Digging Up Your Family

John and Mollie Ray

Note: I have tagged the Ellis Family as a category for this post, as Mollie’s maiden name was Ellis.  I have not yet found if she is related to the Ellis family that married into the Frazer family.  If not I will add a special category for her family name. 

In my last post, I started writing about Omer Ellis Haynes “Buster” Ray.  I mentioned that he had been born on January 8, 1911 and that his mother Mollie had died nine days after his birth.  I have actually found some discrepancies by way of a photograph.  Now, I can only go by the actual records I find, and I don’t really know who wrote this information down that came with the picture (I’m guessing it’s possibly Buster’s second wife Edna).

Anyway, according to the Kentucky Birth Index, Buster was born on January 8, 1911 (certificate 4861).  All I have to go by for Mollie’s death is her headstone, which says she died on January 17, 1911.

I had written to my father’s second wife, Linda, asking if she happened to have any photos of Buster and Edna, the couple who adopted Roger (my father).  She said she would look, and then she mailed me a box of photographs!  And in the box was a photograph of John and Mollie, Buster’s parents, on what I can only assume was their wedding day, April 3, 1910 in McLean County, Kentucky.

I am posting the accompanying information below the picture.John & Mollie Ray

parents of Ellis Haynes Ray.

Mr. Ray died age 72

Mrs. Ray 1/20/11

Ellis Haynes Ray

Born 1/10/11

Died 2/23/81

So, you can see the difference in dates.  I will stick to the headstone and the birth record.

Here are some cropped areas of the photo for a better look!

 

 

Buster Ray: Part One

I have not actually looked at the Ray family on my tree in a while. I think because I was so interested in finding my paternal blood line, that I kind of forgot that the Ray/Collings line is still my blood line (well, the Collings, although I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ray line is as well). 

Buster Ray was born as Ellis Haynes Ray in McLean County Kentucky on (according to the Kentucky Birth Index) January 8, 1911 to parents John Wilson Ray and Mary Naomi “Mollie” Ellis.  Buster’s mother Mollie died nine days after his birth.  She is buried at Poplar Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery (apparently in the Primitive Baptist section) in Calhoun, McLean County, Kentucky.  I have yet to find a death record for her, but she at least has a headstone.

Thanks to Anita Austill for posting the picture of her headstone at Find A Grave!

In 1920, Buster is found living in Sacramento, McLean County, Kentucky with his father and grandmother.  They are listed as:

John W Ray, head of household, male, white, age 44 years, widowed, farmer

Margie Ray, mother to head of household, female, white, age 83 years, widowed

Omer Ray, son to head of household, male, white, age 8 years, attends school

I find it curious that his name changed from Ellis to Omer.  And it isn’t just on this census that he is listed as Omer.

In 1930, he is found living with the Abbing family in Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana.  He is listed as Homer (the census enumerator may have misheard), but even more curious is that he is listed as the brother to the four decades older head of household.The household is listed as:

John T Abbing, head of household, male, white, age 62 years

Anna Abbing, wife to head of household, female, white, age 61 years

John B Abbing, son of head of household, male, white, age 24 years, secretary at an automobile factory

Sophia Abbing, daughter of head of household, female, white, age 18 years

Homer Ray, brother of head of household, male, white, age 19 years, laborer at a concrete company

The only thing I can figure that happened to have him listed as John’s brother (and possibly why his name is written as Homer instead of Omer) is that Anna may have given the enumerator the information.  And my guess is that since she was Germany, she may have said the Buster was a “boarder” and it was heard as “brother”.  HOWEVER, this is not the only place he is found with the name Homer.

Buster married Cecilia M Sophia Abbing on November 1, 1930 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, two months to the day after the death of her mother.I wish I could see the actual paper!

Buster and Sophia appear in the Evansville City Directories together until 1943:

1931-Homer E and Sophia Ray, 103 E Eichel, Evansville (I’m not certain which side)

1933-Omer and Sophia Ray, 306 E Florida, Evansville (duplex, door on left) (Buster was listed as a laborer)

1936-Homer E and Sophia C Ray, 15 E Maryland, Evansville

1937-Homer and Sophia Ray, west side of Welworth Avenue, second on north side of E Walnut, Evansville (address is approximate)

1939-Homer and Sophia Ray, 309 5th Avenue, Evansville

1940-Ellis and Sophia Ray, 824 E Parkland Avenue, Evansville

1941-Ellis H and Sophia Ray, 824 E Parkland Avenue, Evansville

So, around 1940 is when he decided to start using his birth name, Ellis.  I’m not entirely sure what prompted the change, but it did come around the time of his divorce from Sophia.  I’m still looking for that record, as well as the record of marriage to his second wife, Edna Earl Collings.

To be continued…

Roger Dale Ray, aka Robert Jewell Vincent, Undercover 1970

I have been searching for this picture of my birth father, Roger Dale Ray (Robert Jewell Vincent) for the past 4 years and I finally found it!

Beneath the photo is printed:

EXHIBIT A

Roger D. Ray as he appeared on June 11 and 12, 1970.

The story behind the photo is pretty interesting.  He was working at Memphis Catholic High School at the time, and he was on Summer break.  He had been hired by Kelly Girl to go undercover and visit various banks to ensure that protocol to open accounts was being followed correctly.  He had been told to not bathe or shave and to wear dirty, smelly clothes.  He carried around the lunch bag, and he was supposed to try to open an account without I.D. and with only $25 (which, apparently, an account couldn’t be opened with only $25).  My mother thinks that just one person felt bad for him and opened the account.

Well, Ain’t That Something!

I found something very interesting today while filling in the blanks on my tree:  my father and his adoptive father are third cousins once removed (I think I have that right!).  Wow!

 

My father’s birth family:

Roger Dale Ray (Robert Jewell Vincent, my father)

Elbert Tracey “Shorty” Vincent (his father)

Lucy Johnson Breedlove (his grandmother)

Margaret Stringer (his great-grandmother)

Gray Stringer (his 2nd great-grandmother)

Lawrence Stringer and Sallie Pitt (his 3rd great-grandparents)

 

My father’s adoptive family:

Roger Dale Ray (Robert Jewell Vincent, my father)

Omer Ellis Haynes "Buster" Ray (his adoptive father)

John Wilson Ray (his adoptive grandfather)

Margaret Miller (his adoptive great-grandmother)

Anzeline Stringer (his adoptive 2nd great-grandmother)

Lawrence Stringer and Sallie Pitt (his 3rd great-grandparents)

 

This also makes Anzeline Stringer my father’s 2nd great-grand aunt. 

And it makes my father his own 4th cousin through adoption.

It gave me the giggles.  He was adopted into his own family!