I first started visiting the Mission Township cemetery with my grandfather in the early 1960's. He had no family there so I'm not sure why he visited. We had a sort of ritual, we would first stop at the flag pole and read a portion of the commemorative stone there, "Born to Die - Died to Live, Cleaver Thayer." Nearby was a wooden sign that always interested me. A crude wooden sign with a painted inscription containing no first name or dates. When I first started doing genealogy I did a cursory search for Baby Cuff and discovered there were more than one. Their mother's name was Hazel and she had died fairly young and was buried in Oregon. Much later I found a photograph of Hazel and was intrigued by her looks and began a more thorough search.
This is a story of Hazel and her family as well as that of her husband, Richard Alonzo (Lonzo) Cuff whom she married in 1923.
Hazel Goldie Finn was born March 1, 1905 In Brainerd, Minnesota to Byron Albert and Nancy Emelia (Robins) Finn, the third of 6 children.
Her father, Byron was likely born in Hudson, Michigan in 1877, where the family was enumerated in the 1870 census. By 1880 they are in New London, Minnesota. Byron was the youngest of 13 children born to his father, who was 65 at the time, and the last of his 3 wives, who was 36.
Hazel's mother Nancy, was born in 1879 in Ellsworth, Wisconsin, the 4th of 7 children. Byron and Nancy married in 1899, likely in New London, Minnesota where they are enumerated in the 1900 census. Byron and Nancy moved to Salem, Oregon in 1927 where Byron died in 1936 and Nancy in 1950.
Byron and Nancy had 6 children, the other five, Hazel's siblings, are:
Florence E., the eldest , was born in 1900. She married David Rose, an iron miner in Crosby. She died in 1922, likely in childbirth, leaving three daughters, Dorothy (4) Violet (3) and Lillian (1).
Etta May was born in 1901. She married Warner Cain who first worked for the railroad, then the iron mine and finally on the sewer project in Brainerd. The family moved to the Vancouver, Washington area in 1942. Warner died in 1983, aged 90 and Etta in 1995, aged 94. Warner's obituary says the couple was survived by 6 children, 27 grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren.
Harvey Frank was born in 1907. In census records (through 1950) his occupation is always listed as some sort of laborer and he always resides with his parent(s). On December 5, 1964, at age 57, he married for the first time Rosie Polka Knupp, she had been widowed in 1950. The marriage was annulled 100 days later on March 15, 1965. Harvey died in 1987 at age 80.
Floyd Edwin was born in 1910 and did not marry. He was an Army veteran of World War II, his obituary states he was General Omar Bradley's personal driver. After leaving the service and until his retirement he worked for the Del Monte Cannery in Salem, Oregon. He died in 1985 at age 75.
Alvin Edward Alvin Edward was born in 1917. In 1937 he married Delma Jenson. Alvin died in 1939 at age 23. He was killed, along with two of his passengers, when the car he was driving caromed off a guard rail and struck a Greyhound bus, head on. His death certificate states he fractured his skull when fractured. The newspaper stated that this narrow bridge, on the Pacific Highway outside of Portland, Oregon, was an especially dangerous spot. Alvin and Delma did not have children.
Richard Alonzo Cuff the son of David Lee and Ann Martha (Logan) Cuff, was born November 30, 1903 in Massena, Iowa. His father, David Cuff, was born in Tennessee and mother, Ann, in Missouri. They married in 1894, likely in Camden County, Missouri where they are enumerated in 1900 with three children, the census records a fourth child has died. In 1910 they are enumerated in Cross Lake, Minnesota. One more child had been born in Missouri, two children, including Richard in Messina, Iowa and their youngest, in Minnesota. The 1920 census records the birth, in Mission Township, of the last of their nine children. In each of the aforementioned censuses, David's occupation is listed as a farmer, however The Brainerd Daily Dispatch details another of his endeavors, moonshine.
The remainder of the article is as follows: "Indian officers raided a distillery operating on the banks of the Big Pine river in Mission township about 40 miles north of Brainerd, and arrested David E. Cuff, who is charged with operating a thirty-gallon copper still, with about 325 gallons of raisin and fig mash.
