1920 US Federal Census
Caldwell, Sumner, Kansas
Oscar Jackson, age 37, b. Arkansas, both parents b. Arkansas, married, rent, can read and write, clerk for a laundry
Leina Jackson, age 31, b. Georgia, father b. N. Carolina, mother b. Georgia
Elenor Jackson, age 11, b. Kansas, school, dtr., all children father b. Arkansas, mother b. Georgia
Albert Jackson, age 10, b. Kansas, school, son
Fannie Jackson, age 8, b. Kansas, school, dtr.
Henry Jackson, age 5, b. Kansas, son
Mary Jackson, age 2, b. Kansas, dtr.
Thomas WILLIAMS, age 22, b. Oklahoma, lodger, father b. Missouri, mother b. Kansas, mechanic for a garage
Oscar Lothair Jackson's WWI Draft Registration Card
In 1910 the new family is in Peabody, Marion, Kansas.
1910 US Federal Census
Peabody, Marion, Kansas, District 75
family 79
Maple Street
Oscar L. Jackson, age 28, b. Arkansas, both parents b. Arkansas, Marriage 1 for 3 years, laundryman, steam, employed by someone else
Leana M. Jackson, age 21, b. Georgia, father b. N. Carolina, mother b. Georgia, Marriage 1 for 3 years, mother of 2 children, both alive
Eleanor L. Jackson age 1 and 11/12, dtr, b. Kansas, father b. Arkansas, mother b. Georgia
Albert L. Jackson, age 6/12. son, b. Kansas, father b. Arkansas, mother b. Georgia
The state of Kansas also did a state enumeration between the years 1855-1925. Although these census' reiterate much of the same information that is found in the US Federal census', they were taken five years after each of the federal census years and these census' sometimes ask a few different questions, such as what state or country the residents came from immediately before their arrival to Kansas. A search of these records reveals Oscar and Leanna's household in the following years:
1925 Kansas State Census
414 No Main St. fam no 7 [note that on this census the visitation numbers are out of order] im.62
Oscar Jackson, age 43, laundry, own shop, born Arkansas, from Missouri to KS
Leanna Jackson, age 36, b. Georgia, from Alabama to KS, the rest of the family have no jobs
Eleanor Jackson , age 16, b. Kansas
Albert, age 15, b. Kansas
Fannie, age 13, b. Kansas
Henry, age 11, b. Kansas
Mary, age 7, b. Kansas
1915 Kansas State Census
Caldwell, Sumner, Kansas
fam 4, im.86
H.B. ANDREWS, age 54, male, owns home
M.J. CLARK, age 66, female
L.M. JACKSON, age 26, female
E. JACKSON, age 6, female
Albert JACKSON, age 5, male
Aunie JACKSON, age 3, female [this should be Fannie]
H.B., age 1, male
[I do not know why Oscar is not here with his family and was unable to find him elsewhere in 1915]
Now that we have tracked Oscar and Leanna throughout the census' that are available from their married years together, (the 1910 census indicated they had been married for three years) we can take another step back and attempt to find them with their birth families. We know that they possibly were married in Kansas, since the children are born there, so one or both of their families may have relocated at some point since their respective births in Arkansas and Georgia. We know that Oscar's mother's maiden name is Major(from the CA death registration), and that he was born in about 1882 in Arkansas. I'll start looking in Kansas and Arkansas for him first.
My first attempts at finding Oscar in the census' before his marriage were unsuccessful, but after I did a search of the Kansas state census, I discovered why. Oscar's mother had either been widowed or divorced and had remarried, and Oscar was listed with his step-father's last name in all of the census' except for the 1905 Kansas State census. His mother remarried a Charles W. Cupp. Mr. Cupp was a laundryman, as Oscar was to become as an adult, and the Oscar listed in the household was a match in both age and place of birth, as well as parental births although the middle initial was off (it actually could be an L, when I looked at the original document), so I confirmed his identity furthur by tracking his Cupp siblings. Charles S. Cupp's mother is identified on his Texas death certificate as Mary Jane Majors.
