Only recently have I come to the determination that Ruth Grace Montran is my grandmother’s (Madonna Mae Montran) half sister and that they shared the same father, John F. Montran. In my attempt to prove or disprove that relationship, I’ve researched Ruth considerably and have learned quite a bit about her long life.
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| “Middlesex-County-Map” by Middlesex County Municipality – Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons |
Ruth Grace Montran was born 27 Nov 1897 in Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, to John Montran and Maud Minnie Winter. Dr. Moorhouse was the attending physician.[i] Her birth was recorded/registered only two weeks later, on 13 Dec 1897, by M. M. Montran (presumed to be Maud).
According to Ruth’s naturalization record[ii], and the 1910 Census[iii], Ruth arrived in the United States in January 1898.
The 1900 Census shows Ruth living with her uncle, Primrose Brown, a railroad laborer, his wife Jerusha [sic – Josephine] Brown, her Scottish maternal grandmother, Maryann Winter, and her older sister Thelma Montran in Waterloo Village, Fayette Township, Seneca County, New York. It is interesting to note that the census indicates that she was born in Canada; however, there is not date in the emigration column, clearly an oversight. Another item of note is that this is the only document I’ve seen that indicates that her father was born in France.[iv] (I have long thought that Madonna’s father was French because Madonna used to say she was “English, Irish, and French.”)
The 1910 Census shows 12 year-old Ruth living in Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania with her adoptive parents, Penrose and Josephine E Brown and an 5 year-old adopted brother, Harry P Baker.[v] So,
Ruth married John Terrell Cologne sometime between 1910 and 3 April 1920, as evidenced that she became naturalized Miami, Dade, Florida, USA as Ruth Cologne. The registration number is 13328136 and is something to search for.[vi]
I have not been successful finding John and Ruth in the 1920 Census, yet. Anyone else successful yet?
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| View of the Provident Mutual Life Insurance Building from a few hundred feet of 2 Farragut St. Photo by DanTD (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons |
The 1930 Census finds Ruth living with her husband, John, at 2 Farragut Street, Philadelphia, PA, along with her two children, Dorothy B and John T. Cologne. This census entry is curious because it indicates that her father was born in New York. The 1900 Census indicated her father [John Montran] was born in France, and the 1910 Census indicates her father was born in Pennsylvania. Her father in this census is apparently Primrose Brown. In 1930, Ruth was a saleslady working in a department store. Her husband, John, was a dentist and was working as such[vii]. Two Farragut Street is currently a vacant lot next to the 46th Street Station of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s Market-Frankford Line. It was across Market Street from the Provident Mutual Life Insurance Building that is currently under renovation to become a command center for the Philadelphia Police and the new headquarters the Philadelphia for Health Department.[viii]
What happened between 1930 and 1940 is very unclear. In the 1940 Census, Ruth’s husband, John, is living in Philadelphia with his son, John Jr; however, Ruth is not living with them[ix]. I have not been successful finding Ruth in the 1940 Census, so far. In pure speculation on my part, I think that John and Ruth were probably estranged about 1930 which necessitated Ruth to work outside of the home but they were still living in the same house. Then, by 1940 I suspect they were divorced. John remarried later in the 1940s but Ruth didn’t remarry. As I mentioned, this is speculation; however, it does provide directions for further research.
Ruth Grace Cologne died in Broward County, Florida on 3 Sep 1993[x]. I have not found specific burial information for Ruth Grace Cologne yet.
Areas for Further Research:
Determine if Middlesex has certificates for Ruth’s birth period and get a copy if possible.
Get a copy of Ruth’s naturalization information/record.
Get a copy of Ruth and John’s marriage license/certificate.
Find Ruth Grace Montran/Cologne in the 1920 Census.
Find Ruth Grace Cologne in the 1940 Census.
Learn more about Ruth Cologne’s life from 1940-1993.
Determine Ruth Grace Montran Cologne’s burial information/information.
ENDNOTES
[i] Ontario Births, 1869-1912, Family Search, Ruth Grace Montran, 27 Nov 1897. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FM8X-RVR.
[ii] Ancestry.com, U.S., Index to Alien Case Files at the National Archives at Kansas City, 1944–2003 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013), Ruth Cologne [Montran]. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=Ruth+Grace&gsfn_x=NP_NN&gsln=Montran&gsln_x=NP_NN&MSAV=1&cpxt=1&cp=12&catbucket=rstp&uidh=by1&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=209246&recoff=6+18+20&db=KanMOAlienCaseFile&indiv=1&ml_rpos=3.
[iii] 1910 Census (A) (NARA), Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, Year; 1910; Census Place: Shamokin, Northumberland, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1384; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0110; FHL microfilm: 1375397. https://search.ancestry.com//cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1910USCenIndex&indiv=try&h=25194088.
[iv] “United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSGZ-6PY : accessed 7 August 2015), Ruth Montran in household of Penrose Brown, Fayette Township Waterloo vill., Seneca, New York, United States; citing sheet 16A, family 384, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,241,162.
[v] 1910 Census (A) (NARA), Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, Year; 1910; Census Place: Shamokin, Northumberland, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1384; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0110; FHL microfilm: 1375397. https://search.ancestry.com//cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1910USCenIndex&indiv=try&h=25194088.
[vi] Ancestry.com, U.S., Index to Alien Case Files at the National Archives at Kansas City, 1944–2003 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013), Ruth Cologne [Montran]. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=Ruth+Grace&gsfn_x=NP_NN&gsln=Montran&gsln_x=NP_NN&MSAV=1&cpxt=1&cp=12&catbucket=rstp&uidh=by1&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=209246&recoff=6+18+20&db=KanMOAlienCaseFile&indiv=1&ml_rpos=3.
[vii] Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.Original data – United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626,), Year: 1930; Census Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: 2139; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0496; Image: 817.0; FHL microfilm: 2341873.
[viii] Plan Philly – Eyes on the Street, March 8, 2012, “Provident Mutual Life Insurance Building to be reused as Police Command Center – https://planphilly.com/eyesonthestreet/2012/03/08/provident-mutual-life-insurance-building-to-be-reused-as-police-command-center
[ix] 1940 Census, Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, Dr. John T. Cologne – ED 51-664 – Sheet 8B – Line 73. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gss=angs-c&new=1&rank=1&gsfn=John+T&gsfn_x=NP_NN&gsln=Cologne&gsln_x=1&cpxt=1&cp=12&MSAV=0&uidh=by1&pcat=CEN_1940&h=24280828&db=1940usfedcen&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1.
[x] Ancestry.com, Florida Death Index, 1877-1998 (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data – State of Florida. Florida Death Index, 1877-1998. Florida: Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, 1998.Original data: State of Florida. Florida Death Ind), Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, Ruth Montran Cologne. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&gsfn=Ruth+Grace+Montran&gsfn_x=NP_NN&gsln=Cologne&gsln_x=NP_NN&MSAV=1&cpxt=1&cp=12&catbucket=rstp&uidh=by1&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=3885817&db=floridadeath&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1.
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