Person Page

     John Herman Peterson was born on 3 December 1885 in Opelika, Lee Co., Alabama.^3,4 He married Emily Vick Medine, daughter of Anthony Gatien Medine and Emma Vick Glover, on 17 July 1920 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana.¹ He died on 30 September 1956 in New Orleans at age 70 from a heart attack.^3,4 He was buried at Rosemere Cemetery in Opelika.^4,3
     He and his wife Emily are listed in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, in the censuses from 1930 to 1950.^5,6,7 He was the manager of the New Orleans Clearing House Association.^4,3

     Walter Soum Medine was born on 9 January 1903 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana.^4,2,5 He married first Evalyn Louise McCombs, daughter of Virgil McCombs and Eva F. Fowble, in May 1926 in Ventura, Ventura Co., California.^6,7 Their marriage was annuled as the result of a court action brought by Evalyn's parents on 2 July 1926, saying she was under age.^7,8 He married second Doris Madeline Larmore, daughter of John E. Larmore and Maude E. Miller, on 27 October 1928 in Garden Grove, Orange Co., California.^1,9 They were divorced (filed by Doris) in December 1932 in Los Angeles Co.¹⁰ He and Evalyn Louise McCombs were remarried on 3 February 1941, 15 years after their marriage was annuled in 1926, in Phoenix, Maricopa Co., Arizona.¹¹ He died on 3 January 1956 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., California, at age 52.² He was cremated, and buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Col. of Adoration, Holly Terrace, Lot 0, Space 23507) in Glendale, Los Angeles Co.^2,12
     He and his wife Doris are listed in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., California, in the 1930 census.¹³ In 1940, after his divorce, he is listed on his own in Los Angeles¹⁴, and in 1950 he is listed with his wife Evalyn and their children in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles Co.¹⁵
     At the time of his marriage in 1928 he was a secretary, and also worked at times for First National Studios⁹, and he was listed as a bank official in the 1930 census.¹³ He later went into the toy and games manufacturing business.^14,15,2
     He and his wife Evalyn moved to Arcadia, Los Angeles Co., California, about 1953.²

     Doris Madeline Larmore was born on 25 September 1905 in Los Angeles Co., California.² She married first Walter Soum Medine, son of Anthony Gatien Medine and Emma Vick Glover, on 27 October 1928 at the home of Mr. & Mrs. J. W. Guptill in Garden Grove, Orange Co., California.^1,3 They were divorced (filed by Doris) in December 1932 in Los Angeles Co., California.⁴ She married second Lloyd William Graham on 13 December 1933 in Santa Ana, Orange Co., California.⁵ She died on 15 July 1969 in Los Angeles Co. at age 63.⁶ She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Vale of Faith, Lot 293, Space 1) in Glendale, Los Angeles Co.⁷
     She was working as a cashier for the La Brea Real Estate Co. in Hollywood, Los Angeles Co., California, at the time of her marriage in 1928.^3,1 She and her first husband Walter are listed in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., in the 1930 census.⁸

     Evalyn Louise McCombs was born on 30 August 1908 in California.^5,6 She married first Walter Soum Medine, son of Anthony Gatien Medine and Emma Vick Glover, in May 1926 in Ventura, Ventura Co., California.^7,8 Their marriage was annuled as the result of a court action brought by Evalyn's parents on 2 July 1926, saying she was under age.^8,9 She married second Emilio Christopher de Lavigne on 19 June 1930 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., California.³ Evalyn later filed for divorce, and an interlocutory decree was entered in Los Angeles on 30 January 1940.¹⁰ She and Walter Soum Medine were remarried on 3 February 1941, 15 years after their marriage was annuled in 1926, in Phoenix, Maricopa Co., Arizona.¹ She married fourth William M. Polis on 21 June 1958 in Los Angeles Co., California.¹¹ She died on 24 January 2001 at age 92.⁵
     She attended the National Park Seminary (a private girls' school) in Forest Glen Park, Montgomery Co., Maryland, and spent a year in Europe before her marriage to Emilio de Lavigne in 1930.¹²
     She and her husband Walter and their children are listed in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles Co., California, in the 1950 census.⁶ They moved to Arcadia, Los Angeles Co., California, about 1953.²

     George F. Fee was born on 8 December 1885 at home in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana.¹ He probably married Berdell Genevieve Porsche, daughter of Edward C. Porsche and Mary Agnes West, on 30 October 1909 in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois.² (Their marriage record doesn't name their parents, but George's age (24) and birthplace (Louisiana) are consistent with George, son of Charles Fee and Laura Glover. In George and Berdell's 1910 census entry, George's parents were both listed as being born in Louisiana. His father was actually born in Ohio, but came to Louisiana as an infant.)³ He and May Lentz, daughter of Frank Lentz and Anna (?), obtained a mariage license dated 21 July 1923 in Wayne Co., Michigan, but didn't actually marry, and the license was returned.⁴
     He and his wife Berdie are listed in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, in the 1910 census⁵, and he was then working as an order clerk for an upholstering company.⁵
     He may be the George Fee who was an inmate at the Illinois State Penitentiary in Joliet, Will Co., Illinois, probably from at least 1914 to 1920. There's a George Fee, age 33 and born in Louisiana, listed there in the 1920 census, and working as a book binder.⁶ As a prisoner, in 1914 he wrote an article for the prison magazine about the importance of being optimistic and encouraging others, and avoiding pessimism.⁷

