Rosa's Cousins - Wendel D. Spaulding

If you have been reading this series about Rosa's Cousins, you may have noticed all those I have already done have been female. So for the next two, which are 1/2 1st cousins to Rosa, I plan to write about some males.

According to the Social Security Death Index, Wendel Spaulding was born 29 May 1903 and died Dec 1965. So he would have died at age 62. He was the son of John and Mary Jane (Shipman) Spaulding. Mary Jane was a half-sister to Rosa's father, Joshua Rodney Shipman. They shared the same father, but different mothers.

Wendel first appeared on a U.S. census in 1910 as a 6 year old with his parents and an uncle (Henry F. Spaulding) in Indianfields Township, Tuscola County, Michigan. Wendel seems to have been a late in life baby as his two older sisters, Nellie and Jennie, were over 20 years older than he was. When Wendel was 16 the 1920 census taken in January showed the family living at 243 East Grant Street in Caro in Tuscola County. Then Caro had a population of about 2700. I find it interesting that I was able to visit the Tuscola County Courthouse which was located in Caro. Wendel's father was working as a driver for a creamery and Wendal's occupation was listed as manager for a creamery station.

Apparently it was the same year, 20 Oct 1920, when Wendel was married for the 1st time to a woman named Ethel. This was shown on a divorce record which was granted 25 Oct 1928 in Saginaw Michigan where Wendel was living then. Saginaw was about 30 miles west of Caro in the next county. There had been no children from this marriage. It was a little over a month later, 1 Dec 1928 when Wendel married Lula E. Miers. The 1930 census showed them living in Saginaw at 2411 Deindorfer Street with one child, Donna M. age 4/12. Here Wendel's occupation was projectionist for the movies. It appears there were more children born to Wendel and Lulu, but it seems that this marriage didn't last because Wendel married again in Steuben County, Indiana 8 Jun 1937 to Irene Bush. Wendel and Irene were on the 1940 census in Saginaw at 1815 State Street, with 2 children in the household, Donna age 10 and Shirley age 7. Then Wendel was working on his own account as an operator of a gas station [and] parking lot. In the 1939 Saginaw city directory he was listed as an auto mechanic and in 1941 it showed filling station. But Wendel and Irene did not stay together either as their divorce was granted 9 Nov 1945.

It was just a little over 20 years later when Wendel died in Dec 1965. He was buried in Pleasanton Township Cemetery in Manistee County, Michigan.