CFH First Draft: Laura (Lark) Robinson Cook

 This post is part of an ongoing series, sharing the first draft of my Revised Callin Family History. 

Laura "Lark" Robinson is the 117th person in a descendant report beginning with the earliest known ancestor of our Callin family, (1.) James Callin. This descendant report uses the Register Style of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 

Please use the Contact Form (at right) to send questions or corrections.

CRH First Draft: Maude Hall (Cunningham) Black

 This post is part of an ongoing series, sharing the first draft of my Revised Callin Family History. 

Maude C Hall is the 85th person in a descendant report beginning with the earliest known ancestor of our Callin family, (1.) James Callin. This descendant report uses the Register Style of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 

Please use the Contact Form (at right) to send questions or corrections.

CFH First Draft: John H Hall (1867-1930)

 This post is part of an ongoing series, sharing the first draft of my Revised Callin Family History. 

John H Hall is the 83rd person in a descendant report beginning with the earliest known ancestor of our Callin family, (1.) James Callin. This descendant report uses the Register Style of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 

Please use the Contact Form (at right) to send questions or corrections.

CFH First Draft: Ida Jane Hall Jackson

 This post is part of an ongoing series, sharing the first draft of my Revised Callin Family History. 

Ida Jane Hall is the 82nd person in a descendant report beginning with the earliest known ancestor of our Callin family, (1.) James Callin. This descendant report uses the Register Style of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 

Please use the Contact Form (at right) to send questions or corrections.

CFH First Draft: Louvina Callin Hall

 This post is part of an ongoing series, sharing the first draft of my Revised Callin Family History. 

Louvina Callin is the 25th person in a descendant report beginning with the earliest known ancestor of our Callin family, (1.) James Callin. This descendant report uses the Register Style of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 

Please use the Contact Form (at right) to send questions or corrections.

CFH First Draft: William T Sharp

 This post is part of an ongoing series, sharing the first draft of my Revised Callin Family History. 

William T Sharp is the 100th person in a descendant report beginning with the earliest known ancestor of our Callin family, (1.) James Callin. This descendant report uses the Register Style of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 

Please use the Contact Form (at right) to send questions or corrections.

CFH First Draft: Minerva Callin Smith Robinson Daggett

 This post is part of an ongoing series, sharing the first draft of my Revised Callin Family History. 

Minerva Callin is the 36th person in a descendant report beginning with the earliest known ancestor of our Callin family, (1.) James Callin. This descendant report uses the Register Style of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 

Please use the Contact Form (at right) to send questions or corrections.

Theodore, the Dairy Man

Welcome to 2020, cousins!

I think this could be the year... I started this project in 2014, thinking I could have a book ready to publish in 2015. I was wrong about that, but for the best possible reason: I kept finding more cousins! And here we are, winding down with the last branch of the family. (Unless we find another major breakthrough, of course!)

This week, we will take a look at the descendants of the third child of Henry and Sarah (Montgomery) Davidson. If you need to catch up, that link should help you catch up.

III. Theodore Bruce Davidson (1848–1932)

Theodore was born on 3 July 1848 in Rochester, Fulton County, Indiana, and he was about four years old when his family took the Oregon Trail westward. They settled near Shedd in Linn County, and Theodore eventually inherited the land there.

Theodore married his first wife, Margaret Ann Work (1855–1915), in 1876; her parents were most likely David Work (1815–1893) and Marinda E "Mary" Wilk (1814–1886). Margaret was born on 13 September 1855 in Indiana, and she grew up in Iowa, moving to Oregon with her family in about 1874.

Theodore was a dairy farmer, and he and Margaret raised their family on their farm in Shedd, until the 1900s when they were able to retire and moved to Lane County. They lived in Blanton (1900 Census) and Eugene (1910), where Margaret died on 22 December 1915. She was buried in the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery.

After Margaret died, Theodore married his second wife, the widowed Margaret Ellen (Waggoner) Kizer (1865–1947), on 15 February 1917 in Eugene. She was born on 29 September 1865 in Brownsville to Bird Waggoner (1810–1892) and Nancy Elizabeth Gray (1839–1885), and she had four children from her first marriage to Ovid Jackson Kizer (1863–1906), who died in Eugene on 25 May 1906 after being kicked in the head by a horse.

When Theodore died on 11 March 1932 he was survived by his widow and seven of his nine children. Margaret Kizer Davidson died on 5 March 1947 in Eugene, and she was buried in Alford Cemetery in Harrisburg, Linn County, next to her first husband.

     A. Estella Davidson (1876–1958) was born on 2 July 1876 in Shedd, Linn County, Oregon. She graduated from the Monmouth Normal School (which later became the Oregon College of Education) and she taught school in Eugene and Stayton.

Stella married Willis Manuel Caldwell (1878–1952) in 1903. He was the son of Melzer Jackson Caldwell (1849–1901) and Ellen Christiana Cole (1855–1929), born on 14 February 1878 in Scio, Linn County. They had their daughter and two sons in Stayton, Marion County, and lived in Ashland and Brownsville before relocating back to Salem Heights in 1920.

Willis died in Salem on 30 August 1952, and Stella died there on 12 May 1958. They are buried in Belcrest Memorial Park and were survived by their three children and six grandchildren.

      1. Maida Arleen Caldwell (1907–1971) was born on 20 August 1907 in Stayton, Marion, Oregon, and graduated from Salem High School and Willamette University, becoming a teacher in the early 1930s. She married Aubrey Dwain Estes (1905–1972), the elder son of John Oscar Estes (1883–1949) and Mary Jane "Mamie" Carter (1886–1949) on 19 June 1934. He was born on 16 November 1905 in Joseph, Wallowa County, Oregon.

Aubrey was a barber and owned his own shop in Joseph. Maida resigned from her teaching position when she married, but after their children were older, she taught at Joseph High School. According to his Find-A-Grave biography, he suffered for many years from multiple sclerosis but continued to barber until he could no longer hold the tools.

Maida died on 17 September 1971, and Aubrey died 14 January 1972, at the Wallowa County Nursing Home where he had resided for several years. They are buried in the Prairie Creek Cemetery in Joseph. They were survived by their son, Dwain, their daughter, still living, and at least one grandchild.

     a. Dwain Arlen Estes (1936–2017) was born on 4 February 1936 in Joseph, Wallowa County, Oregon. He graduated from Eastern Oregon State College in 1957 and began teaching in the Parkrose School District that autumn. In 1959 he married his first wife.

Dwain taught in Parkrose for 33 years, retiring in 1990. Much of his career was spent as a sixth-grade teacher, where he shared his enjoyment of the outdoors with many of his students at Outdoor School. He finished his career as a math teacher at Parkrose Middle School.

Dwain died on 10 July 2017 in Portland and is survived by his son, his sister, and several grandchildren.

      2. Dale L Caldwell (1909–1975) was born on 3 October 1909 in Stayton, Marion County, Oregon. In 1930, he moved from his father's house in Salem to live with his sister, Maida, in Portland. Dale worked as an accountant, then as a freight agent for a railway. His work had him move to Idaho, and then to Nevada.

In Nevada, Dale met Maude Ethel Dunbar (1908–1995), and they married on 19 July 1939 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, before returning to live in Elko. Maude was the elder daughter of  Edward Fitts Dunbar (1878–1970) and Maud Ethel Miller (1881–1952), born in Fallon, Churchill County, Nevada, on 5 September 1908.

They had a son in Elko, but the little boy died from dysentery before his first birthday. Not long after, they moved back to Portland and had a second son, who is still living. At some point, the couple divorced. Maude became a teacher and raised their son in Milwaukie, Clackamas County, Oregon. She died on 10 November 1995.

Dale remarried on 2 June 1951 to Frances Jean Salerno (1916–2012), daughter of Italian immigrants Frank Sallustio Salerno (1888–1962) and Angelina Migliore (1897–1961). Frances was born in Portland on 6 September 1916, in what was then known as South Portland in the heart of the Italian and Jewish communities. She was the eldest of 10 children. After graduating from St. Mary's Academy in 1934, she attended business college and Mrs. Holmes Secretarial School. At first, she enjoyed her duties as a secretary, but soon discovered the challenges of accounting and pursued that career. She spent most of her career in residential and commercial real estate accounting.

