Life History

Notes

• 1930 Federal Census, King County, Washington, 18 April, Seattle, District 11-212, page 21A, 8421 10th Ave SW, Hse #288, Fam #296
  Tomer, Victor Head Owns Has Radio M W 35 Married at age 20 Italy Italy Italy Immigrated 1912 Real Estate Salesman [b abt 1910]
  Tomer, Gwendoline Wife F W 29 Married at age 16 England England England Immigrated 1910 [b abt 1901]
  Gray, Edwin  Son M W 9 Single Oregon Hawaii England [b abt 1921]
  
  Note that Gwen's son Edwin is reported as only 9 years old, thus born about 1921.  This age matches a birth in about 1920.  This is likely when Rolland Earl Gray was born to Earl and Gwen.  The records for this famliy are all vairously erroneous.  For instance, the SS record for Rolland Earl Gray report he was born in 1919, but there was no child reported for Earl and Gwen in the January 1920 census, so his birth must have been in July 1920.
  
  But that SS record also reports his mother as Earl's second wife Dorothy Sounders, whom he did not marry until 1924.  She would, however, be the only mother Roilland might remmebr or have heard much about, since she was his step mother from 1924 to her death in 1926.
  
  U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
  Rolland Earl Gray
  Birth 28 Jul 1919 [1920; not reported in the 1920 census] Seattle [King County], Washington
  Death Date 26 Jul 2006
  Father Earl T Gray
  Mother Dorothy Souders [but Earl & Dorothy did not marry until 1924. In July 1920, Earl was married to Gwendoyn Hibbs]
  Signature on SSN Card ROLLAND EARL GRAY
  May 1940 Name listed as ROLLAND EARL GRAY; 15 Aug 2006 Name listed as ROLLAND E GRAY
  
  Note that the year of Rolland's birth is reported here as 1919, but he was not reported in the 1920 census, when his mother wa only 17, so it appears he or SS got the year wrong.  Also, in the 1930 census, only one child was reported for Gwen, named Edwin, so maybe this name was an error listing for Rolland Earl.  Maybe the enumerator wrote Edwin by error instead of Rolland.  More incredible errors have occurred in censuses!
  
  Rolland married Doropthy Irene Knupp in Yuma, Arizona, in 1941.
  
  Arizona, County Marriage Records, 1865-1972
  Rolland Earl Gray, Age 21, "Electical Company"
  Residence Los Angeles, California, native of Oregon
  Spouse  Dorothy Irene Knupp, Age 18
  Residence Palm Springs, California, native of California
  Affidavit for Marriage License 6 Apr 1941 Yuma, Arizona
  Database Marriage Applications, 1941
  
  He later moved to Florida.
  
  U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1
  Rolland E Gray
  Birth Date 28 Jul 1920
  Phone Number 564-7412
  1640 NE 17th Ave # 17, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33305-3418 (1984, 1993)
  23862 Voyager Ln, Laguna Niguel, CA, 92677-1709
  
  He married again in 1984.  No divorce record has been found from his first marriage, but a marriage record is found for Irene marrying David B Lester in 1980.
  
  California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985
  Dorothy I Knupp
  Birth Year abt 1924
  Age 56
  Spouse Name David B Lester
  Spouse Age 61
  Marriage 6 Dec 1980 San Bernardino, California
  
  Florida Marriage Indexes, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001
  Rolland Earl Gray
  Spouse Jeanne Blanche Pilkington
  Marriage Date 6 Jul 1984 Broward County
  Florida Department of Health Volume 5638, Certificate #059583
  
  U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
  Rolland E Gray
  Born 28 Jul 1920
  Died 26 Jul 2006
  Last Residence Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida 33305
  SSN issued California (Before 1951)
  
  -------------------
  A burial record is found for a Carl Edwin Gray, but birth dates as well as the death date is again different, so that appears to be a different person.  The place of death is not reported in this record, but burial was in a military cemetery in Riverside County, in southern California.
  
  The grave for Carl Edwin Gray reports his birth date as August 1917.  There is no photo posted on the memorial for verification, so it is unclear if this date is from his grave or was provided by the manager of the FAG memorial  Seeing the original creator of the memorial, it appears that birth date comes from his military records.  His reported birth date in 1917 on his grave matchces the period when Gwen was married to Earl Thornton Gray.  But no child is reported for Earl and Gwen in the 1920 census, bring the 1917 birth date into question.
  
  The report of Edwin in 1930 may be an eroneous enumeration for her son Rolland Earl Gray, as named on his Social security record.  But the date of death and birth are also different form the dates for Carl Edwin Gray.  His SS record indicates he died in Las Vegas and his SS card was issued in Kansas.
  
  U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
  Carl Edwin Gray
  Birth 7 Aug 1917
  Death 31 Mar 2008 Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada, USA
  SS # issued in Kansas
  
  The following burial information from Find a Grave appears to be for our Edwin Gray.
  
  Carl Edwin Gray
  Birth Aug 7, 1917
  Death Mar 31, 2008
  Inscription US NAVY, WORLD WAR II
  Burial Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, Riverside County, California
  Maintained by Misty & Company, Originally Created by International Wargraves Jul 04, 2011
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #72629619, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Gray&GSiman=1&GScid=109440&GRid=72629619&
  -------------------
  

Sources

• 1. 1930 Federal Census, King County, Washington
  • 18 April, Seattle, District 11-212, page 21A, 8421 10th Ave SW, Hse #288, Fam #296
• 2. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
• 3. U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1
• 4. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
• 5. Arizona, County Marriage Records, 1865-1972
• 6. Florida Marriage Indexes, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001
• 7. California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985