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My Grandfather Thomas Scanlon
I have been trying to find any information on Thomas Emmett Scanlon(recent confirmation of his exact name was obtained) for several years. He is my mothers father and supposedly died when she was very young. We know very little about him... which is why I haven't been able to find much information about him at all or determine if he did actually die.
This is what I know as fact and what my mother was told about her Father.
He married Minnie Lucille Wilty (Bayles) in Omaha, Nebraska in 1927
His name on the marriage license (my mother has the original) is written as: Thomas E. Scanlon.
Now, my mother was always told his middle name was Sean. I'm assuming the middle initial on the marriage license is an error. (Now know middle initial is NOT an error)
Thomas and Minnie had Patricia Alice around 1929, she was born in Chicago.
Thomas worked for the railroad.
He is listed as living in Nebraska on the 1930 census record with Minnie, Pasty(my mother) and Goldie Simpson. They were apparently living with my Great Grandmother, Goldie Simpson(Minnie's mother).
On this record it lists his birth place as Georgia. I believe this to be incorrect. My mother has always said he was born in County Cork, Ireland.
My mothers listing is incorrect on this census record. Her last name is listed as Simpson and it should be Scanlon. We were told by a local librarian that there are many mistakes in census records.
After my Grandmother left Thomas she moved back to Iowa with my mother. The story of his death is this: A friend of Thomas Scanlon came to my Grandmothers sisters home in Iowa to let the family know that Thomas had died. My mom was still pretty young, but she does remember being told. So, I'm guessing she was between 3-5 years old.
There was never a funeral, death certificate (that we know of) or anything else you would expect after someone dies. Patricia is his child, so I don't know why the railroad would not have tried to contact the family... if that was the practice then.
My mother was recently sent a letter found by an distant relative of a friend of my Grandmothers. It was written before Minnie met Thomas. But, the post mark is Kansas City with the address of the hotel she was staying in. The date of the letter is 1927 only a few months before the date on the marriage license of Thomas & Minnie.
I found an old map on line and if I am correct, the street address of this letter places that hotel within a few blocks of the railroad station. I am wondering/guessing if this is how Minnie meet Thomas in the first place. It is simply a guess, we don't know when, where or how they met.
The name Thomas Scanlon seems to be a very common Irish name. I don't when he came to this county. If he came as an adult, child or infant. I don't know his parents name, if he had siblings or anything else that would help me locate him. I'm frustrated and feel at a stand still.
I have a copy of the only photo we have of Thomas posted on deadfred. I will also add it to my page on this site.
My mother has always wondered if her Father actually did die... She has searched for him off and on most of her life. She wondered if maybe he went back to Ireland...not sure why she thought this... Obviously he would not be living at this point if he didn't die.
I would really like to be able to give her some facts/answers about her Father and that line of our family to put her mind at rest.
I do have a family tree on line through myfamily. com. It is a free site and links to ancestry every time I make changes or add to the tree. I don't have a paid ancestry account so I have used my local library and the free on line services when time allows me to research.
Any help, information, suggestions, etc., would be very much appreciated.
Thank you!
This is what I know as fact and what my mother was told about her Father.
He married Minnie Lucille Wilty (Bayles) in Omaha, Nebraska in 1927
His name on the marriage license (my mother has the original) is written as: Thomas E. Scanlon.
Now, my mother was always told his middle name was Sean. I'm assuming the middle initial on the marriage license is an error. (Now know middle initial is NOT an error)
Thomas and Minnie had Patricia Alice around 1929, she was born in Chicago.
Thomas worked for the railroad.
He is listed as living in Nebraska on the 1930 census record with Minnie, Pasty(my mother) and Goldie Simpson. They were apparently living with my Great Grandmother, Goldie Simpson(Minnie's mother).
On this record it lists his birth place as Georgia. I believe this to be incorrect. My mother has always said he was born in County Cork, Ireland.
My mothers listing is incorrect on this census record. Her last name is listed as Simpson and it should be Scanlon. We were told by a local librarian that there are many mistakes in census records.
