Confusing the Vorce

Holy Chewbacca - hair pulling moment! 

Two, 2, Russell L Vorces in the same area and same birthday, what??

Russell Lee Vorce was a mail carrier who married 2 times (a Lillian & a Eunice) and was the son of Edwin Vorce & Susan Stinchfield.

Russell Lester Vorce, a wholesale merchant of coal turned grocer, was the son of Lester Elwin Vorce & Ingeborg Kaarvan.

Initially I followed the hints on Ancestry for Russell Lee because they had the right children - that is the children for Russell Lester & his wife. But nothing added up -Two sets of censuses kept popping up and one guy couldn't be in two places at once! 

One set had the correct children and was consistent with the same wife & kids; the other had different wives & of course, different work!  So I kept digging.

By working backward, that is from Ingeborg's obit, I finally found a birth entry that confirmed the name and birthday and it matched up with the parents listed on the Indiana marriage entry - WOOT for me!

So, Russell Lester Vorce, not Russell Leon Vorce as some have, married our Mary Catalina Dowland, the daughter of William F Dowland & Rose A Peck. They had 4 children - Jacques, Rose, May & Russell.

courtesy of Ancestry - 1915 Yearbook

News-Palladium, Mon, 17 Aug 1959

Rites Today

Word has been received here of the death of Russell Vorce, husband of the former Catalina Dowland, former Benton harbor resident. Mr and Mrs Vorce moved to Ludington immediately following their marriage. Surviving besides Mrs Vorce, who resides on Lake Shore Drive, is a son and two daughters. Another son preceded him in death. Mrs Vorce's father, the late William Dowland, was a cashier at the American National Bank, now the present site of Olsen & Ebann, jewelers. Funeral services and brial will take place Tuesday in Ludington.

Their son Jacques Kaarvand 'Jack' Vorce married Noel Eunice Zook, the daughter of Ormal C Zook & Carrie M Meers - they had one girl, Kay Dowland Vorce.

Herald Press, Wed, 6 Jul 1949
Jack Vorce - Word of the death of Jack Vorce of Ludington, the eldest son of a well know former Benton harbor resident, Mrs Catalina Dowland Vorce, was received Tuesday by City Commissioner and Mrs W L Stevens, of 526 Broadway, Benton Harbor. According to the meager information in the communication, Vorce was in swimming on the Fourth holiday and broke his neck in diving.  Death occurred Tuesday afternoon. Vorce's mother is a daughter of the late Mr and Mrs W F Dowland. Mr Dowland was cashier of the old American National Bank here for many years. The dead man is survived by his widow and two small children. Time or place of the funeral was not mentioned in the message to the Stevenses.