Sunday, August 25, 2013

George Elmus Edwards

George Elmus Edwards was my Great-grandfather. He was almost always called Elmus - sometimes G.E. but very rarely seems to have been called George.

The mystery of George Edwards starts with his birth. Both his daughter Stella and his sister Gertie state unequivocally that George was born 7 February 1880 in Corinth, Williamson County, Illinois. Search of birth records only uncovers one Edwards birth certificate that date and it lists the birth name as John Edwards. Parents were correctly listed as Richard Edwards and Martha Rains. Almost all other records support this birth date as the correct birth date for George Elmus. The outlier is the 1900 Census which lists Elmus Edwards birth date as July 1882. All other records, including draft registration, two marriage records, and 1880, 1910 and 1920 census list 1880 as the correct birth date. His tombstone also lists 1880 as his birth date. Two other pieces of this mystery. His brother Marshall was born most likely in October 1882. He is sometimes called John Marshall. And my grandmother swears that her father was the oldest... which isn't true. He had an older sister born in 1876 shortly after Richard and Martha's 1875 marriage.

So why the confusion? John was the name of Martha's father. Often times, the oldest son is named after one of the fathers. It is unclear where the name George Elmus came from. Few Georges.... Martha had a brother George. Maybe they got him home and realized he didn't really look like a John.

George lived with his parents in the 1880 census in Williamson County, aged 4 months old. He lived with his parents in 1900 in Williamson County. In September 1907 George married Amanda Williams. He was 27 years old. There is no immediate record of the disposition of that marriage and there does not appear to have been any children. But we find George marrying again in March 1910 to Olive Isabel Pogue. The following children were born: George Everett, Stella Mae, Hazel Lucille and Ruby Laura. Hazel was burned to death at about age 5 while combing her hair in front of the fire. George Everett died at aged 28 apparently from a combination of TB and alcoholism. Ruby Laura, later known just as Laura, moved to Chicago and married Charles Kroll. Stella Mae, my grandmother, married Anthony Butzek in Chicago and moved back to southern Illinois where Anthony was killed in a mining accident.

George registered for the military draft in 1918. He was 38 years old which probably explains why he was not drafted. It lists him as being of medium height, medium build, blue eyes and light hair.

George and Olive lived all their relatively short married life in Williamson County. George farmed and apparently played a fiddle in a family band at local square dances. He served a short term as a Justice of the Peace in Thompsonville, serving alongside Thomas J. Wall.

George supposedly died at home from complications of tuberculosis 12 March 1923. No record of his death has been found. Since he had TB it has left me to wonder if he died elsewhere in a TB sanatorium? More searching will need to be done on that. When he died George Elmus did leave property to his children:
  • 320 acres to George Everett, along with a house brought from Pittsburg.
  • 120 acres to Stella Mae Edwards - and a house brought from Pittsburg.
  • 40 acres and home place (house and barn) to Ruby Laura Edwards. The house burned down and Laura sold the property to her half-brother Richard Eugene Kehder in 1947 for $10/acres.
The above is a bit of a puzzle regarding the house brought from Pittsburg. Were they talking about the same house or were there two? Was the house brought from Pittsburg the homeplace or was there another house that was the home place? George Elmus was a farmer so it seems unlikely that he had enough money to have all that acreage plus three houses.

George Elmus Edwards lead a fairly unremarkable life as a farmer in southern Illinois. He lived a short life - only 43 years.