Dale and Frances had one son together, still living, and remained in Portland, where Dale died on 21 May 1975 at age 65. Frances was 95 years old when she died on 25 January 2012. They are survived by Dale's sons and at least one grandchild.

     a. Dale Edward Caldwell (1940–1941) was born on 30 June 1940 in Elko, Elko County, Nevada, and died there on 7 April 1941 after suffering from dysentery. He was interred at Riverview Abbey Mausoleum and Crematory in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon.

     3. Willis Theodore Caldwell (1915–1998) was born on 10 May 1915 in Ashland, Jackson County, Oregon, the youngest child of Willis M. and Stella Caldwell. During the Second World War, he served in the U.S. Navy from 15 December 1943 to 29 Mar 1946. He was aboard the USS Antaeus in 1944, and later served under CDR C.E. Coffin on the USS LC(FF)-370, an amphibious assault ship.

After the war, Willis married Marjorie L Herr (1918–2013) in Linn County on 29 August 1949. She was born on 4 October 1918 in Priest River, Bonner County, Idaho to Clarence Wilson Herr (1864–1938) and Helene Marie Klehn (1875–1958). Marge graduated from Willamette University and earned a Master's Degree from the University of Oregon. She taught Physical education in Hood River and Albany before she married Willis and moved to Salem.

Willis and Marge were both very active in the Salem community. She belonged to the Salem Audubon Society and Chemeketan Hiking Club, among others, and in 1991 was honored when the gymnasium at the YWCA of Salem was named the "Marge Caldwell Gymnasium." Willis was president of the Santiam Alpine Club and ran for the school board.

Willis died on 21 July 1998 and was buried in Salem's Belcrest Memorial Park. Marge died on 31 October 2013 and is buried with her husband. They are survived by their two sons.

     B. Dr. Bertha Davidson (1877–1958) was born on 11 September 1877 in Shedd, Linn County, Oregon. She lived ran a millinery (hat-making shop) with her sister, Marinda, in the 1910s, and the two sisters lived with their younger brothers, Frank and William. Bertha became a doctor and practiced osteopathic medicine in Portland for several years before moving back to Eugene in 1926, where she remained for the rest of her life. She died on Wednesday, 5 August 1958 and is buried in Eugene Pioneer Cemetery.

     C. Ella R Davidson (1879–1966) was born on 20 February 1879 in Shedd, Linn County, Oregon. She became a teacher in the public schools in the Eugene area. Around 1915, she married Emmet William Austin (1874–1936), and they lived in Woodburn, near Salem in Marion County. He died on 9 June 1936 in Woodburn and was buried in the Belle Passi Cemetery there.

Ella married her second husband, Charles F Schultz (1876–1952), on 24 April 1940 in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. Charles died on 30 April 1952 in Salem. Ella died on 14 Jan 1966 in Salem and was buried with Emmet in Belle Passi Cemetery.

     D. Sarah Marinda Davidson (1880–1969) was born on 29 December 1880 in The Dalles, Wasco County, Oregon. She was a seamstress who lived in Portland for most of her adult life. Mirandy died in Portland on 26 May 1969 and is buried in the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery.

     E. Samuel Bruce Davidson (1882–1958) was born on 8 September 1882 in Shedd, Linn County, Oregon. On 11 June 1913, he married Ella May Bryson (1880–1975) in Seattle, King County, Washington. She was born in June 1880 in Crookston, Polk County, Minnesota, to David Lowe Bryson (1857–1922) and Mary Sloman (1857–1924).

Bruce drove a laundry truck for many years in Tacoma. He died on 17 February 1958 in Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington, and was buried in Mountain View Memorial Park in Lakewood. Ella died on 25 Mar 1975 and was buried with her husband.

     F. Mary Davidson (1884–1962) was born on 12 October 1884 in Shedd, Linn County, Oregon. She married Walter Lewis Straub (1886–1940) in Eugene on 26 December 1907. He was born on 21 April 1886 in Box, Cedar County, Missouri to Elisha Straub (1852–1921) and Melissa Esther Darnell (1864–1931).

Walter was a minister in the Christian Church, and as he and Mary moved around frequently as they raised their son and daughter. They lived in Eugene, Oregon (1908-1911), Vancouver and Ellensburg, Washington (1914-1915), Coos County, Oregon (1917-1918), Santa Cruz, California (1920), Pierre, South Dakota (1930), and Omaha, Nebraska (as of 1935).

The 1940 U.S. Census places Mary and her two children in Eugene and lists her as a widow. An obituary for her son in 1942 refers to "the late Rev. Walter L. Straub." However, I have been unable to locate any death or burial records for Walter. What I found was a record in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 database that lists a man named Walter Lewis Straub, born 21 April 1886 in Stockton, Missouri, living in Omaha and married to a woman named Josephine. I have not been able to determine for sure when or whether Walter died, nor have I been able to rule out the possibility that he remarried and remained in Omaha.

Mary died on 10 January 1962 in Salem, Marion County, Oregon, and was buried in the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery. She was survived by her daughter.

     1. Paul Walter Straub (1908–1942) was born on 28 October 1908 in Eugene, Lane County, Oregon. He worked as a sales clerk while remaining in his parents' household until he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942. Sadly, he died while in training on 14 November 1942 in Fort Campbell, Christian County, Kentucky, and is buried in Eugene Pioneer Cemetery.

     2. Mary Rozelle Straub Peterson (1913–1998) was born on 23 October 1913 in Camas, Clark County, Washington. She grew up in several places, graduating from Brookings High School in Brookings, South Dakota in 1931.

She married David Haggard Henry (1913–1969) on 2 March 1941 in Eugene, Lane County, Oregon. David was a newspaper reporter who was born on 17 July 1913 in Gold Hill, Jackson, Oregon to David Chauncy Henry (1879–1962) and Laura Mabel Haggard (1879–1944).

Records suggest there is more to their story than I have been able to find, but here's what I can say for certain: David died on 17 June 1969 and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Eugene. Rozelle remarried on 11 September 1971 in Lane County, Oregon. I have not been able to determine whether her second husband is still alive. I have also not been able to tell whether she had any children.

Rozelle Peterson died on 14 July 1998 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Eugene with her first husband.


     G. Dr. Frank F Davidson (1887–1966) was born on 23 November 1887 in Shedd, Linn County, Oregon. He lived with his older sisters, Bertha and Marinda, and his younger brother, William, in Eugene while he attended the University of Oregon in the early 1910s. Like Bertha, he became a doctor of osteopathy. He studied at the Osteopathic College of Physicians and Surgeons in Los Angeles.

During World War I, he shipped out as a private in the Medical Detachment, 361st Infantry. He married Anna Katherine Hoge (1888–1938) on 21 June 1918 in Dupont, Pierce County, Washington, and then he shipped out from New York on 6 July 1918 aboard the Koroa. He returned from St Nazaire, France, in April 1919, and he and Anna moved to Idaho, where Frank attempted to establish a practice in Burley. They arrived in April 1921, and Frank set up his practice in the offices formerly occupied by Dr. Whittenberger. A year later, Anna's sister died in Pasadena, and the family ultimately re-settled in Pasadena in 1922, and that is where they raised their daughter. Frank passed his offices to a Dr. Sears.

Anna died on 27 December 1938 and was interred in Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, Los Angeles County. After a few years of mourning, Frank married as his second wife, Pansy B Beebe (1891–1967) on 8 November 1941 in Los Angeles, California. Pansy was the widow of Frank's younger brother, William.

Frank died on 21 October 1966 in Costa Mesa, Orange, California and was interred at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena with Anna. Pansy survived him by only a few months, but we'll talk about her in more detail below.

     1. Elaine A Davidson (1921–2005) was born on 29 September 1921 in Burley, Minidoka County, Idaho. Her parents moved to Pasadena, where Elaine grew up. She married Robert Charles Terbeck (1920–1979) on 9 June 1942. He was the son of Conrad B Terbeck (1895–1953) and Hazel Anna Braden (1897–1984), born on 4 July 1920 in Los Angeles.

Robert was a manager at California Institute Of Technology, and he and Elaine had three daughters together. The couple divorced around 1960, and Elaine remarried on 14 July 1963 to Stephen A Barlow (1924–1991). Robert died at only 58 years of age on 19 April 1979.

