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She may or may not have been married to William Frank Byer but did have 3 children with him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by heyitsrachel
William Frank Byer and Linda Gayle Smith were married in Jan 1964 in Orange County, Florida. The supposedly divorced when my Dad was 5months old in Virginia which would make the divorce year 1966.
which is it? do you have proof they married in florida? unless you can find her social security number, divorce records, more info. from the hospital of the births, possibly high school graduation info. or names of her family members, searching "smith" is a needle in a haystack. if she is deceased you have no way to confirm that.
As above posters have noted, trying to find a maiden name of Smith is like looking for a blade of grass on the prairies. I know, my maiden name is Smith and it's been heck trying to do some searches for ancestors. The best advice I have is to go to the last known city/town for your grandmother and talk to people. It sounds as though she is my age and plenty of us early boomers are still around - many still local to where we grew up - or at least in touch with others. Find out her high school and search through reunions.com or facebook for that high school. See who's still in town and find out the person doing the reunions, find out her specific group of friends - someone will know something. But you do have to go in person many times.
If she was born in '47, she is 64 or 65 and probably graduated high school in 65. Good luck to you.
I have been calling but traveling is just not an option financially. A flight from texas to virginia is quite expensive plus I have a 6month old and my husband is in the Air Force so we aren't able to just travel whenever. Smith seems impossible to find.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NY Annie
IF you can travel...
As above posters have noted, trying to find a maiden name of Smith is like looking for a blade of grass on the prairies. I know, my maiden name is Smith and it's been heck trying to do some searches for ancestors. The best advice I have is to go to the last known city/town for your grandmother and talk to people. It sounds as though she is my age and plenty of us early boomers are still around - many still local to where we grew up - or at least in touch with others. Find out her high school and search through reunions.com or facebook for that high school. See who's still in town and find out the person doing the reunions, find out her specific group of friends - someone will know something. But you do have to go in person many times.
If she was born in '47, she is 64 or 65 and probably graduated high school in 65. Good luck to you.
which is it? do you have proof they married in florida? unless you can find her social security number, divorce records, more info. from the hospital of the births, possibly high school graduation info. or names of her family members, searching "smith" is a needle in a haystack. if she is deceased you have no way to confirm that.
I was able to find an online record of their marriage. I do not have a SS# for her or divorce records. I have NO idea what state she went to high school in even. The only verified infor I have on her is she have 3 children in Cook County, IL. She gave birth at Luthern General Hospital. She was 18 in 1965. She was married to William Frank Byer in Jan 1964 in Orange, Florida. She was born in Hot Springs, Va(Bath County). Her maiden name was is Linda Gayle Smith. She signed her name "Linda Smith Byer" on my Dad's birth certificate. And that she was a White. And at the time of my Dad's birth Sept 4. 1965 she lived at 90 N. Wolf Rd. Wheeling, Illinois.
I have been calling but traveling is just not an option financially. A flight from texas to virginia is quite expensive plus I have a 6month old and my husband is in the Air Force so we aren't able to just travel whenever. Smith seems impossible to find.
yeah, it seems there isn't really any proof even that her name WAS smith. the only thing you know is that a woman gave birth in that hospital, and lived somewhere around there in those years. if you have any family left in that area, they would be the likeliest to know. the hospital may have her social security number which can be tracked. maybe her name wasn't smith. no way to know at this point.
I was able to find an online record of their marriage. I do not have a SS# for her or divorce records. I have NO idea what state she went to high school in even. The only verified infor I have on her is she have 3 children in Cook County, IL. She gave birth at Luthern General Hospital. She was 18 in 1965. She was married to William Frank Byer in Jan 1964 in Orange, Florida. She was born in Hot Springs, Va(Bath County). Her maiden name was is Linda Gayle Smith. She signed her name "Linda Smith Byer" on my Dad's birth certificate. And that she was a White. And at the time of my Dad's birth Sept 4. 1965 she lived at 90 N. Wolf Rd. Wheeling, Illinois.
i'd like to see that.
so they lived in an apartment complex that was four years old then.
Yes, that is my Great Grandparents. They did not have a funeral serivce for William Frank(My grandad). He lived with a friend named Kay at the time of his death. Marth was his 3rd wife. My Father was born in Illinois and so was William Frank(My Grandad).
