Russell Tiffen Lemon (1899 - 1966)

Born 11 Oct 1899 in Brown City, Maple Valley, Sanilac, Michigan

Ancestors

Husband of Clara (Herr) Lemon — married 8 Oct 1921 in Pontiac, Oakland, Michigan

Descendants

Died 18 Dec 1966 at age 67 in Pontiac, Oakland, Michigan

Biography

Russell Tiffen Lemon was the last child born to Isaac Lemon and Eva Wilder. Born in 1899, he fought in "The Great War" as a Private First Class with the H Troop of the 15th Michigan Cavalry. My father said that his father took care of the horses and mules during the war, that there wasn't a horse or a mule that my grandfather couldn't work with.^[1] My father and his twin brother had many stories about their parents. When Russell T's mother was fatally burned in a kitchen fire, my Uncle Dick recalled that his father remembered being taken out of his high chair and placed outside by his sister, Jenny.^[2]

The facts of my grandfather's life are these: he was born in Sanilac County, Michigan on the 11th of October in 1899, but even that is debatable, as a photostatic copy of the record of births for Maple Valley township in Sanilac county for 1899 gives his date of birth as the 10th of September of that year.^[3] As that record is the closest at the actual time of his birth, I tend to believe that one, but the official date is the 11th of October.

He met Clara Herr in Oxford in Oakland County, Michigan and they married in 1921. After 10 years without a child being born, an agreement was made between Russ and Clara and her sister, Vera Robinson. In July of 1931 twins were born and given to the childless couple, though the barely-kept family secret was that they were really Russ' children. When I asked my father if we could DNA test him to find out the truth, he staunchly refused, saying, "My father is my father no matter what any test says." He made me promise not to have any of my brothers DNA tested after he was gone. I've kept that promise.

Russell and Clara raised their twin boys in Pontiac, Michigan, back when Pontiac was mostly empty fields and large wooded lots. Times were very hard during the Great Depression and my grandfather held many jobs to put food on the table for his family. He drove a truck, he worked in a factory, and then he owned his own cement block company.

Russell was hospitalized for the first time in his life in early December of 1966. He was released on the 18th and died that night at home in his own bed.

1900 United States Federal Census

Name: Russell Lemon Age: 7/12 Birth Date: Oct 1899 Birthplace: Michigan, USA Home in 1900: Maple Valley, Sanilac, Michigan Sheet Number: 9 Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 206 Family Number: 206 Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Son Marital Status: Single Father's Name: Isaac Lemon Father's Birthplace: Canada English Mother's Name: Eva Lemon Mother's Birthplace: Michigan, USA Neighbors: View others on page Household Members (Name) Age Relationship Isaac Lemon 35 Head [father] Eva Lemon 32 Wife [mother] Ray Lemon 16 Son Jennie Lemon 12 Daughter Frank Lemon 10 Son Pearl Lemon 8 Daughter Glenn Lemon 5 Son Bruce Lemon 3 Son Russell Lemon 7/12 Son^[4]

1950 United States Federal Census

[Russell T Lemon] Age: 50 Birth Date: abt 1900 Gender: Male Race: White Birth Place: Michigan Marital Status: Married Relation to Head of House: Head Residence Date: 1950 Home in 1950: Pontiac, Oakland, Michigan, USA Street Name: Northview CT House Number: 649 Dwelling Number: 111 Farm: No Acres: No Inferred Previous Residence Place: Pontiac, Oakland, Michigan Occupation: Vaire Jobs Industry: Cement Manufacturing Father Birth Place: Canada Mother Birth Place: USA Occupation Category: Working Hours Worked: 48 Worker Class: Own Business Same House: Yes School Completed: S9 Grade Completed: No Weeks Worked: 26 Income: none Other Income: 4000 Supplemental Income: none Relative Income: none Relative Other Income: none Relative Supplemental Income: none World War II Veteran: No World War I Veteran: Yes Veteran: No Household Members (Name) Age Relationship Russell T Lemon 50 Head Clara Lemon 46 Wife Russell R Lemon 18 Son Richard P Lemon 18 Son^[5]

U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Name: Russell T Lemon Gender: Male Spouse: Clara Herr Child: Richard Paul Lemon

U.S., Find a Grave™ Index, 1600s-Current

Name: Russell Tiffen Lemon Gender: Male Birth Date: 10 Oct 1899 Death Date: 17 Dec 1966 Cemetery: Perry Mount Park Cemetery Burial or Cremation Place: Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan, United States of America Has Bio?: N Father: Isaac B. Lemon Mother: Eva Belle Lemon Spouse: Clara Lemon Children: Richard Paul Lemon Russell Raymond Lemon^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Told to Denise Lemon by her father, Russell R. Lemon
2. ↑ "Things I Remember" by Richard P. Lemon, 1999
3. ↑ "Michigan, Births, 1867-1902," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NQX1-5JD : accessed 22 Nov 2013), Russell Tiffen Lemons, 10 Sep 1899.
4. ↑ [(Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Maple Valley, Sanilac, Michigan; Roll: 743; Page: 9; Enumeration District: 0130; FHL microfilm: 1240743)]
5. ↑ [(Source Citation United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Pontiac, Oakland, Michigan; Roll: 923; Sheet Number: 11; Enumeration District: 92-25)]
6. ↑ [( URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64920063/russell-tiffen-lemon)]

• Marriage Record for Russell Lemon and Clara Herr

• "Things I Remember" by Richard P Lemon, 1931-2003, unpublished manuscript in my possession.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Denise Knapp for creating Lemon-337 on 10 Nov 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Denise and others.

• DNA tests for Denise, Alan, and James Lemon show no genetic links to Lemon families. Also, at least two grandchildren of Richard Lemon, Russell's father, show no Lemon links and does have links to same individuals linked to Denise, Alan, and James but no other known ancestors of the Lemon Family Tree.