John Marion Clifton, 1919 - 1944

John Marion Clifton was the only son of Marion C. "Doc" Clifton and Alice Myrtle (Rodgers) Perry.    He was my grandfather, Jame Mortimer Perry's, half-brother.  John Marion also had half-siblings from his father's first marriage to Rosa Canada; they were Artie Cecil, Goldie May, George Thomas, and Herschel Clifton.

John Marion was born about October 1919 near Jamestown, Boone Co., Indiana.  When he was born, his mother was 41 and his father was 56.  The 1920 census (taken in January 1920) shows him in Jackson Township, Boone Co., Indiana, with his parents; his 12-year-old half-brother, Herschel; and his 19-year-old half-sister, Venus Perry.  He is listed as 2 months old.

Herschel, John Marion, Alice Myrtle and "Doc" Clifton, about 1920

The 1930 census shows the family in the same place.  By this time, the other children were all out of the house.  The family consisted of Marion, Alice Myrtle, John Marion, and Alice's father, John Will Rodgers, who was widowed.  John Marion's age was given as 10 years old.

The 1940 census (taken in May 1940) lists the household members as Marion, Myrtle, and John Marion, age 20.

John Marion Clifton

On 22 April 1941, John Marion enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana.   His enlistment record states that he had 4 years of high school, had been working as a waiter, and that he was 64" tall and weighed 174 pounds.  He was single and had no dependents.

John Marion had just recently joined the service when he wrote a letter to his sister, Venus.  The copy I have of the letter is difficult to read and there is no date or envelope.  The letter  follows:

"Dearest "Sis"     I finally caught time to drop you a line.  I arrived here in camp Tuesday morning about 5:00 A.M. all safe and sound.  I left Indianapolis on the 2:40 P.M. train to Louisville and hitch-hiked to Nashville from there.  I was very fortunate and the first ride I got took me straight into Nashville.  I took the train again from there into Tallahassee.  I am feeling fine.
Listen I want to tell you something.  I am making you my second beneficiary on my insurance.  It is a $10,000 policy.  Of course "Dad" is the first and if anything should ever happen to him you take over from there.  I am not doing this for what you have done for me, but that I am looking to you to take Mother's place as near as possible.  I know that you are the only one that would look after my welfare and try to guide me right and want me to do the right things.  You are the only sister that has been a sister to me from the beginning to the end.  Now this is the way I want it Venus.  I have thought it over many a time.  You are the only one that actually needs it. 
It won't be long until I will be going to combat.  If anything happens to me just remember that I love you and feel towards you as only a brother could.  Please send me Jim's new address.  It seems that he wrote you first, that I can't keep up with him.  That is about all the time I have to write just now.  Tell all the kids I said "Hello."    Your brother, Marion."

John Marion was assigned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion and his rank was T-5 (Technician Grade 5).  He was indeed sent overseas and he took part in the invasion at Omaha Beach, Normandy, France.  He was killed during the invasion on 6 June 1944.  He was 25 years old.

He was at first reported as missing in action.  The following appeared in the Jamestown Press, Jamestown, Indiana, on 29 June 1944:

"Missing In Action.    JOHN M. CLIFTON, RANGER, MISSING.  FATHER HERE RECEIVES MESSAGE.  T-5 John Marion Clifton of the U.S. Rangers has been reported as missing in action, according to a message received by his father, Marion Clifton, late Sunday evening.  The message which came from Washington, stated that he had been missing since June 6.
     His father had received a letter from him on Wednesday of last week.  The letter, however, had no date or postmark, but it was assumed that it had been written before the invasion.
     T-5 Clifton has been in military service since April, 1941.  As a member of the National Guards he was in training at Hattiesburg, Miss., before Pearl Harbor.  His training at Camp Shelby was so prolonged that he volunteered for service with the Rangers.  After many months of training in the southern states, he was sent last fall to Camp Dix, New Jersey.  His last visit home was October, 1943, and he left the States in December.
     T-5 Clifton is a graduate of the Jamestown high school of the class of 1937.  He is a member of the Knights of Phythias and Pythian Sisters lodges of Jamestown.  His mother Mrs. Myrtle Clifton, passed away last August."

But the family soon learned that John Marion had indeed been killed.  A memorial service was held for him on 16 July 1944 at the Jamestown Christian Church, Jamestown, Indiana.

