Sunday's Obituary - Edna Vina Beck Coffman

Edna Vina Beck Coffman was one of my great grandmother Effie's many sisters, and was my grandmother Lola's aunt. Edna was the sixth child (and fourth daughter) of Wells Marcus Beck and Emma Mayben Beck. She was born In Prairie Home, Shelby County Illinois on 1 February 1876.

Based on information I've found online, I am only able to present her dates of birth, marriage and death, along with the names of her spouse, children (Rose, Elzie, Everett and Hazel), parents and siblings, as well as where she was living during the various census years. As with the others in my tree, I do hope to find pictures of Edna and her family.

At twenty years of age, Edna married William Wesley "Wes" Coffman in Shelby County, Illinois. By the 1900 census, they were living in Penn, Shelby County, IL, with two young children. By 1910 census, they were living in San Antonio, Texas with their four children, and 1910 was the year they went to Laramie.  By 1920, Edna and Wes were living in Laramie, WY, with three of their four children. In 1930, Edna and Wes were living in Laramie with their son Elzie.

I did find a memorial on Findagrave.com for Lester Coffman (1898-1904) and the memorial listed his parents as Wesley W. and Edna Beck Coffman. The burial is at Prairie Home Cemetery in Shelby County, IL, where many of the Becks are buried. I did not find a child named Lester on the 1900 census, though, so I checked another great resource for Illinois, IRAD (Illinois Regional Archives Depository) and checked the pre-1916 deaths. I did find a Leslie Coffman that died 12 Oct 1904 in Pickaway Twp, Shelby County, IL. The database lists Leslie as a 2 month old male. I also found a newspaper article on Newspaperarchive.com from 18 Oct 1904 announcing the death of the "babe of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Coffman". I will have to verify this by ordering a copy of the death certificate. I could not find it on familysearch.org.

Edna moved to Denver, CO in 1943 and died there on 19 Sept 1948. She is buried with Wes at Greenhill Cemetery, Laramie, WY.

Transcription of the obituary:

Mrs. Edna Coffman Dies in Denver

Mrs. Edna V. Coffman, 72, former Laramie resident, died at noon yesterday in Denver following a brief illness. She had lived there for the last five years.

Mrs. Coffman was born Feb. 1, 1875 in Decatur, Ill. She came here in 1910 with her husband, the late William W. Coffman, Union Pacific Engineer who died in 1933. She was a member of the Christian Science church.

She is survived by three children; Mrs. O. C. Dinelly, Laramie; Mrs. L. M. Cole, Denver;  and E. E. Coffman, Denver; three grandchildren: Mrs. Duane Cordiner, Laramie; Lloyd Cordiner, Denver, and Delano Dinelly, Laramie; five great grandchildren and a sister, Wade Thompson and one brother, Edgar Beck, both of Decatur, Ill.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Stryker mortuary. Pallbearers will be H. B. Pope, Henry Larson, J. R. Sullivan, James H. White, Joe Vesley and Walter Fredericks.

The Laramie (Wyo.) Republican-Boomerang, Monday, 20 Sept 1948

Leah Furst Beck

Leah Furst Beck was my great great great grandmother. She was the mother of my great great grandfather, Wellls Beck. Leah was born on 30 June 1818 in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania and was the daughter of Thomas Furst and Anna Margareta Ilgen.

She married Joseph Beck at 23 years old in 1841. Leah and Joseph had four children, Wells Marcus Beck (1842 - 1928), Orlando Carson Beck (1843 - 1913), Agnes Amanda Furst Beck (1844 - 1911) and Luther Thomas Beck (1851 - 1935).

She and Joseph moved from Mifflin County, Pennsylvania to Prairie Home, Shelby County, Illinois in the spring of 1864 and lived there for the remainder of their lives. I do not yet know much about Leah but will research her more in the future. I am certain pictures of her are out there.

Transcription of Leah's obituary from Findagrave:

Death of Mrs. Leah Beck

(Review Special Service)

Prairie Home, Ill., April 27--Mrs. Leah Beck died at her home, three fourths of a mile west of Prairie Home on Wednesday afternoon at 2 o'clock, aged 86 years, 9 months and 21 days.

She moved from Mifflin county, Pennsylvania in the spring of 1864 and has resided in the same place ever since.