     Berdell Genevieve Porsche was born on 8 March 1887 in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois.^1,2 She married first George F. Fee, probably son of Charles Baldwin Fee and Laura Lane Glover, on 30 October 1909 in Chicago.² (Their marriage record doesn't name their parents, but George's age (24) and birthplace (Louisiana) are consistent with George, son of Charles Fee and Laura Glover. In George and Berdell's 1910 census entry, George's parents were both listed as being born in Louisiana. His father was actually born in Ohio, but came to Louisiana as an infant.)⁴ She later married (?) Degraff.³ She died on 22 January 1972 at Martha Washington Hospital in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, at age 84 from a heart attack.³ She was buried on 25 January 1972 at Ridgewood Cemetery in Des Plaines, Cook Co., Illinois.³
     She and her first husband George are listed in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, in the 1910 census.⁵ She worked as a bakery store clerk.³

     May Lentz was born about 1883 in Michigan.¹ She and George F. Fee, son of Charles Baldwin Fee and Laura Lane Glover, obtained a mariage license dated 21 July 1923 in Wayne Co., Michigan, but didn't actually marry, and the license was returned.¹

     Anna Salter Morse was born on 29 March 1863 at the home of her father's widowed sister Eliza (Morse) Parham near Amite, St. Helena Parish (now Tangipahoa Parish), Louisiana.^1,2,3 (Her birth record, filed by J. J. Steeg on 25 November 1865 says, apparently mistakenly, that she was born in New Orleans.)¹ She married William Edwin Hicks, son of James Hicks and Elizabeth Jane Howard, on 9 September 1884 at the Carondelet Street Methodist Church in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana.^4,3 She died on 3 October 1940 at home in Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, at age 77 from a stroke.² She was buried at Sand Hill Cemetery in Ponchatoula.^5,6
     She attended Whitworth Female College, a Methodist women's college in Brookhaven, Lincoln Co., Mississippi.³
     For a year or two after their marriage she and William continued living with her mother in New Orleans³, then lived for a time in Paris, Henry Co., Tennessee, where William was from and where their son James was born.⁷ They moved to Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, about 1888.^8,5,7 On 20 February of that year William bought 100 acres of land about four miles east of Ponchatoula, where they made their home³, and where they are listed in the censuses from 1900 to 1920. In 1900 Anna's mother Amanda, brother Alex, and half-brother Marvin Goodwyn were living with them.^9,10,11
     She and William were members of the Wesley Chapel Methodist Church in Ponchatoula, where she taught Sunday School, and for many years was a member of the Missionary Society.³
     About 1920 William began running a merchandise and feed business in Ponchatoula, and they moved into town near his store.³
     Within a few years they seem to have run into financial problems. On 9 August 1924 some of their property - the east 3/8 of lots 9, 10, and 11 in square 34, and a Ford automobile - was scheduled to be sold at auction due to $43.30 in delinquent taxes.¹² They apparently paid the taxes, preventing the sale, but in 1929, as a result of a suit by the Ponchatoula Homestead Association, the same real estate was seized by the court and scheduled to be sold at auction on 9 November.¹³ On 4 August 1930, a little over two months after her husband's death, several of her friends and neighbors presented a petition to the Police Jury (the local governing body) to add her to the pauper list, as she "has no income whatsoever and has no means of support." The petition was granted, awarding her $3 per month.¹⁴
     She and William have not been found in the 1930 census, at least with any certainty.¹⁵ She is listed on her own in Ponchatoula in the 1940 census.¹⁶

     Eugene Parham Morse was born on 5 May 1865, probably in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana. (His birth record, filed by J. J. Steeg on 25 November 1865, says he was born in New Orleans, Orleans Parish. But his marriage record says in St. Helena Parish; his obituary says in Ponchatoula (then in Livingston Parish, now Tangipahoa Parish); and his death certificate originally said in Ponchatoula, but was amended in 1967 to say just St. Helena Parish.)^1,2,3,4 He married Catherine Theresa McAdam, daughter of Joseph McAdam and Jane O'Brien, on 14 February 1895 in New Orleans.² He died on 21 January 1947 at St. Mary's Infirmary in Galveston, Galveston Co., Texas, at age 81 from heart failure following a stroke.⁴ He was buried in the Odd Fellows plot at Evergreen Cemetery in Galveston.^4,3
     From about 1886 to 1894 he lived with his brother Alexander in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, and was working as a clerk.⁵ He began working as a painter around the time of his marriage in 1895⁶, continuing the rest of his working life.^7,3
     He and his wife Katie are listed in New Orleans in the 1900 census⁸, but they moved to Galveston, Galveston Co., Texas, shortly after the historic 1900 hurricane hit that city, probably for work⁹, and are listed there in the censuses from 1910 to 1940.^10,11,12,7 In 1940 they were living in the same dwelling as their daughter Ethel and her family, but listed as a separate household.
     Not long before his death he moved to Dickinson, Galveston Co., about 20 miles inland and northwest of Galveston.³

