For this weeks topic, the first thing that comes to mind for me is the loss of children and just how many of our ancestors buried multiple infants or young children. So in this blog I'm going to discuss the children lost by three sets of my ancestors: Clint Mefford and Edith Bastin, Frank Bastin Sr and Ilena Singleton, and Charles LaRue and Carrie Byrd.
First, Clint and Edith.
My Great-Grandparents, Clinton "Clint" Mefford and Edith, nee Bastin, were the parents of eleven children; only eight of those surviving past being a toddler or very young child.
The first born child was named Billie on November 28th, 1927, in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, likely near the community of Ennis. Billie is the only child that I haven't been able to obscure a death certificate for but his tombstone gives his date of death as March 27th, 1931. He's buried in Allen's Chapel Cemetery near his father, Clint, and other siblings.
Billie appears in the 1930 census living with his parents and his younger sister, Mary Ellen (1929-2009). Aunt Mary told me years ago that all of the children died of the same thing, so chances are, young Billie died of bronchial pneumonia.
After Billie's birth, Clint and Edith had Mary Ellen in 1929, Barbara Ray in 1933, Ima Jean in 1936, Glen Bastin in 1938 (my Granddad), and then came Clinton "Clint" Mefford Jr in 1940.
Clint Jr was born on June 29th, 1940, in the community of Ennis, in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. On his tombstone, his date of death is given as February 2nd, 1941, but according to his death certificate, it was February 1st, 1941. For Clint Jr, I do have a death certificate -- bronchial pneumonia / Influenza listed as the cause of death.
The next child after little Clint was Wanda Lee Mefford, born on December 4th, 1942, again in the community of Ennis; and she died of bronchial pneumonia on January 1st, 1943, according to her death certificate. Again, her tombstone is off -- her birth date by two days and her death date by one.
The dates on the death certificates are what I'm using as primary information, because the informant (and who helped fill out the certificates) was Clint himself so I believe he knew his children's birth dates and death dates.
After Wanda Lee came Owen Lee in 1944, Vernon Lee in 1946, Michael Wayne in 1949, and Sharon Ann in 1953. To my knowledge, Clint and Edith never lost another child. It's tough to say why they were plagued by bronchial pneumonia between the years of 1931-1943. Why did only Billie, Clint Jr, and Wanda succumb from this illness?
It's no doubt that probably the other children: Mary, Barbara, Ima, and Glen probably got sick with the same Influenza their siblings had. Why did they survive and these three didn't? I guess some immune systems are better than others. Age at the time of the influenza played a factor as well, I'm sure.
Granddaddy Clint worked in the coal mines and Grandma Edith was a homemaker who stayed at home and took care of her home and family. It's tough to say if their living conditions helped the influenza thrive -- I wouldn't think so, as I've heard my Granddad Glen say numerous times, they didn't grow up poor by any means. The coal mining business was obviously very good to Granddaddy Clint and his wife and children, from what my Granddad Glen has said over the years.
Regardless, in 2021, Billie has been gone for ninety years; Clint Jr for eighty years, and Wanda for seventy-eight. These are entire lifetimes these kids have been gone... Only one sister remains living that would have any recollection of Clint Jr or Wanda, and that would be my Aunt Barbara Palmer of Chicago. Sadly, none alive today would have any memories of little Billie, as he was the first to be birthed, and the first to pass away. It's up to someone like me, the family genealogist, to keep his memory alive.
I will share this one old photograph of Granddaddy Clint, Grandma Edith, Aunt Mary (standing in the back), Aunt Barbara in Clint's lap, and Edith holding Ima Jean. My Granddad hadn't been born yet, but probably would be conceived within a few months of this photo being taken.
Second, Frank and Ilena.
My Great-Great-Grandparents, Franklin Payton Bastin Sr and Ilena Singleton had eleven children in total; but only seven that lived past infancy.
Bessie was their first child born in 1896, then came Bernice Marie in 1900, Frank Jr in 1901, Jennie Merle in 1904, and Edith Mae in 1908 (my Great-Grandmother). In the 1910 census, Ilena says she's birthed 6 kids at this point and only 5 are living. So there is a child born between 1900 and 1910 that mustn't have a tombstone - could have been a miscarriage early on, even; so perhaps it never had a proper burial. It deserves to be counted as a child, though. It existed.
Next came William Norman in 1912, and then came the three that died very shortly after their births. First was Arthur F Bastin, misspelled Auther on his tombstone. He was born on December 10th, 1914, in the Nelson area of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, and died just two days later -- December 12th, 1914. The dates on his tombstone are incorrect -- they say December 8th and December 11th. The death certificate says he died of malformation.
I'll note that his tombstone looks pretty rough -- and when/if I'm able, I'd love to be able to clean it with some D/2 Biological Solution.
Arthur is buried in Nelson Creek Cemetery in the community of Nelson, in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.
The next child that came was Carl D. Bastin, born on November 15th, 1915, and he died March 22nd, 1916. His death certificate is a bit hard to read but I believe the cause of death reads "lung cold followed by bronchial pneumonia."
There isn't a photograph of his tombstone on Find-a-Grave so that tells me that nobody has found one, but I would imagine since his brother and sister have a tombstone, that he does as well. I probably just need to get down to that cemetery and prod around for the tombstone -- it could be broken and under six inches to a foot of dirt.
