Dr. Jones defines a proof summary as "documented lists or narratives stating facts that support or lead to a proved conclusion."[a]
My proof summary has some minor conflicting evidence. Here goes:
The question we are answering in this proof summary is:
When and where was Catherine Lucinda (Louie) Ballinger,
daughter of William H. and Lucinda Ballinger, born?
Conclusion:
Catherine Lucinda (Louie) Ballinger, was born in Boulder,
Colorado in 1871.
Proof Summary:
·
Louie, as Catherine Lucinda Ballinger was known,
was born in a time and place where official birth records were not kept. No
newspaper account of her birth has been found.
·
Louie was one of 12 children born to William H.
and Lucinda Ballinger. A birth year of 1871 makes sense when placed in context
of her siblings and when they were born. The family is also well documented in
Boulder, Colorado in the early 1870s.[1]
·
Louie’s reported age in the 1885, 1900 and 1910
census is consistent with a birth year of 1871:
Name in Census
|
Census Year
|
Location
|
Reported Age
|
Estimated birth
year
|
1880
|
Family not located.
|
|||
Lewis
|
1885
|
Grand Co., Colorado
|
14[2]
|
1871
|
Louie C
|
1900
|
Sweet Grass Co., Montana
|
28 years, Aug 1871[3]
|
1871
|
Louie
|
1910
|
Yellowstone Co., Montana
|
38[4]
|
1871
|
·
In her marriage record to John Morton, dated 13
May 1893, Louie reported her age as 22 and her birthplace as “Boulder City,”
Boulder County, Colorado. This puts her birth year as 1871.[5]
·
Louie’s 1940 death certificate states her date
of birth was 22 March 1871 and that she was born in Boulder, Colorado. Her son,
Gerald Morton was the informant.[6]
·
With Louie’s 28 April 1919 marriage to Charles
Hoffman, Louie reported her age as 44, which puts her birth year as 1875. Her
birthplace was reported as Colorado Springs.
Charles reported his age as forty-three.[7]
She may have been motivated to lie about her age in order appear closer in age
to her new husband. Women traditionally were not older than their husbands
during this time period. The birthplace of Colorado Springs is probably just a
reporting error.
·
The census records after Louie’s marriage to a
younger man continue to reflect age inconsistencies until 1940. These can be
explained by a motivation for husband and wife to appear closer in age.
Name in Census
|
Census Year
|
Location
|
Reported Age
|
Estimated birth
year
|
Comments
|
Louie C.
|
1920
|
Columbus, Stillwater, Montana
|
47[8]
|
1873
|
Charles is 43
|
Lucindy
|
1930
|
Columbus, Stillwater, Montana
|
54[9]
|
1876
|
Charles is 54
|
Lucinda
|
1940
|
Columbus, Stillwater, Montana
|
69[10]
|
1871
|
Charles is 67
Informant: Charles
|
·
In 1940 Louie’s age is once again reported so
that her birth year is estimated to be 1871. Charles, the informant, may not
have cared whether his wife was younger.
Explanation of minor inconsistencies
·
Two minor inconsistencies are:
o
The date of birth of 22 March 1871 on the death
certificate. The son, who was the death certificate informant, wasn’t present
for his mother’s birth. So the information is secondary and may not be
reliable.
o
The August 1871 birthdate on the 1900 census.
The informant on the 1900 census is unknown. Therefore we don’t know how
reliable the information is.
Summary
Catherine Lucinda (Louie) Ballinger, was born in Boulder,
Colorado in 1871. An 1871 birth fits perfectly with the family structure and
they are well documented in Boulder during the early 1870s. Census records
consistently report her age as being consistent with an 1871 birth year as does
her death certificate and marriage record to John Morton.
There are inconsistencies in the age reported in the marriage
record to Charles Hoffman, a younger man, and Louie’s age in the census records
for 1920 and 1930. The explanation is that Louie married a younger man and
reported her ago so as to appear closer in age to her husband.
