June 11, 2026
“Rex Needed You to Find Him”
“These
were their settlements. And they kept good family records.”
Don’t
forget to look for the title which is embedded in the chronicle.
FAMILY ALBUM
And I Quote:
Did you know? These are like letters to the
editor for me. I share them because they encourage me and I appreciate them so
much.
Please do send the
article on Fenwick and Maud. They are an interesting couple! – Jeanni.
Congratulations
on your “Generations” article. Yes, I would love for you to send me a copy to
read . . . I am very happy for you. – Annmarie.
Hi Peg, My rememberer is horrible and I too have a good many projects on
hold because my get up and go, got up and left, but I am still hoping to find
it someday. Chandler and I had a great trip to Austria
and briefly Southern Germany! . . . I would enjoy a copy of your
"Generations" article about Uncle Fenwick and Aunt Maud . . . –
Julia.
Thanks
for the mention of James Ballantyne. Please send me the link to the last will
and testament you mentioned. It's interesting that the whole Goodenough family
ended up in California. Again, thank you for all you do. –
Marvin.
. . . It
[article
about Uncle Fenwick and Aunt Maud] was quite wonderful. I hope you have had
positive feedback. I sent it to Lori, Jim, and Marcus at the museum . . . it was an article that touched both my NB
roots and my 60 year life here in NW Ontario. Well, well done! Lots of
research, organizing and editing.
–
Jan. The people mentioned – Jan, Lori, Jim, and Marcus are not family. They are
genealogists, family historians, and/or a curator who helped me from Rat
Portage. Bless them.
1926
to 1928
1924 to 1928 are the years that our Holmes ancestors spent
renewing relationships that had somehow fallen by the wayside but with
organization, letter writing, and challenging travel – by hook or by crook –
they managed to come together again. They reacquainted and rediscovered their
family ties. And then, one by one, they died, and many of those ties died with
them.
2026 to 2028
There are photos and documents in this chronicle. Request an email if you wish to see them.
I have received gifts from some of you,
much appreciated gifts of a variety of sorts. But last week, I received a gift
from a stranger, a gift that touched me to my genealogical core. It is a gift
that has changed my thinking and my perspective of a few of the less savory and
exemplary of our ancestors of descent and collateral lines. From here on in, I
will now consider that once upon a time, they were innocent babes. What
happened to change them? I’m sure they have their different reasons. The
stranger. Susan, is quickly becoming a kindred spirit. She lives near the
cemetery where Rex and his sister, Myrne Seiler, live. She sent the photos to
me.
Rex needed you to find him. As you
likely know he has no headstone, nor anything visibly marking his grave. The
cemetery helped me find his exact location, then they put in an in-ground vase
for flowers.
And
then, Susan purchased flowers to put on his lonely grave.
You
will find an essay about Charles Rex Goodenough (at birth) aka Bert Rex Gordon
(at burial) in the family history section. I put it into our genealogy group as
an example of how to break down a brick wall, removing references that would
identify you. Susan replied. She discovered that she has Loyalist roots in New
Brunswick. She offered to go to the cemetery to take photos and see what she
could find. She repeated her offer. I said to myself, she is sincere in her
desire to do this, and I gave her the sites of Rex’s remains and that of his
potential third wife. Flo is still a work in progress. Susan also put flowers
on Flo’s grave, just in case she might be his wife. She put a photo of the
cemetery on Find a Grave.
This kind staff member put an in-ground vase for flowers at
Rex’s grave site. He also gave her a business card so I could contact the
proper person at the cemetery. Rex lies between Viola B Long and James E
Stotenburg, should any of you wish to go to what the website says is the
largest cemetery in the US.
A few of you will remember Rex Goodenough. He’s the one who
left a suicide note and disappeared. He did not commit suicide, and I wonder
how they were able to locate him in the big city of Los Angeles, but they did.
He descends from Frances A Holmes, daughter of Daniel and Charlotte, and wife
of James W Ballantyne. In this order:
Daniel and Charlotte
James Ballantyne and
Frances A Holmes
Charles H Goodenough and Anna Louise Ballantyne
Charles Rex Goodenough, with several aliases listed in the
history lesson. The common name was Rex.
