Lena Richmond Robbins

Lena Richmond 9 (Hiram, 8, Charles, 7, *William, 6, Adam, 5, Stephen, 4, John, 3, Edward, 2, John 1) married Homer Elmer Robbins.  Homer's aunt, Eleanor Lorancy Robbins, married, as his second wife, my great granduncle, John F. More.

*William was the most recent ancestor identified in the Richmond Family book.  The relationships between William and presumed descendants Charles, Hiram and Lena were found online.  Hiram was proven to be Lena's father per the Civil War Widow's Pension File of Lena's mother ( Esther Rodgers Bowers Richmond Chamberlain).  Lena was my 6th cousin 4x removed.

ROBBINS. Professor Homer Elmer

Professor of Classical History and Literature, Pomona College; Mayor of Claremont. Born: Waterford (Mich.), June 5, 1881; s. of Alena (Maybee) and Elmer Robbins.
Education: Public schools at Waterford and Holly (Mich.); grad., Univ. of Michigan, 1905. Degrees: A.B., 1905, M.A., 1906, Ph.D., 1916, U. of Michigan.

Married: Lena, d. of Esther (Rodgers) and Hiram Richmond, at Washington (Pa.), Aug. 29, 1912; ch.: Eleanor, Esther, Janet. 

Census 1900

Klickitat, Washington

James W Chamberlain Head M 62 Massachusetts

Ester Chamberlain Wife  F 53 Pennsylvania

Lena Richmond Stepdaughter F 12 New York

Winfield Atkins Servant M 47 Vermont

Census 1910

Washington, Pennsylvania

HOUSEHOLD

Samuel W Berry Head M 30 Pennsylvania

Iona Berry Wife F 30 Pennsylvania

Lena Richmond Sister-in-law F 22 New York

Census 1940

Claremont...Los Angeles, California

Homer E Robbins Head M 58 Michigan

Lena J Robbins Wife  F 52 New York

Esther A Robbins Daughter F 21 California

Janet R Robbins Daughter F 18 California

Constance Brooks Lodger F 18 China

Barbara Brooks Lodger F 17 China

Name Lena J Robbins

Event Type Death

Event Date 19 Jul 1975

Los Angeles, California, United States

Birth Date 05 Feb 1888

Birthplace New York

Gender Female

James L. More, Minor

Lapeer County, Michigan

Probate File 890 [Image 38]

J. F. More, brother

6 May 1874

James Levi More in another blog post.  More about the petitioner, John F. More, here.

William Edward Richmond

William E. Richmond, the son of Emory and Lodema (Merritt) Richmond, was born in Mecosta County, Michigan.  He married Elva Nancy Oney in Chetek, Barron, Wisconsin in 1907.  Their daughter, Ida Virginia Richmond, married Adolph Joseph Bergeron and died in Alberta, Canada.  Did William and/or Elva also move to Canada?  I don't know.

Census 1880
Big Rapids, Mecosta, Michigan
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
Emory C Richmond Self M 39 New York
Ella M Richmond Daughter F 7 Michigan
Franklin Richmond Son M 5 Michigan
William Richmond Son M 3 Michigan
Mary A Richmond Daughter F 0 Michigan
Ira C Richmond Son M 13 Michigan
Lodema Richmond Wife  F 29 Michigan

Name: Wm. E. Richmond
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1900
Event Place: Dryden township, Lapeer, Michigan
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Birth Date: Aug 1876
Birthplace: Michigan
Father's Birthplace: Michigan
Mother's Birthplace: Michigan
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
Thomas Vanklerk Head M 29 Michigan
Ella Vanklerk Wife  F 26 Michigan
Wm E Richmond Boarder M 24 Michigan


1910 MI  Oakland, Pontiac Twp., Pontiac City
VANKLEEK, Thomas W., head, 40, m1, 18yrs, MI MI MI, laborer,
  "  Ella M., wife, 37, m1, 18yrs, 0children/0living, MI
RICHMOND, William E., Boarder, 32, married1, married 3 years, fireman-railroad
  "   , Elva, f/w/24, m1, 3yrs, ", 1child/1living, MI  NY VT
  "   , Ida M., Boarder, 1 4/12 (or just 4/12), MI  MI  MI


William E. Richmond was my 1st cousin 3x removed.  His father, Emory, and my 2nd great-grandmother, Cynthia (Richmond) More, were siblings.

