Page 344 - Just another English family (Sep 2019)

James and Emma
James (1882-?), born in England, married Emma (Taub) (1883-?), born in Missouri, USA in 1906 in Waukegan, Lake Illinois, USA. James appears in the 1920, 1930 and 1940 censuses and is shown as being born in 1884, while Emma (née Taub) only appears in the 1920 census. In that census Emma is said to have been born in Wisconsin, but elsewhere it is said that she was born in Missouri in about 1883. In the 1910 census James’s year of immigration is shown as 1888 when he would have been about 6 years old. At that age it is likely to have been with his parents. So who are the candidates for understanding James’s pedigree?
There are two contenders to be this James in the database – James (1882-1919) who was both born and died in Halifax – his parents were Jonathan and Kate (Balmforth) or James (1882-?) born in Rochdale – his parents were Harriet Annie Soothill and an unknown father. I need more evidence before adjudicating between these two claims. However, there is also the difficulty that in the 1920 census is shown as 32 years and being born in England in 1888, while Emma is shown as 29 years and being born in 1891 in Wisconsin.
James and Emma eventually had two children – Jerome J (1909-1994) and Lilian (1916-?). In the 1910 census their child, Jerome, is transcribed as ‘Jenos’. At that time the household is living in Racine, Wisconsin in 1910. There is another member of the household, Laura Fant, aged 25 years, who is described as a sister- in-law. In the 1920 James and Emma are still living in Racine, and James continues to do so for the 1930 and 1940 censuses.
Jerome J Soothill was born on 24 February 1909 in Wisconsin and is shown in the 1920 census. His name appears on ‘The circus Edition of the Kipikawi’ which was published by the Class of 1926 of Racine High School. It comes under a series of ‘SLAMS AND EPITAPHS’ presumably written by the pupils. Jerome’s entry reads, “I cawn’t [sic] be bothered with the same one for more than a week”. To what this refers is not clear. If it is girlfriends, then this does not augur well for his
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