John Marion Clifton was awarded a Purple Heart.  He is buried at the Normandy American Cemetery, St. Laurent-sur-Mer, France.  I have not found an obituary for him.

John Marion's father, Marion "Doc" Clifton, died in October 1945.  Herschel Clifton's widow, Elsie, told my mother that when "Doc" Clifton died and his children were cleaning out the house, John Marion's Clifton half-siblings threw away all of John Marion's photographs, letters, and other possessions, including his Purple Heart medal.  Elsie said there was a lot of resentment toward John Marion by the other Clifton children.  I have no way to confirm this story; everyone involved has now passed away.

May 13, 2019: UPDATE:

The two photos below of John Marion Clifton were shared with permission by my cousin, Mary Lou Marshall.  Thank you, Mary Lou.  They were taken shortly before he left to go to the service.

John Marion Clifton ca 1941

John Marion Clifton (left) and James Creager (right) ca 1941

Family History Versus Genealogy

The other day, I was thinking about how I see my research into the various families that make up my extended family.

I have never been one to limit myself to direct or purely biological lines.  I'm interested in the bigger picture, the 'family bush' rather than the family tree.

In my mind (and this is just MY perspective here), genealogy is the search for the names, dates, places related to a person's direct family lines.  The goal seems to be to gather names back as many generations as possible without trying to fill in the rest of the story.

Family History (again, just my way of thinking about it) is trying to discover the personalities and the stories of the people who make up a family.  This broader interest sends me questing after details that fill out a person's biography without regard for whether the information takes the line back another generation.  It also means that I am interested in the stories of people not directly related to me, but who are in some way a part of the various families that tie in with the people who I consider to be my family.

So I find myself pursuing all sorts of interesting tangents.  These tangents are more fun for me than simply adding another generation to my family tree.  So I discover Poor Frank and the Six Wives of Ralph Tilley.  I learn about Florence Dulaney and her husband, Albert S. Willis, Ambassador to Hawaii.  I gather together pieces of the stories of people held in slavery by ancestors or their neighbors.  And I post lots of old photos just in case doing so is helpful to another researcher some day, even if I don't have any connection to them.

Puzzling through the clues and piecing together the stories keeps me interested.  There seems to be no end to the lines I can pursue and the mysteries to be solved.

Marycarol Jones, 1903-1992

Marycarol Jones

When I sat down today to do a bio of Marycarol Jones, I discovered that my database does not match my memories.  In other words, I know more about her than I have entered in my family history records.  I have a big, thick file folder of her letters and many other items that I just have not had time to process.  I will write this bio now, but with the caveat that I will undoubtedly have more to add eventually.

Marycarol is the only one of the children of John R. Jones and Mary Elva Stilwell that I ever met.  She shared a great deal of information about her parents and siblings with me as I was starting my research.

Marycarol Jones as a young girl (circa 1913 or so?)  She appears to be holding a ring.  Perhaps she was the ringbearer in a wedding?  

Marycarol Jones was born 23 January 1903 in Hankinson, Richland Co., North Dakota.  She was the youngest child of John R. Jones and his wife, Mary Elva (Stilwell) Jones.

She is found on the 1910 and 1920 censuses with her parents in Hankinson, North Dakota.

Between 1921 and 1925, she attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Marycarol Jones as the "May Queen" at Carleton College, 1925

Marycarol seems to have spent some time in Missoula, Montana, as I have several letters addressed to her there in 1925.

On June 30, 1927, Marycarol served as the maid of honor in the wedding of her brother, Dan, to his first wife, Ila Coffin.  The wedding took place in the Jones home in Hankinson.

About 1927, Marycarol went to India to work as a missionary.  She was there about 6 years, returning to the United States in 1932-33.  My notes indicate that she gave me a number of pictures from her time in India, but if I still have them, I don't know where they are.  I suspect I passed them on to other family members.  If I find them, I will certainly share them.  HERE they are.

After she returned from India, she worked as a child welfare advocate in Klamath Falls, Oregon, from about 1938 to about 1945 or so.  Then she took a similar position in Roseburg, Oregon.  By 1953, she was in Livermore, California.  By 1957, she had moved to Santa Ana, California.  And by 1979 or so, she was living in Carmel, California, where she remained until her death.  She never married, though she mentioned a number of men who had proposed to her over the years.

