Whatever Happened to James Henry Winkler?

James "Jim" Henry Winkler abandoned his wife and young daughter in the late 19th century.

Over the years, the hunt for my third great-grandfather's final whereabouts has been thwarted by false starts and trails that have run cold leaving him shrouded in mystery.

I suspect he absconded from his family and intentionally sought anonymity. And he did a darn good job of it!

Here's what I know.

Tracing James' record trail: 1862 - 1880

Following James' record trail is a frustrating muddle - fragile clues suggest I'm on the right path, but conflicting facts surface to thumb their nose at me and confound any resolution.

A family bible lists exact birth dates for the nine children born to Samuel and Nancy Mariah (Barron) Winkler. James Henry Winkler was born September 29, 1862.

Winkler family bible - courtesy of  Rosemary Scott

In 1870, the Winkler family was enumerated in the federal census living in Prairie Township in Washington County, Arkansas. James was listed as "J.H." aged eight and born in Arkansas. His father was born in Indiana and his mother was born in Tennessee.

1870 US Federal Census, Washington Co, AR - detail of the Winkler family

Ten years later, in 1880, the Winkler family was still living in Prairie Township, but 18 year-old James was not enumerated in the household. Where did he go?

A broad search for James Winkler - aged 18 - turned up only one match.

An 18 year-old James Winkler was enumerated in the household of D.B. Tipps in Cooke County, Texas - about 300 miles southwest of the Winklers in Washington County, Arkansas.

This Texas-based James was a farm laborer. His birthplace and that of his parents was given as Tennessee (a match for his mother, per the 1870 census, but a discrepancy for himself and his father).

Although the name and age were a match, the birthplace and his current location were complicating facts.

1880 US Federal Census, Cooke Co, TX - detail of James Winkler

Marriage and separation

Three years later, on September 26, 1883, James Henry Winkler and Pauline Brickey applied for a marriage license in Newton County, Missouri. They were married the following day.

The marriage record indicated that both James and Pauline were from Dayton Township in Newton County - about 90 miles northwest of the Winklers in Arkansas.

James H Winkler and Pauline Brickey 1883 marriage record - Newton Co, MO

Nearly nine months later, on June 15, 1884, James and Pauline had a daughter, Annie Charles Winkler. Annie - my second great-grandmother - was born in Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas.

According to Annie's delayed birth certificate that was created in 1945, both parents were married at the time of the birth and were residents of Fayetteville.

Delayed birth certificate for Annie Charles Winkler

For unknown reasons, the marriage didn't last. On December 30, 1891, "Mrs. Pauline Winkler" married James Russell Lee in Fayetteville.

Had James H. Winkler died or did he and Pauline divorce?

The Archives for Washington County, Arkansas (where Annie was born and both parents were residents in 1884) had no record of a divorce. Archivist, Tony Wappel, wrote:

"I just checked our Divorce Records for that time period and find no Winklers at all. As with today, the person who filed for the divorce had to file in the county where they lived. I looked at Pauline’s marriage record and it does say Mrs Winkler. My first thought is that she was a widow and not a divorced woman. Of course, you would know better. I looked at our Personal Property Tax Records to see if they appeared in Fayetteville. No Winklers in Fayetteville in 1888. For 1890-1891, I see a W F and Sam Winkler but no Henry or no Mrs Pauline Winkler. I suppose the death or divorce happened before 1891 somewhere other than Washington County."

Furthermore, a review of the Newton County, Missouri digitized court records (where they married), turned up no evidence of a divorce between James and Pauline Winkler. If they had divorced, where would it have occurred?

Photographic evidence

In 2014, I scanned old family photographs that had been in the possession of Annie's daughter. A cabinet card depicted two women and was labeled with an intriguing piece of evidence:

"Grandma Annie Wagnon & half-sister Belle Winkler"

Annie, whose married name was Wagnon, apparently had a half-sibling and, judging by the sister's surname, the shared parent was their father James Winkler.

Who was the mother of Belle? Did Belle ever marry? I haven't located her in the records, but finding her no doubt will help solve this mystery.

I was puzzled by the appearance of a half-sibling, but I began to speculate that another relationship may have prompted the split between James and Pauline. Perhaps he even fled his marriage to be with Belle's mother.

Return to Texas

I lose James Winkler in Arkansas. But several records make me wonder if he returned to the Lone Star state.

