A genealogy blog about the migration generation of my McKee Family line, including bios, transcribed obituaries, photographs, and research notes.



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Sunday, July 31, 2011

Samuel Smith, 1900-1957, Ashton-Under-Lyne, England - Monson, Hampden County, MA, USA

Samuel is the son of William Smith and Agnes Eleanor Anderson. He was born Apr-May-Jun 1900 (no certificate yet). At age 23, Samuel sails from Southampton to New York City aboard the Olympic. He arrives in NYC 5 Sep 1923. He is going to live with his uncles' families (Joseph Anderson and John James Anderson).

Initially, he went to his Anderson relatives in Biddeford, Maine, but eventually moves on to be near Anderson relatives in Springfield, Massachusetts. The 1930 census shows him living with his aunt (Anna (Doran) Anderson). He's working at the Assembler Auto Company. The following year a city directory shows him living on his own at 790 Liberty, Springfield, Massachusetts. He is working for Westinghouse.

In a stroke of luck, while searching for something else entirely, I found his obituary.

The Springfield Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, Wednesday, 24 Apr 1957, page 29

SAMUEL SMITH

Monson, April 23--Samuel Smith of Stebbins Rd. died this afternoon in the home of his nephew, Edward Anderson. He was born in England, son of William and Agnes (Anderson) Smith and had lived here many years. He was a veteran of World Wars I and II, serving with the British Army in the first war and with the United States in the second. He was a member of the Notre Dame Club in Springfield.

He leaves two brothers, Richard and Harry, and three sisters, Mrs. June Henshaw, Mrs. Dina Kay, and Mrs. Esther Bailey, all in England, and two nephews, including Edward, with whom he made his home. Funeral will be Friday at 9 with Rev. Johnathan Morrill, pastor of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, officiating at the parlors of Palmer Funeral Service. Burial will be Woodlawn Cemetery, Biddeford, Me. Calling hours at the funeral home will be Wednesday and Thursday from 2 to 5 and 7 to 10.

I have information on all three of his sisters; however, his brothers were a complete surprise. So it's back to Cheshire BMD or Lancashire BMD to see what I can find. And then there are the military records...so much to look for courtesies of one lucky newspaper search.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Lucy Jane (Booth) Laramore Russell, 1901-1973, Texas

Lucy is the daughter of Ananias Jackson Booth, Jr. (FAG 45484379) and Salena Ann Elizabeth Atkins (FAG 45484502). Here are her stats:
b. 29 Aug 1901 Springs, Edwards, Texas
d. 30 May 1973 Erath County, Texas (no burial location or obit)
m#1. 21 May 1915 unknown place (divorced between 1920 and 1930 censuses)
Charles Elonzo Laramore
b. 19 Dec 1887 Livingston, Polk County, Texas
d. 28 Apr 1948 Abilene, Taylor County, Texas (no burial location or obit)

One child:
Nathaniel L. Laramore
b. 25 may 1916 (unknown place)
d. 15 May 1976 Kilgore, Gregg County, Texas
(FAG 58406494; his Laramore grandparents (Enoch and Ella) are also in the same cemetery)

m#2. Unknown date and place
Thad Allan Russell
b. 9 Jun 1896 Bluffdale, Erath County, Texas
d. 9 Oct 1991 Andrews, Andrews County, Texas (no burial location or obit)

Two children: Thad Allan, Jr. (FAG 48885335) and William Jackson.

The Abilene Reporter-News, Abilene, Texas, 22 Feb 1953, Page 11
Mrs. Lucy Russell...oil helps income
Oil Royalty Checks Are Help South Taylor Woman Asserts
By LILLIAN HURD
Reporter-News Correspondent

TUSCOLA, Feb. 21 -One 13th of one eighth percent doesn't sound like very much of anything, but in oil royalties it can mean a great deal. To Mrs. Lucy Russell of Tuscola it was like "finding dollar in a pig's track" when she got her first oil check, as she never expected to profit from the small amount of mineral rights reserved when the estate of her !ate pioneer parents was sold.

From one producing oil well on the property, Mrs. Russell and other heirs are getting a fair monthly income, much better than an old age pension, and more wells are in prospect. The land, now owned by Ed Grnham of Abilene, is about 15 miles south of View and west of Buttertield highway. Judge J. R. Black of Abilene owns the land joining the Graham property and the two men are brothers-in-law.

