So Far Away....But Why? James Henry Condon

Most of the ancestors I have researched have all been born in and subsequently died and buried in the Midwest. There always has to be one of those ancestors that just does not follow the status quo. It makes them more interesting, but harder to trace!

James Henry Condon. My 2nd Great Grandfather on my Father's side. He is very hard to trace before 1900, but I do know what happened to him later in his life. But I don't know why.....

James was born sometime around 1869, somewhere around Indiana or Ohio. I do know his father's name was Charles and his mother's name was Mary Jane Vonata.


I think, I have found him in a census record in 1880. It shows him as a boarder at St. Vincent's Male Orphan Asylum in Vincennes, Indiana. This census states he was born in Indiana  about 1869. It also states his parents were born in Ireland. I don't have any concrete evidence that his is my James Henry Condon and I can't find any other Condons listed at St. Vincent's at this time either....

What I do know is James Henry Condon married Cordia Cowger sometime in 1893. And in that year,  they had a daughter, Mabel.

In the 1900 census, James and Cordia are living in Rushville, Indiana and have three children: Mabel (6), Charles (4) and Lorene (8 months). The census lists James as a Day Laborer and his parents were both born in Ohio. (I am already disproving the theory that the above James in the Asylum are not the same person.....)

James was married again in June 1905 to Florence Hull. Cordia didn't die until 1908 so....I can't find a marriage license....were James and Cordia really (legally) married?

And then, the 1910 census has James (43) living in Indianapolis with only his daughter Mabel (17) and son Charles (14). No mention of Florence. But his marital status is listed as Widowed. He is also listed is a "Sawyer" at a "Lumber Yard".  His parents are also listed as being born in Ohio (I am still hanging on to the first census listed.....).

So we still don't know what happened to Cordia or Florence.

On January 23, 1911, James married again to Nora Jane Moran in Indianapolis. They are still married in the 1920 census. James is listed as a Carpenter for a Saw Company and he has more children; Clarence (8), Marjorie (5), Mary S (3), and Selma (1). They are living on Luett Street, and this is where Mabel and her sons lived for a time and Grandpa Rose remembers an uncle that was his same age. Once again, James' parents are listed as being from Ohio.

In 1930, the tables turn. James is now a boarder in Pima, Arizona, still listed as married and works as a Carpenter building houses. He is living as a boarder with an African-American family.  I can only guess that James went to Arizona as the job market was better there than in Indiana? This census lists his parents are from Indiana (a ray of hope!).

In the meantime, Nora Jane is still living in Indianapolis in the house on Luett Street with her 5 children and one of her brothers. She is listed as being married as well.

Then, tragedy struck. On February 4, 1936, James Henry Condon died in Tucson, Arizona. Cause of death, cerebral apoplexy (or stroke).  His death certificate states he was born in Rushville, Indiana and his wife is Nora Condon. His death certificate does not list any information on his parents (back to the drawing board!).

James Henry Condon is buried in Arizona in Evergreen Cemetery in Tucson.

Mabel Condon 1893-1923-My Great Grandmother

One of the greatest resources I have for my family tree is my Grandfather’s Autobiography. It isn't anything fancy but gives some names and places of events that occurred in his life. Some accurate, some not so accurate but I love the insight it gives in the life he and his family lived. 

This has proved to be extremely helpful in finding out information about my Great Grandmother, Mabel. She was 30 when she died and had four boys under the age of 10 at the time.

Mabel Rose with her two sons; Charles (top left) and William (on her lap) circa 1915

Mabel was born in Rushville, Indiana on June 16, 1893 to James Henry and Cordia (Cowger) Condon.

The first record I have of Mabel is the 1900 census¹. She lives with her parents and two siblings: Charles and Lorene in Rushville, IN. It also states they live on 3^rd Street.

Figure 1 http://libx.bsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/InHisAtls/id/1097

In the next census, 1910², we find Mabel living with her father James and her brother Clarence in Indianapolis. She is listed as being a milliner. How cool is that, she made hats!

She met and married Clarence Rose on April 27^th, 1912 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was 18 and he was 26. I wish I knew how they met, he was living in a boarding house in Columbus, IN and was a common laborer. I am going to go ahead and put it out there that they had to get married as their first son Charles Everett was born on January 6, 1913. Just shy of 9 months, maybe he was born early…..

In the 1913 City Directory³, Clarence (and I presume Mabel) were living at 908 Church Street in Indianapolis. There isn't a house there anymore but Lucas Oil Stadium is in the backyard now.

Mabel stood by her man as she had another child in 1914, William James. The family then picked up and moved to Chicago. Charles wrote:

Excerpt from Autobiography of Charles Rose, 1993

The only record I have of the family living in Chicago is Clarence’s WWI Draft Registration Card⁴ that states they lived at 2317 Indiana Avenue Chicago, Illinois and Mabel is his family contact.

Eventually Mabel and her boys moved back to Indianapolis and she divorced Clarence. I don’t know when this all happened but I have found Mabel, Charles and William (Bill) living in Indianapolis in what is known as the Fairview Settlement. Charles called it Hawville in his autobiography.

Excerpt from Autobiography of Charles Rose, 1993

According to The Family Service Association of Indianapolis Records 1879-1971:

It was located next to Crown Hill Cemetery just south of Butler-Tarkington. Mabel and her boys lived in a boarding house with 7 other people.

In February of 1920, a third child was born to Mabel and Clarence, Robert.

So Mabel had three boys, her husband deserted her and according to Charles, Mabel was working at the PREST-O-LITE Battery Company in Indianapolis making batteries. PREST-O-LITE started in Indianapolis in the early 1900s making headlights for electrified buggies using the gas, Acetylene. Not until 1927 did PREST-O-LITE begin the manufacture of batteries. Whether battery acid had anything to do with her demise could be true, it could have been other chemicals the factory used as well. They weren’t too keen on safety back then: http://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/articles/prest-o-lite

I believe her and the boys were living with her father outside of Speedway in his garage according to Charles:

Excerpt from Autobiography of Charles Rose, 1993

Going by what Charles stated, Grandfather (Mabel’s father) lived on Luett Avenue in Indianapolis at this time. Luett Avenue runs parallel to a set of railroad tracks and just on the other side of those tracks is now the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course and Motor Speedway.

She married again (I use this term loosely as I don’t think she married, as there is no record of this marriage) to George Washington Keller sometime around 1921. As with all the other women in my family tree, many marriages I believe were due to convenience. Mabel had three boys and needed help, I get it.

With this union between Mabel and George, a fourth son was born: Arthur Raymond Keller.  They were still living in Indianapolis. 

Excerpt from Autobiography of Charles Rose, 1993

Mabel died July 15, 1923. George Keller kept his only son Raymond, Robert was adopted by Mabel’s Aunt; Della (Delila) Heisel. Charles and William were sent to an orphanage that subsequently sent both to work on farms. *Update-Della was Mabel's Aunt, not her sister. 

Excerpt from Autobiography of Charles Rose, 1993

Mabel was buried in Rushville, Indiana in East Hill Cemetery where Charles and Bill eventually placed a headstone. It reads “Mother Mabel Rose Keller 1895-1923”.

1. 1. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004
2. 2. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
3. 3. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
4. 4. United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.