The deadline for submitting your family information and pictures has passed.

This DOESN'T mean you can't still submit these items, it means that the research phase is complete... the collection of information on the ancestors of Myrtle and James is complete. From here on the process of creating the first draft begins, which will be followed by the editing and creation of the final draft. As the collected research and information is organized and the rough draft is completed late arriving information will be harder to squeeze into the book. What it means is from here until the book is published you can't afford to wait any longer because the Montgomery-Williams Family history book is going to be bigger than I imagined.

I've collect a LOT OF INFORMATION... back to the location of your ancestors as freed slaves after the Civil War, back to some information and connections to before the civil war, I've found connections to where your ancestors lived during and before the civil war, possible burial locations, and pre-civil war history of their owners dating back to the early 1800s. The locations and travels of these slave owners reflect the location and travel of your ancestors.

153 ancestors and relatives of James (not including descendants), 138 ancestors and relatives of Myrtle (not including descendants), 1 DUI involving a mule wagon and a bowl of soup, two murders (by the slave owners), a prominent minister, a prominent chef, pictures of where the families lived back to pre-civil war days, copies of marriage license, death and birth certificates, census records... and more.

Somewhere between this road, “Elias Davison Way” and the Monastery(below) lived Edmund L. Davison, and the family of James Pope and Lucinda Davidson. James and Lucinda where the great-grandparents of James F. Williams. Edmund was Lucinda’s slave owner until after the Civil War (probably Kames’ too).
Elias was Edmunds father.

Happy Birthday Dee Ele.

Dee Elle is the granddaughter of James & Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams,

and daughter of Carl & Terry.

Sisters: Mildred and Dorothy Cabell.

On the 1940 census Mildred Cabell, age 21, is living with her younger sister Dorothy (Cabell) Pope, age 17, at 416 E. 18th Street. Both have been orphaned since the death of their father in 1935. They live about a half mile from their older sister, Hazel (Cabell) Caston (1852 Peck Street). Mildred had only worked ten weeks in the previous year, earning only $50 in 1939, Hazel had worked 30 weeks, earning $150 dollars for the year. Dorothy was unemployed.

Hazel and Dorothy’s husbands are missing from the household on the census. I have no idea at this point if they are separated, deceased, or just not recorded.

Mildred and Dorothy’s situation look precarious in 1940. What remains of their family is dispersed across Indianapolis. Their elderly step-mother is raising their youngest sister and we know little of their situation.

Mildred and Dorothy will persevere.

Mildred will marry Monroe T. Grady the next year. Monroe is the son of a tenant farmer from southern Indiana who makes his way to Indianapolis between 1930 and 1940. By 1943 they have obtained an apartment in Lockfield Garden Apartments (Bldg. 649, Apartment 380) near her first cousin Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams who is also living in Lockfield Gardens. Monroe is a driver for a surgical supply company, and he and Mildred have started a business, a record store on Indiana Avenue: Lockfield Record Shop, also known as Grady's Record Center.

We don’t know what became of the suspicious marriage of Dorothy to Orville (Arville) Pope, but she eventually marries Leslie Radford, together they will start  "Telecom Inc. of Indiana". When she died in 1980 they were still co-owners of the company.

We don’t know if it was the fortune of marriage or the example of perseverance of their father, Henry Cabell, which was the basis for their progress.    

(Picture: Indianapolis Recorder, October 16, 1954)

 

 

 

 

(Obit: Indianapolis Recorder, January 12, 1980)

 

 

 

 

 

Mildred (Cabell) Grady:1917-1994
Washington Park North Cemetery, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, Plot: St Luke: Maintained by: William Taber, Record added: Nov 25, 2013. Find A Grave Memorial# 120801160

for more on the Cabell family see: Tuberculosis hits the Montgomery family:

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Who’s who in this article.

• Henry Cabell was Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams’ uncle. His wife Lelia Montgomery was the daughter of Sarah E. (Miller) and Logan Russell Montgomery.
• Dorothy, Mildred, and Hazel were Myrtle Montgomery’s first cousins.
• Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams and James Francis Williams are the focal point of the Montgomery-Williams Project.

Cemetery Search, Sunday: March 19, 2017

If any one is interested, weather permitting, I am going to be visiting 4 cemeteries on Sunday looking for family tombstone/gravesites to photograph and record for the family history book. I haven’t set a start and end time… I’ll let anyone whose interested decide what time, just contact me and tell me what time works for you. You don’t have to visit every cemetery, you can leave anytime. Pick one or more cemetery. This will involve walking, but at your pace.