On December 24, 1897, a James H. Winkler was appointed postmaster for Pine Valley, Walker County, Texas. The order was rescinded nearly five months later on May 14, 1898. Why did he have such a short tenure?

Appointments of US Postmasters, Walker County, Texas

On November 19, 1899, a J.H. Winkler married Cora (Shelton) Doors in Liberty County, Texas.

In the 1900 US Federal Census, the married couple were enumerated in the Emporia Log Camp in Angelina County, Texas. J.H. Winkler's occupation was given as a logger at a saw mill.

What I love most about the 1900 census is that it provided the birth month and year. J.H. Winkler was born in September 1862 - an exact match to the family bible!

The census also appeared to indicate that the marriage to Cora was his second with a small '2' written beside the 'M' denoting he was married.

His place of birth was given as Missouri, conflicting with the 1870 answer of Arkansas, but his parents matched. The father was born in Indiana and the mother was born in Tennessee.

1900 US Federal Census, Angelina Co, TX - detail of J.H. Winkler

The matching data strongly suggests that J.H. Winkler living in Angelina County, Texas was my third great-grandfather.

Unfortunately, James and Cora's marriage didn't last. On April 30, 1906, "Mrs. Cora Winkler" was united in marriage with W.T. Reed in Jefferson County, Texas.

I ordered a copy of their marriage license to see whether it indicated if Cora was divorced or widowed, but there were no clues.

Mrs. Cora Winkler marriage to W.T. Reed, Jefferson Co, TX 1906

It remains unclear whether Cora remarried as a divorcee or a widow. James slipped away once again and hasn't surfaced in any later records (yet!).

Taking stock

James' mystery remains unsolved, but the wall is crumbling.

Across three states and several decades, I've discovered two marriages and two daughters. The records may be scarce and holding tightly to James' final secrets, but my grasp is tightening and I'm certain I'm close to uncovering his final whereabouts.

Marking Forgotten Ancestors

As a family historian, it's unsettling when I discover that an ancestor's final resting place is an unmarked grave. 

A grave with no headstone can be misinterpreted as unimportant or insignificant. 

Of course, our ancestors amount to more than a tombstone. However, as a genealogist, I want that final piece of evidence to bookend their story. After all, we're in the business of remembering what was forgotten. 

From Start to Unceremonious End

My introduction to genealogy was researching my Italian roots. I knew nothing about that branch of my family tree. As an amateur with only the dimmest understanding of how to do good genealogy, I was proud of myself after piecing together their story. To celebrate my research victory and honor my ancestors, I went to pay my respects at their grave site.

I was excited when the cemetery office provided me a map and coordinates. Following the directions, I walked along a row of bronze markers until I came to an open patch of grass. 

My heart sank. The plot for my people was empty. There was no marker. Six feet below were people who had lived full lives (with an Italian accent), and the world above them knew nothing of their existence.

Unmarked graves of my Italian ancestors

Their unmarked graves struck me as disrespectful. Reassembling their story and bringing them back to life had become a passion project, but there was nothing there to affirm that research or acknowledge their existence. Nothing.

The 20th Century's Unmarked

There are many reasons why a headstone may not have been placed, including financial. Markers are not cheap. My second great-grandfather John (Flynn) O'Connor spent his final years living in a Catholic charitable home for the elderly, and was buried in a modern-day pauper's grave with no stone. 

I also understand that nothing lasts forever. Monuments may have been placed for our more distant ancestors and disappeared over the centuries. But ancestors who passed away in the 20th century with zero recognition? It doesn't feel right.

Reviewing my own family tree, I learned that at least eight of my direct ancestors were buried in unmarked graves, including Annie, Frank, John, Matilda, Samuel, and Wilburn. 

Wilburn and Annie (Winkler) Wagnon in unmarked graves on
either side of their son Wayne's marked grave

Marking Forgotten Ancestors

Fortunately, genealogists are persistent people accustomed to finding creative ways to tell their family's history. This includes marking forgotten ancestors.

Here are a couple strategies that helped bankroll markers for my ancestors.

• In the 1990's, a collection of relatives attending our annual family reunion conducted a raffle to raise money to place headstones at the graves of two of my direct ancestors. The concept was straightforward: family donated items for a raffle. The raffle's proceeds financed markers (see Hide-and-Seek: Graveyard Edition).