The Barlows moved to Honolulu, where Stephen became proprietor of Island Seco Engineer Moisture Control and an employee of Honolulu Roofing Co. He died on 16 May 1991 in Pearl City, Hawaii, and Elaine moved back to San Diego, where she spent her time as a volunteer at the San Diego Kaiser Permanente Hospital, she enjoyed knitting little hats for premature newborns.

Elaine died in San Diego on 19 September 2005 and is survived by her three daughters.

     H. William Henry Davidson (1890–1915) was born on 20 October 1890, near Shedd, Linn County, Oregon. At eight years of age, he moved to Eugene with his parents. Around 1912, he returned to the farm near Shedd, Oregon. He married Pansy B Beebe (1891–1967) on 11 May 1913. She was born on 11 May 1891 in Kansas and grew up there in Powhattan, Brown County. Her parents were Jerry Beebe (1858–1943) and Sarah Alice Plumb (1863–1951), and they moved to Lane County, Oregon, in Pansy's youth.

A few weeks before his death, William went to Los Angeles for the benefit of his health. He improved for a while then suddenly grew worse and died on 17 November 1915, at the age of 25 years and 27 days. His remains were brought to Eugene and interred in the I.O.O.F. cemetery on 22 November 1915.

Pansy married Porter S Fleming (1887–1935) on 20 June 1920 in Lane County, Oregon. Their marriage lasted until Porter's death on 29 August 1935. She later married her brother-in-law, Frank F Davidson (1887–1966), on 8 November 1941 in Los Angeles.

Pansy died on 30 January 1967 in Fairview, Newton County, Missouri, visiting her daughter, and was interred in Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena.

     1.  Marguerite Violet Davidson (1914–1981) was born to William and Pansy (Beebe) Davidson on 7 March 1914 and was raised by her mother and step-father, Porter Fleming. Marguerite graduated from Eugene High School and the University of Oregon at Eugene and became a stenographer in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, where she was living with her widowed mother in 1940.

Marguerite married Thomas Evan Henderson (1916–2006) on 11 November 1948 in Lordsburg, Hidalgo County, New Mexico. Evan was born on 27 October 1916 in Purdy, Barry County, Missouri, to Joseph G Henderson (1875–1965) and Mattie Ellen Robberson (1879–1960). He had been married once before, and he and his first wife, Opal Lucille Nichols (1919–1994) appeared in the 1940 Census in San Antonio, Los Angeles County, California; they divorced about 1946.

After they married, Marguerite and Evan relocated to Fairview, Newton County, Missouri, where Evan raised dairy cattle and Marguerite worked as a secretary for the Kraft company in Wheaton. (Wheaton is in Barry County, where Evan was raised.) He eventually auctioned off his herd in 1961.
 
After Marguerite retired, the couple moved to Kansas in 1973. She died after a long illness on 2 April 1981 in Benton, Butler County, Kansas. Evan died on 22 March 2006 in Purdy, Barry County, Missouri. They are buried in Arnhart Cemetery in Purdy, and they are survived by a daughter from Evan's first marriage.

IV. Frances Mary Davidson (1850–1855)

Frances was born in Aug 1850 in Fulton County, Indiana, and died in 1855, after her family arrived in Linn County, Oregon.

- -- --- -- -

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!

Watts Cooking

Hello, cousins!

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:

Lark Robinson's family tree

     D. Martha Etta Cook (1898–1981) was born in Missouri in November 1898 to Jeremiah and Lark (Robinson) Cook and grew up in Cass, Douglas County, Missouri. She was living with her mother in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri, in January 1900, according to the U.S. Census.

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.

- -- --- -- -

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.

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!

Life As Lark

Hello, cousins!

Lark Robinson's family tree

Last week, I reported on my breakthrough finding the rest of the story of Minerva Callin (1834-1895). Of her seven children, I was only able to trace the descendants of one daughter - and according to the Kansas City Times, that daughter left behind 89 descendants!

Here is where we left off:

     VI. Laura "Lark" Robinson (1870–1954) was born on 15 December 1870 in Gridley, Coffey County, Kansas. When her parents divorced, around 1874, she remained with her father, Dana, and her younger brother stayed with their mother, Minerva.

Her name was listed as "Lark" when she appeared in her father's household on the 1880 U.S. Census, the 1875 and 1885 Kansas State Census, and in her daughter Clara's 1957 death record, suggesting that this was the name she went by. Her name appears as "Laura" in all of the other official records I found.

Lark married Jeremiah Luther Cook (1843–1919) in 1890. He was born on 3 March 1843 in Pendleton County, Virginia (which is now West Virginia) to William Cook and Mary Shaw (or Share). This was his second marriage, his first wife, Martha E Hartman (1859–1886), having died in 1886, leaving him with two children, Mary S., and Isaac Newton Cook.

Lark and Jeremiah lived in Cass, Douglas County, Missouri during the 1900s and 1910s before moving to Lamar, Barton County, Missouri. They had nine children together:

     A. Effa May Cook (1891–1979)
     B. Clara Belle Cook (1893–1957)
     C. Maudie Fay Cook (1895–1964)
     D. Martha Etta Cook (1898–1981)
     E. Harry Lee Cook (1901–1985)
     F. Daina Austin Cook (1905–1965)
     G. Willie Walter Cook (1907–1984)
     H. Dorothy M Cook (1910–1981)
     I. Angeline R Cook (1913–1984)

We'll be spending this week and next week looking at their families.

Jeremiah died in Lamar on 25 October 1919 and was buried in East Side Cemetery in Lamar. Lark remained in Lamar, but died on 1 December 1954 in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, and was buried in Lake Cemetery in Lamar.

     A. Effa May Cook (1891–1979) was born on 14 April 1891 in Missouri and married Elvis E Edwards (1878–1950) around 1908. He was born on 27 February 1878 in Independence Corners, Missouri, to Cornelius Edwards (1841–1928) and Charlotte "Lottie" Waller (1850–1935).

Elvis and Effie lived in Cass, Douglas County, Missouri (1910), Blue, Jackson County, Missouri (1920), and Liberty, Coffey County, Kansas (1925), before settling for a while in Sulphur Springs, Benton County, Arkansas for a few years around 1930 and 1935. They lived in Inglewood, Los Angeles County, California, from at least 1935.

Elvis died in Los Angeles on 6 November 1950 and was buried back in Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, in the Butler Creek Cemetery. Effie moved back to Missouri and remarried. Her second husband was Welker Lee Vickers (1890–1963). She died in Sulphur Springs in September 1979 and was buried with Welker in Butler Creek Cemetery.

       1. Roy Clifford Edwards (1909–1985) was born on 29 May 1909 in Ava, Douglas County, Missouri. He married Lucile B Lang (1914–1985) about 1931. They had three of their four children in Missouri before moving to San Diego, California, in 1937 or 1938.

Roy was a baker. He died in Sacramento, California, on 2 July 1985, and Lucille died in Riverside County, California, just a few months later on 15 November 1985. As far as I know, their son and three daughters are still living.

       2. Clara Marie Edwards (1912–2000) was born on 2 February 1912 in Blue, Jackson County, Missouri. She married Hayden Ralph Yeargain (1911–1981) on 31 March 1931 in Pineville, McDonald County, Missouri. He was born on 2 February 1911 in Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, to Charles Joe Yeargain (1884–1940) and Laura H Roughton (1890–1927).

After they married, Clara and Hayden lived in Inglewood, Los Angeles, California, where he worked as a plumbers assistant in 1940. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 30 December 1942 and served until 18 January 1946.

Hayden died on 18 December 1981 in Redondo Beach, Los Angeles County, California, and was buried in the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside County. Clara was living back in Lanagan, McDonald County, Missouri, in 1991; she died on 4 February 2000 in Gravette, Benton County, Arkansas, and was buried in Butler Creek Cemetery in Sulphur Springs.

The records suggest they did not leave any children of their own behind.

       3. Ruth May Edwards (1920–1976) was born on 9 January 1920 in Jackson County, Missouri (the Southeast side of Kansas City). She married her first husband on 12 October 1935 in Carthage, Jasper, Missouri, when she was only 15. His name was William A Brown (born 1908).

Will and Ruth had two sons together before the start of World War II. Without more information about Will, I don't know whether they divorced or he died; it is possible that he enlisted in the Army, as there are several records of men of that name in that area with similar details.