The still is claimed to have been in operation and about four gallons of the finished product had been run off. The building housing the still was a one-story log structure with portholes in front and a basement where the still and mash was.
The floor of the cabin had a large trapdoor artfully concealed. To effect an entrance into the basement, said Special Officer E. G. Boyd, it was necessary to lift practically half the floor. The stove pipe from the still led into the stove upstairs so that smoke passed out into the chimney in the regular way.
Three shotguns and a rifle constituted the arsenal in a corner of the cabin. A dwelling house is located about 200 feet from the log cabin and officers found Cuff in the latter. Cuff was born in Tennessee, lived in Missouri and came to this section about six years ago. At his place the only farming evident was a truck garden. Cuff told the officers he had worked in a distillery in the south, and notwithstanding he was equipped to make a hundred gallons a week, he told the officers he was just making some for his own use.
Officers claim Cuff was assisted by two men who were away. The officers claim Cuff hauled the product of his still to the Cuyuna Iron Range towns and disposed of it there. Moonshine has been sold at $24 a gallon wholesale and one run of mash would yield as high as about $1,500.
Special Officer Boyd said the location of the still had all the settings of the wildwoods of Kentucky. Not a road let to the place, just a tote trail for miles through thick woods and underbrush. Game is plentiful and bear and deer seem to flourish.
Cuff was taken to Brainerd and lodged in the city jail."
Hazel and Richard, 1920-1935
The 1920 census shows Richard, age 16, living with his parents on a farm in Mission Township. There are 4 children in the household of school age (9-16), and yet the census records that none are attending school. Hazel, age 14, is living with her parents and attending school in Brainerd, they live at 24 11th Street. Her father is a Car Carpenter in the N.P. shop, based on 1920 maps I believe this to be Northwest Paper.
Hazel and Richard married on August 13, 1923 in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
The 1930 census enumerates Richard and Hazel living in Ardenhurst Township, Itasca County, Minnesota with Richard's father, David. Richard and David are listed as being cordwood cutters for a timber farm. The household also includes three children; Tony C., aged 4 yrs. 2 mo.; Emmie L., 2 yrs, 2 mo. and Donald L, 4 months. Ardenhurst Township is just south of Northome, Minnesota and 100 miles straight north of Brainerd, it is taken up mostly by Island Lake. The family rents the home they live in for $3.00 a month and there is no radio set. What the census does not record is that, in addition to the three children listed, two other children had been born and died since the couple were married. The first child born to this union was a daughter who was born and died on March 19, 1925.
Another daughter, Myrtle Mae was born Christmas day, 1926 in Cook, Minnesota and died August 27, 1929, in Casselton, North Dakota, where she is buried in an unmarked grave. Casselton is about 20 miles straight west of Fargo and 180 miles west of Mission Township.
The next ten years, until the 1940 census , will bring about huge changes in everyone's lives.
After Donald, who was just 4 months old in the 1930 census, two more children were born and died, a girl on Feb. 8, 1931, and a boy, on Feb. 24, 1932.
By 1933 Hazel is 28 years old, she has been married 10 years and borne 7 seven children, only three of whom are alive.
The infant children who died at birth are buried in the Mission Township Cemetery, their resting place marked with a crude wooden sign and then much later a marble stone.
According to a fellow researcher and family member Richard had Hazel committed to an insane asylum sometime before 1935. The three children, Tony (9), Emma (7) and Donald (6) became wards of the state and were adopted by Sam and Laura Nickich. Laura is Hazel's first cousin, their mothers Cynthia (Robins) Amos and Nancy (Robins) Finn are sisters. Each of the three children are listed in the 1940 census, with the last name Nickich, as the children of Sam and Laura. Their stories follow:
Anthony Charles Cuff ......a trip to a ghost town and the Bikini Atoll
Anthony was born on January 2, 1926 in Manganese, Minnesota. His birth certificate appears to be mostly filled out by his grandmother Ann Cuff in a childlike Palmer-method cursive. The remainder is filled in by L. L. Foote, the registrar, in a more sophisticated hand.
