So-called “family lore” has no doubt enticed any number of genealogists (or would-be genealogists) into discovering more about their family history. That may be a great impetus to begin “digging”, but how many of us bother to take the time to RESEARCH the “family lore” — or do we just begin our research by finding “hints” which support that fantastic story you’ve heard all your life. In my experience that leads to a lot of “twisted trees (branches, vines and so on)” which make it difficult to actually VERIFY (or DISPROVE) the oft-told tale. Such was the case recently for me.
While writing the “Mining Genealogical Gold” article for the Digging History Magazine issue featuring Arkansas, I discovered a clue I had never seen (or paid attention to) — and it totally disproved the lore (at least a portion of it) which has been recited many times over. I can’t believe I missed it! The database was All Arkansas, U.S., Compiled Marriages from Select Counties, 1779-1992 at Ancestry. Here’s what I wrote:
By searching this database I discovered one particular fact about which I had been misled by “family lore” I guess you would say. My great grandparents, Roland Hall and Maude Rupe (William and Mary Ellen’s daughter), were always said to have snuck off to Mena, the county seat of Polk County, Arkansas, ostensibly because Maude was actually a bit young in 1900. Here is the oft-repeated story (which I will now have to correct!):
Maude Rupe was born September 11, 1886 in Sebastian County, Arkansas to parents William Marion and Mary Ellen (Cochrell) Rupe. She was a fetching young girl who caught the eye of Roland Daniel Hall, my great grandfather. Roland Daniel was born on November 8, 1880 in neighboring Logan County to parents John Clayton and Kate Hall (John and Kate were first cousins).
When Roland and Maude decided to get married, they took a little trip south to Mena, the county seat of Polk County. I’m sure they did that to avoid running into anyone who could attest to the fact that young Maude wasn’t quite yet fourteen years old on April 2, 1900. In fact, she was seven months and nine days short of her fourteenth birthday. Roland, nineteen, was about to marry a thirteen year-old girl. According to the marriage affidavit, Maudie Rupe had arrived at the age of 16 years. The story she told for years thereafter, however, was that she swore to be over the age of eighteen. Maude had written the number “18” on a scrap of paper and slipped it into her shoe. When asked if she was “over the age of 18” she emphatically answered, “Yes, I am!”
The newlyweds moved to Yell County and on June 25 were enumerated there for the 1900 census. My great grandmother apparently deemed it imprudent to try and fool the federal government — her age was listed as 13.
My dad remembered the numerous times that his grandparents sat at their kitchen table, told that story and laughed about it. Now it’s part of our family lore, and even those who never met them have something to remember about our ancestors Roland Daniel Hall and Maude Rupe.
While perusing this database, I also found their marriage record and it clearly states Logan County – I can’t believe I missed that!
Family history will now be “re-written”! Let that serve as a lesson – research your “family lore” (and keep an open mind)!
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