After my Grandmother left Thomas she moved back to Iowa with my mother. The story of his death is this: A friend of Thomas Scanlon came to my Grandmothers sisters home in Iowa to let the family know that Thomas had died. My mom was still pretty young, but she does remember being told. So, I'm guessing she was between 3-5 years old.
There was never a funeral, death certificate (that we know of) or anything else you would expect after someone dies. Patricia is his child, so I don't know why the railroad would not have tried to contact the family... if that was the practice then.
My mother was recently sent a letter found by an distant relative of a friend of my Grandmothers. It was written before Minnie met Thomas. But, the post mark is Kansas City with the address of the hotel she was staying in. The date of the letter is 1927 only a few months before the date on the marriage license of Thomas & Minnie.
I found an old map on line and if I am correct, the street address of this letter places that hotel within a few blocks of the railroad station. I am wondering/guessing if this is how Minnie meet Thomas in the first place. It is simply a guess, we don't know when, where or how they met.
The name Thomas Scanlon seems to be a very common Irish name. I don't when he came to this county. If he came as an adult, child or infant. I don't know his parents name, if he had siblings or anything else that would help me locate him. I'm frustrated and feel at a stand still.
I have a copy of the only photo we have of Thomas posted on deadfred. I will also add it to my page on this site.
My mother has always wondered if her Father actually did die... She has searched for him off and on most of her life. She wondered if maybe he went back to Ireland...not sure why she thought this... Obviously he would not be living at this point if he didn't die.
I would really like to be able to give her some facts/answers about her Father and that line of our family to put her mind at rest.
I do have a family tree on line through myfamily. com. It is a free site and links to ancestry every time I make changes or add to the tree. I don't have a paid ancestry account so I have used my local library and the free on line services when time allows me to research.
Any help, information, suggestions, etc., would be very much appreciated.
Thank you!
Views: 151
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kate Steere on
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Hi Heather-
I found the 1930 record, listing Patsy as Thomas's Step Sister-in-Law, I'm attaching it so other folks can see it and try to help figure out your mystery. - Attachments:
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Scanlon_Simpson_1930.jpeg, 493 KB
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Permalink Reply by Julie Carr on
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1930 United States Federal Census
Name: Thomas Scanlon
Age: 51
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1879
Name: Thomas Scanlon
Birth: abt 1879 - location
Residence: 1930 - city, Douglas, Nebraska
1930 United States Federal Census
Name: Thomas Scanlon
Spouse: Minnie
Birth: abt 1902 - location
Residence: 1930 - city, Douglas, Nebraska
1920 United States Federal Census
Name: Thomas J Scanlon
Birth: abt 1850 - location
Arrival: year
Residence: 1920 - city, Douglas, Nebraska
Could be relatives?? -
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forgot to upload the 1920 census
I can't get to the 1930 ones -- I only have hertiage Quest thru my library and you have to look at it one image at a time. Sorry.
Julie - Attachments:
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1920 Thomas Widow.gif, 330 KB
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Permalink Reply by Heather on
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Gene, you found the right tree. It is the Cooper Family Tree. I don't have a birth certificate for Minnie. That is on my list of things to find! :-) Yes, her maiden name was Bayles, Her Father was William Bayles.
Her first husband was Walter Wilty, second husband was Thomas Scanlon, third husband was Kenneth King. King is deceased, I didn't realize that I neglected to add that information to the site. He died a few years before Minnie.
The other tree's you found are other family members on my family site. They either have the same info I do or not as much as I do.
Here is a copy of the marriage license. -
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Yes, it is the original. An incredible peice of family history in my humble opinion. :-)
I didn't know there could be additional documents. Do I simply contact the records office in Omaha? Gosh if it is anything like the document you attached.... I could find out a lot!?
Hadn't even thought of the DNA route.... her half siblings were all from my Grandmothers first marriage. My mom is the only child of Thomas and Minnie.
How would we be able to trace Thomas through DNA? Please excuse my ignorance on the topic. -
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I am trying to contain myself..... I feel like more 'headway' has been made in one afternoon by you guys than I have made in the last few years.
In regards to the marriage records from Omaha. I sent an email this afternoon inquiring about additional information to the marriage certificate I already have. I also searched and didn't come up with anything different than your results G.J. I also looked at the last name of Simpson... but I didn't see anything that jumped out. Mainly, because I know very little about my Great Grandmother as well.