Ann provides the following information: In the County of Crow Wing; a boy (M); born Jan., 2 1926. Father; Richard Lonzo Cuff, aged 22 at last birthday, born in Cass Co., Iowa, occupation farmer. Mother; Goldie Hazel Finn, aged 20 at last birthday, born in Mission Town, Minnesota, occupation, housekeeping. The number of children born to this mother, including the present birth, 2. Number of children of this mother now living, 1. The certificate of the attending physician, midwife or other is signed by Ann Cuff, she certifies she attended the birth of this child, who was born alive at 8 pm. Ann gave her her address as trommold, minn (sic).
The registrar fills in Village of Manganese as additional place of birth information. He also fills in Manganese as the Post Office address of both the mother and the father. The certificate is signed by Mr. Foote and Filed on February 18, 1926 in Manganese. Beneath this date is the note: Filed day birth record was brot (sic) to office.
The given name of the child is not immediately given, Ann has only written in the last name of the baby as Cuff. This isn't too unusual but it took about 2 months before they settled on "Tonnie". The certificate has a space for such a happenstance. "Given name added from a supplemental report, stamped Feb 27, 1926.
In a completely different hand (a small cramped cursive) is the given name of the child, "Tonnie Charles." I can only assume this is an attempt to name the child Tony, but as we have seen and will continue to see, this family is spelling challenged. A family member reports he had difficulty obtaining his birth certificate due to the unlikely spelling of his given name. He is always referred to as Tony or Anthony but the Minnesota Death Index records the death certificate in his legal (I suppose) name Tonnie Charles Cuff.
In 1935, having been removed from his mother and abandoned by his father Anthony spends the next 7 years in the home of his first cousin, once removed. Laura (Amos) Nickich. The 1940 census finds them in Deerwood where Sam is listed as a farmer. Anthony, listed as a Nickich and as a son, is in the 8th grade. Also present in the house is Jackson Robins, age 9, listed as a nephew. Jackson is the son of Laura's sister Florence who was married in 1928 to their first cousin, Curtis Robins. To this union a child was born and died in 1929, Jackson was born in 1930. Florence died in 1933, likely in child birth. Curtis remarried the following year and in the 1940 census he is in Salem, Oregon with his new wife and two children. Jackson does graduate from a Salem, Oregon high school in 1948 and is acknowledged in his step-mothers obituary so it would seem the family reunited shortly after 1940.
In early (1935-45) photo's, the name written on the back is always Anthony Charles Nickich. The few I saw, he was dressed in a suit in "first day of school type pictures" taken in the back yard. In subsequent years, after leaving the Nickich home, he is always listed as Anthony Cuff.
Anthony Charles Cuff, not Nickich, joined the Navy in late July 1943 and in late October was received aboard the USS Allioth. The Allioth was a Crater-class cargo ship, named after a star in the Ursa Major constellation, that carried troops, goods and equipment to war zones. The Allioth sailed from Peleiu on November 14,1944, bound for Pearl Harbor. On the afternoon of the 20th two Japanese airplanes attacked her, dropping several bombs but missing their target. Later that evening one aircraft returned and dropped a bomb that exploded near the ship. Ten crewmen were slightly injured and the ship sustained minor shrapnel damage, the ship arrived at Pearl Harbor, December 11, 1944. Two days later she resumed her voyage and arrived in Alameda, California on Christmas Eve, 1944 where she was converted to an Aviation Supply Issue Ship. She spent the next several years traversing the western Pacific, ports of call including Ulithi, Leyte, Manus Island. In mid-September 1945 she moved to Okinawa and remained until January 18, 1956 when she got underway for Alameda, California. Once at Alameda she was stripped of excess equiment in preparation for her deactivation. On April 15, 1946 she arrived back in Pearl Harbor and was decommisssioned on May 18, 1946.
In March through May, 1946 he is shown aboard the USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier, the fifth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name of the Revolutionary War Battle of Lexington. Prior to Anthony's arrival the Lexington saw extensive service throughout the war in the Pacific.
