Saturday, February 4, 2012

Surname Saturday – Ancestor #5 – William Lee YAWMAN


One of my goals for 2012 is to use the Surname Saturday blogging prompt as a way to assure that I spend some time researching each of my family lines and that I have appropriate source citations for the genealogical facts related to my ancestors. I’ve decided to use my ahnentafel report and work back through the generations starting with my grandparents, writing a summary of each ancestor. If you discovered this post through a search engine and find one of your ancestors listed here, please leave a comment to let me know.

My maternal grandfather, William Lee YAWMAN, was born 15 August 1870 in Missouri,[1] the third child of Michael Heman YAWMAN and Nancy Elgin BURTON.[2]

It’s likely that William’s early childhood was spent in Meeker County, Minnesota. By 1880, the family had moved to Denison in Grayson County, Texas[3], and then about a decade later moved to Kansas.[4]

On 26 September 1897, he married Myrtle Arminta SNIDER in Lincoln Township, Neosho County, Kansas.[5] William and Myrtle had eight children:
  • Joyce Opal YAWMAN (1899-1967)[6]
  • Eunice Evangeline YAWMAN (1901-1999)[7]
  • Hazel Agnes YAWMAN (1904-1993)[8]
  • Juanita Marie YAWMAN (1907-2004)[9]
  • Myrtle Gertrude YAWMAN (1909-19995)[10]
  • Clarence Leonard YAWMAN (1912-1912)[11]
  • William Howard YAWMAN (1914-1990)[12]
  • Beaulah Belle YAWMAN (1915-1999)[13]

After William and Myrtle married, they lived in the southeastern Kansas counties of Labette and Crawford.[14],[15] Between 1915 and 1920, they moved to Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri.[16] To my knowledge, they remained in Kansas City until about 1939, when they moved to California.[17] William and Myrtle lived at 3304 Freer, El Monte (in Los Angeles County) from about 1940 until his death.[18]

He followed in the trade of his father, working as a shoemaker throughout his life. According to his death certificate, he was not a veteran.[19]

William died 21 January 1948 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, and was buried 26 January 1948 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California.[20]

While I have most of the basic research covered for William, there are additional areas I need to research:
  1. Land and property records in the counties in which William lived.
  2. Newspapers for communities in which William lived.

When I visited my brother in November, I scanned the few photos he had of William and I recorded his  comments about our grandfather. I still need to transcribe the voice recording. Additionally, I need to interview my older sister about her memories of William and see if she has any pictures. I would also like to find any cousins who may have photos of William and his family.




[1] Los Angeles County, California, death certificate no. 1659 (1948), William Lee Yawman; County of Los Angeles, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Norwalk.
[2] 1880 U.S. census, Grayson, Texas, population schedule, Denison, enumeration district (ED) 8, p. 7, dwelling 24, family 26, household of Michael Yawman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Nov 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll T9_1306.
[3] 1880 U.S. census, Grayson, Texas, pop. sch., Denison, ED 8, p. 7, dwell. 24, fam. 26, household of Michael Yawman.
[4] Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925, Labette, Kansas, 1895 population schedule, Parsons, p. 30, dwelling 5, family 5, household of M. Yawman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Nov 2009).
[5] Neosho, Kansas, marriage certificate (no number) (1897), Yawman-Snyder; Neosho County Courthouse, Erie.
[6] Washington State Department of Health, "Washington Death Index, 1940-1996," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Nov 2009), entry for Joyce Y. Seely.
[7] Social Security Administration, "Social Security Death Index," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Nov 2009), entry for Evangeline Y. Waddell, 1999, SS no. 547-34-7828.
[8] Social Security Administration, "Social Security Death Index," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Feb 2012), entry for Hazel A. Yockey, 1993, SS no. 511-24-8870.
[9] Social Security Administration, "Social Security Death Index," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 Dec 2009), entry for Juanita M. Moerer, 2004, SS no. 486-26-1188.
[10] State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics, "California Death Index, 1940-1997," online database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 Dec 2009), entry for Jean Y. Taylor.
[11] findagrave.com, digital images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 23 Aug 2011), Clarence Leonard Yawman, Memorial #34314994, created by Mary Parmele, 1 March 2009.
[12] Social Security Administration, "Social Security Death Index," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Feb 2012), entry for William H. Yawman, 1990, SS no. 495-01-4244.
[13] Kern County, California, death certificate no. (no number) (1999), Beaulah Belle Yawman; Kern County Department of Public Health, Bakersfield.
[14] Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925, Crawford, Kansas, 1905 population schedule, Osage, p. 43, family 292, household of W. L. Yawman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Nov 2009).
[15] "Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925," online database and images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Nov 2009), entry for W. L. Yawman.
[16] 1920 U.S. census, Jackson, Missouri, population schedule, Kansas City, enumeration district (ED) 34, sheet 11A, dwelling 121, family 306, household of William Yawman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Nov 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll T625_924.
[17] Los Angeles County, California, death certificate no. 1659 (1948), William Lee Yawman.
[18] El Monte City Directory - 1940 (N.p.: n.p., 1940).
[19] Los Angeles County, California, death certificate no. 1659 (1948), William Lee Yawman.
[20] Los Angeles County, California, death certificate no. 1659 (1948), William Lee Yawman.




© 2012 Denise Spurlock

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