What happened to John Lucas Allen?

I have a bunch of DNA matches on my Allen side of the family, but I don't know how all of the more distant matches are connected. I was working on one not long ago, and when I looked at my tree, I had fairly complete information about all of the siblings of my great-grandfather, Elam Ethan Allen, except for one. John Lucas Allen.

John was the only one of Elam's siblings, including several half-siblings, that I didn't have information about the end of his life and his children. I wanted a death record, an obituary specifically, because for genealogists doing descendant research, those are like pure gold. I wanted to know what happened to John Lucas Allen and I wanted to be sure I had all of his children documented.

To begin, I created a timeline. With some additional research I was able to fill in most of the blanks:

Birth of John L Allen
	16 Oct 1863 to James Miller Allen and Sarah Elizabeth (Lucas) Butler Allen	Oregon	1870-1930 census records and family history compiled in 1947
Christening
Residence	1 Aug 1870	Monmouth, Polk, Oregon	1870 census
Residence	14 Jun 1880	Fifteen-Mile, Wasco, Oregon	1880 census
Marriage 1	abt 1885 Belle R Barrett	Prob Oregon	1900 census
Birth of Child	9 Mar 1886, Dora Rachael	Boyd, Wasco, Oregon	Oregon birth record
Birth of Child	Apr 1889, Ira W	Idaho	1900 census
Birth of Child	Oct 1891, Charles L	Oregon	1900 census
Residence	8 Jun 1900	Hay Creek, Crook, Oregon	1900 census
Birth of Child	16 Nov 1901, Ellen Elizabeth	Hay Creek, Crook, Oregon	from her personal bio
Divorce ?
Marriage 2	Mar 1911, Maretta C Aplington	Washington	family history compliled in 1947
Birth of Child	30 Jul 1906, Stella May - if Stella was John's daughter she was born out of wedlock. I can't find anything to prove that she was his. Could be Retta's daughter from another man.	Oregon	1920-30-40 census, SSDI
Birth of Child	5 Dec 1908, Erma Irene - unknown if she is John's daughter, either. No birth record and birth is prior to their marriage	Montana	1920 census, SS Claim, FAG
Residence	1909	Sunnyside, Yakima, Washington	Yakima County Directory
Residence	20 Apr 1910	Outlook, Yakima, Washington	1910 census
Residence	1911	Outlook, Yakima, Washington	Yakima County Directory
Birth of Child	14 Dec 1911, Lawrence Alfred	College Place, Walla Walla, Washington	family history compiled in 1947, 1920 census, SSDI, FAG
Birth of Child	14 Dec 1911, Lois Affa	College Place, Walla Walla, Washington	family history compiled in 1947, 1920 census, SSDI, FAG
Divorce ?	Retta in 1920 listed as Divorced on census
Marriage 3	6 Jan 1912 to Josephine (Kripsal/Quipsell) Stewart	Tehama County, CA	Marriage record
Birth of Child	7 Nov 1912, Delta Alma	California	1920-30 census, CA death index, obit
Birth of Child	21 Jun 1914, Sylvester Stanley	Yakima County, Washington	WA birth index, 1920-30-40 census, SSDI, FAG
Birth of Child	23 May 1916, James Wilbur	Sunnyside, Yakima, Washington	1920-30-40 census, USArmy Enlistment, SSDI, FAG
Birth of Child	23 Oct 1918, Ethel Irene	Yakima County, Washington	WA birth index, 1920-30 census, SSDI
Residence	12 Jan 1920	Sunnyside, Yakima, Washington	1920 census, Yakima County Directory
Residence	1921	Sunnyside, Yakima, Washington	Yakima County Directory
Residence	1922	Sunnyside, Yakima, Washington	Yakima County Directory
Birth of child	19 May 1923, Bernice O		SSDI
Residence	23 Apr 1930	Yakima, Yakima, Washington	1930 census
Marriage of child	17 Jul 1930, Delta to William Jess	Yakima, Yakima, Washington	Washington Marriage Return, J L Allen signed as witness
Death of spouse	28 Feb 1932, Josephine	Yakima, Yakima, Washington	Washington Death Certificate
Death	abt 1941
Burial	?
Marriage of Child	1942, Ethel to Tony Curci	California	50th Anniversary article in newspaper
Marriage of Child	1948, Delta to Fred Stone	Alameda County, CA	CA divorce index
Marriage of Child	1950, Bernice to Billy Blair	San Francisco, CA	CA marriage index

Newspaper articles I found regarding Ethel, Delta and Bernice were key finds, as they helped me to link the daughters and led me to marriage/divorce records and helped me to add information for their families.

The Palm Beach Post, 28 Apr 2009, pg B004
image from Newspapers.com

Santa Cruz Sentinel, 24 Jan 1993, pg 10
image from Newspapers.com

Santa Cruz Sentinel, 19 Apr 1992, pg 22
image from Newspapers.com

This 1940 census record for John's son James W Allen was another incredible discovery.

1940 Federal Census, Nevada, Nevada, California, enumeration district 29-16
Image #6 of 37 from Ancestry.com
James W Allen, age 23, born in Wapato, Washington,
working in a government camp in Northern California
(13th row down)

What I still didn't have was a death record, or anything at all, for John past 1932.

My hypothesis:

John's first wife remarried and the minor children all went with mom and step-dad to Canada. It doesn't appear that they maintained contact with John. His second wife took her children to Wallowa County, Oregon and again, it appears that there was no further contact with their father.

