TNG 5.03 Update

I just finished updating my online genealogy database website to the latest version of TNG software. It was not too bad to do. Let me know if you notice any problems.

Who is Lucretia R. Carothers?

Who is Lucretia R. Carothers? From an earlier post, you can see about all the information I know about her, except what memories my father has shared with me about her. I don't even know her maiden name. Hmmm... come to think of it, I never asked my Dad if he knew it. I'll have to start asking around.

Anyway, in doing an initial search for information about her on the internet, I did come across an interesting fact. Lucretia R. Garfield was the name of the First Lady of the US in 1881. Her husband was assassinated, dying on September 19, 1881. Just a few weeks before Lucretia R. Carothers was born.

After an assassin shot James on July 2nd, Lucretia returned to the White House. She nursed him and made decisions, showing a remarkable calm and courage that won her widespread admiration. The President was moved to Elberon in an attempt to make him more comfortable and to help his recovery. The move was fruitless. James A. Garfield died September 19, 1881 with his wife, Lucretia, and daughter, Mollie, at his side. Lucretia took over the funeral and burial arrangements. Garfield was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland.

A coincidence? I think not. I'm guessing Lucretia R. Carothers was named after President Garfield's wife.

"You've got mail!" from OFGS

Well, my packet from the OFGS arrived on Friday. It contained the "Oak Grove Cemetery" book from the OFGS, but not the "Old Fort Log". I'm thinking that will show up in a separate mailing.

An OFGS volunteer was kind enough to search through their records for information I had requested regarding William Henry Carothers, his wife, Myrtle Elizabeth Herring, and their son, Gerald.

She looked for Gerald's school records and found him listed as being in the 7th grade in 1929. There was no individual picture, but she sent a group photo. She mentioned he did not show up in the newspaper as having graduated in 1934, which would confirm Gerald and William had moved to Prescott, AZ by that time. City directories had the following listings:

1923 William and Myrtle Carothers, 910 Main as a grocer, residing at 910 1/2 Main
1925 William and Myrtle Carothers, 910 Main as a grocer, residing at 910 1/2 Main
It lists O.T. Brown grocer at 910 Main, so he must be the owner.
No listings were found before 1923 or after 1925. A copy of a city directory includes William and Myrtle at 514 S. Wilson, and says "mach hlpr Frisco rd hse", which I assume was William's job at the time.

She was also able to acquire a record from the Konantz Funeral Home for Myrtle's funeral services. It has her parents listed as M. F. Herring and S. A. Byers. Born on May 6, 1885 and died on July 26, 1929, at age 44 years, 2 months and 20 days. The date of the service was on July 28, 1929 at 2:30pm at the Oak Grove Cemetery. The minister was H. John Cockerill.

Included in the packet was information about and records from the First United Methodist Church. Gerald's baptism record. Also, included were city records of Gerald's birth and Myrtle's death.

Myrtle is listed in the "Oak Grove Cemetery" book as being in an unmarked grave. The location of the grave is provided in the book. This is an interesting trend I need to look into. Apparently, William Henry and his second wife, Lucretia, are buried in Prescott, AZ in unmarked graves as well. And, of course, Clark and Rachel Carothers graves have no markers either. I have to say, it seems rather sad not to have some monument to mark the location of their remains.

Final Resting Place of Gerald Carothers

With the information that Gerald Carothers was buried in Whittier, CA, I found a website which listed cemeteries in Whittier. The first one I looked at was the Rose Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary. It had a grave lookup, and Gerald is buried there. I plan to make a trip there and visit his grave soon. It is only 30 to 45 minutes away from where I currently live. The information is as follows:

Gerald Carothers
Burial Property Name: Alder Lawn
Burial Section: 4
Burial Lot: 3302
Grave/Niche: 2
Entrance Gate: 1

My mother gave me Mabel's address in La Habra, also not far from where I live, and I've written a letter to her. From her date of birth she is 93 years old.

Blanding City Cemetery, San Juan County, Utah

I came across the following information about my ancestors who are buried in the Blanding City Cemetery here:

SOBER, Duke Doris
b. 1 Jan 1909 p. Woodward, Woodward, OK
d. 20 Aug 1969 p. Elk Ridge, San Juan, UT
bur. 23 Aug 1969
f. August SOBER
m. Katherine SEYMORE
md. 11 Oct 1929
sp. (1) Ada Fay CASTOR
md. 28 Jul 1948 p. Aztec, San Juan, NM
sp. (2) Dixie Chloe BLACK

Dixie Chloe BLACK is my paternal grandmother, and Duke was her husband after Dixie and my grandfather divorced.