Did Not Know Oil

When the late Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Booth came west by covered wagon back in 1904 and bought 480 acres of ranch land west of Lake Abilene community, the only thing they knew about oil was that axle grease used in the hub of their wagon wheels was made from crude oil. They never dreamed that Taylor County would someday be dotted with oil wells from one side to the other from north to south.

A nephew of the pioneer settlers, John Atkins of Guion community south of Ovalo, said that his parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. G. T. Atkins came to Taylor county in 1900 and bought ranch land west of Lake Abilene area. When the Booth family decided to come west, Atkins went back to Erath county to help move the family. With a covered wagon train carrying the family and their household goods, Atkins and other menfolk of the family rode horseback and drove 50 head of cattle to the new location in the west. Going first to Big Spring, the Booth family soon came back to Taylor county, "where they had stopped and looked around a bit", enroute to Big Spring.

With twelve brood mares besides the cattle, the Booths were looking for good grazing land and they found it on the ranch they bought. For many years they lived on the land and raised saddle horses and cattle. "Not many oldtimers in Taylor county that had not ridden a stock horse raised on the Booth ranch", Atkins said. Sheep and goats were unheard of in this area then and cattlemen hated them, he stated. Atkins, who is constable of the Guion precinct, where the family lives, has watched the changing times in the county with interest during his 53 years as a citizen. No mineral rights were reserved when his parents estate was sold.

Good Old Days

Mrs. Russell recalled the good times the neighbors had back in the early days of Taylor county when people had time to visit each other and to have weekly comnunity gatherings at the old Elm Grove schoothouse, Mrs. Russell, her cousins, and a large number of other children in the neighborhood learned their three R-s in the old one-room schoolhouse, and also went to church and Sunday school in the building. She staled the cominunity was thickly populated at that time and every community meet was well attended. The 'literary society programs", presenting local talent, and spelling bees made up special entertainment. "Some of the best singers in the county and many of the best fiddlers, lived in the community," Mrs. Russell said.

Inkum Post Office

The nearest postoffice was Inkum, still remembered as a gathering place for the settlers when the mail came through by stagecoach. Names of some of the pioneers recalled by Mrs. Russell and Atkins are the Youngs, still residents of the area, the Andersons, Pruitts, Kings, Knights, Perrys, Hallmarks and Sirathers, who have long since died or moved to other areas.

Mrs. Russell had four brothers and sisters. Living are Mrs. Emma Smith, Snyder; Armour Booth of Welch. Children of the deceased will share in the benefits of the oil royalties. The Booth children are among the few-heirs of pioneer settlers reserving oil royalies, in Taylor County.

Mrs. Russell's husband is T. A. Russell, an oil driller, now employed at Lubbock. They own 160 acres of land two miles northwest of Tuscola where the family home is located. The couple has two sons, Thad Jr., student at Texas Technological "College" at Lubbock and soon to enroll at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Jack is a student at South Taylor high school at Tuscola, High were star football players at South Taylor last year.

Other than Nat Laramore, I have no burial locations for members of this group. If someone can send me the locations, I can set up a Find A Grave memorial and link family members.

In addition to burial locations, I'd like to find obits, which can provide so much information about a person and their family.

Also, for the Russell marriage, I'm missing the date and place the event occurred.

So if there's a Booth researcher out there with the info, I have bunches of Booth info to trade.




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Monday, July 18, 2011

Albert Alexander Woodside, 1880-1961, Illinois, Nebraska, California

Albert was the son of James Martin Woodside and Mary Agnes Campbell. Here are his vitals:

Albert Alexander Woodside
b. 14 Apr 1880 Coulterville, Randolph County, Illinois
d. 19 Nov 1961 Redlands, San Bernardino County, California (Find A Grave = 514000625)
m. California
Lillian Ladonna Bartlett
b. 8 Jul 1886 Hinsdale, Cheshire County, New Hampshire
d. 13 Feb 1925 San Bernardino County, California

Albert and Lillian has the following children:
Elmer Wayne b. 22 Jun 1911
Leonard Leo b. 7 Nov 1913
Harold Edgar b. 13 Dec 1915

The Woodside family has deep roots in Southern Illinois, particularly Randolph County, which is where Albert spends his early childhood. Between 1887 and 1888, the Woodside family moves to Webster County, Nebraska. Mary Agnes' sister, Jane Minerva (Mrs. William H. James), had been living in Webster County for several years when her sister's family moves there too. Both the Woodside and James families are farming.

