Census Sunday: My Great-Great-Grandparents in 1930

Three weeks ago, I started a Census Sunday series, in which I featured the census records showing my great-grandparents in 1930. I skipped the next two weeks because my mom was visiting from Louisiana two weeks ago, and last week I was in Louisiana visiting. Now that I am back on track, this post will feature my great-great-grandparents in 1930.

Oscar TRAHAN and Bertha DUHON

1930 U.S. census, Harris County, Texas, population schedule, Justice Precinct 3, enumeration district (ED) 178, sheet 32A, dwelling 587, family 649, Oscar Trahan household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 June 2011); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 2352.

This is my great-great-grandfather, Oscar, and his second wife, Bertha. He ran off to Texas to work for the oil refineries after he left his first wife. I cannot seem to find his first wife, Virginia PREJEAN, in 1930. They divorced around 1920. She had a child with a man named DOMINGUE in 1926, and then she married a SCHENKEL in 1932. I looked for Virginia and her son, Claude DOMINGUE, but I have not been able to find them in 1930. I also looked for her future husband, Louis SCHENKEL, but she was not with him either in 1930. I'm just going to have to order Claude's SS-5 application to see who his father was. Perhaps they were with his father in 1930. DOMINGUE is a very hard name to find in the census. It is pronounced like the word "domain," so you can imagine how it gets spelled. Oscar and Virginia's only chld, Bienvenue, was featured in my last Census Sunday post in the home of his father-in-law (see below).

Maurice BONEAUX and Marie Alice SONNIER

Maurice and Marie were the parents of my great-grandmother, Beatrice Marie BONEAUX. They were featured in the last Census Sunday post, since my great-grandparents, Beatrice and Bienvenue, were living with them.

John Henry MERTENA and Blanche WELDEN
John and Blanche were the parents of my great-grandfather, Merlen Paris MERTENA. They were featured in the last Census Sunday post, since my great-grandfather was still single and living at home with them.

William Harmon PROFFITT and Emmer Link BAKER

1930 U.S. census, Creek County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Mannford, enumeration district (ED) 24, sheet 3A, dwelling 49, family 51, William H. Proffitt household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 June 2011); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1900.

William and Emmer were the parents of my great-grandmother, Hassie Cora PROFFITT. They were living in Mannford, Creek, Oklahoma, where William was a Methodist minister. Creek is just one county west of Tulsa County. They moved around Oklahoma a lot since William was a minister. I really need to dig into church history and find out where all his appointments were located. My great-grandmother, Hassie, was not living with them. Her younger sister, Bessie, was the only child living at home in 1930. Hassie was probably boarding with a family near where she was teaching, but I haven't been able to find her yet in the 1930 census. I'm not precisely sure where she was teaching. I know that at one time between 1925 and 1930, she was teaching in Pawnee County, just one county north of Creek County.

Lovell Hugh PEMBERTON and Alvina Mary LESPERANCE

1930 U.S. census, St. Clair County, Michigan, population schedule, Kimball Township, enumeration district (ED) 20, sheets 17A-B, dwelling 391, family 394, Lovell H. Pemberton household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 December 2005); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1024

Lovell and Alvina were the parents of my great-grandfather, John Vital "Jack" Pemberton, who was already married and living with his wife and two children in Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, in 1930. Lovell and Alvina were living on Ditty Road in Kimball Township, not too far from Port Huron. Every census year, they seem to migrate further north. Their youngest four children were still living at home in 1930. Lovell was a blacksmith, and the oldest of the four children at home, Madeline, was a laborer in the salt plant. Morton Salt Company had large operations in Marysville, Michigan, just a few miles from Kimball Township, so I presume she worked for them.

Ernest George CRYSLER

1930 U.S. census, Sanilac County, Michigan, population schedule, Fremont Township, enumeration district (ED) 17, sheets 5B-6A, dwelling 114, family 116, Mary Crysler household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 June 2011); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1028.

Ernest was the father of my great-grandmother, Mabel CRYSLER. Mabel was already married in 1930 and living with her husband, John Vital "Jack" Pemberton, and two children in Port Huron. Ernest was a farmer living with his mother, Mary (Molesworth) CRYSLER, in Fremont Township, Sanilac, Michigan, in 1930. Ernest's first wife and Mabel's mother, Nellie REYNOLDS, died in 1917. He remarried Minnie SIBLEY in 1919. I'm a little confused because this lists Ernest as a widower, and Minnie is also listed as a widower, living with her mother, Pauline CAMPBELL, in Port Huron in 1930. It seems Ernest and Minnie must have had an unhappy union. Interestingly, Minnie was 10 years older than Ernest. Ernest's sons, George and Harold, were living with him in 1930. George was working as a farm laborer.