Additional Docs From Charles More's Probate

The first post about Charles More's probate file here.  Charles was the son of Cynthia (Richmond) More (Cynthia was my great-great grandmother).

Inventory [Image 760]
1/4 real estate minus dower for mother (parents' property)


Also see Image 740, Image 742, Image 747, Image 748, Image 752

Petition For Appointment Of Administrator (mentions Cynthia More, mother)

Newspaper notice

Image 765 (real estate)
Image 766
Image 767
Image 768
Image 773
Image 774 (real estate another copy)
Image 775
Image 777
Real Estate description in Newspaper Notice
Image 779
Where the NewspaperNotice was posted
Repeat
Image 782
Image 783
Image 784
Image 786 died at the residence of James L. Moore in Thornville
Image 787  real estate
Image 788
Image 789
Image 790
Image 791
Image 792 Final Account
Image 793 Algie More, heir at law
Image 794
Image 795
Image 796
Image 797
Image 798
Image 799
Image 800 Newspaper
Image 801
Image 802
Image 803
Image 804
Image 805
Image 806
Image 807
Image 808
Image 809 property with dower rights and Charles More's share sold
Image 810  "
Image 811
Image 812
Image 813
Image 814
Image 815
Image 816
Image 817 Last Page !!!!

Ralph Newman Powers

My grandfather, Ralph Newman Powers, was the son of Richmond descendant, Addie (More) Powers.   I knew my grandfather very well, but what could actually be proven about who he was?  A lineage society, for example, would want to know.

In addition to my own personal knowledge that Ralph Newman Powers was my grandfather, Ralph was head of the household in 1930 and 1940 that included my father, Richard Newman Powers (check for other corroborating evidence, i.e., obituary, death record, marriage record).

United States Census, 1930

Flint, Genesee, Michigan

Household Gender Age Birthplace

head Ralph N Powers M 33 Michigan

wife Beatrice J Powers F 29 Michigan

son William C Powers M 4 Michigan

son Ralph H Powers M 2 Michigan

son Richard N Powers M 0 Michigan

United States Census, 1930, index and images, FamilySearch (accessed 09 Feb 2013), Richard N Powers in household of Ralph N Powers, Flint, Genesee, Michigan; citing enumeration district (ED) 0037, sheet 35B, family 87, NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 985.

United States Census, 1940
FamilySearch (accessed 09 Feb 2013), Richard Powers in household of Ralph Powers, Ward 9, Flint, Flint City, Genesee, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 85-164, sheet 4B, family 84, NARA digital publication T627, roll 1896.

Proof that Ralph N. Powers is the son of William S. and Addie (More) Powers is found on Ralph's birth record, his death record, as well as the naturalization records of both William and Addie.  In 1920, Ralph Powers was living in Genesee County, Michigan, with his parents.

In 1910 Ralph was living with his parents in Lapeer County, Michigan.  Ralph N. Powers's WWI Draft registration card his more information.  Ralph married (Jessie) Beatrice Cameron on March 29, 1924; his parents were listed as Wm. S. Powers and Addie Moore.


The 1900 census would be the first for Ralph N. Powers, and included his grandmother More:

1900 MI Census - Calhoun Co., Battle Creek Twp., Battle Creek City #269
POWERS, William S., head, w/m, b. Aug 1859, mar 22 years,Can/Can/Can
" Addie, wife, w/f/, June 1864, 4ch/3living, MI/Scotland/New York
" , Ward S., son, May 1893, Mich/Can/Mich
" , Ralph N., son w/m/July 1896, single, Mich/Can/Mich
" , Addie M., daughter, w/f/Feb 1898, single, Mich/Can/Mich
MOOR, Cynthia, mother-In-Law, w/f, Dec 1829, wid, 6ch/3living,NY/NY/NY


Here's a Battle Creek, Calhoun Co. deed for the Powers family.