The next to come along was Vernerd Lee Bastin, born on June 29th, 1918, and died on October 24th, 1918. Her date of birth is off by a day on her tombstone. Her name on her death certificate looks more like "Vernon" or "Verna" or "Vermie" as it's been transcribed, but on the tombstone, it's Vernerd. On the birth index, it's Vernon -- she's marked as female on the death certificate as well. The cause of death is listed as influenza and probably labor pneumonia.
Her tombstone, too, could use some T.L.C. with D/2. The epitaph bittersweetly says, "not lost, just gone before."
After Vernerd, only one more child was born to Frank and Lena -- Roy Ferguson in 1919. It's another tough nut as to why certain ones of the Bastin children passed away and not the others. Why three in a row? Were they born a bit sickly to begin with? Well, we know Arthur died of malformation...so could Carl and Vernerd also have dealt with being a bit malformed? Frank Bastin, too, worked in the coal industry and his wife, Ilena "Lena" was a homemaker. This was in the 1910 and 1920 censuses whereas by 1930, he gave his profession as farmer.
It's been 107 years since Arthur passed away, 106 for Carl, and 103 for Vernerd. There isn't a soul alive today that remembers these three Bastin children, nor the one that was born and died sometime between 1900-1910. There's no written record for that child, no family bible mentioning him or her... it's up to me to keep the memory of Arthur, Carl, and Vernerd alive.
Third, Charles and Carrie.
My Great-Great-Grandparents Charles Clarence LaRue and Carrie Annie Byrd had eleven children but only eight made it past infancy or young childhood.
First they had Shelby Clark in 1905, then came his little brother, John Franklin, born October 28th, 1906, in the Smith Mills area of Henderson County, Kentucky. John makes an appearance with his parents and his siblings: Shelby and Rosa, in the 1910 census... but he passes away shortly after. He is buried unmarked at the Smith Mills Cemetery (according to family story.) As Kentucky doesn't have any death certificates in 1910, it's unclear what he passed away from.
The next child born was little Mary Ernestine on November 17th, 1908, and she died October 18th, 1909. Whatever took Mary Ernestine in 1909 could very well be what took little John Franklin in 1910. Mary, too, is buried unmarked in the Smith Mills Cemetery near her parents and other siblings. Given that so many of my ancestors have lost children to bronchial pneumonia or influenza -- I ponder if their deaths weren't because of that.
The next kids to come along were Rosa Lee in 1909, Woodrow Wilson in 1912, Verna Lorene in 1914 (my Great-Grandmother), Bonnie Wyonia in 1916, Ann Bessie Louise in 1918, and then the next little one to pass away young... Francis LaRue. He was born on February 24th, 1921, and died September 30th, 1921. He is the only one to have a death certificate -- but still no tombstone in the Smith Mills Cemetery.
On his death certificate, he's listed as dying of membranous croup -- that's familiar to me as my other Great-Grandmother Anna Elizabeth (Thompson) Sandefur also lost a sibling, Vannie Louise Thompson, to membranous croup in 1915. A contributory cause to Francis' death was cardiovascular, interestingly enough. At least, that's what the word looks like to me. Truth be told, I thought it said something like "cord laubaum" or something but I don't believe that's right.
After little Francis came Opal Lois in 1922, and James Alma in 1924. Dad LaRue was a farmer in occupation, and the LaRue's didn't have a whole lot in the way of money, honestly. Their living conditions very well could have impacted the lives of their young children... but as I've said twice already in this post, who knows why death struck three of the LaRue children and just these particular three and not the others.
When it comes to the children of Frank & Lena and Charles & Carrie -- they're all gone now. For the children of theirs who died young, there's no one left alive with a single memory of them. There aren't any pictures, that I'm aware of... there's no written diary entries mentioning them or anything, as far as I know. So it's up to me, as the family historian, to keep the legacies of these little tots going for generations to remember them.
It's been 111 years since John Franklin LaRue died, 112 since Mary Ernestine died, and exactly one hundred years this year since Francis LaRue died. That's not just one lifetime ago... that's multiple lifetimes. Without tombstones, these LaRue children would be forgotten about if it wasn't for Francis' death certificate, John Franklin appearing in the 1910 census, and as for Mary Ernestine, I'm guessing we have a family bible somewhere in one of the lines of the family mentioning her birth and death or else...who would know about it? The Smith Mills Cemetery sure isn't the best for keeping records, that's for sure.
I have several more ancestors who lost more than one child young... but these three stuck out to me to talk about for this blog. Not just because I had tombstone photographs, and not just because I had some death certificates... but it struck me as interesting that each lost three... or at least three were documented, in Lena's case, as there's the missing one between 1900-1910.
Plus, I haven't had the chance to write too much, yet, on my Mefford or Bastin side. I know way more about my Mom's side of the family.. a lot of them being Catholic, the record keeping is much better. But my paternal side is ever bit as important and with time I intend to write more blogs about them.
Thanks for reading my ramblings tonight, it means a lot. If you haven't joined Blogger/Blogspot yet, you can create a free account and 'subscribe' or 'follow' my blog here. You can also leave a comment if you'd like. Thank you all!
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