Archie's Siblings: Ervin Currie, Part 2

I have already received the obits for Ervin Currie and his wife, Alma Margaret (Walhier) Currie, from the Saginaw Public Library system. Below are transcriptions (I have not had time to scan them yet):

"John E. Curry," obituary, Saginaw (Michigan) News, 20 Feb 1950, p. 17.

Passed away at the Saginaw County Infirmary Hospital Sunday morning. Age 63 years, Mr. Curry was born Oct. 20, 1886 in Sanilac County. On Dec. 15, 1916 he married Miss Alma Walhier in Saginaw. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and one daughter: Robert J. Curry, Eugene D. Curry, and Mrs. James Taylor, all of Saginaw. Mr. Curry may be seen after 7 o'clock this evening at the Funeral Home. Funeral will take place at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Reitz Funeral Home. Rev. R.G. Osgood officiating. Burial in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

So it appears that Ervin went by the name John Ervin as well, and that he had two sons in addition to Alice, who appears in the 1930 U.S. Census with her maternal grandparents in Saginaw. The obit also gave me Alice's husband's name. The birth date is one year and two days different than the 18 Oct 1885 birth date on Ervin's birth record. The marriage date is also a year and 10 days different than that on the marriage record. The fact that Archie, who was still alive in 1950, is not mentioned as a surviving brother is in line with my grandmother's statement that her dad was not very close to most of his siblings and that she had never heard of Ervin.

"Mrs. Alma M. Curry," obituary, Saginaw (Michigan) News, 4 Jun 1966, p. A11.

604 McCoskry Street
Passed away 7 a.m. Friday at the Saginaw County Hospital Chronic Disease Unit after a long illness. Age 69 years, Alma Margaret Walhier was born June 11, 1896, in Saginaw, and had been a lifelong resident. She was married to John E. Curry in Saginaw in 1916. He passed away in 1952. Surviving are two sons and one daugher, Mrs. Alice Rupp, Robert J. and Donald E. Curry, all of Saginaw; seven grandchildren; her mother, Mrs. Ida Walhier, Saginaw. Funeral service will take place 1 p.m. Monday at the Reitz Funeral Home. Rev. William R. Conklin will officiate with burial in Forest Lawn Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 p.m. Saturday.

Now I even have an address for the family! So the Alma I found in the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Census does seem to be the same Alma here, which I figured, since Alice Curry was living with George and Ida Walhier in 1930 and listed as granddaughter. Again, the marriage is off by a year from the marriage record, and Ervin's death date is two years off from that stated in his obit of 1950. We have a new married name for Alice, and Eugene's name is now given as Donald E. So he must have been either Eugene Donald or Donald Eugene. It seemed likely from both obits that the family did not move away from Saginaw, so I went back to the 1930 Census and searched under Donald and Eugene Curry. BINGO!!

In 1930, John E. Curry and Alma M. Curry were living at 648 So. Thirteenth Street in Saginaw with children, Alice I. Curry (11), Eugene D. Curry (9), and Robert J. Curry (6). John E. was listed as age 39, age 30 at first marriage, born in Michigan, and parents' born in Canada-English. He was working as a bill peddler for a loan company. Is this a bill collector? Alma was listed as age 30 and 19 years old at first marriage, born in Michigan, and parents' born in the U.S. and Michigan. All three children were born in Michigan, with both parents born in Michigan.

1930 U.S. Census, Saginaw County, Michigan, population schedule, Saginaw (Ward 10), enumeration district (ED) 39, sheet 17B, dwelling 376, family 405, John E. Curry household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/search: accessed 20 Feb 2009); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1022.

I still cannot seem to find Ervin and Alma in the 1920 U.S. census. I think a detailed reading line by line may be in order, but that will have to wait until another day, especially since Saginaw is not exactly a small town.

Another census question: Why was Alice enumerated with her maternal grandparents in 1930 as well as with her parents? Perhaps she was visiting her grandparents the day the census taker came by? Or did they have custody of her? Court records should tell if they had custody.

I also did another search of the online Saginaw Public Library obituary index for Alice, Eugene/Donald, and Robert. See findings below:

1) Alice I. Taylor Rupp, maiden name Curry, spouses Arthur (2nd) and James (1st), born 5/11/1918, died 8/23/1994 in Saginaw, buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery

2) Donald E. Curry, spouse Bertha Meeker, born 10/15/1920 in Saginaw, died 7/12/1981 in Saginaw, buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery Soldiers Plot

3) Robert J. Curry, spouses Esther Miller (2nd) and Esther Mae Janson (1st), married 3/27/1999 (2nd) and 10/25/1944 (1st), 1st spouse died 9/8/1998, child of John and Alma M. Walheir, age 81, born 2/4/1924 in Saginaw, died 9/5/2005 in Saginaw, buried in Roselawn Cemetery, served in US Army during WWII, Baptist Church, Case Funeral Home.

I think I will be ordering their obits to see what other info I may be able to find. Maybe I can find some descendants who would be interested in sharing family info. It also looks like the two sons both served in the military, so I will be searching WWII records to see if I can find anything.

In summary:

18 Oct 1885 - Ervin is born in Maple Valley, Sanilac, Michigan, to Elexander [sic] and Mary E. Currie, both of Canada.

Jun 1900 - Ervin, age 14 (enumerated as age 16), is living with his parents and younger brother, Archie, in Flynn Township, Sanilac, Michigan.

Apr 1910 - Ervin, age 24 (enumerated as age 23), is living with Donald Campbell in Flynn Township. He is working as a farm laborer for Donald.

Jun 1917 - Ervin, age 31 (age given as 29 on record), is living at 634 N. Second in Saginaw, Saginaw, Michigan, where he registered for the WWI Draft. He is working as an ironworker at a foundry in Saginaw.

25 Dec 1917 - Ervin, age 32 (age given as 30 on record), marries Alma Walhier in Saginaw.

11 May 1918 - Daughter, Alice I. Currie, is born. Ervin is age 32.

15 Oct 1920 - Son, Donald Eugene Currie, is born in Saginaw. Ervin is age 34.

4 Feb 1924 - Son, Robert J. Currie, is born in Saginaw. Ervin is age 38.

Apr 1930 - Ervin, Alma, Alice, Donald, and Robert are living at 648 So. 13th Street in Saginaw. Alice is also enumerated with Alma's parents, George and Ida Walhier, in Saginaw.

19 Feb 1950 - Ervin dies of chronic myocarditis in Saginaw at age 64 (age given as 63 in obituary).

21 Feb 1950 - Ervin is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Saginaw, with no marker.