Ralph listed in Addie (More) Powers's obituary:

She married William S. Powers at Dryden, Mich., 1888. He preceded her in death in 1939. She was a member of Court Street Methodist Church. Surviving are: 3 sons, Ward of Phoenix, Arizona, Ralph and Marion of Flint; 2 daughters, Mrs. William Allen of Pomona, Calif., Mrs. Angus Zimmerman of Flint; 18 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren.

From Cass City, Michigan To Georgia

 This blog post tells more about Kezzie More's life.  The newspaper excerpt below pinpoints when John Frank More, his wife, Lorancy (Robbins) More, and Kezzie (daughter of J.F. and his 1st wife, Marian (Gibson) More) moved to Georgia:

CASS CITY CHRONICLE [MI]

Oct 19, 1934 [In 35 years ago column]

Mrs. J. F. Moore and daughter,

Miss Kezzie Moore, of Caseville

paid their friends here a farewell

visit on Wednesday, previous to

taking their departure for Georgia.

J. F. and Lorancy More are buried in Waycross, Ware Co., Georgia.

Ward More Probate In Lapeer County, Michigan

From the 1889 Probate File of Ward More in Lapeer County, Michigan (son of Cynthia RICHMOND More):

Petition of Jennie More....That Ward More late of Metamora in said County of Lapeer departed this life in said Township of Metamora on Sunday the 26th day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty nine leaving no last Will and Testament, as you petitioner is informed and verily believe..

...Heirs At Law of Said Deceased.....
Jennie More, widow, age 28   Residence Metamora, Mich

J.F. More  Brother  37   Cass City - Tuscola Co, Mich

James L. More "    32  Metamora                         "

Addie Powers  Sister  24  Dryden  Lapeer Co, "

Mary More       "     22 Metamora   "    "

Algie More Nephew  6  Lapeer   "   "

   son of C A More who was brother of said Ward More

Mrs. Cynthia More  Mother  age 60  residence Metamora  Lapeer Co Mich

Dated: June 15th 1889    Jennie More

The young widow, Jennie (Lamond) More moved to California and never remarried.  UPDATE:  I was informed that she remarried in 1925.

Obituary of Angus A. Zimmerman, Jr.

Angus A. Zimmerman, Jr. was the son of June (Powers) Zimmerman; the grandson of William S. & Addie (More) Powers; and the great-grandson of James & Cynthia (Richmond) More. His obituary was published in the Flint [MI] Journal on April 19, 1948:


ZIMMERMAN---Angus A. Zimmerman, Jr., 709 Axford St., age 20, died April 18, 1948, at Bridgeport Township. Funeral services will be held at 1 P.M. Wednesday, April 21, 1948, from the Rose Chapel, Algoe-Gundry Mortuary, Dr. William O. Moulton, officiating. Burial in Flint Memorial Park Cemetery. Body will be at the Mortuary. Death was due to automobile accident. He was born in Flint, Mich., Feb. 21, 1928, the son of Angus A. and June Zimmerman, and lived his whole life in Flint. Was a student at Flint Junior College and a veteran of World War II. Surviving are: Parents, Mr. and Mrs. Angus Zimmerman; two sisters, Mrs. Patrick Callahan of Flint, Mrs. William Long of Monrovia, Calif.; two brothers, Robert J. Brown and Charles H. Zimmerman, both of Flint; cousin, Connie Desey of Flint; grandmother, Mrs. Louisa Zimmerman of Flint; 2 nieces and several aunts and uncles.

