American Seymour Genealogy

Father: David Edward WHALEN, (son of Edward WHALEN), b. 31 Aug 1874, Springfield Greene County Missouri, d. 10 Aug 1953, Norton Kansas, bur. Forest Hill cemetery, Kansas City Missouri

David Edward Whalen was born in Springfield Missouri in Greene County to Mary Fitzgerald(the last name of comes from her first husband deceased) and Edward Whalen. His date of birth is taken from his death certificate however in the Bible there are conflicting dates as the Bible states he was born on 8-31-77. Also his extracted birth record says he was born on Aug 31 1874 and christened in Sept of 1874. I have used the extracted filmed record date for the actual birth date.and year.Record reads as follows. DAVID WHELAN Male

Event(s): Birth: 31 AUG 1874 Christening: 27 SEP 1874 Immaculate Conception, Springfield, Greene, Missouri Death: Burial:

Parents: Mother: MARY FITZGERALDFather: Edward Whalen

Messages: Extracted birth or christening record for the locality listed in the record. The source records are usually arranged chronologically by the birth or christening date. No source document or additional information exists.

. It was the second marriage for his mother as she had married a man who died named John Fitzgerald,David was born into a family with two half brothers Patsy and James and a half sister Kate Fitzgerald (later Woodhouse) . It has been said by some of the daughters of this couple that David's father Edward deserted the family right after 1880 which would have made David around five years old.There is some evidence to support this scenario, as he rarely spoke of his father because he told his older grandsons he did not remember him. Since there is a confirmed date of death of his father Edward for April 4 1887, it would make David 12 at his death. Most twelve year olds recall their fathers if they were around. Also Edward was not buried with Mary Ellen and she sold her one of her plots that may have been intended for a husband prior to 1887 to the Woodhouse family. While he died in a mining accident in either Kansas, Missouri or Oklahoma most of the miners bodies were recovered and brought back as was custom. It was one of the things that made mining a risky propostion. David's father was said to have died in Picher Oklahoma which was certainly in that area however, mining in Picher did not start until 1907. However he may have died in a surrouding area close to Picher or elsewhere. So little is known about his father , it makes David's genealogy rather difficult. After his father's loss or desertion, his mother Mary Ellen probably unsure of what to do with him sent David off to be educated by priests for a time. Hoping he would take to the priesthood, it did not work out and David had a life long aversion to priests, whom he said were mean Pete Piersee told a story of his grandpa David's final break from the Catholic church. When he was living in Rosedale in Kansas City KS a priest got a girl pregnant. The young girl was shunned by her parents and condemned by the community and church members. Apparently David thinking this was wrong stood up in church and berated the priest for his irresponsibility. He said to the congregation that this priest was not a man of God. He then marched his wife and children out of the church and never returned. It was a brave thing to do. My mother only told me that her father did not like the Catholic religion he was raised in and told his wife that if the children went to church it should be in her faith which was Protestant. It does not appear that they were a particulary churchgoing couple. My mother does not recall much of any religious indoctrination though both of her parents believed in God. David and Ann met at a picnic either in Lawrence or Jasper County.Missouri They were married on Dec 24, 1898 and David was 23 and Ann was 20. Their first child Gertrude was born iin April of 1899, making it somewhat of a shotgun affair which was more common that people thought. While not hot on the idea of the Priesthood David did receive a fair education there and was an avid reader all of his life. In the interest of honesty he was a bit of a drinker as well and often had to be hauled out of bars by Alex, Ann's brother and even the children. He always worked. On the census's he was a worker at a soap factory, a car man at the Railroad , later he worked at the Post Office. My mother also recalls him bringing home fresh fruit from the docks when bags were damaged. Prior to Anna's death in 1950 it was suspected that David had tuberculosis and it bears this out on his death certificiate. But the Sanitarium in Norton Kansas where he went to live out the remainder of his life, also treated problems dealing from health issues with alcohol. He probably received treatment for both. My mother said he was very happy there, he often smoked a pipe which Ann had previously loathed, played a lot of card with the guys and read a lot. He did come home for visits. He died on August 10, 1953 in Norton Kansas and is buried next to this wife at Forest Hills cemetery in Kansas City Kansas Block 47,Lot 211, grave one on Valley RoadSee census's below1900 Vinyard Township Stotts City Lawrence County Missouri June 6 1900 Whalen, David M White head of household 25 married one year born Mo Parents Ireland Ireland Lead Miner can read and writeWhalen, Annie F White wife 21 married one year born Scotland parents Scotland Scotland can read and writeWhalen, Gertrude white dau 1 born Missouri father born Missouri mother born Scotland 1910 Census Kansas Wyandotte Rosedale District 199 77 Clinton Street Whalen, David M White head of household 34 married 12 years born Missouri parents Ireland carman Railroad rents homeWhalen, Annie F White wife 33 married 12 years born Scotland parents born Scotland Whalen, Gertrude F White daugh 10 born Missouri father born Missouri mother born Scotland Whalen, Lavonna F White daugh 9 born Missouri father born Missouri mother born Scotland Whalen, Mary F White daugh 5 born Missouri father born Missouri mother born Scotland Whalen, Alma F White daugh 3 months born Kansas father born Missouri mother born Scotland 1920 Census Kansas Wyandotte Precinct 81 Kansas City 713 South Valley Whalen, David E M head of household White 44 born Missouri, parents born Ireland occupation oil refiner soap factoryWhalen, Anna F wife white 42 born Scotland parents born Scotland Whalen, Levaughn dau white 18 born Missouri father born Missouri mother born Scotland machine operator soap factoryWhalen, Mary dau white 16 born Missouri father born Missouri mother born Scotland machine operator soap factoryWhalen, Alma dau white 10 born Kansas Father born Missouri mother born Scotland Whalen, Trafford son white 5 born Kansas father born Missouri mother born Scotland Whalen, June dau white 2 years 4 months born Missouri father born Missouri mother born Scotland Whalen, Anna dau white 10 months old born Kansas father born Missouri mother born Scotland McDonald, Alex b in law Divorced white 54 born Scotland parents born Scotland labourer wheel works