Alexander CURRIE and Mary RAYMOND
Alexander and Mary are not found in the 1930 census because they both died prior to 1930. They were the parents of my great-grandfather, Archie CURRIE. Alexander died in 1909, and Mary died in 1920.

Robert PLAINE and Florence Minnie HILLMAN
Robert and Flora are not found in the 1930 census because they were living in Ontario, Canada in 1930. They never immigrated to the U.S. They were the parents of my great-grandmother, Jennie Grace Christina PLAINE, who immigrated in the 1920s.

Saturday Night Fun: Where Were They in 1909? Part II (My Maternal Side)

This is a continuation of my Saturday Night Fun post from last night. See the first post about my paternal great-grandparents here. This post will cover my maternal great-grandparents.

My maternal grandfather's father was John Vital "Jack" PEMBERTON. He was born 19 Feb 1908 in Mount Clemens, Macomb, Michigan, so he was only a year old in 1909. In 1910, he was living in Mount Clemens at 208 Gratiot Avenue with his parents, Lovell Hugh PEMBERTON and Alvina Mary LESPERANCE. There were also two older siblings in the household: Gilbert, age 6, and Nellie, age 4. John was age 2. Lovell was working as a blacksmith.

My maternal grandfather's mother was Mabel Ellen CRYSLER. She was not born until 10 Jan 1910 in Peck, Sanilac, Michigan. She was the daughter of Ernest George CRYSLER and Nellie May REYNOLDS. In 1910, the family was living in Yale, St. Clair, Michigan. In the household were Earnest, age, 30; Nellie, age 21; George, age 3; and Mable, age 3 months. Ernest was working as a railroad laborer. Ironically, next door is Claude STANLAKE and his wife Lizzie DAWSON, with their two children. After Lizzie's death, Claude remarried to Mary TRAVIS. They had a daughter named Eleanor. Eleanor's son and Mabel's granddaughter married in 1978. In fact, the only reason I found the CRYSLER family in the 1910 census was because I was helping my first cousin trace her STANLAKE ancestors on her dad's side. Because CRYSLER looks like it is misspelled as CHRYSTER, I had a hard time finding them using the index at Ancestry.com. We easily found the STANLAKE's in the index, and there were the CRYSLER's conveniently living next door.

My maternal grandmother's father was Archie CURRIE, who has been the subject of many posts on this blog. Archie was born 2 Nov 1889 in Maple Valley, Sanilac, Michigan. His parents were Alexander CURRIE and Mary RAYMOND. Thanks to the new Seeking Michigan site, I have now found Alexander's death record. He died in 1909 in Sanilac County. I have not been able to positively identify Mary yet in the 1910 census. Perhaps after Alex died, she returned to Canada to stay with one of her children. I have found Archibald CURRY, age 20, working as a farm laborer for John W. and Clara SCOTT in Flynn, Sanilac, Michigan, in 1910.

My maternal grandmother's mother was Jennie Grace Christina PLAINE. She was born 9 May 1903 in Euphemia, Lambton, Ontario, Canada. Her parents were Robert PLAINE and Florence Minnie "Flora" HILLMAN. Jennie was 6 years old in 1909. She was still living in Ontario with her parents at Willowdale Farm outside of Newbury. In the 1911 Census of Canada, Jennie, age 9 [wrong age - I have her birth record which states she was born in 1903], was living with her parents in Euphemia Township. All five of her siblings were there as well: Violet E., age 16; Mary E., age 15; William G., age 13; Robert H., age 6; and Walter L., age 4. Also in the household were Jennie's paternal grandparents, George PLAINE, age 82, and Mary Ann TRUMPASS. age 80. Robert was age 42, and Flora was age 39. The family was Presbyterian, and Robert was a farmer.

My Research on the Currie Family

I first began researching the Currie's when I was 13 years old in 1994, but not having the resources to travel to Michigan, a lack of online digitized resources at the time, and a lack of money to do long-distance research, my search did not go too far beyond asking my grandmother questions about her dad, Archie Currie, and any relatives she could remember. All she could remember in regards to Archie's siblings were two brothers, Alex and William, and a sister, possibly named Rose. She said that William had run off as a hobo with the railroad and left a trunk of his things at her dad's house. She did not know of William ever being married or having children. Alex had lived in Melvin in Sanilac County on a farm and had a wife named Minnie and a son named Donald. Alex was the only sibling my grandmother really knew very well. My grandmother had never met Rose, but she knew Rose's daughter lived somewhere near Detroit and was married to a Polish man. They visited Archie frequently when my grandmother was a child to use his land for hunting, but she couldn't quite remember the name of Rose's daughter, and she wasn't entirely sure about Rose's name. My grandmother had never known her grandparents.