Obituary of Cynthia (Richmond) More

From the Flint Daily Journal published Tuesday, March 5, 1912 (Page Ten):

Metamora [Lapeer County, Michigan]

Metamora, Mich., March 5. ----Mrs. Moore, formerly of Thornville, who died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. William Powers of South Attica, was buried at Thornville Sunday.  Mr. Moore was sheriff of Lapeer county several years ago.--

See another blog post about Cynthia (Richmond) More here and another about her 2nd husband, Sylvester Marshall, here.  

Newspaper obituary extract from the Genealogy Bank database.

Our James Levi More?

James Levi More was the son of James & Cynthia (Richmond) More. Cynthia was #7426 in the J.B. Richmond book.

From the Lapeer County Democrat newspaper:

Wednesday, January 8, 1896:
J. L. Moore*, formerly of this county but lately of Owosso, was here last week. He has bought a grocery business at Lansing where he will reside.J. L. More, "formerly of this county (Lapeer)...". James Levi More was born (in 1856) and raised in Lapeer County, Michigan.

Another likely move for him, also from the Lapeer County Democrat, was noted on March 23, 1892: Thornville - Levi Moore will rent his farm to William Blow for a year and move to Ortonville (Oakland Co, MI). Shall be sorry to lose them.

His (James Levi More's) obituary indicated that he had been in the grocery business, although in Genesee Co. rather than Lansing in Ingham Co., Michigan:

OBITUARY - Flint Journal, March 21, 1923
DATE OF DEATH: March 15, 1923
MORE - James L. More, formerly of Flint, died suddenly of apoplexy, at his home in Portland , Ore., on Thursday. He was a member of Flint Lodge, No. 174, F. & A. M., and had a large circle of friends here. He was formerly engaged in retail grocery business in the Alvord block . He leaves his wife in Portland and daughter, Mrs. Maud McLeod of San Francisco, Cal., also a sister, Mrs. William S. Powers of Flint.

For further research: Land records in Oakland, Shiawassee, Ingham and Genesee counties may be helpful in determining whether or not the subject of the January 8, 1896, Lapeer County Democrat newspaper excerpt was "our" J. L. More and tracking his many moves.

*More and Moore are used interchangeably for this family

My Relatives In Thornville Cemetery

Thornville Cemetery, Thornville, Lapeer County, Michigan:


Lot 41 [Blue]
Owner: Jennie (Lamond) More
1. Powers, William S. (1859-1939)
2. Powers, Addie More (1864-1947)
More, Ward B. (1858-1889)

Lot 89 [Green]
1. More, James (1815-1870)
More, Cynthia (1829-1912)
More, Mary (1867-1889)
More, Charles (1862-1885)

Cynthia (Richmond) More was the wife of James More, the mother of Addie, Ward, Mary and Charles and the mother-in-law of William S. Powers. Cynthia was the daughter of Thomas & Laura (Backus) Richmond and was #7426 in the J. B. Richmond book.

Addie (More) Powers - Richmond Descendant

Addie (More) Powers was the daughter of James & Cynthia (Richmond) More. Cynthia was the daughter of Thomas & Laura (Backus) Richmond:


POWERS--Addie M. Powers, age 83, died Wednesday, May 21, 1947, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. William Allen, Pomona, Calif. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, May 26, 1947, from the Reigle Funeral Home. She had been a resident of Flint for the last 30 years, visiting at home of daughter when she passed away. She married William S. Powers at Dryden, Mich., 1888. He preceded her in death in 1939. She was a member of Court Street Methodist Church. Surviving are: 3 sons, Ward of Phoenix, Arizona, Ralph and Marion of Flint; 2 daughters, Mrs. William Allen of Pomona, Calif., Mrs. Angus Zimmerman of Flint; 18 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren.