1981 - Marycarol Jones

1978 - Dan Jones, Jr. with Marycarol Jones in Hankinson, ND

1979 - Marycarol Jones

Marycarol Jones.  I believe this man is her cousin, Don Stilwell (1918-2015).

Marycarol Jones

I got to know her when I began doing family history research and contacted her about the family of John R. Jones.  She identified many of the photos that I have posted in my series of Hankinson Attic pictures.

Marycarol Jones died 25 August 1992 in Carmel, Monterey Co., California.  I have not yet found an obituary for her, nor do I know where she was buried.  She was the last of her siblings to pass away, and her remaining relatives were only nieces and nephews, so it is possible that there was no obituary.

I'm sure I will have information to add to this biography as I work through my 'unprocessed' items.

Daniel Lucien Jones, 1900-1968

Daniel Lucien Jones is the only child of John R. Jones and Mary Elva Stilwell that I don't have a photo of.  Nor do I have pictures of either of his wives.  I'm not sure why this is, except that perhaps when the Hankinson house was emptied and items divided up, all the pictures of Dan and his family were taken by Dan's child who was involved in the process of dispersing the house's contents.  Another Jones researcher has attempted to make contact with this child (not named because still living), but has not been successful.  I would certainly LOVE to find photos of these people, if they exist.  Anyway, here is what I know about Dan Jones and his family.

Daniel Lucien Jones was born 27 September 1900 in Hankinson, North Dakota, to John Roberts Jones and his wife, Mary Elva Stilwell.   He lived most of his life in Hankinson and is found on the censuses in Hankinson for 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940.

Dan attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and was a member of the class of 1924.

On 29 June 1927, Dan married Ila Evelyn Coppin at his parents' home in Hankinson.  The Hankinson News on June 30, 1927 reported on the wedding as follows:

"PROMINENT YOUNG PEOPLE MARRIED.  Miss Ila Coppin Became Bride of Daniel L. Jones.  The home of Mr. and Mrs. John R. Jones was the scene of a wedding Wednesday evening when Miss Ila Coppin, daughter of Mr. George Coppin, became the bride of Mr. Daniel Jones, son of Mr. and Mrs. John R. Jones.  The Rev. G. R. McKeith officiated.
  Preceeding the ceremony, Mr. David Jones of Forman sang "I Love You Truly" and "At Dawning" was sung by Mr. J. F. F. Tulloch.  "The Bridal Chorus" from Lohangrin was played by Miss Catha Jones.
   Attending the bride as maid of honor was Miss Mary Carol Jones, who wore a gown of blue beaded georgette.  She carried an arm bouquet of white peonies.  Jane Kretchman acted as ring bearer and Margaret Penrose was the flower girl.  Mr. Elmer Coppin served as best man.
  The bride, who entered with her father, wore a period gown of white georgette fashioned with a tight bodice and bouffant skirt which had inserts of lace.  Orange blossoms held the tulle veil, which had been worn by Mrs. J. F. F. Tulloch at her wedding.  The bride carried a shower bouquet of brides roses and lillies of the valley.
   A reception was held on the lawn after the ceremony.  Mr. and Mrs. Jones left that evening for a motor trip through Northern Minnesota.
  The out-of-town guests were: Mr. and Mrs. D.J. Jones and daughter, Ruth, of Forman; Mr. and Mrs. William Coppin and family and Mr. and Mrs. O. Tew of Wahpeton; Mr. and Mrs. Dave Jones of Forman; Mr. and Mrs. James Novak of New England; Mrs. R. G. Penrose of Chicago; Mr. Holskeenig of Cleveland; Mrs. J. D. McCarthy of Milwaukee; Mrs. Paine of Fargo; Mr. Kenneth Oliver of New Effington; Miss Dorothy Parsons and brother, Arthur of Lidgerwood and Mr. John S. Jones of Chicago."