The information for Dixie is below and located here:

BLACK, Dixie Chloe
b. 1 Mar 1914 p. Grayson, San Juan, UT
d. 31 Dec 1977 p. Fort Sumner, DeBaca, NM
bur. 5 Jan 1978
f. Edwin Zemira BLACK
m. Chloe ALLAN
md. 20 May 1934 p. Blanding, San Juan, UT
sp. (1) George Freeman MATTICE (div)
md. 19 Oct 1936 p. Prescott, Yavapai, AZ
sp. (2) Gerald M. (Jerry) CAROTHERS (div)
md. 28 Jul 1948 p. Aztec, San Juan, NM
sp. (3) Duke Doris SOBER
note: CENSUS: 1920- Blanding

Dixie's parents are also buried in the Blanding Cemetery, from the same source:

BLACK, Edwin Zemira
b. 15 Jan 1886 p. Huntington, Emery, UT
d. 8 Oct 1971 p. Monticello, San Juan, UT
bur. 12 Oct 1971
f. Benjamin Daniel BLACK
m. Susan Louisa PALMER
md. 12 Dec 1906 p. Cortez, Montezuma, CO
sp. (1) Chloe ALLAN
md. 11 Aug 1934
sp. (2) Ardell PALMER
note: CENSUSES: 1900- Fruitland, San Juan, NM [at school];1910 Fruitland,
San Juan, NM [clerk – Indian Store]; 1920- Blanding [farmer]

ALLAN, Chloe
b. 30 Oct 1889 p. Bluff, San Juan, UT
d. 8 Aug 1931 p. Cortez, Montezuma, CO
bur. 10 Aug 1931
f. John ALLAN, Jr.
m. Ardell Holman STEVENS
md. 12 Dec 1906 p. Cortez, Montezuma, CO
sp. Edwin Zemira BLACK
note: CENSUSES: 1900 - Fruitland, San Juan, NM [at school]; 1910 - Fruitland, San Juan, NM; 1920 - Blanding

Here are Chloe Allan's parents, who are buried here as well, from the same source:

ALLAN, John Jr.
b. 11 Jan 1858 p. South Cottonwood (Murray), Salt Lake, UT
b. 24 Jul 1928 p. Blanding, San Juan, UT
bur. 25 Jul 1928
f. John ALLAN
m. Agnes MCAUSLAN
md. 28 Aug 1878 p. St. George, Washington, UT
sp. (1) Johanna Amelia (Jennie) HELSTROM
md. 30 Dec 1885 p. Logan, Cache, UT
sp (2) Ardell Holman STEVENS
note: CENSUS: 1920 - Blanding [Farmer

STEVENS, Ardell Holman
b. 3 Nov 1865 p. Holden, Millard, UT
d. 28 Apr 1938 p. Blanding, San Juan, UT
bur. 1 May 1938
f. Walter STEVENS
m. Abigail Elizabeth HOLMAN
md. 30 Dec 1885 p. Logan, Cache, UT
sp. John ALLAN, Jr.
note: CENSUSES: 1870- Holden, Millard, UT; 1880- Holden, Millard, UT; 1900- Fruitland, San Juan, NM [farmer]

Edwin Zemira's parents are also buried in this cemetery:

BLACK, Benjamin Daniel
b. 21 Jul 1859 p. Nephi, Juab, UT
d. 7 Jan 1945 p. Blaning, San Juan, UT
bur. 9 Jan 1945
f. William Morley BLACK
m. Emma Jane (Amy) WASHBURN
md. 21 Feb 1879 p. St. George, Washington, UT
sp. (1) Annie Ozina PORTER
md. 12 Dec 1879 p. St. George, Washington, UTs
sp. (2) Susan Louisa PALMER
md. 26 Dec 1883 p. St. George, Washington, UT
sp. (3) Annie Alice BALDWIN
note: CENSUSES: 1900- Fruitland, San Juan, NM [Farmer]; 1910-Grayson [Farmer]; 1920-Blanding [Farmer]

PALMER, Susan Louisa
b. 7 Jun 1863 p. Heber City, Wasatch, UT
d. 10 Feb 1949 p. Blanding, San Juan, UT
bur. 12 Feb 1949
f. Zemira PALMER
m. Caroline JACQUES
md. 12 Dec 1879 p. St. George, Washington, UT
sp. Benjamin Daniel BLACK
note: CENSUSES: 1900- Fruitland, San Juan, NM; 1910- Grayson; 1920-Blanding

BALDWIN, Annie Alice
b. 25 Sep 1866 p. Provo, Utah, UT
d. 1 May 1945 p. Blanding, San Juan, UT
bur. 4 May 1945
f. William James BALDWIN
m. Mary Frances BELL
md. 26 Dec 1883 p. St. George, Washington, UT
sp. Benjamin Daniel BLACK
note: CENSUSES: 1900 – Fruitland, San Juan, NM; 1910 – Grayson; 1920 – Blanding

There are many Blacks and Palmers buried in this cemetery, and many have been in the area for quite some time.

