Edward K. Marks

Last updated 10 Feb 2024 in Spear–Johnson Family.

Individual

Born: 12 Nov 1882 in , , , Królestwo Polskie (Kingdom of Poland, Russian Empire)

Died: 3 Mar 1963

Father: Michael Marks (1856 – 1941)

Mother: Lottie Schmetgall (1851 – 1924)

Supporting evidence for: , , , ,

Family #1

Spouse/Partner: Emma Pauline Lemke (1883 – 1913)

Married: 24 Nov 1904 in Detroit, Becker County, Minnesota, United States

Supporting evidence for:

Child: Arthur Carl Marks (1905 – 1974)

Child: Edward Leopold Marks Jr. (1907 – 1976)

Child: Harry William Marks (1908 – 2005)

Child: Ada Marks (1911 – 1974)

Family #2

Spouse/Partner: Hattie Maria "Mimi" Swanson (1889 – 1973)

Married: 19 Oct 1914 in Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States

Supporting evidence for:

Child: Clifford Leo Marks (1916 – 1964)

Child: Pearl Eileen Marks (1918 – 1971)

Child: ____ Marks (1920 – 1922)

Miscellaneous Facts

Events

Burial: 6 Mar 1963 at Whittier, Los Angeles County, California, United States

Immigration: Bet 1 Jan 1887 and 31 May 1887 at , , , United States

Baptism (re-baptism): Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Abt 1888 at New York, New York County, New York, United States

Citizenship: 25 Jul 1900

Cemetery: Rose Hills Memorial Park at Whittier, Los Angeles County, California, United States

Supporting evidence for:

Attributes

Residence: at Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, United States

Residence: at , , Minnesota, United States

Residence: at , Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States

Occupation: day laborer

Residence: at , Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States

Occupation: rural mail carrier at Vergas, Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States

Occupation: rural mail carrier

Residence: at Vergas, Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States

Residence: at , Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States

Occupation: rural mail carrier

Occupation: farmer

Residence: at Dora Township, Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States

Occupation: farmer

Residence: at Dora Township, Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States

Occupation: grocery store operator

Residence: at Fargo, Cass County, North Dakota, United States

Residence: at Florence, Los Angeles County, California, United States

Supporting evidence for:

General Notes and Anecdotes

Family lore holds that Edward worked as a newsboy in New York City between his immigration about 1889, and the family's move to Minnesota around April 1897. The New York Census record shows he was in the city at the time, and of the right age to be a paperboy, but it is unlikely that any evidence will be found to otherwise corroborate the story. [census-us-newyork-1892-kings-17-1-2]

In 1900, the families of Emma and her (not yet) husband Edward were enumerated as, literally, next-door neighbors. [census-us-1900-ps-mn-ottertail-156-4a]

Edward and Hattie operated a small grocery store called "Mark's Market" in Fargo, North Dakota, probably in the 1930's, before moving to California. [obituary-hattie-marks-1973, misc-family-marks-market-coffee-label]

After moving from North Dakota to California, Edward worked in his son Clifford's bakery in Los Angeles for about 25 years. [interview-private-2007-a]

Supporting evidence for:

Research Notes (Conflicts/Spelling/Followup)

CONFLICTS

Birth Date: This database uses 12 Nov 1882. The 1892 New York Census gives an age of (11), which, when applied to the offical census date of 16 Feb 1892, gives a birth date range from 17 Feb 1880 to 16 Feb 1881. [census-us-newyork-1892-kings-17-1-2]

Birth Date: This database uses 12 Nov 1882. The 1900 U.S. Census gives an explicit birth date (Dec 1880) and an age (19). When applied to the official census date of 1 Jun 1900, the age gives a birth date range of 2 June 1880 to 1 June 1881, so the record is internally consistent, but still in conflict. (Note that the value of 19 appears to be a correction, replacing a value of 20, which still conflicts. The presence of numerous such corrections on the page, including everyone in this dwelling, suggest an enumerator error.) [census-us-1900-ps-mn-ottertail-156-4a]

Birth Date: This database uses 12 Nov 1882. The 1905 Minnesota Census gives an age of (23), which, when applied to the offical census date of 1 Jun 1905, gives a birth date range from 2 June 1881 to 1 June 1882. (The date is run through with a line, but this appears to be the result of record-keeping, not a correction or deletion.) [census-us-mn-1905-ottertail-altona-5]

Birth Date: This database uses 12 Nov 1882. The birth certificate of his son, Arthur, gives an age of (23), which, when applied to Arthur's birth date of 4 Oct 1905, gives a birth date range from 5 Oct 1881 to 4 Oct 1882. [birth-arthur-marks-1905]

Birth Date: This database uses 12 Nov 1882. The birth certificate of his son, Harry, gives an age of (27), which, when applied to the Harry's birth date of 25 Nov 1908, gives a birth date range from 26 Nov 1880 to 25 Nov 1881. [birth-harry-marks-1908]

Birth Date: This database uses 12 Nov 1882. The 1910 U.S. Census gives an age of (28), which, when applied to the offical census date of 15 Apr 1910, gives a birth date range from 16 Apr 1881 to 15 Apr 1882. [census-us-1910-ps-mn-ottertail-137-2a]

