52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 1: Family Lore
PROMPT: Many of us have heard stories from our grandparents about incredible feats our ancestors did or a famous person we’re related to. What’s a tale that has been passed down in your family? Did it end up being true or did it turn out to just be a good story?
For over ten years, I have been consumed by a legend passed down by family members who are not my own.
Well, that’s not entirely true: they are not close family members.
Because I curate several public trees online, I often receive messages from other researchers through the site. One frequent query I get is, “I see that you have my grandfather [or other relative] in your tree. Are we related?”
[I particularly love it when “my grandfather” is all the information that I’m given to work with. That, or I’m given a name only—no dates—and I happen to have half a dozen people in my tree with that same name.]
One such inquiry came about ten years ago from a Patsy Montgomery who, it turned out, is my 3rd cousin 1X removed. (She was excited to have made a connection with living family; she did, however, express disappointment upon hearing we were “1X removed.”)
The fact that she and I were not more closely related did not, however, deter Patsy from exchanging email addresses with me. Shortly thereafter, she was regaling me with a bit of family lore the veracity of which had vexed her for many years.
The legend involved Patsy’s grandfather–John Colquitt Montgomery. He had had seemingly disappeared into the ether, leaving a wife and four young children–including Patsy’s mother–never to be heard from again..
The prevailing theory about John’s disappearance was that he had defaulted on a loan on his home or farm and, rather than allowing the bank to seize the property, he burned it down and then skipped town. Patsy’s grandmother–Lillian “Gertrude” Ford Montgomery—and the four children supposedly went to live with a sister.
John attempted to make contact with Gertrude, but the sister intercepted his letters and kept them from Gertrude. To this day, no one in the family has been able to locate a death certificate nor anything conclusive about the latter part of his life.
My first thought upon hearing this story was what a great opera plot it would make! Intrigued, I set to work assisting Patsy and seeking answers for questions that had now piqued my own curiosity.
So far, I have been unsuccessful in finding anything more for Patsy or myself.
I return to this “cold case” periodically to see if I might find any new leads. Some years ago, I even asked a colleague at work who extensively researches her own family if she might be willing to take a crack at this. She did so and, although she didn’t reach anything conclusive, I found the deductions she had reached from careful reading of citations most impressive. She wrote me back the following, detailing various possible scenarios—all gleaned from censuses:
The timeline I’m gathering is this. If I missed something let me know:
– John Colquitt Montgomery (JCM) and Gertrude Ford Montgomery (GFM) moved to Akron sometime between 1918 and 1920 — probably so that JCM could find work in Akron’s booming rubber industry.
– In 1920, they were renting (278 Barden Ave, Akron) – not owning – so it wouldn’t have made sense for JCM to burn it down.
– In June of 1922, their youngest child, Mary Louise, was born. This means they were still together until at least, say, September of 1921. The 1930 census says that Mary Louise was born in Oklahoma. Who knows whether this is accurate? For the time being, I’m going to assume it is, putting GFM back in Oklahoma in June of 1922.
So, a few possibilities:
1. Did Akron not work out and both JCM and GFM return to Oklahoma together in 1921/1922? Was this where he bought a home/farm and burnt it down?
2. Or was Akron where the separation occurred, perhaps while GFM was pregnant? And did she return to Oklahoma alone to live with her sister? If that’s the case, then I guess the home burning took place in Ohio — but of course that means that JCM must have bought and defaulted on a house sometime between April, 1920 (when he was renting) and June, 1922.
3. Was the census wrong, and Mary Louise actually born in Ohio, thus opening a larger window in time and location? GFM was making babies with another man by 1926, so the open time slot for the arson is 1922-1925 in either Ohio or Oklahoma — or somewhere in between!Anyway, I’m poking around in the 1921-1925 neighborhoods in both Ohio and Oklahoma. It would help to know for sure where Mary Louise Montgomery (Kinkade) was born. I see that her daughter is still alive. Are you in touch with her, by any chance?
Also, if JCM really was in Detroit in the 1930s (as listed in his mom’s obit), I’m guessing that he was working in the auto/tire industry, having had experience as a treader in Akron. I wonder if that’s a clue. Hmm…
Even with my colleague’s expert detective work, I have not yet found answers for Patsy or myself. If anyone reading this loves a sleuthing challenge as much as I do, please feel free to contact me with any suggestions on avenues for further research.
Talking Leaves 