McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Being a bit sentimental, it is appropriate to post about a husband and wife around the same time. So today we are sharing the funeral card of Louise J. (Wykoff) Emery, the daughter-in-law of our some-number-of- great aunt, Fannie Margaret (McMurray) Emery Maytag. (The number of ‘greats’ is determined by the generation of those reading this.)

Daughter of Robert W. Wykoff and Mary Ella (___)  Wykoff, Louise was born in Red Oak, Iowa. She and John married in Marshalltown, Iowa, on 3 Feb 1925, and had one son.

Note that some of the same persons served as pallbearers nine years later at John’s funeral: Marvin Weeks and Dave/David Armbruster. Arthur Sterling listed as a pallbearer may be the same person listed as one of John’s pallbearers, who was noted as “Dr. A. E. Stockton.” Curiously though, the flower committee included “Mrs. A. E. Stockton” so that is another mystery to solve- is the Arthur Sterling listed her husband, or possibly a son? Dr. Stockton was still alive on this date since he helped carry John’s casket nine years later. None of these names are familiar to this researcher, but I do not know this family line very well.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Thank you, Cousins Cindi and Julie for sharing this funeral card.

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McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

John was the grandson of Henderson McMurray and Mary Ann (Horn) McMurray, with his mother being Fannie Margaret (McMurray) Emery. His wife was Louise Jane (Wykoff) Emery.

John appears to have served our country in the military, as evidenced by the poem to the left of the funeral card, and graveside rites by the Newton American Legion. His gravesite has had a flag and a metal marker of some sort but cannot tell for sure from the image but it probably is a military commemorative. We have found his WWI and WWII Draft Registrations, but as yet no details of military service. He was about 22 in 1917, so may have served in “The Great War.”

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Thanks again, dear cousins Cindi and Julie for scanning and sharing this funeral card.

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McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

There are six McMurray men listed as pallbearers on this funeral card, so how are they related to Mrs. Lewis R. Maytag? Pallbearers are usually kin or very close friends, but since these are all the same surname, it suggests they were all family to the deceased.

Knowing the family history, the name ‘Wm. McMurray’ stands out, but there were a number of Williams in the family! Roy McMurray and Ray McMurray give great clues to help us determine which William, as they are 1) unique names in the line; and 2) they were the brothers of our ancestor Will McMurray (who was the father of Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Maude “Midge” (McMurray) Cook, and Herbert McMurray). Along with the year of the funeral, having Roy and Ray in the list gives us clues as to the age of the pallbearers- usually they are young or middle-aged men who can handle the weight of a coffin.

Looking at our previous research, we note that William Elmer McMurray (1874-1957), Harry James McMurray (1876-1962), Roy McMurray (1884-1973), and Ray McMurray (1886-1979) were the four sons of Frederick Asbury “F.A.” McMurray (1850-1929) and Hannah Melissa (Benjamin) McMurray (1854-1932). There was a daughter in the family too- Addie “Belle” (McMurray) Gillespie (1879-1958). Belle was married to Forrest Gillespie, a dentist, and they lived in Oak Park, Illinois, though we cannot find them in any 1940 US Federal Census. They may have also attended the funeral.

William Elmer McMurray was the oldest pallbearer at 66 in 1940, so still of an age to be a pallbearer.

The only Glen McMurray in the family tree I have researched is Glen Arthur McMurray (1893-1977), son of John Wesley McMurray (1852-1903) and Hattie (Wiltbank) McMurray (1859-1937). John Wesley was the brother of F.A. McMurray, thus Glen was a cousin of Will, Harry, Roy, and Ray. Starting to see a pattern?

The pattern is confirmed when we search for a Dewey McMurray in the family tree.  Dewy Henderson McMurray (1898-1992) was the son of James Turner McMurray (1854-1948), also a brother of F. A. McMurray, so again, a cousin to Will McMurray and his siblings. This Dewey would have been 42 at the time of the funeral, so could have been a pallbearer. His son, Dewey H. McMurray, Jr. (1922-1997), may have been the pallbearer instead, though he was just 18. (Interestingly, both Deweys served their country in the military- Dewey Sr. in the Marines in World War I, and Dewey Jr. was to serve in the Army just a few years after this funeral, in World War II.)

Initially, seeing that all the pallbearers were of the same surname might suggest that the maiden name of the deceased was McMurray too. Knowing that the pallbearers were all cousins descended from three sons of Henderson McMurray (1819-1906) and Mary Ann (Horn) McMurray (1824-1891), it is reasonable to suspect that the deceased, Mrs. Lewis R. Maytag, was the aunt of the pallbearers, or the sister of the three sons, and indeed she is. Her birth name was Fannie Margaret McMurray, and she was the baby of the family. She was born in Wilton Junction, Cedar County, Iowa, but by age 3 her family moved to Newton, Jasper County, Iowa, in 1870.

