Digging-up Lost Family Roots
The Importance of the Rule-of-Three

All family genealogists find themselves faced with “brick walls” that are sometimes resistant to tear-down efforts. When those brick walls are based upon misleading or obscure information found in census records or even located in family documents, one needs to pause and try to think outside the normal constraints of research.

The following brick wall was initially encountered in a census record. The census I needed was for a family headed by an unknown Stuppy who was married to Catherine W. Bayer. The location of a 1940 census of La Salle City, Illinois was fairly easily located; the record was the first evidence of the first name (William) of the Stuppy husband. The family group included a stepdaughter named Pauline [sic]Clements; this information implied that Catherine Bayer had previously been married to an unnamed [sic]Clements. VIEW IMAGE

To identify the father of the stepdaughter of William Stuppy, a search of the 1930 census records was made for a Catherine nee Bayer [sic]Clements who had a daughter with the same recorded birthplace and birth year that matched that of the Pauline [sic]Clements in the 1940 census. Such a family group was not located that included a Catherine [sic]Clements and daughter, Pauline who had ages and birth state identified in the 1940 census.

What was located was a 1930 census record of a family living in Des Moines, Iowa. This family group, headed by Edward and Blanche Bailey, included three stepchildren named Pauline, Quentin and Donald CLEMENS. The age and birthplace of the Pauline CLEMENS matched that of the Pauline [sic]Clements that had been previously located in the 1940 census of La Salle City, Illinois. This record posed a problem, as the first name of the mother of Pauline was Blanche and not Catherine. VIEW IMAGE

Stepping back another five years led to the discovery of a 1925 state census for a family living in New Sharon, Iowa. This family included a Blanche Clemens with her three children, Pauline, Quinton and Donald. The implied birth years in this record appeared to match “facts” in the 1930 federal census. VIEW IMAGE

To remedy this tangled issue of the actual parents of Pauline Clemens, a search of birth, marriage, obituary and burial records was instituted for the spouses of Mrs. Blanch Bailey, Pauline Clemens, and her siblings.

Obituaries were located for Catherine nee Bayer Stuppy, Pauline nee Clemens Hammerich, and Juanita nee Withrow Peterson. These three obituaries confirmed that:

1. Catherine nee Bayer Stuppy died on 30 JUL 2001; she was the wife of William Stuppy; she was survived by two children, a son named V. N. Withrow, a daughter named Juanita nee Withrow Peterson, and a stepdaughter named Pauline nee Clemens Hammerich. VIEW IMAGE
2. Pauline nee Clemens Hammerich died on 28 APR 2006; she had been born on 31 DEC 1918 to Darlan F. Clemens and Blanche nee Drew Clemens; she married Ludwig Hammerich on 02 DEC 1945; she was survived by her husband, a son named Neil, a daughter named Colleen, and a stepbrother named Guy Withrow, and a stepsister named Juanita nee Withrow Peterson. These various family relationships are supported by various U.S. census records. VIEW IMAGE
3. Juanita nee Withrow Peterson died on 23 NOV 2007; she had been born on 28 MAY 1918 to Dean Withrow and Catherine Bayer; she had been married to Arthur Peterson; she was survived by a daughter; she was preceded in death by her husband, a brother and a stepsister, both unnamed. VIEW IMAGE

Birth records can prove to be very important, because unlike death certificates, this kind of document usually lists the parents of the newborn child. An actual birth document helped to gain a firmer understanding of the relationships of the blended families that made up the “stone wall” that began this investigation. Donald Afton Clemens was born on 31 Dec 1922 as the third child of [sic]Darland Floyd Clemens and Blanche Maurine Drew. Federal and state census records of this individual show that he had older sister, Blanch Pauline Clemens and an older brother, Floyd Quentin Clemens. VIEW IMAGE

