I had trouble with this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing prompt of "I can identify" until my maternal great-grandmother, Dora, shouldered her way in this morning and said "if you are going to Pueblo this spring, you'd better write about Maude." Dora died a couple of decades before I was born, you understand, but she lived in the same household as her granddaughter for most of Mom's childhood, and had a lot of influence during that important developmental period. Thus it's really not surprising that Dora is present in my own thoughts about her branch of the family, so you can stop waving that straightjacket around right this minute. FYI, Dora also has strong feelings about properly ironing tablecloths and my decision to part with the giant copper kettle in which my confectioner great-grandfather made candy, but I'll try hard to stay on track with Maude.
Just the facts
Maude M. Thomas was born on 5 October 1876 on a farm in Boone County, Iowa to George Calder Thomas, 26, and his wife, Mary Jane Rhoads, 29. Her sister, Sophia, was 2 years older but died a few days after Maude's 3rd birthday. Not long after that, the family moved into the nearby newly-formed town of Woodward, and George shifted from farming to operating a variety of retail endeavors, including candy-making. He taught Bible Class in the Methodist church and was an active member of the International Order of Odd Fellows, including the drill team that won something important in Baltimore, Maryland, at some point.
Mary Jane died in 1886, when Maude was 10. Not quite two years later, George, now 37, married again. His bride was a former Sunday school pupil, Eldora Officer Nance. Dora was 23 years old, closer in age to her new step-daughter than to her new husband.
I can identify Dora in this picture, and am certain it's Maude standing beside her. Taken 1891-ish, before the very near-sighted Dora began wearing glasses, she looks regrettably and inaccurately vapid, while Maude (13 or so?) just looks sad.
George and Dora had a son, George "Shug" Thomas, in 1892, when Maude was almost 16. I believe this picture was taken a few months later, as I have a picture of Shug as a swaddled infant that I think is contemporaneous.
A July, 1894, newspaper mentions that "Miss Maude Thomas of Des Moines was a visitor at the College." (The Perry Normal College operated from 1892-1910 and was primarily for the education of teachers) On February 27, 1896, a local paper reports "Miss Maude Thomas is attending school in Des Moines." She was 19.
And that's the last "record" I have of Maude.
On 29 October, 1905, George Thomas died suddenly following the rupture of his gall bladder. Maude and Sophia and their mother, Mary Jane, are mentioned in George's obituary, noting that Mary Jane and Sophia had predeceased George, but there is no mention of Maude in the list of survivors (yes, it's as awkward as it sounds). The estate probate documents include attempts to contact "Mrs. Maud Wena of Pueblo, Colorado." It doesn't appear the estate was divided, however, and everything went to Dora and Shug as far as I can tell (to be fair, it wasn't a large estate and there were many payables, as well).
Colorado Photos, circa 1900
But, among the jumble of family photographs, I do have these two:
On the back of the image of the two woman, "Maud Thomas" is written in my grandmother's hand. Seems clear enough, right? However, it was clearly written after Inez had developed significant arthritis so probably 20+ years after Dora's death in 1938 and Shug's death in 1941. Did she know it was Maude or merely suspect? Given the probate information and the locations of the photos and the 1898-1901 period the photographer operated, it seems likely that Inez was correct, that it is Maude who had matured from a baby-faced innocent to the chiseled and happier woman in the dark shirt (the other woman has blue eyes). I think. Probably. Could be. Right?
But the business about "Wena" is problematic. This is almost unheard of as a surname -- it is most usually a Christian name. I have only found a couple of people with the last name of Wena. They are in the western plains, labelled on census records as "Indian," but there's no "Maude" among them. The probate documents are typewritten -- there is no mis-reading them. I'm sure the information came from Dora. However, she also provided the information for the 1914 "History of Boone County" biography on her late husband (although most of the entry is about her!) and it includes a couple of very faithfully typeset but very mis-spelled names. I'm sure she did her best, either from memory or something poorly written, but it does make me wonder. Oh, and the biography doesn't even mention Mary Jane, Maude or Sophia. 🙁
I thought I had a line on Maude at one point, participating in the Oklahoma land rush with her husband (who wasn't named 'Wena') but double-checking showed that it was wishful thinking, that this was a different Maude Thomas born in Iowa circa 1877 (the "Worth County" one, to be precise). There aren't that many women named "Maud" or "Maude" in the Pueblo, Colorado, city directories 1900-1906 and they all seem to be accounted for, as well, although a surprising number of women with that name work at a candy-making company... But isn't the "dark blouse with white skirt" interesting? Do you think it is a uniform of sorts?
We plan to travel through Pueblo this spring and I impulsively told Doug I hoped for a stop so I could do a bit of genealogical investigation. I don't know exactly what that means... do I go door-to-door with my cabinet card, saying "this woman lived here 120 years ago, does she look familiar?"
Dora wants me to find Maude, but doesn't seem to have helpful ideas on how. If you have some better suggestions, I'm all ears.
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