“We need to get together more often and not at a
funeral.” How many times have you and a cousin said that? Funerals are much
like a family reunion. You can learn a lot about a family just by looking at
who showed up. Using my grandparents’ guest books and sympathy cards, I’ll be
exploring “Who came to the funeral?”
is for Evelyn Louderback Singleton. Evelyn attended the
funeral of my maternal grandfather Orvin Davis. How she knew my grandfather is
a mystery. Maybe she didn’t know him at
all; she could have been a friend of someone else in the family. Regardless of
the connection, she thought enough of our family to send flowers.
The limited research available online revealed the
expected details. Evelyn Lucille was born to Charles and Sudie Louderback in
1913. She had three younger brothers: William, Charles Jr., and Guy.
But the research also revealed a couple of puzzles. First
of all, in 1931, a Washington DC newspaper published a list of couples who had
been issued marriage licenses. On the
list was Evelyn Louderback and William Fox, both of Shenandoah. However, it
doesn’t appear that they ever married.
According to Findagrave and to Singleton researchers, Evelyn
instead married Erasmus Jack Singleton, Jr. sometime between 1931 and 1937, and
then she married Paul Workman in July 1937. So the second question was how
could she have been “Mrs. Evelyn Singleton” in 1963 if she married Paul Workman
second? Easy -- the researchers are wrong. How do I know?
 |
| from Findagrave.com photo courtesy Jan Hensley |
The listing for Evelyn Louderback Workman on Findagrave
shows her buried with her husband Paul who died in 1948. There is a link to the
grave of their son Paul Workman Jr. who died January 30, 1957. His obituary reports
that he was the son of Evelyn Singleton.
While I was thrilled to get to the truth, I was also sad when I read the story of young Paul’s horrible death. He was only 14. He and his cousin Billy Louderback were playing in an old abandoned house when the roof collapsed. Billy was able to jump out a window, but Paul was crushed.
Billy Louderback was the son of Evelyn’s brother William
and his wife Frances, who also attended my grandfather’s funeral. Judging
by the handwriting, one of the women signed the Guest Book for the other.
To Explore more Entertaining E subjects, Exit this blog
and Enter the latest Edition of the A to Z April Challenge.
© 2015, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.
So do you think she just never changed her name and after marrying Paul Workman or that she never did marry Paul Workman?
ReplyDeleteI think she married Paul Workman first. I believe she's buried with her first husband and not the second because her son was buried there too. Just my opinion. Perhaps they bought a family plot when Paul died.
DeleteOh wow, interesting story about Evelyn. That is interesting with the names. I too wonder like the other commenter if she never changed her name, which would make her very progressive for the time. So sad about the death of her son; can't imagine their grief!
ReplyDeletebetty
No, I think she married and changed her name. And yes, what a loss especially knowing how tragically the young boy died.
DeleteAnother story that makes family history such a fascinating pastime. I was attracted by Evelyn's name - Singleton is a popular name in my mother's part of Lancashire where there is also a village Singleton, and the name Louderback certainly gets one wondering as to its origin..
ReplyDeleteLouderback has to be German. The Shenandoah Valley was settled in the 1700s mostly by Germans migrating from Pennsylvania. There are lots of German surnames in the area.
DeleteI'm just getting to your A-Z posts - wonderful! I can't believe how much information you've been able to dig up on these people. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteWhy, thank-you.
DeleteIt is interesting how you were able to track down this woman's history. She must have been very devoted to him to be buried to him forty years after his death. Some people would probably just had remarried.
ReplyDeleteShe did remarry, but I've seen this often where someone was buried with the first spouse rather than the second. I have one distant relative who is buried between his two wives.
DeleteI reread the post more careful, and sorry I missed she had remarried when I first commented. That is quite interesting that someone who remarried would pick the first spouse over the second. I guess being buried in between the two wives would be a easy solution if the guy was waffling about where to be buried. I know this is a serious topic, but why do I find this so amusing?
DeleteThis is a super interesting story. It's amazing how much you were able to put together!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle! Some are certainly easier and more interesting than others.
DeleteVery interesting these non-related attendees to your grandfather's funeral. Their relationships to each other were quite interesting and makes one wonder how they were connected to your grandfather. It's remarkable how one thing leads to another and another...love that about Find A Grave links.
ReplyDeleteSue at CollectInTexas Gal
AtoZ 2015 Challenge
Minion for AJ's wHooligans
I do wonder how they knew each other. Maybe church? Maybe they were former customers at the store when my grandparents still lived in Shenandoah.
Delete