At any rate, Ruth married her second husband, William Bourbon Puryear (1906–1996), about 1946, and they had a son the following year. They lived in Noel, McDonald County, Missouri, which is about five miles north of Sulphur Springs, across the Arkansas-Missouri state line.

Ruth died at the Medical Center in Gravette, Benton County, Arkansas (another five miles south of Sulphur Springs), on 2 July 1976, and was buried in Butler Creek Cemetery, like her sister and mother. Bill died in Gravette twenty years later on 21 May 1996 and was buried with his wife.

       a. Darrell Lee Brown (1936–2014) was born 3 June 1936 in Pittsburg, Kansas. He was an American Airlines mechanic, and lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from at least the late 1950s, when he was married there. Darrell died 9 April 2014, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the age of 77 years.

       b. Gerald Dee Brown (1940–1998) was born on 29 February 1940 in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri. Like his older brother, he lived in Tulsa, where he married Judy Watkins (1940–2008) on 16 August 1958. He died on 10 September 1998 in Bangs, Brown County, Texas, and Judy died there on 3 July 2008.

       c. Daniel E Puryear (1947–2011) was born in Noel, Missouri, on 24 July 1947. Daniel was employed as a shipping supervisor for Tyson Foods. He had a passion for photography, playing the banjo, mandolin, and guitar, fishing and restoring cars. He died on 5 August 2011 in Houston, Texas, and was survived by his wife, his two sons, three step-sons, step-daughter, four grandchildren, eight step-grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

     B. Clara Belle Cook (1893–1957) was born in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri, on 6 August 1893. She grew up in Cass, Douglas County, and married William David Henson (1886–1976) there on 21 August 1910.

William was born on 6 January 1886, one of the younger children of James B Henson (1846–1931) and Martha Belle Tuggle (1855–c. 1915). He served in the U.S. Army from 15 August 1905 to 14 August 1908. William work as a laborer in the oil fields of the Pacific Northwest, and the family moved frequently between Cold Springs, Independence, and Lamar in Missouri and Idaho, eventually settling in Washington state.

Clara died on 27 August 1957 in Cashmere, Chelan County, Washington, and was buried in Cashmere Cemetery. William died there on 22 June 1976 and was buried with his wife.

     1. Effie Lenora Henson (1911–2010) was born in Cold Springs, Missouri, on 23 June 1911. She married Drew Leaver Coats (1894–1980) on 25 October 1932 in Libby, Lincoln County, Montana. He was born on 15 September 1894 in Houston, Texas County, Missouri, the son of Andrew Jackson Coats (1854–1918) and Nancy E Farris (1859–1942).

Drew and Lenora lived in McCormick, Lincoln County, Montana, during the 1930s, and were in Moyie Springs, Boundary County, Idaho, in 1942, where they ran a dairy farm. They had four sons and three daughters, all but one of whom are still living. Drew died on 4 January 1980 in Bonner's Ferry, Boundary county, and was buried in Paradise Valley Cemetery.

When she was 93, Lenora attended the University of Idaho where a new ruling called the “Lenora Rule” was passed so that anyone over the age of 85 could attend college without a high school diploma. She earned a 4.0 GPA.

Lenora died on 1 March 2010 at the Bonner General Hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho, with memorial services held on 6 March in the LDS Church in Bonner's Ferry. She was survived by 15 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, and 10 great-great-grandchildren; one granddaughter and one great-granddaughter preceded her in death.

       e. James William Coats was born on Nov. 29, 1940, at the Coats Ranch in the State Line area to Drew and Lenora Coats., and attended Central and Troy schools. James and his brother moved to Leavenworth, Washington, in 1951 to live with another brother. James worked in the orchards and graduated from high school as valedictorian of his senior class.

James enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1959 in San Diego and was sent to Ford and Chrysler Motor College. He served aboard the USS CVA Constellation, USS Forrestal, USS Ranger, and the USS Kitty Hawk, commissioned the USS Enterprise, and commissioned and designed part of the USS Nimitz. James served for five years in Vietnam, both on land and at sea. He was the commanding officer of the first Navy Seal Team and during his years in the service traveled around the world and received numerous awards and medals.

While stationed in Hawaii he married Alicia Bicoy (1943–2017) on 24 May 1963. She was born on 14 May 1943 on Oahu, Hawaii, to Andres Cinto Bicoy (1896–1971) and Auria Ondo (1910–1973). He retired from the U.S. Navy after 20 years and in spring 1978 moved his family from Norfolk, Va., to Bonner's Ferry, Idaho. In 1980 the family moved to the Coats Ranch where he farmed, raised cattle, logged and did private contracting for the Forest Service in Idaho and Montana. He also worked for 15 years as a mechanic at Hubbard's Farm.

James and Alicia divorced, and he remarried in 2001. He died on 8 September 2004, at the age of 63, along with his dog Queenie, from injuries suffered in a car accident at Naples, Idaho.  Alicia died in her home in Troy, Lincoln County, Montana, on 17 October 2017. They are survived by their three daughters and six grandchildren.

     2. Lloyd James Henson (1914–1995) was born on 11 May 1914 in Pacific, Pierce County, Washington. He married Mildred Mae Barden (1919–1981) on 2 September 1938 in Cashmere, Chelan County, Washington. She was born on 13 August 1919 in Danbury, Burnett County, Wisconsin, to Hiram Henry Barden (1890–1955) and Maude Eva Cowan (1885–1960).

Lloyd was a carpenter and was a member of Local 2127 U.B.C.J.A. Mildred died on 14 December 1981 in Centralia, Lewis County, Washington, and was buried in Mountain View Memorial Park, Lakewood, Lewis County. Lloyd remarried in spent his last 13 years in Pierce County and died at 80 years of age on 15 March 1995 in Tacoma. He was buried with Mildred in Lakewood.

The couple had five children: three sons and a daughter, still living, and one daughter who died at age 30. They were also survived by six grandchildren.

• Lynda Lark Henson (1948–1978) was born on 10 August 1948 in Wenatchee, Chelan County, Washington, and was married to Forrest W Sorenson (1946–2013). She died at only 30 years of age on 24 September 1978 in Puyallup, Pierce County, Washington. Forrest remarried in 1981 but divorced in 1988. He died on 31 May 2013 in Pierce County, Washington.

      3. Lester William Henson (1916–1996) was born on 2 July 1916 in Shoshone, Lincoln County, Idaho. He appeared with his family in Independence, Missouri, on the 1920 Census, and in Center, Greene County, Missouri on the 1930 Census. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 10 April 1942 in Tacoma, Washington.

According to Idaho marriage records, Lester was married on 16 November 1941 in Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai County, Idaho. I have not been able to find further information about this first wife to know whether she is still living. He later married Vera Ethel Lee (1915–2002) on 26 December 1947 in Coeur d'Alene and became the step-father to her four children.

Vera was born on 12 March 1915 in Coffee Creek, Fergus County, Montana, to Roy Albert Lee (1890–1963) and Elsie Murray (1899–1980). She was first married to Dale Ralph Hollingsworth (1897–1963), and they had two sons and two daughters before they divorced. She married her second husband, Ted Brusha, on 3 November 1938 in Wenatchee, Chelan County, Washington. They divorced, as well.

Lester died on 17 July 1996 in Kirkland, King County, Washington, and was buried in Acacia Memorial Park and Funeral Home in Seattle. Vera died on 15 April 2002, also in King County, and was buried with Lester.

      4. Leona "Mattie" Henson (1918–1920) was born in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri, on 3 November 1918 and died on 4 February 1920 in Independence, Missouri, when she was just over a year old. She is buried in a public plot in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence.

      5. Violet Lobelia Henson (1921–2002) was born on 24 March 1921 most likely in Bonner's Ferry, Boundary County, Idaho. Her records give some conflicting information on her birthplace, and her family was in Greene County, Missouri according to the 1930 Census.

She married Henry Leroy Pressley (1915–1949) on 26 October 1939 in Chelan County, Washington. Henry was born on 8 April 1915 in Hardin, Calhoun County, Illinois, to George William Pressley (1880–1967) and Clarabelle Mcdonald (1887–1918). He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 25 January 1944 and was honorably discharged after the end of the war on 12 November 1945, having served in the antitank company of the 473rd Infantry Regiment.

