US Veterans Administration master index card: Is this my ancestor's spouse?

Craig Ronal Smith

Just discovered that a US Veterans Administration master index card has been created for Harry Holly Smith. On this card, near the bottom, is the following text: "(S)Mrs W.J. Whitlock". See picture below. Who is Mrs. J.W.Whitlock? Is she a (s)pouse, (s)urvivor, (s)ource, or something else? I currently have no information about a spouse for Harry Smith. He died at age 38 so I had thought he probably had one, and it would be wonderful if it is this J.W. Whitlock, but I need to confirm what this card is really telling me. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Áine Ní Donnghaile

His draft registration, from 1917, lists that he is responsible for his parents and a wife. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZVV-C43

bathompson

Hello @Craig Ronal Smith,

We looked at records for Harry Holly Smith 1887–1925 • KCB7-GD1. We assume this is the person you are referring to.

There is a record of his death which shows as a hint for his mother, Mary Ann Busby 1850–1928 • KJW9-L3M. In that record, the person giving the information is Mrs. J W Whitlock. He is also showing as divorced in this death record.

If Mrs J W Whitlock is indeed his former spouse who has since remarried, then J W Whitlock is the name of her second husband and not her actual name. She could also be a sister, though I could not find J W Whitlock listed as any of the husbands.

You can search other websites, such as Ancestry and MyHeritage from the Person Page.

1. On the far right side of the screen, in the gray, find the section titled Search Records. It contains a list of partner logos.
2. Click the logo for the website you want to search.
3. A warning message appears: "You are leaving FamilySearch to visit one of our partner sites." To continue, click OK.
4. If you have an account, sign in to the partner site to continue searching for records. If you do not have an account for that site, you can start a free trial or sign up for a paid account.
5. Search results from the partner site appear in a new tab at the top of the browser. To return to FamilySearch.org, click the correct tab.

https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-search-familysearch-partner-sites-from-within-family-tree

There are some other ideas for your search in the knowledge article below:

https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/where-can-i-get-help-with-my-genealogy

Best Wishes!

Craig Ronal Smith

Thank you bathompson and Áine Ni Donnghaile for your helpful replies. Will do some more research to track down more about his wife.

Craig Ronal Smith

Just looked at the death record you mentioned. That is a real find! Yet another reason to praise indexers. HIs death record shows the birthplace of his mother, which I didn't know before. Also shows cause of death (except I can't read it).