Trudy (McKnight) Wade
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Gertrude Opal Florence (McKnight) Wade (1916 - 2004)

Gertrude Opal Florence (Trudy) Wade formerly McKnight
Born in Hatfield, Mingo, West Virginia, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
[spouse(s) unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died at age 88 in Escondido, San Diego, California, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 4 Dec 2016
This page has been accessed 726 times.

Contents

Biography

Birth

Gertrude Opal Florence McKnight, known as Trudy, was born on 3 December 1916 in Hatfield, Mingo, West Virginia, United States to Orlando Clinton McKnight (1895-1963) and Ida Belle Romans (1890-1932).

Siblings

  1. Clifford Jennings McKnight was born on 13 February 1915 in West Virginia, United States. He died on 12 August 1989 in Crab Orchard, Raleigh, West Virginia, United States.[1]
  2. Henry Lee McKnight was born on 17 March 1919 in Borderland, Mingo, West Virginia, United States. He married Pearldene Scott (1921-1973). Henry died on 12 June 1983 in Williamson, Mingo, West Virginia, United States.[2]
  3. Ruby Avanelle McKnight was born on 16 April 1921 in Nolan, Mingo, West Virginia, United States. [3] She married Charles Ernest Meredith (1916-1990). Ruby died on 21 January 1992 in Portsmouth, Scioto, Ohio, United States. [4]
  1. Virginia Ruth McKnight, known as Ruth, was born on 16 April 1923 in Hatfield, Mingo, West Virginia, United States. [5] She married Louis William Caston (1923-2004). Ruth died on 1 September 1986 in Fayette County, Kentucky, United States.[6]
  2. Evelyn McKnight, twin, was born on 3 June 1926 in Borderland, Mingo, West Virginia, United States. She married Frank Ross Giordano (1912-1986).[7]
  3. Eugene McKnight, twin, was born on 3 June 1926 in Borderland, Mingo, West Virginia, United States. He married Violet Jean Whitlock (1932-2004) on 18 August 1960 in Cook County, Illinois. Eugene died on 10 August 1984 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States.[8]
  4. Orlando Clinton McKnight Jr., called both Jim and Junior, was born on 7 January 1929 in Kermit, Mingo, West Virginia, United States. He died on 12 January 1994 in Williamson, Mingo, West Virginia, United States.[9]

1/2 Sibling

  1. Estella Myrtle Little was born on 27 July 1912 in Borderland, Mingo, West Virginia, USA. She married Luther Booth (1909-1984) c. 1933. Stella died on 4 March 2007 in Williamson, Mingo, West Virginia, United States. [10]

When Trudy was 14, her mother died. Her father was completely bedridden with the plague of the coal miner, black lung. Her oldest sister got married right away and that left Trudy to take care of her father and her siblings. She had to quit school and later find a job to help. She was employed by a military academy in Charleston, West Virginia working in food service. There she met a student, William Warren Cobb (1917-2007). They fell in love and she eventually became pregnant. He asked her to marry him, but she was afraid his family would not approve of an uneducated girl from an impoverished coal mining family. She secretly fled to the farthest she could go with the money she had and went to New York where she entered a home for unwed mothers. She had her son and named him after his father. Then she sought and found employment with a family in Dobbs Ferry, Westchester, New York. The woman was a medical doctor and the man was the vice president of Anaconda Mining Company.

Trudy lived with and cared for this same family, the Boschens, most of her life. They took her son into their hearts and became secondary parents. Eventually much later, for inheritance purposes, they adopted him. In the meantime, the father of her child was looking for her. He had questioned one of her sisters and finally she revealed where Trudy was and why. Bill came knocking on the door of the house in Dobbs Ferry to be greeted by the doctor who told him Trudy didn't want to see him and that the baby had died. She selfishly wanted to keep the baby there with her and even intercepted and destroyed letters from him. Trudy didn't know any of this until the 1960's when her son was much older, married and a father himself. It was too late to even find Bill Sr. What she didn't know was that the father of her child had gone into the United States Army in 1941, participated in WWII, and that he had become Major General William Warren Cobb, married and had 2 children. A boy, also named William Warren Cobb Jr. and a girl. The family didn't find him until Trudy and he were both dead. Now all of the children have met and welcomed one another into their extended family. They, of course, waited until the wife of the General was deceased also.

