Confusion and Missing Information
When I was growing up, Labor Day not only signified the end of summer, but was also the weekend when the 21.5-hour Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy was held. While the telethon was originally broadcast in New York City, it went national in 1966 when we began watching it. This successful telethon raised over $2.45 billion dollars over its lifetime.
This yearly event was particularly poignant to my family. Each year we talked about my dad’s cousins who were born with multiple dystrophy.
My dad’s aunt, Jacquelyn Watkins, married Freddie Williams in 1941.
They had two sons who were born with muscular dystrophy. Since muscular dystrophy is often genetic, they decided not to have any more biological children and instead adopted twins born in 1955 from Germany when they were stationed there.
In the summer of 1966, my family moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma and ended up renting a house down the street from my grandparents. That same summer, Aunt Jacque, Uncle Freddie, and the twins, Sandra and Stephen, traveled to Bartlesville (and probably Wichita) from Salinas, California to visit. Sandra, Stephen, and I were the same age. We hit it off and had a great time. Sandra and I even became pen pals.
Aunt Jacque was very important to my dad. He credited her with raising him even though she was only 11 years older than him. I wrote about her in my blog post on January 22, 2021, Namesake – Week 3 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks | Journeying with Jacque.
Well, on Labor Day 1966, shortly after the family visit, the muscular dystrophy telethon was televised and my mother shared the family history with me.
Fast forward to late 2020. Imagine my surprise when I came across the obituary for Richard Calvin Williams as I was working on my genealogy, my retirement hobby. Richard died at the age of 77. His obituary lists Aunt Jacque and Uncle Freddie as his parents. He was married and had four children with his first wife. He had also been in the navy, so he obviously did not have muscular dystrophy as a child. The big omission in his obituary was mention of any siblings including a brother or the twins.
Two of Richard’s sons, Richard and Michael, both died at the age of 16. I cannot find an obituary for Richard Jr., but the obituary for Michael states that he died after a lengthy illness. His obituary lists his grandparents, Freddie and Jacquelyn Williams, living in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas (where I know they retired). He was also survived by a brother, Paul. I just discovered that Paul died in 2026 at the age of 65. I cannot find an obituary for him. Dignity Memorial gives information for a memorial service, and someone wrote a short letter in the memory section that alludes to a wife and three children. Strangely, I discovered a family tree on Ancestry that shows that Paul died of muscular dystrophy which is unlikely. This tree does not show the date of Paul’s death. I also cannot find the family connection, but it does suggest a link to muscular dystrophy.
Also, Michael’s obituary does not list his sister, Leanne. However, in his father’s obituary, it does list Leanne as Richard’s daughter who was married to Vince Oliver. I cannot find any other information on Leanne or her husband.
So…was there another son born to Freddie and Jacque who did have muscular dystrophy? (Perhaps when my mother told me that they had two sons, she told me that one son had muscular dystrophy and I just heard sons.)
I immediately started searching for obituaries which should list all children. Alas, neither Freddie nor Jacque had obituaries; I could only find death notices. I also discovered that Sandra had died in 1991, but she also only had a death notice, not an obituary.
I then hoped that the 1950 census might have pertinent information. Unfortunately, since they were stationed in Germany at the time, the family was not included in the census.
At this point, I decided to use AI to see if there was any evidence of another son. The prompt I gave was, “Jacquelyn Lorene Watkins married Freddie Merle Williams on April 15, 1941. Their son Richard Calvin Williams was born July 16, 1943, in Wichita, Kansas. They adopted twins from Germany in 1955. Did they have another son born between 1941 and 1955 possibly in Wichita, Kansas or Salinas, California when Freddie was stationed at Ft. Ord?”
Using transcribed index records from the California birth Index and California Death Index, AI states there was a son born on September 25, 1947, in Monterey County, California. His name was Freddie Merle Williams Jr., and he died a day later on September 26, 1947. He was buried in the Garden of Memories Park, Salinas, Monterey County, California. I have not seen the actual documents so I cannot verify the information, but it makes sense with the family information that I have.
As a family historian and genealogy researcher, I wish that people would realize the value of writing a thorough obituary with dates, names (including maiden names), family connections, and details that highlight the person’s personality or special attributes. What’s not written down can prove to be frustrating for future generations.
Sources
“California Birth Index, 1905–1995.” Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com Operations, 2005. Ancestry, search.ancestry.com. Entry for Freddie Merle Williams, 25 Sept. 1947.
“California Death Index, 1940–1997.” Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com Operations, 2000. Ancestry, search.ancestry.com. Entry for Freddie Merle Williams, 26 Sept. 1947.
“Freddie Merle Williams Jr.” Find a Grave, 2023, www.findagrave.com. Memorial entry for Garden of Memories Memorial Park, Salinas, Monterey County, California.