Maybe William did not have an obituary, but his will and last testiment is a 100% public document. Anyone, including ME can get a copy.
You can call the Probate Court in that County in AZ, and find out how to get copies of the "wills" of:
William Frank Byer - died Phoenix 2006.
Frank Byer - died Phoenix 1993.
Bernice Byer - died Phoenix 1999.
They'll charge you per page, maybe 50 cents or $1.00 and mail them to you.
Maybe let your Father order them since he is a closer relative to them, than you.
Order the wills and last testaments of Frank Byer, Bernice Byer, and William Frank Byer.
Somebody inherited their houses, and the wills will tell you the names, and the addresses of the houses.
And the names of Frank's heirs, Bernice's heirs, and William's heirs.
Now they may have chosen a non-relative to be their will executor. You'll find out their name too.
They will be listed in the will. They might have been a close friend of those deceased, and possibly (1%) know something about Linda.
The heirs listed in those wills, may be easy to find, and know things you want to know.
If you need the exact dates of death, let me know.
Last edited by howard555; 07-21-2012 at 01:51 PM..
Maybe William did not have an obituary, but his will and last testiment is a 100% public document. Anyone, including ME can get a copy.
You can call the Probate Court in that County in AZ, and find out how to get copies of the "wills" of:
William Frank Byer - died Phoenix 2006.
Frank Byer - died Phoenix 1993.
Bernice Byer - died Phoenix 1999.
They'll charge you per page, maybe 50 cents or $1.00 and mail them to you.
Maybe let your Father order them since he is a closer relative to them, than you.
Order the wills and last testaments of Frank Byer, Bernice Byer, and William Frank Byer.
Somebody inherited their houses, and the wills will tell you the names, and the addresses of the houses.
And the names of Frank's heirs, Bernice's heirs, and William's heirs.
Now they may have chosen a non-relative to be their will executor. You'll find out their name too.
They will be listed in the will. They might have been a close friend of those deceased, and possibly (1%) know something about Linda.
The heirs listed in those wills, may be easy to find, and know things you want to know.
If you need the exact dates of death, let me know.
but you are assuming they had a will. assuming they had property. and assuming that the contents of these documents (if in existence) is not already known. he went way out of his way to hide this information. no reason to believe it was divulged in the end.
but you are assuming they had a will. assuming they had property. and assuming that the contents of these documents (if in existence) is not already known. he went way out of his way to hide this information. no reason to believe it was divulged in the end.
Yes, I am assuming that an older couple over 75 had a house, as not many elders rent apartments.
Same for William.
If there were no wills, then "people" who felt they were entitled to property, would have petitioned the probate court. There would be probate records for those 3 deceased persons. Frank died 6 years before Bernice so he had a will. He would have likely left most of his property to his wife. Then she had a will most likely.
What is missing are descendents of those persons, William Frank and Frank-Bernice.
The probate court in Maricopa County would be a top priority for me, if I was the Op.
If there were 2-3 wills then the Op will get them and find new names.
Her Father and herself, do not know any of the descendents of her Grandfather since he re-married more than once, and moved 2 times in Texas, then 2 times in Arizona, over many years.
I think that it is worth a phone call to the probate court, and the cost to get the copies.
That could yield results that are as good as searching for a Mrs. Smith, that may not be a Smith any longer.
Yes, I am assuming that an older couple over 75 had a house, as not many elders rent apartments.
Same for William.
If there were no wills, then "people" who felt they were entitled to property, would have petitioned the probate court. There would be probate records for those 3 deceased persons. Frank died 6 years before Bernice so he had a will. He would have likely left most of his property to his wife. Then she had a will most likely.
What is missing are descendents of those persons, William Frank and Frank-Bernice.
The probate court in Maricopa County would be a top priority for me, if I was the Op.
If there were 2-3 wills then the Op will get them and find new names.
Her Father and herself, do not know any of the descendents of her Grandfather since he re-married more than once, and moved 2 times in Texas, then 2 times in Arizona, over many years.
I think that it is worth a phone call to the probate court, and the cost to get the copies.
That could yield results that are as good as searching for a Mrs. Smith, that may not be a Smith any longer.
the children of these people are already known. if anything was to be inherited, they already got it. wife #2 and #3 are deceased. wife #1 has no known location since the birth of the last child.
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