Which Edward did Gertrude Long Rang marry?

Okay... it's 1910 and you are starting life over in a different part of the state. You're not with your husband and you have one child. The City Directory comes around and asks about your status (occupation, address, etc). As a woman in 1910, do you list yourself as a widow when you're divorced? Or do you just leave off the husband information? If you divorce, would you change your married name back to your maiden name? Or does your family have you confused and you kept your married name because you truly are a widow?

I found this information FASCINATING. My mother's great-aunt Gertrude Long married a man named Edward T. Rang in Huron County, Ohio in April 1895. The marriage records in that particular year only had persons state they were at least of a certain age but no other information was recorded (i.e. parents). Edward and Gertrude Rang had a child in May 1895.The birth certificate of Edward and Gertrude's daughter identifies them by name only.

By the 1900 US Census, Gertrude says she'd been married five years and had one child. The 1910 US Census says that she is divorced. The 1920 US Census lists her as widowed.

The Columbus City Directories lists Gertrude as Gertrude Rang (widow of Edward) or Mrs. Gertrude Rang throughout the decade of the 1910s. After that, she is simply Gertrude Rang.


So, was she divorced and claimed she was a widow in the public city directory? Was she truly a widow and a mistake was made in the census? It's fascinating. I guess I now need to go to Huron County, Ohio records to see if Aunt Gertrude Rang's husband died or they were divorced. Oh the joys of genealogy and digging into people's past. Wa-ha-ha!!!

Here's something very intersting. There are two Edward T Rangs in Huron County, Ohio at this time. One appears to be perhaps an elder to the younger one. One Edward T Rang could have been Gertrude's spouse and remarries in 1905. This record identifies this Edward's parents and mentions that this marriage is his second. Very, very fascinating....

Comments

  1. ElizabethApril 23, 2012 at 7:22 AM

    FamilySearch has quite a few Ohio records. Have those been of help in tracking this family? My husband's father was born in Akron and I have found lots of information at FamilySearch for various members of his family.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Devon LeeApril 23, 2012 at 12:06 PM

    Elizabeth, you're such a faithful reader and commenter. Thank you. It's nice to know someone is willing to respond to my posts.

    I have found Gertrude's marriage and the birth record of Gertrude's child on FamilySearch. I have found a Edward T Rang on Family Search who
    remarried. But, since the 1895 marriage records don't list parents or birth dates, I don't know if this 1905 marriage record is for the same man or a different one.

    I think, if I'm not mistaken, that I need to search for a divorce decree for Edward and Gertrude, or I need to find a death certificate for Edward prior to about 1903. I have seen some death records in FamilySearch.org but again, not sure if they belong to the person Gertrude married.

    Perhaps I need to investigate newspapers from Huron County? Perhaps a marriage announcement for Edward and Gertrude would name Edward's parents? However, it looks kind of like a shot gun wedding as the birth of their child came one month after their marriage. Maybe they didn't announce their wedding. I find this all extremely fascinating though I'm not sure how to solve the mystery.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Mother's Day Lura Long

Image
When I think of mothers on my family tree, Lura Smith tops the list of those I look forward to meeting in the afterlife. She is the adopted mother of my Grannie,  Louise Eleanor Long .  Grannie adored Lura. Lura was married to Harry Howard Long (1883-1937). The couple married in Columbus, Ohio on Jun 19, 1907. They were unable to have children and finally adopted their first child in 1916. In May 1920, a baby girl was born in Columbus, Ohio to an unwed mother. The mother died of preeclampsia. This baby girl would become my grandmother. Upon her mother's death, Baby Anderson became a ward of the State of Ohio Welfare Department. She had a caseworker, Ethel Huffman Ackerman, who wanted to place Baby Anderson in the home of Harry Long. The caseworker was a friend and classmate (at Ohio State) of Harry's sister Elizabeth Long. As Elizabeth retells the story, Ethel received Baby Anderson's birth mother's history and felt that Harry and Lura were just the parent...
Read more

Mystery Monday: Which Karlsberger married Charles Stahl?

Image
Genealogy is kind of addicting. Sometimes, I get rather lost in the branches. As such, I run into mysteries that I can't seem to solve from the top down. I figured the genealogy community is awesome and may have ways to help me solve a mystery. Otherwise, perhaps a Karlsberger from Franklin County, Ohio might stumble upon my blog and help me solve this problem. My potential 3rd great-grand uncle George Paul Karlsberger was born on 10 August 1825 in Bavaria. Another researcher suggested his connection to my 3rd great-grandmother Anna Magaretha Karlsberger who married Christian or Christopher Hoppe. Margaretha was born 29 February 1824. There are no definitive records linking George and Margaretha. And Margaretha's parents were not recorded, though parents for George were suggested. As you can see, I am about to head down a twig on the tree that might be gnarled, or legitimate. George Karlsberger had six children born in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio to his wife Maria Elizabeth...
Read more

One Name Place Study: George Townsend of Columbus Ohio

Image
It's once again time to investigate the Townsends of Franklin County , Ohio in an effort to find relatives of William James Townsend who was born around 1842 in Franklin County, Ohio. The next individual listed 1880 US Census is George A Townsend. George indicates in this census that he was born around 1840 in New York. His parents are also listed as from New York and he says he was a merchant. Other household members are Louisa Townsend born around 1840 in New York (parents also from New York).  They have a son Charles W Townsend, who is about 11 in their home. Charles was apparently born in New York as well. At quick glance, this does not appear as close a relation as I would like to see. William was born in Ohio and several records place his parents from Maryland. George and William are around the same age so the different birth places would rule out the possibility of being brothers. Could they be distant relatives? I continued to research George and found him in the 7...
Read more