May through December, 1946 he is shown aboard the USS Saidor , along with guys named David F. Crazy Thunder* and St. Clair Dudley III*.
The Saidor departed San Diego on May 6, 1946, arriving at the Bikini Atoll to serve as a photographic laboratory for the atomic bomb testing program. She processed file, documenting the destruction of nuclear explosions on July 1 and July 25. She departed Bikini on August 4 and returned to San Diego. The Saidor was decommissioned September, 1947. Anthony does not show on the Navy Muster Rolls after December 1948.
Anthony married January 8, 1956 in Hennepin County, he and his wife Hazel had a daughter. After his wife died in 1991, Anthony married again in 2002. Anthony died July 8, 2011, his death certificate gives his occupation as a shipper in the Iron Ore field. He is buried at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery.
Manganese, Minnesota
The year Anthony was born Manganese was at it's peak, there were two hotels, a bank, two grocery stores, two butcher shops, a lumber yard, a bakery, a livery stable, a barbershop, a pool room, a show hall, a dog pound, and a two-room school. The mining town had been platted on February 5, 1911 and as a result of the rapid mining development all of the lots were sold within seven weeks. It was the sixth of the Cuyuna Range communities (after Deerwood, Cuyuna, Crosby, Ironton and Riverton) and touted itself as the "Hibbing of the Cuyuna Range".The Post Office opened in 1912, in1914 the town built concrete sidewalks and curbing (but never paved the streets) and that same year the Fitger Brewing Company built a two-story hotel complete with a bar and restaurant.
During late World War I, all of the mines surrounding the community were running at full capacity, they were supplying 90% of the manganese used during the war.** After the war the population of Manganese plummeted from 600 residents in 1919 to 183 in 1920. Many of those remaining residents worked the Milford mine where in February of 1924 the worst mining disaster in Minnesota's history occurred. The mine flooded as a result of blasting is a drift beneath what is now Milford Lake. Forty-one miners were killed, only seven making it to safety.
The mine collapse pretty much pushed coverage of the funeral of President Woodrow Wilson off the front page. Forty-eight miners were working 175 feet below ground, they were looking forward to the end of their shift at 4:00 pm. At 3:45 pm, as a result of blasting in a drift below what was then Foley Lake, the mine filled with water and mud. Only seven miners were able to climb the ladder up the 135-foot vertical shaft to safety, 41 died. People from all over the Cuyuna Range recall the sirens that day. Each mine had a siren, the towns had sirens and trains sounded their whistles. They blew continuously for over an hour. The mining companies worked together to pump out the mud and water, but it took until November for the last body to be recovered. In its usual sensational, for the era, fashion the Minneapolis Star reported the miners were "drowned like rats in a hole...." Several pumps were employed almost immediately and by days end were able to lower the water 25 feet from the collar of the shaft. But as the water was removed from the top of the shaft the mud and silt sank lower. The newspaper photo can be clicked to enlarge and then once open, it can be made larger.
The Post Office closed up shop in 1924, the Soo line tore up the track to Manganese in 1930 and the Milford mine closed in 1932. Most of the residents moved out around 1955, in 1961 Manganese was formally dissolved and absorbed by Wolford Township. The town gradually disappeared, the old building foundations and basements were swallowed up by the forest. The land was sold in 2003 and then again in 2006. As of 2017 primitive campsites are available at what is now called the Manganese Base Camp.
Emma Levina Cuff
Emma was born January 2, 1928 in Crow Wing County on her big brother Anthony's 2nd birthday. She was 7 years old when her mother was committed and she was abandoned by her father. In the 1940 census she is living with her mother's cousin and attending 4th grade in Deerwood, Minnesota.
She married Rolland Clive Nix on April 14, 1947 in Crow Wing County, Minnesota. Her name on the marriage certificate is Emma Nickich. In the 1950 census they are living in Aitkin, Minnesota and Rolland is listed as a helper in a lumber saw mill. They have 3 children, ages 2, 1 and a 2 month old. Two more children are born in the following 2 years although the youngest died at the age of 4 months.