My grandmother had a copy of Archie's birth, death, and marriage records, but that was about all we had pertaining to documentation of the family. All I knew about Archie's parents from the birth record was that they were Alexander and Mary Currie, with no maiden name for Mary, and that they were both born in Ontario. The marriage record was not helpful b/c it was not the official one from the Ontario Registrar General. It looked like it was from the minister who performed the marriage, and it did not list parents' names. The death record did not help because my grandmother was the informant, and she did not know the names of her grandparents. My grandmother did have a picture of Alexander and Mary Currie that she inherited from her dad. On the back it said "Grandma and Grandpa Currie - Taken in studio in Lapeer, Michigan." Here is the pic below:


So this is where my research stagnated for over 10 years.

In August 2005, a kind person with access to census records looked up Archie and his parents in the 1900 U.S. Census in Sanilac Co, Michigan. Of course, this still did not give me a maiden name for Mary, but it did give the name of a sibling of Archie's that my grandmother had never met nor heard of: Archie's older brother, Ervin Currie, born Oct 1883 in Michigan. It also gave me possible birth dates for Alexander (Nov 1837) and Mary (Sep 1852) and a possible year of immigration from Canada (1882). In addition, it stated that Alexander's parents were both born in Scotland, and that Mary's parents were born in Vermont and England. It confirmed both Alexander and Mary's birthplaces as Canada, and stated that Mary had given birth to 6 children, 4 of whom were still living.

Using this info, I decided to search the 1881 Canadian census at FamilySearch. I found an Alexander and Mary E. Currie living in South Dorchester, Elgin, Ontario, but wasn't sure if this was them. They were close to the same ages as my Alex and Mary from the 1900 U.S. census. Archie was not born until 1889, so he wouldn't have been in this 1881 census. Their children were May G. (8), William E. (6), Nancy A. (5), and Alexander (2). Hmmm...Alexander and William were the names of the brothers that my grandmother remembered, though I didn't have ages or birth dates yet to corroborate with. And my grandmother's middle name was Mae, so maybe she was named after her aunt. We knew her first name, Violet, was after her maternal aunt, so maybe her middle name, Mae, was after her paternal aunt.

Then came Christmas 2005 when my parents bought me a copy of FamilyTreeMaker, which came with a free 1-year subscription to Ancestry.com. This is when I found Archie in 1910 working as a farm laborer in Sanilac County, Michigan, as was his brother, Ervin. They were both boarding with other families, probably their employers. I also found Archie's brother, Alex, living with his wife, Minnie, and their son, Donald, in Sanilac County in 1910. I still did not find Archie's parents, Alexander and Mary, in 1910. In 1920, I found Archie living with his widowed mother, Mary, in Sanilac County, so at least I could now narrow down his father's death date. In April 1930, I found Archie and my great-grandmother, Jennie, living in Flynn, Sanilac, Michigan, which is where my grandmother was born 6 months later in October 1930. I also found brother Alex with Minnie and Donald in 1920 and 1930 in Sanilac County. Mother Mary was not found in 1930, giving me a possible range of dates for her death.

In July 2006, a lookup volunteer looked up Alex and Minnie's marriage record in Sanilac County and found that Alex's mother was listed as Mary Brown and his father as Sandy Currie. Great...a name like Mary Brown! Alexander Currie was already a common name in Ontario, so I had been hoping that Mary's name was a little more unusual. But nonetheless, I was so excited that I had found a maiden name for Mary...or so I thought! Also, Alex's age on the marriage record matched the age of the Alexander found in Elgin County, Ontario, on the 1881 Canadian census with Alexander and Mary E. Currie. Hmmm.....

A year later in July 2007, the Ontario Vital Statistics Project transcribed marriage records from 1924 onto their site. Lo and behold, there was Archie Currie and Jennie "Jean" Plaine's marriage record from Lambton County, Ontario!! Archie's parents were listed as Alex Currie, born in Middlesex County, and Mary Raymond!!! Soon after this, Ancestry.com uploaded the images of the marriage records from 1924 into their "Ontario, Canada Marriages, 1857-1924" database, so I was able to confirm the transcription was correct. So now I had another possible maiden name for Mary. Which was correct? I also had a possible birth county for Alexander.

