Della's Journal in Week 11 mentioned Ruth and Louie, and I didn't know who they were, so I decided to look for them. I figured they were family, so I decided to check the Vaux family - Della's mother was Abigail (Vaux) Smith.
I had found Abby's sister, Elizabeth (Vaux) Crouch in the 1920 and earlier census records many years ago, and knew who her children were. Elizabeth was born in NY to Samuel and Mary Ann (Underhill) Vaux, moved to WI, then MO where she married Samuel Crouch in 1871. The Samuel Crouch family had children in Missouri, went to Iowa, then Nebraska and came to Long Beach CA before 1900. I knew that her oldest daughter, Myrtle, had married Benjamin Milbank, but I didn't have spouse names for her other children.
In the 1930 census, I searched first for the Crouch family in Long Beach CA. My reward was immediate:
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1. NARA Film T626, Roll 130, ED 1123, Page 1B, Line 98 (California, Los Angeles County, Long Beach township, 627 Chestnut Street, owned, worth $25,000, have a radio set):
* Samuel Crouch - head, male, white, age 89, married, first at age 31, born England, parents born Eng/Eng, immigrated 1842, naturalized, no occupation
* Elizabeth B. Crouch - wife of head, female, white, age 79, married, first at age 21, born NY, parents born England/NY
* Myrtle Milbank - daughter, female, white, age 57, married, first at age 37, born MO, parents born England/NY
* Benjamin R. Milbank - son-in-law, male, white, age 54, married, first at age 34, born IL, parents born England/NY, a commercial trucker, works in groceries
* Mary McPherson - servant, female, white, age 69, widowed, married first at age 26, born OH, parents born OH/PA, a servant, works for private family
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2. NARA Film T626, Roll 129, ED 1110, Page 7B, Line 57 (California, Los Angeles County, Long Beach township, 3810 East Sixth Street, owned, worth $15,500, has a radio):
* Louis W. Crouch - head, male, white, age 38, married, first at age 21, born MO, parents born TN/MO, no occupation
* Ruth Crouch - wife of head, female, white, age 34, single, married first at age 18, born MO, parents born NY/IL
* Marion L. Crouch - daughter, female, white, age 14, single, born MO, parents born MO/MO
* Betty W. Crouch - daughter, female, white, age 9, single, born CA, parents born MO/MO
* Lydia Chisholm - mother, female, white, age 73, widowed, married at age 26, born IL, parents born OH/IL
* Arthur Crouch - brother, male, white, age 49, single, born MO, parents born TN/MO, a painter, works for paint company
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2. NARA Film T626, Roll 129, ED 1087, Page 1A, Line 47 (California, Los Angeles County, Long Beach township, 549 St. Louis Ave, owned, worth $15,000, has a radio):
* William S. Crouch - head, male, white, age 55, married, first at age 24, born MO, parents born England/WI, a landlord, works as apartment house manager
* Elizabeth Crouch - wife, female, white, age 58, married, first at age 27, born IA, parents born England/England
* Vivian Crouch - daughter, female, white, age 30, single, born IL, parents born MO/IA, a teacher, works in public school
* Evangeline Crouch - daughter, female, white, age 28, single, born IA, parents born MO/IA,
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I looked for another daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Vaux) Crouch - Amy Crouch, but I don't know if she married and, if so, where she lived. A search for an Amy of the right age turned up many possibilities in LA County. Unfortunately, Ancestry.com did not index the birthplace of family members in the 1930 census - only the birthplace of the head of household or household members not related to the head.
I learned several things from these three census entries:
1) Samuel and Elizabeth (Vaux) Crouch are still alive in 1930 and had a fine estate in Long Beach.
2) Their son, William S. Crouch, and his wife Elizabeth, had at least two daughters, Vivian in IL in about 1900 and Evangeline in IA in about 1902.
3) Their son, Louis W. Crouch, and his wife Ruth (probable maiden name Chisholm), had two daughters - Marion L. in MO in about 1915, and Betty W. in CA in about 1921.
4) Myrtle Crouch married Benjamin Milbank and they probably had no children.
5) Arthur Crouch, born about 1880, was single in 1930. I did not have Arthur as a son of Samuel and Elizabeth, but did have a son Ralph born about 1880. I will have to check the earlier census for him.
There are some differences in the records: The father of Louis and Arthur Crouch is listed as born in TN rather than England. The mother of Louis and Arthur Crouch was born in MO, the mother of William Crouch was born in WI, but Elizabeth (Vaux) Crouch was born in NY. I can't explain the differences easily, but I am fairly sure that all of these folks are connected to Samuel and Elizabeth (Vaux) Crouch.
My next step is to check the California Birth Index for the children and the California Death Index for death dates and locations. I can also search for Amy Crouch using her maiden name, if she died after 1940.
I started out looking for Ruth and Louis - not knowing their surname - and quickly found them and expanded my knowledge of the extended family. I would still rather be lucky than good! All of these people are my cousins. The grandchildren of Samuel and Elizabeth Crouch are my second cousins twice removed.
One of the reasons for posting this is to put this data online so that these distant cousins can find me and perhaps provide more information about our common ancestors.
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