• I've recently employed a modern approach to pay for a new headstone for my fifth great-grandparents whose original markers - now over 170 years old - are broken in half and no longer bear inscriptions. Using the online fundraising site GoFundMe, I created a fundraising page where cousins could learn about the initiative and securely contribute financial support. The site creates a page that can be emailed or shared on social media. I posted it to a Facebook group for descendants of these grandparents with great success. 

What other approaches have you taken to commemorate unmarked ancestor burials? Have you had success with different fundraising strategies?

Salt Of The Earth People

Fifty-five years ago this month, my second great-grandfather, Wilburn Malley Wagnon, passed away at his rural Arkansas home. He was 82 years old.

By all accounts, Grandpa Wagnon - Mal or Malley, as everyone called him - was an affable guy well liked by his community.

Lived Off The Land
Born in Washington County, Arkansas on February 12, 1880 to John and Mary Jane (Calfee) Wagnon, he was raised in a farming family. In the 1900 census, John Wagnon was enumerated as a farm owner and his son Malley worked as a farm laborer.

In October 1905, Malley married Annie Charles Winkler. They raised five children, including my great-grandmother Mary Pauline, on a farm in Baldwin, Arkansas just outside Fayetteville.

I recently corresponded with a resident of Baldwin who, as a young man, knew Mal and Annie Wagnon. He recalled that, "They were country folk. They were hardworking plain country folk. They were just salt of the earth people. They lived off of what they had. He raised cattle, chicken. They had an orchard. They just lived off the land."

Annie (Winkler) and Wilburn Malley Wagnon

Hard Working Plain Country Folk
The Baldwin resident's recollections painted a picture that brought them to life and made them seem more real.

"Annie had homemade dresses...flour sack dresses [with] lace up boots. She had a homemade bonnet that she wore [or] gray hair pulled up into a pony tail most of the time."

"She walked all over these hillsides and sold Grit weekly newspapers (delivered on Sunday mornings). She had a route that she run all over the hillside. It cost a nickel [and] out of that nickel she made two cents."

Malley was a character who "done a little bit of everything. Mr. Malley stuttered. He'd get ahead of himself a bit. He'd get hung up on words."

"He nipped the bottle a little bit. One of my other uncles was a bootlegger and he'd supply Malley with the White Lightning. Boy, Annie hated that! Annie was a front row Christian Church [attendee]. She is on the original roster of the Baldwin Christian Church when it was organized in 1908. When Malley would get to nippin and come home that wouldn't sit well with her."

They Canceled Each Other Out
My grandmother Marilyn recalled visiting Malley and Annie shortly after marrying their grandson Charles. She remembered that, "They lived out in this little - I think it was a log house with a tin roof. At least it was a wooden house with a tin roof, and it had an upstairs. She had it real organized. It was nice, but it was very primitive."

Annie (Winkler) and Wilburn Malley Wagnon pictured with daughter Mary Pauline
(left) and her children, including my grandfather Charles behind Annie and Malley.

She added, "I ate my first mock apple pie there. Mock apple pie is made using soda crackers and some conglomeration for filling and it tastes just like apple pie. That was Grandma Wagnon's recipe."

Grandma Wagnon's Mock Apple Pie recipe from Marilyn's
cookbook collection (believed to be written by Annie).

Marilyn reminisced about Annie's earthy character, remembering that, "She was very friendly. All of her grandkids loved her. Grandma [Annie] smoked and she rolled her own. She canned about everything they ate. Even meat."

In subsequent visits, Marilyn made a point to bring a souvenir. "[Annie] collected little bitty miniature pitchers. You know, like water pitchers only itty bitty things, so the kids and I would always try to take her a pitcher."

Marilyn also told how Malley and Annie took their civic duties seriously: "They would walk to town to vote on election day and cancel each other out. One would vote Republican and one would vote Democrat and I don't recall which was which, but they walked into Fayetteville to vote and canceled each other out. They could have stayed home."

A Fitting Tribute
When the town of Baldwin was paving old dirt paths, they extended the road up to the Wagnon's home. The road was named in Malley's honor, which seems like a fitting tribute for a hardworking plain country man. I suspect he'd be pleased with that honor.

Genealogy Goals for 2015

The beginning of the year has been a whirlwind, and I'm only now finding time to blog.

With 2015 in full swing, I took time to review my genealogy research goals for 2014. Happily, I made great strides towards many of them. Unsurprisingly, there's a lot more work to do. Some brick walls remained standing and some answers brought new questions. Mindful of limited time and resources, I'm setting my sights on the following areas for 2015:

General Genealogy Goals

• Continue to collect and scan old family photos from relatives near and far.
• Grow the pool of family who have DNA tested.
• Build genealogy technical skills and networks by attending conferences like Roots Tech + FGS and the Global Family Reunion in New York.
• Begin writing narrative biographies for my direct ancestors.

