Dead Ends

It’s frustrating to come up against those dead ends – Brick walls that never seem to come down.  On the other hand, it’s very exciting (to me anyway) when one of those brick walls come down.

I’ve been trying to find out what happened to the children of Sudie Elizabeth Bashor Roe and Dr. Samuel Alaga Roe.  I found out about Zelma, their daughter, but the two boys seemed to have vanished after a certain point.  Let’s start at their parents:  Sudie Elizabeth Bashor was the youngest child of My Gr-Gr-Grandparents, Michael M Bashor and Susanah Garst Bashor.  There were 13 siblings ahead of her, so it must have been fun being the baby of a large family.

Sudie Elizabeth Bashor was born Jan 16, 1878 in Trinidad, Los Animas, Colorado and on June 21, 1905 she married Samuel Alaga Roe in Albany, Linn, Oregon at about 27 yrs old.  Michael M and Susan Bashor had made the trip from Tenn to Colorado and then came to Oregon in Dec 1879 where Michael was a minister in the German Baptist (Brethren) Church in Salem, Oregon.  Sudie was just a baby when they arrived in Oregon and she attended school and then passed her Primary teachers exam in April 1900 in Marion County, Oregon.  Shortly after their marriage Sudie and Samuel moved to Nez Perce County, Idaho to live and it’s where their three children were born.

Richard W Roe was born in 1907 in Lewiston, Nez Perce, Idaho and attended school in Lewiston, Nez Perce, Idaho.  In the 1910 census Richard age 3, Zelma and Melvin age2, parents Samuel, Physician, age 33, Sudie age 32 in Greer, Nez Perce, Idaho. Samuel A Roe registered for the WWI draft on Sept 12, 1918 in LaGrande, Union, Oregon at age 41, Physician & Surgeon, Eye Specialist, living at 1806 3rd St., LaGrande, Union, Oregon.  June 2, 1917 while still in LaGrande Sudie, Samuel, and Velma Roe wittnessed the marriage of my grandparents Frank Britain and Anna M Bashor in Pendleton, Oregon.   In 1920 Samuel 43, Sudie 42, Richard 13, Zelma and Melvin 11 were back in Lewiston, Idaho.  This is the last census Richard is found with his family as the 1930 census in Lewiston, Nez Perce, Idaho shows Samuel 53, Sudie 52, Zelma and Melvin 22.

In 1928 Richard W Roe is found in the Modesto City Directory at 805 16th living in the rear working as a Salesman for Modesto Ice Delivery.  In 1929 he married Ruth Helen Mae Ward born May 27, 1908 Fresno, Calif to parents Joseph R Ward and Roseanna A Ward (Adams).  In 1929 Joseph R Ward was the manager of the Modesto Ice delivery and is no doubt how Richard and Ruth got together.  In the 1930 census Richard, 23 and wife Ruth W 21 were living with her parents Joseph R Ward, 54 & Roseanna A 53.  That was where I dead ended with Richard.  I could not find him in the 1940 census, but I did find his wife, Ruth on April 1, 1940 in Haywood, Alameda, California at age 31 married to Edward White, 30 and her mother Rose Ward 62.  Ruth’s father passed away Oct 31,1930 in Modesto.  So what happened?  I revisit from time to time, but have never been able to find anything out untill today when I looked at the Modesto paper online and finally found what had happened to Sudie and Samuels first born child.

Richard W. Roe passed away, Oct 22,1933 in a San Francisco hospital at the age of 26.  Sudie Elizabeth Bashor Roe passed away Nov 4, 1930 in Lewiston, Idaho at age 52 and Samuel Alaga Roe died July 14, 1938 in Salem, Marion, Oregon.  They are buried next to each other at Normal Hill Cemetery, Lewiston, Nez Perce, Idaho, Plot: Div 1, Row 23, lot 051, gr 5 & 6. I would guess Richard is buried in Berkeley, Alameda, California at a cemetery there.

Zelma Catherine Maud Roe was born Feb 6, 1908 in Lewiston, Idaho. She had a twin brother, Melvin Samuel Roe.  Zelma married Dec 24, 1930 at age 22 to Roland H Wilkins in Lewiston.  The marriage seems to have ended in Divorce and Zelma moved to California and on April 1, 1940 at age 32, she’s working as a church organist, Lodger in Berkeley, Alameda, Calif.  June 13, 1942 Zelma married Francis “Frank” Arthur Stead in California at age 34.  Together they had two daughters, Judy Ann Stead,1943 and Sandra Lee Stead, 1946.  Frank A Stead was born Jan 13, 1905 in Calif and passed away April 22, 1950 in Alameda Co., Calif. leaving Zelma a widow with 2 small children.  Zelma married for the 3rd time Carroll Augustus Curtis on Sept 1, 1962 at age 54 in Contra Costa Co., Calif.  Carroll A Curtis was born April 29, 1913 in NC and passed away Oct 18, 1992 in Chico, Butte, Calif.  Zelma lived a long life and passed away Feb 22, 2010 at the age of 102 at Walnut Creek, Contra Cost, California.

