Changes Are A Comin' to the D. A. Troutman Family

During the decade between 1900 and 1910, my paternal great-grandparents Daniel A. and America Troutman’s family experienced upheaval. Following a roving trend set by Daniel himself when he left North Carolina, two of their children moved to Missouri.

In 1910, their firstborn, Laura Estelle and her husband W. T. Worley lived in Dry Creek, Howell County, Missouri.[1] Stelle, as she preferred to be called, had married William Tell Worley, son of Francis W. and Eliza (Meadows) Worley,[2] on 16 November 1991 when she was 21 years old. Tell was 36. This age difference may have been the cause of problems between them couple in later years. Stelle and Tell had five children born in Virginia before they moved to Missouri: Carl J., born October 1893[3]; Harvey Lee, born and died, 1896[4]; Dale Edward, born June 1899[5]; Anna Leona, born June 1902[6]; and Ethel O., born September 1907.[7]

Not to brush off too easily the death of little Harvey Lee, the sadness of his loss surely followed the family for many years. His little tombstone in the Rich Valley Presbyterian Church Cemetery bears witness to his short life.

Harvey Lee Worley's tombstone, Rich Valley Presbyterian Church. Courtesy of Find A Grave contributor, James Archer.

The birth date their youngest child Ethel places their move between September 1907 and the date of the census, 15 April 1910.

Photo of Tell and Stelle Worley and their children, l. to r.: Dale, Ethel, Leona, and Carl. This was probably taken in Virginia just before they left for Missouri, perhaps about 1909.

That same year, Daniel and America’s ninth child, Clint Troutman was living in Audraine County Missouri with his new bride, Mary Ann, formerly Waggoner.[8] In an earlier blog titled “Clint and Mary’s Romance,” I related the story of their courtship.  Mary’s entire family had moved to Missouri prior to Clint’s exit from Virginia. Mary’s two oldest brothers had even gone further west to the state of Washington.

What had drawn all of them away from Virginia? I’m curious. I wondered whether western states, especially Missouri, had advertised in Virginia newspapers, maybe opportunities for land or something such as that, so I perused several copies of Marion, Virginia, newspapers between 1900 and 1910. No sign of ads for parts west. No announcements of lands open for homesteading.[9] I did notice a difference between 1898-1900 and 1903-1908, however, in the number of ads for rail traffic to transport people to western states. The Marion News was advertising train service to points west, including St. Louis, Missouri.[10] The ads increased in size as the decade progressed.

Marion News, 15 Dec. 1905, p. 4.

An ad in 1907 posted fees to the West Coast from St. Louis.[11] Did Mary’s brothers see this one?

Marion News, 01 March 1907, p. 2.

 In the second decade of the 20th Century, more family members and extended family members would follow Stelle and Clint and to Missouri, on to Nebraska, and some would go even further westward.

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[1] 1910 U. S. census, Dry Creek, Howell County, Missouri, population schedule, enumeration district [ED] 78, p. 10-A, dwelling 205, family 207, W. T. Worley family; digital image Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 March 2015); NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 784.

[2] 1880 U.S. census, Smyth County, Virginia, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 84, p. 54 (penned), dwelling 480, family 510, Francis W. Worley family; digital image, Ancesrty.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 March 2015); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication T9, roll 1390.

[3] 1900 U. S. census, Broadford, Smyth County, Virginia, population schedule, enumeration district [ED] 84, sheet 10-A, dwelling 166, family 167, Tell Worley household, son Carl; digital image Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 April 2015); NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1728.

[4] Virginia Deaths and Burials Index, 1853-1917, Harrie Lee Worley, database Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 03 March 2015). Also Find A Grave, database and images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 03 March 2015), photograph, memorial page for Harvey Lee Worley (1896-1896), Find A Grave memorial no. # 72043823, Rich Valley Presbyterian Church cemetery, Rich Valley, Viginia; photographs contributed by James Archer.

[5] 1900 U. S. census, Broadford, Smyth Co., Va., pop. sched., ED 84, sheet 10-A, dwell. 166, fam. 167, Tell Worley household, son Dale E.; digital image Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Apr. 2015); NARA micro. pub. T623, roll 1728.

[6] 1910 U. S. census, Dry Creek, Howell Co., Mo., pop. sched., ED 78, p. 10-A, dwell. 205, fam. 207, W. T. Worley, daughter Lona; digital image Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Mar. 2015); NARA micro. pub. T624, roll 784. Also, Social Security Administration, “U.S. Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 04 March 2015); entry for Leona A. Brewer, 1989, SS no. 489-38-2548.

[7] 1910 U. S. census, Dry Creek, Howell Co., Mo., pop. sched., ED 78, p. 10-A, dwell. 205, fam. 207, W. T. Worley, daughter Ethel; digital image Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Mar. 2015); NARA micro. pub. T624, roll 784.

[8] 1910 U. S. census, Wilson, Audraine County, Missouri, population schedule, enumeration district [ED] 18, p. 4-B, dwelling 65, family 66, Clinton Troutman; digital image Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 March 2015); NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 767.

[9] Smyth Bland Regional Library > S-B Digital Collections > Smyth County Newspapers > Marion News  > Search for “Missouri”  > 1900-11-16 and 1900-02-23 (http://vtls.sbrl.org : accessed 20 February 2015). No ads for railroads nor western states in these issues. Marion News, issue 1903-08-21 contains a small railroad ad.

[10] Smyth Bland Regional Library > S-B Digital Collections > Smyth County Newspapers > Marion News  > Search for “Missouri”  > Volume 16, issue 50, 1905-12-15 > see advertisement, page 4. (http://vtls.sbrl.org : accessed 20 February 2015).

[11] Smyth Bland Regional Library > S-B Digital Collections > Smyth County Newspapers > Marion News  > Search for: “Missouri”  >  1907-03-01 > see advertisement, page 2. (http://vtls.sbrl.org : accessed 30 March 2015).