[Note: Addie M. Powers was buried in Thornville Cemetery, Lapeer Co., Michigan]

A Second Letter From M. George Allen

From the second of two letters I (Cathy) received from Marion George Allen (1924-2001), a Richmond descendant:

In a 1996 letter to me (excerpted above and transcribed below):

...know it is a shock. At least that is what I tell them.* I do have something in common with your husband. I was a deputy on the Los Angeles Sheriff's Dept. for two years, in'48 and '49. They had me stationed on the minimum security farm jail and that was over 70 miles from my home. After two years of this my better half decided that was enough, so I went on the city police department, Pomona. Rode motorcycle for over two years and then traffic car for another 4 years then decided we wanted to move to Northern Calif. and find something to do. As I had worked with my father in building I took the contractor's test and got my contractor's license in '58. So we moved to Nevada County and looked for a place to build and have been here ever since. We are at 1700 foot elevation and have oaks pine fir cedar and other trees. We get the season changes and once in a while get a little snow. Sacramento is approx. 50 miles from us and we are about 10 degrees cooler than the valley area, which is nice when they have 100+ degrees.

*the "shock" part was just a little jab at his in-laws.

A Letter From M. George Allen

M. George Allen (1924 - 2001), was Richmond descendant through his mother, Addie (Powers) Allen, his grandmother, Addie (More) Powers and then his great-grandmother, Cynthia (Richmond) More. He shared with me how and why he move from Flint, Michigan, to Los Angeles, California and then to Rough and Ready, CA. He also included information about his paternal Bostwick ancestry.


In a letter addressed to me (Cathy Palm) from M. George Allen dated August 1, 1995, excerpted above and transcribed below:

First let me answer the question of what are we doing out here. I came to Calif. in 1941 via Uncle Ward's home in Phoenix. Ward's son James, a friend of Jim's and I thought we would like to live in Los Angeles so the friend's car brought us to LA and we found jobs in the "Baby Line Furniture Co." and rented an apartment. As I was just 17 my parents didn't think I should be away from home so they got word to me to get back home or they would come after me. Therefore I returned to Mich., my dreams dashed and destroyed. When I was in the service (11-42 to 8-45) I was shipped to Los Angeles to attend B25 school at what is now LAX International Airport. At that time it was the air base for aircraft factories. Anyhow my folks, thinking I would be shipped out, they and my fiance came to Calif. to see me. While here they, my folks, made up their mind they would move as soon as possible, which they did (1944?). When we got out of the army I returned to Flint and went back to work in the Chevrolet factory. That lasted four weeks and I (we) decided to move to Calif. Southern Calif. got so crowded and smoggy that we decided to move to Northern Calif. which we did in 1959. Rough and Ready is a very small town now, used to be thick with miners, hotels and saloons. We are in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains at about 1600 ft. Lake Tahoe is about 80 miles and Reno 100 miles. Sacramento 50 miles and San Francisco 140 miles.

I will include a copy of a picture I have found of John and Mary Powers. Also a copy of a letter from Kezzie you might find interesting, and a copy of my ancestor chart as far as I have now. Number 19 on the chart, Anna Bostwick, I can trace back to "Osmer" owner of Shipbrook, Davenham, Bostok, Audlem, Crewe all in Chester (Cheshire) County, England as entered in the Doomsday [Domesday] Book, year 1080 as having held these places at time of conquest by William of Normandy. This is in the Bostwick family geology [sic] book which lists names to 1896 and my father's family is listed (and Father).

From an earlier post:

Marion George Allen found the genealogical chart (Page One) below in a family Bible several years ago and sent a copy to me. It was my template for researching the descendants of Thomas & Laura (Backus) Richmond, including Cynthia (Richmond) More.

The chart does not list any children for #13 Ward B. More (& Jean Lamond More, his wife), #14 Charles More, #15 Addie More (my great-grandmother whose descendants are listed on Page Two) and #16 Mary More.

Probate Documents - Miss Mary More of Lapeer Co.

Mary More, born 29 December 1866, Lapeer County, Michigan and died 30 August 1889 in the same place. Her father, James More, immigrated to New York from Scotland. He met and married Cynthia Richmond of Livingston County, New York. James & Cynthia (Richmond) More moved to Lapeer County ca 1853 along with Cynthia's parents, Thomas & Laura (Backus) Richmond and her (Cynthia's) siblings, Almina (Mrs. Thomas Langworthy) and Emory Richmond.