Her husband died almost eight years ago. She leaves four children, one daughter, Agnes A. Beck of Pennsylvania, Wells M. Beck of Prairie Home, Orlando Beck of Montana and Luther Beck of Kansas, besides several grandchildren, great grandchildren and one great great granddaughter.

She was a member of the Lutheran church in ___ when she moved here when she united with the Presbyterian church at this place, of which she remained a member until death.

Daily Review, The (Decatur, IL) 27 Apr 1906

Sunday's Obituary - Robert Clay Beck

Robert Clay Beck was the brother of my "famous" great grandmother, Effie, and the uncle of my grandmother, Lola. He was born in Prairie Home, Shelby County, Illinois on 21 Aug 1869 and was the second son, and third born child of my great great grandparents Wells Marcus Beck and Emma Mayben.

My research indicates that Robert married Cora Patton on 9 May 1892 in Shelby County, IL and that they had three children, Alverna Beck Taylor (1892-1971), Alma Lucille Beck McConnell (1897 - 1975) and Wells Marcus Beck (1899 - 1961).

Robert's wife Cora died in 1901, and he married her sister, Lulu Patton on 26 Feb 1903.  They had a daughter Dorothy Beck in 1907.

By 1910 they were living in Rio Grande, Colorado (where his sister Zadie Beck Loser was living) and that is where he died on 22 May 1925 at the age of 55.

Transcription of obituary

Robert C. Beck

Robert C. Beck, aged fifty-five years, and husband of Mrs. Lulu Beck, died suddenly in his home in Monte Vista, Colo, Friday afternoon, May 22, at 1 o'clock. Mr. Beck was born in Shelby county Aug 21, 1869. He is the son of W. M. Beck Sr. of Decatur.

Mr. Beck is survived by his wife, Mrs. Lulu of Colorado; four children - Mrs. O. C. Taylor of  Decatur, Mrs. Ray McConnell of Moweaqua, Mark Beck of Decatur and Dorothy Beck of Monte Vista; also five sisters and one brother - Mrs. Oliver Loser of Monte Vista, Mrs. W. W. Coffman of Laramie, Wyo; Mrs. William Wempen of Santa Ana, Cal; Mrs. E. F. Roby, Mrs. Wade Thompson and E. B. Beck, all of Decatur.

The funeral arrangements have not been completed  as yet, but will be held at the Prairie Home church, east of Moweaqua.

The Decatur Daily Review, 23 May 1925, page 10

Sunday's Obituary - Effie Furst Beck Cloos Roby

My paternal great grandmother, Effie Furst Beck Cloos Roby, is rather famous on this blog. She was the daughter of Wells Marcus Beck and Emma Mayben. She was born in Prairie Home, Shelby County, Illinois on 9 Aug 1871 and died in Decatur, Macon County, Illinois on 13 Apr 1931.

Effie was the mother of six children, Zetta Fern Beck Younger (1889-1969) , Bessie G. Cloos Trump (1893-1976), Lola L. Cloos Robinson (1894-1960), Monroe B. Cloos (1895-1912), George W. Cloos (1899-1968) and William Marcus Meents born Wells Cloos (1901-1977). She married my great grandfather, George Cloos in December of 1892.

Effie had a rather hard life and much more research is required to truly pull her story together. Currently, there are so many gaps and missing pieces. I am convinced that Effie's story would make a great book.  Sometime before 1910, she and George split. By the 1920 census she was remarried to Ellsworth Elmer Roby of Decatur. Effie died in their home.  I recently learned that Effie has no grave marker.

I am fascinated by the fact that her son Monroe who preceded her death, was not listed as a child. I am also fascinated by the fact that her son George was not mentioned as a survivor, nor was Bill (rather his wife was listed as a surviving child). The other child not mentioned as a survivor or even a child was her daughter Zetta. The mysterious child to me is Miss Georgia Roby of Chicago. I still need to look into that. I suspect she may have been Ellsworth's daughter. I'm also intrigued by the mention of her sister, Zadie. The obit claims Zadie was from Los Angeles, but I cannot find that to be true. Zadie and her family lived in Colorado for many years and I don't believe she ever lived in Los Angeles.  Zadie's daughter, Mabel Loser Smith did live in Southgate (a suburb of Los Angeles at the time and died there in 1936).