Here are the cemeteries I will be visiting and some of the specific graves we will be looking for:

New Crown Hill Cemetery  (south eastside, near Bethel Park)

• Donovan Williams Hawthorne
  24 Jan 1992 -/- 03 Oct 1992
  New Crown Hill Cemetery
• Myrtle Ethel Genevieve Montgomery
  18 Mar 1915 -/- 26 Dec 1963
  New Crown Hill Cemetery. Section 20, Row 7, Grave 58
• Viola Gertrude Bell
  18 Aug 1890 -/-19 Feb 1964
  New Crown Hill Cemetery. Section 20, Row 11, Grave 64
• James Francis Williams
  27 Sep 1914 -/-27 Oct 1999
  New Crown Hill Cemetery. Section 41, Row 3, Grave 13

Floral Park:   (west side)

• Nannie Belle Brown
  1887 -/- 29 Oct 1958
  Floral Park Cemetery. Section H, Lot 475, Grave
• Logan Russell Montgomery
  03 Mar 1853 -/- 13 Sep 1931
  Floral Park Cemetery. Section K-4, Lot 15, Grave 47
• Joseph Frank Montgomery
  01 Jan 1882 -/- 07 Sep 1943
  Floral Park Cemetery. Section K-7, Lot 7, Grave 24
• Ethel Cabel
  20 Jun 1901 -/- 10 Jun 1921
  Floral Park Cemetery
• Lelia Montgomery
  Abt. 1879 -/- 26 Mar 1930
  Floral Park Cemetery
• Harold Montgomery
  7-4-1900 –/- 1-31-1926
  Floral Park Cemetery

Washington Park North:   (northwest side, Kessler Blvd.)

• Donald Robert Montgomery
  24 May 1933 -/- 24 Mar 2000
  Washington Park North Cemetery. Section: Garden of St. Mark Cemetery:
• Pauline Frances Montgomery
  19 Feb 1916 -/- 25 Apr 1993
  Washington Park North Cemetery: Section: Garden of St. Mark ???

Tuberculosis hits the Montgomery family:

The early 1900's saw many epidemic level health problems emerge, most of which impacted the African-American communities greatly, particularly urbanized African-American communities. Logan and Sarah's family were no different. Two of their children Harold & Lelia, as well as two, if not four, of Lelia’s children died from the terrible disease.

"…By 1918, medical and public health reports had documented that African Americans suffered higher morbidity and mortality rates than white people for several diseases. The Atlanta Board of Health, for example, reported in 1900 that the black death rate exceeded that of the white death rate by 69%. In an analysis of the 1900 census, W.E.B. Du Bois, the influential sociologist and civil rights activist, found that African American death rates were two to three times higher than for white people for several diseases including tuberculosis, pneumonia, and diarrheal disease."
           From <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2862340/>

Pulmonary Tuberculosis: The bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes TB, a contagious, airborne infection that destroys body tissue, when M. tuberculosis primarily attacks the lungs. However, it can spread from there to other organs. TB was not curable by medication for decades to come. The only known treatment was migration to more 'rural' climates, and this treatment wasn't always effective.

Harold Montgomery died in the Sunnyside Sanitarium on the northwest outskirts of Indianapolis in the Marion County town of Oaklandon. He had suffered from TB for about 10 years and died January 31, 1926 at the age of 26. He was single and to our knowledge had no children. He was buried in Floral Park. Lelia, Ethel, and Robert, died from TB at their home on the west-side of Marion County in the little town of Bridgeport.

Sunnyside Sanitarium (circa 1994) 6201 Sunnyside Road.

Lelia Montgomery was born about 1879 in Columbia, Adair, Kentucky, probably in the White Oak sub-division. She married Henry Cabell about 1900 in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana. He was born in Henderson County, Kentucky.

Henry Cabell and Lelia Montgomery had the following children:

1. ETHEL CABEL was born on 20 Jun 1901 in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. She died on 10 Jun 1921 in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, from Bronchial Catarrh Phthisis (TB). Buried: Floral Park Cemetery
2. EARL CABEL was born about 1903 in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana.
3. ROBERT CABEL was born on 18 Sep 1906 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He died on 16 Nov 1926 in Indianapolis, Indiana, from Pulmonary Tuberculosis, tuberculosis of the Bowels. Bridgeport RR#2, Indianapolis. Unmarried and buried in Floral Park.
4. Unknown child: born before 1909 and died after September of 1909, but before the 1910 census.
5. HAZEL CABEL was born on 11 Sep 1909 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
6. ALONZO CABELL was born about 1916 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
7. MILDRED CABELL was born about 1918 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
8. DOROTHY CABELL was born about 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
9. VIRGINIA ADELAIDE CABELL was born on 25 Oct 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
10. Unknown Child: both unknown children are based on the Birth Certificates of Hazel and Virginia Adelaide Cabell.

Family Timeline:

• The 1909 Birth certificate of Hazel says she is the 5th born and that all are still living.
• 1910 census living with Lelia(35) & Henry(38) are Russell(60) & Sarah(58) Montgomery, and sons Elmer(14) and Harold(12), and 4 of Lelia's children: Ethel(8), Earl(7), Robert(3), Hazel(1). Living on 940 Fayette Street (was also there in 1901).
• 1920 Census living at 1339 Pershing Ave with Lelia(46) & Henry(38) are Sarah(57), Elmer(24), and Harold(19), and 6 of Lelia's children: Ethel (18), Earl (17), Robert (12), Hazel (10), Alonzo (4), Mildred (2).
• The 1923 Birth Certificate of Virginia Adelaide says: she was born at 3am when the family was living in the small Marion County town of Bridgeport. (R.R.A. Box 25). , father is a cook, The BC says Lelia has had 10 children, 7 still living. Dead: Ethel (1921), Robert (1926), and one unknown child born before Hazel in 1909 and died between Hazel's birth and the 1910 census.
• Lelia died 3-26-1930 from Pulmonary Tuberculosis(TB), she had been diagnosed 9 months earlier? She lived on the west side in Bridgeport, Marion County. Her husband Henry was the informant on the DC. She was buried in Floral Park.
• 1930 Census Henry (52) widower, living on Hardin Road, RR, no street numbers. Lelia's children still living with Henry: Alonzo (14), Mildred (12) , Dorothy (8), Virginia Adelaide (6). Of the 13 houses on this section of Hardin Road two are white families; the Redmond family and the Philipps family. The other 11 families are all African-American families.
• Henry Cabell died after 1930. (check Floral Park for his grave)

We don't know what became of Henry, Alonzo, Mildred, Dorothy, or Virginia Adelaide after the 1930 Census.