Between July 2007 and December 2008, I looked for a marriage record for Alexander Currie and Mary Brown and Mary Raymond on Ancestry.com's marriage database for Ontario but had no luck. I even searched in the Ontario births database at Ancestry.com to see if I could find anymore siblings of Archie's, but again I had no luck.

In the spring of 2008, I found a birth record and marriage record for Archie's brother, Ervin, on the new FamilySearchLabs site in their Michigan births and marriages databases. As I was focusing on the Pemberton family at the time, I took note of them and filed them away for later investigation.

Then my grandmother passed away in December 2008, which inspired me to keep looking for the origins of her grandparents, Alexander and Mary. I posted a tribute for her on this blog, which caught the attention of Dianne, a fellow genealogist who was doing research on Currie's in nearby Huron County, Michigan. Fueled by my grandmother's passing and by Dianne's interest, I decided to switch my focus to the Currie family for the time being.

The first thing I did was revisit all the records I had on Archie, searching for more clues. Inside the marriage record I had for Archie and Jennie was a list of wedding guests! The only Curries in attendance were Mr. and Mrs. James A. Currie of Dresden. I found that Dresden was in Kent County, Ontario. Could James have been an uncle or cousin or even a brother of Archie's?

I also revisited the "Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1909" database at Ancestry.com in February 2009. This time I tried searching for all children named "Curry" (not just "Currie") with a mother named "Raymond." I was so shocked when I found four birth records, including one for Archie's brother, Alex! Here are transcriptions of the records I found below:

Record #: 4883
When born: 10 Oct 1872
Name: Geneva May
Sex: F
Father: Alex Curry
Mother: Mary Raymond
Occupation of father: Farmer
Informant: Mary Curry, Farmer's Wife, S. Dorchester
When registered: 4 Dec 1872
Physician: Oliver Smith
Registrar: Matthew Fullerton
Division: South Dorchester
County: Elgin

Record #: 4423
When born: 13 Apr 1876
Name: Nancy Alberta
Sex: F
Father: Alexeander Curry
Mother: Mary Ramond
Occupation of father: Farmer
Informant: M?? Margaret Curry, South Dorchester
When registered: 20 Apr 1876
Physician: No Doctor
Registrar: M. Fullerton
Remarks: Informant is Curry's sister
Division: South Dorchester
County: Elgin

Record #: 4710
When born: 11 Sep 1879
Name: Alexander
Sex: M
Father: Alexander Curry
Mother: Mary Raymond
Occupation of father: Farmer
Informant: Alexander Curry, Farmer, South Dorchester
When registered: 15 Oct 1879
Physician: Oliver Smith
Registrar: Matthew Fullerton
Division: South Dorchester
District: East Elgin

Record #: 5447
When born: 18 Sep 1881
Name: Mary Ellen
Sex: F
Father: Alexander Curry
Mother: Mary Raymond
Occupation of father: Farmer
Informant: James Curry, Farmer, South Dorchester
When registered: 8 Oct 1881
Physician: No Doctor
Registrar: M. Fullerton
Division: South Dorchester
District: East Elgin

I now had 3 previously unknown sisters and a a birth date of known brother Alex! I even had a new county (Elgin) for further research endeavors! There was even a sister or sister-in-law of Alexander's mentioned named Margaret Curry, as well as a probable relative named James Curry. To think I had missed these because I hadn't spelled "Curry/Currie" correctly. My fiance thinks it was my grandmother guiding me this time around, and maybe it was, but regardless, I was very excited for this find!!!! And now I could match the Alexander and Mary E. Currie on the 1881 Canadian census with my Alexander and Mary!

I then started doing in depth research on all of Archie's known siblings and posting individual posts about them on my blog throughout February and March. I did posts on Ervin, Alexander, and Bertha (formerly known as Rose). I am still looking for info on Nancy Alberta, Geneva May, Mary Ellen, and William. I suspect William will be the hardest since he ran away on the trains and never came back; not to mention that he has a very common name, and I have no birth date for him (just an approximate one based on the 1881 Canadian census).

