CONNIE LENZEN Certified Genealogist SM 10411 SW 41st Avenue Portland, OR 97219-6984 connielenzen@comcast.net DATE: 13 April 2015 REPORT TO: SUBJECT: BACKGROUND: RESEARCH QUESTION: Fields Photo of Rommie & Ruby Fields The photo of two children was found in Vallie (Hall) Taylor s photograph collection. A boy appears to be around four-years-old. A girl appears to be around one-year-old. The backside of the photo contains these words: Rommie & Ruby Fields, Mama s Mother s Brother s children written in pencil, handwriting unknown. John Fields written in pen in another hand. The photographer was W. T. Bowman, New Franklin, Mo. Vallie Blanche Hall, daughter of Calvin Sigel and Laura (Hudson) Hall, was born 6 October 1890 in Fayette, Howard County, Missouri. 1 Vallie was the keeper of the family archive. After her daughter died in 2014, boxes of photos were found in a chest. Some were identified, and others were not. The task of determining who is in each photo has been started, and this research report is a part of the task. If mamma s mother from the backside of this photo refers to Vallie s mother, she was Laura (Hudson) Hall daughter of James and Rebecca (Fields) Hudson. Laura was born 4 July 1869 in Glasgow, Howard County, Missouri, and died 4 December 1949 in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon. 2 Rebecca (Fields) Hudson was born 10 July 1840 and died 10 April 1905. She is buried in Walnut Ridge Cemetery, Howard County, Missouri. 3 How do Rommie and Ruby Fields fit into the Fields family? 1 Missouri State Board of Health, Delayed Certificate of Birth Application, Sworn Statement of Laura Hall, mother of Vallie Blanche Hall (1946); in possession of Gerald Lenzen, Portland. 2 Oregon State Board of Health, Certificate of Death, No. 13301(1949), Laura Hall; Oregon State Archives, Salem, Oregon. 3 FindAGrave, FindAGrave.com, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 13 April 2015), memorial created by Tom C, for Rebecca J. Fields Hudson (1840-1905), Fayette, Missouri; tombstone photo added 24 September 2012 by Tom C. Connie Lenzen for Fields 1 of 10
PLAN: LIMITATIONS: WEBSITES USED: Begin with the photo. Research the photograph to determine approximate time period. Search censuses for a Rommie and Ruby Fields in New Franklin, Missouri, or nearby towns. Research Rebecca (Fields) Hudson s family and determine her relatives. Locate Rebecca in censuses. Seven hours research and report time. Due to distance, the research must be done online. The following resource guides were reviewed to see what online records are available the resources are limited. Hait, Michael. Online State Resources for Genealogy. Version 2.0. Michael Hait, Family Research Services. http://www.haitfamilyresearch.com. 2012. Missouri Genealogy. FamilySearch Wiki. https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/missouri_genealogy. 2015. Porter, Pamela Boyer and Ann Carter Fleming. NGS Research in the States Series Missouri. Second Ed. Arlington, VA: National Genealogical Society, 2007. Ancestry.com; http://www.ancestry.com FindAGrave; http://www.findagrave.com FamilySearch Wiki for Howard County, Missouri; https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/howard_county,_missouri_g enealogy FamilySearch Books for Howard County, Missouri; https://books.familysearch.org Genealogy.About.com; http://genealogy.about.com Internet Archive; http://internetarchive.org Linkpendium; http://www.linkpendium.com Connie Lenzen for Fields 2 of 10
Rommie and Ruby Fields were the children of John M. Hudson and an unknown wife. 4 John M. Hudson was the son of William C. Fields and the brother of Rebecca (Fields) Hudson. 5 Rommie and Ruby Fields and Vallie Blanche (Hall) Taylor were first cousins, once removed, and close in age to each other. The next step with the Rommie and Ruby photo is to place it on a blog so descendants may find it. 2015.04.13 Rommie and Ruby Fields Summary of findings Further research suggestions Research Missouri marriages (on Ancestry.com) to see if Rommie and Ruby s mother can be identified. The FindAGrave listing for Romie Fields names her as Mary Haley. Review the following digitized books from FamilySearch s book collection: Gibbons, Carolyn. Howard County, Missouri Marriage Abstracts. Morgantown, PA: Masthof Press, 2003. Ellsberry, Elizabeth Prather. Cemetery Records of Howard County, Missouri. Vol 1, 3 4 1900 U.S. census, Howard County, Missouri, population schedule, Richmond Township, ED 69, sheet 11 (penned), 156A (stamped), dwelling 204, family 208, John M. Fields; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 April 2015), citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 859. 5 1880 U.S. census, Howard County, Missouri, population schedule, Chariton Twp, ED 100, page 2B (penned), dwelling 11, family 11, Rebecca Hudson; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 April 2015), citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 691. Connie Lenzen for Fields 3 of 10
2015.04.13 Rommie and Ruby Fields Research notes Rommie and Ruby Fields photograph Measurements: 4 ¼ by 6 ½ Style: cabinet card with scalloped edge. The photographer s name is printed in gold text. Cabinet cards were popular from about 1870 to 1895 and beyond. The scalloped edge was used in the 1890s.6 New Franklin is a town in Howard County, Missouri. Backside 6 Kimberly Powell, Cabinet Card, Genealogy About.com (http://genealogy.about.com/od/photo_dating/p/cabinet_card.htm : accessed 13 April 2015. Connie Lenzen for Fields 4 of 10