According to a letter to me from Dan's sister, Marycarol Jones, "Dan and Ila were childhood sweethearts.  We three were in high school together.  Ila was thin and dainty and Dan adored her.  He is the only one I ever knew whose heart was really broken.  They married the year I went to India and drove to Minneapolis for a honeymoon and she hemorrhaged (lungs) that night.... A Minneapolis doctor diagnosed her condition as T.B. and had her sent to a California sanitarium - Pottingers which is still in existence and Dan went broke keeping her there for a year and it is there she died...   Ila died while I was in India.  Dan and Ila were married in our house as her mother had died the previous year.... Dan worked for years to pay off the debt at Pottingers and Dad never gave him a red cent toward the heavy charges."

Ila (Coppin) Jones died 13 August 1928 at Pollanger Sanitarium in Monrovia, California.  She was only 25 years old.  She and Dan had been married just over one year.

The Hankinson News of 16 August 1928 provided this death notice:  
"MRS. DAN JONES DIES MONDAY.  In Monrovia Sanitarium, Calif., Funeral Plans not Complete.  A telegram was received on Monday telling that Mrs. Dan Jones passed away that morning at 2:15.  She had been in Pollanger Sanitarium at Monrovia, CA., since last February.  Her husband had been with her the past four weeks.  Funeral services were held on Tuesday at 10:30 AM.
There are a number of Hankinson people in California who often visited Mrs. Jones and made her days pass happy and pleasant:  Mrs. Spottswood, Miss Price, Mrs. Ellen Young, Kathryn Spottswood, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Remple, Mr. and Mrs. Ness.
There will be no definite plans as to the services to be held here until Mr. Jones returns on Saturday and Sunday."

Ila was buried in the Jones family plot in Hillside Cemetery, Hankinson, North Dakota.

The 1930 census shows Dan Jones living with his parents and listed as a widower.  Sometime between 1930 and 1940, Dan married Alice J. "Sally" Olson.  I have not found a marriage record for them, but they are married on the 1940 census and their only child is listed with them as born about 1939.

Alice Olson was born 8 May 1906.  She and Dan Jones had one child who may still be living.

After the death of his father, John R. Jones, Dan ran the family business in Hankinson with his brother, Harold. 

Daniel Lucien Jones died 7 March 1968.  He was 67 years old.  He was buried in the Jones plot in Hillside Cemetery.

Alice Olson Jones died 31 December 1990 in Hankinson.  She, too, is buried in the Jones plot in Hillside Cemetery.

I hope someday to come across photos of these people to add to my collection.


 

A few more miscellaneous Hankinson Photos

This will be the final batch of Hankinson photos.  The others I have are all identified and so I will post them as part of bios and other family stories.  Also, see the list of all the Hankinson posts.

"Nad Hawes Jones age 15 m Aug. 1897"

 Nad Hawes Jones was the son of Jonadab J. Jones and his wife, Effie B. Hawes.  Nad was born in 1896 and died in 1980.

"Nad Jones"

"Nell Jones with husband, Archibald Young"

 Mary Ellen ("Nell") Jones was a daughter of Evan William Jones and Harriet Roberts and a sister of John R. Jones who owned the house in Hankinson.  Nell was born 12 May 1869 in Neenah, Wisconsin.  On 1 November 1901, she married Archibald Young.  The were divorced a few years later and Nell did not remarry.  She had no known children.  She died 12 December 1933.

"Merry Christmas to Kitty     Annie Higgins"

 Written on this photo is "Mrs. H E Jones soon."  I suspect H. E. Jones is Harry Evan Jones, son of William L. Jones and Julia Jacobson.  If so, then this is probably his future wife, Agnes Kellet.

Annette Stilwell

Annette Stilwell was the sister of Mary Elva (Stilwell) Jones.  Their parents were Lonson Stilwell and Mary K. White.  Annette was born 18 February 1848 in Metomen, Wisconsin.  On 28 November 1867, she married Charles Henry Osborn.  They had one known child, Belle S. Osborn.  Annette died 24 January 1908 in Hankinson, North Dakota.

"Grandma Stilwell and Howard Everett Stilwell 1896"

 Howard Everett Stilwell was born in May 1896 in California.  His parents were Vernon and Elizabeth Stilwell.  The lady in this photo would be Howard's paternal grandmother, Mary E. (maiden name unknown) who married Hiram Emmett Stilwell, son of Lonson Stilwell Sr. and Hannah.  So anyway, Howard Everett Stilwell was the son of Mary Elva (Stilwell) Jones' cousin, Vernon H. Stilwell.