Henry was killed on 21 October 1949 near East Wenatchee, Washington, by a blast from a 12-gauge shotgun accidentally discharged by a hunting companion, James Nelson. Nelson and two other hunting companions rushed Pressley to a physician, but he was dead on arrival. He was survived by his widow and three daughters, one of whom is still living.

Violet remarried on 9 May 1952 in Chelan County, Washington; her second husband was Bruce Gilbert Grimes (1912–1997). He was the son of Clarence Procter Grimes (1879–1939) and Della Deakins (1884–1964), born on 26 December 1912 in Cashmere, Chelan County.

Bruce and Violet lived in Cashmere. Bruce died on 16 April 1997 in Wenatchee, Chelan County. Violet died in Okanogan, Okanogan County, Washington on 20 October 2002, and was buried in Cashmere Cemetery.

     a. Patricia M Pressley Hendrix (1941–2006) was born on 3 February 1941 in Chicago while her family was staying with her grandparents in Jerseyville, Jersey County, Illinois. She married her first husband when she was 15, on 23 September 1956 in Kootenai County, Idaho. She married a second time on 4 February 1967 also in Kootenai County, Idaho. She died in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, on 3 August 2006.

     b. Carolyn Lee Pressley Hankey (1942–2004) was born in Bonner's Ferry, Boundary County, Idaho, on 4 July 1942. She graduated from Cashmere High School in Chelan County, Washington. Carolyn died on 18 November 2004 in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana.

     C. Maudie Fay Cook (1895–1964) was born in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri, on 10 October 1895. She grew up in Cass, Douglas County, Missouri, and married her first husband Willard Leslie Pyle (1886–1918) in Lamar on 29 February 1916. She appears to have been his second wife, and they had two sons before Willard's death in 1918.

She married her second husband, the Reverend Ora Clayton Keller (1889–1942) of the Free Will Baptist Church, sometime after 1920. They had a son and a daughter together and raised them in Missouri.

Ora was only 52 when he died in Norwood, Wright County, Missouri in August 1942. He was buried in Denlow Cemetery in Douglas County, Missouri. Maudie moved to San Bernardino, California, to be closer to her daughter. She died there on 17 March 1964. At some point, she married again, as her obituary and her record in the California, Death Index, 1940-1997 give her name as "Maudie Faye McCullough." She was brought back to Mountain Grove, Wright County, Missouri, for burial.

Maudie was survived by her three sons, her daughter (who still survives), six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

     1. Jerry Alfred Pyle (1916–1998) was born in Pittsburg, Crawford County, Kansas, on 23 November 1916. He married Ruth Ann Irvin (1917–2012) about 1938. Ruth was born on 10 December 1917 in Oklahoma to William Norman Irvin (1879–1959) and Sarah E Smith (1884–1959).

Ruth and Jerry lived in Mountain Grove, Wright County, Missouri for many years. Jerry died in Guntersville, Marshall County, Alabama, on 19 September 1998. Ruth died while living at the Marshall Manor Nursing Home in Marshall County on 12 October 2012. They had three sons, two of whom are still living, and were survived by six grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

     a. Ralph Eugene "Gene" Pyle (1939–2002) was born on 12 August 1939 in Norwood, Wright County, Missouri. Records show he was enlisted in the U.S. Army from 25 April 1973 through 31 January 1977, but his obituary says he retired from "the Army and civil service."

Gene married Reba Lavina Orahood (1939–2007), the daughter of William J Orahood (1894–1984) and Lora L Lewis (1902–1966). Lavina was born on 31 January 1939 in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri, and she and Gene were in the same graduating class at Lamar High School.

Gene died on 17 November 2002 in Arab, Marshall County, Alabama, and Lavina died 7 January 2007 in Warrior, Jefferson County, Alabama. They were survived by three sons and a number of grandchildren.

     2. Willard Leslie Pyle (1918–1983) was born on 9 August 1918 in Lamar, Barton County, Missouri. He was married on 10 August 1940, and his wife is still living. Willard was a carpenter who was sometimes contracted by Laura Ingalls Wilder. He died on 16 February 1983 in Mansfield, Wright County, Missouri.

     a. Willard Leslie Pyle (1941–2011) was born 7 May 1941, in Norwood, Wright County, Missouri. On 25 January 1963, he married Margie Loraine Crossland (1945–2010)  daughter of John and Alta Linder Crossland. Margie was born on 16 April 1945 in Springfield, Missouri.

Willard attended his senior year at Mansfield where he graduated with the Class of 1959. While living in Springfield, he met and married Margie. After she and Willard were married they made their home in Mansfield. Willard was a lifelong carpenter and his work was second to none. He was very particular about his woodworking and anyone who he worked for knew that it would be perfect. Margie was a hard worker and had worked at Tobin-Hamilton Shoe Factory, Ken Ballew Hatchery, Mansfield Nursing Home and was a fourth-grade teacher’s aide in the Mansfield Schools. Her last job was at Mercy Villa in Springfield where she worked for thirteen years.

Margie died on 15 April 2010 in her home near Mansfield, Wright County, Missouri, at the age of sixty-four. Willard died at the age of seventy years on 30 August 2011, also in his home near Mansfield. They were survived by their two sons and eight grandchildren.

     b. Lois Marie Pyle (1943–2008) was born on 23 December 1943 in Macomb, Wright County, Missouri. She married Ferda (Ferd) Hose Kelley (1940–1990), son of Hosea Richard Kelley (1904–1985) and Mary Vietta Hurt (1909–1995).

Ferd was a truck driver, and he died at only 50 years of age on 19 January 1990 and was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Norwood, Wright County, Missouri. Lois died on 12 December 2008 in Sedalia, Pettis County, Missouri, and was buried with her husband. They are survived by two sons and four daughters and were preceded in death by one infant daughter, Barbara Jo Kelley (1960).

     3. James Samuel Keller (1923–2001) was born on 27 December 1923 in Cold Springs, Missouri. He was a career military man, with his first enlistment beginning 25 June 1943 and his last ended 31 December 1965. When his mother died in March 1964, he was a sergeant stationed in Germany.

I know from his death record in the Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-2007 database that he was widowed when he died on 14 January 2001 in Hamilton, Ohio, but I have not found an obituary or any other information about his wife. James was buried in Saint Mary Cemetery in Saint Bernard, Hamilton County, Ohio.

- -- --- -- -

And with that, I need a break! We've only covered three of Lark Robinson Cook's nine children in this post, so we'll continue with the rest in next week's post. If they're all as numerous as this bunch, we may need three weeks to get through them all!

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.

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!

Update: Minerva's Many Names

Hello, cousins!

Today I get to share another breakthrough with you and update part of a post from December 2015. In that post, I described a "brick wall" I ran into when searching for Minerva Callin (b. 1836), daughter of George and Polly Ann (Lewis) Callin, the main couple from Uncle George and the Underground Railroad.

Minerva Callin (1834-1895)

Here is what the Callin Family History had to say about her:

Record of Minerva Callin Smith, who was the eldest daughter of George Callin, who was 2nd son of John Callin, 2nd son of James 1st.
Born in 1836.
Married to John Smith.
To this union four children were born:
Frank; died.
Flora.
Willie.
Helen; died.

And here is what I was able to confirm in our original post:

There is a record in the 1860 Federal Census for a family that fits this limited information rather well. They were listed in the village of Harrison, Winnebago county, Illinois. The head of the household is a blacksmith (aptly named) John N. Smith, age 28, born in Ohio. His 26 year old wife, Minerva, and 4 year old son, Frank, were also born in Ohio; 3 year old William J and 1 year old Hellen A were born in Illinois.


Thanks to the detailed enlistment records kept by Illinois, we know that John enlisted in the 74th Regiment of the Illinois Infantry, Company A, in September of 1862. That record confirms his name and middle initial, his occupation, and his 1860 residence, and it describes him as being 5'6", with black eyes, black hair, and a "dark" complexion. He mustered out of the unit in Nashville in 1865.

After that, though, my investigation petered out, and I said, "The name 'Smith' is far too common, even when paired with the other details we have, to zero in on the clues we would need to say anything more certain about Minerva and her family."

I always tell you that I'm happy to correct any errors I might make, and the universe seems happy to provide an endless stream of opportunities for me to prove that! So, here is what I have learned.

