Abe's Widow Vivian

One of my grandfather's brothers was a schoolteacher. Abraham Lowden Lantz, Jr. first taught at the Amish School (sometimes called the Lantz School) near Gibson, Monroe County, Mississippi. The Amish settlement there lasted only from about 1896 to 1907. Abe is no longer living with the family by the 1910 census, and I've been unable to locate him using a variety of strategies in that census. His father deeded him land 27 Dec 1909(1) which he sold on 21 Apr 1914.(2)  He married Anna Vivian Anderson in Waco, McLennan, Texas on 25 June 1914(3) only a short time after selling the land, and my mother believed he met her in Arkansas or Texas. Abe died during the influenza epidemic of 1918 on 8 Oct 1918.(4) I should probably add that the order of her name is uncertain. In the 1900 census, she is called Anna V. and her date of birth is given as June 1887,(5) and it is based upon this census that I have derived the name order. In the 1910 census, which is prior to her marriage, she is called Vivian A.(6) In most records after her marriage, she is called Vivian A., but the "A" in those cases likely refers to her maiden name.

I wanted to discover what had happened to his widow. Mom thought she'd heard that she'd moved to New York to be near family, but when I began researching, I discovered that she was living with her mother Nannie C. Anderson in Denver, Colorado at 1580 Detroit.(7) A quick check of city directories shows that Vivian is present in the 1920 through 1923 directories and is missing in the 1924 one, although her mother remains at that address.(8) I have been unable to locate her after this time. I assume that she probably got married in either 1923 or 1924; however, I've been unable to locate Denver County marriage indexes or images from this time period online. Attempts to creatively locate her using various strategies have failed. It appears that Colorado marriages, specifically Denver County ones, from that period have not been microfilmed so as to be available at the Family History Library and in Family History Centers. I've even tried searching the SSDI with Vivian as the name and June 1887 as the birth date without any prospects that continue to look promising after brief follow-ups. I guess I'll eventually have to make a trip to Colorado if I'm to solve this mystery.



Sources
(1)  Monroe County, Mississippi, Deed Record, Book 73, p. 139. The land is described as: Beginning at the North East Corner of Section (33) Thirty three and of Township (14) Fourteen of Range (6) six East thence south with said Section line 35 chains and 28 Links to a stake, Thence due West seven chains and seventy links to a stake, thence north 5 chains and sixty five Links to a stake, thence West 21 chains and 35 Links to a stake, thence North 29 chains and 63 Links to a stake on the section line, thence East along section line 27 chains to beginning point, containing eighty four and 34/00 acres (84 34/00) more or less. And intended and shall convey the land bought of Eli Yoder see Book 58 page 410 for Deed of said Yoder to said Lantz to which reference is here made.

(2) Monroe County, Mississippi, Deed Record, Book 76, p. 374.

(3) "Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FXSM-V2W : accessed 28 Jun 2013), A. L. Lantz and Vivian Anderson, 25 Jun 1914.

(4) Abe Lowden Lantz tombstone, State Line Cemetery, Texarkana, Ark. (Photographed by Allen Lantz (104 St. Augustine Dr., Long Beach, MS 39560), April 2002. Also visited and photographed by Lori Thornton, 21 May 2002.).

(5) 1900 U.S. Federal Census, HenryCounty, Missouri, population schedule, Bogard Twp., Blairstown Village, SD 6, ED 76,  p.33 (stamped), Francis H. Anderson household, dwelling 26, family 26; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : about 2002); citing NARA micropublication T623, roll 858.

(6) 1910 U S. Federal Census, Young County, Texas, population schedule, Graham, Pct 1, North Ward, SD 13, ED 266, p. 137 (stamped), sheet 2B (written), Nannie C. Anderson household, dwelling 29, family 29; digital image, Heritage Quest (http://www.heritagequest.com : about 2002); citing NARA micropublication T624, roll 1595.

(7) 1920 U. S. Federal Census, Denver County, Colorado, population schedule, Denver, SD 1, ED 241, sheet 4A (written), Frank L. Mosher household, 1580 Detroit St., dwelling 83, family 88; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed about 2002); citing NARA micropublication T625, roll 162.

(8) U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : 27 Sep 2013); Denver, Colorado, City Directory, 1920, entry for Mrs. Vivian Anderson Lantz, p. 1401; Denver, Colorado, City Directory, 1921, entry for Mrs. Vivian Lantz, p. 1328 and for Vivian A. Lands, p. 1324; Denver, Colorado, City Directory, 1922, entry for Mrs. Vivian A. Lantz, p. 1388; Denver, Colorado, City Directory, 1923, entry for Vivian A. Lantz, p. 1423; Denver, Colorado, City Directory, 1924, entry for Nannie C. Anderson, p. 539.