GeneaBlogs

Seeking info on brothers Jack McMillen, born 15 Apr 1915 in MO, died Jul 1987 in Fort Collins, CO. Brother Malcolm Eldon “Buddy” McMillen, born 12 Dec 1919 in IL, died 5 Aug 1999 in Fort Collins, CO. Buddy was married to a Marie Weaver on 1 Jan 1941 in Clinton, Dewitt County, IL. They had a son called Chuck.

Their mother was Minnie Alice Hayes, born in 20 Nov 1898 in TN. Their father was a Carl McMillen. The 1920 census shows Minnie McMillen and both boys living with her parents, Thomas and Florence Hayes, in Rochelle, IL. The 1930 census shows Malcolm living with Thomas and Florence but I have been unable to find either Minnie Alice or Jack on that census. I believe the Carl McMillen that served in WWI and signed up in Duenweg, MO, DOB 7 Apr 1892 and born in Dayton, TN, is the Carl McMillen that was married to Alice. I have no absolute proof this is Jack and Malcolm’s father but Minnie Alice’s brothers, Herman Hayes (my grandfather) and George Hayes both signed up for WWI and they both signed up in Duenweg. I do not know if Minnie Alice and Carl were divorced or if Carl died. I know that Alice remarried to a Nels Ericson. I have not been able to find where/when Alice died but do know she probably died after 1968.

My info re: Buddy is from his obit which states he was born in Rochelle, IL to “Carl McMillen” and “Alice Minnie Hayes McMillen”. His obit states his parents, wife, and brother Jack were both dead. It also states his sister, Jewel Sorrel, preceded him in death. This is the first I ever heard of a sister named Jewel. There is family lore that there was a “Jewel that married a Mexican and was ostracized by the family because of an uncle (probably a great-uncle) that was friends with Pancho Vila”. Alice’s sister, Gladys Hayes, had a daughter called “Jewell Sorey” and a son, Clyde Raymond Hayes, that survived her and I assumed it was this Jewell that the story referred to. But I have photos of this Jewell so it always puzzled me as it seemed she was present for family get-togethers. Now I have found this second Jewel?

Buddy’s obit also says he traveled New England during his teen years with a C&W vaudeville show singing, playing guitar, and doing rope tricks. He once had a radio show on WLS Chicago, was a bookkeeper, finally a mail carrier in Fort Collins.

I am seeking any relatives of/info on/photos of Jack and Buddy McMillen, Alice Hayes McMillen, and on Jewel McMillen (or maiden name could be Ericson) Sorrel. I have quite a bit of family genealogy as well as photos of the Hayes side, including 2 photos of Alice with Buddy. I also have 2 or 3 photos of an unknown male, possibly Jack McMillen with wife and kids, including one with Alice and her mother, Florence Tow/Sharp Hayes, this male, an unknown female, and 2 kids.

If there are any relatives out there then PLEASE contact me – I’d love to share info!

Six Generations Gathered At Matriarch’s Birthday Party

Photograph by shootMyPhoto.com Bessie Moore, center, is surrounded by her son, Don Moore, and, from left to right, great-great-great-granddaughter, Emma Marie Collins (born July 1), great-great-granddaughter, Laicee Collins, 21, great-granddaughter, Damarda Doss, 39, and granddaughter, Martha Welborn, 58.

MOUNT VERNON, Ind. — Bessie Moore doesn’t like a fuss being made over her, even if she did turn 97 on Thursday.

She’s always been a feisty, independent woman, says her son, Don Moore, who’s in his mid-70s.

Sort of like the old gal in the movie “Driving Miss Daisy,” although unlike the character played by Jessica Tandy, Bessie Moore never learned to drive.

She walked to her sewing factory job, helping her husband raise two children and live in an $8-a-month house during the Great Depression and World War II.

But Sunday afternoon, at her daughter Anita Ainsworth’s home here, the family will toss a birthday dinner and give her a six-generation portrait taken recently.

In the portrait, the family matriarch is surrounded by son, Don Moore; granddaughter, Martha Welborn, 58; great-granddaughter, Damarda Doss, 39; great-great-granddaughter, Laicee Collins, 21; and great-great-great-granddaughter, Emma Marie Collins, born July 1.

“We try to have a birthday dinner for her every year,” said Welborn, a Whirlpool Corp. employee, “but she doesn’t like the fuss.”