1905 Kansas State Census
1 March 1905
Caldwell, Sumner, Kansas
images 80-81, line 7
C.W. Cupp, age 45, born Missouri, from Missouri to Kansas, laundry
M.J. Cupp, age 43, born Arkansas, from Missouri to Kansas, housewife
O.L. Jackson, age 22, born Arkansas, from Missouri to Kansas, laundry
C.S. Cupp, age 13, born Missouri, from Missouri to Kansas, attended school
J.T. Cupp, age 9, born Missouri, from Missouri to Kansas, attended school
G.E. Cupp, age 3, born Kansas
1900 US Federal Census
Sumner, Caldwell, Kansas, District 319, image 14, family 161
C.W. Cupp, age 40, born Sep 1859 in Missouri, father b. Ohio, mother b. Maryland, owns home free, laundryman, married 12 years
M.J. Cupp, age 37, born July 1862 in Arkansas, father b. Canada (Eng), mother b. Arkansas, married 12 years, mother of three children all alive
Oscar Cupp, age 18, born Apr 1882 in Arkansas, father b. Illinois, mother b. Arkansas, laundryman
Chas O. Cupp, age 8, born Aug 1891 in Missouri, father born Missouri, mother b. Arkansas, in school
Jacob T. Cupp, age 4, born Sep 1895 in Kansas, father b. Missouri, mother b. Arkansas
1895 Kansas State Census
Sumner, Caldwell, Kansas, image 66, line 12, fam 343
C.W. Cupp, age 35, born Missouri, to Kansas from Missouri, laundry
Mary Cupp, age 32, born Arkansas, to Kansas from Missouri, housekeeper
Oscar Cupp, age 18, born Arkansas, to Kansas from Missouri [should be age 13, wrong on census]
Charlie Cupp, age 3, born Missouri, to Kansas from Missouri
W. YOUNGER, age 20, born Illinois, to Kansas from Illinois, line man
Now we know that Mary and Charles were married in about 1888. We should look in Missouri for their marriage record because they both came to Kansas from Missouri and Charlie was born in Missouri in about 1892. Charles W. is in the 1880 census with his family in Union, Marion, Missouri, so I would begin there. His mother, Sarah, is widowed and his father had died in the previous four to five years.
1880 US Federal Census
Union, Marion, Missouri ED 22, page 20, anc. im. 15
Sarah A. Cupp, age 42, widowed, keeping house, born in Maryland, parents b. Maryland, all of the family can read and write.
Charles W. Cupp, age 20, son, works on farm, all children b. Missouri, father b. Ohio, mother b. Maryland
Annie Cupp, age 13, daughter, at school
Jacob Cupp, age 10, son, works on farm, attended school within the year
Eddie Cupp, age 4, son
And what about Oscar and his parents?? Well Oscar wasn't born yet for the 1880 census, there are no remnants of the 1890 census for any of the areas where he probably might have been, and I don't think he was in Kansas for the 1885 census. We don't know if Mary Jane was married to Oscar's father yet in 1880, so I've searched for her under both names. It has been a problem. I have a couple of possibilities, which gives us some leads to follow up on, but I'm not sure where they will take us.
First I have found an Arkansas marriage record for a J.H. Jackson, born in 1857, age 21 marrying an M.J. Majors, born in 1860, age 18, on 31 August, 1878 in Pulaski, Arkansas. This is a pretty good match, although elsewhere she says she was born in 1862, but that is a pretty common error or fabrication in records.
In 1880, I find an interesting census record for a Lizzie Majors with children listed as Mary J. Jackson and James H. Jackson in Garland, Hot Springs, Arkansas. Everything about this record is wrong, but there is enough right about it that I think it is worth further investigation. We never know when a guess will lead us down the wrong path for awhile or lead to results, so I'll start looking for these Majors and Jacksons in 1870 in Arkansas, try to find a birth record for Oscar, and see if there is a death notice for this James H. Jackson. Statewide birth and death certificates began in 1914 in Arkansas, but newspaper notices, church records, and local records may be available. Is this Oscar's parents listed as single and children of Lizzie Majors and with incorrect ages? That would be one messed up census record, but I've seen worse!
