Carl Harry Devine Williams Claybourn

Carl Harry D. Williams Claybourn was born on 27 May 1888 in Kinmundy, Illinois, as the seventh child of Reuben and Mary Ann Claybourn. He married on 30 June 1914, to Esther Victorine Slankard.¹Esther Slankard was born on 11 June 1897 in Alexander County, Illinois. On his World War I draft registration card Carl indicated that he worked as an automobile mechanic, and that he was of medium build, slender, and had dark blue eyes and light brown hair. It is not clear that he served in the conflict.

Carl and Esther lived in Mt. Vernon, Illinois but had moved to Springfield, Illinois by 1917. By 1928 they had made their way to Fort Worth, Texas, and then in 1930 they were living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The couple had seven children, listed below. Esther died on 5 May 1937 in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. She is buried there in Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery. Carl died roughly four years later on 20 July 1941 in Chicago, Illinois, and is buried there in Hill Memory Gardens Cemetery in Will County, Illinois.

Descendants

1. Oliver Carl Claybourn was born on 17 April 1915 and lived in Columbus, Georgia. On 13 November 1941 he enlisted in the armed services at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Oliver served as a Private in the Air Corps. His World War II elistment record indicates he had three years of high school, worked as a carpenter, was 6’4″ tall, and weighed 159 pounds.²National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. In 1942, during the height of the war, Oliver married Crystell Keen (born on 1 August 1924 in Lee County, Florida). They had two children, listed below, and by 1955 they were living in Columbus, Georgia. Oliver died on 11 August 1963 in Phenix City, Alabama. He is buried in Lakeview Memory Gardens Cemetery in Russell County, Alabama. After his death, his wife Crystell married (2nd) in March 1965 to John Creighton Forsyth (1918-2006). Crystell died on 16 November 1993 in Marion County, Florida, and is buried with her second husband in Florida National Cemetery in Sumter County, Florida.
   1. Carol Louise Claybourn was born on 13 August 1945 in Walla Walla County, Washington. She graduated from Fort Myers High School in Florida on 2 June 1964. She married (1st) in March 1966 in Lee County, Florida, to Max Allen Meeks and they later divorced there on 8 February 1972. In about 1972 she married (2nd) to Mr. Strobel. In about 1987 she married (3rd) to Mr. Quigley. She died on 14 December 2004 in Dunedin, Pinellas County, Florida.
   2. Robert Carl Claybourn was born on 21 December 1946 in Fort Myers, Lee County, Florida. On 28 May 1971 in Lee County he married Karen S. Galloway. There are Lee County divorce records for them for both 10 March 1977 and 29 January 1986. He may have moved to Phenix City, Alabama, to learn the sheet metal trade. He died in January 1996 in Alabama.
2. Esther Eugenia Claybourn (“Jean”) was born on 7 August 1916. She married (1st) Moran Pierce (born in December 1916 in Eastland County, Texas). He was a truck driver who may have attended New Mexico Industrial School. In 1937 he was convicted of kidnapping for the purpose of robbery and first degree robbery in Kern County, California. As of 22 June 1937 he was in California State Prison at Folsom. In the 1940 census he is listed as married and living in Folsom State Prison. He was moved to San Quentin Prison in Marin County, California, on 3 August 1945 and then freed on parole on 23 October 1945. He was convicted of armed robbery again in Texas in September 1946. As of 12 September 1946 he was in Huntsville Prison in Walker County, Texas. Esther enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II on 30 June 1943 and is listed as separated with no dependents. Esther married (2nd) Lynn A. Peggy. They had one child, listed below. Esther died on 31 December 1964 in New Mexico. U.S. Veterans Gravesites records show that Esther died on 31 December 1967 and was buried on 8 January 1968 in Santa Fe National Cemetery in Santa Fe County, New Mexico.
   1. Denise Lynn Claybourn was born on 6 March 1949. She lived with one of her uncles or aunts in Albuquerque for a short time before she was adopted at about the age of two by a family with the surname of “Brown”. She lived with Juanita Wilkes in McHenry, Illinois, before joining the Women’s Army Corps. Denise eventually married, took the surname of Sorwell, and lived in the Denver area. Denise had one daughter, Michelle Marie Hagan, who worked as an emergency room nurse in Texas.
3. Juanita Ann Claybourn was born on 28 April 1918 in Sullivan, Moultrie County, Illinois. In about 1934 married (1st) to Jeptha Cecil Triplett.³Jeptha Triplett was born on 8 October 1915. He died on 5 February 1978 in Orange County, California. They lived on South Talman in Chicago, Illinois, and had four children – Shirley, Jeptha, Barbara, and Harry – listed below. On 28 January 1950 Juanita married (2nd) Walter Scott Wilkes and the two lived for a time at 808 Southgate, McHenry, Illinois.⁴Walter Wilkes was born on 11 August 1906 in Illinois. They had two children, Alan and Ann, listed below. Walter died in June of 1985 in McHenry County, Illinois. Juanita died on 6 May 1998 in Wauconda, Illinois. She is buried with her second husband in Woodland Cemetery in McHenry County, Illinois.
   1. Shirley Ann Triplett was born on 10 March 1935 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She died on 16 April 1977 in Chicago, Illinois. She is buried in Woodland Cemetery in McHenry County, Illinois.