Melvin Samuel Roe, Zelma’s twin, is a sophomore at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho in 1929.  Oct 30, 1943 he married Alberta Beatrice Thompson in Spokane, Wa. and on Dec 31, 1943 he enlisted in the US Army during WWII, he had 3 years college, was a stock clerk and was married living in Nez Perce Co. Idaho.  That is the last I know of Melvin, his wife Alberta is remarried Aug 20, 1948 to Lloyd Lee Moody, she passed away in 1974 and Lloyd Moody in 1980.  They are buried next to each other at Normal Hill Cemetery, Lewiston, Idaho, Plot IOOF, Row 27, lot 50, graves 2&3.  What happened to Melvin?  Did he not make it back from WWII?  It’s another dead end I may find the answers to someday.

Mistakes made

I really dislike it when I get something wrong on my Ancestry.com tree – people connect to the error, or I connect to their error and click, click, click, the wrong date, name, whatever is spread around.  A recent mistake was with my Great-Grandmother, Amanda Elizabeth (Ritter) Bashor’s date of death.  Somehow it got passed around that it was Oct 5th, but recently I found her obit on an online newspaper site and low and behold it was Oct 3rd.  The 5th was actually her burial date, but if I had bothered to recheck the Oregon Death Index it was listed as Oct. 3rd, Olney Cemetery records say the 3rd.  Where in the world did I get the 5th, who knows.

Another mistake and one I actually added to by putting it in my first blog post is that of Amanda’s Grandmother.  I listed her name as being Amy because in the 1860 census record Solomon and Elizabeth Ritter (Amanda’s parents) were living with Joshua Hardman and wife Amy both 62.  The census also lists Solomon and Elizabeth with a daughter Amy.  This should have been my first clue as their daughter is Anna Hardman and in this record if you look closer it’s listed as Anny as is Anna Hardman’s name also listed as Anny.  It was a transcription error that was compounded and found on many peoples tree’s on Ancestry and click, click, click, passed on down the line.

I recently published a Family History Book on my Dad’s Britain side of the family – I went over and over it to make sure there were no errors.  After the printing process was done and looking over the finished product I found error after error – dates, names, typos.  I guess no matter how hard you try there will always be some errors made.   So if you have Anna Hardman listed as Amy on your tree, please change it.  I’m sure she’s up there in heaven saying, it’s Anna NOT Amy!  Sorry about that Anna, I’ve changed it in my records.

Joshua H Hardman was born in 1797 in Shelby Co. Kty; June 4, 1815 he married Anna W Miller in Montgomery Co., Ohio.  Anna was born Nov 1797 in Tenn.  In 1850 they are found in German Tsp, St. Joseph, Indiana both age 53 with children Rebecca 22, John W 21, and Anna Rusha 14.  They left Indiana in the Spring of 1852 and stopped in Iowa and rented a place for the winter because it was feared there was disease on the trail.  They resumed their journey in the Spring of 1853 and arrived in Oregon territory by Sept 1853.  They traveled in what was known as the Hardman wagon train and settled in Linn County, Oregon on a donation land claim.  In 1860 they’re found in Lebanon, Linn, Oregon, Joshua 62 farmer and Anna (the mistaken Amy appears here) 62 with son John 30 – also with them are daughter Elizabeth 41, her husband Solomon Ritter 42 and children Lewis, 19; Anna 17; Margretta 15; Mary 11; Lucinda 8; and Amanda 1.

Joshua Hardman’s death occurred June 20, 1879 in Linn County, Oregon at age 81; Anna W Miller Hardman’s death occurred Feb 24, 1883 in Linn County, Oregon.  They are buried next to each other at Riverside Cemetery, Albany, Linn, Oregon, section 14N.

