Tidmore Essary was born on 18 February 1891 in Greensboro, Hale County, Alabama, to John Silas Wesley Essary and Julia Orlean Livingston. He married Ouida E Duncan about 1916 in Alabama. They had six children, 2 boys and 4 girls. Tidmore died on 18 March 1925 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, just ten days after his father’s death.
Table of Contents
Evidence Analysis
The first step of any project is to evaluate any evidence already associated with an ancestor. This includes attached records and record hints at FamilySearch and Ancestry. FamilySearch already had quite a few source records attached to his profile, including some additional record hints.
Evidence analysis includes some steps:
- Identify what is known
- Identify what is missing
The source records attached to Tidmore Essary’s FamilySearch profile do provide evidence for:
But there were definitely some source records that were missing:
- Marriage record to Ouida E Duncan
- Missing 1910, 1920 U.S. Census records
- Missing 1930 U.S. Census record for Ouida and their children
Alabama began recording marriages fairly early, but availability varies by county. Hale County began recording marriages in 1868, so there should be a marriage record for Tidmore and Ouida, but I have struggled to find many marriage records for the Essary family in available databases. The evidence analysis also suggested Tidmore’s name was incomplete.
Tidmore Essary’s Name
Many of the source records for Tidmore indicate he had at least one other first name, most likely William. However, most of the records that suggest the additional first names are from his children. For example, the death record for Joseph Harold Essary states his father was Wm Thomas Tidmore Essary.3
The difficulty with Joseph Harold’s death record is that information on the death certificate would have been supplied by an informant, most likely a relative. The informant may or may not have ever known Tidmore Essary personally. In other words, the information could have been third-hand. That makes the information less reliable.
But it is still entirely possible that Tidmore’s full name was William Thomas Tidmore Essary because it fits a pattern. For example, Tidmore’s father, John Silas Wesley Essary, has multiple first names. Marriage records from Tidmore’s children also reported their father’s name with similar variations:
- W T Essary
- Thomas Tidmon Essary
- William Thomas Essary
- Tidmore Essary
- William Thomas Tidmore Essary
- W Tidmore Essary
What name should be on the profile? The complete name? A name recorded on the earliest known record? Often, we use the name on the earliest known record, but not always. Sometimes I use the name on the headstone. At times, I will piece together multiple records to build the full name.
In this scenario, most of the records created when Tidmore was alive state, Tidmore. The remaining source records contain information reported by other people. And while his children should know his name, he died when they were young children. They really did not know much about their father firsthand. I chose to leave his profile name as W Tidmore on FamilySearch and Tidmore on my Ancestry tree.
A descendant of Tidmore could easily change the profile name if they had information or personal knowledge. In the meantime, both FamilySearch and Ancestry provide a way to record name variations. On FamilySearch, it is the Alternate Names field in the Other Information box. On Ancestry, you can add an Also Known As fact. This way, the alternate names are recorded and can be used as a part of both sites’ hinting algorithms.
Missing Census Records
The FamilySearch profile did not have either the 1910 or the 1920 U.S. Census records for Tidmore. Fortunately, a bit of searching on Ancestry did find the 1920 U.S. Census. This census is important because it provides evidence for Tidmore and Ouida’s relationship and four of their children, two more than shown on the FamilySearch profile.4
The 1930 U.S. Census record was also found for Ouida and their children, which details some of what happened to the family after Tidmore’s passing in 1925. Ouida was living in a rented home with six of their children. They had two more children before Tidmore’s death.5
Ouida and the older children were all working in 1930. Ouida was working as a labeller at the paper mill. Joseph Harold was working as a millwright at a lumber company, and Mildred was a saleswoman. They probably were doing everything they could to survive financially.
Sources
- “United States, World War 1 Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”; digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 4 May 2026), Hale County, Alabama, entry for Tidmor Essary; citing NARA microfilm publication World War 1 Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, M1509. ↩︎
- Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 4 May 2026), memorial 92890842, W. Tidmore Essary, (1891-1925), gravestone photographed by Karin Rock, member 48279144. ↩︎
- “Alabama Deaths, 1908-1974,” entry for Joseph Harold Essary, no. 26645, 1970, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 4 May 2026). ↩︎
- 1920 U.S. Census, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, population schedule, Precinct 16 Township 28, enumeration district (ED) 120, sheet 2A (penned), dwelling 29, family 29, Tidmore Essary household; digital image, Ancestry, (https://ancestry.com : accessed 4 May 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication T625. ↩︎
- 1930 U.S. Census, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, population schedule, township Tuscaloosa City, enumeration district (ED) 63-30, sheet 8A (penned), dwelling 138, family 170, Ouida Essary household; digital image, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 May 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication T626. ↩︎
