Looking for more family in the 1940 Census

In Gary, Indiana, there should be a large number of my family. The following were listed in the 1941 Gary, IN city directory:

Caulk F. L. (Gertrude) h723 Connecticut

Baker Clarence L (Hazel M) janitor City Bd Park Comnrs r Clark Station

In the 1930 census, the Bakers were living at 445 Maryland St, which looks like it is at Maryland/5th Ave (US 20/12)

Let's start with the Caulks.

743 Connecticut Ave. is bounded by 7th and 8th Ave. This puts us with ED In the 1940 census, this area is with ED95-10 and ED95-9. Let's go

On page 10 of ED95-10 is 744 and 742 Connecticut St.

On page 17 of the same ED, 749, 745, 741 Connecticut St.

Hm. OK.

@749 are the Reynolds (Frank)-they are living here in 1941, too. and in the 1940 census

745 are the Grogats (Vade or Vacle Angeline)

741 are the Beres, Dan and Victoria are listed at 741 Ct. in the 1941 Directory. They are listed in the census, too.

Were the Caulks just not home? Is that why there were houses missing?

Were they not living there in 1940?

Note: Edward Moore is living on page 27.

What about the Bakers?

They're living in Clark Station. Previous chats with people who grew up in Clark Station say it is by the airport. Most of the houses are missing today. This area is at N. Clark Ave. and Birch St.

OK. So let's look at the maps for the districts. ED-27 and/or ED-26. Let's start with 27, as this is where the airport is at.

Ahha! Listed as Clark Station, Gary, Lake, Indiana. As expected.

1940 US Census, Enumeration District 95-27, page 61A

1940 Census: Poparads

The 1930 census showed the Popereds living in Gary, Indiana. By the 1940 census, two daughters have left and they are now living in Porter County, Indiana. This should be the spot where the farm house was built and we now know as 1137 Salt Creek Road. Emil would go on to build at 1141 Salt Creek Road. His son, William, would be the last Poparad to live in the farm house. It was torn down and stood vacant until Angella Knapp, Emil's granddaughter, would build her house with her husband Jared and they would move in in 2009. Emil's daughter Marlene lives in the house Emil built.

Ann Poparad was now Ann Toth, living with Bill Toth. They moved to what is now the "S" curve of Old Porter Road. There is a strawberry patch there now. Either way, they are listed a few pages back in the same enumeration district:

I'm still needing to find Jeanne Westberry and her husband, but I think they were living in Lake County at the time.

Ernest Estepp in the 1940 Census

So, back to the search for Ernest Estepp in the 1940 census. Yesterday I made it through some of the shorter EDs of Mingo County, WV. Now, time to keep searching:

ED 2:Nothing

ED 3:Nothing

4-9 from yesterday

ED 10: Runyons

ED 11: Nothing

12-13 from yesterday

15: Dewey and Tennessee Estepp, nothing else

16, 19 from yesterday

Looking back at George Estepp's death certificate in 1938, the family was living in Holden, Logan, WV. It has district 2321 up on the top. Let's go back to Logan County

ED 23-19:Nothing

ED 23-20:Nothing (from yesterday)

ED 23-21: Nothing (from yesterday)

ED 23-22:Nothing

ED 23-23:Nothing

ED 23-24:Nothing

ED 23-31:Nothing (from yesterday)

ED 23-32:Nothing

I made a map and looked at what was missing. I figured I should go through district 1 in Mingo County. It's up in the left part of the county:

1: Hitting lots of Ootens, Runyons

Edward Estep and his wife Lena, page 31 (s.o. Rhodes and Polly Runyon Estep)

John and Mollie Estepp, pg 73

Kennith and Ella Deskins? Polly Estepp is living with them. Ella is short for Lewella (1905-1976)

Holy heck. On page 78:

Looking for the Estepps

The 1940 Census is the first in which Ernest Estepp should be marked in a census. In 1930, his parents, George and Nettie Estepp, were living on Trace Road, Logan, Logan County, West Virginia, ED 23-16. Using the ED conversion, this puts us in:

Ed23-20: Nothing. A few Runyons, Blankenships, Marcums

ED23-21: Nothing

ED23-31:OMG. More workmans! More Maynards! No Estepps

Given where the area was that they ended up, let's look around there. This is in Mingo County, Trace Creek, Right Fork/Left Fork area by the Estepp cemetery. Here is the area in real life:

http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=186371

So, lets look at those areas, 30-10 and 30-5.

Nothing. A couple of Estepps and Stepps family.

