Keeping up with The Jones’ of Bossier and Caddo Louisiana

Family, Jones, , , , ,

Because I had so much trouble tracking my grandmother, Eunice Sarah Franklin, I decided to see if I could locate any of her mother’s family and perhaps I could track back.

My great-grandmother, Julia Ann Smith was said to have had four sisters. To date I’ve only found three. One of the sisters, Rosa Smith, was born July, 1887 in (possibly) Shreveport, Louisiana, died October 1975 in Shreveport.  She married Ulysses Jones Sr. and this is where the Jones journey begins!

Ulysses was born June 28, 1886 in Homer, Louisiana which is a town in the Parish of Claiborne. He married Rosa Smith November 24, 1906. On a trip to Shreveport I was able to obtain a copy of a deposition/affidavit that was was given in 1954 by Rosa’s aunt, Lula Jackson attesting to the marriage.

Affidavit of Marriage Rosa Smith Ulysses Jones Sr

This union bore nine children, Sarah, Aretha, (which was spelled Ireca in the 1930 census), Buelha, Ulysses, Douglas, Malcolm, Sam, Harvey and Evelyn. That’s a lot of Jones’ to keep up with!

The 1900 census shows Ulysses Sr. 18 years old living with his mother Rosa Jones, (yes, another Rosa) and siblings. In this census his name is spelled “Vlis” (had fun time with that one!) It also shows his birth information as December 1886. But his World War I Draft Registration card shows D.O.B. as June 28, 1884 – presumably filled out by him, which is why I chose to use that information.

Draft Card for Ulysses Jones

I noticed that Ulysses stated that his present occupation was farming and that his employer was Neyoh/Neaoh Smith. Could this be “Noah” and could this person be related to his wife’s family? Another mystery to investigate!

I was unable to locate Ulysses or Rosa in the 1920 census but I did find them in U.S. City Directory, 1821-1989 living at 1307 Royal St. On my trip to Shreveport, I found that their home was no longer there.

Moving into 1930, we find Ulysses and Rosa living at 1305 Royal St with all of their children. His occupation is listed as Watchman for a Cotton Mill. For the question of Age At First Marriage there’s 24 for him and 14 for her! Doing the math I think there’s some ‘splaning to do!

In the 1900 census Ulysses is listed as 13, D.O.B. December 1886.

In the 1900 census Rosa is listed as 12, D.O.B. July 1887.

Ulysses and Rosa married in November 1906.

Daughter Sarah was born in 1906/1907.

In the 1910 census Ulysses is 26, Rosa is 24. It’s magic – now 2 years apart!

In 1918 Ulysses filled out a Draft Card stating he was 33 D.O.B. June 28, 1884.

No 1920 census.

In 1930 Ulysses is 48, Rosa is 38. More magic, 10 years apart!

In 1940 Ulysses is 48, Rosa is 44. He hasn’t aged one single day! But she, on the other hand, has by 6 years! Sarah is now 31..Mmm..

On the death certificate dated June 3, 1954 for Ulysses, his age is listed as 67, D.O.B. June 28, 1886, Rosa is listed as 64!

Are you keeping up with the Jones’?

I will probably never know the reason for the discrepancies. Were the date of births different because they really were unsure what year they were born? But you would think that Ulysses’ mother would know if he was born when it was cold, December or warm, June! Was the marriage date fudged a little to account for a child, Sarah, born out of wedlock? Did the census taker talk to someone other than the family? The information for the Death Certificate was more than likely provided by someone other than Rosa. These and other questions may never have answers but it’s kinda fun trying to keep up with the Jones’ of Bossier and Caddo Louisiana!

And just think, I have nine other Jones’ to track down!

A Conversation, A Tip and a Clue, A Visit to Kansas

Family, Franklins and Becton, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My Mom called me yesterday to wish me a Happy New Year, we had already exchanged text messages the night before. I still can’t get over her learning how to send text messages, go head Momma!

She asked me what I was doing and before I could get it out she said, “looking for dead people, I bet.” Of course she was right…Once again I complained how I couldn’t find her mother, Eunice Franklin before 1930 and that I wasn’t sure if the Eunice Franklin in the 1930 census from Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri was even her!

I started reading the names to her of the other household members, John White, Elizabeth White, Virginia White, Orange White, Samuel White, Rosemary White, Ednamay White, Elizabeth White, Florence White, Artelia Jones and Lucy Brown. She said, very calmly I might add, “Oh, those are Mother Dear’s (that’s what her daughters called their mother) cousins, I don’t know who that Jones woman is or Lucy Brown.” I’m like, “WHAT?” “Yeah, I remember Mother Dear talking about Orange, I think I even met him once.” “Maaa..!” “What?” “You never mentioned any of those names!” “You never mentioned them to me either and when you read them I remembered.” “You’re right, I shoulda asked. Thanks Ma, but now I gotta go, I gotta go find me some more dead people! With a name like Orange White I should be able to find a bunch more information! Love you, talk to you later.”

