Earl Mark West ^{1 2 3}

   Cause of his death was Pulmonary Tuberculosis.²

  General Notes:

There is a birth record for a Mark Earl West, born 10 Dec 1891 in Chikaming, Berrien County, Michigan to Isaac West who was born in Pennsylvania and "Rhorby" West who was born in Indiana. A close examination of the birth register document shows the handwriting is very poor and that the wife's given name starts with the letter P and not an R. So her name could not have been Rhorby as indexed. It almost appears to be Phorbe but I suppose the "r" in the middle of the name could also be interpreted as a letter E thereby making the name "Phoebe.

Except for the given name of Rhorby for the mother, this data matches almost exactly what is expected for the son known as Earl Eugene West or sometimes known as Wilbur Earl West.

This is the second document in which the mother's name appears as Rhoda or Rhorby instead of the expected Phoebe. I don't know if this was a completely different family in the same exact area or if Phoebe somehow was using Rhoda/Rhorby as a nickname. On the birth records for their daughter, Stella, born in 1889, the mother's name appears as clearly appears as Rhoda while the father's name is clearly Isaac P. West.

To complicate matters, the son's name appears differently on various documents so it is not know for sure if his name was Mark Earl West, Earl Mark West, or even Wilbur Earl West.

However, this Mark Earl West died at the age of 23 on 17 Apr 1915 at Three Oaks, Berrien County, Michigan and the parents are clearly I. P. West of Pennsylvania and Catherine Jones of Indiana. The name appears as Earl M. West on the Berrien County Death Register. With the parents' names clearly indicated, this proves beyond a doubt that they did indeed have a son named Mark born in Dec 1891.

One additional problem is that the 1900 US Census shows only one "Earl West", age 8, living with the parents. Other records seem to support the existence of another son born probably one year later in Dec 1892 who was named Wilbur Earl West. Some researchers also claim that he was known as Earl Eugene West although I have yet to find any documents that reference that name. Even more complications are added in that there seems to be no birth document for any son born in Dec 1892 regardless of which name is referenced. There is only the one birth document for Mark Earl West born in Dec 1891 but he died in 1915. Which naturally brings up the question, "Just who was this Wilbur Earl West that was supposed born in Dec 1892 and married in 1923?" His marriage document clearly references Isaac and Catherine as his parents. Was he perhaps adopted after the death of the son, Mark Earl West, in 1915? But that can't be because the 1910 US Census shows the son's name as "W. Earl West".

So which "Earl West" was included on the 1900 US Census and why was the other one missed? If the exact rules were followed by the enumerator, then the birth date entered as Dec 1892 would be Wilbur Earl West but the age was incorrectly entered as 8 instead of 7. The number 2 appears to have been written over several times and it could be a number 1 instead. If the date were to be Dec 1891, then the age of 8 would be correct and that son would have been Mark Earl West.
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  Birth Notes:

Name: Mark Earl West
Birth Date: 10 Dec 1891
Birthplace: Chikaming, Berrien, Michigan
Gender: Male
Father's Name: Isaac West
Father's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Mother's Name: Rhorby West
Mother's Birthplace: Indiana
Reference ID: item 1 p 313 rn 1410

Citing this Record
"Michigan Births, 1867-1902," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NQDZ-BGD : 12 August 2019), Rhorby West in entry for Mark Earl West, 10 Dec 1891; citing item 1 p 313 rn 1410, Chikaming, Berrien, Michigan, Department of Vital Records, Lansing; FHL microfilm 2,321,269.
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  Death Notes:

Name: Earl M. West
Gender: Male
Death Date: 17 Apr 1915
Death Place: Three Oaks, Berrien, Michigan
Age: 23
Birth Date: 1892
Birthplace: Mich.
Occupation: Fireman
Race: White
Marital Status: Single
Father's Name: I. P. West
Father's Birthplace: Pa.
Mother's Name: Catherine Jones
Mother's Birthplace: Ind.
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: B02571-0
System Origin: Michigan-EASy
GS Film number: 1954721

Citing this Record:
"Michigan, Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.2/9M2Z-KVY : accessed 12 Jun 2014), Earl M. West, 17 Apr 1915; citing Three Oaks, Berrien, Michigan, reference ; FHL microfilm 1954721.
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  Noted events in his life were:

• Birth Image: 10 December 1891, in Chikaming Township, Berrien, MI. ¹

• His occupation in 1915 was a Fireman in Three Oaks Township, Berrien County, MI. ²

• Death Image: 17 April 1915, in Three Oaks Township, Berrien County, MI. ²

• He was buried after 17 April 1915 in the Riverside Cemetery in Three Oaks Township, Berrien County, MI.

Find A Grave Memorial 161993973
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