Arthur’s middle name of Freeman appears on his WWII draft registration.  It seems a little ironic because he spent half his life in prison.

Arthur Freeman Wakenight

Born: 25 JUN 1915 in Dixon, Lee County, Illinois

Father: Daniel Scott Wakenight (1880 to 1922)
Mother: Frances F. French (1889 to 1964)

Spouse: Ethel Mae Winningham (1891 to 1964)

Married: 29 Nov 1948 in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois

Children: None

Died: 8 OCT 1982 in Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois

Burial: Grand Detour Cemetery, Grand Detour, Ogle County, Illinois

Obituary:

Rockford Register Star, Sunday 10-10-1982

Arthur F. Wakenight, 67, 602 Atwood Ave., died at 5:10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, 1982, in Briar Glen Healthcare Center after a long illness.

Born June 25, 1915, in Grand Detour, son of Daniel and Frances Wakenight. Lived 10 years in Rockford, coming from Jacksonville, Ill.

Employed as caretaker by Willwood Burial Park and Greenwood Cemetery for many years.

Survivors include a sister, Esther DuSavage, Rockford; a niece; and two nephews.

Services at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct 12, in Sundberg Funeral Home, 215 N. 6th, Burial in Grand Detour Cemetery. Friends may call in the funeral home, Monday from 7 to 8 p.m.

Obituary courtesy of Sharon Strow.

Timeline:

1920 Grand Detour, Ogle County, Illinois
1922 Death of father, Daniel
1930 Grand Detour, Ogle County, Illinois
1936 Vandalia, Fayette County, Illinois
1937 Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois
1940 Pontiac, Livingston County, Illinois
1948 Marriage to Ethel
1950 Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois
1954 Grand Detour, Ogle County, Illinois
1964 Death of wife, Ethel
1964 Death of mother, Frances
1982 Death and burial

Occupation: painter (1952), a cemetery caretaker

Records:

1920 to 1940 US Census Records
Dixon Evening Telegraph (Dixon, Illinois)
U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
The U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (Beta)
Social Security Death Index
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: None

In 1922, Arthur was 7 years old when his father died. He grew up in an era called the Great Depression. These two factors may have shaped his life.

In 1930, when Arthur was 15 years old, the US census record shows that his mother was working as a cook for a local hotel. She had to support herself, two children, and her widowed mother on a meager salary. It could have been this lack of money that caused Arthur to become a career criminal or repeat offender.

From an article published in the Dixon Evening Telegraph, I was able to compile a list of Arthur’s illegal activities.

1936 Served 6 months in the Vandalia Correction Center for burglary
1937 Served 5 years in the Pontiac State Prison for armed robbery
1942 Unknown time served in the Statesville Prison for auto larceny

The 1954 incident occurred in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois. A furniture store where Arthur worked had been robbed. Arthur fled to his mother’s house in Grand Detour, Ogle County, Illinois. That is where the police apprehended him. He was returned to Jacksonville for sentencing.

I have put the Dixon Evening Telegraph articles in PDF format so that you can zoom in and out to read them.

The first article is entitled “State, County Police Nab Suspect”.

Arthur Freeman Wakenight Sep 27 1954 Dixon Evening Telegraph Page 1a

The second page is very short and is entitled “Surrounded”.

Arthur Freeman Wakenight Sep 27 1954 Dixon Evening Telegraph Page 1b

The third page is entitled “Ogle Prisoner Admits Burglary”.

Arthur Freeman Wakenight Sep 28 1954 Dixon Evening Telegraph

Arthur would have been considered a repeat offender because he had at least three convictions under Illinois law. And, part of Arthur’s obituary says “Lived 10 years in Rockford, coming from Jacksonville, Illinois”. This could mean that he was incarcerated for 12 years (from 1954 to 1972) which was ten years before he died.

Spouse:

Ethel Mae Winningham:

Ethel was born on 5 MAR 1891 in Scott County, Illinois. She died on 6 NOV 1964 in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois.

Ethel’s father was Albert Calvert Winningham. He was born on 14 OCT 1865 in Milton, Van Buren County, Iowa. He died on 2 JAN 1935 in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois.

Ethel’s mother was Sarah Ellen Pendleton. She was born on 29 AUG 1868 in Jerseyville, Jersey County, Illinois. She died on30 NOV 1942 in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois.

Ethel had seven brothers and sisters, all born in Scott County, Illinois:

Henry Benjamin Winningham (1885)
Minnie Leeanna Winningham (1894)
Elsie G Winningham (1897)
Gertrude Jane Winningham (1900)
Homer Calvin Winningham (1901)
Mary A Winningham (1903)
Violet Ellen Winningham (1907)

Ethel’s marriages:

Ethel married James Evans on 2 JUL 1908 in Scott County, Illinois. Three known children were born from this marriage:

Raymond A Evans (1914)
Merl H Evans (1915)
Frances L Evans (1918)

James Evans was born on 3 JUL 1883 in Missouri. He died on 12 OCT 1971 in Winchester, Scott County, Illinois.

Ethel and James must have divorced before 1927.

James went on to marry Retha Mabel Grunden on 24 Aug 1927 in Pittsfield, Pike County, Illinois. There were eight children born to this marriage:

James A Evans (1929)
Ted Wesley Evans (1930)
Eleanor Verneal Evans (1931)
Lena Evans (1933)
Betty Jean Evans (1935)
Benjamin Earl Evans (1938)
Evelyn Patricia Evans (1940)
Linda Evans (1942)

Retha Mabel Grunden was born on 19 APR 1906 in Barry, Pike County, Illinois. She died on 23 JAN 2006 in Winchester, Scott County, Illinois.

Ethel then married Homer A Ward sometime before 1935. The 1940 US census notes that Ethel and Homer were living “in the same place” in 1935. No known children were born to this marriage.

Homer A Ward was born on 7 APR 1909 in Kentucky. He died on 13 MAR 1961 in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois.

I do not know how long Ethel and Ward were married.

Ethel then married Arthur Freeman Wakenight in 1948.

After Arthur was incarcerated in 1954, Ethel must have considered herself a free woman. The directory listings for the years 1957 and 1959, and 1960 list her as Mrs. Ethel Wakenight. The 1960 directory listing describes Ethel as the “widow” of Arthur Wakenight.

Inter-Racial Marriage:

As I researched Ethel’s family on the US censuses, I discovered that her father was Caucasian and her mother was of Black descent. These records also noted that the children were mulatto.

In my family trees, I have rarely come across an inter-racial marriage. Maybe, it was because it was “frowned upon” in the post Civil War years. Or, it could be that most of my American ancestors were from “up north”.

I just wanted– to mention the fact that inter-racial marriages did exist, even in the late 1890s.

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Look in your photo albums. You may have old pictures that your parents or grandparents gave you. Or, ask them for copies of photos that they have in their possession. Many people will write names and dates on the backs of photographs. Letters, diaries, and family bibles are also an excellent source for births, marriages, and deaths.

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