Mildred (Rinker) Bailey (1900 - 1951)

Born 27 Feb 1900 in Tekoa, Whitman, Washington, United States

Ancestors

Died 12 Feb 1951 at age 50 in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, United States

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Biography

Mildred (Rinker) Bailey is Notable.

Unless otherwise cited, information on this profile is derived from her WikiPedia entry.^[1]. Until profiles are made for specific family members, this profile contains information about them, as found. Jillaine Smith 13:48, 16 December 2020 (UTC)

Although she later claimed to have been born in 1907, Mildred Rinker was born February 27, 1900 in Tekoa, Washington, the daughter of Charles Rinker, a white man and Josephine Lee, a Coeur d'Alene indian. As was common at the time, everyone appeared on the U.S. census as white if the father was white. ^[2]

She was listed with her mother and brother Miles on the 1906 census of the Coeur d'Alene Indians. ^[3]

In 1909, lands belonging to the Coeur d'Alene were removed from tribal control and allotted to individuals under the Dawes Act. Mildred, her mother and her siblings all received land. ^[4]

Siblings:

1. Miles L. Rinker, b 13 June 1905 Spokane, Washington^[5]
2. Alton "Al" M Rinker, b abt 1907 Washington;^[6] vocalist, composer; formed "The Rhythm Boys" with Bing Crosby.^[7]
   • In a 1931 "Indian Census," he (24), Miles (23) and "Oliver G Rinker" (19) were identified as brothers, members of the Couer d'Alene tribe, living in Glendale City, Los Angeles.^[8]
   • In 1932, he was listed as a passenger arriving in Los Angeles from New York; he listed his address as 5611 Carlton Way, Los Angeles.^[9]
3. Vinson, b 4 June 1909 Idaho; died 12 Apr 1910.^[10]
4. Charles Donald (lyricist), b abt 1912 Washington;^[11] married Mary Dean 1 Feb 1949 Huntington Beach, California.^{[12] [6]}

After the death of her mother from tuberculosis in January 1917, her father remarried ^[13] and by 1918, Mildred is in Seattle, no longer living with them in Spokane. ^[11] Wikipedia claims she moved to Seattle to live with an aunt and uncle and that Mildred and the aunt were in an accident where the aunt died. Mildred has not yet been found on the 1920 census.

She married and quickly divorced Clarence "Ted" Bailey, keeping his last name because she thought it sounded more American than Rinker, which was of Swiss (German) origin. The 1918 marriage certificate (Seattle, WA) is between Mildred Rinker and Clarence Bailey. ^[14]

She married Benjamin "Benny" Stafford in Canada in 1920. ^[15] and the couple lived in Spokane, Washington for a few years. ^[16] By 1930, the couple was living in Los Angeles, California. ^[17]

She married third in 1933 Red Norvo (Kenneth Norville), a xylophonist, improviser, and band leader; they were married until 1942 and were known as "Mr. and Mrs. Swing". They divorced in 1942 but remained friends.

Mildred is listed on the 1933 and 1936 Coeur d'Alene censuses as "Mildred (Rinker) Bailey," living in Los Angeles, California. ^[18]

She became an established jazz performer on the west coast and later in New York City.

She suffered from diabetes and was hospitalized in 1938, 1943, and 1949. She went into retirement for a time in 1949 on a farm she owned in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Bailey died of heart failure on December 12, 1951 in St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York at the age of 50. ^[19]

In 1994, the US Postal Service released a stamp in her honor. ^[20]

Research Notes

Wikipedia claims she had a great-grandfather, Bazil Peone, a well known speaker and song leader; created indigenized Catholic hymns.

There was a Bazil Peone, b abt 1877-1880 on the Couer d'Alene reservation, but definitely not old enough to be Mildred's great-grandfather; if related at all, he was more likely an uncle, as he is the same generation as Mildred's mother.^[21]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Mildred Bailey," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mildred_Bailey&oldid=992620898 (accessed December 16, 2020).
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MM5S-Q42 : 9 March 2022), Millard E Rinker in entry for Charles D Rinker, 1900.
3. ↑ Census of the Coeur d'Alene, June 30, 1906, p. 20, #484, Ancestry.com. U.S., Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Indian Census Rolls, 1885- 1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
4. ↑ Government Land Office records, see Bureau of Land Management
5. ↑ "Washington, County Records, 1803-2010," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99CC-N38F?cc=1910364&wc=7GS9-FCQ%3A180933901%2C181361801 : 22 May 2014), Spokane > Birth returns 1905 vol 11401-11960 > image 10 of 654; State Archives, Puget Sound Regional Branch, Bellevue.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGJQ-PMV : accessed 12 April 2023), Mildred E Rinker in household of Charles D Rinker, Precinct 37, Whitman, Washington, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 262, sheet 4B, family 83, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1674; FHL microfilm 1,375,687.
7. ↑ John Miller (AP), "Idaho Tribe: 'Mrs Swing' was Indian," in The Wenatchee World, 16 Mar 2012; archived link
8. ↑ "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WZ-NFC6?cc=2761958 : 27 August 2019), > image 1 of 1; citing (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1967).
9. ↑ "California, Los Angeles Passenger Lists, 1907-1948," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTMC-769?cc=1916084&wc=M61N-K36%3A202393101 : 20 May 2014), 039 - May 14, 1932 - Jul 9, 1932 > image 203 of 1034; citing NARA microfilm publication M1764 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
10. ↑ "Washington Deaths and Burials, 1810-1960", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HVQ4-XLZM : 29 January 2020), Josephine Lee Rinker in entry for Vincen D. Rinker, 1910.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RXK-SDF?cc=1488411&wc=QZJR-4TV%3A1036474601%2C1036474602%2C1036474603%2C1589334194 : 14 September 2019), Washington > Spokane > Spokane > ED 216 > image 2 of 12; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
12. ↑ "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893H-29NS-W?cc=1804002&wc=965S-W3D%3A151115301 : 12 May 2014), 005698884 > image 1468 of 2726; multiple county courthouses, California.
13. ↑ "Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSZL-135N?cc=1534448 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; State Archives, Olympia.
14. ↑ "Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKNY-B4K6 : 24 September 2017), Clarence W Bailey and Mildred E Rinker, 04 Jan 1918, King, Washington, United States, Washington State Archives, Olympia; FamilySearch digital folder 004212078.
15. ↑ Ancestry.com. Alberta, Canada, Marriages Index,1898-1942 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017. Original data: Alberta Marriage Indexes. Provincial Archives of Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
16. ↑ Spokane, Washington City Directory, 1923. Digitized at Ancestry.com.
17. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCJ1-HXS : accessed 17 December 2020), Mildred E Stafford in household of Benny F Stafford, Los Angeles (Districts 0001-0250), Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 58, sheet 1B, line 96, family 36, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 134; FHL microfilm 2,339,869.
18. ↑ "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZZ-WGJP : 31 October 2019), Mildred Rinker Bailey, Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai, Idaho, United States; citing Census, NARA microfilm publication M595. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1967.
19. ↑ "New York, State Death Index, 1880-1956", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGK1-5568 : 20 October 2019), Mildred Bailey, 1951.
20. ↑ Women on Stamps: Part 4 / A Swingin' Time: Mildred Bailey, Smithsonian Postal Museum.
21. ↑ FamilySearch Results for Bazil Peone

Listen to her music:

• The Best of Mildred Bailey | Jazz Music (YouTube, 2016)
• Georgia On My Mind (1931) (YouTube, 2011)
• Rockin' Chair (1937) (YouTube, 2008)