Transcription of Obituary:

Mrs. Effie Roby

Mrs. Effie Furst Roby, wife of Ellsworth E. Roby, died at 7:35 o'clock Monday morning at the family residence, 522 North Witt street. She would have been sixty years old in August. She had been in failing health for the last two years, but her condition did not become critical until five days ago, when pneumonia developed.

Mrs. Roby was born near Prairie Home, in Shelby county, Aug. 9, 1871, and was a daughter of Wells M. and Emma Beck. She is survived by her husband and the following children--Mrs. Ben Trump of Greenville, Mrs. Earl Robinson and Mrs. Wells Cloose of Los Angeles, Cal. and Mrs. Georgia Roby of Chicago. She also leaves a brother, Edgar Beck, Decatur, and the following sisters--Mrs. Zadie Loser, Los Angeles, Cal., Mrs. Hattie Wempen, Ontario, Cal., Mrs Edna Coffman, Laramie, Wyo. and Mrs. Grace Thompson, Decatur. The body was taken to the Moran & Sons funeral home where friends may call.

The funeral will be held at 3:30 o'clock Wednesday afternoon at the Moran & Sons chapel. The burial will be in Fairlawn Cemetery.

Decatur Daily Review, The (Decatur, IL) 13 Apr 1931

Sunday's Obituary - Emma Mayben Beck

Emma Mayben Beck was my great great grandmother. She was born 7 March 1844 in Mifflin County, PA and was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Carson Mayben.

On 12 April 1864, at 20 years old, she married Wells Marcus Beck at Lewistown, PA.

In 1870, at 26 years old,  she lived in Shelby, IL, and was the mother of three young children. She lived in Shelby, IL and raised her family there until sometime before 1910. According to the 1910 US census report, Emma and Wells were living as lodgers in Decatur, IL. By 1920 they were was living in Canon, CO with eldest daughter Zadie. They returned to Decatur around 1921.

Emma and Wells had 10 children (Zadie Mae Beck Loser, John Carson Beck, Robert Clay Beck, Effie Furst Beck Cloos Roby, Mary Laura Beck, Edna Vina Beck Coffman, Grace Mabel Beck Thompson, Hattie Bell Beck Wempen, Edgar Bruce Beck, Bessie Cornelia Beck). Emma was preceded in death by her son John Carson Beck (1867-1875), daughter Mary Laura Beck (1873-1878), and daughter Bessie Cornelia Beck (1884-1893).

Emma died 23 January 1922 in Decatur, IL. Her obituary was published on 23 January 1922 in the Decatur Review.

Transcription of obituary:

Mrs. W. M. Beck Dies at Age 78

Was Mother of Eleven Children.

Mrs. Emma Beck, wife of W. M. Beck, died at 8:20 o'clock Monday morning at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Wade Thompson, 235 West Cerro Gordo street. She would have been eighty-eight years old in March. Her death was due to the infirmities of old age.

Mrs. Beck was born March 7, 1844. She and W. M. Beck were married April 12, 1864. For forty-five years they lived on a farm near Prairie Home. For the last twelve years she has made her home with her children and only two weeks ago returned from a visit with a daughter in Monte Vista, Colo.

Mother of Eleven

Mrs. Beck was the mother of eleven children, a son and two daughters preceded her in death. She is survived by her husband and the following children: Mrs. Oliver Loser of Monte Vista, Colo., Mrs. Effie Roby and Mrs. Wade Thompson of Decatur, Mrs. Hattie Wempen of Ontario, Cal., Mrs. Edna Coffman of Laramie, Wyo., Robert Beck of Monte Vista, Colo., and E. B. Beck of Decatur. She also leaves a sister, Mrs. Carrie Stanton of Lake City and a brother, Jake Mayben of Minneapolis, Minn. There are twenty grand-children and twelve great grand-children.

Decatur Review (Decatur, IL) 23 Jan 1922

It is interesting that Emma's obituary refers to her as the mother of eleven. She really was the mother on ten. The eleventh child was actually Zetta Fern Beck, my great grandmother Effie's illegitimate child. Zetta lived with Emma and Wells and was not mentioned in the obituary by name, nor was she mentioned in Wells' obituary or Effie's obituary.

