Mary's Siblings: Emery, Part 2

My grandmother’s eldest brother, Emery Waggoner, seems to have struggled financially much of his life, especially during the years after his wife Dewey’s death. When Dewey died in 1926, his children ranged in age from 15 (John) to 2 (Ruby). What a struggle that must have been for him and them!

c1928, Emery Waggoner with John, James, Nannie, and Ruby.

The story Dad told me was that the Minnesota child welfare department took the children away from Emery. Later, he “stole” one or two of the younger ones back and took them to Nebraska to his sister, my Grandma Mary, and left Ruby with Mary and Clint for a time. Maybe he asked for help from his other Nebraska siblings, too. I’m not sure. I learned from one of Emery’s descendants that James was sent to Virginia to live with his uncle Silas Petty, Dewey’s eldest brother, who lived on a farm near Marion, Virginia. Indeed, the 1930 census shows James, age 12, living with the Silas Petty family.[1] 
 

Nannie and Lucille Waggoner in Minnesota

 The family was truly torn apart. As for Emery, the 1930 census shows him living in Minnesota and working as a farm laborer in “grain and stock” again. His marital status is “widowed,” and his children are not with him. He is boarding with a Norwegian family in Vallers Township, Lyons County.[2] 

Emery married a third time on 25 December 1932, to Julia Asbury or Asberry. I’m not sure where this marriage took place, and I can’t find anything to verify it. Julia was from Benton County, Missouri, and she and Emery lived in Warsaw in that county, so possibly this was the location of their marriage.

L. to R.: Ruby, Marie, Emery, Julia, Nannie holding her son Douglas. In front is Ruby's daughter Melinda

This time, his wife outlived him, but the strange thing is that she was buried at a different cemetery from Emery— Lincoln Cemetery ( Julia's memorial )—under her maiden name. Did they divorce? I don’t know.

Between his marriage to Julia and his death, I can’t seem to find a trace of Emery, not even in the 1940 census. According to his memorial on Find A Grave web site ( Emery's memorial ), he died on 10 October 1966, and he was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Warsaw.  

Photo of Emery's tombstone, courtesy of Barbara Blum.

His daughter Ruby also lived in Warsaw, and (we hope) contributed to his comfort in later years. Ruby is buried at Shawnee Cemetery in Warsaw, Missouri ( Ruby's memorial). She married at the young age of 17 to Arthur J. Fergerson, of Benton County, who was 58 at the time (big age span!). They had one daughter named Kathy. Apparently, as evidenced on her memorial, she remarried some one named Hensley after Arthur’s death in 1966, but I haven’t found that marriage record. 

I'm not sure how well Emery's children weathered their traumatic childhood. Through the Ancestry.com, I've corresponded with two of Nannie's daughters who sent me the photos above, plus this lovely wedding photo of their parents. Nannie seems to have had a stable family.

 Wedding photo of Nannie Waggoner and Clarence O. Anderson, Minnesota.

This is Lucile with Nannie holding her daughter Bernetta, her firstborn, I think.

Also the sisters seem to have stayed in touch with each other. This photo shows all four of them: Lucile, Marie, Ruby, and Nannie. Looks like the 1950s.

Lucile, Marie , Ruby, Nannie

---

[1] 1930 U. S. census, Marion, Smyth County, Virginia, population schedule, supervisor’s district  8, p. 103 (stamped), enumeration district 87-7, sheet 4-A, dwelling 52, family 55, Silas Petty family; NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 2461.

[2] 1930 U. S. census, Vallers Township, Lyon County, Minnesota, population schedule, supervisor’s district 11, p. 895 (penned), enumeration district 42-29, sheet 2-B, dwelling 40, family 40, Emery Wagoner; NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1105.