Does anyone know who the Martha Ellen [widow] with one daughter who married Thomas Redding Dale might be?

+1 vote
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in Genealogy Help by Marcia Dale-LeWinter G2G Crew (710 points)
Marcia, please link to a profile page that contains more information, or provide more information so we can help you answer your question. Without at least approximate dates and places, we can't really help you.
I wish I had more information! Thomas Redding Dale's 1st wife, Mary Byrd Davis, died in December of 1914 [a week or so before my father's 4th birthday], and he had 3 young children. I have no information on their wedding [her name came from his death certificate, but on the death certificate her last name was Dale of course], but it may not have been too long thereafter. My father's older brother and sister always said she was the step-mother from hell, but no one was there to speak for her . . . Sorry I can't be of more help.
Having trouble finding them in the 1920 census-- assuming they'd still be in Oklahoma, but maybe they're not. Also no luck finding Thomas and Mary in the 1910 census. Yet.

Marcia, what was the name of your father and his siblings? That will help us track them down. Do you know if the family stayed in Garfield County, Oklahoma after Mary Byrd (Davis) Dale's 1914 death?
Would also be helpful to know the name (and approx birth year) of the daughter of widow Martha Ellen. That would help us track her down.
Found a Profile page that appears to confirm that Ralph was indeed Marcia's father:

 

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dale-693

2 Answers

0 votes

 

If Thomas Redding Dale went by the name of Tommie R Dale then I found some information that may be of help to you.
 
Tommie was born abt 1867 and married Mary B. A. Davis, born 16 May 1872 in Scotland Co, Missouri and died 11 Dec 1914 in Enid, Garfield County, OK. They married on 28 Nov 1895 in Garfield, Oklahoma, USA.
 
Tommie is the son of D. W. Dale and Emma Dean.
 
Mary is the daughter of Leroy Woods Davis and Isadora C Tull.
 
More information about Martha Ellen would definitely help in tracking down information about her.
 
by Bryan Reinhart G2G4 (4.2k points)
Mmm... I found in the 1940 census a Ralph L. Dale, born Oklahoma, working at the railroad, in Forest, Scott, Mississippi, with wife Zelma, and 4-year-old daughter... Marcia! ;-)

Oh dear, Marcia, I hope you're not freaked out by all we're finding.
Thanks so much Bryan: It's him / them! His wife's birth name is Mary Byrd Davis - As far as I know there is no "A." I thought they were married before they went to the Oklahoma Territories with her parents. Do you have a marriage certificate or some other document. If you do I'd love it if you would email me a copy. All the best, Marcia
Hi: Yes Ralph is my father, and that was his family. He was born 1910. His mother Mary Byrd Davis Dale died in December of 1914 - his birthday was Dec 20 and I believe she died abt a week before his 4th birthday. With three young children I don't suppose he waited too long to marry . . .
Found it! WOW! I can't say enough Thank Yous! What a joy to have! My parents met at the Unversity of Oklahoma. My mother's parents having migrated from a farm in upper New York state to the oil business in Oklahoma. Amazing how lives flow togethet . . .
I did find his death certificate, which has his birthday on it. He was born 1866 - the US Censuses seem to estimate birth year from answer to question "how old are you?" Therefore birth year estimate is often off a year because of how the birthday relates to the actual day and date of the census recording.
Thanks Jillaine! I've tried the 1910 census and couldn't find them. But a mistranscription may be the gremlin. T.R. was mistranscripted as T.K. in one census docucment, and I didn't catch it until I read the actual page. To err is human . . . Me to!
Not at all - it's all public records: Ralph is my father and Marcia is me. I'm 77 years old and having a great time with all of this. My father was an oil company executive who's career took him from above the Arctic Circle to Japan and Iran and North Arrica and South America. He looked like a Viking and traveled the globe like one. Maybe it was in his genes . . .
Yes. I keep cringing at the Isadore for a woman's name - her name was Isadora, but she changed it to Isabel because Isadora Duncan, the dancer, was rather notorious at the time and she didn't like the association . . .

You can find a copy of the marriage license/certificate at:

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-159393-698029-71?cc=1709399&wc=MM2Z-9X4:1448218080

Mary is listed as Mary B. A. Davis and the A is for Ana or Anna.

Yes, Ralph was my father, and other info correct. But I have all that. I don't know the name of Martha Ella' s daughter or anything else about her. Thanks for you ntime and effort. I tried tracing Martha a a Dale widow, but couldn't find her. She may have been of the frequently marrying kind.

Want you to know I sing the praises of WikiTree search volunteers and urge DNA Project members to join.
0 votes
From the 1920 US Census: Martha Ellen was born in Missouri in Abt 1872. Her mother was born in Pennsylvanis and her father was born in Indiana. Sorry, but I don't have any more info tha that. Not to worry, if she can't be found she can't be found . . . Thanks so much for all you do - all of you!
by Marcia Dale-LeWinter G2G Crew (710 points)
Marcia, Glad you found your way back here. This has been a fun mystery to work on. So one more question (which may have gotten lost in all of the above): You said that when Martha Ellen married your grandfather, that she was widowed and had a daughter. Any chance of finding the name of the daughter? With that we should be able to find her in the 1910 census and work backwards. The daughter was clearly old enough to have married or left home by 1920 because she's not with them in that census. So she should have been born before the 1910 census.
Sorry. Everyone who might of known is dead. I guess this one will remain a myster. Again, many thanks.

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