Transcription:

Funerals

Mrs. Emma Beck.

The funeral of Mrs. Emma Beck was held Thursday afternoon at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Wade Thompson, 235 West Cerro Gordo street. There was a large attendance. The services were conducted by Rev. C. E. Jenney, pastor of the First Presbyterian church.

The music was furnished by Miss Bernice Taylor and Miss Gladys Phillis.

The flowers were in charge of Mrs. C. E. Taylor, Miss Rosetta Thompson, Miss Eva Thompson, Miss Viola Beck, Miss Ethel Hinkle, Miss Jessie Hinkle and Miss Laverne Hinkle.

The pallbearers were Robert Baird, David Coulter, Russell Smith, George Ford, Frank Compton and William Jesse. The interment was in Fairlawn cemetery.

Decatur Review, Decatur, IL; 27 Jan 1922 

Emma and Wells are buried in Fairlawn Cemetery, Decatur IL (Macon County).

Sunday's Obituary - Wells Marcus Beck

Wells Marcus Beck was my great-great grandfather. He was born 9 January 1842 in Rosetown, PA and was the son of  Joseph and Leah Furst Beck.

I don't yet know much about Wells' young life, but from various census reports I can tell that in 1860, at 18 years old, he worked as a clerk in Armagh, PA.

On 12 April 1864, at 22 years old, he married Emma Mayben at Lewistown, PA.

In 1870, at 28 years old, he lived in Shelby, IL, and worked as a farmer. He lived in Shelby, IL and worked as a farmer until sometime before 1910. According to the 1910 US census report, Wells and Emma were living as lodgers in Decatur, IL. By 1920 they were was living in Canon, CO with eldest daughter Zadie. They returned to Decatur around 1921.

Wells and Emma had 10 children (Zadie Mae Beck Loser, John Carson Beck, Robert Clay Beck, Effie Furst Beck Cloos Roby, Mary Laura Beck, Edna Vina Beck Coffman, Grace Mabel Beck Thompson, Hattie Bell Beck Wempen, Edgar Bruce Beck, Bessie Cornelia Beck). Wells outlived his wife and four of his children.

Wells died 5 April 1928 in Decatur, IL. His obituary was published on 6 April 1928 in the Decatur Herald.

Transcription of obituary:

Wells M. Beck Dies Thursday

Recently Suffered Paralytic Stroke Followed By Pneumonia

Wells Marcus Beck, retired farmer, died at 7 o'clock Thursday evening in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Wade Thompson, 235 West Cerro Gordo Street. Recently he suffered a paralytic stroke and pneumonia developed a few days ago.

Mr. Beck was born in Rosetown, Pa, Jan 9, 1842 and married Emma Mayben at Lewistown, Pa, April 12, 1864. They moved to Shelby county and lived there during the years of his active business life. Prior to coming to Decatur about seven years ago, Mr. Beck made his home for a few years in Mont Vista, Col. Mrs. Beck died in Decatur in 1922.

Until his illness during recent months, Mr. Beck had been in fairly good general health. His greatest handicap in the enjoyment of life during late years, was his impaired sense of hearing which handicapped efforts to converse with him. But his interest in life did not drag, he enjoyed frequent rides in the auto, always was especially interested in the young folks and reading enabled him to keep abreast with current events.

Mr. Beck is survived by six children, Mrs. Zadie Loser, Monte Vista, Col., Mrs. Edna Coffman, Laramie, Wyo., Mrs. Hattie Wempen, Los Angeles, Cal., Mrs. Wade Thompson, Decatur, Mrs. Effie Roby, Decatur, and Edgar B Beck, Decatur. He is also survived by 20 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

He was a member of the Woodmen of the World at Monte Vista, Col. No funeral arrangements have been made.

Decatur Herald, Friday, 6 April 1928, pg. 9

My grandmother, Lola, was one of those 20 surviving grandchildren and my dad was one of the surviving 15 great-grandchildren.

Wells and Emma are buried in Fairlawn Cemetery, Decatur IL (Macon County).

