 1937, in Lamar and graduated from Lamar High School, class of 1955. He joined the Navy in 1956 and retired in 1976, having received three Good Conduct Medals, Navy Unit Commendation Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and the Navy Achievement Medal. He served in the Cuban Blockade, three tours in Vietnam and on four different ships.
After retiring from the Navy, Thomas worked for the Missouri Department of Transportation as a highway department supervisor with 25 years of service. He died on 5 May 2012 in Lamar and was buried in the Memory Gardens Cemetery there. He was survived by his children, 10 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
3. Laura Louise Cook (1939–1999) was born on 8 July 1939 in Lamar. She married her first husband, Billy Joe Mayshark (1931–1995) on 19 June 1955. He was born on 22 April 1931 in Springfield, Missouri, the son of Ernest Calvin Mayshark (1912–1977) and Rosa E Walker (1911–1990) and a veteran of the Korean conflict, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps from 25 January 1952 to 16 November 1952. Billy Joe died on 17 May 1995.
Laura and her second husband, Darrel Dean Servis (1932–1999), died a few days apart; Laura on 28 September 1999 in Wichita, Kansas, and Darrel on 3 October 1999 in Woodward, Oklahoma.
H. Dorothy M Cook (1910–1981) was born on 16 April 1910 in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri, and was raised there. She married Albert Louis Arft (1909-1971), the son of Louis A Arft (1871–1949) and Dora M Tucker (1890–1975). Albert was born on 20 May 1909 in Kenoma, Barton County, Missouri.
Dorothy worked at McKay's Supermarket In Lamar, and Albert was a 38-year employee of the Frisco Railway. They raised their daughter in Barton County. He died on 31 December 1971 in Barton County Memorial hospital following a short illness. Dorothy died on 6 June 1981 in Lamar.
1. Betty Lou Arft (1930–2016) was born on 10 March 1930 in Lamar, was a graduate of Lamar High School and became a Licensed Practical Nurse. She worked at the Lamar Clinic before going to work in Springfield for the American Red Cross.
On 31 December 1950, she married Marvin Hiatt Sagehorn (1923–1994) and together they had three sons, all still living. Marvin was born 2 September 1923 in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clarence Ellis Sagehorn (1901–1984) and Estelle Camille Hiatt (1903–1998). Marvin remarried in Minnesota, but eventually returned to Missouri. He died 14 February 1994 in Lamar.
Betty married Curtis LaVerne Peterson (1926–2011) in 1988. Curtis died in 2011, and Betty died on 4 August 2016 in Lamar. She was survived by her three sons, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
I. Angeline R Cook (1913–1984) was born on 4 August 1913 in Missouri. She married Theodore Richard Young (1909–1995), son of Gideon Isaac Young (1871–1952) and Edith Jane Stevens (1881–1974), in about 1936. He was born on 4 February 1909 in Houghton, Brown County, South Dakota. Angeline and Theodore lived in Independence, Missouri, and they had at least two children.
Angeline died in March of 1984 in Independence, and Theodore died there on 25 January 1995. Presumably, they were survived by their children and grandchildren, but I have not been able to locate their obituaries or any reference to how many descendants they have left behind.
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For now, that's where we'll have to leave the descendants of Minerva Callin. There are a lot more people to trace in this branch, but we have to leave some mysteries for future generations, I suppose!
As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. I've had a lot less time to spend looking for descendants of these folks, and I'm certain I've got gaps in my knowledge which some living cousins might be able to fill. If I can't find you, I hope you'll find me!
You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.
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Until next time.... Happy Hunting!