Further digging brought me to two Find-A-Grave memorials (now successfully merged) for a John N. Smith, born in March 1830 in Ohio, and died 29 July 1867 in Harrison, Winnebago County, Illinois. He is buried in Phillips Cemetery, Winnebago County. There were two un-sourced bio's which mentioned his wife, one giving her maiden name as "Minerva Keller." That is very close to the way Minerva's name appears on their marriage record:

Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993

Since the pioneer Callin family did not have a high literacy rate until Minerva's male cousins began attending school in the years leading up to the Civil War, I am not surprised to see the name mispelled - in that record, it looks like "Kellon" or even "Kallon" to me, and I don't think anyone involved in making that record, other than the clerk himself, was likely schooled enough in letters to correct him.

The Find-A-Grave bio also said that Minerva remarried a "D. A. Robinson" and moved to Iowa, which gave me some clues to work with. (Look for "Robinson" families with children named "Smith," in other words.) And while none of the evidence I have found is complete or solid enough to give me 100% confidence, here is the rest of Minerva's story, as best as I can tell it.

After the death of her first husband, Minerva was left with five children to raise, the eldest being 11 at the time. (Mary, born about 1866, was not listed in the CFH.) Minerva Smith married Dana A. Robinson (b. 1818) on 14 February 1870 in Winnebago County, Illinois, and moved with children into the home of Dana's parents, Austin and Ann, in Burlington, Coffey County, Kansas. They appeared there on the 1870 Census; also in the household were Adalade (spelled "Adala" on the record) Robinson, age 24, who was likely Dana's daughter from his first marriage, and a farm hand named Henry Clay (no, not THAT Henry Clay) who would later marry Adalade.

Dana and Minerva had two children, a daughter called Lark (born in December 1870) and a son named Frederick (born in 1872). However, their marriage did not survive through the decade, and by 1880 Minerva was remarried and living with her third husband, William Daggett IV (1823–1901) in Silver Creek, Cowley County, Kansas. Their household in 1880 included three of William's sons, Flora Smith (age 18), Mary Smith (age 14), and Frederick Robinson (age 8).


At some point, probably after Frederick was old enough to be independent, William and Minerva moved out to California, where they engaged in at least one real estate transaction in Redondo Beach in 1895.

Not long after that June real estate transfer, Minerva's name appeared in the California, Death and Burial Records from Select Counties, 1873-1987 as having died on 3 September in Fresno County. The following July, another newspaper item tells us that William returned from California to take up residence in Cowley County, Kansas, with his son, George.

William died on 9 April 1901 and is buried in Wilmot Cemetery in Cowley County, Kansas. I have yet to find a record of Minerva's resting place.

As I said, I'm not 100% confident in all of this; the records I would expect to find to confirm pieces of this story are either not available online, or are not turning up in the searches I run (possibly because names and birth dates are recorded differently from what I would expect to see). Add the fact that there are hints of family strife here, with divorces and moves, remarriages and mis-reported names, and I can't be certain that I have the whole story.

But, to give as full an accounting as possible of the descendants of James Callin, here is what little I know about all of Minerva's children.

Children of Minerva and John N Smith:

     I. Franklin Smith (born 1856) appears on the 1860 and 1870 Census records described above. Both records agree that he was born about 1856 in Ohio. That places him in Huron County, Ohio, Winnebago County, Illinois, and Coffey County, Kansas, respectively.

There are at least three distinct men named "Frank Smith" who appear in the 1880 Census with the same approximate birth dates/place, none of whom quite match our Frank Smith. If the CFH is correct that he died before 1911, that still gives us four decades (from 1870 to 1910) in which we might find him. The search continues.

     II. William J "Willie" Smith (born 1857) also appears in the same 1860 and 1870 records as his brother, Frank. Willie was born in Illinois according to both, and the CFH suggests he was still alive in 1911. As with his brother, the search goes on.

     III. Helen A Smith (born 1859) only appears in the 1860 Census, and the CFH record indicates that she died, so it is possible that she died before her father, or at least before Minerva remarried. No record to confirm this has been found.


     IV. Flora C. Smith (born 1862) appears on the 1870 and 1880 Census, in her mother's Kansas households. Both records agree on her age, putting her birth date about 1862, but the earlier record lists her place of birth as Ohio, and the later in Illinois.

     V. Mary A. Smith (born 1866) appears in the same 1870 and 1880 records as Flora, though both records agree she was born in Illinois.

Both Flora and Mary are named as minors in the 23 May 1880 edition of the Winfield Daily Courant, when Minerva filed her annual claim of guardianship over them both. 

With the possible exception of Helen, who may have died before her tenth birthday (thus not appearing with the rest of her family in 1870), any or all of these Smith children may have married and produced numerous progeny. If they did, they may have married in Kansas, followed their mother and step-father to California, or departed for parts unknown.

Children of Minerva and Dana A Robinson:

     VI. Laura "Lark" Robinson (1870–1954) was born on 15 December 1870 in Gridley, Coffey County, Kansas. She married Jeremiah Luther Cook (1843–1919) in 1891, and when she died on 1 December 1954 in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, according to the Kansas City Times, she left behind 89 descendants.

We'll revisit Lark's family in more detail next week.

     VII. Frederick Robinson (born 1872) only appears in one record: the 1880 Census. As I said with his half-siblings, the search continues. Unfortunately for us, there are big gaps in the online records between 1880 and 1900, and few clues to identify which of the hundreds of Fred Robinsons we are looking for.

- -- --- -- -

As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You might imagine I am especially eager to find someone who can help me connect the dots with the missing Smith and Robinson children.

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 Ferrell Child

Standards of proof are very important.

When you do any kind of research, it's important to understand not only what you know, but how you know it, and how confident you are in your sources. Of course, sometimes you simply don't have sources - records are non-existent, or at least not online, and all you can do is document what you do have, and make a note of where you think you need to look for more information.

There is a very good essay about evaluating "proof" at DNA Explained which has some advice I suggest you keep in mind as you read this post because much of the information I'm putting together here today is definitely not proven.

If you read my previous posts, Echoes & Rhymes and The Montgomery Connection, you know that I'm already on shaky ground when I assert that Elizabeth Callen is the daughter of James Callin of Milton Township, Richland County, Ohio. I think I made a strong case that she is, but now I'm going to make a much weaker case that we know who Elizabeth's daughter is.

This is as much as I can prove:

Mary Montgomery

James Ferrell and Mary Montgomery were married in Rochester, Fulton County, Indiana, on 23 March 1843. We know this much from the marriage record in Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001.

That's not a lot to go on when you consider the standards of proof I just made such a big deal about!

We do know that Elizabeth had a daughter named Mary, because there is a mention of a Mary Montgomery in the biographical sketch of Caleb and Elizabeth (Callen) Montgomery's son, Theodore found in the Fulton County, Indiana Handbook (published by Tombaugh House, and available on the Fulton County Public Library's website): "To these parents were born five children--Mary, now deceased; Sarah, now the wife of Henry Davidson, living in Halsey, Oregon; Theodore, of whom this sketch is concerned..." I have not found records to prove the relationship of the Mary Montgomery in that Fulton County marriage record to Caleb and Elizabeth, but it seems like a reasonable "right place/right time" guess to make.

I have also found no birth records or death records that prove the relationship of James and Mary (Montgomery) Ferrell to the Sarah Ferrell who appears in the household of Sarah (Montgomery) Davidson on the U.S. Census records for 1850 and 1860, but it seems reasonable that if her parents died before 1850, the Davidson family might have taken in their orphaned niece.

Based on the scant evidence, my guess is that James and Mary were married (1843), had a daughter (1846), and at least Mary died before 1850 - probably all in Fulton County. There are records for men named James Ferrell (spellings can vary) in Indian and Ohio after 1846, but my hunch is that the one we are interested in might have died before the 1850 Census. I can't really rule out any number of other scenarios - including one in which the Davidson family simply adopted an orphan from another family. But for now, I'm going to assume that Sarah Elizabeth Ferrell (1846–1916) is the granddaughter of Caleb and Elizabeth, and the orphaned daughter of James and Mary.

Sarah Elizabeth Ferrell (1846–1916)

Whatever her true origins, "Sarah E. Faroll," age 4, was living in the home of her aunt, Sarah (Montgomery) Davidson, in Newcastle, Fulton County, Indiana, according to the 1850 U.S. Census. The Davidson family, along with many others, took the Oregon Trail west in 1852 and 1853, and in 1860 "Sarah Ferrell", now age 14, appeared listed in their household in Linn County, Oregon, near the Harrisburg post office.

