(Male) Doll (Mar 1, 1898 -- ?)

While fact checking my previous blog post (DAR – Part I), I discovered a certified copy of a birth certificate for (Male) Doll, born Mar 1, 1898 to H.H. Doll and Lucy (Crow) Doll in LaGrange County, Indiana.  I first thought it was my grandfather’s (Byron Henry Doll) record of birth, since it appears to be part of my aunt’s lineage documentation for DAR membership and my father always said his father was born in LaGrange.  However, upon further review I realized that Byron was born Jun 21, 1892.  Which of Henry and Lucy’s children was this?  Following are the only children I knew about.

     1.  Joy Nell Doll                         b. Apr 15, 1886                 d. Oct 25, 1889
     2.   Nathaniel Lewis Doll             b. Sep 28, 1888                 d. Oct 4, 1889
     3.  Theries D. Doll                      b. Aug 4, 1890                  d. Nov 1969
     4.  Byron Henry Doll                  b. Jun 21, 1892                 d. Apr 7 1949
     5.  Louisa D. Doll                       b. Apr 15, 1895                 d. Jan 2, 1989

Joy Nell and Nathaniel may well have been victims of a flu pandemic, known as the "Russian Flu" or “Le Grippe”, which had spread world-wide by October of 1889. Their mother, Lucy, died at Lake Wawasee, Indiana, where her parents lived, just three months after the birth of baby (Male) Doll.  I wonder if her death was the result of complications related to the birth.

The Index to Birth Records, LaGrange County, Indiana, 1882 – 1920, Vol. 1 A-L, was compiled by the Indiana WPA in 1939.  There were two entries that matched the information on the birth certificate.  One in book H1 page 33 and the other in book H3 page 193.  Oddly, none of the other children appear in the index, which makes me wonder if Byron really was born in LaGrange County.  Henry was a farmer, and LaGrange County, which was and still is a farming community, was probably sparsely populated.  Is it possible that the other births either occurred elsewhere (Kosciusko or Elkhart counties) or were not recorded?

In the 1900 Federal Census, after the death of Lucy, Henry and Byron were living with Henry’s mother in Benton Twp., Elkhart County, Indiana.  Theries and Louisa were living with their maternal grandparents in Turkey Creek Twp., Kosciusko County.  Neither family appears to have a two year old living with them.

Lucy, Joy Nell and Nathaniel Lewis are buried in the Crow Cemetery.  Many of the really old headstones are broken and scattered or illegible, therefore, it is possible that the unknown baby may be buried there, but not recognized.

So many questions.