Mother: Ann Stewart MCDONALD, (daughter of Donald "Daniel " MCDONALD), b. 20 Jun 1878, Forfar parish Angus Scotland, d. 20 Sep 1950, Kansas City KS, bur. Forest Hills Cemetery, Kansas City Missouri

. Birth taken from birth register record below. death info taken from official death certificate.This is my grandmother, mother of my mother Ann Ernestine Whalen Seymour. Birth certificate info in folder titled births on this disk .While her death certificate advises her middle name and first name were spelled Ann Stuart McDonald, actually her birth name directly from the birth certificate was spelled Ann Stewart McDonald. Her middle name is for her step grandmother Margaret Stewart . Anna remembered that as a child in Dundee a grandfather was mayor of Dundee and used to throw parties. She and sister Julia often sat on the steps until they were ordered to bed. While the actual mayors(Lord Provosts) were not appointed for Dundee until after 1884(when Anne had left Scotland ) , there were Provosts and Bailies for each separate parish..I do not have a list of the provosts and bailies for other parishes in the Forfarshire County,. However, this point is somewhat moot. While at least three of Ann McDonald's daughters told this story , LaVon, Alma and Ann.(probably told to one by the others), it does not quite pan out that a grandfather actually was the mayor of Dundee. The dates simply do not fit for this story. Ann McDonalds maternal grandfather Thomas Ritchie and great grandfather John Carnegie both die prior to her birth. Her paternal grandfather Peter McDonald and great grandfather Donald McDonald also die prior to her birth All great grandfathers of hers are deceased in fact by her birth. . In order for her to observe them from the steps she would have obviously have been born and she was not . Because I am not aware of when Margaret Stewart's father dies or even who he is, it is possible I suppose that this could have been him,, however he would have had to around 85-100 years old and this is doubtful. Memory is a tricky thing and in the retelling perhaps it was lost that it was a friend of her grandfather's or a cousin or an uncle.or even just a family friend or inlaw. It is one of the few stories that did not pan out. Ann was about three years old when her mother Margaret Ritchie died. And did not know any of her siblings except Alexander and Julia. The others died prior to her birth and William died when she was about three. Her stepmother was her mother's second cousin Margaret Marnie who married her widowed father about seven months after her real mother died. . Ann came to this country on the ship Devonia to a New York port Castlegarden on Sept 10, 1884 as a six year old, with brother Alexander and sister Julia,also with father Daniel and step mother Margaret ,Ann was a big bosomed woman, who stood about 5'5. She often wore her hair in a bun.She was an outgoing woman.by all accounts. She married David Edward Whalen after meeting him at a picnic either in Lawrence County Missouri or Jasper County where David was living with his mother Mary Ellen Whalen. . They married on Dec 24 1898 in Round Grove Lawrence County Missouri . She had six girls and one boy. She also had two stillborn children, sex unknown. She was said to be a terrific cook who passed on many recipes and cooking style to her children .She was of Prostestant religious affliation although my mother says they rarely went to church by the time she was around. My mother states her father did not want the children raised Catholic . See notes for David on this He was a rather quiet man who loved to read Her only son Trafford died at 17 of a brain tumor and it was a great sorrow in her life. Toward the end of her life,her husband David went to live in a Sanitarium in Norton , Kansas because he supposedly had Tubercolosis however it is said that he also had complications from alcohol.