By the time of the 1870 Census, Sarah was newly married to her third husband and living with him, his four children, and her son and daughter from her two previous marriages in Lancaster, Lane County, Oregon. That is a lot to deal with in ten short years.

Her first husband was Josiah S Powell (1839–1865), son of Noah Powell (1808–1875) and Mary E. "Polly" Smith (1812–1893), and he died at 26 years of age on 21 November 1865. Since Joe and Sarah's son, Glenn O. Farrell Powell (1865–1948), was born on 19 March 1865, I calculate that they were married in the spring or summer of 1864.

Sarah married her second husband, E. J. S. Page, on 4 August 1867, in the home of her father-in-law, Noah Powell, according to Marion County, Oregon, Marriage Records, 1849-1900. Their daughter was Sarah Olive Page (1868–1968). We know precious little about Mr. Page, not having any birth or death records to refer to. We don't even know his full name, or whether he died or simply moved on; I'm inclined to think that he probably died.

Sarah Ferrell's third husband was a widowed banker named James Addison Bushnell (1826–1912). They were married 2 April 1870 in Lynn County, Oregon, after the death of his first wife, Elizabeth Crowley Adkins (1831–1868) on 2 January 1868 in Lane County, Oregon. To everyone's relief, they survived their second year of marriage, and each lived until the 1910s.

James was the son of Daniel Bushnell and Ursula Griswold Pratt (1789–1883). He and his first wife, Elizabeth, had seven children before her 1868 death:

• Charles Alvah Bushnell (1851–1874)
• Lucy G Bushnell (1854–1937)
• Ursula Josephine Bushnell (1857–1859)
• Mary Elizabeth Bushnell (1859–1859)
• William Francis Bushnell (1860–1865)
• Helen V. Bushnell (1862–1935)
• George Addison Bushnell (1867–1882)

In addition to the seven children from his first marriage, James and Sarah had five children together:

• Henry Clay Bushnell (1871–1933)
• Walter Scott Bushnell (1874–1881)
• Albert Bushnell (1876–1876)
• Mary Bushnell (1879–1881)
• Gertrude E Bushnell (1883–1977)

James died on 8 April 1912 in Lane County, Oregon. He was 85 years old, and  Sarah was 70 years old when she died on 29 January 1916 in Lane County, Oregon. They are buried Luper Cemetery.

We'll get to Sarah Page and the others in a later post, but for now, let's look at:

I. Glenn O. Farrell Powell (1865–1948), was born on 19 March 1865 in Albany, Linn County, Oregon, to Joe and Sarah Powell. As discussed above, his father died when Glenn was barely two years old; and a step-father also came and went before he turned five. But Glenn grew up in the home of James Addison Bushnell.

Glenn married Arvilla Howard (1869–1918) in 1887. Arvilla was born 28 July 1869 in Lane County, Oregon. Her parents were Royal Varney Howard (1833–1916) and Eda Jane Smith (1841–1919). Glenn and Arvilla raised four children: a son (Noble) and three daughters (Ada, Claudia, and Pauline). Arvilla died at only 48 years of age on 17 February 1918 in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, and was buried in Lincoln Memorial Park in Portland.

Glenn farmed and supported his family as a carpenter. After Arvilla's death, he was remarried to Alice Jane Waud (1862–1942) on 18 December 1920 in Lane County, Oregon. He was the last of her five husbands. She died on 30 October 1942 in Renton, King, Washington, where she was living with one of her children from a previous marriage. Glenn died on 17 April 1948 in San Francisco, California, where he was living with his daughter, Pauline.

     A. Ada Gertrude Powell (1888–1975) was born in Oregon on 9 October 1888. She married Leon Leroy Myers (1886–1991) in 1910 in Multnomah County, Oregon.

Leroy was born 24 January 1886 in Morganville, Clay, Kansas. His parents were Conrad Myers (1855–1943) and Anna Augusta Roenigk (1860–1895). Augusta was born in Bremen, and Conrad was born in Iowa to John and Catherine Meyer/Myers, who were both born in Bavaria; so these Myers are probably not related to other Myers families in the Callin Family History.

Rev. Leon Myers photo Tue, Aug 4, 1936 – Page 4 · Macon Chronicle-Herald (Macon, Missouri) · Newspapers.com

The Reverend Leon Leroy Myers took his degree in May 1913 from the Eugene Bible College, and after a few years in Oregon, the family moved down to Redlands in San Bernardino. Leon became a prominent member of the Ku Klux Klan in Anaheim, and he was a crusader against liquor during the 1920s. In January 1925, after Rev. Myers was rebuked for making allegations against police and local officials that turned out not to be true, he was targeted by an anti-klan assassination plot. Later that spring, he was attacked and beaten by a citizen he had accused from the pulpit.

The Myers moved to Kansas in 1927, and to Cincinnati, Ohio, in the 1930s. Leon was frequently invited to speak at revivals.

Ada and Leroy had six children together, including twins, Leroy and Leon. But in 1954 she sued Leon for gross neglect and was awarded alimony. She did not sue for divorce, but it seems clear that they were no longer together after that.

When Ada died on 25 March 1975 in Half Moon Bay, San Mateo, California, she was survived by Paul, Eugene, Elizabeth, and James, as well as 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Leroy lived to be 105 years old, dying on 22 November 1991 in Calaveras County, California.

     i. Paul Addison Myers (1911–2002) was born on 19 July 1911 while his father was leading his first congregation at the Christian Church in Dallas, Polk County, Oregon. By 1920, the family was living in Redlands, San Bernardino, California. In 1930, the 19-year-old Paul was enlisted in the U.S. military and stationed in the Panama Canal Zone with his unit at Fort Clayton.

After his enlistment ended, Paul married and became an accountant in San Francisco. His wife was Esther O'Dell (1913–1954), daughter of the Reverend Charles Norman O'Dell (1883–1973) and Ione Grundy (1887–1968). The couple lived in San Francisco until after the war began, and Paul enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. On 7 December 1942, he entered boot camp as a private first class at Quantico, Virginia, and by October 1943 he had received his commission as a Second Lieutenant. He was wounded at Iwo Jima, and hospitalized at Guam in 1945.

After the war, Paul and Esther were living in San Pedro in 1949, but I get the impression from the records that the separation of the war took a toll on their marriage. I don't see any evidence that they had children, and Paul was living in Seattle with his second wife already when Esther died on 25 February 1954 in Stanislaus County, California.

Paul's second wife was Janet Kathrine Lynch (1927–2000); they probably met during their service, as she was a member of the Cadet Nursing Corps from 1945 to 1948. I wonder if they didn't meet at the hospital when he was wounded - but that's pure speculation on my part.

Janet died 9 April 2000 in Kirkland, King, Washington. Paul also died there on 11 August 2002.

     ii. Eugene Powell Myers (1913–1998) was born in Silverton, Marion, Oregon on 19 December 1913. When he was 8 years old, and his family was living in Redlands, he and his little sister created a stir in the local community when they tried to run away and "see the world"!

Myers children "see the world" Mon, Oct 3, 1921 – Page 12 · Santa Ana Register (Santa Ana, California) · Newspapers.com
In 1930, Eugene was 16 and residing at the State Juvenile Training School in Gatesville, Texas.

He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on 20 March 1942, and by the end of the war, he had achieved the rank of technical sergeant, having spent 20 months in the Pacific theater. He was discharged on 19 March 1946.

On 31 July 1951, he married Joyce Emily Hughes (1925–2009) in Alameda County, California. They had five children, four sons and a daughter; three of whom are still living.

Eugene died on 15 July 1998 in Grosse Pointe, Wayne, Michigan, survived by Joyce and four of their children. Joyce died there on 12 March 2009.

     a. Wayne Leon Myers (1953–1995) was born on 23 June 1953, in Berkeley, California, and died on December 27, 1995, in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the age of 42. Dr. Wayne L. Myers was listed in the City Directory of New Orleans in 1992.

     b. Dana O'Farrell Myers (1961–2011)  was born on August 9, 1961, in Detroit, Michigan, and he worked for the United States Postal Service in St. Petersburg, Florida, from 1986. His passions were sports, the beach, and camping. He never married, but he spent 24 years with his companion (she is still living) and their cat, Smokey. He died in Sunset Beach on 1 December 2011.

     iii. Elizabeth Jane Myers (1915–1989) was born in The Dalles, Wasco, Oregon on 30 December 1915. She grew up in Redlands, San Bernardino, California (surviving her adventure with her brother, Eugene, when she was six), and followed her family to Kansas in the 1930s. Her father was a pastor in Cincinnati, Ohio, when Elizabeth probably met and married Norman B Hallenback (b. 1904).