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Who’s who in this article.

• Lelia (Montgomery) Cabell and Harold Montgomery were aunt and uncle to Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams. They were two of Sarah E. (Miller) and Logan Russell Montgomery’s children.
• Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams and James Francis Williams are the focal point of the Montgomery-Williams Project.

Walking Among The Stones:

Went looking for some tombstones today. Found the map location for the grave-sites of Nannie (Brown) & Joseph Frank Montgomery and Franks father, Logan Russell Montgomery; also Donald Montgomery. According to cemetery officials all are in unmarked graves. When weather permits I will do an on site search to be sure.

The Montgomerys are in Floral Park cemetery on the west side of Indianapolis.

Donald’s grave is in the Washington Park Cemetery on Kesslar Avenue on the northwest side of town. I went there looking for his mother’s grave, Pauline (Aunt Pauline) Montgomery, but according to the cemetery records she is not there. On one census record her and Donald are shown as Pauline and Donald ‘Payne’? So we looked for her as Pauline Payne, but couldn’t find her. This unexplained name problem has previously prevented me from finding anything about Donald, but the cemetery had some new information that allowed me to find additional information about him: date of death, wife’s name and father’s name. His father was Oscar Johnson so I returned to the cemetery and tried looking for her as Pauline Johnson, but still no luck. I have since been told that Uncle Press’s last name was either Miller or Bellamy so I will give that one more shot.

Did Aunt Pauline ever marry or take someone else's name? Any memories of Donald and/or Pauline would be helpful.

I also returned to New Crown Cemetery. As I was getting my cemetery notes together to look for the Montgomerys and Pauline I realized that I had overlooked James Francis William's mother Viola (Bell) Williams-Langford when I visited New Crown Cemetery looking for James & Myrtle’s gravesite.  I found her about 40 feet from Jame's wife Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams, picture below.

Hattie Pope and the Reverend Sydney M. Puryear:

Sidney M Puryear was born a slave in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He and his sibling’s, probably along with their unidentified parents, migrated to Indianapolis sometime before 1879.

Living near the Blackford Street A.M.E. Zion Church on the corner of Blackford & North streets Sidney married Hattie Pope, the daughter of the church’s janitor James Pope, on Christmas Day of 1879. Also a former slave, James Pope had also moved his family from Kentucky to Indianapolis in the late 1870’s.

We believe that Hattie and her mother (Lucinda) attended the Blackford Street A.M.E. Zion Church on the corner of Blackford & North streets. 

Following their marriage Hattie and Sidney lived with her parents at 358 Blackford Street. Over the years while working as a laborer, packer, and ‘expressman’ Sidney also became a church pastor. They had two daughters: Flossie and Mary.

Sidney’s entry in the 1884 Polk City Directory

We know that for at least four years Sydney was a Pastor at Penick Chapel Church:

Penick Chapel, AME Zion Church at the corner of Orange and Earhart. This little church was built/founded in 1889. It has been rebuilt twice since then (1915 & 1958). Lucinda Pope attended this church in 1905 and her son-in-law was the Pastor at the time, Sydney M. Puryear. Lucinda, Sydney and her daughter Hattie lived a few blocks away on Vandemen. The Blackford Stree tA.M.E. Zion Church is no longer standing.

Sidney was also a pastor at:

• Eddy Street Mission A.M.E. Church
  Eddy St, near Garden Street.
  Services 10:30 a. m. and 7:30 p. m.;
  Sunday School 2:30 p. m.
  Rev. Sidney W. Puryer, pastor.

We don’t know when Hattie and Lucinda passed. Hattie’s father James Pope died in 1901. Sydney died in Chicago on 12-30-1936, listed on his Death Certificate as an AME Zion Church Minister. The abstract of his death certificate says that his wife was Mary, but we believe this is probably his daughter Mary. When indexing records transcribers often confused or assumed informants were spouses. We won’t know until we get a copy of the death certificate itself. It always possible that Hattie was already deceased and Sidney remarried.

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Who is who in the above article:

• James & Lucinda Pope are the Great-Grandparents of James Francis Williams.
• Hattie (Pope) Puryear is the daughter of James & Lucinda. She is also the Grand Aunt of James Francis Williams.
• Reverend Sidney M. Puryear is also the Grand Uncle of James Francis Williams.

Who is who below:

• The siblings of Sidney M. Puryear. They are no relations to the descendants of Myrtle Montgomery and James Williams the focal point of the Montgomery Williams Project. Their inclusion is just FYI.

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Sydney had at least three siblings: a sister Maggie, a brother Jerimiah Isaac Ruffin Puryear, and another brother John A. Puryear. John and Sidney were half brothers.

