Who is Sylvia Gard?
While helping Joe Cartwright with his tree, I came across this 1900 census page and saw a person not mentioned on any other family records.
Sylvia Gard age 3 lives in Fugit, Decatur, Indiana with William and Eva Yates in 1900.
- William and Eva have been married five (5) months when the census was taken.
1900 United States Federal Census
Name: Sylvia Gard
Age: 3
Birth Date: Mar 1897
Birthplace: Indiana
Home in 1900: Fugit, Decatur, Indiana
Sheet Number: 11
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 235
Family Number: 236
Race: White
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single
Father’s Birthplace: Indiana
Mother’s Birthplace: Indiana
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
William Yates 24 [William Spencer Yates]
Eva Yates 19 [Eva Mae Ray]
Sylvia Gard 3
Who is Sylvia Gard?
There are many possibilities;
- she could be Eva’s daughter by a previous marriage or
- she could be a niece of either William Yates or Eva ( ).
- she could be a sister of Eva.
- she can not be William’s daughter because of her last name which is Gard and not Yates.
There are many ways to find out:
- one is to find a marriage certificate for Eva to see if she married a “Gard”
- find a birth certificate for Eva ( ) to find her maiden name and her parents
- finding the parents of Eva would show us if Sylvia is Eva’s sister.
- another way is to find other relatives for the family and their records
- put branches on a tree for all of the family members we know, then see if Sylvia shows up in any of those records.
Another way to find information about Sylvia is to follow her life records and see if her birth family shows up.
The first thing to do is to look at what I have on the tree that I created for Joe and to find other records that might have the answer to “Who is Sylvia Gard”.
Question: what is Eva’s maiden name? Her maiden name is “Ray”.
The information on the tree is backed by records and shows the maiden name for Eva Mae is “Ray”, so Sylvia is not Eva’s sister. We also have Eva’s parents names so we could follow their branches to see if a Gard appears on any of those branches.
I will also check the one tree that is owned by Joe’s daughter and the tree that Joe was working on when he asked for help on FaceBook. This tree shows a Gard on William Yates’ side of the family, so Sylvia could come from that side of the family.
Could Sylvia be Eva’s daughter by a previous marriage?
No, per 1900 census page; it shows she has had zero (0) children.
So three (3) year old Sylvia is not Eva’s sister nor her daughter.
Who is Sylvia Gard?
Sylvia records:
This is the record that started the search:
1900 United States Federal Census
Name: Sylvia Gard
Age: 3
Birth Date: Mar 1897
Birthplace: Indiana
Home in 1900: Fugit, Decatur, Indiana
Sheet Number: 11
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 235
Family Number: 236
Race: White
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single
Father’s Birthplace: Indiana
Mother’s Birthplace: Indiana
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
William Yates 24
Eva Yates 19
Sylvia Gard 3
=====================
In 1910 we find a Sylvia living with William Gard and Polly Gard as their daughter.
1910 United States Federal Census
Name: Sylvia Gard
Age in 1910: 14
Birth Year: abt 1896
Birthplace: Indiana
Home in 1910: Rushville Ward 3, Rush, Indiana
Street: N Oliver
Race: White
Gender: Female
Relation to Head of House: Daughter
Father’s name: William Gard
Father’s Birthplace: Indiana
Mother’s name: Polly Gard
Mother’s Birthplace: Indiana
Native Tongue: English
Attended School: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
William Gard 48
Polly Gard 40
Myrtle Gard 22
Mary E Gard 20
Albert S Gard 19
Ralph S Gard 16
Sylvia Gard 14
Theodore Gard 3
Charles Ryan 4
——–
The problem with William and Polly having a 14 year old daughter in 1910, is that they do not have a daughter named Sylvia in the 1900 census.
1900 United States Federal Census
Name: William Gard
Age: 37
Birth Date: Apr 1863
Birthplace: Indiana
Home in 1900: Fugit, Decatur, Indiana
Sheet Number: 6
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 130
Family Number: 135
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse’s Name: Polly Gard
Marriage Year: 1885
Father’s Birthplace: Ohio
Mother’s Birthplace: Indiana
Occupation: Day Laborer
Months not employed: 6
Can Read: Yes
Can Write: Yes
Can Speak English: Yes
House Owned or Rented: R
Farm or House: H
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
William Gard 37
Polly Gard 31
Myrtle Gard 13
Mary Gard 10
Albert Gard 9
Ralph Gard 5
William S Gard 25
========================
Was the Sylvia in the 1900 census who is living with William and Eva Yates really the daughter of William and Polly Gard?
Both families lived in the same town “Fugit, Decatur, Indiana”, are they all related?
Her marriage:
Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001
Name: Sylvia Gard
Gender: Female
Race: White
Age: 19
Event Type: Marriage Registration (Marriage)
Birth Date: 4 Mar 1897
Marriage Licence Date: 30 Oct 1916
Marriage Licence Place: Indiana, United States
Father: William Gard
Mother: Polly Ann Saunders
Spouse: Virgil Clark
FHL Film Number: 001630193
—–
On her marriage certificate she names William and Polly Gard as her parents.
If this is true then why wasn’t she living with them in the 1900 census?
Did they adopt her?
We now see Sylvia as a married woman.
