Josephine Ethel (Bigelow) McAuliff (1893 - 1965)

Born 8 Jan 1893 in Tawas City, Iosco, Michigan, United States

Wife of Lyman McAuliff — married 20 Dec 1932 in Tawas Township, Iosco, Michigan, United States

Died 12 Jan 1965 at age 72 in Tawas Township, Iosco, Michigan, United States

Biography

The daughter of Arthur Edwin Bigelow (1852-1932) and Frances Alfreda Beemer (1862-1917), Josie was born in Tawas City in 1893. At the time of her birth, her father was a blacksmith in Tawas.^[1] By 1910, her father plying his trade for the local railroad shop.^[2] Her siblings included:

1. George Levi Bigelow (1882-1932)
2. Charles Arthur (1885-1947)
3. Albert Bigelow (1886-1970)
4. Hosea Edmond (1893-1963)

Josie married Hugh Chester Johnson (1887-1966), the son of George H. Johnson and Mary Louise Campbell, marrying in Tawas City on July 19, 1914.^[3] Josie and Charles had three children together:

1. George Arthur Johnson (1915-1935)
2. Chester Edwin Johnson (1916-2003)
3. Ruth Nathalie Johnson (1921-1993)

Her husband filed for divorce on October 19, 1935, four months after the death of their oldest son, George, in February of 1935. Charles asked for the divorce on the grounds of desertion, and it was granted two months later, on December 27, 1935.^[4] It is possible that Josie was in a bigamous relationship with her second husband, marrying Lyman McAuliff three years before the divorce. They married in Tawas City on December 20, 1932.^[5] Lyman, who had lost his wife in May of that year, was 72; Josie was 39.

Lyman passed away in 1941 and Josie remarried, marrying Otis Palmer Bancroft (1872-1950), the son of Francis Bancroft and Adelia C. Barr, in Bowling Green, Ohio on February 5, 1943.^[6] At the time of the marriage, Josie was 50 and working as a nurse in a maternity home in Tawas City and Otis was 70 and worked as a salesman in Bay City, Michigan. He stated that he was a widower, having been married once before, and she stated that she had been married twice, having divorced in St. Petersburg, Florida and having been widowed.

Otis passed away in 1950 and there is some indication that Josie married a fourth time, being only 55 years old when her third husband died. She possibly married Ernest Otto Mueller (1892-1981), the son of Emiel (Ernest) Mueller (1866-1942) and Mary Wendt (1867-1951). He had been married previously to Louisa Bertsch, and divorced in 1947.

Sources

1. ↑ United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls. Year: 1900; Census Place: Tawas, Iosco, Michigan; Page: 13; Enumeration District: 0111: Tawas City, Ward 1, 2, 3; FHL microfilm: 1240718. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Ancestry Record 7602 #24860873 with attached Image
2. ↑ Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Year: 1910; Census Place: Tawas Ward 1, Iosco, Michigan; Roll: T624_650; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0126; FHL microfilm: 1374663. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Ancestry Record 7884 #197440226 with attached Image
3. ↑ Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 118; Film Description: 1914 Calhoun-1914 Isabella. Ancestry.com. Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Ancestry Record 9093 #3213772 with attached Image
4. ↑ vMichigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Michigan. Divorce records: State Office No 37 217; Docket No. 3298. Ancestry.com. Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Ancestry Record 9092 #393359 with attached Image
5. ↑ "Michigan Marriages, 1822-1995", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCFX-XGK : 17 January 2020), Josephine E. Johnson in entry for Lyman McAucliffe, 1932.
6. ↑ Ancestry.com. Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data:Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Various Ohio County Courthouses. Ancestry Record 61378 #903422376 with attached Image