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Joseph William Humphry, commonly known as Bill, was the third child of Ambrose and Jane (Martin) Humphrey. He was born 15 November 1866 in Sidney Township of Fremont County, Iowa. When he was about three years old, his family moved down to Falls City Township of Richardson County, Nebraska, and there Bill grew to maturity. The 1870 and 1880 Federal censuses, and the 1885 Nebraska State census all show him in his parents’ home in Falls City Township. Bill had a varied career. Various documents show his occupation as a farm worker (1885 Nebraska census), rancher (1894 voter registration), farmer (1910 census), feed store deliveryman (1920 census), feed store salesman (1930 census), farmer (1939 city directory), and “unable to work” (1940 census). From Bill’s obituary, we know he moved out to California in 1893 and remained there for five years, but the only other documentation we have of his time there is an 1894 voter registration from San Bernardino County, showing that he lived in North Ontario, California. In 1898 he relocated to Paonia, Delta County, Colorado (where his mother then lived), and there he married Elizabeth Dorothea Roeber on 31 May 1899.
“Lizzie,” as she was known, had been born 23 April 1877 at Hanover, Washington County, Kansas, and she was the daughter of Theodore and Mary Dorothea (Luehring) Roeber. At the time of Lizzie’s marriage, her father was serving his second term as the Delta County Assessor. Again, according to Bill’s obituary, he lived in Paonia from 1898 to 1934, but the 1900 census does not show him there. Instead, it shows Lizzie (“Elizabeth Humphris”) living with her parents and six younger siblings. Her marital status is “married,” but Bill is not listed in the same household, or anywhere in Delta County! Somehow, though, Lizzie must have located him soon after that, because the 1910 census does show them together in Paonia with three children, ages 8, 5, and 1. Ten years later, the 1920 census shows them still in Paonia with all four of their children:
Their address in Paonia, according to the 1920 census, was 204 Niagara Ave. The 1930 census also shows them on Niagara Ave. but doesn’t give a house number. Daughter Nellie was no longer in the household in 1930, as she had married Harry Hayes and moved out in 1923. Bill and Lizzie’s obituaries both show that the couple moved from Paonia to Palisade, Colorado, in 1934, but they disagree about the date of their subsequent move to Grand Junction. City directories do show them in Palisade in 1937 and ’39, but the 1940 census shows them living with their daughter Viola Luke in “Fairmount” (which is now a neighborhood in the northern part of Grand Junction). Hence, the date of 1940, shown in Lizzie’s obituary appears to be correct, and the 1949 shown in Bill’s may simply be a typo. They were still living with Viola when Lizzie passed away on 4 November 1950. She was laid to rest at Orchard Mesa Cemetery in Grand Junction. Bill remained in Grand Junction until 1959, when he went back to Paonia to live with his other daughter, Nellie Hayes. During his final illness, however, he was hospitalized in Grand Junction, and that is where he passed away on 16 March 1962. He was buried next to Lizzie at Orchard Mesa Cemetery. If you can suggest any corrections to the information above or provide any further details about Bill, Lizzie, and their descendants, please contact me at the address shown in the image below:
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