Brick Walls

• Identify Mary Jane (Andrus) Bair's biological mother. You may recall that "Kindly Relatives" built a brick wall.
• Identify George Henry (Jucket) Hawks' biological parents. During a family history road trip in October 2014, I had an opportunity to pay my respects at his grave in Arkansas.
• Identify the parents of Thomas K. Stevens and Susan (Day) Stevens.
• Determine where and when Burr Zelah Dornon died and was buried.
• Having identified her mother in 2014, determine the whereabouts of Annie (Winkler) Wagnon's father.
• Identify the parents of Giuseppe and Maria Rosa (La Rocca) Ruota.

Paternal Lineage

I've saved the most pressing goal for last. In December 2014, DNA test results confirmed a rumored non-paternal event on my direct paternal line and provided evidence of a link to a different family surname than what was previously known. 

While serving up quite a shock, I'm eager to learn as much as I can about this family and find additional evidence - both paper trail and genetic - to help further corroborate the link.

Stay tuned for more on this recent development. 2015 is shaping up to be a year for unveiling family history truths. 

Family History on the Road - Day Five & Homeward Bound

After an evening in Muskogee catching up with family, we woke early on day five and headed to Greenhill Cemetery.

My maternal grandfather is buried on the grounds, along with his parents and paternal grandparents. These older Upton family graves are below a cluster of evergreen trees, casting shadows on the monuments below.

This was my first visit to the cemetery since my grandfather passed away in 1993. Although they had divorced in 1959, it felt important and appropriate that we visited his grave on the same trip we buried my grandmother. It felt as though there was a certain element of closure.

From Muskogee, we drove to Tulsa to spend the evening with my grandfather's youngest sister. She generously hosted us in her home, and, to my great delight, pulled out family photos that had been in the collection of my great-grandmother Mary Pauline (Wagnon) Upton. Fortunately, I was prepared for such a situation. Like any genealogist worth his salt, I had brought my scanner along and was able to make digital copies of dozens of images.

Many of the pictures were old black and white cabinet cards. Some were labeled and featured my 2nd great-grandmother Annie Charles (Winkler) Wagnon. Sadly, many of the pictures, including a small handful of tintypes, were not labeled. I've added these photos to the collection of Unknowns with the hope that someone will chance upon a picture and be able to help identify the subject.

Among the old family photographs, was a small bible that belonged to Annie Wagnon. It was a copy of the New Testament, small enough to fit in the palm of my hand and bound in faded red fabric. The bible was wrapped in an old hankie that belonged to Annie. Inside, on several blank pages, she had inscribed the birth dates for her children, herself and her husband Wilburn Wagnon.

The following morning, it was back to Kansas and then on to Colorado. In total, we traveled nearly 2,200 miles, ventured into five states, and paid our respects at the graves of 36 direct ancestors. Throughout the journey, we celebrated the life of my maternal grandmother. She revered her family, and she instilled that love and respect in me. In a way, this blog is a direct result of her passion.

Family History on the Road - Day Four

Yesterday's rainstorms subsided and gave way to a beautiful morning. We were ambitious for day four of our family history journey with lots of ground to cover on the agenda.

Our first stop was Hester Cemetery near Baldwin, Arkansas on the outskirts of Fayetteville. There's a small sign alongside a two-lane county highway pointing down a gravel road. Keep your eyes peeled, or you'll miss it!

Wheel ruts have been carved deep into the dirt path. The tires of my rental car sank into these canyons while the molded lump of earth between the ruts dragged along the underneath of the car's frame. I worried that we would tear loose the vehicle's undercarriage. (Take note, family history road warriors, rent an SUV!) After a short distance, the road opened up into a small grassy parking lot in front of a gated cemetery that's well maintained.

Hester cemetery is where my 2nd great-grandparents Wilburn Malley and Annie Charles (Winkler) Wagnon are buried. The Wagnons were dealt a traumatic blow when they lost their 15-year-old son Wayne in 1937. According to a newspaper account, Wayne was run over by a "loaded truck" at his parents' home when he tried to board it. "He lost his footing and fell under the machine, which was loaded with rock, with a wheel passing over his body."

