McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Funeral cards can give us a little information about the deceased, but they also give us some information about their ‘FAN Club.’ ‘FAN‘ is an acronym for “Family, Associates, and Neighbors.” Sometimes, when we cannot find more information about an ancestor, researching their siblings, nieces and nephews, co-workers or business partners, and even their close neighbors and friends can provide just the information we need about our own ancestor.

Looking at the pallbearers that are listed on a funeral card is one way to find the FAN Club. As discussed last week, usually only close family or friends had the honor of being a pallbearer at a funeral.

Mary E. McMurray was the daughter of Henderson McMurray (1819-1906) and Mary Ann (Horn) McMurray (1824-1891). Mary E. was single her whole life, so had no children or grandchildren to bear her casket. She outlived all her siblings, and even some of their children- she lived two months beyond her 100th birthday, so that was a number of generations! Mary did have a lovely big family that she lived next to, and close to, in Newton, Iowa. Let’s look at the list of pallbearers, and see how they might be related, using the family tree we have spent hours working on for more years than we would like to admit.

Ray Whittaker- Might as well start with the hardest, right? It took a bit, but now we know how he is related. The big clue was the name Blackwell- Ray McMurray’s wife was Elizabeth “Bessie” Catharine Blackwell (1886-1976), and it turns out that the maiden name of the wife of Ray Whittaker (1889-1980) was Gertrude B. Blackwell (1889-1969). Bessie was a DAR member (#145320, NSDAR Vol. 146, page 99, 1919), and her application verified the names of her parents. From there, the 1900 US Federal Census provided a list of the children- and Bessie and Gertie were listed with their siblings and parents. (Sounds simpler now than it was.)  So Ray Whittaker (1890-1980) was the brother-in-law of Ray McMurray, who was Mary’s nephew. Not sure if there is an official name for that relationship, but it shows how complex- and wonderful!- families become with all the married-ins.

Edward McMurray- This is likely Mary’s great-nephew through her brother Frederick Asbury McMurray and his son William Elmer McMurray. By that time he was Dr. E.A. McMurray (1900-1992). It is possible that Edward McMurray, Jr., was a pallbearer instead of his father, but my feeling is probably not when looking at the generations that were pallbearers (Ed Jr. was a generation younger), and he was living in another state at that time.

Arthur Cook- Arthur Cook (1903-1977) was the husband of Mary’s great niece Maude Lynette “Midge” (McMurray) Cook (1905-1992), the sister of Dr. E. A. McMurray.

William Aillaud- Not sure who this is, but there is a relationship. Mary’s sister, Ella Rosetta (McMurray) (1865-1948) married Fred Aillaud, but they only had one child, a daughter.  I have a hunch this may be his nephew from a possible brother C.W. Aillaud, but will leave that research to someone closer related. (Too many ancestors- well, not really, but too little time for research. But please do not add this to a tree online until you prove the relationship as it is just my hunch from a brief preliminary search.)

Ray McMurray- Ray (1886-1979) was also a pallbearer for Fannie Margaret (McMurray) Emery Maytag, as we saw in last Friday’s post. He was the nephew of Mary E. McMurray- his father Frederick A. McMurray was her brother.

Louis Toedt- Louis (1889-1977) was the husband of Anna Marie McMurray (1892-1977), daughter of Henry Beecher McMurray (1860-1946), another of Mary’s brothers. So Louis was a nephew-in-law.

Pretty we much need a scorecard for all these McMurrays!

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Thanks to cousins Cindi and Julie for sharing this and other funeral cards.
2. Thank you also, Ancestry.com, for making so many records available to us at home so we can do more genealogy in less time, while hopefully being accurate!

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Original content copyright 2013-2018 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

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McMURRAY Family (Click for Family Tree)

John Henderson Emery, son of Fannie Margaret McMurray Emery Maytag, and his wife Louise Jane (Wykoff) Emery are buried in Newton Union Cemetery, Newton, Jasper County, Iowa. The location of their grave is Sec 4 Lot 190 Block 17.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. A special thanks to Richard Weston for his tireless work for Find A Grave and for families researching in Jasper County, Iowa. He provided so many photos and much information over the years, and was a kind man. We miss him.
2. Photos posted with kind permission of the photographer.

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Original content copyright 2013-2018 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

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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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Original content copyright 2013-2018 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

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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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