Halle Berry's Father - Jerome Jesse Berry - 1940 Census?

Question

I'm hunting down the father of Halle Berry, Jerome Jesse Berry, and with a birth date of 1934, I would expect to find him in the 1940 Census - but no luck so far. I've got his profile set up and some basic information recorded, but I'd love to find either birth records, the 1940 Census, or even marriage records with Judith Ann Hawkins if they're out there. His parent's names are listed on the Find-A-Grave entry where they state his birth place is in Mississippi, but another site claims it's also possible that he was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Regardless, I've been unable to find any combination of searches to produce further records. Can anyone assist?

Thanks!

Comments

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halle_Berry

Interesting article on Halle Berry from Wikipedia which reads in part, 

"Berry was born Maria Halle Berry; her name was legally changed to Halle Maria Berry at age five.^[7] Her parents selected her middle name from Halle's Department Store, which was then a local landmark in her birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio.^[8]Her mother, Judith Ann (née Hawkins),^[9] who is of English and German ancestry, was a psychiatric nurse.^[10] Her father, Jerome Jesse Berry, was an African-American hospital attendant in the psychiatric ward where her mother worked; he later became a bus driver.^[2][8] Berry's maternal grandmother, Nellie Dicken, was born in Sawley, Derbyshire, England, while her maternal grandfather, Earl Ellsworth Hawkins, was born in Ohio.^[11] Berry's parents divorced when she was four years old; she and her older sister, Heidi Berry-Henderson,^[12] were raised exclusively by their mother."

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I'm starting to suspect that he might have been missed on the 1940 Census. It happens.

Answer 1

 

Jerome Jesse Berry

Find A Grave Index

Name	Jerome Jesse Berry
Event Type	Burial
Event Date	2003
Event Place	Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States of America
Photograph Included	Y
Birth Date	07 Aug 1934
Death Date	24 Jan 2003
Affiliate Record Identifier	7144497
Cemetery	Cleveland Memorial Gardens

CITING THIS RECORD

"Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVW-XQBT : accessed 28 April 2016), Jerome Jesse Berry, 2003; Burial, Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States of America, Cleveland Memorial Gardens; citing record ID 7144497, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

Comments

Looking at his tombstone with a birth year of 1934 and someone who served in the U S Airforce, he would only have been 11 years old when WWII ended, so he could have been in the Airforce during the Korean war.

His military record might have his birth location.

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Korean War was my guess too - haven't found a source for military records for him yet, but I haven't given up yet either.

Answer 2

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Berry&GSiman=1&GScid=193382&GRid=7144497&

Birth:	Aug. 7, 1934 Clarksdale Coahoma County Mississippi, USA
Death:	Jan. 24, 2003 Euclid Cuyahoga County Ohio, USA
Jesse Jerome Berry was the son of Robert "Bob" Berry and Cora Lee Powell. He married Judith Ann Hawkins and they had two daughters, Heidi and Halle. He died at the Euclid General Hospital in Euclid, Ohio.
Burial: Cleveland Memorial Gardens  Cleveland Cuyahoga County Ohio, USA
Created by: K Record added: Feb 03, 2003  Find A Grave Memorial# 7144497

Comments

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=7144497&PIpi=103273749

Jesse Jerome Berry

Image is scaled. Click image to open at full size.

JESSE JEROME BERRY US AIR FORCE Aug 7, 1934-Jan 24, 2003 BELOVED FATHER AND SON

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My only problem with Find A Grave on this one is that the data doesn't appear to have any primary sources that I can find. I'd be a lot more comfortable with the data if I could find a birth record or 1940 Census record.

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A google search of Coahoma County birth records has this:

http://publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/MS_Coahoma.htm

 

A google search of Coahoma County Genealogy showed this:

Coahoma County Mississippi Genealogy & History Network

coahoma.msghn.org/

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2.  

Your online source of Coahoma County Mississippi genealogy and history information.

Coahoma County, Mississippi Genealogy Genealogy ...

https://familysearch.org/.../Coahoma_County,_Mississippi_...

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FamilySearch

Mar 26, 2016 - Guide to Coahoma County, Mississippi ancestry, family history andgenealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, ...

Coahoma County,Mississippi History, Facts, Genealogy ...

www.genealogyinc.com/mississippi/coahoma-county/

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2.  

Your Guide to Coahoma County, MS family history research. Find links to record collections, facts, history and genealogical resources to help you trace your ...

 

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Yeah - I'm starting to wonder if the Mississippi reference is correct, but it's all we have to go on for the moment.

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Under possible relatives at the bottom of the page is Cora Lee Berry who is listed in the cemetery record as Cora Lee Powell. 

Jerome Berry

United States Public Records

Name	Jerome Berry
Also Known As	Jesse J Berry
Residence Date	01 May 1997
Residence Place	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Birth Date	07 Aug 1934
Address	3038 E 116th St
Address Continued	Cleveland, Ohio 44120
Address Date	01 May 1997
2nd Address	7376 Oakhill Rd
2nd Address Continued	Cleveland, Ohio 44146
2nd Address Date	01 Jan 1995-01 Jan 1998
3rd Address	1540 E 193rd St Apt 341
3rd Address Continued	Euclid, Ohio 44117
3rd Address Date	01 May 1994
Possible Relatives	Cora Lee Berry, Judith A Berry
Record Number	283064201

CITING THIS RECORD

"United States Public Records, 1970-2009," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:29CX-LG2 : accessed 28 April 2016), Jerome Berry, Residence, Cleveland, Ohio, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.

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Woo - that's promising! At least a secondary source confirmation!

Thanks!

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"Ohio Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VKT4-S3N : accessed 28 April 2016), Jesse Berry, 24 Jan 2003; from "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-2007," database and images, Ancestry(http://www.ancestry.com : 2010); citing vol. 33690, certificate number 08362, Ohio Historical Society, Columbus; Ohio Department of Health, State Vital Statistics Unit, Columbus.

• This source has Dad listed as "Berry" and Mom listed as "Powell" - another confirmation!