Don Moore said his mother was born in 1912 in a Tennessee village that no longer exists. She moved to Mount Vernon about 1917 because her dad got a job as a plant foreman.

“The first time I ever drank coffee was the night my sister was born at home (1937),” recalls Don Moore.

“My dad let me go into the kitchen with him. I was 5.

“That same year, he gave me a whippin’ for playing in the flooded Ohio River, which made me run fast. I was on the Mount Vernon High School football team in 1946 that went undefeated.”

The other day, Don Moore and his wife dropped by his mother’s high-rise apartment with a birthday card.

“My wife looked at Mom and said, ‘It looks like you’re losing weight.’ Mom said, ‘Why I am not. I am not losing weight!’”

Bessie Moore, whose husband died at work in 1970, also was told recently she qualifies for food stamps.

Don Moore said when she heard that, she bristled.

“I’m not poor,” she said. “I’m not.”

Courtesy of Evansville Courier & Press

www.courierpress.com

7 Jul 2009

The US Federal Census Records contain many clues to help genealogy researchers find information about their ancestors. This webpage contains a list of the basic information given in each census by year with links to online indexes. Sources are listed at the bottom of the page, along with a guide for searching census records offline using National Archives (NARA) and LDS microfilm.

1930 Census
official census day: 1 April 1930 (the official start day was 1 April, but the Census Bureau began taking the census on 2 April, except for Alaska, which began on 1 Oct 1929)

Total Population: 123,202,624

The 1930 Census was released to the public on 1 April 2002

1930 Census Finding Aids…

• Online 1930 Census Index & Images (requires payment)
  The 1930 Census is indexed online for every state and territory at Ancestry.com. Includes more than 123 million names linked to digitized census images.
• 1930 Census Finding Aids & Research Tips
  Here you will find help for searching the 1930 census online and off. Includes information about using circa 1930 city directories, maps, an online microfilm locator and more.

Only ten states and portions of two others have been indexed on microfilm (by head of household using the soundex system). But all states have been indexed online (see the above link). The ten states indexed on microfilm are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee & Virginia.

The Kentucky and West Virginia counties that have been indexed on microfilm are… Kentucky Counties: Bell, Floyd, Harlan, Kenton, Muhlenberg, Perry & Pike; West Virginia Counties: Fayette, Harrison, Kanawha, Logan, McDowell, Mercer & Raleigh.

For each person listed in the 1930 Census, the entry shows:

• address
• name (”of each person whose place of abode on April 1, 1930, was in this family…Include every person living on April 1, 1930. Omit children born since April 1, 1930″)
• relationship to head of household
• home owned or rented
• value or monthly rental
• radio set
• whether on a farm
• sex; race (W=White, Neg=Negro, Mex=Mexican, In=Indian, Ch=Chinese, Jp=Japanese; Fil=Filipino, Hin=Hindu, Kor=Korean, “other race, spell out in full”/for Indian: whether of full or mixed blood, and tribal affiliation); age
• marital status, age at first marriage
• school attendance; literacy
• birthplace of person and parents
• if foreign born, language spoken in home before coming to the U.S.
• year of immigration
• whether naturalized (Na=Naturalized, Pa=First Papers, Al=Alien), and ability to speak English
• occupation, industry, and class of worker
• whether at work previous day (or last regular working day) – if not, line number on unemployment schedule (these schedules no longer exist)
• veteran status (WW=World War, Sp=Spanish-America War, Civ=Civil War, Phil=Philippine Insurrection, Box=Boxer Rebellion, Mex=Mexican Expedition)
• number of farm schedule (these schedules no longer exist)

1920 Census
1 January 1920 (date census taking began)

Total Population: 106,021,537

Online Index: 1920 Every Name Census Index & Images at Ancestry.com (requires payment) Linked to Digitized Census Images
Also includes 1790-1930 Census Indexes & Images

All states (and territories) have also been indexed on microfilm by head of household using the soundex system

Each household is entered on a sheet showing the name of the township, name of the incorporated place, if any, and city ward, if any. For households in urban areas, the street and number are given.