Warren Stilwell

Warren Stilwell was the brother of Mary Elva (Stilwell) Jones.  He was born in Metomen, Wisconsin on 2 February 1858 and died in Los Angeles on 20 November 1926.

Links to Hankinson

I am almost done with posting the mystery photos from the John R. Jones attic in Hankinson, North Dakota.  I have a few more to post that I know who the people are and so will be doing those as I can.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post links to all the various Hankinson posts in one place.  That will aid anyone interested in these pictures.

I will update this as I do new posts, but here are all the ones to date, in no particular order.

Austin, MN
Glenna Ellinghouse - Hankinson Photos
Hankinson Photos - Another Batch
Hankinson Photos - A Few More 
Hankinson School, 1916
Bill & Cora Heley
Wedding in Hankinson
Photos from Ripon, Wisconsin 
Complete Mysteries
More Hankinson Photos 
Donald Bennett Jones
Edith Bell Jones Born
John R. Jones home, Hankinson, ND
Kathryn M. Jones of Randolph, Wisconsin
Margaret Jones Hoffmann & Family
Cousins from Wales 
John R. Jones Family Book
A Stilwell?
Donald L. Stilwell, Sr.
Letter - Hannah Stilwell to Mary Elva Stilwell
Letter - Lucien Stilwell to Mary Elva Stilwell 
Edward J. Roberts
Emilia Davis
Emilie Davis Hollister (update) 
A Group of Young Ladies
Hankinson News
A Hankinson Wedding
Cpl. & Mrs. Edward F. Horak
Louise Phelps
Miriam Lawrence Cyphers
Ripon Street Fair
Ross Fowler and Harold Matthias
Sherwood Telegraph Office
Two Couples
Two Cuties
Wayne & Gladys
A Jones?
Babies
Ben, Kitty, Harry & Donald
Dan R. Jones
Dan R. Jones and others
David H. Jones & Gertrude Hurley
David Jenkins Jones & Jennie Sophia Hannum
Effie Belle Hawes Jones & Children
Evan M. Jones' Daughters
Evan W. Jones Family
Henry Lee Greene 
Jennie Ruth Jones
Kathryn Jones Novak
Margaret Jones & Mary E (Stilwell) Jones
Mary Ellen (Jones) Young
May Queen
Some Jones Siblings
Blanche & Hester May
Stilwell Sisters
Yet Another Batch of Hankinson Photos
Still More to Share
Postcards from the Attic
More Mysteries from Hankinson 
A Few More Photos
Harold Morris Jones
Daniel Lucien Jones
Marycarol Jones
 

Some Things I've Been Thinking About

My granddaughter is here visiting this week.  The tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers  have taken over the garden.   My husband's dna results came through on Ancestry.  And my parents loaned me an old photo album to scan. 

We can't eat or give away the cukes and zukes fast enough, but the latest bunch of tomatoes is cooking on the stove.   My granddaughter loves to read and to cook, so while she reads, I've been scanning pictures.  Between reading sessions, we've been baking.  And I've been looking over the dna results whenever I get a few minutes.

My husband's dna results did not provide any surprises and so far not many interesting connections or leads, but I hope that changes as time goes on.  Several of his lines have been in America for a very long time.  (He has Mayflower connections, early Concord, Massachusetts connections, New Amsterdam connections, Scots Irish connections.)  So it is not surprising that his results show him as 52% Great Britain, 19% Western Europe, 17% Ireland.  I'm looking forward to seeing what new information comes of the results as more people do the test.

The pictures I've been scanning are from the Cross and Stauble familes of the Stoney Creek Township area of Henry Co., Indiana.   They were obviously important enough to whoever owned the them that they were carefully mounted in the album with photo corners.  From the age of some of the pictures, I suspect they originally belonged to my grandmother, though the album came to my parents through my aunt.

Some of the photos have identification and information on the back.  Most do not.  Some of the people I recognize.  Most I don't.

one of the unidentified pictures from the Cross/Stauble photo album

Like the photos from Hankinson that I've posted, many of these people are now mysteries, because there is no longer anyone alive who knows who they were.   I'm always struck by this same realization when I come across a box of old photos in an antique store; most of them have no identification on them.

