Theodore Roosevelt Bones (1900 - 1962)

Born 3 Jan 1900 in Marion, Williamson, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Alberta F. (Hilburin) Bones — married about 1924 in Wheeler, Texas, United States

Died 10 Dec 1962 at age 62 in Groom, Carson, Texas, United States

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Biography

He was born on 03 Jan 1900 to Eugene Bones and Mabel Tate in Marion, Williamson county, Illinois. His father was a newspaper man, a journalist, who, around 1900, had moved from Marion, Illinois to El Paso, Texas. Initially, Theodore's mother Mabel, Theodore- age 6 months, and older brother Percy, aged 2 years, moved to Benton, Missouri with her parents, Cyrus and Jennie Tate.^[1] The Tates moved to Hunt, Texas at some point between 1900 and 1902. There's no evidence if Mabel and sons moved to Texas to be with Eugene ahead of the Tates, or traveled with her parents, but Mabel and Eugene obviously reconnected. Mabel's parents settled in Hunt, Texas--over 400 miles from El Paso. Ted's younger brother Eugene Frank was born in Hunt in 1902

Sometime between August and November 1903, Ted's father took a job in Los Angeles, California. On 28 Nov 1903, his mother took ill suddenly and passed away.^[2] Mabel was cremated and Eugene Bones moved them all back to his home in Williamson county, Illinois.

It's hard to say what occurred between Mabel's death, the family's move, and Eugene Bones's second marriage in 1905. Eugene continued to work as a journalist in Carbondale, Illinois and the surrounding area, but he doesn't appear to have embraced the role of single parent. Sometime during this period, (abt 1904) his youngest son Eugene Frank, better known as Frank, was placed in the care of Irwin and Lillian Smith Walker. The Walkers, from Cartersville, Williamson county, Illinois, married in 1894, and didn't have children^[3]. By 1910, Frank Walker moved with his adoptive parents to St Petersburg, Florida^[4], where he lived out his childhood.

Excerpt from HIstorical Sourvenir of Williamson County, Illinois. Nov, 1905. P 65 "Three Little Diamonds "They look like three little diamonds." said a Jewish lady of Los Angeles when she saw the three bright boys shown in the accompanying cut {see second image}. They are Percy, Teddy, and Frank, the sons of E.F. Bones, managing editor of the Marion Evening Post, aged 6, 4, and 2 years, respectively. They are natural born artists, having inherited the talent from their papa. The drawings surrounding their picture were made by Percy, the oldest, who occupies the central position in the group. Teddy can draw almost equally as well, and even two-year-old Frank can outline a locomotive. Having lost their mamma, who died in Los Angeles last November, the little fellows are separated. Percy, the oldest being in Marion with Grandpa and Grandma Bones, Teddy, the second, with Grandpa and Grandma Tate in Texas, and Frank, the baby, having a good home with Mr. and Mrs. I.M. Walker, in Carterville. They learned to talk early, and have never been afflicted with "baby talk," having used good English from the beginning. They never fail to attract attention wherever they go by their bright ways and civil manners. "He talks like a man," is an expression often made about each of them. The picture is a snapshot taken on the court house lawn in El Paso, Tex., and although it was in the winter time the sun was a little too bright for the baby's eyes,"^[5]

Eugene Bones continued to live and work as a newspaper man in southern Illinois for a little over 2 years after remarrying. There's no indication where Percy and Ted Bones, or John Taylor--2 yr-old son of Eugene's wife, Essie--lived during those years. Eugene's parents and Essie's parents all lived in Williamson county, Illinois. (John Taylor stayed in Illinois.)

In 1908, Eugene and Essie moved to El Paso where Eugene resumed working for the local newspapers. Curiously, in July 1908 and again in December 1908, Eugene suffered bizarre accidents. He fell from streetcars, breaking his collarbone ^[6] and then spraining his wrist when a run-away, electric streetcar crashed during a test run.^[7] --- Was Eugene being 'strong-armed' for his reporting, did he have a substance abuse problem, or was he just clumsy?? Were the boys in danger?

