Scholefield Family Tree
James looks to be a bit of a lost soul.
He is living in Globe, Gila, AZ, in 1900 with his wife and one child:1
Moore, J Arthur, Aug 66, Married 8 yrs, California, Drygoods Clerk
——, Mary A, wife, June 74, 2 children, 1 living, Colorado, England, Missouri
——, Maud T, daughter, Feb 94, Arizona, California, Colorado
The length of the marriage indicates that it is likely that the wife’s name is actually Mollie A.2 (the enumerator likely wrote Molly sloppily, and then when he made his official copy, he misread it as Mary). Also notice that there appears to be one child who was born and died before 1900.
By 1910, I can find no identifiable sign of James. Maud is living in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, with her married aunt and her grandmother Shanley.3 In 1920, Maud is in a Los Angeles apartment living with a cousin and a lodger.4 I cannot locate Maud in 1930, so she either married or died by then. (The scope of this project will not include information about where Maud lived — or even if she married or died. But when I am having difficulty locating the person I was originally searching for, I begin to try family members.)
James finally reappears, popping up in 1930 in San Diego, San Diego, California:5
Moore, James A, married 1st at age 25, California, England, South Carolina, Special police officer, Merchants fire despotation?, line 13 on unemployment sched
——, Fredrecia P, age 50, married 1st at age 44, all born in Sweden, immigrated in 1887, Naturalized, Fitter, Department store
So, James’s first marriage age matches when he married Mollie, and the fact that his mother was born in South Carolina cinches it for me that this is our guy. Additionally, here we find out about that he was married, as his death certificate reported,6 to a Frederica. We can assume that the age at which Frederica first married is the age at which she married James just six years earlier in 1924.
So, where was James between 1900 and 1930? We can make the following assumptions: His wife Mollie died and he wandered about alone until remarrying. The only evidence of this is that Maud was living with relatives. Currently, this tells me that he felt he could not care for his daughter alone. If in fact the couple lost one child between 1892 when married and the 1900 Census, and then Mollie died before 1910, one can see how he might have been stressed and felt that his daughter would be better living with her grandmother and aunt.
Research plan:
- Search creatively for any sign of James in 1910 or 1920.
- Check death records and cemeteries in Globe for Mollie’s death between 1900 and 1910. Alternately, investigate CA death records.
- Check for a marriage record for James and Frederica.
1. 1900 U.S. census, Gila County, Arizona, population schedule, Globe, enumeration district (ED) 18, sheet 1B, p. 228 (reverse, stamped), dwelling 19, family 19, J. Arthur Moore household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 Nov 2008); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 45.
2. For James and Mollie’s marriage date, see post dated 9 Oct 2008.
3. 1910 U.S. census, Los Angeles County, California, population schedule, Los Angeles, enumeration district (ED) 79, sheet 13A, p. 84 (stamped), dwelling 356, family 356, Maud Moore living as niece in Samuel M Fritz household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 Nov 2008); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 84.
4. 1920 U.S. census, Los Angeles County, California, population schedule, Los Angeles, enumeration district (ED) 224, sheet 10A, p. 125 (stamped), dwelling 31, family 357, Maude T. Moore household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 Nov 2008); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll 108.
5. 1930 U.S. census, San Diego County, California, population schedule, San Diego, enumeration district (ED) 163, sheet 3A, p. 115 (stamped), dwelling 65, family 77, James A. Moore household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 nov 2008); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T626, roll 193/
6. See post dated 20 Oct 2008.