• Jerimiah Isaac Ruffin Puryear: He died before 1892 leaving a widow, Margaret A. Puryear (maiden name unknown).  From 1892 to 1901 we know she was employed as a janitor at Public Schools #23, #18, and # 19. She lived at seven different address from 1892 to 1913. We loose track of her after 1913 until she shows up on the 1930 census where her and her brother-in-law John A. Puryear are living with her daughter Laura and husband, Holman P. Bennett.       
• Maggie is mentioned in his will and probate papers.
• John A. Puryear: We now from John’s Last Will and Testament (below) and other records that he was very successful. From his will we can also deduce that he saw his half-brother the Minister as less than successful.
  From his Will we know that John owned at least 5 properties and bequeathed $700, a large amount in 1930 7 different people. John was an ‘expressman’ for B&O Express (possibly Baltimore & Ohio RR) before forming hi own freight and shipping Company: Harris & Puryear, then Puryear & Porter.
  Puryear & Porter (John A. Puryear, Jacob M. Porter), transfer and storage 105 W. Ohio, Tels New 561, Central Main 2405.

The newspaper article below originally set us on a quest to discover more about Hattie Pope Puryear, wife of the Sydney Puryear.

While we found out some about Hattie through what we found out about Sidney, but the bulk of what we found pertained to Sidney’s siblings. We present it here as an example of what can be obtained from little clues and mysteries.

The article:

PROBATE CAUSE
In The Court Marion County, Indiana
Estate Docket 88 Page 30234
Daniel W. Jones
Executor Of Estate Of John A. Puryear, Deceased, Laura Bennett, et. al.
To Laura Bennett and Holman P. Bennett her husband, Maggie Puryear Kimbro, nee Puryear, and Edward Kimbro, her husband, Sidney M. Puryear and Clara Ellison.
You severalty hereby notified that the above named petitioner as Executor of the estate of the aforesaid, has filed in the Probate Court of Marion County, Indiana, a petition, making you defendants thereto, and praying therein for an order and decree of said court authorizing the sale of certain real estate belonging to the estate of said decedent, and in said petition described to make assets for the payment of debts and liabilities of said estate; and has also filed an affidavit averring that you and each of you are non-residents of the State of Indiana, or that your residence is unknown and that you are necessary parties to said proceedings, and that said petition so filed, and which is now pending, is set for hearing in said Probate Court at the court house in Indianapolis, Indiana, on the 6th day of September 1932.

Witness the Clerk and Seal of said court, this 2nd day of July 1932
GLENN B. RALSTON. Clerk of the Probate Court of Marion County
R. L. Bailey. Atty. 7-9-32

The Indianapolis News: July 30, 1932 issue.

The Probate Cause was my first encounter with probate in Indiana and in the 1900s. Everything before this was research from the 1800s and earlier. For this reason I sought out the opinion of a lawyer on the legal interpretation of some key words. Since lawyers don’t come cheap I sought out a cousin (1st cousin, once removed) for an opinion. Close enough to get free information without obligation. A big thanks to Rex for taking the time to weigh in on the subject.

Follow that conversation for an interesting break down of the article visiting the link below for a correspondence thread on the interpretation of the article:

http://www.glennlittrell.org/2017/01/nee-nee-nee-horse-is-horse-of-course.html

1887 Address of Logan Russell Montgomery:

Update: The graphic below was misdated. It  from the 1897 Polk Directory, but at the time of this article’s original posting 1897 was still the earliest date establishing the presence of Logan Russell Montgomery and family in Indianapolis. But we have now found proof re-establishing the Montgomery family’s arrival in 1887. The 1887 PCD does list Russell Logan Montgomery and his son Russell Montgomery. Both appear living at 373 North West Street. Russell is employed as a laborer working at Earnshaw & Taylor. Earnshaw & Taylor was a lumber company specializing in Coil Elm Hoop Works (the making of ‘hoops’ needed in the making of barrels & cask).

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1887 Indianapolis address of the former slave, and grandfather of Myrtle Montgomery Williams.

The 1887 Polk City Directory list "Montgomery Russell L," as living at 178 Agnes Street in Indianapolis. It indicates that he is a 'laborer' at the time. (upper red arrow) The Polk directories are helpful in verifying some facts but limited in many regards. They are not reliable as stand alone sources for verifying identities. This record does establish the earliest known address and possible record of the arrival (latest date of...) of Russell outside of marriage and birth records.

Of the Montgomery's in this listing Wm. (William) C. Montgomery interest me because we know that Russell had an older brother named William, but we don't know what happened to him. Did he stay in Kentucky? Or migrate with Russell and possibly other siblings and neighbors? We can assume that this William is African-American (see below) because he is living in the segregated portion of Indianapolis, 476 west North Street, and the distance between his address and Russell's is such that would make it worthwhile to look deeper at the possibilities.

Housing in Indianapolis was segregated by race in the 1880s. In some cases it was also segregated by nationality, Slovenians, and religion, Jewish. This segregation was dictated by social stigma and taboos as well as ordinances and law. It could also be dictated by group identity and safety needs. While the identity of neighborhoods might not have been forced by explicit laws it was seldom totally voluntary.