I understand why this is, because I do it myself.  I know who the people are in my photo albums, so why take the time to write on every picture?  But, of course, this is a mistake.  Someday I won't be around to say, "Oh, that is my friend, Gail.  We were camping at Versailles State Park.  I think we were about 20."  And that picture will be a mystery that ends up in a box, and the story it could tell will be lost.

Before I return the album to my parents, I am going to identify everyone I recognize by writing on the back of each picture.  And I'm going to include identifying information in the file name of each of the scans.

As for my own albums, well, I'm working on it.

Dear Reader....

Dear Reader,

I have not forgotten you.  Life has just been busy with things other than blog posts and genealogy. 

There will be new posts soon.  Until then, here are a couple of pictures of my helpers, Molly and Caledonia.

More Mysteries - Photos from Hankinson Attic

A few more pictures rescued from the attic of the John R. Jones home in Hankinson, ND.

Photographer: Johnson, Breckenridge, MN

Photographer: Schneider, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Photographer: Johnson, Breckenridge, Minnesota

Photographer: Johnson, Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Photographer: H. H. Mansur, Elk River, Minnesota

Photographer: Matzer, Omaha, Nebraska

Photographer:  Miller & Chadbourne, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Photographer: Omro & Branden, Hinderman, Wisconsin

Photographer:  Otto Linke, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Photographer: Prebensen, Neenah, Wisconsin

Photographer: Prebensen, Neenah, Wisconsin

Photographer: Prebensen, Neenah, Wisconsin

 The young man above looks like a Jones to me, but I have not identified him for certain.

Photographer: Schneider, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Photographer: Schiller & Kohler, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Photographer:  R.E. Smith, Wellington, Ohio

Photographer, Prebensen, Neenah, Wisconsin

Photographer: Prebensen, Neenah, Wisconsin

Photographer:  Johnson, Waupun, Wisconsin

James M. Perry and Georgia A. Licher

First, a note.  Because I try hard not to write about living individuals in my blog, this post about my grandparents, James M. and Georgia A. (Licher) Perry, will not discuss their children or other living persons.  There is a big family reunion coming up, however, and I thought it might be nice to do a post about them before the family gathers.  Secondly, most of the anecdotes and stories in this post come from interviews with Jim Perry done in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

And thirdly, after writing this I discovered something.  It is much harder to write about people I actually knew and about whom I have real memories, than it is to write about the ancestors I never met.  I keep thinking about Grandma and Grandpa and wondering if what I am saying is ok.  What am I leaving out that they would want me to include?  Am I doing right by them?  I think about those things when I write about people I've never met, too, but somehow it seems more important when they are still so real and so alive in my memory.  

James Mortimer Perry

James Mortimer Perry was born 26 June 1899 in Harp, Bald Knob, Franklin Co., Kentucky.  His parents were James Madison Perry and Alice Myrtle Rodgers.  The family in Kentucky called him "Mortimer" or "Mort."  This remained true even as an adult when he would return to Kentucky to visit.  He began using the name "Jim" after he moved to Indiana.

Jim first appears on the census in 1900 with his parents and his paternal grandparents in the Bald Knob district of Franklin Co., Kentucky.   Jim's sister, Venus, was born in November 1900.


He attended Pleasant Ridge School in Harp, Kentucky, before the family moved to Frankfort in about 1906.

Jim told the story that as a young boy they got heat from a hole in the wall with a grate over it.  They would sit around it keeping warm.  When they visited his grandparents, when he was young, he said the cold outside wind came into the house from cracks in the floor and was so strong that it would lift the rugs off the floor.

The 1910 census shows the family living in Frankfort, Kentucky.

In a letter written by his father in September 1912, Jim is mentioned:


"The children are both well and going to school every day.  Venus is hearty and Mortimer eats like a bull. He went to Bill's Friday and Sunday he and Bill gathered hickory-nuts in the rain.  Mortimer has played keeps with marbles till he has won 2000."

Left to right:  Venus, James Madison, Alice Myrtle, and James Mortimer Perry ca 1910

Jim's father, James Madison Perry, died on 8 June 1914; Jim was 14 years old.

Jim started working on a wood wagon for $1 a day.  Then he learned the "printing trade."  He worked for four years as a typesetter for the Franklin State Journal in Frankfort, Kentucky.