The youngest of six children, Mary died at the age of 22, unmarried and childless. The genealogical periodical, Lapeer Legacy, noted her death as follows:

Lapeer Legacy
Deaths
MOORE, Mary
Died: 30 Aug 1889
Female/Single
22y 9m 10d
Parents: Jas & Cynthia

Her death notice in the Lapeer Democrat newspaper dated 11 September 1889, listed the following:

Age 22
Died August 30, 1889, at home of mother. Member of Lone Pine Association. P of I.
Thornville News

Probate Document signed by Probate Judge Edgar Hough; see his brother's bio here (the Judge is mentioned). A bio of Ebenezer Hough who had a son Edgar can be found here. The Probate Order was published in the Lapeer Clarion, whose publisher was E. T. Woodruff.

Probate Document with the letter head "C. Ferguson & Son", Bankers; a biography of Charles Ferguson can be found here and here.

Probate Document - Inventory of The Property of Mary More, Deceased, of Lapeer County.

Charles More's Family of Lapeer Co., Michigan

Marion George Allen (now deceased), found the genealogical chart (Page One) below in a family Bible several years ago and sent a copy to me. It was my template for researching the descendants of Thomas & Laura (Backus) Richmond, including Cynthia (Richmond) More.

The chart does not list any children for #13 Ward B. More (& Jean Lamond More, his wife), #14 Charles More, #15 Addie More (my great-grandmother whose descendants are listed on Page Two) and #16 Mary More.

#14 Charles More who "died at 23" (he was born 25 June 1861 in Lapeer Co.) had no wife nor child listed. Since his death was known to the chart's creator, I assumed that a wife and/or child would have been known as well; I was wrong.


My research error was discovered while searching for files years ago in the Lapeer Co. Probate office. A partial list of files "of interest" from Lapeer Co. Probate included:

File# Name/Year Book/Page Record Type

735 MOORE, James 1871 1 Deceased

1518 MOORE, Charles Austin 1885 2-295 Deceased

890 MORE, Jas L. 1874 1 Guardian

1572 MORE, Algie G. 1886 2-322 Guardian

1786 MORE, Ward B. 1889 2-430 Deceased

1805 MORE, Mary 1889 2-439 Deceased

I thought for sure that File #735 belonged to "my" James More who died December 1870 in Lapeer Co. It didn't. I was sure that File #1572, Algie G. More, had nothing to do with my family, but looked at it anyway. It did. I thought that Algie's middle name, Gardner, may provide a clue to his ancestry. It did.

His mother, Carrie Harris, was the daughter of Jacob Gardner Harris. Carrie's name was found in the Lapeer Democrat Newspaper as follows:

Saturday, October 15, 1881, "Married" column In Metamora, October 6, by Reverend S. Bird, Charles O. More, of Dryden, and Miss Carrie Harris of Lapeer.

After the death of Charles More, a petition was filed in Probate Court by Carrie More on behalf of Algie G. More.

Other probate documents on behalf of Algie G. More:





















Algie More died 12 April 1892 in Flint, Genesee Co., Michigan. Information about his death was provided by the Flint Genealogical Society as follows:


An obituary for Algie More stated the following:

Lapeer Clarion - April 27, 1892
The remains of Algie Moor, son of Mrs. C.M. Clark of this city, were taken to Lapeer this morning for interment. (Flint Journal) Note: I don't know where in Lapeer Algie was buried. (Carrie Harris married 2nd Cassius Clark.)

The genealogical chart was correct regarding Ward More and his sister, Mary More; they did not have any children. Since Mary did not have a husband or children, her mother, siblings and deceased sibling's child (Algie G. More) were possible heirs to her estate.

Documents - Kezzie (More) Turner & A.O. Turner

Below are some documents related to my previous post about Kezzie More, "John F. More's Last Descendant."

The first item is a letter to Aunt Addie (my great-grandmother, Addie (More) Powers). It is written on railroad stationery; her father (John F. More) was a railroad engineer in Michigan and was probably the same in Georgia.