The address of Russell is within the boundaries of the African-American neighborhood. There may have been exception to the segregation, but they would be so rare that an assumption of race would be reasonable as well as probable. We can even consider that the assumption that the race of this Russell is African-American is more probable than the assumption that he is 'our Logan Russell Montgomery. There could always be two Logan Russell Montgomery's.

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Who is who in this article:

• Logan Russell Montgomery is a former slave and the grandfather of Myrtle Montgomery Williams.

James & Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams: Lockfield Gardens

February 2 at 8:27pm This an update to a previous post. The previous post has been archived/or/deleted.

In two earlier post I said that it appeared that James and Myrtle didn't live IN Lockfield Gardens in 1940 because their address was too far south and Lockfield Gardens was an apartment building not a house. The census taker had listed the residence they lived in in a manner that indicated it was a house, single family dwelling. Or at least that's how it looked to me.

This week I restarted another round of back-checking:

• Back-checking is when I complete a phase of research, such as researching census records, I take all the collected research up to that point and verify it against the newly collected census data.
• I do that with every phase:
  I started with researching the work of Frank Montgomery, and organized the information,
  then I researched and processed Jo Ann’s collection of family pictures and went back through the Frank research and the Jo research and compared it, looking for information that did or didn't match.
  Then I did a map research and back checked it against the Frank/Jo research.
  I will repeat this process about ten times as I progress through different steps.
  By the end of the research phase I will have rechecked every fact or assumption collected at least eight to ten times, and then will discard the information that can't be explained or verified by at least one other source.

So, to get to the point (hush-up out there!), this week I researched and back-checked the "Polk City Directories". The Polk directories are like the yellow pages and Phone books that existed before the phone was invented. Like the phone books they listed and advertised businesses. They also listed every house in the city and who was the head of the house in that year. The same way the phone book list whoever pays the bill (and their address) the Polk directory shows name, address, and sometimes occupation.
I am posting clips of the Census and Polk entries to explain my errors, nonetheless I am only willing to take 90% of the blame... I'm just saying.

Everyone in the Polk Directory is listed in at least 2 places: the alphabetic list and the by address. This is the alphabetic listing for Jas (James) and Myrtle at 901 Locke Street Apartment 571.
Remember I hadn't seen this when I was evaluating the information on the census.

This is the 'by address' list for James' address. Again I hadn't seen this before, once I stumbled upon it I realized my error. This is from 1941, James and Myrtle didn't have a phone then... the only one in the building that year belonged to apartment 544. Noticed how they distinguished that... anyone out there get the significance of the icon?

This is a 'mashup' of the 1940 census page. The top arrow points to the line #41 entry, '901/566'. The second arrow points to Mr. Williams entry on line #52. In this mashup it looks like Mr Williams entry is right under Line 41 and I shouldn't have missed the 901/566 entry, but in fact its 11 lines down the page. I cut and paste it right under the column headers.
But the real mistake wasn't that I missed the 901/566 address. I probably saw it and figured it was one of those private notation that census takers often make and that was my first mistake.
My second mistake was that I couldn't make out the critical notation in column 1. "apt", obviously for apartment. But this is a blow-up of the census form... on paper it was not easily read and the 'apt' was eligible.
My bad...

OK, here is the full story of the Williams family in Lockfield Gardens. (So far):

James & Myrtle were married in 1935. Sometime between 1935 and 1940 they moved into Building 901, apartment 571 of Lockfield Gardens. 901 Lock St. APT 571, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Their rent was $18 a month in 1940 when James was a Hotel Porter making $728 a year. Myrtle had just started a job as a waitress in a Restaurant. Both were 25 years old and 4 year old Roy was living with them. By 1942 they had a phone in the apartment and at the time they were the only ones in the building who had one. They lived in Lockefield Gardens until after the 1955 birth of Jo Ann. Before the end of the year they moved in with Myrtle's mother on Columbia. It appears Cheri, Dickie, James and Carl were all born while the Williams family lived in Lockefield Gardens.

Siblings:

3552 N. Salem: Viola Gertrude Williams’ last residence:

In 1964 Mr. Williams's mother, Viola, was staying with her daughter Lora Murray (formerly Williams-Montgomery) when she died of a heart attack brought on by a myocardial infarction. Viola was the widow of Walter Alvin Williams who had died in 1930. Viola re-married after the death of Walter.

At this point I cannot determine who else was living at this residence in 1964, but so far this is the earliest, still standing, residence of the Montgomery-Williams family I can find.

I have discovered 27 addresses in Indianapolis where the family has lived since 1880. I've visited most of them and only three are still standing; this one and the last two locations that Mr. Williams lived at in the 70s and at the time of his death in 1999.

In the case of two houses, churches now stand on the property (N. West Street and N. Columbia). Two more would have been in the general area of the end zone of the Crispus Attucks High School's football field. As for the remainder most of them were located in areas where the entire neighborhood is gone, such as Lockfield Gardens and the surrounding area.

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Who’s who in this article:

• Viola Gertrud (Bell-Williams) Langford is the mother of James Francis Williams. (Walter Alvin Williams was his father.)
• Lora (Williams-Montgomery) Murray is the daughter of Viola and sister of James. Lora was married to James R. Montgomery, the brother of  Myrtle Montgomery, the wife of James Williams.
• The descendants of James & Myrtle Williams and the descendants of Lora & James R. Montgomery are what’s called ‘double-cousins’.
• James and Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams are the focal point of this project.

