Viola Mildred Beyl
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VMB – Pedigree
Documented History
For the Beyl family, I’m going to start with Viola Mildred Beyl. As I explained in my About Me page, I am not going to reveal my relationship to Mildred. This is to protect myself and those family members that are still living and to respect our privacy. I will say that Mildred is a grandmother of mine. I will not say how many generations back. I do happen to know that she went by Mildred.
1914 Birth
According to the Bartholomew County, Indiana, Birth Records Index, 1882-1920, Viola Mildred was born on 17 February 1914, the same year that World War I began. Her mother is listed as Edna M. Applegate. Her father is listed as Edward. Also listed on this record, is Viola’s sister: Margaret L. Beyl, born 3 January 1913.
1920 Census
According to the 1920 United States Federal Census, Mildred lived at 848 Prospect Street, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana with her parents and siblings. Her dad, Edward Beyl, was 31 years old at the time. Edna, her mom, was 26. Her sister Margaret was 6, Mildred was 5, and their brother Charles was 3 years and 8 months old. Edward was a Foreman at a Bakery at the time. The record also shows that their paternal grandfather was born in France while the rest of their grandparents were born in Indiana.
1930 Census
In 1930, Mildred lived with her parents and siblings at 1329 East Street, Center Township, Marion County, Indiana, per the 1930 United States Federal Census. Edward, her father, was 43 years old. Her mother Edna was 35 years old. Margaret was 17, Mildred was 16, and Charles was 13 years old. They had a new baby sister, Mary Lou, who was 1 year old at the time. Edward was a Dispenser at a Bakery Company and Margaret was a Saleslady at a Dry Goods Retail Store.
1930 Census
Marriage
Mildred married Charles Beckett Buchanan on 25 May 1935 in Marion County, Indiana, per the Marion County, Indiana, Marriage Index, 1925-2012. Mildred was 21 years old at the time. Charles was 22. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 shows Charles and Mildred living at 211 E. North, Apartment 36 in 1936. Charles was a salesman at Hiller Office Supply Company.
1936 Birth of First Child
On 12 July 1936, Mildred gave birth to Barbara Ann at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. She was full term, per Barbara’s Certificate of Birth. At the time, Charles and Mildred lived at 2033 Houston, Indianapolis, Indiana. Charles was a Salesman at L.C. Smith & Corona Typewriters and had been there for 2 months. Charles was 23 and Mildred was 22 years old. Barbara was their first child.
In 1937, according to U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Mildred and Charles Buchanan lived at 2033 Houston, Indianapolis, Indiana. Charles was a typewriter salesman with L.C. Smith & Corona.
According to U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2, Mildred Buchanan lived at 1260 Farr View CT, West Linn, OR, 97068-4011 at some point. I do not recognize this address and do not recall any stories about them living in Oregon. But the birthday on the record is the same: 17 February 1914, so this appears to be the same person. Mildred was 26 years old at the time.
1942 City Directory
U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Volume 2 shows Charles and Mildred Buchanan lived at 1260 Farr View CT, West Linn, OR, 97068-4011 in 1940. However, in 1942, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 show they lived at 2538 Guilford Ave, Indianapolis, Indiana. I do know from stories past down verbally that they did move out of state for a stint. The City Directory lists Charles as an “mtcemn.” Now, I’ve tried to research what that term is exactly but haven’t found much success. My best guess is that it means he was a maintenance man.
1956 City Directory
Charles and Mildred lived at 55 N. Sherman Dr., Indianapolis, Indiana, per the U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995. Charles was, at that time, a Foreman at RCA. In 1956, the City Directory lists them at 3705 N. Ritter Ave, Indianapolis, Indiana. So apparently they moved around a lot. But Charles had the same job at this time.
1986 Public Records
Sometime within the next 30 years, Charles and Mildred moved to Florida. U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1 listed them at 13613 Allyn Dr., Hudson, FL, 24667-1505. They lived in a house right on the Gulf of Mexico with a boat docked in their back yard. I remember Charles letting me drive that boat in the Gulf when I was little. And I remember him teaching me how to play pool in their Florida room.