Susan put this photo in Rex’s Find a
Grave Memorial.
Susan
and I continue to chat. I am so touched by her kindness. I want the descendants
of Annie and Charles Goodenough, Brenda, Leanne, and Marvin, to know of her
kindness to our family. Rex’s Find a Grave memorial number is 127009595. I
believe the date of birth is off by a couple of years. He died on November 18,
1939.
This
is the distant view from Rex’s burial place. Isn’t it lovely. My bit of
research tells me this is Mount Baldy, aka Mount Saint Antonio, and it is about
45 miles from Los Angeles. Rex’s sister, Myrne, and her husband, Waldo Seiler,
are buried in the same cemetery. They had no children.
This is a closer view
of the tree that provides shades for Rex and those he lies close to. After
telling Susan a bit of his story, this is what she said:
“It had crossed my mind one possibility
for no headstone was something not good. But I too hope he'd found happiness .
. .
Yes, I've developed an interest in genealogy. I was
surprised in my initial research to find out I'm related to a loyalist. I'd
learned in school about loyalists, but just the tarring/feathering and that
they fled to Canada. Nothing about their lives after that, nothing empathetic
toward them.
I'm
going to spend some time appreciating this DeMerchant/loyalist line before
moving deeply onto others, learning about this brand new (for me) perspective.
The 4th of July is coming up, which I will be experiencing very differently
this year now knowing my loyalist family roots.”
I think
my intrigue in genealogical research is something I would do, even if I had no
one to share it with. But it’s moments like this that bring me a joy I can
hardly describe.
My Confusion about
Nellie June Goodenough
Ancestry.
Iowa, US Births, 1856 to 1940 for June Goodenough
https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/61441/images/61441_b1045578-00117?pId=302106200
Nellie June, who generally went by June, never married. She
completed her high school education, and worked as a clerk, a stenographer, a
bookkeeper, and a credit manager at the Waterbury Chemical Company in Des
Moines for several years. This company, founded by Frank C Waterbury, was a
major supplier of cod liver oil. Mr. Waterbury was also the vice president of
the Des Moines College of Pharmacy. She moved on to Carley’s (Inc.), where she
worked as a bookkeeper for a merchant who sold suits, millinery and furs. June
moved with her family to Los Angeles, California, sometime about 1926. There,
Anna, their mother, and June and Myrne shared apartments; at some places, Rex
lived with them. June worked as a bookkeeper, and
later as an auditor, at Union Manufacturing Company. Verify all this. June
always lived with a family member. In 1930, they
were all together in California: Anna, Rex, June and Myrne, and living close to
Fanny. After her mother passed away, she shared a place with Rex until his
second marriage. Her Aunt Jessie lived with her for a couple of years, and then
June moved into her sister and brother-in-law’s
house on Oakford Drive in Montebello. 1940 census which includes 1935, but that
is it. I can no longer locate this info. I can locate June in some
voters lists and directories; as far as I know, she lived with Myrne for the
rest of her life, and always worked as a bookkeeper. June passed away in Los
Angeles on August 26, 1981; five days before her sister, Fanny Davis. Obviously,
in 2017 I had some information that I do not have now. And it is important. I cannot find the 1930 census for Annie Goodenough
(mother), Rex, June, or Myrne; only Fanny Davis. According to the info
that I had, everyone lived within 5 miles of Fanny. I might have to do some
deleting. And, that frustrates me.
FAMILY HISTORY LESSON
Do
you know what a genealogical brick wall is? It’s a detail you can’t figure out.
It’s someone, sometime, somewhere, or something you look for, for a long time.
You look for records but they elude you. You don’t know where else to look. What
should you do if you cannot break down this brick wall? You could go to others
for help. You might join a Facebook group for the alleged location. You might
write to family members. You might pay a professional. If that doesn’t work, my
advice is to put your problem away for a while, and come back to it. New
details are added online all the time. Eventually, you might face the fact that
the record just does not exist, but I recommend that you come back to it from
time to time. On
the day I sent out the previous chronicle, I broke down a brick wall that I
have chinked away at from time to time since about 2017. Paula helped me;
Brenda M helped me. But Charles Rex Goodenough, usually known as Rex, taunted
me. As I review the Ballantyne family for “Westmorland,” I check out some of my
facts and revise what I have written. It was time to have another looksee for
the elusive Rex. I
found the answer at FamilySearch. I always wondered if Rex changed his name.