A homemade stone marker sits on his grave with his name scrawled into the monument's skyward-facing surface. Later in the road trip, an aunt shared with me a haunting photo of Annie visiting the grave of her son, laying flowers at the base of his headstone. Clearly, the heartache and loss was something she carried with her the rest of her life.

Today, the stone's inscription is difficult to read. On either side of Wayne's grave are two small square-sized numeric markers embedded in the grass. To the left of Wayne is a stone marked 47 and to the right is one marked 49. These are the graves of Annie and Wilburn. Annie is buried in plot 47 and Wilburn is buried in plot 49.

Our next scheduled stop was Neal Cemetery in Madison County, Arkansas. It's an old cemetery with the last burial more than 70 years ago. My 4th great-grandmother Elizabeth (Powell) Reeves was buried here in 1884. She was the wife of Jeremiah Turner Reeves, the War of 1812 ancestor whose grave we visited on day three. For unknown reasons they were buried in different cemeteries.

Following directions from FindAGrave and ArkansasGraveStones.org, we searched for an unnamed dirt drive that turned off Highway 74. There were several. The GPS kept conking out as the cell signal was lost deep in the Arkansas hills. One of the drives was sealed with a gate. Another shot upward at an insurmountable incline for the rental car. A third drive led to a private residence with no cemetery in sight.

Back on Highway 74, I pulled off the pavement alongside a lush green pasture populated with a dozen calves. I stepped out of the car to see if I could catch a cell signal. The cows paused their grazing and cocked their heads left and then right, curiously eyeing me as I walked with my iPhone futilely trying to reactivate my GPS. Although we knew we were close, we were at a loss and our day didn't have time enough to accommodate continued search efforts. We decided that Great-Grandma Reeves would be the reason we would come back. And hopefully with better instructions!

We left the hills behind us, and pulled into Strain Cemetery - the final resting place for my 3rd great-grandparents John and Mary Jane (Calfee) Wagnon (parents of the above-mentioned Wilburn). When Mary Jane pre-deceased John in 1914, he erected for her a modest-sized monument. Although there's no inscription on the stone or separate marker for John, his 1923 death certificate confirms that he was also buried in Strain. I believe he's buried beside his wife.

Headstone for Mary Jane (Calfee) Wagnon

The journey continued to Baptist Ford Cemetery in Greenland, Arkansas where my 3rd great-grandparents John Wesley and Martha (Bowen) Upton are buried. During the Civil War, John Upton served with Union forces, and readers of this blog will recall that I recently learned from his pension file that he was inoculated with "poison vaccine."

Upton Burial

It was difficult to locate their marker because the inscription was very faint. We discovered that someone had taken an abrasive tool to the surface of the stone to remove the obstructing moss. In the course of their efforts, they inadvertently scraped away portions of the inscription. I'm sure they meant well, but it's disheartening to see irreparable damage to stonework that's over a century old.

I couldn't travel all of this way and not make the extra 60 miles south to Fort Smith National Historic Site. It was at Fort Smith that John W. Upton enlisted with the Union army on October 1, 1863 - more than 150 years ago. Although the soldiers' barracks from the Civil War era no longer exist, I wanted to set foot on the ground where John enlisted and where he received his tainted vaccination. It was a tremendous experience to wander an American historic site with an articulated link to my family's own history.

J.W. Upton's Enlistment and Fort Smith grounds

Closing the day, we drove across the Arkansas River into Oklahoma - our road trip's fifth state. We spent the evening in Muskogee reconnecting with family that we hadn't seen in 21 years.

Day Four Recap

Miles Traveled: 180

Direct Ancestor Graves Visited: 6

Walloping the Brickey Brick Wall

Last month I wrote about one of my genealogical brick walls. What happened to my 2nd great-grandmother's parents? If you haven't already, take a moment to catch up on the Brickey Brick Wall.

After that blog post, I decided to investigate my theory that Pauline Lee - who died in 1899 and was mother to Elmer Lee - was born Pauline Brickey, went on to marry James Winkler, and was mother to my 2nd great-grandmother Annie Winkler.

Since Annie first appears in the 1900 US Federal Census living in Fayetteville, Arkansas (and that was also where "Mrs. Pauline Winkler" married J.R. Lee), I wrote to the Fayetteville Public Library's Grace Keith Genealogical Collection for help.

Unfortunately, we struck out on all fronts. They were unable to locate an obituary for Pauline Lee, and there was no record of a divorce between James and Pauline Winkler.