Her given name changed with the records: Maggie, Margaret, Margaret F., or Fannie. Her married name changed too, as she married first, Burdette R. Emery, probably around 1898, but they divorced and she married Lewis R. Maytag in 1915at age 47. (It was his second marriage too.) Maggie had two children with her first husband: Blanche Ellen Emery (1890-1946) and John Henderson Emery (1895-1957).

If you are putting together the puzzle pieces as we go and if you know very much about Newton, Iowa, you know that ‘Maytag’ is an important name in the town- yes, that Maytag. Maytag Park, the Maytag Hotel, Maytag cheese, AND the ‘Automatic Washer Company’ that later became Maytag (and more recently was bought out by Whirlpool- who sadly closed the Iowa plant which had a huge negative impact on the town). Margaret’s husband Lewis was the brother of Frederick Louis Maytag, inventor of many products and founder of a number of companies, ranging from animal feeders to washing machines and even cars. In 1920, Margaret and Lewis were in McAllen, Texas for the census, and they were listed with no occupations. By 1930, however, they were in Marshalltown, Iowa, and Lewis was the proprietor of a washing machine store, at age 71. (Wonder what brand they carried?) By 1940, though, they were truly retired, but Margaret passed away at the end of that year at age 73.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. A special ‘thank you’ to our dear cousin Cindi who scanned these funeral cards and shared!
2. See also “Friday’s Faces from the Past: The McMurray-Benjamin Family for a sweet photo of the pallbearers when they were young.   http://heritageramblings.net/2015/07/17/fridays-faces-from-the-past-the-mcmurray-benjamin-family/
3. Various census, marriage, etc. records in our family tree that has been researched for more years than I care to admit.
4. “Frederick Louis Maytag”–https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Louis_Maytag_I

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Helbling Family, Springsteen Family, Beerbower Family (Click for Family Tree)

Tuesday’s Tip: Assess the accuracy of photo captions by looking at clothes, backgrounds, hairstyles, age of subjects, etc. in all the pictures on one page. Images that have too many differences may not actually be ‘attached’ to a date or caption nearby.

Yesterday’s post, “Matrilineal Monday: Easter, 1914 with the Helblings,” included an image that had “Easter 1914” written on it by Anna “May” (Beerbower) Helbling. The scan of the whole page is important to see how /where the date is written and the relationship to other photos.

Unless the little ones changed out of their Easter best clothes, the picture of Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower with her grandchildren may have been taken on another date. The children look a bit older, too.

Those ‘of an age’ to remember putting pictures in a photo album, may also recall just adding a picture in here and there, if there was space.

This second picture was possibly on another page, but does seem to be the same time as the first picture of Anna Missouri and her grandchildren. Her clothing looks more like a robe than a dress, so it does seem to be a different day than Easter Sunday.

Knowing a bit of history helps- or muddies the analysis- when assessing a photo too. In April of 1914, the world still had some of the innocence seen in the Easter Sunday images of yesterday’s post. By August of that year, Europe had become embroiled in World War I; the United States would join the fight in 1917. Were Edgar’s homemade ‘swords,’ wooden ‘rifle,’ and play reflecting the world at war in later 1914? Or was it typical boy’s play? If we knew the answer, it would help us to better date the photos.

Three more important tips:

1. When scanning photo albums, it is important to scan the whole page, in addition to individual photos, in order to maintain the context.
2. Look critically at all that is on the page to ensure that any date or caption is truly attached to any one picture.
3. When writing about the image, or adding a caption to the photo, be careful about the wording if there is a question as to the date. Note the above captions do not actually state the date, but only the date listed on the page where they were found.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Helbling Family Photo Album.
2. “Matrilineal Monday: Easter, 1914 with the Helblings”– http://heritageramblings.net/2018/04/02/matrilineal-monday-easter-1914-with-the-helblings/

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Helbling Family (Click for Family Tree)

Easter came very early this year (and on April Fool’s Day since it was April 1st!), but in 1914 Easter Sunday was on April 12th. The Helbling family would have dressed in their very best clothes for the special Catholic church service. They later enjoyed their Easter baskets on the porch of their home, likely at 4927 St. Louis Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri.

These pictures are so sweet and innocent!

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. The 1914 St. Louis City Directory lists “Helbling Gerard W. with Ellis Undertaking Co 727 King’s Highway boul [boulevard] r[esidence] 4927 St. Louis.”
2. Helbling Family photo album.

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