UPDATE: The connection between Rowena Clement and “Uncle Wallie’s Wife”

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An Ancestry member has confirmed the relationship that I was wondering about on some earlier posts. Rowena Clement – originally listed here – was the sister of Peter Wallace Clement, whose wife is pictured here. According to Mark Rowena was “Born on 15 Jul 1879 in Calhoun County, Texas – died on 21 Feb 1974 in Edna, Jackson Co, Texas. She was buried in Palacios, Matagorda Co, Texas.”

This is great information, I had very little on Rowena but suspected she and Mary Lee Clement were related somehow. Thanks for the help Mark! I’ll add her photo to Find a Grave.

Earl Thomsen and Elmer Schuettler – a generation bound for war

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Earl Thomsen

Earl Thomsen

Earl Thomsen, the son of Harry Thomsen & Anna Ertzner, was born in Nebraska on June, 19, 1920.  In 1930 the family lived in Osmond; Earl was the second oldest of 4, although there would be six siblings eventually with Earl as the only son. Harry and Anna were both from Nebraska, and 3 of Earl’s 4 grandparents were born in Germany. Mr. Thomsen was the proprietor of a gravel pit. And in 1940, still in Osmond, Earl had completed high school and worked as a laborer in his father’s gravel pit. The day before the 1940 census Earl has worked 72 hours in the gravel pit in one week! No wonder signing up for the war looked good.  According to his gravestone Earl was Tech 4 in the US army. Father Harry was also a veteran, he served in WWI.  Earl died in Nebraska on April 11, 1989 and is buried in Immanuel Cemetery with a sister, his mother and father in Osmond. I have no information on whether or not he married and had children.

Elmer August Schuettler (love the hair!), was also a WWII veteran. He was born March 14, 1921 in

Elmer Schuettler in 1938

Elmer Schuettler in 1938

Osmond and died July 13, 1996 in Omaha. When he enlisted in the army in 1942 he was single with no dependents, working at a gas station, and had completed high school. He enlisted at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX. Elmer was the son of Henry & Elizabeth, both of Illinois. In 1930, Elmer was the youngest of 4 living in Plum Grove, Nebraska; although he had other older siblings who had already left home – 7 in all I believe. 1940 Elmer lived with his brother Rudolph and family – still in Plum Grove. His brother was a farmer. Elmer (age 19) was an attendant at a gas station. All 4 grandparents were from Germany. He married a Norma Huey. Elmer is buried in Immanuel Cemetery (same place as Earl Thomsen). However, Elmer’s parents are buried in Rose Hill cemetery in another town in Pierce county.

These gents had similar paths to many young men of their time I imagine. Graduating high school in a nation still struggling with the Depression. Likely not a lot of jobs (gas stations, gravel pits not exactly living the dream), and, with so many sibling, it would have been hard for parents to send them to college. Signing up to fight for their county was likely a very attractive offer.

Also interesting is that these men, and many others, were going off to fight a country that their grandparents had immigrated from. Was that a cause for pause? Did their parents or grandparents feel torn? Both of these graduates from Osmond High School in 1938 came back from the war and settled in or near their home towns.

Melvin G. Roach – the “sponsor” of Osmond High School

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Melvin G. Roach, 1938 age 32

Melvin G. Roach, 1938 age 32

Rather than focus on another student of Osmond, Nebraska High School, I decided to research the “sponsor” as he’s identified in the photo. M. G. Roach was Melvin G. Roach. In the 1940 census he was listed as the Principal or teacher of the public High School in Osmond, Nebraska. This handsome young man was 32 at the time of this photo.

Melvin was born in South Dakota on January 30, 1906. His parents were Frank G. and Minnie Roach. Frank was a farmer, originally from Ohio and Minnie was born in Iowa. In 1910 and 1920 the family lived in South Dakota. By 1930, Melvin had become a teacher like his oldest sister and moved to Osmond, NE where he was a boarder. One short year later on April 11, 1931 he married Olinda Rhode, a native Nebraskan. They had two children in the 1940 census.

Melvin died on February 5, 1998 and is buried in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Osmond. I found an online obituary for Mr. Roach:

Mr. Roach taught and coached in Nebraska and South Dakota. Later in life he managed lumber yards in Nebraska and South Dakota. He then returned to teaching in Butte. In 1990 he and his wife retired to a home that they built on an acreage near Page.

His wife, 4 brothers, and 3 sisters all died before he did. But he was certainly not alone with 2 children, 12 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren! I’ve added his photo to the FindAGrave memorial as well.