When Jim was about 17, he and his grandfather, John William Rodgers, left Kentucky and headed for Akron, Ohio where Jim had a job lined up on a newspaper. On their way to Akron, they stopped in Muncie to see Jim's mother, Myrtle, and sister, Venus.  Both women had come to Muncie earlier to find work.  They asked Jim and John Will to stay.  They did and went to work in local factories.  The 1917-18 Muncie City Directory shows them living at 121 E. 9th St., and includes John W. Rodgers, a blacksmith; Mortimer Perry, working at TW Warner; Myrtle Perry, widow of James M.; and Venus Perry, working at Republic Iron & Steel.

Jim Perry and unknown friend ca 1916

In February 1917, Jim's mother married Marion Clifton and they moved to a farm in Boone Co., Indiana.

In 1918 Jim and some of his friends went to McCullough Park in Muncie, and there he met Georgia Licher who, with some of her friends, were having a picnic.  The groups began talking, and Jim got paired off with Georgia.  Later he walked her home.


Georgia Anna Licher was born 25 September 1900 in Anderson, Madison Co., Indiana.  Her parents were Albert Licher and Anna Gertrude Fricke.  She was baptized 27 September 1900 at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Anderson, Indiana.  Georgia's mother, Anna, said that when they took Georgia to be baptized, she did not go along and they forgot to ask what name she had picked out, so they named her Georgia after her godfather, George Fricke.

Georgia Licher (standing) with her father, Albert, and two siblings ca 1908

The Licher family were in Anderson when the 1910 census was taken.

Once the Lichers moved to Muncie, Georgia attended St. Lawrence Catholic School and then later, Muncie Business College.

By 1917-18, the Lichers were living at 1225 S. Monroe in Muncie.  According to the city directory, Albert was employed at Kitselman Brothers.  Also shown as living there were Agnes M., stenographer and notary public at Silverburg, Bracken & Gray; Catherine A., bookkeeper at Gas Belt Coal Co.,; and Georgia A., student at Muncie Business College.  The 1919 City Directory shows the family still on Monroe Street.  Georgia was employed at the law firm of Silverburg Bracken & Gray.  She was still living with her parents when the 1920 census was taken.

Georgia Licher about 1916

Jim told the story that he and Georgia and their group of friends would go skating at Campbell's Arena on Broadway.  The others would all skate but he would not try it.  He said he could be very stubborn.  Jim and Georgia's dating was mostly going to the movies and for picnics in the park.  Once in awhile they would visit Jim's mother, Alice Myrtle, and her new family near Jamestown, Indiana.

Georgia Licher, Herschel Clifton, Venus Perry ca 1918 at the Clifton farm near Jamestown, Indiana

Georgia Licher and Jim Perry ca 1918

Jim Perry and his sister, Venus Perry, ca 1918

Jim Perry and Venus Perry

Georgia Licher and Jim Perry

Jim Perry

On the 1920 census, Jim is found as a boarder in the home of Edward C. Sharp at 305 W. 10th Street, Muncie.  The census taker recorded his name as "Woterman" instead of "Mortimer."  He is 21, single, born Kentucky, parents born Kentucky, working as a machinist at General Motors Co.

Jim and Georgia were married November 24, 1920 at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Muncie, Indiana.

Jim & Georgia's wedding photo - standing left to right: Katie Licher, George Kaiser, Jim Perry; seated Georgia (Licher) Perry

When Jim and Georgia first got married they lived in Hartford City, and Georgia rode the interurban train into Muncie to go to work at the attorney's office.  His sister, Venus had married and lived in Hartford City.  They only lived there a short time before returning to Muncie and moving into an apartment above a grocery store on Monroe Street.  They were living in that apartment in 1922 when their first child was born.

Georgia and Jim ca 1921

Jim told of purchasing a highchair for their first child and carrying it home from the store while riding on his bicycle.  This highchair is still in the family and in the possession of one of their daughters.




In early 1923, Jim and Georgia shared a home in Yorktown with Georgia's sister, Josephine (Licher) and Josephine's husband, Elmer Smith.  The 1923 city directory for Yorktown lists James M. Perry and wife Georgia on page 951; on page 952, it lists Elmer Smith and wife Josephine and says Elmer is the proprietor of Yorktown Motor Sales.  Later in 1923, they moved to 520 E. 5th Street, Muncie, and lived there until about 1928.  Several more children where born while they lived on 5th St.