There are also items related to Kezzie's property in northern Alabama that was deeded over to Addie Powers.

The final letter is from Kezzie's widower, A.O. Turner, to Aunt Addie.

Click On Image(s) To Enlarge

John F. More's Last Descendant

Kezzie More's "Richmond" ancestor was Cynthia (Richmond) More, daughter of Thomas & Laura (Backus) Richmond and wife of James More.

Did Kezzie (More) Turner have any children? I don't think so. Kezzie was born 5 October 1877 in Lapeer County, Michigan, to John F. & Marian (Gibson) More and was an only child. Her mother died 9 March 1883 in Lapeer County.

A Guardian's Deed was filed on behalf of Kezzie:

Kezziah More, by John More to Ward B. More

Lapeer Co., MI, Deeds

Liber "42" Page# 232
10 June 1886
Probate: 8 January 1886
J.F. More, Guardian

John F. More married 2nd (Eleanor) Lorancy Robbins who raised Kezzie. The Robbins family had pictures of Kezzie and one descendant was kind enough to send them to me. There were no pictures of Kezzie previously in my family's possession.

The John More family moved from Michigan to Georgia and lived in Haralson County, Georgia, in 1900. Also living in Haralson County at that time was her future husband.

John, Lorancy and Kezzie moved to Waycross, Ware Co., Georgia where they were living when the 1910 census was taken. A letter from Kezzie to Aunt Addie (my great-grandmother, Addie (More) Powers) as well as a couple of other family "artifacts" made it plain that the John More family moved to Georgia. By 1920 Kezzie's father and step-mother had died; she was still living in Waycross, Georgia, as a boarder with the Linville family.

Another letter, this one from A.O. Turner of Birmingham, Alabama, to "Aunt Addie" was most puzzling to me for quite some time. He -- and I assumed A.O. was a "he" because the letterhead stated that A.O. Turner sold machinery equipment -- was probably related to the More family because Addie More Powers was addressed as "Aunt." Did another More relative move to the Deep South? He had to be related to Kezzie, but how?

A trip to the Birmingham, Jefferson Co., Alabama, public library allowed me to look through the Birmingham City Directories for an A. Turner. It was at this point that I found that A.O. Turner was Alonzo Turner -- there was a directory entry for him with a wife named Kezzie.

Armed with a first name for Mr. Turner, I found the couple in the 1930 census [previous searches for such a populated area without an exact name at Ancestry.com didn't work for me - and when I first started looking the 1930 census hadn't been released to the public yet]:

1930 AL census, Jefferson Co., Birmingham:
Turner, Alonzo, head, 51, m 49, GA GA GA, commercial traveler
" , Kezzie E., wife, 51, m49, MI MI MI

The 1930 census indicated that Alonzo & Kezzie were age 49 when they were married and were age 51 in 1930. There were no children in the census listed for the couple.

Several years ago my Dad's cousin, M. Ruth (Brown) Callahan told me that she thought Kezzie had died in Mineral Wells, Texas [by 1920 it was known as the "South's greatest health resort"]. After the Texas death records went online, I found Kezzie's death record here; her name was given as Elizabeth (the 1930 census listed her as Kezzie E.) and she died of cancer 27 February 1933 in Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto, Texas. Her home address was listed as 303 N.W. 2nd, Birmingham, Alabama; her husband was A.O. Turner and her father was J.F. More.

Since she had no children as of age 51 and she died at age 54, it is more than likely that Kezzie More Turner, only child of John F. More, was his last and only descendant.

