Looking for Burton or Cox

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Permalink Reply by Karyn Van Kainen on August 10, 2009 at 9:42pm

Hi Mackenzie,

I did some hunting to see if I could find anything that might help you in your search for your dad's two dads. Of course, access to such recent records is very limited, but I was able to find some records that might help you connect with some distant relatives that could have the information you seek. You may already have some of this info, but here goes!

First, I found Bonnie Maxine Warden on the 1930 census:

1930 US Census, Dora, Coos County, Oregon

William Warden, age 29, b. KS; “logger, lumber camp;” parents both b. MO
Lillian, age 26, b. AK; father b. AK, mother b. SD
Thomas, age 5, b. OR
Bonnie, age 2, b. WA

William and Lillian indicate that they married when William was age 22 and Lillian age 18 (abt. 1922).

I was then able to find Bonnie and her parents in the Oregon Death Index:

Oregon Death Index

Name: William Thomas Warden
County: Coos
Death Date: 15 Dec 1980
Certificate #: 80-20023
Age: 79
Birth Date: 10 Mar 1901
Spouse: Lillian

Name: Lillian Beatrice Warden
County: Coos
Death Date: 24 May 1996
Certificate #: 96-120015
Age: 91
Birth Date: 29 May 1904
Spouse: William

Name: Bonnie Maxine Burton
County: Coos
Death Date: 30 Mar 1993
Certificate #: 93-07421
Age: 64
Birth Date: 22 May 1928

Realizing that William also may have gone by Thomas, I looked for him on earlier census records to try and connect him to his parents. I found your family tree at Ancestry, which indicated that he was the son of Thomas Warden and Rilla Wright. I was able to find Thomas and Rilla on the 1900 census:

1900 US Census, District 26, Lowell, Cherokee County, Kansas

John W. Brewer, age 23, b. Feb 1877, U.S.; “miner, zinc;” parents birthplaces unknown
Myrtle B., age 17, b. Feb 1883, MO; “boarders, housekeeper;” parents both b. IL
Thomas Warden, age 21, b. Aug 1878, MO; “miner, zinc;” parents birthplaces unknown
Rilla, age 17, b. Jan 1883, KS; parents both b. IN
Carrie, age 12, b. Mar 1888, KS

John and Myrtle Brewer indicate that they’ve been married for 3 years, and have no children. The Wardens are all listed as “boarders” in the household. Thomas and Rilla indicate that they’ve been married 0 years, and have no children. Carrie Warden‘s relationship to Thomas is unclear.

I had a heck of a time finding Thomas and Rilla on the 1910 census. Once I was finally able to find Thomas, the reason became clear:

1910 US Census, District 63, Webb Ward 4, Jasper County, Missouri

Harrison Hulsey, age 35, b. MO; “man, zinc mine;” father b. IL, mother b. MO
Mattie, age 35, b. KS; father b. IL, mother b. KS
Mary, age 8, b. MO
Harry, age 3, b. MO
Tom Warden, “brother-in-law,” age 31, b. KS; widower; “machine man, zinc mine;” father b. IL, mother b. KS

Harrison and Mattie indicate that they’ve been married for 16 years, and have had 2 children, both living.

Clearly, Rilla had died between 1900 and 1910. Since there are no children listed for Thomas, it seems most likely that William wound up with relatives or in an orphanage. This wouldn’t surprise me, since a working-class man alone would find it very difficult to raise young children. One member of my family from this same period had to send five of his children to an orphanage in Detroit, and a newborn infant to his sister-in-law after his wife died in childbirth. At any rate, it seems most likely that Thomas remarried at some point. I was unable to find young William on the 1910 or 1920 census records.

I then tried to see if I could find Thomas’ parents. A search turned up another family tree at Ancestry that indicated Thomas was the son of William Hughes Warden and Millie Jane. (The family tree is called simply “Day,” so if you do a search for Thomas Warden (b. 1878, MO) you should be able to find it and perhaps contact the owner. This tree indicates that William Hughes Warden had two wives, and that Thomas was a child of the second marriage. I looked for census records to see if I could confirm the information, and found the following:

1880 US Census, District 186, Alexander, Benton County, Missouri

William H. Warden, age 52, b. NC; “farmer;” parents both b. NC
Milie [2nd wife], age 31, b. MO; parents both b. MO
William H., age 15, b. KS; “works on farm;“ father b. NC, mother b. IL [from William’s 1st marriage]
Robert, age 13, b. KS; “works on farm;” father b. NC, mother b. IL [from William’s 1st marriage]
John Hudson, age 7, b. KS; “stepson;” parents both b. MO [from Milie’s 1st marriage to Mr. Hudson]
Mattie Warden, age 4, b. KS; father b. NC, mother b. MO [from this marriage]
Thomas Warden, age 2, b. KS; father b. NC, mother b. MO [from this marriage]

This supports the family tree info, and also indicates that Milie [Millie?] was also married once before. I’m not 100% sure that Hudson is her first husband’s surname, or if it is merely her son, John’s, middle name. More research would be needed. More importantly, this record confirms that Thomas had an older sister, Mattie, with whom he is living in 1910. According to other census records, Mattie and Harrison Hulsey had quite a number of children and appear to have remained in Missouri. The 1870 and 1860 census’ further support the family tree, and show William Hughes Warden in his first marriage to Martha Huddleston:

1870 US Census, Perry Post Office, Sarcoxie Twp, Jefferson County, Kansas

William Warden, age 41, b. NC; “farmer”
Martha [1st wife], age 38, b. IL
Daniel, age 14, b. IL
Mary Ann, age 12, b. IL
Margaret, age 9, b. IL
Elizabeth, age 7, b. IL
William, age 5, b. KS
Robert, age 3, b. KS
Lidia, age 5 mos, b. Dec 1879, KS
James Balsworth, age 14, b. MO [relationship, if any, to the family unknown…prob. a farmhand]

1860 US Census, Elkhorn, Brown County, Illinois

W.H. Warden, age 30, b. NC; “farmer”
Mrs. Martha, age 21, b. IL
Susan A., age 5, b. IL
Daniel, age 4, b. IL
Mary A., age 3, b. IL
Margaret, age 6 mos, b. IL
William Dorman, age 19, b. IL; “farmer”

I know this isn’t really the information you were looking for, but perhaps it will help connect you with some distant cousin who might have more info on your father’s biological or adoptive father. I took a look at the Oregon GenWeb site, and the Coos County site does have a list of look-up volunteers who may be able to hunt down a birth or marriage record for you. If Bonnie was twice married, it seems most likely that those marriages occurred in Coos County, so there should be some record out there.

I hope this helps you in your quest!

Karyn

Permalink Reply by Mackenzie Rose Sanders on August 11, 2009 at 7:55am

Wow! This is awesome, thank you so much.

Permalink Reply by Karyn Van Kainen on August 11, 2009 at 8:58am

My pleasure! Best of luck in your search!