Clarey, Leo Frank

Birth Name Clarey, Leo Frank
Gramps ID I6000
Gender male
Age at Death 67 years, 10 months, 12 days

Events

Event Date Place Description
Sources Notes
Birth 1902-03-15 Michigan, USA  
1a
Census 1910 Kalkaska, Kalkaska Cty, Michigan, USA  
2a
Census 1920 Battle Creek, Calhoun Cty, Michigan, USA  
3a
Census 1930 Battle Creek, Calhoun Cty, Michigan, USA  
4a
Census 1940 Marshall, Calhoun Cty, Michigan, USA  
5a
Death 1970-01-27 Battle Creek, Calhoun Cty, Michigan, USA  
 
Burial   Oakridge Cemetery, Marshall, Calhoun Cty, Michigan, USA  
 

Parents

Relation to main person Name Birth date Death date Relation within this family (if not by birth)
Father Clarey, Martin E. [I5998]1864-07-041945-08-09
Mother Judd, Iva Belle [I5983]18761965-04-26
    Brother     Clarey, Claude [I6002] 1893 1893
    Brother     Clarey, Firmer Albin [I5999] 1898-07-17 1981
         Clarey, Leo Frank [I6000] 1902-03-15 1970-01-27
    Brother     Clarey, Shirley Martin [I6001] 1904 1915-05-19

Families

    Family of Clarey, Leo Frank and Hess, Vera Mae [F1954]
Married Wife Hess, Vera Mae [I6007] ( * + ... )
  Children
Name Birth Date Death Date
Clarey, Robert J. [I6008]

Narrative

Note: The family of Leo F. Clarey

While not as complicated as that of his older brother Firmer, the family life of Leo Clarey hasn't been as simple as it might have seemed at a first glance.

Prior to finding a marriage record for Leo, I found the 1940 US Census listing for his household that included Leo, his wife Vera, and a ten-year-old son Robert. What seemed a bit confusing was that, ten years and a few months prior, Leo was listed in the 1930 US Census as a single man living in his parents' household. The next find was the obituary for Robert from 2006, which named his parents and gave his mother's maiden name, in addition to giving his death date. This enabled me to narrow down his US Social Security Death Index record, so I had both a birthdate (19 Jun 1930) and his mother's identity - both in the form of her maiden name and in her later married name (Vera Kidd).

The next find was Vera's marriage record to Leo, in Allen Cty, Indiana, on 1 Jun 1932 - nearly two years after Robert's birth. This strongly suggests to me Robert might not be Leo's biological son, but rather born to Vera from a previous relationship (likely unmarried) and then adopted by Leo when Robert was still quite young. (Another interesting find in the marriage record was that Leo's birthdate was reported as 15 Mar 1905, apparently in the interest of making him appear three years younger and therefore closer in age to Vera.)

Vera's obituary (from the Battle Creek Enquirer, 23 Jun 2010, sec. A, p6) names her Vera Mae Kidd, and mentions no husband by name but says he preceded her in death. She's also mentioned to have been preceded in death by her son, also not named, but is survived by her daughter-in-law, Mary Lou Clarey, the name mentioned in Robert's obituary as his surviving wife. Her FindaGrave.com listing names her husband as Bernard Delbert Kidd (b. 11 Jan 1912, d. 3 May 1975), who's buried in Bloom City Cemetery, Bloom City, Richland Cty, Wisconsin, in what appears to be a shared plot and monument with his brother. That shared monument also has engravings for the names and dates of their spouses, placing Vera with Bernard but with her death date incomplete. (It should be noted that Bernard preceded her in death by thirty-five years.) Vera's obituary and FindaGrave.com listing, though, places her burial at Floral Lawn Memorial Gardens, Battle Creek, Calhoun Cty, Michigan, though the listing does not include a picture of her stone. I've not yet found information on her son Robert's burial location.

Leo, though, is buried in Oakridge Cemetery, Marshall, Calhoun Cty, Michigan - the same cemetery as his mother (Iva Belle) and her second husband (Frank), with a stone that matches the two stones he likely purchased for Iva Belle and Frank. Leo died forty years prior to Vera, and the lack of any mention of him in her obituary, along with the very different burial locations, suggests to me that the two of them divorced well before Leo's death, and possibly after only a handful of years of marriage.

Vera's obituary mentions two grandchildren, but her son Robert's obituary mentions only one daughter and one step-son (the latter of whom bears the surname of the woman Robert married when he was over fifty years old), so Vera appears to have had no further children.

Pedigree

  1. Clarey, Martin E. [I5998]
    1. Judd, Iva Belle [I5983]
      1. Clarey, Claude [I6002]
      2. Clarey, Firmer Albin [I5999]
      3. Clarey, Leo Frank
        1. Hess, Vera Mae [I6007]
          1. Clarey, Robert J. [I6008]
      4. Clarey, Shirley Martin [I6001]

Ancestors

Source References

  1. US Social Security Death Index [S0098]
      • Confidence: High
      • Citation:

        "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JKZK-246 : 20 May 2014), Leo Clarey, Jan 1970; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

  2. US Census of 1910 [S0040]
      • Date: 1910-04-11
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ML5N-73L : 29 October 2015), Iva Belle Clary in household of Martin E Clary, Kalkaska, Kalkaska, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 110, sheet 1A, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,374,665.

        Event Date 1910
        Event Place Kalkaska, Kalkaska, Michigan, United States
        Martin E Clary Head M 45 Canada
        Iva Belle Clary Wife F 34 Indiana
        Firmer Clary Son M 11 Michigan
        Leo Clary Son M 8 Michigan
        Shirley Clary Son M 6 Michigan

  3. US Census of 1920 [S0041]
      • Date: 1920-01-12
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZSX-TDZ : 14 December 2015), Martin Clarey in household of Hazel Eldridge, Battle Creek Ward 2, Calhoun, Michigan, United States; citing sheet 10B, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,820,759.

        Event Date 1920
        Event Place Battle Creek Ward 2, Calhoun, Michigan, United States
        Martin Clarey Head M 55 Canada
        Belle Clarey Wife F 44 Indiana
        Firmer Clarey Son M 21 Michigan
        Leo Clarey Son M 17 Michigan

  4. US Census of 1930 [S0042]
      • Date: 1930-04-08
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XQYM-V9H : 8 December 2015), Iva V Clarey in entry for Martin E Clarey, 1930.

        Event Date 1930
        Event Place Battle Creek, Calhoun, Michigan, United States
        Martin E Clarey Head M 65 Canada
        Iva V Clarey Wife F 54 Indiana
        Firmer A Clarey Son M 31 Michigan
        Leo F Clarey Son M 28 Michigan

  5. US Census of 1940 [S0043]
      • Date: 1940-04-12
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K42V-56T : 17 May 2014), Leo Clarey, Ward 3, Marshall, Marshall City, Calhoun, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 13-66, sheet 11A, family 256, NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 1737.

        Event Date 1940
        Event Place Ward 3, Marshall, Marshall City, Calhoun, Michigan, United States
        Leo Clarey Head M 38 Michigan
        Vera Clarey Wife F 29 Michigan
        Robert Clarey Son M 10 Michigan