For each person listed the entry shows:

• name
• relation to head of household
• whether home owned or rented; if owned, whether free or mortgaged
• sex; color or race (W=white, B=black; Mu=mulatto; In=Indian; Ch=Chinese; Jp=Japanese; Fil=Filipino; Hin=Hindu; Kor=Korean; Ot=Other); age at last birthday
• marital status
• year of immigration (in column 13 on the census form)
• whether naturalized or alien (column 14); if naturalized, year of naturalization (column 15)
• [Note: A or AL = Alien; NA = Naturalized; NR = Not Reported; PA = First Papers Filed]
• whether attended school since 1 September 1919
• whether able to read; whether able to write
• birthplace (state, territory or country), and mother tongue
• birthplaces (state, territory or country) and mother tongues of parents
• whether able to speak English
• trade, profession or type of work done
• employed in what industry
• whether employer, salary or wage worker, or working on own account
• number of farm schedule

1910 Census
15 April 1910

Total Population: 92,228,496

Online Index: 1910 Every Name Census Index & Images at Ancestry.com (requires payment) Linked to Digitized Census Images
Also includes 1790-1930 Census Indexes & Images

Online Index: State of Washington 1910 Census Index (free to search)

Only 21 states have been indexed on microfilm (by head of household using the soundex system)
these are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia — a microfilmed soundex index is also available for Oregon from the LDS Family History Library

Each household is entered on a sheet showing the name of the township and city ward, if any. For households in urban areas, the street and number are given.

For each person listed the entry shows:

• name
• relation to head of household
• sex; color or race; age at last birthday
• marital status; number of years of present marriage
• number of children born (to the wife, widow or divorcee)
• number of those children living
• birthplace (state, territory or country), if foreign born, mother tongue
• birthplaces (state, territory or country) of parents
• year of immigration
• for foreign born males 21 years old or older: whether naturalized or alien (AL=Alien, PA=First Papers Filed; NA=Naturalized)
• whether able to speak English
• occupation; employed in what industry
• whether out of work on 15 April 1910
• number of weeks out of work during 1909
• whether able to write and write
• whether able to attend school at any time since 1 September 1909
• whether house is owned or rented; a farm or house; whether it is mortgage free
• whether a survivor of Union or Confederate Army or Navy (column 30 – UA=Survivor of the Union Army; UN=Survivor of the Union Navy; CA=Survivor of the Confederate Army; CN=Survivor of the Confederate Navy)
• whether blind, deaf or dumb

1900 Census
1 June 1900

Total Population: 76,212,168

Online Index: 1900 Every Name Census Index & Images at Ancestry.com (requires payment) now completed for all states & territories: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indian Territory, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Military & Naval Forces, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin & Wyoming (also includes 1790-1930 Census Indexes & Images)

All states have also been indexed on microfilm by head of household using the soundex system

For each household, an entry shows the name of the township, city and ward, if any, and the street and house number, if in an urban area.

For each person listed the entry shows:

• name
• relation to head of household
• color; sex; month and year of birth, and age at last birthday
• marital status; number of years married
• for married women, number of children born and number of those children living
• birthplace (state territory or country), father’s birth; mother’s birth
• citizenship: year of immigration to the US (column 16); number of years in the US (column 17); whether still an alien , having applied for citizenship, or naturalized (column 18 – AL=Alien, PA=First Papers Filed, NA=Naturalized)
• occupation of each person 10 and older, and number of months not employed
• information about school attendance, literacy and ability to speak English
• whether residence was a farm; whether occupant was a homeowner

1890 Census
1 June 1890

Total Population: 62,979,766

The 1890 census was destroyed or badly damaged in a fire in Washington in 1921. Less than 1 per cent survived – 6,160 total names, which are available on 3 rolls of microfilm. This link will take you to a listing of what records survived the fire.

In 1890 a special census of Civil War Union veterans and widows of veterans was taken. This is available on microfilm or can be searched online at Ancestry…

1890 Civil War Union Veterans & Widows Census Index & Images (requires payment) also includes 1790-1930 census indexes & images

1890 Census Substitute (requires payment)
Ancestry has been acquiring and posting assorted records to help find ancestors around the time of the 1890 census. It includes fragments of the original 1890 census that survived the fire, special veterans schedules, several Native American tribe censuses for years surrounding 1890, state censuses (1885 or 1895), city and county directories, alumni directories, and voter registration documents.