Emma and Rolland divorced and Emma marries a second time to John Nelson in 1959 in South Dakota although they lived in Crow Wing county. She is 31 and John is 30 years her senior at 61. He had been married and divorced previously and to that union there were 6 children born. Emma and John had one child, born in Crow Wing county in 1961.
Floyd John died in 1978 in Grays Harbor, Washington and in 1979 Emma married for a third time to Floyd Petit, who had divorced in 1970. Floyd died 18 months later at the age of 58 when fire "raced through an apartment building." Three units in a six unit building were destroyed. The time of day is not indicated and the cause of the blaze was not known and it seems Floyd is the only one injured. There is no mention of his wife, Emma in the story.
As of this writing (2022) Emma is alive, living in a nursing home in Brainerd, Minnesota. It is the same nursing home where her middle son died, aged 65 in 2015.
Donald Lee Cuff
Don was born November 24, 1929 in Crow Wing County. He was 5 or 6 years old when his mother was committed and he was abandoned by his father. In the 1940 census he is living with his mother's cousin and attending 3rd grade in Deerwood, Minnesota. I cannot find him in the 1950 census
Don married Lucille (Mackie) Francis a divorcee with 4 children in Oregon in 1953. Lucille had sought the divorce on the grounds of desertion. When Lucille married the first time, aged 20 in 1947, she listed her ocupation as a sawmill worker. When Don and Lucille married his occupation is listed as logger and they both reside in Sweet Home, Idaho. He lists his parents as Sam and Laura (Amos) Nickich. They had three children. Lucille died on November 3, 1998 in Mill City, Oregon. Don married for a second time in 2000, she survives him. Don died on December 9, 2009.
A lot of my research depends on census data, it's a good way to find out where people are living but the census also contains some detail into the lives of the people enumerated.
The 1930 census asks whether a person is a naturalized citizen. It asks whether a person owned or rented a house and the value of the home or amount of rent paid each month and it asks whether that home had a radio or not. It asks a persons age at the time of his or her first marriage. It also asks which specific war a man fought in.
The 1940 census gives a window into the United States during the Great Depression and the years immediately before World War II. Questions involving employment and income are: How many weeks have you been unemployed; Are you working at your usual occupation; How much did you earn in 1939.
The 1950 census asks fewer questions of most people, six people on each page are asked a series of other questions.
I first find Sam and Laura in the 1930 census, they have been married for 3 years and they own their own home in Deerwood, Minnesota at 1006 Oak Street, its value is listed as $2000, and they do not own a radio. Sam indicated he immigrated in 1908 and has filed papers to be naturalized. His occupation is miner, iron mine. His native language is Serbian but he does speak English.
The 1940 census lists Sam as a farmer, his highest level of education is 4th grade. Laura's highest level of education is 6th grade. As mentioned previously the three Cuff children are listed in the home as well as their nephew Jackson, all attending school. They own their own home, worth $1000., the address is 1000 Pavement 210. Sam is listed as doing private work and had worked 54 hours during the previous week, his occupation is farmer.
In April of 1942 Sam registered for the WW II draft. His birthdate is given as November 22, 1893, in Vranje, Serbia. His place of residence is given as Deerwood, Minnesota, where they own their home. His place of employment is the Louise Mine, Butler Bros. Mines, Crosby, Minnesota. He is 48 years old, 5' 5" tall, weighs 152 pounds, has blue eyes and black and gray hair, his complexion is ruddy.
The 1950 census records that Sam is now a citizen. Their address cannot be ascertained but they are still enumerated in Deerwood. Sam's occupation category is listed as "U" indicating he is unable to work. Living with them are their nephews Roy and Richard Van Horn, ages 26 and 19 respectively. Roy and Richard are first cousins of Thomas G. Van Horn, he of the cement boots in Mission Township Cemetery. They are nailers at the Frate construction factory. Laura's half-sister Hettie was married to Jesse Van Horn. In 1950 Jessie and Hettie Van Horn are enumerated in Mission Township, the household contains 5 of their 9 children (ages 4-17) as well as three grandchildren (ages 1-3).
