I recently found a great uncle buried in the Altoona Cemetery via Find-A-Grave. His name is Charles E. Havens b. 1892, d. 1929. I wasn't sure it was him but the person who posted his info also posted a photo of his headstone which luckily has a pictured of him on it. I was able to compare it to a photo I have of him and confirm that they are one and the same.

I have always suspected that his mother, my great grandmother is buried in this cemetery and now have even more reason to believe this. If anyone out there lives close enough to check, I would really appreciate this...I'm in California. Her name is Helen Sophronia Havens (I've seen her middle name spelled "Sofronia" also) and she lived from 1869 to October of 1934 if my records are correct.

Thank you in advance!

Jami

I'd recommend contacting the W.A. Rankin Memorial Library in Neodesha, Kansas they have a lot of the cemetery listings. On rootsweb they have a page too with an obituary index (although they have more obituaries then is in the index). They have a C.S. Havens listed in thier obituary index and a Rose Ruth (Mrs. Chas S.) Havens listed. But I'm fairly certain they have an Altoona Cemetery index in their library and they'll look it up for you.

By the way if the W.A. Rankin Library doesn't have that index then contact the Fredonia Library. I've used both libraries for my Wilson County Research (both have been helpful) and I know one of the two, if not both, have that index.

Thank you Karl! I've checked the obituary index you mentioned but both Havens' referenced aren't relatives of mine that I know of. I emailed the person (Gene) who put the index together to see if there's more to it and am hoping to hear back. I'll contact the library to see if there is any other information available. Thank you again!

Jami

Hi Jami,
Recently I was looking up census information ad came accross the following:
Census - Apr 25, 1930 - Altoona, Wilson, KS - ED 1 - pgs 6A & 6B
Havens, Helen S head 61 abt.1869 Wd MO (OH-IN) Laborer, odd jobs
Lyman, Alfred R grandson 10 abt.1920 S KS (MO-MO) None
Lyman, Ernest E grandson 8 abt.1922 S None
Can you tell me who the parents are for the two grandsons?
abacusmf@tds.net

Hello,

Although I've never figured out the father's first name, the mother of these grandson's is Vinnie. Vinnie, a name the Havens' used many times only for females, was the second child and eldest daughter born to Benjamin Franklin and Helen Sophronia (Woodruff) Havens. I have information for Vinnie as being born about 1891 in Missouri - that likely comes from a census. I unfortunately don't have anything else on her. I also have an older son named Willie listed as a child of this couple born about 1916 in Kansas - again most likely from a census.

Since my post, I was able to find a wonderful person who lived near Altoona cemetery that was willing to photograph all of the pertinent Havens stones for me. They are all on Find-A-Grave now. Let me know if you need anything else!

Jami

Thanks for getting back to me so soon. Your info on Willie lead me to find the following:
Census - Jan 15, 1920 - Center, Wilson, KS - ED 231 - pg 20A [111 South 6th St]
Lyman, Lonzo head 30 abt.1890 M MO (MO-MO) Laborer, brick(?) yard
Lyman, Vinie wife 29 abt.1891 M MO (MO) IN
Lyman, Roy son 8 abt.1912 S MO (MO-MO)
Lyman, Willie son 4 abt.1916 S MO (MO-MO)

Looks like there is a 4th son as well. I can't help but wonder if Lonzo is short for Alonzo?

The 1930 census I referred to earlier had Helen listed as a widow, yet an ancestry tree I found had Benjamin dieing much later. Do you know which is correct?

Is Charles E. Havens the person in this record?
Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002
Charles Ernest Havens Marriage Date: 19 Feb 1925
Marriage Location: Carthage, Jasper, Missouri
Marriage County: Jasper Spouse Name: Anna Mabel Bartlett

Thanks,
Myron

Hi Myron,

It looks like you've found the correct family and I suspect you're right that "Lonzo" is short for "Alonzo". This is at the very least a place to start and hopefully get farther.

The 1930 census is incorrect and I've often wondered why my great grandmother is listed as a widow. I've heard stories that Benjamin (he went by "B.F.") spent a lot of time away from the home for reasons that weren't exactly respectable and that Helen eventually got sick of it and told him to never come back again. Maybe the census was taken at a time when B.F. wasn't around so she said he was dead out of spite? Maybe someone else gave the info and assumed he was dead? We'll probably never know, but he was definitely alive. I have a photo of he and my mom at his nursing home that was taken in 1965 shortly before he died. Had he lived just a few more months, he would have been 100. By the way, another census (can't think of which off hand) lists Helen as divorced, but they never actually did divorce.

Although I can't be positive, I don't believe the Charles E. Havens you mention is the same great uncle of mine. I don't believe that my Charley Havens ever married. B.F.'s father was Harrison Eugene Havens and I have always been under the impression that the "E" in Charley's middle initial likely stood for Eugene.

How do you fit into the Havens clan?

Jami

Hi Jami,
I Really am not in the Havens clan.
I was doing research on the Dunning family and got sidetracked.
Earl Henry Dunning married Jane Grace Boozell.
Jane is a daughter of Grace E. Wright.
Grace is a daughter of Edward H. Wright and Georgia Havens.
Myron

By the way I found the following information:
Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002
Lonzo Lyman Marriage Date: 23 Jun 1906
Marriage Location: Ozark, Missouri Marriage County: Ozark
Spouse Name: Miss Laura Jones

Census - Apr 23, 1910 - Jasper, Ozark, MO - ED 135 - pg 5A
Lyman, Lonzo hired man 22 abt.1888 Dv MO (US-US) Farmer, working out
[with the Jim Fox family]

World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Lonzo Lyman Address: Altoona, Wilson Co., KS
Birthplace: Laclede Co., Missouri Birth Date: 1 Feb 1889
Race: Caucasian (White) Roll: 1643942 DraftBoard: 0
Age: 28 Occupation: ??, Smelter Works, U.S. Smelting Co., Altoona
Nearest Relative: Wife and two children
Height/Build: Medium / Medium Color of Eyes/Hair: Blue / Auburn
Signature: Yes; June 5, 1917
Myron