Herndon, Alice

Birth Name Herndon, Alice
Married Name Wallace, Alice 1a
Married Name Gold, Alice 2a 3a
Married Name Foley, Alice 4a
Married Name Willert, Alice 5a
Gramps ID I6479
Gender female
Age at Death 62 years, 5 months, 1 day

Events

Event Date Place Description
Sources Notes
Birth 1880-10-19 Indiana, USA  
6a 7a
Census 1900 Marion, Grant Cty, Indiana, USA  
8a
Census 1910 Chicago, Cook Cty, Illinois, USA  
2a
Census 1920 Chicago, Cook Cty, Illinois, USA  
4a
Census 1930 Chicago, Cook Cty, Illinois, USA  
5a
Census 1940 Chicago, Cook Cty, Illinois, USA  
9a 9b
Death 1943-03-20 Oak Park, Cook Cty, Illinois, USA  
6a 7a 10a
Burial   Estates of Serenity, Marion, Grant Cty, Indiana, USA  
 

Parents

Relation to main person Name Birth date Death date Relation within this family (if not by birth)
Father Herndon, John C. [I6475]18541895-08-06
Mother Forst, Louisa [I1816]1847-11-261910-05-21
    Sister     Herndon, Ida [I6480] 1876 (Unknown, Unknown)
         Herndon, Alice [I6479] 1880-10-19 1943-03-20
    Sister     Herndon, Celesta [I6478] 1883-08-12 1951-11-20
    Brother     Herndon, Grover [I6477] 1886-08-08 1936-08-04
    Sister     Herndon, Mildred [I6476] 1892-09-23 1909-10-13

Families

    Family of Gold, Donald A. and Herndon, Alice [F2113]
Married Husband Gold, Donald A. [I6481] ( * + ... )
   
Event Date Place Description
Sources Notes
Marriage 1909-03-19 Marion Cty, Indiana, USA  
1a

Narrative

[Obituary for Alice Herndon Willert, from the Marion Chronicle-Tribune, 21 Mar 1943; posted online to the FindaGrave.com website.]

[headline] FORMER MARION WOMAN IS DEAD

Mrs. Alice Herndon Willert, former Marion resident, died at her home in Chicago early Saturday, according to word received by friends here.

The body will arrive in Marion at 1:30 pm. Tuesday and will be taken to 504 West Third Street where funeral services will be held at 1:30 pm. Wednesday. Rev. L. W. Kemper will officiate.
Burial will be in the IOOF Cemetery.

Survivors are the husband, Walter; two sisters, Mrs. Ida Bell, Dayton, Ohio, and Mrs. Celesta Leondard, Chicago.
Mrs. Willert moved to Chicago from Marion 30 years ago.

[Editing note: the posting on the FindaGrave.com website gives the newspaper citation with an incorrect date; the issue is given as 1 Mar 1945 in the supplemental information on the listing, but I believe this to be a typo or other transcription error - first in the year, as it should have been 1943, and secondly in the date. As the obituary appears to be written and published after death on Saturday but before the funeral on Wednesday, the most likely issue date would be Sunday, 21 Mar 1943.]

Narrative

Note: Alice Herndon's marriages and birthdate

For a more specific listing of the data, please see the notes for her mother, Louisa Forst. In summary, Alice appears to have been married at least four times, though the only marriage record I can find is for her second marriage in early 1909. I have not found any divorce records, nor determined if any of the first three marriages ended in the death of a husband. Her fourth marriage lasted until her death in 1943.

Her first presumed husband bore the surname of Wallace, and the only indication I have so far at this point is that her name, as given on the record for her second marriage, is Alice Wallace. This record names her parents, so it does seem certain to apply to her. When and where this marriage occurred, and how it ended, is not known.

Her second marriage was to Donald Gold (middle initial A. or R.) in March of 1909. The location on the indexed record (with the original unavailable for review) gives the marriage location as "Marion, Indiana," though whether this means Marion, Grant Cty, Indiana, or Marion Cty, Indiana is uncertain. As of the 1910 US Census, Alice was living in Chicago, Cook Cty, Illinois, with her surname given as Gold and her status as married, but without her husband present in the listing. Donald's vital dates and location of birth are unknown, and how this marriage ended is also unknown.

Her third marriage is indicated by the 1920 US Census, where she is listed as married and living with a man named F.J. Foley (b. 1888, Missouri) in Chicago. At this point, Alice is bearing the surname Foley and giving her age as thirty-four. How this marriage ended is also uncertain.

Her fourth marriage was also indicated by census listings - this time both the 1930 and 1940 US Census - where she is married, still living in Chicago, and bearing the surname Willert. Her husband was Walter C. Willert (b. 15 Mar 1888, Illinois), and her would survive her at her death in 1943. In the 1930 listing, Alice gave her age as forty-five, and in 1940 she reported it as fifty-six.