Four of the children he had with Josephine, though, ended up in the Northern California area, and in one of their obits it says "born in Yakima, Washington but resided in Northern California" so I think that sometime after 1930, maybe after Josie's death in 1932, he and the minor children went to California. That's where I needed to focus the search for John’s death record.

I narrowed my focus to California and then I found this:

San Francisco Coroner's Register - Record of Death for John L. Allen
image from Ancestry.com

This John L Allen, born in 1864 in Oregon, died in San Francisco on September 2, 1937 in his home. He was discovered by Delta Danielsen, of the same address, and the record notes that relatives were notified at the scene. This John Allen was buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, San Mateo County, California. I believe it is John Lucas Allen, though at this point all the evidence is indirect. I cannot find a record of his daughter Delta either marrying or divorcing a man named Danielsen. Is this the correct record? I'm hoping that someday a record is found that will shed more light, but for now, I feel pretty certain that this is the man.

This record also states that John L Allen had suffered a stroke about 8 years earlier and had been practically an invalid ever since. While this is a sad ending to to his life, at least the ending is now known.

A Serendipitous Visit to the Genealogical Society's Library

When I was a young girl I found a small family tree in my parent's wedding bible that had been filled out for a few generations. I looked at it often and it really sparked my curiosity. It wasn't until I married and had children, though, that I developed the urge to learn as much as I could about my family history. That was in the late 1980s and early 1990s and I lived in a small town without easy access to a research library. It would be several years before online research was a thing. I tried to fill in as much as I could on some blank pedigree charts but that's as far as I got.

Fast forward almost ten years, past a failed marriage and the beginning of my life with husband #2 in a new city more than 100 miles away.

One morning after I settled into my new home, I read an article about the local Genealogical Society in the newspaper. It gave the address and library hours, so the following Saturday morning I took some "me-time" and went to check it out. It wasn't a huge library, but it was the first time I'd ever visited one devoted to genealogy research. I wasn't sure what I'd find, but I knew that my paternal grandparents were from the area so I decided to see if I could find them, or their parents, in census records. I can't remember now which years were available in the library, but I know for sure I saw the 1920 census. There they were, the names from the bible I'd seen as a young girl. It was easy. Then I discovered the Obituary Files. Members had been retrieving obituaries from the newspaper for years and years and saving them in alphabetical files. The files also included burial information for local cemeteries. Jackpot. I found so much new information so quickly.

Those obituary files led me to the graves of my paternal grandmother who died when my dad was a boy, my paternal great-grandparents, and, to my surprise, the graves of a set of 2nd great-grandparents! From their obituaries, I was able to add new information to my pedigree charts and fill in family group sheets. For the first time since moving, I felt like I really belonged in this city.

My interest in genealogy was always present, but when I found my ancestors in the library that day, it ignited my passion for researching my roots. I joined the genealogical society soon after that first visit and have attended numerous meetings, workshops, and seminars over the years. With more and more records available online, I don't need to go to the library to hit the jackpot anymore, but it will always be a special place for me. 

Great Aunt Ernestine - an artist who lost her vision

Edna Ernestine Allen Dvorak (1908-2005) was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, and artist. Born in 1908 in the farming community of Outlook, Washington, Ernestine was immersed in the arts from a young age. To entertain themselves, she and her siblings were encouraged by their parents, Elam and Rena Allen, to be creative. They learned to play instruments, sing, write poetry, draw, and paint. After graduating Salutatorian of her Kiona Benton High School class, Ernestine made the decision to pursue art studies at the Derbyshire School of Fine Arts in Seattle. She also studied poetry writing under the tutelage of Lucile V. McCurtain, publishing several pieces in literary magazines. A charter member of Artists United and a member of the Seahurst Workshop Gallery in Burien, Ernestine created many marvelous paintings and won numerous awards. Ernestine's husband, Don Dvorak, worked behind the scenes in movie theaters, running the projectors to bring the movies to the big screen for viewers. Ernestine and her children were always among the first to see the newest films. It's fair to say that Ernestine's life revolved around the world of art.

Don and Ernestine Dvorak
photo courtesy of Rene Rodgers.

I met my Great Aunt Ernestine only once. My cousin Rene and I arranged a visit to see her in the early 2000's. I don't recall the exact year, but the visit itself is a clear memory. Ernestine gave us a tour of her home, pointing out her artwork as we passed each framed canvas. This tour was from memory; Ernestine was blind. Her sight had faded gradually as she aged due to hereditary glaucoma and she had been blind for many years. When I met her that day, she wore dark glasses and had been listening to the Bible through headphones. There was a stack of religious audiobooks on the table in front of her. It appeared that this was how she now spent much of her time. In her 90s, Great Aunt Ernestine was still sharp as a tack. She shared some stories of her childhood and told me about my grandmother, her younger sister Helen. As a story-teller, she was also a bit of an artist. Adding flourishing details, she animated the tales she told and I can vividly recall them today.

It wasn't long after our visit that Ernestine died. I have often thought of her and the challenge it must have been to lose her eyesight, and with it, her ability to create her beloved paintings. I could still see the pride on her face as she led that tour through her artwork. She could recollect when and where she had painted each one and the awards and recognition that had followed. Newspaper clippings of her accomplishments were lovingly saved in scrapbooks. As Rene and I thumbed through them, Ernestine was following along from memory. When she spoke of her sadness at being forced to give up the hobby she so loved, I said a little prayer asking for my sight to remain until I die.