On May 10, 1897 in Vigo Township, Knox County, Indiana, Mura Mae Cox was born to Emily Arabelle McCullough and Frank Cox. She was the third of five siblings that lived to adulthood–Raymond and Blanche were older, and Anna and Jessie were younger. Her father supported the family through farming.
Soon after the birth of Jessie in 1904, the family moved to Welch Township in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. Frank remarried in 1907 to Mollie Bugg Givens Schwepker. It is unclear what Arabelle’s fate was between 1904 and 1907. The Deed Record Index for the land purchase in Welch Township indicated that both Frank and Arabelle were listed in the transfer. That would lend credence that she possibly perished in Missouri.
With the addition of a step-mother, the 1910 Census actually has the five siblings rather scattered. Raymond and Mura were living at home with their father. Blanche worked as a servant for a private family. Anna and Jessie could be found back in Knox County living with different families. The exact circumstances surrounding this situation are unknown. Anna was listed as a ward of Mr. and Mrs Bode Goodman in Bicknell. Ann and Charles Rogers were raising Jessie in Westphalia. Ann was Frank’s sister and Jessie’s aunt.
Mura Mae saw both of her older siblings marry in 1911. In January 1915, her father died of tuberculosis in Vincennes. It’s possible they were back in Indiana visiting family over the holidays. Since her father did not have a will, the widow was placed in charge of the estate and Mura Mae basically was homeless. She was found in 1920 to be living with her father’s cousin Nathan Killion and his wife Cordelia in Daviess County, Indiana. In November 1920, Mura Mae married Jesse Thomson and they moved to Indianapolis.
Mura and Jesse had three children: Colleen, Shirley and Ramon. In 1930, they were living on Sugar Grove Avenue, just a few miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The house they lived in then may still be there today. It is possible it was a duplex at the time. Jesse supported the family as a sales manager for a hardware store. By 1940, he had risen up to the rank of territorial manager. They had moved to the Crown Hill part of Indianapolis which not far from the present day Children’s Museum.
Over the years, their children grew up and started families of their own while Mura and Jesse continued to live in Indiana’s capital. Despite the lack of a cohesive childhood together, pictures of Mura and her brother and sisters would indicate they remained close throughout the years. In 1965, her sister Blanche died of colon cancer. Raymond followed in 1968. On December 22, 1975 at the age of 78, Mura was a victim of breast cancer.
Mura Mae was my 2nd great aunt on my dad’s side.
REFERENCES
- United States Census – 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940
- Indiana Death Certificates
- Indiana Marriage Certificates
- Find a Grave website
- Deed Records 1805-1910, Cape Girardeau County MO
- Missouri Marriage Records
- Missouri Wills and Probate Records
Related Pages
Digging Up My Roots 