Richmond / Webster Connections in Michigan

These Webster-Richmond notes were published in the Oakland Co. (MI) Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 2, #1:

Click on Image(s) to Enlarge

Chester Webster, a descendant of Governor John Webster of Connecticut, married Polly Matilda Whitney, daughter of Joshua & Phoebe (Parker) Whitney. Their son John, married Chloe Richmond, son Alanson married Delia Richmond, and daughter Marion married Charles Richmond. [See images above]

A Cayuga Co., NY, Probate extract provided the following information:

Joshua B. WHITNEY of Aurelius 1817 - Will [Phebe] (PARKER)
[children: Chauncey [T?], Joshua, Sally TOMPKINS, Polly, Susan, Laura, John, Enos, Willard; Note 1929 correspondence refers to "Polly Matilda" m. Chester WEBSTER of Pontiac, Mich. 1823 and sister Susan MATHEWS]

Harriet Webster, a daughter of Chester, married Simon Stowell. Their daughter, Eunice, married Elbert Kelley. Elbert's twin, Emma Kelley, married Jerome Robbins. Jerome's sister, Lorancy Robbins, married 2nd John F. More. John F. More's mother was Cynthia Richmond (my ancestor).

More Family From Michigan To Georgia

John F. More, son of Cynthia (Richmond) More and grandson of Thomas P. Richmond (#5266 in the J.B. Richmond book).

An 1884 Lapeer Co., MI, history noted the following: J.F. More was born in Almont Township, Lapeer County, Michigan, in 1852,being the son of ex-s heriff More. Early learned the trade of engineer,in which he engaged on the P.O. & P.A. Rail road and resides at North Branch at present. Married in 1877, to Marian A. Gibson, who was born in Metamora Township in 1856 and died March 9, 1883. One child, Kezzie, was born in 1877.

Family papers indicated that railroad employee John F. More, his second wife, Lorancy (Robbins) More, and daughter, Kezzie More, originally of Lapeer Co., Michigan, had moved from the "thumb" area of Michigan to Georgia. In 1910 the family was in Waycross, Georgia. In 1920 Kezzie More is living with another family. Where were her parents?

A few years ago, while perusing records in the Thomasville, Georgia, genealogical library, I found the following extracted from the Oakland Cemetery records of Waycross:

Armed with their dates of death, I visited the library in Waycross and extracted their obituaries.

Waycross Journal-Herald
Saturday, April 29, 1916

Following an illness of some time J. F. More, formerly of Detroit, Mich., died at his home 20 Elizabeth Street, last night. He was 64 years old and before moving here four years ago was an engineer on a Michigan railroad. He was a member of the B. of L. E. and a Mason. The Masons will have charge of the funeral which will be conducted at the home tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock. Interment will be at Oakland Cemetery. Besides his wife the deceased is survived by one daughter, Kezzie.

Waycross Journal-Herald
Thursday, October 23, 1919

Mrs. Lorancy More, aged 66, died Tuesday night at her home, No. 60 Reed Street, after an illness of one week. She is survived by one daughter, Miss Kezzie, who is also quite sick, and one brother,Colonel Jerome W. Robbins, of Chicago. Mrs. More and daughter have made their home in Waycross for eight years, her husband, Mr. J. F. More, died here three years ago. The funeral services were held yesterday at the residence, No. 60 Reed Street, at 4:30 o'clock, conducted by Dr. J.S. Sibley. Interment in Oakland cemetery W.L. Hinson & Co. were directors in charge.

So find the graves, or at least a burial record for John and Lorancy More should be a cinch, right? Wrong. As a light rain fell, Jim and I searched Oakland Cemetery in vain for "More" gravestones. Undaunted, we checked with the cemetery office -- they had no record for either More family member. What? How were their names found and categorized on the Oakland Cemetery page? Still don't know, but am grateful that somebody found them.

I've since done some research on Lorancy (Robbins) More's family. Since Kezzie was raised by Lorancy, a member of the Robbins family had several pictures of Kezzie and others in the More family in his possession and generously shared them with me. Those shared pictures were the only ones I had ever seen of Kezzie, Lorancy, John F. More and his brother, James Levi More. I believe that my research of Jerome Robbins, mentioned in Lorancy's obituary, ultimately led to getting the More family photos.

A GOOGLE map of Oakland Cemetery in Waycross, Ware Co., Georgia, is here.