Sharlot Hall Museum - Prescott, AZ

I may have a chance of going through Prescott, AZ this summer, so I thought I'd looking for genealogically interesting places to visit. I came across the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott.

It looks like a top notch museum with a lot of historical and genealogical information. The website is quite nice and helpful. I was able to discover they have a 1946 picture of Wade Carothers as a child, and another of G. M. Carothers, United States Navy, 1940s. These are very likely my Uncle Wade and his father.

They also have a Yavapai County Cemetery Database in which I found my great-grandfather William Henry Carothers, along with the cemetery he is buried in. And I found his second wife Lucretia. The following is the information I retrieved from the database for William and Lucretia.

William Henry Carothers
Born: Clinton, Henry, Missouri 17 Apr 1881
Died: Prescott, Yavapai, Arizona 17 Jan 1944
Buried:Mountain View cemetery. Plot: L-D025 Marker: no
Spouse: Lucretia R. Carothers
Parents: Clark & Rachel (Lowery) Carothers
Occupation: stone mason
Remarks: resided Az. 10 years; d. Prescott Community Hospital: COD: heart
disease; Mt. View Cemetery records; C. E. Hunter Funeral Home; Az. Death Certificate

Lucretia R. Carothers
Born: Tennessee 09 Oct 1881
Died: Prescott, Yavapai, Arizona 03 Dec 1969
Buried:Mountain View cemetery. Plot: F-C118 Marker: no
Spouse: William Henry Carothers
Parents: Unknown
Occupation: Unknown
Remarks: Mt. View Cemetery records; Chapel of the Garden Funeral Home

From this information I've learned that William and Lucretia were buried in the Mt. View Cemetery. I didn't know that Lucretia was buried in Prescott. I got her birth date and birth state, but no maiden name, and nothing about her parents.

What disappoints me most is they apparently have no markers. The database did supply a plot location for both of them. If they had markers, I could use ArizonaGravestones.org to get a copy of the markers.

I have to say I'm quite impressed with the museum and the obviously dedicated staff. They are doing a great job preserving their history!

I googled for the "Northern Arizona Genealogy Society", but came up empty. Not online yet!

In any case, no trip to Prescott will be complete for me without a long stop at the Sharlott Hall Museum.

Sigh...

I received my letter to Gary back in the mail, the address is no longer any good. I'll have to continue trying to track him down.

I'm also still waiting for something in the mail from the Old Fort Genealogical Society.

Myrtle Elizabeth Herring's Parents?

The following is a post I came across last year, I believe. Anyway, click here to go to the page the post is located on. I found this post using www.google.com.

HERRING - KENDALL - BYERS

My wife's grandfather, Melvin Marion HERRING, was born at 10 PM, 8 Sept 1887 on a ranch five miles from the town of Yolo, Yolo Co., CA. His parents were (William) Francis Marion HERRING (b. 1 Jan, 1864 near Sacramento CA) and Sallie Alice BYERS (b. 25 July 1864 near Kalamazoo MI). A midwife, Mrs. BEASLEY of Yolo CA attended the birth and was witness thereto. Source: Notarized statement made by Sallie Alice HERRING on 10 June 1936 in Greene Co. MO. Melvin Marion HERRING went to KS where he married Bessie Margaret DINKLAGE (of the DINKLAGEs, HUMPHREYs, and LYONs, early KS settlers). Seeking information on other children of Francis Marion and Sallie Alice HERRING, as well as his parents, John HERRING and Frances KENDALL (d. 10 Jan 1864, nine days after Francis Marion's birth.) who lived near Sacramento CA in 1864.

Gary Kline GDKskills@AOL.com
Mason, MI 31 Jan. 1998

Looking at Myrtle's death certificate, her father was born in Sacramento, CA, and her mother was born in Kalamazo, Michigan. From the post above, (William) Francis Marion Herring was born in Sacramento, CA and his wife, Sallie Alice Byers was born in Kalamazo, Michigan. If you look at the names of Myrtle's parents on the death certificate, you will note that the mother is listed as S. A. Herring, with a maiden name which could easily be Byers. The father's name is listed as W. F. Herring. Myrtle was born in 1885. Melvin Marion Herring, son of William and Sallie Herring, was born in 1887 in Yolo, CA. Myrtle could easily be Melvin's older sister.