     Alexander Vick Morse was born on 17 February 1867 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana.^1,2 He died on 10 February 1911 at Charity Hospital in New Orleans at age 43 from pulmonary tuberculosis.² He was buried on 11 February 1911 at Cypress Grove Cemetery No. 2 in New Orleans.^3,4,5
     He served during the Spanish-American War in 1898 as a private in Company L of the First Louisiana Infantry.^6,1 They left New Orleans in late May 1898, traveling first to Mobile, Alabama, then to Miami, Florida, "the worst camp in the country." They moved in early August to a nicer camp on the St. John River near Jacksonville. They expected to be sent to Cuba, but the war ended and they were sent back home. They traveled by railroad from Jacksonville to Pensacola, then to Mobile, and finally to New Orleans, arriving late the night of 4 October.⁷
     From about 1886 to 1895 he lived with his brother Eugene in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. He was working as a clerk in 1888 and 1889, as a salesman in 1890, again as a clerk from 1891 to 1894, and as a painter in 1895.⁸ In 1900 he was listed in the census as a sign painter, living with his sister Anna's famiily in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, along with his mother Amanda and half-brother Marvin Goodwyn.⁹ He was back in New Orleans by 1903, working as a painter from 1903 to 1906, and as a clerk in 1907.¹⁰ He is probably the "Aleck Moss" listed as a lodger in New Orleans in the 1910 census with the occupation house painter.¹¹

     William Edwin Hicks was born on 27 July 1858 in Paris, Henry Co., Tennessee.^3,4 He married Anna Salter Morse, daughter of Alexander Gallatin Morse and Amanda Fitzallen Dortch, on 9 September 1884 at the Carondelet Street Methodist Church in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana.^1,5 He died on 24 May 1930 in Ponchatoula, Tanghipahoa Parish, Louisiana, at age 71 from a heart attack.^3,2 He was buried on 26 May 1930 at Sand Hill Cemetery in Ponchatoula.^2,5,6
     He moved from Paris, Henry Co., Tennessee, to Texas, and is listed there in Callahan Co. in the 1880 census, living as a boarder with the family of Isham and Fanny Harris, and working as a farm hand.⁷ He later moved to Fort Worth, Tarrant Co., Texas,⁵ where he was political editor of The Advance newspaper⁵, before moving to New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, about 1883.⁵ In New Orleans he worked as a clerk with the Southern Express Company, while boarding with the widow Amanda (Dortch) (Morse) Goodwyn, where he met his future wife, Mrs. Goodwyn's daughter Anna Morse.⁵
     For a year or two after their marriage he and Anna continued living with Anna's mother in New Orleans⁵, then lived for a time in Paris, Henry Co., Tennessee, where William was from and where their son James was born.⁸ They moved to Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, about 1888.^2,9,8 On 20 February of that year William bought 100 acres of land about four miles east of Ponchatoula, where they made their home⁵, and where they are listed in the censuses from 1900 to 1920. In 1900 Anna's mother Amanda, brother Alex, and half-brother Marvin Goodwyn were living with them.^4,10,11 His occupation was listed as poultryman in 1900 and farmer in 1910.^4,10 He also worked part time as a newspaper reporter, and as an accountant⁵, and served as manager of the Federal Farm Loan Association in his district for several years.²
     She and Anna were members of the Wesley Chapel Methodist Church in Ponchatoula. He served as Sunday School superintendent there starting in 1890, and became a licensed preacher on 1 September 1894.⁵
     About 1920 he began running a merchandise and feed business in Ponchatoula. He and Anna moved into town near his store⁵, and he is listed as a merchant in the 1920 census.¹¹
     Within a few years they seem to have run into financial problems. On 9 August 1924 some of their property - the east 3/8 of lots 9, 10, and 11 in square 34, and a Ford automobile - was scheduled to be sold at auction due to $43.30 in delinquent taxes.¹² They apparently paid the taxes, preventing the sale, but in 1929, as a result of a suit by the Ponchatoula Homestead Association, the same real estate was seized by the court and scheduled to be sold at auction on 9 November.¹³
     He and Anna have not been found in the 1930 census, at least with any certainty.¹⁴

     Catherine Theresa McAdam was born on 4 January 1872 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana.⁴ She married Eugene Parham Morse, son of Alexander Gallatin Morse and Amanda Fitzallen Dortch, on 14 February 1895 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana.¹ She died on 3 February 1943 at St. Mary's Infirmary in Galveston, Galveston Co., Texas, at age 71 from uremia.⁴ She was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Galveston.⁴
     She and her husband Eugene are listed in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, in the 1900 census.⁵, but they moved to Galveston, Galveston Co., Texas, shortly after the historic 1900 hurricane hit that city, probably for work⁶, and are listed there in the censuses from 1910 to 1940.^3,7,8,9 In 1940 they were living in the same dwelling as their daughter Ethel and her family, but listed as a separate household.