Norman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 30 May 1904. His parents Bert Cornelius Hallenbeck (1875–1954) and Edith Testut (1878–1944), moved the family to New Jersey by 1920. He married Helen J Frank (1908–1985) on 14 Aug 1926 in Bridgewater, Somerset, New Jersey, and in 1930, Norman left her with three small children when he disappeared from the movie theater where he worked with $1600 and a pretty, young cashier. Helen officially divorced him in 1932.

Norman turned up in Cincinnati in 1938, where he was charged with forgery. This arrest led to the alerting of authorities in New Jersey to his whereabouts. Elizabeth probably met Norman in Cincinnati, as that's where her father was preaching. They were married and living in Caldwell, Essex, New Jersey, in 1940, with a daughter (still living) and a son.

Unfortunately, 1940 is the last we see of Norman. He left his second family and disappeared from view; and he is almost certainly deceased. (If he is still alive, he should appear on this list!) Elizabeth remarried in New Jersey in 1945, and divorced in 1951 in Florida. In 1962, she married
Raymond Edwin Hebeler (1914–2005), and they lived in Calaveras County, California, where she died on 12 March 1989. Elizabeth was buried in Mokelumne Hill Protestant Cemetery.

     a. Robert Norman Hallenbeck (1940–2001) was born on 3 September 1940, in Montclair, New Jersey. He was married in 1961, in Los Angeles, California, and again in 1974, in Clark County, Nevada. He died on 13 June 2001, at the age of 60, in California.

     iv. Leroy J Myers (b. 1921) and his twin brother Leon David were born on 21 February 1921, in San Bernardino, California; Leroy was not a healthy child, and while records have not been identified, he is said to have died while his family was living in Dodge City, Kansas, where he appeared on the 1930 Census.

     v. Leon David Myers (1921–1944) was quite an accomplished young man. He was a Master Councilor of the Cincinnati Chapter of DeMolay, and graduated from Withrow High School. He was employed by the American Surety Co. and attending evening college at the University of Cincinnati when he enlisted on 25 April 1942.

Leon received a commission and acheived the rank of Captain. He was flight leader of the 396th Fighter Squadron of the 368th Fighter Group (a Thunderbolt group), serving in the Ninth Air Force. He received the Air Medal, 12 Oak Leaf Clusters. Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart. He was killed in action over Saint-Lô, France, 26 July 1944, near the end of the invasion of Normandy, leaving behind a young widow.

In 1949, he was returned to the U.S. and buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Fransisco.

     vi. James Conrad Myers (1924–1986) was born on 10 Oct 1924 in Orange County, California, and was very small when his father moved the family to Kansas. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 3 July 1943 in Cincinnati, and served with the Chinese Combat Command.

James married after the war, on 9 October 1949; his wife and son are still living. James died on 14 September 1986 in Pacifica, San Mateo, California.

     B. Noble Glenn Powell (1890–1936) was born on 7 April 1890, in Oregon, the only son of Glenn and Arvilla Powell. He established himself as a professional driver in 1910, at a time when chauffuers were transitioning from horse-drawn carriages to motor vehicles. He appears in the Oregon Motor Vehicle Registrations database as early as 1912.

He married Bertha Ann Johns (1896–1980) around 1913; she was the daughter of Oliver Troy Johns (1862–1908) and Ella Francis Elliott (1872–1966). They had a son and daughter in Portland. Bertha also worked as a waitress.

Noble died on 14 February 1936, in Portland, at the age of 45, and was buried there. Bertha was remarried twice, but died on 9 September 1980 in Eugene, Lane, Oregon.

     i. Noble Glenn O Powell II (1914–2015) was born in Portland, Oregon to Bertha and Noble Powell. As a teen, he served in the Civilian Conservation Corps at Mt. Hood. He served in the U.S. Navy in WWII in the Pacific theater. He moved to Eugene in 1951.

On 25 July 1936, in Portland, Noble married Mary Trofimenko (1915–2008), and they enjoyed traveling the world together for 73 years. Mary was born 1 December 1915, in Killdeer, North Dakota, to Wasyl and Anna Procentko Trofimenko. She attended Girls Polytechnic School in Portland. She worked as a retail clerk for Eugene Toy and Hobby.

Mary died in Eugene on 7 October 2008. Noble spent his final years at Gateway Living in Eugene, and died on 26 January 2015, four months after his 100th birthday celebration. He was survived by his two children, 7 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren and, 3 great-great-grandchildren.

Two of his grandchildren are deceased:

• Noble Glenn O. "Bo" Powell IV (1966–2017) was born on May 28, 1966, in Eugene, Oregon. He graduated from Willamette High School in 1984 and joined the U.S. Navy, where he excelled as a boatswain's mate. He deployed for operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom, earning multiple Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals and Commendations along the way. After 26 years, Senior Chief "Bo" Powell retired from the Navy with honor in 2009.
  
  Bo was married in 1991, and he is survived by his wife and two sons, as well as his parents and a sister. He died on 13 September 2017, after a long battle with multiple myeloma cancer.

• Leslie Gayle Powell Daum (1970–1997) was born on 16 February 1970, in Eugene, Oregon. She was killed in a car accident on 24 August 1997, at the age of 27. She was survived by her ex-husband and two sons, as well as her parents, brother Bo, and her sister.

     ii. Arvilla Powell (b. 1920) born just before the 1920 Census, Arvilla did not appear in any other records with her family. Presumably, she died as an infant.


     C. Claudia Mae Powell (1891–1974) was born on 14 November 1891, in Oregon. She married Joe Mulholand on 19 October 1910, in Marion, Oregon; however, they seem to have been separated by 1916, when she appeared in the Portland city directory alone as "Claudia Mulholland."

Claudia lived in Portland and San Fransisco, where she operated a candy shop; she moved to Stayton, Marion, Oregon, in 1951. She died on 15 July 1974, in Stayton, at the age of 82. Private interment was in Rose City Cemetery, Portland.

     D. Pauline B Powell (1892–1970) was born on 31 December 1892, in Oregon. She married George O Greybrooke (1888–1961) around 1920, and they lived in San Fransisco for about 30 years. George was born in the Dakota Territory, and served in the U.S. Army from April 1918 to May 1919, at the end of World War I.

Pauline died Saturday, 14 November 1970 in a Salem nursing home at the age of 78 years. She was survived by her sisters, Claudia Powell, also of Salem, and Mrs. Ada J. Myers, of Half Moon Bay, California.

 - -- --- -- - 

 Family can be hard.

When you start digging into the history of any family, there are stories that can be hurtful or embarrassing to uncover. And when, like me, you are so distant a relative that you might as well be a random stranger, you don't know any of the people who might be hurt or embarrassed by the stories you uncover. That means being extra careful, not only to do thorough research and adequately document what you know, but also to reach out to the survivors of those stories in a way that represents them well.

There were several examples here of (potentially) messy divorces, family abandonment, and the impossible-to-ignore involvement with the Klan. Fortunately for me, I have found the other researchers I've met over the years to be pragmatic about confronting these stories. People who get into this hobby seem to become accustomed to the idea of accepting "black sheep" and scoundrels into their family tree along with the upstanding pillars of the community.

After all, it's not like we have much choice in the matter by the time we come along!

Of the living people mentioned in this post, it looks like I may have found at least one candidate to look for in the DNA database. Once I find a match, I'll be sure to post an update.

Until then, if you recognize yourself in this family, and want to fill in gaps or make corrections, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'm on Gmail as "callintad," or you can comment below. You can also follow the link above, on the right, to the Callin Family History Facebook group, which is a private group for descendants of James Callin. (Be prepared to tell me how you're related to this family, so I know to let you in!)

I'll be working hard to get as much of this branch documented before I start school in a couple of weeks, so stay tuned!