Alice's death records give her birthdate as 19 Oct 1884, and her headstone gives her birthdate as 19 Oct 1883. I believe both of these dates to be incorrect, and that at some point in adulthood Alice began claiming she was years younger than she was. I would suppose this is probably due to the ages of her third and fourth husbands - each man was about eight years younger than she was, and I think Alice deemed that gap too large to be honestly admitted, and so lied about her age so as to "narrow" that gap in others' perception. This white lie may have extended even to her husbands, so it is possible that neither F.J. nor Walter knew Alice's actual age.

For her listing here in my records, I have listed her birthdate as 19 Oct 1880 based on the day and month given in her death records, and the month and year given on her listing in the 1900 US Census.

Pedigree

  1. Herndon, John C. [I6475]
    1. Forst, Louisa [I1816]
      1. Herndon, Ida [I6480]
      2. Herndon, Alice
        1. Gold, Donald A. [I6481]
      3. Herndon, Celesta [I6478]
      4. Herndon, Grover [I6477]
      5. Herndon, Mildred [I6476]

Ancestors

Source References

  1. Indiana, Marriages, 1780-1992 [S0118]
      • Confidence: High
      • Citation:

        "Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XF8N-RN6 : 3 December 2014), Miss Louise Forst in entry for Donald A. Gold and Alice C Wallace, 19 Mar 1909; citing reference 548; FHL microfilm 499,391.

  2. US Census of 1910 [S0040]
      • Date: 1910-04-30
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKZ8-PN5 : accessed 25 April 2017), Alice Gold in household of Barbara Baumer, Chicago Ward 21, Cook, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 923, sheet 18B, family 22, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 264; FHL microfilm 1,374,277.

        Event Date 1910
        Event Place Chicago Ward 21, Cook, Illinois, United States
        Barbara Baumer Head F 29 Ohio
        Chas Baumer Husband M 26 Nebraska
        Alice Gold Lodger F 29 Indiana

  3. Marion Daily Leader (Indiana) [S0361]
      • Date: 1910-05-23
      • Confidence: High
  4. US Census of 1920 [S0041]
      • Date: 1920-01-17
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJQX-LCJ : accessed 25 April 2017), Celesta Leonard in household of F J Foley, Chicago Ward 23, Cook (Chicago), Illinois, United States; citing ED 1300, sheet 8A, line 4, family 31, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 334; FHL microfilm 1,820,334.

        Event Date 1920
        Event Place Chicago Ward 23, Cook (Chicago), Illinois, United States
        F J Foley Head M 32 Missouri
        Alice Foley Wife F 34 Indiana
        Celesta Leonard Sister-in-law F 32 Indiana

  5. US Census of 1930 [S0042]
      • Date: 1930-04-05
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XSGR-Z6X : accessed 25 April 2017), Walter C Willert, Chicago (Districts 2627-2876), Cook, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 2671, sheet 7A, line 9, family 126, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 463; FHL microfilm 2,340,198.

        Event Date 1930
        Event Place Chicago (Districts 2627-2876), Cook, Illinois, United States
        Walter C Willert Head M 42 Illinois
        Alice S Willert Wife F 45 Indiana

  6. Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 [S0152]
      • Confidence: High
      • Citation:

        "Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3XV-JJW : 27 December 2014), Mrs. Alice Willert, 20 Mar 1943; Public Board of Health, Archives, Springfield; FHL microfilm 1,983,449.

  7. Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1994 [S0359]
      • Confidence: High
      • Citation:

        "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1994," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2MH-WRN2 : 17 May 2016), Alice Willert, 20 Mar 1943; citing Oak Park, Cook, Illinois, United States, source reference , record number , Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm .

  8. US Census of 1900 [S0039]
      • Date: 1900-06-08
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MM17-27C : accessed 21 April 2017), Louise Herndon, Marion Township Marion city Ward 1, Grant, Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 25, sheet 15A, family 350, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,373.

        Event Year 1900
        Event Place Marion Township Marion city Ward 1, Grant, Indiana, United States
        Louise Herndon Head F 55 Ohio
        Alice Herndon Daughter F 20 Indiana
        Sylvestra Herndon Daughter F 17 Indiana
        Grover Herndon Son M 14 Indiana
        Mildred Herndon Daughter F 10 Indiana

  9. US Census of 1940 [S0043]
      • Date: 1940-04-18
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KW18-VPC : accessed 25 April 2017), Celesta M Leonard, Ward 30, Chicago, Chicago City, Cook, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 103-1889, sheet 61A, line 5, family 129, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 981.

        Event Date 1940
        Event Place Ward 30, Chicago, Chicago City, Cook, Illinois, United States
        Celesta M Leonard Sister-in-law F 53 Indiana

      • Date: 1940-04-11
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KW1Z-W7W : accessed 25 April 2017), Walter Willard, Ward 30, Chicago, Chicago City, Cook, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 103-1889, sheet 6B, line 57, family 129, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 981.

        Event Date 1940
        Event Place Ward 30, Chicago, Chicago City, Cook, Illinois, United States
        Walter Willard Head M 52 Illinois
        Alice S Willard Wife F 56 Indiana

  10. Marion Chronicle-Tribune (Indiana) [S0365]
      • Date: 1943-03-21
      • Page: p5