1880 Census
1 June 1880

Total Population: 50,189,209

Online Index: 1880 Census Records Index & Images at Ancestry.com (index is free with registration – viewing images requires payment) also includes 1790-1930 census index & images

Online Index: 1880 US Census Index at FamilySearch (free to search – index only) from FamilySearch.org

All states have also been indexed on microfilm using the soundex system; however only those households with children aged 10 or under are listed in the microfilmed index.

For each urban household, an entry shows the name of the street and house number.

For each person in a household the entry shows:

• name
• whether white, black, mulatto, Indian or Chinese; sex; age; month of birth if born within the year
• relation to head of household
• occupation and months unemployed
• name of state, territory or country of birth; father’s birthplace; mother’s birthplace
• school attendance within the year
• inability to read if aged 10 or older; inability to write if aged 10 or older
• whether sick or temporarily disabled on the day of enumeration and the reason

1870 Census
1 June 1870

Total Population: 38,558,371

Online Index: 1870 Every Name Census Index & Images at Ancestry.com (requires payment) also includes 1790-1930 census indexes & images
Online Index: Colorado 1870 Census Index (free)
Online Index: Maryland State Archives Census Indexes – includes 1870 (free)
Online Index: Michigan 1870 Census Index & Images (free — includes census images in PDF format that you can download)

• name
• age at last birthday
• sex; color (W=White, B=Black, M=Mulatto, C=Chinese, I=Indian); profession, occupation or trade
• value of real estate; personal property
• place of birth (state, territory or country)
• whether father is of foreign birth; whether mother is of foreign birth
• month of birth if born within the year
• month of marriage if married within the year
• whether attended school within the year
• whether can read; write
• whether deaf, dumb, blind, insane or idiotic
• whether male citizen of the US aged 21 years and up
• whether male citizen of the US aged 21 years and up whose right to vote was denied or abridged on other grounds than rebellion or other crime

1860 Census
1 June 1860

Total Population: 31,443,321

Online Index: 1860 Every Name Census Index & Images at Ancestry.com (requires payment) also includes 1790-1930 Census Indexes & Images
Online Index: 1860 U.S. Federal Census at Footnote census images and index (requires payment)

• name
• age; sex; color (white, black or mulatto)
• occupation of persons over 15
• value of real estate; value of personal estate
• place of birth (state, territory or country)
• whether person was married during the year
• whether deaf-mute, blind, insane, an idiot, a pauper or a convict

Separate slave schedules show:

• name of slave owner
• number of slaves owned
• number of slaves manumitted (freed)
• under the slave owner’s name a line for each slave shows: age, color, sex, whether deaf-mute, blind, insane, idiotic or a fugitive from the state; names of slaves were not entered

1850 Census (36 States and Territories)
1 June 1850

Total Population: 23,191,876

Online Index: Online 1850 Census Index & Images at Ancestry.com Every Name Index (requires payment)
A subscription also includes 1790-1930 Census Indexes & Images

• name of each free person in a household
• age; sex; color (white, black or mulatto)
• occupation of males over 15
• value of real estate owned
• place of birth (state, territory or country)
• whether person attended school or was married within the year
• whether the person could read or write if over 20
• whether deaf-mute, blind, insane, an idiot, a pauper or a convict
• separate slave schedules contain the same information as the 1860 census

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1790-1840 Census – Notes
The US census records from 1790 to 1840 only name the head of each family. Other household members are grouped together by age and gender, but their names are not given. When researching in this time frame it his essential to locate other records, particularly probate records (which often name the spouse and children), church records, land & property records, etc. These early census records are still useful for locating families in a specific place.

Online Index: US Federal Census Index & Images 1790-1840 at Ancestry.com (requires payment) also includes indexes & images for 1850-1930

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1840 Census (30 States and Territories)
1 June 1840

Total Population: 17,069,453

• head of household
• number of free white males and females categorized by age group
• number of free colored males and females by age group
• number of male and female slaves by age group
• number of persons in each family engaged in various occupations
• names and ages of military pensioners
• number of both white and colored deaf, mute and blind persons
• number of students
• number of scholars at public charge
• number of free white persons older than 20 who could not read and write

1830 Census (28 States and Territories)
1 June 1830

Total Population: 12,866,020

• head of household
• number of free white males and females categorized by age group
• number of foreigners not naturalized
• number of free colored males and females by age group
• number of male and female slaves by age group
• number of white blind persons and number of blind slaves and colored persons
• number of white deaf-mutes and number of deaf-mute slaves and colored persons
• number of white aliens

