The Hyphen Family Lineage

[Obituary for Louise Herndon, from the Marion Daily Leader, 23 May 1910; posted online to the FindaGrave.com website.]

[headline] MRS. HERNDON IS DEAD

Mrs. Louise Herndon, died at her residence, corner of Branson and Bradford Streets, late Saturday afternoon, after an illness of six months. She had been confined to her bed the greater part of the time. She leaves three daughters - Mrs. Ida Dean and Mrs. Celesta Leonard, of Marion, and Mrs. D. R. Gold, of Chicago, and one son, Grover. No arrangements for the funeral have been made at this time.

[Obituary for Louisa Herndon, from the Marion News Tribune, 24 May 1910; posted online to the FindaGrave.com website.]

[headline] HERNDON FUNERAL

The funeral of Mrs. Louisa Herndon, who died Saturday afternoon at about 5 o'clock, will be held Tuesday morning at 10:30 o'clock from her late home, 602 North brranson Street. Rev. N. P. France of the Swazyee Street United Brethren Church will have charge of the services. Burial will be in IOOF Cemetery.

Note: The family of Louisa Forst

Sorting through the history of Louisa Forst's family has been very difficult owing to the large number of early deaths, some remarriages, and somewhat itinerant nature found amongst her children. Even discovering information about her husband has been something of a challenge, as he also died at a young age.

Louisa married John Herndon just two days after Christmas in 1879 in Huntington Cty, Indiana. John was born in 1854 in either Kentucky or Ohio to Elijah and Mary Herndon, and grew up in Clear Creek Twp, Huntington Cty, Indiana prior to his marriage to Louisa. The death index record reports that he died 6 Aug 1895 in Huntington Cty, and Louisa does appear in the 1900 US Census (in Marion, Grant Cty, Indiana) as a widow. Louisa was counted again in Marion in the 1910 US Census, and died just over three weeks later. Her obituary named four of her children as surviving her - three daughters and one son - and she is buried in Estates of Serenity (formerly an IOOF cemetery) in Marion. As for John, his parents and several siblings are buried in Clear Creek Cemetery, so it seems quite likely he is buried there as well, but no record has yet been found on this count.

The birthdates for their children have not been very consistently reported - when they can be found in the records at all - and when possible, I have noted this issue. The following list is presented in what I believe to be birth order for the children, with an indication as to any gaps in the records as I have found them.

- Ida appears to be the firstborn of the siblings, but aside from being mentioned by the name of Ida Dean in her mother's obituary, and as Ida Ball in the obituaries for sisters Alice and Celesta, the only record I have yet found for her is the 1910 US Census in Marion, Grant Cty, Indiana. In that record, she is listed as the thirty-four-year-old widow Ida Herndon, which is the only reference at all I've found to an age for her. (This age is suspect, as it appears to be at least three years prior to her parents' marriage.) I have no information on her vital dates, nor any marriage records or burial location. Celesta's obituary in late 1951 gives her death location as coming at the home of her sister, "Mrs. Ida Bell in Dayton, Ohio," suggesting that Ida's death came sometime after that.

- Alice appears to have married at least four times; the fourth marriage ended in her death in 1943, though I have not determined whether the previous three ended in divorces or the deaths of her husbands. She was reported to be nineteen years old in the 1900 US Census for her mother's household, and twenty-nine as a lodger in Chicago, Cook Cty, Illinois in 1910. Alice lived in Chicago until her death, and in all the census listings from 1920 through 1940 she reported herself to be between three and five years younger than she actually was. As both her third and fourth husband were much younger than she was, I believe she lied about her age to narrow the perceived age gaps. Alice is buried with her mother at Estates of Serenity.

- Celesta was listed as sixteen years old in the 1900 US Census in her mother's household (with her birthdate given as August 1883), and as twenty-six years old in the 1910 US Census, also in her mother's household (at which point she was listed as widowed with the surname Leonard). I have found no indication that Celesta ever remarried. In the 1920 US Census (living with her sister Alice in Chicago, Cook Cty, Illinois) she appears to be listed as thirty-two years old. I have not found a listing for her in the 1930 US Census, but in 1940 she again appears to be living with Alice in Chicago, this time with her age given as fifty-three. I believe Celesta also began lying about her age to support Alice's attempts to appear "younger." Celesta's gravestone gives her birth year as 1883, though her obituary (mentioned above) does not list her age or birthdate. Celesta is buried with the majority of the family at Estates of Serenity.

- Grover, only son of Louisa and John, was born 8 Aug 1886 according to both his WWI draft registration card and his death record from 1936. I have only found him living with his mother in the 1900 and 1910 US Census, and have not found him in the censuses from 1920 or 1930. His draft card placed him in Chicago, and interestingly he noted that he had two sisters as his dependents. His death record notes him as single, and I have not found any marriage records or other indication that he married or had children. Grover is buried with his mother and sisters at Estates of Serenity.

- Mildred, youngest child of the family, was the first of the siblings to die at the young age of nineteen after suffering for months from tuberculosis. She was counted only in the 1900 US Census, as she died some months before the 1910 Census was taken. Her obituary names her "Miss Mildred Herndon," and mentions no husband or children, so it seems certain she was unmarried and had no children. Her burial in Estates of Serenity appears to be the first there for the family, and all subsequent burials (in order, Louisa, Grover, Alice, and Celesta) appear to have shared her large gravestone as a family monument.

Louisa's obituary mentions no surviving grandchildren, and the obituaries for Alice and Celesta mention no children, nor any nieces or nephews as survivors. Mildred and Grover are believed never to have married, and of the daughters that did, no children appear in any of the census records found thus far. At this point, all indications are that Louisa's line likely ended with her children - Ida is believed to have been the last surviving member of the family at the death of her sister Celesta in 1951, though her date of death and burial location are not currently known. I would find it quite possible that Ida's burial is not marked, as her closest living relatives at the time of her death would likely have been younger first cousins, possibly living some distance away from her and not in a position to be very familiar to her.