Bertha Dell STRONG ² ³

Born: 27 Jan 1882, Stotesbury, Vernon County, Missouri ³ ⁴
Christened: 8 Aug 1897, Rinehart Christian Church, Vernon County, Missouri ⁵
Marriage: James Laverne YOUNG on 12 Aug 1903 ¹
Died: 1963, Richards, Vernon County, Missouri ⁶
Buried: Richland/Wall Cemetery, Richards, Vernon County, Missouri ⁶

bullet Noted events in her life were:

1. Census: 1900, Vernon County, Missouri. ⁷

Household of Polly R. Strong:
Strong, Bertha D.; daughter; white; female; born Jan 1882; age 18; single; born in Missouri; father born in Illinois; mother born in Missouri; at school; can read and write; speaks English.

2. Census: 1910, St. Louis, Missouri. ⁸

Household of Vernon Young:
Young, Bertha Dell; wife; female; white age 28; married 6 years; born in Missouri; father born in Missouri; mother born in Missouri; speaks English; no occupation; can read and write.

3. Census: 1920, Los Angeles County, California. ⁹

Young, Bertha D.; Lodger; female; white; age 37; married; can read and write; born in Missouri; father and mother born in Missouri; no occupation.

4. Census: 1930, Vernon County, Missouri. ¹⁰

Household of Vernie Young:
Young, Bertha; wife-H; female; white; age 48; married at age 21; can read and write; born in Missouri; father and mother born in Missouri; speaks English; salesman, grocery store.

Bertha married James Laverne YOUNG on 12 Aug 1903.¹ (James Laverne YOUNG was born on 16 Dec 1875 in Mills Twp (Beaver Creek), Bend County, Illinois,¹¹ died in 1951 in Richards, Vernon County, Missouri ⁶ and was buried in Richland/Wall Cemetery, Richards, Vernon County, Missouri ⁶.)

1 Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage for Vernie J. Young and Bertha D. Strong, Book J, Page 102, Vernon County, Missouri (Certified copy in possession of author).

2 Strong Family Bible. It would appear the Strong Family Bible may have originally belonged to Eli and Elizabeth Strong, for the births of their children appear to have been entered before the births of the children of J. R. and Polly Strong. This bible may have been the bible that was purchased in 1876 from the Estate of Eli Strong, Dec'd by Sarah Legg, mother of Elizabeth (Barry) Strong and Polly (Legg) Strong, which upon her death probably passed to Polly. Beginning with the birth of Eli and Elizabeth's daughter, Betty, in 1873 (Elizabeth died a week later), the entries appear to have been made by Polly until she died in 1916, at which time the handwriting noticeably changes and thereafter is presumed to be that of Bertha (Strong) Young, Polly's youngest daughter and the possessor of the bible, or at least the Family Record pages, at the time of her death in 1963. It thus appears that before Polly started maintaining the Family Records, the bible only contained entries for the family of Eli and Elizabeth Strong. Once Polly took over, she appears to have added the entries for the J. R. and Polly Strong family. [While Elizabeth's and Polly's handwriting is similar, there are some subtle differences. For example, the "B" in "Born" begins with a loop in the case of the entries for the family of Eli and Elizabeth, while it begins with a straight stroke for the family of J. R. and Polly. Also, the names of J. R. and Polly's children are listed separately in a column on the first page that was originally intended for deaths.] One possible exception to this scenario concerns the marriage information for Eli and Elizabeth - that may have been added by Polly at the same time she added her own marriage information. The handwriting for both marriage entries seems to be identical and it also matches the death entries for Eli and Elizabeth, which were probably made by Polly. Moreover, both marriage entries spell "married" as "maried." The Family Record pages have been removed from the bible, which appears to no longer exist. Originally, these pages immediately followed the end of the Old Testament. It is not known when or by whom the Family Record pages were removed. They may or may not have still been part of the bible when Bertha Dell Young nee Strong died in 1963. After Bertha's death, only the Family Record pages were passed on to her grand-nephew, Robert E. Strong, Jr.

3 Delayed or Special Certificate of Birth for Bertha Dell Strong, dated 13 Sep 1949, Missouri State Board of Health, No. 309270.

5 Certification of the Records of the Rinehart Christian Church by Wilbur Scrutchfield, Secretary, dated 2 Jul 1949, Baptized by M. M. Kirk.

6 Charles L. Bernard, Cemetery Directory of Vernon County, Missouri (Vernon County Historical Society, 1979).

7 1900 Census, Vernon County, Missouri, Richards Village in Richland Township, E. D. 126, Sheet 9A, Family 161 at Lines 41-45 (Ancestry.com image 17 of 18).

8 1910 Census, St. Louis, Missouri, FHL Film No. 1,374,830, Ward 13, Vol. 104, E. D. 205, Sheet 12, Family 265 at Lines 34-36.

9 1920 Census, Los Angeles County, California, Roll T625_114, E. D. 413, Page 7A, Family 72 at Lines 18-19 (Ancestry.com image 13 of 30).

10 1930 Census, Vernon County, Missouri, Roll T626_1250, E. D. 35, Page 2A, Family 32 at Lines 1-2 (Ancestry.com image 3 of 6).

11 Delayed or Special Certificate of Birth for James Laverne Young, dated 2 Aug 1949, Illinois Department of Public Health, No. 200045.

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Sources

Bertha Dell STRONG ² ³