1820 Census (22 States and Territories)
7 August 1820

Total Population: 9,638,453

• head of household
• number of free white males and females categorized by age group
• number of foreigners not naturalized
• number of free colored males and females by age group
• number of male and female slaves by age group
• number of all other persons except Indians not taxed

1810 Census (16 States and Territories)
6 August 1810

Total Population: 7,239,881

• head of household
• number of free white males and free white females categorized by age group
• number of all other free persons except Indians not taxed
• number of slaves

1800 Census (14 States)
4 August 1800

Total Population: 5,308,483

• head of household
• number of free white males and free white females categorized by age group
• number of all other free persons except Indians not taxed
• number of slaves

1790 Census (12 States)
2 August 1790

Total Population: 3,929,214

Note: 1790 census records exist for Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia (Virginia schedules were reconstructed from State enumerations)

• head of household
• number of free white males ages 16 and older
• number of free white males under the age of 16
• number of free white females
• number of all other free persons
• number of slaves

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Epidemics are of particular interest to genealogists because they may explain why ancestors died in great numbers or left an area for no apparent reason. The following table lists a number of epidemics by year, and includes location and the disease involved.

1332 India Bubonic Plague original location of this pandemic.

1347-1350 Europe Bubonic Plague – Nearly 1/3 the population of Europe succumbed in the first two years.

1349 Norway, Scotland, Prussia, Iceland, Italy – Bubonic Plague

1351 Russia – Bubonic Plague

1485 England – The Sweat. Also called The Swat, New Acquaintance, Stoupe, or “Knave know thy master”.

1508 England – The Sweat. A fast acting disease, “they were dancing in court at nine and dead at eleven.”

1517 England The Sweat

1518-1520 Mexico: Aztec Empire – Smallpox. Brought to South America by the Spanish

1527-1530 Peru: Inca Empire – Smallpox

1539-1540 England – Bubonic Plague

1550-1566 England – Bubonic Plague. The population of England may have fallen as much as 6% between 1550 and 1560 due, primarily, to the plague.

1551 England – The Sweat

1577 England: Oxford – Goal fever

1581 England: York – Goal fever

1590 England: Lincoln – Goal fever

1615 England – Unknown burning fever

1616 USA: New England – Smallpox. Mostly affects Native Americans

1634-1635 England – Smallpox

1636 England: Hereford – Goal fever

1638 England – Unidentified fever

1647 USA: Massachusetts – Yellow Fever

1649 USA: New England: Massachusetts and Boston – Smallpox. Boston especially hard hit.

1657 USA:Massachusetts and Boston – Measles

1660-1661 England – Unidentified fever

1666 England:London – Bubonic Plague. Last great outbreak.

1666 USA: New England – Smallpox

1678 USA: New England – Smallpox

1687 USA: Massachusetts and Boston – Measles

1690 USA: New York/New York City – Yellow Fever

1711 Europe, especially Northern Europe – Plague

1713 USA: Massachusetts: Boston – Measles

1729 USA: Massachusetts: Boston – >Measles

1732-1733 Worldwide – Influenza

1736 USA: Massachusetts: Essex Co.- Throat Distemper. Nine hundred (900) children died within 6 months in Essex County alone. Probably diphtheria.

1738 USA: South Carolina – Smallpox br>

1739-1740 USA: Massachusetts: Boston – Measles

1747 USA: Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina – Measles

1759 North America – Measles

1761 North America, West Indies – Influenza

1770-1772 Balkans – Plague

1772 North America – Measles

1775 North America – Unknown. Especially in New England.

1775-1776 Worldwide – Influenza

1783 USA:Delaware: Dover – Bilious Fever

1788 USA: Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, New York: New York City – Measles

1793 USA: Pennsylvania: Harrisburg – Unknown

1793 USA: Pennsylvania: Middletown – Unknown

1793 USA:Vermont – Influenza. Killed 500 people in 5 counties in 4 weeks.

1793 USA: Virginia – Influenza

1793-1794 USA: Pennsylvania: Philadelphia – Yellow Fever. Over 4,000 dead.

1796-1798 USA: Pennsylvania: Philadelphia – Yellow Fever

1803 USA: New York/New York City – Yellow Fever

1820-1823 USA – Fever. Starts on the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania and spreads across the nation.