Richard ‘Dickie’ Lawrence Williams

Why was Myrtle Montgomery born in Chicago?

After the ancestors of James Williams and Myrtle Montgomery arrived in Indianapolis nearly all the births for the next few generations occur in Indianapolis. With at least two exceptions. John and Myrtle Montgomery.

Myrtle's mother had four children*:

• John b. 19 1908   In Illinois
• James b.1912 in Indiana
• Myrtle b.3-18-1915 in Illinois
• Pauline b.2-19-1916 in Indiana

Traveling between Chicago and Indianapolis in 1908 was not the convenient three hour drive over a multi-lane interstate that it is today. In 1908 there was no Interstate 65(I-65). Most roads were two lanes and many stretches were still unpaved roads.

Why would Myrtle's parents, Frank and Nanny, move the entire family 200 miles four times over eight years?
Was it for employment? If so was it the hope of permanent employment? If that was the case it apparently didn't work out the first time so why repeat such a drastic move the second time? Was it a case of visiting Chicago (while pregnant) and delivering unexpectedly on the trip? Of course that would explain the first birth, but what about the second?
The most likely assumption might be that it was visiting one time (probably the first) work one time (probably the second birth).

At first this makes since once we discover the research of Frank R. Montgomery, were he states: "

In 1905 William Brown Sr. deceased in Indianapolis, Indiana. By 1906 Nannie and Edna were married, and "Big Momma" Rosa Brown moved to Chicago, Illinois with her son William Brown Jr".

With Nannie's mother now living in Chicago, visiting Chicago might be something that happens every few years. Wanting to have her first child near her mother would be natural. Then years later making a family move in search of employment would make since too.

If it was only that simple. As we've expanded the family research beyond the earlier work of Frank Montgomery we discover some knew information. The dates of Momma Rosa's move to Chicago are to early:

Following the death of Rosa’s husband, William Brown, in 1905, Big Mama would remarry less than 7 months later to David Hopper, but they did not move in 1906. There is no doubt that Rosa Brown disappeared from the public record in 1906 (due to her name change) and there is no doubt that she moved to Chicago following Williams death. Just not in 1906.

On the 1910 census for Indianapolis  Nannie and Frank, married 3 years, appear at 711 Hadley Street with their child John, and her brother William Brown. The brother who is supposed to be in Chicago with Big Mama. What has been overlooked is that in the same house, not household, is another family. That of David and Rose Hopper, Nannie's mother and step father.
So even though Nannie's first son was born in Chicago in 1908, EVERYONE was in Indianapolis in 1910!

Discovering facts in records and old documents can only tell part of the story. Memories tell the rest. No matter how insignificant  how doubtful  or how incomplete a memory or thought might be it could be even a tiny piece of the story that ties together all the facts. We need you to tell us what you know, think you know or remember to make this family history complete.

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*note: Nannie actually had a fifth child. The 1910 census included two questions for the mother: "How many children have you had" and "How many children now living. Nannie answered "2" and "1" respectively. This means that Nannie had a child who was born and died before the 1910 census. We as yet have no information on this child.

Who is who in this article.

• Frank & Nannie Montgomery: Myrtle Montgomery’s parents, Joseph Frank Montgomery and Nannie Belle Brown .
• John, James, & Pauline: Myrtle’s siblings.
• William Brown: William Thomas Brown, Myrtle’s grandfather.
• William Brown, Jr.: Myrtle’s uncle (Nannie’s father).
• Big Mama Rosa Brown: Rosanna Jones, Myrtle’s grandmother (Nannie’s mother)
• David Hopper: Big Mama’s second husband. previously misidentified as David Hooker. The 1910 census taker must of heard the name wrong; his handwriting very clearly say David Hopper, but subsequent documents consistently say David Hocker. We will use Hocker.
• Frank R. Montgomery: A nephew of Myrtle's and the author of the early research and documentation on the Montgomery Williams family.
• Myrtle Montgomery (wife of James F. Williams): Myrtle and James are the focal point of the Montgomery/Williams Project

Need some help on some information.

James Frances Williams family lived:

1935 to at least 1940 lived at 571 Locke Street
194? to 1960 Where*
1960 to about 1963 at 2557 Columbia
1964 to ???? at 250 W. 44th Street
19?? to 1999 at 711 E. 34th Street.
* Before living in Lockefield Gardens James & Myrtle at 571 Locke St., but when did they move in and out of Lockefield Gardens.
I'm sure I got some dates wrong, so please let me know.

Pictured: Carl & Jodi on the porch on Columbia.

Visit 'Montgomery Williams Family Places' interactive map using this link: http://www.communitywalk.com/location_info/2004070/13274450

Can anyone identify these two?

Winona and John Henry Williams:

1876 Winona Helm & John Henry Williams were both born the same year in Fayette County Kentucky.
By 1889 they had moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where Walter A. Williams was born.
We know they were in Indianapolis, Indiana no later than 1902 when John and Winona [Helm] Williams were married.

http://www.communitywalk.com/location_info/2004070/13266346

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Who is who in this article:

• John Henry & Winona (Helms) Williams are the parents of Walter A. Williams, as well as the grandparents of James F. Williams.
• James & Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams are the focal point of this project.