My Great, Great, Great Grandparents

                                                                                  

The Ritter Family Connection

 

The above picture is of my Ritter Family and was taken about 1864 in Linn County, Oregon.  Standing back row L to R; John Leedy (1841-1917), Lewis Ritter (1841-1894)  Sitting L to R; Lucinda “Lou” (Ritter) Osterhaudt (1851-1921) , Margaretta Deltasena (Ritter) Leedy (1845-1872), wife of John Leedy holding Ellenore Jane Leedy (April 8, 1862 – Dec 6, 1865), daughter of John and Margaretta Leedy; Elizabeth (Hardman) Ritter (1819-1898), holding daughter Amanda Elizabeth (Ritter) Bashor (1859-1921); Mary Ellen (Ritter) Leedy (1849-1927), who would later become the 2nd wife of John Leedy.

My Ritter family connection is through my Great Grandmother Amanda Elizabeth Ritter who married my Great Grandfather Noah Nathanial Bashor.  Her parents were Solomon Ritter and Elizabeth Hardman Ritter.  Amanda is sitting on her mother’s lap as seen in the above picture at about age 5.  Amanda is the youngest child and only member of the family to be born in Oregon.  The whole family came by covered wagon from Indiana to Oregon arriving in 1853 and settling in Linn County, Oregon.

Lucinda E Ritter, pictured on the far left was all of about 2 years old when the family arrived in Oregon.  In 1860, she was in Lebanon, Linn, Oregon at age 8 with her parents and 5 siblings.  Her father was a Carpenter and in the same household were Elizabeth’s parents, Joshua and Amy Hardman ages 62 and  brother John age 30.  In June 1870 Lucinda, age 18, is with her  family in Albany precinct, Linn, Or.  Her father was a farmer, age 52, mother 51; brother Lewis, 29, listed as a Carpenter.  Mary E, 21; Amanda E, 11, at school; also an Elizabeth Ritter age 19 born in Missouri was probably a cousin.  Missing from the family group was sister Margaretta who was married to John Leedy by then.

Lucinda  married Edwin R Osterhoudt Oct 13, 1874 in Linn County, Oregon.  They had one child, Roy Eugene Osterhoudt May 15, 1877.    On June 4, 1880 Ed age 27 book keeper and Lucinda 27 keeping house with son Roy,age 3 living in Dalles, Wasco, Oregon.  Just above them are John Leedy and sister Mary Ellen, who had married John Leedy following her sister Mararetta’s death in 1872.

This is where it starts to get sad for Lucinda and it’s assumed she was divorced, but it’s not clear when.  Edwin’s mother died in Oregon in 1892 and her obit states he is living in Mass or Maine (He lived in both places) and his father died in 1900 and he was back in the same location and did not attend his father’s funeral.  Edwin remarried in Mass or Maine to an Abbie Potter and it’s not known what happened to him, but it does seem likely that he deserted the marriage and later divorced Lucinda.

In 1900 at age 49 Lucinda is found living in Long Beach tsp, LA, California, listed as widowed (but it’s unlikely that she was).  She was listed as a Servant, living with Michael S. Julien and family.  In 1918 her son Roy Eugene Osterhoudt registered for the Draft at age 41 in Los Angeles, LA, Calif. and it’s likely that Lucinda was still in the area as well, she would have been age 58 in 1910.  In 1920 Lucinda is found still in Long Beach, LA, California, working as a servant, widowed at age 69.  Listed with her also is Adelia Burkart, born 1864 in Oregon, age 56 listed as companion.  Now in this day and age it might raise some eye brows over the two women living together, but in 1920 it was probably just 2 women alone in the big city who teamed up to try to make a go of it.    Anyway, they weren’t there long as Adelia Burkart and Lucinda Osterhousdt returned to Oregon about that same year.  Adelia died Sept 4, 1920 in Linn County, Oregon and Lucinda died the following year on March 13, 1921 in Umatilla County, Oregon.  It’s most likely she came to Pendleton, Umatilla, Oregon to stay with her widowed sister Mary Ellen Ritter Leedy, who was living at 807 W Bluff Street in Pendleton at the time.

So ends the story of Lucinda, who was born Dec 14, 1851 in South Bend, St. Joseph, Indiana and died March 13, 1921 in Pendleton, Umatilla, Oregon.  Lucinda E Osterhoudt was layed to rest at Riverside Cemetery, Albany, Linn, Oregon, Plot 4n near her parents, she was 69 years old.

I guess I’m just born curious, I alway like to try to find out what happened to people during their lives – for Lucinda, it seems there was a lot of adventure, and saddness as well.  I see a women who didn’t give up, but kept working at a hard job to keep herself and probably her son fed and clothed the best she could.  It’s only speculation, but an interesting life for sure and she is worthy of being remembered.