Albert is 11 years old when his mother dies in Nebraska. For the most part, Albert and his many siblings grow up on the farm in Nebraska.

Between the 1900 and 1910 censuses, most of the Woodside family moves to Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California. Lillian, Albert's future wife, also moves to Long Beach between the 1900 and 1910 censuses. Albert and Lillian meet and marry probably in Long Beach and begin to have their three sons.

At the start of World War I, Albert and his family can be found in Long Beach. Albert's registration shows their address as 435 Cerritos Avenue, Long Beach, California. I haven't sent for military records for Albert so I don't know if he served.

In 1925, Lillian dies. Albert becomes the head of an all male household. Albert seems to never marry again.

Through the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's, Albert can be found in California voter registration records. The family is living in San Bernardino, California and Albert is working as a painter. In retirement, Albert moves to Redlands, California, where he dies at age 81. He is survived by all three of his sons and they all live out their lives in California too. All three of Albert's sons have Find A Grave memorials.

If another researcher finds this post, I'm missing info. I would appreciate a pointer to a marriage record for Albert and Lillian. I'm also looking for an obit for Lillian...they seem to be hard to find in California. In addition, I would like to find a burial location for Lillian. She's the only one missing from the group on Find A Grave and it would be nice to complete the family.


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Saturday, July 9, 2011

A new use for the custom ID

I've written before about using a custom ID in my genealogy software (PAF). I've discovered a new use!

I've been in a lull lately. I've been picking up bits and pieces while searching, but nothing that would cause me to write a blog entry. So I decided I'd start at the top of my list and start posting bios for some of the people in my database. One of my stated purposes for the blog is to post bios for each person in my database. Well in any list, the people without last names, that is, the women who married into the family, are at the top of the list. I started with Agnes (Mrs. Howard Ashworth Blair) adding information based on her husband Howard Ashworth Blair.

After I completed the post, I realized that I had no way to tell who in my database had a basic bio on my blog. I immediately reverted to my custom ID field and added a B (blog) for each person that was included in the Howard Ashworth Blair posting.

I've posted additional bios and continued to add a B to the custom IDs for each person included. I can look down my Custom ID column and see exactly who has a bio and who doesn't.

Custom IDs...the tool that keeps expanding...

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Lemuel Leslie McKee, 1891-1968, Illinois, Missouri

Lemuel was the son of Lemuel M. McKee and Mary Elizabeth Blair.
b. 9 Sep 1891 Willis Station, Union County, Illinois
d. ? Mar 1968 Saint Louis, City, Missouri

From the Willis Station area, the McKee family moved to Decatur, Macon County, Illinois. They appear on the 1900 federal census. By 1910, the family has moved to Maplewood, Saint Louis County, Missouri. Lemuel spends the remainder of his life in the Saint Louis area (mostly Maplewood).

Lemuel marries Katheryn M. Unknown. Katheryn was born 30 Jun 1904 in Illinois and she died in Saint Louis on 20 Dec 1989. They might have married in Illinois or Missouri.

Lemuel and Katheryn have one child that I know of: Lemuel Leslie McKee.

Obituaries

St. Louis Post Dispatch, St. Louis, MO March 1968
McKee
Lemuel Leslie McKee, March 3, 1968, dear husband of Katheryn McKee, father of L. Leslie McKee, Jr. grandfather and uncle.
Private services were held Tues., March 5, at the BOPP Chapel in Kirkwood.

Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, Saint Louis, Missouri, 22 Dec 1989, Page 4c
McKEE, Kathryn, Dec 20, 1989, beloved mother of L. Leslie McKee, dear mother-in-law of Sharon McKee, dear grandmother of Valerie and Steve McKee, dear sister, aunt and beloved friend.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be given to the American Heart Assoc. A private family service was held.


Comments
My usual modus operandi is to track down an obit, locate a burial location, and add a Find A Grave memorial. Leaving a trail on Find A Grave is a free way to help other researchers with the person they are immediately researching. Researchers can also contact me for more information if they want to. This time the obits have done me no good because neither of them mentions a burial location.