Mr. Williams and ""WHO""

Myrtle’s Birthplace

Jo Littrell, the only connection that I can find to Chicago is 'Big Momma' (Rosa (Jones) Brown, who moved to Chicago after her husbands (William Thomas Brown) death in 1905. Rosa and William would be your mother's grandparents. She died in Chicago in 1920. Buried in Montrose Cemetery.

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Who is who in this article.

• William Brown: William Thomas Brown, Myrtle’s grandfather.
• Big Mama Rosa Brown: Rosanna Jones, Myrtle’s grandmother.
• Myrtle Montgomery (wife of James F. Williams): Myrtle and James are the focal point of the Montgomery/Williams Project.

Logan Russell Montgomery: 11th Street area in 1915 and 1931:

Russell Montgomery lived on west 11th Street in 1915 and in 1931 at the time of his death. The stretch of 11th street that he lived on no longer exist, having been replaced by the expansion of the Crispus Attucks campus after 1945. When Russell lived on 11th street in 1915 CAHS had not even been built. (It was built in 1927.) The campus expansion didn’t occur until after 1945. Long after Russell’s death.

-click on the pictures to enlarge and view them-

2017 map view of the area.

Today, what remains of 11th street where Logan Russell Montgomery once lived is just a half block section from Brooks Street to the edge of the Crispus Attucks High School campus. Russell's house would have been in this stretch, on the right, just on the CAHS campus.

In 1915 CAHS was not yet built. 11th street continued on from here uninterrupted all the way past Senate Avenue.

-click on the pictures to enlarge and view them-

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Who is Russell Montgomery?

Russell was born a slave in Adair County Kentucky. He moved his family to Indianapolis about 1900. He is the grandmother of Myrtle E. Montgomery (wife of James Francis Williams), the focal points of this project. (the Montgomery/Williams Project)

The Montgomery/Williams Project: Video @1 (unidentified pictures)

24 family photos of unknown/identified persons.

Please view and if you recognize anyone let me know:

indianaglenn@GMAIL.COM,
OR
POST ON PROJECTS GROUP PAGE (Facebook).

The mystery grows, the plot thickens.... on a dark and rainy night.

It almost sounds like a 1940 film plot or a country western lyric, but there is a mystery afoot.

On Christmas day I explained to Jodi and Jimmy that according to the information provided on the family it looked like Logan Russell Montgomery, born a slave, had (as I understood it) purchased his mother out of indentured servitude following the civil war and the 13th Amendment.

Under Jim Crow laws indentured servitude, via tenant and servitude contracts, were used to contain and restrict the freedoms of freed slaves in many states.

In the case of Russell's mother, Darkas Montgomery, the record* of him purchasing her contract has led earlier researchers to conclude that the seller of the contract, Ermine Montgomery, was the owner of Darkas's contract after the death of Ermine's husband Robert Montgomery. The sale of the contract by Ermine has led the same researchers to assume that she was white, and therefore the wife of Robert Montgomery(deceased), the original slave owner of Russell and Darkas. Robert also is believed to be the father of Russell.

The assumption is that Ermine must be white in order to own a contract (under Jim Crow Laws) of a former slave, but this assumption is risky when you consider that in Kentucky, under slavery, there were freed blacks who owned slaves!

Kentucky, by comparison, was one of the more liberal of the slave states before the war with no prohibitions against Slaves learning to read and write and freed slaves having some property rights. Remember, even though a slave state Kentucky did not choose to succeed from the Union and actually fought on the northern side during the war.

The above information was the focus of that Christmas Day discussion with Jodi and Jimmy.

But...

As if all of the above was not enough, I discovered a marriage certificate for Russell to Sarah E. Miller. The marriage certificate indicated that the wedding was performed at the house of ERMINE MONTGOMERY! Present at the wedding was Russell and the 16 year old bride, the brides mother, a Parish Montgomery (surety for the marriage bond), Ermine, and two witnesses (names unreadable).

The marriage certificate for Russell to Sarah E. Miller. The marriage certificate indicated that the wedding was performed at the house of Ermine Montgomery. Present at the wedding was Russell and the 16 year old bride, the brides mother, a Parish Montgomery (surety for the marriage bond), Ermine, and two witnesses (names unreadable).

Would the former slave owner, Ermine, be so generous to the former slave(Russell), and illegitimate son of her late husband(Robert), as to host the wedding ceremony of that former slave 12 years after the end of slavery?

Was Ermine white? If so was she the wife of Robert Montgomery? The entire basis for the identification of Ermine as the possible white wife of Robert Montgomery appears to be the indentured servant contract sale.*

There is a problem with the assumptions associated with the contract. The acceptance of those assumptions are suspicious when the marriage license is looked at independent of the contract. In other words examining the marriage license we would conclude that all members of the wedding party, including Ermine, were black. The contract not withstanding, we should conclude that Ermine was neither white or the wife of Robert Montgomery. Nothing in the contract information* actually disputes or establishes that conclusion.