1900 Howard County, Missouri census 2015.04.13 Rommie and Ruby Fields 1900 U.S. census, Howard County, Missouri, population schedule, Richmond Township, ED 69, sheet 11 (penned), 156A (stamped), dwelling 204, family 208, John M. Fields. A John M. Fields household is enumerated in the 1900 Richmond Township, Howard County, Missouri, census, and he has a son Romeo and daughter Ruby. 7 Rommie would be a logical nickname for Romeo. All members of the household were born in Missouri. John M. Fields, a farmer, owned his own farm free of mortgage. John and his wife, Sarah Jane, had been married less than a year. James T. Mason, John s stepson, and Fannie L. Mason, John s stepdaughter, were in the household. Sarah Jane had given birth to nine children with seven living. James T. and Fannie L. were most likely her children. Romeo Fields, born September 1892 and Ruby Fields, born August 1895 were listed as John s son and daughter. Rommie could be a nickname for Romeo. William Fields, John s father, was in the household. He was born May 1816 in Missouri. This place of birth could be wrong since Missouri was sparsely settled in 1816. Additional censuses need to be obtained to correlate the information. TO DO Locate William Fields in other censuses to see who were his children. Determine distance from Richmond Township to New Franklin. Research availability of Missouri marriage records for names of John M. Fields wives. 7 1900 U.S. census, Howard County, Missouri, population schedule, Richmond Township, ED 69, sheet 11 (penned), 156A (stamped), dwelling 204, family 208, John M. Fields; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 April 2015), citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 859. Connie Lenzen for Fields 5 of 10
2015.04.13 Rommie and Ruby Fields Richmond Township is in central Howard County. The town of New Franklin where the photographer was located is south of Richmond Township in the Franklin Township.8 Note Chariton in the top left-hand corner of the map. This township is named in the next census. William Fields in the 1880 Howard County, Missouri, census 1880 U.S. census, Howard County, Missouri, population schedule, Chariton Twp, ED 100, page 2B (penned), dwelling 11, family 11, Rebecca Hudson. 8 Plat Book of Howard County (Rockford, IL: Hixson and Company, 1930) University of Missouri Digital Library Production Services, Missouri Secretary of State, Missouri Digital Heritage (http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm/ref/collection/moplatbooks/id/838 : accessed 13 April 2015). Connie Lenzen for Fields 6 of 10
William Fields, father of Rebecca Hudson, was enumerated in the 1880 Howard County census. William, age 64, was born in Kentucky, a more likely birth state than the Missouri given in 1900 census. Rebecca s brother was john M. Fields, age 35. This age correlates with the John M. Fields in the 1900 census. 9 Larah Hudson, age 10 (born about 1870) is listed as Rebecca s daughter. This is most likely Laura Hudson, Vallie Hall s mother. TO DO: Research Charley Fields. Begin with censuses. Who is he? There are several Charley Fields photographs in the collection. FindAGrave Romie Fields (1893-1977), Oakridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois. A burial for a Romie Fields, born 8 October 1893, is on FindAGrave. 10 Romie Fields died 25 March 1977 and was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois. The birth date correlates with the 1900 census, but the information about this Romie Fields father is at conflict with what is known. The FindAGrave Romie Fields father is given as John Fields, born in 1833 and died in 1867. It s not possible for a person born in 1893 to have a father who died in 1867. Romie Fields mother is named as Mary Haley. Charley Fields is named as a brother. TO DO: The information on this memorial is unsupported by sources and appears confused. Don t follow up on the John Fields part, but research marriage records to see if John M. Fields married a Mary Haley. Howard County history History of Howard and Cooper Counties, Missouri (St. Louis: National Historical Company, 1883). The compiled history of Howard County, Missouri, is online. Three Fields were named, but none appear to connect to this Fields family. 11 9 1880 U.S. census, Howard County, Missouri, population schedule, Chariton Twp, ED 100, page 2B (penned), dwelling 11, family 11, Rebecca Hudson; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 April 2015), citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 691. 10 FindAGrave, FindAGrave.com, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 13 April 2015), memorial originally created by BjJ, maintained by Aldrich Family Collaboration for Romie Fields (1893-1977), Springfield, Illinois; tombstone photo added 13 September 2012 by BjJ. 11 History of Howard and Cooper Counties, Missouri (St. Louis: National Historical Company, 1883); digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/stream/historyofhowardc00nati/historyofhowardc00nati_djvu.txt : accessed 14 April 2015). Connie Lenzen for Fields 7 of 10
Supplied documents 1. Missouri. Howard County. 1900 U.S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2015. 2. Missouri. Howard County. 1880 U.S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2015. 3. Illinois. Romie Fields (1893-1977). Digital image. FindAGrave. http://www.findagrave.com. 1. 1900 Howard County, Missouri, census 1900 U.S. census, Howard County, Missouri, population schedule, Richmond Township, ED 69, sheet 11 (penned), 156A (stamped), dwelling 204, family 208, John M. Fields; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 April 2015), citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 859. Connie Lenzen for Fields 8 of 10
2. 1880 Howard County, Missouri 1880 U.S. census, Howard County, Missouri, population schedule, Chariton Twp, ED 100, page 2B (penned), dwelling 11, family 11, Rebecca Hudson; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 April 2015), citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 691. Connie Lenzen for Fields 9 of 10
3. Romie Fields, FindAGrave FindAGrave, FindAGrave.com, digital images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 13 April 2015), memorial originally created by BjJ, maintained by Aldrich Family Collaboration for Romie Fields (1893-1977), Springfield, Illinois; tombstone photo added 13 September 2012 by BjJ. Connie Lenzen for Fields 10 of 10