Once I found the birth records and all the info I had on the siblings, I thought that was the most exciting part. But it wasn't! I found a message posted by a woman named Doris on an Elgin County message board looking for descendants of James Currie and Margaret McGill of South Dorchester, who had several children, including a son named Alexander, a daughter named Margaret, and a son named James. Could this Alexander be my great-great-grandfather Alexander and could James Currie and Margaret McGill be my great-great-great-grandparents?? As much as I had found on Alexander's other children besides Archie, I still had no clue who his parents were, only that they were possibly born in Scotland. Luckily, Doris' message was only about a year old, so I figured she would probably still have the same email address.

I did not have to wait very long. Doris emailed me back and said that the Mr. and Mrs. James A. Currie of Dresden who had attended my great-grandfather Archie's wedding in 1924 were her great-uncle James Alexander "Jim" Currie and his wife Maggie Estella Stevens. Jim was Archie's first cousin. Below is a picture of Jim Currie and Maggie Stevens.


James Alexander "Jim" Currie was the son of William Currie and Catherine Campbell. William and my great-great-grandfather, Alexander Currie, were brothers. Their parents were James Currie and Margaret McGill, both born in Scotland. This was definitely one of my most memorable genealogy happy dances of all time!! Of course, this does not signify an end to my research on the Curries, but rather a new beginning!

Archie's Siblings: Ervin Currie

Earlier, I posted here about my great-grandfather, Archie Currie, in response to an email I received from Dianne in Michigan who thought we may be related. So far, Dianne has not found a connection, but she is going to pass on the info I've given her so far to some other Currie researchers in Michigan. In the meantime, I've decided to continue posts on Archie's siblings in the hope that one day, I will find someone with a connection.

I will start with Archie's older brother, Ervin. The first thing I did when I saw Ervin on the 1900 U.S. Census with Archie and their parents, Alex and Mary, was ask my grandmother if she ever knew him. My grandmother said she did not know him, so I was left to non-family sources in order to find him.

The earliest record I have of Ervin is his birth record from the "Michigan Births 1867-1902" database at FamilySearch Labs. Ervin Currie was born 18 Oct 1885 in Maple Valley, Sanilac, Michigan, to Elexander Currie and Mary E. Currie, who were both born in Canada. Alexander was a farmer in Maple Valley.

Michigan Department of Vital Records, Birth Registrations, 1885, Sanilac County, p. 161, no. 255, Ervin Currie; digital image, "Michigan Births 1867-1902," FamilySearch Labs (http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch : accessed 11 Feb 2009).

Ervin was living with Alex and Mary and younger brother, Archie, in Flynn Township, Sanilac, Michigan, in 1900, as mentioned earlier. His age was given as 16 years old and his birth date as Oct 1883, two years earlier than what his birth record stated. His birth place is correctly given as Michigan. Like his birth record, his parents' birthplaces are given as Canada.

In 1910, Ervin was living in the household of Donald Campbell in Flynn Township. According to older brother Archie's WWI draft registration, he also worked for Donald Campbell in 1917. Donald is also living two doors down from Archie and Jennie in 1930. Ervin's relationship to Donald is listed as hired man. Ervin is 23 (b. abt 1886-87), single, and a farm laborer. Ervin's birthplace is given as Michigan, and his parents' birthplaces are given as Scotland, though all other census records and his birth record gives his parents' birthplace as Canada.

1910 U.S. census, Sanilac County, Michigan, population schedule, township of Flynn, enumeration district (ED) 139, sheet 2B, dwelling 31, family 32, Donald Campbell household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/search : accessed 9 Feb 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 674.

By June 1917, Ervin had moved to Saginaw, Saginaw, Michigan, about 90 miles northwest of Flynn Township. On his WWI draft registration card, his age is listed as 29 and his birthdate and place as 20 Oct 1887 in Maple Valley. This is a two year difference from is birth record. He lived at 634 No. Second in Saginaw and worked for the ironworks foundry there. The name of his supervisor is hard to make out. The card states that his mother was dependent on him, which is what Archie's card stated as well.

"World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database and images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/search : accessed 10 Feb 2009), Ervin Currie, Draft Board 1, Saginaw, Saginaw County, Michigan; citing World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, NARA microfilm publication M1509, roll 1682808.

Six months later, Ervin married Elma Walhier in Saginaw. They married on Christmas Day in 1917. Ervin's age is given as 30 (b. abt 1887), again a two year difference from his birth record. The marriage record lists him as a laborer residing in Saginaw. His birthplace is given as Michigan, and his parents as Alexander Currie and Mary Raymond. Elma was listed as age 21 (b. abt 1896), born and residing in Saginaw, and the daughter of John and Sarah Walhier.