Marriage

Trudy married Ernest Lee Wade (1911-2001) on 21 June 1968 in Carson City, Nevada. She had received other offers of marriage but this was the one she accepted.

Residences

When she married Ernie, she was living in Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego, California with the Boschens. They moved to Marysville, Yuba, in northern California for a number of years until the Boschens became infirm and she felt she needed to return to help. After Mr. Boschen died, Trudy's son and family found land in Valley Center, San Diego, California to build and cultivate. They all intended to move to separate lots on a large piece of property. Trudy and Ernie lived there, close to Dr. Boschen's house to care for her as long as she could in old age. After Ernie's death, she continued to reside there until her own death.

Child of the McKnight-Cobb Alliance

  1. William Warren Cobb born in 1940 in Yonkers, New York, United States.

Death and Burial

Trudy died on 9 September 2004 in a nursing facility in Escondido, San Diego, California, United States at the age of 87. She had been placed in the care facility due to extreme complications of tuberculosis, complicated by many years of smoking. She probably contracted the TB as a youngster and it finally showed up when she was too old and frail to combat it anymore. Her mind was sharp until the end and she died surrounded by family and loved ones with the same incredible grace that she lived her life. She is sorely missed by everyone who knew and loved her. She was buried in the Valley Center Cemetery, Valley Center, San Diego, California. Find A Grave: Memorial #62885956

Sources

  • 1920 United States Federal Census on 31 January in Lee, Mingo, West Virginia at H6 Tug River Road. Page 22A, lines 19-24. [11]
  • 1930 United States Federal Census on 19 April in Lee, Mango, West Virginia. [12]
  • Find A Grave Index. (Created by Darlene Kerr)
  • West Virginia Birth Record for McKnight on 3 December 1916 in Hatfield, Mingo, West Virginia. Child of Orlander (sic) and Ida McKnight.

Footnotes

  1. U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims for Clifford J. McKnight with birth and death dates.
  2. Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Death file for Henry McKnight (Navy) who enlisted on 20 August 1940 and was released on 20 November 1946. Gives birth and death dates.
  3. West Virginia Birth Index for Ruby A??Nell McKnight.
  4. Ohio Department of Health. Index to Annual Deaths, 1958-2002. Ohio Department of Health, State Vital Statistics Unit, Columbus, OH, USA. Death record for Ruby Avanelle Merideth.
  5. West Virginia Birth Index for Virginia McKnight. FHL Film Number 1753583.
  6. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Health Data Branch, Divisision of Epidemiology and Health Planning. Kentucky Death Index, 1911-present. Frankfort, KY, USA: Kentucky Department of Information Systems. Death record for Ruth Caston.
  7. Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for Frank Giordano (Army) with birth and death dates. Also enlistment on 5 March 1942 and release on 14 January 1946.
  8. Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Birth and death dates for Eugene McKnight.
  9. FAG 180347685 has obituary posted for him with birth and death dates and places and family members.
  10. Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration for Estella Booth.
  11. 1920: McKnight, Lando 24, b. Ohio, coal miner, head; Ida 27, b. West Virginia, wife; Stella 6, daughter (actually stepdaughter); Clifford 4, son; Gertrude 2 and 2 months, daughter; Henry L. 9 months, son.
  12. 1930: McKnight, Lon 33, married at 17, coal miner, head; Ida 37, married at 21, wife; Stella 17, daughter; Gertrude 13, daughter; Henry 11, son; Ruby 9, daughter; Ruth 7, daughter; Eveline 3 & 9 months, daughter; Eugene 3 & 9 months., son; Jr. 1 & 3 months, son; Clifford 16, son.

Acknowledgements

  1. Darlene Scott Kerr, first daughter-in-law, created McKnight-1886 on 4 December 2016.




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Trudy by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Trudy:

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Gertrude McKnight
Gertrude McKnight



Comments: 1

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Please do not change the placement of the reference and footnote notations. 1/2 of the census data and other is lost if you do. No rule that I know of that says you have to have no space between "Sources" and References or can't have footnotes. Thank you.
posted by Darlene (Scott) Kerr