At the time of her death she was cared for by her daughter Alma as David Whalen was not living at home and still in Norton. She died on Sept 20, 1950 at 3027 Silver, her daughter Alma Piersee's residence of stomach cancer that she had for a year. Her death certificiate states that she died of Carcinoma of the extra hepatic bile duct which means it spread to her liver. She is buried at Forest Hill cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri block 47, lot 211, grave 3 on Valley Road.At that time she was survived by her children except son Trafford who predeceased her, , grandchildren, sister Julia and a half brother Richard who was in Spokane at the time of her death.TRANSCRIPT OF ENTRY IN REGISTER OF BIRTHS

Sex Year County District Name District No. Entry No. F 1878 Forfar Forfar 288 259

Name and Surname Ann Stewart McDonald When and Where Born 1878, on the Twentieth day of June at 8h 30m pm Pyot’s Close, East High Street, Forfar Name, Rank and Profession of Father Daniel McDonald Yarn Bleacher (Operative) Name and Maiden Surname of Mother Margaret McDonald MS Ritchie Date and Place of Marriage 1864, June 24th at Forfar Signature and Qualification of Informant Daniel McDonald Father When and Where Registered 1878, July 5th at Forfar W H Thomson, Registrar

Remarks:

Transcribed by D R Cameron - TVFHS member 3692 - ForfarCam@aol.com

Married 24 Dec 1898, Round Grove Lawrence County Missouri

Children:

1. Gertrude WHALEN, b. 26 Apr 1899, Lawrence County Missouri, d. Dec 1983
2. Lavon Margaret WHALEN, b. 23 Mar 1901, Lawrence County Missouri, d. May 1990
3. Mary Magdalene WHALEN, b. 19 Jun 1904, Kansas City Missouri, d. 7 Jan 1995, Albuquerque New Mexico
4. Alma Blanche WHALEN, b. 28 Feb 1910, Kansas City Kansas, d. 17 Feb 2001, Shawnee Kansas, bur. Maple Hill Cemetery
5. Trafford Edward WHALEN, b. 17 Jan 1914, Kansas City Kansas, d. 23 Jul 1931, Kansas City Kansas
6. June Ineze WHALEN, b. 7 Aug 1916, Prosperity Missouri, d. 3 Oct 1995, Albuquerque New Mexico, bur. Mt Calvary Cemetery
7. Ann Ernestine WHALEN, b. 28 Feb 1919, Kansas City Kansas, d. 3 Sep 2000, Lenexa Kansas, bur. Johnson County Memorial Gardens

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