I need a different set of eyes [closed]

Question

I'm working on some profiles (not yet on WT) and I've run into a problem. Telfair Manning Cummings (on WT) was married twice. I'm working on his second wife, Dorothy Rowe.

The reason that I had put off creating her profile was because I wasn't sure about some things. Today I managed to sort out that the Dorothy that Telfair married was NOT the Dorothy in Familysearch. I managed to extricate the sources and add them to a new profile. (This is the old profile.)

Now, I'm unsure whether the new profile is the Dorothy Rowe that Telfair married. Here's why.

1. Telfair married a Miss Dorothy Rowe in 1937. (No mention of a previous marriage to an Estes.)
2. Dorothy brought a daughter to the marriage (June) according to the 1940 Census (which lists Telfair as her stepfather.).
3. June and her brother are mentioned in Dorothy's obituary.
4. Dorothy's social security record mentions her husband Estes and her husband Russom but does NOT mention a husband named Cummings.

So, Is the Dorothy Rowe who married Estes and Russom NOT the Dorothy Rowe who married Telfair Cummings? If she IS the same Dorothy, why doesn't her ss record include an alias for Cummings?

Comments

Her social security application was not made until 1976, long after a marriage to a Cummings so it would not be included. Changes to a SS application are made each time a person updates their information with the SSA. Typically that occurs each time a woman remarries and begins using the name of a current husband. So it is possible that Dorothy was married to Telfair Cummings.

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Let me make sure that I understand what you are saying. Because the SS app wasn't until 1976, AFTER she married Russom, it doesn't mention her previous marriages? If that's true, why does it include Estes, whom she would have had to have married before Cummings?

Two things are giving me pause. The lack of a mention of Cummings in the SS record and the fact that Telfair's marriage record says he married MISS Dorothy Rowe, not Mrs. (or Miss) Dorothy Estes.

On the other hand, there is a June (stepdaughter to Telfair) mentioned in 1940 Census and mentioned in Dorothy Russom's obituary.

I sure wish records were more accurate. It would reduce the number of headaches I get when researching.

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Regarding the marriage license and certificate - I have seen women married multiple times that used their maiden name in each marriage. Not sure about Arkansas, but at that time, they might not have required a woman to give previous marriage status. The application makes no such mention. The state of California even indexes some marriages of women under the maiden mane and current name. I don't find that record concerning.

Regarding the Social Security application. The earliest Dorothy could apply for any type of benefit was at age 60 {for widows benefits & I am NOT saying that is what she was doing). This is not  a disability claim application so that is not a factor. So this application is dated 16 Nov 1974 as when she was eligible but she didn't physically apply to SSA until 16 Apr 1976. At the time she applied she was married to Russom (they married 1975). However, when she was first eligible in 1974, her last name was ESTES.

The Cummings name is not there as a wrote previously.

If you are uncomfortable that you have the incorrect Dorothy Rowe, then wait and dig deeper down the road. Sorry I couldn't help more.

PS. Just looked at Ancestry and the actual Tennessee marriage record for her and Charles Russom has a big VOID written on it. Wonder what happened there? (Sorry I have no clue how to get a sharing link to work on G2G.)

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I think the marriage to (Horace E) Estes was after the marriage to Cummings.

Based on 2 FamilySearch profiles for a Dorothy Rowe (Dorothy J Rowe , Dorothy Rowe), Dorothy appears on the 1940 census with Cummings, then on the 1950 census with Estes. Her presumed daughter June appears on both censuses, first as June Cummings (age 5), then as June Fuller (age 16).

If Dorothy was married before her marriage to Cummings, her spouse may have been a Fuller. Alternately, June may have been born to unmarried parents. Or June may have had a similar attachment to Cummings.

Dorothy's NUMIDENT file has her 1st application year as 1974, during her marriage to Estes. She updates to Russom in 1976. She may not have been required or had any need to apply during her marriage to Cummings.

There are gaps in Dorothy's timeline which make any analysis suspect, but my view is that these records all represent the same person.

And if we are incorrect, we can always fix it later!

Answer 1

I figured it out. The Dorothy Rowe who married Telfair is yet another (third) Dorothy Rowe.

1. The marriage certificate for Charles Russom lists his wife as Dorothy J. Estes but her parents are John Rowe and Laura Singleton. This would mean that she was married previously to an Estes.
2. The 1950 Census shows Dorothy Estes living with Horace Estes and a daughter named June Fuller who is Horace's stepdaughter, and a son named Ron.
3. The June in the 1940 Census for Telfair must be a different June as well.

Sigh......

Comments

I'm not so sure. Seems to me her marriage to Telfair Cummings was very short lived. Good luck.

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Here is an obituary for Laura Singleton Rowe, stating that she died at her daughter Mrs. Horace Estes house: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-memphis-press-scimitar-obituary-for/146395829/

The family was living in Bayou Meto in 1920: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDFB-8YN

Answer 2

I found an existing profile for Dorothy J Rowe, connected to her (presumed) final spouse, Charles C Russom.

I adopted the profile and updated it based on the 2 cited FamilySearch.org profiles.

While her connection to Telfair Cummings is less certain than her connection to her parents and the other 3 spouses, I believe that we have a match - unless we can find documentation to the contrary.

Comments

Telfair married Dorothy Rowe in 1937. If you're right, she married:

1. Monroe Fuller in 1933
2. Telfair Cummings in 1937
3. Horace Estes in 1949
4. Charles Russom in 1975

Since you adopted the profile, would you mind making it public so I can edit it? Or, if you prefer, would you mind connecting all the spouses?

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I prefer to keep Dorothy's profile locked to prevent addition of her children, whom I presume are living.

I've attached Telfair's profile, but didn't find profiles for Monroe or Horace. Do you plan to make their profiles, or should I? Let me know!

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Thank you. I was under the impression that they already existed. I'd appreciate it if you would go ahead and create them if they don't already exist.