Iona Schultze of Osmond, Nebraska

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1938 HS class in Osmond, Nebraska

1938 HS class in Osmond, Nebraska

This is 1938 class of the local high school in Osmond, Pierce County, Nebraska. I love the handwritten names at the bottom of each photo. These are charming faces. I’m starting randomly as usual with Iona Schultze – bottom row, third from the right.

Iona was born in Nebraska in 1921. Therefore the first census she’s in is 1930. Iona was the 4th of 9 children at that time. The family’s home was in Plum Grove, Pierce, Nebraska – same county as Osmond. Ferdinand and Bessie Schultze, also from NE, were the parents. Ferdinand was a farmer, his parents were from Germany. He was born in 1889 and married when he was 26. Bessie was 17 at the time of the wedding. In 1930 with 9 children she was only 32! In 1940 Ferdinand and Bessie and 8 children (not included Iona) still lived in Pierce county. Ferdinand’s mother, Anna, lived with them as well. Both Ferdinand and Bessie are buried in Osmond Cemetery.

Iona Schultze

Iona Schultze

There’s not much else out there in online documentation about Iona however. The few family trees that include her have only the 1930 census linked to her as “evidence”. Although a husband and child are both mentioned, there are different ideas on who the husband was (Drake or Van Tassel, maybe both?).  An Iona (Schultze) Van Tassell is mentioned in the book Osmond Nebraska 1890-1990, A Century of Memories. Hopefully, this photo will be a kick start to more research.

Adele Gertrude Carson, 1931 Michigan – love the curls!

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Adele Gertrude Carson, 1931

Adele Gertrude Carson, 1931

This lovely young lady with the gorgeous curls (a la Shirley Temple) is Adele Gertrude Carson. She was born on Independence Day in 1911. She’s probably almost 20 in this photo, although looks younger to me. Adele was the youngest daughter to Charles R. Carson and Mary E. J. Sunderland. The family lived most of their lives in Plymouth, Wayne County, Michigan; which is where Adele was attending High School at this time.

Her family was easy to find and there’s abundant information out there. It’s rare that with so much information I find NO family tree with these people. It appears that most of the Carson children, including Adele, did not marry or have children. Older sister Marion V. Carson (1899-1963) never married, older brother Victor H. Carson (1909-1911) died a baby, older brother Joseph A. (1904-1977) did marry an Ardiss Arnold in 1925 and had one son, Charles Robert Carson (1927) – apparently named after his grandfather.

What’s interesting me about the family was that mom worked frequently. When Charles and Mary married (in Ohio) she was a teacher. In 1930 she worked as an auto assembly worker and in 1940 she was listed as a branch worker in the motor car company. Also, I absolutely LOVE the amount of information that Lucas County, OH put on their marriage records. Check out how much awesome data is on 1/2 a sheet of paper. It’s truly amazing – I wish all my ancestors had marriage records like this.

1898 Marriage record from Lucas County, Ohio

1898 Marriage record from Lucas County, Ohio

Yet still, no one is looking for these people. Little Charles Robert Carson where are you? Did you marry and have a family??

The whole family – or most of it anyway – is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Plymouth, Michigan. Photos are on Find A Grave.

Good luck Carson’s!

Carrie Waggoner, 1908 Seneca HS Freshman (that’s KS not NY)

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Carrie Waggoner, identified here as #4 in the freshman class of Seneca High School. I had to research a few of the people in this picture to uncover which Seneca High School this was. Kansas was the connection. This is an interesting group. The ages of the students look to vary widely. Some probably were older than the norm for a high school freshman, due to the need to work or starting school later for whatever reason.

Carrie was born Julia Carrie Waggoner in Nebraska in 1891; she was 17 in this photo. She was the 2nd oldest child of Rosa and Ben Waggoner who moved from Nebraska to Kansas after Carrie was born. Her other 5 siblings were all born in Kansas. Seneca is part of Nemaha county, Kansas where the family lived from at least 1895 to 1910.

Ben Waggoner, originally from Pennsylvania, was a farmer not surprisingly – it was Kansas after all. By 1920, Ben, Rosa and the 2 youngest children (Orville and Silas) had moved to Harris county, Texas to continue farming. In my brief research I didn’t find a census record with Carrie for 1920. It’s likely that she married. According to Find A Grave, Ben died in 1928 and Rosa in 1933, both are buried in Katy Magnolia Cemetery in Katy, Texas just outside Houston.

I could find a lot on Mr. Waggoner, but daughter Carrie is more elusive. I’m hoping family can fill in the blanks.