Sam died December 19, 1959, in Crow Wing County and is buried in Deerwood Cemetery. Laura remarried, in Crow Wing county, the following October, 1960 to William Anderson, a man almost 20 years her senior. He died May 13, 1963, and is buried in Deerwood Cemetery. Laura relocated to Salem, Oregon, I assume to be near her son or sister and died on July 3, 2002 in Marion County, Oregon.
Hazel and Richard, 1935 -
Richard was arrested on December 20, 1935, in Walla Walla, Washington for adultery. His commitment paperwork states, among other things, that he was married in 1923 and is neither separated nor divorced and is the father of 2 boys and 1 girl. It seems odd that he states he is not separated given he lives in Aberdeen, Washington and he lists Hazel's address as Salem, Oregon, almost 200 miles away. Richard was sentenced to 6 months and was paroled the following May 1936.
Richard is found in the 1940 census living in Markham, Washington. The column marked Public Emergency Work is checked and he gives his occupation as road building. This means he worked for the WPA, or CCC although the census also records that he has been unemployed 49 weeks prior to March 30, 1940. He records he worked 30 weeks in 1939 and earned $432.00. His father David is unable to work.
Also enumerated is Richard's new wife, Nellie and her two sons. Richard is 36 years old, Nellie, 23 and the stepsons James W., 5 and Franklin D. Howe, 4. Nellie was born in California and went through the 8th grade. She is listed as having "other income," this could be money selling eggs or taking in laundry. Child support in the United States was not common until the 1950's.
In February of 1942 Richard registered for the WWII draft, his address is General Delivery, Cosmopolis, Washington. He states he is unemployed. The registrar notes he is 5'8", 170 pounds, with gray eyes, brown hair and a ruddy complexion. To aid in identification, he has a scar on his right foot.
Richard applied for work with the Northern Pacific Railway in mid-1942, his work history shows that he worked for the WPA in Grays Harbor, Washington off and on from 1937 to 1942. He states he attended school in Ironton, Minnesota from 1909 to 1917 and completed 5th grade. Richard is hired in April of 1942 to work as a Carpenter Helper in the Tacoma Division, he earns 66 1/2c an hour. He got a raise in July to 74 1/2c an hour. He resigned in August, 1943 but is rehired in November, his record showing his work was satisfactory. On June 17, 1943, he again resigns and this time, does not return.
The 1950 census shows Richard, age 46, in Aberdeen, Washington, the census records that he is unable to work. Richard and Nellie have had 3 children of their own since the 1940 census: Thomas, 9; Arnold, 8 and Earnest, 6. Nellie's sons James and Franklin Daniel (known as Danny) had been living with their father, James, a ferry boat pilot on the river, for the previous year. The 1950 census, taken April 19, 1950, does not list James as he had been accidentally shot and killed by his brother 26 days earlier.
CLIFF BOY KILLED BY BROTHER Attempt to Scare Brother Ends in Death; Coroner's Jury Decides Killing was Accidental
In an attempt to scare his brother, Danny Howe put on his dad's cowboy boots, a cowboy hat and tied a red hankerchief over his face, picked up a 30-30, walked into the kitchen and told his brother, Jimmy, to throw his billfold on the floor. Jimmy turned around and grinned. This was the last thing he did as the gun was accidentally discharged and he died a short time later. (click on paper for larger view)
The accident occurred at the boy's home on the Cliffs Road about two miles east of Maryhill on Thursday, March 23 at approximately 5:45 p.m. The boys were home alone at the time, their father, James Howe had been at work on the Maryhill Ferry.
A coroner's inquest was held at the jury room of the courthouse on Saturday, March 25, and after hearing testimony from several witnesses, the jury brought the verdict that the killing was the result of an accident or misfortune and without intent to kill and a homocide charge was not recommended.
Testimony brought out the fact that while both boys were somewhat familiar with guns they were aquainted with bolt action 22's that had to be cocked before firing. The gun that was fired in the accident had a lever operated mechanism and was ready to fire when the lever was operated.
Both boys, Daniel, aged 14 and James, aged 15 were in the eighth grade at Cliffs school. They had lived with their father in this area for the last year, their parents being seperated for several years.