========================
1920 United States Federal Census
Name: Sylvia Clark
Age: 22
Birth Year: abt 1898
Birthplace: Indiana
Home in 1920: Rushville, Rush, Indiana
Residence Date: 1920
Race: White
Gender: Female
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Marital Status: Married
Spouse’s Name: Virgil Clark
Father’s Birthplace: Indiana
Mother’s Birthplace: Indiana
Able to Speak English: Yes
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Virgil Clark 23
Sylvia Clark 22
Ethel Clark 2
Virgil Clark 1
=========================
Birth of daughter:
Indiana, Birth Certificates, 1907-1940
Name: Sylvia G. Gard
[Sylvia G. Clark]
Gender: Female
Registration Year: 1929
Spouse: Virgil Clark
Child: Pauline Iris Clark
Certificate Number: 52529
Roll number: 022
Agency: Indiana State Dept. of Health
Volume Range: 106 – 110
=========================
1930 United States Federal Census
Name: Sylvia Clark
Birth Year: abt 1897
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Indiana
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Homemaker?: Yes
Home in 1930: Rushville, Rush, Indiana, USA
Map of Home: View Map
Street address: S. Harrison Street
Ward of City: 2
House Number: 125
Dwelling Number: 412
Family Number: 464
Age at First Marriage: 20
Attended School: No
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father’s Birthplace: Indiana
Mother’s Birthplace: Indiana
Able to Speak English: Yes
Household Members:
Name Age
Virgil Clark 33
Sylvia Clark 33
Ethel Clark 13
Virgil W Clark 11
Robert Clark 9
Carl Clark 7
Donald Clark 5
Pauline Clark 0
=============================
1940 United States Federal Census
Name: Syliva Clark
Age: 42
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1898
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Indiana
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Home in 1940: Rushville, Rush, Indiana
Map of Home in 1940: View Map
Street: 1th
House Number: 225
Inferred Residence in 1935: Rushville, Rush, Indiana
Residence in 1935: Same Place
Sheet Number: 2A
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: Elementary school, 6th
grade
Income Other Sources: No
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Virgil Clark 43
Syliva Clark 42
Ethel Clark 23
Virgil Clark 21
Robert Clark 19
Carl Clark 16
Donald Clark 14
Pauline Clark 11
Mary Jane Clark 8
Annda Lee Clark 9/12
==========================
Her death:
Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011
Name: Sylvia Clark
[Sylvia Gard]
Gender: Female
Race: White
Age: 73
Marital Status: Married
Birth Date: 4 Mar 1898
Birth Place: Indiana
Death Date: 11 Sep 1971
Death Place: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, USA
Father: William Gard
Mother: Polly Gard
Spouse: Virgil Clark
============================
Death of daughter – Mary Jane Clark:
U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index,
1936-2007
Name: Sylvia Gard
Gender: Female
Spouse: Virgil Clark
Child: Mary Jane Clark
———————–
second death record for Mary Jane
U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index,
1936-2007
Name: Mary Jane Clark
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birth Date: 24 Apr 1932
Birth Place: Rushville Ru, Indiana
[Rushville, Indiana]
Death Date: 25 Dec 2006
Father: Virgil Clark
Mother: Sylvia Gard
SSN: 303326997
Notes: Apr 1949: Name listed as MARY JANE CLARK; 03 May
1976: Name listed as MARY JANE ZILE; : Name listed as
MARY JANE ZILO; 05 Jan 2007: Name listed as MARY J ZILE
================================
There are eight (8) family trees that have Sylvia on their branches:
8 Ancestry Member Trees
Anne Brennamans family tree
Owner: Anne Brennaman
Syliva Gard
…..
William Bovenschen
Owner: William Bovenschen
Sylvia G Gard
…..
Zile Family Tree
Owner: Caroderick1
Sylvia Guard
…..
Hoffman Family Tree
Owner: Csuelen
Sylvia Gard
…..
Don Allen Clark family tree
Owner: Beachbren12
Sylvia Gard
…..
Chance Family Tree
Owner: BonnieChanceT
Sylvia Gard
…..
BOREM FAMILY TREE
Owner: Maborem
SYLVIA GARD
…..
NelsonGrahamRetaleato
Owner: Den310
Sylvia Gard
…..
If you have access to Ancestry dot com, you can see her profile page here: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/154249351/person/312037800269/facts
So we have looked at Sylvia’s life records and have not found a confirmation for her parents.
William and Polly Gard might be her parents but there are some questions with that relationship (Sylvia is not with them in 1900).
So who is Sylvia Gard?
Update: Yesterday, 16 Dec 2018 I received a message on Ancestry dot com from a family tree owner that I had contacted back in Sep of 2018.
In the message they say that Mary Jane Clark (Sylvia’s daughter) is the ex-mother-in-law of this tree owner.
That Mary Jane married a Paul Franklin Zile and they lived in Naples Florida. The Sylvia family were from Rushville. Mary Jane’s brother Carl Clark also lives in Naples, Florida.
The owner is willing to check with relatives to see if they know why 3 year old Sylvia Gard lives with other people in 1900.
I replied that I would like to hear from his/her relatives because one of them might know the reason for 3 year old Sylvia Gard living with other people in 1900.
I will report what I find out.
Thank You
Jose from Clarkston, Michigan
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