Wentworth-Butters Mystery

My brother, Don Wentworth, called me this afternoon for some genealogical assistance. Some people from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, had come to the genealogical library looking for their ancestors and were having no luck. This is all they knew:
- Maybelle Butters had been married to Harlan Butters, possibly in Jackson Co., Iowa.
- Maybelle later married a Mr. Wentworth.
- Maybelle lived and died in Chicago, Illinois and was buried by the Salvation Army.
- Harlan Butters was born in 1881 and died in 1951.

This sort of puzzle is just what I enjoy. So I logged into Ancestry.com and searched for Harlan Butters in Jackson Co., Iowa.
In the 1900 census, I found Harland Butters, b.Oct 1882, single, listed in Monmouth Twp. as a hired hand for Noble & Caroline Wilcox.
In the 1885 census for South Fork Twp., I found Harland R. Butters, age 3, listed with his probable parents, James & Susan Butters, his little sister, Eunice Butters, and his probable grandmother, Eunice Butters.
In the 1905 census, I found H.R., “Mabel” and Grace Butters listed under the Elwood, Brookfield Twp., Clinton Co., Iowa post office.
I searched for Maybelle Butters but found nothing. I then searched for Mabel Butters. In the 1910 census for Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I found her listed as a 25-year-old divorced lodger working as a restaurant cook.
In the 1920 census for Chicago, Illinois, “Mabelle” Butters was listed as age 33, single, a secretary, her father born in Maine, her mother in Illinois.
Then I searched for Mabel Wentworth. Bingo! Right away, I found her listed in the 1900 census for Brookfield Twp., Clinton Co., Iowa. This was the same location where she, her husband and daughter were listed five years later in the 1905 census. In the 1900 census, Mabel Wentworth, age 15, and her probable sister, Golde Wentworth, age 11, were listed in the home of their grandfather, E.D. Purdy.
I also found a Clinton Co., Iowa birth record for Mabel Elizabeth Wentworth, born on 13 Aug 1884 in Elwood, the daughter of Isaac Alfred Wentworth and Sarah Maria PURDY.
In the 1895 census, this family was listed in Sabula, Jackson Co., Iowa.
Note how I had to be flexible about spelling. Mabel instead of Maybelle. Harland instead of Harlan. People in the past were often less well-educated than we are today and often spelled only by the sound of a name. When searching, search by the way names sound, not strictly by the proper spelling, or you will overlook valuable records.
So, in the end, we learned:
- That Wentworth was actually Mabel’s maiden name.
-The names of her parents, sister and grandparents.
-The names of Harland’s parents.
-A range of dates for Harland and Mabel’s marriage.
I emailed all the information to Don who printed it out. The lady from Cedar Rapids thanked me profusely, stating that I had saved her hours of searching for the wrong names.
I love my hobby! © 2011 LuAnn Goeke