Their oldest child remembers living on 5th Street and that there was a swing hung between their house and the one next door, and Jim would push the kids in the swing.  Another memory is of a Christmas there when Jim decided to hide the Christmas presents.

Early in his marriage, Jim worked for a brother-in-law in a factory that made batteries.  He became very ill from lead poisoning and was unable to work for a long time.  In fact, his condition was so serious that he almost died.

The 1927-28 city directory shows the family at 715 E. 7th Street and Jim working as a machine operator.  They are still at the house on 7th Street in the 1929 city directory which shows Jim working as a foreman at Warner Corporation.  A few more children were born while they lived here.

the 7th Street house as it appears now

The 1934 city directory has the family still on 7th street and Jim still working as a foreman.  The 1936 city directory shows the same.

Throughout the depression, Jim was always able to find a job and so the large family managed alright.  In addition, Georgia was very thrifty and that helped.

When Jim applied for a Social Security card in November 1936, he was working at Acme Machine Products in Muncie.  In 1937, he was working for Serrick Co. as a foreman and also in 1937, the family moved to a house at 924 E. Washington St. in Muncie.  The youngest three Perry children were born while the family lived there.

The 1940 city directory says that Jim was a manager at Acme-Lee's Division in Muncie.  By 1941, he was plant superintendent.

Jim Perry in center

Jim Perry ca 1941

Jim Perry with his mother, Alice Myrtle (Rodgers) Perry Clifton

Besides his work and his family, Jim enjoyed fishing and golf.  He was a boy scout leader and also was on a softball team.  Georgia also liked to fish, and she loved playing Scrabble, solving puzzles and television quiz shows.  Georgia had a great ability to pinch pennies and make ends meet.  She loved to shop and was always looking for a bargain.  If she saw something she wanted to buy, she would keep going back and checking the price, waiting for it to go on sale before she bought it.

In 1942, Jim and Georgia purchased the family farm on Windsor Road.  It contained  57 acres and was located about 10 miles southeast of Muncie.

The farmhouse when they purchased it in 1942

The 1943 city directory lists James M. (wife Georgia L.), who was plant superintendent at Durham Manufacturing. Over the years, Jim worked at several factories around Muncie, including Ball Brothers, Acme Lees, and Durham Mfg.  While working at the Chrysler factory in New Castle, Indiana, he became a foreman and a department superintendent.   Later, he was the plant superintendent at both Acme Lee and the Durham Mfg. Co. in Muncie. During World War II,  he was the Plant Superintendent at Durham.  While at Durham the plant won the Navy's "E" award for its war effort in making parts for shells.

Jim Perry second from left

 In 1954, Jim and Georgia paid $2,000 to have the three small ponds on the property excavated into one large pond.  They stocked it with fish and opened a pay-pond fishing lake.

I have many happy memories of the Perry farm and of fishing in the pond with Grandma.

Jim retired in 1963.  On May 23, 1962, Ward M. Harlan, Professional Civil Engineer, did a survey for James M. & Georgia L. Perry of their family farm located in Perry Twp., Delaware Co., Indiana.

Georgia

Georgia and friend Denzel playing Scrabble in the kitchen at the farm

Georgia and Duke

Georgia and Jim

Jim and Georgia celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in November 1970.  Georgia was in the hospital for gall bladder surgery at the time.

Jim and Georgia at 50th wedding anniverary

In June 1973, Jim and Georgia sold their farm and moved to a house at 712 W. Cowing Drive in Muncie.  Taking care of that big property had become too much work, and once they moved, they enjoyed the smaller property and the convenience of being in town.

On 21 March 1977, Georgia Anna (Licher) Perry died at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie from complications after a heart attack.  She was 76 years old.   She was buried at Elm Ridge Cemetery in the plot with her parents.


Jim lived alone in the house on Cowing Drive for a few years, but eventually moved to a nursing home.  He died 21 May 1986 of probable heart disease.  He was buried next to Georgia at Elm Ridge Cemetery.

Jim and Georgia Perry had 10 children, 38 grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren. 

A few Perry descendants at the 1978 reunion