Let's move out from those two:

30-8: Stepp, Cora Estepp (pg 29) S. many. Marcums

30-6:Homer Estepp with wife Juanita, Stuart Estepp

OK, let's go 5-10

30-7:Emma and Raymond Estepp, pg 7Not mine

30-9:Wilbur Estep with Edna (pg 11)

Now let's just go:

30-4: John Estepp with wife Mary and kids Wanda, Robert, Calvin, betty

30-12: Nothing

30-13: robert Estepp with Dorothy, Betty, Glen, Lear. Wheeler Estepp with Ruby Doris Marie

30-16:nothing

30-19:nothing

Back tomorrow.

1940 Census Release

Well, yesterday April 2, 2012, the 1940 Census was released. Of course, it is not indexed, but it was pretty easy to find the Johnsons and Poparads. The Poparads have lived in the same area now for over 70 years. The Johnson's house just burnt in 2011, though no Johnson descendant has lived there for several years.

In the 1940 US census, Indiana>Porter>Westchest> Enumeration District 64-26, page 4 are the Poparads, with George, Anna, George, Nick, Dan, Rosie, John and Emil. On page two of the same ED is John and Ann Toth. I still need to find the Westberrys.

There is much more for which to search, including the Bakers, but that may have to wait a bit.

Who do you think you are?

I really enjoy this show. I do. You would think, though, that I hated it and I'm pretty sure my husband would agree. My main problem with this show is that they make it look so easy. I'm sure that's part of the premise so that ancestry.com subscription increases, ie, Look! It's so easy! But it's not. Even as I attend monthly meetings at CDGS, I'm amazed at the people who have made so much progress without the technology that I have available today.

Even so, with the resources that are available for the public online in this day and age, it is still necessary to 1) write, call, beg for someone to get the documents one needs from the far away land or 2) travel to the far away land and get them for one's self. The show makes it look like 2 is the easiest option, when in fact, it can be very difficult to actually do so. In my life, I have dreamed of going to Wayne County, Ohio to look at the original land owned by my ancestors. Living in NY, I still have trouble getting to the genealogy section of NYS library that is a mile away.

Jobs, life, family and money all play a factor in getting to the original sources. While I enjoy the show, I wish they would put in one non-celebrity to show how it's a difficult, but full-filling hobby.

Lillian Moore Ray, Part II

I found her!! Previously, I had a woe-is-me episode over Lillian Moore Ray. Well, thanks to FamilySearch Indexers, I broke through!Why is it that it always takes a little creative searching to find what you're looking for?

When we last left off, Lillian Moore had married Franklin Ray. They had three children:

i. Ralph Franklin Ray

ii. Hazel G. Ray

iii. Belluah Ray

Well, let's first examine Ralph Franklin Ray.

A birth record for him appears in the Ohio Births and christenings, 1821-1962. He is b. 22 Aug 1884 in Wellsville, Columbiana, OH with parents of Frank Ray and Nellie Moore. Nellie/Lillian close enough, I'll take it. (Source film 931592/ ref # Bk.3 p.150 cn.297)

In 1900 he was living in Avalon Borough, Allegheny, PA

1910 St. Louis Ward 22.

WWI Draft Card, Mrs. Elizabeth Porter Ray will always know his whereabouts. How about that? PORTER!!! I haven't found their marriage record, yet. They have three children:

i. 1. Elizabeth L. Ray (lillian?)

i. 2. Robert F. Ray (franklin?)

i. 3. Hazel V. Ray (named after aunt?)

I have found much about the children.

The third chid, Belluah, was born 18 July 1894 in Wellsville, Columbiana, OH. (931592 film #, ref #. vol. 5. pg212 #55) No information other then t

hat.

Interestingly, I believe that Hazel has the most information. She was born 07 December 1885 in Wellsville, Columbiana, Ohio ((931592 film #, no ref number given).

She married Cecil Burson, son of G.W. Burson and Jennie Guiney on December 7, 1906. Here is the marriage certificate (left hand, bottom) (film number 0886219, ref. 2:3zpwdwm)

The 1910, 1920 and 1930 census shows three children:

ii. 1. Frank R. Burson

ii. 2. Sara E. Burson

iii 3. Helen L. Burson

Plenty of poking, typing and banging on they keyboard in both ancestry.com and familysearch.org find the North CArolina Deaths 193101993 for Frank Ray Burson. he was born June 15, 1908 and was a ret. engineer. He died September 28, 1985. He was the son of Cecil Burson and Hazel Ray and was married to Claire Heyden. (film 1991194 ref # v. 37b, cn37587). More googling got me to a son, Ray H. Burson (they love their family names!) He confirms this at the Rutger's Oral History Project. I emailed him a bit ago at an email I found. It hasn't bounced back to me, so hopefully, he can confirm and perhaps give details?

And that gets me excited. And when I explain it to my mom, gets her confused. Finally, something to share at the family reunion!