Marriage documents are also extremely valuable as the information contained therein is based upon the personal knowledge of the individuals who were married. As an example, Floyd Quentin Clemens, son of D. F. Clemens and Blanche Drew, married Roberta Ellen Bogard on 06 NOV 1939. As supported by census records, Floyd Quentin was a sibling of Blanche Pauline Clemens and Donald Afton Clemens. Another example is that for the marriage of Arthur Peterson and Juanita Withrow who were married on 18 SEP 1937; the marriage document reveals the names of the parents of both the bride and groom. VIEW IMAGE

Lastly, some postings that were found on findagrave.com also provided evidence, in part, of the tangled webs of these blended families:

1. The posting for the burial of Catherine Mary Stuppy provides no evidence of a connection to a spouse, parents, or children.
2. The posting for the burial of Dean Withrow provides no evidence of a connection to a spouse or children.
3. The posting for the burial of Darlin Floyd Clemens only provides evidence of two children, Blanche Pauline nee Clemens Hammerich and Floyd Q. Clemens. No evidence of the names of his parents or his spouses is provided.
4. The posting for the burial of Blanche Pauline nee Clemens Hammerich provides evidence of her spouse, her father, a brother, and two sons. No evidence of the name of her mother is provided.

The destruction of the stone wall that began this investigation revealed just how tangled the blended families were:

1. Darlin Floyd Clemens was married three times: (a) Blanche Margaret Drew; (b) Catherine Mary Bayer; and (c) Cora E. Warren.
2. Catherine Mary Bayer was married three times: (a) Dean Withrow; (b) Darlin Floyd Clemens; and (c) William Stuppy.
3. Dean Withrow was married two times: (a) Catharine Mary Bayer; and (b) Blanche Margaret Drew.
4. Blanche Margaret Drew was married three times: (a) Darlin Floyd Clemens; (b) Clyde L. Munson; and (c) Dean Withrow.

It seems very evident that family researchers should use the “rule of three” when attempting to document the relationships of their relatives, whether by blood or marriage. By this, I mean that all family facts should be supported by three (or more) documents. Those documents are the proof used and needed in citations for family facts.

To locate other documents to fulfill your use of the “rule of three,” the websites for ancestry.com and familysearch.org make this type of search fairly easy. The use of ancestry.com requires the payment of a hefty fee; the use of familysearch.org is free to those who have created an account with this website, i.e. no fee is required.

In order to easily locate supportive documentation for your family facts on ancestry.com, click the Search button in the top menu bar and scroll to All Collections and click to see the main search page. Fill out as many facts (about your person of interest) in the parameter field choices as you can to avoid receiving too many possible suggestions of family related records. After you click the Search button, the suggested records are usually listed in the most relevant to least relevant based upon the parameters that you filled out. Examine a suggested record by left clicking the title of the suggested topic in order to compare the “facts” in the document to what you already know about your family member; if the record supports what you already know about your family member, you can then (a) download an image of the document, if an image is available; or (b) you can create a copy of the transcript. All images or transcripts that you download should be stored in the same Family Media Folder that you use for your family research.

In order to easily locate supportive documentation for your family facts on familysearch.org, click the Search button in the top menu bar and scroll to Records and click to see the popup search window. Fill out as many facts (about your person of interest) in the parameter field choices as you can to avoid receiving too many possible suggestions of family related records. After you click the Search button, the suggested records are usually NOT listed in the most relevant to least relevant based upon the parameters that you filled out. Examine a suggested record by left clicking the title of the suggested topic in order to compare the “facts” in the document to what you already know about your family member; if the record supports what you already know about your family member, you can then (a) download an image of the document, if an image is available; or (b) you can create a copy of the transcript. All images or transcripts that you download should be stored in the same Family Media Folder that you use for your family research.

PRACTICE DOES MAKE PERFECT! So set aside some free time of your day to work on eliminating the “stone walls” in your own families’ histories.

Research suggestions completed in March 2024
James F. Keating
LSCGG Volunteer and LSCGG Website Manager