My Research Blog
Homer Ross Robertson - My Maternal Grandfather
Homer Ross Robertson was the father of my mother, Kay Elizabeth Robertson. He was married to my grandmother, Eleanor Myrtle Pierce Robertson and Kay was their only child.
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Homer Ross Robertson and Eleanor Myrtle Pierce Robertson
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Kay Elizabeth Robertson - age 8
Conflicting Birth Dates
I have a couple of different birth dates for Homer. One is 12 Oct 1900 in Gallatin, Daviess, Mo...I don't remember where I got this one. I'll have to look in my records. The other general birth year was 1904 according to the 1910 Census on which his age was put as 6. I thought the 1900 birth date was correct, but I couldn't find a record of Homer Ross Robertson in the 1900 Census, which could just mean he was born after the Census was taken, which is likely if he was really born in October of 1900.
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1910 Census Daviess County, Union Township, MO
I did find him on the 1910 Census for Daviess County, Union Township, Mo. He was living with his father 'Lish' and his mother 'Zona' and his sister 'Nita F.' The last name was spelled 'Robinson', which was an error by the scribe. Lish would have been short for Elisha, Zona was short for Arizona, Ross (middle name) was used instead of Homer, something that happened a lot with this family, and Nita F. was short for Homer's only sister Mary Lucille Venita Faye Robertson. She went by Faye when she was older.
Since I couldn't find Homer in the 1900 Census, I looked for his parents. I did find both Elisha Robertson and Zona Rogers in the Daviess County, Union Township, 1900 Missouri Census, but they were single and Zona was living with her family....Elisha was living as a 'servant' in the home of Obe Gillilan, doing the work of 'farm laborer'.
1900 Census Daviess County, Union Township, MO
You'll find Elisha Robertson right at the top with Mrs. Gillilan. Obe Gillilan is on the previous page of the census.
1900 Census Daviess County, Union Township, MO
The Jacob Rogers family is near the top, with Zona listed as a daughter.
So, Elisha and Zona weren't married in 1900 when, supposedly, Homer Ross was born. They did, however, live in the same Township. I found a marriage record showing that they were married December 6, 1902 in Gallatin, Daviess County, MO - - both of them were listed as being from Union Township, Daviess County, Missouri.
Milford was Elisha's middle name. This family switched their first and middle names around a lot, so I learned to look for them by either name. So Milford E. Robertson was the same person as Elisha Milford Robertson....sometimes also known as Lish. Zona's name was a nickname. Her real name was Arizona Elizabeth Rogers....Zona E. Rogers on the marriage certificate.
So, was Homer born in Oct. 1900 or after his parent's marriage in 1902? The 1910 Census records Homer's age at the time of the census as 6....making his birth year 1904. This makes a lot more sense to me.
If he was born in 1900, his mother, Zona, was pregnant, single and living with her family - not married to Elisha, who was single and living with and working for the Obe Gillilan family. And, even though she had to be pregnant in June when the Census was taken for her township in order to give birth to Homer in October, she didn't marry Elisha for two more years?? Why?? That doesn't make any sense at all. I'm going to try to track down more info on Homer's birth and see if I can't get some more verification for the 1904 birth date.
1920 Census Maysville, DeKalb County, MO
I found Elisha M., Zona E., Ross M., and Nita F. Robson on the 1920 Census for Maysville, DeKalb County, MO. Again, the surname was written down wrong by the scribe...Robson instead of Robertson. It would be more difficult to find them in the Census'....except 'Zona' is such an unusual name that I can usually find the family by searching for her. I'm glad they named her that! In this Census, Ross M. (Homer's) age is given as 16, which would put his birth year as 1904. That agrees with the 1920 Census. So...1904 just might be his birth year! I'll keep looking for verification. I don't know why they have his middle initial as 'M' on this census.
Update on Birth Information
I figured out where I got the birth date 12 October 1900. It was from the Social Security Death Index for Homer Robertson. His social security number was 707-07-3979. The SSDI lists his birth as 12 Oct 1900 and states that he died Mar 1962. His social security number was issued through the Railroad Board (Before 1951). I remember when my Grandfather Robertson died. I was told that he died from a heart attack (I think around my birthday) and then my grandmother Eleanor Robertson came to live with us. I was 7 and she lived with us...or with mom and dad... until she died. I grew up with Grandma Eleanor in the house. She was always doing the dishes, making Black Walnut Bread and Apple Butter, reading mysteries, and she taught me to crochet. After she died, I went to the hospital to say goodbye. Mom had her cremated.
I printed out a letter from ancestry.com to send for Homer's Application for a Social Security Card, which will have his birth date and death date and lots more info on it. I think it will say the birth date is 12 Oct 1900. So, now I'm not sure what to think about what was happening with Elisha and Zona in 1900. Did he lie on the Social Security Application? Maybe he wanted to retire early? Or is the 1900 birth day accurate? More research, I guess.