These McKee cousins are very distant relatives. Thus I am unwilling to bust my genealogy budget to hire a researcher in Saint Louis. I'm hoping another researcher picks up this post and emails me (ptreme@gmail.com) and we can trade info.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

George Ardell Leemon, 1876 - 1963, Illinois, California

George was the son of George Ardell Leemon and Margaret Susanna McKee. George was born 4 Feb 1876 Coulterville, Perry County, Illinois and his christening occured in the Union Church, Randolph County, Illinois on 26 Jan 1896. George grew up in Southern Illinois.

He registers twice for service in the U.S. Army. The first time is for the Spanish American War, when he is in his early 20's. At the time, he's a single man living in Grand Tower, Jackson County, Illinois. The second time he registers is for World War I. By this time, he's a married barber living in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

Mrs. Leemon's first name is Katherine. She was born in 1884 in Illinois and died 16 Aug 1950 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Katherine is buried in the IOOF Cemetery, Du Quoin, Perry County, Illinois (Find A Grave memorial 49384458). The location of her burial leads me to believe that she was born in Southern Illinois and that she married George there. I don't know anything else about Katherine...including not knowing her maiden name.

George and Katherine have no children. Therefore, I'm guessing that not many people are looking for either of them.

I'm not sure why or when George moves to California, but move there he does. George died 12 Sep 1963 Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California and is buried in the Los Angeles National Cemetery (Find A Grave memoiral 3727176).

Finding out Katherine's maiden name has proved to be quite a challenge. Since few researchers seem to be looking for this couple, I haven't happened upon any information posted by another researcher...so no footsteps to follow. Obituaries...my usual fail safe...do not seem to be an option for either George or Katherine. Perhaps none were published since there were so few survivors or I just haven't been able to find them yet. Either way, with no children, I doubt that the obits would contain lots of info.

Monday, July 4, 2011

John Berthold McKee, 1886-1978 Illinois, Missouri

John was the son of Robert John McKee and Mary Ann Livingston. Here are his vitals.
b. 1 Jan 1886 Sparta, Randolph County, Illinois
d. ? Nov 1978 Missouri (probably Saint Louis)

There's a question about the year of John's birth. His WWI records say 1885. His SSDI record says 1887. Other records and his grave stone say 1886. So I've picked 1886.

While in school, John appeared in the The Plaindealer on 23 Feb 1900: Additions to museum--Johnnie McKee presented a very perfect and beautiful huming birds nest found by himself on the creek southeast of Eden.

John married Caroline W. Unknown (b. 1892 Missouri and d. 2 Nov 1992 Saint Louis, City, Missouri).

John and Carrie had the following children: John Berthold (Jr), Roger, and Gregory G.

You can find John and Carrie on Find A Grave (45544288, 45544356). Carrie's obituary appears in the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, Saint Louis, Missouri, 4 Nov 1992. Carrie's FAG memorial includes details from her obit. In addition, son Roger is with them (45544382).

I need the following information:
John's complete date and place of death so that I can find his obituary.
Carrie's last name and her full date and place of birth.

In looking at John's social security record, it's noted as being issued by the Railroad Board. So I guess I'm going to have to find out what I can do with that piece of information...And I just went and read about it...$27.00 search fee...I don't think so! I'm going to limp along with whatever free info I can find.

Perhaps I'll luck up and a family member will contact me. It's happened before.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Howard Ashworth Blair 1891-1978 Illinois and Missouri

Howard was the son of James Renwick Blair and Mary Louisa Alice Ashworth. Here are his vitals:
b. 23 Feb 1891 Cutler, Perry County, Illinois
d. 2 Sep 1978 Saint Louis, City, Missouri

Howard was married twice:
  • Agnes...no last name yet who was born in 1894 in Illinois. They divorced (or she died) between 1910 and 1917.
  • Mary...no last name yet who was born in 1902 and died in 1974.
Howard is on Find A Grave (memorial 45361585); he is buried with Mary. Howard's obituary appears in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Tuesday, 5 Sep 1978, Page 10C and a transcription is on the FAG memorial.

The obituary--really a death notice--doesn't mention survivors. I can find no record of any children. So unless someone can come up with children, Howard and his wives mark the last of their respective lines.

Please post of comment if you have more information or would like a list of sources that I've used.