A Genealogy Adventure
Kenny Mitchell is my grandma’s older brother. He was the fourth child of Dudley Mitchell and Opal Strickler. This photo of him was taken in Harlinger, Texas circa 1940-1945. The original is held by Kenny’s wife, my great-aunt Susie. I find the background so interesting in this photo. He is in some type of photobooth with a fabric back that is painted or printed to look like a front porch.
I am still on the hunt for the death records and probate for Catherine (Carey) Bradley. She is the mother of Mary Eugenia Bradley, my great-great-grandmother. There is a family story that states Catherine is not the biological mother of Mary. I have been trying to prove or disprove this story. You can read my previous posts: Mystery Monday – Who was Mary Bradley’s Mother and Mystery Monday – Mary Bradley Update.
My last plan of action was to:
Since that last post, I have done some research in the first two bullet points. I thoroughly searched the Cook County, Illinois death records on Ancestry.com, Familysearch.org, and the Illinois State Death Index for variations of Catherine or Kate Bradley. There were many results but none appear to be my Catherine.
The last place that I can identify Catherine as living is the 1910 census. She is living with her oldest son, Walter and his family in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Her age is listed as 70.
Since I hit a another wall, I moved on to locating more information about Mary’s brothers starting with Walter. Unfortunately, Walter passed in 1912 from a brain aneurysm. I tried to find his wife, Hannah, and their 4 children (Eugene, Margaret, Walter, and Bernadette) in the 1920 census but have been unable to do so. I have been playing with just listing first names and relationships but this has not worked yet. I do not know if Hannah remarried after Walter’s death. I would like to find the family to see if Catherine was still alive and living with them in 1920.
I moved on to Mary’s younger brothers. I believe that I have found them living in Texas and Nebraska in the 1910, 1920, and 1930 census. Catherine is not listed as living with either of them in these census enumerations.
So where did Catherine die? and when did she die? In order to help myself see the bigger picture, I created a timeline for Catherine with all of the information I know about her. I am glad to have the timeline but it did not produce any “wow” moments. Catherine had lived in Chicago for 25 years at the time of Walter’s death. It is hard to imagine her moving but you never know.
My updated research plan is to find an obituary for Walter Bradley in 1912. Hopefully, it will list more information about his immediate family and if his mother survived him. I will also try to locate a marriage record for Hannah Bradley to see if she remarried.
The search continues…