Donald Moore is the son of Charles and Annie Snodgrass Moore. Uncle Charlie lost two of his boys when they were in their twenties. The third son, Darrell and his wife Jennie had no children. Uncle Charlie and Aunt Annie were loved by all their immediate families.
Seems I read a newspaper article about George Donald “Don” and how he died.
Ahh – I found that I transcribed a clipping about Don’s death into my FTM notes:
- Click here for to read the newspaper article on Donald Moore
Wonder what was in Reedley? It reads as if he was no longer in the Marine Corps and was back in school — describes him as being a “high school junior”. I don’t have an exact date of birth for him. Do you happen to have one? I only have “1911”. Seems I wasn’t able to find him in the CA Birth Index. Do you have a burial place for him? I’ll bet he’s buried in Reedley Cem., but that’s just a guess.
Tags: Genealogy, Moore family
Descendants of Alexander & Catherine Ball Mahan 
June 2, 2008 at 10:22 pm |
Yes, Mom remembers the picture being taken. The boy in front of her had a ball to distract him. Mom wanted it and she cried for it. She remembers that. She just doesn’t remember Val coming down the first time after Clara was married, but Val must have come.
June 3, 2008 at 1:30 pm |
George D (Donald) Moore is listed as 8 years old in the 1920 census. The family is living in Dinuba in Tulare Co CA. His brothers are listed as Charles D. 10, and Lloyd W. 6. I looked at the original record, and I think it says Lloyd G. Moore.
George D. is listed in the 1930 census as living at home in Reedley on ‘E’ Street age 18. So he hasin’t gone into the service yet. He has no occupation listed, nor do his brothers.
June 3, 2008 at 9:26 pm |
Hey, Linda. I did it – created a username for myself and didn’t have to sign up for a separate blog.
I wonder about George Donald. Accordiong to the article about his death, he served for in the military for 3 years in China, then came back & went back to school as a high school junior. Do you suppose he lied about his age to join (I think he was in the Marines) or Annie & Charlie gave him permission to go at 16 or so years of age????
Knowing how inaccurate the census records can be I suspect they just listed all of their sons, not worrying about where they were. I will have to look more closely at the military records in Ancestry. There likely are records of more than one George D. Moore, but I’m pretty sure I found him going into the service in 1927.
So much to do! Hmmm – I wonder if there is any way to correct our posts after the fact.
June 3, 2008 at 11:53 pm |
So glad it worked and you can add to the blog. Welcome.
You asked: Do you suppose he lied about his age to join (I think he was in the Marines) or Annie & Charlie gave him permission to go at 16 or so years of age????
I hadn’t thought about that. I assumed that he joined in 1930 and served three years and got out in 1933 to die in 34. Mom remembers that he was in the service when he was killed.
Question: What is this thing about being a junior in high school at age 22. That is wierd.
I did not know about the 1927 service record.
Yes, I can correct the posts.
I think this can work because all our thoughts are in one place instead of all over the email inbox.
Thanks for your support. Linda
June 4, 2008 at 11:54 am |
I’m still trying to figure this out, but will eventually get the hang of it. : )
Re George Donald “Don”: Read the second to last paragraph in the newspaper clipping. Now I’m thinking that somewhere (where?????) I saw him listed as being a junior in high school — VERY odd for being 22 years old! But, the article does say he was in China for three years, then resumed his studies! The death date is Sept 6, 1933. He’s in the CA Death Index, and the newspaper clipping says that, too.
June 4, 2008 at 2:54 pm |
Hi Uni
If the newspaper is correct, he had to have left for the Maries shortly after the census taker left the house. Then he returned just in time to be killed in the terrible aruto wreck. Mom remembers seeing him in his Marine uniform. She was told that Donald was hitch hiking back to the San Diego area to report back to duty.
How hard will it be to get the military record? No one alive is interested except us.
How did you get to the CA death index for 1933???? Inquiring minds want to know.