In 1936, Sallie was back in Missouri. Myrtle's death certificate would indicate she was in Kansas in 1929.

Sometimes you get lucky!

Unfortunately, the email address is no longer active, and I can't find Gary, the poster, anywhere on the internet. I have located a mailing address for him, but it might not be valid. I'll try it anyway, you never know. Locating Gary would be great! Not only would I be in contact with a Herring Cousin, I should be able to get source reference and much more information about Myrtle's family, and mine!

Michael Ronald Turnbull - obituary

Michael Ronald Turnbull

CARBONDALE - Michael Ronald Turnbull, 18, Carbondale, died Thursday, Feb 26 at Wichita.

Wichita police said Mr. Turnbull was shot to death in a health club exercise room. A suspect is in custody.

Mr. Turnbull was a student at Amteck, a vocational technical school, and was a student mechanic at Erotec, both in Wichita.

He was born June 27, 1968, at Fredonia, a son of Michael Edward and Joan Patricia Anderson Turnbull. He lived most of his life in the Overbrook area and attended Overbrook schools. He graduated from Santa Fe Trail High School in 1986. He was a four-year member of the football and wrestling teams at the high school.

Survivors include his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Turnbull, Carbondale, a sister, Renee Turnbull, Carbondale; two brothers, Gary LaMastres, Ottawa, and Gail Houghtoling, Topeka; and a grandmother, Mrs. Ellen Turnbull, Alma.

Services will be at 3 p.m. Monday at the United Methodist Church in Overbrook. Burial will be in Overbrook Cemetery. Mr. Turnbull will lie in state from 2 until 9 p.m. Sunday at Greenwood-Roberts Funeral Home in Overbrook and after noon Monday at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to Santa Fe Trail High School Athletic Department in care of the funeral home.

Topeka Capital-Journal
Feb. 28, 1987
pg. 28

My thanks to Mark Rustman at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library for looking up and sending me a copy of the above obituary. I got a tip that the library will do obituary lookups, and they do!

Related stories:
Santa Fe school officials recall shooting victim

Osage County youth killed in shootings

Santa Fe school officials recall shooting victim (1987)

Santa Fe school officials recall shooting victim

CARBONDALE - Michael Turnbull's friends and former classmates were looking forward to this weekend according to officials at Santa Fe Trail High School in rural Carbondale. Now, they will never forget the weekend, but for the wrong reasons.

Turnbull, 18, a former football player and wrestler at the Osage County school, was shot to death Thursday night while he exercised at Universal Nautilus health club in Wichita. A suspect has heen apprenhended in connection with the shooting, according to Wichita police.

"It's ironic that it happened this weekend," said assistant high school principal Bruce Cook. "The state high school tournament is going on down in Wichita this weekend. Some of our kids were, going down there and stay in his apartment in Wichita. They were really looking forward to renewing acquaintances and seeing people they haven't seen in a while."

Von Stein who coached Turnbull during his four year football career at the school, said Friday that Turnbull of rural Carbondale was "a good, solid young man" who planned a career in auto mechanics.

According to the coach, Turnbull moved to Wichita last fall and enrolled in the Wichita Automotive Institute.

"He was hard working, dependable, and never complained," recalled the coach. "He got along with well with others and was just pleasant to be around."

Cook said Turnbull, a May 1986 graduate, excelled in both football and wrestling at SFT. He received letters in both sports, Cook said.

"He was pretty active as far as athletics was concerned," Cook said. "He was a pretty average kind of kid. He was very outgoing, courteous and friendly. He had a lot of friends."

Cook said Turnbull was an above average student in the classroom who could best be described as "an over achiever" when it came to athletics.

"He didn't always get to play as much as he wanted in football, but he stuck it out and tried very hard." Cook said. "He got where he was in wrestling because be worked at it."

Von Stein, who spent much of the day Friday answering media inquiries, said a lot of the students at the high school seemed "sort of stunned" by the incident.

"They are not knowing what to say." Von Stein said. "I've seen them standing around in groups of two or three just talking quietly."

Cook said although most of the students had already heard about the shooting before they arrived at school Friday, school officials were trying to provide as much information and support as they could.

"For most of them this is the first time they have had to deal with a death," he said. "We read an anouncement to the students and we observed a moment or two of silence in the high school."

Turnbull's obituary appears on page 28.