   2. Jeptha Cecil Triplett, Jr., (“J.C.”) was born on 18 May 1936 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army as a 1st Lieutenant and served in the Korean and Cold Wars. He received his master’s degree and was a licensed drug and alcohol counselor. On 21 January 1963 in Hartford County, Connecticut, he married Ann Elizabeth Moraska, a pharmacist. They had at least one child, Amy. They divorced on 8 October 1991 in Frederick County, Virginia. Jeptha died on 5 March 2012 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. He is buried in Culpeper National Cemetery in Culpeper County, Virginia.
   3. Barbara Glendora Triplett was born on 13 January 1941. She died on 3 June 1958 in McHenry, Illinois.
   4. Harry Ross Triplett was born on 3 May 1942. He served in the U.S. Navy for five years and had a successful career in sales. He married Dianne G. Smuske on 10 September 1966 in Los Angeles, California, and made his home there for forty-eight years. He loved baseball and coached Little League. He also loved acting in community theatre and enjoying Manhattans. Harry died on 4 August 2014.
   5. Allan Scott Wilkes was born on 10 June 1950 and later married and had two children. He worked as a telephone repair man and lived in the Chicago area.
   6. Ann Marie Wilkes (“Annie”) was born on 30 June 1954. She married and had two children, and lived in McHenry, Illinois.
4. Victor Noel Claybourn was born on 28 August 1919 in Springfield, Illinois. He was a private in the Air Corps in World War II. On his enlistment records he listed his occupation as a baker. He married (1st) Ruth Martines but they divorced. He married (2nd) on 2 July 1941 to Dorothy Mae Clark.⁵Dorothy Clark was born on 2 May 1920 in Janesville, Wisconsin. They had one child, Victor Noel Claybourn, Jr., listed below. He married (3rd) to Rose Marie Schavio (born on 4 September 1921 in Sicily, Italy) in about 1947 and they had two children, Ronald and Kathleen, listed below. They divorced in February 1972 in Santa Clara County, California. Victor died on 10 March 1983 in Los Angeles, California, and is buried in the Los Angeles National Cemetery.
   1. Victor Noel Claybourn, Jr. was born on 11 May 1942 in Sutter County, California, and died the same day.
   2. Ronald Vance Claybourn was born in April of 1948. He obtained a degree in oceanography from the University of Washington and worked at Lawrence Labs in Livermore, California.
   3. Kathleen Ann Claybourn was born in 1949 in Santa Clara County, California.
5. Lois Bea Claybourn was born on 7 August 1920 in Springfield, Illinois. Lois married on 9 October 1938 to Claude R. Henry (born on 8 August 1918 in Union County, New Mexico). He graduated from the University of New Mexico and served in the U.S. Navy from January 1943 to December 1947. The two lived on Garden Park Drive in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They had two children, listed below. Lois died of cancer on 15 September 1966 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is buried there in Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery. Her husband Claude married again to Dorothy Elouise Lash (1920-2014) in about 1969 in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. She had two sons from previous marriages and was a step-mother to his two children with Lois. Claude died on 19 February 2001 in Albuquerque and is buried in Santa Fe National Cemetery with his second wife.
   1. Richard Lee Henry (“Chip”) was born on 24 November 1939. He worked as a dentist in Denver, Colorado, and had at least one child. He married (1st) on 24 May 1957 to Karolyn Ann Thornton and they divorced on 25 April 1983 in Fauquier County, Virginia. He married (2nd) to Donna B. Thayer on 26 April 1987 in Northampton County, Virginia. He married (3rd) to Penny Anne Campbell in about 2000 in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.
   2. Janice Darlene Henry (“Jan”) was born in 1942 and married Patrick Sheppard, a Navy Captain. Jan and Patrick had at least one child and lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
6. Charles Vance Claybourn (click name for separate biographical sketch) was born on 10 November 1921 and died 15 November 1986.
7. Verner Marcus Claybourn (“Little Vern”) was born on 1 January 1923 in Farmingdale, Sangamon County, Illinois. He attended Menaul High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II and was later Ship’s Officer for the Texas Oil Company. He settled in Port Arthur, Texas, and married on 29 November 1950 to Reba Mae Suire.⁶Reba Suire was born on 22 May 1929. They had two children, Vicki and Sally, listed below. Verner died on 27 September 1994 in Dallas, Texas. He is buried in Greenlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Jefferson County, Texas.
   1. Vicki Sue Claybourn was born on 8 February 1954 in Jefferson County, Texas. She married (1st) on 3 April 1974 in Hardin County, Texas, to James W. McMichael and they quickly divorced on 16 July 1974 in Jefferson County. She married (2nd) on 16 June 1977 in Jefferson County to Andrew P. Daigle and they quickly divorced on 11 January 1978 in Dallas County, Texas.
   2. Sally Ann Claybourn was born on 16 January 1958 in Jefferson County, Texas. She married on 29 December 1979 in Dallas County, Texas, to Roger Robert Webster.

Footnotes

• 1
  Esther Slankard was born on 11 June 1897 in Alexander County, Illinois.
• 2
  National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
• 3
  Jeptha Triplett was born on 8 October 1915. He died on 5 February 1978 in Orange County, California.
• 4
  Walter Wilkes was born on 11 August 1906 in Illinois.
• 5
  Dorothy Clark was born on 2 May 1920 in Janesville, Wisconsin.
• 6
  Reba Suire was born on 22 May 1929.