What I find interesting is.... my Mom was under the impression that her mother and Kenneth King (the man I knew as Grandpa) were married in Des Moines. :-o So, the all lived in Omaha longer than anyone realized.
Which now makes me question a few other items.... if Thomas died and the message was delivered the way my mom remembers the story happening... the message was delivered to my Great Aunt in Iowa. Meaning it happened after the 1936 marriage of Minnie to Kenneth. Which would explain how a friend of Thomas' would have known Minnie, Kenneth and Patricia had moved to Iowa. It sort of makes more sense... I think. Minnie and Kenneth traveled with their work (they both worked for Gatley's Department Store, so they 'might' have been out of town when the news of Thomas dying arrived. Which would make it clearer why the friend went to mom's aunt's home. Does that make sense to anyone else?
GJ, St. Louis seems logical in regards to the railroad... yes? If my Mom was born in Chicago... then the railroad ran through St. Louis and Kansas City, right? Any idea how or where Omaha would fit in the railroad part of the equation? Thomas was listed as being a cook for the railroad in the 1930 census. Would that have been a promotion from a switchman? Since we don't know if there is a connection yet to the Scanlon's in St. Louis in the 1920 record you attached, it is simply a hypothetical question.
Minnie seemed to stay in her 20's for a fairly long time! :-) I'm sure there is a logical reason for a women in the 1920's & 1930's to lie about her age?
Thanks for the clarification on my Uncle's death year.
I had been searching records all weekend when I became so frustrated and overwhelmed. I try to search as often as I can... my free time for searching is very limited, unfortunately.
G.J., Kate & Julie, I can't express enough how much I appreciate your help with this. It really does overwhelm me to realize I might actually be able to give my Mom some answers.... Thank you!! -
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I know we haven't confirmed anything.... I'm just excited.
I don't know the exact time of Thomas' death. I'm guess at the mid to late 1930's because my Mom said she was a little girl. I will ask her some more questions to see if I can estimate a better Idea for a time frame.
Regarding my Grandmothers age..... she 'fibbed' about her age her whole life. What her reasons were for doing so, we never really knew. We thought she was four years younger when she died than she actually was, at least according to SS. That is why I wrote what I did! :) -
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I don't know if anyone can answer this question. I'm noticing a lot of Thomas J Scanlon's or Scanlan's.
Sean is Gaelic for John.... would the Irish have used John instead of Sean to seem more American?
It just seems curious to me there are so many Thomas J's. -
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The only thing I have used is Heritage quest that I can access on line through my local library. But I can only look at census records. I have tried some other sites... but you have to join to access the information. I'm not in a position to join the pay sites at this time. I have tried using the site familysearch site without much luck. Apparently I don't know how to really use the site.... since that is were you found these city directory listings. I've only tried searching by surnames on that particular site. I have used find a grave and looked through some things on a few states sites without any luck.
Please let me know what other information I can provide. -
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Ok, I'm confused on how to access the directory listed above. Do you have to be a member of the site? Or do you have to go in person to look at the micro film?
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Thanks for all the great information. I will check later this week to see were the closest Family History Center is located. Hopefully I can get there in the next few weeks.
The Thomas Scanlon in St. Louis doesn't fit the appearance of my Grandfather. I'm attaching the photo we have of him. Mom always described him as 'black' Irish, meaning dark hair and dark blues eyes that almost looked black with the fair Irish complexion of course.
After several long conversations with my Mom, we realized that she lived in Omaha longer than she thought. I am trying to get her to write down every lite memory she has, hoping it will jog other memories. But, we did find out why the friend of Thomas would have gone to my Grandmothers sisters home with the news of his death. Apparently my Mom and Minnie lived with the sister for a time before Minnie married Kenneth King in 1936.
Mom insists that Thomas Scanlon worked out of a Chicago railroad station, which is why she was born in Chicago. I still can't figure out which railroad he worked for... not sure it would tell us much anyway.
The city directories seem like the next most likely best bet on gathering accurate information.... yes?
Thanks again,
Heather -
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