Julia Howard, “the hairdo” of Chicago Ward 22

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Julia Howard, 1910 class of Manierre School in Chicago

Julia Howard, 1910 class of Manierre School in Chicago

This one is not as cut and dry as I like. There are two real possibilities for a Julia Howard who lived in Chicago in 1910 – the date that this graduating class from Manierre School in Chicago was taken. One of them, (Julia 1) is the daughter of James and Margaret, born in 1893; the other (Julia 2) is the daughter of Julia F. Howard and unknown father born about 1894.

I believe Julia 2 is our woman. For one thing, she lives in Ward 22. I know, I know! I may be putting too much weight on Ward 22 – which is where all the other children from this class that I’ve researched have been from. It is a compelling factor at this point. But that can’t be the only reason I choose her. Julia 1 lives in Ward 31. Now, considering I’m not completely sure where the Manierre school was at this time it’s hard to know who lived closer. In 1910 Ward 22 and Ward 31 were not really close to one another. Therefore, unlikely that someone would live in Ward 22 for example and school in Ward 31.

Julia 1 also was listed as working at a grocery store in 1910. The census was taken in April of that year, when school would have likely still been in session. Although, true the picture may have been taken earlier and she may have been working in the afternoons, etc., etc. There are many reasons why Julia 1 may still be our girl. For the sake of Ward 22 I’m going with Julia 2!

In 1910, when this picture was taken, Julia 2 was about 17. She and her brother Walter lived as lodgers with the family of Ellen Rowan. In 1900 she and Walter lived with their mother and another brother named Kirby who was 15 at the time. They lived in Ward 11 in 1900 (not to far from Ward 22). In 1904 Julia’s mother, also named Julia, died of natural causes. Older brother Kirby, and Julia 2 for that matter, have not been found in any other documentation other than those census records. I don’t know what happened to Julia’s father – he doesn’t appear in the picture ever. And I don’t know her mother’s maiden name. So much still not known – and no one searching for this beauty that I can tell.

With that wonderful hairdo too! Good luck Julia.

Bert E. Page Jr. #22 for the 1937 Wink Wildcats

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Happy-go-luckly looking #22 is Bert Elwin Page Jr. Here’s what I know about Bert after a short bit of research. He was born in Texas on September 28, 1921 to Bert E. Page Sr. and an unknown mother. His father was a widow according to the 1940 census, and I never found his mother named anywhere else. He had an older brother Phillip Page. The family lived in Winkler county in 1940 where Bert worked as a filling station attendant.

Bert joined the Marines and served in World War II according to his cemetery stone. He died in Abilene, Texas on July 27, 1992 leaving his wife Elva Womack Page and at least one daughter, Patricia Ann. He may have had more children. Other snippets of information are that Elva & Bert lived in Albuquerque, NM in 1959 according to a local directory. They also sold some real estate in Jefferson Parish in 1984 according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

I did not find any families with Bert Jr. in their online trees, some do list Bert Sr.  so hopefully this photo will be of interest to them. Good luck Bert!

Thelma Donnally, a misfit in 1940 West Virginia

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Thelma Donnally, age 18

Thelma Donnally, age 18

I love this picture of Thelma. Her smile looks so genuine and sweet. I hope Thelma’s story is happier than it appears. She was not quite a peer among the 1940 Jr. High class in Barboursville, West Virginia. Born in 1921, Thelma was several years older than her classmates. She wasn’t sporting the high maintenance curls that all the other girls wore to school that day, or the necklaces and pressed collars with dainty scarves. She looked like she just came in from the field – and maybe she did.

The only child of older parents, Thelma as born to Harry A. Donnally when he was 50 and wife Laura was 38. Harry was born in 1872 in Ohio and had a 6th grade education. When he did work he was a machinist helper at a steam RR shop. In 1940, close to when this picture would have been taken, he was out of work. Maybe Thelma had to leave school occasionally to make money to help her family. Laura, 12 years her husband’s junior, was born in 1884 in West Virginia.

I know little else, other than Harry Donnally died in 1944, Laura in 1963 and Thelma in 2003. To my knowledge Thelma never married. She is buried next to her mother in Hillcrest Cemetery in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma. I would love to know more about Thelma and her family, but that’s not likely. Given she appeared to have no children or siblings, there is no one in the online tree world searching for her.

1940 Jr. High class of Barboursville, West Virginia

1940 Jr. High class of Barboursville, West Virginia

Sybil Ann Dunaway a.k.a “mom” (1944-2011)

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While she doesn’t count as “unclaimed” by any means. I wanted to post a few lovely photos of my mom, who passed away a year ago today. Love you mom!

By the way, the young school picture with her in braids was a few days before she had them chopped off for a shorter coiffe – I still have the braids. I was absolutely forbidden to get rid of them before she died, and now, of course, I can’t ;)