Dewey M. Bagley, Jr. – War Ration Book No. 3 (1943)

Dewey Bagley was just 11 years old when the ration book pictured below was  issued to him almost 70 years ago.

The ration book ended up in an antique mall in Carson, California. I purchased it a few weeks ago and have done some research to try to find out something about Dewey and see if I can reunite this memento with him or a member of his family.

The ration book has two addresses written on it. The first address on it was 8921 Hubbard in Culver City, California. That address was crossed out and another written on the book: 1711 No. Maple St. in Burbank.

I searched on Ancestry.com for Dewey Bagley born in California. The following records seem relevant:

• California Birth Index – Dewey M. Bagley born in Los Angeles County on 15 September 1932; mother’s maiden name Wall
• Burbank City Directory (1939) – Listing for Dewey Bagley (wife Jean); a sta attdt [station attendant?]; living at 1111 Clark Ave.
• Burbank City Directory (1946) – Listing for Dewey M. Bagley (wife Jeanne E.); mech[anic?]; living at 731 Evergreen
• Social Security Death Index – Dewey M. Bagley, born 15 December 1912, died 9 October 1998, in Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles County, California (perhaps father?)
• California Marriage Index – Marriage of Dewey M. Bagley and Julia L. McPherson/Scherer, 1 February 1969, in Orange County

The index for the 1940 census in California was recently made available on FamilySearch. A search for Dewey Bagley at the address on the ration book was successful. Dewey, age 7, with his parents and a younger brother, were living with his grandmother at 8921 Hubbard in Culver City. Here is a snip of that census record:

I would like to return this book to its rightful owners. If you are a member of this family, or know the family, please leave a comment or email me at dspurlock (dot) ancestraltrees (at) gmail (dot) com.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Wyatt Scrapbook - So What Is Left?

In November 2011, I purchased a scrapbook at an antiques mall in Carson, California. The scrapbook is believed to have belonged to Laurine Wyatt. I am transcribing the articles and documents contained in the scrapbook with the hope that it may be of value to genealogists who may be researching the individuals named.

Over the past two weeks, I posted the few items from the scrapbook that directly mentioned Laurine Wyatt. So what is left?

There are photo corners glued in the scrapbook that now hold nothing so certainly there were other items; I imagine those items were of some value to the individual who last owned the scrapbook.

There are additional items that, in my estimation, lack genealogical value in the sense they do not report vital events in the lives of individuals. But certainly those items represent people, places and events that were meaningful to Laurine.

While working with the scrapbook, I have done some research on Laurine Wyatt that is posted on a public member tree at Ancestry.com. From what I have been able to determine, she never married and has no direct descendants.

Over the next few months, I plan to continue to research Laurine’s life. I also plan to assemble a digital scrapbook containing all of the contents of the physical scrapbook. (I welcome any suggestions for the best place to publish such a digital scrapbook; I would like for it to be accessible free of charge.)

My hope is that one of Laurine Wyatt’s distant cousins will someday claim her legacy.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research