Charles’ Boat
Mildred passed away on 21 January 2000, per the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. It showed that in January 1937, her name was listed as Mildred Beyl Buchanan. Her social security number was issued in Indiana, prior to 1951, according to the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014.
VMB Headstone
That’s all for now, I’ll check back regularly and update this page as I find additional information. If you’d like to see Mildred up close and personal, have a look at her gallery to see Mildred’s memories with her family. Also, be sure to check out her Memorial at Find A Grave.
I’ll leave you with a common Genealogy phrase:
Research: What I’m doing, when I don’t know what I’m doing.
Happy researching!
~Kris
Family Tree
Beyl Family History
Beyl Surname
I haven’t found much about the Beyl surname online yet. I am still very early into my research on this line. Quick searches on the history of the name Beyl are yielding very few results, if any. This makes it difficult to determine where the name came from.
I’ve only found one website that provides any kind of description for the name, but it isn’t a reliable site for genealogical purposes. It is more of a touristy site that wants you to buy memorabilia with what they say your coat of arms is. Anyway, it said that Beyl is a Danish name that derived from the word bayer. Bayer means one who came from Bavaria.
However, I found that Ancestry.com lists the meaning of the Beyl name as a variant of German Beil.
Beyl Surname Meaning
So, naturally, I queried the site for the meaning of the Beil surname:
Beil Surname Meaning
In the little research that I’ve done on this line so far, I’ve found that the Beyl’s immigrated to the United States from France. So the question is, can I trace them from France to Germany? Only time will tell at this point.
Distribution of Families
Ancestry also shows a nice page with some simple statistics for the Beyl line in the United States. According to the United States Federal Census, most of the Beyl families lived in the north east region.
The New York Passengers List shows that most immigrated from Germany but some came from the Netherlands, Preussen, and Italy. So far I’ve only traced my line back to France. As far as Beyl Family Origin goes, 4 families came from Germany, 3 came from Netherlands, 2 from Preussen, and 1 from Italy per Ancestry.com.
They also show that there are 3 Civil War Service Records for the Beyl surname, all 3 on the Union side.
Interestingly, I found that one person in my line, Jacob Beyl, who was listed as an Unassigned Indiana Volunteer for the Union side and seems to have been injured in the war. I haven’t found much on that but will be doing further research to see if I can identify what happened.
Family Occupations
Ancestry reports that most of the Beyl ancestors were farmers. A good portion were laborers. I have found both in my line. There were also some Saloon Keepers as well as horse car drivers.
I did find a site that listed a couple of Beyl settlers in the United States during the 18th Century. One was Johan Peter Beyl who landed in Pennsylvania in 1747. Another was Johannes Beyl which landed in Pennsylvania in 1754.
I do not know yet if either of these are related to my line but will definitely be trying to confirm or deny this during my research.
In an effort to be transparent to our visitors, please understand that we may get small commissions from purchases made through the links in this article. Please review our full disclosure at the very bottom left side of this page.
Beyl Members I’ve Researched So Far
Average Life Expectancy
Finally, it looks like the Beyl family life expectancy has been pretty close to that of the general public. Some died young, around 50 years old, while others lived to be around 90 years old. But the majority seems to pass away around 70 years old.
I know this is very little information to provide so far. But, like I said before, I only recently began searching this line and hope to add a whole lot more information in the near future.
It would be nice to know more about these ancestors. Where did they come from before France? Why did they immigrate to the United States?
I hope to find a ton of information on this line as it is particularly special to me. Have you found Beyl in your family tree yet? If so, I’d love to hear from you!
Even if you haven’t, have you found reliable places to research the history of your family name? I’d love to know where to go to find out facts about surnames that are accurate and can provide some of the history behind the name. Do share and let us know how you do it.
That’s all for now, I’ll check back regularly and update this page as I find additional information.
I’ll leave you with a common Genealogy phrase:
This packrat has learned that the next generation will value most is not what we owned, but the evidence of who we were and the tales of how we loved. In the end, it’s the family stories that are worth the storage. – Ellen Goodman, The Boston Globe
Happy searching!
~Kris
Applegate Family
- The Applegate Family
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Beyl Family
- The Beyl Family
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Biver Family
- The Biver Family
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