[1] Michelle Roos Goodrum, William H. Ballinger-Lucinda
Campbell Family Group Sheet, Goodrum Family Papers.
[2] 1885 Colorado State Census, Grand County, Colorado,
District 1, p. 7, line 24. Louie Ballenger in
household of Wm.
Ballenger; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 October
2012), citing Schedules of the Colorado State Census, 1885, Washington,
D.C.: National Archives microfilm publication M158, 8 rolls.
[3] 1900 U.S. census, Sweet Grass County, Montana,
population schedule, Stillwater Township, Enumeration District (ED) 134, sheet
5A, dwelling and family 98, Louie C. Morton in household of John A. Morton;
digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16
November 2014; citing National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll 915.
[4] 1910 U.S. census, Yellowstone County, Montana,
population schedule, Billings, Enumeration District (ED) 244, sheet 15A, house
311 and family 310, Louie Morton in household of John A. Morton; digital image,
Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16
November 2014; citing National Archives microfilm publication T664, roll 837.
[5] Yellowstone County, Montana, Marriage Records, V. 1,
p. 232, Ballinger-Morton, 1893; Clerk of the District Court, Billings;
"Montana County Marriages, 1865-1950" digital image, FamilySearch;
FHL Film 1943754.
[6] Montana State Registrar, certificate of death no.
1408 (1946), Lucinda Catherine Hoffman; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Helena.
[7] Yellowstone County, Montana, Marriage Records, V. 11,
p. 512, Morton-Hoffman, 1919; Clerk of the District Court, Billings;
"Montana County Marriages, 1865-1950" database, FamilySearch; FHL
Film 1943759.
[8] 1920 U.S.
census, Stillwater County, Montana, population schedule, School District No. 6.
enumeration district (ED) 127, sheet 7B,
dwelling 47, family 56, Louie C. Hoffman in household of Chas. Hoffman; digital
image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 April 2015); citing
National Archives microfilm publication T625, roll 977.
[9] 1930 U.S.
census, Stillwater County, Montana, population schedule, School District No.
6., Columbus, enumeration district (ED) 48-4, sheet 6A, dwelling 128, family 131,
Lucindy Hoffman in household of Charles Hoffman; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com
: accessed 2 April 2015); citing National Archives microfilm publication T626,
roll 1263.
[10] 1940 U.S.
census, Stillwater County, Montana, population schedule, School District No.
6., enumeration district (ED) 2, sheet 2A, Visited No. 30, Lucinda Hoffman in
household of Charles Hoffman; digital image, Ancestry.com
(http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 April 2015); citing National Archives
microfilm publication T627, roll 2232.
Note to readers: I'm interested in collaborating with descendants of Louie and if you are willing to do an autosomal DNA test, we need to talk!
[a] Thomas W. Jones, Mastering Genealogical Proof (Arlington, VA: National Genealogical Society, 2013), p. 86.
To cite this blog post: Michelle Goodrum, "Proof Summaries - When & Where was Catherine Lucinda Ballinger born?" The Turning of Generations, 26 March 2015 (http://turning-of-generations.blogspot.com/2015/04/proof-summaries-when-where-was.html : accessed [access date]).
© 2015, copyright Michelle Goodrum
Michelle My dad grew up in Columbus, Montana, and one of the books he got years ago was the book by Jim Annin on the history of Stillwater County Montana Jim wrote in 1964, there is about 3 paragraphs on the John Morton Family and a picture of John and Mrs. John Morton and four of the kids.
ReplyDeleteCharles
Hi Charles,
ReplyDeleteJim Annin's book is a gold mine of great clues. I've managed to collect all three volumes via Ebay over the years.
I have 4 generations of family from Columbus and Nye/Limestone. I'm guessing your Dad knew some of my family!
Good that you got the books, but at least in my family (Anton Hansen) there are a lot of wrong items. My dad was born in Minnesota and they came to Columbus in 1910 before my dads 4th birthday. His mom's aunt Abbie Kyle was living there before they came so I think that is why they moved from Minnesota.
ReplyDelete