After shooting his brother, Danny made an attempt to stop the blood and put a pillow under his brother's head to make him comfortable. He then ran four miles across country to the home of his nearest friend, Leroy Jeter and told Leroy's grandfather, George Jeter about the accident. Jeter phoned to Maryhill to contact the boy's father who in turn notified the sheriff's office. An investigation was made by Deputy Sheriff Jiggs Murray and Prosecuting Attorney Thurman Ward.
It is unknown when Nellie and Richard divorced but Nellie remarried in 1967. Richard remarried in 1962 to Dorothy Trude. He died in 1982 and she in 1991, they are buried together in Fern Hill Cemetery, Aberdeen, Washington. His parents and a brother are buried there as well.
Hazel
It is unclear where Hazel may have been confined. Ah-Gwah-Ching is about 75 miles south of Itasca County and 75 miles north of Deerwood, MN, but it was mainly for "consumptives." Fergus Falls was opened up to women in 1893, it is 180 miles SW of Itasca County and 100 miles west of Deerwood. The Moose Lake state hospital is close but didn't open to patients until 1938. The Minnesota Historical Society has very recently obtained records from all state hospitals, a trip to St. Paul seems in order.
Hazel seems not to have been confined for very long, if at all, as she is listed as living in Salem, Oregon when Richard was arrested. We know from the 1940 census of the Nickich household that she has not reunited with her children, they each live with Laura and Sam until adulthood. She marries for a second time in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington on December 2, 1940 to Arthur Herboldt. Vancouver is across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon which is where the marriage license lists as their residence. The 1940 census shows Arthur is a night watchman for a tool and die company, I cannot find Hazel in 1940.
After Hazel's death Arthur marries and divorces once more before his death on August 7, 1976 in Clackamas, Oregon.
Hazel Goldie (Finn) Herboldt died in Portland, Oregon on Christmas Eve, 1944 at the age of 39. The cause of death was peritonitis caused by a perforated bowel. Her obituary, published in the Brainerd Daily Dispatch, lists each of her children as survivors as well as her husband, two brothers, a sister and her mother. Her son Tony and daughter Emma are listed with the last name Cuff. Donald is not given a last name.
An obituary published in Salem, Oregon lists, as survivors, Toney and Donald Cuff and two daughters Elizabeth and Emma Cuff. As stated earlier, Donald never used the last name Cuff and there is no daughter named Elizabeth.
She is buried in City View Cemetery Her parents and 3 brothers are also buried in City View Cemetery, Salem, Oregon.
Around 2009 a new memorial replaced the wooden one in the Mission Township Cemetery, about 65 years after Hazel's death and about 75 years after the death of the children. (click on photo to enlarge) Whoever commissioned this stone made some errors. Her name, at death, is not acknowledged, when she died in 1944, she was Hazel Herboldt. Further, she is not buried in Mission Township Cemetery but in Salem, Oregon. The four children listed, by name, are not buried in Mission Township Cemetery. This is not too unusual, grave-type stones are often found in cemeteries bearing the name of a loved one buried elsewhere and are referred to as cenotaphs.
In the upper right corner is the inscription, '2 Boys 1 Girl Bared Hear.'
I am surprised that someone actually chiseled that in stone! Birth and Death record indexes have listings for each of these children, birth indexes do not record the sex of the child but death records do. The death records list 2 girls and 1 boy, not the other way around as is depicted on the stone.
*As an aside, apropos of nothing except I liked their names. David Francis Crazy Thunder was born in 1923 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He married and raised a family in Boston, Massachusetts and died in 2010 in Nebraska. He is buried in Sturgis, South Dakota in the Black Hills National Cemetery. (more here)
St. Clair Dudley III, was born in 1924 at Norfolk, Virginia and spent 20 years in the Navy. He retired to Fort Myers, Florida where he died in 2004.
**Maganese is mainly used in alloys, such as steel. Steel contains about 1% manganese, to increase the strength, improve workability and resistance to wear. Manganese steel contains about 13% manganese. This is extremely strong and is used for railway tracks, safes, rifle barrels and prison bars.
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