I next turned to Elmer Lee. I ordered his death certificate in the hope that it would reveal his mother's maiden name as Brickey. The record came quickly. Unfortunately, his mother's maiden name was given as "Pauline Winkler".

Perhaps, though, the informant was confused and gave Pauline's first married name?

I decided to pursue a document that Elmer would have created during his lifetime with the hope for greater accuracy (and, let's face it, the answer I wanted). I ordered his application for a Social Security Number.

Today's mail finally brought the long-awaited record and answer. I was excited to see that Elmer listed his mother's full maiden name as "Pauline Brickie". That's the link! That's the connection that I was after. Pauline Lee, who died in 1899, was in fact Pauline Brickey.

Not only have I uncovered that my 3rd great-grandmother went on to remarry, I've also discovered that Annie had a half-brother Elmer. Furthermore, Pauline's death in 1899 explains why Annie was living with an aunt in the 1900 census.

But I still have many questions. Did Pauline and James Winkler officially divorce? If yes, where's that record? And what happened to Annie's father James Winkler? The detective work continues.

Brickey Brick Wall

I have several brick walls in my tree that are tantalizingly close to revealing their secrets. This low hanging fruit - just out of reach - includes the identity of Mary Jane's birth mother, and the name of Thomas Stevens' "aged mother".

Add to these my Brickey brick wall.

Annie Charles Winkler - my 2nd great-grandmother - was born in June 1884 in Washington County, Arkansas. According to her obituary, she was the "daughter of Henry and Pauline Brickey Winkler". Both of her parents disappeared from her life, which has created considerable trouble in confirming their identities and tracking their paths after her birth.

I found a September 1883 marriage record for James H. Winkler (spelled Winkley) and Miss Paulina Brickey in Newton County, Missouri. This is the only record I've uncovered that links these two individuals in life.

Family stories suggest that James Henry Winkler (Jim) left Pauline to raise Annie alone. For whatever reasons, Pauline didn't take up the mantel. Annie is first documented in the 1900 US Federal Census living in Prairie Township, Washington County, Arkansas with an aunt - Matilda Wilson. Her parents are not in the household. Have they deserted her? Are they even alive? What I wouldn't give for the 1890 census!

I don't yet know Matilda Wilson's maiden name. Given her age, 73 years, it's most likely that she's an aunt to either James or Pauline. A son of Matilda's is living in the household. His surname is Phelan.

To advance my research, I next returned to Newton County, Missouri (where James H. Winkler and Pauline Brickey were married) to see if I could locate the Brickey or Winkler families.

In the 1880 census, there were no Winklers in Newton County. However, there was a widowed Elizabeth Brickey living with several children. None of them were named Pauline. I traced Elizabeth back to 1870 when she's living with Nelson A. Brickey (presumably her husband). There is a daughter in the household named Mary S. P. Brickey. In the 1860 census the name is spelled out as Samantha P. Brickey. It's the only female child with a "P" in the name. Is this Pauline?

I expanded my search to Washington County, Arkansas where Annie was born. The broadened search turned up a December 30, 1891 marriage record between J.R. Lee and "Mrs. Pauline Winkler". The Mrs. instead of Miss suggests to me that she was previously married.

Combined searches of Ancestry.com public family trees (gasp!) and FindAGrave.com pointed me to James Russell Lee who was married several times, including to Mrs. Pauline Winkler. Pauline Lee passes away in 1899 and is buried in Mars Hill Cemetery in Barry County, Missouri. I hypothesize that this is Pauline (Brickey) Winkler. If that's the case, Pauline's 1899 death would explain why Annie was living with an aunt in the 1900 census.

My search also indicated that J.R. and Pauline had a son Elmer F. Lee who was born in 1894 and passed away in 1966. An online family tree gives Elmer's mother's name as "Poleen Bricklin". Unfortunately, the connection is unsourced. However, I wonder if the name comes from Elmer's death certificate? Perhaps an informant was trying to recall his mother's maiden name and confused Pauline Brickey?

I'm hoping that an 1899 obituary or death notice was published in the local paper and can help source Mrs. Pauline Lee's origins. A copy of Elmer's death record or SSN application with his mother's maiden name could also help to substantiate my theory. Frankly, a divorce record between Pauline and James Henry would be handy, too!

Perhaps I'm close to smashing through the Brickey brick wall. Now where in tarnation is James Henry Winkler?