Viola Myrtle Pierce. Missing from 1930 & 1940 US Census.

[Lisa in California]

1924 Bellingham, Washington City Directory
Francis A Pierce (Viola M), 1327 Forest.  His occupation: lab MMCo

Their 1904 marriage record shows Violet Myrtle Moore; she signed it as Violet.  But, my searches have been for Vio*, so we should be able to find her either way.      

[Erato]

I'm not getting anywhere with this.  Maybe you should try the local historical society, library or newspaper.

http://www.tcpm.org/tchs.htm
http://tillabook.org/en-us/
http://www.tillamookheadlightherald.com/

[Erato]

Bellingham! - it's just a hop and skip from there to Vancouver.

[KiwiRose]

Thank you to all who have responded to my request for help in finding Viola Myrtle Pierce, nee Moore in the 1930 and 40 census.

It is Viola’s whereabouts in the years between 1924 and Oct 1933 that area real mystery.  Sometime in those blank years Viola and her husband, Francis departed from Skagit, WA and settled in Tillamook, Oregon until at least Nov, 1937.

Milliepede:
 Viola’s Tilllamook resident brother, who married in 1937, unfortunately died in Tillamook in May 1939.

I had wondered about whether or not Francis A and Viola M Pierce were out of the US for the 1930 Census. A quick search of “All Border Crossings: From U.S. to Canada, 1908-1935” and “All Canada, Ocean Arrivals 1919-1924” online for a Viola Pierce, and/or  her husband,  has came up negative.

Would they have needed to apply for a passport to travel to Canada?

Lisa:

 Francis Pierce died on the 19th Jul, 1934 in Tillamook. I found his death on Familysearch. Oregon Death Index. 1903 – 1998 Spouse’s name Viola Pierce. Cert No. 57
 
Your finding them in Bellingham in 1924 has helped to close the gap on some of their missing years.

Yes, for some reason Viola has called herself Violet on her 1904 Seattle marriage certificate!

Erato:

Thanks for those links. I will try them out.

Kind regards,
KiwiRose.

[Erato]

"Would they have needed to apply for a passport to travel to Canada?"

No passport would have been required for travel to Canada in those days.

Sometimes, it seems, people just slipped through the cracks.  Sometimes they even did it two censuses in a row.  I have a guy who was well documented from 1849 to 1934 except that he's nowhere to be found in 1910 and 1920. Even though I know basically where he was, he cannot be found on those two censuses.

[*Sandra*]

Have you tried to locate an obituary for the brother to see if she is mentioned - sometimes it does say where  Think I'm clutching at straws like everyone else 

Sandra

[KiwiRose]

Thanks to the efforts of Rootschatters I am slowly making headway in my search for Viola.

Sandra,

Viola’s brother, who died in May, 1939 in Tillamook, was William Leo Moore. I have not found an obituary for him. I did look on the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum‘s Obituary index but they only cover the years 1955 – 2013. Too late for brother, William, and Viola Pierce was not listed.

Erato,

That’s interesting that no passports were required to travel into Canada.

 Viola’s brother, Carl Lewis Moore was found in the index, US to Canada border crossings 1908 – 1935. He arrived at White Rock, on 17 April 1930. I’ve found no Viola or Frank Pierce in this index so it doesn’t appear that they followed (or he joined them).  Sadly, this brother also died aged 40, in Vancouver on 7th Oct 1932.

Kind regards
KiwiRose.

[Lisa in California]

Have you tried to find Francis' family members, to see if Francis and Viola might have returned to Minnesota for some reason?  Could a parent or sibling have passed away around 1924?  Would there by any obituaries for his family members that could mention him?

[KiwiRose]

Lisa,

Thanks for your suggestion to find Francis's family. From a mixture of resources on line I have found, I hope, the correct family. Francis was born on 8 Sept 1882 according to his WW1 Draft document.

 It seems that his father, George Pierce died in 1890’s and his mother Henrietta Arvilla (nee Shaw) remarried in 1903 to an Abner L Briggs.  Francis Pierce and Viola were married, “at the home of the groom’s parents” (i.e. must be mother and stepfather Briggs) in Seattle in 1904. Francis’s mother died in July 1915 in Salt Lake City.  Abner L Briggs was the informant. Any obituary for Henrietta Arvilla, if found, would not help fill in Francis and Viola’s missing years. 

The 1910 Census has Adner(sic) and Arvilla Briggs still in Seattle with two Briggs grandchildren and Arvilla’s mother.

I don’t know what happened to Abner L Briggs at this stage. If he has an obituary somewhere it may prove to be helpful.

Kind regards
KiwiRose.