Amelia Elvira Lovejoy ^{1 2 3}

  General Notes:

There is confusion about the maiden name of Amelia. After being married for only eight years, the 1930 census shows that Amelia and Robert Darner were living together with 3 "sons" each with the surname of Thorington. Their ages were from 11 to 19 which suggests that Amelia was married to a Thorington before she married Robert. Those 3 sons should probably have been listed as "step-sons" instead of sons.

Checking on the 1920 census which was just before Robert Darner and Amelia were married, there is a record from Adair County, Missouri for a George Thorington and wife, Amelia, whose age and birth location match those of the Amelia that married Robert Darner. In that 1920 census record are included the names of the same three Thorington sons that were found with Amelia in the 1930 census with Robert Darner.

The only thing that is somewhat unusual about that 1920 census record is that the age of George Thorington is 61 while the age of his supposed wife, Amelia, is only 34. This could be a case of a widowed Amelia living with her father-in-law but the census record clearly shows them as married. They have 6 children ranging in age from 9 months to 14 years.

On the other hand, the marriage record for Robert Darner and Amelia clearly shows her father's name to be Horatio Thorington and the mother's to be Martha Rorabaugh. Just as a coincidence, Robert's daughter, Dorothy May Darner, married Henry Emmett Rorabaugh at about the same time in 1922.

I can find none of the Thoringtons in any census record prior to the 1920 event which shows Amelia married to the 61 year old George Thorington. Even the names of her supposed father, Horatio Thorington, cannot be found.

The conclusion seems to be that Amelia's surname was NOT Thorington because she was previously married prior to the marriage with Robert Darner. I am unsure of what to make of her parents names shown on the marriage license. I suspect that those may have been the names of guests or witnesses and somehow those names were transcribed as being her parents.

Her real maiden name would seem to remain a mystery if it weren't for one small detail shown on that 1920 census record where she was supposedly married to George Thorington. At the bottom of the list of their 6 children is the name of a 17 year-old Florence Lovejoy who was noted as being a "sister-in-law" to George Thorington. This means that the maiden name of Amelia must be Lovejoy.

And finally, after doing quite a bit of researching, Ancestral File Number 28PJ-5WF (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/MCGW-B7Y) shows her full name as Amelia Elvira Lovejoy, b. 17 Oct 1884 and d. 27 Sep 1946. Her parents were Horatio Phineas Lovejoy and Martha Ellen Rorabaugh. This therefore explains that the marriage license had the surname of Amelia Thorington's father the same as her surname not recognizing that she had been previously married. Therefore the father's name mistakenly appears as Horatio Thorington instead of Horatio Lovejoy.
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  Burial Notes:

Plot: Section A Tier 3 Grave 69
Burial Report #1182; plot owner Frank W. Darner
Find A Grave Memorial# 57313811

  Noted events in her life were:

• She appeared on the 1930 US Census in Winfield, KS on 9 April 1930. ¹

1930 US Census
Sheet 6B, District 40, Family 173, Roll 698, Ward 1
Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas
600 Fuller Street; home rented, $12
Amelia Darner..Wife..45..IA..House Cleaner, Private
(Living with 2nd husband, 3 step-children from husband's 2nd wife, 2 children from current husband, and 3 of her own children from her previous marriage.)
.

• She appeared on the 1940 US Census in Riverbank, CA on April 1940. ²

1940 US Census
Sheet 61B, District 50-48, Family 240, Roll 353
Riverbank, Stanislaus County, California
home owned, value $400
residence in 1935: Adair, Missouri
Amelia Darner..Wife..55..IA..2nd grade..Seamstress, WPA Project..earned $396 in 1939
(Living with husband and 3 children.)
.

Amelia married Robert Vinson Darner, son of Phillip John Darner and Mary Mahetable Sweezey, on 22 July 1922 in Nevada, IA.^{1 2} (Robert Vinson Darner was born on 15 July 1874 in Victor, IA,^{1 4 5 6 7} died on 4 August 1953 in , Stanislaus County, CA ^{7 8} and was buried after 4 August 1953 in Modesto, CA ⁷.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• They appeared on the 1930 US Census in Winfield, KS on 9 April 1930. ¹

1930 US Census
Sheet 6B, District 40, Dwelling 170, Family 173, Roll 698, Ward 1
Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas
600 Fuller Street; home rented, $12
Robert Darner..Head..55..IA..Laborer, Packing Co.
Amelia Darner..Wife..45..IA..House Cleaner, Private
Esther Darner..Dau..15..CO
Loraine Darner..Dau..12..CO
Philip Darner..Son..6..IA
Frank Darner..Son..5..IA
Katherine Darner..Dau..2y11m..MO
Perry Thorington..Son..19..OK..Laborer, Farm1930
Cecil Thorington..Son..13..MO
Boyd Thorington..Son..11..MO

NOTE - The 3 sons listed with a Thorington surname were most likely from a previous marriage of Amelia and should have been listed as stepsons instead of sons.
.

• They appeared on the 1940 US Census in Riverbank, CA on April 1940. ²

1940 US Census
Sheet 61B, District 50-48, Family 240, Roll 353
Riverbank, Stanislaus County, California
home owned, value $400
residence in 1935: Adair, Missouri
Robert V. Darner..Head..65..IA..6th grade
Amelia Darner..Wife..55..IA..2nd grade..Seamstress, WPA Project..earned $396 in 1939
Phillip Darner..Son..17..IA..3rd grade..Laborer, dry fruit shed..earned $30 in 1939
Frank Darner..Son..15..IA..9th grade..Laborer, dry fruit shed..earned $30 in 1939
Katheryne Darner..Dau..12..MO..7th grade
.

  Marriage Notes:

name: Robert Darner
event: Marriage
event date: 22 Jul 1922
event place: Nevada, Story, Iowa, United States
age: 48
estimated birth year: 1874
father: Phillip J. Darner
mother: Mary Sweezie
spouse: Amelia Thorington
spouse's age: 37
spouse's estimated birth year: 1885
spouse's father: Horatio Thorington
spouse's mother: Martha Rorabaugh
reference number: p 259 cn 6047
film number: 1403713
digital folder number: 004312688
image number: 441

Citing this Record
"Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XJZ7-M9Z : accessed 22 Dec 2012), Robert Darner and Amelia Thorington, 1922.
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