Joseph Albert MCELFISH

1862 - 1918  (56 years)

• Birth	25 Apr 1862	IA   [1, 2]
  Census	4 Jun 1900	Washington Township, Gravity, Taylor, IA   [3]
  	1900 census at Washington Township, Gravity, Taylor, IA shows: Joseph J McElfish, b. Apr 1866, age 34, married 9 years, b. IA, parents b. MD/VA, occupation, Telegraph "illegible"; Mary G. b. July 1870, age 29, married 9 years, children born/living, 3/3; b. IL, parents b. IN/OH; Stella M. b. May 1891, 9, b. MO; Edith G., Feb 1893, age 7, b. IA; Nora M., Apr 1895, age 5, b. MO.
  Military Note	1918  [2]
  	Joseph was a PFC in Co E, 32 Engrs. and died in France.
  Death	22 Aug 1918	FRANCE   [2, 4, 5]
  	The Bedford Times Republican, December 12, 1918, reports, on page one the following. GIRLS INHERIT SMALL FORTUNE The McElfish Girls Notified Their Father Left Them $10,000. It was a number of years ago that Jas. McElfish left Bedford, and his four small children, and the first they have heard from him since was a notice from the war department that he had died in line of action in France, where he was serving in the engineer corps. He had left his insurance, amounting to $10,000 payable to his four daughters, all living here. Further investigation shows that he also left other property to them, the extent of which is not yet known. He enlisted from Pocatello, Idaho and names a friend of his out there the executor of the estate. The Enoch Arden cases are not all fiction and this is another of the sam (sic) kind. The friends of the girls will be glad to learn that they have been so well provided for. Notes: The four daughters were aged 19, 23, 25, and 27 in 1919. $10,000 in 1919 is about the equivilant of about $152,000. in 2019. Enoch Arden was a poem (Tennyson) that lent its name to a principle in law that after being missing a certain number of years (typically seven), a person could be declared dead for purposes of remarriage and inheritance. Joseph is present, with Neva, in the 1900 census but not the 1910 census.

  
  

  Family	Mary Geneva CRAWFORD,   b. 13 Jul 1872, Galesburg, Knox, IL d. 18 Feb 1955, St. Francis Hospital, Maryville, Nodaway, MO (Age 82 years)
  Marriage	1 Nov 1890	Maryville, Nodaway, MO   [6, 7]
  Divorce	Aug 1916  [8]
  Children	1. Stella MCELFISH,   b. 21 May 1891, Worth Co., MO d. 16 Jun 1982, Corning, Adams, IA (Age 91 years)   2. Edith Geneva MCELFISH,   b. 21 Feb 1893, Gravity, Taylor, IA d. 11 Sep 1955, St. Francis Hospital, Maryville, Nodaway, MO (Age 62 years)   3. Nora M. MCELFISH,   b. 26 Apr 1895   d. 14 Aug 1985, Pittsburg, Crawford, KS (Age 90 years)   4. Helen M. MCELFISH,   b. 19 Nov 1900, Gravity, Taylor, IA d. 26 Sep 1955 (Age 54 years)
  Family ID	F277	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 25 Apr 1862 - IA Marriage - 1 Nov 1890 - Maryville, Nodaway, MO Census - 4 Jun 1900 - Washington Township, Gravity, Taylor, IA Death - 22 Aug 1918 - FRANCE  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S530] Mary K. Rish Descendant File, 530. [S1198] United States, Veterans Administration, United States, Veterans Administration, 1198. [S1900] 1900 United States Federal Census, (National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D. C., 1900), 1900. [S1128] Hamilton Family Tree, 1128. [S1155] Newpaper Articles and Obituaries, Bedford Times Republican , Dec. 12, 1918, page 1., 1155. [S426] Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, Missouri Marriages 1851 - 1900, (1982 - 1996), 426. [S601] Print Obituary, M. G. Burrell: Bedford Times Press (Bedford, IA) February 24, 1955., 601. [S24] O'Dell, Pat, Iowa Newspaper Index, Bedford Free Press 22 Aug 1916, 24.