June 5, 2008 at 9:07 pm |
Isn’t it a shame that there isn’t anyone in this line to share things with? Even looking at all of Patience & Anderson Moore’s “kids” there’s no one left. Charlie has no descendants. George had only step-children. Freddy drowned as a boy. Louie had no children to my knowledge. Maggie had a son, Orville, but Orville had only an adopted son named Gary, and heaven knows what happened to him. Do you suppose he’d be interested in any of this even if we could find him??? Didn’t you visit Orville’s widow (Pauline???) and get Patience’s bible from her? I would LOVE to touch that bible! I hope you still have it! Maybe I’ll get a chance one of these days. : )
Keep in mind that the census isn’t always accurate! The enumerator may have just asked for their boys names, and ages, and that was it. He likely was stationed in San Diego and your Mom saw him at some time in uniform when he was headed back to base, but I don’t read into it that he was still in the military at the time of his death. It says that he was hitching back to Reedley after having taken an automobile to Bakersfield with another fellow. Now, why do you suppose they’d gone to Bakersfield, and why didn’t they drive that automobile back????
My guess is that he dropped out of high school before his junior year in 1927, did his 4 years in the Marines, then came back and that’s why he was a junior in high school at the age of 22. Darn that I can’t find his record of birth anywhere.
When I have the patience I will have to dig more into those military records again. There were a ton of them for the name George D. Moore — likely not all of them for our George Donald! They don’t give you any info beyond the person’s name and where they were when, so……….. If only he’d been in one of the Wars. It would probably be easy to find something in the Ancestry records then.
The CA death records are searchable at Vitalsearch.com – 1905-2000. More and more you have to pay to search (I haven’t signed up yet), but 1930-1939 is free. I can’t quite make out his death cert #, but it looks like 52209, or 52309??? It’s filed in county 54 (Tulare).
I also have this from Annie’s obituary which must be where I remember reading that Donald was in the military for 4 years:
“Son Lost in War – Mrs. Moore was the mother of three sons, of whom the eldest, Charles Darrell Moore of Sacramento, survives. The second son, Donald, who lost his life in a traffic accident near Bakersfield in 1933 at the age of 22, had four years of service in the Marine Corps with three years in China. Lloyd Gwynne, the youngest, died in 1942, in a Japanese prison camp after making the infamous Bataan Death March in the Philippines in 1941. Following the close of World War II, his remains were returned for burial in Reedley Cemetery.”
I’m not sure how hard it’d be to get his military record, but the last time I ordered (a pension file?) it cost me $37. It was for a direct ancestor, so I didn’t have too much problem with that, but for George Donald….. I don’t think I need to know that much!
June 5, 2008 at 10:07 pm |
“Didn’t you visit Orville’s widow (Pauline???) and get Patience’s bible from her? I would LOVE to touch that bible! I hope you still have it! Maybe I’ll get a chance one of these days. : )”
Yes I visited Orville’s widow shortly after Orville died. My vacation was planed months in advance and Pauline was happy to see Mom and I. Yes, she gave me the bible. Gary was not interested in it. I have all of Orvilles pictures also. I am hoping that Gary would like the pictures some day. Wasn’t Orville a barber?
Your explaination that the newspaper is correct is right. For now, I am going to go with Mom’s memory from along time ago. I guess we could find a year book for the high school, or school records. This problem isn’t worth spending more time on. You have given me much more information than I had on theis Moore family. Thank you.
The important part is the Uncle Charlie and Aunt Annie were loved by their sons and their nieces and nephews.
June 5, 2008 at 10:43 pm |
you said:
Louie had no children to my knowledge..
I started looking inthe census for Louis/Lewis. I only found him listed in 1910 with no children as Lewis. I tried both spellings and for Ella Moore to no avail. I can’t find them in 1920 or 1930.
Any ideas where he is in 1920 or 1930? Linda
June 8, 2008 at 9:15 pm |
Louie & Ella were in Humboldt Co. in 1900 (married there in 1898). In 1910 they are with my great-grandpa, Will Crawford. I haven’t found Louie in 1920 either, but will keep looking. In 1930 there is a 55 year old Louie Moore in Yolo Co., Putah Twp. – I suspect that is him. His brother George lived in Yolo Co. at that time.
Now, as for Ella – remember I said that she seems to have run off with a hired man (probably why Annie didn’t speak to her again)? Did you notice in the 1910 census that there was also a hired man named Clarence Billings? Well, in 1920 Clarence Billings is found in Canyon Co., ID with a wife named Ella. Ella & Annie’s father, George Snodgrass, is with them. In 1930 Clarence & Ella are in Walla Walla, Washington.