Just for kicks, I searched and found five males with the name of Orange White for 1900, 1920 and 1930! But I put him to the side to investigate later. I wanted to know if Elizabeth White was my great grandmothers sister. Several hours later I had my answer and more questions!

Why did I have to track Elizabeth? I come from a family of women, my great great grandmother had five girls, I’ve only found four, my great grandmother had two girls, my grandmother had three girls, my mother had three girls, her sister had two girls and her younger sister had one girl. That’s a lot of women!

Yes Elizabeth was my great grandmother’s sister and now I have her married name! I have no idea who “Artelia” Jones might be, I suspect the name may be something else but I can’t decipher the handwriting. And I don’t know who Lucy Brown is..but I will find out!

I STILL can’t find Grandma Eunice before 1930 but now I know she went to Kansas City for a visit.

I’m hunting and untangling.

My Elusive Grandmother

Family

My Elusive Grandmother

I have a few ancestors who are easily found in one census but can’t be found in any others with any certainty.

For example, my grandmother, Eunice Sarah Franklin is listed in the 1940 census with her husband and daughters.

Name:

 Eunice S Holland

Respondent:

 Yes

Age:

 26

Estimated Birth Year:

 abt 1914

Gender:

 Female

Race:

 Negro (Black)

Birthplace:

 Texas

Marital Status:

 Married

Relation to Head of House:

 Wife

Home in 1940:

 Galveston, Galveston, Texas

Map of Home in 1940:

 View map

Street:

 Ave O 1/2

House Number:

 4112

Inferred Residence in 1935:

 Galveston, Galveston, Texas

Residence in 1935:

 Same Place

Resident on farm in 1935:

 No

Sheet Number:

 15B

Attended School or College:

 No

Highest Grade Completed:

 High School, 4th year

Weeks Worked in 1939:

 0

Income:

 0

Income Other Sources:

 No

Neighbors:

 View others on page

Household Members:
 

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Source Citation: Year: 1940; Census Place: Galveston, Galveston, Texas; Roll: T627_4038; Page: 15B; Enumeration District: 84-32.

Source Information:

Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

There’s a census from 1930 that list a Eunice Franklin in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri.  She’s listed as a niece, but neither the head of household or the wife list their parents as having been born in Tennessee (Father) or Louisiana (Mother) where Eunice’s parents were born. So is this MY Eunice Franklin?

I checked the 1920 census on both Ancestry and Family Search and I came up empty.

I used Family Search to try and locate a birth certificate; I used just the last name of Franklin, years of birth 1913-1915 and just the state of Texas as my parameters. 2,467 records later and I came up empty yet again!

There is a birth record for her sister Bernice Franklin, who is the oldest but not for Eunice. But then I can’t find Bernice until 1934 listed in a city directory and then not until her death in 1987.

Where are these women?

Grandma Eunice

Eunice Sarah Franklin born in Houston, Texas, 30 August 1913, Died 4 September 1998 in Chicago, Illinois.

I had the family over for dinner Christmas Eve, and I mentioned how when we were younger we would have Christmas brunch at grandma’s. She’d fix scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, grits, fried apples and biscuits. Didn’t matter if you didn’t like scrambled eggs, you ate what was put on your plate!
And all the food had to be eaten and the kitchen cleaned before anyone opened any gifts!
As my grandma got older the task of holiday gatherings fell to my mother, despite the fact that she was the middle daughter and now I am the matriarch of the family holiday dinners.

Grandma Eunice
A dress she designed and made.

Grandma Eunice was a very talented woman, she was a tailor and a furrier. That woman could, would and did take newspaper or brown butcher paper and create a pattern in the morning, sew up a dress for herself to wear to a formal event in the evening! She was just that good! You better believe she would not walk into an event and see her dress on someone else!

Xmas party
A dress I made.

She tried to teach all three of her daughters to sew but the only one who showed any skill or interest was my mother, who passed it on to me. Neither of my two sisters were interested.
Sometime between 1941 and 1942 Grandma Eunice moved from Galveston, Texas to Chicago. After a period of time she purchased a two flat on Chicago’s westside across the street from the Garfield Park Conservatory. She was a single parent providing a strong, secure home for her daughters and their families. 327 N Central Park 1 June 2013