Sunday Search: Missing Documents

 

Over the past few months there have been moments when I have made surprising progress researching my family trees and there have also been instances when I have hit some pretty significant walls. No matter how hard I have tried to hit the brick or how heavy the hammer, the structure remains solid. While there is still some small glint of hope that these records will turn up, it is not an endeavor that will likely produce significant results anytime soon… I guess I will have to get the chisel out and try to find the answers that way.

After all, that is how I found the few details that we know about John Uttley’s service in the Philadelphia Police Department. After dozens of calls and many hours leveraging various resources I was able to find out that while the full personnel files have long since been destroyed, there are pieces (i.e. rank, badge number, date of swearing in, rank, accounts in the newspaper) scattered across multiple sources. It isn’t much but it is a heck of a lot more than we have had in the past. Other endeavors haven’t even produced this level of information.

My great grandparents (William Edgar Yeagle and Bessie Wirth Uttley) divorce is something that is still interpreted different ways depending on with whom you speak. His first family, which is my line, sees the dissolution of marriage in one way namely that it was his drinking and abuse that caused the divorce. However, his second family, according to his granddaughter with whom I briefly spoke a couple of years ago, sees things a little differently in that it was my great grandmother that caused the issues in the marriage. When I called the court records office in Philadelphia City Hall (where they got divorced), there was little information that they could share as the records have long since faded and the only information on hand was that of the actual decree (without mention of cause). But at least that record can be produced unlike some others.

The marriage certificate of Paulus Redcross and Frances Beverly continues to be one record that we are continuing to search for through various offices, depositories, and whatever other means out there. It is something that we know exists as it is recorded in the Amherst County, Virginia ledger but the actual document seems to have disappeared. Not faded or destroyed (as far as we know) it is just gone. No one has been able to provide any definitive explanation although there are plenty of theories out there which is a completely separate topic altogether.

All of these documents have the potential to provide my family with a wealth of information (and answers) beyond what the existing documents ever could but there is significant doubt as to whether we will ever be able to read them. While we will continue seeking answers to other questions and look to fill in the family tree, these are things that we will always be looking for even if the possibility of finding them is slim. While these situations may be a deterrent for some, it only serves to motivate me to find and write the story without them (or at least try).  

Car Conversation

William Edgar Yeagle's World War I draft registration card...
after the marriage but before the divorce.

On my way home from the office last week I decided to take a chance, pick up the phone, and follow up on a letter I had sent the previous Monday. It was sent in the hope of finding a few missing pieces on my mom’s side of my family tree. After a few rings a woman picked up the phone clearly not recognizing the number. On the other end of the line was a woman who was a bit surprised by my correspondence but happy to share everything that she knew about my great grandfather, William Edgar Yeagle.

My great grandparents were married in 1914 and soon after had my grandmother. Within a few years they had divorced and not long after that, in about 1920, my great grandfather had remarried and had another daughter, Alma. The woman I spoke with was Alma’s daughter who, as it turns out, was raised by her grandfather and still lives in the same house that he did many years ago. She knew her grandfather well and was raised by him when her father left. She knew that he was married once before but she was told a complete different story as to what happened in the first marriage. As it turns out, after my grandmother refused to have anything to do with him or her half-sister Alma, my grandmother’s name was forgotten. Only the story remained as to what caused the marriage to dissolve.

The facts passed down in my family were rather clear cut… William was an abusive drunk disliked by my great grandmother’s family. Having a child did not change that fact and, in the end, divorce was the only option. After that, my great grandmother took her child and moved in with her father. He would serve as the male figure in my grandmother’s life until his death in 1941 at the age of 92 (more about him in a later post).

It should be no surprise that this was not the same story that was passed down in William Yeagle’s second family. The story that I was told over the phone was that William owned a bakery but was working too many hours for my great grandmother. So that he wouldn’t work so much, she forced him to sell the bakery. Not long after that she left him despite his efforts. Not liked by my great grandmother’s family, he was cut off from his daughter.

So, the only commonality between the stories is that my great grandmother’s family didn’t like him. But let’s take a step back and look at the other facts that we have. While there is a William Yeagle who owned and operated a bakery during that period of time it was not the man that we are discussing in this post. It was his uncle, William Ludwig Yeagle. Furthermore, in every census record and directory listing from 1900-1952 at no point was he ever listed as a baker. Seems like that part of the second story doesn’t really hold up.

What about the version of the story that was passed down in my family? Well, in those same census and directory records, interspersed between various other occupations, we can see that on several occasions William Edgar Yeagle lists his occupation as Bartender (basically be bookended the Prohibition Era with official listings as a bartender). Makes you wonder what he was really selling as a ‘salesman’ during that time of illegality. While that alone is not enough to verify this version of the fact I tend to believe my family’s story. Why? Because of a simple fact that my three times great grandfather was a Philadelphia Police Officer for 54 years and there was probably good reason for him not liking him.

While I look forward to meeting this woman and discussing some of the missing branches in our tree, I do so carefully knowing that many of the initial ‘facts’ already don’t add up. Of course, this is part of the process when researching your family. Sometimes you will have two sets of information completely different from one another and investigate to see which option makes the most sense. It is all part of the process of filling in and pruning the family tree.

Searching For My Great Grandfather

This is my great grandfather's WWII draft registration card... his granddaughter lives at the same address today.

I only had one grandparent still around when I was growing up and my grandmother and I would talk all the time. You would think that I would know the ins and outs of her family tree but the fact of the matter is that I know very little. She spoke very little about her childhood so all I really have are the pictures from her growing up to go by.

However, there is one person that is missing from every photograph which isn’t much of a surprise since I never remember his name having ever been mentioned in conversation. This is why I know so little, less than almost any other person on my tree, about my great grandfather. Of course, my grandmother didn’t know much about him either and never wanted to.

My grandmother was an only child raised by a single mother and her family in Roxborough. My great grandparents were only married for a few years before they got divorced (married in 1914, divorced in 1918) for reasons that I have no way of confirming (most of the stories revolve around abuse of some sort). My great grandmother never remarried (although she did have her friend and lived with him until the day he died) while my great grandfather returned to the Pottstown area, remarried, and had another daughter. With the exception of some census record and various other documents that is all I know about him.

 I know when he was born and I know where he lived but I have little information beyond that… I don’t even know when he died except that I know it was after 1953. I have been able to piece together the line from his second marriage. I know the wife’s name, the daughter’s name, and the granddaughter’s name. Fortunately for me, the granddaughter either kept her maiden name or never married because I was able to find her listed in the White Pages.

At first I wasn’t sure if it was the same woman that I was looking for but it was the right city and the right age so I looked for anything else to verify her identity. On a long shot I pulled up my great grandfather’s old address and I was shocked to find that it was a match. This has got to be her.

At this point, the letter is in the mail. I hope to soon put a face to a name and, hopefully, good or bad learn a little more about my family. For now, I will wait and hope that my letter is well received. I will revisit this journey and update you all in a future post.