Uncle Fred Wyant

Fred Ellsworth Wyant was the second oldest of my grandmother Bess Wyant Wellons siblings. Dr. Fred Wyant that is. He was a chiropractor and had an office 1234 Jackson Street in Anderson, which may have been his home and his office. It was near the downtown McDonalds and south of the YMCA.  My mom would stop by occasionally when in downtown Anderson, sometimes with me in tow, to say hi to her Uncle Fred.

He was born around 1899 in Newkirk, Oklahoma, on land that was formerly owned by the Cherokee Indians and then bought (or actually stolen) by the U.S. government and opened to a land rush. Not a proud moment in American history. This is not Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears, this is throwing them off the land that treaties gave them in perpetuity as part of the long march to Oklahoma. Why the mistreatment? Some, not all or most, but some of them supported the Confederacy. Not that they were perfect humans, as some of them actually were slave owners.

He died at age 71 in Anderson of a combination of COPD, emphysema, heart issues and cirrhosis of the liver. The obituary is in the Anderson Bulletin of June 8, 1970 on page 2.

In 1940, we have:

Fred, age 41, saying he was born in Kansas instead of Newkirk, Oklahoma. (It was common for Wyant family members to report different places as their place of birth. They may have lived between two close towns or they may have not had paperwork to show the actual place of birth. Most of the older kids were born in Newkirk, OK according to most records. His WWII draft registration gives Newkirk, as his place of birth, not Kansas.)

He was a doctor making $5,000 per year. (That’s twice my grandpa’s relatively high earnings of $2,500 annually at the time and 5 times the amount earned by older brother Frank, the milkman.

Zola, age 41 (actually Zola Blanche)

His date of birth is February 1, 1899 and date of death is June 7, 1970. He was buried at the Saunders Cemetery in Daleville, Indiana alongside Zola. My grandmother Bessie had died the year before. The other siblings were still living. Uncle Gordon was living in Melbourne, Florida according to the obituary.

I thought the storied ended there, but there’s more:

When he registered for the draft for WWI on September 12, 1918, he was 19 years old and he said he was a truck driver and was living at 716 Camp Street in Springfield, Missouri. His closest relative was listed as Ellen I. Wyant. I’m guessing that was a first wife.

In The 1920 census, he was listed as a lodger in the home of the Wells family and was single, working as a press operator in an electric works (Remy Brothers before merging to form Delco-Remy?), in Anderson, Indiana.

He married Mabel Gray on December 22, 1921. She later married a Mr. Mumaw and had several kids. There is no mention of Fred Wyant in her death or burial records.

In the 1930 census, he is listed as the head of household and is married to (Zola) Blanche Wyant, but she was previously married to a farmer named James Rinker.  She and Mr. Rinker were married in 1920. She was listed in the 1920 census living with her Rinker in-laws and three stepsons, Garnett, James Jr. and Waldo.

The 1930 census for the Fred Wyant household shows Fred and Zola Blanche living at 1806 Lincoln Street in Anderson. She was a stenographer and he ran a rug and hat cleaning company. They had an infant daughter, Barbara J. Wyant and stepson Waldo Rinker, now age 10, living with them. This leaves me to believe that Mr. Rinker had died.

The 1943 city directory shows them living at the 1234 Jackson Street address, the location of the home and office I remember visiting.

Zola Blanche Wright was the daughter of Charles and Nancy Wright. She was born on April 18, 1899 and died on December 6, 1977. Her parents were living at 1804 South Jackson Street in Anderson at the 1900 census when Zola was 1 year old.