By the 1910 census, they were living in rooming houses, but oddly Eugene and Essie, aka Esther, Bones were counted at one house--where the census taker noted that 3 members of one family were "sick with a contagious disease," ^[8] and the 2 Bones boys were counted, listed two pages later, at a second house.^[9] -- Were the boys kept away because of the illness? Did the enumerator make a mistake and record the boys after-the-fact? Maybe they were in the midst of moving during the enumeration because--Percy and Ted were also counted as living with Mabel's parents, their grandparents Cyrus and Jennie Tate of Hunt, Texas, on the same 1910 census. ^[10] After April 1910, the boys continued to live with their grandparents. ^{[11] [12]}

Like his father Eugene and his brothers, Ted pursued a career in newspapers.^[13][14]

Theodore married Alberta F. Hilburn around 1924 in Wheeler county, Texas, and had daughter Sammie in 1925, followed by son Theodore in 1929.^[15] They lived most of their lives in Shamrock, Amarillo, and Groom, Texas. ^[16]

Ted passed away from a heart attack^[17] on 10 Dec 1962 in Groom.^[18][19]

Sources

1. ↑ Twelfth Census of the United States. Year: 1900; Census Place: Benton, Howell, Missouri; Roll: 860; Page: 2; Enumeration District: 0051; FHL microfilm: 1240860
2. ↑ California, County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1830-1980. "Mabel M. Bones". Filed: 05 Jan 1904. pg 10. California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com.
3. ↑ Year: 1900; Census Place: Carterville, Williamson, Illinois; Roll: 354; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 0109; FHL microfilm: 1240354
4. ↑ Thirteenth Census of the United States. Year: 1910; Census Place: Saint Petersburg, Hillsborough, Florida; Roll: T624_161; Page: 32A; Enumeration District: 0020; FHL microfilm: 1374174.
5. ↑ HIstorical Sourvenir of Williamson County, Illinois - Being a Brief Review of the County from the Date of Founding to Present. Illustrated. Compiled & Edited by J.F. Wilcox. Published by LaCrone Press, Effingham, IL. Nov, 1905. P 65
6. ↑ "E.F. Bones Hurt in Fall From a Car" El Paso Herald El Paso, Texas. Monday, July 6, 1908, page 3, column 6-7.
7. ↑ "Streetcar has Serious Mishap" Abilene Semi-Weekly Farm Reporter. Abilene, Texas. Monday, November 30, 1908, page 1, column 7.
8. ↑ United States Federal Census. Year: 1910; Census Place: Paris Ward 4, Lamar, Texas; Roll: T624_1571; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0077; FHL microfilm: 1375584.
9. ↑ United States Federal Census. Year: 1910; Census Place: Paris Ward 4, Lamar, Texas; Roll: T624_1571; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0077; FHL microfilm: 1375584.
10. ↑ United States Federal Census. Year: 1910; Census Place: Justice Precinct 6, Hunt, Texas; Roll: T624_1566; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0131; FHL microfilm: 1375579
11. ↑ United States, Selective Service System. "Percy Waldo Bones." Order no: 152. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Registration State: Texas; Registration County: Wheeler County.
12. ↑ United States, Selective Service System. "Theodore Roosevelt Bones." Order no: 776. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls.
13. ↑ Fourteenth Census of the United States. Year: 1920; Census Place: Justice Precinct 4, Wheeler, Texas; Roll: T625_1857; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 243
14. ↑ Sixteenth Census of the United States. Year: 1940; Census Place: Amarillo, Potter, Texas; Roll: m-t0627-04124; Page: 17A; Enumeration District: 188-30
15. ↑ Fifteenth Census of the United States. Year: 1930; Census Place: Wheeler, Wheeler, Texas; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0001; FHL microfilm: 2342135.
16. ↑ Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Amarillo, Potter, Texas; Roll: 475; Sheet Number: 9; Enumeration District: 255-87
17. ↑ Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982. "Theodore Roosevelt Bones." Cert no: 79931. Austin, Texas, USA.
18. ↑ "Ted Bones Rites Pend." The Amarillo Globe-Times, Amarillo, Texas. 11 Dec 1962, pg 9, col 3.
19. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18951119/theodore-roosevelt-bones : accessed 17 July 2022), memorial page for Theodore Roosevelt Bones (3 Jan 1900–10 Dec 1962), Find a Grave Memorial ID 18951119, citing Llano Cemetery, Amarillo, Randall County, Texas, USA ; Maintained by Walter Dunn (contributor 46835578) .