Perhaps he was trying to cover his tracks. How
did he get into our family tree? You should all know by now, Daniel and
Charlotte (Hoyt) Holmes, so let’s start with them. Daniel and
Charlotte’s first child was Frances Ann Holmes, born in New Brunswick in 1837
and died in Iowa in 1902. She married James W Ballantyne, born in Scotland in
1833 and died in Iowa in 1906. James
and Fanny had a daughter, Anna Louise Ballantyne, born c. 1863 in Ontario, and
allegedly died 1931 in California. Anna
aka Annie married Charles Henry Goodenough, born in Wisconsin in 1859 and died
in Iowa in 1911. Charles
and Annie had a son, Charles Rex Goodenough, born in Iowa c. 1892. Rex is my
mystery man. A timeline is in order.
Timeline
of C Rex Goodenough
1895 – Census of Iowa. Rex
Goodenough, born about 1892.
1900 – US Census of Iowa, C Rex
Goodenough, age 8.
1910 – US Census of Iowa, Charles R
Goodenough, age 18.
1912 – Marriage of Charles R
Goodenough, age 25, to Edna R Malin.
1917 – WWI Draft Registration of
Charles Rex Goodenough, born September 5, 1892. Claims an exemption as he has a
wife and a child. No reason to lie about his age.
1920 – US Census of Iowa, Rex C
Goodenough, age 28, has a wife and two children.
1920 – Newspaper clippings in
October. Rex Goodenough disappears. Clippings give his occupation as a
mechanic.
1922 – Rex and Edna’s youngest
daughter dies. He is called Rex Goodenough on her death record.
1929 – Edna filed for divorce. It
was granted on grounds of desertion. She received no alimony.
1930 – I cannot find a census
record or a directory record. I believe he is California.
1934 – Rex G Goodenough marries
Vera. The printing is clear on the index record. It definitely says Rex G. On the actual record, he is called Rex Gordon
Goodenough. I believe they divorced.
Before 1939 – I believe he married
for a third time, a lady name Flo May. As I have not found a record, perhaps
they partnered instead.
1938 – Rex Gordon. City Directory
of Los Angeles. Living with aunt, Jessie Ballantyne, at 666 S. Sydney Dr. Page
164 and 795. Mechanic. (Also there with Florence in 1940, although he was
dead.)
1939 – Bert Rex Goodenough, also
known as Bert Rex Gordon, died on November 18. Mrs. Flo May Goodenough
(Gordon), his wife, was the informant.
Was this the record of our Rex?
Let’s look at the information that the informant gave.
- His date of birth is similar, September 5, 1890.
I think I will stick to the information on his draft registration, but I’d
like to see a record of birth to be sure. I’ll not quibble about it.
- He is the proprietor of an auto repair shop, and
has worked in this profession for twenty-five years.
- He was born in Humboldt, Iowa.
- His father was Charles A Goodenough. His mother
was Annie L Ballantyne, who was born in Canada.
All of these facts indicate that
Bert Rex Goodenough alias Gordon is our Rex.
Always interesting to me is the
cause of death; in this case, coronary sclerosis and an embolism.
Bert Rex Gordon is buried in the
Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California. Dates match the death record.
A Florence Gordon is buried in the same cemetery, but in a different section;
death 1963. I sent a query to the cemetery, asking if they are husband and
wife. I await their reply.
So ends the life of Charles Rex
Goodenough, alias Charles Gordon Goodenough, alias Bert Rex Goodenough, alias
Bert Rex Gordon. Husband of Edna R Malin, Vera Rozelva Bachman Meyers Gilbert
(Gilbert as of 1940), and allegedly Flo May (Maiden Name Unknown) Goodenough or
Gordon. Father to Patricia and Rachel.
When
you break down a brick wall, you will almost always get new questions. Flo May
is, so far, as elusive as Rex.
This ends
week twenty-four of our centennial virtual celebration of 1926 – 2026.
