Charles B. Wyant

Charles B. Wyant was my great grandfather and the father of my grandmother Bess Wyant Wellons. He was born May 21, 1872 in Missouri and died September 22, 1936 in Anderson, Indiana. He was married to Mary Elizabeth Carson on October 31, 1895 in Springfield, Missouri, where my grandmother was born.

They seemed to move a lot before settling in Springfield for several years, then moving to Anderson, Indiana. Some of my grandmother’s siblings were born in Newkirk, Oklahoma, the site of a land rush in an area called the Cherokee Strip. They may have also lived in nearby Arkansas City, Kansas, across the border. Arkansas City was the staging area for the land rush. They also may have lived in Severy, Kansas, in Greenwood County.

The 1910 census discussed In an earlier post, shows the whole family, except for my grandmother’s youngest sibling, Clarence Gordon Wyant. They lived in Ward 1 in Anderson and Charles was a poultry packer. He was working at the time, but reported being out of work 24 weeks that year. He owned the home they lived in.

In 1920, the census shows them living in Ward 2 of Anderson, and renting their home at 87 Kimbrough Street. He was a butcher.

In 1930, the census shows them living in Ward 2 again and he was engaged in the shoe repair business. Importantly, the said that he was “working on his own account”. This may mean that he actually started first in the shoe repair business instead of working for his son Paul.

He died at age 64 of a cerebral hemorrhage, or stroke. He was living at 1615 Fairview Street at the time. He was buried at Anderson Memorial Park.

His parents appear to be Isaac and Mary Wyant. However, there appears to be two couples with similar names and movements during the era. The other couple, if not the same couple, has a wife named Margaret Wertz and their son Charles goes to Michigan, which doesn’t match up to our Charles. B. Wyant. It’s a mystery to be solved.

My mom did not have a high opinion of her grandfather, although she really didn’t know him that well. She was born in 1929 and he died when she was 7 years old. She passed on her mother’s opinion that “grandpa only came home to get grandma pregnant”. He did seem, from the residential and work records, to be someone who had a wanderlust. He did support the family economically and the kids, including my grandmother, all did fine.