*(the existence of which I haven't been able to verify yet)

Yesterday, January 3rd, 2017 on a research trip to the Indiana State Library I obtained/discovered some additional documents:

1. In the marriage record book for Adair County, Kentucky I found a listing for the marriage of Milton Montgomery(age 38, farmer) to Ermine Smith(age 25) dated 1874. Three years before the indentured servant contract. The page in the marriage book had the handwritten title "Adair Colored List"
2. Pre-civil war Census records for Adair County, Kentucky. Having never done a search or research on pre-Civil War slaves I for now have stuck with doing what's familiar and tried to locate Robert Montgomery, slave owner.

The marriage record for the marriage of Ermine Smith to Milton Montgomery reinforces our new conclusion that Ermine was not white. In obtaining census records for 1850, 1860, and 1870. We are able to identify, not only who Robert's wife was, but we are also able to establish a connection of Darkas to Robert Montgomery:

From these three census we are able to establish two Robert Montgomery families in Adair county: one extended family in second district; and one in the first district.

1. From the 1850 census the family in the second district is headed by Robert and C.S. Montgomery. By 1860 Robert is deceased and the family is now consolidated, some children have moved out, and the family is headed by the widow Clementine (C.S.) Montgomery. There is no information other than the surname to suggest a connection between this Robert Montgomery family and Darkas and Russell Montgomery.
2. The family in the first district is headed by Robert and Elizabeth Montgomery on the 1860 census. Child Martha D.(age 32) and Jane(age 53), probably a sister of Robert.

From this information we are unable to establish either as the Robert Montgomery we are looking for. We may even start to question either Robert’s parentage or his identified date of death(after 1860) because we find a James Montgomery. This James appears on the 1860 census with his family. If either Robert is the father of this James (and Darkas’ son) has he relocated to Robert’s estate, or has he moved Darkas, a freed slave, to his 1860 estate. Which he occupied while both Robert’s were still alive.

It is more likely that Robert was dead before 1860.

The absence of proof is not proof. Because I can’t identify or find a connection to Robert that verifies the conclusions of earlier researchers doesn’t mean they are wrong. They may have had proof, shared the information from the proof, but not shared information about the proof. While I may now question the identification of Robert as the father of Logan Russell Montgomery or his date of death we will respect the conclusion of earlier researchers for now. we need copies or source information on the indentured servant contract and the birth record of Logan to clear this up.

Here is where the 1870 census gets interesting. Next door to the Montgomery family(white) is the black family of, none other than... Darkas Montgomery! Besides being neighbors, there is in the white household a son, Logan Russell Montgomery, and in the black household a son, Russell Montgomery. James and Darkas are the same age...hmmm.

NOTE: Under slavery Darkas would not have appeared on any census.

One last footnote to the 1870 census. Remember Russell Montgomery and Sarah Miller are married at the household of Ermine Montgomery (formerly Smith). Next door to Darkas is another black family of 5. The family of Robert Smith.

• From the above information I would suggest that these previous assumptions should now be considered inconclusive or no longer accurate: Ermine Montgomery was not white or the wife of Robert Montgomery. The servitude contract needs to be found and further researched.
• I believe from the above information we can conclude the following to be true: Darkas and her children where former slaves owned by the family of Robert and Elizabeth Montgomery, but that the records previously used to establish Robert as the father of Russell needs to be rediscovered. That in 1870 Darkas (not Russell) were under a indentured servitude contract, farming on the land of the late Robert Montgomery (now owned by the son James). That Ermine Smith married Milton Montgomery (both former slaves) in 1874. That Ermine hosted the wedding of Russell and Sarah. That somehow Ermine obtained the indentured servant contract of Darkas, either for or from Russell. We need a date for the transfer of the contract also.

The mystery continues...

**UPDATE: 1880 Census information sheds new light on the family of Martha Montgomery. Speculation above about the make-up and relationship of Martha and James Montgomery is disputed and clarified by the 1880 census. Previous to 1880 census information listed members of the household as follows: the head of household, followed by everyone in the household arranged by age, with no reference to the relationship of the members in the household. This too often leaves the researcher to try and deduct the relationship of the household members. Beginning on the 1880 census a column was added for the census taker to indicate the relationship:

Household # 177 is the family headed by James Montgomery, white, male, 52 years old father, occupation is farming. below him is everyone else in the household, of the same name, their race, sex, and age. Martha (M.D.) is identified as wife of James and is keeping house. 2 sons are involved in farming.

Household #178, still next door to the white family of James and Martha is Darkas Montgomery, mulatto, female, age 52, head of household/mother, keeping house. With her is Joseph, mulatto, male, age 18, son of Darkas/head, and he is farming, Russell now grown is not in the household.

In doing family research every new piece of information creates a new mystery to be solved and subsequently the need for further investigation.

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Who is who in this post:

• Russell Montgomery married Sarah E. Miller in 1877.
• Logan & Sarah are the grandparents of Myrtle E. Montgomery.
• Darkas Montgomery would be her great-grandmother.
• Robert is thought to be the slave owner, white father of Russell Montgomery. Whatever happened to Robert and his wife we do not know, but we believe that James M. Montgomery is his son/heir living next to Darkas on the 1880 census.
• Ermine Montgomery was once thought to be the white wife of the slave owner Robert Montgomery. We now know she was African-American, probably connected to Russell and Darkas by blood or marriage and was involved in the indentured contract matter in some other way.
• James F. & Myrtle (Montgomery) Williams are the focal point of this project.