1820-1823 USA – Fever

1831-1832 USA Asiatic – Cholera. Brought by English immigrants

1832 Ayrshire towns of Stevenston, Dalry, and Kilbride – Cholera

1832 USA: New York/New York City – Cholera. More than 3,000 dead

1832 USA: Louisiana: New Orleans – Cholera – 4,340 dead

1832-1833 USA: Missouri: St.Louis – Cholera.

1833 USA: Ohio: Columbus – Cholera

1834 USA: New York/New York City – Cholera

1835 USA: Missouri: St. Louis – Cholera

1837 USA: Pennsylvania: Philadelphia – Typhus

1841 USA – Yellow Fever

1846-1850 Ireland – Potato Famine. A fungus called “the Blight” infected the potato crop

1847 USA: Louisiana: New Orleans – Yellow Fever

1847-1848 Worldwide – Influenza

1848-1849 North America – Cholera

1848-1849 USA: New York/New York City – Cholera. More than 5,000 dead

1850 USA – Yellow Fever

1850-1851 North America – Influenza

1851 USA: Great Plains – Cholera
1851 USA: Illinois: Coles County – Cholera

1851 USA: Missouri – Cholera

1852 USA: Louisiana: New Orleans – Yellow Fever. 8,000 dead

1854 USA: Texas: Corpus Christi – Yellow Fever

1855 USA – Yellow Fever

1857-1859 Worldwide – Influenza

1860-1861 USA: Pennsylvania – Smallpox

1862-1863 USA:Southern California – Smallpox. Many Native Americans and Mexicans died

1865-1873 USA: Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, New York, Massachusetts: Boston, Louisiana: New Orleans – Smallpox

1866 USA: Maryland: Baltimore, Tennessee: Memphis, Washington DC – Cholera

1867 USA: Texas: Indianola, Galveston, and Corpus Christi – Yellow Fever

1867 USA: Louisiana: New Orleans – Yellow Fever. 3,093 dead

1873 USA: Alabama – Cholera. Moved along the railroad lines from Huntsville to Birmingham and Montgomery as these cities industrialized

1873-1875 North America and Europe – Influenza

1878 USA: Northern New Jersey, possibly elsewhere – Diphtheria. Occurred in the Spring

1878 USA: Southern states – Yellow Fever. Over 13,000 dead in lower Missisippi Valley

1883 USA: Alabama – Yellow Fever

1885 USA: Pennsylvania: Plymouth – Typhoid

1886 USA: Florida: Jacksonville – Yellow Fever

1895 USA: Washington DC – Malaria

1898 Cuba – Yellow Fever. Spanish-American War; the disease took over 5,000 soldiers in July and August, only 968 died in combat

1900 USA: Texas: Galveston – Cholera

1905 New Orleans, LA – Yellow Fever

1916 USA – Polio. Over 7,000 deaths, 27,363 reported cases, America’s worst polio epidemic

1918 USA – Spanish Influenza. Over 500,000 dead, worst single U.S. epidemic

1918-1919 Worldwide – Influenza

1941 Australia – Rubella. This disease was once considered one of the least troublesome childhood diseases

1949 USA – Polio. 2,720 dead, 42,173 reported cases

1952 USA – Polio. 3,300 dead and over 57,000 cases reported

1962-1965 Worldwide – Rubella. Affected as many as 12.5 million causing deafness, blindness; approximately 30,000 babies in USA alone due to maternal Rubella

1981-Present – Worldwide AIDS/HIV. U.S. AIDS cases: 886,575; total estimated AIDS deaths: 501,669 (Centers for
Disease Control); 2003 total world AIDS cases: 38 million; total world AIDS deaths: 20 million.

1989-1991 USA: Maryland first, later all USA – Measles

Sources:

* Epidemic Timeline from Hawkshome.net
* Major U.S. Epidemics from InfoPlease
* Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter

Interview With Jack Ghormley, age 93, as of December, 2002

Date: December 23, 2002, Springfield, Missouri

Roy Hulston owned the mill at this time (mid to late 1920s). He was a Frisco Railroad conductor. My mother had remarried to Ellis Garrett, my stepfather. They had moved to the area from Georgia when I was about age 13. I remember that Andy Kirby Sr. owned most of the land, the old Marcum place, where the mill sits today in the Park. We were sort of sharecroppers for Mr. Kirby and we lived just south of where the Park is now. We raised corn and hogs, and had a couple of milk cows. We used to plow the south field in the Park for Mr. Kirby. My mother used to fish in that larger creek that runs by the mill today. She would catch some of the nicest catfish there. Everybody helped everybody in those days.

