A to Z April Challenge: I is for Imogene

“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 Imogene T. Davis Meadows Kesterson.  She was one of eight girls and one lone boy born to my maternal grandfather's cousin Benjamin Harrison Davis and his wife Fleeta Berry.  Imogene married twice; her four daughters were from her first marriage to Everett Meadows. 

Imogene was Granddaddy's cousin’s oldest living daughter when she attended his funeral in 1963. Because of the order of names signed in the Guest Book, I can picture the cousins of Orvin Davis walking in together. 

Anna Davis Karicofe from Staunton, Virginia was followed by Imogene, a.k.a. Mrs. W. H. Kesterson.  Next were Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Davis – that could be Imogene’s parents or her younger brother and his wife; there’s no way to know for sure since both couples were living in 1963.  Next came Imogene and Anna’s sister Thelma Fultz.

Ben Davis's children:
Sarah Elizabeth, Ruby, Thelma
Edith, Anna

Judging by the large number of girls, I believe these are
the same children.  Could the girl on the right in the back be Imogene?

Imogene was the subject for “I” in the 2013 A to Z Challenge as well. When I wrote about Imogene before, I was busy patting myself on the back for my clever detective work to discover her identity. If you care to read that story, click HERE. 

Since then I have learned one new piece of information about Imogene.  Through her obituary, I learned that Imogene married Walter Kesterson in December 1962.  So she was still a newlywed at the funeral, married not quite a year. 

This obituary was reprinted at GenealogyBank. 

Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, VA) - Tuesday, August 19, 2003

Deceased Name: Imogene D. Kesterson

Imogene Davis Kesterson, 91, of Bridgewater, died Sunday, Aug. 17, 2003, at the Bridgewater Home.

Mrs. Kesterson was born April 30, 1912, in Rockingham County, near Elkton, and was a daughter of the late Benjamin H. and Fleta Berry Davis.

She lived in Staunton before moving to Bridgewater four years ago and was a member of Greenville United Methodist Church. She was employed at Blue Bell, Duplan in Grottoes, and retired from Melpar in Arlington.

On Dec. 6, 1962, she married Walter H. Kesterson, who preceded her in death.

She is survived by four daughters, Margaret T. Comfort of Tempe, Ariz., Vera J. Good of Shenandoah, Burnell M. Comer of Davidsonville, Md., and Faye Crowe of Keezletown; two stepdaughters, Doris Fretwell of Staunton, and Gay Butcher of Florida; a brother, Benjamin Davis Jr. of Staunton; three sisters, Anna Kiracofe of Verona, Ruby Grant of Mint Springs, and Ruth Wilson of Lynhurst; 21 grandchildren; 39 great-grandchildren; 29 great-great-grandchildren and seven stepgrandchildren.

The Rev. Stephen Creech will conduct the funeral 11 a.m. Thursday at the Kyger Funeral Home in Elkton. Burial will follow at Rest Haven Cemetery in Shenandoah.

photo courtesy of JAC

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© 2015, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

A to Z April Challenge: I is for Imogene

This is Day 9 of the A to Z April Challenge.  My theme is women with unusual names although I must cheat now and then or I’ll have a name and no story.

is for Imogene T. Davis.  She is my second cousin once removed on my mother’s side.  I have no personal stories to share about her, nor any startling discoveries through online research.  But I am proud of my detective work in fleshing out the family tree.

The first part of her life was easy to document.  Imogene was born in 1912, daughter of my maternal grandfather’s cousin, Benjamin and Fleeta Talmadge Berry Davis.  In 1920 and 1930, she was living with her parents along with seven sisters and brother.  But in 1940, there was no sign of her.  Probably married, I figured.

Ancestry linked me to some family trees with a husband for Imogene:  Walter H. Kesterson.  So I searched for them in 1940.  Nothing.

However, there was an obituary online for ol’ Walter in which Imogene was listed as his widow.  Also listed were a number of children and STEP-children.  Ah ha!  Imogene had been married before.   Maybe Walter had too.

I focused on the four stepchildren.  All girls.  All married.  No maiden names.  Drat!  But I went with those names anyway.  In my Ancestry Family Tree Maker program, I entered another husband for Imogene, Mr. UNKNOWN.  I entered the four daughters UNKNOWN:  Margaret, Vera, Burnell, and Faye.  Then I entered their spouses as Unknown COMFORT, Unknown GOOD, Unknown COMER, and Unknown CROWE.

And suddenly there was Ancestry’s famous “shaky leaf” alerting me to a possible match with someone’s family tree.  Faye Meadows Crowe.  Cha-ching!

So I searched “Imogene Meadows” in the 1940 census, and there she was with her four daughters in Elkton, Virginia.  No husband though.  In the marital status box she was marked “M” for married, but it was crossed out in pencil with a “7” written over it signaling she was separated and/or in the process of getting a divorce.  She was working as a seamstress at the overalls factory in Elkton.

Interestingly enough, the household ahead of her was the widowed Ella Meadows.  Could that be her mother-in-law?

Of course, it could! 

The digging continued with a backwards journey to the 1930, 1920, and 1910 census records where 3 possible sons emerged:  Everett, Lloyd, and Odis.  Based on the age, my first guess was Everett.  His obituary and tombstone on Findagrave.com lead me to believe he is the ex-husband of my Imogene Davis Kesterson because he was survived by some stepchildren and FOUR DAUGHTERS.  

The proof is not absolute, but the coincidence is too great to ignore.

 

from Findagrave.com
photo by JAC

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© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.