52 Ancestors 52 Weeks - Week 39

Norman Winfield Bush

Norman Winfield Bush was often listed as Winfield N. Bush, and went by the name of Winfield. He was born to David Bush and Sarah J. Barrett on March 30. 1878, in Washington County, Indiana. He was one of 8 children.

He first shows up on the 1880 R.S. Census in Jefferson Township, Washington County, Indiana. Here he is with his parents and listed st Norman W. Bush, age 1.  He is with his sister Minnie, who is 2.

In the 1900 Census, he is still with his parents. He is again listed as Norman W. Bush, age 21. There are He is with his 7 other siblings and his parents. They are still in Jefferson Township, Washington County, Indiana. His father is a farmer, and rents the place.

On July 1, 1903, in Brownstown, Jackson County, Indiana, he marries Ida May Crothers. Together they raise 10 children: Woodrow Riley, my uncle by marriage, David Carroll, Earl Melvin, Neal William, Mary Frances, Goldie Mae, Esther Mae, Murl, and Harley Winford Bush.

In the 1910 Census, he is listed as Norman W. Bush and is with his wife, Ida, in Jefferson Township, Washington County, Indiana.  The family consists of Norman W., 31, Ida M., 29, Esther, 5, Goldie B., 3, and Harley W., 1. They won their house and he is employed as a carpenter at a place I an not read. It is Comerste Formes? Well I'll look into it.

In the 1920 census, in Carr Township, Jackson County, Indiana, he and family are living on Mill Street. He is listed for the first time as Winfield and he is 41. Ida is there as well and is 38. They own their house with no mortgage. He is doing well as a carpenter. The children in the home are: Esther M. 15, Goldie B., 13, Harley W., 11, Harold D., 8, Roy W., 5, Earl M. is 3, Neil W. is 2, and Emma is not quite 1.

In 1930, this time back in Jefferson Township, Washington County, Indiana, he is 51, and Ida, 49. He lists himself as a farmer, and is renting. This is the bad time for everyone, the Great Depression. He also doesn't have a radio set. Yes, that was a census question. Anyway, the children still at home are: Carroll, 19, Woodrow, 16, Earl, 14, Meal, 12, Emma, 11, and Mary is 8.

In 1940 Winfield and his family are back in Seymour, in Jackson County, Indiana. They are renting a home for $6.50 a month. It says his highest grade completed is 4th grade. Remember his father was a farmer and boys were needed as farm labor. He has worked 0 weeks. Ida is there at 59 years old. Winfield is 61. The children still at home are: Earl, 23, and Mary Frances, age 17. Earl is listed as blind. Right next door is my aunt Opal Alexander and her husband, Woodrow Bush, and their family. Woodrow is Winfield's son.

Winfield died on the 11th of August, 1940. His death cert lists him as 62 years, 4 months and 12 days of age. They were living at 628 North Brown Street in Seymour, Indiana. He is listed as a carpenter. He died of heart disease, and was buried on the 14th day of August, 1940 in Fairview Cemetery in Brownstown, Jackson County, Indiana.

My children connect to Winfield through his brother, William A. Bush.

Sources:
1880 Census; Jefferson, Washington, Indiana; Roll: 321; Page: 448B; Enumeration District: 178. Ancestry.com
1900 Census; Jefferson, Washington, Indiana; Page: 6; Enumeration District: 0132; FHL microfilm: 1240411. Ancestry.com
1910 Census; Jefferson, Washington, Indiana; Roll: T624_387; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0152; FHL microfilm: 1374400. Ancestry.com
Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001; database on-line. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com
1920 Census; Carr, Jackson, Indiana; Roll: T625_439; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 75. Ancestry.com
1930 Census; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; T626, 2,667 rolls. Ancestry.com
1940 Census; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls. Ancestry.com
Death Certificates; Year: 1940; Roll: 11. Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, IN, USA. Ancestry.com

#52ancestors #genealogy

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks - Week 38

Robert Henry Hunsucker

Robert Henry Hunsucker was born on the 8th of April, 1879, in Medora, Jackson County, Indiana. He was the son of George Riley Hunsucker and Amanda Louisa Bowers.

He first appears in the 1880 Census taken in Flynn Township, Lawrence County, Indiana. He is there with his parents and his brother, Joel. His father is a farmer.

In the 1900 Census of Carr Township in Jackson County, Indiana, Robert is with the family of Ephraim Goss, and listed as a servant. Mr. Goss is a farmer, and Robert is 21 years old.

On July 19, 1907, Robert marries Carrie Jane Hughes in Lawrence County, Indiana. Together they have 7 children: Dorothy, Ruth, Ray A., Elmer H., Henry Samuel, Neal, and Dora.

In 1910, still in Carr Township, he and Carrie are listed in the census. They are renting and he is listed as labor. The household consists of he and Carrie, children Dora, Dorothy and George R. Robert is 31 years old.

By 1920 the census shows Robert in Pleasant Run Township, in Lawrence county, Indiana. He is 40 years old and listed as farm labor. The house has Carrie and children, Dorothy, Henry and Elmer.

In the 1930 census he and his family are in Medora, Indiana. This is in Jackson County, and they are in town on George Street. Robert is 50 years old and working at the brick plant. They do own their own home now. In the household is he and Carrie, Dorothy, Henry S., Elmer, Neal, Ruth and Roy A. 

The 1940 census was a pleasure to find. A Mr. Roy B. Poore printed every entry so neatly, which is very rate to find! Robert and Carrie are living in Medora still, on Poplar street, and they own their home. Robert is 60 and still working at the brick plant. Carrie has an X beside her indicating that the census taker talked to her. She is 50. Neal, 19, and Ray A., 12, are still at home.