Homer's Delayed Certificate of Birth
I went through the files on my computer and found that I had already sent for Homer's birth certificate from Missouri. It was actually a delayed birth certificate....a common thing around that time. People needed a birth certificate, or proof of birth, to apply for a social security number. This delayed birth certificate gives Homer's birth date as 12 October 1900 in Gallatin, Daviess, Missouri. So, we're back to the 1900 birth date. How did he prove this?? The certificate shows what information he gave to prove his birth:
1. Employment Record Darby Corp - Kansas City, Kansas dated 1-5-44 which states his birth date as Oct. 12, 1900 in Gallatin, Mo.
2. Prudential Ins. Policy # 441 721 317 dated 4-24-1944 which states his birth date as Oct 12, 1900 in Missouri and his father's name: Elisha Robertson; his mother's name Zona Rogers.
3. Affidavit of Mother, Zona Robertson dated 10-6-53 which states his birth date as Oct 12, 1900.
The application for the delayed certificate of birth was made on 6 October 1953. The evidence for the 12 October 1900 birth date is piling up! But how to solve the mystery of his birth and what was happening with his parents in 1900??
Railroad Social Security Number
I mentioned that the SSDI stated that Homer's social security number was issued by the Railroad Board - before 1951. I did a little research into the Railroad Board social security numbers and this is what I found on a RootsWeb site: http://rwguide.rootsweb.ancestry.com/lesson10.htm
The first Social Security card was issued 1 December 1936 and on 1 January 1937, U.S. workers began acquiring "credits" toward old-age benefits. About 35 million numbers were assigned to workers who qualified at that time.
Railroad workers were enrolled in the same Social Security program, but from 1937 to 1963 they had numbers ranging between 700 and 728 as the first three digits. In 1964 their numbers began to reflect the same geographic location as other workers. Some railroad workers received Social Security benefits, but some did not. However, it is wise to check the SSDI in any case.
The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board was created in the 1930s, and has records dating back to 1937, but they exist only for those whose employers were covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. You can obtain information about deceased individuals for genealogical purposes. The records are arranged by Social Security number. If you do not know the number, provide as much identifying information as you have. Currently there is a $21 nonrefundable fee for a search in these records. Send request, along with check or money order, to:
I think I need to send for these records if they exist for Homer and see what information they may contain.
More Conflicting Ages and Birth Dates
The birth years/ages of all the members of Homer's family keep disagreeing on the different records. It's kind of driving me crazy! I'll go into that next time.
From December 1941 until August 1945, a total of 59,337 men and women contributed to the war effort by helping build 6,608 B-25 Mitchell Bombers at the North American Aviation plant in Kansas City, Kansas. The war could not have been won without the contribution of the "bomber builders".
WWII in Kansas City, Kansas
I went to bed last night and kept thinking about Homer's delayed birth certificate. One of the sources he gave for his birth date was a document from his employer in 1944 - Darby Corp. I got curious what kind of work he did, so I googled Darby Corp Kansas City Kansas 1944 and it brought me to this site:
I found out that Kansas City, Kansas was a big center for building the machines that the military needed for WWII. They had what they called THE BIG 4 companies that were all located in Kansas City, Kansas and were the centers for war manufacturing. Darby Corp was one of the BIG 4 companies. Pratt & Whitney, North American Aviation and American Royal Gliders were the other 3.
Here's why Kansas City was chosen:
Pratt & Whitney:
The War Production Board and the Navy urged Pratt &Whitney to supervise and run a facility inland from the east coast. Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City were the candidates. Kansas City was chosen because of its location and the availability of electrical power and water, and the high education level of the population.
The ground breaking was July 4, 1942 with Senator Harry Truman presiding and construction was completed over the next 9 months. Even while construction was going on, Pratt &Whitney was procuring tooling and training employees. The executives had doubts that the Missourians could produce the newest of the company engine designs, the R-2800-C. But they not only produced this engine but had it in production and delivered on time for use in the Battle of the Bulge - less than a year after ground breaking.
North American Aviation:
American Royal Gliders:
In mid-1943 the Kansas City-produced glider was sent to other glider factories as a prototype. The president, Raymond Voyes of New York, promised that Commonwealth would be manufacturing several models of light planes here in Kansas City after the war.
Rearwin Aircraft and later Commonwealth Aircraft produced 100 CG-3A gliders and 1,470 CG-4A gliders in 1942. The CG-3 was used primarily for training, and the CG-4A was a larger cargo and troop carrying glider. … The company was 2nd only to Ford in glider production.
Darby Corp:
Even though the city was 1000 miles inland, it produced ocean going vessels carrying men and machines to the "enemy's front door." In May of 1942, the Navy announced that LCTs(Landing Craft,Tanks) and LCMs (Landing Craft, Mechanized) would be built in the Darby Corporation Shipyards at Kaw Point. Darby transformed the Kaw's mouth into an amazing ship building center that could hold 8 135í LCTs and 16 LCMs in various stages of construction. These "Prairie Ships" took Allied troops to Normandy.
It appears that my grandfather, Homer, worked at Darby Corp, so he would have been building the amphibious vehicles used in WWII. I never knew this about him!! Now I know that he worked at Darby Corp. helping with the war effort, and later I know he worked at the Railroad since he had a railroad social security number. I'll have to try to find out more info about that. This is getting very interesting!
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