My father's name is Pat Virgil Taylor. According to the IGI database
on familysearch.org Pat was born in Yuma, AZ on March 6, 1924. Pat's
SSAN was 565-24-4016. Pat died in December 1976 in Chicago, IL. Pat
Taylor might have lived for a time in Kaw City, OK.
Pat's father (my grandfather) was named John B. Taylor. According to
family oral history, John B was killed by being run down by a bus.
The bus accident probably happened in the 1930s and might have been in
California. Pat has a brother (my uncle) named Ed Taylor. Ed is
probably deceased by now.
That is all I know about my father's side of the family. My question
is: What is my grandmother's name, date of birth and death, etc? Any
other information about my father's family would be valuable to me and
I would be willing to pay for it. |
Request for Question Clarification by
omnivorous-ga
on
29 Oct 2002 13:44 PST
Taylor --
Absent family records, researchers will be using public records to
attempt to track down relatives. Thanks to National Archives (NARA)
depositories, Census Records and military records can be examined from
about a dozen U.S. cities.
The LOCATION (particularly the town or village) of your grandfather
and/or grandmother in 1920 or 1930 would be very important to know, as
those were the years that a U.S. Census was done.
Good luck with the search,
Omnivorous-GA
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Clarification of Question by
taylo54034-ga
on
29 Oct 2002 14:14 PST
My father's application for a social security card lists "Caw, OK" as
his birthplace. He also listed his mother as "unknown", and his
father as "John B. Taylor".
I was unable to find a "Caw", OK but was able to locate a "Kaw City",
OK. My father was poorly educated, hence I thought he simply
misspelled the town's name. I have been proceeding on the assumption
that my father was born in Kaw City, OK until very recently.
About two weeks ago I performed a search on the LDS genealogy web site
(www.familysearch.org) using my father's name, Pat Taylor. The search
returned a birth record, in Yuma AZ, for Pat Virgil Taylor on March 6,
1924 and deceased in December 1976. This matches my father's data. I
did a similar search on the LDS site about a year ago with no match,
hence this Yuma data has been entered in the last year by parties
unknown.
The birth in Yuma makes more sense to me than a birth in Oklahoma
because my father was half Apache Indian. There are no Apaches in
Oklahoma that I know of, but there are Apaches in Arizona.
My father served in the US navy for a short while during WWII. I
actulally got a copy of Pat's service record.
Supposedly my father had two sisters, and one of them might have been
named "Barbara Ellen".
As far as location in 1920 or 1930 is concerned, I don't really know.
They (grand parents) might have been in Yuma, AZ or maybe Kaw City,
OK.
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Clarification of Question by
taylo54034-ga
on
30 Oct 2002 08:44 PST
starrebekah,
Thanks for your tips. I got a copy of my father's SSAN application.
It was dated 1942 and it was submitted in California. I also have a
copy of my father's navy service record. Neither of these documents
sheds any light on my father's family, except that I did get my
grandfather's name: John B. Taylor.
I have hit a complete dead-end in this search. The only avenue that
seems to hold any hope of further information is the Yuma connection.
As I said earlier, the IGI database on the LDS genealogy web site
contains a "new" entry that shows my father being born in Yuma, AZ.
Somebody entered that data into the IGI database in the last year.
That means that they had some information that lead them to believe
that my fathe (Pat Virgil Taylor) was born in Yuma, Az. If that is
the case then a search of vital records, archives, and newspaper
accounts in Yuma might provide some info.
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Request for Question Clarification by
omnivorous-ga
on
30 Oct 2002 17:37 PST
Taylor --
I spent some time today checking to see if your
grandfather/grandmother/father were in Yuma, AZ for either the 1920 or
1930 census. This is done by using microfilm for Yuma County and
going through the "enumeration districts."
The 1920 Census has something called "Soundex" to allow you to find
names by a "sound-alike" code. For Taylor, this is 460.
The 1920 Arizona census is on microfilm roll M1549-27; there is no
John Taylor on that roll.
In 1930, I searched all of the enumeration districts for Yuma COUNTY
except #1 and part of #2. I searched all of Yuma CITY EDs, which are
#23-27.
There are about 14 Taylor households and even one in the Yuma jail.
None match your grandfather in name/birth location/children. It's
doubtful that they were there in 1930, though I didn't get to ED #1 or
part of ED #2. Unlike earlier censuses, these are very crisp and
clear and I don't think that I missed your grandparents. (The 1930
Census was just released earlier this year.)
Though there's no guarantee that these people are related, I should
note that there was a Galen L. and Edna Taylor, both born in Oklahoma,
who were in Yuma County (ED#2 if I recall correctly). They had two
children, Lyson (son) and Lois (daughter).
When I read all of the background information, I felt that this would
be the most-likely area to yield more information. Having failed, I'd
recommend trying to get a copy of your father's birth certificate from
the State of Arizona. It won't be available on-line but the Internet
will tell you how to order it.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
Clarification of Question by
taylo54034-ga
on
30 Oct 2002 19:11 PST
omnivorous,
Thanks for your efforts. I plan to go to Yuma sometime in the next
few months, as I only live a few hundred miles north of there. I am
hoping that the Yuma newspaper (Yuma Sun, I think) will have an
archive. I also plan to visit the courthouse or other appropriate
archive place and see what I can find.
The fact that neither the 1920 or 1930 census has a record of my
father and grandfather is not surprising to me. They lived a hard
life and they might have been in Yuma only around the birth of my
father.
The Yuma entry in the IGI database had to come from somewhere. I wish
I knew who put that entry in the database and the basis of the entry.
In any case, thanks for your time. I will post any additional info
here as I find it, and I will probably raise the payment amount too.
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Request for Question Clarification by
omnivorous-ga
on
30 Oct 2002 19:57 PST
Taylor --
Don't think that you need to raise the amount. Rather, from a
researcher's point of view, consider what separate questions you could
ask to get solved. Again, I'd recommend going after your father's
birth certificate with the state of Arizona or the county.
I looked through almost all of Yuma County today in about 75 minutes.
The population was much smaller in the days before air conditioning
and was pretty easy to review.
In any case -- good luck! I've had some wonderful experiences in the
past researching family history issues and am sure that you will too.
I do have to tell you that every one of the 14 times I saw the name
"Taylor" today in those 1930 Census sheets, my heart raced a bit.
Finally, keep the notes on the records and EDs that I checked. It's
always possible that I missed something, but it would be more fruitful
to check other avenues before going back over this. On the other
hand, the Soundex and 1920/1930 microfilm information is worth keeping
long-term.
A final question: do you have your father's obituary? Does it have
any information about his parents?
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
|
Clarification of Question by
taylo54034-ga
on
31 Oct 2002 08:49 PST
omnivorous,
I don't have my father's obituary, but I will try to find it.
There is one other information lead that I have not checked. My
uncle, Ed Taylor, worked for "the railroad". I don't think he retired
from the railroad, but the Rail Road Retirment organization might have
some information about him and his family. I am pretty sure they are
located in Chicago.
Ed was older than my father, hence his birthdate should be prior to
1924. I suspect that he was near my father's age though (a year or
three).
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