Monday, January 7, 2019

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks–Week #1–Vera Violet Allen 1902-1991–wife of my granduncle

52 Ancestors header
Amy Johnson Crow began this theme several years ago.  Many bloggers participate.  I have tried before and only got to week 9.  My goal this year is to try very hard to get all 52 weeks done.  Wish me luck.  It’s week one and here we go.

Amy supplies us with a word that we can build a theme off of for each week’s post.  We decide how to interpret the words and how we’ll use them.

This week the theme is “first.”

I’ve decided to just make it my “first” post this year.

I thought I would randomly go into my Legacy database and pick the person who has RIN 100.  RIN stands for Record Identification Number.

That person is Vera Violet Allen who was the second of four wives married to my granduncle William “Bill” Lindsay.  I’ve written about his marriages in this post William "Bill" Lindsay & his many wives - the story of my granduncle Bill

What do I know about Vera Violet Allen?
  • A birth record from Rockingham, Vermont indicates she was born 16 Feb 1902 to Almon F. Allen & Minnie Luella Fisher1
ALLEN_Vera Violet_birth record_16 Feb 1902_RockinghamVermont
  • The marriage record for Vera & my granduncle Bill from 23 Sep 1919 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan gives her parent's name and they match the birth record.2
  • In the 1910 census Vera is living with her divorced mother, Minnie Allen and her siblings.
  • By 1920 she is living with her husband, William “Bill” Lindsay whom she married on 23 Sep 1919 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.  They, in fact, are living with Bill’s sister Marie (my grandmother) and Marie’s husband Harry Gould and my young father who was 7 at the time.
  • In about 1927 a son, Robert Lindsay was born in Massachusetts.  I don’t have any details on him at this time.  However, I do have the divorce record for Vera and Bill, filed in Detroit, Michigan and granted on 19 Jul 1928.3 
LINDSAY_William divorce from Vera_19 Jul 1928_DetroitWayneMichigan
  • In the 1930 census, Vera is listed as divorced and living in Waltham, Middlesex, Massachusetts with her sister, Christine, brother-in-law, Henry Vear and their young daughter Gwendolyn.  Also in the household is Robert Lindsay age 3 1/2 and William Lindsay, age 5. 
  • NOTE: This is why I love blogging.  I taking another look at the divorce record for Vera & Bill, I see that both sons, Robert and William are listed as their children and it gives ages and middle initials for them.  This should help me learn more about those two little boys.  How did I miss those clues before?
  • In the 1940 census I have located Vera living with her two sons, William and Robert and a husband, Laurence Aiken.  Laurence died in 1953.
  • In the 1960 Berkshire, Massachusetts city directory Vera is listed as Vera Aiken widow of Laurence Aiken.
  • I have located a FindAGrave memorial for Vera.  The memorial lists her as Vera Violet Allen Lindsay Aiken Marlow #190733872.
  • I haven’t yet located a marriage to anyone named Marlow, but will continue to look.
Good things always come from my blog posts.  I end up doing more research on a particular person or family and the end result is enhanced information, more records and better sourcing.  In this case I was able to find additional information about Vera & Bill Lindsay’s sons, William & Robert.  They married and at least one of them had children.  Perhaps now I can connect with descendants of my granduncle Bill Lindsay?

I’m hoping I can keep up with the 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks theme.  I look forward to sharing even more about mine and my husband’s ancestors with you.
 

Here’s a link to my other 52 Ancestors posts from 2017.


Sources: 1 - State of Vermont. Vermont Vital Records, 1871–1908. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.  2 - Michigan Marriage Records, 1867-1952  3 - Michigan Divorce Records, 1897-1952

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

6 comments:

  1. Good start, Diane. I'm rooting for you. As you've already noticed, doing the 52 Ancestors posts helps to cleanup old research, ask new questions, answer old ones, and improve writing and research methods. I know you can do it!

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    1. Thanks Cathy. Now that I’ve re read it for the zillionth time, I just caught two typos. How do we miss those? Blogging is absolutley invaluable in enhancing our research. I need a bit of a push as I’ve been off my pace the past two years. Thanks for your encouragement.

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  2. This was a great post to read, to encourage me also to get to work on 52 ancestors and those topics. I still haven't found a place to send my links for my first 2 posts...let me know if you know. Thanks. Barb at https://threefamilytrees.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Barbara - thanks for your comment. As to where to send the links? I am just putting the #52 Ancestor label on mine. You should have received an email from Amy Johnson Crow explaining what we are supposed to do. However, she did have an email glitch so perhaps you didn't get it. I've only done the one post, so far. I wish us both success in completing this task.

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  3. Great job Diane! I always value going back over information because I seem to find something I missed the first time.

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    1. Never ceases to amaze me how returning to previously viewed records can assist us. Not to mention collaborating with other genealogists who have become good friends (like you). :) :)

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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.