Birth Date: This database uses 12 Nov 1882. The 1930 U.S. Census gives an age of (46), which, when applied to the offical census date of 1 Apr 1930, gives a birth date range from 2 Apr 1883 to 1 Apr 1884. [census-us-1930-ps-mn-ottertail-22-2b]

Birth Date: This database uses 12 Nov 1882. The 1940 U.S. Census gives an age of (55), which, when applied to the offical census date of 1 Apr 1940, gives a birth date range from 2 April 1884 to 1 April 1885. [census-us-1940-ps-ca-losangeles-629-5a]

Birth Location: This database uses Królestwo Polskie (Kingdom of Poland, Russian Empire). The 1910 U.S. Census records this as "Ger - German" which may be an ethnic claim to being German and maybe to speaking German rather than English. (The census didn't ask for language, just the location. But note some entries for "Can - English", i.e., English-speaking Canada, on the page.) [census-us-1910-ps-mn-ottertail-137-2a]

Birth Location: This database uses Królestwo Polskie (Kingdom of Poland, Russian Empire). An interview with his grand-daughter suggests Danzig, Germany, noting "it was called a free city." [In 1882, Danzig was a seaport of the Prussian province of West Prussia, and Prussia was one of the founding kingdoms of the German Empire in 1871. The empire persisted until the establishment of the German Republic in 1918. The "Free City of Danzig" was not created until 1920 through the Treaty of Versailles.] [interview-loretta-spear-2006]

Immigration Date: This database uses 1 Jan 1887 to 31 May 1887. The 1920 and 1930 U.S. Censuses indicates it was in 1889. [census-us-1920-ps-mn-ottertail-132-1a, census-us-1930-ps-mn-ottertail-22-2b]

Naturalization Date: This database does not use one. The 1920 U.S. Census indicates that Edward was naturalized in 1898. However, in that year he would have been 15 or 16, so could not legally be naturalized. It could, however, roughly correspond to when his father Michael filed first papers, but not Michael's grant of citizenship. [census-us-1920-ps-mn-ottertail-132-1a]

Citizenship Date: This database uses 25 Jul 1900. A combination of Edward's WW1 draft registration (indicating he was naturalized when still a minor, by virtue of his father's naturalization) and the 1920 census (indicating his father was naturalized in 1901) indicates Edward was naturalized in 1901. [military-draftreg-edward-marks-1918, census-us-1920-ps-mn-ottertail-132-1a]

FOLLOWUP

The birth date for Edward Marks has a lot of conflicts between sources, all of which are from "official" records. Is this due to his own uncertainty? Did he not care about the details, so the story kept changing?

Edward may have been one of the signers of a 4 Jan 1905 petition to bring the proposal to incorporate Altona to a vote. It was voted on 21 Feb 1905 and all 26 voters of the village voted for incorporation. (The name was changed from Altona to Vergas in a vote on 6 Nov 1906, with a new electorate of 31, 27 for and 4 against.) (from History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota: Its People, Industries, and Institutions: With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genalogical Records of Many of the Old Families, V1, by John W. Mason (ed.), Indianapolis, IN: B. F. Bowen, 1916, p. 254, PDF page 281)

The period during which he and Hattie ran the grocery store is unknown. However, his brother Leopold identified his occupation as a grocery store merchant in 1930. Was this for the same store? Since Edward defined his occupation as farmer in 1930, this brings up the question of who actually owned the store, despite the sources that say Edward and Hattie owned it.

As mentioned during an interiew, at least one family member has claimed Edward was Jewish (not the interviewee). I have found no evidence supporting that idea, but considering the Russian anti-Jewish pogroms of the early 1880s and the family's emmigration in the mid-to-late 1880s, this would be an interesting history. [interview-{private}-2007-a]

The contention that he was from Danzig reflects family lore that he always claimed to be German. Presumably this means ethnically German, since he admits to being born in Russia or Poland. This confusion may have been due to the border changes over his lifetime, and/or his parent's nationality claims. It is potentially the case (though I have no hard evidince of this either) that the family was from Alt Danzig or Neu Danzig, both of which are ethnic German areas in Russia near the Black Sea, but these aren't supported by his claims to have resided in Poland. More believable is the idea the family embarked on their emmigration from the port at Danzig, and may have lived there for a short time.

One of two Vergas websites (https://www.vergasmn.com) has a history page that includes excerpts from A Collection of Memories from the Village of Vergas, by Rodney Hanson (1925-2017), and self-published on 1 Jan 2005. The relevant text on the web page is: "Rural free delivery began in 1907. Carriers from then until the present were George Etzell, 1st carrier, Route 1, retired 1924; Edward Marks, 1st carrier, Route 2, retired 1921; Eugene Clawiter, temporary carrier, Route 2, 1921-1922; George Edwards, carrier, Route 2, 1922-1954; and Lyle Priske, carrier, Route 1, 1925-1961." (Note that he was appointed to the route on 1 Sep 1906, 4 months before 1907.)

His burial plot is on Hillview Lawn, Burial Section 1; Burial Lot 708; Grave 1; Entrance Gate 17.

Supporting evidence for:

Sources

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