Sunday's Obituary - Fern Elizabeth Snapp Robinson Sewell

My dad's first wife was Fern Elizabeth Snapp. I believe they met through mutual friends, Bernie and Opal Cole. Bernie and Opal were the managers of the apartment where Fern was living, and my dad was friends with the Coles. Fern and my dad were young when they married on August 22, 1940. She was 21 and he was 22. They were married in Huntington Park, California and honeymooned in San Francisco, California, staying with Red (my grandfather) and Gladys. They went to the Worlds Fair. I didn't know that until about a year and a half ago when talking to the widow of my dad's childhood best friend. You see, Jack and Betty Ann Swineford, accompanied my dad and Fern on their honeymoon! That was because Jack couldn't get time off of work to be my dad's best man at the wedding. My dad had never mentioned that he went.

Fern was a very kind person. She was also quite a glamour girl. From what my dad said, it was Fern that convinced him to visit his mother, Lola. My dad hadn't seen Lola in a few years. My dad always said Lola was in Norwalk State Hospital (now called Metropolitan State Hospital) and I figured that was where he visited her, but based on the records I have and the timeline of his life with Fern, he would have visited Lola at Camarillo State Hospital.

My dad and Fern separated probably around 1942 and I believe she filed for divorce then. I'm really not clear on that timeline, but I know that my dad said she was very nice and he said he was an "ass". When I spoke with Betty Ann she said that she thought it was 1942 when my dad showed up at their house for cards without Fern and said he had left her. The rest of that is a mystery and I still need to get to Downtown LA to retrieve the actual divorce record for timeline. From what I've heard, they were still married when my dad was drafted and rumor has it that Fern remarried before my dad was discharged and before the divorce was final. Again, I'm not sure if that's correct and will begin to research that soon.

Anyway, they did go their separate ways and Fern remarried a businessman named Paul Sewell and my dad remarried a young lady named Esther Vondollen. My dad's circle of friends always remained in touch with Fern and her mother, Mary Roades Snapp. At some point, Paul and Fern moved to Oklahoma City. Paul had a trucking business and Fern worked with him running the firm.

I knew that Fern was killed in a car accident and that she was the only one that died in that accident, but I just didn't know when or where that was until I spoke with Betty Ann. She told me it was Oklahoma City in the mid 1960s. Prior to that, I just always thought it was sometime in the 40s for some reason and I thought it was in California. My parents never shared tons of info, obviously, hence my thoughts. According to my dad, Fern was always afraid of cars and feared she'd die in one. Betty Ann told me that Fern was actually involved in a plane crash and survived that, and had no fear of flying, but apparently, cars were a different story.

Armed with a place and an approximate year, I posted to the Rootsweb/Ancestry.com message boards for Oklahoma City asking for an obituary for Fern Sewell. It wasn't too long before a woman responded and said she'd check the newspapers at the library (mind you, she did this during horrible weather conditions). She sent some newspaper articles about the accident! True to what I had always heard, Fern was the only one killed in the accident.

It happened on Friday, July 28, 1966. Paul and Fern were driving in their car with Fern's brother James and his wife. They were traveling west on NW 39 Expressway in the 3500 block when they were hit head-on by a car driven by Thomas J. Dawson. Dawson was travelling east in the westbound lanes and police could not explain that. Fern and Paul were both wearing safety belts upon impact.

Fern's funeral services were held at 2pm on Monday, July 31, 1966 at Smith and Kernke Funeral Home. I will have to check with them to see if they have an actual obituary.

As for any art this weekend, the ideas were massive yet production nil. With taking my mom to her hair appointment, errands, filling and picking up prescriptions, returning mom's items that don't fit, shopping, laundry, chores, no art from me, yet again. I am now feeling very down about the fact that I didn't do anything fun for myself (maybe selfish) and now have to prep for the day job tomorrow.

I had an idea for a dish towel and got the supplies I needed and planned to work on it, and photograph it in progress to create a tutorial, but now it is after 9pm on Sunday and none of that has happened. Plus, my new smart phone isn't even loaded with my contacts, nor did I create a Twitter account. I feel sometimes like I'll never accomplish what I want to under my current circumstances. What can I say other than, oh well, deal with it. It’s easier to blog in between doing laundry, running errands and making dinner than trying to do art projects sometimes. Sadly, that doesn't help my goal of creating art to sell on line. Hell, I can barely get views any longer when I re-list items in my Etsy shop. I really need to rethink what I'm doing. I would hate to die tomorrow feeling like I do right now.