As a boy, I used to set traps all around, even where the park is today. We were catching a lot of polecats, fox, squirrels and coons. We could usually get a dollar and fifty cents for a polecat hide. Once I caught a large polecat in a trap near the spring in the park. This one didn’t have the white stripes down its back, but just a white mark on its head. Of course it was still alive. If you could manage to jump on the thing and hold its tail down, it wouldn’t get you. I did my best, but missed this time. It got me right in the eyes. I ran over to the spring creek and washed my eyes out. I got six dollars for that one. I’d most often empty my traps in the afternoon and early evening, take the animals home, and skin them in the mornings before I went to school. By the time I got to school, my clothes often smelled of skunk. I went to school at Flat Creek, west of Willard. For a long time, we had an older school teacher. Then she left, and was replaced by a young teacher. One morning, this young teacher asked us what smelled so bad! Some of the other boys told her that we trapped polecats. She told us to go home and change clothes. We told her we didn’t have any other clothes.

We trapped as many as thirty squirrels a day sometimes. Many people didn’t eat squirrels because they didn’t think they would taste good. But they were actually quite good. After we skinned them, Mother would just put them all in a big pot of boiling water and make a stew.

I do remember there were three caves in the area of our farm. One was very near the spring in the park. I found a large rock and pushed it aside. I was able to get inside a room about as large as our living room in our home here.

I joined the U.S. Navy at age 15 in 1924. I served on the battleships U.S.S. Tennessee and U.S.S. Idaho. When I came out of the service, I returned to Dade County on the train. No one was waiting for me at the station in Everton, so I walked home. My dog met me about half-way there, so happy to see me.

I remember the mill very well. The Hughes lived by the mill and operated a sort of general store there. Mr. Hughes had two daughters, Virginia and Susie, both very attractive. They had groceries, overalls, shirts, shoes and the like. By myself, I would take a sack of corn by horseback to be ground there. I remember Mr. Hughes ran for a political office and won. Mr. Newkirk was the postmaster. In later years, I drove my old Star car. John Nixon ran the mill in about 1928-1929. During the Depression, you couldn’t sell corn for nothing.

We raised hogs. I remember Roy Hulston hauling a bunch of them to town for us, and we made about four dollars on the load. The banks were always willing to loan money for a farmer to raise hogs. Roosevelt had the farmers kill all their hogs at one point. I felt so badly about it since there were so many hungry people. I would take a wagon, with sideboards, loaded with corn to the mill, and traded it for a twenty-pound sack of flour. I do remember the sifters and old mill with stones.

At that time, the Model T Ford was a very popular car. It had a “lock-to-lock” steering wheel to prevent theft. One day, here came these guys to the mill in one of these Model Ts. Somehow the steering wheel got locked, and the car turned right up on its side between the mill and where the bridge is today. Well, some of we men just went over and tipped it back upright.

That reminds me. There used to be an old wooden (commercial) garage in Dadeville. I was there one time when these people came along in their Model T. Model Ts were known for their bad brakes. They couldn’t stop the car and drove right through the back wall of the garage, but no one was even hurt. The same kind of thing happened in a garage over in Everton at the east end of town near the bandstand. These guys were working on an old caterpillar tractor in the garage. No one there knew exactly how to operate this tractor. When the repairs were complete, one of the guys said he was sure he could back it out of the garage. You controlled the turning of the tractor with pedals. Well, this guy took out the whole wall of the garage!

Men used to meet at the mill, sometimes sat around and talked, and told tales. Some of them had signed their names at different places in the mill. It was a good place to fish. There was a widow who lived near the mill. She had a daughter who married a Mr. Poindexter. This daughter led singing there sometimes. One family had a quartet. Though I never saw him myself, I remember some people telling about a black man who did a lot of fishing down there. The people said he made good stew, and shared it with them. It was kind of a lively little place on Saturdays and Sundays. The Stumpffs also lived nearby.

This interview appeared in the Springfield, Missouri News-Leader. It may also be found online at Missouri State University’s web site: Jack Ghormley Interview