Early Oregon Cousins - James E. Monroe

James Edward Monroe was the son of one of my favorite "aunts," Rebecca (O'Neal) Monroe. She was the youngest sister of Commodore Perry O'Neal and lived with his family for awhile in Iowa and then settled near him when they moved to Oregon.

I am uncertain how many children were in the Monroe family, especially due to the loss of the 1890 census. But from the surviving censuses and various obituaries, there were at least 12 children. James was number 6 of that list, so he would definitely qualify as a middle child.

James was born in May 1873 after the family had arrived in Lane County Oregon He was almost 25 years old when he married Delphia Gillis on 27 Apr 1898 in Lane County. It was less than 6 months later when James' father died. Within 2 years, James and Delphia had moved north and appeared on the 1900 census in Colfax, Whitman County Washington. By then they had a 9 month old daughter, Gladys. Also living in their household of his 10 year old niece, Myrtle Marketta.

Trying to follow James after this has been a puzzle to me. In 1918 he registered for the World War I Draft from Portland, Multnomah County Oregon. He was unemployed and gave his nearest relative as Margaret R Monroe, living in a hotel in Tacoma, Washington. This could be his mother since her name was Rebecca Margaret. In 1920 James is living in a boarding house with a wife named Birdie. He was employed as a truck driver for a coal company. His sister Birdie and her husband John Pinard are living in the same boarding house and he also was a truck driver for a coal company. James and Birdie are in a 1921 city directory for Tacoma with his occupation as laborer. James died on 9 Jun 1923 in Portland Oregon. His obituary does not list among his survivors a wife, but does list a daughter, Gladys Costa, as well as his mother and 10 brothers and sisters. I can't find where he was buried.

What happened to Delphia and Gladys? I found Gladys in the 1910 census living in Spokane Washington with her Gillis grandparents. From her father's obituary, she apparently married someone named Costa. There is a Delphia Hayes, wife of Albert, who died 13 Apr 1931 in Spokane Washington, who has the correct parents. It looks like I need to continue researching this family.