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| Okey Anise Church |
My paternal grandmother's oldest brother was Okey Anise Church, commonly known by his middle name. He was born 14 May 1897 in Calhoun County, West Virginia. These are the facts I had gathered from a variety of sources, including Grandma herself. Finding his official birth record took a little extra research due to several inconsistencies:
I found a Carl Church born on 14 May 1897 in Calhoun County. Hmmm … right date & place but wrong name. But let's look at this a little more.
Father's place of birth = Marshall County per the birth register, but Anise's father, Eli Church, was born in Wetzel County. Another strike against this being the right record. But don't give up yet!
Mother's place of birth not given, so that's no help.
Full name of mother = Minora Summers. Her maiden name = Church. This was my aha moment – Anise's mother was Lenora (Summers) Church. Lenora … Minora … maybe the clerk was just hard of hearing. Summers was her maiden name, Church her married name. They're reversed in the register.
Full name of father = Ely Church. Wrong spelling, but that's a common occurrence.
So the baby's name is incorrect, the father's birthplace is wrong, the mother's name is all messed up, and the father's first name is misspelled. Yet, the record I found has to be Anise.
Where did the name Carl come from? Was it clerical error? Did Eli & Lenora change their mind about what they wanted their baby's name to be? Who knows!
UPDATE: Check out "Okey Anise Church revisited" for more questions resulting from a second birth record in a different county!
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