The Topeka Capital-Journal
Saturday, February 28, 1987, p. 11


This story is goes with the story at Osage County youth killed in shootings (1987).

Wilson Street it is!

On reviewing the 1920 US Census, it appears my great grandfather, William Henry Carothers, lived at 514 Wilson Street in Fort Scott, Kansas, at that time. In the 1930 US Census, William lived at 723 South Crawford Street in Fort Scott, Kansas. I wonder if the same houses are still there that they lived in, or if they've been torn down and newer buildings have replaced them? It would be nice to have some pictures of the houses at those addresses. I do plan to visit Fort Scott someday. It sounds like a nice place. These two addresses will be places to visit and take pictures at.

William Henry Carothers found in the 1920 US Census

I have found William Henry Carothers, his wife, Myrtle Elizabeth Herring, and their son, Gerald, in the 1920 US Census, Kansas, Bourbon County, Fort Scott. I have now located this family in the 1910, 1920 and 1930 US Census records. Gerald was born in Fort Scott in 1916, so this family was in Fort Scott from at least 1916 to a little after 1930. I will have to examine the record a little more closely to see what information can be found from the 1920 census record. The street name is a bit hard to read, but I think I should be able to determine it.

Hunting in the 1920 US Census

A year ago, I bought a subscription to access the online US Census records at Genealogy.com. I have made good use of it. It is extremely convenient and efficient for looking up information in US Census records. It is a bit pricey, but what to do? Many public libraries provide free remote access to HeritageQuestOnline.com for library card holders. HeritageQuestOnline provides online access to US Census records. Alas, my local and county libraries do not provide access to HeritageQuestOnline.

Tonight I've been looking for William Henry Carothers, his wife, Myrtle and their son, Gerald in the 1920 US Census, Kansas, Bourbon County, Fort Scott. William and Myrtle appear in Clinton, Henry County, Missouri in the 1910 census. In 1930, William and Gerald appear in Fort Scott. I have not yet discovered their whereabouts in the 1920 census. They could have been in Clinton, or somewhere else altogether, sigh...

I was looking on a map today and noticed that Fort Scott is only about 19 miles from Nevada, Missouri. Orlando and his family lived in Nevada at the time William lived in Fort Scott with his family.

Osage County youth killed in shootings (1987)

Osage County youth killed in shootings

WICHITA (AP) - A Wichita man was charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder Friday in the shooting death of one man and the wounding of three others at an exercise center.

Gary Cox, 26, was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bail and a public defender was appointed to represent him. His next court appearance was scheduled for Wednesday in Sedgwick County District Court.

Cox was arrested without incident early Friday at a south Wichita motel about six hours after the shootings at the Universal Nautilus fitness center. Police said they found him with the help of informants and because he used his real name when he signed in at the exercise center.

Authorities said a gunman walked calmly into the health club in southeast Wichita at about 7:15 p.m. Thursday, displayed a membership card and signed the club register.

Investigators said the man pulled a large-caliber handgun from a duffel bag, knelt and held the gun with both hands as he fired four or five shots toward a group of men lifting weights. No motive for the shooting has been determined.

"Everybody dropped to the floor at once. It was like somebody just took a hatchet and cut down a bunch Of flowers," said Tim Freed, 20, an Oaklawn man who was one of about 20 members in the club Thursday night.

Witnesses told police the gunman tried unsuccessfully to reload his weapon, then yelled: "Now I'm going to get my automatic." He ran out the back door but didn't return.

The dead man was identified as Michael R. Turnbull, 18, of Carbondale, who had won a membership at the health club a few months earlier in a radio station contest. Turnbull was graduated from high school in 1986 and had been attending the Wichita Automotive and Electronics Institute.

The three injured in the shooting were Lynn Nicholson, 35, who was in fair condition at St. Joseph Medical Center with a stomach wound; William R Neal, 26, who suffered a superficial thigh wound and was released after treatment at a hospital, and Jerrod B, Kackley, 13, who suffered a superficial hand wound and was treated at the scene.

Police said they were called to investigate an incident that allegedly involved Cox nearly 12 hours before the shootings. A neighbor reported Cox had grabbed her around the neck and held a gun to her head, police said.

"He said: 'Freeze. I'm going to shoot you' " Patricia Bauer said during an interview Friday.

A police spokesman said he didn't know why Cox wasn't arrested following the incident with Bauer at his apartment building.

Assistant District Attorney Greg Waller said he hasn't received any evidence concerning the alleged attack on Bauer.

The Topeka Capital-Journal
Saturday, February 28, 1987, p. 11