Robert died on May 2, 1952 in Bedford, Lawrence County, Indiana. He was 73 years old. He and Carrie had been married 45 years.

Robert is my step-fathers grandfather.

Sources:
1880 Census. NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls. Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Ancestry.com
1900 Census. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. T623, 1854 rolls. Ancestry.com
1910 Census. NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls. Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Ancestry.com
1920 Census. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Ancestry.com
1930 Census. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. T626, 2,667 rolls. Ancestry.com
1940 Census. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. T627, 4,643 rolls. Ancestry.com
Social Security Applications and Claims Index, U.S., 1936-2007. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Ancestry.com.

#52ancestors #genealogy

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 37

William Harrison Jaynes

William Harrison Jaynes, also known as Harry, was born April 10, 1899 in Jackson County, Indiana, to George Thomas and Cora Mae Hines Jaynes. He was the first child of 6, two boys and 4 girls.

I met Uncle Harry when he was very old. I did not get to interview him, or really have a conversation. According to all accounts, he has a very interesting life. The stories all say that he drank a bit, and road the rails. Lived a hobo life, part time. I wish I had first hand information about that. The stories say that when he got tired of "normal" life, he simply jumped a train and was gone for long periods of time. Very simple to do in a railroad town.

That is not saying that Harry had no family. He married Sylvia Pearl Malone on June 30, 1917 in Brownstown, Indiana. They had 4 children: Donald, Edna Margarite, Marion, and Albert. My mother remembered Sylvia, and liked her very much. Unfortunately she and Harry were divorced, and both remarried. Harry married Leona Mabel Coffman on January 6, 1931 in Jackson County, Indiana. There are no children to that marriage, and I believe it lasted a very short time. Harry then married Jessie Patronis on May 15, 1938, again in Jackson County, Indiana.

I have tracked Harry and his family through the census, but it doesn't help to know Harry. He is often missing from the record anyway.

I think Harry tried to be what people expected him to be. You know, a husband and father, with a 9 to 5. My grandfather, his brother James, a.k.a. Jim, was not able to be so generous to Harry. Growing up with Harry was hard. When they were at home, Harry simply took what he wanted, even if it was his brothers. Jim never spoke of Harry, nor did he see him in those last years. There was no outward hostility nor any bad words against Harry. Just a silence.

I've heard from others that Harry was a very engaging man, so nice and interesting. I wish I'd known him better. I'm afraid I don't even have a photograph of Harry, and I'm not sure that one ever existed. It is one of my most wanted articles.

Sources:
"Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," database with images, FamilySearch, William Harry Jaynes and Sylvia Pearl Malone, 1917; citing Jackson, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,314,632.

Marriages Record, 6 January 1931, Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959: image: 00361; FamilySearch, citing Jackson, Indiana, United States.

"Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZQB-PDD : 21 January 2016), Harry Jaynes and Jessie Patronis, 15 May 1938; citing Jackson, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,220,659.

#52ancestors #genealogy

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 36

John F. Fanchier

John Fanchier was born to Calvin Morgan Fanchier and Sarah Ann Hammock on August 3, 1852 probably in Cherokee County, Alabama. He was the 4th child in a family of 6, so far as I can find. There were 4 girls and the two boys.

In the 1860 Census, John is with his family in Cherokee County, Alabama. The post office is Gadsden. John was 7 years old. His father, Calvin, was a farmer.

On February 23, 1879, J.W. Trotter, Minister of the Gospel, joined John Fanchier and Georgia Oliver in marriage. This was in Etowah County, Alabama. He and Georgia had 6 children; Charles, John Jr., Ruth, Louisianne, Myrtle and Carrie.

In the 1880 Census, The family iw in Etowah County, Alabama. It says works on a farm under the occupation for John. In the household, John is 27, Georgia is 23, Carrie, age 7, and John is 3 years old.

The 1900 Census has the family still in Etowah County, Alabama.John is listed this time as Day Labor. He is 48 years old. Georgia is 44, and they have been married 21 years. The family consists of Louisianne, age 19, Myrtle, age 9, Charlie, age 6, and Ruthie is 4 years old.

The 1910 Census in Etowah County, Alabama shows the family on Flat Wood Road. John is 57, and Georgia is 53 years old. John is listed as a farmer, and he is renting the farm. They have been married 32 years, and Georgia is listed as having had 10 children, only 6 living.  Also in the house is Charlie, age 17, and Ruth, age 13. Daughter Myrtle, my step-great-grandmother, lives right next door. She has married Starling Haney, and has 3 children of her own.

I know that John died on April 6, 1951, but have not found a cemetery or a death notice for him. I will continue to look. I hope I can find more about this family. I feel like there is much to do yet.


Sources:
1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration; Ancestry.com.
1880 U.S. census, NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls; Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Ancestry.com.
Ancestry.com. Alabama, Compiled Marriages from Selected Counties, 1809-1920; Provo, UT, USA; Original data: Dodd, Jordan R., comp. Early American Marriages: Alabama, 1800 to 1920.
1900 U.S. census, United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls. Ancestry.com.
1910 U.S. census, Lehi, UT, USA: NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls. Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Ancestry.com.
State of Alabama. Index of Vital Records for Alabama: Deaths, 1908-1959. Montgomery, AL, USA: State of Alabama Center for Health Statistics, Record Services Division. Ancestry.com.

#52ancestors #genealogy