Michigan Department of Vital Records, Marriage Registrations, 1917, 5: 71, no. 24600, Currie-Walhier; digital image, "Michigan Marriages 1868-1925," FamilySearch Labs(http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch : accessed 10 Feb 2009).

For the 1920 and 1930 U.S. census, Ervin and Elma seem to drop off the planet, like many of our ancestors did. Therefore, I decided to do some more research on Elma in the 1900 and 1910 U.S. census records. In 1900, at 219 Sixth Street in Saginaw, we find George (age 29) and Ida Walhier (age 25), with children Clarence, Alma, and Elta. Alma is age 4, born on 11 Jun 1895 in Michigan. Both George and Ida were born in Germany and immigrated in 1880. George's occupation is given as barkeeper. Clarence is age 5 and Elta is age 2. The parents' names do not match those given on the marriage record for Ervin and Elma, but everything else seems to match. In fact, it seems like whoever gave the info for the marriage record was not very knowledgeable about Elma's parents, as he/she gave no maiden name for Elma's mother. There appear to be no other Elma or Alma Walhier's born around 1896 living in Saginaw in 1900.

1900 U.S. census, Saginaw County, Michigan, population schedule, Saginaw (Ward 4), enumeration district (ED) 49, sheet 14B, dwelling 308, family 312, George Walhier household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/search : accessed 12 Feb 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 739.

In 1910, we find George A. (age 39) and Ida (age 36) Walhier living at 112 North 10th Street in Saginaw. They still have three children, Clarence (age 15), Elma (age 13 - b. abt. 1896-97 in Michigan), and Elsie (age 11). George is a waiter in a restaurant.

1910 U.S. census, Saginaw County, Michigan, population schedule, Saginaw (Ward 5), enumeration district (ED) 53, sheet 4A, dwelling 55, family 56, George A. Walhier household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/search : accessed 12 Feb 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 672.

In 1920, George A. (age 49) and Ida J. (age 45) Walhier were living at 424 10th Street in Saginaw. Children Clarence J. (age 25) and Elta L. (age 21) were living with them. Alma was not there, probably because she was living with Ervin, though I can't seem to find them. George was a fireman at the heating plant and Clarence was a machinist in a factory.

1920 U.S. census, Saginaw County, Michigan, population schedule, Saginaw (Ward 5), enumeration district (ED) 181, sheet 5B, dwelling 119, family 126, George A. Walhier household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/search : accessed 12 Feb 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll 793.

In 1930, George (age 58) and Ida (age 56) Walhier were still living at 424 10th Street in Saginaw with son, Clarence J. (age 35). This time, there was a granddaughter, Alice Curry, living with them! This must be Ervin and Alma's daughter. She was age 11, suggesting a birth date of 1918-19. She was born in Michigan, as were both of her parents. Again, where in the world were Ervin and Alma?

1930 U.S. census, Saginaw County, Michigan, population schedule, Saginaw (Ward 6), enumeration district (ED) 32, sheet 19A, dwelling 448, family 481, George Walhier household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/search : accessed 12 Feb 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T626, roll 1022.

At this point, I thought that maybe Ervin and Alma had died prior to 1930, since Alice was living with Alma's parents. However, the Saginaw Public Libraries has a wonderful obituary and cemetery database at their website. In the obituary index, I found an entry for John E. Curry, married to Alma Walhier, born 20 Oct 1886 in Sanilac County, and died 19 Feb 1950 in Saginaw County. I also found Alma Margaret (Walhier) Curry, married to John E., born 11 Jun 1896 in Saginaw, and died 3 Jun 1966 in Saginaw. They were both buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, though the cemetery database said there was no marker for either of them. The library offers a free obituary lookup service, so now I am waiting for their obituaries. Perhaps their obituaries will provide clues to other children and where they lived in 1920 and 1930.

In summary:

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

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

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

Jun 1917 - Ervin, age 31, 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, marries Alma Walhier in Saginaw.

1918-1919 - Daughter, Alice Currie, is born.

Apr 1930 - Ervin's daughter, Alice, is living with Alma's parents, George and Ida Walhier, in Saginaw.

19 Feb 1950 - Ervin dies of chronic myocarditis in Saginaw County.

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

TO-DO LIST FOR ERVIN:

1. Analyze obituaries of Ervin and Alma, as well as her parents, for clues about other children and relatives, as well as other places lived.

2. Order death records for Ervin and Alma from the Saginaw County Clerk.

3. Continue to search for Ervin and Alma in the 1920 and 1930 U.S. Census.